[Explanations: lol your fat. pathetic anger bread. hey your gay.]
TFIF, Shakers!
Belly up to the bar,
and name your poison!
The Virtual Pub Is Open
[Explanations: lol your fat. pathetic anger bread. hey your gay.]
TFIF, Shakers!
Belly up to the bar,
and name your poison!
Water War!
Would you like to watch Hugh Jackman and Jimmy Fallon play Water War? Of course you would! Who wouldn't?! EVERYONE LOVES HUGH JACKMAN! This is a True Fact, according to my friend Richard Adams. If you meet a humanoid who expresses anything less than undiluted love for Hugh Jackman: BEWARE. This is very good advice.
Video Description: Hugh Jackman and Jimmy Fallon dramatically battle via the classic card game War, but the loser of each turn of the cards gets doused with water.
Happy Blogiversary to Us!
Wednesday was Shakesville's seventh blogiversary, which I totally forgot because, no doy, I am the Most Terrible Blogmistress in all of Terribletown. (Please register your complaints here.)
I almost can't believe it's been seven years—and more than 20 million visitors—since young bones groaned and this blog was born, originally under the banner Shakespeare's Sister, from Virginia Woolf's essay "A Room of One's Own," by way of one of my favorite Smiths' songs. Because I am the heir of all the Shakespeare's Sisters before me, who carved out rooms of their own, tiny pieces of space and time, in which they formed the habit of freedom and mustered the courage to write exactly what they thought, I took up their legacy with breathless gratitude and compelling need, and I created a room of my own, built of 1s and 0s, where I tried, and try still, to honor them, as best I can.
When a community started to grow up around this blog, and other writers began to join me in this space, Shakespeare's Sister, which was also my handle when I started in anonymity, seemed too personal somehow, and so we became Shakesville.
I am a better person than I was when I started. I know more about myself, both the good things and the things that need changing. I've made great friends and had great teachers. I've been challenged not to settle into the well-tread grooves of my socialization, and exhorted to deconstruct the vast and varied prejudices and myths with which I'd been socialized. I have been urged to expect more of myself and persuaded to believe in the possibility I can be the change I want to see.
I've learned more in this space than I ever could have imagined, and this is, by far, the toughest job I've ever had. I am forever changed because of Shakesville, and the people who visit or come to stay.
I'm going to continue to try to make this a space you enjoy visiting and make that space as safe as possible. I'm going to fail and disappoint you and piss you off once in a while, but I'll endeavor to balance that with some good stuff, too. The truth is, I'm just fumblefucking my way through this thing every day; there isn't a model for managing a space like this one, no well-tread path to follow. I don't always know what I'm doing, so we're all pretty lucky when it seems like I do.
Thanks, Shakers. Thanks to the other contributors and mods, for everything you put on the page and everything you do for me behind the scenes. And thanks to my beloved Iain, who first suggested I start this blog, and who makes Shakesville possible in every conceivable way.
Reminders
1. Meet-Up Cancellation: The Chicagoland Meet-Up that was scheduled for this Saturday has been canceled due to my health problems. I will reschedule as soon as possible.
2. Community Project: Operation Get Loved Up! Explanation and details here. Submit your pictures to Shaker BrianWS by email.
Friday Blogaround
This blogaround is brought to you by Jolie and the Green-Eyed Hero Cats.
Recommended reading:
Chicago History Museum blog: The perfect recipe for a great fire
woodturtle: a muslim in the TARDIS
The Society for Neuroscience is hosting a Brain Awareness Video Contest. Daniel.lende posts some favorites at PLoS Blogs' Neuroanthropology blog: Brain Awareness Videos by Brain Scientists!
crunktastic: I Saw the Sign but Did We Really Need a Sign?: SlutWalk and Racism
Jessa Crispin: If you'd like to donate books to the Occupy Wall Street Library, the address is
Occupy Wall Street Library
c/o UPS STORE
118A Fulton St. #205
NY, NY 10038
(Via Maud Newton's Twitter feed)
The Smithsonian's Surprising Science blog: Five Historic Female Mathematicians You Should Know
Michael Ruhlman: French Onion Soup
Deeky: Halloween 2011 Mix
Leave your links in comments.
Number of the Day
[Trigger warning for violence.]
$800,000: The estimated annual cost of prosecuting misdemeanors and jailing convicted offenders in Topeka, Kansas, which the Topeka City Council says it can no longer afford, so "city and county authorities have neglected to prosecute or charge people suspected of domestic battery since Sept. 8. In other words, the local justice system has spent a month effectively sending the message that misdemeanor domestic assault will go unpunished—at least for now."
I am without words.
[H/T to everyone in the multiverse, and thanks to each and every one of you for sending it along.]
Ada Lovelace Day: Polly Matzinger and the Rhetoric of Immunology
Happy Ada Lovelace Day, folks! The Finding Ada site will have a post roundup, Limor Fried at the adafruit industries blog started doing one post an hour at midnight, and the Twitter hashtag is #ADA11. If you write a post, do please leave a link to it here in this thread as well adding it to the stories at findingada.com. You do have to register, but that only takes a couple of minutes.
I sat by the snow-stained window of a conference room at Major Research University in Pennsylvania, drinking bitter coffee from a styrofoam cup while the residents and scientists around me bragged about their sleep deficits. Our department was refining a grant proposal to address inflammation in the digestive system. They had invited an immunologist from the National Institutes of Health to consult. At 8AM, the snow finally stopped. It seems now like I felt the air transmit an at-home-anywhere ease familiar to me as a native Californian even before I turned from the window and saw Dr. Polly Matzinger walk in, but that can't be right.
Polly Matzinger had been a cocktail waitress in Davis, CA. But the scientists talking shop while she served drinks got her thinking. She started asking questions, went back to school, and earned her Ph.D. in 1979. Now, more than thirty years later, she directs an immunology research lab at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Her lab is nicknamed "The Ghost Lab", because it stood empty for the first few months, while Matzinger brushed up on chaos theory.
At the head of our conference table, Dr. Matzinger slipped off her black cowboy boots, folded herself into a lotus, and told us about how watching her sheepdogs back in Davis gave her an idea that changed the field of immunology.
Her dogs barked at some strangers who came by, but not at others. They were responding not to strangeness, she realized, but to perceived danger. Dr. Matzinger’s “danger model” breaks from the traditional self-versus-other narrative of immunology.
For a century, science has used military imagery to conceptualize the immune system with tales of heroic cells conquering stealthy foreign invaders. But Matzinger realized that immune cells are more like sheepdogs than border patrol guards: they respond to proteins they deem potentially harmful, regardless of foreignness.
Stories have power in science. There is a story, a narrative, at the heart of each scientific hypothesis. The rhetoric of our culture influences which stories we tell and therefore which ideas occur to us.
The popular immunology rhetoric of wars, sentinels, foreign invaders, and moral and ethnic impurity influence which scientific hypotheses form. Moreover, this rhetoric affects how researchers and society in general respond to diseases such as AIDS and cancer. But Matzinger’s danger model is changing the direction of immunology research by re-conceiving the narrative around how our bodies protect themselves.
Further Reading (below the fold in most browsers):
About Matzinger:
The Danger Model: A Renewed Sense of Self, by Polly Matzinger. (originally published in the journal Science)
THE REAL FUNCTION OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEM or TOLERANCE AND THE FOUR D's (danger, death, destruction and distress), by Polly Matzinger
A Conversation With Polly Matzinger; Blazing an Unconventional Trail to a New Theory of Immunity, by Claudia Dreifus
On the rhetoric of immunology:
Behind a subscription wall (if you have access to a library with a JSTOR subscription, you should be able to download it):
Toward an Anthropology of Immunology: The Body as Nation State.
Emily Martin, Medical Anthropology Quarterly
New Series, Vol. 4, No. 4 (Dec., 1990), pp. 410-426
Stefan Helmreich: Flexible Infections: Computer Viruses, Human Bodies, Nation-States, Evolutionary Capitalism (PDF)
Flexible Bodies: tracking immunity in American culture from the days of Polio to the age of AIDS, by Emily Martin
Illness as metaphor ; and, AIDS and its metaphors By Susan Sontag
On the research:
David C. Holzman, New Data Cheer Champions of the Danger Theory, JNCI J Natl Cancer Inst (2010) 102 (2): 76-78.
Oxford University Press Online Resource Center: Videos of leading immunologists
NIAID's Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Immunology
(Behind a subscription wall): Polly Matzinger and Tirumalai Kamala, Tissue-based class control: the other side of tolerance Nature Reviews Immunology 11, 221-230 (March 2011)
__________________________________
Previous ALD posts: Happy Ada Lovelace Day: Telling Our Stories; Happy Ada Lovelace Day; Ada Lovelace Day
Quote of the Day
"When she started to get really vocal at first I thought she was calling to the kittens, but then it became clear that she was actually calling to me."—RSPCA inspector Jon Knight, on the rescued cat who led Knight through a garden, across a plowed field, into a farm yard, through an old farm machinery barn, and behind a stack of old wood to her litter of four kittens, so they could be rescued, too. The rest of the incredible story is here. [Via.]
Mr. Knight with Jolie the Cat.
Who Votes for These Damn People?!?!
The best that Florida State Rep. Ritch Workman (no, I didn't make that up) could come up with to help spur job growth was a bill that would repeal the state's "dwarf-tossing" ban:
"I'm on a quest to seek and destroy unnecessary burdens on the freedom and liberties of people," Workman told The Palm Beach Post. "This is an example of Big Brother government."Well, hell, if we're going to ignore exploitation as a justification for employment law, why stop there? I eagerly await Rep. Workman's proposal to repeal child labor laws ASAP.
"All that it does is prevent some dwarfs from getting jobs they would be happy to get," he added. "In this economy, or any economy, why would we want to prevent people from getting gainful employment?"
Occupy Wall Street: News Round-Up
Demonstrators supporting the Occupy Wall Street movement against corporate power protest Thursday, Oct. 6 2011, at Pioneer Square, in Portland, Ore. Demonstrators marched downtown Thursday afternoon, disrupting traffic and businesses. [AP Photo]The Guardian has a nice gallery of images here.
Paul Krugman—Confronting the Malefactors:
There's something happening here. What it is ain't exactly clear, but we may, at long last, be seeing the rise of a popular movement that, unlike the Tea Party, is angry at the right people.New York Times—Protests Offer Obama Opportunity to Gain, and Room for Pitfalls:
...With unions and a growing number of Democrats now expressing at least qualified support for the protesters, Occupy Wall Street is starting to look like an important event that might even eventually be seen as a turning point.
...Now, it's true that some of the protesters are oddly dressed or have silly-sounding slogans, which is inevitable given the open character of the events. But so what? I, at least, am a lot more offended by the sight of exquisitely tailored plutocrats, who owe their continued wealth to government guarantees, whining that President Obama has said mean things about them than I am by the sight of ragtag young people denouncing consumerism.
Bear in mind, too, that experience has made it painfully clear that men in suits not only don’t have any monopoly on wisdom, they have very little wisdom to offer. When talking heads on, say, CNBC mock the protesters as unserious, remember how many serious people assured us that there was no housing bubble, that Alan Greenspan was an oracle and that budget deficits would send interest rates soaring.
Mr. Obama, in a series of recent hard-edged speeches around the country, has channeled many of the grievances of the movement known as Occupy Wall Street: deepening economic inequity, a tax code that gives breaks to the wealthy and corporate interests and banks that profit from hidden consumer fees.David Dayen has a good piece on Obama just not getting it: "Obama also added this, approximately: 'I expended a lot of political capital to keep the banks afloat, and I have the scars to prove it. And I still think it was the right thing to do, because otherwise our economy would have been worse off.' This is the President taking ownership of TARP, which did not pass under his Presidency but which he whipped as a candidate for President in 2008. He took ownership of the extraordinary financial support given to banks as they teetered on the verge of collapse. And this is a central grievance of the protesters on Wall Street and across the country." (Emphasis original.)
Yet the president also oversaw a bailout of those banks, appointed a Treasury secretary, Timothy F. Geithner, who is viewed by the protesters as a shill for Wall Street and pushed a reform of the financial industry that many in the movement condemn as shamefully inadequate in curbing its excesses.
TPM—Geithner Dodges on Sympathy for Occupy Wall St; Expresses Shock at Wall Street Antipathy to Obama: "Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner told an audience of the country's elite Wednesday that he sympathizes with the underlying loss of faith anti-Wall Street protesters and other Americans have in the country's ruling class—though not specifically for the growing 'Occupy Wall Street' protest movement itself. But at the same time he expressed astonishment and dismay at Wall Street's loss of faith in President Obama and the administration. The juxtaposition is striking, and illustrates how at odds the anti-Wall Street movement is with the administration."
Think Progress—House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) Smears Occupy Wall Street as a "Mob": "Speaking at the social conservative Value Voters Summit today, [Cantor] maligned the Occupy Wall Street protests and the wider 99 percent movement as a 'mob' that is out to 'divide Americans': 'I for one am increasingly concerned about the growing mobs occupying Wall Street and the other cities across the country. And believe it or not, some in this town have actually condoned the pitting of Americans against Americans.' ...Cantor has—by his definition—'condoned the pitting of Americans against Americans' when he endorsed the Tea Party movement."
Video Description: Various scenes from the occupation.
Directed by Alex Mallis + Lily Henderson
Cinematography by Ed David
Edited by Lily Henderson + Alex Mallis
Assistant Camera: Andrew McMullen + Diana Eliavoz
Assistant Producers: Dana Salvatore + Jillian Mason
Titles by Jason Drakeford.
Via Occupy Wall Street.
Three Women Awarded Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize for 2011 was awarded on Friday to three campaigning women from Africa and the Arab world in acknowledgment of their nonviolent role in promoting peace, democracy and gender equality. The winners were Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf — Africa's first elected female president — her compatriot, peace activist Leymah Gbowee and Tawakul Karman of Yemen, a pro-democracy campaigner.But not an important signal to men...?
They were the first women to win the prize since Kenya's Wangari Maathai, who died last month, was named as the laureate in 2004.
Most of the recipients in the award's 110-year history have been men and Friday's decision seemed designed to give impetus to the cause for women's rights around the world.
"We cannot achieve democracy and lasting peace in the world unless women obtain the same opportunities as men to influence developments at all levels of society," said the citation read by Thorbjorn Jagland, a former Norwegian prime minister who heads the Oslo-based Nobel committee that chooses the winner of the $1.5 million prize.
In a subsequent interview, he described the prize as "a very important signal to women all over the world." (Link)
Interesting, that.
Question of the Day
Earlier today, I read that studios were already scrambling to acquire rights for a Steve Jobs biopic. No disrespect to Mr. Jobs, who was an interesting and influential guy, but it made me think about all the fascinating people who make a difference in this world with less name recognition (and less money), whose stories will never be told in the way Jobs' almost certainly will be.
So, of those unlikely candidates for major motion picture recognition: Whose biography would you love to see (but probably never will)?
(Your nominee can be living or dead. And, if you feel inspired, go ahead and cast the role, too!)
Quote of the Day
"Rick Perry is not a racist."—Senator Lindsey Graham (R-Acist).
Well. I guess that settles it then.
As I've written before, I've been bombarded with racist messaging since the day I was born, everywhere I've been in the world, and it would have to be some kind of extraordinary bit of magic if I, a human being designed to be an intellectual sponge and socialized in a culture steeped with marginalizing narratives, had absorbed none of the racism (and other bigotries) pervading my environment. Like everyone else, I've internalized those negative messages so profoundly that even those biases of which I am a target get turned in on myself. The question is not whether any of us—especially those of us with white privilege—have internalized racism; the question is whether we leave that internalized racism unexamined.
Which is why, as Pam suggested, Perry (and his pals) should not be reacting defensively to charges of racism, or privilege, but instead
just explain the truth — like many Americans, you simply didn't know any black people as peers to find the term offensive, that your parents didn't pass on the values of equality when it came to people who didn't look like you. This is part of our country's sad history; to own up to your own ignorant past — and presumably a change in mindset in the present day (now that may be a problem if it hasn't transpired, who knows) — helps generate the kind of dialogue on race that is needed. In literally trying to cover up "N*ggerhead" it's an attempt to bury the truth rather than explaining it, for good or ill.Emphasis original.
Advice for Rick Perry - just own it, dude.
Um
Secret panel can put Americans on "kill list":
American militants like Anwar al-Awlaki are placed on a kill or capture list by a secretive panel of senior government officials, which then informs the president of its decisions, according to officials.Emphasis mine. I don't even know where to begin addressing how comprehensively fucked-up this policy is, nor how absolutely disgusted I am by it. It is deeply illiberal, profoundly unjust, and fundamentally anti-democratic policy.
There is no public record of the operations or decisions of the panel, which is a subset of the White House's National Security Council, several current and former officials said. Neither is there any law establishing its existence or setting out the rules by which it is supposed to operate.
The role of the president in ordering or ratifying a decision to target a citizen is fuzzy. White House spokesman Tommy Vietor declined to discuss anything about the process.Whooooooooooooops! So much for ushering in a new era of transparency in Washington.
In an ironic turn, Obama, who ran for president denouncing predecessor George W. Bush's expansive use of executive power in his "war on terrorism," is being attacked in some quarters for using similar tactics. They include secret legal justifications and undisclosed intelligence assessments.Yeah. Ironic. That's one word for it.
Just FYI
The Jazz Butcher Conspiracy: "Peter Lorre"
Photo of the Day
I was just watching the NBC5 Chicago news at noon, and snapped this picture of the telly, as reporter/meteorologist Alicia Roman reports from outside the Wrigley Building, and Chicago's Marilyn Monroe sculpture bares her underpants in the background, still "a giant, silent avatar of non-consent, posed forever to be a sexual object for the pleasure of passers-by." And viewers of the news.
[Trigger warning for implied violence.] Since Marilyn was erected, she has repeatedly been vandalized. Two weeks ago, two men rode up to the statue on bicycles and threw red paint on her, which ran down her leg like streaks of blood.
When I was talking with Paul the Spud about that incident, I noted that it could have been a cool feminist statement, if it had been intended—and placed—as blood speaking to her womanhood and humanity. But it was instead just randomly and aggressively sloshed on her, which is a very different message indeed.
And still Marilyn stands, washed clean of the evidence of the violence done to her, showing off her bottom on the afternoon news.
Top Chef: Just Desserts Open Thread
My new apartment still doesn't have cable, so I didn't watch Top Chef: Just Desserts last night. I do have a pretty decent view of the city, though.
Last night's episode will be discussed in detail, so if you haven't seen it, and don't want any spoilers, pack your knives and go...
Swell
Chicago area expected to endure worst winter weather in nation.
Enjoy the nice weather while you can.Barrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrf.
Winter's going to clobber Chicago again, hitting us with colder than normal temperatures and nearly twice the normal amount of snowfall.
That's according to long-range forecasters at AccuWeather.com.
"People in Chicago are going to want to move after this winter," long-range meteorologist Josh Nagelberg said.
...AccuWeather forecasts 50 to 58 inches of snow for Chicago, in line with the 56 inches we got last season. But snowfall during a normal winter is closer to 30.2 inches.
Bell, Jobs, Shuttlesworth
On October 5th, America lost civil rights leaders Derrick Bell and Fred Shuttlesworth, and personal-computing innovator Steve Jobs. Condolences to their families, friends, and colleagues.
From The New York Times: "Derrick Bell walking with a group of Harvard law students after taking a voluntary unpaid leave of absence to protest the lack of tenured minority women professors." There is a personal remembrance of Professor Bell by Keith Boykin at the Huffington Post as well.
Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak building a computer in their famous garage circa the late '70s. Apple's website has a tribute to Jobs as their main page today (click on the portrait). There is more on Jobs at Wired and The New York Times
Image and caption from the Encyclopedia of Alabama: "Fred Shuttlesworth, crouching center, and Freedom Riders discuss plans at the Birmingham Greyhound Terminal after drivers refused them service." More on Reverend Shuttlesworth from The Washington Post and The New Yorker.
These men were not perfect, and my mentioning their passing is not a claim that they were. But Bell, Jobs, and Shuttlesworth each changed America, and yesterday, they died. Rest in Peace.
Occupy Wall Street: News Round-Up
[Trigger warning for police brutality.]
New York Observer—Occupy Wall Street Megamarch's Aftershocks: Senior Police Officer Beats Protesters With Baton: "A video of a lieutenant, captain or inspector-rank police office hitting protesters with a baton ... emerged from the scene [last night] near Occupy Wall Street's headquarters at Zuccotti Park in the Financial District, where police [were] barricading the protesters with metal fences in order to control the large and agitated crowd." [Below video, which shows police brutality, as described, may be upsetting.]
Via Andy, below is video of a black female police officer setting up a barricade, and she turns to say something to a white or Latino male police officer (off-screen at that point), who says, "My little nightstick's going to get a workout tonight." The person holding the camera asks, "Why?" as the female officer says what sounds like, "I've never used it." The male officer replies, "I have," and then hits the ground with it. The female officer looks visibly uncomfortable.
More video and news items below the fold...
Fox New York (that's the local NY Fox affiliate, not the conservative Fox News Channel)—Occupy Wall Street Arrests; Fox 5 Crew and Protesters Hit by Mace, Batons: "While covering the Occupy Wall Street protests on Wednesday night, Fox 5 photographer Roy Isen was hit in the eyes by pepper spray from a police officer and Fox 5 reporter Dick Brennan was hit by an officer's baton." [Below video, which shows police brutality, as described, may be upsetting.]
Raw Story—PHOTOS: Inside Occupy Wall Street at Liberty Square. A slideshow of "photos of a day with the movement."
CNN—Wall Street protests mark 20th day Thursday: "Thursday marks the 20th day of Wall Street protests and the grassroots demonstrations against income inequality, corporate greed and other social ills appear to be picking up steam. The crowds at the 'Occupy Wall Street' rally on Wednesday seemed to be the largest since the protests started. At the event, protesters and officers scuffled and New York police arrested 28 people for various offenses including one facing charges of assaulting an officer."
Esquire—What They've Come to Find at Occupy Wall Street Is America: "It is entirely possible—even likely—that the protests themselves will sink into history. Already, there's an effort underway to marginalize them in the public mind, and not entirely because so much of the media is owned and operated by the same corporate class that runs the institutions against which these protests are aimed. This a movement based on class, which, as an issue, most Americans don't much like to confront, largely because to admit that it is an issue is to admit that a great part of the American self-image is a delusion. We do not all have an equal chance. The game is rigged. The economy has been turned into a casino and the house always wins, and we are not the house any more. Not for a long time. Not by the longest shot. And if that's all these protests ever say, if that's all that ever gets shouted into the rising autumn wind, then that's an effort worth making."
In case you missed it in yesterday's blogaround: People of Color Occupy Wall Street.
Rich Yeselson, "research coordinator at Change to Win, a skilled organizer, and a thoughtful historian of social movements in America and Europe," in the WaPo—The four habits of highly successful social movements:
[T]he emergence of the Wall Street movement is a reminder that the liberal left has not in quite a few years actually driven anything like a mass social movement in this country. When Obama was elected, some people made the mistake of thinking that an election-bounded jolt of energy that conflated a charismatic candidate with a popular political vision was such a movement. Nobody thinks that anymore.The Hill—Dems rally behind Occupy Wall Street protest movement: Lots of statements; how about some boots on the ground?
The left does have something important however: a coterie of several thousand intellectuals, academics, writers, and engaged professionals who articulate liberal public policy, generate empirical and analytical expertise through the Internet, the media, and universities, and staff the offices of advocacy groups and progressive politicians on the local and national level.
The Guardian's live coverage is here.
Sarah Palin Not Running in 2012
Sad Trombone.
We're all very sad, I'm sure:
Palin made the announcement in a letter to supporters Wednesday night.As Palin's former running mate (good times) John McCain firmly redefined "maverick" to mean violent opportunist, Palin certainly fits the bill. Of course, by that definition, so does every Republican currently running for their nomination.
"After much prayer and serious consideration, I have decided that I will not be seeking the 2012 GOP nomination for President of the United States," she wrote. "As always, my family comes first and obviously Todd and I put great consideration into family life before making this decision."
...In late September, Palin said she worried running for president might "shackle" someone like her, because she was "a maverick."
Anyway! You can read her whole letter, in which she promises to "help coordinate strategies to assist in replacing the President, re-taking the Senate, and maintaining the House," here.
Question of the Day
Following up on yesterday's QotD: What's the last movie that made you cry with laughter (literally or figuratively)?
Photo of the Day
A photo snapped by an Occupy Chicago protester of the 8th floor of the Chicago Board of Trade, in the windows of which are hung signs reading: "WE ARE THE 1%."
I don't know what assholes at CBOT thought that bit of smug belligerence would be hilarious, but it's almost certainly not people who are actually part of the 1%, or anywhere close to it. Which makes that message as self-defeating as it is needlessly provocative.
[Via.]
Depp Apologizes for "Poor Choice of Words"
[Trigger warning for rape culture.]
After the Nofunningest Nofunners in all of Nofunnington complained about Johnny Depp comparing photo shoots to being raped, Depp has issued an apology:
"I am truly sorry for offending anyone in any way. I never meant to. It was a poor choice of words on my part in an effort to explain a feeling," Depp said in the statement. "I understand there is no comparison and I am very regretful. In an effort to correct my lack of judgment, please accept my heartfelt apology."Nope! Because the problem for which Depp needs to apologize isn't a "poor choice of words." It is instead a fundamental misunderstanding and repeated minimization of rape, which allows him to say bullshit like: "[Roman Polanski] is not a predator. He's 75 or 76 years old. He has got two beautiful kids, he has got a wife that he has been with for a long, long time. He is not out on the street."
When Depp wants to apologize for perpetuating the rape culture by engaging in rape apologia and using the language of sexual violence as his casual metaphor, then I'll be ready to accept his apology.
Wednesday Blogaround
This blogaround is brought to you by dendritic cells. Congratulations and farewell, Dr. Steinman.
(image source and further information)
Pam Spaulding: Big news: DNC open to funding fight against anti-gay amendments
Elizabeth at Geek Feminism: Wednesday Geek Woman: Denise Paolucci, founder of Dreamwidth
Peter Daou: Occupy Wall Street versus Tea Party: a video comparison
Paul Harris: US firms cut thousands of jobs during last tax holiday, study reveals
Janet D. Stemwedel: In which I put Stephen Colbert on notice and announce the kick-off of DonorsChoose Science Bloggers for Students 2011. [transcript of video is at the end of this blogaround]
Stuart Farrimond: The Scary New Computer Program that spots Born Leaders and Predicts Election Results!
People of Color Occupy Wall Street (via Racialicious)
And a quick reminder that Friday is Ada Lovelace Day
Share your links in comments.
Janet's YouTube video transcript:
Text on screen:
"We're not Brainiacs on the Nerd Patrol"--Stephen Colbert
"Reality has a well-known liberal bias"--Stephen Colbert
Janet: Nation, the time has come to ask the question: what is Stephen Colbert afraid of? You may have caught his september 27th interview on the Colbert Report with Melinda Gates in which he recognized that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have been supporters of Donors Choose.org for quite some time. I am happy to acknowledge that both Melinda Gates and Stephen Colbert have done much to help donors choose and have for some time, but you know who else has been helping donors choose for quite some time, someone who you will never hear Stephen Colbert mention--people who blog about science.
Text on screen:
June 2006: DonorsChoose Science Bloggers drive raised more than $26,000
October 2007: DonorsChoose Science Bloggers drive raised more than $72,000
October 2008: DonorsChoose Bloggers Challenge raised more than $47,000
October 2009: Science bloggers in DonorsChoose Social Media Challenge raised more than $90,000
October 2010: Science Bloggers for Students raised more that $41,000
Janet:
But we know how the reality based community frightens Stephen Colbert and this must be why he refuses to acknowledge the fact that science bloggers have been stepping up to support public school classrooms that need our help. What is he afraid of? what kind of power does he think we have? Sure, we have these spiffy T-shirts from past challenges, some of us--some of us have been participating in these challenges since before there were even t-shirts for them. But it's not like we can afford big fancy boards to put him on notice, we can't pipe that out to our basic cable followers. We've just got our blogs and our blog readers.
We may not be able to afford big fancy boards to put people on notice like Stephen Colbert can, but we can't afford not to take care of kids who are trying to learn math and science to become part of an educated and informed electorate of tomorrow. Which is why we're going to step up and support the schools and the projects that donors choose helps whether or not Stephen Colbert recognizes that we're here doing it. Let him get the glory, let him sling his arm around Melinda Gates. we're gonna be in the trenches making sure learning happens, and if Stephen Colbert is too afraid to cope with that, it's his problem and not ours.
Text on screen:
DonorsChoose "Science Bloggers for Students 2011" 10/2-10/22
Join the challenge or follow our progress www.donorschoose.org/sciencebloggers
Visit StephenAndMelindaGates Foundation.org to help Colbert Nation support DonorsChoose.org
See you on the nerd patrol
(and on Twitter, Facebook, G +)
#scibloggers4students
Daily Dose of Cute
"I still can't stop thinking about Tony. Wondering where he could be, who he is with, what is he
thinking, is he thinking of me, and whether he'll ever return someday."
Quote of the Day
"There isn't even any coherent theory why austerity 'should' be working. It's just: 1) suffering 2) ?? 3) profit!!!"—Atrios.
I'm no accredited economist like Atrios, but I'm pretty sure there is a coherent theory of why austerity should be working, which goes a little something like this: "Because unicorn farts, no doy."
It's economics. Look it up.
Domestic Violence Awareness Month
Thanks to the massive pinkwashing of Breast Cancer Awareness, just about everyone knows about one awareness campaign for October. So it's not without irony that most people don't know that Oct is also Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
Domestic violence occurs within every class, age group, race, and religion. It happens within same and different sex partnerships. It happens whether people are married, living together, or dating. Approximately one in four women has been a victim of domestic violence. Too often society--like with rape--places the blame on the victim and not the perpetrator. We need to change that.
What is it?*
Physical Abuse It isn't "only" hitting, slapping, choking, shoving. It also is using the body to intimidate. Physical abuse is also causing fear and intimidation via punching holes in walls/doors and throwing objects. It is intentionally scaring a partner by driving unsafely. It is preventing a partner from leaving their home.
Sexual Abuse When a person submits to sexual acts out of fear or coercion, it is rape. Capitulation does not equal consent. If a partner must "give in" because of fear of the consequences of saying no: that is part of sexual abuse. Remember: You always, ALWAYS, have a right to say no. Married or not. "Been a long time" or not. Always and without fear.
Emotional Abuse It is real--not being hit or raped doesn't mean not being abused. Emotional abusers isolate their victims. Emotional abusers will use emotional blackmail, guilt, and shame to get victims to stay and may threaten suicide if they leave. They verbally assault their partners with name-calling, mockery, public & private humiliation, and threats. They may expect their partners to ask their "permission" to do things. Emotional abusers can also be ones who constantly "know what's best" and blows up/rages if their partner doesn't submit to their "advice" (control). Economic abuse is a sub-category of emotional abuse: abusers use the finances to exert control over their partners.
If you are in an abusive situation (physical or not) you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline (US & Canada): 1-800-799-SAFE or see their site (they have a great list of resources on their site, as well)
RAINN is a particular resource for those who are being sexually abused: 1.800.656.HOPE or see their site
*Not intended to be a comprehensive listing
Support the Troops
Pat at Think Progress: Lawsuit Alleges Nation's Biggest Banks Defrauded Veterans.
According to a whistleblower lawsuit, some of the nation's biggest banks, including Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and J.P. Morgan Chase, "defrauded veterans and taxpayers out of hundreds of millions of dollars by disguising illegal fees in veterans' home refinancing loans." Under VA rules, mortgage lenders are not allowed to charge attorney's fees, so the banks allegedly instructed mortgage brokers "not to show attorney's fees on their estimates, but to add them to the title examination fee." The plaintiffs in the case claim that 90 percent of refinanced loans to veterans included the illegal fee.Yes, that whole Occupy Wall Street thing is a real mystery.
Personal Update
It seems as though the back pain and mobility issues I've been experiencing may be due to a herniated disk, so I'm still on bed rest. Because of my complicated back issues, aka Having a Back Made of Garbage, the last time I herniated a disk, I ended up needing surgery and a 5-day hospital stay, which I am obviously trying desperately to avoid. That means posting will continue to be lighter than usual for the next few days, at least.
I'm really not particularly good at self-care, to be honest, because I always feel like I'm disappointing someone, but, for a change, I'm trying to be smart about prioritizing getting better, lolsob.
Anyway! My apologies for the lighter content, and, again, I'm very sorry for having to cancel this weekend's meet-up. I'll reschedule it as soon as I'm able.
Occupy Wall Street: News Round-Up
Here's some of what I've been reading this morning...
CNN—Unions endorse, will join Occupy Wall Street protests:
[T]he Massachusetts Nurses Association says hundreds of the city's nurses will rally with the Occupy Boston protesters on Wednesday. The association says the protest will be part of the opening day activities for a national nursing convention in Boston.CBS—Reinforcements to bolster Wall St. protests: "Among those planning to join the clamor are the liberal group MoveOn.org and community organizations like the Working Families Party and United NY. The growing crowd will also include members of the Chinatown Tenants Union and the Transit Workers Union, signaling that the protest is showing no signs of losing steam."
In New York, several unions endorsed the Occupy Wall Street movement and plan to join the protesters' street theater Wednesday, labor leaders said.
"It's really simple. These young people on Wall Street are giving voice to many of the problems that working people in America have been confronting over the last several years," said Larry Hanley, international president of the Amalgamated Transit Union, which has 20,000 members in the New York area.
"These young people are speaking for the vast majority of Americans who are frustrated by the bankers and brokers who have profited on the backs of hard-working people," Hanley added in a statement. "While we battle it out day after day, month after month, the millionaires and billionaires on Wall Street sit by -- untouched -- and lecture us on the level of our sacrifice."
David Callahan at Reuters—Occupy Wall Street's message: more than a sound bite:
Pop quiz: What's so bad about the financialization of the U.S. economy over recent decades?Leo Kapakos in the Examiner—Occupy Wall Street protestors a lot smarter then portrayed:
If you're like most people who are uneasy with the outsized power of finance, chances are you can't boil down your concerns to a pithy sound bite. So why is there such ridicule of the protesters "occupying" Wall Street for lacking a coherent message?
Three years after the 2008 financial crisis, it is still hard to neatly encapsulate the problem with letting bankers and traders dominate American economic life. Once Congress passed the Dodd-Frank reform law last year, most political leaders and commentators moved on to other issues, leaving behind an unfinished debate about Wall Street's influence.
Now, thanks to protests in New York and a growing list of other cities, this debate is percolating once more. And guess what: the supposedly incoherent protesters actually have a pretty strong critique of what is wrong with America's financialized economy.
Yesterday, this writer visited Occupy Wall Street to show support and solidarity with my fellow Americans. Hundreds of Americans from all classes and ethnicities, poor and middle-class, union workers and non-union workers were there in solidarity. They were demonstrating against an economic system in which the wealthy continue to prosper and gain power at the expense of the poor and middle-class. The common sentiment is that the current economic system and tax policies have benefited only those at the top but hasn't kept the American Dream alive for the poor and middle class who have fallen behind.Alexander Vatutin at The Voice of Russia—"American spring" on Wall Street: "Experts are at one believing that Barack Obama will lend an ear to the protesters' voices for the sake of his rating but hardly anything will change in his policy. The more so in conditions when an overwhelming majority of Americans are used to building their lives within the limits of the system and traditionally do not respond to revolutionary appeals."
...I spoke to a college grad Jerry from Queens, New York who had a lot to say and did a great job of summarizing the general sentiments of the protesters. I asked Jerry why he was there and his thoughts of the criticism from the right that this is just class warfare and hate for the rich and the corporations?
Jerry responded, "To them it's only class warfare when it applies to us. The class warfare has been against the poor and middle class in the country since Reagan. The gap between the rich and poor (income inequality) peaked just before the New Deal. After the New Deal and World War 2 up until Ronald Reagan the gap narrowed. Since Reagan, the rich have experienced a surge of power from tax cuts and the globalization of the economy that has enriched them and their businesses. They used that power to get more tax cuts, hire the most expensive accountants to find tax loopholes, and park their cash in tax havens. Despite the Bush tax cuts did they hire U.S. workers? No they shipped jobs overseas. Meanwhile, corporate profits and CEO salaries have surged while the average salary for the working class American has stagnated. Many have lost their jobs. Trickle–down economics has not trickled down. We have been cutting taxes for the rich for the last 30 years and they have walked away with the prize."
He then pointed to a lot of the younger college –age kids in the park and said, "Do you see all these college grads in here – most of them can't find work. You're even lucky to finish school today with all the education cuts the Republicans want to make. I feel sorry for the young kids in the poor neighborhoods. My sister is a teacher in Bed Sty (Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn). They're cutting teachers and after-school programs left and right. A lot of those kids will wind up hanging out with the wrong crowd and getting into trouble and many never go back to school. Do you thing corporate CEOs think about that when they cry that they pay enough already (in taxes)? No. They care about exercising their stock options. That's all they care about."
Well-said Jerry from Queens, well-said.
Washington Post—"Occupy Wall Street" protesters sue New York City: "Wall Street protesters arrested in a march across the Brooklyn Bridge Oct. 1 filed a lawsuit claiming New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the police commissioner violated their constitutional rights. Five of the protesters, seeking to represent about 700 people arrested in the march, filed a civil rights complaint in federal court in Manhattan today. The protesters claimed officers from the New York City Police Department lured them onto the bridge's roadway to trap and arrest them."
Occupy Wall Street: How You Can Help.
Question of the Day
What's the last movie that made you cry (or, if you're not the blubbing sort, the last movie that hit you in that spot)?
Well, That Was Fast
The jobs bill is effectively dead.
Hey, remember how House Republicans claimed, upon recapturing the majority in the last election, that their number one priority was jobs? Good times.
Quote of the Day
"Citibank will soon charge $15 a month for checking accounts with less than $6,000. Finally someone is sticking it to those people with less than $6,000. About time. Great job."—Jimmy Fallon, in his monologue last night.
lolsob forever.
Breaking Bad Open Thread
Skyler and Walt have a moment.
Sunday's episode will be discussed in infinitesimal detail, so if you haven't seen it, and don't want any spoilers, take your cigarettes and move along...
Recommended Reading
[Trigger warning for rape culture.]
Cath Elliot: Facebook is fine with hate speech, as long as it's directed at women.
The specific clause in Facebook's statement of rights and responsibilities that's supposed to protect groups against violence and hate speech instructs the user: "You will not post content that: is hateful, threatening, or pornographic; incites violence; or contains nudity or graphic or gratuitous violence." However, Facebook has now defended the numerous pages that clearly violate these terms by claiming: "Groups that express an opinion on a state, institution, or set of beliefs – even if that opinion is outrageous or offensive to some – do not by themselves violate our policies." Which is strange, because if a page entitled "Roses are red, violets are blue, I've got a knife, get in the van" isn't hateful, threatening or gratuitously violent, I don't for the life of me know what is.Presumably, Facebook is also just fine with rape humor directed at men, too, because it's typically directed at men who "don't matter," like incarcerated men, gay/bi men, trans* men, etc.
I Write Letters
[Trigger warning for sexual violence.]
Dear Johnny Depp:
Since your despicable rape apologia on behalf of your pal Roman Polanski, I've had no illusions that you are anything but an epic failmonster on the subject of sexual violence, but even despite my subterranean basement garbage expectations, my breath was taken away by your casual comparison of photo shoots to rape: "Well, you just feel like you're being raped somehow. Raped. It feels like a kind of weird—just weird, man."
No, Mr. Depp. Sitting for a photo shoot to which you have consented does not feel like being raped.
What a privilege you have to not know what a terrible comparison that truly is.
Contemptuously,
Liss
Open Thread & News Round-Up: Debt Negotiations
Here's some of what I've been reading this morning...
We Are the 99 Percent.
Nathan Schneider in The Nation—Occupy Wall Street: FAQ.
Michael Scherer in Time—Occupy Wall Street: A Tea Party for the Left?
In its broadest outlines, this new outpouring of protest is driven by the same fuel that gave fire to the Tea Party: Anger at elites, a feeling of injustice, a concern about jobs, fear about the direction of the economy and a clear desire to take action. Whereas the Tea Party focused these furies on government, Occupy Wall Street focuses the fury on corporate America. It seems, quite simply, to be the left's answer to the right's size-of-government critique that has dominated national politics for the last two years. "If you are like me and you see the Tea Party on the television and the news all the time, and you wonder why the hell isn't there a radical left answer to the Tea Party, you should be here," says one participant, in a YouTube documentary of the Wall Street event, which is worth watching.David Graeber, one of the initial organizers of the Occupy Wall Street protest: "In New York, according to law, any unpermitted assembly of more than 12 people is illegal in New York. Space itself is not an openly available resource. But the one resource that isn't scarce is smart people with ideas. So we're trying to reframe things away from the rhetoric of demands to a questions of visions and solutions."
...No one knows what will happen next, but chances are better than even that more and more Americans will be taking an active role in making it happen. That is, after all, how politics works these days.
Lee Fang at Think Progress—Top 5 Reasons Why The Occupy Wall Street Protests Embody Values Of The Real Boston Tea Party.
New York Times—Anti-Wall Street Protests Spreading to Cities Large and Small:
A loose-knit populist campaign that started on Wall Street three weeks ago has spread to dozens of cities across the country, with protesters camped out in Los Angeles near City Hall, assembled before the Federal Reserve Bank in Chicago and marching through downtown Boston to rally against corporate greed, unemployment and the role of financial institutions in the economic crisis.Greg Sargent in the WaPo—White House on Occupy Wall Street: "We understand": "The story here is not what the White House said but that it was asked to weigh in on the protests at all—another sign of the remarkable speed with which it has grown from a crowd chanting at police two weeks ago."
...Publicity surrounding the recent arrests of hundreds in New York, near Wall Street and on the Brooklyn Bridge, has only energized the campaign. This week, new rallies and in some cases urban encampments are planned for cities as disparate as Memphis, Tenn.; Hilo, Hawaii; Minneapolis; Baltimore; and McAllen, Tex., according to Occupy Together, an unofficial hub for the protests that lists dozens of coming demonstrations, including some in Europe and Japan.
In the nation's capital, an Occupy D.C. movement began on Saturday, with plans to join forces on Thursday with a similar anticorporate and antiwar group, October 2011, for an encampment in a park near the White House.
Drew Grant in the New York Observer—Exclusive: Occupy Wall Street Activist Slams Fox News Producer In Un-Aired Interview [Video + Transcript].
The Guardian's live coverage is here.
Question of the Day
For the purposes of this question, all the bills are paid, your savings are in good shape, and a generous benefactor has handed you cash with instructions to spoil yourself: What's your favorite way to spend $20?
Meet-Up Cancellation
My sincerest apologies, but the meet-up scheduled for this Saturday will have to be cancelled due to my health problems, as I still cannot sit for more than about 10 minutes at a time. I'm so sorry for the late notice, and I promise to reschedule as soon as possible.
Important Announcement
"Oh yeah. You blend."
Mona Lisa Vito is one of the greatest characters ever committed to film. That is all.
GOP Attempting to De-fund Planned Parenthood (& NPR) ... and Title X.
Late last week, Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-MT), the chairman of the House Labor, Health, and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee, released draft legislation (.pdf) that eliminates funding Planned Parenthood by name, threatening that unless the organization eliminates all abortion care services there won't be any federal money. While at it, the legislation also eliminates any funding for NPR (among other things).
It is a very long read but here is the relevant section on Planned Parenthood:
SEC. 524. None of the funds made available by this Act may be made available for any purpose to Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. or any affiliate or clinic of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. unless such entities certify that Planned Parenthood Federation of America affiliates and clinics will not perform, and will not provide any funds to any other entity that performs, an abortion.
(1) This limitation shall not apply to an abortion:
(A) if the pregnancy is the result of an act of rape or incest; or
(B) in the case where a woman suffers from a physical disorder, physical injury, or physical illness that would, as certified by a physician, place the woman in danger of death unless an abortion is performed, including a life-endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself.
(2) The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall seek repayment of any Federal assistance received by Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc., or any affiliate or clinic of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc., if it violates the terms of the certification required by this section.
And here is NPR:
CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTINGBut what I also want to call your attention to is are these bits (emphasis mine):
Of the funds provided to the ‘‘Corporation for Public Broadcasting’’ in title IV of division D of Public Law 111– 8 117 for fiscal year 2012, $6,000,000 shall support the digitization program: Provided, That none of the funds made available to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting 11 in title IV of division D of Public Law 111–117 for fiscal year 2012 may be used to pay dues to, acquire programs from, or otherwise support National Public Radio.
SEC. 209. None of the funds appropriated in this Act may be made available to any entity under title X of the PHS Act unless the applicant for the award certifies to the Secretary of Health and Human Services that it encourages family participation in the decision of minors to seek family planning services and that it provides counseling to minors on how to resist attempts to coerce minors into engaging in sexual activities.So if none of the funds appropriated in this enormous fiscal Act can pay for Title X...just what funds are going to pay for Title X? You can check out just what Title X does for where you live here.
[...]
SEC. 222. None of the funds appropriated in this Act may be used to carry-out title X of the PHS Act.
Here are some random bits I found as I was scanning:
(D) No funds shall be available for the Green Jobs Innovation Fund;I don't even know what to say to this crap. Ugh.
[...]
SEC. 112. None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to administer, implement, or promote the Department of Labor program known as ‘‘Bridge to Justice’’ or any similar attorney referral program that refers individuals with complaints relating to employment violations to private attorneys.
SEC. 113. None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to continue the development of or to promulgate the Right to Know Under the Fair Labor Standards Act regulation (Regulatory Identification Number 11 1235-AA04) being developed by the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor.
[...]
SEC. 122. None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to continue the development of or to promulgate, administer, enforce, or otherwise implement the Lowering Miners’ Exposure to Coal Mine Dust, Including Continuous Personal Dust Monitors regulation (Regulatory Identification Number 1219-AB64) being developed by the Mine Safety and Health Administration of the Department of Labor.
[...]
SEC. 219. None of the funds made available in this title may be used, in whole or in part, to advocate or promote gun control.
[...]
SEC. 503. (a) No part of any appropriation contained in this or any other Act shall be used, other than for normal and recognized executive legislative relationships, for publicity or propaganda purposes, for the preparation, distribution, or use of any kit, pamphlet, booklet, publication, electronic communication, radio, television, or video presentation designed to support or defeat the enactment of legislation before the Congress or any State or local legislature or legislative body, except in presentation to the Congress or any State or local legislature itself or designed to support or defeat any proposed or pending regulation, administrative action, or order issued by the Executive Branch of any State or local government;
(b) No part of any appropriation contained in this Act shall be used to pay the salary or expenses of any grant or contract recipient, or agent acting for such recipient, related to any activity designed to influence the enactment of legislation, appropriations, regulation, administrative action, or executive order proposed or pending before the Congress or any State government, State legislature or local legislature or legislative body;
(c) The prohibitions in paragraphs (a) and (b) shall include any activity to advocate or promote any pending or future Federal, state or local tax increase or any pending or future requirement or restriction on any legal consumer product, including its sale or marketing, including but not limited to the study, advocacy and promotion of gun control;
This is, apparently, the product of the GOP, not the whole committee:
"[The] draft injects a whole host of new, contentious legislative issues into the process," said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, a Connecticut Democrat. "If these documents represent the position that Chairman Rehberg intends to take into negotiations with the Senate, it looks like we're in for a long, difficult process."Seems to me this is regular order...for the GOP.
Democrats on the Appropriations Committee criticized Republicans for relegating them to the "role of bystanders."
Rep. Norm Dicks, the ranking Democrat, said in a statement Thursday that the draft bill was Rehberg's product, not the committee as a whole. The draft had yet to be marked up during the committee process and that "regular order has been short-circuited."
Monday Blogaround
This blogaround brought to you by sparrows.
Recommended Reading:
Hena: Brown Power at Occupy Wall Street!
Out Man Out: About That Extra-Protection Money…
Lee: Koch Industries Bribed Foreign Officials, Sold Petrochemical Equipment to Iran
Pam: [TW for racism] I wonder who wasn't welcome at Rick Perry's 'N*ggerhead' family hunting camp?
Andy: UK Passports Update 'Mother' and 'Father' Language to Accommodate Gay Parents
Michelle: [TW discussion of eating/disordered eating] Eating and Permission
Leave your links and recommendations in comments...
Two-Minute Nostalgia Sublime
Sheep On Drugs: "15 Minutes of Fame"
(Trigger warning for anyone that may experience photosensitive epilepsy.)
Photo of the Day
"This lady joined in because she had her house foreclosed upon."—Julia La Roche, in her pictorial "The Truth about Spending All Night and Day Protesting Wall Street."
Quote of the Day
"The study of the Bible has many rewards. I'm not sure that God intended a lube discount to be among its many riches."—Dallas attorney Andy Siegel, who nonetheless notes that Plano, Texas business owner Charlie Whittington's offer of discounted oil changes in exchange for customers quoting a Bible verse, is legal.
[Via.]
Occupy Wall Street: News Round-Up
globalrevolution on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free
Above, the live stream of the goings-on at the Occupy Wall Street protest. Below, some of what I've been reading this morning...
Occupy Wall Street Protesters General Assembly—Declaration of the Occupation of New York City:
As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not lose sight of what brought us together. We write so that all people who feel wronged by the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your allies.Reuters—More than 700 arrested in Wall Street protest: "Police reopened the Brooklyn Bridge Saturday evening after more than 700 anti-Wall Street protesters were arrested for blocking traffic lanes and attempting an unauthorized march across the span. ... Witnesses described a chaotic scene on the famous suspension bridge as a sea of police officers surrounded the protesters using orange mesh netting. Some protesters tried to get away as officers started handcuffing members of the group. Dozens of protesters were seen handcuffed and sitting on the span as three buses were called in to take them away, witnesses and organizers said."
As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power. We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments. We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known.
They have taken our houses through an illegal foreclosure process, despite not having the original mortgage.
They have taken bailouts from taxpayers with impunity, and continue to give Executives exorbitant bonuses.
They have perpetuated inequality and discrimination in the workplace based on age, the color of one's skin, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation.
They have poisoned the food supply through negligence, and undermined the farming system through monopolization.
They have profited off of the torture, confinement, and cruel treatment of countless animals, and actively hide these practices.
They have continuously sought to strip employees of the right to negotiate for better pay and safer working conditions.
They have held students hostage with tens of thousands of dollars of debt on education, which is itself a human right.
They have consistently outsourced labor and used that outsourcing as leverage to cut workers' healthcare and pay.
They have influenced the courts to achieve the same rights as people, with none of the culpability or responsibility.
They have spent millions of dollars on legal teams that look for ways to get them out of contracts in regards to health insurance.
They have sold our privacy as a commodity.
They have used the military and police force to prevent freedom of the press.
They have deliberately declined to recall faulty products endangering lives in pursuit of profit.
They determine economic policy, despite the catastrophic failures their policies have produced and continue to produce.
They have donated large sums of money to politicians, who are responsible for regulating them.
They continue to block alternate forms of energy to keep us dependent on oil.
They continue to block generic forms of medicine that could save people's lives or provide relief in order to protect investments that have already turned a substantial profit.
They have purposely covered up oil spills, accidents, faulty bookkeeping, and inactive ingredients in pursuit of profit.
They purposefully keep people misinformed and fearful through their control of the media.
They have accepted private contracts to murder prisoners even when presented with serious doubts about their guilt.
They have perpetuated colonialism at home and abroad. They have participated in the torture and murder of innocent civilians overseas.
They continue to create weapons of mass destruction in order to receive government contracts.*
To the people of the world,
We, the New York City General Assembly occupying Wall Street in Liberty Square, urge you to assert your power.
Exercise your right to peaceably assemble; occupy public space; create a process to address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone.
To all communities that take action and form groups in the spirit of direct democracy, we offer support, documentation, and all of the resources at our disposal.
Join us and make your voices heard!
* These grievances are not all-inclusive.
Bloomberg BusinessWeek—Wall Street protesters: We're in for the long haul: "Protesters who have been camping out in Manhattan's Financial District say their movement has grown and become more organized, and they have no intention of stopping as they move into their third week, following the second weekend in a row of mass arrests."
Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times—The Bankers and the Revolutionaries: "The protesters are dazzling in their Internet skills, and impressive in their organization. The square is divided into a reception area, a media zone, a medical clinic, a library and a cafeteria. The protesters' Web site includes links allowing supporters anywhere in the world to go online and order pizzas (vegan preferred) from a local pizzeria that delivers them to the square. In a tribute to the ingenuity of capitalism, the pizzeria quickly added a new item to its menu: the 'OccuPie special'."
Cavan Sieczkowski in the International Business Times—Occupy Wall Street Protest: 'Lost Generation' Still Lost? "When 700 people were arrested Saturday on the Brooklyn Bridge, Erin Larkins was there. Larkins, a Columbia University graduate student at who says she and her boyfriend have significant student loan debt, told The AP that a friend persuaded her to join the march and she is glad she did. 'I don't think we're asking for much, just to wake up every morning not worrying whether we can pay the rent, or whether our next meal will be rice and beans again. No one is expecting immediate change. I think everyone is just hopeful that people will wake up a bit and realize that the more we speak up, the more the people that do have the authority to make changes in this world listen,' she wrote in an email."
Open Thread
This week's open threads have been hosted by things that are red and made of plastic.
