“The inherent principles of human existence are summed up in the single law of solidarity. This is the golden rule of humanity, and may be formulated thus: no person can recognise or realise his or her own humanity except by recognising it in others and so cooperating for its realisation by each and all. No man can emancipate himself save by emancipating with him all the men about him.”
Mikhail Bakunin
The Declaration of Independence for what became the United States holds, “That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends [Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness], it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it… .” It would be more precise, however, to say that it is not the Right of the People, nor even their responsibility, but instead something more like breathing — something that if we fail to do we die.
If we as a People fail to rid our community of destructive institutions, they will destroy our community. If we as a community cannot provide meaningful and non-destructive ways for people to gain food, clothing, and shelter, then we must recognize it’s not just destructive institutions but the entire economic system pushing the natural world past breaking points. Once we’ve recognized the destructiveness of this economic system we’ve no choice, unless we wish to sign our own and our children’s death warrants, but to fight for all we’re worth and in every way we can to overturn it. There is nothing else to do.
You can ask: by quoting the Declaration of Independence am I calling for revolution, to which I will respond that the answer should be clear. You can ask, then, if this means that I am calling for the overthrow of the United States and other governments, to which I will respond that this question comes far, far, far too late. For the governments were long since overthrown, and those who overthrew them are known as ExxonMobil, British Petroleum, Halliburton, Monsanto, ADM, Wal-Mart, Massey Coal, Goldman Sachs, Citibank. They are the real governors, and the United States and other governments are wholly-owned subsidiaries, brought to you by McDonald’s, Pfizer, and Lockheed Martin.
So then you can ask, am I advocating the overthrow of governments that are by, for, and of corporations, advocating the overthrow of corporate states, to which I will say, “Hell, yes.”
- Derrick Jensen, speech at Occupy DC
Cold Plasma Flourishes In Earth’s Upper AtmosphereThousands of miles above Earth, space weather rules. Here storms of high-energy particles mix the atmosphere, create auroras, challenge satellites and even cause disturbances with electric grids and electronic devices below. It’s a seemingly empty and lonely place — one where a mystery called “cold plasma” has been found in abundance and may well have implications with our connection to the Sun.
The mysterious SocProf, who writes The Global Sociology Blog, offered a nice review of Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett‘s book, The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better. Wilkinson and Pickett offer transnational research showing how, exactly, income inequality is related to bad outcomes on average. In other words, as SocProf puts it, ”…egalitarianism is not a bleeding heart’s wet dream but rather the only rational course of action in terms of public policy.” The 11 graphs, available at the Equality Trust website, speak for themselves.
Societies with more income inequality have higher infant death rates than other societies:
Societies with more income inequality have higher rates of mental illness than other societies:
Societies with more income inequality have a higher incidence of drug use than other societies:
Societies with more income inequality have a higher high school drop out rate than other societies:
Societies with more income inequality imprison a larger proportion of their population than other societies:
Societies with more income inequality have a higher rate of obesity than other societies:
Individuals in societies with more income inequality are less likely to be in a different class of than their parents compared to other societies:
Individuals in societies trust others less than people in other societies:
Societies with more income inequality have higher rates of homicide than other societies:
Societies with more income inequality give less in foreign aid than other societies:
Children in societies with more income inequality do less well than children in other societies:
We need pictures of this.
LOS ANGELES (CBS) — If you notice a heavy military presence around downtown Los Angeles this week, don’t be alarmed — it’s only a drill.
Joint military training exercises will be held evenings through Thursday, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
The LAPD will be providing support for the exercises, which will also be held in other portions of the greater Los Angeles area, police said.
Training sites “have been carefully selected to ensure the event does not negatively impact the citizens of Los Angeles and their daily routine,” a department official said.
The training, which a department official said would involve helicopters, has been coordinated with local authorities and owners of the
training sites, police said.Police said safety precautions have been taken to prevent risk to the general public and military personnel involved.
The exercises are closed to the public, police said.
The exercises are designed to ensure the military’s ability to operate in urban environments, prepare forces for upcoming overseas deployments, and meet mandatory training certification requirements, police said.
topernic is a voice that only wants attention for the message, therefore the pseudonymity. Also, I think he may be a little crazy.
This is not advice, it’s a directive: Tomorrow Intro
