Tuesday, May 22, 2012

NDAA: Business as USual

Put a frog into a pot of boiling water, the well-known parable begins, and out that frog will jump to escape the obvious danger. Put that same frog into cool water and heat the pot slowly, and it will not react until it’s too late.

The survival instincts of a frog, we’re told, are better designed to discern abrupt changes. Gradual transformation—like the measured raising of water temperature—can sneak up on the little croaker.

I was reminded of the proverbial frog back on December 31, 2011, when President Obama signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act For Fiscal Year 2012 (NDAA).

The frog fable bubbled back up the surface in mid-May when Federal district Judge Katherine B. Forrest, in the Southern District of New York, issued an injunction against the use of Section 1021 of NDAA because it was “facially unconstitutional” and could violate the 1st Amendment.

Read my new article here

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One of my recent OWS photos:

No Nukes

More new OWS-ish photos here

More new photos here

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New OWS video:

I was asked to create a slideshow of my photos for a new OWS song/video. Here’s the result:


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Posted on 05/22 at 11:20 AM
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Saturday, May 19, 2012

Occupy for All Species

As I made my way down 30th Avenue, I saw a butcher standing in front of his shop—chatting amiably with passersby—his white frock stained deep red with blood.

He was casually standing there—as he does every day—drenched in the blood of a murdered creature but essentially nobody chose to notice the crimson splatter. Those that did notice, well, they didn’t even flinch.

Behind the butcher, sheep carcasses hung from large hooks in the window...their bulging lifeless eyes seemed to stare accusingly at the butcher’s back. He didn’t appear to notice. Essentially nobody noticed and those that did, well, they didn’t even flinch.

Read my new article here

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One of my recent OWS photos:

Freedom Cage™ for one

More new OWS (etc.) photos here

Some new non-OWS photos here

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My OWS 8-month slideshow:

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Posted on 05/19 at 05:18 AM
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Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Ah-Anti-Anti-Capitalista: Insatiable is not sustainable

I often wonder what the cops, passersby, media types, etc. are thinking when occupiers break into the joyous song/dance of ah-anti-anti-capitalista.

Here in the Land of the Free™, we are consciously conditioned to worship capitalism (and capitalists) so I’ll bet some outsiders perceive such a chant as a very convenient excuse to dismiss Occupy Wall Street (OWS) as—pick one—naïve, anarchist, communist, socialist, anti-American, selfish, lazy, or “too radical.”

Losing potential allies might lead some to ditch any blatant anti-capitalism slogans but what if we instead put in the time and effort to explain the simple—and I do mean simple—reasoning behind such sentiment?

Read my new article here

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New photo:

May 14 animal rights panel @ Brecht Forum

More event photos here

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Posted on 05/15 at 04:36 AM
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