Corporatism

Let’s Make Capitalism a Dirty Word

March 7, 2014 Carl Gibson, www.HuffingtonPost.com Educate! Capitalism, Corporatism, Occupy, Wall Street

In return for all their hard work, Americans who aren't executives or shareholders are paid just enough to meet basic needs like food, clothing, and shelter. Under the capitalist system, the majority of life for today's average American before retirement is spent pursuing profits that will never be shared with them. And because capitalists like Pete Peterson and the Koch Brothers are so determined to weaken Social Security in the pursuit of ever-increasing profits, even retirement is unstable. As a system predicated on the need to grow endlessly and never stagnate, capitalism is doomed to fail. I've written previously about how capitalism is currently in its endgame, similar to the endgame of Monopoly, where one player has accumulated nearly all of the property and money, and all the other players are afraid to make any moves at all, lest they land on the wrong square and are destroyed by debt.

Dow Chemical Backed Anti-Union Nonprofit With $2 Million

March 7, 2014 Michael Beckel, www.occupy.com Educate! Corporatism, Government

"Dow Chemical Co. steered $2 million to a Michigan “dark money” nonprofit in 2012 whose ads helped defeat a union-backed ballot measure aimed at protecting collective bargaining rights, the Center for Public Integrity has learned. The giant chemical maker was one of several corporations that helped finance a web of so-called “social welfare” nonprofits and trade associations that are active in politics but not legally obligated to publicly identify their funders[…]Ahead of the 2012 election, unions pushed for a ballot measure that would have enshrined collective bargaining rights in the state constitution. The top underwriters of the ballot measure’s opposition were the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and the Michigan Alliance for Business Growth."

Breaking: Indigenous Activists from Sixint Nation Arrested at Slocan County Logging Site:

March 7, 2014 Greg Nesteroff / Nelson Star, earthfirstjournal.org Resist! Corporatism, Environment, Indigenous Rights

Yesterday James suggested she and others would return to the site at daybreak to protect cultural sites in their traditional territory. “I’m a Sinixt woman within Sinixt territory,” she said. “I have to uphold my responsibilities to my society. We’re doing our cultural practices and they’re trying to turn us into criminals.” Little, who was not present when the arrests were made, said a number of other people were also on site when police arrived but stood aside when asked. He was not sure whether the Crown would proceed with civil or criminal contempt of court charges. “We will be patrolling the area and monitoring it,” he said. “If the company is blocked we will respond.” The injunction, which BC Supreme Court Justice Mark McEwan extended until June 30, bars anyone from interfering with Galena Contracting of Nakusp, which has a contract with BC Timber Sales to extend the Perry Ridge forest service road eight kilometers and harvest about 5,000 cubic meters of wood.

You Call This A Middle Class? “I’m Trying Not to Lose My House”

March 5, 2014 Edward McClelland, www.Alternet.org Educate! Corporatism, Finance and the Economy, Housing, Human Rights

“I wasn’t rich, but I felt like I had a life,” she said — as good a definition of middle class as any. That November, the company announced it was moving its office to Cleveland. All the employees were invited to go along. All declined, including Brown, who had lived in Chicago her entire adult life, since arriving to attend college. Having been laid off, Brown was eligible for unemployment benefits — which she figured would last until she found a new job. The last time she’d looked, in 1999, she’d found work right away. Despite sending out “hundreds of résumés each week,” Brown couldn’t land a full-time job. At age 46, with every month of unemployment making her less attractive to employers, she was wondering whether she ever would. She exhausted her 401K, and only a sympathetic landlord, who cut the rent to $800 a month, allowed Brown to hang on to her one-bedroom apartment. Brown’s benefits were cut off in July 2013, as a result of the federal government sequester. Two months later, she took a job as a telephone survey interviewer, for $8.50 an hour — 25 cents above the Illinois minimum wage.

Veolia’s Other Offenses

March 4, 2014 Staff, www.globalexchange.org Educate! Corporatism, Environment, Finance and the Economy, Food and Agriculture

Profits over people... Veolia is the largest water privatization business in the world, and has come under attack by water rights activists for many of its contracts that reveal consistent prioritization of private profit at the expense of the environment and public interest. See the 2011 report by Food & Water Watch for more information. While public facilities are accountable to the public, often creating increased transparency and efficiency, private facilities are not. If a company chooses to abuse its privilege by hiking up price rates or cutting costs in ways that are detrimental to the public, it is much more difficult to fight. Worldwide, consumers report that Veolia consistently charges high rates, provides poor service, and fails to make promised improvements.

How To Take On Comcast In Your Neighborhood

February 28, 2014 Christopher, www.muninetworks.org Create! Corporatism, Economic Democracy, Internet Freedom

While Comcast focuses on increasing its market power rather than improving services in the communities it monopolizes, no one should be surprised that we are seeing a surge in interest for building community owned networks. We've heard from many people who want to learn how they can start - more than we can always respond to, unfortunately. We are working on a resource to answer many of those questions, but it always boils down to 2 things: building a supportive network of people and getting informed. Get the word out - especially to local business leaders and anyone else who may be supportive. There are many potential business models and financing opportunities, but some will work better than others in each community. That said, there are some basics that every community should be immediately considering.

Why The Comcast-Netflix Deal Should Worry You

February 24, 2014 Craig Aaron and S. Derek Turner, www.freepress.net Educate! Corporatism, Internet Freedom

On Sunday, Netflix agreed to pay Comcast an undisclosed amount to ensure that its videos stream smoothly to Comcast customers. But fans of Francis Underwood’s manipulations on House of Cards might want to temper their celebrations. This is more than a deal between two giant companies: It will affect everyone who uses the Internet. And as with so many things involving Comcast, consumers will end up paying for it in the end. The deal should also be a wake-up call to regulators who are weighing the proposed Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger and grappling with what to do about Net Neutrality. And if the game of chicken that preceded this pact becomes the norm, it will be a disaster for the future of online video.

Activist Files Suit Against State Rep

February 21, 2014 Peter Marcus, www.coloradostatesman.com Resist! Corporatism, Democracy, Government

The issue arose following a heated debate in the legislature last year over foreclosure reform. As the chairwoman of the Business, Labor, Economic and Workforce Development Committee, Williams oversaw the effort to pass foreclosure reform. Activists said they had tried to schedule meetings with Williams, but that she would not honor their requests. In a legal letter sent to Williams on behalf of O’Connor by attorney Darold Killmer, the attorney claims that Williams attempted to retaliate against O’Connor for his efforts to professionally engage with Williams. “You sought a civil protection order against Mr. O’Connor to silence his constitutionally protected speech,” surmises Killmer. “This form of retaliation and abuse of process at the hands of a public official is especially troubling.”

UIC Faculty Hold 2-Day Strike

February 20, 2014 Justin Carlson, www.chicagoist.com Resist! Corporatism, Education, Worker Rights and Jobs

Hundreds of teachers, students and other supporters picketed the University of Illinois’ at Chicago campus Tuesday as part of a two-day strike called by UIC United Faculty, the union representing more than 1,100 tenured and nontenured faculty members. The walkout, which featured teachers and their supporters picketing and distributing flyers in front of campus buildings for much of the day, is the first to take place at the university. Despite more than 60 bargaining sessions over 18 months—which were joined by a federal mediator in November—the administration and UICUF has not been able to come to an agreement. “State universities have been turned into businesses, business corporations with a focus only on the bottom line,” said UICUF's President Joe Persky. “This must change. A university must devote its resources to guaranteeing our student body a first class education every bit as good as Champaign-Urbana.”

Update: PBS Backs Down On Anti-Pension Program, Returns Millions

February 15, 2014 Staff, www.rt.com Educate! Corporatism, Media, Pensions

A member station within the Public Broadcasting Service announced Friday that it would return a $3.5 million grant to a former Enron executive who first provided the money to fund an anti-pension series. WNET, the New York City affiliate of PBS, said production on the planned series, dubbed “Pension Peril,” would be suspended indefinitely after journalist David Sirota of PandoDaily revealed the money was coming from the Laura and John Arnold Foundation. John Arnold, a former executive at the disgraced Enron before who became one of the youngest billionaires in the US, was once the leading financial backer of a political movement to slash retirement benefits for firefighters, teacher, police officers, and other public-sector workers.

West Virginia Water Crisis Needs Volunteers

February 15, 2014 Staff, www.interoccupy.net Organize! Corporatism, Food and Agriculture, Health Care

It's been a ridiculous few weeks in and around the coalfields of southern West Virginia. The water crisis has not abated, with hundreds of thousands of people still struggling to cope with toxic tap water. Babies, children, pregnant women, and all kinds of folks are getting sick and in many cases being hospitalized due to chemical exposure in their homes. The other day, a Charleston school had to shut down after teachers and students fainted from the fumes. And of course, the state and federal governments seem to be doing everything in their power to do absolutely nothing. To cut to the chase: WE NEED YOU! We especially need longer-term volunteers who can commit to 3+ weeks to several months of organizing around the water crisis and other existential issues in this area.

New PBS Series Pushes Pension Cuts

February 14, 2014 DSWright, www.firedoglake.com Educate! Corporatism, Media, Pensions

"Ask why. Like why is a former Enron trader covertly funding a public television series on pension systems? According to David Sirota over at Pando Daily, billionaire and Enron alum John Arnold has financed a new two-year news series entitled “Pension Peril.” A program that, not surprisingly, pushes an agenda that companies like Enron would love. The series, promoting cuts to public employee pensions, is airing on hundreds of PBS outlets all over the nation. It has been presented as objective news on major PBS programs including the PBS News Hour. However, neither the WNET press release nor the broadcasted segments explicitly disclosed who is financing the series. Pando has exclusively confirmed that “Pension Peril” is secretly funded by former Enron trader John Arnold, a billionaire political powerbroker who is actively trying to shape the very pension policy that the series claims to be dispassionately covering."

Ben And Jerry’s Campaign To Stamp Money Out Of Politics

February 14, 2014 Paul Blumenthal , www.huffingtonpost.com Organize! Corporatism, Democracy

"These days Ben Cohen, co-founder and former CEO of Ben & Jerry's, is trying to make an impact with stamps, not scoops. His target: the inordinate influence that money and those who possess large amounts of it have over politics. The Stamp Stampede sells rubber stamps that let users impress a variety of phrases -- "Get Money Out Of Politics" or "Not To Be Used For Bribing Politicians" -- on paper money. The idea is to take advantage of how dollar bills move: As they pass from hand to hand, so will the message."Money moves virally around the country," Cohen said. "Viral marketing only got to be hip and new and in since the Internet, but there are other things that spread virally."

Outrage at Boeing Spurs Reformers’ Bids in Machinists Union

February 13, 2014 Jon Flanders, www.labornotes.org Resist! Austerity, Corporatism, Solidarity, Worker Rights and Jobs

For the first time in more than 50 years, the Machinists union (IAM) will hold a contested election for top officers. The vote was ordered by the Department of Labor after member Karen Asuncion protested violations in the union’s 2013 uncontested election. An opposition slate, IAM Reform, is headed by former Transportation Coordinator Jay Cronk. Cronk is a former officer because he was fired, after more than 20 years at the International, eight days after he announced his candidacy. IAM Reform’s platform focuses primarily on internal functioning: nepotism, wasteful spending (a Lear Jet for international officers), high salaries ($304,000 in total compensation for President Thomas Buffenbarger), and excessive numbers of international officers, some of whom were appointed without ever having been an IAM member.

American Petroleum Institute Spies On Environmentalists

February 13, 2014 Adam Federman, www.counterpunch.org Educate! Corporatism, Environment, Surveillance

"In 2010 the American Petroleum Institute (API) paid the global intelligence firm Stratfor more than $13,000 a month for weekly intelligence bulletins profiling activist organizations and their campaigns on everything from energy and climate change to tax policy and human rights, according to documents published by WikiLeaks in 2012. The weekly reports provided details on a wide range of environmental organizations including Greenpeace, NRDC, and the Union of Concerned Scientists. API was interested in anticipating which groups might be out to “attack” them." API’s tracking of environmental organizations comes as the oil and gas industry faces a kind of existential crisis — or public relations dilemma, depending on your point of view — in how to address climate change and related issues.

«1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 »

assetto corsa mods

Daily movement news and resources