Government

Transparency Camp Creates Solutions For Better Governance

May 10, 2014 Staff, www.transparencycamp.org Create! Government, Transparency

TransparencyCamp is an "unconference" for opengov, an event where, every year hundreds of people gather to share their knowledge about how to use new technologies and policies to make our government really work for the people—and to help people work smarter with our government. As an "unconference," TransparencyCamp emphasizes the important contributions that each and every attendee brings with them into the sessions, workshops and conversations that are a part of this event. In fact, attendees (yes, all of them) are engaged in the process of making the schedule for the conference (AKA “the wall”) with the organizers and are encouraged to step up and lead sessions themselves. TransparencyCamp was started by the Sunlight Foundation in 2009. Since then, the event has grown dramatically in scope, scale and concept.

Kids Used As Pawns in Bid to Up Lottery Ticket Sales

March 27, 2014 Matthew Vaz, InTheseTimes.com Educate! Government, Inequality, Poverty, Youth

Lottery sales in America are driven by a core group of devotees, with 70 percent of national sales coming from only 20 percent of players. Who these players are is no mystery: According to Bloomberg News, households making between $30,000 and $40,000 a year spend twice as much on lottery tickets as households making upwards of $100,000, and high-school dropouts spend an average of $50 a month on lottery play, while people with graduate degrees spend $13. A lottery bill of $50 a month represents a real commitment, and in working-class households it undoubtedly pushes up against food expenses, rent, the electricity bill and other basic necessities. Thus it is a genuine challenge for states to drive lottery expenses among the poor any higher, even with the most well-executed advertising campaigns. In response, the New York state lottery has taken a new approach to advertising in the hopes of broadening its customer base.

Radical New UN Report On The Right To Food

March 21, 2014 Sonali Kolhatkar, www.truthdig.com Create! Corporatism, Food and Agriculture, Government

In calling for democratic control of our food, De Schutter and Patel are threatening the business interests of some of the world’s largest and wealthiest corporations. Given that De Schutter’s report has been submitted to the highest international representatives of civil society, it has the potential to effect change, but only if there is enough pressure from below. Patel told me the report is “only as good as the mobilization that is able to use it.” Although it provides “ammunition to groups like La Via Campesina in their ongoing fight to be able to democratize the food system,” he warned that there is much work to be done, saying, “we do need to keep organizing and to keep the pressure up and in fact to be dreaming much bigger than we’re allowed to be dreaming by the governments that purport to represent us.”

7 Ways to Reclaim Your Digital Privacy

March 19, 2014 Davey Alba, www.popularmechanics.com Resist! Government, NSA, Privacy, Surveillance

Privacy, we say, is about to come roaring back. No, it's not too late. Yes, we know that Google monetizes both our emails and our search histories. It's true that data brokers market our personal dossiers, listing everything from our favorite blogs to our old parking tickets (identity thieves must love it). And NSA leaker Edward Snowden really did prove the paranoids right: The United States government spies on everyone. Now, we agree that security agencies have a vital responsibility to track terrorists, but that mission can't require all citizens to live in a surveillance state. Feel you have nothing to hide? That assumes the data will always be used to defeat terrorists, not to monitor activists, let alone to stalk ex-girlfriends—yes, NSA employees have done that. Here's the other side to the privacy-is-dead argument:

Students & Teachers Rally to Stop School Consolidation

March 19, 2014 Peggy McGlone, www.nj.com Organize! Education, Finance and the Economy, Government, Solidarity

Superintendent Cami Anderson unveiled the plan in December that would relocate and consolidate almost a quarter of the district’s school, and will turn four neighborhood schools over to charter schools already operating in the city. It has been roundly criticized by parents, lawmakers and the teachers union. School officials said last week that more than 12,000 students have registered for next fall, when the re-organization will be rolled out. The rally is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. at the corner of Broad and Market streets and then around 5 it will move to 2 Cedar St., where the School Advisory Board is holding a business meeting.

Senate Report on CIA Torture Reveals Lawlessness

March 19, 2014 Jason Leopold, america.aljazeera.com Educate! CIA, Edward Snowden, Government, Whistleblowers

A still-classified report on the CIA's interrogation program established in the wake of 9/11 sparked a furious row last week between the agency and Senate Intelligence Committee chairwoman Dianne Feinstein. Al Jazeera has learned from sources familiar with its contents that the committee's report alleges that at least one high-value detainee was subjected to torture techniques that went beyond those authorized by George W. Bush's Justice Department. Two Senate staffers and a U.S. official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the information they disclosed remains classified, told Al Jazeera that the committee's analysis of 6 million pages of classified records also found that some of the harsh measures authorized by the Department of Justice had been applied to at least one detainee before such legal authorization was received. They said the report suggests that the CIA knowingly misled the White House, Congress and the Justice Department about the intelligence value of detainee Zain Abidin Mohammed Husain Abu Zubaydah when using his case to argue in favor of harsher interrogation techniques.

Australian Attorney General Wants ISPs to Spy on Users

March 19, 2014 Cory Doctorow, boingboing.net Educate! Edward Snowden, Government, NSA, Privacy

"Sophisticated criminals and terrorists are exploiting encryption and related counter-interception techniques to frustrate law enforcement and security investigations, either by taking advantage of default-encrypted communications services or by adopting advanced encryption solutions," the submission noted. Though it does not name its key targets, Yahoo!, Google and Microsoft already enable encryption by default for their respective web-based email services. BlackBerry's messaging encryption has also previously been raised as a law enforcement issue. Under the department's plan, "law enforcement, anti-corruption and national security agencies … [would be able] to apply to an independent issuing authority for a warrant authorising the agency to issue 'intelligibility assistance notices' to service providers and other persons".

Some Background on CIA Secrecy

March 17, 2014 Matthew Stoller, www.tumblr.com Educate! CIA, Government

In mid-1970s, feminist and peace movement activist Congresswoman Bella Abzug tore through the intel world, fearlessly taking on the CIA and the NSA for surveilling Americans. So I’ve been reading some of her hearings, and it turns out that the dynamics of the intelligence world (in this case the CIA) and its relationship with Congress and the public haven’t changed at all. Today, journalist Jason Leopold is nicknamed a ‘FOIA terrorist’ by a ‘certain government agency’ because he files so many requests so effectively, and sues when they deny him the things to which he is entitled.

Fracking Chemicals Won’t Stay Secret Much Longer

March 14, 2014 Jacob Chamberlain, www.commondreams.org Educate! Energy, Environement, Fracking, Government

The Wyoming Supreme Court held that the Oil and Gas Commission has to justify its use of a trade secrets exemption rule, which it has used to hid the fracking chemicals ingredients. “We’re pleased the Court recognized that the Oil and Gas Commission has to fully and rationally justify its use of trade secrets exemptions before it can hide fracking chemical information from public review,” stated Marilyn Ham, Resource Council Board Member from Laramie County, Wyoming. “We’re looking forward to the next stage of the case and hopefully to getting better information out to the public on what chemicals are used in fracking operations.

Banner Drop on Brooklyn Bridge Calls out Cuomo

March 14, 2014 Doyle Murphy, www.nydailynews.com Resist! Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Government, New York (NY), NYC

The group behind the stealth signposting, Money Out of Politics, is trying to goad Gov. Cuomo to follow through on his promises to revamp the state’s campaign finance laws. “He’s really at a crossroads, deciding whether he’s going to fight for the little guy — people who can’t afford to give big campaign contributions, or is he going to sell us out and keep the center of political power in the monied interests?” said Matthew Edge, the group’s founder, who lives in Berne, N.Y., near Albany. Edge and his cohorts have been crisscrossing the state for nearly two weeks, slapping up signs in conspicuous — and even iconic — locations as they go. They plan to hit all 62 counties by the time they’re done. Queens and Kings counties were numbers 37 and 38, he said. Cuomo has launched an ad campaign to promote campaign finance changes including matching funds for statewide races, but Edge fears he’ll back off when challenged by big-money boosters. “We’re raising the stakes,” said Edge, who said he has been trying to dampen the influence of big-money donors for a decade. “If he extends the political capital and keeps fair elections in the budget, he’ll be a hero. If he doesn’t, people are going to know about it.”

Death of Teen in Turkey Awakens Dormant Gezi Spirit

March 14, 2014 Binnaz Saktanber, roarmag.org Resist! Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Government, Police abuse, Türkiye

After the police cracked down on the Gezi protests, people retreated to neighborhood forums. Folks gathered in their local parks all over the country to discuss the future of Occupy Gezi. Some forums had thousands of participants, some just a dozen. The consensus seemed to be that it was time for a new phase for the movement, which began to concentrate on solidifying the momentum that had been created by the protests; preserving the “Gezi Spirit,” as protesters called it — and even strategizing how to make the AKP (Justice and Development Party) lose the upcoming local elections of March 30. Yet neither the forums nor the social media were devoid of dissidence. Some in the Gezi crowd, most not just emotionally exhausted but physically injured as well, insisted that the street protests had to continue. Others argued that going out on the streets was way too dangerous and had no productive value at that juncture in time.

Protesters March Over ‘Accidental’ Taser Death of Miami Beach Teen

March 11, 2014 David Quinones, www.reuters.com Resist! Criminal Justice and Prisons, Government, Police abuse

The death of Hernandez-Llach, and several other incidents, have placed Miami Beach police under intense public scrutiny, triggering protests calling for a change in the way officers use the stun guns known as Tasers. Four days ago, embattled Miami Beach Police Chief Ray Martinez announced he would resign next month. The death of Hernandez-Llach has also reignited a debate about whether the electrical shock the Taser delivers can sometimes trigger cardiac arrest when fired at the chest area. "The fact that he was shot in the chest is something we are analyzing," said Jose J. Rodriguez, a lawyer for Hernandez-Llach's family. "We're working with the assumption for now that the Taser caused his death."

I Always Find Hope In Struggle

March 11, 2014 Staff, www.democracynow.org Educate! Democracy, Education, Government, Human Rights

For more than four decades, the world-renowned author, activist and scholar Angela Davis has been one of most influential activists and intellectuals in the United States. An icon of the 1970s black liberation movement, Davis’ work around issues of gender, race, class and prisons has influenced critical thought and social movements across several generations. She is a leading advocate for prison abolition, a position informed by her own experience as a fugitive on the FBI’s top 10 most wanted list more than 40 years ago. Davis, a professor emerita at University of California, Santa Cruz, and the subject of the recent documentary, "Free Angela and All Political Prisoners," joins us to discuss prison abolition, mass incarceration, the so-called war on drugs, International Women’s Day, and why President Obama’s second term should see a greater wave of activism than in his first.

Kent State Truth Tribunal Seeks US Govt Accountability for Killing of 4 Unarmed Students

March 10, 2014 Staff, www.sparrowmedia.net Resist! Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Government, Human Rights, Police abuse

The Kent State Truth Tribunal (KSTT) is seeking US government accountability for the killing of four unarmed students and the injury of nine others by US military personnel on May 4, 1970 at a Kent State University anti-Vietnam war rally. The Kent State killings gained national attention in 1970 leading to mass protests and student strikes across the United States. Witnesses and historians have asserted a pronounced role by the FBI before and during the shootings, and command responsibility that pointed to Ohio governor James Rhodes’ collusion. In response to the surge of activism following Kent State, on May 5, 1970 President Nixon said: “This should remind us all once again that when dissent turns to violence it invites tragedy. It is my hope that this tragic and unfortunate incident will strengthen the determination of all the nation’s campuses, administrators, faculty and students alike to stand firmly for the right which exists in this country of peaceful dissent and just as strong against the resort to violence as a means of such expression.”

Ukraine and the Pathology of the Liberal Worldview: An African American Perspective

March 10, 2014 Ajamu Baraka, www.greenshadowcabinet.us Educate! Corporatism, Finance and the Economy, Government, Ukraine

... when it comes to crisis situations like extending unemployment benefits to the 1.3 million people who lost them in December or the forced bankruptcy of Detroit, a major city that happens to have an African American majority, or maintaining food assistance for the working class and poor in the form of the food stamp program, elite opinion in both parties has embraced the “common sense” position that significant reductions in public expenditures and services at every level of government are a reasonable and unavoidable necessity. The Times editorial further argued that since President Yanukovych left the Ukrainian treasury bare, the West should provide immediate assistance. But what about the people in Detroit, whose government coffers were left bare as result of the predatory looting by big banks that targeted African American families with sub-prime loans and floating interests rates that resulted in them losing their homes? Where is their relief? And when those same banks seized the properties of more than 100,000 families through foreclosure and then refused to pay property taxes to the city of Detroit—helping to create a fiscal crisis for the city—where was the Federal assistance to replenish the city’s coffers?

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