Some inspiring thoughts from Woody Harrelson, for your Saturday morning:
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[youtube=http://youtu.be/Dj0GZQdCct8]
occupy
Saturday At The Movies
One of the most inspirational speeches in recorded history was given by a comedian by the name of Charlie Chaplin in the movie “The Great Dictator”. If you like what you see please share the video any way you can and pass the message on, thanks!
[youtube=http://youtu.be/CsgaFKwUA6g]
Rolling Jubilee: Occupy Turns Tables On Banks, Frees Debt
A bailout for the people, by the people: Occupy is buying up distressed debt from the banks for pennies on the dollar, and then – instead of extorting it out of the debters, as is the usual practise, it is wiping the slate clean. Brilliant, and very biblical (see Leviticus Chapter 25). Tomorrow, November 15th, organizers are holding a variety show telethon to raise money. Find out more at StrikeDebt.org.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=1Qs9w1XlJKE]
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More links:
Occupy Wall Street Campaigners Buy Up Debt To Abolish It
Take Time To Renew Your Spirit
“We have to talk about liberating minds as well as liberating society.”
– Angela Y. Davis
A Radical Monday Morning
Today is the first cool and rainy day in quite a while, so I’ll be spending the morning the way other “radicals” the world over are, in the kitchen and the garden reclaiming democracy and occupying the food supply. I’ll be cooking up strawberry & rhubarb jam with organic local fruit, and possibly making jelly out of our nanking cherries,which – for the first time – we have a prolific crop of this year. Here’s what the beauties look like (and remember, I live in northern Ontario, not a fruit belt by any stretch of the imagination):
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Last night I watched Thrive: The Movie. Thrive bills itself as:
an unconventional documentary that lifts the veil on what’s REALLY going on in our world by following the money upstream — uncovering the global consolidation of power in nearly every aspect of our lives. Weaving together breakthroughs in science, consciousness and activism, THRIVE offers real solutions, empowering us with unprecedented and bold strategies for reclaiming our lives and our future.
I confess to being a bit surprised that early in the movie it ventures into the territory of crop circles and UFOs. I found the discussion of the U.S, and global, monetary system informative as well as alarming. But when the movie ventured into climate change territory, and referred to a carbon tax as a tool of global repression it lost some credibility, as it did when it offered a vision of no taxation as part of an idyllic future. I don’t mind paying taxes to contribute to a healthy society (with healthcare, libraries, roads, public transportation, etc). But I’m not sorry I watched it; I think it might inform and “wake up” some people to the need to participate in shaping a better future for all of humanity, not just the 1% who are thriving right now off of the misery of the majority. If you’ve seen it, I’d be curious to hear what you have to say. Here’s the trailer:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OibqdwHyZxk]
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More links:
Thrive The Movie Isn’t About Thriving At All
In A Capitalist Economy, the True Job Creators Are Middle Class
Nick Hanauer, entrepreneur and one percenter, exposes the fallacy that it’s the super rich who create jobs. He makes a strong case for taxing the rich to create benefits for the entire society, including growing the middle class. It’s good policy for everyone.
Hanauer asserted that TED refused to post this video on-line on the grounds that it was too politically controversial. It’s now available on-line. You be the judge:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=bBx2Y5HhplI]
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More links:
TED and inequality: The Real Story
To read the transcript of Hanauer’s talk, go to National Journal.com
What Are We Waiting For?
A powerful message beamed onto the Verizon building in New York City:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OROZBOj8nM&feature=youtu.be&a]
Now is the time to STAND UP for yourself, to be BOLD, be CREATIVE, be RADICAL To Dream BIG, IMAGINE, Feel the fear but DO IT! Anyway its time to Question Expert Authority, ASK hard questions, PROPOSE and DEMAND solutions. To Participate and AGITATE. DISOBEY if you must. To VISUALISE and Organise. To KILL the fear spreading Media – EDUCATE and INFORM yourself and Others. NOW is the time to invest in HOPE.
To cultivate LOVE To Give Thanks for what we have and to help those that Haven’t. We Must DANCE, PLAY, ENJOY ourselves. TRANSFORM your situation no matter how bad it is. It can be done, EAT WELL, REST, MEDITATE. PROTECT yourself. BECOME a SOUL WARRIOR. Don’t Apoligise for being a DREAMER – we need MORE DREAMERS. PERSIST Resist and ignore the begrudgers, hold firm to your vision. Don’t make up excuses or get caught up in Blame. In the Game of them and Us RESPECT Everyone, even if you dont like them. Enemies are Great Teachers. TRANSCEND, RISE, Reach for the STARS.
Don’t take yourself too seriously. LAUGH at yourself. LOVE YOURSELF. You are WONDERFUL if you let yourself BE. ABANDON JUDGEMENT, Age, Roles, Stereotypes. Take RISKS. Drop LEFT RIGHT and RELIGIOUS Dogma. THINK FOR YOURSELF. Take control of your Diet, Money, Home, Family, Work Spend Time in NATURE. Listen to your Gut, Instinct, Intuition, Heart. Go offline to get ONLINE. Take QUIET TIME for you, to WRITE, DRAW. EXPERIMENT. Learn a SONG, Call a Meeting, Start a Petition. BUILD COMMUNITY. See what happens. SHARE. Take your time. Slow Down – Small and Slow are POWERFUL and BEAUTIFUL. Wake up to REALITY. It’s not that bad. If it is THEN CHANGE IT. Don’t wait for others to do it. TELL OTHERS, JOIN them, ASK for HELP.
SING IT LOUD. BE Proud you’re not a Zombie caught up on the harsh production line of Commuting, Work, Shopping, Consumption and SLEEP. You’re MUCH MORE ALIVE This is not a PRACTICE RUN, THIS IS YOUR REVOLUTION TO MAKE IT HAPPEN THERE ARE ALWAYS MORE POSSIBLITIES THAT YOU THINK! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?
We Are The Many
Occupy yourself with this powerful video by Makana, a popular Hawaiian recording artist. At the APEC summit in Hawaii this past weekend Makana made a bold and courageous statement. He was enlisted to play a luau on Saturday night for leaders gathered in Obama’s birthplace, Honolulu, for the annual summit (the APEC countries are currently formulating plans for a Pacific free-trade pact). During the supper, Makana sang a marathon version of this song (40 minutes of it) with his jacket open to reveal a T-shirt emblazoned with the words “Occupy With Aloha”. Makana told AFP:
“I was pretty nervous. In fact I was terrified. I kept thinking ‘what are the consequences going to be?‘ It was incredibly comical. I was terrified but also enjoying it.“
Makana said the song prompted awkward stares from a few of those present but the Obamas appeared too absorbed with their guests to notice what was happening.
Guests at the supper included Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, with an accompanying heavy security presence. As Makana sang, about 400 protesters including anti-globalization and native Hawaiian rights activists staged a protest march toward the dinner site but turned back after encountering the smothering security.
Inspired by the anti-capitalist movement that began with the “Occupy Wall Street” demonstrations in New York, the song denounces Washington politicians, corporate greed and what he sees as an unfair American economic system.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xq3BYw4xjxE&feature=colike&mid=52&fb_source=message]
We Are The Many
Ye come here, gather ’round the stage
The time has come for us to voice our rage
Against the ones who’ve trapped us in a cage
To steal from us the value of our wage
From underneath the vestiture of law
The lobbyists at Washington do gnaw
At liberty, the bureaucrats guffaw
And until they are purged, we won’t withdraw
We’ll occupy the streets
We’ll occupy the courts
We’ll occupy the offices of you
Till you do
The bidding of the many, not the few
Our nation was built upon the right
Of every person to improve their plight
But laws of this Republic they rewrite
And now a few own everything in sight
They own it free of liability
They own, but they are not like you and me
Their influence dictates legality
And until they are stopped we are not free
We’ll occupy the streets
We’ll occupy the courts
We’ll occupy the offices of you
Till you do
The bidding of the many, not the few
You enforce your monopolies with guns
While sacrificing our daughters and sons
But certain things belong to everyone
Your thievery has left the people none
So take heed of our notice to redress
We have little to lose, we must confess
Your empty words do leave us unimpressed
A growing number join us in protest
We occupy the streets
We occupy the courts
We occupy the offices of you
Till you do
The bidding of the many, not the few
You can’t divide us into sides
And from our gaze, you cannot hide
Denial serves to amplify
And our allegiance you can’t buy
Our government is not for sale
The banks do not deserve a bail
We will not reward those who fail
We will not move till we prevail
We’ll occupy the streets
We’ll occupy the courts
We’ll occupy the offices of you
Till you do
The bidding of the many, not the few
We’ll occupy the streets
We’ll occupy the courts
We’ll occupy the offices of you
Till you do
The bidding of the many, not the few
We are the many
You are the few
Remembering the Montgomery Bus Boycott During Occupy Times
It was fifty five years ago today the Supreme Court of the United States of America upheld the decision of the Federal District Court for the Middle District of Alabama “that Alabama’s racial segregation laws for buses were unconstitutional.” It was only just the beginning of the civil rights movement. Only the beginning. So “keep on keeping on” Occupy, we have only just begun!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=jJ1OO5iBWCQ]
Take Time To Renew Your Spirit
“It is understandable that a realist would despair. And if I was to retreat into self-absorption I would find a small plot of land where I would never have to hear another leaf blower, and find what comfort I could in my family, my books and the whispers and beauty of the natural world. But to give up is not morally permissible. It is to condemn, as Sitting Bull reminded us, the born and the unborn, as well as the flora and fauna, which Sitting Bull also considered sacred, to misery and death. We have no right to do that. We must stand and fight for life.”
~ Chris Hedges 2011
