Ian Bunn | Political & Popular Culture Arts

Exploited same loophole used by Richy Richs (January 29th)

Clifford D “Cliff” Schecter the 30 year old US political writer with a reputation as a pugnacious proponent of progressive politics and policies, has published an article reviewing the political satire of the Stephen Colbert SuperPAC. In the article Schecter writes “Political satire … has played an important role in shaping political thought throughout the ages… That is why what Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart are doing with their “Super PAC“… a public service at this point in our country’s democratic experiment… running ads… through Colbert’s Super PAC, Americans For A Better Tomorrow-Tomorrow, using every device possible – short of playing flash-card memory games… to show how unbelievably absurd our whole system has become… They have exploited the very same loophole used by Richy Richs – such as the infamous clean-air hating Koch Brothers…  to give large and unregulated sums of money, or speech, to candidates… as Colbert himself said: “With your help – and with possibly the help of some outside group that I am not coordinating with – we can explore taking this country back.”

Inspired by Cliff Schecter http://ow.ly/8BPvR image source http://ow.ly/8BPBV

Prepared and more in tune with the numbers (January 27th)

Jacob “Jack” J. Lew the 56 year old US Director of the White House Management and Budget recently was appointed the White House Chief of Staff after the resignation of William ‘Bill’ Daley. In an article published by Luke Johnson, Johnson describes how “As the White House’s budget director, Lew has received praise for working with Republicans, even from one of Obama’s harshest critics, “No one was more prepared and more in tune with the numbers than Jack Lew,” said House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) … “He was always very polite and respectful in his tone and someone who I can tell is very committed to his principles.” Lew also previously served as Deputy Director and then Director of Office of Management and Budget in the Clinton Administration from 1995 to 2001. “…in 2008, he served as chief operating officer of Citigroup Alternative Investments, investing in a hedge fund that bet on the housing market to collapse… From 2009 to 2010, Lewworked for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as deputy secretary for management and resources.”

Inspired by Luke Johnson http://ow.ly/8BOsQ image source http://ow.ly/8BORz

Solution to a problem that’s not a problem (January 26th)

Matthew Yglesias the 30 year old US political blogger states in an article published regarding the attempted introduction of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA), that “SOPA isn’t just an overly intrusive way to solve a problem, it’s a “solution” to a problem that’s not a problem.” In the article, Yglesias claims “Much of the debate about SOPA and PIPA has thus far centered around the entertainment industry’s absurdly inflated claims about the economic harm of copyright infringement … the American consumer has never been better-entertained than she is today. The same digital frontier that’s created the piracy pseudo-problem has created whole new companies and made it infinitely easier for small operations to distribute their products. Digital technology has reduced the price we pay for new works and made them cheaper to create… The American economy has plenty of problems, but lack of adequate entertainment options is not on the list.”

Inspired by Matthew Yglesias http://ow.ly/8BNVA image source Slate http://ow.ly/8BO2u

Jonathan Hafetz the US professor of Law and civil libertarian renowned for his volunteer service assisting Guantanamo captives held by the US Justice department at the Naval base, has published an article on Aljazeera marking the 10^th anniversary of when the first prisoners arrived at the base. Hafetz states, “While its approach to terrorism has evolved, the United States’ failure to close Guantanamo shows how far it still has to go if it wishes to develop a rights-respecting national security policy… The United States’ failure to close Guantanamo is the result of several factors, including lack of leadership by the executive, opposition by Congress, and acquiescence by the courts. Ultimately, all three branches of government bear responsibility, along with the American people themselves, who continue to tolerate Guantanamo’s existence… Not only does the prison remain open, but the United States is further from closing it now than at any time in the past… Guantanamo remains a place where individuals – all citizens of other countries – are given fewer rights and protections against unlawful imprisonment.”

Inspired by Jonathan Hafetz http://ow.ly/8BMDr image source Seton Hall http://ow.ly/8BMJj

I’m a guy who practices loyalty (January 21st)

Sheldon Gary Adelson the 78 year old US casino and hotel magnate has been identified as a considerable contributor to a SuperPAC (Political Action Committee). The PAC assisting the presidential campaign of Newt Gingrich, according to Kenneth Vogel of Politico, received a $US5mil contribution from Adelson, “and has considered giving much more”. Vogel states, “The propping up of super PACs by Adelson [and others] has some establishment Republicans grumbling privately that the men may be hurting the party by setting the stage for a long and damaging primary battle that won’t block Romney from winning the nomination but will leave him limping into a general election tilt… [Adelson stated] that his political efforts were motivated by his support for Gingrich, rather than antipathy toward any other candidate. “I’m a guy who practices loyalty,” said Adelson … worth upward of $20 billion … who’s been friendly with Gingrich since the mid-1990s, when the former Georgia congressman was speaker of the House.”

Sorry. Time to give it back (January 18th)

William Ernest “Bill” McKibben the US Environmentalist and founder of the Global Climate Campaign 350.org has released an article on Aljazeera stating that “We need to say, loud and clear: “Sorry. Time to give it back”, reflecting on the corporate takeover of congress. In the article McKibben states, “we may have to change the Constitution, as we’ve done 27 times before. This time, we’d need to specify that corporations aren’t people, that money isn’t speech …The Occupy movement opened the door to this sort of change by reminding us all that the system is rigged, that its outcomes are unfair… later this month, when rallies … mark the second anniversary of the Citizens United decision … where the Supreme Court ruled that corporations had the right to spend whatever they wanted on campaigns. To me, that decision was, in essence, corporate America saying, “We’re not going to bother pretending any more. This country belongs to us”.

Inspired by Bill McKibben http://ow.ly/8tQmP image source Hotshot977 http://ow.ly/8tQDb

South Carolina. I'm doin' it! (January 16th)

Stephen Tyrone Colbert the 47 year old USpolitical satirist comedian has announced he will form an “exploratory committee for president of the United States of South Carolina. I’m doin’ it!”, in the upcoming South Carolina GOP presidential primary, his home state. Colbert hosts the Comedy Central’s satirical news show The Colbert Report where Colbert assumes the identity of a conservative political character. A GOP voter poll of 1112 voters taken for the South Carolina primary placed Colbert with a 5% vote in spite of not even being on the ballot, ahead of other formal candidates. Colbert on his show addressed the legal issue of his SuperPAC (Political Action Committee). With assistance of his lawyer, Colbert handed control of the PAC over to Jon Stewart, changing its name to ‘Definitely Not Coordinating With Stephen Colbert Super PAC’, highlighting the absurdity of campaign funding laws that govern election spending.

Inspired by Ross Kuippold http://ow.ly/8tOVy Image source http://ow.ly/8tOVh

Live your life prospectively & tell your story retrospectively (January 15th)

Eric Steven Lander the 54 year old US Professor of Biology at MIT and co-chair of the US president’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, has been profiled by Gina Kolata for the New York Times. Kolata states in the article, “His Ph.D. is in pure mathematics, in a subfield so esoteric and specialized that even if someone gets a great result, it can be appreciated by only a few dozen people in the entire world. But he left that world behind and, with no formal training, entered another: the world of molecular biology, medicine and genomics… he heads a biology empire and raises money from billionaires. He also teaches freshman biology (a course he never took) at M.I.T., advises President Obama on science and runs a lab… To him, biography is something of a confection: “You live your life prospectively and tell your story retrospectively, so it looks like everything is converging.”

Inspired by Gina Kolata http://ow.ly/8lLwt image source http://ow.ly/8lLCj

It’s always been about the money (January 5th)

Jeff Smith a US former advertising professional and member of the Occupy Wall Street press team has released an article on the vast wealth gap between Americans and their representatives. Smith states “It’s always been about the money. Occupy Wall Street chose to set up its 24-hour outpost of political dissent on the doorstep of the finance industry primarily to underscore the simple fact that money has corrupted our political process so completely that the seat of power in the U.S. isn’t even in Washington, D.C. any more … OWS has focused on the concept of legalized bribery, as the continually rising cost of a political campaign … largely subsidized by wealthy donors, corporations and special interests, in return for legislation that favors their interests … The gap between the Beltway and the economic realities of most Americans can be found in the common Washington framing of households with an annual income of $250,000—a figure achieved by just the top 1.5 percent—as “middle class.”

Inspired by Jeff Smith http://ow.ly/8eWfw image source http://ow.ly/8eWk1

Documents L.A.’s part in an international movement (January 3rd)

Carol Wells the US Exec.Director of the Center for the Study of Political Graphics has applauded the preservation of an Occupy Movement mural in Los Angeles stating “It’s site specific to L.A … It documents L.A.’s part in an international movement.” Marissa Gluck in an article she published states that “Though the history of Occupy Wall Street is still being written … Los Angeles is taking the unusual step of organizing a preservation process for a major mural created in its encampment. It is the first major city to do so … The massive four-sided mural, painted on plywood erected to protect a park fountain from vandalism … isn’t just a visual depiction of the protesters’ perspective. Its physical creation echoes the movement as well, with multiple anonymous artists contributing to the work … One side of the mural depicts the Federal Reserve as a monstrous octopus, ravenously grabbing cash from foreclosed homes, while exhorting viewers to “Take the Power Back.”

Inspired by Marissa Gluck http://ow.ly/8eVNV image source artblahblah http://ow.ly/8eVGs

Looks as if it were born in a minute (January 2nd)

Helen Frankenthaler the 83 year old US abstract expressionist painter renowned for her contribution to postwar US painting has died. Frankenthaler was championed by the influential art and literary critic Clement Greenberg, who included her in his 1964 curated Post-Painterly Abstract exhibition. The exhibition introduced her to the New York art scene and abstract expressionism, in which she was to play a pivotal role. Frankenthaler stated “A really good picture looks as if it’s happened at once. It’s an immediate image. For my own work … very often it takes ten of those over-labored efforts to produce one really beautiful wrist motion that is synchronized with your head and heart, and you have it, and therefore it looks as if it were born in a minute.” Frankenthaler has not been a fan of all critics, some seeing it as thin in substance, uncontrolled and too rich in colour.

Inspired by Grace Glueck http://ow.ly/8eVr0 image source  http://ow.ly/8eVyZ Pablo Martinez Monsivais

Isn't it time for Occupy Earth? (January 1st)

Chip Ward the US political activist poses the question that “After Occupy Wall Street, isn’t it time for Occupy Earth? … Degrading the planet’s operating systems to bolster the bottom line is foolish and reckless. It hurts us all. No less important, it’s unfair. The 1 per cent profit, while the rest of us cough and cope … Nature’s 99 per cent is an amazingly diverse community of species. They feed and share and recycle within a web of relationships so dynamic and complex that we have yet to fathom how it all fits together … we are only beginning to understand thresholds and feedback loops, the way the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. But we at least know that the parts matter deeply and that, before we even fully understand them, we’re losing them at an accelerating rate. Forests are dying, fisheries are going, extinction is on steroids”.

Inspired by Chip Ward http://ow.ly/89XBl image source The Monitor http://ow.ly/89XFy

Bush has enjoyed impunity and it is disgraceful (December 31st)

George Walker Bush the 65 year old US former president is coming under increasing scrutiny over his illegal activities whilst president writes Nikolas Kozloff. Kozloff states “For far too long, Bush has enjoyed impunity and it is disgraceful that few have questioned his efforts to create a freedom institute in Texas. While it’s doubtful that the authorities would ever investigate the former president for war crimes or torture, pressing for such efforts would send an important signal that activists are not willing to put up with a legal double standard in this country anymore. …If protests were to spread, Bush might find that he has difficulty in travelling not only to foreign lands but also to domestic destinations within the US itself. More importantly perhaps, such demonstrations might spur efforts to unite Occupy with the anti-war movement and thus further galvanise the ongoing season of protest”.

Inspired by Nikolas Kozloff http://ow.ly/89XnG image source quotezuki http://ow.ly/89XsY

US military buildup to confront Iran (December 30th)

Avram Noam Chomsky the 83 year old US philosopher renowned for his critiques of US foreign policy has an article re-published on Aljazeera in which he discusses the US military buildup to confront the Iranian foreign policy crisis confronting the US. “The Obama administration has been rapidly expanding US offensive capacity in the African island of Diego Garcia … nuclear-powered guided-missile submarines with Tomahawk missiles, which can carry nuclear warheads. Each submarine is reported to have the striking power of a typical carrier battle group … the substantial military equipment Obama has dispatched includes 387 “bunker busters” used for blasting hardened underground structures … On taking office, Obama immediately accelerated the plans, and they are to be deployed several years ahead of schedule, aiming specifically at Iran… The increasing threats of military action against Iran are of course in violation of the UN Charter … call to all states to resolve disputes related to nuclear issues peacefully … which bans the use or threat of force.”

Inspired by Norm Chomsky http://ow.ly/89XaE image source Duncan Rawlinson http://ow.ly/89XeT

Greedy narcissists and possibly sociopaths (December 29th)

Barbara Ehrenreich the 70 year old US political activist referred to as a ‘myth buster’, along with her husband John Ehrenreich a psychology professor have released an article on Aljazeera discussing the rise of the OWS Movement. “…those in the top 1 per cent of the wealth distribution – the bankers, hedge-fund managers and CEOs … have been around for a long time in one form or another, but they only began to emerge as a distinct and visible group, informally called the “super-rich”  … Extravagant levels of consumption helped draw attention to them … but as long as the middle class could still muster the credit for college tuition and occasional home improvements, it seemed churlish to complain. Then came the financial crash of 2007-2008, followed by the Great Recession, and the 1 per cent to whom we had entrusted our pensions, our economy, and our political system stood revealed as a band of feckless, greedy narcissists and possibly sociopaths.

Inspired by Barbara & John Ehrenreich http://ow.ly/89X6l image source David Shankbone http://ow.ly/89X95

What kind of system is this? (December 19th)

Jeffrey David Sachs the 57 year old US economist renowned as an adviser to post communist eastern Europe and other developing countries in the implementation of his economic shock therapy, has been interviewed by Sami Zeidan, where he stated “The banks have said, leave us deregulated, we know how to run things… Then they took huge gambles … broke the world system … then they rushed out to say ‘bail us out… we’re too big to fail … As soon as that happened, they said ‘oh, don’t regulate us, we know what to do’. And they went back to … paying billions of dollars of bonuses again… the problem that the OWS protesters have is: you broke the system, you gamed the economy, you’re in the White House going to the state dinners, you’re paying yourself huge bonuses, what kind of system is this?”

Inspired by Sami Zeidan http://ow.ly/82KHV image source Palácio do Planalto http://ow.ly/82KQx

Has already suffered far too much in one lifetime (December 18th)

Adel Al-Gazzar the 56 year old Egyptian formerly held for eight years by the US in the Cuban Guantanamo Bay detainment camp, and imprisoned in Egypt on his return, has Katie Taylor a project officer with Reprieve, calling for Ad-Gazzar’s amnesty. Al-Gazzar had a leg amputated as a result of a US bombing raid in Afghanistan on what he claims was a humanitarian visit to provide aid for the Saudi Red Crescent, he managed to return to Pakistan for treatment until sold to US security agents for a bounty. He was subsequently moved to Guantanamo Bay and been imprisoned for the past decade. Al-Gazzar is currently held by the Egyptians for “attempting to overthrow former President Hosni Mubarak’s regime … widely condemned as an attempt by Mubarak to suppress his Islamist opponents.” Taylor states that “Adel has already suffered far too much in one lifetime. He has been unjustly detained for nearly a decade, and as a result, has suffered permanent injury and chronic health problems and his family now stands on the edge of poverty.”

Inspired by Katie Taylor http://ow.ly/7VoPa image source eurasiareview http://ow.ly/7VoVy

First political face to support the Occupy Movement (December 17th)

James George Janos (Jesse Ventura) the 60 year old US former Governor and TV personality continues to call for increased government transparency and accountability. In an Aljazeera stream Ventura discussed issues of “government transparency, the Occupy Wall Street movement and domestic anger toward the U.S. political system.” Ventura has published recently a book titled ‘American Conspiracies: Lies, Lies, and More Dirty Lies That the Government Tells Us’. In the book Ventura discusses many alleged government conspiracies and cover ups including 9/11, the assassination of President John F Kennedy and various U.S. government programs. Ventura had filed a suit against the Homeland Security and the TSA challenging security pat-downs and full-body scans as a constitutional violation of unreasonable search and seizure, however was blocked by a federal judge citing a lack of jurisdiction. Ventura also visited the Occupy Minneapolis protesters stating he wished to be the first political face to support the Occupy Movement.

Inspired by Aljazeera http://ow.ly/7Vovt image source chuckpalahniuk http://ow.ly/7VoMG

Children of a backlash against globalization (December 10th)

Dani Rodrik the 54 year old Turkish economist and US Harvard University professor has lamented Europe’s potential next nightmare, a step toward the extreme right in the event of a chaotic eurozone breakup. Rodrik states in an article published on Aljazeera, “Today, the question is no longer whether politics will become more populist and less internationalist; it is whether the consequences of that shift can be managed without turning ugly … The nightmare scenario would also be a 1930s-style victory for political extremism. Fascism, Nazism, and communism were children of a backlash against globalization … feeding on the anxieties of groups that felt disenfranchised and threatened by expanding market forces and cosmopolitan elites … The challenge is to develop a new political narrative emphasizing national interests and values without overtones of nativism and xenophobia. If centrist elites do not prove themselves up to the task, those of the far right will gladly fill the vacuum, minus the moderation.

Inspired by Dani Rodrik http://ow.ly/7G8us image source twitter http://ow.ly/7G8yf

Today's GOP: Read 'em, then let's talk (December 8th)

Corey Robin the 44 year old US political theorist and associate professor has published an article on Aljazeera highlighting the deep roots of conservative radicalism, as outlined in his recent book ‘The Reactionary Mind: Conservatism from Edmund Burke to Sarah Palin’. Robin states, “I hope my book spurs readers to go back to these texts [Burke, Oakeshott, Hayek]. Not just because they’re great, which they are. But also because we’re having a conversation about modern conservatism in the dark, based on a misapprehension, of what the enterprise is and is not about. If we can get clear on these ancient texts, maybe we can get a little clearer on the contemporary practice. So here’s my final suggestion for … anyone … who likes to invoke Burke or Hayek or [fill in the blank] against today’s GOP: Read ‘em. Then let’s talk.”

Inspired by Corey Robin http://ow.ly/7G8fT image source http://ow.ly/7G8ku

Use a camera and put my time into an idea instead (December 7th)

Cindy Sherman the 57 year old US artist photographer has been named by Glamour magazine as one of the ‘Women of the Year’, referring to her as the “queen of radical reinvention”, honoring her works for challenging the traditional representation of women. Sherman’s work will be the subject of a major traveling retrospective by MoMA in 2012. Sherman works along in her studio taking on the various roles of cinema including wardrobe, hairstylist, makeup, director and model; to create series of images of herself in costumes recreating specific scenes from movies. Sherman’s interest in the visual arts began as a painter, however frustrated with the mediums limitations she turned to photography. “…there was nothing more to say through painting, I was meticulously copying other art and then I realized I could just use a camera and put my time into an idea instead.”

Inspired by artinfo http://ow.ly/7G896 image source Nathaniel Paluga http://ow.ly/7G8dn

Emphasis on the 99% being injured by the 1% (December 6th)

Michael Kazin the 63 year old US history professor, co-editor of Dissent magazine and former member of Students for a Democratic Society during the 1960’s, has released a book titled ‘American Dreamers: How the left changed a Nation’. Kazin in an interview with thebrowser, states “…the populist movement of the 1890s and the Socialist Party in the early 20th century … articulated an anti-corporate platform which continues to be influential even in the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations … you have civil disobedience, which abolitionists were known for. You have nonviolence and a “beloved community”, which civil rights protesters were known for. And you have a very strong emphasis on the 99% being injured by the 1%, and a critique of American democracy as being corrupted by big money, that began in the late 19th century…”

Inspired by thebrowser http://ow.ly/7G7SG image source farm4 http://ow.ly/7G7WI

It's bad and we know it's getting worse (December 3rd)

Nancy Knowlton a US coral reef biologist, along with other marine scientists believes the acidification of the oceans, are a significant threat to our way of life. Knowlton’s research focuses on the impact of climate change on the global coral reefs, resulting from rising acidic levels and warming as a consequence of carbon emissions. In an interview with Dahr Jamail, Knowlton stated “We know it’s bad and we know it’s getting worse … there’s no question we have to do something about CO2 emissions or we won’t have coral reefs, as we do now … Coral reefs are like giant apartment complexes for all these species, and there is intimacy … If that starts breaking down, these organisms, which include millions of species around the world, lose their homes. Even if they aren’t eating coral, they depend on it.”

Inspired by Dahr Jamail http://ow.ly/7A2Se image source theseamonster http://ow.ly/7A3P5

System is rigged in favor of the privileged (December 2nd)

Lee Felsenstein the 66 year old US computer engineer and free speech advocate, renowned for his key role in the development of the personal computer, believes the current Occupy Wall Street movement could bring about generational change. In an article written by Quinn Norton, Felsenstein states “One of the effects of the Free Speech Movement [1964], and that outbreak of freedom really, was manifested in the development of the internet … We see the structure of the internet being an open structure, and open structure is what we were fighting for … There is no unified vision of what Occupy wants, besides a general feeling that the system is rigged in favor of the privileged…” Felsenstein while an engineer for the Community Memory Project, pioneered an early attempt prior to the internet, at networking publically accessible computer terminals to assess the social impact of technology.

Inspired by Quinn Norton http://ow.ly/7A1Mg image source http://ow.ly/7A24G

All savages, look at how they live (November 24th)

Calvin Gibbs the 26 year old US Army Staff Sergeant known as the ringleader of the ‘kill team’, a rogue army platoon in Afghanistan has been convicted of murder and will be released in less than nine years with parole. A court martial hearing resulted in Gibbs being convicted on fifteen charges including three of premeditated murder, and the use of medical shears to sever fingers from his unarmed victims, keeping them as a form of trophy collection. During the military trial, the prosecutor informed the jury panel that Gibbs had often referred to the Afghan people as savages, “These people are all savages, look at how they live”, then setting about to disguise the murders as legitimate combat kills with the use of ‘drop’ weapons to make it appear the victims were armed.

Inspired by Aljazeera http://ow.ly/7rMue image source http://ow.ly/7rMBq

Demand true accountability on Wall Street (November 20th)

Eliot Laurence Spitzer the 52 year old US former Governor of New York has put forward a series of suggestions to the Occupy Wall Street movement for consideration from an organizing perspective. “Harness the energy and passion of college students … ask some well-known musicians who might be sympathetic to the cause to participate … Schedule OWS rallies and events at the various State of the State addresses delivered by governors …  Recognize that there is insufficient diversity on the ranks of OWS … Call for a full rollback of the Bush tax cuts for all those above $1 million in annual income …  Demand true accountability on Wall Street … Demand that a financial service transaction fee be imposed … Demand that the New York Fed have “public” board members who truly represent the public”.

Inspired by Slate http://ow.ly/7kfBt image source http://ow.ly/7kfGX

A dream deferred can no longer be delayed (November 18th)

Paul H. Rosenberg the US journalist and Senior Editor of Random Lengths News, an alternative bi-weekly newspaper in Los Angeles has hit out at the Obama presidency in an Aljazeera article. Rosenberg states “Obama’s implicit dream – based on his own successful political trajectory – was that he could negotiate a truce within the one per cent to substantially improve the overall management of the US political system … For almost three years now, Obama’s attitude has been: “Why listen to them? They have nowhere else to go.” But now they do: to occupy Wall Street, public squares across the land, and the dreams and imagination of America. This is only the beginning … There comes a time when a dream deferred can no longer be delayed. That time is upon us now. Another world is not just possible: It is absolutely necessary”.

Inspired by Aljazerra http://ow.ly/7kf4H image source commondreams http://ow.ly/7kfk7

Most important development of our lifetime (November 16th)

Michael J. Sandel the 58 year old US political philosopher and Harvard University professor of political philosophy has referred to the grass root uprisings initiated during the ‘Arab Spring’ in an Aljazeera interview as “one of the most important political developments of our lifetimes. I think we will look back decades from now and see it as such. We don’t know how these revolutions will play out, one country to the next, but what we do know is that this is a historical moment… I think it should be an inspiration to those of us in established democracies to try to embody more fully the ideals of dignity and justice and above all of citizenship… The future is unpredictable, but I think that what will be remembered historically, whatever false starts there may be – and there may be many false starts…”

Inspired by Aljazerra http://ow.ly/7keHV image source roycecarlton http://ow.ly/7keLs

Not fully grasped a world war is occurring (November 14th)

Naomi Wolf the 48 year old US author and social critic has lashed out at American politicians following her arrest in New York during a supportive visit to the Occupy Wall Street movement in Lower Manhattan. In an Aljazeera article, Wolf claims America’s politicians “have had their fill of democracy. Across the country, police, acting under orders from local officials, are breaking up protest encampments … sometimes with shocking and utterly gratuitous violence”. Wolf states, “…most commentators have not fully grasped that a world war is occurring. But it is unlike any previous war in human history: for the first time, people around the world are not identifying and organising themselves along national or religious lines, but rather in terms of a global consciousness and demands for a peaceful life, a sustainable future, economic justice and basic democracy. Their enemy is a global “corporatocracy” that has purchased governments and legislatures, created its own armed enforcers, engaged in systemic economic fraud, and plundered treasuries and ecosystems”.

Inspired by Naomi Wolf http://ow.ly/7kdyB image source David Shankbone http://ow.ly/7kdNy

US is a two-tiered system of justice and politics (November 13th)

Glenn Greenwald the 44 year old US constitutional & civil rights litigator and columnist, has released a controversial article implying the top one per cent of US society is enjoying a two-tiered system of justice and politics. He states “In lieu of the rule of law – the equal application of rules to everyone – what we have now is a two-tiered justice system in which the powerful are immunised, while the powerless are punished with increasing mercilessness. … That is what has changed, and a growing recognition of what it means is fuelling rising citizen anger and protest. The inequality under which so many suffer is not only vast, but illegitimate, rooted as it is in lawlessness and corruption. Obscuring that fact has long been the linchpin for inducing Americans to accept vast and growing inequalities. That fact is now too glaring to obscure any longer.”

Inspired by Glenn Greenwald http://ow.ly/7dTsf image source http://ow.ly/7dU2D

Software can help us crack historical ciphers (November 12th)

Kevin Knight a US computer scientist of the University of South Carolina Viterbi School of Engineering, along with an international team have cracked the Copiale Cipher. Knight and his Swedish colleagues Beáta Megyesi and Christiane Schaefer of Uppsala University decoded the secret encrypted 18th century document. The cracking of the 75,000 character cryptogram has revealed the rituals and politics of a German secret society. The document known as the Copiale Cipher, has had its secret meaning shrouded in mystery since discovery at the end of the Cold War, hidden at an East Berlin Academy. The document comprises 105 pages of handwritten messages in abstract symbols and Roman letters. Knight states “I’m happy that linguistic software can help us crack historical ciphers … Now I hope that decipherment techniques can help us build better translation software.”

Inspired by Mark Brown http://ow.ly/7dRWY image source atvn http://ow.ly/7dT7i