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Dr Stuart Jeanne Bramhall

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I am a 63 year old American child and adolescent psychiatrist and political refugee in New Zealand. I have just published a young adult novel THE BATTLE FOR TOMORROW (which won a NABE Pinnacle Achievement Award) about a 16 year old girl who participates in the blockade and occupation of the US Capitol. I also have a new non-fiction ebook REVOLUTIONARY CHANGE and a 2010 memoir, THE MOST REVOLUTIONARY ACT: MEMOIR OF AN AMERICAN REFUGEE describing the circumstances that led me to leave the US in 2002 to start a new life in New Zealand. My memoir won an Allbooks Review Editor's Choice Award. I have a political commentary blog at my website.

www.stuartbramhall.com

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Injecting High Pressure Water Deep into Rock Bed, From ImagesAttr
(31 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Did Fracking Cause the Virginia Earthquake? The epicenter of Tuesday's earthquake is 160 miles from Braxton West Virginia, which has also experienced a rash of freak earthquakes since fracking operations started there several years ago. Geologic research has also linked fracking to freak earthquakes in Texas, Arkansas, New York State, Oklahoma, and Blackpool England.
London Riots, From ImagesAttr
(66 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Friday, August 12, 2011
The Tipping Point: When Do Americans Hit the Streets? Former Max Keiser predicts that the cost of food (when it reaches 40% of income) is the trigger that will send Americans into the streets. Other analysts point to a link between inadequate wheat supplies and the Soviet collapse. The decline of civil society in the US is another alarming parallel with the 1980s Soviet Union. There was no community infrastructure to take over when the Soviet infrastructure collapsed.
Dunham and Obama Sr: front 3rd and 4th from right, From ImagesAttr
(17 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Monday, April 11, 2011
The President with No Past: Obama's Electability in 2012 At the moment, because of Executive Order 13489, the public and press have virtually no way to independently verify much of what Obama tells us of his early life. Except for Fox News, the mainstream media has virtually ignored Executive Order 13489, which Obama signed immediately on assuming the presidency. In my view, this poses a major public relations problem for a president with no public record prior to 2004.
Dr. Wilhelm Reich, From ImagesAttr
(61 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Friday, August 6, 2010
The Mass Psychology of Fascism: Not a New Problem The tendency of low income workers to be drawn to ultra-right politics and to vote politicians into office who enact measures that hurt their economic interests is a very old problem. In his 1933 book THE MASS PSYCHOLOGY OF FASCISM, trail-blazing psychiatrist Wilhelm Reich, sharing some Marxist beliefs, analyzes the sociological reasons for this tendency - and offers proposals for the best way for progressives to address it.
(33 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Who Pulls Obama's Strings? In 2008 Americans elected a man to the presidency despite having virtually no knowledge of his life prior to 2004. A close look at Obama pre-2004 leaves a lot of unanswered questions.
From Images
(5 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Sunday, December 11, 2011
Developing Story: Hundreds of US-NATO Soldiers Arrive & Begin Operations on the Jordan-Syria Border According to first-hand accounts by several sources in Jordan, during the last few hours foreign military groups, estimated at hundreds of individuals, are spreading near the Jordanian and Syrian border. Another report received from our source in Amman identified an additional US-NATO Command Center in "al-Houshah,' a village near Mafraq.
Lyndon Johnson - Father of Gun Control, From ImagesAttr
(65 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Friday, August 26, 2011
Progressives Who Oppose Gun Control It's extremely puzzling how progressives got on the wrong - anti-civil liberties - side of gun control. Many scholars assert the real intent of gun control legislation is to control black and poor people - not guns.
(1 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Mycobacterium Avium Paratuberculosis: The Most Dangerous Food Borne Killer In Europe, it is widely recognized that the organism Mycobacterium Avium Paratuberculosis (MAP)is implicated in the development of Crohn's Disease and irritable bowel syndrome. While in the US powerful corporate lobbies have been extremely effective in suppressing this informataion.
(11 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Marketing Serotonin Deficiency: the Multibillion Dollar Depression Industry Big Pharma has spent 25 years and billions of dollars marketing depression as a genetic "serotonin deficiency." Which they have used to justify a line of enormously profitable drugs called serotonin reuptake inhibitors. There is still no solid research evidence that "serotonin deficiency" actually exists. And sadly the exclusive focus on drug treatment has led tesearchers to totally neglect other important causes.
2009 Olive Branch Press, From ImagesAttr
(7 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Osama bin Laden: Dead or Alive? by David Ray Griffin Griffin's 2009 book attempts to explain how America's favorite terrorist came to release 19 video and audiotapes following his death and funeral - duly reported by the Associated Press, CBS, CNN, Fox News, the New York Times, the Telegraph and Time magazine - in December 2001. As often happens in the mainstream media, the events Griffin documents have vanished down the old memory hole.
Ron Paul, From ImagesAttr
(44 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Sunday, August 28, 2011
Sticking It to Ron Paul It's open season on Ron Paul in the so-called "alternative" media, thanks to the Congressman's strong showing in the Iowa straw polls. The venomous tone and absence of policy analysis is remarkably similar to the hatchet job the "alternative" media performed on Ralph Nader in 2004 and 2008. Could this because Paul, like Nader, is taking a strong, explicit stance against the corporate takeover of government?
The War You Don't See, From ImagesAttr
(19 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Sunday, September 25, 2011
Banned in US Theatres: the Film You Won't See The War You Don't See, John Pilger's 2010 documentary, has been banned from US theaters but is now available as a free download. The film's main focus is the need to hold mainstream journalists accountable for their blatant censorship in their coverage of the Afghan and Iraqi wars - and the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
Primate grooming behavior, From ImagesAttr
(12 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Is Human Nature Flawed? The Human Nature debate is centuries old. The ruling elite argues in favor of continuing class society and privilege, owing to so-called innate character defects that make working people incapable of governing themselves. Marx and Engels argue that capitalistic oppression creates these so-called character flaws - a view supported by contemporary human behavior research.
New dollar bill, From ImagesAttr
(28 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Saturday, July 23, 2011
TEOFWAWKIT: The End of the World as We Know It As the global recession and debt crisis worsens, even mainstream analysts speculate that global capitalism is on the verge of collapse. Resource specialists predict that large nation-states like the US, Russia, and China will break up into smaller regional units, as occurred during the Middle Ages following the collapse of the Roman Empire. It's useful to predict and plan what these new communities will look like.
Big Pharma $$$$, From ImagesAttr
(9 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Monday, June 6, 2011
The "Me-Too" Drug Rip-Off In addition to the billions of health care dollars drug companies waste on disease mongering, billions more are wasted on developing and marketing hundreds of "me-too" drugs - which are very slight variations of drugs already on the market. The main downside of me-too drugs is their contribution to skyrocketing health care costs, the main reason hundreds of thousands of Americans can't see a doctor when they are ill.
Arabesque Americaine, From ImagesAttr
(5 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Saturday, September 10, 2011
Smoking Gun: US Government Role in Arab Spring Arabesque Americaine leaves absolutely no doubt that the "Arab Spring" - like the earlier "color revolutions" in eastern Europe - were almost certainly destabilization/regime change operations, funded and orchestrated by the CIA, State Department, historic CIA-funded foundations - and last, but not least, Google.
Deformed Frog, From ImagesAttr
(16 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Sunday, January 9, 2011
Buyer Beware: Are Americans Systematically Poisoning Themselves? The longstanding failure of the EPA and FDA to regulate toxic chemicals exposes millions of Americans to dangerous chemicals with potentially serious, long term health effects.
Premarin Ads, From ImagesAttr
(8 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Friday, April 1, 2011
Wyeth and the Multibillion Dollar Menopause Industry The marketing of so-called "estrogen deficiency syndrome," aka menopause, and hormone replacement therapy has been one of the most lethal examples of "disease mongering" by the pharmaceutical industry. The number of premature cancer deaths linked to HRT is estimated in the millions.
Colorado iMatter protest, From ImagesAttr
(14 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Sunday, August 7, 2011
Will the US Have a Generation Z Revolution? Psychological oppression (manifested by widespread apathy and resignation the face of major corporate and government attacks on working Americans) is at an all time high in the US. Historically it's a strong and sustained youth rebellion that enables society to throw off severe psychological repression. What are the chances of this happening in the US?
Never Retreat, From ImagesAttr
(24 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Saturday, January 8, 2011
Sign Petition to Indict Sarah Palin Please sign on-line petition to indict Sarah Palin for incitement to violence
The Fluoride Deception, From ImagesAttr
(18 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Sunday, December 12, 2010
Fluoride: the New Lead In his 2004 book the Fluoride Deception, BBC investigative journalist Christopher Bryson releases previously secret documents revealing that the decision to fluoridate water was actually a corporate scam dreamed up by Alcoa, GM, and DuPont. Fluoride happens to be a very toxic hazardous waste, and water fluoridation has been banned by 98% of European communities.
Powerdown, From ImagesAttr
(5 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Friday, November 12, 2010
How Climate Change and Resource Scarcity Threaten Democracy The counsequences of climate change and resource scarcity will result in increasing social upheaval over the next two decades. In countries like the US, China and Russia, the response by government is likely to be heavy handed and authoritarian - which makes this an important issue for progressives to follow and discuss.
Allen Dulles - 1st CIA director, From ImagesAttr
(4 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Saturday, April 16, 2011
Does the CIA Fund Both the Right and the Left? The Deep State, Peter Dale Scott's term for shadowy network of government officials and corporate elite that secretly steers foreign and domestic policy, seems to rely on two main strategies in suppressing opposition to their agenda. The first involves rigid censorship of public information by the corporate controlled media. The second involves a large interlocking network of so-called "left gatekeeping foundations."
Adnan Khashoggi, From ImagesAttr
(21 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Diana: a Link to Iran Contra and 9/11? It has always puzzled me that Diana conspiracy theories always blame the Royal Family, without looking at Dodi Al Fayed's unsavory connections through his uncle Adnan Khashoggi. Khashoggi is best known as the arms middle man in Iran Contra, though he also has interesting links to 9/11.
(15 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Useless Eaters: the Stigmatization of Illness The US has the most reactionary and punitive attitude in the world towards illness. In the growing attack on entitlesments there are always assertions made that sick people are responsible for the problems that make them unable to work. Years of epidemiological researach show exactly the contrary - that lifestyle factors have limited impact on health.
(10 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Friday, December 9, 2011
The Wikipedia Revolution Lih's book stands as a testament to the unsung heroes of the Open Source movement. From the outset, there has been a split between entrepreneurs like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, who view the Internet as an opportunity to become enormously rich, and visionaries in the OS movement, who see it as a medium of social change. Like OWS, it reclaims electronic communications as a "commons" to be jointly owned for the common good.
PBD Checklist, From ImagesAttr
(8 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Monday, May 30, 2011
Drug Companies: Killing Kids for Profit Practicing psychiatry in New Zealand has given me a unique perspective on childhood bipolar disorder, which is virtually unknown outside the US. Melbourne psychiatrist Dr Peter Parry has recently exposed a conspiracy by Eli Lilly and other drug companies pressure psychiatrists, pediatricians and primary care physicians to prescribe dangerous antipsychotic drugs "off-label" to American children.
AIM activist Ward Churchill, From ImagesAttr
(17 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Monday, April 25, 2011
How Nonviolence Protects the State As a long time activist, I have always been troubled by the militant nonviolent perspective that dominates the progressive movement in the US . In some circles, the taboo is so absolute that activists are systematically demonized for even raising the subject. This is why I'm extremely pleased to see Peter Gederloo, Ward Churchill, Derrick Jensen and even the culture jamming group Adbusters revive the debate.
Call Center Arizon State Prison, From ImagesAttr
(30 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Monday, November 22, 2010
The Private Prison Industrial Complex The number of prison inmates in the US now exceeds that of China - even though they have four times the population. Approximately half US prisoners are non-violent mentally ill offenders who are no longer able to access treatment in the community. The prison-building spree is no longer driven by violent crime, which is declining, but the boom in the for-profit prison industry.
Milton Friedman with Ronald Reagan, From ImagesAttr
(17 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Thursday, March 24, 2011
The War on Public Education Republicans and Tea Partiers aren't trying to cut education simply to balance the budget and provide tax cuts for their wealthy supporters. They have a far more ominous agenda -- namely a 30 year campaign to privatize public education, just as prisons, water, warfare, welfare and other public services are being privatized.
McBaby, From ImagesAttr
(17 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Monday, December 20, 2010
The Politics of Obesity Government and community leaders continue to blame the growing obesity epidemic on "poor lifestyle choices." This is despite compelling evidence of political/social causation - and despite the utter failure of individualized treatment of obesity.
(11 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Friday, October 28, 2011
General Strike: Where OWS Needs To Go Prior to Tuesday's violent police attack on Occupy Oakland, I had the sense that the authorities were quite comfortable with thousands of us camping out in city parks every night -- so long as we weren't interfering with business as usual. Occupy Oakland, which has retaken Oscar Grant Plaza, seems ready to up the ante with their call for a general strike next Wednesday.
National security adviser Brzezinski with Tim Osman, From ImagesAttr
(5 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Saturday, March 19, 2011
Our CIA "Freedom Fighters" in Pakistan The recent arrest (and release) of CIA/Xe (Blackwater) operative Raymond Davis has emboldened retired Pakistani military and ISI (Pakistani intelligence) officers to speak openly regarding secret CIA support for the Baloch separatist movement and their concerns that Pakistan, not Afghanistan, is the real target of Obama's war on terror:
Ron Paul and Barney Frank - Cosponsors of HR 2306, From ImagesAttr
(4 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Thursday, August 18, 2011
Cost Cutting and the War on Drugs Thanks to the recession and debt crisis, progressives seeking to end the failed War on Drugs have some curious bedfellows, including the ultra-conservative Cato Institute, grassroots Tea Party groups, and even mainstream Republicans. There are interesting parallels between the decision to end alcohol Prohibition during the Great Depression and recent calls to end the prohibition on marijuana - and possibly other drugs.
(7 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Sunday, September 19, 2010
What Comes After Capitalism? The long taboo topic of the end of capitalism seems to be in fashion recently. However there seems to be a lot of uncertainty - and anxiety - about what might replace it.
The Book of Mormon, From ImagesAttr
(9 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Thursday, May 26, 2011
The Book of Mormon: the Musical The creators of South Park released the cast recording of their musical The Book of Mormon last week. Although it bashes Mormons (very slightly), it's really an extremely funny satire of the unique American fad known as positive thinking.
(9 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Tuesday, December 13, 2011
The V-Word The two biggest obstacles OWS will face in maintaining their commitment to non-violence will be the attitude of low income and minority groups who deal with police violence on a daily basis and growing concerns about the possible role CIA-funded left gatekeeping foundations have played in engineering OWS's exclusive commitment to nonviolence. This concern is heightened by the use of Gene Sharp's materials at several OWS sites.
How Nonviolence Protects the State, From ImagesAttr
(8 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Sunday, May 1, 2011
Book Review - How Nonviolence Protects the State In How Nonviolence Protects the State, Peter Gelderloos takes up where Ward Churchill's 1985 Pacifism as Pathology leaves off -- expanding on Churchill's basic premises with more recent historical examples. Like Churchill, Gelderloos bemoans the determination of nonviolence proponents to impose their ideological views across the entire progressive movement.
Foreign Policy Magazine, From ImagesAttr
(12 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Thursday, January 20, 2011
Is the US Becoming a Failed State? Noam Chomsky was one of the first to raise the question of US failed statehood in 2006 Failed States: the Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy. This was two years before the federal government badly bungled the 2008 US banking collapse
The illustrious Bush brothers, From ImagesAttr
(5 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Saturday, March 26, 2011
The Charter School Industry The charter school movement has become an industry, attracting massive private funding, with the goal of leveraging billions of dollars in public subsidies. Although technically charter school financing schemes are non-profit, they generate a phenomenal number of for-profit contracts for companies marketing curriculum and textbooks, computers, software and administrative, clerical and security services
Police demanding better wages and conditions, From ImagesAttr
(3 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Egypt's Invisible Labor Movement US media coverage of the Egyptian revolution differs drastically from that of Al Jazeera and other foreign outlets. The latter more accurately report the critical role played by strikes and labor unrest in forcing Mubarak to resign.
McGeorge Bundy, From ImagesAttr
(7 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Friday, April 22, 2011
The Cointelpro Role of Left Gatekeeping Foundations In addition to funding so-called alternative media, left gatekeeper foundations play an important counterinsurgency role by co-opting both overseas pro-democracy movements and the US progressive movement.
US Postal Inspector patch, From ImagesAttr
(12 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Sunday, March 6, 2011
10/14/02: the Day I Became an Expatriate The following is the first in a series of essays from a new book on the unique perspective I enjoy, as an American expatriate, on the steady unraveling of the US economy and America's declining role on the world stage.
The End of Growth, From ImagesAttr
(9 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Tuesday, November 1, 2011
The End Of Global Economic Growth In Heinberg's previous work on resource scarcity, he envisions a timeline of a decade or more before the scarcity and prohibitive cost of natural resources (oil, coal, water, etc.) cause the capitalist economic system to hit the wall. In The End of Growth, he argues that it has already happened -- when global economic expansion ended in October 2008. His data shows that while a few countries can claim an occasional quarter of
Serafem, From ImagesAttr
(6 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Monday, May 23, 2011
Medicalizing the Menstrual Cycle Once the patent on a drug expires, other manufacturers are free to produce much cheaper generic versions, resulting in plummeting sales of the original brand name drug. In 1994, Lilly, which was facing the expiration of its patent on Prozac, seized on an obscure psychiatric research diagnosis to re-brand Prozac as a (extremely expensive) treatment for PMS.
Into Eternity, From ImagesAttr
(5 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Free Download: Scariest Horror Flick Ever Into Eternity is an eerie account of Onkalo, the world's first permanent nuclear repository. There are an estimated 250,000 - 300,000 tons of nuclear waste lying around in cooling pools. 250,000 tons of highly radioactive material capable of wiping out all living things and contaminating adjacent agricultural lands and future crops for 100,000 years. Most of the radiation that has contaminated Japan is from spent fuel rods.
Battery hens, From ImagesAttr
(5 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Tuesday, March 15, 2011
New Zealand: Experiencing a Second World Country Emigrating to New Zealand has both an upside and a downside. All developed and developing countries operate under the same global capitalist system. In a few areas, New Zealand has adopted some of the worst features of capitalism. However, for the most part, Kiwis retain their commitment to the "democratic socialism" they brought here from Europe.
Pacifism as Pathology, From ImagesAttr
(5 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Friday, April 29, 2011
Pacifism as Pathology - Book Review Pacifism as Pathology is a collection of essays centered around an essay on Pacifism Ward Churchill wrote in 1985. The premise of Churchill's essay (and the book) is that the militant nonviolent stance assumed by the US progressive movement is based on irrational psychological reasons, rather than strategic reasons or moral principle.
(5 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Sunday, October 24, 2010
Population and Sustainability: Addressing the Taboo More and more activists in the sustainability movement are coming to the conclusion that emissions can't be reduced to a safe range without population growth. However at present, it's considered politically incorrect to even mention population control. No one person has all the answers to the thorny population dilemma. However agreeing not to discuss it isn't going to get us there.
IMF Headquarters, From ImagesAttr
(5 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Sunday, February 13, 2011
The IMF Protection Racket The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a protection racket - pure and simple. With the recent chaos they have triggered in Greece, Ireland and (of course) Egypt, it's easy to forget the IMF was on the verge of bankruptcy prior to the 2008 economic collapse.
The world after capitalism, From ImagesAttr
(13 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Thursday, July 28, 2011
Life After Capitalism Richard Heinberg predicts that global resource scarcity will cause the global economic system to collapse and force large nation-states to break up into small regional units. As a result the demise of capitalism could be an extraordinarily positive change for most of humankind.
Upper Class Twit, From ImagesAttr
(4 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Sunday, November 28, 2010
Working Class Culture The mainstream media tries very hard to convince the US public that class distinctions have vanished from American society. Nothing could be farther from the truth. In fact, the working class throughout the industrial world has their own distinct culture and language. As I was delighted to learn on emigrating to New Zealand.
Cellphone Tower, From ImagesAttr
(4 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Friday, February 4, 2011
The Cellphone/Wi-Fi Controversy The FDA, acting under pressure from the cellphone and wireless industry, has come out with very different recommendations regarding cellphones and Wi-Fi than the European Environment Agency - which is extremely concerned about major health hazards.
Fluorosis present in 41% of US teenagers, From ImagesAttr
(20 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Saturday, September 3, 2011
The Fight Against Fluoride: One We Can Win A large group in my local community is battling to end water fluoridation. Buoyed by a tremendous sense of empowerment after getting local media support, many in our group have gone on to join New Plymouth's anti-fracking campaign.
Tragedy and Hope: A History of the World in Our Time, From ImagesAttr
(9 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Thursday, October 20, 2011
The Real Vampires: An Insider's View Of Banks Ex-mentor to former president Bill Clinton, Harvard, Princeton and Georgetown professor Carroll Quigley was the ultimate Washington insider. Most history books written by the ruling elite teach that wars, recessions and depressions are accidents of history that can't be avoided. It's extremely rare for one of their own to tell the truth about the role of the corporate/banking elite in precipitating most global calamities.
(9 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Speculating with our Food In 2011, "food derivative" speculation has replaced financial derivatives as the hot new investment promoted by major investment banks like Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan. Simultaneously private equity funds are also buying up huge tracts of land in the third world. For me the biggest scandal is the refusal of the CFTC to implement rules in the 2010 Financial Reform Act designed to prevent speculation in food commodities.
Expatriates Campaigning for Obama in the UK, From ImagesAttr
(30 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Friday, March 11, 2011
My New Expatriate Identity As with many American expatriates, it took leaving the country to realize how completely US militarism dominates all aspects of American life. Hardest for me was my struggle with my own American exceptionalism - this bizarre unconscious belief that the US was the most productive, efficient, cleanest and most scientifically advanced country.
(2 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Sunday, November 13, 2011
Don't Eat the Fish People who clean up or live near toxic oil spills - or who eat contaminated fish - are at high risk for PAH-related cancers, birth and immune defects, miscarriage, and bleeding and nervous system disorders. Toxicologists have known about the health hazards of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons for two decades. Why is the public being kept in the dark?
A solution to homelessness, From ImagesAttr
(21 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Friday, June 17, 2011
Squatting 101 With the growing epidemic of foreclosures and homelessness, squatting is becoming increasingly common worldwide. In general, police and banks assume a hands-off attitude towards squatters. The presence of whole neighborhoods of abandoned homes is immensely costly, both to cities and the banks who hold title to the properties.
Indian activist Vandana Shiva, From ImagesAttr
(11 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Heroes of the Antiglobalization Movement A brief history of the early antiglobalization movement from the perspective of a veteran of the Battle of Seattle.
The Wealth of Nations, From ImagesAttr
(17 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Saturday, October 1, 2011
Reclaiming Adam Smith It's high time for liberals, progressives and left libertarians to reclaim Adam Smith as one of our own. In the Wealth of Nations, Smith self-identifies as a liberal, advocates for what he calls "progressive" economics, and calls for government intervention to ensure that rich people invest their profits in increasing productive labor, rather than luxury, corruption and vice.
(1 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Ending Corporate Rule: the Citizens' Rights Movement The citizens' rights movement was born in 2000 when Belfast Pennsylvania, passed a law prohibiting factory farms from operating within their township. In 2005 this law was upheld in court, and twelve other Pennsylvania townships in five counties now have similar ordinances. In addition to laws banning sewage sludge and factory farms, one community has banned mining and four have passed laws establishing ecosystem rights.
(6 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Saturday, November 19, 2011
Is #OccupyWallStreet Working Class? The success of OWS in expanding into the traditional working class will depend on their willingness to discard the label middle class. Although our corporate-controlled western democracies are rapidly dismantling the middle class in the name of debt reduction, the professional and academic bedrock of the American middle class is still largely intact. Their members have very different interests than minimum wage workers.
Mental Speed Bumps, From ImagesAttr
(4 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Sunday, December 26, 2010
Reclaiming Our Streets: a Model for Social Change Because of its immediate change effect, the global street reclaiming movement is extremely effective for inspiring optimism about political change. It encourages ordinary citizens to see themselves as change agents, rather than looking to uncooperative and/or corrupt political leaders to make changes on their behalf. As such it provides a valuable model for other types of social and political change
(18 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Thursday, November 24, 2011
Fairy Tale Economics The only way I know to make sense of the global economic crisis is to assume, until proven otherwise, that everything Obama, Wall Street and the corporate media tell us is a lie. The economy Wall Street and our political leaders talk about is a fairy tale economy that bears no relation to the real world. Thanks to Occupy Wall Street, a new narrative about the global economic crisis is beginning to emerge.
5 year Canadian and international hit, From ImagesAttr
(3 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Little Mosque on the Prairie I wonder why Fox Broadcasting won't allow Americans to watch the five year Canadian hit sit-com Little Mosque on the Prairie? Seems like blatant censorship to me. I think Fox needs to hear from us - and the Saudi prince who is one of their major shareholders.
1968, From ImagesAttr
(16 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Sunday, January 2, 2011
1968 Mark Kurlansky's 2004 book 1968: the Year That Rocked the World has totally altered my perspective on the global liberation struggles that year. It holds important lessons for contemporary activists seeking to reclaim so-called western democracies.
1987 Intifada, From ImagesAttr
(12 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Teenagers: God's Answer to Psychological Oppression Historically teenagers have sparked numerous mass uprisings. Some scholars credit the Soweto uprising as heralding the start of mass popular resistance to apartheid. Adolescents also initiated the first Intifada in 1987. Deadly police force is often ineffective against teens, owing to their general disregard for their personal safety.
The NZ Green Party has 9 MPs in Parliament, From ImagesAttr
(6 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Thursday, January 13, 2011
The Case for Proportional Representation The Supreme Court decision in Citizens United essentially removes any barrier to absolute corporate control over elections and the legislative process. There is a growing grassroots coalition to amend the Constitution to ban "corporate personhood" - as well numerous local movements to adopt proportional representation.
The Most Revolutionary Act: Memoir of an American Refugee, From ImagesAttr
(5 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Saturday, November 6, 2010
Corporate Censorship vs. Indie Publishing This is an essay I wrote for IndieReader, in the hope they will publish it in an upcoming book about indie publishing. As I state in the essay, my choice not to go with a mainstream publisher was political.
Our Kind of Traitor, From ImagesAttr
(3 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Friday, May 13, 2011
Our Kind of Traitor In Our Kind of Traitor, LeCarre pulls no punches in describing the takeover of British and US intelligence by a corrupt criminal element, supported by even more corrupt corporate and government sponsors.
Transition Towns Handbook, From ImagesAttr
(3 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Sustainability: Choosing the Right Crisis Sustainability activists are finding it easier to organize around resource scarcity than climate change. The concepts are more concrete and relevant to peoples' daily lives - especially as energy and food costs start to skyrocket.
(3 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Wednesday, November 9, 2011
The Corporatization of Breast Cancer Is the real purpose of Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the Pink Ribbon Campaign to help women or the dozens of corporations who have jumped on the pink ribbon band wagon? To end breast cancer we must eliminate its causes, including the hundreds of endocrine disruptors and other cancer-causing chemicals in our environment.
(11 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Tackling Wall Street Criminality Inside Job should be required viewing for all media skeptics who question the rationale behind OWS. The film lays to rest the myth that the 2008 economic collapse was merely a "perfect storm" of regulatory failure, greed and conflict of interest. Not only does our current economic mess stem from blatant Wall Street criminality, but the IMF repeatedly warned Bush and the Federal Reserve of the need for urgent intervention.
Alec Loorz, From ImagesAttr
(15 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Friday, June 24, 2011
Generation Z Activism: Alec Loorz Alec Loorz is a 16 year old from Ventura California who is suing the US government and three states for "allowing money to be more powerful than the survival of my generation and making decisions that threaten our right to a safe and healthy planet."
(8 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Friday, December 2, 2011
Paying the Piper It's impossible to rationally discuss economic reform separate from political reform. At present, there is no commitment to require the ruling elite to engage in the belt tightening they seek to impose on the middle class and young people. Where there is political will to share equally the cost of fixing the financial crisis, there are some straightforward policies that could restore global economic stability within months.
2005 Monthly Review Press, From ImagesAttr
(9 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Saturday, June 11, 2011
The Language of Empire: Abu Ghraib and the American Media The Language of Empire is an examination of the Abu Ghraib scandal, from the perspective that the torture there was primarily an instrument of terror (i.e. a military tactic intended to cause intimidation). In addition to detailing what actually happened at Abu Ghraib, the book provides a detailed analysis of the psychological underpinnings of America's complex government and corporate propaganda systems.
Working Class, From ImagesAttr
(14 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Tuesday, June 21, 2011
The Real Culture Wars The mainstream media deliberately conceals the real cultural divide, between the 20% who comprise the professional/academic class and the 80% who work for near minimum wage. These firmly entrenched class divisions present an major obstacle to building a broad-based American mass movement. Progressives could take a page from 1970s feminists regarding strategy and tactics for recruiting the working class.
1937 GM sit down strike, From ImagesAttr
(5 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Sunday, July 17, 2011
The Dreaded U Word According to a recent survey 41% of Americans "disapprove" of unions. Young Americans, especially, tend to shun unions because they view them as ineffective in protecting labor rights. Owing to the 1947 Taft Hartley Act, American unions essentially function as government unions, owing to stringent federal restrictions on their activities.
Racehorse trainer, From ImagesAttr
(6 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Thursday, July 7, 2011
Will Capitalism Leave Lasting Scars? In view of the extensive research evidence, mainstream human behavior experts are slowly coming around to the view that the ravages of capitalist society, rather than "human nature" itself are responsible for the wanton cruelty and "inhumanity" that characterize industrialized society. Yet many continue to argue that socialism and participatory democracy are impossible, owing to the irreversible nature of the damage.
(6 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Guess Who's Printing Money? The Eurozone debt crisis and Occupy movement have revived the monetization debate in Europe (and elsewhere) in a way that isn't happening in the US. Monetization is the term applied when government, rather than private banks, issues the money used by the public and by government itself.
Staff Sgt Jared Hagemann, From ImagesAttr
(10 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Saturday, October 8, 2011
GI Suicides: A National Disgrace In 2009 there were Congressional hearings following the revelation that more American troops were dying from suicide than combat. During the hearings, it came out that servicemen were returning stateside to be hospitalized for TBI, PTSD and depression; started on antidepressants and antipsychotics; and redeployed to Iraq and Afghanistan -- many while still on medication.
Chain of Command, From ImagesAttr
(6 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Monday, May 16, 2011
Chain of Command: the Road from 9/11 to Abu Ghraib In Language of Empire, Lila Rajiva observes that Seymour Hersh's disclosure of torture at Abu Ghraib seems like a "limited hangout" or "controlled opposition" disclosure -- in other words what Barry Zwicker refers to as "the kind of opposition the US elite can live with." After reading Chain of Command, I tend to share Rajiva's view.
(12 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Open Source: A New Tool for the Sustainability Movement Up till now climate change activists have been mainly focused on pressuring government to adopt carrot and stick policies to motivate billions of people to undertake the behavior change necessary to reduce the carbon footprint of the(mainly)developed world. It's clearly not working. At http://www.worldchangin.com they propose a novel approach that doesn't require government buy-in.
Map, From ImagesAttr
(3 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Study Guide on Humanitarian Crises It appears that creating humanitarian crises in oil-rich regions of the third world is now official US policy. Although we are led to believe drought and famine are the cause, there is always a back story of US military or covert intervention. The story line is so predictable that I have created a Study Guide on Humanitarian Crises. Dates can be altered to fit past and future US interventions.
Battle of Seattle, From ImagesAttr
(7 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Moving from Facebook Into the Streets In my lifetime, enlisting the working class has always been the major stumbling block for American progressives. The past three decades have witnessed the launch of many fantastic grassroots initiatives. All engendered considerable energy and enthusiasm, flourished briefly and then, for the most part, fizzled and died. I blame this on the sophisticated ideological conditioning that bombards all Americans from an early age.
(5 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Sunday, May 16, 2010
The US vs China: the Race to Produce Composite Fiber Cars It appears that is an elegantly simple technological solution to current US de-industrialization, sovereign debt, American carbon debt and even endless Middle East wars to protect our claim on imported oil. Yet for some reason China, India, Japan and Germany are far ahead of us in gearing up to produce composite carbon fiber cars.
Invisible Balance of Power, From ImagesAttr
(9 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Thursday, June 9, 2011
US vs Islamic Militants: Invisible Balance of Power In Invisible Balance of Power, Sajjad Shaukat argues that militant terrorist groups fill a vacuum in power relations stemming from the collapse of the Soviet Union. In the absence of an international body capable of forcing the US to follow international law, they provide the only check against wanton US military aggression.
Recent Maori protest in Auckland, From ImagesAttr
(4 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Thursday, March 17, 2011
Activism in New Zealand For me the advantages of living in New Zealand far outweigh the negatives. This relates mainly to my personal experience that grassroots organizing is much easier here than in the US. Overall, I find Kiwis to be less alienated and apathetic than their American cousins, less likely to be taken in by the corporate hype they see on TV, and more confident about their ability to bring about change through collective action.
1932 Veterans March on Washington, From ImagesAttr
(6 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Thinking Like Egyptians It's extremely heartening to see speculation across the blogosphere about Americans' ability to replicate mass mobilizations overseas. Nevertheless comparable regime change in the US will require a major commitment to sustained organizing. This will be hard for Americans, who aren't joiners. Unemployed and part time workers, students, and people on welfare and disability should consider joining UCubed, the unemployed union.
(3 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Sunday, December 4, 2011
The 2011 New Zealand Elections The outcome of the November 26 elections was extremely gratifying for the New Zealand Green Party. We received an unprecedented 10.6% of the party vote, which will translate into 13 MPs in the new Parliament. We also passed a referendum to preserve MMP (New Zealand's system of proportional representation).
(4 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Wednesday, October 26, 2011
The #occupywallstreet Report Card Capturing the corporate media spotlight, even briefly, with a strong anticapitalist message is a major, unprecedented feat for any grassroots organization. There are also dangerous pitfalls in becoming too reliant on the corporate media. Thus it's critically important that we continue to produce our own media, as well as devise self-assessments tools to review and critique our accomplishments.
(5 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Wednesday, November 23, 2011
OWS Demographics and Privilege OWS protestors have little hope of recruiting the traditional working class if they self-identify as middle class. The question of their class orientation will revolve around what they want OWS to accomplish. Are they willing to settle for student loan forgiveness and other short term policy fixes? Or do they have a vision for massive social change that will benefit everyone who has joined them in the park?
Kiwis' view of opinion polls, From ImagesAttr
(12 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Saturday, August 27, 2011
The Tyranny of Opinion Polls Most public opinion polls are still conducted by calling the landline phone numbers of randomly selected voters. Twenty-seven percent of US phones are cellphone-only - a group that is disproportionately young, poor, and minority. The failure to reflect their views in voter surveys produces results that disproportionately favor Republicans and conservatives.
Homeless Middle East Vet, From ImagesAttr
(6 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Monday, October 10, 2011
"Studying" GI Suicides: Congress Cops Out Sending troops to war on psychotropic medication is an absolute violation of basic health and military standards. GIs on psychoactive medication place the lives and welfare of their fellow servicemen at risk, which is the main reason official Pentagon policy has always forbidden it. In 2009, the Senate Armed Services Committee response to this outrage was to "study" it. GIs are treated even worse following discharge.
Revolutionary Change: An Expatriate Perspective, From ImagesAttr
(2 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Sunday, September 4, 2011
Revolutionary Change: An Expatriate View I'm offering a free download of my new book Revolutionary Change: An Expatriate View for readers willing to give me feedback and suggestions (and maybe even write a review on Amazon).
The CO2 Cycle, From ImagesAttr
(20 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Saturday, August 28, 2010
Climate Change - Too Important to Leave to Scientists A big part of the current climate change controversy is that it can't be reduced to a sound bite. A second, possibly more serious, problem is that progressives have mostly referred to scientists to prove climate change is happening.
(1 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Saturday, May 8, 2010
The Bank of North Dakota: Our Only State Owned Bank More and more activists (and state candidates in the November elections) are getting on the bandwagon to join North Dakota in exploring the creation of state owned banks and/or lending institutions. With many states on the verge of bankruptcy, thanks to their indebtedness to Wall Street, it seems an incredibly simple and cost effective way to restore their financial self-sufficiency.
Occupy New Plymouth Oct 15, From ImagesAttr
(3 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Sunday, October 16, 2011
Occupy New Plymouth- Day 3 and Report on New Zealand Occupy Movement My participation in Occupy New Plymouth has to be one of the most inspiring, soul-changing experiences of my life. Not only has it given me the unique privilege of connecting and hearing the views of young (some high school age) activists, but it has taught me how to totally set aside my usual routine for the more important task of change making.
Drugs as Weapons Against Us Poster, From Uploaded
(4 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Thursday, January 31, 2019
MK-Ultra, LSD and the CIA War on Musicians and Activists On January 29, John Potash will release his film Drugs as Weapons Against Us: The CIA War on Musicians and Activists - based on his 2015 book Drugs as Weapons Against Us: The CIA's Murderous Targeting of SDS, Panthers, Hendrix, Lennon, Cobain, Tupac and Other Activists. A virtual encyclopedia of illegal government drug trafficking and covert assassinations.
(5 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Sunday, November 6, 2011
OWS: A Quandary for Long Time Activists I encounter many long time activists in a quandary how to relate to #OccupyWallStreet. A vibrant, growing mass movement involving thousands of activists is always far more interesting and exciting than the drudgery of keeping existing grassroots organizations going. There is a strong temptation to abandon current organizing commitments to join the groundswell created by the OWS movement. This could be a big mistake.
Climate Justice Taranaki, From ImagesAttr
(5 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Monday, September 12, 2011
Fighting Fracking in New Zealand New Plymouth is sometimes referred to as the Texas of New Zealand, owing to its (tiny) off-shore gas fields and oil rigs. It's also home to a highly vocal oil/gas industry watchdog group called Climate Justice Tarananki. It was this group that first raised the alarm on local fracking operations in March 2011. Taranaki is also the first region in New Zealand to protest fracking.
Pfc Ryan Reed, From ImagesAttr
(10 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Wednesday, October 12, 2011
How to End the War(s) Obama's endeavor to conduct an indefinite war of aggression on seven fronts is ill-conceived, morally bankrupt, and opposed by the majority of the American public. Given their first hand contact with corruption, officer misconduct and civilian atrocities, returning veterans are a critical voice in an antiwar effort that was scattered to the winds by the election of Barack Obama.
A WFP Rally, From ImagesAttr
(5 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Saturday, July 9, 2011
Paid Sick Leave - One for our Side In June, Connecticut became the first state to require private employers to provide paid sick leave. The US is the only country in the industrialized world with no national requirement for employers to provide paid sick leave. Connecticut's Working Families Party (WFP), which has been lobbying for paid sick leave since 2002, is claiming credit for the new law.
Anti-TPPA Protest in Chicago, From ImagesAttr
(1 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Monday, September 26, 2011
After Seattle The collapse of the Doha round of WTO negotiations in 2009 was a major victory for antiglobalization activists. Unfortunately globalization is alive and well. The current 9 country TPPA has many of the same investor protections as the MAI and threatens to end our access to low-cost generic medications.
(5 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Monday, May 10, 2010
Oil Spills and Money Laundering: An Ethical Dilemma The problem of Wall Street involvement in money laundering of illicit drug profits dates back to the late seventies (at least). There are no mainstream banks that aren't implicated and the ready availability of drug cash seems fundamental to keeping the US financial system afloat.
The Battle for Tomorrow, From ImagesAttr
(1 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Tuesday, May 3, 2011
The Battle for Tomorrow - my new book My new book (a novel) went up on Amazon today. It's about a sixteen- year-old girl who participates in the blockade and occupation of the US Capitol. I suspect The Battle for Tomorrow will be controversial because it talks frankly about teen sexuality, contraception and abortion.
(6 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Wednesday, August 22, 2018
The Rohingya Crisis: Is Myanmar the New Syria The western media is flooding us with images of Muslim Rohingya fleeing Rakhine state in Myanmar. Yet for some reason western accounts rarely mention the country's 70-year civil war with Rohingyan separatists - nor the support the latter receive from Saudi Arabia. The US is notorious for using humanitarian crises to justify both direct and proxy military intervention. Is Myanmar possibly the new Syria.
(4 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Sunday, April 18, 2010
Towards a Nonpartisan Anti-Corporate Movement It is interesting to see the growing support from non-Republicans - even leftists - for Congressman Ron Paul's campaign to restore Constitutional freedoms lost as a result of the war on terror. Meanwhile the corporate seems to be doing everything possible to divide us and get us fighting among one another.
(4 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Monday, May 3, 2010
Addressing Corporate Fraud: Norway's 40 Percent (female, usually) Solution With the recent massive publicity over Goldman Sachs and other Wall Street giants, the SEC's new diversity rules merit more scrutiny. Norway enacted similar legislation in 2003 - requiring gender balance on publicly traded corporation.
(1 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Monday, May 10, 2010
Oil Spills and Money Laundering: An Ethical Dilemma The problem of Wall Street involvement in money laundering of illicit drug profits dates back to the late seventies (at least). There are no mainstream banks that aren't implicated and the ready availability of drug cash seems fundamental to keeping the US financial system afloat.
(12 comments) SHARE More Sharing        Saturday, December 17, 2011
The Hidden (Manmade) Cause of the Cancer Epidemic Dr Mary's Monkey may be more important for the insight it provides into the current epidemic of breast and other soft tissue cancers than for new evidence it provides regarding the JFK assassination. Haslam's book provides a detailed history of how the Salk and Sabin polio vaccines administered to three million baby boomers were accidentally contaminated with a cancer causing monkey virus known as SV-40.

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