Truthout Daily Digest Thursday, 3 July 2014

Are Economic Growth and Social Justice Incompatible?

Jason Hickel and Alnoor Ladha, Truthout: Economic growth is one of the most powerful and pervasive ideas of our time, one that is never questioned. Professor Jason Hickel and activist Alnoor Ladha discuss the fallacy of economic growth, the battle for social justice and how to organize against the neoliberal system.

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Harris v. Quinn: Separate and Not Equal

Jane McAlevey, Waging Nonviolence: Harris v. Quinn takes aim at public-sector workers precisely because they are the largest segment of unionized workers and, not coincidentally, include large numbers of people of color and women.

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Shouldn’t We Pay Nannies and People Who Care for Our Parents a Living Wage?

Mark Karlin, Truthout: A recent US Supreme Court ruling weakening the unions of state-funded workers limits the ability of many domestic workers who care for our most vulnerable to win higher pay. It’s up to grassroots activism and empowerment to ensure that they are given a fair wage, author Sheila Bapat tells Truthout.

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The Future Is Now: Zapatista Memories of the Future

Anthony Faramelli, Truthout: The Zapatistas have not only articulated a vision of the future outside of neoliberal disposability, but are living that future reality now.

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The Surprising Truth About Hosting the Olympics and the World Cup

Ricardo Guerra, Truthout: Sports economist Andrew Zimbalist talks about how hosting the World Cup or Olympics can work for a city, namely Barcelona, but more often results in waste and sometimes even a decline in tourism.

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The Crash of 2016 Gets Closer Every Day

The Daily Take Team, The Thom Hartmann Program: As long as wages remain stagnant or falling, there will not be sufficient demand to keep the economy from collapsing under the weight of its own high-end gamblers and the growing debt of its young and working-class people just trying to get by.

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Dean Baker | Strong Job Growth Continues in June

Dean Baker, Center for Economic Policy and Research: The economy added 288,000 jobs in June, making it the fifth consecutive month in which the economy added over 200,000 jobs. This is the longest stretch of 200,000-plus job growth since before the recession.

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The Loneliness of Anti-Imperialist Fighters

Andre Vltchek, Counterpunch: “Those few of us who are still fighting and bringing to the world detailed investigative pieces that are highly critical of the Empire are actually totally on our own and almost extinct. . . . If we fall, then we fall. It is ‘our problem.’ Many already have. Most of us have.”

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Towns Can Ban Fracking, Says New York Supreme Court

Kevin Mathews, Care2: On a day marked by discouraging decisions by the United States Supreme Court, New York’s Supreme Court provided something for the state’s environmentalists to get excited about: a 5-2 decision allowing towns to establish zoning laws that keep out fracking companies.

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Candice Bernd on the Epidemic of Police Brutality in Albuquerque

Matthew Filipowicz, The Matthew Filipowicz Show: Truthout’s Candice Bernd discusses the epidemic of police brutality in Albuquerque and how the USDA now has submachine guns at its disposal.

Listen to the Radio Program

Do the Poor “Have It Easy?” Most Republicans Say Yes, They Do

Robin Marty, Care2: The question isn’t how 75 percent of conservatives can be delusional enough to believe the poor have it easy. The real question is how they will sleep at night once they finally realize they are wrong.

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More Than Rumors Drive Central American Youth Toward US

Tracy Wilkinson, The Los Angeles Times: Some Central Americans feel encouraged by rumors that children who cross into the United States will be allowed to stay. But fundamental reasons fueling migration have remained unchanged for decades: family unification, hometown violence, inescapable poverty and lack of opportunity.

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BuzzFlash

Let’s Not Pay Any Taxes That Are Used for War or Prisons, if Hobby Lobby Can Pick and Choose

Mark Karlin, BuzzFlash at Truthout: Maybe “we the people” should all incorporate ourselves and then stop paying taxes for our government’s penchant for war and locking up “disposable people.” We would have a better chance of winning our case that way, given the Hobby Lobby decision.

Read the BuzzFlash Commentary

The GOP’s Culture War Disaster: How This Week Highlighted a Massive Blind Spot

Read the Article at Salon

Christian Warriors: Apocalyptic Dreams, American Nightmares

Read the Article at BuzzFlash

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Was Right About Hobby Lobby, and We Already Have Proof

Read the Article at The Nation

FBI Records: Chilling 9/11-Connected Find in Florida Dumpster

Read the Article at The Miami Herald

David Swanson | Pay No Attention to the Apocalypse Behind the Curtain

Read the Article at War Is A Crime

Obama Escalation Raises Specter of Iraq “Mission Creep”

Read the Article at Common Dreams

Taliban, Meet Hobby Lobby

Read the Article at The New Yorke

Messages from Ann and the Angels July 5, 2014

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Today is “Some Day”…

For years I’ve put off things I want to do “some day” until a few weeks ago a Saturday became my “some day.” A beautiful sunrise hike up Cathedral rock in Sedona more than made up for any lack of sleep it involved!

 

 

Photo taken in Sedona, AZ
©Ann Albers, All Rights Reserved
Visit Ann’s Photo Site for more 

MESSAGE FROM THE ANGELS

My dear friends, we love you so very much,

Your life is happening now, dear ones, not tomorrow, not some day in the future, but right now. There will always be reasons to put off your joy. There will always be very good excuses. You may not have enough time, money, or energy for your dreams. You may not feel well enough to take the steps to make things happen. Our message today is simple… take the steps anyway, for in moving forward towards your dreams, wishes, goals, and desires, you call forth Life! You call forth Love! You enter into streams of grace in which you receive the support and assistance you need. 

It is never in struggling or doing things out of fear from which you attract help. Acting out of fear or panic simply attracts more fearful circumstances. Acting from love, joy, desire, and passion … That type of action is motivated by love, and in return the universe must echo love back to you!

If you expend your energy in fear-based actions, you will feel drained. You will attract more struggle and chaos. If you expend your energy in loving action you will feel more energized. You will attract more grace and ease.

Don’t put off loving action one more second. As you read this, drop into your heart. Breath into it and imagine that spark of light becoming brighter. Ask yourself, “Heart, what one thing do you want to do that I can begin right now?” And as soon as you are done reading this newsletter, honor that heart’s desire. Take a small step, or maybe even a large one, in a loving direction.

Dip your toes into the streams of grace so you can be swept away in currents of love. They are always there, flowing, waiting for you.

God Bless You! We love you so very much. 
— The Angels

MESSAGE FROM THE ANN

Hi Everyone, 

I think we’ve all said, “Some day I want to do this!” “Some day I’m going to do that.” And while it is true that many of my “some day” wishes are things I do not yet have the money and time to do, and honestly, not yet the driving desire, there are many things that I have wished to do and have not done. 

One of these desires was a relatively small thing, a simple but deep wish to climb Cathedral Rock in Sedona, Arizona, to watch the sunrise. I had, as many of us do, plenty of excuses. I will have to get up at 2am in Phoenix and drive two hours while I’m asleep to make it, OR I’ll have to take time off, drive up the night before, and spend my hard earned money on a hotel room just for this tiny hike. It didn’t make financial sense. It didn’t make practical sense. I caught myself finally and reminded myself that if I only did things that made sense, I’d live a pale shadow of the life I truly want to live! So I stopped making “sense” and decided to work extra, thus making clients happy, and just get a hotel room in Sedona the night prior.

That inspired a torrent of other wonderful ideas. I could go up the day before and have an entire day of following my heart! So I hopped in the car early in the morning with a small suitcase, food, and water, and hit the highway, not even knowing where I would end up. It ends up, I ended up in Flagstaff, Arizona, hiking in one of nature’s breath taking cathedrals – an aspen forest where the chalk white giant trees reach into a sky so sapphire blue that I surely felt as if I could dissolve into it all. Cool, crisp mountain air filled my lungs and cleansed my soul as the sun warmed my skin. Shadows played with light on the rocks. Wild irises amidst knee-high grasses carpeted the forest floor and a symphony of bees, locusts, and the occasional cry of a raven circling overhead vibrated through my very being. I lay down on a fallen tree and simply allowed myself to drift, surrendering the boundaries of my human self and melting into the Oneness of it all. 

Suddenly the urge to get in the car and drive south hit me. I had not known the highway between Flagstaff and Sedona was open after the big fire a few weeks ago but to my surprise it was. I only discovered this by following my instincts and driving! I was able to see not only the burned hillsides but also the beautiful green that has been preserved all the way down the scenic drive. A hike I had always wanted to try, popped in my head. There wasn’t another person on the trail for the entire two hours. In spite of 100 degree temperatures, I was charged with nature’s energy. No more solid and separate I felt as if I were one with the landscape again, like the wind blowing along the trail, or simply a thought in the mind of God moving through the greater Self. 

Finally, after all these years of saying I would do this “some day” I parked at the base of the Cathedral rock trail in total darkness at 4am. A crescent moon shone above, silhouetting the mountains in the distance. A few crickets chirped, but other than their song, the morning was deeply silent. A sweet peace filled my soul and as soon as my eyes became accustomed to the dark, I began the climb. The rocks emanated a pleasant warmth that they had absorbed from the previous day. Half way up the trail, tints of silver light began to appear over the horizon, and the mountain came to life. Rodents and lizards rustled in the brush. The wind that comes as the warmth of day begins to dance with the cool of night began to blow softly. Birds awakened and began their sweet song of welcome. I reached the top in time to see the moon and stars being chased away by the softly glowing pink light on the horizon. Five other individuals were already there. A young woman sang her praise to the day by doing yoga “sun salutations.” Three younger guys wrapped in blankets were waiting with their cameras. An older native gentleman sat in silent reverie with a giant crystal strapped to his third eye, preparing to infuse it with the light of the new day.

Then, suddenly as the birds sang louder, and the locusts began their endless hum, our beautiful golden star burst over the mountains to the east in a stunning display of liquid light. It filled the valley, brought the glowing red rocks to life and reached into every crack, corner and crevice of my soul. I shut my eyes and opened every cell and aspect of my being to this light, inviting it to fill me, merge with me, and become one. Once again, I lost all track of my body, and became only a thought, only light melting into light, with pulsating energy pounding both from within and without. No longer just Ann, I perceived the greater self. I was the mountains, the valley, the stone, and the sky. I was the earth and the space in between. I felt suspended in a timeless space of blinding bright light, in silence… sensing only love, feeling only an expanded sense of reality. When I finally opened my eyes, my third eye was pounding, and my entire body felt electrified, humming with life. There was not even a trace of fatigue. 

Back at home the next day I was able to achieve monumental amounts of work. I was inspired to work on projects I’ve put off for some time. Even after putting 300 miles on the car, hiking about 4-5 miles on foot, and having very little sleep over the past two days, I felt fantastic. 

So this week think about your “Some day” things and see if you can take steps towards them. I am starting to catch myself when I say “some day” and ask myself, “Do you want to create that now Ann?” And if so, what can you do now towards that dream? Some dreams involve saving money. Some involve blocking off dates on the calendar. Some I don’t have a clue how to bring about so I’ll just visualize and pray for them, for now. In doing any of these things, as the angels say, we call forth Life, precious energy, and love into our lives. 

Try it… it affects every aspect of your existence to allow joy to flood into your heart in this fashion. And while most of us have to work to pay the bills, life is too short to only focus on survival. Dream this week… start down the path to your “some days.”

Love you all,
Ann 

Chile to Build South America’s Largest Solar Plant

Chile to Build South America’s Largest Solar Plant.

Truthout Daily Digest Friday, 4 July 2014

William Rivers Pitt | Land of the Free, Unless You’re a Woman

William Rivers Pitt, Truthout: The decision in the Hobby Lobbycase is many things. It is the continued elevation of Christianity over all other religions, another declaration that corporations have more rights than people and a political strike against Obamacare. But it’s mostly simple, old-fashioned woman-hating from top to bottom.

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A Stampede to Amend the Constitution and Get Big Money Out of Politics

Ben Cohen, Truthout: The unfettered role of money in politics ensures that big donors dominate the national conversation and maintain unprecedented access to lawmakers who produce laws that benefit corporate, not public interests. It’s time to restore one person, one vote and end legalized bribery.

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Dennis Kucinich on the Iraq Crisis and What the US Can Learn From Sweden’s Political Diversity

Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!: Former US Congressman Dennis Kucinich returns from Sweden where he witnessed Almedalen Week, where people with widely-differing political views come together to discuss and debate in a festival atmosphere. Kucinich says the US needs a similarly-inclusive political process.

Watch the Video and Read the Transcript

Finally, Immigrants in New York City Will Have Public Defenders

Crystal Shepeard, Care2: Nearly 71 percent of defendants that appear in immigration proceedings do not have an attorney present. New York City seeks to change that by approving $4.9 million to fund a public defender system for poor immigrants.

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Aggressive Tactic on the Fracking Front

Naveena Sadasisvam, ProPublica: In a rare move, a fracking company offered residents $50,000 in cash if they would agree to release the firm from any legal liability for current operations as well as those to be carried out in the future.

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July 4th Quiz: Was the Revolution Caused by a Misunderstanding Over a Word?

Thomas P. Slaughter, History News Network: America has imperial ambitions, but an independent culture resists our full participation as citizens of a nation and of a world that is integrated economically and environmentally.

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Say Goodbye to America’s Landmarks This Independence Day

Chris Trejbal, America Blog: As we celebrate the nation’s birthday, let us all take a moment to say goodbye to some beloved members of the American family. Many national landmarks could soon disappear thanks to climate change.

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Defending Free Tuition in the Big Apple

Marjorie E. Wood, OtherWords: The Committee to Save Cooper Union, an art, architecture, and engineering college in New York City, is pursuing legal action after the Board of Trustees announced plans to abolish the school’s 150-year tradition of providing free tuition for all.

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Agriculture: The Surprising Leading Contributor to Pollution

Dr. Joseph Mercola, Organic Consumers Association: The modern agricultural system is responsible for putting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than the actual burning of fossil fuels. Understanding this reveals an obvious answer to pressing global problems.

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The US Re-Militarization of Central America and Mexico

Alexander Main, North American Congress on Latin America: In a letter sent to Obama and the region’s other presidents last year, over 145 civil society organizations called out US policies for being a key ingredient to a “dramatic surge” in violent crime.

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Four Good (and Not So Good) Ways to Protest the Hobby Lobby Decision

Robin Marty, Care2: Activists have been protesting the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobbydecision wherever they can, be it at the Capitol or online. Some of the ideas have been good, others, not so much. Here are four ideas for taking action, some obviously much better than others.

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BuzzFlash

The BuzzFlash commentary for Truthout will return soon.

California’s “Ban the Box” Law Could Aid 7 Million Job Seekers

Read the Article at Colorlines

One Nation, Divisible?

Read the Article at Slate

Supreme Court Grants Evangelical College Plea on Contraception Rule

Read the Article at Huffington Post

We Are a Corporate Theocracy Now: The Christian Right Seeks Cultural and Political Domination

Read the Article at Salon

Why Hobby LobbyCould Open a Pandora’s Box of Legal Discrimination

Read the Article at Al Jazeera America

American Dissatisfaction With Everything Is Reaching Historic Levels

Read the Article at the Huffington Post

Arab-Americans Tell Census, “We’re Not White”

Read the Article at Colorlines

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