Attitude matters but it can’t be all you’ve got. Statham and ReClaiming’s water ritual at the WTO summit in Canada is a great example of how hope, faith and prayer are supposed to fit into our struggle. We must make magic-faith-hope and prayer active parts of our activism not excuses for inaction. A combination of effective organizing like we used to get Barack Obama elected combined with a mass exercise in faith prayer and focus like the things discussed in The Intention Experiment could make so much difference so quickly. But first we have to actually DO all of it.
Daily Archives: April 16, 2015
Tragedy, chaos and unhappiness are an unfortunate rumor we can throw overboard at any time
I Love Pam’s sailing analogy in this post! She has such a knack for making these concepts accessible and understandable. If you like the idea of “The Secret” but can’t quite make it work-read this post and it may “click” for you.
“Emancipate yourself from mental slavery. None but ourselves can free our minds.”
–Bob Marley
Most of us think life is some sort of boot camp for heaven. We believe this short life span is “only a test” for the paradise we’re eventually going to earn. If we hang on and bear up, we’ll someday walk through those pearly gates and be happy. These errors in thinking have been condensed into living facts. Nothing is plainer than the inevitably of sorrows and trials.
But what if it isn’t necessary? What if tragedy, chaos and unhappiness are nothing but a rumor, cemented into our consciousness by years and years of conditioning?
What I’d like to suggest is this heaven you’re waiting for is available now. And that you’ve been sold a bill of goods about who you are and what is possible.
The way I see it, there are only four reasons we…
View original post 352 more words
Truthout Daily Digest | Thursday, 16 April 2015
Doing the Unthinkable: Giant Gas Pipeline to Flank a New York Nuclear Power Plant
Ellen Cantarow, Truthout: The federally approved Algonquin Pipeline expansion will come so close to the Indian Point nuclear power plant in Westchester, New York, that experts say a rupture could cause a Fukushima-like catastrophe, making the entire region uninhabitable for generations.
Drug Reform Is About Animal Rights, Too
Andrew Gargano, Truthout: While drug raids have become known for the human casualties they claim and their infringement on the Fourth Amendment, they also contribute to an inordinate number of animals killed.
Tom Hayden: Cuba Has Stood Up to US Hegemony for 55 Years
Mark Karlin, Truthout: In this interview, activist and author Tom Hayden discusses his new book, Listen, Yankee! Why Cuba Matters, and explains the changing nature of Cuban-US relations and the legacy of the Cuban Revolution.
Jasmine Tucker, Truthout: Each year, the US loses out on billions of dollars in revenue due to corporate tax breaks. Every dollar the government spends on a tax break is a dollar it can’t spend elsewhere, yet few Americans are aware of how much corporate tax breaks cost the government.
Transnational Companies Driving Deadly Conflict in Guatemalan Indigenous Territory
Jeff Abbott, Truthout: As privatized hydroelectric projects – part of “Plan Mesoamerica” – have rapidly expanded in Guatemala, so too have conflicts with indigenous populations. The plan would interconnect the infrastructures of all Central American countries.
Read the Article and View the Photos
Hotel Industry Spins Wage Hikes as Extreme While CEOs Rake in Millions
Mary Bottari and Jody Knauss, PR Watch: The little-known trade association representing the $163 billion hotel industry is a major force fighting behind the scenes on Capitol Hill and in statehouses and courtrooms across the country to keep workers’ wages low.
The Chevron Tapes: Secret Videos Reveal Company Hid Pollution in Ecuador
Kevin Koenig, Amazon Watch: Recently released videos are a true treasure trove of Chevron’s misdeeds and corporate malfeasance. Chevron is seen finding its own extensive contamination – in areas the company claimed to have cleaned up in 1998 – then pre-gaming the judicial inspections to defraud the court.
Read the Article and Watch the Videos
Physical Murder and Political Asphyxiation: The Story of Danielle Hicks-Best
Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, Black Agenda Report: An 11-year-old Black girl is raped twice by men and winds up jailed and institutionalized for years by a callous and predatory system. Danielle Hicks-Best was simply used to justify the salaries and maintenance of a system based on the decapitation of Black bodies.
US Chamber of Commerce Doubling Down on Political Juggernaut
Carrie Levine, The Center for Public Integrity: The Chamber of Commerce’s new election season strategy will include a greater emphasis on recruiting the right sort of business-friendly GOP candidates and intervening in primaries as it attempts to sculpt a compliant Congress that mirrors its priorities.
Bill O’Reilly’s Latest “White” Dream
The Daily Take Team, The Thom Hartmann Program: When Bill O’Reilly says that it’s “open season” on white men in this country, he’s either mind-numbingly ignorant or just not taking a good hard look at our society today. White privilege and male privilege are very real.
Obama to Remove Cuba From Terror List After Latin American Outcry; Will the Embargo Follow?
Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!: While Cuba is being removed from the US terrorism list, the trade embargo remains in place. Former Cuban diplomat Carlos Alzugaray Treto discusses the dire effects US sanctions have had on the Cuban population.
Watch the Video and Read the Transcript
Four Election Stories That Show the GOP Is Moving Even Further Right
Robin Marty, Care2: From primaries to party leaders, Tea Partiers are becoming the predominate face of the GOP. That could mean a party ready to crumble if it becomes too extreme or, even more frightening, if today‘s Congress ends up being more “moderate” than the Congress that convenes in 2017.
BuzzFlash
Hillary Clinton’s Likely Planned Chipotle Moment Represents Tawdry Mass Media and Politics
Mark Karlin, BuzzFlash at Truthout: This is the level that politics has sunk to: a likely pre-strategized nonevent – probably leaked by the Clinton campaign to The New York Times – creating an international media sensation.
Gay Marriage Still Under Attack by Religious Right Zealots
Fracking and Big Ag Are Polluting 80 Percent of the Depleted Groundwater in California
Alzheimer’s Breakthrough: Scientists May Have Found Potential Cause of the Disease
Read the Article at The Independent
How Hillary Clinton’s State Department Sold Fracking to the World
Read the Article at Mother Jones
Boston Marks Two Years Since Marathon Bombings
Read the Article at The Boston Globe
“Fight for 15” Movement: Low-Wage Workers Plan Walkouts, Protests
Read the Article at the Tribune News Service
New Bill Would Help Domestic Violence Survivors Find Shelter for Their Pets, Too
Read the Article at RH Reality Check
Spirit In Action 