GU VIDEO OF THE WEEK. Set to music and a rap you don’t want to miss. The message is clear. This is not about Republicans vs. Democrats, its the economy.
American Workers Vs Multi-Billionaires, posted with vodpod
February 28, 2011
Is Unrest in the Middle East and North Africa Similar to our Own?
Protesters in Oman
The coastal country of Oman has rarely experienced protests as seen in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Yemen, Sudan and other places. For three consecutive days, protesters have taken to the streets in Oman with the same demands as those other countries: jobs, better wages and an equal voice in the government. Protesters, who are mainly young men, have also called for the resignation of certain government ministers who the see as corrupt.
Yesterday, protesters torched a supermarket. At least two deaths were reported due to protesters clash with police. The police have used tear gas and rubber bullets to stave off violence and stop rallies from growing into huge, unmanageable crowds.
Oman's Ruler, Sultan Qaboos bin Said | Al Jazeera
Unlike the horrific actions by Muammar al-Gaddafi in Libya of killing his own people, pitting supporters against anti-government protesters and pushing his country into a civil war, Oman’s ruler has been quick to respond to protesters’ demands, seeking peace and negotiations.
Oman’s ruler, Sultan Qaboos bin Said, is moving quickly to try to offer reforms to quell the demands that include more jobs and a greater public voice in the country’s affairs. … On Sunday, he ordered 50,000 new state positions and a monthly stipend of 150 rials ($390) for job seekers. A day earlier, the sultan replaced six Cabinet members. … A high-level delegation planned to travel to Sohar to meet with protesters, who on Sunday set fire to cars, a police station and the governor’s residence. [....]
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February 28, 2011
Gaddafi loses Libya: Tripoli last target of opposition
Gaddafi loses Libya: Tripoli last target of opp…, posted with vodpod
February 27, 2011
GOP Multitasking: Shutdown government, defund anything liberal and bust unions.
Along with union-busting bills, birther bills, and defunding critical agencies, services and programs, there’s a steady march by some Republicans, including potential GOP presidential candidate former Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN), to force a government shut-down if they don’t get their way on budget cuts.
Despite the House GOP leaderships’ denial that the GOP is seeking a shut-down, there is a growing trend in their ranks of not listening to it’s leadership.
As the threat of a government shutdown looms over the nation, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) have repeatedly and forcefully denied that rank-and-file Republicans are calling for a closure. (Think Progress has documented at least 10 House GOPers who have defied the leadership’s wishes and come out in support of a potential closure.) [….]
Shutting down the government for a month as Pawlenty referred to is a dangerous road to travel; especially in our current economy. The GOP forced a government shut-down 20 years ago. After 40 years of Democratic control, Republicans won the House in 1994. In late 1995 – early 1996, Republicans disagreed with President Clinton over budget cuts and forced a 20-day shut-down of the federal government. Then, like now, the underlying goal was to win back the White House in the 1996 presidential election by creating an unbearable situation in the economy and blame it on President Clinton. It didn’t work. President Clinton won a second term in 1996.
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February 27, 2011
Miracle at the US Capitol
Today, a miracle happened at the U.S. Capitol. Lawmakers entered their chambers and left their ideologies and party politics at the door. First, lawmakers unanimously agreed to repeal the bill that extended tax cuts for the ultra-rich, cutting $4 trillion from the national deficit over the next ten years. Next, they unanimously agreed to use $120 billion of the monies ear-marked for wealthy tax cuts to address the budget shortfall this year.
A bill was drafted and sailed back and forth through both house and senate, and was unanimously agreed upon by all. The President signed the bill, which took effect immediately. The national deficit was eased, saving 1.2 million jobs. The impact of saving the jobs and easing the national deficit trickled down to the states easing just a little of the pressure states are facing with their budget shortfalls. That allowed states to cut fewer jobs and vital programs.
Next, realizing the success at both the state and federal level their actions had achieved, lawmakers everywhere locked in step with the President, governors and municipal leaders and sat down and began seriously review programs, policies and practices on all levels, coming up with changes that not everyone liked but everyone could live with. Some monies were shifted from lack luster programs going nowhere to invest in education, science and technology; expansion of the infrastructure, high speed rail and wireless Internet in the most remote regions. They even sped up the date to bring our military home from an endless and costly war. The dollar gained strength, the market stabilized, things were really looking good … and then I woke up.
February 27, 2011
Pro-Union Rallies in 50 States
Cold, raining, freezing temperatures, nothing stopped people all across the country coming out in support of what has turned into a fight for the constitutional right of free speech, of self-determination to organize and select a representative. The battle American workers are fighting is not about balancing a budget, as seen in Wisconsin where unions met the demands of Gov. Walker with enough give-backs to balance the state’s budget, it’s about our constitutional rights as American citizens.
Juxtapositioned against the backdrop of pro-union rallies in 50 states in support of basic constitutional rights, there were some states where Tea Party members came out in support of eliminating those rights. Talk about irony! I guess we all know where the Tea Party really stands.
Union-Busting Hurts all of Us, posted with vodpod
February 26, 2011
Is Gov. Walker Poster-boy material for GOP or another Palin bomb?
Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) on Fox News
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s long track record of attacking unions makes it clear why those with deep pockets such as the Koch brothers support and fund his campaigns. Walker’s union-busting tactics may be fine for the Koch brothers businesses but do they serve the Republican party well?
There’s a bump in the road for Republicans with the fight they have chosen and the champion they picked as their poster-boy. Neither adds up to true conservative values; especially when the union has met the demands of give-backs allowing Walker to balance the state’s budget.
Instead of allowing public employees to determine their union affiliation or not, Walker has made himself king and is deciding that for them. That’s government intrusion into the private lives of its citizens and overreaching its power of office plain and simple. In addition, Walker’s actions prove Pres. Ronald Reagan’s words, “when government expands, liberty contracts.”
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February 26, 2011
Graffiti Message to Gaddafi: “Game Over.”
Graffiti slogan in Misurata, Libya | Photo:/AFP
If you lived in New York’s upper west side in the late 1960s – early 1970s, this kind of graffiti was common in the subways as an underground art. Graffiti artists used markers to scrawl their name and the street they lived on. It was a “marker” of who they were and their “turf” similar to the WWII bomb maker who left his “mark” on the outside of each bomb casing, “Kilroy was here.”
The name I remember the most riding the subways of New York back then was TAKI 183, a legendary graffiti artist of world-wide acclaim. In 1971, the New York Times wrote an article, “TAKI 183 Spawns Pen Pals,” that ignited the movement in New York City and cast TAKI 183 as the world’s first famous graffiti artist.” TAKI 183 has written the forward to The History of American Graffiti, set to be published in April 2011.
In this recent photo taken in Misurata, Libya, the style is not much different from TAKI 183 and his contemporaries that started to appear in New York subways 45 years ago. The message on the wall in Misurata is clear: to Gaddafi and his regime – “Game over.” To the citizens of Libya – “Freedom” and “Don’t Give Up.” Setting marker to wall, the writer’s words take on a power that goes beyond guns or bombs. It is a power of truth, of will that transcends and transforms and is worthy of our respect.
February 26, 2011
Protests continue in Libya
Amateur video shows military joining protesters in the western town of Zuwia. Much of eastern Libya, where most of the country’s oil production is at, is under the control of protesters. Despite the crackdown by pro-Gaddafi supporters, Libyans continue to fight for their freedom from Gaddafi.
Protests continue in Libya, posted with vodpod
February 25, 2011
What keeps You Up at Night?
I’m originally from New York – the city that never sleeps. I used to sleep through fire engine sirens, traffic noise, people, music from local nightspots, and all the sounds a bustling city embraces.
In 1978, I moved to Connecticut at a time when restaurants closed way too early and that glass of wine I ordered at the local “nightclub” was whisked out of my hand by 1:00 am, despite my pleas that “the night is still young.” My culture shock deepened when I attempted to go to sleep in my new home in a totally residential area – no restaurants, no nightclubs, no trains or buses, just darkened houses, trees, grass and a deafening silence. The noises I grew up with were missing; noises that were now a comfort lost far away. I often complained about the quiet saying I could hear my hair grow! It was several years before I became accustomed to sleeping without at least the sound of the television or radio.
Fort Washington Avenue | Photo/Karstan Moran
My daughter, a journalist, poet and writer, moved back to New York City several years ago to teach journalism in a special program at a school in the Bronx. She wanted to live in Manhattan where we used to live, but still close enough to work and public transportation to cut down traveling a long distance everyday. So she moved into in a wonderful pre-war apartment at the edge of Washington Heights and the beginning of Ft. Washington neighborhoods in upper Manhattan.
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February 25, 2011
Houston police beat helpless 15-year old
by William Winters | Color of Change
A shocking video released last week shows four Houston police officers mercilessly beating a 15-year old burglary suspect while at least eight other officers looked on. Some kicked him repeatedly in the head and legs, others punched his torso — all while young Chad Holley was lying face down with his hands behind his head in surrender.
The officers who beat Holley have only been charged with misdemeanors, and many of the officers on the scene that day are still working as police officers in Houston.
It’s time to demand real accountability for the Houston Police Department — and when we do, it’ll send a clear message to other departments with a similar problem. It starts with the four officers who brutalized Holley, but it can’t stop there. What happened to Chad Holley isn’t merely an isolated incident — it’s the result of a police culture in Houston (and in police departments across the nation) that places little value on Black lives.
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February 25, 2011
OH Public Employee Collective Bargaining Law
A friend of mine who is a teacher in Ohio sent me and a group of teachers a summary of Ohio’s Senate Bill 5 which, clearly kills unions. Here’s the summary:
BILL SUMMARY | The Public Employee Collective Bargaining Law:
State employees and employees of state institutions of higher education:
- Abolishes the collective bargaining rights of employees of the state, of any agency, authority, commission, or board of the state, and of any state institution of higher education.
- Prohibits the state, agencies, authorities, commissions, and boards of the state, and a state institution of higher education from collectively bargaining with its employees.
- Abolishes the Office of Collective Bargaining.
Police and fire department supervisors:
- Removes a limitation on the definition of “supervisor” with respect to members of police and fire departments, potentially making more people supervisors and ineligible to collectively bargain.
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