Teachers' Lounge

Has the God particle been found?

That's the rumor.

Just two things before I pull myself away

This and a much needed smoke (bought a pack of organic American Spirit smokes and boy, are they ever tasty good!).

Disclaimer - The person who writes this blog in no way endorses the smoking of tobacco products.

That would be me.

Wonkette?

Sure.

Let's be clear about one thing

US Uncut Chicago is a chapter of US Uncut. We need a chapter here in Las Cruces, New Mexico! Who's game?

Ain't no place to hide, baby

They know where I am, and where I've been. But they don't know where I'm going. Or when. Muhahahahahaha!

I've replied to Brendan's message - what do you think of my idea?

Brendan offers some intriguing thoughts about the revolution. I replied to his post thusly -

Your ideas make sense to me, Brendan. Reminds me of the film "Z". If I remember correctly, the letter Z was sprayed on walls as a political message after the clubbing which resulted in the death of the Deputy (Yves Montand) . http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi1456735257/
Ahh, just found it... The film's title refers to the popular Greek protest slogan "Ζει", meaning "he (Lambrakis) lives". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z_(film)

Perhaps we need a similar symbol, one that's easy to leave in public places with little risk of being caught. Once the symbol catches public attention, the meaning behind the symbol can be revealed.

Do you see what I'm getting at?

April 24, 2011 | Jeffrey Field

Revolutionary tactics - a message that needs to be read

Copied from US Uncut... I think Brendan has some very good ideas here.

i've been watching the beginnings of this movement take root in chicago, and it's got me really excited to see people coming together and attempting to change the way the world works.

the left in america is currently incredibly marginalized, almost to the point where it isn't entirely sure of its own existence. that said, it is certainly undeniable that in the past few months it is beginning to figure out what it might believe in - and that it's not afraid to act on it!

essentially, what you guys are trying to accomplish is the germination of ideas. it should go without saying that the more successful the germination, the more energy the movement will gather. i've given a lot of thought to the germination of ideas, and i thought that i might share a little bit:

if the goal is to influence public opinion, you've got to take into consideration where the people are that you're trying to reach - and what are you trying to relate to them? if you guys were to start a campaign where you put slogans and concepts into the public space (on walls, on trains, written with chalk; spray paint; handing out flyers - i know you guys do a bit of this; dropping stuff in red eye boxes; starting your own publication etc,) then the recipient has no choice but to interact with your message.

take graffiti for example...and i realize that this line gets a bit blurry because its not legal, but legality isn't the discussion at this point in time, the discussion is of the dissemination of ideas. imagine yourself walking down the street and passing some graffiti - you have no choice but to interact with the artist's message. this is one of the only instances that i can think of where the standard social contract between messenger and recipient is reversed. take, for example - a rally; a concert; an art opening; a lecture; a movie. all of these things listed require that the recipient of the information willingly enters a situation in which they know they will be participating.

when you put concepts into the public space, you present passersby with a situation in which they have no choice over the fact that the information you're wanting them to take into consideration enters their system. it is the exact same method used by companies involved in advertising campaigns. the only downside is that they have the law on their side.

we're up against a lot - we're going to need some serious creativity, but moreover we're going to have to consider using methods that are very effective - time is running pretty short! corporate tax evasion is merely one facet of a world gone wrong, and human beings are spiraling toward extinction. if we're not willing to put concepts into the public space, the ideas will only be received by those willing (and conscious enough) to receive them. this results with informed people informing people who are more or less already as informed as themselves.

get the message out there! 
with visions of the future,

brendan

April 7, 2011 | brendan

Bank of America in Las Cruces, here I come again.

This Saturday. Every Saturday. Here's why.

Who is David DeGraw? Can he help explain the mess this country is in?

Apparently he's someone who can connect the dots for the rest of us who wish to put an end to economic terror. Here's his site.

David DeGraw is an investigative journalist who has been featured in many publications and websites.  He is the founder and editor of AmpedStatus.com, editorial director ofMediaChannel.org and author of The Economic Elite Vs. The People of the United States.

Praise for David’s reporting:

“DeGraw does his homework. In his expanded “reports” he piles on (amply footnoted) data with a relentless fury that makes a reader want to cry uncle. Then he connects the dots, building a narrative that makes clear “uncle” is not an option. He calls on us to give up our political labels, parties, and prejudices and get deadly serious about saving ourselves. DeGraw’s challenge: Will we the people come together to take on our common enemies – the economic elites who have stolen our money, our media, and our democracy — before they steal our future?” —Terrence McNally, Host Free Forum, KPFK & WBAI

“DeGraw puts it all together, connecting dots you may not have known existed and explaining what our news media misses every day. He deserves our thanks and help in getting his timely messages out.” — Danny Schechter, News Dissector, Director, Plunder: The Crime of Our Time

“David DeGraw does the heavy lifting, making a profound case that America’s economic elite have looted our country and committed, essentially, a crime against humanity. No one digs harder for the facts than David.” — Don Hazen, Executive Editor, AlterNet.org

The revolution is coming (the revolution is here)

Is It Fear of Uprisings or Altruistic Punishment?

Sunday 24 April 2011

by: Antonia Darder, Truthout

 

(Photo: Thomas Hawk / Flickr)

If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom and yet depreciate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters. This struggle may be a moral one; or it may be a physical one; or it may be both moral and physical; but it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. - Frederick Douglass, 1857

As the uprisings are spreading around the world and in the United States, there are many who feel fear, reticence and intense skittishness about what is transpiring. Yet, this anxiety, rather than surprising, is well cultivated by the contemporary hegemonic forces that govern our lives. More...