I was teaching a HS honors class today and discussing the many similarities of the 30's Great Depression and today when the subject of "Hoovervilles" came up.

This made me wonder why the Occupy movement didn't call their Occupy encampments "Bushvilles" and/or "Obamavilles"?

It might have broadened the appeal to a wider range and volume of people to participate --- and mostly given the friggin corporatist media an "offer of a sound bite that they couldn't refuse" to popularize.

As I always tell students of history, it was George Santayana who said, "if we do not learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it."

And as we head toward the inexorable reality of Great Depression II, it might make sense to change the arc of history as our current presidential shill likes to claim, but never do.

Even a basic HS history review of Hoover's pitiful and stupid reaction/precipitation of GD I, exactly parallels Bush and Obama's same moves the 'second time around'.

The only difference seems to be the terminology used to fol the rubes, and, of course, the dollar amounts involved.

Best luck and love to Occupy Empire.

Liberty, democracy, justice, and equality
over
violent/Vichy
empire,
Alan MacDonald
Sanford, Maine

You can't eat values. Shame and guilt and honor are not terms the rich understand. It's all about profits for them. If Occupy remains on the level of values and does not ramp up the economic pressure, it will fail. And Obama will grant permits for the pipeline as soon as Obama gets re-elected--no delusions please.

A systemic collapse of an economic system is not going to feed very many anyway and then people will have to look at their values in order to solve the problems we will all be facing. I believe she was very on point: that people fear change and that the only way we can overcome that in a healthy and safe way is by connecting to educate, inspire and energize each other for the extremely difficult tasks ahead. We are all part of one world, together.

Why can't I get past 2:15? Tried several times with Explorer and with Firefox. Someone playing games?

Naomi Kline is always a delight to hear from. She has first-hand experience of the South American 'consciencialização' - in Argentina and other places - each learner teaches another learner. 'Pedagogy of the Oppressed by 'Paolo Friere is a classic worth reading. the return of consciousness raising as a movement is just one of the gifts of Occupy. Its an important 'de-briefing' to really appreciate the diversity of experiences and schoolings that people are engaging and carrying forward.

I am reminded that the traditional nickname of the nations capital is 'old foggy bottom'. Karma beyond words... instead of the tomato that ate Philadelphia, we have the slimy dragging of the hydra headed swamp monster.

Seeds were harvested from herbs hung to dry. An abundance of hot peppers have been woven into a wreath of harvested morning glory vines with the dusky gray-green of artemesia and a few miniature wooden carved birds. Awaiting the winter solstice ...

It stopped at 3:39 on me and just as I was thinking the vimeo wouldn't go into a video dump and stop, but it sure did or it at least stopped. It will be very hard to convince me that someone or group (M$M) is doing this deliberately which is all too common now where people are not allowed to see, hear, read or say (commenting, which is disappearing or being deferred to facebook or twitter). Unconscionable, meaning psychotic.

I liked what she said at the end, the denial of the ruling elite (and right-wing think tanks) of global warming, their having no sense of a future, no concern for the destruction of the environment, a 'collective insanity' on the part of the ruling class. To me, this is one of the most puzzling problems, the idea that billionaires care about getting MORE STUFF rather than protecting the environment. How could they be so demonic?

Naomi Klein's visionary understanding really shines though in this excellent interview. Her "Shock Doctrine" book is perhaps the best characterization of our times, with a slow-burning argument that gets confirmed with each passing day.

I think she is dead on in saying during the interview that something new is happening within the movement that's attempting to take on neoliberalism. It's like an effort to fight a persistent cancer on the planet by undercutting it from the roots. The change that is happening perhaps will occur in a different way than has been contemplated in past movements, and it's really hard to foresee whether it will succeed or not.

I think this is the first step: a mass change in consciousness. That still leaves the economic machine intact, though. Maybe, despite the incredible violence of the shock machine, there is some level of persuasion that will break the machine in a quiet way. On a day-to-day basis, I meet people who just did not seem to care before, but now, with the OWS phenomenon, people whom I thought were indifferent seem excited. I'm hoping its not a short-term phase but the beginnings of an effort that will lead to systemic change.

Anyway, it could just be that I am hopelessly in love with Naomi. But it's equally true that Canadians think clearer than their neighbors down south. The United States could undergo profound cultural change, despite what looks like unfavorable odds and unfavorable conditions. If it happens before I'm dead, I will have died happy.

Naomi Klein ! I am so thankful there are people like her (you) out there ! What a blessing! What a treasure !

Just say it, Naomi, we all know you think it. Capitalism needs more than to be reigned in, it needs to be exterminated. Richard Perle, Advisor to the US Dept of Defense under George W Bush, and a one-man horror show against humanity, had this to say:

"Sometimes before you can bring about democratic change you have to remove the obstacles to democratic change."

I take that to mean removing the not just corrupt but fundamentally broken political paradigm of our governance which is bought and paid for under corporate-capitalist rule. Time is not on our side. We overthrow the state or die. Maybe that means putting forth and voting only for independent candidates from the communities which we collectively sponsor, and who will go forth and bring about radical change quickly. Maybe that means something else, something far more decisive.

We will suffer, no doubt, but we will survive and grow a much stronger democratic nation in the process. A nation with a democratic Constitution with fundamental safeguards in place to prevent such social crimes as the present ones foisted upon us all by monopolized wealth.

I still can't get beyond 2 minutes 15 seconds of this interview before it stops - permanently

Edit ...

Update: ...

Works on another computer.