Author Archives: Thorne Dreyer

John Perkins : Occupy the Dam

Three hundred indigenous people, small farmers, fisherfolk, and local residents occupied the Belo Monte Dam project at the Xingu River, Brazil, on June 15, 2012 Photo by Atossa Soltani / Amazon Watch / Spectral Q. Go here for photo essay. … Continue reading

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Don Swift : Paranoid Politics and the Legitimacy Crisis

Graphic from Framing the Dialogue. Inset images below from NeoRepublica and Pushed to the Left.Paranoid politics:How the legitimacy crisis helps the Republicans The growing lack of confidence in government and democracy occurred most with white, blue-collar people. The extent to … Continue reading

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Larry Ray : The Duchess of Romney and ‘You People’

The Duchess of Romney. Graphic by Larry Ray, with apologies to Quentin Matsys.Dispatch from the ‘uncanny valley’:The Duchess of Romney and ‘you people‘ Phony and snobby aloofness doesn’t play well with Americans. By Larry Ray | The Rag Blog | … Continue reading

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Kate Braun : Lammas is the First Harvest

Lammas: the First Harvest. Image from Cambridge Community Television.You can burn your regrets on Lammas, the First Harvest By Kate Braun | The Rag Blog | July 24, 2012 “The corn is as high as a elephant’s eye…” Tuesday, July … Continue reading

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Harry Targ : Fairness in Hypocrisy Valley

Image from Occasional Links and Commentary.Fairness in Hypocrisy Valley Since elections, the public expression of political power, are significantly determined by millionaires, trustees at Hypocrisy Valley usually are the wealthy and powerful. By Harry Targ | The Rag Blog | … Continue reading

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Philip L. Russell : Who Won the Mexican Election?

Protesters from Yosoy132 hold a mock funeral for “domocracia” during march in Mexico City, Saturday, July 14. Photo by Bernardo Montoya / Reuters.An observers’ manual:Who won the Mexican election? Charges of vote-buying and exceeding campaign spending limits notwithstanding, there are … Continue reading

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IDEAS / Bill Meacham : Intelligence

Image from A Blog for English Lovers.Intelligence Cognition is how we acquire knowledge. Intelligence is what we do with it. By Bill Meacham / The Rag Blog / July 19, 2012 Cognition, which I talked about last time, is how … Continue reading

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Harry Targ : Broad Opposition to Grotesque Military Spending

“Miss Corporate America” and the “Bloated Military Budget” at Tax Day action in Eugene, Oregon, 2008. Image from NWTRCC.Grotesque military spendingis broadly opposed Now is a good time for peace activists to expand education about the history of unchallenged military … Continue reading

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Jim Simons reflects on his life and times with former law partner, Cam Cunningham, who died earlier this month, and their work defending Movement activists, anti-war GIs, and others in the heady late ’60s and ’70s. In 1971, Jim remembers, … Continue reading

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JIm Simons : Remembering Cam Cunningham

Former Movement lawyer Cam Cunningham passed away this month. Photo by Alan Pogue / The Rag Blog.Defending the Movement:Remembering Cam Cunningham In 1971 we cleaned out our firm bank account and took off by car to the May Day action … Continue reading

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Jack A. Smith : America’s Conservative Era

Image from Research Digest.The election reflectsAmerica’s conservative era As the Republicans moved ever further to the right… so too did the Democrats. This leaves the U.S. as the world’s only rich capitalist state without a mass party left of center … Continue reading

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FILM / Jonah Raskin : Oliver Stone’s Over-the-Top ‘Savages’

Savages:Oliver Stone’s over-the-top stoner picture Good and bad run along parallel tracks in Savages, which might well be described as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid meets The Last of the Mohicans. By Jonah Raskin | The Rag Blog | July … Continue reading

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