We Are Equals produced this 2‑minute video for the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day. Daniel Craig and the great Dame Judi Dench reprise their roles from the last two James Bond films — with a twist. We’d say more, but the video speaks for itself. Enjoy!
Jon Stewart put it nicely. Now filmmaker Michael Moore takes the gloves off. Visiting Madison, Wisconsin this Saturday, he told the crowd “America isn’t broke.” Rather, the money that used to run the country simply got siphoned out of the system and put into unproductive Wall Street accounts. Strong words, but if you consider that most US corporations pay no US taxes, that billionaire hedge fund managers pay far lower taxes than the rest of you, that we’re preserving the unsustainable Bush tax breaks that overwhelmingly benefit the extremely wealthy, then you start to think about our national deficits and Wisconsin’s battles with teachers in a different light.
Make no mistake about it. The deficits are a real problem. And any truly excessive perks for public workers should be cut. But the middle class shouldn’t bear the sole brunt of the national sacrifice. And, so far, that’s all we see. Main Street took the hit in 2008 while Wall Street walked. And that’s what’s happening again…
Jon Stewart had to do it. He had to connect the dots. We’re going after the public servants trying to do some good. But how about the non-contributing bankers who kept their personal gravy train rolling at taxpayer expense? Or the hedge fund managers who pay dramatically lower taxes than almost anyone reading this site? 15%?? And let’s not forget that some of our our largest corporations – including GE and Exxon — have recently paid no US income tax? Ultimately, this all gets down to who funds your next election. Banks and corporations do. Kids and public servants don’t. David Brooks makes that point rather well. I’m all for sacrifice, but let’s make it fair and shared. Or is that idea too “socialist” (or what we quaintly used to call “democratic”)?
Where will the Middle East go from here? Towards democracy, as many hope? Towards a more theocratic model, as some despair? Or, towards more of the same disillusioning autocracy?
On the first day of the big TED conference, Wadah Khanfar, the head of Al Jazeera, offered a supremely optimistic take on the revolutions transforming Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and perhaps beyond. Throughout the past few weeks, many Westerners have tuned into Al Jazeera’s live English-language coverage on the web and found themselves pleasantly surprised by the balance and depth of their reporting. Now you get 17 upbeat minutes with the leader of the Qatar-based news organization …
There’s something wonderful about this .… unless you’re a dictator. Today, The New York Times shines a good light on Gene Sharp, a shy American intellectual who has spent decades writing on the art of non-violent revolution. Back in 2002, Sharp published “From Dictatorship to Democracy: A Conceptual Framework for Liberation,” a 93-page guide to upending autocrats. Then, he had the text translated into 24 languages and made freely available online, with all copyright restrictions removed. The manual has since inspired dissidents in Burma, Bosnia and Estonia, while giving strategic direction to the protests in Egypt and Tunisia. Ideas have power. But good ideas have more power when they’re open. You can download Sharp’s manual here (PDF), and learn more about his mission through his nonprofit, The Albert Einstein Institution.
Speaking of good ideas that are open, feel free to download 35o free online courses and teach yourself anything and everything.
A little ways back, Christopher Hitchens fielded questions for 30 minutes from Reddit.com users, answering any and every question they threw his way. What historical figures, events or books have been underemphasized in American public education? Has the Iraq War (something Hitchens supported) had a positive or negative impact on Islamic extremism? What do socialism and libertarianism have in common intellectually, if anything? Other figures interviewed by Reddit users include Richard Dawkins, Noam Chomsky, and Ron Paul.
Note: If you’re looking for some resources that explain what’s happening in Egypt, you might want to visit these resources here and here. Both come at the recommendation of Jad Abumrad, the host of Radio Lab.
Let me preface things by saying this will likely be our last WikiLeaks post for a while. Don’t want to slip into WikiLeaks overkill. With that said…
Yesterday, Sir David Frost landed the first television interview with Julian Assange since his release from a London jail. The 24 minute interview aired on Al Jazeera English (where Frost hosts a show called Frost Over the World) and pretty quickly they dive into some important questions: Do governments have the right to keep state secrets? And do media organizations have the right to divulge such secrets? Assuming so, where (if anywhere) must journalists draw the line? Why has WikiLeaks recently taken aim at the United States? Is it fair to characterize WikiLeaks as an anarchic organization? The list of questions goes on, including ones delving into Assange’s legal problems. Thanks for @eacion for the heads up on this one…
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