Sunday, November 23, 2014

Search: FBI - Spying - US Citizens

FBI - Spying - US Citizen's.  It's a simple set of search terms.  If you search it every six weeks or so you will find no shortage of reasons to be pissed off.  This weeks tale includes an internationally know non-profit organization that is funded by "donations" from the top corporations in the world and how they hosted the current head of the FBI and his speech - Going Dark: Are Technology, Privacy and Public Safety on a Collision Course?  [Hint: it's a trick question] This from a guy who oversees a system called the Digital Collection System Network, which is connected directly into the switches for virtually all of the major network providers.  What does it say about our society when the second reason to monitor everyone, second only to terrorism, is consumerism? Market research, in order to figure out how to more effectively sell us shit we don't need.  [Click to Listen]

Sunday, November 9, 2014

Occupy Unmasked (2012)

Activist Cinema 11: We're trying something new with this episode of Activist Cinema...we're discussing a film that I hate.  The term 'Citizen's United' is very familiar to most activists these days, but it's mainly due to the infamous Supreme Court case. 
In the case the court decided:
"that the First Amendment prohibited the government from restricting independent political expenditures by a nonprofit corporation. The principles articulated by the Supreme Court in the case have also been extended to for-profit corporations, labor unions and other associations."
It's a landmark piece of law that has ruined the electoral process in the United States.  However, Citizen's United is more than just a court case, it is a production company for political documentaries.  In 2012, director Stephen K. Bannon teamed up with Andrew Breitbart (two darlings of the Corporate version of the Tea Party) and put together this documentary. 
From the films website:
"The Occupy movement is sinister, violent, and organized with the purpose of destroying the American government. The film also discusses allegations of rape, drug use, and property destruction at the Occupy encampments."
I would suggest refreshing your memory by reading the brief Timeline of Occupy Wall Street over at Wikipedia (click here) before watching this film as the filmmakers go into quite a bit of detail about some of the events that may have faded from your memory.  Then get ready to yell at your TV...a lot. [Click to Listen]