November 6, 2013

Looking at Word Choice in the Marijuana Debate: A bud by any other name

from the Detroit Metro Times:



Looking at Word Choice in the Marijuana Debate
A bud by any other name.

By Larry Gabriel
Published: November 5, 2013




Language and the creative use of words have always fascinated me. That’s why I find the use of language employed in the War on Drugs so amusing.

Among pro-marijuana activists, there are some who always refer to pot as “cannabis.” Cannabis is its scientifically correct name and the name predominantly used for medical preparations before its prohibition. Another popular name was Indian hemp. Referring to the plant as marijuana was part of the public relations campaign to vilify it. Mexicans referred to it as marijuana and the prohibitionists chose to use that name in the effort to tie it negatively to ethnic minorities.

“The word marijuana wasn’t widely known until it was introduced by the Federal Bureau of Narcotics,” says Martin A. Lee, author of Smoke Signals, a social history of marijuana, and director of the CBD Project. “It was known as cannabis. It was a calculated choice to use the term marijuana for a xenophobic campaign typified by Reefer Madness.”

And there is a certain calculus not to use the word, “marijuana,” among some activists because it evokes an engrained negative emotional response. It’s rebranding in the deepest sense of modern marketing. ..................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://metrotimes.com/news/higher-ground/looking-at-word-choice-in-the-marijuana-debate-1.1580602

November 6, 2013

Today's Drug War Outrage: Man Dies In Jail Cell After Misdemeanor Pot Offense

Today's story is part drug war, part police indifference and callousness, part police cover-up. It comes by way of a lawsuit filed by the family of Michael Saffioti.

Saffioti failed to make a court date on a misdemeanor charge for pot possession. In July of last year, he surrendered himself to Snohomish County, Washington authorities, who promptly jailed him. (The streets of Snohomish County were a little safer that day.) When it came time for breakfast the following morning, Saffioti is seen on video having a conversation with a guard while holding his tray. Presumably, he was inquiring about any dairy products in the meal. Saffioti had a severe allergy. He's then seen taking a few bites of some oatmeal. (You can watch the video here.)

The awfulness that followed is detailed by KIRO TV.

Within a few minutes, Saffioti was back at the guard desk, using his inhaler.

According to the legal claim, he asked to see a nurse.

Instead, he was sent to his cell.

Over the next half hour, the video shows other inmates looking in Saffioti's cell as he jumped up and down.

The legal claim says he pressed his call button and was ignored.

It also alleges that the guards told him h was "faking." ........................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/06/todays-drug-war-outrage-m_n_4225995.html?ncid=txtlnkushpmg00000037

November 6, 2013

Man Busted Trying To Sell Stolen Chick-Fil-A Cow Costumes

REDLANDS, Calif. -- REDLANDS, Calif. (AP) — Police in Southern California have busted a cattle costume rustler after he tried to sell the stolen suits online.

Redlands police say the two 7-foot cow costumes created for the Chick-fil-A chain were nabbed in separate restaurant burglaries.

The costumes turned up for sale for $350 apiece on Craigslist on Oct. 30.

An undercover officer arranged to buy the bovine attire in time for Halloween. When the seller produced the black-and-white outfits, he was arrested. ...............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/06/robert-trytten-cow-costumes_n_4225269.html?utm_hp_ref=weird-news

November 6, 2013

Is Michael Bloomberg crying in his martini this morning?

By this time Wednesday, what little "2013 Election Night" we are going to have will be in the books and the pieces attempting to weave together a Grand Political Narrative from a few scattered, hyper-parochial electoral contests will be in orbit over the blogosphere, waiting to fall on unsuspecting heads like so much space junk. We will hear all about how Chris Christie provides a new path for the GOP to follow to success (it will be overblown), and how the Virginia governor's race is a referendum win for Obamacare (also overblown), and that will be that.

So, for the sake of variety, let's take a look at another of Tuesday's electoral contests, the New York mayoral election, and marvel at the beating that Mayor Michael Bloomberg's legacy took at the hands of voters in the five boroughs. Boy howdy, it was dandy.

The steady erosion of Bloomberg's standing in the Big Apple really began in the 2009 mayoral election. On that Election Night, political observers watched as what was presumed to be a certain laugher -- the final October polls of the race had Bloomberg coasting to double-digit wins over the Democratic nominee, Bill Thompson -- briefly become something of a nail-biter. In the end, Bloomberg prevailed, 50.7 percent to 46.3 percent, but Thompson backers were left convinced that they fell just short of the effort needed to unseat the two-term incumbent. .....................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/05/michael-bloomberg-legacy_n_4222046.html?ir=New+York&ref=topbar

November 6, 2013

OK MSM, we get it. Chris Christie is the best thing since espresso .............

........ Thank goodness Democracy Now! is on.

November 6, 2013

Detroit: M-1 Rail Project Now Is In Process Of Selecting Streetcars

http://www.hellyeahdetroit.com/2013/11/04/m-1-rail-project-now-is-in-process-of-selecting-streetcars-construction-work-to-start-at-spring-thaw/




At a cool $2 million to $6 million bucks apiece, picking the right streetcar is an important decision for the M-1 Rail project development group. After all, the streetcars are what passengers will rely on and interface with on a daily basis so it’s crucial that the streetcars are aesthetically pleasing, comfortable, and most importantly when it comes to Detroit transportation.. reliable.

Bids for the design, engineering, and manufacture of the cars were due on October 21st. A total of six streetcars will be purchased, and there are three vendors being considered. The price is dependent on the size of the streetcar chosen and the various options.

According to reports, a symbolic groundbreaking for the M-1 rail project will hopefully happen this year, but official construction will begin by the spring thaw. The project is already beginning to run behind schedule, as now the 3.2 mile passenger rail is slated to begin serving customers by February 2016.

This timeline is adjusted from when they first announced the project, which was initially going to be either fall or late 2015.

November 6, 2013

2014's congressional elections call for a more unified, PROGRESSIVE and revitalized Democratic Party

(In These Times) With Congressional elections in 2014, it’s time we get serious about electoral politics. Strategic decisions must be made, resources assembled, alliances forged and forces deployed in the most critical terrains.

No progressive measures will see the light of day until the right-wing cabal in Congress is crushed at the polls. This is not to say it will be easy or that all Democrats are sweetness and light. People are not energized by “neoliberalism lite.” But we have to start somewhere in getting the spanner out of the works and the boots of the super-rich off our necks. To defeat as many Republicans as we can in the next round is a fine place to begin.

The first difficulties to overcome will be internal. The Democratic Party is not a unified force. In Congress, they divide into major clusters, from the Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) and Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) on the left, then proceeding rightward through the Old New Dealers backed by the AFL-CIO and Campaign for America’s Future, to the Clintonite New Democrats, to the shrinking Blue Dogs.

But the fault line here is between the Democratic advocates of global and finance capital, and everyone else. This is nowhere clearer than in Chicago, where Mayor Rahm Emanuel is part of the problem, not the solution. ..................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://inthesetimes.com/article/15811/flipping_the_house_in_2014/

November 6, 2013

Local TV Is in Danger of Going Down the Tubes

from In These Times:



Local TV Is in Danger of Going Down the Tubes
An FCC loophole allows media conglomerates to corner smaller broadcast markets.

BY Cole Stangler


With about $10.4 billion in deals so far, 2013 is shaping up to be the fourth-biggest year for television broadcast media consolidation on record. Some progressive media advocates fear that this surge of consolidation deals means the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is enforcing its rules on ownership too loosely. In turn, they say, consumers’ exposure to a wide range of independent news sources may become severely limited in coming years.

“We are in the midst of a historic wave of consolidation,” said S. Derek Turner, research director for the progressive media reform group Free Press, on a conference call with reporters earlier this month. “It’s showing no signs of stopping. If it continues to barrel on you’re going to see more newsrooms close, you’re going to see more journalists lose jobs, you’re going to see less informed communities.”

To theoretically prevent such a narrowed spectrum of news coverage, FCC rules prohibit a single company from controlling the licenses of more than one of the top-four Nielsen-ranked stations in a local market—which usually means the ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC affiliates.

But companies are successfully getting around the rule by signing outsourcing agreements known as “shared service agreements”—in other words, they set up shell companies under their control that are able to buy up many different affiliates in local markets. Through these agreements, one city’s local ABC and FOX affiliate channels, for example, may be managed in large part by the same broadcasting company. To date, the FCC has determined that the practice does not violate its basic ownership restrictions. .....................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://inthesetimes.com/article/15830/local_tv_is_going_down_the_tubes/

November 6, 2013

The Rise of Chicago's 99% Against Rahm Emanuel, "Mayor 1%"

The Rise of Chicago's 99% Against Rahm Emanuel, "Mayor 1%"

Tuesday, 05 November 2013 09:41
By Mark Karlin, Truthout | Interview


Will Rahm Emanuel's effort to establish a privatized neoliberal outpost in Chicago succeed? Not if the ongoing uprising brushfires turn from kindling wood into a contemporary Chicago fire of political resistance. Kari Lydersen, author of "Mayor 1%," tells Truthout Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is representative of the neoliberal wing of the Democratic party, and he's getting significant pushback in his efforts to expand privatization and limit protests.

........(snip)........

Truthout talked with journalist and author Kari Lydersen about her newly released exploration of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's disconnect with the needs of the city he governs.

Mark Karlin: I think you state your position on where Mayor Rahm Emanuel stands in terms of the Occupy Movement standard when you titled the book "Mayor 1%." In that sense, does he represent the ascent of the neoliberal corporate wing of the Democratic Party?

Kari Lydersen: Yes I would say he represents the ascent of the neoliberal wing of the Democratic Party . . . but the way that the nickname "Mayor 1%" is used in Chicago and the way I see it, it is also more than that. It's clear that Emanuel's political philosophy and his approach to solving Chicago's problems centers around shifting public resources to the private sector. This isn't necessarily all bad, though it is problematic, especially in terms of the impact on public sector jobs, public education and public services for the most needy. Even more disturbingly, I see "Mayor 1%" as referring to the feeling among many people - especially low-income African Americans - that the city is being reshaped in a way that doesn't include them; that the symbolic and literal structures that make up their neighborhoods and daily lives are being dismantled as the city's resources are being shifted to cater to the "1%" or at least a much smaller percent of the current populace.

MK: Didn't Emanuel pull in something like $18 million in a few months as a rainmaker for a Chicago finance firm after leaving the Clinton administration, before his successful run for Congress?

KL: Though he had no academic credentials or formal professional experience in the field, he made about $18 million in about two years, brokering a handful of high-profile deals. This could clearly be seen as a statement on both the nature of high finance and politics. Emanuel is undoubtedly smart and knows a thing or two about money, but ultimately he was being paid for his connections past and future.

........(snip)........

MK: Now we get to the subtitle of your book: Rahm Emanuel and the rise of Chicago's 99%. Except for the teacher's strike, not many people nationally are aware that the Windy City has become a hotbed of resistance to the abandonment of the public commons. Let's start with how Emanuel was taken to school by the Chicago Teacher's Union and its savvy president. Can you discuss a little about that ongoing battle and how Emanuel may have won a few skirmishes, but lost that public relations battle?

KL: People on all sides of the education issue generally agree that Emanuel essentially "lost" the teachers strike of 2012, both in terms of public relations and the actual outcome. The teachers did not get everything they wanted, and Emanuel did achieve the longer school day, which had been one of his main goals all along. But the battle showed massive public support both for the teachers union and the very concept of public education, and Emanuel and his appointed Board of Education came out looking really bad - like petty bullies, changing their message erratically and ultimately conceding more than the teachers in the contract. Then-schools CEO Jean Claude Brizard became the fall guy for that debacle. The new CEO, Barbara Byrd Bennett, at least started out with better relations with the union, but the recent closing of almost 50 public schools and the heavy-handed way the process was carried out over the past year became basically an extension of the battle with the teachers union and parents . . . and it continues. Not only were all those schools closed, infuriating and saddening many parents and students and meaning hundreds of layoffs . . . then the schools that "survived" the closings suffered massive budget cuts. Schools in relatively well-off north side neighborhoods were among those sustaining severe budget cuts, so Emanuel managed to alienate a whole contingent of white, upper-middle-class parents who might not have been as opposed to him last year. ..................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/19810-the-rise-of-chicagos-99-against-rahm-emanuel-mayor-1

November 6, 2013

Discredited Economic Theory Holds Europe in Deflationary Thrall

from truthdig:


Discredited Economic Theory Holds Europe in Deflationary Thrall

Posted on Nov 5, 2013
By William Pfaff


This week the notorious “troika” representing the three major lenders to severely indebted European Union nations—officials from the IMF, the European Commission and the European Central Bank—once again descended upon Athens to consider new Greek proposals for dealing with its debt. (The IMF has recently expressed some doubts about all this but is still in the game.) The three were asked to approve a new Greek government plan to complete its 2014 budget in a way that would justify the next scheduled payment of troika loans needed for Greece’s national “bailout.”

In return for a new troika loan payment, the Greeks undoubtedly will be expected to offer still more austerity measures. After already accepting drastic orthodox fiscal punishment since 2010—and a six-year recession that has produced unemployment of nearly 28 percent and a 40 percent fall in household disposable income—the Greeks would like some breathing space. Whether they get it should be known by the time this article is published.

The troika routine is as familiar as an old-fashioned music-hall turn. The troika knows only one song to sing: the neo-liberal dirge of sacrifice and suffering to impose upon the mass of citizens in the loan-besieged states of the European Union’s southern and Mediterranean basin. The music is German, Wagnerian even, unchanging. Its auditors must produce and export, earning money that will allow them to emulate Germany’s record of virtue.

Bankers are not the only ones who have asked Germany how everybody can export at the same time, least of all the poor states with weak economies and a lack of investment. The American Nobel laureate economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman has been hammering on this point since Wall Street put the world into this mess. But no one will listen. Keynesianism was murdered in the U.S.A. by a conspiracy called the Washington Consensus. ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/discredited_economic_theory_holds_europe_in_deflationary_thrall_20131105