Progressive Calendar 02.13.14 | <– Date –> <– Thread –> |
From: David Shove (shove001umn.edu) | |
Date: Thu, 13 Feb 2014 12:26:25 -0800 (PST) |
*PROGRESSIVE CALENDAR 02.13.14* 1. Midstream reading - 2.13 6:50pm with music 2. Zeese & Flowers - People powered media mobilizes masses; mass media remains silent --------1 of 2-------- Midstream Reading Series When: Thursday February 13, music 6:50-7:20. Poetry 7:30-8:30pm. Doors open 6:45. Where: Blue Moon building, corner of 39th and (3820) East Lake. Upstairs. Entrance just west of the Blue Moon coffee house; up the stairs and to the left. Not wheel-chair accessible. Plentiful street parking. Celebrating Valentine's. Best to arrive 10-20 minutes early to get coffee and food/dessert from the Blue Moon, and to be seated by 7:30 so we can begin on time. And, the venue will easily hold about 30; after that, standing or floor-sitting room only. The early bird gets the seat. Please occupy the up-front seats first. Special Valentine's Prelude: 6:50-7:20 Music made by poet Richard Terrill (sax) and John Kolstad (guitar). Doors open at 6:45. Tunes like I can't give you anything but love, In a sentimental mood, Autumn leaves, Blue Monk, blues in C, My funny valentine. Possibly a tad bit more after 8:30. Original poems and stories read/performed by their creators: Don Ladig Ethna McKiernan Richard Terrill Francine Tolf Don Ladig is a Saint Paul based garden designer, He was born in Youngstown, Ohio. He went to Princeton University where he graduated with a degree in urban planning and anthropology. He came initially to the Twin Cities to dance with Nancy Hauser. He is a printmaker specializing in botanical subjects and performs, along with his wife, in a variety of bands playing Irish and Scottish traditional music and that of other times and places. Poetry flew out of him in early adulthood, then flew away for a long time. This reading is part of a renewed passion in the power of expressed feelings and observation. Ethna McKiernan has been twice awarded a Minnesota State Arts Board grant in poetry, most recently for the completion of her newest book in 2012, Sky Thick With Fireflies. McKiernan's first book Caravan was a Minnesota Book Award Nominee. Of her 2nd book, The One Who Swears You Can't Start Over, The Corresponder wrote, "McKiernan is a poet's poet, assuming one believes emotion is the beating heart of literature." McKiernan holds an MFA from Warren Wilson Program for Writers and she has been anthologized in works such as The Notre Dame Book of Irish American Poetry, 33 Minnesota Poets, and Beloved on This Earth. McKiernan works for a local non-profit serving the Minneapolis homeless population. Richard Terrill is the author of two collections of poems, Almost Dark and Coming Late to Rachmaninoff, winner of the Minnesota Book Award; as well as two books of creative nonfiction, Fakebook: Improvisations on a Journey Back to Jazz and Saturday Night in Baoding: A China Memoir, winner of the Associated Writing Programs Award for nonfiction. He has been awarded fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Wisconsin and Minnesota State Arts Boards, the Jerome Foundation, the MacDowell Colony, and the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference. He has taught as a Fulbright professor in China, Korea, and Poland, and currently teaches creative nonfiction and poetry writing in the MFA program at Minnesota State University, Mankato, where he is a Distinguished Faculty Scholar. He works as a jazz saxophone player with the Larry McDonough Quartet. Francine Marie Tolf has published two poetry collections, Rain, Lilies, Luck (North Star Press of St. Cloud) and Prodigal (Pinyon Publishing), as well as a memoir and five chapbooks including Eighteen Poems to God and a Poem to Satan by Redbird Chapbooks of Minnesota. She has received grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board; Barbara Deming / Money for Women; and the Elizabeth George Foundation. Francine lives and works in Minneapolis. Before and after: The Blue Moon, downstairs, has coffee, sandwiches, desserts. Merlin's Rest, a bar/restaurant 3 blocks west, has a full bar, good food, a late hours kitchen, some outside seating For further information: David Shove shove001 [at] umn.edu 651-636-5672 --------2 of 2-------- People Powered Media Mobilizes Masses; Mass Media Remains Silent by Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers February 9th, 2014 [references to sites left live - ed] If we continue to build the independent, people-powered media, greater numbers of people will build up immunity to the destructive misinformation of corporate media. by Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers / February 9th, 2014 In the last week there were two major examples of how people-powered media can educate and mobilize people even if the mass corporate media does not report on an issue. We now have the ability to educate each other and tell our narrative of what is occurring. The movement is not dependent on the corporate media. We are in the midst of an era of media transition. The corporate media is facing tremendous financial, employee, and audience challenges. At the root of their problem is credibility. In 2004, Gallup reported<http://www.gallup.com/poll/13132/media-credibility-reaches-lowest-point-three-decades.aspx>that "39% currently say they have 'not very much' confidence in the media's accuracy and fairness, while 16% say they have 'none at all.' Gallup reported this was the lowest credibility rating in three decades. But, the decline continued and by 2012 Gallup reported<http://www.gallup.com/poll/157589/distrust-media-hits-new-high.aspx>that distrust of the media had risen by 5% to 60% having little or no trust in the media - a new record. A 2013 Gallup poll found<http://www.gallup.com/poll/163052/americans-confidence-congress-falls-lowest-record.aspx>only 1 in 4 Americans trust television or newspaper news. At the same time technology has given rise to a new people-powered media. People can now turn their telephones into a video outlet and their social networks into a newspaper. Repeatedly we have seen someone publish a video from their phone and make national news. Any individual can go on to social networking outlets and reach thousands, if not tens of thousands, of people in this new democratized media. Others create blogs that gain mass followings. Cities have groups like the DC Media group<http://www.dcmediagroup.us/>, citizen activists from the Occupy movement, or like the Media Mobilizing Project <http://www.mediamobilizing.org/> in Philadelphia building media teams. And, through activist organizations, news that is not covered in the media is shared widely. One reason we created *Popular Resistance <http://www.popularresistance.org/> *was to provide coverage of the burgeoning movement for social and economic justice that is building in the United States and around the world but ignored by the mass media. People can even get a daily movement news report<http://www.popularresistance.org/daily-digest/>in their email every morning. This people-powered media builds on the long developing independent media. The independent media has built mass readership as the Internet has developed. Outlets like *AlterNet <http://www.alternet.org/>*, *Common Dreams* <http://www.commondreams.org/>, *Truthout <http://truth-out.org/>*, *Counterpunch <http://www.counterpunch.org/>*, Dissident Voice<http://dissidentvoice.org/>, *Firedoglake <http://www.firedoglake.com/>*, *OpEd News <http://www.opednews.com/>*, *Z Communications <http://www.zcommunications.org/>*, *Global Research <http://www.globalresearch.ca/>*, *The People's Voice <http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/TPV3/>,* *LA Progressive <http://www.laprogressive.com/>* and *Truthdig <http://www.truthdig.com/>*, among others, reach more than ten million people each month. They are joined by movement media outlets like *Black Agenda Report <http://blackagendareport.com/>*, *ROAR Magazine <http://roarmag.org/>*, *Waging Nonviolence <http://wagingnonviolence.org/>*, *Occupy.com <http://www.occupy.com/>*, *Labor Notes <http://www.labornotes.org/>*, *In These Times <http://inthesetimes.com/>*, *Jacobin <http://www.jacobinmag.com/>* and *Tidal <http://tidalmag.org/>*, among others, that report and analyze the movement's actions, theory, and issues. As you can see from this list, there is a wide variety of news alternatives beyond the corporate media. In fact, the web-based independent media has much more diversity than the narrow range of opinion allowed in the corporate media. New media projects like the Omidyar-Greenwald "*First Look Media <https://www.firstlook.org/#/home>*" will experiment with a new form of independent media, building on the multi-decade independent media that already exists. We're also seeing rapid change in video and radio outlets. *The Real News <http://therealnews.com/t2/>* shows video from around the world and provides analysis not seen on cable or network news coverage. The *Resistance Report <http://www.popularresistance.org/category/resistance-report/>*provides video coverage of the movement and its actions. *Global Revolution <http://globalrevolution.tv/>* TV shows us revolts happening around the world live and reports<https://www.rebelmouse.com/globalrevolutionlive/>on global movements. There has also been an explosion in alternative radio. Our weekly show is on *We Act Radio <http://www.weactradio.com/>*. There is *Occupy the Airwaves <http://occupytheairwaves.com/>*, *Occupy Radio <http://occupyradio.podomatic.com/>* and the *Progressive Radio Network <http://prn.fm/>* to name a few; and who knows what the impact of the new low powered FM stations will be. Then there are foreign networks like *RT America <http://rt.com/usa/>*, *Press TV <http://www.presstv.com/>*and *Al Jazeera <http://america.aljazeera.com/>*. Another interesting media outlet developing an important niche is *Huffington Post Live <http://live.huffingtonpost.com/r/segment/february-07-2014/52cb6917fe34442542000007>*. All of this is providing alternative views than traditional mass media. And, investigative journalism is changing. As traditional media outlets cut their staff and reduce spending on investigative journalism, new technology is resulting in an explosion of inside information being made public. Wikileaks <http://wikileaks.org/> has developed technology that provides new ways for people to anonymously blow the whistle, producing more news than all investigative reporting by the corporate media combined. The Freedom of the Press Foundation is making SecureDrop<http://www.popularresistance.org/aaron-swartz-legacy-securedrop-allows-anonymous-whistleblowing/>, an open source submission platform for whistleblowers, available to media outlets. This will be another avenue for whistleblowers in government and big business to expose unethical behavior or criminal activity. We know many independent media outlets are developing investigative teams. In a few years investigative journalism will see a new golden age, all coming from outside the corporate media. There is a vibrant independent and citizens media movement that offers readers and viewers a lot of alternatives to the traditional media. The corporate media seems stale and stagnate in comparison to the media outside the traditional bounds. The future seems to be with people-powered media, not corporate-powered media. This is one more reason Pew reports<http://stateofthemedia.org/2013/overview-5/overview-infographic/>31% have stopped relying on traditional media. A Successful Revolt Outside The Media Spotlight Sometimes the problem is not falsehoods in the media but acts of omission; i.e., not reporting important information. An example of that has been around the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). A report<http://www.popularresistance.org/study-documents-media-blackout-of-tpp/>this week by *Media Matters* confirms that there has been virtually no network coverage of the TPP over six months - ABC, CBS and NBC did not cover it at all, PBS had one story that was favorable of the TPP. And, if you don't count Ed Schultz, cable TV (FOX, CNN and MSNBC) have only done one story on the TPP. This is an embarrassing lack of coverage of the largest trade agreement since the WTO. It is hard to not see this as an intentional decision by the mass media. There is no question the strategy of the Obama administration was to pass the TPP without people knowing about it. They classified the text as secret so that even the few members of Congress who have gone through the hurdles to see it are not allowed to talk about it. The former US Trade Representative Ron Kirk, suggested<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/03/opinion/obamas-covert-trade-deal.html>to Reuters that disclosing what it contained would "raise such opposition that it could make the deal impossible to sign." Obama then proceeded to continue the secrecy by trying to push fast track trade promotion authority through Congress. This would have prevented Congress from seeing the text or holding hearings so the public could weigh in before Obama signed the treaty. As a result of this secrecy, a year and a half ago very few people knew about the TPP even in the activist community. But today almost everyone who is politically active is aware. Not only are they aware, but they have massively mobilized. In the last ten days Congress has received<http://www.popularresistance.org/stop-fast-track-over-40000-phone-calls-600000-emails-to-congress/>nearly 600,000 emails and more than 40,000 phone calls opposing fast track trade promotion authority. Weekly twitter storms<http://www.flushthetpp.org/trans-pacific-partnership-protest-interrupts-nancy-pelosi-event/>have made #StopTheTPP a trending phrase reaching millions and last week a Thunderclap<https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/8467-stop-fast-track-for-the-tpp?locale=en>across social media reached 5.4 million people. Wikileaks leaked two important chapters on the environment<http://www.flushthetpp.org/leaked-tpp-environment-chapter-shows-corporate-agenda-wins/>and intellectual property<http://www.popularresistance.org/us-push-on-intellectual-property-in-tpp-violates-international-norms/>as well a third showing<http://www.flushthetpp.org/wikileaks-releases-more-tpp-text-shows-deep-divisions/>deep divisions among the negotiators. The massive education through the people-powered media resulted in widespread protests. There have been protests throughout the country multiple times when national<http://www.flushthetpp.org/flush-the-tpp-natl-light-action-video/>, global<http://www.flushthetpp.org/global-day-of-action-report-backs-from-bali-to-baltimore/>or intercontinental <http://www.flushthetpp.org/jan31continentalactionphotos/>days of action were called. There have been stand-alone protests around the country like this Nancy Pelosi<http://www.flushthetpp.org/trans-pacific-partnership-protest-interrupts-nancy-pelosi-event/>event that was interrupted or this fundraiser that President Obama<http://www.flushthetpp.org/obama-pelosi-and-reid-greeted-by-anti-tpp-protesters-in-la/>, Majority Leader Reid, and Minority Leader Pelosi attended. The US Trade Reps' office has been covered<http://www.popularresistance.org/protesters-take-over-us-trade-rep-building-expose-secret-negotiations/>in banners, and protesters have appeared outside their meetings<http://www.popularresistance.org/trade-talks-open-in-utah-secrecy-spurs-protests/>. Communities are passing resolutions<http://www.flushthetpp.org/trans-pacific-partnership-we-will-not-obey-building-a-global-resistance-movement/>saying that they will not obey the TPP if it passes and calling for trade justice. All of this has resulted in fast track trade promotion authority being seriously stalled in both Houses of Congress. In the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid<http://www.popularresistance.org/harry-reid-fast-track-corporate-trade-bill-goes-nowhere/>said he has no plans for a floor vote on fast track. The new chairman of the Finance Committee, Senator Ron Wyden<http://www.popularresistance.org/tpp-fast-track-crawls-to-near-halt-opportunity-to-reframe-trade/>, said he is not rushing to push fast track. In the House<http://www.popularresistance.org/no-fast-track-for-tpp-says-right-left-alliance-in-congress/>, there has been an uprising among Democrats against Obama's call for fast track with three-quarters of House Democrats publicly saying they oppose fast track, along with two dozen Republicans - even more in both parties are opposed but have not made public statements. Speaker John Boehner<http://www.popularresistance.org/popular-resistance-newsletter-tpp-toxicity-grows-we-can-stop-it/>says he will not bring fast track to the House Floor without 50 Democrats publicly supporting it. The number two Democrat, Rep. Steny Hoyer<http://www.popularresistance.org/stop-fast-track-over-40000-phone-calls-600000-emails-to-congress/>, says he is "not optimistic about a trade bill passing this year. A mass movement against the now controversial TPP developed without any coverage in the corporate mass media. This is an important display of the power of the independent and people-powered media, perhaps like we have never seen before. Despite conscious efforts to keep TPP out of the news media and under the Congressional radar, the public has exposed it. A poll released<http://www.popularresistance.org/is-fast-track-trade-promotion-authority-for-the-tpp-dead/>this week showed<http://www.popularresistance.org/bipartisan-opposition-to-fast-tracking-tpp-obamatrade/>cross-partisan opposition in the public with 62% of Americans saying they oppose fast track for the trade deals. The TPP was made toxic despite efforts at keeping the public ignorant. Friday Night Release Before the Superbowl Fails to Hide Controversial Report It is not only the media that is the problem. As we wrote last week, the government and economic elites cannot tell us<http://www.popularresistance.org/popular-resistance-newsletter-they-cant-tell-the-truth/>the truth because they know people will mobilize in mass revolt. Sometimes when the government is taking an unpopular action, their strategy is to release the information on a Friday night since the media is understaffed and covers even less news on Saturday. One of the more unpopular projects the government is trying to push through on behalf of the very powerful oil industry is the Keystone XL Pipeline. This would bring bitumen tar sands through the heart of the bread basket of America and over much of the fresh water of the United States to be refined in Texas and then shipped out through the Gulf of Mexico abroad for big oil profits. To try and draw as little attention as possible to the State Department's final environmental impact statement, the State Department released the report on the Friday night of Superbowl weekend. While the corporate media may have been off-duty, the people-powered movement against tar sands, the KXL pipeline and extreme extraction for energy was immediately active. Reactions poured out<http://www.popularresistance.org/state-department-kxl-report-now-it-is-up-to-obama/>that night over twitter, Facebook, social media, email lists and organizational websites. The news was out - the State Department report was out. Now it was up to Obama to deny the pipeline. If he fails to stop the KXL, climate justice activists said, it will be the biggest mistake<http://www.popularresistance.org/approving-keystone-xl-could-be-obamas-biggest-mistake/>of Obama's presidency. Obama had put forward a climate test - if the KXL significantly exacerbated the problem of carbon pollution he would not approve it. Activist commentators spread the word that the State Department report demonstrates the pipeline fails Obama's own test. As Francis Beinecke summarized<http://www.popularresistance.org/state-department-confirms-keystone-xl-fails-presidents-own-climate-test/>it: The State Department concluded that the pipeline would put heartland communities, farms, and ranches in harm's way. It would expose thousands of critical waterways, aquifers, and wells to the threat of tar sands oil spills--spills the State Department said are much harder to clean up than conventional crude. And it would carry oil for export to foreign ports, leaving the U.S to bear all the risks. "Most significantly, the State Department reported that the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline could accelerate climate change<http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/ddroitsch/final_environmental_review_for.html> by pumping more carbon pollution into our air. The surge in pollution would be similar to putting up to 5.7 million extra cars on the road, the review said." Not only were climate justice activists educated overnight but they also immediately began to mobilize. More than 200 protests were announced<http://www.popularresistance.org/nationwide-protests-to-stop-nokxl-as-obama-delays-decision/>that weekend to be held on Monday across the country with Americans urging the KXL Pipeline to be rejected. Native Americans frequently at the front<http://www.popularresistance.org/native-americans-increasingly-at-the-center-of-oil-and-gas-fights/>of environmental battles over gas and oil extraction and transport promised an "epic battle"<http://www.popularresistance.org/native-american-alliance-keystone-xl-pipeline-to-face-epic-opposition/>over the pipeline if it was approved. People in the Democratic Party base promised<http://www.popularresistance.org/enviros-warn-dems-base-will-sit-out-election/>to stay home on Election Day if Obama approved the pipeline. Already, the Obama administration has announced<http://www.popularresistance.org/nationwide-protests-to-stop-nokxl-as-obama-delays-decision/>a delay, saying a decision will not be made until the president hears from the EPA, Energy Department, and other federal agencies and prepares its own report. This is probably a stall tactic to get through the mid-term elections because the President has all of the information he needs right now to reject the pipeline. Once again an effort to keep an unpopular decision out of the news failed, not because the mass media exposed it, but because the people-powered media and movement got the word out, educated and mobilized people. Next Test and the Future This Tuesday there will be another test of the people-powered movement. The coalition that defeated the Internet-destroying laws SOPA and PIPA have joined together for "The Day We Fight Back <https://thedaywefightback.org/>" challenging NSA and other security state mass surveillance. More than 4,000 websites have signed up to participate in a web-based protest against dragnet surveillance. Banners will be published on the websites (including *Popular Resistance*) leading people to take action and call and email their legislators. No doubt you have not read about this protest in the *Washington Post* or *New York Times* or heard it reported in the corporate media. Once again, it will be a showing of the people-powered media and social movement organizing itself without traditional media coverage. Stay tuned and participate. We're expecting impressive results. Those in the media and government are well aware that the people-powered media is a growing threat because of the Internet. There are constant battles to be fought to keep the Internet open and free so that information can flow democratically and everyone has access. A recent court decision threatens<http://www.popularresistance.org/net-neutralitys-death-exaggerated/>the ability to keep the Internet open, but the government still has the power to do so. The people-powered movement is joining in solidarity to prevent the destruction of the Internet. One of our main ongoing tasks is to break through the 'official truth' put out by the government and repeated by the corporate media. We need to break through with the actual truth, to describe reality so people know what is going on around them. Fortunately, a growing number of people understand the importance of their role as media outlets. The interesting thing about the recent success we have seen is that the people-powered media is still in its infancy. There is no overt organization to it. People spread the word and share information without any coordinated plan to do so. People concerned about the direction of the country seem to take action organically and tell their friends, family, colleagues and Internet contacts what they have learned. Educating each other through social media is not the whole of the movement - people also have to be mobilized in a strategic and sustained fashion acting together toward a common goal within a national strategic framework. But we should not underestimate the importance of creating our own media because building a mass movement begins with education. Activists should be aggressive in sharing information through their outlets. At *Popular Resistance *our daily digest provides<http://www.popularresistance.org/daily-digest/>you with news you can share in your networks to educate vast numbers of people. We need to think of ourselves as media outlets, build our networks, expand our audiences and share relevant information widely and regularly. The corporate media, working with government, has lied us into wars that have cost the lives of hundreds of thousands and the treasures of nations; they have created fear and hatred so that many accept destruction of our freedom and mass surveillance of our communications; they have lied to us about the safety of extreme energy extraction so our environment is put at risk; and they have pushed corporate policies that enrich the wealthiest with public dollars while destroying social programs and falsely claiming they are helping us. If we continue to build the independent, people-powered media, greater numbers of people will build up immunity to the destructive misinformation of corporate media. To build the media we need, each of us must act with the intention to build it and use it in a consistent and strategic way. Remember, you are the media; and the media matters. Kevin Zeese, JD and Margaret Flowers, MD co-host Clearing the FOG<https://www.facebook.com/ClearingtheFogRadioShow?ref=ts&fref=ts>on We Act Radio 1480 AM Washington, DC, co-direct Its Our Economy <http:ItsOurEconomy.US> and are organizers of the Occupation of Washington, DC <http://october2011.org>. Read other articles by Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers<http://dissidentvoice.org/author/kevinzeesemargaretflowers/> . -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shove Trove
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