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[David Johnson]

[PopularResistance.Org] Once Daily Digest Email
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15 new articles have been posted since yesterday.
The Tasks Of The People-Powered Movement For 2014
 In this stage of movement development, which can take many years, the primary task of the people-powered social movement is to build national consensus through broad and deep grassroots organizing. The power holders are currently in a crisis management mode. They continue to defend their policies while shifting positions and taking countermeasures to undermine people power. During this stage public opinion is shifting, majorities oppose the current situation and are beginning to see that new alternative solutions must be put in place. People-powered activists are in a battle with the power holders for the hearts and minds of super-majorities of the people. We ended our last article with a key point that we need to highlight here: our goal is to build a mass movement, which has the support of super-majorities of Americans and has mobilized up to 3.5% of the population. Therefore, the target of our protests is not the government or a corporation, the target is the people: to educate and mobilize them. We want to show that there is an effective movement speaking to the people’s concerns and putting forth views that they support. We protest the power holders to expose their actions but do not expect them to be capable of addressing our concerns adequately in this stage. -more-



Four Tips To Follow The Money In Your State
 Not since the Gilded Age has money dominated American politics as it does today. Untold millions move through political action committees and their steroidal siblings, super PACs, through opaque nonprofit groups run out of PO boxes, much of it intended to keep average voters in the dark about who is influencing their elections. And as the 2014 election year begins, with control of the House of Representatives, the US Senate and 38 governorships at stake, you can expect ever more of this campaign cash — secret and not — flooding into local, state and federal races. As the “dark money” reporter for Mother Jones, it’s my job to shine as much light on this cash bonanza as I can. I do this using every tool and trick at my disposal: databases, experts, plugged-in sources and good old-fashioned door knocking. Here are four easy-to-use tips for following the money in your state — and throwing some sunlight on the mega-donors trying to sway your elections. -more-



Here's Why IT Firms Are Concerned About NSA Leaks
 Why did IT firms meet with Obama about the NSA? The National Security Agency scandal exposed by whistleblower Edward Snowden has cost American technology companies billions of dollars in lost revenue as governments and companies in its important export markets of Asia refuse to entrust the handling of sensitive data to US companies. An analysis of financial filings from technology giants IBM and Cisco by The Independent on Sunday reveals the two businesses have seen sales slump by more than $1.7bn (£1.03bn) year-on-year in the important Asia-Pacific region since Mr Snowden revealed in June that US companies had been compromised by the NSA's intelligence-gathering in the clandestine Prism program. "US companies have seen some of their business put at risk because of the NSA revelations," said James Kelleher of equity research firm Argus Research. China is high on the list of those countries now shunning US companies. -more-



Tar Sands Facing Aboriginal Legal Onslaught In 2014
 All six First Nations in the oilsands area have requested a statutory review of the Lower Athabasca Regional Plan, the government's attempt to balance development and environmental values. Those same bands, along with many others, have also rejected the province's plans to centralize and control aboriginal consultation. One major band — the Fort McKay First Nation — has pulled out of the Joint Oilsands Monitoring program, the showpiece federal-provincial effort to monitor environmental change in the oilsands. Even the Lubicon Cree First Nation are back in court, with another try in a decades-long attempt to win a reserve and get some royalties on energy extracted from what they say is their land. -more-



Cutting Corners At Fukushima With Duct Tape
 When he climbed to the top of the 10-meter-high tank Uechi found white adhesive tape covering an opening of about 30 centimeters. After using a blade to remove the tape he applied a sealing agent on the opening and fit a steel lid fastening it with bolts. According to instructions he was to use four bolts, though the lid had eight bolt holes. According to the employee, his colleagues later told him that the use of adhesive tape was a usual practice to deal with the problem of sealing in radioactive water. “I couldn’t believe that such slipshod work was being done, even if it was part of stopgap measures,” Uechi told The Asahi Shimbun. Among other makeshift cost-cutting measures was the use of second-hand materials. Uechi also said that wire nets were used instead of reinforcing bars during the placement of concrete for storage tank foundations. In addition, waterproof sheets were applied along the joints inside flange-type cylindrical tanks to save on the sealing agent used to join metal sheets of the storage tanks. Rain and snow had washed away the anti-corrosive agent applied around clamping bolts, reducing the sealing effect, Uechi added. -more-



Transformative Activist Training
 We have begun building a movement to fundamentally transform our society and nonviolently challenge global capitalism. And we need YOU to help us instigate a transformation of consciousness throughout our society that is the absolute prerequisite for making social, economic, and political transformation possible. Even when progressives win one battle through enormous expenditure of time and money, they often fail to teach their supporters a larger understanding of the world, much less to present a coherent strategy for how to change the larger picture of economic, political and social dysfunction. As a result people end up settling for their particular “win” and feel too exhausted to go on to yet another struggle. We can change that! -more-



Bosses Waged Economic Terrorism Against Boeing Workers
 In November of 2013 Boeing workers’ members of IAM District Lodge 751 AFL-CIO rejected a contract with deep concessions by a 67% to 33% margin. A major issue was pensions. Boeing bosses were demanding the freezing of pensions and other concessions as they moved workers from a defined benefit plan to a defined-contribution savings plan. Yesterday, January the third 2014, these same workers voted to accept these drastic concessions by a 1% margin. What happened in just over a month? What has happened is what always happens when the bosses are faced with that first line of resistance, the rejection of a concessionary contract. What is really a gang composed of Boeing execs, aircraft industry bosses and politicians----- in this case representing the Democratic Party, one of the capitalist’s two major parties------and the union hierarchy got together and orchestrated a major assault on the Boeing workers and their families. They have waged a terror attack of immense proportions. -more-



This Spring: Worldwide Wave Of Transformation
 On the anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, April 4, 2014, the spirit of MLK will rise again. We will engage a worldwide wave of action, “from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city. From every mountain side…” We will “let freedom ring.” Anonymous, Occupy and the 99% Movement have set up the dominoes for an unprecedented worldwide wave of action. The tipping point is near. We are calling on all Anons, nonAnons, collectives, organizations and conscious individuals to take autonomous nonviolent direct action throughout the global spring. For a sustained three-month cycle, we will swarm corrupt targets and rally around solutions to the vast problems we are confronted by. -more-



The Nonviolent Roots Of Syrian Rebellion: Students United Against Tyranny
 When a group of students staged the first demonstration at the Damascus College of Science in April 2011, they could not imagine that would be the beginning of the future Union of Free Syrian Students (UFSS). The Union, which has played a fundamental role in the Syrian uprising, remains one of the most relevant youth groups developing civil resistance in the country. “At that first demonstration, 50 of us had planned to gather to demand freedom, justice and dignity,” one of the organizers said to Syria Untold. “We were amazed when we saw hundreds of students show up.” After that first protest, which was recorded and widely shared online, professionalization and self-protection became a goal for the students. It became clear that there was an urgent need to protect demonstrators by concealing their identities on camera, which led to an increasing effort in hiding people´s faces on pictures and videos. Today, most of the Union’s work focuses on humanitarian and health aid, as well as on reporting and media activities. They evolve in response to the reality on the ground, which has evolved from a peaceful civil uprising to increasing militarization and Islamization, amid international indifference. In spite of everything, the Union, as many other civil activists, continues to resist all those trends, aiming for a future of freedom, justice and dignity. -more-



The Man From The North: Baking The Bread Of Revolution
 There is a formula for revolution. The corporate-political elite are following it to perfection: steal the money, corrupt the power, imprison the people, starve the children, poison the water, pillage the resources, enslave the workers, eviscerate justice, stalk the citizens, stifle dissent, and inject terror in the bloodstream of society. Massive unrest and movements for social change are natural reaction to such conditions. With these ingredients, we’re cooked. Either we’ll revolt like cattle lunging to escape the slaughterhouse, or we will wage struggle for revolution in a process as natural as the alchemy of bread baking. It is unbelievable that the powerful don’t understand: if they mix the living yeast of humans into the flour of our earthly existence, apply pressure and heat . . . poof! We will rise toward life, nourishment, and sustenance of our communities. -more-



Keep Our Focus On Economic Inequality: No Bait and Switch
 At CounterPunch, Jason Hirthler identifies one of the most important dynamics in the modern political world: "For every social advance, an economic price paid." Hirthler examines the real-life aftermath of the social breakthroughs and advances represented by the social justice campaigns of Martin Luther King, the ending of apartheid under the aegis of Nelson Mandela, and racial symbolism in the election of the first black American president, Barack Obama. In every case, Hirthler notes, genuine social achievements were followed by a brutal and ruthless expansion and entrenchment of 'neoliberal' economics -- that is, the aggrandisement of elite power and privilege. One of the most glaring examples detailed by Hirthler is what happened after the genuinely astonishing and significant triumph of Mandela and the ANC: the share of South Africa's wealth owned by whites has actually increased since the ending of the apartheid, thanks to the ANC's betrayal of its own economic principles and its capitulation to the existing economic power structure. -more-



Seven Amazing Overpass Light Brigade Videos 
 One of the coolest sights on a nighttime highway is a Light Brigade message. And the only thing better than stumbling across one of the guerilla grassroots network’s “bridge actions” is seeing it unfold in time-lapse video. Here are seven of our favorites by Dusan Harminc, who has spent some quality time documenting the actions of the Milwaukee-based Overpass Light Brigade (OLB). -more-



900 Weathiest Finished Paying Social Security Tax On Jan 2
 A small, elite group of US citizens has already met their 2014 financial obligation for Social Security two days into the New Year, and will no longer be required to contribute any of their income to the federal program. Nearly all working Americans will continue to pay the social security tax through the duration of 2014. The 900 wealthiest, however, have fulfilled their responsibility for the whole year on Thursday by earning $117,000 – the maximum total social security is allowed to take from an individual income each year - on the first and second days of the month. Teresa Ghilarducci, an economics professor at the New School for Social Research, wrote that if everyone eligible paid all year long, “the Social security system would be solvent indefinitely and they still would be the richest and prettiest in all the land.” -more-



Take Action To Demilitarize Your Police
 We've watched for decades as local police have become more and more militarized. It has led to a culture of police brutality that is encouraged because officers face little if any consequences. It's time for communities to demand that their local police de-escalate and de-militarize. Perhaps you can be the first in the nation to take this issue to your local government and take action to de-militarize your police, whether it's in your town or city or on your campus. Share what you do so that others can do the same. Contact us at info at popularresistance.org if you are working on this so we can share your work. -more-



State of Conflict: North Carolina
 First it was Wisconsin. Now it’s North Carolina that is redefining the term “battleground state.” On one side: a right-wing government enacting laws that are changing the face of the state. On the other: citizen protesters who are fighting back against what they fear is a radical takeover. This crucible of conflict reflects how the battle for control of American politics is likely to be fought for the foreseeable future: not in Washington, DC, but state by state. This week on Moyers & Company, “State of Conflict: North Carolina.” At the heart of this conservative onslaught sits a businessman who is so wealthy and powerful that he is frequently described as the state’s own “Koch brother.” Art Pope, whose family fortune was made via a chain of discount stores, has poured tens of millions of dollars into a network of foundations and think tanks that advocate a wide range of conservative causes. Pope is also a major funder of conservative political candidates in the state. Pope’s most ardent opponent is the Reverend William Barber, head of the state chapter of the NAACP, who says the right-wing state government has produced “an avalanche of extremist policies that threaten health care, that threaten education [and] that threaten the poor.” Barber’s opposition to the legislature as well as the Pope alliance became a catalyst for the protest movement that became known around the country as “Moral Mondays.” -more-










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