Pussy Riot

Pussy Riot is a Russian feminist punk-rock musical collective in Moscow, who stage politically provocative impromptu performances about Russian political life in unusual locations, such as on top of a trolleybus or on a scaffold in the Moscow Metro.

On February 21, 2012, four members of the group staged a performance on the soleas of Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, motivated by their opposition to Vladimir Putin and the politics of the Russian Orthodox Church. Their performance was interrupted by church security officials. On March 3, after the video of the performance appeared online, three of the group members were arrested and charged with hooliganism aimed at inciting religious hatred.

Their trial began in late July and raised much controversy in Russia and globally. According to a poll by the Levada Center, 44% of Russians supported the trial and believed in its fairness, while 17% did not. According to another poll by Levada, only 6% sympathised with Pussy Riot, while 51% "felt antipathy or had nothing good to say about them"; only 4% believed group members should be acquitted. On the other hand, the band members gained the noticeable support of many in Russia and internationally because of allegations of harsh treatment while in custody and the risk of a possible seven-year jail sentence.

On August 17, 2012, the three members were convicted of hooliganism (article 213.2 of the Criminal Code) and each sentenced to two years imprisonment. The Russian Orthodox Church issued a statement appealing to the authorities to show clemency, within the law, and urging the court to "divide the sin from sinner and reprimand the first while hoping the latter will improve". The Church, however, condemned the "rude hostility to millions of people and their feelings" and cast no doubt on the legitimacy of the court’s decision. The trial and conviction have attracted international criticism. The foreign ministries of Germany and Sweden, together with representatives of the European Union and the United States, called the sentence "disproportionate". (read more)

Punk Prayer

Huffington post

Topless Warriors

We will occupy the 1% | Occupy Bohemian Grove

Occupy groups from Santa Rosa, San Francisco, Portland, Sebastopol, and Petaluma, are joining some twenty other social justice activist organizations to protest the powerful one-percent elites partying at the Bohemian Grove in Monte Rio, California July 14-29.

2,000-3,000 rich and wealthy men have gathered every summer for 133 years in a private 2,800 acre ancient redwood retreat to celebrate themselves with parties, entertainment, and speakers. The men, Bohemian Club members and their guests, will hold a cremation of care ceremony July 14, where they symbolically burn the cares of the world before a giant owl in a bizarre annual ritual.

This year’s protest against the gathering of the world’s political and economic elite is called “Occupy Bohemian Grove, Expose the 1%. Occupy groups across America, and increasingly the world, are working to expose the one percent in control of global resources who are bringing human rights repression, environmental destruction, and war to humankind.

The Fukushima Mothers and Cindy Sheehan are joining the twenty-four co-sponsors for a Creation of Care ceremony, speakers, and music, Saturday, July 14, at the Monte Rio Amphitheater, just outside the gates of the Bohemian Grove. Kris Welsh will MC the day, and Dennis Bernstein, host of Flashpoints on KPFA/Pacifica radio will broadcast live from the event. Russia Today-TV with Abby Martin will film and John Rees with No-Lies Radio will video-cast the day on the Internet...

more: We will occupy the 1% | Occupy Bohemian Grove

Avant Garde

Avant Garde antiwar poster, circa 1967

be fearless

Berkeley Anti-War Demonstrator
Unknown Artist, American 1970

tibet burning

savetibet

mooncake

Celebrating nuclear shutdown in Japan! - historic day

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HAPPPY CHILDREN'S DAY JAPAN!

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TOKYO - Thousands of Japanese marched to celebrate the last of this nation's 50 nuclear reactors switching off Saturday, shaking banners shaped as giant fish that have become a potent anti-nuclear symbol.

Japan will be without electricity from nuclear power for the first time in four decades when one of three reactors at Tomari nuclear plant in the northern island of Hokkaido goes offline for routine maintenance checks.

After last year's March 11 quake and tsunami set off meltdowns at Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, no reactor stopped for checkups has restarted amid growing public worries about the safety of nuclear technology.

People gather at an anti-nuclear demonstration on the Children's Day national holiday, calling for a safer future for younger generations at a park in Tokyo on May 5, 2012. The last working reactor in Japan is to be switched off May 5, 2012, leaving the country without nuclear power just over a year after the world's worst atomic accident in a quarter of a century. AFP PHOTOS / KAZUHIRO NOGI

"Today is a historical day," shouted Masashi Ishikawa to a crowd gathered at a Tokyo park, some holding traditional "Koinobori" carp-shaped banners for Children's Day that have grown into a symbol of the anti-nuclear movement.

"There are so many nuclear plants, but not a single one will be up and running today, and that's because of our efforts," Ishikawa said...

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> more: Japan Nuclear Power: Thousands Celebrate As Last Of Reactors Switch OfF | CP | By Yuri Kageyama, The Associated Press

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see also

whats up: RC's NUCLEAR BLOG
NO NUKES | #RE-TOOL NOW
Occupy Nuclear Daily (#OccupyNuclear)

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TSA stands for ?

revo - lution

we are legion

my blue bra: egyptian army beating protester

time

make mine freedom

Shocking Images Show Escalating Violence Against OWS

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A man who identified himself as Brendan Watts was beaten to the ground by police officers in Zuccotti Park. According to reports he was injured and suffered a fractured skull after being hit with a baton to the head as police clashed with protesters. Brendan Watts; photo: Occupy Wall St. on Facebook
. Video below

"I want to be very clear in calling upon the Egyptian authorities to refrain from any violence against peaceful protestors. The people of Egypt have rights that are universal. That includes the right to peaceful assembly and association, the right to free speech, and the ability to determine their own destiny. These are human rights and the United States will stand up for them everywhere."

-Barack Obama,
28 January, 2011

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Shocking Images Show Escalating Violence Against OWS
by Beth Buczynski
November 19, 2011

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Shocking Images Show Escalating Violence Against OWS | Care2 Causes

November 17th marked the two-month anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement. To demonstrate resilience and solidarity in the face of coordinated crack-downs, Occupiers around the world organized a massive day of action.

Many of these actions were met with marked violence by law enforcement. At UC Davis, a police officer flippantly pepper-sprayed seated college students at point-blank range while a wall of onlookers documented the heartless act.

Police pepper spraying and arresting students at UC Davis- YouTube. Crowd chants police out of the quad with "Shame On You" and "You Can Go"

Update: The cop who used the pepper spray, reported to be Lt. John Pike, earns $110,000 a year–almost twice that of an experienced assistant professor at UC Davis. Pike’s cell phone number is (530) 752-3989 (confirmed). His email is japikeiii@ucdavis.edu. Tell him what you think of his violence against these kids and the interests that he serves.

A similar scene played out at Occupy Portland, which was completely destroyed by the Portland Police Department last week. On November 17th, 21 Occupy Portland protesters were arrested occupying Chase Bank and Wells Fargo. These actions followed the arrest of twenty-five union members on the Steel Bridge protesting the lack of infrastructure spending and job creation, which was led by We Are Oregon and organized labor.

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see Occupy Portland Under Attack: Police Evict Protesters | Care2 Causes

Over twelve instances of pepper spray at point blank range targeting people on the sidewalk, reported Occupy Portland in a statement. Two people were stepped on and pushed down by police horses. At least six people were beaten with batons by the police. Seven people were injured from impacts with police bicycles. One individual suffered an injured back after being forcefully grabbed by a mounted office. One elderly person was taken to the hospital with leg or hip injuries.

“On multiple occasions the police pointlessly endangered demonstrators and ensarled traffic, including a mounted charge of peaceful protesters on a sidewalk, forcing them onto the MAX tracks on SW Yamhill,” said David Osborn.

In New York City, the nexus of the Occupy Wall Street movement, over 30,000 people took to the streets (see above) to protest political and economic injustice, and to show support for the recently evicted Zuccotti Park occupation. Over 100 were arrested at the action, including journalists.

A man who identified himself as Brendan Watts was beaten to the ground by police officers in Zuccotti Park. According to reports he was injured and suffered a fractured skull after being hit with a baton to the head as police clashed with protesters.

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see Blood on Wall Street: Violent OWS arrests (GRAPHIC PHOTOS, VIDEO) — RT and videos below

At first, OWS protesters were chanting "Put away the riot gear. I don't see no riot here" and '"This is a nonviolent protest". But when police went on with tough arrests – it was "Shame" and "This is what a police state looks like" chants all the way.

At 3pm, thousands of students, workers, and other supporters gathered in Union Square chanting “Shut the city down!” and using the People’s Mic to share stories of how banks and corporate greed have impacted the 99%. Simultaneously, Occupiers took to multiple subway stations in all five boroughs. The day of action culminated when the student strike, labor unions, and various OWS groups took over a number of streets in Lower Manhattan on their way to Foley Square before marching across the Brooklyn Bridge.

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Shocking Images Show Escalating Violence Against OWS | Care2 Causes

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Brendan Watts videos (New York)


OWS NYPD Bloody Faced & Crying Protester Ugly Arrest - Brendan Watts - YouTube


Man BLOODIED by NYPD at OccupyWallStreet

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photos

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Portland

A woman is blasted with pepper spray during Occupy protests in Portland Thursday. (Randy L. Rasmussen, The Oregonian)

"The dramatic photo of a young woman getting a blast of pepper spray on her face during a mostly peaceful Occupy protest in Portland is destined to become an enduring image of the national movement."

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Portland pepper spray incident generates iconic Occupy photo - KDVR

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Seattle

Seattle activist Dorli Rainey, 84, reacts after being hit with pepper spray during an Occupy Seattle protest on Tuesday, November 15, 2011 at Westlake Park. Protesters gathered in the intersection of 5th Avenue and Pine Street after marching from their camp at Seattle Central Community College in support of Occupy Wall Street. Many refused to move from the intersection after being ordered by police. Police then began spraying pepper spray into the gathered crowd hitting dozens of people. A pregnant woman was taken from the melee in an ambulance after being struck with spray. Photo: JOSHUA TRUJILLO / SEATTLEPI.COM

Seattle Police officers deploy pepper spray into a crowd during an Occupy Seattle protest on Tuesday, November 15, 2011 at Westlake Park. Photo by Joshua Trujillo, seattlepi.com

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PHOTOS: Elderly woman, pregnant woman hit with pepper spray at Occupy Seattle | Seattle's Big Blog - seattlepi.com

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New York

Try arresting that!

"brooklyn bridge gettin it! covered end to end. Try arresting that!"

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Occupy Wall St. on Facebook | Wall Photos

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mooncake

LONDON — Tibet's exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has said he is worried about the growing number of monks and nuns setting themselves on fire in southwest China, in an interview broadcast Saturday.

The Dalai Lama told the BBC that those setting themselves alight were courageous, but questioned how effective self-immolation was as a form of protest against Chinese rule.

"The question is how much effect" the self-immolations have, the 76-year-old asked British broadcaster.

"That's the question. There is courage -- very strong courage. But how much effect? Courage alone is no substitute. You must utilise your wisdom."

Eight Buddhist monks and two nuns have set themselves alight in ethnically Tibetan parts of Sichuan province since the self-immolation of a young monk in March at Kirti monastery sparked a government crackdown.

Activists say that at least five monks and two nuns have died and that Chinese police have at times responded by beating the burning protesters and their colleagues rather than providing assistance.

Asked whether the self-immolations could make life worse for people in Tibet, the Dalai Lama said: "Many Tibetans sacrifice their lives.

"Nobody knows how many people killed and tortured -- I mean death through torture. Nobody knows.

"But a lot of people suffer. But how much effect? The Chinese respond harder."

The Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet following a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959, founded a government in exile in the northern Indian town of Dharamshala after being offered refuge there.

He remains revered in China's Tibetan areas but is vilified as a "separatist" by China's communist authorities. (AFP)

DHARAMSHALA — Expressing her support and solidarity with the Tibetan people, a prominent Chinese research scholar living in Sydney has strongly criticized the Chinese government's repressive policies on Tibet for the last six decades.

In an article, Dr Chen Hongxin, a research scholar of Chinese contemporary politics, described the recent self-immolations by Tibetans since March as a way of protest against the Chinese government's wrong policy on Tibetans and their religious belief.

“At least six Tibetans have died as a result of self-immolation, and they have called for religious freedom, the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet and freedom in Tibet.”

Dr Chen also wrote about critical questions that people might raise, why “happy and prosperous Tibetans” are ending their lives through self-immolations. Why the Tibetan monks who respect life and practice Buddhism for millenia by renouncing ill-feelings, are now burning themselves to death one after another?

“The answers underlying these questions lies in the truth of past 60 years which will bring tears in the eyes of the international community. In fact, through successive generations, the Tibetans have not only etched their history, but also exposed the Chinese government's propaganda through peaceful protests,” she wrote.

The article contained criticism of China's draconian measures towards the Tibetan monastic community. “Despite reconstruction of Tibetan monasteries in 1980s, the authorities imposed restrictions on the admission of Tibetans into monasteries, made “patriotic education”, which involves denouncing His Holiness the Dalai Lama, a compulsory subject for monks to study.

Dr Chen further wrote about her impression of Mr Xi Jinping's visit to Lhasa this year. “During his visit to Lhasa, the future Chinese president, Xi Jinping, not only did not meet Tibetans, but did not even visit a monastery. On the contrary, he met with officials from the police, army, political and judicial authorities. This act has exposed the Chinese government's intention of brutal and repressive policy on Tibet.” (tibet.net)

(mooncake)

Little Boxes

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Little Boxes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "Little Boxes" is a song written by Malvina Reynolds in 1962, which became a hit for her friend Pete Seeger in 1963.

The song is a political satire about the development of suburbia and associated conformist middle-class attitudes. It refers to suburban tract housing as "little boxes" of different colors "all made out of ticky-tacky", and which "all look just the same." "Ticky-tacky" is a reference to the shoddy material used in the construction of housing of that time.

Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes made of ticky tacky,
Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes all the same.
There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.

And the people in the houses
All went to the university,
Where they were put in boxes
And they came out all the same,
And there's doctors and lawyers,
And business executives,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.

And they all play on the golf course
And drink their martinis dry,
And they all have pretty children
And the children go to school,
And the children go to summer camp
And then to the university,
Where they are put in boxes
And they come out all the same.

And the boys go into business
And marry and raise a family
In boxes made of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.
There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.

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see also > what next: If I Had A Hammer

99%

nonviolent direct action

Nonviolent direct action seeks to

create such a crisis and foster such a

tension that a community which has

constantly refused to negotiate is

forced to confront the issue. It seeks

to so dramatize the issue that it can

no longer be ignored.

...Martin Luther King Jr...
4/16/63

anonymous message to wall street

occupy wall street

occupy wall street

Lies, Damn Lies, and Safe Nuclear Power

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Rankin & Dub Ainu Band "You can't see it, and you can't smell it either "

english subtitles

Radiation is scary, radiation is dangerous, you can't see or smell it, and you can't run from it

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Independent Media Center | www.indymedia.org | ((( i ))): "Lies, Damn Lies, and Safe Nuclear Power - by Stephen Lendman

In any form, nuclear power is inherently unsafe. For decades, nuclear expert Helen Caldicott warned it must be abandoned, saying:

'As a physician, I contend that nuclear technology threatens life on our planet with extinction. If present trends continue, the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink will soon be contaminated with enough radioactive pollutants to pose a potential health hazard far greater than any plague humanity has ever experienced.'

Anti-nuclear activist/expert Professor Karl Grossman agrees, calling 'Atomic Energy: Unsafe in the Real World' in his June 29 article, saying:

'Nuclear power requires perfection and no acts of God' to avoid accidents that may become catastrophes. Humans and technology aren't perfect. Natural and other type disasters happen. '(W)e can't eliminate them. But we can - and must eliminate atomic energy' or it will eliminate us.

On March 18, Bloomberg said Japan's Fukushima disaster 'follows decades of falsified safety reports, fatal accidents and underestimated earthquake risks in Japan's atomic power industry.'

The same is true in America and elsewhere - governments, regulators, and power companies suppressing vital truths, instead of shutting down inherently unsafe plants, making all of them ticking bombs..."

more

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whats up: You can't see it, and you can't smell it either | Nuclear Nightmare Unfolding: "Everyone knows about Chernobyl, Three Mile Island and, now, Fukushima. But what about Semipalatinsk, Palomares and Kyshtym? The world is full of nuclear disaster zones -- showing just how dangerous the technology really is."