Adbusters - Tactical Briefing #36

Tactical Briefing #36

The Strategic Pincer.

Alright all you existential diggers and expectant souls out there,

Defying all cynicism, the passion on the streets keeps burning … with the crisis of capitalism intensifying people’s rage only grows, erupting in unexpected places like Quebec, Moscow, Mexico, Tel Aviv, Khartoum, Addis Ababa … meanwhile we keep learning new tricks in Madrid, Los Angeles, Greece, Palestine, Manhattan and Hong Kong.

The Zuccotti encampment model may have had its day, but the spirit of our movement lives on in the hearts and minds of hundreds of million of people around the world who know in their gut that the future does not compute.

Now a new operational model is emerging: the strategic pincer —> We attack the global financial system from above with big bang protests, uprisings and revolts —> concurrently we attack the global financial system from below with hundreds of daily move-your-money actions at the 35,000 branches of megabanks worldwide.

The Bank of America has 6,200 branches, Wells Fargo 6,600, JPMorgan Chase 5,500, Citigroup 1,300; Barclays has 4,700 branches in 50 countries, Deutsche Bank 3,100 in 72 countries, HSBC 7,200 in 85 and Goldman Sachs has over 70 offices worldwide … in front of these outposts of global capital we pitch our tents, bang our pots and pans, hold our credit card cut ups … we hand out pamphlets to the customers going in and out … we engage them in passionate conversation and convince them to move their money … we trigger a chain reaction and move $1-trillion away from the megabanks before yearend, changing global banking for good.

With our strategic pincer we beat the shit out of global capitalism over the next few months — metaphorically speaking of course — and then we escalate towards a series of global solutions: a Robin Hood Tax, pushing through a binding accord on climate change and launching hybrid Blue/Green Pirate political parties in the U.S., Canada, Australia, the UK, Japan …

Stay loose, play jazz, keep the faith … Capitalism is heaving and our movement has just begun.

for the wild,
Culture Jammers HQ

 

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We are hurtling headlong into a past that was defined by serfs and lords

john atcheson in common dreams...

Dark Ages Redux: American Politics and the End of the Enlightenment

We are witnessing an epochal shift in our socio-political world.  We are de-evolving, hurtling headlong into a past that was defined by serfs and lords; by necromancy and superstition; by policies based on fiat, not facts.

[...]

Now, we seek to operate by revealed truths, not reality.  Decrees from on high – often issued by an unholy alliance of religious fundamentalists, self-interested corporations, and greedy fat cats – are offered up as reality by rightwing politicians.

For example, North Carolina law-makers recently passed legislation against sea level rise.  A day later, the Virginia legislature required that references to global warming, climate change and sea level rise be excised from a proposed study on sea level rise.  Last year, the Texas Department of Environmental Quality, which had commissioned a study on Galveston Bay, cut all references to sea level rise – the main point of the study.

We are, indeed, at an epochal threshold.

As Stephen Colbert so aptly put it: if your science gives you results you don't like, pass a law saying that the result is illegal. Problem solved.

Except it isn’t.  Wishing reality away, doesn’t make it go away.  Pretending that the unreal is real doesn’t make it real.

UN-fuckingly believable...

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Chomsky: We’re really regressing back to the dark ages. It’s not a joke.

as always, chomsky's ability to recognize and describe the patterns and structures of our socioeconomic and political realities is unmatched...

tomdispatch...

There has always been a gap between public policy and public will, but it just grew astronomically. You can see it right now, in fact.  Take a look at the big topic in Washington that everyone concentrates on: the deficit. For the public, correctly, the deficit is not regarded as much of an issue. And it isn’t really much of an issue. The issue is joblessness. There’s a deficit commission but no joblessness commission. As far as the deficit is concerned, the public has opinions. Take a look at the polls. The public overwhelmingly supports higher taxes on the wealthy, which have declined sharply in this period of stagnation and decline, and the preservation of limited social benefits.

The outcome of the deficit commission is probably going to be the opposite. The Occupy movements could provide a mass base for trying to avert what amounts to a dagger pointed at the heart of the country.

For the general population, the 99% in the imagery of the Occupy movement, it’s been pretty harsh -- and it could get worse. This could be a period of irreversible decline. For the 1% and even less -- the .1% -- it’s just fine. They are richer than ever, more powerful than ever, controlling the political system, disregarding the public. And if it can continue, as far as they’re concerned, sure, why not?

[...]

[T]he Occupy movement is the first real, major, popular reaction that could avert this. But it’s going to be necessary to face the fact that it’s a long, hard struggle. You don’t win victories tomorrow. You have to form the structures that will be sustained, that will go on through hard times and can win major victories.

[...]

We’re really regressing back to the dark ages. It’s not a joke.  And if that’s happening in the most powerful, richest country in history, then this catastrophe isn’t going to be averted -- and in a generation or two, everything else we’re talking about won’t matter. Something has to be done about it very soon in a dedicated, sustained way.

It’s not going to be easy to proceed. There are going to be barriers, difficulties, hardships, failures.  It’s inevitable. But unless the spirit of the last year, here and elsewhere in the country and around the globe, continues to grow and becomes a major force in the social and political world, the chances for a decent future are not very high.

the 1% or, more accurately, the .1%, our ruling super-rich elites, will not go gently into that good night, but it would sure be nice to give them a hearty push...

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More crazy weather - two feet of snow in Reno...!

i've seen some heavy snows in reno but nothing like what hit them yesterday... it was evidently one for the books, shattering snowfall records that have stood since 1918...

the photo below was taken by my son off the back deck of his house where, due to the intensity of the snow coming down, it's almost impossible to see houses on the next street... i pitched in with a fair amount of shoveling when i was there before the holidays and i'm sorry i wasn't there this time to help out... i did do quite a bit of shoveling at my friend's place in suburban d.c. week before last so i guess i haven't escaped entirely unscathed...



about 8 yesterday morning here in pristina, it started snowing so hard i thought it would be up to my waist in no time but it only lasted for less than 20 minutes...

i've got to figure something is happening with global climate change given the frequency and intensity of weather events seemingly happening everywhere...

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Climate change - between a rock and a hard place in Argentina

global warming or no global warming, it's clear that a lot of things about the climate are going nuts...

you've got the drought...

For months now, yellowed pastures, cracked soil and dead livestock have been the landscape of what otherwise are the most productive farming areas of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Scientists say it is so far impossible to determine if the drought is a manifestation of climate change processes.

"Climate change cannot be characterised by one single event, but rather by a series over the long term," University of Buenos Aires climatologist Vicente Barros, member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), told Tierramérica.

Some experts believe the lack of rain could be related to the influence of La Niña, the cool phase of the cyclical climate event known as El Niño/Southern Oscillation, which changes the surface temperature of equatorial Pacific Ocean currents and affects the region's climate.

"La Niña is still very strong and the forecasting models aren't adjusted to reflect the disturbances it causes," agricultural engineer Eduardo Sierra, an Argentina climate expert, finds himself explaining to someone almost daily.

and then you've got this, all in the same region...


People look at debris after a massive mudslide in Tartagal, a small town
on Argentina's border with Bolivia, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2009. Officials say
at least eight people are missing and more than 750 residents have been
evacuated after the massive mudslide Monday when heavy rains flooded
the main river that runs through the town and triggered landslides along
banks.

A massive mudslide set off by heavy downpours has swept away a railway bridge and swamped houses in the Argentine town of Tartagal.

At least two people were reported missing after the river running through the town broke its banks, flooding roads and triggering landslides.

Some buildings were submerged in up to 1.5m (5ft) of mud.

The heavy rains come as parts of Argentina are suffering their worst prolonged drought in decades.

Torrential downpours caused the River Tartagal to overflow, with floodwaters sweeping away vehicles and inundating roads.

Local authorities said the mudslide had destroyed a railway bridge, making access to the town, which lies on the border with Bolivia, all the more difficult.

The governor of Salta province, Juan Manuael Urtubey, said some 10,000 people had been affected by the mudslide and flooding.

make whatever argument you want, it's clear that, as lewis black says, "something is as-KEW...!"

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Forest fires in Chubut Province, Argentina

i confess... i'm not a follower of local news anywhere, and it's only on rare occasions that i tune in to something local... this reuters story caught my eye for a couple of reasons... one, i happen to be in residence in my part-time home in buenos aires at the moment... and, two, the central-east portion of the country that includes buenos aires has been inundated with heavy rains the past few days, and i guess i didn't realize that more southerly parts of the country were battling severe dry weather...

Fires continued to blaze through forests in southern Argentina, burning over 7000 acres of land.

Firefighters battled forest fires in Argentina's Patagonia region on Thursday, but thousand-year-old trees in a national park were not threatened by the flames, a provincial official said.

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Netherlands' Maeslant Barrier closed for first time since its construction

add this to your climate change journal...

A powerful North Sea weather system triggered tidal surges and ferocious winds Friday, prompting fears of flooding, but left Britain and the Netherlands largely unscathed.

The peak of the predicted surge passed without causing any major damage. Hundreds of people were evacuated as a precaution, but no injuries were reported.

[...]

In the Netherlands, Rotterdam Port halted all ship traffic until Friday evening. The Maeslant Barrier protecting Europe's largest port was closed Thursday for the first time under storm conditions since its construction in 1997.

the maeslant barrier is a phenomenal piece of construction... the army corps of engineers, were they not part of the know-it-all culture of american arrogance and had they called on dutch expertise much earlier, might have been able to prevent the katrina disaster... but, no-o-o-o-o-o-ooooo...


the maeslant barrier, rotterdam, the netherlands...

During water levels of 3 metres above Amsterdam ordnance zero, the arms of the barrier are activated. The waterway, with a width of 360 metres, can then be closed completely. At first sight, it is almost unbelievable that such a barrier is capable of such an achievement. The Maeslant barrier is almost as long as the Eiffel tower and weighs about four times as much. It is the only storm surge barrier in the world with such large moveable parts. The storm surging doors have a length of 240 metres each. Under normal circumstances, these doors are fully opened, so that the ships have access to the port of Rotterdam. The doors are stored in docks with a length of 210 metres, which lie along both shores.

During storm tide the docks are flooded and the hollow doors begin to float. They are driven into the water by means of a small train. This lasts for about half an hour. When the doors are situated in the middle of the river, valves are opened and as a result the doors are flooded. Consequently, the doors sink to the bottom because of their weight. On the bottom, there is a concrete threshold. A lot of silt gathers on this threshold. To close the New Waterway properly, arms need to be positioned exactly on the threshold. The doors do not sit directly on the threshold yet, but are hung a little above them. The current under the doors becomes so strong that the silt is washed away. After about an hour, the doors can sit flat on a silt-free threshold. The water level on the seaside is then higher than the water on the riverside. The force against the surging wall during a storm is about 350 Mega Newton: this is equal to the weight of 350,000 strong men, carrying 100 kilograms each. The pressure difference is so large that a ship of equal measurements would capsize instantly. The unique shape of the barrier prevents this from happening.

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These are the people who are laying the groundwork for a national security state through climate change

you could see this one coming a mile away...

Climate change could be one of the greatest national security challenges ever faced by U.S. policy makers, according to a new joint study by two U.S. think tanks.

The report, to be released Monday, raises the threat of dramatic population migrations, wars over water and resources, and a realignment of power among nations.

During the last two decades, climate scientists have underestimated how quickly the Earth is changing — perhaps to avoid being branded as "alarmists," the study said. But policy planners should count on climate-induced instability in critical parts of the world within 30 years.

The report was compiled by a panel of security and climate specialists, sponsored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Center for a New American Security. The Associated Press received an advance copy.

all fear, all the time... gotta keep us peasants quivering in our boots so we gladly hand over our few remaining rights in the false hope of security...

just for larfs, lets look at the csis board of trustees...

Trustees

* George L. Argyros -- Chairman & CEO, Arnel & Affiliates
* Richard Armitage -- President, Armitage International
* Betty Beene -- Former President & CEO, United Way of America
* Reginald K. Brack -- Former Chairman & CEO, Time, Incorporated
* William E. Brock** -- Counselor and Trustee, CSIS
* Harold Brown** -- Counselor and Trustee, CSIS
* Zbigniew Brzezinski** -- Counselor and Trustee, CSIS
* William S. Cohen -- Chairman & CEO, The Cohen Group
* Ralph Cossa -- President, Pacific Forum/CSIS
* William H. Frist -- Trustee, CSIS
* Michael P. Galvin* -- President, Harrison Street Capital, LLC
* Linda W. Hart -- Vice Chairman & CEO, The Hart Group, Inc.
* Ben W. Heineman, Jr. -- CSIS Trustee and Senior Adviser
* Thomas O. Hicks -- Chairman, Hicks Holdings LLC
* Carla A. Hills** -- Chairman & CEO, Hills & Company
* Ray L. Hunt -- Chairman & CEO, Hunt Consolidated, Inc.
* E. Neville Isdell -- Chairman & CEO, The Coca-Cola Company
* James L. Jones -- Trustee, CSIS
* Henry A. Kissinger** -- Chairman & CEO, Kissinger Associates, Inc.
* Kenneth G. Langone -- President & CEO, Invemed Associates, LLC
* Donald B. Marron -- Chairman & CEO, Lightyear Capital
* Joseph Nye -- Distinguished Service Professor, Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government
* E. Stanley O’Neal -- Chairman and CEO, Merrill Lynch & Company, Inc.
* Joseph E. Robert -- Chairman and CEO, The J.E. Robert Companies (JER)
* Felix G. Rohatyn -- President, Rohatyn Associates, LLC
* David M. Rubenstein -- Cofounder and Managing Director, The Carlyle Group
* Charles A. Sanders -- Former Chairman & CEO, Glaxo Inc.
* James R. Schlesinger** -- Senior Adviser, Lehman Brothers, Inc.
* Brent Scowcroft** -- President, Forum for International Policy
* Rex Tillerson -- Chairman & CEO, Exxon Mobil Corporation
* Murray Weidenbaum -- Hon. Chair, Weidenbaum Center, Washington University
* Frederick B. Whittemore -- Advisory Director, Morgan Stanley

well, THAT'S interesting... now, let's look at the board and advisors of the center for a new american security...

Board of Directors

* The Honorable Dr. William J. Perry, Chairman of the Board
Professor and Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace
Stanford University
* The Honorable Dr. Madeleine K. Albright
Principal, The Albright Group LLC
*The Honorable Richard L. Armitage
President, Armitage International
* Norman R. Augustine
Former Chairman, Executive Committee, Lockheed Martin Corporation
* Admiral Dennis C. Blair, USN (Ret.)
Former Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Pacific Command
* The Honorable Dr. Richard J. Danzig
Sam Nunn Prize Fellow, Center for Strategic and International Studies
* The Honorable William J. Lynn
Senior Vice President, Government Operations & Strategy, Raytheon Company
*LtGen Greg S. Newbold, USMC (Ret.)
Managing Director, Torch Hill Capital
*John D. Podesta
President and CEO, Center for American Progress

Board of Advisors

* Rand Beers
National Security Network
* Steve Biegun
Vice President for International Governmental Affairs, Ford Motor Company
* Dr. Hans Binnendijk
Former Senior Director for Defense Policy, U.S. National Security Council
* Dr. Ashton Carter
Ford Foundation Professor of Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
* Dr. Michael Green
Senior Advisor and Japan Chair, Center for Strategic and International Studies
* LtGen Wallace Gregson, USMC, Jr., (Ret.)
WCG & Associates International, LLC
* Andrew Hoehn
Vice President and Director, Project Air Force, RAND Corporation
* Dr. Michael O'Hanlon
Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution
* Dr. Mitchell Reiss
Vice Provost for International Affairs, College of William & Mary
* Dr. Susan Rice
Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy and Governance Studies, The Brookings Institution
* Randy Schriver
Partner, Armitage International LLC
* Sarah Sewall
Director of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, Harvard University
* Ambassador Wendy Sherman
Principal, The Albright Group LLC
* Gayle Smith
Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress
*James Steinberg
Dean, LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin
* Dr. Edward (Ted) Warner III
Principal, Booz Allen Hamilton

honest to pete... just LOOK at those names... not one advocate for peace or human rights among the lot of 'em...these are the very people who have taken us to the brink of a police state, advocated for illegal wars, profited obscenely from every war and conflict waged around the globe, and essentially dictated our country's agenda and the lives of its citizens for decades... so, tell me again why they should be trusted with ANYTHING...?

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We might possibly consider doing something in the future on a voluntary basis, perhaps, but, then again, maybe not

al gore comments on the so-called g8 "agreement" on climate change...

It was a disgrace disguised as an achievement... .

The eight most powerful nations gathered and were unable to do anything except to say "We had good conversations and we agreed that we will have more conversations, and we will even have conversations about the possibility of doing something in the future on a voluntary basis perhaps."

and we'll plan to come again next year, depending, of course, on where the conference is held, and assuming it doesn't rain or isn't too hot, and the protestors aren't kicking up too much of a fuss...

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Bush and Merkel: "sending a clear signal together"

i was surfing around and hit on the official website for the g8 summit and just had to grab this home page shot...



oh, yeah, i'm so sure... "clear signal together," my ass... like bush is going to jump right out there with a strategy for dealing with climate change complete with emission caps, timelines, and accountabilities... nope, nope, and nope...

The United States will refuse to agree to targets and timetables for cutting greenhouse gases at a summit of the Group of Eight starting on Wednesday, a senior adviser to President George W. Bush said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been pushing for an agreement at the June 6-8 meeting that global cuts in greenhouse gas emissions of 50 percent below 1990 levels by 2050 are needed to curb global warming.

"At this point in time we are not prepared to adopt that proposal," James Connaughton told reporters hours before a lunch between Bush and Merkel. He said he hoped the G8 would come up with a "common vision" rather than details of cuts.

well, anywayz, ya gotta love those p.r. photo-ops... they make it look like angela and george might even enjoy each other's company... at least george isn't trying to grope angela like he did at the g8 meeting last july...

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Insistence on accountability for intelligence programs inches forward

i'm not even sure "inches" is the right term... seems to me this falls into the same category as subpoenas and the iraq war funding proposal... the administration is going to do what they goddam well please... any legislation that has provisions they don't like, they will taser congressional republicans into opposing, and then, if they actually do get passed, will simply obviate with a signing statement...

The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence has demanded a legal review of the CIA's detention and interrogation program for terrorism suspects as part of its version of the fiscal 2008 intelligence authorization bill.

also...

• [T]he panel called for the president to make public the costs of the national programs whose budgets make up almost three-quarters of the roughly $48 billion proposed for intelligence collection and analysis next year.¹

• [A]ll panel members be notified of such briefings [the most sensitive operations, such as the warrentless domestic wiretapping involving terrorism suspects] and be told about the "main features" of such intelligence activities, including covert actions.

• Joined the House in requiring a study of the impact of global climate change on national security.²

• Increased the maximum penalty for intentionally disclosing the name of an undercover intelligence officer or agent from 10 to 15 years.

• Required the president to provide all President's Daily Briefs that deal with Iraq, from the last four years of the Clinton administration through March 19, 2003, when the U.S.-led coalition began its invasion of that country.³

• Called for presidential nomination and Senate approval of the deputy CIA director as well as the directors of the National Security Agency, which collects electronic intelligence; the National Reconnaissance Office, which designs, builds and manages intelligence-gathering satellites; and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which collects and analyzes imagery.⁴

• Found that the number of personnel in the intelligence community has grown by 20 percent since the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and recommended that additional growth be halted pending further study.

naturally...

¹ The Bush administration has strongly opposed such a disclosure.

² While House Republicans opposed this provision, Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.) supported it.

³ [T]his requirement was described by the panel's Republican vice chairman, Sen. Christopher S. Bond (Mo.), as "the most problematic provision in the bill."

⁴ The White House has said it opposes a similar provision in the House bill.

our shadow government...

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Environmental damage as a crime against human rights

and, if anybody would be impacted by the u.s.-led worship of materialism and arrogant disregard for the environment, it would be the inuit...

A delegation of Inuit is to travel to Washington DC to provide first-hand testimony of how global warming is destroying their way of life and to accuse the Bush administration of undermining their human rights.

The delegation, representing Inuit peoples from the US, Canada, Russia and Greenland, will argue that the US's energy policies and its position as the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases is having a devastating effect on their communities. Melting sea ice, rising seas and the impact on the animals they rely on for food threatens their existence.

The Inuit's efforts to force the US to act are part of an unprecedented attempt to link climate change to international human rights laws. They will argue before the InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights (ICHR) that the US's behaviour puts it in breach of its obligations. "The impacts of climate change, caused by acts and omissions by the US, violate the Inuit's fundamental human rights protected by the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and other international instruments," the Inuit argued in a letter to the ICHR. "Because Inuit culture is inseparable from the condition of their physical surroundings, the widespread environmental upheaval resulting from climate change violates the Inuit's right to practice and enjoy the benefits of their culture."

more power to 'em...

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