Rational Review » PND Events

NM: We seek snitches, says Albuquerque Police want ad

Steve Trinward — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 03:27:51 +0000

“The Albuquerque Police Department has turned to the want ads for snitches. An ad this week in the alternative newspaper The Alibi asks ‘people who hang out with crooks’ to do part-time work for the police. It reads in part: ‘Make some extra cash! Drug use and criminal record OK.’ Capt. Joe Hudson says police received more than 30 responses in two days. He says one tip was a ‘big one’ but wouldn’t elaborate. An informant whose tip helps officers arrest a drug dealer could earn $50. A tip about a murder suspect could bring up to $700.” (11/23/08)

The waste-pickers of Delhi

Thomas L. Knapp — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 23:26:15 +0000

“Bharati Chaturvedi, the director and cofounder of Chintan, a small Indian NGO that provides education to waste-pickers, claims that more than 1 percent of Delhi’s population sifts through garbage, recycling as much as 59 percent of the city’s waste. ‘These waste-pickers are providing a public service — for free,’ she says. That may soon change. A new waste incinerator that turns trash into electricity is slated to be built in Timarpur, a suburb of Delhi. Because it will reduce the amount of methane off-gassed by landfills, it will generate carbon credits under the Kyoto Protocol. But the incinerator will also emit cancer-causing dioxins, mercury, heavy metals, and fly ash. Are the carbon credits available under Kyoto’s Clean Development Mechanism worth putting thousands of impoverished waste-pickers out of business?” (07/08)

CA: Conservation group sues US Coast Guard

Thomas L. Knapp — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 23:31:29 +0000

“A conservation group has sued the U.S. Coast Guard in an effort to protect whales from being struck by passing ships off the coast of California. The Center for Biological Diversity’s lawsuit, filed Wednesday in federal court here, seeks to force the Coast Guard to consult more closely with the National Marine Fisheries Service . The group wants the Coast Guard to adhere to Endangered Species Act rules and consult with the National Marine Fisheries Service on how best to protect endangered whales.” (06/18/08)

CA: Vallejo bankruptcy could be model for others

Steve Trinward — Mon, 12 May 2008 03:55:43 +0000

“By declaring bankruptcy, Vallejo has thrust itself into the national spotlight as a test case for thousands of floundering cities desperate to unload their extravagant public employee contracts. ‘There’s a wave of this coming across the U.S.,’ said Sajan George, an adviser to struggling public entities who worked on restructuring Orange County after it declared bankruptcy in 1994. ‘What happens in Vallejo could definitely set a precedent.’ Battered by the plummeting housing market and skyrocketing public employee contracts, Vallejo made dubious history Tuesday night by becoming the largest California city to declare bankruptcy. The North Bay city of 117,000 was on track to start the fiscal year July 1 with a $16 million deficit and no money in reserve.” (05/11/08)

Obama takes Wisconsin primary, Hawaii caucus

Thomas L. Knapp — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 11:39:29 +0000

“Sen. Barack Obama won the Wisconsin Democratic primary and the Hawaii caucuses decisively last night, extending his winning streak to ten consecutive contests and dealing another significant blow to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, whose imperiled presidential candidacy now hangs on the outcome of showdowns in Ohio and Texas in two weeks. After a week of sparring that included the first negative ads of the campaign, Obama emerged victorious in the critical general-election battleground state of Wisconsin, and was treated to favorite son status with a lopsided win in Hawaii, where he was born. … In Wisconsin’s Republican primary, Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) won an easy victory over former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, moving him ever closer to clinching the party’s nomination.” (02/20/08)

Larken Rose on Lighting the Fires of Liberty, 08/30/07

Steve Trinward — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 12:31:04 +0000

Income tax activist Larken Rose on Michael Badnarik’s “Lighting the Fires of Liberty.” 7-9am CST on We The People Radio Network. [live stream] (08/30/07)

Daniel Ellsberg on Antiwar Radio

Thomas L. Knapp — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 15:15:00 +0000

“Daniel Ellsberg, heroic antiwar activist and the man who leaked the Pentagon Papers, compares and contrasts the Iraq and Vietnam wars and discusses the abdication by the cowardly Congress of their authority over the American government’s war powers, torture, his wish that more whistleblowers would come forward and David Petraeus’ dishonor.” [Flash audio or MP3] (07/20/07)

Petition: Filibuster for peace

Mary Lou Seymour — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 02:02:12 +0000

Petition calling on the U.S. Senate to filibuster and end the war in Iraq. (03/07)

Wikileaks

Thomas L. Knapp — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 15:00:28 +0000

“Wikileaks is developing an uncensorable Wikipedia for untraceable mass document leaking and analysis. Our primary interests are oppressive regimes in Asia, the former Soviet bloc, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, but we also expect to be of assistance to those in the west who wish to reveal unethical behavior in their own governments and corporations. We aim for maximum political impact; this means our interface is identical to Wikipedia and usable by non-technical people. We have received over 1.2 million documents so far from dissident communities and anonymous sources.” [A website for government whistleblowers] (01/07)

Libertarian Solutions Network

Mary Lou Seymour — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 01:59:59 +0000

“The Libertarian Solutions (LS) Network is proud to announce its first round of prizes. We are offering a one-ounce coin of pure silver for the ten best ideas submitted. We are searching for actions that would serve as stepping-stones to a libertarian society in the United States of America! Time limit: 1/30/07.” (01/07/07)

Petition: Withdrawal of US troops from Iraq

Mary Lou Seymour — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 02:12:25 +0000

Signable online petition. (01/07)

Support GI Resistance

Mary Lou Seymour — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 01:37:32 +0000

Join military resisters their families, veterans and concerned community members taking public action Dec. 8-10th! Events currently planned in SF, NY, Portland, and more! Plan or attend an event in your community.

VOTE NOW Postering Campaign

Thomas L. Knapp — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 22:59:05 +0000

“1. Download the PDF Poster 2. Print it, and post it around town and in your cubicle. 3. Tell your friends. Send it to your mom. Email them the link: votenow.pbwiki.com/f/votenow.pdf 4. On Tuesday, November 7, 2006: grab a group of friends. Get your ID. Go VOTE. BE HEARD.”

Action item: Cut those stupid TV ads!

Steve Trinward — Tue, 23 May 2006 02:12:16 +0000

“Tell Congress to stop wasting your tax money on those stupid anti-marijuana commercials. You know the ones that compare marijuana smokers to terrorists and claim marijuana will make you crazy, get you raped, cause you to shoot your neighbor and give you bird flu. Ok, we made that last one up. But, doesn’t it sound like something the government would say? Take action today.” (05/22/06)

Strike the Root’s boycott list

Mary Lou Seymour — Sat, 13 May 2006 03:34:01 +0000

Strike the Root is putting together a list of corporations that freedom-minded people should boycott. If you’d like to suggest a company, e-mail the name and a link that explains why. (05/12/06)

TV Turnoff Week April 24-30

Mary Lou Seymour — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 02:15:35 +0000

“Empowering people to take control of technology and not letting technology take control of them so they can live healthier lives.”

gethuman

Mary Lou Seymour — Mon, 20 Mar 2006 01:48:21 +0000

“Our goal is to improve the quality of customer service and phone support in the US. This free website is run by volunteers and is powered by over one million consumers who demand high quality phone support from the companies that they use. The most popular part of the gethuman website is the gethuman database of secret phone numbers and codes to get to a human when calling a company for customer service. Please help us grow our customer support ratings database by taking a moment to rate the quality of support you receive when calling a consumer company you use.” [editor’s note: OK, this is a really useful service! Spread the word, particularly to your elderly friends/relatives who really really HATE talking to machines - MLS]

Call in sick on Flag Day

Mary Lou Seymour — Sun, 19 Mar 2006 23:49:53 +0000

“I’m 61 years old and have been active in progressive politics since my teens. I’ve marched for civil rights and against war. I vote and volunteer in almost every election. I write and call my Senators and Congressmen. I’ve published a newspaper and books. I’ve served in the military and paid my taxes and nothing seems to help. Now my beloved America is in the hands of fa[s]cists. And doing what I’ve been doing all these years isn’t going to change that, so there is only one option left. I’m not going to work on Maggies Farm anymore. I’m asking everybody in America that is sick of how things are going, sick of watching our kids die in an illegal war, sick of watching our environment being sold to the highest bidder and raped, sick of nothaving our votes counted, sick of watching right-wing zealots take a woman’s right to controll her own body away, sick of watching the Constitution being ripped to shreads, sick of how long this list would have to be to cover all of the things that we are sick and tired of seeing happen to our country, to join me in calling in sick on Flag Day June 14th 2006.” (03/18/06)

Graphix4Change

Mary Lou Seymour — Sun, 19 Mar 2006 23:47:18 +0000

“Graphix4change is not an organization but an ongoing artistic and educational project designed to promote social and political change through the use of design and satire. The goal of graphix4change is to subvert everyday consumer images into a commentary on the current state of politics in America and the world. … Current products include Updates to the Patriot Act: The Home Version game. The game that is being played across America and around the world now includes updates on GITMO, NSA wiretaps, and the renewal of the Patriot Act. Download the new cards NOW! New design spoofing the NSA Domestic Spying is available through CafePress and ready for mass consumption!” (03/06)

Black Shamrock Campaign

Mary Lou Seymour — Sat, 18 Mar 2006 01:50:51 +0000

“Welcome to the Black Shamrock dot org, the website of the Black Shamrock Campaign, where people are invited to post photographs of the Black Shamrock at various locations in Ireland and throughout the world. The Black Shamrock symbolises our mourning for all those who died as a result of Irish collaboration in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, for which the airports at Shannon, Aldergrove and Baldonnel have become pit-stops. It also symbolises our mourning for the loss of Irish Neutrality. … The Black Shamrock is also, of course, a symbol of resistance. In wearing it, all of those who do declare their opposition to any Irish involvement, be it economic, strategic or logistical, in the unjust and illegal wars.” (03/17/06)