Author Archives: amanitaphalloides

Are you wasting time in Oakland where the 99% live when you could be making real change in the  world? Why aren’t you demonstrating in front of the Apple store on Fourth St in Berkeley and on Bay St in Emeryville and on Union Square? Why haven’t you renounced your iPhone, iPad and Mac in protest or these deplorable conditions? Are your electronics and your Tweets more important than people’s lives? Get occupied and make real change. Why This Is Important Dear Apple, You know what’s awesome? Listening to NPR … Continued

http://ukuncutlegalaction.org.uk/ Can you help us raise £20,000? It’s alleged that David Hartnett, the government’s top tax man, who loves to be wined and dined, met Goldman Sachs’ top brass in October and with a handshake agreed that the bank would be let off paying £10 million owed to the public purse in interest on an unpaid tax bill. To challenge this back room deal, UK Uncut Legal Action, with the help of law firm Leigh Day & Co, is threatening legal action against the HMRC unless this dodgy and unfair decision is quashed. … Continued

AT&T HELPED ELECT BUSH-CHENEY. This month, nearly all U.S. troops in Iraq will come home — except, of course, for the 4,500 who died there. George W. Bush and Dick Cheney launched the Iraq war in March 2003 based on lies and misinformation. Soon it turned into a brutal occupation. Besides the 4,500 troops killed, more than 30,000 Americans were wounded, and at least 100,000 Iraqis were killed, most of them civilians. The war cost us more than $1 trillion, while the cost to our international relations and our own democracy is immeasurable. … Continued

…contrary to what Oakland Education Association President Betty Olsen-Jones thinks. I don’t occupy Oakland, I live here. A better country starts with a better community. Blockading the ports takes money fro workers when they need it most. Many are recent hires who were unemployed. There are many things you could be doing to improve Oakland instead of hurting it with blockades. Sure, I know volunteering isn’t sexy and won’t get your name in the paper, but we have lots of need here in Oakland, especially during the holidays. Here’s just … Continued

“We will blockade all of the West Coast Ports on Dec. 12. Together we are unstoppable! Strike while the iron is hot!” it declared in a call to arms. Trouble is, the folks they purport to be in solidarity with don’t seem hot on the idea to “effectively shutdown the hubs of commerce” at all. “Any actions organized by outside groups, including the proposed Dec. 12 shutdown of various terminals on the West Coast, have not been vetted by our union’s democratically led process,” the International Longshore and Warehouse Union said. “Any … Continued

Of the many chants and slogans that have defined the frustrations of the past months’ Occupy Wall Street protests, one recurring theme has focused on the idea that greedy corporations do whatever they can to avoid sharing the wealth. But a look at the numbers tells more of a nuanced story. The Chronicle of Philanthropy, a magazine that monitors the charitable giving industry, tracks donations from the largest corporations in the United States from the annual Fortune 500 list. The magazine’s 2011 Survey of Corporate Giving includes data on 2010 donations for … Continued