Showing posts with label Cultural Revolution. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cultural Revolution. Show all posts

Monday, 14 April 2014

Dismantling Ukraine, CIA blunder or Russia?

Vlad Putin gives topless FEMEN protester the reptilian snake eyes as Germany's Merkel and others make a mad dash to get out of the way (femen.org)

FEMEN coming to the USA
Who fomented the uprising in Ukraine -- the progressives of Kiev and the powerful women of the Maidan?

Or was it the CIA working behind the scenes hand in hand with Sen. John McCain, who was creeping around the country for weeks, while topless demonstrators were calling attention to the plight of westward-leaning cosmopolitans? 

Dirty girl, cover your dirty body! (FEMEN)
Then there was the U.S. Ambassador making statements about who would be installed once Pres. Yanukovich was deposed. It's true the wealthier city dwellers wanted to move into the Euro zone and out of the Soviet sphere, but not so most of the rural residents.

Pres. (Dictator) Putin and Russia caught on to the spread of N.A.T.O. and stood in the way. Not content to lose a strategic region, they took some of it back. No doubt they would gladly take all of it back and more. They must have a long-term plan: military aggression and overreach builds an empire like it did in the time of the czars.

The way to peace is proactive (codepink.org)
Who's side are we on to question the source of the Western-style freedom aspirations of Ukraine? We are progressive, cosmopolitan city dwellers, so it's easy for us to side with FEMEN and say GO EURO MAIDANS! 

But we cannot deny that this "revolution," like many recent uprisings, hasn't been what it seems. We think and are told by the mainstream media that it is grassroots and inspired by the "unintended consequences/benefits" of social media. Bull.

The attempt to depose Castro and the Cuban regime with ZunZumeo shows that these things are carefully plotted and implemented. Facebook, Twitter, and cellphones are not instruments of liberation -- but all part of the spying apparatus. Manipulated to stir up trouble for governments and police departments with predictable results. 

"Stop racism" (femen.org)
If the CIA, NSA, FBI, DHS wanted people to get on the Internets and make trouble (Arab Spring, Occupy, Orange Revolution, Green Revolution, Saffron Revolution, Pink Revolution, Red Shirts vs. Yellow Shirts, Kill Kony Kampaign, and the next brainchild of some shy college nerd who never thought of him/herself as a revolutionary but was just trying to bring a little attention to some social justice cause), why do these clandestine operations look the other way or actively help police departments when they come down hard on participants? 

Occupy LA protest of racism and injustice, Spring St. (citizenside.com)
.
Balaclava-clad protester (latimes.com)
Mass arrests, mass incarcerations, jail sentences, fines, probation, police records, suppression by attention because "We've got our eye on you!" And everyone is still walking around carrying their own shiny, sleek monitoring devices proudly sporting/supporting their corporate brands.
Nadia, Pussy Riot (willworth.co.uk)
Brands are for cows, and branding is for slaves. Apple logo, anyone? An F for your Facebook cause? How about a "little bird" that quickly flies back to the police chief and whispers in his ear: "It was so-and-so talking, here's what they said, arrest them for saying it" [but develop a pretext first since our eavesdropping evidence can't be used without a warrant]. It's a whole new way to police, spy, control, and pit us against one another.

*Mocking* No, social media's the best! Look, I can save the warbler in my community and stop LAPD spying by liking this movement then spreading the message to all my Facebook friends and tweeting about it on my iPhone and ultralight Mac book, while I stand in line to buy a pair of Google Glass glasses to ogle for G-men. They sit in their cubicles, and I do the footwork then incriminate myself and my friends on email, top-secret SnapChat exchanges. Then I'm free to get a little sexting in on the side with all my UK friends.

NSA: We will end "privacy" until no one in America remembers what that ever meant.
 
It's not true. While the "instruments of change" can be anything from a strong voice and a point of view to a private meeting, we have to be aware when we are being monitored and manipulated. The solution is not to say, "Let them spy on me." 

Make out, not war (CP)
The answer is to resist and avoid being spied on or taking it as given then doing all the organizing we normally would. Listen to Snowden, listen to Manning, listen to Greenwald, Scahill, Poitras, and Assange -- and their are plenty of other voices in the wilderness. Listen but think. We know network news is lying and spinning all day long. Even good voices can be twisted and spun to work against themselves.

Greg Palast exposes US/NATO meddling in foreign countries

Saturday, 15 March 2014

Retrospective on Radical Feminism (audio)

Seven (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly; Moira Rankin, Deborah George, From the Vault (FTV 409)
According to author Masha Gessen, Pussy Riot's Nadia was inspired by the radical history of women's liberation in the West. It inspired her to awaken a movement in Russia (AFP).

 
Russia's Pussy Riot
Guest host Lynn Ballen, producer of KPFK (L.A.) Radio's "Feminist Magazine," introduces "A Retrospective on Radical Feminism."

It was produced in 1980 by Moira Rankin and co-produced by Deborah George for Sophie’s Parlor Collective, the oldest women’s radio collective on the air at Pacifica’s youngest station, WPFW in Washington, D.C. Composed of interviews, actions, and music, it includes:
Oh, ladies, do behave! (MO)
Alix Kates Shulman, activist and author of Memoirs of an Ex-Prom Queen, is interviewed and reads from her book, Burning Questions. 
Fannie Lou Hamer, founder of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, recalls the physical abuse she suffered in prison in a 1966 KPFA (Berkeley) interview. 
Joan Byron, a member of The Furies, [which as part of the Lavender Menace was] one the first radical lesbian separatist groups describes, their reasons for organizing. 
Anais Nin, From the Vault (FTV 408)
Betty Friedan renounces her position on the lesbian issue she had dubbed the "Lavender Menace" and supports the sexual preference resolution at the 1977 United States International Women’s Year Conference in Houston, Texas. 
Carol Downer, one of the founders of the Los Angeles Feminist Health Clinic, speaks about the need for women to control their own bodies and have access to abortions. 
Manhandled Femen topless activist (femen.org)
Edith Barksdale Sloane, Executive Director of the National Committee on Household Employment, is interviewed about the need for basic services for women. 
Donna Keck, a founder of Women: A Journal of Liberation, speaks about race within the women’s movement.
Activist Cynthia Washington speaks about all the aspects of oppression including racism, classism, elitism, sexism, and ageism.

From the Vault is presented as part of the Pacifica Radio Archives Preservation and Access Project, funded in part by an award from the GRAMMY Foundation and the National Historical Publications and Records Commission at the National Archives and Records Administration, and past grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Ford Foundation, and the American Archive funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, along with the support of Pacifica listeners. It also thanks its partners and collaborators at the Pop-Up Archive, Amara, Other Minds Archives, George Blood Audio, and the California Audio Visual Preservation Project.
  
Our favorite funny women and why we love 'emPURCHASE a copy of this program or learn more about the historic archival recordings used within this episode. Buy a CD copy by phone at Pacifica Radio Archives: (800) 735-0230 extension 262. 

Friday, 7 March 2014

From burning bras to hot... (Int'l Women's Day)

Ashley Wells, Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly; SCPR.org; KPFK.org
Feminists marching braless in bullet proof vests (Wisdom Quarterly/femen.org/en)
If I burn it, it's not that I'm nostalgic (#NotYourMothersFemisim); I just overdid the surgery.


From Burning Bras to Hot Debate: Is feminism doing right by women today?
Women Under [Early] Buddhism (GR)
(KPCC) Who qualifies as "feminist" nowadays? The days of bra burning may be gone, but there’s still plenty of fire around feminism now. 
 
Take the unretouched Lena Dunham and body-less Mindy Kaling fashion mag covers: Were they beautiful or boo-worthy? Or Beyoncé, a pop star so beloved by men and women alike that she's called "Queen Be": Is she all about Woman Power or just a powerful brand?
 
Even First Ladies can’t escape the heat, applied equally to matters grand and, very often, small: Are Michelle Obama’s arms and Hillary Clinton’s sags and Twitter tag praiseworthy, problematic, or something else altogether?
 
Not in my police state you don't, missy!
Heated debate over these questions plays out all over media. This isn't necessarily bad if it's leading to more conversations and awareness. But the flip side is that too many different voices make solidarity impossible and could hurt (or even doom) “the movement.”  In 2014, is there even a movement anymore? 
 
If yes, what is it now? If there’s no single, unified feminism, should there be one? Who qualifies to be feminist at all?
 
Do we take feminism for granted?
On Thursday, March 27, 2014, join Wisdom Quarterly at KPCC’s Crawford Family Forum for some lively talk about pop culture, politics, and doing/being women “right.” There will be an audio-visual show of items with the most recent media buzz. Panelists will give their insights, and audience Q&A is invited to dive into what’s going on with American feminism today. Moreover, how is it likely to play out in the future?

Men are a vital part
You're invited, Peter. Put away the toy.
Male allies, non-sexist men, enlightened guys, and precious children with a chance of being raised beyond patriarchy are vital to the world movement for gender equality. If women hate men, stay home; it only harms the cause. We are ALL upset with patriarchs, sexists, rapists, and brutes. Nowadays, most males can at least behave in a fair way. Let's make it the norm, the natural way of thinking, of feeling, of working together as one humanity. Come stand up for freedom, for sexual equality, and for fairness.
  
March 8th International Women's Day, Los Angeles: Rock, Rap, & Speakout versus Poverty, Prisons, & War -- 2:00 pm, MacArthur Park, Wilshire Bl. between Alvarado and Park View, LA 90057, Metro exit: Westlake/MacArthur Park (globalwomenstrike.net).
The new women of International Women's Day? (Wisdom Quarterly/dailyfiasco.com)
 
Is there a problem with feminism today?
ap819611132082_custom-96df3df83f708c3c80c9fc68c520b7a0648d8310-s51.jpgOn March 27, KPCC's Crawford Family Forum hosts a conversation on the precarious state of feminism today. Shape that event by sharing insights on the role feminism plays -- or fails to play -- in your life. Learn more about the event, RSVP free, or follow the conversation on Facebook and Twitter with the hashtag #notyourmothersfeminism. Everything you share will be read by journalists only [and their clandestine NSA minders], and responses are confidential unless journalists are told that they may publish them.
 
MODERATOR: Joanne Griffith: writer, journalist, host of weekly show "The Archives" on BBC Radio 5 Live - @globaljourno 
 
PANEL
USA (femen.ks@gmail.com)
Roxane Gay: writer, professor, contributor to Salon, Buzzfeed, New York Times Book Review; author of forthcoming Untamed State and Bad Feminist. - @rgay
Kristina Wong: internationally presented solo performer, writer, cultural commentator; shows include "Wong Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," "Going Green the Wong Way," "Wong Street Journal" (premiering in 2015). - @mskristinawong
Mona Ebrahim: multimedia professional, designer, writer; author of 101 Reasons Why I’m Glad I Wear Hijab
RISE until March 21, 2014
Lindsey Horvath: Vice President of Communication, NationBuilder; Former West Hollywood City Councilmember (2009-2011); women’s empowerment and anti-violence advocate - @LindseyPHorvath
Wendy Carrillo: journalist, POWER 106 FM "Knowledge is Power" host, politics and culture commentator - @wendycarrillo
  • The Crawford Family Forum
  • 474 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena, CA 91105
  • Admission FREE, RSVP required
  • Thursday night, March 27, 2014
  • 6:30 pm door, 7:00 pm program
Int'l Women's Day L.A., downtown MacArthur Park (KPFK.org)