media/memes: content is king & corporate schemes

80% say they would not pay for online content
from zero hedge: In a blow to ongoing plans by Murdoch (and others) to capitalize on premium content, a new study from Forrester shows that 80% of consumers would not be willing to pay for online news content.

As readers are able to move from one content aggregator to another with greater facility than the Fed prints another billion dollars, Rupert's approach will likely entail a massive "game theoretical" strategy whereby either all move to a premium model or none do: if even one "defector" remains, it will render the "premium-paid" plan DOA.

or: people won't pay much for online content*

indymedia & eff successfully fight bogus fbi subpoena*
ashleigh banfield joining abc news*
dobbs was forced out say sources, cnn insiders*
2012 achieves world domination*
nbc's obamavision: 'law & order' -
'this is why we need health-care reform'*
fear, children, & video: ingredients for obama's weapon of mass persuasion*
oprah to declare 2011 end to landmark talk show*

previous media/memes post:
greenwash, lou dobbs & immortal technique

audio: naomi klein speaking in portland

from portland indymedia: Naomi Klein, whose most recent book, "The Shock Doctrine: the Rise of Disaster Capitalism" has become an international best-seller, spoke to an overflowing house in Portland Oregon on Friday, December 7, 2007.

The crowd completely filled the available space and the overflow were provided with television coverage in the basement of the First Unitarian Church where she was speaking...

This was an enlightening presentation, but it did so by drawing together many ideas and common insights lying loose in the minds of the audience and directed them laser-like, to obvious conclusions. She weaves a fabric from many threads available to all who dig beneath the veneer of Corporate Media complicity in the social engineering which passes for political and religious belief systems.

naomi klein speaking in portland (26.2 MP3)

related: naomi klein on 'presswatch'
from kboo: Naomi Klein discusses imperialism, torture, and the Chicago School of predatory economists with Theresa Mitchell. Preceded by a discussion of the current propaganda preparing the public for war with Iran in the Spring.

naomi klein on 'presswatch' (19 MP3)

cynthia mckinney speaking in portland

from portland indymedia: Cynthia McKinney, Green Party presidential candidate, appeared in Portland this evening, November 12, 2007, for a fund raising event at the First Unitarian Church in Portland Oregon, speaking for about 10 minutes and then answering questions for about another 36 minutes...

A room of about 50 people gathered to hear her speak and question her concerning her perspective about many things. The first questioner asked how it affected her to be around characters like Dick Cheney, Don Rumsfeld and Condoleezza Rice. Her answer was that she tried to give her energy to them rather than allow their energy to affect her.

She was questioned about many things, and thanked for her stand for 9/11 truth, being given a thank you card by a local 9/11 Truth organization, signed with many signatures from that group.

Her answers were to the point, no dodging, hedging or dancing around impeachment, 9/11, or any other politically sensitive subject. Refreshing. I found her to be a real lady and well as a lady that's real. Here is an audio file, slightly edited, of the evening event...

cynthia mckinney speaking in portland (21mb MP3)

portland police seek volunteers for topoff

topoff 4 is the largest terror drill in US history
& it's centered on oregon
from indymedia: TOPOFF 4 (T4) is a federal exercise scheduled for October 15-19 involving local, state, and federal top officials to test decision making and communications, address policy, and conduct an emergency mobilization. This is the fourth exercise held by the Department of Homeland Security.

The City of Portland is recruiting volunteers for two activities during T4. Approximately 600 volunteers are needed to participate in a large scale disaster scenario at Portland International Raceway (PIR) on Tuesday, October 16 to play different roles as disaster victims. The FBI will be conducting background checks on volunteers who are positioned at the large scale event.

There are opportunities to volunteer at other sites that do not require a background check. Individuals interested in participating can find out more specifics by contacting June Vining at 503-823-3937 or jvining@fire.ci.portland.or.us or you may reach her by cell phone at 971-563-9641.

On October 17, East Precinct is hosting a TOPOFF 4 shelter-in-place exercise from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. There is a need for about five to seven volunteers who are interested in participating. Volunteers will be asked to act as victims who must shelter in one place simulating what to do when you must stay at one location during a disaster. Interested parties may contact Marsha Palmer at 503-823-0264 or marsha.palmer@portlandpolice.org.

T4 is the largest exercise in the history of the United States. Oregon is the primary venue site, but T4 is also taking place concurrently in Guam and Arizona in an interrelated exercise. Approximately 175 separate agencies will participate in the Oregon exercise and approximately 5000 players will participate in the Oregon exercise. Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom will participate in the Oregon Exercise and approximately 35 countries will send delegations to Portland to observe the exercise.

audio: greg palast in portland

from portland indymedia:
Greg Palast, investigative reporter visited Portland Wednesday evening, April 24, 2007, promoting the addition of two chapters to his most recent book, "Armed Madhouse." The event was co-sponsored by KBOO, and was a benefit for the Portland Alliance.

Palast was in town last year on his Armed Madhouse Tour, and this visit presented some of the same information. Though he did review much of the earlier material, the additional two chapters added much that was new, especially his investigation of the Federal Debacle in New Orleans leading up to and after Hurricane Katrina.

The event was extremely well attended, filling up the majority of the seats at the First Unitarian Church, probably about 300-350 people.

Greg began his one hour presentation with some of material from his last visit to Portland, his Armed Madhouse Tour. Since some of this is already familiar to those who have read his book, attended his lectures or seen the video on Public Access television or on the internet, I've broken the audio files up into three sections...

The first section goes over much of his earlier material and is about 20 minutes in length. He reiterates much of the statistics from his most recent book, "Armed Madhouse," concerning the 2000 and 2004 elections., where millions of votes were not counted. According to Palast, over three million votes were thrown out and in various parts of the country the chances of your vote not being counted increased according to the color of your skin.
Greg Palast, Part One, MP3

The second section, about 16 minutes, is about David Iglesias, the U.S. Attorney from New Mexico who was one of many U.S. Attorneys fired by the Justice Department for apparently political reasons.
Greg Palast, Part Two, MP3

The third segment is about 24 minutes in length and addresses the Bush administration debacle in New Orleans. Palast demonstrates, with documentation, how the problems which plagued New Orleans after Katrina made landfall were due to mismanagement and cronyism going back many years.
Greg Palast, Part Three, MP3

a big thanks to jim lockhart & philosopher seed

news on the march

mark cuban exposes o'reilly hypocrisy
from propaganda matrix: Billionaire Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks who is set to finance a cinema release of Loose Change narrated by Charlie Sheen, exposed Bill O'Reilly's rampant hypocrisy concerning his coverage of the 9/11 truth movement on the Fox News host's radio show yesterday. Offering the entire 18 minute segment will probably result in Bill calling on Fox security to pay us a visit so here's a 9 minute clip instead.

documentary questions response to 9/11
from inside bay area: It was impossible to miss the snickering, groans and gasps that filled the room Saturday as an audience of about 60 people reacted angrily to the political documentary "9/11: Press for Truth." ... The film "raises questions that are unanswered. A lot of things that are very strange," one woman said after seeing it... Paul Rea, author of the upcoming book "Still Seeking the Truth About 9/11," fielded questions with a liberal dose of his own perspective... "Things are really bubbling up in a lot of places," Rea said. "They're not going to keep a lid on this."

kucinich vows to look into 'narrow portion' of 9/11
from sf indymedia: Kucinich said he wants to launch his own miniature investigation into "a narrow portion" of the 9/11 attacks. He was short on details, but did say that the House Government Oversight Domestic Policy Subcommittee, of which he is chairman, will be looking at "a few discrepancies in the public record" that remain unresolved in the official 9/11 commission’s final report, which was issued in July of 2004.

james woods saw trial run for 9/11
from daily express: Film star James Woods... has revealed [five years ago] how he turned detective to uncover astonishing evidence on the 9/11 terror attacks for the FBI. He helped to prove that the hijackers staged at least one trial run before the attacks... "I immediately thought these guys were either terrorists or FBI agents."

hundreds in portland protest the surge

from portland indymedia: A large crowd braved the cold and showed up at Pioneer Courthouse Square to protest Bush's announced escalation of the Iraq war this evening. The crowd marched to the Oregonian newspaper's office, chanting and taking over the street for a short time. In spite of delays, motorists showed great support to the protestors by honking and waving. This has not been the typical reaction of Portland drivers to such delays in the past. Perhaps this is reflective of a poll conducted showing that 89% of Americans oppose sending more troops to Iraq.

It was also unusual to have no noticeable police presence at the event this evening; no storm troopers, no smell of pepper spray in the air, no violation of free speech rights. The demonstrators marched back to PCS, where singing, chanting, percussion music and general camaraderie took place.

click here for more photos & a 20 minute audio clip of some speeches before the march

stop the goddamn iraq war!

from portland indymedia: Emergency Rally to Stop Iraq Escalation - DOWNTOWN PORTLAND ACTION - Stop the GD Iraq War

Pioneer Square at 6:00 PM
A 6 square block march through downtown with drums, chants, signs and support from Portland

After the voters, the generals, and the Iraq Study Group all told President Bush to lead us out of Iraq, he is planning an escalation and will send more troops as soon as this month. Congress can block an escalation but it is uncertain if they will. They need to hear from us immediately.

On Thursday night, MoveOn members across the country are organizing Emergency Rallies to Stop Iraq Escalation. We’ll get together and use signs and leaflets to make sure the rest of the community knows about Bush’s outrageous plan.

impeachment rallies held coast to coast

from portland indymedia: Impeachment Protest for Human Rights Day at Pioneer Square at Noon... World Can't Wait Portland is holding an Impeachment Protest on National Human Rights Day... The focus will be upon the legalization of torture, Military Commissions Act and impeachment.

from raw story: This Sunday, Human Rights Day has been renamed "Human Rights and Impeachment Day," as groups hold rallies from coast to coast across the United States calling for President Bush and Vice President Cheney to be impeached.

"The purpose of the events is to organize people to lobby their Congress Members for investigations and impeachment and to lobby their local and state governments for resolutions in support of impeachment," Democrats.com co-founder Bob Fertik writes.

The rallies were "kicked off" yesterday at a New York City forum which featured former Rep. Elizabeth Holtzman and anti-war "peace mom" Cindy Sheehan.

As her final legislative act on Friday, outgoing Georgia Rep. Cynthia McKinney introduced an impeachment bill, although it was just a "symbolic parting shot" by the controversial Democrat and has no chance of passing.

According to After Downing Street, one of the activist groups helping to organize this weekend's events, there "will now also be rallies to honor and thank Cynthia McKinney."

Events scheduled for today include rallies and parades held in such cities as Seattle, Madison, Chicago, Detroit and Tallahassee. At a beach in San Francisco, human bodies will be used to spell out the word "Impeach!"

Also in San Francisco, "under the spot where the UN signed its charter 60 years ago," activists will sing "carols" while clad in orange jump suits, similiar to the ones that detainees at Guantanamo Bay are forced to wear.

bush prepares to impose martial law

from the chattanoogan: The Republican re-writing of the Insurrection Act gives Bush the authority to declare martial law. For the first time since 1878, the president has the power to deploy troops within the United States. Bush and future presidents now have a power that, in other countries, is reserved to the dictator.

Despite the unprecedented and shocking nature of this new law, there has been no outcry in the American media and little reaction from our elected officials in Congress.

The Insurrection Act (10 U.S.C.331 -335) had historically, along with the Posse Comitatus Act (18 U.S.C.1385), prohibited military involvement in domestic law enforcement.

Now, Public Law 109-364, or the "John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007" (H.R.5122) allows the President to declare a "public emergency," station troops anywhere in America and take control of state-based National Guard units without the consent of the governor.

the following piece was written by father frank morales, an episcopal priest & longtime activist. listen to an interview with him here ...

from sf indymedia: In a stealth maneuver, President Bush has signed into law a provision which, according to Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), will actually encourage the President to declare federal martial law...

President Bush seized this unprecedented power on the very same day that he signed the equally odious Military Commissions Act of 2006 . In a sense, the two laws complement one another. One allows for torture and detention abroad, while the other seeks to enforce acquiescence at home, preparing to order the military onto the streets of America. Remember, the term for putting an area under military law enforcement control is precise; the term is "martial law." ...

The law also facilitates militarized police round-ups and detention of protesters, so called "illegal aliens," "potential terrorists" and other "undesirables" for detention in facilities already contracted for and under construction by Halliburton. That's right. Under the cover of a trumped-up "immigration emergency" and the frenzied militarization of the southern border, detention camps are being constructed right under our noses, camps designed for anyone who resists the foreign and domestic agenda of the Bush administration.

outside the box #72

here is the latest episode of "outside the box," hosted by alex ansary.
it was originally broadcast by portland community media on october 5, 2006.

from alex ansary: Last week America changed. On October 5th, 2006 I joined the Portland Branch of World Can't Wait. This is my report of both the local protest, and the recently passed legislation pertaining to Habeus Corpus, Warrantless Wiretapping, and the bill that allows the strip searching of students in public school. The footage of the protest that my camera person shot begins 43 minutes into the program.












here is an excerpt from alex ansary's post on portland indymedia: I would like to thank everyone who showed up on October 5th in downtown Portland. For those of you who I just met, I am not a Democrat or a Republican, I'm just a guy with a voice like you, who has dedicated his life to this cause. This protest was almost entirely peaceful, however as you can see from other posts and reports, this changed with the group separated from one to two groups, with the second group headed for I 405 with the intention of shutting it down. This is when most all of the violence occurred on the corner of 12th and Jefferson...

As for my own view on the situation, my reason for attending was to provide information, network, meet new friends, and be a part of something positive in a world filled with darkness. I do not see what happened at 12th and Jefferson as being the only thing to talk about, as horrific as it is...

I believe we hang together or hang separately and I respect your right to protest in your own unique way, but if I am already engaged in something positive, why am I going to change that by starting something with the Portland Police?

I stopped posted on this website for a reason. I found that there is so much anger towards different views, especially those that post about 9/11. Well, it was 9/11 that woke me up and... I am no longer ashamed to say I give a fuck, this is who I am, and I'm sorry that doesn't resonate with you.

What I am learning, it that's it's ok to criticize as long as we are aiming to help each other, instead of war with each other. Thanks to the Oregonian for posting this picture in Fridays Metro Edition.

PS...I will be protesting the GOP fundraiser Monday at 12:30 pm at Portland Art Museum. Rudy Guiliani will be there supporting Ron Saxton and his push to make Oregon the first state to issue the National ID card.