September 30, 2014

“Unreasonable” Women for The Planet, Peace, and Justice | Medea Benjamin Interview

Originally posted at AcronymTV



Medea Benjamin, the co-founder of Code Pink, sits down with Dennis Trainor, Jr. of Acronym TV on the eve of the largest Climate march in history to discuss the climate justice. “”If you care about the planet, you care about people, workers, immigrants, and you care about whether we are destroying the planet whether by polluting or by polluting through war, says Benjamin, who went on to describe the founding of Code Pink as a climate Justice group. “We started as a group of women who came together around the environment.  We were called Unreasonable Women for the planet.”

Benjamin and Code Pink have regularly disrupted Senate hearings on ISIS/ ISIL of late, but being part of the People’s Climate March is not something she would miss: “It is all interconnected,” she told me “and I don’t think we have the ability anymore to divide ourselves into these (separate) silos.”

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Corporations Causing Climate Change Should Be Taken Over By The Public | Howie Hawkins Interview

Originally posted at AcronymTV.com



Howie Hawkins, Green Party Candidate for N.Y. Governor, sits down with Dennis Trainor, Jr. of Acronym TV on the eve of the largest Climate march in history to discuss his campaign.

From HowieHawkins.org:

The richest 1% own the two major parties. It's time working people had one of our own.

That's why I'm running for Governor. My name is Howie Hawkins. I'm a working Teamster and my running mate, Brian Jones, is a teacher and union member.

New York has the greatest income inequality in the country -- and it has gotten worse under Governor Cuomo's tax breaks for the rich and spending cuts for the rest of us. Our schools are the most segregated in the nation. Poverty is on the rise in cities across the state. It doesn't have to be this way. We can create an economy that meets human needs and protects our planet. (read more: http://www.howiehawkins.org/)

ATV HOWIE HAWKINS

September 29, 2014

The U.N. is an Apologist for False Climate Solutions| Jill Stein Interview

Originally posted at AcronymTV


A day before the People’s Climate March drove 400,000 people into the streets of New York City, Jill Stein sat down with Dennis Trainor, Jr of Acronym TV and outlined what she sees as the coming green revolution.

“The U.N. has sold us out,” says Stein “The UN has become the apologists for false solutions (like) nuclear power, fracking, and so-called clean coal,” says Stein. “The U.N. has sold us out, and it is really important that we take a new direction, with a very clear goal (…) one which puts people, planet and peace over profit.”

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September 24, 2014

Save the Climate or Save Capitalism? | #FloodWallStreet Dispatch

Originally posted at AcronymTV



An exclusive Acronym TV dispatch from the Flood Wall Street day of action, featuring exclusive footage, analysis, and interviews with Adam Clayton Muller (Idle No More), Tim DeChristopher (Peaceful Uprising), Andy Bichlbaum (The Yes Men), Arun Gupta (Counterpunch), and Flood Wall Street organizer Goldi Guerra.

***
The positive momentum generated by the People’s Climate Parade spilled over into a massive direct action on Monday.

Flood Wall Street exceeded organizers expectations, with over 3000 people shutting down Broadway between Exchange place and the iconic Wall Street Bull for eight hours just one day ahead of the 2014 UN Climate meeting.

What is clear after covering Sunday’s parade and Monday’s action is not that we need an either or approach. One does not have to dismiss the march as unimportant or irrelevant; it generated headlines, it has people talking, but without more and more people putting their bodies on the line like the 102 arrested during the flood wall street actions, you can fill tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow with marches and parades and it will be full of sound and fury. Signifying nothing.

flood_wall_street_bear

Green Party Candidate Crashes Oregon Governor's Debate

Sometimes you just gotta force people to play fair.

PM: "We set this up to be between the Democratic and Republican candidates."
Jason Levin: "Yes, I know, everything has been set up between the Democratic and Republican candidates."
PM: "We don't have time for all three people to answer questions."
Jason: "You don't have time for a candidate that is on the ballot to participate in the forum?"
PM: We'd be happy to meet with you after this.
Jason: I thought we established that separate but equal is not equal. It's very difficult for me to get on tv and meet the other candidates, (how are you doing sir, good to meet you, and good to meet you as well)"



Of course, Jason Levin was lucky that he was able to just storm in and join the debate. When Jill Stein ran in 2012, she was arrested for being on the grounds of the Debate:



And in 2000, Ralph Nader was similarly escorted off the grounds of one of the Presidential Debates, not for trying to participate, but simply for being there:

September 13, 2014

Parenting Without God

Originally posted at AcronymTV



When asked if the world would be better off without God, Dan Arel, the author of Parenting Without God does not pull punches. “The world would be better off without the idea of God,’ Arel clarifies “the world is already without God.”

Even at a time when the popularity of shows like Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Cosmos, Arel’s aggressive brand of atheism will not win many friends. In fact, a recent Pew Research survey showed that people of all religious faith have one thing in common: their utter disdain for atheists.

“Jews, Catholics and evangelical Christians are viewed warmly by the American public. When asked to rate each group on a “feeling thermometer” ranging from 0 to 100 – where 0 reflects the coldest, most negative possible rating and 100 the warmest, most positive rating – all three groups receive an average rating of 60 or higher (63 for Jews, 62 for Catholics and 61 for evangelical Christians). And 44% of the public rates all three groups in the warmest part of the scale (67 or higher).

 

Buddhists, Hindus and Mormons receive neutral ratings on average, ranging from 48 for Mormons to 53 for Buddhists. The public views atheists and Muslims more coldly; atheists receive an average rating of 41, and Muslims an average rating of 40. Fully 41% of the public rates Muslims in the coldest part of the thermometer (33 or below), and 40% rate atheists in the coldest part.” (Emphasis added)

 

The scary part about that data (aside from rampant Islamophobia in America) is that survey shows an improved opinion of atheists from only 3 years ago.

2011 poll found that US citizens trusted atheists on par with rapists.

 

With this kind of fervent hatred and distrust, Arel asks, what does the future hold for a group (Atheists) so hated in their own country?

Watch the full show here.

About the guest |
Dan Arel is freelance journalist for Alternet and Salon as well as a blogger for The Huffington Post. He writes a column called Danthropology for American Atheists Magazine and is the author of the book Parenting Without God, How to Raise Moral, Ethical and Intelligent Children, Free from Religious Dogmapublished byDangerous Little Books

About Acronym TV with Dennis Trainor, Jr. |
ABOUT ACRONYM TV with Dennis Trainor, Jr. 
Dennis Trainor, Jr. hosts Acronym TV, a weekly series of dialogue, conversation and debate with the goal of helping viewers sort through these transformative times through the insight of leading activists, artists, journalists, philosophers, scholars, and thinkers.

Acronym TV's growing YouTube subscriber base of 33 thousand has generated over 30 million views, and is part of The Young Turks Network, the largest online news source in the world.
Acronym TV, what do you stand for?

Acronym TV airs on Free Speech TV, currently available in 37 million homes nationwide, airing on DISH Network (9415), DIRECTV (348), and Burlington Telecom (122) and streams all programs live at www.freespeech.org

Dennis Trainor, Jr. is a writer, host and producer. His documentary on the Occupy movement, American Autumn: an Occudoc, garnered critical praise from The New York Times, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and more.  He also wrote and directed Legalize Democracy, a documentary short about the Movement To Amend the Constitution.

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Steve Reich 2x5


Performed by Bang On A Can

September 12, 2014

Violence Against Women is a Necessary Outcome of the Athletic Industrial Complex | Dave Zirin Interview

Originally posted at AcronymTV



Dave Zirin, sports editor for The Nation, talks with Dennis Trainor, Jr. about the one reason Roger Goodell will be forced out as NFL Commissioner, Violence in the NFL, Domestic violence.

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September 11, 2014

Capitalism Must Die: Stephanie McMillan on The Soapbox



Stephanie McMillan -- artist, blogger, and anti-capitalist activist -- discusses the failings of capitalism, her hopes for moving beyond it, and how art intersects with activism.

September 8, 2014

Calling for a Solution as Big as the Crisis We Face

Originally posted at AcronymTV



Timeka Drew of the Global Climate Convergence in conversation with Dennis Trainor, Jr.

The Global Climate Convergence is calling for AN EMERGENCY GLOBAL GREEN NEW DEAL including:

 
  • Full employment with community-based small businesses, worker co-ops, small farmers & government jobs.
  • 100% clean renewable energy by 2030. International binding treaty for swift, deep cuts to carbon emissions. Wealthy polluting nations pay for technology transfer & climate adaptation.
  • Universal free healthcare & education through college. Affordable housing for all & a moratorium on foreclosures.
  • Secure the global food supply: Support small farmers, our major source of food production. Put carbon back in the soil through restoration grazing and climate-smart sustainable agriculture. Ensure the right to land, food sovereignty and gender equality.
  • Economic democracy: Replace “too big to fail” banks with public banks. Secure workers’ rights, support for co-operative enterprise & fair trade. Tax Wall Street & the rich. End third-world & student debt.
  • Demilitarization: Cut at least 50% of military spending, freeing up resources for social programs & infrastructure. Foreign policy based on international law, human rights and diplomacy – not the military-industrial complex.
  • End mass incarceration & deportations. Treat immigrant rights as human rights & drug abuse as a public health issue.
  • Political democracy: All people, not corporations, have the right to self-government, to vote, & to have our votes count. Public financing, proportional representation & free use of public airways for candidates.
  • Civil liberties: Restore the rights of free speech, protest, privacy, & internet freedom. Close Guantanamo, end torture/renditions, & pardon whistleblowers including Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden, & Julian Assange.
  • Support human rights, rights of Mother Earth, the call for peace & an end to colonialism & imperialism, as called for in the Cochabamba People’s Agreement & the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

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September 4, 2014

Beyond The People’s Climate March


Originally posted at AcronymTV



Dennis Trainor, Jr. of Acronym TV in conversation with Timeka Drew, a grassroots organizer with the Global Climate Convergence.

In two weeks the Peoples Climate March in New York, organized by 350.org, is expected to draw as many as 200,000 people. The march is to take place only days before a special UN meeting called by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to discuss the November 2015 U.N. Climate Conference in Paris.

Christopher Hedges has called this march a “last gasp of climate change liberals;” and “a climate themed street fair.” Our only hope, according to Hedges, “comes from radical groups descending on New York to carry out direct action, including Global Climate Convergence and Popular Resistance.”

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Tags
Climate march, 350.org, People’s Climate March, Climate change, Global warming, Extreme weather, Global Climate Convergence, Timeka Drew, Dennis Trainor Jr, Acronym TV, 2014 elections, U.S. Elections, System Change not climate change, Green Party, Cheri Honkala

Das Triadische Ballet - Oskar Schlemmer

September 2, 2014

Slaughter the Planet or Exterminate Capitalism? Time To Choose.


Originally posted at AcronymTV



Humanity is flying headlong over a climate cliff  and reversing course does not project to be very profitable for the global elite.

So, without a growing number of us holding their feet to the ever warming fire, a much need reversal will not happen and the corporately controlled main stream media will continue to portray this topic as one where there are two sides to the story. Consider this typical news copy, filed by the AP, describing the 2012 UN Climate meeting, “the two decade old talks have not fulfilled their main purpose, reducing the greenhouse gas emission that scientists say are warming the earth.” (Emphasis added)

What is that extraneous phrase always included – “that scientists say” included as a qualifier? I mean, it is not as if the AP would, in captioning a satellite picture of Earth, would write, “here is a picture of the planet earth, which scientists say is not flat.”

To make matters worse, the worst offenders will be the last to suffer the consequences. One of the main stated goals of last year’s conference was finding ways to raise climate aid for poor countries at a time when budgets are strained by financial turmoil. 
Tim Gore of Oxfam said developing countries, including island nations for whom rising sea levels pose a threat to their existence, stand before a "climate fiscal cliff." and said "So what we need for those countries are firm commitments from rich countries to keep giving money to help them to adapt to climate change.”

In summary: The parties to the UN Climate conference represent governments whose policies and philosophies enable crimes against the environment that have and will continue to cause devastation of the ecological, moral and financial variety to the quote developing countries who do not possess the infrastructure or the wherewithal to contribute to Sodom and Gomorrah show that us developed countries are visiting upon the planet, and will present an existential threat to the less developed countries actual existence, so we will pay them reparations. We all agree that we owe them reparations, I mean, our way of life, to channel Dr. Suess for a moment, our biggering and biggering and biggering turning more Truffala trees into thneeds that everyone NEEDS, is now or will in the not too distant future, literally killing people in less developed countries who are not so busy building thneeds that everyone needs.

So, in addition to destroying the ecosystem and straining to hold up the house of cards that is the global Hyper capitalist financial system, we are thinking that things might get down right scary in a mad max kind of way so we might want to prioritize helping the victims in developing countries who suffer or will suffer the homicidal side effects of our lifestyle. But actually change our lifestyle? No, silly. That’s not on the table, is it?

Question, and again, I am no expert on the subject, but is Capitalism compatible with the health and survival of all of the living things on this rock we call Earth?

atv Capitalism trassh