December 2011
42 posts
Hackers in Space →
A German hacker group has unveiled plans for the next stage in the war on internet censorship laws such as SOPA. They’re going to launch their own satellite network and engineer a set of open-source ground-based tracking stations to make the internet accessible to anyone, anywhere, and above the reach of governments.
Infographic: the truth about 95% of "Green"... →
The ugly face of greenwashing…did you know that uranium counts as an “all-natural ingredient”?
Punk's not dead, but it's under arrest in... →
Police in Aceh are now arresting punk-rockers, shaving their mohawks and putting them through programmes of forced “moral rehabilitation”.
Second Chinese village erupts. →
Haimen, just over 100km from Wukan, has seen massive protests against a coal power plant, with 10 000 blocking a local highway and attacks from hundreds of riot cops which left at least one kid dead.
10% of strokes "caused by stress at work" →
The Nation thanks anarchists →
A recent piece from The Nation about anarchism and assemblies. Finally, some positive press.
LAPD mistakes youth group for occupy protest while... →
The LAPD, complete with a helicopter, showed up to order a bunch of “protesters” to disperse. Unfortunately, they weren’t protesters and they didn’t have anything to do with the Occupy movement. Instead they were a youth group performing a publicly announced cleanup of an abandoned library owned by the city’s development agency. Oops.
Police Abuse of Sex Workers: A Global Reality,... →
Tar Sands accross America →
Even without the Keystone XL pipeline, tar sands oil is already all over America, with at least 50 refineries participating. See this interactive map and article from Mother Jones.
Largest decline in Texan cattle ever recorded →
The worst drought in Texas history has lead to a decline in their herds by 600 000 cattle over the last year, or 12% of their total.
This Bike Could Save Your Life: an infographic... →
CCPA reports on gentrification in Vancouver →
The Centre for Policy Alternatives just released a large report detailing gentrification in Vancouver’s Lower East Side, UPSCALE: The Downside of Gentrification.
This bike has a third wheel →
Flywheels are making a comeback for bicycles, given their easy, low-tech ability to store energy from braking for acceleration. Even a 15lb wheel with simple gears can make a big difference, making it lighter and simpler than many battery/motor systems.
Interview with the Deterritorial Support Group →
Meet self-described “Ikea Anarchists”, the British art, design and propaganda collective known as the Deterritorial Support group.
Two New Santa Cruz Occupations →
Activists in Santa Cruz touting banners reading “Occupy Everything” occupied a vacant bank for three days, then turned an abandoned lot into a community garden.
Chinese government retreats from rebellious... →
The small coastal Chinese village of Wukan (~20 000 people) has been rebelling for months against corrupt local authorities, but recently tensions erupted to the point where all Community party officials have had to flee, leaving the villagers in control, who’ve since repelled an attack of 1000 cops..
Assemblies accross Boston? →
Anarchists at Occupy Boston are calling for neighbourhood-level assemblies across the city. Could this be the next evolution of the Occupy Movement?
The Case of Byron Sonne →
Byron Sonne spent most of a year in jail on “explosives” charges after Toronto’s G20 summit. Police and the Media made him out to be a terrorist for having “household chemicals’ which “could be made into bombs” in his house. Now that the case has reached court, we can all see what he had…which really wasn’t much.
Facebook censors entire Effin town →
Residents of the town of Effin, near LImerick, Ireland, cannot list their location on Facebook, because the social media network thinks the name is “obscene”. They started a group to get attention, and it got deleted for the same reason, but they fight on. A hilariously sad example of censorship totally out of control.
Hundreds of riot cops appear to back illegal... →
The mayor of Mexico City has sent 500 riot police into a working-class neighbourhood to end protests against a highway project already ruled illegal by courts.
Rights or Religion? →
The Supreme Court is now in hearings to determine whether it can allow testimony from a veiled Muslim woman in a rape case. If this doesn’t underscore the horrendously racist aspects of the niquab/burkah debate, what does?
Emma Goldman in the Press →
The Nation discusses Emma Goldman and the Occupy MOvement
Russia Erupts in Protest →
Russia is witnessed the largest demonstrations today since the fall of the USSR, as an estimated 50 000 assembled near the Kremlin as well as others across the nation, to protest the corrupt electoral process and demand a re-run of recent elections.
Interactive Map: Melting Sea Ice in Canada's North →
US Army now specializing in "civilian internment" →
The Us Military now has a specific designation for the division tasked with prisons, prisoners, and things like “civillian internment”. Scared yet?
Infographic: "Fruit Drinks" →
A new trend in corporate drink marketing, “fruit drinks”, made with “real fruit juice” (sometimes less than 1%), have overtaken soda as the biggest seller, and often include even more sugar than a comparable amount of coke.
Greece faces "run on the banks" →
Facing worsening poverty and economic uncertainly, a wide-scale loss of faith in the financial system and fears of new taxes, Greeks are withdrawing their bank accounts at increasingly frightening pace.
Peru declares State of Emergency amid mining... →
As protests against a controversial gold mine run by an American corporation grow larger and more militant in Cajamarca state, President Ollanta Humala has declared a two month “State of Emergency”.
Putin Suffers at the Polls →
Vladamir Putin’s party appears to have won just under 50% of Parliament’s seats, the biggest blow in over a decade. This comes on the heels of a massive loss of confidence in the government, and is only going to get worse as the March presidential election approaches and Putin himself stands for re-election…
A Billion for Borders →
A Canadian government policy seeks to spend a billion dollars tracking people as they enter and leave the country, hoping to target EI recipients and immigrants, as well as share data with the American Homeland Security department.
Bradley Manning faces Court Martial, and calls... →
Facing hearings to see if he’ll get a full-scale court-martial for his colossal leak of American diplomatic cables to Wikileaks, Bradley Manning is calling President Obama and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton as witnesses.
China braces for "unrest" →
Chinese officials are now worried that a failing economy and growing labour unrest could spark a large-scale movement, and is using the opportunity to get even more totalitarian.
Occupy Wall Street's Anarchist Roots →
Did suburbs eat my community? →
Climate "conspiracy" against global poor →
British ex-Deputy PM John Prescott has accused rich nations of a “conspiracy” against the global poor after nations like Japan, Russia and Canada refuse to make more Kyoto cuts….
Russian election has Kremlin worried... →
This sunday Russians go to the polls and Putin isn’t sure he can get away with stealing enough votes to win this time. Popular unrest is growing quickly in Russia as the population is growing unsatisfied with Putin’s pro-business policies, and this election could easily shatter faith in his government if it’s blatantly fixed.
Ten "most toxic" cosmetics... →
The death of television... →
We may be “five years” from the end of TV, as 17% of new households now are going without them and don’t ever plan to sign up.
Does Medical Marijuana Prevent Car Accidents? →
A new American study has shown that legalizing medical marijuana has had an unexpected side effect - people got high instead of drunk and states where these laws were changed saw a nearly 9% drop in traffic fatalities.
What is Carrier IQ? →
Users have uncovered a hidden program running on smartphones (Android, iPhones, Blackberries etc) which logs virtually everything you do, including every keystroke, encrypted searches and text messages. According to the home page, Carrier IQ is installed on around 150 million phones. Users are pissed.
Young financial analyst explains hedge funds to... →
This guy, in his first year working at a hedge fund, has caused quite a stir. In this open letter he explains how and why the financial industry is rigged in favour of the top 0.01% of investors.
"Operation Robin Hood" →
Hacker groups Anonymous and Poison have joined forces as Poisanon, with the intention of publicly robbing the big banks and giving away their money to the poor.
