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Good morning TOL!

I just rode my bicycle home from a North Portland Business Association meeting this morning where Mayor Sam Adams addressed the group. The mayor suggested that facilitating local business barters and service trades are one of the ways that city government plans to assist citizen entrepeneurs through these tough economic times. It sounds like Portland city government is looking to the barter economy as a common sense way to localize our consumer expenditures and investments.

Also, I am curious to know if anyone on the show is familiar with Communty Prosper @ http://www.communityprosper.org

cheers!

Ross

posted 4 years, 2 months ago
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Thank you Ernest for talking about input/output economic measurement -> PERMACULTURE!

posted 4 years, 4 months ago
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Manufacturing war machines seems to be a driving force for U.S. foreign and economic policies. e.g. The U.S. military is the largest single consumer of petroleum in the world. Can Mr. Callenbach or your other guests describe for us what a post-war/military, post-petroleum economy might look like?

posted 4 years, 4 months ago
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I believe that the reduced circulation of printed newspapers and transition to online versions (most significantly the Christian Science Monitor) is part of the emerging global economy. This economy will focus more on locally produced goods including news and entertainment. People worldwide are becoming more aware of the scarcity of resources and the vacuous nature of our corporate consumer capitalism driven by advertising.

I realized within a few months of starting college to study journalism in 1988 that I didn't want to work in mainstream media. My objections were rooted in the reliance of most media outlets on advertising driven by consumer culture. I worked at the college newpaper during my freshman year as well as at a local weekly newspaper. Since then I have been a staffer at a monthly newspaper and more recently I spend my time writing online.

My current daily news reads include (and these are in no particular order and not all have printed editions) Democracy Now!, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The L.A. Times, The Nation, The Huffington Post, Slate Magazine, Z-Magazine and others. Many of these media sources have no printed editions whatsoever.

The internet allows people to filter their news and entertainment to items they are most interested in or which are created by their favorite or trusted sources. The shift to people powered media is apparent when you watch Current TV or Link TV which feature user created content from around the world. The new economy is coming, and it's people powered.

posted 4 years, 4 months ago
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I'm less concerned how many extraction units (millions of acres or board feet) of old growth remain for humans to consume, but rather what percentage of the old growth forest HABITAT remains standing compared to 1800, 1900 or 1950? That kind of measurement is more likely to help us visualize the scope of human drastic impact on 'old growth' forest. Can old growth ever be replaced? Should we log any or all of it or, set all old growth aside as an irreplaceable natural resource as wildlife habitat?

posted 4 years, 7 months ago
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I voted today for Liberty and democracy, but not for Barack Obama.

I am excited to see what kind of change the two entrenched major parties will concoct under the leadership of President Elect Barack Obama (kudos to him). However, I must submit that I voted my conscience for Ralph Nader and would have chosen Cynthia McKinney if Nader was not running.

Nader, unlike Senator Obama, is the true progressive on the following issues: restoration of habeas corpus and protection of the U.S. Constitution with its accompanying Bill of Rights; repealing the so-called 'Patriot Act'; establishing a financial bail out for home owners instead of stockholders; initiating global nuclear disarmament; ending ALL imperialist wars of aggression; worker protection for union organizing; negotiating true fair trade instead of 'free' trade; removing corporate control of politics by establishing publicly financed elections; opposition to the death penalty... must I go on? Obama fell short on all the above issues, so I voted with my core democratic values in mind.

When will our beloved country and its government be free of the moneyed interests which put profit before people? We can take back our country by shining a bright light of reform into the dark corners of our state and federal governments. Let the uprising begin!

posted 4 years, 7 months ago
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All citizens deserve the civil liberty and free speech protections inherent in the Constitution of the United States and explicitly outlined in the First Amendment.

I submit a Denver Post article here for consideration: http://www.denverpost.com/politicswestnews/ci_10363015

There is similar (mostly alternative) press coverage and video footage available for the recent political events in Denver, Colorado and Minneapolis, Minnesota where citizen journalists were illegally detained or arrested for videotaping alongside activists who engaged in peaceful, nonviolent protest. Many detainees had their property seized and in at least one case tortured (while in custody a teenager was subdued with pain compliance and had multiple tazers - seven - used on him for causing a 'disturbance' when he cried out for food and water which he was being denied.

I also suggest people watch and consider this video http://glassbeadcollective.blip.tv/file/784711/ which includes footage of NYC police officers assaulting citizens who video taped and photographed bicycle activists participating in a critical mass ride.

There is no question in my mind that police want complete control over documentation of their activities despite their protestations of openness and accessibility.

posted 4 years, 9 months ago
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