The Digital Dispatch

From NOEBIE.net

2012 Living Planet Report

· ·

2012 Living Planet Report. [World Wildlife Fund] – The 2012 edition of the Living Planet Report highlights the tremendous pressure that humanity is putting on our planet. We are currently using 50 per cent more resources than the Earth can provide. By 2030, even two planets will not be enough. Rising consumption trends in high-income groups around the world (and also in Brazil, Russia, India, Indonesia, China and South Africa), combined with growing population numbers, provide warning signs of the potential for even larger footprints in the future.

The United States ranks 5th among per-capita consumption (behind Qatar, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and Denmark). If the entire world consumed as we Americans do, it would currently take 4 planets just like ours to sustain us.

Download the full report here or the summary here.

Catholic Bishops Investigate The Girl Scouts

· ·

Today’s WTF Story:

Girl Scouts under scrutiny from Catholic bishops. [CSMonitor.com] – Long a lightning rod for conservative criticism, the Girl Scouts of the USA are now facing their highest-level challenge yet: An official inquiry by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. At issue are concerns about program materials that some Catholics find offensive, as well as assertions that the Scouts associate with other groups espousing stances that conflict with church teaching. The Scouts, who have numerous parish-sponsored troops, deny many of the claims and defend their alliances.

Brian’s Comment:

Clean up your own power-mad money-grubbing homophobic misogynistic pedophiliac den of iniquity, Bishops.

Leave our Girl Scouts alone.

Money, Power and Wall Street

· ·

PBS Frontline has produced the authoritative report on the global financial crisis. Money, Power and Wall Street is a four hour special that lays out the origins and explains the implications of things like credit default obligations and derivative contracts. The report also covers our government’s involvement in the crisis in great detail and depth.

I would urge you to watch. The program presents the clearest picture yet of an economic and political nexus that is leading our world to ruin. It’s available for viewing online at the following url.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/money-power-wall-street

Industrial Worker May 2012

· ·

The May 2012 issue of Industrial Worker from the IWW is now available.

The Industrial Worker is the official (English language) newspaper of the Industrial Workers of the World. It is published ten times a year, and printed by GCIU/Teamsters union labor. The editor is elected by the membership via a rank and file vote for a two year term of office.

I’ll be posting a link to the online version of each new issue as if becomes available. You can always find the most recent issue by clicking on the image of the newspaper in the right sidebar of this Weblog.

Headlines:

  • General Strike, Mass Protests Engulf Europe
  • Picket Against Unpaid Labor In Glasgow
  • Polish Ironworkers Walk Out In Wildcat Strike

Features:

  • Some Objections To Occupy May 1st
  • Review: Who Bombed Judi Bari?
  • Sex Workers: “We Ask For Solidarity, Not Salvation”

Download a Free PDF of this issue.

Target Anti-Union Video

· ·

Here’s the Cheesy Anti-Union Video All Target Employees Must Endure. [Gawker] – Gawker has obtained a copy of Target’s notorious internal anti-union propaganda video, which it shows to all new employees in America when they’re hired. The 13-minute video, “Think Hard Before You Sign,” has the production values and cheesy dialogue of an eighth-grade educational film. It begins with an earnest discussion of Target’s business agility, and, at about the 1:50 mark, the anti-union push begins in earnest.