“But eventually, the greater danger to the movement is that it may dovetail into the presidential election campaign that's coming up. I've seen that happen before in the antiwar movement here, and I see it happening all the time in India. Eventually, all the energy goes into trying to campaign for the "better guy," in this case Barack Obama, who's actually expanding wars all over the world. Election campaigns seem to siphon away political anger and even basic political intelligence into this great vaudeville, after which we all end up in exactly the same place.”      -Arundhati Roy,  http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/30/arundhati-roy-interview   …

Amazing, just amazing. We win one a week ago on the tar-sands pipeline -- not a final victory but a big one -- and then yesterday, the young (and older) people of Occupy Wall Street pull off a tremendously powerful day-long series of actions in response to the Bloomberg/police, middle-of-the-night Tuesday eviction at Liberty Park. It began with nonviolent disruption of Wall Street, continued with organized outreach, education and movement-building on the NYC subways and concluded with a massive march and rally of tens of thousands across the Brooklyn Bridge and into Brooklyn. But not just this. Yesterday was also …

Two days ago, I was convinced that the amazing Keystone XL pipeline victory won by the North American climate movement on Nov. 10 was going to be, without question, a pivotal turning point. Today, having thought more about it, I'd say it's more like somewhere between "maybe" and "probably." I'm reminded of another "victory" that many in the climate and broader progressive movement were feeling just about three years ago: Obama's election. That one didn't exactly turn out the way many of us thought it would. Obama does deserve credit and thanks for the decision he made to put off …

About noon, as the organizers of yesterday's encirclement of the White House to stop the tar-sands pipeline were setting up, someone said, "the flag is flying over the White House, that means President Obama is home." Said a U.S. Park Police person standing next to me, "it's not true, sorry to disappoint, but he's not home." But lo and behold, at 5:15 p.m., as the light was rapidly fading and a beautiful three-quarters moon appeared in the sky over Lafayette Park, as Bill McKibben was wrapping up, speaking about the wonder and power of the day's event and this movement, …

On Monday, Oct. 31, speaking about a possible permit for the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, President Obama's press secretary Jay Carney told the press that "this is a decision that will be made by the State Department." On Tuesday, Nov. 1, speaking during an interview at the White House with a reporter from Omaha, Nebraska-based TV station KETV, President Obama himself said that he will be making the decision. More than that, Obama gave the rhetorical back of his hand to the false argument of pipeline supporters that it is a big jobs creator: "I think folks in Nebraska, …

November 6 at the White House is a big day and an important place. That afternoon, one year before the 2012 elections, thousands of people from around the country will be doing something that has never been done before. We will be surrounding the White House, a mile or more in circumference, in a Circle of Hope.   We will call upon President Obama to reject the dirty-oil, Keystone XL pipeline Big Oil wants built across the middle of the USA, from the Canadian tar sands in Alberta province to the Texas Gulf Coast refineries (http://tarsandaction.org).   We will be doing …

"Those Who Take the Meat from the TableTeach contentment.Those for whom the taxes are destinedDemand sacrifice.Those who eat their fill speak to the hungryOf wonderful times to come.Those who lead the country into the abyssCall ruling too difficultFor ordinary men and women."-Bertolt Brecht I first heard about the "people's microphone" technique during the November, 1999 demonstrations against the World Trade Organization in Seattle. I remember reading about how, when 400 people were demonstrating outside the jail where global justice activists were being held, the method of communication was by people repeating the words of the person speaking, without sound amplification, …

I haven't felt like this since Seattle and the birth of the global justice movement in the USA 12 years ago.  Because of the Occupy Wall Street action and the astounding growth of similar local occupy actions all over the country, the political winds have changed in the USA, all within less than a month. Hope is in the air, and hope is a powerful thing. Revolutions don't happen unless masses of people believe that it is possible for change to really happen. And revolutions usually don't follow a neat script. I'm reminded of something that the late Arthur Kinoy …

I woke up this morning wondering if my ears had deceived me. I didn't remember hearing anything in Obama's speech last night about clean energy investments or clean energy jobs. So I looked up the transcript and went through it.   It turns out Obama did say something along these lines. One thing, one part of a sentence. Here it is:   If we provide the right incentives, the right support -- and if we make sure our trading partners play by the rules -- we can be the ones to build everything from fuel-efficient cars to advanced biofuels to …

  My mind has been a jumble the last couple of days as I’ve tried to think about what I would be saying in this column. I knew I would be writing about the historic and amazing Tar Sands Action in Washington, D.C.   I am literally smiling as I embark on this writing journey. There was so much positive energy, so many wonderful experiences, so much hope for the future in and around the two weeks of sitting-in and standing-in in front of the White House, August 20-September 3.   One of the things I will never forget is …