FRESH VIEW
While monopolies are ignored and price gouging has become a way of life under capitalism, workers are subjected to restraint, scrutiny, and exploitation compatible with hierarchical predatory behavior of big business and corporations. Non-compete agreements are only one example.
https://popular.info/p/the-right-to-compete?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1664&post_id=95728454&isFreemail=true&utm_medium=email —
Noncompete clauses were initially only used for high-ranking executives with access to valuable trade secrets. But, in recent years, the use of noncompete clauses has exploded. Today, “fast-food workers, arborists and manual laborers,” making little more than minimum wage, are routinely required to sign noncompete clauses as a condition of their employment. –end of food&waterwatcch info–
C-Span hosted Adam Andrewjewski of Open The Books. This organization is a watch-dog for government spending. A caller asked the origin of their funding. The answer was that the donor list is not revealed. This seems unacceptable for an organization that pretends to be above board and seeking transparency in others.
https://www.c-span.org/video/?525109-5/washington-journal-adam-andrzejewski-discusses-debt-ceiling-government-spending —
JANUARY 10, 2023 | PART OF WASHINGTON JOURNAL 01/10/2023
Washington Journal
Adam Andrzejewski on the Debt Ceiling and Government Spending
Adam Andrzejewski talked about the Republican-led Congress’ approach to government spending and the battle over raising the debt ceiling.
—end of c-span info—
Another caller to C-Span during this segment included a call responding to the topic of the need for members of the public (workers) to refrain from use of government assistance to meet living needs. Mr. Andrewjewski implied workers should be self sufficient. The caller reminded this secretly-funded watch dogger that if employers paid a living wage (paraphrase), public assistance wouldn’t be necessary.
Most of us have heard the stories of mega corporations who urge their workers to compensate for low income by using food stamps and medicaid. This is insulting on many levels, starting with the local-community mom-and-pop businesses that were eradicated by mega corporations.
Hierarchy wishes to own the narrative to maintain supremacy. This isn’t healthy for the majority of humanity and nature because it is founded upon corruption and typically the corruption that supports greed and privilege.
From lakotalaw — Since its beginning, Hollywood has loved telling stories about Native people. Historically, the western genre relied on casting us as antagonists, the bad guys causing trouble for the heroes of manifest destiny. The protagonist, of course, was often played by noted racist John Wayne. Worse, the badly stereotyped Native characters in these early movies and television shows were also usually played by white actors in redface — makeup designed to make them look like real “Injuns.”
Over the years, we began to see revisionist westerns, in which the storytelling “evolved” to portray the Native man as the noble savage, ignorant of western ways but inherently good. Our hero (think Dustin Hoffman in “Little Big Man” or Kevin Costner in “Dances with Wolves”) might side with Natives and perform heroic acts as our white savior. Unfortunately, now in 2023, not much has changed. Over the past months, “Avatar: the Way of Water” and “Yellowstone” have once again profited mightily — as the most successful movie and show, respectively, in America — off Indigenous stories. So today, I encourage you to read this interview I recently gave to CNBC to talk about why all of this matters and what should be done about it.
Among the biggest issues present in the Avatar franchise: non-Indigenous actors play characters from Indigenous cultures. Kate Winslet, for instance, is a wonderful performer, but is she really the right choice to play the matriarch of the reef clan? Because Pandora, the world portrayed in the Avatar movies, is an alien one mainly rendered through computer-generated imagery, I’m guessing that director James Cameron thought it was OK to cast whoever he wanted. Unfortunately, he’s giving us the same old white savior narrative, this time in space, and now we’ve exchanged redface for blueface.
There’s no doubt that Cameron based his story on real Indigenous struggle. He admitted it in a 2010 interview with the Guardian, saying he was inspired by my Lakota ancestors who faced the onslaught of the United States’ westward expansion during the 1800s. “This was a driving force for me in the writing of Avatar,” Cameron said. “I couldn’t help but think that if they [the Lakota] had had a time-window and they could see the future… and they could see their kids committing suicide at the highest suicide rates in the nation… because they were hopeless and they were a dead-end society — which is what is happening now — they would have fought a lot harder.”
As you know, we are not a “dead-end society.” We’re still here and still struggling to maintain our cultures — which do, as he portrays in his films, prioritize life in harmony with our natural surroundings. We could use Cameron’s help in this regard, not his criticism. I’ll also point out that we could not have “fought harder.” We won several military victories over the U.S. during those years, despite being outgunned and outmanned. No one can ignore our decimation of General George Armstrong Custer’s 7th Cavalry at the Battle of Greasy Grass. Of course, the history books call this conflict “Custer’s Last Stand,” because it’s a (previously unwritten) rule that the white man must be at the center of the narrative kids learn in U.S. schools.
It’s long past time for the history books, Cameron, and other artists and educators to portray Native stories in the right way. It isn’t just about representation, it’s about true agency. Have us in the writers’ room or at least consulting, center Native characters in our own stories, and make sure Indigenous actors play Indigenous roles. Of late, television has begun to do a better job. The recently canceled “Rutherford Falls” is one excellent example, as is Hulu’s “Reservation Dogs,” which got picked up for a third season and deserves Emmys for its second. When Native writers and actors are given seats at the table, our stories resonate with truth, depth, and gravitas — and that’s a win for everyone.
Wopila tanka — thank you for listening!
Chase Iron Eyes
Co-Director and Lead Counsel
The Lakota People’s Law Project–end of lakotalaw info–
A NYS politician who will benefit by a pay raise enacted into reality for him/her-self, shared his enthusiasm in monitoring the actions of NYS politicians with specific reference to Cuomo and Hochul. One has brought up a recent action as follows—-https://buffalonews.com/news/local/hochul-ties-seneca-payment-of-nearly-565-million-to-bills-stadium-deal/article_b1b37682-af90-11ec-ba2e-6bc82b7dd0f0.html —
New York State on Tuesday received a long-delayed $564.8 million payment of casino revenues from the Seneca Nation of Indians – money that Gov. Kathy Hochul said she sees as the majority of the state’s contribution to a new Buffalo Bills stadium.–end of buffalonews info–
As one who wouldn’t use the word “mafia” due to racist slant, one often speaks of organized crime. When politicians bought into public office by big-money interests make policy and laws, it seems important to discuss what is best for We The People. This doesn’t feel like that. One has also heard the phrase from MSM “Bills mafia” (referring to the Buffalo Bills), which feels strained, tone deaf, and arrogant.
Something feels off.
One has questioned use of public funds to finance stadiums. The reason is that such enterprises that are advertised as “trickling down” economic benefits onto local community members, FACTually one believes more profits are drained out of the community. What would the effect be on local communities if the money was used for, let’s say, snow removal, health care, local parks, child care, first responders, in-home generators and organic food-growing farms? This seems to more directly uplift local communities.
The impulse of Andrew Andrewjewski to monitor government would best be accepted if big-money interests were equally included in said monitoring. Especially considerating the expanding fascism over democracy, this seems relevant.
RT has been censored out of American media permission. They reminded “question more”. Due to their censorship, let me suggest we “question more”.