In Organic We Trust — Change from the soil up.
screening this weds. 05.06.13 @SPUR urban center in SF (645 mission st).
5pm. free for SPUR members, $5 for non-members.
“The process of gentrifying Brooklyn is not necessarily making Brooklyn a better place to live,” says MIT professor Craig Wilder at one point during the movie. Later he adds, “The process of gentrification in New York is not about people moving into a neighborhood and other people moving out of a neighborhood. The process of gentrification is about corporations sectioning off large chunks of those neighborhoods and then planning out their long-term development.”
hyperallergic, 01.02.13.
My Brooklyn by Kelly Anderson and Allison Lirish Dean. watch trailer.
Back in 2009 a Swedish filmmaker made a film documenting a lawsuit in which Dole (yes, the fruit company) was accused of using chemicals to spray on their banana crops which they knew were harmful to human/workers health. These chemicals, manufactured by Dow Chemical, were pulled off the market by Dow when research showed that they were unsafe for banana workers/humans and had serious health implications, including sterility. Dole apparently knew this, but continued to use these chemicals that they had already purchased from Dow on their crops. Here is a link to the full Documentary called Bananas!
But, the story doesn’t end there. Just before the filmmakers were about to premiere Bananas! at a film festival in Los Angeles, they were sued by Dole for attempting to show a fraudulent documentary. Lucky for us, they are filmmakers, so they continued to document their whole experience and legal battle against the corporate giant. It is absolutely amazing what these filmmakers go through! Here is the trailer for the second film they made called Big Boy’s Gone Bananas!
“We have a media that is corrupted by power. You have corporate ownership from the top, you have corporate advertising coming in from the side… we have a media where money and corporate influence is really the mother’s milk.”
When watching these films, I just can’t stop thinking about responsibility — personal and corporate — and how every thing we do, or don’t do makes a difference. Spread the word, learn and think about what you are buying and what companies and practices you are supporting.
Hamburg, Germany. © Bente Stachowske / Greenpeace
Protesters dressed as suited eagles on Barclays cycle hire bikes demonstrate outside the Royal Festival Hall, which is hosting the Barclays bank AGM on 27 April 2012 in London, England. It has been reported that Barclays will apologise to angry share holders over multi-million bonus pay deals for senior management. Protesters also demonstrated outside the annual general meeting of Barclays to complain against their financial speculation on world food prices and to demand a financial transaction tax.
For 7000 years cities and their streets were places where citizens gathered, moved and played. The automobile industry were forced to use marketing techniques to win the battle for space for cars. They’ve never looked back.
The cartoon at the top is the very first reference to another marketing tactic adopted by the automobile industry - jaywalking. A ‘jay’ was a synonym for a “country bumpkin” and pedestrians who dared to challenge 7000 years of city life were labelled as such. Crosswalks were invented to funnel pedestrians into controlled zones that would allow cars dominance over the streets.
Traffic fatalities were a major problem when cars started to muscle onto the streets. Most traffic safety campaigns placed the responsibility firmly on the motorists and the protests against them were massive.
The automobile industry needed to change this perception, and quick. They were successful.
(via thegreenurbanist)
In what may be the most damaging blow to Big Banks since the overwhelming success of Bank Transfer Day in late 2011, the City of Berkeley recently announced its intention to withdraw all financial assets from Wells Fargo.
On Tuesday night, the City Council voted unanimously to find a more socially-minded institution to hold approximately $300 million in city assets. Council members said that they hoped the decision would send a very strong message to the Big Banks ultimately responsible for the housing crisis that sent the economy spiraling…
As might be expected, the local Wells Fargo branch was shocked and somewhat defensive following the City Council’s announcement.
“Over the past three years, Wells Fargo has donated more than $3 million to 89 nonprofits in Berkeley… And less than two percent of homeowner-occupied loans in our servicing portfolio have proceeded to foreclosure sale,” said Wells Fargo spokesman Ruben Pulido.
While that may be true on a local level, there is no denying the dubious actions of the Wells Fargo corporation:
- Wells Fargo was a significant player in the subprime crisis. In 2006, the last year before the subprime bubble started to burst, Wells originated or co-issued $74.2 billion worth of subprime loans, making it one of the top subprime lenders in the country.
- As recently as September 2008, Wells still held $48 billion worth of subprime mortgages in its servicing portfolio, making it the nation’s sixth largest subprime servicer.
- Despite its large portfolio of at risk mortgages, Wells Fargo has started trial mortgage modifications for only 11% of its 292,515 borrowers who are eligible for the Obama Administration’s Making Home Affordable Program (and are at least 60 days past due). At Wachovia, which Wells Fargo acquired in 2008, the number is even lower, 2% of 74,231 eligible borrowers.
- Wells Fargo put taxpayers on the hook for up to $36.9 billion in bailout funds and programs plus an unknown amount from the Federal Reserve’s $8 trillion in emergency programs. This money was supposed to help the banks get the economy going again. But little of this money has gone to relieve struggling homeowners and increase the flow of credit to small businesses (bullet points sourced via SEIU).
In my opinion, the City of Berkeley is to be applauded for its decision to take bold action against the Big Banks, many of which have yet to face any significant consequences for their negligent and often illegal actions. Let the politicians form their task forces and sub committees. In the mean time, intelligent citizens like those on the Berkeley City Council will continue to take action in the most powerful manner possible: voting with their dollars.
care2, 02.02.12.
Go Berkeley!
the nice little neighborhood Wells Fargo branch that I used to go down to with my mom in the Elmwood.
Occupy Oakland x Bank Transfer Day, 05.11.11.
shut down the corporations.
day of action: 29.02.12.
