Melançon Enterprises • a multidivision multinational since 1980

Another piece of key PWGD strategy, from Nancy Davies look at the current situation of the social movements in Oaxaca, Mexico:

Dear Benjamin,

Eliana Godoy recommended you as a strong prospect for the 2008 Echoing Green Fellowship. As such, if you’d like to apply for this opportunity, please click here.

If you’re not familiar with Echoing Green, we offer fellowships to leaders who have:

· A unique, groundbreaking idea that will improve the lives of people in their community, country, or world

· The desire to create a new organization to implement their idea – or an existing organization that is still in its start-up phase

We are sorry but an error has occurred. You may need to restart your browser.

If the problem persists, please contact our customer service department.

And it's giving me bus fares, not train fares.

Please, violent, greedy, imperialist, power-mad rich people of the United States, listen to this man. He's trying to tell you what to do for your own best interests.

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/11/24/5427/

Turkey

Thought about this today:

"Don't give people what they ask for. Give people what they want."

A quick search of the Internet turns up no results. Another Agaric Design Collective original!

PWGD aims to be the world's largest network effect.

Network effects – the power that a product or service has not because of anything intrinsic to itself, but because other people also use it – should never be captured and controlled by a single private entity, let alone the corporate profit-making entities that usually get to extract a lot of the benefits.

Microsoft Windows. MySpace. Facebook. Government.

The Economics Textbook of the 21st Century
From Adbusters #74, Nov-Dec 200

http://adbusters.org/the_magazine/74/The_Economics_Textbook_of_the_21st_...

40% of site visitors (or downloaders I think) paid an average of $6.

The main thing is that they went around the middleman, not just for music sales (CD or digital distributors) but in gathering a database of their fans that they can use in booking concerts, further promotion and sales, etc.

It will definitely work for Radiohead, and other high-profile bands.

And this is the best bet for artists and bands who won't get into the music industry any other way.

Will it work for all the groups in between?

I want it to, but I'm not sure we're there yet.

Basically, the argument that the invaluable functions of government (especially invaluable for the rich) remove any claim to sole right to acquired wealth.

Starts with "Laws concerning property or contracts, and the public agencies that enforce such laws."

Yup, that covers a lot.

If we use these criteria to determine who can legitimately claim to be “entirely self-made,” the Forbes number drops dramatically. It’s not 270 out of 400. In fact, it’s precisely zero.

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/11/06/5053/
by Felicity Lawrence and Ian Griffiths
Guardian/UK

The investigation reveals that large corporations are creating elaborate structures to move profits through subsidiaries to offshore centres such as the Cayman Islands, Bermuda and the British Virgin Islands, to avoid handing money over to tax collectors in the countries where their goods are produced, and in those where they are consumed. Governments at both ends of the chain are increasingly being deprived of the ability to raise tax for development or services.

http://hubpages.com/hub/Houseplants-for-Cleaner-Air

Some observations:

The few have robbed the many for a long, long time.

not exactly scholarly, but...

http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2007/10/10-reasons-to-h.html

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/10/31/4935/

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development - a 30-member club of nations - compiles the most often cited international comparison. It puts the U.S. at 15th place for broadband lines per person in 2006, down from No. 4 in 2001.

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/10/31/4937/

The Media and Democracy Coalition released its survey the same day the Federal Communications Commission was due to hold a public meeting on media ownership. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin wants the agency to decide by December 18 on whether to ease limits on how many media outlets a company may own in one market.

Longstanding FCC rules restrict cross-ownership and ban ownership of a newspaper and a TV or radio station in the same market without an FCC waiver.

http://fixyourthinking.com/2007/10/whats-been-going-on-in-last-week.html

Smith was immune from trademark claims because his reference to BidZirk was in the context of news reporting or news commentary. Though the court doesn't equate bloggers and journalists generally, it gives Smith the same protection given to journalists

On some terrible show, G4 or something, which is like one big advertisement for electronic junk and video games, the hosts were being told about a new plug-in hybrid from Honda by a guy out-of-studio.

'But their so expensive,' the hosts said about hybrid cars.

'Well, yes, and of course the best thing [for the environment] is not to drive at all,' he said.

Bzzzt. Instant test pattern!

Coincidence? Let your paranoia decide!

(Please do let me know if that guy is seen again...)

Yikes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eG6X-xtVask&eurl=

I think we're ready for PWGD-style direct electronic democracy.

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: New BBV report: Pork Spending of HAVA Funds...
Date: Wed, 3 Oct 2007 15:43:37 -0700
From: Black Box Voting

Because you need to laugh first: Hilarious (but improper) video of Texas lawmakers racing around the room to double, triple, quadruple-vote, against the rules: Click here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eG6X-xtVask&eurl=

PORK SPENDING OF THE HELP AMERICA VOTE ACT FUNDS
http://www.blackboxvoting.org

Hillary Rolls On: Are Netroots a Paper Tiger? - Jeff Cohen
http://community.freespeech.org/hillary_rolls_on_are_netroots_a_paper_ti...

His argument:

1. The online activists in the Democratic Party don't like Hillary Clinton much (and they should really not like her: Cohen reminds the netroots of the disaster the corporatist policies Bill Clinton's presidency wrought on fair trade and progressive initiatives, and the likelihood of Hillary Clinton bringing more of the same).

Ted Rall
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/09/06/3649/