Sharing is Not a Crime: A Battle Plan to Fight Back

December 7, 2012 (LocalOrg) - The Battlefield: Christopher Dodd was at one point an alleged elected representative of the people. As a US Senator he was charged with upholding the Constitution and laws of the people, and representing the interests of voters in his state of Connecticut - for 30 years. In reality, Dodd didn't represent the people, and instead, represents corporate special-interests - and unfortunately, Dodd is not the exception.

In early 2011, it was announced that Dodd - after retiring from 30 years in the Senate - would take up a leading role at the Motion Pictures Association of America (MPAA) for a $1.5 million annual salary. Immediately, the retired Senator would lead the charge to pass the notorious Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), with his incestuous business-government ties visibly rippling through the US House and Senate as well as through the corporate-dominated media.
 

Despite the obvious conflict of interests and dangerous precedent set by corporations commandeering elected representatives to leverage their influence and bend the law of the people to the will of big corporations, Dodd has been allowed to continue on with the charade. It was recently reported in Wired's article, "Hollywood’s Total Piracy Awareness Program Set for January Launch," that: 

Don't Survive the "Collapse" - Prevent It

December 5, 2012 (LocalOrg) - Cuba, Thailand, New York City. All three have faced either economic or natural disasters. The adversity and degree to which each was affected varies, but all have lent us invaluable lessons and warnings about future, inevitable collapses and disasters. With this knowledge in hand we can begin preparing ahead of time, so not only do we "survive" the collapse, but we create thriving, advanced communities that remain entirely unaffected by such collapses - after all, prevention is the best medicine.

Cuba: In 1991, the Caribbean nation, after the fall of the Soviet Union upon which its economy hinged, found itself so destitute it was unable to feed its own people. The writing had been on the wall, particularly when Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev began instituting "glasnost" economic reforms, but little was (or could be) done in time to head off the consequences of collapse.

With no other choice, the people of the city of Havana began tearing up empty lots, reclaiming abandoned buildings, and planting "urban gardens." Neither "communist" nor "capitalist," the spurt of survival-driven local enterprise brought a people teetering on the edge of starvation back to a degree of stability. Journeyman Pictures, in their 2003 documentary "Seeds in the City - Cuba (23 mins)," tells the story of Havana and the urban gardening revolution that took place there.

Occupy Sandy Aids Storm Victims

Local disaster response outpaces, outperforms, outclasses federal relief efforts.

Editor's Note: For the past two years I have been writing about what is wrong in this world. Now I believe the time has come to focus more attention on what we should do about it. From agriculture to technology, to local education and infrastructure, to leveraging the latest in science and technology to improve and expand our healthcare system, the newly created website LocalOrg will serve as a clearinghouse for both concepts and success stories. 

We are not helpless observers. If we don't like what we see everyday when we read the news, now is the time to commit our intellect and our own two hands to building the future we would rather see - not merely pawning off this great responsibly to "elected representatives" who habitually defy our will and purposefully work against our best interests. 

The following article was written as one of the first exclusive entries for LocalOrg. If you have solutions or success stories you would like to see researched and covered, e-mail me at cartalucci@gmail.com. 

-Tony Cartalucci

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November 26, 2012 (LocalOrg) - Local people know best what's going on on a local level. Federal agencies busy appropriating budgets and following protocol will never be able to compete against competent, well-organized local networks.