vox populi

There is a strange dichotomy between the revolt raging in the Middle East and in the protests in the former powerhouses of agriculture and industry in the US. The organization and hierarchy of needs are of course substantively different, but there is precious little that separates the movements--maybe an empty shaft or the ventilation causeways that have become a plot-device in all sorts of capers, and the two are like service-elevators, parallel, and on the descent, on the ascent. Illusory, desultory freedoms are a fair diversion, and could be so much more meaningful, but count for little to a citizenry and government in hock to a few corporate magnates that have turned welfare and gainful employment to a Ponzi scheme of incubating funds until the whole game collapses. Those struggling for their basic rights should not have such a grasping avarice to look forward to after facing such challenges. Solidarity is profound for both movements, but there are comparable, though one decidedly more insidious, propaganda machines that try to turn support and opinion.

There's the daffy, convoluted censorship of some of these nervous dictatorships and the more innocent seeming sting of debate that the US is pushing: instead of all workers fighting for the same benefits as those in the civil sector or investigating for themselves the possible motivations and maneuvers behind the debate. Undermining the those traditional totems of partisan powers, union reciprocation the liberal parties, may be more politically expedient--inciting division, rather than discussing concessions and compromise.

Though in a supposedly civil and advanced society, it is difficult to see beyond the greed of the game, but insuring that there is no choice in future leadership--and work and mobility are likewise constrained--and power is more and more concentrated in the few.

International Workers of the World commissioned artist Eric Drooker to design them this terrific poster for what's surely to come if dialogue cannot be encouraged.  The choice of mascot makes quite a statement--reminescent of that 9-volt battery cat or Le Chat Noir.