Ocelopotamus

News, culture, and politics. Not necessarily in that order.

Ocelopotamus header image 4

Entries Tagged as 'Activism'

Condi Must Go

April 16th, 2008 · 1 Comment · Activism, Human Rights, Law, Politics, Torture, Video

I’ll say this for Condoleeza Rice — she does an outstanding job of making the case against herself. Watch her effectively prosecute herself on video:   Read this diary for context. Visit CondiMustGo.com for more info and to sign the online petition.  

[Read more →]

Tags:

Torch

April 8th, 2008 · 3 Comments · Activism, Culture, Human Rights, LGBT, News, Politics

I’ve said this many times in the past, and I’m sure I’ll say it again in the future: God bless Peter Tatchell. Towleroad: Gay activist Peter Tatchell was one of dozens detained in various protests over the weekend surrounding the transit of the Olympic flame through London, including one dramatic moment in which the torch […]

[Read more →]

Tags:

CIGNA Decides to Commit Murder by Spreadsheet — “Day of Rage” Organized

December 20th, 2007 · 3 Comments · Activism, Blogs, Healthcare Crisis, Human Rights, News, Politics

See update #3 at the bottom of this post: after an emotional roller coaster of a day, Nataline Sarkisyan has passed away. The fine, caring folks at CIGNA health insurance have made the warm-hearted decision to let a 17-year-old girl die because they don’t want to pay for a liver transplant. And they’re trying to […]

[Read more →]

Tags:

Best. Protest. Ever.

November 22nd, 2007 · 2 Comments · Activism, Culture, Human Rights, News, Politics, Torture, TV, Video

Brilliant. Just brilliant. Watch Abu Gonzales get completely pwned by some students.   Today I’m thankful that, despite the best efforts of Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, ABC News, and the rest of their horde, there are still young people in the world who are able to pierce the veil of truthiness and do stuff like […]

[Read more →]

Tags:

Support the Writers Guild Strike

November 7th, 2007 · 2 Comments · Activism, Comedy, Culture, Film, Heroes, History, Labor, News, Science Fiction, TV, Video

Here’s a snappy little video explaining why.   As Miss Laura notes, the writers have even tried relaxing their demand for that luxurious extra 4 cents per DVD. They said they’d be willing to settle for the measly 4 cents they’re already getting, if they can just please be paid for their work on Internet […]

[Read more →]

Tags:

Roundup: Monkey in the Bathroom Edition

November 6th, 2007 · 1 Comment · Activism, Apple, Blogs, Comics, Culture, Essays, Food, Heroes, History, Human Rights, Journalism, Labor, LGBT, Macintosh, Music, Nature, New Wave, News, Politics, Religion, Roundup, Science Fiction, Spirituality, Tech, Terrorism, Torture, TV, Vegetarian & Vegan

I can’t scrape together enough time at the moment to do OcPot’s usual painstakingly well-rounded roundup — I’m seeing The Waterboys at the Park West tonight, woo-hoo! — but I wanted to get some of these links up before they fossilized. So here’s a charmingly slapdash, quick-and-dirty roundup. In ripped fishnet and high heels. The […]

[Read more →]

Tags:

On My Reading List: Naomi Klein’s New Book, The Shock Doctrine

October 16th, 2007 · 1 Comment · Activism, Books, Climate Change, Culture, Film, Foreign Policy, Human Rights, Infrastructure, Journalism, News, Politics, TV, Video

Daily Kos has a review up of Naomi Klein’s new book The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. Harper’s ran an excerpt from The Shock Doctrine in the October issue which was, as the DKos review says, riveting, and immediately put the book on my must-read list. I’m planning to pick up a copy […]

[Read more →]

Tags:

On The Christians and The Gays, and Keeping the Flock Together

October 15th, 2007 · 4 Comments · Activism, Blogs, Culture, Journal, LGBT, Music, Politics, Religion, Spirituality

So there was a new study written up this past week, supplying evidence that young people in America are rejecting Christianity because they see it as “hypocritical, judgmental, and anti-gay.” The vast majority of non-Christians — 91% — said Christianity had an anti-gay image, followed by 87% who said it was judgmental and 85% who […]

[Read more →]

Tags:

Roundup: Swiftly Tilting Planet Edition

September 17th, 2007 · Comments Off on Roundup: Swiftly Tilting Planet Edition · Activism, Books, Chicago, Climate Change, Comics, Culture, Fantasy, Film, Foreign Policy, Hate Crimes, Health, History, HIV/AIDS, Infrastructure, Journalism, LGBT, Lit, Media, Nature, News, Peace, Politics, Public Transportation, Roundup, Science, Science Fiction, Tech

Eric Alterman has an outstanding column in The Nation on how the media’s mean girls (of all genders) develop the narratives they use to bring down the presidential candidates they take a dislike to. With examples of what they did to Gore in 2000, and what they’re doing to Obama and Edwards right now. Two […]

[Read more →]

Tags:

The Bright Side of Death

September 15th, 2007 · Comments Off on The Bright Side of Death · Activism, Comedy, Culture, Health, Healthcare Crisis, History, Human Rights, Politics, The Economy, Stupid, Video

This week’s smash-hit viral video is a cheery little mash-up in which a Monty Python classic gets its peanut butter in the chocolate of the modern-day healthcare crisis.   … and here’s the handy action link. If William Jennings Bryan were alive today, he might say something about not crucifying mankind upon a Cross of […]

[Read more →]

Tags:

Roundup: Pink Elephant Edition

September 10th, 2007 · 3 Comments · Activism, Books, Climate Change, Comics, Culture, Energy, Film, Foreign Policy, Health, History, HIV/AIDS, Human Rights, Internet, Journalism, Language, LGBT, Media, Music, Nature, News, Peace, Performance, Politics, Racism, Roundup, Science, Tech, Theater

General Petraeus says that “victory” in Iraq will require 9-10 more years. I’m trying to imagine how ten more years of bloody occupation can possibly work out to a victory. More on that subject here. A bill has been introduced in Venezuela to restrict baby names to a list of 100 approved choices. “The bill’s […]

[Read more →]

Tags:

Good Morning, Day 51

September 6th, 2007 · Comments Off on Good Morning, Day 51 · Activism, Culture, Film, HCC-DDT, Health, Healthcare Crisis, Human Rights, Media, News, Politics, The Economy, Stupid

1,850 U.S. citizens were recently killed in an entirely preventable disaster. It’s been a while since I’ve updated this record — 37 days, to be exact. On July 18 I started keeping count of the 50 U.S. citizens who die every day because they can’t afford health care, according to this statistic. So in a […]

[Read more →]

Tags:

“Lord Have Mercy, I Think It’s the Cops”: Larry Craig and Madame George

September 4th, 2007 · 3 Comments · Activism, Culture, Essays, History, Human Rights, Journalism, LGBT, Music, News, Politics, Theater

Forgive me for posting twice in a row about Larry Craig. After the past week, surely it’s time for him to begin shrinking in the collective rear-view mirror of our culture. But I can’t help it. On Sunday, someone who goes by the nom de net Blueness posted an absolutely beautiful diary on Daily Kos, […]

[Read more →]

Tags:

Roundup: Dinosaur Corsage Edition

August 31st, 2007 · Comments Off on Roundup: Dinosaur Corsage Edition · Activism, Advertising, Comics, Culture, Doctor Who, Energy, Film, Foreign Policy, Health, Healthcare Crisis, History, Human Rights, Law, LGBT, Media, Nature, News, Peace, Pets, Politics, Roundup, Science, TV

Scary stuff: There’s a lot of buzz and speculation that starting just after Labor Day, the Bush administration is going to be rolling out a major PR campaign to pave the way for war with Iran. See here and here for starters. Grand Moff Texan at DKos says the Bushies will be using the same […]

[Read more →]

Tags: