Naomi Klein, author of the international bestseller The Shock Doctrine, says the tragic destruction of Hurricane Sandy can also be the catalyst for the transformation of politics and our economy. She’s been in New York visiting the devastated areas — including those where “Occupy Sandy” volunteers are unfolding new models of relief — as part of her reporting for a new book and film on climate change and the future, and joins Bill Moyers to discuss hurricanes, climate change, and democracy.

“Let’s rebuild by actually getting at the root causes. Let’s respond by aiming for an economy that responds to the crisis both [through] inequality and climate change,” Klein tells Bill. “You know, dream big.”

Full transcript after the jump.

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The Future Children Project from FutureChildrenProject on Vimeo.

Re-electing President Obama is a momentous decision that will require every single voter.

What would the children of the future say if we let them down this November?

It would probably go something like this...

Lyrics:

Imagine an America
Where strip mines are fun and free
Where gays can be fixed
And sick people just die
And oil fills the sea

We don’t have to pay for freeways!
Our schools are good enough
Give us endless wars
On foreign shores
And lots of Chinese stuff

We’re the children of the future
American through and through
But something happened to our country
And we’re kinda blaming you

We haven’t killed all the polar bears
But it’s not for lack of trying
Big Bird is sacked
The Earth is cracked
And the atmosphere is frying

Congress went home early
They did their best we know
You can’t cut spending
With elections pending
Unless it’s welfare dough

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Thousands of people protested across Greece on Thursday against the next round of spending cuts, required in return for another bailout installment.

The 24-hour strike is the country's 20th national stoppage since the debt crisis erupted two years ago and comes as EU leaders met in Brussels.

Taxi drivers, doctors, teachers and air traffic controllers were among those taking part in the rallies.

Athens police used tear gas to disperse demonstrators throwing petrol bombs.

Syntagma Square was temporarily shut down but has since reopened to traffic; it was quite a small protest as Greek protests go and remained mainly peaceful,

Protesters threw petrol bombs and stones at police blocking off parts of the capital's main square before parliament. Officers responded with tear gas and stun grenades.

A 65-year-old man suffered a fatal heart attack during the demonstration, which was said not to be linked to the protests.

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From the mouths of babes! Parenting magazine went to a block party in Brooklyn one recent afternoon to do some polling on the current election. Their mission: to find out exactly what is on the minds of our littlest citizens. Because Parenting truly believes as I do, that the children are our future. And our future is clearly...tiny Wonder Woman.

On the first anniversary of Occupy Wall Street, GRITtv host Laura Flanders talks to journalist Arun Gupta and organizer Marina Sitrin about the movement’s impact and future role in American life and politics.

“Occupy has lifted all organizing boats,” says Gupta. “We saw that in New York City, for example, the Occupy movement helped Teamsters win a better contract with Sotheby’s… They [also] helped fast food workers at Hot & Crusty unionize, which is remarkable that you have fast food workers who unionized.”

Sitrin describes renewed momentum in terms of the personal self-esteem of the 99%. “In the past, to be unemployed, to be in foreclosure was something you kept secret. It was something to be ashamed of,” Sitrin told Flanders. “The power of Occupy and the slogan is to say, ‘Well, wait a minute. I’m the 99%. I’m the majority. I can feel empowered.’”

A full transcript of the show is available here.

Via Occupy Seattle:

When – Mon, September 17, 6pm – 10pm
Where – Westlake 400 Pine (map)

Occupy changed the conversation.

It placed greed front and center in the public debate. In solidarity with #OWS and Occupy’s 1 year anniversary, let’s bring it back to it’s roots.

Join us. Sept. 17th at 6PM in Westlake Park.

“Right now, with every dollar we spend, we give corporations more and more influence over our politics. Over our healthcare, our government, our society, and our future. With every dollar we give them more and more influence over our daily lives.

We think this is wrong. Money isn’t speech. And it definitely shouldn’t be a corporate megaphone with which to corrupt our system of government, bribe our politicians, and buy special treatment.

Our actions as consumers continue to fuel this problem. Without change, we will continue to live in a system that forces us to sell our voices, and in effect to buy our own silence. We must take responsibility for the part we continue to play. We must change as much as we expect change.

We’ve been taught to sell out our own voices. We’ve been taught to be consumers rather than fully alive human beings. We’ve been taught to be silenced. And that that silence is the hidden price we must all pay for being consumers.

Buying their goods shouldn’t mean selling our voices. Buying their goods shouldn’t mean selling ourselves. We feel it’s time people started drawing attention to the silencing power of money as speech. As consumers, as voters, as citizens, as a society, as people, and as human beings, we can all agree, money shouldn’t talk.

Together let us reclaim our voices with silence.”

This is a silent flash march into the shopping areas of the downtown core. Once there, we will be silently walking / flooding into several actual shopping centers & stores. We’ll also be meeting up at certain times to regroup and hold brief 1/2 hour silent vigils.

Small printed versions of the above statement for you to hand out will also be available if someone wishes to engage you in positive dialog about this action or wants a more information about the action and you do not wish to break your silence.

• 6:00pm – Meet at Westlake park. Please bring a dollar bill with you. We’ll have some tape & spirit gum on hand. If you can bring some extra to share, even better.

• 6:30pm – Silent flash march begins. Details of the exact schedule and timings for the march to follow. We will also have small cheat-sheets available with a map and the times for the silent vigils.

In keeping with the message of the dollars tapped over our mouths, a silent flash march means remaining as quiet as possible. Please no chanting, singing, talking, drums, etc. We make our point by making eye contact with as many of the people we pass as possible and holding it just a little too long. For that reason also, please do not bring signs to hold or flags to wave. If you’re planning on entering shops, you might want to leave the Occupy labeled gear at home. It may tip off some businesses that have “banned” occupy gear and prevent you from moving freely.

Not only will our silence be a powerful statement, it will hopefully also be the key to our ability to enter those spaces that we might otherwise have to avoid.

The National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Action Fund reminds Mitt Romney that climate change is no joke.

The story of the deterioration of Motor City and the most innovative people who refuse to let it burn to the ground.

Detroit's story has encapsulated the iconic narrative of America over the last century— the Great Migration of African Americans escaping Jim Crow; the rise of manufacturing and the middle class; the love affair with automobiles; the flowering of the American dream; and now . . . the collapse of the economy and the fading American mythos. With its vivid, painterly palette and haunting score, Detropia sculpts a dreamlike collage of a grand city teetering on the brink of dissolution. These soulful pragmatists and stalwart philosophers strive to make ends meet and make sense of it all, refusing to abandon hope or resistance. Their grit and pluck embody the spirit of the Motor City as it struggles to survive postindustrial America and begins to envision a radically different future.

You can watch entire film online here.

A new video from the Gates Foundation...

Giving women and girls access to family planning tools and information is the easiest way to empower them to determine their own futures.

Raise your voice and pledge to support family planning for the millions who need and want it: http://no-controversy.com.

President Obama accepted the Democratic presidential nomination Thursday night with an appeal for another four years to continue with the platform of "change" he was elected on in 2008. "If you reject the notion that this nation’s promise is reserved for the few, your voice must be heard in this election," Obama said.

“On every issue, the choice you face won’t be just between two candidates or two parties."

“It will be a choice between two different paths for America."

“A choice between two fundamentally different visions for the future."

“I won’t pretend the path I’m offering is quick or easy. I never have. You didn’t elect me to tell you what you wanted to hear. You elected me to tell you the truth. And the truth is, it will take more than a few years for us to solve challenges that have built up over decades. It will require common effort, shared responsibility, and the kind of bold, persistent experimentation that Franklin Roosevelt pursued during the only crisis worse than this one. And by the way – those of us who carry on his party’s legacy should remember that not every problem can be remedied with another government program or dictate from Washington."

“But know this, America: Our problems can be solved. Our challenges can be met. The path we offer may be harder, but it leads to a better place. And I’m asking you to choose that future. I’m asking you to rally around a set of goals for your country – goals in manufacturing, energy, education, national security, and the deficit; a real, achievable plan that will lead to new jobs, more opportunity, and rebuild this economy on a stronger foundation. That’s what we can do in the next four years, and that’s why I’m running for a second term as President of the United States.”

Obama presented a clear set of achievable goals on manufacturing, energy, education, national security, and the deficit – an achievable plan that will create jobs, expand opportunity, and ensure an economy built to last.

Obama's speech may not have been the "best" speech of the convention this week, but I think there is a message there for every one of us, and the message is that he has heard our voices. If you think he hasn't heard the cries of Occupy Wall Street, listen to this speech. Goals centered around jobs, education, college tuition, and energy. The message of "Hope" and "Change" are still there, but they've been tempered by four years of the reality of money and politics in Washington, just as all of our dreams have been.

The President himself has acknowledged that there is much more to be done, and has accepted the nomination again, and stands ready to help us face our challenges.

Personally, I'd rather not hand it all over to Mitt Romney in mid-struggle and wait to see what's left of our nation when he's finished with it.

A full transcript of Obama's speech follows below the fold.

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