• Contact Us

    .
    Ian Wilder: ianwilder7@gmail.com< You can also find us at:
    facebook.com/iswilder

    twitter.com/wilderside

  • Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire: Ultimate Fan Guide

    Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire: The Ultimate Fan Guide [Kindle] $0.99.


    Kobo Inc.
    Download_on_the_iTunes_iBooks_Badge_US-UK_146x40_0824
    I
    Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire: Ultimate Fan Guide

    Georgiana is the subject of the movie "The Duchess" (currently on Netflix) and a relative of the young Prince and Princess of Cambridge. Get the Ultimate Fan Guide -- with plot points, history, and what happened to the historical characters -- for only 99 cents!

  • Green Party Peace Sign Bumper Sticker


    Green Party Peace Sign Bumper Sticker
    The Green Party has continually opposed entry into war and has consistently called for the immediate return of our troops, in stark contrast to the Democratic and Republican parties.
    Today we march, tomorrow we vote Green Party.

  • Occupy Wall Street: What Just Happened?

    Occupy Wall Street: What Just Happened? ebook cover

    |

    Occupy Wall Street: What Just Happened? eBook

    Occupy Wall Street: What Just Happened? eBook on Amazon

    Occupy Wall Street: What Just Happened? eBook

    Reflections on Occupy Wall Street, with photos, fun, and good wishes for the future. eBook, Occupy Wall Street: What Just Happened? (Only $.99 !) In the eBook, the Occupy movement is explored through original reporting, photographs, cartoons, poetry, essays, and reviews.The collection of essays and blog posts records the unfolding of Occupy into the culture from September 2011 to the present.  Authors Kimberly Wilder and Ian Wilder were early supporters of Occupy, using their internet platforms to communicate the changes being created by the American Autumn.

    The eBook is currently available on Amazon for Kindle;  Barnes & Noble Nook ; Smashwords independent eBook seller; and a Kobo for 99 cents and anyone can read it using their Kindle/Nook Reader, smart phone, or computer.

Nader: Letter to President Obama On Extending Bush Tax Cuts

Posted on December 8, 2010 by iwilder

It may be that you believe that trading off $120 billion in retained income for the Rich is worth persuading the Republicans to support $18 billion for an extension of unemployment benefits to people out of work. With your Party controlling both the White House and the Congress until January 1, 2011, that is a remarkable definition of political, moral and strategic weakness that will signal even greater capitulations to the Republicans during the next two years.

via Letter to President Obama On Extending Bush Tax Cuts – The Nader Page.

Related Articles

Filed under: Action Alert!, activism, economy, News, politics, Ralph Nader, US Politics | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

LI, NY, 1st District Congressional Race: Bishop wins (Altschuler concedes)

Posted on December 8, 2010 by kwilder

(excerpt from) YNN
Altschuler Concedes In NY-1

Republican Randy Altschuler has just sent out a press release announcing that he has conceded the race for New York’s 1st Congressional District to incumbent Democrat Tim Bishop. It was the last undecided race in the country…

___________________________

Related Post at onthewilderside:
Why is it such a close call for Dem Congressman Tim Bishop?

 

Filed under: congress, Election 2010, local, long island, Long Island Politics, new york, News, politics, US Politics | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Corals Reefs Will Be Wiped Out By 2050, Expert Says

Posted on December 8, 2010 by iwilder

First the news was that if we don’t change our habits around fishing, all the world’s fisheries will be wiped out by 2050. Now, experts guess that if we don’t significantly change our interaction with the ocean, coral reefs will be all but wiped out by that same time. J.E.N. Veron, former chief scientist of the Australian Institute of Marine Science, writes that human pollution of the water, as well as human-generated carbon dioxide emissions which are causing ocean acidification and rising ocean temperatures are rapidly killing off corals. He notes that without a radical change in our behaviors and priorities, we will be left with a bleak future for the oceans, and consequently, ourselves.

via Corals Reefs Will Be Wiped Out By 2050, Expert Says : TreeHugger.

Filed under: Action Alert!, activism, Ecology, Environment | Leave a Comment »

Julian Assange of Wikileaks speaks out: Article published at The Australian and OpEd News

Posted on December 8, 2010 by kwilder

Julian Assange has published an article at The Australian (and republished at Op Ed News) that describes the Wikileaks situation in his own words. The entire article is worth reading. It’s here. Besides Julian Assange’s thoughts on a free press, the article includes a summary of some of the major revelations from the Wikileaks documents. One of the most shocking to me is that the United States encouraged its diplomats to steal personal information from UN officials and human rights groups, including their DNA, fingerprints, and internet passwords.

(excerpt from) The Australian and OpEd News
Julian Assange Speaks Out: Don’t Shoot Messenger
for Revealing Uncomfortable Truths
WIKILEAKS deserves protection, not threats and attacks

…Democratic societies need a strong media and WikiLeaks is part of that media. The media helps keep government honest. WikiLeaks has revealed some hard truths about the Iraq and Afghan wars, and broken stories about corporate corruption.

People have said I am anti-war: for the record, I am not. Sometimes nations need to go to war, and there are just wars. But there is nothing more wrong than a government lying to its people about those wars, then asking these same citizens to put their lives and their taxes on the line for those lies. If a war is justified, then tell the truth and the people will decide whether to support it.

If you have read any of the Afghan or Iraq war logs, any of the US embassy cables or any of the stories about the things WikiLeaks has reported, consider how important it is for all media to be able to report these things freely. Read more »

Filed under: Anti-War, international politics, Iraq, News, progressive politics, US Politics, war | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

NYCLU Calls for Greater Privacy Protections as New York Transitions to Electronic Medical Records

Posted on December 7, 2010 by iwilder

At a joint hearing today of two New York City Council committees, the New York Civil Liberties Union raised serious privacy concerns related to New York State’s ongoing transition to electronic medical records.

“Sharing health information among health care providers will likely benefit patients greatly, but to recognize this benefit we need to take steps to protect the right of New Yorkers to keep their most personal information private,” said NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman. “Without commonsense privacy protections, easily shareable electronic records can create threats to patient privacy, including making patients’ most personal and confidential information susceptible to inadvertent disclosure and misuse.”

Electronic networks operated by regional health information organizations already allow health-care providers to share patient information among participating providers within those regions. Eventually, these regional networks will be linked by the New York State Health Information Network, which will allow health-care providers throughout the state to easily access patients’ medical records.

Read more »

Filed under: Action Alert!, activism, New York State Politics | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

ACLU: Targeted Killing: “A Unique and Extraordinary Case”

Posted on December 7, 2010 by iwilder

A central premise of the case is that in our constitutional system of checks and balances, courts have a critical oversight role to play when the executive branch claims the authority — as both the Bush and Obama administrations have done — to kill people far from any battlefield, based on secret criteria. In rejecting that premise, the court has effectively granted the president the unreviewable authority to order the targeted killing of any American, anywhere, based on a unilateral determination that the person is a threat. No president should have that power. But the court’s decision today would grant that authority in all future cases, to all future presidents. And with America’s example to follow, will other countries be far behind?

via Blog of Rights: Official Blog of the American Civil Liberties Union » Targeted Killing: “A Unique and Extraordinary Case”.

Filed under: Action Alert!, activism, president | Leave a Comment »

Wikileaks situation – Message to US Government: “Leave the blonde alone, and get to work!”

Posted on December 7, 2010 by kwilder

Kimberly writes:

When someone really, really screws up, they need a smokescreen or scapegoat, so everyone will look the other way. It is a great idea, if you are a little kid who takes out your mom’s vase from the hutch to look at it, and your little brother knocks it off the coffee table. Whose fault is it? Blame your brother.

But, that doesn’t fix the vase. And, if you don’t own up to your part of the situation, it doesn’t teach you a lesson, either.

Julian Assange – the dashing, blonde, man of mystery from Australia – is not the key player in the Wikileaks saga. Any situation arising from a sudden release of confidential documents involves: the whole environment that kept the documents secret in the first place; the angst which caused whistle-blowers to release them; and cracks in the security system of various government organizations which let this information get out of the hands of the government and into the hands of the media.

How about we ask our government to focus on those problems for awhile, instead of ranting and raving about the blonde guy? Read more »

Filed under: afghanistan, Anti-War, international politics, kimberly wilder, media, politics, progressive politics, rants, US Politics, war | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Wikileaks defended by hacktivists

Posted on December 7, 2010 by kwilder

(excerpt from) BBC
Wikileaks defended by hacktivists
Julian Assange Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has been arrested by UK police

Internet hacktivists have fired the latest salvo in the Wikileaks infowar.

A group called Anonymous has hit sites that have refused to do business with the controversial whistle-blowing site with a series of distributed denial-of-service attacks…

“We feel that Wikileaks has become more than just about leaking of documents, it has become a war ground, the people vs. the government,” he said…

Anonymous is also helping to create hundreds of mirror sites for Wikileaks, after its US domain name provider withdrew its services. Read more »

Filed under: activism, international politics, media, News, politics, progressive politics, US Politics | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Why WikiLeaks Is Good for America | Wired.com

Posted on December 7, 2010 by iwilder

WikiLeaks stands to improve our democracy, not weaken it.

The greatest threat we face right now from Wikileaks is not the information it has spilled and may spill in the future, but the reactionary response to it that’s building in the United States that promises to repudiate the rule of law and our free speech traditions, if left unchecked.

Secrecy is routinely posited as a critical component for effective governance, a premise that’s so widely accepted that even some journalists, whose job is to reveal the secret workings of governments, have declared WikiLeaks’ efforts to be out of bounds.

We should embrace the site as an expression of the fundamental freedom that is at the core of our Bill of Rights.

Transparency, and its value, look very different inside the corridors of power than outside. On the campaign trail, Barack Obama vowed to roll back the secrecy apparatus that had been dramatically expanded under his predecessor, but his administration has largely abandoned those promises and instead doubled-down on secrecy.

via Why WikiLeaks Is Good for America | Threat Level | Wired.com.

___________

Related article: Kimberly Wilders rant about Wikileaks at onthewilderside, here.

Filed under: Action Alert!, activism, politics, US Politics | Tagged: | 2 Comments »

When Government Fails: Greed and the Degradation of Academia

Posted on December 7, 2010 by iwilder

Inside Job is the new documentary by Charles Ferguson that examines the financial crisis that erupted in 2008…

Ferguson, with his Ph.D. from MIT, had extraordinary access to influential people…There is an extraordinary conversation between Ferguson and former Bush adviser Glenn Hubbard, who just so happens to be the current dean of Columbia Business School.  An important point that Ferguson makes in the film is that the academic culture in the nation’s most influential business schools has not only permitted the distortion of the study of economics, but has transformed the purely political and ideological view of deregulation into legitimate economic theory.  The shuttle of academics between business schools, private industry, and the apparatus of government—the Federal Reserve, the White House, and Congressional hearings—paid for by the players who want to be freed from government interference shames the very idea of scholarship.

In an interview with NPR, Ferguson described what he learned from making the film: “Very prominent professors of economics, often people who’ve also held high government posts, are paid to testify in Congress,” Ferguson explains. “They are paid to be expert witnesses in both civil and criminal trials. They’re often paid to write papers that praise the financial services industry, and argue on behalf of deregulation of the industry. They make millions, in some cases tens of millions of dollars, doing this. And this is usually not disclosed.”

Filed under: economy, film, social & economic justice | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

War Resisters League Urges, “Don’t Buy War Toys.” (via Peace and Justice Online)

Posted on December 6, 2010 by iwilder

War Resisters League Urges, "Don't Buy War Toys." The shopping season is in full swing.  The War Resisters League (WRL) has issued a call, urging us not to buy war toys.  WRL points out, “Playing with war toys and violent videos numbs people to the terrible truth: War means death and suffering, not fun and games.” The statement continues, “Playing violent video games has been directly linked to increased aggressive behavior.”  WRL cites the research on this issue, and points out that the Army ha … Read More

via Peace and Justice Online

Filed under: News | 2 Comments »

“From the Larynx” – The Incredible Anne Waldman (via amy king’s alias)

Posted on December 6, 2010 by iwilder

"From the Larynx" - The Incredible Anne Waldman "That’s what inspires me — people still at work, and dreaming." READ MORE AT VIDA:  WOMEN IN LITERARY ARTS (CLICK HERE) … Read More

via amy king's alias

Filed under: News | Leave a Comment »

The Republican Party: Institutional Insanity by Ralph Nader (via Dandelion Salad)

Posted on December 6, 2010 by iwilder

The Republicans get away with countless absurdities for at least two reasons. One is that their nominal opponents are the spineless, clueless, gutless Democrats (with a few notable exceptions) who present themselves as uncertain waverers, dialing for the same corporate dollars as the Republicans chase. The other is the political reporters who dwell on questions directed toward tactics and horseraces that the dimmest of Republicans can handle easily.

http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/ by Ralph Nader The Nader Page December 6, 2010 If there was a mental health hospital for institutions the Republican Party and its top leaders would be admissible as clinically insane. Their bizarre wackopedia seems to contain no discernible boundaries. Repeatedly, these corporate supplicants oppose any measure, any regulation, any legislation that will directly help workers, consumers, the environment, small … Read More

via Dandelion Salad

Filed under: News | 3 Comments »

NYCLU Sues Over GPS Tracking of State Employee’s Personal Car

Posted on December 6, 2010 by iwilder
American Civil Liberties Union

Image via Wikipedia

The New York Civil Liberties Union today filed a lawsuit in state court challenging the New York State Department of Labor’s warrantless planting of a GPS tracking device on an employee’s personal car.

The device, planted as part of an investigation into workplace misconduct, tracked the whereabouts of 30-year Department of Labor employee Michael Cunningham and his family for at least a month, including during evenings, weekends and while the family went on vacation out of state.

“Your boss can’t sit in the backseat of your car and watch you, your wife and your children 24 hours a day, but that’s exactly what the Department of Labor did to Mr. Cunningham,” said NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman. “The courts have already prohibited police from using GPS devices to track people without a warrant. We’re confident they will hold the government agencies to the same standard. The only thing scarier than having a police officer secretly track you is having your boss secretly track you.”

via NYCLU Files Suit Challenging GPS Tracking of State Employee’s Personal Car | New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) – American Civil Liberties Union of New York State.

Related Articles

Filed under: Action Alert!, activism, new york, New York State Politics, News, politics, social & economic justice | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

« Previous Page — Next Page »