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What is it about the Unions and the Occupy Movement?

What would appear to be a marriage-made-in-activist-heaven appears now to be a series of uncomfortable “dates” which could use some pre-marriage counseling.

At least in part, that is Bennett Kremen’s view on this matter, and this comes from someone who is both an activist (present, past and ongoing) and a union man…and a published author (his present work, Savage Days Haunted Nights, can be found on Amazon at http://amzn.to/IgZuUN).

I might also add that, as an author, he is prescient.

Bennett wrote a book of non-fiction published by The Dial Press in the early ‘70’s called “Dateline America” in which he somehow recognized in the protests of the time the potential for what we now know as Occupy Wall Street almost 50 years later.

His general theory at that time was that the baby-boom generation was about to take over America and that it doesn’t believe in the moral and working codes its predecessors did.  Thus, when the younger generations takes charge, the country will drift leftward and somehow deal with economic and population problems in ways that reflect a lessening of concern with money and status.

Does that sound like “Deja Future” to you?

Chicago-born but now residing in New York City, Bennett has been writing in one form or another for many years. He’s contributed articles to The New York Times Book Review and Financial Pages and to The Nation, The Village Voice and many other publications and along the way gathered the credentials to open a psychotherapy practice which he has maintained on and off every since.

Take 15 minutes to listen to this veteran of the Alaskan pipeline, working class bars, and the 60’s protests as he compares and contrasts Occupy Wall Street with those times – and makes a solid case that both unions and occupiers need to stand together.

As he sees it, if ever the word “solidarity” had meaning before, it most definitely has meaning now…and it may decide the future of the United States for decades to come.

Write Bennett Kremen at bennettkre@aol.com or find him on on LinkedIn.com as Bennett Kremen where he can be found in the OccupyEverywhere chatroom.  “Chat him up” – especially if you think you can keep up with him on politics or history.

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“I am almost a chameleon, I have an understanding of character.” ~ Judy Stadt

“Judy Stadt is pure magic!” ~ Vintage Allies

There is something quite irresistible about the high-spirited, sassy and irreverent Judy Stadt. She is a creative, extravagant comedian, talented actress, jazz vocalist-Contralto, author and radio host with the unique ability to intertwine humor, irreverence, and affection for her characters while creating a tapestry of entertainment.

Judy Stadt knew she was going to be an actor at the age of five. While her parents were fighting in the other room, she was learning about life from the radio and vowed then that she would be an actor when she grew up.

Listen in as Marsha Collock, VAV’s Starstruck Reporter, goes one on one with Judy Stadt in the following interview;

Hear the interview on Vintage Allies Variety Radio

 
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John Renshaw’s weekly rundown of what’s hot and what’s not in sports. John talks college and pro football and more.

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Most of us are aware that the rainforests of the world are under assault and decimation from modernization. Some of us have considered the impact of this loss of biodiversity. What happens if our species destroys the one plant that can deliver us from the scourge of cancer or heart disease? What medicinal salvation grows deep in the jungles, yet to be discovered? One adventurer is not waiting for someone else to answer these questions. He is exploring the world to discover the medicinal value of exotic plants.

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Huffington Post’s newest blogger is Jerry Ashton, host of WGRN’s “Fifteen Minutes of Fact” and “Down But Not Out in America”.  Jerry’s first Huffpo post is up this morning and addresses student debt, which is quickly become a centerpiece of the #Occupy debate.

America’s Financial Institutions and Student Lenders — Attention: OWS “Occupy Student Debt” Committee Has Something to Say

Today, November 21, Occupy Student Debt is launching a national campaign of student debt refusal. This will take place at Zuccotti Park at the “big red sculpture” at 1:30 p.m. to be followed by a CUNY/Baruch student rally at Madison Square Park at 3:00 p.m.

A concise list of cures for the problem of student debt — now approaching one trillion dollars and surpassing credit card debt — was fashioned by the student debt subcommittee of the OWS Empowerment and Education working group.

Read it all at Huffington Post

 
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Patrick Edwards, author of “They Cooked the Books,” believes that OWS is both the user of and now even the creator of phrases that will go be quoted for years to come (example: “the 99%”) Is this cause to be “written off” by history? Will the perpetrators of the WS “Ponzi Schemes” be “tarred and feathered” and go on “perp walks?” What can the Occupiers learn from Patrick Edwards.

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John Zweig is Chairman, Healthcare and Specialist Communications for WPP, the world leader in marketing communication services, with more than $14 billion in annual sales and 153,000 employees worldwide. His role is to develop the Group’s capabilities and coordinate client services on behalf of WPP’s firms specialized by discipline, audience and industry. With a particular emphasis on healthcare clients, John provides access to these resources and capabilities around the world.

Prior to becoming CEO of WPP’s Branding & Identity, Healthcare and Specialist Communications Businesses, John was President of Thomas Ferguson Associates and founded CommonHealth in 1992; during the ten-year course of his leadership, he helped build the agency into the largest and most respected integrated marketing firms of its type.

His prior experience was at Procter & Gamble where he was product and category manager for a variety of consumer health and packaged goods brands. Earlier in his career, he was partner at the Waymaker Institute, a management consulting firm specializing in organizational behavior and corporate mission research and development.

He served with distinction in a combatant role in Vietnam and, later, in other Asian countries as a Race Relations Educational Specialist for the U.S. Navy; he attended both Washington University and the University of the State of New York. Prior to entering business, John was a professional jazz guitarist and studio musician, having performed on national television and radio commercials.

John’s board service includes the International Leadership Center on longevity and productive aging, an affiliate of Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York.  He has been a regular keynote speaker at New York Times Foundation seminars and authored the “Maturing of Marketing,” part of Twentieth Century Foundation’s book series. Zweig is also board member of The Far Brook School in Short Hills, New Jersey, and served as a trustee for The National Council of the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial.

WEBSITE

http://www.wpp.com/

Jerry Ashton, host of WGRN’s “Down But Not Out with Jerry Ashton”, has been reporting on Occupy Wall Street and has started a special program, Fifteen Minutes of Fact, in which he interviews individuals associated with the #Occupy movement.  Yesterday he became the object of an interview and article on Huffington Post:

The article:

Jerry Ashton lives in New York, but he was out of town six weeks ago when he noticed on the Internet “that there was some kind of a demonstration that was going to be taking place.” Okay, so it was all a little vague, but he was unhappy about the current financial reality, and when he got back to town a few days later he showed up at the park, hoping for a chance to take part in a dialogue that went beyond “the usual ‘there’s nothing we can do about it’” tone. He also hoped for the chance to interview some people for his book.

Read the rest and view the interview at Huffington Post

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In the United States, the spa industry is comprised of nearly 14,000 facilities generating $9.7 billion in annual revenues. Spas are a leading leisure industry and well suited to be at the forefront of the green movement. Spas are also of high value to aging Boomers as a path toward greater health and emotional and spiritual wellbeing.

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About a year ago last June I attended the LOHAS Forum in Boulder, Colorado. LOHAS, you may know, stands for Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability, and has grown in a decade from a local grassroots movement into an international business juggernaut, embraced by small companies and international corporations alike.

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