The epic-recession and social-collapse meme is big these days; from the Tea Party to apocalyptic movies, a sense of end-of-the-world urgency and populist anger permeates America. So what’s a humble advertising professional to do? If people think the whole damn system is a sham and it’s falling apart, how do advertisers sell them shit? Why, the same way they always have; by exploiting people’s beliefs.

All ads are based on propaganda and psychological manipulation techniques, but …

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You’d think the RNC was back in town; on September 24th, six Twin Cities activists (four with ties to the U of M) and two in Chicago awoke to find FBI agents with search warrants at their doors. Some were also issued subpoenas to appear before a grand jury in Chicago. Agents carted away travel documents, address books, notes, cameras, computers, and phones belonging to the residents. Warrants mentioned the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, a …

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If one goes by appearances and marketing, the University of Minnesota might as well change its colors to gold, maroon, and green. The university certainly seems to be a veritable bastion of environmentally progressive thought: according to public relations releases, the Twin Cities campus is one of the greenest in the nation, with subsidized public transit, 75 E85-powered and 53 hybrid vehicles in its fleet, on-campus farmer’s markets, and even a minor in Sustainability Studies. …

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This winter, Minneapolitans were subjected to the usual snowstorms and their requisite snow emergencies. But residents were in for a surprise when it came to snow removal rules: a total even-side parking ban for the second half of the snow season, ostensibly implemented because emergency vehicles were having trouble navigating narrowed streets.

Whenever the city does something annoying, it’s tempting to blame it on some sort of nefarious plot, ulterior motive or government screw-up. When …

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Make no mistake about it, folks:America’s biggest banks are the bogeyman of the American economy. They engineered the economic collapse for profit, and they passed the bill on to you, the taxpayer. They refuse to lend to underwater consumers. With one hand, they shower their employees – the very same ones whose schemes almost collapsed the economy – with seven figure bonuses while looting public coffers with the other. They actively battle legislation and policy …

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In war, the military and intelligence forces often engage in psychological warfare operations to influence popular opinion in a foreign country. One of the most important goals of these campaigns is to control the “information environment,” as the first step toward altering people’s beliefs is to control the overt and subconscious messages they receive through television, radio and other media. …

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“In all of its activities, the University strives to sustain an open exchange of ideas in an environment that embodies the values of academic freedom, responsibility, integrity, and cooperation; that provides an atmosphere of mutual respect…”

So reads, in part, the mission statement of the University of Minnesota. It would seem that our fair University is founded on strong democratic principles, and the free exchange of ideas, even those some might find irritating or disruptive. So …

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The benefits of riding a bike are well known and often extolled; exercise, fresh air, zero pollution, it’s faster than walking, cheaper than a car. Minneapolis is a bike city, and during the fairer months the campus and the city team with two-wheeled activity. But come the beginning of November, most of those bicycles will be stored awkwardly in an apartment closet or left outside all winter, neglected, lonely, and rusting. To me, this is …

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War, more than almost any other undertaking, has the potential to define a presidency; for better or worse, war presidents are often judged more on victory or defeat on the battlefield than the nitty-gritty of domestic policy. And in each war, administrations are faced with pivotal choices that can change the course of a war, the country and history. President Obama is faced with such a moment now: he must decide whether to grant a …

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People, especially Republicans, have been labeling people and things as socialist lately. It’s like the magic bullet in American politics: call your opponent a socialist, and you gain the high ground, because socialism is evil and capitalism is wonderful. This is nothing new in a down-and-dirty political system that encourages its participants to say anything to defeat their opponents.

But there’s a funny difference this time: it’s not working. While the champions of free market capitalism …

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When you went to the ballot box on November 4, you were probably primarily concerned with electing a new president. However, another interesting and far more local issue was also on the ballot: the Minnesota Clean Water, Land, and Legacy Amendment. This measure, passed with 55 percent approval, raised Minnesota’s sales tax by three eighths of a percent in order …

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The United Nations has, unfortunately, become somewhat of a joke, a shell of what it was intended to be. From ignored genocides in Rwanda and Sudan, to the tepid response to the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, to the constant stream of “nonbinding” measures that issue from the General Assembly on pressing world issues, the UN is often spoken of with a scoff and the question, What can they even do?

Clearly, common critiques of the United …

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Dude, Fixies Suck

Fixed gear bicycles are all the rage these days. One can’t travel more than half a mile on a warm day without encountering at least one biker riding a brakeless fixie and sporting a Chrome bag and one of those flippy hats. They started with bike messengers and have now filtered down through the bike hipster contingent to anyone …

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I can remember the day my dad moved out of our house with crystal clarity. I was in 5th grade and my mother came to the stairs leading to my room and told me that I had to come down because there was something my parents needed to tell me. And I knew, probably through some subconscious interpretation of the tone in her voice, …

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Obama’s cabinet appointments are going to be very important. After running on a platform of change of leadership, integrity, and political reconciliation between warring factions, Obama needs to be very careful that his cabinet picks represent these values. This is why Obama’s first round of probable picks worries me: two of three are firm, long-time Obama backers, all three are democrats, all three are long term Washington insiders, and is not quite a lobbyist, but …

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