Thursday, September 24, 2009

Michael Ruppert says he's innocent

 Posted: 5:01 PM September 24, 2009

Former Ashland businessman Michael Ruppert says he is innocent of sexually harassing a former employee and may appeal a state labor board ruling that he pay her $127,713.
Ruppert said the case was based on a deliberate attempt to discredit his work, a movie coming out about his views and his former newsletter, From The Wilderness
"I will always maintain my complete innocence in this matter," Ruppert said. He declined to offer specifics, saying he didn't want to taint a potential appeal.
State Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian this month ordered Ruppert to pay $125,000 in damages and $2,713 in lost wages to former employee Lindsay Gerken, 25. She claimed Rupert fired her from work at his company, From the Wilderness Inc., after she refused his sexual advances. Ruppert said it was his intention to appeal this ruling to a higher court. However, he does not have the estimated $25,000 necessary to pursue such an appeal, he added.
Officials had said they believed Ruppert was out of the country, but he called the Mail Tribune this morning after a story about the state order appeared at mailtribune.com. He said he had been living in Culver City, Calif., for the last two years.
"Collapse," a movie about his theories about a coming end time for fossil fuels, was premiered this month at the 2009 Toronto Film Festival.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

If you like Apple products, you're in a cult




Thursday, September 17, 2009

RBE trademark attempt


This is a trademark information page for the RESOURCE BASED ECONOMY trademark filed by Fresco, Jacque. The owner filed to protect RESOURCE BASED ECONOMY for Association services, namely, promoting the interests of alternative social sustainability and design. The current status of RESOURCE BASED ECONOMY as of 08/09/2010 is ABANDONMENT NOTICE MAILED - FAILURE TO RESPOND.


Dear Sir/Madam

I represent the Promethean Workers Association (“the PWA”), a volunteer political association based in the state of California with authorized affiliates in Minneapolis and Michigan.


I am filing a Letter of Protest (“Letter”) objecting to the attempt by Jacque Fresco (“Fresco”) to register as trademark “Resource Based Economy” (standard character mark) in the United States (Application Serial # 77829193).


As contemplated by TMEP §1715.02, we note that this Letter is being timely filed prior to the Trademark Office’s Publication for Opposition of the aforementioned applications.


15 U.S.C.§1052(e)(1) prohibits the registration of marks that are generic. Moreover, the Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure states that generic terms for goods and services are incapable of functioning as registrable trademarks denoting origin or any specific source and that such terms are not registrable on the Principal Register or on the Supplemental Register. See §1209.01(c). The TMEP §1209.01 also warns: “Matter which is generic for the goods or services is not registrable under any circumstances.” Genericness of a term sought to be registrered as a trademark is appropriate subject matter for a letter of protest. TMEP §1715.01(a)(1).


The PWA wishes to alert the Trademark Office that the term “Resource Based Economy” is a common venacular term used in the work of academics and non academics alike within the field of Natural Resource Economics. It appears in literature, and articles published both electronically and physically which understand this term as a generic name for a class of services encompassing association services related to alternative social sustainability and as a more generic term for their analysis in the field of natural resource economics.


Resource Based Economy Is a Standard Term used by other entities and individuals for different models of social sustainability and design.


Since the development of Natural Resource Economics as part of Environmental and Life Sciences in academia the term Resource Based Economy or with variant Economics has come to be understood as part of this trans disciplinary field of academic research. Further this term has also become the subject of research and development by entities and individual not associated with any academic body or discipline. Fresco’s Resource Based Economy is a prominent example of one such model of social sustainability in addition to many others.


The PWA is a Volunteer Political Association of various individuals who are developers of Resource Based Economics. The purpose of which is providing free not for profit association services for alternative social sustainability and design available to all. To that end, the PWA develops and provides products and services that enable members of PWA members to further develop their own intellectual material regarding social applications and designs of a Resource Based Economy.


Moreover PWA enables various of members of academic schools of thought and the general public to develop their own ideas and intellectual materials regarding the Resource Based Economy. In addition there is many electronically published works which define different views of Resource Based Economy. Id. See for example, the following website addressing Resource Based Economy.


www.theresourcebasedeconomy.com/blog/

(Snapshot of website attached here to as Exhibit 1)


The PWA, its members, associates, collaborators, and agents regularly refer to the term Resource Based Economy in connection with the association services they provide. For instance, since 2005 the PWA has been making and distributing its own printed materials discussing social sustainability and design, and more recently has had members going out to schools to setup public display board presentations about “The Resource Based Economy. for college communities in Southern California such as San Diego City College and Southwestern Community College where PWA is also a student organization. Id. See, For examples of display board’s used in these specific association services refer to Exhibits 2-7.


References to Resource Based Economy also appear on the PWA website both in the domain/ address and navigation bar. Id. See., for example, the following website showing this


www.theresourcebasedeconomy.org/
(Snapshot of website attached hereto as Exhibit 8 )


The Following are examples of Resource Based Economy used as a generic term in natural resource economics.


en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Resou…nomy&redirect=no

(“Wikipedia” redirects Resource Based Economy to its page on “Natural Resource Economics”)


(Snapshot of website attached hereto as Exhibit 9 )


eprints.bbk.ac.uk/219/
(“the political implications of russia’s resource based economy”)


(Snapshot of website attached as Exhibit 10)


www.competition-regulation.org.uk/confer…04/robertszalkv3.pdf
(“Addressing market power in a small isolated resource based economy”)


(PDF file attached hereto as Exhibit 11)


www.unece.org/oes/disc_papers/ECE_DP_2005-3.pdf

(PDF file attached hereto as Exhibit 19)


The above evidence represents merely a small sample of the widespread and generic use of the term “Resource Based Economy” throughout many circles in terms of natural resource economics.


Additional Evidence of Generic Use


Further one may need do only a basic internet search on the term Resource Based Economy to find several examples of its generic use. Additionally i have enclosed copies of a few snapshots from PWA’s own website, a flier and a PDF of our printed magazine showing use of the term “Resource Based Economy” on page 5 center column by a member of our organization. Further one may need do only a basic internet search on the term Resource Based Economy to find several examples of its generic use.Administrative Response


In conclusion, Fresco has applied to register “Resource Based Economy” for:
“Association services, namely, promoting the interests of alternative social sustainability and design”


However, “Resource Based Economy” is but a generic designation of either schools of thought or analysts working within the field of Natural Resource Economics who are both Academics and Non Academic individuals or entities. Therefore the association services themselves are already the common heritage of many researchers in the field of Natural Resource Economics who already promote the interests of alternative social sustainability and design and therefore cannot be trademarked as the property of one individual.


I respectfully suggest that this Letter of Protest sets forth a prima facie basis for refusal of registration of the above-referenced alleged trademarks, such that publication for opposition without consideration of the issues raised herein would constitute clear error by the PTO. Accordingly I ask the Trademark Office to take the enclosed evidence into consideration and urge the denial of registration.


For further information or questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Fraternally,
Elizabeth Edwards – Co-International Organizer, Promethean Workers Association (PWA)

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Peter Joseph couldn't take over the world