Here’s another one: On Wednesday, a reader alerted the Lede to an Iranian government Web site called Gerdab.ir, where authorities had posted pictures of protesters and were asking citizens for help in identifying the activists. That’s right—the regime is now using crowd-sourcing, one of the most-hyped aspects of Web 2.0 organizing, against its opponents. If you think about it, that’s no surprise. Who said that only the good guys get to use the power of the Web to their advantage?

Slate: How the Internet helps Iran silence activists.

(via Metaphorge)

See also: The Kitty Genovese Model

It’s certainly exciting to see technology being used in ways that amplify and extend the impact of movement organizing. I think it’s easy, however, to misread the technology as the cause of the movement rather than as simply a tool of it.

Fire, for instance, was a society-changing tool. Its revolutionary potential, however — cooking food and thus making it more digestible, nutritious, and lasting — was only realized through its strategic use.

Some people, awed by the fire, seem to confuse it with the food.

And besides:

In fact Twitter did not play that big role. The story is quite simple — young and active bloggers decided to have a flash-mob action, lighting candles and ‘mourning Moldova’ because of Communists victory, which nobody recognized due to the multiple violations before and during the campaign. They agreed on the time and place of the action through the network of Moldovan blogs (blogs aggregator blogosfera.md), and social networks like Facebook/Odnoklassniki, etc.

Rootwork: Why there’s no such thing as a Twitter revolution

(via Tara)

I was recently going through my books when I found a signed copy of “Eros, Magic, and The Murder of Professor Culianu” by Ted Anton that was given to me by a friend. For those unfamiliar, Ioan P. Culianu (or Couliano) was a professor of divinity at The University of Chicago. He also taught Romanian history. His most famous work was “Eros and Magic in The Renaissance” which was a study on how magic in the Renaissance was “a scientifically plausible attempt to manipulate individuals and groups based on a knowledge of motivations, particularly erotic motivations. In addition, the magician relied on a profound knowledge of the art of memory to manipulate the imagination of his subjects. In these respects, Culiano suggests, magic is the precursor of the modern psychological and sociological sciences, and the magician is the distant ancestor of the of the psychoanalyst and the advertising and publicity agent.”

Besides being a scholar of ancient magic and the occult (he worked frequently with Mircea Eliade and many other notable minds), he was an outspoken activist against the government of Romania. Born and raised there, Culianu later defected to Italy and eventually put down roots in Chicago. After Ceausescu was ousted, Culianu was forthright in insisting the new government staged a coup, and that the Romanian people were duped into believing they were headed toward democracy when in reality they were not. Of the previous government he said ”Why did we accept so much suffering without saying anything? Why did we permit ourselves to be robbed more than other people in the world…? This stain is more difficult to remove than that of original sin.” In a piece he wrote for an Italian news magazine called Panorama, he noted Romania’s history with dictators and aptly titled the article “The King is Dead. Watch Out for an Heir.” In this article he states that “all events that happen in our poor country are the repetition of some archetypes embedded in our religious history”, and that “Umberto Eco says that everything depends on what use one makes of symbols. The case of Romania shows that he is right. No sooner had the people forced the bloody dictator to leave the presidential palace than the government that was formed took the name National Salvation Front. They couldn’t have chosen a less fortunate label: the name calls to mind the fascist National Renascence Front, which was the sole party created by King Carol II in 1938 after he dissolved parliament and proclaimed himself dictator”.

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Business hype over wikis, networks, and crowdsourcing has led to some dangerous misconceptions about the nature of network forms in counterterrorism and irregular warfare. While network forms of organization are superior to hierarchies in many ways, their strength has been substantially exaggerated. Emergent intelligences cannot formulate strategy nor sustain momentum beyond the tactical level of conflict, networks are not as invincible as commonly portrayed, and hierarchies have certain advantages worth preserving. [...]

Anonymous was kind of cyber-militia, not a band of cyber-soldiers. Galled by what they saw as the CoS’ heavy-handed censorship, they attacked it for a while before retiring back to their usual activities on the 4Chan IRC channel. Americans, ornery and independent by nature, tend to valorize militias and distrust professional militaries. But we often forget that our own militias lacked the means or motivation to battle the British for extended periods of time during the Revolution. Washington found it difficult to make them battle during harvest season, and could not force them to fight far from their homes and families. He required the likes of Baron Von Steuben to mold them into a disciplined and professional fighting force through the usage of repetitive drills and training. Our tech-hype about crowdsourcing is another form of militia worship that may be admirable and egalitarian in spirit but dangerous when it is used to overestimate the strategic abilities of emergent foes.

Full Story: GroupIntel

(via Zenpundit)

Aaron Swartz, one of the founders of Reddit, and Virgil Griffith, creator of WikiScanner have teamed up to provide users with a new service that gives them access to anonymized content posted through the Tor network.

Although users have always been able to publish content anonymously on Tor, the content has been available only to people who download the Tor software. Swartz wanted to free-up the content to make it available to anyone. The result is tor2web, which is essentially a kind of Google for the hidden “underweb.”

Tor is a privacy tool designed to prevent tracking of where a web user surfs on the internet and with whom a user communicates. It’s endorsed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and other civil liberties groups as a method for whistleblowers and human-rights workers to communicate with journalists, among other uses.

Full Story: Threat Level

Stepping Stones Nigeria is a legitimate charity registered in the UK who help abandoned and abused children unjustly accused of being “witches and wizards”. Even if you’re unable to help financially, please sign the petitions below and spread the word on your blogs and/or send emails to your friends. It is truly shocking and unbelievable that this kind of abuse is still going on in the 21st century.

“Stepping Stones Nigeria works in partnership with local organisations in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria to build sustainable futures for some of the region’s many disadvantaged children. Our approach focuses on four main areas:

Street Children: Working with the Child Rights and Rehabilitation Network (CRARN) and our sister NGO - Stepping Stones Nigeria Child Empowerment Foundation (SSNCEF) to protect, save and transform the lives of children who have been stigmatised as being ‘witches’.

Education: Supporting the Stepping Stones Model School and the Bebor International Model School to provide an outstanding level of education to orphans and disadvantaged children.

Literacy: Training and resourcing primary school teachers in the use of synthetic phonics to significantly raise literacy levels.

Advocacy and Campaigning: Advocating for child rights at a local, regional, national and international level through our Prevent Abandonment of Children Today (PACT) campaign.

Our work focuses on some of the most challenging issues that children face today such as:

* Lack of access to good quality education and resources

* Stigmatisation, abandonment and killings of so-called child ‘witches’

* Child Trafficking

SSN supports our partners to provide welfare, education, skills and hope to disadvantaged children. We believe that access to an education is every child’s right and that this is the key that will unlock Nigeria’s potential. SSN also believes that every child has the right to be protected from violence, trafficking, sexual exploitation, forced labour and deserves a standard of living that is good enough to meet their physical and mental needs. Our work helps to restore the health, happiness and self-dignity of each child, whilst repairing the physical and pyschological trauma inflicted that has so often been suffered by the hundreds of children that we work with.”

(Stepping Stones Nigeria. Thanks Kerry!)

(Petitions: “Help The Child Witches of Nigeria” and “Stop Liberty Foundation Gospel Ministries of Nigeria from Labeling Children as “Witches”)

(Video: “Saving Africa’s Witch Children”. Warning: This video is VERY disturbing.)

I don’t really believe in “The People”, only people. My view of the polity owes as much to taoism and discordianism as it does to marxism, anarchism or whatever.

When I talk about mobilization, I don’t mean some nebulous mass of people. I mean finding the people who are inclined in the same general direction I want to go and forming them into a cohesive interest group. Even in periods of high mobilization, except maybe during peaks of revolutionary activity, most people are still on the sidelines. Decisions aren’t made by masses- they’re made by organized parties or factions that are able to exert political influence.

Full Story: Dysnomia

I don’t really believe in “The People”, only people. My view of the polity owes as much to taoism and discordianism as it does to marxism, anarchism or whatever.

When I talk about mobilization, I don’t mean some nebulous mass of people. I mean finding the people who are inclined in the same general direction I want to go and forming them into a cohesive interest group. Even in periods of high mobilization, except maybe during peaks of revolutionary activity, most people are still on the sidelines. Decisions aren’t made by masses- they’re made by organized parties or factions that are able to exert political influence.

Full Story: Dysnomia

Susan Wright writes science fiction novels and nonfiction books on art and popular culture. New York City is her home, where she lives with her husband Kelly Beaton. After graduating from Arizona State University in 1986, Susan moved to Manhattan to get her masters in Art History from New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts. Susan is currently the Spokesperson for the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom, a national organization committed to protecting freedom of sexual expression among consenting adults.

TiamatsVision- For those unfamiliar with you and your work, tell us a bit about yourself.

Susan Wright- I’ve written over 25 novels and nonfiction books on art and popular culture. Right after I got my masters in art history from New York University, instead of becoming a professor as I had intended, I started writing. I was lucky enough to get an agent and in 1994, I published my first Star Trek novel, “Sins of Commission”. I wrote 9 Star Trek novels in all, and I have a new story in the Mirror Universe Shards and Shadows anthology coming out in January, 2009 called “Bitter Fruit”.

I’m also the spokesperson for the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom. I talk to the media about BDSM, swinging and polyamory to debunk stereotypes and defend our communities’ right to hold events. NCSF is a great organization, the only one devoted to helping people in need. The website is www.ncsfreedom.org

TiamatsVision- You recently released a book called “A Pound of Flesh”  which is a sequel to “To Serve and Submit” . What is this series about and what was your inspiration in writing it?

Susan Wright- These two books are about pleasure training houses in the 11th century - Viking sex! In “To Serve and Submit” , Marja is a submissive heroine who learns through her battles to save her homeland how to use her true nature to become a powerful woman. She falls in love with her master, Lexander. I got the idea from artifacts found in Newfoundland of Viking settlements, and I imagined what would that society be like if it had flourished. I knew the first “new world” settlement would include Native Americans as well as Vikings. Marja’s mother is a Skraeling and her father is Nordic so she straddles those worlds.

In “A Pound of Flesh” , Marja travels to Europe to save the slaves from the pleasure houses, but she has to fight Lexander, her former master and lover, to do it. I loved writing the BDSM scenes in this book because I think it makes the sex more creative - they aren’t the typical love scene. I have much more ability to move the story along during these scenes because the interactions are more intense.

TiamatsVision- Did you have to do any special research for this series?

Susan Wright- LOL! I found the leather community in New York City in 1991 and have been thoroughly involved ever since. So the BDSM is a completely natural expression for me.

For the Viking and real-world building, yes I did a tremendous amount of research. I also benefited because I studied art history for 7 years with an emphasis on the Middle Ages so I have a strong grounding in medieval societies.

TiamatsVision- Are there any future books planned for this series?

Susan Wright- Yes, but my editor left Roc and the future of this series is in doubt. At some point, however, I will return to Marja and Lexander’s story. They will go to Tantalis to deal directly with Lexander’s people who are enslaving poor misfortunates into their pleasure houses.

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A great look at what the Yes Men do:

The power of faith to transcend the most obvious logic is a well-established phenomenon. When the Crusaders discovered themselves in pitched battle against Christians they had travelled thousands of miles to save, they refused to amend their theory that these Christians needed their help. Faith!
Faith, likewise, spurred thirty-nine web developers to don Nikes and swallow poison, on the theory”‘not backed by much solid evidence”‘that they’d shortly meet up on the Hale-Bopp Comet. (The “Heaven’s Gate”  suicide was remarkable among mass suicides for its interface with observational astronomy.) And when Appalachian snake handlers insist on dancing with poisonous critters, despite not-so-rare deaths and lost limbs, it is from faith in the theory that God is protecting them. (The basis for this often-contradicted theory is two Biblical verses: “They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them” ”‘Mark 16:18″‘and “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions” ”‘Luke 10:19.)

Similarly, our audience of lawyers in Salzburg had a theory”‘that the free market could bring happiness to the world at large”‘and they had the deepest possible faith in it. We had imagined that if we pushed our proposals into the outer limits of ugliness, we could horrify our audience into objecting. But the nature of their faith was such that so long as our proposals derived from the one true theory, there was no way they would ever see anything wrong with them.

Full Story: the Yes Men

(via Wishtank via Pizza SEO)

“Social Innovation Camp is an experiment in creating social innovations for the digital age. We think the web and related technologies hold huge potential to change some pretty fundamental stuff: how people hold those in positions of power accountable; who they rely on to provide the services they need to live healthy, happy lives; or how they make a difference to something that affects them.

But for any of this to happen, we have to work out what people really need and start building the technology that can help - which is what Social Innovation Camp is all about. Through unusual, creative events we bring together talented software developers and designers with social innovators to build effective web-based solutions to real social problems.

Our Call for Ideas for Social Innovation Camp 5th-7th December 2008 has opened! You have until 7th November 2008 to send us your idea. Social Innovation Camps start with an open Call for Ideas followed by an intense weekend of activity.”

(Social Innovation Camp’s Blog. SOI “Call For Ideas”)

‘By far the most dangerous foe we have to fight is apathy - indifference from whatever cause, not from a lack of knowledge, but from carelessness, from absorption in other pursuits, from a contempt bred of self satisfaction’- William Osler (Canadian Physician, 1849-1919)

“It may well be that our means are fairly limited and our possibilities restricted when it comes to applying pressure on our government. But is this a reason to do nothing? Despair is nor an answer. Neither is resignation. Resignation only leads to indifference, which is not merely a sin but a punishment”- Elie Weisel

“Science may have found a cure for most evils; but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all-the apathy of human beings.”- Helen Keller

“The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.”- Plato

“The biggest conspiracy has always been the fact that there is no conspiracy. Nobody’s out to get you. Nobody gives a shit whether you live or die. There, you feel better now?” -Dennis Miller

“The death of democracy is not likely to be an assassination from ambush. It will be a slow extinction from apathy, indifference, and undernourishment”- Robert M. Huchins

“Is it ignorance or apathy? Hey, I don’t know and I don’t care”- Jimmy Buffet

(I originally wrote this to take a look at the apathy prevalent in our society today without intending to look at this as a ‘generational thing’ because it generalizes entire groups of unique individuals, but I discovered that in order to talk about the current situation it was necessary to go back in time and look at the sociological trends that got us here.)

Recently someone sent me a link to the famous article written by Tom Wolfe, ‘The �Me’ Decade and the Third Awakening’. When it first came out it in the mid-seventies it caused quite a stir. So much so that it became the label for an entire group of young people growing up at that time. ‘The Me Decade’ or ‘The Me Generation’ went on to become the ‘Baby Boomers’ new title. ‘See me, feel me, touch me, heal me.’ Analyze me, listen to me, and talk to me, me…me!! After reading through the article, it occurred to me that Voltaire was right. ‘Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose’. The more that things change, the more they stay the same.

Some friends and I were talking over dinner when their 20 year old son commented on the attitude of some of his generation. He said that his peers are (and I quote) ‘very spoiled, selfish, and unrealistic about work and life in general. They tend to be self-indulgent, messy, and wait for others to take care of things. Some want a good paying job without having to be too inventive or work too hard for it, and many are foolish about handling money. Immediate self-gratification is expected and pursued. There is a tendency to blame others for things and many have to be rescued from their own lack of experience or incompetence.’

The youth of ANY generation has some of these qualities, so what’s different?

Much of the ‘Me Generation’ were the product of hard working parents who grew up during the Great Depression, and who fought and lived through WWI and WWII. Scarcity was the norm, and family and community were of priority. The future rebels of the 60’s grew up hearing about war and the enormous struggle to make ends meet in the quest for the ‘American Dream’. The anti-war protests, civil rights movement, sexual liberation, and other movements of the 60’s and 70’s, were led by a youth whose idealism and vision led them to believe that united together they could ‘change the world’. In essence this was correct. Many things did change, and some issues we’re still fighting for today.

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Mr. Schneider Goes to Washington is a documentary about lobbyists and campaign finance reform in Washington. The film was made after Jonathon Schneider became irate watching a 60 Minutes episode with Senator Hollings’ candid account of the corruptive influence of money in Washington. You can see it for free for the next week and a half on YouTube.

“In a recent CNN poll 67% of Americans said they believe the American government is corrupt. Even more alarming, it seems 99.9% of the population does nothing to change it. Frustrated by Washington and his apathy towards it, I was finally shaken off my comfortable couch and compelled to storm to the capital of the worlds only superpower to find out what is going on with his government.

Quickly, I discovered that things in Washington are even worse than I imagined. Because of their dependence on big business and special interests to finance their political futures, almost every decision the President, Vice-President and Members of Congress make is corrupted. After all, there is no bigger issue facing our political leaders than getting re-elected. From education to health care, social security to taxes, foreign policy to gas prices, Americans interests repeatedly take a back seat to that of special interests.

Amazingly, Washingtons political elite agrees. Lobbyists, Members of Congress, lawyers, even the Commissioner of the agency responsible for regulating the influence of money in Washington candidly admit this is the most destructive influence on American democracy. Yet no one seems to care. More people voted for their favorite American Idol candidate than for their favorite candidate for President of the United States. We care more about the marital status of our favorite celebrity than what our elected leaders are doing in Washington. This isnt lost on the media, whose news coverage reflects its audiences preoccupation. The result: a population of uniformed, disengaged and disenfranchised non-voters hold the worlds only super power in check.”

(“Mr. Schneider Goes To Washington”. A.P.E . (Americans Pissed-off Enough) site)

“Today, the Government Accountability Project (GAP) announced that seventy new organizations from across the United States have joined a June petition calling on Congress to enact sweeping new whistleblower rights for government employees. The groups are calling on Congress to finish the job before adjourning for the upcoming elections. Both chambers have approved legislation to revive the discredited Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA), but efforts to reconcile the different versions have stalled.

Tom Devine, Legal Director of GAP, which helps coordinate whistleblower rights advocacy for the 182 groups now supporting the legislation, explained, ‘Groups demanding reform have increased by over 60% in a week of outreach since Labor Day. Our goal is credible free speech rights enforceable through jury trials for all employees paid by the taxpayers. Government employees need the same free speech rights that Congress has passed three times since 2006 for corporate workers in various sectors. This should not be controversial.’

Until Congress acts, the current law will remain a trap that rubber stamps almost any retaliation government whistleblowers challenge. The administrative board where employees receive a ‘day in court’ only has conceded illegal retaliation against government whistleblowers in two cases during the entire seven and a half years of the Bush administration (the board has found against whistleblowers 55 times). Ironically, this has made a so-called good government law the best reason for those witnessing fraud, waste or abuse to remain silent observers, instead of blowing the whistle.”

(via GAP)

There’s a bogus list of books that Palin wanted banned making the rounds on the internet these past few days. In reality the books listed were taken from a site listing books that were once banned in the United States. And while the list is clearly disinformation at its finest, it at least brings attention to the fact that Palin attempted to fire a librarian after inquiring into banning some books from the library. According to Anne Kilkenny who has known Palin since ‘92:

‘While Sarah was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire our highly respected City Librarian because the Librarian refused to consider removing from the library some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents rallied to the defense of the City Librarian and against Palin’s attempt at out-and-out censorship, so Palin backed down and withdrew her termination letter. People who fought her attempt to oust the Librarian are on her enemies list to this day.’

This poses a threat to the liberty of writers, book lovers, publishers, and libraries everywhere in the country. This means that it’s extremely important to put additional emphasis on this year’s ‘Banned Books Week-Celebrating the Freedom to Read’ (Sept. 27-Oct. 4). Spread the word…

“Government crackdowns on journalists are a true threat to democracy. As the Republican National Convention meets in St. Paul, Minn., this week, police are systematically targeting journalists. I was arrested with my two colleagues, ‘Democracy Now!’ producers Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar, while reporting on the first day of the RNC. I have been wrongly charged with a misdemeanor. My co-workers, who were simply reporting, may be charged with felony riot.

The Democratic and Republican national conventions have become very expensive and protracted acts of political theater, essentially four-day-long advertisements for the major presidential candidates. Outside the fences, they have become major gatherings for grass-roots movements-for people to come, amidst the banners, bunting, flags and confetti, to express the rights enumerated in the Constitution’s First Amendment: ‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.’

Behind all the patriotic hyperbole that accompanies the conventions, and the thousands of journalists and media workers who arrive to cover the staged events, there are serious violations of the basic right of freedom of the press. Here on the streets of St. Paul, the press is free to report on the official proceedings of the RNC, but not to report on the police violence and mass arrests directed at those who have come to petition their government, to protest.”

(via Truthdig)

(Related:“Amy Goodman Interviewed About Her Arrest” via OpEd News. “Breaking: Pagan Cluster Protester Repeatedly Tasered” via The Wild Hunt. “More Updates From The RNC” via Starhawk. “Do the St. Paul Police Need To Get A Lawyer?(And Grow Some Testicles)” via Greg Laden’s Blog)

(See Also:Fascism Watch: Massive police raids on suspected protesters in Minneapolis)

Protesters here in Minneapolis have been targeted by a series of highly intimidating, sweeping police raids across the city, involving teams of 25-30 officers in riot gear, with semi-automatic weapons drawn, entering homes of those suspected of planning protests, handcuffing and forcing them to lay on the floor, while law enforcement officers searched the homes, seizing computers, journals, and political pamphlets. Last night, members of the St. Paul police department and the Ramsey County sheriff’s department handcuffed, photographed and detained dozens of people meeting at a public venue to plan a demonstration, charging them with no crime other than “fire code violations,” and early this morning, the Sheriff’s department sent teams of officers into at least four Minneapolis area homes where suspected protesters were staying.

Full Story: Salon

(via Disinfo)

I know I’m late with this one, but I was away from the Internet for the long weekend and I’m still catching up.

Someone sent me a link to a site that is promoting a re-enactment of the protests at the Democratic Convention of 1968. While some of my older activist friends and I kinda like the idea of a ritual in remembrance of this day, the first question that popped in our heads was ‘What’s the point?’ Their mission statement says:

‘40 years ago this August, the streets of Chicago became a bloody open forum on the politics of power and resistance, as the Democratic National Convention lapsed into chaos and protesters in the streets were met with the gas and bayonets of Law and Order. The ghosts of this unresolved history haunt us to this day. We meet on August 28 in Grant Park to peacefully purge these ghosts and to make sense of our past through ritual reenactment, a living history lesson for the city of Chicago which asks, where were we then?, and where are we now?’

Although it may be an interesting and memorable history lesson, these are very different times, and re-enacting a violent day in history will do nothing to change the status quo. But the questions are being asked in order to gain some perspective. This led me to question how activism has changed during the past 40 years, and to wonder where it will go from here.

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“Two weeks ago an 8,000-Mile Walk for Native American Rights, Environmental Protection, and to Stop Global Warming reached its destination in Washington, DC. Started on the opposite coast, in the San Francisco Bay Area, on February 11, 2008, the Longest Walk 2 delivered a 30-page manifesto and list of demands to Congress, which included climate change mitigation, environmental sustainability, the protection of sacred sites, and items regarding Native American sovereignty and health.

Hundreds of walkers representing more than 100 Native American Nations, plus an active International group, embarked on a journey that lasted 175 days (4,200 hrs.) criss-crossing 26 states along two separate routes - through rain, snow, and even a tornado. They also picked up more than 8,000 bags of trash on the roads they traveled. ‘As we walked through this land we were horrified to see the extent in which Mother Earth has been raped, ravaged and exploited,’ noted the Manifesto for Change.

The trek also commemorated the 1978 Longest Walk, a similar campaign that led to the defeat of 11 anti-Native American bills pending in Congress and the passage of the American Indian Religious Freedom Act.”

(via Global Voices Online. “The Longest Walk 2″ site)

“Welcome to Thoreau-FDA.com, a website launched and operated by current and former US Food and Drug Administration staff who believe public health is being put at unnecessary risk. These concerned civil servants and ex-civil servants have either experienced or are aware of wrongful directives by US FDA upper management - directives that put public health at avoidable risk. Thoreau-FDA stands for Thorough - High - Objectivity - Review - Ends - Are - Us - FDA. Here at Thoreau-FDA.com, you will find articles by its members that describe their efforts to protect all of us and our pets from harmful drugs and other medical products. And there are also reports of ordeals of other US FDCA staff, who are not involved in setting up this web site.

You can join others in discussion about the US FDA’s broken system by clicking on the link to FDA-blog.com. Or submit articles that will be considered for publication on our site by going to ‘Contact Us.’ Finally, we ask for your help. Read as much content on the site and related links as you need to convince yourself of the truth. Then, join an effort to effect real change at US FDA by sending a letter to the Commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration. A sample letter is already prepared - but you can edit the letter to reflect your perspective. It prompts answers from the US FDA Commissioner about the effectiveness of the FDA’s ‘Values and Vision’ effort - a program that is supposed to correct many of US FDA’s problems that have persistently gotten worse over the last few years.”

(Thoreau-FDA.com. h/t: Pharma Law Blog)

“If the contemporary struggle for a better world has a soundtrack, it surely features the music of Michael Franti. To Franti, music and activism are one and the same - his albums, the last three of which have sold over 100,000 copies combined, are truth-telling manifestos you can dance to. While touring constantly, he tirelessly promotes peace, sustainability and human rights. His annual Power to the Peaceful festival raises money for different causes each year - from Mumia Abul Jamal’s legal case to bringing American troops home from Iraq. Last year, 60,000 people attended in San Francisco and 4,000 in S�o Paulo, Brazil.

He has been named an Ambassador of Peace by the World Health Organization, and performs benefit concerts for Iraq Veterans Against the War, grassroots workers in New Orleans, as well as free concerts in prisons. In his personal life he is a vegan and yogi, and if you find yourself behind his hybrid or his biodiesel tour bus, follow him: he’ll pay your bridge toll. Last month we visited Franti in his San Francisco studio as he was putting the finishing touches on his new release, ‘All Rebel Rockers,’ due out in September.”

(via Conscious Choice. Micheal Franti and Spearhead,“Time To Go Home”. Thanks Gypsy Nana!)

“Bud and Ruth Schultz have spent 25 years interviewing and photographing Americans who have stood up to their government in the name of civil rights, from the First World War to the present day. Here are their stories.”

(via The Independent)