Delegitimize.com is a new media library project by Nigel Parry that plans to publish a series of both topic-specific and current event-focused archive websites, with the help of the pro-Palestinian community and beyond.
The Gaza Flotilla archive is a freely-available research resource on the events that took place in international waters off the coast of Gaza on 31 May 2010.
Howard Zinn, 1922-2010. A great thinker, activist, contrarian and an eloquent spokesman for the right to dissent. His plea for people to simply pay attention and participate in what happens around them will echo for generations to ocme, and perhaps even be acted on at some future date.
“I’m worried that students will take their obedient place in society and look to become successful cogs in the wheel – let the wheel spin them around as it wants without taking a look at what they’re doing. I’m concerned that students not become passive acceptors of the official doctrine that’s handed down to them from the White House, the media, textbooks, teachers and preachers.” – Howard Zinn
I love a novel approach in activism and it’s nice to see a corner of the pro-science camp take it to the streets for a change. At exactly 10:23 am on January 30, hundreads of homeopathy sceptics across the UK will go into Boots, a UK chain of pharmacies and join a mass homeopathic ‘overdose’. No need to fret about safety of swallowing a hundred or so pills of the alleged “cures” unless you happen to suffer from hyperglycemia.
The effect of downing a bottle of homeopathic ‘pillules’ would be about the same as quaffing as many Pez, and that’s the point. While homeopathy has no proven ability to cure anything, the pills are offered for sale in Boots pharmacies with labels alleging to help with various physiological problems. A number of them have the boots brand. This is interesting since the company itself gave testimony to the Commons Science and Technology Committee that it doesn’t find homeopathic remedies to be effective. So is the snake oil industry just to lucrative to give up on?
The 1023 Statement: “We call upon Boots to withdraw all homeopathic products from your shelves. You should not be involved in the sale of ineffective products, because your customers trust you to do what is right for their health. Surely you agree that your commitment to excellent patient care is better served by supplying only those products whose claims can be substantiated by rigorous scientific research? Or do you really believe that Boots should be in the business of selling placebos to the sick and the injured?”
Reposting from the Committee to Protect Bloggers:
With the power of the internet modern communication has been harnessed on a global level like never before.
Blogging on the net has now become the speakers’ corner for a new generation and gives individuals the chance to make a difference and spread their weird and wonderful messages. The Wordia.com team is helping us celebrate the Committee to Protect Bloggers‘ recent relaunch and expansion, and will be bringing forward a selection of great words throughout the week.
Get some more of this post
Beta launch of Shafaf.org: Crisis mapping for the people of Iran.
Beta launch of Shafaf.org: Crisis mapping for Iran.
Shafaf.org is still under development but the crisis map tool is working, and we’d really appreciate it, in light of events in Iran, if the URL for it was spread around some. Using a beta version of Ushahidi, we’ve started the crisis mapping service for Iran in Farsi, English and French at http://shafaf.org/ushahidi/.
Please pass this around to people inside and outside Iran who have up-to-date information to add regarding acts of repression, violence and censorship.
Shafaf will be undergoing revisions in the new year and will be fully launched with the 1.0 release of Ushahidi. In the meantime, we’d like to see it start becoming a resource for grassroots information gathering.
via Committee to Protect Bloggers.
TreeHugger reports that the USDA has added PETA to its list of terrorist threats. So, have we seen the last of nude fashion models in cages or slightly offensive billboards? It’s sort of akin to labeling a Koala a dangerous animal. Call PETA several things: innacurate, trite, innefective, for example, and you might be on to something, but a threat to anyone, including their intended targets, they really are not. Still, as this blog points out, “Regardless of how you feel about PETA and their tactics, they are a lawful, above-ground, national non-profit.” It seems the word terrorism means whatever you want it to anymore.
Green is the New Red: “Animal industries are quite open about their desire to use terrorism laws to keep their practices out of the public spotlight. I recently posted about the Animal Agriculture Alliance calling for federal prosecution of undercover investigators. It’s not because the investigators are violent. It is because they pose an even greater threat: educating the public.”
If it’s true that factory farming industrylobbyists are behind the listing over PETA’s supposed undercover investigations, then let’s see more of that from the organization that up until recently was about to close shop. Forget the billboards and phony publicity stunts and get on with the fact finding, and releasing.
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Some came and took our land, forced us to leave, forced us to live in camps. I think this is terrorism. Using means to resist this terrorism and stop its effects – this is called struggle.
Interview with Gaza Flotilla participants
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