Indigenous People's Literature Blog

Over 1,000,000 free ebook titles available (part of the "Internet Archive")

2012-01-30T16:45:00.001-08:00

http://openlibrary.org/

http://www.archive.org/about/faqs.php#Texts_and_Books

Books to Read

The World's classic literature at your fingertips.

55 Excellent Examples of Websites Using HTML5

2012-01-30T15:28:00.001-08:00

http://webdesignledger.com/inspiration/55-excellent-examples-of-websites-usin...

HTML5 is the new and updated version of the web standard and famous HTML. HTML5 has tons of new features, techniques and elements that allow designers to create new and beautiful stuff. The new standard incorporates features like video playback and drag-and-drop that have been previously dependent on third-party browser plug-ins such as Adobe Flash and Microsoft Silverlight. With HTML5 you can add some really nice effects to your website with ease… it’s for sure a nice way to go. So based on that, we decided to gather a list showing some excellent examples of sites that are already using HTML5… and we did find some really nice examples, check it out.

Colosseo Type

fishtank

TS3 Trefl

Information Highwayman

Jeroen Homan

Keyzo IT Solutions

M-M Studio

mollar

Spaghetti – Mude.

the energy cell

les intégristes

OusmaneNdiaye

UX London 2010

Samay Bhavsar

Benoit Letondor

Cibgraphics

Avon Renew

Ivana Vasilj

Klix

pmbennett.net

Cazinc

landscapists.info

Silvio Bompan

Deaf Pigeon

mike mai

kloudesign

MediaTinta

Design Heroes

Rider

Studio78

subcide.com

Sports et Loisirs

orengina.net

GreenHouse

Elliot Swan Designs

belleslettres.eu

D’Âme Bio

Isabelle Montminy

Le Cube

cystyleit

Daily Abduzeedo

Bounty Bev

chrisvalleskey.com

websache.de

Slim Kiwi

Joel Jenkins

How to Occupy Nonviolently !

2012-01-30T15:25:00.001-08:00

This! May Not Be! A Peaceful Protest!’: How to Occupy Nonviolently

By Nathan Schneider

http://www.nationofchange.org/may-not-be-peaceful-protest-how-occupy-nonviolently-1327939999

Occupy Oakland got rough on Saturday night, when an attempt to occupy a vacant convention center resulted in police using tear gas and other weapons, as well as, reportedly, protesters throwing rocks back at them. Some of the most widely-circulated photos depicted the burning of an American flag that had been removed from Oakland’s City Hall. On Sunday, other Occupy groups around the country took to the streets in solidarity marches. In New York, there were reports of potentially dangerous actions, including a bottle being thrown. Entrepreneurial live streamer Tim Pool, as The New York Observer anxiously reports, noted that there was

more of a black bloc presence than usual. OccupyWallSt.org called on marchers to

“Wear Black Fight Back,” for whatever reason. The night before, an OWS-er allegedly

used pepper spray on a police officer.

Those who had been at the afternoon’s Occupy Town Square beforehand might have seen this coming. Members of OWS’s Direct Action Working Group—which oversees the planning of most marches and other actions—gave an impromptu teach-in about the idea of “diversity of tactics,” which was in many respects insightful, but ultimately became an apologia for undertaking, or at least tolerating, what might be construed as violent actions. The villains of the presentation, perhaps even more so than police, were those within the movement who denounce or try to stop others who want to do such things. They were described as likely to be sexist and racist for trying to insist on nonviolent discipline.

The teach-in also revealed a misunderstanding. Several participants indicated that they thought Occupy Wall Street had a statement of nonviolence, and that there was an underlying presumption that all movement actions would operate under such an assumption. (Hence the often-heard chant, “This! Is! A peaceful protest!“) To an extent, this is true;

just about every major document passed by the General Assembly

includes some mention of nonviolence.

Many other Occupy groups have issued much more explicit statements of nonviolence. But New York’s Direct Action group has in its GA-passed guidelines a nod to respecting “a diversity of tactics”—which opens the floodgates. It means that, effectively, in an Occupy Wall Street action, you can’t assume that nonviolent discipline will be maintained by everyone

in the movement. And this teach-in was a reminder that nonviolent tactics are not favored

by some of those most influential in Direct Action.

A diversity of tactics can be a good thing.

A lot of the movement’s success stems from creating a framework that smaller, autonomous sub-groups can fill with their own creativity and instincts, as well as their sense of what tactics are appropriate. Gandhi would be the first to add that willingness to fight violently is preferable to mere passivity. And to the credit of their common sense, Occupy protesters have overwhelmingly left the violence to the police.

But the diversity of tactics framework might have other consequences as well. For a movement that still hasn’t managed to mount a demonstration in New York as well-attended as a single sold-out game at Yankee Stadium, the prospect of vigilantes doing dangerous things on behalf of a larger crowd could make even fewer people feel safe taking part. Such a framework can also mean that the media attention is unduly monopolized by a violent few, rather than the effect of a peaceful—even militantly peaceful—many.

When the afternoon teach-in was over, a small group of participants stuck around, many of whom seemed to be concerned about what they’d just heard. (The demographics among these stragglers would have deflected accusations of racism or sexism.) Some were coming to terms with the realization that Direct Action, as it stands, is not planning its marches and demonstrations with nonviolent discipline in mind. And they knew that truly nonviolent action and destructive tactics don’t easily mix.

Therefore, if people in the Occupy movement want to infuse their resistance with a fuller spirit of nonviolence, they will have to organize new kinds of direct actions themselves, whether within or alongside the Direct Action group, and ask outright that those who take part in these particular actions do so nonviolently. All the better if trainings can be provided in advance. Those who believe that nonviolent force is really more powerful and more revolutionary than hateful or destructive force should find ways to prove it. The burden, as it stands, is on them to carve out new space even within the diversity of tactics framework—as well as on their comrades respect these tactics in turn.

Rediscovering What Has Always Been There !

2012-01-30T12:37:00.001-08:00

http://www.indigenouspeople.net/under.htm

"When will we ever begin to understand the meaning of the soil underneath our feet?
From a tiny grain of sand to the largest mountain, everything is sacred.
Our living saints are the evergreen trees. We have no buildings or steeples.
The landscape and lakes are our churches and cathedrals. These are our sacred buildings.
Yesterday and tomorrow exist forever upon our mother, the earth."

"When the last red man shall have become a myth among the white men,
when your children's children think themselves alone in the field,
upon the highway or in the silence of pathless woods,
we and our ancestors will be there standing among them.
We have lived upon this land from days beyond history's records,
far past any living memory, deep into the time of legends."

"Not to be aware of the past is to be eternally a child,
but for those of us who forget the past will be condemned to repeat it.

We are more than the sum of all our knowledge,
we are the products of our imagination.

Mankind 'IS' the product of his ancestors."

"In the world of the powerful there is no space for anyone but
themselves and their servants. In our world everyone has a place.
Only those who give up their history are consigned to oblivion.
On the vacant ground of today, there will grow a flower of tomorrow."

"I prefer my journeys into the natural gardens
where the voice of the Great Spirit is heard in the twittering of birds,
the rippling of mighty brooks, and the sweet fragrance of flowers.
If this be Paganism, then I am honored to be called a Pagan."

"Anonymous" DDoS Web Attack (Please pass on to your IT Departments)

2012-01-30T12:01:00.001-08:00

National Cyber Alert System Technical Cyber Security Alert TA12-024A

http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA12-024A.html

"Anonymous" DDoS Activity Original release date: January 24, 2012 Last revised: -- Source: US-CERT Overview US-CERT has received information from multiple sources about coordinated distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks with targets that included U.S. government agency and entertainment industry websites. The loosely affiliated collective "Anonymous" allegedly promoted the attacks in response to the shutdown of the file hosting site MegaUpload and in protest of proposed U.S. legislation concerning online trafficking in copyrighted intellectual property and counterfeit goods (Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, and Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act, or PIPA). I. Description US-CERT has evidence of two types of DDoS attacks: One using HTTP GET requests and another using a simple UDP flood. The Low Orbit Ion Cannon (LOIC) is a denial-of-service attack tool associated with previous Anonymous activity. US-CERT has reviewed at least two implementations of LOIC. One variant is written in JavaScript and is designed to be used from a web browser. An attacker can access this variant of LOIC on a website and select targets, specify an optional message, throttle attack traffic, and monitor attack progress. A binary variant of LOIC includes the ability to join a botnet to allow nodes to be controlled via IRC or RSS command channels (the "HiveMind" feature). The following is a sample of LOIC traffic recorded in a web server log: "GET /?id=1327014400570&msg=We%20Are%20Legion! HTTP/1.1" 200 99406 "hxxp://pastehtml.com/view/blafp1ly1.html" "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:9.0.1) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/9.0.1" The following sites have been identified in HTTP referrer headers of suspected LOIC traffic. This list may not be complete. Please do not visit any of the links as they may still host functioning LOIC or other malicious code. "hxxp://3g.bamatea.com/loic.html" "hxxp://anonymouse.org/cgi-bin/anon-www.cgi/" "hxxp://chatimpacto.org/Loic/" "hxxp://cybercrime.hostzi.com/Ym90bmV0/loic/" "hxxp://event.seeho.co.kr/loic.html" "hxxp://pastehtml.com/view/bl3weewxq.html" "hxxp://pastehtml.com/view/bl7qhhp5c.html" "hxxp://pastehtml.com/view/blafp1ly1.html" "hxxp://pastehtml.com/view/blakyjwbi.html" "hxxp://pastehtml.com/view/blal5t64j.html" "hxxp://pastehtml.com/view/blaoyp0qs.html" "hxxp://www.lcnongjipeijian.com/loic.html" "hxxp://www.rotterproxy.info/browse.php/704521df/ccc21Oi8/ vY3liZXJ/jcmltZS5/ob3N0emk/uY29tL1l/tOTBibVY/wL2xvaWM/v/b5/ fnorefer" "hxxp://www.tandycollection.co.kr/loic.html" "hxxp://www.zgon.cn/loic.html" "hxxp://zgon.cn/loic.html" "hxxp://www.turbytoy.com.ar/admin/archivos/hive.html" The following are the A records for the referrer sites as of January, 20, 2012: 3g[.]bamatea[.]com A 218[.]5[.]113[.]218 cybercrime[.]hostzi[.]com A 31[.]170[.]161[.]36 event[.]seeho[.]co[.]kr A 210[.]207[.]87[.]195 chatimpacto[.]org A 66[.]96[.]160[.]151 anonymouse[.]org A 193[.]200[.]150[.]125 pastehtml[.]com A 88[.]90[.]29[.]58 lcnongjipeijian[.]com A 49[.]247[.]252[.]105 www[.]rotterproxy[.]info A 208[.]94[.]245[.]131 www[.]tandycollection[.]co[.]kr A 121[.]254[.]168[.]87 www[.]zgon[.]cn A 59[.]54[.]54[.]204 www[.]turbytoy[.]com[.]ar A 190[.]228[.]29[.]84 The HTTP requests contained an "id" value based on UNIX time and user-defined "msg" value, for example: GET /?id=1327014189930&msg=%C2%A1%C2%A1NO%20NOS%20GUSTA%20LA%20 Other "msg" examples: msg=%C2%A1%C2%A1NO%20NOS%20GUSTA%20LA%20 msg=:) msg=:D msg=Somos%20Legion!!! msg=Somos%20legi%C3%B3n! msg=Stop%20S.O.P.A%20:)%20%E2%99%AB%E2%99%AB HTTP/1.1" 200 99406 "http://pastehtml.com/view/bl7qhhp5c.html" msg=We%20Are%20Legion! msg=gh msg=open%20megaupload msg=que%20sepan%20los%20nacidos%20y%20los%20que%20van%20a%20nacer %20que%20nacimos%20para%20vencer%20y%20no%20para%20ser%20vencidos msg=stop%20SOPA!! msg=We%20are%20Anonymous.%20We%20are%20Legion.%20We%20do%20not%20 forgive.%20We%20do%20not%20forget.%20Expect%20us! The "msg" field can be arbitrarily set by the attacker. As of January 20, 20012, US-CERT has observed another attack that consists of UDP packets on ports 25 and 80. The packets contained a message followed by variable amounts of padding, for example: 66:6c:6f:6f:64:00:00:00:00:00:00:00:00:00 | flood......... Target selection, timing, and other attack activity is often coordinated through social media sites or online forums. US-CERT is continuing research efforts and will provide additional data as it becomes available. II. Solution There are a number of mitigation strategies available for dealing with DDoS attacks, depending on the type of attack as well as the target network infrastructure. In general, the best practice defense for mitigating DDoS attacks involves advanced preparation. * Develop a checklist or Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to follow in the event of a DDoS attack. One critical point in a checklist or SOP is to have contact information for your ISP and hosting providers. Identify who should be contacted during a DDoS, what processes should be followed, what information is needed, and what actions will be taken during the attack with each entity. * The ISP or hosting provider may provide DDoS mitigation services. Ensure your staff is aware of the provisions of your service level agreement (SLA). * Maintain contact information for firewall teams, IDS teams, network teams and ensure that it is current and readily available. * Identify critical services that must be maintained during an attack as well as their priority. Services should be prioritized beforehand to identify what resources can be turned off or blocked as needed to limit the effects of the attack. Also, ensure that critical systems have sufficient capacity to withstand a DDoS attack. * Have current network diagrams, IT infrastructure details, and asset inventories. This will assist in determining actions and priorities as the attack progresses. * Understand your current environment and have a baseline of daily network traffic volume, type, and performance. This will allow staff to better identify the type of attack, the point of attack, and the attack vector used. Also, identify any existing bottlenecks and remediation actions if required. * Harden the configuration settings of your network, operating systems, and applications by disabling services and applications not required for a system to perform its intended function. * Implement a bogon block list at the network boundary. * Employ service screening on edge routers wherever possible in order to decrease the load on stateful security devices such as firewalls. * Separate or compartmentalize critical services: * Separate public and private services * Separate intranet, extranet, and internet services * Create single purpose servers for each service such as HTTP, FTP, and DNS * Review the US-CERT Cyber Security Tip Understanding Denial-of-Service Attacks. III. References * Cyber Security Tip ST04-015 - <http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/tips/ST04-015.html> * Anonymous's response to the seizure of MegaUpload according to CNN - <http://money.cnn.com/2012/01/19/technology/megaupload_shutdown/index.htm> * The Internet Strikes Back #OpMegaupload - <http://anonops.blogspot.com/2012/01/internet-strikes-back-opmegaupload.html> * Twitter Post from the author of the JavaScript based LOIC code - <http://www.twitter.com/#!/mendes_rs> * Anonymous Operations tweets on Twitter - <http://twitter.com/#!/anonops> * @Megaupload Tweets on Twitter - <http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%2523Megaupload> * LOIC DDoS Analysis and Detection - <http://blog.spiderlabs.com/2011/01/loic-ddos-analysis-and-detection.html> * Impact of Operation Payback according to CNN - <http://money.cnn.com/2010/12/08/news/companies/mastercard_wiki/index.htm> * OperationPayback messages on YouTube - <> * The Bogon Reference - Team Cymru - <http://www.team-cymru.org/Services/Bogons/> ____________________________________________________________________ The most recent version of this document can be found at: <http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA12-024A.html> ____________________________________________________________________ Feedback can be directed to US-CERT Technical Staff. Please send email to <cert@cert.org> with "TA12-024A Feedback INFO#919868" in the subject. ____________________________________________________________________ For instructions on subscribing to or unsubscribing from this mailing list, visit <http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/signup.html>. ____________________________________________________________________ Produced 2012 by US-CERT, a government organization. Terms of use: <http://www.us-cert.gov/legal.html>

Dragon Year & Chinese Calligraphy - 龍年行大運 / 行書 / 草書

2012-01-30T09:53:00.001-08:00

About cursive & semi-cursive Chinese calligraphy

http://www.art-virtue.com/styles/tsao/index.htm

龍年行大運

Chinese people believe the dragon year will bring great fortune.

Semi-cursive Chinese calligraphy style 行書

http://www.art-virtue.com/styles/hsin/index.htm

Cursive style 草書

http://www.art-virtue.com/styles/tsao/index.htm

Small Chinese brush used -- made by the famous Li Fushou

What is your "Worldview"?

2012-01-30T06:37:00.001-08:00

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1bpprb/www.loneatheist.com/uploads/2/8/2/3/2823...

Chen Style Tai Chi - Chinese New Year 1/28/12

2012-01-29T14:54:00.001-08:00

Yuanji - Chinese New Year 1/28/12

2012-01-28T20:23:00.001-08:00

Dance #4

Dance #13

Dance #14

The Beauty of Iran

2012-01-28T08:13:00.001-08:00

BeautyofIran.pps Download this file

Anonymous Threatens Facebook Shutdown Jan. 28 / Anonymous Hacks CBS, Universal Music

2012-01-27T12:48:00.001-08:00

http://mashable.com/2012/01/23/anonymous-threatens-facebook-shutdown-jan-28/?...

Social Sharing Buttons

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Update: Anonymous claims on Twitter that the video is fake, and they do not plan to take down Facebook.

Anonymous is planning to target Facebook in an attack Jan. 28 — at least that’s what a video uploaded to YouTubeMonday is claiming in the name of the hacker network.

And you thought a day without Wikipedia was bad.

“An online war has begun between Anonymous, the people and the government of the United States,” the video begins. “While SOPA and PIPA may be postponed from Congress, this doesn’t guarantee that our Internet rights will be upheld.”

Following the U.S. government shutdown of file-sharing site Megaupload Friday, Anonymous attacked the U.S. Department of Justice’s website, among others.

Monday’s YouTube video calls on the American people to participate in the hack by downloading Low Orbit Ion Cannon (LOIC), the tool that was successfully used to target the Department of Justice. LOIC crashes websites by sending thousands of information packets to their servers.

The video gives instructions for downloading and running the program, as well as a time — 12 a.m. on Jan. 28 — to launch the attack. No time zone, however, is distinguished.

“Would you like to become part of the greatest Internet protests and first official cyber war?,” the video asks. “Operation Global Blackout is ongoing and everyone can be a part of it.”

SEE ALSO: Anonymous Hacks CBS, Universal Music

Facebook, of course, is one of the world’s largest websites, operating through thousands of servers located across the world. In the video, Anonymous acknowledges the difficulties of attacking such a large site.

“While it is true that Facebook has at least 60,000 servers, it is still possible to bring it down,” says the Anonymous voice. “Anonymous needs the help of the people.”

YouTube commenters have raised an important question, Why would Anonymous want to crash Facebook, after the site came out against SOPA and PIPA?

The video essentially equates the privately-owned company with the U.S. government, with no explanation for the linkage. CNET postulates that Zuckerberg took too long to voice his opposition, landing his social network a spot on the potential targets list.

We’ve heard this threat before from the global network of hactivists, who promised to shut down the site Nov. 5, 2011, over user privacy concerns. Ultimately, no attack was executed and the loosely-connected hacker network called the threat the work of peripheral members.

Do you think the threat is serious this time around? Let us know in the comments if you think Facebook is a worthy target.

BONUS: A Brief History of Anonymous

On Facebook? Like the Mashable Facebook page and check out our favorite articles covering social media, tech news, and digital culture!

===============

Anonymous Hacks CBS, Universal Music — Not Colbert Report or Daily Show Twitter Accounts

http://mashable.com/2012/01/23/anonymous-cbs/?WT.mc_id=en_my_stories&utm_campaign=My%2BStories&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter

Hacktivist group Anonymous made the rounds over the weekend, attacking sites from CBS.com to (once again) Universal Music.

In what looks like hacking-spree retribution following the FBI’s shut down of file-sharing site Megaupload, Anonymous didn’t just take CBS.com offline on Sunday with a series of distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) attacks — it redirected visitors to different web servers all together. This means that visitors trying to access CBS.com saw what appeared to be a completely deleted site for about 20 minutes.

Anonymous redirected CBS.com visitors to servers that showed a directory file and error messages when trying to load pages. CBS.com is now back up and functioning properly.

The group also took down other sites over the weekend, including UniversalMusic.com — a site the group attacked last week — as well as its parent company, Vivendi. Various Brazilian sites were also involved in the cyber-attacks, including one for popular singer Paula Fernandes. Elysée — the official website of the French government — as well as several Polish government sites were also hit. Although Twitter accounts for The Daily Show and The Colbert Report were also hacked Sunday night, it appears to be an act from Anonymous supporters — not Anonymous itself.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) indicted seven people and two companies which ran the file uploading site Megaupload.com. The site — which called itself “the leading online storage and file delivery service” has been shut down for making $175 million on about a half a billion dollars in copyright infringement. Anonymous threatened in a video (above) to bring other sites down if Megaupload isn’t reinstated soon.

The video states that Anonymous has gained access to the servers of the United Nations, Facebook,YouTube, Twitter and various banks, and threatened to take them down: “We are prepared to launch a global blackout of these websites” if Megaupload isn’t back online in 72 hours. The video was released last Thursday.

“We have access to banking and credit card information of millions of citizens,” the video said. “But as for the citizens, do not fear — for your accounts will not be compromised. This is simply to raise awareness — a demonstration to those that doubt our abilities. To those that support SOPA and PIPA. To those congressmen that want to vote yes on those bills. We are not f-ing playing. You have been warned.”

According to a Huffington Post report, @ColbertReport and @TheDailyShow were also hacked on Sunday night, as identical tweets were sent out to followers with a link to this picture — two men in a disguise, one wearing a Pokemon hat. But the hackers said they were not associated with Anonymous, although they do support their efforts. The tweets also included hash-tags that referenced Anonymous and Stop ACTA!, a protest group of the anti-counterfeiting trade agreement. The tweets also included this message: “Watch your security, bro <3."

Soon after, the accounts reportedly tweeted followers to ignore the previous messages, implying that they had been hacked. Other Viacom accounts -- including @ComedyCentral and @Spike_TV -- were also hacked in the process through Hoot Suite, social media dashboard that helps companies manage and send messages to Facebook and Twitter.

The messages have since been deleted from @TheDailyShow, but @ColbertReport has left up a message denying ties to Anonymous: "We are not anonymous, however we do respect @anonops and @poisanon we are however http://twitter.com/ashpluspikachu <3 #stopACTA."

What site do you think will be Anonymous' next big target? Do you think Anonymous will ever be stopped? Let us know thoughts in the comments.

How to download YouTube videos using Safari or Firefox

2012-01-27T10:34:00.001-08:00

Tips for grabbing Web videos using a browser

by Christopher Breen, Macworld.com

Complete Coverage

Downloading files with a Web browser

If you’re using Safari you’ll find that there’s no obvious command for capturing streaming YouTube videos, but it can be done with the browser’s built-in tools provided that you’re downloading a Flash file. For example, navigate to a YouTube video you want to capture and start it playing. Press Command-Option-A to produce Safari’s Activity window. In this window you’ll see the name of the video followed by the word YouTube. In the list of links below look for an entry of several megabytes that appears to be loading. Option-double-click on it and it will download to your Mac as an flv file. As mentioned earlier, you can then play this file with a third-party tool. Unfortunately, you can’t download MPEG-4 files using this method. For those files, turn to Firefox or a third-party tool.

Speaking of Firefox, its users have a better option thanks to the free DownloadHelper extension. Once you’ve installed the extension, a DownloadHelper icon appears in Firefox’s address bar at the top of the browser window, or in the status bar at the bottom of the browser window (we found different behavior on different Macs). Start playing a video and click on the icon and you’ll see one or more listings for the video. If you’re looking at a YouTube video (the extension supports downloads from many different sites) you’ll see multiple listings—some in Flash format and others in MPEG-4 format. Choose one of the MPEG-4 versions (standard or high definition, for example) and it downloads to your Mac, ready to play in iTunes, QuickTime Player, or another video player of your choosing. If a site offers only one version of the video—MPEG-4 or Flash—you’ll see the option to download only that file.

DownloadHelper

If that file is in the MPEG-4 format, you’re set. Just download and play it. However, if it’s a Flash file you may wish to convert it so you can play it in iTunes and on your iOS devices. DownloadHelper can do that but only if you’ve installed the FFMpeg or Mencoder libraries—a process that requires some knowledge of the Terminal application and the wherewithal to track down the correct library builds. Otherwise, there are many tools to convert your videos.

Third-party tools

Regrettably, not all websites provide video in MPEG-4 format. If you want to view downloaded flv files with an application that doesn’t support Flash, or watch them on your iOS device, you must convert them. There are a variety of ways to go about this.

Video Monkey

But first a word on how to not go about it. If you search the Web for video conversion tools, you’ll find many of them. Most aren’t worth your while. These are poorly-built applications produced by companies that promote these tools via spam and fake reviews. Worse yet, some of them cost upwards of $40, which is far too much to pay when there are some perfectly fine tools that do the job for free.

One of those free tools is Video Monkey (), an application that borrows heavily from the beloved-but-now-discontinued VisualHub. Once you’ve downloaded a movie using one of the methods described earlier, just launch Video Monkey, drop your movie into its window, and choose the output device or video format you want to use. Video Monkey offers batch conversion and includes a quality slider. It can also add your converted movies to iTunes when it completes its work.

Shedworx’s free Smart Converter (Mac App Store link) is another good choice. It too can convert flv videos as well as audio files. Just drop your videos into the Smart Converter window, choose a preset (Apple TV, iPad, or iPhone/iPod, to name a few), and click Convert. The free version of Smart Converter doesn’t support batch processing however. If you want that, turn to the $10 Smart Converter Pro (Mac App Store link).

Videobox

Although $15 isn’t free, it’s not terribly expensive either. If you’d prefer to capture and convert in one step, take a look at TastyApps’ Videobox. To use Videobox, just drag the URL for a video you want to download into the Videobox window. A mini-browser window appears that includes the contents of the page the video is posted on, and an entry for the video appears in Videobox’s window. Click on the Download icon and a Save As window appears. From the Output For pop-up menu, choose the format you’d like to save the video in—iDVD/iMovie, iPad, iPod Classic, iPod touch/iPhone, or Mac Viewing are some of the choices—and click the Save button. (Click the Show Settings button in this window and you can further adjust the video settings.) Videobox downloads and then converts the video.

Brute force

And then there’s the ugly way—using a screen capture utility to grab video and audio in real time. You can do this with QuickTime Player by choosing File -> New Screen Recording, but you won’t be able to capture the video’s audio until you install Cycling ’74’s free Soundflower. To do that, download and install Soundflower, open the Sound system preference, and choose Soundflower (2-ch) in the Output tab. Within QuickTime’s Screen Recording window, click on the triangle and under the Microphone heading choose Soundflower (2ch). Start the recording and then start the video playing.

The results from a QuickTime Player capture can be choppy, even on a fast Mac. In such cases, you may want to turn to a dedicated screen capture application such as Ambrosia Software’s $69 Snapz Pro X, Shinywhitebox’s $30 iShowU HD Pro, TechSmith’s $99 Camtasia 2 or Telestream’s $99 ScreenFlow 3 ().

The mystery of Safari's disappearing videos

2012-01-27T10:29:00.001-08:00

http://www.macworld.com/article/164985/2012/01/the_mystery_of_safaris_disappe....nl_newtomac_h_crawl

Why do the YouTube videos play when others don’t?

They’re HTML5 files rather than Flash.

HTML5 doesn’t require a plug-in

by Christopher Breen, Macworld.com

Reader Kevin Mullane has gone on Safari and found himself lost. He writes:

Brain Training Program

2012-01-27T10:20:00.001-08:00

Signup
https://www.lumosity.com/app/v4/personalization/accounts/new
Testing

http://www.lumosity.com/app/v4/personalization/surveys/training-program/surve..../new?&_suid=13276875437600000811405355877759

Build Your Personalized Brain Training Program

1. Memory

Select all aspects of your memory that you want to improve

Learning new subjects quickly and accurately
Remembering names after the first introduction
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"NO SOMOS RUBIOS!"

2012-01-27T10:04:00.001-08:00

Dear Friends,

With only four days before the Florida primary, Florida Senator Marco Rubio is emerging as a top choice to be the Republican Vice-Presidential candidate. The GOP is betting that Senator Rubio can “deliver the Latino vote.” But Rubio, a Tea Party favorite, opposesopposes immigration reform and supports Arizona’s SB1070. the DREAM Act,

With Rubio on the national ticket, the GOP would have a Latino spokesperson to drive through anti-Latino policies, dividing our community and weakening our allies.

We can stop this if we can show GOP that adding Rubio won’t “deliver the Latino vote”, because we can see through their scam. So here’s the plan:

We’ve made a hard hitting television ad revealing Senator Rubio's anti-Latino record. Later today, Rubio is headlining at the Hispanic Leadership Network, a Republican-led advocacy group designed to “bring in” Latino voters. Presente members and our partners will be protesting outside. This is a golden opportunity to announce our ad to reporters there, who are already preparing stories about Rubio’s effect on Latino voters.

But first we need to raise at least $5,000 dollars this afternoon, so we can guarantee reporters the ad will be hitting the airwaves across Florida.

Please watch “No Somos Rubios”

Republicans want Florida Senator Marco Rubio to be their Vice President.

The GOP thinks that Rubio can “deliver the Latino vote," but Rubio stands with the Tea Party more than he stands with Latinos on the issues we care about.

Watch this hard-hitting television ad that reveals Rubios anti-Latino record, and please donate right away to help it get on the air. We need to raise at least $5,000 dollars this afternoon to make sure we can air the ad.

https://act.presente.org/donate/rubio_donate/?akid=517.34733.j8duoT&rd=1&t=3

Until Tuesday’ primary, the national media and the entire GOP political machine is focused on Florida. They’re closely evaluating Rubio’s effect on Latino voters. With 50 million Latinos in the United States, they’re getting desperate to trick us into voting for them, while still appeasing an anti-Latino base. If Rubio plays well in the national spotlight, they’ll decide it’s just the trick they need.

So we must ensure the national spotlight also reveals Rubio's anti-latino record, by putting this ad on the air across Florida in the crucial days ahead.

This is our best shot to stop the Rubio scam before it begins. National polls show that most Latinos don’t yet know anything about him. The GOP is desperate to cover up Rubio’s anti-latino record with a blank slate.

Now it’s time to show all politicians that no matter your name, actually standing up for the issues that Latinos care about is the only way to win our votes.

There’s no time to lose.

Thanks and ¡adelante!

Roberto Lovato on behalf of Presente Action

Resources:

"Marco Rubio has what Mitt Romney needs in a vice president," Washington Post, 01/03/2011

==========================

Marco Rubio has what Mitt Romney needs in a vice president

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/marco-rubio-has-what-mitt-romney-needs-in-a-vice-president/2012/01/03/gIQAXEVDZP_story.html

http://wapo.st/wqWpOj

By Kathleen Parker, Published: January 3

The great thing about Iowa is that, no matter whom the voters select in their neighborhood huddles, it doesn’t really matter. Placing in Iowa might land one a talk show (see Mike Huckabee), but the preferences of a handful of Americans belonging to a committed, ideological subset of a committed, ideological party do not a national trend suggest. The presumptive candidate proceeds apace.

Which raises the question none too soon: Whom will Mitt Romney select as his running mate?

Kathleen Parker

Parker writes a twice-weekly column on politics and culture.

Archive

Gallery

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Mitt Romney

A collection of Ann Telnaes animations on Mitt Romney.

The "State of Indian Nations" Address Examines Native American Issues: on CSPAN

2012-01-27T08:26:00.001-08:00

C-SPAN: The "State of Indian Nations" Address Examines Native American Issues

The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) President Jefferson Keel delivered the annual "State of Indian Nations" Address Thursday morning, just two days after President Obama's "State of the Union" Address. Mr. Keel spoke to a live studio audience of tribal citizens and leaders, Congressional employees, federal government officials, students and advocates, including Representative Tom Cole (R-OK), an enrolled member of the Chickasaw Nation.

CBS: Census releases data on American Indian population

Almost half of American Indians and Alaska Natives identify with multiple races, representing a group that grew by 39 percent over a decade, according to U.S. Census data released Wednesday. Of the 5.2 million people counted as Natives in 2010, nearly 2.3 million reported being Native in combination with one or more of six other race categories, showcasing a growing diversity among Natives. Those who added black, white or both as a personal identifier made up 84 percent of the multi-racial group. Tribal officials and organizations look to Census data for funding, to plan communities, to foster solidarity among tribes and for accountability from federal agencies that have a trust responsibility with tribal members.

AP: Groups sue over Navy sonar use off Northwest coast

Conservationists and Native American tribes are suing over the Navy's expanded use of sonar in training exercises off the Washington, Oregon and California coasts, saying the noise can harass and kill whales and other marine life. In a lawsuit being filed Thursday by the environmental law firm Earthjustice, the Natural Resources Defense Council and other groups against the National Marine Fisheries Service claims the service was wrong to approve the Navy's plan for the expanded training.

MPR: Bemidji Pamida's closing revives debate over burial site

The planned closing of a Pamida store in Bemidji next month is raising questions about what will happen to Native American remains on the property. Skeletal remains were uncovered during construction of an addition to the store in 1988. Now, some members of the Indian community say the store's closing is an opportunity to restore honor to a site that was occupied by their ancestors for thousands of years.

NFL Twins Share Twitter Account, Will Tweet and Play in Super Bowl

2012-01-27T05:02:00.001-08:00

http://mashable.com/2012/01/26/nfl-twins-on-twitter-super-bowl/?WT.mc_id=en_m...

When New England Patriots cornerback Devin McCourty flies around the Super Bowl XLVI field next Sunday trying to stymie the New York Giants offense, the star defender’s followers and fans will still be able to get live in-person updates from his social media feeds.
No, the NFL hasn’t suddenly allowed on-field tweeting. The surreal effect is possible because Devin shares Twitter and Facebook accounts with his identical twin brother and fellow NFL pro Jason.
On Super Bowl Sunday, Jason will be in Indianapolis pulling for his brother while sending out tweets and Facebook posts from the Lucas Oil Field stands.
The twins’ shared accounts are a unique twist to the typical ways athletes use social networks to connect with fans and build their marketing potential. They credit “social media coach” Jeff Weiner with originally cooking up the idea of joint accounts. They say it allows then to showcase their personalities in a different way and let fans share in their competitive — but close — relationship.
Devin and Jason frequently banter back and forth via the accounts, ribbing one another and letting fans join the conversation. Both said that they believe their novel approach helped then land a national endorsement deal with Palmer’s Cocoa Butter.
“The biggest thing people like is seeing our bond, just seeing how two siblings get along,” Devin told Mashable. “Sometimes parents tweet us pictures of their own kids and twins playing sports too, so it’s very cool to see fans interacting that way.”
When Devin’s Patriots were playing in the AFC Championship game last weekend, Jason set up a live Ustream broadcast from where he was watching the game on TV so that fans of the twins could join the fun.
Jason gave away memorabilia during that game and said that fans enjoyed the experience, though many poked fun at him for “screaming and making a fool of myself rooting for Devin to do well.”
According to the twins’ mother, Phyllis Harrell, Devin and Jason teaming up on Twitter (Twitter.com/McCourtyTwins) and Facebook (Facebook.com/McCourtyTwins) is very much in character.
“The only time they’d really get upset at each other growing up was playing basketball or video games,” she told Mashable. “Other than that, they’ve always been each other’s best friend and shared everything.”
Devin and Jason have been football teammates their entire lives all through college until joining the NFL. (Jason was drafted in 2009, Devin in 2010.) They will eventually find themselves taking the roles of rivals, when the Patriots go against Jason’s Titans sometime in the next couple years.
“That’s going to be fun,” Jason said.
But it leaves one important question: Who will provide the status updates during that match-up?
BONUS GALLERY:
Who to follow on Twitter for the Super Bowl XLVI scoop
View As Slideshow
»
1. @SuperBowl2012
The official account of the 2012 Indianapolis Super Bowl Host Committee is a must-follow for fans going to the game. It will function as one of several channels directing fans to entertainment venues and addressing logistical concerns from the committee's social meda command center.
2. @Giants
The New York Giants are the "road" team in Indianapolis, and this is the franchise's official Twitter account.
3. @Patriots
The New England Patriots will be the "home" team on Super Bowl Sunday in Indy. Follow this official team account for the stream out of Foxborough.
4. @shalisemyoung
Shalise Manza Young is the Patriots beat writer for the Boston Globe. Follow her for the day-to-day on what Bill Belichick is doing to try for a fourth Super Bowl ring with the Patriots.
5. @RapSheet
Ian Rapoport also reports on the Patriots and NFL, but for the Boston Herald. Following both him and Young will give you a taste of what it's like to be a local Boston sports fan right now.
6. @TheBlueScreen
Ralph Vacchiano covers the Giants for the New York Daily News. Follow him for the latest on how Eli Manning and company are prepping for the Pats.
7. @MikeGarafolo
Garafolo is the Giants beat writer for New Jersey's Star-Ledger. Between him and Vacchiano, you should have every Giants angle covered.
8. @deionbranch84
Patriots receiver Branch was the Super Bowl MVP the last time the Patriots won it all, in 2005. He's also very active on Twitter, which is a bonus for fans seeking to add a human element to the game.
9. @judybattista
Battista covers the NFL for The New York Times. She's sure to churn out a couple nice features between now and Feb. 5, her deadline game-recaps are second to none, and she's also a good follow for real-time Twitter updates.
10. @AdamSchefter
Schefter is ESPN's NFL Insider and his 1.2 million followers dwarf nearly everyone else in sports media and serve as a testament to his continuous steam of breaking news, opinions and scuttlebutt. He's sure to provide plenty of interesting nuggets from around the league leading up to Super Bowl Sunday.
11. @WesWelker
Patriots receiver Welker puts up numbers; he's scored 10 touchdowns so far this year and has nearly 300,000 Twitter followers. His funny, off-the cuff tweets make him worth keeping up with.

Americas Mexico Blog

2012-01-27T04:44:00.001-08:00

Mexico Drug War News Week's Top Articles:

Jan. 20-26, 2012

http://americasmexico.blogspot.com/

The Americas Program seeks to expand understanding of the destructiveness of the U.S.-supported war on drugs in Mexico, and promote peaceful alternatives.

To keep current with what is happening in Mexico's drug war, including U.S. involvement, we offer this free weekly news digest, selected from the many daily posts published on our Americas MexicoBlog.

Drug War news was dominated this week by the issue of human rights and the rule of law. Human Rights Watch reported that, in fighting the drug war, security forces in Mexico have committed numerous human rights violations and that soldiers enjoy impunity in these cases.

The Mexican government initially issued a detailed critique of the report. But by the end of the week, it was making more conciliatory statements about its "openness" to the work of human rights organizations such as HRW.

Mexican human rights organizations welcomed the report for linking the government's strategy to worsening violence and reinforcing their demand for a change in security policy.

Meanwhile, news regarding the war itself brought a new year's assessment of shifts in drug cartel power. The Stratfor security group concluded that the Sinaloa and Zeta cartels have consolidated their control of the drug trade and territory, each dominating about half of Mexico's 31 states.

Possibly related to this, the Mexican army announced that it was adding five new bases in northern states ravaged by battles with and between cartels.

As for the effectiveness of Mexico's military strategy, data obtained by the Mexican Institute for Access to Information showed that less than 50% of those arrested on federal charges--including organized crime and drug trafficking--in the past five years were actually held for trial. (Murder is a state, not a federal, offense.)

Finally, we share a powerful and poignant story, as told by a local priest, of how the drug trade is devastating the indigenous youth in the Tarahumara Mountains of Chihuahua state.

The Articles:

Violence has increased horribly in Mexico, says Human Rights Watch

Milenio: "'We have evidence that violence has increased in Mexico horribly in recent years and that there is no system for judging the military so that there is justice.'" read more

HRW report does not reflect real situation in Mexico: Interior Ministry

Milenio: "The federal government said that the report by Human Rights Watch (HRW)... contains categorical and generalized statements about the country that do not reflect the real situation in Mexico." read more

Mexico open to public scrutiny on human rights: Secretary of Interior Poiré

Milenio: "'Mexico is open to public scrutiny on the matter of human rights and will attend to the recommendations, criticisms and concerns of the various organizations on the basis of solid, consistent and verifiable information.'" read more

Mexican human rights groups demand change in anti-crime policy

La Jornada: "The report, (civic organization leaders) said, is important because 'it indicates that the strategy has exacerbated the violence in the country, and we insist that the liability is Calderón's, because his policies foster a climate of serious human rights violations.'" read more

Polarization and Sustained Violence in Mexico's Cartel War

Stratfor: "Over the past year it has ... become evident that a polarization is under way among (Mexican) cartels. Most smaller groups (or remnants of groups) have been subsumed by the Sinaloa Federation, which controls much of western Mexico, and Los Zetas, who control much of eastern Mexico. ... these two groups have solidified themselves as the country's predominant forces." read more

Mexico Plans 5 New Military Bases in Zeta Territory

InSight Crime: "Mexico's government upped its offensive against the Zetas with the announcement that five new military bases will be installed in the group's primary areas of operation. Four bases will be located in Tamaulipas and another one in Nuevo Leon, which are both among the northern border states most affected by drug violence." read more

Of 463,000 arrested in 5 years, only 215,000 were charged with crimes

La Jornada: "Since December 2006... 463,000 suspects were arrested on federal charges, of which 163,000 were considered members of organized crime, 17,000 were allegedly drug dealers and 6,500 were allegedly members of gangs of kidnappers. However, on average only four in 10, i.e., 215,000, were detained and the rest were released by the Federal Public Ministry."  Spanish original

Drug trade, not a lack of food, the biggest problem in the mountains of Chihuahua

La Jornada: "Though it is very serious, the greatest crisis in this part of the Tarahumara Mountains in Chihuahua is not the food shortage, but the presence of narcotrafficking and its quota of violence: 'the Rarámuri communities are being crucified by organized crime.'” read more

Cross posted from the Americas MexicoBlog

Take Action to Support Historic Church Divestment Resolutions!

2012-01-26T16:34:00.001-08:00

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Thursday, January 26, 2012

The Moment Has Come. Will You Join the Final Stretch in These Watershed Campaigns?

Dear Friends,

Did you know that 2012 is poised to be a landmark year for corporate accountability in the movement to end Israel's violations of Palestinian rights and international law?
After many years of hard work by activists in both denominations, the global United Methodist Church (UMC) and the Presbyterian Church (USA) are voting over the next six months on resolutions to divest from Caterpillar, Motorola Solutions, and Hewlett Packard due to their complicity in the Israeli occupation [documented here]. US Campaign member groups United Methodist Kairos Response and Israel-Palestine Mission Network are leading the way in building support for the UMC resolution and Presbyterian Committee on Mission Responsibility through Investment (MRTI)'s divestment recommendation, respectively.

HP & Motorola produce technology to control Palestinian movement at checkpoints.

It is hard to overstate the significance of these campaigns. Passage of these resolutions would encourage other institutions and major churches to take action. It would also send Israel one of the strongest messages yet that its oppressive policies will no longer be tolerated.
These are ambitious, winnable campaigns, but we need your help!
No matter what Israel/Palestine campaigning you are focused on, we urge you to find a way to support these campaigns, since success will surely advance all other efforts in some way. Here is a list of things you can do.
Challenge yourself to do at least 2 of the following...

Endorse the United Methodist resolution!

Click here to endorse as an individual.

Click here to submit an organizational endorsement.

Click here to sign a petition if you participate in services provided by the UMC General Board of Pension & Health Benefits.

Sign this letter supporting the divestment recommendation of the Presbyterian MRTI! You can sign as an individual or on behalf of an organization.
Volunteer to help pass these resolutions! United Methodists and Presbyterians would be especially helpful, but really anyone can help. Any amount of support is appreciated. Please click here or reply to this email if you are interested.

This could be our turning point. Please join the Methodists, Presbyterians, and other people of conscience from around the country in supporting these campaigns today!
With excitement and anticipation,

Anna Baltzer
National Organizer

Glenn, take action today:

1. Endorse the United Methodist resolution.
2. Endorse the Presbyterian divestment resolution.
3. Volunteer to help with these campaigns.

Support Palestinian farmers. Shop our store:

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The US Campaign aims to change U.S. policies that sustain Israel's 44-year occupation of the Palestinian West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, and that deny equal rights for all.

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202-332-0994 | USCAMPAIGN@ENDTHEOCCUPATION.ORG | WWW.ENDTHEOCCUPATION.ORG

Honoring Dennis Kucinich !

2012-01-26T16:31:00.001-08:00

Courage. And a nice tie.

Dear Friends:

Mitt Romney did not invent predatory capitalism. It’s been around for a while.

Predatory capitalism was already alive and well in 1978, in Cleveland. That was when the One Percent who controlled the banks, and pretty much everything else of value, decided that they wanted to steal the local power company from the people of Cleveland.

By way of background, Cleveland Public Power was founded by the Mayor of Cleveland, more than a century ago. It provides the people of Cleveland with electricity -- without the price gouging, poor service, pollution and monopolization for which Big Energy seems to strive.

The One Percent didn’t like that idea at all.   So they invested in a private company called Cleveland Electric Illuminating. They wanted to steal Cleveland Public Power from the people, and then jack up the rates, and make lots and lots of money.

They then issued this ultimatum:

(1) hand over the assets of Cleveland Public Power to us, or

(2) we will pull the plug on Cleveland.

By which they meant that they would boycott the City of Cleveland’s bonds as they came due, and drive the City into bankruptcy.

Which they then did. The One Percent forced the City of Cleveland into bankruptcy.

But they didn’t anticipate one thing. What the 32-year-old, first-term Mayor of Cleveland would say.

That was Dennis Kucinich. And Dennis said no.

No matter what the banks said, Dennis said no.

No matter what the City Council said, Dennis said no.

No matter what the bankruptcy court said, Dennis said no.

A newspaper on December 22, 1978 quoted Dennis as follows: “They are maneuvering to offer the city terms so bad that we will feel pressured to beg.” And Dennis would not beg.

No. Just no.

And Dennis paid a price for that. The “Boy Mayor of Cleveland” went down to defeat that year. The One Percent made sure of that. But the people of Cleveland kept their power company.

Twenty years later, the Cleveland City Council honored Dennis Kucinich for having the “courage and foresight” to stand up to the banks, for the sake of the people. They calculated that Dennis had saved the people of Cleveland $195 million in one decade alone. And Cleveland elected Dennis Kucinich to Congress.

Let me tell you something. There is not one person in a hundred -- Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative, male or female, white, black, red or brown -- who would have the courage to do what Dennis Kucinich did. For the good of the people.

That’s why we need Dennis Kucinich in Congress.

Thanks to Republican gerrymandering in Ohio, Dennis is facing the fight of his career. His election is on March 6. And absentee ballots in his district will be mailed out next Tuesday.

Dennis needs your help. He needs to contact thousands of absentee voters, and that costs money. If you helped him before, then help again. If you didn’t help him before, then help now.

Because Dennis has guts. And that’s what we need in our leaders.

Courage,

Alan Grayson

Survival of Indigenous Peoples in Borikén

2012-01-26T10:47:00.001-08:00

http://www.uctp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=701&...
http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=2161231&goback=%2Enpe_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1%2Enpc_12364724_*1_*1_*1
By Roberto "Mukaro" Borrero
In the mid-1500s a historic debate took place in the Spanish City of Valladolid that highlighted the opposing attitudes toward Indigenous Peoples of the Americas. In summary, Dominican friar and Bishop of Chiapas, Bartolome de Las Casas, argued thatIndigenous Peoples (Indians/Indios) were human beings and “free men” while Juan Gines de Sepulveda argued that in accordance with the philosophy of Aristotle, Indigenous Peoples were not human. Sepulveda also suggested that “the natural condition of the Indians deemed them fit for slavery, and it was the responsibility of the Spaniards to act as masters.” In essence, Sepulveda sought to denigrate and de-humanize Indian Peoples in an effort to deny their basic human rights.

Indeed, the tactics Sepulveda employed to elevate his position included misrepresenting and generalizing cultural expressions as well as fear mongering to incite hatred and justify violence against Indian Peoples. An example of this strategy is the allegation that Indigenous Peoples generally practiced cannibalism.
It should be no surprise that Sepulveda’s arguments were supported by agents of the “New World” colonial power structure who directly benefited from the then, recently institutionalized, oppressive regime.[1.]
Centuries after the debate at Valladolid, it does not take a degree in Sociology to confirm that Selpulveda’s racist, anti-indigenous philosophy continues to find modern-day proponents. While terminologies are a bit more polished for public consumption, the strategy remains the same - denigrate and de-humanize to justify the violation of basic human rights.
Recent articles written by Dr. Gabriel Haslip-Viera provide a significant example of this trend.[2.]
Haslip-Viera promotes the position that the affirmation of indigenous identity in the “Spanish-speaking Caribbean” is illegitimate because Governments and academics deem it to be so. To bolster this perspective he champions racists’ ideologies such as determining indigenous biological and cultural affiliation by “degree of blood”. He also manipulates and misrepresents historic and contemporary data.
Most recently, Dr. Haslip-Viera publically misrepresented indigenous affirmation in the 2010 U.S. Census asserting that a total of 19,510 individuals in Puerto Rico claimed an “American Indian” ancestry. His claim is false as a total 35,753 individuals in Puerto Rico identified as “American Indian” alone or in combination with “some other race”.[3.] The fact that Haslip-Viera personally feels the U.S. Census is “controversial” or “based on bogus U.S. concepts and categories” does not invalidate the conscious efforts by Puerto Ricans to identify with their ancestral heritage.
In further evidence of Haslip-Viera’s manipulative presentation style, the 2010 U.S. Census curiously becomes a valid tool for him to hypocritically note however that more Puerto Ricans identified themselves as “Black” than “Indian”.
Haslip-Viera also blatantly generalizes the aspirations of thousands of contemporary Taíno People by stating that as a whole “Neo-Tainos” claim a "pure indigenous pedigree.” To highlight his generalization, I as President of the United Confederation of Taíno People (UCTP) challenged him to produce any material issued by the UCTP that makes such a claim. As he could not produce such documentation, Haslip-Viera instead chose to maliciously highlight divisions among a few Taíno entities as if no other community, group, or nationality in the Caribbean, Latin America or anywhere else suffers divisions.
While Haslip-Viera smugly implies otherwise, the United Confederation of Taíno People respects the autonomy of all Taíno People and has never claimed to be the sole representative entity for contemporary Taíno concerns. It should be further noted that Haslip-Viera conveniently ignores the fact that contemporary Taíno People - regardless of divergent spiritual or political philosophies or particular group affiliation – are unified throughout the Caribbean and the Diaspora in their affirmation of Taíno identity and heritage.
True to the spirit of the 16th century conquistadors, Haslip-Viera attempts to employ the “divide and conquer” strategy, by seeking to isolate BoricuaTaíno People in particular. He alleges that there are no similarities between the historic situations of Indigenous Peoples of Borikén (Puerto Rico) with those of “North America”. He cites a “no forced migrations, a lack of treaties,” etc. but his incredible claim is not only false but to use his own words “patently absurd.”
In Borikén, historians confirm these similarities in various accounts from the 16th through the 20th century. These are not “rumors” as Haslip-Viera cynically suggests but part of the historical record that he and others deliberately chose to ignore. For example, it is well-known that as a result of the abuses of Spanish colonists, many (but not all) Borikén Taíno People were “forced” to migrate to other islands in the 16th century. Historian Fray Íñigo Abbad y Lasierra affirms at least one treaty entered into between indigenous Boricua People and the colonial “Europeans”.[4.] Local tradition holds that the remnants of this treaty land is located in the island’s western region and known today as “Las Indieras” (The Indian Lands).
During the last half of the 18th century “Indios” were recorded in the island’s official census until the category was removed in the early 1800s in favor of an all encompassing “free colored” classification. There is also the case of over 60 Boricua children who were sent to the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in the United States beginning in 1899 through the early 1900s. These children were categorized in the school’s records as “Porto Rican Indians”.[5.] Even beyond the “indigenous issue” the continued colonial status of the Puerto Rico can in reality be compared to the current quasi-sovereign state of American Indians under the plenary power of the United States.
In addition to verifiable historic data, there is the compelling oral tradition of Indian descendant persons and families throughout the island. While Haslip-Viera views this tradition as insignificant and “weak”, a respected island scholar, Professor Juan Manuel Delgado Colon of the Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Puerto Rico y el Caribe feels differently. Dr. Delgado Colón began recording testimony of Indian descendant families in Borikén in the 1970s.
At this point readers might ask themselves if it is possible that Dr. Haslip-Viera, an academic who prides himself on his research expertise has not had the pleasure to read any of Professor Delgado’s selected works? Readers might also ask why they themselves have perhaps not heard of Dr. Delgado Colón considering Haslip-Viera claims serious research is not ignored by “professional social scientists”. In any case, this research is available and following the results of DNA studies on the island, many in the academy are beginning to look at Dr. Delgado Colón’s work more seriously. In my opinion, the oral tradition research of Dr. Juan Manuel Delgado Colón should be declared a national treasure in Puerto Rico.
It is important to also clarify that while Haslip-Viera claims that it is an “exaggeration” to suggest that oral tradition in Borikén is not ridiculed or ignored, the facts on the ground reveal otherwise. For instance, local tradition holds that during the 19th century many Indian descendants took part in “el Grito de Lares” along with other “Jibaros”. One local hero mentioned during these times is a Jibaro woman known as “la India Maria”.[6.] Currently, the academy ignores this particular aspect of the island’s history.
There is also ample testimony by contemporary Taíno People who stress that they themselves or their family elders have been ridiculed by school teachers and other professionals when attempting to affirm their indigenous heritage in Puerto Rico. This discrimination has occurred so often that many elder family members have urged younger members simply not to discuss their aboriginal heritage in public. Haslip-Viera and his supporters would have readers believe this is all an elaborate fantasy “invented” by a few socially challenged New Yorkers desperately “craving” to some how “fit in”.[7.]
The debate concerning the survival of Indigenous Peoples in Borikén beyond 1550 is not new. Haslip-Viera knows this yet he would like readers to assume that historically Puerto Rican scholars have promoted the “Taíno extinction” theory in lock-step formation. Sober research reveals that the actual scenario is far more complex as many well-respected scholars actually have acknowledged indigenous survival in Boriken well-beyond 1550. Curiously however, those who vehemently promote “Taíno extinction” have controlled the discourse and academic standard-setting since the time of the establishment of the Free-Associated State of Puerto Rico. The record shows that these scholars, working under the auspices of the government, consciously decided to officially confine the national discourse on Indigenous Peoples of Borikén to the archeological record.[8.] In other words, keep the “Indios” in the past.
Considering this connection between academics and government in Puerto Rico, it should be no surprise that there is a well-resourced opposition to indigenous affirmation on the island.
Like Sepulveda in the 16th century, it is clear that those expressing anti-Taíno sentiment are not opposed to manipulating data or using malicious tactics to denigrate and dehumanize contemporary Taíno People individually or as a whole. During the 2005 peaceful occupation of the Caguana Indigenous Ceremonial Center in Utuado the then Director of Puerto Rico’s Institute of Culture, Lola Rodriguez de Tio attempted to denigrate the goals of local Taíno activists in the local media by suggesting that the group wanted to conduct “ritual sacrifice” there.
In a further example of Sepulveda-like “fear-mongering”, Haslip-Viera is now ominously calling for the public to “prepare” themselves for “increased controversy, racial polarization and conflict if the [Taíno] get their way”. This rhetoric is coming from a scholar who continues to attempt to polarize the discussion on “ethnic” identity in Puerto Rico to a “Black and White” only issue.
One is only left to ponder if Haslip-Viera considers Puerto Ricans of Asian or Pacific Island descent “myths” as well.

Roberto "Múkaro" Borrero is the current President of the United Confederation of Taíno People, the Chairman of the NGO Committee on the United Nations International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples and an alternative Board Member of the International Indian Treaty Council. He is a contributing author to Taíno Revival: Critical Perspectives on Puerto Rican Identity and Cultural Politics, edited by Gabriel Haslip- Viera (2001). He can be contacted at mukaro@uctp.org.
__________________________________________________________
End Notes
1. See “Great Debates: When politics gets gladiatorial”.
2. See “Myth of Taíno Survival in the Spanish Speaking Caribbean” and “Rejoinder to Roberto "Mukaro" Borrero's A Taíno Response to "The Myth of Taíno Survival in the Spanish-Speaking Caribbean" ” by Dr. Gabriel Haslip-Viera
3. See “Census Data Continues to Shed Light on Boricua Identity”, The Voice of the Taíno People, Vol. 14., Issue 3, July – Sept. 2011
4. See “Historia geográfica, civil y natural de la Isla de San Juan Bautista de Puerto Rico” by Íñigo Abbad y Lasierra and José Julián Acosta.
5. See "Porto Rican" Indian History Discovered at Carlisle Indian School” by Rick Kearns.
6. See “Sobrevivencia de los apellidos indígenas según la historia oral de Puerto Rico” by Juan Manuel Delgado, Revista de Genealogía Puertorriqueña, 2001
7. See Haslip-Viera’s “Introduction” to “Taíno Revival: Critical Perspectives on Puerto Rican Identity and Cultural Politics”, Marcus Wiener Publishing, 2001
8. See “EL Debate Histórico sobre el tema de la Sobrevivencia indígena” by Dr. Juan Manuel Delgado as well as Arlene Davila in her essay “Local/Diaporic Tainos: Towards a Cultural Politics of Memory, Reality and Imagery” in Taíno Revival: Critical Perspectives on Puerto Rican Identity and Cultural Politics (2001).

Australia's PM Gillard dragged away from Aboriginal rights protest

2012-01-26T08:54:00.001-08:00

http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/26/10239774-australias-gillard-d...
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard is rushed to a car by security after some 200 rowdy protesters surrounded a restaurant where she was speaking in Canberra, Australia. Msnbc.com's Dara Brown reports.
CANBERRA -- Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard was dragged away by security guards Thursday after she was trapped in a restaurant by rowdy protesters demonstrating for indigenous rights following a ceremony to mark Australia's national day.
Some 200 supporters of Aboriginal rights surrounded a Canberra restaurant and banged on its windows while Gillard and opposition leader Tony Abbott were inside officiating at an award ceremony.
The protesters were marching at the nearby Aboriginal Tent Embassy to mark 40 years since its establishment and rushed the restaurant in response to comments by Abbott earlier in the day, The Australian newspaper reported.
"Look, I can understand why the Tent Embassy was established all those years ago. I think a lot has changed for the better since then," Abbott said earlier Thursday.
More photos: Australia's prime minister escorted to safety
"I think the indigenous people of Australia can be very proud of the respect in which they are held by every Australian and yes, I think a lot has changed since then and I think it probably is time to move on from that," he said.
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard is escorted by police and bodyguards out of a restaurant after aboriginal Tent Embassy protesters tried to get into the building in Canberra, Australia, on Thursday.
The newspaper reported that according to protesters, his remarks were interpreted as a call to take down the Tent Embassy, a ramshackle collection of tents and temporary shelters in the national capital that is a center point of protests against Australia Day.
Invasion Day

Australia Day marks the arrival of the first fleet of British colonists in Sydney on Jan. 26, 1788. Many Aborigines call it Invasion Day because the land was settled without a treaty with traditional owners.
Around 50 police escorted the political leaders from a side door to a car. Gillard stumbled, losing a shoe. Her personal security guard wrapped his arms around her and supported her to the waiting car, shielding her from the angry crowd.
Darkinjung Aboriginal Land Council Leader Sean Gordon told The Sydney Morning Herald that Abbott's comments had been read out to the crowd, which had been rallying peacefully until then.
"It was like waving a red flag at a bull," he said.
David Crosling / AP, file
The Aboriginal Tent Embassy, set up in 1972, sits on the lawn of the Old Parliament House building in Canberra.
Protesters chanted "shame" and "racist" outside the restaurant.
One of the Tent Embassy's founders, Michael Anderson, said after the incident that Abbott's remarks were "madness," the Herald reported.
"What he said amounts to inciting racial riots," he said.
Gillard was unharmed and hosted another Australia Day function at her official residence in Canberra later Thursday.

Changes to Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service

2012-01-26T07:30:00.001-08:00

Dear Google users,

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These changes will take effect on March 1, 2012.

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THE WOOLWORTH SIT-IN

2012-01-26T07:02:00.001-08:00

If you know of people or groups who might benefit from this, please send it around. In the last several weeks, there've been a number of explicit indications of interest in effective and enduring community organizing. For years, I've had a long website page which discusses the art -- and it is an art -- of bona fide organizing. What follows is one part of that page -- its basic essence. And I give the Link to the full "course." I posted this in a number of quarters where interest is apparent, even high, and I'm now shooting it off in your direction with the hope that you can further its reach to any actively or potentially interested persons you may know. It is likely that, at some point, I'll expand this into a trenchant print entity of some sort. Until then, however, this extensive page does offer a good deal of down-to-earth, brass-tacks guidance. In other sections of our website, I have specific discussions of our various activist campaigns over several turbulent decades.
In Solidarity,
Hunter or John
______________________________
The time for effective community organizing is obviously NOW. This substantial excerpt from our very full page should be helpful. The full course is, http://hunterbear.org/my_combined_community_organizing.htm
(H.)
HERE ARE MY RELATED PIECES ON ORGANIZING.
FIRST, AMONG OTHER INTEGRAL AND RELATED DIMENSIONS, ARE:1] Invitations to the Organizer from the grassroots -- spontaneous and
wrangled. Some can come to one's own sponsoring organization; some can
come directly to you if you are reasonably well known; or you can arrange
an invitation.
2] Issues: Some are readily apparent, some not always apparent -- e.g.,
economic relationships; some are immediately realistic with work and some
are futuristic; some are frankly unrealistic in the foreseeable future.
3] Planning philosophies: Top Down, vs Basic Grassroots Up [my preference].
Set forth general overall goals, long-range specific, short range specific. Heavy grassroots involvement here is always critical.
4] Credibility of project: Should be made up and led primarily by the
people for whose benefit it is launched: e.g., "those of the fewest
alternatives." Careful delineation and evaluation of active and potential
leaders is obviously critical. And often things start out with a steering
committee of leaders and then, after the organization has grown and more
people are actively involved, elections of regular officers.
5] Some people may want to move too fast and others too slowly. The
Organizer helps develop the group's tempo and assists grassroots leaders
and people in meeting those expectations.
6] Direct action: Always know First Amendment and related rights.
Picketing, sit-ins, boycotts, mass marches are extremely useful. And
there is always a need for careful organization and tactical nonviolence.
Direct action should be accompanied by judicious media coverage.
7] Media use: Has to be used carefully: national wire services; local
television, often with national hookups; local radio; local and regional
press; specialized press; news releases -- who, what, when, where, why and how; press conferences; leaflets with ALL pertinent information; newsletters; community newspapers; community cable TV; Internet. There is always a need for constantly updated media/contact lists.
8] Lawyers and litigation: Defensive and aggressive legal actions --
"criminal" and civil; local volunteers; paid lawyers; national
organizational attorneys -- e.g., ACLU, Lawyers Guild, Native American
Rights Fund. Some non-in-court matters can be handled very effectively by good law students.
9] Possible allies and political action: National organizations; and
government agencies [be careful]; political -- informal approaches and
quiet contacts; formal approaches and lobbying and direct requests;
electoral [voting]. DON'T GET CO-OPTED.
10] Power structure analysis: Check out Moody's industrials and
Standard and Poor's; and check out lawyers and their big business
connections in Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, and see FindLaw.
Also see firms in U.S. Lawyer's Directory. City Directory will frequently
give the official occupation of people. See corporate profit and not for
profit charters at the state secretary of state's office and check out
annual registration of organizations from state attorney general or sometimes secretary of state. Data on charitable organizations can be found at state attorney general's office and county tax assessor. There are also various national and regional Who's Who and IRS and U.S. Government Organization Manual and Congressional Directory. DON'T NEGLECT HELPFUL NON-OFFICIAL GOSSIP.
11] Coalitions [tend to be long term] and alliances [often shorter term]
are sometimes beneficial and sometimes not. Consider all of this
carefully and try to avoid precipitous marriages.
12] Although no Organizer -- whether from the "outside" or the "inside" --
will ever have full consensus from the community, he or she must avoid the
temptation to be a "Lone Ranger." That role can be temporarily justified
only in cases of extreme grassroots fear or heavy factionalism.
[Hunter Bear]
____________________________________________________________________________

JUST WHAT MAKES A DAMN GOOD COMMUNITY ORGANIZER? BASED ON MY 50 YEARS OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZING HUNTER GRAY [HUNTER BEAR] 12/30/03

[Published in the Spring 2004 issue of Independent Politics News And
Published In Oregon Socialist, Winter/Spring 2004 -- and much more.]
I'm an Organizer, a damn good one. I get and keep people together for
social justice action. I've been an Organizer for virtually half a
century -- all over much of what's called the United States. [I've also
been, among other things, a fur trapper, forest fire fighter, soldier,
prospector, metal [development] miner, minority hiring and training
consultant, college/university professor, writer.]
But my vocation is Organizer. I've done it full time for many years indeed.
And then, in conjunction with other jobs, I've always continued to
organize, somewhere and somehow.
What follows here is my essentially outline conception of the
characteristics and qualities of a good and effective Organizer who is
genuinely on the grassroots job. That can be a union local; a temporary
single-issue effort; permanent single-issue; permanent multi-issue;
coalition. It can sometimes be a specialized service center -- which itself
some way grows out of a community organization. A Movement is a transcendent widespread feeling, visionary, fueled by many local organizational efforts -- and it, in turn, inspires many local efforts.
Assembling my scattered notes on the matter a few days ago, I spent some
very early morning hours today [I rise about 3:30 am] sketching this out on
one of my traditional yellow tablets.
____________________________________________________________________________
_______
1] The Organizer should be at least bright -- alert and sparky. And
hopefully, be intelligent in a depthy and lofty sense -- which characterizes
most organizers who really stick with it over the long pull.
2] The Organizer should be relatively "pure" in the moral sense. But not
too pure -- because no one, anywhere, wants a sanctimonious conscience
hovering about. Set a good personal example. Do your recreational thing
away from the project. Wherever you are, avoid all drugs and go easy on
alcohol [if you are even into that sensitivity-dulling stuff.] Remember the
old labor adage: "You can't fight booze and the boss at the same time."
Always a special target, the organizer has to be aware of the consistent
danger of frame-ups.
3] The Organizer has to be a person who is thoroughly ethical and
honorable. Among other things, this means fiscal honesty [as soon as
possible and whenever feasible, a local committee made up of grassroots
people should handle the financial end of things]. And it also means
avoiding any hint of co-optation by the Adversary. The Organizer should
always have at least a representative group of the grassroots people present when meeting with the Other Side -- unless local people clearly approve a unilateral approach.
4] Formal academic training in the higher ed sense can certainly be useful
to any Organizer [or, as far as that goes, for anyone] -- but it isn't
absolutely critical. The Organizer, among other attributes, should be fully
literate [including computer literate], with finely tuned sensitivities,
with one hell of a lot of good sense. And almost anyone can do much
self-teaching.
Race and social class factors are not usually critical for a good
Organizer. [I'm a Native American who has worked comfortably with Indians of many tribes, Chicanos, Southern and Northern Blacks, Puerto Ricans, low-income Anglos. I've also never pretended to have proletarian origins.]
In a word, be sensitive -- but be yourself.
5] The Organizer absolutely has to be a person who can communicate clearly and well. Often, this can mean teaching -- without necessarily appearing to do so [many people really don't like a teacher.]
And communication, of course, involves one - to - one on a face - to - face
basis, e-mail, phone calls, news announcements and press conferences, mass meetings -- and much more indeed. It can also involve an Organizer helping people with their own unique individual/family problems. And that can help not only the person but will strengthen the overall effort.
6] The good Organizer will have some sort of altruistic ideology: couched
as an integrated, cogent set of beliefs embodying goals and tactics. After
that, there are several choices:
A] The Organizer can be passive; and the grassroots people can be
the ones who make the goals and the tactics. Not so hot.
B] The Organizer can impose a specific ideology -- including
goals and tactics. Not so hot, either.
C] The Organizer can convey a general ideological perspective
which the grassroots people can take or not take. They are not going to
want to feel pushed or hammered into things, but they'll usually take it --
especially if it's sensibly and sensitively "sold". They certainly may want
some time -- and should have it -- to think it all over. And, soon enough,
together the organizer and the people can develop solid goals and effective tactics. Remember, the organizer brings gifts and élan -- and the grassroots provides at least most of the reality.
7] The Organizer must have a genuinely powerful and enduring commitment. This has to involve a deep belief -- a very real belief -- in the People and the Cause. The Organizer has to be able to recognize potential
leaders -- and to involve all of the people. Virtually everyone has
something of substantial significance to contribute. The organizer gives
ideas -- but it's ultimately up to the people whom the organizer should
never manipulate. Bona fide organizing [not service center stuff] is about
the hardest work there is. A good Organizer is literally wedded to the
campaign all the way through.
8] The Organizer has to have a healthy but controllable ego -- with a
strong sense of destiny.
9] And any really healthy grassroots organizing campaign has to have a
Vision -- one that is two dimensional: Over The Mountain Yonder, and the
Day - To - Day needs. As I have indicated, a movement which, among other
things, is characterized by an idea whose time has come, is a broad-based
cause growing out of local community organizational efforts -- in turn
inspiring and stimulating new community-based thrusts. To become a bona fide movement, there absolutely has to be the two-dimensional ethos and active life. But the purely local effort has to have the same two dimensional
ingredients, whether it's part of a movement or by itself.
[Something with vision only can easily wind up a small, in-grown sect;
and something that's only day - to -day can become a tired service program. And when an organization has lost its way, factionalism is a sure thing along with the withdrawal of the local people.]
A good Organizer's role in all of this vision-building is extremely
critical -- especially at the outset. But it's also critical all the way
through in conjunction with the growing awareness of the grassroots people. The two-dimensional vision -- Over The Mountain and Day - To -Day -- is the shiny idea that makes people part of a crusade and sometimes a truly great one. It all gives meaning to life. And sometimes, if necessary, one will die for it. Each of these two dimensions stimulates and feeds the other. A good and truly effective Organizer absolutely has to show this
interconnection.
10] An Organizer definitely has to be a person with a tough hide -- not
deterred by cruel name-calling, physical beatings, or forced out of the game by injuring bullets or other bloody efforts. The organizer has to be a person of physical courage. And an Organizer also has to have the courage
to take unpopular stands within the developing grassroots effort.
11] And an Organizer cannot live materially in the pretentious sense.
Solidarity -- and also sacrifice!
Semper Fi -
HUNTER GRAY [HUNTER BEAR] Micmac/St Francis Abenaki/St Regis Mohawk
In the mountains of Eastern Idaho
www.hunterbear.org
COMMUNITY ORGANIZING PRINCIPLES -- OR, GETTING PRACTICAL [REVISED DECEMBER 25 2003] BASED ON MY 50 YEARS OF ORGANIZING EXPERIENCE. HUNTER GRAY/JOHN R
SALTER, JR
[PUBLISHED IN OREGON SOCIALIST WINTER/SPRING 2004
WITH NEW MATERIAL 8/25/04 -- AND IN OTHER PUBLICATIONS AS WELL.]
Missing -- way too often -- in radical and general social justice circles
and related settings is a willingness to get down into the grassroots and
engage systematically in some of the most challenging work there is:
organizing the grassroots into genuinely effective and enduring outfits.
That's Genesis in the Save the World Business. It's often far too easy to
engage in essentially empty "jaw-smithing." Fortunately, there are always
those -- Organizers and grassroots people -- who are willing to do the
really tedious and tough organizing work over the long pull. Those who are
reasonably experienced have their own particular approaches.
Here are my own basic ones:
These 17 essential organizing principles were created formally by me in
early September 1963, after what had already been a number of years of
successful social justice organizing -- and then modified and supplemented
a bit over many decades of grassroots organizing campaigns. Now I've
transcribed them yet again -- with some changes -- on December 25 2003.
They are part of a considerably larger work that I also wrote in September
1963 -- "Organizing the Community for Action." This was initially about six
tightly packed single-spaced legal size pages. I made several dozen
mimeographed copies and sent them around -- and they were well received. I continued to expand and polish up all of this and used "Organizing" and my following 17 component principles many, many dozens of times in organizing campaigns, including -- among other dimensions -- struggles, organizing staff and grassroots training capacities, conferences, and university classes. By this time, my little manual itself had grown to nine tightly packed and single-spaced legal size pages. Copies of all versions of "Organizing the Community for Action" are in my collected [Salter/Gray] papers at State Historical Society of Wisconsin and Mississippi Department of Archives and History. The basically full ones began in March, 1965 and August, 1966. In addition, I have copies of all of these editions of mine right here in Idaho.
I'm presently rewriting parts of "Organizing the Community for Action" --
streamlining and updating -- and we are right now discussing the 17
principles themselves here in the Pocatello region as we get set for some
anti-racist action.
The following applies primarily to organizing staff and broad-based
grassroots community organizations. But they can also apply
substantially -- with only a very few changes -- to other types of outfits:
e.g., local union organizations.
Anyway -
1] The Organizers should insure that the community organization is
significant in size and composed primarily, if not completely, of those
people "with the fewest alternatives".
2] The Organizers should insure that active and potential community
leadership is developed in such a fashion that the organization is led
primarily, if not completely, by those people with the fewest alternatives.
3] The Organizers should insure that the organization functions
democratically, and not in an authoritarian fashion and that, among other
things, formal rules of democratic procedure are established and followed
and that widespread grassroots participation and decision-making in the
affairs of the community organization is a continuing fact; and that there
is ever developing local leadership. The executive and public meetings
should be well attended and organizers must insure that an atmosphere exists in which the individual at the grassroots feels -- as is genuinely the case --that he/she is an individual; that his/her active participation in
the organization is needed and welcomed; that right from the very beginning, he/she can make their voice and presence felt within the organization; and that, as the group's endeavors advance, winning victories, his/her power and ability to affect those forces out in the problematic/crisis environment and beyond, which have been affecting his/her life, will be steadily and proportionately increased.
4] The Organizers should insure that the youth are involved in the affairs
of the community organization -- either within it and with leadership
participation, or in a parallel and cooperative youth group of their own.
5] The Organizers should insure that the community organization, right from the beginning, is characterized by maximum autonomy.
6] Although the initial formation of the community organization may be
around one paramount and pressing local issue, the Organizers -- not through rigid superimposition but through diplomatic and effective teaching -- should insure that, in the interests of the community organization's longevity and effectiveness, the leaders and membership of the group become aware of all issues directly and indirectly affecting them. The Organizers should insure, therefore, that the community organization functions on a multi-issue basis whenever possible.
7] The Organizers should insure that, prior to reaching a decision on a
particular course of action, the community organization is aware of all
relevant tactical approaches and the various ramifications of each.
8] The Organizers should insure that the leaders of the community
organization can effectively handle the matter of publicity.
9] The Organizers should insure that the community organization can
effectively handle the raising and administration of funds -- including,
when applicable, the preparation of funding proposals, the negotiation of
such, and the effective administration of the money received.
10] The Organizers should insure that the community organization becomes
connected with various relevant public and private agencies and is able to
negotiate and secure the necessary services from those agencies without
surrendering its autonomy or compromising its basic principles.
11] The Organizers should insure that the community organization is able
to function politically in a realistic and sophisticated fashion without
surrendering its autonomy or compromising its basic principles.
12] The organizers should insure that the community organization can
utilize the services of professionals without becoming dominated by such.
13] The Organizers should insure that the community organization is able
to enter into functional alliances with other groups without surrendering
its autonomy or compromising its basic principles.
14] The Organizers should insure that the community organization is aware
of the use of effective and rational protest demonstrations and, further,
that it is fully cognizant of the merits of tactical nonviolence.
15] The Organizers should insure that the community organization is aware
of the effective use of legal action approaches and is aware of public and
private legal resources.
16] The Organizers should build a sense of the oft-visionary and just
world of a full measure of bread-and butter and a full measure of
freedom -- and how all of this relates to the shorter term steps.
17] The Organizers, who at the outset may well play a very key role in the
function and affairs of the community organization, must, on a step-by-step
and essentially pragmatic basis, shift increasing responsibility to the
leaders and membership of the group, to eventually:
A] First, insure that the community organization can function effectively
with only occasional involvement by Organizers.
B] And then, that the community organization can function effectively
with no involvement by Organizers to the point that, in addition to
conducting its regular affairs, the group can "organize on its
own" --bringing in new constituents and/or assisting other grassroots people in adjoining areas in setting up and conducting their own community organizations.
I'm an Organizer -- a working social justice agitator. I've been one since
the mid-1950s and I'll always be one. In many respects, it's one of the
toughest trails anyone could ever blaze.
An effective Organizer seeks to get grassroots people together -- and does;
develops on-going and genuinely democratic local leadership; deals
effectively with grievances and individual/family concerns; works with the
people to achieve basic organizational goals and develop new ones; and
builds a sense of the New World To Come Over The Mountains Yonder -- and how all of that relates to the shorter term steps.
An effective Organizer has to be a person of integrity, courage, commitment.
And a person of solidarity and sacrifice.
The satisfactions are enormous.

HUNTER GRAY [HUNTER BEAR/JOHN R SALTER JR] Mi'kmaq /St. Francis
Abenaki/St. Regis Mohawk
Protected by Na´shdo´i´ba´i´
and Ohkwari'
www.hunterbear.org
(much social justice material)

See the Stormy Adoption of an Indian Child [My Father]:
http://hunterbear.org/James%20and%20Salter%20and%20Dad.htm

For the new, just out (11/2011) and expanded/updated
edition of my "Organizer's Book," JACKSON MISSISSIPPI --
with a new and substantial Introduction by me:
http://hunterbear.org/jackson.htm

Personal Background Narrative (with many links):
http://hunterbear.org/narrative.htm

THE WOOLWORTH SIT-IN (WITH NEW MATERIAL, 2011)

http://hunterbear.org/Woolworth%20Sitin%20Jackson.htm

Our Woolworth Sit-In, Jackson Mississippi, 5/28/63 was the most violently attacked sit-in of the '60s and the most publicized. Involving a White mob of several hundred, it went on for several hours while hostile police from Jackson's huge all-White police department stood by approvingly outside and while hostile FBI agents inside (in sun-glasses) "observed." Seated, left to right are Hunter Gray (John R. Salter, Jr.) -- Native American; Joan Trumpauer (now Mulholland), a White Southern student at our private Black college, Tougaloo College [one of two White students at Tougaloo]; Anne Moody, Black, from Wilkinson County, Mississippi. I, Gray [Salter] was a very young Tougaloo professor; and Joan and Anne were my students. All of us are covered with sugar, salt, mustard, and other slop. I was beaten many times -- fists, brass knuckles, and a broken glass sugar container -- and am covered with blood.
We have published -- on this page and the next -- three of the best photos of the sit-in.
This first photo is the most famous sit-in photo of the '60s -- frequently depicted over the decades in exhibits, television documentaries, books and magazines -- and has recently appeared in many "end of the Century" photo books [e.g., Life The Way We Were: Decades Of The Twentieth Century, Time Inc., 1999 -- where it is The civil rights photo in the book] and extensive narrative/photo discussions of the times [e.g., The American Century, by Harold Evans, Knopf, 1999], and many others.

The new enlarged and updated edition of my book, JACKSON MISSISSIPPI: AN AMERICAN CHRONICLE OF STRUGGLE AND SCHISM, is now fully available for purchase. The publisher is Bison Books/University of
Nebraska Press.
THIS BOOK IS THE ONLY FULLY DETAILED ACCOUNT OF THE HISTORIC AND MASSIVE JACKSON MOVEMENT OF 1962-63. (FOLLOWING THAT IS MORE COMMENTARY ON THE WOOLWORTH SIT IN -- AND MORE PHOTOS ON THE FOLLOWING PAGE.)

The new enlarged and updated edition of my book, JACKSON MISSISSIPPI: AN AMERICAN CHRONICLE OF STRUGGLE AND SCHISM, is now fully available for purchase. The publisher is Bison Books/University of
Nebraska Press.

The initial Introduction in the two earlier editions has been replaced by one written by me: "On The River Of No Return." This is, in many ways, a large, additional chapter [about 9500 words] which up-dates Mississippi, discusses our family's always interesting experiences since the first edition of JM appeared in 1979, and contains supplemental autobiographical material. And, of course, it also contains something of my reflections as a life-long social justice organizer.
The dedication:
For Eldri and the Family -- truly a Golden Horde
And in memory of Doris and Ben Allison and Medgar Wiley Evers
Thus this will likely be my basic autobiographical memoir. As a corollary to that, however, I must say that my health is fine.
The University of Nebraska Press is one of the largest university presses in the country.
Here is their announcement of Jackson, Mississippi: (Click on the photo and it'll get bigger.)
http://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/product/Jackson-Mississippi,674910.aspx
In Solidarity,
Hunter Bear (Hunter Gray / John R. Salter, Jr.)
_______________________

MARTIN LUTHER KING AND FOUR NATIVE RIGHTS ACTIVISTS -- INCLUDING MYSELF -- HONORED BY NATIONAL INDIAN GAMING ASSOCIATION (INDIAN COUNTRY TODAY, JANUARY 16, 2012)
Thanks very much indeed to Ernest Stevens, Jr. and NIGA (National Indian Gaming Association) for honoring Dr King and the four Native civil rights activists and leaders. I'm greatly pleased to be included in this group, some of whom I've met and with whom I've worked at various points. Hunter Gray (John R Salter, Jr)
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/01/16/ernie-stevens-jr-honor-mlk-and-native-civil-rights-leaders-72722
Or see NATIVE STRENGTH: http://nativestrength.com/tag/john-salter/

COMMENT BY HUNTER GRAY/JOHN R SALTER JR ON MAY 23 2005 [TO LOUIS PROYECT AND FRIENDS OF HUNTER BEAR]
Thanks very much, Louis, for posting this and for your kind accompanying
comment. It's a well known photo, appearing regularly over the decades --
mostly in the 'States but often abroad.   Here in Pocatello [and much
elsewhere as well] a well known high school history book carries it
faithfully.
This and other photos of the "situation" involve a mostly youthful group of
vigorous physical critics -- at least at that moment, thugs -- but also
adult Klan types and, wearing dark classes, what we have always been sure
were FBI agents. In the milling throng was Lucy Komisar, spending several
months with our Movement and the Mississippi Free Press [which a number of
us had launched late in '61], and now a well known journalist out of NYC.
[She is clearly seen in the background of another photo, one of several on
our large website.]
The hostile throng, inside and out, came to number several hundred at least.
I have always found it difficult to blame the kids in the mob -- at least
beyond a certain point. One of the things I consistently did was to study
Deep South history, sociology, culture. I knew where they were coming from
and that awareness, which convicts the Big Mules and their opportunistic
racist political allies, also makes it tough to be too hard on those kids.
Beba [John] in more recent times has been with me when we have had
interesting discussions in Mississippi with former adversaries. In long
time, even former Gov. Ross R Barnett used to convey his regards and
sympathy through a mutual friend to "Professor Salter" --" 'way up there in
that awful North Dakota". [Southerners of whatever ethnicity have been
consistently horrified by the N.D. winters.]
And then, of course, there are those to whom Rhett Butler's comment to
Scarlett certainly applies, "The Old Guard dies but it never surrenders."
Soon after the Brown deseg decision in '54, the white Citizens Council
movement -- middle and upper echelon class-wise -- began in Mississippi and,
quickly pervasive, captured the state with its clarion call, "States'
Rights, Racial Integrity." It spread across the South, not always
pervasively, but in consistently sinister and influential fashion. In due
course, among its many poisonous branches and leaves, was its "curriculum"
for the white grade schools. In early years, kids were taught that "blue
birds play with blue birds only" and "chickens do not mix." Quack nonsense
then explained this latter by indicating that, if one took 100 chickens, 50
of them white and the other 50 black, they would naturally segregate
themselves. In lessons designed for the later grades, kids were told that
"[White] Southerners built America," "[White] Southerners are the true
patriots", "Race-Mixers are Communists," "Race-Mixers want to destroy the
South and America."
And the products of that hideous catechism graced that Woolworth Store [and
many other battle lines] for hours on that fateful day, May 28, 1963, at
Jackson.
As Ever, H
(Our very full page on my book, Jackson Mississippi, plus some more on the Woolworth Sit In, can be found athttp://hunterbear.org/jackson.htm )

LOKI'S BLOG: THE VIOLENT JACKSON SIT-IN -- AND HIS LAST WEEK'S VISIT TO US GRAYS (HUNTER GRAY JULY 30 2011)
These are two not-long blog posts from Loki Mulholland. Loki, who lives in Utah, is the son of Joan Mulholland, well known for her role in the Freedom Rides and our Woolworth Sit-In at Jackson [and for many other good things.] Loki is a quite accomplished film writer and director with several very good pieces of work to his credit. He is presently working on a film, "An Ordinary Hero." based on his mother's most interesting career. It's expected to emerge in 2013.
A week ago, Loki and his good spouse, Shieleen, came here for a very pleasant visit. It's not often that people from afar make it up here to us. Admittedly, our life on this hill has become somewhat insular and, given some very hostile reactions to our existence here in Idaho, we are reasonably watchful and wary. [All of my several firearms are discreetly out of sight, however.] We hadn't seen Loki for awhile but, although a few years can sometimes pass between direct visits, good friends, upon meeting again, can always bridge that superficial chronology. That certainly happened in this. (H)
Sitting Down to Take a Stand
Posted by Loki on Jun 21, 2011 in Featured, Uncategorized |  1 comment
“Right there at my feet was Memphis Norman. They were kicking his head in.” The scene was still vivid for Bill Minor forty-eight years later as he retold part of the story.
The Woolworth Lunch Counter Sit-in… there were others before it but this one seemed to set the world on fire because of Fred Blackwell’s visceral photographs. You could almost hear the screams and taunts from the angry crowd as those at the counter seem to almost pay them no mind.
John, Joan and Anne… just sitting there and taking it.
John Salter (he would later change it to his ancestral name – Hunter Gray) is one of the coolest cats I know. He’s not a small guy. He’s tough as nails and could’ve taken any, if not all, of the mob. He had been through worse. Blood (from brass knuckles to the head) mixed with salt and ketchup run down his neck and shoulder.
Joan Trumpauer Mulholland, her head turned possibly saying something to Anne, as someone is about to pour something else on her.
And Anne Moody looking tired and almost resigned to the fact that they just might not making it out of there alive.
This was just a snapshot, a moment in time and that’s how I, like many others, came to know of the sit-in. This photo was just one moment of three people trying to make life better. There were, I think, 13 people in all. When others were dragged out more came to take their place.
They volunteered for this. From what I understand, the mob was already there when Joan, John and others heard what was happening, came down, saw the mob and worked their way through so they could sit down and take their beatings. I always thought they came in, sat down and then the mob showed up (which did happen with the first wave of protestors) but no, this group had to work their way through the mob for the privilege of being attacked.
Joan was pulled by her hair and dragged out. She wrestled herself free and went back through the mob and sat back down at the counter. It went on for more than three hours.
This is what I know of my mom and the Civil Rights Movement. The other sit-ins, the Freedom Rides, death row at Parchman, the Klan threats, etc. are all relatively new to me. Maybe I heard the stories before and just didn’t remember them but the sit-in with its photographs… I remember.
Returning to Jackson, Mississippi for the Freedom Riders 50^th Anniversary I was able to walk over to Capitol Street where Woolworth used to stand. It was torn down in the name of progress with some gleaming office built in its place. I was disappointed. I don’t know why I thought it would still be there or why I was hoping it would.
There’s no marker to tell you it was once there or what took place but it was there and it took place. Forty-eight years ago Joan Trumpauer Mulholland, along with others, knowingly risked their lives, voluntarily walked through an angry mob and sat down at a lunch counter to stand up for their fellow man.
Loki Mulholland – Writer/Director
(Read Anne Moody’s and John Salter’s books – “Coming of Age in Mississippi” and “Jackson, Mississippi”)
The Great Bear
Posted by Loki on Jul 25, 2011 in Featured |  0 comments
When John Salter, of Scottish and Native American ancestry, was 18 he shot his “coming-of-age” bear in the mountains of Arizona. It was a massive specimen that took six bullets to bring down. It wasn’t going to go down easy and definitely not without a fight. Only one of them was going to make it out of those mountains alive. I’m sure some of the Spirit of that animal passed to John because John truly is one of the great bears.
There are some people out there that no matter what they’re going to fight to the bitter end. They’re going to do whatever it takes to make certain they did all they could. You have to admire people like that. It takes a special kind of character to see things through and to never give in on what you know is right. Sometimes there’s a stubbornness to them that can be seen as almost irrational but when you truly understand that person you know it’s just who they are and you probably wouldn’t want them any other way. John Salter is one of those people.
My wife and I took the opportunity to see him and his wife, Eldri this weekend. Life got busy and too many years had passed but when I recently spoke with him on the phone I knew I had to pay him a visit. For several years John had Lupus. The operative word in that sentence is “had”. I guess, genetically, it will always be there but all his blood tests would say otherwise and his doctors couldn’t tell you why. And so we took off for Idaho to pay an old friend a visit.
I had hoped to interview John for the documentary because of his massive involvement in Jackson back in the 1960s but had written that off when I first realized I was going to do this in the Spring of last year but a few weeks ago I wrote a blog post mentioning John and felt impressed to call him. To my surprise he sounded like the old John, the one before Lupus, and I told him as much. He chuckled and said, “Well, didn’t your mother tell you?”
Back in the 90s, I had the privilege of spending a summer with John and Eldri when they were still in North Dakota. John was teaching at the University in Grand Forks and was very active in righting some injustices. He has a long history of that, dating back to his work fighting the mining companies. You spend enough time with someone and they’re bound to either grow on you or send you running in the other direction. We decided we liked each other.
And so, here I was with my wife in John and Eldri’s living room catching up on things when I asked John when he knew things were changing with his Lupus. He said it was around April of last year. I looked at my wife and she smiled back at me.
John and I hold the same belief that things happen for a reason even when we don’t always know why but there’s a Creator and He knows what He’s doing and that’s alright by us. You see, I had written off ever interviewing John for the documentary because of his Lupus (he had been at death’s door at least a couple of times with it) and lamented that fact because, aside from my mother, Joan Trumpauer Mulholland, John was the one person I really wanted to interview. So, when I called him several weeks ago you can imagine my surprise when he sounded great and he related his present condition.
Alas, our visit was a short one. We only had a an hour or so since I had to be back in Utah for a shoot that evening but it was the best hour and a half I’ve had in some time. We talked about a lot of things. Some related to the Civil Rights Movement and some were just catching on each other’s lives.
Next to me on a table were two magazines John receives as a member of their organization. I laughed when I saw them because I thought they summed up John pretty well. One was for Lupus and the other was for the NRA.
Loki Mulholland – Writer/Director
AND FROM MY N

Foursquare’s Revamped Website Could Challenge Yelp

2012-01-26T06:43:00.001-08:00

http://mashable.com/2011/11/15/foursquares-revamped-website-could-challenge-y...
Foursquare announced it roll out a redesigned website on Tuesday that could challenge local review sites such as Yelp, Urbanspoon and Zagat.
The company’s website has historically followed the functions and layout of its checkin-service mobile apps, but now will feature its own discovery features.
“As Foursquare has evolved, the focus has turned from simply ‘checking in’ to sharing our experiences and expertise, unlocking rewards and deals, and exploring the world around us,” reads a post on Foursquare’s blogannouncing the changes. “And, though we spend a lot of time improving the app for your phone, we know that sometimes the best place to do those things is when you’re visiting the website from your computer.”
Foursquare’s new website will feature a large map customized to show users nearby friends, places that are trending, places that are popular and places on their lists. The map will be accompanied by a list of recommendations for where to go at the moment.
“Load it up at 11:30 and we’ll start suggesting great lunch spots nearby, and in the early evening we’ll switch to places for dinner,” Foursquare’s blog post explains. “On Saturday afternoon, we’ll show you some great weekend activities.”
In addition, Foursquare added a list search feature, Foursquare places pages got a “total facelift,” and the entire site introduces “an entirely new visual language.”
While the site hasn’t rolled out yet, from what we can tell the redesign makes Foursquare’s website a good place to search and browse for local businesses — something its check-in focused predecessor cold not boast. Yelp became more like Foursquare by adding check-ins last November. Now it looks like it’s Foursquare’s turn to become a little bit more like Yelp.
View As Slideshow
»
New Foursquare Website: Map
New Foursquare Website: Recommendations for Now
New Foursquare Website: List Search
New Foursquare Website: Brand Pages

Obama’s State of the Union Address Sees 760,000 Tweets / Where Was the Tech?

2012-01-26T06:40:00.001-08:00

http://mashable.com/2012/01/25/state-of-the-union-twitter/?WT.mc_id=en_my_sto...
Twitter has released the official stats showing the activity of its users during President Obama’s State of the Union address on Tuesday, providing an interesting insight in how the Twittersphere reacted to various parts of the speech.
During the event, Twitter promoted five official hashtags: #jobs, #manufacturing, #energy, #education and #fairness. Unsurprisingly, those were among the hottest topics of the day, with #education being number one with 35,972 tweets.
The highlights of the event, in terms of Twitter traffic, were Obama’s mention of Steve Jobs, the part about energy and the President’s “Spilled Milk” line, which caused less than enthusiastic response from the listeners.
According to Twitter, the top tweeter on the Democrat side was Gabrielle Giffords. “Team: Last year, a seat for Rep. Giffords was left empty between Reps. Flake & Grijalva. This year, they sit beside her. #bipartisan,” shetweeted during the address.
The top tweeting republican was Aaron Schock, who tweeted: “The top 5% pay over 58% of all income taxes. These are job creators. Mr. President, when is it enough? #4jobs.”
We followed the event as it unfolded on Twitter, and you can now see Twitter’s official stats in the image below.
Did you tweet during the address? If so, what parts prompted you to take to Twitter? Tell us in the comments.
===========http://mashable.com/2012/01/25/obamas-state-of-the-union-where-was-the-tech/?WT.mc_id=en_my_stories&utm_campaign=My%2BStories&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter

From what I’ve heard, President Barack Obama is a bit of a gadget nerd. He likes his iPad and his BlackBerry, and fought to keep using the RIM device as he entered the White House in 2009.
Yet, as I listened to his State of the Union-cum-2012 presidential election stump speech, I was struck by the near total lack of digital name-checks in the almost hour-long address. It was very nearly a luddite speech for luddites.
“Technology” has three references, “High-Tech” four. Never mentioned: Social Networking, Google, Facebook, Twitter,Apple. Cyber threats (same as Cyber-Espionage in my book) got one passing reference:
“I’ve already sent this Congress legislation that will secure our country from the growing danger of cyber threats.”
Broadband Internet got one mention as part of a segment on America’s crumbling infrastructure:
“…an incomplete high-speed broadband network that prevents a small-business owner in rural America from selling her products all over the world.”
The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) one of the biggest online hot-button issues of the last six months got nothing, unless you count this portion on China:
“It’s not right when another country lets our movies, music, and software be pirated.”
Listening to Obama, I thought he would segue from this to the complicated issues of piracy (foreign and domestic) and content ownership, No such luck.
“Jobs,” by contrast, got 37 mentions and only one of them was about Apple’s legendary founder:
“…we should support everyone who’s willing to work and every risk-taker and entrepreneur who aspires to become the next Steve Jobs.” It’s telling, though, that the President never mentioned the Cupertino company by name.
Obviously, the creation of American jobs is important to most Americans, and a tent-pole in the 2012 Obama Presidential Re-election Campaign. So I should not be surprised that it beat technology, digital and social by a country mile.
Still, it worries me that such a critical speech all but ignores how millions upon millions of us live our lives every day. Most of us are online 24/7, whether via our laptop and desktop or our tablet and smartphone. We do everything in the digital space and have real and valid concerns about how big companies and malefactors want to use our data.
“Data” by the way, did get a mention, but it was only, again, as it relates to jobs:
“Now you need to give more community colleges the resources they need to become community career centers, places that teach people skills that businesses are looking for right now, from data management to high-tech manufacturing.”
Obama seemed disinterested in the power and importance of social networks in everyday lives and how it’s changing the social, political and global landscape. This State of the Union was one of the most well-orchestrated social media events by an administration I have seen in years, yet not so much as a hat tip from our Tweeter in Chief.
If you were looking for “social” in the speech, you’ll only find it mentioned with “security,” as in “Social Security.”
I do credit President Obama with managing to squeeze in a mention of the need for “high-tech batteries” but it was folded into a broader push for renewable energy. Personally, I’d like to know which companies have “already positioned America to be the world’s leading manufacturer of high-tech batteries. “
This election-year State of the Union speech was, naturally, intended to lay the ground-work for the presidential campaign, but it was also about policy and getting things done. Are there no policy questions revolving around digital that need answering in the next 11 months?
How about issues such as the quiet emergence of ACTA or how unfettered access to social networks might be altering the way our country’s youth acts, reacts and matures? What about mega online networks and growing privacy concerns? Americans worry daily about who knows what about their online activities, but it’s not an issue for the President?
President Obama has, over the years, met with numerous tech luminaries and he has (or at least his campaign has) joined numerous social networks, including Google+ and Foursquare.
So was it too much to expect a little more recognition in the State of the Union speech that we live in the digital age; that there are some important questions that need answering and that maybe, just maybe, this Administration still wants to help answer them?
I encourage you to read the transcript of the President’s speech and tell me in the comments if it isn’t true that much of it could have been delivered by any President who occupied the White House long before the advent of tablets, smartphones, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Google and Twitter.

Polar Bears Starving

2012-01-26T06:04:00.001-08:00

Polar Bears Starving

Protect their Ice from Corporate Polluters

Fight for starving polar bears today»

Support our efforts»

Alert your friends»

Dear Friends,
We are running out of time to make a difference for the future of polar bears in the Hudson Bay--who are starving as rising global temperatures fueled by carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants melts their icy habitat.
Yesterday, President Obama described a "new energy future" in his State of the Union Address. Polar bears are depending on us to ensure that it is a clean energy future.
Polar bears are starving--take action to protect them today.
There is still hope for polar bears, but only if we greatly cut the carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants--starting now.
With coal-fired power plants being the largest source of carbon pollution in the U.S., by reducing the pollution they emit, we can make a substantial impact in the fight for polar bears.
But, even as polar bears go hungry from the impacts of climate change, greedy corporate polluters are fighting to keep dumping unlimited carbon pollution into our air
Don't let corporate pollution starve polar bears to extinction--send this message today.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is acting now to limit carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants, but the EPA is coming under attack and needs to hear your support for stopping the unlimited pollution that threatens the future of polar bears.
Polar bears do have hope of surviving into the next century if we act now to reduce one of the greatest emitters of the carbon pollution that is melting their ice.
Help create a better future for polar bears--send a message to the EPA today.
Thanks for all you do for wildlife!
Sincerely,
Sue Brown
Executive Director, NWF Action Fund
info@nwa.org
Twitter: @wildlifeaction
Join us on Facebook

NMAI - Storytellers

2012-01-26T05:53:00.001-08:00

Polar Bears Starving

Protect their Ice from Corporate Polluters

Fight for starving polar bears today»

Support our efforts»

Alert your friends»

Dear Friends,
We are running out of time to make a difference for the future of polar bears in the Hudson Bay--who are starving as rising global temperatures fueled by carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants melts their icy habitat.
Yesterday, President Obama described a "new energy future" in his State of the Union Address. Polar bears are depending on us to ensure that it is a clean energy future.
Polar bears are starving--take action to protect them today.
There is still hope for polar bears, but only if we greatly cut the carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants--starting now.
With coal-fired power plants being the largest source of carbon pollution in the U.S., by reducing the pollution they emit, we can make a substantial impact in the fight for polar bears.
But, even as polar bears go hungry from the impacts of climate change, greedy corporate polluters are fighting to keep dumping unlimited carbon pollution into our air
Don't let corporate pollution starve polar bears to extinction--send this message today.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is acting now to limit carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants, but the EPA is coming under attack and needs to hear your support for stopping the unlimited pollution that threatens the future of polar bears.
Polar bears do have hope of surviving into the next century if we act now to reduce one of the greatest emitters of the carbon pollution that is melting their ice.
Help create a better future for polar bears--send a message to the EPA today.
Thanks for all you do for wildlife!
Sincerely,
Sue Brown
Executive Director, NWF Action Fund
info@nwa.org
Twitter: @wildlifeaction
Join us on Facebook

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"NO SOMOS RUBIOS!"

Marco Rubio has what Mitt Romney needs in a vice president

By Kathleen Parker, Published: January 3

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THE WOOLWORTH SIT-IN

Sitting Down to Take a Stand

The Great Bear

Foursquare’s Revamped Website Could Challenge Yelp

Obama’s State of the Union Address Sees 760,000 Tweets / Where Was the Tech?

Polar Bears Starving

Polar Bears Starving

Protect their Ice from Corporate Polluters

NMAI - Storytellers

Polar Bears Starving

Protect their Ice from Corporate Polluters