Fossil Fools Day: Saturday, April 1, 2006

We're having a protest rally again this year in support of the Jumpstart Ford Campaign's Fossil Fools Day events.

Saturday, April 1, 2006 - 1:00pm-2:00pm
at the corner of 11 Street and 9 Avenue SW
(Metro Ford, downtown)

Chelsea has done up two posters you can use to promote the event:

• Gas Mask Beaver,
• Canada's Oil Addict.

Oct 15, Documentary Screening: The Take

This Saturday, October 15, 1:00PM, we're watching The Take, a documentary by Naomi Klein and Avi Lewis. That will be followed by group discussion.

"In the wake of Argentina's dramatic collapse in 2001, Latin America's most prosperous middle class finds itself in a ghost town of abandoned factories and mass unemployment.

"In suburban Buenos Aires, thirty unemployed auto-parts workers walk into their idle factory, roll out sleeping mats and refuse to leave. All they want is to re-start the silent machines. But this simple act - the take - has the power to turn the globalization debate on its head.

"Director producer Avi Lewis and writer/producer and renowned author Naomi Klein take viewers inside the lives of ordinary visionaries, as they reclaim their work, their dignity and their democracy."

[expletive deleted] for the U.S. in New Orleans

Now I try to avoid foul language, particularly in print, but there's an extremely apt and descriptive term I'm seeing all over the place to describe what has gone on, and is still going on, in New Orleans: It's a clusterfuck. (Wiktionary defines that as “A disastrously unsuccessful collaborative effort.”)

From people being prevented from leaving the city on foot—turning them back at gun-point [another reference]—to blatant exploitation of the, predominantly black, poor, to what are effectively prison camps for survivors (with scarier implications for the more conspiracy minded).... It seems like practically everything that can go wrong there is going wrong—either through ignorance and extreme stupidity, or through wilful neglect.

Countless attempts to help the people there have been blocked. All sorts of excuses are being conjured up to prevent people from recovering, from getting the basic needs of food, clothing, shelter. The abuses being heaped on the survivors are deeply disturbing.

A very surprising amount of the media coverage, particularly the early coverage, didn't try to apologize for the government(s) responsible. Although that has inevitably begun to shift as the spin control comes into play.

Meanwhile, the U.S. dictatorship is shunting the responsibility to help the survivors onto the charity of the public instead of doing everything it can. This is in stark contrast to the efforts of individuals who still have—unlike the Bush Regime—their humanity, who try to do everything they can to help without fretting over political or bureaucratic implications. Although, sadly, many who are willing to help are being blocked at every turn.

And the long-term implications of this disaster are just as scary (if not scarier).

There have been a number of very expressive pictures coming out, both actual and collaged. I've seen a number of them using the Bush guitar photo-op from a couple days into the disaster.

The extreme expressions of racism, classism and unfathomable inhumanity in the (lack of) response to this disaster (and the creation of the circumstances that contributed to it) is beyond any reasonable comprehension. I will echo the sentiment I heard from someone recently that they wished they believed in Hell so they could believe that the people (ir)responsible would be going there.

[this entry copied from my personal blog]
disaster, NOLA, Katrina, hurricaneKatrina.

Source for Chomsky and related videos and audio

ChomskyTorrents.org has a whole pile of interesting documentaries, videos, audio books and other media related to Noam Chomsky, his writings and other stuff not related to Chomsky, but relevant to the issues he talks about.

Gaviotas Eco-Village in Columbia

Gaviotas is an amazing-sounding eco-village in Colombia. According to an article on Social Design Notes, they have achieved energy self-sufficiency and no net greenhouse gasses (due, in part, to their massive reforestation efforts - over 1.5 million trees planted).

See also:

• Gaviotas on Wikipedia.
• Gaviotas: A Village to Reinvent the World - a 1998 book by Alan Weisman (review, Amazon listing, an article in Mother Jones by Weisman).
• Dispatches From a Colombian Utopia by Kate Willson:
  • "Gaviotas: In a War Zone, but Not at War".
  • "An Ecologically Sound Paradise in the Middle of a War Zone".
• New Internationalist: "Time for Utopia.
• Gaviotas home page at University of Iowa.
• Living on Sun, Water, Wind, Grass, and Community.
• Gaviotas article on MetaFilter.

Seen at Boing Boing: Water pump driven by kids' roundabout.
eco-village, intentional community, community, environment, ecology, Colombia, Gaviotas, wind power, windmill, rainforest, energy, consensus.

Gaviotas Eco-Village in Columbia

Gaviotas is an amazing-sounding eco-village in Colombia. According to an article on Social Design Notes, they have achieved energy self-sufficiency and no net greenhouse gasses (due, in part, to their massive reforestation efforts - over 1.5 million trees planted).

See also:

• Gaviotas on Wikipedia.
• Gaviotas: A Village to Reinvent the World - a 1998 book by Alan Weisman (review, Amazon listing, an article in Mother Jones by Weisman).
• Dispatches From a Colombian Utopia, by Kate Willson:
  • "Gaviotas: In a War Zone, but Not at War".
  • "An Ecologically Sound Paradise in the Middle of a War Zone".
• New Internationalist: "Time for Utopia".
• Gaviotas home page at University of Iowa.
• Living on Sun, Water, Wind, Grass, and Community.
• Gaviotas article on MetaFilter.

Seen at Boing Boing: Water pump driven by kids' roundabout.
eco-village, intentional community, community, environment, ecology, Colombia, Gaviotas, wind power, windmill, rainforest, energy, consensus.

Organic Art Action - Saturday, June 25

This Saturday (June 25, 1-3pm), we're having an Organic Art Action.

We'll be gathering to collectively create public art using found natural elements (e.g., twigs, leaves, 'weeds', rocks, etc.).

Meet at Eau Claire Plaza (map is approximate), near the Prince's Island Park pedestrian bridge. We'll go west along the river pathway (on the downtown side of the river, in the direction of the 10 Street bridge), creating organic art along the way. If you're late, just walk the path along the river until you find us.

You can download and print a PDF poster of this info (about 1MB file size) to promote the event.

Some inspiration: Chelsea's post on Andy Goldsworthy's art.

organic art, CalgaryJammers.