Archive for the ‘Political activism’ Category
Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008
Approximately 225,000 people left New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina flooded most city neighborhoods in August 2005. A sizeable number came from the 9th ward. Some 1800 people died during the floods; later, hundreds more succumbed to stress-related ailments. [Saul Landau]
My parents visited the US recently, and we took the opportunity ...
Posted in Citizenship, migration, race, and ethnicity, Income and poverty, Political activism, Society and culture | Comments Off on Visiting New Orleans
Monday, July 21st, 2008
The American Federation of Teachers - with which my union, the GEO, is affiliated - has voted to endorse a bill to provide Universal Healthcare in the United States:
HR 676 would institute a single payer health care system in the U.S. by expanding a greatly improved Medicare system to every resident.
HR ...
Posted in Political activism, Society and culture | Comments Off on Healthcare provision in the United States
Monday, July 21st, 2008
One of my colleagues in the ICR, Andrew Kennis, has published an overview of the Venezuelan media system at Narconews. He starts with an analysis of US coverage, such as of the recent decision not to renew the license of one of the independent commercial stations, and moves on to ...
Posted in Alternative Media, Corporate media, Freedom of the press, International Affairs, Media regulation, Political activism, Public Service Media | Comments Off on Overview of Venezuelan media
Thursday, June 12th, 2008
Back in 2004 I posted an item about an artist who had been arrested and charged with terrorism-related charges. Steven Kurtz had been using (harmless) bacteria as part of various art projects, as part of his work with the Critical Art Ensemble. He has recently - 4 years later - ...
Posted in Political activism, Prisons and crime, Society and culture | Comments Off on The curious case of Steven Kurtz
Monday, June 9th, 2008
I had heard nothing of this previously, and there's nothing on the BBC News website, which is generally my first destination for breaking news in the US or UK. However, Dennis Kucinich is currently on the floor of the US House of Representatives, introducing 35 articles of impeachment against Bush. ...
Posted in International Affairs, Political activism, Prisons and crime | 1 Comment »
Saturday, June 7th, 2008
As I mentioned in my previous post I'm currently at the National Conference for Media Reform in Minneapolis. Yesterday was designated as an 'evening on the town' by writ of the organizers, and I ended up spending much of it at several of the receptions run by groups like IPA, ...
Posted in Freedom of the press, Media regulation, Political activism | 3 Comments »
Friday, June 6th, 2008
I'm at a grassroots action session at the Media Reform conference in Minneapolis. There's some useful tips on productive activity, but perhaps the most useful aspect, for me, is a reminder is of the common aspects across organizing - talk to people, identify goals, set achievable (and concrete) targets.
I got ...
Posted in Alternative Media, Freedom of the press, Media regulation, Political activism | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, April 30th, 2008
A number of items today, from a range of sources.
First, the picture to the left is of Labour TD Joe Costello, who for the last 5 years has run a weekly protest outside the Mater hospital, calling for better healthcare.
Second, potentially good news for grad employees in private universities in ...
Posted in Citizenship, migration, race, and ethnicity, Education, Income and poverty, International Affairs, Labour issues, Political activism, Society and culture | Comments Off on Activism compendium
Monday, March 10th, 2008
To be a satirist necessitates a certain thickness of skin. You're going to be upsetting people (if you do it properly), and need to be comfortable staring them down. So what do you do when you get a letter from a potential target complaining about a satire that never actually ...
Posted in Alternative Media, Intellectual property issues, Political activism, Society and culture | Comments Off on Yes Men bow to BP complaints – in their own way
Monday, February 4th, 2008
Many people pointed last week to Obama's victory speech in South Carolina, calling it inspiring and uplifting. At first glance I saw it as well executed, but perhaps lacking in substance in areas I would like to have addressed, but as I listened closer, particularly to the latter sections, I ...
Posted in Electoral politics, Political activism, Society and culture | Comments Off on Symbolism and rhetoric