Mongolian grassroots activism & Goldman Environmental Prize

Great story of one of the recipients of this year’s prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize, Ts. Munkhbayar of Mongolia.

Mining is a huge industry in Mongolia and supports many people in good ways – but rampant unregulated mining has also been a huge problem on a number of fronts, notably environmental. Mongolia’s lifeblood, for fishing and livestock, is the fresh waterways – and it is great to see the Onggi River Movement making amazing progress to preserve it.

Parking spaces become temporary parks

Temporary parks dominate parking spaces across the U.S. reporter’s notebookOn the third-annual PARK Day, urban parking spaces across the country were commandeered and turned into small oases. Photos: Put up a PARK lot By Daniel Terdiman Staff Writer, CNET News.com Published: September 21, 2007, 5:22 PM PDT

reporter’s notebook SAN FRANCISCO—It’s a gorgeous Friday morning and Jennifer McLaughlin is blending a smoothie in her rooftop garden.

Except this garden isn’t at her house, it’s not permanent, and it’s not even on a rooftop. In fact, it’s a temporary oasis of grass, a bench and a few chairs, some young pepper plants, some even younger brown-egged hen chicks, and it has all been installed in a parking space a stone’s throw, and in full view of, City Hall.

And McLaughlin is vigorously riding a bicycle that in turn is powering the blender for her smoothie.

This is all part of PARK Day, a collaboration between San Francisco non-profits Rebar and Public Architecture and the national Trust for Public Land, during which more than 40 cities across the country have seen countless groups take over parking spaces and turn them into an extremely wide variety of interpretations of the “public park.”

“People have gotten inspired because it’s easy to understand (how to) improve the quality of urban habitat,” said John Bela, a co-founder of Rebar. “People are taking their ideas into the streets. People are transforming these parking spots into extraordinary, creative acts, and acts of generosity.”

For McLaughlin and her colleagues from the San Francisco Department of Public Health who have set up a demonstration of what a sustainable rooftop garden looks and feels like, PARK Day is a wonderful chance to spread the message that urban environments don’t have to be a never-ending field of concrete and steel, and that even if you don’t have a traditional garden, you shouldn’t feel cut off from a life with green things.”

“The whole concept is to promote more open spaces,” McLaughlin said. “If you can’t have it on the ground floor, get it going on the rooftop.”

On this third PARK Day-the first occurred in 2005 when Rebar set up a temporary park in a single San Francisco parking spot-the creative spirit is definitely in the air, and it’s not just ordinary citizens who are getting involved.

Even San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom has gotten on board, said Bela, who explained that the mayor had donated his personal parking space outside City Hall to the cause. Reached by phone, Bela said that he and some others from Rebar had parked their “human-powered, mobile public open space” in the mayor’s parking spot and that “people are chilling out and relaxing in the park.” Photos: Put up a PARK lot

Not far away, and around the corner from McLaughlin’s temporary park, Kathleen O’Day and several people from San Francisco’s Department of Public Works and Recreation and Parks department have set up what they’re calling a healing garden.

This might be the best of the day’s parks. It is a stunningly beautiful setup adjacent to San Francisco’s Main Library that is complete with a wall of bamboo, a bunch of other tall plants, 10 feet or so of healthy grass, a small garden pond filled with dahlias and two distinct spaces.

One side is designed for social interaction, O’Day said, while the other is for solo contemplation. In its entirety, the park, known as “Frankie’s Garden,” is dedicated to the (hopeful) healing of O’Day’s brother, Frankie, who is battling stage four hodgkin’s disease, and who is preparing for a stem cell transplant at a hospital in Boston.

“The whole idea was we wanted to create a garden that would be great for people to come and relax and get away from the city,” said O’Day. “So the idea (became) a healing garden because they knew what was going on with my brother.

Many of the temporary parks around San Francisco were dedicated to specific demonstration or community-oriented purposes.

For example, on Folsom Street, there was a dog park, complete with dozens of tennis balls and a rectangle of grass for any wandering pooches to circuit. Nearby were three other temporary spaces set up in parking spaces: a long table with plenty of chairs for sitting and reading, a beauty salon outside a cosmetology school, and a bike repair outlet.

In addition, a block or two away, Blair Randall and several others from San Francisco’s Garden for the Environment were doing hourly demonstrations of worm composting.

“My take is that it allows people to see established urban areas in a new way,” said Randall, “because I think urban areas become quite literally concrete in our minds, but we have all the power to change that. I don’t think you know the value of something until it’s gone. Being able to stop in at a garden in an urban area allows people to say, ‘Oh, wait, we don’t have this.’”

In a way, PARK Day was a dress rehearsal for what Public Architecture hopes will be a series of permanent installations set up in urban streets.

According to John Peterson of Public Architecture, the organization is planning on installing what he called a “bioswale,” a system that will capture storm water runoff from the street, filter it and send it back into the ground water. The system is expected to be installed next year in San Francisco’s South of Market district.

But for now, residents of San Francisco and the other cities participating-New York, Seattle, Portland, Miami and others-will have to be satisfied with one day of these terrific temporary oases. Now on News.com The XP alternative for Vista PCs Photos: The tools that make tech Blog: Make money from home—sort of Extra: Nobel laureate disses manned spaceflight

As an observer, I can say it’s quite a wonderful feeling to be walking down a heavily trafficked street and stumble upon one of these little pieces of green paradise amidst the asphalt and cars. Some, like the “Park-Fi,” which offered passersby benches and free Wi-Fi, were going for a community feel. Others were just trying to make an artistic statement.

But either way, the experience was positive and enriching. After all, how often do we get to see our cities deviate from the never-ending rush of cars, commerce and rules.

Of course, even PARK Day had its rules. Those who had commandeered parking spaces had to pay the meters.

At one point, at McLaughlin’s sustainable rooftop garden, a couple of her colleagues noticed that a meter maid was coming.

“We’d better feed the meter,” they said urgently.

But over at the temporary beauty salon, where there weren’t any meters, but where the space was in a one-hour parking zone, Cara Buglil said the meter maid was simply driving by and honking happily at her and her fellow cosmetologists.

Stand up for the Burmese People

Normally I write about climate change. But today I realized there’s not much point in trying to save the future when hostile military regimes are murdering innocent people in the present.

Today the Burmese Junta opened fire on peaceful protesters, including thousands of Buddhist monks, brutally gunning down at least nine people.

China, the country’s main weapons supplier, refuses to intervene, or to stop weapons supplies. Their only comment was that they hope “the situation there [in Burma]... does not get complicated.”

In my opinion 9 dead people is very complicated.

In recent days the main source of news from the country has been digital images smuggled out by email, because western journalists have not been allowed in. I’m guessing that the internet is also the only way to get news IN to the country.

So let’s all today use the internet. Let’s have an impromptu Blog Action Day to protect the Burmese people, or to at least encourage them. Go to your own blogs and write about it. Comment on other blogs that already have written about it. Let the people know we support them. Make some buzz in the blogosphere.

Notes from Canada’s Young Activists

A Generation Stands Up For Change

Dr. Samantha Nutt knows the challenges often faced by young Canadians as they work to make a difference and make their voices heard. Always one to stand up and challenge the injustices around her, co-founding War Child Canada at the age of 29 was just another step in Nutt’s life as a young activist.

In the foreword for Notes from Canada’s Young Activists, Nutt shares her own experiences while celebrating the achievements of the book’s contributors. These contributors include young writers like Ilona Dougherty, Ahmed Kayssi and Severn Cullis-Suzuki, to name a few, who share their inspirational and revealing stories of what motivated them to take action to change the world.

So, how do members of the twenty-something generation see the world? Pick up a copy of Notes from Canada’s Young Activists to find out.

For more information, please visit: http://www.douglas-mcintyre.com/book_details.asp?b=1107

Rethos so far...

My intent with this blog is to find out what other Rethos.com users think of Rethos so far.

I was so excited to hear about the site and the idea behind it. I think it is a great concept. I realize it is still in the beginning stages, but I hope things pick up with the site soon.

I really haven’t noticed a lot of changes with the site since I signed up from the very beginning. I am hoping that the programmers and idea makers have been working hard behind the scenes to develop this into a more powerful site, and that the major enhancements and changes just haven’t been released yet.

I just feel like it is missing something big, and I just can’t put my finger on it.

One major element I do know that is missing from this site I believe are forums. I think forums are a great way to bounce ideas back and forth. I think forums would be a huge benefit to this site, to allow for more communication and to really allow this site to snowball forward to really effect change.

There are some minor things here and there that I have noticed, such as it seems hard to find things; it seems like the organization is a bit lacking, for example when I click on News Feed, it seems to always be the same articles on top.

I want to know everyone’s thoughts, and hopefully we’ll get some good ideas on here and if they haven’t been passed on yet to the folks at Rethos, hopefully they will see the blog. Please post your comments!

A day in the life: Cops, cell phones, and being a planeteer.

‘Local Action’: It’s the trendy catchphrase that you see all over any website that has even the most vague reference to environmental, social, and political subjects. But really, what is it?

The easiest answer is carrying a big sign and marching about. Perhaps, also, it is being involved in an organization that focuses on the problems around you, such as the Sierra Club, The Nature Conservancy, or any of the multitudes of local action groups. But it seems that I stumbled upon a new (to me) means of getting stuff done. I have dubbed this method “Calling the Cops.” Please, allow me to explain.

I am a carpenter. This is, at times, not a particularly exciting job, and I have been known to occasionally not really care to work very industriously. In fact, I believe that the best part of work is when one is not doing it. It so happens that on one of these less-than-industrious occasions, I was casting my emergency back-up fishing rod in the direction of some elusive aquatic beasties in a canal behind one of my customer’s houses. Life couldn’t be more sublime.

Oh, wait. Yes it could.

When I retrieved my fishing lure, I noticed something odd: It was being drug through a particularly nasty cloud of dark blue silt. Now, understand that these are South Florida canals, and that they contain not exactly the clearest of water. However, clouds of dark blue silt are still an abnormality. When I scanned for the source of the cloud, what I found left me livid: a three-inch pipe dumping dark blue muck into the waterway. Further investigation revealed that the muck was the byproduct of a pool-resurfacing company’s grinding. Not okay.

So, what do I do? If I do nothing, I’m a hypocrite and I suck. Not an option. If I ask them to stop doing it, they don’t learn the lesson. If I politely recommend a place for them to stick that pipe, I get stabbed. Nothing is really looking good here.

Then it occurs to me: The cops! While I naturally lack trust for any authority figure, I realized that I might be able to take advantage of all of those tax dollars at work. At the very least they get a warning, right? Maybe if I’m lucky a fine, and it stings a little. What happened next has given me an exponentially deeper respect for the good ol’ FLPD. Here’s what went down:

Just before I have to leave work to go to class, I notice said cloud of sludge. I then call the Fort Lauderdale Police Department and tell them the address of the sludge cloud, and the operator lazily notifies me that a unit would be sent out to ‘take a look’. I leave for class, mildly discouraged.

When I get back the next day, the house-sitter informs me that they did, indeed, take a look. But they didn’t send one unit; they sent two Marine Patrol Cruisers down the canal, and two cars on the street side. Impressive. But here’s the important part: They didn’t just write them a hefty fine, they arrested five of them. I bet they got the point.

And I got the point too. The police are a more effective tool for deterring pollution than a sign is. Don’t get me wrong; signs do have their place. But when things need to stop, and stop now, your cell phone is much more useful.

So the moral of the story is this: Police can be nice, contributing members of society, but you have to help them by keeping your eyes open. Look for the crimes against the environment around you, and pick up your cell phone. Tell the people who can make an immediate difference what’s going on, and give them the chance to do something about it. You may be as surprised as I was.

Remember: People who are too lazy or too ignorant to care are the reason why things aren’t changing in this world. If we can make them pay attention, then we need to try it, even if it hurts. How many times do they have to get burnt to realize that touching the fire is a bad thing? Not many.

They’re making a mess of things, you know, and they’re doing it right next to you. Well, they were doing it next to me, at any rate. Sometimes making a social change is as easy as dialing a phone number. If you know this, then rock on. But this article is for people like myself, who didn’t think about the possibility of a cell phone saving the life of a sea grass bed, or a few of the coral polyps we have left around here.

The American Political Party System

Democracy is referred to as majority rule in the government. The people of the country do a popular vote to elect representatives. The ones with the majority of the votes end up going into office and run the country the way that they claimed they would. The way these representatives get their ideals out to the public is by joining a political party that shares the same values that they do in order to mass campaign their ideals to the public.

However, a lot of comprise is made throughout these party systems. Two people will hardly ever agree completely on every little issue that comes up. In turn, these people make comprise after comprise on certain issues to give them the power of the masses.

The only way these parties can gain power is if the majority of people that they are supposed to be representing support them.

Here is where this democratic system in American starts to break down. Voting is a right given to all American citizens regardless of background, race, religion, etc. Simple ideal, get the majority of votes and get a seat in office.

The majority of votes, however, does not mean that you have the support of the majority of the population. This phenomenon happens from lack of voting turnouts that is becoming an epidemic throughout the younger generations.

There are explanations behind younger citizens and their lack of support behind this so-called democracy. The main issue is the effect of the development of the two party system in America, where if you are not a Democrat or a Republican you hold no chance in elections.

The main explanation of lack of voters is that the younger populations do not agree with either party, period. The Democrats are way too liberal for most people liking. In addition, they have this profound inability to make decisions on certain issues. On the other hand, you have the Republicans. They are beholders of conservatism and mass corruption. They have the ability to make decisions it is just that their decisions make them rich and the rest of the American population suffer.

These lack of choices for our leaders have lead voters to disregard voting, simply because of lack of available candidates. Democracy is supposed to be majority rule, right? This makes it interesting because less then 50 percent of the voting age actually votes. This means that the nation is ran by the few, making our government very similar to the one party system that Communist enact when they hold power, the only difference is the addition to one more party.

Hearing the phrase, you deserved no right to criticize the government if you do not vote; so many times it is absurd. I deserved all right to criticize the government even if I do not vote because why would I support a system in which I believe does not work properly. If I voted, it would be like fighting for higher oil prices and government monopolies. This is what the Democrat and Republican parties are monopolies. They oppress the little contender from competing in the market place.

In the end why support something that is not going to change on its own. How the government runs is not going to be change by the same corrupt political parties that are voted in year in and year out, they are going to be changed by the true majority of the population by direct voice and action.

Can You Make The Right Choice?

I know, I know. Having children in a world where the population is reaching its upper limit is not just crazy, but irresponsible. I know this. However, sometimes this happens and when it does, it can be magical and challenging as well as liberating and empowering.

When my wife and I had our baby 16 months ago, we were forced to make a choice: give our child the recommended vaccinations or trust the research regarding the harms and don’t get the vaccinations. Our baby is so precious and loving that we couldn’t see ourselves risking our baby’s life with these generally unhealthy vaccines. So, our baby was never vaccinated.

“There’s nothing like being a parent,” people used to tell me. Now I say, “there’s nothing like having to make the decisions that parents have to make!” It’s one thing to make risky decisions for oneself. It’s another thing entirely to make them for someone else. And imagine how difficult it is to make life or death decisions for one’s own children that go against the right-wing, status quo in the U.S.?

I focus on this point because I feel that all too often, activists and left-wing type folks undervalue the experiences of parents. And when we think about working, left-wing, progressive, radical, and critical-thinking parents, we often fail to realize the special challenges they are faced with. Very few people choose to write about these experiences as being a part of the fundamental economic and social changes we hope to make.

To drive this point home, myself and our baby recently contracted Pertussis (whooping cough). Apparently, it’s more common in our area than is commonly thought. This isn’t just a normal cough. Rather, it’s a serious cough that can lead to all kinds of other phsyical problems and in some rare cases, even death. I was vaccinated for Pertussis when I was a child, but the vaccination loses strength as one gets older. Our baby was not vaccinated, as mentioned above, so our baby’s experience is much worse. Our baby doesn’t even know the reason for the cough, only that it hurts.

And that’s the point. We had to make a decision about this particular vaccination for our baby. In our case, it appears that we made the wrong decision. But, we’re sure that if given a chance to go back in time and give our baby the vaccination in order to avoid the current suffering, we would choose NOT to vaccinate once again.

Even though the Pertussis is making our baby uncomfortable, our baby will be immune to it for up to 10 years from this point. A natural immunization, if you will. Our baby is slowly recovering from it after a round of antibiotics, so all seems to be well.

Just as blocking an intersection causes pain and suffering from abusive police forces, stopping the cycle of abuse from pharmaceutical companies sometimes causes similar pain and suffering. There are many examples of everyday activism where people are forced to make decisions that may one day lead them to pain and suffering. These decisions are often difficult to make but often very necessary and helpful to the issues at hand. I think it’s time to thank the radical parents among us for making the tough choices just as we would thank the radical activists for putting their lives at risk in the intersection.

My wife and I are having another baby that’s due in December. Now, we’re faced with the same decision once again; to vaccinate or not. But this time, we know Pertussis is around us and we’re more aware of the risks to our new baby. So do we decide to vaccinate our new baby or not? It’s like we’ve just been let out of jail after a grueling standoff between ourselves and the police and we’re now being asked to sit right back down in that same intersection. Would YOU have the courage to do it again?

Thank you radical parents!

Do you celebrate Thanksgiving?

Every year Thanksgiving rolls around, I get frustrated and apprehensive about what to do. For many years, I felt this way merely because I was vegetarian and my family cooked everything with meat or broth and I felt like I was causing such headaches, why even bother. Telling people why I was vegetarian never helped- my family wanted to think it was because I just loved cute little animals and didn’t want to eat them, or health reasons, or environmental reasons. But when I would tell them it was less about those things and more about the fact that the meat industry is bad for people, especially those with little political power, they really did not want to hear it.

At this time, I did not know the real history of Thanksgiving, that it was declared a holiday by the governor of Massachusetts following the massacre of about 700 Pequot “Indians” and generally is a celebration of white crimes on indigenous people since 1637. This year, my husband and I face tremendous pressure to celebrate Thanksgiving with our very large family. “People are flying in.” “We wanted the little one to have a sleepover.” “It’s a family holiday; whatever the history was, it’s our intent now that matters.” It goes on and on. The last argument, by the way, is the excuse I hear from many people who do know the history of Thanksgiving but still join their families to eat and reunite. And at these gatherings there is no mention of how Thanksgiving started, or why we have so much on our table and others have so little. Maybe there is thanks given to “God” that we are the ones with so much, but never a mention as to why we have so much, where it’s coming from, who’s suffering because of its presence on our table. To mention this is considered picking a fight with people who are innocently joining together to cook for you, clean up, watch football, catch up on each other’s lives, etc. “Just relax” you’re told. Or “you’re depressed, you should see a shrink” is always a good one. Listen to the easy sound of the game on the TV, watch your little cousin perform something on her little violin, forget about all that’s outside these walls.

Protesting in front of strangers, shoppers, cars, cops, counter-protesters is NOTHING compared to this kind of protest. Lobbying a school board to change their policies toward military recruiters is easy compared to this kind of quest for understanding. The pressure to give in is immense. Raising kids to stand against racism and racist holidays is not easy glamorous work. But making a stand in some way is so important this year and every year. Boycotting is one way, volunteering to say the blessing is another (a well-written concise but informative one), or just any creative ways of non-cooperating with the celebration of genocide.

Daily Things I Do To Make This World A Better Place

• Recycle. After reading about the problems plastic is causing in this world (essentially all plastic ever produced is still in existence), I try to make sure to recycle all plastic. When my friend, not knowing about the recycling of plastic in Bulgaria (it’s something we don’t do in Holland… “Boo!”) threw what was meant to be recycled in a normal dumpster, I almost went dumpster diving… Before I did, I questioned my sanity and decided I needed some more time to think about it so I didn’t dive in after all.
• Like in Holland, bottles of beer have a ‘return-fee’ on it. However, I did not know this in the first weeks I was here. The deal is… when you return a bottle, you have to take one out also. I doubt that there will ever be a moment where I’ll be buying 40 half litre bottles of beer, so every now and then I put some bottles outside for the poor scavengers to take advantage of.
• Turn off electric stuff, heating, etc. Even though I love coming home in a warm house, or though I would like to make potential burglars think there’s someone home… the planet cannot afford this. Besides that, it’s cheaper to keep stuff turned off.
• Every day I try to read or participate in at least something regarding activism. Online usually. For instance, I became a volunteer journalist for Rethos.com.
• By sponsoring, you can actually help finance solutions for a lot of problems in this world, one click per day. Check this out.
• Most important: vote with your money! When presented with a choice, favor the company who’s more eco-friendly, or does other things to make this world a better place. Don’t go to McDonalds, Burger King, etc. Don’t buy Disney products (not like I would, but still). Stop giving your money to evil corporations. Consider buying a hybrid so you stop fueling oil wars. Your car is burning the blood of innocent (and less innocent) people. Read what people are doing with this (click). Or about shareholder activism.

Plus, I probably talk about this stuff every day. Spreading awareness is the start. More people need to be aware, so more people will start taking action. Might be stuff I’m forgetting here. Plus there’s stuff I don’t do daily.

The idea is… it’s the little things that count most. If everybody would be doing just these little things, this world could be so much better. Realist idealism!

Dutch government bans cultural identity

With this article I want to achieve two things. Firstly, I want to give foreigners a look into the national affairs of the Netherlands regarding the public freedoms we enjoy and the recent political trends. Secondly, I hope to inspire Dutch citizens to ACT, to change something and to turn current trends around.

Being a Dutchman living abroad gives me a different scope or perspective on current events in the Netherlands. The Netherlands are changing from the liberal country it used to be and losing more and more of its identity. This, for me, is signified by two events in political decision making:

• The parliament moving to ban the use of psilocybin mushrooms;
• The parliament moving to ban squatting.

In recent years, Dutch populist politicians have been trying to win votes by claiming they want to win back the “Dutch identity”. Charismatic politician Pim Fortuyn, who was assassinated by an animal rights activist before the elections, started this trend by saying Holland is full – a politically sensitive statement that had until that point always been dismissed as right-wing extremism. Through his wit and charisma, Pim Fortuyn prevented this from happening, also having a left-wing history, fighting for student rights in his younger years. After the 2002 elections, more politicians stepped through the door which had long been closed. They want tougher rules for immigration, illegal immigrants, foreign cultures ‘invading’ Holland and influencing our norms and values, et cetera. Now, being a Dutchmen, I don’t know what the Dutch identity is they’re talking about. Holland has always been an internationalised country and that is our identity; we are people of the world. Recent events caused me to change my mind.

Holland is an international country as I said, and internationally, the Dutch identity is a liberal one. The same politicians that want to protect the Dutch identity are the ones that want to ban psilocybin mushrooms and squatting. Two of the things that separate us more from the rest of the world, give us more of a distinction – an identity – than any wooden shoes, tulips or watered down village-traditions have done in the last 60 years.

In the 1960’s, a counterculture movement called the Provo’s, provoked society and politics to review their standards by provoking violent responses from authority, through the use of non-violence. The most famous event of theirs being when in 1966 Dutch Queen Beatrix married Prince Claus (former Wehrmacht-soldier). Amongst the rumours they spread were that the drinking water would be containing hallucinogens or that the sugar cubes given to the horses would contain LSD. These claims turned out to be false, but they got attention from the world press through setting off a smokebomb while the couple was riding their horses with golden carriage through the streets. The police, by Dutch standards, responded very violently and the Provo’s welcomed this to make their point to the whole world.

The Provo-movement eventually disbanded and dissolved into the hippie-movement of the seventies, which later grew into the squatting movement of the 1980’s. The economical climate was definitely not at its best time, there was a shortage of residential buildings in the main cities, but (because of the economical climate) there were also a lot of buildings which were empty. The squatters then started inhabiting these and a movement was formed with a rather distinctive anarchistic accent. Some of these places are homes to give-away-stores, illegal radio stations, vegan restaurants, or have expositions or free parties.

The Netherlands is one of the few countries where squatting is not banned by law. If a building is empty for more than 12 months and the owner cannot show that it will be used in the near future, it’s legal for the squatters to live there. The only obstacles are the breaking and entering, but the law for this can only be enforced when caught red-handed (the idea is to get a bed, table and chair in as fast as possible so that they can show they live there, which makes them squatters and not burglars). The other obstacle is a law that states one cannot live in buildings which are not defined as residential buildings.

In recent events, the residents of one squatted building in Amsterdam that was to be evicted put up a trap which was supposed to let the roof collapse on top of whoever would enter the building. This led to politicians having a second look at squatting and moving to ban it. A majority of parliament is currently for a ban. Those who oppose the parliament’s reaction say that this is a matter of law and not politics. The perpetrators should be tried, not the law. These reactionary politics are typical of the current political climate in the Netherlands. Another example of this is the current discussion on psilocybin mushrooms.

On the 24th of March, 2007, a French tourist killed herself by jumping from a bridge. It is said she had used mushrooms when she jumped. A spokesman for the opium-affairs department of the ministry of Public Health, commented that “They say she used mushrooms, but there has been no section or toxicological research.” The Coördinationpoint for the Assessment and Monitoring of new drugs (CAM) stated that this was not the girl’s first attempt to kill herself. Reacting to this event, the Dutch government, as well as the parliament, has proposed the banning of all psilocybin mushrooms.

Since this event with the French tourist, more events have taken place with tourists reacting badly to mushrooms, usually combining it with alcohol or other drugs (something which is strongly advised against). By request of the minister of Public Health, the CAM research into the dangers of mushrooms. They concluded that these are the risks involving mushrooms:

• Health of the individual: no risk.
• Public health / society: minimal risk.
• Public order / safety: minimal risk.
• Criminal involvement: no risk.

The CAM advised against a ban on mushrooms for the following reasons:

• The smartshops selling the mushrooms might replace them by substances which carry more risk;
• It will lead to shrooms being sold in tablet-form, like XTC pills;
• Users would pick mushrooms in nature, which could lead to serious problems if they mistake the wrong type of mushrooms for the ones they are looking for;
• Users might switch to other drugs, which might be more interesting from a criminal perspective and possibly carry more risk for usage… Leading to more danger to the public;
• The banning of mushrooms is a rather tough sanction given the current problems its causing;
• Maintaining a ban would bring costs.

According to the national organization of smartshops (VLOS), its research showed that it’s mainly tourists causing the problems and incidents. The reason why a rising trend has occurred since 2005 with regard to these incidents, according to them, is a 30% increase in tourists in Amsterdam and a change in the composition of the tourists, due to low-budget airlines, cheap citytrips, etc. These tourists are often there for just a weekend and are in a ‘rush’ to take the mushrooms before they leave. This leads to irresponsible behaviour and a higher number of incidents. They also claim that this is almost completely limited to Amsterdam, the main attraction for drug tourists. The mayor of Amsterdam, Job Cohen, has proposed to sell mushrooms only after a certain waiting time (2 days for example), so that it can’t be a hasty decision and consumers have the time to find out more about taking mushrooms in a safe environment. The Dutch minister of Public Health however has proposed to ban the sales of mushrooms altogether and will confer with his colleague, the minister of Justice, to turn mushrooms into harddrugs – making them equal to cocaine, heroin and crack.

Now I’m going to ask some questions here, because why did he ask the CAM for advice in the first place, if he was going to go along with moving to ban it anyway? The CAM has labelled his decision as a political one, not an informed one based on the facts their research showed. Since this announcement an organisation called Red De Paddo (Save The Shroom) has started to get people active. Through their website over 40.000 people sent emails to the parliament calling for a more informed decision regarding the ban of mushrooms. They also organized a protest on the main square in Amsterdam (‘de Dam’) which was attended by a few hundred people. One of the speakers there, Peter Bronkhorst, was a Provo-activist who actually threw the smokebomb at the royal wedding in 1966. I’m sad to report that he passed away not even a week after the demonstration on the 2nd of November.

Now I personally cannot understand that everyone’s acting so surprised regarding the illegalisation of squatting and psilocybin mushrooms. I cannot understand why there were only a few hundred people at the demonstration. I cannot understand why there has only been one demonstration so far. I cannot understand why there were no 24/7 demonstrations outside the ministry of Public Health or the parliament.

What has happened to the squatting spirit, the hippie spirit, the Provo spirit? We have gotten lazy in our position of luxury and are not willing to fight for what we have. Why do we choose to become active after we have lost it? Are we lazy, scared, both? Why even ban mushrooms altogether if it’s not the Dutch, but the tourists causing the problems? Surely there must be ways to avoid this. Why are politicians that claim they want to protect the Dutch identity actually the ones most out to destroy it? The legality of psilocybin mushrooms and squatting are signs of our freedom, signs of our ‘Dutchness’. Freedom is a cause worth fighting for and this has often been said. Stop listening to the politicians who ban things in the name of cultural identity, freedom or safety. Wouldn’t it be more dangerous to give up freedom for safety, than the security that would provide could save us from? Why are freedom and safety even polarized? Why is it a choice between either one of them, we can surely create a world in which we have both… My point is that this is not just about kids wanting to trip, kids wanting to live in buildings for free, besides this squatting offers a high cultural value and mushrooms a spiritual one. It’s not even about that though; it’s about protecting ourselves in a more and more controlling-political climate. We are not safer or better off this way. Look at the most glorious years of the nation post-World War II (and maybe even predating the World War) – they were the most liberal times.

With the passing away of the older generations, it is time for a new generation of activists to step up and to show that we will not give up our rights to politicians who act on anything but facts.

It’s time to organise, it’s time to act and it’s time NOW. Because if we don’t…

Recap

• The Dutch Provo-movement in the 60s, hippies in the 70s, and squatters in the 80s, have fought for rights which are now being taken away by a lack of action throughout the mid-90s until now;
• All research, including government research, has shown that making mushrooms illegal will cause more danger, not less;
• Where is the logic in a complete ban of mushrooms nationwide, based solely on incidents with tourists who act irresponsibly, impulsively and combine these with other drugs;
• The government and parliament actually going against advice from independent research shows that they do not respect science nor the rights of the individual, this must be stopped NOW;
• We must get organised and start acting to prevent these bans from happening, as well as other attacks on our rights, through creating understanding and support throughout society and the media;
• Stop voting for politicians who solely react to events instead of doing their job properly and treating the cause, not the symptoms. Get others to do the same; no matter their political orientation.

I have absolute faith that these repressive actions of the government will create a new movement like the Provo’s from the 60s or the squatters from the 80s. It would be in Holland’s best interest if this came sooner, rather than later. So we can prevent things from being made illegal, because it’s harder to get something legalised.

Don’t be surprised when you see the government proposing to ban cannabis also. They’re already attacking coffeeshops with the EU imposed smoking bans and under the denominator of ‘preventing drugtourism’. They will increase their pressure and become more blatant about it in the next 4 years. I myself expect them to use situations in which drugged people act crazy or OD in public (caused by their repression of safe drugs) and they will link these situations to cannabis. Likely saying that the use of cannabis has lead these people to use whatever caused the trouble. The cause in the great majority of the cases is, of course, alcohol, but they’ll prefer to tax that more heavily instead of banning it altogether. Mark my words.

Act NOW.

The Weapon of the Future is here!

This is just a quick post to let ya’ll know that my band’s first album – The Weapon of the Future – is finished and available for download from our website.

It’s 14 tracks, all-original, politically conscious, and totally unlike any other hip hop album you’ve ever heard.

get it here - for free!  - on Jamendo.com 

enjoy,

lynx

Future Communications

I have a vision of communication breakdown. Technology is, at this point, more prolific than ever. However, it is slowly evolving into a tool only fully-realized by those “in the know,” or financially well-off. More and more of the general public is losing track of information, simply because they lack access to technology, or their permissions are being revoked by rulings from those in control. Currently, I’m beginning to re-explore the notion of human-to-human contact. Public performance. Orating. Speeches. Performance art.

The key is to focus on presentation that lacks a reliance on technology.

The reason I feel this is vital is because I envision technology, or an energy source to power it, becoming to expensive for the average citizen to afford or acquire. Reintroducing public discourse at the street level-as opposed to the virtual internet model-is of major importance and focus.

Sharing information between like-minded individuals is of tantamount importance, particularly so within the sphere of activism. When those in power and in control wish to stifle the flow of information, technology will be the first to experience restrictions.

Even if the non-profit arts collective I run is shut down, even if they raise the price of street performance permits to exorbitant levels…I’ll keep pushing for live performances and speeches. Encouraging ground-level, accessible, AFFORDABLE contact between people is of vital importance.

WMW: John H. Bryan

A key skill in being effective in any endeavor to encourage change is knowing who you need to target. WMW is who matters and why. This is a part of my rethos blog that identifies people sitting on 3 or more corporate board of directors and are in prime positions to create change. The first person I have identified is John H. Bryan, Jr.

Bryan sits on 5 international corporation boards including:

Bryan Foods (aka mini Sara Lee) President (1968-)
Member of the Board of Amoco (1982-)
Member of the Board of Bank One
Member of the Board of British Petroleum (1998-)
Member of the Board of General Motors (1993-)
Member of the Board of Goldman Sachs

http://www.nndb.com/people/986/000060806/

Change the world, one influential person at a time.

Are you an idealist?

You, as most of us, probably have a vision of a utopia, or at least you know the world would be a better place, if only X would be the case. Then you probably also know the frustration of not seeing anything happen and not knowing exactly what to do to change that one thing. How do you go about to make this change happen? A lot of us are just stuck on the internet reading and spreading information with people we know (or don’t know) and hoping that everything will turn out alright. This is good, I agree with the point that spreading information and creating awareness is the most important thing we can do.

For me this was never enough though. Sometimes I’d have discussions with people and they would say “well, if you’re such an idealist, why are you here discussing this with me, instead of out there and making a change?” The answer was that I simply did not know HOW. I saw all these things happening around me and thought “how can I, as one person, have an influence on this”. I was so stuck in the “how”, constantly looking at the external world, that I didn’t know where to start to make a change. So after seeing films like “Pay It Forward” I told myself that I should go out of my way to do one good deed per day. I decided to do some volunteering so some days would be covered even before doing anything – I knew that I would do something good that day.

It still kept me frustrated though. I knew I was doing the right thing, but didn’t feel it yet. Then things clicked.

It’s REALLY easy. If you want to make a change, then change what’s easiest to change… Yourself!

If you don’t like the meat industry; become a vegetarian. If you don’t like overconsumption; design your lifestyle in such a way that it will require minimal consumption. Make it part of who you are. You can do all kinds of things, but that’s external. You need to start internally to gain the energy and strength to really change something in the external environment.

A bonus! If you sort things out internally, things become really clear about what you need to do externally. You know where to start, you know how to change things. Gandhi said “be the change you want to see in the world”. I always saw this as something abstract. It’s not, it’s literal. You want peace? Be peaceful – get rid of the anger in your emotional spectrum. Focus on being instead of doing. Your actions come from your identity, but your identity can not come from your actions.

Change yourself and the world will follow. I promise.

Facebook Underutilized as a Tool Kit for Activism

Despite Facebook’s vast, international audience and best-of-breed viral features, the site has yet to realize its potential to advance social change. My two co-founders and I conceived of Rethos.com out of criticism of the landscape of mainstream social networking websites and their apparent obsession with superficial content. Indeed, it remains doubtful that Facebook’s 60+ million members are going to super-poke their way to a more just and sustainable world.

 

But the Facebook platform is beginning to show its ability to mobilize in support of social and environmental causes, not because of features built by its team of several hundred in-house programmers, but because of the site’s open door policy towards third party software developers.

 

In April 2007, Facebook released an application programming interface (API) that allows independent web developers to create software applications that run directly inside the world’s fastest growing online community. A flood of more than 15,000 ‘third-party’ applications have since been launched on Facebook. Among the most popular apps are Booze Mail, a mini email program that encourages users to send each other ClipArt-like images of Long Island ice teas and Alabama slammers, and Hot or Not?, a sort of avatar slide show that allows users to rate each other’s hotness on a scale of one to ten.

 

Sound like a vapid wasteland of superficiality? Fear not. A small but growing number of developers are introducing applications aimed at making this world a better place. Here are a few examples.

 

Debates, Rethos’ own offering to the Facebook community, is a discussion utility that encourages users to spark and share debates on the social and political issues that matter most to them and their friends. The app has enjoyed a burst of viral growth since its launch only a few weeks ago, and currently boasts about 1,000 users. Among the hottest debate topics are Barack Obama’s preparedness for the White House and the ability of capitalism to be a framework for social change.

 

Since its May 2007 launch, Causes, a fundraising tool for non-profits, has enjoyed stellar viral growth. But despite the app’s more than 10 million users, its daily use rate is less than 1% and it has yet to produce significant revenues for its thousands of non-profit clients. I give Causes top marks for its viral marketing and user interface but it clearly has some homework to do if it wants to compete seriously with other web-based fundraising platforms.

 

I Am Green is the very clever work of serial developer Karel Baloun, formerly a senior engineer with Facebook. The app is a user-generated database of tips for reducing the ecological footprints of its more than 100,000 users. Among my “leaves,” suggested tips to go green, are to purchase recycled paper products and second hand clothing. I Am Green even boasts some celebrity users, including Senator John Edwards and Dr. David Suzuki.

 

As its name would suggest, Carpool helps inter-city travelers in search of a ride share. Currently at just over 300,000 users, the app is especially useful for Facebook’s original audience: college students in search of an economical and green way to get from A to B. Carpool was created by Zimride, a start-up that plans to expand its debut app and launch other applications aimed at helping people get green.

 

So there you have it. Social entrepreneurs may be a minority among Facebook developers today, but that seems to be slowly changing. As the novelty of Booze Mail wears off (as does its hang-over), users of social networks are looking for a more meaningful experience. Between the various offerings on Facebook and websites dedicated exclusively to social change, such as Rethos, socially conscious web junkies have an expanding online tool kit to help them reak havoc on the status quo.

Bats in the cave, canaries in the coal mine

Across New England, bat colonies are dying off at an unprecedented rate from a malady known as “white-nose” syndrome. The disease can be recognized by patches of white fungus on the animals’ muzzles. Rather then being in deep hibernation, as they should be in February, biologists from the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department observed emaciated bats clustered toward the entrance of the Aeolus Cave in Dorset, Vermont, the largest wintering habitat for bat populations in New England. Other bats were flying outside the cave entrance and dead carcasses littered the snow. As reported in the Burlington Free Press, “Biologists do not yet understand what is killing the creatures — only that they have never seen this before. The dead bats are emaciated, as though starving. A white fungus furs their noses. Autopsies show lung congestion, as though they had pneumonia. Whatever the cause, it kills with deadly efficiency. Bat populations have plummeted more than 90 percent in the two New York caves where the syndrome was first identified last winter.”

White nose syndrome has been spreading in New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and other areas of Vermont. Biologists are mystified as to what is causing the malady. Bats consume enormous quantities of insects during the summer months and are considered very important to controlling pests that damage crops and spread disease.

Honeybees are disappearing nationwide for unknown reasons. Since 2006, beekeepers have reported on what has become known as Colony Collapse Disorder. Apparently healthy bees have set out from their hives in large numbers and then they don’t return. The Natural Resources Defense Council reports that approximately one third of all the honeybee colonies in the country are gone. Pollination from honeybees is essential to some $15 billion of crops, including almonds, apples, broccoli, carrots, and avocados. Research continues, but the cause of colony collapse remains a mystery.

Studies and surveys compiled by Audubon show a dramatic decline in common birds (from 50 to 80 percent), including meadowlarks, field sparrows, terns, hummingbirds, and herons. They comment:

The wide variety of birds affected is reason for concern. Populations of meadowlarks and other farmland birds are diving because of suburban sprawl, industrial development, and the intensification of farming over the past 50 years.

Greater Scaup and other tundra-breeding birds are succumbing to dramatic changes to their breeding habitat as the permafrost melts earlier and more temperate predators move north in a likely response to global warming. Boreal forest birds like the Boreal Chickadee face deforestation from increased insect outbreaks and fire, as well as excessive logging, drilling, and mining.

The “canary in the coal mine” metaphor has been used for decades to convey environmental risk: when the sensitive canaries succumbed to toxic gas exposure within the mine, the miners could flee to fresh air. As toxins spread and environmental degradation accelerates, we’re now getting a whole new group of potential metaphors. The white-nosed bat in the cave. The honeybee that never returns to the hive. The songbirds that no longer sing.

Searching Dogpile using the terms “species decline” brings up an alarming list of threatened species and indications of declining biodiversity. Prairie chickens. Gopher tortoises. Emperor penguin colonies have been diminished by as much as 50 percent by a combination of overfishing and climate change.

An odd little movie from 1971, The Hellstrom Chronicle, blended a documentary film style with touches of science fiction to create a curiously engaging epic battle being fought between humans and insects (the only two populations on the increase around the globe). [Spoiler: it looks like the insects are going to win.] Now the science fiction aspects of that film are looking more like reality every day.

Faced with the monumental destruction of many of the species with which we share this planet, the natural reaction may be to sink into despair or paint a sign proclaiming “The End is Nigh” and start picketing on the street corner. The scope of the problems can be completely immobilizing and inaction typically breeds despair. How do you respond when the magnitude of the challenge is unprecedented and the destruction around the world continues to increase?

Surprisingly, there are positive signs. In Blessed Unrest, Paul Hawken writes about a massive worldwide movement, made up largely of individuals and small groups, that is rising, like nature, to address environmental and social justice causes. Flying under the radar of most of the media and not in the scripts of the politicians, this movement gives hope that humanity can rectify the mistakes of the past and lead us to a gentler, healthier future.

Another minister of hope in a world beset by intractable problems is Rebecca Solnit, whose book Hope in the Dark offers a notable revelation: yes, grassroots activism really can change the world and, in case you’ve forgotten how, here are some examples of changes that nobody expected. An essay extending her thoughts on this topic appeared in TomDispatch.com, Acts of Hope: Challenging Empire on the World Stage. A quote from that essay:

The world gets better. It also gets worse. The time it will take you to address this is exactly equal to your lifetime, and if you're lucky you don't know how long that is. The future is dark. Like night. There are probabilities and likelihoods, but there are no guarantees.

So it goes…

The photograph of the bats at sunrise is by Laura Grace and is presented under a Creative Commons license.

A Bank for the Common Good

More and more people are seeking out an avenue to act and force change, to be heard and acknowledged. This capitalist system is indeed rotting from the inside out, but what it calls spoiled, we call ripe for change. Aristotle got it right to say that man is a political animal. People are feeling the unnaturalness of prolonged political isolation; we are cynical in sizing up politicians, caustic in describing our "democratic" process, yet ignorant in the reasons behind our feelings. We attribute them to man's nature, to inevitability, because when something is inevitable it can be coped with, processed, and stored away as having been solved.

When a system is as it is for as long as one can remember, what reason does one have to think it is not inevitable. When we see a range of mountains, or a vast sea, do we not in some part of our minds believe it to go on and on, repeating itself infinitely? Not until we hold the image back do we fully understand that it does not. People must be broadly educated, tying together biology, ecology, sociology, history, political science, and pscyhology to understand the depth and width of the problems we are facing. Richard Manning expertly combines multiple fields in a brilliant Harper's article, "The Oil We Eat". So what are we doing to educate people about these things? What are we doing to build lasting institutions that will create and maintain economic democracy?

I've looked around a bit, and see these great projects promoting and participating in economic democracy. Momentum is undoubtedly building - that is, if I know about it, then it isn't some obscure, flimsy idea. All around there are bits and pieces sprouting up, people wondering, questioning, and even more frightening for the elite class, people are having ideas. This website is a marvelous example of this, the groups in Austin, Chicago, and elsewhere, the growing popularity of our progressive icons, the cynicism and unease, the outcry for change we've seen (and disingenuously seized upon) in this election; all this points to a populace ready to act. What we need, is a place we can point to and say, "Start here." We need an action we can lay out and say, "Start with this." When we can do that, the movement will have arrived. We are in a bit of an abstract place right now, kind of fragmented, kind of unsure.

I believe we have a concrete, solid, achievable plan of attack in the common good bank. This is a project in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts engaging in an experimental economy and is scheduled to open in 2009; and because of the town's small size it is an ideal place to get started and prove it works. With proof comes following. The assistance foundation, the Society to Benefit Everyon (S2BE), began by convincing local businesses to give rebates to members, who would then use the money for some social good. The system proved cumbersome, so they decided to  reorganize as a real life bank. This bank is dedicated to the principles of economic democracy. It redistributes its profits back to the community; it features an innovative mix of voting for true and  meaningful democracy; it loans to small businesses and encourages worker-owned cooperative structuring; it is introducing a local currency to protect from economic collapse, and stimulate local spending. This bank is the seed for a new world.

Imagine having a bank like this in your neighborhood. How much easier would it be to get that social enterprise you've had in mind off the ground? How many more people would be involved with activist work? How much longer could the current rancid and exploitative economic form possibly survive with such a viable and more logical option just next door? With this bank people have a direct avenue to effect change; they can choose to support a democratic financial structure simply by opening a checking account. The plans have already been created, now it is up to us to make sure they get out and spread like a cancer-curing virus, ridding ourselves of the filth this capitalism has left for us, and replacing it with an honorable economic system that is fit for man, and all his innovative and imaginative nature.

All change begins with a vision. Look at the common good bank in detail, think about it, digest it, and wonder what if...  

Rethos-Inspired Top Ten List of Some of the Best Places to Work

Employers come in all shapes and sizes, and no one organization is the answer for all employees, all throughout their careers.

The following is a Rethos-inspired, evolving, and non-scientific list of some of the best places to toil at currently:

1. Patagonia: With a mission statement that reads in part "...use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis," and a founder whose autobiography is called "Let my People Go Surfing" referring to his employees, Patagonia is no ordinary apparel-hawker. This manufacturer of outdoor clothing and gear has surfboards and kayaks strewn around its Ventura, California headquarters. The company is thoroughly devoted to the environment, implementing a raft of green initiatives at its offices, and even is seeking to create "The Patagonia National Park" in the Patagonia region of Chile and Argentina to protect what it calls "undomesticated lands and waters", through its organization Freedom to Roam. Working here combines the best of quality manufacturing with an encouragement for an active outdoor lifestyle along with environmental concern. Sounds like a perfect combo. www.patagonia.com
2. Specialized Bicycle Components: Bagels outdoors on Friday, lunchtime bike rides through the roads and trails around company headquarters, all the while producing among the best products that you actually have a passion for: all of this helps Specialized stand out from other manufacturers as a great place to work. Specialized produces a range of innovative mountain bikes, and is a pioneer in popularizing the sport. Specialized remains a relatively small manufacturer, at 200 people, but if you are the engineering or design type with a passion for the outdoors and an inkling to produce what you ride to work, you should count yourself in this Morgan Hill, California-based bicycling mecca. www.specialized.com
3. Google: Along with technical cachet, Google is a growing, benefit and salary-rich place to practise such 21st century career tasks as UI design, search algorithm tweaking, 3D geospacial software coding, and information architecture. And all this from a company whose motto "Don't be evil" inspires such endeavors as their foray into alternative energy and sponsorship of cheap trips to the moon - currently only for motorized rovers but perhaps for employees sometime soon! www.google.com
4. Umpqua Bank: With a slogan that reads "World's Greatest Bank," this Oregon-based institution delivers for its employees in a few key areas. The bank itself is a very progressive place, featuring flatscreen televisions and computers available for walk-in customers, as well as great (and hip) online resources with a whole array of lifestyle choices called Umpqualife. What's more, Umpqua Bank not only contributes significantly to community and kids-oriented organizations, but its employees are given 40 hours of paid time off yearly to participate in the Connect Volunteer Network through which they volunteer in more than 700 separate non-profit organizations. Who would have thought working for a bank could have been, well, so unprofitable ;  )  www.umpquabank.com
   
5. Timberland: Another company known not only for its apparel but its corporate activism is Stratham, New Hampshire-based Timberland. While Timberland manufactures more all-purpose footwear, clothing, and gear, than the outdoor-niche catered to by Patagonia, its ideals are similar (if not as overt) in its commitment to the environment and healthy living. Timberland regularly makes it onto various "Best Lists", such as Fortune's Best Companies to Work For, Working Mother's Best Places to Work, and Best Corporate Citizens, perhaps partly due to its 5-pillar employee philosophy which revolves around: Health and Wellness, Financial Well Being, Development, Awards and Recognition, and Beyond You. Working at its corporate headquarters also sounds tempting, with benefits like: daycare, a fitness center, subsidized food, and even on-site dry cleaning and car detailing! Plus employees get discounts on Timberland gear: and just when those boots I have been eyeing are otherwise unaffordable... www.timberland.com
   
6. Avaya: Avaya is a worldwide telecommunications company based in New Jersey providing complex communication solutions to large organizations, such as IP telephones and unified messaging. As a spinoff of Lucent Technologies, itself a spinoff of Bell Labs, Avaya has a long and storied history in telecommunications. Besides the standard rash of perks and benefits, Avaya makes a serious commitment to diversity in various ways: hiring practices, outreach and even through its suppliers, for example, sourcing supplies through the organization Minority, Women and Disabled Veteran-Own Enterprises. All new Avaya employees are trained to operate within the "Avaya environment of inclusion." www.avaya.com
7. Clif Bar: As expected from a company that manufacturers energy bars, Berkeley, California-based Cliff Bar Inc. commits itself to providing a balanced, healthy lifestyle for its employees, including offering personal trainers and workout facilities. That's just the dropping-off point to Clif Bar's appeal: the company has been recognized as a maker of nutritional products, sponsors a bunch of sporting events, and is heavily active in hundreds of charitable events and non-profit organizations. Seems like the energy bar trend is a healthy one not only for consumers, but for employees and non-profits too. www.clifbar.com  
   
8. Apple: Apple is another computer-centric company to make the list. The company continues to consistently release products which fuse the best of high tech with design and usability. Besides getting lucrative stock options, any one with a penchant for music and design would no doubt revel setting up in Cupertino. Apple has a solid record for diversity in hiring, and a rock-solid record for reputation worldwide. Imagine being privy to all of Apple's new products from the inside, and even participating in their design! Rapturous for Mac-freaks without a doubt. www.apple.com
   
9. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters: While Starbucks usually receives all of the caffeine-twinged accolades, there is another smaller Vermont-based house of beans which deserves a look. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters is popular all over New England and into Canada - especially in its home State where you can pull into any road-side stop and see all of the alluring Green Mountain flavoured coffees laid out for the taking. All the better since free coffee is only the beginning of employee benefits, whichinclude medical, training, and tuition assistance, as well as an extensive continuous learning program in partnership with the state of Vermont. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters is also environmentally conscious and pushing an increasingly fair-trade agenda, being ranked #1 in the BestCoporate Citizens survey by Corporate Responsibility Officer. www.greenmountaincoffee.com
   
10. Bioware: No list of best places to work would be complete without a nod to the gamers out there. However, Bioware, a video game developer with studios in Edmonton Alberta and Austin Texas would make most lists of this type on merit alone: with perks like on-site massages and haircuts, an über casual workplace and flexible schedule, and perhaps most crucial the creative opportunity for designers, artists, writers, and programmers to practise their trade producing top notch games, Bioware flies in the face of the notion that work and play are two separate things. www.bioware.com

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Since this list is ever evolving, your feedback is welcome. Entries will be added and subtracted as the Rethos community speaks:

Cooperative Based Society

"Bright and early for the daily races, going nowhere, going nowhere"

Capitalism, as many of us realize, is an exploitative system at its roots, predicated on money-making money. However, if someone is sitting around watching their money grow, someone else is not getting due compensation for their day's labor. Capitalism is such a malfunctioning system it undermines itself; there should be some price that clears the market, that removes scarity and surplus, but incentives lie in artificially manipulating prices, spending on advertising, extorting labor as much as possible. It is a system gone mad by its own design, an addict, a junky.

No, we need a new system, and when we are ready, a new system will be created and formed from within the old, just as the evolution of capitalism from feudalism.

All the economy is, is dealing with scarcity. The question is, are we going to deal with it democratically or not. Once enough people recognize the absolute need for democratic engagement of public issues, democratic businesses will be supported.

But, first we need democratic businesses. We need financial institutions that support these democratic businesses. The common good bank system is designed to be inclusive and cooperative, while being able to spread quickly. With a virtual branching system the founders are working on, you can start one in your community relatively quickly if you can gather enough support.

You can provide financial backing to activist projects, to community betterment. Once people begin to see and internalize the values that bring community solidarity and brotherly (and sisterly) strength, change will become inevitable.

With a guiding philosophy, and a goal in mind, we no longer run in circles, aimlessly and blindly, instead we progress. We are able to continue life's journey toward abstraction, that for some mysterious reason we are fortunate and compelled to take.

 

Get involved, support your co-ops, start one of your own, advocate for economic democracy, and read through the common good bank's website, scrutinize and deconstruct it, make it your own. www.commongoodbank.com.