Be Here Now

From China to Occupy Wall Street: Art is My Weapon

noreply@blogger.com (MJ Reynolds) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 05:17:00 +0000

"Liberty" is an expression of art, says Chinese artist-activist Ai Weiwei, who returned to make his home in China after thousands of students were killed at Tienanmen Square in Beijing in 1989. [ Please watch the full length BBC documentary below]

I was at Occupy Wall Street in NYC in October 2011, and when I traveled to Miami in December to enjoy Art Basel -- I was also greeted by "Occupy Art Basel" posters in shops along Lincoln Road, and in an exhibit building near the New World Center, where an outdoor film festival celebrated 10 years of Art Basel.

"Art is My Weapon" was stenciled onto the front walkway leading up to this year's "American" themed Rubell Family Collection Show in Miami and a large room at the start of the exhibit was filled with Roman columns and military assault rifles and the debris of war, all covered over by thick gold paint.

Guests were treated to "milk and honey" - Milk that they received from a sterile incubator room and honey that dripped from somewhere above, which could be caught in a spoon or spooned off of a white slab... Art makes you think.

About where we have come from ...

And where we are today ...

Occupy the Courts will be a one day occupation of Federal courthouses across the country, including the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Friday January 20, 2012, which is the second anniversary of the "Corporate Personhood" decision that gave citizenship rights to corporations to donate to election funds and influence Congress.

I just watched this fascinating BBC documentary about the great Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei.

This is a full length BBC Documentary with Chinese artist - activist Ai Weiwei, who designed the bird's nest stadium at the Beijing Olympics, and brought together a village of 1,600 artists for more than two years to hand make 100 million porcelain sunflower seeds as a tribute to the history of the Chinese people. He experienced the NYC art scene of the 1980's and was fascinated by social protests and the Iran Contra trials. He returned to make his home in China after thousands of students were killed at Tienanmen Square. His modern art often pays homage to the art that was destroyed during Mao's "Cultural Revolution" and also serves to tell the story of today's China with honesty and without fear. ... He is a true inspiration to "Arab Spring" and #Occupy movement artist - activists - and protesters.

Help to make 2012 The Year Of Change: OccupyWallSt.org

Occupy Protesters Take Message to Rose Bowl Parade 2012

noreply@blogger.com (MJ Reynolds) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 20:47:00 +0000

"Everything is Not coming up Roses" was the message delivered to millions of Rose Bowl Parade viewers, January 2nd in Pasadena, California -- where hundreds of "Occupy the Rose Parade" protesters carried banners and marched alongside a float depicting big banks as a giant octopus.

OCCUPY's FIVE PRIMARY DEMANDS:

(1) Take Corporate Money out of Politics: (A) Reverse Chief Justice Roberts & Supreme Court "Citizens United" ruling; (B) Continue with immediate congressional action to Ban Corporate Money from all US Federal & State Elections

(2) Regulate Corporations: Reinstitution of the 1930s "Glass Steagal" wall that separated investment and commercial banking functions -- No universal banks.

(3) Make Banks Accountable: Investigate fraud and prosecute CEOs & banks that benefited from the dot-coma & real estate ponzi schemes of 1998-2008.

(4) Immediately restore the Capital Gains' post 9/11's 15% tax level to pre-G.W. Bush era (i.e. 30%; Capital Gains Tax rate was 49% late '60s)

(5) Immediate Foreclosure Relief for Americans with provisions for tangible asset equity drawdowns for major banks which unfairly structured loan provisions during the 2000-2008 time period, especially Bank of America (owner of Countrywide's mortgage asset portfolio) and Citibank.

Why Occupy Wall Street is "Occupy Male Street"

noreply@blogger.com (MJ Reynolds) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 18:25:00 +0000

How can we, as the people of the world overcome greed in an abundant, male-dominate society in order to address world poverty, health issues, education and income inequaltiy?

The question was posed by Singularity University Executive Director Salim Ismail at an independently organized TEDx Bay Area event, December 8, 201l, titled "Occupy Male Street."

Singularity University at the NASA Ames Research Park in Silicon Valley has assembled a world class community of thoughtful leaders, academics, and entreprenuers across many fields of exponentially advancing technologies (nanotechnology, genetics, medicine, artificial intelligence, etc.) in order to address humanity’s greatest challenges. SU is training a new generation of leaders to manage exponentially growing technologies.

What we do now in regard to the use of global technology will literally catapult civilization into a higher quality of life or set back the vast majority of the world's people, said Ismail.

TED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading -- through TED.com, annual conferences, the annual TED Prize and local TEDx events.

Men go into a "flight or fight" mode under stress - Women "befriend and tend."

These male verses female stress responses are also played out in society as civilizations shift from female to male-dominate architecture systems, and sometimes spend decades correcting the balance.

Wall Street and the globalized financial system are sadly based on an old male architecture system that tends to "chop up abundance" and distribute it among those at the top, while the emerging Internet, Open Source and Occupy movements are based on a female architecture that seeks to nurture and manage abundance, making better use of resources to overcome global issues. "That is why you see government attempts to censor and suppress the Internet with legislation like SOPA," said Ismail, who sees this as a "very damaging" move.

Legendary computer scientist Vint Cerf -- widely hailed as one of the founders of the Internet itself -- came out against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) on Dec. 16, 2011, joining a coalition of most of the Internet's major sites that are trying to foil SOPA and an PROTECT IP Act.

This week, a star lineup of tech industry bigwigs and billionaires went on the offensive on the innovation issue, launching an advertising campaign in newspapers from Silicon Valley to New York to Capitol Hill. Internet VIPs — including Google’s Sergey Brin, eBay co-founder Pierre Omidyar and Twitter’s co-founders Biz Stone, Jack Dorsey and Evan Williams — blasted the bills as having “a chilling effect on innovation.”

The greatest threat the bills pose is to startups and small businesses.

Venture capitalists argue that young Web services hinged on user-generated content would be most threatened by SOPA and Protect IP. For an investor, it makes them second guess whether to fund a startup because they don’t know if “it’s going to be around tomorrow” or be shut down, according to Brad Burnham, a partner at Union Square Ventures.

With significant backing from Google and NASA, Singularity University opened in 2009 with a renowned cast of faculty and advisors and is poised to become a world class institution for the innovation, collaboration, and leadership that will allow the world to capitalize on the great promise of technology to solve global issues.

Renowned futurist Ray Kurzweil was onboard at the launch of Singularity University at the TED conference in 2009 in Long Beach, CA. “We are now in the steep part of the exponential trajectory of information technologies in a broad variety of fields, including health, nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence,” said Kurzweil. “It is only these accelerating technologies that have the scale to address the major challenges of humanity ranging from energy and the environment, to disease and poverty."

The University was founded by a group of leaders, including renowned author and futurist, Dr. Ray Kurzweil, space entrepreneur and chairman of the X PRIZE Foundation, Dr. Peter Diamandis, and Director of NASA’s Ames Research Center, Pete Worden.

The list of faculty and advisors includes several distinguished individuals, including nobel laureates and key players from major universities. Kurzweil serves as chancellor and trustee of the University, along with Diamandis as vice chancellor and trustee, and Salim Ismail, a former Yahoo executive, who works as executive director and global ambassador.

"By focusing on exponentially growing technologies and their ability to address the world’s grand challenges, this interdisciplinary institution will fill a critical need.” said Mr. Chris DiBona, speaking in 2009 on behalf of the founding corporate sponsor, Google.

The University offers several academic programs that serve as a networking hub for interdisciplinary study, and as an incubator for tomorrow’s world-altering companies.

Singularity University (SU) (www.singularityu.org) opened in June 2009 on the NASA Research Park campus with a nine-week graduate level interdisciplinary curriculum designed to facilitate understanding, collaboration, and innovation across a broad range of carefully chosen scientific and technological disciplines. The curriculum is broken out into 10 tracks as follows:

future studies and forecasting

networks and computing systems

biotechnology and bioinformatics

nanotechnology

medicine, neuroscience and human enhancement

AI, robotics, and cognitive computing

energy and ecological systems

space and physical sciences

policy, law and ethics

finance and entrepreneurship.

Those who successfully navigate the curriculum receive certificates of completion. The school also hopes to arrange for students to receive class credits that can be transferred to fully accredited universities. Applications are accepted through the school’s Web site.

In addition to the nine-week graduate level summer session, the University offers several 10-day and 3-day executive level programs throughout the year. These programs will educate and prepare today’s leaders to build and adapt their businesses to the major technological changes that will are on the horizon.

Singularity Hub’s Keith Kleiner is a founding member of Singularity University. Singularity Hub is the source for this information, and follows the latest developments regarding Singularity University.

Two Million Workers Strike in Britain Over Pension Funds

noreply@blogger.com (MJ Reynolds) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:22:00 +0000

London schools are closed, hospitals are handling emergency care only, and even passport agents have gone on strike in London today - Nov. 30, 2011. The massive strike by 33 public sector unions is a public announcement that the pension funds are sustainable and should not be cut in order to pay for bank bailouts.

Two million public workers are protesting the government's decision to extend retirement to age 68, double the employee's contribution and lower monthly retirement checks.

The Beautiful Women & Stories of #OccupyWallStreet

noreply@blogger.com (MJ Reynolds) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 12:51:00 +0000

Some of the beautiful, independent and intelligent women who are the faces of #OccupyWallStreet: They are doing their best to represent the 99% of the people in the United States and around the world who have been seriously affected by the actions of the 1% at the top, exemplified by the greedy corporate mentality of Wall Street: Big Banks, Big Insurance, Big Pharma that own the US Congress and care nothing about the people.

Filmmaker Steven Greenstreet has produced these beautiful images and captured these personal stories at #OccupyWallStreet in Zuccotti Park, NYC. October, 2011.

More Than 200 Authors & Writers Join #OccupyWallStreet

noreply@blogger.com (MJ Reynolds) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 20:33:00 +0000

"Historically, a story about people inside impressive buildings ignoring or even taunting people standing outside shouting at them turns out to be a story with an unhappy ending." - 11/13 "Observations by Lemony Snicket" author, Daniel Handler: Lemony Snicket/ OccupyWriters.com

Hundreds of authors, poets and writers from all over the world are rapidly connecting with the #Occupy, #OWS movement by way of OccupyWriters.com, where you can find NEW:

Original works by Francine Prose, Lemony Snicket, D.A. Powell, Duncan Murrell, Anne Waldman, Danica Novgorodoff and Michael Voll, Maureen Miller, Daphne Carr, Alice Walker, and Paula Z. Segal.

Marine Sgt. Adds His Voice To #OccupyWallStreet

noreply@blogger.com (MJ Reynolds) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 12:15:00 +0000

A combat veteran Marine adds his voice to #Occupy Wall Street, condeming police brutality and talking about the hardships faced by soliders when they return home. SGT. Shamar Thomas went down to Times Square on Saturday night (Oct. 15, 2011) in uniform to support the protesters and to verbally shame the NYPD force for the police brutality that he witnessed on the Brooklyn Bridge on Oct. 5th. "How do you think that makes me feel when I come home and see the police force in my own country spraying unarmed women in the face with pepper spray?" he asked police. He was interviewed by Keith Olberman on MoxNews.com, an internet channel that often disputes Fox Nation's coverage of news events.

Why #OccupyWallStreet Is Fighting Neoliberalism

noreply@blogger.com (MJ Reynolds) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 22:06:00 +0000

The World is in the hands of a very few elite, who make the laws that favor huge profits for the wealthy at the expense of the other 99% of the world's population.

"During the Bush years, the wealthiest 400 Americans saw their wealth increase by some $400 billion. #OWS #OccupyWallStreet " US Senator Bernie Sanders @SenatorSanders tweeted on Oct. 15th.

The movie, Inside Job -- Academy Award "best documentary" in 2011 really breaks it down. Financial power mongers pulled the perfect inside bank job.

Alan Greenspan (Chairman of the Federal Reserve 1987 to 2006) said recently that he made a mistake. He trusted the bankers to act in the best interest of their clients. But the financial district was on a casino roll with our (the 99% of American's) retirement investments, jobs, mortgages etc.

This crisis happened because the Depression Era Glass-Steagal Act was removed by a Republican majority congress that freed the bankers to get away with this criminal sh*t. What followed was Neoliberalism: A worldwide takeover by globalized corporations that spiked the wealth of the %1 while drastically reducing the quality of life for the other 99%. They knew exactly what they were doing and they should've never been bailed out. They should have gone to prison for life. At the very least, the New York Federal Reserve Bank should be audited and banking regulations should be put BACK into place. These are key demands being expressed by the people who #OccupyWallStreet.

This is what the American Dream has become in 2011.
Who is suffering from neoliberalism? - Children, the disabled and elderly, the working poor and middle class, and students: The other 99% of us included in the 50 million people without health care and 16 million long-term unemployed in the USA.

In stark contrast: CEO pay has skyrocketed 300% since 1990. Corporate profits have doubled. Average "production worker" pay has increased 4% and the minimum wage has dropped. (All numbers adjusted for inflation).

Pullitzer prize-winning author and journalist Chris Hedges in Time Square, New York City, where tens of thousands of people assembled on a global day of action 10/15/2011. Chris shares his feelings on where the #Occupy movement came from and where it is heading.

Occupy Wall Street is a people powered movement that began on September 17, 2011 in Liberty Square in Manhattan’s Financial District, and has spread to over 100 cities in the United States and actions in over 1,500 cities globally. #OWS is fighting back against the corrosive power of major banks and multinational corporations over the democratic process, and the role of Wall Street in creating an economic collapse that has caused the greatest recession in generations.The movement is inspired by popular uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia, Spain, Greece, Italy and the UK, and aims to expose how the richest 1% of people who are writing the rules of the global economy are imposing an agenda of neoliberalism and economic inequality that is foreclosing our future. - #OccupyWallStreet.

Reaction To #OccupyWallStreet Demands

noreply@blogger.com (MJ Reynolds) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 03:28:00 +0000

#OccupyWallStreet -78-98 Liberty St, Manhattan, NY 10006. I was here when students, teachers and union workers rallied support for the movement on Wednesday, Oct. 5th and in New Jersey on Thursday, Oct. 6th.

You can follow via Live webcam mobile units set up in NYC and Washington D.C.
It's about time! The goal is to end the greed and corruption of the wealthiest 1% of America! #OccupyWallstreet has brought the issues out into the open for discussion.

Best video I've seen on four of the main #OccupyWallStreet demands:

1) Reinstate Glass-Steagall
2) Audit the Federal Reserve
3) Repeal "Corporate Personhood."
4) Reform Top 1% and Corporate tax rates.

Getting lobbyists out of the Government has to be done. Super Pacs need to be eliminated. We need to stand together as the 99% to restrict campaign funding.

The protest launched at "Liberty Park" in the Wall Street financial district more than three weeks ago (Sept. 17th) has gained the support of activist groups online and around the world, and has finally grabbed the attention of major television, online and print media.

Protesters also brought the message to Washington D.C. on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2011.

BTW - The audience gave Alan Grayson (former Dem. Senator from Florida) a standing ovation after he defended the Occupy Wallstreet Movement!

In response, here's what a few politicians said on Friday, Oct. 7, 2011.

“I for one am increasingly concerned about the growing mobs occupying Wall Street and the other cities across the country.” - Eric Cantor, US House Majority Leader (Rep.)

“I think it expresses the frustration the American people feel.”- President Barack Obama.

“They blame, with some justification, the problems in the financial sector for getting us into this mess, and they’re dissatisfied with the policy response here in Washington. And at some level, I can’t blame them.” - Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve.

“Don’t blame Wall Street, don’t blame the big banks, if you don’t have a job and you’re not rich, blame yourself!” - Herman Cain, Republican presidential candidate.

“We are the 1 percent.” - Signs tapped on windows at Chicago’s Board of Trade building.

“God bless them for their spontaneity. It’s young, it’s spontaneous, it’s focused and it’s going to be effective.” - Nancy Pelosi, US House Minority Leader (Dem.)

“This is like the Tea Party — only it’s real. By the time this is over, it will make the Tea Party look like … a tea party.” - Russ Feingold, former Democratic senator of Wisc.

“I think it’s dangerous, this class warfare.” - Mitt Romney, Republican presidential candidate.

“What they’re trying to do is take away the jobs of people working in the city, take away the tax base that we have.” - New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

“I’m very, very understanding of where they’re coming from.” - Senator John Kerry, (Dem.) from Mass.

The New York Times, opinion page "Thread, Oct. 7, 2011" sums it up this way:
If you look at the results, you’ll see a sort of historically familiar pattern: Democrats sympathizing with the protestors, Republicans railing against them and Michael Bloomberg worrying about his city’s tax base.

MoveOn.org and the American Dream Movement organized a massive march down to the Occupy Wall Street encampment, and they have also organized a "Virtual March on Wall Street" to demand government that is responsive to the 99% of Americans, not the 1% that can afford lobbyists.

"We in the American Dream movement respect and celebrate Occupy Wall Street as an independent movement; we love their spirit, courage, and nonviolence. Like so many Americans, we want to do what we can to help them succeed," the group said in a mass email.

"The occupiers have asked for the rest of us (who make up America's "99%") to stand and act with them in solidarity.

Today, we answer that call. Take a few minutes to share your story or your message of support for Occupy Wall Street here."

Upload an "I'm the 99% " story.

No more listening to the titans on Wall Street. They were wrong when they told us less regulation would bring more jobs. They were wrong when they told us their banks were too big to fail.

There is only one thing that is too big to fail today: the dreams of this new generation, finding its voice in Liberty Park.

Check out and share the "We Are The 99%" stories and messages.

Occupy Wall Street posters are available and can be downloaded at http://nycga.cc/resources/media/

Big Money
Corporations

1.Have taken our houses through an illegal foreclosure process, despite not having the original mortgage.

2.Have have taken bailouts from taxpayers with impunity, and continue to give Executives exorbitant bonuses.

3.Have perpetuated inequality and discrimination in the workplace based on age, the color of one’s skin, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation.

4.Have poisoned the food supply through negligence, and undermined the farming system through monopolization.

5.Have profited off of the torture, confinement, and cruel treatment of countless animals, and actively hide these practices.

6.Have continuously sought to strip employees of the right to negotiate for better pay and safer working conditions.

7.Have held students hostage with tens of thousands of dollars of debt on education, which is itself a human right.

8.Have consistently outsourced labor and used that outsourcing as leverage to cut workers’ healthcare and pay.

9.Have influenced the courts to achieve the same rights as people, with none of the culpability or responsibility.

10.Have spent millions of dollars on legal teams that look for ways to get them out of contracts in regards to health insurance.

11.Have sold our privacy as a commodity.

12.Have used the military and police force to prevent freedom of the press. They have deliberately declined to recall faulty products endangering lives in pursuit of profit.

13.Determine economic policy, despite the catastrophic failures their policies have produced and continue to produce.

14.Have donated large sums of money to politicians, who are responsible for regulating them.

15.Continue to block alternate forms of energy to keep us dependent on oil.

16.Continue to block generic forms of medicine that could save people’s lives or provide relief in order to protect investments that have already turned a substantial profit.

17.Have purposely covered up oil spills, accidents, faulty bookkeeping, and inactive ingredients in pursuit of profit.

18.Purposefully keep people misinformed and fearful through their control of the media.

19.Have accepted private contracts to murder prisoners even when presented with serious doubts about their guilt.

20.Have perpetuated colonialism at home and abroad. They have participated in the torture and murder of innocent civilians overseas.

21.Continue to create weapons of mass destruction in order to receive government contracts. *These grievances are not all-inclusive.

We, the New York City General Assembly occupying Wall Street in Liberty Square, urge you to assert your power. Exercise your right to peaceably assemble; occupy public space; create a process to address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone.

To all communities that take action and form groups in the spirit of direct democracy, we offer support, documentation, and all of the resources at our disposal."

Join us and make your voices heard!

OccupyWallStreet - Live Webcam Unit!
Mobile news webcam units have been established in NYC and Washington DC

New York City General Assembly - meets daily at 6pm at Liberty Park.

#OccupyWallStreet Protests Money-Driven Democracy

noreply@blogger.com (MJ Reynolds) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 16:56:00 +0000

Across the world, and most recently in the United States, a whole new generation of young people are expressing their anger and lack of faith in political and economic systems that produce and sustain an elite class of people at the top, who claim ownership of 99% of the world's monetary assets, while abusing and misusing the world's physical resources and human labor resources.

To The People of The World:
We, the New York City General Assembly Occupying Wall Street in Liberty Square, urge you to assert your power, the group said in an "official declaration" Sept. 30th 2011.

"Exercise your right to peaceably assemble; occupy public space; create a process to address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone....

"As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power. We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments. We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known."

Oct. 1st 2011 - The NYPD arrests 700 #OccupyWallStreet demonstrators, snatching video equipment and cameras and later releasing most of the protesters in what many are calling a case of police entrapment. Here is a "Step-By-Step Brooklyn Bridge" video that shows NYPD leading the demonstrators across the bridge, onto the car lanes, like a Pied Piper, into their orange, plastic nets. Police were also in full force behind the protesters, where they formed a rear brigade across the traffic lane, cutting off any exit route.

Members of labor union communities and MoveOn.org have now pledged their support and participation in the Occupy WallStreet & Occupy Everywhere movement.

What has happened since the violent air attacks on Wall Street in 2001?

Vast amounts of (taxpayer) money spent to wage war for 10 years.
Vast amounts of (taxpayer) money used to "bail out" big banks.
Fewer restrictions placed on private influence money that is poured into political campaigns.
Unemployment tops historic records, while social safety nets are being cut.
A record-breaking 50 million Americans have no health insurance and 45,000 die every year because they don't have access to health care.
The United States now has the largest prison population in the world.
The people of the world are finding ways to unite for social change.
The "Arab Spring" and more recently "Occupy Wallstreet" movements are toppling strong-man dictatorships and calling for serious reform within democratic societies to eliminate the unacceptable economic conditions that have steadily eroded the quality of life for the bottom 99% of people in the world -- the unemployed, working poor and working middle class.

Here's an example of what people who dare to "Think Different" are thinking:

Five years ago in Venus, Florida a group of peace-loving humanitarians came together with designer-philosopher Jacque Fresco to design a better world "Beyond Politics, Poverty and War" -- a resource-based economic system instead of a money-based system.

The Venus Project

The Venus Project advocates an alternative vision for a sustainable new world civilization unlike any socio-economic system that has gone before. It calls for a straightforward redesign of a culture, in which the age-old inadequacies of war, poverty, hunger, debt, and unnecessary human suffering are viewed not only as avoidable, but totally unacceptable.

Here is an introduction to the concept by the co-founders of The Venus Project.
"Future By Design," a major documentary on the life, designs and philosophy of Jacque Fresco was produced by Academy Award Nominated and Emmy Winning filmmaker, William Gazecki.

President Obama Repeals "Don't Ask Don't Tell"

noreply@blogger.com (MJ Reynolds) — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 19:33:00 +0000

"We are not a nation that says 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.' We are a nation that says, out of many we are one. We are a nation that welcomes the service of every patriot. We are a nation that believes that all men and women are created equal," said President Obama on September 20, 2011 when he signed the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

Tears of joy during this beautiful video! Thank you President Obama! The repeal should have happened years ago and even better yet, should never have been necessary and instituted in the United States... a land where personal freedom is respected.

I am frankly amazed that so many people had to fight so hard for more than a decade, since 1993 to repeal this failed law.

Congratulations to all service men and women previously discharged from the military and to those who have been trying to lead double-lives in the shadows of this law. You finally have your government's permission to go back to being "real" people! The battle has been won.

Hackers For Good Take on World Challenges

noreply@blogger.com (MJ Reynolds) — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 19:27:00 +0000

Earlier this month, thousands of “hackers for good” gathered in more than 19 different global locations—from Berlin to Nairobi, and Sydney to Sao Paulo—to participate in Random Hacks of Kindness #3. These teams are now off and running, working with NGO and government advisers to finish their applications for humanity.

In partnership with Microsoft, Yahoo!, NASA and the World Bank, Google founded RHoK in 2009 to build and support a community creating open source technology for crisis response. At RHoK #3, the mandate was expanded to include climate change, and most recently it was announced that the good hackers would also tackle future development challenges.

Of the more than 75 solutions submitted for judging at this year’s global events, many are already on their way to making a difference around the world. The UN, in partnership with the Colombian government, is considering adopting the shelter management system developed at RHoK Bogota to aid the 3 million victims of winter flooding in South America. Of the nine hacks submitted for judging at RHoK Sao Paulo, two are already in use and two others may be further developed and incorporated into the restructuring of the National Weather Service. The winning application at RHoK Philadelphia, developed in response to a problem proposed by the World Bank Water group, is set for further development at the WaterHackathon, RHoK's first community-sponsored event, later this year.

At the RHoK Silicon Valley event at Google’s Mountain View campus, three winners were selected:

SMS Person Finder enables anyone with a phone to interact with Person Finder, a software application that Google built to help people connect with their loved ones following a disaster. The Google Crisis Response team is working with this group to integrate their application into future Google Person Finder deployments
Hey Cycle makes it easier for people to reuse and recycle items by setting up email alerts when free items that they’re looking for are entered on freecycle.org
FoodMovr connects people with excess food to others who need it through a simple live application

"We’re proud to be one of the founding partners and ongoing sponsors of Random Hacks of Kindness and look forward to seeing these application make a difference," announced Mimi Kravetz of Google.org Marketing in a cross-post June 20th 2011 in Google.org Blog. Stay tuned for future RHoK events, and follow the progress of the community at RHoK.org.

Standing Together For Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

noreply@blogger.com (MJ Reynolds) — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 19:07:00 +0000

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Born	January 15, 1929(1929-01-15) Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Died	April 4, 1968(1968-04-04) (aged 39) Memphis, Tennessee, United States

Alma mater	Morehouse College, Crozer Theological Seminary, Boston U
Organization	Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Influenced by	Jesus, Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi, Benjamin Mays, Hosea Williams, Bayard Rustin, Henry David Thoreau, Howard Thurman, Leo Tolstoy

Michelle Obama's Letter in homage to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., is usually remembered for his heroic leadership of the civil rights movement -- he led the successful Montgomery bus boycott, delivered the "I Have A Dream" speech at a time when such words were still controversial, and ultimately gave his own life to the cause of equality.

But Dr. King was much more than a civil rights champion -- he was a man who lived his entire life in service to others, speaking out against poverty, economic injustice, and violence. Wherever he saw suffering, he did what he could to help, no matter who it was that needed him or why they were in pain. Through his leadership, he showed us what we can accomplish when we stand together.

Each January, we remember Dr. King on his own holiday -- and one of the best ways to preserve his legacy is to engage in service ourselves. As Dr. King told us, "Life's most persistent and urgent question is: 'What are you doing for others?'"

That's why from tomorrow, Saturday, January 15th, through Monday, January 17th, Organizing for America volunteers will be participating in service projects all across the country in Dr. King's honor. There will be food drives, neighborhood clean-ups, education projects, blood drives, and more.

This movement is about so much more than politics -- it is about coming together through progress, change, and community. Lifting each other up in dedication and service is one of the best ways not only to honor Dr. King, but to honor each other. By giving service a new role in this country, we can establish a new foundation for our economy and a brighter future for our children.

That is why service is key to achieving our national priorities, and why Barack recently helped out at a Boys and Girls Club service event. Since moving to Washington, D.C., two years ago, he and I have gotten to know the community through similar service projects, including past Martin Luther King Day events. I treasure those opportunities, and I look forward to another one next week. Every time we pitch in, we get so much back, and always learn amazing things from our neighbors.

All of us have something to contribute, and all of us can make a meaningful difference in someone's life. It's a great way to remind others that they are not forgotten, and to remind ourselves that there are always things we can do.
Please help Barack and me honor the legacy of Dr. King, and join us in service to our country once again this year: http://FL.barackobama.com/MLKservice

Thanks,
Michelle

Beautiful Video Images & Music from Buddha Bar Collection

noreply@blogger.com (MJ Reynolds) — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 15:37:00 +0000

What a beautiful collection of songs and images - The music of "Buddha Bar" is from Paris.

Buddha Bar (http://www.buddha-bar.com/) in addition to its passionfruit martinis, is known for its avant-garde "Lounge" and "Chill" playlist. The "Buddha Bar" series was started by Tunisian house DJ Claude Challe, who practically invented the chill genre of lounge music in 1999 by mixing Occidental elements with spiritual elements together in his music.

Drawing from previous collections produced and sequenced by house DJs Claude Challe, DJ Ravin, Sam Popat, Jean-Pierre Danel, and David Visan, the best introduction to the music is a compilation title: "Buddha Bar Ten years" w/DVD - a transcendent mix of electronica-driven global grooves with Middle Eastern, Brazilian, North African, Vietnamese, Hungarian, Indian, and Malian influences and hip Parisian references.

The series was created by DJ and Buddha Bar founder Claude Challe who compiled and produced the first two albums. The series has continued with different DJs, including DJ Ravin, Sam Popat, and David Vişan.

The Buddha Bar has also released "Buddha Bar Nature" and "Buddha-Bar Ocean", composed and produced by Arno Elias, the composer of "Amor Amor" from Buddha Bar 2. This included a DVD of nature footage directed by Allain Bougrain-Dubourg.

Spaceport America Runway Dedicated, Oct. 22, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (MJ Reynolds) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 01:02:00 +0000

Virgin has unveiled the world's first commercial spaceway, a runway for space craft in the Mojave desert of New Mexico.

The nearly two-mile long runway at Spaceport America was dedicated to New Mexico's Govenor Bill Richardson and will be primarily used by Virgin Galactic to launch commercial customers into space.

The Mojave facility in Upham, New Mexico is the historic site where Burt Rutan's White Knight and SpaceShipOne captured the $10 million X Prize for private space flight in 2004.

I met the SpaceShipOne Team a few months after they won the Ansari X Prize for reaching outer space (100 kilometers) in a privately financed, reusable passenger space craft. Microsoft co-founder, Paul Allen picked up the estimated $25 million "Tier One Project" costs.

The team told an audience of young pilots at a flight school in Florida that commercial space travel at the Mojave facility would soon become a reality through Virgin Galactic, an extension of the UK's Virgin Group, owned by flight enthusiast Sir. Richard Branson.

Test pilot Mike Melvill is photographed atop SpaceShipOne after his Sept. 29, 2004 flight into space. Burt Rutan's company, Scaled Composite designed and developed the aircraft, dubbed "White Knight" that carried SpaceShipOne into outer space. White Knight also carried SpaceShipOne to the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C. in 2005, where it is permanently on exhibit.

All of the historic flights were made at the Mojave Airport Civil Aviation Test Center in New Mexico, which reclassified itself as the part-time Mojave Spaceport.

On October 22, 2010, Sir Richard Branson and about 30 of the 380 Virgin Galactic future astronauts attended the Spaceport America Runway dedication, along with guests from around the world who hope to be on board future flights. They watched a flyover and landing by Virgin Galactic's WhiteKnightTwo, in a captive carry with SpaceShipTwo.

The 42-inch thick spaceway is designed to support nearly every type of aircraft in the world today. It consists of 24 inches of prepared sub-grade followed by four inches of asphalt and finished with a 14-inch layer of concrete. The spaceway will accommodate returning launch vehicles, fly-back rocket boosters and other space launch and training vehicles.

“We are celebrating the world’s first spaceway at the world’s first purpose-built, commercial spaceport,” said Governor Richardson. “New Mexico is not only helping to launch the commercial spaceflight industry, but we are launching new jobs and opportunities for the people of southern New Mexico. Today marks a significant milestone on our historic and exciting journey.”

Meanwhile Sir Richard Branson commented: “It is incredible to be here today with Governor Richardson and be part of the runway dedication at Spaceport America. To see for myself how far the construction has come from when I last visited New Mexico is truly inspiring – I for one can’t wait for the grand opening – today has brought it one step closer to reality for me.”

Guests also toured the terminal hangar facility which is nearing completion. The building will serve as the operational hub for Virgin Galactic and is expected to house up to two WhiteKnightTwos and five SpaceShipTwos in addition to all of Virgin’s astronaut preparation facilities and mission control centre.

Governor Richardson and Sir Richard Branson placed their handprints in clay to commemorate the day. The spaceport will be fully operational in 2011. Source: virgingalactic.com

The New Mexico spaceport may be the first of many around the country.

Detroit USA: Dead or Alive 2010

noreply@blogger.com (MJ Reynolds) — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 20:18:00 +0000

I want to share this video by "Palladium Boots" that for me represents hope that the American Dream has not been abandoned, but in fact is ironically being re-seeded by the next generation in Detroit!

Detroit Lives: Part 1
Once the fourth-largest metropolis in America—some have called it the Death of the American Dream. Today, the young people of the Motor City are making it their own DIY paradise where rules are second to passion and creativity. They are creating the new Detroit on their own terms, against real adversity. We put our boots on and went exploring....

Take the Earth Day Pledge to Help Save Our Oceans

noreply@blogger.com (MJ Reynolds) — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 13:04:00 +0000

Take a stand against the man-made threats to our oceans.

Dear Mary,
You are destroying the ocean. We all are. We're polluting oceans with plastic waste and chemicals, we're overfishing, and we're causing climate change to warm and acidify our ocean waters.
But this Earth Day, you can do something about it. Since we are the problem, we can also be the solution. We can change our habits and protect our oceans forever.
We've partnered with our friends at Participant Media, the entertainment company behind such films as An Inconvenient Truth and Oceans, to help start a movement of people dedicated to taking simple steps to reduce three of the main threats to oceans: plastic waste, overfishing and climate change.
This Earth Day, you can make a difference by signing a public pledge to take at least one action to help save our oceans »
Here are the three most important steps you can take to help protect our oceans:
1. Choose reusable bottles and bags instead of plastic ones. Americans together use 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour and each use 500 plastic bags annually. These can take anywhere from 1,000 to 1 million years to degrade, and are why plastic constitutes 90% of all trash floating on the ocean's surface.
2. Eat non-endangered seafood. Due to our over-consumption of seafood, 90% of the world's large fish, such as tuna, swordfish, flounder and sharks have been killed in the past 50 years. If we continue at our current rates, all salt-water fish could be extinct by 2048.
3. Reduce your carbon footprint. Carbon intensive activities such as driving, flying, and inefficient home heating are warming ocean waters, which could be catastrophic for millions of ocean species unable to adapt to higher temperatures. The extinction of any number of these species could in turn cause a collapse of the marine food chain, affecting everything from plankton to polar bears.
We can change all this by together changing our own individual behavior. Together we can ensure healthy, clean oceans for future generations. It all starts with people like us deciding to make small changes that can have a big impact.
Sign the pledge today and commit to help save the world's oceans »
Thank you for taking a stand,
– The Change.org Team in partnership with Participant Media

MJR.Media online promotion of brands, events & websites

UPDATE - May 25, 2010 - Check this out... and if you are a business...schedule plastic recycling.
Blue Planet Recycling Plastics, Ltd. - Based in BC/Canada, market leaders in buying post-industrial scrap plastics, converting and supplying various industries with clean, reclaimed resin. Their "green" operation includes grinding, pelletizing, pulverizing and/or contamination removal to help keep the planet "blue."

USA Passes Health Care Reform

noreply@blogger.com (MJ Reynolds) — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 15:17:00 +0000

After decades of "business as usual," a mild form of health care reform was passed by Democrats, without a single vote of approval by Republicans - many saying that legislators needed to "start over" and "rethink" health care reform and come back with "something better." Amen.

What this means, immediately - When people become too sick to work, insurance companies can not terminate their health care that was tied to their work benefits.

Immediately - insurance companies must stop "excluding" pre-existing conditions from insurance policies.

"Corporate Greed" is the only way to explain how our great nation has been undermined in the last 30 years!

Many people have been forced to work two "part-time" 30-hour jobs with no benefits - or work as "outside contractors" with no company benefits. Because giant corporations are able to utilize cheap over-seas labor to manufacture products sold in the United States, the profit margins are very slim on goods manufactured here by self-employed people and small companies, contributing to another large group of uninsured workers.

Passage of this rather mild health care reform package signals "change" by the people, for the people in spite of overwhelming odds and tremendous pressure by multi-billion $$ corporations to stay the course on a path of greed and distruction of the American Dream.

You can judge a nation by the way it treats its most vulnerable citizens - Aristotle said.

When the United States Senate dedicated a building to former U.S. Senator Hubert Humphrey he put it this way "...the moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; those who are in the shadows of life; the sick, the needy and the handicapped. " - Last Speech of Hubert H. Humphrey Nov. 1, 1977, Washington, D.C.

Here's a little slice of Democracy in April 2010 - The delivery of 1.5 million signatures from the estimated 3 million Americans who personally worked via Organize for America to pass health care reform legislation. As my family doctor said, "any reform" will be good. It will give us something to work on.

Together, along with President Obama, we beat the insurance companies! The legislation will bring affordable coverage to 32 million uninsured people in the United States, reduce the cost of insurance for families and small businesses, and create tougher patient protection in this country.

Great Friendships Can Be Found In The Most Unlikely Places

noreply@blogger.com (MJ Reynolds) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 23:18:00 +0000

Great Fiendship: Orangutan and the Hound

I was a bit tired this aftenoon when this National Geographic video floated into my Yahoo mailbox and caused me to relax and smile. I hope it will do the same for you - My Friends. ~ MJ 03/08/10

Making Google Search, Social

noreply@blogger.com (MJ Reynolds) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 20:54:00 +0000

The first step in an ongoing effort to make Google Search as social as the web itself, Google social search is a new feature that surfaces public web content from social media - Facebook, etc.

MJR.Media online promotion of brands, events & websites

Food For the Poor, Haiti Relief Efforts

noreply@blogger.com (MJ Reynolds) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 18:19:00 +0000

Food For The Poor:

Food For The Poor is the largest international relief agency in the United States and has maintained fundraising and administrative costs of less than 4% of its expenses; more than 96% of all donations go directly to programs that help the poor.

They have been assisting the people of Haiti for 20 years. Please give if you can..and Share or Resend, $12 feeds a family of four for a MONTH..plus they don't just give a person a fish, this org actually teaches poor villages to fish and equips them with ways to improve their situation..Haiti will need to be rebuilt..this is part of that transition because Foodforthepoor.org ...will be there long after the cameras and other aid is gone.

Emergency relief and continued support will be needed to help the people in the wake of a 7.0 earthquake that almost completely destroyed the impoverished Caribbean nation's capitol, Port-au-Prince on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2010.More than 200,000 people died as a result of the quake and many more were left homeless.

Food For The Poor:

"Kodak Moment" Goes To Booth

noreply@blogger.com (MJ Reynolds) — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 18:53:00 +0000

Video Highlights of the 2010 People's Choice Awards.

Picture #65 out of 79

peoples choice awards tonight. wish me luck.

Jan. 6th - Millions of Ashton Kutcher fans joined him at the People's Choice Awards in Hollywood, where he beat out other notables as the 2010 Favorite Web Celeb.

Other top stars on the web include: Andy Samberg,
Miley Cyrus, P. Diddy and Will Ferrell.

Recording live from his smart phone, Ashton Kutcher introduced his Twitter fan base on stage, claiming the win for them and most notably thanking them for the 89,724 malaria-prevention mosquito nets being distributed as a result of the Twitter first-to-one-million-fans race.

Things in life only have value if you share them - Ashton said in his Booth post.

The "Kodak moment" was added to his life's photo moments at DailyBooth.com and shared via tiny URL posts at Twitter.com.

You can follow his Twitter@ aplusk

Chinese Spy Thriller Vies for People's Choice Award

noreply@blogger.com (MJ Reynolds) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 19:42:00 +0000

A Chinese spy thriller, "Father John" hopes to grab some attention at the annual People's Choice Awards in Hollywood (USA.)

You can follow the nominations & awards here at the official People's Choice Awards.

Leading up to the annual American film industry awards, aspiring film makers are invited to pitch their movie projects to "the people" for a popular vote.

If you are tired of run of the mill Hollywood rehash, then vote for "Father John," a spy film based in Shanghai with the thrill of Asia's most exciting city as a backdrop to espionage and plot twists that will keep you on the edge of your seat. "Winning this contest would help greatly in developing this project and we greatly appreciate your help," said Richard Trombly, an American film maker in China.

Father John was written by Steven G. Long and Richard Trombly. More info about the movie is at Obscure-productions.com/

Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace with Books, Not Bombs

noreply@blogger.com (MJ Reynolds) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 12:18:00 +0000

By the author of New York Times #1 bestseller, "Three Cups of Tea" comes "Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace with Books, Not Bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan" - released Dec. 1, 2009.

Over the past sixteen years, Greg Mortenson, through his nonprofit Central Asia Institute (CAI), has worked to promote peace through education by establishing more than 130 schools, most of them for girls, in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The story of how this remarkable humanitarian campaign began was told in his bestselling 2006 book, Three Cups of Tea. Mortenson’s philosophies about building relationships, empowering communities, and educating girls have struck a powerful chord. Hundreds of communities and universities, as well as several branches of the U.S. military, have used Three Cups of Tea as a common read.

Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace with Books, Not Bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan

Google.Cn Shows Uncensored Images of Tiananmen Square Massacre

noreply@blogger.com (MJ Reynolds) — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 15:11:00 +0000

Google says, sophisticated Chinese-based hackers stole intellectual property from more than 20 major businesses and organizations during a cyber attack in December ...and that was a game changer.

"We have evidence to suggest that a primary goal of the attackers was accessing the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists," Google executives said in the "official" response to the December attacks on their servers in Silicon Valley, California.

Chinese cyber-espionage is cited as a "major global concern" in a Ghost Net Spying Incident, referenced by Google that outlines a 10-month investigation that turned up 1,295 compromised computers in 103 countries. "Up to 30% of the infected hosts are considered high-value targets and include computers located at ministries of foreign affairs, embassies, international organizations, news media, and NGOs."

Google may pull the plug on Google.cn, launched in 2006 and has decided to stop censoring Google.cn search. Until this morning, more than 300 million Chinese internet users were unable to search for key words, such as "Dahli Lama" or "Tiananmen Square Massacre."

Less than 24 hours after making the formal announcement, Google began showing uncensored images on Google.cn.

Below is the entire Google response, posted Jan. 12, 2010, which includes suggestions about personal computer security:

A new approach to China

Like many other well-known organizations, we face cyber attacks of varying degrees on a regular basis. In mid-December, we detected a highly sophisticated and targeted attack on our corporate infrastructure originating from China that resulted in the theft of intellectual property from Google. However, it soon became clear that what at first appeared to be solely a security incident--albeit a significant one--was something quite different.

First, this attack was not just on Google. As part of our investigation we have discovered that at least twenty other large companies from a wide range of businesses--including the Internet, finance, technology, media and chemical sectors--have been similarly targeted. We are currently in the process of notifying those companies, and we are also working with the relevant U.S. authorities.

Second, we have evidence to suggest that a primary goal of the attackers was accessing the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists. Based on our investigation to date we believe their attack did not achieve that objective. Only two Gmail accounts appear to have been accessed, and that activity was limited to account information (such as the date the account was created) and subject line, rather than the content of emails themselves.

Third, as part of this investigation but independent of the attack on Google, we have discovered that the accounts of dozens of U.S.-, China- and Europe-based Gmail users who are advocates of human rights in China appear to have been routinely accessed by third parties. These accounts have not been accessed through any security breach at Google, but most likely via phishing scams or malware placed on the users' computers.

We have already used information gained from this attack to make infrastructure and architectural improvements that enhance security for Google and for our users. In terms of individual users, we would advise people to deploy reputable anti-virus and anti-spyware programs on their computers, to install patches for their operating systems and to update their web browsers. Always be cautious when clicking on links appearing in instant messages and emails, or when asked to share personal information like passwords online. You can read more here about our cyber-security recommendations. People wanting to learn more about these kinds of attacks can read this Report to Congress (PDF) by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (see p. 163-), as well as a related analysis (PDF) prepared for the Commission, Nart Villeneuve's blog and this presentation on the GhostNet spying incident.

We have taken the unusual step of sharing information about these attacks with a broad audience not just because of the security and human rights implications of what we have unearthed, but also because this information goes to the heart of a much bigger global debate about freedom of speech. In the last two decades, China's economic reform programs and its citizens' entrepreneurial flair have lifted hundreds of millions of Chinese people out of poverty. Indeed, this great nation is at the heart of much economic progress and development in the world today.

We launched Google.cn in January 2006 in the belief that the benefits of increased access to information for people in China and a more open Internet outweighed our discomfort in agreeing to censor some results. At the time we made clear that "we will carefully monitor conditions in China, including new laws and other restrictions on our services. If we determine that we are unable to achieve the objectives outlined we will not hesitate to reconsider our approach to China."

These attacks and the surveillance they have uncovered--combined with the attempts over the past year to further limit free speech on the web--have led us to conclude that we should review the feasibility of our business operations in China. We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all. We recognize that this may well mean having to shut down Google.cn, and potentially our offices in China.

The decision to review our business operations in China has been incredibly hard, and we know that it will have potentially far-reaching consequences. We want to make clear that this move was driven by our executives in the United States, without the knowledge or involvement of our employees in China who have worked incredibly hard to make Google.cn the success it is today. We are committed to working responsibly to resolve the very difficult issues raised.

Posted by David Drummond, SVP, Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer
Source: The Official Google Blog

Be Here Now

From China to Occupy Wall Street: Art is My Weapon

Occupy Protesters Take Message to Rose Bowl Parade 2012

(1) Take Corporate Money out of Politics: (A) Reverse Chief Justice Roberts & Supreme Court "Citizens United" ruling; (B) Continue with immediate congressional action to Ban Corporate Money from all US Federal & State Elections

(2) Regulate Corporations: Reinstitution of the 1930s "Glass Steagal" wall that separated investment and commercial banking functions -- No universal banks.

(3) Make Banks Accountable: Investigate fraud and prosecute CEOs & banks that benefited from the dot-coma & real estate ponzi schemes of 1998-2008.

(4) Immediately restore the Capital Gains' post 9/11's 15% tax level to pre-G.W. Bush era (i.e. 30%; Capital Gains Tax rate was 49% late '60s)

(5) Immediate Foreclosure Relief for Americans with provisions for tangible asset equity drawdowns for major banks which unfairly structured loan provisions during the 2000-2008 time period, especially Bank of America (owner of Countrywide's mortgage asset portfolio) and Citibank.

﻿

Why Occupy Wall Street is "Occupy Male Street"

Two Million Workers Strike in Britain Over Pension Funds

The Beautiful Women & Stories of #OccupyWallStreet

More Than 200 Authors & Writers Join #OccupyWallStreet

Marine Sgt. Adds His Voice To #OccupyWallStreet

Why #OccupyWallStreet Is Fighting Neoliberalism

Reaction To #OccupyWallStreet Demands

#OccupyWallStreet Protests Money-Driven Democracy

The Venus Project

President Obama Repeals "Don't Ask Don't Tell"

Hackers For Good Take on World Challenges

Standing Together For Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Beautiful Video Images & Music from Buddha Bar Collection

Spaceport America Runway Dedicated, Oct. 22, 2010

Detroit USA: Dead or Alive 2010

Take the Earth Day Pledge to Help Save Our Oceans

USA Passes Health Care Reform

Great Friendships Can Be Found In The Most Unlikely Places

Making Google Search, Social

Food For the Poor, Haiti Relief Efforts

Food For The Poor is the largest international relief agency in the United States and has maintained fundraising and administrative costs of less than 4% of its expenses; more than 96% of all donations go directly to programs that help the poor.

"Kodak Moment" Goes To Booth

Chinese Spy Thriller Vies for People's Choice Award

Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace with Books, Not Bombs

Google.Cn Shows Uncensored Images of Tiananmen Square Massacre