January 2007

198 Methods of Nonviolent Action. A few tactics for the toolbox.
>  29 January 2007 | LINK | Filed in

Meet Project Censored

Sociology Professors Andrew Roth and Peter Phillips from Project Censored were interviewed by Riz Kahn on Al Jazeera English on January 1, 2007. It’s a nice introduction and overview of Project Censored, its methodology, and some of the top stories from 2006. Here’s the video on YouTube:


>  28 January 2007 | LINK | Filed in
Labor Website of the Year. Promoting better design among trade union websites around the world. Voting for the 2007 contest ends January 31.
>  27 January 2007 | LINK | Filed in ,
>  27 January 2007 | LINK | Filed in

Call for Entries: Graphic Work: Imaging Today’s Labor Movement

Carpenter

The American labor movement has an amazing history of graphic production, creating some of the most effective political images in the history of this country. However, work and workers, along with the labor movement, are often depicted as experiences of the American past: photographs of children in factories in the early 1900’s, paintings of Joe Hill or Rosa Parks, historic strikes and Rosie the Riveter.

Now the labor movement needs new images of the issues confronting workers today. We are asking innovative artists to create posters that relate to today's workers.  Twenty-five posters will be chosen to exhibit.  Five designs will be selected for mass printing and distribution in union halls, schools, and community centers around the country. 

Continue reading "Call for Entries: Graphic Work: Imaging Today’s Labor Movement" »

>  25 January 2007 | LINK | Filed in

Negative Campaigning

NYC's True Grafitti Problem

A great action in NYC, taping placards over those outdoor video billboards attached to subway entrances. The typography is composed of holes in the board, illuminated by the video ad beneath.

The project is Light Criticism, brought to you by the Anti-Advertising Agency and the Graffiti Research Lab.

In form, it reminds me of the work of Moose, writing his name on walls by cleaning them.

In context, it’s a lot like this guerilla wayfinding campaign, a grassroots, illegal action for civic improvement.

>  24 January 2007 | LINK | Filed in , , , , ,

War and Peas

Along the lines of this NY Times infographic on the enormous opportunity cost of the Iraq war (say... universal health care in the U.S. — twice over), my friend Noah has packaged a more experiential approach: plantable firearms made of clay, compost, and a mix of seeds. Walk through the manufacturing process at this Flash photo gallery or order one of your own. (via, via)

Plantable Firearm

Plantable Firearm

>  19 January 2007 | LINK | Filed in , ,

Red Crystal

Red Crystal

The Geneva Conventions were amended today to address a question of branding.

The Third Additional Protocol to the 1949 Geneva Conventions entered into force today, completing the process of establishing an additional emblem for use by Governments and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. So far, 84 States have signed the Third Protocol and nine States have ratified it.

The red crystal symbol is now officially recognized under international law as offering equal protection as the red cross and the red crescent when marking: “military medical personnel, establishments and transport; the staff of national societies; staff, vehicles and structures of the ICRC and the International Federation.”

From the ICRC Factsheet:

“The new symbol is intended to facilitate access by humanitarian workers to victims of conflict and other crises, in particular in situations where the use of an emblem devoid of any perceived political, religious, cultural and connotations may be an advantage.”

See the full text of the Additional Protocol. (Thanks, Romualdo!)

Flag_of_the_Red_Cross.png Flag_of_the_Red_Crescent.png Red_Star_of_David.png Red_Lion_with_Sun.png

The Wikipedia article on the Red Crystal summarizes the debates over religion, politics, and the origins of the various symbols used by humanitarian aid organizations.

...

Also from Wikipedia, the Red Swastika is a symbol used by a voluntary charitable association founded in China in 1922:

“Suppressed by during the Communist rule in mainland China, the Red Swastika Society appears to continue today as a religious organization focused on charity. It has branches in areas of the Chinese diaspora, with a headquarters in Taiwan. Besides charity work, the Red Swastika runs two schools in Hong Kong (Tuen Mun and Tai Po) and one in Singapore (Red Swastika School).

The Red Swastika was also suggested along with Red Wheel, as an emblem of International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies for India and Sri Lanka, but the idea was not put into practice.”

>  14 January 2007 | LINK | Filed in ,
Fernando Botero's Abu Ghraib suite. “The suite of paintings and drawings depicting the torture of Iraqi prisoners at the hands of their American jailers in Abu Ghraib prison, will at last be exhibited in an American museum. An exhibit of 24 paintings and 23 drawings by the 74 year old Columbian master, will go on view at the Doe Library, located at the University of California, Berkeley.” More about the paintings and the trouble finding a venue in the U.S.
>  13 January 2007 | LINK | Filed in
Pedestrian Memorial. “After 19 months of installing ghost bikes for slain cyclists around New York, this is the first memorial we’ve created for a pedestrian.... We tried to come up a simple visual icon (like the white bikes), but couldn't come up with any one symbol that seemed appropriate. In Bogota, Colombia, a stenciled black star is stenciled onto the sidewalk, but that didn't seem right. Suggestions are welcome. Email us at visual.resistance at gmail.com.”
>  8 January 2007 | LINK | Filed in , , ,
Screenpeace. The 2007 calendar from the War Resisters League surveys 63 films and videos from the last 20 years that promote peace and nonviolence and oppose war and warmakers.
>  7 January 2007 | LINK
Bush Approval Ratings vs. Terror Alerts. A graph of data from January 2001 through September 2004. See also the narrative timeline of past terror alerts and political events unfavorable to the Bush administration.
>  3 January 2007 | LINK | Filed in

3,000


>  1 January 2007 | LINK | Filed in , , ,
Falling. In the U.S., falls are the leading cause of injury-related deaths among people 65 and older. ‘Environmental risk factors may contribute to about half of all home falls.’ More stats from the CDC.
>  1 January 2007 | LINK | Filed in


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