Nearly decade ago Michael Jackson performed his most controversial single, “They Don’t Care About Us,” for music video. The video remains one of the most talked about and socially active pieces Jackson ever composed and performed. 

The video was shot by director Spike Lee in two locations in Brazil, a “favela” or “shanty town” in Rio de Janeiro called Dona Marta and in Salvador da Bahia.

Salvador authorities tried to ban all production over fears the video would damage their image, the area and prospects of staging the 2004 Olympics. Still, the residents of the area were happy to see Jackson, and hoped that their problems would be made visible to a worldwide audience.

At the beginning of the video, a Brazilian woman proclaims “Michael, eles não ligam pra gente” which means “Michael, they don’t care about us.”

Performing with Jackson is Olodum (pronounced oh-lo-doon), a cultural group based in the Afro-Brazilian community of Salvador da Bahia. It was founded by percussionist, Neguinho do Samba.  Olodum runs an inner-city school for Salvador’s underprivileged children in which they teach a full array of academic and arts courses in order to build self-esteem and encourage economic ascension among Salvador’s younger generation. 

From Lynnea Bylund’s unpublished memoirs June 1998 –  (Read more…)

News reports in December 2005 first revealed that the National Security Agency (NSA) has been intercepting Americans’ phone calls and Internet communications. Those news reports, combined with a USA Today story in May 2006 and the statements of several members of Congress, revealed that the NSA is also receiving wholesale copies of American’s telephone and other communications records.

All of these surveillance activities are in violation of the privacy safeguards established by Congress and the US Constitution.*

*Source: Electronic Freedom Foundation

A new organization formed to oppose the broad surveillance activities of the NSA’s PRISM program is calling on Congress to stop spying on Americans and reveal the full truth. Already the petition circulated by the Stop Watching Us! group has exceeded 485,000 signatures. (read the letter)

“Democracy requires an informed citizenry in order to function properly, and transparency and accountability are essential parts of that. That means knowing what our government is doing to us, in our name.” – Bruce Schneier at The Atlantic

“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” – Founding father Benjamin Franklin

“The revelations about the National Security Agency’s surveillance apparatus, if true, represent a stunning abuse of our basic rights,” the organization’s open letter reads. “We demand the U.S. Congress reveal the full extent of the NSA’s spying programs.”

(Read more…)

……Horace Silver by George Underwood

Horace Silver, a major contributor to and influencer of 20th century jazz,  tended not to play up that he was proficient in Portuguese, nor draw directly on his rich Portuguese musical upbringing. Song For My Father was his most famous jazz creation and reflects both his Portuguese and Brazilian influences.  Several versions of the song are offered here interspaced with the lyrics, including Silver’s own fully instrumental version from 1976, second in line …

 … Happy Fathers’ Day, enjoy!

If there was ever a man
Who was generous, gracious and good
That is my dad
The man
A human being so true
He could live like a king
‘Cause he knew
The real pleasure in life

LEON THOMAS PERFORMING

To be devoted to
And always stand by me
So I’d be unafraid and free

(Read more…)

Dolphin jumping for joy upon hearing news of India’s Cetacean Emancipation

Cetaceans Granted Unprecedented ‘Non-Human Persons’ Rights in India

The nation of India has become the first country to officially recognize dolphins and whales as “non-human persons,” whose rights to life and liberty “must be respected.”  Dolphin sea parks that were being built across the country will instead be shut down.

India’s Ministry of Environment and Forests has advised state governments to ban ‘dolphinariums’ and other commercial entertainment that involves the capture and confinement of cetacean species such as orcas and bottlenose dolphins. In a statement, the government said research had clearly established cetaceans are highly intelligent and sensitive, and that dolphins “should be seen as ‘non-human persons’ and as such should have their own specific rights.”

(Read more…)

“A new generation of insect larvae is eating the roots of genetically-engineered corn intended to be resistant to such pests. The failure of Monsanto’s genetically-modified corn (GMO Frankencorn) could be the most serious threat ever to a genetically-modified crop in the U.S.,” says natural health advocate Dr. Joe Mercola in a recent HuffPost Blog

And the economic impact could be huge. Billions of dollars are at stake, as GMO Frankencorn accounts for 65 percent of all corn grown in the U.S. What’s worse is that in addition to the growing dangers of ingesting GMO foods, GMO Frankencorn has been shown conclusively to be bereft of nutritional value in this stunning assessment presented by Lance Devon at Mike Adams’ NaturalNews.

Hungary recently destoyed all of its GMO corn fields, and China, itself oft criticized for food health scandals, has recently rejected multiple huge shipments of U.S. GMO Frankencorn despite that country’s urgent need for agricultural consumables. 

(Read more…)

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— – Repost Via: Scott Kafora Gandhi Worldwide

To commemorate Gandhi’s first civil resistance 120th anniversary we are happy to make the following exciting announcement…

After three years of intensive research, architectural programming, design, development and budgeting by GWEI and AVANI (see Catalyst House October 22 2012 and January 5 2013) the first two of up to 16 Superadobe earthen-based dome structures take shape on a five acre plot of rural farmland just south of Kolhapur, India.

The Times of India (The largest English language newspaper) featured an article on our work on Saturday, June 1, 2013.

A group of four volunteers specialists in both permaculture and Superadobe construction techniques have spent the past six months educating, training and constructing the new landscape and dome structures.

(Read more…)

This video was inspired by a RV Adventure road trip back in 2007.  Sierra’s love of traveling, ancient architecture, and nature was the motivating factor in becoming a full time solo RV explorer.  During her adventures on the road she came across many ancient settlements and was fascinated by the agelessness and simplicity of Earthen Architecture. She started researching all types of Natural Building techniques and decided to focus on Earthbag Building and the timeless genius of the Cal-Earth SuperAdobe earthbag method. She  is currently involved in a large dome earthbag project in Canada.