LAND: The week in review Oct.23-30

Top story this week, the passing of inadvertent activist extraordinaire, Rosa Parks, who changed America forever by her one simple act of defiance ... rest in peace, Ms. Parks.

In other news, the "Grim milestone' of 2,000 dead American soldiers in Iraq ... marked by protests and vigils nationwide. Cindy Sheehan exhorts us all to follow the example of ' the great libertarian Henry David Thoreau' and practice non-violent civil disobedience. Other anti-war activists promote the ' Leave My Child Alone campaign', a family privacy project to protect students from illegal military recruiting.

David MacGregor discusses the use of the Net as a tool to regain our freedom ('How to defeat Big Brother and reclaim your freedom'), while a Catholic school in New Jersey bans student blogs , activists in Asia complain 'Blogging in Asia: Ain't safe no more' , the Daily News in India points out ' Your phone is tapped, your email is hacked', Chris Berg points out 'The Net is anarchy: Keep it that way ' and Hiawatha Bray tells us 'Privacy worries? Don't print in color" ...

And finally ... for those who can't 'get into' the political maneuverings and exposures of 'PlameGate', you're not alone ... Claire Wolfe explains 'Why we sometimes have nothing to say' ....

Til next week

For freedom!

Mary Lou

These stories and more at
http://rationalreview/land

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The week in review: Oct.16-22

New actions this week ... a cool new project to place Bill of Rights displays throughout America ... 'beginning with those sites where displays of the Ten Commandments are currently found' (so folks can see the REAL basis of the 'law of the land'); petition Congress to pay for Katrina relief by cutting funding for the WOD; and help win the battle for reader privacy ( oppose re-authorizing Section 215 of the Patriot Act). A new libertarian forum, courtesy of the one and only Wendy McElroy ... and Wally Conger has begun to reissue the long-out-of-print Movement of the Libertarian Left pamphlet series, starting with 'War or Liberty: The Real Choice'. Thanks, Mac and Wally!

In the news this week, new movies ' sound a call to action', privacy groups question RFID use in medicine tracking, anti-war activists target DoD recruitment database, the indomitable grannies against the war stage a protest (they attempted to enter the U.S. Armed Forces Recruiting Station and enlist in place of soldiers deployed in Iraq),a student in New York makes waves with a clever anti-war ad ('You can't be all that you can be if you're dead') , in Canada, Lawyers Against the War have laid charges against George Bush Jr; accusing him of 'aiding, abetting, and counseling the commission of torture', an English teacher at Kolbe Cathedral High School in Bridgeport, CT., is dismissed for refusing to fly a US flag in his classroom (in a Catholic school) and in China a dissident attacks Yahoo over jailing.

In commentaries ... the scandalous history of the Red Cross, a journalism professor talks about how 'Courts chip away at freedom of (student) press', Dave Goetz explains the prevalence of SLAPP lawsuits (lawsuits filed to intimidate dissenters); Lady Liberty points out 'Speak now, or forever hold your peace' , Doug Herman pens 'The all new Devil's Dictionary', former police chief Norm Stamper says 'Let those dopers be', Monica Benderman explains the 'new rules' for conscientious objectors ... and a Haloween ghost story from Claire Wolfe.

Til next week

For Freedom

Mary Lou

for these stories and daily updates
http://www.rationalreview.com/land

The week in review: Oct.9-16

In the news this week, the ACLU joins with business groups to protect attorney client privilege, 'one of the bedrock principles of our legal system' ... Vivian Malone Jones ' one of two black students whose effort to enroll at the University of Alabama led to George Wallace's infamous 'stand in the schoolhouse door' in 1963' dies at age 63, protests in Colorado over Mayor's refusal to endorse 'free mental health counseling for vets' (the Mayor says the mental health counselors are backed by 'anti-American anti-military' groups), FEMA backs down on its gun ban in FEMA city under 'pressure' from gun rights groups, and, hitting a new low, the drug thugs haul an ailing US vet from Canada to the US to face charges concerning his use of medical marijuana.

Excellent commentaries this week, on civil disobedience and 'Why Cindy Sheehan matters', on the importance of journalism (the coverage of the beating of Ronald Davis in New Orleans) and the importance of independent writers (Man of peace: Harold Pinter), and free speech ('Showdown at Chuck E. Cheese' and 'The fight for free speech at Union Square') For those of you protesting the tactics used by military recruiters ... they've got a new one! ('No lie left untried') ... and another book review of Claire Wolfe's latest ('Smashing the job culture').

And, a great new action site for privacy advocates, the Missing Amendment !

Til next week

For Freedom

Mary lou


These stories and more at
http://rationalreview/land

The week in review October 2-October 8

Four new actions this week ... Stop the 'new draconian drug war bill' (the Meth Epidemic Elimination Act); stop the RIAA from 'locking up the airwaves', Request Your Secure Flight Files and help EFF uncover how TSA will treat your private information when Secure Flight is fully implemented, and Petition George Mason University to Drop charges against Tariq Khan, the student anti-war activist who was arrested and roughed up by pro-war students AND security on September 29. For more on the latter action, see the article 'Jackboots at George Mason' and the GMU Students for Peace website ... Also, check out the 'Motho Movement' in South Africa!

In news this week ... the anti-war movement continues to hold rallies around the country, a suit is filed in Georgia over the Voter ID Act, Berlarus' last independent newspaper is pressured into closing by the state, a Nigerian militia leader and protestor is charged with treason, thousand join in a protest in Brazil against a river diversion project, and a woman is booted from an airline because of ... the slogan on her T-shirt. On the bright side, a reasonably intelligent judge in New York throws out a resisting arrest charge against the 'Redbud Eight'.

A slew of commentaries this week ... on the anti-war movement, the arrest of anti-war activist Michael Parkin in Australia, the Feds investigation of the environmental movement, the Feral laws about psych screening of school kids, for poltical junkies, commentaries on how the time is 'ripe' for a challenge to the BOYN, and book reviews of Claire Wolfe's latest ('How to Kill the Job Culture Before It Kills You ') and Katherine Albrecht and Liz McIntire's Spychips ... plus two more 'Serenity' reviews! And for those who think Waco was an aberration ... think again ... check out 'Waco reprise' for this week's police state horror story.

Til next week

For freedom!

Mary Lou

For these stories, go to
http://rationalreview.com/land

LAND: The week in review Sept.25-Oct.1



In good news this week ... the St. Pat's Four are aquitted of conspiracy charges, some states 'reject expanded eminent domain practices', and, ' Bush plea for cash to rebuild Iraq raises $600', while 'anti-war fervor' fills the streets in DC as hundreds of thousdands including new 'converts to activism' turn out ... the anti-war movement's 'Big week in Washington' continues, with arrests of Sheehan and cohorts for a 'sit down' protest outside the White House and members of the War Resisters League arrested at a sit down protest outside the Pentagon on Monday ... with little or no press coverage, of course, as the establishment media continues to follow the dictates of its masters ... as usual ... I always get a good laugh out of those naifs who think the media is 'controlled' by the 'left' ... when it's obvious that the media is simply a tool of the state, and whichever boot of the BOYN Party controls the state at any given moment also controls the media ...
For those nay-sayers who insist that 'Sheehan's not going about her protest the 'right way.' They say she is hurting troop morale. They say that she is unpatriotic. A traitor, even. ' ... note that 'handling protests the 'right way' gets Tillmans nowhere' ...

In culture news this week, I've included several reviews of 'Serenity' ... which opened across America this week ... those of us who were 'Firefly' fans are hoping this may be the 'breakthrough' to the general public we've been hoping for, in the torturously slow
and difficult process of changing the culture to one that values freedom and responsibility (a process that MUST happen, or else when leviathan collapases (as many think will happen soon) ... what will take its place will be worse than we can even imagine. Haven't seen it yet myself, but reviews are looking good! (And yes, I know that it's unlikely any one movie or book can be a 'silver bullet' ... but the time is right, the public is already shofting slightly to anti-state thinking, due to the Katrina-Rita disaster as well as the anti-war movement ... and there's even a new think tank on the meme of 'Secession from the empire' ... carpe diem, you all!

What can WE do? Same as always, continue supporting the non mainstream media, continue spreading the word in cyber and meatspace ... I usually print up a few of the best commentaries each week and pass them around to my 'non connected' friends, or leave them in public places (doctors office waiting rooms are a good distribution point, BTW ... theres usually little to read except old copies of People, and, the staff rarely, if ever, bothers to do anything beyond straightening up the tables)

Til next week!

For freedom

Mary Lou


These stories and daily updates at
http://rationalreview.com/land