Finding images to use for this assignment was, in one sense, not difficult at all, because I had relatively few to choose from. That being said, it was difficult to actually track anything down that worked well for the effect I was trying to achieve. I used the websites of the Library of Congress, the National Archives, and ArchivesUSA, as well as resorting to images used in Wikipedia entries. The entry titled "Build with Good Bricks" is a scan of an image I found on microfilm at the Library of Congress. That was one of the initial images I knew I was going to use, but choosing the rest was difficult.
The animated map of colonialism was one I was most conflicted about using, because to get the animation to work, I had to link to the actual file, instead of it being embedded directly in my blog; because it is easily the most vague and abstract of the images I used; but also because of its source, has legitimacy (and perhaps accuracy) issues. These issues however, for the purpose of the point I am trying to make, I feel are within reasonable parameters to warrant the image's use to show that colonialism was (and perhaps still is) a considerably problematic issue in the world, especially in areas represented at the Bandung Conference.
The most frustrating part of this exercise was negotiating the Blogger software to make my entries appear as they should. I had to upload the images two (and in some cases three) times before everything appeared as it should and in the correct order. My own technological ignorance aside, however, the process of thinking through this project - how to visually depict something that I am much more used to saying in words, gave me increased respect for the actual possibility of doing credible and worthwhile work presented in an online fashion.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Monday, March 3, 2008
Colonialism and its Discontents, 1492 - 2007
Over the last several hundred years, and based largely in Europe, Western civilizations waged colonial wars of occupation against the populations of much of Asia and the Southern Hemisphere for cheaper access to the natural resources located there. This map is animated to show the color coded geographical scope of European colonial rule, roughly by century. The legacies of colonialism have plagued the twentieth century, resulting in one of the more violent periods in recorded history. Following World War II, a wave of independence movements swept through colonial territories, resulting in the creation of new nations.(Image source: Wikipedia entry for "Colonialism." Public Domain.)
Asian African Conference at Bandung, Indonesia, 1955
Gedung Merdeka, site of the April, 1955 conference on the Indonesian island of Java. Twenty-nine newly independent, post-colonial nations from Africa, the Middle East and South Asia met to discuss racial, economic, and cultural, issues of mutual interest.The inclusion of China gave Western leaders reason to fear that Communist influence would dominate the conference. This Cold War context threatened to overshadow the regional importance and even agenda of the conference. Nevertheless, the conference voted to condemn colonialism and racialism in all forms, including both Western and Communist.
(Image: Wikipedia/Indonesian public domain.)
Build with Good Bricks
This editorial cartoon from the Chicago Defender, April 16, 1955 applauds the Bandung Conference as an attempt by Asia and Africa to build successful societies without colonial control. Although official and diplomatic sources from the US were silent, there was an outpouring of support for the Asian-African Conference from the black press. The Defender sent White House Correspondent Ethel Payne on an 11 nation Asian and European tour that began with covering the Bandung Conference.
(Image scanned from Library of Congress Microfilm holdings of the Chicago Defender.)
Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.
Agitator, U.S. Congressman, and Pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, Powell was nicknamed "Mr. Civil Rights" during his tenure in the House of Representatives. Powell consistently positioned himself on the vanguard of the Civil Rights movement and rarely missed an opportunity to embarrass his white colleagues by exposing racism and hypocrisy in the most public way possible.In the 1950's, as foreign relations increasingly became a legitimate means to both ameliorate domestic racism and bolster support for US policies abroad, the Asian African Conference at Bandung seemed the perfect place, to Powell, to address both US race relations and ideology on the same stage. Over State Department objections, Powell attended the conference as a journalist and observer so that a "person of goodwill" from the United States would be present. Powell's staunch defense of the US and his uncharacteristically amiable version of US race relations garnered him as much criticism as it did praise.
(Image is an un-used portrait made for the cover of Time Magazine by Bernard Safran.)
John Foster Dulles or Satchmo?
This Mischa Richter cartoon from the New Yorker depicts a Washington office where apparent foreign policy elites debate. The caption reads, "This is a diplomatic mission of utmost delicacy. The question is, who's the best man for it - John Foster Dulles or Satchmo?" In the 1950's, the State Department began sending African American entertainers, such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Dizzy Gillespie, on goodwill tours through Asia and Africa. Such attempts at cultural exchange were meant to create a positive image of US race relations to contrast with the negative press coming from the Communist press. This cartoon is evidence of both the tours' success, and the degree to which the line between foreign relations and race relations was perforated by the Cold War. (Image source: Library of Congress. Description.)
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
A partial Internet History of St. Valentine's Day.
Popular myth abounds concerning the origins, meaning, and even timing of St. Valentine's Day. Current American commercial tradition is to buy mass produced, themed greeting cards and gifts to present to your loved one, along with an expensive dinner and audacious bouquet of flowers (garnered at a temporarily inflated price). The story of Valentine's Day goes much further back than the inception of the greeting card industry in 1850 by Esther A. Howland. Another, more evangelical account of the history of valentines day opens questioning whether this version, "expressed in the current celebration of yummy chocolates, lovely cards, and sparkling engagement rings" captures the true meaning of Valentines day. "What is the story behind such a highly-retailed celebration?" With verifiable connections dating almost back to the beginning of our Calendar, perhaps the plural "stories" would be a more apt descriptor.
Some of the more prevalent legends assert that the martyred Roman priest Valentine, executed in the Third Century for performing illegal marriages, sent the first "Valentine" from his prison cell to his beloved. Yet variations on this legend also assert that he performed a miracle on his jailor's blind daughter, who in some variations is also his beloved. Still others assert that Valentine's supporters left him notes in the cracks of his cell, to uplift him in his time of sorrow. Such stories, however, only account for the cultural tradition of exchange, leaving out the spiritual element.
Accounts with more longer view and wider interpretation of the spirit of the holiday include discussions of fertility rite of Lupercalia from the Roman legend of the she-wolf and Romulus and Remus. In a further explanation of the Fifth century Rite, strips of sacrificed goat flesh, dipped in sacrificial blood, were brandished by priests who would "gently slap both women and fields of crops" to ensure fertility. While sacrifices and blood-soaked ceremonies have ceased, historian Jack Oruch asserts that "the idea that Valentine's Day customs perpetuated those of the Roman Lupercalia has been accepted uncritically and repeated, in various forms, up to the present."
Whatever the circumstances of its origin or meaning, Fourteenth Century English bard Geoffery Chaucer seems to get credit for the holiday's saturation with romance for two lines in his 1382 work, Parlement of Foules that celebrate the engagement of England's Richard II to Anne of Bohemia. With this literary precedent, Western and Christian cultures have, to varying degrees, accepted a romantic definition of the holiday.
There are those for whom Valentines Day holds little, no, or negative meaning. For several different reasons, Antivalentinism has become an increasing trend, especially among young singles. Some eschew the holiday because of relationship troubles, or choose to celebrate solitude. For others, disgust of Valentine's Day's gregious capitalistic overtones prefer instead to celebrate St. Skeletor's Day, February 15, to avoid the "corporate whore-fest" of Valentine's Day. Indeed, for many the moniker "Hallmark Holiday" has become a perjorative.
****
Reflections on the Open Source history of Valentine's Day.
In all honesty, Wikipedia made this essay fairly easy to write, as it . The point of the exercise, however, was to compare the various sources found in the wild, wild web. The two encyclopedia sites I used, Wikipedia and Infoplease, had by far the most information to offer. Many of the sites I came across were often no more substantial than a conversation overheard in a restaurant at happy hour; sometimes less so.
Substantial or no, the variant explanations and characterizations of a single holiday are as astounding as they are plentiful. It reminds me very much of the old argument concerning the tales of the Brothers Grimm. At its kernel, the story told and lessons imparted are fairly universal, but details as much as motivation vary greatly in the telling, and depend very much on time and location. Versions of the Grimm tales from Medieval Europe are replete with gruesome details and sometimes violence, but underneath lies the moral of the story. Much like the differences in origin, meaning, and even celebration of Valentine's Day perhaps matter less than the ceremony of showing affection for loved ones, praying for fertility, or otherwise greeting the Spring with endearing thoughts.
Some of the more prevalent legends assert that the martyred Roman priest Valentine, executed in the Third Century for performing illegal marriages, sent the first "Valentine" from his prison cell to his beloved. Yet variations on this legend also assert that he performed a miracle on his jailor's blind daughter, who in some variations is also his beloved. Still others assert that Valentine's supporters left him notes in the cracks of his cell, to uplift him in his time of sorrow. Such stories, however, only account for the cultural tradition of exchange, leaving out the spiritual element.
Accounts with more longer view and wider interpretation of the spirit of the holiday include discussions of fertility rite of Lupercalia from the Roman legend of the she-wolf and Romulus and Remus. In a further explanation of the Fifth century Rite, strips of sacrificed goat flesh, dipped in sacrificial blood, were brandished by priests who would "gently slap both women and fields of crops" to ensure fertility. While sacrifices and blood-soaked ceremonies have ceased, historian Jack Oruch asserts that "the idea that Valentine's Day customs perpetuated those of the Roman Lupercalia has been accepted uncritically and repeated, in various forms, up to the present."
Whatever the circumstances of its origin or meaning, Fourteenth Century English bard Geoffery Chaucer seems to get credit for the holiday's saturation with romance for two lines in his 1382 work, Parlement of Foules that celebrate the engagement of England's Richard II to Anne of Bohemia. With this literary precedent, Western and Christian cultures have, to varying degrees, accepted a romantic definition of the holiday.
There are those for whom Valentines Day holds little, no, or negative meaning. For several different reasons, Antivalentinism has become an increasing trend, especially among young singles. Some eschew the holiday because of relationship troubles, or choose to celebrate solitude. For others, disgust of Valentine's Day's gregious capitalistic overtones prefer instead to celebrate St. Skeletor's Day, February 15, to avoid the "corporate whore-fest" of Valentine's Day. Indeed, for many the moniker "Hallmark Holiday" has become a perjorative.
****
Reflections on the Open Source history of Valentine's Day.
In all honesty, Wikipedia made this essay fairly easy to write, as it . The point of the exercise, however, was to compare the various sources found in the wild, wild web. The two encyclopedia sites I used, Wikipedia and Infoplease, had by far the most information to offer. Many of the sites I came across were often no more substantial than a conversation overheard in a restaurant at happy hour; sometimes less so.
Substantial or no, the variant explanations and characterizations of a single holiday are as astounding as they are plentiful. It reminds me very much of the old argument concerning the tales of the Brothers Grimm. At its kernel, the story told and lessons imparted are fairly universal, but details as much as motivation vary greatly in the telling, and depend very much on time and location. Versions of the Grimm tales from Medieval Europe are replete with gruesome details and sometimes violence, but underneath lies the moral of the story. Much like the differences in origin, meaning, and even celebration of Valentine's Day perhaps matter less than the ceremony of showing affection for loved ones, praying for fertility, or otherwise greeting the Spring with endearing thoughts.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
African American History Month at the LOC!
At the Library of Congress, African American History Month is a chance to highlight selections of the vast collection of Civil Rights materials and papers held by the federal government. The site includes biographies on leading individuals such as Carter G. Woodson, or Congressman Major Owens, as well as online exhibitions of primary documents and cultural artifacts that particularly exemplify African American history.
The LOC holdings that relate to the Civil Rights struggle and African American history in general cannot be fully explored in one section of its website. The Library's holdings, after all, include over 134 million items. The site does offer, however, "a representative sampling of the best of the Library's assets," and simultaneously fulfills three different and important functions that highlight the many uses of the Library of Congress collections.
First, and most importantly to researchers, it's an online archive. Several of the Library's holdings most relevant to African American history are linked on the collections page. Listed by category, many of these materials are part of the larger American Memory digital collection at the LOC. Some of these collections are of cultural artifacts, such as sheet music, sound recordings, and event posters, while others are manuscripts and letters or papers from prominent Americans. For instance, the papers of Frederick Douglass relating to Emancipation, housed in the macuscript room at the LOC, are available through the site, as well as artifacts from the Underground Railroad.
While most of the LOC's holdings are not online, access to the most relevant documents is often possible through one or more of the Library's Online Exhibitions. The African American Mosaic Exhibition serves as an online resource guide to major events, personalities, and themes in African American history and culture. The Mosaic is broken chronologically from the Colonization period up through the Works Progress Administration interviews with former slaves in the 1930's. Though one cannot conduct exhaustive research on such a site, it nonetheless serves as a point of entry to understand the basics and parameters of African American history, and offers plenty of opportunities for further inquiry.
Finally, the site also includes a guide for teachers, that includes both internal and external links for teachers and students to follow up on questions they might have. Many of the links in this list lead to LOC exhibitions, but others lead to other resources, interpretations, and examples of online history that complement the information found at the Library of Congress.
While the African American History Month online Exhibit is a special for the month of February, the collection as it is presented is drawn from many areas of the Library, and reflect only a portion of its permanent holdings and long-term, ongoing efforts. The Veteran's History Project for example, has been online since March of 2004, and it still collecting and transcribing testimony.
The Library of Congress African American History Month site is easy to explore and navigate, with minimal ocular distractions, advertisements, or bright and flashing colors. One must exercise caution, however, to not get lost in the deluge of information readily available. The opportunity to view primary source material and documents, as exciting as it can be, can also, without the proper context, a very time consuming and confusing process.
The LOC holdings that relate to the Civil Rights struggle and African American history in general cannot be fully explored in one section of its website. The Library's holdings, after all, include over 134 million items. The site does offer, however, "a representative sampling of the best of the Library's assets," and simultaneously fulfills three different and important functions that highlight the many uses of the Library of Congress collections.
First, and most importantly to researchers, it's an online archive. Several of the Library's holdings most relevant to African American history are linked on the collections page. Listed by category, many of these materials are part of the larger American Memory digital collection at the LOC. Some of these collections are of cultural artifacts, such as sheet music, sound recordings, and event posters, while others are manuscripts and letters or papers from prominent Americans. For instance, the papers of Frederick Douglass relating to Emancipation, housed in the macuscript room at the LOC, are available through the site, as well as artifacts from the Underground Railroad.
While most of the LOC's holdings are not online, access to the most relevant documents is often possible through one or more of the Library's Online Exhibitions. The African American Mosaic Exhibition serves as an online resource guide to major events, personalities, and themes in African American history and culture. The Mosaic is broken chronologically from the Colonization period up through the Works Progress Administration interviews with former slaves in the 1930's. Though one cannot conduct exhaustive research on such a site, it nonetheless serves as a point of entry to understand the basics and parameters of African American history, and offers plenty of opportunities for further inquiry.
Finally, the site also includes a guide for teachers, that includes both internal and external links for teachers and students to follow up on questions they might have. Many of the links in this list lead to LOC exhibitions, but others lead to other resources, interpretations, and examples of online history that complement the information found at the Library of Congress.
While the African American History Month online Exhibit is a special for the month of February, the collection as it is presented is drawn from many areas of the Library, and reflect only a portion of its permanent holdings and long-term, ongoing efforts. The Veteran's History Project for example, has been online since March of 2004, and it still collecting and transcribing testimony.
The Library of Congress African American History Month site is easy to explore and navigate, with minimal ocular distractions, advertisements, or bright and flashing colors. One must exercise caution, however, to not get lost in the deluge of information readily available. The opportunity to view primary source material and documents, as exciting as it can be, can also, without the proper context, a very time consuming and confusing process.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
History Online: Four ways go Digital
As more traditional academic disciplines, such as history, discover the applicability of and opportunity available in utilizing new technology to present history to new and younger generations, it is inevitable that different sites will approach online history in different ways.
Valley of the Shadow is the online version of the historical archive constructed by Dr. Edward Ayers, and used for his book, In The Presence of Mine Enemies (Norton, 2003). It contains primary sources (newspapers, letters, census, tax, and church records, maps, veterans, and freedmen’s bureaus) of soldiers and citizens from two counties on either side of the Civil War - Augusta County, VA and Franklin County, Pennsylvania. The site is structured as though it were a three-floor library, separated chronologically into three periods, “The Eve of War,” “The War Years,” and “The Aftermath.” The records are all transcribed and listed chronologically, often with links to scanned images of the actual document.
As for presentation, of the four historical websites, the Valley of the Shadow is the most utilitarian and straightforward. It is, simply, an online archive. Its purpose is to make primary sources available.
Do History goes a step further than Valley of the Shadow by trying to include the experience of investigating the sources, and following evidence trails that lead to the stories that historians tell. A sort of online history tutorial, the site contains the online version of Martha Ballard’s diary, transcribed over ten years by Robert and Cynthia McCausland. The diary was a primary source for Laurel Thatcher Ulrich’s A Midwife’s Tale, and a PBS documentary film of the same name.
By using scans of the original diary, users come to understand the many difficulties of working with very old sources, replete with mistakes, vagaries, deceptions and damage. New researchers are told that “both historians and detectives know that questions are often louder than the answers, and that answers are not always clear and satisfying. We invite you to explore the diary entries and companion documents in Doing History to see if you can hear the questions and find some of the answers.”
Both Valley of the Shadow (virginia.edu) and Do History (dohistory.org) are primarily academic endeavors. They exist to purvey information, or instruct on the use of historical sources. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History website on the other hand, is, naturally, more of an online museum exhibit than tutorial or archive, and is updated the most frequently of the three. Since the actual museum is currently closed for renovation, the website is the only place to view some of the museum’s collection, including those exhibits currently visiting other museums, such as Produce for Victory, a collection of World War II posters. While the site normally exists as a way for the museum to promote itself, it is also currently the only way that the public can view large segments of the museum’s collection.
While all of the sites so far have been primarily educational in nature, the site for The History Channel, in contrast, is commercial. The online mouthpiece for the popular cable channel, The History Channel site is the only one with an attached store and blatant advertisements. Far from existing to impart information, history.com would rather sell you a DVD box set of the History Channel production. One of the most popular sections of the site, however, are the community discussion forums. The most discussed topics? No surprises here: Wars, Religion, and Current Events, followed by Sports, 9/11, and American Presidents.
Though the main page does include a search bar labeled “History 101” that claims that “History is now at your fingertips,” a few quick tries found that, much like the cable channel itself, unless you are looking for information about World War II, the Civil War or the Founding Fathers, you’re SOL.
These four websites each stand as one example of how to explore history digitally. Each has its own purpose, approach, and scope, as does each individual work of history. Whether combing comparative records from the Civil War, examining a frail diary from the revolutionary period, or pondering which set of DVD's to start with, users of these sites are presented with different means to reach different ends.
Valley of the Shadow is the online version of the historical archive constructed by Dr. Edward Ayers, and used for his book, In The Presence of Mine Enemies (Norton, 2003). It contains primary sources (newspapers, letters, census, tax, and church records, maps, veterans, and freedmen’s bureaus) of soldiers and citizens from two counties on either side of the Civil War - Augusta County, VA and Franklin County, Pennsylvania. The site is structured as though it were a three-floor library, separated chronologically into three periods, “The Eve of War,” “The War Years,” and “The Aftermath.” The records are all transcribed and listed chronologically, often with links to scanned images of the actual document.
As for presentation, of the four historical websites, the Valley of the Shadow is the most utilitarian and straightforward. It is, simply, an online archive. Its purpose is to make primary sources available.
Do History goes a step further than Valley of the Shadow by trying to include the experience of investigating the sources, and following evidence trails that lead to the stories that historians tell. A sort of online history tutorial, the site contains the online version of Martha Ballard’s diary, transcribed over ten years by Robert and Cynthia McCausland. The diary was a primary source for Laurel Thatcher Ulrich’s A Midwife’s Tale, and a PBS documentary film of the same name.
By using scans of the original diary, users come to understand the many difficulties of working with very old sources, replete with mistakes, vagaries, deceptions and damage. New researchers are told that “both historians and detectives know that questions are often louder than the answers, and that answers are not always clear and satisfying. We invite you to explore the diary entries and companion documents in Doing History to see if you can hear the questions and find some of the answers.”
Both Valley of the Shadow (virginia.edu) and Do History (dohistory.org) are primarily academic endeavors. They exist to purvey information, or instruct on the use of historical sources. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History website on the other hand, is, naturally, more of an online museum exhibit than tutorial or archive, and is updated the most frequently of the three. Since the actual museum is currently closed for renovation, the website is the only place to view some of the museum’s collection, including those exhibits currently visiting other museums, such as Produce for Victory, a collection of World War II posters. While the site normally exists as a way for the museum to promote itself, it is also currently the only way that the public can view large segments of the museum’s collection.
While all of the sites so far have been primarily educational in nature, the site for The History Channel, in contrast, is commercial. The online mouthpiece for the popular cable channel, The History Channel site is the only one with an attached store and blatant advertisements. Far from existing to impart information, history.com would rather sell you a DVD box set of the History Channel production. One of the most popular sections of the site, however, are the community discussion forums. The most discussed topics? No surprises here: Wars, Religion, and Current Events, followed by Sports, 9/11, and American Presidents.
Though the main page does include a search bar labeled “History 101” that claims that “History is now at your fingertips,” a few quick tries found that, much like the cable channel itself, unless you are looking for information about World War II, the Civil War or the Founding Fathers, you’re SOL.
These four websites each stand as one example of how to explore history digitally. Each has its own purpose, approach, and scope, as does each individual work of history. Whether combing comparative records from the Civil War, examining a frail diary from the revolutionary period, or pondering which set of DVD's to start with, users of these sites are presented with different means to reach different ends.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Blog Review: The Sietch
A “Sietch,” in Frank Herbert’s legendary sci-fi series, Dune, is “a place of sanctuary in times of danger.” It serves as a temporary home, carved out of rock, to protect the people from the harsh desert climate. In addition to providing protection from the environment and enemies, the sietch was also the centerpiece of the community; a place to educate children, prepare and serve meals, stockpile reserves, and prepare for battle. In that light, The Sietch applies this idea to the web, to create a community concerned about and engaged in environmentally and socially responsible action, to “make a world that no one would need sanctuary from,” according to its founder and principal blogger, The Naib.
The Sietch Blog is generally updated at least once per day. The posts are a collection of stories, generally found elsewhere on the web, that relate to responsible interaction with our environment, global warming and climate change, bicycling, responsible eating and nutritional information, and, on the rare occasions where it is warranted, commendation of a company or corporation for responsible or beneficial behavior.
For instance, The Naib’s January 18 post, “Google.org’s Five Year Plan” lauds the internet giant’s philanthropic offshoot for its work in Southeast Asia and tropical Africa. Google.org recently announced its formal platform of core ideals and goals, which include: working to predict, prevent, and more quickly respond to natural disasters and epidemics before they become crises; education and empowerment to improve public services; growth of small enterprise; development and commercialization of plug-in vehicles; and the development of renewable energy that is cheaper than oil or coal.
Most often, posts on the Sietch are of a more local and personal nature, that reflect a keen awareness of the consequences of American lifestyle. The Naib lives in Boston, and many of the posts relate to local events or concerns, such as his account of planned increases in Boston’s bike infrastructure in the mayor of Boston’s State of the City Speech, “From Bean Town To Green Town”; or his ongoing commentary on the debate over the installation of wind turbines in Cape Cod. In “Cape Wind Getting Close to Approval,” The Naib overviews the environmental statement on the wind turbine project by the Mineral Management Service, which shows the overwhelming benefits of the Cape Wind project. Since the project is still in the permitting process, however, the Naib concludes that momentum looks good for the project, but “we can only hope that Ted ‘but that’s where I sail my yacht’ Kennedy doesn’t decide that some other random US regulatory agency should spend another seven years looking at this project.”
The other personality with a blog presence at The Sietch, Keith Farnish, is also the author of The Earth Blog (www.theearthblog.org), which is “intended as a source of inspiration for people who want to be challenged, and offering uncompromising solutions to difficult problems.” Indeed, his last two posts at The Sietch address the myriad issues involved with food production in “Where Our Food Comes From”), inspired by the artwork of Carl Warner; and the pitfalls of “Battery Farming: a Pointless Indulgence.”
The Sietch Blog’s audience is anyone who cares about the state of their community, broadly defined. Whether your actions and concerns are local, regional, or global, The Sietch encourages you to dream of a better world, then act to make it a reality.
The Sietch Blog is generally updated at least once per day. The posts are a collection of stories, generally found elsewhere on the web, that relate to responsible interaction with our environment, global warming and climate change, bicycling, responsible eating and nutritional information, and, on the rare occasions where it is warranted, commendation of a company or corporation for responsible or beneficial behavior.
For instance, The Naib’s January 18 post, “Google.org’s Five Year Plan” lauds the internet giant’s philanthropic offshoot for its work in Southeast Asia and tropical Africa. Google.org recently announced its formal platform of core ideals and goals, which include: working to predict, prevent, and more quickly respond to natural disasters and epidemics before they become crises; education and empowerment to improve public services; growth of small enterprise; development and commercialization of plug-in vehicles; and the development of renewable energy that is cheaper than oil or coal.
Most often, posts on the Sietch are of a more local and personal nature, that reflect a keen awareness of the consequences of American lifestyle. The Naib lives in Boston, and many of the posts relate to local events or concerns, such as his account of planned increases in Boston’s bike infrastructure in the mayor of Boston’s State of the City Speech, “From Bean Town To Green Town”; or his ongoing commentary on the debate over the installation of wind turbines in Cape Cod. In “Cape Wind Getting Close to Approval,” The Naib overviews the environmental statement on the wind turbine project by the Mineral Management Service, which shows the overwhelming benefits of the Cape Wind project. Since the project is still in the permitting process, however, the Naib concludes that momentum looks good for the project, but “we can only hope that Ted ‘but that’s where I sail my yacht’ Kennedy doesn’t decide that some other random US regulatory agency should spend another seven years looking at this project.”
The other personality with a blog presence at The Sietch, Keith Farnish, is also the author of The Earth Blog (www.theearthblog.org), which is “intended as a source of inspiration for people who want to be challenged, and offering uncompromising solutions to difficult problems.” Indeed, his last two posts at The Sietch address the myriad issues involved with food production in “Where Our Food Comes From”), inspired by the artwork of Carl Warner; and the pitfalls of “Battery Farming: a Pointless Indulgence.”
The Sietch Blog’s audience is anyone who cares about the state of their community, broadly defined. Whether your actions and concerns are local, regional, or global, The Sietch encourages you to dream of a better world, then act to make it a reality.
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