Inspiring social change through print, spoken word, and creative action.

NEW and UPDATED info:

• ibn Kenyatta - Prisoner of the State of New York
  UPDATE: A new online resource page has dedicated space to the case and to Kenyatta. Learn about Kenyatta's prison life and also his relationship with long-time partner Safiya Bandele. New website offers insight into Kenyatta and his world.
  
  We met with Kenyatta last summer in the penitentiary at Malone NY. He is feeling optimistic about the legal processes in which he is involved. We had a five hour meeting and he is in good health, though letters of support are encouraged. Read the facts and updates section and then find out how you can help. Kenyatta forges on, with solid determination in the face of oppression. Since the early 1970's, ibn Kenyatta has been a prisoner in the State of New York. Jailed for defending himself against a violent police officer, Kenyatta has turned down the State's attempts to offer him parole since 1988. He refuses to walk to streets as a guilty man freed, and says that he is holding out for his innocence to be proclaimed outright through an unconditional pardon. Kenyatta deserves to have his story told to the world.
   
  
  
• In the music there is a message: this is not a trend
  Trial DVD out now on Panic Records!
  
  TRIAL news: Lyrics to the "Are These Our Lives?" full length are here both in HTML, pdf, and Microsoft Word format, and check the main link above for show photos.
  
  
  
  
• Focus on Africa
  An activist with the The Women's Cross Cultural Cooperation Project talks with us about how to bring sustainability and empowerment to the women of Ghana. "I believe that we are entering an era where the notion of global community goes far beyond trade relationships and corporate handouts. I believe that individuals need to get involved and impact the lives of other individuals."
  
  
  
• Political hip hop from the suburbs of Vancouver BC
  Langley BC is likely one of the last places you'd think to find socially aware, pro-feminist, anti-war, political hip hop...or any hip hop for that matter. A quiet suburb of Vancouver, Langley is home to Estea El and the Influents crew. We recently saw them at an anti-war event in downtown Vancouver BC and had a chance to ask a couple of questions of them about what they do and why.
  
  
  
• The Shac 7 sentenced in Trenton NJ.
  The SHAC 7 defendants were sentenced in Trenton NJ, bringing the landmark case against them into a new chapter. Their sentences ranged from one to six years. Check the website for updates.
  
  
  
• Flight From Death: The Quest for Immortality
  New interview about the film conducted with Greg, from Australia, is up now here.
  
  Check out an interview with Greg and Sheldon Solomon on KEXP radio here. Flight From Death screened recently in Warsaw Poland. A tour of Poland will be forthcoming in 2007.
  
  The Flight From Death DVD is now available! The disc includes a 30 minute featurette on the making of the film, deleted scenes, photo stills from behind the scenes, and numerous other extras and already has sold thousands of copies worldwide. The Seattle Times called the film "a stimulating, ultimately life-affirming film, filled with big ideas and revelatory footage" and major Hollywood publicist and media expert Michael Levine called it "One of the best films of the year. Period."
  
  Flight From Death won seven "Best Documentary" and "Best Feature" awards. Anne Upton of the Northern Lights Documentary Film Festival said "This is the most thought provoking film I've ever seen.". (photo: Patrick, Greg, and comedian Andy Dick at the Malibu Film Festival Awards Night on 9.23.2004. Previous five photos: Patrick and Greg with Greg Kinnear in Maui; 2003 Beverly Hills Film Festival Awards night; the FFD crew with narrator Gabriel Byrne; the crew in the Dallas mortuary; and the dead boy.)
  
  
  
• Western Shoshone land rights issues
  Western Shoshone victorious at United Nations: United States found in violation of human rights of Native Americans - urged to take immediate action. In an historic and strongly worded decision by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) the United States was urged to “freeze”, “desist” and “stop” actions being taken or threatened to be taken against the Western Shoshone Peoples of the Western Shoshone Nation. In its decision, CERD stressed the “nature and urgency” of the Shoshone situation informing the U.S. that it goes “well beyond” the normal reporting process and warrants immediate attention under the Committee’s Early Warning and Urgent Action Procedure.
  
  This monumental action challenges the US government’s assertion of federal ownership of nearly 90% of Western Shoshone lands. The land base covers approximately 60 million acres, stretching across what is now referred to as the states of Nevada, Idaho, Utah and California. Western Shoshone rights to the land - which they continue to use, care for, and occupy today - were recognized by the United States in 1863 by the Treaty of Ruby Valley. The U.S. now claims these same lands as “public” or federal lands through an agency process and has denied Western Shoshone fair access to U.S. courts through that same process. The land base has been and continues to be used by the United States for military testing, open pit cyanide heap leach gold mining and nuclear waste disposal planning. The U.S. has engaged in military style seizures of Shoshone livestock, trespass fines in the millions of dollars and ongoing armed surveillance of Western Shoshone who continue to assert their original and treaty rights.
  
  Based upon these actions and a dramatic escalation of new actions threatening irreparable harm to Western Shoshone and their environment, last year, with the support of the Univ. of Arizona Indigenous Law and Policy Program, the Western Shoshone filed a renewed legal action at the United Nations CERD. In addition to evidence of the United States’ conduct, the Western Shoshone delegation also delivered over 13,000 signatures from citizens across the United States of America supporting the Western Shoshone action to CERD. This petition was a result of a campaign organized by the rights-based development organization Oxfam America to demonstrate the widespread concern for the Western Shoshone peoples to the United Nations.
  
  CERD rejected the U.S.’ argument that the situation was not “novel” and therefore should wait to be reviewed until the U.S. submits its Periodic Report – past due since 2003. The Committee informed the U.S. that “[a]lthough these are indeed long-standing issues…they warrant immediate and effective action… [and] should be dealt with as a matter of priority.” The United States was “urged to pay particular attention to the right to health and cultural rights of the Western Shoshone…which may be infringed upon by activities threatening their environment and/or disregarding the spiritual and cultural significance they give to their ancestral lands.”
  
  CERD presented its decision to the Western Shoshone this morning. The decision details the U.S.’ actions against the Western Shoshone and calls upon the United States to immediately:
  
  - Respect and protect the human rights of the Western Shoshone peoples;
  - Initiate a dialogue with the representatives of the Western Shoshone peoples in order to find a solution acceptable to them, and which complies with their rights;
  - Adopt the following measures until a final decision or settlement is reached on the status, use and occupation of Western Shoshone ancestral lands in accordance with due process of law and the U.S.’ obligations under the Convention;
  - Freeze all efforts to privatize Western Shoshone ancestral lands for transfer to multinational extractive industries and energy developers;
  - Desist from all activities planned and/or conducted on Western Shoshone ancestral lands;
  - Stop imposing grazing fees, livestock impoundments, hunting, fishing and gathering restrictions and rescind all notices already made.
  
  The decision is historic in that it is the first time a United Nations Committee has issued a full decision against the U.S. in respect to its highly controversial Federal Indian law and policy. The decision expressed particular concern that the U.S.’ basis for claiming federal title to Western Shoshone land rests on a theory of “gradual encroachment” through a “compensation” process in the Indian Claims Commission. The decision highlights that this same process was found by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to violate “international human rights norms, principles and standards that govern determination of indigenous property interests.” When the U.S. last appeared before the Committee in 2001, Committee members expressed alarm and concern that U.S. laws regarding indigenous peoples continue to be based on the outdated, colonial era “doctrine of discovery.”
  
  The Committee gave the U.S. a July 15, 2006 deadline to provide it with information on the action it had taken. The decision issued today demonstrates a solid commitment by the United Nations human rights system to make the Western Shoshone’s struggle a priority. Whereas indigenous peoples have been active at the United Nations for several decades, the decision today also brings a breath of hope to indigenous communities across the U.S. and globally where the negative effects of U.S. policy and influence reach. In its decision, the Committee drew particular attention to its General recommendation 23 (1997) on the rights of indigenous peoples, in particular their right to own, develop, control and use their communal lands, territories and resources.
  
  
  "We are not artifacts in the past - we’re here, we’ve always been here and we will always be here." (Carrie Dann): - Check www.wsdp.org for additional information about the latest in the Shoshone struggle for their land. (Photo: Shoshone elder Carrie Dann. Click photo for larger image)
  
  
  
  
  
• World Leaders Project
  The first meeting of the World Leaders Project took place with President Bharrat Jagdeo of Guyana and it was a huge success. We met at his office in Georgetown Guyana on May 29th and then spent the rest of the week doing interviews with Guyanese print and television media. This link will bring you to the page for the World Leader's Project, an multi-year initiative to deal with the issue of human violence through direct discussions with heads of state around the world. Why wait for the world to change...make the first move and initiate change yourself. Here is how two friends from opposite ends of the country started working together to do just that. (Photo from left to right: Greg Bennick; His Excellency President Bharrat Jagdeo; Dr. Sheldon Solomon - photo by Patrick Shen - click on photo for larger image)