UP NORTH, WAAAAAY UP NORTH

Somehow I knew I'd hear from Brent, my blogging buddy to the North, regarding the story about 'The Friendly Giant' and that sketch from the Gemini Awards. He may yet blog about it as well, but I wanted to share his thoughts and memories in a post here. (I figured most of you don't bother to check out comments - if any! - so I didn't want to risk having it languish unseen.....

Here's Brent:

If you can stand a long post I might be able to give you some background to the Friendly Giant as it is one of the treasured memories of my childhood. The quick and dirty answer is that there is nothing to indicate that Friendly belongs anywhere but Main Toobworld. This is because the show was a largely self-contained entity in which the only time one ventured outside of the castle was in the opening sequence.The location set in the introductory sequence was pretty clearly Ontario farm country in modern times. The farm had a relatively modern tractor (probably a Massey-Ferguson though most of the time I was watching the show on a Black & White TV) and there was a car that drove down the road - all done with off the shelf models of course.

Once the drawbridge was lowered and we were in the three chairs (including a rocker for someone who likes to rock and a big chair for two) around a normal sized fireplace at the base of the wall we were in the Giant's domain. Mostly this was the main room, where Friendly read picture books which came oout of Rusty the Rooster's seemingly bottomless book bag home, and play his recorder, and talk with Rusty and Jerome the Giraffe. On occasion (and more often in the later years) we'd go to the Music Room, with Friendly carrying Rusty to the Music Room Bookbag. There Friendly would be joined by Jerome (who of course didn't come inside) and two or three non-speaking puppets like the kittens Angie and Fiddle and I seem to recall a raccoon as well showed up to play music.

Sadly the CBC has steadfastly refused to release The Friendly Giant on home video in any format. They claim in part that the show is too old fashioned for kids brought up on fast moving material like Sesame Street. There are probably other reasons as well though. The books Friendly reads are obviously still in copyright which means negotiating payments. The CBC's contracts with performers may also be a problem - residuals are apparently paid for any repeat airings and not just to the performers but to their estates.

~ Brent

Hee hee! He typed "oout". Let's go to the mall, Scherbatsky!

Thanks, Brent! I'm glad I have my Hap Richards in Joyville memories from kids TV in Connecticut, but I wish I could have visited the Giant's Castle as well.

BCnU!
Toby OB

For the Yaqui children in Mexico

I'tom Hiaki Usims - Hiaki Vatgua Betana wa'a "Dia de Reyes" Vetichivo
The Alianza Indigena and Yoeme Comission on Human Rights are raising funds to support the cross cultural international event of "El Dia de Los Reyes Magos" the "3 King Magician Day" that falls on Sunday, January 6 2007. This will be our second year of the event-Last year we provided gifts, clothing and fruit baskets to over 300 Yaqui Children from Las Guasimas, an ocean front Yaqui village and Guasimitas, a rural Yaqui village in Rio Yaqui, Sonora, Mexico. This year we are short on monetary donations, children's clothing, jackets, shoes and blankets. The goodwill trip is scheduled for the weekend of January 4 through January 6, 2008.
The Yoeme Commission on Human Rights & Alianza Indigena will be participating in the Casino Del Sol Tamal & Heritage Festival on Saturday, December 1, 2007, COME AND JOIN US FOR THIS GREAT EVENT AND BUY TAMALES ON BEHALF OF "I'TOM USIMS" or send your donation to: Alianza Indigena Sin Fronteras; P.O. Box 826; Tucson, Arizona 85701 Should you have any questions you can contact: David Jaimez - 520-5782399 Thomasina Jaimez - 520- 861-9297 Jose R. Matus - 520-979-2125

A "JOURNEYMAN" PLEA

One of the Executive Producers for 'Journeyman' posted an open letter to the fans of the show at Alan Sepinwall's blog (Link to the Left, my dainties). It's such a good show that I didn't want it just to languish there, but instead I wanted to spread the word from here. Hopefully other blogs will cut and paste the message in their own blogs so that it reaches more of an audience.....

Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Kevin Falls:

Some good news

http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com/node/34919

Journeyman Fans

--NBC has decided to air the 12th episode ("Perfidia") on Wednesday, December 19th at ten o'clock. That means our 10th episode will air on Monday the 10th ("Home by Another Way"), the 11th will air on 17th ("The Hanged Man").

The decision to air the 12th episode had a lot to do with the passion of our fans through SaveJourneyman.net, the online petition and letters and emails to NBC executives.

And is it true you can vote once a day for the People's Choice Awards?

There's still no news on our long term future, but we can promise you this: three terrific episodes inside of ten days. Oh, yeah, and you'll get some answers, too.

Your comments and pro-active attempts to save the show are very much appreciated by me and my fellow Executive Producer Alex Graves, Kevin McKidd and the cast, writers and crew. But more importantly, it's working.

But don't rest. We need you. We want a back nine--and beyond.

Thanks again,

Kevin Falls
10:11 PM, November 28, 2007

KLINGON Hol lut

On the most recent episode of 'Chuck', he was being held hostage by a member of Fulcrum and Agents John Casey and Sarah Walker were at a loss as to how to proceed. However, Chuck's old friend and nemesis (yeah, his frienemy) Bryce Larkin knew exactly what to do.

Using the Klingon language, he asked Chuck if he was wearing a vest. When Chuck said yes, he also used Klingon.

And then Bryce shot him in the chest.

This wasn't the first time a language that shouldn't be spoken on Earth for another two hundred years at least has been heard in Toobworld in the 21st Century:

A 2004 episode of 'My Wife And Kids'.

In the bowling alley, Junior uses the Klingon language to ward off a rude man dressed in a Star Trek outfit who had just pushed in the line.

In the 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer' episode "Seeing Red", which first aired May 7, 2002, Xander unwittingly reveals his knowledge of Klingon when he instantly determines the language used in some of The Nerds' papers.

The sixth episode of the tenth season of 'Frasier', "Star-Mitzvah", which first aired November 5, 2002, had Frasier reading a short blessing in Klingon at his son's Bar Mitzvah having been tricked into believing it was Hebrew.

In "Witch Hunt", an 'NCIS' episode, agents raid a fancy dress party where a person is dressed as a Klingon. He insults Special Agent Gibbs by saying Hab SoSlI' Quch!.

McGee translates this to "Your mother has a smooth forehead" and reveals he speaks Klingon, but not fluently.

In 2004 'ER' Episode 220 (10.19), "Just a Touch", which first aired April 22, 2004, Abby must deal with half a dozen psychiatric patients, and one of them speaks only Klingon.

In 2002 'Farscape' Episode 10401 (4.1), "Crichton Kicks", John Crichton shouts a Klingon offense at a group of invaders before stating to Sikozu, "You didn't get that? Yeah, 'cause it's Klingon!"

In 'The Big Bang Theory', the character Howard Wolowitz can speak six languages, including Klingon.

It has also been spoken in the Tooniverse:

In the 'Aqua Teen Hunger Force' episode "Super Computer," Frylock names the computer he invented the "OoGhiJ MIQtxxXA" which he claims is Klingon for "Superior Galactic Intelligence." While the second word has no meaning in Okrand's Klingon, the first word is similar orthographically to the Klingon word QoghIj "brain".

The character The Comic Book Guy from 'The Simpsons' claims to have translated The Lord of the Rings into Klingon as part of his thesis.

In "Passion of the Jew", an episode of 'South Park' which first aired March 31, 2004, when Mel Gibson goes on his rampage, he also shouts Qapla'!

In the 2004 'The Simpsons' episode 330 (15.17), "My Big Fat Geek Wedding", an altar can be seen on a SciFi convention, bearing the engraved letters love from the Klingon pIqaD alphabet. However, this is not an actual word in Klingon.

[All according to Wikipedia]

'Star Trek' (including all of its spin-offs) is the most Zonked TV series in tele-history. I think the only one that might come close could be 'The Twilight Zone'. Just last week on 'Numb3rs', a cardboard cut-out of William Shatner as Captain Kirk - and a conventioneer dressed as Captain Picard - were seen at a comic book convention in the episode "Graphic".

And yet the events of 'Star Trek', beginning with 'Enterprise', shouldn't be occurring until the 23rd Century at the very least. What would be historical events to the world of 'Trek' are happening all the time, but characters within other TV shows shouldn't know about 'Star Trek' as a TV show because it's supposed to be their actual future.

So how can this Zonk be beamed out of here?

There's only one possible solution:

Somebody from the Future traveled back in Time to the early 1960s and gave Gene Roddenberry the information he needed to create the series, basing it on events that will actually take place in the Future. Perhaps the Time Traveler did this in an attempt to destroy that very Future; we'll never know. But that's how the people of Toobworld can watch TV shows about real events that haven't even happened yet.

So not only is there a Captain Kirk, there's also William Shatner playing Captain Kirk. And based on the knowledge he had been given about the future, Roddenberry obviously cast him because of his resemblance to the real James T. Kirk.

By the way, Bryce asked Chuck in Klingon if he was wearing a vest. Apparently, there is no official Klingon word yet for "vest". (Oddly enough, there is a word for "pajamas" - "nlvnav".)

Perhaps Marc Okrand came up with one for the producers' use. But the closest they could have come using already established terms might have been "Hlp begh" - "uniform deflectors".

Yes. I'm a geek. Well, at the very least I know where to go to look this stuff up.

For many of the TV show references to 'Star Trek' in other shows, visit this Memory Alpha page.

And so it goes.

jaH lel!
Toby OB

Challenge to uranium mining, poisoning water, on Lakota lands

CONTACT: Debra White Plume, Executive Director, Owe Aku lakota1@gwtc.net
Kent Lebsock, Owe Aku International Human Rights Project: iamkent@verizon.net

Seven Petitioners File for Hearing on Uranium Mine Expansion
First Request for Nuclear Regulatory Commission Hearing in 17 Years

“The entire issue is water, which is life itself, and our struggle is to protect it.” Thomas Cook

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- On November 12, 2007, seven Petitioners from parts of the poorest region in the United States asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to participate in decisions relative to uranium mining and its harmful effects in northwestern Nebraska and the Lakota (Sioux) Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in Southwest South Dakota . According to NRC sources, this is the first request to intervene in an NRC proceeding relating to the expansion of an existing uranium mining operation in approximately 17 years. The petitioners are Thomas Cook, Chadron Native American Center, Slim Buttes Agricultural Development Corp., High Plains Community Development Corp., Western Nebraska Resources Council, Debra White Plume, and an Oglala Lakota nonprofit organization called Owe Aku.
Canadian-owned Crow Buttes Resources, Inc. (CBR) is asking the NRC for a permit to expand uranium mining in and around Petitioners’ towns, farms, and Indian territories. Petitioners assert that CBR’s process currently consumes and contaminates 4.7 billion gallons of water per year from the High Plains Aquifer which is also the water source to communities in eight western states. The petition (see http://www.bringbacktheway.com/ for text) challenges CBR’s request for an additional 2.4 billion gallons a year to expand its operations. CBR's application is made while drought is depleting the aquifers at 160% of recharge.

In addition to the use of additional valuable water resources, CBR has admitted to:
§ a spill of approximately 300,000 gallons of radioactive liquid waste at its mine in Crawford , Nebraska ;
§ failure to clean up one-third of the spills equaling approximately 100,000 gallons of radioactive liquid waste;
§ admission that a broken coupling led to a one gallon per minute leak for several years into the Brule aquifer. It is believed that the leak resulted in toxic contamination of at least 525,000 gallons of water per year; and
§ admission of a leak that contaminated 25,000 sq. ft. of the Brule aquifer.
From existing operations, CBR has had no less than 23 reported leaks of radioactive material. Petitioners assert that this contradicts CBR’s statements that they have operated without any environmental impact and indicates that CBR should not be allowed to expand its existing operations. As one member of the Western Nebraska Resources Counsel stated, “In our book, you clean up your first mess before you are allowed the opportunity to create a new mess.”

Petitioners are asking the NRC for a chance to submit evidence that a slow-moving, underground radioactive plume of contaminated water is moving through several inter-connected aquifers. It is believed that CBRs admitted contamination of the aquifer “plumes” through the Arikaree, Brule and High Plains aquifers. CBR’s expansion application to the NRC states that the toxins that have leaked into the aquifers probably enter the human body through water as well as food sources exposed to the contamination. These toxins include Radon-222, Thorium, Uranium and inorganic Arsenic. As part of the application process, Petitioners seek an evaluation of CBR’s proposed expansion relative to the health and environment of people and wildlife relying on the aquifers. The Arikaree aquifer lies directly under the Oglala Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Petitioners believe there is a link between 98 wells that were closed on the Western side of the Reservation because of radioactive contamination and unusual incidences of cancer, kidney disease, birth defects, miscarriages and infant brain seizures.

Indigenous Petitioners from Native American communities also assert that the United Nations’ Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples applies. Article 32 acknowledges that Indigenous peoples have a right to “free, prior and informed consent” with respect to development, utilization or exploitation of mineral resources. It further provides that “[s]tates shall provide effective mechanisms for just and fair redress for any such activities, and appropriate measures shall be taken to mitigate adverse environmental … impact.” To date, no opportunity has been provided for members of the Oglala Sioux Tribe or Native communities to analyze CBR’s License Amendment or its affect on Indigenous lands and resources. Petitioners stress that it would be entirely consistent with international human rights standards if the NRC affirms the Indigenous peoples’ right to intervene in the permit process for CBR’s application.

It is currently unknown when to expect a decision from the NRC.
Kent Lebsock
Owe Aku (Bring Back the Way)
International Justice & Human Rights Project
http://www.bringbacktheway.org/

RIPPLE EFFECT

The writers' strike is going to affect more than just the uninterrupted production of new TV shows. Its effect will be felt in the release of DVDs already scheduled as well.

Here's an example from TVShowsOnDVD.com:

"Rumors had reached our ears that Sony was planning on a late February release of the upcoming CBS mini-series Comanche Moon: The Road to Lonesome Dove (starring Val Kilmer, Steve Zahn, Rachel Griffiths, Linda Cardellini, and Karl Urban), and that this would possibly be the only TV-DVD release from the studio during that month. However, plans to air this mini-series on CBS around the end of December and beginning of January were recently delayed, and now the six-hour mini-series won't be aired until at least a couple of weeks later than originally planned. That could, of course, delay the release of the DVDs for Comanche Moon.

Will it actually move the DVD release? We don't know, because that title's announce date hasn't arrived yet. So we'll hold off saying one way or the other; it's just an example of all the different sort of issues that could come up when a studio tries to figure out when product will get released."

My guess is that CBS pushed back the broadcast of the mini-series so that they'll have content for February Sweeps since the writers' strike may still be going on by then. Even if a deal is reached sooner, there may not be enough time to get all their projects underway.

So the Eye's way of thinking is that it's better to hold off on showing 'Comanche Moon' now and have it in reserve for Sweeps.

And they'll need all the help they can get.... The union's not going to roll over and play nice this time around. They got burned back in 1988 with the deal made; this time they have the "new media" working in their favor!

Just sayin', is all......

BCnU!
Toby OB

Weekend in Solidarity with Political Prisoners

Saturday, December 1 & Sunday, December 2
Saturday, 12/1Jericho Boston Presents
The ShootoutPerformance artist, Jihad Abdul-Mumit will present The Shootout, a two-person theater performance and workshop. The Shootout is a two-man dramatization depicting the spiritual and psychological divisions that have historically ripped apart just about every semblance of unity amongst African Americans. The Shootout starts right from the beginning when Africans were snatched so violently and decisively from Mother Africa. The play speaks to the many problems people are confronted with. Among the root causes of violence in oppressed communities are economic exploitation, social underdevelopment and the colonial relationship between the community and those in power. CORI and other draconian laws have been passed to keep people marginalized and disenfranchised, while prison expansion cuts in education continue.
Read more ...
http://censored-news.blogspot.com/2007/11/weekend-in-solidarity-with-political.html

Border wall plans ignore environmental justice rules

BORDER WALL PLANS IGNORE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE RULES

By No Border Wall

RIO GRANDE, Texas -- In the recently released Rio Grande Valley Tactical Infrastructure Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), the Department of Homeland Security attempts to brush aside issues of environmental justice in its plans for the border wall. Although the Rio Grande Valley’s population is over 85% minority, and its border communities are some of the poorest in the nation, the EIS states that the impacts of the proposed border wall “would not fall disproportionately on minority or low-income populations.”
Read more ..
http://censored-news.blogspot.com/2007/11/border-wall-plans-ignore-environmental.html

ONE GIANT MESS-UP

There are times in Skitlandia (the TV dimension based on comedy sketches) when repercussions occur in the real world.

Recently, a televised awards show in Canada made fun of the puppets that inhabited the world of 'The Friendly Giant'. It was suggested that now that they are no longer on TV, the puppets are free to engage in rude, crude, lewd behavior at a retirement home. However, the family of the late creator of the show, Bob Homme, took offense at the suggestion. Since they own the original puppets and the rights to the show, they demanded the puppets back from the CBC and that the tribute display in the network's lobby to be dismantled.

I first read about the story in Roger Catlin's blog. But the Torontoist gives more details and provides a link to the YouTube clip from the Gemini Awards.

And here's just the YouTube link alone.

The only good thing that came out of the brouhaha is that it's now established that Jerome the Giraffe and Rusty the Rooster also exist in Skitlandia. And I have to admit, the Felt With Feelings Retirement Home for Puppets and the F.L.O.P. organization are funny ideas. But permission should have been sought and if not received, they should have been axed from the bit. There are a couple of fake puppets used, (like Basil of 'Sesame Park' and Curtains from 'Dr. Giggles Place'), so why not have all of them be original to the sketch?

What they should have done was go the route taken with Casey and Finnegan, the puppets from 'Mr. Dressup': refer to them, but don't show them.

I'm only familiar with 'The Friendly Giant' from what I've read online in such places as TVParty. So I can't say for certain whether the Giant lived in the main Toobworld or was to be found in some alternate dimension. I'd like to think that he lived in some remote Brobdignangian region of the world, and that perhaps he was related to the giants you see in the Colorado Rockies during those old Coors commercials.

THE REAL DEAL

Hopefully, the Homme family will not let their anger over the situation keep them from setting up some other kind of home for the show's puppets, so that future generations can enjoy seeing them again.....

BCnU!
Toby OB

WORLD SUPPORT FOR THE WRITERS

I've already reported on the rally in London in support of America's WGA in their fight to get their fair share of profits from "new media". Here's an excerpt from the AP report about other rallies held in Europe on Wednesday:

"In Paris, a few dozen screenwriters and others joined a march from the Opera Garnier to the Trocadero Plaza across from the Eiffel Tower in support of their American counterparts.

In Berlin, about 30 scriptwriters and actors gathered in front of the Brandenburg Gate.

"Wir stützen das WGA!"

Demonstrations also were scheduled in several other European cities, as well as in Canada, Australia and New Zealand."

DAILY REMINDER FOR THE STRIKE

I realize I have been lax lately in my daily reminders about the WGA strike against the AMPTP in the writers' battle to gain their justly deserved royalties from their work being distributed via "new media" (iPhones, online, etc.)

To make up for that, I'm going to deploy a tried-and-true FOX strategy.

Cleavage.

Click on the picture to see how you can help the cause!

BCnU!

Toby OB

Indigenous Peoples vow to bring down Apartheid Border Wall

"Indigenous Peoples vow to bring down Apartheid Border Wall"

Americas Program, Center for International Policy (CIP)
americas.irc-online.org
By Brenda Norrell

The Indigenous Peoples' Border Summit of the Americas 2007 began with a human rights delegation visit to the border and after four days of activities concluded with a vow to "bring down the wall."

Indigenous delegates to the border on Tohono O'odham Nation land took a tour of conditions along the U.S.-Mexico border here and returned in outrage.
Read more...
http://www.ircamericas.org/
(Photo: Border wall under construction during November 2007 on Tohono O'odham land/Photo 1/Indigenous Delegation Photo 2/Jay Johnson-Castro)

Breaking news articles by Brenda Norrell ...
Brenda Norrell: Alcatraz Sunrise Gathering 2007 Report UN Observer - Nov 26, 2007With the prayers, blessings and dances of the Shingle Springs Rancheria Miwok, Pomo, Pitt River and Calpullies, the Alcatraz Sunrise Gathering began, ...
Brenda Norrell: Mohawks inflamed at arrrest of Indigenous Peoples UN Observer - Nov 12, 20072007-11-12 Indigenous delegates to the border on Tohono O'odham Nation land were outraged by the federal agents, hovering customs helicopter, ...
Brenda Norrell: In Montana, Indians are guilty until proven innocentUN Observer - Nov 6, 2007 PHOTO by Brenda Norrell of James Main, Sr., with his daughter Rose, at home on Big Warm Creek, Gros-Ventre land, Montana. James Main, Sr., Gros-Ventre and ...
Arizona's 'Cokeheads' the National Guard The NarcoSphere, NY - Nov 27, 2007 By Brenda Norrell, TUCSON, Ariz. -- There were so many Arizona National Guardsmen eager to run cocaine from the border of Arizona and Mexico to Tucson and ...
Conspiracy of Silence: O'odham say border wall is genocide The NarcoSphere, NY - Nov 25, 2007 By Brenda Norrell, The grassroots organization O'odham Voice Against the Wall has denounced the ongoing genocide of the O'odham people in the United States ...
Between Bombs and Border Walls CounterPunch, CA - Nov 8, 2007 By BRENDA NORRELL The Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge visitor center looks like a typical national park office from the outside. ...
A challenge to censorship at the borderThe NarcoSphere, NY - Nov 21, 2007By Brenda Norrell, SAN XAVIER, TOHONO O'ODHAM NATION (Arizona) -- So far, all of the mainstream newspapers have censored the powerful testimony at the ...
Border wall tyranny: Lipan Apache in Texas issue cry for helpThe NarcoSphere, NY - Nov 19, 2007By Brenda Norrell, Margo Tamez sends out this urgent call for help, as Homeland Security, National Guard and Border Patrol attempt to seize the lands of the ...

Sunset Water Ceremony Ballona Wetlands

Sunset Sacred Water Ceremony in Ballona Wetlands closes American Indian Heritage Month Closing Ceremony Friday, November 30, 2007
By Joanelle Romero
LOS ANGELES -- As the sun sets over the ocean on the last day of November, American Indian Heritage Month comes to a close. We will gather in sacred circle in the historic Ballona Wetlands Freshwater Marsh, the ancient burial grounds of our Gabrieleno, Tongva and Shoshone ancestors to hold a Respecting the Water of Life ceremony. In our ceremony, we will first honor our ancestors with drum and song. We will then cup water in our hands and receive its blessing. We whisper our intention over the water, including healing for contaminated waters around the globe. We also offer thanks for all the blessings, new connections and understandings we have received during our Heritage Month. We will release the water into the West, transmitting our vision of all peoples seeing the sacredness shining through all forms of life and finding connectedness across their diversity. We then will send this vision into the waters and across the sea. Our American Indian Heritage Month events, held throughout the City, honored American Indians as our nation's first environmentalists. The whole month of November was a call for American Indians to come out in pride and share the light of our traditions. All of our events served to inspire respect for Mother Earth and the balance of life. During this historic month in Los Angeles, in this important juncture in time, we shared our sacred ceremonies that attune us with Mother Earth. We also invited non-Natives to participate and experience the magic of these traditions with us.We are closing with the sacred water ceremony in prayer and respect for all the Ancestors who have come before us and have continued to inspire us to create a national healing of the Sacred Hoop of Life, which includes all colors, all relations, all peoples, plants, animals, water, the sun, the moon, star nations, thunder beings and our grandchildren’s grandchildren. The purpose of this sacred water ceremony and of American Indian Heritage Month in the City of Los Angeles is to encourage us to ask our selves profound questions: “What do we want to tell our grandchildren that we did to make a difference now? What commitment have you made? What pledge have you taken to heal our original Mother—the Earth?" The sun sets at 4:44 p.m. on November 30. Bring drums or rattles and tobacco or rose petals as an offering. Our Respecting the Water of Life Ceremony is open to the public.
Come join us. Everyone is welcome. Respecting the Water of Life Ceremony: Ballona Wetlands Fresh Water Marsh, Playa Vista area, Los Angeles 90293; Friday, November 30; 3:30 p.m arrival; ceremony begins at 4:00 p.m.; free public event; [Directions: from Lincoln & Jefferson Blvd, go West on Jefferson (toward the ocean) to Culver Blvd. Make a U-turn at the light (at that point you will be heading East ). You will see cars and “Red Nation” banner on the right.]
Read more: http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2007/11/american-indian-holocaust-tribute-in.html

THE LARKIN LINEAGE

Bryce Larkin (or as 'Chuck' Bartowski referred to him in full: Bryce Larkin of Connecticut) was a spy with the CIA who was thought to have gone rogue. In reality, he was working for a group within the CIA who called themselves Fulcrum, but turned against them when he realized that their goals were for the destruction of the CIA.

Bryce may have been following in the genetic memory footsteps of an ancestor, Jeremy Larkin, who was a member of the Yankee Doodle Society during the Revolutionary War. Based in Chester, Pennsylvania, 'The Young Rebels' interfered with British military plans and served as spies for the American forces during the year 1777. Working with Jeremy was young inventor Henry Abingdon and former slave Isak Poole, as well as Jeremy's girl-friend Elizabeth Coates. (Pictured, from left: Henry, Isak, Jeremy)

The show was described as being "Daniel Boone" meets "The Mod Squad" with a bit of "Mission: Impossible".

Among the notables they met during their campaign were Lafayette and Nathan Hale (who was played by the late Brandon DeWilde). It may have been due to his fateful encounter with the young teacher/spy from Connecticut which led Jeremy Larkin to move to the Nutmeg State after the war ended. And generations later, his descendent Bryce Larkin would take up the family past-time of espionage.

SHOWS CITED:
'Chuck'

'The Young Rebels'

BCnU!

Toby OB

FAMOUS AMOS NOT THE SAME AS....

While looking up examples of the name "Taylor" today at IMDb.com, I ran across this combo (with episode descriptions from TV.com):

John Amos (I) (Reverend Taylor) . . . "A-Team, The" (1983)

{Pure-Dee Poison (#2.17)} TV Series

"The A-Team helps a southern minister stop the manufacture of lethal moonshine in his parish."

John Amos (I) (Duke Taylor) . . . "Love Boat, The" (1977)

{Zinging Valentine/The Very Temporary Secretary/The Final Score (#6.20)} TV Series

"On this Valentine's Day cruise, a singing valentine "pussycat" falls for a stuck-up guy who has just been dumped by his girlfriend; the owner of a secretarial agency plays secretary to a writer taking a working vacation, even though he is far better at romancing her than he is at taking dictation and typing up her notes; a womanizing pro football player falls for a snooty, straight-laced college English professor."

'The A-Team' episode took place in 1984, and 'The Love Boat' episode was from a year earlier.

I'm just taking a guess here, but I'm assuming Duke Taylor was the football player. I don't see him taking the high road into a ministry in that short a time, even if his on-ship romance took a nose-dive. So I'm going to guess that Duke and the Reverend were twins, neither one of them evil......

BCnU!
Toby OB

US 'Nazi' law to suppress activists

Truthout:
HR 1955, "The Violent Radicalization Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007", apparently intended to assess "homegrown" terrorism threats and causes is on a fast-track through Congress. Proponents claim the bill would centralize information about the formation of domestic terrorists and would not impinge on constitutional rights.
On October 23, the bill passed the House of Representatives by a 404-6 margin with 23 members not voting. If passed in the Senate and signed into law by George W. Bush, the act would establish a ten-member National Commission on the Prevention of Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism, to study and propose legislation to address the threat of possible "radicalization" of people legally residing in the US.
Read more ...
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/112907J.shtml

Action alert: Western Shoshone's Sacred Mount Tenabo in danger

Western Shoshone Action Alert - Mt. Tenabo in Jeopardy
December 21st deadline for comments

Mt. Tenabo and the surrounding environs are again under attack from gold mining. It is critical now for the Bureau of Land Management to hear the strength of opposition for this mine; see talking points and how to send your comments and concerns below.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has released a draft Environmental Impact Statement, dEIS, which reviews the proposal by Cortez Gold Mines, a subsidiary of Barrrick Gold Mining Co., to conduct new gold mining operations at the south end of Crescent Valley in central Nevada. The Project, although termed as an “expansion” of the existing Pipeline and Cortez mines, is really a new gold mine complex. It would be located on the slopes of Mt. Tenabo, a mountain sacred to the Western Shoshone Indians, who have lived in the area since time immemorial. This mine would:Disturb (devastate) 6,792 acres of land, including a heap leach and waste rock facilities covering much of the Horse Canyon pass just south of Tenabo, and extending east into Grass ... Read more ...
http://censored-news.blogspot.com/2007/11/action-alert-western-shoshones-sacred.html

SHARAPOVA'S ROVER

The televersion of tennis ace Maria Sharapova has a pet dog (looks to be mostly a dust-mop) that must be a reincarnated human. For the dog is sentient, although we haven't seen evidence it can actually speak yet. But it does articulate its thoughts in a very Latino accent.

Both of them appear in a new Canon Powershot blipvert, as Maria incessantly takes the little pup's picture - despite his "protests".

Since he doesn't talk to her, it would appear that the dog (It sounds like his name is "Dolce". "Dulce"?) has not taken her into his confidence that he used to be human. In fact, he refers to her as "Maria Sharapova", which denotes something of a lack of intimacy between the two of them. He even seems slightly resentful that she owns him.

I would infer that this means that they were not acquainted in a past life, when "Dulce" was alive as a human - which is usually the case with reincarnated dogs. In fact, he has a Latino accent, possibly from Spain(?), while Sharapova is originally from Russia.

As for his previous incarnation, I'm going to go with Zapato Dulce, a character from an episode in the second season of 'Psych'.

SPOILER ALERT!

Zapato Dulce had been one of the three judges on the TV show 'American Duos', and he turned out to be the guilty party behind the crimes connected to the show. Now this theory can all change should the character somehow ever come back on 'Psych'. (Hey, it's happened before in crime shows! 'Matlock' would use it as a device to show clips as they tried to figure out who was trying to kill the lawyer.) But I'm thinking that Dulce may have died in prison shortly after being arrested, and his spirit has returned to be Sharapova's bitch-toy.

Not exactly a punishment for his crimes.....

Whoever he was as a human, it's more than likely Dulce was just as vain then as he is now - by the end of the blipvert, he's back inside Sharapova's TV home, where he can admire his wall of portraits all day long......



BCnU!
Toby OB

THE GAME OF THE NAME: TOP TEN

The U.S. Census Bureau has released data from the 2000 census which shows the "popularity" of certain surnames. And for the first time, two Hispanic names have cracked the Top Ten: Garcia and Rodriguez.

Most of these names are pretty popular in Toobworld as well. In addition, the Number One name, - of course it's "Smith" - has shown up several times in the titles of TV shows: 'Mr. Smith', 'The Smith Family', 'Alias Smith And Jones'.....

But for some reason, I think the name "Taylor" would have been on this list if it was published by the Telemerican Census Bureau - Andy, Opie and Bea Taylor ('The Andy Griffith Show'), Tim Taylor & family ('Home Improvement'), Mac Taylor ('CSI: NY'), Chris Taylor ('EastEnders'), Dr. Alex Taylor ('Medics'), Vince Taylor ('Commander-In-Chief'), Mark Taylor ('Joking Apart'), Derek Taylor ('Silver Spoons'), John Taylor ('Paradise') and - well, you get the idea.

For the actual Top Ten list, I'd like to present at least one example for each name from Toobworld:

1 Smith
Dr. Zachary Smith, 'Lost In Space'

"Smith" is never going to be knocked out of its berth at first, I'm thinking, so I figured why not knock it down a peg in status by illustrating the name with Toobworld's most sniveling, craven coward of a villain, who may have been a pederast in the making?

Dr. Zachary Smith tried to sabotage the Jupiter Two spaceship back in the late 1990s, but he was trapped on board the ship when it blasted off. In order to survive, he formed an uneasy alliance with the Robinson Family and took an almost unhealthy interest in young Will Robinson.

2 Johnson
Alice Johnson, 'Room 222'

Alice Johnson was the plucky and idealistic young teacher on the faculty of Walt Whitman High School. Although the actual character was never seen again in Toobworld outside of 'Room 222', I've often thought she might have made for an interesting Companion for the Seventh or Eighth Doctor in their unseen adventures. I don't know why, maybe it's that young and idealistic teacher aspect....

3 Williams
Rusty Williams, 'Make Room For Daddy'

The reason I chose Rusty over his father Danny is that for the nightclub comic, "Williams" was a stage name; his real name would have been Lebanese in origin. For Rusty, however, it would have been the name registered on his birth certificate.

Rusty will one day make the TV Crossover Hall of Fame as he appeared in 'Make Room For Daddy', 'Make Room For Grand-Daddy', 'I Love Lucy', and 'The Joey Bishop Show'. Sadly, the actor who played him took his own life a few years ago.....

4 Brown
Ed Brown, 'Chico & The Man', 'Ironside'

This was always a theoretical link for me. It's my contention that Sgt. Ed Brown of the San Francisco Police Department was the son of Ed Brown, who owned that old garage in Los Angeles. Spend a little time with that irascible old coot and you can easily see why the family relation between the two went unmentioned....

5 Jones
Kenneth Yarbrough Jones, 'Kentucky Jones'

Like "Smith", there would have been plenty of choices available for the name of "Jones", so I figured I'd go with one of the late Dennis Weaver's lesser-known characters.

Kentucky Jones was a widowed veterinarian who was unprepared to raise the Chinese orphan his late wife applied for just before she died. But Dr. Jones came to love Ike Wong (full name Dwight Eisenhower Wong) and both of them learned from each other while living on a Southern California ranch.

6 Miller
'Barney Miller'

One of the best central straight men in sitcom history, Captain Barney Miller was the calm eye in the storm of his precinct who couldn't maintain that same equilibrium in his home life. In the present day of Toobworld, Captain Miller is surely and well-deservedly retired from the force, especially since his old precinct was turned into a police museum honoring Teddy Roosevelt.

7 Davis
Cissy, Buffy, Jody, and Uncle Bill Davis, 'Family Affair'

Since it was a family affair, it wouldn't be fair to choose one over the other in this case. Cissy and the twins were the children of Bill Davis' brother, who perished with his wife in a car accident. The confirmed bachelor had to adjust his lifestyle - his globe-spanning business interests as well as his romantic dalliances - in order to make room for the children in his life. (It turned out to be more of an adjustment for his gentleman's gentleman, Mr. French, but they all gelled into a true family unit.)

8 Garcia
Penelope Garcia, 'Criminal Minds'

Better known just as Garcia, she's a computer whiz kid who can tap into just about any online source of information to provide assistance for the FBI profiler team. It looks like she survived an horrific attack in the most recent episodes, one which might force her to take stock of her life and her infatuation with Agent Morgan.

9 Rodriguez

Detective Al Rodriguez is partnered up with Ruben Sommariba at their NY precinct, where their commanding officer knows them only as "Rice And Beans". The viewing audience never heard him speak - perhaps a trick he learned from former police officer Francis Muldoon - but we know he could... off-screen. Several times charactes would talk about what Al had to say to them and of course we never got to see proof that he told them anything.

10 Wilson
George Wilson, 'Dennis The Menace'
As the cantankerous old man who lived next door to the Mitchell home, George Wilson was often beset by problems caused by young Dennis Mitchell. It got so bad that he finally had to be move into a sanitarium (something which his wife Martha would never speak about).

It can't be proven, but it's pozz'ble, just pozz'ble, as Mushrat would say, that George and Martha Wilson were the parents of Tim Taylor's next door neighbor on 'Home Improvement'. But that would take further research, as I'm not sure whether or not his parents ever showed up over the fence on that sitcom.

So those are my examples of the Top Ten names on the US Census as of 2000.

My name? Well, if you must know, it placed 234 on the list; up from 281 from 1990, thank you very much. And definitely without help from me adding to the list.

(This is where I grip my my tie, Rodney-style, and sneer, "Not that I know of......")

BCnU!
Toby OB

WGA WORLD NEWS UPDATE

Dozens of British film and TV writers rallied outside the Trades Union Congress building in London yesterday, holding the familiar red and black picket signs with the slogan: "We support the Writers Guild of America."

Protests were held elsewhere in the world to support the WGA as well.

BCnU!
Toby OB

Healing trauma, boarding schools and wounded generations

A Painful Remembrance

by Mary Annette Pember

Nov 28, 2007, 12:53

Dr. Eulynda J. Toledo founded the Boarding School Healing Project to shed light on the long-lasting effects that some religious and Bureau of Indian Affairs schools have had on American Indian communities and families.Many in Indian country have expressed that the trauma from the boarding school experience continues to terrorize the hearts of American Indians. Although much has been written about this history that looms so large in the North American indigenous experience, it remains an obscure topic in mainstream America.

Dr. Eulynda J. Toledo, a member of the Diné tribe and project director of a grant from the National Institute for Disability Research and Rehabilitation, is working to bring attention to the “intergenerational trauma” of the boarding school era through the recently founded Boarding School Healing Project. Toledo and her colleagues maintain that many of the social ills plaguing current generations of American Indians, including sexual abuse, child abuse, violence towards women and substance abuse can be traced to the generations of abuse experienced at Indian boarding schools. Toledo describes intergenerational trauma as post-traumatic stress disorder that has been passed down through generations.

Read more ...

http://diverseeducation.com/artman/publish/article_10281.shtml

ONE STRIKE STRUCK

By MICHAEL KUCHWARA
The Associated Press
NEW YORK

Broadway stagehands and theater producers reached a tentative agreement Wednesday night to end a strike and almost immediately return to the stage most of the two dozen plays and musicals that have been shut down for more than two weeks.

The settlement came after two days of marathon, all-night sessions and months of negotiation between Local 1 and the League of American Theatres and Producers. The walkout, which began Nov. 10, has cost the city and theaters millions of dollars in lost income.

Bruce Cohen, a spokesman for the union, confirmed the agreement ending the 19-day work stoppage.

"We're glad there's a deal, and everyone should go back to work and the public should go see a Broadway show," Cohen said.

Most shows were expected to resume performances Thursday, the league said.

That's one down. Hopefully the WGA and the AMPTP will settle their differences - and in the favor of the writers! - soon.

But at least now my friend Michael can get back to work at "Mamma Mia" - if his back lets him, that is!

BCnU!

Toby OB

Colonial Stress Disorder: Imaging a Way Out

Toronto: Co-presented by Native Women in the Arts and the Women’s Art Resource Centre

(post) Colonial Stress Disorder: Imaging a Way Out
Emerging Aboriginal Artists Video Screenings
Curated by Wanda Nanibush
This program will feature the screening of six short films by six emerging Indigenous voices within media arts today. The screenings will be introduced by curator Wanda Nanibush with an essay on Post Colonial Stress Disorder and will be followed by an audience/curator Q&A.
Wanda Nanibush (Anishinabe-kwe from Beausoleil First Nation) is an independent curator, writer and emerging artist living in Ottawa.
Date: Saturday December 1, 2007Location: Women’s Arts Resource Centre (WARC) Gallery401 Richmond Street West, Suite 122, Toronto
Time: 3-4pm
Admission: Free *Refreshments will be served. Please join us, everyone welcome.
Films:
Divided by Zero. Danis Goulet, Canada, 2006, 16:17, video.Portrait in Motion. Nadia Myre, Canada, 2002, 2:21, video.Love & Numbers. Thirza Cuthand, Canada, 2004, 9:00, video.
Swallow. Ariel Lightningchild, Canada, 2002, 11:00, video.
The Weave. Cherie Valentina Stocken, Canada, 2005, 5:36, video.
Prayer for a Good Day. Zoe Leigh Hopkins, Canada, 2003, 12:12, video.
The Knot Between. Cherie Valentina Stocken, Canada, 2006, 5:14, video. Filmmakers:
Danis Goulet’s short films have screened at numerous festivals in Canada and around the world, including the Sundance Film Festival, the Native American Film + Video Festival in New York, and the Message Sticks Film Festival in Sydney, Australia. She sits on the Board of the Images Festival, the Visual/Media Arts Committee of the Toronto Arts Council, and the programming committee of the Worldwide Short Film Festival. Danis is Métis, originally from northern Saskatchewan. Divided by Zero is Danis’s second short drama. Nadia Myre is a multidisciplinary artist whose work has exhibited nationally and internationally. She has been the recipient of the prestigious Eiteljorg fellowship and her work is in the Council Art Bank, Canadian Museum of Civilation, and the Indian Art Centre and many other collections. Myre has made four short videos. Thirza Cuthand was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, in 1978, and grew up a Cree Scots Irish bipolar butch lesbian two spirited boy/girl thingamabob in Saskatoon. She has produced award winning experimental videos and films on low to no budget exploring issues of identity, race, sexuality, relationships, ageism, and mental health. Her work has been shown at the Walter Art Centre, the Mackenzie Art Gallery, Oberhausen International Short Film festival, the San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, The Women's Television Network, MIX NY, the Walter Phillips Gallery, the Mendel Art Gallery, the MIX Brasil festival of Sexual Diversity, and many other places. She majored in film and video at Emily Carr Insititute of Art & Design. Ariel Lighteningchild is from the Cree/Ojibway First Nations. She is also Roma and Jewish. She was born a few years ago on Coast Salish land commonly known as Vancouver. Ariel has written, directed and produced four video shorts and one super 8 short film. Her videos have screened at festivals and events around North America and overseas. Cherie Valentina Stocken’s work deals with issues of cultural convergence and the role history plays in defining cultural relationships. Stocken has received her BFA from the University of British Columbia and has exhibited both nationally and internationally. It is Cherie’s goal to continue to inspire social change throughout her art career. Cherie is of Indigenous and European ancestry.Zoe Leigh Hopkins graduated in 1997 from Ryerson with a B.A.A. in Film. Zoe was a Fellow at the Sundance Institute's January 2004 Screenwriter's Lab with her feature script, Cherry Blossoms. Her short film Prayer for a Good Day had its world premiere at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. Zoe is Heiltsuk from Bella Bella and Mohawk from Six Nations. Distributors:Groupe Intervention Video5505, boul. St-Laurent bureau 3015 Montréal (Québec) H2T 1S6 tél (514) 271-5506 fax (514) 271-6980 http://us.f520.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=giv@videotron.cahttp://www.bettermail.ca/ct/109/43070/1764133/875935195fc41a650eaaffb702701411Title: Swallow Vtape Distribution401 Richmond Street West, Suite 452Toronto, Ontario M5V 3A8416.351.1317416.351.1509Wanda Vanderstoop http://us.f520.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=wandav@vtape.org Titles: Divided by Zero, Prayer for a Good Day, The Knot Between, The Weave, Love & Numbers Nadia Myrehttp://www.bettermail.ca/ct/109/43070/1764134/875935195fc41a650eaaffb702701411514 284 2444 Title: Portrait in Motion
http://www.bettermail.ca/ct/109/43070/1764135/875935195fc41a650eaaffb702701411

Save the Peaks, events Arizona and California

SAVE THE PEAKS CALL FOR SUPPORT!
Legal Battle to Protect Sacred Site Comes to Pasadena, CA

The San Francisco Peaks are a unique mountain ecosystem which are managed as public lands in Northern Arizona. The Peaks are held Holy by more than 13 Indigenous Nations. A small ski area is threatening expansion and attempting to make fake snow from treated sewage effluent filled with harmful contaminants. A coalition of tribes and environmental groups have unified to prevent the environmental destruction, community health hazards and extreme desecration that would be caused by the proposed development. Although the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the ski area plan, the case will be reheard in Pasadena on December 11th, 2007.
Along with the events planned below, the Save the Peaks Coalition is calling for prayers to be made on Dec. 11th to support the protection of all threatened sacred places. If you, your group or organization would like to sign on as a supporter of our efforts, please send us an email indicating your support to coalition@savethepeaks.org. We will publish your organization/group/individual name on our website and possibly on our outreach material as well, with your permission of course. The Save the Peaks Coalition is also planning a caravan from Northern Arizona to Pasadena, CA to support the efforts to protect the Holy Peaks. If you would like to go on the caravan please contact us by December 5th. Please call or e-mail J Benally at (928) 527-1431 or http://us.f520.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=coalition@savethepeaks.org to reserve your space or for more information.
WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!
http://www.savethepeaks.org/
SAVE THE PEAKS!
Flagstaff, AZ Events
Wednesday, December 5th
Save the Peaks Banner Making Party!
Where: Taala Hooghan Infoshop & Youth Media Arts Center
1926 N. 4th St. #7B, Flagstaff, AZ
When: 5:30pm
Tuesday, December 11th
Save the Peaks Vigil for Justice!
Where: Heritage Square, Downtown Flagstaff, AZ
When: 4:00pm - 5:30pm
LA/Pasadena, CA Events
Sunday, December 2nd
Screenings of the "The Snowbowl Effect", a documentary about the struggle to protect the sacred San Francisco Peaks. Discussion with Save the Peaks Coalition representative and Q&A with the director of the film.
"Save the Peaks Solidarity" at the South Central Farmers' Tianguis
Where: South Central Farmers' Community Center
1702 E. 41st St., Los Angeles 90058
(between Long Beach Ave and Alameda Ave.)
Tel. 1-888-scfarm-1
southcentralfarmers.com
When: Sunday, December 2nd
w/ screenings and discussion at:
11:30am -- 1pm -- 2:30pm -- 4pm
"Environmental Justice and Protecting Sacred Lands"
Documentary screening and discussion on building a stronger Indigenous Movement and Environmental Justice Alliance.
Where: First Street Studios
2026 E. 1st Street Los Angeles, CA. 90033 (Boyle Heights)
Tel. 323-268-0005
http://www.firststreetstudios.com/
When: Sunday, December 2nd at 6:00pm
Saturday, December 8th
Panel Discussion & Awareness Concert!
"Defending the Land: Indigenous Cultural Survival, Environmental Justice & Protecting Sacred Places"
Panel Discussion from 6:00pm - 8:00pm with representatives from Environmental groups, Grassroots organizations, and Indigenous communities struggling to protect sacred places.
Protect Sacred Sites! Awareness Concert starting at 8:00pm (Bands TBA)
Where: Self Help Graphics & Art
3802 Cesar E. Chavez Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90063
Tel. 323-881-6444
Monday, December 10th
Welcoming ceremony for Save the Peaks caravan from Northern Arizona, dinner and speakers.
When: 6:30pm
Where: The All Saints Church
132 North Euclid Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91101
Tuesday, December 11th - Save the Peaks Court Date
The case will be heard at the Pasadena Court of Appeals at 3:00pm. The court is located at 125 South Grand Avenue, Pasadena, CA. Parking is limited in the area so please carpool and use public transportation.
Noon - 1:30pm
March for Sacred Sites & Human Rights!
Meet at All Saints Church for lunch and march to the Appeals Court.
1:40pm - 3:00pm
Prayer Vigil, Ceremony & Rally outside the Courthouse.
Vigil to continue outside for folks who do not wish to enter the courthouse.
3:00pm - 4:00pm
Actual court proceedings. Folks will be able to go inside the courthouse to view the court proceedings and show support.
5:00pm - 5:30pm
Press Conference outside of courthouse.
Please visit http://www.savethepeaks.org/ for more information.
http://www.savethepeaks.org/
Protect our Cultural & Natural Heritage.

In memory, Zapatistas massacred at Acteal, Chiapas

Tenth Anniversary Of The Acteal Chiapas Massacre

Play describing the massacre against the Tzotzil community from the pacific organization "Abejas" in the municipality of Acteal in the town of Chenalo Chiapas México

By Centro de Accion Popular
LOS ANGELES -- On December 22, 1997, forty five in Tzotziles were murdered by death squad group “Mascara Roja" trained and sponsored by the state government of Cesar Ruiz Ferro and the president of México at the time Ernesto Zedillo Ponce De León, along with the guidance and coordination of international military training supported by yanquis.
Our demand is to never forget the massacres that our pueblo has been subjected to. Right after the massacre thousands, even millions, marched on the streets to demand accountability for the perpetrators. Unfortunately, ten years later, only a few remember this disgraceful event. That tragic day, the pacific group “Abejas”, was peacefully preparing and setting the prayers for Christmas Eve, while at the same time the government was preparing a plot to assassinate them. Hours of bloodshed went by, the death squads killed children and women equally. The atrocities went so far as to extirpate embryos from pregnant women. They fired shotguns that were paid with dirty American dollars. We will not forget this massacre and we will continue demanding accountability to the assassins of defenseless, unarmed people.
We invite you to join us and remember this atrocious act by seeing our play put together by people that believe that dignity can be gain through resistance. We will also screen the documentary "Masacre De Acteal" and have live music at the end of the night.
Centro de Accion Popular
1042 North Richmond Street
Los Angeles, CA 90033323) 276-8548
www.myspace.com/comitedemocraciaevents@cpdmla.orglacomite@aol.comelcomite@cpdmla.org

(Photo: Acoma Pueblo poet Simon Ortiz remembering those murdered in Acteal, during a vigil walk in Tucson/Photo Brenda Norrell)

NCAI joins NAGPRA Coalition in opposition to Berkeley Museum desecration

DENVER, Colorado, Nov. 28, 2007 – The Native American NAGPRA Coalition (NANC) today strongly endorsed the National Congress of American Indians’ (NCAI) resolution protesting UC Berkeley’s decision to eliminate its tribally approved NAGPRA unit, diminish tribal participation and influence in repatriation processes and declare a huge portion of the Phoebe Hearst Museum’s collection of ancestral remains and funerary objects “to be culturally unaffiliated and thus not subject to tribal repatriation and NAGPRA requirements.”
Read more ...
http://censored-news.blogspot.com/2007/11/ncai-joins-nagpra-coalition-in.html

Putting a face on the US crime against humanity in Texas

This young girl was imprisoned more than six months in the T. Don Hutto prison near Austin, Texas, where migrant and refugee infants and children are imprisoned. The for-profit prison, like the Raymondville tent internment camp for migrants in Texas, is profiteering from the migrant racism and xenophobia in the United States. Children at Hutto were given spoiled milk, forbidden toys, and mothers were sexually assaulted and chained to their beds during medical examinations. Photo taken during Hutto Raymondville vigil/Photo Jay Johnson-Castro.

Free the imprisoned migrant children of Hutto Texas

Migrant and refugee infants and children in prison cells, their mothers sexually assaulted and chained to their beds during medical examinations

Children were given spoiled milk and toys were forbidden. Hutto is the same prison where the U.N. Rapporteur on migrants was denied entry in May. Read the truth of the T. Don Hutto prison near Austin, Texas, and the private prison corporation making a killing from imprisoning migrants:
By Jay Johnson-Castro
http://censored-news.blogspot.com/2007/11/free-imprisoned-migrant-children-of.html

Australian Aboriginals celebrate end to racist, fascist regime

By Les Malezer
les.malezer@gmail.com
Australia's racist government is ousted!
I am pleased to inform you of good news in Australia. There has been a change of government with the incoming government pledging to support the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. We are devising a proposal for the most effective way for government to announce the change in position at the national and international level. We hope to have action on 10 December, the International Day for Human Rights. I will update you on developments as soon as concrete plans are made. In the meantime please consider these two matters:
(1) Writing to the Prime Minister of Australia, urging that the government play a leadership role in promoting the rights of Indigenous Peoples at the international level. The address would be:
The Rt Hon Kevin Rudd Prime Minister of Australia; Parliament House; Canberra ACT 2600 Australia [If you send copies of your correspondence to me, via email, we will be able to keep account of the representations, and take follow-up action.] (2) Seeking support from the Australian Ambassadors to UN, by sponsoring and otherwise supporting resolutions on Indigenous Rights. I will keep you informed of developments in the policies of the Australian Government. We have our own plans at the domestic level to raise the levels of understanding and commitment to Indigenous rights. In the meantime we are celebrating the end of 11 years of extreme racist and fascist government. The historical element of this election is that the former Prime Minister, John Howard, is likely to lose his seat in the parliament, thus making him only the second Prime Minister in Australia to lose his seat whilst in office. The first was Stanley Bruce in 1929. Regards, Les Malezer, Chairman FAIRAPO, Box 8402, Woolloongabba Qld 4102 AUSTRALIA
http://www.faira.org.au/http://homepage.mac.com/les.malezer/


News wires:
Stolen Generation Alliance: Australia's apology must be more than just words:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Apology-must-be-more-than-just-words/2007/11/28/1196036945235.html

Amazon Indians versus Big Oil, Greg Palast investigates

War Paint and Lawyers: Rainforest Indians versus Big Oil
Greg Palast investigates for BBC Newsnight - TONIGHT
Chevron: "Nobody has proved that crude causes cancer."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/default.stm
BBC Television Newsnight has been able to get close-in film of a new Cofan Indian ritual deep in the heart of the Amazonian rainforest. Known as "The Filing of the Law Suit," natives of Ecuador's jungle, decked in feathers and war paint and heavily armed with lawyers, are filmed presenting a new complaint in their litigation seeking $12 billion from Chevron Inc., the international oil goliath.
It would all be a poignant joke - except that the indigenous tribe is suddenly the odds-on favorite to defeat the oil company known for naming its largest tanker, "Condoleezza," after former Chevron director, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
For Newsnight, reporter Greg Palast, steps (somewhat inelegantly) into a dug-out log canoe to seek out the Cofan in their rainforest village to investigate their allegations. Palast discovers stinking pits of old oil drilling residue leaking into drinking water - and meets farmers whose limbs are covered in pustules.
Read more ...
http://censored-news.blogspot.com/2007/11/amazon-indians-versus-big-oil-greg.html

THE HAT SQUAD: MEL TOLKIN

In the Toobworld novel I've been working on forever, Toob Cooper tells his twin brother Thom - who's a fantasy aficionado - that the TV dimension is more Mel Tolkin than Tolkien.

Mel Tolkin was one of the leading writers for 'Your Show Of Shows' and was one of the creative forces behind 'All In The Family'.

Mr. Tolkin passed away on Monday at the age of 94.

Here's a selection from the MSN obituary:

He wrote comedy for Bob Hope, Jerry Lewis, Danny Kaye and Danny Thomas and in the 1970s was a writer and story editor for "All in the Family."

For Caesar, he contributed to the 1949 TV variety show "The Admiral Broadway Revue," and wrote for "Your Show of Shows" from 1950-54 — including its theme song — and for "Caesar's Hour," which ran from 1954-57.

Sketches from the shows, many pairing Caesar and Imogene Coca, became classics. Caesar and company captured new generations of fans with the 1973 theatrical compilation film "10 From Your Show of Shows" and more recent DVD releases.

"I guess he was most proud of his professionalism," his son said Tuesday. "Of course, he was very proud of his association with Caesar and his association with the birth of the Golden Age of television."

Tolkin "was a tremendous asset," Caesar, 85, told the Los Angeles Times. "He was a very talented man, and he worked really hard."

As head writer on "Your Show of Shows," Tolkin worked with the likes of Neil Simon, Mel Brooks, Woody Allen and Larry Gelbart, whose later credits include "M-A-S-H" and "Tootsie.'"

Caesar's team worked in a pressure cooker atmosphere, creating material for the live, 90-minute show and trying to satisfy the notoriously difficult star.

The experience inspired Simon's play "Laughter on the 23rd Floor," and was fictionalized in the 1982 movie "My Favorite Year."

There was "a creative anger in the room," Tolkin told the Times in 1995. "We had an acoustic ceiling. People would throw their pencils at it in frustration. One time I counted 39 pencils hanging from the ceiling."

Tolkin "absolutely had a brushstroke of genius," Brooks told the paper. "He was never Bob Hope contemporary. ... It was always the human condition, what happened in the human heart, and he taught me that."

Tolkin received several Emmy nominations and shared an Emmy with several colleagues in 1967 for "The Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Carl Reiner, Howard Morris Special."

BCnU....
Toby OB

Support for Save the Peaks Coalition

Organizational Support for Save the Peaks Coalition's Efforts to Protect Holy Mountain
Greetings,
The Save the Peaks Coalition is appealing for support for our efforts to protect the Holy San Francisco Peaks in Northern Arizona.
As you may already know, Arizona Snowbowl ski area and the US Forest Service have been granted a review of the 9th Circuit Court's previous decision blocking the ski area's proposed expansion and treated sewage effluent snowmaking.
The case will be heard in Pasadena, CA on December 11th at 3:00pm (PST).
The Save the Peaks Coalition will be taking a caravan of supporters to the court proceedings and is organizing a series of events in Pasadena to support the efforts of Tribes and Environmental groups to protect the holy mountain.
We are also organizing events in Flagstaff, AZ and we will be calling for National/International support for prayers to be made for the protection of threatened sacred places.
If you, your group or organization would like to sign on as a supporter of our efforts, please send us an email indicating your support to coalition@savethepeaks.org.
We will publish your organization/group/individual name on our website and possibly on our outreach material as well. With your permission of course.
Thank you for your continued support for the protection of our environment, community health and cultural survival.
Please visit www.savethepeaks.org for updates.
Klee Benally
Save the Peaks Coalition Volunteer
(928) 380-2629
coalition@savethepeaks.org
www.savethepeaks.org

Unconquering the Last Frontier

Through the eyes of Lower Elwha Klallam elders

Robert Lundahl's film on ecosystem restoration on Washington State's Elwha River
At BC SPACE Gallery,235 Forest Avenue, Laguna Beach, CA 92651949-497-1880
http://www.bcspace.com/
Sunday, December 2, 2007 at 2:00 p.m.
Round table discussion follows until 5:00 p.m.
BC SPACE is pleased and proud to present the screening of the feature-length documentary Unconquering the Last Frontier, the first film to address the topic of dam removal and ecosystem restoration on Washington State's Elwha River. Filmmaker Robert Lundahl made the film over a period of eight years and will be present.
The screening will be held in support of Southern California creeks, rivers and riparian ecosystems, including San Mateo Creek (Trestles), and Aliso Creek, along with habitat preservation efforts located on the land previously occupied by the former El Toro Marine Base in Orange County. Regional environmental leaders and local Native Acjachemen representatives will be on hand for the discussion which follows the film.Unconquering the Last Frontier describes how the Lower Elwha Dam was constructed illegally in 1908; how dam management practices contributed to the river's decline, and how events on the river were paralleled by the systematic political, economic, and cultural suppression of the native people. The story is told through the eyes of Lower Elwha Klallam tribe elders, Beatrice Charles and Adeline Smith, along with tribal members, Rachel Kowalski-Hagaman, Joe Luce, and former Tribal Chairman, Russ Hepfer. Acclaimed Native American actor Gary Farmer narrated the film. Bay Area composer Tony Saunders created its score."Unconquering the Last Frontier tells of the aggressive industrial development of Washington's Olympic Peninsula at the expense of the native people, who had lived along the river since time immemorial," says Lundahl. The triumvirate of hydro power, mills and logging stripped the Olympic Peninsula of its magnificent forests and its legendary salmon. The activities of the corporations left the native people, as well the descendants of the area's European-American settlers, often without jobs and without hope.
In 1976, the tribe, along with 14 environmental groups, intervened in the FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) process to stop the relicensing of one of the river's two dams. The tribe wanted the dams removed and the Elwha River watershed ecosystem restored. Such restoration was mandated by Congress in 1992 and is slowly moving forward. In February 2000, the federal government purchased the dams, the first step toward their physical removal, now anticipated to begin in 2012."The film tells of the Klallam Nation's struggle to recover their culture and traditional livelihoods in the shadow of hydro power development. At the same time, the story can be seen as a cautionary tale, as the companies that once developed and dominated the Pacific Northwest have since moved on to Pennsylvania, to the American South, to Canada, Alaska, Malaysia, Thailand, South America and Russia, and now China and other locations, where they have continued the same practices at the expense of the global environment and indigenous peoples of those regions. The film also calls into question an Americanized notion of "Progress," which assumes that ecosystem resources are expendable in the process of capital and technological expansion and resource extraction. Now in the era of global climate change, we find out they are not."
Admission is free, but seating is limited so reservations are encouraged. For additional information and rsvp, please contact BC Space Gallery, 235 Forest Avenue, Laguna Beach, CA 92651, (949) 497-1880 or c/o bcspace@mol.net.
Robert Lundahl's still photography work On The Road To Little America will also be on display in the gallery for the screening.
More information about Unconquering the Last Frontier is available at: http://www.unconquering.org/.