Link Loving 31.05.11

• Was that the last G8 meeting then? Timothy Garton Ash.
• Jobs going at Water Aid and Action Aid.
• Asking random people on the street – what song are you listening to?
• This week in the West Wing.
• Let me (re)introduce you to National Field, the social network for organizing that grew out of the Obama ’08 campaign.
• Nitin Nohria argues the four basic drives innate in human nature–to acquire, bond, learn and defend–must be balanced within any organizational structure.
• The power of free pizza. John Maeda.
• Modern kids grow up in a global village. Richard Darlington.

Young, Unemployed, Full Of Potential?

With growing protest in Europe at the large numbers of unemployed young people, I’ve been really impressed by Young Million – an initiative by Common Purpose to help young people into paid work. It doesn’t deal with the root causes (a lack of jobs), but is at least attempting to fulfill a gaping hole – particularly now that the Future Jobs Fund has been cut. They’re asking people to volunteer time and physical spaces for the trainings to take place, and three are now ready-to-go. A new think tank (The Intergenerational Foundation) has also just set up – young people are back on the agenda.

My question is – why isn’t there a more coordinated effort to politically organise unemployed 18-25 year olds? It seems to be a no-brainer…

• Shared interest – jobs, economy, opportunities.
• Shared culture – language, popular culture – music, TV, sport etc.
• Least likely to have responsibilities for others – children and elderly parents.
• Potential electoral power – generational voting à la Obama ’08.
• Recruiting grounds – Job Centers, online.
• Most likely to be radical – take direct action.
• Most likely to have time and energy to commit – form meaningful relationships.

Anybody thinking what I’m thinking?

Link Loving 30.05.11

• Where is agriculture on the G8 discussion list? Larry Elliot.
• Hanna Thomas on the power of nostalgia – and the challenge for campaigners.
• India’s census reveals a glaring gap: girls. Priti Patnaik.
• Our lives. Our anger. Iris Gonzales.
• The secret fears of the super rich. Graeme Wood.
• Matthew Lockwood tells the story of the Battle of the Fourth Carbon Budget. (Yes, it deserves capital letters.)
• I love Ukrainian politics.
• Making the impossible possible. Jody Williams and Shirin Ebadi.

Voltaire On Books

“What we find in books is like the fire in our hearths. We fetch it from our neighbor’s, we kindle it at home, we communicate it to others, and it becomes the property of all.”

Social Media Done Right

Hello NGO world. That website of yours, the one that supporters go to as the first point of call, how is it looking? Maybe it’s time to think about this kind of thing.

Open Action.

Link Loving 29.05.11

• Majora Carter explains how she came back to the South Bronx and started greening the ghetto.
• This is why we can’t be friends.
• The Democrats are killing it when it comes to political satire websites. Nick Judd.
• It’s not the economy – it’s public sentiment. Brian Lamb.
• Is Chicago climate change-ready? Leslie Kaufman.
• Martin Belam shares his notes from the BBC Social Media Summit.
• Ann Pettifor told you so – cut spending and deficits rise.
• Do women and men see hunger differently? Duncan Green.
• Does insult-based NGO advocacy work? Richard Gowan.

Link Loving New York Times Special

It really is an extraordinarily good newspaper.

• The story of an anarchist organizer of anticorporate demos, who has been under scrutiny from the FBI since 9/11. Colin Moynihan and Scott Shane.
• Coming home from northern Afghanistan – video.
• An unlikely power duo emerges in the global fight against climate change – Bill Clinton and Michael Bloomberg. John Broder.
• The trouble with the online echo chamber. Natasha Singer.
• Egypt’s next crisis. Robert Worth.
• A further overreach on political money. Editorial.
• Maureen Dowd likes the idea of Christine Lagarde as the next Chief of the IMF.
• Arthur Brisbane asks whether the NY Times can maintain it’s mix of low- and high-brow.

Saudi Women Campaign For Right To Drive

The most controversial YouTube clip in Saudi Arabia this week doesn’t feature obscenity, violence, or sex. It’s an 8-minute video of a woman driving a car.

Technically, Manal al-Sharif didn’t do anything wrong. She has a valid U.S. driver’s license, recognized in Saudi Arabia, and she had her brother’s permission as well as her brother himself beside her as her requisite accompanying male relative.

Yet Saudi police arrested and imprisoned Manal for eight days for defying a long-standing ban against women driving. Manal’s act of protest is part of a historic campaign encouraging Saudi women to begin driving en masse on June 17.

The Story Of Economics

Link Loving 28.05.11

• Productive people take time off. Penelope Trunk.
• DS-K ain’t the first. A short history of scandal inside global institutions. Colum Lynch.
• Great infographic comparing school spending and results around the world.
• What’s the point of the G8? Richard Gowan.
• Climate policy for conservatives. Stephen Decanio.
• Want the coolest job in Australia?
• My new favourite gay, vegetarian, women’s suffrage-promoting, environmentalist, socialist Victorian – Edward Carpenter.
• The Sarah Palin disaster movie. Joshua Green.