A.J. Muste Quote

An old man well-dressed and undoubtedly erect and respectable, a raging war in a distant land, a relentless rainstorm that made the peace vigil a solitary witness, and an inquiring journalist ready with question, pen and pad: “Mr. Muste, do you really think you can change the world standing here alone in the rain?” (or something to that effect). And the quick and unforgettable reply: “I am not here to change the world; I am here so the world won’t change me.”

Frida Berrigan has a lovely little piece about A.J. Muste.

Link Loving 13.02.12

• Six months after the riots and communities are taking the lead. Stephen Whitehead.
• Rereading the lessons of the Battle in Seattle for today. Ken Butigan.
• Get to know Sheryl Sandberg in this piece in the NYT by Nicole Perlroth and Claire Cain Miller.
• Shut Down The Corporations – February 29th.
• Stories of non-violent social movements in Sub-Saharan Africa. Good schooling. George Lakey.

This Is What Funding Could Look Like

The Edge Fund is the closest thing I have seen to how philanthropy would work if we are serious about systemic change. It shifts power away from those with the money, towards projects that are creating change from below.

There’s a big problem with philanthropy very few people want to talk about: the system that creates the wealth of philanthropists also causes many of the problems philanthropy attempts to solve. We don’t need philanthropists, what we need is a new world where everyone has equal rights and a fair share. If people have the means and are free of oppression, they’ll solve their own problems, they don’t need someone else’s solutions thrust upon them (especially if they happen to belong to someone with a vested interest in preserving the status quo).

Check out the website and volunteer to help if you can. This is really exciting.

h/t Hanna Thomas

UPDATE: Gavin Thomson has sent me this video of the Hummingbird Collective in Arizona, who are doing something very similar.

Link Loving 12.02.12

• Men and Development: Why gender should not just be about women. Mark Weston.
• Are successful people nice? Art Markman.
• Gavin Thomson shares his love of the Manic Street Preachers.
• Scale of the universe. h/t Matt Williams.
• Maureen Walsh, a Republican state representative in a powerfully emotive speech supporting marriage equality.
• Great interview with Tim Gee, author of Counterpower on Rhizome.
• Having few friends predicts early death as much as smoking or alcoholism. Harvard Social Capital Blog.

Remembering The Nashville Movement – An Interview With James Lawson

Link Loving 11.02.12

• The trouble with confidence is that it’s a completely unreliable guide to decision making. Jason Gots.
• Britain’s greenhouse gas emissions rose in 2010 for the first time in 20 years. The Economist.
• Could an independent Scotland become part of Scandinavia? Frank Jacobs.
• A documentary about The Spirit Level.
• Charlie Rose’s interview with Susan Rice – the US Permanent Representative to the UN.

Link Loving 10.02.12

• How not to deal with the Black Block. George Lakey.
• A case study in how not to behave as an NGO. Natalya Sverjensky.
• An honest story of failure. Refreshing and insightful. Francis Irving.
• The FBI released its 191-page report on Steve Jobs. Carl Franzen.

The Big Switch – Watch Out Energy Companies, The People Are Coming

After yesterday’s post about how the Climate Justice Collective is planning to take on the Big Six energy corporations – 38 Degrees have also launched a new campaign to take them on.

The Big Switch looks like an interesting one – partnering with Which? and a famous face (Jonathan Maitland). In their own words –

he Big Switch is a new way for us to take the power back from big gas and electricity companies. We’ll bargain as a group with gas and electricity companies to persuade them to give us the lowest price.

First you sign up using the form above to register your interest in taking part in The Big Switch. Then expert negotiators at Which? will start bargaining with the energy companies using a ‘reverse auction’.

Companies will compete to give us the cheapest electricity and gas. Once the deal has been secured, you’ll be notified via email and you can choose whether or not to accept it.

Link Loving 09.02.12

• Mahfam Malek is my new favourite person-I-vaguely-know in the world.
• Imagine that – an organisation that puts a graph of it’s theory of change on their website. Awesome. h/t Amy Mount.
• Four inspiring examples of digital storytelling. Layla Revis.
• A year after the worst oil disaster in US history, BP made $3 million an hour. Rebecca Leber.
• The evil brilliance of Komen’s Karen Handel. Ilyse Hogue.
• Obama gives his blessing for a super PAC. Dan Eggen.

Meet The Climate Justice Collective

Climate activism is back – and we need you to be a part of it.

18-19 February in Oxford.

Details – here.