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

NEW and UPDATED info:

• Western Shoshone land rights issues
  "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)
  
  
  
  
  
• In the music there is a message: this is not a trend
  Trial DVD out now on Panic Records! Also out now, the "Are These Our Lives?" digital and vinyl rerelease! After years of being out of press, Panic has rereleased the album on vinyl and mp3 download. Unlike the CD version, the 12" includes full artwork and LYRICS. The12" will be a limited press of 500 with 250 on brown vinyl and 250 on maroon vinyl.
  
  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 from the 2005 reunions.
  
  
  
  
• ibn Kenyatta - Prisoner of the State of New York
  UPDATE: 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.
   
  
  
• 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 case: free speech curtailed.
  The SHAC7 are 6 activists and a corporation, Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty USA Inc., that have been found guilty of multiple federal felonies for their alleged role in simply campaigning to close down the notorious animal testing lab, Huntingdon Life Sciences. Check the website for updates.
  
  
  
• Flight From Death: The Quest for Immortality
  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 in the last few years on four continents in over a dozen countries. Add yours to the list. Get in touch with us to set up a screening.
  
  The Flight From Death DVD is 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.)
  
  
  
• 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)