In time, what began as a sincere attempt to "bring the world to the classroom" became a means of mass indoctrination into mindless conformity. But before 50s assembly-line conformity turned classroom films into campy jokes, production companies like Encyclopedia Britannica Films were capable of making pictures that even today remain high water marks of progressive education.

"Despotism", made in 1946 by EBF largely in response to the atrocities of European facism, is a prime example of a 1940s educational film that still has a valid message, especially in Bush's America. This 11 minute picture clearly and dispassionately explores the social factors that lead to despotism, including rigged voting procedures, corporate consolidation, a lack of meaningful political debate, open racism, unbalanced taxation, media manipulation by private interests, and hollow jingoism.

Archive.org has "Despotism" available for download and distribution for free (in a variety of formats) as it's now in the public domain. I highly suggest using this film as a conversation starter with friends and family. The age of the film and its impartiality may help to prevent knee-jerk responses to its vital message.

"What sort of community do you live in? Where would you place it on a democracy/despotism scale?"

http://www.archive.org/movies/details-db.php?collection=prelinger&collectionid=00178

The guy testifying at the war crimes trial looks a lot like Rumsfeld to me. And the clown on the horse is a dead ringer for Bush. Maybe after his sensational success landing on an aircraft carrier a few yards off shore he decided to better it by showing up at the training stables of the Los Angeles Police Mounted Unit mounted on his daughter's pony.

Portlands response,

After examining the conflict in the SF Bay Indymedia community, with the information that we have Portland Indymedia activists have collectively decided that the actions of the current SF-IMC group are directly contrary to the spirit of Indymedia, to it's Principles of Unity, and to basic ethical behavior.

Therefore, Portland IMC activists have consensed to no longer recognize the current SF-IMC as a legitimate IMC until SF-IMC justifies it's actions of unilaterally taking over the SF server. Until that time, SF-IMC will be removed from the cities list on the Portland IMC site.

Portland IMC activists also agree that the subsequent New-IMC decision to recognize the new SF-IMC group was not valid with Gekked as the sponsor because the hard questions regarding his own actions have not been asked, nor answered. We feel it was a conflict of interest for Gekked to be the sponsor of his own groups petition to be recognized by New-Imc. Therefore, we recommend that SF-IMC's official recognition within New-IMC be RETRACTED, with a NEW application required for any future recognition.

Furthermore, Portland IMC activists encourage the Indybay group not to compromise and accept any deals but rather to demand that the SF Indymedia community remain a single IMC and that the people currently controlling SF-IMC justify their actions or step aside.

Indymedia activists across the broader Indymedia network are also encouraged to speak up and take action to address the wrong that appears to have been done.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



we at s/f Indy media have long been unable to speak out for fear of retaliation from

a few individuals who have come to power. we feel that the s/f indymedia has been diverted from its founding principals.

we have tried time and time again to address our grievances in a civilized manner but the ruling faction sees no need play by any rules but their own. we have participated in many,many meetings but to no avail, we even had out side mediation but could not resolve our issues. in fact it has made matters worse



List of actions by the sf.indymedia.org group that violates the

indymedia Principles of Unity



1. The sf.indymedia.org group has refused to put up a blurb and links

about the split as agreed to during mediation.



2. The sf.indymedia.org group has been repeatedly hiding and deleting

legitimate posts to their newswire by local activists whom they see as

being connected to indybay.org.



3. Immediately after the mediation was over, a member of

sf.indymedia.org withdrew half of the money from the imc checking

account, and then refused to negotiate the price for stickers and

t-shirts advertising the sf.indymedia.org web site address. According

to the agreement, the groups would split the money in the bank account

after sfbay was reimbursed for the mutually agreed upon price for the

stickers and t-shirts, and sf.indymedia was reimbursed for pieces of

equipment that sfbay wanted to purchase.



4. The sf.indymedia.org group has deleted the SF-IMC email list and the

Enemy Combatant Radio (ECR) email list without warning, before anyone

had the chance to back up three and a half years of work and contacts

contained in the lists' archives.



5. the money that paid for the mediation should be refunded to the

current members of indybay.org.



The end result of all of this is that a select few with positions of power,

and a personal vendetta within an IMC collective, and towards long time alternative media activists who did not submit to this control. Even on this web sight we cannot post our views with out subversive attacks from the indy nazi's



We want to stress that we believe this is an urgent, critical matter

that is in the interest of the entire Indymedia network.



we ask for help from the rest of the collective in restoring freedom of speech to the san francisco bay area







The San Francisco Bay Area Independent Media Center collective can be

contacted at sfbay at indymedia.org.

Kerry Committed War Crimes, 'Burned Villages' in Viet Nam

Submitted by United Press International

Original Publisher: United Press International

Another site, Wintersoldier.com, places records from Sen. Kerry's anti-war protests online, including the transcript of the full question and answer session before a U.S. Senate committee, where the young Vietnam veteran detailed, among other activities, his trip as a civilian to the Paris Peace talks involving the U.S., South Vietnamese and North Vietnamese governments.

"I have been to Paris. I have talked with both delegations at the peace talks -- that is to say the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the Provisional Revolutionary Government," Kerry said during testimony on April 22, 1971, before the Foreign Relations Committee, according to the transcript posted on the site.

Wintersoldier.com also features audio sound bites -- in the MP3 format -- of Kerry describing what he did in Vietnam, both in testimony before the Senate and in an interview.

"Yes, I committed the same kinds of atrocities as thousands of other soldiers have committed," Kerry said in the sound bite. "I took part in search and destroy missions, in the burning of villages."

http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20040309-122413-8660r

Kerry Committed War Crimes, 'Burned Villages' in Viet Nam

Submitted by United Press International

Original Publisher: United Press International

Another site, Wintersoldier.com, places records from Sen. Kerry's anti-war protests online, including the transcript of the full question and answer session before a U.S. Senate committee, where the young Vietnam veteran detailed, among other activities, his trip as a civilian to the Paris Peace talks involving the U.S., South Vietnamese and North Vietnamese governments.

"I have been to Paris. I have talked with both delegations at the peace talks -- that is to say the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the Provisional Revolutionary Government," Kerry said during testimony on April 22, 1971, before the Foreign Relations Committee, according to the transcript posted on the site.

Wintersoldier.com also features audio sound bites -- in the MP3 format -- of Kerry describing what he did in Vietnam, both in testimony before the Senate and in an interview.

"Yes, I committed the same kinds of atrocities as thousands of other soldiers have committed," Kerry said in the sound bite. "I took part in search and destroy missions, in the burning of villages."

http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20040309-122413-8660r