CARPINTERIA, California (March 16, 2009) – On Tuesday, March 17, the school board of Carpinteria, California will meet to vote whether or not to rescind their own 2008 decision to remove all imagery that stereotypes Native American peoples from Carpinteria High School. The town of Carpinteria is staging the meeting in such a way as to intimidate the Native people choosing to participate. (photo of Eli Cordero by Paul Wellman)
Details: Carpinteria votes on reinstatement of racist mascot by AIM-West
Update: Last night, the school board of Carpinteria voted 3-2 to retain the mascot. The nearly three-hour-long meeting was heated, and at one point was interrupted by violence just outside the building's entrance. At the time of this writing, details of this incident were unknown. As soon as the board's decision was announced, opponents of the mascot promised, "We will be back."
I thought Fuel was very well-made, important, and informative--there's a lot to absorb. I don't agree with every point of view expressed in the film, but I realize the movie has to communicate to diverse people. . . . Still, the movie features a lot of provocative ideas like vertical farms (skyscraper-like farms that would exist in the middle of cities and other places where space is scarce), and there is some great historical information. For example, details of Rudolf Diesel's sudden and very suspicious death is discussed as well as the long and insidious history of Standard Oil (which was broken up 100 years ago but is now reunited as Exxon-Mobil). Also, a compelling case is made that Prohibition was really about stopping a car that Ford put out that ran on ethanol. As soon as Ford gave up on this car, Prohibition was lifted.
. . . I was glad to see depictions of monorails in the film (though they're never discussed). I think they could be a solution to some of our problems (at least until our population crisis is dealt with--if it is ever dealt with), as they have been in other countries for a century. . . .
Article: "Fuel" (review) by RP