whistle blower

Desperate Whistleblower Turns to YouTube

Engineer Accuses World's Biggest Defense Contrator (Lockheed Martin) of Jeopardizing National Security

By JONATHAN SILVERSTEIN, ABCNews.com

Aug. 30) -- "What I am going to tell you is going to seem preposterous and unbelievable."

Those are a few of the first words of a video posted on YouTube by former Lockheed Martin engineer Michael De Kort, claiming that the defense contractor had built and the Coast Guard had accepted a number of boats that fall far short of government standards and leave our national security in question.

De Kort had tried going through the chain of command at Lockheed, and had contacted the government, the Coast Guard and various members of Congress, but no one seemed willing or able to help.

"YouTube was my last best shot -- I never wanted to do this publicly," he explained. "I had gone there to look at entertaining videos and saw that hundreds of thousands of people were visiting the site, and I thought that if there was something that was novel … maybe just the fact that I was doing it would be the story."

Entertaining videos are what YouTube is known for -- today the most-viewed video on the site is a clip from the 2006 Emmy awards, with more than 240,000 views.

And although De Kort's video has been viewed only a little more than 8,000 times since he posted it on Aug. 3, his story has appeared in print, on radio and TV -- further evidence that the Internet has given the average person a way to be heard.

'Criminal Negligence'

In De Kort's video, he makes scandalous accusations about Lockheed Martin's failure to properly refit boats as part of the government's Deepwater program, which works to update and lengthen the lives of ships already in the Coast Guard's fleet.

In the video, he claims that the ships' camera surveillance system, whose aim is to allow the ships to be monitored from shore and to prevent anyone from getting on one of the ships without being seen, had vast blind spots that the contractor was aware of.

He also claims that while the ships were to be fitted with technology that could withstand the elements, a little investigation showed that the equipment the contractor had ordered would not meet Coast Guard standards. De Kort said he was told to stop investigating the technology.

Finally, he argues that the communications system, which is supposed to be secured using shielded cable so no one can listen in or interfere with it, instead used unshielded cable. In some cases, he said, the contractor even replaced shielded cable already on the ships with unshielded cable.

Furthermore, De Kort told ABCNews.com that the vendor for the radios Lockheed Martin planned to use had told him they didn't work outside.

"These are Coast Guard guys who go out in bad weather all the time," he said. "I told them they can't have a boat where the primary means of communication doesn't work in the rain."

De Kort said all these issues were brought to the attention of his bosses at Lockheed Martin, but that his pleas fell on deaf ears.

"The situation needs to be dealt with," he said. "These things were not mistakes. They were done on purpose — not maliciously but for several reasons. We were over budget and the mistakes we were making were so glaring, I don't think they wanted anyone to know."

A Coast Guard representative said it was cooperating with a Department of Homeland Security investigation.

"He hasn't worked for the program since the spring of 2005, and some program personnel have been in contact with him … and obviously, he hasn't gotten the answer he's looking for, whatever that is," said Mary Elder, a spokesperson for the Coast Guard. "But I assure you, the Coast Guard would not operate its vessels in an unsafe manner."

Investigation or Coverup?

De Kort takes full credit for a Department of Homeland Security investigation that's been looking into the allegations since before he posted his video.

But he said he's been told by people at Homeland Security that the investigation has been regularly impeded by a lack of cooperation on the part of the Coast Guard.

Yet Elder maintains that the Coast Guard has provided the DHS inspector general's office with all the requested documentation and necessary access.

"The Deepwater office of the Coast Guard has cooperated fully with the office of the inspector general and has been working with them on this issue since February, and … we have provided them with over 100 different documents and access to various personnel and provided briefings to them to make sure that they have the information they need to complete the investigation," she explained.

Both the Coast Guard and Lockheed Martin maintain they have conducted internal investigations into De Kort's allegations, in addition to the ongoing Homeland Security investigation.

"Lockheed Martin has thoroughly investigated these allegations on several occasions and found them to be without merit," read a statement from Lockheed Martin. "In addition, Lockheed Martin has determined that the concerns do not pose safety or security issues."

"Unfortunately, when there are abuses, it can be awfully difficult for someone to penetrate the corporate walls and the government walls that surround them."

De Kort acknowledges that his YouTube video was just a way to get his story out and into the eyes and ears of the public.

Because the Internet allows people the opportunity and, in some cases, the anonymity to say and do whatever they want, that freedom to be heard can be a double-edged sword.

But Noah Shachtman, editor in chief of DefenseTech.org, which monitors military happenings both at home and abroad, said it's necessary to ensure the public's ability to blow the whistle.

"I think it's never been easier for people to call BS on the shenanigans of their employers or their government," said Shachtman. "Whether it's soldiers from Abu Graib slipping out pictures and getting them to the press, or whether we're talking about bloggers reporting from the front lines. Digital media has really made it incredibly easy for people who want to get their message out and bring questionable practices to light."

Shachtman said there are many examples of these kinds of defense contract scandals, though he said he's unsure if this is one of those cases. He said the promise of digital media is fulfilled when people like Michael De Kort can be heard.

"There are plenty of honest people working at the nation's defense contractors, and there are a lot of very hardworking, very smart people," Shactman said. "Unfortunately, when there are abuses, it can be awfully difficult for someone to penetrate the corporate walls and the government walls that surround them."

Tell that to Michael De Kort -- if you can catch him in between interviews.

"They [the people] need to know the level of incompetence and the decisions that were being made," De Kort said. "Your ethics -- especially after 9/11 -- cannot be decisions of convenience -- they can't be decisions of economics."

Merci Bichlbaum

MERCI BICHLBAUM MERCI!!!!

I've had the wonderful opportunity in the past to work with Bichlbaum on an Urban Renewal Laboratory Project. You go Andy!!! Check out more of Bichlbaum's work here.

KENNER, Louisiana (CNN) -- A man who pulled a hoax on Louisiana officials and 1,000 contractors by presenting himself as a federal housing official said Monday he intended to focus attention on a lack of affordable housing.

"We basically go around impersonating bad institutes or institutes doing very bad things," said the man, who identified himself as Andy Bichlbaum, a 42-year-old former college teacher of video and media arts who lives in New York and Paris.

"That would be HUD. At this moment, they're doing some really bad things."

Masquerading as Rene Oswin, an official at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Bichlbaum followed Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin to the lectern Monday morning at the Pontchartrain Center in Kenner.

In a speech to attendees of the Gulf Coast Reconstruction and Hurricane Preparedness Summit, he laid out grandiose plans for HUD to reverse course.

After the speaker read from a text he said had been prepared by his boss, HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson, a HUD spokeswoman said the department knew nothing about the man.

"Everything is going to change about the way we work, and the change is going to start here today in New Orleans," the man said during his speech.

Jackson, he said, had had to cancel his appearance at the meeting of 1,000 builders and contractors at the Pontchartrain Center in Kenner because he had to stay in Washington to meet with President Bush.

William Loiry, president of meeting sponsor Equity International, said he was duped.

"We were contacted about a week ago or so by someone who we believed to be [public relations firm] Hill & Knowlton [saying] that they were representing the HUD secretary and that he wanted to make a major announcement at this summit."

Loiry said he was told a few minutes before he had planned to introduce Jackson that the secretary would be replaced by Oswin.

"We've done 75 national conferences, 25,000 people participated, and we certainly never encountered anything like this before," he said.

The man left a flier bearing a HUD emblem that said attendees could go to a ribbon-cutting ceremony at a public housing project. A free lunch and transportation aboard buses were promised.

"They never materialized," Loiry said.

Loiry was not impressed with the stunt. "There are many people still in need," he said in a written statement. "To perpetuate a hoax on them is cruel and disgusting."

Impostor: 'We have failed'

In his speech, Bichlbaum said the department's mission was to ensure affordable housing is available for those who need it.

"This year, in New Orleans, I'm ashamed to say we have failed," he said.

To change that, HUD would reverse its plans to demolish 5,000 units "of perfectly good public housing," with housing in the city in tight supply, he said.

Former occupants have been "begging to move back in," he said. "We're going to help them to do that."

The government's practice had been to tear down public housing where it could, because such projects were thought to cause crime and unemployment, he said.

But crime rates in the city are at a record high and there is no evidence that people in the projects are more likely to be unemployed, he said.

The man added that it also would be essential to create conditions for prosperity.

Toward that end, he said, Wal-Mart would withdraw its stores from near low-income housing and "help nurture local businesses to replace them."

Wal-Mart was unmoved. "As evidenced by the fact that we recently reopened two stores in the New Orleans metropolitan area, there is absolutely no truth to these statements," said spokeswoman Marisa Bluestone.

In a comment that elicited applause from the contractors and builders, Bichlbaum said, "With your help, the prospects of New Orleanians will no longer depend on their birthplace, and the cycle of poverty will come to an end."

Finally, to ensure another hurricane does not inundate the city, Exxon and Shell have promised to spend $8.6 billion "to finance wetlands rebuilding from $60 billion in profits this year," he said.

HUD: 'Who the heck is that?'

Late Monday afternoon, in a telephone call with CNN, Bichlbaum said the gist of his comments about housing was truthful, even if he had to use subterfuge to deliver it.

"The only not-true part is, unfortunately, the part about them changing their minds. They are still going to tear down 5,000 units of affordable housing," he said.

The New Orleans projects are sturdily constructed brick buildings that, nevertheless, are slated for demolition, he said.

"Basically, the real reason, of course, is they want to develop New Orleans into something pleasing to tourists -- even more pleasing."

Bichlbaum said Monday's prank was the latest in a series pulled off by The Yes Men, whose members have recently masqueraded as representatives of McDonald's, Halliburton and Dow Chemical.

"Fortunately, the law protects freedom of speech," he said. "What we're doing is not actually lying. It's actually exposing the lies. There's nothing morally wrong with what we're doing."

Bichlbaum said The Yes Men plan to release a movie about their exploits next year, but that commercial gain is not their goal.

"The real reason we do it is what we're doing right now," he told a reporter. "You're paying attention to this issue of affordable housing and the absurd policies of HUD."

In Washington, HUD spokeswoman Donna White called the hoax "sick."

"This announcement is totally false; it's totally bogus," said Donna White in Washington.

No one named Rene Oswin works for the department, she said. "I'm like, who the heck is that?"

Jackson, White said, had never planned to address the meeting. "I don't even want to refer to it as a joke," White said. "At this point, it's not funny."

Annie Chen, media coordinator for Survivors Village, a tent-city protest for the reopening of public housing in New Orleans, applauded Bichlbaum's theatrics.

"Right now, a lie is better than the truth," she said.

Mariah

MARIAH ROCKS!!

I remember in the early nineties when my boyfriend at the time (John Hlinko -- :) hi john!) LOVED Mariah Carey. I'll Be There, Dreamlover, Emotions, Vision of Love, Someday blarred throughout our apartment. I would tease John endlessly with this little pop obsession of his (oh, yeah, he also loved Debbie Gibson -- now she was worthy of the ridicule, and he loved En Vogue -- I could understand this more). He would just grin and sing along louder. I thought Mariah was just sappy pop fluff. She wasn't Chrissie Hyde, Courtney Love, K.D. Lang, Michelle Shocked, Natalie Merchant with their political edge or hard rocker appeal.



Flash forward twelve years -- I'm sitting here listening to Mariah and I LOVE her! Mariah rocks! and always has. Whenever, I'm feeling a little heartbroken or in need of lifting my spirit, Mariah will in fact, Be There.

John you were right ;O

Size Matters

Size Matters

This is one of the most ridiculous articles I've read:

Study Finds Taller People Are Smarter

Reuters

NEW YORK (Aug. 26) - While researchers have long shown that tall people earn more than their shorter counterparts, it's not only social discrimination that accounts for this inequality -- tall people are just smarter than their height-challenged peers, a new study finds.

"As early as age three -- before schooling has had a chance to play a role -- and throughout childhood, taller children perform significantly better on cognitive tests," wrote Anne Case and Christina Paxson of Princeton University in a paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

The findings were based primarily on two British studies that followed children born in 1958 and 1970, respectively, through adulthood and a U.S. study on height and occupational choice.

Other studies have pointed to low self-esteem, better health that accompanies greater height, and social discrimination as culprits for lower pay for shorter people.

But researchers Case and Paxson believe the height advantage in the job world is more than just a question of image.

"As adults, taller individuals are more likely to select into higher paying occupations that require more advanced verbal and numerical skills and greater intelligence, for which they earn handsome returns," they wrote.

For both men and women in the United States and the United Kingdom, a height advantage of four inches equated with a 10 percent increase in wages on average.

But the researchers said the differences in performance crop up long before the tall people enter the job force. Prenatal care and the time between birth and the age of 3 are critical periods for determining future cognitive ability and height.

"The speed of growth is more rapid during this period than at any other during the life course, and nutritional needs are greatest at this point," the researchers wrote.

The research confirms previous studies that show that early nutrition is an important predictor of intelligence and height.

"Prenatal care and prenatal nutrition are just incredibly important, even more so than we already knew," Case said in an interview.

Since the study's data only included populations in the United Kingdom and the United States, the findings could not be applied to other regions, Case said.

And how tall are the researchers?

They are both about 5 feet 8 inches tall, well above the average height of 5 feet 4 inches for American women.

Forever What

FOREVER ... WHAT?

I'm back in high gear working on my installation Forever Summer. It's two years in the making now (slowed down to finish up other projects) and will finally be completed in the fall (I hope!). For the project, I'm turning my entire living space into an installation of textiles, textures, crafts, and colors, all mixed with a heavy dose of meditative madness.

Several folks have been over recently to visit and the responses by all have been a puzzled "what are you going to do with this?" It's a similiar response to the ones that I've gotten to all of my large scale installations over the past several years: "How could you sell this (I actually was approached to sell one of these installations and recreate it in a private home and I declined because I had no interest in doing the same work over again)?" "How would a museum purchase this work since it's so delicate and complex and you'd always have to be there to reinstall it?" "How much did you spend on this ... and why would you put so much time and money into something that you're going to destroy?" Although if I were to tell someone that I had just spent the day shopping and purchasing a bunch of stuff, that would be viewed as perfectly normal and unquestionable. It's almost as though I should be looking at this work as more of a hobby, which is fine with me -- I could claim myself as a hobbyist, rather than an artist -- though does it really make a difference?


These reactions to my installation work remind of a similiar responses to my initial public work, the Better Homes and Gardens project through which I hand-painted 250 "Home" signs and gave them away as a response to the unrestricted development in the late '90's and early 2000's that left many people homeless, and the Flower Interruption through which I hand-painted over 800 paper flowers and then placed them in the middle of the street; each installation was destroyed/dismantled within several hours. Though at that time the questions were more along the lines of "who are you working with?" Meaning -- what institution are you working with? It was incomprehensible that I could possibly be working independently. Of course this attitude has changed to some degree over the past several years as "Relational Aesthetics" has become the buzz term of current art trends. "Oh, it's social sculpture; a relational aesthics project." Though a great degree of this rather new, or mainstream artworld understanding can be attributed to the packaging and appropriation of it by the institutions themselves -- it's very hip, easily digested, and almost expected now to be doing such work.

I experienced some of this expectation earlier this year when I did one of my large scale installations in a gallery setting. I received a very favorable review of the exhibition, which I was appreciative of; however the writer referenced my earlier "generous public installations" and questioned why I hadn't linked this work to my "previous work by including some interactive or socio-relational aspect that would galvanize its message and push it beyond decorative suspicion?" I found the observation, or inquiry so off the mark, since the installation was far removed from that realm of obvious intention. Yet it was clear to me that in fact, the work was steeped in "interactive or socio-relational" implications, relating to the concept of providing an environment and experience for the viewer that was about living in that moment and taking in a respite of beauty and playfulness.

The answer to the initial question about the current installation is that it will be a public "exhibition" or "open house" when finished and will be on view for six weeks, accompanied by dinners to share in discussions of home, environment, global forces that have reshaped how interior space is viewed, and contemporary trends in exhibiting and experiencing art. However, I don't feel this component is the end to the means or purpose of the work. The work has been the process itself, a personal/private experience of creating an environment -- and one that is temporary -- where the subsequent viewer, as previously noted, is invited to share the experience in that moment. This approach to my work has always been very satisfying and more at the core of who I am. I love the Buddhist implications in working in this form -- intuitively and ephemerally, embracing the detachment to the final "product" and the inevitability of impermenance.

Tippy Canoe

TIPPY CANOE & THE PADDLEMEN





















Tippy Canoe approached me in 2005 at my opening of Sunset to ask if she could use the installation as a backdrop for a photo shoot for her band Tippy Canoe and the Paddlemen. I was honored and became even more excited when she told me that she plays ukulele and described her music. She just sent me some images from the shoot -- luv 'em! The photos were taken by Kristopher Parra. Tippy is a hottie.





























































































More about Tippy Canoe and the Paddlemen (from their Website):

Tippy Canoe & the Paddlemen play popular music or what the kids call "pop". Now their sound may not exactly be the popular music of today, but it encapsulates what has made people smile, laugh and talk about over the last nine decades. Your ears will perk up when you hear their potent toe-tappers or you'll gladly wrap yourself in the melancholy they cast when performing a dreamy ballad.

Songbird and uke-slinger, Tippy Canoe, is on a mission to bring sincere uplift in a severely down-slanted era. Her voice is a mixture of the 60's girl group sound and classic country with its own quirky nature shining through. Her songwriting bears the stamp of a person who has absorbed a variety of influences. These range from 20's and 30's acts like The Boswell Sisters or Jack Teagarden to 50's and 60's performers like Brenda Lee and catchy post-punk bands such as Squeeze or Blondie.

The Paddlemen use their skill with the drum kit (Rick Quisol-The Frisky Frolics, Cari Lee & the Saddle-ites, Atomic Cocktail), upright bass (Bill MacBeath- Alvin Youngblood Hart, Carlos Guitarlos) , violin/vocals (Steve Gardner- Culann's Hounds), and guitar (Isaac Carter-Carter & Bodlovich, Acme Swing Company) to conjure up a tight-knit mesh of rhythm and melody. The other gentlemen who have worn the badge of Paddleman either live or on recordings include Chris "T.G." Green (The Frisky Frolics, Dogwood Mercy, Atomic Cocktail),Tom Galbraith (Mink Lungs, Blank Stares, Mensclub), Pat Johnson (Penelope Houston, Dave Gleason's Wasted Days) and Bart Davenport (Loved Ones, Persephones Bees) .

You can call it old-timey, you can call it retro, you can even make up a word and call it 20sjazzcountrydoowoppop, but whatever the moniker just let yourself go and enjoy it.

" I do not fear ukuleles, I fear lack of them" -Isaac Asimov, author

Maw's Broadsheet Project

BROADSIDE PROJECT (2006)
BY MAW SHEIN WIN

My good friend Maw just finished her residency at The Headlands Center for the Arts. During the residency Maw completed her beautiful Broadside Project (2006).







I was honored to be included as one of the collaborating artists. You can check out my collaboration with Maw here.

Maw's introduction to the project:
When I arrived at the Headlands Center for the Arts for my summer 2006 residency, I realized this was the perfect time and place for me to work on one of my long-time dream projects: to complete a collection of broadsides.

I decided to collaborate with artists I already knew as well as with artists I met at the Headlands. I asked some artists to create an artwork in response to poems I had written during the residency. Then I asked the other artists to create a piece with no set theme to which I would respond with a poem. The only parameter was that the dimensions of the artwork could not exceed 6 by 6 inches.

I would like to thank Tony Foster for his help with design and production and also extend my gratitude to the Headlands
Center for the Arts for this opportunity.
-Maw Shein Win

Artists and Titles of Poems:
Jenny Bitner
The Wedding Party

Youmna Chlala
The Unexpected Visitor

Adrian de la Peña
Yamauba

Patricia K. Kelly
Summer in St. Albans, England, 1963

Danielle Julian-Norton
Questions-in-progress

Claudio Orso
The Collective Dreams of Mice

Nathaniel Parsons
Warning

Christine Ponelle
Portrait of a Landscape

Matthew Rogers
The Blindfold That Shields

Megan Wilson
Girl With Turtle

Indonesia Independence Day

HAPPY INDONESIAN INDEPENDENCE DAY!!

After the collapse of Japan at the end of World War II, Indonesian nationalists under Sukarno took the opportunity to declare independence from Dutch colonial rule. With the assistance of indigenous army units created by the Japanese, an independent Republic of Indonesia with Sukarno as its president was proclaimed on August 17, 1945.


Indonesian National Anthem:
Indonesia Raya (Great Indonesia)

Indonesia tanah airku,
Tanah tumpah darahku,
Disanalah aku berdiri,
Jadi pandu ibuku,
Indonesia kebangsaanku,
Bangsa dan tanah airku,
Marilah kita berseru:
"Indonesia bersatu!"
Hiduplah tanahku,
Hiduplah negeriku,
Bangsaku, Rakyatku semuanya.
Bangunlah jiwanya,
Bangunlah badannya
Untuk Indonesia Raya!

CHORUS

Indonesia Raya, merdeka, merdeka
Tanahku, negeriku yang kucinta
Indonesia Raya, merdeka, merdeka
Hiduplah Indonesia Raya
Indonesia! Tanah yang mulia,
Tanah kita yang kaya.
Disanalah aku berada
Untuk slamalamanya.
Indonesia, Tanah pusaka,
Psaka Kita semuanya.
Marilah kita mendoa,
"Indonesia bahagia!"
Suburlah Tanahnya,
Suburlah jiwanya,
Bansanya, Rakyatnya semuanya.
Sadarlah hatinya,
Sadarlah budinya
Untuk Indonesia Raya.

CHORUS

Indonesia! Tanah yang sutyi,
Tanah kita yang sakti.
Disanalah aku berdiri
Ndyaga ibu sedyati.
Indonesia! Tanah berseri,
Tanah yung aku sayangi.
Marilah kita berjanji:
"Indonesia abadi!"
Slamatlah Rakyatnya,
Slamatlah putranya,
Pulaunya, lautnya semuanya.
Majulah Begrinya,
Majulah Pandunya
Untuk Indonesia Raya.

English Translation:

Indonesia, our native country,
Our birthplace,
Where we all arise to stand guard
Over this our Motherland:
Indonesia our nationality,
Our people and our country.
Come then, let us all exclaim
Indonesia united.
Long live our land,
Long live our state,
Our nation, our people, and all
Arise then, its spirit,
Arise, its bodies
For Great Indonesia.

CHORUS

Indonesia the Great, independent and free,
Our beloved country.
Indonesia the Great, independent and free,
Long live Indonesia the Great!
Indonesia, an eminent country,
Our wealthy country,
There we shall be forever.
Indonesia, the country of our ancestors,
A relic of all of us.
Let us pray
For Indonesia's prosperity:
May her soil be fertile
And spirited her soul,
The nation and all the people.
Conscious be her heart
And her mind
For Indonesia the Great.

CHORUS

Indonesia, a sacred country,
Our victorious country:
There we stand
Guarding our true Mother.
Indonesia, a beaming Country,
A country we love with all our heart,
Let's make a vow
That Indonesia be there forever.
Blessed be her people
And her sons,
All her islands, and her seas.
Fast be the country's progress
And the progress of her youth
For Indonesia the Great.

I have the Gombloh version of it given to me by Samuel Indratma (thank you Sam!) and I love it!! I'm listening to it right now as I write this.

I love how Inodonesia's national anthem is about the love of the country, the soil, the soul, it's youth -- "conscious be her heart and her mind" etc. versus war, bombs, and rockets .... hmmmm sound familiar?

I'm Lovin It

I'M LOVIN IT!

I watched the documentary McLibel last night and it was so inspiring!! Helen Steel and Dave Morris are two of the greatest role models in history.

from the McSpotlight Website (this is a great site to find all the info):
The McLibel Trial is the infamous British court case between McDonald's and a former postman & a gardener from London (Helen Steel and Dave Morris). It ran for two and a half years and became the longest ever English trial. The defendants were denied legal aid and their right to a jury, so the whole trial was heard by a single Judge, Mr Justice Bell. He delivered his verdict in June 1997.

The verdict was devastating for McDonald's. The judge ruled that they 'exploit children' with their advertising, produce 'misleading' advertising, are 'culpably responsible' for cruelty to animals, are 'antipathetic' to unionisation and pay their workers low wages. But Helen and Dave failed to prove all the points and so the Judge ruled that they HAD libelled McDonald's and should pay 60,000 pounds damages. They refused and McDonald's knew better than to pursue it. In March 1999 the Court of Appeal made further rulings that it was fair comment to say that McDonald's employees worldwide "do badly in terms of pay and conditions", and true that "if one eats enough McDonald's food, one's diet may well become high in fat etc., with the very real risk of heart disease."

As a result of the court case, the Anti-McDonald's campaign mushroomed, the press coverage increased exponentially, this website was born and a feature length documentary was broadcast round the world.

The legal controversy continued. The McLibel 2 took the British Government to the European Court of Human Rights to defend the public's right to criticise multinationals, claiming UK libel laws are oppressive and unfair that they were denied a fair trial. The court ruled in favour of Helen and Dave: the case had breached their their rights to freedom of expression and a fair trial.

Fuck Israel

SHAME ON YOU ISRAEL!
for ignoring the cease fire and pumping up your troops. This is not the heritage of love, compassion, and understanding that my Jewish ancestors are from and I'm ashamed that Israel is perceived as being synonymous with being Jewish.

Update on Yogya

Update On Earthquake Relief In Yogyakarta Indonesia

Thanks to many people in the San Francisco community we were able to raise $6,400 to send to help with the relief efforts in and around Yogyakarta. I just received the following email from our friend Arie Dyanto:

Dear Megan,

Sorry took a while to get back to you because I just got all the money 2 days ago but I am glad to inform you about your request; I found Gipar (Gipar is a becak driver who has become my friend over the years and wrote to me to ask for help for his village. In 2004 I did a project in which I painted becaks, including Gipars) and deliver the money to him today. I even visited his house in Kujon Village which is suffered from the earthquake, 98% of houses is flattened to the ground. I gave him Rp. 3.000.000,00 I hope it will be enough to survive for few weeks since Gipar got a big family to feed. Suppose thousands of people in the same situation like him.

Here I send you letters about the money and fotos from Gipar’s house, I am not yet sending a detail financial report since Studio Biru accounting procedure is not yet completed. Please forward this letter to everyone if they might want to know where their contribution has been used and distribute.



















Gipar's home



















Gipar's home



















Gipar's home



















Gipar's home
























Gipar and his nephew

This is the letter to all that helped:

Re: Reconstruction Aid for the Victims of the Earthquake in Yogyakarta

Dear Everyone,

On behalf of YUK! I am extremely grateful for the funds of US$ 6.475.47 that were made available to us. The funds have been used specifically for the items mentioned below:

Received money in Rupiah: RP. 58.558.000,00

- Cemeti Art Foundation, “Aku Oke!” (I am Ok!) project: Rp. 5.000.000, 00

- Mr. Gipar and family (becak driver from Kujon village, Imogiri):

Rp. 3.000.000,00

- Studio Biru + YUK! Reconstruction project: Rp. 50.558.000,00

“Aku Oke!” is an ongoing accompanying project organized by Cemeti Art Foundation, scheduled until October, in order to help kids from the earthquake site to overcome post disaster trauma.

Mr. Gipar was recommended by Megan Wilson to receive US 300 from the funds in order to help him build up his flattened house after the earth quake.

Most of the money went to Studio Biru + YUK!, for their reconstruction project. The money was used to buy house materials and distributed among villages that were surveyed. For a further detailed financial and activity report, Studio Biru will send this after the accounting process is done

We would like to thank Intersection for the Arts and all fellow friends and artists for your assistance in our time of need.

Yours sincerely,

Arie Dyanto

Fundraising Volunteer

Studio Biru + YUK!

Thank you so much to the following:
Rainbow Grocery, Megan Wilson, Kevin Chen, Intersection for the Arts, Carolyn Ryder Cooley, Alicia McCarthy, Carolyn Castano, Ann Dennehy, Laurie Lazer, Hang Le Bourque, Maw Shein Win, Leslie Linnebur, Le Beau Market, Melissa Klein, Dan Carlson, Ed Gilbert, Allison Wycoff, Rosy Parsons, Jonn Herschend, Claude Moller, Valerie Wade, Chi Hui Yang, Tia Factor, Amy Berk, Richard Lang, Therese Condit, Nguyen Qui Duc, Matthew Rogers, Mary Teurel, Lise Swenson, Jay Steinman, Paul Jorgensen, Marie Eastman, Rigo, Courtney Fink, Dan Carlson, Curtis Betz, Hadley Holliday, Erik Foster, Nicole Lambrou, Hillary Bleecker, Jill Pfeiffer, Sara Thustra, Peter Whitehead, Aaron Noble

We also received this from Aisyah Hilal of the Cemeti Foundation in Yogyakarta:

Hi there,

This is an email I sent through Arie Dyanto, which needs to be forwarded to Intersection of the Arts. By this email I would like to confirm that Cemeti Art Foundation received the donation funds for AkuOke!, a 4 month (July-October/November 2006) project that responds to the earthquake victims, especially the children (aged 4-14 years) in two villages, Dusun Sampangan, Wirokerten-Banguntapan and Dusun Tegal, Kebonagung-Imogiri, both in Bantul area.

The donation funds received was as amount of Rp 5,000,000 (five millions rupiahs).

We’d like to thank you for this support, and we’ll keep you updated with the general information of the activities and financial report, which would be sent to you in the first week of each month.

With kind and optimistic regards,

Aisyah Hilal

Executive Director

*****************************************************
Cemeti Art Foundation | Yayasan Seni Cemeti
Jalan Patehan Tengah No. 37
Yogyakarta 55133, INDONESIA
Tel. +62.274.375 247, Tel./Fax. +62.274.372 095
Email: artysc@indosat.net.id
doc@cemetiartfoundation.org
URL: www.cemetiartfoundation.org

Opens Monday - Friday, 9.00 am - 5.00 pm

Cemeti Art Foundation (CAF) is a non profit organization, which empowers visual arts infrastructure in Indonesia. Its core activities are documentation, research, and education. In implementing its programs and projects, CAF also builds networks with equal partner, in the scope of local, regional, as well as international | Yayasan Seni Cemeti (YSC) adalah sebuah lembaga nirlaba, yang mendorong pemberdayaan infrastruktur seni visual di Indonesia. Bidang utamanya adalah dokumentasi, riset, dan pendidikan. Dalam kerjanya, YSC juga membangun jaringan kerja dengan mitra sejajar, baik dalam lingkup lokal, regional, maupun internasional.

For Maw

The Turtle and Me

My friend Maw Shein Win is currently doing a residency at the Headlands Center For The Arts to work on her poetry. As part of her residency she's asked 10 of her friends to make drawings for her that she's writing poems about. I'm very honored to be one those she asked. This is the drawing that I gave to her. It's taken from a combination of the two paintings that my mother did when I was around 2-3 years old.


I remember watching her as she painted them and I was disappointed that the turtle wasn't in my painting. My mother just recently gave me both of these paintings when I visited in July. I wanted to draw or redraw the image of myself through my eyes now and how I wanted it at the time. I was interested in really looking at the images and thinking about my mother and her thoughts as she painted these over thirty years ago. Doing the drawing now made me feel closer to my mother and really appreciate her work and creativity -- being an artist myself now and having a much greater perspective on who she was or might have been as a young artist.



















I spoke with Maw today and she wanted to hear more about who I was as a child at that age and what I looked like. So these images are for Maw :)
























My birthday party
























My brother and I
























My brother and I























































I guess I've always loved mumus



























Me and my friend from across the street Kyle Lythgoe



















And I found a picture of our old pea green jeep

Friendship Day

Happy Friendship Day!

Today is Friendship Day in India. My young friend Aanchal sent me these from New Delhi.























































































































She also sent me this:

Some Good Ones
1. Conscience is what hurts when everything else feels good.

2. Talk is cheap because supply exceeds the demand.

3. Love is grand; divorce is a hundred grand.

4. Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there.

5. Politicians and diapers have one thing in common. They both should be changed regularly and for the same reason.

6. It's easier to fight for ones' principles than to live up to them.

7. I don't mind going anywhere as long as it's an interesting path.

8. Anything free is worth what you pay for it.

9. It hurts to be on the cutting edge.

10. If it ain't broke, fix it till it is.

11. I don't get even, I get older.

12. In just two days, tomorrow will be yesterday.

13. Dijon vu - the same mustard as before.

14. I am a nutritional overachiever.

15. My inferiority complex is not as good as yours.

16. I am having an out of money experience.

17. I am in shape. round is a shape.

18. Practice safe eating - always use condiments.

19. A day without sunshine is like night.
20. If marriage were outlawed, only outlaws would have in-laws.

21. Life is an endless struggle full of frustrations and challenges, but eventually you find a hair stylist you like.

22. The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right time, but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.

23. Time may be a great healer, but it's also a lousy beautician.

24. Brain cells come and brain cells go, but fat cells live forever.

25. You don't stop laughing because you grow old, you grow old because you stopped laughing.

and this ...

Haven't you always wondered how "Americanisms" would sound like if they were translated literally to an average Indian on, say, the streets of Udaipur (or elsewhere)?

Have a nice day! ----- * Achcha din lo!

What's up? ----- *Uppar kya hai?

You're kidding! ----- *Tum bachcha bana rahe ho!

Don't kid me! ----- * Mera bachcha mut banaao!

Yo, baby! What's up? -----* Beti Yo, uppar kya hai?

Cool man! -----* Thandaa aadmi!

Don't mess with me, dude.----- * Mere saath gandagee mat karo, ek hustee.

Check this out, man! ----- * Iskee chaanbeen karo, aadmi!

She's so fine! ----- * Woh itnee baareek hai!

Listen buddy, that chick's mine, okay!?----- * Suno dost, woh choozaa mera hai, theek?

Hey good looking; what's cooking? ----- * Hey Sundari; kyaa pak raha hai?

Are you nuts? ----- * Kya aap akhrot hain?

Son of a gun.----- * Bachcha bandook ka.

And the best one is.....

General Body Meeting.... ----- *Saamanya Shaaririk Milan

C ya folks... -----(Dekhte hain doston) &

Keep in touch...... ----- (Chhoote Raho.....)