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Judge Rules Feds Illegally Wiretapped Islamic Charity

In what the article describes as a rare reversal against government spying, a US court finally Rules Feds Illegally Wiretapped Islamic Charity. I truly believe that charities need to stick together in this. One solid precedent that allows the government to violate our civil liberties and shut down our organizations without cause or due process would be a huge blow against civil society in general. Even if we think they won't come for us, we have to support the ones they do come for. Fortunately, some of us have done that and, in this one case at least (and for now), we have prevailed. Keep an eye on this one. Posted: 4/13/10; 6:11:28 PM #

21 Days for World Hunger

Kenda Swartz Pepper recently finished living for three weeks with the diet of one of the billion people on the planet who go hungry. And blogging about it. I think you should read this: Souljourn for the Mind, Spirit and Earth: 21 Days for World Hunger. I'm fascinated by the organizing and mobilizing power of practices of public empathy of this sort. I'm even more fascinated by the personal transformations involved. I also think I may want to try it myself some day, maybe with a dozen or more people with whom I could compare notes. Frankly, I would like the ask the heads of any of the leading food conglomerates to be part of it. Posted: 4/13/10; 6:02:24 PM #

Thich Nhat Hanh on Harmonious Community Building

I have long had an interest in the extraordinary sustainability and harmony of monastic communities, particularly contemporary ones that don't rely on coercion or a relationship with the state (or a great lord) for its membership. Unlike large scale cults that may recruit entire families and encourage them to breed, monastic communities rely entirely on bonds of practice and ritual. As we consider the notion of community building in an era dominated by loose ties, I think we may have a lot to learn from such communities. Because my own predilections lean toward the more compassionate and less authoritarian models of community, I decided to read Thich Nhat Hahn's Joyfully Together: The Art of Harmonious Community Building. I highly recommend it. Read it first once all the way through, to get oriented to the ideas. Then read it through with a notebook out and explore specific ways to adapt the ideas to the communities of which you are a part. There are clear and useful practices for small and large communities, for elders and young people, for established leaders and people learning to lead. Posted: 4/13/10; 2:33:40 PM #