Operation Hey Mackey! - Whole Foods, Oakland

Check out this wonderful, militant, musical, humorous attack on the greed and hypocrisy of Whole Foods!

"Recycle" ~ perhaps the best short film I've seen.

By Vasco Lucas Nunes, as seen in Media That Matters Film Festival: Short Films That Inspire Action

The importance of upcoming Salvadorean elections

The March 15 presidential elections could be a major step forward for progressive politics in El Salvador, strengthening the recent wave of left-leaning governments across Latin America. Check out this video to see what is at stake and see the CISPES webpage for how you can make a quick, easy call to your member of Congress, and ask her/him to support U.S. neutrality in the elections.

Reject the Hate in '08

Respóndele a Obama

Let me repeat: even if Obama wins, the state of the U.S. and the world is precarious, and we can't leave it up to one man to fix things ... but still, I feel hopeful, especially after watching this video!

The Battle for Reality

The Hollywood movie "Battle in Seattle" is opening in select theaters around the country. This article in Yes! Magazine is very helpful in understanding the film's context, achievements and flaws. It was written by David Solnit, an organizer who was a key player in forming the Direct Action Network that shut down the World Trade Organization meetings in 1999.

Also of note are the film's official webpage and realbattleinseattle.org, a people's history project David and others have been working on, and the WTO History Project I worked on a few years ago at the UW.

Facing Poverty at UC

Service workers at the University of California plan to go on strike next week for a contract with decent wages. A friend of a friend made this video, interviewing UC workers about what they and their families go through day to day.

The Mouth Revolution

the Gringo-thon

A friend just turned me on to this short movie, Gringotón (Gringo-thon), both an amusing spoof on Mexicans' and Americans' perceptions of each other and a biting critique of U.S. militarism. Check it out, if you are amused by the idea of a gringo washing windshields and selling chewing gum in Mexico City to raise money for an armed insurrection against Bush ...

Vis-a-Vis Society: the Movie

Un Poquito de Tanta Verdad

After an intense year of filming and editing, my friend Jill Freidberg (Corrugted Films) has completed her documentary on Association of Peoples of Oaxaca (APPO), which was born out of the schoolteachers' strike last year in Oaxaca state, Mexico, and blossomed into a powerful movement against the corrupt governor. "A Little Bit of So Much Truth" highlights the importance of grassroots media outlets to sustain and inform popular movements, such as when a group of women took over the state television, planning to challenge its steady stream of misinformation with a simple on-the-air statement, and ended up running the station for weeks.

The film has premiered in Oaxaca and Mexico City, and is coming soon to a grassroots screening near you, including October 4-5 in Seattle ...

The battle for Red Hook

There's an area in Brooklyn called Red Hook where for years, Latin Americans have gathered to play soccer on Sundays, and a food market has grown up around them, serving tacos, pupusas, huaraches, tamales, and other cheap, delicious meals. Now local authorities are trying to push the vendors out with new permit requirements. My friend Burke made a short video about it, with a great soundtrack by Los Lobos ...

A Tribute to the Red Hook Vendors (quicktime):
http://www.estansbury.com/redhookvendors2007.mov

or on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9o6qJYDPmGI

"Language Burier": Why English should the the official language of the U.S.

[ if you're aghast that I should post such a thing, here's a hint: it's a video from Comedy Central ]

Quinceañera

Yesterday I saw this movie at the festival, where audiences voted it one of the five best. It is as good as they say. See it as soon as you can.