tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-304989242008-04-23T15:16:23.943-07:00Spartacus O'Nealnoreply@blogger.comBlogger87125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30498924.post-13381405428383593472008-04-23T14:59:00.000-07:002008-04-23T15:16:23.978-07:00

Our history link is presently down. Wikipedia understandably fails to grasp the key organizational feature of Public Good Project, namely (as stated on the website under About Public Good) that it is a network, not a corporation. The network comprises the top (roughly two dozen) pro-democracy political researchers in the United States, along with numerous correspondents. Our citations and

Spartacus O'Nealnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30498924.post-37555890357455818742008-04-23T10:44:00.000-07:002008-04-23T12:39:27.685-07:00

Networks constitute the foundation of political power; networking for social change is essentially the intentional linking and nurturing of already established personal relationships for a common purpose. As I observed in my prior learning portfolio, genuine community organizers simply articulate the beliefs people already hold, promote an agenda consistent with those beliefs, and provide

Spartacus O'Nealnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30498924.post-88821271979738389342008-04-07T11:58:00.000-07:002008-04-07T12:25:09.243-07:00

We recently had occasion to check out some ignominous associates of One Nation United, the leading Anti-Indian organization in the US, and found the usual suspects involved in opposing Native American gaming as part of their overall strategy to undermine indigenous sovereignty and self-determination. The first level of research took about two minutes on a standard search engine, but background on

Spartacus O'Nealnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30498924.post-28489568456385925422008-03-24T10:06:00.000-07:002008-03-25T16:18:08.857-07:00

For socially conscious individuals, identifying with a movement's goals or an organization's objectives is an important part of protecting their personal sanity. Without that connection, thoughtful people will inevitably turn to self-destructive behavior. The networks that comprise modern social movements, however, are not (as commonly thought) coalitions of non-profit corporate entities. Rather

Spartacus O'Nealnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30498924.post-35611905873101103852008-03-19T15:48:00.000-07:002008-03-19T16:07:45.766-07:00

Now that New College of California is closed and bandits are busy looting the remains, the Gabel coterie is probably getting nervous about having to return ill-gotten gains. Should a class-action lawsuit materialize against them, that is a real possibility. So what better way to derail the alumni than to drive a wedge between the alumni leadership? After all, the tactic of divide and conquer was

Spartacus O'Nealnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30498924.post-74231657338291915782008-03-10T11:35:00.000-07:002008-03-10T14:24:18.854-07:00

In the 1990s, when Indian tribes and environmentalists united in protecting the watersheds of Washington state, the Washington Association of Realtors (WAR) and the Building Industry Association of Washington (BIAW) organized and funded vigilante groups throughout the state to corrupt elections, undermine responsible government, and threaten activists and public officials. Some construction union

Spartacus O'Nealnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30498924.post-73877204423842252362008-03-07T10:59:00.000-08:002008-03-07T11:32:38.587-08:00

A recent Indian Country Today editorial on tribal self-determination observed that "dependency limits strategies." In calling for increased activism to counter predations of Congress and the corporations it represents, the editors of ICT reminded me of a conversation I recently had with a class of college seniors in San Francisco. Speaking to them on the topic of applied investigative research,

Spartacus O'Nealnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30498924.post-82710031410024632342008-02-03T17:27:00.000-08:002008-02-03T17:36:43.299-08:00

In 1994, the premier human rights activist support research center in the US closed its doors due to lack of funding. At the last minute, as phones were about to be disconnected, a group of foundations stepped forward to save the day. The reason they did was because the numerous high profile activist organizations across the country, that relied on Political Research Associates for vital

Spartacus O'Nealnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30498924.post-17976066810037222232008-01-30T09:58:00.000-08:002008-01-30T10:00:52.681-08:00

For those who prefer not to slog through the blogs to find the gory details of New College’s 14-year decline into oblivion, I’ve selected what I deem the most pertinent pieces and condensed them into a handy pocket-size edition for posterity. What with hackers, disappearing urls, and blurry pdfs, I figured this might be easier on the eyes and certainly easy to share with off-line friends. For

Spartacus O'Nealnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30498924.post-48055650271437189402008-01-18T09:51:00.000-08:002008-01-18T12:49:33.079-08:00

One of the problems I've encountered in activists with a newly-found zeal for research, is the inability to distinguish between means and ends. Research in social conflict is only useful when applied. It is not an end in itself. The enthusiasm for learning in these situations must be tempered by the practical demands of the moment. As Paul de Armond observed in his paper The Road to Athena's

Spartacus O'Nealnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30498924.post-84672274697926513692008-01-17T08:56:00.000-08:002008-01-17T09:01:05.414-08:00

Determined to go down in flames, New College trustees yet again attempted to suppress a critical report from their accrediting agency. Determined to see they get their just reward for such treachery, conscientious employees once again leaked the document to students of the school. You can now read it here.

Spartacus O'Nealnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30498924.post-71372335232513167962008-01-14T13:42:00.000-08:002008-01-14T13:47:46.528-08:00

As the learning lab apparently comes to a close, it is important for the good faith participants in the New College conflict to devise a suitable exit strategy. We did good: we prevented harm, we laid down a record, we demonstrated what netwar is all about. We gave alumni/ae a place to tell their stories, and we honored those who fought to be heard. Sometimes that's all you can do.

Spartacus O'Nealnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30498924.post-52050602807084188772007-12-28T10:35:00.000-08:002008-01-13T16:59:30.329-08:00

Possibly the most intriguing story related to Public Good was the intervention at New College of California. Perhaps the most relevant, for scholars of netwar, was the Wikipedia battle to control the narrative of the institution's demise. Our network correspondents and colleagues will be happy to note the New College wikipedia entry has been restored. Public Good correspondent Holly Harwood,

Spartacus O'Nealnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30498924.post-55439526275708959582007-12-22T10:22:00.000-08:002007-12-28T11:28:21.189-08:00

As an exercise in research as an organizing tool, we suggest googling "peter gabel new college" or "linda james myers new college".

Spartacus O'Nealnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30498924.post-158489131690847752007-12-16T16:30:00.000-08:002007-12-16T16:33:56.059-08:00

Students, faculty and alumni/ae at New College of California organize petition drive against corrupt trustee.

Spartacus O'Nealnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30498924.post-44809829475173694572007-12-08T17:21:00.000-08:002007-12-08T17:34:12.218-08:00

At the risk of stating the obvious, Public Good Project has conducted public education for some time, and now offers an extensive array of essential discussions in digital format. This online repository -- freely accessible to activists, reporters and scholars -- serves to connect researchers with ideas vital to reorganizing American society. While presently limited to this informal educational

Spartacus O'Nealnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30498924.post-74866163586260584492007-11-29T20:43:00.000-08:002007-11-29T20:57:40.393-08:00

Inside Higher Ed takes another look at New College of California as it slowly slides below the surface. While disheartened undergrads struggle to stay above water absent federal loan money, law school students are taking a more practical approach, exploring what lifeboats in the form of loan forgiveness and transfer options are available before the cutoff in January. Given the school may still

Spartacus O'Nealnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30498924.post-82059887895969395542007-11-27T19:36:00.000-08:002007-11-27T20:18:17.581-08:00

If you have time to check out our recently-refurbished Public Good Project website, you'll see why we are so pleased with our volunteer of the year, Mark Gould of Photosynthesis Studio in San Francisco. Mark not only took on rebuilding our site's functionality, but made it a thing of beauty to boot. Needless to say, we are extremely grateful (and relieved) at having our files once again available

Spartacus O'Nealnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30498924.post-59554679555881448392007-11-12T11:56:00.000-08:002007-11-12T12:04:14.959-08:00

As recounted here, the two-year investigation of Western Washington University administrators by Public Good research director Paul de Armond, will likely soon be bearing fruit. Forthcoming reports will be linked in Continuity posts as well as archived at Public Good.

Spartacus O'Nealnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30498924.post-57509992599604666382007-10-29T11:46:00.000-07:002007-10-29T12:09:53.073-07:00

From its inception, the Public Good network functioned to defeat the anti-democratic movement in the US. One aspect of that work has been the exposure of the anti-Indian movement. Uncivil acts such as that passed unanimously by the Idaho legislature, show how far we have yet to go before we can say we live in a respectful society. Until that day comes, there will be a need for applied

Spartacus O'Nealnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30498924.post-19137777700167803682007-10-27T12:46:00.000-07:002007-10-27T22:40:55.627-07:00

For those who were wondering what happened after the Public Good intervention at New College of California this summer, here's the latest. As warned by the U.S. Department of Education in early August, the revenues have been cut off until the school proves it has instituted sufficient accountability to avoid further fraud. As we predicted, the school failed to forewarn incoming students of the

Spartacus O'Nealnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30498924.post-5563459758178819442007-10-20T13:33:00.000-07:002007-10-20T13:34:30.653-07:00

While there is much to be said for studying the usefulness of the network form in confronting corrupt institutions, it is good to keep in mind that networks are only as good or effective as the people who comprise them. A good example of this premise is when the Public Good network collaborated with the CWIS network to expose a transnational criminal network involved in trafficking women for

Spartacus O'Nealnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30498924.post-8638721458403714322007-10-10T14:03:00.000-07:002007-10-10T14:25:01.092-07:00

If you haven't checked out the Dailies listed in the sidebar in a while, Jay Taber is now writing a regular column for Fourth World Eye. Like Fourth World Journal, FWE provides geopolitical perspectives unavailable elsewhere. With the advent of this weblog, readers can now interact directly with the Center for World Indigenous Studies associate scholars. And while you're at it, you can follow the

Spartacus O'Nealnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30498924.post-73922673085252682272007-10-07T17:10:00.000-07:002007-10-08T12:01:50.815-07:00

If you've found that some of the links on Public Good aren't working yet, that's because we're in the middle of rebuilding the site. Maybe one of the links in the sidebar here on Continuity will interest you while you're waiting. (They include some of the best from Public Good.) We should have everything else up and running soon. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Spartacus O'Nealnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30498924.post-81759563174741674542007-10-03T16:17:00.000-07:002007-10-03T16:24:08.310-07:00

Political Research Associates has made the dirt on homophobic, anti-semitic demagogue Lyndon LaRouche downloadable. Make extra copies of this flyer for the next time you see his cult followers recruiting in your town. Become a bigot buster in no time.

Spartacus O'Nealnoreply@blogger.com