We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore LappĂ©, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

China's netizens pressure Beijing

A 3:16m video.


The Chinese government is feeling threatened by citizen bloggers ("netizens") who criticize too much. In the US the ruling class has much more experience and skills in imposing there will on the public. They are attempting to use more indirect means of controlling internet content. See this, this, and this.

Bloggers arise, you have nothing to lose but your access to the internet! 
at