I stayed up till 2AM last night cranking out little half inch Anarkon lapel buttons. My housemate was able to get her hands on an industrial grade cast-iron button presser and we bulk ordered supplies together. As can be seen they turned out pretty well and I did them in a number of options. I also did a few of the logo for the “signature / advanced series” product line I’m hoping to develop next semester. Once again if you’re interested in having one of these send me an email and I’ll see what I can do.

Just finished William Gibson’s cyberpunk masterpiece, Neuromancer. This was a first time for me and I loved it. The novel covers artificial intelligence, virtual reality, genetic engineering, and of course multinational corporations overpowering the traditional nation-state of the future. Written in 1984, this book was WAY ahead of it’s time and a recommended read for anyone who hasn’t yet. A quick glance at the cover should give you an idea of the awesomeness of its contents.

On the 27th I attended the San Francisco Iraq War protest. This was my first “major” protest on the West Coast and it was great to be apart of. The March started at the Civic Center and proceeded down market to Octavia and ended in Dolores Park. I brought my camera and took photos and, of course, participated. Aside from it being a good experience I got some good inspiration for my project in the process.

At the initial rally I ended up picking up quite a bit of flyers, handouts and what-have-you. One group I talked to was the Party for Socialism and Liberation who will be hosting a discussion about the 1917 Russion Revolution this Friday (November 2nd) at 7pm at 2489 Mission Street which I’m planning on attending.

The below photos are of (1) some students in the crowd who had made their own signs and (2) the “die-in” on Octavia.

A friend of mine sent me this link to a This American Life episode from 2004, about the price fixing conspiracy at the food company Archer Daniels Midland, and the executive who cooperated with the FBI in recording over 250 hours of secret video and audio tapes, it what was probably the most remarkable set of recordings ever made of an American company in the middle of a criminal act. Makes you wonder how often this stuff happens without our the public knowing. Definitely worth a listen.

If you live in San Francisco or pretty much any other major city in the states, get out today and protest the war in Iraq. www2.oct27.org

In listening to the morning news today on NPR I heard a report on oil giant British Petroleum. It recently received 370 million in fines in their U.S. operations. Based on a series of problems. In 2005 an explosion at a Texas City, Texas oil refinery killed 15 and injured hundreds. BP pleaded guilty to not having required safety programs at the time of the blast. In another incident a lack of supervision of its Alaska pipeline operation severely corroded pipes causing a 5,000 oil spill near Prudhoe Bay. The company also admits to 2 different illegal trading incidents from 2002 to 2004.

In todays New York Times there’s a little pullout section (it’s an advertisement) entitled, Corporate Social Responsibility. It outlines how some major corporations are making attempts to be more socially responsible and more sustainable in a marketplace where those things are becoming more and more important to the consumer . I’m still not sure who is paying for the ad but both Conoco Phillips and Shell have large ad’s within the ad. If you haven’t seen it yet check it out. They talk a little bit on the last page about the outdoor active were company Nau who is doing some pretty forward thinking  things with there “retail spaces” and general approach to business.

I just finished reading Ted Nace’s Gangs of America in which he outlines the history and rise of corporate power in the United States. In the closing chapters he examines alternatives to the existing paradigm and suggests what might be done in order to change the current dynamics which include:

1. Revoking the doctrine of corporate constitutional rights.
2. Curbing corporate quasi-rights as appropriate, e.g. requiring corporations to renew their charters every 5 years.
3. Banning corporations from political activity.
4. Shoring up the boundaries of “noncorporate” spaces in society,e.g. prohibiting advertising aimed at children.
5. Expanding the scope of working and customer rights.
6. Strengthening countervailing institutions especially unions.
7. Promoting noncorporate institutions like public schools and economic forms like municipal utilities, family farms, consumer cooperatives, and employee-run enterprises.

As part of my research for this project I’ve subscribed to Forbes Magazine as well as some other choice corporate oriented periodicals. So far I’ve found it both interesting and depressing, and a little difficult to digest at times. One example is an article in this months edition entitled, “The Next Fat Pill.” Subtitle reads, “Does Arena Pharmaceuticals have a new blockbuster obesity drug, or another health hazard like fen-phen?”

The article starts out talking about how with so many obese people in the U.S. appetite suppression drugs can be a money maker too big to ignore and how Arena Pharmaceuticals is attempting to tap into the market with a drug, currently in testing, called Lorcaserin. The drug has been delayed to assure that heart side-effects (Lorcaserin is a descendant of Redux) aren’t an issue and there won’t be a repeat of past health issues related to diet drugs (all the disclaimers during new drug commercials are there for a reason).

The strange thing about this and other articles in Forbes is that they are all very objective and seem to have been underwritten by each company’s PR people (I never read anything bad about the companies mentioned). I guess this makes sense but after reading magazine like YES, Adbusters, and Good the voice of the magazine is so different (again obviously) and even celebratory in a way that I haven’t encountered before.

I just got back from opening night at the anti-corporate film festival put on by Counter Corp. They screened two short films having to do with copyright law before showing the world premiere of a documentary called Freedom of Expression which is a film that explores the battle being waged in court, the media industry, academia, and on the Internet between people and corporations for control over the cultural commons. They talked to a number of different people on the subject one of which was the founder of Stay Free magazine who curates a show of artwork that makes use of copyrighted material. Because the show is “educational,” the work can legally be shown without fear of a lawsuit.

If you live in the bay area I would definitely recommend supporting Counter Corp by attending any number of the great documentaries going on all weekend