An alternative to capitalism working its way into every corner of society – the story of the commons

Media Education Foundation recently released a new documentary titled "This Land is Our Land." The video is critical of fair market fundamentalism, arguing that the idea of "the public commons" is fundamental to America's past successes. "We forget what the commons is and why it matters." Air, water, government research, community garden, public forests, public libraries, the G.I. Bill, material protected by only limited copyright and the public airwaves. Some states named themselves "commonwealths." The idea of the commons has been with us forever. Even Babylon had nature preserves. "This Land is Our Land," narrated by David Bollier, offers dozens of examples of the importance of the commons. The idea of public property is critically important: "We have a moral personal connection with it." Yet those who dare to honor this age-old idea of the commons now face blistering allegations that they are communists, or at least socialists.  Bollier runs a website titled "On the Commons."   At that site you can read a well written article titled, "Why the Commons Matters Right Now." What is hard to miss is that recognizing the importance of the commons is often not convenient to corporate interests. Especially amazing is the section of the documentary discussing the fact that, according to a law from the mid-1800s, companies have, with out any payment reaped great profits from public lands. What we have today is the "enclosure of the commons," the process by which the commons is clawed back from The People. A prime example is the fact that huge telecoms are currently working hard to gain control over the Internet, incrementally winning the battle over those who are fighting for net neutrality (And see this speech by Senator Al Franken). Perhaps the most salient part of the documentary is the opening story about Jonas Salk, who refused to apply for a patent on his polio vaccine. When Edward Murrow asked him, "Who owns this patent?", Salk replied, "No one. Could you patent the sun?." Those with possible interest in purchasing,"The Land is Our Land," can view a low-res version of the entire documentary here.

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Steely Dan – Kid Charlemagne

When I'm finished with the difficult parts writing a long legal brief, when I'm the only one still at the office and all that remains is tidying things up and cite-checking, I am only then able to listen to music while working. At these my very late night sessions at the office, I often crave tight driving jazz/rock with excellent musicians. Steely Dan fits the bill, especially when I crank up my modest little office stereo. I'm referring to the music of Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, of course. If you haven't heard the two "new" CD's of Steely Dan, ("Two Against Nature" and "Everything Must Go"), you're in for a treat. This tune, "Kid Charlemagne," is from one of the group's earlier works, but this is a terrific performance in a studio-like setting. And speaking of excellent musicians, check out the guitar playing:

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Flavor network map, and more exotic maps

Edge.org is featuring a wonderful collection of maps, including this Flavor Network by Yong-Yeol_Ahn, a postdoctoral researcher for the Center for Complex Network Research at Northeastern University (click for a high res view that will allow you to explore). Or consider this map of the oldest words in our lexicon, by Mark Pagel, Professor of Evolutionary Biology at Reading University, England. And consider this map illustrating path dependence, a 1901 map of the Internet. Many more maps to see here, courtesy of Edge.

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