Steal This Book

Steal This Book is the title of a book written by Abbie Hoffman, co-founder of the Youth International Party known as the Yippees, which was published in 1971. Hoffman campaigned vigorously against the Vietnam War, and in his autobiography Soon to Be a Major Motion Picture, he described himself as anarchist.

His book advocates rebelling against authority in all its forms, including the government and big corporations. It contains practical advice on such topics as growing marijuana, starting a pirate radio station, living in a commune, stealing food and shoplifting, preparing a legal defense, making pipe bombs, and even how to obtaining a free buffalo from the US government. The book discusses various tactics for fighting, and there is a list of affordable and easy ways to find weapons and armour to use in any confrontation with the police.

Many bookstores refused to carry the book. They were afraid that some people would take the book's title literally. Even today, it is still very hard to find the book in public libraries probably for the same reason. The latest paperback edition was published in 2002 and you can get it at www.amazon.com.

Reflecting on the success of the book, the author said, "It's embarrassing when you try to overthrow the government and you wind up on the Best Seller's List".

Much of the information in the book is now completely out of date; and some would now be seen as encouraging international terrorism. But what the book does is capture the mood of a generation that has long since passed.

The influence of the Yippees is still around through such things as “culture jamming” and “subvertising”; and there are parallels between the Vietnam war which mobilized a generation to speak out and the growing revulsion against the Iraq war of today. The Yippees still exist as a small movement whose main concern now is to see marijuana legalised. In 2004, they were able to purchased their 9 Bleeker Street headquarters which they have converted into the Yippie Museum Cafe. If you are ever in New York, pay it a visit, have a cup of coffee and think about the consumer culture and what we can do to rein it in.


Borrow this book

The internet also provides you with a way of sharing your books… through BookCrossing:

“Our goal, simply, is to make the whole world a library. BookCrossing is a book exchange of infinite proportion, the first and only of its kind.”

There must be a book which you have really enjoyed or found particularly useful, which you would like others to read. Maybe this is gathering dust on your bookshelf. So, take it off the shelf, write some comments about what you like about it and why others should read it in the inside front cover. Then go to the BookCrossing website, register the book and follow the instructions. You will then leave the book somewhere for someone else to find it, read it and then pass it on to someone else. You will be track the progress of your book as it travels the world on the BookCrossing website.

The process is really very simple. These are the “Three R’s of BookCrossing”:

R1: Read a good book… a book that you would recommend to others.

R2: Register the book with BookCrossing. First you log in your details. This takes a couple of minutes. You will be given a BookCrossing identification number and the URL of the BookCrossing website.

Label the book with these references, and put a note asking the reader to pass it on after they’ve finished reading it. You can download printed labels from the BookCrossing website.

R3: Release the book for someone else to read. There are three ways of doing this. You can give it to a friend. You can leave it somewhere for someone to pick up – on a park bench, in a coffee shop, etc. Or you can release it “into the wild”, when people can search for it. The BookCrossing website enables you to say you have left it or give clues to help people find it.

Then wait and see what happens. You will be joining 589,357 other people in over 130 countries who have shared their passion for a particular book with the world.

BookCrossing: www.bookcrossing.com


Go Kindling

“Kindling” is the term used for small strips of wood used to start a fire. You can now “Kindle” your books without having to burn them!

Kindle is a new electronic reading device developed by Amazon.com, where you can download books wirelessly in a matter of seconds. It has these features:
• Its electronic-paper display provides a sharp, high-resolution screen that looks and reads like real paper.
• It is simple to use – no computer, no cables, just press a button.
• Its wireless connectivity enables you to purchase electronic books from Amazon wherever you are – whether you’re in the back of a taxi, at the airport, or in bed.
• You just buy the book and it is delivered wirelessly to your Kindle in less than one minute and at a good saving on the printed version.
• More than 110,000 books are available, including many current best sellers.
• You can download free book samples, and read a chapter or two before you decide to buy.
• You can also get a selection of leading newspapers and magazines, and more than 250 leading blogs on business, technology, sports, entertainment, and politics. It also includes free wireless access to Wikipedia.
• It is lighter and thinner than a typical paperback – weighing just 10.3 ounces and holding over 200 titles.
• It has a long battery life. It needs to be recharged approximately every other day if left on continuously; or if the wireless is turned off, you can read for a week or more before needing to recharge. Recharging takes two hours.
• Unlike WiFi, Kindle uses the same high-speed data transmission system as advanced cell phones. You can download from anywhere, and you don’t need to go to a hotspot.
• You can e-mail Word documents and pictures in JPG, GIF, BMP or PNG format to Kindle for easy on-the-go viewing.

At he moment, Kindle is only available for delivery n the USA. It costs $399. Since there are no printing or distribution costs, this method of selling books to readers has the potential to transform the book industry.

Find out more and watch the video at: www.amazon.com

Be inspired by film

Pangea Day is a global event which will bring the world together through film. It takes place starting at 18:00 GMT on 10th May 2008. Public locations in Cairo, Kigali, Jerusalem, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, and Rio de Janeiro will be linked for a live programme of films, music and visionary speeches, which will be broadcast in seven languages to millions of people worldwide through the internet, television and mobile phones.

Twenty-four short films will be shown which were selected through an international competition which generated more than 2,500 submissions from over 100 countries. The films were chosen based on their ability to inspire, transform, and allow us see the world through another person's eyes. The programme will also include contributions from such “luminaries” as Queen Noor of Jordan, CNN broadcaster Christiane Amanpour and Live8 activist Bob Geldof.

Thousands of people across the world are organising their own local “Friends of Pangea Day” event. These will be held in people’s homes and backyards, in schools and offices, in cinemas, outdoors in parks and on public beaches, and even in a Bedouin camp.

What you can do to support Pangea Day: You can sign up to organise your own public or private screening; or you can attend one of the events being held near you (check these out on the Pangea website); or you can view the programme which is being streamed from the Pangea website.

Pangea Day was created by award-winning Egyptian-American documentary filmmaker Jehane Noujaim as her 2006 TED Prizewinning wish in collaboration with TED and Nokia.

Pangea Day: www.pangeaday.org
Jehane Noujaim: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehane_Noujaim

Be inspired by ideas

TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It was started in 1984 to bring together people from those three worlds for creative interaction. TED is a global network of people from every discipline and culture with two things in common – they are looking for a deeper understanding of the world, and they hope to turn that understanding into a better future for all of us.

TED’s annual conference brings together some of the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are given 18 minutes to present their ideas and inspire the audience.

The TED website has an archive of 200 talks, and more are being added all the time. These videos are released under a Creative Commons license, so they can be freely shared.

The TED Prize which was launched in 2005 is awarded annually to three exceptional individuals who each receive $100,000 and the granting of "One Wish to Change the World”. After several months of preparation, they unveil their wish at an award ceremony which is held during the TED Conference. These wishes then lead on to collaborative initiatives with far-reaching impact.

TED is now run by IT magazine entrepreneur Chris Anderson, who acquired it from its founders in 2000 via his New York-based Sapling Foundation which aims to foster the spread of great ideas and provide a platform for the world’s smartest thinkers.

These are the TED Prizewinners for 2008 and their wishes. Go to the TED Prize website to find out how their wishes are being turned into practice.

Karen Armstrong: "… the creation, launch and propagation of a Charter for Compassion, crafted by a group of leading inspirational thinkers from the three Abrahamic traditions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam and based on the fundamental principles of universal justice and respect."

Dave Eggers: “… you personally and every creative individual and organization you know to find a way of directly engaging with a public school in your area and that you'll then tell the story of how you got involved, so that within a year we have 1,000 examples of innovative partnerships."

Neil Turok: “… to unlock and nurture scientific talent across Africa, so that within our lifetimes we are celebrating an African Einstein."

Find out how these prizewinners with the support of TED are making these dreams come true.

How to support the spread of ideas through TED
1. Spread ideas. Email your favorite TED talks, speakers and themes to other people. There's a link on each page that enables you to do this easily.
2. Join the conversation. Add your own comments to TED's discussion pages.
3. Host a TED session at work, perhaps a lunch break. This might inspire out-of-the-box thinking.
4. Host a TED salon at your home. Invite half a dozen people around for an evening to listen to two or three talks and then engage in discussion.
5. Use TED Talks as a classroom resource, if you're a teacher.
6. Post a TED Talk on your blog or website, if it particularly interests you.
7. Make a contribution to the Sapling Foundation.

And if you have an idea for spreading TED ideas, then write in with your suggestion. If you have a powerful idea of your own that you'd like to share with the world, record it and send it to us.

If you do any of the above with exciting results, tell us about it. Others can learn from your experience.

TED: www.ted.com
The TED Prize: www.tedprize.org