The group of 6 Americans, including Alive in Baghdad’s Brian Conley and artists James Powderly, that were detained in Beijjing last week have been released and were put on a plane home.

According to Students for a Free Tibet (SFT) - “James Powderly, Brian from Alive in Baghdad, and everyone else all arrive at LAX around 6 or 7pm tonight,” A group of Tibetan expatriates and pro-Tibet activists plan to greet them at the airport and welcome them home.”  This was released yesterday, so everyone should be safe and sound now.

This is good news, although it’s sad that the artists and documentarians didn’t get to voice their opinions. takepart to get involved with Students for a Free Tibet and watch an episode of Alive in Baghdad below:

Students For A Free Tibet announced yesterday that, along with 4 other “citizen journalists”, Brian Conley, creator of the amazing video blog series Alive in Baghdad, was detained in Beijing. Conley and his friend Jeffrey Rae were in Beijing to work with Students for a Free Tibet to document pro-Tibet protests in Beijing.

Not only were Conley and Rae detained, international artist James Powderly has also been taken in and activists Jeff Goldin, Michael Liss, and Tom Grant have also gone missing. They are all American citizens.

Below is some video taken by Conley on August 13th:

Beijing: Ethnic Park Protest - Aug. 13, 2008 from Students for a Free Tibet on Vimeo.

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Today in Wikincubate, the ever-expanding encyclopedia of ways to engage with socially-conscious issues:

Fuel efficiency multimedia

Sex education multimedia

Including this MAD TV satire of a 1977 sex education film (featuring Avril Lavigne):

Free Tibet multimedia

Foster care multimedia

Antisemitism multimedia

1) A Nomad’s Life from Media that Matters

For the Cinema YouTube Video of the Day, Click here>>>

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Things don’t seem to be getting any better in China as a deadly riot broke out on Saturday In Beijing.

A peaceful monk-dominated demonstration gave way to angry looting/arson/chaos/etc. over the past few days, and now the streets of Lhasa are full of tanks and teargas and fires. [Jezebel]

The chaos is being blamed on many including followers of the Dalai Lama which China accused of “masterminding the uprising, which shatters its carefully-cultivated image of national harmony in the build-up to the Beijing Olympic Games.”

One of those “followers” is Bjork who, last month shouted “ËœTibet, Tibet’ after singing her song “Declare Independence” at a concert in Shanghai. The Chinese Culture Ministry said her actions “broke Chinese law and hurt Chinese people’s feelings.”

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Combining literature, theatre and music, a group of passionate folks are trying to promote a non-violent and healthy world.

Circle of Health International (COHI) is an international non-governmental organization that seeks to empower women’s health care professionals in crisis settings. Founded in 2004, COHI currently works in Louisiana, Israel/Palestine, Tanzania, Tibet, Sri Lanka, and Sudan.COHI operates on the tenets of consensus-based decision-making, non-violence, and the grassroots model of social change.

On March 26th a group of New York based artists and activists will produce a performance of A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant, and a Prayer to support COHI’s efforts. Edited by V-day founder Eve Ensler, A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant, and a Prayer features pieces from “Until the Violence Stops,” the international tour that brings the issue of violence against women and girls to the forefront of our consciousness. The collection includes pieces by Maya Angelou, Kathy Najimy,Edward Albee, Alice Walker and many more.

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