It’s June 27th, I’m Gina Telaroli and this is TakePart.com’s look at the week in social action

The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is a compilation of the week’s most notable stories from our entertainment-meets-social-action blogging network. Check out some of our most popular stories of the week, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites!

Nicole Hughes:

U.S. Media Ignores Link Between Midwest Floods and Global Warming

Top 10 Houseplants for Removing Indoor Air Pollution

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Andy Kondrat:

Dubai to Build Rotating Positive Energy Tower

Bioethicist Peter Singer Tackles World Food Shortage

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Jon Popham:

Americacorps Workers Assist Flood Ravaged Town

Australians “Out-Fat” Americans

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Giulia Rozzi:

Progressive Book Club

Oprah Recommends “A New Earth”

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Gina Telaroli:

Human Rights Watch 2008 Film Festival Update

SilverDocs 2008 Update

So the first week of Human Rights Watch is almost over so if you’re in NYC, catch something while you still can. I’ll be posting reviews of the remaining films in the next few days before they screen so keep checking back. Each film’s screening times will be listed and I’ll leave a schedule of reviews to come here.

Also in case you’re just tuning in now, here’s a little refresher on what’s already played:

• Human Rights Watch 08 : Calle Santa Fe
• Human Rights Watch 08 : The Beytrayal (Nerakhoon)
• Human Rights Watch 08 : American Outrage
• Human Rights Watch 08 : A Promise to the Dead

Here’s what’s ahead:

• Under the Bombs : http://filmlinc.com/wrt/onsale/hrw08/underthebombs.html
• The Sari Soldiers : http://filmlinc.com/wrt/onsale/hrw08/thesarisoldiers.html
• Traces of the Trade : http://www.filmlinc.com/wrt/onsale/hrw08/tracesofthetrade.html
• Letter to Anna : http://www.filmlinc.com/wrt/onsale/hrw08/lettertoanna.html

After all is said and done I’ll post a comprehensive piece full of Takepart links that will let you connect to the issues in the film!

American Outrage (Beth Gage & George Gage, USA, 2007; 56m )

screening : Sat Jun 14: 4:15 and Mon Jun 16: 1:30 & 9

American Outrage focuses on the Dann sisters and their fight to keep their Western Shoshone lands. In 1863, the Shoshone signed a treaty with the US allowing them to pass on their lands. That treaty, The Treaty of Ruby Valley, was a treaty of good faith and in no way signified that the Shoshone were giving up their lands. However, in 1974, Mary and Carrie Dann, elderly Shoshone grandmothers, found themselves accused of trespassing on their own land. The lengths that the government went to to remove the Dann sisters and their livestock from their property is astounding.

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The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is a compilation of the week’s most notable stories from our entertainment-meets-social-action blogging network. Check out some of our most popular stories of the week, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites!

Katie Halper:

Debra Winger and Rights Camera Action!

James Byrd Jr. and the Struggle for Tolerance

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Nicole Hughes:

Green Video of the Week: 5 Tips for Reducing Your Garbage

The Week in Green Politics

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Andy Kondrat:

Disappearing Destinations: Visit Before They Vanish

Chuck Norris Wants America to Start Drilling for Oil Here and Now!

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Jon Popham:

NASA Plans Voyage to the Sun

The Girl Effect

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Giulia Rozzi:

Gay Discrimination at Seattle Baseball Game

Bison Brucellosis

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Gina Telaroli:

Fathers Day Celebration of Movie Dads #1

My Father’s Gift of Tecumseh!

I was a pretty lucky kid. I grew up with a father who had an interest in Native American history. And despite the inherent contradiction that my father also influenced me to be an avid Cleveland Indians fan, I’ve always been thankful that he brought an awareness of Native American history into my life. We would go on cross country trips out west and when I was about 14 we drove on down to Southern Ohio to see what remains my favorite theater experience to this day, Tecumseh!. The play was based on one of my father’s favorite books, Allan W. Eckert’s A Sorrow in Our Heart: The Life of Tecumseh.

Tecumseh! is about the tragic Shawnee chief of the same name and is told in what I remember to be a breathtaking outdoor amphitheater with real horses and gunpowder. It was awe-inspiring, even for a fourteen year old who thought she was too cool to go on vacation with her family. And while I’m sure my critical thoughts on the piece are influenced by my age and ignorance of all things theater at that time, I think I can safely say that the story was amazing, the tragedy of which has always stayed with me.

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