Participant Media presents entertainment that inspires and compels social change. Behind these films and issues, there are thousands of people nationwide who work tirelessly on campaigns that use the films as inspiration to make a difference. As a member of the company’s Social Action team, which develops initiatives that are inspired by the films, I’m excited to announce the first posting of a weekly blog of Sarah’s Social Action Snapshot, which will offer the latest updates on our campaigns and offer specific actions and tools, from our campaigns, for people to get involved in issues in the news.

Food, Inc.
Do you want to know about rGBH dairy, issues facing small farmers or organic yogurt? If so, check out our recent online chats with some of the leading food advocacy organizations from our campaign and Stonyfield Yogurt.

We learned this week that obesity rates continue to climb with an expected 103 million Americans to be obese by 2018. Scary? Yes. Preventable? Yes. Take action by supporting menu labeling and check out our campaign’s 10 tips for healthy eating.

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On June 20, 2009, while Tehran was engulfed with the flames of protest and political upheaval following its much contested presidential election, a young woman in her mid twenties got out of her car to observe the demonstrations which she hoped to be a part of.

Without warning this bright young person was shot dead by government agents seeking to quell the near revolution-level dissent that was spreading across the Iranian Republic. That young woman was Neda Agha-Soltan, an aspiring singer/musician who was compelled to join the sea of her countrymen calling for the government mandated “results” of the political contest be overturned. Read the rest of this entry >>

Tonight on PBS’s Frontline they explore the recent conflict in Iran and the death of the Iranian protester named Neda with a piece called A Death in Tehran.  From the PBS website:

FRONTLINE investigates the life and death of the woman whose image remains a potent symbol for those who want to keep the reform movement alive. The film also explores a number of unanswered questions in the aftermath of the greatest upheaval in Iran since the 1979 revolution: How many were arrested and killed as the security forces attempted to contain the growing protest movement? To what extent was the presidential vote manipulated? What is the future of the movement that seems to have been silenced?

It sounds like an amazing and inspiring piece of journalism.  It airs tonight at 9pm in most places and a trailer for the show is below. Read the rest of this entry >>

Leave it to SNL to open their show with a skit that hit so close to home that I couldn’t even laugh at it.   Their opener this week featured Joe Biden in the oval office preaching about getting something done before Obama returned to the White House so he could win some praise. His options were to fix Afghanistan, fix the economy or pass a health care bill. The sketch below makes the point that it seems The White House are happy to pass any healthcare bill, no matter what it includes–which is frankly too depressing for me to find the humor in, despite Jason Sudeikis’s wonderful Joe Biden impression. Especially upsetting was the part about giving any Republican willing to cross party lines the ability to add anything on to the bill that they would like.

In the third suicide bombing along the Pakistan border since Saturday, twenty people died and 45 were wounded on Wednesday when a suicide bomber drove his car into a donkey cart in Islamabad, Pakistan. At least 40 people have died in the bombings.

According to the Washington Post, “The latest bombings, all carried out against nonmilitary targets, highlight the human cost of Pakistan’s decision to launch a major army offensive against one of the Taliban’s main tribal strongholds.”  Violence has spread to densely populated areas nearby. Read the rest of this entry >>

opendemocracy's Flickr photostream/Creative Commons

Somali pirates continue to be a major threat to maritime traffic in the Gulf of Aiden, and while some efforts to deter the attackers have been successful, experts argue that the only long-term and effective way to combat piracy is by addressing the humanitarian crisis that is driving Somalis to commit crimes on the high seas.

A preventative strategy makes great sense to me, considering their are only finite resources to protect passing vessels, and by addressing poverty and lawlessness in the region will have a much more positive and lasting effect on peace.

Recently Somali pirates carried out the longest-range attack to date on an oil tanker, and while the ship was able to escape by using evasive maneuvers, a cargo ship loaded with weapons was taken by the pirates.  With twelve attacks occurring in the last month alone, including at least nine ships and 100 people still held captive, the it’s abundantly clear that new strategies are need to combat the maritime threat.  Read the rest of this entry >>

A few months ago I wrote about Operation Free, a growing group of U.S. veterans advocating for a clean energy future and climate legislation, so in honor of Veteran’s Day I wanted to share with you a video of some of the organization’s members touring the country by bus to raise awareness of the threat that these issues pose to national security.

As we reflect upon the sacrifices made by those who have served in the United States armed services this Veteran’s Day, we should also consider how we can help those who are currently serving.  By telling Congress to support renewable clean energy and to pass legislation to combat climate change, we can help minimize the likelihood that service members will have to intervene in climate-related disasters or conflicts over oil, water and other natural resources.  Watch the video below to hear first hand the importance of supporting clean energy and use the Act section to find out how you can support the veterans of Operation Free:  Read the rest of this entry >>

The American Red Cross and Pitney Bowes, Inc. areonce again inviting Americans to “send a touch of home” to United States service members and veterans across the country and abroad through their Holiday Mail for Heroes program. Over 1.4 million men and women serve in the U.S. armed forces and over 24 million veterans have served in the past. Show these service members that you are grateful for the work they’ve done by giving one of them a holiday greeting card. Check out this video:

So celebrate Veterans Day today by sending your holiday cards to:
Holiday Mail for Heroes
P.O. Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456

Cards must be sent before December 7th.

It seems Mexico’s drug war has become so outrageously violent that the Mexican media has created words to describe the scene. These new words are used to describe drug-related acts ranging from “being dumped in the trunk of a car” to “the hand-scrawled notes hit men leave with the bodies of their victims.” Here are few of terms, as collected by Ken Ellingwood for the Los Angeles Times:

Encajuelado: Based on the word for “trunk,” a body dumped in the trunk of a car. This is a common method for disposing of victims of a drug hit. Often, the bodies are bound and gagged with packing tape or are encobijados, wrapped in blankets. Sometimes they are accompanied by a handwritten narcomensaje.

Narcomensaje: A scrawled drug message, often rambling or peppered with misspellings. Such missives are typically meant to threaten rival drug cartels or government security forces. Messages sometimes take the form of banners, known as narcomantas, and are hung from bridges or in other public places to demonstrate a gang’s audacity.

Narco-zoologicos/narco-zoos: collections of exotic animals that, for some reason, are collectors’ items for traffickers)

For the full narco-glossary, click here.