LEFT IN EAST DAKOTA

When your country is supporting death squads in Indonesia and a brutal Ethiopian government that forces civilians into war , it can be quite therapeutic to crank up the tunes and forget about the world for a bit. I am in love with music. I have been since a child. Unfortunately, unlike my supremely talented contemporary gospel singing mother, I am much more comfortable listening to music than making it. The following are my picks for the top ten albums of 2007. I only chose from albums that I own, so I am positive I am missing out on quite a bit of great music. Please, let me know of that brilliant album you can't stop listening to! (Click on the band name to hear some music.) 10. Papercuts - Can't Go Back Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful pop music! What makes Can't Go Back so special is that it is a somewhat somber pop record that isn't at all boring. If I remember correctly, they are slated to begin touring with another wonderfully moody band, Beach House. Definitel

The following was sent to the local "alternative" newspaper. Despite the sizable Somali population in the Fargo- Moorhead area, there has been little to no coverage of the U.S. backed destruction of Somalia. I am aware that only loony bastards write "letters to the editor," but I am kind of a loony bastard, so it works out. According to the United Nations, the situation in Somalia is the worst humanitarian crisis in all of Africa . In the last two weeks 100,000 people have fled Mogadishu , the capital of the country. It is estimated that 1.5 million Somalis are now in need of immediate assistance. Despite all this, coverage of the situation has been absent from nearly all national, and local, news outlets. One can’t help but think that the United States ’ involvement in the catastrophe is one reason why the media has been so silent on the issue. The US fervently backed the Ethiopian invasion, the installment of the unpopular warlord-led Transitional Federal Gove

I don't know how many local readers I get, but if you are in the F-M area, you should check this out. I would very much like to meet up with some like-minded locals. The following is from the Hands off Venezuela Campaign. F-M Premiere of "No Volveran !" A new film on the Venezuelan Revolution What: A public meeting of the F-M Hands Off Venezuela Campaign When: Tuesday, October 2 at 6:30 pm Where: Unitarian Universalist Church of Fargo- Moorhead (community room) 121 9 th Street South Fargo, ND 58103 The Hands Off Venezuela Campaign is proud to announce a new film on the Venezuelan Revolution. Filmed during an international delegation to Venezuela during last year's historic Presidential elections, the film makers take us on a journey through the fervor of those days in December 2006, traveling deep into the shanty towns ( barrios ), and to several factories under workers' control, to find out why there is a movement to overthrow ca