I watched a great film that I am excited about tonight. It's called The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil. I recommend it highly to those of you who are interested in community solutions to the problem of depleting global energy resources, and sustainability.

You may have already seen the film, it was released in May 2006. It's about the transition Cuba was forced to make in 1990 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. You see, the U.S.S.R. provided a heaping amount of trade to Cuba, and when it collapsed, Cuba's GDP plummeted to 34% of its pre-collapse level. The Cuban people were faced with some very hard times - and some massive challenges. What changes did they make and how did they make them?

The film explains a lot of what happened. It's a sweet film. And it's a great window on what many important aspects of moving toward a truly sustainable society could look like.

Our wonderful City of Olympia has sustainability as one of its foremost resolutions and goals. This is something which I am sure the majority of us endorse. This film has much to offer: education, knowledge, wisdom, the experience of others: we can learn from the journey of Cuba and the Cuban people, for example - to conserve and to implement local solutions to global problem of finite and depleted energy reserves.

Find out more information, including a 2 minute trailer, at the Power of Community film-information-website: The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil Documentary - Welcome!

Although the video is for sale, it can be found for free on Google. I also posted it to my other blog: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil.

Interesting and informative news article:

Chinese Muslims Ordered Released From Guantanamo

By Del Quentin Wilber
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 8, 2008; A01

A federal judge yesterday ordered a small band of Chinese Muslims being held at the Guantanamo Bay military prison released into the United States by Friday, rejecting the Bush administration's contention that it could detain them indefinitely without cause.

It was the first time a U.S. judge has ordered the release of a Guantanamo Bay detainee, and the first time a foreign national held at the facility in Cuba has been ordered transferred to the United States.

U.S. District Judge Ricardo M. Urbina issued his ruling in dramatic fashion from the bench in a packed courtroom, saying he was ordering the release of 17 Uighurs because the government provided no proof that they were enemy combatants or security risks. Under the order, the men will live with Uighur families in the Washington area until a more permanent situation can be found.

...

On March 21, Olympia gets the opportunity to see Gloria La Riva. She is the coordinator of the National Committee to Free the Cuban Five and presidential candidate of the Party for Socialism and Liberation. She will speak at Media Island (816 Adams St., across from the downtown Timberland library) on the current economic and political situation in Cuba and to update the community of the struggle to Free the Cuban Five, serving unjust sentences in U.S. prisons.