Creative-i

Raising Funds for History Commons 2.0

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The History Commons is beginning to work towards some dramatic upgrades in the website, including revamping the web application, and adding much more content and information. These changes will, we trust, make the History Commons a much more effective resource for you and your fellow users. While you may not see the results of these changes for some time, they will, when finished, completely transform the site to make it far more usable and comprehensive. To help move this process forward, we need your financial support like never before. We accept donations through PayPal, credit cards, and personal checks. We sincerely appreciate all you do to make the History Commons a viable resource for information and citizen activism.

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You can help steer the transformation of the History Commons by making your comments and observations on the History Commons blog. Over the next few weeks, we will begin polling our users to determine what they want to see in the new and improved “History Commons 2.0.” You are a valuable part of the History Commons, and we want to know what you think. Post to us on the History Commons blogs–the links are below. Thanks again.

5 Projects Active
Some History Commons contributors are taking some well-earned vacation time, but there’s plenty to peruse this week. Rye updates the Afghanistan conflict, Matt continues to profile the events during the 9/11 attacks, Blackmax adds material on US torture of prisoners and Sonia Sotomayor, and more. The Afghanistan and Prisoner Abuse projects promise to be particularly lively in the upcoming week.

War in Afghanistan
Operation Khanjar
Rye gives us a trio of entries, two focusing on “Operation Khanjar” and a third detailing a dire warning issued by a former UN official. Read more.

Complete 9/11 Project
Day of 9/11
Matt continues to add vital information about the day of the attacks. Read more.

Prisoner Abuse and Torture
Jesuit warnings and SERE techniques
Blackmax provides over a dozen entries documenting a variety of events, from a 17th-century Jesuit warning of the falsity of confessions obtained through torture, to a Texas sheriff jailed for waterboarding prisoners, to more on the SERE program and its recreation as a template for torture. Read more.

Civil Liberties
Seizing power for the executive branch
Blackmax documents three more incidents from the Bush administration’s attempt to wrest power for the executive branch. Read more.

Domestic Propaganda
Sotomayor and VNRs
Blackmax adds several entries on Republicans backing away from criticizing Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, and adds a series on the Bush administration’s use of VNRs as propaganda. Bet you’ve seen more than one…. Read more.

History Commons Blogs and Social Networking
The History Commons has lively discussions among contributors and users at the History Commons Groups Blog. News and information for the site can be found at the History Commons Site Blog. Join the discussion!

The History Commons is now on Twitter! Keep up with the latest events by following historycommons, and don’t be shy about sending some tweets our way. Also, site administrator Blackmax is firing up some of his own social networking on behalf of the Commons. You can follow him on Twitter at max_hcommons, and on Newsvine at Max Black’s Newsvine page. Caveat: Nothing Blackmax posts or tweets is “official” History Commons commentary or recommendations. It’s just Max. Other contributors and admins who would like their social networking information to be available can e-mail or tweet Max to get listed here.

Thanks for reading. This week, it’s Independence Day in Peru, Vanuatu, Benin, and Niger; La Hae Hawai’i in the US; Emancipation Day in Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad & Tobago; and our Celtic friends celebrate Lughnasadh, or the Festival of Light. Let’s hope this week brings some light to all of us.

“Your timeline has been invaluable to me over the years. I’m certainly aware of — and flattered by — your citations from my book.” — Philip Shenon, former New York Times reporter and author of The Commission

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