The Commons
by David Rovics
An animation by Takver

The above is an example of my Flash work submitted for my course: combining my current enjoyment at listening to protest folk singer David Rovics with social justice issues. He has made most of his songs available under a Creative Commons Licence, free to download as MP3s. Here is his song, 'The Commons'. I couldn't resist adding a dancing Tux to the animation. Enjoy, but also take action against climate change and the privatisation and corporatisation of The Commons. I was inspired to do The Commons by the Climate Mash Flash Animation.

I have also exported a slightly different version of the animation as a movie and uploaded it to Youtube as: David Rovics - The Commons.

Biojustice

For information on Reclaim the Commons issues visit Reclaim the Commons, or these other websites on biotech issues: geaction.org, biodev.org, familyfarmdefenders.org, seedsofdeception.com, oaklandinstitute.org, sunshine-project.org, biojustice2007.org, bioseguridad.blogspot.com or Greenpeace's Say no to genetic engineering international campaign or Australian GE campaign.

The animation has been released to coincide with BioJustice 2007: a week long celebration of sustainable food and alternatives to corporate healthcare. It is being developed by a wide coalition of public interest groups, activists, farmers, scientists, and concerned citizens, working together in response to the biotechnology industry's international convention scheduled for the new Boston Convention and Exhibition Center during May 6-9, 2007.

Australia

For Australia take a look at the Gene Ethics Network and the satirical mining NSW website (from which I used a graphic) created by Rising Tide Newcastle. The NSW Minerals Council in early 2007 twice initiated legal action under copyright law to attempt to close down the satirical site. Read on Indymedia about these attempts at censorship and suppressing free speech.

General

The Commons

First you told us only through you could we know God
And if we dared to question then He wouldn't spare the rod
For you we worked the soil, for you we dug the moors
For you we shed our blood and fought so many pointless wars
And now you build your fences and say there's nothing we can do
You say the world around us belongs fairly to the few
But about six billion people no doubt will agree
This world is our home, not your property

It's the commons, our right of birth
And to you who would enclose the land all around the Earth
Our future is your downfall, when we cut this ball and chain
You who'd sacrifice the public good for your private gain

With our sweat we built the railroads, built cities on these shores
But because you own the money you say that it's all yours
We laid the phone lines and the pipelines and then right before our eyes
You say these things our taxes paid for you now will privatize
Privatize the hospitals, privatize the schools
Privatize the prisons for all those who break your rules
And preparing for the day when all the wells run dry
You say you own the very rain that falls down from the sky

But it's the commons, our right of birth
And to you who'd own the water all around the Earth
Our future is your downfall, when we cut this ball and chain
You who'd sacrifice the public good for your private gain

You claim to own the harvest with your terminator seeds
You claim to own the genomes of every animal that breeds
You claim to own our culture and the music that we play
And with every song we download to your coffers we must pay
You would even own my name and you say it's for the best
Maybe you'll let us on your radio stations if our songs can pass your test
You own country, you own western, you say you've given us a choice
You may own the airwaves but you'll never own my voice

It's the commons, our right of birth
And to you who'd own the music all around the Earth
Our future is your downfall, when we cut this ball and chain
You who'd sacrifice the public good for your private gain

It's the commons, our right of birth
And to you who would own everything all around the Earth
Our future is your downfall, when we cut this ball and chain
You who'd sacrifice the public good for your private gain

Created November, 2005