I am in Tucson, Arizona for the huge gem, mineral, fossil and precious stones and whatever else expos/shows, and to visit Occupy Tucson which is staging several anti-bank rallies this week. I love gems and minerals, geodes, agates, and fossils, but it kinda bums me out to see so much of Nature’s beauty churned for a buck.

Sean Penn says “Occupy Wall Street protest is telling the world we cannot be controlled by fear anymore” and that the protests have made him prouder than ever to be an American. The whole interview is very inspiring, and Penn is a thoughtful and articulate American philosopher.

  This is the city. This is Los Angeles. Occupy LA has moved to the smaller north lawn of City Hall because a movie is shooting on the north lawn. I don’t know the title, but I know that Ryan Gosling is hot! Or so exclaims an Occupy LA volunteer at the media tent. Gosling [...]

Sources close to actor Sean Penn confirmed that the actor played a huge part in the release of hikers Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer from an Iranian prison where they had been held for over two years. The duo, along with friend Sarah Shourd, were captured by Iranian troops and charged with espionage when they got lost hiking along the Iraq-Iran border.

Set against the backdrop of the 1960s through the end of the Vietnam War, Phil Ochs: There but for Fortune traces the life and music of singer songwriter Phil Ochs, who committed suicide in 1976. Ochs was a driven artist and activist who sense of social justice was at times in conflict with his desire for recognition, a tragic American hero with a history of bipolar disorder whose life and work was deeply enmeshed with the cultural and political tapestry of his time.

Howard Zinn’s monumental book, A People’s History of the United States lifted the curtain on the traditional American narrative, revealing class struggles, dissent and the efforts of everyday Americans, people of color, women, day laborers, migrant workers to gain and live with the rights promised in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

In The People Speak, Zinn is joined by a group of talented actors and musicians in bringing these people’s stories to life. Morgan Freeman, Viggo Mortensen, Marisa Tomei, Sean Penn, Rosario Dawson, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, David Starthairn, Danny Glover, Kerry Washington, Benjamin Bratt, Sandra Oh, Jasmine Guy, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Pink, Eddie Vedder, John Legend, DMC, Chris Robinson and Rich Robinson are among the stars lending their voices to The People Speak, a documentary based on A People’s History of the United States and Voices of a People’s History of the United States, the companion volume of 200 primary sources, co-created with Anthony Arnove.