RSA Animate: Smile or Die

Interesting, provocative, and slightly contratrian talk by Barbara Ehrenreich

Why Isn't Wall Street in Jail?

"So there you have it. Illegal immigrants: 393,000. Lying moms: one. Bankers: zero. The math makes sense only because the politics are so obvious. You want to win elections, you bang on the jailable class. You build prisons and fill them with people for selling dime bags and stealing CD players. But for stealing a billion dollars? For fraud that puts a million people into foreclosure? Pass. It's not a crime. Prison is too harsh. Get them to say they're sorry, and move on. Oh, wait — let's not even make them say they're sorry. That's too mean; let's just give them a piece of paper with a government stamp on it, officially clearing them of the need to apologize, and make them pay a fine instead. But don't make them pay it out of their own pockets, and don't ask them to give back the money they stole. In fact, let them profit from their collective crimes, to the tune of a record $135 billion in pay and benefits last year."

from Matt Taibi's article in Rolling Stone.

Oakland Needs to Come Together

At about 10:30 PM last night, forty or fifty high-school age kids descended upon the Whole Foods store across the street from my apartment. Most of the kids stood by and watched as three or four used a trash can, a store sign, and rocks to smash the windows of the store front. Three security guards quickly came out of a side entrance with guns raised at the crowd. They yelled loudly and repeatedly to back up. The group moved away but did not leave the scene. One or two resumed breaking windows on the other side of the store. It was a tense five to ten minutes before a police van arrived, causing the crowd to immediately disperse.

The scene reminded me of my mischievous days in high school, when the freshman soccer team went out and toilet papered a neighbor's house before a big game. I thought the same sort of thing happened last night, with the kids using the verdict of the Mehserle trial as a similar excuse to stir up trouble. We both picked out a clear target, leaving the other stores, residences, and cars relatively unscathed. But when someone with authority showed up, we scattered. Who knows what we would have done if the neighbors hadn't woken up and unleashed their dog on the soccer team, or if the police hadn't shown up at Whole Foods last night?

It is sad to witness the destruction of property, but it's even more sad to see people bury their heads in the sand. When the news media announced that the verdict was to be read yesterday at 4 PM, the responsible workers of our city left Oakland in droves. Since then, much of the city has been shut down, due to a collective fear being spread from the top down. But, the best thing for this community is to come together and to face our troubles collectively. How can we run away from the kids that we are supposed to care for and teach?

Kimberly Rivers Roberts performing in Trouble The Water

From the Oscar-nominated documentary film, Trouble the Water.

Fear the Boom and Bust

A rap battle between two dead economists, J.M. Keynes and F.A. Hayek:

Haiti Earthquake

This morning, I received a touching message from a Haitian-American friend. I'd like to share some of it with you:

I have felt paralyzed this week: frozen, far away, unable to do anything but watch, wait, and call my family. I wish I had the expertise to be of service, to be of some use. I given up on T.V. it makes me feel more distant, and voyeuristic. I'm tired of the Anderson Coopers of the media trying to give "great coverage." Done with the same shocking picture plastered on every website. There are 2 million stories to tell and somehow every news agency is focusing on the same two. A couple of of exceptions: The Miami Herald has been better than most, The Lede Blog at the New York Times has had constant updates and links, and most impressively and heroically is the Haitian newspaper Le Nouveliste: their website is amazing (http://www.lenouvelliste.com/, in French and Kreyol) the videos are the most enlightening videos I have seen yet: the city appears remarkably calm, and he goes to many parts of the city. As opposed to the CNN super close ups of horror, Le Nouveliste is showing the real Haitian response: firm, calm, and reasonable. Watch the videos! They play one after another and he interviews priests, people leaving the city, and gives coverage to the new reality of living in Pap (Port-au-Prince). Even if you don't understand Kreyol it is the best out there. He interviews several Haitian students leading the search rescue at Quisqueya University (where my uncle was a professor), no foreigners and they saved and delivered to medical services 14 students. The interviewer asks him who was helping him, and he answers matter of factly: "Zami'm"- my friends.

Many of you I'm sure have already donated, and I thank you for you thoughtfulness. Right now the most urgent need is money, and organizations like the Red Cross, Catholic Relief Services, and Partners in Health are the on the ground and working hard. The last two in particular have resources and people distributed throughout the country, an important factor as many Haitian are leaving Port-au-Prince for the the interior.

I ask that you consider encouraging your community to sponsor a Haitian Church as Haiti rebuilds. Haiti is a very religious country and has lost many of it places of worship: from the great Catholic Cathedral of the capitol to small store front evangelical churches, the people will need places to share in the blessings that must follow such tragedy.
As grandmother used to say: Men anpil chay pa lou- Where hands are many, the harvest is not heavy.

The Credit Crisis Visualized

The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

Live at the NYPL -- Slavoj Zizek and Henri-Bernard Levy

Watch a recent discussion between Slavoj Zizek and Henri-Bernard Levy on iTunes.

MIA speaks about music as agent for social change

Grammy- and Oscar-nominated artist MIA speaks about the Sri Lankan genocide of Tamils on the Tavis Smiley Show (Click link to view interview).
"The pressure of standing up for nothing is just so big."

John Lewis Quote

I have fought too hard and too long against discrimination based on race and color not to stand up against discrimination based on sexual orientation. I've heard the reasons for opposing civil marriage for same-sex couples. Cut through the distractions, and they stink of the same fear, hatred, and intolerance I have known in racism and in bigotry.

-- Civil Rights Leader and Congressman John Lewis.

Read the full editorial at the Boston Globe.

TED Talks: Amy Smith

Obama Family

Love this photo of the Obama family from the NYT.

Good Magazine Presents Barack Obama and John McCain

"Where have all the leaders gone?" by Lee Iacocca

I agree wholeheartedly with this rant about the current White House administration. Here's a taste (make sure you click the link above to read the full excerpt):

Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the h*** is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, "Stay the course."

Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America, not the d***** Titanic. I'll give you a sound bite: Throw the bums out!

...

My friends tell me to calm down. They say, "Lee, you're eighty-two years old. Leave the rage to the young people." I'd love to—as soon as I can pry them away from their iPods for five seconds and get them to pay attention. I'm going to speak up because it's my patriotic duty. I think people will listen to me. They say I have a reputation as a straight shooter. So I'll tell you how I see it, and it's not pretty, but at least it's real. I'm hoping to strike a nerve in those young folks who say they don't vote because they don't trust politicians to represent their interests. Hey, America, wake up. These guys work for us.

Net Neutrality

Read up about one of today's hottest topics, net neutrality. We'll discuss tomorrow in advisory.