September 2008 – Citizen Reporter

Labor Shortage Dutch Style

On line at the grocery store, I read the big sign in the window: Seeking new colleagues to join our team.? Around the block at the caf? there’s a small paper in the window that reads: seeking wait staff.? The restaurant next door is full to the brim with customers everyday and employs only 2 servers and 1 cook, the entire staff looks overwhelmed.

No matter where I look in the service industry, the Netherlands seems to be lacking workers. Yet at the same time, I can think of many university students who would never take such jobs.? I’m also reminded of my fellow university graduates who are seeking work in the field of their studies and would not take up work in a restaurant or a grocery store.

All this to make the un-scientific observation that there could be some type of labor shortage in this part of Europe. And it is getting worse.

Meanwhile I read about the situation of detained refugees in Belgium, who are currently on hunger strike.? Belgium’s politics and economic reality is certainly not identical to the Netherlands, but I still think it says something about where this entire region is within the discussion of the right to work and immigration policy. For the neverending obsession with keeping people out, I’m wondering who they’re going to turn to when no one in the country will take essential jobs.

Texas gets Smaller

Interesting piece from McClatchy newspapers included on the Guardian online today, all about the dramatic change to the Texas coastline that will follow this latest hurricane.

Texas is of course famous for being huge, but also for having a highly developed coastline and generally a very polluted environment. And one of the changes that is mentioned in the article is the rising sea level, they quote an article in the journal Science:

global sea level rise of 31.5 inches by the year 2100 should be the assumption. The highest conceivable rise, they estimate, is 6.5 feet.

6.5 feet..? 2 meters in less than 100 years, at the most.

More disturbing changes for Texas, many of the important barrier islands were washed away during Ike, and other natural barriers have also taken a huge hit. This means the next storms will do even greater damage to places further inland, possibly places that are not prepared to deal with flood waters and dangerous winds.

If you read the article for yourself it gets into oxygen levels in the gulf of mexico, which are also a major point of concern.? Yet somehow since hurricane ike passed you don’t see the mainstream examining these issues and investigating how the coast is going to be OR not be re-enforced and restored in an environmentally sound way.? Much like in Louisiana, once again we are left wondering if there will even be a coastline in 20 years, and why is the federal government not preparing for this reality.

Later this week I’ll be back on this topic, only this time with a focus on the very grim recovery process in Haiti.

bmtv90 Zimbabwe: Progress or Collaboration?

After many weeks without a vlog entry, this one was recorded today as I floated through the Oud West. Its short and addresses the recent changes in Zimbabwe where opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has now joined in the government of Robert Mugabe as prime minister.? Which begs the question, is this good news? Oh and yes the video at the end comes from the fine people at the guardian.co.uk.

The Super Rich vs The Super Poor in the US

Normally I prefer to NOT talk about the US elections. I’m not very impressed or excited by the actions and promises of either candidate of the 2 parties that share control of the country.? Sure Obama says things I like better than the things that McCain says. But that doesn’t automatically mean I’m satisfied or impressed.

One of the big issues for me is poverty.? Gone is the one candidate who at least spoke the words “the poor” in his speeches and proposed policies (John Edwards), the remaining 2 candidates call everyone working families or hard working Americans, little buzz phrases that are just vague enough to make everyone think this candidate is speaking for them.?? Meanwhile poverty in the US is on the increase, and also alarming, the wealthy class is more wealthy than ever in history and that gap between the two is wider then ever.? A fact that opens the door to many social, financial, and political problems.. yet there is little action or demand to put a stop to it.? (yes yes, both candidates mention their concern for CEO’s making so much money, I’m aware of that)

All this to bring me to my big recommendation of the day; the latest edition of Radio Open Source, where Chris interviews Chuck Collins.? While I’ve never heard of Chuck Collins, who is a specialist in the areas of US incomes, property, and economics, I found myself rewinding various segments to listen again.

You’ve heard it said before, though rarely do leaders or corporate media investigate it, the inequality boom in the United States is dangerous.? I highly recommend listening to this interview and soaking it in, it is the kind of critical thinking that we should be pummeling these candidates with.. obligating them to not just make the occasional lament, but to lay out a serious point by point plan for turning the tide and making it politically and hopefully cuturally a priority to preserve opportunity and keep the playing field of life and work from becoming an out of control thunderdome.

Calculating Sept. 11th

As much as I hate what a giant clich? this date has become, there are still a few memories and pieces of culture I don’t mind revisiting.? Moreover I hope this day would be a reminder to put things in perspective, in my case to never forget how dangerous jingoism and blind patriotism have been for this planet since 9/11 and long-long before it.

If I could recommend 1 piece of audio that I replayed today, I recommend Radio Open Source’s episode on calculating the value of a human life. It features a very unique interview that I always remember, with the person put in charge of calculating the financial compensation for the families of those who died on this day in the World Trade Center towers. Go listen.

Nuclear Waste Leaking

Whenever I’m travelling long distance, either by train or occasionally by car, if a nuclear reactor appears on the horizon, I find myself staring at it.? One of the thoughts going through my head, an issue that still has no real long term answer: where do they put the radioactive waste?

Over the years, trains carrying nuclear waste traveling between Germany and France have gained a decent amount of media attention.? These journeys used to attract crowds of protesters pointing out the danger and lack of long term plan that either country had for their waste.

In the case of France, I’ve seen the occasional documentary or news report about their temporary overground storage facilities. Always seemed odd, this was the best plan they had for waste that will be dangerous for the next few thousand years. Beyond that it isn’t easy to get news and information about the process of transporting and storing Europe’s nuclear waste.

Then this week the issue of a place called Asse in Germany has emerged, where a salt mine used for storing waste has apparently been leaking into, among other things, ground water. Thus adding more fuel to the fire of the raging debate in Germany about whether or not to stop using nuclear power and how soon to stop.? An important question and concern not only for Germany, or Europe, but in fact for many of the world’s nations that rely on nuclear energy but have no long-term, viable plan for what to do with the waste.

This will be the topic of a podcast this week with the help of a journalist (or two) in Germany.? Stay tuned for that and feel free to throw in questions or useful facts in the comments.