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Dangerous Lobbying

Lobbying is a strange practice when we’re talking about how a government works. In theory, lobbying is what citizens can do to try and influence what their representatives do; write a letter, make a phone call, organize a meeting or rally… in some way, you’re lobbying your government. But of course when you see the word lobby in the context of government these days, it means something else. It refers to these groups of professionals, using various tactics to get government officials to vote a certain way. These lobby groups usually have a funding source, and it is very much a full time job. Lets try the webster dictionary definition:

Main Entry: ²lobby

Function: verb

Inflected Form(s): lob·bied; lob·by·ing

Date: 1837

intransitive verb : to conduct activities aimed at influencing public officials and especially members of a legislative body on legislation transitive verb 1 : to promote (as a project) or secure the passage of (as legislation) by influencing public officials
2 : to attempt to influence or sway (as a public official) toward a desired action

Whereas lobbying could be a legitimate and respected tool in different types of democracies, it can be, and has been, abused. Abused when groups with large amounts of money, mount concentrated and constant campaigns to get a representative to act in favor of their goals. Commonly “their goals” are connected to the interests of a corporation or a group of corporations, like the telecommunications, banking, or arms manufacturing industries. For such lobby groups the concern for the nation or society, is secondary to their business goals.

While this isn’t the only kind of lobbying that exists, it is certainly the type that has become must common and most well funded in capitals of nations around the world.

Unique from most other capitals in the world, Brussels is a city with a booming lobbyist population. The seat of the European Parliament and Commission, among other institutions, the decisions that come out of Brussels have impact in not just 1 nation, but in 27 member states. Yet while it has tremendous reach with its decision making, it is not as often or as closely scrutinized by its citizens the way their individual state governments are. Thus making it all the more easy for powerful interests with deep funding sources to expand and entrench their lobbying activities with little notice and even less criticism.

According to the Corporate European Observatory and a recent article in the EU Observer, the situation described above is actually far worse. Two years ago, in an attempt to get a handle on who is a lobby group and for whom, the EU commission created a voluntary registry system. Even after two years in existence, it seems more than 60% of Brussels based European Lobby Consultancies have not signed up. Another blatant sign that the lobby machine at the European level has settled in and feels no need to be accountable or transparent to the EU government or its citizens.

bmtv106 Student Revolt in the US

After the mass student uprising all across Europe in late 2009, the movement has awoken all across the United States this month. Students, faculty, and staff began walking out of their classes and holding marches and rallies at University campuses across the nation. With the lack of support and resources from the federal government, tuition hikes, staff layoffs, and massive budget cuts from state governments, millions of people are making their voices heard and refusing to go about their business as if nothing is wrong.

I was particularly excited and proud to have seen video footage (included in this video entry) from the school I graduated from in 2001, William Paterson University of New Jersey. As you can see from the images, that spirit of resistance and dedication to a cause is alive and well at my alma mater. It is particularly wonderful to see the familiar faces and hear the passionate voices of faculty members who played and continue to play a big role in helping me find my voice and choose my path as an activist-journalist.

Dutch Municipal Elections Article

The following is an excerpt from a piece I wrote this past week for the Guardian CiF, to read the full text, click the link below:

The media have recycled the same headlines following Dutch elections for about a decade now, and similar observations are regularly trumpeted in international newspapers. Part of me thinks they actually just run the same articles, updating the picture, changing a few names, and maybe touching up a few percentage points. The political landscape is changing in the Netherlands, it is true. “How could this happen in this bastion of a liberal democracy?” commentators ask in an accusing tone.

I shall go against the international headlines and some of the Dutch media when I say to you, please remain calm. This sudden explosion of intolerance and fragmented politics is nothing new; we have been reading about it for decades. The myth maintained by international media outlets and perhaps the Dutch bureau of tourism, which parrots the Netherlands as an open-minded leftwing paradise, has long kept a smoke screen over the well-established and not always tolerant tradition of smaller parties, extremist or moderate, left or right, which rise up suddenly, gain power and occasionally disappear into obscurity as fast as they came.

The international press summed up the results of yesterday’s Dutch legislative elections as a major victory for the far-right, anti-Islam and ironically named Freedom Party (PVV). They are also quick to point to the two cities (out of the entire country!) where the PVV managed to top the polls in local elections. But while The Hague, where the PVV is now the second-largest party, is certainly a city of international and national importance, gaining control of it, along with the little-known city of Almere, does not equal an electoral sweep.

The PVV’s sporadic success is significant not so much because of the small number of votes they won, but because of the xenophobic, nationalist rhetoric that has managed to get them votes. While this development grabs the headlines, several Dutch political parties on both the centre and the left have made just as many – if not more – gains. In the cities of Utrecht and Nijmegen, the Green-Left party (GroenLinks) gained enough to become the largest party. The more moderate D66 party made the biggest gains nationwide, becoming the largest party in Leiden, Haarlem, and Hilversum. The socially progressive and fiscally conservative party’s success was far greater than that of the PVV, but since they don’t say controversial things about the Muslim faith or try to convince people that the country is being taken over, they’re just not as fun for the front page.

[read full text]

Spike in Airline Prices

The last night of February 2010 has me looking forward and asking the difficult questions about just what I’m going to focus on, push myself to do that is new and innovative, and where I will take this here journalistic project as the year matures. What topic in what corner of the world do I feel needs better coverage, more explaining, and increased understanding on the international scale? What can I do? What is within my power, as a reporter with connections or in terms of making new contacts- to get more information to present to you reading this.

Naturally for the sake of learning and first hand reporting, I want to do more than bring you information from the comfort of my always interesting Amsterdam life… I want to travel. Nevermind wanting, when you’ve got family and a life in 2 other countries besides the one you dwell in, travelling isn’t a luxury it is a necessity somewhere behind food, shelter, and clothing on the life-list of what is needed. But while I’d normally be looking at flights to Portugal for the spring or summer to visit my family and take care of my responsibilities there, this year presents a bigger challenge than ever in the last 8+ years. While I’d like to fly off to New York to visit family and speak at The Next Hope this July, again looking at the options, it is looking increasingly unlikely.

Whether it is for good reasons or not, airlines across the board are raising their prices. With flights within Europe and crossing the Atlantic (that I know of) costing double what they did last year. And combined with a general decrease in my already extra-modest income this year, even flying at normal rates would have posed a budgetary challenge for this alternative voice in the media wilderness.

All this to say, suddenly the road ahead looks foggier than I had expected. And while ironically I’ll soon announce several exciting journeys to new corners of the globe, those will be funded by third parties. Because the truth is the combination of my intercontinental life choices, journalistic goals, and an economy that sees little monetary value in what I (or anyone these days) do.. makes for a very difficult road ahead.

What’s the plan then? I’m working on it…

Starving Mongolia

In two months time I expect to be traveling through Siberia and Mongolia. As I read up on the places I might pass through and what citizen journalism is going on there, I’ve run into the ongoing humanitarian disaster in Mongolia. Following a summer drought and currently one of the coldest winters the country has ever experienced, cattle are dying by the millions. A source of income and sustenance for 35 to 40% of the Mongolian population, according to the UN, the onslought of starving cattle leaves hundreds of thousands of people in a desperate situation.

Speaking about the situation for children in Mongolia, UNICEF reports that more than 400,000$ is needed in essential medical and humanitarian supplies, in addition to at least 300,000$ in order to reach those living in remote and now isolated regions of the vast country. In total, around 63,000 children are in need of assistance from either the national government or international organizations as a result of this crisis. Temperatures are currently hovering around -40 to -50C and are expected to stay that way into April.

While in Mongolia I will not likely be in any remote regions of the country, but I will still be asking people and putting out content about what I find out in regards to this terrible situation. Thankfully even in a part of the world that doesn’t get much mainstream media attention EVER, there are citizen journalists at work even there. One great project associated with my friends at Global Voices Online is called Nomad Green (who I hope to meet with in April). It features voices in both Mongolian and English, writing about these and other developments relating to quality of life in Mongolia.

Voices of A People’s History Night

Friends and readers in the Amsterdam area and beyond, I’ve been hard at work planning, reading, and organizing the details of a reading-performance even in honor of Howard Zinn and his greatest work – A People’s History of the United States. I will be MC’ing the event, doing my best to run it just as well as Howard used to, hoping I do him justice. Speakers will include some wonderful native and non-native english speakers from my network of friends here in Amsterdam. Speeches and text as far back as 1542 and as recent as 2005 will jump between some of the great voices that are rarely taught in school or mentioned in mainstream media. And as if that weren’t enough, I will most likely be singing a few songs related different eras in A People’s History. (brace yourselves)

For those outside of the Netherlands I will not be streaming it because I have enough to worry about. But audio/video recordings will be made available as podcasts, so that you can join share in this event afterwards. Here are the vital details:

Howard Zinn Reading-Performance Night. Selections from A Peoples History of the US.
16 February
20:30 – 22h
at Schijnheilig – the lovely new Squat-Gallery-Creative Space
Passeerdersgracht 23-bg
Amsterdam