My Valentine in West Africa

Tomorrow was supposed to be the day I tried my first yoga class with my friend Gabe B of xolo.tv. Unfortunately I never pay attention to holidays, especially corporate ones, so I forgot that being Valentine’s day, the man would be off with his partner, somewhere romantic. No yoga action for me. Naturally no valentines crap either, but I do have someone I want to say nice things about.

I may be a journalist, but I’ve never been able to live directly from the type of journalism I do on this site. Sure there are indirect ways that I do very much make a living thanks this work, but still, I won’t pretend there isn’t something lacking in my journalistic career…. there is.

That is when I look to Pauline. I think I’ve only read a few of her print articles, shamefully. But I’ve read every one of her blog posts since her now famous blog ( hate awards but if someone deserves some credit.. its her), West Africa Wins Always, began. I read and I learn. I read and I’m inspired. I read and I travel with her, I’m a fly on the wall during one of her famous conversations that gets recounted in the most engaging way on her blog. And tomorrow being this thing people call Valentine’s day, I understand one of those classic issues – “Slave Labor Chocolate” somewhat better because of Pauline’s scathing answer to all those articles that get rolled out at this time of year from all kinds of journalists out there.

So if nothing else, you could say my Valentine’s wish (if there is such a thing), is that this wonderful blog gets even more recognition.  I hope you read not just one her posts… read lots of’em. Dare I say it, subscribe to her RSS feed. Look at great photos and read the work of one very dedicated and well-informed reporter.

bmtv74 CCC Talk Part 2 of 4

Long overdue part 2 of the talk I gave at the Chaos Communication Camp over the summer, topic is of course Rebellious Communication and the Federal Flood. This part is about housing in New Orleans and my experience exploring this topic first-hand.

If you want to watch part 1, which I put out in December, here is the link. Of course you can learn more about the wonderful camp at the CCC website.

The F Word

Remind me to visit the staff of Radio Netherlands and buy everyone at The State We’re In a drink. Week in and week out the crew produces excellent audio programs on topics related to human rights and human wrongs.

In their latest program they hit yet another homerun with a segment that just reached out and grabbed me; forgiveness.

While I was raised in a fairly religious family, I myself don’t have a religion, nor do I want one.  But one of those lessons many religions seem to try to teach people, is the importance of forgiveness.  Throughout the world there are so many terrible conflicts… and when these conflicts end… if they are really to end.. forgiveness seems to me a very essential stage.  Yet after many conflicts you don’t often see that many truth and reconciliation processes.

In their latest program, The State We’re In speaks with someone from the Forgiveness Project, which is all about understanding and inspiring forgiveness. And later in the program they go to a park in South Africa, know as Freedom Park, which is dedicated to the idea of forgiveness; a place where people (victim or perpetrator) can tell their stories and make amends.

I highly recommend you listen to this segment, and the program in general. If there’s one thing the world could use more of, it is forgiveness.

A Look in the Mirror

On this blog I try not to spend time talking about popculture or other trash that the mainstream media shoves down our throats hoping we won’t ask them to cover the more difficult topics including why our world is in such a state and who made it this way. That means I also don’t talk about television or film unless it is something I feel worth talking about and directly related to the aforementioned troubled world we’ve somehow created. But here comes one of those times where I MUST talk television.

The greatest television show, for me, is probably the show the fewest people have heard about or watched. It is called the Wire, and I call tell you that from what I’ve seen – it is the single most important television show to have ever been beamed into people’s homes.

By important.. I mean just what I say.. this is important. This program deserves to be studied.. discussed.. replayed.. and revered. How can that be? Because The Wire is about a dying city; like many cities in this world. It is about people; possibly-good, corrupt, and lost; like many people in this world.

The Wire encompasses a never ending list of the problems we have as a society. A society with institutions that are supposed to serve people but that actually serve themselves, or maybe serve nothing. A society that doesn’t value human life equally, where some people count more than others. Whether they’re showing you the day-to-day life if a low level drug dealer, a drug kingpin, a beat-cop, a chief of police, a mayor, a school teacher, a dock worker, a junkie, an ex-convict, a child… The Wire is like one big mirror being held over people, places, and relationships that we are often unable or unwilling to really look at… and see all that is wrong with our world and what we make of it.

I watch The Wire… I dream about The Wire. Instead of being a television show that helps you forget reality, this program wraps you in reality once and for all. I’ve even heard from friends who say they can’t watch it too much because it is “too real”.

That is what I call a show that everyone should be watching if they care about anything at all. A show that is.. too real. Forget every other program you once loved, put to the side your preconceptions about police dramas or mafia-dramas or any other incling you get that this show is not of your concern. If you live on this earth, what goes on in the Wire, goes on where you are in some way, shape, or form. And if more people were to watch and truely think about it… I shutter to think people might even start changing a thing or too in their own communities.

Watch this show. Nevermind not having HBO or a television. There are plenty of ways to get episodes of the Wire from your millions of friends on the internet.

Followup On Money

Next week I will move beyond the US elections, but so long as the big media does such a poor job of looking behind the show, I feel the need to bring forward whatever information I feel is of importance.

Some months back my internet colleague Chris Weagel recommended a media source to me, by the name of consortium news.  I’ve subscribed to that site, and have indeed found useful information that is not available in the mainstream.

The latest eye-opening article went over Hillary Clinton’s income, on the heels of her 5 million dollar loan to her own campaign.  Some people may not be surprised or remotely uncomfortable about the numbers, but I want to lay it out anyway.

According to author and journalist Nat Parry, Hillary’s income breaks down like this:

  • Senate salary of $169,300 a year.
  • From her memoir Living History, 9.9 million$
  • $10.2 million for giving 57 speeches in 2006

And then there is husband Bill’s money coming from such places as:

  • $20 million via business relationship with Yucaipa Cos., the investment firm of his longtime supporter, billionaire Ron Burkle, which has connections to the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum.  – according to the Wall St. Journal
  • Helped Canadian mining financier Frank Giustra in securing a lucrative uranium deal with the repressive government of Kazakhstan in 2005, shortly before Giustra made an unreported $31.3 million donation to Clinton’s foundation. – according to the New York Times.

This is just a taste, read the full post for details as well as links to the sources.

Seeing these numbers just makes me do a double-take, as sometimes I forget how very wealthy politicans in the United States can be; especially if they’ve lived in the white house.

bm248 Campaign Staff With a Dark Past

Virtually every candidate who was running or is still running in the US presidential election uses the word change over and over again. Some are more believable then others. While recently I’ve been trying to sort out where the money is coming from, in this podcast I look at who is on staff on the democratic side. Since both Clinton and Obama are seen as the most exciting candidates who promise change, I’m asking who are the people that shape their policies?

Campaign staff can very easily become White House Staff if the race is won, especially those individuals with the label of “advisor”.  In this podcast I talk about the advisors on staff, and those with a questionable past. While both candidates have some staff members with impressive and admirable records, there are also those with questionable connections and blood on their hands.

Useful sources I recommend for doing your own research:

  • OpenSecrets – As previously mentioned for money and elections
  • Muckety – Interesting Way to Map Connections

Articles Mentioned in this podcast:

Other Names I go into:

  • William Perry – Clinton Advisor
  • William Daley – Obama Advisor
  • Howard Wolfson – Clinton Advisor
  • Mike Henry – Clinton Deputy Campaign Manager
  • Patti Doyle – Clinton Campaign Manager
  • Robert Malley – Obama Middle East Advisor (alleged)