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Work and Passion
Phone rings last thursday, it’s my friend Robert from Brooklyn Bridge.. a sustainable investment organization based here in Amsterdam that I’ve been working with. Not too long ago, I remember Robert had posted an opening on his blog, the organization is looking for a conference organizer to help with their annual sustainable investment conference in Paris. (Im going this year)
What is interesting, and I felt the need to share with you – the internets – is the trouble Robert is having. Despite the fact that the Netherlands is experiencing a job-boom, and that more and more people around the world are concerned about and dedicated to the goals and ideals of trying to make corporations behave more responsibly, he doesn’t find any such person who wants the job. To put it another way, no candidate has come forward that actually is passionate about the idea of sustainable investment.
So then the question comes to mind: is the current generation of people coming out of university seeking the type of work that not only will provide them with a good quality of life but also that has a larger global objective.. to improve the world in some way. Or rather, is it just about getting the cool job, some money, and buying the stuff they always wanted. Is it a quest for stuff or a quest for change?
After getting Robert’s call asking me about this issue, and then reading his related blog entry, I continue to wonder. Then again, as the video in his post points out, there is an unbelievable huge number of organizations, companies, and groups around the world dedicated to social justice, environmentalism, etc. Still, sometimes I get into conversations with university students, or recent grads, and it does seem like something isn’t clicking right. Where are the world changers?
I remember Anna
One year later, remembering Anna Politkovskaya.
A journalist amongst journalists. Human amongst humans.
Never forgetting the importance of journalists and reporters who are willing to speak up, speak out, and stay citical no matter what.
Never forgetting that she was murdered with the help of a corrupt government, who have murdered and oppressed in the name of profits and power.
I hope to one day be 1/10th of the kind of journalist she was.
bm227 Max Keiser on the European Market
Many of his predictions about the collapse of the housing market and the death of the dollar in the US have come true. But what does Max Keiser say about Europe in all this mess? What will happen to people on this continent as the US economy plummets? And of course the classic question, how far will privatization in Europe go?
MAx Keiser.com
Karmabanque Radio
Max’s Films on Al Jazeera English
We Discuss:
– sub prime lending, what is it?
– how is europe involved?
– What will happen to the Euro
– Savings in Europe
– privatization pressure
– bankers versus religious zealots
– what chance is there of stopping the trend
etc.
The Battle for Amsterdam’s Soul
Listening to a debate earlier today on Radio Netherlands’ podcast “Amsterdam Forum”, they had a panel discussion about prostitution in Amsterdam. See you may know that international image that the Netherlands is tolerant and prostitution is legal… and most of that statement is true. But times sure are a-changin.
Especially impressive is the amount of times, during the debate, the representative of the center-left party uses the term… morality. Yes, it isn’t just in theocracies or the United States, the art of legislating morality is being practiced right here in the world’s capital of freedom. Whatever freedom means these days anyway, that term has been completely dragged through the mud over the past decade.
But anyway, yes, they are talking about cutting down on the amount of prostitution in the Netherlands, reducing the amount of red lights, and even.. making prostitution illegal! Why? Well you can listen to the program to hear some of the arguements, which relate to human trafficing, organized crime, and abuse – for the most part.
Not that I like any of those three, but the idea that because there are still some problems something must be banned or declared illegal seems like a pretty rash decision. But then again, it is all part of legislating morality… teaching us sinners how to be good boys and girls.
Textiles and the Future
Over the weekend, while Max and Stacy were over for soup and podcasting, I popped in Shafiur’s documentary about the garment workers of Bangladesh. Probably should have said this earlier but it is a very good film, with excellent information and images mixed with testimony that are VERY telling about what is happening with the textile manufacturing industry there, and tying it back to the very clothes we are purchasing in shops around the world.
At one point in the film, they mention their fears of the big changes that will come once Europe elimates tarrif’s on Chinese textiles. They didn’t say exactly when this would happen, but Max mentioned that the authority of the European Union on trade has long been going back and forth on actually doing this. Which means it may not be soon… but it could very well be.
In all the images of the textile workers, you get the very clear feeling that their quality of life is not what it should be… it is below what any reasonable person could call humane living conditions. Yet they work for brands, as much of the world has come to know, that charge big money for their prestigious label.
So what if we add another complication to the equation. A country of a few billion people who can do everything for even cheaper, outbid, underprice, and out produce Bangladesh. What will happen to people already walking the tightrope of poverty and death? People who have scraped out a living, even in conditions that make it seem unlikely to be able to do so?
I’m yet to do more extensive research into this topic.. but Im curious to learn about the proposed rules.. or lack of rules.. that the free trade proponents want to adopt. Instead of running around shopping for new clothes for cheap prices, the European public should already be asking their retailer — who made this? Where is it from? And how are workers treated? But after learning these answers, they must take the next step.. and NOT buy those items until basic demands are met for a living wage and human rights for workers, regardless of where they are, are respected.