F Yeltsin

Seriously I never liked him and I don’t buy into the whole whitewash the US media gives the story of Russia’s “democratic revolution.” Plus I doubly hated how it was taught in US high school… those pages on Yeltsin, beyond the usual oder of US HS history books, stunk to high heaven. But nevermind my opinion based on facts….

You should read Matt Taibbi’s Rolling Stone piece. It is excellent and one day if I teach high school, I’m pasting in this article as required reading. On the test there will be questions about how much money Yeltsin stole from Russia, and a bonus question looking for a rough estimate as to how many people died thanks to his “democratic reforms”. Anyway I’ve said enough… read Matt.

Oh and if you still need good writing, in this case having nothing to do with fat glorified oligarchs, read Jamie’s latest… love his stories.

bmtv46 Remembering a Revolution

Click To Play

It’s the 33rd anniversary of the Portuguese Carnation Revolution. It was and still is, the single most inspiring moment in history. (for me) This vlog will explain further.

2 Minute Judgement

With the population of the world being as big as it is, I realize evaluating people for jobs, prizes, relationships, you-name-it; there is less time to spend on each person.

That said, I still hate it. A 1 page letter of motivation. A 2 minute audio sample. A 3 minute conversation over a drink at some party. Each of these is supposed to give someone an accurate idea of who I am, and then a judgment is to made based on that.

FUCK THAT.

The world is going to have to figure something else out, because humans are simply more complicated then these little allotted samples.

Recently my wonderful friends over at Radio Open Source, aka Public Radio in Boston, urged me to enter into the Public Radio Talent Search…. so I submitted my audio for judgment in a contest who’s winner gets money, and some other lovely support from the NPR world.

As a struggling journalist, obviously I could use such things. Plus I’m honored that they thought of me, so I entered. I grabbed a random 2 minutes from the NEw Orleans series, and submitted it. (click the link if you feel like voting) And even as I did it, I was thinking “2 minutes… thats it?” Two minutes does not explain what I do and why it matters. To be judged in 2 minutes, after almost 3 years of podcasting, 200 shows, 6 years of blogging, and untold experiences and studies… is to me.. preposterous.

But this is how the world works, so often. Universities and their methods for judging potential students. Employers and their demand for that “CV”, which of course they never read beyond the first page. So your life’s worth is then evaluated based on a piece of paper, or a few pieces of paper, maybe some testimony from 2 people. The horror.

Actually it reminds me of speed dating. Thats right, I’m a curious person and an amateur anthropologist, so I went to a speed dating debauchery not too long ago. And again, my first thought from the moment I arrived: I will not try and explain myself in 3 minutes. I am complex in what might be a very good way, but that complexity cannot and should not, be squashed into 3 minutes because the world doesn’t have time to listen.

So public radio, you’ve got my 2 minutes. While it is true that this struggling journalist could use your help, I don’t need you to tell me my work is worth something, and I certainly don’t need you in order to continue in this well established podcast that already has a wonderful relationship with a large group of people scattered throughout the world.

bm199 What these Elections Will Do To France

Media coverage of the French elections has spiraled into the typical who looks tougher who will lose reporting, as is the norm for mainstream media today. But there are real policies that will harm or help real people throughout and France, depending on the outcome. In this podcast, with the help of Chris of Americablog and Jessica in London, we will identify what changes will come and what it means for French, as well as the effect on Europe.

I recommend Chris’s latest post on round 1 election results
Also Mentioned: Opendemocracy.net

We Discuss:
-The top issues that will HAVE to change regardless of who’s elected
-The economy and jobs
-The 35 hour work week
-The green movement, or lack there of
-The Health system
-Transport
-Selling “American Style” to the French
-Racism as an election tool
-Europe Union issues

 

A mission statement

Speaking with Sijeka in London recently, for an upcoming podcast on the French elections, she mentioned opendemocracy.net. I was invited to write an entry for their blog “The Democratic Image”. And so I did, and as it turns out, I really enjoyed writing it and have been meaning to put these thoughts and facts into words, so go give it read please.

Here’s a quote, just for fun (its sad when you start quoting yourself)

It seems to me that despite all the potential that the internet and personal publishing in all its forms brings to the world, we are still in the primordial ooze stage of what could become a long media evolution.

My North Jersey, UnderWater

My dear Anna over at the Voice wrote to me about the flooding in New Jersey. I had heard something this morning about flooding in New Jersey, but it hadn’t occurred to me that it was taking place in the area I love deeply… the Passaic River/Paterson, NJ.

I flipped through the pictures of flooded parts around the river, areas that I lived so near to and so often visited. Kept thinking of the subject heading of her email “when did New Jersey become New Orleans?” Then I thought about the Army Corps of Engineers, who not too long ago warned that New York, along with Miami and NEw Orleans, are the areas at the highest risk in the country for damage from extreme weather. I also remembered an article Wayne had in the Village Voice a few weeks ago on how under prepared NYC is. Clearly so is New Jersey, just across the river.

Besides extreme storms, such as the one that caused much of this flooding, over-development (they build houses anywhere and everywhere) and the destruction of the wetlands have already been cited as contributing factors to this disaster.

In so many places in the world, they just ignore all the warning signs and all the knowledge, and keep on destroying natural buffers and barriers… keep selling off land to developers.. anyone who will pay a good price for a plot of land.

How are my North Jerseyan readers faring today?