Global Wire

Creating My Own Unique Journalism

2012-01-18T11:26:00.007-05:00

I have been thinking a lot lately about the future of journalism, and specifically how it fits into the new digital age. For the last few years I have been attending journalism and technology conferences, where I am told constantly that I need to be doing this social media application or using that tech gadget for reporting the news. I am happy to say that I am "teched up" and ready to take on the cyber news frontier.

But I am also ready to take this to another level professionally.

I have always had an entrepreneurial personality, and had the belief that if you are not getting opportunities from others, you should create your own opportunities. This is one of the reasons why I founded Global Wire Associates. Through my firm, I wanted to help create opportunities for others to take advantage of technology for furthering their own social justice objectives. I am happy to report that we have not only consulted with hundreds of activists worldwide through trainings and on our website in the last six years, but we have also launched a new e-waste awareness campaign.

In our most recent article on the site, we discussed how multimedia content producers are using online video to combat racial discrimination and stereotyping.

Filmmaker Issa Rae also felt that she wasn’t represented as a black woman in mainstream media. After reading yet another article about the lack of African-Americans onscreen, she decided to be the media and do her own online webisodes about being “awkward,” and, thus, the name of her series “The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl.”

“This is the future, especially for minority content producers on the Internet,” she said in a recent CNN interview. “This is the way to go. There is no gatekeeper. You can release whatever content you want. I think this is the best route to take, honestly.”

This interview made me think more about how I can create more of my own unique journalism. In the last few months, there have been complaints by journalists of color about the lack of diverse anchors in prime-time TV news. While I support the idea of increasing racial diversity in mainstream media, maybe the conversation needs to move towards how media professionals of color can utilize technology for telling their own stories.

The Internet has created so many opportunities for anyone to create their own media empire. There are a growing number of journalists who are going off the beaten path by using social media. Reading a post by British videographer Adam Westbrook and accompanying comments by Filipina journalist Prime Sarmiento have only pushed me to take my own journalistic endeavors further.

I am currently looking to create a way to get more funding for the videos I produce on my YouTube Channel, either through private donations, grant funding or some other business model. In the last couple of years I have fallen in love with videography, I am very interested in doing more social justice storytelling through this medium, but I need money to do it. I also like traveling, meeting new people, learning about different cultures while creating videos and, most importantly, doing more video production training for myself, so I am seeking financial opportunities here too. I have found that although I have had much success in working in mainstream media, nowadays, it is hard for me sometimes to pitch stories that don't have something to do with pop culture or entertainment. And there is a serious lack of mainstream media coverage of hard news issues that affect marginalized communities. I am hoping to fill in the gap with my online video news venture with the right help.

I know this will be a lot of hard work, but I am up for the challenge. I am hopeful about my unique route!

UK Race Relations: Yesterday & Today

2012-01-03T15:34:00.011-05:00

Two white men were found guilty and received life sentences for the murder of Stephen Lawrence, the black teenager stabbed to death by five white youths at a London bus stop in 1993. Nearly two decades on, the verdict may have brought some closure to a case that put a spotlight on racism and criminal justice in the United Kingdom. I was a teenager myself at the time and remember hearing a little about this case, but it wasn't until I viewed the BBC film The Murder of Stephen Lawrence when I got the whole story of the case and how England is so not "postracial."

My mother emigrated from Jamaica to England during the 1960s and some of her relatives still live in London's Hackney area. They all say that, unlike America, where race is discussed ad nauseum on a regular basis, any discussion about race in England was pretty much muted before the Lawrence case. When race was discussed, it was seen as the "immigrant problem." In 1968, politician Enoch Powell gave his infamous "Rivers of Blood" speech, criticizing the growing number of immigrants moving to the UK from Commonwealth countries.

Following the initial investigation in 1999, the five suspects were not convicted. It was believed at the time that Lawrence's murder was not only racially motivated, but also the acquittal was due partially to institutional racism within the Metropolitan Police. Later that year the Macpherson Report confirmed these findings, stating that the case was "one of the most important moments in the modern history of criminal justice in Britain." Although the Race Relations Act of 1968 passed and has since been superseded by the Race and Religious Hatred Act of 2006, racial tensions provoked by Powell's speech continued to have a lasting impression for years to come. This could be seen through the many race riots over the years. The most recent London riots that spread nationwide are believed to have been racially provoked by the death of Mark Duggan at the hands of the police.

Just last week the family of Anuj Bidve, an Indian student who was shot in the head and killed while walking with his friends on Boxing Day, accused British authorities of racism due to delays in handling the investigation and return of his body to India.

[Bidve's family] have accused the police of failing to contact them to inform them of their son's death – they only found out when his friends started to contact them through Facebook – and of neglecting the case because it was the festive season.
The delay in getting Bidve's body home has infuriated family members, who say the British authorities were more concerned about Christmas and the new year festivities than in helping the family observe their traditions.
"It is unacceptable to us," said Rakesh Sonawane, Bidve's brother-in-law... "We still have a lot of faith in the UK authorities and the police, but they have to help us more. They have to help us to believe again that Britain is not a racist place."

As I have said here before, the more things seem to change, the more things remain the same.

The Fight For/Against Palestinian Statehood

2011-09-16T09:05:00.004-04:00

World leaders are gathering in New York this week for the United Nations General Assembly. This year the international community will consider a bid for Palestinian statehood. Although it is likely to fail, the bid refocuses attention on the 63-year-old land fight between the Israelis and Palestinians. Long before 9/11, riots in Tahrir Square and rambling audio messages from Muammar Gadhafi and Osama bin Laden, the original Middle East crisis began on a strip of land along the Mediterranean Sea.

I have always been a fan of history, current events and multicultural affairs. Particularly, I am fascinated by how different cultures interact with each other. Some divisive relationships I can understand better than others - Tutsis vs. Hutus, Turks vs. Armenians, Cuba vs. United States. But there is something about the Palestine/Israel question that continues to capture the world's attention - and I simply just don't understand.

My first real introduction into Middle Eastern politics began in university, where I minored in post-colonial studies. Tom Friedman's From Beirut to Jerusalem was a book I was required to read in a course on Arab-Israeli cinema. It was a good primer into the conflict, and since its first publication two decades ago, it is still considered a fair assessment of the major players. I also remember after graduation viewing a documentary on female hijacker Leila Khalid which gave me the Palestinian point of view. But the history of the conflict is just too confusing for me to understand.

As for the Palestinian bid, it seems like it is dead on arrival at the UN, although Israel Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has extended an invitation for a meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in New York.

Maybe something good could come out of the meeting... Probably not...

Get Digital, But Stay Safe

2011-06-16T08:43:00.003-04:00

Enjoy your online life, safely from Dave Legion on Vimeo.

In light of the recent "Weinergate" scandal and June being Internet Safety Month, I thought I would take the time to share with you guys the basics of maintaining a good digital reputation.

Earth Day 2011: Greening Transport

2011-04-22T16:25:00.004-04:00

More than ever these days, the way we get around - whether by car, bus, train or airplane - has been in the daily news. Here in the United States, gas prices have now risen to $4 a gallon, with no sight of the prices going down anytime soon. Also, with the recent near airplane catastrophes due to sleeping air traffic controllers along with the ongoing worries about terrorism and TSA searches, air travel has become less pleasant as well.

The bottom line: Americans need to reduce their dependency on fuel for these modes of transportation not only because of the many battles in the Middle East, because also because of the growing global climate problem. Each year cars emit more than 300 million tons of carbon into the atmosphere in the United States alone. Aviation accounts for three percent of carbon emissions globally and rising.

With all this said, it is time to rethink alternative transportation methods. Of course, I am not advocating not taking a plane at all, but maybe limiting air travel to when it is absolutely necessary. I have to travel long distance a great deal for business, but in recent years I have embraced web conferencing tools like Skype to connect with business associates around the world. Not only is this better for the planet, but also on the wallet.

For everyday travel, there are also many great alternatives that I embrace. I don't own a car for both health and environmental reasons. By not having a car, it forces me to be more physically active and walk (or in some cases run) to catch a bus or train or just do stuff in my neighborhood. Not having a car and walking and taking public transit also allows me to be better acquainted with my surroundings and the people around you. Whereas if I had a car, I would feel more isolated because of the lack of interactions.

Furthermore, it makes no sense to own a car if you primarily live and work in a major city with decent public transportation like I do. Recently my city implemented a bike share program, which is also a great transport alternative. I am also a big fan of Amtrak and the growing light rail movement.

But even if you don't live in a big city, there are many ways to reduce your carbon impact. For example, if you live in the suburbs, instead of traveling in a car, why not use a bike or take the commuter rail for part of or for the whole trip. Also ask your employer if you can telecommute on some days.

Every little step makes a difference in every one's lives!

The (Post-Colonial) Ties that Bind

2011-03-31T18:23:00.004-04:00

As the "no fly zone" continues over the Libyan skies, many analysts are speculating about Muammar Gadhafi's possible exit strategies. Yesterday Uganda cited that it might be open to receiving the dictator, while Venezuela could also be an escape option since Gadhafi and Hugo Chavez are "friends." Even Zimbabwe is on the table.

From Bloomberg:

Several African nations could take Qaddafi, the diplomat said, citing Ethiopia or Mauritania as examples. The likeliest countries to let him in are those that aren’t parties to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the International Criminal Court, a tribunal based in The Hague that seeks to try despots charged with genocide and crimes against humanity.

“All you need is one country to take him,” Shadi Hamid, director of research at the Brookings Doha Center in Qatar, said in a telephone interview. “Uganda sounds like a good option. We are most likely talking about Africa.”

So why are other African nations willing to take in Gadhafi? This brings up a fascinating conversation many are not talking about: the everlasting bind among one time revolutionaries turned tyrants. Gadhafi is still considered a anti-colonial hero and Arab nationalist throughout the post-colonial world. So there should be no shock that the likes of Chavez, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe are quick to come to his defense.

Speaking of which, the same is true of Mugabe's reputation in Africa as a leader against the apartheid regime in southern Africa. Peter Godwin, author of "The Fear: Robert Mugabe and the Martyrdom of Zimbabwe" recently explained this phenomenon.

From NPR:

GODWIN: ...The government in Pretoria has protected Mugabe from a ratcheting up of international pressure, that he's basic that Pretoria has basically insured his longevity in power. And that's one of our big problems, is that by appointing South African presidents as the sort of referee in Zimbabwe, we've actually protected Mugabe because the referee is, in this case, is partisan.

NPR: Why would the president of South Africa want to protect Mugabe?

Mr. GODWIN: Well, it's interesting. I mean and even going back to President Bush, who said Thabo Mbeki, who was then the South African president, was his point man on Zimbabwe, and that was an easy handoff. You handed it off to South Africa and then you could get on with other things. And to some extent that's continued under the Obama administration.

Systemically, I think that why - that Pretoria supports Mugabe, and more importantly, not just Mugabe but his party Zanu-PF. I think from talking to people in South Africa and the administration what they had originally hoped, was that they might pressure Zanu-PF to reform, to become a sort of Zanu-PF light and to maybe get a technocrat, someone like Simba Makoni or one of these other guys who don't actually have blood on their hands, to take it over.

The reason they don't want to see the opposition winning, the MDC winning in Zimbabwe, is if you look at the southern African countries that all fought liberation wars, anti-colonial wars, those original parties, those liberation parties are all still in power - the ANC in South Africa, Swapo in Namibia, the MPLA in Angola, Zanu-PF in Zimbabwe and the Frelimo in Mozambique; they're all still in power. And it's not in any of their interests for any one of them to lose power, because it's a terrible precedent. It sort of shatters the myth of the sort of aura of liberation invincibility.

NPR: Of the original freedom leaders, the original anti-colonialists...

GODWIN: Absolutely. I mean it's a very, very potent well that you can dip your bucket in and pull out this sort of, you know, this history. It's very potent and it can kind of re-anointed you, you know, for decade after decade.

But when is it time to pull out a bucket of new history?

Migrant Workers & the Food System

2011-02-15T14:57:00.006-05:00

I went to Costa Del Sol many years ago, and I don't remember seeing all this sitting on the warm beaches, drinking a virgin daiquiri. The farm owners must know that if migrant workers were more visible, there would be instant condemnation. Unfortunately, exploitation of migrant workers is a global problem and not much is being done about it. The vast majority of these workers have the same story: desperate working conditions, no money to pay for the cost of living and a dream to do better for their families and communities. But many of them regret even immigrating in the first place.

According to the Genesseo Migrant Center, in the United States there are approximately three million migrant workers who are primarily of Mexican origin but also from Jamaica, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and other countries. Most of them work in farms throughout the country, making sure we have fresh fruits and vegetables in our supermarkets. But sometimes they can't even afford to eat the food they grow.

From The Economist:

...As Tom Joad in Steinbeck’s novel discovered, many farmworkers, even as they spend their waking hours picking food for others, can barely afford to eat. Between harvests they have no work. When they do work, their wages are meagre. The workers picking grapes with this correspondent got $8 an hour. That is vastly superior to the $9 a day—not hour—which the tractor driver says he used to get at home in Mexico. But costs in the United States are higher too...

In a country where illegal immigration has become a hot topic and the national unemployment rate is reaching double digits, one would think Americans would want to take these jobs.

...At a time of high unemployment, many Americans are convinced that these aliens take American jobs. As a test, this summer the United Farm Workers (UFW), the main agricultural union, launched a campaign called “Take Our Jobs”, inviting willing Americans to work in the fields. In the following three months 3m people visited takeourjobs.com, but 40% of the responses were hate mail, says Maria Machuca, UFW’s spokesman. This included e-mails such as one reading: “We’re becoming more aggressive in our methods. Soon it may come to hands on, taping bitches to light posts.”

Only 8,600 people expressed an interest in working in the fields, says Ms Machuca. But they made demands that seem bizarre to farmworkers, such as high pay, health and pension benefits, relocation allowances and other things associated with normal American jobs. In late September only seven American applicants in the “Take our jobs” campaign were actually picking crops...

Egypt: Its the Economy (Food, Fuel), Stupid...

2011-02-03T19:21:00.006-05:00

For the last week, the world media has turned its focus on the ongoing protests in Egypt and other countries in the region. Many ask why there are thousands of young people taking to the streets. Democracy? Free Speech? Israel? Dictators? US foreign policy? Like in Tunisia, based on the reaction of the Egyptian protesters interviewed by the media, all of the above play a role.

While most Westerners who don't usually follow news out the Middle East may have initially thought the upheavals had something to do with Islamic fundamentalism, most protesters are not only complaining about US-backed dictators who suppress free speech, but also about many of the same issues Americans are worried about - high unemployment and skyrocketing basic living costs. With the most recent U.S. unemployment numbers out this week, Americans and Egyptians might actually have more things in common.

According to the International Labour Organization, the Middle East has the world's highest unemployment rate. Unemployment in the region is 10.3 percent compared to 6.2 percent on average globally, and approximately 40 percent of those under 25 years of age in the region are jobless.

While the IMF already predicted a "strong recovery for the job markets in Europe and the United States," the Middle East still has to work on structural factors capable of changing their dynamics. The priority, both for oil-producing countries and those that do not have energy reserves, is to absorb an already high number of young people ready to enter onto the job market, a figure that continues to grow on a yearly basis.

Furthermore, when the spike in the cost of living is added on, then you really have a problem.

Food costs are among the grievances of demonstrators around the region as global food prices hit record highs in December, above levels that prompted riots in 2008, according to the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organisation, which warned prices of cereals, oilseeds, dairy, meat and sugar are set to climb.

Also, Egypt is the world's largest importer of wheat, bringing in 11 millions tons into the country each year. Many observers are starting to blame the growing biofuel industry. In particular, the U.S. government has been encouraging farmers to grow less wheat and more corn - thanks to subsidies, and more corn is being used to produce fuel instead of food, which contributes to rising food prices.

So, it really doesn't matter when or if Hosni Mubarak leaves office because really these bigger picture issues need to be addressed better to actually bring change for people in the region.

Lessons Learned from Jack LaLanne

2011-01-26T13:27:00.004-05:00

Jack LaLanne, the father of the modern fitness movement, died Sunday afternoon at the young age of 96. I spent the last couple of days looking at clips of his TV show, and it was quite amazing how a lot of things he was saying 50 years ago are so relevant today.

For instance, LaLanne spoke a great deal about how processed foods were against "nature's laws." Back in the 1960s, Americans didn't have to deal with "factory farms" yet, but rather the rise of "TV Dinners," which was something LaLanne spoke strongly against. However, the packaged, frozen meals were only the beginning of the end of food.

From Wikipedia:

The freezing process tends to degrade the taste of food and the meals are thus heavily processed with extra salt and fat to compensate. In addition, stabilizing the product for a long period typically means that companies will use partially hydrogenated vegetable oils for some (typically dessert) items, which are high in trans fats that can adversely affect cardiovascular health. The dinners are almost always significantly less nutritious than fresh food and are formulated to remain edible after long periods of storage, thus often requiring preservatives such as BHT. There is, however, some variability between brands.

This is something he said about shopping smart at the supermarket. The man was ahead of his time. RIP

Food in 2011: The Nutrition Recession

2011-01-03T16:16:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I listened to Living on Earth's Holiday Special, where they had on Firoozeh Dumas, an Iranian-American humorist, who talked about her assimilation into America's food culture. While growing up in Iran, Dumas talked about going to farmers' markets with her mother and buying food fresh.

When we moved to America, we all of a sudden discovered that there were all of these foods here that were already prepared. So, in Iran, if you opened our pantry or our refrigerator, all you found was basically raw rice or lentils, or in our refrigerator, it would be raw meat and limes. And, in America, we used to go to the grocery store and we would just buy these boxes and cans not quite sure what's in them, and try them. You know, a lot of times people go to other countries and they discover the new culture through museums, well, we were not cultivated people, so we just ate our way through America.

And eat she did. She continued on to say that she discovered Baskin Robbins, Kentucky Fried Chicken and vending machines - all things that would lead to her own childhood obesity problem.

America being a land of immigrants has prided itself for embracing the many food traditions that have been imported to these shores over the last 500 years. But in recent years, no thanks to the way the American food system is set up, many healthy ethnic foods are being erased for a more processed and packaged diet of Chicken McNuggets, KFC Double Downs and Slurpees.

With the generosity of a friendly dietitian, I attended the American Dietetic Association's Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo last November. I had the opportunity to speak to many experienced dietitians and other health professionals about this crisis in the new immigrant community. One person said that this phenomenon is part of a larger problem around food in this country - a "nutrition recession" to be precise. America is the richest country with the most resources, yet its population has the worst diet.

Also at the conference. Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio, authors of the new book "What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets," were on hand to discuss what in the world - literally - is happening to the global feast. And it seems like some other countries are unfortunately catching up to America's food system.

"Traditional foods are being replaced by processed foods," said Menzel. "Add on the lack of physical activity, obesity is becoming a global problem."

D'Aluisio said that unlike processed foods, "people who cook traditional foods know exactly what they eat and the exact measurements for ingredients in their meals. Subsistence farmers in the developing world tend to be in better physical shape because of the hard labor involved with their work and their diets generally comprise of foods they grow."

One workshop I attended highlighted this problem within the Hispanic community. The presenter used real life examples of two middle-aged, Hispanic men - one upper middle class real estate agent from Arizona and a poor corn farmer from Tijuana. The real estate agent owned his own business, was married with two kids and lived outside of Phoenix. However, the man and his family were all obese from eating fast foods two times a day and virtually no physical activity.

Across the border, the corn farmer lived in a rented, three-room apartment with his wife, mother and six children. The man, his wife and the mother were all thin because they work the farm all day and only eat what they grew. However, the children are starting to gain weight because of their desire to eat American foods. Also, because of NAFTA, over the last 15 years the farmer has found it more expensive to buy fresh food from his own country on his meager wage, and has been forced to purchase the cheaper brands from America. He is now thinking about immigrating with his family to America since the need for corn farming in his country has become scarce.

"America drives what we put on our dinner plates," said the farmer.

But is this a good thing - I think not.

Banned Books Week: Burn, Baby, Burn

2010-09-27T15:27:00.003-04:00

If you are a lover of books and free speech, you probably already know that it is Banned Books Week, a time to highlight and support books that are challenged by society for a variety of reasons. Many books that are considered classics today have been either banned or challenged by schools, libraries and politicians for issues ranging from sexuality, violence and other "social offenses."

Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, a fictionalized story about the horrors of the American meat-packing industry in the early 1900s, was not only an expose on what was really going on with (and going into) our food, but also put on display the "inferno of exploitation" poor and immigrant workers had to deal with at the time. Luckily, the book helped change the laws around workers' rights and food safety, ultimately with the creation of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

However, this didn't come without the book's detractors. The Jungle was banned in Yugoslavia, East Germany, and South Korea, and was even burned in Nazi bonfires for Sinclair‘s socialist views.

C'mon y'all, no one burns books anymore, right? And certainly not in the democratic United States, right?

From CBS News:

The Pentagon announced [Sept 27, 2010] it has overseen the destruction of 9,500 copies of a former Army intelligence officer's war memoir that it contends threatened national security.

Pentagon spokesman Col. Dave Lapan said Monday that military officials last week watched as St. Martin's Press pulped the books to be recycled.

The publisher had planned to release on Aug. 31 Anthony Shaffer's book "Operation Dark Heart: Spycraft and Special Ops on the Frontlines of Afghanistan - and the Path to Victory."

Shaffer's lawyer, Mark Zaid, says the Army Reserve cleared the manuscript beforehand, but the Defense Department later rescinded the approval, claiming the text contained classified information

Shaffer and the publisher agreed to remove the material.

A revised version of the book, with some material blacked-out, is being released.

In a statement on the St. Martin's website, Shaffer wrote, "While I do not agree with the edits in many ways, the DoD redactions enhance the reader’s understanding by drawing attention to the flawed results created by a disorganized and heavy handed military intelligence bureaucracy."

...Revoking approval to publish the book at the last minute raises questions, Zaid says, because the [Defence Intelligence Agency] knew for months the book was coming out.

"Either someone woke up and smelled the roses or it was retaliatory," he said.

With the controversies around Wikileaks, the McCrystal/Rolling Stone interview, and the new Bob Woodward book, our government seems to be doing things all in the name of "national security" these days, and book burnings maybe coming back into fashion.

SMH!

Traits of Successful People

2010-09-21T00:11:00.002-04:00

I was cyber-browsing the other day, and stumbled upon Jonathan Alpert latest and greatest advice column on how to be successful in today's economy. As an entrepreneur, I have had to develop certain skills to succeed in my business and as a writer. Here is my take on Alpert's success traits.

1. Have a clear vision
Having a straightforward life strategy or business plan, while maintaining the highest standards, will not only help you get organized, but also present a professional and polished image before anyone you meet or do business with. So, looking like you have your sh*t together goes a long way.

2. Ask "why not"
See an obstacle as a challenge. A successful person is someone who knows how to be resourceful, think outside the box and always has a Plan B,C,D,E,F etc.

3.Choose to be different and defy the norm
Again, think outside the box. Being unique helps you stand out and get noticed.

4. Work really hard and focus on what you can control
'Nuff said

5. Be proactive and take initiative
Things don't happen to people who just sit around and expect opportunities to fall on their laps. Always look at a situation and see how you can seize the moment for your advantage.

6.Surround yourself with supportive and positive people
Dump all the insecure losers in your circle of friends and professional networks. They are going nowhere in their lives and only want to bring down other people into their misery. Success breeds success. Failure breeds failure.

7. Sell Yourself
As Alpert said, "A strong belief in who you are and what you do can lead you to become a brand in itself" So, shameless self-promotion is the name of the game.

8. Finally, enjoy what you do
You have to love what you do and represent passionately to convince others to believe in you.

Poverty:Global & Ever-Present

2010-09-17T17:30:00.005-04:00

Because of the bad economy, everyone is having a hard time these days. Recently, the Census released a report, revealing that approximately 14.3 percent of Americans live in poverty, and the numbers are even worse for people of color.

But what the United States is going through right now is something many in the developing world have been dealing with for many years. This week, world leaders are gathering at the United Nations to discuss the poverty question. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is leading the discussion.

From CNN:

"We have led you to the river, so what are we asking of you today?" he asked a U.N. summit on global goals to fight poverty, hunger and disease. "To stay true, true to our identity as an international community built on a foundation of solidarity, true to our commitment to end the dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty."

But what about debt? Evo Morales might have a solution...

Morales also called for the establishment of a bank for developing countries in the southern hemisphere, including those in Africa and Asia. The bank, if funded with a percentage of the countries' international reserves, could help the countries "break away from our dependency on the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank," he said.

During the four years he has served as president, the break with the IMF and the World Bank has helped Bolivia, he said.

"Without the IMF, we're better off than we were before," he said, citing eradication of illiteracy, a drop in extreme poverty from 41 percent to 32 percent and a 42 percent drop in infant mortality.
But Bolivia will not be able to meet the millennium goals unless the distribution of wealth is made more equal, he said, noting that a recent U.N. report says that the poorest 40 percent of the world's population has only 5 percent of global income, while 70 percent of world income goes to the top 5 percent of the world's population.

"That is unfair distribution of wealth," he said. "Our task should be oriented toward putting an end to this unfair distribution."

Who wants to be Haiti's next president?

2010-08-06T11:13:00.008-04:00

In case you have been living under a rock for the last couple of days, rapper Wyclef Jean is running for president in Haiti. No, you didn't skip a line; he really is running for the office with 14 other candidates this fall in the earthquake-stricken Caribbean island.

I even have proof:

As much as I like him musically, almost immediately, my skeptic radar went up because he seems to have a bit of a shady past when it comes to his finances. Not only was he accused of misappropriating much-needed donations to Haitians following the earthquake through his charity, Yele, but he is now being accused again of not paying his taxes. So, you have to question how Jean intends to manage a country when its seems like he can't manage himself. Other folks like Sean Penn have brought up issues about accountability and transparency around his campaign and how he would actually run the country. Penn also questioned how dedicated Jean is about his bid. Jean departed from Haiti less than 24 hours after his announcement due to family issues.

And you know your presidential campaign is not going well when your friends turn against you.

Discuss...

When Online Journalism Goes Really Bad

2010-07-22T16:21:00.010-04:00

Most of you have already seen the video of former USDA employee Shirley Sherrod "racist" remarks before a NAACP gathering earlier this year. Sherrod was fired as soon as the video came to light by way of the conservative blogger Andrew Beitbert. The problem with the above video is that it was shorten to just show the most controversial bits. Although it has been revealed only after Sherrod was fired that the video didn't show the full explanation of her feelings towards white farmers, Beitbert has yet to apologize.

This brings up questions again about online journalism and the "urgency of now" theory, where the news has to get out first, and accuracy and fairness come later. But I would argue that, while that is a common problem in journalism today, I don't think that was entirely the case here.

My question is why would anyone listen to Beitbert in the first place? He has a history of bad journalism. Please remember he was "allegedly" behind the ACORN video and Sen. Mary Landreau wiretapping controversies. He even admitted he received the Sherrod video unedited and posted it without tracking down the original.

I am sure this will be a hot topic at a certain conference I am attending this week...

BTW, if you want to see the full Sherrod video:

Shh...Reading in Progress: Summer Edition

2010-07-07T17:05:00.005-04:00

As usual, here is my quarterly reading list. This time, I'm going old school with all the "recyclables."

Infidel: My Life by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World by Michael Pollan

Every Light in the House Burnin' by Andrea Levy

Assata: An Autobiography by Assata Shakur and Angela Davis

The Hungered One by Ed Bullins

The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, The Good Husband of Zebra Drive and The Miracle at Speedy Motors by Alexander McCall Smith

Black Power: Three Books from Exile: Black Power; The Color Curtain; and White Man, Listen! by Richard Wright

I am sure the list will grow after attending the Harlem Book Fair next week.

Haiti's Rice Problems

2010-06-30T19:03:00.005-04:00

Over the weekend, I had a chance to catch the Frontline/World segment on Haiti's aid problems since the earthquake earlier this year. The report specifically focused on the dilemma foreign aid has "caused" on the island, especially for Haitians who sell rice. My issue with this report was the fact that Haiti has had a rice problem long before the earthquake, thanks in part to U.S. policies towards the island.

Excuse me for bringing this up - since NPR won't do it - but last time I checked, Haiti used to grow its own rice. I am surprised that nowhere in the program was this mention. It was almost a given that the United States was suppose to give rice to Haiti, rather than allow it to be food secure with its own agricultural resources.

A little history lesson...

From Reader Supported News:

Today, little rice is grown in Haiti; instead, the nation is a market for the subsidized rice crop grown in the United States. Human Rights lawyer Bill Quigley, now at the Center for Constitutional Rights, wrote about this trend in the spring of 2008, as food riots shook Haiti and other parts of the developing world:

In 1986, after the expulsion of Haitian dictator Jean Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loaned Haiti $24.6 million in desperately needed funds (Baby Doc had raided the treasury on the way out). But, in order to get the IMF loan, Haiti was required to reduce tariff protections for their Haitian rice and other agricultural products and some industries to open up the country's markets to competition from outside countries. The US has by far the largest voice in decisions of the IMF. "American rice invaded the country," recalled Charles Suffrard, a leading rice grower in Haiti, in an interview with the Washington Post in 2000. By 1987 and 1988, there was so much rice coming into the country that many stopped working the land.

Haiti is now the third largest importer of U.S. rice in the world. The rice is "dumped" on the island by American farmers receiving subsidies from the US government to grow surpluses of rice at a rock-bottom rates, undercutting Haitian rice farmers.

And some Americans have the nerve to call Haiti "the basket case of the Western Hemisphere," when, in fact, the United States and their friends at the WTO and IMF are undermining the very structure it needs to survive.

Disgusting...

Prejudice in Uganda

2010-06-28T10:10:00.002-04:00

I had a chance to see this amazing documentary on Current TV last night.

A few observations:

1. Because of the growing acceptance of LGBT folks in the United States, Christian evangelicals feel like they are losing the battle in their own country and have found more supportive and impressionable people in Africa to spread their wealth of homophobic crap.

2. I think the Ugandan pastor featured in the film is the next Ted Haggard...

Viva La France...and Racism!?

2010-06-23T18:23:00.008-04:00

When in doubt, blame the black guy!

Or this seems to be the route some French folks have resorted to in light of the country's sour loss at the World Cup this week. All racial hell has broken out. I was listening to the BBC this morning when I heard a French dude blame the loss on team members who are "millionaire thugs from the Paris suburbs."

From New York Times:

The philosopher Alain Finkielkraut, who has often criticized the failures of French assimilation, compared the players to youths rioting in the banlieues, France’s suburban ghettos. “We now have proof that the French team is not a team at all, but a gang of hooligans that knows only the morals of the mafia,” he said in a radio interview.

While most politicians have talked carefully of values and patriotism, rather than immigration and race, some legislators blasted the players as “scum,” “little trouble-makers” and “guys with chickpeas in their heads instead of a brain,” according to various news reports.

Fadela Amara, the junior minister for the racially-charged suburbs who was born to Algerian parents, warned on Tuesday that the reaction to the team’s loss had become racially charged.

“There is a tendency to ethnicize what has happened,” she told a gathering of President Nicolas Sarkozy’s governing party, according to reports in the French news media. “Everyone condemns the lower-class neighborhoods. People doubt that those of immigrant backgrounds are capable of respecting the nation.”

You mean to tell that France isn't post-racial? Oh, the horror! Read on.

...France is confused about its identity and uncomfortable with the growing numbers and sometimes the attitudes of its poorer, darker immigrants and their children, he said. “What is certain is that we are going through in France questions of disobedience, of incivility, of loss of bearings, and this group of irritated young kids is an excessive reflection of those questions.”

In 1998 the successful French team that won the World Cup was widely praised for its multiethnic nature — black, white and Arab, and seen as a symbol of a more diverse nation. But today, Mr. Tétart said, the talk is the opposite...

...On Tuesday, Mr. Le Pen said that “the myth of anti-racism is a sacred myth in France.” He added, with no apparent irony, that he hated politicians who turn the national soccer team into “a flag of anti-racism instead of sport.”

Just in the last few months a French government official was convicted for making racial remarks about Arabs and the French Parliament is currently debating creating a ban on burqas. Of course, the 2005 Paris suburbs riots should have been a wake-up call to the country.

Anti-racism certainly is a myth these days...

Gaza Boat Crisis: Two Sides to Every Story

2010-05-31T19:22:00.006-04:00

There are always two sides to every story.

This morning, the Israel Defense Force raided a flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, where nine activists were fatally shot. Everyone seems to agree up until that point. The interesting thing about this whole situation is how both sides used online video to plead their cases.

According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the activists on board "deliberately attacked soldiers."

And IDF has video to prove their point:

Meanwhile the folks on the flotilla tell a different story. The Free Gaza Movement says that "Israeli commandoes dropped from a helicopter onto the Turkish passenger ship, Mavi Marmara, and began to shoot the moment their feet hit the deck. They fired directly into the crowd of civilians asleep."

From the Guardian:

The Scottish journalist and documentary film-maker Hassan Ghani, 24 and from Glasgow, was on board the Mavi Marmara, the Turkish vessel attacked by Israeli forces. He was seen broadcasting for PressTV as the commandos took control of the ship. In footage shown on YouTube, Ghani said: "This is the MC Marmara, Hassan Ghani reporting for PressTV. We've had several injuries here; one is critical. He has been injured in the head and we think he may die if he doesn't receive medical treatment urgently. Another person being passed in front of me right now has been seriously injured. We are being hit by tear gas, stun grenades. We've navy ships on either side. We're being attacked from every single side. This is international waters and not Israeli waters, not in the 68-mile exclusion zone. We're being attacked in international waters completely illegally."

You decide...

Jamaica, Bananas & Free Trade

2010-05-26T17:43:00.006-04:00

Of course there's a food connection to what's going on in Jamaica.

As the death toll continues to rise, many wonder why all of a sudden there is such interest in the Caribbean island. Finally, the world is seeing a problem that has been bubbling for a while - by way of trade agreements. I happened upon this great article in the Guardian recently:

...Since 1975, Europe protected Caribbean banana growers. But the largely American interests that controlled the vast banana plantations in Ecuador and Colombia, where workers' rights are at best an afterthought, persuaded the then fledgling Clinton administration, whose election they lavishly funded, to lodge a complaint with the World Trade Organisation demanding they overturn this perceived unjust support
For 17 years, the banana wars raged. Then, five months ago, with one eye on huge trade deals between Colombia and Peru, Europe relented.
Compensation for banana farmers in a dozen Caribbean and African countries comes in the form of €190m fund. The money will be paid to Caribbean governments in the form of budget support. In other words, farmers won't see the cash.
The most serious challenge to agriculture in the Caribbean comes as islands face falls in tourism, foreign direct investment and financial services. This after the international community told the islands to pursue these paths.
The decline of the Caribbean banana industry may seem like a sideshow. But abandoned farms together with laid-off financial workers are a seedbed for enveloping the Caribbean economy and political system in a drug morass.
There is evidence of the spread of marijuana cultivation and trafficking, especially in St Vincent where a Marijuana Growers Association was publicly announced, despite the practice being illegal...

I remember my mum telling me stories about going up on a farm near Montego Bay and how everyone in her village had a job doing something related to the banana business. Today those jobs no longer exist. The banana industry is Jamaica's fifth leading revenue earner behind remittances, tourism, bauxite and sugar. However, in recent years with the United States pushing to buy their bananas cheaper (and at the expense of decent worker rights) in South America, along with the devastating hurricanes of late, many Jamaicans are turning to the underground economy to stay alive.

This is where drugs baron Christopher "Dudus" Coke comes in. Of course, I'm not defending what this dude is doing, but he seems to be fulfilling a void among the population's most vulnerable. There is a lot to be said about a situation where there are people willing to defend the drug dealer first. I'm just saying...

From where to where have we come?

Political Tweets and Transparency

2010-05-11T18:28:00.006-04:00

By now, everyone knows the power social media giant Twitter has had in revolutionizing how our society communicates with itself. Even politicians understand the leverage of sending out 140 characters of talking points to solidify support for their positions. Recently, May 8 edition of The Economist explores political tweeting.

Sebastián Piñera, the newly elected president of Chile, has asked all cabinet members to start tweeting. His own account is now the most-followed in the country. Venezuala’s Hugo Chávez tweets too (@chavezcandanga). In June only three Japanese politicians had accounts; now Politter, a site dedicated to Twitter and Japanese politics, lists 485. An analysis of last year’s German elections by the University of St Gallen discovered that 577 politicians had opened Twitter accounts, three-quarters of them in 2009. Greece’s prime minister George Papandreou uses Twitter. But @primeministergr is the office, not the man. His staff tweet for him, sometimes using a code to signal who wrote what.

However, does social media make politicians more accessible to their constituents and detractors? Possibly not. President Barack Obama won the White House, thanks in part to his campaign's strong use of social media. According to the article, "at its height Barack Obama’s campaign (@barackobama) employed 100 staff working on social media such as Twitter." Nonetheless, "the scale of response makes it hard for office-holders to tweet themselves. Mr Obama reads just a select ten of the messages (20,000 of all kinds) he receives daily."

Recently, Global Wire went out and interviewed ordinary people about their thoughts on this matter. Some opinions were negative.

"At first, it might seem cool to follow and send tweets to your favorite politicians, but then you realize that the politician's Twitter account is being run by some intern or secretary in their office, which I think defeats the purpose of politicians connecting with your constituents about their concerns," said Nadya Ghanem of Turkey.

"What is the point of connecting with politicians online when they are not really connecting with you," said Luis Calbarro of Suriname. "It's like Twitter is no different from sending an email to a politician's office and not getting a response. It might be read or thrown in a inbox with other Tweets. It is all window dressing."

But some were hopeful of the future of political tweeting, like Shelly Kim from South Korea, who was exciting see the digital activism in her country's recent presidential election. Last March there was some controversy over the use of Twitter by South Korean lawmakers and making it accessible for all.

"I have seen the power of why social media is being taken more seriously by politicians because they really do listen to what the people have to say," she said.

Lena Horne - The Original Hollywood Activist

2010-05-10T10:01:00.004-04:00

Singer, dancer and actress Lena Horne passed away last night in New York at the age of 92. Horne is best known for using her entertainment career to move forward civil rights for African-Americans.

She toured as a featured singer with a white band in 1940, a first for an African-American, according to her biography. She was also one of the first blacks to sign a long-term movie contract with a major Hollywood studio when she joined MGM in 1942.

But she was also known for her activism in other areas.

From Wikipedia:

Horne was long involved with the Civil Rights movement. In 1941, she sang at Cafe Society and worked with Paul Robeson, a singer who also combated American racial discrimination. During World War II, when entertaining the troops for the USO, she refused to perform "for segregated audiences or for groups in which German POWs were seated in front of African American servicemen", according to her Kennedy Center biography. Since the US Army refused to allow integrated audiences, she wound up putting on a show for a mixed audience of black US soldiers and white German POWs. She was at an NAACP rally with Medgar Evers in Jackson, Mississippi, the weekend before Evers was assassinated. She also met President John F. Kennedy at the White House two days before he was assassinated. She was at the March on Washington and spoke and performed on behalf of the NAACP, SNCC and the National Council of Negro Women. She also worked with Eleanor Roosevelt to pass anti-lynching laws. She was a member of the prominent organization Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.

A pretty cool lady! RIP

Innovations in Farmers' Markets

2010-05-06T11:33:00.003-04:00

So it is that time of year again when the local farmers share their bounty of fresh foods directly with community members. Farmers' markets are beneficial for the health of humans and the earth. Recently, I saw a couple of videos on CNN discussing new ways of making healthy foods accessible to all.

(In this video, they actually talk about callaloo!)

Carrotmobs!

Celebrity, Technology & Social Activism

2010-04-23T18:20:00.004-04:00

Last week American actor Danny Glover was arrested with 11 other activists for participating in a nonviolent protest against Sodexo.

From Huliq:

...The group was arrested after crossing a police line outside the company's offices, refusing to step back.

The twelve, including Danny Glover, were issued citations for trespassing and released. Police stated that the dozen could face a $1,000 fine or 90 days in jail.

Actions like the one involving Danny Glover have taken place at 11 sites across the U.S. The actions were reportedly taken after 16 Sodexo workers, including Shelly, were laid off after trying to unionize or becoming involved in union activities. Sodexo said it was not against unionization, per se. Instead, it accused the SEIU of inciting the Sodexo employees...

From AFP:

..."We're here today to say no more to deplorable pay and working conditions," Glover told the crowd of around 300 as they shouted "No Justice, No Pizza", a reference to cafeteria workers who claim they are underpaid and receive few benefits from Sodexo.

"This is a global corporation with global responsibility and we are going to hold them accountable to that responsibility," said Glover...

Two things I like about this protest:

There are so many celebrities these days that only take on causes as a publicity stunt to help further their own careers. But then you have people like Glover who are serious about their activism. I know from covering a few workers' rights protests in the past that Glover and his involvement in these issues are very sincere.

With that said, as more social activists move to using technology, having a dedicated high profile person on board helps to give an important cause an added boast that would otherwise not get the attention it deserves.

Earth Day: Food Injustices on Celluloid

2010-04-21T10:02:00.007-04:00

Earth Day turns 40 years old today. In today's post, I want to focus on various food injustices happening right here in the United States. While there have been many great food films recently making their way into mainstream cinemas like Food Inc and Super Size Me, there are other lesser known films and short videos on the topic you should know about, such as a couple of films from the YouTube Project:Report initiative.

Take a look at this film about the "modern day slavery" of undocumented Haitian immigrants in Florida. It is reminiscent of Stephanie Black's H-2 Worker.

Then I found this great short video on metal-contaminated waters in a rural Michigan town caused by food processing factory runoff.

Finally, another great film explores food insecurity in New York City.

Natural Disasters and Food Security

2010-04-17T20:25:00.009-04:00

The Icelandic volcano eruption has wreaked havoc on the worldwide air traffic system. Not only are airline travelers throughout Europe grounded, but food and other basic essentials are not being flown in, highlighting why we need to seriously rethink the local food idea.

From the Guardian:

Britain's supermarkets could soon run short of perishable goods including exotic fruits and Kenyan roses as the ongoing ban on UK air travel brought Britain's largest perishable air freight handling centre to a standstill today...
The UK imports about 90% of its fruit and 60% of its vegetables. While the vast majority come by sea – Fair Trade bananas from the West Indies, for instance, are regularly delivered to Southampton and Portsmouth – some of the more exotic inhabitants of the UK's shops come by air. Air freight makes up about 25% of all British imports by value, but just 0.5% of all imports by weight.

It is quite disturbing that any country is so dependent on another country for its food security. Meanwhile in Kenya...

...Kenyan farms have laid off 5,000 staff, and growers have warned thousands more workers could be told to stay at home if flights did not resume by Tuesday, which would deal a serious blow to the country's economy...

...Kenya's flower council says the country is haemorrhaging $1.3m a day in lost shipments to Europe. Kenya normally exports up to 500 tonnes of flowers daily – 97% of which is delivered to Europe. Horticulture earned Kenya 71 billion shillings (£594m) in 2009 and is the country's top foreign exchange earner...

...Farmers say they have been able to avoid avoided major losses since flights from Kenya were suspended early Thursday morning. But if they can't start shipping in earnest in the next day or two, they will have to dump much of their product...

A question to the multinationals: How is that new African food colonialism going for you?

Spring into Books 2010

2010-04-16T17:43:00.005-04:00

Spring is here again!

It's time to think positively about the nice aspects of spring - warmer weather, flowers blooming (like the ones above from my yard last year), more jogging in the park and best of all, great, new and not so new books to read outdoors.

Here are some books I hope to read in the new season:

The Long Song: A Novel by Andrea Levy

It's Our Turn to Eat: The Story of a Kenyan Whistle-Blower by Michela Wrong

Diet for a Hot Planet: The Climate Crisis at the End of Your Fork and What You Can Do about It by Anne Lappe

Fiesta: The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemmingway

A Man of the People by Chinua Achebe

Black Power: Three Books from Exile: Black Power; The Color Curtain; and White Man, Listen! by Richard Wright

What books are you reading?

Post-Racial South Africa? - Nope

2010-04-08T19:41:00.005-04:00

While this media attention seems to revolve around the recent murder of Eugene Terre’Blanche, racial tension has been brewing in South Africa for a long time. A lot of people I have been speaking to about this problem - mostly white liberals with good intentions - are actually shocked to hear that blacks and whites there aren't living harmoniously in "post-racial" South Africa.

I think this false view of that society comes from this belief in America that when apartheid officially ended in South Africa in 1993, somehow racism and segregation also ended at the same time. In addition, because of the dismal coverage in the U.S. media of international news and especially fair and balanced news about Africa, Americans have very little knowledge about race relations in post apartheid South Africa.

Twenty years ago, rock stars were putting on benefit concerts and college students rallied in support of a free South Africa. Today the country barely gets any attention unless it has something to do with the high crime rate and the upcoming Fifa World Cup. Interestingly enough, one would think that Zimbabwe is the only African country dealing with racial strife, when in fact, both that country and South Africa have the same shared history of apartheid. Of course, the ongoing madness of Robert Mugabe and his campaign to rid the nation of its white farmers make for intriguing news bits internationally.

I was last in South Africa about two years ago, and I can tell you that the racial hostility being exhibited prominently now has always been simmering at the surface, waiting to overflow. It is still generally a segregated society. For example, in Johannesburg blacks for the most part live in the poorer townships, while the whites live in highly secured communities in the suburbs. Cape Town is mostly white and black and brown folks venture into the city if they have to work there, otherwise they stay in their own communities.

Even in casual conversations with both South Africans, race is always a central topic. While in the country, I always hear constant complaining from both races about the other group. I would argue that South Africans today talk and argue about race more than Americans, and Americans are usually the ones accused of always race-baiting.

So it seems like the murder of Terre’Blanche may have tipped over the boiling racial pot. It will be interesting to see how the country copes in the next few days.

Mexico's Food War

2010-03-26T09:53:00.004-04:00

Lately, Mexico has been in the news because of the violent drug wars. But there is another war going on south of the border not getting the same attention, and that is the war on food. IPS News recently did this great video on Mexico's food security problem. In the 16 years since NAFTA has been in effect, have the lives of Mexicans and Americans really improved?

Mexico: Food Emergency from IPS Inter Press Service on Vimeo.

Nestle Gets Crushed Online by Green Activists

2010-03-23T17:31:00.004-04:00

Global food giant Nestlé has been under a critical spotlight for alleged poor corporate and social practices for many years. Recently, activists have accused the company of several problems, including only one percent of Nestlé cocoa products are FairTrade certified, continued child slavery in the cocoa supply chain, and its baby milk products not meeting international standards. The latest accusation of Nestlé's bad practices is now being seen loud and clear through a viral video, which is another great example of digital activism.

Greenpeace UK uploaded a video on Youtube, showing an office worker opening a Kit Kat and finding an orangutan's finger. Nestlé, which produces the popular chocolate bar, is being blamed by the green justice group of buying palm oil, which is used in many of its products, from Indonesian producer Sinar Mar. As a result, Greenpeace claims that this partnership has resulted in destroyed rainforests where Indonesia's last orangutans live and has created a devastating carbon footprint.

From CNN:

In the last 50 years, an area more than twice the size of Germany has been logged, burned or otherwise degraded, with palm oil plantations being a major cause, according to Greenpeace.

On Wednesday, Nestlé released a statement denying it buys palm oil from Sinar Mar for any of its products, including Kit Kats.

"We do purchase palm oil from Cargill and we have sought assurances from them about their supply chain," it said.

"Cargill has informed us that Sinar Mas needs to answer Greenpeace's allegations by the end of April. They have indicated that they will de-list Sinar Mas if they do not take corrective action by then.

"Nestlé recently undertook a detailed review of its supply chain to establish the source of its palm oil supplies and we have made a commitment to using only 'Certified Sustainable Palm Oil' by 2015, when sufficient quantities should be available."

Greenpeace claims that Nestlé asked YouTube to remove the video citing copyright concerns. Specifically Nestlé was bothered by the twist on the Kit Kat's famous slogan used at the end of the video: "Have a break? Give orangutans a break." However, the video was reposted the next day. Greenpeace said the video being taken down was a censorship attempt, which was "a pretext for stopping the word being spread and an apparent attempt to silence us."

Elsewhere online, approximately 90,000 Nestle protesters have taken over the company's Facebook page, to make their grievances clear, creating possibly one of the largest digital protests since last summer's Iranian election protests. In the long run, the Nestle debacle might show other companies how not to deal with online crisis communications. While Greenpeace created a very effective and (very graphic) video, the question always remains: Will digital activists take their protests offline and actually stop eating Kit Kats in the long term? Only time will tell.

African Land: The New Colonialism

2010-03-15T18:49:00.010-04:00

And you thought colonialism was over...

I just read a fascinating article that just about sums up everything that is wrong with globalization. Guardian environmental editor John Vidal recently wrote about how multinational companies, governments and rich individuals are acquiring every piece of available (and unavailable) land in Africa for their own food and biofuel production.

From The Guardian:

The land rush, which is still accelerating, has been triggered by the worldwide food shortages which followed the sharp oil price rises in 2008, growing water shortages and the European Union's insistence that 10% of all transport fuel must come from plant-based biofuels by 2015.
In many areas the deals have led to evictions, civil unrest and complaints of "land grabbing."

This article uses the example of the Ethiopian born, Saudi businessman Sheikh Mohammed al-Amoudi buying up land in his impoverished homeland, but here is the kicker.

Ethiopia is one of the hungriest countries in the world with more than 13 million people needing food aid, but paradoxically the government is offering at least 3m hectares of its most fertile land to rich countries and some of the world's most wealthy individuals to export food for their own populations.

According to the article, al-Amoundi's 1,000 hectares (2,470 acres) of greenhouses could potentially employ 10,000 Ethiopians. My concerns with this and other such agricultural ventures being made by "The Outsiders" are the following:

1. Sure, it is good to give jobs to poor people, but are they getting good jobs? Decent wage? What about worker exploitation?

2. Why isn't any of the food being produce in Africa not being resold in Africa?

3. There seems to be little concern about land rights for the indigenous populations...

4. Isn't anyone worried about the already sensitive problem of food security in Africa? With more biofuel production comes less food for Africans (and the rest of the world).

5. The environmental impact goes beyond water intensive farming. What about the carbon impact of flying food from Africa to another continent?

6.The new land grab doesn't look any different from the original Scramble for Africa?

"I Know" Targets US Young Adults on HIV

2010-03-13T17:13:00.007-05:00

According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), over 33 million people worldwide are living with HIV. In the United States most aid for preventing and treating the virus tends to go towards those living in the developing world. However, there has been criticism by many American advocates that the U.S. government has neglected to provide the same aid to a group in its own country which has been the most affected by the virus - African Americans. While African Americans represent over 12 percent of the U.S. population, they account for over half of all those being infected yearly and living in the United States with HIV. As the Obama administration starts to put together a national HIV/AIDS strategy - the first one in 20 years, other HIV activists are taking their message directly to the people via digital activism.

The "i know" effort is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Act Against AIDS campaign, which uses multiple social media platforms to reach out to African American youth with facts about HIV/AIDS with the aim to engage them in open conversation.

"By supporting frank conversations through social media, 'i know' creates an opportunity for young people to talk directly with each other about the issues that fuel this still-deadly disease," said Kevin Fenton, director of CDC's National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention. "Their ideas and involvement will be a critical part of the solution."

The campaign uses a mix of both old and new media. Followers have a choice of using Twitter, Facebook and texting to get alerts and status updates on HIV knowledge and attitudes, as well as links to information about HIV testing and prevention. The campaign's website allows users to identify local HIV testing sites and campaign events and video stories of those living with HIV. There are also radio and online video public service announcements that has actor Jamie Foxx calling for a new discussion on HIV.

Since the campaign's launch on March 4, hundreds of users have become followers of the various platforms and it seems that the campaign has initially succeeded in engaging users, as can be seen with the many status re-tweets and discussion. While it is good that social media is being used in this campaign, it should also be highlighted that the campaign's radio use is just as important, as many African-Americans still see the significance of this medium for getting out information within their community. However, it will take a longer amount of time to actually determine if both the online and radio efforts turn into offline actions.

Kenyan farmers use mobiles to secure crops

2010-03-08T19:04:00.003-05:00

Whether it is a new home or a television, having good insurance is a pretty important thing to have to maintain a sound mind and prevent future problems for the many investments in our lives. So, it is no surprise that farmland should also be given the same consideration for insurance. A new protection policy in Africa is using technology to insure some of the world's most vulnerable farmers.

Last year's droughts throughout Africa were some of the worst in decades, causing higher food prices, illness among both people and animals and destroyed crops that took months to repair. To address these problems, the Agricultural Index Insurance Initiative at the Syngenta Foundation launched last week Kilimo Salama, Swahili for "safe farming", to provide insurance plans for Kenyan farmers.

Here is how it works: When purchasing seeds from an retailer, farmers register to insure their seeds by filling in the insurance card. The registration process is completed when the farmer sends a text message on their mobile phone, and a record is created in a database. A local weather station records the rainfall and sends the data to the insurance company, which then calculates a payout according to an agronomic model. At the end of the season the farmer receives a text message if there is a payout and can pick up their payout at the original retailer where the insurance was purchased.

Kilimo Salama actually began as a small pilot project last year with a group of 200 farmers in the central region of Laikipia. Most of the farmers were highly impressed with the program, as many of them received a payout of up to 80 percent. This year the insurance program will cover at least 5,000 maize and wheat farmers in Central, Rift Valley and Western provinces, which is at high risk of drought. This program shows that even a simple tool like a mobile phone can make a big difference in the lives of many.

Rage Against the Olympics Machine

2010-02-13T18:46:00.003-05:00

Controversy has not only marred the 2010 Winter Olympics because of the tragic death of 21 year old luger Nodar Kumaritashvili, but also with 200 masked protesters who smashed windows of department stores and splattered red paint across Olympic venues in Vancouver.

Police said the group marched through the shopping district, vandalizing cars and stores. Protesters also threw metal boxes on display windows of Hudson's Bay Company, where Olympic souvenirs are sold.

Vancouver has been facing problems ever since the run-up started to the games. Lack of actual snow, hundreds of millions in losses as NBC expected to take broadcasting the games, and now the luger death spelling riots.

Vancouverians have been upset about the way the Olympic games have been handled by the government. The Olympic projects have come in well over budget.

Some feel that the money would have been better spent going to social services, particularly as the city grapples with the effects of the recession.
But now, the protests are beginning to turn violent.

Despite the violence, various activist groups have been leading largely peaceful protests since it was announced that the Games were to held in Vancouver in 2003. Many of these protesters have used viral video to effectively get their message across to a wider audience.

While most of the grievances by anti-Olympics protesters stem from the growing presence of corporate corruption in the Games, the largest resistance has come from indigenous groups in Western Canada, who claim their "stolen land" is being used by the government "for the benefit of corporations, including mining, logging, oil & gas, and ski resorts." In addition, some activists say that Indigenous peoples suffering social ills caused by the Olympics, such as higher rates of poverty, unemployment, environmental degradation, police violence, disease, suicides and violence against women.

Many grassroots activists have been flooding the Internet with videos about their complaints. Many of which are low-budget, but effective in telling their side of the story, like this one and this one. While the Olympic Games will go on in Vancouver and Games officials are not giving in to the complaints, anti-Olympic digital activism has allowed a point of view that would otherwise not get covered in the mainstream media.

Obama: One Year On

2010-01-20T17:01:00.004-05:00

It was one year ago today the world watched Barack Obama make history by becoming America's first black president and a commander-in-chief who would save the world from the disasters the previous administrations created.

I came upon a article today about a website that is keeping an eye on Obama's greatest hits and misses in the last 12 months.

From Boston Metro:

Two New Yorkers who volunteered for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign wanted to make sure he kept his election promises. So, they created a Web site encouraging people to rate Obama on everything from his Cabinet members to weekly radio addresses.

“We’re trying to make it as easy as Netflix,” said Chirag Patel, 34, co-founder of the TabsonObama.org. “We hope it promotes transparency, accountability and civic engagement.” He also wants to provide “deeper insights than standard Gallup polls.”

Developed by a bunch of like-minded, tech-head liberals in Patel’s Brooklyn, N.Y., loft, the site shows low favorability for the president. In fact, ex-Bush appointee, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, is the most popular...

...How does Patel rate Obama, on a scale of one to five? He’s disappointed in the lack of a public option in health care reform, campaign finance reform and troop withdrawal from Iraq. “I might give him a three … or maybe a two and a half.”

Between the ongoing health reform debacle, Martha Coakley's Senate defeat, the escalation in Iraq, the Nobel Peace Prize and Chicago Olympics fails, I would give him a 3.

How do you rate President Obama so far?

Drama in Haiti: Reporters or Heroes?

2010-01-19T18:57:00.003-05:00

Since the earthquake in Haiti last week, there has been an outpouring of good will coming out of everyone. However, a couple of journalists have stepped over to the other side of the camera in recent days and became part of the news.

Friday night, CNN's Sanjay Gupta, who has always claimed to be a doctor first and reporter second, got into a bit of an ethical bind with some media analysts when he began treating patients after all the sanctioned United Nations medical personnel left a hospital for the night.

Today I saw the footage above, showing Anderson Cooper saving an injured Haitian boy from harm.

I say good on both Gupta and Cooper, but especially for Gupta because I would be saddened if he didn't do anything to help that baby. It is never unethical to save a life.

Wyclef Jean's side of the story

2010-01-17T10:01:00.001-05:00

Wyclef's personal statement on the accusations against his foundation Yele Haiti.

Haiti earthquake gets quick response online

2010-01-13T08:28:00.004-05:00

Haiti was rocked Tuesday night by a 7.0-magnitude earthquake. According to a report, Haiti's First Lady Elisabeth Debrosse Delatour said that "most of Port-au-Prince is destroyed."

While almost all phone lines have gone down on the impoverished island, Haitians have been able to communicate to friends and relatives around the world with the use of new media. Not only has there been a flurry of tweets and photos of the devastation posted online over night, but charitable individuals and organizations have responded quickly with their efforts to help victims.

Victims of the earthquake immediately got on Twitter, uploaded photos and YouTube videos and text messaged to give eyewitness reports on the tragedy like this one:

RAMHaiti: It's 8:44PM and we're still getting aftershocks!!I can hear people gathered in the distance singing prayers...people in large numbers are singing prayers downtown

In the last few hours charitable organizations have been able to make initial assessments of victims' needs and have asked for donations, mostly through the use of digital tools.

Red Cross: Help Haiti right now, text Haiti to 90999 to give just $10 to the Red Cross

UNICEF: Donate now for Haiti on their website

Rap artist and activist Wyclef Jean was among the first to organize online when he sent out these tweets:

@wyclef Help Haiti by donating to Yele on www.yele.org follow @YeleHaiti

@wyclef Another way you can help Haiti after their 7.0 earthquake: Donate $5 by texting YELE to 501501 and by visiting www.YELE.org

News organizations that cater to Haitian communities in the United States have also taken the initiative to give their readers updated information about the earthquake's aftermath, such as the Boston Haitian Reporter, which has been live-blogging since Tuesday night.

While a full assessment of the Haitian earthquake will be long term, this latest international incident shows the incredible value in digital activism for quick response and possibly saving lives.

Save Marcus Books!

2010-01-09T18:42:00.006-05:00

It is with sad regret that Marcus Books, the nation's oldest black book store, is on the verge of closing. I have a picture of Mutabaraka because I remember meeting him on Jamaica once and he talked about a book reading he did there in 2005.

From Prometheus 6

Marcus Books is in foreclosure, the victim of a sub-prime loan scam and ponzi scheme. An auction is scheduled to take place next week, unless lawyers delay matters. It is $900,000 in debt on their mortgage. Because of hubris, the family did not disclose their situation to the pubic or more specifically to the black community until the eleventh hour. Several options are being attempted as we write, including having their property in San Francisco declared a historical monument, since Marcus is no doubt the oldest black book store in America.

Paul Cobb, publisher of the Oakland Post, is leading the charge to save Marcus Books. No matter the cause, the primary objective is to save this historical black business that has meant so much to Bay Area black consciousness. Thanks to Marcus, the little light of blackness is still shining in the Bay. So we want to save Marcus at all costs, even if 100 black writers must post themselves in front of the property on auction day, even if we go to jail.

I want to save Marcus in spite of my personal relationship with the family which has been shakey from time to time, but Julian Richardson was my mentor, so I will fight to save it because of his contribution to black liberation in the Bay and throughout America, since writers, artists and activists from around the world came through Marcus Books, either in person or with their books, and shed light on a people who walked in darkness.

If you want to help, I suggest you call Paul Cobb at the Oakland Post Newspaper. 510-287-2800.

The Music of David Bowie

2010-01-08T11:37:00.003-05:00

Forget Elvis; lets celebrate the living, breathing musical genius of David Bowie.

Lets groove into the weekend with a few of my favorite songs.

What are your favorite Bowie songs?

Resolve to Eat Healthy in 2010

2010-01-05T19:46:00.006-05:00

Food justice activist and journalist Michael Pollan was on the Daily Show last night, keeping it real about the war on Big Food. By the way, Jon Stewart on "Terror 2.0" and religious advice for Tiger Woods is funny and on point.

New Year, New (ish) Books

2010-01-03T14:23:00.008-05:00

So, I'm not a big fan of new year's resolutions, but I do figure that now is a good time to get cracking on some new and not so new books I have been putting off.

Here is my reading list so far.

The Value of Nothing: How to Reshape Market Society and Redefine Democracy by Raj Patel

Something to Tell You: A Novel by Hanif Kureishi

The Black Album by Hanif Kureishi (For old time's sake!)

Changing My Mind: Occasional Essays by Zadie Smith

Rasta and Resistance: From Marcus Garvey to Walter Rodney by Horace Campbell (really for old time's sake!!)

The Conversation: How Black Men and Women Can Build Loving, Trusting Relationships by Hill Harper (I know, out of left field, right? After interviewing him recently, I thought I would check the book out.)

In addition, I hope to not only follow Michael Pollan's Food Rules, but also make the attempt to cook all (or most) of the recipes in Bryant Terry's Vegan Soul Kitchen this year!

Yay for me! What are your reading?

Hating Your Own Race

2009-12-28T18:34:00.003-05:00

A friend of mine just forwarded me this, and I think it speaks for itself. SMH!

The White Beauty Myth (Documentary About Minorities In U.K. Wanting To Be White)

Tiger Woods and Corporate Social Responsibility

2009-12-13T15:44:00.005-05:00

I need to take an "indefinite break" from Tiger Woods.

But if we need to talk about him, lets talk about his lack of corporate social responsibility. There is a lot I could say about Woods and lack of responsibility in his private life, but at this point, that mess is really between himself, his wife and his higher being. But I digress.

Many analysts believed that Woods was going to be dropped by all his sponsors and partners, including energy giant Chevron, but it seems like Woods beat them to the punch.

From TigerWoods.com

As the final round of the Chevron World Challenge begins, I would like to extend my heartfelt thank you to everyone affiliated with the event, especially our amazing title sponsor, Chevron." Woods added: '"I am so grateful to them for their efforts, and I am sincerely sorry I was unable to fulfill my duties as host and player in this important event." He also mentioned the "18 outstanding pros in the field," saying, "they provided excellent competition.

If Tiger Woods is so reckless about his personal life, why would I expect any better from his corporate life.

From David Zirin:

In 2008 Chevron entered a five-year relationship with Tiger Woods's foundation under the guise of philanthropy. But if Woods had a shred of social conscience, this partnership never would have existed. Lawsuits have been issued against Chevron for dumping toxic waste all over the planet. Alaska, Canada, Brazil, Angola and California have all accused Chevron of dumping. Even worse, Chevron has a partnership with Burma's ruling military junta on the country's Yadana gas pipeline project, the single greatest source of revenue for the military, estimated at nearly $5 billion since 2000.

Ka Hsaw Wa, co-founder and executive director of EarthRights International, wrote in an open letter to Woods, "I myself have spoken to victims of forced labor, rape, and torture on Chevron's pipeline--if you heard what they said to me, you too would understand how their tragic stories stand in stark contrast to Chevron's rhetoric about helping communities." Chevron is underwriting a dictatorship, but Tiger Woods apparently sees them as upstanding corporate partners.

Zirin goes on to say that Tiger Woods has designed a golf course in Dubai, which "also has a reputation as ground zero of the global sex trade. The project cost $100 million, and Woods said nary a word about his benefactor's practices. This is business as usual for Woods who would sooner swallow a five-iron than take anything resembling a political stand."

Who is really surprised by this? It's not like Tiger Woods respects women anyway, right...

Human Rights Day? I think not...

2009-12-10T17:42:00.004-05:00

So, apparently today was International Human Rights Day, but nothing about today seemed to celebrate that feeling. President Obama was in Oslo, Norway today to receive his "much-deserved" Nobel Peace Prize. I'm so glad I am not the only person that sees the absurdity in Obama's award.

From Marc Lamont Hill:

...How can a president who is not only managing but escalating unnecessary wars receive an award as an agent of peace? Even more absurd is the reaction from the Left, which has failed to call Obama on the carpet for the very policies and practices for which we lambasted President Bush.

Like George W. Bush, Barack Obama’s Afghanistan policy is rooted in a belief that military escalation and indefinite occupation are the keys to global security and the expansion of democracy. Like Bush, Obama has refused to substantively invest in Afghani jobs, housing, and education, all of which are traditional keys to an effective counter-insurgency strategy. Like Bush, Obama has dipped into the reservoir of fear, scaring Americans into thinking that military aggression, even the pre-emptive sort, is the only thing that will keep Americans safe. Yet somehow, despite these and other eerie similarities to President Bush, the anti-war Left has sat on its hands while President Obama operates.

Even more disturbing than Obama’s warmongering is the blatant calculation behind it. Unlike Bush, whose wrongheadedness was at least borne out of a coherent (though perverted) set of principles, Obama appears willing to act out of pure political expediency. After getting public pressure from his generals and bloodthirsty Republicans for his “dithering” (a Bushian term used to mock the President’s audacious use of facts, evidence, and wise council) Obama finally caved to his rivals and sent troops. Then, in order to satisfy the anxious anti-war left, Obama promises a withdrawal date. Sound good? Sure, except for one catch: He never promised a completion of the withdrawal, which hinges upon the ability of a severely compromised Karzai government and woefully underprepared Afghani troops to take over the military reigns. In short, Obama, like Bush, has American troops and innocent Afghani citizens in harms way without a clear or reasonable exit strategy...

All I have to say about this is that if the Dalai Lama doesn't think you are deserving the prize, you know you got issues.

Global Wire Interview: Women Tech Entrepreneurs

2009-11-10T07:00:00.002-05:00

The first New Media Women Entrepreneurs Summit occurred yesterday with dozens of enterprising women – and a few men – thinking about the business side of the new cyber frontier. Following the summit, Global Wire talked to future tech entrepreneur Juliana Bozan of Brazil about creating Internet start-ups with a focus on social justice. Bozan came to the Summit to find inspiration.

Global Wire: Why is it important for more women to get involved in technology and entrepreneurship?

Juliana Bozan: I think it is really important for women to get online today because they are so many business opportunities. Women, especially in the developing world, are blogging and tweeting about issues that affect us. Just look at the Iranian protests last summer and the continuing human rights problems against women in the Middle East; many of the bloggers are women. Journalism outlets like CNN and BBC are using information on our blogs for free, and we see no profit. But now is the time to step our game, and figure out a way to create business opportunities for our words, video and audio.

GW: Tell me about your blogging experience?

JB: I used to write for a now defunct group blog for women in Brazil a couple of years back about “Brave Women,” where we would talk about problems women in the favelas like domestic violence, prostitution and single motherhood. It was great because everyone liked it and we have a lot of unique hits on the site, including from European journalism outlets. However, some of these journalism outlets reposted some of our blog posts, which was fine at first, but eventually we got tired of them taking our stuff without giving credit to our blog, the bloggers or even asking our permission to repost or paying us for reposting. We felt like we were being used, you know, like a new kind of colonialism. Since Western outlets are cutting back on having journalists in the developing world, they now seek out bloggers in countries they want to get information about. Unfortunately, it is very commonplace these days for Western journalism outlets take information from bloggers in the developing world and not give credit where credit is due.

GW: What are you hoping to take away from this Summit?

JB: I have met a couple of interesting people here who I would like to follow up within the next few days about getting help on writing a business plan. I want to look into starting an online newsletter or blog about Brazilian women social justice activists, but this time I want to look at having a better strategy for monetizing my site, so my writers will get payment and credit for their work. I would even consider having more formalized partnerships with journalism outlets.

GW: What advice do you have for other women tech entrepreneurs?

JB: Be strong, be confident and be smart about what you are doing. Don’t let others take advantage of you or tell you that you can’t do your own website. When you do that, you have failed before you’ve even gotten started.

Fall Into Bloom

2009-11-03T19:27:00.001-05:00

Photos I took in Boston’s Jamaica Plain and Roslindale neighborhoods the week of October 25, 2009.

Tweeting for Equality

2009-10-11T16:37:00.007-04:00

On Sunday, thousands of gays and lesbians gathered in Washington, D.C. for the National Equality March, which was billed as the largest event of its kind since 2000. While many in the gay community were divided over the reasoning for having such a march, this was also one of the first massive gay rights protests to use social media - tools that are being used by the new generation of LGBT activists. Sunday's protest was the latest example of the generational shift in how to communicate for social change.

Most of the organizing was done through Facebook, YouTube and other tools leading up to the march. Before and during the march, protesters could follow the march's official Twitter feed for any logistics matters, such as getting information about purchasing subway round-trip tickets before the march to avoid long lines stations kiosks.

Throughout the day, Twitter was the main choice of communicating, as thousands of protesters either in Washington or following the events on television reflected on march highlights. Most used the hashtag #nem to follow the conversation.

loquaciousmoi "Rights for Gays
and Lesbians aren't special rights in any way. It isn't special to be free from
discrimination." - Julian Bond #nem
700mtv Judy Shepard, "I"m here today
because I lost my son to hate . . . We're all equal Americans. Gay, straight,
whatever." #NEM

peterzimmerman Wow the speeches at #NEM are really inspiring. Gosh.
So exciting to see the outpouring of emotion at the march!

Jamal Jackson and Winston Brown moved to the United States from the Caribbean island of Jamaica to escape harassment from others about their relationship three years ago. The march was the first gay rights event they have attended as an openly gay couple. The both also used Twitter to follow what other folks were saying, as well as tweeting their own thoughts.

"I started using Twitter a year ago and I found using it to be very useful," Jackson told Global Wire following the march. "I was able to tweet other protesters, find out where to meet my friends and navigate the city during the protest. I was able to find other people here from the West Indies, like Trinidad, Dominica and Haiti."

For Winston Brown, tweeting had a more sentimental meaning.

"I am using Twitter because I still have closeted gay friends back home in Kingston, and they are reading my updates," Brown said to Global Wire. "They will not feel alone anymore and might feel inspired."

Ru Freeman on life, politics and writing

2009-10-06T18:57:00.001-04:00

To Qaddafi with Love

2009-09-23T19:09:00.007-04:00

I think it might be time for Muammar Qaddafi to call it a day. I guess he was so excited to be making his debut at the United Nations today that his speech may have sounded...a little off???

From The Guardian:

...Muammar Gaddafi - for it was he - grabbed his 15 minutes of fame at the UN building in New York today and ran with it. He ran with it so hard he stretched it to an hour and 40 minutes, six times longer than his allotted slot, to the dismay of UN organisers...

...He tore up a copy of the UN charter in front of startled delegates, accused the security council of being an al-Qaida like terrorist body, called for George Bush and Tony Blair to be put on trial for the Iraq war, demanded $7.7tn in compensation for the ravages of colonialism on Africa, and wondered whether swine flu was a biological weapon created in a military laboratory. At one point, he even demanded to know who was behind the killing of JFK. All in all, a pretty ordinary 100 minutes in the life of the colonel...

...He then turned his wrath on to America, Britain, France, Russia and China - the permanent members of the security council, or "terror council" as he renamed it. Their veto was tantamount to terrorism. "This is terrorism, like the terrorism of al-Qaida. Terrorism is not just al-Qaida, it takes many forms."

In case the point was lost on anyone, he tore up his copy of the UN rule book.

Having thus abused and alienated 99.99% of the world's top diplomats, he suddenly changed tack, heaping praise and devotion on the one man he appears to respect. "Now the black man doesn't have to sit in the back of the bus, the American people made him president and we are proud of that. We would be happy if Obama stayed president of America forever."

Poor Barack Obama. Having Gaddafi applaud his stance towards the world must have been as pleasing as being congratulated on his domestic policy by the leader of the birthers, who insist Obama was not born in America.

So much for Pan-Africanism...

Twitter and Citizen Driven Info Sharing

2009-09-21T11:52:00.006-04:00

As you all know already, Twitter is all the rage these days, especially among us digital activists. Recent world events such as the presidential election in Iran and the 2008 Mumbai bombings have made many wonder aloud again if Twitter's powerful citizen-driven info-sharing is actually activism.

Agus Sari, blogger behind The Goose, recently had musings about how the popular social media tool was used during Jakarta bombings.

From #idonesiaunite create a simple one-stop to finding information quickly.

What was unique about this incident were the offline connections made afterward. A local Jakarta radio station hosted a party for all the "Twitterati" who participated in the online activism to put faces to the Twitter handles and hastags, and start "a movement beyond the social network." There is also a website dedicated to building upon these relationships.

"There are many other 'causes' that will make use of the new medium," said Sari. "And with the internet universe being flat, the social network media will also become the democratizing means for Indonesia, and for the world. The tenet “one person one vote” will be closer to your heart, and your Blackberry."

You are what you eat: Callaloo!

2009-09-19T19:20:00.005-04:00

And for my last trick...for now, I will show you how to eat green.

My favorite dish is callaloo, a leafy vegetable originating from the Caribbean, cooked with onions, garlic and tomatoes. All of these items can be purchased at a farmers' market (Go Local!). Some people like to also add saltfish, pork or more vegetables, like carrots, okra and red peppers.

So here is my version.

Ingredients for 4 servings

*4 plum tomatoes
*1 large onion
*1 clove of garlic
*bunch of callaloo (approx. 15-20 stems with full leaves)
*extra virgin olive oil
*salt and pepper for taste

1. chop up all ingredients separately

2. saute tomatoes, onions, garlic, salt and pepper in a large frying pan with a tablespoon of olive oil for 5-7 minutes on a low fire.

3. mix in callaloo and let simmer on low fire for 10 minutes

4. turn off the heat and let it cool down, but eat it while it is still warm

Voila! I am master of the eco-kitchen!

In Defense of Van Jones

2009-09-07T16:53:00.007-04:00

All I have to say about this is how interesting Van Jones, the man put in charge of pushing forward the green economy on President Obama's behalf, becomes unemployed the day before Labor Day.

Irony?

From his resignation letter:

"On the eve of historic fights for health care and clean energy, opponents of reform have mounted a vicious smear campaign against me. They are using lies and distortions to distract and divide. I have been inundated with calls -- from across the political spectrum -- urging me to 'stay and fight.' But I came here to fight for others, not for myself. I cannot in good conscience ask my colleagues to expend precious time and energy defending or explaining my past. We need all hands on deck, fighting for the future."

The case against Van Jones:

...Jones, who joined the administration in March as special adviser for green jobs at the CEQ, had issued two public apologies in recent days, one for signing a petition in 2004 from the group 911Truth.org that questioned whether Bush administration officials "may indeed have deliberately allowed 9/11 to happen, perhaps as a pretext for war" and the other for using a crude term to describe Republicans in a speech he gave before joining the administration.

His one-time involvement with the Bay Area radical group Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement (STORM), which had Marxist roots, had also become an issue. And on Saturday his advocacy on behalf of death-row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal, who was convicted of shooting a Philadelphia police officer in 1981, threatened to develop into a fresh point of controversy.

Fox News Channel host Glenn Beck launched the drive against Jones and all but declared war on him after a group Jones founded in 2005, ColorofChange.org, led an advertising boycott against Beck's show to protest his claim that Obama is a racist...

In Defense of Van Jones

He is one of the most dynamic activists of our time, and he has a track record to prove it.

From Wikipedia:

Jones founded the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights in 1996, a California non-governmental organization (NGO) working for alternatives to violence. In 2005, Jones co-founded Color of Change, an advocacy group for African Americans.[1] Formerly based in Oakland, California, Jones founded Green For All in 2007, a national NGO dedicated to "building an inclusive green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty."[2] His first book, The Green Collar Economy, was released on October 7, 2008, and reached number 12 on the New York Times Best Seller list.[3] In 2008, Time magazine named Jones one of its "Environmental Heroes".[4] Fast Company called him one of the "12 Most Creative Minds of 2008."

From a tech perspective, Jones has set the standard for online book marketing.

From Huffington Post:

Social and environmental activist Van Jones felt he had important message about the economy, energy prices and global warming to impart in his book "The Green Collar Economy," which was published this month. What he didn't have, as a first time author with an almost non-existent marketing budget, was the kind of money and name-recognition that typically helps place a book on the best sellers list and in the national conversation. So he improvised.

Using a Web-based, viral marketing strategy, Jones and Green For All, an environmental organization he recently founded, worked to get the word out about his book far and wide. The result was a place -- number 12 to be exact -- on the New York Times best sellers list in the book's first week...

I'm not worried about Jones, he will fair well. He might be more effective as an organizer than a policy wonk.

But I worry more for the people who brought him down.

Online green mapping fights eco-injustice

2009-09-05T06:00:00.003-04:00

Being "green" has finally become a catchphrase in our daily lives. From hybrid cars to organic eating, more people are realizing that environmentalism is the right way to go to make the planet a more sustainable place to live in. However, despite all the green progress, environmental injustices still occur in both industrialized and developing countries. Recently, there has been a spur of online activism through the means of green mapping to bridge the sustainability gap.

Green maps were created in 1995 by the nonprofit Green Maps System to empower online activists around the world to locate areas in their communities that are both good and bad for the environment, such as recycling, traffic hazards, community gardens and toxic sites. The system is used in over 400 communities in 51 countries.

The system is very simple: users can create a map of their region on the website, and place icons indicating environmental impacts. Using the map created for the Banjul area of The Gambia, one can see where such things as solar energy sites, wetlands and horticulture gardens and clean drinking water sites are located. Hazards can also be seen, such as air and water pollution and waste dumps.

Green mapping helps different fractions work together to make the quality of life better for everyone. Many governments and local activists have used their finished maps to proactively address environmental problems in their communities. See the video above produced by Dorst MediaWorks for the Earth Institute at Columbia University about environmental justice activists in New York City.

Something Green is Growing Here

2009-09-03T18:47:00.003-04:00

Finally, it's here. As you already know, I am a 2009 Urban Environmental Justice Fellow at the Institute for Justice and Journalism. Here are the first two components - one newspaper article and a photo slideshow - from my project on food as an environmental justice issue.

Article:Something Green is Growing Here: In Dorchester, residents of color take urban farming to new heights

Health Reform and Preventive Care?

2009-08-18T14:20:00.009-04:00

I have been following the health care debate for the last few weeks. As I type this, I am watching White House press secretary Robert Gibbs defend President Obama's position on the public plan. For all the riots breaking out at health care town halls around the country, arguing about everything from death panels to socialism, when do we begin to have a discussion on preventive care and wellness?

Before we can truthfully have a real discussion about health reform in this country, we need to look at what's causes most health problems. The truth of the matter here is that most of these problems are related to lifestyle choices, namely cigarette smoking and obesity.

A recent survey from Health Affairs shows that $147 billion is spent annually on obesity-related problems, such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, hypertension and certain cancers.

From WebMD:

If nobody in the U.S. were obese, we'd spend 9% less on health care. But more than a third of us are obese -- and another third of us are overweight.

That's a scary statistic. Here's a scarier one: 17% of U.S. children and teens are so overweight they're in the top 5% of body size for their age on growth charts. A less nice way to put it: these kids already are obese.

The health-related costs of obesity are rising. That's because more and more people are becoming obese, Finkelstein and colleagues calculate.

We have to have more discussions about making healthier food options available to everyone, which includes reexamining the persistent problem of "food deserts" and overhauling how Big Food has destroyed the food system (I will write about high fructose corn syrup later).

Also, regular exercise is important. Think about it: at the end of the day, a gym membership can be cheaper than a hospital bill.

John Mackey, I ain't mad at you.

From Wall Street Journal:

Recent scientific and medical evidence shows that a diet consisting of foods that are plant-based, nutrient dense and low-fat will help prevent and often reverse most degenerative diseases that kill us and are expensive to treat. We should be able to live largely disease-free lives until we are well into our 90s and even past 100 years of age.

Health-care reform is very important. Whatever reforms are enacted it is essential that they be financially responsible, and that we have the freedom to choose doctors and the health-care services that best suit our own unique set of lifestyle choices. We are all responsible for our own lives and our own health. We should take that responsibility very seriously and use our freedom to make wise lifestyle choices that will protect our health. Doing so will enrich our lives and will help create a vibrant and sustainable American society.

Check out this video I found on preventive care.

Brits use Twitter in support of NHS

2009-08-13T16:40:00.003-04:00

Relations between Americans and the British have not always been the greatest. From the American Revolutionary War to the disagreement over the military campaign in Iraq, sometimes it might have seem like a good idea by Mother Nature that the Atlantic Ocean separates the two warring factions.

The latest battle has been taking place online. Currently, Americans are debating the future of its health care system. President Barack Obama has stated that he would like all Americans to have access to quality health care within the next decade. However, not only are Americans fighting each other over this issue in town hall meetings, Republican politicians have also accused Obama's plan to be a reflection of the UK's National Health Service (NHS), which has been viewed by some as being "socialist" at best and similar to a "death panel" at worst.

Of course, the Brits are not taking this laying down.

Over the last couple of days British and some Canadian folks have gotten onto Twitter, using the hashtag #welovetheNHS to campaign in support of their health care system against verbal attacks from their American counterparts. Here are a just few of the millions of tweets that have come up on this topic:

lollaloves: NHS free? You gotta be kidding me. You're all taxed through your nose for a health care with Third World standards. #welovethenhs

dontgetfooled: My grandmother had a major heart op on the NHS, for free, in her 80s. "Death panels" are a big fat lie... #welovethenhs

jetersfan: #welovethenhs NOT IF UR DEALING W/ A TERMINAL DISEASE AND NEVER SEE THE SAME DOCTOR TWICE!!!

editoriale: My son was premature, couldn't swallow, underweight and yellow. He'd have died without the NHS. Didn't cost me a f**king dime #WeLoveTheNHS

girlonasoapbox: #welovethenhs I wouldn't be typing this if it wasn't for free prescriptions and good care I have received from the NHS. Leave off you prats.

Pro-NHS campaigners are also adding "Twibbons" to their avatars to show their support. Last night, even British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his Sarah got into the debate with his own tweets.

@DowningStreet PM:NHS often makes the difference between pain and comfort, despair and hope, life and death. Thanks for always being there #welovetheNHS

@SarahBrown10 #welovetheNHS - more than words can say

The White House has put out generic rebuttals on their Twitter account about the attacks.

@whitehouse Don't believe everything you see on the web about health insurance reform. Pls share: http://bit.ly/maVkF #healthreform #hc09

U.S. Congress is expected to vote on health reform in the next few weeks, and many analysts say that Obama's plan might have an uphill battle to face, despite having a Democratic majority in both the House and Senate. Nonetheless, this Twitter face-off might be the first of many examples where people with disagreeing views might engage each other in civil debate.

NAFTA Drama

2009-08-10T18:20:00.010-04:00

Forget the Real Housewives of Atlanta - the real drama is going down this week south of the border, where President Obama is meeting with Mexico's Felipe Calderon and Canadian Stephen Harper.

NAFTA was such a great idea that I thought I would give a wrap up of what's really going on.

From Canada Country Guide:

...Hit hard by low prices for their crops, many Mexican farm families have been forced to relocate to large cities or find work at border-town maquiladoras (factories using low-cost labour to make cheap goods for export to the U.S. and elsewhere), the NFU said.

Forced off the land into major urban areas, Mexico's farmers find these cities to be "increasingly lawless and dangerous" due to rising organized crime spurred by poverty and desperation, the NFU said.

"Many Mexicans are now trying to escape. Some are coming here. We need to connect the dots. Many of the Mexicans coming to Canada are refugees from NAFTA," the NFU's Saskatoon-based international co-ordinator Martha Robbins said in the group's release.

What's ironic, Robbins said, is that "as we are forcing open Mexican borders to our products, we are closing our borders to a significant portion of the Mexican people." ...

What about food safety?

From Foreign Policy in Focus:

...The abject failure of NAFTA and its SPP offshoot to bring "security and prosperity" to North America is clear with the economic, environmental, and social crises now affecting this region and much of the world. Unemployment is high, global warming is escalating, and the need to transition away from carbon-intensive energy sources is irrefutable. Multiple food and consumer product safety scandals, notably the recent swine flu epidemic that has been linked to poorly regulated meat processing plants that have spread throughout Mexico since NAFTA came into effect, have called the bluff of business lobbies seeking further deregulation. So has the financial crisis — which resulted from unregulated trade in novel financial products totally detached from the real economy...

Leave it up to lobbyists to spread the wealth of NAFTA to the rest of the world.

From Eyes on Trade:

Reuters reported on Wednesday that the leaders of six major U.S. business groups have called for President Barack Obama to back speedy passage of NAFTA-style “free trade” agreements (FTAs) with Colombia, Panama and South Korea. Wisely, the president has yet to send Congress any of the bilateral trade deals negotiated by former president George W. Bush with the three nations. In addition to pressing for passage of the three pending trade agreements, the groups urged Obama to pursue “major market-opening agreements with the Asia-Pacific and beyond,” essentially advocating for even more NAFTA-style FTAs.

In a letter to the president, the associations acknowledged that trade agreements can ship jobs overseas, and stated that "[T]rade agreements can have adverse effects on specific industries, workers and communities…”. Actually, this is true, and Obama knows it. On the campaign trail, President Obama repeatedly expressed opposition to NAFTA and promised to usher in an era of U.S. trade policy that would require respect for labor rights, environmental standards, and human rights. The Colombia FTA is especially controversial due to the repressive regime of President Álvaro Uribe. Colombia has a longstanding and egregious record of violations of labor and human rights, especially with regard to those of its indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples...

Oh, yeah, no love between Colombia and Venezuela these days either.

From BBC News:

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has accused Colombia of carrying out a military incursion into Venezuela.

Mr Chavez said Colombian soldiers had recently been seen crossing the Orinoco river, which forms part of the border, and entering Venezuelan territory.

He said the incursion - which Colombia denies happened - was a "provocation".

South American leaders are gathering in Ecuador for a summit which is set to discuss Colombia's planned accord to allow the US use of its military bases.

Mr Chavez has been embroiled in a diplomatic row with his Colombian counterpart, Alvaro Uribe, since news of the plan emerged.

"The threat against us is growing," he said. "I call on the people and the armed forces - let's go, ready for combat!"

There goes the neighborhood...

Summer Diversions: Blue Six

2009-08-10T16:55:00.001-04:00

Because it is so hot out today, I just need some chill music.

Photos: Summer in Harlem

2009-08-05T04:44:00.002-04:00

I was in New York last month for the Harlem Book Fair, and had some time to do some sightseeing.

Summer Diversions: Ike & Tina Turner

2009-08-04T20:07:00.000-04:00

Media Ethics Lesson: Idris Elba and Essence Magazine

2009-07-28T21:29:00.007-04:00

The man I love dearly - Idris Elba - is on the August cover of Essence magazine!

(Can you believe I pulled a media ethics lesson out of this!)

Last week while having lunch with my journalist-friend Stacey, we read the accompanying profile piece of the British actor with high anticipation. But you know that feeling you get when you look forward to reading a particular magazine article or new book, only to be disappointed and even cheated out of the money wasted to purchase the magazine or book.

That is how we both felt after reading the profile. Why you ask? Well, lets just say we were not too fond of all the "cake eating" going on in the article.

The article was written by acclaimed journalist Jeannine Amber and was based on her recent lunch date/interview with Elba. While the article is mainly about the actor's recent career moves since leaving The Wire, readers will get distracted by the writer's constant fantasizing of the different sexual positions she would like to do with him.

Oh my!!!

Now, mind you, I'm not an old prude. I love "String" as much as the next woman (or man), but there was something really sleazy and even creepy about the writer's interpretation of the meeting. I have never met the man in person before, although I got to do an email interview with him for a story about a PBS program he hosted last year. Nonetheless, based on other interviews he has done, he doesn't strike Stacey and I as the type of bloke who would want to partake in such an article.

Or maybe I am getting more prude as I get older. Luckily, based on some of the comments on Essence's website for this article, I'm not the only one who feels this way.

But even as a journalist, I couldn't imagine myself writing such an sexually charged article like this, even if I did get a chance to meet Elba. I would be too worried about being taken seriously by editors I would want to work with in the future. Besides being drop-dead gorgeous, Elba has a lot more going on for him, which Amber could have delved into more with him, such as his acting career before his stint as Stringer Bell, or what he likes about being DJ Big Driis. But that's just me thinking out loud.

Stacey had a nuanced view on the article in question; if a similar article about an actress was written by a male journalist, wouldn't people be calling it sexist?

Discuss...

Youth fight for food justice online

2009-07-28T05:45:00.005-04:00

Photo by Umoja Community Builders

Last month the US Department of Agriculture released a report on food deserts - areas in the United States where communities lack access to supermarkets and other outlets selling foods necessary for a healthy diet. According to the report, 2.3 million Americans live more than a mile from a supermarket and do not have access to a vehicle. The report goes on to say that the "urban core areas with limited food access are characterized by higher levels of racial segregation and greater income inequality." In short, this problem largely affects low income communities and people of color. In recent years, there have been efforts by food justice activists around the country to bridge the food gap. One group in Chicago is taking back the food system online.

The Umoja Student Development Corporation is a Chicago-based, youth development organization which runs a six-week summer program in partnership with youth media group Free Spirit to film a short documentary about food deserts in the predominately African American community of North Lawndale.

"In my neighborhood, there are no grocery stores," said Porsha Treadwell, a student intern in Umoja's community builders program. "It is unfair that my community doesn't have the same access to healthy foods as other communities. It's just not right."

In addition to learning how to grow organic foods in community gardens and polling residents about their food shopping habits, the student interns have also kept a blog for the duration of the program about their own eating habits and the various social and environmental injustices that block access to food equity.

Also on the blog, the youth have created a slide show, displaying photos of themselves learning how to use cameras for their documentary.

Treadwell said this program has been a rewarding experience. She noted that she has had informative conversations with other residents about the food problem in the community, and how they now feel empowered to do something about it.

"When a community comes together, we can do powerful things," she said.

Media Ethics Lesson: Michael Jackson

2009-07-16T22:02:00.005-04:00

I have really tried to avoid talking about Michael Jackson for the last three weeks, mostly because I am just sick of Joe Jackson's smugness, LaToya Jackson's conspiracy theories, Debbie Rowe swearing and fighting to get custody of "her" kids. Up until this point, I just wanted to ignore the madness and remember MJ for all the good he did bring to the world.

But then this Pepsi commercial came out of nowhere.

So after 25 years, someone just decided to release the never-before-seen footage of Michael's hair being set ablaze in the now infamous pyrotechnic accident on the set for the commercial. The accident caused him second and third degree burns, as well as an entry path to his painkiller addition.

My first question: why show this now? Okay, maybe Pepsi and Michael had an agreement to not ever show the footage while he was still alive to protect his image. But what is the point of putting it out immediately after his death? I mean, really.

Second question: why does the media insist on showing the images of MJ dancing down the stairs with his head burning from the back angle over and over again? I got on the train this morning and picked up the newspaper with pictures of his burnt scalp on the front page. To top off this madness, Larry King has shown the video multiple times in the last couple of days on his show.

Pepsi released a statement today, claiming they had nothing to do with the footage release.

Pepsi spokeswoman Nicole Bradley spoke with Entertainment Weekly earlier on Thursday, July 17th, and gave them what Pepsi has to say about this. "We don't know how the footage became available. Twenty-five years later, we'd question why anyone would want to share such frightening images. It was a terrifying event that we'll never forget."

My point exactly...

So, I ask you. Is it appropriate to make this video available now, and is it right for the media to excessively show the video?

NAACP gets digital to curb police abuse

2009-07-16T20:06:00.008-04:00

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is one of the oldest and most influential civil rights organizations in the United States. During its centennial convention in New York this week, it was announced that the venerable organization will be moving into the new digital frontier with the use of video and mobile technology. After much complaining from African American bloggers about the organization's lack of online media use and relevance to engage constituents with its advocacy agenda, it looks like the NAACP is making strides to close its digital gap.

The organization launched its new Rapid Response System though its website last week, which will be "a quick, effective way for citizens to report instances of police misconduct, and to help public safety officials move beyond the “tough on crime” policies that have lost their effectiveness."

Users can send text messages, emails, or video reports of police abuse to the organization either by mobile phone or a web form that can found its website.

"Nationwide, more than 26,000 citizen complaints of police officer use of force were filed with state and local law enforcement agencies in 2002," said NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Jealous in a statement. "However, because many incidents are not reported, this number does not capture the full magnitude of the problem...[P]ublic safety is a civil and a human right; and so we want a more accurate count of these incidents.”

In an interview yesterday, Monique Morris, NAACP's vice president of advocacy and research, noted that with the recent proliferation of digital activism, such as the videos that appeared online following the fatal shooting of Oscar Grant by Oakland police officers (Viewer Discretion is Advised) earlier this year, there is a need to create a uniform space where information about police brutality can be collect and action can be taken to deal with the problem.

"There are so many videos on YouTube that show varying levels of injustices, but we want people to send their videos to us, so we can take the necessary legal and advocacy steps to address the problem in an organized fashion," Morris said. "This idea will help drive our advocacy agenda."

When contacting the NAACP using the forms, users have the option of saying what type of incident occurred (i.e. sexual harassment, false arrest), what type of law enforcement agency was involved (i.e. state, federal) and what was the believed primary reason behind the incident (i.e. racism, sexism, homophobia). If this is used the way it is being proposed, along with the organization's long established reputation, it could make an impact in the long term, which can both address injustices still occurring among vulnerable communities while maintaining its reputation with the next generation of social activists.

Better Trade, Not Aid

2009-07-10T20:33:00.005-04:00

President Barack Obama is in Ghana right now, and sustainable food security for the African continent is one of his top issues. Obama was able (I think) to get the other G8 leaders to fork over $20 billion to deal with world hunger.

From New York Times:

The food security initiative is designed to transform traditional aid to poorer countries beyond simply donated produce, grains and meats to assistance building infrastructure and training farmers to grow their own food and get it to market more efficiently.

The $20 billion amounts to a substantial commitment if carried out, but it remains unclear how much is actually additional money. The American share of $3.5 billion over three years represents a doubling of previous spending levels.

“The sums just aren’t adding up,” said Otive Igbuaor, head of ActionAid’s hunger campaign. “Is this all really new money? Given the Group of 8’s record on delivery, this is still very much a work in progress. So far they have been counting not just apples and oranges but more like apples, oranges, cauliflowers and beets.”

Well, good on Obama for taking on the mantra of "why give them fish when you can teach them how to fish." I have been saying this for years.

However, in order to do this, there is serious need for Washington to overhaul its trade policies towards developing countries. We can't begin to have a discussion about food security without talking about the business of food.

Africa is the most resourceful place in the world. So, one would believe that the continent should be in better shape economically and be able to feed itself. However, because of disasterous trade agreements the developing world has with many Western powers and the "good" folks over at the World Trade Organization and International Monetary Fund, poverty in the most vulnerable countries have only gotten worst over the last 40 years.

From Christian Science Monitor:

Although American and European chicken farmers do not receive direct subsidies, the grains used to feed their birds do qualify for state aid, and this indirect assistance puts the African farmers at a disadvantage. "Even after shipping it over and the retail markup, the imported chicken can sometimes be 40 percent cheaper than birds reared here in Ghana," explained Mr. Quartey, who has had to lay off 50 workers this year alone.

Global imports of chicken into Ghana are ten times what they were a decade ago. After much lobbying from the industry, which directly employs an estimated 10,000 people, Ghana's government agreed to double tariffs on imported chicken to 40 percent.

However, in March this year, using emergency legislation, parliament overturned the hikes in a move government officials, trade campaigners, and poultry farmers alike attribute to pressure from the International Monetary Fund, which sits atop a pyramid of donors on whom Ghana relies for 45 percent of its money.

So what's a West African poultry farmer to do? Quartey believes the key to pressuring the World Trade Organization into cutting them some slack is banding together and speaking out.

Here are some current stats on US-Ghana trade relations:

Total two-way trade between Ghana and the United States was valued at $840 million in 2008. Ghana is the fifth largest sub-Saharan African market for U.S. goods.

The leading U.S. exports to Ghana were motor vehicles, machinery, and mineral fuel. U.S. imports from Ghana are primarily oil, cocoa, and timber.

The Obama administration has not spent much time discussing trade since coming to the White House, as health reform has been prioritized. Nonetheless, based on some of the language I have seen come from his people, there may be hope for a better, fair trade world.

From 2009 Trade Policy Agenda Report:

Expanded trade can make an important contribution to boosting growth in developing countries and lift their national income levels. Economic growth in these countries benefits the American economy by expanding markets for American exporters. We shall promote trade policies, including technical assistance for capacity building, that will help these countries engage successfully with the world economy.

Trade preference programs help entrepreneurs in developing countries compete effectively in the world trading system. Many of our nation's trade preference programs are coming due for legislative review. We will work with the Congress and public stakeholders on their renewal and reform. We will give careful consideration to proposals to concentrate benefits.

I guess we have to wait and see how sincere Obama is on this issue.

Hondurans get online despite gov't ban

2009-07-08T20:09:00.005-04:00

Last week's coup in Honduras is the latest incident where a government shut down radio and television stations during a political crisis, which has yet again outraged the international community. Just in the last month, China and Iran have made all efforts to create media blackouts in their respective countries. Digital activism has now made its way to the Central American country and making an impact in citizen journalism.

Discussions and protests about the coup lit up the Internet over the last week. People from around the world have been debating each other on Twitter at #Honduras and #crisisHN in both English and Spanish. There have been many videos shared also shared on Twitter relating to the coup, including this one. Since Honduras is not usually a country that makes international headlines, some folks are taking over the role of traditional media and have started up their own blogs with the sole purpose of educating the world about the issues that led up to the crisis. One blog compared the ousting of President Manual Zelaya to the 1974 pending impeachment and resignation of U.S. President Richard Nixon. Another blog was started up by a group of academics and writers to address "the confusion encouraged by lack of basic knowledge about Honduras."

The Latin Americanist hosted spirited discussions on its blog on the mixed Honduran reaction to the overthrow. Many anonymous comments left on the blog posts relating to the topic have been deemed suspicious by others, like this blogger.

These comments are typical. Clearly from right-wing Hondurans, probably in
the United States - as Tegucigalpa has no internet with the military blocking
access.

I posted on my blog a short update immediately as I heard of it. Just to
update readers. Within hours I got two posts (similar, huh?), and have seen this
elsewhere, of what appears to be trollers commenting:

"we hondurans are proud of this day in which we defended our constitutional
system viva honduras!"

and

"WE DON’T WANT MEL ZELAYA HERE!!! TRAITOR!!! OUR COUNTRY IS NOT FOR SALE! LISTEN VERY WELL CHAVEZ, OUR COUNTRY IS NOT FOR SALE!!!"

The top above me are more wordy but express the same sentiments. Curfews, murder, running over protesters are freedom-loving expressions. The military is
"defending" the constitution - which these people have not yet read.

It is still too early to determine the impact of social media used during this crisis, as Zelaya is now demanding his rivals to give up power, and met with U.S. State Secretary Hillary Clinton yesterday in Washington. However, whatever happens, Hondurans are determined to make sure their voices are hear.

"The silent majority of Honduras offers you our support and personal testimonies," said one blogger. "We are here to defend our democracy and constitution, and will help the international community in anything that may be needed to provide them with authentic facts and eventualities. We will be silent no more."

In Defense of Black Foodies: Michelle Obama

2009-07-07T20:03:00.008-04:00

Black food justice activists have come under attack lately

The first lady is taking hits for her kitchen garden these days. Andrew Kimbell, Center for Food Safety executive director, argued recently that the garden has high levels of lead, due to some "nastiness issues."

From Huffington Post:

Unfortunately, something happened on the way to the realization of the First Lady's good intentions. Recently the National Park Service discovered that the White House lawn, where the garden was planted, contains highly elevated levels of lead -- 93 parts per million. It's enough lead for anyone planning to have children pick vegetables in that garden or eat produce from it to reconsider their plans: lead is highly toxic to children's developing organs and brain functions -- however, it's below the 400 ppm the EPA suggests is a threat to human health.

What caused this alarming contamination of the White House lawn? Some news outlets speculated that residue from lead paint might have caused the toxicity. However an article running on Mother Jones online has a more probable explanation. During the 1990s, the Clintons agreed to have the South Lawn of the White House "fertilized" with ComPRO, a commercially available "compost made from a nearby wastewater plant's solid effluent, a.k.a. sewage sludge."

Thanks Bill and Hill!

Then, Obama Foodorama's Eddie Gerham Kohan slammed him back with possibly not the best defense of the garden.
And Kimbell came back with the quickness.

What do I think? I think it's great that Mrs. Obama wants to teach Americans about sustainable gardening; however, she must also include dialogue on this most pressing issue on sludge fertilizer, which can be a teachable moment for all Americans about these hazards of gardening.

Will the Obama administration take on the sludge industry about this matter? Maybe Mrs. Obama will use her newly-found influence to take on Big Ag? Don't hold your breath, but for now, I want to keep an open mind about the garden.

"Organic" Food is Questionable

2009-07-04T01:00:00.001-04:00

Surprise, surprise (I guess ???) - "organic" doesn't really mean organic, or at least according to the USDA. Leave it up to the DC food lobbies to continue to f*ck up the food system.

From Washington Post:

...Grated organic cheese, for example, contains wood starch to prevent clumping. Organic beer can be made from non-organic hops. Organic mock duck contains a synthetic ingredient that gives it an authentic, stringy texture.

Relaxation of the federal standards, and an explosion of consumer demand, have helped push the organics market into a $23 billion-a-year business, the fastest growing segment of the food industry. Half of the country's adults say they buy organic food often or sometimes, according to a survey last year by the Harvard School of Public Health.

But the USDA program's shortcomings mean that consumers, who at times must pay twice as much for organic products, are not always getting what they expect: foods without pesticides and other chemicals, produced in a way that is gentle to the environment.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has pledged to protect the label, even as he acknowledged the pressure to lower standards to let more products in...

...Under the original organics law, 5 percent of a USDA-certified organic product can consist of non-organic substances, provided they are approved by the National Organic Standards Board. That list has grown from 77 to 245 substances since it was created in 2002. Companies must appeal to the board every five years to keep a substance on the list, explaining why an organic alternative has not been found. The goal was to shrink the list over time, but only one item has been removed so far...

But wait, here's the best part.

The agency has not acted, for example, on a 2002 board recommendation that would answer a critical question for organic dairy farmers: how to interpret the law requiring that their cows have "access to pasture," rather than be crowded onto feedlots. The result has been that some dairy farms have been selling milk as organic from cows that spend little if any time grazing in open spaces.

"This is really a case of 'justice delayed is justice denied,' " said Alexis Baden-Mayer, national political director for the Organic Consumers Association. "The truly organic dairy farmers, who have their cows out in the pasture all year round, are at a huge competitive disadvantage compared to the big confinement dairies."

[Barbara] Robinson [who runs USDA's organics program] has blamed the delays on the program's small staff, saying that "we have to prioritize."

It's good to know Ms Robinson and the other "good" folks at USDA are looking out for America's food system. Too bad they don't have time to prioritize making sure our food is safe, healthy and sustainable.

Note to self: Start your own garden; food purchased anywhere can no longer be trusted.

Fend for yourselves...

Phil Wilson on black homophobia, HIV/AIDS

2009-07-03T19:16:00.007-04:00

Black AIDS Institute CEO Phil Wilson recently attended the annual convention for the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), the largest organization for black newspapers in the United States. For many years, there has been a reluctance to discuss HIV/AIDS, homosexuality and homophobia in the black community. Wilson, who is openly gay and HIV positive, tells it like it is.

From Seattle Medium:

“We started in a bad place,” Wilson said in an interview before addressing the annual convention of the National Newspapers Publishers Association (NNPA). “We started with the conventional wisdom that AIDS was about White gay men. So we got a free get out of jail card – it was about White people. If I am honest, I was included in that group.

“Secondly, it was about gay people and for most African-Americans, that means that it was not about us. Thirdly, we already had a full plate. AIDS really hit in 1980 to 1982 and we were dealing with unemployment, we were dealing with poverty, we were about to deal with welfare reform. There were all these issues that we were busy with. So this was an issue that we didn’t want to be a part of and we could make the excuse that all these other issues were more important.”

In the early 1980s, there were no Hollywood celebrities adopting HIV/AIDS as their pet project. For Blacks, confronting the issue of HIV/AIDS, there were also other considerations.

“There is an increased reluctance to take on any other possibility to be further stigmatized,” Wilson explained. “So, ‘I’m not willing to take on the banner of homosexuality and I’m not willing to take on the banner of drug use and I’m not willing to take on the banner of having a deadly disease.’”

Wilson began taking up those banners when he helped organize a candlelight vigil for AIDS victims in Los Angeles during the early stages of the epidemic. The issue became personal when Wilson, who is openly gay, learned in 1980 that he was HIV positive. His partner died of AIDS nine years later.

Unlike many Blacks, Wilson does not believe that homophia is any worse among African-Americans than Whites. However, he says, the rejection is much more painful.

“For Black and gay lesbians, we need our community to protect us against the bias of racism. Where do I go when I am called a nigger? I go to our church. I go to my mama and pappa – that’s where I go.

“But when I’m called a faggot, I don’t got anywhere else to go,” Wilson said, intentionally selecting his words for impact. “And particularly if the people who are calling me a faggot are my mommy, my daddy and my church.”

Wilson said White gay men have a different reality.

“When you are a White gay man, you’re still a White man and all of the privileges that go with being a White man are delivered to you,” he explained. “When I am a Black gay man, at the end of the day, I still have to be a Black man in America.”

As you all know, I have worked in the black press for a while now, and I have written articles here and there about these issues. Much of this discussion of battling stigma needs to be taking place in the black media, and I hope Wilson's attendence at the convention is a step forward.

Summer Book Reading List 2009

2009-07-03T08:27:00.005-04:00

This is a long weekend for many of us, and there is no better time to enhance your intellectual curiosity than to take a good book with you on your summer vacations. Independence Day is also a celebration of our freedoms, including freedom of speech and press.

So, here are some books I hope to read in the next two months:

Of course, I have to read a book on food politics.

The Food of a Younger Land: A Portrait of American Food--Before the National Highway System, Before Chain Restaurants, and Before Frozen Food, When the Nation's Food Was Seasonal

I'm attending the Harlem Book Fair in a couple of weeks, and what better way to celebrate black literature than a book about a Harlem legend.

Hubert Harrison: The Voice of Harlem Radicalism 1883-1918

I minored in Cold War and post colonial studies in college, and I always wanted to read a book on Krushchev. Before there was Kim Jong-Il, Krushchev was the resident nut of world politics, threathening America will missiles.

K Blows Top: A Cold War Comic Interlude Starring Nikita Khrushchev, America's Most Unlikely Tourist

Any other recommendations? What are you reading?

In other news...

2009-07-01T19:06:00.010-04:00

Yes, believe it or not, there is actually other stuff going on in the world besides the media circus better known as Michael Jackson's death and the quest to find out who inherits what in the will he left behind. Quite frankly, I'm ready to move on from this story, which seems to be get more bizarre by the minute.

Diana Ross???

WTF...

It's funny how in the middle of Iran imploding and North Korea planning to send missiles to US shores, the media has lost all of its senses and done wall-to-wall coverage of MJ. I just about had it last night when I was watching Entertainment Tonight, and the reporter actually asked Ola Ray (MJ's love interest in the Thriller video) if she had sex with him. Talk about low road journalism...but I digress.

So, here is some other news that has been going on:

Iraq (and its discontents)
American troops pulled out of major cities in Iraq this week. But we all know this don't really mean anything to anyone, right? Aren't the Iraqis free now?

From NY Times:

In BASRA, the mood was generally skeptical.

Haider Muhammed Ali, 31, a communications engineer:
“The withdrawal doesn’t represent national sovereignty because the troops will remain at the airport base and will stay inside Iraq.”

Samir Alwan, 28 years, owner of a mini market:

“They will not withdraw to their homes in their country. They will stay here and in emergency cases they would enter the city. So it is not national sovereignty according to my point of view, and I think the Iraqi Army is only able to control the southern areas. They are unable to make Baghdad and Mosul safe.”

Najim Salim, 40 years, a teacher.

“There is no doubt it is not national sovereignty because they will stay inside Iraq in military bases. The Government wants to convince the citizens that there is a withdrawal of foreign troops, although the Government could not protect citizens in some cities in Iraq even with the presence of U.S. forces. So the Government will fail to protect citizens after the withdrawal, and then the Government will ask the foreign troops to come back.”

Ayman Jasim, 37 years, a photographer .

“ I am happy for the withdraw of Americans it is national day and national sovereignty come back again to Iraq. I believe Iraqi troops will control the city and nothing will happen after their withdrawal.”

The gays vs Obama administration
Meanwhile, President Obama is seemingly throwing the gays under the bus with recent decisions on same sex marriage and "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Now I know realistic Obama can't come out supporting gay marriage, as most of the country is still against it. However, most Americans are ready to get rid of the military ban on gays.

I have been thinking about this issue for a while. Do you think the hesitation for Obama to support pro-gay initiatives has anything to do with sustaining the black vote in 2012? This might seem silly, but hang on with me here. With such large opposition of same sex marriage in the black community, do you think the first black president fears losing some of his support from his own race if he is seen as being to willing to give in to gay rights? I actually know a few black folks who have said to me recently that Obama is getting "too soft" on supporting gay people.

Vibe magazine is dead
Vibe, the "venerable" hip-hop magazine, shut down yesterday, due to being "the latest victim of the media recession." But other folks are saying that the mostly white management ran it into the ground (thanks for sending that link, Marcy). I say it died because it simply sucked and wasn't relevant anymore. It's funny, I didn't even know it was still in publication...

Cynthia McKinney is out to save the children
And finally news that can by filed under "Embarrassing Black People"

From Washington Post:

The former controversial congresswoman from Georgia has resurfaced - on a boat in the Mediterranean Sea trying to deliver supplies to Gaza.

Israeli forces arrested McKinney and other passengers on board the ship, according to a group called Free Gaza, which said on its Web site that McKinney and the others "have been illegally incarcerated for their solidarity work with Palestine."

The Israeli Consulate General of Israel in Atlanta, however, accused McKinney and her fellow travelers of waging a "reckless political stunt."

McKinney, who ran for president in 2008 as a Green Party candidate, was defeated in 2006, not long after she was accused of punching a Capitol Police officer who mistook her for a tourist. She had made a brief comeback after being defeated in 2002, at which time her father said he blamed the "J-E-W-S" for his daughter's defeat

The "Free Gaza" website, freegaza.org, quotes McKinney as saying that she and her group .

This is an outrageous violation of international law against us," she was quoted as saying. "Our boat was not in Israeli waters, and we were on a human rights mission to the Gaza Strip. President Obama just told Israel to let in humanitarian and reconstruction supplies, and that's exactly what we tried to do. We're asking the international community to demand our release so we can resume our journey.

She's right about Gaza, but must she be the spokesperson on this?

Okay, now you can get back to the real news: Now who gets Michael's kids? Katherine Jackson? Debbie Rowe? Diana Ross? Madonna? (she'a adopting these days...)

RIP Michael Jackson (1958-2009)

2009-06-26T09:53:00.002-04:00

Michael Jackson:

Crazy = Yes
Trailblazer = Yes
Great Dancer = Yes
Pedophile = ???
Musical Genius = Definitely

BWB bloggers on digital activism's past, present and future

2009-06-21T14:00:00.001-04:00

The second annual Blogging While Brown conference concluded yesterday in Chicago, presenting a recharged enthusiasm for the potentials social media tools can present for digital activism. In what was possibly the largest gathering of African American bloggers and web content users since the election of the "Internet President" Barack Obama, there is a call from many in the black community to use Web 2.0 to actively campaign more on behalf of issues of most concern.

The online organizing and fundraising around Jena 6, led by Web-based activist group Color of Change, to date is still considered the most successful Internet campaign among African Americans. However, the ongoing protests and digital activism in the aftermath of Iran's presidential election last week have brought up some new thoughts on how the African Diaspora could handle social movements - past, present and in the near future. Some conference attendees wondered if the civil rights movement of the 1960s, the Rwandan Genocide and the start of violence in Darfur could have had different outcomes if today's communications tools were around at the time of these events.

"What if black bloggers protested the Bush administration after [Hurricane] Katrina, like the Iranian protesters are doing now with their government," said one attendee. "We can learn a lot from the Iranians."

There was also discussion about how the black blogosphere will hold the first African American commander-in-chief and other politicians accountable on various domestic and international issues, such as health care, education, the war on terror, environmental justice, drug and criminal reform, unemployment and AFRICOM.

However, many agreed that possibly the next digital battle should be to make sure that the Internet is accessible to all. According to Megan Tady of the media reform group, Free Press, only 40 percent of Americans have access to broadband. When that number is broken down by ethnicity, Emarketer statistics show that African Americans make up 13.4 percent of the U.S. population, but only 48.7 percent are online. Mobile technology is a widely used tool in this demographic, and text messaging was used by Katrina survivors after the storm.

With all the above discussed topics, clearly there is a yearning to take advantage of the new digital era. Gina McCauley, BWB founder, said she will make efforts at future conferences to make sure attendees will have all the available training to stay on top of their social media skills.

"Now is the time for us to stay ahead of the curve on this technology so we can make a difference in our community," she said.

Summer Diversions: Lauryn Hill

2009-06-21T00:00:00.002-04:00

Apparently, summer begins today, but the weather forecast for my hometown is a raw, rainy 60 degrees. Nonetheless, I still want to be hopeful for a better day.

"Everything is everything...What is meant to be, will be...After winter, must come spring...Change, it comes eventually"

BWB:The Entrepreneurial Blogger

2009-06-20T11:50:00.006-04:00

The business of social media was the overarching theme for this year's Blogging While Brown

Blacks Gone Geek's founder Milt Haynes gave some tips to conference attendees on Internet marketing. He uses blogs, podcasts, RSS Feeds, Facebook groups, Groupsite.com, Yahoogroups and his web site to network with an online community of African American IT professionals.

“Not only do you need a blog and a website, but you also need a good Internet strategy to be successful,” he said. “Fish where your buyers swim.”

Personal branding strategist Hajj Flemings shared his knowledge on how to stand out from the cyberspace pack. He argues that one's online presence can make or break anyone's career today. Consistency in how a person presents themselves in various social media tools is key to success.

“You personal brand is everything,” Flemings said. “It is about producing quality content that has supporting data is important.”

On a panel discussion on "Bloggerpreneurs," bloggers who have made significant money off of their social media discussed their secrets to success.

Frederic Mitchell is a Chicago-based web developer who is proof of who you know and networking can help anyone become successful. He also said that complimenting others when they do good can work in your favor in the future. He is a strong advocate of African Americans becoming leaders in the tech world.

“The IT world is predominately white," he said. Not only should we be using new technologies, we should also be building it.”

Blogging While Brown this weekend!

2009-06-18T11:14:00.002-04:00

This weekend we will be liveblogging from Blogging While Brown, the only international conference for bloggers of color, which will be held this year in Chicago. We will bring you both the triumph and drama that will occur during this most important convening. We will also be looking out for discussion on how the Obama White House has flipped the script on how African Americans engage in technology.

Victory in the Niger Delta?

2009-06-09T19:55:00.004-04:00

Good news for the Niger Delta

That's it, $15.5 million?!

There is not enough money in the world to pay the true amount due to the Ogoni people.

A Tale of Two Countries

2009-06-08T10:59:00.005-04:00

Bullsh*t of the day.

From CNN:

Two U.S. journalists, who were detained in North Korea while covering the plight of defectors living along the China-North Korea border, have been sentenced to 12 years hard labor in prison, the country's state-run media said Monday.

The Central Court of North Korea sentenced Laura Ling and Euna Lee for the "grave crime they committed against the Korean nation and their illegal border crossing," the Korean Central News Agency said.

As a result, the court sentenced the women to "12 years of reform through labor."

A U.S. State Department spokesman, Ian Kelley, said the Swedish ambassador in North Korea confirmed the sentence with North Korean authorities. Sweden represents U.S. interests in North Korea; the United States does not have formal diplomatic relations with North Korea.

State Secretary Hillary Clinton released a statement:

“We are incredibly concerned on both a diplomatic and, on my behalf, a personal basis. I have met with their families, and I share the grave anxiety that they feel about the safety and security of these two young women. We call again on the North Korean government to release them and enable them to come home as soon as possible. We have explored other approaches, including the use of special representatives strictly for this humanitarian mission. But as things stand now, we know that they’re in the middle of a trial in Pyongyang, and we hope that the trial is resolved quickly and that the young women are released.”

Hold up, Mrs Clinton! While it is despicable what the North Korean government is doing to Laura Ling and Euna Lee, when does the U.S. begin to practice what is preaches for Ibrahim Jassam, who has been in U.S. custody since last September?

From Los Angeles Times:

No formal accusations have been made against Jassam, and an Iraqi court ordered in November that he be released for lack of evidence. But the U.S. military continues to hold him, saying it has intelligence that he is "a high security threat," said Maj. Neal Fisher, spokesman for detainee affairs.

The Obama administration harshly criticized Iran for its imprisonment of Roxana Saberi, the U.S.-Iranian journalist who was convicted of espionage and sentenced to eight years in prison before being freed two weeks ago. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton criticized Iran's treatment of Saberi as "non-transparent, unpredictable and arbitrary."

Washington also has called upon North Korea to expedite the trial of two U.S. journalists being held on spying charges.

Yet the U.S. has routinely used the arbitrary powers it assumed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorism attacks to hold journalists without charge in Iraq, as well as Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Committee to Protect Journalists said.

None of the detained journalists has been convicted of any charge, undermining the United States' reputation when it comes to criticizing other countries on issues of press freedom, committee executive director Joel Simon said.

"The U.S. has a record of holding journalists for long periods of time without due process and without explanation," he said. "Its standing would be improved if it addressed this issue."

Reuters has expressed disappointment over Jassam's detention and has said there is no evidence against him.

Sami Haj, a cameraman for the TV network Al Jazeera, was detained by Pakistani authorities as he tried to cross into Afghanistan in 2001 to cover the offensive against the Taliban. He was turned over to the U.S. military, which held him for six years at the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He was accused him of being a courier for militant Islamic organizations, but was never charged. He was released a year ago.

In Iraq, Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein was held for two years without trial before being released in April 2008 on the orders of an Iraqi judge under the terms of an amnesty law. The U.S. military maintained that Hussein had links to insurgents, but the AP said the allegations were based on nothing more than the Pulitzer Prize-winning photographs of insurgents that he had taken on the streets of Ramadi, in western Iraq.

Jassam is the only Iraqi journalist still in U.S. custody, the last to be detained under wartime rules that predated a U.S.-Iraqi security agreement signed in December. Under the new accord, U.S. forces must obtain a warrant before they can arrest an Iraqi citizen.

WTF!

What if Tiananmen Square happened today?

2009-06-04T19:07:00.003-04:00

This week commemorations are occurring worldwide in observance of the Tiananmen Square protests and massacres of 1989. With the rise of Flickr and Twitter used for social justice, many digital activists wonder out loud if the now famed events would have transpired differently had social media tools been around twenty years ago. Clearly, the Chinese government knows the power of cyber-activism, as they have blocked most Internet social networks and foreign newspapers in the country ahead of the anniversary. Although there is an online blackout in China, activists still find ways to get their messages of protest out.

Twitter has been blocked for the last two days, nonetheless, users worldwide have been using the hashtag #fuckGFW (Great FireWall of China) to express their outrage at the online blocking. Chinese blogger Xavier Lur said on his website TechXav that the Chinese officials created the drastic blockade to not only protect national security and prevent anti-government content from being seen, but it may have also been economics.

He says:

Without blocking Google, Baidu cannot success. Without blocking Wikipedia, Hoodong cannot success. Without blocking Blogger, Blogcn cannot success. Without blocking YouTube, Youku cannot success. These huge International Internet Companies do not pay taxes to China Government, but the Internet Companies in China do pay taxes. The Chinese government wants to make more bucks, so and to boost their GDP. Also, they want to “protect” China websites and hence blocking successful International websites.

"Ellen" (she asked to not have her real name used) is a Chinese college student and blogger who was only a toddler twenty years ago. She says that as much as the Chinese government tries to block the Internet, they will eventually realize that censorship will increasingly be hard to regulate as more people get connected.

"The revolution is happening in cyberspace," she said. "If Tiananmen happened today, the government wouldn't be able to suppress anger towards them around the globe. I might not see YouTube or read blogs in Beijing, but someone else can in Singapore, in Cairo, in Nairobi, in Rio, in London, in New York. My country is fighting an uphill battle, and it needs to put up their white flag."

The Great Rip-Off

2009-06-02T09:17:00.004-04:00

First the banks, now the auto industry.

From Washington Post:

Scan the coverage today of GM's bankruptcy and you'll see a wide range of reaction, from predictions of certain doom to sheer uncertainty about the company's eventual fate. The word "gambling" comes up a lot in reference to President Obama's plan, never a good thing when you're talking about amounts of money ending in 10 zeroes. What you don't see this morning are predictions of success.

It's difficult to find more than a handful of analysts or commentators in the mainstream media (outside of Detroit) who believe that this blueprint is likely to work. Not that it might work, but likely to work. And that is worrying news for the White House, which is working desperately to forestall the company's complete collapse -- and the subsequent economic shock wave -- but may instead be fostering the public perception that it is throwing good money after bad without a clear endgame in mind.

A Rasmussen poll released Sunday pegged support for the GM plan at just 21 percent, with 67 percent opposed. A clear majority of respondents would rather let the company go out of business than provide any more government funding.

Maybe a voice of reason...

From Democracy Now:

Congressman Dennis Kucinich of Ohio urged the White House not to subsidize GM’s overseas growth at the expense of US workers. In a statement, Kucinich said, “We must not allow GM to use US taxpayer dollars to close plants in America in order to open markets for products made in China and other countries.” Residents of Detroit said they were saddened and anxious by the bankruptcy of GM.

I ask you Mr President: who will hold GM accountable on behalf of American taxpayers?

Summer Diversions: Rolling Stones

2009-05-31T09:11:00.000-04:00

Homelessness highlighted in video

2009-05-27T19:57:00.008-04:00

The current economic downturn continues to take its toll in both industrialized and developing countries. According to a report from UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing Miloon Kothari, nearly one billion people around the world lack adequate housing, and approximately 100 million people have no housing of any kind. Recently, there have been efforts to spotlight the plight of society's most vulnerable members.

TakePart.com is a cause-related site designed to help explore today's pressing issues using video, images and audio, and added actions to make a difference such as signing a petition or educating the community. Their latest video is called Beth's Story, which looks at homelessness.

"Beth's Story, was created to shine a light on the millions of people living on the street who are often times overlooked, said TakePart.com organizer KC Webster. "She is a composite of their many complicated, often heartbreaking realities and of the issues and challenges lead to homelessness."

It is too early to tell the ultimate impact of the campaign, but so far, success has been made. Beth's Story has also been promoted on TakePart's blog, Twitter feed, text messaging and YouTube account, each tool has a few hundred followers supporting the cause.

"We are trying to get the word out about Beth's Story, to get as many
eyeballs to recognize the homeless issue as possible (On You Tube it is
already 21,555 views strong!) and to realize that even though most of us are
only exposed to numbing statistics, each individual number has a story," Webster said.

"Greening the ghetto"

2009-05-26T08:52:00.005-04:00

Good news out of the White House today.

No, not that news, this news.

From Associated Press:

Some of the $4 billion from President Barack Obama's $787 billion economic stimulus plan that was budgeted to renovate public housing will be spent to create so-called "green jobs" by making the dwellings more energy efficient.

Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan was making the announcement Tuesday in Denver at a meeting of Obama's Middle Class Task Force.

Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, another task force member, also will announce that $500 million from the stimulus is becoming available to train workers for these jobs. That sum includes $50 million for communities battered by job losses and restructuring in the auto industry...

...Donovan said Monday that the investment in public housing will help meet several goals: improving the quality of public housing, reducing energy costs for residents and the government, and creating jobs for people who live in the units and in the surrounding community...

Van Jones' thoughts on this...

From New York Times:

E&E: You've advocated "greening the ghetto" in the past; how much of the $787 billion economic stimulus will go toward greening inner cities, and where will the money go?

Jones: HUD has somewhere in the neighborhood of $10 billion to do energy-efficiency retrofits and weatherization. I know [HUD] Secretary [Shaun] Donovan is going to be passionate about getting that money spent well. But I'm not in a position now to comment on all of the details, the particulars of how the various agencies are planning to spend the money.

E&E: A Rutgers University report published today suggests that most green job openings will not be new occupations, but rather traditional occupations with a new layer of "green" skills and credentials. For example, laborers and building contractors who need specialized training and certification to perform home weatherization audits. Do you agree?

Jones: Yes. That's one of the exciting things about this. Sometimes people think we're talking about some exotic occupation from Mars that nobody's ever heard of. That we're talking about George Jetson or Buck Rogers when we're thinking about green jobs. We're not talking about solar ray-guns; we're talking about caulking guns as one of the major tools we're going to need to be smarter with energy. Those are jobs our existing work force, with a little training, can start doing right away.

E&E: Going forward, what role should the private sector play with regard to creating and keeping green-collar jobs?

Jones: The president has made very clear that he wants the majority of these jobs to be private-sector jobs. I think that's appropriate. Entrepreneurship, innovation and the free market will solve a lot of these problems. We just have to get the rules right and get the supports in place so our new industries can take off.

That's what up!

Summer Diversions: Jill Scott live

2009-05-24T14:34:00.000-04:00

Michael Pollan on the swine flu

2009-05-19T14:54:00.004-04:00

“Don’t Buy Any Food You’ve Ever Seen Advertised”
- Foodie Michael Pollan dropping knowledge

Blogger gives Obama food for thought

2009-05-13T20:34:00.004-04:00

Since Barack Obama's ascension to the White House, there has been a spur of interest online to follow the light-hearted sides of his historic presidency, while providing serious commentary on the administration's policy decisions. Jounrnalist and self-described “ag policy wonkette” Eddie Gehman Kohan founded her popular blog Obama Foodorama to discuss all things related to the president and food, "one bipartisan byte at a time." In a previous interview, she said she does the blog because "everyone eats," and "if you can't find something to personally relate to in the panopoly of continents, races, time zones and family situations that created Barack, there's always food," she said. "[Obama's] competing reputations as both a comfort food lover, a junk food addict and a gourmet make him highly accessible no matter what the entry point."

But don't expect to just read posts about last weekend's White House Correspondents' Dinner or what the Obamas eat on their night on the town, Obama Foodorama has become one of the leading blogs on food justice and advocacy.

In addition to blogging about the finer side of dining, Gehman Kohan has also created a following on her blog and her tweets because of her funny yet indepth discussions about the administration's agriculture policy, food safety and food-related health problems. Some recent posts have been on first lady Michelle Obama's ground-breaking organic garden, Green jobs advisor Van Jones' plans for a greenroof garden on top of the White House and the recent protest by African American farmers calling on the president to redress years of racial discrimination. According to Gehman Kohan, Obama has inherited a global food crisis.

More from Gehman Kohan:

"Immediate changes are needed in the way CDC, FDA and USDA work together during disease outbreaks, as well as the need for appointing not so much a food safety "czar" as a food safety "mentor" to coordinate the activities of the three agencies. We're in the middle of a period of terrible economic downturn, which leads to both hunger issues and grocery bill issues, and we're trying to figure out a new energy policy, which is directly related to the use of varying kinds of ethanol...which is directly related to food crops.

Also, sadly, the US is the biggest importer of Chinese food products in the world, and the Chinese make the most dangerous food products in the world. The issues on the blog affect everyone whether they're an official "foodie" or not. Eventually the blog may turn back into what the tagline claims -- a daily diary, one byte at a time -- a historic, electronic document of Barack and food. Right now, we have all kinds of interviews scheduled with foodie thinkers and food/farm activists, chefs and restaurateurs, as well as guest posts from other bloggers, in addition to the usual fun Chowbama gossip..."

The real story behind the swine flu?

2009-05-06T13:34:00.004-04:00

Bob Gottlieb, professor of urban and environmental policy and director of the Urban & Environmental Policy Institute (UEPI) at Occidental College, spoke to the fellows yesterday about food as an environmental justice issue. He alluded to the recent discussion in the food justice community about the possibly origin of swine flu, and the reluctance to discuss it public. Below might give some insight into this issue.

From Food and Water Watch:

Today, amid increasing international concern about the global swine flu outbreak, Food & Water Watch urged leaders of the U.S. Senate and House agriculture and health committees to investigate the serious human health problems caused by industrialized pork production. The national consumer advocacy organization submitted a letter to Chairman Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN), asking their respective committees to hold hearings examining the source of the swine flu virus, the pathway for transmission between hogs and humans, and the conditions inside factory farms that could foster the growth and mutation of the influenza virus into more virulent strains.

“Factory farms have a long track record of maximizing volume and profit at the cost of human health and safe food,” said Wenonah Hauter, Food & Water Watch executive director. “The swine flu outbreak is unfortunately just the latest example of the negative public health impacts from intensive pork production.”

Food & Water Watch warned of other potential threats to human health, including the discovery at U.S. hog facilities of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) – the difficult to treat staph infection – and antibiotic-resistant E. coli on operations using non-therapeutic antibiotics.

“The public health issues of disease transmission, antibiotic resistant bacteria and worker health are critically important to rural communities, workers, and consumers and any research into these issues must be done in a way that is independent of any industry pressure,” said Hauter in the letter. “Congress needs to prioritize these topics for credible research that is funded and performed by public entities, not the pork industry or its trade associations.”

Van Jones on eco-elitism and roof gardens

2009-05-03T08:12:00.005-04:00

Van Jones, President Obama's green man and author of the best-selling book, The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems, is the hot man of the moment.

Not only is he leading the way for the "Green New Deal," through his work with Green for All, he has also inspired his boss to grow food on top of the White House - literally.

From Obama Foodorama:

The White House is undergoing green renovations right now, and Ob Fo hears that in the future, there'll be a greenroof food garden, as the White House explores new ways of highlighting environmental stewardship, alternative agriculture solutions, and job creation. A "greenroof" is a roof made with vegetative cover, with growing media and plants taking the place of roof tiles, shingles, or gravel. In urban areas, a greenroof improves air quality, helps lower over-all air temperatures, and can prevent toxic rainwater runoff from getting into local watersheds. They're also an excellent form of insulation.

I'm just lovin' that a brotha is doing all this! Best of luck to him!

World Press Freedom Day 2009

2009-05-03T07:54:00.000-04:00

Although the official theme of this year's World Press Freedom Day is "media and dialogue," it should really be "resilience." The courage of many of my colleagues who risk their lives to tell the story never ceases to amaze me.

From World Association of Newspapers:

Moussa Kaka, the director of the private radio station Saraouniya Radio talks about his coverage of the Niger Justice Movement that led to a one-year imprisonment. Mohammad Al-Al Abdallah, a 26-year old Syrian blogger, reveals his family hardships that have arisen from the fight for press freedom. In Yemen, Abdel Karim Al-Khaiwani, talks about spending a year behind bars for his reportage on high-level corruption, nepotism, and human rights abuses. Colombian journalist Claudia Julieta Duque discusses the long battle she has faced for her investigative reporting. Barry Bearak of The New York Times describes his arrest, detention and expulsion from Zimbabwe for trying to report from the country during the last elections.

This year, we should also keep in mind freelance reporter Roxana Saberi who was recently convicted in Iran for spying, and Current TV correspondents Laura Ling and Euna Lee still being detained in North Korea for entering the country illegally.

Black is the new Green...again

2009-05-01T17:47:00.007-04:00

On the first day of the E.J. fellowship, we got a crash course on the subject by Johns Hopkins University professor Eileen McGurty, author of the book, "Transforming Environmentalism: Warren County, PCBs and the Origins of Environmental Justice."

In 1978, residents of the predominately black Warren County in North Carolina were devastated when they learned that the state planned to build a landfill in their community to hold forty thousand cubic yards of soil that was contaminated with PCBs from illegal dumping. The community responded to the state’s plans with a four-year resistance, ending in a month of protests with over 500 arrests from civil disobedience and disruptive actions.

"This was the first time national civil rights groups protested an environmental issue," McGurty said. “Environmental justice shouldn’t be a luxury, it is a right. But back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, this was a new concept.”

Today, there are calls again to make the green movement "black" again.

From L.A. Watts Times

...But there is another trend, too. Black is the new green. The American environmental elite is an increasingly racially diverse place.

President Barack Obama appointed sister Lisa Jackson to head the Environmental Protection Agency. He tapped grassroots, green-jobs brother Van Jones as special adviser to the White House. And his Labor Secretary, Hilda L. Solis, is a Latina with a record of championing green jobs and environmental justice. Black women like Majora Carter and Beverly Wright are at the forefront of regional environmental advocacy. And in his chairmanship of the National Wildlife Federation, Jerome Ringer has integrated even the conservation arm of environmentalism, which is historically devoid of racial minority leadership.

Even the first lady is encouraging kitchen-table environmentalism with her advocacy of local organic food and home-based gardening.

With this growing diversity of green leadership, it is harder than ever to claim that America’s racial minorities care little about environmental issues. For decades, ordinary citizens of color have become environmental activists when they organized to resist the toxic waste dumps in their neighborhoods, to force regulation of polluting industries in fence-line communities, and to bring attention to the negative health impact of particulate emissions near their homes.

But these largely decentralized, locally led movements were rarely understood as central to the conservation and climate-change environmentalism that dominated federal policy and the national imagination. So despite their efforts, the contributions of black, brown and poor communities have often been ignored in the story of a greening America.

The diverse new environmental leadership certainly changes this, but it remains to be seen whether a more racially diverse leadership creates a different kind of American environmentalism...

Despite President Obama's efforts to make the country more sustainable, one of the first major complaints about his green policy seems to be coming from other black environmentalists.

From African American Environmentalist Association:

The National Black Farmers Association (NBFA) and the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) say Barack Obama led the charge last year to pass a bill allowing black farmers to seek new discrimination claims against the Agriculture Department when he was a senator. NBFA also says that as president, his administration so far is acting like it wants the potentially budget-busting lawsuits to go away. John Boyd, right, head of the National Black Farmers Association, which has organized the lawsuits cannot figure out why the president wouldn't want to implement a bill that he fought for as a U.S. senator. NBFA notes that Congress has bailed out Wall Street auto makers and America's top banks.

At issue is a class-action lawsuit known as the Pigford case. Thousands of farmers sued USDA claiming they had for years been denied government loans and other assistance that routinely went to whites. The government settled in 1999 and has paid out nearly $1 billion in damages on almost 16,000 claims. Farmers, lawyers and activists like Boyd have worked for years to reopen the case because thousands of farmers missed the deadlines for participating. Many said the filing period was too short and they were unaware of the settlement until it was too late. The cause gained momentum in August 2007 when Obama, then an Illinois senator, introduced Pigford legislation about six months into his presidential campaign. Although the case was hardly a hot-button political issue, it had drawn intense interest among African-Americans in the rural South. The proposal won passage in May as sponsors rounded up enough support to incorporate it into the 2008 farm bill.

The potential budget implications were huge: It could easily cost $2 billion or $3 billion given an estimated 65,000 pending claims. With pressure to hold down costs, lawmakers set an artificially low $100 million budget. They called it a first step and said more money could be approved later. But with 25,000 new claims and counting, the Obama administration is now arguing that the $100 million budget should be considered a cap to be split among the successful cases. The position — spelled out in a legal motion filed in February and reiterated in recent settlement talks — would leave payments as low as $2,000 or $3,000 per farmer. Boyd, with Senator Obama at left, noted that Obama's legislation specifically called for the new claimants to be eligible for the same awards as the initial lawsuit, including expedited payments of $50,000 plus $12,500 in tax breaks that the vast majority of the earlier farmers received...

Developing story...

Michelle Obama's First 100 Days

2009-04-30T06:17:00.005-04:00

I'm not going to go into another wall-to-wall discussion about everything President Obama has done since coming to the White House like other bloggers, but I did want to give some shine to Lady O. Despite my indifferent views on her dress sense (that vomit green number she wore on Inauguration Day...) and getting criticized for "molesting" Queen Elizabeth II last month, Mrs. Obama has come through the fire, and is now even more popular than her husband.

My only disappointment is with the media, which seems to focus so much on what she is wearing, are missing the real story about a woman who came from a modest background and went on to become a successful power-broker in her career path.

From Wikipedia:

Following law school, she was an associate at the Chicago office of the law firm Sidley Austin, where she first met her future husband. At the firm, she worked on marketing and intellectual property. Subsequently, she held public sector positions in the Chicago city government as an Assistant to the Mayor, and as Assistant Commissioner of Planning and Development. In 1993, she became Executive Director for the Chicago office of Public Allies, a non-profit organization encouraging young people to work on social issues in nonprofit groups and government agencies. She worked there nearly four years and set fundraising records for the organization that still stood a dozen years after she left.

In 1996, she served as the Associate Dean of Student Services at the University of Chicago, where she developed the University's Community Service Center. In 2002, she began working for the University of Chicago Hospitals, first as executive director for community affairs and, beginning May 2005, as Vice President for Community and External Affairs. She continued to hold the University of Chicago Hospitals position during the primary campaign, but cut back to part time in order to spend time with her daughters as well as work for her husband's election; she subsequently took a leave of absence from her job. According to the couple’s 2006 income tax return, Michelle's salary was $273,618 from the University of Chicago Hospitals, while her husband had a salary of $157,082 from the United States Senate. The total Obama income, however, was $991,296 which included $51,200 she earned as a member of the board of directors of TreeHouse Foods, and investments and royalties from his books.

She served as a salaried board member of TreeHouse Foods, Inc., a major Wal-Mart supplier with whom she cut ties immediately after her husband made comments critical of Wal-Mart at an AFL-CIO forum in Trenton, New Jersey, on May 14, 2007. She serves on the board of directors of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

Damn, she was even getting paid more than her husband! How many men would be "secure" with that?

I am even glad to see that she is taking on food justice initiatives!

But best of all, it is great that she is also changing stereotypes.

From CNN:

Heather Ferreira works in the slums of Mumbai, India, where she has watched thousands of women live under a "curse."

The women she meets in the squalid streets where "Slumdog Millionaire" was filmed are often treated with contempt, she says. They're considered ugly if their skin and hair are too dark. They are deemed "cursed" if they only have daughters. Many would-be mothers even abort their children if they learn they're female.

Yet lately she says Indian women are getting another message from the emergence of another woman thousands of miles away. This woman has dark skin and hair. She walks next to her husband in public, not behind. And she has two daughters. But no one calls her cursed. They call her Michelle Obama, the first lady.

"She could be a new face for India," says Ferreira, program officer for an HIV-prevention program run by World Vision, an international humanitarian group. "She shows women that it's OK to have dark skin and to not have a son. She's quite real to us."

Black, Green and the Economy

2009-04-30T05:06:00.004-04:00

Brentin Mock, one of my colleagues at the IJJ fellowship brought to my attention this great article in The Root regarding the green movement in the black community.

From The Root:

For blacks, the green movement has been primarily about bad things dumped in our neighborhoods. But health-based activism is no longer enough. Today’s black and green movement must be about jobs and economic sustainability....

...But that largely defensive, health-based environmentalism is no longer enough—if it ever was. President Obama has raised the stakes considerably by inextricably tying his massive economic agenda to the sustainability movement. And when you follow the links, the consequences of that decision are clear-black America's future might just depend upon its ability to paint its politics green.

Obama likes to point out that he's not the first president who's had to create a whole new economy. It remains to be seen whether his effort will as profoundly impact American life as Abraham Lincoln's railroad or FDR's GI Bill, but the audacious president hasn't been shy about his aspirations. "History reminds us," he thundered in his February address to Congress, "that at every moment of economic upheaval and transformation, this nation has responded with bold action and big ideas."..

...Nearly a quarter of black households live below the poverty line, a share that is probably growing. In February, black unemployment hit a whopping 13.4 percent, nearly double the rate for whites. A generations-long gap in homeownership is widening as blacks and Latinos-who were clearly targeted with subprime lending and often steered away from more affordable loans-are poised to lose billions and absorb an estimated half of the nation's wealth loss from foreclosures. Even the auto industry collapse looks likely to hurt black working families the most.

So what does a green economy look like? Green Jobs for All has begun sketching out a clear answer to that question (and, not for nothing, its founding CEO Van Jones is Obama's new green jobs adviser). First, you have to understand the potential: Green jobs aren't just high-tech, they're everything from new building trades such as installing solar panels to revamped old-school ones such as putting in insulation. Like manufacturing was to the 20th century, they're jobs that don't require college degrees but nonetheless generate middle-class wages...

President Obama brought up yesterday during his various media appearances that America needs to prepare the next generation in careers in the sciences, math and technology in order to stay competitive in the global economy. In order to ensure all Americans have access to these career opportunities, training will need to made available and resources are distributed equally.

It is also great to see people of color like Van Jones and Sonal Shah leading the discussion on the green economy and social innovation respectively.

I am looking forward to discussing this as the months go on.

09NTC lessons for Online organizers

2009-04-28T16:38:00.009-04:00

The 2009 Nonprofit Technology Conference concluded yesterday, and there was a nuanced energy about how the nonprofit sector can use new media to bring social change. "Community organizing" became popular, yet controversial during Barack Obama's presidential campaign. As new media played a large role in Obama winning the White House, many 09NTC attendees came to learn about using the virtual energy from Obama's campaign and bridging some of the core principals of community organizing into online organizing.

One of those hopeful online organizers was Tika Giday, a Ethiopian nonprofit health advocate, who was given admission to the conference by a friend who registered and couldn't attend last minute. Giday said that she was happy to have the opportunity to attend 09NTC by chance to meet with other nonprofit technies about digital activism, and was looking forward to using her skills when she gets back to Addis Ababa.

"I am so blessed to come to a technology conference in America now because in Africa, everyone is happy to see Barack win the presidency," Giday said. "We are very impressed with the way he used online media tools, and I am here to learn from other activists and their best practices of political and social activism online."

Giday went to two workshops that addressed the online "Obama effect;" one of which was called "Online Organizing for Community Organizers." The workshop was lead by Charles Lenchner of the Working Famiies Party, who has an extensive background using online organizing for many political and environmental organizations, including Democracyinaction.org, Change.org and MoveOn.org. Giday also went to another workshop that featured Michael Silberman of EchoDitto and Anne Marie Ashburn of the New Organizing Institute. Silberman worked on Howard Dean's presidential campaign, while Ashburn was a Obama campaign field organizer in Chicago last year, who switched over to training campaign staff on using new media tools.

Giday wrote down some notable quotes from the panelists in these workshops, which include the following:

“Anyone can start a Facebook cause, but it is another thing to mobilize the people joining the cause.”

“You can’t separate the mission of the organization from the tools used to reach the goal of the mission.”

“You have to be clear about your social mission”

"Email addresses are people too!"

"Be an active listener of what your online constituency wants and what they will give to your cause."

"Treat people respectfully online, especially if you want them to support your causes."

“It is important for online organizers to mobilize supporters to do real world actions.”

Before the conference, Giday said she didn't feel sure she could be a digital activist. However, three days later, she feels more confident about going back to Ethiopia and training others about being onling organizers. In the next few days, she would like to start her own Facebook and Twitter accounts in preparing of a digital activism she wants to do.

"I have even purchased a Flip camera, and I would like to record the many injustices in my community and share them with the world online," Giday continued. "Maybe Mr Obama will see my videos!"

Swine flu and tech life

2009-04-27T20:56:00.005-04:00

Unless you have been living under a rock for the last two days, you should know that the world is being invaded by yet another health emergency - swine flu.

From CDC:

How common is swine flu infection in humans?
In the past, CDC received reports of approximately one human swine influenza virus infection every one to two years in the U.S., but from December 2005 through February 2009, 12 cases of human infection with swine influenza have been reported.
What are the symptoms of swine flu in humans?

The symptoms of swine flu in people are expected to be similar to the symptoms of regular human seasonal influenza and include fever, lethargy, lack of appetite and coughing. Some people with swine flu also have reported runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

Can people catch swine flu from eating pork?
No. Swine influenza viruses are not transmitted by food. You can not get swine influenza from eating pork or pork products. Eating properly handled and cooked pork and pork products is safe. Cooking pork to an internal temperature of 160°F kills the swine flu virus as it does other bacteria and viruses.

Nonetheless, most people these days are not going to go to the CDC website to find information on this crisis.

From CNN:

Of the swine flu news on Twitter, Tompkins said, "Bad news always travels faster than good news. I'm sure that was true in smoke signal days."

Unofficial swine flu information on Twitter may lead people to unwise decisions, said Evgeny Morozov, a fellow at the Open Society Institute and a blogger on ForeignPolicy.com.

For example, some Twitter users told their followers to stop eating pork, he said. Health officials have not advised that precaution. Read about how the virus is transmitted

Morozov said there's incentive for Twitter users to post whatever is on their mind because it helps them grow their online audiences.

But in an emergency, that tendency means people write about their own fears of symptoms and widespread deaths, which can create an uninformed hysteria, he said.

Coincidentally, I was having a conversation with someone here at the 2009 Nonprofit Technology Conference about whether or not cities around the United States will become ghost towns, just like Mexico City in light of the illness. We happen to be leaving a workshop on cloud computing, and if a declared national emergency would require Americans to stay home, they would still be able to work virtually.

While cloud computing is the hot thing for employees who like telecommuting, are virtual offices a good thing for public health?

It has been proven that telecommuters are less likely to take sick days and be more productive due to good health, but there are also other benefits of cloud computing I learn about in the workshop that are also good for the employer.

What is good about Cloud Computing:

• No infrastructure: any web browser get you access
• Open: Internet standards and web services allow you to "mash" up clouds
• Quick Start: autonomic provisioning…try before your buy
• It costs less
• Flexibility: scale up and down to your organization’s needs; spend more time working on the mission of the organization
• Choice: you choose what apps and services you need as opposed to a vender deciding
• Capacity: skills and capacity needed are close to your mission
• Security: higher investment in state of the art security
• Upgrade: not a project, but rather automated behind the scenes
• Ongoing investment

What is bad (perceived) about Cloud Computing

• Worries about what happens to information after a vendor goes out of business
• Security of business information online
• No personal interaction with coworkers; no social interaction

If President Obama is serious about tech innovation while dealing with the growing number of health outbreaks, there would be no surprise if he were to ask Americans to think more seriously about working in the "clouds."

09NTC Science Fair Highlights

2009-04-27T10:05:00.002-04:00

One of the big highlights at the Nonprofit Technology Conference is the Science Fair, where tech vendors get a chance to show off their latest and greatest products and services.

Here are some vendors of note:

ReadyTalk

• Provides audio and web conferencing tools to nonprofits
• According to ReadyTalk’s brochure, they deliver “a service that is easy to use, highly available and backed by our friendly expert support staff.”
• This is part of the “cloud computing” revolution, where you can meet anytime, anywhere, while generating more qualified leads for less
• Plus, its economically and green; you “save money and travel less with web meetings”

Gulo

• Simple website management tool for nonprofit folks with little to no IT experience
• According to Gulo’s postcard, it “offers organizations powerful, yet intuitive website publishing at an affordable monthly price”
• “Edit content right from your browser, and use virtually any design or layout”
• New media friendly – “publish search engine-friendly content, and maintain a calendar, blog and RSS feeds”

Mozy

• Online backup for nonprofit professionals
• According to Mozy’s flyer, it is “the trusted leader in online backup, save you time and money with simple, secure and affordable backup solutions that allows you to focus on your organization’s future”
• “Manage multi-user environments from the convenience of a web-based administrative console”
• “Backup solutions start at less than $5 per month, with no setup fees, no hardware to purchase, and little management required”

Amazon Payments

• With the millions of people who use Amazon.com to buy almost everything these days, the company has created “an easy-to-use and secure way for US-based, IRS-certified 501c3 nonprofit organizations to collect donations” using their Amazon.com accounts, according to its flyer
• “Easy to configure, cut-and-paste HTML code (and buttons) for collecting donations”
• “Flexibility to set a fixed, minimum or donor-determined donation amount; also accepts micropayments or micro-donations…as small as $1.00 while enjoying Amazon Payments’ low price for transactions less than $10”
• How it works – “set up your account, place Amazon Simple Pay Donations button on your website, donors donate by clicking Amazon Simple Pay Donations button and Amazon transfers donations to you” - simple

The economy and tech access

2009-04-27T09:58:00.002-04:00

Live blogging from 09NTC

I am here in San Francisco for the 2009 Nonprofit Technology Conference, and the economic downturn has taken its toll on the nonprofit tech/communications world. Specifically, there was a lot of talk yesterday about how President Obama’s stimulus package will make an impact in bringing broadband access to disadvantaged communities.

In a workshop on community technology, one person said regarding the stimulus package that “there is a big pot of money for broadband, and in that pot, money for community technology.” Some folks believe that the discussions of the digital divide and Internet literacy are now back on the table.

“If you are going to have broadband, you have to have training too.”

More to come on this topic

Going Back to Cali!

2009-04-25T07:31:00.002-04:00

I am traveling to California the next two weeks!

Doing the trip, I will be attending 09NTC to tune up my tech skills. Following that I will also start my fellowship in LA.

Of course, I will be seeing many of you for consults!

I will be blogging my adventures. See you in Cali!

Ruby Maddox Fisher on Urban sustainability

2009-04-23T20:53:00.003-04:00

Happy belated Earth day! I was going through the my"Film Archives" on my computer, and found this footage I actually took last month because of I wanted to post this in honor International Women's Day.

Ruby Maddox-Fisher is the co-founder and past director of Gardening the Community (GtC), a youth-centered, community based, urban agriculture program in Springfield, MA. GtC grows organic frutis and vegetables on formerly abandoned lots while learning about and practicing agriculture, environmental stewardship and community development. She talks about the impact her nonprofit has made in the community regarding environmental justice.