Welcome to the Terrordome

Once in a while I'll venture onto one of the social networking sites and attempt to catch up with acquaintances. I'll be honest; I'm half-assed about these sites because knowing Bridget ate a tart at Ago that made her orgasm doesn't do a thing for me or my orgasms.

I mention the inanity of this exercise because once in a bit I'll see a comment that will tempt me to add my thoughts. Today was one of them. The setup was my friend Shawn's page, and he'd posted about the loony bin who'd flown his plane into the IRS building, yet he's not considered a terrorist. Someone commented that Tim McVeigh's "the worst" to which I said:

i disagree; tim mcveigh's a shithead, but what congress, the exec & judicial branches as well as the regulators (sec, cftc, et al), not to mention the jerkoff bankers, analysts and ratings agencies have done is no less than genocide on millions - worldwide. and the most astounding thing? this system is STILL intact and doing the SAME exact things that produced the meltdown IN THE FIRST PLACE!!! in fact, while the rest of us are on our knees, goldman sachs of shit ceo lloyd blankfein is taking "ONLY" a $9 mil bonus this year...

so the REAL question of our time is:

WHEN will the american people WAKE THE F UP?

the overs/unders on that are never/as long as they have mcdonald's, cable tv & suvs.

and the report card on barack/his admin? so far, D- over F. and i supported him over mccain [didn't vote for him though]. but enough's enough.

make no mistake; this is not a financial coup, it is genocide....

In true Freudian subconscious play, one of the things about stream of consciousness and free association is that every once in a while things will really come to the fore. This is one of them, because up until now, I really hadn't - in Frank Luntz or Tom Friedman style - named EM08 beyond "EM08" as a utilitarian label.

"Financial coup d'etat" is a start in the right direction, although it's still a bit too martial for my taste, yet it does have a place. "Genocide," however, is loaded, although it is - again, taking a cue from Luntz - being broadened from a specific race or ethnicity's targeting to class. So, the econ elite's war on all else, with the financial coup being an instrument in order to accomplish the goal of theft. Genocide is the result.

I don't use the term "genocide" lightly, either. To the contrary, I think it is perfect in application here, with the element of speed needing to be illumined. Meaning that Native Americans were wiped out in one form or another or Jews were shipped to camps en masse. That is easy enough to see because it is happening in a very systematic and rapid manner. Also, it was very clearly intentional, which I'll address shortly.

With EM08, this systematization of tyranny is far more sophisticated (albeit unwieldy and with more variables and yet, a much greater head start and range of camouflage and protections for the econ elites now) to the Native American or Jewish exterminations, however, what is aiding the banks, their government jackals and associated other hitmen (mass media/fourth estate, analysts, regulators...) is the sheer scope and size so as to render them invisible. There's the scope and size, the unwieldy aspects again. But because of common interests and economic imperatives, it's like a grand perversion of Smith's Invisible Hand mating with La Cosa Nostra and producing their baby, Uncle Scam.

Then there's speed. If President Jackson orders masses of Natives off of their sovereign land because he wants their gold and instigates the Trail of Tears, that's fairly concise and immediate in impact. But let's look at one element of EM08; the first phase of the real estate bubble in order to see why "genocide" will not popularly be applied to what's going on. Here's a simple fact:

*** There were many players; banks, hedge funds, ratings agencies, insurance companies, regulators, politicians, mass media, analysts.

That so many were involved, to greater or lesser degree, obscures the fact that people - not "corporations" - did this and in some relationships with outright knowledge of fraud and conflict of interests. Yet, this is never brought to light by our politicians, congressional inquiries, much less in our bought off overly conglomerated mass media. But because the first phase of the real estate bubble took decades to pop, it's purported to be (by some) and perceived (by some) as "an economic cycle" much like fall after summer, or the melting of our polar ice caps as having nothing to do with man's scarfing down oil like it was his last meal.

In other words, the sheer size and scope of EM08 works to "their" advantage. For the average American, brought to their knees by any number of EM08 pressures, understanding EM08 is like trying to read Manufacturing Consent while riding a Tilt-A-Whirl.

Last, the issue of conspiracy. Whether there is or isn't really isn't the point. It's like talking about whether someone is or isn't racist based upon their intentions, ie, a white person who calls Toyotas "rice burners" isn't racist, they're just being funny. Such talk obscures real racism - in hiring, college admissions, buying or renting a home, number of police inquiries/arrests, imprisonment.... The key is noting what people who wield power as societies and institutional structures do.

With EM08, so what if there wasn't a cabal of evil white men who were led by a sneering Dick Cheney plotting world domination? The fact that they had common interests and the resources to play the way they wanted led them to the same results. The answer is to not get sidetracked by deflections like conspiracy arguments and, as Krishnamurti said, stick to what is.

It may be cliche to say take a lesson from those who talked about watching the Nazis come for the artists, intellectuals, homosexuals, gypsies, and Jews but doing nothing. Yet, as we all watch "helplessly" as millions are being destroyed that is the current situation. Nothing convinces me otherwise.

Flappin' Their Yaps

It was with a raised eyebrow greeting that I heard of Barack's "Job Summit" along with the word, "bullshit." More stage show, so "they" can appear as if 1. They care, and 2. They're doing something pragmatic, let alone relevant.

If anyone believes that something with teeth and traction emerges from this taxpayer funded way off Broadway show, I'm setting the over/unders at 2 years and let's be generous; let's say they employ 10% of the real number of (approximately) 20% under & unemployed,(~*~) including those who have fallen out of the system and those who've just given up. Now, I don't know what that number is, and maybe no one really does, but if we say there's 300 million here, then it's 60 million and 10% of that is 6 million jobs. Anyway, I have such faith in the ability of politicians and the American System's abilities to only really work for the elites, that I'll give 4 to 1 on the bet. If anyone's serious, closing's a week from now.

This should also illustrate something to the very vocal critics of the government and politicians, from the high, such as Peter Schiff, to the low, such as certain friends of mine who subscribe to the "government just mucks up everything" because they're idiots, incompetent, etc., etc. etc.

But this is yet again looking through the wrong end of the telescope; it's just a matter of perspective. I actually think government is too efficient. People need to step away from how events boil down to themselves and look at the effects in the world around them; hey, news flash, but EM08 didn't happen by accident, and that includes the bailouts without stipulations. Bailouts, lest we forget, that happened really, really fast and efficiently and that went against public consensus. Sounds pretty efficient to me - for elites.

For starters, there's my wheel house; conglomeration/concentration. Despite anti-compete/trust laws, elite money interests are conglomerated everywhere in America; oil, healthcare, mass media, autos, insurance, cell phones, retailing (with the largest conglomerate in the world), food production, electricity, water....

Then there's the American System's great facility at going after "the bad guys" - the real bad guys. Remember, I agree with Frank Luntz and marketers even before him who, in turn, was/were before Tom Friedman who is currently running around saying, "You name something, you own it." In this next example of the American System's efficiency, look at how it effectively eliminates or minimalizes counter views, again, from high to low. Look at the methods, appropriate again, from high to low. Eliot Spitzer, who had AIG (his heat was a huge factor in nailing Hank Greenberg) and investment banks in his sites, is taken out by the "sex scandal" bullet, while Dick Cheney prospered. Cheney, who has clear conflicts of interest and even treason following his sluglike slime trail in the form of the Plame Affair.

And right on time, on the "low" level, it's the 40th Anniversary of the assassination of Chi-town BPP Chairman Fred Hampton, as hard, revolutionary and charismatic as you wanna be. That cat was as electrifying as Malcolm, he was that bad. As is said by Caine about O-Dog in the Hughes Bros. Menace II Society, "He's America's worst nightmare; a nigga that don't give a fuck." (I of course wouldn't say worst; that's reserved for the devils, but, you know...) Hampton didn't give a fuck, but in this case it was what uncle scam thought. So of course, uncle scam couldn't have that, and basically bought off an informant - I won't mention the sucker by name cause he's not worth it - in order to get the layout of Hampton's apartment. At that point Hampton was just bum rushed in his own bed with his 8 month pregnant mother of his unborn son next to him (she survived) and assassinated him in cold blood! Of course, the spin afterwards was that it was instigated by Hampton, despite overwhelming forensics to the contrary, such as 90 shots going in and one that was fired by presumably Hampton's bodyguard straight up. By the way, among the rounds, some of it was machine gun fire.

Then of course post their cold blooded murder, uncle scam lied about everything, stating the "viciousness of the Black Panthers" and how the popo was basically reacting to Hampton's aggressiveness. Just remember that bullet ratio of 90 to 1.

Better than I is a word from my fellow American to put this "high and low" point in order; don't know his name, but I want to praise him. I was listening to some of NPR's take on the Job Summit, and the usual roundelay of experts from right and left. But then, the clouds parted and the sun broke through in the form of taking it to the streets with some "man on the street" takes.

The gem was what sounded like coming from an older black brother, and I paraphrase:

When the banks cried out that they needed help, they went ahead and gave them billions real fast. But now that there're millions of people out of work, they wanna talk about it.

This is the EM08 comment of the year, if you ask me.

=======================

(~*~) Let's also be honest - at least - and admit to ourselves that if the real under/unemployment numbers are near 20%, for black and brown peeps it's way higher.

In other words, a recession for all is a depression for people of color.

A Quickie from Boldizar

Torb sent me this Tom Friedman article, pretentiously titled The New Untouchables, wherein, basically, Tommy boy argues for getting education back on track (whatever that means) along with all of the madness of EM08.

The piece has holes in it the size of George Foreman's head.

Eeeeeyeah, I've kinda given up on whatever enthusiasms I used to have for Tommy boy. He's on a case-by-case basis with me now. More to my pat yourself point, I beat him to the punch quite a while ago.

Now, one of the things I do so enjoy about net journalism, is the immediacy. And nowhere is that more evident than in reader comments. For the most part, the letters are the equivalent of the 405 (for those outside of LA freeway familiarity, probably the most traffic impacted highway in the states) at rush hour and all of the cars are Ford Pintos and Chevy Novas. Old ones.

Of course, it's pure odds and perseverance at work finding a good letter since there were over 400 comments. And find him I did, in Alexander Boldizar.

Boldizar's letter
I went from McGill (undergrad) to Harvard (law school) and was shocked at the difference in education culture. At McGill nobody cared if you came to class, the campus was licensed so you could buy a beer between classes, the bathrooms were co-ed, and the best you could do if you repeated what the professor had spouted was an A-. To get an A (the top grade), you had to add something new, creative, different, you had to prove the professor wrong somehow.

At Harvard, ostensibly a graduate school, attendance counted (voted in by the students, shockingly enough, while I was there), men and women were on separate floors, with the women's floors having combination locks, alcohol was served only at select functions and only with ID, and if you tried to argue against the professor you were generally penalized. If you wanted an A or A+, you had to repeat not only the substance of what the professor had taught, but learn to mimic his sentence structure.

This was Harvard, not some med-rank school, but its approach to education was what after ten years in the United States I now think of as typically American: obey the rules, don't question; succeed, don't think. The old America of the maverick individual is a myth, a hollow co-opted campaign slogan.

Surprising? Not really.

Turns out Boldizar's quite the accomplished writer; you can catch him at www.boldizar.com/blog

Economic Meltdown 2008 (EM08)

Ok, the cult of Tommy Friedman is out and in pretty full force. He guested on Charlie Rose again tonight, and while I think he gets some, perhaps a lot, of macro right, I think he loses it in micro.

I'm about a third of the way through, and the topic is Obama's cabinet, so far names that we all know. The first big problem I have with Tommy Boy is his statement that Obama has to be "radical" in terms of his approach because things are so jacked up. Now, while I agree in principle, the fact that he's choosing nothing but dinosaurs to help him shows nothing but, you guessed it, CONSERVATISM. How in the world are we going to revolutionize this system when dinosaurs are running it? After all, the meaning of "conservative" is "conserve," to maintain the status quo.

Again, the prime example of not moving with the times are in our face; my poster children are Yahoo choosing dinosaur Semel while Google did nothing of the sort and leap-frogged over them. Some might argue - persuasively so - for AOL/Time-Warner (or, "asshole/slime-barfer"), whose losses are so mammoth I've often wondered to anyone who'd listen as to how Parsons kept his job for so long. (I still don't have an answer that makes sense, so I chalk it up to he must have big dirt on a LOT of key peeps...)

People cannot STAND change, real, fundamental change, actually, revolution. Not the revolution with a capital "R" that is marked by bombs and guns but a revolution in thinking and doing. In short, like a casino, our system is unfairly rigged for the elites who control everything.***

Until a challenge to that system happens, people will continue to just be, as gamers say, "pwned."

=================

*** Curiously and counter-intuitively though, there's a sorta famous industrial shrink experiment. From memory it goes something like this: an assembly line is measured for average productivity per hour. Then a change is made; the lighting is slightly increased. Productivity goes up. More lighting. More productivity. Etc.

Then, a curious thing happens. The lighting is decreased and... productivity goes up! Conclusion? People react - in this case, favorably - to change.

EVERYBODY'S an Expert

So I've been inundated with info about Barack, particularly the guessing game about cabinet nominees. Emanuel's already accepted CoS. Richardson's on the short list for SoS, and Volcker for the Treasury; personally, I sincerely feel that this country desperately needs David Cay Johnston advising economically. And Johnston's a Republican! Hillary was conspicuous by absence.

I would think Schumer's gotta be in there somewhere. But Tom Friedman needs to be tapped. He doesn't have micro down, but he has macro. Muhammad Yunis should be tapped for micro-lending. In an astounding turn-around, Mike Milken (!) is now working with Yunis on micro-lending; they already have a program up and going in Queens. Think about what this does for everyday folks who are hurting, or just have dreams of entrepreneurship, but no capital, no connections, no collateral. If America is to realize more fully its sloganeering rhetoric of "anything's possible" then that must include opportunity. This is a proven, sober and very economically sound path. It's humane, it has a heart. It's battle tested.

Here are a few more ideas:

1. SUSTAINABILITY CZARS - This needs to be a committee because it's so important. I agree with Tom Friedman that a "Green America" is energy forward, environmentally conscious, entrepreneurial, geo-political, and economically conservative AND stimulating. It'd take another essay to explain all of those, but, back on point, this committee should contain sub-committees on:

A. ENTREPRENEURSHIP - Entrepreneurs are the base, they are the ones taking the risks and developing the Google's of Green - HELP THEM. They are good for America, good for the economy. They are key in helping wean America off of our addiction to oil. OPEC's got us by the balls - this is the way out. That in turn gets us out of South Asia and our insane war mentality that has oil as its motive. The madness ends here, with a coherent strategy for sustainable energy.

These green companies who go on to develop and flower are good for the economy; they create jobs that people can feel good about as opposed to being just another cog in the wheel of corporate America.

B. HEALTH CARE - The number one reason for foreclosures, combined with this insane system of adjustable rate mortgages and derivatives, hedge funds, over-leveraging, etc., is health care issues. Bankruptcy's as well. This is a major economic, health and welfare issue. With tens of millions of boomers heading into retirement, our broken health care system is headed for crisis - it already is in crisis.

But Barack's plank on this issue will do nothing to solve the central problem, that is, the oligarchy that has a stranglehold on health care. This is because the oligarchy - comprised of insurance, HMOs and drug companies, are way to economically powerful. Any one of those three has lobbyists with deep pockets and banks of lawyers. Citizens can't possibly fight on that level.

Until Barack and congress decide to address this central problem, health care in America will loom as a major social and economic problem. There's no other way. Solution? Single payer. This is a major reason why I voted for Cynthia McKinney.

2. WARS - We need out of Iraq. The SoD must have a mandate on a clear plan for dis-engagement including infrastructure for Iraq. Most Americans aren't even aware of the reality that Iraqis don't have running water and electricity, let alone jobs and a viable economy that sustains living sanely. All of Iraq, save for ONE region: the oil producing south. What does that tell you about the lie the dumbya administration said: "It's not about oil." Bullshit. The plan must also include giving aid health care-wise to Iraqis as well as our service people. The Walter Reed scandal is shameful and more evidence of this administration's utter disregard of our young people who have suffered. When a person has been injured, it effects their whole family - COMPENSATE THEM, TAKE CARE OF THEM, IT'S THE LEAST WE CAN DO. This madness must end now.

In each case, there's massive amounts of work. The keys are:

1. To assemble good teams
2. Formulate clear plans - Budgets, schedules, reporting, accountability
3. Get them up and running
4. Communicate - The time has come for an administration to consistently communicate with us. Taking a page from Howard Dean, Barack's team mobilized on the Internet in the modern age. He and his advisers should not forget that. How easy is it to set up a Barack blog where the public could read updates, give commentary, etc.? Rahm Emanuel or whoever ends up being press sec could oversee this and staff it with people who monitor it. Companies - forward thinking companies - now do this, the most obvious example being Google.

These are my first ideas in the immediate blush of this post-election.

Good luck brothaman - you'll need it for this mess you've inherited.

More later.

The New Trinity: On Community Building, Sustainability and Green Tech

A lot of talk is going 'round about "sustainability" these days along with "green tech." Already I can see the potential for some confusion, but in their simplest forms, sustainability is a moniker that denotes whether a particular method is able to be readily replenished and ideally environmentally friendly. I say it has a deeper, wider meaning, but that'll be fleshed out below. Green tech is the noun, the thing, whether a hybrid engine, waterless urinals or low wattage light bulbs.

I'm going to go on record here and say that I think we're in the dawn of something. If you noodle enough on the Net you'll see what I mean. There're a couple of caveats...

Sustainability is more than a technology's abilities to replenish - it has to be human as well. It encompasses the revolutionary microlending of Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus and Vinod Khosla who are empowering the lowest of the low economically. Think about it like this; any system as brutal as capitalism in its present incarnation that spurns certain people for whatever reasons (race, gender, socially constructed/specific notions of ugliness, etc etc) and rewards certain others is simply not sustainable. At least theoretically, there has to be an end, because what happens when there are no longer any poor mud peeps to exploit? Then what?

Big question, eh?

The other point that must be made is that this new dawn is not fully fleshed out - again, it must incorporate humans beyond market economics. This time, it means community-building. Enough of this myth of the individual and praying to the mold of "individualism" and all of that myth crap which just serves to benefit the status quo. I mean, so much of that doo-doo on a stick I demystify in my own work with filmmakers but it's perfectly analogous because, whether it's the race to become a millionaire or to be a studio filmmaker, unless you've the connects, it ain't happening. And it's sad that I have to spell it out here, but what I mean is the rule, not the exceptions. If you still want to get all anecdotal and pull the exceptionalism card outta the deck, go ahead. See if I care.

So basically, I have this to say to the exceptionalists: Ayn Rand can go to hell.

No, my way of seeing it is a trinity: community building, sustainability and green tech. It's a pyramid with people and community-building at the top.

I'll no doubt expound on this in future posts, but I have to get to something else. Suffice this for now: I'm working on a project that has to do with this triumvirate and it's pretty exciting - I can see it, but making vision into reality is a lot like filmmaking - there's a lot of green in between, as pool players say when a ball's a long way from it's mark.

I'll leave you with this for now; I believe that the following interview of Tom Friedman by John Doerr is a seminal piece in this new dawn. I won't say why for now, but one of the biggest clues, and keys, is there. You just gotta listen.

Press "play" (the arrow in the bottom left-hand corner of the "TV frame" below).

Dig.