It’s often difficult to get the attention of my students. But when I told them that it’s possible that a few of them would see the year 2100, and that most of their children surely would, they stopped furtively texting under their desks and began paying attention.
When I was born just after World War II, I told them, the population of the United States was about 141 million; of the world, about 2.7 billion. Now, 62 years later, Americans tip the scale at about 303 million; the world’s population has grown to about 6.6 billion.
A little extrapolation of U.S. Census data, I told them, shows the American population hitting 518 million at mid-century and 758 million in 2100. The world’s population is likely to grow to 14 billion at century’s end. Imagine what that world — their world — would be like, I challenged them.
But I was too optimistic. In a report to be released today, a Virginia Tech professor estimates that between 2100 and 2120 the population of the United States will reach one billion people. Full Story »
One makes a life-changing decision for some time in the future and then … And then time goes by. The shock wears off. Denial (or futurism) creeps in.
It wasn’t until I was emptying my flat as my cleaning lady took possession of most of my bits and bobs that it really hit home.
The life of a cleaning lady
There are around 15 million South Africans of working age (out of a population of 41 million). Around 8 million have jobs. The rest don’t.
For 2 million uneducated, barely literate women there really is only one choice for earning a living. They clean the homes of the people who do have jobs. These are the cleaning ladies, or “Domestic Workers”. Maids, in other words.
Sometimes they live in and cook and clean and wash. Sometimes they turn up once a week to do some ironing and basic cleaning. They’re not paid much. The minimum Government-mandated wage is less than $1 per hour.
Since most white English-speaking South Africans battle with African names, these women call themselves mundane platitudes, like Beauty, or Faith, or Monica. I think half the cleaning ladies in Cape Town are called Monica. Full Story »
Day of Islam
Paul L. Williams
Prometheus Books, 2007
The left is notorious for its queasiness about national security. It’s as if it’s afraid to bring the issue up for fear that hawks will use it as a license to wage even more war. Let sleeping dogs lie, progressives think, as they rattle on about diplomacy to the exclusion of a rational discussion about the use of force.
Another area they tend to steer clear of for fear of encouraging the right’s worst tendencies is illegal immigration. But that only compounds the problem that begins with their neglect of defense. Turns out a component of national security is nested within illegal immigration, like drugs in the gut of a mule. Full Story »
Generating electricity from ocean currents, waves, and the tides have the opportunity to provide significant amounts of electricity. As I reported several weeks ago, the first significant wave power installation has been given the green light by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for installation off the Olympic Peninsula. Another type of water-based energy is the tidal barrage. The basic idea is that you find an area where there are very wide swings between high and low tides, put up a dam across a bay or lagoon, and then use the water flow from the tide to fill and empty the bay and use turbines to generate electricity. One scheme uses both the rising and falling tides, driving the turbines both direction while another scheme uses just the falling tide. Last week, the BBC had an update on the Severn tidal barrage. The Severn tidal barrage would be a huge barrage (and likely a road) across the Severn River Estuary and the Bristol Channel, an area that, given its large tides and the support of the Severn River emptying into the Channel, should be able to provide approximately 5% of the United Kingdom’s electricity. The problem is that the estuary is also a huge bird sanctuary, so the environmental impacts are potentially huge. This is one of the reasons that U.K. Business secretary John Hutton announced that there would be a 2-year long study period of the energy vs. environmental and economic tradeoffs culminating in a period of public comment in 2010. The Severn barrage study is an unfortunately excellent example of the hard choices between environmental protection, economics, and energy that every nation will have to make in the process of decarbonizing the carbon economy. Full Story »
Since the launch of the “global war on terror,” a large majority of Americans have been encouraged to cower under the pseudo-protective umbrella of a permanent Nation Security State. Last year I wrote several posts about the current prison-industrial complex and the increasing number of privatized prisons being used to house thousands of detained immigrants. The rise of the prison-industrial complex is one the most disturbing things going on in this country. According to a recent report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics - released on June 30, 2006 and revised in July 2007 - there are over 2 million people behind bars in the United States.
At the time of the report, there were about 180,000 in federal custody, 1.2 million in state custody, and 760,000 in local jails. Full Story »
Radar towers with automatic video cameras for target identification. Seismic sensors to detect and differentiate human footfalls from cattle and smugglers from border patrol agents. Satellite phones to communicate outside of cell phone contact. Laptops in border patrol vehicles linked to a satellite comm system to integrate the automated sensors with agents ready to be dispatched. And software designed to integrate it all into a seamless, virtual border fence around the Sasabe, Arizona border crossing. This is the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) and Boeing’s Project 28, part of the Secure Border Initiative (SBI). And in December, 2007, DHS finally took possession of the prototype for 45 days of border patrol testing - months late and way over budget. Full Story »
It takes more — or less — than passing your citizenship test to become a true American.
“Very few Americans actually function as citizens anymore.”
– Scott Ritter
It wasn’t that long ago that the sight of a roomful of immigrants after they’ve passed their citizenship tests warmed our hearts. Who could fail to be moved as they raised their right hands and swore to support the Constitution and obey the laws of the United States?
In recent years, however, American hostility toward illegal immigrants has poisoned the well of our welcome. Not even those who qualify to take the test to become naturalized citizens are immune. Our ambivalence is now also reflected in the test itself.
Heretofore, the questions were multiple-choice civics class specials. But beginning in October 2008 a new set of questions, which U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services have been trying out for two years, will be incorporated into the test. It’s ostensible motivation is to generate a better understanding of our history and government institutions in those who seek to make the US their new homes. Full Story »
Welcome back to day 2 of the S&R Year in Review. Today we tackle some of 2007’s big moments in news and current events.
The Invasion and Occupation of Iraq Surpasses the American Civil War in Duration: The United States’ involvement in World War I lasted only 19 months and World War II lasted 44 months for the United States, even though the war itself was nearly six years long. The occupation of Iraq (aka the Iraq War) outlasted World War II in November of 2006, making the duration of U.S. involvement in Iraq the third longest foreign occupation in U.S. history. The American Civil War lasted 48 months, and the Iraq occupation surpassed that duration on March 20, 2007. This makes the Iraq occupation the third longest running period of continuous conflict in U.S. history, behind only the Vietnam War and its sister conflict in post-Taliban Afghanistan. Full Story »
Join me, friends, as I take a dip in the fetid pool that is Election ‘08 Ridiculous Asides coverage. This one was too good to pass up.
Today, GOP White House wannabe Mitt Romney was on Meet the Press. Host Tim Russert tried to get Romney’s response to a report that the former Massachusetts governor had illegal immigrants working on his lawn despite his public disdain for them. Russert quoted a Boston Globe article which said Romney “has used a landscaping company that relies heavily on workers like these, illegal Guatemalan immigrants, to maintain the grounds surrounding his pink Colonial house.”
Rather than angrily dismiss the charge or clear up any possible misunderstandings, what does Romney say to Russert and countless viewers at home? Full Story »
In recent years, at the start of each new election cycle, the political cliché describing the Latino/a population is the “sleeping giant.” If awakened, it would have a profound impact on America’s political and social landscape. The Latino voting community has recently emerged as a critical political force in American presidential elections. Except for Cuban-Americans in Florida, many Latinos/as have supported the Democratic Party. With the increasing numbers of Latinos/as, there has been a surge of interest in mobilizing Latino political participation. Both Democrats and Republicans know that no serious politician can ignore the Latina/o vote. However, courting the Latina/o vote has become a political conundrum for both parties.
In an effort to confront the “immigration problem,” both parties have been walking a very thin rope, which could bring monumental, long-term damage to both Democratic and Republican Parties. These effects have already been felt. During last year’s Congressional election, when Democrats swept control of Congress, it is widely believed that the current Republican tone toward immigrants widely cost the GOP the Latino vote. Things can get worse for the Republican Party during the 2008 elections. According to Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, 12 million new immigrant voters will now be able to participate in the 2008 elections. Full Story »
The dividing line between comic books and graphic novels - for many - seems to lie in the question: “Would I show this to a kid?”
Maus, by Art Spiegelman, or When the Wind Blows, by Raymond Briggs, are astonishing reinventions of the art, claiming a space in literature that defies either category. Both opened up the creation of artworks that tell human stories; allowing emotion and empathy with the images to fill the space left by the absence of words.
Taking four years to research and produce, The Arrival stands alone - not just amongst graphic novels - but amongst all art. It is like stumbling across The Kiss by Auguste Renoir placed inconsequentially at the base of the stairs in London’s Tate Modern, or hearing Pachelbel’s Canon played in the midst of a mix of faded pop-songs. Full Story »
We had The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, Temptation Island, Joe Millionaire, Who Wants to Marry My Dad, and many more. The latest reality show being marketed to the major networks by the entertainment industry will certainly add more fuel to the heated immigration debate.
Reuters recently reported that a Los Angeles company, Morusa Media, is marketing a new reality game show called “Who Wants to Marry a US Citizen.” Like other reality dating game shows, the show is also hoping to create a love match; however, the goal is to create marriages between immigrants who already have their temporary visas (green cards) and US citizens. Unlike other reality dating shows where a contestant eliminates several potential suitors until there is only one suitor left, the show will use the same format as the 1960s The Dating Game where a bachelorette (US citizen) will ask three bachelors - who are legal immigrants - a variety of questions. The twist: at the end of the show, the bachelorette will decide which one she would like to marry. Angelo Gonzales, the show’s host, says the “show [will] NOT marry people nor do [they] guarantee a marriage will result from the show.” However, they are willing to pay for both the wedding and the honeymoon should a marriage result from the show. A statement on the show’s website, hookacitizen.com, also makes this claim. Full Story »
Today’s Washington Post looks at the net result of anti-illegal immigration measures passed in Virginia’s Prince William County last week–an exodus of Latinos (both legal and illegal) from the region:
Diaz, a supermarket checkout clerk, was one of nearly 400 people who waited for hours to comment on the bill during the marathon pre-vote session that stretched into Wednesday’s wee hours. “Even after they passed that July resolution, I had hope that [the supervisors] would change their minds,” said Diaz, 37, who has legal status but worries about relatives who do not. Now, she noted bitterly, “I’ll be selling at a loss. But I don’t care. I no longer have any affection for this place that treats us this way. I just want to get out.” Full Story »
I am intently focused on this matter and will make it a priority to correct the errors and minimize them in the future.
— Kerry Weems, acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, quoted in a Sept. 10 New York Times story that says, “Private insurance companies participating in Medicare have been allowed to keep tens of millions of dollars that should have gone to consumers, and the Bush administration did not properly audit the companies or try to recover money paid in error.”
What’s important is to fully vet these kinds of videos before putting them to air, which we’ve consistently done over the years.
— CNN spokesman Megan Mahoney, explaining why CNN delayed running a video of Osama bin Laden on Sept. 7 by a half hour after Fox News and MSNBC. CNN had ended its 27-year relationship with Reuters eight days earlier and had to obtain the tape from the Arabic news network Al Jazeera. Full Story »
Three decades later, there is a legitimate debate about how we got into the Vietnam War and how we left. Whatever your position in that debate, one unmistakable legacy of Vietnam is that the price of America’s withdrawal was paid by millions of innocent citizens whose agonies would add to our vocabulary new terms like ‘boat people,’ ‘re-education camps,’ and ‘killing fields.’
— President Bush in Aug. 22 speech at the Veterans of Foreign Wars National Convention in Kansas City.
The only relevant analogy of Vietnam to Iraq is this: In Iraq, just as we did in Vietnam, we are clinging to a central government that does not and will not enjoy the support of the people. Unless the president acts on that lesson from history and works toward a federal solution in Iraq, there is no prospect that when we leave, we will leave anything stable behind. In fact, the president’s policies are pushing us toward another Saigon moment — with helicopters fleeing the roof of our embassy — which he says he wants to avoid. Al Qaeda in Iraq didn’t exist before we invaded. It is a Bush fulfilling prophecy.
— Presidential candidate Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, criticizing the president’s speech, saying the president “continues to play the American people for fools.” Full Story »
Yesterday the Bush regime announced a new series of “get tough” moves against illegal immigrants and their employers, in the form of cracking down on employees using unverified Social Security numbers, more raids and border protection measures, and streamlining existing guest visitor programs. The press (doing its job for once) largely recognizes these manuevers for what they are–petulant responses to the collapse of the “guest worker compromise bill”, and a frantic appeal to the immigrant-hating base of the shrinking GOP support bill. Full Story »
An interesting piece came across my desk the other day that paints a chilling picture of how strong the religious right’s death grip is on American culture and politics…and how that death grip is actually maintained by business interests who want to ensure that the American machine keeps rolling along. Full Story »
Tommy has been busier than a high-school dope peddler of late, making the rounds of the cable news talk shows. They’re presumably looking for an easy target in a stoned old hippie, but Chong is no pushover… in fact, with his simple truth-telling and laid-back snark, he shows these American flag pin-wearing phonies for what they are: mediocre newstertainment.
In this recent vid, Tommy appears on FOX News’ ‘Your World’ show to talk about immigration with the painfully smug Bush apologist Neil Cavuto, who doesn’t quite know how to react to Chong’s repeated assertion that President Bush is a “moron.” Best moment: Tommy’s reaction to Cavuto saying with a straight face that Bush “is overseeing one of the strongest economies this nation has ever had.”
You do know, of course, that Tommy isn’t a clueless pothead and Cavuto doesn’t really believe all the bullshit talking points he pushes. This is showbiz, folks. Would you see these two guys on Meet the Press thirty years ago?
Since the launch of the “global war on terror,” a large majority of Americans have been encouraged to cower under the pseudo-protective umbrella of a permanent Nation Security State. Last year I wrote several posts about the current 
Welcome back to day 2 of the S&R Year in Review. Today we tackle some of 2007’s big moments in news and current events.
