occupy

Blue Gold: World Water Wars ***1/2

May 5, 2013 by rurugby Leave a Comment

Definitely preachy at times, but water rights are a huge issue.

We need to stop thinking the World Bank and the IMF are doing things for good.

They have both been failures. Privatization hurts not helps economies. Austerity turns recessions into depressions. Giving local utilities, especially water to private multi-national corporations is utter madness.

People deserve the right to safe, cheap drinking water. Just like in America everyone deserves the right to free health care.

Corporations in our era are all about profit margin for the “stockholders.” Forgetting of course that stockholder value is an important to a company as say how the Red Sox are doing is important to Boston.

We need to have less greed in our society. Simple businesses like Jiffy Corn Mix. Good price at forty cents a box. The CEO makes a fair wage, the workers make a good wage, the farmers get a good price, everybody wins.

In our time of greed, we will have someone like Bechdel or Suez come into a country in crisis and make the water both more polluted and substantially more expensive. We need to do better.

We also need far more sustainable agriculture and animal husbandry. It’s a big effort to make for better water. To me a big part of it is buy local, eat local, when possible.

We need to stop the big corn subsidies, which just make for large corn fields, huge chicken farms, huge fields of shit with cow and pig production, and terrible produce. We can do better, we must do better. Better food, better use of water and a better America.

Trickle up economics has been with us since 1981 with Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, it just doesn’t work. Making finance a bigger industry, and worshipping Wall Street just doesn’t work. Simple way to pay off Sallie Mae, which is an utter failure, have free health care, and a basic safety net in America? Raise capital gains from 15% to 25% and estate tax over one million from 0% (how did that happen) to 10%. Also kick out the five members of the Supreme Court who made the egregiously bad decision that the preamble of the United States “We the People of the United States…” doesn’t matter by saying it’s “We the Corporations of the United States, in order to have homeland security, patriot acts, a huge prison-industrial complex, and corporate welfare…” They are: Chief Justice John Roberts, Antonin Scalia, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Anthony Kennedy. It’s probably the worst Supreme Court decision of all time. Here is the Wiki on it.

We all need clean water. It’s a right. Let’s not forget that. We don’t need much, but we need food, water and friends.

Let’s hope it gets better, it can’t get much worse.

edmund

The Graduate ****

May 14, 2012 by rurugby Leave a Comment

I decided to watch “The Graduate” again streaming free on Amazon prime tonight. I read the book a few months ago, liked it and was amazed how spare the character of Benjamin Braddock was. There is even less connection in the book to Elaine than in the movie.

Dustin Hoffman’s Ben Braddock is much richer in the movie than the book, this an incredibly rare thing. Usually books offer subtext and backstories that film doesn’t do a great job with. But in the book as well Benjamin Braddock is simply an excellent student who graduates college and doesn’t know what to do next. Dustin Hoffman has a presence too even when he is just lounging lazily in the pool.

I was really struck today how spare the movie is. There is times the Simon and Garfunkel soundtrack tells the story or just the images do. You don’t need dozens of cuts a minute and lots of action to tell a good story, sometimes the silence says much, much more. There are many times when Dustin Hoffman looks lost or worried about the moral complications of his life just by shyness or confusion, it’s much more effective than saying it with dialogue.

Anne Bancroft is great at the disaffected housewife Mrs. Robinson who sees an opportunity in Ben. The rest of his friends want Ben to date Elaine was is a more interesting character than I remember. It’s one of those simply must see movies, great job by everyone involved. The writing, directing and acting is all excellent. A solid ****.

It also makes me think that Dustin Hoffman is due for some great movies soon. The ones that come to mind of great performances by him for me are “The Graduate”, “Tootsie” and “Rain Man.” I am sure you can all think of many more. Here is the resume on IMDB.

Amazing that this movie is 45 years old (1967), feels both modern and nostalgic at the same time. In our era of Occupy and high student debt, wonderfing what to do with life after college is as much an issue as ever. And many, many more students simply can’t afford not to leave home in this economy. And so, so many young people are pushed to college, activities and “success” without listening to their heart. The reason d etre of life is not “Plastics.”

Great movie, an American classic.

#OccupyMaine and the End of the Camp

February 6, 2012 by rurugby Leave a Comment

I was thinking of #OccupyMaine again this week with the end of their encampment, which frankly in my view should have happened before Christmas with the Maine winter.

I spent a limited time there and came impressed on a full Sunday planning session, and frankly underwhelmed during general visits.

There are some great people involved with #Occupy all over the world, and I support many of the goals, we do live in time of very rich and very poor, and I think #Occupy has helped to highlight that.

But, a bunch of oddballs and conspiracy theorists camping out, does not a movement make. Actually make the change you want, don’t just #Occupy.

——————

One of the odd things about #Occupy is the General Assembly which is often government by consensus. On paper, this sounds very good. In reality, it’s rule or anarchy by the odd. The great majority can have a clear and great idea, and it can easily be taken over by the nuttiest 5-10%. I saw this a few times in my limited time at #Occupy. In fact, the people camping there were among the oddest.

It was the people who lived normal lives along with Occupy, who were the most interesting and diverse, and there were many, many more of these. Because of that, if anything I think #OccupyMaine can be stronger with a move to the Meg Perry Center, and not worrying about the encampment anymore.

I even think that the focus on keeping camps hurt the #Occupy movement. Instead of being a story about the 99% and the great wealth of the few, it became a story about police brutality. Moving the focus back to a more progressive America and the world, would be a great way to mobilize the masses of very smart people, with a massive amount of debt and few assets, caused by both the economy and the unbelievable cost of college and graduate school.

So what’s next for #Occupy I don’t know. I do expect a resurgence in the Spring, and it to be very different then the fall version. I do expect tons of actions involved with the campaign and the conventions. It should make for an interesting 2012.

The big lie

January 9, 2012 by rurugby 3 Comments

Don’t worry we are here to help you.

The money will trickle down.

It’s all about freedom. It’s about democracy, it’s about the religion of our fathers.

There is someone trying to get you; your stuff, your loved ones; the boogeyman, the other, the scare. So we build walls, literal walls to keep people out; figurative walls of racism, sexism, homophobia, classicism.

Call you opponents names like: anti-American, socialist, liberal, fascist, communist, for a gay agenda.

Be beholden to people for money, commercials, ad buys, mailings. We can’t have public money, public airtime for campaigns, corporate “people” should have more power then actual people.

Watch out for my opponent he isn’t: Christian, Patriotic, Compassionate, like you!

I am for America; I am for a Christian America, a better time, better values, less to worry about.

We can’t raise capital gains, we can’t end the Bush tax cuts, we can’t end the social security payroll tax cap, what about the job creators? See all these jobs they are creating, how amazing the economy is doing.

Billions, Trillions lost, homes foreclosed with bad loans, but there are no criminals on Wall Street. No! Those people camping with signs those are the real danger. Let’s give them tear gas, let’s give them riot police, even if 911 calls go unanswered.

A democracy, a Republic, at least that’s what America used to be. Corporations are people too right, we can’t restrict their speech.

Koch brothers are much better then a Union brotherhood. The US Chamber of Commerce’s members clearly all have a right-wing agenda, just like all teachers are liberals.

This stimulus will help the economy, giving money to this company gives job, we need to buy this arena or the sports club will leave. What’s ten million, or hundred million between friends.

It’s all so important to the economy; corporate welfare is good, tax breaks are good. But helping the poor eat, the homeless find homes, people learn that’s bad.

Tenure that’s good, teachers that gave up that’s good, having students stuck in failed schools that are more like prisons that’s fine.

We have the best healthcare system in the world, if your Warren Buffett. Where else do people have to call an insurance company to see if it’s ok if they check on a possible concussion. Where else can you worry about your healthcare with or without insurance.

We live in surreal, bizarre times. Hopefully, we all work to be the change we want. Get involved, get active, don’t just #Occupy the couch, or even the park.

We can make the world what we want to be, not the corporatist, militaristic, prison-industrial complex it’s become.

We can do better, we must do better, and be a beacon of democracy, not greed and corporatism.

Rant of the Week: Buy Local

December 5, 2011 by rurugby Leave a Comment

Maniacal Mondays are my days for a rant.

Today’s is about Buy Local and also to Organic/Green shopping.

I love local businesses. They are the real job creators and often produce excellent products for good values. Especially when it comes to restaurants. I am very happy James Tremontagne is in Westbrook and I can get some amazing poutine at the Frog and Turtle and Memere (eggs, creton, dijon mustard) for Sunday Brunch.

On Wednesday I went into Portland to go to a wonderful new homestyle German resteraunt that is one of my new favorites Schulte and Herr. The atmosphere is terrific as is the food. The potato pancakes there are literally the most cravable dish in Portland for me now.

After lunch, I went to #OccupyMaine for a few to drop off some books. The energy was scattered, and I don’t think camping for a Maine winter makes any sense.

Then I went to have coffee at Bard (excellent coffee) and then the very disappointing Bar Harbor Ice Cream (tasted spicy not creamy), if you want a further review of these places see Saturday’s post.

Every place I went was local, I had great service at all of them, and met nice people enjoying their work. I support Portland Buy Local, and love the amazing shopkeepers there.

But, I can’t shop everything local. Someone I follow on Twitter suggested that people buy everything for their Thanksgiving dinner locally, many suggest getting all of your presents locally. This is a very nice idea.

In practice, it’s completely crazy. For instance if I wanted to get my wife the Season 5 of Doctor Who (which may have been a birthday present), it’s only $43.49 on DVD and I know it’s in stock and I will get it in a couple days. http://www.amazon.com/Doctor-Who-Complete-Matt-Smith/dp/B003EV6DBM/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1322767821&sr=8-7 If I tried to find this at a local shop like Bull Moose Music, where I have shopped many times and I really like, they are likely not to have it. And if they do it’s likely to be the full $80 retail price. I love supporting local business and I frequently go to Bull Moose to look at DVDs and CDs but I am not going to pay nearly twice as much and have the frustration of not finding the very specific thing I am looking for.

As far as food shopping goes, I do like local markets and farmer’s markets and if they do something really well or have something I can’t find I go there. There are some excellent sauces I get from Asian markets around town as well as Sesame Oil and some other things. I also love that they are there to be a community resource for our ethnic communities and some make amazing food like the one on St. John (Vietenene Market). But, I am not going there to get dinner most of the time. For instance, I am making tacos tonight and need a can of rotels, one can of kidney or pinto beans, flour tortillas, and a pound of ground beef with some cumin and chili powder for the recipe. If I go to my local Hannaford, I know they will have exactly what I need and I know exactly where to get it. I also know which stores have better prices on certain ingredients. For instance, I get most of my Rotels and beans at Shaw’s since they have a better selection and prices on beans then Hannaford does.

And frankly Hannaford is my local market here, it’s close by (if hard to walk to) and they have good quality and employ tons of Mainers. Both at their stores and wherehouses and corporate offices in Scarborough. I know it’s part of a much larger corporation, but I have a great relationship there.

Also if I am going to get essentials like toilet paper, ibuprofen and paper towels, I know Target will have good quality and good prices. I get good service there, know where things are and know the quality will be good. In fact, the Target brand toilet paper is literally my favorite and an excellent value.

And one more extra rant. Organic people. I do like good food, and good ingredients make good food. But, I don’t need to get everything organic. It’s not some piece of magic. In fact for some local producers it can cost money to be “officially” organic. For instance, I would much rather eat local green beans in season, that are insanely better with garlic and butter then something frozen or especially from a can. I am very happy to get a 1/2 peck of local delicious McIntosh, Cortland or Empire apples that are rich and full of flavor over a red delicious apple that is designed to last a long time, not to taste good. Sometimes food is simple, you buy aspargus in Winter it’s likely from Chile, not anywhere close by. Good food, can be good despite where it comes from.

What do you think?

Rant off.

— Edmund