Technology

In this time of economic unrest, I fear a drastic decline in my standard of living. Could I get by without the amenities of electricity, a car, running water?

On a related note: In this time of falling fuel prices, I wonder whether we will abandon our thoughts of alternative sources of energy. Our nation depends on oil. As gas prices rose, our attitude toward that dependence changed from apathy to anger. Now that the price at the pumps is on its way down, will wind and solar energy vanish from public discussion?

Finally, consider the Amish. Are they secretly glad not to rely on “the grid” to sustain their way of life? Do they feel vindicated in their decision not to have participated in the ever-growing global economy, now that international recession looms?

Things could not continue as they do now, if oil suddenly ran short. A lack of alternative fuel-sources would result in a plunge in our technology. The trucks that haul us our food would stand still; and we who live far from the breadbasket region of America would have to learn to grow our own crops, to husband our own livestock, to slaughter our own chickens and so on.

Just as oil-shortage threatens to deprive us of food, recession threatens to rob us of money. Without an employer, we have no cash; and without our cash, we can’t get food. It’s absurd that a lack of money should result in starvation, but ignorance of agriculture is the norm today. That ignorance forces us to sell our labor — to work for somebody else, and to devote our energy to their objectives rather to our own.

We’re lucky that a segment of our population has chosen to preserve older ways of living. The “plain folk,” as the Amish call themselves, live in isolation from modern society. A community of Amish is a community in the true sense of the word: to prosper, its members must work together, and the cooperation of its members allows for the community to prosper independently of its surroundings.

Compared to us, the Amish have less to fear both from oil-shortage and from recession. Their agrarian lifestyle frees them from dependence on distant farmers and impersonal employers alike. For this reason, we should respect their form of society; learn as much as we can about it; and prepare, in our minds, to adopt it, should the problems we face today grow bigger yet.

Travel

Sick of everything in sight? Perhaps you wish to escape the confines of your native country. Opportunities to see the world do exist, especially for the recent college graduate.

Of all the capitalistic, industrialized nations on earth, Japan has got to be one of the most fascinating. Long-isolated from the rest of civilization by a military dictatorship, it now sports the second largest economy on earth, and regularly trades in high-tech goods with other rich countries. On the surface, its society is similar to ours: it’s democratic, and it’s profit-driven. Yet it differs essentially in spirit.

Enter JET, the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program. Established by the Japanese government in 1987, the program allows for English-speaking gaijin (that’s Japanese for ‘foreigner’) to visit the country, and to live there for up to five years on the public tab. In exchange, the visiting foreigner imparts an awareness and knowledge of his native culture to the school-children of the area in which he is placed.

JET participants can serve either as an Assistant English Teacher, a Coordinator for International Relations or a Sports Exchange Advisor. For the most part, participants are placed in areas of lower population-density: Japanese city-dwellers, it would seem, are less in need of exposure to foreign culture than their rural counterparts, who might never have seen a gaijin in their lives.

Information on the JET program abounds online. Mary Newton blogs about teaching English to Japanese students, while all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com provides tips for both prospective and active participants.

U.S. News — Politics

This presidential race appears to be an important one. Many of us are sure that, depending on the victor, the country could either continue its downhill slide toward unabashed oligarchy, or change its course, and make headway toward a state of greater economic equality and diminished economic freedom. 

Saturday, November 1, John McCain appeared on Saturday Night Live alongside a Sarah Palin lookalike, in an effort to counter Barack Obama’s $30 million, tri-network address to the nation.

“I’m a true maverick,” McCain said, “a Republican without money.” 

The folks in the audience laughed big laughs at every line. But how many at home laughed so hard as they watched? Was the studio audience an accurate depiction of the American electorate as a whole, or are the vast majority of us not laughing, but grinding our teeth in an agony of hope and fear as the election finally nears its end?

A close friend of mine has invited everybody in our circle to join him in his apartment on November 4 for an evening of pizza-eating and news-watching. He looks forward to inevitable Republican defeat, and as the remaining days tick by his mood only grows more celebratory. Yet he’s told me that, in his mind, this election is more serious than a mere clash of ideologies — indeed, that it’s nothing less than a contest between “good and evil,” as he put it. I can’t help but ask myself whether the festivities which he plans, and the confidence with which he awaits a Democratic victory, are parts of a facade made to hide a deep fear. 

On November 4, after I’ve cast my vote, I might drop by my friend’s apartment to get a bite of pizza and follow up on the election. I’ll sneak a few antacid pills along with my food, and try not to let my worries get to me. And as we approach the final vote-count I’ll wonder whether I’m not the only one who fears how this race might conclude.

Photo Galleries

The News and Star newspaper, based in England, covers events in Cumbria county. They devote a section of their website to the display of mug-shots of local criminals recently arrested. This section of their website is called “Banged Up,” and features photographs of burglars, drug dealers, sex offenders and more. A caption under each photo tells the offender’s crime:

http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/1.40970

The Daily News Tribune serves the cities of Waltham and Newton in Massachusetts. Their story on the sixth annual East Meets West Kite and Cultural festival includes a gallery of kite enthusiasts, young and old, engaged in the ancient struggle of keeping their flimsy flyers aloft:

http://www.dailynewstribune.com/state/x502299555/Photo-gallery-Up-up-and-away-at-kite-festival

On September 22, John McCain appeared in Scranton, Pennsylvania to voice his concern over what was to be the first version of the $700 billion Wall Street bailout plan. Allentown’s The Morning Call newspaper covered McCain’s appearance and assembled a gallery of photographs taken at the event:

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-mccainphotos0922,0,7187205.photogallery

Local News

An irreplaceable part of Rotterdam, New York is scheduled to be taken away forever — irreplaceable, because it originates from a different era, one whose values differ considerably from those of today. I speak of Rotterdam’s Capitol Plaza.

Referred to throughout the local news media as “kitschy,” “ugly,” “charming,” and “an eyesore,” the 1950s-era shopping plaza has been vacant for the last year or so as it awaits demolition. In its place, HDB Ventures LLC of New Jersey will erect… a Walgreens drug store.

I’ve lived in Rotterdam nearly all my life. As far back as I care to recall, Capitol Plaza was home to no fewer than ten local businesses. These included Vincy’s Printing, Ferrara Dance Studio, Regal Dry Cleaners, La Bella Salon and The Newest Lunch Bar and Grill. Nowhere else in town could one hope to find a similar selection, or a similar mini-mall. In a land where identical chain stores proliferate on seemingly every available commercial lot, the Capitol Plaza provides a unique and refreshing sight.

Two years ago, the town planning commission approved the project to replace the antique shopping plaza with a 14,700-square-foot, cookie-cutter drug store. The property’s owner, Jeff Musiker, promptly urged his tenants to relocate. At one point, it appeared that Walgreens had reversed their decision to expand into our neck of the woods. Then, in late August of this year, the Schenectady Gazette reported that the plan was “back on the table”:

“I’m going to move forward,” [HDB developer Bob Blank] said today. “We plan on proceeding with the plan as presented to the town.”

Those of us who had hoped for a change in the fate of our beloved shopping plaza were disappointed. Don’t people care whether their town is unique? Sure, the place is falling apart — the sign fails to light up, and the L in PLAZA is just plain missing — but little else in our town distinguishes us so well as that garish display. It’s a point of pride; it’s a special creature, one whose days are once again numbered.

World News

According to Associated Press reporter Joe McDonald, the Chinese government has accused Sanlu Group Co. of knowingly selling harmful milk powder. So far, 432 babies have gotten sick from eating the product, and at least one has died. 

Gao Qiang, China’s Minister of Health, said that the chemical melamine was added to the product in order to increase its volume and fool tests. Melamine contains nitrogen; the more nitrogen a product contains, the richer in protein it appears to be. 

Sanlu first received complaints about the product in March; in August, their own tests detected the presence of melamine. Only Thursday did they issue a recall. 

This is the latest example of a Chinese firm knowingly harming its consumers. What has the Chinese government done in response? So far it’s detained 19 people, and is questioning 78 others. 

China’s government cannot be accused of complete negligence — there is much corruption in its economy, but not all criminals go unpunished. In July of 2007, China’s government executed Zhang Xiaoyu, who had taken bribes while heading the State Food and Drug Administration and allowed untested products to be sold to the public. 

Though it might crack down severely, however, China’s government will never be able to eliminate corruption unless the country adopts a new philosophy. A self-serving mindset predominates among its business people: as the country has embraced capitalism, more and more entrepreneurial Chinese have sought to enrich themselves at the expense of the public. Personal prosperity has grown more important than justice. 

It’s dangerous when the rich think that the law no longer applies to them. What has happened in China can easily happen in the United States, if our government continues to serve the rich first and everybody else second. After our wealthiest citizens have received permission from congress to screw us over so many times, they might decide to forego asking congress for permission ever again. What punishment should they expect from a government that has proven itself subservient to their interests for so long?

Sources:

Times Union

BBC News

Entertainment

I’ve recently discovered “The Wire,” a television crime-drama of impressive scope.

The HBO series premiered in 2002 and ended in March of this year. The main characters are a group of cops in the Baltimore Police Department. Over the course of its run, the series focuses on Baltimore’s political bureaucracy, its school system, its underground drug trade, and more; the resulting survey is intended to demonstrate how people in a city band together into different organizations, and how those organizations differ depending on the nature of the people involved in them. 

In season one, Jimmy McNulty (Dominic West) works under the supervision of Lieutenant Cedric Daniels (Lance Reddick) as a member of a team put together to imprison Avon Barksdale (Wood Harris), the leader of the city’s biggest drug ring. While McNulty does his detective work, Barksdale’s employees do their best to evade him. Among the criminals working under Barksdale is D’Angelo (Larry Gilliard Jr.), his nephew, an intelligent young man with the potential to move up in his uncle’s organization. 

As the season progresses, the cops don’t only have to outsmart Barksdale; they have to contend with interference from their superiors within the police department, powerful men who care little whether the lieutenant’s team fulfills its mission. At the same time, Barksdale’s nephew D’Angelo comes to find the drug trade more and more distasteful, until finally he develops the desire to escape it for good. 

So far, the series compares favorably with “Law and Order,” its NBC counterpart. Both shows are strongly written, but in my mind “The Wire” is the better of the two. The reason why is that “The Wire” presents an ongoing story, while “Law and Order” is composed of discrete episodes, none of which bears significantly on the others. A good storyline gains in power as it goes on; the longer the writers can sustain it, the more powerful its conclusion. Few other TV series, in my experience, have promised to conclude as powerfully as “The Wire” does.

Sources:
Wikipedia