"...We are all suffering from this split agenda -- as consumers we want low prices, while as citizens we may oppose corporate behaviors that make them possible. And [Reich] believes -- at least on a national scale -- our citizen selves are losing."-Terrence McNally-
Read McNally's
interview with former Secretary of Labor
Robert Reich, who has a new book out --
Supercapitalism. It's on my Christmas list. Reich is currently a professor of public policy at UC-Berkeley.
posted by Alexandra at 11/29/2007 08:58:00 AM
According to a 2005 report of the International Centre for Prison Studies in London, the United States—with five percent of the world's population—houses 25 percent of the world's inmates. Our incarceration rate (714 per 100,000 residents) is almost 40 percent greater than those of our nearest competitors (the Bahamas, Belarus, and Russia). Other industrial democracies, even those with significant crime problems of their own, are much less punitive: our incarceration rate is 6.2 times that of Canada, 7.8 times that of France, and 12.3 times that of Japan.
(Via
Boston Review)
The
JFA Institute recently
released a report on the status of U.S. prisons: "
Unlocking America." Apparently, there are more than 1.5 million people in federal and state jails, and women represent the fastest-growing portion of the prison population. The report mainly entails answers about why and how to reduce prison population.
Glenn Loury's article also outlines a number of reasons for the growth in punitiveness and the rise in prison population.
A fact to consider: the series of recommendations made by the JFA (reducing time served in prison, eliminating the use of prison for parole/probation violators, restoring ex-prisoner voting rights, etc.) would save approximately $20 billion tax dollars a year.
posted by Elham Shabahat at 11/23/2007 07:34:00 PM
Get that idea off the ground and become a fellow with
Echoing Green, an organization that invests in and supports emerging social entrepreneurs as they look to launch solutions with substance. (It is also named after a
William Blake poem).
EG is accepting fellowship applications now through December 2 (Yes, skip the early holiday shopping for this!).
Consider some of the projects EG supported this year:
Khmer Legacies, a program that empowers young Cambodians to interview their own parents about their survival and disseminate these stories to educate the public about the genocide.
English at Work, a program that provides English language instruction to low-income workers at their job sites.
The Reciprocity Foundation, a program that bridges homeless youth and the corporate sector, educational institutions, and creative professionals.
CentsCity, a neat internet-based virtual project that creates learning opportunities for American youth.
To date, Echoing Green has invested $25 million in seed funding to nearly 450 social entrepreneurs.
Very cool.
posted by Alexandra at 11/21/2007 10:48:00 AM
More than
three thousand people are dead, and a million are now homeless in Bangladesh. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is
reporting that the amount of damage caused is hard to gauge, but will only escalate within the next few days:
Even as the tally of the number of victims of cyclone SIDR continues to rise following early assessment reports by various agencies, it is also becoming obvious that the scale of its devastation is much more than just what these figures reveal.
In fact the figures may not tell the whole picture for days to come, since there is a continuing breakdown of telecommunication and transportation links.It's still debatable whether global warming can be attributed as a cause. A number of agencies are accepting donations for victims, click
here for general information on how to help.
posted by Elham Shabahat at 11/19/2007 01:09:00 PM
For people not familiar with Pakistani politics, the recent uproar and attention in the news about
General Musharraf's imposition of martial law can seem confusing, to say the least. While opposition leader
Benazir Bhutto is being painted in a positive light by most media giants, her record of human rights violations and corruption is vastly ignored. (See
William Darlymple's views on Bhutto and
this blog entry on Bhutto's era of corruption.) Meanwhile, pro-democracy advocates and lawyers are being arrested:
Since November 3, the police have violently suppressed peaceful protests by lawyers across Pakistan. Protests have taken place in the federal capital, Islamabad, the four provincial capital cities of Lahore, Peshawar, Karachi and Quetta, and in the city of Multan in southern Punjab. In each city, police have beaten protestors with batons and used tear gas to disperse them.
Most of those detained are being held without charge. Hundreds of lawyers are being held under terrorism charges without any factual basis. Treason charges also have been instituted against some. Almost two-thirds of Pakistan's senior judges remain under house arrest. (Via
Human Rights Watch)
It's a hard task to gain perspective on Pakistan with some sense of historical continuity. We'll continue to link to significant articles about this issue, but here are some links to start with:
Pakistanpolitics.net is a great, frequently-updated source run by various Pakistani lawyers, for those looking for alternative, intelligent commentary on the issue. Also, note this
timeline of events in the Guardian which provides an accurate and succinct summary of the crisis in Pakistan, starting all the way from March.
And if you're a lawyer, please ask your bar association to issue a statement against the unjust treatment of Pakistani lawyers. Here's a
list of bar associations in the U.S. that have already issued statements and are planning events in support of their colleagues in Pakistan.
posted by Elham Shabahat at 11/18/2007 10:34:00 PM 
