Alex Anthony Galindo

Howard Zinn a Student and Faculty Discussion (WB V. V)

2010-03-11T05:23:00.000-08:00

The Weekly Beast Volume V (Originally Appeared in the Lariat 3/10/10)

Will Hunting paces around his psychologist’s office. He scans the book case and notices a rather generic book title, he breaks the silence, "A History of the United States, Volume I," he pauses as he continues on examining the large bookcase, “If you want to read a real history book, read Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States." This quote is from the 1997 film Good Will Hunting which won the Academy Award for Matt Damon and Ben Affleck who wrote the original script. Howard Zinn was already 73 years of age when this film was produced, and was still actively speaking at college campuses and penning best-selling works on politics and history. If one were to open up the Los Angeles Times a month ago perhaps on the 7th page in or so you’d run into a standard 6 inch obituary-Howard Zinn’s name was on it. Howard Zinn passed away January 27th in Santa Monica, California he was 87 years old. America has truly lost someone invaluable. But what does his death mean to students and teachers?

I sat down with students and professors here at Saddleback to discuss who Zinn was for them. I walked into Professor Mike Merrifield's office first, being the fire-brand radical that he is he seemed delighted to discuss Zinn and his impact on society. He compared Zinn's writing to his own field of expertise, Anthropology. "In Anthropology one of the things we do is break down mythologies, and that's what he's done in his historical work." Merrifield went on to talk about his first exposures to Zinn and his thoughts. He first heard Zinn on KPFK 90.7 FM about twenty years ago. If hed had to sum up Zinn's greatest achievement he stated that other than his particular account of the history of the people of the United States, "Howard stayed true to form. He held to his principles."

After talking to a few faculty members in the Social Sciences department an e-mail and a phone call later I found myself sitting in Professor David DiLeo's office 24 hours later. As soon as I got comfortable and spat out my first question someone came rapping at the door. Chris Rouse a fellow history student walked in. We all exchanged short greetings and got down to business. Professor Dileo continued responding to my question regarding Zinn's importance to students. According to Dileo Zinn's writings are important because, "the story he tells is more reflective of their lives-He's writing books about working class people which is congruent to the lives of students." However he did mention that he wanted to distance himself from his younger more "impressionable" colleagues by declaring that he is no "Zinn Cultist." I decided to kill two birds with one stone and ask for Chris' opinion as well. I told Chris I was recording to let him know that what was saying was on the record. I asked him why Howard Zinn was important to students. His response was eloqent and well put: "He paid attention to people who are ignored. He gave a voice to those who are traditionally voiceless."

I decided to interview two other students. Jon Raissi, a transferring Anthropology major commented on his first experiences of Zinn. "Initially I was assigned to read Voice's of a People's History by one of my history professor. I was blown away by his ability to narrate the history of American dissent in such an in-depth way." Jon went on to talk of Zinn as a pioneer of alternative history writing. A Geography major by the name of Nika Daroui age twenty spoke highly of Zinn stating that "Howard Zinn has made me question everything I learned about history during high school." She articulated Zinn's difficulty as a historian stating that he was a historian with a definite perspective presented in a very neutral way. Professor Andrew Dzida was next on my hit list of interviewees. Professor Dzida teaches Philosophy at Saddleback. We discussed his first experiences, and lasting impressions of the historian. "I saw him interviewed a while back on Bill Moyers." Dzida revealed that he hadn't heard Zinn speak much until recently, he said he'd been meaning to read The People's History of the United States for a quite some time. He did mention that he saw bits and pieces of "The People Speak." Recently Zinn along with Matt Damon produced The People Speak a series of dramatic performances of political speeches and dissenting poetry. Dzida elaborated on his feelings about the film, "He got me thinking about social justice issues in general-even the ethical question of fair wages, or living wages."

Many pundits on the right would love to dismiss Howard Zinn as a mere polemicist. Some people have gone as far as trying to rob Zinn of his well-earned title as a historian. (see Sean Wilentz’ contribution to the LA Times’ posthumous panel discussion of Zinn) No matter how people try to distort the memory of the man one thing is undeniable he was truly a historian of the people. His landmark work, A People’s History of the United States sold over two million copies, and is on many professors syllabi across the country as required reading for U.S. History classes. The text is mostly interested in dismantling what is normally thought of as history, (e.g. glorified nationalistic fairy tales excluding regular people from the process of making history). Howard Zinn wanted to bring to light those who were marginalized, distorted or omitted from the pages of history: women, feminists, socialists, anti-war resisters during World War I, and World War II, and the working-class. Zinn’s most important lesson may be ,"If you don't know history, it is as if you were born yesterday."

UCI Students Take the Streets! (WB V. IV)

2010-03-11T05:14:00.000-08:00

The Weekly Beast Volume IV (was meant to appear in the Lariat edition 3/10/10, however due to space limitations it did not)

To many students and faculty at the University of California Irvine the events of March 4 were a complete surprise. A group of over 600 people made up of students, workers, union members, professors, political activists, and the occasional passerby marched through the UCI campus. They were armed with voices, with drums, with picket signs, with posters, and discontent. The marches we're not strictly limited to college campuses some made their way from uptown to downtown, and some such as the Los Angeles Unified School District were teacher-led strikes. March 4 was a day chosen months ago in October as a "day of action" by multiple campus student groups, and adjacent political activist groups in a large general assembly held at UC Berkeley. Over 29 other states alongside California planned to make March 4 memorable.

The aim of this action, as acknowledged by all the groups that formed the student coalition in Irvine was to draw attention to and voice anger about the UC Regent's decision to raise tuition a devastating 32%. Raul Perez a UCI Sociology graduate student stated some the reasons why students were marching, “this is a crisis and it’s not going away, there are real structural problems with the UC system and capitalism, these conditions force people into action.” On top of the increase there have been state-wide furlough days which essentially amounts to professors taking pay cuts in their salaries. Eric a current grad student at UCI majoring in Visual Studies summarized the days events positively saying, “this is a real testimony to the fact that students are interested in change-groups are coming together in recognizing the need for public education as a public good.”

The first hundred or so student activists gathered at the flagpoles in front of the administration building at UC Irvine. Many students were weary that this would be the only people to protest in Irvine that day. 40 minutes later however the plaza was teaming with over 300 students. They marched throughout the entire looping campus. Aldrich Hall, the science department, the Langston Library, dormitories, study and lecture halls across campus all heard numerous chants throughout the day. "They say 'cut back' we say 'fight back!'" was a phrase that filled the air that day. Students and workers took to the streets around 2 PM.

They poured into both Campus Drive and the connecting bridge overhead. Traffic on both sides were forced to a halt due to all the people in the street. The crowd urged bystanders to join them in the street in support of their education. The protest moved up the street seemingly ignoring both sidewalks and principally marching down the six lanes of traffic on both sides of the street. Traffic was at a standstill on Campus Dr. for over 15 minutes. Three policemen zoomed ahead of the crowd on motorcycles in an effort to control the crowd. Sylvia Pham a senior at UCI studying Biology was concerned with people’s initial perception of the marches and protests, “people confuse law and order with justice, the law protects the rich, intimidates us and legitimizes oppressors. The general public needs to recognize we’re not disrupting peace our lives are being disrupted.”

The duration of the street march lasted for 40 minutes before it came back onto campus grounds. An unidentified student managed to quiet down the entire crowd with hand signals. He declared, “let’s take a building.” The crowd cheered and yelled as they marched back onto the campus. As they were making their way back to the front of the administration building roughly half the the crowd collectivley decided to storm a lecture hall and urge their fellow students to join the walk-out and fight their education. The instructor ceased her lecture, and even seemed welcoming to the actions. Some demonstrators broke away from the main shouting line, grabbed chalk, and wrote “walk out” on the board. An attempt to occupy one of UCI’s study halls was next on the agenda, and again the crowd split into two one shouting and making declarations in the study hall the other half pouring outside it’s doors and urging student to join the cause as they walk to and from class.

The march reached it’s final resting place at approximately 4:00PM. The administration building had it’s doors pounded on with dozens of fists. Multiple students yelled into the bullhorn, “you’re cowards!” and “why are you hiding?” The answer was indicated much earlier. The administration in an unprecedented move had closed their doors to general public in the early morning declaring themselves “closed for the day.” After a failed attempt to get a reaction from the administration the crowd gathered at the grassy area facing the locked-down building. They held an impromptu assembly where people could grab the bullhorn and make statements about the day’s actions and future plans for the student movement. Speeches and polemics were made, and calls for further actions pierced the quiet breeze.

March 4 2010 as an (unbroken) spectacle

2010-03-08T22:51:00.000-08:00

Here's a collection of photographs and videos taken during the March 4 "Day of Action"
@ University of Irvine California. More to come.

Welcome to the Tragic Kingdom (WB V. III)

2010-02-25T07:35:00.000-08:00

The Weekly Beast Volume III (Originally appeared in The Lariat 2/24/10)

Considering their past year’s revenue and projected earnings for 2010 Disney’s management found it appropriate to deny health coverage to over 2,150 hotel workers in California. By the end of their fiscal year back in October 3, 2009 Disney Corporation reported their earnings to the public. During our country’s worst economic recession since 1930 Disneyland managed to generate 36,000,000,000 dollars in profits. This astronomical figure is enough to pay off California’s debt with 16 billion dollars to spare. With these figures wouldn’t someone with a human heart continue to provide healthcare premiums without burdening their already suffering employees? Disney’s answer is a resounding no.

Many unions have caved-in to pressure from Disney officials and from economic constraints completely out of their control (recessions, financial sector meltdowns…little things like that). However one union has decided to stick their guns, and so have the 2,150 workers who are members. Unite Here! Local 11 has been waging a public battle with Disneyland Hotel for over two years. The Union along with a handful of its members have gone on hunger strike only consuming water for days at a time. The first hunger strike occurred February 9th in front of Disney’s Grand California Hotel & Spa; eight individuals have consumed only water for a week straight. The topical issue of healthcare was/is at the center of the grudge. Healthcare up until two years ago was virtually free for all employees working for the hotel. However that is all changing without any type of negotiation Disneyland is forcing workers to pay up to $500 a month for health insurance.

Just a few months ago in December of 2009 Unite Here! Local 11 organized two separate walkouts. The walkouts were aimed at an issue apart from health care premiums. Non-negotiated additional workloads have been forced onto hotel workers. Larger beds, and heavier sheets have resulted in more and more reported on-the-job injuries. Kirill Penteshin an attorney for Unite Here! has clarified the new working conditions saying that the original bedding was 3 pounds and now it is 9 pounds, and stretches a yard farther in each direction. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration reports have illustrated the point that since the installation of new amenities workers have reported over 53 injuries.

The hunger strike has generated interest in many people from different walks of life. Anaheim City Councilwoman Lorri Galloway, United Farm Workers of America co-founder Dolores Huerta, and even Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine played a short concert at the rallies in front of Disney’s Grand California Hotel. Community religious leaders have held vigils and have given words of support to the strikers. Shakeel Syed director of the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California to quote Syed, “Workers here are upholding the timeless and universal call for justice by fasting and praying to heal the hearts of those who hear not - of the silent cries of the workers, their children and their grandparents…human society driven by the business and industrial machine has the lethal capacity to deaden our spirits.” The strike has ended in Anaheim but is planned to be continued at Disney’s Burbank headquarters.

A common and misguided rant against the hotel workers is that they have applied at these jobs and that they have the freedom to leave at anytime if they chose to. This is completely meaningless rhetoric, one that tries to enforce the myth of “endless social mobility”. In fact it is a contradictory and self-defeating philosophy, one could also say why doesn’t the company just choose to be more decent? People have jobs to provide for themselves and their families. One could only be ‘free’ to walk away from a job if they’re willing to jeopardize their family and security. Support Disney Hotel workers, contact Unite Here! and if you can try to ditch those Disney Season Passes.

The People's Historian: Howard Zinn's Life of Resistance (WB V. II)

2010-02-10T11:44:00.000-08:00

The Weekly Beast Volume II (was produced as an opinion column for The Lariat, HOWEVER they rejected it on the grounds (I'm assuming) that no one knows or gives a shit about Howard Zinn.)

Will Hunting paces around his psychologist’s office. He scans the book case and notices a rather generic book title, he breaks the silence, "A History of the United States, Volume I," he pauses as he continues on examining the large bookcase, “If you want to read a real history book, read Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States." This quote is from the 1997 film Good Will Hunting which won the Academy Award for Matt Damon and Ben Affleck who wrote the original script. Howard Zinn was already 73 years of age when this film was produced, and was still actively speaking at college campuses and penning best-selling works on politics and history. If one were to open up the Los Angeles Times two weeks ago perhaps on the 7th page in or so you’d run into a standard 6 inch obituary-Howard Zinn’s name was on it. Howard Zinn passed away January 27th in Santa Monica, California he was 87 years old. America has truly lost someone invaluable.

In 1943 after reading about the awful atrocities committed by the fascists in Europe Zinn signed on to be in the United States Army Air Corps. After serving in World War II as a bombardier he returned home and packed all his medals sealed them into a postage envelope and wrote “Never Again” on the seal. During a post-doctoral research mission he read the French newspapers written at the time of occupation, he conducted interviews with French citizens who described the experience of WWII on the ground. Civilian death tolls caused by both Germans and Americans were also released. Zinn was on an airplane which alone ended the lives of 1,000 French civilians. On the G.I. bill he attended New York University for his B.A. He earned his master’s and doctoral degrees from Columbia University. His academic career started at Spellman College. 7 years later he accepted an offer to teach at Boston University.

One of Howard Zinn’s first outright challenges to authority and historical racism was his struggle alongside historian August Meier against the Southern Historical Association holding meetings in segregated hotels. Zinn was involved as an advisor for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, a group remembered for being largely responsible for many positive actions and victories during the civil rights era. In 1967 Zinn published Vietnam: The Logic of Withdrawal an unabashedly critical collection of articles asserting the Unites States had no right to be in Vietnam and should leave with no conditions, except of course reparations for the Vietnamese. Zinn and Reverend Daniel Berrigan also went on a diplomatic mission to Hanoi, Vietnam to ascertain the whereabouts and negotiate the release of American POWS, they succeeded in bringing three American Air Men home.

His resume continues on: he participated in publishing the secret Pentagon Papers, testified on behalf of the New York Times fighting against the United States government keeping “embarrassing” secrets from the public, and wrote vigorously against the War in Iraq. He was also a playwright writing three plays all of which were produced his most famous called “Marx in Soho: A Play on History.” Last year Matt Damon and Howard Zinn teamed up with the History Channel to produce “The People Speak” a collection of readings, and dramatic performances of famous American insurrectionists, rebels, and protesters. Actors such as Tim Robbins, Josh Brolin, Danny Glover, and musicians such as John Legend, Lupe Fiasco, and Bruce Springstein came together to aid Howard Zinn in spreading his message

Many pundits on the right would love to dismiss Howard Zinn as a mere polemicist. Some people have gone as far as trying to rob Zinn of his well-earned title as a historian. (see Sean Wilentz’ contribution to the LA Times’ posthumous panel discussion of Zinn) No matter how people try to distort the memory of the man one thing is undeniable he was truly a historian of the people. His landmark work, A People’s History of the United States sold over two million copies, and is on many professors syllabi across the country as required reading for U.S. History classes. The text is mostly interested in dismantling what is normally thought of as history, (e.g. glorified nationalistic fairytales excluding regular people from the process of making history). Howard Zinn wanted to bring to light those who were marginalized, distorted or omitted from the pages of history: women, feminists, socialists, anti-war resisters during World War I, and World War II, and the working-class. Zinn’s most important lesson may be ,"If you don't know history, it is as if you were born yesterday."

Hands off Haiti! (WB V. I)

2010-02-09T00:06:00.000-08:00

The Weekly Beast Volume I (originally appeared in The Lariat 2/3/10)

The world has been captivated and horrified by the indescribable damage caused by Haiti’s most recent natural disaster, a 7.0 earthquake. Hundreds of millions of dollars worth of property damage has been reported and over 200,000 lives have been lost. People have rightly chosen to organize and mobilize aid for the desperate population of that country. However, analysis provided by major news corporations has given the public no substance and no historical understanding of why there is such abject poverty in Haiti. What’s worse is that stories such as the U.S. blocking aid from reaching Haitians, as well as the disgusting opportunism exhibited by security companies have been completely removed from the media’s “discussion.” (I recommend you read Jeremy Scahill’s latest article for The Nation for an in-depth story of how security companies are profiting off the suffering of Haitians.) We must widen the narrow discussion to include criticism and to ask pointed questions about why Haiti is so poor.

In less than a week after the earthquake struck Haiti leaving two million homeless, the United States Government has sent over 20,000 troops to Haiti. What’s striking about this is that their mission is supposedly to stabilize Haiti, and maintain security, however when compared to the reality on the ground they are achieving the exact opposite. The U.S. has taken full control of the Port-au-Prince airport and since then multiple aid efforts have been blocked and prevented from landing. The U.S. has been so disruptive that the Medicines Sans Frontiers (Doctors Without Borders) have lodged five separate complaints against these military acts.

U.S. commanders have denied the Medicines Sans Frontiers from delivering an inflatable hospital, forcing the group to land in the Dominican Republic over 200 miles away from where critical aid is/was needed. This delayed the construction and application of the health facility by 24 hours. On NBC’s Meet the Press Lieutenant General Ken Keen discussed the issue of commandeering the airport, “We’re working aggressively to open up other ways to get in here. The ports are part of that.” So instead of using jets to fly in medical supplies, water and food he wants to utilize boats? Doesn’t he know that the Port-au-Prince Port was decimated by the earthquake?
Let’s picture Haiti before the earthquake. Imagine living in a country where the problem of poverty and starvation were so unbearable that people literally ate dirt to survive. In Haiti this is a daily reality. This reality has been constructed by a history of the United States meddling in democratic elections, (kidnapping presidents) The International Monetary Fund offering trojan-horse loans filled with destructive clauses that made bankers rich and Haitians the poorest nation in the western hemisphere. (as well as making them completely dependent on high-priced imported food) This is why the U.S.’s recent undemocratic military actions in Haiti should be condemned.

Poverty amplifies pain: The total deaths of U.S. citizens due to earthquakes since 1811 is 1/5 of how many people died in Haiti’s recent earthquake. If U.S citizens are interested in helping Haiti then we must pressure our government to retract the 2006 HOPE act specifically (Section (d)(1)(C)) which forces Haiti to eliminate “barriers of United States trade and investment.” When I think of the U.S.’s involvement in Haitian affairs I can’t help but think of the stereotype of a mafia don offering favors for severed heads. What’s relieving to know is that the International Monetary Fund recently caved-in to international pressure and gave Haiti a 100,000,000 dollar grant, perhaps the U.S. can be pressured by the domestic and international community to get its grubby hands off Haiti.

Additional and vital information:

DONATE NOW!
www.redcross.org/en/donatemoney

"Doctors without Borders interview" -Newsweek Magazine
http://www.newsweek.com/id/232058

"The International Monetary Fund's dealings with Haiti" -The Nation
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/notion/517494/what_haiti_is_owed

"Top 10 Reasons to oppose the IMF" -The Global Exchange
http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/wbimf/TopTenIMF.html

I write for the college newspaper now!

2010-02-08T15:20:00.001-08:00

I attend the prestigious institution known as Saddleback College. I am a reporter and staff member of the student-run newspaper the Lariat. I am also President of the Student Leftist Group. I'll be writing a weekly opinion column for the Lariat. I've already written two so far, I'm working on my third. I've decided to post these opinion columns on this blog (with supplemental information since I am usually only allowed 600 words). I'll dub these web-based versions "The Weekly Beast".
First one will be posted tonight.

The Hippocratic Joke: Congress Hates you and Loves Insurance Companies

2009-11-03T09:45:00.001-08:00

It is estimated by the Institute of Medicine that 18,000 Americans die every year becuase they don't have health insurance. In the last 12 months six million people have lost health coverage. That's just about seventeen thousand every day. These are the worries of working people in America. The current situation in this country is a tragedy. People are forced to choose between medical bills or their children's education, forced to choose between spending time with their family or working a second job to get "adequate" health coverage, forced to choose between maxing out credit cards on emergency room visits, or just letting the wounds or diseases, or fractures heal themselves.

In one of his latest pieces published in the Wall Street Journal Columnist Greg Zerzan wrote about the fiscal contention between a public health care option and the U.S.'s
current military budget. He articulated his worry saying "a nation's government can fund a military with worldwide presence and state of the art weaponry, or operate a nationalized health-care system. It can't do both." Multiple polls confirm that the same percentage of people who oppose the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq want universal health care. It's obvious to a large majority that it's time for a reallocation of resources in America.

The 'free' market has us in chains, it's unsustainable and undemocratic. "There are...no examples of successful health care based on the principles of the free market...in health care, the free market just doesn’t work. And people who say that the market is the answer are flying in the face of both theory and overwhelming evidence." This is a quote from Nobel Prize Winner Paul Krugman, he was honored in 2008 for his analysis of trade patterns. This isn't Karl Marx bellowing from the pages of Capital this is a left-leaning capitalist saying no to the free market! We need to stop engaging in debates with people who regurgitate anachronistic free market slogans, or people who storm town hall meetings and scream that with government-run health care "death councils," bureaucracies, and lack of freedom in choosing doctors go hand-in-hand. The irony is that we already have a system like this in place, they're called health insurance companies.

The question remains: how do we get single-payer health care like Europe or Canada? Democrats have proven to be cowardly, unorganized, and unreliable when push comes to shove on policy. When a bill is advocated it is a train-wreck full of loopholes and compromises. The latest plan that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi proposes undermines the "public option" from the get go. Instead of having the new health care system make payments at the adjusted medicare rates they'll have their fees equated with large insurance companies. This is completely convoluted, 31% of every dollar you spend on insurance goes to CEO salaries, profits, paperwork, and overhead this accounts for the exorbitant rates you and I pay for 'health coverage.' Canada's national health care systems overhead is 1%. It's time for the people to organize for a better system.

Television Worth Watching.

2009-09-30T14:31:00.000-07:00

There is a tremendous amount of T.V. going on right now and you're missing it. Fuck this blog, don't read it. It's 2:34 PM and you're wasting your precious T.V.-watching potential time on reading this dribble when you could be watching King of Queens re-runs on TBS, or Judge Joe Brown laying it down. I'm glad the cliche of T.V. rotting your brain has been laid to rest. This signifies a qualitative change in television, and not just in television but also on the silver screen as well. I'd like to take the time to list some of the show I've been enjoying recently. (Re-Runs included)

The Jon Dore Television Show:
Dry Humor. Deadpan delivery of some fucked up one-liners. It's scripted like a sketch comedy show, but has some reality tv aspects as well (uncomfortable interviews with army sergeants, health advocates, adult-film directors, etc.)
The basic framework of the show and all episodes revolve around Jon facing a personal crisis, or worse a world problem. Each episode plays out a like "a day in the life of Jon" mockumentary...I just wish Canada would export their single-payer healthcare like they do their comedians.

Favorite bit:

IFC Independent Film Channel

The Whitest Kid's U'Know:
Outlandish, rugged, obscene, twisted comedy troupe, I love them. Bless their little hearts. After being on Fuse for a while, they set sail for bigger and better things on IFC. Seriously who cares about Fuse? It's a true sketch comedy show, and usually never runs over 15 minutes. Their jokes and bits are unique and unforgettable, I see these guys becoming comedy classics over a short period of time, most likely to get a movie deal by August 2010.... Callin' it*.

Favorite bit:

IFC Independent Film Channel

Real Time With Bill Maher:
Other than the Daily Show, this is pretty much the only show that really discusses political issues. Bill Maher for all my disagreements with him, asks poignant questions about domestic and foreign policy, and he's pretty much right on the ball about Obama's performance lately. Also he has been having some legit guests on recently I sat down with Jon and Steve (Kenny Bloggins!)
to watch Real Time...
...and Paul Krugman (Nobel Laureate in Economics) Michael Moore (Radical filmmaker extraordinaire) and Jon Waters (writer, director, trendsetter)and sigh* Eliot Spitzer (lame ass self-promoting douchetard politician)were on one episode together. It's insane I mean...Leno can get Kanye and a nobody to show up on his show, but can he get Kanye, Jay-Z, and Christopher Walken to just stroll in all on one night? Hardly. Maher makes it happen, and he's funnier than shit too.

Favorite bit:

HBO Home Box Office

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Shows that should be Syndicated until the Sun Explodes.

The Nanny:
I have a strange attraction to Fran Dreshcer and her psychedelic color schemes framed with mod fashion sense. But what's really appealing to me is her character's lack of pretensions, endless amounts of scheming, and "amirite?" humor. The casting of this show was pretty damn good, with the exception of the children who you couldn't care less about. (perhaps this is also the fault of the writers) Niles (I'm sorry to say) takes a shit on Jeffrey from Fresh Prince. He's wittier, much more maniacal, bitter and Niles (though native born) plays a more convincing Brit to boot! The cast has great chemistry, and the writers did a great job with them.

King of Queens
This is the holiest of holys. One of the greatest shows to ever grace the Television screen. It is vital. It is real. Show me a mouth that criticizes this show, and I'll show a mouth that doesn't deserve to eat.King of Queens has a deep bench: Jerry Stiller, Kevin James, Patton Oswald, Leah Remini,Alex Skuby Victor Williams, Gary Valentine, Lou Ferrigno (as a side character!)Doug and Carry Heffernon are a couple sketched by realists, they play games with each other, they plot against their friends, they're (in my mind) an inseparable duo, their love is a spectacle I cannot look away from. Arthur (Carry's father) is a definite crowd favorite, and the chemistry between Victor (Deacon) and Doug is phenomenal. The satire of office life (Carry as a secretary), and the alienating experience of labor (Doug as delivery man)is a telling account of the politics of working life. Even the writer's of King of Queens addressed the UPS strike in a series of episodes. Even Economist Paul Krugman mentioned King of Queens the other night in a serious political discussion... c'mon give it up King of Queens haters!

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air:
This is a no brainer. When our sun swallows up Mercury and disintegrates Venus I think it would be a shame that the charred remains of humanity don't enjoy a little bit of Will Smith smacking Carlton in the back of the head. Fresh Prince was genius, if I were to meet the main writers of the show right now, I'd probably attempt to shake their hand but would most likely slip in the puddle of urine that streamed down by nervous legs. Philip Banks was the reflection of my scary ass dad. Will was the model of sophisticated 'coolness' 'freshness' 'dopeness' that I would never be. Carlton was the family member we all want to kill due to their numerous character flaws but still love them because it's not really their fault. Hillary is just someone you want to ignore, and I did since she as a comic character never worked for me. In fact all Legally Blonde-esque archetypical retards NEVER make me laugh. this show captured the dynamics of family, and pressure youth face in real terms, not bullshit 7th Heaven terms. Fresh Prince was radical and on the right side of history when it came to racial issues. The late 80's and 90's saw an explosion of racial tension in the U.S. especially in Los Angeles and New York. (Where the PD's were most notorious)If I am not mistaken, (which I am not) the first episode of The Fresh Prince had will wearing a Malcolm X hat. That's fucking insane. I can't imagine white America's reaction to that at the time. But I cannot help but conclude that it occurred radical to whites and obvious to blacks. What is obvious to both, then and now is that this show was a masterpiece. There will never be a Prince so dear and near.

Reviews in Short: The Decline of the English Murder

2009-08-26T13:29:00.000-07:00

What is indicated (at least in some of the more politically cynical group of essays) is that Orwell has had a profound impact on our contemporary and faithful opportunist Christopher Hitchens. Hitchens' prose as well as many of his quirks are quite easily traced back to Orwell's vitriol filled ink well. However I think that Orwell (as history has demonstrated) was no opportunist, he was quite justifiably disillusioned with left-wing politics, but at least he had hope.

My first impression is that Orwell has completely misread Trotskyism, or perhaps I have misread what Orwell's stances are on it. He couples Trotskyism with nationalism as one in the same...which quite frankly given the internationalist tendencies of "permanent revolution", I don't see how one could be so mistaken. In an eerie way his essays on politics and the British and American Intelligentsia mirror Hitchens' rants about "Islamofascism", (terrible term) and theocratic-friendly press and intelligentsia. Orwell employed the term "Russophile" ad nauseum in two of his essays. An immediately contemptuous term, "Russophile" applied to those who in his eyes blindly accepted the new religion of Marxism as it had been expressed in the Communist Party of Russia. He blanketed this term upon Anglo and American Stalinists, Trotskyists, and Communists...which is of course absurd, given the actual tendencies of these different groups. Both the substance and direction of these political entities (especially in the case of Stalinism and Trotskyism)were quite different.

On a lighter note, his criticism of Salvador Dali as a human being and an artist was riveting. Though it was rigorous in the decimation of his character, it oddly had me much more interested in Dali as a person and artist as nothing else did before. There's always something compelling about a "disgusting human being". His critique of Dickens, his naivete, his bourgeois dreams, and simple even childish schemes to make the world a better place, again ironically made me interested in Dickens and his body of work.
This is the craft of Orwell and of our contemporary Hitchens (who has as many of you know has written a book about Orwell); their contempt draws you in to look at what someone could be so angry about. However sadly, I think cynicism has crept slowly over both leaving their faculties immersed in a hopeless cycle of knowing too much and not knowing what to do with it. (4 STARS out of 5)

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For all my other current book reviews:

http://www.librarything.com/profile_reviews.php?view=alexgalindo

I felt like Michael Mann Held me up at a Chicago Bank

2009-07-02T11:38:00.000-07:00

Robbery. It happens occasionally, however I feel that when it happens at a bank, or a dark alley, or behind an opera house (poor Bruce)it's expected and you can walk away saying "I need to be a little more cautious." I do wish I excercised a bit more caution lastnight at the theaters. My wallet was hurtin' this morning, it's so abusive when it starts drinking. (No one should be alarmed by my wearing sunglasses this whole week.) I went to see Public Enemies last night. Let me tell you why I chose this movie. One it has some pretty alright dudes involed in it: Johnny Depp, and Christian Bale. Two it's about John Dillinger the guy who basically forced the creation of the FBI becuase of his efficient and frequent bank robberies, and not only did he have a hand in the creation of one of the most powerful organizations in the world he also did it and had people love him. They were charmed him, hypnotized by his charisma and his style. How can a movie fail with such an interesting backdrop and rich characters you ask? My answer: I don't fucking know.

It is always a tragedy when the potential for something to be awesome such as a biographical novel, or a memoir about a historically important criminal (clears throat*)is squandered on a mere action film format. At least 40% of the film was composed of chases and gunfights,which in my opinion is the least interesting aspect of John Dillinger. What I find interesting about Mr. Dillinger is that he has a system of ethics, he doesn't rob from actual people, only from institutions. Specifically in one scene a man turns his pockets inside out and places his cash and belongings on a bank tellers desk during one of Dillinger's heists. Dillinger walked by him gun drawn and cooly told him, "That's your money, mister? We're here for the bank's money, not yours. Put it away." What's interesting about this scene when juxtaposed with the FBI's interrogative processes revealed later in the film is the stark difference between Dillinger and the FBI. Point in fact, they are opposites one is a renegade with ethics, the other a major institution totally lacking in human a conscience.

However all we have here is a bunch of delicious ingredients scattered about a kitchen counter with neither rhyme nor reason to guide them. Michael Mann failed to have me care about the characters. The dialogue was sparse and even when it was present it was unmoving. John Dillinger was reduced to a simple 'silent' hero which becomes so tedious so quickly. I almost fell asleep three times in scenes where people are firing off automatic weapons. I'm sorry but it takes a masterful failure to accomplish so little with so much.

The Beginning of the End. (A love letter to Chevron)

2009-05-26T22:49:00.000-07:00

While California is declaring bankruptcy,and the overall U.S. unemployment rate is sitting just under 9%,^[1]I find comfort in the fact that Chevron's CEO David J. O'Reilly only made 47 million dollars this last year.^[2] It's good to know one is not struggling alone in this economic crisis. Sadly this sarcastic observation only accounts for the least bitter part of this letter. Let us for a moment just dwell on these numbers, 8.9% of the U.S. worker-eligible population...that's about 240,000 people. This is a difficult number to grasp, but 47 million is just mind boggling, while there is 240,000 able-bodied individuals making 0 dollars an hour (not to mention the costs of rent, mortgages, insurance(s), gasoline, and groceries) there is one individual making 47 million dollars. What makes this economic disparity even more disgusting however is that Chevron is under heavy fire from both environmental and human rights activists for being complicit in the dumping of billions of pounds of waste in the Amazonian jungle. Not only is the besmirching one of the world's most important biospheres it also has resulted in the direct deaths of 1,400 indigenous Ecuadorians^[3] who live and cultivate the land in the Amazon.

Unfortunately this vile behavior does not represent an isolated issue. As seen above Americans in Richmond, VA are involved not only because they are sympathetic to the plight of indigenous suffering in Ecuador but because Chevron is seeking to burn an even more "dirty" type of oil at a nearby refinery. This new crude oil that Chevron is pushing for has been shown to release even more pollutants and toxins in the air than the oil they regularly refine. In Nigeria Chevron has been accused of being directly involved with the bloody military campaign being carried out by the JTF (Joint Task Force) which has displaced hundreds of women and children who dwell near the Nigerian Delta a geographic area of "special interest" to Chevron. The bold inhumanity of Chevron took a step in the direction of absurd when earlier this year it counter-sued Nigerian villagers for 485,000 dollars (U.S.)^[4] Chevron wanted recoup money it spent defending itself successfully against a suit filed by Nigerian villagers. The U.S. judge presiding over the case (which was thrown out) had this to say, “The economic disparity between plaintiffs, who are Nigerian villagers, and defendants, international oil companies, cannot be more stark,”^[5] This story goes on and on in similar fashion in multiple countries: Burma, Canada, Iraq, Kazakhstan, and the Philippines have all suffered immensely.

There are several media outlets and journals covering this story, however I think out of all the mainstream press 60 Minutes did a great job showing Chevron's devastation in action. I frankly paid little attention to the issue until I listened to a woman speaking on the radio yesterday morning on 90.7FM. The Economist and the Financial Times not surprisingly indirectly defended Chevron in their articles that touched upon the issue.^[6][7] The Media Advisor for Chevron Latin America James Craig has accused the lawsuits from the Ecuadorians as mere money grabs set up by U.S. trial lawyers out to make a quick buck off of middle-class U.S. shareholders. Well I don't know about you guys but producing a 4,000 page indictment doesn't sound like quick cash to me. This criminal activity needs to stop now. Today marks Chevron's annual shareholder meeting and I ask you brothers and sisters to take heed and join the struggle. This is a working class issue, this is an environmental issue, this is a civil rights issue, and most importantly this is a human rights issue. We must join the comrades who have built this movement internationally and fight against this corporate fascism and naked capitalism. Here are important sources to arm yourself with in the fight against the oil industry's tyranny and specifically Chevron's human rights abuses:

http://truecostofchevron.com

http://texacotoxico.org/eng

http://www.democracynow.org/2009/5/26/antonia_juhasz_on_the_true_cost

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95465269

http://justiceinnigerianow.org

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P.S. Yesterday rebels in Nigeria blew up a giant oil pipeline costing Chevron 100,000 barrels of oil per day. The MEND (Movement for the Emancipation of the Nigerian Delta) has took responsibility and has issued this statement:

"The impoverished and neglected inhabitants of oil-producing communities consider our actions to these structures as good riddance to bad rubbish.
Oil exploration has brought only pain to them by way of environmental damage, harassment from the military and rape of under-aged girls by soldiers, extra-judicial killings of young men and development and wealth to other parts of the country at their detriment,"^[7]>

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SOURCES:
1: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm
2: http://www.forbes.com/lists/2009/12/best-boss-09_David-J-OReilly_XASH.html
3: http://texacotoxico.org/eng/node/220
4: http://justiceinnigerianow.org
5: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9f8111bc-4a55-11de-8e7e-00144feabdc0.html
6: http://www.economist.com/world/americas/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13707679
7: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2008/09/200892095943158979.html

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-Best Album of 08'

2009-01-16T00:38:00.000-08:00

It’s never a triumphant return for The Mars Volta. Always coming off the heels of a fresh record, or year long tour, The Mars Volta seem to rarely bat a broken eye lid for sleep. Since their noisy release of the Tremulant E.P. in 2002 TMV has gathered an insatiable army of fans. Being as prolific as they have been, it would be a shame if there was any less of a following: Since 2002 they have released four full length LP’s, and a live album with another full-length in pre-production. This year was marked with their latest release titled The Bedlam in Goliath. With the departure of drummer John Theodore in 2007, (now making music with Zach De La Rocha in One Day as a Lion) TMV picked up Thomas Pridgen, never missed a beat, and recorded and released Bedlam a few months later. Pridgen’s hard hitting beats added a new punch that strangely never seemed to be missing from TMV’s sound. Perhaps there was nothing ever missing, and the new music just demanded the bombast of Pridgens, whatever the case is, it’s impossible to ignore him despite the sonic hellfire produced by the other eight members. Bedlam denotes a break away from reverb-drowned world of De-Loused and Frances, and heads into the dark world promised by Amputecture.

The origins of this album leave none of its workings to mystery. It all started with the Omar Rodriguez’s (Lead guitarist, song writer) trip the Israel. Always being the thoughtful band mate, decided on buying a Oujia-like talking board for Cedric. (the Vocalist) It soon became a post-show tradition to “communicate” with the board and its “guests.” They named it “The Soothsayer” and they also named its three-part spirit “Goliath.” It made demands, and asked questions and seemed to be quite moody. Soon after speaking with their tour-bus housegeist, things began to go awry. Among the supernatural coincidences were: their former drummer Blake Flemming leaving the band due to sudden financial troubles, Cedric’s foot needing surgery and walking therapy, audio tracks for the album disappearing randomly off computer screens, Omar’s home studio getting flooded causing power outages, as well as a sound engineer going mad while working on the mix. In a statement to Omar the former sound engineer waxed hysterical: "I'm not going to help you make this record. You're trying to do something very bad with this record, you're trying to make me crazy and you're trying to make people crazy.” It’s times like these that make me want to believe in things like ghosts, and souls. To add to the dramatic sequence of events Omar decided on breaking the board in half and burying it in an undisclosed location.

Despite the silly superstitions, the music itself is infused with an undeniable spiritual feeling. But this has always been the craft of this band. Omar’s compositions and Cedric’s unwieldy voice have always haunted me. Unlike their previous efforts the songs are not following a chronology or blanket theme. They are telling stories, but contrasting again with earlier works, their borders stretch only to the edges of their track listing numbers. It is an album made of twisting stories, unwitting hope, and contradictory as well as non-existent conclusions. It is sprinkled with poetry, with daring, with avant-garde sophistication, cleverly recycled aesthetics, and syntax here and there for cohesion.

Bedlam jumps right into a highly energetic track called Abernikula, a name given sometimes to the Bata Drum (a drum used for spiritual rites in Yoruba, Nigeria and imported from there in Santeria practices in the Caribbean. The band has admitted that this is their most aggressive musical effort yet, and it seems undeniable after hearing the doom-impending guitar riffs in the opening track. From there we crash into the Socratic track Metatron, with an off-beat driving punk beat layered with a nervous meandering guitar riff. After that the album opens up into new emotional avenues with a track with rare pop sensibility. The song Ilyena is a nod to the character Ilyena Therin Moerelle from the fictional works of Robert Jordan (Wheel of Time fantasy series.) Their single chases away the apparition of Illyena quickly and as soon as you get caught in the heavy 6/8 groove you’re bombarded with an odd meter chorus. It’s the shortest Volta song on record clocking in at 2:39.

The ending half of the album contains its greatest musical and existential strengths. With songs like “Ouroborous,” “Cavalettas,” and “Conjugal Burns.” My favorite track on the album however has to be “Soothsayer.” Soothsayer begins with a hum of violins playing Arabic scale progressions, and the distant funk musings of Omar transmutated by his endless pedal board. In the immediate foreground of this mellow track is a recording of a marketplace gathering in the Muslim quarter of Palestine. This track features sounds from the Muslim, Jewish, and Christian epicenters of Palestine, scattered in different parts of the piece. It is their most “international” sound to date, and that’s what I really love about this album, best of 08’.

Other albums of honorable mention:

-Misanthropy Pure (Shai Hulud)

-Graduation (Kanye West)

-Traced in Air (Cynic)

Olbermann on Prop. 8

2008-11-14T07:32:00.000-08:00

All Humans are Equal but some Humans are more Equal than Others

2008-11-10T17:47:00.000-08:00
Living in the Conservative Heartland of California is just a pain in the ass. There are no benefits except that it may keep you politically grounded, but if being grounded means listening to bigots talk all day then count me out. Southern California and especially Orange County has an ugly history of hate and intolerance. Look at our most recent historical developments: a wave of anti-immigrant, anti-mexican sentiment, and unrepentant zeal for an un-constitutional discriminatory bill that will treat people differently under the law. It makes me cringe, it makes sweat gather in my balled up fists.
I was reading The Economist a few days ago they had an article touching on the situation in California:

http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displayStory.cfm?story_id=12522924

Many feelings ran through me during the read. Marve Perkins one of the speakers at the anti-gay rally in Los Angeles was said to conjure the apparition of Martin Luther King Jr. in one of his firery speeches. Why though? What did MLK have to say about discrimination in the 60's? Maybe the answers lie in Minnesota's public radio website:
' "I get livid when I hear about 'same sex marriage goes against the will of God,'" says Matthea Little Smith. "Well, black folks were chattel too, OK?"

Smith is an African American and a lesbian. She is also the daughter of Minnesota civil rights pioneer Matthew Little. Smith has six children and five grandchildren. She came out 20 years ago, after she and her husband divorced.

Smith supports gay marriage, even though she doesn't want to get married -- again. But she says gay marriage or civil unions are necessary for those same-sex couples who share property and children. Smith believes King would support that.

"Now's the time to make justice a reality to all of God's children," Smith says. "Now that's what Martin Luther King said. He didn't say, 'All of God's children who are not gay.' "
Well I guess that didn't make his stances more coherent. Corretta Scott King (widow of MLK) has stood up for the rights of Gays and Lesbians and has been open about her opposition to discriminatory bills. What puzzles me more about the speaker however is not that is evoking King....but that he is a black mormon. Mormonism has been an openly racist organization until the 1970's (now it's just a covertly racist one) Mormons didn't allow blacks to get obtain the priesthood in their church, and in their basic theological account of races it is the dark-skinned who have been cursed and marked for their sins, and the white (light-skinned) who are worthy of leadership and wealth. This is a clear demonstration of how the proponents of Prop. 8 have a lack of historical understanding. Perhaps Mr. perkins just forgot about the "curse of ham."
Mormons have had a huge hand in the funding and passing of Prop. 8. My Atheism has been dormant in political discussion for quite sometime (since it is usually always irrelevant) but the current constellation of events tempts me to bring it out. And I know I am not alone. This is why I am writing this blog. To address the same animosity building up in the left in regards towards religious folks. I've been seeing anti-christian posts, and anti-mormon posts, including ones that call for the church to no longer be tax exempt since it lobbied so heavily. (To refer to Section 501(c)(3) of US code title 26: , no substantial part of the activities of which is carrying on propaganda, or otherwise attempting, to influence legislation)
This is just pointless banter, and as much as I would love to see the Mormon Church go down this is a distraction. A self-righteous self-assuring game that many who are "liberal" or radical do as a substituion for actual organizing. We need to organize around the principles of equality for all people. The Gay and Lesbian community don't care if the Mormon Church gets taxed or not. A Church paying taxes will not revoke Prop. 8 pressure from below will. Tens of thousands are taking to the streets in Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego. They are calling for equality, they are calling for justice, and they are calling for fair treatment and protection of all citizens. We've got to make this thing blow up like the French Revolution!
On a light not I would like to quote The Economist:
"Mr Perkins informed the crowd that gay marriage and tolerant school lessons are little more than “a recruiting process for homosexual behaviour”. Anybody who doubted the connection should take a look at Europe, where homosexuality is apparently rampant."

Slave Labor and Fauxlosophy PART I

2008-09-18T08:22:00.003-07:00

ORIGINS & BIASES

From age 14 up until my turning 19 years old I was immersed in something that’s hard to describe in a few words. You can crassly call it a cult, you can naively call it a scheme, or you can desperately call it a philosophy. In September 2001 after numerous back and fourth conversations with one of their staff members, I registered to take The Landmark Forum for Teens. My mother was weary likely from all the yelling and arguing that goes into raising a child such as myself. It seemed there was no solution for my failing grades, and stupid (quite ordinary) teenage attitude. To take this three day seminar you must have the written consent of both your parents/guardians just like any field trip I suppose. She was in a quite desperate place as a parent, and to be honest she eagerly signed with hopes that maybe this would be a turning point in my life, and perhaps our relationship.

I took the course and it had little effect on me. I retook (reviewed) The Landmark Forum with adults, and that’s when things really started to sink in and make “sense.” I will spare you the summary of the course because that is most boring aspect of the enterprise. There is however a rather mild, and fair critical article regarding the Landmark Forum experience found on The Huffington Post Archive. In fact I share much of the same criticisms Karen Badt expresses in her article. What I will offer in place of a dry and mechanical run through is an extensive philosophical criticism, coupled with my “personal” journey through the many programs, events, and productions I have participated in.

For those of you who have not had the fortune of seeing the 3-hour introductory seminar explaining the methodology and basic facts about the company, I will save you the trip. Landmark Education was founded in 1991 by Harry Rosenburg and a number of other individuals directly associated with Werner Erhard, (Formerly Jack Rosenburg, founder of E.S.T. Despite Landmark’s avid attempts at disassociating itself from the polarizing figure, any kindergartner can go on the internet and see the irrefutable monetary, and personal connections between Erhard Seminar Training and Landmark Education Corporation. In fact I am well aware that certain staff members who work in the Los Angeles office building visit with Erhard and have discussions regarding the company and its future.) According to its website they are a professional organization with expertise in the field of training and development, have 50 offices all over the world and offer their educational services in over seven languages. They usually present all this information while donning a business suit, inside of an office building, or at a home (for those who are far too trusting.) They stand in front of a chalkboard, or whiteboard, and have all the essentials (for those who like to pretend they are the authority on a certain subject) pens, pencils, shiny pamphlets, and of course a music stand or podium which just screams “listen to me, I’m a suave professional in control of my life! And you can be one too!” They talk, they smile, they laugh, and it’s all scripted with cleverly placed parts for your timid interaction/reaction.

Their methodology is like nothing I’ve ever seen. In fact, to be fair it is quite efficient and convincing when first introduced to it. They are interested in people “getting” it, and are not interested in “teaching” anything. I suppose that reflects the more eastern side of their existence. However their methodology and even their content does not really hold up if you have a firm set of beliefs, an ideology, or set of philosophical perspectives that are well-informed. (Though they claim to be open-ended, and universally compatible) Their programs are designed for the bored, passionless, credulous, and middle-class. Everyone who participates in their seminars invests in real estate, practices law, or is an actor or screenwriter-on rare occasion you have a teacher or an airline stuartist. With this body of rejuvenated people they spread their methodology and ideology in a most evangelical way: having those who have witnessed the miraculous tell everyone they know about what’s possible when they pay 600 dollars and take The Landmark Forum. The most interesting aspect regarding their evangelical methods though is the fact that these people walk around as human billboards for the company for free. (I’ll get to that in a later in this blog's sequel)

PSYCHO-ANALYSIS WITHOUT the ANALYSIS

The propagation of Landmarkian theory whilst inside their seminars is strange, but again effective. The main goal (which is admitted openly by the Leaders of the Course) is to break you down as a person. They say this with a hint of warmth though, because they know the person you are is a fraud and must be abolished so that you may inherit a little truth about the universe. They break you down with numerous tactics:

Procedure one: group you together with a bunch of strangers and if you are attending a course with a friend or loved one they urge/force you to sit apart.

Procedure two: have a dedicated cadre of volunteers act extremely happy and generous the entire time you are there as blatant examples of the wonders of the course.

Procedure three: have a well-trained (in the arts of: intimidation, public speaking, shutting people down , shutting people up, breaking people down, building people up, finding people’s vulnerabilities, ripping people’s hearts out, and ad-hominem attacks) man or woman establish the rules of the course, as well as establish any deviant as a writhing helpless little worm who can’t take it.

Procedure four: deny people their regularly healthy, and needed amount of sleep with long 15 hour days.
That basically sets up the rest of the course, once you have people agree to these terms even with reluctance you lay the groundwork for groupthinking and group pressure. Which are key to the “success” of the course. In fact to refer to an illegal-taping, of a Landmark Forum in France we see Alain Roth (a Landmark Forum Leader accountable for France.) belligerently abusing a woman because she apparently doesn’t love her daughter.
“Boo-hoo and you spend most of your time whining about yourself. Not a pretty picture!”
“But what can I do about that?” the woman pleads.
“If you want to do something for your daughter, I don't know -- maybe commit suicide! No, this is not working. You're avoiding the hard part, inventing a trick so you can suffer. You've made sure of that for twenty years, so you can die in terrible agony. That way you can think better of yourself.” Thanks to an undercover news team in France we see first hand the abuses suffered by Landmark participants.

UN-SCIENTITIFIC and UN-POETIC

Let’s get to the nitty-gritty: Landmark Education and its leadership body claim that human nature is definable and universal and that they have discovered its nature and have found the most important universals that all humans posses. These universals and major concepts are as follows:

• we are all inauthentic

• we are all incapable of real communication and listening until we acknowledge the constant “dialogue” in our head

• we all labor under the illusion that our lives and everything in them has inherent meaning

• we all complain about our circumstances, lives, and the people in them intentionally to avoid taking responsibility

• we live in fear of our past mistakes and failures and let them totally shape our personalities and behavior

• we live our lives detached from reality and are embedded in the dialogue as if that is reality

• we are all unknowingly incomplete (we are “not over it”) with our past, and all the people in it most especially our parents

• we constantly seek to change and re-arrange things in our lives instead of fundamentally dealing with the issues, the list goes on and on and on.

I think that it was a fair explanation of some of the major ideas behind the work. Many of you might read that list and might say hey well that sounds like psychoanalysis, or some of those terms and ideas sound like nihilism, or even existentialism.

The most annoying aspect of this body of work so to speak is, to put it Karl Popper terms, is the non-falsifiable organism that lies in its center. The applied-philosophy of Landmark is a slippery beast. In the same vein of other New Age groups and others it takes the position that what it says is not true, in fact there is no truth and meaning to be found in life according to them. In the same breath however they will say they know the “truth” about human nature. It’s a clever rouse because with it, they cannot be put the up to scrutiny since they disavow the basic rules attached to making a claim. Every claim ever (if it really is a claim) is subject to scrutiny especially claims regarding the essence of reality and existence. But since Landmark never claims to be right, or think they know the truth, they’re given a pat on the back because they are so different from all the “self-righteous,” people and organizations out there in the world. They are so “open-minded” and accepting, and especially modest. That’s what’s attractive to people, after you receive an education at Landmark you get to pat yourself on the back for not “being self-righteous” and not having a “position.” You can revel in your greatness since you are so “deep,” and “authentic” while other people are shallow and fake, and take life for granted.

It simply replaces old morals with a new set of deeper “morals.” It replaces old obvious self-righteousness with a new hidden one hiding behind the shadows of modesty, and ambiguous stoic statements. What’s not to love though? You pay 600 dollars to be deep, and be excited about living again, since you are so dead inside in the first place. It sounds similar to the concept of being born again for Jesus: new purpose, new drives, new urges all artificially imposed upon your natural ones, sounds like a picnic to me. According to the content found in the Landmark Advanced Course, (the second course in the curriculum for living) reality itself (meaning everything encompassed in the three-dimensions we find ourselves in) is solely constructed upon language, and more importantly on agreements. Agreements are not what shape reality, they are the essence of our realities. They literally are reality. What they mean by agreements isn’t anything special, they simply are referring to shared majority perceptions. If most people think war, and corruption are staples of human nature and reality, and they agree they’ll be here forever, they’ll be here forever for no other reason other than the agreed previous assumption. All we have to do to stop the many varying tragedies in the world is to get people to not be so cynical and create a new agreement and everything will be dandy. I’m sorry but how stupid is that? That’s the catch though; you cannot even challenge many of their positions because they’re so baseless. They present outrageous claims like that in pretty little spotlights, with big cardboard signs with large-print Einstein quotes to back them up.

That’s another thing that is especially infuriating. Aside from their wild claims regarding the nature of reality, they use universally accepted and loved figures to back their seminar’s content up. Again to refer to the Huffington Post, they use figures like Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jr, Albert Einstein, and the like to validate and say, “Hey we’re cool, we like these people. We can even quote them!” The funny thing is as so astutely observed by Karin Badt most of these figures were entrenched in heavily political times and struggles (Not non-positional, pseudo-spiritual objectivity). But that’s not the point, the point is Landmark in essence is completely apolitical, and it is not only a tragedy to bring those names up just as mere figures of positive introspection, it’s absurd.

TO JUSTIFY THE UNJUSTIFIABLE

That brings me to my next point. The political implications of Landmark are hard to read at first. As you progress though, you will notice that the “victim” we play in life (that’s a derogatory term to them) is by our choice. We decide everything in our lives, and nothing is an accident, nothing is a coincidence. These abuses however run deeper than simply exacerbating fractured family relations. They completely reinforce the farce of all our existence:
that the current system of social relations, and economic organization is just and fair.
Any complaint of any sort regarding social inequality, racial inequality, distribution of wealth, are all moot and false interpretations. In fact, Landmark and its Forum “leaders” take a stance siding with the egoism of Ayn Rand. If you complain, you are a victim, and therefore powerless to change your situation. See how cunningly they put it? When racism happens it’s merely your “situation,” something within your grasp to change on your own, not a system of hate and intolerance existing for 500 years. When you get laid off due to a slump in the economy or an employer who wants to keep profits up by laying off a slate of employees, again there is no structure, no economic engine at work here, the blame falls on you. According to them you have full control of reality. Everything interpreted as real is really just an interpretation, in other words “a story.” It takes Cogito Ergo Sum to a whole new level. It makes it literal. And that makes for very very reactionary implications.

Landmark calls its list of ideas and theories distinctions. They are tools for distinguishing aspects of reality or reality itself in order for you to be "extraordinary" in the face of circumstances. Eventually if you master these distinctions (which means you must take at least three courses, and participate by either slaving away for free at one of their offices, or paying to take numerous seminars) then your life could quite possibly be saved from mundane existence. One of the distinctions that I find most offensive is the term “clearing.” It is posited that everyone has a clearing, and that this clearing allows and disallows things from happening in your life. A clearing is always there, you are always a clearing for something. If you lose your job like I mentioned above, then you were a clearing for “losing my job.” If you are a victim of a hate crime, you were a clearing for “racism and hatred.” If you are a retired millionaire, and you invested in a random .com company, and made a hundred-thousand dollar profit, you were a clearing for “making lots of money/abundance.” It’s just another one of Landmarks undisputable claims to fame, undisputable in the sense that you can’t even dispute it. So the children of Darfur are a clearing for “war and poverty,” as well as the people of Iraq! Landmark die-hards will quickly rebuke me saying, “We don’t mean that! That’s slander!” Well folks you have to have a little consistency here: it’s either individuals have full control over reality and they don’t know it, or there are structures, and social relations and things that happen out of the individuals hands.

It is complete an utter rugged individualism. Unpolished, uncouth, and jagged. But what else is to be expected? The human potential movement, the new age movement, the Oprah in the afternoon with a side of Dr. Phil movement, were conceived in the minds of middle-class men and women who were completely alienated by and disillusioned with life. Werner Erhard (EST, The Forum) was a used car sales man before he had his epiphany. I’m not accusing Landmark and its staff of being insincere though. I am quite sure most of them really believe in what they say and what is “taught.”

(Part II of this two part blog will consist of a thorough run-through of Landmark's financial history, including it's business dealings, "volunteer" sector, and profit margin. It was also include some information on Werner Erhard and maybe a few more jabs at their inconsistent perspectives.)

Was this in Hadith?

2008-08-20T11:06:00.001-07:00

“Justice is balance.” began Ra’s al Ghul, standing above the nearly crushed-to-death Bruce Wayne. “You burned my house and left me for dead. Consider us even.” Though we all thirst for the justice Ra’s and the League of Shadows promises, the more clever among us understand the deeply reactionary politics that underlie them. You can label him a fascist, or enlightened despot, take your pick. I actually agree with most of his tenants, just not his methodology and political epistemology. Despite my minute disagreement(s), I subscribe to his definition of justice. If you agree with the sentiment of balance equated with justice, then perhaps you will understand my confusion in when it comes to Kurt Westergaard.

Kurt Westergaard is the infamous Danish cartoonist who not only drew criticism for his illustration of the Prophet Mohammad, but assassination attempts. It is well known that nearly every right-wing party or organization in Europe has lauded and laughed at the cartoon depicting Mohammed with a lit bomb in his turban. Perhaps this is to the artist’s dismay. It can also be assumed that racist organizations have supported the cartoon and its re-prints. There is no question that the Western media has played this up as “irrational Islam” against “modest, objective free speech.” No mainstream media outlet has broken off from this sentiment, not even the liberal ones-which should be to no surprise of any cynic, critic, or left-opponent of the “War on Terror.”

On the other side of this, liberal, and radical critics have not viewed this as a simple matter of free speech versus rabid, radical Islamism. They see it as another way the uncritical media has supplanted right-wing and even racist rhetoric attacking Islam. When you see dubious anchors on CNN and FOX criticizing the reaction of Danish Imams, and Iranians Clerics you can only shake your head at the bigoted comments. When you see the same credulous news people talk about the virtues of liberty of freedom of speech, you can only cringe at their insincerity, because we are all aware of how much they have had a hand in suppressing/skewing information. The left could never side with such charlatans. However the basis of the left’s criticism is not so much empirical as it is ideological-an assurance and buffer against potentially pro-war commentary.

Any leftist, progressive or authentic humanitarian should disagree with the simple-minded, Anglo-centric analysis made by numerous pundits. But I argue that what has been put in its place is equally as useless, and in fact supplants something just as ill tempered. So says the Socialist worker in an article titled “Why Muslims are right to be Angry”:

THE PUBLICATION of cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad in a Danish newspaper was a calculated racist provocation in a country where Muslim immigrants are increasingly under attack. The outrage expressed in demonstrations across the Muslim world is entirely justified.

Let us examine what is justified in this statement. Yes it is true that Muslims have been increasingly attacked culturally and socially all over the world over the years. There is no question regarding that. However was this really a calculated propaganda spree? I tend this disagree. And though you may ask yourself, “Why does it matter whether it was calculated or incidental racism?” I’ll explain later why. The Socialist Worker article goes on with a sweeping account of all the ills suffered by the global Muslim community, which there are many far too gruesome for me to even pretend that I can imagine. It discusses the rise of anti-Muslim rhetoric in Western Europe, and the empty apologies of Danish politicians and publishers, as well as the racist laws being put in place by equally racist groups such as the People’s Party of Denmark.

It’s been two years since the series of pictures were published in the blank Jyllands-Posten and still over two years later there are political aftershocks. Let us look at the current situation. Kurt Westergaard is being summoned by the Jordanian government to be tried for “blaspheming the Prophet Mohammed” and “sowing religious and sectarian discord.” Since when does the Jordanian dictatorship have jurisdiction over Denmark’s media and distribution? Since when does the Hashemite Jordanian monarchy give a damn about its impoverished people and their beliefs? More importantly why does a cartoonist have to explain his actions to another country? I can understand a civil explanation being asked of, but not one that has the weight of court systems, and the repercussions of jail time. Westergaard has done some incidental explaining though. When an obviously racist, culturalist, propaganda movie called Fitna came into production Westergaard reacted swiftly,

I complained publicly that he had abused my cartoon in his film. So we agreed that he pay me a kind of compensation, and he has removed the cartoon from the movie. I have no problems with him, but I don’t share his view.

When talking about sowing the seeds of discord maybe certain individuals should explain the burning of Dutch flags in Jordan. Did Westergaard burn Jordanian flags, did he criticize the faith of Jordanians? His illustration criticized those nihilistic individuals who have usurped Islam and its messages for the use of political terrorism.

Which he explained, was his original intentions. He has stated numerous times that he respects Islam. Kurt Westergaard most likely does not agree with me and my views regarding Hezbollah being a legitimate liberation army, or perhaps even worse he does not have empathy for the Palestinian struggle(s) and Hamas. But the actions taken against him are inexcusable and worst of all are politically fueling/inviting more Western oppression. (And yes I know economics are the driving forces of U.S.-Middle East military strategies but these actions fuel the rhetoric that legitimizes it.)

"We are so unhappy about the cartoon being reprinted," said Imam Mostafa Chendid, head of the Islamic Faith Community. "[But] no blood was ever shed in Denmark because of this, and no blood will be shed. We are trying to calm people down, but let's see what happens. Let's open a dialogue." The Islamic Faith Community had led the protests in Copenhagen in 2006

What Imam Mostafa Chendid is suggesting is the only rational reaction to Westergaard’s action. Why isn’t the majority of the left advocating a dialogue between the angry clerics and the perpetrators of blasphemies? I do not know the answer.

In February of this year Westergaard age 73 and his wife became homeless. This was due to the fact that the security forces watching over him considered him too much of a "risk." They were considered a security “risk.” If an Islamist leader or Muslim cleric advocates violence in self-defense against imperialism, or racist apartheids than we should enthusiastically support them. But when the charlatans (many if not all of the Ayatollahs in Iran are) are advocating the death of a cartoonist I think that’s when you need to stop listening. I think there should be a much more critical look at the overall Islamist scene when talking about the “Muslim” reaction to cultural phenomena. Many Islamist movements are totally reactionary, and the worst are completely counter-revolutionary i.e. Wahabbis, Taliban, al Queda, al Sadr. Organic struggle must be viewed as distinct from this other rubbish, and justified actions must be distinguished from unjustified reactions. Just because Muslims and Arabs have millions of political reasons to be infuriated does not justify what has happened or can happen to a petty cartoonist.

There is unbalance here due not to concrete realities but to idealized situations. There have been too many over-politicized and inflated reactions to a politically moderate cartoon. Westergaard seems sincere when he explains his intentions of depicting Islam as being usurped by a minority while the majority suffers. His life is being threatened on a near daily basis yet he refuses to apologize, why? I can only conclude that he believes in what he is saying. The left should not applaud all actions taken up by all Islamist movements, and should not always support all the actions of all Islamist groups. But it seems that I’m being a nit-picking critic, and I should be less sectarian. But can we not ask the same of our comrades in the Middle East? Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah the leader of Hezbollah urged his community and other countries to protest but immediately withdrew his enthusiasm when things became violent. He quickly called them off when the situation turned ugly with burning of the Dutch embassy. Hussein Fadlallah, the spiritual leader of the Shia in Lebanon followed suit with a fatwa banning attacks against private property and Western embassies. Even Nasrallah knows it’s a little too early to suppress counter-revolutionaries; we’re not quite at that stage yet.

(POST DISCALIMER: I do not claim to be an Islamist Movement scholar, nor do I pretend to fully understand all Islamist politics and history. I have a fractured understanding of the Middle East at best, my only excuse is that for the past 60 years the Middle East has become the most complicated political environment in modern history, and I am trying my best. Therefore I welcome anyone to enlighten me on the subject at any level. However I am firm in my stance in regards to Westergaard and his “detractors.”)

Backward is the new Forward

2008-07-20T13:12:00.000-07:00

Haven't you heard? Backward is the new Forward. I don't mean it as a simple dualism, a contention between opposites. I mean it literally, in terms of linear direction. Conservatives are always calling for a simpler time, (the outright racist, brutally oppressive good ol’ days) Vegans are calling for the abolishment of civilization, (to a time when we killed each other for food and ate raw meat) and so on and so fourth. Progress according to these folk is a path walked backwards. It seems that the elite, trendy, en vogue, and all around arrogant assholes of high school and college have followed suit in regards to this logic, taking huge leaps backwards in the social caste system, while dressing it up as some cutting edge, hip bullshit.

Let's break away for a moment and put on some mini-skirts, three shades of eye shadow, boil some cough-syrup, and listen to music that has 155 BPM. Yes, I know what I'm describing does sound a lot like a typical broadcast of C-SPAN, but in fact I was trying to describe a rave. What the fuck is up with raves, and more importantly when the fuck did they become cool? It is a mystery that has eluded me for days. Don't you recall a time when listening to Trance was a mark of indescribable loserdom? Even that kid who wore math equation shirts knew to stay away from that shit. Obnoxiously flared pant legs, K-Swiss shoes, a metal link necklace, and the worst haircut you can possibly imagine. The same kids who watched Gundam Wing, Dragonball Z, Cowboy Beebop, and instead of watching porn involving three dimensional people they fucking watched Hentai. (By the way there is nothing wrong with watching anime, as long as there is a good story line, you have girlfriend, and you don't dress like the characters in real life.)

Back then Ja Rule was more widely accepted, and I tremble to think what would happen if history repeats itself in that regard. Ja Rule > Raves. Think about it. If I were a rave I'd be embarrassed. So my question is this: When did the attractive, elite, trendy, hipster and wealthy kids decide to go to raves? Why did this happen? When did this happen? This isn't based on some personal beef I have with either the trend-setters, or the pimple-faced ravers of old, it's rooted in complete confusion. Did alcohol not do it for them after a while? We all know they have had access to pot, cocaine, and the like, even E. There have always been clubs to go to even if you were under 21. So why was the transition necessary? Why did they adopt the customs of their social opposites/enemies? It goes against the very nature of the social hierarchy, I cannot even cite another time in history this has happened. Did the Egyptians start adopting the customs of their slaves after a couple of years? Did Queen Victoria Empress of India start to heed Prince Siddartha’s writings? Perhaps the Egyptians and Victoria’s predecessors eventually did. But it had to be over a great length of time. These Broseph Stalins, and their female counter-parts took no longer than 5 years to fully monopolize this former dork activity. No assimilation, no gentle subjugation, no soothing rhetoric, just utter piracy.

See it happened so quick that when confronted with it on myspace (thousands of images, of tweaked out girls scantily dressed, along with dim-witted sweaty smiling boys, under beating the pulsating neon lights ) I didn’t even question it! I was like oh, whatever that’s been going on for a while. . .wait what the balls, that’s Alice Deejay and Ferry Costen, when did this happen? My only coherent answer would refer to Amilcar Cabral’s theory of “class suicide.” Actually I’m just kidding that makes no sense at all. Perhaps it was boredom born out of immense abundance, maybe it was a conspiracy designed by house music producers looking to expand their market. Maybe there is some secret agreement between former Ranma ½ viewers, and guys who wear Affliction shirts, I just don’t know!

Whatever the source of this transition is, it is a dangerous force with numerous terrible implications. This is tampering with the very nature of things, the fabric of the universe. What if the elite group of kids move on to something else heralded by outcasts as sacred? What if they start to read comics? What if they start participating in study groups? What if they start watching Akira and liking it? The nerd underclass will be forced to rebel, and then things will get really ugly. I don’t really have a strong feeling of empathy in either party’s case. Nerds for the most part fucking suck and are usually extremely conservative, and the same can be said of the jocks who beat their ass in high school. Don’t get me wrong there are some really awesome nerds, but they usually are associated with the punk scene. Like Marx said in the manifesto,

“The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles. Freeman and slave, patrician and plebeian, lord and serf, guildmaster and journeyman, in a word, oppressor and oppressed, stood in constant opposition to one another, carried on an uninterrupted, now hidden, now open fight, a fight that each time ended, either in a revolutionary reconstitution of society at large, or in the common ruin of the contending classes.”

I’m voting for the second option.

I'm a bit more sever than I used to be.

2008-06-13T18:32:00.000-07:00
I've started a blog. I don't know if that's obvious yet.
I've decided to add my two cents on movies, books, music...and occasionally politics.
Hopefully it'll replace jacking off as your favorite past time.