Monday, September 19, 2011
Wall Street Lockdown
This weekend I was in lower Manhattan visiting a friend and over night barricades, police vans, bogus dogs and check points sprang up. I went out to get some coffee and repeatedly had to be questioned by officers as to where I was going, who I was, why I was walking around, etc. It is very reminiscent of Warsaw circa 1938 down there at this moment, with security on high alert and that good old 10 year wave of paranoia as strong and as fear-coated as ever.
Many people were hassled who were trying to get through from Williams St. to Broadway. Residents of my friends building were escorted to the front desk by police who questioned whether they lived there or not.
Hundreds of Socialists, pissed off hardworking people and activists of many colors converged on the fringes of Wall Street all weekend, gearing up for tomorrows attempt at shutting down the machine. It seems uncertain how they will pull it off, but I guess we'll have to wait and see.
Many people were hassled who were trying to get through from Williams St. to Broadway. Residents of my friends building were escorted to the front desk by police who questioned whether they lived there or not.
Hundreds of Socialists, pissed off hardworking people and activists of many colors converged on the fringes of Wall Street all weekend, gearing up for tomorrows attempt at shutting down the machine. It seems uncertain how they will pull it off, but I guess we'll have to wait and see.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Recent Reports
In addition to my last entry I have to add that I managed to interview the friends of Mark Duggan, who was slain by the police prior to the riots. Venturing out to Broadwater Farm Estate was a bit of a mission, given the fact that London looks like a maze to me. When the BBC rolled up they were told to get the hell out, but for some reason I was told to stick around.
Another story that got me excited was watching broadcaster and community leader Darcus Howe get snubbed by Fiona Armstrong, a lame anchor at the BBC, over his comments regarding the riots. I decided to head down to his house and hear him rant some more, which I enjoyed a lot. Both stories were picked up and published by Vice Magazine's blog Viceland.
Burning, Looting and Laughing: Riots of Fun
The morning after the London Riots I wandered the streets of Hackney in east London to see if everything was cool at my mother in laws house. Along Mare Street, in the business district most of you saw busted up and set ablaze on TV the night before, I was shocked to find hundreds of people banding together, sweeping up glass, boarding up windows and one man re-paving a sidewalk. Charred cars were being hauled away. It was sunny in the early morning; the fresh scent of sweat, frustration and ultimately boredom lingered in the air.
The killing of 29-year-old Mark Duggan by the metropolitan police in Tottenham, north London gave way to a peaceful protest that corroded into a nasty riot on August 6, but the ripple effect of carnage that fanned out across the UK was the screeching of another beast entirely. I love how major news networks across the U.S. and elsewhere have spent the last week trying to drum up a reason for the burning and looting that has lead to the arrest of over 2,700 young people in the comedown after such cranked up urban mayhem, from London to Birmingham and Manchester.
Prime Minister Cameron was pleased with the long arm of the law hammering hard on those involved saying, “What happened on our streets was absolutely appalling behavior and to send a very clear message that it’s wrong and won’t be tolerated is what the criminal justice system should be doing.”
While some offenses are more drastic than others, such as a teenager killing 68-year-old Richard Mannington Bowes in Ealing, west London, the majority of the rioters were hauled in for smashing up storefronts and burning cars. Yes these are terrible acts, but should the British justice system overstep its Fixed-Penalty Notice (FNP) implemented last year, where anyone caught shoplifting less than £200 ($330.00) of stolen items would be fined £80 ($132.00) by the police if caught? Without absolute proof of who stole what the courts will have to endure a long legal battle to prosecute those involved and to what degree of criminal activity they partook in.
Many of these kids semi-coordinated the siege of department stores like Footlocker using BlackBerry Messenger, an encrypted messaging platform that is free of charge with every BlackBerry. Their motives were not of political protest; they wore designer jeans and sneakers while looting electronic shops for iPhones and flat-screen TVs, the better stuff. As politicians ask about the accountability of parents throughout the riots they fail to understand that many of these neighborhoods have young working class parents under 30-years-old who, given their social demographic, work long hours and odd hours, often juggling multiple jobs to make ends meet. Watching their kids is perhaps a low priority given our trying times. By no means is this a full on race issue. It is an issue of social hierarchy, a political system that is laced with corruption and very out of touch with the youth in the UK.
Cameron, whose vacation in Sardinia was cut short over the riots, went as far to suggest the deactivation of Facebook and Twitter to suppress more rioting, as if he could.
“Everyone watching these horrific actions will be struck by how they were organized via social media,” he said. “Free flow of information can be used for good. But it can also be used for ill.”
Last time I checked this was the UK and not Iran, where the June 2009 demonstrations in Tehran were broadcasted beyond the censored Iranian state-run television to the world by daring folks who used social media. To even attempt to shut down these websites is a technical challenge apart from an infringement of liberty.
“So we are working with the Police, the intelligence services and industry to look at whether it would be right to stop people communicating via these websites and services when we know they are plotting violence, disorder and criminality” Cameron added.
On August 9, 16,000 police, including some from Manchester, patrolled London awaiting more riots that never came…well just not there. Birmingham and Manchester had their turn to burn that night where police were outstretched again by bored young teens of all races that took to looting for the sheer lust of it all, many knowing they would only serve a six month jail sentence for a first offence if caught. Parliament was slow to react to all of these riots, even deliberation over the use of water cannons long after the locust swarm of looting peaked.
The Office of National Statistics (ONS) released figures yesterday stating unemployment rose 38,000 in the three months leading up to June and 2.49 million people are jobless. Some theorists, think-tankers and economists would speculate the have-nots rioted over unemployment, but judging from those involved it appears it was all out of fun and because the kids finally realized they outnumbered and technologically outsmarted the police. This is why the streets were quiet the morning after the boroughs of Brixton, Clapham and Hackney rioted in London. There was no need to riot anymore. The kids got what they wanted, they won and were back to playing Grand Theft Auto, except now on their new gadgets and flat screen TVs at least until their doors are kicked in.
The killing of 29-year-old Mark Duggan by the metropolitan police in Tottenham, north London gave way to a peaceful protest that corroded into a nasty riot on August 6, but the ripple effect of carnage that fanned out across the UK was the screeching of another beast entirely. I love how major news networks across the U.S. and elsewhere have spent the last week trying to drum up a reason for the burning and looting that has lead to the arrest of over 2,700 young people in the comedown after such cranked up urban mayhem, from London to Birmingham and Manchester.
Prime Minister Cameron was pleased with the long arm of the law hammering hard on those involved saying, “What happened on our streets was absolutely appalling behavior and to send a very clear message that it’s wrong and won’t be tolerated is what the criminal justice system should be doing.”
While some offenses are more drastic than others, such as a teenager killing 68-year-old Richard Mannington Bowes in Ealing, west London, the majority of the rioters were hauled in for smashing up storefronts and burning cars. Yes these are terrible acts, but should the British justice system overstep its Fixed-Penalty Notice (FNP) implemented last year, where anyone caught shoplifting less than £200 ($330.00) of stolen items would be fined £80 ($132.00) by the police if caught? Without absolute proof of who stole what the courts will have to endure a long legal battle to prosecute those involved and to what degree of criminal activity they partook in.
Many of these kids semi-coordinated the siege of department stores like Footlocker using BlackBerry Messenger, an encrypted messaging platform that is free of charge with every BlackBerry. Their motives were not of political protest; they wore designer jeans and sneakers while looting electronic shops for iPhones and flat-screen TVs, the better stuff. As politicians ask about the accountability of parents throughout the riots they fail to understand that many of these neighborhoods have young working class parents under 30-years-old who, given their social demographic, work long hours and odd hours, often juggling multiple jobs to make ends meet. Watching their kids is perhaps a low priority given our trying times. By no means is this a full on race issue. It is an issue of social hierarchy, a political system that is laced with corruption and very out of touch with the youth in the UK.
Cameron, whose vacation in Sardinia was cut short over the riots, went as far to suggest the deactivation of Facebook and Twitter to suppress more rioting, as if he could.
“Everyone watching these horrific actions will be struck by how they were organized via social media,” he said. “Free flow of information can be used for good. But it can also be used for ill.”
Last time I checked this was the UK and not Iran, where the June 2009 demonstrations in Tehran were broadcasted beyond the censored Iranian state-run television to the world by daring folks who used social media. To even attempt to shut down these websites is a technical challenge apart from an infringement of liberty.
“So we are working with the Police, the intelligence services and industry to look at whether it would be right to stop people communicating via these websites and services when we know they are plotting violence, disorder and criminality” Cameron added.
On August 9, 16,000 police, including some from Manchester, patrolled London awaiting more riots that never came…well just not there. Birmingham and Manchester had their turn to burn that night where police were outstretched again by bored young teens of all races that took to looting for the sheer lust of it all, many knowing they would only serve a six month jail sentence for a first offence if caught. Parliament was slow to react to all of these riots, even deliberation over the use of water cannons long after the locust swarm of looting peaked.
The Office of National Statistics (ONS) released figures yesterday stating unemployment rose 38,000 in the three months leading up to June and 2.49 million people are jobless. Some theorists, think-tankers and economists would speculate the have-nots rioted over unemployment, but judging from those involved it appears it was all out of fun and because the kids finally realized they outnumbered and technologically outsmarted the police. This is why the streets were quiet the morning after the boroughs of Brixton, Clapham and Hackney rioted in London. There was no need to riot anymore. The kids got what they wanted, they won and were back to playing Grand Theft Auto, except now on their new gadgets and flat screen TVs at least until their doors are kicked in.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Journalists Freed!
Bill Clinton is pretty awesome. He secretly traveled to North Korea yesterday to ask for the pardon of Euna Lee and Laura Ling. Two hours ago they arrived in Los Angeles, free and in The United States. It's amazing that this happened, that they didn't get sent to a hard labor camp or worse. The Two Current TV journalists were captured on March 17 and have spent the last 140 days imprisoned in North Korea. This success is what all jailed, captured and killed journalists should receive from the American government when they're overseas on assignments. Former Vice President Al Gore (who is also the co-founder of Current TV)and President Bill Clinton worked for months to bring these women home. This is a positive news story, a happy ending. That's all for today folks. Welcome home Euan Lee and Laura Ling!
Monday, August 3, 2009
Moving through changes
July was a blur. I didn't even pay attention to the news after Sarah Palin stepped down. I am becoming obsessed with her career and lack-there-of. A lot has happened in the world over the past four week. Obama had a beer with the Sgt that wrongfully arrested that Harvard professor. Writers, talking heads and critics all took shots at what happened, calling it race related and a misunderstanding. I don't really care about these types of issues. I think that race is a bogus word. Apparently Argentina, a country that I love, has a lot of Swine Flu. But at the moment it is cold. I moved to San Francisco today and the windows at the apartment I am staying at are wide open. And there is just this rush of cold in the air.
TV is a 24/7 cartoon marathon, where no one looks away and everyone takes it seriously. I think this blog is going to serve now as more of a severely critical rant about the state of Planet. I also plan to write hypocritically, sparing not even myself from the cracking whip. So if you're still with me, you're still following this blog of nonsense, well then I praise you, because now, things are going to get weird.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Death of the King
Michael Jackson has died today. I can't believe it. His music, his image and coveted dance moves will surpass his physical being. It's shocking to know that at 50 years old he died and how quickly it happened. The media is still out on what really happened. There hasn't been a press conference yet with his family or the doctors, but in this moment what is true is that someone, whose face is recognizable in every far flung corner of the earth, has died.
He was the reigning, self-proclaimed, King of Pop and his music will continue to be played, especially today while millions of people are both in shock and in mourning. My initial experience with Michael Jackson came when I watched that wild video for "Remember the time," when he morphs from a panther into himself and has a naughty fling with the princess of some Egyptian King (who was played by Eddie Murphy). The video was totally crazy all the way up to the ending when he busts his trademark spin move and vanishes into sand, while guards are in hot pursuit of him.
His sudden death is unfortunate, with a summer tour on the way and what could have been a big return to the stage and to fans across the globe. I'm certain that this weekend will be one filled with his music in every bar, club or party.
Michael Jackson and his single glove will be no more, he gave us the moon-walk and his legacy will remain timeless.
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