Would you harbor me?

Grim toll: A 100-metre long list containing the names of 17,306 migrants who have died attempting to reach Europe since 1993 was unfurled at the entrance of the European Parliament in April
Source

#dontletthemdrown 

"Would You Harbor Me?" -Dr. Ysaye Barnwell; Sweet Honey in the Rock. 

Would you harbor me? 

Would I harbor you? 

Would you harbor me? 

Would I harbor you? 

Would you harbor a Christian, a Muslim, a Jew 

a heretic, convict or spy? 

Would you harbor a run away woman, or child, 

a poet, a prophet, a king? 

Would you harbor an exile, or a refugee, a person living with AIDS? 

Would you harbor a Tubman, a Garrett, A Truth 

a fugitive or a slave? 

Would you harbor a Haitian, Korean or Czech, 

a lesbian or a gay? 

Would you harbor me? 

Would I harbor you? 

Would you harbor me? 

Would I harbor you? 

from Safe House: Still Looking by Y.M. Barnwell www.ymbarnwell.com www.sweethoney.com

Body washed up on the beach in Libya. - The Mediterranean’s grim tide

Source 

For blackberry, read Blackberry.

 Where is modern ¨culture¨ leading?

 From the extraordinary article by Robert McFarlane:

Under pressure, Oxford University Press revealed a list of the entries it no longer felt to be relevant to a modern-day childhood. The deletions included acorn, adder, ash, beech, bluebell, buttercup, catkin, conker, cowslip, cygnet, dandelion, fern, hazel, heather, heron, ivy, kingfisher, lark, mistletoe, nectar, newt, otter, pasture and willow. The words taking their places in the new edition included attachment, block-graph, blog, broadband, bullet-point, celebrity, chatroom, committee, cut-and-paste, MP3 player and voice-mail. As I had been entranced by the language preserved in the prose‑poem of the “Peat Glossary”, so I was dismayed by the language that had fallen (been pushed) from the dictionary. For blackberry, read Blackberry.

Just as the Inuit have multiple words to describe ¨snow¨, McFarlane has been collecting place words and unusual terms for natural phenomena.

Ammil is a Devon term for the thin film of ice that lacquers all leaves, twigs and grass blades when a freeze follows a partial thaw, and that in sunlight can cause a whole landscape to glitter.

Shetlandic has a word, pirr, meaning “a light breath of wind, such as will make a cat’s paw on the water”.  

. . .a caochan, for instance, is “a slender moor-stream obscured by vegetation such that it is virtually hidden from sight”, while a feadan is “a small stream running from a moorland loch”, and a fèith is “a fine vein-like watercourse running through peat, often dry in the summer”.

In response, Blogger Risa Stephanie Bair composed a beautiful poem, which I can only suppose according to Oxford, present/future children will have no need or ability to understand.

 A Path

Along the new trail, built by no one I knew,
acorns had fallen by thousands, more than enough
to leave creatures dazed by too much fortune.

Conkers have tumbled among them, each
experimentally chipped and then rejected
by some set of tiny teeth. Hazel nuts

were better, it seems. Should an adder pass en route
to denning, amid this rich mast, amid
this late fall of goldened leaves of ash

and beech, I might merely step aside,
unalarmed as any fattened squirrel.
Across the pasture, I remember, past

the partly shaded ferns, cowslips, bluebells,
buttercups of spring and summer, where
falling water, catkin-patterned, drowned out

the cygnet's cry in an otter's teeth (witnessed
by a kingfisher, two low-flying larks and a heron),
a willow had leaned to hide that tiny sorrow

and also shade a loafing spotted newt.
The hill behind, where bees sought nectar of a kind
from sunburnt heather, swept up to a copse of oak,

wrapped in a druid's dream of mistletoe and ivy.
There I had paused for dandelion wine.
Perhaps the trail will help some find this place.

My children, do not forget there is a world.

Small Business Saturday

I am not a shopper.  And I am appalled that the American fetish for mindless consumption has been imported over here.   But if you have a long Christmas list, consider patronizing your local crafts and businesses.  It´s more important than ever that money circulate in our neighborhoods and towns.

Una Granja para el Futuro

This is a lovely (Devon is gorgeous) and important documentary on the future of farming from the BBC.  Now a link with Spanish subtitles!

Wendell Berry: Poet and Prophet

Two national treasures - Bill Moyers and Wendell Berry.

¨To make a living, is not to make a killing.  It is to have enough.¨

Wendell Berry: Poet and Prophet from BillMoyers.com on Vimeo.

Ethical Banking

Why does that sound like an oxymoron?  Spanish National TV ran an interesting documentary during the holidays on the increasing popularity of ´Ethical¨ banking:

. . .Triodos Bank, FIARE-Banca Etica or Coop57 are an alternative to conventional banks for those people and organizations who are looking for a responsible use for their money in line with their own values.  According to data from the Observatory of Ethical Finances, in 2011 there were 575 million euros in deposits and some 600 million in loans.  The financial models offered within the range of institutions called ethical banking have different origins and goals but coincide in fundamental aspects:  instead of speculation, they promote the real economy in a more immediate setting, they practice transparency by publishing all their investments, and orient their operations toward social and economic benefits.¨

These organizations are not without their own critics, but it was an interesting introduction to an interesting social phenomenon.  In Spanish.

I can only assume this was produced before the PPers staged their purge of RTVE or their cronies in the banking system would have quashed it.

For more info:

Triodos Bank
FIARE
Coop57

Documentos TV - Finanzas éticas

• Documentos TV - Finanzas éticas

Making a Living

I´ve been focusing on job-related stuff lately. Business cards too Dickensian? Linked in instead? Facebook? Tweeter? Resumes, forums, blogs, social media, selling yourself, marketing, positioning, strategizing, honing, targeting. Glossy websites with endless photos of smiling manequins bathed in the cool glow of computer screens and artfully seated around shiny plastic conference tables.

And I happened across a new blog - Of the Hands. Joel is working on a farm with a CSA in the northwestern United States. He presents an interesting reflection on the difference between what´s thought of as making a living as opposed to having a job.

I’ve played this game. I worked in the electronics department at Fred Meyer, a general retailer here in the Northwest, doing a variety of jobs over the course of six years. I made an hourly wage and received benefits and this job allowed me to continue to legally live on this planet, in this society, and gave me the means to distract myself from the various ways in which my life failed to satisfy me. The job was a slot and I filled it. It didn’t particularly make me happy and it certainly didn’t provide me with fulfilling work. It was a means to an end–it was a job to be worked, not a living to be made.

I think of making a living as something different. In my mind, there’s more meaning to it. These days, I don’t want a job. I want to make a living. And there is a certain literality in that term. In making a living, I want to be making something and I want to be making my life. This is why, in the last few years, I’ve turned to farming. With farming, I’m helping to make food while simultaneously crafting a new sort of existence for myself. I am making meaning within my life and creating happiness and joy and a connection to the land upon and community within which I live. In as much as this is the case, I then gain satisfaction from my work.

I have spent a lot of time in cubicles shuffling papers. There was that brief flash of the dot.com revolution in the 90´s when it looked like creativity and individuality and bringing your dog to work might have a shot at succeeding, but that turned out to be all smoke and mirrors. But the job finding process has become completely ridiculous and adversarial. Writing a resume has devolved into an exercise in justifying your entire existance. The HR dept is looking for reasons to ¨screen¨ or reject any applicant. There are 30 minute interviews during which no one, neither the employer nor the potential employee gets any sense at all of what the job is or if either suits the other.

I think the process of applying for a job speaks to how inhumane many jobs are. You first find an open position that seems as though it might not be entirely soul-destroying, then put together a resume and write a cover letter for that job–which is, essentially, an act of advertising oneself, often in a whorish manner. Then you wait too long for a response that may or may not come and hope for an interview, which–should it even occur–will often lurch its way through awkward questions and suffer from anxiety and terrifying optimism, quiet desperation and need, and will almost certainly bear no resemblance to normal human interaction. . .

This is a horrid way to find work. Granted, I realize there are plenty of people out there who experience the above process in a more positive manner and there also are those who feed off the challenge of it. Even so, what is particularly human or humane about this process? There is rarely any sense of honesty or care to it, and it most often serves as a winnowing–a battle, a competition.

It seems to me there is profound consternation, that now even the cubicle drone jobs are disappearing. Spain has produced an entire generation of educated youth who stand ever-shrinking chances of finding ¨a paying job¨. Especially in the all-austerity-all-the-time world we live in. And yet, society is still focused with laser-like intensity on contemporary western lifestyles with the city/suburban flat, car, job commute, and electronic toys.

I think the ¨recortes¨ or cuts are going to be ever greater and arriving ever faster, and we´re going to have to reconisider what is generally regarded as a viable career. When we see V´s 20-something nieces and nephews, it´s hard to know what to say to them. They´re studying, and traveling and full of half-sketched plans to graduate and work, and perhaps emmigrate. But where? To do what? For whom?

Joel again:

In fact, I have little faith that a traditional job would provide me the sort of security that others think it would. I see us moving toward a future in which we will have dramatically less access to wealth and energy. In such a future, most of today’s retirement schemes will have ceased to exist but the sort of retirement scheme that has existed throughout most of human history–a base of knowledge and skills through which to prove and provide your worth–will be particularly relevant. So rather than build a 401k, I am learning how to grow food and raise animals, how to work the land, how to live with little money and energy, how to enjoy physical labor, how to be okay with extra blankets and less heat, how to entertain myself without benefit of TV or video games (cats work wonderfully in this regard, as do various kinds of poultry, as does observing and interacting with the land) and how to set up and piece together alternative energy systems. I am also learning to figure it out as I go, and I think that’s a skill that will be overwhelmingly useful in the near future.

I want to go north and get dirty (actually muddy because it´s finally raining again in Galicia) but instead I have to proofread my resume again.

Heads up US Expats

Bah humbug from the IRS.

The IRS is making a worldwide push to squeeze money from Americans living abroad and from anyone who holds dual citizenship, whether they know it or not. It doesn't matter if the "duals" want US status, have never set foot on US soil, or never conducted business with an American. It doesn't matter if those targeted owe a single cent to the IRS. Unlike almost every other nation in the world, the United States requires citizens living abroad to file tax forms on the money they do not owe as well as to report foreign bank accounts or holdings such as stocks or RSSPs. The possible penalty for not reporting is $10,000 per "disclosed asset" per year.

Also - From the Federal Register regarding US Passport holders and NEW BIOGRAPHICAL QUESTIONNAIRE for application and renewal. I read this in the comments section of the Automatic Earth and it looks legit to me. If you think it will take you more than their estimate of 85 minutes to come up with the names, addresses, and phone numbers of everywhere you ever went to school and every employer you´ve had in your entire life - read on.

My friend obtained the information from the National Register. As I understand, there are less than two months left for a response from the public (Jan. 3, 2012). If you, or your family plan to renew passports in the future, I would suggest you read every line in this new form. For some the form will be considered a major invasion of your personal privacy and for others it will present an impossible task to answer all of the questions accurately.

There are two attachments, one is the proposed application and the other explains the process and methods for sending comments to the U.S. government.

Here are the two attachments:

A) for a complete printout of the proposed form http://tinyurl.com/7e77jes

B) for the Dept of State's 60 day notice http://tinyurl.com/8ygpp3z

Here's a cut and paste of the methods to submit comments:

ADDRESSES: Back to Top

You may submit comments by any of the following methods:Show citation box

Email:PPTFormsOfficer@state.gov.Show citation box
Mail (paper, disk, or CD-ROM submissions): PPT Forms Officer, U.S. Department of State, 2100 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Room 3031, Washington, DC 20037.Show citation box
Fax: (202) 736-9202.Show citation box
Hand Delivery or Courier: PPT Forms Officer, U.S. Department of State, 2100 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Room 3031, Washington, DC 20037.Show citation box

You must include the DS form number (if applicable), information collection title, and OMB control number in any correspondence.

And finally,

¨I´ll believe that a corporation is a person when the State of Texas executes one.¨

More info on the Bernie Sanders ammendment reversing the Citizens United decision with a petition to sign for those of you stateside.

Democracia Real YA!

Photo Cristobal Manuel - El Pais

In case you hadn´t heard, there´s something going on in the plazas of Spain. Disaffected youth, seniors, pensioners, unemployed and assorted others have decided to gather and say they´re fed up with incompetent, corrupt and out-of-touch politicians of all stripes. Who could have predicted?

V and I and some of the family wandered around the city center last night to check out what was going on (it was packed), see the signage, and end up at a terraza to reminisce about the demonstrations of their youth (theirs not mine, Spain was more exciting than Wisconsin). There are nieces and nephews sleeping in the plaza in solidarity. So much for apathy amongst the gen-whatevers these days.

The Indignant, M-15 (ref. to the demonstrations May 15th) and Democracia Real Ya (Real Democracy Already) are amongst the groups participating. Since they´re careful to refrain from supporting/critisizing any one party, it´s a little unclear what the whole movement is about. Part of the fun in the Puerta del Sol is the real-time, open-mic airing of grievances that´s going on. But to try to get a handle on what they were about, I went to their Proposals page and found the following:

1. ELIMINATION OF THE PRIVILEGES OF THE POLITICAL CLASS:

* Strict control of absenteeism in their respective elected positions. Specific penalties for dereliction of duties.
* Rescinding of current privileges in paying taxes, years of contribution and the amount of pensions. Compensation to equal the average Spanish wage with only the additional expenses necessary for the execution of their duties.
* Elimination of immunity associated with post. Eliminate the statute of limitations on crimes of corruption.
* Mandatory disclosure of the assets of all public office holders.
* Reduce discretionary personal appointments to public office.

2. AGAINST UNEMPLOYMENT:

* Redistribution of hours worked, promoting reduction of the workday and reconciliation of employment until structural unemployment is eliminated(i.e. until unemployment falls below 5%).
* Retirement at 65 and no increase in the retirement age until youth unemployment is eliminated.
* Bonuses for companies with less than 10% temporary employment contracts.
* Job security: the impossibility of mass layoffs in large companies while there are profits, controls on large firms to ensure that temporary workers are not used to cover permanent positions.
* Reinstatement of the 426 € stipend for all long-term unemployed.

3. RIGHT TO HOUSING:

* State expropriation of existing, unsold housing stock for placement on the market as subsidized rental housing.
* Rental assistance for young and low income people.
* Foreclosure of a home will cancel the outstanding mortgage.

4. QUALITY PUBLIC SERVICES:

* Removal of unnecessary expenditure in public administration and establishment of independent monitoring of budgets and expenditures.
* Recruitment of health personnel to eliminate waiting lists.
* Recruitment of teachers to ensure the ratio of students per classroom, team teaching groups and support groups.
* Reduced cost of tuition for any university education, post graduate to equal graduate tuition.
* Public funding of research to ensure its independence.
* Affordable, quality, environmentally sustainable public transport, and restoration of the original prices for trains being replaced by the AVE, cheaper bus passes, restricting private car traffic in city centers, construction of bicycle lanes.
* Local Social resources: effective implementation of the Dependency Act(in-home care), local municipal caregivers networks, local mediation and mentoring services.

5. CONTROL OF BANKS:

* Prohibition of any kind of bailout or capital injection to banks: those institutions in difficulty should either fail or be nationalized to form a public bank under public control.
* Raise taxes on the banks in direct proportion to necessary social spending created by the crisis due to their mismanagement.
* Return all capital already provided to banks to the public purse.
* Prohibition of investment in tax havens by Spanish banks.
* Regulating sanctions on speculation and banking malpractice.

6. TAXATION:

* Increase the tax rate on large fortunes and banks.
* Elimination of SICAV funds. (C - From Wikipedia: In Spain, a SICAV is a public limited company whose object is to invest in financial assets. Sicavs possess great tax advantages, paying just 1% to the Treasury in corporate income tax (corporation tax))
* Reinstitution of the wealth tax.
* Real and effective control of tax evasion and capital flight to tax havens.
* Promoting international adoption of a tax on international transactions (Tobin tax).

7. FREEDOM AND PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY:

* No Internet control. Abolition of the Sinde Act.
* Protection of freedom of information and for investigative journalism.
* Mandatory and binding Referendums on the wide-ranging issues that impact the lives of citizens.
* Mandatory Referendums for all measures introduced by the European Union.
* Amendment of the Electoral Act to ensure a truly representative and proportional system that does not discriminate against any political or social force, where the blank ballots and invalid ballots also have representation in the legislature.
* Independence of the Judiciary: Reform of the Prosecutors Office to ensure their independence, no appointment of members of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Judicial Council by the Executive branch.
* Establishment of effective mechanisms to ensure internal democracy in political parties.

8. REDUCTION IN MILITARY SPENDING

All translation errors are mine.

As we made our way to the metro later, there were even more people, the crowd was at 24,000 according to the nightly news.

It will be interesting to see how this all progresses through next year when general elections are scheduled for March.

For more see:

South of Watford Especially for background on the internet/infringement Sinde Act.

and

The European Tribune for an economic angle from ManfromMiddletown