So Fresh and So Green

Photo Credit: awearnessblog.com

One thing that bothers me about getting emails from MoveOn.org is that they’re so needy. They always need money! Maybe that makes sense because they are a non-profit, progressive, public policy advocacy group and political action committee. They’ve managed to do a lot online and now they’re looking to get bodies out to this protest they’re having on Wall Street on Thursday.

Side note: I’ve taken a pic on that Wall Street bull before when I was a kid. It was cold and a little creepy, kind of like Wall Street itself in my opinion.

Here’s what MoveOn.org sent me:

“Right now politicians in Washington are making critical decisions about our economy: Are they going to let the big banks off the hook for ruining our economy or are they finally going to rein them in? (more…)

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Photo Credit: AP Photo

Laborers looking to help rebuild the World Trade Center are rallying to urge the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which controls the property, to make some progress in the rebuilding efforts. (more…)

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AP Photo: People hold buckets as they wait in line to fill them with water at a refugee camp in Port-au-Prince, Thursday, Jan. 21, 2010. International aid flowing into Haiti after last week's earthquake has been struggling with logistical problems, and many people are still desperate for food and water.

There’s been a lot of talk about the problems of Haiti as of late based on the current devastation and influx of aid the country.

I just want to put some thoughts out there on question “Why is Haiti so poor?”

In the media “Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere” is a common phrase used to punctuate reportage on Haiti.

Sadly this is sloppy journalism, ignorance about history and racism at play…perhaps even groundwork laying for aid loans and massive debts for Haiti.

Firstly when Haiti was first colonized by the French it was considered “the jewel of the crown” and the richest colony, bearing fruit for the French slave-holding rich and bourgeoisie.

So how does the “richest colony” become the “poorest country in the Western Hemisphere” a few centuries later? (more…)

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Are you Unemployed all non void? Looking for a job? Want to make a difference and/or a buck? The census is hiring.

The census counts every United States resident and takes place every 10 years. Information gathered affects how many representatives a communtiy gets in the House of Representatives and how much federal funding is released for hospitals, job training centers, schools, senior centers, bridges, tunnels and other-public works projects and emergency services.

My man Wakko takes ‘em to school on the state capitals. Truly a classic…

Working for the census can get you part-time “short-term jobs [that] offer good pay, flexible hours, paid training, and reimbursement for authorized work-related expenses, such as mileage incurred while conducting census work. Best of all, census takers work right in their own communities.”

Maybe it’s not your dream job or you want something with security and benefits but while you’re working on that you could do this. It’s nationwide so you can sign up wherever you are.

Literally hundreds of thousands are needed for these temporary jobs because it’s a big country with a lot of people to be counted. You can make sure everyone in your community is counted and it’s a plus if you’re bilingual.

What does this have to do with the environment? What’s greener than money? Get you some…
2010.census.gov

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Are you unemployed, all non void? If you are chances are you are a male. This great recession is being called a “he-cession” by some due to the staggering levels of male unemployment this time around.

The loss of male dominated industries like manufacturing is considered a major cause for this. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics gives us more information on who theses males are and surprise surprise many of them are Black males.

Maybe you and I don’t need stats to tell us this but these studies can be necessary, particularly when dealing with government funded aid when race is involved, to “justify” the release of funds to specific groups. Anyway, it’s good to be informed.

Lest you find yourself in danger of viewing young Black males as an abstract group of people you can’t relate to Pac Div has decided to let you know what their plight is from the horse’s mouth. This song was more surprising than these stats for me and didn’t sound like what I thought it would based on what I heard from them before and the title.

I like these guys. They don’t sound like what I knew the West Coast to sound like years ago which is what new, younger artists should do. Not only do they change who they sound like to me from track to track, they talk about things a regular person can relate too. Imagine that a rap song with lyrics you can relate to- Outrageous!

Many Black males were unemployed, like TV show patriarch James Evans was, during the “good times” this country had so when the economy takes a dive even more Black males are unemployed right along with those who haven’t been employed in years. (more…)

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The economy is in trouble, but we already knew that. So what’s new? Well, 144 top economists were surveyed by the New York University School of Law and most agree climate change is a threat to the United States and the global economy.

84% of those surveyed agreed the effects of greenhouse gases on the environment present a “clear and present danger” to those economies.

Most also agreed the sectors hardest hit would be the agriculture, followed by fishing and forestry.

This may sound harmless but if agriculture takes a serious hit we will have problems feeding ourselves… I mean even more than the problems we are currently having feeding ourselves.

Economists’ responses to the statement: “The environmental effects of greenhouse-gas emissions, as described by leading scientific experts, create significant risks to important sectors of the United States and global economy.”

Senators continue to debate whether or not climate change is a threat. Sadly is seems we are still in the Bush era of fact equals opinion, particularly when it comes to science.

So what about a solution? (more…)

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Photo Credit: “5th Avenue” by Tracy Collins

The jobless rate in the United States for October has hit 10.2%. For some reason people are only just now deciding to calculate the number of unemployed persons working part time jobs who would rather be working fulltime jobs and those who have given up on looking for work.

Why are they so late? These are the only kind of numbers anyone should be dealing with in the first place because it gives a much more accurate picture of what is going on now.

According to the NY Times:

“In all, more than one out of every six workers — 17.5 percent — were unemployed or underemployed in October. The previous recorded high was 17.1 percent, in December 1982.”

Sadly, I wonder if these numbers are coming out now to show some type of incompetence on President Obama’s part. One op ed even called for President Obama to stop blaming Bush and get us out of this mess. Whoever wrote that op ed has a job so how much could I possibly care what they have to say about that.

It’s ironic all of this celebration of NY State with Jay-Z, Alicia Keyes, the Yankees and the complete disconnect between all of that and the people. My adventures in unemployment land have been numerous with my last bout of unemployment in NY State being the most, shall we say exciting. (more…)

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Photo Credit: “tangerine” by Tracy Collins

This Halloween I tried to figure out what I thought would be the scariest thing I could think of and for me Saw 6 doesn’t even register. Neither does a plastic jack-o-lantern of nature’s candy.

For me being “unemployed all non void” would rank pretty high at the top of my list. I came across this list on careerbuilder.com, which has helped me build my career, of 10 Companies Hiring for the Holidays. Here’s your opportunity to finally be a wrapper, the kind that wraps Christmas presents not the kind that “has been relentless in the pursuit of his dreams” whatever that means…

In case you were wondering I do consider this “green” because hey what’s greener than money?

10 Companies Hiring for the Holidays

Happy Halloween!

If you like it then you shoulda put a bookmark on it!