Last night, 9 March, our Socrates Café met at The Loop Coffee House on West 11th street in Tremont.

The question we pulled from the jar was:

What are the current reasons for social events such as Bar Mitzvahs, baby showers, house warming parties, etc.?

As usual, the discussion ranged far and wide but settled on three points:

That the social events are consumerist, a way for people to acquire stuff;

That they are a vehicle to allow far-spread social groups to come together face-to-face; and finally

That the events are power structures imposed by organizations to exploit and maintain control systems in a community.

Last evening I was firmly in the first camp, it’s all about the stuff, but this morning I’m leaning also toward the third suggestion that life-cycle events – births, rights-of passage, marriages, births of children and death are exploited by both religious and commerce organizations as a way to benefit those organizations.

What do you think?

If you’ve had a morning-after thought, or if you missed our gathering and would like to throw in your two-cents worth, please enter the conversation and leave a comment here.

Roldo Bartimole writes:

I’ve got a bridge to sell you. Cheap. Just send along a big check. We’ll tell you how helpful it was some time in the future.

Mayor Frank Jackson and City Council are ready to give $1.1 million to Nehst Studios to help finance three movies the company expects to make in just over a year, according to a piece by Jay Miller of Crain’s Cleveland Business. It’s a loan that will allow Nehst to arrange $11 million in financing.

(PLEASE, CITY OFFICIALS, SAVE THIS $1.1 MILLION AND SEND SOMEONE OVER TO THE CASINO WHEN IT’S BUILT. BET IT ON SOMETHING. MAKES BETTER BUSINESS SENSE.)

I wonder who at City Hall has the expertise to invest more than a million bucks on some Hollywood (made in Cleveland) movies. Oh, hell, details, details. Continue Reading »

Roldo Bartimole writes:

Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich is being singled out to change his vote on President Barack Obama’s health reform measure. President Obama himself pitched to Kucinich, telling him a form of single-payer option – Kucinich’s desire – is in the reform bill.

Kucinich was a no vote on the measure that passed the House. He has been pressing for an ideal single-payer measure.

Kucinich has the reputation of being a politician with strong beliefs. He has also been a rather selfish politician who thinks of his standing when making his decisions.

His intransigence not only endangers health reform – weakened as it is – but damages the Obama administration and possibly Democrats in general for the coming election.

The delayed health reform battle has set back President Obama’s ability to deal with the jobs and other issues. Republicans have denied Obama a single vote in the U. S. Senate in an attempt to fatally damage his presidency.

Rep. Bernie Sanders told the Huffington Post that he had talked to Kucinich, albeit “a while back,” about his provision that gives states the ability to provide a single-payer option using federal funds to do so.

The article said that President Obama directly addressed Kucinich’s concern about lack of a single-payer aspect, telling him a form was in the bill and that the Congressman “wrote it down.”

Dennis and a few other Democrats – mostly more conservative ones – are holding up health insurance for some 40 million people and many others facing a jobless future without health insurance.

Democrats want to pass a revised health bill under circumstances that allow the U.S. Senate, which has already passed a bill (as has the House) to dodge a Republican filibuster. A revised Senate bill from the House would require only 50 Senate votes. Democrats believe they can produce 50 votes.

C’mon Dennis, let’s not be your usual selfish self and think about the general good.

Tim Russo also weighs in on Kucinich and the Health Care Bill…

Please donate… Get very cool art…

So the secretive and very paranoid State Peace and Development Council (aka, Myanmar’s military dictators) pass election laws but fails to publish them. Are they perhaps on display in the cellar with the lights gone in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying Beware of the Leopard?

From the BBC:

Burma’s military government has passed long-awaited election laws which pave the way for polls expected this year.

Details of the laws have not yet been revealed but they are likely to include issues such as campaigning and the number of candidates per constituency.

No date has been given for the polls, although the junta has previously said the elections will be held this year.

Is everything clear now?

Roldo Bartimole writes:

The Plain Dealer’s Michelle Jarboe reported this morning about the troubled downtown commercial properties in: Commercial real estate’s challenges are apparent in downtown Cleveland corridor. Empty and emptying buildings. It’s a shame.

Yet the Plain Dealer – with business and political leaders – has been pushing for more and more subsidies to build new. That’s just one of the major reasons there are so many empty buildings. We are helping to create excess.

You can’t build new when you can’t even keep the old relevant.

At the same time retail and commercial properties go into foreclosure Cleveland political leaders are using hefty subsidies Continue Reading »

Roldo Bartimole writes:

The Cleveland Corporate Corrupters had a big meeting yesterday. They’re already deciding how to spend tens of millions of dollars we don’t have.

It’s an act of piracy seldom defined by the mass media. The media simply play it as “that’s the way things are done” apparently.

No other voices need be raised. The PD, our major source of information, doesn’t have the imagination to even prompt dissent or an alternative view. It’s not in the mass media’s DNA.

One of the greatest needs in Cleveland is a new Public Square, according to these masters of the county’s universe. These people Continue Reading »

From the BBC:

A large space rock may have exploded over Antarctica thousands of years ago, showering a large area with debris, according to new research.

The evidence comes from accumulations of tiny meteoritic particles and a layer of extraterrestrial dust found in Antarctic ice cores.

Details of the work were presented at a major science conference in Texas.

The event would have been similar to the Tunguska event, which flattened a large area of Siberian forest in 1908.

Or something else?

Burma VJ Director Anders Ostergaard was on NPR’s Talk Of The Nation this afternoon. I’m fascinated by the rise of the documentary in Oscar season. When movie goers begin to take a real interest in the real world that is good for all of us. As political as it may seem, Inglorious Bastards is still entertainment.

From ‘Burma VJ’: Documenting The Saffron Revolution:

An anonymous group risked imprisonment and possible torture to smuggle footage out of Myanmar for the world to see.

Director Anders Ostergaard pieced the footage together to create his Oscar-nominated documentary, Burma VJ.

“It took a little while to figure out how to make a film in Burma,” Ostergaard tells host Neal Conan. “And then we realized,” Ostergaard continues, “there was this phenomenon of citizen journalists, which were all organized by a satellite station based in Oslo, Norway, which is next to where I live in Denmark.”

Ostergaard met up with several of the journalists in Bangkok, where they gathered for security training. There, he met Joshua, who became the central character in Burma VJ.

You can listen to the full 17 minute and 14 second broadcast at the Talk Of The Nation website.

From Haaretz:

The Israel Defense Forces called off a raid in Palestinian territory after a soldier posted details, including the time and place, on the social networking website Facebook, Army Radio reported on Wednesday.

The soldier – since relieved of combat duty – described in a status update how his unit planned a “clean-up” arrest raid in a West Bank area, Army Radio said.

“On Wednesday we clean up Qatanah, and on Thursday, god willing, we come home,” the soldier wrote on his Facebook page, refering to a West Bank village near Ramallah.

The soldier also disclosed the name of the combat unit, the place of the operation and the time it will take place. Facebook friends then reported him to military authorities.

Surely the Palestinians don’t use Facebook, right?

Their blog, their rules.

It’s been nice knowing you Change.org.

From an email this afternoon:

Jeff Hess,

Your comment on the blog entry entitled ‘KKK Holds Rally in Georgia Against “Latino Invasion”‘ has been removed from the Immigrant Rights community on Change.org by an administrator.

—————————————————————
REASON: This comment has been deleted again for being off-topic. The post in question does not in any way reference students. We suggest leaving your comment on the post that references what you describe. Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the ideas covered in the posts. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; that contain ad hominem attacks; or that are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion.
—————————————————————

If you have any questions please read the Terms of Service or contact us at help@change.org.

- Change.org

Content removed
————————————
Shalom Alex,

I take offense at the implication that any one, like myself, who thinks the students are on the wrong path, is somehow on par with the kkk.

I detail my thinking on Have Coffee Will Write.

B’shalom,

Jeff

Since this was my second attempt at posting, I can’t say I’m surprised.

Needless to say I’ve removed Change.org from my blog reading cycle and unsubscribed from its email updates.

From the Associated Press:

The guest lists for President Barack Hussein Obama’s series of lunches with corporate CEOs.

Feb. 3, 2010, with President Obama, senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, chief of staff Rahm Emanuel economic adviser Larry Summers.

-Tom Wilson, The Allstate Corp.
-Ken Chenault, American Express Co.
-John Chambers, Cisco Systems Inc.
-Frederick Smith, FedEx Corp.
-Ken Powell, General Mills, Inc.
-William Weldon, Johnson & Johnson
-David Mackay, Kellogg Co.
-Steve Ballmer, Microsoft Corp.
-Richard Dugas, Pulte Homes Inc.
-Jeff Bewkes, Time Warner Inc.

Jan. 26, 2010, with Obama, Jarrett, Emanuel, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Summers.

-Mort Zuckerman, Boston Properties Inc.
-Ed Rust, State Farm Insurance Cos.
-Shelly Lazarus, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide
-Jim Hackett, Anadarko Petroleum Corp.
-Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase & Co.
-Rex Tillerson, ExxonMobil Corp.

Oct. 8, 2009, with Obama, Jarrett and Emanuel

-Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Inc.
-Antonio Perez, Eastman Kodak Co.
-Lew Hay, FPL Group Inc.
-Irene Rosenfeld, Kraft Foods Inc.

July 31, 2009, with Obama and Jarrett

-Daniel DiMicco, Nucor Corp.
-Howard Schultz, Starbucks Corp.
-Ivan Seidenberg, Verizon Communications Inc.
-Mike Duke, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (My favorite, JH)

June 25, 2009, with Obama and Jarrett

-Muhtar Kent, The Coca-Cola Co.
-David Cote, Honeywell International Inc.
-Randall Stephenson, AT&T Inc.
-Ursula Burns, Xerox Corp.

I count three women on the list (Jill?). I wonder what it would be like if President Barack Hussein Obama were to randomly select one hourly worker from each of these corporations and invite them to a lunch?

1156: Women’s eNews New Column: MomsAgenda

[Update at 1139 on 3 March] 1645: KKK Holds Rally in Georgia Against “Latino Invasion”

0724: “The Jackson Whites” Also @ 0740.

[Update at 0641 on 3 March: Please see comments for an important note.]

0931: Women’s eNews New Column: MomsAgenda

It’s been a busy week in Wally World: the Universe’s source of cheap plastic crap. On The Writing On The Wal — the blog USA Today says should be on its readers’ radar — Jonathan Rees and I continue our work dedicated to drawing back the curtain on the Bentonvile Behemoth’s corporate disinformation and other flackery.

SEROQUEL, SERTRALINE, WHO KNEW…? Clearly the pharmacist at Todd Beathard’s Walmart had no George Bailey to watch over business. Should Beathard have been more careful? Have checked the label or even compared the pills against the picture in The Pill Book or an online source? Perhaps. Do you? Keep reading…

WILL WALMART SAVE THE SMALL FARM…? Cleveland is getting hammered by snow this morning, so I’m posting on the fly. I’ll read the entire Atlantic article at home and post more tomorrow. The Atlantic is a trusted publication, but I am skeptical. For now, here’s the accompanying video. Keep reading…

THE VIEW FROM A WALMART PARKING LOT… If you want to see and speak with a lot of people at any one time, you could a lot worse than standing in any Walmart parking lot as the anonymous Lexington did. Speaking with a lot of people, however, is not the same as speaking with a representative sample. Keep reading…

IS WALMART GETTING FOOD RIGHT…? I read The Atlantic story I posted about yesterday. Based on Cory Kummers words, I’d say he’s giving Walmart a C+/B- for its grocery aisles. I fault him for focusing so narrowly and not asking how Walmart helped to get us where we are today. Keep reading…

FABRIC, AMMO AND BOBBERS… Full-disclosure warning: there is no credible evidence that Walmart intends to stop selling fishing supplies in its stores. Having said that, in rural and small town America there is perhaps no more popular male pastime than fishing. Keep reading…

OH, YOU WANT STRAIGHT TALK…!
Marketers are famous for selecting names and phrases that they believe will inspire confidence and comfort among consumers of their products, and the strategy normally works. Walmart’s Straight Talk cell phone service, however, is blowing up. Keep reading…

THE CHRISTIAN THING TO DO…? This story bears much deeper consideration than this video, but I want to get it out there so that we can all consider and commet. I don’t know how many ministers there are in Chicago, but 200 is not a number you lightly dismiss. Keep reading…

What a time for Andrew Sullivan to be on vacation.

Sully’s able assistant Patrick Appel, however, notes this very Catholic announcement.

Normally I allow Ralph Solonitz’s political cartoons to stand on their own, but this morning I want to make sure people read the story in the The Nation that he links to.

I’ve read Representative Ron Paul’s book, (R-Texas) and while I recognize that his wheels leave the tracks in a number of places, his underlying message is spot on. In calling for transparecy in the Federal banking system, Paul said on the floor of Congress:

Since its inception, the Federal Reserve has always operated in the shadows, without sufficient scrutiny or oversight of its operations. While the conventional excuse is that this is intended to reduce the Fed’s susceptibility to political pressures, the reality is that the Fed acts as a foil for the government. Whenever you question the Fed about the strength of the dollar, they will refer you to the Treasury, and vice versa. The Federal Reserve has, on the one hand, many of the privileges of government agencies, while retaining benefits of private organizations, such as being insulated from Freedom of Information Act requests.

Paul is joined in his opposition to the current set of tracks laid down for the Fed by Senator Barry Sanders (D-Vermont):

Sanders’s audit-the-Fed bill, which mirrors that of Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), already has 30 co-sponsors in the Senate, spanning the political spectrum from California liberal Barbara Boxer to South Carolina conservative Jim DeMint. The increased media attention sparked by a drawn-out confirmation debate could inspire more support for the measure, which Bernanke is lobbying hard against.

A coalition of activists from the left and right is working to make sure that’s the case. Jumping on the news of Sanders’s hold, Campaign for America’s Future, a progressive group, blasted out a copy of a letter sent to senators Wednesday urging them to delay Bernanke’s confirmation until they pass audit-the-Fed legislation.

The signatories make up a mind-bending group: on the right, conservative kingpin Grover Nordquist and Phyllis Schlafly; on the left, liberal economist Dean Baker and Jane Hamsher — founder of the liberal Firedoglake blog, who just launched an attack on the anti-abortion Stupak amendment.

“In the last two years, the Federal Reserve Board has lent several trillion dollars to banks and other private companies, financial and non-financial institutions through a series of special lending facilities,” the letter says. “At this point, neither the public nor members of Congress has any information about who benefited from these loans, guarantees, and swap arrangements….

“Without this audit, Congress lacks the information it needs to evaluate Mr. Bernanke’s performance.”

How’s your coffee this morning?