Tiananmen Square

I wish I was the Tank Man. I really, really want to know what happened to him.

Fiscal Manifestations

As I sit in Starbucks reading back issues of The Economist (from November 29th to December 5th 2008) I am surprised. As I read about the financial catastrophy from my seat, 9 months into the future, I am very surprised. In September of last year I traveled to Iceland on a whim, to soak in the soothing, ethereal waters of the Blue Lagoon and watch geysers explode. We did not know the Icelandic Krona was only weeks, even days away from complete collapse. In June, my sister planned a trip to London from the U.S. and I thought about moving back to the U.S. at the end of the year. In the passage of my daily life, there were hints that the world economy was unwell. The collapse of Northern Rock in the summer, the drop in retails sales...But I did not think this would have led to the catastrophic headlines of hundreds and hundreds of bankers losing their jobs, of New Labour slashing interest rates by 1.5%, of the bankruptcy of Iceland.

Apparently, other people did.

When Northern Rock was having so much trouble at the beginning of 2008, the British government subsidized them so they wouldn't go under, dragging other banks with them. I didn't understand this back when it happened. So one bank mismanaged their money - what does that have to do with other banks? Now I see. It was about confidence. People see a bank going under and they think their money is unsafe. But why didn't anyone take that as a red flag? Why didn't all these stimulus plans begin around that time, before the worth of the inflated pound plummeted and chaos descended on the world? It doesn't make sense that all this drama was foreshadowed so early last year, and no one did anything and I didn't see it.

If I would have waited a month, even a few weeks to go to Iceland I would have saved tons. If I had moved from the UK to the US 3 months earlier, my savings would be worth hundreds more. I did not have the insight to see the handwriting on the wall. Did anyone else?

If articles about the economic stimulus plans of the US, the UK, the EU, France and Germany are in The Economist as early as November, then someone must have had a heads-up before September. While it is my ego-centric nature to ask why no one warned me against my ill-fated decisions, a more important question I feel I need to ask is why didn't anyone do anything?? Northern Rock was taken over by the state in February of 2008, the economic collapse happened in September and it was SCARY. The headlines, for days, were like being hit in the stomach with a bag of bricks - bankers killing themselves, thousands losing their jobs, companies tanking. Was there enough advanced notice from the U.S. sub-prime mortgages to have saved the public from all the ulcers and headaches?

This brings up even more questions about big business execs and the government role in protecting them. The fiscal year ends in July, right? Is that when they hand themselves bonuses? A healthy three months later, they are all bankrupt. Am I missing something?

Michael Jackson, King of Pop has Passed (1958-2009)

Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, the most controversial megastar from the 80s, the international music icon, died on June 25th. It was a shocking and unexpected moment.

Michael was set to begin his absolute final tour in London on July 13th and many thought this was going to turn out to be just a stunt to postpone the tour. Perez Hilton posted a picture of MJ with the caption: "Heart Attack or Cold Feet?" But alas, it seems Michael has been taken to the rank of Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Elvis and so many other music stars who have passed from drug issues. MJ had a problem with prescription drugs, but no one expected him to die from it. It is particularly tragic because his father and all his older siblings outlived him.

And though it is, of course, heartbreaking for his immediate family and his die-hard fans, I think the news of his death had 2 even larger repercussions. First, it really demonstrated the globally instantaneous nature of information. Within minutes, MINUTES of his passing in LA, Twitter was shutting down with the number of people tweeting about it. Facebook was overloaded too. But before I even got to any of those sites (which is pretty quick because I am always on), I got a text message from a friend in London:

"They took my Michael away! My king! Michael Jackson has passed away"

It was as shocking to hear the sad news as it was to realize that someone in London ( a 6 hour time difference and thousands of miles away) heard the news before I did.

So I guess in the famous words, "It's a small world after all."

But to me, the biggest thing I noticed was the response from people. It is as though our whole generation has stepped up one rung on the ladder of time. We didn't know Elvis or Jimi Hendrix, we may have heard of Kurt Cobain but that was ages ago and had a small following, we hadn't really experienced the loss of someone we really really bonded with. Britney survived against all odds, JayZ, Diddy, Rihanna, Madonna, Backstreet, N'Sync, and even Paris and Lindsay (who we all assume abuse a substance or two) they are the pop stars of our generation, household names, and they are all going strong.

It is hard to accept, but I think we have all changed for this experience. We are more grounded now, yanked into reality by proof of our own mortality (during harsh economic times that rival with the Great Depression at that).

My nephew is 1 year old. He will not follow the dramatic tales of Michael Jackson, he will not live in an America that can be surprised by the election of a black president, he begins a new generation where pop icons are practically immortal and you still believe that talent should extend your lifespan. Where everybody is somebody and everyone remembers the Great Depression of 2009. He will not live in a world that struggled to remember not to write "199-" as a year, reminding ourselves that it is a new millennium.

These subtle changes switched almost instantaneously when we lost The King of Pop. Now we are more aware of our loss of innocence. It had been building in the backs of our minds, and now, with the digestion of one too many prescription pills and a doctor who failed to save a life, we have realized it. We are becoming the next older generation.

Power to the Tweeple!

" wipoolplayer RT @zaibatsu: This site is used to find protesters. Someone with ability please shut it down. #iranelection http://bit.ly/aareA PLZ rt less than 20 seconds ago "

It may look like jibberish to some, but this "tweet-speak" is an indicator of the power of virtual protesters around the world. They may not be marching in Tehran, but they are joining the efforts of pro-Mosavi protesters in ways that were impossible this time last year.

Is Torture Ever Ok?

Everyone has been talking about it. The Obama administration published the debated torture methods authorized during the Bush Administration. Waterboarding, Stress positions and Confinement are the main categories and were supposedly not designed to inflict severe bodily injury. If you look at the pictures and analyze the methods from a third-party point of view, then it would seem like these methods are pretty safe. I wonder if you were being put in these positions if you would feel the same. What if you have arthritis? What if you had sores and cuts? How do you decide which method to use on each prisoner - or do you use them all?

The Obama administration has stated that the U.S. does not torture. Period. But he has been rubbing conservative Christians in the U.S. the wrong way. They have vehemently protested his policies on abortion and stem cell research (which can only lead you to believe they preferred the Bush Administration which would in turn, lead many to question their credibility) and could it be that they are also finding fault in his torture policies because they simply are unhappy with his other policies? I would have thought that conservative Christians would believe in humane treatment for all of God's creations, and yet they are happy to have bodily pain inflicted on anyone who the government feels may have information - in an era when the government created new laws that take away civil liberties and allow anyone to be detained without cause.

CNN published a story about Ken Cordier, a devout Christian who was a Vietnam POW, tortured for 6 years. He believes that torture is wrong in all circumstances. I guess when you are on the outside, looking in, torture seems like a good idea to "protect" our country, but when you have lived it then your view might be slightly different. It is interesting, though, that Cordier did not consider the "enhanced interrogation" techniques introduced by the Bush Administration to be torture.

The story also mentions Rev. Ronald Kuykendall, an evangelical pastor in Gainesville, Florida. Kuykendall is all for torture, citing the New Testament (Romans 13:1-7) "everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established." Oh. Well doesn't that apply to Muslim countries too then?

It is a complicated issue, but I know one thing for sure, we agreed to follow the Geneva Convention, which says no country can torture prisoners of war, whether that be physical or mental torture. We throw a fit when other countries don't follow the rules, but we seem to hold ourselves to a different standard.

South Africa Votes

This election will define the future of South Africa. The country has struggled to get out of the shadow of the apartheid for the past 14 years. But with the aging of the godfather of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, it seems like the country may be heading the way of most other African nations - corruption, political strong-handing, puppet democracy and eventual instability.

Thabo Mbeki was a respectable leader for South Africa who was elected by the people. While he was president (and leader of the ANC) Jacob Zuma was being tried for corruption. Somehow Zuma got the charges against him dropped. Then a young girl announced Zuma raped her. Many people began to question his morals and the rape trial made international headlines. Miraculously, Zuma managed to get those charges dropped too. The straw on the camel's back came when Thabo Mbeki brought new charges of corruption against Zuma.

In my opinion, Mbeki was doing South Africa a favor by trying to show that trials cannot be bought or influenced based on a person's status. I think he brought the charges to make an example of Zuma and restore faith in South Africa but it backfired on him. Zuma claimed Mbeki brought the charges for political reasons because Zuma was going to run against him for head of the ANC. And the day South Africans bought that line was the day that will foretell South Africa following Zimbabwe into political corruption.

Mbeki knew he had been elected fairly by the people and was not willing to soil his reputation and have people think he brought the charges in order to keep his position. So he stepped down. Without a fight, without a scene, he quickly resigned and walked away with dignity. He will be remembered as a great leader who really loved his country.

Zuma, on the other hand, is a crook. If his abilities to make cases against him "go away" is any indication of his presidency, South Africa is in for a downward spiral that they will not even see until it is way too late.

The elections are today and, while it seems unfathomable, the people are faced with having to leave behind Mandela's mangled party in order to preserve everything he fought for.

Murder via Craigslist

Craiglist was a relatively unfamiliar concept to many people until a few years ago. How can we tell that the phenomenon has been integrated into mainstream American society? It has been exploited for murder and robbery.

In June 2007 Christian Morton responded to an ad for a car in Dallas, TX. The "sellers" Kendrick Demus and George Carter had posted the ad and planned to rob responders to get the $2000 asking price. In Morton's case, after the thieves demanded money, he was shot and killed.

In a more publicized"craigslist" murder, Katherine Ann Olson replied to an ad for a babysitting job. Police later found her bound and shot to death in the trunk of a car a few blocks from the home of Michael John Anderson, who posted the ad.

So does this foretell the beginning of the end of what started out as a positive website with so much potential?

The sad part is craiglist has a European equivalent that is even more widespread - most popular in London - called Gumtree. Gumtree.com is exactly like Craigslist in that it has parallel sites for different cities, has posting areas for jobs, items for sale, personal ads, etc. But Gumtree, even though it used in London - one of the most diverse cities in the world, and a city with a high crime rate - was never exploited the way craiglist has been exploited by Americans.

Sadly, craiglist may never enjoy the success that gumtree has in Europe. The reason is simply that Americans cannot be trusted to not kill each other.