Synth Pop Reduces Pregnancy
Saturday, June 7, 2008

This just in: Yaz is effective as birth control. I always thought there was something barren about their sound. No word yet on which album is most effective but I recommend Upstairs at Eric's.

Posted byiMike at 9:02 AM 0 comments  

Social Networking Sites are the new Unions!
Thursday, June 5, 2008

I’ve been reading this book The Secret History of the American Empire (look for a full review in a upcoming entry) lately and thinking a lot lately about the relative merits of capitalism, socialism, communism etc… Although I’ve long been a firm believer in the value of capitalism, many recent events have caused me to question: Have we taken it all too far? Have we gotten to a point where Capital is valued so highly over People to a destructive extent? Locally, nationally and internationally I see evidence supporting this:

  • Janitors having to strike in my Silicon Valley backyard to get wages which can sustain a modest standard of living in this region
  • Investment Banks being bailed out by the Fed to rescue bond holders, while common shareholders lost >90% of their investments, and millions of Americans are poised to lose their homes to foreclosure, the victims of the greedy, risky lending that it turns out was high-reward, not-so-high-risk for the lenders thanks to the Fed
  • President Bush, and would-be President McCain’s lack of support for the GI Bill which would reward this country’s brave volunteer soldiers with an education after risking their lives to protect America’s (mostly MNCs’) interests

All of this leads me to believe that people aren’t really valued anymore. Capital is. And the fact that Labor Unions have less and less power every year (a result I think both of strategic positioning of Capital, as well as a change in the Labor force and the Labor that needs doing; more white collar/less blue collar that is not as well served by the traditional Labor Union model) means that Capital gets more powerful as Labor loses its voice. So what is to take the place of the Labor Unions to protect the value of people against the abusive rise of the power of Capital? How about Web 2.0!

CNN brings us an inspiring story about a young man being unjustly jailed in Egypt and using Twitter to broadcast his predicament to friends who would help expedite his release, and goes on to use Web 2.0 to pressure Egypt into also releasing a friend he made in Egypt. Bravo! Thomas Friedman in The World is Flat talks about:

  1. Globalization 1.0 – The rise of Empirical powers, mainly Western European countries
  2. Globalization 2.0 – The rise of Multi-National Corporations (MNCs) a big focus of The Secret History
  3. Globalization 3.0 – The rise of the individual empowered by the internet to act globally

The story of the student using Twitter to hasten his freeing from unjust imprisonment is one of the best examples I’ve seen yet of Globalization 3.0 in action, and makes me (a little) less scared that we are headed towards a world where People are powerless and Capital is almighty…

Oh shit!! He was freed from imprisonment by a state, not a MNC. If it had been a Telco holding him hostage, they could have probably blocked his Twitter message! Viva Net Neutrality!

Posted byiMike at 1:45 PM 1 comments  

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