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community-based, non-corporate, participatory media
Total opposition - interview with anarchist writer
by VM Tuesday, Jul. 02, 2013 at 11:51 AM
In an interview with The Vast Minority, writer Paul Cudenec calls for anarchists to unite in "total opposition" to the global capitalist system. He says he is trying to unearth the primal force behind the philosophy and argues that anarchism has the potential to become a new "religion" for the current age.
Q: Your book The Anarchist Revelation is very much focused around presenting an anarchist spirituality. Why?
That's the question I hopefully go some way to answering over the course of some 150 pages! In short, there are two separate, and yet interwoven, strands. Firstly there is the individual question – how can an alienated individual such as an anarchist, who is sane enough to find the contemporary capitalist world insane, carry on living in that world? Involvement in the anarchist struggle is part of the answer, but you also need something more than that, some greater perspective to fall back on in times of doubt or isolation.
I think anarchism, historically, has always offered a depth of vision that can sustain and propel an individual through adversity but, if we start to regard anarchism not as a life-philosophy but as a narrowly defined social movement, we will lose contact with that vital force.
Secondly, there's the spiritual depth of the anarchist movement as a whole. To me, it stands opposed to the modern materialist mindset at a fundamental level. It's not just that we reject all those assumptions about the legitimacy of authority, property or privilege, but we also reject the blinkered and one-dimensional thinking of the current age.
Anarchy is lateral thinking, creative thinking, poetic thinking in many ways, and in that it has a lot in common with something like Sufism, the esoteric strand of Islam. It's not stuck on the one level - like Marxism is, for example. And I think we need to reconnect to that imaginative and fluid side of anarchist thought.
Q: But there's a difference between the vitality or fluidity of a philosophy and this idea of "spirituality". Why does that come in? Why does it have to come in?
Spirituality for me is all about using the parts of our mind that are left to wither away in a purely materialist society, where nothing it considered valid unless it can be "empirically" proven to be so. These are the powers we need to reignite, on both an individual and collective level.
Q: But what about the religious aspect to "spirituality" that you do evoke in your book? Are you suggesting that these unused parts of our mind are something to do with a supernatural element?
Not supernatural, no. But my definition of what is natural, and real, would go a lot further than what's generally understood by that. As far as religion goes, the only religion I'm promoting is anarchism. OK, maybe it's not quite a religion at the moment, but I think it has the potential to be, if it doesn't cut itself off from the less materialist aspects of its philosophy that take it up in that direction.
Q: So what kind of religion would anarchism be? A religion with no god?
There doesn't have to be a "god", in the sense in which it's normally meant in the West. It's all about an holistic vision, understanding that on every level of existence everything is interconnected and ultimately part of the one entity. On a human level, this is already the anarchist position – mutual aid, co-operation, solidarity and so on. On a planetary level this is the environmentalist position – the Gaia idea of a living Earth. On a cosmic level, this becomes a Buddhist or Taoist idea of the ultimate unity.
I think that anarchism naturally embraces the holistic approach on the other levels, as well, thus expanding itself into a complete vision of life, rather than remaining merely a social or economic programme spiced up with a confrontational attitude.
Q: Is this a bad thing, then, a "confrontational attitude"? Should anarchists be adopting the quietism of Eastern mystics?
Not at all. A confrontational attitude is essential for anarchism. I think we need to be more confrontational, in fact, in contexts other than street battles with the police or fascists. We need to be more confrontational in our refusal of the moral claims of the state, by stating clearly that we don't accept that they have the right to rule us, to jail us, to control us in any way. Of course, we recognise the reality that they can do so, in the same way that a large man with a knife has the physical ability to rob me in the street, but we should make it clear that we don't buy into their lie that there is any moral legitimacy behind this.
We also need to be more confrontational in attacking the limits that are placed around possible futures. Although it's often a tactically good idea to work with reformist campaigns, if only to help stem the tide of increasing capitalist domination, we should never stop talking about the completely different society that is our vision and inspiration. It doesn't matter if people can't grasp that this could ever happen, that they are conditioned by society to think that such a future is not only undesirable but also impossible.
We have to keep our black flag flying so that the vision stays alive, at least on an abstract level, and it's there for people to turn to one day when they finally realise that the only alternative is going to be a future of slavery and misery for the vast majority of humanity. What we need to reclaim is the total opposition to the current system that was historically offered by anarchism. There's such a strength in that.
Also, by the way, there's nothing necessarily quietist or pacifist about faiths like Buddhism – take the Tibetan monks in their struggle against Chinese occupation, for a start. Many religions are used by authorities to promote obedience and submission, and Buddhism is no exception, but that doesn't reflect on its innate qualities or its potential as an aid to human liberation.
Q: Total opposition? That sounds quite full-on!
In the context in which I just used it, I meant total opposition in a philosophical sense – attacking the current death-system at its roots, rather than focusing on trimming it back here and there. But I do think that's what we need, at every level. Otherwise nothing will change, all possibilities of improvement will remain blocked and the future will be like this, only a thousand times worse.
Q: There's a strong environmental current running through your work. Would you describe yourself as an eco-anarchist?
I have done, yes, though I'm tending now to focus on just being an anarchist, which I think is enough. For a start, I can't see that anything other than anarchism – and the total opposition that it involves – is going to save the planet. The system is not going to reform itself or voluntarily concede any power or control. I also don't feel there's a need for any of us to qualify our anarchism with adjectives.
I've been playing around with the notion of an Anarchy Threshold, this being the "finishing tape" that all anarchists are aiming at, the point at which humankind can said to be liberated. The idea is that we don't really have to argue about what happens after that, because, as anarchists, we're saying that the people around at the time (whenever it actually happens!) will decide that, by their actions and views, among themselves.
So it doesn't matter if my vision of a better future is one without factories, while my comrade sees the need for a continuation of some form of industrialism. Neither of us will be in a position to decide that. As anarchists we're not about imposing our views on others anyway, even if we could do so. So it's purely theoretical – our only input is in putting forward our own visions of how life could be. If we have faith in a free humanity, we will have faith in the future it will create for itself in an anarchist society. Personally, I can't see that a post-capitalist world would be industrial in any way, because industrialism is capitalism.
The capitalists are right when they say that without the profit incentive, we wouldn't have what they call "progress" – it's the forces of money and power, feeding off each other, that have spawned the industrial hell in which we are all forced to live today and the moment that there is no more capitalism there will be no raison d'être for factories, oil refineries, nuclear power stations, shopping malls and so on.
I don't have to argue too much with other anarchists about what a future anarchist society would look like, though. Firstly, because it's not my call – or theirs. Secondly, because I know, in my own heart, that an anarchist society would not be an industrial one. It will all unfold in due course. And in the meantime, before the Anarchy Threshold has been reached, our only aim should be to work towards that point with a diversity of tactics and a respect for each others' personal visions.
Q: Isn't that a bit naïve, to think that anarchists could all work together happily ever after?
It's not naïve to think we should all work together – or at least not snipe at each other. If we can't, then perhaps that's something to do with the egos of individuals concerned (not just inflated egos, but fragile ones as well) – and that is something that can be addressed by an individual spiritual approach that is a microcosm of our social struggle, as I describe in the book. It's about rediscovering our strength and clarity, both individually and collectively.
Q: The language in your book can be quite academic at times – do you feel that this can create a barrier to people understanding what you're saying and limit the numbers who are going to read your message?
Firstly, I'm not a professional academic and I try to make my meaning clear to readers. It's difficult, though, to express complex ideas without using the short cut of a certain vocabulary – otherwise the end result would be both long-winded and a little patronising.
Secondly, when you're quoting writers like Herbert Marcuse or Karl Jaspers it would be strange if the surrounding text was in a completely different register – the flow wouldn't be there. Thirdly, part of theme of The Anarchist Revelation is the lowering of the intellectual level and the denial by the narrow positivist mindset of people's ability to think clearly and profoundly. Dumbing-down the language in which that sort of argument is expressed seems to me like something of an own goal!
It's not just a question of vocabulary, but also the way ideas are expressed. Everything doesn't always have to be compressed into soundbites. I do take on board the criticism to a certain extent, though, and I would like to work on ways of communicating these ideas in a way that they can be more readily absorbed.
Q: Finally, your book draws on the work of a whole range of writers, many of whom are not anarchists. How would you respond to criticism that you risk diluting the anarchist message and confusing it with unrelated strands of thought. Is this some kind of "post-anarchism" that you're serving up?
No, it's not "post-anarchism". If anything, I'm trying to unearth an "ur-anarchism", a primal force behind the philosophy, hence my foray into the worlds of hermeticism, alchemy, Sufism and Taoism.
I think it's a mistake to imagine that anarchism is, or should be, some kind of self-contained bubble of consciously-limited political analysis. It's not airtight, but porous. Anarchism influences the world around it and it is, in turn, influenced by that world. The fact that an idea is expressed by a particular individual does not make it "their" idea anyway; it's all drawn from the common cultural resource of humanity.
So if a writer expresses something that seems valid and interesting to me, I don't have to agree with everything else they ever wrote or did in order for me to make use of it in my work and acknowledge where I read it. To me, it's actually exciting to find anarchist ideas bubbling up in unexpected places, as it makes it clear that our vision is not as peripheral as the thought-authorities would like to make out.
Anarchism is the political label we give to a massive underground river of suppressed thinking that is flowing under the streets of our materialist capitalist civilization, waiting to rise up and sweep away its factories, prisons and city halls. Ultimately, it's the life-force itself and as such it's unstoppable.
Paul Cudenec's new book The Anarchist Revelation is published by Winter Oak Press. For more information see http://www.paulcudenec.blogspot.co.uk and http://www.winteroakpress.blogspot.co.uk


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I still have this unit and it continues to work well ( has only needed a cleaning since purchased in 1990). It was chosen at the time because it sounded closest to LP's. The Proceed even manages to play "home-made" CD+R's (except Sony) even though not designed for them at the time.
It is now relegated to the bedroom system due to being replaced by a Bryston unit for the main sytem (greater extension in the upper and lower frequencies - more detail).
Neil D.

subset: commoncrawl


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No-Bake Blueberry Cheesecake
26 comments:
No bake cheesecake is my favorite because it's so creamy!ReplyDelete
No bake cheesecakes are definitely fantastic, especially when the weather heats up. But the blueberry addition? Oh man, that pushes it over the edge for sure.ReplyDelete
Your mother sounds so fun. Love it! And the cheesecake looks delicious too.ReplyDelete
OMG this looks amazing! i have to give this a try for my friends going away party.ReplyDelete
Hm. Can I get this cheesecake dumped on me, instead of the water? On second thought, it's been in the 90's where I am (EEP), so I'll take the water and the cheesecake...LOVE that it's no-bake!ReplyDelete
I love to hear about family background and yours is truly that, and the cheesecake looks beautiful too!ReplyDelete
No-bake desserts are the best in the summer- my kitchen has approximately zero ventilation!ReplyDelete
I always learn something interesting from your blog posts! What a fun and mischevious way to celebrate! I'm off to get the recipe now.ReplyDelete
Thank you for this easy and delicious recipe!ReplyDelete
Such a beautiful cheesecake! And I love that it's no bake!ReplyDelete
Gorgeous cheesecake! I know next to nothing about Jewish holidays, so this post was really interesting. Thanks! :)ReplyDelete
This cheesecake is beautiful! I love the purple hue of the blueberries.ReplyDelete
Shulie, I always enjoy reading your stories from your family.... and this cheesecake, well it's simply exquisite! Thank you for sharing xoReplyDelete
I've actually never made a no bake cheesecake, but I think it's time I tried. This looks delicious w/ those blueberries!ReplyDelete
I love no bake cheesecakes! They are my favourite and this one looks amazing!ReplyDelete
YUM! I love cheesecake, especially blueberry! And no bake is perfect for the summer! :)ReplyDelete
Gorgeous photos! I love no-bake cheesecake, it's a great way to get in some cake without turning on the oven. :)ReplyDelete
This looks absolutely wonderful! A must for the summer!ReplyDelete
I love it when a cheesecake is no-bake. Mine always crack down the center when baked- very annoying. And the blueberry topping looks wonderful!ReplyDelete
I love everything about this! Blueberries, cheesecake, no-bake! Fantastic!ReplyDelete
I don't think I've ever heard that part about Shavout! Interesting the different traditions here in the States and in Israel. Now on to this cheesecake. How beautiful!ReplyDelete
What a fun memory. I love that you can look at your mom that way and see the fun side of her. Now that I'm 'older' and have a little one of my own, I hope that some day she'll remember my goofiness.ReplyDelete
Shuli, this looks beautiful!ReplyDelete
It looks divine! A wonderful spring treat.ReplyDelete
What a gorgeous dessert! My family would adore it! And I love the story about your mom the mischief maker...what a fun lady!ReplyDelete
Lol, your mom sounds like a hoot, Shulie! (speaking of old school language, I think "hoot" falls into that category as well). And this dessert is seriously gorgeous - that deep vibrant purple looks so beautiful against that creamy, luscious cheesecake! Beautiful photos and wonderful post!ReplyDelete


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- Publishers
- Drawn&Quarterly
- series: A Single Match
Comic book series : A Single Match
A Single Match
In this collection of hauntingly elliptical short stories, Oji Suzuki explores memory, relationships and loss with a loose narrative style, filling each tale with a sense of unfulfilled longing. He plumbs the dissolute depths of human psychology, literally bathing his characters in expansive shadows that paradoxically reveal as much as they obscure. A young man catches a cold after being soaked in the rain and is tended to by his grandmother. He drifts, dreaming of a train trip with an older brother he doesn't have. A traveling salesman comes across a boy lying in the middle of the road and stops to have a cigarette and tell a story that drifts through memories of faces and places, before settling back on the traveling salesman and the boy pretending to not look at the stars. A young woman walks along the river with her bicycle and a friend who is nothing more than a disembodied head--discussing past times together, memories they have of each other.
Although he touches on many of the same themes as his contemporaries in the field of post-war alternative manga, Yoshihiro Tsuge (L'Homme Sans Talent) and Seiichi Hayashi (Red Coloured Elegy), Suzuki's ever-shifting narrative approach and dashes of surrealist humor distinguish his work from his peers.


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Rod-Piston seal 60x70x6
Rod-Piston seal 60x70x6 is one type of hydraulic seal that is used in rod and piston applications. It's dimensions provided (60x70x6) indicate the seal's inside diameter (ID), outside diameter (OD) and thickness (TH) respectively.
Working function of Rod-Piston seal
This type of seal is designed to fit inside a hydraulic cylinder bore or around a piston rod to prevent fluid leakage. It creates a barrier between the high-pressure fluid on one side of the seal and the lower pressure or ambient environment on the other side.
Dimensions of Rod-Piston seal
The seal's dimensions (ID, OD, TH) are very important to achieve a proper fitting in the hydraulic cylinder. The ID must match with the piston diameter, the OD must match with the cylinder bore or housing diameter. The seal's thickness (TH) is designed to provide an adequate sealing contact between the components.
Rod-piston seals are usually made from Polyurethane (PU) or Nitrile rubber (NBR). These materials offer excellent sealing properties, durability, and resistance to fluids.
Application of Rod-Piston seal
Rod-Piston seals are typically installed in hydraulic systems, such as cylinders used in industrial machinery, automotive applications, and hydraulic presses.
- Wide range of sizes
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Items filtered by date: December 2010
MOS DEF (RETURNS) #5: 2010 - The Best Discs of the Year
Hey, sorry I've been on hiatus for so long, but given all the love letters, it's nice to know I've been missed. All I can say is I've been busy and I'll tell you more about that later this year. First though, let me say, I'm going to change the format a little bit to free me up to discuss whatever I want, whenever I want, which will make it more fun for me and, hopefully for you. Secondly, I'm going to skip over a lot of discs because I refuse to review anything that I'm not sent for free. It doesn't mean I don't own them, it just means I'm not doing the studios any favors for cheeping out. You really don't need some other putz pontificating about bitrate and artifacting anyway. The only artifact I care about is the lost ark on Blu-ray, anyway. That said, before resuming this column already in progress, let's take this return from hiatus to do a quick Top 10 of 2010 before charging into 2011, the year after the year we make contact.


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Straight Trailing Shields
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Designed to work with the industry's most common machine or manual gas tungsten arc welding torches, these devices optimize distribution of the shielding gas, and maintain correct gas velocity ratios between the multiple gas paths. Developed for automated high-tech PAW these products are engineered to flow shield gases over a targeted area to promote sufficient cooling, prohibit exposure to oxygen, and prevent weld contamination.
Straight Shields are available for Machine TIG torches and in Standard sizes.


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11 November 2010
How A Village In Kenya Changed With The Climate
Climate change is wreaking havoc across Kenya where farmers no longer know when to expect the rains. In the village of Taveta, farmers on the brink of ruin after season after season of failed harvests, found a way to change with the climate and get their fields growing again. Here's how.


text: Everyone is supposed to love their iPhones, lest they be branded an Apple hater. But Apple's comeuppance is at hand.In the latest going-gaga-for-iPhone customer satisfaction study, CFI Group reported that the iPhone took top honors among smartphones after surveying more than 1,000 users. The iPhone scored 83 on a 100-point scale. Android and the Pre tied for second at 77, followed by BlackBerry (73) and Palm's Treo (70).CFI's study echoes another recent survey by RBC\/IQ ChangeWave, which found that 99 percent of 200 respondents were either satisfied or very satisfied with their iPhone 3GS. And earlier this summer, the American Customer Satisfaction Index released its customer satisfaction scores, which showed that\u2014surprise!\u2014Apple continues to rank above its competitors.Moreover, criticisms about the iPhone have been directed at anyone other than Apple. The number one iPhone complaint is aimed at AT&T's shoddy service, which is due largely to an overtaxed network. Never mind that Apple deftly negotiated the exclusivity deal.Poor battery performance? That's on iPhone users themselves for taking advantage of all the lovely apps. Now it's up to users to disable power-hungry features or purchase a battery pack to breathe more life into the iPhone.The latest iPhone controversy concerns the new iPhone 3.1 software update that disables corporate Microsoft Exchange e-mail access for some first-gen iPhone and iPhone 3G users, first reported by CIO.com writer Al Sacco. Corporate IT departments, not Apple, are being blamed for being inflexible.But Apple's time for taking responsibility is coming: Will Apple extend the AT&T exclusivity deal or open up the iPhone to other carriers? Analysts have taken different positions. My story covering this debate led to a flood of email from iPhone customers and wannabe customers.Virtually all of these consumers really, really don't want to see an AT&T contract extension\u2014and they'll likely hold Apple accountable if it happens.Here's some of their comments:\n"I think it is never a good thing to have an exclusive agreement. It stifles innovation and competition and keeps prices artificially inflated." \n"When (or should I say, if) the iPhone comes to Verizon, I will call in sick to work and spend the night in line to be the first person to own an Apple iPhone on Verizon's network. Should I hold my breath?"\n"No more, please."\nHow accountable is Apple? Send me an email at email@example.com. Or follow me on Twitter @kaneshige. Follow everything from CIO.com on Twitter @CIOonline.


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RL House by Studio Guilherme Torres
Happy Wednesday! Check out this wonderful apartment in Curitiba, Brazil The apartment of 145 m² was almost in the last phase of finishing process when the young Brazilian architect met the owners. The couple was displeased with the environment arrangements and the traditional decoration, so they gave the architect free hand to reformulate everything.
The base for the decoration was the fusion of polymer cement, minty and blue colors and the use of a whole wall covered in pinus, a wood that has virtually no commercial value in Brazil. Another high point of the project was to expose the structural column right in the entrance door, composing a beautiful set with the dinner table. An important point is: all the main pieces such as tables, sideboards and sofa are designed by the architect.
The owner was already a great admirer of Guilherme's work, so during the whole process she insisted on buying several pieces designed by the architect. This partnership worked out so well that she decided to open a company just to represent Guilherme Torres's products in all Brazil and around the world. Other design pieces that made a difference were the Shadowy chaise, Moroso, Guilherme decided to use inside the apartment, since it is originally an outdoor piece. The rugs and wooden chair with steel legs are from Diesel and the dinner table chairs are from Driade. The piece of art beside Shadowy chaise is by João Machado and the one above the sideboard is by Eliane Prolik. In the master bedroom, the decoration is completely the opposite to the explosion of colors of the living room. Black and white used on furniture, bed linens and even the frames. Above the headboard, an art piece of João Machado and bed linen of Ari Beraldin. The kitchen received furniture in black lacquer, countertops in Corian and Smeg home appliances. The Living room walls, gives continuity to the kitchen, since there are no doors dividing the spaces.


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WorkSafe BC will focus on random inspections to ensure businesses follow health guidelines and requirements as the province enters Phase Two in its COVID-19 reopening plan.
According to Labour Minister Harry Bains, the work safety organization completed 8,719 inspections from March 22 to April 16 to ensure businesses that were open prior to May long weekend were following protocols ordered by health officials. That's compared to roughly 4,000 during the same time a year prior.
Since the province initiated its multi-phase reopening plan, businesses from restaurants to gyms to salons have been scurrying to welcoming back customers and clients. WorkSafe BC released a handful of sector-specific guidelines on Friday (May 15).
"This is to make sure businesses have the best safety measures in place and consumers can place their trust when stepping inside of them," Bains said during a news conference on Thursday (May 21).
Inspectors will be visiting businesses at random to ensure the guidelines, as well as requirements from the provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, are being met, Bains added, calling it a "review and inspection regime."
Employers and business owners with questions can call WorkSafe BC at 1-888-621-7233, he continued.
British Columbians have been eagerly awaiting for social contact restrictions to be eased in order to return to a sliver of normalcy from before the novel coronavirus touched down in the province.
Businesses have been dealt the heavy task of finding a balance between keeping staff and customers safe while also recouping steep financial losses due to the pandemic
Bains said that the province's website saw 524,000 page views since the guidelines were made public, a 440 per cent increase from previous weeks.
But while these sector-specific guidelines have answered some questions, the information has sparked others.
"The guidelines were never intended as a silver bullet, one size fits all solution," Bains said. "We expect the same entrepreneurial spirit shown through the epidemic – like the distilleries that pivoted to making sanitizer – to still shine bright as we restart to recover."
Bains spent much of the Thursday announcement answering inquiries from face mask rules to three-day work weeks.
More to come.
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Story Transcript
PAUL JAY, SENIOR EDITOR, TRNN: Welcome to The Real News Network. I'm Paul Jay in Baltimore, Maryland.
And a recent study looking at a potential single-payer or government-run health insurance plan for Maryland comes to the conclusion there'd be enormous savings over the existing plan.
Now joining us to talk about all of this is Gerald Friedman. Gerald is a professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and he did this study for Health Care for All Maryland. Thanks for joining us again, Gerald.
GERALD FRIEDMAN, PROF. ECONOMICS, UMASS AMHERST: Thank you for having me.
JAY: So this is part two in a series. If you haven't watched part one, well, you should, and then come back and watch part two.
So let's dig in into your study and what you found. So you have a section on savings, and point one is administrative costs. So explain what you found there.
FRIEDMAN: Okay. Well, first of all, there are the administrative costs of the health insurers themselves, who devote a great deal of energy and resources to, first, screening people and supervising what doctors do in order to drive away people who will need extensive care.
The average health insurer in Maryland has what they call a medical loss ratio of 85Â percent. Now, the medical loss ratio is the proportion of health insurance premiums that are actually paid out to provide the health care. In Medicare, the medical loss ratio is 98Â percent.
Wall Street doesn't like high medical loss ratios. To them, to Wall Street, a high medical loss ratio means that you have too many sick people, you're not running enough profit. They like the medical loss ratios to be low. We, the consumers of health care, normal people, we like a high medical loss ratio. We want the money we put into the insurance plan to be paid out in benefits.
JAY: So just to be clear, 98Â percent of the money in Medicare is going to pay for health care and 2Â percent for administration. And in Maryland I think you said 15Â percent is going for administration in Maryland.
FRIEDMAN: That's right. That's right. And that's a difference of billions of dollars.
JAY: Yeah, I think you say $3.1Â billion in Maryland alone.
FRIEDMAN: Yeah. Yeah.
JAY: And how much of that is profit in what you're saying is administration costs?
FRIEDMAN: Oh, some of that is profit. You can't tell for sure how much is profit. You know, health insurance companies aren't very forthcoming about that. But a rough estimate would be about $1Â billion of that is going as profits to the owners of the health insurance companies. And they would lose out with a single-payer system.
JAY: Why is there such savings, then? I mean—.
FRIEDMAN: Okay. Well, first there are the savings because you wouldn't be supervising doctors the way private health insurance companies do. You wouldn't be paying for advertising. You wouldn't—you'd have much more efficient billing. Medicare's really efficient at paying bills because it's a very large system; so, as you get more people into one plan, you get some of these what economists call economies to scale in the billing and administration operations.
JAY: Back up on the billing. You get a figure of $1.6Â billion of savings in your report. How do you get to that number?
FRIEDMAN: Okay. Okay. Now, the second area of savings is within doctors' offices, because doctors these days incur enormous expense for billing and insurance-related operations. If you go into your doctor's office, look around. There's people there who work full-time dealing with the insurance companies, processing claims.
In Maryland in the 1990s there was a study that found about 15 percent of clean insurance claims submitted by doctors were automatically returned by one of the insurance companies. They were just sent back. There was nothing wrong with the bill—they just sent it back in the hopes that the doctor and the, you know, individual would give up. You know, if they resubmitted the claim, the insurance company paid it. There was a bit of a stink about this and an investigation in the legislature. But I think things like that go on all the time.
So you get a lot of savings in providers' offices. To give you a Canadian example, Toronto General Hospital—well, I first gave this using numbers from the 1990s. Toronto General Hospital back then had two people working on insurance claims. Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, with about the same number of doctors and about the same number of patients, had 250 people working on insurance claims. Now, when I gave this to a legislative committee in Massachusetts, one of the people there came up to me afterwards and told me that my numbers were out of date because her husband worked at Mass General and they now have 450 people working in billing and insurance operations. That's 450 people in Mass General who are not providing care. They're being paid to process paper because the insurance companies want—every insurance company has different forms, has different numbers, different codes.
JAY: And I guess this also goes back to something we talked about in the first part of our interviews, the amount of micromanaging that takes place from the insurance companies. I suppose that creates a counterpart having to deal with the micromanaging on the side of the hospitals.
FRIEDMAN: And the doctors. My family physician—you know, we have a family doctor—he spends Friday afternoons, a couple of hours every week, filling out forms for the insurance company, the stuff that he has to do. He has to write things out, he has to sign them, he has to make sure, you know, the T's are crossed and the I's are dotted and all that.
JAY: Okay. So, now, in your paper you—so you come up with, I think, a $4.6 billion saving in administrative costs when you compare a single payer to existing. And then your next point is something—savings from reduced monopolistic pricing. What is that?
FRIEDMAN: Now, here—there are two aspects here. The first is pharmaceuticals, drugs. McKinsey Global Institute, hardly a left-wing body, estimates that U.S. drug prices are 60 percent higher than the prices paid by people in other advanced capitalist economies—Canada and Western Europe, Japan. The reason is we are the only country that has a decentralized system of buying drugs. You know, every pharmacy negotiates its own drugs, insurance companies all negotiate, and the drug companies are in a very strong position to bargain and to drive hard bargains and high prices.
I take stuff for my thyroid. It happens my dog takes chemically the same thing. My drug is twice as expensive as his. My wife said, well, why don't you take the dog's? I was like, ah, well, okay.
JAY: I think it's important to point out, too, that when President Obama was stickhandling his health care legislation, which—at the time, he was still supporting public option, eventually gave up on that. But as part of the keeping public option, he made a deal with PHrMA not to undercut PHrMA's prices in the U.S., not to let Canadian drugs into the United States. And they wound up giving up on the public option, but he never went back and undid the deal with PHrMA.
FRIEDMAN: That's right. That's right. You know, you can only take on so many battles politically. I'm not going to argue about his handling of that. But it's—a lot of people in northern New England cross the border to Canada to by their drugs. It's cheaper, about 60 percent cheaper.
I'm saying that if the state of Maryland set up a single drug purchasing agency, it could go to, you know, the drug companies (and there are only a handful of them) and, you know, bargain down the prices. Then people from Delaware and Virginia would start crossing the border into Maryland to buy their drugs.
JAY: Now, in your report you talk about elite hospitals and providers—. What is that point about?
FRIEDMAN: That is a very low number that I use. Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley—who has a bit of a history in health care, given that she lost a Senate race to Scott Brown. But Martha Coakley has been putting out these reports showing the enormous range in pricing for the same procedures, for a CAT scan, for an MRI, for a simple appendectomy, for a simple birth—not talking about the complicated births of prenatal units, etc., but for a simple birth—and the range will be two-, three-to-one, going from a local hospital in Northampton to a more elite hospital in Springfield, Massachusetts, or not to mention going to Johns Hopkins or Massachusetts General Hospital.
And it's not just the elite hospitals. It's also certain medical suppliers, you know, certain wheelchair manufacturers and, you know, producers of MRI machines, whatever, have serious market power and they're overcharging.
So I put in we could drive down their prices 5Â percent. You know, that's a low number, I think.
JAY: And the number you come up with is about $1Â billion, and you think that it could be significantly more than that, you're saying.
FRIEDMAN: There are two other aspects of that. One is that these elite hospitals are seriously overcharging. The second is that they engage in practices that lead to duplication of services, etc. A certain unnamed physician (I won't say who told me this) who used to practice at an elite hospital in Boston told me that if you walk into his hospital holding a CAT scan that just—at a facility in Northampton or Massachusetts or someplace else, you know, but a respectable facility, you walk in with your CAT scan, they will insist on doing another CAT scan, because they will charge for that other CAT scan. You know, it's a complete waste, it means extra radiation for the patients, but they will make money from it and they will charge twice as much for that CAT scan, or three times as much, according to Martha Coakley, as your local hospital.
JAY: Now, in your next point you talk about some kind of integration of this single-payer plan with Medicaid, which the states are already spending money on, and you come up with another $1.2Â billion. How do you get that?
FRIEDMAN: Well, there are extra expenses associated with a single government-run health care system. Part of the problem we have now—and this shows up for people in the cities and—you know, more and more Americans are on Medicaid. And the doctors are very reluctant to take on Medicaid patients, and when they do, they provide worse care.
There was just a recent study by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development about this, that American—poor people in the United States get significantly worse care compared to other people in the United States relative to the situation of poor people in other countries, other advanced countries. And part of that is because Medicaid underpays. In Maryland I believe it's something on the order of 19 percent—prices provided by our Medicaid are that much lower than prices paid for the same service by Medicare.
The result is doctors avoid Medicaid patients, Medicaid patients have to travel further to find a doctor, often cannot find any doctor at all. Now, if we had a single—a one-payer system, then you couldn't discriminate against people on the basis of, you know, whether they were rich or poor. That would be a boon for the doctors providing for Medicaid patients, and it would be a boon for Medicaid patients, who would be in a better position to get decent care.
JAY: Right.
FRIEDMAN: But it would cost money.
JAY: Okay. Now, in the final analysis, you total up all the savings you found. You come up with something like just over 24Â percent saving over the existing system in terms of the overall expenditure on health care in Maryland. So in the next part of our interview, we'll pick up on this. And we'll also have to go a little further, because even with all this saving, if I understand things correctly, that still doesn't really pay for all the costs of what a single-payer system would be in Maryland. And we'll talk about, well, then, how does that get addressed.
So please join us for the next segment of our interview with Gerald Friedman on The Real News Network.
DISCLAIMER: Please note that transcripts for The Real News Network are typed from a recording of the program. TRNN cannot guarantee their complete accuracy.


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If you've been following the Republican campaign race, then you're already familiar with the ongoing fracas between Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry over the latter's 2007 HPV vaccine mandate; and that Bachmann suggested yesterday that the vaccine can cause mental retardation.
Now, the American Academy of Pediatrics has issued a formal response addressing false statements made in the Republican presidential campaign regarding the safety of HPV vaccination.
The Bachmann/Perry quarrel ramped up at Monday night's Republican debate when Bachmann referred to the mandate as "government injection," and escalated to new heights a day later, when Bachmann took to Fox News and NBC to condemn HPV vaccinations as dangerous — suggesting, for example, that they can cause mental retardation.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has since responded, issuing the following statement in a formal press release:
The American Academy of Pediatrics would like to correct false statements made in the Republican presidential campaign that HPV vaccine is dangerous and can cause mental retardation. There is absolutely no scientific validity to this statement. Since the vaccine has been introduced, more than 35 million doses have been administered, and it has an excellent safety record.
The American Academy of Pediatrics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the American Academy of Family Physicians all recommend that girls receive HPV vaccine around age 11 or 12. That's because this is the age at which the vaccine produces the best immune response in the body, and because it's important to protect girls well before the onset of sexual activity. In the U.S., about 6 million people, including teens, become infected with HPV each year, and 4,000 women die from cervical cancer. This is a life-saving vaccine that can protect girls from cervical cancer.
Via The American Academy of Pediatrics
Bachmann and Perry images via [1, 2]


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On Syria: Where the Left is right and the Right is wrong
Both the Left and the Right in Syria are "statists" – power hungry, reaching to gain control of the state apparatus.
New York, NY – When the Green Movement started in Iran in June 2009, there was a recalcitrant fraction of the Left (taken in a very generic sense) that went on a rampage against it and denounced the civil rights uprising as a Saudi-US plot to dismantle the Islamic Republic and appease Israel and pave the way for neoliberal imperialism. "I am only for revolutions that make Israel angry," one such sophomoric detractor of the Green Movement famously said at the time. "If Israel is happy with an uprising I am not happy."
More than two years after the Green Movement and a year into the Arab Spring, the selfsame segment of the Left faces an even more crippling dilemma trying to formulate a sensible position vis-à-vis the bloody drama in Syria.
The dilemma that this component of the Left faces in Syria is rooted in a more fundamental failure to read the Arab Spring in general – for if they denounced the Green Movement because the US had allocated some millions of dollars for "regime change" in Iran, that sum was peanuts compared with the money that the US had invested in the Egyptian army, and that the Saudis had in ensuring the Islamists had the upper hand in post-Mubarak Egyptian elections. So what to do with the Egyptian revolution? Dismiss the whole thing just because the US and the Saudis were trying to control its outcome?
To be fair and to understand the predicament of the Left vis-à-vis the Arab Spring in general and the Syrian uprising in particular, we must first have a clear conception of the Right (understood equally in a generic sense) – to which the Left is in part reacting.
Syrian activists mobilise around Assad's power base
No left turn
The position of the Right is now self-evident: the Syrian regime is a murderous tyranny, it is butchering its own citizens, and "the international community" (by which they mean the US, its European and regional allies, through their machinations at the UN, the GCC and the Arab League) must intervene to prevent the bloodbath, and any one raising the slightest question about that narrative is an accomplice in the murderous acts of Bashar al-Assad. That the US, Israel and Saudi Arabia are actively involved in dismantling the Syrian regime for and to their own advantage either does not enter the calculations of the Right, or if it does, it is a plus.
Anyone critical of the US-Saudi design for the region in general, or for Syria in particular, the Right accuses of being in cahoots with the ruling regime in Syria and/or Iran. People are risking their lives against tyranny, they charge on their high moral horses, and the Left is not allowed to assume a "puritanical position" and pass judgment on what is right or wrong for these uprisings. The UN and the bomber of NATO and the US must be encouraged to do the job and get rid of these tyrants. For them, NATO and US forces are forces of good, and these local tyrants are evil. The US must liberate these people and set them free.
The distinguished post-colonial feminist Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak used to have a phrase quite befitting these folks and their politics: "White Men saving Brown Women from Brown Men."
To be sure – the self-serving chicanery of this position of the Right that is either morally blind or intellectually challenged is incapable of seeing the hypocrisy of the US/NATO position, cherry picking their "humanitarian intervention" – a fact which boils people's blood – and thus encouraging the rush to the position that the Left now assumes.
But that tit for tat is a useless tautology and will not help clarify the fault lines of the Left beyond its current dilemma.
The centre cannot hold
There can be little doubt that US, European, Israeli, Saudi and other Gulf states' special forces and financing are at work in covert operations in Syria, pulling and pushing the uprising in their own directions and for their own advantages. The gloves are now in fact completely off and the Saudis have come out clean that they must arm (meaning they have been arming) the Syrian rebels.
"There ain't no such thing as a free lunch," the colloquial American saying goes in the realm of economics – and in politics too, there ain't no such thing as a free Uzi. The hand that giveth the Uzi today, taketh back a share of post-Assad politics tomorrow.
But the Right is not only silent about such manipulations of a revolutionary uprising, but in fact, approves and endorses it – for them, the Libyan episode has been quite appetising, entirely oblivious or even dismissive of the post-Gaddafi atrocities that has prompted the critical intervention of (among others) Trinity College professor, Vijay Prashad, who has recently observed:
There is a serious need to evaluate what has happened in Libya as a result not only of the Gaddafi atrocities, of the rise of a rebellion, but also significantly of the nature of the NATO intervention. And that evaluation has not happened … I'm afraid that is really calling into question the use of human rights as a lubricant for intervention. If we can't go back and evaluate what has happened, I think a lot of people around the world are afraid of going forward into another intervention, where the lessons of Libya have not been learned.
The Right dismisses all this as leftist hogwash, and in response to this outright hypocrisy or blatant imperialism of the Right, the position of the Left becomes even more entrenched, and thus morally ambivalent and intellectually challenged: Yes, the Syrian regime might be corrupt and murderous, they consent, but the real danger to the Syrian revolution comes from the US and Saudi Arabia – so they remain at best ambivalent and at worst silent on the criminal Syrian regime. If anyone dares to point to Assad's murderous spectacle, they accuse him/her of complacency with the US and Saudi Arabia, or else a mere simpleton manipulated by "the Western media".
Syria holds referendum amid violence
The Left contends that what started as genuine protests has now been hijacked by "extremist Sunni groups" inside Syria and by outside forces that extend from the US to Israel, Saudi Arabia, and by extension, the Gulf states – all lining up against Iran and Hezbollah, which, for them, is evidently the forefront of resistance against imperialism. Some on the Left who approve of the Arab Spring even suggest that the Arab revolutionaries ought to develop a strategic alliance with the ruling regime in the Islamic Republic. Yes, they say, the regime in Iran might be murderous towards its own citizens, but it is standing up to imperialism. Again: the moral depravity of the position is informed by its political illiteracy.
Now even al-Qaeda (whatever that means) has entered the scene and wants to have a piece of the action. Ayman al-Zawahiri recently issued a video, denouncing Assad and urging Muslims to revolt against him – which fact has given even more reason to the Left to denounce the Syrian uprising altogether. Now that even Hamas has dissociated itself from the murderous Assad regime and sided with the Syrian revolutionaries, the Left is left hanging out to dry, wondering what to do or say about a world that is changing so fast that has left them chasing after their own tail.
Beyond the clichés
The problem with both these positions – Left and Right – is that they speak from a position of power or counter-power – from a statist position, a 100-metre spree to grab hold of the state apparatus and replace it as it falls. The Right speaks from behind the US-Israeli guns and from behind the Saudi bank accounts, and the Left speaks from a position of resisting that power and wishing to support an existing, evolving or emerging state apparatus that can ensure that resistance. The Assad regime is falling, and now we have a rush to get hold of the state apparatus, the military in particular. What the Left and the Right share is their identical statism, because, for them, these entire Arab revolutions are about taking control of the state apparatus, of state power, of steering (or more accurately trying to steer) the falling regimes of power to their own direction.
Categorically absent from the calculations of both the Left and the Right are the people, the real people, ordinary people, those who occupy the public space, people it, own it. For the Left and the Right, these people are mere puppets that are either used, abused for facilitating the US-Saudi machinations, or else duped into revolutionary uprising that has been hijacked from them. Neither the Left nor the Right has the slightest trust, confidence, or even a politically potent conception of the public space that ordinary people physically and normatively occupy.
Suppose Bashar al-Assad falls tomorrow, the Saudi and the Americans succeed in establishing a puppet regime and resume business as usual – is that the end of Syrians' uprising? Is that what the Arab Spring and Tahrir Square are all about? Now, suppose Russia, China and the Islamic Republic manage to keep Assad in power, is that the end of the Syrian uprising?
No: the revolutions have just started.
Inside Syria – Is Syria's uprising being hijacked?
The fundamental flaw of both the Left and the Right is that – one from intellectual limitation and the other out of moral deprivation – they have no ground-up conception of what it is that is unfolding in front of their eyes and we call the Arab Spring. They are both statists – power hungry, reaching to gain control of the state apparatus, or what Max Weber called "external means" of any state, its violent means of domination, forgetting what in the same sentence Weber called the necessity of "inner justification" on part of the people subject to those external means. Syrians, like all other Arabs from Morocco to Bahrain and down to Yemen, as indeed Iranians before and along with them in the rest of the Muslim world, have lost that "inner justification" and no "external means" – provided by the US/Saudis or by Russia/Islamic Republic – can force them into obedience.
Open-ended revolutions are what we are witnessing in the Arab world – and open-ended revolutions mean people matter, mean the Egyptians are still out in Tahrir Square, and they mean that these states, however they turn out and are manufactured by external machinations, need a populace to rule – and that populace will never be subject to one or another sort of tyranny or treachery.
The Saudis and the Islamic Republic, as with the US and the Russians/Chinese, can perform all their machinations – but resistant and defiant will remain the Syrian people – and their open-ended revolution, which is integral to the Arab Spring.
They say you can conquer a land on horse, but you must descend in order to rule it – the same is true about Syria: From the US and Israel to Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, and then from Russia and China to the Islamic Republic and Hezbollah, there certainly are many machinations at work to conquer Syria. But when all the dust is settled and these mighty machinations end, the new conquerors must come down to rule it – and when they do, they will find themselves facing the indomitable spirit of the people that have left their inner dungeons of fear – and who will never ever again be subject of either domestic tyranny or external treachery. Syrians have already won their revolution – for the next tyrants now wishing to conquer Syria will come down from their horses, facing a nation refusing to be frightened or fooled into obedience.
The Arab Spring has unleashed the power of ordinary people and staged the public space they occupy and the civic associations they will eventually and inevitably form on that space. The Arab Spring has already given birth to a robust revolutionary gemeinschaft that will stay with these societies no matter who and what is in power. Unbeknown to the political machinations that have divided the Left and the Right, people of Syria – as indeed people from across the Arab and Muslim world – are dispelling their agoraphobia and realising the power of their communal gatherings.
Hamid Dabashi is Hagop Kevorkian Professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative Literature at Columbia University in New York. His forthcoming book, The Arab Spring: The End of Postcolonialism is scheduled for publication from Zed in May 2012.


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The last of the Toys R Us stores in the U.S. will close tomorrow (Friday, June 29th). For many of us it will be a sad goodbye to a pillar of our childhood.
I Don't Want to Grow Up
The store's jingle, "I don't want to grow up", became one of the most memorable pieces of advertising of all time. Everyone reading this is likely singing it in their head right now. The store's mascot, Geoffrey the Giraffe, is also an endearing memory for anyone who grew up in the '70s, '80s and '90s.
Toys R Us founder, Charles Lazarus, founded the store in 1948, originally as a children's furniture store. He soon realized that parents rarely bought new high chairs and cribs. Toys, however, were a different story. A crib or high chair could be re-used as a family grew, but parents wanted new toys for each child.
Lazarus opened the first store dedicated to just selling toys in 1957, naming it Toys R Us. Later he turned the "R" backwards to make it look more like the name had been written by a child. Geoffrey became the mascot in 1969 and Lazarus remained at the helm of the company until his retirement in 1998. He passed away on March 22nd of 2018, just one week after the company announced it would be closing its U.S. stores.
In an ever changing world, where businesses fail, trends change and life verges off unexpectedly, Christians take comfort in knowing that Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. James 1:17
Toys R Us Memories
Many adults can remember childhood trips to their local Toys R Us almost as well as a trip to Disney. It was a magical place, where they let us play with many of the toys before they were purchased, however reluctantly, by our parents. We could run, play and ride things there. We would even run into Geoffrey on occasion. It's sad to think that the next generation of kids will only hear stories about the place and never get to experience it themselves.
Toys R Us asked customers to share some of these memories. Their website now has this statement: "Thanks to each and every one of you who shared your amazing journey to (and through) parenthood with us, and to every grandparent, aunt, uncle, brother and sister who's built a couch-cushion rocket ship, made up a hero adventure, or invented something gooey. Promise us just this one thing: Don't ever grow up. Play on!"
Kids will indeed "play on", but it will never be the same without Geoffrey. Goodbye Toys R Us, we'll remember you fondly. Thanks for all the fun!


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The Loners #4
Karl Moline is an American comic book penciler. Since the early 2000s, he has done art on Dark Horse's 'Fray'. For Cge From, he has drawn 'Route 666' and 'Scion' and he has had runs on Marvel's 'Rogue', 'The Loners' and 'Spider-Man Unlimited', as well as 'Avengelyne Bad Blood' for Avatar Press.


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"Matchstick Men" - Movie Review
- Holly McClure Movie Reviewer
- 2003 12 Sep
Genre: Crime, Comedy, Drama
Rating: PG-13 (for thematic elements, violence, brief scene of rear nudity and language)
Release Date: September 12, 2003
Actors: Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell, Alison Lohman, Bruce McGill, Bruce Altman
Director: Ridley Scott
Special Notes: If you're a fan of '50s music (like Frank Sinatra), you'll love the warm and familiar selections Ridley Scott's frequent music collaborator Hans Zimmer has selected. They picked music "Roy would listen to" and so in several scenes, we're treated to Frank's classic "Summer Wind," Bobby Darin's "Beyond the Sea" and even a little Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. I loved it!
Plot: Phobia king and grifter Roy (Cage) and his sloppy partner Frank (Rockwell) consider themselves to be con artists, not con men or criminals. The two have an odd business relationship and friendship, in that they've discovered how to make a living at pulling off scams on unsuspecting people. These two matchstick men (as con artists can be called) have taken the annoyance of telemarketing to a whole new level with bogus sales of water-filtration systems to unsuspecting people who believe they've won big prizes, then hand over their bank account information. As the two work their con, day in and day out, Roy is fine with his routine until he runs out of the meds that control his psychosis and out of control ticks. Frank steps in and saves him with the name of a new psychoanalyst (Altman), who can give him medication. Through his sessions, Roy reveals the possibility of a child from a divorce long over. He has his analyst contact his former wife and soon discovers he's the parent of a 14-year-old tomboy. The doctor arranges for Angela to meet the father she never knew she had, and she charms her way into his home and life. Angela (Lohman), quickly proves to Roy that she's a born con artist, just like her Dad. In between her overnight stays and pizza, the two form a special bond and soon, Roy is conned by Angela into teaching her his tricks of the trade and going for a really big scam.
Good: I liked this film for many reasons, the main one being Cage and his uncanny ability to take neurotic behavior to a new level and make me laugh. Ridley Scott ("Blade Runner", "Gladiator", "Black Hawk Down") has directed a very different kind of movie this time around – but it works. Roy's obsessive-compulsive routines like not being able to open and close his front door without chanting three times ''uno, due, tre,'' or his agoraphobia to fresh air, despite the fact that he's a frantic chain-smoker, makes Roy a mass of woes in a sort of appealing and vulnerable way. When his out-of-control daughter (jaded by living with a single mom and numerous boyfriends), suddenly moves into Roy's space and slyly takes advantage of his ignorance in the fatherhood department, every parent will relate to the tsunami that sweeps over Roy's orderly life, wreaking chaos and havoc on Roy. But with a little bit of love and a diversion of his attention and emotions onto Angela, we eventually see Roy's ticks subside and his ability to overlook things get easier on him. Then it gets into the "touchy" part. After much begging and prodding by Angela, Roy eventually teaches her how to scam (but when she successfully takes money from a woman in a Laundromat, he makes her give it back). Most responsible parents and right-minded adults will find it sad and uncomfortable when Roy is thrilled that his daughter has picked up grifting with ease. It's disturbing when you see an adult involve a child in behavior that is morally or legally wrong and in situations they have no business being in (like a con). But in the end, it will make sense. I squirmed as one scam didn't go right, and it's touch and go with the two barely getting away. Although I would love to go to the next level and tell you where the plot twists and turns and what and why things happen to redeem those previous uncomfortable qualms, alas I would be giving away the "sting" or twist to the story. Those of you who will see this movie would be mad at me. I do, however, want to bring out an important point and will try to do so without giving the plot away. Neither God nor religion is a focus in this story, but a couple of Godly principles are which I think a person of faith will find interesting. First and foremost, you do reap what you sow. Although the ending may be disturbing, irritating and sort of shocking, at the same time you will have to leave the theater with a smile on your face because the principles of God always ring true, even in secular stories. Good does triumph over evil and in the end, justice has a way of settling the score in interesting ways. Often when good triumphs over evil it doesn't mean that the good doesn't get shafted, it just means that in the end, when a person realizes he was wrong and makes an effort to turn things around, that effort is rewarded in sometimes subtle ways. Evil people do sometimes get away with doing evil things, but eventually they too will reap what they have sown. One of my favorite parts is in the end when Roy recognizes that no one can put a price tag on the gift of love; when he chooses to give it, no one can steal that from him.
Bad: There's some crude language along with one religious profanity. We see brief rear male nudity under a hospital gown, and when the men go into a dance club to pull a scam, we see girls pole dancing in brief attire. There are a couple of scenes where Angela pushes the father/daughter envelope; she uses bad language, drinks a beer, shoots her dad the finger and doesn't come home until late one night, all with humorous reactions and scolding from her wanna-be dad. For those who might not want to see this movie because they think it promotes a crime of a father teaching his daughter to be a con artist (don't worry, I thought the same thing), stay with it till the end. It will surprise you. What I didn't enjoy was the way the screenwriters hook the audience into feeling empathy for a father surprised by the depth of his love for his daughter and involve us in that relationship, then jerk us out by changing the course of the story with a slick, sleight-of-hand plot twist. That left me feeling … well … robbed. And then I got it, and I laughed at how brilliant the writing was and how it all made sense in the end. Remember, you reap what you sow, and it's hard to find fault with that.
Bottom Line: Parents this is a PG-13 adult comedy with themes and life lessons that will mostly be understood and appreciated by older audiences. Even though there is a teenage girl in the movie, it's not a movie for young teenagers. I enjoy Ridley Scott's directing and the little nuances and touches he gives to every scene and plot detail. The screenplay was written by the guys who wrote "Oceans Eleven," and the movie plays like a cross between "The Sting" and "Paper Moon." This is one of those movies that you're going to walk out of and think about long afterward.


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Richard recently supported our "Connect to Inspire" workshop where we looked to understand the needs of 2025 urban environments. Through his program development, event moderation, and his network, the event resulted in meaningful discussions and future collaborations. I enjoyed working with him, especially his positive attitude and diverse experience.
We (TNT) engaged Richard to run a Corporate Sustainability training for our China staff. Richard was able to articulate his experience and knowledge around corporate sustainability into simple and understandable terms and his lecture in terms of delivery and content were very clear and professional.
We would recommend and engage Richard in the future when there is opportunity.
We invited Richard to speak to employees at our corporate office in New York about CSR & Sustainability in China. We had a great turn-out, and the presentation exceeded my expectations. Richard did an excellent job of giving us an overview of the wide variety of challenges facing China today. The discussion that followed with audience members from New York as well as some who were visiting from our China offices was excellent, since Richard was able to speak to virtually every topic that came up. His breadth of knowledge is impressive.
Richard is an expert in CSR, social innovations and entrepreneurship. He is very knowledgeable in the field and is a very experienced speaker. Each time the audience were very satisfied with what they have learned from Richard's talk / lecture. We were very happy to work with him.
I enjoyed being part of the event because of the unique mix of participants and the opportunity to share METRO's initiatives in a casual set up. There are only few platforms existing in China where entrepreneurs, consumers and producers can share their viewpoints on sustainability together.
It was fun and exciting and we got some new customers too!
Richard Brubaker knows how to tell a story. With an inspiring and informative speech, Richard was able to effectively bring clarity to the field of social entrepreneurship and the role he and many other passionate creatives play in this dynamic field. As a modern social entrepreneur himself, Richard was able to connect to an international audience and provide sound advice and direction to students ready and willing to challenge the status quo and tackle today's most pressing problems.
Richard has hosted many of our visits, leading discussions with our participants who are often global CEOs and Board of Directors. Without exception, the feedback has been most positive. Conversations with Richard are always engaging, thought-provoking, with a touch of dry humor. His information is relevant, current, and well researched. Since participants of our program are not only senior but also from diverse background, their questions could come from all directions. Richard is comfortable working with the question itself as well as the embedded meaning or assumptions.
I have no reservation to support Richard as a speaker to senior, global leaders.
Rich Brubaker is a positive role model, an engaging speaker, a genuine motivator. In July 2011, Rich served as the closing keynote speaker to our international audience of students of the Global Young Leaders Conference (GYLC). His presentation was the perfect closure to GYLC's 10-day conference experience in China. Touching on topics of leadership, sustainability and responsibility, Rich had a candid and thoughtful conversation with GYLC as he shared his experiences, his successes and his challenges at different stages of his life. His canny ability to talk with the students, rather than to the students, was immediately evident as dozens and dozens of students stood to pose questions, ask for advice and provide additional comments. Rich is personable, experienced, approachable and knowledgeable.
GYLC could not have had a better speaker to address its students.
I have had the opportunity to get Richard's views on China's most pressing social and environmental issues at several occasions, and every time, Richard brought great critical thinking, analysis and perspectives to the table that proved to be incredibly useful. For all these reasons, Richard is THE go-to person (I would actually say 'influencer') for all things non-profit, CSR, and sustainability-related in China.


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Nikki Finke Is The New Hotness: 6.16
Hi kids. Miss me? I'm back just because I need to do that thing where I praise people who don't totally suck. Because we could all use a little happy, no?
Nikki Finke is the only journalist I can think of working the Hollywood beat who is actually dedicated to reporting the truth about it, unblurred by the studios, agents, stars or anyone else for that matter.
She beats--consistently, easily, thoroughl--Variety and the Hollywood Reporter; both of which should be ashamed of themselves for not having more go-getters getting scoops like her.
Into this void comes Ms. Finke, a one-woman info-freakshow. If I want the truth about something going on in Hollywood, I go to her site.
And it's usually there, a cross-section of plausible theories and her analysis on the most credible one, reporting on various degrees of confirmation about stories when she can get it.
Check her shizz at: Deadline Hollywood Daily. Do it regularly.
Also, the other new hotness is Gail Collins, who has just officially become my new favorite newspaper columnist.
Why? I'd read her stuff before and she doesn't take herself too seriously, and is often quite funny, like a wry aunt who's led an interesting life but hits the bourbon a bit too hard these days...also because it's not your actual aunt that you'll have to drive to the hospital when she breaks her nose.
I hope she can take this as the compliment it's meant to be.
But what truly gives her this distinction of new favorite and the new hotness was that hers is destined to be the best distillation of the latest iteration of the Palin family drama in the entire history of the Palin family drama canon:
But surely, when it comes to combating teen pregnancy, the Palin family has done enough damage already. What worse message could you send to teenage girls than the one they delivered at the Republican convention: If your handsome but somewhat thuglike boyfriend gets you with child, he will clean up nicely, propose marriage, and show up at an important family event wearing a suit and holding your hand. At which point you will get a standing ovation.
Well done, ladies.
The cookies above? All yours.
Labels: gail collins, Hollywood, hollywood reporter, hr, journalism, media, new hotness, newspapers, nikki finke, praise, reporters, variety