Racism/White Supremacy

Video Post – Embracing Our History of White Supremacy

Received this morning (4.28.2023) from YouTube: “Important notifications Community Guidelines warning Your content Embrace White Supremacy was removed due to a violation of our Community Guidelines.” Clearly, no one at YouTube watched even the first minute, let alone the entire video!! I appealed. To YouTube’s credit, I received a response —>> read more –>>

Racism/White Supremacy

Embracing Our History of White Supremacy – addendum

No sooner did I finish work on my 4.18.2023 post “Starting down the path to embracing White Supremacy” than I came upon a powerful essay on the Time website, “Without Indigenous History, There Is No U.S. History” by Ted Nighthawk, a professor of history and American studies at Yale University. —>> read more –>>

Other

Photos of NYC from 15,000 ft. (4,572 m)

This is definitely an “Other” category topic. My stepdaughter Andrea has long lived in Harlem overlooking Marcus Garvey Park (aka Mt.Morris Park) from the 25th story. This is a perspective that I view on every visit. Of course, I have been to the top of the Empire State Building and —>> read more –>>

Environment

Deep Sea Mining & Externalities – a favorite

Several years ago, I came on the news that deep-sea mining for nodules of nickel, cobalt, and other rare minerals was about to commence. I found a video from MIT discussing the issues surrounding this practice, Mining the Deep Sea, (link opens YouTube video) The ocean’s deep-sea bed is scattered with —>> read more –>>

Racism/White Supremacy

Addendum to “Starting down the path to embracing our history of White Supremacy”

A Reader Adds: My friend Walter Stitt wrote to me last week partially in response to my post, “Starting down the path to embracing White Supremacy” Here are his additions: “I have shared my interest in Rhode Island history, and the often salutary effect RI events had on the development —>> read more –>>

Briefly Noted

The Glory of Our Food – on the back of farm workers – more from John Oliver

Only the oldest amongst my readers will remember Edward R. Murrow’s 1960 CBS TV report Harvest of Shame (opens CBS channel on YouTube) that reported on migrant farm workers, including scenes from upstate NY and Long Island. Unfortunately, not a lot has changed for the better in the lives of migrant —>> read more –>>

Racism/White Supremacy

Starting down the path to embracing our history of White Supremacy

Several years ago, I participated in a reading group at the Hudson Area Library that worked through a range of writings by James Baldwin. Since he is an author I had not read in several decades, I was intrigued at how resilient and on target his comments about race and —>> read more –>>

Politics

Our Supreme Ethics: A Painting of Clarence Thomas, Leonard Leo, Harlan Crow, et al.

The egregious ethics violations and probable law-breaking by our Supreme Court justice are explored in depth in this article from ProPublica: Clarence Thomas and the Billionaire by Joshua Kaplan, Justin Elliott, and Alex Mierjeski (4.6.2023) It is not terribly long but much worth a read. We normally expect that judges will —>> read more –>>

Briefly Noted

Wealth & Poverty course from Robert Reich – UC Berkeley

Reich is offering an online course, “Wealth & Poverty”, that started today. I watched the first lecture, “What Happened to Income and Wealth?” Looks like this will be worth some ongoing effort. I suggest being ready at the fast forward button for the parts of the class when Reich is —>> read more –>>

Technology

Evaluating ChatGPT & AI Systems – Apply Our Social Skills

ChatGPT and its many competitors are now flooding the market. Prognosticators, bloviators and professors are wagging their tongues at top speed full-time. This headline appeared in the NYTimes two days ago, “Elon Musk and Others Call for Pause on A.I., Citing ‘Profound Risks to Society’“. Leaving aside the ironies of —>> read more –>>