1) Tea Party candidates. We heard way too much about their personalities and not nearly enough about their policies…because they didn’t have any policies to speak of, except a general anti-government bias. Yet they still wanted to be part of the government. Who were the bigger fools: the Tea Party candidates, the media that covered their every fart and sneeze, or the idiots who voted for them?
2) Financial reform will protect you from evil banks. Wrong. You have no protection from evil banks. Who do you think runs this country, anyway?
3) Healthcare Reform will make your healthcare costs skyrocket. It’s not the reform bill that’s doing that; it’s the delay in implementing it that’s given insurance companies the permission to jack up premiums now, before the law takes effect.
4) Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is still in force in the US military. In fact, the courts issued an injunction on the enforcement of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell this summer, and the military has largely given up on it. Yet Congress can’t pass a bill to repeal it. It’s the policy that died a secret death. Kind of ironic, don’t you think?
5) Taxpayers are making money on the bank bailouts. Not when the government is still pouring money into Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, AIG, and GMAC. Oh, and GM still hasn’t paid back its bailout money, but it nevertheless went ahead and bought a subprime loan company to take the place of GMAC. Business as usual in the corporate welfare state.
6) Ban on deepwater oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. It was announced by Obama right after the BP oil spill in April, but his underlings in the Interior Department didn’t get the memo. Approvals for drilling permits went on as usual all throughout the summer until the ban was officially “lifted” several weeks early.
7) Airport body scans are “confidential,” and pat-downs are making airline flights safer. With the posting of thousands of body scans on the Internet straight from a federal courthouse scanner in Florida, the “confidential” claim was proved ridiculous. And with only a few airports using the new body scanners and pat-downs, any claim that these screenings are making us “safer” is an outright lie.
8) Iranian nukes and North Korean attacks. Both are natural consequences of our aggressive, expansionist foreign policy. If they’re really such big problems, why don’t we do something about it, for example: sideline Hillary Clinton, hamstring the CIA, and bring the troops home. There, problem solved.
9) I-1077 would’ve imposed an income tax on all Washington residents. Uh, no. It was a tax on couples with income over $500,000 per year and singles with income over $250,000 per year. If the state legislature had voted to extend the tax to all Washington residents, we would have repealed it via initiative. Duh. That’s how the political process works, people.
10) The Candy Tax was a tax on food. No, no, no, no, no. And I got so sick of the TV commercial with the woman who makes organic candy bars whining about paying the tax. What does she think we are? Suckers? Well, I guess the majority of us are…or else we really like our suckers!
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Saturday, November 27, 2010
City’s Snow Response: B; State’s Response: D
Seattle’s 2008 snow storm took the city by surprise. Well, the city council president and the mayor, anyway, who were both out of town at the time at the time the snow hit. The ensuing chaos, in which the city’s department of transportation failed to plow and salt major arterials, led to the election downfall of then-Mayor Greg Nickels. Nickels was oft quoted by the press and his critics as having given the slovenly DOT a B grade for their snow response effort, when everyone felt the DOT failed miserably.
The 2010 snow storm, on the other hand, couldn’t be termed a surprise by anyone. Except maybe the Washington State Department of Transportation, which posted their entire road crew on snow plow duty and left not a single person available to open the northbound express lanes on I-5 on Monday night. This led to the single worst traffic commute in modern Seattle history.
The state DOT gave one excuse for why this “happened.” Apparently, the express lanes and their entrance ramps rank at the bottom of the snow plow list of priorities. But, hey, at 3 pm, they could have devoted one snow plow, or one truck of sand, or one salt sprayer, or even just one guy to open the damn gates and let us take our chances! Instead, people sat for hours in a parking lot on northbound I-5 literally inching their way home. The bus I rode from downtown to the NE 45th Street exit in the University District took over two hours. Unforgiveable. Especially when you’re seeing only two to three inches of snow.
And, just like in 2008, Metro Transit gets a barely passing grade. Again. At least this time, Metro chained up buses in preparation for the snow. But did they train drivers how to navigate slippery streets and find alternative, less hilly routes? No. Did they make it easy to find information on their websites on bus reroutes? No. In fact, the website offers a place for you to sign up for email or a twitter feed of storm-related updates about “your bus routes.” Which completely ignores the fact that many impoverished and elderly Metro riders don’t carry a cell phone that can receive text messages. Also, who’s going to stand around in 20 degree weather with a cell phone in their mitten-less hands? It also shows how clueless Metro officials are about how people use the bus system. No one rides only one route, okay? How hard is it to post updates on a blog right on the home page of their website?
Fortunately, this snow storm came in the week leading up to the Thanksgiving Holiday, which means many people decided to take an early holiday and stay home for a couple of days. The weather forecasters tell us we could be in for more snow. Hopefully, the state DOT and Metro will have implemented a few changes before that happens.
The 2010 snow storm, on the other hand, couldn’t be termed a surprise by anyone. Except maybe the Washington State Department of Transportation, which posted their entire road crew on snow plow duty and left not a single person available to open the northbound express lanes on I-5 on Monday night. This led to the single worst traffic commute in modern Seattle history.
The state DOT gave one excuse for why this “happened.” Apparently, the express lanes and their entrance ramps rank at the bottom of the snow plow list of priorities. But, hey, at 3 pm, they could have devoted one snow plow, or one truck of sand, or one salt sprayer, or even just one guy to open the damn gates and let us take our chances! Instead, people sat for hours in a parking lot on northbound I-5 literally inching their way home. The bus I rode from downtown to the NE 45th Street exit in the University District took over two hours. Unforgiveable. Especially when you’re seeing only two to three inches of snow.
And, just like in 2008, Metro Transit gets a barely passing grade. Again. At least this time, Metro chained up buses in preparation for the snow. But did they train drivers how to navigate slippery streets and find alternative, less hilly routes? No. Did they make it easy to find information on their websites on bus reroutes? No. In fact, the website offers a place for you to sign up for email or a twitter feed of storm-related updates about “your bus routes.” Which completely ignores the fact that many impoverished and elderly Metro riders don’t carry a cell phone that can receive text messages. Also, who’s going to stand around in 20 degree weather with a cell phone in their mitten-less hands? It also shows how clueless Metro officials are about how people use the bus system. No one rides only one route, okay? How hard is it to post updates on a blog right on the home page of their website?
Fortunately, this snow storm came in the week leading up to the Thanksgiving Holiday, which means many people decided to take an early holiday and stay home for a couple of days. The weather forecasters tell us we could be in for more snow. Hopefully, the state DOT and Metro will have implemented a few changes before that happens.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Local News: Williams Shooting and Sticking It to Seattle
This week’s local news brought one surprise and one not-so-surprising announcement:
1. The surprise: a person involved in the investigation of the police shooting of native American wood carver John T. Williams told the press this week that the carving knife found with Williams’ body was in a closed position.
In the initial reports of the shooting, the folding knife was cited as the reason why Officer Birk pulled his car over, jumped out, pursued Williams, and eventually shot him. A witness at the scene, however, told the Seattle P-I that he didn’t see Williams holding a knife at the time of the shooting.
The Seattle Police Department is now, finally, asking witnesses to come forward and speak to the homicide unit (206-684-5550), which means they may file charges against Birk—especially since many of the things Birk said immediately after the killing have been proved to be lies.
2. And now for the not-so-surprising announcement: a state lawmaker has said Seattle will definitely be on the hook for cost overruns on the downtown traffic tunnel being built to replace the viaduct.
Democrat Larry Seaquist of the 26th District that covers parts of Tacoma and Gig Harbor said he’ll make sure that Seattle residents pay for cost overruns on the tunnel, and not stick state residents with the bill. Seaquist said that his constituents had to agree to pay tolls to use the new bridge over the Tacoma Narrows, so Seattle residents should have to pay for the tunnel. If necessary, he’ll make sure that happens.
Gov. Gregoire has threatened to veto any bill that forces Seattle to pay for tunnel overruns, but a veto is not always the final say. If two-thirds of the Legislature support such a bill, they can override her veto. And sticking it to the big city is a very popular stance in state legislatures right now.
1. The surprise: a person involved in the investigation of the police shooting of native American wood carver John T. Williams told the press this week that the carving knife found with Williams’ body was in a closed position.
In the initial reports of the shooting, the folding knife was cited as the reason why Officer Birk pulled his car over, jumped out, pursued Williams, and eventually shot him. A witness at the scene, however, told the Seattle P-I that he didn’t see Williams holding a knife at the time of the shooting.
The Seattle Police Department is now, finally, asking witnesses to come forward and speak to the homicide unit (206-684-5550), which means they may file charges against Birk—especially since many of the things Birk said immediately after the killing have been proved to be lies.
2. And now for the not-so-surprising announcement: a state lawmaker has said Seattle will definitely be on the hook for cost overruns on the downtown traffic tunnel being built to replace the viaduct.
Democrat Larry Seaquist of the 26th District that covers parts of Tacoma and Gig Harbor said he’ll make sure that Seattle residents pay for cost overruns on the tunnel, and not stick state residents with the bill. Seaquist said that his constituents had to agree to pay tolls to use the new bridge over the Tacoma Narrows, so Seattle residents should have to pay for the tunnel. If necessary, he’ll make sure that happens.
Gov. Gregoire has threatened to veto any bill that forces Seattle to pay for tunnel overruns, but a veto is not always the final say. If two-thirds of the Legislature support such a bill, they can override her veto. And sticking it to the big city is a very popular stance in state legislatures right now.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
This Week's Roundup: the Elections, Metro, Patenting Genes & QE2
The following are my notes from this morning’s radio show, Eat The Airwaves, which you can find on KEXP 90.3 FM in Seattle, every Saturday morning. It’s also available online at KEXP.org as the last half hour of Mind Over Matters.
1) A general analysis of the elections – you can find my notes written up as an article entitled “The Real Reasons the Republicans Won,” on the Eat The State! website at www.EatTheState.org
2) Dino Rossi vs. Patty Murray for U.S. Senate
Rossi was the second biggest recipient in the U.S. of money from 501(c)(4) organizations which aren’t required to disclose their donors. He received a total of $5.4 million from them, and the largest chunk came from Karl Rove’s group Crossroads GPS ($3.6 million total). Rossi’s total haul from outside the state: $11 million; yet, he still couldn’t defeat Democratic incumbent Patty Murray, who received $8 million in funds from outside the state, and less than a million from 501(c)(4) groups. This is probably Rossi’s last hurrah. I can’t imagine the national Republican Party would be willing to waste any more money on him.
3) Voters defeated any initiative to increase taxes, but also stopped privatization initiatives in their tracks
It’s no surprise that voters didn’t want to tax themselves during a recession, and even voted down Initiative 1098 to impose an income tax on the wealthy. But the shocker was watching the two liquor privatization initiatives 1100 and 1105 and the initiative to privatize the state’s workers’ compensation program go down in flames. How can we explain this?
More conservative voters come to the polls during midterm elections and, while they tend to support conservative goals like privatizing government services, this time they clearly bought into the negative advertising that privatizing liquor sales would make hard alcohol more available to underage drinkers. They also mistrusted evil insurance companies to handle the state’s workers’ comp system—proving that conservatives can also have a healthy dose of common sense.
4) Regional Transit Task Force
The 28-member Regional Transit Task Force issued its report on the state of the Metro Transit bus system. The taskforce was formed 8 months ago by the King County Council to find ways to retain bus services with dwindling tax revenue.
Their biggest recommendation: ditch the 40/40/20 rule for new bus service. That rule was formed as a compromise to get rural council members to support taxes for transit service. It specifies that any new bus services be allocated 40% to East King County, 40% to South King County, and 20% to the City of Seattle. Unfortunately, most of the ridership—hence, most of the demand for new or increased service—is in Seattle.
Also, they recommended getting rid of the 60/20/20 rule for service cutbacks. Because cuts are spread evenly throughout the system and most of the routes are in Seattle, the cutbacks tend to be as follows: 60% in Seattle and 20% each in East and South King County.
Instead, the taskforce recommends that the county council and Metro draft a new, transparent policy for service changes based on population densities, job concentration, geographic coverage, and integration with other transit agencies. Hmm. It took them 8 months to figure that out?
5) Good news for Metro
Metro Transit received two grants from the Federal Transit Administration. The first is $4.7 million to test a prototype electric-battery powered bus. Currently, Metro has an aging fleet of electric trolley buses that run on overhead wires, and are due for replacement. The electric-battery powered buses would not need overhead wires, which are expensive to maintain; they would plug into charging stations. They’re popular in other countries around the world, especially in Europe, but are brand new in the U.S., and Metro was lucky enough to get a grant to test them here.
The second grant is for $6 million to buy hybrid diesel-electric buses to replace old diesel-only buses. This is another step forward in eliminating greenhouse gas emissions from the heavy vehicle transportation system, which is the fastest growing source of emissions in the U.S. Hurray for Metro!
6) Stop patenting my genes!
This past week, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a friend of the court brief that said genes should not be eligible for patents unless they are significantly altered. This is a major change in U.S. government policy: the Patent and Trade Office has issued thousands of patents on genes, including about 20% of human genes.
The brief was filed in a case brought by the ACLU, The Public Patent Foundation, and various medical researchers and groups against Myriad Genetics and the University of Utah Research Foundation, who hold two patents on genes implicated in breast cancer: BRCA1 and BRCA2. In March, Judge Robert W. Sweet of U.S. District Court in Manhattan ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, saying that merely isolating a gene doesn’t change its nature and make it eligible to be patented. Myriad and the University of Utah are appealing.
7) QE2 has arrived
This week, the Federal Reserve announced a second round of quantitative easing, nicknamed “QE2” in the European press. Quantitative easing refers to a process whereby the Fed prints more money and uses it to by longer term government bonds in an attempt to lower long-term government interest rates. Long-term government interest rates determine mortgage rates and the rates for many corporate bonds.
The idea is that lower long-term rates will make it easier for more people to refinance their mortgages (of course, that won’t help anyone going through foreclosure). It’s also supposed to raise stock prices (investors will get out of bonds and buy stocks, which have a better rate of return, thereby increasing stock prices). This is supposed to increase the value of people’s portfolios and make them more willing to spend money, which will stimulate the economy (consumer spending makes up about 2/3 of all economic activity).
However, the Fed hasn’t taken into account a few important lessons from the recent recession:
First, not enough Americans hold stock to make this an effective spur for consumption. With record levels of income disparity and a shrinking middle class, the whole stock ownership thing has bypassed most Americans.
Second, stock prices have fallen dramatically and have a long ways to go to make up for the losses of the last two years. It’s going to take a while for even folks with substantial portfolios to feel like spending again.
And finally, Most Americans who do own stocks own them in a retirement fund, which makes up only a small portion of their “wealth”…with the biggest portion being the value of their home. Until house prices recover, consumer confidence will continue to sag.
8) QE2 is pissing off the whole world.
Printing more U.S. dollars means a greater supply of them, which weakens the value of the dollar relative to other currencies in the world. Other nations’ goods become more expensive for U.S. consumers to buy.
Americans are the world’s main consumers—except for China’s enormous population, and their consumption is limited by their limited buying power. (China keeps the value of its currency low so that the whole world can continue to afford its products, but that also limits what Chinese people can buy.)
By printing more U.S. dollars, the Federal Reserve is creating inflation on an international scale, which is pissing off some of our major allies. They look at us and say, “Why can’t you be more fiscally responsible? Why can’t your government cut military spending, manage healthcare costs, and do more stimulus spending to create jobs? That’s what you need. Instead, you’re printing more money? What’s wrong with you?”
I have to agree.
1) A general analysis of the elections – you can find my notes written up as an article entitled “The Real Reasons the Republicans Won,” on the Eat The State! website at www.EatTheState.org
2) Dino Rossi vs. Patty Murray for U.S. Senate
Rossi was the second biggest recipient in the U.S. of money from 501(c)(4) organizations which aren’t required to disclose their donors. He received a total of $5.4 million from them, and the largest chunk came from Karl Rove’s group Crossroads GPS ($3.6 million total). Rossi’s total haul from outside the state: $11 million; yet, he still couldn’t defeat Democratic incumbent Patty Murray, who received $8 million in funds from outside the state, and less than a million from 501(c)(4) groups. This is probably Rossi’s last hurrah. I can’t imagine the national Republican Party would be willing to waste any more money on him.
3) Voters defeated any initiative to increase taxes, but also stopped privatization initiatives in their tracks
It’s no surprise that voters didn’t want to tax themselves during a recession, and even voted down Initiative 1098 to impose an income tax on the wealthy. But the shocker was watching the two liquor privatization initiatives 1100 and 1105 and the initiative to privatize the state’s workers’ compensation program go down in flames. How can we explain this?
More conservative voters come to the polls during midterm elections and, while they tend to support conservative goals like privatizing government services, this time they clearly bought into the negative advertising that privatizing liquor sales would make hard alcohol more available to underage drinkers. They also mistrusted evil insurance companies to handle the state’s workers’ comp system—proving that conservatives can also have a healthy dose of common sense.
4) Regional Transit Task Force
The 28-member Regional Transit Task Force issued its report on the state of the Metro Transit bus system. The taskforce was formed 8 months ago by the King County Council to find ways to retain bus services with dwindling tax revenue.
Their biggest recommendation: ditch the 40/40/20 rule for new bus service. That rule was formed as a compromise to get rural council members to support taxes for transit service. It specifies that any new bus services be allocated 40% to East King County, 40% to South King County, and 20% to the City of Seattle. Unfortunately, most of the ridership—hence, most of the demand for new or increased service—is in Seattle.
Also, they recommended getting rid of the 60/20/20 rule for service cutbacks. Because cuts are spread evenly throughout the system and most of the routes are in Seattle, the cutbacks tend to be as follows: 60% in Seattle and 20% each in East and South King County.
Instead, the taskforce recommends that the county council and Metro draft a new, transparent policy for service changes based on population densities, job concentration, geographic coverage, and integration with other transit agencies. Hmm. It took them 8 months to figure that out?
5) Good news for Metro
Metro Transit received two grants from the Federal Transit Administration. The first is $4.7 million to test a prototype electric-battery powered bus. Currently, Metro has an aging fleet of electric trolley buses that run on overhead wires, and are due for replacement. The electric-battery powered buses would not need overhead wires, which are expensive to maintain; they would plug into charging stations. They’re popular in other countries around the world, especially in Europe, but are brand new in the U.S., and Metro was lucky enough to get a grant to test them here.
The second grant is for $6 million to buy hybrid diesel-electric buses to replace old diesel-only buses. This is another step forward in eliminating greenhouse gas emissions from the heavy vehicle transportation system, which is the fastest growing source of emissions in the U.S. Hurray for Metro!
6) Stop patenting my genes!
This past week, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a friend of the court brief that said genes should not be eligible for patents unless they are significantly altered. This is a major change in U.S. government policy: the Patent and Trade Office has issued thousands of patents on genes, including about 20% of human genes.
The brief was filed in a case brought by the ACLU, The Public Patent Foundation, and various medical researchers and groups against Myriad Genetics and the University of Utah Research Foundation, who hold two patents on genes implicated in breast cancer: BRCA1 and BRCA2. In March, Judge Robert W. Sweet of U.S. District Court in Manhattan ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, saying that merely isolating a gene doesn’t change its nature and make it eligible to be patented. Myriad and the University of Utah are appealing.
7) QE2 has arrived
This week, the Federal Reserve announced a second round of quantitative easing, nicknamed “QE2” in the European press. Quantitative easing refers to a process whereby the Fed prints more money and uses it to by longer term government bonds in an attempt to lower long-term government interest rates. Long-term government interest rates determine mortgage rates and the rates for many corporate bonds.
The idea is that lower long-term rates will make it easier for more people to refinance their mortgages (of course, that won’t help anyone going through foreclosure). It’s also supposed to raise stock prices (investors will get out of bonds and buy stocks, which have a better rate of return, thereby increasing stock prices). This is supposed to increase the value of people’s portfolios and make them more willing to spend money, which will stimulate the economy (consumer spending makes up about 2/3 of all economic activity).
However, the Fed hasn’t taken into account a few important lessons from the recent recession:
First, not enough Americans hold stock to make this an effective spur for consumption. With record levels of income disparity and a shrinking middle class, the whole stock ownership thing has bypassed most Americans.
Second, stock prices have fallen dramatically and have a long ways to go to make up for the losses of the last two years. It’s going to take a while for even folks with substantial portfolios to feel like spending again.
And finally, Most Americans who do own stocks own them in a retirement fund, which makes up only a small portion of their “wealth”…with the biggest portion being the value of their home. Until house prices recover, consumer confidence will continue to sag.
8) QE2 is pissing off the whole world.
Printing more U.S. dollars means a greater supply of them, which weakens the value of the dollar relative to other currencies in the world. Other nations’ goods become more expensive for U.S. consumers to buy.
Americans are the world’s main consumers—except for China’s enormous population, and their consumption is limited by their limited buying power. (China keeps the value of its currency low so that the whole world can continue to afford its products, but that also limits what Chinese people can buy.)
By printing more U.S. dollars, the Federal Reserve is creating inflation on an international scale, which is pissing off some of our major allies. They look at us and say, “Why can’t you be more fiscally responsible? Why can’t your government cut military spending, manage healthcare costs, and do more stimulus spending to create jobs? That’s what you need. Instead, you’re printing more money? What’s wrong with you?”
I have to agree.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Tunnel Budget: A Moving Target
This week a coalition of social justice groups announced a new initiative to limit the City of Seattle’s liability for cost overruns on the downtown traffic tunnel being built to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct.
Now, here’s the thing I’ve never understood: what exactly is the real budget for the tunnel?
The local media, including The Seattle Times, the P-I, and local TV news programs, call the tunnel a “$1.96 billion project.” But the Washington State Department of Transportation says the total budget is $4.2 billion.
Okay, so local media must be referring to the City of Seattle’s portion of the project, right? Wrong. Because the state’s portion of the costs is capped at $2.8 billion. When you add $2.8 billion to $1.96 billion you get closer to $5 billion than $4.2 billion.
To make matters worse, my memory recalls that WashDOT’s original estimate was in the neighborhood of $7 to $11 billion. Then they started tinkering with the design and cost estimates in an attempt to make the tunnel seem affordable in comparison with the other options, particularly the surface street option, which was the most affordable option of all.
Instead, we have this boondoggle of a tunnel that seems to have no fixed budget. Maybe that’s because it’s the largest traffic tunnel in history—another fact that gets left out of local media reports.
This week, Gov. Gregoire announced that two companies have submitted bids for the tunnel construction. These bids are top secret, apparently, since she gave no details, other than to say that they both came in under budget. Whatever in the hell that means.
Seattle residents have to remember, however, that while the state’s costs are limited to $2.8 billion, Seattle’s costs are unlimited. Hence the initiative being drafted by the Sierra Club, Real Change News, and other social justice groups. They’re hoping to get their initiative drafted and signature gatherers deployed in time to get it onto the August ballot. Tunnel construction is due to start in late 2011.
Stay tuned.
Now, here’s the thing I’ve never understood: what exactly is the real budget for the tunnel?
The local media, including The Seattle Times, the P-I, and local TV news programs, call the tunnel a “$1.96 billion project.” But the Washington State Department of Transportation says the total budget is $4.2 billion.
Okay, so local media must be referring to the City of Seattle’s portion of the project, right? Wrong. Because the state’s portion of the costs is capped at $2.8 billion. When you add $2.8 billion to $1.96 billion you get closer to $5 billion than $4.2 billion.
To make matters worse, my memory recalls that WashDOT’s original estimate was in the neighborhood of $7 to $11 billion. Then they started tinkering with the design and cost estimates in an attempt to make the tunnel seem affordable in comparison with the other options, particularly the surface street option, which was the most affordable option of all.
Instead, we have this boondoggle of a tunnel that seems to have no fixed budget. Maybe that’s because it’s the largest traffic tunnel in history—another fact that gets left out of local media reports.
This week, Gov. Gregoire announced that two companies have submitted bids for the tunnel construction. These bids are top secret, apparently, since she gave no details, other than to say that they both came in under budget. Whatever in the hell that means.
Seattle residents have to remember, however, that while the state’s costs are limited to $2.8 billion, Seattle’s costs are unlimited. Hence the initiative being drafted by the Sierra Club, Real Change News, and other social justice groups. They’re hoping to get their initiative drafted and signature gatherers deployed in time to get it onto the August ballot. Tunnel construction is due to start in late 2011.
Stay tuned.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Civilian Review Board? Anyone?
This week the ACLU sent a letter to Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn and Seattle Police Chief John Diaz protesting the shooting of Native American wood carver John T. Williams by a Seattle police officer. The letter called for a review of training procedures at the Seattle Police Department. It hinted that failures in leadership might be responsible for a recent increase in violence against homeless folks and people of color by SPD officers, and that the department might try to cultivate some “cross-cultural” skills.
Even this mild letter provoked indignation from SPD Chief Diaz and the local pro-business press (The Seattle Times). Mayor McGinn took a wait-and-see attitude: let’s all wait for the results of the inquest and the Firearms Review Board’s ruling. Well, past inquests have, without fail, ruled in favor of the police department. The Firearms Review Board is run by Deputy Police Chief Clark Kimerer, so we can’t hold out any hopes for that.
Where are the calls for a civilian review board? Community activists still want one, but in this one-newspaper town, there’s no media forum for debating the issue. So the idea of a civilian review has disapeared from view. Except here, of course.
Even this mild letter provoked indignation from SPD Chief Diaz and the local pro-business press (The Seattle Times). Mayor McGinn took a wait-and-see attitude: let’s all wait for the results of the inquest and the Firearms Review Board’s ruling. Well, past inquests have, without fail, ruled in favor of the police department. The Firearms Review Board is run by Deputy Police Chief Clark Kimerer, so we can’t hold out any hopes for that.
Where are the calls for a civilian review board? Community activists still want one, but in this one-newspaper town, there’s no media forum for debating the issue. So the idea of a civilian review has disapeared from view. Except here, of course.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
G-20 Inside and Out
The Canadian government spent $1 billion on security for the G-20 summit in Toronto, but still wasn’t able to keep a few black-bloc protestors from smashing store windows and burning two police cars. Or perhaps I should say “and” instead of “but,” because it was clear that the police were not concerned about property damage. If anything, the sacrifice of two police cars was a small price to pay in order to justify the hundreds of millions spent on new equipment and overtime for 20,000 police, soldiers, and intelligence officers.
Wait a minute—what do they mean by “intelligence officers”? Go to YouTube and search for “g-20 protests” and you’ll find a video of plainclothes police that shows exactly where Canadian tax dollars went: to pay dozens of cops in t-shirts and jeans wielding sticks and beating protestors. One was even dressed as a black-bloc protestor, leading to the question: did the police infiltrate protest groups in order to cause violence and justify the crackdown on peaceful protestors? The answer appears to be “yes.”
Meanwhile, on the other side of the barriers, the heads of state for the 20 most developed nations were fussing about what to do to appease their restive populations and save the global economy. Their economists cast the problem as a simple either/or choice: either governments continue to go deeper into debt by spending money on economic stimulus plans to save the global economy, or governments can cut spending on social programs to pay down their debts and avoid bankruptcy (but this might further hurt the economy). The Obama administration’s official policy is that the US government can do both at the same time, without giving any convincing details about how they will accomplish this impossible feat.
No one mentions the third way—the only sane option in the face of the worst economic downtown since the 1930’s—that governments do what nearly every household in the world has been forced to do over the last two years: cut spending on nonessential items and use the savings to pay down debts and buy necessities.
In other words, to save the global economy and government balance sheets, governments must do the following: stop financing wars and military appropriations and do away with corporate give-aways. In the case of the US government, which finances both sides of the war in Afghanistan, ending two wars in the Middle East would save enormous amounts of money. Ending the inefficient and ineffective efforts to prop up the housing market (hundreds of millions of dollars poured into Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, plus billions of dollars in no-interest loans to big banks, plus tax credits for homebuyers and mortgage holders) would free up plenty of money to pay down the deficit.
And there would be lots of money left over to finance necessities that create jobs in the US economy: healthcare, education, infrastructure (telecom systems, transit systems, water and sewer systems, etc.) and social services.
History shows that this third way is the only one that works; it’s what saved us in the 1930’s and 1940’s. But it’s “politically impossible” to discuss, much less implement, because it is, in fact, Socialism.
And we need to try it again.
Wait a minute—what do they mean by “intelligence officers”? Go to YouTube and search for “g-20 protests” and you’ll find a video of plainclothes police that shows exactly where Canadian tax dollars went: to pay dozens of cops in t-shirts and jeans wielding sticks and beating protestors. One was even dressed as a black-bloc protestor, leading to the question: did the police infiltrate protest groups in order to cause violence and justify the crackdown on peaceful protestors? The answer appears to be “yes.”
Meanwhile, on the other side of the barriers, the heads of state for the 20 most developed nations were fussing about what to do to appease their restive populations and save the global economy. Their economists cast the problem as a simple either/or choice: either governments continue to go deeper into debt by spending money on economic stimulus plans to save the global economy, or governments can cut spending on social programs to pay down their debts and avoid bankruptcy (but this might further hurt the economy). The Obama administration’s official policy is that the US government can do both at the same time, without giving any convincing details about how they will accomplish this impossible feat.
No one mentions the third way—the only sane option in the face of the worst economic downtown since the 1930’s—that governments do what nearly every household in the world has been forced to do over the last two years: cut spending on nonessential items and use the savings to pay down debts and buy necessities.
In other words, to save the global economy and government balance sheets, governments must do the following: stop financing wars and military appropriations and do away with corporate give-aways. In the case of the US government, which finances both sides of the war in Afghanistan, ending two wars in the Middle East would save enormous amounts of money. Ending the inefficient and ineffective efforts to prop up the housing market (hundreds of millions of dollars poured into Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, plus billions of dollars in no-interest loans to big banks, plus tax credits for homebuyers and mortgage holders) would free up plenty of money to pay down the deficit.
And there would be lots of money left over to finance necessities that create jobs in the US economy: healthcare, education, infrastructure (telecom systems, transit systems, water and sewer systems, etc.) and social services.
History shows that this third way is the only one that works; it’s what saved us in the 1930’s and 1940’s. But it’s “politically impossible” to discuss, much less implement, because it is, in fact, Socialism.
And we need to try it again.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Two More Great Documentary Films
On the last weekend of the Seattle International Film Festival, I saw two documentaries that I recommend people seek out:
Last Train Home was about the largest annual human migration in the world: when 130 million Chinese workers leave their factory jobs to return home to the countryside to visit their families for Chinese New Year. The filmmaker follows one family over the course of four years to gauge the impact of China’s position as the main manufacturer to the world. This film was much better than I expected it to be, and definitely worth seeking out, especially if you’d like to know who makes your blue jeans, t-shirts, iPods, and other inexpensive, imported goods.
Plug & Pray – a film about computer technology, robots, and artificial intelligence might seem like something only an egghead would care about. But this film centers on interviews with Joseph Weizenbaum, a retired computer science professor at MIT, who is critical of the impact of computers and handheld devices on our culture and lifestyle. His realist viewpoint is juxtaposed with interviews of computer scientists and engineers who are trying to bring about a future where people will become human/machine hybrids. Their stated goal is to find a way to cure disease, but eventually their real goal is revealed: eternal life—but only for a select few. If you think genetically modified food is bad, this film will scare the heck out of you.
This year, like every year, SIFF had a lot of really good films. But Seattle is a film mecca year-round, with several independent screens. For example, SIFF will be showing The Best of SIFF this weekend: three days of films that were voted the best of the film festival by audiences and the SIFF jury. (The SIFF Cinema is located in the basement of McCaw Hall at the Seattle Center.)
Also this weekend, Northwest Film Forum will be showing The Oath, a documentary I reviewed on May 31st (see my blog post for that day). It will run from June 18th through the 24th. Check it out.
Last Train Home was about the largest annual human migration in the world: when 130 million Chinese workers leave their factory jobs to return home to the countryside to visit their families for Chinese New Year. The filmmaker follows one family over the course of four years to gauge the impact of China’s position as the main manufacturer to the world. This film was much better than I expected it to be, and definitely worth seeking out, especially if you’d like to know who makes your blue jeans, t-shirts, iPods, and other inexpensive, imported goods.
Plug & Pray – a film about computer technology, robots, and artificial intelligence might seem like something only an egghead would care about. But this film centers on interviews with Joseph Weizenbaum, a retired computer science professor at MIT, who is critical of the impact of computers and handheld devices on our culture and lifestyle. His realist viewpoint is juxtaposed with interviews of computer scientists and engineers who are trying to bring about a future where people will become human/machine hybrids. Their stated goal is to find a way to cure disease, but eventually their real goal is revealed: eternal life—but only for a select few. If you think genetically modified food is bad, this film will scare the heck out of you.
This year, like every year, SIFF had a lot of really good films. But Seattle is a film mecca year-round, with several independent screens. For example, SIFF will be showing The Best of SIFF this weekend: three days of films that were voted the best of the film festival by audiences and the SIFF jury. (The SIFF Cinema is located in the basement of McCaw Hall at the Seattle Center.)
Also this weekend, Northwest Film Forum will be showing The Oath, a documentary I reviewed on May 31st (see my blog post for that day). It will run from June 18th through the 24th. Check it out.
Monday, June 7, 2010
More SIFF Films
Here’s a few of the better feature films I’ve seen at the Seattle International Film Festival this year:
Crab Trap – a fine little film set in an Afro-Colombian community on the coast. Having just won an electrical hook-up from the Colombian government, the residents find themselves fighting a white developer who wants to turn their beach into a tourist resort. Meanwhile, another outsider, who wants to hire a boat to sneak him out of the country, finds himself caught like a crab in a trap because all the local fishermen have taken their boats far out from shore in search of an ever-dwindling supply of fish. A beautiful film with its own leisurely pace.
Southern District – Set in a wealthy household in the Bolivian capital, this film was remarkable for the director’s use of long, single-scene shots that pan away from the characters to show the house and all its rich possessions. The house eventually becomes the main character of the film. Few films have done a better job of showing how wealth can so effectively create tensions with a family while isolating it from the rest of the world, and even the lower-class servants who also inhabit the house.
Winter’s Bone – A 17-year-old girl is the head of her Ozark mountain family, since her mother’s mental breakdown and her father’s arrest for cooking methamphetamines. Her father puts the house up for his bond to get out of jail and promptly disappears under mysterious circumstances. Not convinced that he disappeared on his own, the daughter goes in search of him. Her search reveals hidden, disturbing secrets about her rural community. This film deserves a wide release, but don’t hold your breath. Look for it on DVD.
Cell 211 – winner of Spain’s Goya Awards, this film is intense and violent, but also contains a critical look at the brutality of prison life. The main character is a prison guard starting his first day of work who gets caught in a prison riot and is forced to pretend he’s an inmate to survive. Eventually, he comes to sympathize with the prisoners.
And these three documentaries were outstanding:
American Faust: From Condi to Neo-Condi – This film was a fascinating look at who Condoleeza Rice really is and what motivates her. Many folks have been perplexed by how an intelligent, African-American woman could become involved with the Bush neo-cons. This film shows you how.
The Two Horses of Genghis Khan – I found this film particularly moving, maybe because I’ve been reading about the Chinese government’s efforts to suppress its 50 minority populations. Two Horses follows the travels of a Mongolian singer/songwriter who goes in search of the lyrics of a traditional Mongolian song her grandmother used to sing to her. With beautiful cinematography and lots of Mongolian music, it reveals that the Cultural Revolution is far from over.
The Tillman Story – Far better than I expected it to be, this film tells the story of Pat Tillman, the major league football player who gave up a multi-million-dollar career to enlist in the army after 9-11. Expecting to fight in Afghanistan, he was shocked and disillusioned to find himself deployed to Iraq. It tells the story of how the Pentagon and Bush administration used his death for propaganda purposes, and how his family eventually found out the truth.
The film festival continues through Sunday, June 13th, and I hope to see at least six more films. I hope they’re as good as the ones I’ve seen so far.
Crab Trap – a fine little film set in an Afro-Colombian community on the coast. Having just won an electrical hook-up from the Colombian government, the residents find themselves fighting a white developer who wants to turn their beach into a tourist resort. Meanwhile, another outsider, who wants to hire a boat to sneak him out of the country, finds himself caught like a crab in a trap because all the local fishermen have taken their boats far out from shore in search of an ever-dwindling supply of fish. A beautiful film with its own leisurely pace.
Southern District – Set in a wealthy household in the Bolivian capital, this film was remarkable for the director’s use of long, single-scene shots that pan away from the characters to show the house and all its rich possessions. The house eventually becomes the main character of the film. Few films have done a better job of showing how wealth can so effectively create tensions with a family while isolating it from the rest of the world, and even the lower-class servants who also inhabit the house.
Winter’s Bone – A 17-year-old girl is the head of her Ozark mountain family, since her mother’s mental breakdown and her father’s arrest for cooking methamphetamines. Her father puts the house up for his bond to get out of jail and promptly disappears under mysterious circumstances. Not convinced that he disappeared on his own, the daughter goes in search of him. Her search reveals hidden, disturbing secrets about her rural community. This film deserves a wide release, but don’t hold your breath. Look for it on DVD.
Cell 211 – winner of Spain’s Goya Awards, this film is intense and violent, but also contains a critical look at the brutality of prison life. The main character is a prison guard starting his first day of work who gets caught in a prison riot and is forced to pretend he’s an inmate to survive. Eventually, he comes to sympathize with the prisoners.
And these three documentaries were outstanding:
American Faust: From Condi to Neo-Condi – This film was a fascinating look at who Condoleeza Rice really is and what motivates her. Many folks have been perplexed by how an intelligent, African-American woman could become involved with the Bush neo-cons. This film shows you how.
The Two Horses of Genghis Khan – I found this film particularly moving, maybe because I’ve been reading about the Chinese government’s efforts to suppress its 50 minority populations. Two Horses follows the travels of a Mongolian singer/songwriter who goes in search of the lyrics of a traditional Mongolian song her grandmother used to sing to her. With beautiful cinematography and lots of Mongolian music, it reveals that the Cultural Revolution is far from over.
The Tillman Story – Far better than I expected it to be, this film tells the story of Pat Tillman, the major league football player who gave up a multi-million-dollar career to enlist in the army after 9-11. Expecting to fight in Afghanistan, he was shocked and disillusioned to find himself deployed to Iraq. It tells the story of how the Pentagon and Bush administration used his death for propaganda purposes, and how his family eventually found out the truth.
The film festival continues through Sunday, June 13th, and I hope to see at least six more films. I hope they’re as good as the ones I’ve seen so far.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Gaza: The Media Blockade
On Monday, Israeli troops boarded a boat in international waters that was carrying humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. During that raid, at least nine people were killed, all of them activists who are working to end the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip.
Aside from the horror I felt at hearing this news, I was dumbstruck at the ineptitude of the news reports of the raid. The US media not only fell down on the job, it fell into a black hole.
The worst offender was the New York Times, which adhered entirely to the Israeli government line. They reported, as uncontested fact, that activists on board the boat fired pistols at the Israeli soldiers, who rappelled onto the ship from helicopters hovering above. They reported that nine people died, but not that the dead were activists, members of the flotilla, not Israeli soldiers. Instead, after mentioning the number of dead, The New York Times never mentions them again at all; it lingers instead on the wounds suffered by Israeli soldiers and makes much of the fact that two soldiers were treated for bullet wounds. Apparently, The New York Times reporter never thought to ask if the wounds were from friendly fire.
Oh, and by the way, pipes and knives were found on the boat. I can think of many uses for spare lengths of pipe on a ship. And knives—for heaven’s sake. What else are you going to use to cut rope, or—for that matter—cut your vegetables to make soup?
The Associated Press wire service articles were little better. They relied on quotes from soldiers and the Israeli government and when they did quote an activist, it wasn’t a person who’d been on the boat during the raid. The articles never mentioned the names of the organizations that sponsored the flotilla, and only one article mentioned that a group formed by Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, and former President Jimmy Carter (the group remained unnamed, of course) condemned the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip as “one of the greatest humanitarian rights violations”—but that quote was in the second to last paragraph of a 20-paragraph article. [“Israel boat raid sparks condemnations, protests,” by Selcan Hacaoglu and Lee Keath, AP, 5/31/09.]
Both the New York Times and AP articles barely mention the blockade of the Gaza Strip, and when they do, they quote Israeli government assurances that residents of Gaza are well provided for. No other viewpoint is sought, no effort is made to find out what is really happening inside the Gaza Strip, as if fact-based reporting might reveal inconvenient truths about one of America’s biggest allies in the Middle East.
As I told a friend today, the US press corps’ silence over the effects of the Gaza blockade remind me of a similar resounding silence over the brutal effects of sanctions the US government imposed on Iraq throughout the 1990’s. Like the continuing blockade of Gaza, the Iraq sanctions came after an outside force--the US--destroyed most of Iraq’s vital civilian infrastructure in the first Gulf War. Israel, having bombed the heck out of Gaza, is now starving the Gazans of the equipment needed to rebuild and provide clean water, food, electricity, sanitation, medical care, safe housing, and other necessities to its residents. And this is provoking a major outcry from nearly every other nation of the world except the US.
And the US people remain insulated from that truth.
Aside from the horror I felt at hearing this news, I was dumbstruck at the ineptitude of the news reports of the raid. The US media not only fell down on the job, it fell into a black hole.
The worst offender was the New York Times, which adhered entirely to the Israeli government line. They reported, as uncontested fact, that activists on board the boat fired pistols at the Israeli soldiers, who rappelled onto the ship from helicopters hovering above. They reported that nine people died, but not that the dead were activists, members of the flotilla, not Israeli soldiers. Instead, after mentioning the number of dead, The New York Times never mentions them again at all; it lingers instead on the wounds suffered by Israeli soldiers and makes much of the fact that two soldiers were treated for bullet wounds. Apparently, The New York Times reporter never thought to ask if the wounds were from friendly fire.
Oh, and by the way, pipes and knives were found on the boat. I can think of many uses for spare lengths of pipe on a ship. And knives—for heaven’s sake. What else are you going to use to cut rope, or—for that matter—cut your vegetables to make soup?
The Associated Press wire service articles were little better. They relied on quotes from soldiers and the Israeli government and when they did quote an activist, it wasn’t a person who’d been on the boat during the raid. The articles never mentioned the names of the organizations that sponsored the flotilla, and only one article mentioned that a group formed by Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, and former President Jimmy Carter (the group remained unnamed, of course) condemned the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip as “one of the greatest humanitarian rights violations”—but that quote was in the second to last paragraph of a 20-paragraph article. [“Israel boat raid sparks condemnations, protests,” by Selcan Hacaoglu and Lee Keath, AP, 5/31/09.]
Both the New York Times and AP articles barely mention the blockade of the Gaza Strip, and when they do, they quote Israeli government assurances that residents of Gaza are well provided for. No other viewpoint is sought, no effort is made to find out what is really happening inside the Gaza Strip, as if fact-based reporting might reveal inconvenient truths about one of America’s biggest allies in the Middle East.
As I told a friend today, the US press corps’ silence over the effects of the Gaza blockade remind me of a similar resounding silence over the brutal effects of sanctions the US government imposed on Iraq throughout the 1990’s. Like the continuing blockade of Gaza, the Iraq sanctions came after an outside force--the US--destroyed most of Iraq’s vital civilian infrastructure in the first Gulf War. Israel, having bombed the heck out of Gaza, is now starving the Gazans of the equipment needed to rebuild and provide clean water, food, electricity, sanitation, medical care, safe housing, and other necessities to its residents. And this is provoking a major outcry from nearly every other nation of the world except the US.
And the US people remain insulated from that truth.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Seattle International Film Festival
I’m a cinephile who’s always had a love/hate relationship with the Seattle International Film Festival. In the early 1990’s when I first started going to the festival, it was devoted almost entirely to foreign films, which made it a paradise for those of us who hunger for films not made in Hollywood.
But even back then, there were problems with the way the festival was run. It was almost entirely run by volunteers, and it showed. Morning screenings often started late because the volunteers had slept in. You had to wait—sometimes for hours—in a long line to buy your tickets from a single box office. And each venue differed in how efficiently it was run. You might show up at 6:30 for a 7 pm film and find yourself standing in the rain until 7:30 while the volunteers went through a shift-change.
Sometimes even the films suffered. I recall one memorable screening of a Russian World War II film that switched halfway through to a scene of Polish teenagers climbing through a bedroom window in modern-day Gdansk. (The projectionist apologized by saying that the reels must have gotten mixed up at the office because Russian words looked exactly like Polish ones to him.)
Over the years, the little foreign film festival with sparse audience attendance has evolved into a behemoth that screens documentaries, foreign blockbusters, independently made US films, and the rejects from major Hollywood studios. It’s easier to obtain tickets and the screenings start on time, but you still have to wait an hour in line at each screening in order to get a good seat. And if you find a foreign gem, it’s only after much sifting.
Yet I still attend the festival, every year, with the hope of finding one or two (or maybe a few more) really good films that I wouldn’t be able to see otherwise. This year, I’m focusing on documentaries and foreign films with a political subtext.
Here’s a list of the documentaries I’ve seen so far:
Queen of the Sun – an artful film about the honey bee and everything it does for the human race. This film examines the state of the American honey bee and various threats to its existence, including commercial agriculture, monoculture crops, pesticides, the use of antibiotics in commercial bee hives, and Colony Collapse Disorder. But the film is uplifting, with its focus on independent, organic beekeepers, whose ranks include aging hippies, retired scientists, and a third generation beekeeper engaged in urban guerrilla beekeeping on the rooftop of her New York apartment building.
The Oath – filmmaker Laura Poitras, who directed My Country, My Country which was nominated for an Academy Award in 2006, interviews Abu Jindal, the brother-in-law of Guantanamo detainee Salim Hamdan. Almost immediately, it becomes clear that Abu Jindal, who works as a cab driver in Yemen, knows more about the inner workings of Al Qaeda than 90% of the detainees being held in indefinite detention at Guantanamo. The film reveals the complexities of the US war on terror by going inside the mind of a man who was once, and may still be (despite his protestations to the contrary), a true believer in jihad. I found this film fascinating because I couldn’t definitely pin down who Abu Jindal is and what he truly believes. Whether that’s a reflection of the man himself or the limitations of the medium—a film made by a Western woman—is still a question I’m asking myself days after I saw this film.
Gerrymandering – a worthwhile topic for a film, but first-time director Jeff Reichert has invested more time in making this documentary visually entertaining than in defining his message. Tellingly, the film lacks a coherent historical timeline of gerrymandering in US politics. It sort of resembles…well…a gerrymandered Congressional district: all over the map without a valid reason for how it was cobbled together.
Turtle, the Incredible Journey – billed as a family-friendly film, there’s a lot more in Turtle for adults to enjoy than in most films made for children. It narrates the lifecycle of the loggerhead turtle, which goes on one of the longest migratory routes of any animal on the planet. The filmmakers captured a lot of stunning undersea photography. If you get a chance to see this one on the big screen, go for it.
So during my first week at the festival, I’ve had three good hits and one miss. Not bad so far.
But even back then, there were problems with the way the festival was run. It was almost entirely run by volunteers, and it showed. Morning screenings often started late because the volunteers had slept in. You had to wait—sometimes for hours—in a long line to buy your tickets from a single box office. And each venue differed in how efficiently it was run. You might show up at 6:30 for a 7 pm film and find yourself standing in the rain until 7:30 while the volunteers went through a shift-change.
Sometimes even the films suffered. I recall one memorable screening of a Russian World War II film that switched halfway through to a scene of Polish teenagers climbing through a bedroom window in modern-day Gdansk. (The projectionist apologized by saying that the reels must have gotten mixed up at the office because Russian words looked exactly like Polish ones to him.)
Over the years, the little foreign film festival with sparse audience attendance has evolved into a behemoth that screens documentaries, foreign blockbusters, independently made US films, and the rejects from major Hollywood studios. It’s easier to obtain tickets and the screenings start on time, but you still have to wait an hour in line at each screening in order to get a good seat. And if you find a foreign gem, it’s only after much sifting.
Yet I still attend the festival, every year, with the hope of finding one or two (or maybe a few more) really good films that I wouldn’t be able to see otherwise. This year, I’m focusing on documentaries and foreign films with a political subtext.
Here’s a list of the documentaries I’ve seen so far:
Queen of the Sun – an artful film about the honey bee and everything it does for the human race. This film examines the state of the American honey bee and various threats to its existence, including commercial agriculture, monoculture crops, pesticides, the use of antibiotics in commercial bee hives, and Colony Collapse Disorder. But the film is uplifting, with its focus on independent, organic beekeepers, whose ranks include aging hippies, retired scientists, and a third generation beekeeper engaged in urban guerrilla beekeeping on the rooftop of her New York apartment building.
The Oath – filmmaker Laura Poitras, who directed My Country, My Country which was nominated for an Academy Award in 2006, interviews Abu Jindal, the brother-in-law of Guantanamo detainee Salim Hamdan. Almost immediately, it becomes clear that Abu Jindal, who works as a cab driver in Yemen, knows more about the inner workings of Al Qaeda than 90% of the detainees being held in indefinite detention at Guantanamo. The film reveals the complexities of the US war on terror by going inside the mind of a man who was once, and may still be (despite his protestations to the contrary), a true believer in jihad. I found this film fascinating because I couldn’t definitely pin down who Abu Jindal is and what he truly believes. Whether that’s a reflection of the man himself or the limitations of the medium—a film made by a Western woman—is still a question I’m asking myself days after I saw this film.
Gerrymandering – a worthwhile topic for a film, but first-time director Jeff Reichert has invested more time in making this documentary visually entertaining than in defining his message. Tellingly, the film lacks a coherent historical timeline of gerrymandering in US politics. It sort of resembles…well…a gerrymandered Congressional district: all over the map without a valid reason for how it was cobbled together.
Turtle, the Incredible Journey – billed as a family-friendly film, there’s a lot more in Turtle for adults to enjoy than in most films made for children. It narrates the lifecycle of the loggerhead turtle, which goes on one of the longest migratory routes of any animal on the planet. The filmmakers captured a lot of stunning undersea photography. If you get a chance to see this one on the big screen, go for it.
So during my first week at the festival, I’ve had three good hits and one miss. Not bad so far.
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