Monthly Archives: October 2013

Inequality for all

I saw last night this film that should be a must-see for all Americans, irrelevant of the side of the fence they are on. It is about the cancer that presently devours our society and creates the stagnant economy at a time of the largest ever wealth in the history of this country unmatched anywhere in the world.
The film is not by far ideological and is based on jaw dropping statistics presented in academic style by the remarkable Robert Reich. It shows a country that lost its moral compass where inequality is rampart placing USA on the 64th place in the world right on top of Ghana, Ivory Coast and Cameroon. It is a far cry from the rosy image presented by the cheer leaders of most of the TV networks.
If you want just a glimpse of where we are in terms of inequality in USA please watch this Youtube clip

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A must see film for Americans of all political colors

Seven Lakes in Harriman State Park, NY

Gorgeous day for a hike into the woods of the Seven Lakes area of the Harriman State Park.
Hikers were pounding the mountain and the bikers were in full swing on the roads.

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Silvermine Lake, Harriman State Park, NY

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Lake Askoti, Harriman State Park, NY

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Lake Askoti, Harriman State Park, NY

Astoria’s parks, NYC

We shot yesterday in Astoria and we enjoyed a gorgeous but chilly day in the beautiful parks on the East River shore. Socrates is a sculpture park with temporary exhibits.

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Astoria Park, Queens, NYC

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Socrates Park, Queens, NYC

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Socrates Park, Queens, NYC

Mircea Cartarescu at Mc-J in Nolita, NYC

Mircea Cartarescu is one of the most remarkable literary talent of the contemporary Romania. The first volume of his three part novel Blinding (“Orbitor” in Romanian) was recently translated in English by Sean Cotter. Part of an American tour occasioned by the book launching in USA, last night Mircea had a dialog about the book with Joshua Cohen at McNally-Jackson in Nolita. Great event for the Romanian literary scene but no so great for the Romanian cultural authorities from Bucharest and New York who completely boycotted the entire tour. The ruling party in Romania, the ex-communists, were heavily criticized by Mircea in political pamphlets in the newspapers that brought upon him a intense smear campaign targeting him and his family with midnight phone threats.

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Joshua Cohen and Mircea Cartarescu

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Mircea Cartarescu reading in Romanian from “Blinding” (Orbitor)

 

The Met

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Splats of blood like color inspired by the bombings in Lahore cover the Roof Garden in the vision of Imran Qureshi

 

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Like today, the textiles were manufactured in China and India for European markets hundreds of years ago

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The Met

Billboard

This billboard was held up in the air by one guy yesterday evening close to Penn Station in New York City.  Very strong guy ……

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Penn Station, NYC

October 1, 2013

October 1, 2013 will remain in history of this country as a special day. And not for the Government shutdown but for the fact that first time in the history of this country, Americans had access to affordable care otherwise offered, at a decent cost, only by their employers. In the today news coverage it is mentioned that only 15% more people will have access to affordable insurance but this is not the point. The reality is that many people who may be able to become job creators stick with their employers simply because they desperately need this medical insurance offered to them, like indentured workers some centuries ago. Some have all sort of personal or family health problems that keep them hostage to a hated job or tied up to an ungrateful employer simply because they need  to keep their insurance. I know this from my personal experience when at one point, being covered by my wife’s insurance, I finally decided to quit a not so grateful employer in order to start a great and successful business that hired many others and gave me fulfillment like never before. My personal experience made me support this policy that I think, in these times of flexible work, would, in the long run, help the American economy and the great people that create it. But I would have never done it if I had to provide health insurance for my family. It was a risk not worth to be taken.

The Government shutdown is just a bad joke showing one more time  to many that may have doubts the in-beddding of our politicians with business interests and the obvious way how you can brainwash a nation. Make them afraid before they try it. Like a guy I know, a business owner, that right after the voting of this health law stated that this is not the right thing to do because “it will get up to their heads”, meaning his employees. Many don’t get it that people have to enjoy their own life in order to enjoy what they do for others and, if that, they would put most of the effort in it. During such a Government shutdown not the Government workers should be furloughed but the congressmen, and not only the Republicans, but all of them. No matter how disruptive the European politics is, where advanced elections are always happening, I wish we’d be able to fire the entire Congress and elect a new one, hopefully being able to elect more mature politicians in the House.

But the real shame of this shutdown states in the fact that American National Parks will be closed. This is a shame soiling our soul.