| LIFE-NET NEWS |
| by Ret Z. |
| Covering Poverty Widely in a Net of Many Voices |
| 2003 October 8 | No Profit; No Proceeds |
| Volume 7 Number 16 | All-Volunteer |
| "Give a family a fish, and they'll eat a meal; give them a Net, and they'll have fish for Life." |
| The Persistently Flawed Pursuit of Happiness |
|
Harvard psychology professor Daniel Gilbert--with three
colleagues--has taken the lead in studying a specific type
of emotional and behavioral prediction or "affective
forecasting": How do we predict what will make us happy
or unhappy, and then how do we feel after the actual
experience?
As it turns out, we err when it comes to imagining how we will feel about something in the future. We overestimate the intensity and the duration of our emotional reactions to future events. In other words, we might believe that a new BMW will make life perfect. But it will almost certainly be less exciting than we anticipate; nor will it excite us for as long as predicted. The vast majority of Gilbert's test participants through the years have consistently made just these sorts of errors both in the laboratory and in real-life situations. Whether good or bad, events proved less intense and more transient than test participants predicted. Gilbert and collaborator Tim Wilson call the gap between what we predict and what we ultimately experience the "impact bias". The phrase characterizes how we experience the dimming excitement over not just a BMW but also over any object or event that we presume will make us happy. Would a 20% raise or winning the lottery result in a contented life? You may predict it will, but almost surely your satisfaction won't be as great and won't last as long as you think. Would your grief over the death of a loved lay waste to the rest of your life? Probably not. Gilbert has noted that these mistakes of expectation can lead directly to mistakes of decision--"miswanting". We're generally unable to recognize that we adapt to new circumstances, so we fail to take this fact into account in our decisions. Source: New York Times |
| Post-Soviet Nations Growing Not Greening |
|
Investment in human and environmental well-being in
Europe's post-Communist nations is as important for
long-term prosperity as economic reform, reports a new
study from the Worldwatch Institute. Worldwatch Senior
Fellow Viktor Vovk says that while the collapse of
Soviet Communism offered an unexpected chance for these
nations to reorganize their economies and societies
according to new principles, the window to take an
ecologically friendly path is rapidly closing.
"Instead of focusing solely on economics," says Vovk, "we need a new political structure that seeks to balance the drive for personal freedom with society's necessary role as trustee for the interests of the public at large, future generations, and the global ecosystem." Environmental issues have often been ignored as nations in transition--or the Second World--struggle to find their place and compete in a global market, and populations fight to survive. The fall of the old order and the many unanticipated difficulties associated with it--a massive decline in economic output and living standards, the loss of markets, and severe financial shortages--triggered a difficult period of change and adjustment, Vovk writes. "It is naive to simply impose democratic structures and market mechanisms and expect them to work seamlessly, " says Vovk. "Swapping formulaic communism for formulaic capitalism--which has been the strategy of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and other international institutions--is simply the substitution of one kind of flawed industrialism for another that is also out of touch with the ecological demands and limits of the real world. "The turmoil of transition offers an opportunity to shape expectations and steer development toward sustainability." Vovk says that restructuring should begin with a three-part foundation:
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| Bayou Believers Battle Developers and Storms |
|
For 300 years the people of Grand Bayou have subsisted in
the marshlands to the southeast of New Orleans. They claim
descent from the Atakapa Indians and acknowledge the
genetic contributions of African-Americans and French
settlers. They speak creole French, and they make a simple
living by fishing and shrimping.
This unique group, of no more than 125 people nowadays, managed to survive through the 20th century in almost total isolation from the outside world. There are no roads to Grand Bayou. Phones were first installed in 1992, running water lines in 1992. There's no tourism to speak of. The Rev. Kristina Peterson, a consultant for Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, has been working closely with these people since December 2002. She discovered a town that looked more like a family--an intensely Christian family, resembling in some ways the very first Christians, who lived in communal arrangements. "The resources of the community are shared corporately," she said. "It's really a village where they all care for each other." They try to stay separated from the modern world, mainly in order to avoid the drugs and crime that come with it. There is none of that in Grand Bayou, Peterson said. No smoking, no drinking, no drugs. The town elders take teenagers on "scared straight" tours of the jails, courthouses and drug treatment centers of Plaquemines Parish. (Grand Bayou doesn't have a jail--or a police station, or even one cop.) Development has recently heated up in the surrounding area. Fishing and recreation have become big business. Developers snatch up land to build expensive homes; lots near Grand Bayou have sold for more than $130,000. Oil and gas companies have been penetrating the area for decades. Canals and levees, useful to outlanders, chopped up the lands once used as rice paddies and made Grand Bayou more vulnerable to wind damage and more susceptible to storm surges, including the triple burden laid down in the past year by Hurricane Lili and tropical storms Isidore and Bill. Peterson found the people receiving little or no relief aid. One step being taken to preserve Grand Bayou, she said, has been to incorporate the entire town as a nonprofit organization. Another step is an attempt to get government recognition of the Atakapa Indian tribe. They have also facilitated scientific and anthropological research in the community. Two community elders now serve on the board of a local self-help committee. To fund it, Peterson has put together a grant proposal for more than $300,000, part of which would pay for a full-time program manager. First on the agenda: the community's sewage system, where the pipes go straight from toilet and sink into the swamp. Source: Disaster News Network |
| Stormy 2002 Spells Disaster for Millions |
|
In 2002, the world experienced about 700 natural disasters
--nearly 600 of which were weather-related events.
Economic losses from weather disasters worldwide approached
$53 billion, a 93% increase over 2001. The year also set
numerous local and regional records for windstorms, rain
intensities, floods, droughts, and temperatures.
Poorer nations are the most vulnerable to climate change. While the average number of deaths per weather event has declined, the total number of people affected is on the rise. Over the past two decades, floods and other weather-related disasters were among factors prompting some 10 million people to migrate from Bangladesh to India. In 2002, rains in Kenya displaced more than 150,000 people, while more than 800,000 Chinese were affected by the most severe drought in over a century. For about 18 million Africans, the primary cause of famine has been erratic weather patterns. Source: Worldwatch Institute |
| Work and Marriage Lethal Against Poverty |
|
The lack of work and marriage remain the predominant
factors behind child poverty in America. Year after
year. In good times and bad.
For example, in 2000 (before the recession), more than 4 million families with children were poor. The typical poor family was supported by 800 hours of paid work during that year. That's only 16 hours per week. In one out of every three poor families, the parents did no work during the entire year. Well, cynics might argue, the wage rates of poor parents are so low that, even if they work full-time, their families would still be poor. Census data show this isn't the case. Besides, the government supplements the earnings of low-wage parents through programs such as the Earned Income Tax Credit. These subsidies allow a single parent to raise her family's income above poverty by working full-time, even at the minimum wage. A low level of work, not low wages, is the main cause of child poverty. If yearly work were raised to 2,000 hours per family, the child poverty rate would plummet: About 75% of poor families would rise out of poverty. But isn't it useless to talk about increasing work when jobs seem scarce? This argument seems plausible. But the work levels of poor parents remain consistently low even in the best economic conditions. The second major reason for child poverty is the collapse of marriage. Nearly two-thirds of all poor children live in single-parent homes. Each year, an additional 1.3 million children are born out of wedlock. Data show that these children are seven times more likely to live in poverty than those raised by married couples. Critics argue that unmarried fathers earn too little to support families. The facts show otherwise: If poor single mothers married the fathers of their children, nearly three-fourths would be lifted out of poverty immediately. In the mid-1990s, the welfare system was partly reformed to emphasize work. Future reforms must also strengthen marriage. President Bush has proposed a new initiative to do that by reducing the anti-marriage penalties in welfare and providing low-income couples with the skills needed to sustain healthy marriages. Source: Philadelphia Inquirer |
| Gross Domestic Product Irrelevant |
|
The GDP tells us that dollars are flowing somewhere but
sheds little light on who is benefiting from the economic
activity. For those making economic policy, real people
are apparently an abstraction.
Ironically, from the standpoint of economic activity, a number of the dire circumstances faced by real people pump up the Gross Domestic Product statistic. Sick people with no insurance run up the costs of health care--which is rung up as economic activity. As for debt, Consumer Federation of America found that in one year, credit card companies had mailed five billion solicitations--nearly 50 per US household--trying to dole out $3 trillion in unused lines of credit. That's about $30,000 per household--and, when expended to make ends meet, that credit card debt contributes to economic activity. Not to mention the legal activity generated by bankruptcies. Indeed, the relative importance of the GDP number is another reflection of the growing gap between the rich and the poor. Rich people love a rise in the GDP because it usually means they are making money. The press is almost always giddy over a quarterly rise in the GDP, but it rarely looks at what that means for real people over the long term. Source: TomPaine.com |
| Caught in the Undertow of Redevelopment |
|
Talk about an investment. Eileen Rodan and her husband put
their money and their marriage on the line. Last summer
they chucked the suburbs for life in the gritty city. They
bought three houses in Camden--one to live in, one to paint
in, and one to rent out. They have that much faith in
the city's future.
Eileen is a 59-year-old addiction counselor. Husband Kassem, 52, is a Palestinian artist originally from Jordan. Both are practicing Muslims with an adventurous spirit. Both see beauty where others see blight. Already, Eileen has spent more time talking with neighbors than she ever did in 14 years in Somers Point, Atlantic County. In December, Kassem bought a rowhouse on Berkley to use as a studio. For now, they're living there while work continues on the $57,000 townhouse--a HUD foreclosure-- they bought on nearby Washington Street. They had hard yellow pine floors installed on all three levels. New appliances in the kitchen. Crisp white paint for the dingy walls. So when Eileen heard the home they haven't even called home yet would be demolished so a developer could build $225,000 houses, well, you can imagine her response. Rage. Disbelief. More rage. As far as she can tell, it is just a rumor. Redevelopment is coming, but hopefully not to that block. The talk is more proof, Eileen says, of how the officials choreographing Camden's $175 million makeover aren't necessarily concerned with little things like the little people. She's been shut out of bidding on buildings owned by the city, told they're being held for big-time developers with big-time money and plans. She's been hit up for contributions by politicians taking her interest in redevelopment as a sign of wealth. Eileen and Kassem will wait a while before putting any more money into their place. The city might still decide to take the house and bulldoze it. Source: Philadelphia Inquirer |
| Free Voice Mail Lifts Lives |
|
"It is virtually impossible to get a job without a phone,"
said Jennifer Brandon, executive director of Community
Voice Mail (CVM), which works with organizations around the
nation to provide free voice mail. The Seattle-based group
recently scored $2.5 million in a grant from Cisco Systems.
"This isn't a phone. But it is a cost-effective
alternative. It's a reliable and consistent phone number.
It removes the stigma of being homeless or in transition."
CVM, which employs just four people, works with agencies such as San Jose's Community Technology Alliance to provide the free mailboxes. The end-user can access his box from a pay phone or a phone at a social-service agency. Geno Gallegos, 35, said the free voice mail was key to landing him a job last year as a real estate title researcher. The San Jose resident, who had been a restaurant manager in Santa Clara for seven years, was laid off in 2001 and couldn't afford a phone. He received assistance from Sacred Heart Community Service, which has 75 voice-mail accounts. In 2000, Cisco acquired voice-mail software manufacturer Active Voice, which had been supporting the non-profit group. The Active Voice employees who became Cisco workers wanted to continue that relationship, said Brandon, and Cisco complied. The recently announced grant is intended to double the number of people Community Voice Mail assists nationwide, from 25,000 to 65,000 by the end of 2007. "When you have been laid off from your job, you have to look at whether you are going to pay the mortgage or rent, your electricity or your phone," Brandon said. "The phone is the first thing to go." Having a number at which a message can be left can sometimes be the crucial link between getting a job or finding affordable housing, and not, she said. Her agency provides clients of social-service organizations around the country with their own phone number. That means a job seeker doesn't have to give a prospective employer the number of a homeless shelter or a relative. The number does not reveal the dire economic situation the person is experiencing. Source: San Jose Mercury News More Info: Community Voice Mail |
| Life-Net News Extra |
| Democratic Media Movement Grows Explosively |
|
Experiments in democratic media have been taking place all
over the world in increasing numbers. The Indymedia
movement, a prominent example, is a four-year-old
phenomenon that grew out of the trade protests of the late
1990s, and now encompasses a constellation of about 120
local collectives from Boston to Bombay. Each collective
has a diverse palette of media it uses, including radio,
video, print, and the Internet. Each is driven by
political passions its volunteers don't find in the
mainstream press, and each struggles to make the process
of covering news as inclusive and empowering as possible
for the community in which it exists.
Although the individual collectives have their political and cultural idiosyncrasies, they are united through their Web sites. To join the worldwide collective, a new Independent Media Center must have an online presence. This is the kernel of the experiment, the clearest expression of the movement's vision. The concerns and interests of these activist-journalists are immediately apparent on any of the local Indymedia sites. The sites all have a similar format and feature a newswire that employs a technology called open publishing. This allows a writer to post a story directly to the newswire from his or her own computer, without going through an editor. Using a simple form on the site, you merely paste in your file, click "Publish," and immediately see a link to your article appear at the top of the Web site's wire. The open wire usually appears on the right side of the homepage of the local sites, while the center column is reserved for particularly relevant stories off the wire that a committee of volunteers has decided to highlight. The network of collectives also maintains a global site (www.indymedia.org) that pulls content from all the local sites. Indymedia volunteers are learning that an open, representative form of media may be a worthy ideal, but in reality it's often a messy thing. As the collective evolves, the volunteers are faced with difficult decisions many members never contemplated--about their Web site's usefulness, about editorial policy, about money. Whether they thrive or fade into irrelevance will ultimately depend on how well they keep their most extreme tendencies at bay. Indymedia's reporter-activists believe that no journalism is without bias. They criticize the mainstream media not simply because, in their eyes, the networks and newspapers work to maintain the status quo, but because they believe the mainstream's claims to neutrality mask these biases. Indymedia journalists say they are not afraid to admit their own bias: journalism in the service of upending the status quo. "The majority of IMC people I know don't believe in objectivity," says Chris Anderson, twenty-six, a volunteer at the New York City collective. "They think everyone should have an opinion and make it known. In this way, Indymedia goes back to the partisan press of the nineteenth century." Source: Columbia Journalism Review Source: Philadelphia IMC Source: New Jersey IMC |
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