Moving on from this blog

I’ve decided to move on from this blog.  As my intellectual and political interests have shifted, so have my needs for writing.   My goal was to try and build a successful blog that I would want to read, and I think I finally did that towards the end.  I started this adventure in the middle of summer and got up to around 15k hits with some off and on posting, and I consider that a success.  I hope to someday return to doing political journalism/blogging.

The blog had two flaws in my mind:

1. A poor name.  can’t lie, it kinda sucked.

2. No organizing theme – it’s mostly about my life and random thoughts, but with a pretension of something bigger.  My pretense was bigger than my writing could handle day-to-day.

I’m keeping the blog up as a monument to a very interesting time in my life that saw a lot of personal, political, and intellectual development.  I hope to continue that elsewhere, but I don’t think the precendents set on this particular site best serve what I’d like to do with my writing during an important time in my life.

Onward.

Dragging Down Obama

Check this: Karl Rove is trying to lead a challenge to Eric Holder’s nomination as AG of the US. I don’t think Rove or any other part of the GOP cares particularly about Eric Holder per se, they care about Holder’s connections to Clintons, who they would like to tie to Obama.  It’s an effort to re-inscribe the partisan frame around Obama and his Administration  – and points out the risks O took in bringing so many Clinton-types into the fold when building his Administration.

Arundhati Roy on Mumbai

Ooops, forgot to post today.  Busy busy.

In the meantime, read this excellent article by Arundhati Roy on Mumbai, and the historical background to the terrorist attacks there.

Study Breakdown!

Was dope as fuck.  Great turnout, lots of fun despite a few sound hiccups.

Check the TBNYU! blog for a word from the folks who made it happen.

And, a shoutout:

The New NYT, Trying to Save itself

I’m actually kinda down with the new features on the NYTimes’ “Extra” homepage, which essentially lists related blog/web content for each story on the Times homepage.  It’s clearly not a full-fledged project, but I think it signals an important transition in the way the NYT does news coverage, becoming a site that sorts and prioritizes other content in a kind of ‘curation’ role. The Times is particularly well suited to trade in on its cachet, large circulation, and status as the ‘paper of record’ for much of the US, turning its good rep into a position as the sorter and curator of record.  This is essentially a way for the Times to set the agenda for the rest of the web, and make itself the new record-maker for web journalism.

Beautiful News from the Guardian UK

I don’t know why this all happened at once, but I came across 2 really dope articles, that give me heart that the world isn’t totally awful:

US Agency Posts ‘Most Wanted’ List for Eco Crimes – Now, normally I would expect that this list would be of so called ‘eco terrorists’, with associated absurd rhetoric.  However, the list is actually of polluters who have dodged their fines or punishment.  Quite novel considering the overblown fanaticism that is the Green Scare.

No new coal – the calling card of the ‘green Banksy’ who breached fortress Kingsnorth – Someone just walked into a giant coal-fired power plant and turned it off.  Seriously, that simple.  They didn’t climb anything, no drama, just found their way in, and jammed a turbine, and left a message why.  Really dope.  Part of the message seemed to include a statistic claiming shutting the turbine reduced UK CO2 emissions by 2%, which points out how easy it could be to target a select number of companies/producers and vastly reduce carbon footprints.

First the ‘Surge,’ then the ‘Reboot’

ctrl-alt-del. from corture.freak's flickr

I love the recent electronic/electric metaphors flying around US foreign policy these days – first the Bush “Surge” metaphor used to describe the war, now the Obama “reboot” metaphor for his approach to the ‘Muslim world’ (btw, what is the ‘Muslim world’? This term probably needs some unpacking too…).

The ‘Surge’ was such a great metaphor – it invoked a jolting, devestating pulse of energy that was simultaneously momentary and fleeting – a lot of bang for your buck, so to speak.  It reduced a complex military operation to a word (more condensed than the played ‘Desert Storm’ type names), and got the ball rolling for making the escalation happen.

The ‘reboot’ metaphor does other equally interesting things – it isolates the problem in US-Muslim diplomacy as a glitch or virus that can be wiped away with the flip of a switch, it invokes the technology that will be a prime medium for the policy shift (and echoes Obama’s tech cred),  and its inward-focused, almost repentant sound.

The real question is what a properly-operating US foreign policy OS would look like – Obama seems to think there is something inherent that the ‘Muslim world’ should see in the US, and I’m interested to know what his ‘Safety mode’ boot would look like.

Breaking it Down in Bobst

Ok, I know I got a little bit too aggressive about defending Bobst-space before – I was mostly writing in jest. Mostly.

What isn’t a joke, or in jest, is the Bobst Study Breakdown – it seems a bunch of folks will be getting down in the library come Thursday night at 8pm, turning the dreary life under the fluorescent lights into a dance party.  Take Back NYU!’s blog points out that the event echoes the 60s Freak-Ins that reclaimed university space for students – I hope the Breakdown signals a start of a new tradition of regular dance parties in our fine red library.

So: this Thursday at 8, remember to take a study break to get down in Bobst.

EDIT: That link I posted earlier broke.  This is most definitely still going down though.

Second EDIT: Check the Twitter.

The Risks and Rewards of Thompson’s New Site

Bill Thompson just opened a new website designed by Blue State Digital, which also designed Barack Obama’s campaign site.

First of all, I’m increasingly inclined to give my qualified support Thompson for mayor – I don’t know if it was pure election-grandstanding, but it seems like every time he  makes a public announcement of some kind, like his workaround of the MTA fare-hike, it’s generally sensible, effective, and conscious of class dynamics in the city (for instance, as Comptroller he got city pension funds to remove their money from companies that privatise formerly public housing in the city).

But that’s beside the point – I think this will be a test case in how well folks other than Obama can use his organizing model in their campaign strategy.  While I trust that Blue State won’t apply the Obama model whole-cloth, many of the central elements of the Obama campaign revolved around him specifically, and might not translate well into other campaigns.  When someone wins, it always makes their system look better than it probably is, and thevalidity of the organizing model will be need to be tested in a vareity of contexts.

Here are some of the risks I see in adopting the Obama model:

-Looking like an Obama hanger-on: to stick in people’s minds, you need to develop a distinctive personality.  The individualist tendancy in American politics asks that politicians be in a way self-made.  Trying to ride the coattails too overtly undermines credibility and might hurt the campaign.

-Social Media can hurt too: trying to mobilize folks via twitter/Facebook/etc. can become a conspicuous display of a lack of support as well.  Having 50 people on a Facebook group demonstrates weakness in a citywide or statewide campaign.  Thompson should be  sure that embracing new media will build support among his target constituencies before over embracing the technology.

-You need a good story: Obama mobilized a series of glittering generalities based on his personal story.  Thompson needs to develop a central story that reduces to a short-worded theme and three key policy proposals to organize people behind the campaign.  One of the clear differences between Obama and Thompson’s site is the lofty quote Obama put on the top of every page.  Thompson doesn’t have the same type of cred, or story to get people together.

How to Cut Down on Bobst Crowding

this building is tooooo crowded.

During finals, I’ve noticed a severe rise in space-related frustration among NYU students.  Suddenly, folks rediscovered work ethic, and are taking it out on the NYU library, which remains packed nearly around the clock.

Here’s some recommendations on how to keep the crunch to a minimum.  The real key is to target imposters – you can generally spot the people who only study in the week before finals by their array of coffees and energy drinks (as if getting strung out on caffeine for a week or so could make up for a semester spent with dull amusements instead of thinking), as well as their self-satisfaction with actually being in the library.  While I don’t believe uppers and smugness are  problems in and of themselves, there are other things which are.

I believe you should be removed from the library during finals week IF:

1. You spend more than 5 minutes on any of the following sites: Facebook, Myspace, Juicy Campus, the Huffington Post.

2. You spend more than one hour away from your idle, power hungry laptop (theft of laptop is another potential punishment, instead of expulsion)

3. You use your papers, jacket, backpack, shoes, food or other personal items to take up the space of 2-3 people at a table.  (lighing said items on fire is a secondary option as well)

4. You go out to lunch/dinner but leave a notebook/book/paper at your chair and expect people to reserve space for you.

5. You remain at your laptop, but spend more time talking with your friends about how much work you have to do than actually doing work.

6. You are not a freshman, but this is your first time setting foot in the library since freshman orientation.

Strategy and the Death of Newspapers

So, the spectacular fall of the Tribune Company is clearly more than the decline of one company – it is the most visible symbol of the tanking print media industry that is swept up in systemic changes that have destroyed business models and jobs nationwide.

For the activist PR person, it also signals a need for innovation.  It’s no longer enough to bang out press releases to the AP and hope for the best; even trying to ‘be the media’ is getting tired since everybody is going to be the media soon – for example, Indymedia centers no longer serve the same function when self publishing software means that anyone can be their own media outside of the framework provided by IMCs.

One of the first casualties will be the decline of ‘publicity’ as such – without big-bore media outlets running the news cycle, the sphere of public discourse will become more fragmented and less accessible.  Organizers and media people will need to think more in depth about their targets, whose support the targets need, and how to influence those supporters via the specific media channels.  I think one point of attack will be via industry conferences, publications and message boards (check Officer.com, a message board for cops for an example). In a way, attacking via these forums will be like a new office-takeover, targeted at a company and its peers/competitors as a way to put on economic pressure.

Obama the Closet Radical

from menfes quedus' flickr

Glen Greenwald reminded me of some of the absurdities of two party politics in America – here’s some recollections. The bizarre dualism established by the two party system sets up some weird rhetorical tricks that really demonstrates how entrenched the political class can get.

“If it’s good enough for ‘them’ it’s good enough for ‘us'” – the positioning of the two parties as somehow equivalent opposites means that they openly borrow each other’s rhetoric based on their minority/majority status.  The open application of each others’ arguments shows how all are driven by pure convenience or self interest.  In the latest election, this weirdly took the form of Democrats embracing McCain’s attacks as truth – I actually had several people call Obama a ‘closet liberal’ in his defence, parroting the GOP talking points that they called lies in other circumstances.   So, whenever coming across arguments like this about Obama’s appointments, remember that they really come down to the right of the governing class to rule, not just for Obama to do as he likes.  The arguments made here and now for Obama’s right to govern will be co-opted come 4 or 8 years, based on the logic of two-party, electoral governance.

Unloading Rage at NYU

It happens to almost all NYU students: the moment when you snap, and unleash your pent up frustration at your university in a torrent of rage.  For some it happens early, and you become a resigned cynic for the course of your education, for some it turns into a desire to take back your university, for others a fake flier defaming John Sexton.

For Neal Shechter of the College Dems, it turns into this explosive post at the College Dems Blog.  Shechter’s post is significant because it comes from an organization firmly in the middle of NYU’s idelogical spectrum (83% of NYU voters voted for Obama), and it latches on to a few key issues for students that NYU:

1. Student Space.  NYU’s Bobst Library was built in 1977, Kimmel opened in 2004 but reduced free study-space for students drastically vs. the old Loeb Center.  Space for general student use continues to shrink.

2. Community.  NYU has a self-perpetuated problem of a meager student-life community.  Space issues and a disengaged faculty keep this problem alive. (though I would suggest to Neal that he investigate the Gallatin School if he’s concerned about contact with faculty)

3. Feeling Overwhelmed – Seriously.  There’s a lot of problems with NYU.  It’s sometimes hard to give a damn when you don’t even know where to start.

The Declining New York City Power Center

Good ol' Robert. Finally put to rest. from bckspcr

I’m totally fascinated by this too-quick New York Times article on the decline of the New York City power-centers.

The article shows one problem with eliminating term limits – it creates an inability to pick hard political battles like really saving the MTA when constantly in the running for a third or fourth term.  Regardless of the high re-election rate for incumbents, the media attention on a candidate for re-election means they shy away from real battles.

The main point of the article is more interesting.  It shows the dearth of symbolic resources for politicians in the city- Robert Caro’s point at the end that the issue is also one of ‘vision’ points out that no one really has a clear sense of what the city should or does look like.  Obama harnessed the decline of machine politics on a national level by latching on to a fundamental set of American Myths that propelled him to prominence.  In New York, the myths may be just as powerful, but they certainly don’t unite in the same way – glam NYC clashes withcorrupt or mafia New York, intersects with multicultural diverse New York.

The decline of hard-and-fast power centers, and the lack of real and easy symbolic center puts a particular emphasis on grassroots organizing.  Groups like the Working Families Party and sites like ChangeNYC will be the key to shaping the future of the city.  With no quick paths to power or easy levers to pull, the emphasis returns on creating coalitions and organizing disorganized groups with potentially converging interests against the developing rapid changes overtaking the city.

Charity, Recycling: The Casual Violence

Two big stories on the downturn show the slow motion, casual violence that stems from applying a market system to our most basic commodities:

First, Recycling: the Times comes through with this article on the rapid decline in commodity prices which cut the legs out from under recycling programs.   A simple example of the mis-use of the market model, where something that could become useful becomes trash because the pricing shifts suddenly. Once it shifts past the tipping point, it only accumulates further and becomes even more trash.

Second, charity: a general theme, particularly around the holidays, is the cutback in charity donations.  The pinch runs the other way this time- more people need food, but can’t get to it, because less people donate to food banks during a recession.  The decline pincers the most needy when it really hurts.

The important thing is not to try to design workarounds to each of these problems, but rather view them systemically – as part of a deeply flawed economic system with built in, casual violence

“Contradictions”

Check out this: Fillipo Minelli’s “Contradictions” It’s a one trick pony, but wow, what a trick. (should be read in conjunction with Staying Sick’s “Mining” post)

I think this is what I keep trying to get at in my skepticism about the potential of new technologies in building movements.  I think that social networking technology has a place in movement building, but it’s a very narrow one – just like we can look kindly upon the once controversial radical anti-Vietnam War movement, the movements that become visible on the internet typically have a long history, and are amenable to the people able to enjoy the net’s many pleasures: typically living in developed nations, with a certain degree of race or class privilege.

Henry Jenkins gives a particularly good description of the power of new media technology to build new forms of consciousness and thought, but he also points out that the consolidation of decision making and cultural authority in these technologies cements the power of class divisions that keep the majority of the world from accessing them in the first place.

And that’s the real value of the “Contradictions” project – it simply intervenes in the digital cultural economy by reminding it of the world outside of the echo chamber.

Tisch Plaques Arrive At Washington Square Park

image from the Washington Square Park Blog

The Washington Square Park Blog reported on the arrival of the new Tisch plaques which will adorn the renovated fountain.  (btw, love the rhetoric of ‘restoration’ – City Parks could have demolished the park entirely and still called it a ‘restoration’  to the park’s original use as a pasture and graveyard) The selling off of public space continues unabated throughout Lower Manhattan – WSP Blog also reports that the city is again pushing the unnecessary and perhaps illegal Union Square Restaurant, an auctioning off of the Union Square Pavilion to business interests to meet a manufactured city budget shortfall.

Like the CCCR blog and Atlantic Yards Report, the WSP Blog has been an admirable example of a focused, dedicated citizen news outlet – I think this type of reporting should start becoming a central part of organizing strategy, particularly in an urban, highly mediated environment like New York City.

$1 Payday: No Excuse for Real Control

he is so sad!!! from daniel.gene's flickr

Mayor Mike accidentally said something really interesting on the phenomena of CEOs taking on $1 paydays during the economic crisis.  The “You get what you pay for” sentiment rings  true in ways he might not intend – it shows that the recession and the bailout were never just about CEO pay or corporate largesse- it’s also about democracy, and who controls the fate of our collective economic future.

Bloomberg points out that for these folks, cutting your salary is a desperate bid to stay in the driver’s seat after having your leadership totally discredited.  It’s the last ditch against losing power, taking a pennance and hoping people move on.  (even though you’ll keep your stock, and all that other stuff you bought with your life of excess)  The real issue, then, is about who controls the companies that control our economy, who doles out the capital that makes the machine run.  The inability to make any real demands on the people at the helm in the nation’s failing banks shows that our economy works on everything besides a meritocracy or democracy, and that it needs serious, systemic reevaluation.

The NYU-CUNY Financial Aid Hoax

Below is a memorandum from Students Creating Radical Change, which organized the fairly effective “In and Of the City” NYU-CUNY Financial Aid Plan hoax:

“Okay, fine. You caught us. That “In and Of the City” Financial Aid flyer wasn’t really from the NYU financial aid office. Students Creating Radical Change, a student activist group on campus made it. However, EVERYTHING ON THE FLYER WAS TRUE!! We didn’t lie once! The quote from President John Sexton is from a University Senate meeting (a guest wrote it down, word for word, since she, like many of the students who received the flyer today, was appalled by its implications) and the rhetoric in the text is borrowed from the university website

It’s also true that NYU is one of the worst private universities at meeting student need. As the economic crisis takes its toll on student their families, the administration points to its tiny endowment and says “Sorry, we can’t help you,” while simultaneously embarking on risky, capital-intensive projects in New York and abroad. Our endowment isn’t small enough to stop the school from giving $1 million to Washington Square Park renovations, or to stop President Sexton from accepting a $1.3 million/yr pay package. All this while they deny smart students the aid they need to stay in school

We made up the flyer to encourage discussion about NYU’s treatment of its students, and to encourage students to question their university’s priorities. We want to trust that the administration and trustees, the folks who make all the big decisions. We want to believe that they are acting with our best interests at heart, and that they share our values and priorities. But NYU’s neglect of students’ financial needs (and how that effects the quality of the student body and the university as an institution) proves that we just don’t see eye to eye. Students and trustees/administrators are at NYU for very different reasons, and want very different things from it. Until we reclaim control of OUR university, we will continue to attend a university that values prestige and expansion over the needs of its students. (NYU has a student movement called Take Back NYU! – which SCRC supports but does not represent – that demands budget and endowment disclosure, and that a student be placed on the Board of Trustees. TBNYU!’s demands are an important step towards a student-focused University)

Oh, one other thing: we have nothing against CUNY. We just thought a ‘go to CUNY’ plan would make a neat flier. In fact, CUNY is facing its own financial problems these days – check out http://www.cunysocialforum.com/ for info on the student resistance to budget cuts and tuition hikes in the state higher-ed system.

Love,
SCRC (Students Creating Radical Change)

The Good Cop

I have no doubt in my mind that this NYT article on Rahm Emanuel would have been much different were it written about a Republican.  Seriously: for the past few years ‘industry ties’ has been a kind of buzzword for ‘corruption’ under the Bush administration, and I don’t see why that should change under Obama.  I don’t think that this provides evidence of a left media bias because Emanuel isn’t that left, which is really the point – the obsequious media coverage of the Obama campaign/administration, forecasting change and lauding the team of experts starts from some fairly shaky assumptions.   Mainly it rides a partisan/Manichean frame that associates the “last 8 years” with failure, and any ‘change’ with ‘hope.’  The other implicit assumption is that Obama-as-is is the only change we could ever really see, when in reality there could be many different Obama Administrations, depending on how much critical pressure the media and an organized opposition places on him.