I Guess We Still Need America

This Guy Passes For "Good Music" In Germany

Hello to all,
 
I have spent this Christmas and New Year in Germany with my wife and in-laws. We were lucky enough to be in Berlin for the New Year's Eve festivities. Together, we braved the cold and stayed outside for about 6 hours waiting to ring in 2012. But, that is not really the point of this hub. During my time here (and especially in Berlin), I've noticed a few instances of America's influence on the world and where we are still sorely needed.

While on vacation, I have not kept as sharp an eye on the news as I usually do. However, I did notice that in the last few days, the US had a 3.5 billion dollar arms sale to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Those who followed the Arab Spring closely will know that the US shipped tear gas to Egypt. This tear gas was eventually used against protesters in Tahrir Square. If you follow world health and food issues, you would also know that Far East countries are experiencing large jumps in cases of diabetes. This has been attributed to the adoption of the Western diet. US diplomats even push dodgy, genetically modified foods (via diplomatic relations) onto other nations, for companies like Monsanto and DuPont.

While waiting to celebrate 2012 the other night, I even noticed that "Weight Watchers" had a large presence at the event. Their ads lined most of the area where people congregated. They sponsored/featured in their ads, a performer from the evening (Cassandra Steen). So, in the 6 hours standing in place, I feel as though I saw this ad about 1,000 times. You can see Cassandra Steen's performance from that night (below). But, tying this altogether, I came to the conclusion that the US's main exports are: war, obesity, Franken-foods, and obesity remedies. I thought the world didn't really need us. We screw up a lot of stuff for other nations. But, as 2011 ended, I realized one other export and it is where the world does truly need us. The US must remain as a global force, solely for our.......pop stars!!

Other than that, I feel as though the world would be better off without us. We have multiple wars and occupations going on. We're supplying the weapons for brutal crackdowns elsewhere. We can't get any tough laws regulating our banks or Wall Street as a whole. The list goes on. The US even stood in the way of a binding deal at a recent climate conference (COP 17). I wrote a post that talked about this conference, you can see it here if you wanted to know more about US obstruction on climate talks. But, some on the ground were calling the President, "George W. Obama." Because, his stance differed little from the past Administration.

Back to New Years Eve, needless to say, I was a bit underwhelmed by some of the popular acts here in Germany. The gentleman in the first picture, goes by the name of DJ Oetzi. His real name is Gerhard Friedle and he was born in Austria. According to my wife, the goofy white hat is a staple of his. Take 30 seconds to view a part of his New Years Eve performance and you'll see why the world still needs us. With all the acts, on the night, I felt as though I was watching a play, people acting how they thought pop stars would act. None of the acts seemed really genuine. It's that same feeling you get if you turn on Fox News. That, "...wait a minute, something isn't right here..." feeling. All of them seemed rigid and just pathetic on the whole. I'm not the biggest fan of today's pop music, but watching a rotund Austrian fella labor around the stage, made me long for the stage presence of Lady Gaga, Beyonce, or Katy Perry.

During the evening, the crowd also suffered through a performance from a man named Ben Jaimen. This guy was the most emotionless, plastic figure I may have ever seen on stage. Again, it looked as though he was playing the part of a pop star (but badly). With each song he performed, the crowd seemingly became more indifferent towards him. You can see one of the songs and the crowd's apathetic reaction. There was a rotating sign next to the stage, at points, that mentioned his album was on sale in stores. I joked that him being there was only hurting his sales. For his last song, he brought a number of children on stage (for a choir-type effect) and that could not even get a rise out of the crowd. After another round of hapless applause, he desperately says, "One more time...for the kids..." That didn't even help. For anyone who has seen "Coming to America", it was reminiscent of Sexual Chocolate dropping the mike and leaving the stage, only if hundreds of thousands of people were being quiet at the same time.

Last one, I promise. These guys have a special place in my heart. I reserve this place in my heart for extra dislike. They are called "The BossHoss." The band is originally from Berlin and are amazingly popular in Germany. From what I've worked out, they only cover popular songs, but in a Country/Western sound. So, I guess they save money by not having to hire songwriters. You can hear their version of "Hey Ya" from Outkast, if you're interested. I could not find their NYE performance. They've carved out this special niche where they are just a glorified cover band. But, they cover the songs in a singular sound. Maybe it's a goof on Country/Western bands from the States? Who the hell knows? You have a group of guys from Berlin in Stetsons and wife-beaters. You try to figure it out.

What can I say? It's confusing for my American brain. I have to say. I do love Germany. It's a dream place to live for a liberal like myself. Their citizens accept climate change, a good chunk of ours do not. All of their citizens have health care and have had in since 1883. They have high speed rail. Our trip from west Germany (near Hamburg) to Berlin only took 3.5 hours, and that was with 2 transfers.
 On the way back, it took right around 3 hours flat.

Through progressive taxation, strong unions, and amazing social services, Germany is among the world's most equal countries. CEO pay vs average worker pay is only 12 to 1 in Germany. It is 475 to 1 in the USA, I can go on and on about the services here. I haven't even touched on the low cost of education or generous maternity leave. In their current Parliament, there are 6 parties holding seats, giving voters an actual choice when voting. (I think we just have the illusion of choice in the US...story for another day) But, with all that being said, the one glaring hole in Germany's CV is in the area of pop-stars. How can a country, that has figured out health care in the 1880's, be listening to a portly Austrian bring in a new year? Questions like this boggle my little mind and it's why we still need America. USA! USA! USA!

See you next time,

James

Field Report, Times Square, Global Change Day

Hello to all,

Thanks so much for checking in. It should be a pretty long post. And, welcome to anyone that may have found the blog through the Plutocracy Files. This posting will appear on both of our sites. I have quite a few pics from the Times Square demonstration, a few videos I took of the cops rolling in, and headlines from some of the other major demonstrations that took place yesterday.

I Think This Was My Favorite Sign Of The Day

Ok, I had the longest of days yesterday, but it was so very worth it. I had to go into the office (in Syracuse mind you) for a few hours in the morning. I packed everything I thought I would need for a demonstration. I wore my contacts to start. My glasses were with me, in an unbreakable case. I had them as a backup, in case I got maced and slammed to the ground. I wore comfortable shoes, figuring I'd be there a while. And, I had loads of vegan-friendly snacks in case I couldn't get to any food joints. I had fruits and bottled water. I even brought gum, figuring I'd be in close quarters with other protesters. I didn't want a fellow protester to think I have bad breath. Now that's being prepared and polite. I wasn't even a Boy Scout as a kid.

I got on the road about 11am and got to into New York about 3:30, arriving at Times Square about 4pm. When I arrived, it was tough to get a sense of how many people where there. You just can't get a sense of it when you're in the middle of it. As you looked around though, you see that you are engulfed by people all on sides, on the edges of Times Square. The police shrewdly put up barricades to continue to allow traffic through and to separate the crowd. But this tactic, I felt, really put a cap on the crowd's enthusiasm, their ability to start chants, get riled up, etc. I'm guessing there is a "Riot Prevention" handbook out there and this maneuver falls under "Crowd Dispersion."

After settling into where I was, I took in the scenes for a while. We were all waiting for the march from Washington Square Park to join us at Times Square. While waiting, I was interviewed by a network from the Far East (pretty sure it was from Japan). I'm really hoping I can track it down and post it. But, it's not looking likely. A friend did record me getting interviewed. So, you can see me, but not quite hear me.

After the interview, I continued to take in the scene. The signs, denoting grievances, ran the gamut. Someone created a pretty nice model of a Predator Drone, to protest all our wars. Someone held a Che Guevara flag. Signs asked for investments in public works projects, others asked to end corporate person-hood, some for investments in education and green technology, and others to raise taxes. The list goes on. But, if you've followed this occupation story closely, you're aware of the main issues.

The day also had an international feel. I saw a sign stating that a particular group was made up of "Belgian, French, and Flemish" people and sided with the protestors. I witnessed two different groups flying the flag of Canada another with Puerto Rico's flag. Later in the evening, I also met two women from Denmark. I know Times Square is called "The Crossroads of the World", so the international feel was expected. Passers-by on double-decker buses also showed support. There were people waving, "thumbs up" signs given, peace signs, etc. Buses honked their horns in supports as they went by as well.

From there, I tried to get to the edges of the protest to get a feel for how far it all stretched. That was probably not the best idea at first. It took the better part of 45 minutes to go 3 blocks. Because we were all barricaded in, it felt like there was a chance of people getting trampled if someone fell over. As you walked, you passed under scaffolding that people literally climbed upon to get a better look at the scene. Photographers climbed atop payphones and stand alone traffic lights to better to get their shots.

After arriving on at 47th and Broadway, the protest really started to heat up. The portion of the crowd, right up against the barricades, wanted to move further into the street the relieve the bottleneck. The cops beat back a few people, as tensions rose. One of the police horses fell over. I heard (from an eyewitness) that one man was cracked pretty good by a police baton and had to go to St. Luke's Hospital. At this point, I was getting nervous for public safety. All of this is going on, right in the middle of the tourism capital of the US. I saw quite a few people with kids in strollers, small children, and a few elderly people. It could have easily gotten out of hand, with pedestrians, unaware of the day's events, getting hurt. My own opinion is that the NYPD would have done anything to keep the protestors from filling the streets, because there would be no way to control them from that point. In the process, they did seem to create a safety hazard. And, did I mention, that across Broadway on the other side of 47th street, was a large Bank of America branch. It's probably not a coincidence.

Check out Lucy Kafanov's report, for RT America, she's been great during these protests. She was right on the barricades with protestors.

From there, the NYPD shuttled us east towards 6th Street to disperse the crowd. I also noticed some cops positioning themselves behind us and I also saw the orange netting make an appearance. As I went down 47th I saw this, and I really knew it was time for me to go.  Before I got out of there, I did have someone write the Lawyer's Guild phone number on my arm, in case I got hemmed in with the large group. So, I did get my first piece of protest swag. Bonus!

Then I saw this follow the cops in:

After I tried to loop back around, I saw these guys come up 48th street, and I got the hell out of there:

2nd Favorite Sign Here

All in all, I was about 98% sure we live in a police state. And, now I'm at 100%. These measures from the cops will not quell this movement. You can't kill an idea (see, terrorism). And, so many of these people have nothing to lose. Right now, I do have something to lose. I had to get out of there. But, a few weeks back 700 people were arrested on the Brooklyn Bridge. There were around 70 last night. With each, more vow to come back and fight even harder. I don't know where this all goes. But, it's amazing to have just a little part in it. If you can get to a large protest, I suggest you do. There's a feeling you get, that you can't get in too many other places. It's the feeling that you're a part of something bigger than yourself.

Full disclosure on me: my wife is from Germany and I can get out of the US, to a place with virtually free education. A place where everyone has health care. A place with strong unions and better  income equality, a plan on renewable energies, etc. So, me being in New York, or sleeping outside in Syracuse, isn't really about me. I'm lucky enough to be working and have health care now. I don't feel personally aggrieved. But, this is about a better, fairer world, some greater good. May sound corny to some, but you do truly feel it when you're there.


Before I go, just a couple of the major headlines from yesterday's "Global Day of Change":

-500,000 people marched and sat in Madrid's main square, the Puerta Del Sol.

-Reports estimated 350,000 in Barcelona.

-Here is the scene from Paris.

-Cops violently removed campers from outside the Reichstag in Berlin (Reichstag = Germany's equivalent of the U.S. Capitol building).

-200,000 hit the streets in Rome and it got pretty violent, including a burned out riot van and civilian vehicles, looting, etc  (story and amazing video, only 1:35).

- 25 people were arrested at Citibank for trying to close their accounts, including one lady who was just standing on the street.

-About 200 people were arrested in Chicago.

Very last thing, before I finish. I know I gave you a lot today. It was a multimedia posting, and about 1700 words. But, this last thing just warmed my heart. It comes from Madrid's Puerta Del Sol square. A symphony plays Beethoven's "Ode to Joy", but at the end all the people raise their hands, with their palms open, saying, "these are our weapons (in Spanish)." It moves me, to no end, each time I watch it.

Until next time,

James