NY event: Race at Work - Realities of Race & Criminal Record in the NYC Job Market - 12/09/05

This was posted on the CUNY Unity yahoo group messageboard, and looks interesting...

The NYC Commission on Human Rights will be hosting a discussion entitled:

Race at Work - Realities of Race & Criminal Record in the NYC Job Market.

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (former NYC Commission/Chair for NYC Commission on Human Rights (1970-1977), will be their featured guest speaker. Along with Ellis Cose (author, columnist, and contributing editor for Newsweek), Professors Bruce Western & Devah Pager from Princeton University, Glenn Martin (co-director of National HIRE Network, Legal Action Center), Rev. C. Vernon Mason (CEO for Uth Turn, New York Theological Seminary) and Host Dr. Edison O. Jackson (President of Medgar Evers College).

Date: Friday, December 9^th, 2005

Time: 9:00am -11:30am

Place: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

Langston Hughes Auditorium 515 Malcolm X Boulevard

Entrance - 103 W 135^th Street

Disabled Access - 136^th Street

Nearest Subway 2 or 3 to 135^th Street and Bus M7 or M102.

For more information and to RSVP: 212-306-7427

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt in Pakistan!

Yeah, it's true. I couldnt believe the news myself, but it's quite remarkable how the American media still hasnt picked it up the way the European media has. Just do a google on "Angelina Jolie Pakistan" and click on news results. I did it moments ago myself and was surprised to see just one American publication, and that too, based in the midwest. No mention of the "prestigious" publications on the East or West Coast.
How odd.
The American media could've picked this news item and ran with it, but chose not to. Not just that, but the fact that both have been romantically linked ever since this past year's box office hit, "Mr. and Mrs. Smith", could've given the tabloids a field day. But still, no one chose to cover it!
I'm confused.
Anyway, it's good to see that at least celebrities are doing their bit, even if the media isn't.
How sad, though, that we can't rely on elected leaders to do their bit.

My recently published article and some thoughts on earthquake relief...

This week's column for The Post has just gone live on their website and isnt really too special, though I originally wanted to make passing reference to the almost conspicuous absence of any mention of earthquake relief in Pakistan in the international media.

What I did find interesting though, is something I received in the mail today. I must have signed up to receive updates from a charitable organization called Samaritan's Purse (SP), and what I received today was quite interesting.

Their recent update included detailed and comprehensive mention of hectic relief efforts in Pakistan to help survivors. It was right alongside mention of Katrina and Wilma survivors, and even stretched back to the tsunami of last December. Even though SP is a Christian organization and headed by Franklin Graham, I was quite impressed to see the relief efforts theyve undertaken, including chartering a jumbo jet full of goods to aid survivors.

Im still waiting for the international media to give the world's people some update - any update - of the current situation...

Article: Crude Designs: the Rip-off of Iraq's Oil Wealth

This awesome article was brought to my attention courtesy of the email alerts my friends at the Global Policy Forum send out at the end of every week. The article details information we've had for a while, but is much more detailed and well-researched.

Crude Designs: the Rip-off of Iraq's Oil Wealth (November 22, 2005)
Greg Muttitt's bombshell paper confirms what many have long suspected -- the big US and UK companies have enormous interest in Iraq's giant untapped oilfields. He shows clearly how the companies have been angling to gain control of those fields and now, under the occupation, they are closing in on their goal. Production Sharing Agreements, the companies' favorite legal ploy, have already been negotiated with pliant Iraqi officials. Likely to be rushed-through after the December 2005 elections, these contracts may lock Iraq into decades-long arrangements that siphon as much as $200 billion from the Iraqi government into company coffers. (Platform, Global Policy Forum and others)

NY event: The Application of Peter Singer's Ethics of Globalization to a Nation State: Pakistan

I received this message from my friends at the Asian American/Asian Research Institute (AAARI).
Looks like it should be an interesting event!


This is an announcement about a special lecture jointly sponsored by the Asian American/Asian Research Institute and the Society of Indian Academics in America.

You are cordially invited to a presentation: On Application of Peter Singer's Ethics of Globalization to a Nation State: Pakistan by Ali Khan on Friday, December 9, 2006.

Time: 4PM to 5:30PM
Place: 25 W. 43rd Street, 19th Floor
between 5th & 6th Avenues, Manhattan

Dr.Ali Khan is Abram Hutzler professor of political economy at Johns Hopkins. In a recent essay, the author read Peter Singer’s One world: the ethics of globalization as an attempt to use utilitarianism as the universal solvent of reason in forging a unified stance towards atmosphere, economy, law and community. He argued, among other things, that the application of the fundamental theorems of welfare economics falters for perhaps the same reason that it falters in forging a unified consensus on national economic policy: that problems of poverty, inequality, governance, corruption, transparency, tolerance, growth and welfare, and more generally of justice and freedom, be they economic or political, are not packages to be pried open by the language of (mathematical) economic theory alone.

In this second reading, he makes yet another attempt to understand what Peter Singer is saying in his book, but rather than the context of the “world”, he does so with sectarian conflict in Pakistan as the relevant background. In this attempted application of Singer’s principles to one problem of one nation state, a so-called LDC, Pakistan, heI attempts to identify the commercial vocabulary in recent court rulings regarding the Ahmediyya community. This allows him to inquire into situations when the social, political and the communal can be productively bracketed from the economic.

Light refreshments will be provided. Pre-registration is appreciated. This presentation will be webcasted and it will be available at www.aaari.info. For more information, or to register online, please visit www.aaari.info.

Sincerely,


Thomas Tam, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Executive Director,
AAARI
25 West 43rd Street,
Room 1005,
New York, NY 10036
Phone: 212-869-0182
Fax: 212-869-0181
URL: www.AAARI.info


P.S. Please be reminded that our regular Friday Evening Lecture Series on December 9th, 2005, at 6 pm, will follow immediately after the reception. The speaker will be the famous Dr. Andrew Beveridge, professor of Queens College, CUNY. The title of his talk is Making a Visual Map of Demographic and Social Changes. Please pre-register on line at www.aaari.info.

Free Expo Pass to Interop New York, Dec 13-15, Javits Center

I signed up a while ago for Crain's New York Business News which is quite helpful. This afternoon, I received the following information, which I hope will prove useful to the IT folks out there.
Enjoy!

Free Expo Pass to Interop New York, Dec 13-15, Javits Center
Attend the IT event of the season. Hear keynotes from Microsoft, Google, AT&T and more. See over 140 exhibitors including Microsoft, Ericsson, Nortel, Verisign, 3Com and RIM. Attend 25+ free Special Programs.
Register today at www.interop.com. Use code MLECNN48.

Article: US volunteers find Pakistan more friendly than feared

Being Pakistani, it's always nice to see/hear such stories in the media. Plus, I like the Christian Science Monitor. Nice paper.
Nice article.
Happy reading

FAO Annual Food Report released

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has just come out with its Annual Food Report titled: "The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2005".
Check it out!

Call for application for European Summits

My friends from Americans for Informed Democracy sent this along a while back. There is still time to apply.
Hope someone can benefit!

I just wanted to let you know about two exciting conferences that Americans for Informed Democracy is hosting in Europe this winter that we thought might interest you or, more likely, any friends that you know from Queen's College who are currently studying abroad! In mid-December and early January, we are hosting Bringing the World Home retreats in Berlin, Germany, and London, England. The conferences will assemble together high-profile speakers and hundreds of Americans overseas for lectures, workshops, and discussions, on the U.S. role in the world. To learn more about these conferences, click here. And click the following links to see the exciting schedules for the Berlin (December 9-11) and London (January 9) conferences.

Last year, this series brought together more than 750 American students and received very positive reviews from participants (-- see this piece from Abroad View Magazine). A few students based in the U.S. who were traveling to Europe for winter break decided to attend these conference, so we figured it would be a good idea to let you know about these summits even though we know you’re based in the U.S. just in case you were one of those rare students planning to go overseas during winter break. In addition, we hoped you might be able to pass on this e-mail and the call for applications below (which has more information) to anyone you know who from Queen's College that is currently studying abroad.

Call for Applications for "Bringing the World Home" Retreats in Europe

Americans for Informed Democracy is now accepting applications for its winter Bringing the World Home summits. Bringing the World Home is an initiative that assembles hundreds of high-achieving Americans studying abroad each semester for workshops, speakers, and discussions on how to raise global awareness in the U.S. This winter, Bringing the World Home summits will take place December 9-11, 2005, at the picturesque Jugendherberge Berlin am Wannsee in Berlin, Germany, and January 9, 2006, at the Syracuse Centre in London, United Kingdom.

Bringing the World Home is hosted by Americans for Informed Democracy (AID). AID is a non-partisan organization working to raise global awareness on more than 250 U.S. university campuses. AID was originally started by Marshall and Rhodes scholars at Oxford University who sought a new vehicle to bring the world home to Americans and it has quickly become the premiere network for globally conscious young leaders to connect with one another, the general public, media, and policymakers. In September of 2005 alone, the group hosted more than ninety major events across America to promote a collaborative U.S. role in the world. For more on AID, see www.aidemocracy.org.

The Berlin and London summits will feature panel discussions with top policymakers, journalists, and scholars on the U.S. role in the world. The summits will also feature skill-building workshops, including strategies for talking global issues with Americans, techniques for organizing town hall meetings on America’s role in the world, methods for dealing with "reverse culture shock" after living abroad, and postgraduate opportunities in international affairs. Click the following links to see the conference schedules for Berlin and London.

The Berlin Bringing the World Home summit costs 80 Euros and includes lodging for two nights at the Jugendherberge Berlin am Wannsee, four meals, tourist activities in Berlin and AID’s signature organizer’s toolkit. Thanks to the generous support of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Hewlett Foundation, and DarMac Foundation, full and half scholarships are available to the Berlin summit for select students. The London Bringing the World Home summit is free for selected students but does not include food, lodging, or tourist attractions.

To apply: Since the number of spaces available for both conferences is limited, participants are being chosen by competitive application. Interested students should send a resume and brief cover letter to either berlin@aidemocracy.org (for the Berlin conference) or london@aidemocracy.org (for the London conference). Applicants wishing to be considered for a full or half-scholarship for the Berlin summit should also submit a 250-word essay on the topic "Why Bringing the World Home is Important to Me." Applicants should attach their resume, but are asked to include their cover letter and essay (if applicable) in the text of their e-mail. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis and must be received by December 1, 2005, for the Berlin summit and by January 1, 2006, for the London summit. If you have questions, please e-mail Allynn Lodge at allynn@aidemocracy.org.

Want to learn more? To learn more about Bringing the World Home, see news articles about past summits from Abroad View Magazine, CDSsense and Middlebury's Madrid Newsletter. You can also see news articles about AID's July and Septmber 2005 young global leaders conferences (which took place in the U.S.) from the Hartford Courant, Washington File, and Washington Square News.

Article: Kofi and the Scandal Pimps

This article initially came out in the beginning of October, 2005, but obviously did not, will not, and cannot make it into the mainstream media because of the "powers that be". I have only briefly skimmed through it, and while I cant account for all the information, it is definitely worth considering as a flip-side argument to what has been thrown about lately regarding the role of the UN in the modern world, especially after the Oil-for-Food scandal.
Happy reading!

Article: Students wary of CUNY master plan

My friend Amy Zimmer, who is a reporter at the newspaper, Metro-US, has written a great article on CUNY students who are wary of the Master Plan recently put forward by higher administration at CUNY. They are proposing a tuition hike yet again, and as usual, students are up in arms...
Please do read it and let me know your views.

Article: The Man Who Sold the War

This is an eye-opening, controversial article about a man who single-handedly constructed the Iraq war in the eyes of the public through propaganda.

Im speculating there's a reason why other more "prestigious" publications didnt cover it, though they may have given it slight or below average coverage...

Pakistani earthquake fundraiser

EARTHQUAKE AFTERMATH

Date: Friday, November 25
Time: 5:30 pm
Venue: Hunter College, 7th Floor, Room 714, Hunter West Building, 68th
Street & Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10021

An event looking at ways to move forward after the devastating
earthquake in South Asia. Vital funds will be raised for victims of the
disaster.

Lecture 1: The Blueprints for Reconstruction by Shakiel Humayun

Lecture 2: Responsibilities Towards the Needy by Nouman Khan

* $15 admission - all proceeds are for those affected by the earthquake

* Food will be served free of cost, please bring your family and
friends along

* For directions visit: http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/directions.shtml 

For tickets and more details contact your local MSA or call
646-812-7434. Tickets will also be available at the door from 5.00 pm - 5.30 pm.

Clearance sale at Left Turn Books

Brought to my attention by my friend Marc, who is a fellow alum of Queens College-CUNY:

Clearance Sale at Left Turn Books

http://www.leftturnbooks.com/

Friends and comrades,


Left Turn magazine is outgrowing our original little DiY operation.

Starting in the new year, we will be consolidating our efforts and
shutting
down Left Turn Books. The magazine and our Anti-Capitalista t-shirts
will
still be available on-line, but the books must go!

From now until the end of December, or as long as supplies last, every
book
and video in stock is 50% off.

Build yourself a radical library, or give the gift of politics this
season.

http://www.leftturnbooks.com/