machete | the blog

Nicolas Sarkozy, the president of France, publicly stated (June 19) his disapproval of the burqa/niqab,  stating that it is not welcome in France and renders women “prisoners behind a screen.“  His statements have set the stage for a possible nationwide ban - this ban would obviously apply to everyone in France…but reasonably speaking, it only targets the Muslim population, which makes up between 5-10% of the total population (64 million).

So how many women actually wear a burqa / niqab in France?
There’s no official number, but estimates are in the hundreds - which means it cannot be more than 1,000 women.

Why ban the burqa / niqab?
The case for banning the burqa is primarily based on two points.

1. Wearing the burqa in public violates France’s intense adhesion to laïcité, or secularism.
   
2. It is an oppressive article of clothing.

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Globalization.  It’s still the reason for much animosity towards the world’s eight ‘major industrialized democracies,’ also known as the G-8.  And while the U.S. has historically been one of the most criticized nations it is increasingly finding itself on the receiving end, as a great place to make fast and easy money.

The rules are changing as the US begins to Nationalize failing businesses and China Privatizes state-owned organizations.

China’s Newest Import to the US: Landlords
US Citizens face a slew of regulations and restrictions when it comes to purchasing property in China - good real estate in China is expensive and the value of the US dollar is relatively low.  On the contrary, it is substantially easier for foreigners to purchase property in the United States.  In fact, New York City and Washington D.C. topped the list of the best cities for real estate investment published in 2008 by the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE).

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With over 175 million users Facebook has become an ideal place to proliferate and spread ridiculously potent viruses.  The only solution is to completely block social networking websites from the workplace.  The newest of the viruses is the ‘Koobface‘ worm - it phishes its way onto user computers by getting users to open messages that appear to be sent from their Facebook friends.

Facebook in the Workplace
Facebook users and internet marketers have been pushing, often staunchly, for the privilege to use the social network while at work. Management didn’t really care about the harm to their IT infrastructure, for the most part they worried about the potential (and later observed) decline in productivity associated with allowing access to the website.

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Pripyat, Ukraine - once home to 50,000 people was swiftly abandonded immediately after the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 (Wiki).

For the past 22 years the city has been totally uninhabited with the exception of a few (about 300 or so) elderly people who returned to their homes in surrounding villages.

Today Pripyat remains an empty and dreary desert of concrete, wild animals, and rampant flora. There are plants busting through pavement to reach the sky and wild horses roam free through vast open fields…untouched for 22 years by manking, perhaps for the better.

These are some photos I pulled together from various sources around the interwebs - enjoy!

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The Nation of Gods and Earths (NGE) is a religion that was started in 1964 which borrows ideas from traditional Islam.  The NGE is also known as the Five Percent Nation of Islam, which refers to the NGE’s explanation that 5% of black people are chosen ‘Gods’ of the world and Islam is the black man’s natural culture (but not religion):

The 5%, who are the enlightened divine beings, the poor righteous teachers, having repossessed knowledge of the truth regarding the foundations of life and of oneself, and seek to liberate the 85% through education. (Wiki)

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Raul Castro has officially been president of Cuba since February 25, 2008, when his brother Fidel Castro stepped down from the post for good. Just before retiring from his presidential post Fidel ensured his nation that “this is not my farewell” - and even today there is no doubt that Fidel’s influence remains significant, if not compulsory. That said, Raul Castro is making a lot of changes to the the way Cuba operates - we’re witnessing a slow departure from communism and the simultaneous introduction of capitalism into Cuba’s economy - quite similar to the situation in China.

Domestic Reforms.
Some recent changes include the legalization of cell phone usage throughout Cuba, increasing the amount of state land available to private farmers, and the allowance of some citizens to seek title for their homes. Perhaps one of the most impressive moves was today’s announcement that Cuba is abandoning the egalitarian ’same wage for all’ scheme - now all workers will be entitled to compensation based on skill and performance - an essential component of free market capitalism.

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Global Handwashing Day, October 15, 2008. A brilliant idea being implemented by the right organization, the United Nations. With diseases flourishing and spreading at a rampant pace throughout the developing world this initiative comes at a most critical moment.

In the U.S. and other ‘developed’ nations diarrhea is something we treat with over the counter (OTC) medications and very rarely seek medical attention - the problem just goes away and one returns to ‘regularity.’ Well, this is not the case in the third-world, where diarrhea is a real threat - it’s a fatal disease; in fact, it is the second most common cause of death for children under the age of five. Globally, about 2 million child deaths (children under five) occur every year. (UNICEF)

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Several wards in Washington DC have finally decided to pass legislation that bans local stores from selling single containers of beer. This means that residents will not be able to walk into their local shop and purchase a bottle of beer - instead they’ll have to buy a multi-pack. Community leaders that support this ban are hoping to see a decline in curb-side drinking and a huge litter reduction. It should be noted that retailers can appeal and gain exception to the legislation if they have a good enough reason.

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As a child I watched on as my grandmother meticulously maintained and added to her collection of figurines and dolls. It’s not like grandma didn’t have anything to do with her time - it seemed as though all she did was cook, clean, and entertain guests. I thought her obsession with dolls was strange…until I learned about two strikingly life-like dolls that have both enjoyed television specials on BBC America. I’m talking about Real Dolls and Reborn Babies.

These dolls are made my a select few niche manufacturers, and likewise, they are purchased by a very specific type of customer. The people that buy these dolls don’t buy them to decorate their bedrooms, they use these realistic-looking rubber creations to replace their real-life counterparts…human babies and women.

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A couple weeks back I introduced the new nonprofit social startup Causecast.org. I have since learned of two great websites that put Causecast back in the ‘contender’ category - because they have been around a lot longer and both enjoy a substantial amount of members.

In fact, SocialVibe.com and Ammado.com share many of the same ’causes’ . Both websites provide visitors with a wide selection of nonprofits to follow. SocialVibe wins my vote as the most efficient, usable, and well-designed website. The website allows you to ‘join’ as many causes as you wish - once you join a cause you can contribute to the nonprofit’s SocialVibe community by submitting donations, uploading multimedia (photos, videos), writing in a cause-specific forum, and finally, you can share the nonprofit’s SocialVibe page on other social networks (MySpace, Facebook, etc.). The ‘One Laptop Per Child’ cause has a well-utilized page on SocialVibe.

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