Alon Shalev's Blog, page 48

Another Empowering Women's Organization

I read almost every solicitation that I receive from a non-profit. I can't help it. A lot of my time is spent raising funds for San Francisco Hillel, the Jewish Student Center, and I send out my fair share of letter campaigns. 

Women for Women caught my eye for their very personal letter. This is an organization that helps women who have lost everything, often both material and personal, through violence and war. Their primary focus is on women from the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Rwanda, Afghanistan, and others.

Women for Women are able to :

- offer direct financial support for medicine and food

- provide job training skills and business training

- teach an empowerment program about their rights as women and citizens

The Woman for Women website offers many stories and testimonies. Warning – they can be tough to read. One interesting set of facts that I read includes the following data:

- women reinvest 90% of their income into their family and community compared with 30-40% of men (World Bank study).

- women hire at least one person to help with their businesses and train or mentor on average 4 other women.

- women are 70% of the world's farmers, produce 90% of the world's staple food crops, but own less than 2% of the land.

Finally, in the words of one of Zainab Salbi, Founder of Women for Women: "…it's the Butterfly Revolution in action.  You make a gift of $20 and the impact of your decision is felt thousands of miles away, by a woman whose life has been devastated by war and conflict…

"The Butterfly Revolution is a metaphor for the concept that even small actions…like the fluttering of a butterfly's wings…can have far-reaching effects. I believe that by taking action, every one of us have a major impact on making the world a better place for women in need."

Please consider joining me with a $20 gift. You can click here and don't even need to leave your chair.

Thank you.

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Alon Shalev is the author of The Accidental Activist and A Gardener's Tale. He is the Executive Director of the San Francisco Hillel Foundation, a non-profit that provides spiritual and social justice opportunities to Jewish students in the Bay Area. More on Alon Shalev at http://www.alonshalev.com/ and on Twitter (@alonshalevsf).

YA Market and the E-book Revolution

I have entered my Young Adult epic fantasy novel into the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. My plan is if I do fall at some point to send submissions to about 20 agents and try to publish in the conventional way.

If this does not succeed, I assumed that I would then join the e-book revolution and hope to create enough splash to be picked up in the footsteps of Amanda Hocking and J.A. Konrath. I have read closely John Locke's successful business model and would love to try it.

But today something hit me. Do young adults (10-18 year old) – my primary market for my epic fantasy series – read their books on e-Readers?

Laura Hazard Owen recently wrote: "The children's and young adult e-book market faces special challenges not shared by the adult market, new research shows. And teens are slow to adopt e-books, in part because they do not see e-books as a social technology and they think there are too many restrictions on sharing digital titles."

She reached her conclusion based on two online surveys commissioned by  PubTrack Consumer towards the end of last year who surveyed 1,000 teenagers and 1,000 parents of pre-teens. The details of the survey can be found here -  "Children's Publishing Goes Digital."

There are some interesting theories and statistics here. Firstly, youngsters are extremely social and want to share their books with friends and e-book technology is perceived as too restrictive. I thought that perhaps the teens did not have access to comfortable e-book readers. The majority has cell phones, but I am not including this. 60% of those surveyed receive technology from their parents as the latter upgrade.

Ms. Hazard Owen makes another excellent point It is not just young adults propelling YA books like the Hunger Games trilogy onto e-book bestseller lists:

- 30-44-year-olds constitute 28 % of YA print book sales and 32 % of YA e-book sales. -18-29-year-olds buy the most YA books, purchasing 31% of YA print sales and 35% of YA e-book sales.

Making a decision to invest in the YA fantasy e-book market doesn't look as attractive as for genres aimed at adults, but this is going to change as more young people receive the necessary devices. Also, the realization that the YA market goes not from 12-18, but 12-44 year olds make for a more encouraging prospect.

A final interesting point is that this age group is more likely to buy a book because of a recommendation on a social network.

Now, please excuse me, this 47-year-old is going to read The Hunger Games, recommended to me by my 13-year-old son.

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Alon Shalev is the author of The Accidental Activist and A Gardener's Tale. He is the Executive Director of the San Francisco Hillel Foundation, a non-profit that provides spiritual and social justice opportunities to Jewish students in the Bay Area. More on Alon Shalev at http://www.alonshalev.com/ and on Twitter (@alonshalevsf).

Protesting by Lawsuit: Politicians and Wall Street Sued – Roger Ingalls

Middle-class America has taken hit after hit for the past thirty years. It's time to fight in a manner recognizable by the political liars and financial bullies. Perhaps we should protest by suing (en masses) congressmen, presidents, banks and related financial institutions.

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AMERICAN MIDDLE-CLASS HOUSEHOLDS

Plaintiffs,

v.

UNITED STATES CONGRESSMEN (from 1980 to Present), UNITED STATES PRESIDENTS (from 1980 to Present), ALL BANKS RECEIVING BAILOUTS (from 2007 to Present), and MAJOR CREDIT RATING AGENCIES

Defendants

CAUSE of ACTION

Since 1980, plaintiffs' wealth has transferred to Wall Street, big businesses, the rich, banks and other financial institutions due to legislation enacted by Washington politicians.
Since 1980, Presidents and Congressmen have breached campaign promises and oral contracts presented to plaintiffs during election cycles.
Presidents and Congressmen have created legislation favoring Wall Street, banks, big business and similar entities as compensation for heavy campaign financing.
Since 1980, Congressmen and Presidents have enacted legislation deregulating the financial industry.
Banks engaged in reckless business practices that caused the financial crisis starting in 2007 to present. These reckless practices had a negative and catastrophic impact on the worth of plaintiffs' assets.
Banks and credit rating agencies established relationships that enabled faux-positive grades on toxic financial products.
As a result of defendants actions referenced in items 1 through 6, plaintiffs' owned assets and ability to grow wealth have greatly diminished.

WHEREFORE, plaintiff demands judgment against defendants as set forth below:

Compensatory damages of $10,000,000,000,000.00;
Cost of suit; and
Such further relief as the court may deem proper.

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It would be interesting to see how the financial industry and elected officials respond to this type of political activism.

Any law professors or students out there willing to take on a project like this? Facebook and Twitter are a great way to spread the word, gather plaintiffs and get public endorsement.

Let's send a message they understand.

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Roger Ingalls is well-traveled and has seen the good and bad of many foreign governments. He hopes his blogging will encourage readers to think more deeply about the American political system and its impact on US citizens and the international community.

A Tip of the Hat to some 1%-ers

Two weeks ago, Warren Buffett who has gone on record as saying that he feels the top 1% are not being taxed enough, issued a challenge in a Time Magazine interview. Buffett pledged to match any voluntary contributions made by Republican members of Congress, aimed at reducing the deficit. He even offered to go three for one with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Warren Buffett - a man of principle.

Rep. Scott Rigell, a Republican representing Virginia, wrote a letter to Buffett, letting him know that he makes it a regular practice to donate 15% of his Congressional salary "to pay down the debt." That amounted to $23,103.33 in 2011 and about $26,100 in 2012.

Mr. Buffett is keeping good to his word and will write a check to the US Treasury for just over $49,000 to match Scott Rigell's voluntary contributions for both years.

In a letter to Rep. Rigell released by Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett writes he's "particularly impressed that you took this action before my challenge."

Rigell reciprocated in the lovefest by saying: "Though we differ on tax policy, as fellow Americans and businessmen I know that we share this common bond: a deep concern over the state and trajectory of our country's finances."

A Worthy Adversary

Mr. Buffett then went on to challenge Republicans and Democrats to spark an intramural war of contributions. Whilst I won't hold my breath on this, I do want to honor both Mr. Buffett and Rep. Rigell, who have set an example to the rest of the 1%. Gentlemen, as a member of the 99%, I appreciate it.

If there isn't enough good vibes going around with this story, Rep. Rigell in his letter to Mr. Buffett, offered to provide paperwork showing his contribution. Mr. Buffett responded: "Your word is good with me."

Gosh, stories like this are so depressing. They fill you with hope until you open the newspaper in the morning. Such a long way to fall.

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Alon Shalev is the author of The Accidental Activist and A Gardener's Tale. He is the Executive Director of the San Francisco Hillel Foundation, a non-profit that provides spiritual and social justice opportunities to Jewish students in the Bay Area. More on Alon Shalev at http://www.alonshalev.com/ and on Twitter (@alonshalevsf).

Dumb Republicans! – Tom Rossi

It's been a fun week for those who enjoy making fun of right-wing ideologues. News of a study by Gordon Hodson and Michael A. Brusseri was released that appears to have shown that right-wingers are dumb. I can't wait to see Jon Stewart's bit on this, but because this has been pounced upon by so many already, I'll leave the fun and the defensiveness to others and explain why I think the truth in this matter is a little more complicated.

Judging by the abstract (that's all that's currently available, as the article is "in press"), the authors did not actually attempt to link the lack of cognitive ability (called "dumbness" in articles that have appeared all over the internet) with conservatism but rather concluded that low cognitive ability along with low "intergroup contact" were strongly linked to racial and homosexual prejudice, with the presence of "right wing ideology" mediating the relationship.

This little abstract, much as the avalanche of related internet materials, is loaded with potentially fine and not-so-fine hairs to split in terminology – cognitive ability vs. intelligence, conservative vs. right-wing ideologue, etc. It's too big a mess to sort out here, so let's just explore some experiences I've had in the relation between politics and intelligence.

At one point in my life, I found that I had three very close friends who identified themselves as conservatives. In order to talk about them freely, without fear of the potential the retaliation of a really long list of my own "interesting" characteristics being posted on the internet, I'll just call them, "Snap," "Crackle," and "Pop." I knew each well and each was highly intelligent and at least somewhat well educated.

Snap was instrumental in my getting through one of the most difficult times of my life. He was heavily involved in the "fine arts" – music, specifically, in which he got a Master's degree. When he graduated, he returned to his home in the "Deep South." He became re-immersed in his family's politics and soon, Snap snapped and stopped talking to me, mostly because I refused to accept George W. Bush as the savior of America. Admittedly, I made lots of jokes at W.'s expense, even when I knew it antagonized my friend, so some of the blame is certainly mine. But his (I say illegitimate) admiration for W. was eclipsed by his legitimate admiration for his own father – a brilliant surgeon who miraculously puts people back together after horrifying accidents. I greatly miss his Snap's friendship.

Crackle is somewhat high up in the criminal justice field. He "only" has a Bachelor's degree (that he received alongside me), but he just might have the most organized mind of the three. He is a staunch conservative and he gives generously to good charities, both of his time and his money. He has invested his work and his money very wisely and is a middle-class success story if there ever was one. His debating skills are incredible and he keeps up on current events amazingly well, especially with all the work he does while raising two kids. He challenges me on the issues of politics so well that I have to work way too hard to compete with him. Sometimes I give up, not because he's beaten me, but because I can't keep up with his energy.

Pop has been one of my best friends for many years. He's very smart, and honest even when there are clear incentives not to be. He has an MBA from a top university and what is commonly called a "type A" personality in that he is incredibly energetic and is adamant in expressing his opinions. Faced with obstacles, he only sees ways to overcome them. He always encourages me even when it must feel like bashing his head against a brick wall. Recently, Pop has decided that he is, after all, a liberal, except when it comes to certain issues like guns. I actually credit Bill Maher with this transformation.

Each of these three also seems to admire me, even though I think of myself as not much more than a screw-up. These are all good, smart, caring people. Why is this long-winded, personal story important? Because it shows that people don't have to be dumb to have conservative values.

I know what you're going to say: "Whoa there Tom! You love nothing more than to make fun of Republicans!" And you would be right. I make fun of just about everything. But it would be a mistake to think that conservatism is simply based on a lack of intelligence. Lots of conservatives are dumb, as are lots of liberals. But plenty are not dumb. Instead they have followed false algorithms from their values to their political affiliations.

This means that progressives can't just fall back on their mental superiority and assume that they will (along with all humanity) easily win the battle for the earth. It means we have to sharpen our pencils… and our rhetoric. I love to make jokes, but explaining just why it is that I and others believe that we must change the trajectory of this country is going to be a lot more difficult. It involves the illumination of more than one inconvenient truth.

The reality of broad variation in intelligence among conservatives splits the work of creating a more progressive society in two. The fact is that, in order to advance to a better society, conservatives have to be convinced that many of their ideas are wrong – especially about economics. I always feel that I have a legitimate shot at changing the minds of intelligent conservatives. The dumb ones? I'm not sure how to deal with them.

We'll talk more about this next week.

-Tom Rossi

(with thanks to Roger Ingalls)

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Tom Rossi is a commentator on politics and social issues. He is a Ph.D. student in International Sustainable Development, concentrating in natural resource and economic policy. Tom greatly enjoys a hearty debate, especially over a hearty pint of Guinness.

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State of the Left Coast Union

Last week (at least at the time of writing), President Obama gave his State of the Union and I enjoyed it. I even subjected my sons to listening live as we ate dinner (PST) – actually I bribed them offering that they could watch The Simpsons after homework (reverse psychology – two teaching opportunities for the price of one – kids haven't caught on yet).

Speaking as a new American, (the 49′ers run finally had me watching American football) I am still puzzled at how much power and attention this jewel of democracy gives its President. We elect representatives to Congress as our direct representatives. They are paid to protect and advance our interests. The judiciary, while a very important watchdog, is there to ensure that the laws are interpreted and enforced.

Now I am all for strong leadership and a steady fan of the President. I have one of his books on my iTunes and when a chapter randomly comes up (usually while I am at the gym) I listen. I should also confess at this point, and did a year ago, that I am a faithful devotee of West Wing.

However, I often feel that the media frenzy that dogs the Presidential trail (and that includes the Primary circus) provides a comfortable distraction for those we sent directly to Congress. The vast majority of laypeople, myself included, know more about the activities, thoughts and efforts of the President than we do of our representative. I wonder how many people of voting age even know who their representative is? I have read two books by the President, but have no idea if Representative Barbara Lee or Senators Boxer and Feinstein have even written any books.

The role of the President should be to represent our country and to have a strategic overview. Many have criticized President Obama as being too conciliatory with Republicans, but I admire his collaborative nature, even though I am frustrated that it cost us a serious health care bill.

While I believe that  Congress should be more prominent and accountable, I enjoy the State of the Union – certainly better than the Queen's (bless 'er) Christmas Address at 3pm every 12/25.

The President should be the communicator to the nation. The State of the Union should be a 10,000 foot view of our accomplishments and challenges over the past year and looking ahead, but it should never replace, or give the illusion that, the responsibility lies with all our leaders.

President Obama's speech did give the impression of electioneering, but there was an important recurring message: Put it on my desk and I'll sign it into law.

President Obama was addressing the nation, but he was also addressing Congress. Partisan stagnation has no place when our nation is suffering. So my State of the Left Coast Union is simple:

Electioneering be damned: Our nation is hurting. Stop the circus. One debate, one half hour uninterrupted prime time TV slot to each candidate and let's go to the ballot.

The rest of our politician's time should be spent doing what we pay them to do. I realize this will seriously hurt our media industry, but perhaps they might be inspired to focus on real news and analysis to empower the people to make informed decisions.

Too Radical?

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Alon Shalev is the author of The Accidental Activist and A Gardener's Tale. He is the Executive Director of the San Francisco Hillel Foundation, a non-profit that provides spiritual and social justice opportunities to Jewish students in the Bay Area. More on Alon Shalev at http://www.alonshalev.com/ and on Twitter (@alonshalevsf).

Nice Review – from Molly

The Accidental Activist received a generous review from Reviews By Molly. Thank you for the kind words.

My Review:

Mr. Shalev is a new-to-me author and one that I am happy to say, knows his stuff! He really created a complex and captivating plot line and kept it twisting and turning through out. It was never boring and each character introduced highlighted the story perfectly.

I love a good suspenseful mystery story. Ones that center around a court room,especially. Stories based on actual facts and cases, but written fictionally, really cinch the deal for me, because I love being able to say "I know that" or, "I've heard of that", while still getting a whole new fresh look on things with the fictional aspect. Throw all that together with Matt and Suzie's characters and you've got one GREAT court room drama novel!

The interaction between Matt and Suzie was awesome. I loved watching Matt try to woo Suzie, all the while Matt was trying to rise to the top, over come is downfalls, creating a website and causing a stir, really added to the depth and meaning of the story.

I highly recommend this story with a high 5 Book rating! Complete with laughable British humor, this story will hook you from first page to last, as you take a ride of romance, dodging the downfalls and trying to over come the legalities of a harsh time. While this is my first Shalev novel, it will NOT be my last. I loved the curve balls he threw into the middle of the story, along with the passionate way he created a story and added amazing hook lines for the readers.

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Alon Shalev is the author of The Accidental Activist and A Gardener's Tale. He is the Executive Director of the San Francisco Hillel Foundation, a non-profit that provides spiritual and social justice opportunities to Jewish students in the Bay Area. More on Alon Shalev at http://www.alonshalev.com/ and on Twitter (@alonshalevsf).

Occupy Report Card – Roger Ingalls

A few days ago I got into a mildly hot discussion with a few people over the Occupy Movement. It started due to a news report about protesters stealing property from a church that allowed them to sleep on the premises.

A few in the discussion group concluded that the Occupy folks were just a bunch of thugs causing problems and haven't done anything worth noting. The rest of us disagreed and took the position that you can't judge the whole movement based on a few bad apples that caught the eye of Mainstream Media.

picture from dawnstephensbooks.com

Our discussion then turned to accomplishments by Occupy Wall Street. The naysayers initially said the movement hadn't done anything but eventually gave them some credit for helping with the roll-back of the $5 transaction fee proposed by Bank of America. After chatting further, many of us thought the rebirth of civil disobedience and mass public protesting in the U.S. were positives and should be credited to the Occupy Movements.

"The Tree of Liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants", Thomas Jefferson.

A small group of us that are, generally, pro Occupy, thought the movements biggest accomplishment was education of the masses. Prior to the whole Occupy thing, the public, as a whole, never discussed the inequity of the Top 1% versus the Bottom 99%, rarely cared about how politician received money for campaigning or gave many thoughts to how Big Business sets government agenda. Now these issues are on the tongues of people everywhere, of all ages, races and economic standing. This is an awesome accomplishment. Awareness is the first step.

Occupy Revolution Year One gets an A+.

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Roger Ingalls is well traveled and has seen the good and bad of many foreign governments. He hopes his blogging will encourage readers to think more deeply about the American political system and its impact on US citizens and the international community.

Urban Adamah – Farming and Learning in Berkeley

Urban Adamah is a Jewish urban farm walking distance from my house. I have been there a few times for events and my eldest son goes regularly for a workshop.

As urban as it gets

Adamah is hebrew for earth and when the group received permission to develop the land, earth is one thing they did not find. Instead, the land was full of chemicals and metals from past construction projects. Today, only a year later, there are proud boxes straining with vegetables.

Urban agriculture has been discussed in this blog and I have highlighted another project nearby – Spiral Gardens. I want to share something special at Urban Adamah, an opportunity to participate in a three month fellowship.

For anyone in between jobs, taking a gap year, or needing sometime to reassess, this is a great program. I have spoken with a number of fellows and am profoundly impressed by the depth of their knowledge, enthusiasm and commitment to continue their eco-Jewish journey.

This pretty much reflects the goal of this program: "The Urban Adamah Fellowship is a three-month residential leadership-training program for young adults that integrates urban organic farming, direct social justice work and progressive Jewish living and learning. The fellowship curriculum is designed to equip fellows with the tools to become agents of positive change in their own lives and in their communities."

Down on the farm at Urban Adamah

There is a similar program at my kibbutz in Israel, Kibbutz Lotan. This is not an urban program (the kibbutz in situated in the Afro-Syrian rift, desert country), but teaches many techniques that can be used in the city.  You actually reside in an eco-campus that previous students built and receive US university credits, and there is an element of conflict resolution built into the program.

The Kibbutz Lotan campus where fellows live and build.

Back to Urban Adamah and they have just opened applications for the next fellowship (I believe there are three a year). I suspect that places fill quickly, a sign that many Jews, myself included, are finding their way back to Judaism through environmental and social justice. And this is good news all round.

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Alon Shalev is the author of The Accidental Activist and A Gardener's Tale. He is the Executive Director of the San Francisco Hillel Foundation, a non-profit that provides spiritual and social justice opportunities to Jewish students in the Bay Area. More on Alon Shalev at http://www.alonshalev.com/ and on Twitter (@alonshalevsf).

Arrrrrrr! There Be Pirates Afloat on the Digital Sea! – Tom Rossi

Would you like some sopa? Mmmmm… Sopa is Spanish for soup. Nothing wrong with that. But we're currently faced with an unpleasant variation – SOPA, the Stop Online Piracy Act – H.R. 3261. SOPA (along with it's evil twin, PIPA) would grant witch-hunt like powers to the government in it's never-ending quest to satisfy it's corporate owners.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) cites a study by the Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI) that claims the U.S. economy is "harmed" to the tune of $12.5 billion annually by audio-recording piracy alone. In addition it is claimed that this leads to the loss of over 70,000 jobs, again – each year. And IPI says that these are really conservative figures. And remember, the movie and print industries aren't even included here!

Really? 70,000 jobs from the recording industry each year? Even if you count the jobs at nearby McDonalds' and Wal-Marts supported by the employees of the recording industry that number is a little hard on the ears.

And how does the IPI come up with these losses? Basically, through a tortured process, it's the equivalent of what the so-called "pirate" would have spent if he or she had bought a retail copy of, say, a CD instead of downloading it from the internet.

Again I ask… Really? Imagine, for a moment, you are at a conference. You've already eaten lunch, but there is a table with free donuts, fruit, turkey legs, whatever you like. I don't know about you, but I'm about 37.8 times more likely to take a free donut as I would be if I had to pay for it, especially considering that I have already eaten. If you enjoyed my made-up math there, you'll really love these "statistics."

In other words, I'm postulating that, if the downloads weren't free, most of these "pirates" (a term the RIAA calls, "too benign") didn't get these recordings for free, they wouldn't get them at all. The recording industry would NOT be taking in another $12.5 billion at all, but maybe a fraction of that.

And the job losses? They're not losses at all. They are the projected increases in jobs that aren't going to be created because the imaginary revenues aren't coming in.

Why does this matter? Efforts to control this mythically-proportioned crime cost millions in tax dollars. Investigations, sting operations, raids, it's yet another money toilet that's kept alive while schools and libraries are forced to shut their doors. Whose priorities are being served here? I'll give you one guess.

-Tom Rossi

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Tom Rossi is a commentator on politics and social issues. He is a Ph.D. student in International Sustainable Development, concentrating in natural resource and economic policy. Tom greatly enjoys a hearty debate, especially over a hearty pint of Guinness.

Tom also posts on thrustblog.blogspot.com

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