"David Aaronovitch of the London Times observes, 'It isn't the failure to act in New Orleans that is the story here, it's the sheer, uninsured, uncared for, self-disenfranchised scale of the poverty that lies revealed. It looks like a scene from the Third World because that's the truth. It's a quiet disaster that's been going on for years.' The truth is the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans has a poverty level of 36.4 percent. A quarter of households have an annual income of less than $10,000, while half live on less than $20,000. Over half of the population in the ward is categorized as 'not in the labor force,' mainly because they have ceased looking for work. The truth is that even on a normal day, New Orleans is a sad city. 'Sure, tourists think New Orleans is fun: you can drink and hop from strip club to strip club all night on Bourbon Street, and gamble all your money away at Harrah's. But the city's decline over the past three decades has left it impoverished and lacking the resources to build its economy from within. New Orleans can't take care of itself even when it is not 80 percent underwater.' The National Review is already blaming it - predictably - on the breakdown of the family. Conservatives in America are already dismissing the problem, as they have for years. But to those outside the United States, the scale of poverty in the world's richest country comes as a shock." (posted by three blind mice at 1:30 AM PST) [71 comments total]
Pest, Pet, Appetizer
A snapshot from a fantastic ad campaign by HSBC I saw while travelling... It's supposed to highlight cultural differences throughout the world (with the implication, of course, that HSBC has the know-how to be your bank wherever you travel all over the globe.)My favorite showed three identical photos of a grasshopper...
...with the captions: U.S.A. = "Pest"; China = "Pet"; Thailand = "Appetizer"!
I'd love to get more of these ads.
Anybody know where I could find 'em?
The world's ugliest dog. Really.
And I thought that Venice had several contenders for this title... I now stand corrected: "Sam, the world's ugliest dog, now has his own weblog..." (from The Presurfer)
Categories: Dogs&Cats, Humor
Categories: Dogs&Cats, Humor
"English as She is Spoke"
"This 1883 book is without question the worst phrasebook ever written. The writer, Pedro Carolino, who was Portuguese, did not particularly speak English, nor did he have a Portuguese-English dictionary available. Instead, he worked with a French-English phrasebook and a Portuguese-French dictionary. The results, I'm sure you'll agree, are staggering." (from grow-a-brain)
Categories: Humor, Language
Categories: Humor, Language
"Learning from Europe: Rebuilding New Orleans Into the New Amsterdam/Venice of the Gulf"
"Learning from Europe: Rebuilding New Orleans Into the New Amsterdam/Venice of the Gulf. Canals, built in and around parts of New Orleans, could be an engineering and asthetic marvel. It would also and provide testament to the beauty,soul,and rebirth of this great city and people. Living with the sea is a science that places like the Netherlands have mastered over the years. What would Frederick Law Olmsted do?"
Categories: Venice
Create your own online travel diary!
"Tell the world...
A new travel web resource, launched earlier this month, lets you create your own online travel diary, which will help your friends and family keep up to date with all your adventures.The site is based around a tight knit community of travellers from all around the world, who share the knowledge and experiences from their travels and in doing so help other members plan future holidays.The site also includes many other sections to help members plan their next trip, including Travel Tips, Travel Ideas, Travel Links, Useful Advice and Language Resources. One of the highlights of the site is its Travel Forum. Check out http://wordtravelsfast.com/travel - WordTravels Fast!"
(Clark Howard's Travel e-Scapes - 1 September)
Categories: Blogs
UPDATED AGAIN:
"Class, Race and Katrina: A Perfect Storm"
Since I've been travelling and getting ready for the new semester this week, and able to watch the media on Katrina only every now and then to get the updates on the latest data, I wouldn't presume to accept wholesale this claim without investigating.
But, still... as a Southerner by birth, and a one-time Louisianian by residence, I think we need to start demanding explanations as to why the U.S. has suffered a higher percentage of human casualties than many so-called "Third World" countries in similar circumstances. To me, it looks like class and race were definitely deciding factors for who lived and who died. I understand and appreciate many people's various opinions about welfare, but stranding and leaving thousands of impoverished people to drown is a crime against humanity.
And, as in any case of negligence, somebody needs to answer for it.
UPDATED (9/02):
"New Orleans is sinking. According to a Houston Chronicle article FEMA warned in 2001 that the three most likely, most catastrophic disasters facing the United States were 1. A terrorist attack on New York City. 2. Flooding in New Orleans. 3. A San Francisco earthquake..." (from grow-a-brain)
Categories: Southern
I guess terrorists never upgrade to business class!
"In the next week Air Canada will allow its business-class passengers to use metal knives. The government approved the move but knives must have dull blades and rounded tips. Economy-class passengers will still be served meals with plastic knives."
(from "Clark Howard's Travel e-Scapes - 1 September")
Categories: Humor
"Costco offering Picasso originals online for $40K"
This is older news, but it only just last week made La Repubblica's "Venerdi'" magazine...
Boing Boing: Costco offering Picasso originals online for $40K
Categories: Art, Humor, Italy
Boing Boing: Costco offering Picasso originals online for $40K
Categories: Art, Humor, Italy
"JewelEye":
Surgically-implanted jewelry for your eyeballs
The latest from the "Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" dept...
The Cosmetic Extraocular Implant (JewelEyeTM) "is 3.5 mm in diameter and available in the following shapes: ring, heart, star, ring" but the website advises, "In the Netherlands, a Cosmetic Extraocular Implant is not considered a medical device..."
The Cosmetic Extraocular Implant (JewelEyeTM) "is 3.5 mm in diameter and available in the following shapes: ring, heart, star, ring" but the website advises, "In the Netherlands, a Cosmetic Extraocular Implant is not considered a medical device..."
Got this news item from last week's "Venerdi'" magazine put out by the newspaper La Repubblica, but apparently Boing Boing first had the whole unbelievable story eons ago:
Categories: Humor, WeirdScience
Transhumance
(or I'll be away from blogging...)
While I usually like to post around three things a day, I'm afraid that my blogging's going to be rather irregular this week, since it's time for our biannual "transhumance.""Transhumance is the seasonal movement of livestock between mountainous and lowland pastures. It occurs throughout the world, including Scandinavia, France, Italy, Romania, Spain, Turkey, Switzerland and amongst the Sami people of Scandinavia. This practice is based on the difference of climate between the mountains (where the herds stay during the summer) and the lowlands (where they remain the winter). Its importance to pastoralist societies cannot be overstated. Milk, butter and cheese - the products of transhumance - often form the basis of the local population's diet. In the past transhumance was widespread throughout Europe, in some areas - such as the Isle of Lewis in Scotland - within living memory. Today much of the Alpine transhumance is carried out by truck. In other parts of the world a more traditional approach is maintained; for regions of the Himalaya transhumance still provides the mainstay of several near subsistence economies - for example, that of Zanskar. Often traditional nomadic groups that have subsequently settled into a regular seasonal pattern are described by anthropologists as practicing transhumance."
Okay, okay... I don't really own livestock. But we still migrate back and forth to Italy with the changing seasons! :-)
In the meantime, please feel free to browse my archives or my subject categories... In three short months, I've posted over 250 goodies on Venice, Italy, History and Humor (among other "michellaneous" things!) Enjoy!!
(Coincidently, on a related note... ANSA.it announced yesterday that the award for the most beautiful stamp in Italy has gone to one celebrating the traditional transhumance between Abruzzo and Puglia, which you can see above.)
Ci rivediamo a presto!
("See you again soon!!")
Michelle
Categories: Blogs, Italy
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