it's all talk
10.18.2003
sorry, rau, i couldnt wait any longer to put up most of the new design. enjoy chi-town in the meantime. :)
¶ 20:49
update: there is in fact one russell duren enrolled at Baylor this fall. No email address by which to contact him personally, but he is listed as a student in the directory.
whoa.
This reminds me of the time a few of us discovered that Emily Eaton was the personal of the day at the onion. ¶ 20:02
whoa.
This reminds me of the time a few of us discovered that Emily Eaton was the personal of the day at the onion. ¶ 20:02
10.14.2003
For this being a hectic week, today was a nice day. I was out the door at 8:45 am for Environmental Studies, then head to Latin American Politics at 10:30, then lunch hit, then I emailed my essay to Barry (yay first name basis!), and then repacked my bag for jazz orchestra. Harlem Airshaft, Good Bait, and Straight No Chaser (don't be fooled, this is an awesome arrangement) were rehearsed, and then I hustled off to the Public Affairs Center to make McGuire's office hours. Instead of being swamped with students (it's midterms week) I had the pleasure of sitting down and chatting with him one on one. His window was open, and the wind rustled the papers on his desk, which made me very happy about Fall.
When I had exhausted all remaining questions I had about today's class, I ventured to ask him about next semester's course on East Asian and Latin American Development. Having taken a political economy class last year on developing countries, I was concerned that the course material might overlap. McGuire assured me that it wouldnt, and then proceeded to describe to me the structure of the class:
- One three hour meeting a week
- One 5-7 page paper due each week, of student's design
- At the end of 10 weeks, all papers are then assembled into a 70 page dissertation which must include both qualitative and quantitative analysis.
Mega-intense. He showed me some of the final papers from last year. I held one of them, and it was HEAVY! How cool would it be to write something that meticulous and intense? So, as I'm gaping at these massive projects, McGuire tells me that the course is POI (permission of instructor, meaning you need the prof's O.K. to even register for the class) and that he usually only admits about a third of those who apply for a spot. But that's okay for you, he tells me, because I'd be happy to have you in the class. I ask good questions, he says. He likes that. (And a huge yay for getting a chance for a head start on the senior thesis writing!)
So I leave McGuire's office after about an hour chit chat, totally stoked. Then I get to head over to the campus center to meet with former Congressmen Mickey Edwards and Anthony Beilenson. Around ten government majors sit in a circle with these two incredibly experienced politicians and chat about careers in public service and political campaigns. Robyn and I left the meeting a little jaded over the lack of meat to much of what was discussed, but looking back on it now, it was pretty cool. We ate free cookies and drank grapefruit juice. With former members of the House.
After five, I head home to check my email and rest my eyes for about 15 minutes and then walk to the Middletown Library for a three hour training session with the Literacy Volunteers of Greater Middletown. I'll be teaching ESL or BL one-on-one soon.
So now I'm home, exhausted, drinking a cup of dark roast with a good dash of cloves and nutmeg. Time to study for that midterm!
¶ 23:45
When I had exhausted all remaining questions I had about today's class, I ventured to ask him about next semester's course on East Asian and Latin American Development. Having taken a political economy class last year on developing countries, I was concerned that the course material might overlap. McGuire assured me that it wouldnt, and then proceeded to describe to me the structure of the class:
- One three hour meeting a week
- One 5-7 page paper due each week, of student's design
- At the end of 10 weeks, all papers are then assembled into a 70 page dissertation which must include both qualitative and quantitative analysis.
Mega-intense. He showed me some of the final papers from last year. I held one of them, and it was HEAVY! How cool would it be to write something that meticulous and intense? So, as I'm gaping at these massive projects, McGuire tells me that the course is POI (permission of instructor, meaning you need the prof's O.K. to even register for the class) and that he usually only admits about a third of those who apply for a spot. But that's okay for you, he tells me, because I'd be happy to have you in the class. I ask good questions, he says. He likes that. (And a huge yay for getting a chance for a head start on the senior thesis writing!)
So I leave McGuire's office after about an hour chit chat, totally stoked. Then I get to head over to the campus center to meet with former Congressmen Mickey Edwards and Anthony Beilenson. Around ten government majors sit in a circle with these two incredibly experienced politicians and chat about careers in public service and political campaigns. Robyn and I left the meeting a little jaded over the lack of meat to much of what was discussed, but looking back on it now, it was pretty cool. We ate free cookies and drank grapefruit juice. With former members of the House.
After five, I head home to check my email and rest my eyes for about 15 minutes and then walk to the Middletown Library for a three hour training session with the Literacy Volunteers of Greater Middletown. I'll be teaching ESL or BL one-on-one soon.
So now I'm home, exhausted, drinking a cup of dark roast with a good dash of cloves and nutmeg. Time to study for that midterm!
¶ 23:45
Toward A New Free Trade
The failure of September’s WTO talks in Cancun, Mexico demonstrated that the world has not yet agreed on what implications the “free” in “free trade” will have on actual trading practices. Brazil led other developing nations in a walk-out to protest the unfair trading practices of the United States and other major developed nations; the “free trade” that we as Americans have experienced under agreements such as NAFTA has left many distrustful of globalization. The United States’ politicians have failed to cultivate legitimately free trade on two fronts: (1) by failing to require uniform environmental and labor standards of its trade partners, and (2) by continuing to heavily subsidize domestic agriculture with hundreds of billions of dollars, and trading votes for protective tariffs for the farm lobby, in order to keep the industry afloat. American farmers, composing a mere 2.4 percent of the U.S. population, are pampered by their government at the expense of farmers in developing nations, who often compose 50 percent or more of their countries’ populations.
If we use NAFTA as a gauge with which to estimate the likely impact of international neo-liberal reform, the adverse environmental effects free trade has had on the U.S./Mexico border region, and its peoples, are vast. The open border allows American corporations to outsource their assembly lines to heavily-polluting border factories, called maquiladoras, in order to avoid having to comply with the more rigorous environment and labor standards in the United States. In operations resembling those of the international drug trade, hazardous waste is illegally smuggled across the border from the United States to Mexican dump sites daily. Mexican farm laborers work with highly toxic pesticides and fertilizers, without proper equipment or training, for the sake of economic “efficiency.” Deglobalization, however, is not the answer. Both developed and developing nations could benefit from equitable free trade.
Agriculture imported from developing counties is cheaper than U.S. domestic produce because developing nations impose fewer standards on production. A multilateral trade agreement requiring all trading partners to comply with uniform environmental and labor standards would boost living conditions in developing nations and also reduce the need for developed countries’ governments to viciously protect their farmers. If such standards were applied to U.S./Mexico free trade relations, Mexican farmers would benefit by receiving a living wage and working in a healthier environment. The ensuing increase in the price of Mexican produce would give American agriculture a better shot in the international market. The $365 billion dollars that the United States government currently spends annually to subsidize its farmers could then be redirected to improve education, health care, and other programs in dire need of federal funding.
Now is the time for developed nations finally “walk the walk” when it comes to a global and fair application of free trade standards. Short-term special interests have justified politicians’ indifference to the international good in the past, but with the failure of Cancun fresh in mind, impetus exists to restructure international trade policy. Holding all trading partners, regardless of economic hegemony, to the same rubric could effectively increase environmental and labor quality standards in developing countries and lessen the need for major subsidies and tariffs to protect developed nations’ farmers. Equitable free trade will not instantly eradicate all unfair labor and agricultural practices – it’s tough to police agricultural slavery deep in the Brazilian Amazon, for example – but explicit, multilateral policy will signal an international commitment to global environmental, labor, and economic health.
¶ 02:08
The failure of September’s WTO talks in Cancun, Mexico demonstrated that the world has not yet agreed on what implications the “free” in “free trade” will have on actual trading practices. Brazil led other developing nations in a walk-out to protest the unfair trading practices of the United States and other major developed nations; the “free trade” that we as Americans have experienced under agreements such as NAFTA has left many distrustful of globalization. The United States’ politicians have failed to cultivate legitimately free trade on two fronts: (1) by failing to require uniform environmental and labor standards of its trade partners, and (2) by continuing to heavily subsidize domestic agriculture with hundreds of billions of dollars, and trading votes for protective tariffs for the farm lobby, in order to keep the industry afloat. American farmers, composing a mere 2.4 percent of the U.S. population, are pampered by their government at the expense of farmers in developing nations, who often compose 50 percent or more of their countries’ populations.
If we use NAFTA as a gauge with which to estimate the likely impact of international neo-liberal reform, the adverse environmental effects free trade has had on the U.S./Mexico border region, and its peoples, are vast. The open border allows American corporations to outsource their assembly lines to heavily-polluting border factories, called maquiladoras, in order to avoid having to comply with the more rigorous environment and labor standards in the United States. In operations resembling those of the international drug trade, hazardous waste is illegally smuggled across the border from the United States to Mexican dump sites daily. Mexican farm laborers work with highly toxic pesticides and fertilizers, without proper equipment or training, for the sake of economic “efficiency.” Deglobalization, however, is not the answer. Both developed and developing nations could benefit from equitable free trade.
Agriculture imported from developing counties is cheaper than U.S. domestic produce because developing nations impose fewer standards on production. A multilateral trade agreement requiring all trading partners to comply with uniform environmental and labor standards would boost living conditions in developing nations and also reduce the need for developed countries’ governments to viciously protect their farmers. If such standards were applied to U.S./Mexico free trade relations, Mexican farmers would benefit by receiving a living wage and working in a healthier environment. The ensuing increase in the price of Mexican produce would give American agriculture a better shot in the international market. The $365 billion dollars that the United States government currently spends annually to subsidize its farmers could then be redirected to improve education, health care, and other programs in dire need of federal funding.
Now is the time for developed nations finally “walk the walk” when it comes to a global and fair application of free trade standards. Short-term special interests have justified politicians’ indifference to the international good in the past, but with the failure of Cancun fresh in mind, impetus exists to restructure international trade policy. Holding all trading partners, regardless of economic hegemony, to the same rubric could effectively increase environmental and labor quality standards in developing countries and lessen the need for major subsidies and tariffs to protect developed nations’ farmers. Equitable free trade will not instantly eradicate all unfair labor and agricultural practices – it’s tough to police agricultural slavery deep in the Brazilian Amazon, for example – but explicit, multilateral policy will signal an international commitment to global environmental, labor, and economic health.
¶ 02:08
10.12.2003
sundays this year have been a time of reflection. after a few days of leisure, students reacquaint themselves with their classes and texts; dying leaves gently scrape empty sidewalks. i brew pots of earl grey tea and gaze at the tree out of my window. i read on my bed, legs resting against my room's cool, painted walls.
i popped fiona apple's when the pawn into my cd player when late afternoon hit, and was immediately transported back to my early years of high school, days when i would sequester myself in my room, much like i do now, and read dickinson, angelou, salinger, orwell, plath, vonnegut, and the other requisite works of feigned-high-school-self-discovery. in those days i practed my piano every day, and timed my efforts by the clock on the stove. i shot baskets in my backyard after dark, thanks to the worklight my dad secured to one of the oaks. i sewed bags from extra fabric found in closets. i did my homework in bed. i was, more or less, alone.
it's funny, 'cause as i lay here listening to "the way things are," i realize that while i may have taken a few intentional detours, i am in much the same emotional spot as i was when i was 15. i was an anxious, depressed kid five years ago. and of late, i've acted like an anxious, depressed adult. yaron and i had a long talk last night about the benefits and disadvantages of deliberately developing a public transcript. oh, the angst.
sure, i can cover it up by searching for prestigious federal internships for the coming summer, or writing meticulous papers or engaging my professors in class or writing page-long to-do lists or providing legitimate exuses for staying in every night while the rest of the world tries to make merry.
sure. ¶ 18:53
i popped fiona apple's when the pawn into my cd player when late afternoon hit, and was immediately transported back to my early years of high school, days when i would sequester myself in my room, much like i do now, and read dickinson, angelou, salinger, orwell, plath, vonnegut, and the other requisite works of feigned-high-school-self-discovery. in those days i practed my piano every day, and timed my efforts by the clock on the stove. i shot baskets in my backyard after dark, thanks to the worklight my dad secured to one of the oaks. i sewed bags from extra fabric found in closets. i did my homework in bed. i was, more or less, alone.
it's funny, 'cause as i lay here listening to "the way things are," i realize that while i may have taken a few intentional detours, i am in much the same emotional spot as i was when i was 15. i was an anxious, depressed kid five years ago. and of late, i've acted like an anxious, depressed adult. yaron and i had a long talk last night about the benefits and disadvantages of deliberately developing a public transcript. oh, the angst.
sure, i can cover it up by searching for prestigious federal internships for the coming summer, or writing meticulous papers or engaging my professors in class or writing page-long to-do lists or providing legitimate exuses for staying in every night while the rest of the world tries to make merry.
sure. ¶ 18:53
after spending so many evenings in this semester (virtually all in fact, save a queer party at psi u complete with chalk, kissing booths, and strip tease) i pulled myself away from my homework to see what i've been missing. i ended up at the coming out day party at eclectic house at around 11:15, and upon finding only fifteen people or so on the dance floor, headed upstairs with robyn and yaron to visit patrick. we shot the shit for a while, playing catch with various objects, watching robyn light matches, and listening to the most atrocious, sickening cough, coming from the room next door. i winced with each hack as patrick described his neighbor, emily (emily dreyfuss, the daughter of richard), having sex: often, and loud. amused, we ventured next door to say hello, and found emily, bedecked in magenta mohawk and torn fishnets, taking bong rips with a few wesleyanites. patrick had intended to bum a cigarette, but emily had lost her pack for the time being.
by midnight the place was aboslutely packed to see the strip show, choreographed and all - music from top gun, chicago, and a few other crowd pleasers - and i chilled with niv (looking hot in black tank and artfully wrapped head to toe in rainbow ribbon), who was guarding the stairs to the residences (and doing a piss-poor job, mind you, lol... he let everyone and their mothers go up there). when he got off stair duty at about dark-thirty, we made a few rounds around the house, stopping at the photo booth, where he dipped me for about a minute and a half for the camera while i shrieked. he playfully bit my breast, and i nearly fell on the floor laughing, while the photographer clicked away, studio-shoot style. we danced to madonna, miami sound machine, and michael jackson before i finally called it quits and headed home.
i had been missing out on the fun...
¶ 03:36
by midnight the place was aboslutely packed to see the strip show, choreographed and all - music from top gun, chicago, and a few other crowd pleasers - and i chilled with niv (looking hot in black tank and artfully wrapped head to toe in rainbow ribbon), who was guarding the stairs to the residences (and doing a piss-poor job, mind you, lol... he let everyone and their mothers go up there). when he got off stair duty at about dark-thirty, we made a few rounds around the house, stopping at the photo booth, where he dipped me for about a minute and a half for the camera while i shrieked. he playfully bit my breast, and i nearly fell on the floor laughing, while the photographer clicked away, studio-shoot style. we danced to madonna, miami sound machine, and michael jackson before i finally called it quits and headed home.
i had been missing out on the fun...
¶ 03:36
