Historical Image of the Day

Ad for Viceroy cigarettes. I don't have a date. I assume somewhere between the late 1940s and very early 1960s.

Militias in Rio's Favelas

BBC News ran a very good report about militias in the favelas this week. I've commented before on how corrupt police are often extorting civilians and using violence against them when the favelados speak out, sometimes in an extremely gruesome fashion, and any arrests against police corruption strike me more as an effort to look like the police are trying to clean up, rather than any real effort at reform. In this light, the BBC article is one of the best I've seen yet in really getting into the details of how militias (which, as the article alludes to, are generally corrupt officers and ex-cops trying to make extra money in the favelas) operate, and the consequences of their presence.

There are several comments I'd like to make on this. First, the people interviewed in the article (and the article itself) make it seem as though it's a question of drug lords vs. militias, but it's not so simple. Often times, these militias end up becoming involved in the drug trade too, unable to deny the lure of the money they can make. They have even gotten in turf wars with drug dealers in other favelas in the past. Likewise, drug gangs also offer health services, internet, and "protection" to the favelados, sometimes (though not always) as extortion. So presuming that it's an "either/or" proposition distorts a much more complex dynamic involving "protection" and the drug trade.

Secondly, you see rhetoric throughout the article, both from those for and against the militias, that the state can't exercise its control in the favelas, and this fact either justifies or explains the presence of the militias, depending on which side of the argument one falls. However, I really don't see how this is the case, and nobody offers a good explanation of why the state can't. Rather, I think the state simply doesn't. Although there have been some changes in administration under Sérgio Cabral, governors in Rio (and it is more their jurisdiction than the federal government's) have tended to offer no social services for the favelas (the only exception to this being Leonel Brizola, who worked heavily on infrastructure such as roads, electricity, plumbing, and schools in the favelas in his two terms as governor from 1983-1987 and 1991-1994). At best, governors pop up in the favelas when it is election season to act like they "care," but afterwards, it's usually a mixture of ignoring the social needs of the favelados and sending in the police to tackle the drug gangs. Neither of these approaches really shows any strong effort of the state to effect change, nor do they explain why the state "can't." As Brizola's administration and recent concerted efforts to follow up police action with social programs in São Paulo demonstrate, it's not that the state can't; it's that the state chooses not to.

Thirdly, given that the militias are already basically extorting favelados, suffice to say that I find politician Jair Bolsonaro's proposal in that the state should suport them...less than satisfactory. For all of the absurdities within the argument (ignoring the extortion, believing militias automatically reduce violence in all situations, the fact that militias don't really bring any significant social changes to the favelas), perhaps the most ridiculous is the argument that the state should support the militias because of the rhetoric above that it can't patrol the favelas itself. If the state has the money to support the militias, why not just fund your own state employees to establish control in the favelas?

Finally, I think the treatment of BOPE is problematic. The article cites residents who live in the Tavares Bastos favela, which is right next to the BOPE elite police headquarters, as speaking highly of what BOPE has done for them. While the proximity of BOPE no doubt has an effect, both the residents of Tavares Bastos and the article more broadly make its eem as though BOPE is a great force of change, not subject to the problems of the regular police, an image further propagated in the recent film Tropa de Elite, and as both Venha Futuro and I have commented, that is far from the case.

Overall, though, the article is one of the first and best I've seen at dealing with the militias in the favelas, an overall underdiscussed subject. I suspect the militias don't come up as much for many reasons (they don't fit neatly within the "drug lords-vs.-noble cops" narrative; they undermine the notion that the problems in the favelas are due only to poverty, race, or the drug gangs; nobody in Brazil knows how to or is willing to deal with the widespread social problems that result in cops going crooked; etc). It's really good to see BBC dealing with it, particularly using the terms they use ("take over;" "kind of dictatorship"), and it's really worth reading.

$2.5 Million Case against Dole Fruit Thrown Out

Yesterday, a Superior Court Judge threw out a decision against Dole fruit company that gave 2.5 million dollars to former Dole employees in Nicaragua. The employees had originally sued Dole for using the pesticide DBCP in the 1970s, leaving the workers sterile and with other health problems. The effects of DBCP were already known in the 1970s, yet Dole continued using it on its bananas without warning its workers. In her decision, Judge Chaney ruled 'that punitive damages cannot be used to punish "a domestic corporation for injuries that occurred only in a foreign country.'"

This is obviously a setback on several fronts. Environmentally, is possibly sets precedent for companies not to have to pay such damages in cases involving pesticides that are bad for both the environment and for workers. Financially, it does nothing to stop companies like Dole from worrying about the consequences of their actions. And, at the most basic level, the ruling is absurd in terms of labor and business. Dole (and all the other fruit companies, past and present) is in no way, and never was, a "domestic" corporation. Are they based in the U.S.? Yes. Do they make all their tax claims and ownership claims in the U.S.? Sure.

But it's not because Dole is some strong domestic company. The amount of land Dole (and other fruit companies) own in Latin America, from Honduras to Colombia, is absurd. They frequently buy up all land they can, pushing the poor off or forcing the poor to become what are virtually peon laborers, just to continue producing bananas. They do this because the pesticides and chemicals they use to grow and preserve bananas are so destructive that, after about 20 years, the lands that currently grow bananas become sterile. Instead of being environmentally responsible by spending a little more to use less damaging products, or instead of waiting for the land to regain its fertility, they just pick up and relocate everything to one of their massive landholdings that they have held fallow, waiting for just such a moment, at which point the production begins anew, with the currently-used land certain to be sterile in another 20 years or so.

And they do this all while having a ridiculous amount of say in the politics and economy of these Central American countries. Sure, it's not quite like it was when Minor Keith of United Fruit Company owned Costa Rica's "national" railroad, ports, and transportation lines, but it's not like Dole has no stakes in the Caribbean. It is absolutely dependent on the region for its land, its production, its labor, and its profits, and its connection to politicians, businessmen, and leaders in the region, while diminished in the last couple of decades, is far from lost. Dole is about as "domestic" as GM with its plants in Mexico and throughout the world.

Chaney's decision is extremely disappointing and even ridiculous. Dole is domestic only in the strictest, most narrow-minded sense of the word ("it's based in the U.S., so it's domestic!"), yet her decision has once again screwed over workers whose lives were already irreparably damaged by Dole's policies in the 1970s. A decision like this does nothing to discourage Dole or other companies in the future. It is extremely infuriating, and it is probably a major setback.

Mississippi

Race still matters in the South. A lot.

Exit polls in Mississippi show that whites went for Clinton 72-27. Blacks went for Obama 91-9.

In a race with 2 pioneering candidates, this is maybe not so surprising. White women are pro-Clinton as a whole. OK. For African-Americans, it is clear that race matters more than gender. As for whites of both genders, well in 3 states, Clinton has received more than 70% of the white vote--Mississippi, Alabama, and Arkansas. At least some of this is flat out racism. There are lots of whites across the country that are simply not going to vote for a black person. One county in southwestern Virginia, the heart of Appalachia, went for Clinton 91-9 in a state that Obama won. Why? Race.

West Virginia will be a very interesting state to look at race in this election. Obama kept it close in Ohio, in no small part because there is a good sized African American population there. That doesn't exist in West Virginia. Can Obama connect with white working-class voters in a non-Deep South state? We'll soon find out.

A Message to Hillary Clinton: Fire Ferraro

Geraldine Ferraro should be fired from her job as a leading member of the Clinton campaign. The former vice-presidential candidate has embarrassed herself almost as much in 2008 as she did in 1984. She is playing the race card in a way that is completely unacceptable within the Democratic Party.

Her quotes:

… Obama’s campaign [is] a kind of campaign that it would be hard for anyone to run against…. For one thing, you have the press, which has been uniquely hard on her. It’s been a very sexist media. Some just don’t like her. The others have gotten caught up in the Obama campaign. If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position…. And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept.

Her response to the criticism she faced for that:

Any time anybody does anything that in any way pulls this campaign down and says let's address reality and the problems we're facing in this world, you're accused of being racist, so you have to shut up. Racism works in two different directions. I really think they're attacking me because I'm white. How's that?

Eric Rauchway usefully compares this to what Rush Limbaugh said about Donovan McNabb during his brief stint as an NFL analyst on ESPN in 2003.

I think what we’ve had here is a little social concern in the NFL. The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well…. There is a little hope invested in McNabb, and he got a lot of credit for the performance of this team that he didn’t deserve.

Limbaugh got fired. What Ferraro said is no better. Maybe even worse because Ferraro is using race to destroy a member of her own party. Disgusting.

ADDENDUM: Kos discovers that Ferraro used almost the exact same racist language against Jesse Jackson in 1988. So she's just a flat out racist. Her reputation will never recover. A total disgrace. Clinton must rid herself of Ferraro NOW.

Evangelical Environmentalists

Kate Sheppard has an interesting article about the rise of evangelical environmentalism, a movement that has percolated for several years but over the past 12 months has gained a lot of publicity. Both Sheppard and Dr. Slammy, who she links to, rightfully note that there are significant cultural divides between traditional environmentalists and the new evangelical earth-lovers. For instance, environmentalists likely won't appreciate evangelicals trying to convert them while relatively few Christians will tolerate the marijuana legalization activists that are often attracted to environmentalism as well.

How to overcome this divide? I have mixed feelings about these issues. First, I think that a lot of this work has to be done by the traditional environmentalists. One problem the environmental community has had for many years is talking down to other people. The holier than thou attitude badly hurt them in the spotted owl crisis that dominated the Pacific Northwest in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Environmentalists cared only about saving owls and trees and showed no interest in building coalitions with other parties, compromise, or even talking to loggers with the slightest show of empathy. Mostly, their attitude was to tell loggers to go find jobs at Wal-Mart. That went over about as well as you might expect.

How will the environmental community deal with new environmentalists who hold strong conservative values? To some extent I wonder how much it matters. Alliances of convenience are powerful and I suspect we will see a lot of that, leading to the passage of important legislation in the next presidential term. The sheer numbers of evangelicals could also simply overwhelm traditional environmentalists, leading to the dominant themes of the movement being couched in Christian terms. I don't necessarily have a problem with that as it would probably lead to a lot of good, as much as I find a lot of conservative values personally repulsive. Obviously, some kind of dialogue needs to take place, but I don't think establishing a baseline of understanding and a series of priorities should be that difficult.

Dr. Slammy provides an interesting analysis of language between the two wings of environmentalism. He's right--they often talk past each other. But again, I'm not convinced that this is a crisis. If both sides just agree to work with each other on issues that matter to both, they don't necessarily need to share a common language or common values, other than the need to protect the environment.

Looking at history can help us put this problem into perspective. The high point for environmentalism was the 1960s and 1970s, when a broad-based coalition, including both Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, responded to the pollution crisis by passing a broad swath of legislation, signed by both Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon. It was only with the explicit anti-environmentalism of Reagan and the environmental movement's turn to lawsuits that the coalition fractured and environmentalism became a partisan issue. The recent move back toward coalition building bodes well for the future of environmentalism, regardless of whether the different interests have anything else in common.

Historical Image of the Day

Idealized 19th century middle-class family. For further commentary, click here.

Spitzer

Eliot Spitzer clearly had his eyes on the presidency.

He's finished, at least as far as the big job goes. His first year in office had been pretty rough but nothing had happened to dampen his possible presidential candidacy in 2012 and 2016. But being involved in a high-end prostitution ring? That's pretty bad. Particularly when he has showed such moral indignation over prostitution in the past. I don't know that he can't survive this in New York. But one of the Democrats' brightest stars is no more.

Addendum: You know who is probably really happy about this? Andrew Cuomo. He immediately becomes the big star in the NY Democratic Party (well, outside of Hillary I guess). If being a major NY politician automatically makes you a presidential possibility, this just popped Cuomo up a notch.

Addendum #2: A lot of bloggers are complaining that the media is all over Spitzer in a way they never were for Louisiana Senator David Vitter, a Republican who got busted in a prostitution ring last summer. True, but it's not about Spitzer being a Democrat as these blogs are hinting. It's about being the governor of New York as opposed to a fairly obscure senator from a small Southern state with a century-old reputation for corruption.

Historical Image of the Day

Slave branding

Attitudes towards Torture and Homosexuality in Brazil

There is a disturbing, if not altogether surprising, poll this week that shows just how far Brazil has to go in overcoming its prejudices towards alleged criminals, homosexuals, and racism. An IBOPE poll asked a number of questions based on social issues. Among other things, it reports that 26% of the people it interviewed said that they would torture suspects if they were a police officer. I find this rather remarkable, too, given that just 25-30 years ago, significant portions of society (including white-collar and the middle-class sectors) were speaking out against torture during the military dictatorship. The fact that people seem to have forgotten the torture during the dictatorship isn't so surprising to me, particularly given that torture has been used against the poor and criminals for over a century (even if not always called "torture"), but the fact that you still have 26% who say, "sure, I'd torture a suspect" is disturbing, to say the least.

The depressing figures also extend to attitudes towards homosexuals. I commented earlier on the possibility of civil unions becoming legal in Brazil, but pointed out that there probably would be significant social hurdles in overcoming prejudice. The poll seems to support the latter point, as 33% say they would abandon a friend if he or she admitted his/her own homosexuality.

Unfortunately, I was unable to get any more information (including what the reports on racism were), thanks to Globo "offering" me to read the rest of the report by paying only 36 reais for their online service, but the day I knowingly and voluntarily give O GLobo money will be the day I day, so I can't report on the rest. Still, while it does mean 74% said they wouldn't torture, and 67% would remain friends with somebody even if that friend announced her/his homosexuality, the figures 26% and 33% are still significant.

Would it KILL the NY Times to Get a Brazil Correspondent Who Is Professionally Ethical?

I often complained about the job Larry Rohter used to do as the Brazil correpondent for the NY Times, often blatantly showing his anti-Lula partisanship and getting the basic facts of a story wrong. I celebrated when Rohter was replaced, even wishing that "Now, maybe we'll finally get somebody competent to report on Brazil for the Times (even if it is not permanent)."

Well, apparently I was wishing for way too much. Alexei Barrionuevo, the new Brazil correspondent for the Times, has apparently plagiarized from other newspaper sources not once, but twice, with both coming to surface in the last two weeks. First, in late February, he wrote this piece on the paco (smokeable cocaine) crisis in Argentina, all the while sampling freely from articles from 2006 in the Christian Science Monitor and the Miami Herald (for a comparison of Barrionuevo's "work" and the previous reports, see this article here.) Barrionuevo said he must have "accidentally" mixed reports when working on his own material.

However, just this week, it was revealed that Barrionuevo apparently had plagiarized previously, copying a report on mad cow restrictions from Bloomberg news. As the Slate article comments, it's hard to believe you "accidentally" mixed your sources when you've done it more than once, with your reports looking strikingly like somebody else's work. This shouldn't even have to be said, particularly for a correspondent at the Times, but nonetheless, it apparently and unfortunately has to be said again: plagiarism is unacceptable (and Shafer offers 8 reasons why plagiarism is unacceptable, and while some of them are a little professionally self-absorbed, they are still worth remembering, even if few people really care anymore).

Now, would it be so damn difficult for the Times to get a Brazil correspondent who both knows what she/he is doing AND is ethical??? I'm not a journalist, so maybe I missed some valuable lessons in journalism classes I never took, but it strikes me that journalists have two basic obligations that should come before everything else when reporting: get the basic facts right, and don't plagiarize. Now, the Times has replaced a man who couldn't get the basic facts right with one who's plagiarizing. Ridiculous.

Lyrad's Random 10

Frank London is an amazing trumpet player but, more importantly, London helped greatly in revitalizing the klezmer scene in New York (such as it is). His arrangements are fantastic combinations of traditional klezmer melodies with jazz improvisation that will sometimes also include metal guitars and latin rhythms. This album is called Di Shikere Kapelye, which appropriately stands for Band of Drunks, is just about the finest concept for a klezmer album. All brass and drums, they recorded the album at the Knitting Factory in one session after a night of drinking. They play their asses off and Di Shikere Kapelye is pure drunken Jewish fun. Countless glasses must have been smashed during its recording.

1. Frank London's Klezmer Brass All-Stars--Ot Azoy, Dovidl
2. Melvins--Oven
3. Handsome Boy Modeling School--The Hours
4. Bonnie Prince Billy--Another Day Full of Bread
5. Townes Van Zandt--You Are Not Needed Now
6. Ludwig van Beethoven--Sonata No.31 in A-Flat for Piano, Op.110; III. 2.Adagio ma non troppo (Stephen Kovacevich, Pn)
7. Merle Haggard--Sing a Sad Song
8. Old 97's--Por Favor
9. Trevor Dunn's Trio-Convulsant--An Attempt at Jealousy
10. Dead Prez--50 in the Clip

Historical Image of the Day

Shaker dance, mid-19th century

Dusty Baker: Still Working for the Cubs?

I think Dusty is still on the Cubs payroll. Or maybe he's just the crappy manager he's always been. In his first spring training with the Reds, he says this (you might have to scroll down):

"A lot of this on-base percentage is taking away the aggressiveness of some young kids," he said, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. "Most of the time you've got to put handcuffs on a young guy to keep him from swinging. [The young players are] playing good, real good. I'd like to see them more aggressive."

"I really, really hate the called third strike. I hate that. You're guessing and you ain't ready to hit."

Dusty would WAY rather see his players strike out swinging than take a walk. That's great. I'm sure that will really turn the fortunes of the Reds right around. Well, that and Homer Bailey's 140 pitch outings that Dusty likes so well. After all, it worked out so well with Kerry Wood and Mark Prior.

Mister Trend's Random 10

Roscoe Mitchell is another one of those jazz greats who should be better known. He excels at improvisation on the sax (and occasionally flute), and, by drawing on modern classical music, his own works have a uniqueness that you don’t find in the improvisations of Ornette Coleman or John Coltrane (not that those two are any worse for it). His work from the late-60s and 70s is wonderful, his material from the 90s and into the 2000s continue to be excellent and exhilarating (the 80s are a little hit or miss), and his debut, Sound, is one of my favorite jazz albums.

1. “Rukrym” – Sigur Rös
2. “Radioactive Eskimo” – Peter LaFarge
3. “Grooveallegiance” – Funkadelic
4. “Machine Gun (Second Take” – Peter Brotzmann
5. “Glory Box” – Portishead
6. “Knowledge God” – Raekwon
7. “Ornette” – Roscoe Mitchell
8. “Saar” – Helena Tulve
9. “My Stove’s In Good Condition” – Lil Johnson
10. “Paris Is Burning” – St. Vincent

Erik's Random 10

I love Fiona Apple's smoky voice and vocal sensibility. Her latest album, Extraordinary Machine, I thought was an excellent rock and roll album. She's actually been around for a pretty long time now--time really flies. If you've read this far, it's clear that I have nothing interesting to say here, except to recommend the album. Also, I particularly like this mix of 10 songs. Unlike most of these, it's actually a good and relatively complete selection of the kind of music I listen to. A little indie rock, the occasional 70s rock or punk album, some good jazz, a good bit of country, and a smattering of world and classical music.

1. Fiona Apple, Window
2. The Clash, Lost in the Supermarket
3. Bill Frisell, Hello Nellie
4. Butch Hancock, Boxcars
5. The Postal Service, The District Sleeps Alone Tonight
6. Yo Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, Mohini (Enchantment)
7. Charles Mingus, Mood Indigo
8. George Jones, He Stopped Loving Her Today
9. Charles Ives, The Unanswered Question, New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, conductor
10. Glenn Ohrlin, Fair Lady of the Plains

Edward Abbey Racist Quotes

My long battle against Edward Abbey's influence over the environmental movement continues. See here and here for a couple of examples. Here are a few of Abbey's most choice quotes, taken from Jake Kosek's very interesting book Understories: The Political Life of Forests in Northern New Mexico, published by Duke in 2006. See page 161 for the quotes.

"I certainly do not wish to live in a society dominated by blacks, Mexicans, and Orientals. Look at Africa, Mexico, and Asia."

"Garrett Hardin (writer of Tragedy of the Commons) compares our situation to an over-crowded lifeboat in a sea of drowning bodies. If we take more aboard, the boat will be swamped and we'll go under. [We must] militarize our borders [against illegal immigration]. The lifeboat is listing."

"It might be wise for us, as American citizens, to consider calling a halt to the mass influx of even more millions of hungry, ignorant, unskilled, and culturally-morally-genetically, impoverished people...Why not [support immigration]? Because we prefer democratic government, for one thing; because we still hope for an open, spacious, uncrowded, and beautiful--yes beautiful!--society, for another. The alternative, in the squalor, cruelty and corruption of Latin America, is plain for all to see."

The sooner we purge the influence of Ed Abbey from American environmentalism, the better off the movement will be.

Best TIDOS-Related Image Ever

The state of Florida is proposing "Confederate Heritage" license plates. The more enlightened people of America are horrified, including many in Florida. One of them is the cartoonist for the Florida Times, Jeff Parker. Here is his cartoon. The comments in the original post are pretty fascinating and sum up both the idiots who claim that the Confederacy was not about slavery and the rebuttal to that point quite well.

Via Civil War Memory

Historical Image of the Day

"A Broth is Made from the Intestines," from Theodore de Bry's copper engravings to go along with J. de Léry's Le Voyage au Brézil de Jean de Léry, 1556-1558, published in 1578. This is part of a series of engravings demonstrating the supposedly cannibalistic practices of the Tupi Indians.

The whole series is here.

On This Date in Brazil: Revolução Pernambucana

This year, Rio is celebrating the bicentennial of the Portuguese court's arrival to Brazil upon fleeing from Napoleon. This is a huge to-do in Rio both historically and in terms of commemmoration this year. However, not everybody in Brazil loved the arrival of the Portuguese court, and frequent commentor Venha Futuro has a great post up about the Revolução Pernambucano (Pernambucan Revolution), which began on this date in 1817. It is concise yet excellently summarized, and does a great job of explaining why not everybody (particularly in the Northeast) appreciated the arrival of the court in Rio, and it is well worth checking out.