SF public transportation is ideal??

Freakonomics blog:

We at U.C.L.A. hear from reporters a lot, and they are often looking for a
few quotes to help write a familiar script. In it, Los Angeles is cast in
the
role of the nation’s transportation dystopia: a sprawling, smog-choked,
auto-obsessed spaghetti bowl of freeways which meander from one bland
suburban
destination to the next. The heroes of the picture are cities like
San
Francisco, or especially New York, which are said to have created vastly
more
livable urban forms based on density and mass transit. [emphasis added]

Wow. I know BART is great, but - as anyone who uses rides in SF on a regular basis can tell you - it is unfair to include Muni in the category of successful mass transit systems. Let's hope that the agency doesn't disingenuously source this particular blurb from the NY Times in any self-aggrandizing public notices.

Lou Dobbs is Un-American

In response to a post from One More Than Less:

Lou Dobbs, Bill O'Reilly, and Sean Hannity offer more of the same, constant criticism without solutions.

Honest criticism provides opportunity by identifying areas that could use improvement. However, these commentators and those like them set poor examples for their audiences when they criticise without offering workable solutions. These commentators should use their influence to encourage their audiences to work together to bring Amercia forward. Instead, they work to shape the American public into a populace of armchair quarterbacks who complain and criticise, unwilling to do the work necessary for progress.

The election of Obama brought back the idea that we, as Americans and as citizens of the world, can lift ourselves from our current plight through hard work and dedication. Let's continue to uphold this ideal. Dismiss Dobbs, O'Reilly, and Hannity, and start promoting voices who encourage us to work together.

Slumdog Millionaire - reviewed *CONTAINS SPOILERS*

There are spoilers throughout this post. Don't read if you don't want to know.

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I was very excited to watch this movie for two reasons: 1. Director Danny Boyle directed Trainspotting, which remains one of my favorite movies. I had high hopes for Slumdog. 2. My recent interest in Bollywood movies. Although I have not seen one yet, I thought that this would be a good introduction.

I'm going to play the culture card here, and evaluate it not as a Danny Boyle film, nor as a film in and of itself, but as an introduction to Indian film, and Indian culture.

Now, the question raised here should be: how can this film, directed by an English guy who is best known for a film about Scottish heroin addicts, be considered a proper foray into Indian film and culture?

Three things: location, contrast with Boyle's other work, and casting.

Location:
From what I've heard on NPR, this film was shot on location in India, in Mumbai (actual slums) and other parts of the country. These actual locations provide an authentic backdrop for the film. From my prior experience at an educational travel company, I know that trains are an essential, heavily-used mode of transportation, and its prominence in the movie lends a further degree of authenticity.

Contrast with Boyle's other work:
Danny Boyle has gone on record as saying he'd watched several Bollywood movies immediately before embarking on this project. This is apparent in the hopefulness on display throughout the film. Although I noticed a number of gritty elements that, aside from specific environment, could easily be found in another of his films, but I also noticed that these elements lack a similar grim finality. In Slumdog, there's always a glimmer of hope that salvation is around the corner (and generally comes before the end of the scene), and even at the end, just reward comes to all of our heroes, heroines, antiheroes, and villains. These rays of sunshine and happy endings are uncommon to his body of work, and I infer that this is a fairly common element in Bollywood.

Casting:
There's no Kal Penn here. A number of the actors are pretty well-known in Indian film. Plus, they had a big musical/dance number at the end, and that's really all I knew about Bollywood.

Now, a comment about its Oscar-worthiness. I know that, leading up to the Globes, a huge groundswell of support built behind Slumdog for best picture. After its win, and the predictable rush of first-time viewers, momentum continued to build behind its candidacy. Equally predictable will be the portion of the viewing public who will fight the tide, and disparage the movie as unworthy. They'd be right - this movie really doesn't stand up as one of the all-time greats, as I've heard some say; but it's still damn good. I agree with those that have correctly assessed Slumdog as great for what it is, an introduction for western viewers to a culture to which we've been sadly underexposed.

California's Budget Woes

While change in our federal government and crisis in the global financial system dominate the headlines, Californians have our own local issues. This post is not about the disappointment of the passage of Prop 8, but of the looming fiscal crisis facing our state government.

We are facing an estimated $11B shortfall in the 2008-09 fiscal year (Jul-Jun), on revenues of over $100B.

For a quick history, in September 2008, Gov. Schwarzenegger and the state Legislature agreed to a 2008-09 budget which projected a $1.1B deficit for the year. The state was able to pass this budget because sufficient reserves were available to cover the deficit. However, an unexpected shortfall in tax revenues left us with a $1.1B deficit in the first quarter alone (Jul-Sep 08). The global economic slowdown is the likely culprit, drastically reducing personal income, corporate, and sales tax revenues.

Last week, Gov. Schwarzenegger called for a special legislative session and announced his plan for solving our current budget crisis. Here are the major points (and 2008-09 FY impact):

Revenue
Increase state sales tax by 1.5 percentage points to 6.5% for 3 years ($3.5B)
Expand sales tax to cover services previously exempted, including sporting event tickets, furniture and automotive repair, and golf ($357 mil)
Oil severance tax of 9.9% on every barrel of oil produced in California ($528 mil)
Increase alcohol excise tax by 5¢ per drink ($293 mil)

Spending
Cuts to the K-12 education and the community college system, while still adhering to the minimum spending requirements from Prop 98 in 1988 ($2.5B)
Cuts to the UC and Cal State University systems ($132 mil)
Reduce SSI/SSP grants to Federal minimum levels ($349 mil)
CalWORKs streamlining and grant reductions ($274 mil)
State employee pay reductions: mandatory unpaid day off each month, eliminating two work holidays, and stricter definitions of pay and overtime eligible hours ($320 mil)
CDCR reform: reassigning parole officers from low-risk non-serious offense parolees to maintain full time supervision for high-risk violent crime parolees ($78 mil)
Reassignment of Public Safety grant payments from the General Fund to other sources ($250 mill)
Reduction of Medi-Cal benefits to match other states, and removing some optional coverage ($41 mil)

Immediately after his announcement, groups everywhere began decrying Gov. Schwarzenegger's plan. Students and faculty at SF State staged a sit-in to protest cuts to the CSU system. The SEIU is planning to aggressively fight the proposed mandatory furloughs for state employees. Raising taxes runs afoul of his Republican allies.

Yes, it sucks, but in times like these, sacrifices must be made. Yes, education cuts won't help the fact that our school system is in shambles. Many state employees are going to have to exchange 12 days pay for 12 days off. We're all going to pay more (or cut back on purchases) via the increase in sales tax. It's going to take a lot of sacrifice from people across the spectrum just to get us to a budget that everyone's going to hate – but this sacrifice is necessary. President-elect Obama knows this, and has called on all of us to join in. We would be wise to follow through on the change for which we've fought.

South Africa - headed towards crisis before the 2010 World Cup?

Thabo Mbeki, President of South Africa since 1999, has resigned from his post, due to a withdrawal of support from his party, the African National Congress, led by rival Jacob Zuma. South Africa has been in a period of conservative growth, with Mbeki steadfastly adhering to free market principles. With him out of power, what will the next presidency bring? Mbeki has been replaced by Kgalema Molanthe, whose main task will be healing the rift between the two camps within the ANC. Equally important is his promise to continue of the economic policies of his predecessor. Failure on either front could be catastrophic.

As daunting as his responsiblity may seem, it is likely that he is only warming the seat for Jacob Zuma. Though he's been on trial on charges of corruption, he is widely regarded as the favorite to win the presidency in the election next year. Despite the economic growth in South Africa under the watch of Mbeki, the tide has not lifted all boats. Unemployment is still relatively high, creating a broad audience for Zuma's populist message. Zuma, too, has promised to continue Mbeki's policies, but he has amassed his support by promising redistribution of wealth and property to the black population.

As fair as this may seem, we must look to the example of Zimbabwe to see how redistribution of economic power to those unprepared for the responsibility can prove devastating. That country was once the breadbasket of Africa now suffers from widespread unemployment, a collapsed economy, and an inflation rate over 11 mil% (!). The Zimbabwan dictator, Robert Mugabe, led a program of redistribution, seizing the farms that formed the backbone of the economy from white owners, and handing control over to blacks. The inexperience of these new owners, combined with a lack of support from an international community outraged over the Mugabe's actions, squandered the prosperity that this country once enjoyed. Zuma and the ANC must be careful to learn the lessons of its humbled neighbor.

One final note about Mbeki. He recently brokered a power-sharing deal in Zimbabwe, between Mugabe and the man widely believed to be the true winner of the recent presidential election, Morgan Tsvangirai. As you may have read, the elections were bitterly contested, with Mugabe using force to intimidate the opposition and voters into submission. Tsvangirai ended up bowing out of the race, even though the he had the most votes in the election. Now that Mbeki does not have the power of South Africa's presidency, what happens to the power-sharing deal? Will the glimmer of hope for Zimbabwe be extinguished?

Let's hope that it will be okay to go to the World Cup in 2010.

Financial Bailout

It probably isn't obvious to many that the government needs to do something, but the proposed $700 bil purchase of troubled securities is indeed necessary. Our credit markets have ground to a halt; financial institutions are no longer lending to one another, transforming a bank's daily operations into a potentially crippling endeavor.

The plan is not without its faults; given the dire implications of market failure, we must live with an imperfect solution. However, the chief architects, Henry Paulson and Ben Bernanke, are already acquiesing to important provisions, including independent oversight. One sticking point is the idea that the Wall Street executives must be punished for the market's collapse. We can't risk further harm to the economy by diverting our energies to finding a scapegoat for our current troubles. Urgent action on a solution is needed now; punitive actions on individuals, if warranted, can wait for later.

NBA ref scandal

The January 2000 game in question: SEA @ NYK, 1/24/2000
Gary Payton was hit with 2 T's and ejected with 1:24 left in the 1st quarter by referee Ted Bernhardt. Bernhardt was also one of the three refs who officiated the controversial game 6 of the Lakers-Kings playoff series. Since Donaghy only fingered two "company men" in the crew, it's likely that the other two (Dick Bavetta, Bob Delaney) were the ones Donaghy implicated. Another interesting note is that Bob Delaney was previously an undercover New Jersey state trooper who busted an organized crime family in the mid-1970s.
Sources:http://www.basketballreference.com/teams/boxscore.htm?yr=1999&b=20000124&tm=nyhttp://www.sacbee.com/kings/story/1004361.htmlhttp://apse.dallasnews.com/contest/2003/writing/100-250/100-250.features.third1.html