Wednesday, October 13, 2010

What Can We Learn from the Chilean Miners?

News of the rescue currently underway in Chile of the 33 Chilean Miners who were entombed for 69 days has brought tears to many people’s eyes. On the surface it appears that all of us like a good story and thus far this has all the makings.

We have heroism on the highest levels, both amongst the miners and the teams of people who came together to rescue them. Thus far a horrific tragedy seems headed to a happy ending and while I’m sure there are complications that one could pull out and focus on, most of us are really in need of hero or heroes hence we aren’t gonna go there.
It’s all about sticking to the narrative encompassing the themes of heroism, teamwork and problem solved that we need to stick with.
When watching the nonstop coverage, I cant help but look the story from a variety angles starting with asking why so much coverage? Aside from the devastating 8.8 earthquake that tilted the planet off its axis this past February many of us here in the US never gave a damn about anything going on in this country. Even with the quake, very few of us sought out or paid attention to any of the heroism going on then. Over the years there’s been lots of tragedy with successful outcomes but for whatever reason this one was inserted into our news cycles and subsequently our consciousness.
I’ll be cynical and say most news outlets covered this story because it netted them high ratings. It fit all the criteria and whatever way this turned out, successful or tragic, the end result would be the same all of us would be glued to our TV sets sharing this experience.

What I find most interesting is how we’re sticking to the script no matter what. No one is questioning anyone’s ulterior motives for the rescue, including the President Sebastian Pinera who pushed pretty hard for this. Was he doing it for political points or because he cared? We’ve heard the stories about the mistresses and wives meeting for the first time while they anxiously await their loved one to surface. The running joke is miners like Yonni Barrios are going from one tight situation into another.
But that’s neither here nor there.. Like I said its all about the heroism and problem solved themes that we’re keeping front and center. But on a deeper level why are we touched and more importantly what lessons should be learned and applied to the Chilean miners rescue?
The first thing that came to mind was teamwork and people coming together. I think deep down in side all of us yearn for the days when we can all truly come together with the attitude that together we rise as individuals we perish. Being each others proverbial keeper is the order of the day.

It’s what made this rescue after 69 days possible. How many of us picked up on this Chilean Miners lesson and will apply it to everyday life?

Shift foreman Luis Urzua... We need more Urzualian leadership in our world where we have shared sacrifice in times of need
The other thing that stood out was shared sacrifice. I was struck my the leadership that of the shift foreman Luis Urzua who is credited with saving everyone by rationing out supplies and laying out early plans of action for the first 17 days when the miners weren’t in contact with anyone. Hearing how he encouraged everyone to pull together is more than heart warming.
The reason Urzua is going last is because the miners finally decided on a system where the strong and more experienced would go first to help pave the way and correct any unforeseen problems. The weakest would go next so they could be helped and rescued by those behind them and those ahead. In other words there would be a human safety net for those who were weakest.

Urzua would go last not because its pride thing, but because he demonstrated a type of strength that reminded us that those who have the most may also give of themselves the most. They have the experience and strength and thus can afford to..I wonder if we picked up on that lesson?
It wasn’t lost on me these types of heroic attributes were taking place as many of us are experiencing the worse economic downturn since the recession of the 1930s. It also wasn’t lost on me that this was playing out while we’re hearing stories that banks who we bailed are now garnering record-breaking profits for the second year in a row with little if any intention of sharing the resources. we keep hearing about those who have the most are hoarding and hoarding. It makes me wonder where’s the Luis Urzua for Wall Street?
These Chilean miners stayed underground for 69 days. Most of us can’t sit still for 5 minutes. They sat in this hole and decided with the help of strong experienced leadership that they were gonna pull together and see to it all 33 miners leave. If you was weak they were gonna help. If your freaked out someone would comfort you. But seeing how these miners sitting in that hole for such long time gel together as a team was a lesson for the ages.
Meanwhile back at home in what is deemed the most powerful nation on earth, many of us are going on a second or third year of sitting in an economic hole and instead of encountering Urzualian type leadership, we’re running across people who got out the ‘economic hole’ (bailouts) thanks to our shared sacrifice who once reaching the surface have pulled up the ladder and left the shaft.

Chilean Miners came together as a team and made sure the weakest among them was accounted for
As I’m writing this more Chilean miners are being rescued. No one is leaving that shaft till the last one is up and accounted for. No one is running around suggesting that the miners were at fault and thus deserved to wallow in the shaft and die. It’s all about making sure everyone is alive and well.
Could you imagine with all this showing of support and donation of resources if one of those miners who was rescued a year found himself facing a similar situation where he was making decisions and he decided to NOT rescue those in need? Could you imagine if one of those rescued miners a year down the road faced with similar circumstances decided to tell a new crew of miners stuck in the shaft to pull their own selves up?
Think it can’t and won’t happen? Look at our friends on Wall Street, look at our pompous friends in congress who wanna cut your unemployment while not cutting their salaries. Take a look at those folks who were actually whining on TV that there was a temporary hold on foreclosures to make sure all the paperwork was legal. Hence it meant that thjose crying wouldn’t be able to immediately benefit from the misfortune of others.
Think it can’t and won’t happen? Take a look at the million dollar a year pundits who come on TV every night crying about shared sacrifice, calling evil and socialistic and that its unfair that they have to pay a few extra dollars in taxes and how they’re sick and tired of helping out those in need.
Think it can’t and won’t happen? See if your sneering and rolling your eyes when you hear stories about the poor and downtrodden among us and you entertain the thought that perhaps they deserve to be there because they didn’t make ‘wise choices’. See if your thinking these thoughts and somehow forgotten the day that a Luis Urzua came into your life and helped you out of a hole.  
Something to ponder
Dave D

Anna Nicole Smith case continues




Anna Nicole Smith died in February of 2007, but the court case surrounding her death still continues.

The case of her death involves an alleged drug conspiracy in which Dr. Sandeep Kapoor, Dr. Khristine Eroshevich, and ex-boyfriend/lawyer Howard K. Stern have pleaded not guilty to according to ThirdAge.com. The three also plead not guilty to prescribing the drugs to Smith under fake names.

The Associated Press reports:

Image Courtesy of ASKMEN.com
"Jurors must decide whether the defendants provided excessive opiates and sedatives to the former Playboy model knowing she was an addict. Defense lawyers have said she was not an addict and the medications were for pain."

CNN reports:

"The defense argued her drug dependency was legal since it was for legitimate medical purposes, including for treatment of her pain and anxiety."


The jury began their deliberations Tuesday, October 12.




Written by Nikky Raney

Is Eminem Being Targeted for Homophobic Lyrics Because He's White?




Is Eminem Being Targeted for Homophobic Lyrics Because He's White?

There’s a lot of buzz around Eminem‘s recent 60 Minutes appearance with Anderson Cooper. On the surface it was a good look as there’s no denying Em’s popularity. He’s now seen as an OG of sorts who has finally returned to the scene after being away for a couple of years recovering from a series of life altering mishaps.
We all know about the tragic night club shooting of his best friend Proof (Detroit’s un-official mayor ) a few years back. We also know that Eminem almost overdosed and had been hooked on drugs.

According to Em he’s been 2 years sober. Like it or not when polled Eminem’s name frequents cracks the top 5 in one Hip Hop’s greatest rapper ever. His delivery, controversial subject matter and clever word play has earned him his respect. However, what caught people’s attention during the 60 Minutes interview was his remarks around homophobic and misogynistic lyrics. When asked about them and the controversy that emerged here’s what Em is quoted as saying;
“I felt like I was being attacked. I was being singled out. I felt like, ‘Is it because of the color of my skin? Is it because of that you’re paying more attention?’ There are certain rappers that do and say the same things that I’m saying and I don’t hear no one say anything about that.”.
You can peep the full interview here..
Em’s remarks raised more than a few eyebrows and left us with a few things to think about. The name of the game as he well knows is when you’re trying to make noise to blow up a spot, unless you have a compelling story to tell or exemplary skill sets, the best way to bring attention to yourself or an issue is to kick up dust and cause controversy.
This is what Eminem did. He bursted on the scene 10 years ago causing controversy. It wasn’t just his shocking lyrics but also some of his on and off stage antics. For example, I recall on one of his early visits to the Bay he got into a heated exchange with a radio host on KALX (UC Berkeley’s radio station) who thought he was a bit rude and over the top. The host Sister Tamu wound up breaking his record on the air. Word of that incident spread quick.
A few months later (may 1999) while doing a concert at the Fillmore a fight broke out.Em attempted to quell things only to jump off the stage with crew in tow to pummel a heckler who he felt wasn’t showing the proper respect. What appeared to be an isolated incident was later revealed to be something that somewhat staged as similar incidents of Eminem jumping off the stage to confront hecklers occurred at other concerts including Las Vegas a few days later. Again controversy sells and Eminem early on was a spark plug for it…
It should come as no surprise that folks wishing to get a message across would attach themselves to his missteps to get a message out. This has been a tried and true method used by organizations like PETA when it comes to animal abuse and obviously other organizations like GLAAD who went after Eminem to bring attention to homophobia. But with that being said, while Eminem has come under fire, he has never been economically blocked at least not in the ways we seen other artists who dared cross certain lines.
For example, take reggae artist Buju Banton.. Here’s a guy that recorded an over the top homophobic song back in 1988 when he was 15. The song ’Boom Bye Bye‘ was about the murdering gay man and became a huge hit and an anthem of sorts. 20 years after this song was recorded folks never let up him. They protested, got his tours canceled. Folks have and continue to go all out on Buju.

Eminem.. yeah he got heat from GLAAD and other organizations, but his concerts were never cancelled even here in San Francisco where activist have shut down Buju everytime his name is even mentioned.
This has gone on even after Buju has gone on to do positive music and explained his immaturity and ignorance at 15. He is now considered a strong voice for Jamaica. The protests have gone on even after he was the first to set up program Willy to help prevent the spread HIV and AIDs in Jamaica. Prior to that using a condom was seen in a bad light the same way homosexuality was. Buju took those steps and has still been dogged.
Em still performed his over the top songs even after public apologies and a show of reconciliation with singer Elton John who is outspoken on Gay Rights. Em was still embraced even though he does many of those ‘offensive’ songs. In addition when Eminem is mentioned it’s rarely with the tag Anti-gay rapper vs Buju who is frequently cited in the press as Anti-gay singer.

Def Jeff
Now one may look at Buju and say his song was an anthem that sparked violence and hence deserved to be protested. Thats understandable on a number of levels so lets look at a few other less egregious examples.. I recall back in the early 90s ago LA rapper Def Jeffcoming to San Francisco to perform at Club Townsend. He attempted to try to get the crowd hyped by first yelling ‘All the Ugly People Be Quiet’. When he got a luke warm response he then yelled ‘All the People who got Aids be Quiet‘. To put it simply, after he yelled those remarks it was a wrap.
Even though Def Jeff got a resounding response from the audience that night he soon found himself blacklisted by SF club owners. Many who heard about his remarks refused to book him. Years later, he admitted at that time, he was young and just ignorant to both the horrors of HIV and AIDs. He was also oblivious to the type of anger and scapegoating directed at the Gay community. At that time AIDs was more associated with white Gay males as opposed to folks in the inner city and Jeff was simply insensitive. He apologized, but to know avail. He hasn’t been in the Bay to perform since.
A few months prior to Def Jeff’s remarks, Turbo B the lead rapper for the group theSnap which had the mega hit song ‘The Power’, made some unsavory remarks about Gays and AIDs and caused a huge uproar. Turbo later apologized for his ignorance, but it was all but a wrap for him and his career pretty much went down the tubes from there. It didn’t help that the Snap had a large following in the Gay community. Folks weren’t gonna allow those anti-gay remarks to go.

Cypress Hill
Also around that time a more visible and publicized incident occurred withCypress Hill who were performing at the Bill Graham Civic Center during the Soul Assassins Tour. The show featured House of Pain, Cypress Hill and a number of other acts. Someone in the opening act acting as hype man yelled out to the crowd ‘”All the fags in the House Be Quiet’. There was a loud response from all the straight males who of course responded to the call.
The next day, angry members of the Gay community reacted and targeted radio giant KMEL which gave away tickets for the show. Letters and phone calls came in and the end result was Cypress Hill was banned from airplay on the station. The group quickly issued a letter of apology, even though they weren’t onstage at the time. The logic from the Gay protestors was that they were responsible for the insensitivity of the acts they brought along with them, hence they needed to be banned. The Cypress Hill radio boycott lasted for almost a year. It wasn’t lifted until they actually wound up doing a syndicatedSoul Assassin’s radio show on our station.
Now again let’s not get things twisted, anyone advocating for the beating, killing or even the discrimination of gays or any ethnic group is bad news. And folks on the receiving end of those insults and threats have every right and should express their anger and outrage. If that outrage includes protests and shutting folks down, so be it. All of us have a responsibility in being aware of boundaries that exists within certain communities.But bringing this back to Eminem, he was given huge passes and in many ways embraced. Em’s angry lyrics have more often than not been praised by publications like the UK Guardian and Spin Magazine for expressing and reflecting the angst and anger felt by many within the white working class.
So is Eminem a target for his homophobic and misogynist lyrics because he’s white? Hardly. It’s more likely that he’s a target because he’s enormously popular. I think many of these organizations learned that they can only go so far in bringing attention to these issues going after lesser known artists. Hence as long as Eminem is in the spotlight he allows a light to be shined on these issues. Hence anything he says will be scrutinized for an opportunity to weigh in. The attacks on Eminem are not the same as the shut downs and demonization of entire groups of Black and Brown folks for anti-social ills.
When Def Jeff and Turbo B got clocked all of rap was called into question. When Buju Banton was called all of Jamaica and its culture was called into question. When Em was called out it began and stopped with him. We didn’t make the connection with Eminem being a white man born in the US who may be part of and ultimately influenced by a culture that includes everyone from conservative politicians to overzealous Evangelists who routinely bash the gay community. Bottomline in spite of his hard upbringing there are major institutions in this country that have afforded Eminem a few priviledges he himself might not recognize and certainly didn’t acknowledge during his interview
something to consider
-Davey D-

Courtney Cox David Arquette Split: Bitter Arquette On Howard Stern

David Arquette
Courtney Cox and David Arquette has us coming down from the Chilean Miners Rescue just for a bit. The latest "Courtney Cox and David Arquette" news is that a bitter Arquette appeared on The Howard Stern Show to dish about his separation from his wife of 11 years, Ms. Cox. The two met on the set of the horror movie Scream and rose with the Scream sequels to become a well-known couple. But something went wrong.

Whatever it was, David Arquette didn't want the separation, he says. But apparently when they met 16 years ago, the "stuff" he did then, as he told Howard Stern, that made him attractive to Cox wore off. So, on their 11th anniversary, Courtney gave him a motorcycle and said "I don't want to be your mother anymore." In other words, Courtney Cox grew up and David Arquette did not, and by his own admission.

Arquette told Howard Stern "I do shit that makes her embarrassed sometimes. And when I met her 16 years ago that was charming, part of the aspect she fell in love with. [But] that stuff starts getting old."

After the couple stopped having sex, Arquette said he started to climb the "walls." So they got a legal separation "some time ago," and he went on to reclaim his sex life and the part of himself he thought he lost. David Arquette says he didn't like that Courtney Cox was "mothering" him and feeling like she had to take on everyone's problems.

(Here's news for David: that's what women do when they reach a certain age and have means.)

David Arquette wants Courtney Cox back


Howard Stern asked if they could still work things out. David Arquette said he wants to try and that the key for him would be a less controlled sex life. They have sex on a regular schedule, when they have sex. Arquette says they're still "tight" and he wants her back.

In closing, David Arquette and Courtney Cox are living in two homes - one his, the other theirs and he in the first, she in the last.  He told Stern he thinks everyone's full of shit in the media because it was reported that they're divorced (not here).  He said he doesn't have a girlfriend and had sex with someone because they looked like Courtney.

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Chilean Miners Rescue Live Update: 13 OF 33 Miners Rescued

Chilean Miners Rescue Live Update goes from 5 to 8 to 13 miners rescued as of 7:27 AM PDT. And all of this without a mishap. Thank God for that.

According to CNN, the latest miner to surface is the Forman, 27-year old Carlos Barros (in CNN photo below), who's worked as a miner for 10 months until this incident.

Before Carlos, Edison Pena was the 12th of the Chilean Miners rescued, Jorge Galleguillos before him was number 11, and Alex Vega number 10. Mario Gomez, who knelt down to pray after leaving the capsule, was number 9.

The first of the Chilean Miners to rise was 31-year-old Florencio Avalos, the one who was in the best shape to make the trip after being down below for 68 days. He was followed by Mario Sepulveda, who hugged his wife and everyone he could get his hand on when he got out of the capsule.

There are now 20 underground and 12 hours have elapsed since the rescue started.

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera said that it takes 40 minutes to rescue each miner, and they plan to get out three miners every two hours. That means all of the 33 miners will be out in another 30 hours from this time point, as there are 20 remaining miners.

That means the effort called Operation San Antonio will extend through Thursday afternoon.

Stay tuned.

Mario Gomez Rescued - CNN Live Stream: Chilean Miners Rescue

From 8 rescued miners to 9 rescued miners!

CNN Live Stream: Chilean Miners Rescue update. Mario Gomez, the oldest of the trapped Chilean Miners at 63 years old, prayed as the World watched after he got out of the Fehnix capsule that brought him from 2,700 feet below the Earth in Chile.

Mario Gomez makes it nine of the Chilean Miners rescued of 33 trapped down there. The other good news is that of nine trips, the system is working well with no malfunctions or delays. As of now, it's 4:52 AM PDT.

The World Keeps Watching The Rescue

This event has captured the attention of the industrialized World, as something is being done that, when the Chilean Miners were first discovered, some thought could not be done. But the World's experts pulled together and threw cost out of the window to rescue 33 trapped common people. People no one knew until now.

That's what's so cool about all of this. It's so great to watch the World come together around the common good of saving the lives of people we don't even know.

Chilean Miners Rescue Live Update: 8 OF 33 Miners Rescued

In this Chilean Miners Rescue Live Update, 8 of 33 Miners have been rescued as of this writing at 3:54 AM PDT, with 25 to go.

Florencio Avalos was the first, and  rose from 2,700 feet below the Earth, a distance as long as the Burj Khalifa skyscraper in Dubai is tall. He was followed by Mario Sepulveda, who, after hugging his wife, must have hugged Chilean President Sebastian Pinera as many times as days (68) he was trapped underground, then proceeded to hug everyone in his orbit.

After Sepulveda followed Juan Illanes Palma, a 52-year old retired mechanic. Then game Carlos Mamani, from Bolivia, who, according to CNN, said he would never work in a mine again. (Go figure.) Carlos Mamani, then gave way to 19-year old Jimmy Sanchez, the youngest of the trapped Chilean Miners and the father of a newborn girl.

Following him were Osman Isidro Araya, a carrier pigeon handler, and Jose Ojeda Vidal, a master driller who has served as a secretary for the miners.

Better Working Conditions

While Mamani does not intend to work in a mine again, Sepulveda does. He's already pushing for better working conditions.   This corner hopes that machines eventually replace human in the mining industry.  It seems the deeper we're capable of going as a society, the harder it is to get out miner.  In fact, there should be an international law that mining companies can't drill down in areas without a plan for the rescue of anyone trapped where they are mining.

An International Affair

While Chile is rightfully proud of rescuing its miners, the World should be thanked for its involvement. Everyone from Houston, Texas firm Drillers Supply International, to the media and communications people, like those at CNN, covering this historic event and bringing live stream to a World audience.