It’s the most reflective time of the year. For Mike and the Tribe, at least. We talked about Yom Kippur in this episode and then switched gears and discussed those crazy kids fighting corporate greed or… something.
Just so you know, we’ll be back next week because, what, Shiny has another observance this weekend?!
Yes, really.
Our next episode will be dedicated to questions you might have for our resident Muslim (me… no, I will not be talking about myself in the third person today). E-mail us at [email protected] or via Twitter or Facebook.
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Just listened to the episode, and wanted to let you know that Christopher Columbus (nee Colon) was born in Genoa, Italy.
You’re right, but just to prove that I didn’t get that Portuguese thing out of thin air, I did some research and found that there is a theory among select historians that he was a Portuguese spy. I read it in the Wikipedia … here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_theories_of_Christopher_Columbus#Portuguese_hypothesis
I got to listen to your 10/10 podcast (finally) today and had some thoughts on the Occupy Wall Street stuff. While you are correct, Faiqa, that there are far worse conditions in some parts of the world with regard to government corruption and battles between the haves and have-nots, I think that one of the things that makes the OWS movement unique and gives it traction is the idea that America is supposed to be this great land of opportunity. In this country, we are told that everyone has the opportunity to succeed and prosper. If you follow the rules, success will happen.
That is not the case. In a country built on equal opportunity, wouldn’t we expect there to be a better balance in the distribution of wealth than 1% controlling the vast majority? We continue to see families stuck in cycles of poverty while that “1%” seems fairly recession proof. I think the American people are tired of seeing billionaires getting bailouts or bonuses while the average blue or white collar middle class worker is struggling to keep their head above water. Instead of a democratic republic we are turning into a capitalistic oligharchy where control and power lie with the huge corporations that wield their wealth to garner influence. You mention that nothing “illegal” was being done by these corporations or by Wall Street but I would question that. We may not have prosecuted any corporations (yet) for fraud or corruption but that doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. Further, just because a company isn’t doing anything “technicallly” illegal doesn’t mean that it’s not unethical. The fact that the average ratio of CEO pay to worker pay in the US is 125:1 is unethical (many other countries like Japan, France, England, etc. the ratio is more like 15-20: 1) The fact that corporations rake in billions of dollars in profits but pay no taxes is unethical. All of this is happening because corporations (and the millionaires/bilionaires who run them) are increasingly gaining power in their ability to leverage Congress and drive the political agenda. The Supreme Court keeps tipping the scales in favor of corporations and big business and I’m wondering where they will finally draw the line. I think that’s where a lot of the OWS protestors are coming from and it will be interesting to see where the movement goes.
One more thought: I find the comparisons to the Arab Spring and the OWS movement fascinating. Particularly, since your podcast many of the protesters have been removed, subdued, or arrested, sometimes by force. Why is it that our country supports uprisings in Arab nations where individuals are fighting for their right to free speech and arguing against oppression but when it happens in our own country, our government tries to stop the same behavior.
Keep up the great work with the podcast. Just want to throw in my two cents.