It’s lonely at the top

Pity Tony Hayward, erstwhile boss of BP. He's really had it rough. He's been "demonized and vilified", to use his own words. The poor CEO was so busy dealing with the massive oil spill perpetrated by his company that he almost missed watching his yacht race in a very important race! Almost, but he was able to watch the race anyway. Because, you know, someone else was probably working on cleaning up the oil fouling the Gulf of Mexico. It's not really the CEO's job, you see. It's more of a job for the "small people" of the world. "Life isn't fair. Sometimes you step off the pavement and get hit by a bus," Hayward said recently. Yes, that's true. And sometimes, you end up the CEO of one of the most powerful oil companies in the world. A company that has a long history of criminal and ethical violations that should make them unfit to operate a lemonade stand, much less a major multinational corporation with power to contaminate the entire Gulf of Mexico-- and perhaps, Beyond!

Continue ReadingIt’s lonely at the top

Mark Tiedemann wraps up

Over the past few days, I've been publishing sections of an engaging discussion with Mark Tiedemann that I videotaped about a year ago. I only recently got around to cutting the session up into individual videos, but the delay allowed me to enjoy the discussion anew, and it also allowed me to appreciate more than ever that the topics that draw Mark's attention tend to be relatively timeless. As you can probably see, this discussion was spontaneous. I went to Mark's house with a video camera and a few general topics scribbled down, no specific agenda. We both allowed the conversation go where it wanted to go. In these final two videos from last year's discussion, the topics are VI) The importance of knowing history and VII) Church and State. I hope you've enjoyed getting to know Mark as much as I have. If you'd like to know more about Mark's way of viewing and analyzing the world, he has already posted almost 200 articles at DI, all of them readily available.

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Debtors’ Prison Still A Reality?

According to a recent article by Chris Serres at the Minnesota Star Tribune, courts still order debtors to go to jail when they can't afford to pay a judgment. Not only are the national media largely unaware of this phenomenon, but The New Yorker published an article last April that characterizes debtors' prisons as a pre-20th Century institution, and describes the America as a refuge for debtors.

As many as two out of every three Europeans who came to the American colonies were debtors on arrival. Some colonies were, basically, debtors’ asylums. By the seventeen-sixties, sympathy for debtors had attached itself to the patriot cause.

Jill Lepore of The New Yorker goes on to describe how American treatment of debt has evolved to allow bankruptcy and why this is a good thing.

Debtors’ prison was abolished, and bankruptcy law was liberalized, because Americans came to see that most people who fall into debt are victims of the business cycle, and not of fate or divine retribution.

Even Wikipedia describes debtors' prisons as a thing of the past, or at least an unconstitutional one, according to this 2009 New York Times editorial, "The New Debtors' Prisons."

20th Century Debtors' Prison

Times have changed. To be sure, most Americans who are deep in credit card debt do not have bench warrants issued for their arrest. However, in Illinois, Indiana and other states, a person who's gotten a judgment entered against them can miss a court date and find themselves being hounded by the police.

What about the argument that defendants may owe the money they are being sued for, and should have gone to court? Perhaps the threat of jail is the only way to make them appear in court.

Reporters from The New York Times and The Federal Trade Commission have found that the collection industry is in dire need of repair, and cited numerous, ubiquitous problems. Some of these problems are startling. To wit:

[More . . . ]

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Mark Tiedemann speaks

Mark and I have been friends for 20 years. I've celebrated his many successes as a science fiction writer, and I was delighted when he showed interest in being one of the authors for Dangerous Intersection. I just checked the stats here, and I see that over the years, Mark has contributed 187 posts to DI. I've read every one of them, and I am repeated struck by the fact that there isn't a "cheap" post among them. They are all well-crafted and carefully considered. Every one of Mark's posts is still available at this site. Click on his name on the bottom right corner list of authors to see them. But perhaps you are not in the mood to read substantive posts tonight. If that is the case, you are in luck. About a year ago, I sat down with Mark at his St. Louis home and videotaped a long conversation with him. We covered many topics, which I am in the process of breaking into individual YouTube videos. I'm including the first three as part of this post. In Part I, Mark discusses his personal goals and the importance of art. In Part II, he discusses reading, heroes and censorship. In Part III, Mark discusses the blogosphere, including his impression of what goes on here at Dangerous Intersection. I know you'll enjoy getting to know Mark through his spoken words, at least as much as you've appreciated his written work. Without further ado . . . I'll be posting several more Mark Tiedemann videos later this week.

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Book Review: Nothing to Envy

Summary: A chilling portrait of everyday life in the world's most fanatically totalitarian state. When the Cold War ended, communism came tumbling down worldwide. The Soviet Union disintegrated, the Warsaw Pact nations joined the West, and though China's authoritarian government still stands, its economy has become capitalist in all but name. But one true communist state still exists, defiant in its isolation, sealed off from the outside world by almost impenetrable barriers. That state is North Korea, the topic of Barbara Demick's superb book Nothing to Envy. By interviewing some of the few who've successfully escaped, Demick weaves a frighteningly compelling narrative of what everyday life is like in the world's most brutal and reclusive dictatorship. Isolated from the outside world, North Korea has developed into a cult of personality rivaling anything found in the most fanatical religion. Its first president, Kim Il-sung, and his son and successor Kim Jong-il aren't just the absolute rulers of the country, they're hailed as divine saviors, literally able to perform miracles:

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