Find a show you like and click the 
button. The show will be added to your My Playlist page and updated 24/7 with new videos.
Search Results
1 Views
02:57:51 04/22/12
President Obama Celebrates Earth Day - Join Environmentalists for Obama
[LESS INFO] 1 VIEWS | ADDED 02:57:51 04/22/12
President Obama Celebrates Earth Day - Join Environmentalists for Obama
Are you in? my.barackobama.com Here's a bit of history for you. Back in 1969, a US senator from Wisconsin, Gaylord Nelson, decided protecting our environment had to be a bigger part of the national conversation. So he organized what he called an environmental teach-in for April of the next year. And every year, on Earth Day, we take stock of how we're doing to protect our air, our water, the country we love - and how we can do better. We've got a lot of progress to report. We've made historic investments in the development of clean energy to support hundreds of thousands of jobs and have doubled the amount of electricity we get from wind and solar energy. We've developed fuel efficiency standards that will nearly double fuel economy for passenger cars by 2025, cut greenhouse gas emissions from our vehicles by half, and save drivers more than $8000 at the pump. Our dependence on foreign oil is the lowest it's been in 16 years%mdashwe're importing an average of 2.6 million fewer barrels of oil and petroleum products every day. We'll save thousands of lives by implementing the first national standards to cut down on mercury and other toxic air emissions from power plants. And we're promoting conservation projects in all 50 states so the forests and landscapes we love will still be around for our kids. None of this progress came easy. We worked hard for it. And what we do over the next few months will decide whether we'll have the chance to make even more progress.. Take a second ... From: BarackObamadotcom Views: 19166 497 ratings Time: 01:48 More in News & Politics
0 Views
16:45:35 04/19/12
SHAHEEN CALLS TO PROTECT US POSTAL SERVICES
[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 16:45:35 04/19/12
SHAHEEN CALLS TO PROTECT US POSTAL SERVICES
Senator Shaheen spoke on the Senate floor today about the importance of protecting the US Postal Service from unnecessary cuts and ensuring the reliable service Americans have come to expect. The Postal service employs 550000 Americans nationwide and serves as a lynchpin for an industry that contributes over a trillion dollars to our economy, Shaheen said. (April 18) From: SenatorShaheen Views: 23 0 ratings Time: 03:30 More in News & Politics
13 Views
03:00:06 03/02/12
A Movie for a Movement: 'Heist: Who Stole the American Dream?'
[LESS INFO] 13 VIEWS | ADDED 03:00:06 03/02/12
[Editor's Note: Please read through to the end to learn how you can win a pair of free tickets to see "Heist."]
For those who are still wondering what fueled the Occupy Movement and just what is it they're protesting about, those questions are easily answered once you’ve seen the movie Heist: Who Stole The American Dream? . In just under an hour and a half, the film brings the Occupy Movement to life in cinematic form, and all the ills of our society are made clear, revealing both greedy corporate executives and politicians bent on destroying the middle class.
Structured as a political thriller, the documentary from Donald Goldmacher and Frances Causey explains how powerful special interests have worked to derail American worker's rights and protections since the implementation of Roosevelt’s New Deal. Thom Hartmann narrates, and with observations of the featured experts including Media Matters for America’s David Brock, American Airlines former President and Chair Robert Crandall, Maryland Congresswoman Donna Edwards, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist David Cay Johnston, Rebuild the Dream’s Van Jones, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and others, Heist details the assaults committed against American workers, and the gutting of the U.S. economy, the result of 4 decades of deregulation, massive job outsourcing, and tax policies favoring mega-corporations and wealthy elites.
More than a recounting of history and documenting the atrocities, Heist is a call to action. To rise up against those who’ve used deregulation, like the repeal of Glass-Steagall to victimize the masses. It sounds an alarm on the need to restore the Fairness Doctrine, repealed by Ronald Reagan, which led to the current slew of airwave liars and hatemongers. You'll come to understand the need to safeguard and strengthen unions and workers’ rights as Koch funded Governors like Wisconsin’s Scott Walker and Ohio’s John Kasich work to systematically destroy them. You will be outraged as you watch a panel of Human Resources professionals provide training on bypassing American workers in favor of lower wage foreign workers , and again as Bill Gates testifies unopposed before Congress on the merits of H1B legislation to import foreign workers under the guise that not enough American workers have the skill to do the jobs.
Heist is the rallying cry of the 99 percent, who can take this moment in history and transform the American economic and political landscape through information-sharing and direct action. Heist is a warning as well as a vision of a new future. Viewers will come away from the film feeling that they understand who broke the economy and how, and knowing what is needed to fix it.
Thanks to the great group of folks who put this film together, I've got 10 pairs of Free tickets for our readers . They're for the New York City premiere at the Quad Cinema - opening day is March 2nd - and runs for one week. You have your choice from March 2 - 8 and from any screening time. Note the special screening dates and times with the question and answer sessions after the film that sound really interesting.
Now, all you have to do to get the free tickets is be one of the first 10 people to email me at "crooksandliars@gmail.com" with your name, choice of date and show time, and tickets will be available for you at the Quad's "Will Call." Please use "HEIST TICKETS" in the subject line of your email. >
HEIST: WHO STOLE THE AMERICAN DREAM?
EXCLUSIVE ENGAGEMENT | MARCH 2 - 8, 2012 | ONE WEEK ONLY!
at NY’s Quad Cinema 34 West 13th Street, NYC
*Featuring Bernie Sanders, Robert Kuttner, David Cay Johnston, Nomi Prins, Van Jones & more. See here for longer list:
http://www.heist-themovie.com/featuredExperts.html
Daily screenings @ 1, 3, 5:15, 7:10 & 9:40 | BUY TICKETS or CALL 212 255 2243
Nightly Q%As Following 7:10 & matinee shows featuring: Filmmakers, Local & National Experts, Labor Leaders, Academics & Actions!
A few have already been organized:
* MARCH 4 @ 7:10p | Special screening sponsored by DEMOS featuring ROBERT KUTTNER
* MARCH 6 @ 7:10p | Special screening featuring DAVID CAY JOHNSTON & MORE!
* MARCH 8 @ 3p | Special screening featuring ERIC KINGSON, co-director of Strengthen Social Security
1 Views
15:00:01 12/06/11
What 'Occupy Our Homes' Could Change
[LESS INFO] 1 VIEWS | ADDED 15:00:01 12/06/11
Amy Goodman reports on "Occupy Our Homes" for Democracy Now
This week 60 Minutes gave viewers a good look at some of the widespread criminality that created the Wall Street mortgage boom and led to our ongoing financial crisis. They also saw some of the overwhelming evidence of illegal activity on the part of big banks, and were reminded that none of those banks' executives have been prosecuted.
As ugly as the situation is, there is some logic behind the government's actions - and its inactions. They're acting on a tragically incorrect (but internally coherent) set of assumptions that can be summed up in one sentence. It goes something like this:
"To preserve the health of the American economy, banks must be allowed to keep preying on their consumers."
That's it. That's the logic.
But there are two exciting "Occupy" developments this week that could change the equation - "Take Back the Capitol" in the District of Columbia, and Tuesday's "Occupy Our Homes" events around the country. Think of them as complementary actions: One is taking place at the site of our greatest government power. The other is bringing the action to homes where people have been victimized by bankers.
People may not realize it, but there's power in those homes, too.
The Logic of Injustice
Despite their destructive behavior, the people who bailed bankers out and are giving them a free pass for their crimes aren't necessarily evil or corrupt. Well, okay, people like this guy are. But others have merely been so infected by misguided economic thinking that they really believe that the only way to save the economy is to keep shafting consumers and pampering mega-bankers.
The thinking goes something like this: Our largest banks are too big to fail, and since we lack the will or the motivation to break them up or regulate them we must protect them at all costs. We've propped them up with TARP, quantitative easing, and $7.7 trillion in secret Federal Reserve loans, but they're still shaky as hell. If we prosecute any of their executives, their stock prices will fall and they'll collapse again. And they'll take the entire economic system with them.
That leads to some grotesque miscarriages of justice. Nobody at Wells Fargo has been indicted for money laundering, for example, despite the fact that the bank has paid millions to settle charges of laundering cash for the Mexican drug cartels that have murdered more than 35,000 people. As an experienced bank investigator working for the Senate observed, "There’s no capacity to regulate or punish them because they’re too big to be threatened with failure."
The Bailout Nobody Knows
And banks don't just need protection from their own criminality. They also need protection from their own lousy management. Their balance sheets are filled with toxic risks from their long run of incompetence, negligence, and greed. That's where you and I come in. Some powerful folks are afraid the banks will fail if they're forced to write off the bad loans on their books, or to stop profiting from loans sold deceptively or irresponsibly.
TARP may be over, but there's another massive bank rescue going on. Who's funding it? We are. Every time we pay a usurious interest fee on a credit card, we're propping up the banks. Every time we make another month's payment on an underwater mortgage, we're propping them up too. Every time we pay an overpriced consumer loan of any kind, we're making another payment into the consumer-funded bailout that's keeping the big banks afloat.
It would be great if politicians in Washington stopped using American consumers to subsidize banks that shouldn't even exist. But they haven't. That's where "Occupy Our Homes" comes in.
Occupy Our Homes
Tuesday, December 6, has been declared a National Day of Action to Occupy Our Homes . Its goal is to focus attention on the corrupt banking practices that led to the mortgage boom and today's ongoing economic misery for most of the 99 percent.
It's also a day for helping people in our communities who have been victimized by predatory lending, criminal bank forgery, unfair or illegal foreclosure practices, and other bank abuses that victimize the public. Occupy Minnesota has already occupied an illegally-foreclosed home, and plans to do the same thing with another home tomorrow. Here in Los Angeles, where an inspiring victory has already taken place, OccupyLA will help two brave families re-occupy their illegally foreclosed homes .
One of those homes belongs to a three-earner family that includes a gainfully employed woman with cerebral palsy named Ana Wison. Ana's household clearly seems capable of making its mortgage payments, but her bank's foreclosing anyway. And in one of ironies that have become all too common, the bank in quesion is none other than that Mexican drug cartel money-laundering outfit, Wells Fargo.
The Occupy movement hopes to focus the public's attention on people like Ana Wison. In the words of the Dylan song : "Things should start to get interesting right around now."
Demonizing the Victim
Resisting illegal foreclosures is a good first step. It brings attention to Wall Street's criminality, venality, and plain old inhumanity toward the people they call their"customers" - but treat like serfs.
It does something else important: It counteracts the brainwashing, driven by Wall Street and dutifully echoed by the media, which has demonized the victims of bank misbehavior. (We were trying to fight that brainwashing back in 2008, without much luck.) The Occupy movement has already won several battles in that war. If the public's attention can now be focused on people like Ana Wison, that can be a powerful blow against the Wall Street/corporate media "they deserve it" hype.
What about the millions of people who have suffered because of the banks' predatory mortgage lending but aren't behind in payments or in the foreclosure process? We need to re-open the debate about the fairness of forcing any underwater homeowners to pay underwater principal on homes that their banks knew, or should have known, were going to decrease in value. After all, the same conglomeration of banks and corporate media that demonize homeowners as "greedy" and "irresponsible" spent most of the last twenty years convincing people that real estate was a sure-fire investment.
Banks made an extraordinary amount of money off the bubble they created. The total mortgage amount outstanding in this country went from $6.2 trillion in 2002 to $11.9 trillion in 2009, a meteoric rise. And while banks feed off the Federal Reserve's unusually low rates, they've renegotiating very few home loans.
Consumers also owe nearly three quarter of a trillion dollars in credit card debt, much of it being paid at unconscionable rates of 12 percent to 29 percent - while their banks enjoy rates from 0 percent to 3 percent, thanks to the government institutions created by those same consumers.
Occupy Our Homes. Occupy Our Credit Cards. Occupy Our Payday Lending ...
What will happen if consumers stopped blaming themselves? What if they demanded that the banks take responsibility for their irresponsible and/or predatory lending? What if they refused to stop this country's perverse economic role reversal, where customers have become the ATMs while banks keep making the withdrawals?
If 10% of America's homeowners declared a mortgage strike it would rock the banking world. If everybody paying exorbitant credit card interest declared a moratorium on payments all at once, Wall Street would change forever.
Think about it: "Occupy ALL Our Homes." "Occupy Our Credit Cards ... Our Payday Loans ... Our Buy-and-Drive Loans ..." I'm not saying these are necessarily the right tactics, although they very well may be. But what's most important is that we understand that consumers have far more power than we usually realize - provided we act together.
Many of Washington's leaders will cringe at the thought, of course. "That could hurt our biggest banks," they say. It would be tempting to reply, You say that like it's a bad thing. Here's a better response: Then start planning to break them up in an orderly fashion. We're done living a life of indentured servitude just so we can subsidize their greed.
Those are the discussions that we should be having. If powerful people on Wall Street and in Washington aren't worried about Occupy Our Homes , they're not paying attention. But with any luck, they soon will.
______________________
(If you've been a victim of mortgage abuse you can tell your story here . If you want to find an Occupy Our Homes event near you, you can look for one here .)
44 Views
22:30:00 11/30/10
Studio Guest
[LESS INFO] 44 VIEWS | ADDED 22:30:00 11/30/10
Our guest this week is Michael Burda from Humboldt University (labor market expert)DW-TV: Mr. Burda, are German companies beginning to do what the state has failed to accomplish, that is create a pool of skilled workers? Michael Burda: Well, German industry has always been involved in education. The system in Germany involving apprenticeships has always had active financial participation of companies. DW-TV: But the state has always been behind that as well. Michael Burda: And the states have been behind that as well. It's a very Germanic, corporatist approach to educating. And it's obvious that industries can see right away where the shoe doesn't fit, where it's time to train more people. DW-TV: But they have been investing lots of money, like creating their own schools, as we saw in that story. Can companies afford to do that? These are huge outlays. Michael Burda: Absolutely, but that just shows how much these people are worth to companies. So having really well-trained workers in the next ten years is going to be an issue for a lot of industries, a lot of sectors, and I think it's very forward looking of German industry to start active participation in that. DW-TV: You know, this week we've heard US President Obama saying education is his top priority now to get the economy going again. Germany is in a much better place economically right now, but has the state, has the government here been neglecting education? Is that what we're seeing now, when companies step in and tried to create their own skilled workers? Michael Burda: Well, there is a lack of spending and active government participation in the university sector, I think. In the OECD league tables, Germany doesn't come off too well but the counter argument is they spend a lot of money on the apprenticeship system, so if you want to become a nurse you don't go to a college like you would in the United States. DW-TV: Right, this shortage, I guess, we've been talking about a shortage of skilled workers, that also shows that Germany's failing to attract foreign specialists. Again, the UK, the US are doing what it seems like Germany should have been doing all along. Michael Burda: There's a problem here and the Germans don't like the idea of discriminating in favor of people who have training, which Canada and Australia have been doing for decades. DW-TV: Maybe they should. Michael Burda: Absolutely. You see it happening already, I mean the fact that I got a job in Germany is because the Germans were willing to give me a long-term visa. I came here 17 years ago. DW-TV: You're an American. Michael Burda: I'm an American. DW-TV: We have to make sure folks know that. Michael Burda: It's always possible to make exceptions but you have to make lots of exceptions. DW-TV: What about freelance doctors and nurses? Is this about a labor force that needs more flexibility? Is that the story here? Michael Burda: The demand for flexibility is there. The hospitals want it. In America it might be easier to lay off doctors and nurses if things get tough. In Germany it's very difficult because of job protection laws. DW-TV: Which makes a hospital more reluctant to hire a doctor. Michael Burda: Exactly. So you have the negative reaction at the beginning. So hospitals are interested in this flexible buffer stock of doctors and nurses who can jump in. DW-TV: I mean, the German economy...we can't really complain about things right now. We've got a graph we want to show folks about unemployment: Germany compared to the rest of the euro zone, and you can see Spain: unemployment now around 20 percent, France coming in at 10 percent. France is pretty on par with the United States and then we have Germany and the Netherlands. Nice numbers there, considering what the rest of Europe is dealing with. How do you explain Germany's good fortune? Michael Burda: Germany went through a wrenching set of changes in the early 2000 decade and the fruits of those reforms are finally coming to be seen and Germany's also done very well trying to give money to companies to prevent them from laying off workers. They call it 'Kurzarbeit', short-time working. And that has tided....think of a tsunami hitting these companies. The tsunami has gone, the water has gone. If you can survive that, you're going to be OK. DW-TV: Is it correct to say that in the future the German labor market is going to have more people doing freelance work; we're going to have fewer people tied to a company but also fewer people with jobs that have benefits? Michael Burda: I think it's a foregone conclusion. I think it's a necessary part of any labor market to have this flexible margin. The most important question is whether the Germans want to accept it. Interview: Brent Goff
19 Views
05:00:00 12/12/09
Weekly Address: Learning from History to Reform Wall Street
[LESS INFO] 19 VIEWS | ADDED 05:00:00 12/12/09
The President explains that while he continues to focus on jobs, it is also profoundly important to address the problems that created this economic mess in the first place. He commends the House of Representatives for passing reforms to our financial system, including a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency, and blasts Republican Leaders and financial industry lobbyists for their joint “pep rally” to defeat it. December 12, 2009. (Public Domain)
3 Views
05:56:48 01/31/09
2009 Fair Trade Nicaragua Coffee Farmers #3 Organic Coffee Beans Nicaraguan Women Are Respected
[LESS INFO] 3 VIEWS | ADDED 05:56:48 01/31/09
Northern Michigan University students Sarah Swanson and Lisa McCarthy stand near the mouth of Masaya Volcano in Nicaragua. Members of Lutheran Campus Ministry, the students were with a group of Americans participating in a Lutheran World Relief study project.(Marquette, Michigan) - While Upper Peninsula residents endured an arctic blast, two Northern Michigan University students started the New Year learning about Fair Trade during the peak of the coffee growing season in Nicaragua.Three videos of the student's presentation about their Nicaragua trip were produced by Lutheran Campus Ministry at Northern Michigan University and the non-profit Cedar Tree Institute in Marquette, MI.------- Video #1Role of faith communities, Nicaragua coffee farmers, and coffee cooperatives in Fair Trade movement; Northern Michigan University students talk about work that goes into growing coffee including wet mills, dry mills and the process of quality/taste testing called “cupping.”Video #2The Fair Trade movement efforts of Lutheran World Relief, Equal Exchange and the Center for Global Education.A look at Fair Trade Principals including prohibiting child labor, protecting the environment, the need for fair wages and help the entire community (not just coffee farming families).The students describe staying with coffee farming families in a small village in a mountainous area, interacting with the children and some of the interesting and inspiring people they met.Video #3The students describe how the women of Nicaragua are treated with respect, the importance of families and the environmental protection efforts of one Nicaragua’s organic farmers.-------(Photos at St. Mark's Lutheran Church by Greg Peterson) Since their return on January 12, Lisa McCarthy and Sarah Swanson have begun a series of presentations at U.P. churches to encourage Americans to buy Fair Trade coffee that ensures poor Nicaraguan farmers don't lose money in the labor-intensive industry of coffee production.From staring into the mouth of the Masaya Volcano to traveling narrow mountain roads to stay with coffee-farming families to picking beans and participating in all phases of coffee production, the trip was a myth-shattering experience. The students are the latest of hundreds of faith community representatives traveling to Central American over the last decade with Lutheran World Relief (LWR) to get a quick course on Fair Trade while erasing misconceptions about Nicaragua's hard-working low-income farmers who take pride in their coffee.Known for loving a strong cup of hot coffee, U.P. residents are the perfect audience for the two students who were impressed by the work ethic and friendliness of Nicaraguans.The Fair Trade movement was born during the "coffee crisis of 1990s" when prices "really imploded - it was terrible," said Swanson, 20, an NMU junior majoring in speech language and hearing sciences.The fluctuating market price for Nicaraguan coffee in early January 2009 was $1.13 per pound, said Swanson, who is a native of Rapid River, MI.Both students are members of NMU Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) Lutheran Campus Ministry (LCM) and their trips were funded by U.P. parishes and donors. The students met with other groups involved in the Fair Trade effort including Equal Exchange and the Center for Global Education."Equal Exchange was the first Fair Trade distributor of coffee in the United States," said McCarthy, 19, an NMU sophomore majoring in photography.Citing the Underground Railroad run by churches during the American Civil War and sanctuary for refugees during the war in El Salvador, Rev. Jon Magnuson of Marquette said the Fair Trade movement was started by "churches to create an alternative economy to the one that was oppressing small farmers."It's a part of the church's work, part of the faith community's mission and a part people don't know about,' said Magnuson, who is the NMU LCM campus pastor."Sarah and Lisa are going to be encouraging churches to sell Fair Trade coffee and chocolate in their basements," said Rev. Magnuson.Some U.P. Lutheran churches have been on board for years."Fair Trade Coffee sold at Messiah Lutheran Church in Marquette is sold at cost," said Messiah member John Carlson of Marquette. "This is a ministry for helping this program of Fair Trade.""During the coffee crisis they had to bring it (the coffee) through Canada," said McCarthy, a native of Greenville, WI. "They had to go through all these measures to get it (the coffee) here."The students said Nicaraguan coffee producers seek respect for their heritage, and want foreigners to understand what goes into growing that coffee they love each morning.Nicaraguans hope emissaries like the NMU students will spread the word about Fair Trade far and wide thus getting people to only buy coffee originating from democratically-run cooperatives that represent the farmers.Lead by his children, a Nicaraguan coffee farmer carries a heavy sack of beans on his shoulders. They are on the way to his local democratically-run cooperative.(Nicaragua Photos by Lisa McCarthy)"One thing we can do is respect them," said McCarthy during a recent presentation at St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Marquette that was attended by residents from 18 to 80 years old and as far away as Rapid River. "It was really great to go on this trip because it's hard to respect a faceless thing."You buy the coffee and respect Fair Trade but going there and seeing that and knowing the work that goes into one cup of coffee - brings it home," McCarthy said. It's important for Americans to know "the amount of work that goes into everything."LWR "really stresses the accompaniment model that they use with all their programs - They are not just throwing money at them,"Swanson said. LWR works with Nicarguans "to find out what these farmers want and the things that the need" to accomplish their individual dreams.Americans sometimes mistakenly think that Nicaraguans "want all the things that we have," said Swanson."Most Nicaraguan farmers have never tasted their quality coffee because it's way more beneficial for them to ship it out, than for them to drink even a cup," McCarthy said. "They drink the bad quality stuff.""One of the new projects" for the farmers is "trying to get people in Nicaragua to buy high quality coffee because that's a whole other market they haven't touched."The students received a history lesson on Nicaragua and assistance from employees of the Center for Global Education in Managua including program coordinator and interpreter Juan Carlos Lopez and study abroad facilitator Joe Connelly.Lopez and Connelly, who host numerous ecotourism study project coffee tours each year, "came with us on our trip and added to our experience by sharing with us what they know from working there," Swanson said.(Nicaragua Photos by Lisa McCarthy)McCarthy and Swanson were happy to learn that "women in Nicaragua are known as being strong women." Something they learned first hand and was more impressive to the pair than even the current status of women's rights in the U.S.Instead of receiving an expected lecture from men at the co-ops, the students were greeted by a female co-op board secretary, who "spoke to us so passionately and with such great knowledge, that is just blew me away," McCarthy said. "I saw in-person that it's not a factor if you are a man or a women."(Nicaragua Photos by Lisa McCarthy)"Even though it has been fought for here (in the U.S.) it's still part of our culture that the man is the alpha male," McCarthy said."Just seeing that and seeing her was one of the more impactful things for me," McCarthy said, adding she was impressed with "how proud they (women) are of the co-op."A Nicaraguan woman is raking the coffee beans for even drying at SOLCAFE(Nicaragua Photos by Lisa McCarthy) LWR stresses respect for the Nicaraguan farmers who are not looking for a handout rather a fair wage for their hard work.‘They envision a world where all people live in justice, dignity and peace," said Swanson, who told the story of a young women repaying a $200 loan used to buy a home."You could see how this was helping her maintain her dignity because she was paying is back," Swanson. "She wanted to buy her house - they don't want it to be handouts from people.The students visited the SolCaf
6 Views
05:31:55 01/31/09
2009 Fair Trade Nicaragua Coffee Farmers #2 Nmu Students On Lutheran World Relief Study Tour
[LESS INFO] 6 VIEWS | ADDED 05:31:55 01/31/09
Northern Michigan University students Sarah Swanson and Lisa McCarthy stand near the mouth of Masaya Volcano in Nicaragua. Members of Lutheran Campus Ministry, the students were with a group of Americans participating in a Lutheran World Relief study project.(Marquette, Michigan) - While Upper Peninsula residents endured an arctic blast, two Northern Michigan University students started the New Year learning about Fair Trade during the peak of the coffee growing season in Nicaragua.Three videos of the student's presentation about their Nicaragua trip were produced by Lutheran Campus Ministry at Northern Michigan University and the non-profit Cedar Tree Institute in Marquette, MI.------- Video #1Role of faith communities, Nicaragua coffee farmers, and coffee cooperatives in Fair Trade movement; Northern Michigan University students talk about work that goes into growing coffee including wet mills, dry mills and the process of quality/taste testing called “cupping.”Video #2The Fair Trade movement efforts of Lutheran World Relief, Equal Exchange and the Center for Global Education.A look at Fair Trade Principals including prohibiting child labor, protecting the environment, the need for fair wages and help the entire community (not just coffee farming families).The students describe staying with coffee farming families in a small village in a mountainous area, interacting with the children and some of the interesting and inspiring people they met.Video #3The students describe how the women of Nicaragua are treated with respect, the importance of families and the environmental protection efforts of one Nicaragua’s organic farmers.-------(Photos at St. Mark's Lutheran Church by Greg Peterson) Since their return on January 12, Lisa McCarthy and Sarah Swanson have begun a series of presentations at U.P. churches to encourage Americans to buy Fair Trade coffee that ensures poor Nicaraguan farmers don't lose money in the labor-intensive industry of coffee production.From staring into the mouth of the Masaya Volcano to traveling narrow mountain roads to stay with coffee-farming families to picking beans and participating in all phases of coffee production, the trip was a myth-shattering experience. The students are the latest of hundreds of faith community representatives traveling to Central American over the last decade with Lutheran World Relief (LWR) to get a quick course on Fair Trade while erasing misconceptions about Nicaragua's hard-working low-income farmers who take pride in their coffee.Known for loving a strong cup of hot coffee, U.P. residents are the perfect audience for the two students who were impressed by the work ethic and friendliness of Nicaraguans.The Fair Trade movement was born during the "coffee crisis of 1990s" when prices "really imploded - it was terrible," said Swanson, 20, an NMU junior majoring in speech language and hearing sciences.The fluctuating market price for Nicaraguan coffee in early January 2009 was $1.13 per pound, said Swanson, who is a native of Rapid River, MI.Both students are members of NMU Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) Lutheran Campus Ministry (LCM) and their trips were funded by U.P. parishes and donors. The students met with other groups involved in the Fair Trade effort including Equal Exchange and the Center for Global Education."Equal Exchange was the first Fair Trade distributor of coffee in the United States," said McCarthy, 19, an NMU sophomore majoring in photography.Citing the Underground Railroad run by churches during the American Civil War and sanctuary for refugees during the war in El Salvador, Rev. Jon Magnuson of Marquette said the Fair Trade movement was started by "churches to create an alternative economy to the one that was oppressing small farmers."It's a part of the church's work, part of the faith community's mission and a part people don't know about,' said Magnuson, who is the NMU LCM campus pastor."Sarah and Lisa are going to be encouraging churches to sell Fair Trade coffee and chocolate in their basements," said Rev. Magnuson.Some U.P. Lutheran churches have been on board for years."Fair Trade Coffee sold at Messiah Lutheran Church in Marquette is sold at cost," said Messiah member John Carlson of Marquette. "This is a ministry for helping this program of Fair Trade.""During the coffee crisis they had to bring it (the coffee) through Canada," said McCarthy, a native of Greenville, WI. "They had to go through all these measures to get it (the coffee) here."The students said Nicaraguan coffee producers seek respect for their heritage, and want foreigners to understand what goes into growing that coffee they love each morning.Nicaraguans hope emissaries like the NMU students will spread the word about Fair Trade far and wide thus getting people to only buy coffee originating from democratically-run cooperatives that represent the farmers.Lead by his children, a Nicaraguan coffee farmer carries a heavy sack of beans on his shoulders. They are on the way to his local democratically-run cooperative.(Nicaragua Photos by Lisa McCarthy)"One thing we can do is respect them," said McCarthy during a recent presentation at St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Marquette that was attended by residents from 18 to 80 years old and as far away as Rapid River. "It was really great to go on this trip because it's hard to respect a faceless thing."You buy the coffee and respect Fair Trade but going there and seeing that and knowing the work that goes into one cup of coffee - brings it home," McCarthy said. It's important for Americans to know "the amount of work that goes into everything."LWR "really stresses the accompaniment model that they use with all their programs - They are not just throwing money at them,"Swanson said. LWR works with Nicarguans "to find out what these farmers want and the things that the need" to accomplish their individual dreams.Americans sometimes mistakenly think that Nicaraguans "want all the things that we have," said Swanson."Most Nicaraguan farmers have never tasted their quality coffee because it's way more beneficial for them to ship it out, than for them to drink even a cup," McCarthy said. "They drink the bad quality stuff.""One of the new projects" for the farmers is "trying to get people in Nicaragua to buy high quality coffee because that's a whole other market they haven't touched."The students received a history lesson on Nicaragua and assistance from employees of the Center for Global Education in Managua including program coordinator and interpreter Juan Carlos Lopez and study abroad facilitator Joe Connelly.Lopez and Connelly, who host numerous ecotourism study project coffee tours each year, "came with us on our trip and added to our experience by sharing with us what they know from working there," Swanson said.(Nicaragua Photos by Lisa McCarthy)McCarthy and Swanson were happy to learn that "women in Nicaragua are known as being strong women." Something they learned first hand and was more impressive to the pair than even the current status of women's rights in the U.S.Instead of receiving an expected lecture from men at the co-ops, the students were greeted by a female co-op board secretary, who "spoke to us so passionately and with such great knowledge, that is just blew me away," McCarthy said. "I saw in-person that it's not a factor if you are a man or a women."(Nicaragua Photos by Lisa McCarthy)"Even though it has been fought for here (in the U.S.) it's still part of our culture that the man is the alpha male," McCarthy said."Just seeing that and seeing her was one of the more impactful things for me," McCarthy said, adding she was impressed with "how proud they (women) are of the co-op."A Nicaraguan woman is raking the coffee beans for even drying at SOLCAFE(Nicaragua Photos by Lisa McCarthy) LWR stresses respect for the Nicaraguan farmers who are not looking for a handout rather a fair wage for their hard work.‘They envision a world where all people live in justice, dignity and peace," said Swanson, who told the story of a young women repaying a $200 loan used to buy a home."You could see how this was helping her maintain her dignity because she was paying is back," Swanson. "She wanted to buy her house - they don't want it to be handouts from people.The students visited the SolCaf
7 Views
04:19:37 01/31/09
2009 Fair Trade Nicaragua Coffee Farmers #1 How Your Morning Coffee Arrives Fair Trade Principals
[LESS INFO] 7 VIEWS | ADDED 04:19:37 01/31/09
Northern Michigan University students Sarah Swanson and Lisa McCarthy stand near the mouth of Masaya Volcano in Nicaragua. Members of Lutheran Campus Ministry, the students were with a group of Americans participating in a Lutheran World Relief study project.(Marquette, Michigan) - While Upper Peninsula residents endured an arctic blast, two Northern Michigan University students started the New Year learning about Fair Trade during the peak of the coffee growing season in Nicaragua.Three videos of the student's presentation about their Nicaragua trip were produced by Lutheran Campus Ministry at Northern Michigan University and the non-profit Cedar Tree Institute in Marquette, MI.------- Video #1Role of faith communities, Nicaragua coffee farmers, and coffee cooperatives in Fair Trade movement; Northern Michigan University students talk about work that goes into growing coffee including wet mills, dry mills and the process of quality/taste testing called “cupping.”Video #2The Fair Trade movement efforts of Lutheran World Relief, Equal Exchange and the Center for Global Education.A look at Fair Trade Principals including prohibiting child labor, protecting the environment, the need for fair wages and help the entire community (not just coffee farming families).The students describe staying with coffee farming families in a small village in a mountainous area, interacting with the children and some of the interesting and inspiring people they met.Video #3The students describe how the women of Nicaragua are treated with respect, the importance of families and the environmental protection efforts of one Nicaragua’s organic farmers.-------(Photos at St. Mark's Lutheran Church by Greg Peterson) Since their return on January 12, Lisa McCarthy and Sarah Swanson have begun a series of presentations at U.P. churches to encourage Americans to buy Fair Trade coffee that ensures poor Nicaraguan farmers don't lose money in the labor-intensive industry of coffee production.From staring into the mouth of the Masaya Volcano to traveling narrow mountain roads to stay with coffee-farming families to picking beans and participating in all phases of coffee production, the trip was a myth-shattering experience. The students are the latest of hundreds of faith community representatives traveling to Central American over the last decade with Lutheran World Relief (LWR) to get a quick course on Fair Trade while erasing misconceptions about Nicaragua's hard-working low-income farmers who take pride in their coffee.Known for loving a strong cup of hot coffee, U.P. residents are the perfect audience for the two students who were impressed by the work ethic and friendliness of Nicaraguans.The Fair Trade movement was born during the "coffee crisis of 1990s" when prices "really imploded - it was terrible," said Swanson, 20, an NMU junior majoring in speech language and hearing sciences.The fluctuating market price for Nicaraguan coffee in early January 2009 was $1.13 per pound, said Swanson, who is a native of Rapid River, MI.Both students are members of NMU Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) Lutheran Campus Ministry (LCM) and their trips were funded by U.P. parishes and donors. The students met with other groups involved in the Fair Trade effort including Equal Exchange and the Center for Global Education."Equal Exchange was the first Fair Trade distributor of coffee in the United States," said McCarthy, 19, an NMU sophomore majoring in photography.Citing the Underground Railroad run by churches during the American Civil War and sanctuary for refugees during the war in El Salvador, Rev. Jon Magnuson of Marquette said the Fair Trade movement was started by "churches to create an alternative economy to the one that was oppressing small farmers."It's a part of the church's work, part of the faith community's mission and a part people don't know about,' said Magnuson, who is the NMU LCM campus pastor."Sarah and Lisa are going to be encouraging churches to sell Fair Trade coffee and chocolate in their basements," said Rev. Magnuson.Some U.P. Lutheran churches have been on board for years."Fair Trade Coffee sold at Messiah Lutheran Church in Marquette is sold at cost," said Messiah member John Carlson of Marquette. "This is a ministry for helping this program of Fair Trade.""During the coffee crisis they had to bring it (the coffee) through Canada," said McCarthy, a native of Greenville, WI. "They had to go through all these measures to get it (the coffee) here."The students said Nicaraguan coffee producers seek respect for their heritage, and want foreigners to understand what goes into growing that coffee they love each morning.Nicaraguans hope emissaries like the NMU students will spread the word about Fair Trade far and wide thus getting people to only buy coffee originating from democratically-run cooperatives that represent the farmers.Lead by his children, a Nicaraguan coffee farmer carries a heavy sack of beans on his shoulders. They are on the way to his local democratically-run cooperative.(Nicaragua Photos by Lisa McCarthy)"One thing we can do is respect them," said McCarthy during a recent presentation at St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Marquette that was attended by residents from 18 to 80 years old and as far away as Rapid River. "It was really great to go on this trip because it's hard to respect a faceless thing."You buy the coffee and respect Fair Trade but going there and seeing that and knowing the work that goes into one cup of coffee - brings it home," McCarthy said. It's important for Americans to know "the amount of work that goes into everything."LWR "really stresses the accompaniment model that they use with all their programs - They are not just throwing money at them,"Swanson said. LWR works with Nicarguans "to find out what these farmers want and the things that the need" to accomplish their individual dreams.Americans sometimes mistakenly think that Nicaraguans "want all the things that we have," said Swanson."Most Nicaraguan farmers have never tasted their quality coffee because it's way more beneficial for them to ship it out, than for them to drink even a cup," McCarthy said. "They drink the bad quality stuff.""One of the new projects" for the farmers is "trying to get people in Nicaragua to buy high quality coffee because that's a whole other market they haven't touched."The students received a history lesson on Nicaragua and assistance from employees of the Center for Global Education in Managua including program coordinator and interpreter Juan Carlos Lopez and study abroad facilitator Joe Connelly.Lopez and Connelly, who host numerous ecotourism study project coffee tours each year, "came with us on our trip and added to our experience by sharing with us what they know from working there," Swanson said.(Nicaragua Photos by Lisa McCarthy)McCarthy and Swanson were happy to learn that "women in Nicaragua are known as being strong women." Something they learned first hand and was more impressive to the pair than even the current status of women's rights in the U.S.Instead of receiving an expected lecture from men at the co-ops, the students were greeted by a female co-op board secretary, who "spoke to us so passionately and with such great knowledge, that is just blew me away," McCarthy said. "I saw in-person that it's not a factor if you are a man or a women."(Nicaragua Photos by Lisa McCarthy)"Even though it has been fought for here (in the U.S.) it's still part of our culture that the man is the alpha male," McCarthy said."Just seeing that and seeing her was one of the more impactful things for me," McCarthy said, adding she was impressed with "how proud they (women) are of the co-op."A Nicaraguan woman is raking the coffee beans for even drying at SOLCAFE(Nicaragua Photos by Lisa McCarthy) LWR stresses respect for the Nicaraguan farmers who are not looking for a handout rather a fair wage for their hard work.‘They envision a world where all people live in justice, dignity and peace," said Swanson, who told the story of a young women repaying a $200 loan used to buy a home."You could see how this was helping her maintain her dignity because she was paying is back," Swanson. "She wanted to buy her house - they don't want it to be handouts from people.The students visited the SolCaf
