Mia Fioritto’s Weblog
Archive for October, 2007
October 5, 2007 at 12:13 pm · Filed under General
Time to Rise
A birdie with a yellow bill
Hopped onto my window sill,
Cocked his shining head and said:
‘Ain’t you ’shamed, you sleepyhead?’
From A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson
A poem from my childhood that I was reminded of this morning. A pair of cardinals came to visit the bird feeder earlier and now they seem to have made themselves at home in our tree. I caught papa cardinal spying on us through the kitchen window. He was making sure the coast was clear for mama cardinal to eat. I love it.
October 4, 2007 at 11:25 am · Filed under General, Social Justice
I read in the New York Times today that an organization called One Laptop Per Child has developed a “very low-cost, high-potential, extremely rugged computer” called the XO that they hope to distribute to “two billion educationally underserved children in poor countries.”
In addition to just being a cool philanthropic venture, in order for the project to be viable they had to use all sorts of cool technology like mesh networking and solar panels.
The mesh network connects the laptops to one another, meaning that “if only one laptop has an Internet connection…the others can get online, too.” The XO comes with a super-duper battery that can last up to 24 hours, but if you just can’t access the grid, you can power up using a solar panel or a mini hand crank generator.
The software is streamlined and geared toward kids. And my favorite part, in a moment of absolute brilliance, they equipped all of the laptops with video software and a camera so teachers can send home messages to all households, even those in which the adults are illiterate.
If you’re looking for a new gadget, for $400 you can buy yourself an XO and donate one to a kid in need.
October 4, 2007 at 11:00 am · Filed under General, Immigration, Social Justice
On July 24, New Haven began issuing ‘resident cards’ to anyone who could positively identify themselves and verify that they live in the city. When Ryan first mentioned that he was applying for his card, I didn’t quite process the import of it. The card allows undocumented immigrants to fully and officially join the community.
According to Mayor John DeStefano, “the card entitles residents to basic city services such as recreation, libraries, waste removal, and elderly transportation.” It is also a debit card that can be used to pay for city services and can be used to open bank accounts.
Understandably, some balk at helping people who have entered the country illegally. The mayor offers a simple and confident answer to their concerns:
“These residents bear the mark of being undocumented – or illegal, if you like – because of the spectacular failure of the federal government to come up with a sensible border and immigration policy for the nation. This is a failure that none of us can reasonably expect Washington to do anything about any time soon. We decided to act in New Haven because we couldn’t afford to wait for Washington to act.”
I applaud Mayor DeStefano for being willing to acknowledge the role US action (or inaction) has played in creating the immigration situation we face today. In addition to contributing to the root cause of migration (for example, destroying local economies and ecologies with poor business practices, leaving whole towns in Central and South America without jobs or food), the US has failed to update it’s archaic and inefficient immigration policy. I think recognizing this is the first step to understanding the nuances of what ‘illegal’ immigration is all about.
I am impressed.
