TSA Security measures invite misconduct

The current outrage in the US over the new screening and pat down procedures at airports was bound to throw up bumper stickers. The irony of such a mess can’t keep critics or comics at bay. The new TSA measures are somewhat ridiculous. Somehow patting down every flier and running them through a full body scanner will keep terrorists at bay. To me it seemed more like a federal approval for sexual harassment. As one bumper sticker suggests: “we are now free to move around your underpants.” Yet those in defense of these measures declare that these are necessary security precautions for the safety of all Americans. It’s merely giving up a small dose of privacy, to guarantee the safety and security of all. Just think of it this way, they say, “it’s not a grope, it’s a freedom pat.” The price of freedom has definitely gone up.

I first came across these full body scanners as I was leaving an airport in Michigan. The line was moving slower than usual and people were walking through a strange portal, standing with their arms in the air and their feet shoulder width apart. Individuals stood in the scanner for 20 seconds, nervously awaiting a decision that either allowed them to move on, or succumb to further examination. I saw security officers on the other end of a computer screen, staring seriously at their monitors. At this rate, they were handling more packages than the UPS.

It was almost my turn. I had two choices, but neither seemed like a grope discount. I did not want to walk through those x-ray vision tease machines. Nor did I want to receive a pat down from a burly female security inspector. Bumper sticker slogan played aloud in my head: “We rub you the wrong way, so you can be on your way.” I decided I’d take my chances with a freedom pat rather than walking through a scanner whose implications I was highly skeptical of. I thought I had chosen the lesser of two evils.

A lady officer came over and gave me a very thorough pat down. She found no evidence of any weapons of mass destruction on me after conducting a search even the CIA could not have trumped; she smiled, wishing me a good evening and a safe flight. I couldn’t help thinking if she had done her job any better, she may have had to buy me dinner first.

I put on my shoes and coat, grabbed my hand carry and quickly scurried away, feeling more than a little violated and not at all safer.

Death of a Walkman

On July 1, 1979 the first Walkman was created in Japan by Sony’s co-founder Akio Morita and last week the last set of Walkman’s were sold to Japanese markets. Once this batch is sold off the shelves, no more Walkman’s will be made for this market. Though the Walkman will continue to be sold in China and other international markets, it is in Japan where the Walkman first had its genesis over 3 decades ago.

This is the beginning of the end for the first, personal, portable music device that reshaped how music was heard. Shutting down production in one region is just a precursor to its eventual decline elsewhere.

This is not just the end of one technology, but also the demise of a product that brought acute cultural change to the way we viewed and accessed music. The Walkman journeyed through its American Dream, fulfilling its life’s purpose until it gave rise to the young, fresh technologies of the future.

It was the Walkman that brought music from the communal sphere into the private world of the individual.

The Walkman reshaped the discussion of privacy and the evolution of personal space. People could not be in very public places and still have a very private experience. Attention and focus could turn completely inward even amidst parks, on subways, or walking through downtown. And of course, the Walkman was the precursor to the Discman, iPod, the Nano, and later the iPhone and iPad, as well as whatever other forms of personal music players have yet to evolve.

The Walkman also brought freedom to music. People could listen to whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted, wherever they wanted. We could copy our favorites onto a tape rather than having to listen to what was playing on the radio. Music fans could compile their own mixes and young lovers could make mix tapes for their significant others to listen to in private.

The Walkman first made portable the ability to listen to music, creating a new culture of running with music that made its mark even into the exercise industry.

Clearly over the years, the Walkman has made its mark, selling over 220 million units in a little over 3 decades, and it may continue to sell more, at least in the U.S.

There are no immediate plans to cut the Walkman production and distribution here in the states where, a Sony spokesperson told LA Times, there is still a “consistent but small demand.”

As the Walkman’s steady life comes to an end in the city that birthed it, it may only be a matter of time before the Walkman meets is quiet demise. The once innovative, cutting-edge technology of the Walkman has reached the end of its days, “isn’t that remarkable?”

Election Night

Republicans needed 39 seats to win over the House, and they got it. Dominating in the east coast from the onset, where more seats were up for grabs, the House turned right early in the night. CNN Election Center projected the Republicans at 113 seats and the Democrats at 67, with the majority of the country still up for grabs.

The Senate was more of an uphill climb for the Republicans, where a critical loss in West Virginia could cost them the majority, but by no means will they be an overwhelming minority in the upper house of Congress. Currently the Republican Party maintains 44 of the 100 seats; even at a 50-50 stalemate, the Republicans will have gained 9 seats in Senate.

Clearly, the days of Democratic control of both houses are coming to an end tonight. Even if Republicans do not win the majority in the House or the Senate, they have already gained enough seats to swing the left-resting pendulum closer to the center. With a more bipartisan congress, will the next two years mean a stalemate in Congress?

Most of the legislation passed by Congress had been passed despite GOP resistance. The Democratic majority Congress had passed a stimulus bill with only three Republican votes. Republicans vehemently opposed the $940 billion health care reform law, and still seek to repeal it. The addition of 30,000 troops for the war in Afghanistan and the withdrawal of all forces from Iraq have gained great GOP opposition. And the constant threats of terror attacks, though unsuccessful, have many Republicans voicing their opinion to increase focus on national security. Disagreeing on almost all major issues facing the country, Congress could be headed to a 2-year hiatus where tabled legislation becomes the norm.

Historically, midterm elections have gravely shaped Presidential legacy. With a majority in both houses for the first two years, the Democrats were able to, and did frequently, sidestep Republican members to singlehandedly pass legislation. This was ne major criticism of the President’s promised campaign goals: his failure to incorporate both parties’ wishes into his legislation. Now, with a more balanced congress, the possibility for constant deadlock seems more than likely.

The same happened with Reagan’s loss of majority in the midterm elections of ’82 as well as Clinton’s midterm loss in 1994; both presidents were kept at bay from completing their agendas after these congressional losses.

However, this midterm election is unique in one way: some of the Republican gains are Tea Party candidates, like Rand Paul in Kentucky, who do not necessarily align themselves with mainstream GOP agendas. In fact, Paul has already declared his plan to challenge GOP Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Paul told CNN’s “American Morning,” “We will challenge him from day to day, but there will be many areas in which we agree.”

This challenge maybe a positive for the Obama administration, as Tea Party Republicans tend to lean less to the right, remaining more centrist. Centrist though still doesn’t guarantee an acceptance of the Obama administration’s agenda for the next 2 years.

On the other hand, no president in the past century has lost his second term after losing the majority in the midterm elections. Whether we look at Harry Truman in 1948, Dwight Eisenhower in 1956 or Bill Clinton in 1996, all three of these Presidents lost control of at least one house of Congress in the midterms, yet continued to win re-election.

Maybe this is a blessing for President Obama in the long run, even if it comes disguised in red, elephant garb.

Moments...

In the moments when the sun begins its descent, and the moon its ascent, something magical happens. A merger seems to be written across the skies...the worlds at once collide.

In those moments when consciousness seems to enter the world of sleep, when you are awake enough but not so fully, a certain calming peace arises, a moment of perfection is reached.

In those moments when a soft, little hand clutches your finger unexpectedly and yearns to be held in a loving embrace, a unknown love refills the heart and the rest of the world is left in a haze.

In these moments of love, of peace, of union, we find the surreal in the real, the divine in the mundane, the life in the living.

Service

Service, whatever form it takes, is the flow of love from one human being to another. This desire to share is our basic nature. Sincere giving -- without any expectation of return -- breaks the boundaries of conditional love and expands our ability to love every human being unconditionally.

Service is the expression of love. Serve in whatever possible manner you can. Ask yourself, "How can I be useful to people around me, and to the whole world?" Then your heart starts blossoming and a completely new level begins. Otherwise we're always thinking, "What about me, what about me?" It's nothing! Ask, "How can I be useful, how can I give to the world?" The best seva is helping someone to understand this eternal nature of life.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

Week Twelve: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Monday I walked in to work for my afternoon shift at 3p.m. and Susan, one of the head bookers, sent me an email asking, “Are you working the evening shift today?” I told her I was. She responded, “Great, I really need your help. I’ll come by and fill you in around 5.” A few hours later Susan came by my desk and asked me to follow her to the break room. We walked in, preparing our separate cups of coffee, and I felt less like an intern and very much like a colleague as she told me that today I would be in charge of welcoming, ‘mic’ing, and assigning the guests to their posts; basically, I was supposed to take over Susan’s job once she got the guests booked. This was a huge deal considering interns are very rarely trusted enough to do this! Since she had guests taping up to the show at various locations across the nation, she needed someone to take over her role here for the night.

Needless to say, I was excited, yet more than a little nervous. One mistake here could truly mess up the order of the show and the availability of the guests for future shows. Susan made sure I understood this and felt the weight that any little mistake could cost. I went back to my desk and made a list of facts I needed to know about both the guests. I also made sure I knew where I would need to meet at security, walked the path to make-up and mikes, introduced myself to the make-up room as well as the technical aids, and contacted front desk to give them my desk’s phone number; this way they could contact me directly when the guests where here and Susan would not have to be disturbed. I pulled it off, somehow, without any major mistakes. I got a little nervous speaking to the guests and almost forgot to offer them tea and coffee, but everything flowed pretty well. Susan was very pleased! She thanked me in front of the entire team the next morning at the staff meeting. I was very excited. Yet, amidst all these positives, a step backward was inevitable when it came.

While at work I was finishing my class presentation, reviewing some final details, and somehow lost the entire thing! I rebuilt five slides by 5:30 pm when I would usually leave for class. At the same time, my boss came to me and said I would get to time out the show for the day, as a reward for my work yesterday. I was ecstatic, nervous, and anxious all at the same time. I had not paid much attention to the run-down since 4pm when I had lost my presentation. This was also the day I was supposed to present. I sent an email, pretty last minute and got excused from the presentation for the day, of course with penalty. Then I spent the next hour quickly learning the entire run-down, but even then I felt as if I wasn’t fully comfortable with it. My boss said it wouldn’t be too bad; I would have a PA with me. So, I timed out the show, somehow not completely screwing up, though I almost added a minute extra twice had not the PA been there to correct me. It was a hectic day with a hectic ending and the upcoming week had yet more challenges.

Week Eleven: Revisiting an Ordinary Week

Not much happened this week, or so it seemed as compared to the newness of the weeks’ prior. I had gotten the routine of the days down and was comfortable in my environment. It seemed as though New York life had made a place for me. Especially at work, I was in my comfort zone. I walked in every morning or afternoon, depending on the day, logged into the server and sent out an email asking the team what, if anything, they needed my help on. Sometimes emails came back right away saying, “glad you’re here, can you help me with…” other times I sat there, for what seemed like hours, reading and catching up on any news I had missed, just in case I got asked to help with something. I didn’t want to be unaware of what was going on.

Monday slowly crept by. Others seemed to be busy but there was very little extra work to do. I ran a couple of errands, did a few web rolls, and answered a few phone calls. Nothing to exciting. Come Tuesday, I thought things have to speed up today based on the velocity of work I had done yesterday. Yet, nothing seemed to come my way until mid-day. We had heard last week, right before I headed out to Dallas, that Christiane was leaving CNN. She had taken on an offer with ABC to anchor the evening news there. It was a hard transition for many at CNN, considering Amanpour has been with the network for 27 years. Yet, the transition seemed necessary for her personal life to which she had devoted very little time over the last few decades.

The drastic changes at the Amanpour show, that come with the elimination of an entire show and its team, eventually had a direct impact on the Campbell Brown show. Our executive producer who makes the final decisions on hiring and whom we had been getting to know over the last few months, was leaving the show to be replaced by the producer of the Amanpour show. Our EP was actually getting promoted to Director of evening programming to be based out of Atlanta. However, this was bitter news for us, the interns. All the work we had done and everything she had seen happen were gone with her. We now had to start all over with a new Executive Producer.

I didn’t realize this at the time, but it ended up being a positive for me. Katherine O’Hearn, the EP for the Amanpour show who was now taking over the Campbell Brown show, actually remembered me! I had initially wanted to intern on that show and got an offer, one day after Campbell Brown made me an offer. According to protocol, they could not then take me away from the Campbell Brown show; however, I could work on the Amanpour show the days I wasn’t at CB. However, those fell few and far between. But Katherine remembered me from those few times. The first day she was on the CB show, I was asked to help her organize her office. When she came back about 45 minutes later, I had all her files organized alphabetically; I had organized her drawers according to the framework she left, and had uncluttered all the associated mess. She was very happy with me and said, “I remember your application for the Amanpour show. Wish you had been part of our permanent team there. I like your attitude even when you’re given tasks which I’m sure aren’t the reason you took the internship.” As a sort of reward, she sent me down to watch the final taping of the Amanpour show, saying she needed a few of her things as she winked at me from the corner of her eye. A wide smile spread across my face. When I went downstairs and met Christiane, I felt elated to be in the presence of my life-long, professional role model.

The rest of the week went by without too much to do, however, it was exciting to know that the EP knew my name and appreciated my attitude. I hope to keep it up!