People who profess their victimhood while they abuse you are the absolute worst kinds of people.
Alex C. Park
@alexcpark.com
Look at fast food and all you see is burgers. Look through fast food and you see the world. Sometimes I publish things, lately in Jacobin, the Conversationalist, The Oakland Review of Books. More: www.alexcpark.com
This was going to be a vibe report but it ended up being a lot more interesting than I expected. Hats off to all my colleagues at @oaklandreviewofbooks.org for letting me run with it anyway, and for readers who read it www.oaklandreviewofbooks.org/dead-at-mcdo...
Dead at McDonald's
Between the Eastmont Town Center and Evergreen Cemetery, a broken down fast food joint is a relic of the moment things went bad in the Deep East.
oaklandreviewofbooks.org
This is a great essay on fast food, Huey Newton, Jim Jones, redevelopment and revolutionary suicide. Read it.
Oakland Review of Books@oaklandreviewofbooks.org · last wk.The first McDonalds in Oakland and the building Boots Riley used as Jackie's Chicken in *I Love Boosters*: "Between the Eastmont Town Center and Evergreen Cemetery, a broken down fast food joint is a relic of the moment things went bad in the Deep East": www.oaklandreviewofbooks.org/dead-at-mcdo...
One of these myths that won’t go away: a guy who made his entire fortune on government contracts got rich off “free market capitalism.” bsky.app/profile/wolf...
I remain surprised how few people credit Occupy Wall Street's ongoing impact(s) on U.S. politics. There's no Mamdani without Occupy etc... [some people are also irrationally anti-Occupy but that's for another day]
Sad to see that NONE of the other so-called "news" media in this town had the COURAGE to cover the Steve Hilton shit-show at Oakland's Scottish Rite Center (prpobably because it was so stupid), but luckily ORB WAS ON IT www.oaklandreviewofbooks.org/steve-hilton...
Steve Hilton at the Scottish Rite Center
That shit was really dumb.
oaklandreviewofbooks.org
Steve Hilton wanted the audience to know that he left his home "on the other side of the Bay" once to get a drink in Oakland and the whole experience made him uncomfortable.
Steve Hilton at the Scottish Rite Center
That shit was really dumb.
oaklandreviewofbooks.org
NEW: Our latest report by @alexcpark.com and Philip H. Howard, co-published with @afsafrica.bsky.social, examines the increasing influence of the World Bank Group on African agriculture, particularly livestock production. Read it now: www.iatp.org/bank-takes-l...
The Bank Takes the Lead?
Making sense of the World Bank Group’s role supporting livestock projects in the Green Revolution in Africa, with a focus on East and Southern Africa Our latest report examines the rise in WBG financi...
iatp.org
I was bummed to miss this Caldecott Tunnel tour a few weeks ago, but luckily @oaklandreviewofbooks.org was there... www.oaklandreviewofbooks.org/a-hole-in-th...
A hole in the hills
A tour at the Caldecott Tunnel west entrance, a few weeks ago.
oaklandreviewofbooks.org
Who cares about fast food work, right? It might be the lowest and least respected form of labor in this country, but the ascent of AI at the drive-thru window could soon preview changes that will touch a lot of other people, as well.
Who could have guessed: an industry that already treats its workers like robots has embraced AI?! www.oaklandreviewofbooks.org/the-ai-faste...
The faster future is already at Burger King
Who could have guessed an industry that treats its workers like robots would embrace AI?
oaklandreviewofbooks.org
Remember the chicken place in Boosters? Correct us if we're wrong, but we're pretty sure it was this place:
Technically, "Berkeley" is a neighborhood in Oakland's Deep North, a lot of people don't know that
If you have ever emailed a writer to let them know you enjoyed something they wrote, you are among the noblest and best and most saintly in this entire world, and I hope you sleep really well tonight.
One thing that stands out about this map: despite industry objections to a $20 minimum wage for fast food workers in California, the median wage there is actually $0.33 above the minimum.
The next ORB Happy Hour will be at Temescal Brewing, on Thursday, June 18th, 4 pm until whenever!
GEO Group, the private prison company, is in the news lately, and for good reason. But keep in mind that the whole concept of a private prison company is that it benefits investors. So who are those investors? Well, one appears to be Pivotal Philanthropies, a foundation started by Melinda Gates 🧵
Machines have a worldview, and it's a terrible one. It also happens to be quite useful to law enforcement. On @paglen.studio's new book, "How to See Like a Machine: Images After AI" www.oaklandreviewofbooks.org/trevor-pagle...
AI’s empty head can see only the apple
In his new book, Trevor Paglen tries to look through a machine's eyes.
oaklandreviewofbooks.org
With your support, we can all do: More vibe reports... More reviews... More essays.... More shots across the bow. I won't say it's "starting" because it was always on, but it's really on now.
Oakland Review of Books@oaklandreviewofbooks.org · 2mo agoTHANKS EVERYONE!
Said the lady who made news for the first time in years by ripping a ten year old constituent on official letterhead
OAK is the better airport for the region. It was also, once, the busier airport, and that history still matters. The latest for @oaklandreviewofbooks.org www.oaklandreviewofbooks.org/oak-vs-sfo-w...
OAK vs. SFO: What the airport naming death match was really about
A hayseed airport built on a remote cow pasture continues its long-running campaign of undermining its rival in Oakland.
oaklandreviewofbooks.org
Even UN experts have called on Starbucks to quit union busting ... www.reuters.com/business/wor...
UN human-rights experts urge Starbucks and US to address union-busting claims
A group of United Nations human-rights experts has asked Starbucks and the U.S. government to respond to allegations that Starbucks has carried out a years-long campaign against workers seeking to un...
reuters.com
The path to truth begins with first recognizing that the Oakland In-N-Out freakout of 2024 began not with local news but with some parachutist from a conservative tabloid. The rest of the story is here ... www.oaklandreviewofbooks.org/in-n-out-oak... @oaklandreviewofbooks.org
Double-Double toil and trouble
How the closure of Oakland’s only In-N-Out became an international tabloid saga.
oaklandreviewofbooks.org
Cool how the Guardian talks up a new angry letter from democrats as a bombshell exclusive…
