Why Does New Jersey Hate Formerly Incarcerated People?

On Thursday, October 29, 2009 at 7:30 pm Michael B. Jackson will begin a series of broadcasts asking that question. “The NJ Corrections budget is $1.2 billion a year and still 65 percent of the people who get out of prison are back within 3 years,” says Jackson. “The average person in prison reads on a 5th grade level yet only 2 percent of that $1.2 billion is spent on education programming. NJ ranked 44 out of 50 US states in a national report card for the number of barriers to successful reentry. What’s up with that?”

The series will commence with the NJ Juvenile Justice Commission (JJC). “The Juvenile justice Commission promotes, tolerates and encourages discrimination and human rights violations against it’s employees with prior convictions or incarceration in their backgrounds, by virtue of it’s policies and failure act against, speak against or even acknowledge, such behavior within the JJC, time and time again”, stated Jackson. “ I will begin the series with my own current personal situation of injustice and workplace hostility as a formerly incarcerated employee.”

PNR will also unveil the historic “Counting the Costs”: Public Safety and Prisoner Reentry Bills, that will be introduced and moved for committee and floor votes during the upcoming “lame duck” session of the NJ legislation. “People who care about improving public safety and reducing the costs of incarceration will be excited about these bills,” says Jackson, with a big smile on his face. “Getting these bills through is something the people can rally behind and get done.”

Michael B. Jackson, Founder, Executive Producer and Host of Prison Nation Radio says the broadcasts serves a public service by giving incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people and the prison-affected community a voice and point of view rarely offered in traditional media. The weekly talk formatted broadcast includes guest interviews, listener call-in, news/information updates and art & entertainment with special attention to issues important to the Prison Nation audience. Jackson also covered the entire Counting the Costs hearings which can be heard on his website. Jackson is the Publisher and Author of three books; "How to Do Good After Prison: A Handbook for Successful Reentry," "How to Love & Inspire Your Man After Prison," and "Como Cumplir Con Tus Obligaciones Al Salir De La Prision: Guia practica para una vida mejor."

PNR can be accessed at www.JOINTFX.com. The mailing address is PMB 104, Postnet, 621 Beverly-Rancocas Rd, Willingboro, NJ 08046.

The program call in phone number is 1-347-215-8904.

DISNEY OFFERS REFUNDS ON BABY EINSTEIN VIDEOS

The Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood is Victorious! Their successful campaign to persuade Disney to give refunds to parents who purchased Baby Einstein videos has become a huge international story. Media coverage includes a front page story in The New York Times ("No Genius in Your Crib? Get a Refund"); stories on Good Morning America and the CBS Evening News; and articles in hundreds of newspapers throughout the United States and Canada. Parents in other countries are now demanding their money back.

Many, including | THE EYE |, have virally spread news about commercialism for babies and children—on blogs, Twitter and Facebook. Screen time for babies and more recently Disney's deceptive marketing has become a hot topic, especially on parenting blogs and listservs. Pediatricians are also planning to distribute information about the refunds in their offices.

The message? Baby Einstein DVDs are not educational. The New York Times called the refunds "a tacit admission that [Baby Einstein] did not increase infant intellect." Now parents will be able to rely on honest information and solid research - not marketing hype - when making important decisions about if and when to let their youngest and most vulnerable children watch screen media. One mom said, "It's great that parents will now have one less thing to worry about. No longer will they feel the pressure to have their babies watch so-called educational videos or risk falling behind."

For a refund go to CCFC's website where there are instructions for how to get a refund, more about CCFC's campaign, a fact sheet on baby videos, and links to all the press coverage.

CALL FOR ARTISTS: 2 EVENTS

EVENT 1

The 7th Annual Outdoor Art Exhibit Celebrating Diversity Call for Art and Quotations from around the Globe. Cash Prizes.

A Juried Show of 39 Billboard-Size Selections on display April and May 2010 in Sarasota and Sarasota County

Submission Deadline: Saturday January 9, 2010

The mission of Embracing Our Differences® is to use art as a catalyst for creating awareness and promoting, throughout our community, the value of diversity, the benefits of inclusion and the significance of the active rejection of hatred and prejudice.

The Embracing Our Differences® exhibit features 39 billboard size images (16 feet wide by 12 feet high) created by professional artists, art students, and school children from Florida and around the world. Their creations reflect their interpretation of our message: "enriching lives through diversity."

An interesting and inspiring feature of the exhibition is the inclusion of the quotations that accompany each image. These quotations were chosen from entries submitted by members of our community and speak of the value of respecting the differences of others.

Since 2004, the exhibit has been viewed by more than 700,000 visitors. During that same period, over 50,000 students and teachers attended the exhibit for firsthand observation and discussion concerning the importance of diversity in our lives.

2010 CALL TO ARTISTS & QUOTATION WRITERS
What does the theme “embracing our differences” mean to you? What message would you like to share with our community?

A Juried Show of 39 Billboard-Size Selections on display April, 2010
Island Park, Sarasota Florida and May, 2010 South Sarasota County
Submission Deadline: Saturday January 9, 2010

See official submission form for more details


Contact:

Embracing Our Differences
A Project of
Coexistence, Inc.
P.O. Box 2559
Sarasota, FL 34230-2559
Visit the Website

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EVENT 2

2010 National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY)

NFFTY has become the largest and most influential film festival and support organization for filmmakers age 22 and under. Founded by 2 teenagers in 2007, NFFTY occurs each spring in Seattle, Washington and includes 100+ film screenings, filmmaking panels, concerts by youth bands, and opportunities for young filmmakers to network with industry professionals and each other. NFFTY filmmakers have ranged in age from 7 to 22 and represent broad cross sections of ethnicity, geography and socio-economic backgrounds. Young filmmakers from throughout the U.S. have submitted films, as well as those from 12 countries around the world. The NFFTY is the largest and most prestigious youth film festival in the country, consisting of 4 days of youth-made films, industry panels and workshops, as well as concerts and parties taking place April 29 - May 2, 2010 in Seattle WA




Early Deadline is October 31, 2009
Regular Deadline is December 15, 2009
Final Deadline is January 15, 2010
To submit, please visit the website
Still have questions after reading the Rules?
Contact: filmmakers@nffty.org

AMERICA FOR DUMMIES

"Witnessing and experiencing the apathy and ignorance of American youth towards the world and the people that govern it has become an astonishing aspect of the “American Lifestyle.” Growing up in a third world country, traveling the world and really seeing both sides of the picture made me question the capability of the future leaders of our world. America for Dummies is my quest to uncover why we are so apathetic about the world, let alone our nation, especially in our post-9/11 atmosphere."Niaz Mosharraf

Winner of the Youth Voice Award from the 2009 Media That Matters Film Festival.

WHAT PUBLIC POLICY REALLY LOOKS LIKE AND WHY IT NEEDS TO CHANGE

Here is a creative and effective video/lecture by Harvard Law Professor Lawrence Lessig. Author of numerous books including Free Culture he simply explains the economy of how the U.S. government works. The lobbying industry is now a 9-12 billion dollar business. "Every single issue that you care about is fundamentally affected by this corruption of the process of government. That corruption leads to a complete collapse of trust...88% of people believe money buys results in Congress leading to an extraordinary level of cynicism of that institution." All good reasons for citizen lobbyists to push back. Solutions are provided...