Archive for April, 2009
Her Voice: Lifting moratoriums and loan restructuring hope
Image Source: daylife.com
By Jennie S. Bev
The foreclosure moratorium, which basically banned foreclosure sales and evictions for mortgages funded and securitized by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, ended on March 31. It came with many consequences: the good, the bad and the sexy. Loan restructuring is the last resort for most homeowners, but why is nobody getting any?
Some have taken the liberty of extending foreclosure moratorium. The state of New York is processing a bill that would extend the moratorium to one full year, and Marshall & Ilsley Corp. announced it has extended its foreclosure moratorium with an additional 90 days through June 30. Read the rest of this entry »
The Thinker: On the Carpenter And Resurrection
By Jennie S. Bev
Two millennia ago, a simple man from Nazareth made his debut in the world of politics and religion by starting a minuscule Jewish sect.
Jesus was a humble man whose values and virtues were remarkable. He was inspiring to all mankind, and Christians believe that he was divine, rising after his death on the day now referred to as Easter Sunday. Read the rest of this entry »
The Thinker: In Search of Radical Public Intellectuals
Image source: home.flash.net
By Jennie S. Bev
Contrary to popular belief, academics are intellectuals but not all intellectuals are academics. Additionally, not all intellectuals are known to the public, and not all public intellectuals are radical.
Radical intellectuals can be found somewhere between university classes and writing and research gigs. They might even be unemployed and possess no Harvard or University of Indonesia PhDs. They are usually those who possess strong opinions but stay on the sidelines. They are iconoclasts, critics and polemicists. Read the rest of this entry »
Fairness
Sumber gambar: thefreedictionary.com
Oleh Dr. Beni Bevly
Fairness sering kali diukur dengan posisi seorang karyawan dan berapa besar pendapatan yang mereka terima. Semenjak krisis ekonomi di Tanah Seberang terungkap betapa besarnya pendapatan para CEO perusahaan besar. Hal ini menyebabkan Presiden baru Barak Obama turun tangan dan membatasi pendapatan mereka. Apakah pembatasan terhadap pendapatan para CEO yang dilakukan oleh Obama fair? Bagaimana mengukur fairness pendapatan dalam suatu perusahaan?
Ketika saya memulai karir professional di Tanah Seberang sepuluh tahun yang lalu, gaji pertama yang saya terima sekitar $9,5 per jam. Angka ini lebih tinggi dari pada gaji minimum di Kalifornia pada saat itu, yaitu $5,75/jam (kini $8/jam di Kalifornia dan $6,55 di tingkat Federal atau nasional. Ketika mencapai posisi manager gaji saya sekitar tiga kali lipat dari gaji bawahan saya yang paling rendah. Read the rest of this entry »
The Thinker: Measuring Progress Amid the Patriarchies
Image Source: faithandgender.files.wordpress.com
By Jennie S. Bev
Adam Smith hypothesized that people are inherently greedy, and that’s what it takes to run the engine of wealth. And to measure a country’s economic health, gross domestic product comes into play.
But while numbers look neutral and impartial on the surface, we should raise our awareness of the fact that they are actually biased toward creating patriarchies. Read the rest of this entry »
Di Sisi Korban Tersalib
Dirensensi oleh Mutiara Andalas, S.J.
Informasi Buku
Judul Buku : Saatnya Korban Bicara: Menata Derap Merajut Langkah
Pengarang : Jaringan Solidaritas Korban untuk Keadilan
Kata Pengantar : I. Sandyawan Sumardi, S.J.
Penerbit : Yayasan TIFA, Jaringan Relawan Kemanusiaan, dan Jaringan Solidaritas Korban untuk Keadilan
Tahun : 2009
Halaman : 200 + xxiii
Simon dari Kirene dan Veronika hadir sepintas dalam lintasan jalan salib. Prajurit menarik paksa Simon dari Kirene dari tengah massa untuk membantu memanggul salib Yesus menuju Golgotha. Menyeruak dari kerumunan massa dan menerobos penjagaan prajurit, Veronica mengusap paras Yesus. Kahlil Gibran (1883 – 1931), dalam The Prophet, menggubah dialog imajiner antara Yesus dan Simon dari Kirene. “Engkau turut meminum cawan penderitaan. Engkau akan besertaku mereguk piala keselamatan.” “Tangan-Mu di bahu mengangkat salib berat yang kupanggul.” Di mata Kardinal Yosef Bernardin (1928 – 1996), Veronica merupakan pewahyuan sakramental dari perempuan yang berperan penting dalam kehidupan Yesus dengan keberanian lembutnya. Ketukan panggilan yang menggerakkan Simon dari Kirene dan Veronika di jalan salib Yesus terdengar lagi saat membaca Saatnya Korban Bicara. Read the rest of this entry »
The Thinker: A Flourishing State Lives on Compassion
Image source: proteuscoven.org
By Jennie S. Bev
In modern societies, compassion is scarce. Almost every day we read news about deadly brawls, mass shootings, hazing, social unrest, murders, robberies — even servants killed in their employers’ homes for petty reasons.
Two weeks ago, a high school in southern Germany was the scene of a shooting that killed at least 10 people. In Alabama, a gunman killed nine people, including members of his own family, before eventually killing himself. Read the rest of this entry »
