Soon Be Crossing Great Waters

This is the Newest and final book of 2017: this completes the 9 books I self-published that represent over twelve years of writing.

Soon Be Crossing Great Waters

Between 2011 to 2014, the author gathered insight on the direction of global activism from the Arab Spring to Occupy Wall Street, from One Billion Rising to Femen. He reflects on inspiration from Gloria Steinem to Wangari Maathai, from Leymah Gbowee to Grace Lee Boggs, and from Julia Kristeva to Claudia Jones This is a collection of essays on Political Activism, Social Theory and Current Events. In his synopsis...Soon Be Crossing Great Waters!


https://www.amazon.com/dp/1981681973/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1513635971&sr=1-9

No Strong Storm Denied!

Newest Book: No Strong Storm Denied!

As the future of the 21st Century is nearing a potential apocalypse, Kristen Holden and Cumber Lutz are seeking an education in New York City in 2011. One has the dreams and determination to create great monuments of true heroes, so that historic names do not vanish from history. The other is sharpening her journalistic skills. On the opposite end of history, in the post-apocalyptical 22nd Century, Fredrick and Burton are racing across the landscape and attempting to survive amongst dire conditions. The time in between these adventures is No Strong Storm Denied!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1981342818/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1513121656&sr=8-13&keywords=michael+neiman

Fueling a Devotion of Thought: 2001

Newest Book: Fueling a Devotion of Thought: 2001 by Michael Neiman

Fueling A Devotion of Thought is a collection of novellas and short stories that the author created just prior and post 2001, during a time of national transformation and awareness. From road trips cross country to hiking forest trails in the Gila National Forest and the Everglades National Park, from New Zealand to suburban New Jersey, from labrynths in bookstores to substitute teaching, the characters are bright and insightful as they reach personal realization.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1979931992/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512340945&sr=1-7

Braune and Rice: 2006

Newest Book: Fiction/Literary:

Braune and Rice: 2006

Calvasco Braune has taken the chance on love and has gone to Chicago in 2006. His unconventional lifestyle and his high ideals face many challenges of sustaining his love, just as unemployment hits. Will his love survive, will his friendship with the narrator endure, or will time decide his fate?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1979713324/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1511366748&sr=1-3

The Pariah, The Parrhesiast, And The Tireless Flies

Newest Book to reach Amazon: The Pariah, The Parrhesiast, And The Tireless Flies: 2007

In 2007, the author journeyed to South Korea and taught at the standard after-school English academy. The education model significantly clashed with his own ideals. This is his advice and warning to individuals eager to teach in Korea. The narrator also traveled to Japan, China, Vietnam and Malaysia in 2007. He saw how interconnected the United States and East Asia are, and how much the US had shaped the politics in acceptance or resistance over the last eighty years. The US had significantly harmed each nation, and the lessons we learn as Capitalism has made each a significant trade partner, can help the global citizen understand the complexity of the human condition. Can we learn from the 20th Century to make a better 21st?

by Michael Neiman https://www.amazon.com/dp/1979283206/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_x_kC7bAb8KNS1V1

Funneling to Junta: 2008

My Newest Book to hit Amazon:

Funneling to Junta: 2008: Political Fiction

Jack is a self-doubting CIA agent back in Washington DC during the last year of the Bush Administration and the first year of the Obama Administration. As he decides on how best to come to terms with the truth...all that is left is...Funneling to Junta!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/197923728X/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1509487997&sr=1-4

Desiring Something Radical

Another New Book worth reading: "Desiring Something Radical: 2004" by Michael Neiman https://www.amazon.com/dp/1979074852/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_x_Z088zbZD7A13S

This is the story of Ruby Lee, who in 2004 had to deal with the reacclimatizing to the American culture after living in Mozambique. She comes back to the brutal re-election of George W Bush, and she heads from the east coast to San Francisco, just in time for Governor Shwarzennegger to take office. Seeking an answer to political frustration, over consumerism, and anti-intellectual madness, she heads to a forest in Oregon fighting forest fires to then challenging economists in Holland.

Apoplexy: My Year in Malawi: 2002-2003

Apoplexy: On A Thin Line Of Grass With Waves of Color by Michael Neiman https://www.amazon.com/dp/1978262884/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_x_FpZ6zb5FBK08M via @amazon

In 2002, while President George W Bush pushed for war in Afghanistan and was soon to invade Iraq, I went off to join the US Peace Corps to show the world a different side of America that was not promoting violence, but promoted compassion and respect. This was the literary memoir that I wrote that year in Malawi. This is a story of a volunteer who Early Terminated his service and was unable to say, 'mission accomplished.'

Pick up your copy today!!!

Gravity of the Mouth: A Political Rant

IF YOU HAVE BEEN READING MY BLOG AND YOU LIKE WHAT YOU READ, MY NEW BOOK FROM MY JOURNEY DURNING 2010 TO INDONESIA, THAILAND, INDIA, TURKEY, KOSOVO AND UKRAINE JUST CAME OUT!!!!

Gravity of The Mouth: 2010 by Michael Neiman

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1977879314/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_x_gIP3zbT59VWPX via @amazon

Benefits of Factual Chisme...Gossip

Whether one is in the United States or in Mexico, and probably many other cultures, factual gossip has a beneficial outcome. Many may disagree, but this is because negative behavior and so many do it is not healthy. Gossip or the Spanish 'chisme' makes people understand ethical and moral behavior. What is acceptable and healthy behavior and what behavior people in society actually participate and get away with that is harmful to progress: corruption of power, stealing, lying and institutional negligence.

The fine line of positive gossip and negative gossip can be very thin but that does not mean one should avoid it completely then. This line is two-fold: 1) is it factual or fictional; 2) does it harm someone and put them in physical danger. Well, is what the person doing actually harming others physically? Then it should be stopped. An example of unnecessary chisme is talking about who is sleeping with who.

Sex is not important gossip for change or healthy behavior. For example, when a Director of a university office is sleeping with his secretary behind his wife's back or has an illegitimate child from a previous affair that everyone knows about. That is not beneficial gossip. Or that his new lover is already sleeping with another teacher; this is not important gossip. It is their personal life and it reflects that they are untrustworthy people in their personal lives. It could give you a healthy warning not to trust them. But everyone knows that already. The important public fact here is that because one is another's direct supervisor, this is a manipulation of power. A positive leader in a university or corporation does not abuse his power to sleep with people that they directly supervise. This unethical behavior is understood across cultures. It is a sad fact that it continues, interrupts daily work in the offices, and it makes everyone else in offices uncomfortable when they have to witness it. Just as is the reverse, someone of a lower ranking in an administrative position sleeping with a supervisor or former president of the school, so that she can get her own office. This too, reflects on a behavior that one learns to think is acceptable, but everyone sharing the gossip understands that this behavior does not lead to actual respect from others or individual self-respect.

Aside from scandal and affair, a healthy benefit of chisme is learning about who has respectable behavior that will help the institution progress and when this is a university, any forms of obstruction to student education is harmful and irresponsible. For example, a previous Director, who luckily left the university he was at, was clearly a sexist pig with no respect for women. He would talk crudely about females when they were not around, in open meetings about academic issues he would cast off female students as not worthy of being educated, and he would openly disrespect his female counterparts. This behavior is highly unprofessional and outdated. When people spread chisme about him, this information can warn others about what is not appropriate, and as well can be a useful tool for the benefits of shame.

Shame is positive outcome from factual gossip. It can teach the individual, if they are mature, to process their wrongful behavior and be more responsible and not repeat negative acts. Gossip can make people when they are exposed to a public eye know what they are doing is unethical and unproductive. When in a pack of wolves, one wolf acts out harmfully, the rest of the wolf pack excommunicates the wolf from the others; that wolf becomes ashamed and knows that he has misbehaved in a way that is unprogressive for the benefit of the whole pack. Shame can be effective with people too.

When a person is shamed they can follow with self-reflection and positive change or they can be immature, find scapegoats for their behavior, make excuses and even resort to violence. When a university has a protest by teachers and students because of corruption; this exposes to the greater public, citywide or statewide, that the president of the school is not doing her job. The shame of the president's lack of work to make a university progress could make her change her behavior.

Like shame, constructive feedback can also be an effective outcome from gossip. It can also clarify how mature an individual is when responding to the shared information. For example, when a newly appointed Director tells students and staff to be punctual, but then allows other teachers, whom she favors, or students to be late and absent, she is showing a double standard. When she tells her teachers that they are the problem for lazy student grades and outcomes, she shows no support. And when she is intimidated by her staff trying to improve their skills and appear smarter than her, she tells them not to go to any more professional development courses. Now when she is confronted with her actions that everyone has been discussing, she could have been respectful and responsible with balanced behavior and learned from her faults. But instead, she punished others and proved that she was not a mature, effective leader. That is why she continues to fail in the eyes of an ethical majority. Positive Gossip, the sharing of facts, will persist.

Not all gossip is negative. Positive chisme can be beneficial in moving a larger collective ethical understanding. Those who are acting corruptively, partaking in lies, cheating or exploiting others from higher positions or to get higher positions, will be made ashamed or will set the standard of behavior that is inappropriate. Gossip or chisme with factual and informative data can help set a standard that could lead towards progress in institutions, whether in academics, government or corporate climates. It is a tool that has survived in the oldest cultures and contemporary spaces.

Let’s Get This Straight … Justifications:

The historian Howard Zinn once said, “You Cannot Be Neutral on a Moving Train.” Sometimes you have to stand up for justice. Sometimes you have to say words that are honorable, and sometimes you may lose your job for it. … I will miss my Mexican friends, my fellow co-workers, and my students. I am certain that I will see them again in our future. I was relieved of my post as a Peace Corps volunteer at the Universidad Technologica de Tehuacan on June 15, 2017.

Due to some objective observations that I posted on the Internet during the week of June 7, 2017, while the university was experiencing protests, those in power at the institution seemed to detest me for their own irresponsibility and manipulative practices. As if I had made their actions more knowledgeable to the public. Yet the Directors and the Rectora’s office have transparently been abusing their authorities at the University for a long time running.  Everyone can see this who works there, yet many choose to avoid comment.

The saying, or thought process is, that “if you are not obediently with me, even if you are neutral, then you are against me.” That is how the individuals in power think at this institution and they take no responsibility for their negative actions. When a child breaks something in their parents’ house, they often confess and express guilt. These individuals are not children, and yet they cannot confess to their guilt: negligence to student needs, exploitive work time of female administrative staff, the firing of staff for reasons not backed with quality evidence; they just fear their own opacity and accountability, such as firing lawyers and accountants, individuals with ties to the media, or the administrative staff, who were doing their jobs well, but knew too much information or were willing to speak up.

The week of June 14, 2017, the week after the protests, was tense and uncomfortable to witness. Even though on the previous Friday, government officials came into the school and gave the voice of solidarity with the protestors; admitting that the Rectora and her office were neglecting her duties as a principle at the university, which were the same observations that I had concluded with, in solidarity with the Mexican governments’ decisions; it appears that the week after the protests showed limited change. Staff began to return to the robotic roles of office behavior of duties and expectations, classes commenced, and even many teachers went back to uninspiring standard lecturing of students. Were innovation, opportunity, and change at a loss? Rather than admitting guilt, those individuals in power, clearly appeared to attempt to revert to their ways before the protests, hoping this would not be noticed.

One of their first acts was to get rid of the American on campus. The relieving me of my post was unjust. I was the scapegoat. I was easily blamed because I speak loudly. It is my New York nature to speak out. I did not go on the grounds during the protest for a clear reason, the week of June 7^th. I did not want the individuals at the school to manipulate the media and information, claiming that it was the American who started the protest, and that he was the one that was the problem. This Protest was the voice of the Students, the Administrative staff, and the Teachers. This was their standing up for their rights as participants in higher-education to make a higher standard at the university and not to have the entire university regress to a campaign ticket for just one individual Rectora/President.

            Those in power are ungrateful; those in superior positions are ungrateful of their staff and teachers, and even of their hardworking students. They are ungrateful of all the work I did and my fellow coordinators to try to improve the institution. The administrators and the faculty, who work hard, give their best energies to commit to a quality of education standards that allow the school to carry on under the quickly declining lack of accountability at the institution. From dirty water, no toilet paper, limited technology, limited investment in improving teachers with training and professional opportunities, lack of scholarship money, lack of practical hands-on activities in student’s majors, and more; yet all these levels of quality are achievable and the ability to excel above these standards is reachable. Where is all this money going? It is hard to speak truth to power when the directors, they know who they are, and the Rectora’s staff, do not want to seek transparency and admit to collusion.

            I am still trying to think of the best words to use here. I appreciate and I respect Peace Corps’ decision to allow me to close my service early without any marks on my profile. But I am also willing to admit that I am disappointed that they were not willing to investigate the situation further before releasing me from my service. I had warned them for months not to trust a specific counterpart, director in the university, who manipulated and disrespected my candid work, for his own benefit. The failure, when I sought to assist and further advance employee’s at the university for a nomination process that would train them and give them opportunities to bring new skills to their jobs, which would better advance the school, was due to his meddling and clear corruption; but my organization still listened to him rather than reaching out to reliable sources. My organization has had a history of trying to avoid controversy and suppressing stories. Certainly, my case is not extreme in comparison to cases, as seen in the country Benin in 2011, when a counterpart actually killed a female volunteer for reporting his raping of female students.

            No. My case is not extreme. But maybe it could have been. I am frustrated with the university that I was working in. In deed, I witnessed many activities that limited and suppressed growth. The university has so much potential and the possibilities to strengthen students, administrators, and teachers are great to make a powerful institution. Those chances are still reachable with the right, quality leadership. I have a commitment to Honesty and Justice. If my letter and previous letters on FaceBook do not appear Objective to you, it is because there is a simple fact. When one sees shit on a table, Objectively, it is clear that what is on the table is shit. One cannot be any more neutral about the facts on the table. The people in power do not want you to admit that the shit is theirs, on the table. But it smells and it is rotten. I cannot just bury my head in the sand when I see obstruction. I have too much passion to ignore and too much passion to limit myself to artificial diplomacy. That is where Peace Corps and I diverge in direction.

            The truth is the Directors and the Rectora of the University do not have a deep commitment or passion for education. They do not care about the individual well-being of workers and students. For them, these are just numbers and pesos for their daily routine to improve their selfish power and to maintain hierarchy. Just analyze their continual actions over time and one can see the genuine or lack of genuine commitments and ability to make the most of constructive feedback. They want the slim financial necessities so that they can continue to put funds in their own pockets for political and commercial benefit. They do not want to improve the quality of their job, to make a positive pedagogical institution for the overall community. Education should not be a political agenda. The students should be educated to the best that the school offers so that they can develop the skills to make a greater Mexico. They should not be trained just to be factory workers for American, German or Japanese companies. They should be guided through the innovative thought process that helps them achieve new technological goals.  

When the school fires lawyers and accountants, who have such blatant data, this sends the public red flags. But they say this is how it is, here. I feel like my criticism of the university authority is parallel to my disgust in the American President Donald Trump’s actions and lack of passion for moral and ethical standards. Trump firing Comey because Trump is being investigated, makes me reflect that I was fired by the corrupted Directors, because they did not want to have their abusive behavior and coercion revealed. Former President Jimmy Carter once said, when he was president, that we have a “Crisis of Democracy.” What we have today is a “Crisis of True Leadership.” Take responsibility for your own actions and do not blame others for your lack of education or community standards. No excuses, Just Results.

The result of my being expelled from the university was because I was not obedient and blind.  When one sees protestors risking their jobs and lives to stand up for injustice in a declining system, why should I ignore the voice that they promote? Their voice makes the world better and the school better. In the end, even though I was not physically in the protest, I was blamed for my moments of blunt honesty on the Internet and in public, when surprisingly my US President tweets atrocious, malicious comments on a daily basis. Why is someone in a diplomatic position, not sending Trump home, and relieving him of his service?

I have no regrets. I have no regret in directly telling the Director, who manipulated the situation to get me expelled, the truth about his character and lack of ethics. Besides, the same conclusions that I had come to, were the same conclusions that the Mexican government stated on the Friday of the closing of the protest, that the Rectora was not experienced enough and was neglecting significant aspects of her job. She could have followed the next week after the protest with positive change and begin building trust with the students and faculty. She could have been creating an environment that made thousands of individuals at the school begin to see the possibility of voting for her in her plans of running in a future election. She has decided that she is a terrible politician, who does not care about individual votes or trust between her average citizens and her self-focused political ambitions. What frustrates me the most about her is that she claims to be a candidate that says she cares about Women’s Rights, but the individuals, who have been exploited the most at the university under her leadership, are the women who work in the administrative offices for overextended hours and for very little pay, and when they speak up, they get fired.

I will miss the important people at the university, and the important people are not the insecure directors or the negligent Rectora. The important people at the school are the students, the administrators, and the faculty, who follow a quality of standard that is truthful, goal driven, and promoting the ethics that the university deserves. I am aware, just as many, that the protest was not the end of the problems of the school, but the start of the process to hold people accountable for making the decisions necessary for success. Several of us refuse to be silent.   

Where in the World Did my Blog Go?

Rather than ranting on and on, I found an outlet for my work. After 5 years of working in Community Colleges in New Jersey and City Tech in Brooklyn, I found an opportunity since July 2016 to teach at a University in Mexico. Rather than listening to American media only provide 2% coverage of the real Mexico, I found my way here to learn just how diverse and how beautiful Mexico is. The people are diverse as the landscape and the culture is rich and overwhelming. It is sad that politicians rant and rave about a place that they know so little about.

Another reason that I came to Mexico was that after teaching students in the USA with immigrant parents or immigrants themselves, many students from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and more, I felt it was part of my responsibility to see where my students originated from before seeking the American Dream and to work so hard once they arrived. I learned a interesting quote in Spanish from a friend, "que chingalo, hazlo todos modos" - What the fuck, just do it anyway!