For St. Patrick's Day we've reached back into the archives- all the way back to that bygone era known as 2009- to pull up a trio of stories from a trip reporter Pendarvis Harshaw made to Ireland for Youth Radio. 

Ireland's Greatest Export

There is an old Irish saying: "Ireland's greatest export is its people,"and as I walked through the market today window shopping, I saw exactly why: the rich spirited, politically active, religiously optimistic people of Dublin moved in crowds though soggy cobblestone streets.

YR Europe: Irish Slang 101

I am a mad egg who's having a bloody wopper of a time enjoying the stick matches with the youth of Dublin's inner-city Kip. Translation: I am a crazy cool person who's really enjoying my time trading jokes back and forth with the youth of Dublin's ghettos.

Whimpering Celtic Tiger

After Ireland joined the European Union, its economy roared to life in the 1990s, becoming known as the Celtic Tiger. Today it’s whimpering. The symptoms are familiar – credit is scarce, and joblessness is rampant. Young people in Ireland have been primed for jobs that are now non-existent.

By: Emily Beaver

If you dozed off during the endless debate over health care reform, it's time to perk up. Members of Congress are planning to make a decision on a health reform bill this week.

So what's happening now? After political changes in January stalled Democrats' efforts to overhaul our health care system, President Obama stepped in. After February's televised health care summit, Obama said it was time for Congress to stop the endless debate on health care reform and take action. Democrats are worried that if they don't pass a health reform bill soon, reform will lose momentum as members of Congress break for Easter recess.

Obama has gone on the road to push for health reform, making his first stop at Arcadia University to rally support for reform. The Democratic party's leadership is counting votes (they need 216 votes in the House and 51 in the Senate to pass reform) and trying to convince members of their party who haven't agreed to vote for reform. Obama even took Dennis Kucinich, a Democratic Congressman from Ohio, for a ride on Air Force One to persuade him to vote for the health care reform. Republicans are mounting their own campaign to get lawmakers to vote against healthcare reform. Interest groups are dropping millions on advertisements to pressure lawmakers into voting against (or for) the bill.

While this is a big moment for health care reform, what actually happens in Congress this week may not be dramatic. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has suggested that members of the House of Representatives may try to approve the bill without technically voting on it, using a legislative tactic called the "self-executing rule." If Congress passes reform, the way Americans access and pay for health care could change drastically. But this isn't our country's first attempt at changing our health care system. If Democrats can't get the votes they need --or find another legislative maneuver to pass reform--it's quite possible that we'll still have the same health care system we've been complaining about for years.

At times, the health reform debate has reminded me of the noise a refrigerator makes -- after a while, you get so used to the monotonous hum in the background you automatically tune it out. If Congress doesn't pass reform now, the health care debate won't vanish. It will just keep humming in the background.

The thought of going to the movies sounds fun, until you come across a long line just to purchase tickets. To avoid this stress Fandango is offering something much more efficient that will also make your movie experience environmentally friendly.

Fandango launched a new mobile ticket program allowing users to get their movie ticket on their cell phone. Moviegoers will get their ticket via an SMS or MMS message linked to a 2D barcode, which ticket-takers can scan. This paperless service is only available in 8 cities for right now. Unfortunately San Francisco is not one of the eight cities.

Check if your city is part of this new ticket program.

• New York: City Cinemas 1, 2 & 3, Angelika Film Center, East 86th Street Cinemas, Village East Cinema, Beekman Theatre, The Paris Theatre.
• New Jersey: Manville 12 Plex.
• Houston: Angelika Film Center.
• Dallas/Plano: Angelika Dallas; Angelika Plano.
• San Diego: La Mesa Grossmont Center, Clairemont Town Square Stadium.
• Bakersfield: Valley Plaza 16.
• Sonoma County: Rohnert Park 16.
• Hawaii: Ward Stadium, Kahala Theater, Kapolei 16, Mililani Stadium.
 

(via Switched and TechCrunch) 

Earlier this year the city of Oakland petitioned for a gang injunction on one of the city’s most dangerous gangs, North Side Oakland (NSO). If the injunction is approved by a judge it will create a safety zone of about 100 blocks between Berkeley, Emeryville, and Telegraph Avenue. The injunction will also prohibit NSO and its members from any “gang” activity and from creating a "public nuisance" in that zone. There are rules gang members will have to obey while being in the safety zone. But not everybody likes the idea of an injunction. We spoke to a North Oakland resident, Lisa Nowlain who says a gang injunction won’t create a safe zone like authorities plan:

Q: How safe is your neighborhood?

A: I have never had an issue with safety in my neighborhood. I know that there are issues here though, with shootings, police chasing folks down MLK at 70 mph, etc, and I do not minimize the need to address people's bodily safety and feeling that they can move freely in their neighborhood, but I think more police will hurt my neighborhood more than it will help it.

Q:Why are you against Oakland’s gang injunction?

A: I think that the only proven result of a gang injunction is that people of color and poor people, and particularly young people, will be taken off the streets and put under surveillance. When people of color and poor people are off the streets, a neighborhood is open for private development and gentrification…I am against gang injunctions because if it doesn't make me safer, destroys my community, and will displace and hurt too many of my neighbors. I don't feel that anything justifies this kind of harsh suppression or secret policing (they named 19 people that they filed the injunction against, but there are many more that aren't on the public list and will never be able to fight it).

Q: Why is a gang injunction not the safest method or the right method of handling one of Oakland’s dangerous gang?

A: Putting a lot of money into policing not only is objectionable because I think policing is oppressive and linked to a wider system, but it just doesn't work. Suppression doesn't work address why youth form street organizations: lack of resources or organizations in their neighborhoods (ie after school programs, an engaging and non-militarized school setting, parks, access to the outdoors, etc), legacies of economic impoverishment, and the other aspects of the long racist history of our country. Therefore, it not only moves violence somewhere else in Oakland or the Bay Area because it doesn't address root problems, but it makes it harder for young people to get out of being affiliated with a "gang" by putting them in databases or in prison, making it harder to get jobs later in life. Letting the police decide who is part of a street organization and who isn't is asking for trouble and removes accountability and community voices from how our communities are organized.

More after the jump...

Dear @Ev and @Biz,

Gentlemen, we have a crisis.

That social media upstart, FourSquare, is so hot right now. Let's face it, all the cool kids in Austin are checking in everywhere but milk rehab. With multiple write-ups in the New York Times (who they conveniently got to partner with at the Vancouver Olympics), their popularity is on the rise. Just look at the ingenuity evidenced by wheretheladies.at's use of gender based location filtering to create the Holy Grail of nerd dating: an app that tells you where tech savvy women are.

Not only are the barbarians at our gate, they are on our lawn. And they won't get off it. 

Before you accuse me of being a "luddite," let me tell you I get it. Loction based services like Foursquare are cool because of that "sixth sense" vibe you get. When Twitter first hit, people said it was like having a telepathic connection with your friends. For those of us who had friends on Twitter back in '07, they were right. Foursquare and its ilk kick that feeling up a notch. Even better: for those who find the process of coming up with 140 characters too tedious, Foursqaure's auto-generated tweets are just the thing. Twitter is so much harder to interact with than Facebook, after all. There’s no “like” button to do all of your speaking for you. Heaven forfend one has to construct a sentence. (Note to self: Retweet later.)

Some things that I like about Beyonce Single Ladies Video: they can dance in heels. For them to be dancing in heels is amazing because for me walking in heels is too much.  ln most music videos the singer don't really dance with the back up dancers but, Beyonce doesn't  make the back up dancers dance in the background she dances with them. Beyonce and her back up dancers move all together so it looks really neat.

Check out more videos after the break...

Oakland drivers should be careful while hitting the streets of Oakland on Tuesday because undercover cops we’ll be out and about. The Oakland Police Department’s Traffic Unit will be conducting a pedestrian sting operation. Officers will be working, dressed in civilian clothes, walking in a secret location in North Oakland. Other officers will be in police uniforms’ conducting traffic stops after violations are observed.

According to Holly Joshi, public information officer for the Oakland Police Department, “We want to bring attention to this issue and to keep pedestrians safe.” This is not the first pedestrian sting undercover operation the Traffic Unit has done, but in light of recent pedestrian accidents, the tactic is in the spotlight.

The purpose of the operation is to target drivers not yielding to pedestrians crossing the street. Joshi says this operation is to remind drivers that pedestrians have the right away and allow the pedestrian to safely cross the street. The secret location was chosen in reaction to citizens’/ pedestrians’ safety concerns. “We are responding to the needs and concerns of the community,” Joshi said.

The Oakland Police Department has been actively reminding drivers about the laws. On March 12th, Oakland police officers were in search of those unbelted drivers and passengers—as part of California’s seatbelt law Click It or Ticket. Teens were officers' main focus, as their seatbelt usage rate lags behind adults, yet they are disproportionately involved in more crashes.
 

Big Apple vs. City of Angels

L.A vs. NY? Which city has better food? I dare you to bring that topic up to a born and bred East Coaster…you two will never hear the end of it! I recently came back from a weeklong “educational” trip in New York. The purpose: check out NYU. The reality: check out the food. It was my third trip to New York, but this time I had an appetite. After all, I’m now a food blogger. (Teenage Glutster)

Each coast has its strengths and weaknesses for sure. Take the vague label of “ethnic” cuisine. It is a term loosely used in the food-writing world to describe comprehensive regional food variations of countries. I mean, I have yet to see a New York native family-operated dive that offers Nayarit or Sinaloa style Pescado Zarandeado with the ultra-traditional bony Snook Fish like at Mariscos Chentes in Mar Vista does. New York does have Mexican cuisine. It is home to a copious amount of Poblano residents that--I’m sure—eat along finely in Mole houses that I have yet to try. But Los Angeles is my place for Mexican cuisine.

But, New York has its charm. I waited 21 years to taste my first Knish, a unique pastry of sorts that encapsulates perhaps a pound of mashed potato, made famous at the Lower Eastside Jewish eatery, Yonah Schimme’s Knish Bakery. I never ate Plantains in their unripe state like in the Spanish delight of fried Tostones. Not sweet and creamy like their ripe Mexican Platano Macho counterparts but instead like a dense potato, and when fried…like the most buttery of hash browns or tasty of Mojo’s.

Ever since I submitted my last college application, I’ve been on edge. It feels as if my future depends on rejection or acceptance from UCLA. But I still have a backup plan.

In the sixth grade, my mom took me to visit UCLA’s theatre program. I loved the way the people embraced me. I imagined myself taking acting classes there and performing in a play. I felt right at home and decided from there on – that was my school.

We all know that this has been a hard year for the UC system and that they’re making financial cutbacks that will limit admissions. For a lot of teenagers, this causes even more anxiety about whether or not they’re going to get in to the college of their choice.

It’s not easy being stuck in a position where I can’t make decisions for my future. But, I’ve made sure that I have pretty good alternatives. Not only did I apply to UCLA, but I also applied…and got accepted… into Azusa Pacific University. It may not be my dream school, but it still satisfies my desire to be in Los Angeles to network, which I know will eventually lead to the career that makes me happy.

I’m learning to be patient. But still, I won’t stop checking for an e-mail that says, “Congratulations, Dana Payne, you’ve been accepted to UCLA!”

As heard on WABE, Atlanta.

By Angelica Bryant

I had heard it all: “You are so pretty. Have you ever thought about modeling?” Or, “You have the height, shape, and everything.” Finally, a woman I met in middle school actually offered me some advice -- so I took the chance. She got me started on what I hope will be my modeling career.

The glamour of wearing fashionable clothes is amazing. On the runway, I can become a whole new person and feel like a star. Everyone looks at me because I’m introducing the newest trend of clothing that they’re just dying to have.

One time I modeled for a clothing company. They put me in all sorts of extravagant dresses. One in particular made me feel like I was on stage in an old country/ western movie. That was cool.

There are a lot of attractive girls who also want to become models, but don’t plan on getting a college degree. After I had done only a few modeling gigs, I think I became wiser: I don’t want to put all my eggs in one basket. I know that I should have a back-up plan. If modeling doesn’t work out, I’ll get a degree in education. Instead of being a fashion model, I could be a role model.