Peter Costantini
My blogs
| Gender | Male |
|---|---|
| Industry | Technology |
| Occupation | writer and program manager |
| Location | Seattle, Washington, United States |
| Introduction | This picture is from nearly 40 years ago when I worked as a ship scaler at Todd Pacific Shipyards (photo credit to my old friend Mark Aalfs). One of my printable nicknames was "Easy Money." I did blue-collar work for twenty years, and worked a second shift as a volunteer community organizer. I was co-founder of the Seattle Tenants Union and a member of the Executive Board of the National Tenants Union. These days I've lost the hard hat, the safety glasses, and a lot of the hair. For the past 20 years I've made my living mainly in the software industry. Over the past thirty years I've also repeatedly committed journalism, primarily for Inter Press Service (www.ipsnews.net) and also for MSNBC News and other outlets. Covered elections in Colorado, Nevada, Florida, Mexico, Haiti and Nicaragua. Got tear-gassed during the World Trade Organization Ministerial in Seattle, and wrote about the North American Free Trade Agreement. For the past few years, my areas of focus have included torture, minimum wages, immigration, Haiti and the Great Recession. I'm fortunate to live in the peaceful and green Madison Valley of Seattle with my wife, Linda Becker, and our cat, Chigüina. |
| Interests | economics, immigration, human rights, Latin America, democracy, elections, international trade, international development, labor, appropriate technology, system administration scripting, IT automation, soccer, baseball, basketball, volleyball |
| Favorite Movies | Night of the Shooting Stars, Amores Perros, Danzón, Motorcycle Diaries, Le Bonheur, The Wire, The Sopranos, La Meglio Gioventú |
| Favorite Music | Otis Redding, the Persuasions, Aretha Franklin, los hermanos Mejía Godoy, Ry Cooder, Eliades Ochoa, Manitas de Plata, Hazel and Alice, Gabby Pahinui, Si Kahn, Edith Piaf |
| Favorite Books | Development As Freedom by Amartya Sen, Working by Studs Terkel, The Milagro Beanfield War by John Nichols, Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree by Tariq Ali, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men by James Agee, Travels With Charlie by John Steinbeck, The Old Gringo by Carlos Fuentes |