There is a must read article by William Langewiesche in the April Vanity Fair. The magazine does not have the article online.
Here is the summary online:
- 158 CITY OF FEAR
- In May 2006, São Paulo was brought to its knees by a prison gang, whose cell-phone-coordinated attack shut down Brazil's largest metropolis, and whose word is still law in the city's vast slums. William Langewiesche delves into the dark side of globalization.
I've read two of Langewiesche's books (Meditation on Flight/WTC) and he rates as one of the most honest accurate writers I know of.
I have written to the one person who knows the inside of California prisons to see how much of Sao Paulo conditions are already here in California.
My particular concern is San Francisco, which completely lacks a police force. Our police officers will not leave their stations, even now, in daylight. One event like the Sao Paulo shutdown could permanently cripple San Francisco.