The 4th

A few (fellow American) people have recently asked me if Costa Rica celebrates July 4th. I understand it could be a simple assumption, considering the United State's empirical pull across the world...but no, as far as I can tell, there were no BBQ's, parades or fireworks in honor of the USA, in this, another country, today. Go figure.

Although, maybe I wouldn't be completely surprised, as I struggle to find an obvious, defined culture here in Costa Rica, between the Hooters, Wendy's, and True Value. Sure, I feel at home, but that wasn't the point, was it? Two of the five classes I'm teaching take place in offices, and my students are employees whose companies have been bought out by American corporations and are now required to learn English. One of these students simply does not want to learn, but will lose his job if he doesn't. Yeah. Not quite as enriching as the other classes I teach in a school with willing learners.

I wish I could say that my heart-strings feel a tug when I hear the US national anthem. I wish I could say that simply seeing the American flag fills me with a proud warmth...but it doesn't. It would be nice, though, wouldn't it? If all the things that our songs, anthems, banners and signs claim to represent were true? Wouldn't it be great if the United States of America were brave, revolutionary and bold?

I know, how dare I expect more of and question my home country?! Why not just sing the songs and wave the flag and pretend that because my white, upper-middle class existence has been cushy, cozy and all too comfortable, that must mean that America is really not so bad.

I was glad to see I'm not alone in my sentiment (or lack thereof) as I read Howard Zinn's "Put Away the Flags" and Matthew Rothschild's "Why I Don't Celebrate the Fourth" in The Progressive today:

We need to refute the idea that our nation is different from, morally superior to, the other imperial powers of world history.

We need to assert our allegiance to the human race, and not to any one nation.

- Howard Zinn

American patriotism has also gotten in the way of solving global warming. Many in the United States, which consumes 25 percent of the world’s resources but has just 4 percent of the world’s population, believe we have the God-given right to use up all the resources we can. And there is an all-too-common attitude that we don’t need to listen to any other countries, or the U.N., or obey any international agreements because we’re Americans, and we’re better than everybody else.

We’ve got to get over patriotism, and we’ve got to cure the American superiority complex.

- Matthew Rothschild

Nationalism is the egg that hatches fascism.

And patriotism is but the father of nationalism.

Patriotism is not something to play with. It’s highly toxic. When ingested, it corrodes the rational faculties.

It gulls people into believing their leaders.

It masks those who benefit most from state policy.

- Matthew Rothschild

Priceless

Check this out, courtesy of The Seminal...

The MasterCard Commercial

I'd Like to See

Amount spent each year in Europe and the United States on pet food: $17 billion

Cost per year to achieve basic health and nutrition for the entire world: $13 billion

Amount spent on perfumes each year: $12 billion

Clean water for all the world: $9 billion

Amount spent on cosmetics in the US: $8 billion

Basic education for the world’s children: $6 billion

Total amount the US spends on Christmas each year: $450 billion (or 16 years worth of food, water, and education for the world)

Initial cost of the US Government bailout of failing financial institutions: $700 billion (or 25 years worth of food, water, and education for the world)

Coming to grips with the alarming disconnects of our consumerist society: Priceless

War Made Easy

Hi, it's me again. I'm just here to tell you that I just watched the documentary,

War Made Easy:

How Presidents & Pundits Keep Spinning us to Death.

I liked it and think that you should watch it too!

(It's only 72 minutes!)

A snippet from its website synopsis:

"War Made Easy reaches into the Orwellian memory hole to expose a 50-year pattern of government deception and media spin that has dragged the United States into one war after another from Vietnam to Iraq."

I knew about the general idea behind the film beforehand, but it's compiled in such a way that it helps to bring it all together. By "it" I mean the United States' LTR with war. If the USA were on Facebook, its relationship status would probably say "In a relationship with War". As Americans, we're supposed to accept this relationship as a MUST. They must NEVER break up because if they do, no one will do what America tells them to anymore. Of course, the main-stream media is along for the ride on the big ole war bandwagon. When the US and War host keggers, the press supply the red cups.

You get the point.

The film consistently references Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s fervent opposition to militarism and it closes with an audio excerpt from his 1967 speech, Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence, so I decided to read it myself. It is (not surprisingly) stirring and eloquent.

Here's an excerpt:

I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. We must rapidly begin the shift from a "thing-oriented" society to a "person-oriented" society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered.

It seems as though our nation has continued down this destructive path that he so purposefully warned us against. What would Dr. King make of all this now?

Putting the "Disaster" In Disaster Capitalism

Yesterday, as I looked over articles on the aid efforts in Haiti, I wondered why it was so necessary for US Troops to be fully equipped with semiautomatics. This is a relief effort, not a war, right? I mean, it's no secret that I think our current system errs on the side of "shady", so of course I'm going to question the real motives in this situation. I'm coming to find that what's worse than the questioning is the disappointment in knowing that the questioning is merited.

Today, I came across "Profiting from Haiti’s Crisis: Disaster Capitalism in Washington’s Backyard" by Benjamin Dangl on Commondreams.org. If you're interested in this situation in Haiti and our part in it, I STRONGLY recommend reading this article. The first line (as many first lines so often do) paints a pretty clear picture...

US corporations, private mercenaries, Washington and the International Monetary Fund are using the crisis in Haiti to make a profit, promote unpopular neoliberal policies, and extend military and economic control over the Haitian people.

Oh, Uncle "Money Bags" Sam, you never miss an opportunity, do you?

What we also have to keep in mind is that Haiti was in a dire state BEFORE this happened and when you do the math, it's pretty clear who held the cards in all that. The article continues...

Brian Concannon, the director of the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti told Hallward of the root causes for the overpopulation of neighborhoods in the city of Port-au-Prince that were hit so hard by the earthquake. "Those people got there because they or their parents were intentionally pushed out of the countryside by aid and trade policies specifically designed to create a large captive and therefore exploitable labor force in the cities; by definition they are people who would not be able to afford to build earthquake resistant houses." Unnatural crises such as this made the earthquake much more devastating.

Dangl quotes the author Naomi Kline:

...throughout history, "while people were reeling from natural disasters, wars and economic upheavals, savvy politicians and industry leaders nefariously implemented policies that would never have passed during less muddled times." This push to apply unpopular neoliberal policies began almost immediately after the earthquake in Haiti.

Get THIS! Check out what Kline recently pointed out on Democracy Now! about the Heritage Foundation:

Following the disaster in Haiti, Klein pointed out that the Heritage Foundation, "one of the leading advocates of exploiting disasters to push through their unpopular pro-corporate policies," issued a statement on its website after the earthquake hit: "In addition to providing immediate humanitarian assistance, the U.S. response to the tragic earthquake in Haiti earthquake offers opportunities to re-shape Haiti's long-dysfunctional government and economy as well as to improve the public image of the United States in the region."

They eventually took that statement down, but it was there, as clear as day (as were their motives).

One of Dangl's final points hits the nail on the head:

While international leaders and institutions are speaking about how many soldiers and dollars they are committing to Haiti, it is important to note that what Haiti needs is doctors not soldiers, grants not loans, a stronger public sector rather than a wholesale privatization, and critical solidarity with grassroots organizations and people to support the self-determination of the country.

That doesn't sound outrageous does it? Sounds like a completely logical statement, right? Wouldn't it be nice if that was the approach that won in the end? I'm afraid it looks as though Uncle Money Bags is setting up camp and drawing up his own rules, yet again...

Close All the Windows

Thanks to my parents' holiday generosity, I am now the proud owner of a Toshiba Mini NB205, AKA a netbook. I love it and I love them (with or without said netbook).

Anyway, seeing as this is the first new computer of my very own, I want to make sure I go about learning everything I can about making the most of it. I'm learning so many interesting things that I didn't really think were that interesting before...

I came to learn about specific operating systems for netbooks...with systems that create less strain and operate according to the netbooks' specific structures. Blah, blah, blah....you get the point. ANYway, so I was wondering whether to take the leap into "linuxland" and download the Jolicloud OS, and I started doing some research into Windows for comparisons. My computer came with Windows 7 Starter. I thought this seemed coolish at first. I mean, I keep hearing that Windows 7 is everything that Vista hoped it could be and it's Windows...I've never used anything BUT Windows. BUT when I was doing some basic things on my computer (like trying to post a picture as my desktop background), I kept getting messages telling me to upgrade to the REAL Windows 7, meaning that what my computer had was just like a little commercial for or an intro to Windows 7 and if I wanted the real deal, I'd need to pay over $100.

Then I had a thought...

Why should I have to pay for this at all? Wasn't the computer's price tag enough? THERE, my friends, is the rub! Apparently, the jokes on us! (Isn't it always, though?) I was completely unaware of all the Microsoft shenanigans that have been going on for years. Just typing in "Windows 7" to google brought me to the Windows 7 Sins site. Here are a few blurbs:

Monopoly behavior: Nearly every computer purchased has Windows pre-installed -- but not by choice. Microsoft dictates requirements to hardware vendors, who will not offer PCs without Windows installed on them, despite many people asking for them. Even computers available with other operating systems like GNU/Linux pre-installed often had Windows on them first.

Lock-in: Microsoft regularly attempts to force updates on its users, by removing support for older versions of Windows and Office, and by inflating hardware requirements. For many people, this means having to throw away working computers just because they don't meet the unnecessary requirements for the new Windows versions.

Abusing standards: Microsoft has attempted to block free standardization of document formats, because standards like OpenDocument Format would threaten the control they have now over users via proprietary Word formats. They have engaged in underhanded behavior, including bribing officials, in an attempt to stop such efforts.

Some other finds...

From Slashdot (2007)- "After trying to bribe a local supplier with a $400,000 marketing contract, Microsoft has still apparently lost out in trying to woo Nigeria's government to use Windows over Linux. Microsoft threw the money at the supplier after it chose Mandriva Linux for 17,000 laptops for school children across Nigeria. The supplier took the bait and agreed to wipe Mandriva off the machines, but now Nigeria's government has stepped in to stop the dirty deal."

From ZDnet (2002), Microsoft's Lobbying Efforts Eclipse Enron- "The software giant's budget for its Political Action Committee (PAC) increased from about $16,000 in 1995 to $1.6 million in 2000, according to Edward Roeder, a self-styled expert on efforts to influence the U.S. government, and founder of Sunshine Press Services, a news agency devoted to investigating money in politics."

And GET THIS! According to IT PRO, Microsoft put Windows 7 on new computers and that gave the owners a chance to get used to and play with the new OS, BUT on June 1st, 2010, that is going to expire, which means it's time to upgrade to the "real deal". Oh, and THAT'S not all...on March 1st, 2010...

“'The RC will expire on June 1, 2010. Starting on March 1, 2010, your PC will begin shutting down every two hours. Windows will notify you two weeks before the bi-hourly shutdowns start. To avoid interruption, you’ll need to install a non-expired version of Windows before March 1, 2010. You’ll also need to install the programs and data that you want to use.'”

And there's more where all that came from. So, here's my point...this is yet ANOTHER example of a corporate power repeatedly behaving unethically, creating a monopoly, while we all just sit here, none the wiser, and partake. First off, by now we all need to honestly acknowledge that the mainstream media is crap and it won't report this kind of information that we could benefit from knowing. So that's the first step- doing the investigating ourselves. I found all this out in a matter of minutes while browsing the web. And secondly, once finding this out, we need to actively oppose it. Choosing to use a linux OS breaks free of the restraint that is happily put upon us. I know that could seem kind of silly, but it's about the bigger picture. Some of the most basic things in our daily lives have a nasty trail behind them. Like how Coca-Cola is america's sweetheart soda, but it robs communities of natural resources and union leaders in Columbia have turned up dead at the hands of this corporate criminal. We've got to wonder, we've got to question.

SO, my little netbook is now equipped with the Jolicloud OS and I'm loving it. I think I've closed a window(s) and opened a new door here...I have now entered the land of Linux. So far, so good.

All That Glitters Is Not Good

So, Pacific Rim (a large Canadian mining company), is aggressively proposing a gold mine in El Salvador, where opposition to this mine has been mounting over the last few years. In the last few weeks, a number of outspoken community leaders opposed to the mine have been murdered. Just last Saturday, Dora "Alicia" Recinos Sorto, eight months pregnant, was shot dead while walking with her two year old son. Uhhhh, I'm appalled. How about you? So, we have a big, powerful mining company that really, really wants to mine and mounting opposition standing in their way, so...why not hire some hit men to take some of this opposition out? Pretty sick. What's also pretty sick is that this crap happens all the time.

A friend of mine sent me the transcript of a Democracy Now interview with Alexis Stoumbelis, Executive Director of CISPES, the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador. It's short, but informative. Why should you care? (Besides the fact that, y'know, being an formed citizen of the world isn't a bad thing and all...) First off, this is silver mining and chances are, you are wearing or have worn gold and silver and knowing where and under what circumstances the items we adorn ourselves with is a good thing to know. Also, the United States has El Salvador (along with pretty much all of Latin America) in its pocket and El Salvador is pretty dependent on the US thanks to the fact that for the last twenty years the country has been run by the right-wing ARENA party, one of the United States' closest allies. So, El Salvador needs our support more than anything.

Unlike so many stories of injustice out there now, there is the potential of some real support behind this movement. Stoumbelis says,

This is a really incredibly important moment in El Salvador. After twenty years of a very hard-right government, they have—the Salvadoran people have elected their first progressive government. The FMLN is now in charge of the presidency and in the majority—well, not the majority, but having the most seats in the legislative assembly. And so, there is really a role like we’ve never had before to hear the voices of people be reflected at the top levels of the government. And Mauricio Funes spoke out last week, specifically around the assassination of Ramiro Rivera, and vowed to investigate fully and not to allow this case to continue in impunity, which was very exciting...

...The FMLN, as a political party, made a very strong denouncement yesterday against the violence and a commitment to investigating, and they have also made a public commitment against mining and have actually introduced a bill in the legislative assembly, which is going to take a huge push, to actually ban all forms of metallic mining, which would be the first in the world.

All of this is important to know because there is REAL injustice happening here and it's the result (as it almost always is...) of big, corporate bullying. People are taking a stand and lives are being lost, BUT there is a real courageous movement going and the push is being felt. The FMLN commitment and bill introduction are proof of voices being heard...but how many lives need to be lost in the process?

Merry Christmas, Insurance Companies!

It seems as though the insurance companies will be having the merriest Christmas this year (in lieu of the coal that many of us hoped they'd find in their stockings). Santa Obama and his senatelves really delivered the goods...to corporate America. They can boast that we got what was on our list (REFORM!!!!!!), but that's like asking for a new pair of shoes and getting an empty shoe box. What will keep our feet warm? Americans awake to find empty shoe boxes, while the insurance companies sneak out the back door, adorned with new kicks.

I, like many, am heartbroken with this turn of events and can't help but feel that the joke is on us. Our representative democracy has failed us yet again. Do you feel you had a say in this? I don't. We went from public option to medicare buy-in to complete CRAP. Suddenly the insurance companies power has expanded; individuals will be forced to buy insurance with NO cost control. Jigga wha?!?!

Last Thursday, Howard Dean took to the Washington Post:

Any measure that expands private insurers' monopoly over health care and transfers millions of taxpayer dollars to private corporations is not real health-care reform. Real reform would insert competition into insurance markets, force insurers to cut unnecessary administrative expenses and spend health-care dollars caring for people. Real reform would significantly lower costs, improve the delivery of health care and give all Americans a meaningful choice of coverage. The current Senate bill accomplishes none of these...

...From the very beginning of this debate, progressives have argued that a public option or a Medicare buy-in would restore competition and hold the private health insurance industry accountable. Progressives understood that a public plan would give Americans real choices about what kind of system they wanted to be in and how they wanted to spend their money. Yet Washington has decided, once again, that the American people cannot be trusted to choose for themselves. Your money goes to insurers, whether or not you want it to.

And on Monday, the National Nurses Union cited "10 fundamental flaws" in the bill:

1. The individual mandate forcing all those without coverage to buy private insurance, with insufficient cost controls on skyrocketing premiums and other insurance costs.

2. No challenge to insurance company monopolies, especially in the top 94 metropolitan areas where one or two companies dominate, severely limiting choice and competition.

3. An affordability mirage. Congressional Budget Office estimates say a family of four with a household income of $54,000 would be expected to pay 17 percent of their income, $9,000, on healthcare exposing too many families to grave financial risk.

4. The excise tax on comprehensive insurance plans which will encourage employers to reduce benefits, shift more costs to employees, promote proliferation of high-deductible plans, and lead to more self-rationing of care and medical bankruptcies, especially as more plans are subject to the tax every year due to the lack of adequate price controls. A Towers-Perrin survey in September found 30 percent of employers said they would reduce employment if their health costs go up, 86 percent said they'd pass the higher costs to their employees.

5. Major loopholes in the insurance reforms that promise bans on exclusion for pre-existing conditions, and no cancellations for sickness. The loopholes include:

· Provisions permitting insurers and companies to more than double charges to employees who fail "wellness" programs because they have diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol readings, or other medical conditions.

· Insurers are permitted to sell policies "across state lines", exempting patient protections passed in other states. Insurers will thus set up in the least regulated states in a race to the bottom threatening public protections won by consumers in various states.

· Insurers can charge four times more based on age plus more for certain conditions, and continue to use marketing techniques to cherry-pick healthier, less costly enrollees.

· Insurers may continue to rescind policies for "fraud or intentional misrepresentation" – the main pretext insurance companies now use to cancel coverage.

6. Minimal oversight on insurance denials of care; a report by the California Nurses Association/NNOC in September found that six of California's largest insurers have rejected more than one-fifth of all claims since 2002.

7. Inadequate limits on drug prices, especially after Senate rejection of an amendment, to protect a White House deal with pharmaceutical giants, allowing pharmacies and wholesalers to import lower-cost drugs.

8. New burdens for our public safety net. With a shortage of primary care physicians and a continuing fiscal crisis at the state and local level, public hospitals and clinics will be a dumping ground for those the private system doesn't want.

9. Reduced reproductive rights for women.

10. No single standard of care. Our multi-tiered system remains with access to care still determined by ability to pay. Nothing changes in basic structure of the system; healthcare remains a privilege, not a right.

I have a "right" to post this blog but I don't have a right to get good, sufficient health care if my arm gets ripped off tomorrow. That's...W-R-O-N-G.

The bill gets pushed through and the hoity toities in Washington make it home in plenty of time to sip egg nog near the roaring fire. Honestly, what's it to them? About 2/3 of the US Senate are millionaires anyway.

Oh! We musn't forget Ben Nelson, the "democrat" with a pivotal vote in all this. The Nebraskan senator who "made is name and money in INSURANCE". Did you catch that? INSURANCE. Also, according to the Examiner...

Under the agreement struck between Harry Reid and Ben Nelson, Nebraska’s expanded Medicaid program will now be fully funded by the federal government. Nebraska is the only state to receive this sweetheart deal.

This should be a WAKE-UP CALL to not only Americans, but the whole wold. This is our HEALTHCARE. What is healthy about this? Who REALLY cares? This is not "reform". This is continued imperialistic greed in reform's clothing.