Between Iraq And A Hard Place

Fascinating Article, but a little long to post. Please click on link for article

"Between Iraq and a Hard Place" [Article Link]
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DVD Spotlight: FLOW

Now here is a documentary so good, that I sat up and took 4 pages of notes just so I could clearly convey the scope and impact the doc is attempting to illustrate. Water is something we pay little mind to (in a sense of our meddling in rerouting streams or building dams, or how the lack of would affect our states of humanity), but what would happen if our supply suddenly dried up (as the global warming argument purports) or become privatized to the point where indigenous people are left out of the loop. Can water really be a commodity to be owned and traded or is it a natural resource that should and always will be owned by the people.

I was surprised to find out by the doc that the United States does not keep accurate records of how many people get sick from the water supply. Due to this harrowing fact, each year about 500,000 to 7 million people get sick from the viruses, pathogens, and bacteria in the water. Most of these and other industrial toxins released into the system from corporations are not filtered out of the water supply thus leaving us exposed to chemicals that essentially change our biological makeup. In fact, our exposure to pollutants isn't necessarily exclusive to our consumption of water as a great percentage of exposure comes from the simple act of showering in the morning.

About 70% of water used in the world is by agriculture, 20% by Industry and 10% by us humans. It is due to agriculture that we find most industrial toxins in our drinking water. In fact, if you trace history back far enough, most all chemical components used in agriculture came out of the war system somehow and now reside in our drinking water. Humans aren't the only ones affected as industrial toxins have been found in seals, whales, polar bears, fish, and in the breast milk of Inuit mothers.

because most of our water supply is reserved for agriculture, we find that the most prevalent chemical found in drinking water and surface water is Atrazine, a pesticide (weed killer) manufactured by a Swiss company called Syngenta which happens to be one of the largest agrochemical businesses in the world. What's interesting about Atrazine is that it has been banned for use by the entire European union, with the United States using 80 million pounds in agricultural production. So a product we use that is key in our industries is banned in its own home country - makes sense. The problem with Atrazine is that for the 80 million pounds the United States uses each year, about half a million pounds of it comes back in our rainfall. As well, Atrazine had been found to function as an endocrine disruptor and has clinically been proven to emasculate male frogs and even change the sex of some species of fish from male to female. It is also associated with prostate cancer and breast cancer.

In the last 10 years or so, three major European water distributors have strongholded the market. These companies include, Thames Water, Vivendi, and Suez. Along with the direction of the World Bank, these institutions have egregiously taken over the water market over the entire world. In fact, in 1999 the World Bank forced privatization of the water supply in the township of Cochabamba in Bolivia that resulted in a bloody civil war. Citizens were left with no access to water and sewage systems promised by these big developers. It is estimated that billions upon billions of people have been displaced or disenfranchised over damn construction or the rerouting of rivers and streams. In parts of India and Africa, whole communities are uprooted or written out of the equation in constructing a "for profit" system of water distribution. And still, more than 30,000 people die everyday from water diseases.

As economist and scholars conclude, we are now upon one of the most frightening dilemmas of the 21st century as the supply is not only contaminated, but depleting. Water is a 400 billion dollar global industry only behind electricity and oil. In fact, water has become the world's "blue gold" and those that control it and its supply, inevitably control all of humanity. But is water to be owned and control or provided as a resource for the people?

There was an interesting case study presented in the doc where they investigated Nestle water (owner of such bottled water brands as Arrowhead and Perrier) and how they destroyed the local economy of a small town in Michigan. First of all, the bottled water industry is an even less regulated industry then the industrial water industry. If you didn't know, any bottled water brand that has a stream or pretends to come from a mountain top somewhere generally is filtered tap water. But these brands contain additional chemicals that are even that much more unregulated. Nestle basically went into an existed natural water ecosystem and started pumping and bottling the water for profit. Water that had existed and was free to the people long before they set up shop. It goes without saying that their production led to mud flats and lawsuit from locals who further investigate the fact that Nestle had received all sorts of tax breaks and were doing nothing for the local economy and agriculture. They were merely a siphon profiting off of the land and even when the rivers and streams were level to minimal levels, Nestle won court case after court case allowing them to profit and siphon off the last of the fledgling water ecosystem.

Doc like these always beg the question, what can I do as you quietly contemplate the apocalypse of the world. For California has about 20 something years before the water supply completely goes south, Arizona has 10 and are steadily building golf courses which means that they can slash that to about 5 years. The problem is real, but the core argument remains who has the right to profit from water. Clearly corporations who are solely interested in the interest of their investors cannot champion a change for equal access for humanity so basically it is up to us to lampoon against these powers that be. For one point the doc made that eerily echos the time we live in now is the fact that the level of terrorism and civil unrest skyrockets in times where people feel that there natural resources are being wrestled away from them. At this time, that resource would be oil, but water has a much more powerful affect on it all as without water, we cannot continue to live at all, without water we cannot set up agriculture and therefore industry. Water essentially is the be all and end all of humanity.....and its sadly guided by corporate interest, which are the furthest thing from the interest and will of the people and the development of future generations.

Texas Constructs U.S. Border Wall To Keep Out Unwanted Americans

by Onion Staff

WICHITA FALLS, TX—Calling it an essential step toward securing the Texas border and protecting his people's way of life, Gov. Rick Perry announced Tuesday the completion of a 1,953-mile wall designed to keep out millions of unwanted Americans.

According to Perry, the 75-foot-high barricade running along the northern boundary is the culmination of more than 160 years of escalating tensions between Texas and the United States.

Though a protective barrier has been under consideration for decades, the Texas Legislature voted unanimously to begin construction on the project immediately following the 2008 presidential election.

"As governor, it is my responsibility to do whatever's necessary to maintain the territorial integrity of Texas," Perry told reporters during a press conference held inside a sniper tower overlooking Oklahoma. "If you are a Texas citizen, you shouldn't have to worry about some American coming in here, using your goods and services, and taking away your job."

"Let the record show I have nothing personal against Americans," Perry added. "I just think they should stay in America, where they belong."

The wall is comprised of six security layers: a razor-wire fence equipped with motion sensors, surveillance cameras, and guard towers; a 70-foot-wide trench with expert marksmen stationed along its perimeter; a roadway patrolled by armed vehicles equipped with synchronized electromagnetic wave gradiometers to detect Americans attempting to tunnel their way into Texas; and a second, third, and fourth fence.

The final section of the barricade, a reinforced concrete enclosure containing the city of Austin, will be finished by August 2009.

"These Americans are destroying the moral and social fabric of our state," said Rep. Chris Turner, who added that he worries when he looks around Texas and sees people from places like Pennsylvania, Iowa, and Vermont. "The man who used to repair my truck was replaced by some mechanic who moved in here from Kansas. Lately I can't go to the store or the bank without running into all kinds of these foreigners. This wall is the only hope we have of keeping Texas safe."

"The truth is, Americans are just different from us," Turner added. "We don't even speak the same language."

According to Texas Army National Guard Brig. Gen. Tom Alford, Americans will only be permitted to cross the border if they have immediate family living in Texas, in which case they can apply for a 90-minute monitored visitation to be held inside a checkpoint detention facility.

However, Alford stressed that any American attempting to transport barbecue sauce, beef jerky, belt buckles, or longhorn cattle back to the United States will face the death penalty.

Thus far, a majority of Texas citizens support the border wall, with nearly 8 million signing up to join a coalition of Minutemen that will guard the fence.

"These good-for-nothing Americans want to come in here and wait in the same lines as me, watch the same movies, and eat at the same restaurants," El Paso resident and border patrol volunteer Larry Carlile told reporters. "Who do they think they are? I'd never dare waltz into America and act like I owned the place. That country's a godforsaken hellhole, anyway."

"Round 'em up and get 'em out," Carlile added. "Go back to Seattle or whatever you call it."

Since the wall's completion, there has been no official comment from Washington. However, sources close to President Obama said that upon being informed of Gov. Perry's announcement the commander in chief muttered, "Thank God."

OK JD - What is Up With This Pose

I don't even have the words. Ohh man, I can't.....its one thing to put a huge tacky Mother Teresa by way of Janet, Janet Jackson tattoo all over the side of your body when the woman you get to wake up to IS Janet Jackson, but its another thing entirely to strike a pose like this while taking a picture of said tattoo. WWJD

is anybody ever gonna HELP THESE DAMN KIDS

by By Shilpa Jamkhandikar - Reuters

Railway authorities in Mumbai tore down the shanty home of another "Slumdog Millionaire" child star on Wednesday, barely a week after a first child actor from the Oscar-winning film was forced into the streets.

Rubina Ali, 9, played the character of Latika as a child in the movie, a rags-to-riches romance about a poor Indian boy competing for love and money on a television game show.

Ali's one-room shack was among several illegal dwellings demolished in a slum adjacent to railway tracks overlooking the posh Bandra suburb, home to many Bollywood stars in India's financial capital.

"They can stay with me for now," said Moinuddin Qureshi, Ali's uncle, who stays in a nearby shack surrounded by open sewers. "But they will obviously have to rebuild it, they need a roof over their heads."

A despondent Ali was helping her mother pick up wooden planks and salvage household belongings from the site, a Reuters photographer at the scene said.

Authorities said Ali's shack was among 40 illegally built shanties removed as apart of a demolition drive.

"These structures were on railway land, which is for the benefit of commuters and to be used by the railways," said C. Nitin Kumar David, a spokesman for Western Railway.

Last week, "Slumdog" child star Azharuddin Ismail's tarpaulin-covered home, illegally built along a drain close to Ali's shack, was demolished by city authorities.

Earlier this year, there was an outcry after pictures emerged of "Slumdog Millionaire" child stars living in squalor despite the movie's box-office success and eight Academy Awards.

In February, the housing authority of Maharashtra state, of which Mumbai is the capital, said they would give Ismail and Ali new houses

"The Game" is Cancelled, Now we can return to our regularly scheduled program

I have never seen this show, but for months now, "The Game" or er, the fate of "The Game" has been sort of an internet phenomenon. Stars have made countless youtube videos petitioning to save the show from cancellation and there was even a message board petition campaign on the CW website that met the required signatures, but didn't much have an impact. Its good to see people rally behind something that most would perceive as filler for a ridiculously out of touch start up network. In fact, I have issues with the CW only because of what it represents, the decimalization of consumer choice and interest. So when these networks were the WB and UPN, respectively, and thriving, the studio Suits (the WB being owned by Warner Brothers and UPN by Paramount Studios) decided that they gave consumers too many programming options and instead they combined them into one gloriously shitty network called the CW. Well instead of the somewhat renaissance and nuanced programming of both separate networks we get nothing but teen fodder and not just any old teen fodder but rich kid, privileged teen fodder which in today's times, is like being homeless and watching someone eat a porterhouse in your face. I guess shows like "The Game" and the also canceled and thriving on that other network "Everybody Hates Chris" made it possible for people over 16 to watch the CW, but now they see their way humbly to the crapper and the unemployment line. Its good its canceled cause I could never figure out which twin from "Sister, Sister" this show even starred...talk about getting off to a rocky start...you should never split up those two...never!!!!

Cracks are Wack

Warning - this post comes via an emotionally embattled/bruised psyche. The opinions expressed here are a representation of frustrated vulgarity and do not reflect or impede upon sound mind and judgment.

Oh world, oh universe, we have so much to discuss. For lately, I wake up each morning not with a sense of ease, but with a sense of dread for what the day brings. I know times are tough for everyone, but for some reason I have been appointed as the Manager of the "My life sucks and/or I have so many issues that I can't breathe properly" customer service hotline. Each day I get a new grievance, or er crying - screeching rant that I have to translate into 45 different languages and then ship offshore as to not invade my ironclad serenity with the emotional fireballs of sobbing, yelling, and a generally defeatist mentality.

I guess what makes me perfect for this post is that I made a conscious decision some time ago to not let my issues/baggage get the best of me or those around me. Scratch that, I decided for myself that it was time that I cleaned house and got rid of my issues and baggage in order for me to live my life outside of the guise of a mental/emotional prison sentence. The choice wasn't easy, but I know for a fact I never called up anyone and exploded into a Niagara falls fireworks show. In fact, I don't even really know what that's like cause my poker face is so bankable that I will hold on to being "fine" for the longest time until I am in the comfort and privacy of my own insanity and assure the cracks that they can start showing now.

I know everyone isn't like this and everyone should not be like this. Hey, it works for me, but maybe I'm missing something here. Maybe I have special powers that allow the frequencies in my voice to coalesce into a cool symphonic breeze and heal all mental exhaustion. Maybe me staring at the receiver somehow sends neurons scurrying about and mixing with the residue of wires and cobalt to combat drama. Cause clearly, I'm missing whatever everyone else sees that makes me mentally capable of dealing with my own issue (quietly) and sixteen other peoples.

I know its bad of me to feel like I have no one to really talk to, but it would be even worse of me to make others feel like they couldn't talk to me. So just so we are clear, my issue isn't being the hotline manager as much as folks not taking the time to even figure out if they called the right number. I also take issue with the fact that should I star 69 for similar services, I would get nothing but a busy signal, but that's neither here nor there. Clearly there are times we are called to do certain things that inevitably don't ask for an invitation or take the time to do a QT check and make sure the equipment is up to par, but to this - only Dr. Kings words ring through my ear.

"The Ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy"

In times of challenge and controvery, I don't so much as stand as I am being "worked through" like some other force takes over and just does. Maybe that is what everyone else sees but me. So with that being said.....this is my niagara falls firework show and I hope the only crack you see is one of humanity. For I will keep answering the hotline, staring at the receiver with a gleefully and sarcastically poetic side eye and groan to boot as I take each callers name and assure them that everything will be okay.

Meanwhile in the peace and quiet of my own salvation, in the darkest recesses of my imagination where great roots hold their footing and towering evergreens reside I will sit quietly and meditate for the day that peace befalls upon myself and everyone around me. Maybe instead of an irrational, lifetime scripted, emotionally charged shock and awe session, I will be subject to a discussion or analysis on how one can look past the issue that blind them and see that there own salvation isn't but a walk down the strip and a left turn on the corner. And maybe, just maybe I will be able to better address each caller by not allowing myself to feel somehow like a dump truck.

Until then, I will continue to hate Friday and LA for that matter and the selfish, woe is me, video cameras following me and paparazi and shit mentality this place imposes on its people. For I don't define mature and immature by age or stature, as much as by what you do and do not expect other people to take care of in your life. Cause the last time I checked, we are all grown and nobody is incable of shitting in the pot and whiping their own ass. Everyone deals witht he consequences of their decisions and if you have made bad choices....the onus is on you and no one elses problem to fix. In fact, if people would open their eyes and see the effects their bad choices cause on themselves and those around them, then maybe they will finally get that its not something to be repeated. But I can't crack people over the head and get them to realize this. Well, not as long as people can't say the phrase "crack is wack" and not get the drugless irony of the whole thing.