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Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Subject: Moving to New Blog
Time: 8:06:41 PM EDT
Author: ibspiccoli4life
Hey all you groovy guys and gals! I'm packing up and heading out of J-land for good. I started here and it has a lot of sentimental value, but the truth is there are way better blogging platforms out there. There's just way more cool stuff you can do on other blog sites.
I'm planning on moving to wordpress. If you blog on AOL, I'd definitely recomend checking it out. It's much more user-friendly and allows you to do a lot more things without having to know any HTML.
Once I get set up I will post a reminder here and probably send an email out to those I think might be interested. If you are interested in keeping in touch, please leave a comment below.
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Thursday, May 4, 2006
Subject: The Euro and the Dollar, the real war
Time: 5:40:52 PM EDT
Author: ibspiccoli4life
The Euro and the Dollar, the real war
 In November 2000 Saddam Hussein committed his gravest crime. No, he didn't gas any Kurds. No he didn't crush any Shiite rebellions. He began trading Iraqi oil for Euros. Economists will point out that by itself Iraq would't be able to harm the U.S. dollar that much, but obviously were dealing with people who see dominoe theories everywhere. If Iraq does it then Iran...actually Iran is setting up to do just that.
In 2005-2006, The Tehran government has a developed a plan to begin competing with New York's NYMEX and London's IPE with respect to international oil trades - using a euro-denominated international oil-trading mechanism. This means that without some form of US intervention, the euro is going to establish a firm foothold in the international oil trade. Given U.S. debt levels and the stated neoconservative project for U.S. global domination, Tehran's objective constitutes an obvious encroachment on U.S. dollar supremacy in the international oil market One of the first things we did when we conquered Iraq was to start trading its oil for U.S. dollars again. Funny how the saber rattling with Iran directly coincides with their decision to go Euro, too. It's not that this is the only reason we are preparing for war with Iran, but it's a prime consideration. Oil, the dollar, strategic positioning in the heart of the world's energy reserves, these are all key reasons why we are in the Middle East. Most people understand that the we are dedicated to defeating competing capital forms, like communism, socialism, syndicalism or whatever you want to call it. But most people seem unaware of the fact that we are also dedicated to defeating competing formations of capitalism. The E.U. is just such a formation and the Euro does threaten dollar hegemoney.
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Subject: Iran
Time: 5:39:09 PM EDT
Author: ibspiccoli4life
Iran
 The U.S. State Department has called Iran the world’s “most active state sponsor of terrorism.” Is Iran really the world's "most active state sponsor of terror"? Or is this just more hype from an administration that aims to protect the dollar and gain control of Iran's resources? Let's take a look at Iran's supposed sponsor of terror:
In November 1979, Iranian student revolutionaries widely thought to be linked to the Khomeini government occupied the American Embassy in Tehran. Iran held fifty-two Americans hostage for 444 days.
Observers say Iran had prior knowledge of Hezbollah attacks, such as the 1988 kidnapping and murder of Colonel William Higgins, a U.S. Marine involved in a U.N. observer mission in
Lebanon, and the 1992 and 1994 bombings of Jewish cultural institutions in Argentina.
Iran still has a price on the head of the Indian-born British
novelist Salman Rushdie for what Iranian leaders call blasphemous writings about Islam in his 1989 novel The Satanic Verses.
U.S. officials say Iran supported the group behind the 1996 truck bombing of Khobar Towers, a U.S. military residence in Saudi Arabia, which killed nineteen U.S. servicemen. Do you think that maybe we shouldn't have overthrown their burgeoning democracy in 1953? Iran had a smudge of democracy and we cleaned it off with Operation Ajax. Kermit Roosevelt and the CIA successfully overthrew the democratically elected government and prime minister of Iraq and installed the brutal and oppressive Shah. Was their occupation and kidnapping of Americans terrorism? Or was it simply a desperate people trying to wrestle back control of their country from one of the mightiest superpowers the planet had ever seen? Why wasn't it considered terrorism when we overthrew their democracy?
Observers say? Observers say I'm a moon expert. I'm sorry but "observers say" is not convincing me that anything is true. Who are these observers? What are they basing their observation on? And even if true, why are they responsible for what Hezbolla does but people claim we're not responsible for what Israel does? How is it different? How is it different when wesupply the Israelis with American made bulldozers so they can destroy Palanstian homes? How is it different when we supply Israel with Appache attack helicopters so they can more brutally attack the Palestinians? Why is one considered defense and the other is considered state sponsored terrorism?
It's not like the Palestinians are occupying Israel. The Palestinians are defending themselves and resisting occupation--the Supreme Crime according to Nuremburg. Thanks to U.S. taxpayers the Palestinains are out-gunned and outspent.
Iran still has a price on the head of Salman Rushdie! That's 17 years, folks. I'm supposed to be afraid of a terrorist organization that hasn't managed to kill one guy in 17 years? If they had any sense they'd be enrolling at the school of the Americas and learn all the dirty tricks we taught Noriega and others. You want to scare me, tell me that within ten minutes of putting a price on Rushdie's head he was killed. Seventeen years and no kill? I'm guessing they really don't give a shit if the guy breathes or not. What am I supposed to believe the Iranians are like Wild E. Coyote? Plan after plan ends in failure?
Finally we have the accusation that Iran supported groups that carried out two bombings against U.S. installations abroad. Again, supported is rather vague. Supported as in they cheered when the bombs went off? Supported as in they paid for the bombs? Or supported as in they paid for the bombs, trained the men, and picked the target? Why don't we question why we have these bases everywhere? Is it really worth it? At what expense do we rule over the world? Are we really prepared to deal with the hostility we are creating?
Friends, if this was an example of the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism, we'd be doing great. Imagine the leading terrorist organization has been trying for the past 17 years to kill novelist Salman Rushdie. Apparently Iran's most lethal assassins are no match for a typewriter. They cheered for two attacks against American installations abroad much like we cheered when we overthrew their democratically elected government in 1953 and installed a brutal dictator. Supply arms to Palestinians fighting a brutal and oppressive occupation is state sponsored terrorism. Providing the most technologically advanced weapons of war to the occupiers is a legitimate form of military aid. So it's ok when the U.S. invades Panama, Guatamala, Nicragua, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Chile, China, Russia, Haiti, the Phillipines, Japan, Hawaii, and just about everywhere else. But when Saddam Hussein does it he's a criminal. In a later post we'll look at the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism.
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Subject: Overthrow!
Time: 5:36:37 PM EDT
Author: ibspiccoli4life
Mood: Happy
Overthrow!
"The invasion of Iraq in 2003 was not an isolated episode. It was the culmination of a 110-year period during which Americans overthrew fourteen governments that displeased them for various ideological, political, and economic reasons."
So writes author Stephen Kinzer in his new book "Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq." Stephen Kinzer was Monday's guest on Amy Goodman's Democracy Now. Kinzer begins with the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarch in 1893 and continues right into the present with the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. What would the Middle East look like today had we not brutally crushed Iran's democracy in 1953? Would we even have an immigration problem today if we had not brutally intervened throughout Latin America? If you want to understand world events you have to understand them within their historical context. Kinzer provides that context in this new book. Go to the Democracy Now website and listen, watch, or read his interview with Amy Goodman. Also, if you appreciate historical context, don't forget to support Democracy Now with Amy Goodman. Monday's show is a good example of what Amy Goodman does so well. On the one hand we have a guest who is able to put U.S. intervention around the world in a historical context. The problems in Iran become more intelligible. We more clearly see the hand of U.S. intervention and better understand its motives. George Bush isn't an anomaly. He is simply carrying on a long-held tradition of imperialism.
Another of Goodman's guests, a professor from Boston, was able to put today's May 1 Boycott into its proper context, a continuation in many ways of the labor struggles that began in this country 120 years ago, largely through immigrant populations.
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Monday, May 1, 2006
Subject: From the Front Lines
Time: 8:06:26 PM EDT
Author: ibspiccoli4life
From the Front Lines
 I've just returned from the pro-immigration demo in Moreno Valley, California. We had anywhere from 500 to 1,000 people at Moreno Valley Community Park where we heard from a wide range of speakers. Afterwards we took to the streets and marched about a mile down the street to City Hall.
The mood was jubliant and positive.
Other local events were scheduled in Riverside, San Bernardino, and of course, Los Angeles. By all accounts we've had a huge turnout for immigrant rights.
Did you join in a protest in your community? Did you blog about it? Drop me a link and let me know how it went.
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Subject: Intimidation
Time: 8:05:47 PM EDT
Author: ibspiccoli4life
Intimidation
 The only media present at the rally in Moreno Valley appeared to be a few reporters from The Press Enterprise, a local paper. You can see one of these reporters in the picture to the left. He's in the center with the pinkish shirt. I noticed he was standing toward the back of the crowd where he couldn't possibly hear the speakers. I walked up to him and asked him if he was covering the way school officials were trying to intimidate famlies from participating in the events. He said he was but that he was looking for someone to talk to. I said, 'Well you're in luck. You see that guy in the green shirt? He dealt firsthand with the calls from officials. Why don't you go talk to him?" Thankfully the reporter walked over to Marquez and questioned him about what was going on.  According to numerous people at the event school officials called parents on Friday warning them that students could be suspended from school and charged a fine if they didn't show up on Monday. To make it worse they were told that by missing the standardized test given today it could hurt their child's GPA. A similar warning was also given to faculty. Faculty of nearby school boards were forced to sign a contract consenting to the fact that if they didn't show up to work on Monday they would be fired. This is how officials in this country view democracy. Scare students. Scare workers. Scare parents. Intimidate people so they don't particpate in grassroots movements to better their lives. Thankfully more and more people are saying enough is enough.
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Subject: Si se Puede!
Time: 8:05:02 PM EDT
Author: ibspiccoli4life
Si Se Puede!
  
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Subject: Haymarket: The Struggle Continues
Time: 8:04:16 PM EDT
Author: ibspiccoli4life
Haymarket: The Struggle Continues
 It was a 120 years ago that anarchists and labor organizers were joining together to fight for the eight-hour work day. That movement was largely built by immigrants.
On May 1st, 1886, a series of massive strikes were called and hundreds of thousands of workers poured out of the factories demanding shorter working hours. If we want to learn anything from those who came before us, we'd do well to remember their sacrifice. Workers were locked out of their jobs. Eight anarchists--the Haymarket 8--were sentenced to death largely for things they said, not for what they did. In short it was a violent and dangerous time to stand up to the capitalist system.
On May 4, 1886 a town meeting was called in Chicago's Haymarket Square by anarchists and labor activists. As the peaceful assembly came to a close, 180 police officers stormed the meeting, demanding it disburse. Suddenly an unknown assailant threw a bomb into the crowd killing a police officer and injuring several others. The police responded instantly by shooting and clubbing wildly into the crowd, killing 7 other fellow police officers, injuring 60 more and killing and injuring an unknown number of civillians at the meeting. This event, and the episode that followed in its wake, known as the Haymarket affair, the Haymarket massacre or the Haymarket tragedy, is the single historic event for which Lucy Parsons is best remembered. While today's boycott is a great step in the right direction, eventually we will have to make sacrifices. We will have to make things uncomfortable for those in power. Thankfull we face far less brutality and oppression than our ancestors did. Si se puede!
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Thursday, April 27, 2006
Subject: Poverty Kills us All
Time: 11:24:27 PM EDT
Author: ibspiccoli4life
 Poverty kills us all. As a result of the huge gap between the rich and poor in this country, we all die sooner than we need to die. It kills us more than terrorists; and it kills us more than heart disease; and it kills us all earlier regardless of how wealthy we are. A number of months ago I listened to a talk by Stephen Bezruchka MD. It completely blew me away and yet at the end of it I was unable to remember Mr. Bezruchka's and as a result it has taken me all this time to find him online. You can read the speech here & here. I'll let him set the tone for the talk:
I begin by asking you how the United States of America compares to other countries in measures of our health. To measure health let's consider average number of years lived by people in a country and use United Nations data. First note that we spend half of the world's health care budget, that is of all the money spent world-wide on medical services and public health, we spend half of that in this country. If we rank all the countries in the world using average number of years lived, where does the US stand? Are we the healthiest country in the world? If you think so, raise you hands? are we in the top 5 do we stand 6 to 10 11 to 15 16 to 20 21 to 25 below 25? The answer is that we are tied for 26th! Behind all the other rich countries.
People often talk about the relative poverty in this country as a way to justify it. The Heritage Foundation offers tons of facts on how many TVs the poverty stricken American has and other supposed "luxury" items that people living in poverty in this country have. If you listen enough to the people at the Heritage Foundation you begin to start to envy poor people. For instance:
Ninety-seven percent of poor households have a color television; over half own two or more color televisions.
They've got it made! What else could they want? Food? The Heritage Foundation study does mention a little problem with poor people getting food:
While the poor are generally well-nourished, some poor families do experience hunger, meaning a temporary discomfort due to food shortages.
Grocery stores filled to the brim with food, resturaunts around the country throwing food out on a regular basis, and there are Americans who go hungry. That's shameful. The Heritage Foundation makes all the arguments the average angry American wants to hear. The poor have it made.
This is where Dr. Bezruchka steps in like a ray of light on a dreary day. He argues that the immense gap between the rich and the poor causes our relatively poor health as a nation. We were healthier when we were more egalitarian, circa 1950. Japan is much healthier and much more egalitarian.
To Summarize at this point. Poverty is bad for your health. Relative poverty, living in a large gap society is the worst part of poverty. Poverty is not a certain amount of goods, but a form of invidious comparison between those who have more and those who have less. If the gap between the rich and the poor is smaller then the comparisons we make are milder. When the playing field is move level, it is easier to play. This is what justice is all about, avoiding having one part of Society bearing all the burden but reaping none of the benefits.
What could possibly be so bad about a bigger gap society?
How is it that a bigger gap society has worse health than a more egalitarian society. Consider two extremes: an egalitarian society where everyone is more or less equal, and a very hierarchical one where there are a few fabulously wealthy rich and the rest of us, sort of like the USA. What is life like in an egalitarian society? What are the prevailing relationships and feelings. Wouldn't they be those of friendship, support, trust, caring, helping, sharing, and community? Don't those words sound healthy? What about the other extreme, a very hierarchical society? What is it like inside such a population? Well, those on top with the wealth have power and can dominate, compel and coerce those beneath them to get things done. The rest of us resign ourselves to our job and role, but feel humiliated and shamed. Shame is the important emotion at work. None of these feelings such as shame or relationships of power and domination soundhealthy, do they? But in countries such as the USA, these are the prevailing mechanisms at work, even though we think we are all middle class there is an ever increasing gap between the rich and poor here. In a society with a bigger gap, those above put down those below, and this is related to the amount of violence in society and helps explain why we have so much homicide. Costa Rica is an example of a nearby country that is pretty egalitarian, and even though it is much poorer than the US, it is healthier than we are. Canada is another example, our neighbor to the north, which is much much healthier than the USA. The final example is Cuba, a country that we have been strangling for 44 years with trade sanctions and embargoes. Cuba is as healthy as we are, despite, or maybe because of our policies.
The good news is we have the power to change all of this. We, the working people of this country, are the ones with the real power. Working people a century ago faced a much more hostile and brutal enemy and won remarkable concessions: the eight-hour work day, unemployment insurance, disability and death benefits, pensions, health care, overtime benefits, and paid holidays and vacations. That didn't just happen by magic or the benevolence of our rich benefactors. It took hard work, organizing workers, and a lot of sacrifice. Up until the 1930s hundreds of workers were being killed each year by anti-union thugs hired by capitalists.
It's time to renew that struggle and fight for a more equitable slice of the pie. Take action! Click here.Written by ibspiccoli4life
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Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Subject: The Problem with Yellow
Time: 11:12:49 PM EDT
Author: ibspiccoli4life
The Problem with Yellow
 Have you noticed the commercials for "going yellow?" It's a slick new marketing campaign that is trying to equate environmentalism with a new ethanol based diesel fuel. The ads give the impression that this is somehow a fix to our dependency on oil. Morally, the idea is repugnant. Approximately 30,000 people die each day due to hunger, malnutrition, and related diseases each day. How can we, as a society, possibly decide that it would be a better idea to burn this corn up in our cars rather than try and help feed those who are hungry? When we have eradicated hunger on this planet, then I might be a little more intrigued by burning corn oil in our vehicles. But even if the moral dilmna was solved, even if we eradicated hunger on this planet, problems remain. First of all, is it economically viable? How much hydro-carbon energy is used in order to harness the potential energy in corn? Petroleum based chemicals are used for fertilizers and pesticides. Gas guzzling tractors are used to tend the fields. Those tractors are made in fossil fuel dependent factories, which primarily depend on coal for energy. And it takes oil guzzling diesel trucks to get the corn from the field to the nearby market. How many gallons of fuel are consumed just to get that corn to our nearby store?
It's hard for me to believe that we have a net energy gain here. That is, it appears to me that we would be expending more energy than we'ere getting back with such a fuel. If it takes 2 gallons of fossil fuels to get one gallon of ethanol, what's the point? It looks more like this "Yellow" trend is a product of agrobusiness rather than a real attempt at solving our addiction to petroleum. As journalist Lee Dye points out:
. . . relying on corn for our future energy needs would
devastate the nation's food production. It takes 11 acres to
grow enough corn to fuel one automobile with ethanol for
10,000 miles, or about a year's driving, Pimentel says. That's
the amount of land needed to feed seven persons for the
same period of time.
And if we decided to power all of our automobiles with
ethanol, we would need to cover 97 percent of ourland with
corn, he adds. Bear in mind that I'm not trying to gloom and doom you to death, but at some point we have to begin addressing this situation from a realistic point of view. Scientists are not miracle workers. Science may come up with something, but until they do we better come up with a plan.
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