Blog Master G

Jen and I took Stella to the beach yesterday to watch the sunset over the Pacific Ocean. This was an important reminder that, despite the ongoing war, life is beautiful.

view the entire sunset photo shoot

“If you cannot find Osama, bomb Iraq! If the markets are a drama, bomb Iraq!” See this and other catchy tunes here:

Political Toons!

It’s a good way to relieve all this war tension if you’re looking for a laugh. Lots of funny Flash cartoons. (Thanks for the link, Dave.)

Sadly, it is not often that The Man is issued a blow that will effect change. Typically, big corporations and insurance companies have their way with individuals like you and me. From time to time, though, judges or juries who understand that they have the power to make a difference in this corrupt world will issue an award that will give an insurance company or Big Tobacco a wake-up call that hopefully makes them think hard before screwing the individual to help the bottom line.

Today there is another small victory in the ongoing fight to make The Man re-examine his policies, conduct, and general attitude of power over the Little Guy.

On May 29, 2001 I started work at a small company in San Francisco whose office occupies an old warehouse with poor ventilation and is adjacent to an auto body shop (I have since left said company). A little more than a month later — on or around July 4, 2001 — I developed an incessant cough and breathing problems. In October 2001 I was diagnosed with asthma and began to depend on Albuterol inhalers throughout the day, especially to walk up hills, ski, and even sleep at night. The breathing never got any better and the cough never went away. In June 2002 I began to take a steroid-based inhaler, Pulmicort, twice per day. I continue to pump my lungs full of chemicals that may some day be deemed harmful.

My employer was aware of my breathing problems and knew about the black sheets of powder, mysteriously released from the HVAC system, which coated my desk and computer many mornings. The Powers That Be did little to address my concerns. They told me they were looking into it and trying to solve the problem. But I got the feeling that they didn’t want the hassle or expense of relocating to a new building or fixing the problem with the HVAC system.

Justice has been done: Judge Larry W. Quan of the State of California Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board ruled in my favor. I certainly wasn’t awarded the millions that really get the attention of insurance companies and corporate policyholders, but it was a small victory nonetheless. (And I didn’t even have to appear before the judge; my attorney simply had me sign an “Order Approving Compromise & Release” in the hallway.)

This judgment will certainly not make my asthma go away or change the ways of the insurance company that had initially rejected my claim. But maybe, just maybe the small increase in insurance premiums as a result of this ruling will make my former employer think twice next time an employee’s health is at risk — and will take complaints more seriously.

Keep this quote in mind as we launch the 2nd strike against Iraq in response to oil wells being torched:

“Of course the people don’t want war. But after all, it’s the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it’s always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it’s a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger.”
— Herman Goering at the Nuremberg trials

…and then put it all together: imminent threat, a warning not to destroy oil fields. What’s really going on here? You be the judge.

(Thanks, Jeanine, for passing this along.)

As I wrote last night, I have doubts that the man on Iraqi TV was actually Saddam himself. He looked pretty fake-ass to me. Or maybe he’s just a hell of a lot paler since his country is under attack. I would certainly be scared shitless if I were being bombed by the military might of the strongest superpower ever known to man.

U.S. officials are still undecided, too.

from CNN.com

Now that the war is underway, what can you do? Plenty. You could block traffic in San Francisco, which I actually don’t recommend since it’s not cool to prevent people who need to get to work from doing so. But how about this? Or this: Send a message to Bush urging him not to nuke Iraq:

ActForChange: Don’t Use Nuclear Weapons in Iraq

Here’s the templatized message I just sent:

Date: Thu, 20 Mar 2003 09:39:09 -0800
From: Gabe
To: President George W. Bush
Subject: Don’t Use Nuclear Weapons in Iraq

Dear President Bush,

I oppose the invasion of Iraq. I am deeply concerned that official American policy allows for the use of nuclear weapons against countries that possess weapons of mass destruction. Whether or not Iraq responds to our invasion with the use of weapons of mass destruction, I urge you in the strongest possible terms to publicly renounce their use. Our invasion has already made us a rogue nation in the eyes of the most of the world, but using nuclear weapons would be a crime against humanity as a whole.

Sincerely,

Gabe
San Francisco, CA

Despite forged Iraq documents (thanks, Dave, for the link) and failed diplomacy, our monetarily-driven war has begun (imminent threat my ass). Want proof? How about this?

“The core driver for toppling Saddam is actually the euro currency,” according to W. Clark of the Independent Media Center. Here’s his research, something the popular media and Bush himself don’t often do:

The Real Reasons for the Upcoming War in Iraq: A Macroeconomic and Geostrategic Analysis of the Unspoken Truth, by W. Clark, 1/26/03

Here’s another snippet:

The Real Reason for this upcoming war is this administration’s goal of preventing further OPEC momentum towards the euro as an oil transaction currency standard. However, in order to pre-empt OPEC, they need to gain geo-strategic control of Iraq along with its 2nd largest proven oil reserves.

Remember how Bush warned Iraqi soldiers about the oil wells?

(I’ve yet to digest this behemoth paper in its entirety, but I thought sharing this link appropriate on Day 1 of Gulf War II or whatever catchy code name it’s been given. Thanks, Jordan, for the tip.)

The first strike on Iraq occurred this evening. Let’s hope for minimal civilian casualties. Saddam Hussein — or an impersonator — appeared on Iraqi TV not long ago. CNN was caught up on how it must have really been Saddam since he mentioned the date in Iraq: March 20, 2003. But he knew that was 48 hours from the deadline, so who says it wasn’t recorded earlier? Or an impersonator? In other words, maybe one of the 40+ missiles aimed at Saddam really did nail him. Who knows? We shall see.

U.S. launches opening strike of military campaign in Baghdad, Bush pledges victory

Good news in these dismal times as we sit poised to strike Iraq:

Senate kills Alaskan wildlife refuge drill plans

Dennis Kucinich, a Democratic hopeful for the 2004 presidency and Congressman from Ohio, wrote this excellent commentary that the Washington Post refused to print (who says big business, whch pays the government and the media, aren’t in bed?):

A snippet from the commentary:

What commodity accounts for 83 percent of total exports from the Persian Gulf? What is the U.S. protecting with our permanent deployment of about 25,000 military personnel, 6 fighter squadrons, 6 bomber squadrons, 13 air control and reconnaissance squadrons, one aircraft carrier battle group, and one amphibious ready group based at 11 military installations in the countries of the Persian Gulf? (Note, the disproportionate troop deployments in the Middle East aren’t there to protect the people, who constitute only 2 percent of the world population.)