MICKEY MOUSE ECONOMICS

A few days ago, my friend Bonny woke up $600 richer. She was one of millions of US citizens who had benefited from the Bush government’s economic stimulus package. A cheque from the Federal government, ostensibly a tax rebate, landed on her doormat. The theory behind it is that those who receive the money will immediately plough it back into the economy, thereby stimulating the profits of corporations which will prompt them to expand and employ more staff.

Well, all I can say is that so far, I have spoken to about 7 people and only one of them, a friend of mine, has rushed out to spend the money on an impulse (on a Kayak, would you believe. Guess that is a lot better than a gun or a gas guzzling Hummer. And what is more, she is a staunch Democrat who would never have a good word to say about the current regime and its policies).

All the others had either paid off a credit card bill with it or deposited it in their savings account. And yet, there is a consensus between the Republicans and the Democrats that such interventionist measures really do work in times of economic recession. It is believed that low-to-middle income people, however financially challenged they are, will still go out and indulge in some retail therapy. Both Clinton and Bush, back in 2002, implemented stimulus packages which were said to have been efficacious.

Those who earned less than $3000 in 2007 are not entitled to a rebate and yet, a couple with 3 children whose income was $145,000, would benefit to the tune of $2100. Does not sound very equitable to me.

By and large, serious economists do not like economic stimulus packages. They say that they are all about creating a short term feel good factor and do not address the structural problems in the economy. A fairly obvious conclusion which seems about right to me. Some say that, paradoxically, if you make unemployed people feel richer, they will be less likely to try and rejoin the work force. Others point out that simultaneously trying to encourage investment by way of tax cuts to businesses and consumption by way of rebates to individuals is counter- productive. Without wishing to get too technical, they say that to apply demand side and supply side economics at the same time is a flawed approach.

I called my friend, Larry the Birdman (he makes bird art using palm leaves) to see what he made of it. ‘Well I didn’t get one but the folks who did seem to be sharing some of their wealth around, so it’s alright by me,’ he said. I asked him how they were sharing their wealth and he told me that there was more meat in evidence in his neck of the woods in Virginia and he had been to a couple of barbecues where there was an abundance of good quality steak.

I finally heard a statistic on the radio, that only a third of people who received a lump sum have spent more than half of it. Not a particularly good return on the government’s $150 billion investment.

AMERICAN ENGLISH -BRITISH ENGLISH UPDATE

AM.ENGLISH :::: BR.ENGLISH

CHINKY :::: CHEAP

YOUR ACCOUNT IS DELINQUENT :::: YOUR ACCOUNT IS IN
ARREARS/OVERDUE

A TEMPEST IN A TEA POT :::: A STORM IN A TEA CUP

LAY- AWAY :::: PUT TO ONE SIDE (YOU CAN PAY
FOR SOMETHING IN
INSTALMENTS BUT YOU ONLY
TAKE POSSESSION OF THE ITEM
WHEN YOU HAVE PAID IN FULL)

DUMPSTER DIVING :::: RUBBISH SKIP SCAVENGING

JET JOCKEY :::: PILOT

JUMP DRIVE-STORE’N’GO :::: COMPUTER MEMORY STICK

GALLAHOOTING :::: GALLAVANTING

THE THINGS WE DO IN PUBLIC

At the traffic lights on Speedway and Main last week, I saw something I had never seen before. A woman in the car on my left was flossing. She appeared to be totally immersed in what she was doing as she inspected the inside of her mouth in the rear view mirror. I was transfixed by this somewhat gross spectacle. I really could not believe what I was seeing. I mean, would blood not spatter over the interior of her car?

A few days later, a German friend of mine e-mailed me to say that he was in the Spanish island of Majorca and had just witnessed something horrible. As I read this, my instant reaction was: Oh God, has he just seen a car accident or a shooting? But no, would you believe it? He had been having dinner and an Englishman at the next table, who my friend described as mainstream middle class, had been flossing his teeth in the middle of a packed restaurant.

And finally, the third part of the flossing trilogy happened in Macy’s in San Francisco. I saw a guy flossing on the move, as though it was the most natural thing in the world.

Have I missed something or is it now considered acceptable, even fashionable, to floss in public? Are the flossers part of some new underground movement which believes that society is too restrictive and should not inhibit individuals who wish to attend to their personal hygiene in full public view? Whatever next? Changing socks? Spraying deodorant under our arms? Plucking nasal hair with tweezers?

No doubt there will be those who say ‘So what? People already use tooth picks in public, so what’s the difference? And many of us spit on the ground, pick our nose, clip our nails and fart in public. So it’s no big deal.’ Do they have a point? Well, I suppose, to a certain extent, they do. Yes, there are the nose pickers, nail clippers, gobbers and farters who have no shame whatsoever and either enjoy flouting societal conventions or are indifferent to them. Are we inured to these habits because they are commonplace? Or do we still see them as gross, anti-social acts? Guess it depends on your point of view.

For example, do I tarnish all public nose-pickers, gobbers and nail clippers with the same brush? No I do not. Why? Because, as with everything, there are ways of doing things. Picking one’s nose can be done in an out and out fashion in which the bogie is battled with for minutes on end or in a less obtrusive fashion. It is always unpleasant to behold but, arguably, only the former is truly repulsive. Likewise, if you see a person turn away from others and spit onto a patch of grass would you not consider it more acceptable than someone who spits on the sidewalk as he passes you?

There is something about flossing which places it in the out and out camp, which I would describe as people who are oblivious to their impact on others and act 100% as though they are in the privacy of their own home. Could there ever be a more refined way of flossing? How about lifting your little finger, in a genteel way, as posh tea drinkers do?

A friend of mine told me to mind my own business and look straight ahead at traffic lights. Er, I do not think so mate. I am intrigued as to what I will clap eyes on next in the car alongside mine. A spot of toe nail clipping or body hair removal might be fun.

DAY OF THE DEAD - DIA DE LOS MUERTOS

‘The first toys I can remember were a plastic skeleton and winged devil, gifts from my grandmother. Other kids had GI Joes and Batman action figures but I was never envious of them. My toys allowed my imagination to stretch its boundaries and make friends with the very things that gave other children nightmares.’

Ladislao Loera – Day of the Dead Artist

The Day of the Dead originates in Mexico. The ritualistic celebration of those who have passed away can be traced back some 2500 – 3000 years to indigenous peoples such as the Olmec, Zapotec, Mixtec, Mexica, Maya, P’urhepecha and Totonac. The Aztecs (13th to early 16th Century) honored the dead during the entire ninth month of their calendar. They dedicated their festival to the Goddess Mictecacihuatl, known as the ‘Lady of the Dead.’ The Aztecs did not fear death, rather they embraced it and considered it a ‘moving on’ to a higher level of consciousness.

Subsequent to the Spanish colonization of Mexico, the Day of the Dead merged with Catholic theology, hence skulls and skeletons were joined by Christian symbols of the Crucifix and the Devil. The Day of the Dead takes place annually on November 2nd, the previous day being dedicated to the memory of deceased children. Whilst it is a festival which assumes great significance in Mexico and amongst the Mexican community in Canada and the States, it is also celebrated, in various forms, in many other parts of the world. All Saints Day and All Souls Day are the European equivalents.

In towns throughout Mexico, small altars (ofrendas) are prepared at home in order to welcome back loved ones. These are decorated with crosses, pictures or statues of the Virgin Mary, pictures of the deceased, their favorite food and drink, trinkets that belonged to them, candles to provide light on their journey home and toys for the children, who are known as the little angels (los angelitos). Tradititional offerings include candied pumpkins, bread of the dead (pan de muerto) and sugar skulls.

Families often spend time at the graves of their loved ones. They pray, dance, sing and share anecdotes about them. Some wear wooden skull masks (calacas) or display skulls (Calaveras). These are often spectacularly colorful. The mood is upbeat and death is seen as a continuation of life, a renewal.

In Tucson, the celebration is called the All Souls Procession and has been an annual rite since 1990. Several thousand people attend, in 2005 there were around 7000. I went to my first one this year and it was incredible. It is a long time since I have seen such an amazing array of costumes at an event. Massive skulls on stilts, painted faces which would not have looked out of place in Hammer House of Horror movies, pirate masks and cartoon characters. Amongst my favorites were a guy in a yellow pin striped suit and skeletal mask, carrying a violin case, a Colonel Ghaddafi lookalike and an extremely ghoulish looking guy who painted half of his face black and white and divided it with a huge streak of red down the middle.

Some people objected to the presence of those who just treated the whole thing like a fancy dress parade and seemed not to appreciate or care about its significance. I must say, they have probably got a point. Although, any event where the vibe is universally positive, mellow and somehow unifying, can only be a good thing. Others did not like the fact that banner waving anti-war protestors turned up.

At the climax of the procession was a huge urn in which people burned bits of paper containing messages to their loved ones. Here are a selection of my photographs:

CRIMINAL MATTERS

America’s 2 million prisoners constitute a quarter of the world’s entire prison population. I find that a staggering statistic. In the mid-1990’s there were only 5 private prisons in the US. There are now over 100 holding 62,000 inmates. This is set to increase exponentially over the next 10 years, at the end of which period there will be an estimated 360,000 prisoners in the private sector. No wonder the aim is to stuff the prisons to bursting point. There’s money in it.

Another horrendous fact is that the Prison Industrial Complex (PIC) produces 100 percent of US military helmets, ammunition belts, bulletproof vests, shirts, pants, tents, bags and canteens. 37 States have legalized the contracting out of prison labor to multi-nationals, including IBM, Boeing, Microsoft, AT&T, Dell and Intel. Between 1980 and 1994, PIC profits went from $392 million to $1.31 billion.

Workers in private prisons earn around 17 cents an hour and those in federal prisons make about $1.25 an hour. It has been reported that US companies operating in China and southeast Asia have actually closed plants there and returned to use US prison labor. No wonder that organized labor in the US is very unhappy about the whole issue.

A guy who works in a 7-11 store down the road told me that he has a court hearing in a few weeks. His crime? Selling alcohol and cigarettes to a girl of 16. Apparently, the girl was used by the police as a tool in their entrapment set-up. She had a military ID card and the 7-11 man immediately thought that she had to be 18 to be in the military. As soon as she left the store, the cop entered and charged him. He faces a penalty of at least $500. Does anyone know if this kind of thing happens in the UK?

This is a short piece I saw in the Tucson Weekly, entitled ‘Least Competent Criminals’:

In Monticello, NY, Steven King, 40, was indicted in October as a result of a traffic stop, for allegedly doing nearly every single thing wrong. He was allegedly intoxicated, driving in oncoming traffic lanes, with an open beer container, not wearing a seat belt, driving an uninsured car, with an expired safety inspection sticker, with license plates belonging to another car, and with his 2-year old daughter passenger neither in a car seat nor belted in.

PRIESTLY INSPIRATION - THE FIGHT TO END TORTURE

It is the night before they are to surrender their freedom yet again. Father Louis Vitale, a 74 year old Franciscan Priest and Father Stephen Kelly, a 58 year old Jesuit Priest, are amongst the speakers addressing an audience of their supporters at the First Christian Church in Tucson, Arizona. In the morning, both of them will almost certainly be sentenced to several months in jail for having the temerity to encroach on the sacred soil of Fort Huachuca, in Sierra Vista, Arizona, the Headquarters of US Military Intelligence, on 19th November 2006.

The Priests, backed up by 120 odd kindred spirits, attempted to serve a letter denouncing both torture and the 2006 Military Commissions Act on Major General Barbara Fast, who is in charge at the Fort, and also happens to be the highest ranking intelligence officer implicated to the Abu Ghraib torture. They also intended to speak to enlisted personnel. Predictably, they were thwarted by military security, and charged with trespass and refusal to obey an officer.

On the same day, more than 20,000 people demonstrated at the infamous School of the Americas (now called the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation), at Fort Benning, Georgia. It is there that Latin American military recruits have, since the late 1940’s, been schooled in interrogation and torture techniques. And it is at Fort Huachuca that the US Army Field Manual on Interrogation was written. A number of the officers and soldiers responsible for human rights abuses at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq, have worked or were trained there.

Father Kelly, a distinguished and youthful looking 58, his graying hair neatly coiffed, is both steadfast and sanguine. ‘It’s totally worth it to me that consciousness has been raised……In the long run we’ll be in the belly of the beast, then maybe they’ll spit us out and we’ll take it forward again.’

Father Vitale, whilst very tall and striking in his full length, dark brown Franciscan robe, appears somewhat frail and has bruising around his left eye. We hear how he went on hunger strike in front of the White House and how both Priests have a long record of social activism, non-violent protest and subsequent imprisonment.

Father Vitale is co-founder of the Nevada Desert Experience, a faith-based movement to end nuclear weapons testing and a member of Pace e Bene, whose mission is ‘to develop the spirituality and practice of active nonviolence as a way of living and being and as a process for cultural transformation.’ He served 6 months in prison after being arrested at the annual 2005 Fort Benning vigil (over 95 years of prison time and 53 years of probation and home confinement have been served by School of the Americas Watch activists) and was excluded from congressional hearings in September 2006 for his criticism of the Military Commissions Act, which permits evidence gained from the torture of terror suspects and suspends habeus corpus for so-called “enemy combatants.”

Father Kelly is a member of the Redwood City Catholic Worker Community and worked with the Jesuit Refugee Service in Central America for many years. He has spent time in prison for the nonviolent direct disarmament of nuclear weapon delivery systems. In December 2005, he served as chaplain for Witness Against Torture, a delegation of anti-torture activists who marched across Cuba to the gates of Guantanamo Bay prison camp.

After almost a year of legal wrangling in the courts, the end game would appear to have been reached. In September 2007, the Court granted a government motion ‘in limine’, which renders inadmissible subjects such as torture, Abu Ghraig, international law and the Military Commissions Act. Faced with this gagging order, the Priests declared that they were ‘uninterested in a court hearing limited to who was walking where and how many steps it was to the gate’ and duly decided to change their pleas from ‘not guilty’ to ‘no contest’. They asked to be sentenced immediately.

At the Church, the Priests’ respected human rights attorney and law professor, Bill Quigley, is armed with a huge dossier of reports documenting abuse at Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib. The FBI, a senior US Army General, the International Rescue Committee (IRC), Physicians for Human Rights, New York University Law School and Human Rights Watch are amongst those who have produced comprehensive reports.

There are hundreds of pages of damning evidence of torture, all in the public domain, allegedly involving as many as 600 military personnel. So much for the few bad eggs argument. But Quigely’s request to have it all looked at in court in front of a jury was refused.

It is a long time since I have attended an event with quite such a feeling of camaraderie and emotional charge. There are songs about freedom, justice and peace, courtesy of the wonderful guitar and banjo playing peace activist, Ted Warmbrand and prayers asking the Divine One to help us love our enemy. The firebrand Peace Activist and multiple Nobel Peace Prize nominee, Kathy Kelly, tells us anecdotes about Palestinian students who were imprisoned and abused by American soldiers in Iraq. In one of the prison compounds, US personnel pinned a photograph of the destroyed Twin Towers on the wall, as though it was a reminder to them of why they were there.

At 7.30 am the following morning, many of those at the Church are holding a vigil outside the US District Court in downtown Tucson. The hearing is imminent. Anti-torture banners are unfurled, speeches are made and songs are sung. Father Vitale talks of ‘the luxury of being able to go to jail, because I’m old and don’t have to earn a living or support anyone.’

The inevitable happens and Fathers Kelly and Vitale are sentenced to 5 months in prison. Before the Judge’s decision, Father Kelly makes the following brief statement: ‘We will keep trying to stop the teaching and practice of torture whether we are sent to jail or not. We have done our part for now. Now it is up to every woman and man of conscience to do our part to stop the injustice of torture.’

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

October is Domestic Violence Month in the States. Campaigns to increase awareness of a crime that impacts on 1 in 3 women in this country, at some point during their lifetime, are being conducted. In Arizona, there were 107 deaths from domestic violence in 2006.

The statistics in both the US and the UK are shocking: In the US, 5.3 million women are abused each year; Around 1200 women are killed each year by an intimate partner, about 30% of female murders; domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women between 15 and 44, more than car accidents, muggings and rape combined.

In the UK, between 1 and 2 women are murdered by their male partners every week; Between 40 and 45% of murdered women are killed by their male partners; 100,000 women per year seek treatment in London for violent injuries received in the home.

It must be pointed out that men also suffer from domestic violence and that, in the US, it occurs in approximately 25 – 30% of gay and lesbian relationships-the same statistical frequency as straight relationships. And do not forget that domestic violence is still a seriously underreported crime.

In Arizona, a Domestic Violence Court has been set up. All cases are initially reviewed by a judge, a prosecutor and a victim advocate. The cases are then tried by a judge and a prosecutor who are specially trained in the complexities of such cases. Moreover, victims and their children receive specialized crisis services from the victim witness program and follow-up services from community organizations that enhance victim safety and ease victim trauma. A Community Domestic Violence Task Force has also been formed to deal with inter-agency collaboration, training, resources and victim services.

As part of the national ‘CUT IT OUT’ program, salon professionals and others in the cosmetics industry who have unique access to women, are being trained to recognize signs of domestic violence in their clients and assist victims in getting help. The program includes an ‘Adopt – a – Shelter’ initiative to assist the 37 domestic violence shelters in Arizona.

Numerous studies have shown that abuse during childhood is highly likely to result in violence, criminal activity, self-harm and chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, coronary artery disease and morbid obesity, in adulthood.

Barbara LaWall, the Pima County Attorney, articulates the problem perfectly:

‘This crime puts our safety, possibly our health, our health-care system and our criminal justice system at risk. Medical findings alone stongly document the need for communities to act with more intensive prevention and intervention. As you read this, think of what our community could accomplish if we could raise just one generation of children without domestic violence. Just one generation. Think of the possibilities.’