Bleeding Heart Burgess

THE THINGS WE DO IN PUBLIC

bleeding heart burgess — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 01:10:00 +0000

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

bleeding heart burgess — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 03:23:00 +0000

‘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

bleeding heart burgess — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 01:39:00 +0000

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

bleeding heart burgess — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 20:48:00 +0000

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

bleeding heart burgess — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 05:49:00 +0000

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.’

PHOTOS: TURKEY AND LONDON

bleeding heart burgess — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 00:57:00 +0000

Tower Bridge, River Thames:

The Gherkin, River Thames:

Office building, London:

Gallipoli, western Turkey:

Me on the west coast of Turkey (comments most welcome):

Troy, western Turkey:

Cannakale, West coast of Turkey, very close to the Dardanelles, the strait where the 1915 battle of Gallipoli took place

PHOTOS: TUCSON 3

bleeding heart burgess — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 00:37:00 +0000

Videos and the Virgin

Tucson's murals are wonderful

PHOTOS: TUCSON 2

bleeding heart burgess — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 00:19:00 +0000

Usual sight of mega mobile home parked up in a supermarket car park

Is this car insurable? Is the owner sane?

(rhetorical)

Bus used by travelling performing arts theatre group

How weird is this hybrid?

Big is beautiful. That's not my front garden by the way.

Dig this community food bank van

PHOTOS: TUCSON

bleeding heart burgess — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 23:47:00 +0000

Yours truly with Chicago, the metal man

The metal man

The Bone Yard, Tucson. Disused Air Force planes. Totally awesome, surreal place. Love that whale like, yawning mouth

Goose in Reid park, Tucson

Japanese dogs in Tucson supermarket. Don't you just love those tongues. And the owner's pretty cool as well!

DESERT HEAT? IT'S NO SWEAT

bleeding heart burgess — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 01:00:00 +0000

Hi folks. Hope you all had a pleasant summer. Hi fellow Brits. Hope you all enjoyed your mini Indian summer.

Until I arrived in Tucson I had always thought obsession with the weather was a peculiarly British trait. How wrong I was. We have got nothing on Tucsonans. The percentage chances of rain on any given day, how many consecutive 100-degree days there will be, when the monsoon season will begin and how many inches of rain it will bring. All these questions, and many others of a meteorological nature, are pondered on a daily basis.

The excitement when snow arrived last winter, apparently for the first time in 10 years, was palpable. I remember being in Circuit City when a loud thunder clap and sudden outbreak of heavy rain had all the staff scampering to the front doors to take a look. DJ’s just love to wax lyrical about the weather. They never fail to counsel their listeners to stay cool or find some shade. ‘It’s a glorious cloudy day here in Tucson’ said one the other day. For someone brought up to believe that glorious and sunshine go together, I certainly enjoyed that coupling.

Before this summer, I was always asked if I had been here in the summer. When I said I had not, the questioner would inevitable chuckle knowingly. Of course, at 100 degrees plus, it is hot and I admit that I would not like to do outdoor work in Tucson. But not once did I feel that the heat was unbearable. For me, 40 odd percent humidity is perfectly manageable. I had much more difficulty in Turkey this summer where the humidity exceeded 60%.

For the record, there were 65 100-degree days in Tucson in 2007, 10 more than the average. There were 6.57 inches of rain during the monsoon, slightly above average. And the summer rains brought about a surge in the Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus species of mosquitoes. But with the onset of autumn their numbers have dwindled. Well that is a relief.

AGUA PRIETA

bleeding heart burgess — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 03:43:00 +0000

I recently ventured across the border into Mexico, for the first time in my life. We, (me and my friends, Amanda ‘the slothful e-mail returner’ Shauger and the oh so feisty, Cactus Cathy, both of whom have shows on KXCI Community Radio Station, 91.3 FM, easily the best radio station in Tucson, http://www.kxci.org/ ), crossed by car, only had to show documents on re-entering the States and were not searched.

Not having to pay a bribe to some seedy, Citane-smoking, (http://www.10-minute-plays.com/comedies/10000_cigarettes.html) border immigration official, holed up in an odorous wooden hut, was a result in my book.

The part of the southern Arizona-Mexico border that we travelled through separates the towns of Douglas, in the US, and Agua Prieta, a fast-growing city of some 110,000 people. The contrast is immense. Douglas is full of manicured, fountain-laden lawns, tree-lined boulevards, grandiose, stucco -fronted theatres, imposing, neo-colonial public buildings and exquisitely finished, picture postcard, hotels. Outside of the prime, town center location, Agua Prieta is a dense, sprawling, nondescript, urban wasteland. The roads are dusty and largely unpaved and the buildings are hastily thrown up shells, devoid of all embellishment.

But I liked it immediately. It felt sleepy and laid back. As we cruised through the back streets, we passed building sites galore, stray dogs and smiling kids on bicycles. Our first port of call was a Community Center run by a gentle guy called Jose. There were carpentry and clothing workshops and a computer training room. The mural on the outside wall was stunning (see below). We visited Jose’s house, met his charming wife, dogs and hens – or were they chickens? I’m a city boy from London. What the hell do I know? - and saw his son’s hearse. Apparently, the boy wanted something with plenty of room for him and his mates to cruise around in. Far too morbid for me, but each to their own.

Our next port of call, and the highlight of the trip, was Just Coffee, a cooperative of coffee-growing families from Chiapas, the State in the deep south of Mexico, where Commandante Marcos and the Zapatistas, my all time heroes, are from. The web site is: http://www.justcoffee.org/

The business got started 4 years ago by way of a $20,000, micro-credit, loan from Frontera de Cristo, a Presbyterian border ministry. There are 35 families (which employ 9 additional Mexican staff) in the co-op, many of them belonging to the Cifuentes clan. They are small landowners who produce organic, shade-grown coffee in their village of Salvador Urbina. The green coffee beans are sent to the factory in Agua Prieta, where they are roasted, packaged and dispatched to markets in the U.S. The whole operation is kept in-house, thereby cutting out the middlemen (known as coyotes, as are the ruthless smugglers who escort migrants across the US-Mexico border), who buy up coffee beans for big corporations. Consequently, the Co-op members can earn up to 10 times more.

Large coffee companies keep prices low and most growers are forced to sell to the coyotes for between 40 and 60 cents a pound. Fair Trade companies pay the growers between $1.25 and $1.50 a pound, whereas Just Coffee makes a profit of $5 or $6 a pound. In its first year, the co-op sold 13,000 pounds of coffee. This has risen exponentially and, in 2007, the target is 80,000 pounds. At $8 a bag retail, this would amount to a turnover of $640,000.

The positive impact of this success back in Salvador Urbina is heartwarming. The community has been able to buy a water filtration system, school books and family health insurance for the very first time.

The Co-op’s market in the States consists primarily of 26 churches in Tucson, in southern Arizona, which sell the product to their congregations. 15% of sales are via the internet and, in addition, the Community Food Bank in Tucson sells it in their retail store. The prospects are even brighter as the brand looks likely to be classified as organic by the U.S Department of Agriculture and it is going to be sold in Catholic parishes nationwide.

What is so marvellous about the whole concept is that it is the perfect antidote to forced migration to the United States. The families can stay at home, together, earn a just wage and avoid risking their lives in the desert en route to the U.S. If the U.S government invested even 10% of the $2.2 billion dollars it is proposing to spend on the border fence between the U.S and Mexico, the benefits would be huge. Oh for some enlightened rulers!

Before I sign off, a few words about Micro credit. What a brilliant concept it is. The 2006 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Bangladeshi, Muhammad Yunus and his Grameen Bank, champions of micro-credit to the poor. There is no better way of enabling people to break out of poverty. Micro-credit provides low-interest loans which do not require collateral. Loans of as little as $50 up to several hundred dollars enable the poorest of the poor to set up their own self-employment projects. It is funded by donations, social-investment funds and grants and particularly targets women.

As we waited patiently in the long line of vehicles at the border check-point, waiting to cross back into the land of the free (cue: deep, throaty exhalation) it felt like we were in a scene from a David Lynch film. Squeegee merchants, amputee beggars, mini-skirted women and assorted dudes, all made their presence felt.

We had lunch in Bisbee, a wonderful old mining town which, in the early part of the 20th Century, produced 3 million ounces of gold and more than 8 billion pounds of copper, as well as silver, lead and zinc. It was the biggest city between St Louis and San Francisco. By the 1970’s, the demise of large mining operations altered the complexion of the place completely. Miners left and were replaced by bohemian, artistic types.

We visited Bisbee's local community radio station, KBRP, Radio Free Bisbee, also affectionately known as the 'voice of the mule mountains' (which are located in the Chihuahuan desert). Their web site is: http://www.kbrpradio.com/ Thank you to Harry Wolters, one of the Director's, who took time out to show us the equipment and explain how it all worked. KBRP, a low power, non-commercial, educational station, has been on the air since November 2004.

Harry explained to us that onerous new regulations with regard to indecency, introduced by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), pose a real threat to community and other independent radio stations. In the early 2000's, the FCC began stepping up censorship and enforcement of indecency regulations. In November 2006, in keeping with the puritanical strand within the neocon regime, Bush signed into law the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act. This increased tenfold, to $325,000, the fine for breaching decency standards. There is no warning given. One strike and you are out.

The FCC's defintion of indecency is: 'Language or material that, in context, depicts or describes, in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium, sexual or excretory activities or organs.' Talk about walking on egg shells!

Here are some of the photos I took. Cathy, Jose and Amanda followed by Jose, Cathy and me:

Bisbee and 2 boys on a bike-you'd never have guessed!

Another shot of Bisbee:

The mural outside Jose's workshop:

Hugo Cifuentes, 19, who operates the roasting machine. It cost $30,000 and can roast 40 pounds of coffee in 10 to 12 minutes plus Jose's son's hearse:

My principal source for this post was an article by Margaret Regan in the Tucson Weekly of February 8th 2007, entitled 'Roasting Revolution'.

A BRIT TAKES TO THE TUCSON ROADS

bleeding heart burgess — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 01:55:00 +0000

I knew that I would be surrounded by all things big before I arrived in the states but nothing could have prepared me for the monstrosities which one regularly encounters up one’s rear end on Tucson’s highways. Whenever I am crowded by one of those designer humvees, as I tootle along in my Nissan Sentra, I shudder. And as for those dirty great pick-ups, whose owners have paid anything up to 5 grand for a top of the range Lift-Kit (these raise the frame of the vehicle up from the axel and wheels in order to a) give it clearance over water and other obstacles, b) enhance the experience for lovers of 4-wheeling in the mountains above the Old Pueblo and c) afford assorted rednecks and macho-men even more testosterone than they already have), I have seen more aesthetically pleasing objects in the Air Force bone yard on South Kolb.

That is not to say that some of the sights on the roads here are not endearing. I certainly have a soft spot for the rugged, 50-something, bikers in their knee-high boots, bandanas and mirrored Raybans. And the pristine front ends of big rigs, huge steel grilles gleaming in the sunlight, are surprisingly seductive.

I am a Londoner and am used to driving in an incredibly dense, rabbit warreny, roundabout-ridden city. In comparison, driving in a straight line around the Tucson grid system is a stroll in the park. But, and it is a big but, the danger is complacency. Before long, you find yourself speeding, zig-zagging from lane to lane and neglecting to put your seat belt on.

However, it would take an unnecessary amount of effort to effect as sudden and violent a lane change, from within touching distance of the rear bumper of the car in front, as many of the folk here are inclined to do – Tucsonans just do not do ‘smooth`. Another common trait that has particularly struck me is the reluctance of drivers to slow down when approaching traffic lights or a junction from a side road. So many of them look like they are going to overshoot before slamming on the breaks at the last minute. Guess they get some kind of buzz out of it.

Etiquette would appear to be a quaint, bourgeois, concept which has no place in the dog eat dog environment of Tucson’s Boulevards. Do not expect an acknowledgement if you let someone in to the traffic stream and certainly do not expect anyone to let you in. The first negative experience I had here was approaching Main, as I headed west on Speedway. There are white arrows on the road which point from right to left, in order to warn you that 2 lanes are about to merge into a right turn only one. I was not expecting it and was fractionally late in putting my left turn signal on and moving left. Consequently, I was shut out and at least 8 cars willfully blocked me. I tooted my horn at one of them, which sped up significantly to do so. As I came to a stop at the traffic lights, I saw a muscly, tattooed arm, hanging from the pick-up truck alongside me. The guy leaned over and said slowly and deliberately ‘You were wrong boy.’ I was so gob smacked that I found myself lost for words. If I saw him again, I would simply ask him ‘So, have you never been out of position and reliant on the goodwill of a fellow driver?’ Or maybe I would not.

My first major altercation happened in a Quick Mart Gas station, on the corner of 22nd and 4th. As I came out of the shop, I caught sight of a gorgeous little Chihuahua in the front seat of a bright red sports car. I love teeny, weeny, dogs and was fixated. Within seconds, I saw the driver’s window being opened and a surly bloke was scowling at me. I heard the word ‘disgusting’. I took 2 or 3 paces towards the car and asked him if he was talking to me. Before I knew it, the door was swung open and a tall, spindly guy was mouthing off at me. Something to do with me drooling over his girlfriend. It was only then that I looked over his shoulder and saw a very hot blonde in the passenger’s seat, and the Chihuahua next to her. He moved very close to me and I was sure he was going to hit me. As I spluttered something about him having the wrong end of the stick, he backed off and got in to his car.

Red light running, drivers on the phone and women doing their make-up at traffic lights are universal phenomena. All seem to me to be even more common in Tucson than in London. There are certainly many more darkened car windows and huge mobile homes here than in England. I reckon those Winnebagos are bigger than half the homes in my country. Do the supermarkets charge them when they park up for weeks on end?
Road rage is different here. In London, people toot their horns, get out of their cars for a fight, go red in the face and generally lose control more. But much of it is hot air. In Tucson, I find that there is a silent, but equally dangerous menace. People might screw you but they do so in a decidedly phlegmatic fashion.

The easiest thing was obtaining a driving license in the first place. Having studied the manual, I took advantage of the one-stop shop which the MVD offers here in Tucson. It felt good to get my Arizona driving license at the MVD in South Stocker Drive within hours of applying. I have got to be honest. The practical driving test was pure Mickey Mouse. A three-point turn into some traffic cones, 5 minutes on the road, a couple of left turns and 3 right ones, is all it took.

But just when you think you have got things under control, you get bitten, badly. I parked facing the wrong way on North First and Speedway, and got hit with a $150 fine. The small print on the ticket revealed an array of nasty little laws contained within the City of Tucson Parking Code. A fine of $150 for parking within 30 feet of an intersection or for parking in an alley or within 10 feet of an alley entrance and a fine of $518 for parking in a cross hatched access aisle next to a disabled space.

Never having seen as many accidents in my home city of 15 million people as I have in Tucson, I checked out the statistics on the Tucson Police Department Web Site. In 2006, there were almost 17,000 reported accidents, 4,300 odd of which resulted in injuries and 58 in fatalities. If anything will shake me out of my complacency, these numbers will.

YOU ARE WRONG ON IRAN HUGO

bleeding heart burgess — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 23:18:00 +0000

OPEN LETTER TO HUGO CHAVEZ:

Dear Hugo

Let me say straight away, (at grave risk of being labelled sycophantic but I care not), that you are one of my heroes. Your charisma is unparalleled in 21st century world politics.

Every time I hear the European or American bourgeoisie moaning about your alleged abuses of power and how dangerous you are, I know that you are on the right track.

And no one can accuse you of being a spin merchant. You put your oil money where your mouth is. You are making serious inroads into poverty in your country and are introducing grass-roots democracy to the Barrios.

Whilst you talk about socialism and your Bolivarian revolution, I cannot see what is so worrisome to capitalists about allocating untilled land to 60,000 peasant families or creating 70,000 cooperatives within development zones. I accept that your desire to see the State oil company assume a controlling interest in multinational oil companies’ Venezuelan ventures, may be perceived as more of a threat, but I am sure the likes of Exxon and Shell will not leave because they will still be making billions of dollars in profits.

Nevertheless, I cannot defend your alliance with Iran and your blossoming friendship with its leader, Mohamed Ahmadinejad. With respect Hugo, you belittle yourself by associating so closely with such a tyrant and you give your detractors free ammunition.

The fact is that Iran is a totalitarian theocracy in which hundreds of thousands of people have been tortured, killed and ‘disappeared’ since the 1979 revolution. When the Mullahs eventually fall, mass graves will be found as they have been in Iraq.

Ahmadinejad himself is a nasty piece of work and used to be an assassin for the Mullahs abroad.

Anti-imperialism is all well and good but you have got Evo and Fidel to support you in that. You do not need Ahmadinejad or any other theocrats.

Please Hugo. Do the right thing and distance yourself right away from the Iranian regime. You can only tarnish yourself by continuing to be seen in public with your fellow Iranian polemicist.

I AM LEARNING AMERICAN ENGLISH

bleeding heart burgess — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 01:18:00 +0000

I am learning American English. I made the decision to do so after 3 encounters in my first month here, 2 at Albertsons supermarket and the other at Circuit City. The conversations went something like this:

Supermarket

Me: Hi. Could you tell me where the trolleys are?
Employee: Excuse me?
Me: Could you tell me where I can find a trolley?
Employee: Excuse me, Sir. I’m not getting you.
Me: You know, the things on wheels that we put our food in.
Employee: Oh, got ya. You mean the Carts.
Me: Yes, exactly, the Carts.
Employee: You can find them at 19 and the meat counter.
Me: I beg your pardon?
Employee: At 19 and the meat counter.
Me: I’m sorry. I have no idea what you’re talking about and I don’t
eat meat anyway. Could you show me?
Employee: You bet. Follow me…….Here they are, Sir. Aisle 19, by the meat
counter.
Me: Oh, I see. Aisle 19. That’s great. Thanks a lot.
Employee: Did you find everything OK today, Sir?
Me: I’m sorry?
Employee: I was asking whether you found everything.
Me: Well, apart from Aisle 19, I haven’t looked for anything else
yet. But as you’ve asked, do you stock courgettes and aubergines?
Employee: Excuse me?
Me: Courgettes and aubergines. (I find out later that these
vegetables are known as zucchini squash and egg plant in the
U.S.)
Employee: Sorry Sir. I don’t know those items.
Me: It’s OK. Don’t worry. I’ll do some exploring and hopefully I’ll
spot them. Oh, by the way, can you point me towards the
Gents?
Employee: The Gents?
Me: The Men’s room. I need to have a pee.
Employee: Oh, the rest room. Yes, it’s at 12 and diet right.
Me: 12 and what?
Employee: Diet right.
Me: What is Diet right?
Employee: It’s our new diet right section, Sir. We’ve got like loads of pure zero drinks, like Diet Right (I checked it out and saw that right is spelt ‘rite`) Cola. There’s no calories, carbs, caffeine or sodium.

30 minutes later

Me: Excuse me. Are you in the queue?
Fellow customer: Excuse me?
Me: Are you in the queue?
Fellow customer: What was that?
Me: Are you waiting to pay at this till?
Fellow Customer: Till?
Me: The machine in which the money is kept.
Fellow Customer: Oh, got ya. The cash register.
Me: Yes, the cash register.
Fellow Customer: It’s only me in line here. You’re Lucky, man. Short lines today.
Been like that from the get-go according to a staff member.
Me: The get-go?
Fellow Customer: Yeh, you know, right from the start-up.

CIRCUIT CITY

Me: Excuse me. Can you tell me where to find the portable cassette
tape recorders and CD players?
Salesman: I’m sorry? Hit me with that one more time, would you?
Me: The portable machines on which you can play cassettes and CD
Players.
Salesman: Oh, I think you mean the boom boxes?
Me: Yes, it must be the boom boxes. Sounds right to me.
Salesman: You can find them on Aisle 22. Look out for
the new Sony Triple Loader X2500, I tell you man, you get
more bang for your buck with that than any other item in here.
Me: Bang what? Sorry, I didn’t catch that.
Salesman: Bang for your buck. You know, it’s like you win all ways. You
can really stretch those dollars out.
Me: OK, I get you. They are good value for money.
Salesman: Exactly, Sir. By the way, could I also suggest the new Nintendo
Nagasaki 101 Bunker Buster. That’s the next best buck banger.
Me: Umm. Not sure that really grabs me, but it’s worth knowing I
guess. Thanks.
Salesman: You bet. Have a great day, Sir. And remember. Let’s do it to
them before they do it to us.

You simply couldn’t make it up, could you? The above are just 3 examples of many similar exchanges. According to Bill Bryson in his book ‘The Mother Tongue’, there are some 4,000 words which are used differently in the two countries. Some are well known, for example, lift/elevator, dustbin/garbage can, biscuit/cookie. But others, such as cot/baby’s crib, flyover/vehicle overpass, fruit machine/one-armed bandit and coach/long-distance bus, less so.

Here are 6 other entries to be included in a new British English – American English dictionary, should anyone decide to compile one:
Br Eng-- Am Eng

Leeway-- Wiggle Room

Upgraded-- - Bumped up

Have you finished your meal yet?----Are you still working on that?

That’s fine-- That works

Upmarket-- Upscale

You’re free to go---You're all done/You're good to go

When I was teaching English as a Foreign Language in Turkey in the early 1990’s, I took over a class from an American colleague who originated from Virginia. The class could not understand a word I said. It was painful. It took a good 2 weeks for them to become accustomed to the timbre and pitch of my voice, but once they had done so, they seemed to like it. They asked me whether British English was better than American English. I replied that neither was better. It was simply what you were used to. I cannot deny that, deep down, there must have been an element of cultural snobbery within me which really believed that the Queen’s English (I am a staunch Republican, so no closet royalist jibes please) was incomparable to anything else.

Indeed, Bryson takes the British to task for their superior attitude to language. He points out that America has introduced many words and expressions to the English language that either never existed in Britain or were in common usage in Elizabethan England but then died out. Amongst the first category are words such as commuter, bedrock, snag, striptease, cold spell, gimmick, baby-sitter, soggy, telephone, radio, hangover, joyride and notify. Included within the second, are words such as to quit, to leaf through, maybe, fall (as in autumn), trash (as in rubbish, which was used in that sense by Shakespeare), mayhem, ragamuffin and homespun.

What do I think now after having lived in the States for almost 9 months? I have to say that I am quite enjoying some of the Americanisms, the 6 listed above amongst them. The Americans don’t do finesse, and some of the stuff they come out with can grate, but there is definitely something in the ‘Why use 8 words when you only need 2 to get the message across?` school of thought. And they do love their punchy alliterative phrases.

But give me time to bed down some more folks and sus out what is what over here in the good’ol desert. Innit!!

DON'T BE A SOLDIER

bleeding heart burgess — Sun, 13 May 2007 21:51:00 +0000

I was chatting to the young lifeguard at the YMCA pool and she told me that she was a sociology student at the University of Arizona. However, she wanted to change subjects and was thinking about doing criminology. Having said that, she wasn’t at all sure she would carry on with her degree. She was lacking motivation, and fed up with taking out student loans. In fact, she was seriously considering joining the military.

‘For God’s sake don’t do that’ I pleaded with her. ‘Anything but that. Why would an intelligent, educated, young student like you want to become a soldier?’

‘It’s a good secure career and I really want to travel` she said, ‘my friend is also keen to do it and there’s a buddy system which means we can go everywhere together.’

‘If you want to travel, there are many other safer ways of doing so, such as teaching English as a foreign language or voluntary service overseas’, I told her. ‘Do you really want to risk getting killed or crippled for life fighting for a cause you don’t believe in a country you may never have even heard of?’

‘No, no, of course not. But I can easily join the reservists’, she began to sound less sure of herself. ‘They won’t need me to fight. I can get a desk job here in Tucson.’

‘But you’ll be in reserve. The whole point is that you’re there if needed. They can call you up at any time.’

‘I dunno’ she said, ‘I really haven’t decided anything yet but I’ve thought about joining the military for a long time.’

At that point I decided to give the poor girl a break and get on with my swim.

It’s pretty much common knowledge that the US military recruit aggressively, and have much success when they target poor, disadvantaged, unemployed youth. In the 1980’s, the American Council on Education ascribed a drop in the college enrollment of black people to more aggressive military recruitment. More recently, the military have targeted Latino youth by running Spanish language adverts.

The Bush administration’s No Child Left Behind Act on education requires high schools to provide the Defence Department with the names, addresses and telephone numbers of all pupils, or risk losing federal funding.

There are reports that the Army, worried about the decline in recruitment since the Iraq war, have relaxed the criteria and have been signing up drug abusers and members of racists and other hate groups.

The military spends an estimated $1.9 million a year on recruitment. Like any other sales people, its agents receive commission if they meet their targets. One award winning recruiter told the Boston Globe: ‘You have to convince these little punks to do something….I figure if I can sell this I can sell anything.` Recruiters paint a misleading picture of the benefits on offer. They talk of a 2 year tour of duty, rising pay rates, free health care, good quality accommodation and up to 75% of college tuition fees being covered.

The reality is very different. As part of what is called “the Individual Ready Reserve” you can be called-up for 8 years from the date you start basic training. Soldiers and ex-soldiers suffering from Gulf War illnesses, such as PTSD, are often denied treatment. Living conditions are, by and large, poor and two-thirds of all recruits never get a penny in college funding.

Moreover, around a third of all homeless people are veterans and the average veteran has been shown to earn 10 -15% less than non-veterans.

Over the course of the Iraq war, an increasing number of GI’s have declared themselves to be conscientious objectors and many have received jail sentences for refusing to serve. Over 1,000 active GI’s have signed an online petition asking the US Congress to end the war.

And then there is the endemic racism, homophobia and chauvinism in the military. A recent study found that 30% of female soldiers reported rapes or attempted rapes and 75% said they had been sexually harassed. A 1994 LA Times study found that 50% of inmates at the Fort Leavenworth military prison were people of colour as were 83% of those under a military death sentence.

The Veterans For Peace movement are mobilizing right across the States and have put together a video for schools as a counter-recruitment tool. Unlikely peaceniks you might think but who cares? I’m sure my lifeguard would take a Vet a lot more seriously than a Bleeding Heart Liberal like me.

SIMPLY UN - BEE - LIEVABLE

bleeding heart burgess — Tue, 08 May 2007 02:55:00 +0000

Colony Collapse Disorder. What could that be? Something to do with decline of empire? No, it is nothing of the sort. What it actually refers to is the mass death and disappearance of bee colonies in America. Apparently, some commercial beekeepers have lost up to 70% of their hives.

Bee pollination is crucial to food crops. One study has found that bees pollinate every third bite of food consumed in this country.

Bee pollination has already been extensively commercialized. Operators transport tens of billions of bees across the states. And it is this interference with mother nature which may be behind Colony Collapse Disorder. Bees have been bred into single-purpose super pollinators rather than multi-task insects which make honey, maintain hives and extend the species.

Being trucked around all the time causes stress and the suppression of the bees immune system. To compound matters they are fed a limited diet of high-fructose corn syrup.

Of course, pesticides and GM crops etc. may be part of the equation but, whatever the reasons, there seems little doubt that man’s malign influence on the planet is coming back to haunt us in more and more ways.

We noticed the other day that bees were going into an air vent on our outside wall. From there they were appearing in the fluorescent light fitting in our kitchen. Many were dying in there but others were finding their way out into the flat. Within no time they were proliferating and, the following morning, a huge hive had formed on the outside wall. I took the photo above.

The environmental health people slaughtered the poor buggers en masse and that was that. But you can’t help thinking how unnatural it is for bees to nest in air vent.

FOLK FESTIVAL & DENTAL REWARDS

bleeding heart burgess — Mon, 07 May 2007 03:10:00 +0000

Hi folks. It's 8.12 pm here on a Sunday night in 2son Arizona. I have to admit that, as i write this piece, I'm in a blissfully transcendent and peaceful place - metaphorically speaking. I've spent most of the weekend at the 22nd annual Tucson folk festival which has been awesome and now I'm at home on the computer, listening to Mozart and paying tribute to Bob Marley, in no particular order.

The headline act last night was the Sisters Morales who were blindingly good. Marvellous juxtaposition of buzzy Latin rhythms and lyrical, elegiac, folk tunes. They signed their CD for me and told me that they're negotiating to do a gig at the Borderline club in London. Mark my words, you'll be hearing a lot more from those two divas. Would I lead you all astray? I can assure that this is most certainly not a bum steer.

And as if that wasn't already a result, I am minding my own business at the main stage last night when a hoary man, who looks to be around 65, initiates a conversation with me. He tells me that he had open heart surgery 3 months ago, after which he was in a coma for 9 days. I respond that his recovery is phenomenal and he readily agrees.

In keeping with his lack of modesty, he then precedes to say that he is a computer consultant who can ride horses, play the flute, paint insects very well indeed and is an etymology scholar. And when I asked him if there was anything he couldn't do, he looked straight at me and, deadpan, replied 'Not much actually.' Oodles of self-confidence this man's got.

And to cap the whole thing off, I purchased a sleek black and grey magnetised bracelet for a mere $20. The blurb confidently asserts that the bracelet has many healing properties and relieves many conditions including Asthma, frozen shoulders, Migraines and Gout. Well that's me sorted then. Been seeking a cure for my gout for years.

It's all good. I tell you, ladies and gentleman, It's all good. And in addition, more good news presented itself today. The dentist to who I was referred by Irving, the husband of Galena, the hygienist there, sent me a thank you for joining the practice card and a tooth fridge magnet. You could't make it up. I must see if my magnetic bracelet locks on to the fridge magnet.

I really like this place. You never know which eccentric bohemian or stereotypical redneck is going to come into contact with you next. You get wonderful surprises from your new dentist and car insurer, and you've got folk music and cacti in abundance.

A BUNK BED FOR 3 SIR OR SOLITARY?

bleeding heart burgess — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 06:25:00 +0000

In one of the local papers here, there is a shocking photograph of a prison dormitory in California State Prison in LA. The room is jam packed with male inmates sitting or lying on 3 tier bunk beds. No surprise then that prisons in California which were built to house 100,000 now hold 174,000. Apparently, Arnie (Schwarzenegger) is planning to transfer thousands of prisoners to facilities in other states.

As part of a more progressive reform package, he is calling for ‘re-entry centers’ to serve thousands of men in the period leading up to and subsequent to their release. He has also proposed the transfer of many women and youths to be moved to smaller institutions closer to their homes.

The USA incarcerates somewhere in the region of 2 million people. 1 in every 140 of its residents. This is the highest rate of imprisonment in the world. Moreover, 1 in 3 black men spend part of their lives behind bars. To add insult to injury, it keeps some 20,000 prisoners in long-term solitary confinement within supermax (super-maximum security) prisons. Compare this as a percentage with the UK. A figure close to 2% as opposed to 0.1% of the UK prison population who are held in isolation wards. An unknown number of people are held in isolation units within traditional jails.

Supermax prisoners are subjected to 23 hours a day confinement, 24 – 7 video monitoring, including in the shower and toilet, and constant cell lighting. There is also plenty of evidence of the use of electronic stun devices and restraint chairs. In 2000, the UN Committee Against Torture declared that the Supermax prisons were violations of the Convention Against Torture.

In June 2005, a Supreme Court Judge concluded that inmates at Ohio State Prison ‘are deprived of almost any environmental or sensory stimuli and of all almost all human contact.’ Remind you of a place populated by people in orange jump suits? Quite a few of the long – term prisoners at Ohio State Prison are routinely refused parole despite evidence being presented that they are ‘model inmates’ whose behaviour has been excellent. The reasoning given is often simply that the seriousness of the original offence outweighs the good behaviour.

According to the Prisoners of Conscience Project of the National Council of Churches, there are more than 100 political prisoners in the US. Some belong to the Puerta Rican independence movement and were caught whilst fighting to prevent annexation. Others are members of the militant black liberation movements which sprang up in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Many of them are victims of illegal covert FBI operations such as the infamous Counter-Intelligence Programme (COINTELPRO).

Some political prisoners, who have spent time on death row, are now very high profile. They are also the victims of well-documented miscarriages of justice. For example, Mumia Abu Jamal, the black liberation movement supporter, and Leonard Peltier, the American Indian activist.

A new report by the Pew Charitable Trusts says that the male prison population is set to increase by 12% over the next 5 years whilst the female prison population is expected to rise by 16% over the same period. The reasons given include mandatory minimum prison sentences, reduced parole rates and high recidivism rates.

It is all intensely depressing and myopic. It seems that the federal government and / or the individual states are more than happy to shell out billions of dollars (an estimated $35,000 annually per prisoner in California) on locking people up and throwing away the key rather than investing in education, drug – rehabilitation programmes, universal healthcare and enlightened, community based, solutions.

INSTITUTIONALISED THEFT

bleeding heart burgess — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 23:48:00 +0000

Greetings earthlings. I trust that you're all frightfully well

In Bill Bryson’s book, ‘Notes from a Big Country’, there is a chapter entitled ‘Spinning The Truth.’ In it, Bryson does not mince his words. He is unequivocal that corporations and other big businesses lie to the public about the products and services they are offering and the prices they are charging.

Bryson gives a number of examples of misrepresentation, such as a food product called a ‘blueberry waffle’ which does not contain blueberry. He talks about the ruses of junk mail companies and reports promoting new drugs in medical journals, where the researchers have been ‘bought’ by the pharmaceutical companies.

When he confronts a motel chain employee about the misrepresentation of a special offer and says to him ‘But that’s fraud’, quick as a flash, the guy responds ‘No, sir, that’s America.’

We have had one or two nasty shocks here. The worst one was when we were late with a payment to a company called ‘Dish Network’, a satellite TV company. They just went ahead and took about $250 from our credit card account which they said was a cancellation fee and an equipment fee. Apparently, the minute anyone is late with a payment Dish Network’s policy is to assume that the customer has cancelled the contract and that the returnable parts of the equipment will not be recovered. No warnings, red bills or anything like that.

We had deliberately withheld payment because we were having technical problems and had not received service for over 2 months. When I tried to arrange a call – out with a technician, Dish Network told me that we actually had a separate contract with a satellite installation company and that we would have to contact them directly to arrange the call-out. They also kindly informed me that if we wanted to cancel the contract, both companies would charge us around $250. None of this was ever explained to us at the beginning, nor was it in the small print we were given.

To cut a long story short, I had it out with them on the phone (by the way, it is a lot, lot harder to get through to customer services in the US than it is in the UK) and managed to get the penalty reduced to $100.

We’ve got an account with Bank of America. I found out today that when we withdraw money from a non Bank of America ATM (cash point) machine, Bank of America charge us $2 as a penalty for not using their machine!! Can you adam and eve it? So, we pay the usual fee to the other bank which, as in the UK, you have to agree to before the machine gives you the money. Plus, we get hit for another $2 by a Bank which is acting like a spiteful child. ‘That’ll teach you. Don’t do it again’ is the message. It’s breathtakingly audacious, is it not?

The other major thing you need to get used to here is that when you get quoted a price for something it doesn’t include the tax which is usually between 8% and 12% on top. Also, if you want a warranty on something you’ve purchased you have to pay for it. It usually costs about 10% of the price. Basically, there are hidden costs upon hidden costs.

There’s something about the way people you do business with are overly polite and go out of their way to make you feel comfortable. Agreed, it's nice when people behave decently. But you're often left with the feeling of being sucked into something that you're going to regret. I took out car insurance and got a letter from the agent which I’d have been pleased to receive from a life – long old school friend. All sorts of stuff about his gratitude and wanting me to feel comfortable about turning to him at any time. Maybe he can double - up as my shrink.

Oh yes, I almost forgot. You get flooded with people’s business cards, many of which include a colour photo of them. Soon makes you paranoid you know. Everywhere you turn in the house, you catch a glimpse of someone looking up at you.

SEDONA AND GRAND CANYON PLUS CACTUS

bleeding heart burgess — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 23:59:00 +0000

Hi Folks

Here are some shots of Sedona and the Grand Canyon.

Sedona is famous for its red rocks and has some wonderful forests, creeks and canyons.

The Canyon is truly awesome. It stretches for 277 miles across northern Arizona, is an average of 10 miles wide and 1 mile deep. It reveals some 2 billion years of geological evidence.

By the way, I’ve found that the cacti here have really grown on me. (I’ve got one taking root on my back) They are amazing monoliths of the desert. The Saguaro cactus don’t even sprout arms until they are 75, can live for 200 years and reach 50 feet in height. They expand in order to store water in their spines and owls, woodpeckers and other birds nest inside them.

bleeding heart burgess — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 23:28:00 +0000

TO FENCE OR NOT TO FENCE?

USA: 1904

The first border control is established to stop Asian workers from entering the US through Mexico.

UK: 1905

Aliens Act. The first immigration law. Designed to prevent the immigration of poor Jews fleeing pogroms in eastern Europe.

USA: 1942

Bracero programme allows Mexicans to work in US in response to labour shortages.

USA: 1953

The US Immigration Service deports more than 3.8 million people of Mexican heritage.

UK: 1962

Commonwealth Immigrants Act. Designed to control the flow of skilled and semi-skilled migrants from the Caribbean.

USA: 1965

Nationality quotas abolished, inaugurating a new era of mass Immigration, particularly from Mexico and Latin America.

UK: Mid 1980’s

Single European Act allows freedom of movement within EU to all EU citizens. Process of harmonization of EU immigration policy begins in order to tighten Europe’s borders.

USA: 1994

NAFTA – The North American Free Trade Agreement – comes into effect, stimulating US – Mexican trade. Massive increases in border populations occur. Operation Gatekeeper begins in San Ysidro / Tijuana, the beginning of Border Patrol’s national deterrence strategy.

UK: 1996

EU Visa Policy is officially harmonized. 10 years of UK visa restrictions has seen the number of countries whose nationals require visas reach 105. UK introduces draconian immigration law

USA: 1996

Tough new immigration law introduced focusing on criminalisation, detention and deportation.

UK: 1999

Further hard – line immigration law passed.

UK: 2004

Stringent, wide – ranging immigration act expanding the range of criminal offences of asylum seekers.

USA: 2005

House Bill calling for 700 miles of wall along the US – Mexico border and criminalizing illegal crossing into the US, is passed.

USA: 2006

Senate Bill calling for 370 miles of fencing, 500 miles of vehicle barriers and 2400 more border patrol agents, is passed.

The above snapshot of US and UK immigration act history serves to illustrate the parallels between the two countries policies towards asylum seekers and refugees. Happy to allow workers in when it suits them and to sign regional agreements that are perceived to be in the national interest. But there are no scruples when it comes to cracking down on immigrants when domestic political considerations are to the fore.

In the States, the debate over the last few years has centred around government proposals to construct a fence covering hundreds of miles of the 2000 mile US – Mexican border. A border which is crossed more often that any other international border in the world. Some 350 million people crossing legally every year and up to half a million are thought to cross into the US illegally.

Physical fencing would be accompanied by a ‘virtual’ fence of cameras, sensors, aerial drones and other satellite technology, in addition to thousands more border agents. It will all cost billions of dollars.

Geographical, cultural, environmental and economic considerations are all pertinent when assessing the viability of such a huge undertaking. Much of the border territory is comprised of rugged mountains, sand dunes, canyons and rivers. Hardly conducive to fencing.

Environmentalists are gravely concerned that the fence will cause havoc. For example, the fragile wetland ecosystem of California’s Tijuana estuary, home to over 370 migratory and native bird species, would, they say, be irreparably damaged. The migratory patterns of animals such as jaguars, wolves and bobcats would also be affected.

It is true to say, however, that there is already a significant degree of environmentally damaging human detritus caused by the thousands of immigrants in the border region.

Investigations have shown that, as with the Israeli wall in Palestine, the fence would permanently divide communities and tribes whose cross-border ties are integral to their identities.

Economically, border businesses are heavily reliant on the 960,000 people who cross from one country to the other every day. In the Rio Grande Valley area of South Texas, Mexican visitors contribute about $3 billion a year to the economy, spending which supports more than 64,000 jobs. In California, the equivalent figures are $4.5 billion and 67,000 jobs.

The economic arguments for and against immigration in the US pretty much mirror those in the UK. Proponents argue that foreign born workers do the jobs in the farming, cleaning, construction and food sectors that many American workers refuse to do. They point out that, in any event, foreign workers only account for about 5% of the country’s workforce and that they contribute far more to the economy in taxes etc. than they take out in benefits.

Opponents claim that unskilled foreign workers take jobs away from the locals and drive down wages. Illegal immigration, they say, places a heavy burden on local services and contributes to rising crime rates.

Oddly enough, Bush, who supports a guest worker programme and a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, finds himself on the more moderate wing of the Republican Party. The hard - liners simply want to criminalize and deport illegal entrants.

As is always the case with immigration, it creates some strange political bedfellows. Those on the humanitarian left side with free – market industrialists who want cheap labour, whilst many trade unionists and social authoritarians on the right want to close the borders.

It has surprised me that some so-called liberals here are vehemently opposed to a guest worker programme. They say that it gives carte blanche to business to exploit vulnerable and compliant Latino workers. They point to examples where the deportation of illegal Hispanic workers has forced the employers to advertise for indigenous workers at higher wage levels.

I don’t doubt that there’s a lot of truth in that but surely, if there’s a decent minimum wage (without exemptions in any sector) which is properly enforced, and proper working conditions, there doesn’t have to be exploitation at all.

Some commentators in the US call for the Mexican government to do more to enact economic reforms and create jobs for their citizens. That’s all well and good but what about the destructive affect of NAFTA on Mexican workers? In the 10 years or so following its introduction in 1994, 6 million tons of American maize was dumped on the Mexican market. The affect of this was to bring the price of maize down from 2.5 pesos a kilo to 1 peso. NAFTA is estimated to have put up to 2 million Mexican workers out of work.

Wouldn’t it be infinitely more productive for the American government to cooperate with the Mexican government and invest money in developing the Mexican economy rather than spending billions on building a fence? There can rarely have been a more futile, one – dimensional policy proposal.

AT THE CAR WASH

There are some things you just wouldn’t see in England. Not least the young woman I saw at a car wash the other day. She came in with a kid on each arm and a gun tucked into her jeans, at the back. I thought only black – eyed mafia killers tucked their weapons into their trousers like that. She saw me do the mother of all double takes and laughed. ‘Don’t worry’, she said, ‘I’ve got a license for it.’
‘Are you just sending out a message that you’re not be messed with?’ I asked
‘Yeh, that’s it Mister, right first time……..You’re not from these parts are you?’
We had a brief chat and off she went, confident that her space was not about to be invaded any time soon.

The attractive, extrovert, African - American girl on the cash register was a bundle of energy. She liked my accent and found it very funny when I said ‘Spot on’. She was a perfect example of how it’s hard to pigeonhole anyone around here. She was living with her same sex partner and 2 children from her previous heterosexual relationship. She was a creationist, who believed that God created the world 6,000 years ago, but smoked copious amounts of dope. And I found all that out in the space of 20 minutes whilst I waited for the car. What can I say? I like to get down to the nitty – gritty. No idle banter for me.

WAS 9 - 11 AN INSIDE JOB?

bleeding heart burgess — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 23:10:00 +0000

Happy New Year Folks. May it be a happy and productive one for you.

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“I know many qualified engineers and scientists have said the WTC collapsed from explosives. In fact, if you look at the manner in which it fell, you have to give their conclusions credibility.”
Paul Craig Roberts, former Assistant Secretary of Treasury under Reagan.

“What I saw on September 11th was a perfectly executed act that could have happened only with the support of the Intelligence services.”
Andreas Von Buelow, former German Secretary of Defence.

Before I arrived in the US, the only major article I had read which challenged the official version of events of 11th September 2001 was written by Michael Meacher, the British MP and Environment Minister between 1997 and 2003. In the Guardian newspaper of 6th March 2003, Meacher questioned the fact that not one single fighter plane was scrambled to intercept the hijacked planes until after the 3rd plane had hit the Pentagon at 9.38. He pointed out that between September 2000 and June 2001 fighter aircraft were launched on 67 occasions to chase suspicious aircraft.

Meacher recorded the fact that the FBI turned down the request of US agents to search the computer of Zacarias Moussaoui, the so-called 20th hijacker, after it was discovered that he had radical Islamist ties. A month before 9-11, one agent wrote that Moussaoui might be planning to crash into the twin towers. Meacher also quoted a whistle blowing FBI agent, Robert Wright, who revealed that the FBI had not wanted any arrests. In November 2001, the US airforce had apparently had Al-Qaeda and Taleban leaders in its sights at least 10 times in a 6 week period but had been unable to secure permission from on high to attack.

Shortly after I arrived in Tucson, I saw an advert in one of the local papers for a screening of a film called ‘September 11th Revisited - Were explosives used to bring down the buildings?’ (http://www.911revisited.com/) I went to see it and discovered that, far from being a fanciful conspiracy theory, it was a serious and credible piece of work. I found out that there is a huge body of work out there which falls within the ambit of the 9-11 truth movement. There are many scholars, politicians and intellectuals who believe that the US administration was complicit in the 9-11 attacks. The following link:

http://patriotsquestion911.com/professors.html contains the names, biographies and brief statements of 100 such professors. You can see straight away that these individuals are well respected, often brilliant people, who have reached the top of their fields of study. You may have heard of some of them. Not even the most militant defenders of the official line can dismiss this array of talent as crackpot conspiracy theorists.

There are scores of forceful arguments made by the 9-11 truth movement which cast serious doubt on the US government’s explanation of the events of 9 – 11. Here are some of the principal points:

1:
Office fires burn at temperatures of 600 – 800 F. Jet fuel is an ordinary hydrocarbon; its maximum burning temperature is 1200F. Steel melts at 2700F. Neither jet fuel nor the burning contents of the buildings could have caused the towers’ steel structures to melt and then fall.

2:
No steel framed building before or since 9-11 has ever collapsed due to fire. The Project manager of the World Trade Centre (WTC), Frank DeMartini, has confirmed that the buildings were designed to withstand the impact of planes hitting them.

3:
The collapse of the South Tower in 10 seconds and the North in 9 is even faster than free fall with only air resistance. Even if the steel had melted the buildings would have displayed completely different behaviour, in the manner of some asymmetrical sagging and tilting, which would have been gradual and slow.

4:
Building 7, a 47 –storey skyscraper which was part of the WTC complex, but was not struck by a plane, collapsed symmetrically, in the exact manner of a controlled demolition, in 6.5 seconds, at 5.20 p.m. on September 11th. This event was, incredibly, omitted from the 9-11 Commission Report. It turns out to have been occupied by the Intelligence services.

5:
'Redundant’ welded steel buildings like the Twin Towers, built with more than 100,000 tons of steel, are not even capable of ‘pancake collapse’ which normally only occurs with concrete structures of ‘lift slab’ construction.

6:
The rubble from the Twin Towers’ collapse was carted away and the steel immediately sold and shipped overseas without examination.

7:
Prior to the attacks, enormous profits were made by insiders on the plummeting stock prices of United and American airlines. Why did the head of AB Brown Trust, where $5 million of those stock winnings were made, quietly resign on 9-11?

8:
The owner of the WTC, Larry Silverstein, insured the buildings against destruction by terrorist attacks for billions of dollars, weeks before 9 – 11.

9:
Multiple air – defence drills were planned for the morning of 9 – 11. These exercises left only 2 fighter jets available to protect the entire northeastern United States.

10:
The hit point at the Pentagon was too small to accommodate a 100-ton airliner with a 125-foot wingspan and a tail that stands 44 feet above the ground; the kind and quantity of debris was wrong for a Boeing 757. No wings, no fuselage, no seats, no bodies, no luggage, no tail. The Pentagon’s own videotape does not show a 757 hitting the building, even though, at 155 feet, the plane was more than twice as long as the 71-foot Pentagon is high.

11:
The aerodynamics of flight would have made the official trajectory – flying at high speed barely above ground level – physically impossible; and if it had come in at an angle instead, it would have created a massive crater.

12:
If Flight 93 had come down as advertised, then there would have been a debris field of about a city block in size. In fact, the debris was distributed over an area of about 8 square miles, explainable if the plane had been shot down in the air but not if it had crashed as required by the government’s official scenario. All that was visible at the crash site was a smoking hole in the ground.

13:
In his testimony to the 9 – 11 Commission, Transportation Secretary, Norman Mineta, stated that whilst in an underground bunker at the White House, he saw Vice-President, Dick Cheney, castigate an officer who, as a plane drew ever closer to the Pentagon, asked ‘Do the orders still stand?’

14:
Audio tapes of interviews with air traffic controllers on duty on 9 – 11 were intentionally destroyed.

15:
William Rodriguez, the senior custodian in the North Tower, and the last man to leave the building, has reported massive explosions in the sub basements, prior to the airplane’s impact. This has now been corroborated in a study which shows that there was seismic activity some 14 to 17 seconds prior to the airplanes impacts.

16:
George Bush’s brother, Marvin P Bush, was a principal of Securacom, the company in charge of security at the WTC. The buildings were evacuated on several occasions in the weeks prior to 9 – 11.

It seems to me that the debate around conspiracy theories has long been skewed. Why are people who have the audacity to suggest that a state or government is behind a shocking event usually dismissed as a paranoid conspiracy theorists? As Scholars for 9 – 11 Truth (http://st911.org/ http://st911.org/petition/) have pointed out, the official line is no more or less a conspiracy theory than any alternative version of events.

Here is a link for an excellent fictional piece entitled ‘Confessions of a 9-11 hit man.’

http://www.rense.com/general73/confess.htm

Downtown Tucson

bleeding heart burgess — Sat, 18 Nov 2006 23:20:00 +0000

PRETTY IN PINK OR A PALE IMITATION?

bleeding heart burgess — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 00:08:00 +0000

'Osama Bin Laden is either alive and well or alive and not too well or not alive.’ Donald Rumsfeld October 2002

‘And it is not knowable if force will be used (in Iraq), but if it is to be used, it is not knowable how long that conflict would last. It could last, you know, six days, six weeks, I doubt six months.’ Donald Rumsfeld February 2003

PRETTY IN PINK OR A PALE IMITATION?

What a great day! The Democrats seize control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, the first self-proclaimed socialist, yes socialist, is elected to the Senate, Rummy resigns and the Nicaraguan cold war warrior, Daniel Ortega, is returned to power after 16 years. The great unwashed, aka the much maligned American electorate, have spoken. It looks like it may be the beginning of the end for the nasty neo-cons and, just to rub it in, one of their own backyard betes noires comes back to haunt them.

So can we now look forward to a more enlightened period in which progressive and rationalist elements are able to reassert themselves? Will some of the sacred cows that have been jettisoned i.e. adherence to the rule of law and a strict prohibition on torture, be reinstated?

With regard to the US, there’s clearly been a small shift back towards the centre and a desire for a more consensual politics. The black Democratic Senator and potential Presidential candidate, Barak Obama, has said that Americans are tired of the ‘slash and burn’ politics of the last few years and are searching for ‘common values and common ideals.’ That may be true but Obama himself is a good example of the lack of radicalism and continued allure of social conservatism. He wore God on his sleeve during his campaign as did other Democratic candidates, in a bid to break the Republican stranglehold on the Almighty. Bob Casey, the Democrat who was elected to the Senate in Pennsylvania, is a pro-life, Catholic. Support for stem cell research and gay marriage or legal union is about as good as it gets at the liberal end of the Party.

In Arizona, referendums proposing a whole raft of hard line immigration measures were all passed, as was one advocating a zero – tolerance approach to methamphetamine users. Illegal immigrants charged with a serious felony cannot now obtain bail and have had their access to public services severely restricted. English is now the official state language. On a more positive note, the minimum wage has been increased from $5.15 to $6.75 an hour and, last but not least, great news for calves and pregnant pigs who will now be guaranteed enough space to fully extend their limbs and turn around in their cages. Now that’s what I call radical!

And what of Ortega? He’s sold himself as a reformed character, saying that he’s no longer a revolutionary Marxist. Indeed, he actually adopted pink as his campaign colour. He’s insisted that foreign investment is welcome and that private capital would not be under threat. Astonishingly, his Vice – Presidential running mate is a former Contra rebel (right – wing American backed paramilitaries who fought against his regime). To add insult to injury, he managed to change the electoral rules by cutting a deal with a reactionary former President in the country’s Legislature. He says that he still wants to put the country’s poor first and there are many of them. After Haiti, it’s the poorest country in Central America.

Following the Sandinista movement’s accession to power in 1979, production and consumption of food doubled and serious malnutrition disappeared. Not one single baby died for a year. But, in terms of redistribution etc, when he was voted out of office in 1990 (people, desperate for an end to civil war and the US blockade, were paid $40 each to vote for Violetta Chamorra, the Washington backed candidate) most of the economy was still in private hands. So, even then, the rhetoric was unable to be translated into reality.

Hamstrung by external interference, this has long tended to be the case as far as the left in South and Central America is concerned. Salvador Allende in Chile was hardly a Marxist but was always capable of convincing class – war rhetoric. His purpose was to stimulate the economy by implementing Keynesian (stimulating demand for goods and pursuing full – employment in a mixed economy) economic policies. He never sought to dismantle the Capitalist system and initiated moderate land reform and partial nationalization.

Today, for all his anti – Bush / American imperialist polemic (welcome though it is in terms of someone as high profile as a head of state being bold enough to challenge the world's super power) Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez has a bark which is worse than his bite. His anti – imperialist and redistributionist measures constitute irritants to rather than a full – frontal assault on Capital. In 2001, he introduced a law requiring the sale of untilled land to the landless and subsequently, the Venezuelan Congress voted to compel private banks to dedicate 20% of their lending portfolio to ‘micro – loans’ for small businesses and small plot farmers. He also instituted a new hydrocarbons law in 2001, such that the major oil multinationals (Exxon, BP, Shell etc), would only get to keep 70% of the revenues from the sale of Venezuelan crude, instead of 84%. In 2005, Chavez withdrew $20 billion of Venezuela’s petrodollars from the US Federal Reserve and deposited the money in an account with the International Bank of Settlement for Investment in Latin America.

I guess our perception on all these things depends on whether we see the glass as half full or half empty. Liberals in the US tend to put a positive gloss on any gains, however miniscule, which is fair enough. Unreconstructed socialists who hark back to a pre-Reagan / Thatcher era are less easily placated.

It remains to be seen whether the Democrats can re-claim the Presidency in 2008 and if those sacred cows can ever be fully restored. As for the first self-proclaimed socialist in the Senate, his name’s Bernie Sanders and he was elected in Vermont. He calls himself a ‘democratic socialist’ and has vowed to fight for the rights of working families and immigrants and against the war in Iraq.

Check out an excellent magazine called Dissent. On the Home Page there’s a great article by Daphne Aviater on Bolivia as well as the postscript to Nicholas Jahr’s article entitled ‘Corruption and Reconstruction in Liberia’ which I also highly recommend and can be found at: http://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/?article=653

A MEMORABLE KISSINGER DIATRIBE

I wanted to share with you this delicious Henry Kissinger put down by Molly Ivins in the October 7th edition of the Arizona Daily Star:

The Old War Criminal is back. I try not to hold grudges, but I must admit I have never lost one ounce of rancour towards Henry Kissinger, that cynical, slithery, self-absorbed, pathological liar. He has all the loyalty and principle of Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, whom Napolean described as “a piece of dung in a silk stocking.”

Come to think of it, Talleyrand looks pretty good compared to Kissinger, who always aspired to be Metternich (a 19th-century Austrian diplomat). Count the number of Americans and Vietnamese who died between 1969 and 1973 and see if you can find any indication he ever gave a damn.

As for Kissinger’s getting the Nobel Peace Prize, it is a thing so wrong it has come to define wrongness – as in, “As weird as the time Henry Kissinger got the Nobel Peace Prize.”

TUCSON TOPS THE MILLION MARK

Tucson’s population has reached a million, making it the 39th most populace city in the US. It’s growing rapidly and is expected to be the 5th most populace by 2040. Maybe I was the millionth resident, I better get myself down to the Town Hall to see if there’s a prize on offer. You never know, maybe I’ll get a gift token for the local Reptile Store (photo on the way). Quite fancy a pet snake. Could call it Henry Talleyrand or Charles Maurice de Kissinger which I’m sure would please Molly! But I digress……

The population mix here is as follows: White: 58%; Hispanic: 32%; Black: 3%; American Indian: 2.5%; Asian/Pacific Islander: 2.5%; 2 or more races: 1.5%; Other: 0.5%. I have been pleasantly surprised at the diversity in Tucson, it’s greater than I expected. Tucson was under Spanish rule until 1821 when Mexico won its independence. In 1853/4, it became part of the US following the purchase of 30,000 square miles of Mexican territory for $10 million. Most of Arizona, along with nearly half of Mexican territory, was transferred to American ownership in 1848, following the Mexican / American war.

Apparently, there are 752, 270 vehicles registered in Pima County (in which Tucson is situated), 107,160 licensed dogs, 364 schools, 489 churches (there seems to be one every 200 or so metres), 68,000 residents with asthma,
41,258 swimming pools, 129 ATM’s, 645 traffic lights, 244 gas stations and 20,000 + streetlights. They do love licensing and logging everything here. There’s a notice in the park downtown which says that it’s illegal to drink beer without a license. I think I’ll apply for one just for the hell of it. Watch this space.