The discussion the previous post provoked was fascinating. Since a few days have passed I thought I'd carry it a bit further. Sadly, it seems that forums such as these are among the few places left one can find people intelligent and worldly enough, to talk with.
Yesterday, a brief clip on the news addressed the first anniversary of the date a Swine Flu pandemic was declared by the U.N. World Health Organization. ( I may be a bit off because the coverage was very spotty.) However, CNN chose to point out that - while they were a party, along with other cable news outlets, of promoting a worldwide scare - the people in WHO responsible for raising the alarm, and also raising the subsequent billions of dollars spent to develop the H1N1 vaccine, had very close ties to Big Pharma! And while these billions helped a few ill, the crises in no way warranted the health care scare coverage, nor, did it warrant nearly destroying the Mexican economy. (Just as had happened couple of years earlier in Honk Kong, with Bird Flu.)
Now why does none of this surprise me!
I can accept that if you are an expert with the IMF or the World Bank, you should have banking experience. With health, you should have medical or pharmaceutical learning. I, myself, have twenty five years in the USAF, FAA, and the Dept. of Homeland Security. I am an aviation expert. You would expect me to have aviation experience. But you would not expect me to be some greedy whore! "Nuff said.
So why then, do we have thousands in the Dept. of the Interior and/or the Dept. of Energy who cannot figure out how to cap a well?
I know I caught some flak from the right for suggesting the perpetrators of this disaster be placed into temporary receivership, and their assets controlled by a court of appointed trustees until the damage is cleaned up and all claims are paid.
Now, my name is not Hugo or Fidel! I use the word TEMPORARY! I do not accept seizure of private property lightly. But we, as a planet, are facing what may be the worst man-made disaster on the EARTH, worse than any natural disaster, because the world deals with those and adjusts. We must make certain the party or parties responsible for this mess can never escape accountability or responsibility.
BP lied in its application for a drilling permit, and in how it would go about protecting the Gulf wildlife in the event of a spill, including saving WALRUSES. Now unless WALLY WALRUS escapes from the Houston zoo, BP has nothing to worry about. But, MY GOD, are we going to let these corporations get away with such blatant crap!
British Petroleum, Haliburton, and other major players in the oil and gas game are not simply companies. They are like COUNTRIES! Some have more power than the smaller European states. They have the wealth and ability to fight and it may take nations as powerful as the United States or Great Brittan to keep them in check.
We are the guardians of the planet. It is our responsibility to protect wildlife, the air, sea, rainforest, and their inhabitants. It is also our responsibility to protect our children!
People, we are failing miserably! For every leader on EARTH who seems to care that his people are fed, breathe clean air, and drink pure water, are educated, and receive proper medical care, (Mr. Correra, I think you are one.), there are a thousand others whose only goal it seems, is to line their own pockets, most easily by catering to the corporate interests to whom everyone is beholding.
Yesterday, a report came out that 1 in every 5 children in the United States is living below the poverty level. Couple this with the obesity problem we have among children and our kids are worse off here than in many Third World countries. Think about it. Many inner city mothers and fathers must travel 1 to 2 miles for fresh fruit or vegetables. Junk food from the local convenience store is an easier choice, and the diet of those kids.
For us, a reason for wanting to move to Ecuador, initially, was economics. It still is. But our health matters more. As more people learn the benefits of a healthy diet, more and more stores here in Texas are bringing in the produce and meats we can only vaguely remember. I still can't get grass fed beef like I had in Argentina, but I paid $4.99 a lb. for fresh, organic pinto beans the other day. We are paying $9.00 for 12ozs. of fair trade organic coffee from Kenya. And I pay $1.00 a bottle for Coca Cola from Mexico. The kids at checkout ask me why. I tell them it contains real sugar, not high fructose corn syrup that American Coke contains. (They don't understand, but at least they are curious.) (I switched to the Mexican Coke after reading about aspertame in Diet Coke, and its potential link to cramps.) I'm not sure about the connection, but cramps are very few and far between now.
Oh well, time to sign off. Remember, this forum is to discuss Ecuador, and how it interacts with the world. Anyone who wants to know if planes fly from Chicago to Quito, or if an interstate highway connects North and South America needs to do his research elsewhere.
Ray
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