Recently, Venezuelan President, Hugo Chávez, has taken serious steps to challenge American supremacy and has severed ties with a number of Latin American allies in the process.

Chávez has established socialist trading blocs with both Cuba and Bolivia. Chávez is well known for his definitive left wing anti-American stance. He openly supports Bolivia’s oil nationalization efforts. Through these actions he has won the favor of Venezuela’s lower class. He has simultaneously begun to ostracize himself from the U.S. and his Latin American neighbors, specifically Mexico, Nicaragua, Chile, and Peru. On May 15, Washington banned the sale of arms to Venezuela, accusing the country of an intelligence relationship with Cuba and Iran. Chávez’s public statements have also significantly affected Peru’s presidential campaigns.

Chávez has openly criticized both of Peru’s main presidential candidates, President Toledo and former president Alan García. He called President Toledo an “office boy” for President Bush and described García, whose past presidential term was marked by scandal and corruption, as “shameless, a thief.” While denouncing Latin American governments that support free trade, the Venezuelan president has also stirred up controversy among some of his South American allies.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil was humiliated after Chávez joined a cooperative meeting between leaders from Brazil, Bolivia, and Argentina and proceeded to upstage them in a news conference following the event.
  
According to deepikaglobal.com, President Chávez plans to visit Russia in order to strengthen ties between the two countries. In May 2005, Russia signed an agreement with Venezuela to supply 100,000 AK-103 submachine guns worth 54 million dollars. A meeting between the two could potentially bring together two of the world’s top oil producers, both of whom have straining ties with Washington.

Venezuela’s government has recently approved higher royalties for oil companies like Exxon Mobile and Chevron that are shareholders in four heavy oil ventures. The law increases royalties to 33.3 percent from 16.67 percent on all oil companies operating in the country, according to the state’s oil company Petróleos de Venezuela’s website.

Collaborations between Venezuela and Libya are in the works to provide discounted oil to developing countries in Africa. Chávez has publicly extended this offer to developing European countries as well.

The divisive stance of President Chávez is drawing a thick line between capitalist countries and others who associate more closely with Socialism. While he has solidified allied relations with Bolivia, Cuba, and Russia, Chávez has also cut himself off from a substantial portion of Latin America. How will this affect the world as we know it? Guess we’ll have to keep reading to find out.

ahodgdon

Hundreds of thousands of people gathered throughout the Americas Monday, May 1, 2006, in support of immigrants’ rights. The day symbolized protest against the U.S. economy, as many people did not attend work or school or spend any money. Above all else, this was a day when people came out in protest of HR4437.

In Santa Cruz, California, protestors collected by the thousands. Santa Cruz County was able to organize nearly 10,000 people in areas such as Salinas, Santa Cruz, and Watsonville. Waves of supporters marched through the streets in support of immigrants’ rights, chanting “Sí se puede,” which is Spanish for “Yes we can!”

Protests also occurred throughout Central America. In Honduras, union members boycotted U.S. soft drinks and fast food. In Nicaragua, President Bolaños issued a special message to the Nicaraguans in the United States, saying, “God protect them, and I hope they achieve their goal.” In Guatemala, protestors were heard chanting, “Gringos criticize us, but without immigrants they’d be nothing.” In Mexico, at least six state governors endorsed the boycott of U.S. companies.  

Since the House of Representatives voted to pass HR4437 in December, people throughout the country have gathered to protest the bill. HR4437 increases the penalties for illegal immigrants who come into the U.S. along with those who employ them. The bill makes it a felony for any immigrant to cross over into the United States. Anyone who knowingly hires illegal immigrants is now subject to a fine of up to 50,000 dollars and no less than a year in prison.

This is merely a recap of the events that occurred on May 1. More correspondence coming soon.

ahodgdon

On Saturday, March 4, 2006, the Bay Area community took part in the twelfth annual Urban Iditarod. The event is a lampoon celebration of the annual Alaskan iditarod, which also began on this day, where huskies and sleds are replaced by canine getups and shopping carts. Approximately twenty-five teams entered in to compete in an expedition across the San Francisco streets.

Nearly 1,000 people assembled in the Minna Street Alley some time after 10 a.m. Teams began rallying their spirits around shopping carts filled with beer, rum, vodka, and radios. Contingents distinguished themselves with creative canine identities. Other squads included the Brown Hornets, Jamaican Bobsled Team, and ESPN 8 Yocho. Shopping carts were led by a musher and powered by four pack animals. Racers utilized this vital preparation time to socialize and liquify their courage because, according to Ben Stein, a member of the Dog the Bounty Hunter Team, “There’s no ice in paradise.”

The event attracted a diverse crowd of international proportions. John Maris, a member of Dr. Hwang’s Korean National Dog Cloning Team, disembarked from Auckland, New Zealand to partake in the race. Other athletes came in from various parts of California from Sacramento to San Diego.

Hype and excitement brewed until high noon, when the Alpha Dog unleashed the teams onto Market Street’s jagged asphalt terrain. Competitors traversed perilous high-traffic intersections packed with confused shoppers and impatient drivers. Sidewalk bystanders cheered as the mob of turbulent challengers hurdled over trolley tracks and insidious potholes.

Through the eyes of the press however, the event was similar to the running of the Bulls in Pamplona.
        
After pausing in a back alley to recoup, the horde barreled through the China Town Gate heading north, howling along Grant Avenue until they reached Washington Square Park.
        
The course extended onto Powel Street in the North Beach area. Racers crossed the finish line at Fishermen’s Wharf, where all were treated to the open courtyard at Jack’s Cannery bar for parlay and praise. Amidst upscale floral arrangements in the quaint cafes along the perimeter, associates of the Iditarod raged until the spirits had been exercised.

ahodgdon

January 21, 2006

Song and saturnalia ignited the Edinburgh Castle this evening with a tribute to one of Scotland’s most acclaimed poets, Robert Burns. Here at the twelfth annual “Burns Day” celebration, the essence of the Scottish experience in America was in full effect, complete with Scottish accents, beer, dance, kilts, songs, whiskey, and indeed…a haggis. Scottish flags suspended from the rafters above the audience members who occupied every inch of available space to witness a deeply engaging performance by Jana, a Scottish Zen Monk. Jana’s love of Burn’s work arose in Scotland, where she grew up listening to her grandfather recite Burn’s most notable poem, Tam O’Shanter. Jana rendered radiant verses from a pile of poetic pieces that touched her heart as a means to propel this traditional cycle. She began the evening with words from another Burns poem, “Hey Johnny Lad, Cock up your Beaver,” in honor of the Scottish struggle to salvage freedom and identity during English oppression. With glasses in hand, admirers and spectators alike paid respect to the passionate and often romantic words of Burns.

Robert Burns (1759-1796) was born the son of a farmer, William Burns. His family rented acreage in the farmlands of Scotland. After his father died Burns and his brother continued the family legacy on the farm. Burns found pleasure in a modest living, and held onto a healthy dose of disrespect for the Victorian conservatives, whom he referred to as “the dirt o’ gentry.” Still and all, this ardent intellectual harbored deep-seated dreams that expanded past the boundaries of rural pasture. It was at this time that Robert Burns began writing poetry for inspiration. His words speak for the lives and values of Scotland’s lower class. He wrote mainly about men and their ways, as well as his position in the world.  Robert Burns was a man of prominent integrity. He engaged in a vivacious lifestyle, which he articulated beautifully with his command over the written word. His poetry rejoiced in the plebian life that he led, and ridiculed the conservatives who wished to subdue him. “He dignified simple life and spoke with zest of those even lower down than himself” (Fitzhugh, 12).

The following is an excerpt from one of Robert Burn’s early works, Epistle to Davie:

It’s no in titles nor in rank:
It’s no in wealth like Lon’on Bank,
To purchase peace and rest.
It’s no in makin muckle (much), mair (more);
It’s no in books, it’s no in lear(ning),
To make us truly blest:

If happiness hae not her seat
An’ center in the breast,
We may be wise, or rich, or great,
But never can be blest!

Nae treasures nor pleasures
Can make us happy lang;
The heart ay’s the part ay
That makes us right or wrong.

His words demonstrate that money and power do not always bring happiness. Happiness is found in health, and health is wealth.

By 1786, at the age of 27, Robert Burns had failed as a farmer, and had composed a sound body of poems that he published in Kilmarnock, Scotland. His book was well received, and it earned him respect from a well-to-do section of Scotland’s aristocracy. He tailored some of his later poetry to the cadence of song (as seen below in Song, Untitled), and continued this practice until the day he died:

See the smoking bowl before us,
Mark our jovial, ragged ring!
Round and round take up the Chorus,
And in raptures let us sing—

(Chorus)
A fig for those by law protected!
Liberty’s a glorious feast!
Courts for Cowards were erected,
Churches built to please the Priest.

What is title, what is treasure,
What is Reputation’s care?
If we lead life of pleasure,
‘Tis no matter how or where.

With the ready trick and fable
Round we wander all the day;
And at night, in barn or stable,
Hug our doxies on the hay.

Does the train-attended carriage
Thro’ the country lighter rove?
Does the sober bed of marriage
Witness brighter scenes of love?

Life is all a Variorum
We regard not how it goes’
Let them cant about Decorum,
Who have character to lose.

Here’s to Budgets, Bags, and Wallets!
Here’s to all the wandering train!
Here’s to our ragged Brats and Callets!
One and all cry out, Amen!

A fig for those protected,
Liberty’s a glorious feast!
Courts for Cowards were erected,
Churches built to please the priest.

Burn’s songs revel in the realities that supplement everyday life. He envisions a free body encircling the light of truth, and denounces the formalities of law and church. Instead, the focus falls upon enjoying life’s natural pleasures. Burns Night at the Edinburgh Castle is truly an homage to this focal point.  

Allen Black, manager of the Edinburgh Castle and Master of Ceremonies, conducted a Haggis Sacrament in honor of Robert Burns with none other than the legendary Scottish Bagpiper, Jack Cunningham, accompanying him.

After swiftly parading the boiled sheep’s stomach up and down the pub, Black exhaled a fleeting entreaty for the soul of Robbie Burns before fashioning the symbol of a cross into the haggis with a ritualistic Scottish knife and enlivening the innards with a shot of whiskey. One skin satchel of haggis was enough to feed an ample segment of the two hundred casual Scots who attended the event.

The fervor of performance poetry, song, and conversation lasted late into the night, and legend of Robert Burns was rekindled in the hearts of those who recognize what the man stood for.

Sources
Fitzhugh, Robert. “Robert Burns: The Man and the Poet.” Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1970.

ahodgdon

In the Supreme Court case of Gonzales vs. Oregon, the Federal Government is scuffling to uphold the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. This federal law makes it illegal to prescribe controlled substances for assisted suicide, and doctors who follow state law to assist will be penalized. Ultimately, the highest court in the land is deciding whether or not terminally ill Americans may have that right to abruptly terminate their lives along with the pain they endure day in and day out. Some perceive suicide as a choice. Others believe that suicide is really about lack of choice. This time of uncertainty presents a pivotal opportunity to examine suicide as a health issue, and to explore the presence of choice within this social problem.

Derek Humphry, an internationally recognized author, journalist, and euthanasia activist, is convinced that people aren’t really free unless they are able to die according to, and at the time of their selection (10/14/05). In an email sent to InTheFray, Mr. Humphry wrote: “The right to choose to die when terminally or hopelessly ill is to me the ultimate civil and personal liberty” (10/14/05).

Humphry specified that assisted suicide should only be available for dying or hopelessly ill people whose bodies have decimated to the point of limited mobility and strength.

Diane Brice, Program Director for Suicide Prevention Service of the Central Coast (SPS) carried the point that, in the case of assisted suicide, many times terminally ill patients never actually use of the lethal pills that are prescribed to them. Patients keep the pills close to them, as an option to end their lives if the pain ever becomes unbearable. “That lets me know that control is the issue,” said Brice.

The International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide reports that, while 326 prescriptions for lethal substances were dispersed within the last seven years, only 209 assisted suicide deaths were reported.

Michelle McCarthy, director of crisis services at SPS, stated that suicidal individuals do not wish for death. “When you’re suicidal, it’s like being in a tunnel or a box. It’s an altered state. People are in a lot of pain. Sometimes the pain becomes unbearable…people are looking for a way to end their pain.”

McCarthy pointed out that suicide is about requiring resources such as social support. Individuals may become unable to experience options during moments of overwhelming pain, leaving suicide as the only release. McCarthy delegates a group of volunteers who work on the Suicide Prevention Service Crisis Line (1-877-ONE-LIFE). The volunteers are trained to recognize the callers’ thoughts, decisions, and abilities to choose during crises.

McCarthy showed confidence in the abilities of individuals who call the crisis line; “People have their own answers. People know how to take care of themselves. They just need support in the process. After talking, you may still have the same issues, problems, and that emotional bundle that you’ve been carrying around might be a little bit lighter.”

Other suicide activists have extended knowledge via the Internet. Metanoia, an online therapy website, has created an Internet crisis page. The message on the page embarks with a directive, “If you are thinking about suicide, Read This First.” Below the title is a letter to the reader. The first line follows: “If you are feeling suicidal now, please stop long enough to read this. It will only take about five minutes. I do not want to talk you out of your bad feelings. I am not a therapist or other mental health professional — only someone who knows what it is like to be in pain.”

The presence of online media resources for people in a suicidal mind state is vitally important. Crisis Link, another Internet resource site, states that one of the biggest mythical warnings surrounding suicide is, “Don’t mention suicide to someone who is showing signs of severe depression. It will plant the idea in their minds, and they will act on it.” Society’s conviction to avoid the subject of suicide has only intensified the issue and has made it difficult for community members to acquire resources.

In regards to assisted suicide, it seems that, rather than focusing specifically on ending their lives, terminally ill patients simply yearn for some form of control over the pain that isolates them in states of physical agony while they live out their final days. Many times these people are cared for in supportive environments such as hospitals and homes. However, when somebody has no support during times of crisis, it is very common to feel as though they do not have control. In this case, suicide is not about making the choice to give up on life. It is about feeling disempowered to the point where one cannot experience any choices, leaving only thoughts of suicidal reaction. Suicide prevention is about self-empowerment, about helping someone who is in crisis to understand that they are valuable, and also to acknowledge the pain that is present in the world today.

Diane Brice stated that people are discouraged from recognizing the full extent of their emotions. “We are allowed to be sad today, but not next week, even if those feelings come up again.”

For social activists such as Humphrey, Brice, and McCarthy, the goal, as described by Diane Brice, is, “To get real about our human condition… about loving and losing.”

For more information about suicide prevention services, call Suicide Prevention Service of the Central Coast at 831-459-9373.

ahodgdon