Tag: Suffering

Can You Seriously Blame Haitians?

Just a quick note this morning, a purely reactionary one to a bit I heard on CBC this morning, concerning Haitian distrust over solutions (read: medication) to fight the raging cholera epidemic. And apparently Voudoo is getting the blame for that distrust.

However I do think the a much more relevant reason for why Haitians apparently distrust advice from people trying to help them is, remember, where this advice (read: “guidance”) is coming from.

The same people who have occupied their country since a Western backed coup of their democratically elected President, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, in 2004? The same people who have exiled him and continue to keep their President banished in central South Africa? The same people who refuse to let the most popular political party in Haiti, Fanmi Lavalas, to run in the upcoming elections. The same people who, arguably, brought this epidemic to Haiti, in the first place (apparently the strain of cholera making its rounds in Haiti right now is endemic of Nepal, not the Caribbean)? The same people holding back aid money that was promised to them after the January 12th earthquake? I could go on…

Continue reading Can You Seriously Blame Haitians?

Potty Parity

Today marks World Toilet Day! And as odd as “we,” people living in the developed world, might find the need to mark a day as such, facts are not everyone is blessed with certain luxuries. Luxuries we take for granted. Sanitation being just one of many. But what’s worse is, and I have experience with this particular aspect, its affect on women.

The Current today, in part 3, Potty Parity, they dealt with this issue in quite a few interesting ways. Breaking it down — while citing some very compelling facts — in some interesting ways. One of which, as I said, I have experience with. I pee sitting down, and have to perform a certain process to take care of business, and have absolutely no choice but to.

I know, or could guess closer than any other member of my gender (a male) who isn’t in a similar situation as me, what is at stake for women. And most importantly what having access to washroom facilities truly means to a person who needs to go. Now I’m not saying I have a complete understanding of everything a woman, in this case, faces in this particular circumstance. I’m just saying there is much more to any one experience than what any one person knows and could imagine to be true.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, things are much different — in ways you can imagine, sure, but it’s the stuff you didn’t consider that really makes you appreciate what certain things truly mean for an individual who isn’t you — on the other side.

But I can’t imagine what life would be like without any access to sanitation. Please do yourself a favour and familiarize yourself with the issue. I will…

Things Could Be Worse

What’s with people? In what would be the supreme height of laughable — that is if the facts on the ground facing regular working American’s and the tragic implementation of their health care wasn’t so ridiculously deadly — ”conservative Maryland physician,” Andy Harris, “elected to Congress on an anti-Obamacare platform” demanded “to know why his government-subsidized health care plan takes a month to kick in.” And continued to ask “what he would do without 28 days of health care.” Irony, eh?

Realistically what I find much more ironic is the fact that as much as Republican’s and the Tea Baggers talk their shit about Obamacare, and how much they hate him — err, I mean it — those newly elected officials have absolutely no intention of repealing that legislation (watch today’s interview of Wendell Potter on Democracy Now!). Health care reform benefits business. That’s precisely where all that Republican money came from. People expecting change by voting for an industry funded solution have been had. Nothing will change. Or be repealed. But I digress.

So in a sorry attempt to cover his sloppy ass, Andy Harris, or I should say his spokeswoman, claimed — I’m assuming after the fact — ”he was just pointing out the inefficiency of government-run health care.” Believe it or not — which I don’t — that concern is fair…

Continue reading Things Could Be Worse

When all is said and done

What could I add to a quote from Robert Fisk’s recent piece The shaming of America about the recent WikiLeaks disclosure of “The Iraq War Logs”? Not a fuck of a lot. So;

The truth, of course, is that if this vast treasury of secret reports had proved that the body count was much lower than trumpeted by the press, that US soldiers never tolerated Iraqi police torture, rarely shot civilians at checkpoints and always brought killer mercenaries to account, US generals would be handing these files out to journalists free of charge on the steps of the Pentagon. They are furious not because secrecy has been breached, or because blood may be spilt, but because they have been caught out telling the lies we always knew they told…

Typical Fisk fashion, pure class!