Murder, Inc.

The business of murder is one of the biggest operations in the entire world, hiding not so discreetly behind the facades of so-called "legitimate"companies. Doubt me? Take a look at some of the rapper Jay-Z's lyrics that infamously brag about funneling his street drug money into, say, white music companies that exist safely overseas in Norway. Recently, a salacious story broke here that the film "Wolf of Wall Street" was actually financed by a criminal's capital (http://www.wsj.com/articles/malaysias-1mdb-the-secret-money-behind-the-wolf-of-wall-street-1459531987), which surprises business-savvy New Yorkers, like, not at all. Where do you think movies get millions of dollars to create big splashy films? The American Red Cross? Uh, hell, no. Not enough of a return on one's investment for curing cancer.

And so, when American actor Sean Penn found himself unwittingly caught in the middle of an international drug bust for the notorious drug cartel leader "El Chapo" (https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/01/13/the-drug-cartel-that-protected-sean-penn-also-terrorizes-mexican-journalists/), we were also rather nonplussed about the connection. I mean, actors are people famous for doing eyelash thickening ads for pharmaceutical companies in between precious t.v. and film gigs, like the movie "Lost in Translation" deftly explores (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_in_Translation_%28film%29). Overseas, we're all just so much American capital to foreign investors, ya dig?

On this Friday, I want us all to think about changing the conversation and the way we think about business forever. My father always used to tell me about "the banality of evil" that was run by so many average white guys in rumpled business suits commuting to-and-from their Midtown offices every single day of the week. We like to pretend that the business behind killing is something glamorous and fun like the movies would have us believe, but when was the last time a murderous criminal fronting the money for such skewed films told you the truth? They may have their conduits to the public's imagination, but so do we. I have all of you.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/feb/18/worlds-top-firms-environmental-damage 

http://www.fastcodesign.com/1662817/infographic-of-the-day-the-worlds-most-environmentally-damaging-industries 

Ice Age

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prospect_Park_%28Brooklyn%29

We had a snowstorm recently in the tri-state area, which means every kook with an ax to grind about the seasons comes out in full force on our local news broadcasts, either as deniers for global warming brought on by mass consumption and clogging pollution, or some out-of-towner brought to New York City by corporate from another marketplace that's way warmer (and naturally much better, duh), who just fucking hates it here. Both are annoying and often the same person, but much like the turning of the earth on its axis, New Yorkers accept posers for who they really are: thrill seekers looking to make a quick buck in the heart of the empire, hopefully at our expense, because we're that good at weathering storms every year, like in preparation and stuff. 

Of course, it never really works out that way for the bluesy bipolar broad bored with life itself, because this town spits out people like candy. We have every type of season existing in the Northeastern U.S. within perfect balance, divided neatly into three months each with four distinct seasons, which we often like to explain to any type of human from any spot around the globe in excruciatingly long (and highly technical) detail, if need be. Meteorology, ain't it a kick? It's actually fun to mess with 'em sometimes, like the mayor pretending that Saturday's snowfall was "the worst one ever!!", as a direct contradiction to the near-constant snow we had just last year, but such are the devotees of "the idiot box" and its' voodoo priestesses promising heightened hysteria they can all "get high" off of, in some delusional end-of-the-world type of scenario, rampant with overly dramatic words in description of a simple snow, so that they can nod along with some droning talking head. Yeah! So cold, so dreary....gasp! Like death itself!! Go global warming! We love you! Sooo warm.*

Meanwhile, we're having downhill sled races in the park, with cool Park Rangers handing out hot chocolate to the kids for free, happy as ever in a landscape turned magical with sparkling snow, but...uh, yeah...sure, it's the end of the world in a northern climate. Meet you at the rink? No need to rent. I have my own ice skates! Oh, right....booooo, that's bad fun >:( I forgot! In a way, we use our environment to weed out the kind of people who wouldn't make it anywhere let alone here, so much so that we've kind of perfected life in all its aspects, complete with a southern colony for those retired exiles we call "Snow Birds", those charming Grandmas you all see in Florida, dope, with the strong native accents. And that's why it's hard for whiners everywhere; they have a lot of competition, too much for us to even notice them all, thus sucking some of their joy out of killing our fun, which never works. What a pattern! Almost predictable, like the weather itself....right?

But, that's what major shifts are all about. It was the same thing in the workplace, when publishing transitioned from the purely manual to the computer desktop: people who couldn't make the leap in thought necessary to move forward didn't excel, and the rest did. No one specifically asked me about that "sea change" either, but you didn't hear me complaining about it overmuch. I didn't have the time for it, what with teaching myself graphic design for books on the computer at night, running my own household with roommates and boyfriends in tow, and staying alive long enough to do it again the very next day. Boohoo. No one cared because work had to be done, so you just learned what you needed to get through the day, and in the process, I became the greatest apprentice the industry had ever seen.

Our families were like that, too. My grandmother's parents decided at some point that they had enough of working after the ice industry went bust with modern refrigeration, choosing instead to refuse speaking English to their children while forcing my studious grandmother to work on their behalf, thus depriving her of her dream about advanced education, not that it worked. She excelled far past them anyway, because she had to, and because she could, and isn't that what they saw with me, too? I could've done without the abuse, domestic violence, mental illness, and addictions that seemed to spring fully formed all around me, but like my grandparents, I knew I could bridge the gap if I had to. I didn't have the choices that I make easy for the people who depend on me to survive, because this isn't exactly my first "Ice Age" to gap, nor will it be yours. Welcome to the same evolutionary theories as then, newly packaged for you in the Digital Age because we had to, for you to keep up with us, so do. Keep up!

https://www.prospectpark.org/news-events/news/

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_change_denial

Sense of Snow

An empty road during a snow storm is a good thing.

We've been vacillating between frigid snow and freezing rain to warm Spring-like days that melt it all away, in a dangerous guessing game of highs and lows that Climate Change Luddites still do not acknowledge as part of the times we live in. 

Snow-covered pavilion.

After a bus ride to the city the day before our last big snowstorm, the driver and I chatted about weather, and he asked me if I liked the snow. I'm Acadian; I love snow in at least twenty different ways for over twenty different reasons, each subtle and unique, but not for traveling long distances on crowded highways, especially commuting to a job that's not worth the price of a life. 

Snow, then freezing rain.

My new friend agreed with me as I wished him safe driving before heading out the bus doors. Snow is beautiful to look at, and it can be hell to drive in, but he, like me, is well-informed about the terrain. It's a fact of life we accept by showing a healthy respect for Mother Nature. Here's some of my views over the past few weeks that's part of a visual diary about having a sense of snow. More to come.
 

Faith: All Saints Day

The New Rules. Familiarize yourself!

The other day I went for a follow up at a hospital here in the Hudson Valley called Good Samaritan, across the street from The Tagaste Monastery (http://mariedoucette.blogspot.com/2013/10/sacred-spaces-tagaste-monastery.html). The link between my vocation and my health care was not lost on me as I stood by the chapel, waiting for the breast care center to open. They held a free event to heighten awareness about breast cancer that I attended, with free mammos, breast exams, and sonograms for women who are under insured or uninsured, as well as applications for free health insurance under Obamacare. 

Faithfully Healing the Earth.

As I stood there waiting, I saw a brochure next to the chapel. It was about the new mission focus for Franciscans. Of course it is. I don't have happy coincidences or lucky accidents like most folks you know. For me, every fortune cookie and seemingly trivial event has import and meaning, and that's just the way it is for me. This little two-sided  pamphlet demarcated the new codifications for Catholics, which is a green mission that includes taking care of our environment and the planet, as part of God's inheritance for us. Like so much of my life, everything just kinda falls into place. That's the power of faith, and that's my message for you today on this All Saints Day. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Saints%27_Day)

Have a closer look for yourself:

http://www.chausa.org/environment/climate-change.

http://catholicclimatecovenant.org/.

Celebrating our good green earth. They have the right idea!

Want to get started on the right path? Here's some inspiration:

http://www.pinterest.com/mariedoucette/recycle-and-repurpose/

 

The Island President

Like the people of Shishmaref*, the people of The Maldives are living the hell caused by climate change right now. The more the planets' temperature rises from carbon emissions injected into the atmosphere, the higher sea levels rise, forcing entire civilizations to relocate or disappear. The Maldivians have had a culture for over 3,000 years that they are naturally fighting to sustain; not ten years from now, not ten minutes from now, but the very minute that you are reading this post. *http://mariedoucette.blogspot.com/2011/11/last-days-of-shishmaref.html

Because of the urgency of the threat to their group of islands, the President had to address the huge issue of climate change immediately, after years as a journalist and activist fighting to free his country from the grip of a brutal dictator. Mohamed Nasheeds' life story is the gripping beginning to his epic battle to win the right for his people to live peacefully. Upon winning the presidency in the first free democratic election, the fight then becomes one to save his people. Period. http://maldivesdemocracymovement.com/

Even now, The Maldivians still struggle against forces of oppression by counteracting the next coup staged by the former dictatorship that ousted Nasheed from his post as President. His courage to survive solitary confinements and police brutality underscore the amount of bravery that we, as responsible inhabitants of this planet, must summon up to conquer those forces that we feel are bigger and more threatening than we are. But that's exactly what we must do; we must speak up. Every time you are at the cash register, you have the opportunity to buy a product that either a)  contributes to a toxic, wasteful lifestyle that hurts both us and our planet , or b) contributes to a healthier lifestyle and planet for us all. 

It's the very reason that someone like me, who fights hard for every dime I earn, still makes the conscious decision to choose green and compassionate products over cheaper harmful ones whenever I can; choices that directly impact my here and now, with the future payoff of a better future for us all. That's exactly what's expected of us: be the David who fights Goliath, every minute of every day. Not tomorrow, but today. You have to start today.  Be brave! 

http://theislandpresident.com/

This is it

Snake oil salesman have been around since mankind invented the concepts of scarcity and abundance. The world still has small pockets of people who look to the land as the source for all their needs. They have no money, no property, no jails, no crime, none of the ups and downs that plague modern man. Of course, erratic climate changes caused by pollution are now putting these same cultures in danger, but woe be it to me to put that together with multinational conglomerates who sell cheap and addictive substances. That would be paranoid!

These villagers live according to the laws of Mother Nature. They are beholden to no one. Storms blow over their huts or drive away the fish and destroy crops. Not men. It is a life without artifice, a paradise of sorts that's based on reality. If a hurricane can decimate you and your neighbors, then there really is no need to invent phony sicknesses with quack cures and bogeyman that hide in the jungle at night.

 

Here in the Western World, we have no such luxuries. We invented a system that needs to be fed, and our lives and the land we inhabit is the price we pay for this mirage of prosperity. It's a psychosis that's gone beyond competing with the neighbors. It's about their destruction, albeit hidden behind a phony facade of "charity" while wrapping oneself in a flag and crying about the losses of Liberty. We are told what to buy, who we are based on what we buy, and what our purpose is in buying, from those among us whose best interest remains in maintaining the status quo. Do you really profit from their vested self-interest? Uh, no.

Let's be clear. We feed on greed to supply the need. We WANT beyond what we were designed as humans to handle and I have seen it drive people mad—doing things and then rationalizing them away in the exact same way any two-bit con does in jail about the break-in that went bad, resulting in two people dead. Your thoughts and your actions lead you somewhere, whether you admit it to yourself and those around you or not. This culture of "winning" based on lies and concealment is startling to buckle and crumble in this new time of transparency, and I am heartily ushering it in. Why? Because the hypocritical right-wing Senator who impregnates his mistress is finally getting his due. He's getting taped by her as he tries to blackmail and manipulate her into an abortion right after he stumped on the Senate floor about the "evils" of women's healthcare.

 

So. If you are someone who likes a steady diet of reality, welcome back. Let's pick up where we left off, with something to "feed your jones". It might come in handy the next time a Beverage Biggie wants to plead commerce and the joys of a supposed free market economy to you. You know, because it's all about "choices", not some artificially created campaign that's designed to pull you in based on your vulnerabilities. Nah. Can't be, right? I mean, that's how drug dealers operate and that's ILLEGAL. Conspiracy theories are for kooks and people who wear tin foil hats. But I say that a junkie by any other name is still an addict. Read on dear readers, and unplug from the matrix that surrounds you. There's gold to be had in selling snake oil and you are paying the price. Start making the connections.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coca-Cola

The Last Days of Shishmaref

Like so many people this time of year, I've been dragging around town half-heartedly doing errands, in an effort to get my chores done before a full-blown cold settles in. I'm really tired, necessitating lots of tea, napping, and the elimination of dairy products from my diet, at the suggestion of a local barista and my doctor alike. While I rest up with that run-down feeling, I've been catching up on t.v. with a few DVDs from the library.

"The Last Days of Shishmaref", a documentary about a region of Alaska and the native Eskimo people who live a traditional lifestyle there, is a visually arresting movie. It's wild America at its most beautiful.

The climate is quickly changing in a warming trend that's been dramatically effecting the seasons for a long time now, with the polar ice caps melting to catastrophic effect. Bearing the brunt of this global impact are the Inupiaq people, who have relied upon seasonality to provide for their families for over 4,000 years.

Worsening storms from enormous ice melts and longer warm seasons have caused so much damage to their small island, that the tribe has already moved their homes back from the shoreline once. Sadly, that's not enough to save it. Shishmaref will soon be totally under water. 

The good news is that part of the mainland has been reclaimed for their tribe. They will still have their ancestral hunting grounds and fishing territories, though serious adjustments will be made by their moving. They have been an island people for a very long time.

While the wheels of government adjust slowly to our everday realities, the fact is this: relocation is extremely costly to people and the environment. The move for Shishmaref costs about $186 million, money that could have been spent on sustainable, eco-friendly tenchonlogies a long time ago. What say we make the wheels of change move a little quicker? The indigenous people of the Americas were here first. It's only fair: http://www.thelastdaysofshishmaref.com/shishmaref3/cms/cms_module/index.php

In this global world we live in, we are all neighbors.