The Americanization of Australia

I am an Australian. I live in the USA. This is the eighth country I have lived in, and I am horrified.

I am horrified that schools ask for donations – not as a matter of choice. Your donation will determine the treatment your children will get. It is not their talent and hard work, but your donation that will decide how their science project will be presented, or what role they will be playing in school dramas. My daughter is a talented artist, so I donate a lot.

I am horrified that health institutions run like businesses, where patients are referred to as clients, and, like any other enterprise, the purpose is to increase repeated business and upsale unnecessary survives, not healing the sick. When some kids in our neighborhood were admitted to a hospital after an accident, the three with comprehensive insurance, despite their minor injuries, underwent a series of unnecessary, expensive test. The one without, had to wait for eleven hours before seen by a doctor. She was released ten minutes later. The cost of comprehensive insurance (equivalent to the Australian’s) is over $20,000 a year, like buying a new family car every year.

But patients are not the only clients of the system. In a country that prisons are for profit, prisoners are clients, too. As a result, the USA has the highest incarceration rate in the world: 754 prisoners for every 100,000 people. For comparison, the number in Russia is 470, in China 172, and in Australia 143. Long sentences are given for petty crimes, while those who can afford expensive lawyers often walk free, or with minor punishment. But if you are poor black or Hispanic, incarceration might be you better choice: no police officer would be brought to custody for shooting you, even if you were innocent.

I am also horrified by the amount of time, money, and energy I spend on replacing products made to fail. Buying the same brand in Australia or Europe, may it be a refrigerator, a toaster, or a car, the product in the USA will be inferior, will need more maintenance, and will fail sooner. I have lived in eight countries and numerous houses, and never before the USA had so many service people strolled through my house, maintaining and fixing it on a regular basis. But regulation about quality, is defined by politicians paid by the industry, what’s good for the average people is of little consideration.

The image most Australians have about America is that of the 1980. This America exists no longer. A research by the political scientists Martin Gilens, of Princeton, and Benjamin Page, of Northwestern found that the preferences of rich people and organizations representing business interests had a much bigger impact on subsequent policy decisions than the views of middle-income and poor Americans. They suggested that “majorities of the American public actually have little influence over the policies our government adopts.” In other words, the USA is no longer a democracy, but rather an oligarchy. And it horrifies me that Australia, instead of learning from others’ mistakes, is following the American path.

The marriage of money and politics in Australia, which turned lax and opaque during the Howard’s government, will, in the long run, lead to the loss of fairness, and the blurring of right and wrong. What we call corruption today, in the future, following the USA model, will become business as usual. It risks everything we treasure about Australia: caring for the weak, the environment. We must do everything to keep money out of politics. Because beyond a certain point, there is no way back.

This, too, is not about America

Despite of what many here think, First World War, was not about America (nor was the second, as a matter of fact).  However, with the high school curriculum above, can anyone blame American for having no clue that the world does not revolve around them?

ICU: where your financials are examined before your injuries

My daughter’s friend crashed his new sports car. He drove at night, and had three passengers with him – to violations of the Connecticut traffic law, as he is under eighteen. He also drove well over the speed limit. There is no doubt that he, and those in the car with him must be taught a lesson. But first they needed to be treated.

They were taken to ICU, three with private medical care, one without. The girl without, one of two daughters to a single mother, suffered the heaviest injuries. It was not for the doctors to teach them a lesson for their reckless behavior; the doctors’ job was simply to punish her for not having a private insurance.

The three others were admitted, arranged in private rooms, and immediately attended to. One of the guys suffered only minor, superficial injuries, yet the three of them underwent comprehensive tests, many unnecessary, each bringing the hospital thousands of dollars.

Six hours later, the uninsured girl was still sitting on a chair, waiting in the corridor. Not once had she been attended, her pulse taken, the risk of internal injuries assessed.

In America, this is all most people know, and such reality is taken as Force Majeure. After all, shouldn’t the rich be given priority over the poor? Can it be any other way? But it does not have to be like this.

The USA is the sixth medical system I have lived in. In the other five, too, I had private medical insurance. The private insurance guaranteed better rooms, when they were available, allowing me to choose my doctor and the clinic. But in time of emergency, it made no difference. Priority was based on injury and health, and on not on financial wellbeing. But over there, injured people are still patients – and people – not clients.

The arguments about the medical system in the USA: republican vs. democrats, Obamacare, are all missing the point. A culture that worships money more than life cannot provide good care to its population. Poor healthcare is merely a symptom.

CIA Director Resigns

I wonder if it were the Afghans or the Iraqis who complained to the USA that they would not accept to be the target of assassinations by anyone without implacable moral record.

Yes. let's occupy wallstreet

Once there was a bank, let's call it C, and the bank would not provide credit for its loyal customer, R, who had been with C for many years. Even though C kept taking R's money, she always had good excuses why she would not yield. “You're not from here,” she'd say. But then R moved here, and two years later, C ran out of excuses, and one day, just like this, she offered R a credit card.

It was blue and smooth, and had diamonds on it, and although R's limit was only $300, he was delighted. Now, he thought, he could build his credit history, and become a true American, with debt, and lots of other useless things he'd always wanted. That will make C love him even more, he thought.

So every month R would religiously spend between $250 and $280 on all the things he didn't need. He was careful not to reach the dreaded $300 limit, and made sure to open every envelope with C's name on it. Most of the them he tossed (C always asked for more), but once a month, when he got the one with numbers and lines, he'd immediately fill his pocket with some change, and hurry to give C what she deserved.

So the happy relationships continued for some time, until R decided to buy a house, and the the first one to know about it was C. But a few days later, a letter from C was shoved under R's door. With trembling hands he opened it. To his great dismay, R had to face the sadness we all know so well, his love to C was not reciprocated.

“Dear R,” the letter opened, “I'm so sorry but I can't give you the mortgage you need. You see, you are already utilizing over 90% of your credit line. Please call me if there is anything else I can do for you,” the letter ended.

Still hoping to change of heart, R spent hours on the phone, arguing persuading, trying to change C's mind. But to no avail. He swore that he'd never sought credit with another, and that C was his only card. It did not help him.

Broken hearted, R decided to cut the card, and with the $280 he owed, he send it back to C, never to see her again. It did not take a week before C started leaving messages on R's phone. “I do not want to to lose you,” one message said. A letter, smelling of C's perfume arrived. It brought back old memories, and R could not stop his heart from beating fast. In the letter, C offered to increase R's credit to 3,000, 30,000, 300,000, whatever he wanted, “Just don't leave me,” she begged. But R's mind was already set, and with time letter and messages from C dwindled until the flow dried up altogether.

And then, all of a sudden, a letter from C. “Dear R,” it said. “I've now checked again your credit situation, and learnt that you have no outstanding debt. I am so happy that at last I can give you the mortgage you wanted so much, and we can be together again.” By that time, however, R's heart had been given to another (lets call her H) and until this day, he never spoke with C again.

The End.

Irene and the Profiteers

 

A summary of radio advertising (on two AA batteries) I collected before and during Hurricane Irene.

All citizens living in flood-prone areas are requested to evacuate their homes, that is, if they have a toll-gate pass. For those without this convenient, money saving card that can save you hours when you need them most, please go to our website www.YouHaveNoChoiceButPay and get your pass for an extra charge (we know that you do not have a choice.)

If, however, due to the severe weather condition, your Internet is down, you can still reach us on 1800-pay-alot and a new wireless connection – which does not require a landlines and can save you thousands of dollars in shopping from wherever you are – will be delivered at your doorstep.

In the likely event that your power is also down and you cannot call us – because you are subscribed to a modern telephone service that does not work when the power is down – we have just the solution for you. A self sustained portable generator – which you can also use when camping or when having friends for a nice barbecue after your successful fishing trip. To get our generator, please come to any of our local shops around Philadelphia, as we have made a killing, and we are sold out in the tri-state area. If you ever make it back home, you will feel as if no storm whatever is taking place.

If flooding prevents you from reaching our shops – open for your convenient 24 by seven including Christmas and New Year eve – we hope that your insurance with us is valid, and gives you all the sleep you need in these stormy times. Otherwise, if you have survived Irene, please call 1800-you-are-screwed, and make sure that your next hurricane will be a pleasant experience to share with friends and family .

When did profiteering stop being a dirty word?

Earthquake

A 5.9 magnitude earthquake centered in Virginia shook Washington Tuesday. The White House and Capitol were among the Washington buildings that were evacuated.

At last!

Nothing else has shaken the white house , or forced its people our of their holes. Hopefully they have now recognized that there is a world out there – the world we pay them to stop destroying so fast.

Thank you President Obama

President Obama called for Bashar al-Assad to step down for the sake of the Syrian people. President Assad wishes to thank Obama for his good advice, and apologizes that his busy schedule, killing his people, has prevented him from looking after their welfare. For the sake of his people and the pleasure of facing an international tribunal, he promises to consider Obama proposition seriously.

Bombs and Euros

I don’t understand Iran’s obsession with their nuclear program. After all, if all they want is to bring US to its knees, all they need to do is sell their oil for Euros. This will not only devastate US much faster, it will also shatter the American national spirit.  

Think Simple

America invested a million dollars to have a pen that can write in space, the Russians used a pencil.

America has invested billions to develop Star Wars capabilities, a dozen people with no technology brought the World Trade Center down.

And the first nuclear bomb might reach the US not by a ballistic missile, but sent by Fedex to explode on opening.

And once more we will all be caught by surprise.

The Legal Face of Evil

Image by: blog.camera.org

Once I had a friend who was a farmer. He is not a farmer any more. He is barely alive. The legal system nearly killed him.

He had a dream. He wanted to treat animals right, he wanted to treat customers right. He did not believe that diseased meat cleaned with ammonia was appropriate for human consumption. He had not had any experience as a farmer, so he abounded a successful engineering career and went to school again. Four years later he borrowed money from family, friends and the bank and started his own little farm.

He built a few raws of chicken coops, with enough space for chicken to move, and enough windows for them to see the light. He planted a few acres of vegetables, which he tried to grow without chemicals, and he started planting his first orchard.

But as small and insignificant as he was, he was a threat to the big corporates. After all, if they let him – and others like him – grow, who knows where it might lead. Maybe consumers would even start demanding quality and responsibility? This would have hurt large corporates' bottom lines, and cannot be just. Like vultures they circled above, waiting for the opportunity to shove him down the cliff. “Kill him young before he grew,” said the CEO of a big corporate.

And so they did. Hangmen, who have never worked a day on a farm – some would say they had never worked a day – would appear in their expensive outfits, holding death warrants. My friends tried to fight, after all they had no claim, but they had money.

The court dismissed their case, so they came with a new one, and my friend fought again. The court dismissed again, and they kept coming back. There was no respite. They knew how the system worked; they knew that no one could stop them from coming after my friend's farm over and again.

My friend never lost a case, but behind him stretched a long a trail of blood and money. And the corporates, smelling the blood, licked their lips, knowing that his end was near. By now, he was in debt, debt he could never repay. His farm was not the happy place any it used to be, as he would spend his time in court and not in the field.

What could have been a successful enterprise, the type that once built America and its economy has turned into a feeding frenzy for the winners.

“Kill them young they said,” their eyes already set on their next target.

The vicory of al-Qaeda

At a Wednesday meeting of the D.C. Taxicab Commission (DCTC), two journalists were arrested by Park Police for taking photos at the public meeting. During the meeting, a taxi inspector approached the Journalists and told them that they couldn’t take photographs of commission members seated at the front of the room.

It's not only the arrest. The very idea that a person in power, here in America, can even think he can force anyone to stop taking photos in a public gathering is mind shuddering. It was unthinkable only a decade ago. But since new rules and codes of behavior had been adopted after the September 11 attack, our path to no-freedom has been established. Unless we stop it now, al-Qaeda has won the war.

 

One of the photos captured during the raid on Bin Laden's compound

Middle East Democracy

America tells Mubark what he needs to do.

America wants democracy in Egypt. Democracy is good America says, forgetting Afghanistan, Iraq and Gaza to which it brought democracy. Even Iran is democratic. America does not like it.

America thinks it has democracy at home because people vote. People voting, however, is not sufficient for a democracy. A democracy needs voting of informed and knowledgeable people. Voting out of ignorance, voting out of greed, voting to get paid for are non-democratic.

When people who cared about abortion voted for a president who did not care about the world, but found himself decimating Iraq, hence helping Iran to start its nuclear program this is not a democracy, this is simply stupid.

Let people who care and know about abortion vote about abortion. Let those who understand the world vote about foreign policy. Any other arrangement is simply ludicrous.

America is in a position in which its own democracy is making it dysfunctional. This is not a position to advise others. Humble yourself America. Show the world that you can manage your own affairs. Then the world may listen once more to what you have to say.

The Power of America

(image: http://quasimanga.deviantart.com/)

It’s interesting to see how many of the Americans who believe that their country is the best in the world have never been outside their country. Many have not even been outside their state. But still their conviction is unquestionable. 

It’s fascinating to speak to Americans who tell you how good everything American is, just because they don’t know what alternatives exist. Coming from overseas, I – with a full medical coverage – have often argued that the medical system here is grossly inadequate, wasteful and unfair. I always find it surprising when someone with little or no medical cover whatsoever blindly defends the system as the best in the world – despite all evidence to the contrary. 

It’s amusing to meet overseas Americans who travel to find Americana wherever they go. In European casinos, for instance, you can see hoards of American tourists flock onto the American roulette tables, made just for them. Non-Americans will never touch these roulettes as they are made with two zeros instead of one and therefore reduce your odds. American tourists, on the other hand, are happily paying the premium for the privilege to use American. Casinos love them. 

It’s funny to hear how many Americans believe that most people around the world do not like America because they are jealous. This is despite the fact that in their own countries they may have free education, free health care, a month-off work every year, an annual maternity leave, and still work for firms that successfully compete with American companies. This competitiveness is hardly ever appreciated here, as statistics about American productivity is skewed by the longer working hours and lower wages. However, the fact is that in many industries American production per hour worked lags behind other developed countries is rarely acknowledged. 

It’s heart-breaking to observe how many in the US are not aware of how America’s position in the world has deteriorated: financially, economically, politically. Everyone supported America after Sept 11, but it didn’t take a decade to erode this sentiment; it will take many decades to repair the damage, if ever at all. 

It’s heart-warming to feel how despite all the problems and issues America suffers from, people here are still positive and optimistic. This optimism, positive energy and the inspiring power is America’s main strength, and the very thing the rest of the world should learn from America. But what should America learn from the world?