Bolivia is beautiful but I am so happy to be out of that country. I will miss the breathtaking scenery and the anything-goes lawlessness but beyond that I can't think of anything else that I will long for. I will not miss the sand-covered washboard dirt roads, the shitty cans of "tuna", and the complete lack of decent broadband network. There were so many times when I wandered into a town looking for food only to be disappointed by the selection of items. My typical conversation would go like this:
"Is there a comedor in town?"
" No."
"Is there internet?"
"No."
"Is there a even a store."
"Yes there is."
"What do they sell?"
"Cookies and soda."
"What kind of cookies do you have?"
"We have shit cookies with vomit cream filling."
"You don't have chocolate?"
"Nope."
"Well, thanks anyway, bye."
I am still pissed off that Bolivia even has a military since they would get the living shit kicked out of them by any one of their neighbors except maybe Paraguay. Chile, Argentina, and Brazil would defeat them in a matter of days while Peru might take a week. In my past post I said nationalism is obselete but I should have been more direct;it is fucking stupid. If I were in charge of Bolivia I would fire every last soldier and hire a bunch of construction workers to pave Bolivia's pitiful roads and lay broadband wires in all of the cities that don't have any internet access. Not only is a Bolivian military useless but they are potentially harmful as the recent coup d'etat in Honduras should prove my point.
A friend of mine,who has crossed the land border from Bolivia into Argentina, described crossing the border as "leaving Kansas for Oz." That description is not to far off. The difference is just about as stark as leaving the U.S. for Mexico. Actually the difference is more stark because Mexico has well-paved roads. Everything here cost more but the quality of what you are buying more than makes up for the difference in price. I have spent more on food but I have eaten some amazing meals. The sheer size of the barbeque platters here makes my eyes pop out. The pizzas, pasta, and wine is good, too. The way to my heart is through my stomach and Argentina has already won my heart. In fact, I think I like it better here than in U.S. I have even heard that they have free health care here. With the good food and free health care here I can say that I might not come back.
Speaking of health care in America, I can honestly say that not reforming health care at all would probably be better than the bill the Democrats have advanced in Congress. There are not enough curse words in the English language to thoroughly convey how fucking pissed off I am about the two-party monopoly on power in the United States. The thing that pisses me off about the bill so much is the health insurance mandate. I currently don't have health insurance and there is actually a reason for it. I have had it in the past and discovered that they were so unresponsive and unhelpful that I cancelled it. Once I went to the doctor for a regular check-up only for the insurance company to drag their feet so long in paying the claim that I started getting collection letters from the doctor's office in the mail. The insurance company claimed they never even received my claim which was an outright lie. At that point, I sent only certified mail to them so they couldn't lie through their teeth like that. It still took about six months for them to pay only about %60 of the claim. After this, I figured it was best to just not have insurance and gamble that I never get really sick or break a bone. If yall think insurance companies are unresponsive and unhelpful now, just wait until you are forced to purchase health insurance. A public plan probably wouldn't be any better since the government would probably just subcontract out to the health insurance industry anyway. I can not accept health care reform that doesn't cut these thieving bastards out of the loop. This doesn't absolve hospitals, doctors,or the pharmaceutical industry from their culpability but I think the insurance companies are the worst culprits. This is yet another reason I might not come back to the U.S.
On a happier note, I have recently discovered some wonderful music online. Now that I have access to broadband, I have actually been able to give a good listen to Vladimir Visotsky. All I can say is that I want to learn Russian and take up chain smoking so I can sing like him. A friend of mine also turned me on to the Plasmatics. I can't believe I had never listened to any of their music. When I listen to it I just want to torch a cop car and slit some pig's throat. If any of yall don't think that there is censorship and coercion in the U.S. all yall have to look at is a picture of Wendy O. Williams after Milwaukee police beat the shit out of her while arresting her for an obscenity charge. As one music critic in the United States said, "Conservatives in America had castration anxiety," when they saw her chainsaw televisions in half. I am convinced that there are still efforts to erase the history of the Plasmatics as it is still very difficult to find their music. Youtube even seems to mysteriously fail when I am trying to load their videos. This makes me even more determined to rip off the music industry. I hope all of them go down with the shit music they have been trying to force down my throat through there control of the distribution channels. I am so happy that I have alternate routes of music discovery now that we have the internet.
I was in Jujuy, Argentina when my friend told me that Farrah Fawcett died. My response was, "Who fucking cares." Then I came back with the news that Michael Jackson had died. To me he died about twenty years ago but that is a moot point. I can't remember the last time people were so freaked out about a single person's death. It is like a god died or something. I suppose his music touched a lot of people but I can't say I really care. I want to ask people if they expected him to live for ever. For me Michael Jackson is far down the list of musicians who I find inspirational. Most of us mere mortals will never achieve the immortality that he has achieved through his music.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Argentina Bound
After 5 days and 4 flats between Uyuni and Tupiza, I am ready to get out of this country. Don't get me wrong. Bolivia is an incredibly beautiful country, a geologists wet dream where every other hill is a different color, but I am tired of the shitty roads and the cold, I repeat COLD, nights. One morning, recently, I camped in a valley that was still above 13,000 feet. This was problematic because it takes longer for the sunshine to reach every corner of the valley and, hence, stays cold longer. It was so cold that the small streams in the valley froze solid. I tested the hardness of the ice by smashing rocks the size of my head to pieces on it. I was so happy to finally reach civilization again that I am staying in Tupiza for three days before I ride the final two or three days to the Argentinian border.
I am looking forward to riding on paved roads again in Argentina as I have recently discovered a couple of cracks in my third rear rim. I am also looking forward to the Argentinian barbeques as I have recently been partially starving myself as there are no places to buy food. I go to sleep at night salivating and fantasizing about food I want to cook and eat. The parrilladas await me. Sorry vegetarians, I am going to eat so much meat that yall might as well put me on a cholesterol I.V. drip. I already have friends and parrilladas waiting for me.
On a manliness scale of 1 to 10, a bike trip is probably somewhere between a 9 and 10 so I am not afraid to say that I love ballet. It is so funny how one's perspective can completely change over time. I remember when I was 9 and my mom tried to put me in ballet lessons. This experiment didn't last long as I steadfastly remained in the corner of the studio and refused to participate. I also remember my mom dragging me to see Gregory Hines and Mikhail Baryshnikof in the movie White Nights. As a kid this pissed me off but I had the unusual priviledge of seeing the movie for a second time last night. Dance movies are one of my guilty pleasures and I have a serious man-crush on Baryshnikof. His dancing seems to defy the laws of physics. Gregory Hines was no slouch but Baryshnikof is fucking spectacular. Most of the music in the movie is shit since it comes from the 80s (Yeah I know, it was the golden era of heavy metal and punk but the rest of the music is shit) but I was turned on to the music of Vladimir Vysotsky which is worth checking out. This is another reason I can't wait to get out of Bolivia. I need to indulge my high-speed broadband addiction and watch as many videos of Vysotsky and Baryshnikov as possible.
I am looking forward to riding on paved roads again in Argentina as I have recently discovered a couple of cracks in my third rear rim. I am also looking forward to the Argentinian barbeques as I have recently been partially starving myself as there are no places to buy food. I go to sleep at night salivating and fantasizing about food I want to cook and eat. The parrilladas await me. Sorry vegetarians, I am going to eat so much meat that yall might as well put me on a cholesterol I.V. drip. I already have friends and parrilladas waiting for me.
On a manliness scale of 1 to 10, a bike trip is probably somewhere between a 9 and 10 so I am not afraid to say that I love ballet. It is so funny how one's perspective can completely change over time. I remember when I was 9 and my mom tried to put me in ballet lessons. This experiment didn't last long as I steadfastly remained in the corner of the studio and refused to participate. I also remember my mom dragging me to see Gregory Hines and Mikhail Baryshnikof in the movie White Nights. As a kid this pissed me off but I had the unusual priviledge of seeing the movie for a second time last night. Dance movies are one of my guilty pleasures and I have a serious man-crush on Baryshnikof. His dancing seems to defy the laws of physics. Gregory Hines was no slouch but Baryshnikof is fucking spectacular. Most of the music in the movie is shit since it comes from the 80s (Yeah I know, it was the golden era of heavy metal and punk but the rest of the music is shit) but I was turned on to the music of Vladimir Vysotsky which is worth checking out. This is another reason I can't wait to get out of Bolivia. I need to indulge my high-speed broadband addiction and watch as many videos of Vysotsky and Baryshnikov as possible.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Cold Nights, Oppressive Pigfuckers, Saint Bill Hicks, and International Unity
The highlands of Southwestern Bolivia are unbelievably cold. I have read that the temperatures drop to -25º C. which is close to -10º F. for those of yall that are afraid of conversion. I actually had to go to the trouble of buying a new blanket which is about 2 centimeters thick. It goes on top of my sleeping bag while I sleep inside with 4 pairs of socks, three pants, 3 shirts, a sweater, and 3 wool hats. Don't feel sorry for me because I sleep comfortably. Without the blanket, though, I was freezing my ass off at night. I don't carry a thermometer with me but I can assure yall this is the coldest weather that this Texas boy has ever experienced. Anecdotally, I have camped next to ponds which freeze so thouroughly that I can put my entire weight on the edge without breaking the ice and no less than a softball-sized rock thrown at an upward angle breaks the surface. The water in my camelbak tube freezes and I have to insulate all of the water I am carrying so it doesn't freeze solid.
My tent no longer zips shut but this isn't too much of a problem right now as it is too cold for any insects or other critters to intrude upon my space while I sleep. I already wrote a letter to R.E.I. that was persuasive enough for them to refund my money for the tent and I have ordered and sent a new one to my friend who lives in Buenos Aires where I plan to stop on my way towards Brazil.
Braving the cold is not without its rewards. This part of Bolivia is beautiful. If the southern coast of Peru is a martian landscape the Salar de Uyuni is a venetian landscape, beautiful in its stark white infinity. I had to wear my sunglasses the whole time because it is more than sufficiently bright and reflective to cause snowblindness. I rode out to the Isla de Pescado or Isla de Inkahuasi if yall prefer. The cacti on this island are incredible, reaching up to 12 meters and living for hundreds of years. Most of them are massive, moreso than the same variety in other parts of Bolivia. The trip to the Inkahuasi was definitely worth the trouble.
I have previously mentioned that the Salar de Uyuni holds over half the world's lithium carbonate deposits. This metal is essential for both laptop batteries and for the batteries in electric cars as it is the lightest compound from which batteries can be manufactured. So far these supplies continue unexploited, as I hope the Evo Morales administration is driving a hard bargain to any company which wishes to access these deposits. The developing world has long suffered economically from the exportation of raw materials and the importation of manufactured goods leading to trade deficits which always benefit the more advanced economies. Evo Morales should offer access to these deposits for no less than having the multinationals build battery manufacturing plants for laptops and electric cars. In fact, he should hold out until the companies offer to build laptop and electric car factories in Bolivia. Until then, I hope the natural beauty of the salar remains untouched.
I finally encountered a road which caused me to hitchhike out of a situation without experiencing mechanical problems. Heading south from the salar, which has wonderful, hard, and flat surface, the roads can only be described as a washboard covered with 3 inches of sand. After moving maybe 10 kilometers in about 5 hours I hitchhiked the fuck out of there at the first chance I got. The road from Uyuni to Tupiza isn't a whole lot better but I doubt it will drive me to the fits of rage that I was experiencing on this glorified sand pit. Bolivia is beautiful but it has the worst roads I have experienced by far. I can't wait to get to Argentina where I already have friends waiting to share barbeque with me.
If anyone wonders why I don't like cops the case of a a 72-year-old Austin woman who got tazed by a trigger-happy cop should illustrate why. I actually read about this in the B.B.C. so the rest of the world is learning how brutal these Texas pigfuckers are. Ever since the vast majority of American police departments were equipped with these "non-lethal" tazers, the incidences of abuses have steadily risen every year. Because they are "non-lethal" police use them much more excessively than they would ever dare use a gun. You mouth off to a cop, you get tazed. You move suddenly, you get tazed. You have dark skin, you get tazed. The federal government should make very strict guidelines for when a police officer should be allowed to use his/her tazer. I would suggest that they only be allowed to use their tazers when the "suspect" is exhibiting violent behavior.
I had a dream last night that was so vivid that, dare I say, I think it was a vision. Many saints have visions of bleeding Jesi or weeping virgins but the late, great Bill Hicks appeared to me in my vision. In the dream, I had gone to a KKKristian church for the sole purpose of mocking them and laughing at them. After making loud fart noises and laughing hysterically at the verbal flatulence coming out of the pastor's mouth, a raging redneck dragged me out into the church lobby and threatened to pummel me when a plastered Bill Hicks showed up, shooed the redneck away, put his arm around my shoulder, and told me to, "Keep up the good work." I have interpreted this as an endorsement of the Ganjobiclatholic church. In my authority as the Grand Supreme High Archbishop of Austin, I have decided to mark this miraculous vision by canonizing Bill Hicks. He will, from now on, be referred to as Saint Bill Hicks by all Ganjobiclatholic practitioners. It has been decreed.
On a more serious note, I have been trying to form a new political manifesto that best represents my beliefs. I have fulminated many times on this blog about my objection to the drug war, racism towards immigrants, the bloated military budget, etc... but I have never tried to formulate an overreaching political agenda. My main objection to national politics is that they are so myopic. The problems that face the world face us all and not just each individual nation. We need solutions that encompass the whole world and not a patchwork of solutions for each nation. Nationalism replaced the obsolete system of feudalism but it has become obsolete itself. We need to form a political party with an international perspective to confront the problems that our world faces today.
I believe that every human being has a fundamental right to education, health care, access to clean water, access to nutritious food, access to shelter, and access to all job markets. The right to make money is subordinate to these rights. I was tempted to include security on this list but I fear that this has too much potential to be abused and misinterpreted by this world's governments. I will now elaborate on these rights.
Education is the great equalizer. It is the only thing that can enable someone to rise from poverty and improve their lot in life. There have been studies that have shown that birth rates decline when women have real educational and economic opportunities. I would define the minimum standards of education as being trilingual (not bilingual) with emphasis on the use of technology and access to higher education for all. I prefer trilingual education for several reasons: there are already children who grow up bilingual and it would allow the entire world to have a common language without forcing the extinction of less commonly spoken languages. For example, a Peruvian kid could learn Spanish, English, and Quechua, an Israeli kid could learn Hebrew, English, and Arabic, and a Chinese kid could learn Chinese, English, and some other Asian language depending on what region they live in. Not only would this give everyone on the planet a common language with which we could resolve our differences but it would allow us to open up our perspectives to better understand the cultures of others.
Access to health care, clean water, nutritious food, and shelter are really one and the same problem. Take away any one of these and the others fail. A child without proper shelter can't really defend against mosquito-born malaria just as a child without access to clean water really can't defend against typhoid. We all know that lack of access to proper nutrition can lead to a number of ailments. The reason why the right to make money has to be subordinate to these rights is to prevent companies from hoarding water for industrial purposes. Water intensive industries such as nuclear power production has to be subordinate to agriculture which, in turn, has to be subordinate to the right of everyone to have access to clean water. I should mention that health care should emphasize preventative care rather than reactionary care.
Access to all job markets means that all borders should be open everywhere. This would allow people to leave areas that, due to drought, famine, poverty, government corruption, or anything else that might disadvantage these populations, in search of jobs elsewhere. The only legitimate use of a border, in my opinion, is for epidemic control. An American has no inherent right to jobs over people from any other part of the world and vice versa. Borders only serve to lock poverty in to certain regions while other regions benefit from pseudo-slave labor of their poorer neighbors. Remittences sent home from immigrants to their home countries are ten times as much as all foreign assistance and do more to alleviate poverty than anything else. Moreover, there are people from the developed world, such as myself, who prefer the cultures and the climates of the developing world.
I admit that I am an idealist but I am also pragmatic enough to know that this vision will probably never be complete within my lifetime. In response to this, I would say that I am on a hundred-year plan. I am doing my part by learning new languages and living and working in parts of the world other than the United States. This international political party would have a difficult time establishing a foothold in the United States since the two-party monopoly has a stranglehold on power but could be a force to reckoned with in parliamentary systems where governments have to create coalitions. Some of these plans are expensive but could easily be paid for if we collectively cut our military budgets. Even countries like Bolivia waste money on their militaries. I have passed by way too many military bases in this country. The fact is that Bolivia would get their asses handed to them in a conventional war with any one of their neighbors except maybe Paraguay. I am not so naive to think that world would function in the absence of security forces but I think that these security forces should be international in nature and should only be used in the face of humanitarian crises. In future blog posts, I will try to focus on ideas I have for implementing these changes to our world political structure.
My tent no longer zips shut but this isn't too much of a problem right now as it is too cold for any insects or other critters to intrude upon my space while I sleep. I already wrote a letter to R.E.I. that was persuasive enough for them to refund my money for the tent and I have ordered and sent a new one to my friend who lives in Buenos Aires where I plan to stop on my way towards Brazil.
Braving the cold is not without its rewards. This part of Bolivia is beautiful. If the southern coast of Peru is a martian landscape the Salar de Uyuni is a venetian landscape, beautiful in its stark white infinity. I had to wear my sunglasses the whole time because it is more than sufficiently bright and reflective to cause snowblindness. I rode out to the Isla de Pescado or Isla de Inkahuasi if yall prefer. The cacti on this island are incredible, reaching up to 12 meters and living for hundreds of years. Most of them are massive, moreso than the same variety in other parts of Bolivia. The trip to the Inkahuasi was definitely worth the trouble.
I have previously mentioned that the Salar de Uyuni holds over half the world's lithium carbonate deposits. This metal is essential for both laptop batteries and for the batteries in electric cars as it is the lightest compound from which batteries can be manufactured. So far these supplies continue unexploited, as I hope the Evo Morales administration is driving a hard bargain to any company which wishes to access these deposits. The developing world has long suffered economically from the exportation of raw materials and the importation of manufactured goods leading to trade deficits which always benefit the more advanced economies. Evo Morales should offer access to these deposits for no less than having the multinationals build battery manufacturing plants for laptops and electric cars. In fact, he should hold out until the companies offer to build laptop and electric car factories in Bolivia. Until then, I hope the natural beauty of the salar remains untouched.
I finally encountered a road which caused me to hitchhike out of a situation without experiencing mechanical problems. Heading south from the salar, which has wonderful, hard, and flat surface, the roads can only be described as a washboard covered with 3 inches of sand. After moving maybe 10 kilometers in about 5 hours I hitchhiked the fuck out of there at the first chance I got. The road from Uyuni to Tupiza isn't a whole lot better but I doubt it will drive me to the fits of rage that I was experiencing on this glorified sand pit. Bolivia is beautiful but it has the worst roads I have experienced by far. I can't wait to get to Argentina where I already have friends waiting to share barbeque with me.
If anyone wonders why I don't like cops the case of a a 72-year-old Austin woman who got tazed by a trigger-happy cop should illustrate why. I actually read about this in the B.B.C. so the rest of the world is learning how brutal these Texas pigfuckers are. Ever since the vast majority of American police departments were equipped with these "non-lethal" tazers, the incidences of abuses have steadily risen every year. Because they are "non-lethal" police use them much more excessively than they would ever dare use a gun. You mouth off to a cop, you get tazed. You move suddenly, you get tazed. You have dark skin, you get tazed. The federal government should make very strict guidelines for when a police officer should be allowed to use his/her tazer. I would suggest that they only be allowed to use their tazers when the "suspect" is exhibiting violent behavior.
I had a dream last night that was so vivid that, dare I say, I think it was a vision. Many saints have visions of bleeding Jesi or weeping virgins but the late, great Bill Hicks appeared to me in my vision. In the dream, I had gone to a KKKristian church for the sole purpose of mocking them and laughing at them. After making loud fart noises and laughing hysterically at the verbal flatulence coming out of the pastor's mouth, a raging redneck dragged me out into the church lobby and threatened to pummel me when a plastered Bill Hicks showed up, shooed the redneck away, put his arm around my shoulder, and told me to, "Keep up the good work." I have interpreted this as an endorsement of the Ganjobiclatholic church. In my authority as the Grand Supreme High Archbishop of Austin, I have decided to mark this miraculous vision by canonizing Bill Hicks. He will, from now on, be referred to as Saint Bill Hicks by all Ganjobiclatholic practitioners. It has been decreed.
On a more serious note, I have been trying to form a new political manifesto that best represents my beliefs. I have fulminated many times on this blog about my objection to the drug war, racism towards immigrants, the bloated military budget, etc... but I have never tried to formulate an overreaching political agenda. My main objection to national politics is that they are so myopic. The problems that face the world face us all and not just each individual nation. We need solutions that encompass the whole world and not a patchwork of solutions for each nation. Nationalism replaced the obsolete system of feudalism but it has become obsolete itself. We need to form a political party with an international perspective to confront the problems that our world faces today.
I believe that every human being has a fundamental right to education, health care, access to clean water, access to nutritious food, access to shelter, and access to all job markets. The right to make money is subordinate to these rights. I was tempted to include security on this list but I fear that this has too much potential to be abused and misinterpreted by this world's governments. I will now elaborate on these rights.
Education is the great equalizer. It is the only thing that can enable someone to rise from poverty and improve their lot in life. There have been studies that have shown that birth rates decline when women have real educational and economic opportunities. I would define the minimum standards of education as being trilingual (not bilingual) with emphasis on the use of technology and access to higher education for all. I prefer trilingual education for several reasons: there are already children who grow up bilingual and it would allow the entire world to have a common language without forcing the extinction of less commonly spoken languages. For example, a Peruvian kid could learn Spanish, English, and Quechua, an Israeli kid could learn Hebrew, English, and Arabic, and a Chinese kid could learn Chinese, English, and some other Asian language depending on what region they live in. Not only would this give everyone on the planet a common language with which we could resolve our differences but it would allow us to open up our perspectives to better understand the cultures of others.
Access to health care, clean water, nutritious food, and shelter are really one and the same problem. Take away any one of these and the others fail. A child without proper shelter can't really defend against mosquito-born malaria just as a child without access to clean water really can't defend against typhoid. We all know that lack of access to proper nutrition can lead to a number of ailments. The reason why the right to make money has to be subordinate to these rights is to prevent companies from hoarding water for industrial purposes. Water intensive industries such as nuclear power production has to be subordinate to agriculture which, in turn, has to be subordinate to the right of everyone to have access to clean water. I should mention that health care should emphasize preventative care rather than reactionary care.
Access to all job markets means that all borders should be open everywhere. This would allow people to leave areas that, due to drought, famine, poverty, government corruption, or anything else that might disadvantage these populations, in search of jobs elsewhere. The only legitimate use of a border, in my opinion, is for epidemic control. An American has no inherent right to jobs over people from any other part of the world and vice versa. Borders only serve to lock poverty in to certain regions while other regions benefit from pseudo-slave labor of their poorer neighbors. Remittences sent home from immigrants to their home countries are ten times as much as all foreign assistance and do more to alleviate poverty than anything else. Moreover, there are people from the developed world, such as myself, who prefer the cultures and the climates of the developing world.
I admit that I am an idealist but I am also pragmatic enough to know that this vision will probably never be complete within my lifetime. In response to this, I would say that I am on a hundred-year plan. I am doing my part by learning new languages and living and working in parts of the world other than the United States. This international political party would have a difficult time establishing a foothold in the United States since the two-party monopoly has a stranglehold on power but could be a force to reckoned with in parliamentary systems where governments have to create coalitions. Some of these plans are expensive but could easily be paid for if we collectively cut our military budgets. Even countries like Bolivia waste money on their militaries. I have passed by way too many military bases in this country. The fact is that Bolivia would get their asses handed to them in a conventional war with any one of their neighbors except maybe Paraguay. I am not so naive to think that world would function in the absence of security forces but I think that these security forces should be international in nature and should only be used in the face of humanitarian crises. In future blog posts, I will try to focus on ideas I have for implementing these changes to our world political structure.
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