“GRAPES OF WRATH”: DOES IT MAKE OBAMA THE GREATEST PRESIDENT?

JOHN STEINBECK

The novel “Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck brings forth a powerful message: the deliverance of workers from "Dust Bowl” oppression. Steinbeck believed that the deliverance would eventually come through cooperation but at the cost of “terrible wrath”. Unfortunately, the deliverance did not materialize in the “Grapes of Wrath” and perhaps in that sense, the novel is incomplete.

When preparing to write the novel, Steinbeck wrote: "I want to put a tag of shame on the greedy bastards who are responsible for the Great Depression and its effects." It is reported that he boldly said, "I've done my damndest to rip a reader's nerves to rags".

 

Steinbeck's novel may also be said to be a “shorthand” for the crisis which has gripped the Great America since the Bush presidency and which president Obama inherited.  

The novel is an unapologetically passionate depiction of the plight of the poor and vulnerable - the Romney 47%!

Arguably, President Obama is one of our greatest contemporary speakers; but his presidency and the current presidential campaign (against multi-millionaire challenger, Mitt Romney in particular) have shown that his greatness goes far beyond mere brilliant oratory. Like all true great men, he unapologetically leans on the side of the poor and the vulnerable.

In many ways, the arrival of Romney is a “God-send” for the Obama Campaign, in the sense that it has brought into sharp focus the gains and potential gains of the Obama Presidency! I am not afraid to argue that President Obama has perhaps done more for America than any other president. The arrival of Romney on the scene makes those gains look even more profound.

When President Obama assumed the presidency, America faced its worst recession since the days of Steinbeck’s “Grapes of Wrath”. Obviously, the most affected were the poor and the vulnerable. President has not only give them hope; he has brought real gains to them, chief among them is Obama Care!

Stimulating or generating growth in a non-recession environment may be challenging; but removing a country from a recession (or slowing down a recession) is exponentially more challenging! President Clinton was irrefutably a great president and during his tenure, he brought about real and significant economic growth; but the challenge for President Obama is exponentially greater: he had to stop and reverse a massive economic recession. He has succeeded; he has rescued a failed and badly battered US economy, he has stabilised it and he has grown it, albeit very slowly. All of the above happened in the face of Republican sabotage.

Under Bush, America took a precipitous nosedive and lost millions of jobs; the republicans knew it; some of them felt it and they knew about the long-term and monumental impact on the economy.

Listen to Romney carefully! Romney never talks about specifics or a short or medium term fix; he always talks about what he’ll do in the next 4 or 8 years. Yet, he dishonestly berates president Obama for not fixing all of the Bush problems in less than 4 years; but even with the gains under the Obama presidency, Romney projects a return to a full recovery is a long term process.

If we use the state of affairs under Rush as a reference point, as a yardstick to assess Obama’s performance, we can logically conclude that he may have done more for America than any other president. As I mentioned earlier (an it’s worth repeating), he stopped the Bush slide of recession; and even in the face apparent massive republican resistance and sabotage reversed it and brought about economic growth. That is a phenomenal achievement by any standard. In addition, he brought about health care – something no other president had done. He has made it easier for students to enter college

BIN LADEN IS DEAD

Obama captured and killed Bin laden (something Bush failed to do) and at least, won America a reprieve from Al Qaeda terrorism; he ended the money-hungry war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

President Bush on the other hand wasted trillions to go to war at the expense of the American economy.

President Obama has facilitated world peace; there is a measure of stability in the Middle East around the world now. President Obama has a brilliant mind and a steady hand and that has contributed to stability.

My view is, if Obama gets a second term, then America and the world will certainly be a much better place! VOTE OBAMA!

SHOULD WE CONTINUE TO TAKE OMEGA-3: A SCIENTIFIC PERSPECTIVE

The University of Maryland Medical Centre (UMDC) in their Complimentary Medicine Medical Reference reported the following:

“People who follow a Mediterranean diet tend to have an increased HDL, or "good" cholesterol level. The Mediterranean diet emphasizes fish and healthy fats, such as olive oil, and has a healthy balance between omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. Whole grains, root and green vegetables, daily portions of fruit, fish and poultry, olive and canola oils, and ALA (from flaxseed, flaxseed oil, and walnuts) are also part of the Mediterranean diet. Red meat and saturated fats are not part of the diet.”

That sounds really good!

UMDC went on to add:

“Eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts or legumes, and ALA rich foods may substantially reduce the recurrence of heart disease. One of the best ways to help prevent and treat heart disease is to eat a diet that is low in saturated and trans fat and rich in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats (including omega-3 fatty acids from flaxseed and fish). Evidence suggests that people who eat an ALA rich diet are less likely to suffer a fatal heart attack. ALA may reduce heart disease risks through a variety of ways, including making platelets less sticky, reducing inflammation, promoting blood vessel health, and reducing risk of arrhythmia (irregular heart beat).

Several human studies also suggest that diets rich in omega-3 fatty acids (including ALA) may lower blood pressure.”

FRESH TUNA FROM CHOISEUL

The big issue now is: in view of the latest scientific research about Omega-3, have these findings been falsified? And if so, should we therefore throw away our Omega-3 capsules which cost us so much money? The answer is NO! At least, not yet! While they may not have the published medicinal or nutritional values we always believed they did, they may have an immense psychological impact on our well-being.

in any case, a scientific theory is only a model which explains scientific phenomena. It is not perfect and it may not even be true! Indeed the scientist never claims that his theory is true. But what distinguishes scientific theory from other theories is the fact that the latter is falsifiable; that is, it is testable!

The previous theory that fish oils contributed to heart health has apparently been challenged and potentially falsified, but are the results conclusive?

KARL POPPER

According to a philosopher of science (Karl Popper), science proceeds through conjectures and refutations. In that context, the claim that fish oils contribute to heart health may be considered a conjecture; and the counter-claim that it does not might be considered only a refutation. The big question is: what happens next in this cycle of conjecture and refutation?

ALBERT EINSTEIN

For purpose of context, let me state here that Einstein relativity theory was falsified in the very year it was proposed but it has gone on to stand the test of time. In fact, its falsification was considered to be only a “counter-instance”, “an anomaly” which the theory digested in due course.

Will the counter-claims against fish oils suffer the same fate? it's a matter of time!

Admittedly, there seems to be a perceived element of alternative medicine involved in the promotion of 'the fish oils theory', and that may well be the reason why UMDC has categorized it under “complimentary medicine”; however, in the end, it all boils down to “testability”. If the alternative conceptions under “complimentary medicine” are testable, then they will be welcomed by the scientific community. Let’s wait and see what happens next. Will the refutation of the counter-claims happen? And will the prevailing theory stand, just as the relativity did?

At the moment, there seems to be some debate going on; but I believe fish oils will continue to be on our dietary menu simply because of the general feelings of well-being it induces as well as the powerful sales strategy by manufacturers. But does Omega-3 fatty acids, usually from fish oil, really reduce inflammation and help prevent certain chronic diseases, such as heart disease and arthritis? Many people believe they do! And belief is a critical component of psychology! Moreover, is diet the only or major factor that contributes to the prevention of certain chronic diseases or are there other equally or more powerful “unseen’” factors in the equation?

Let’s wait and see what comes up next!

KING CALLS FOR “HUNGER STRIKE” . . . AND WE GET TWO HOMICIDES!

At a political meeting held in Soufriere on Thursday to register UWP's protest against the implementation of VAT, Leader of the Opposition (Stephenson King) told an audience of faithfuls that he was considering hunger strikes as a weapon of protest against VAT.

We ask: Is King in his right senses? Will he ever be prime ministerial material? When will the “Emperor” (or Empress) realize that he is unclothed and see the need to “re-clothe” himself?

It was noteworthy that as the “protoplasm-opulent” Emperor spoke from the political platform, the unpleasant sight of his sagging bosom hanging loosely from his chest and overflowing into his massive lower abdomen below did not make good viewing. I daresay that, if anything, that spectacle was probably more “appealing” than his appeal for hunger strikes. And in that context, Juke Bois was perhaps right when he said that a hunger strike would serve the Emperor well in the pursuit of his own weight control; and in that regard, King has a rare opportunity to lead by example.

In 2002, Kenny made a commitment to the World Bank, IMF and ECCB to implement VAT. Five years later, King became Prime Minister whereupon he established a VAT Implementation Office which vigorously pursued a VAT education programme for over two years with a view to implementing the tax in April 2011. Since resuming office, Kenny has scheduled the implementation of VAT for October 2012 and this has evidently aroused every irrational nerve in King to the point of driving him paranoid.

In reality, when it comes to VAT, the substantive difference between St. Lucia and the rest of the Caribbean is we are the only island which has not implemented the TAX, and I wouldn’t be surprised that we are the most fiscally backward. At a time when Barbados is lauding its success, King and his band of Ali Babas are pummelling the Value-added tax as an extremely dangerous initiative, unfit for St. Lucians at this time.

But paradoxically, VAT is part of a fiscal strategy which will bail us out of our fiscal black hole. Perhaps, VAT (which the Jamaicans refer to as GCT) rescued Jamaica from the brink of collapse. When it was introduced there, social and economic conditions were far worse than they have ever been in St. Lucia, and despite the transitional problems which arose, GCT became a huge fiscal success story. What was more striking was general consensus and support for the tax across the political divide. In other words, Jamaicans demonstrated unprecedented love for country when it came to prudent fiscal measures that gave their government some breathing space to manoeuvre the economic storm.

The Jamaican success story is only one version of the wider success story of the implementation of VAT in the region. Admittedly and for reasons of profiteering, there will be a few unfair practices by ungracious merchants who prey on the initial glitches in the accounting system. But over time, those hurdles are generally resolved.

Contrary to uninformed and extreme "Juke Bois" type positions that VAT favours Ministers fortunes, it does not; VAT goes into education, health, infrastructure and all other services that government provides to the people.  All gov’t has done is to charge a few cents more on the tax on certain products and services to increase the pool of fiscal revenue for an improvement in the quality and quantity of service to be rendered to the citizens. All countries in the world do that. It is the norm! And the VAT structure is pretty much within the same range for all countries.

In fact, if King were a smart PM, he would have shown courage and brave the weather to implement VAT; perhaps, if he had done that, his gov’t might still have been in office. St. Lucians are intelligent people who understand.

However, King may be a rare exception. Although he is a far cry from Mitt Romney, President Obama’s characterization of Romney aptly fits him: He shoots before he takes aim! King is being led into a precipitous black hole by unruly mobsters who have usurped the UWP ethic and values which Sir John left as legacy.  I feel sorry for the Party.

King and his gang of seditious agitators (against the economy) have gotten to their endpoint of desperation! That is the only plausible explanation for his agitation against VAT, calling on St. Lucians to go on hunger strikes to protest against it.

Meanwhile on the same night of the ill-fated UWP meeting in Soufriere, a vessel was intercepted just off the the coast of the town and a quantity of 73 kilos of cocaine was seized; what was even worse was the fact that St. Lucia recorded two homicides over last weekend. One of the homicide victims was a taxi driver (Victor Motley aka Ras Taxi) and the other is a security guard (Fabian Joseph). Won't the emperor have better served St. Lucia by launching a war on the drug trade and homicides instead of VAT?

It’s time for the UWP to reorganize itself and get its priorities right!

USE OF SOPHISTICATED DRUG SUBS SPIKES IN THE CARIBBEAN

FLORIDA, USA, Friday September 14, 2012 — Law enforcement officials fighting the war against illegal drugs are facing a new challenge as narcotics organizations bankroll machine shops operating under the dense cover of South American jungles to build increasingly high-tech diesel-powered submarines.

American authorities have recently discovered at least three models of a new and sophisticated drug-trafficking submarine capable of travelling completely underwater from South America to the United States, and the use of these covert vessels has spiked in the Caribbean over the last year.

Older models pressed into service by drug barons were only semi-submersible, requiring a snorkel for air intake, but three newer captured vessels were fully submersible, capable of hauling 10 tons of cocaine and, by surfacing at night to charge their batteries, could sail beneath the surface from Ecuador to Los Angeles.

American officials now fear that the trafficking networks are shifting from so-called fast boats, the high-powered surface craft that can carry about a ton of cocaine and are easier to spot, in favour of semi-submersible and fully submersible vessels that can covertly transport many more tons of drugs, which are unloaded in shallow waters or transported to shore by small boats.

Another concern for American officials is the possibility that these high-tech long-range vessels could be used by terrorists to transport attackers or weapons. They nevertheless emphasize that no use of submersibles by militants has been detected.

Illegal drug networks were traditionally organized to combine the tasks of production, transportation and distribution, and there has been little reason to cooperate with terrorists. These new advanced submarines are nevertheless sometimes built by independent contractors who may be more willing to sell their products to anyone offering the right price.

“These vessels are seaworthy enough that I have no doubt in my mind that if they had enough fuel, they could easily sail into a port in the United States,” according to Cmdr Mark J Fedor of the US Coast Guard, who commands the cutter Mohawk, a 200-foot vessel whose fast boat and helicopter interdicted a submersible in the Caribbean last September.

As well as the Coast Guard ships and aircraft patrolling the seas, the American counternarcotics effort includes a sophisticated command centre that combines intelligence from across the United States and from nations in the region that are increasingly cooperating to battle cocaine trafficking.

The around-the-clock mission to sort and analyze intelligence on drug trafficking and then coordinate the response takes place behind the walls of an interagency task force in Key West.

Inside the command centre, officially known as Joint Interagency Task Force-South, the Departments of Homeland Security, Justice, State and Defence are joined by intelligence agencies and liaison officers from more than a dozen nations to analyze information on drug trafficking. The 600-person task force is in charge of cuing ships, aircraft and counternarcotics units on the ground for interdiction missions up and down the hemisphere.

Rear Admiral Charles D Michel of the Coast Guard, the task force’s commander, said that drug interdictions for 2012 are already up more than 50 percent from a year ago. He attributed that to a counternarcotics coalition assembled at Key West that is trying innovative and aggressive measures to cut off drug traffickers leaving South America.”

“Operation Martillo”, the current mission, focuses on setting up interdiction “boxes” in two zones off the coast of South America where the drugs start their voyage, and two more just offshore of the favoured trans-shipment points in Honduras and Guatemala, where the drugs are divided up into smaller shipments and harder to track.

The admiral said that while the task force consists mostly of Americans, the end game is “getting to prosecution,” which requires working “by, with and through the local partners” in Central and South America.

Last year, interdiction missions coordinated by the joint task force captured 129 tons of cocaine en route to the United States — more than five times the cocaine seized over the same period by operations in the United States, where agents and officers stopped about 24 tons of the drug.

Despite these advances, three-quarters of potential drug shipments identified by the task force are not interdicted, simply because there are not enough ships and aircraft available for the missions. “My staff watches multi-ton loads go by,” Admiral Michel said.

SOURCE: http://www.caribbean360.com/index.php/news/615933.html#ixzz26bQI8fww