Classic Sandwich Generation responsibilities:

1. Get kids off to school The cupboards were bare, so breakfast was scant; had to send Big Sis to school for breakfast. Which she sometimes refuses to eat if her bus friends aren't, so I drove her today-MUCH to her disappointment.
2. Grocery shopping for our household and Grandma's
3. Preschool pick-up
4. Grandma pick-up, grocery delivery and Little Sis bathroom break
5. Lunch for Grandma (former foodie now constrained to a kidney failure diet), Little Sis (must have palatable kid food) and myself (a Weight Watcher). Plus another Little Sis bathroom break
6. Taxi driver to doctor
7. Sam's Club shopping. Oh, and a Little Sis bathroom break
8. Taxi back to doctor for Grandma pick-up and brief kidney failure orientation, complete with booklets and two VHS tapes (do I even OWN a VCR anymore??)
9. Quick stop at McDonald's for...wait for it... a Little Sis bathroom break. And an iced coffee, to soothe my jangled nerves
10. High speed taxi ride back home
11. Elementary school bus stop pickup complete with my agreement to watch neighbor kid tomorrow morning
12. Big Sis wails to go to elementary school hayride that evening even though I've already told her we won't have time
13. Unload Sam's Club purchases
14. Let out dog
15. Check in with husband by phone
16. Collect children, who have disappeared to play with neighbor kids
17. Pick up Subway sandwiches for early dinner with Grandma
18. Delivery of Grandma, children, Sam's Club purchases and sandwiches to Grandma's
19. Homework help and more wailing by Big Sis about hayride
20. Dinner and wailing
21. Taxi to dance class while wailing (but this time, I join in)
22. Change girls into dance clothes and do hair (Big Sis escaped before I could put her hair up)
23. Fill out dance fundraiser order form and write check from my personal account because the joint checkbook has been missing for a week and a half
24. Change Little Sis' shoes from ballet to tap and implore her to listen to the instructor instead of writhing around on floor
25. Compliment Big Sis on her hip hop dancing and listen to her promise that she'll do anything for me if only I take her to the hayride that started a half hour earlier
26. Watch Big Sis drop to her knees, burst into tears and beg
27. Advise Big Sis that she'd better pull it together, or "So help me..."
28. Taxi back home; husband texts that he's shopping for last-minute science experiment supplies for tomorrow's Girl Scout meeting
29. Consider pursuing child psychologist for Big Sis, who has now started telling me how dumb she is, hitting herself, and asking me to murder her (that's really not normal for a 7 year old, right??) over the stupid hayride
30. Dry run of science experiment
31. Husband comments on excessive clutter, I burst into tears
32. TiVo presidential debate
33. Blog my stressful day

So if anyone has the number of a good child psychologist in western Pennsylvania, you'll let me know, won't you? If this keeps up, I'll have to take up therapy again myself.

But the Sun-Times has a recent history of mysterious and disingenuous endorsements and the Tribune hasn't endorsed a Democrat for president since, well, ever. And even if the majority of both editorial boards prefer Obama - certainly the case at the Sun-Times - each board could be overruled by either its editor or, more likely if necessary, its publisher.

Let's try to read the tea leaves anyway.

The Sun-Times would have been an easy call under its old masters, the felons Conrad Black and David Radler. Black and Radler took the paper on a dramatically rightward turn during their time. Former editorial page editor Steve Huntley is a conservative, and now as an Op-Ed columnist for the paper is one of the few pro-McCain voices in the paper.

After Black and Radler were out of the fold, the Sun-Times tried to re-brand itself as "the progressive conscience of the city," an about-face as drastic - and market-oriented - as the ditching of New Coke.

In fact, the paper's sense of the market triumphed when former publisher John Cruickshank overrode the editorial board of reformist Forrest Claypool in backing the candidate nefariously installed in a backroom maneuver by the Chicago Machine, Todd Stroger, for Cook County Board President. Cruickshank admitted he was motivated in part by the desire to court the paper's neglected African-American base.

The paper's gymnastics in justifying its endorsement were so tortured that it promised to put extra reporters on the county beat to make sure Stroger didn't commit more corruption than even Chicagoans could bear.

That move reminded local news junkies of the old days when Radler overrode the wishes of the editorial board to endorse Rod Blagojevich for governor in the Democratic primary over former Chicago schools chief Paul Vallas. Blagojevich, of course, could be indicted every day for a variety of alleged abuses and is a better than even bet to become the second Illinois governor in a row sent to prison.

There is no doubt the Sun-Times editorial board prefers Obama, although this week the so-called progressive conscience - if that branding is even still operable - chose to endorse incumbent Republican congressman Mark Kirk over liberal Democratic challenger Dan Seals.

The wild card in all of this is Sun-Times publisher Cyrus Freidheim, the former CEO of Chiquita. whose political contributions are almost exclusively Republican, including donations to Mitt Romney, George W. Bush, and - in large chunks - various apparati of the GOP.

Likewise, the wild card at the Tribune is CEO Sam Zell, an avowed conservative whose favorite columnist is Charles Krauthammer. Zell did give $2,300 to Obama in 2007 (and $1,000 to McCain in 1999) and has given money to Democrats, but mostly gives to Republicans.

Tribune editorial page editor Bruce Dold is a moderate suburban Republican; the page has moderated in recent times and in 2006 encouraged Obama to run for president.

Still, the paper has stuck by its support for the war in Iraq and still pledges itself to conservative free-market principles.

Chicago Reader media critic Michael Miner speculates that this could be the year the Trib turns blue, but I have my doubts. Sure, a McCain endorsement would re-brand the paper as Granddad Trib at a time when its promoting its snazzy new design and new creative features to prove its relevance, but I'm not sure Zell would stand by while any paper in his empire tried to put a Democrat in the White House.

My prediction for awhile has been that the Tribune will find a way around the conundrum, perhaps by publishing an alternate endorsement alongside its official one.

At any rate, the Tribune is doing something new this year by soliciting the views of its readers as it deliberates. And then the paper will ignore those views and do what it wants anyway.

*

Editor & Publisher is tracking newspaper endorsements around the country and so far tallies 28 for Obama and 11 for McCain. It's still early; no Illinois newspapers have yet made the list.

Oh yeah. That, and Twitter.

If you're really wondering what I'm up to, check my Twitter feed. I find it much easier to commit to writing 140 characters at a time versus writing a cohesive blog post.

I'm addicted. If you find a 12-step program for Twitter addicts, send me the link, willya?

Today I played chauffeur to my mom for an appointment on the other side of Pittsburgh. I had a rough idea where I was going, thanks to Mapquest, but it still took us well over an hour to get there.

I was up at 6:30 am to wake up Big Sis to do her homework (which she had neglected the night before because she was too busy playing outside). Got everyone ready to go, then went to leave for Mom's at 8:30 am. Went to grab my keys, and...

No keys.

Tried to retrace my steps. Hadn't driven the day before, so...where were they?

Ransacked the house for 10 minutes looking for my keys, only to find them in my backpack. On my back. Right where I'd put them 15 minutes earlier.

Sad.

Left the house, drove to Mom's. Went to her apartment. Collected her, walker and all. Walked her most of the way to the entrance, then jogged ahead to pull up my car to the entrance.

I opened the door for Mom, and she informed me that she needed an emergency bathroom break.

Aaaargh!

About 25 minutes later, we pulled out.

An hour and ten minutes and three wrong turns later, we found our destination. The entire way, Mom read out signs. Every 15 seconds.

"Dry cleaning. Hmmm!"

"Car wash...huh."

Chinese Wok Garden...I wonder if it's good?"

Every 15 SECONDS. For an HOUR and TEN MINUTES!

But once I hit unfamiliar territory, believe it or not, all of a sudden Mom's eyesight is too crappy to read the frigging STREET SIGNS!

No help.

The rest of the day passed without too much drama. Unless you count the near-Amber Alert for one of the neighbor kids.

But that's a post for another day.*

*Not really. The kid was found in his backyard a few minutes later.

Studies show that phytonutrients can act as antioxidants, stimulate the immune system and positively affect hormones. But despite all the positiveStudies show that phytonutrients can act as antioxidants, stimulate the immune system and positively affect hormones. But despite all the positive benefits, most Americans aren’t getting enough of them. Why not?

Fruits and vegetables contain thousands of powerful phytonutrients that help defend your body against both minor and major diseases. But only 10% of the population is eating the recommended 5-9 servings a day. Most likely, this can be traced to a misperception of that elusive term: serving size.

Just 1/2 cup (about a medium-sized piece) of fruit or vegetables, 3/4 cup (6 ounces) 100% percent fruit or vegetable juice, 1/2 cup cooked or canned beans or 1 cup of raw, leafy vegetables (like lettuce and spinach) are all it takes to make up a serving. When you whip up a salad or smoothie using a variety of different colored fruits and vegetables, you get several great-tasting servings at once.

Resource:

http://www.phytolife.com/news_details.php?id=52&section=5_in+Research
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070319090511.htm March 19, 2007

Volete dare un tocco di classe alla vostra sala da pranzo ma non sapete come? Il Lampadario Chiquita è il complemento d'arredo che fa al caso vostro.

E, pensate, potete farlo a casa con le vostre manine. Vi servono soltanto duecentomila scatole vuote di Banana Chiquita. QUI potete scaricare le istruzioni. Buon lavoro!

"Shit."

While I've heard many locals are friendly enough, the majority believe that Americans traveling to their country are all loaded.

Some Guatemalans take this to the extreme, such as in this recent news story where an American was hacked to death. I'm a little worried for my safety in the upcoming trip...

But I think Guatemalans have some good reasons to feel animosity toward Americans (though I don't believe anyone ever deserves to die by machete).

Let's have a quick history lesson.

So the (American) United Food Company started a business using cheap Guatemalan labor to harvest melons and bananas, etc. They overtake much of the land. Then, this president named Arbenz wants the land back for the Guatemalans.

And the Americans are (surprise!) not pleased. So the CIA launches this secret mission approved by President Truman to launch a coup to overthrow the democratically elected Arbenz in their so-called Banana Republic.

And a long and bloody civil war starts in the nation, which wasn't so much a result as a major side effect of the turbulence.

To make matters worse, Chiquita Banana is what the United Food Company now calls itself. I heard on the phone from a girl who'd been to Zacapa that some people think they are involved with the prevalent drug trade.

While the groups I'll be working with in Zacapa are there to help, my crash course in history during my FlyIns class yesterday made me feel like I might not be welcomed with open arms.

UPDATE: (Two hours later) I just realized what day it is. Strange day for this post...

La última novela que me leí, es la historia de una cubana de tan sólo 26 pulgadas quin vivió en la época de la independencia de este país. Chiquita, a pesar de su estatura poseía una inteligencia y talento extraordinarios. Chiquita permaneció oculta en su infancia, pues sus padres, sumidos en un instinto sobreprotector, le impidieron conocer su ciudad natal (Matanzas). Al fallecer y verse desprovista de los cuidados que ellos le propendían y al notar que el mundo era un lugar oculto y desconocido, decidó aventurarse a descubrir ese universo, llegando a New York cuando los enanos eran una sensación.

Tal vez por motivos históricos o por la magia con que el ávido escritor narra esta fantasía, chiquita alcanzo una grandeza que nada tenía que ver con su tamaño. Me enseño que la grandeza no tiene tamaño.

Esta novela fue ganadora del Premio Alfaguara en este año. Los invito a leerla y a transportarse entre la realidad y la ficción.

Mom kept the girls all afternoon and evening. Originally I'd planned to drop them with her for an hour while I got a haircut, and then leave the kids with a sitter during the evening while their dad and I went to their schools. Then my sitter cancelled with a fever, so Mom got to keep them. We stopped by the library to pick up some DVDs. I dropped them off with Mom, took Mom's urine sample to the lab (ahhh...lovely), got my hair cut, stopped at the grocery store to pick up dinner, then took it back and cooked it for Mom and the kids. Off to the orientations, then back to pick up the kids quick so I could make it to my book club.

There's no such thing as "quick" when dealing with my mother these days.

I got there, and the toys were picked up (since I had called ahead), but I still had to put away leftovers and do all the dinner dishes. I didn't even leave mom's (with her trash in hand) until twenty minutes after I was supposed to be at book club.

(For the record, yes, my husband COULD have been the one to pick them up, but I try to ensure he has as little contact as possible with her. It's the only way our situation will work. Also, he wouldn't have done the dishes.)

So I showed up at book club half an hour late, to find only one other member there. Four of the six of us were expected, but only Nessie and I made it.

No matter. We sat and talked for three hours. It was lovely.

And a great way to end the day.

Sigo pensando en ti, y tu?

Me siento incompleto sin ti, pero tu me valoras?, demuestrame cuanto valgo para ti.

At Equal Exchange we feel strongly that small-scale sustainable farming is the most effective way to feed the planet, care for the environment, and sustain healthy and vibrant communities and businesses. We believe that small farmer co-operatives provide a model for participatory decision-making, local control, and economic development that is desperately needed to fix a broken food system and an ailing planet.

In this blog, we have tried to make our case by highlighting inspiring stories from our farmer co-op partners and referencing articles written about the importance of agroecology, organic farming, and consumer and farmer movements that are trying to make changes to agricultural and trade policies that serve no one but large scale agribusiness. We have deliberately tried not to focus too much on the debate around plantations, or the competition between different coffee roasters. Nevertheless, I wanted to share Nick's observations as I thought he did a great job of highlighting some of the history of plantations and the reasons why we choose to focus our work, and continue to build strong relationships, with small farmer organizations in the Fair Trade system.

Fair Trade as a Tool For Transformation: Can plantations play that role?

by Nicholas Reid

For years now, folks have been questioning whether the Fair Trade certifiers should have allowed plantations into a system which was founded by and for small farmer co-operatives. One of the arguments put forth to justify the entry of plantations into the system is that there are many products (such as bananas and tea) which are primarily produced by plantations and therefore are not possible to source from small farmer co-operatives. This is a false premise. The majority of bananas and tea ARE produced by small farmers. More importantly, by allowing plantations into the Fair Trade system, the certifiers are ensuring that products produced by small farmer co-operatives will never thrive in the Fair Trade system.

I would buy the argument that the majority of the world's tea, bananas and cocoa for export are grown by plantations and large-scale agriculture. But seriously, Fair Trade exists to support small farmers because plantations dominate banana and tea production for export. It aims to create the systems that would allow small farmers to benefit from exporting those products.

Allowing plantations into the Fair Trade system is a complete departure from the principles upon which Fair Trade was created. More importantly, it is also a betrayal of the farmers who built the system and a continuation of the marginalization of small farmers in the most impoverished countries in the world. Fair Trade was created to support organized small-scale producers and connect them to export markets. It was a response to the failure of plantation economies, and development policies designed around centralized ownership and production, to affect transformative change or economic growth that empowers and benefits people. Plantation-based Fair Trade is a slightly less gruesome extension of colonialism and slavery, and a system that for half a millennium has served only to increase global inequality.

Plantation Fair Trade does not offer a viable economic alternative to global poverty, exploitation and marginalization; it strengthens the very system that caused it. Economic history has been a stream of "slight improvements"; colonial powers invaded the "south", appropriated the land and resources, enslaved or murdered most of the population and marginalized the rest to the least productive lands. The end of political colonialism saw European plantation owners, regional despots, "princes" and "rajas", who thrived under colonialism by adopting the disastrous plantation model, quickly fill the gap of colonial magistrates and virrey. Slavery was replaced by share-cropping and "slavery lite". Colonial interests were replaced by American and British business interests, and then transnational business interests like Chiquita and Cargill; all of whom continue to rely on the plantation model to extract resources and "produce" profits; with the added benefit of decreasing production for local consumption, making laborers more reliant on food imports; graciously provided by Cargill.

Without the Fair Trade system to provide credit and access to export markets, there is no chance a small farmer with a few acres dedicated to subsistence agriculture and a small plot of bananas could compete with Chiquita, its $4.6 billion in annual revenue, and gargantuan banana plantations. In the case of bananas, 10% of banana production is intended for export (the so called "dessert bananas"), as opposed to their starchier cousins, plantains, which are a dietary staple grown by millions of small farmers across the southern hemisphere. (According to the recent book: Banana Wars: Power, Production and History in the Americas, edited by Steve Striffler and Mark Moberg.) Bananas could be a viable and potentially lucrative and empowering market for small farmers, but allowing plantations into the Fair Trade system has marginalized small banana producers even further and ensures that they will never be successful.

Even the United States has failed to rectify the destruction of its slave/plantation economy through slight improvements. Starting with post-Emancipation Proclamation share-cropping, the advent of the "minimum wage", the civil rights movement and then affirmative action, improvements (similar to what plantation Fair Trade would represent) to the current labor model have not addressed, corrected or righted the destruction of the colonial-slave model. Are African-Americans better off today than they were in the early 1800's? Yes. But that leaves much; everything, in fact; to be desired: Statistics vary widely, so I won't quote them but let's just say that the number of African-American men in jail compared to college is not something this country should be proud of. The same goes for the percent of unemployed African American men compared to white Americans. Plantation Fair Trade ignores the failures of "more fair" plantation-based economies throughout history.

What did work in the United States was an economy based on small land-holders in the Northeast and a decreased reliance on mono-crop exports. Fair Trade attempts to strengthen those economies in developing countries; to invest in small land-holders, who have the opportunity to accrue transformative assets like land (in the United States it is estimated that 44% of the average American's wealth is in land or housing) and are infinitely more self-reliant through local cooperation and subsistence production. On a national level, vibrant local economies decrease dependence on foreign aid, food imports, and investment, and strengthen the ability of governments to resist egregious trade agreements and concessions.

And why, you have to wonder, are plantations and Wal-Mart so eager to join the Fair Trade system (well… to gain access to the certification)? Is it the goodness of their hearts? Or in that case wouldn't they just pay workers a fair wage because it's the right thing to do? Is it to raise their production costs through higher wages? To lower their margins for the benefit of Honduran banana farmers? Or is it that the success and hard work of small-farmer co-operatives and alternative trade organizations has led corporations and plantations to see the potential for profits in the Fair Trade system. Plantations, corporations and venture capital are banging on the doors of Fair Trade; begging for more quantity, more products, bigger, better, more streamlined supply-chains and relaxed regulations, because they see an opportunity to increase margins within their existing supply chains (i.e. plantations). They see people paying more for a tiny stamp on a bag of coffee; they want a piece of it. The farmers who built Fair Trade certainly don't want plantations in the system. Many consumers are confused by the debate; they trust the seal and the ideology for which it once stood.

Co-operative Fair Trade is about empowerment of people (both producers and consumers) and communities. It's about food sovereignty for people, here and in developing countries. For over twenty years, farmer cooperatives in the Fair Trade system have organized as a social and political force with which to be reckoned. Communities, tied together through economic ownership, have defined their values and developed according to their own paths of economic development. They are asserting influence and fielding politicians. Women have been empowered through shared assets and accountability, and development projects. Children are attending schools. Communities are growing their own organic food and rehabilitating the land. They are tiny green patches in the scarred and barren landscape of a scorched earth policy; vibrant local economies that value people and their connection to the earth.

Plantations, even those with labor unions and fair wages, represent continued dependence on patriarchal land-owners, predatory capital markets, transnational corporations and developed countries. American consumers should not be duped into supporting plantations because they agree to pay their workers a "fair wage", we should be investing in a viable alternative that doesn't rely on cheap labor and minority ownership. Allowing plantations into Fair Trade threatens to reverse the gains of the alternative trade movement, strengthen the competitive advantage of plantations and agribusiness, and further marginalize and exploit small farmers.

La historia, que maneja de fondo la guerra de la independencia cubana, recorre la vida de Espiridiona Cenda, una liliputiense de 65 centímetros de altura (que nunca conoció a Gulliver, pero supuestamente sí a Sarah Bernhardt, a William McKinley, a Alfons Mucha y a varios más) a quien apodaban "la muñeca viviente", nacida en Cuba en 1869. Mezcla de biografía y ficción abordada desde dos puntos de vista diferentes (la de la propia Espiridiona -Mierda, qué nombre largo- y la de Cándido Olazábal) para mi gusto, se podría meter por el lugar del realismo mágico: Chiquita existió realmente, se supone que hay pruebas de que triunfó en Francia y en EEUU, y de que fue invitada a la Casa Blanca en 1900, pero por otro lado nos podemos encontrar con La Orden de los Pequeños Artífices de la Nueva Arcadia, una hermandad secreta de enanos que hablan la Geheimnissprache der kleinen Leute, una gallina de los huevos de oro, etc. Con miedo a que ustedes piensen que esto se trata de un libro para niños les comento que según los mismos personajes, la famosa liliputiense era "putísima" y eso no se aleja de la trama, hombres y mujeres se pasean por su cama a troche y moche, a diestra y sieniestra; en fin, creo que entendieron...

La verdad es que hasta ahora el libro me tiene enganchadísima, no se sabe lo que puede seguir, desde freakshows, espiritismo, erotismo, circos y ferias, historia... Hay material pa´repartir...

En fin: Es entretenido, está como para leerlo en las vacaciones...

Det som normalt brukar vara en tillgång vid lansering av nya produkter, ett välkänt varumärke, riskerar här att fungera som en barriär mellan produkt och konsument eftersom Fanta normalt associeras med betydligt mer ohälsosamt innehåll. Frågan är om hälsosamma konsumenter vill förknippas med detta sockrade varumärke.

Jämför med Chiquitas lansering av smoothies där varumärket fungerar omvänt. Chiquita förknippas med bananer. Lanseringen av en hälsosam dryck ger köparen automatiskt mer naturliga och hälsosamma associationer.

I am SO sick to DEATH of having to do EVERYTHING for EVERYBODY!!!!!

AAAARRRGGGHHHHH!!

I'm tired of always being responsible. I'm wiped out. Weeks of hospital visits...running the kids to tumbling and dance lessons...stopping by my mom's to visit...off to the library for a kids program...driving Mom to the doctor...another dance lesson...return phone calls...plan menus....

Oh, and let's not forget that on top of all that, Supermom here is supposed to cook, clean, shop, do laundry, dishes.

Oh, and lose a little weight. Did I mention I'm a stress eater?

My house is trashed. I HATE being here. Tired of tripping over dog toys, broken Happy Meal toys, assorted laundry that never made it to the hamper because my family is apparently BRAIN DAMAGED. Tired of trying to remember which pile in which quadrant of our kitchen that phone number or schedule is located.

Did I mention that all the stuff that belongs in our (nonexistent) attic is (still) in my bedroom? Has been for over 4 years, since Little Sis was born and we had to turn "the attic room" into her nursery. I hate waking up and looking at that sh*t every day. I trip over it on my way to bed. I knock it over on my way to the bathroom every morning. It includes a large bag stuffed with gift bags that we've received over the past 7 years that are intended to be reused. It mostly contains "new baby" themed bags that we could NEVER POSSIBLY EVER USE UP IN OUR LIVES. We won't ever have to give gifts to 78 babies. Did I mention that this teetering pile of crap prohibits me from even using my own dresser?

Wishing I could return some favors...all the playdates that were hastily arranged to I could see my mom in the hospital...the backyard sleepover I've been promising Little Sis for months ("When school's out, honey." "After vacation, baby doll." "When your grandma gets out of the hospital...."). I think about planning our somewhat-annual ice cream social (I even bought invitations!), but I can't bear the thought of adding it to my workload, even though it's the world's easiest party to throw.

But I don't have enough patience for my own kids lately, let alone someone else's too.

My book club book is gathering dust on a side table. The chaise lounge I splurged on ($30 at Sam's Club) never made it to the deck. We never got out the grill...who has time?

Summer's whizzing by, and I'm missing it.

On the bright side, I have (expensive) Jimmy Buffett tickets for Tuesday, but right now all I can think about is my extensive to-do list. Clear out minivan so six adults can comfortably fit. (Maybe get the car detailed? I hate doing it myself.) Make sure sitter can run Little Sis to dance class. Plan menu. Shop. Pack in coolers. Be at airport by 11:30 am to pick up my sister and her (new) boyfriend. Worry that new boyfriend won't like me or that he'll be disgusted when he sees what shape I keep my home in. Arrive at concert. Unpack. Cook. Feed people. Drink (heavily?). Try to remember to relax and enjoy myself. It's Jimmy Buffett, for Pete's sake.

I've had it.

Is this stupid antidepressant even WORKING? Hellooo?

I'm tired.

Chiquita Fruit Bites
Crisp, delicious bite-sized fruit and vegetables that are ideal for school lunches and on-the-go treats. What a perfect healthy snack! They come in a variety of flavors: apple, apple and grapes, apple with caramel dip, carrot with ranch dip and sweet peapods with ranch dip.

For more product knowledge, you can read it here.
Now we go on the prize, the chosen video will turned on startcooking.com (full credits given to you). In addition, WiiFit from Chiquita. Just remember the length of your video not more than 30 seconds or not more than 150 words.

[dailymotion id=xkjzf]

Video Clip : Chiquita

Singer : Aerosmith

One night shy of her one week hospital discharge anniversary, I'm talking to her on the phone. "By the way," she says nonchalantly, "I'm having chest pains." I call my sister and Mom's cardiologist (who NEVER CALLED ME BACK, by the way). They subside and everyone goes to sleep.

The next day at lunch, Chiquita pukes in her apartment building's communal dining room. I ditch the kids at a neighbor's and go to check on her. I call my sister and the cardiologist's office (who is now acting shocked that I never got a call back the night before...argh!). Cardiologist says to find an ER.

We sigh and re-pack her half-unpacked hospital bag.

An angioplasty, three new stents and ten days later, I bring her home. I've spent a good portion of nearly every day (8 of 10) with her in the hospital. Called in every child care favor I could come up with, and hired a sitter on the days those ran out. Then made my husband come home from work early when THAT ran out.

About that time, I started wondering what would happen if I took three Wellbutrin a day instead of two.

And had to cancel the follow-up appointment with my PCP to get MORE happy pills. Still haven't rescheduled.

But today felt good. Dropped the kids at VBS (God bless VBS!!), and hit Target. It's one of my favorite places to go without kids.

Sad, I know.

Picked up the kids, quick lunch at Panera, and off to the library to see a magic show. Very fun. When we get home, I even have enough energy to make the kids an afternoon snack (because the dog ate Little Sis' chocolate chip bagel). What a good mom I am.

AT 5:30 pm, I pack swimsuits and bundle the little darlings off to the neighbors'. Hubby joins me for a date night: Get Smart.

Here's to getting back to normal.

Recently I’ve been putting together more and more pieces of the rescue of Ingrid Betancourt and other hostages from FARC, the left- wing guerrilla group in Colombia. In the most recent and astounding news, a Swiss news radio report has claimed that FARC was actually paid a large ransom in return for the release. (see link here) (and here)

In related news, it has come out that Chiquita Brands International paid money to FARC and the right-wing paramilitary group, The United Self Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), while Carl Lindner, a major donor to the McCain campaign, was CEO of Chiquita. (see link here)

John McCain, US Presidential candidate for the Republican Party, was in Colombia during the hostage release/ rescue. As I read more, I find out that McCain was informed by Colombian President Alvaro Uribe of the planned hostage operation the day before the raid. (see link here) However, the White House has denied that McCain knew about the operation to release the hostages before he went to Colombia. (see link)

• This is the first of three posts on Colombia and the FARC hostage release.  The second was "More Questions and Analysis in the Colombian FARC Hostage Rescue- Release"
• The third post was "Media: Wall Street Journal Uses Questionable FARC Hostage Release to Bash Human Rights NGOs"

An Elaborate Ruse?

OK, now for the conspiracy theory: John McCain knew about the planned hostage release operation before he went to Colombia and planned his trip to be there at the same time to take advantage of the resonance with his own POW experience in North Vietnam. To take the theory one step further: the hostage release was paid for, rather than a daring rescue. Then throw in Carl Lindner. Perhaps Carl Lindner’s Chiquita contacts, already in the know about how to bribe the FARC, helped arrange the transfer of funds.

Now let’s dissect the conspiracy theory piece by piece to see how much it holds up under examination. A Swiss radio report has claimed that 20 Million USD was paid to FARC to release the hostages, rather than the story of the daring and cunning rescue we have been told about. The Swiss radio report cites a “reliable source” as the source of their information, which has been tried and true in several cases previously. While a “reliable source”, which cannot be tested or cross checked is not something to build your case on, the fact that the story has been posted on several news sources, and has been alleged at all, is something to consider.

John McCain deliberately arranged to be in Colombia during the raid? Well, it has already been widely reported that he was informed of the alleged rescue operation the day before by the Colombian President. Is it too much of a stretch to think that he could have been told well in advance and arranged his trip to coincide with it? Apparently, the possibility occurred to others, since the White House felt the need to deny it. And remember, this is the same administration that told you there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq when US intelligence agencies were advising against the War in Iraq.

And McCain would certainly have a motive. It resonated perfectly with his own experience as a Prisoner of War (POW) in Vietnam, something which has been used relentlessly to promote his character as a Presidential candidate. A free trade agreement with Colombia has been one of the issue discussed during the campaign, with McCain supporting the agreement and Obama opposed to it. In the midst of the arguments that the agreement is a bad idea because of the human rights situation in Colombia (along with other reasons), the hostage release story is a feel-good story which gives us all the feeling that things are improving in Colombia and FARC is in decline.

After the initial incident, one blogger even speculated that the Betancourt rescue could swing the US Presidential election. (see link here) Another blog spoofed the whole incident as if McCain had really conducted the rescue. (see link)

And FOX News has tried to link the story with McCain.

Well, you’d have to think as a former prisoner of war himself, Sen. McCain would have an intense interest in this case. It’s been played pretty low profile. A lot of people aren’t even aware of the fate of these three Americans. They were really working for a Defense Department civilian contractor. So there really might be a connection between the high-level visit of the former prisoner of war, John McCain himself, and the release now of three American prisoners here in southern Colombia.

Even the FOX correspondent is saying there "really might be a connection" between McCain's visit and the release.

If it is true that FARC was paid to release the hostages, that would be even more perfect. Of course, McCain wouldn’t want to be in Colombia during a BOTCHED hostage rescue. Only a successful operation would look good.

What about Chiquita?

Were Lindner and Chiquita tied into it by paying the ransom somehow? We know that Chiquita paid money to FARC as part of doing business in Colombia, and we know that Carl Lindner is a donor to McCain, who recently hosted a major fundraiser for McCain in the posh Cincinnati neighborhood of Indian Hill, around the 27th of June. Chiquita was sued by the US Dept. of Justice for paying bribes to another group, the right wing paramilitary group AUC, and had to pay damages of $25 million.

But perhaps it is a stretch to think that Lindner had anything to do with arranging the ransom. The Swiss radio report, says that the ransom was arranged through the wife of a FARC hostage guard who had been captured by the Colombian government. So far no evidence of that link. But in an amusing twist, theyoungturks.com website highlighted how, if Obama received a donation from someone who had previously given money to a left wing group like th FARC, the media would immediately jump on it as proof of Obama’s socialistic leanings.

Coalition of the Right?

All the major figures in this affair are on the right of the political spectrum- McCain, Bush, Uribe, even Sarkozy, one of the main figures previously working on Betancourt’s release. Then we have FOX News, which was right there to capitalize on the affair and score brownie points for McCain.

Of course, the White House could never admit that McCain knew about the rescue of the hostages beforehand, because the American public would be turned off by such pandering and misuse of a humanitarian relief operation. But if he just happens to be there, to subtly benefit by association with the events which were broadcast around the world, a kind of subtle psychological ploy, that would be perfect.

We should all be happy that Betancourt and the others were released- they certainly had suffered greatly in captivity. But if McCain deliberately did this to promote his campaign, it really is shameless.

The sad thing is, even though many of these different points are being put together now, the real impact on the American public will hardly be altered at all. Because Americans receive an incredible flow of information, it will probably hardly register with 99% of Americans that there is now evidence that the rescue operation was actually a case of a paid ransom, not an clever operation to hoodwink FARC. In politics these days, its the initial impression on the vast majority of people that counts, not the few that find out an alternate truth days later...

Other links:

Forum discussion related to original article on Lindner and McCain
John McCain's Excellent Latin American Adventure!
The Official Story: How Colombia Hoodwinked FARC (Miami Herald)

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Joe Hagin, the little known but influential White House staffer who supervised the renovation of the Situation Room and planned President Bush's secret trips to Iraq, surprised colleagues yesterday with his resignation.

"It's time to move on," Hagin told colleagues yesterday in an e-mail informing them he had accepted a corporate job that will involve spending time in Washington and Chicago.

Hagin is the former VP of Chiquita, which, during part of his time there, paid off Columbian para-military groups for "protection." In other words, ties to terrorists groups.

Wonder which corporation hired Hagin.

He estado juntando recientemente junto las piezas cada vez más del rescate de Ingrid Betancourt y otros rehenes de FARC, el grupo de guerrilla izquierdista en Colombia. En las noticias más recientes y más asombrosas, un informe suizo de la radio de las noticias ha demandado que FARC fue pagado realmente un rescate grande a cambio de el lanzamiento. (véase el acoplamiento aquí) (y aquí)

(Este poste del blog fue escrito originalmente en inglés. Para ver el poste original en inglés (chasque aquí))

En noticias relacionadas, ha salido que Chiquita califica el dinero pagado internacional a FARC y al grupo paramilitar de la derecha, las fuerzas de autodefensa unidas de Colombia (AUC), mientras que Carl Lindner, donante importante a la campaña de McCain, era CEO de Chiquita. (véase el acoplamiento aquí)

Juan McCain, candidato presidencial de los E.E.U.U. al Partido Republicano, estaba en Colombia durante el rescate del lanzamiento del rehén. Pues leo más, descubro que McCain fue informado por presidente colombiano Álvaro Uribe de la operación prevista del rehén el día antes de la incursión. (véase el acoplamiento aquí) sin embargo, la casa blanca ha negado que McCain sabía sobre la operación para lanzar a los rehenes antes de que él fuera a Colombia. (véase el acoplamiento)

¿Una Ruse elaborada?

Ok, ahora para la teoría de la conspiración: Juan McCain sabía sobre la operación prevista del lanzamiento del rehén antes de que él fuera a Colombia y planeara su viaje para estar allí al mismo tiempo aprovecharse de la resonancia con su propia experiencia del PRISIONERO DE GUERRA en Vietnam del norte. Para tomar a la teoría una medida más futura: el lanzamiento del rehén era pagado para, algo que un rescate atrevido. Entonces tiro en Carl Lindner. Quizás Chiquita de Carl Lindner entra en contacto con, ya en la saber sobre cómo sobornar el FARC, ayudado para arreglar la transferencia de fondos.

Ahora déjenos disecan el pedazo de la teoría de la conspiración por el pedazo para ver cuánto soporta bajo examinación. Un informe de radio suizo ha demandado que 20 millones de USD fueron pagados a FARC para lanzar a los rehenes, algo que la historia del rescate atrevido y astuto que nos han dicho alrededor. El informe de radio suizo cita una “fuente fiable” como la fuente de su información, que se ha intentado y verdad en varios casos previamente. Mientras que el hecho de la “fuente fiable”, que no pueden ser probadas o cruzado comprobado no es algo construir su caja encendido, de que la historia se haya fijado en varias fuentes de noticias, y se haya alegado en absoluto, es algo considerar.

¿Juan McCain arregló deliberadamente estar en Colombia durante la incursión? Bien, se ha divulgado ya extensamente que él era informado de la operación de rescate alegada el día antes por el presidente colombiano. ¿Es demasiado de un estiramiento para pensar que él habría podido ser dicho bien por adelantado y arregló su viaje para coincidir con él? Al parecer, la posibilidad ocurrió a otras, puesto que la casa blanca sentía la necesidad de negarla. Y recuerde, esto es la misma administración que le dijo que había armas de la destrucción total en Iraq cuando las agencias de inteligencia de los E.E.U.U. aconsejaban contra la guerra en Iraq.

Y McCain tendría ciertamente un motivo. Resonó perfectamente con su propia experiencia como prisionero de guerra (PRISIONERO DE GUERRA) en Vietnam, algo que se ha utilizado implacablemente para promover su carácter como candidato presidencial. Un acuerdo de libre comercio con Colombia ha sido uno de la edición discutida durante la campaña, con McCain apoyando el acuerdo y el Obama opuesta a él. En el medio de las discusiones que el acuerdo es una mala idea debido a la situación de los derechos humanos en Colombia (junto con otras razones), la historia del lanzamiento del rehén es una historia agradable que nos da toda la sensación que las cosas están mejorando en Colombia y FARC está en la declinación.

Después del incidente inicial, un blogger incluso especuló que el rescate de Betancourt podría hacer pivotar la elección presidencial de los E.E.U.U. (véase el acoplamiento aquí) otro blog spoofed el incidente entero como si McCain hubiera conducido realmente el rescate. (véase el acoplamiento)

Y Fox News ha intentado ligar la historia a McCain.

Bien, usted tendría que pensar como prisionero de guerra anterior mismo, Sen. McCain tendría un interés intenso en este caso. Ha sido perfil bastante bajo jugado. Mucha gente no es incluso consciente del sino de estos tres americanos. Ella trabajaba realmente para un contratista del civil del Departamento de Defensa. Tan realmente pudo haber una conexión entre la visita de alto nivel del prisionero de guerra anterior, Juan McCain mismo, y el lanzamiento ahora de tres presos americanos aquí en Colombia meridional.

Incluso el correspondiente del FOX News está diciendo allí el " realmente pudo estar un connection" entre McCain' visita de s y el lanzamiento.

Si es verdad que FARC fue pagado para lanzar a los rehenes, ése sería aún más perfecto. Por supuesto, McCain no querría estar en Colombia durante un rescate REMENDADO del rehén. Solamente una operación acertada parecería buena.

¿Qué sobre Chiquita?

¿Lindner y Chiquita fueron atados en él pagando el rescate de alguna manera? Conocemos ese Chiquita pagado el dinero a FARC como parte de hacer negocio en Colombia, y sabemos que Carl Lindner es un donante a McCain, que recibió recientemente una recaudador de fondos importante para McCain en la vecindad elegante de Cincinnati de la colina india, alrededor de el 27 de junio. Chiquita fue demandado por el departamento de los E.E.U.U. de la justicia para pagar sobornos a otro grupo, el grupo paramilitar AUC de la derecha, y tuvo que pagar daños de $25 millones.

Pero quizás es un estiramiento para pensar que Lindner tenía cualquier cosa hacer con el arreglo del rescate. El informe de radio suizo, dice que el rescate fue arreglado a través de la esposa de un protector del rehén de FARC que había sido capturado por el gobierno colombiano. Hasta ahora ninguna evidencia de ese acoplamiento. Pero en una torcedura graciosamente, el Web site de theyoungturks.com destacó cómo, si Obama recibiera una donación alguien que había dado previamente el dinero a un grupo de la izquierda como el th FARC, los medios saltarían inmediatamente en él como prueba de los leanings socialistas de Obama.

¿Coalición de la derecha?

Todas las figuras principales en este asunto están en la derecha del espectro político McCain, Bush, Uribe, incluso Sarkozy, una de las figuras principales que trabajan previamente en el lanzamiento de Betancourt. Entonces tenemos Fox News, que correcto allí de capitalizar en los puntos del asunto y del brownie de la cuenta para McCain.

Por supuesto, la casa blanca podría nunca admitir que McCain sabía sobre el rescate de los rehenes de antemano, porque tal pandering y uso erróneo de una operación de relevación apagaría al público americano humanitaria. Pero si él apenas sucede estar allí, beneficiarse sutil por la asociación con los acontecimientos que eran difusión en todo el mundo, una clase de trabajo psicologico sutil, que sería perfecta.

Debemos todos ser felices que Betancourt y los otros eran lanzado ellos habían sufrido ciertamente grandemente en cautiverio. Pero si McCain hizo deliberadamente esto para promover su campaña, es realmente desvergonzado.

La cosa triste es, aunque muchos de estos diversos puntos ahora se están poniendo juntos, el impacto verdadero en el público americano será alterada apenas en absoluto. Porque los americanos reciben un flujo de información increíble, se colocará probablemente apenas con el 99% de americanos que ahora hay evidencia que la operación de rescate era realmente un caso de un rescate pagado, no una operación lista para hoodwink FARC. En política actualmente, su la impresión inicial en la gran mayoría de la gente que cuenta, no la poca que descubren días de una verdad del suplente más adelante…

Otros acoplamientos:

La discusión del foro se relacionó con el artículo original sobre Lindner y McCain

¡Aventura latinoamericana excelente de Juan McCain!

La historia oficial: Cómo Colombia Hoodwinked FARC (Miami Herald)

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