Locky The Bunny: Anthem

Dear Lee Jordan,

Today I finished this little story from Ayn Rand titled «Anthem». I started this book with an ill mind and hate towards the writer. The foreword by the author itself, as well as the introduction from an evident sychophant of this woman did nothing to improve my preonceived ideas about her. I still disagree deeply with her personal philosophy, and still think it's a pile of wobbly shite that would not stand up to any philosophical court's examination. However, the book itself, «Anthem» has a delicious "wording", so to put it. I was amazed at her writing skills, her capacity of "plot" even if her capacity of thinking sinks down the sewers. Perhaps we shall start this with some structure.

Argument: in some far future, mankind serves the collectivity to the point of banning their individualities. Any expression of self, including words that refer to the individual person, are seen as unforgivable sins, and as such they are punished. From this human herd one man dares to explore the difference and think about it. Him, Equality 7-2521, dares to "think evil" and then risks to explore it. The book is about his journey of self discovery.

Caracters: Aside from Equality 7-2521, there is Liberty 5-3000, a female and then a very few others of equally weird names and such short appearances, they are almost "stunts" or "decoration" within the story. Perhaps only Liberty 5-3000 could be considered a secondary caracter, the complement heroine of the story, but her caracter building is so entirely grey and plain she's almost invisible. It's strange she's even in the book, for her dumb, blind obedience would not make her a fit partner for Equality. No other caracter is given the chance to develop enough for evaluation of analysis.

«Anthem», as the word itself tells it, intends to become an ode to individuality, but it fails on several planes. The plot of the begining is rich and almost "cute" to follow for the very kiddy quality the world depicted has to it. The soft and curious personality given to Equality, his life, his experiences and the way he has to tell them gave the book a sweet and lovable taste, that makes you cling to it, just as you cling to the words of a very dear friend, whose simple, human story holds you hostage until the end. However, the wonder is not eternal, and the story crumbles down in several mistakes. All by himself, in three-hour periods, he finds the time to read and discover electricity. He builds "strange things" out his own mind. Things "strange" to him even if he put them together. From street sweeper, he steps up to become an amateur electrical engineer. In two years he surpasses the knowledge of his whole society, concentrating basically on electricity, but not understanding it really. This shows the lack of knowledge in the field from the writer. Uhhh... you don't do that.

There's time linearity breaking, which I appreciate a lot, and the plain stories are seasoned beautifully with little insights to Equality's life and personal history.The beholding of the punishment of the "Saint" is a particularly beautiful and inspiring scene which is weirdly so pro-communism tinted it becomes strange coming from such an imperialist woman.

As you read, yes, the big "we" becomes despiseable, but as Equality 7-2521 pursues individuality, and tries to stablish its superiority contradictory elements raise on its wake. He does not seek for Liberty 5-3000 to seek her own self, but she lets her be an obedient element, tied to a new "we". The "we" of the two of them. Her passivity and mirror like reacting, like a choir tuned to echo the big words of the hero, she vanishes into what slowly becomes the hero's very own society. It becomes contradictory how a pursuer of individuality ties itself to the wish to be recognized by the society it has betrayed. The collectiveness, the uniformity is changed for what I call the worse slavery of society: the craving for its attention. From a serving equal, at the end, with the discovery of its own individuality, the hero of the story, becomes unconsciously their most abject slave, begging for their attention. From one of the herd to an attention whore.

I wonder if Ms. Rand realized the huge mistake she did with this book, with her ending, despite her editing and revision. For me, the «Anthem» failed to become what the author intended it to, but and perhaps in that lies its beauty: regardless of all the objectivity, all the individuality, and the wanted detachment from the society to become a "man owner fo his own", his ode portrays a man, a young man who gives up the "social objectivity", the "all man vision" for the subjectivity of his own vision, his own reasons, and then, at the threshold of it, as the societies of which he reads, and which he do not understand, he bows in his mind and dreams ot returning to the City, victorious in his private quest, but return still, get in contact and become a dot charted in their map. Just as his detachment started in his mind, by the end of the story, if you read carefully, his return starts also in his mind.

It's imperfection is tremenduosly human, and as such, supremely delicious.

I loved it in spite of everything.



Love to All,

Locky The Bunny

Anthem, by Ayn Rand -- Comment

Dear Lee Jordan,




Today I finished this little story from Ayn Rand titled «Anthem». I started this book with an ill mind and hate towards the writer. The foreword by the author itself, as well as the introduction from an evident sychophant of this woman did nothing to improve my preonceived ideas about her. I still disagree deeply with her personal philosophy, and still think it's a pile of wobbly shite that would not stand up to any philosophical court's examination. However, the book itself, «Anthem» has a delicious "wording", so to put it. I was amazed at her writing skills, her capacity of "plot" even if her capacity of thinking sinks down the sewers.

Perhaps we shall start this with some structure. Argument: in some far future, mankind serves the collectivity to the point of banning their individualities. Any expression of self, including words that refer to the individual person, are seen as unforgivable sins, and as such they are punished. From this human herd one man dares to explore the difference and think about it. Him, Equality 7-2521, dares to "think evil" and then risks to explore it. The book is about his journey of self discovery. Caracters: Aside from Equality 7-2521, there is Liberty 5-3000, a female and then a very few others of equally weird names and such short appearances, they are almost "stunts" or "decoration" within the story. Perhaps only Liberty 5-3000 could be considered a secondary caracter, the complement heroine of the story, but her caracter building is so entirely grey and plain she's almost invisible. It's strange she's even in the book, for her dumb, blind obedience would not make her a fit partner for Equality.

No other caracter is given the chance to develop enough for evaluation of analysis.

«Anthem», as the word itself tells it, intends to become an ode to individuality, but it fails on several planes. The plot of the begining is rich and almost "cute" to follow for the very kiddy quality the world depicted has to it. The soft and curious personality given to Equality, his life, his experiences and the way he has to tell them gave the book a sweet and lovable taste, that makes you cling to it, just as you cling to the words of a very dear friend, whose simple, human story holds you hostage until the end.

However, the wonder is not eternal, and the story crumbles down in several mistakes. All by himself, in three-hour periods, he finds the time to read and discover electricity. He builds "strange things" out his own mind. Things "strange" to him even if he put them together. From street sweeper, he steps up to become an amateur electrical engineer. In two years he surpasses the knowledge of his whole society, concentrating basically on electricity, but not understanding it really. This shows the lack of knowledge in the field from the writer. Uhhh... you don't do that. There's time linearity breaking, which I appreciate a lot, and the plain stories are seasoned beautifully with little insights to Equality's life and personal history.The beholding of the punishment of the "Saint" is a particularly beautiful and inspiring scene which is weirdly so pro-communism tinted it becomes strange coming from such an imperialist woman. As you read, yes, the big "we" becomes despiseable, but as Equality 7-2521 pursues individuality, and tries to stablish its superiority contradictory elements raise on its wake.

He does not seek for Liberty 5-3000 to seek her own self, but she lets her be an obedient element, tied to a new "we". The "we" of the two of them. Her passivity and mirror like reacting, like a choir tuned to echo the big words of the hero, she vanishes into what slowly becomes the hero's very own society. It becomes contradictory how a pursuer of individuality ties itself to the wish to be recognized by the society it has betrayed. The collectiveness, the uniformity is changed for what I call the worse slavery of society: the craving for its attention. From a serving equal, at the end, with the discovery of its own individuality, the hero of the story, becomes unconsciously their most abject slave, begging for their attention. From one of the herd to an attention whore.

I wonder if Ms. Rand realized the huge mistake she did with this book, with her ending, despite her editing and revision. For me, the «Anthem» failed to become what the author intended it to, but and perhaps in that lies its beauty: regardless of all the objectivity, all the individuality, and the wanted detachment from the society to become a "man owner fo his own", his ode portrays a man, a young man who gives up the "social objectivity", the "all man vision" for the subjectivity of his own vision, his own reasons, and then, at the threshold of it, as the societies of which he reads, and which he do not understand, he bows in his mind and dreams ot returning to the City, victorious in his private quest, but return still, get in contact and become a dot charted in their map. Just as his detachment started in his mind, by the end of the story, if you read carefully, his return starts also in his mind.

It's imperfection is tremenduosly human, and as such, supremely delicious.

I loved it in spite of everything.



Love to All,

Locky The Bunny

Locky The Bunny: When does it worth to Move Up

Dear Lee Jordan,




First of all I want to apologize AGAIN to my dear june_glasschild, whom I mistakenly greeted for her birthday today, when she will have her birthday NEXT MONTH!!!! I'm so sorry!!! No wonder I didn't see the date on my PDA, but then I thought it had been erased, so I wrote it in, and greeted her. Fic-Present and the whole deal. (Yes, I KNOW I'm still struggling with dear mia_chan's birthday present, but this particular one has me all tangled up. I think I'll have to start all over with a new concept, a new pairing and a new everything.) The good thing is that I now have an extra month to work on the fic... which was SO HARD TO FIT because I had to mega-reduce a several chapter story into an "entry sized" story, and it just wasn't leaving me perfectly satisfied. So now I can work it more.

I read in the CNN that there had been some Student Raids in Caracas against President Chaves, because he wants to be re-elected an indefinite number of times. Okay, someone has been sniffing up the smoke from Castro's cigars for too long. I know I'm "pro-State", pro-Social Welfare and other matters many uneducated people would plain label "communist", BUT this is too much. I agree with a better, more fare distribution of income, better opportunities for everybody, but fixing himself on the power when EVIDENTLY at least half the population doesn't want him is an act of social irresponsability and abuse of power. That's self-serving, and no longer social-serving. And fuck Ayn Rand and her "collectivity is slavery". (I really hate her, even if I'm loving Anthem.) Having this the day I thought was june_glasschild's birthday was a real bummer.

Then again the world is going from bad to "really bad".

The Washington Post printed an article on how the inequity (income inequity) had been growing in alarming rates. The DC had a "Two City" look with more shit than one would dare to imagine.

Also, since the fire in California, other things have been made blatant. If California burns, the whole country rushes to it and help the celebrities in peril, BUT if New Orléans floods, let it drown and rot. Who knows? Maybe their "cajun", their "nigga" local woodoo can save them. Sure, because in an "English Only" country, how dare this people have their own "creole" language? French to it, the motherfuckers, right? Poor blacks, the less the better. But Rugby forbid the rich white Americans, the celebs to suffer!! Run and help them!! So basically there are two kinds of Americans in America: the one who are "people" because they have the means to pay for it, and then the "rest", an amorf mass of "voting fingers" that deserve nothing, that are cannyon meat for Iraq, who can be fucked over because, really, who cares for them?

I would like to draw a parallelism here that I believe is happening in several Governments around the world: Countries, good countries populates with good, capable people are going down the sewer because they are all being "pillaged" by their own "freely elected" Governments. Maybe not in all countries, but the faudulent elections are part of todays old and new "democracies", in spite of Jimmy Carter and the International Watchers. Tampered voting ballots, destroyed votes, voters who came back from their graves to vote (dude, some candidates do pull people, right?), inmigrants given greencards and even the nationality for a vote are some of the practices of "exemplar democracies" across the globe. So, okay, you got there the dirty way, but really, they should not be so shameless and work to openly for their own pocket, and do something, WORK for the people they have put to serve.


Love to All,

Locky The Bunny

Law: Obligatory for the Little People, Optional for Presidents

Dear Lee Jordan,




Today I had a "news craze". The papers, even "Forbes" had something to my taste. I spent a good part of my office day going through juicy articles on telecommunication industry, and then basking on currency exchange rate articles. Which, oh chich should I select to comment? My mind has been boiling and brewing sweeter and better thoughts since ... oh dear... *sigh*

Then I came around this article in the Washington Post about the hearing of the new Attorney General, Michael B. Mukasey. So there goes today's post on the effects of the variation of the exchange rate. What the hell is going on here? Do you want the long version or the short version? The long version will take me more time than that I dispose of to write this entry, so the short version should make it. (For the long version, go do some reseach, that's why I asked.) So, basically, after deposing Mr. Alberto Gonzales, the former Attorney General, for all the scandals covered widely in the newspaper, and profusely commented here, President Bush picked a new attorney general, this time in the person of Michael Mukasey, a lawyer with quite some "miles" to show up for in the American Court. If you are interested in his record in the field of Law, please click on the picture to the left. It should take you to the White House site, and there to the "Fact Sheet" of Mr. Mukasey. (It's about time you do some research yourself as well.) Certainly looks quite some "wrap" there. Judge and all. Unlike in Gonzales' case, you actually perceive a certain degree of experience and knowledge. Oh well, at least he doesn't look all that much like a spineless sychophant. Then, is it so?

The hearings went just fine the first day (I understand it's a two-day hearing), as Mr. Mukasey pretty much positioned himself as an upright, law-first attorney, who, according to his own declaration, won't bend to political interests or White House pressure (Mukasey Vows Not to Bow to Political Power, Washington Post, 2007.oct.18). Law is Law and that's the end of it. Then again, there was a not-so-reassuring note at the hearings, which I transcript as follows, from the article:

During a sparring session with Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.), for example, Mukasey declined to say whether the president could order a violation of federal surveillance law, as Democratic lawmakers have alleged the Bush administration did when it authorized a warrantless wiretapping program after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Mukasey said he could not provide an informed analysis without being briefed on the classified program but noted that some lawyers think the law does not entirely limit the president. "I find your equivocation here somewhat troubling," Feingold responded.


By Dan Eggen and Paul Kane
Washington Post Staff Writer and washingtonpost.com Staff Writer
Thursday, October 18, 2007; Page A01

In the second day of the hearing, after having lifted the hearts of everybody, by not condoning torture or the law-bending/law-skipping by the president, Mr. Mukasey turned into almost a carbon copy of what Mr. Gonzales was: a tool in the hands of a reckless president ready to trash a 231 year old (or so) Costitution for the sake of his private interests, a and his unjustified cruzading for the sake of his own megalomania. That very the law does not entirely limit the president is coming to the surface in a horrible manner. Explain to me how this president can go to war to "allegedly" free a country from a tyrant (and now plans to attack Iran too, due to "suspects on nuclear matters"), because of the repeated violation of human rights AND he violates SEVERAL of those human rights IN HIS OWN COUNTRY! Suc violations including the ordering of torture for prisoners, violating the right to privacy of the citizens, forcing third parties (like telecommunication enterprises) to break the law, "denying" healthcare, and downright obstaculizing the democratic process in the country (the continuous vetoing of bills, no matter what the bills were about, until he got his war budget).

Far beyond a simple case of contradiction, you see a clear case of an "agenda" developed, that has NOTHING to do with the country, and everything to do with a derranged, unethical man. How could America re-elect him? What kind of "Republican Values" does he stand for? As far as I undestand, Republicans are conservative and Democrats are liberal. Am I right? Well, to my understanding, a conservative political philosophy would place the People, the country's OWN PEOPLE before the rest of the world. It would seek stability, social security, welfare and inner development. Opposed to the "liberal politics" which would seek for the market opening, the market-vision as well as the pursue of market and social competition (this "social element" ruled by the market) on a global, world wide level. The conservative is pro-people, pro the little man, and the liberal is pro the enterprises, as it invites the little people to compete and become enterprises and successful, big enterpreneurs themselves. See the scope now?

Okay, now explain to me how a CONSERVATIVE GOVERNMENT pays no attention to the victims of Hurricaine Katrina FOR YEARS, cuts on welfare and healthcare, allows jobs to be cut at horrifying rates (48.000 in one week in February, 28.000 in one week recently), aids to create a highly unstable economical environment with sketchy Free Trade Acts, war, closing factories, deteriorating healthcare in ALL ITS STAGES, diving currency exchange rate... and then say that the "economy is sound" (I will never let go of this one).

If President Bush were reelected for a third period, by the end of it the U.S. would be a third world country and Mexico would be pulling higher and higher walls to keep Americans from illegally immigrating.

And all this, because while everybody is equal before the Law and the Law is obligatory for everybody, one man is above it, and therefore superior to all his fellows: the President.




Love to All,



Locky The Bunny

Locky The Bunny: Evaporating Minutes

My Dear Lee Jordan,



Time goes by, and the minutes boil up in the damp cold of yet another stormy day seasoned generously with chilly, dry air conditioner frost. Like a parfume made on an excesive base of alcohol, the open bottle of the clock lets them evaporate and be swallowed by the never satisfied artificial air of the office. These same minutes are long for K.M. siting before me in his royal blue shirt. He stares at an empty screen, seeking solace from the boredome in the popping up MSN windows, some Internet sites while pushing back the boring slide presentations and .doc, .pdf documents about our services. A newbie. I know how abhorrently boring can that be.

For K.M. the minutes are heavy like a honey mixture that stick and hardly want to let go. He does not see what I see, nor the experience these minutes as I do. The more minutes I have, the more minutes I can spend writing to you. The more minutes with you.

It's not about the minutes, it's not why I wish to write to you, nor to fill a self-imposed quota, but... for the relax of doing it. Graphomania. The word keeps haunting me each time I give into the pleasure of writing. Is it a sickness, or should it be recognized as a way of living, a lifestyle just like... Veggies? Well, I would not go as far as to have letter magnets on the fridge and geat letter soups, and hold my books with massive marble carved letters. It's not the letter, it's the writing.

__«(¯`•.)»°«.•´¯)»__

Online Class. Someone please explain to me who this shit works? Because there are crass errors in the documento we were given and I wish to point them out for the teacher, BUT no e-mail system or board or messaging ins available. Then, if I'm doing a curse on "Strategy", be so kind as to tell me why do I have to render an essay on Moby Dick? Mean to tell me that Captain Aheb was taking a "cost leader" approach with the whale? Or perhaps a more "market segmentation" one as he was focused on one only whale of the whole possible universe? So, I have a lot of remarks, a lot of complains... and no way to reach the teacher. That's most unpsetting.

Not everybody is in the same curse. Some have been sent to "Ethernet Networks" and then others to "Rural Networks", but we all have to do the same Moby Dick assignment. Needless to say, I have received a lot of offers to make assignments for others (particularly because the assignment is in English). I'm "charging" in coke-cans. Oh, I have a long record on making business with other people's homeworks. Perhaps I'll charge in cash for the next assignment. Either way, the curses are poorly built up, so I want to complain about it.

I hate "Strategy Selection". It's not challenging at all. It's the copy of a curse I took at the University on "Management" or something of the sort. It's boring, and it gives me nothing new. So unsatisfying....

Love to All,

Locky the Bunny

Locky The Bunny: What's In Store For The Gullible People of Costa Rica

Dear Lee Jordan,




Four days already? No shit! Well, as usual this time of the year, I'm full of work. And well, as I have discovered, the reason of such a "seasonal" labour is due to the poor managing of the different chiefs who lord about us with their absolute lack of vision and limitless idiocy, which pair into the amazing ability to force labour force into working on baloney to turn it into bullshit to then end up with a poor service, badly planned out, risibly tarified and ridiculously justified. Where are we now? Let me see. This is already November, and there's not even a whisper about the projects we started earlier this year, which would have taken a year to develop (though I have projected, reasonably, near to two years at full speed developing). But then again, it's perfectly fine. After all, the "Planning Department" is still trying to figure out a new "procedure" that has to be different from the old, proved, aproved procedure "just to show 'em who's the big daddy now". When I have not taken my pills the night before, at witnessing this I feel like back again when Mary and Marie-Joséphine fought over my bones. @_@ Fuck, the life of meaningless drama of today's youth. Thanks Hyne for the gray hairs and the wisdom.

But then again, Wisdom.

I wonder of the fate that awaits the world when intelligence is shuned, and everybody seems to live not just for the instant gratification, but also, for a mindless instant result regardless of the mess it will cause later on. From two different sources I was warned last week for the exact same thing: intelligence. It is not, then again, a topic for which I am not berated on regular basis. (I guess it's because I keep being "smart".) First I read it in my friend Roo's journal. Among the advises to "manage anger" (the sweet Roo), there were things like "do not express your opinion", and it criticized you if you thought you were surrounded by idiots. Oh, good one "do not show you know". I guess that if you are angry because you are surrounded by morons who do not have the mental hability to understand you, then well, yeah, you are right to be angry, but instead of sinking to their level, you should try and motivate them, or push them to meet your standards. Isn't that the natural way? Later on the week, one of my thesis mates told me that I should not expect others to be as "intelligent" as I am, because "not everybody has grown up in a priviledged condition like you do. Some people come from poor backgrounds." Oh goodie, so the effective use of the brain comes only with money.

First of all, I'm not pampered, and though boo-hoo, a lot of people had a hard life, I happen to have my share too. So fuck off. Then, if that's not prove enough, my dad comes from a really poor background, and yet he can use his brain and he's smart. If others are not, well, it is not my problem. This might sound deeply segregating, but if you are not smart enough to fill a position, leave said position to those who can. I am not here to keep treating softly those who got in here for "friendships".

But please, do not think that the epidemical idiocy is only present at my job. Please don't! Though it is world wide, and many papers can testify of that, I will just gloat right now on the supreme idiocy proper of this tiny country: Costa Rica.

You might think that a whole country can't possible be imbecile, but allegedly the 51.6% of the voting one of this country is beyond ridiculously stupid. Which is good for the government, who can do and undo, steal and forge and abuse and squeeze all it wants, and the people will keep stupidly staring into the void.

Many of our marvelously imbecilic population voted in favor of the CAFTA believing that they would gain access to more jobs and more goods and services. They took lies along with tacky t-shirts and now are left in a playground slowly darkening, where they think it's perhaps, just a wandering cloud before the Sun, or something that can't be controlled, and it's a normal, natural phenomenon. Fifteen people died buried under mud. When had such a thing ever happened here? No one adds one and one together. Oh, people throw garbage into the rivers, the rivers overflow and the mud burries the houses. Does it has to do with the CAFTA? Please, be serious. No, but it has to do with the people behind it. How? Well, why do this people have to throw the garbage into the river? Perhaps because there's not a decent, regunar, efficient garbage collecting service? Oh, that's a bad major. Well, yeah, then I forgot to mention that every garbage collector is private.

But lets not loose the track.

A lot of people really believed that they would have great jobs with fat paychecks, and damned! Paychecks in American Dollars!! What a bargain! More American enterprises would come, and give everybody jobs and there will be a lot of American products and it will be like living in Miami! Woo-Hoooo!

Most people do not read the "pink paper", or otherwise known as "El Financiero", which is Costa Rica's poor attempt at the "Wall Street Journal". In a two week old issue I managed to get my claws on, there's a front page article about the country's valuta politics. Around a year ago now, Costa Rica left a "mini-devaluation" foreing currency politic, which gave kind of "stability" to the currency (basically the American Dollar, as you can't really get anything else here. I know, I have tried. I have to get my Euro's from home. T_T) and a soft, continual growth. Basically, every day, the USD grew 0.05 colons, which was around 1.5 colons per month. So, if you were paid in USD, each month you had around 1.5 CRC more for each USD you made. So, if you made, lets say, $500 per month, you've got 750 CRC more per month, which is not much. Per year it added to, let's say, 9000 CRC extra per year. And that was with the average mini-devaluation of 0.05 daily. By september, october of last year it had reached to 0.20 per day, so do the maths. It was then when the Central Bank decided that keeping this system was too expensive, and so they decided to let the devisa price float between bands. It means that the CB fixed a roof and a floor and would let the currency linger in between. It scared a lot of people shitless. People used to the regular income product of the dollars, the added earning of their savings, and lately, the added raise of their paychecks, suddenly ran changing all their USD either into CRC or into EURO. Well, given the chances to get access to Euros, people just rushed towards the national currency.

Since I have already given an extended lecture on the nature of divisa markets, I will not repeat myself, so just get the general outline when I tell you, that this rush for CRC made the USD even push harder into the floor. Since the bands were stablished, the USD has been stuck to the floor. Since that day I foresaw that, if left with a little more of margin to the down, the divisa will plung, if not just plain dive. Though recently talked over with a friend and fellow colleague whom I both love and respect (this in the professional scope, as evidently I respect him as a person out of the love I have for him), he do agreed with me on the diving, but not the measure of it, I do believe that, as a minimum, the exchange rate should fall around 50% in a two year period. Namely, from the current 520, to a nominal 254. Imagine what that would do.

Well, if you live in Costa Rica and either earn in USD or have saving in USD, or do business in USD, imagine what that would do: it would mean less CRC for each USD you so hardly earn. So, maybe that $700 paycheck is okay, because it means you do 260.000 CRC per month. Well, with the new exchange rate, your same $500 would worth only 127.000 CRC.

Oh, but that would never happen, right? Well, it's exactly what the article says: the CB will perpare to let go the extrange rate to float free.

Now, let's see this in two sections:

1. Why would the Exchange Rate Plung?

To my knowledge, and okay, I am not a divisa analist, as people perceive the USD as a weaker currency, they will try to get rid of it before it looses all it's worth. Naturally, the CB will do whatever in hand to make sure this "plunging" is gradual and as painless as possible, but it will still plung. Imagine the role fo the CB as that of a parachute: it will allow the curency to land slower and softer. Though, one way or another it will land, unless thougher interventionist measures are taken, and so the "free floating" becomes a "dirty floating" and we will be all in square 1. Currently, thanks to the luxury exports, the amount of tourism, the paycheks in USD, and then the huge amounts of USD moving around the Real State market... well, that's a lot of USD poured into the market. If this money is not drained quickly out, people will just try to get rid of it at any price, or escape from it by requesting the prices in CRC or not taking USD as payment, and then guess what? The price falls another notch!

My paramethers to stablish the currency exchange rate on 254 for in within 2 years come from watching the general rates of the area, a comparison of the economics, analysis of the kind of expertations and importations on a very general, macro level, and then out of my basic and superficial knowledge of the monetary and fiscal politics traditionally followed by the Government.

Where will it stop plunging? I would say around the 100's, but I don't think it will fall below 60 CRC. However, forecasting this depends greatly in forecasting the future Governments, politics, interests and the market's general trend. Then, that's if the region do not take a common currency like the Euro, which I find hard to imagine, but it might happen. What would be the name of it? Hyne knows. Amero?

Now comes the really juicy question:

2. What would this mean along with the CAFTA?

Well, when the currency appreciates, the export goods (our goods) become relatively expensive, so foreigners would be less inclined to purchase them. Then imports will become cheapers, so our markets will be floaded with imported goods, which might be good for the selfish consumer who only wants more diversity, BUT it will be bad for the local producer, who won't be able to compete with the foreign products, particularly not in price. So, jobs will be lost. Independent enterpreneurs will break.

Sadly, as the currency appreciates another good will become "expensive" and that's labor force. So either people agree to get paid a smaller paycheck (and welcome the American lifestyle with three-two jobs to survive!),or they will lose their jobs. Social security, unemployment or employment termination insurances and such are costs that shall be either cut or eliminated in order to keep the foreign employers in the country. Remember that at this level our labor force will be competing with the slave labor force of which the world has around 27 million able hands. (Slaves cost only the food to keep them working, and they work as long as you want them to, and then you can whore them out to make extra bucks.)

Those lucky to keep their jobs, maybe not forced to a nominal paycheck reduction, will see their paychecks reduced due to the exchange rate, as I have previously depicted it.

These are all subjects that will not be covered in any of the lined up 13 Bills to prepare for the CAFTA, and even if they are mentioned, rest assured, those bills have so mayn hole you will be tempted to lay it on bread and eat it as blue cheese sandwich. HOw do I know? Because I'm not stupid. Because I think, and if more people were able to do so, they would also notice.

Since I can't do a thing to revert it, I'm preparing slowly to lift my anchor and go to greener pastures, but in the mean time, I'm smiling ear to ear and saying to all those who voted in favor of the CAFTA: "Hehehe! Told you, bitches! You wanted it, now shoulder it!!"


The next time someone wishes to advise me not to be "so intelligent", do me a favor, and instead of idiotically label me always as "intelligent", just try to do what I do, and THINK. You might find it it's not that hard at all, and then you will realize what I already know: you should not push people to the bottom line of imbecility, but push them up, to be better and THINK. It's sad tha the homo sapiens is really turning into the homo imbecilis.


Love to All,

Locky The Bunny

Locky The Bunny: Health in Developped Countries: A Commodity with no Warranty

Dear Lee Jordan,




Do you have an iPod? I believe you do. Well, if you are one of those "save it all" kinds, perhapy you have around the box in which it came, or the CD, and booklets that came with it. (I believe you have already stuck the stickers to the bumpers of your car or to your non-descriptive lap top of your "frankie" desktop.) Well, perhaps you could check it (but I guess you won't) the booklets. One of them is that thicker with pictures, which you will never read because is the manual, and people never read it until after the first time the iPod broke down and you found out that Apple charges you $35 just for looking at it. THEN you read it and realize it says nothing either new or either useful. The other booklet is the "boring booklet" you sure as hell will never read save the big bold letter that say "Apple One-Year Limited Warranty". It doesn't matter until the iPod brokes doen for good, and we check whether it's within the Warranty Year and if the warranty covers the damage.

You find these warranties to a large list of products, most of them technological products. Then, as we learned a few months ago, you also find a 90 warranty on health services in some hospitals in Philadelphia. Honestly, the first time I read about that I was rolling on the floor laughing. I mean, who the hell thinks about giving warranty to a health service? I mean, the job of the doctor is to sure you, and if you don't get better, you go again and the doc keeps healing you. Of course, then again, I think in our Social Insurance system, where a part of everybody's wage goes to pay health, pregnancy and retirement insurance. I get sick, I go to the doc, and the doc does his or her best to heal me. Sure, sometimes it takes a lot of time to get an appointment, but so it happens in private clinics. Well, maybe I think that way because I live in a small, "under developed" country, and I also have the experience of a "former communist" country's Health System.

Usually, for those who do not live in the US, the idea is sold that the US is like this wonderful, miracle-land where everything is the best it can be in any part of the world. There's wealth and opportunities and the best of everything. Well, allow me to differ. I won't go into the "education" part here, nor will I go into infratructure, industry, employment, production, technology, universal access to telecommunications and opportunities, but lets just tackle the topic of "health".

On the past days, weeks even, I have been alarmed by the news about budget cuttings in the "Medicaid" insurance, which is basically the health insurance program designed for low income people in America. The "better income" health insurance programm would be "Medicare". There's people who fall in between both of these. These people earn too much to be in Medicaid, but they can't afford Medicare. There's not a plan for them, but the US Government had a program set for ten years back in the nineties, to offer health insurance for the children of families in this segment. Not all children have been covered with this insurance so far, but if I recall the numbers correctly, there are round ... two million kids covered? I believe the total number of children that should be covered raises around eight million. Now, this is only the children. You might think that grown ups either manage, or pay some sort of low insurance or something, but what about the elderly? What about a family that has to take care of the Grandpa or the Grandma? No coverage for them in this program. If there are 8 million children, how many adults and senior citizens are then uncovered? Could it be, that then parents are forced to take the kids, the COVERED kids to the doc and get medicins to give to the elders?

In the face of this, President Bush decided to cut back the budget for this plan, and so far has given no signs of supporting an extention of the program, which runs to an end this year, I believe. Because of fraud and misusage? Nah, that's just my theorizing. It's because he does not agree with the requested extention and the larger budget requested. Reason? He claims he does nto agree with how it's presented, he's "willing" to give more money , but with a better plan. Sounds loable, but then again:

1. How can he request a better plan when everybody has been sucked into the war-vortex and no one has had enough time to sit down and work on a better plan?
2. Okay, has he ACTUALLY read the whole proposal before refusing it?
3. Okay, the proposal is not good, where's HIS proposal?

On this matter we can go on and on and on. One would think that yes, if you want to enjoy a good health, or at least the level of attention we enjoy in the poor and under developped, former communist countries, you have to be loaded with money. It does upset me to think that American people is forced to pay to get health, that there where doctors out there who modified their ancient "Hypocratic" oath (I have it posted somewhere) to add: "I swear to help only those who are properly covered by an insurance plan and are up to date with their payments". That was until I read this article in the New York Times about the problems with the Medicare. "Drug lists" changed with no notice, people EXCLUDED regardless they pay up to date their payments because their treatment is too expensive. And here we are talking about AIDS patients. Poor customer service attention, poor hospital attention, messy accounts, serious lack of information about the insured's rights, and so on.

So, even when you pay the big bucks for the best health insurance your money can buy, the treat you bad. They sell you a service, but then hold back and change things at their will, not consulting you, cutting you of any chance to react. People, this is the people WITH MONEY!! People with annual incomes up to $ 80 000!!! I mean, fuck here I am with my barely earned $12 000 - $15 000 a year and I don't have "drug lists". Okay, the social health plan fixes me on generics, but they work and they do the trick. (Well, now that we have been tricked into the CAFTA, who knows for how long. But maybe, if I manage to get back home, I will be again under the protective TBK, and live will be fine and healthy again.) God forbids, but if I get AIDS or Cancer or any "expensive" illness, the social insurance will keep me on medication and treatment regularly until the day I die. And here people who earn six to eight times more than me are tied to a health plan that changes without letting him know and cut them off if their sickness is no longer profitable.

What's wrong with you people?? Where's your innate, human right to health? Mankind has made so many advances in this area, why are you being cut of it? It's already bad that the Health Insurance plans aid to set apart people by their income, etching social gaps among people, cut with the axe of economical "power", but then again, has health been so undervaluated, has human life lost its worth so much that now even those who pay are denied of the minimal expected quality?

People, health, just like education are not goods, but rights earned through centuries of development and blood spilled in historical battles for the greater good. People should not be made compete for it. The economical "vote" should not apply to them. Rich, poor, black, red, yellow, white, christian, jew, muslim, buddhist, atheistic, man, woman, child, adult... everybody should be secured the right to them, and the best of them. We cannot dehumanize to this level. People, we elect Governments, we should make them responsible for the greater good of the society. Aren't health and education VITAL to that greater good. These should never be privatized. People should not be charged for them. Everybody should have access to the best attention mankind is capable of.




Love to All,

Locky The Bunny