Lessons European Fishermen Have Learned From Their Catch


The falling value of the U.S. dollar has dramatically shot up the cost of oil around the world – just in case you didn’t know. Yet instead of bellyaching about how inconvenient it is to a sympathetic ear on the other side of their sleek overpriced and over used cell phones, there are people who are actually getting furious about it.

I think that’s where people need to be in order to get things done when fighting against a government – or in this case, many governments. Getting angry just isn’t good enough anymore.

It was reported in the news that earlier this week, Portugal’s entire coastal fleet stayed in port. And just a week ago, 7,000 Spanish fishermen protested in Madrid. French, Belgian and Italian fishermen have been protesting for weeks. And these people aren’t just picketing either. French police have had to forcibly remove fishermen from blocking oil depots.

I applaud these brave souls who have decided with their unions to take on their governments, FORCING them to do something about it. Some of these governments have offered short - term temporary relief from soaring oil prices like the French who are giving 100 million euros to supplement the high cost.

Though they may be completely unaware of it, deep down, I believe that these fishermen gained much of their tenacity from the personality of the fish they make their living off of – although I have not interviewed any of them for hard proof of this. Don’t dismiss me as crazy just yet. Hear me out. Though much of their chutzpah is their own, I believe that these fighters gleaned a little inspiration from the sea, and have acquired three major lessons from being out there on those waters.

To survive, you need to fight like your life depends on it.

Think about what would happen to the livelihood of these men (I’m not being sexist here, they are most likely all men) if they just simply rolled over and let the oil prices lay where they may. The cost of fish hasn’t changed in almost 20 years, yet the price of oil has increased by 300% in the last five years. The European fishing industry would crumble under the financial strain.

Grab what you can to survive

Yes, we all know it, though we rarely say it out loud, the government handing out cash to offset the cost of oil (or gas) is really just a bandage over a festering wound. We’re not going to just be able to hope it away. BUT… in the meantime, a little extra cash to help out during the straits of this oil crisis surely will help a bit. At least it will today…and tomorrow… but after that, who can say. They should be running their ships on ethanol, or sunshine, or garbage… Don’t they watch the Discovery Channel? If the real issue is not addressed soon, the fishermen will find their careers at the end of a hook, reeled away by the authorities.

When you’re out of water, the less you move, the sooner you die

There is a reason why these fishermen have been giving out free fish, or burning tires in the streets; blocking oil depots and keeping their ships in the port. It is their way of jumping up and down, screaming and hollering and gaining, not only the attention of the merchants and customers but their government and the whole world. Look, I’m a woman in Southern California writing about the protests in Europe. They got my attention.

As a person of the sea, I’m sure there are many lessons one can draw from. I’m sure they are life altering to a great many. However, I believe it to be profound when the creature that feeds your body and your bank account (to feed your family); yet also feeds your spirit and mind. In that vein, the fish is almost…sacred.

I have to do WHAT to be free?

Let's take a moment to pause. It's so easy for me, and many others, to get so caught up in the inspiration of disdain, disbelief, disrespect and disappointment (this society has a way of “dissing” you a lot of times). But today, I thought I’d try something a little out of the ordinary. I thought I’d hold my breath and push the envelope and do something… well, positive. And in honor of the happy, I thought I’d go a little extreme because everyone knows that really happy people are well, I hate to say it, but they are sometimes annoying.

So take my hand and let’s venture down the road of psychotic. What I have come to realize, is that if you want to be yourself – I mean completely, without any furrowed brows pointed at you like shaking steak knives at your head, ready to pluck out an eye, you have to allow people to believe that you’re absolutely CRAZY. Lauren Hill touches upon this point briefly on her Unplugged CD years ago.

Today I’ve blended insanity with happiness, and came up with five insanely happy phrases you might want to know in Hodaoa-Anibo…just in case you’d like to try out the free-crazy theory (and in another language). So tell these to someone and watch them look at you sideways after you’ve translated what you’ve said.

English: The sun’s jubilant rays are just bleeding all over me.
Hodaoa-Anibo: Ta ih’sdunse Huau ru sya pini dulmaki maoe loir pa.
Pronounced: tah ee-STOON.say shoo.WAH.oo roo syah PEE.nee dool.MAH.kee mah.OH.ay loh.EER. pah.

English: God sure is good, isn’t she?
Hodaoa-Anibo: Aza sun sya giye, sya ne enin?
Pronounced: AH.zah soon syah GEE.yay syah nay ehn.EEN?

English: I’m so happy today I could just burst into candy.
Hodaoa-Anibo: Pa sya vi yuja kasdume, pa ra pini implawabip nika biyi.
Pronounced: pah syah vee YOO.jah kah.STOO.may, pah ra PEE.ni eem.plah.WAH.beep NEE.kah BEE.yee.

English: Document this day as the day I actually smiled.
Hodaoa-Anibo: Wukat tis sdume aH ta sdume pa rakagu hekieka.
Pronounced: woo.KAHT tees STOO.may ahsh tah STOO.may pah rah.KAH.goo heh.kee.EH.kah.

English: I know there are prison camps all over the country but I don’t care, I’m still happy!
Hodaoa-Anibo: Pa yoket sazuj sya Hofa xixiz maoe loir ta oduar, zan pa Henix ne brak, pa sya hiki yuja!
Pronounced: pa YO.keht sah.ZOOJ syah SHO.fah ex.EEKS.eez mah.OH.ay loh.EER tah OHD.wahr zahn pah shay.neeks nay brahk pa syah HEE.kee YOO.jah!

All We Need Is Love....Oh, And To Change Our Racist Minds!

It is quite clear to everyone I’m sure that a Black man running for office has many people, journalist, political analysts, and politician included, tripping all over themselves and their words, as it seems they’re not used to watching their mouths. It is my view that the presence of Barack Obama is like an ultra violet flashlight on the tone of society – exposing all the nasty traces of devolved minds and attitudes.

This should be an eye opening experience for all the upturned noses who feel that Blacks and other non-White people are just cry babies, making excuses and placing blame for their lot in American society – because everybody knows that racism isn’t here anymore. My God, it’s 2008, you’re not slaves anymore! What the heck are you complaining about now.

Well, why don’t we take a little trip into West Virginia and see how far away from those racist ideologies we’ve actually moved. Let us remove our preconceived notions from our minds for just a second and try hard to imagine if Barack Obama was White. Would he already be using the secret service, just to RUN for president? Just to RUN for the Democratic nomination?

If Obama was White would Hilary Clinton really have made the statement about Robert Kennedy being assassinated in June, leading many to believe that she is either waiting for someone to take him out – or she has made arrangements for him to be taken out. In either case, she looks like a delusional basket case in the race with no hope of ever winning the nomination without a death plot. It would have been nice to have had a woman candidate that wasn’t such a mean-spirited-presidency-by-any-means-necessary type of person.

This weekend of course while commenting on Hilary Clinton’s career-blowing assassination statement, author and journalist, Liz A. Trotta, made the most insensitive joke on Fox News.

Trotta: "And now we have what some are reading as a suggestion that somebody knock off Osama, uh Obama. Well, both, if we could."


Come on Liz! I’m not saying you’re an outright racist, but in this intense climate of economic recession, political change and great uncertainty of our American future, why on Earth would you say such racist things on national television? This type of statement is on equal footing as Senator Clinton!

I shake my head in disbelief.

In the Fox News interview, Trotta goes on to site journalist Michael Goodwin, who said of Clinton, “We have seen an x-ray of a very dark soul.”

However, I’d like to add on to Goodwin’s statement, because although we’ve seen a lot of people supporting the championship of change, we’ve also seen the abysmal dark waters of sabotage, deceit, obvious racial hatred and counter progressive attitudes of many. We have seen an x-ray of many dark souls this season. And as sound and clean as we think we are, I believe that now is the time to do a whole lot of soul searching. Not only that but to step out of our comfort zones. Our protective little shells. Our lives, in the grand scheme, is designed to be full of distractions and small comforts. It should be our mission to rise above it and push pass our fear to act and to evolve our own narrow thinking.

Thief! Thief! They're Stealing My Freedom of Speech!




Your freedom to blog, research, and express your grievances about your government may be greatly altered soon. Have you heard? If you haven’t don’t beat yourself up too much, because I’m just finding out myself. That’s how they want it you know.

According to my sources, who shall go un-named for fear that they’ll be hauled away to Guantanamo Bay for being considered a terrorist for having an opinion, I have learned that the HR 1955 bill (authored by Rep. Jane Harman) may soon be heading to the Senate.

Okay, do me a favor (and yourself one) and Google: H.R. 1955. What you will find is information on a bill called: Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007. I have a copy of the bill in my hot little hands right now, and I’m telling you, it’s one that you as an American citizen need to read over.

Go ahead. Google it. HR 1955.

This bill has already passed in the House of Rebresentatives by an astounding count of 406 to 6 (22 of your peeps there were present but didn’t vote). So this new bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002, adding provisions that address the prevention of terrorism by people born, raised or based and operating primarily in the United States.

Here is what opponents of this bill have issue with – including me: the ambiguity of the language in the bill. According to what I’ve heard, and then what I’ve just recently read, it leaves every aspect of government dissent to the interpretation of our government. What am I saying? This: if I say something, like our government is the biggest terrorist in the world – that statement there, is an illustration of dissent and can therefore be considered an act of terrorism due to me potentially influencing how you think.

Under this bill political campaigns can be considered homegrown terrorism because if a candidate is opposed to the current policies and practices of the government and says so in their campaign, it could be interpreted as force, therefore breaking the law as it is clearly dissenting from the status quo.

This blog would be breaking the law. Private party PSA’s could be considered terrorism. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr – the passivist that he was – would be considered a homegrown terrorist. Protest demonstrations would definitely be illegal, no matter how peaceful they were. Unions would have a time on their hands because strikes and picketing would be out of the question. This makes our government the biggest hypocritical terrorist of all.

And guess what that last statement I just made would be?

I had better change my name because what I’m about to say may make me mysteriously disappear forever. Write your reps! This is my first recommendation to actively stop this craziness from taking shape. Lets first give kudos to the Reps who were decent enough to say “nay” to this ambiguous bill in the first place: Arizona Rep., Jeff Flake; California Rep. Dana Rohrabacher; Hawaii Rep. Mazie Hirono; Illinois Rep. Jerry Costello; Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich; and Tennessee Rep. John Duncan.

Next, find your Representative (click here if they are not listed above) and tell them this:

Dear (insert Rep. name here);

Concerning HR 1955: Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007 – How ridiculous of you to pass this in the House! Since the bill does not define ‘force’ as violence this means that any and everything can be left to the interpretation of whomever has the bigger voice. How can you justify passing a bill without more modifications and clarifications. What you have done is a direct act to destroy our Bill of Rights and have therefore participated in a coup to destroy or Constitution. It’s not terrorists who are tearing this country down, it is people like you who are not looking out for the people at all, but yourself and the self-righteous metastasizing government. You don’t fool me – you’re one of them! A terrorist!

Sincerely,

(Insert your pseudonym here)


Okay, it doesn’t have to be EXACTLY like that, but it should be somewhere along those lines. Whatever you do, make sure you do SOMETHING because that’s how it’s gotten this far. With us being too quiet. Too passive. Shaking our heads, sucking our tongues and changing the channel on the television.

Google. Then write.

Thanks for reading.

Guantanamo Bay: How Much Longer Will You Be Mine

Wasn’t it the ancient Greeks who were responsible for creating the first semblance of democracy, marching us by our ear, down the path of government to where we all are today? And what do we elect our leaders for? So they can LEAD? That’s what you think. That’s what we all hope. So then why am I hearing through the grapevine (the grapevine called BBC News) that we want to close down Guantanamo Bay, but we’re stuck with it!

As reported by Paul Reynolds, a writer for BBC News, US Secretary of Defense Secretary, Robert Gates, claims that we are “stuck” with Guantanamo Bay. Stuck hunh? Like we have a flat tire, and no cell phone on the side of a deserted desert road. How in the world are we “stuck?” Did no one know that this could happen?

According to Gates, the issue is that either the home governments of the prisoners have washed their hands of them and won’t let them go back home, or the US government is afraid that their home governments will let them run wild and free. Well of course they’ll run wild and free since there is no evidence against these prisoners to charge them in the first place.

So here we are breaking our own law in the name of justice, but off of American mainland soil so as not to become a sore on the public eye. Out of sight, out of mind, they figure. Meanwhile, back in Cuba – oh, I mean America’s Guantanamo Bay, 270 lives are in illegal limbo while our folks are pussyfooting around, looking at each other shrugging their shoulders because they can’t figure it out. Has there been any powwowing going on at all?

I say we write our congressperson and give them a time limit on when to “un-stick” the GB camp. I’d say two weeks but, it will probably take two weeks just to get your little underling note onto the desk of your oh-so-important elected official. Okay, so give them a month, and if by the end of that month, nothing happens I say we find a coliseum lock them all in the middle, or at least the ones who have ignored our letters, and we unleash two dozen komodo dragons from Indonesia on them for about 30 minutes. Those who survive, get a second chance to fix the problem.

Some one needs to be held accountable, and there should be some consequences gosh-darn it!

After the celebrated release of her first self-help book titled, Raise the Red Teddy: A Single Mother’s Guide to Dating, writer and actress, Kobina Wright is working on a new project inspired by RRT

CALIFORNIA - After the celebrated release of her first self-help book titled, Raise the Red Teddy: A Single Mother’s Guide to Dating, writer and actress, Kobina Wright is working on a new project inspired by RRT. The project is a one-woman show that examines the dangerous pitfalls and amorous highs of dating while raising a child.

“I’ve never written a one woman show before, but I’m pretty excited about it. I think it will stretch me as an actress,” Wright said.

The one-woman show, simply titled Red Teddy, will not be a regurgitation of the book on stage, but rather an artistic interpretation of the text, pulling from the drama Wright amply supplies in RRT.

“I intend for Red Teddy to be thought provoking,” Wright says. “Even if there’s a different vibe on stage, I want the audience to walk away thinking a little differently than they had before. I don’t want to just grow by myself. I want the audience to grow with me.”

Although Wright plans to perform Red Teddy herself, she is also entertaining publishing it in script format to make available for other actresses to perform if they choose.

“Nothing is in concrete yet. My wheels are still spinning on it,” Wright says.

Raise the Red Teddy: A Single Mother’s Guide to Dating can be purchased through Barnes & Noble online at Barnesandnoble.com