timebomb

There can’t possibly be anything more devastating than having a child who is terminally ill. Fortunately, McDonald’s Restaurant is there to help these families cope with the everyday challenges of serious illnesses such as cancer. Ronald McDonald House was established in 1974 to provide families with a comfortable and compassionate environment within walking distance from a hospital. There are currently 243 Ronald McDonald House’s located in 25 different countries that have helped over 10 million families in total. These numbers are truly impressive, and McDonald’s deserves recognition for their accomplishments.

Here are some other somewhat impressive numbers, or possibly shocking numbers, to consider. McDonalds is in fact the world’s leading food service with over 30 000 restaurants in 119 countries around the globe. Everyday all the McDonald’s locations serve over 50 000 million people. Talk about a successful operation, not even UNICEF or the World Food Program, which are backed by 192 member states, Oxfam, or Africare – combined – can feed that many people in one year, let alone in one day. So this means that McDonalds Restaurants is in fact the world’s leading food provider. Maybe they should be providing food relief by sending some of their nutritious product to rural villages. Or maybe that food isn’t so great after all.

I can’t solely blame McDonalds (don’t want to be sued), but since they are the world’s ‘leading food provider’ how can I not, however there seems to be an ever-increasing rate of obesity throughout the developed world. This rise in obesity has specifically targeted children, such that over 15% of children aged 6 – 19 in the United States are obese. This data is revolting to say the least. Child obesity is devastating, and should be considered a terminal illness. Social concerns aside, these children are at an elevated risk of heart disease and diabetes, not to mention the plethora of joint, muscle, back, and mental problems that can arise. Obesity among children eventually leads to a premature death. This surge in obese children can only be described as a time bomb, and when it goes off, hopefully McDonalds will be there to create a new Ronald McDonald House specifically designed for providing aid to families coping with diabetic and disabled children with severe weight problems.

De-Globalización

Según una redacción en BBC Mundo, Evo Morales, el presidente de Bolivia y el primero presidente indígena en Latinoamérica, nacionalizó una de las metalúrgicas mas grande del país. Esta metalúrgica fue en el control de una compañía suiza. Este ejemplo de nacionalización refleja los movimientos que ocurran en países a través Sudamérica. El ano pasado, por ejemplo, Morales nacionalizó también la industria del petróleo y de gas.

Todos estos cambios en Sudamérica me parece muy interesante. Cada ano, presidentes a la izquierda, como Morales en Bolivia o Chávez en Venezuela, recuperan industrias y recursos naturales que son en manos de empresas extranjeras. Después de leer un poco sobre la historia complicada de Sudamérica durante el siglo veinte, y sobre todo de la intervención incesante de los Estados Unidos, tengo sentimientos de compasión por el pueblo latinoamericano. Que represiones y que atrocidades cometidos contra estos pueblos trabajadores. Me parece que la mayoría del continente esta en los manos de hombres de negocios y de compañías multinacionales.

Es necesario de realizar que durante la Guerra Fría, los Estados Unidos habían establecidos gobiernos a la derecha, y alguna vez dictaduras, en muchos países sudamericanos. También, el creación de democracias fue un producto de estas gobiernos. Entonces, vemos ahora, que gracias a la democracia, donde toda la población tiene la derecha de votar, gobiernos a la izquierda son elegidos. Es un ejemplo increíble del poder de las masas.

Free Tibet: A Lost Cause

This past summer, Tibet’s last hopes for freedom were spectacularly crushed under the completion of an engineering marvel. China successfully constructed the world’s longest high altitude railway, connecting the isolated city of Lhasa, Tibet, with Quighai, a Chinese province. Proud of their impressive accomplishment, Chinese officials predict enormous economic growth in this desperately poor territory, with substantial increases in trade, tourism and immigration.

When I read this article from the BBC News homepage, I was not at all surprised. This is simply another example of China using their extreme powers of innovation to expand their continental economic empire at the cost of a unique culture and people. It is quite clear that this railroad will only lead to rapid assimilation of this peaceful territory. Chinese immigrants can now move to Tibet in order to fill jobs in the newly built factories and mines. The strategic military advantages of this link far outweigh any economic benefits. The Chinese government can now extinguish any possible domestic uprisings or defend against invaders from neighbouring countries because of the ability to deploy troops quickly to these distant border regions.

The Taiwanese should study these events carefully, because they too, are “technically” part of China. Fortunately for the Taiwanese, they are not connected to China by land… yet. It might only be a matter of time before the world’s longest elevated railway traveling through some of the most treacherous high altitude terrain in the world, is shadowed by the construction of a bridge between China and Taiwan. True, these ideas may seem ridiculous, but the bridge is not the point, it is the aim to obliterate the possibility of independence from distinct territories.