Thursday, February 28, 2008

Let Me Get This Straight...

Ok. Let me see if I have this right.

In 1989, the oil supertanker, Exxon Valdez, hit a reef in Prince Williams Sound, just off the coast of Alaska, resulting in one of the most catastrophic environmental disasters in history. Nearly 11 million gallons of crude oil contaminated 1,200 miles of ocean and pristine shoreline - immediately killing up to a half of a MILLION seabirds, 5,000 sea otters, 300 harbour seals, 250 bald eagles, 22 orcas and 12 river otters...not to mention the BILLIONS of salmon and herring eggs that were instantly destroyed. Local and Native communities were devastated, peoples' lives and livelihoods were destroyed, divorce and alcoholism rates soared and the mayor of the small town of Cordova committed suicide. The the ecological systems in and around Prince Williams Sound will take at least 30 years to recover, and the residents may never recover.

In 1994, a court awarded some of the victims (about 33,000 of them) $5 billion in punitive damages. Exxon immediately fought the judgement and was able to get the amount reduced to $2.5 billion.

In the meantime, Exxon has recovered a significant portion of the clean-up costs and legal expenses through insurance claims. And, the oil giant took a TAX DEDUCTION on its loss of a supertanker. And, they've been earning $400 million per year in interest on the money that it has set aside, just in case, somehow, it might have to pay for its negligence.

Then, in 2007, while the price of oil and war was crippling the American economy, Exxon-Mobil happily posted the LARGEST MOTHER FUCKING PROFIT IN HISTORY!!! While we were re-budgeting, and downgrading and buying cheaper foods at the grocery store, Exxon-Mobil posted a $404 billion profit. The previous record, ironically, was held by Exxon-Mobil.

Today, the crack team of big oil attorneys representing the interests of Exxon-Mobil sits in front of the Supreme Court of the United States of America and argues that the salmon is back and the seabirds are singing, so Exxon-Mobil shouldn't have to pay any damages to those people who survived the destruction of their lives and communities. They'll say that Exxon-Mobil has suffered enough and that the people of Alaska should just be thankful that they still have oil to export. Then, they'll get exactly what they want, because they own our government and our nation.

And next year, they'll beat their own profit record.


Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Life's Lessons

All I ever needed to know about life, I learned from the Bugaloos.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Roman Holiday

Guess who got a trip to Italy in September for Valentine's Day? Guess who has the bestest boyfriend in the whole wide world?

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Should We Stay Or Should We Go?

Tony and I had a FANTASTIC time in Atlanta. So much so in fact, that we're wondering if it might be time to try out a new city. I have a great life in Miami, and I've definitely laid down deep roots. I know this city inside and out, and, I love the cultural exchange that happens here. And, well, it sure is pretty here.

But, for some time now, I've been longing for another life adventure. Tony moved here a little over a decade ago, and he's always felt a kind of mild disconnect from Miami, so he's up for discussing a relocation. I let you know how the discussion goes.

Oh, and here are some vacation pics...








Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Up North In The Deep South

Tony and I are heading way up North, to the Deep South today. We've got an unreal estate conference in Atlanta, and we're super-duper excited to be able to hang with Stimpy for a few days. I have only been through Atlanta once before, and I've spent about 12 hours in total there...but I was really impressed with the vibe. I'll have a more complete analysis when I get back. In the meantime, while we're enjoying the Georgia Aquarium, hiking around Stone Mountain and stalking Anderson Cooper, take a look at some of these interesting factoids about the ATL...

1. In 1842, Marthasville, Georgia had just 30 residents.
2. In December of 1847, Marthasville changed its name to Atlanta.
3. Atlanta has the highest elevation of any city east of Denver.
4. The Bank of America Plaza is the tallest building in the United States, outside of New York City and Chicago.
5. Nearly 60 % of the population of Atlanta is African-American, and almost 7% of the city is Latino.
6. At 12.6%, Atlanta has the third highest percentage of Gay and Lesbian couples of any major city in the United States.
7. Atlanta is home to CNN, the CDC and Coca-Cola.
8. Between 2000 and 2006, the Atlanta metro region grew by an astounding 20.5%, making it the fastest growing metro region in the nation.
9. The Georgia Aquarium is the largest aquarium in the world.
10. Stimpy lives in Atlanta.

*Factoids sampled from Wikipedia

Sunday, February 03, 2008

Acid House Flashback # 3


"Theme From S'Express" - S'Express - 1988