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03-31-2003 5:51pm Hello Everyone, sorry I haven't written anything in a while but I have been busy hanging out with Frank and Chris since they came to visit and are actually leaving tomorrow. We got back from the beach last night and have been partying every night and day. I promise I will write more as I get more time but here are some pictures for you to enjoy in the meanwhile.
 More pictures and writing as soon as I get a chance. So please be patient since my friends are still here and we are once again going out as soon as dinner is ready. Sigh, if I must go out then I suppose I must... 03-27-2003 10:24am Good morning. Wow, I certainly seem to be writing a lot in this journal lately. I wonder if my mind is preoccupied by something and perhaps that is the reason.
Today, I await the arrival of Frank and his friend. They are suppose to be coming on a Delta flight and they will be in Costa Rica at 1:28om Costa Rica time. It will be nice to have new people at the house instead of all of those girls that always show up unexpectedly. Hopefully the freeloader will be leaving soon. He he he, here is a picture of the back of a cab that was demonstrating for peace. Don't ask why I put this picture up since I stated yesterday that Iam pro-war but I certainly do believe that these demonstrations are necessary for a healthy world since perhaps next time, before it gets to war, the politicians will think a bit more about the consequences of their actions.
 That way they will see that people do not like war and that if they would stop going in other countries' business maybe the other countries would not be mad at us. That they would realize that if you screw someone in a business deal which hurts the people of a nation it will come back and haunt you 10 times worst. That if you sell weapons or the equipment and supplies to make weapons of mass destructions, they will have a weapon to use against you or anyone else that they wish and that later, there may come a time where you have to fight them or a time where you will try to disarm them even though it is your own fault. Unfortunately, greed is a strong factor in this world and we all know it. Here is a funny but not so funny article that I read on the BBC today. It is about humanitarian aid where food and medication will go to the Iraqi people in need. The only problem is that a convoy was hitchiked and most of the supplies never made it to the people in need. They were obviously sad but here is what they had to say about it: "Several aid agencies say they are unwilling to send in lorries escorted by US-led forces, for fear this will destroy their impartiality and neutrality in the conflict." However, it is still too dangerous to send unarmed convoys over the border. Here is the source in case you are interested:
Now, does that make any sense? If they are really trying to help these people, they would not care who protects the convoy. The Iraqi people are dying out there because they have no food, no medication and no health. If they are a humanitarian aids group, they should be above all that since they are there to help people and not to get in politics. In my book, they are just as guilty as the politicians of the world. As to the United Nations, I began to wonder about them. They act like they are all about peace and even the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, starts by lecturing the U.S. about its responsibilities to provide humanitarian aid to Iraqis that are "gravely affected by the war." Yet, you don't see him talking to Saddam about placing mines in the ocean at the port of Umm Qasr. I mean this port is full of ships with humanitarian aid supplies and was very delayed because of those mines. Do you seem him complain about that? Right now, the UN is more worried about who ownd what and all of the contries in the UN are scrambling to make sure that they contracts they had with the Saddam regime are made good after the war. If you ask me, once the war is over, I think that the UN should just step back since they are just as corrupt as every other nation and just let the Iraqi people make their own decisions and let them take bids for this and that. 03-26-2003 10:08pm Argh, I am so fed up with the war. That is the problem nowadays. Everything is so complex that the more you dig into something, the more questions pop up. So, hopefully I will not offend anyone by stating once again my opinion on the war but her it is. let us start with the countries that are opposed to the war. obviously, the majority of the countries involved in the war debate have something at stake in Iraq so I will begin with Russia. Russia is said to be a strong opponent against the war saying that it is not the answer. However, Russia is the country that has the most at stake with the Saddam regime. Here is why. There is currently $40 billion Iraqi funds lying with the UN right now from the oil-for-food program that no one will be able to touch until the war is over. Russian oil companies have the biggest hands in it for a total of $40 billion. The largest of the Russian oil companies is LUKoils which has a $20 billion contract with the Saddam regime to develop the West Qurna fields for oil. and Iraqi officials even accused LUKoil of seeking post war guarantees for the field. On top of that, since 1973 to the year 2002, Russia has been the biggest provider of arms to Iraq. So obviously they have something to gain from not having a war with Iraq. The Russian is under constant pressure from many oil companies saying that they have already lost billions of dollars since the war started. Check out this link to get you started on your own investigation.
The first half of last year, France exported about 120 million euros of goods to Iraq last year and that with Russia, they make up the biggest part of the oil contracts for the food-for-oil mandate? On top of that, Europe is the biggest suppliers of chemicals to Iraq which is mostly made up of fertilizers and pesticides and in military terms, those are used to make chemical weapons. Nice don't you think? Now, the U.S. and Britain obviously are not totally humanitarian and want oil as well as a stable Middle East to so they can sell their own goods to a free market. Of course, the U.S. and Britain is not clear in trading arms with Iraq and have had their own shares of dealing and wheeling with them. I don't even need to get into details about them. Ever since the UN sanctions on Iraq, we have had thousands of peole die in Iraq everyday and the body count is just too great to even mention but lets just say that more then 1 million people have died in Iraq due to the UN sanctions. Over half of them were children under the age of 5. Will that make for a friendlier Iraq? I don't think so. Imagine a father seeing his children die because other countries are blocking their trade and resources which leads to him being unable to feed his family and get them proper medical care. Will that make him happy and embrace the countries that are part of the UN? In lieu of it all, maybe the right choice is war against Iraq. By not doing anything, thousands of innocents die everyday and the Saddam regime is still in power. By having a war and getting rid of the Saddam regime, yes, many will die and innocents people will have their share of casualties but in the end, a change will happen and that is exactly what is needed. Perhaps the UN could lift its sanctions against Iraq but do you really think that it will happen considering what all of those countries have to lose since the major powers have the monopoly on the exports/imports over the goods in Iraq? You tell me what you think about that even though I do feel a bit dirty for thinking like that since I am a product of the Vietnam war. God have mercy on my soul. 03-25-2003 3:19pm
 Ok, just for the record so people will stop e-mailing me because they are worried that I am suicidal. I have no intentions of killing myself. Gee, can't a guy rant and complain once in a while. I do appreciate your concern though so thank you.
Argh, aren't you tired of hearing talk about the war? It seems like war just never stops. The odd thing about it is that I feel like I really don't have an opinion on it for now. I feel like I don't have enough information about it to really make a decision whether I support it or not. I met this really interesting person today in Costa Rica. She is a lawyer and a strong advocate against women abuse. She has travelled to many places battling violence against women and has even been a spokesperson for the United Nation. It's nice to meet people that fight for a cause they believe in without resorting to violence. I mean, you think that your own government is doing the right thin to protect you yet, it is at a cost. Check out these pictures of war casualties that you are not suppose to see and tell me if I am wrong in feeling bad for all of the people that have to die in a war.
However, I will end this entry with a picture of a nice old lady to give you a nice comforting feeling
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