![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Burning Bush
Mar. 8th, 2007 01:52 amThe title. Yes. It has less to do with G'd's burning bush up in Mount Horeb (You know the one. It's the Sign that will get Moses to go back to Pharaoh with the famous line "Let my people go...") than with Bonfire Night and the burning of effigies.
Bush arrives tomorrow and the city will live under a state of siege for the (mercifully) short time he's here. No air traffic, closed off streets, guns everywhere (including the lovely idea of snipers on top of buildings). São Paulo is a big city that already suffers daily from absurdly heavy traffic on normal days. Close off a couple of its main roads and what you have is pure unadulterated chaos. All of this for what? Our ethanol it seems.
I'll spare both of us the boring long dissertation on the evil of what is in store for my country and its workers if this supposed deal goes through. I'm sure when you read how Brazil has vast tracks of land suited for plantation you will substitute vast tracks of land for the more accurate destructed forestland (to save time and work clearing land they set fire to the whole thing). I'm also sure that when you hear how this will create jobs and bring economic growth, you'll know it means near slave conditions for the workers and a lot of money in the pockets of a very few people. But I beg your pardon, I had said I'd spare us from the dullness of economic exploitation.
Well, we're all bracing ourselves for the next two days. Children will be kept from school and the people who can, will either work from home or not work at all in order to avoid this quite inopportune visit. Unfortunately, I'm not healthy enough to join the protesters with their banners (though Yankees go home! seems a bit trite at this point.) and so will be one of many silent protesters.
Were we to have Bonfire Night though, I'd drag my beaten down, broken carcass down to the street and burn effigies with glee. Yes! The title.
Bush arrives tomorrow and the city will live under a state of siege for the (mercifully) short time he's here. No air traffic, closed off streets, guns everywhere (including the lovely idea of snipers on top of buildings). São Paulo is a big city that already suffers daily from absurdly heavy traffic on normal days. Close off a couple of its main roads and what you have is pure unadulterated chaos. All of this for what? Our ethanol it seems.
I'll spare both of us the boring long dissertation on the evil of what is in store for my country and its workers if this supposed deal goes through. I'm sure when you read how Brazil has vast tracks of land suited for plantation you will substitute vast tracks of land for the more accurate destructed forestland (to save time and work clearing land they set fire to the whole thing). I'm also sure that when you hear how this will create jobs and bring economic growth, you'll know it means near slave conditions for the workers and a lot of money in the pockets of a very few people. But I beg your pardon, I had said I'd spare us from the dullness of economic exploitation.
Well, we're all bracing ourselves for the next two days. Children will be kept from school and the people who can, will either work from home or not work at all in order to avoid this quite inopportune visit. Unfortunately, I'm not healthy enough to join the protesters with their banners (though Yankees go home! seems a bit trite at this point.) and so will be one of many silent protesters.
Were we to have Bonfire Night though, I'd drag my beaten down, broken carcass down to the street and burn effigies with glee. Yes! The title.