venezuela ranks 6th on global wellbeing poll by gallup

wait, you mean it's not all about economic growth and trickle down? wait, you mean wealth distribution programs + high public investment in health and education = social wellbeing? wow, western world, quite the anomoly. very surprised reuters would publish this, and even more surprised that i'm pasting an article by frank jack daniel here. freaky friday?

INTERVIEW-Shared wealth behind Venezuela 'wellbeing' rating
28 Apr 2011. Reuters
By Frank Jack Daniel

Despite mediocre economic data, Venezuelans feel they are thriving because President Hugo Chavez's government has focused on narrowing a wealth gap and increasing social spending, the country's statistics chief said on Thursday.

Earlier this month, a Gallup poll placed Venezuela fifth in a ranking of countries by the "wellbeing" their citizens felt. (See the full poll listings for all countries: http://link.reuters.com/xaq29r)

The poll came as a surprise to many because of lackluster economic results in the OPEC nation. Inflation was 27 percent last year and the economy contracted by 1.4 percent.

"Economic growth is very important, however, if government policies are not aimed at redistributing wealth, obviously this does not translate into improved living conditions for the population," said Elias Eljuri, head of the National Statistics Institute.

Eljuri, who has been active in left-wing political movements for decades, said the socialist government had spent $330 billion on health, education and social services since Chavez took office in 1999.

"The Chavez government has put the human being first," British-trained Eljuri said in an office suite adorned with exhortations from revolutionary Che Guevara to fight bureaucracy.

"We have invested in health and education and today we have the second best rate of higher education in Latin America."

University attendance has more than doubled to 2.3 million students during the Chavez government, Eljuri said.

He said inequality of wealth in Venezuela was now the lowest in Latin America and overall poverty had reduced to 26 percent from 70 percent in 2006.

"There has been redistribution but it is still not enough. We have not reached total equality here, far from it," he said.

Critics of the Chavez government say the fall in poverty is in response to a massive surge in government income due to booming oil prices in recent years, rather than sustainable wealth creation policies. (Editing by Daniel Wallis and Cynthia Osterman)

surf narcissism over the years

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barcelona consensus

so inspired by this non-neoliberal initiative to global cooperation and development. calling on experts and civil society across the globe, the barcelona consensus seeks to put forth a representative alternative to the washington consensus and neoliberal policies that have led to the concentration of 80% of global wealth in the hands of 20% of the globe's population. as an academic, it's so refreshing to see efforts like these coming forward and gaining momentum. time to start using what we know about the ills of neoliberalism and stop looking to its creators for the solution; the barcelona consensus is seeking alternatives outside the system and inside the idealistic imaginations within all of us. viva!

"in summary, the participants are presenting proposals to decide how to adequately approach five fundamental questions: commencing with the world we all desire (value system), in the finite world in which we live (ecological system), we must determine how we want to organize ourselves (political system), how we want to administer ourselves (economic system) and how we want to communicate (communications system)."

http://consensus.nova.cat/news/new-consensus-habitable-world-all

goodbye washington, hello barcelona.

hermosa magic

today in hermosa was one of those days you aren’t expecting. it’s midday, incoming high tide; your eyes are squinting in the too-bright glare of the sun’s bounce between the sheer film of clouds and the grey-blue sea. you sunscreen up before checking the surf because you know you'll paddle out regardless; not expecting much from a typically windy early afternoon session in hermosa, especially when magic seaweed only gave it a half a star. between the magic of the tides, the miraculous lack of wind, and miles of sparsely crowded glass up and down the beach, it seems this ho-hum day just got a whole lot better. 

pretty sure we paddled out without getting our hair wet, and it was definitely overhead, with some big sets out the back to remind us that yes, we were still surfing heavy hermosa, miracle conditions or no. the first few waves were nothing to write home about, getting relatively worked on the inside and still feeling rusty from a week of sedentary life in the office, a 2.5 hour bus-ride inland from the coast. breathing and doing my little surf rituals to try to calm my heart, which i could see beating between triangle strips of bikini at my breastbone, i finally paddled into some beautiful lefts, hitting some backside turns to spray out a bit of work-week steam. i was quite disasterous on the rights for some reason, but after a two-and-a-half hour session, lefts all day still had me stoked – and exhausted.  pretty sure the wave I caught in was double overhead o hasta mas, and way too big for comfort, getting all laird hamilton up in here (keep in mind, at 5’2” pretty much everything is double overhead).

un casado con pescado later, we hoped for the same luck in round two sunset sesh. much to my dismay, it took us 20 minutes to paddle out – hair quite wet this time – and after missing a fast left and slapping myself in the ear with my board in the process (first time for everything?), i was ready to call it a day. the saving grace was one good left corner with a very necessary rail grab on the takeoff and a few hurry-up-and-turns before getting caught inside forever and a day. 

impromptu girl talk at the bungalows over malbec, cured meats and goat cheese rounded out a delicious day. feeling grateful for this sense of community; strong women whose life experiences continue to teach and inspire me. and remind me that the best pleasures in life are usually the ones you least expect.

other lessons for the day: magic seaweed sucks. i need to move back to the beach. hermosa is one of this world’s most magical, gloriously unpredictable slices of surf paradise.

april fools' on me

my mom’s April Fools’ joke on me:

mom: “So did you hear the surf’s gonna be flat for a week?”

me: “WHAT? Who did you hear that from? Was he gringo or tico? Does he even live at the beach? Whatever, I’m still going. There will be something, there’s always something in Hermosa, that guy doesn’t know...” 

...kinda like telling a junkie we’re all outta drugs.