tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-365692602009-05-17T11:14:16.331-07:00FOCUS: CULTURAL AND ETHNIC DIVERSITY / MIGRATION. SOCIAL / CULTURAL / POLITICAL COMMENT AND OBSERVATIONbleeding heart burgesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01517156563785471703noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36569260.post-28253829861861221512009-05-17T11:11:00.001-07:002009-05-17T11:14:10.717-07:00

I wish my writing job had yielded even half as much as the $15 an hour I pay both my wonderful Mexican cleaner and my sublime Mexican Spanish teacher. Come to think of it, I would even settle for a quarter. Surely not, I hear you say. A writing job that pays less than $3.75 an hour. Well, I kid you not. I earned either $5 or $6 a page and normally had to work to a 48-hour deadline. I was writing

bleeding heart burgesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01517156563785471703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36569260.post-41468243084602560462009-04-08T21:37:00.002-07:002009-04-08T21:45:06.408-07:00

I stumbled upon an overtly anti-semitic comment made by Aidan on Facebook. Being shocked at what I'd read, I initiated the following dialogue with Aiden. Not sure yet if the ongoing (fingers crossed) dialogue is a real dialogue or the social network equivalent of reality TV!! i.e. am i indulging myself at the expense of a working - class lad?Harvey BurgessJanuary 5 at 3:49pmWhat a pathetic

bleeding heart burgesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01517156563785471703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36569260.post-23800448933063499382009-01-16T22:13:00.002-07:002009-01-16T22:17:02.405-07:00

So the death toll in Gaza is now more than 1000 (including some 350 children) matching that in the Lebanon in 2006. The massacre of 106 refugees in a UN shelter in Qana is mirrored by the deaths of 40 Palestinians in a UN school in Gaza. The slaughter of the Marwahin civilians in Lebanon who were ordered to leave their homes and then gunned down by a helicopter gunship is matched by civilians

bleeding heart burgesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01517156563785471703noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36569260.post-18425840335651065962008-12-14T14:27:00.003-07:002008-12-14T14:43:49.045-07:00

Here are a selection of recent photographs. Hope you like them. The Mexican Lucha Libre masks are made out of clay by my mate Zach. I am always impressed by the Public Art in this city, even the bus shelters are imaginative (the pipe vista at the top is in one).

bleeding heart burgesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01517156563785471703noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36569260.post-78523132490672028082008-09-16T17:59:00.002-07:002008-09-16T18:10:26.864-07:00

My friend Scott, fellow Tottenham Hotspur supporter and anglophile (for the benefit of my American friends , Tottenham are a North London soccer team), invited me to attend the Arizona Wildcats American football game at the University Stadium here in Tucson. Undeterred by my lukewarm response (I’ve always thought of American football as the poor man’s Rugby), he proceeded to sell me the whole

bleeding heart burgesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01517156563785471703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36569260.post-65359097410956093022008-05-25T21:10:00.002-07:002008-05-25T21:20:10.241-07:00

A few days ago, my friend Bonny woke up $600 richer. She was one of millions of US citizens who had benefited from the Bush government’s economic stimulus package. A cheque from the Federal government, ostensibly a tax rebate, landed on her doormat. The theory behind it is that those who receive the money will immediately plough it back into the economy, thereby stimulating the profits of

bleeding heart burgesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01517156563785471703noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36569260.post-48573767514504960412008-03-15T18:10:00.005-07:002008-03-25T14:48:58.926-07:00

At the traffic lights on Speedway and Main last week, I saw something I had never seen before. A woman in the car on my left was flossing. She appeared to be totally immersed in what she was doing as she inspected the inside of her mouth in the rear view mirror. I was transfixed by this somewhat gross spectacle. I really could not believe what I was seeing. I mean, would blood not spatter over

bleeding heart burgesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01517156563785471703noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36569260.post-6188775929568556832007-12-15T20:23:00.000-07:002008-01-03T18:36:48.379-07:00

‘The first toys I can remember were a plastic skeleton and winged devil, gifts from my grandmother. Other kids had GI Joes and Batman action figures but I was never envious of them. My toys allowed my imagination to stretch its boundaries and make friends with the very things that gave other children nightmares.’Ladislao Loera – Day of the Dead ArtistThe Day of the Dead originates in Mexico. The

bleeding heart burgesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01517156563785471703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36569260.post-45276600601441659692007-12-09T18:39:00.000-07:002007-12-15T20:42:51.640-07:00

America’s 2 million prisoners constitute a quarter of the world’s entire prison population. I find that a staggering statistic. In the mid-1990’s there were only 5 private prisons in the US. There are now over 100 holding 62,000 inmates. This is set to increase exponentially over the next 10 years, at the end of which period there will be an estimated 360,000 prisoners in the private sector. No

bleeding heart burgesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01517156563785471703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36569260.post-52016575134440867802007-11-11T13:48:00.000-07:002007-12-04T18:12:15.361-07:00

It is the night before they are to surrender their freedom yet again. Father Louis Vitale, a 74 year old Franciscan Priest and Father Stephen Kelly, a 58 year old Jesuit Priest, are amongst the speakers addressing an audience of their supporters at the First Christian Church in Tucson, Arizona. In the morning, both of them will almost certainly be sentenced to several months in jail for having

bleeding heart burgesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01517156563785471703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36569260.post-67700033773479705242007-10-15T22:49:00.000-07:002007-10-15T22:52:38.284-07:00

October is Domestic Violence Month in the States. Campaigns to increase awareness of a crime that impacts on 1 in 3 women in this country, at some point during their lifetime, are being conducted. In Arizona, there were 107 deaths from domestic violence in 2006.The statistics in both the US and the UK are shocking: In the US, 5.3 million women are abused each year; Around 1200 women are killed

bleeding heart burgesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01517156563785471703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36569260.post-37680788911942098272007-10-12T17:57:00.000-07:002007-10-15T02:09:28.116-07:00

Tower Bridge, River Thames:The Gherkin, River Thames:Office building, London:Gallipoli, western Turkey: Me on the west coast of Turkey (comments most welcome): Troy, western Turkey:Cannakale, West coast of Turkey, very close to the Dardanelles, the strait where the 1915 battle of Gallipoli took place

bleeding heart burgesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01517156563785471703noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36569260.post-59767820054020565202007-10-12T17:37:00.000-07:002007-10-15T02:06:22.218-07:00

Videos and the Virgin Tucson's murals are wonderful

bleeding heart burgesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01517156563785471703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36569260.post-42709211067988062392007-10-12T17:19:00.001-07:002007-10-15T02:05:36.273-07:00

Usual sight of mega mobile home parked up in a supermarket car parkIs this car insurable? Is the owner sane?(rhetorical)Bus used by travelling performing arts theatre groupHow weird is this hybrid?Big is beautiful. That's not my front garden by the way.Dig this community food bank van

bleeding heart burgesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01517156563785471703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36569260.post-79142181212051148502007-10-12T16:47:00.000-07:002007-10-15T02:03:41.884-07:00

Yours truly with Chicago, the metal manThe metal manThe Bone Yard, Tucson. Disused Air Force planes. Totally awesome, surreal place. Love that whale like, yawning mouth Goose in Reid park, Tucson Japanese dogs in Tucson supermarket. Don't you just love those tongues. And the owner's pretty cool as well!

bleeding heart burgesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01517156563785471703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36569260.post-7785612657073463942007-09-26T18:00:00.000-07:002007-09-26T18:09:32.248-07:00

Hi folks. Hope you all had a pleasant summer. Hi fellow Brits. Hope you all enjoyed your mini Indian summer.Until I arrived in Tucson I had always thought obsession with the weather was a peculiarly British trait. How wrong I was. We have got nothing on Tucsonans. The percentage chances of rain on any given day, how many consecutive 100-degree days there will be, when the monsoon season will

bleeding heart burgesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01517156563785471703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36569260.post-26716810180183898302007-08-03T20:43:00.000-07:002007-10-15T01:59:36.767-07:00

I recently ventured across the border into Mexico, for the first time in my life. We, (me and my friends, Amanda ‘the slothful e-mail returner’ Shauger and the oh so feisty, Cactus Cathy, both of whom have shows on KXCI Community Radio Station, 91.3 FM, easily the best radio station in Tucson, http://www.kxci.org/ ), crossed by car, only had to show documents on re-entering the States and were

bleeding heart burgesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01517156563785471703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36569260.post-81377087723552323652007-07-18T18:55:00.000-07:002007-07-18T18:58:09.910-07:00

I knew that I would be surrounded by all things big before I arrived in the states but nothing could have prepared me for the monstrosities which one regularly encounters up one’s rear end on Tucson’s highways. Whenever I am crowded by one of those designer humvees, as I tootle along in my Nissan Sentra, I shudder. And as for those dirty great pick-ups, whose owners have paid anything up to 5

bleeding heart burgesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01517156563785471703noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36569260.post-71710776213579500542007-07-04T16:18:00.000-07:002007-07-29T19:42:31.831-07:00

OPEN LETTER TO HUGO CHAVEZ:Dear HugoLet me say straight away, (at grave risk of being labelled sycophantic but I care not), that you are one of my heroes. Your charisma is unparalleled in 21st century world politics.Every time I hear the European or American bourgeoisie moaning about your alleged abuses of power and how dangerous you are, I know that you are on the right track.And no one can

bleeding heart burgesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01517156563785471703noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36569260.post-42596603400545344712007-06-17T18:18:00.000-07:002007-07-29T19:48:42.780-07:00

I am learning American English. I made the decision to do so after 3 encounters in my first month here, 2 at Albertsons supermarket and the other at Circuit City. The conversations went something like this:SupermarketMe: Hi. Could you tell me where the trolleys are?Employee: Excuse me?Me: Could you tell me where I can find a trolley?Employee: Excuse me, Sir. I’m not getting you.Me: You know, the

bleeding heart burgesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01517156563785471703noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36569260.post-73362001160460891082007-05-13T14:51:00.000-07:002007-05-13T15:00:34.520-07:00

I was chatting to the young lifeguard at the YMCA pool and she told me that she was a sociology student at the University of Arizona. However, she wanted to change subjects and was thinking about doing criminology. Having said that, she wasn’t at all sure she would carry on with her degree. She was lacking motivation, and fed up with taking out student loans. In fact, she was seriously

bleeding heart burgesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01517156563785471703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36569260.post-35813014363031897872007-05-07T19:55:00.000-07:002007-10-15T03:38:47.418-07:00

Colony Collapse Disorder. What could that be? Something to do with decline of empire? No, it is nothing of the sort. What it actually refers to is the mass death and disappearance of bee colonies in America. Apparently, some commercial beekeepers have lost up to 70% of their hives.Bee pollination is crucial to food crops. One study has found that bees pollinate every third bite of food consumed

bleeding heart burgesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01517156563785471703noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36569260.post-90673883146622504032007-05-06T20:10:00.000-07:002007-05-07T20:18:11.713-07:00

Hi folks. It's 8.12 pm here on a Sunday night in 2son Arizona. I have to admit that, as i write this piece, I'm in a blissfully transcendent and peaceful place - metaphorically speaking. I've spent most of the weekend at the 22nd annual Tucson folk festival which has been awesome and now I'm at home on the computer, listening to Mozart and paying tribute to Bob Marley, in no particular order.The

bleeding heart burgesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01517156563785471703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36569260.post-35991853886408217322007-03-24T23:25:00.000-07:002007-03-24T23:32:13.065-07:00

In one of the local papers here, there is a shocking photograph of a prison dormitory in California State Prison in LA. The room is jam packed with male inmates sitting or lying on 3 tier bunk beds. No surprise then that prisons in California which were built to house 100,000 now hold 174,000. Apparently, Arnie (Schwarzenegger) is planning to transfer thousands of prisoners to facilities in other

bleeding heart burgesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01517156563785471703noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36569260.post-520498056515025472007-03-24T16:48:00.001-07:002007-03-24T17:04:03.401-07:00

Greetings earthlings. I trust that you're all frightfully wellIn Bill Bryson’s book, ‘Notes from a Big Country’, there is a chapter entitled ‘Spinning The Truth.’ In it, Bryson does not mince his words. He is unequivocal that corporations and other big businesses lie to the public about the products and services they are offering and the prices they are charging.Bryson gives a number of examples

bleeding heart burgesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01517156563785471703noreply@blogger.com0