‘Twas the Week Before NATO

As of this writing, we are one week away from NATO’s visit to Chicago. It is almost impossible to sum up what has already happened in Chicago. Red Zones have been painted around all the federal buildings in Chicago, and something similar to Martial Law within those zones. Metra (the Chicago Commuter Train Service) is shutting down stations, limiting what passengers can bring on the trains, and initiating airport style screen of passengers boarding trains. O’Hare is dedicating one runway to NATO diplomats. The Kennedy Expressway, from O’Hare through The Loop, to McCormick place, will be shut down in both directions when the diplomats are on the move. The office workers in the loop are being told to dress down to blend in with the crowd when commuting May 14, to May 22. Three museums will be shut down for the weekend of NATO. Some businesses are planning on shutting down, or curtailing hours, for the mid-May week. And, at this point, only a few hundred Occupy protestors have shown up to speak their piece against NATO’s colonial wars. 

All the citizens of Chicago are being assured that Chicago can handle the NATO Summit without disrupting business; it will be good for the city. This is just like any other convention, right? That is what Rahm wants you to believe. Are you naïve enough to buy his line of reasoning? Or are you coming to the conclusion that this might just be a boondoggle that the city can ill afford?

Chasing after Chase

This past week, Chase announced that it lost $2 Billion (USD) in risky hedge trading. Not going to get into the details. I am sure they will still be surfacing over weeks to come.

I do want to extend a hand of welcome to all those who will end up losing their jobs due to this reckless misadventure of Chase. I am not sure if layoffs are coming. It is only $2B in losses against $19B in profit. The two do balance things off in a way. However, if they do let heads roll, making the rank and file pay for executives’ mistakes, I want to be the first invite you to The Occupation. I want you to know that you will find people who do understand what you have gone through. 

To Begin a Blog

Kit, out of Austin, Texas, asked me to write up a little Blogger 101 for people who want to start writing their story. So in very succinct style, I will take a stab at it. First, write about your passion. You are not going to keep the work going if you don’t have passion. Second, brevity is the soul of good writing; shoot for 600 words per posting, and stop near 1000 words. Third, there are many service out there, but for the beginner, Blogger (the service you are reading now) is easy to use. You can write in word, select the whole text, copy it, and then paste it into blogger. It is simple. Imbedding video from YouTube, and pictures is equally easy. Say whatever you will about Google, they have made this an easier site to use. The rest is up to you. Write from your soul, and share it with the world.