jakethorn's blog
The Economy, the Environment and Civilization
I came across this clip on my computer last night and thought it might make an interesting contribution to the discussion about the gathering economic shitstorm. From The Corporation.
Civilization, commercialism, voting, pollution, consumption, materialism, transportation... all of these elements play a part. What we have now is not sustainable. It never was. That it's breaking down should surprise none of us.
Journal 10.5.08: Giving Blood
I got a unit of red blood today. It turns out the bone marrow transplant is having some nasty side effects on my body. To fight back, I’m on a very high dosage of a bunch of drugs that are creating some nasty side effects of their own. For example, I’m currently taking 100mL a day of a steroid called methylprednisone. It’s bad stuff and has driven my blood statistics down back close to where they were when I was first diagnosed with cancer. So today the doctors finally had to break down and pump another bag of blood in my arm to replace what I’m losing.
I must have gotten at least a hundred bags of red blood from anonymous donors since my hospital experience started in April, not to mention hundreds of bags of supplementary blood products called platelets. Every time I get a bag, it saves my life. Each occasion represents a completely anonymous stranger giving me, some random guy they’ll never even meet and might not even like, a free opportunity to live another day. It boggles my mind that I’ve gotten so many second chances. It fills me with so much warmth and appreciation for people.
I want to take this opportunity to ask you to give blood to your local donation center. I wish I could repay every single ounce I’ve gotten to every miraculous stranger who’s saved my life, but my tainted medical history rules me out. All I can do is ask YOU to take my place and help some OTHER desperate stranger with your own gift of life… appeal to you to be the hero to somebody else that those hundreds of people are to me. And if/when you do, let me know and I’ll take you out for a beer or a burrito because you kick ass. But seriously, please think about it. It’s easy, it saves lives and there’s always plenty of demand.
Journal 9.15.08: REMISSION
Today I found out I'm cancer-free.
I've wanted so badly to write something about all this but I just can't find the words. I have so much to say. And I will, but for now, I just want to spread the word --- my cancer is in remission, and it looks like I'm going to be okay. Much love to all of you who've left comments, I read every single one and the support got me through many a dark day.
I've always been a cynical person, but I've seen so many amazing things and met so many incredible, caring people throughout this journey that I don't know what I think anymore. For now, I'm just happy to have good news for once and wanted to share it with those of you who've followed my progress. Thank you and I can't wait till I have the strength to get back to my calling here. I haven't forgotten activism or writing, I've just been on a rudely imposed break. Before all this happened, I had a great idea of what I was fighting against in this world but now I have an equally strong feel for what I'm fighting for. So cheers, and look for me to be around more from now on.
Journal 8.2
I haven't written anything in awhile. I have less energy than I did before. You go through 5 rounds of chemo and keep up daily posting.. I'll tip my cap to you. Apologies to anyone who thought maybe I bit the dust last week. No, I'm still here. Hanging on. But for all the shit I've gone through, the lymphoma is on its last legs and that's what counts.
Journal 7.21
I've gone two straight days without a fever. For better or worse, that's become the definition of a great accomplishment for me. Last bit of chemo was rough. Fevers, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, haze. Spiritually it hit me hard, mainly seeing my weight bottom out at under 120... which is absolutely fucked and psyched me out bad, even though the doctors said it was no big deal. My highest fever was 103.5, enough to get the attention of even more doctors than before, which is obviously my #1 goal every day here. ... Some days I just slept. Some nights I couldn't sleep at all.
Journal 7.14
Just a bare-bones update this time. I didn’t journal for a few days because they were shitty and I wasn’t up to it. A couple of them involved fevers. Lots of nausea. The odd throwing up of a meal. You know, the usual.
ICC indicts Sudan President Bashir for Darfur genocide
In a potentially earth-shaking move, the International Criminal Court has charged Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir with war crimes related to the Darfur genocide. LINK
Luis Moreno-Ocampo on Monday urged a three-judge panel to issue an arrest warrant for President Omar Hassan al-Bashir to prevent the deaths of about 2.5 million people forced from their homes in the war-torn region of Darfur and who are still under attack from government-backed Janjaweed militia.
The five charges against al-Bashir include masterminding attempts to wipe out African tribes in the war-torn region with a campaign of murder, rape and deportation.
I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, yes, Bashir is a war criminal. He IS responsible for hundreds of thousands, likely millions, of deaths in Darfur. He's a totalitarian leader with no consideration for his people and he's impossible to negotiate with. On the other hand, it's not like he's actually going to be arrested. There's no way for the ICC to enforce this warrant, so all it really does is make the Sudanese government that much more pissed off at the West, making it that much less likely any lasting peace deal can get done.
My friend May, who's been over there as an aid worker and knows more about the region than anybody I know, called this "the worst setback to the peace process that has happened in Sudan in recent years."
I wonder what'll happen.