Safe and Gorgeous Haven in Argentina
by R. M. Oxman

“There is widespread acceptance of omnipresent, virtually inescapable toxicity throughout the U.S., and the phenomenon is worsening by the day.” — The author, not feeling at all like Chicken Little

“The litmus test for your readers, Richard, should be whether or not they’d live in any of the properties listed at Purslow’s Gascony (http://www.purslows-gascony.eu/index.php?page=6&title=Gascon_House_St yles) for free if they knew that the surrounding groundwater was not potable, the air contaminated.” — The author’s friend, a real estate agent in France (where property prices have dropped recently, providing seemingly great investment opportunities) addressing the attitudinal set of readers, its importance.

This is a piece which focuses on what’s an excellent financial investment by any standards, and also a legitimate “escape” from the growing toxicity in this world, the effects of global warming, the prospect of financial collapse and the potential for nuclear holocaust. My family has its eye on a very special spot in Argentina, special not only because of the natural pleasures which abound there, but because of its wind patterns, groundwater, fertility and immunity to many present dangers. For obvious reasons, many details are best left for in-person discussion. [Including, what one cannot escape.]

A little over a year ago I came across an article on Argentina being an excellent place for investment along traditional lines. See http://www.moneyweek.com/investments/property/why-argentina-is-the-bes t-place-to-buy-property-77181.aspx. It’s still a wonderful candidate for financial reasons, but since 2008 two other considerations have kicked in. Two monumentally important factors.

ONE, investment elsewhere has taken a nosedive on a number of different counts. To take just one example from a very personal angle, my family had been considering relocation to a number of different locations in Italy, spots that were considered to have the value that Tuscany had decades ago. Well, to make a huge horror story short, take a glance at Mike Leonardi’s recent revelation about toxicity spreading in and around Italy at http://www.counterpunch.org/leonardi11042009.html. Not a pretty picture. And frightening as all get out when one considers how unlikely it is that real estate people or community interests would enlighten an unsuspecting potential investor about… the truth.

In short, it’s like what I call Jaws Syndrome. Remember that 70s shark-centered film? Sure you do. Those with a vested interest in not informing the public that there’s a danger in the local waters will not bring up anything that might deter a sale.

Well, Sylvie and I don’t go down that disingenuous, unscrupulous, greedy road. Long ago we retired very successful travel businesses because we didn’t want to contribute to regular (unnecessary) airplane travel anymore. Anyone interested in the documentation which convinced us to abandon a sure-fire moneymaker… feel free to request the goods we have on air travel vis-a-vis global warming. See www.frenchpaintbox.com, www.cancerfreeitaly.com, www. parisgraves.com, www.nativeitaly.org (stopped in its tracks during updating) and www.useutravel.blogspot.com …to get a taste of what we shelved in the name of environmental consciousness.

TWO, the U.S. is falling apart fast*, and it would behoove anyone who is in a position to create an alternative for themselves to do so.

*Anyone interested in documentation regarding this point is also encouraged to request it. For now, just note that we’re not talking about financial meltdown or global warming issues (though we certainly could). Rather, we’re addressing the mounting toxicity across all lines in the U.S. David Gargill’s article in Harper’s Magazine (December, 2009) on the Hudson River, General Electric and Ogallala Aquifier (which supplies 30% of the groundwater used for irrigation in this country) is a good point of departure for discussion. Again, please feel free to request it if you’re interested.

We believe that we’ve found a new area for investment, a New Tuscany, if you will… in Argentina. A good place in which to place your nest egg… just in case the world doesn’t crumble financially. A place which could, unlike Tuscany, also serve as a safe getaway in case it does.

Contact the author at tosca.2010@yahoo.com to explore the above further, for purposes of investment, vacation or relocation. He hasn’t totally given up on trying to move in solidarity with other citizens to change things, but after working a very long time 24×8 in that realm (’cross the board), he’s — possibly — ready to pack it in, as they say, and look elsewhere. And at other paradigms for conscious, concerned living. The sky IS falling… almost everywhere. In every conceivable sense. [Pause.] Above, the author underscored the self-serving interests of real estate people, travel agents and the like. That’s only part of the problem, of course. At base, we must acknowledge that people often want to be deceived. Even when it comes to cancer, disease and their environment*. Perhaps you’re not one of the many people afflicted by Ostrich Syndrome. Regardless, there is an alternative.

*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091121/ap_on_re_us/us_uranium_mystery focuses on one of thousands of examples in the U.S. …of unacceptable, unbearable contamination which has mushroomed countrywide …sometimes without public knowledge …sometimes with public complicity, including that of governmental agencies. There is widespread acceptance of omnipresent, virtually inescapable toxicity throughout the U.S., and the phenomenon is worsening by the day.

Special note: See Sylvie’s http://sosylvie.typepad.com/so_sylvie/2008/10/when-pink-stinks.html for what I believe is a rare but worthwhile take on cancer in our realm. It addresses neglected environmental concerns and Pasteur-centered traditional treatment. At the end of the day, whether you go to Argentina or not… the beginning for dealing with our spreading toxicity is, of course, acknowledgment.