These are surely interesting times we live in. Here in the US, the current administration wants to put a man on Mars. If down the road, they follow by putting a woman on Venus, which would be pretty funny. "Men Go To Mars, Women Go To Venus!"

He also wants to put a permanently occupied space station on the moon. (Why doesn't the moon get capital letters?) Could you imagine? This would be the ideal career choice for werewolves. No more waiting for a full moon to express themselves, there would always be a full moon. Right under their feet, or paws... whatever. And what young werewolf doesn't dream of being an astronaut?

Meanwhile, as all these trillions of dollars are being flushed into space, here on Earth, things continue to crumble around the average Yank, as the country that leads the world in space exploration, ships more jobs overseas. Levi Strauss is the latest example. Twenty years ago there were 63 Levi Strauss plants in the US. Most recently the jobs paid ten to twelve dollars an hour, a decent wage. This week they announced the closing of their last two US plants, and their plans to move production to... the moon! No, just kidding. It's China of course, where they can have their product made for next to nothing and get free egg rolls. I'm off of Levis now, by the way.

Perhaps space exploration is a race to find cheap labour. Sweatshops In Space! What if they brought space people back here? Would that work force be made up of legal or illegal aliens? Anyway, I hope the werewolves get established and experience a booming lunar economy because otherwise, who, here on Earth, is going to be able to purchase products like Levis, if they have no significant income?

Will there be an interplanetary trade agreement? These trade agreements, such as NAFTA are so very beneficial to all parties. Will the Chinese unionise? Will Americans continue to support companies that abandon them and leave them unemployed? Will werewolves on the moon need trained veterinarians and cosmetologists? These are surely interesting times we live in.

Michael McGan - 26th January 2004