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And hello to a fellow teacher! Public or private school?
There you go again Kend, whining about Canada's universal healthcare system, just because it doesn't deliver instant care to everyone regardless of severity or urgency (or lack thereof…). My my, aren't you spoiled! And then you have the nerve to complain to us, south of your border, where healthcare isn't even a guaranteed right of citizenship; where people lose their homes, their savings, even their lives, from lack of access to doctors! You are one piece of work, you clueless Canuck!
As for global warming and its consequences… nothing we can do to stop it, Kend? You oil drones are always saying that shit so the rest of us (you hope) will just sit back passively, resigning ourselves to a turbulent, violent future as ole Mother Nature gets angrier by the year. I guess we all should just keep trying to adapt while the planet cooks, growing less and less inhabitable…. all so you guys can keep plundering for profit. Sick sick sick. - AIW
P.S. Oh yeah, blame China and India. That's real helpful too. How about drilling a hole in the ice up there, and sticking your head in it?!!!
sandles -- With 7 Billion of us and 69 of them, it will be along time before they turn on each other.
Thom on the 2nd hour of his June 11 (my best guess) stated some numbers from a Washington Post article. Those numbers seem to show that it is almost inconceivable that a dem crossover vote had anything to do with it. Having national TV and radio on your side seems unbeatable to me. Kochs spent their money well.
Sandles, I like your perspective and your vision. Before we can live more sanely and sustainably, we must learn to think differently. Considering some of the posts I've seen here, we've got our work cut out for us. - AIW
OU -- Thanks for the info. 8% in France? That is worth investigating.
Nat Geo Magazine has a series on how to feed the 9 billion people to arrive in the future. This months article say the US farms more fish than beef. Next month's teaser is what motivated me to say something on the blog. It says for next month "Can fertile Africa feed the world?". I have sent money to Africa so they can feed their own. What's up?
WOW Sandles, I had no idea she was just passing through and not even participating. I saw a clip about it on Democracy Now and must have missed that detail somehow. After she elbowed the cop, he continued assaulting her, roughing her up and throwing her on the ground. She ended up having convulsions. There were dozens of witnesses. It was horrendous. I pray she is acquitted.
Frankly I am outraged that as recently as the 1980s, rape victims (or victims of attempted rape) were still getting blamed. Can you think of any other crime that victims get blamed for?!
Why would you think it better not to fight back? Whenever I hear of a woman fighting back and winning, I want to jump and shout with joy. Like that deaf stunt artist whose assailant eavesdropped while she checked into a motel; awhile later, she was awakened from a sound sleep with a knife to her throat. This gal happened to be accomplished at karate as well as stunt artistry, so she kicked the living shit out of him. A minute later, Mister Macho Man, the wannabe assailant/rapist, was lying in a heap on the floor. After that, the cops came, gathered him up and hauled him off to the slammer where he belonged.
I heard another story about a seventeen-year-old girl who grabbed the rapist's balls and twisted them real hard. He was in no shape to finish what he'd started after that! And do you remember Inez Garcia? She shot the 300 pound man who held her down while this other guy raped her, and wound up in jail for killing him. That happened in the 1970s. She became a celebrity. I still have a "Free Inez" button on my denim jacket, just for old time's sake!
Yep. Be warned, guys. Try sticking it where it don't belong and you might lose it... or die! Heh-heh.
Now Sandles, what the hell's wrong with any of that?! - AIW
Your welcome, Chuck. Communicator would be a good wood choice, but so is influencer. No one is able to implement their ideas on their own. You need followers. Great leaders are able to do that, usually by being a great communicator. So I guess either would work. Also thank you for the compliment, I'm a teacher, and I think to be a good teacher, you have to be a better student:)
DAM -- At least it doesn't take a lot of thought to repeat myself. The strongest force to restablish tariffs is labor unions. The strongest force to bring back labor unions is the democratic party. One more vote in the senate in 2009 and we would have card check. It you are trying to say that Democrats have done little to reverse this problem, you would be wrong.
Ou -- I think you mean communication skills, You seem to be a very good student. You are asking all the questions I like to answer. The cover on time magazine said the 85 wealthiest people in the world had as much wealth as the bottom half of the people. There are 7 billion people in the world. The number 85 was measured in the year 2012. The number for 2013 is 69.
Thanks for making think about who you I am angry at. Interestingly to me, is that I am not as angry with the RW about lying about their phony economic policy (free enterprise - refer to the Lewis Powell confidential plan) as I am with the LW for not knowing they are lying.
Kend -- I have a better idea. Stop the XL pipeline because none of it is staying in this country. I assume China will get most of it.
Also, I thought China was doing more than the US to curb GHG.
I like the marketplace to solve our problems. Put a carbon tax on the carbon corps to pay for their external costs.
Chi Matt -- Wouldn't it be wonderful if issues had only 2 sides.
I think we should be deciding whether we should make the min wage $15 to keep people out of poverty ore should we make it $22 to keep up with producitivity.
After the meeting in the Caucus Room Restaurant, why do you think the republicans think they are fighting the "good fight"? The only way I can see that repugs think they are fighting the good fight is if they think the billionaires should run the country for the billionaire's benefit.
Yes Alice, I froget her name, but I remember hearing that she wasn't even participating, but simply passing through on her way to a St. Patrick's Day celebration. I don't know if I have the inner fortitude, but if I'm ever attacked by police, I hope I can return compassion and kindness. I was assaulted once, the guy said he intended to rape me. I did fight back, but when he threw me on the ground, I looked into his eys and said I cared about him and was sorry his mom had mistreated him. I'm sure this is rare, but he let me go. Since then, I have tried, and often failed...NOT to fight bck...BTW I did call the cops, but got the standard 'it was your own fault' treatment...this was back in the 80s.
Alice, Marc..
I saw this man, Jacque Fresco ( http://www.thevenusproject.com/ ) on Good Morning America (or it's equivalent) about 40 years ago. He saw then where we were headed and tried to tell the world...but Capitalism, i.e. the love of money, the root of all evil...would have none of it. He’s a bit too inflexible in some of his ideas for me, but these folks, http://www.thezeitgeistmovement.com/ , grew out of his ideas...I sure hope what few of us are left after the LOCO-motive crashes will get on board this new train in some fashion or other! Richard Wolff also has a lecture on bringing Democracy to the workplace; https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL612DCF8ECD397DD0 and the co-op movement. This seems, to me, the only place to start w/in the current paradigm.
As far as humanitarian population control, funny how these Capitalist puppets in government want to rid us of the 3 things that actually DO control population; Education leading to greater opportunity for women, access to birth control and access to safe legal abortion. Why, do you ‘spose? My theory..the way they see it, the more rats you have in a cage fighting over what little air, food and water are left, the more desperate they are, thus more easily controlled and the faster they will kill each other and die off.
I also highly recommend Carolyn Baker’s book, ‘Collapsing Consciously’ carolynbaker.net . She also has a radio show Sunday nights, link on her web page. She is the only person I know of who knows how to find the richness and opportunity in the inevitable without either slipping into glib denial of “Rebuild! Reinvest! Change the Mafia Party from Within!” or the dark negativity of “Fuck it! We’re screwed! I’m gonna go blow up a Gubmint Building!” ...not that we shouldn’t do all we can to re-tool and go green and try to stay involved politically, but we have to change the way we live...Totally! We have to share dwellings, land, electronics, transportation, everything.. or there simply won’t be enough to go ‘round. I’m so tired of people saying they want world peace and an end to war, but they aren’t willing to put all of humanity on the level playing field that is required in order to end the fighting. The ‘American Dream 'should be more like; ‘When I grow up, I can’t wait to have my own efficiency apt. with my family...and my larger community family with which we share art, music, meals if we choose...everything. We must rid ourselves of the very concept of personal ownership. No it AIN’T free love Utopia! It’s simply all our Mother can sustainably afford to give us. Humanity has learned this before..all the native peoples of Earth have known this all along.
I remember seeing a clip of interview with some higher up in Goldman-Sachs or one of the global financial Beasts...I think on the Ed Show? He was shredded by Ed for suggesting that folks were going to have to get used to having a lot less. While I’m sure this man’s vision of “a lot less” was despotic for you and I, in a way, he was right! If all we see in economic inequality are dollars, without thinking through the distribution of all that $$ to it’s logical conclusion, he is right! If all the money in the system was distributed equally tomorrow, in the current paradigm, we’d destroy ourselves and the planet in record time. There is more money in the system than there are resources on which to spend it. We'd have run-away inflation and then, back to sqaure 1...not enough money. We can’t FDR our way out of this one...well, we could, but at what cost to our brothers and sisters in countries like Somalia? Time to stop talking eternal growth and start talking REAL solution. Reaganomics is obviously insane, but given the state of the petri dish, so is the growth aspect of Keynesian economics. If we can’t afford a house, an education, a car...instead of just throwing more money at it, we ought to figure out what we could afford if it were available and make it available. Sharing not only the resources, but the cost of them as well would dramatically increase our quality of life in the long run. We have lost sight of how valuable it is to be an integral part of a larger community while on this suicidal march to individualism. We have much to relearn, much to gain and one hopes, much to look forward to.
Should Kevin McCarthy become the new House majority leader it could mean that the Repubs will actually come to their senses and will marginalize the TP wackos as much as possible. People like Cantor should be in charge of nothing. They should be told to stop acting like spoiled children, sit down, and shut up. Maybe I am just a dreamer. :o)
Aliceinwonderland ~ Sorry for using the "U" word. "Functional system" would work just as well and do a better job of describing the difference too.
ChicagoMatt ~ Not at all! If our base came back they would look for the most strategic locations possible. Since most of those locations were already established and successfully built previously around the country in inner cities they will be the obvious targets for a return. The infrastructure determines where the factories go not the people. The people will always move closer to where there are jobs. Factories need infrastructure to receive raw materials, supplies, and to ship out goods. Wherever there is a waterway near freeways or a railroad track is where the factories will go--even if they have to tear down and rebuild the old factories that are already there. They're not going to set up shop in the middle of the suburbs, trust me.
As far as workers are concerned--especially blue collar ones--anyone can be trained to work in a factory without much education. Even a child can run a machine. It takes slightly more education to do the clerical/managerial work. The really high education, skills, and talents go with the people who keep the machines and computers running and repaired. When a machine or network breaks 30 - 100 people sit around twiddling their thumbs until it's repaired. Those engineers have to really be good at what they do. (Been there, did that.) However, you only need 1 or 2 - 30(or as much as 100) ratio of those guys to line workers. That is why so many ignorant and uneducated people had good jobs here in the 50's, 60's, and 70's. As money flows into an area, the crime rate takes care of itself.
Marc, as usual YOUR post is spot-on. Socialism is the ticket!! But please, no references to "utopia"! If I had my druthers, that word would be excluded from our dialogue altogether. However, socialism is music to my ears.
While the world's problems are varied and complex, their solutions needn't be. With enough incentive behind them, the logistics needn't be either; certainly not beyond our capacity to figure out. If we could send a man to the moon.... well, you get my drift. - AIW
Aliceinwonderland ~ Thanks for that story! I just hope two things. First I hope she caught that son-of-a-bad one right on the bridge of his nose with her elbow. Secondly, I sure hope she has witnesses because I smell a countersuit. Rightfully so, too. I hope she takes him and his city puppet masters to the cleaners.
The scary thing is there is nothing we can do to stop it. Our share of the problem is just a drop in the bucket. The real problems are in the developing countries like China and India. We need to focus on fixing the problem over there first. Yes it is a noble effort to put a solar panel on your house and drive a Prius Hybrid but it is a grain of sand on the beach compared to what is going on in China yet not a word from the media, government, or enviromentalists. Why do you think that is. As a Canadian I watch my government spend billions on Global warming or climate change well we wait months just to get a simple MRI because there isn't enough health care dollars. When even if we reduced our green house gases in half it would mean nothing. A drop in the bucket as we say. When are we going to hold the real culprits accountable? Tariffs on all goods from China until they do something to reduce GHG,s would be a start. I guess its hard to do when you owe them trillions. You just have to shut up and take i guess.
Oh by the way why did we stop calling it pollution.
Aliceinwonderland ~ I think you hit the nail on the head, again! Unbridled capitalism is the root behind all the true evil in the world. Communism is no better. Especially the communism of Lenin. I think Loren Bliss said it best, that the ideal--'utopian' if you will--form of government would be a mixture of democracy and socialism. Where the government ultimately controls all; but, is answerable to the votes of the individual. In essence every citizen becomes a voting stockholder of every company. If, or when, that happens, and every citizen controls every company, I think we will be far closer to realizing that 'utopia' that sandlewould is talking about.
Private ownership--especially in national and international corporations--is always going to put profit above everything else and cause more harm than good. The only way to stop that is through socialism. Mom and Pop small businesses can still be controlled by Mom and Pop; however, any business that sprawls out beyond the community where it was founded needs to be publically owned. The way I see it--the way Karl Marx envisioned it--there is no other solution; and, it is an inevitable evolutionary phase of humanities growth. My advice, start removing the taboo from the word socialism. It is, after all, our destiny. Also, don't hate capitalism too much. After all, it is the root of evil that will protect, insure, and give life to the flower of socialism.
sandlewould ~ Well, the first, easiest thing we can do, is to aggressively and humanitarianly work to reduce the population. The only way that is going to work is by making birth control and abortion readily available and free. Then to encourage it. It seems to me that historically when populations were small they were the most 'Utopian' in nature. It is only when the populations grew out of control that they became war like, greedy, and irresponsible. Only when populations grew without natural restrains did we need to resort to industrialization and start to create the pollution problem we have today. A comparison of native Americans to the Chinese is a perfect example of what happens when the population grows out of control.
The Chinese finally realized the problem; albeit, far too late.
Sandlewould, I totally agree with you. If humanity doesn't get it this time, we're doomed. At no point in history has there been so many of us, or the world's resources stretched so thin. I get very tired of these glib references to "Utopia", because like you say, there never has been a "Utopia", nor will there ever BE a "Utopia". And whenever anyone brings "Utopia" into the conversation, it comes across very disingenuous and condescending. They might as well be talking about Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy. This is serious stuff. And while the Mayan prediction regarding 12-31-12 may not have been accurate in a literal sense, I think that perhaps they were onto something.
Capitalism is uncontrollable by design. It is uncontrollable because, as I stated in an earlier post, laws & regulations come and go, just as the leaders who establish them come and go. To cite a few examples, we've already seen regulations that kept banking honest and the media "balanced" (to the extent that it once was) and tariffs, etc. dismantled by politicians, right before our eyes, while the New Deal morphed into the "Raw Deal" at the hands of the oligarchs. By its very nature, capitalism is a predator's paradise.
So far, "globalism" has been a dirty word in my vocabulary. It has been the banner for corporate fascism, giving oligarchs a free pass to rip us small fry off with impunity while treating Mother Earth like a sewer. Talk about unsustainable! If we are to survive as a species, we must learn how to co-exist peacefully and respectfully across national & cultural lines and share the world's precious resources intelligently, strategically and ethically. It's do-or-die time, folks! We can either do that, or keep quarreling and fighting and plundering our way to extinction. - Aliceinwonderland
P.S. I checked out the Richard Wolff video just enough to determine that it's way too long for me to watch this morning. But I'll be sure to watch it later. Thank you for sharing it!
Thanks for pointing that out Danne. Funny think is I used spell check on my ipad. I wil b mor carful nest Tyme.
After that horrible train crash in Quebec moving oil by rail doesn't seem like such a good idea. Your right though a lot of Keystone oil would just be passing through. There is a lot of talk up here that the northern gateway pipeline is going to get approved within a month so I am sure you have nothing to worry about except the trains.