February 24, 2011
Here, a medley, that reads like a B side Backwards,
“A common example of a free rider problem is defense spending: not one person can be excluded from being defended by a state‘s military forces, and thus free riders may refuse or avoid paying for being defended, even though they are still as well guarded as those who contribute to the state’s efforts. Therefore, it is usual for governments to avoid relying on volunteer donations, using taxes and, in some countries, conscription instead.”
(Source: wikipedia)
February 23, 2011
Next Post
This latest “bandy them up backwards” term that appears to cover legitimizing any and all public spending cuts, military budget increases and corporate tax scams is file folded under “create job growth”. (In a global world there’s barely any need to state your geography anymore. Pick a country. Or a State.
Plans that promise to “create job growth” make no mention of the kinds and volume of jobs they plan to eliminate in order to create growth. Is the growth going to be in the letters that will be sent to people informing them of the fact they no longer have a job? Or is the growth factor in the industry created around researching ways and never read reports and consultants to tell various govts how to reduce people’s jobs and benefits?
What’s a job? What is a service? And what is being in the service of? What is being served by?
This is an interesting class distinction that’s being created with this private sector poor vs the public sector poor. So private sector poor tells public sector poor you must be poorer the way they’ve managed to make me poorer by eroding any chance of joining a union. Meanwhile Private Sector wealth tells private sector poor he’s out to save him because it’s public sector poor who is robbing him blind. Add buzz words like fiscal and reality for dizziness and proceed one arm swinging…
Reading some of this thinking … it’s like the 1930’s never happened.
February 23, 2011
Responsible response responds
Another snip from a CBC news story that tickled my eyebrow on reading: this one is about the cut price sale of Olympic Village condos
“Rennie {Bob} says taxpayers of Vancouver, who are currently financially responsible for the project, should be pleased with the response.”
I scanned the story for taxpayers response and found in the next few paras the following “response”
“…Organizer Nathan Crompton says a tent village will be erected at the site on Saturday.
‘I hope that Vancouver sees this as a city-wide issue and that thousands of people come down and to say that we are going to disrupt this marketing effort every day until we get the housing legacy that was promised,’ said Crompton…”
(The response refers to the slashing of the number of units that were allocated for Social Housing from 250 to 125 )
The presumption of how people should be feeling by Mr Rennie is an interesting one and the equation that they should be pleased with the slashing of the market price and the concurrent number of allocated social housing units is curious. That we should actually feel something about Real Estate as an entity, the way we would say about Aunty Margo getting her hip replaced and be clattering each other about the kidneys for the response to our responsibility intrigues me. Real Estate being our presumed collective blood group. We are nothing without it. Apparently we nothing with it either. And because of it we’ll likely become nothing also. Real Estate having the power to raise us up and lower us down. What a befuddling concept. Bob directs us as the bobbing city lights chorus from his balcony. (step back, ball change, and one and two and three ball change).
February 22, 2011
Was reading this quote today from 2 Vancouver Sun, May 27, 1935, it came from the mouth of Mayor McGeer who was prepared “to mobilize 10,000 men to keep the port open and rid this city of the red menace.”
It made me think somewhat of the present situation in Libya and what one man is prepared to do and mobilize others to do and what he’ll do, if you don’t do what he tells you to.
February 22, 2011
Failed Inventions
<embed id=VideoPlayback src=http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=6444998390642533151&hl=en&fs=true style=width:400px;height:326px allowFullScreen=true allowScriptAccess=always type=application/x-shockwave-flash> </embed>
That failed to embed! Wonderful I leave for prosperity… here however is a link that may or may not take you to Failed Inventions:
February 21, 2011
Tea blend #9
The Almost a Snowy Day blend.
1 spoon of Murchies Earl Grey
1 spoon of Steeps Silver Tip Earl Grey.
(I may regret this — will let you know. It’s a lot of Bergemot but the cup will be carefully selected to contrast. Industrial mug perchance? To offset?)
*
A much loved friend bought me two tins of tea from New York recently that I have yet to crack. Small round tins. They look so delicious closed it’s a shame to disturb them.
The next blend may therefore be called: Disturbing New York tea blend #10.
February 21, 2011
Moments
OK so, as I like to contemplate stories incrementally I have just clicked on the shoved off a cliff bird watcher story and the following transpires:
“Witnesses reported a 29-year-old man shoved the 78-year-old victim over the cliff for no apparent reason, according to Victoria Police spokesman Sgt. Grant Hamilton.
“The suspect in this case, a 29-year-old man, severely intoxicated, had been yelling at people on the beach,” said Hamilton.
“The elderly man was ignoring him, just doing some bird watching, and randomly unprovoked, this 29-year-old suspect came up to the elder gentleman and pushed him down the cliff. Both of them tumbled down the cliff,”
Source: CBC News.
February 21, 2011
Just caught sight of this astonishing summary on the CBC
“An elderly Victoria man is recovering in hospital after he was pushed off a seaside cliff while bird watching along Dallas Road on Sunday.”
I am trying to visualize how a man innocently birdwatching found himself at the bottom of a cliff. It’s the approach, the moments before the hand made contact with him that I wonder about. There were steps taken to approach him, there were thoughts that preceded the steps, then came the hands no? There’s nothing particularly astonishing if we break down these things in reverse. but in forward motion it’s quite incredible what steps and thoughts and a few seconds add up to.