Archives for posts with tag: corruption

Industrial Age

I found this picture on Bob Colgan’s FB page accompanied by the following caption:

THE LONGER You stare at this…….the more you realize how wrong the Industrial Age has been

I don’t want to sound apologetic but isn’t it that the ‘Industrial Age’ is nothing but a set of circumstances that lays at our discretion the technical/social means for us to complain about the shortcomings of the very ‘Industrial Age’ itself?

What if it is US that are responsible for the way WE (mis)use the means at OUR disposal?

the danger of forcing ideology

Vegans, please do not do this. Cats are not omnivores like us, they are obligate carnivores and cannot survive on a meat-free diet.

Edit: a lot of people commenting on this are arguing that the owners of this cat just “didn’t know what they were doing”, that protein is protein, and that any animal can survive on a vegan diet if done properly. NO. Cats are OBLIGATE CARNIVORES. They will die on a vegan diet. Some animals can do perfectly well on a vegan diet – dogs for example can be fed a vegan diet, if you’re careful. Cats ABSOLUTELY CAN NOT.”

“The owners “didn’t know what they were doing” “?!?
Who prevented them from researching the matter before proceeding?

Somehow I feel this makes a powerful case against “forcing ideologies” on anybody, not just on pets.

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I received a message containing this picture in my mail, accompanied by some text extolling Truman’s actions after he left the White House. Whenever I want to check something found in the Internet I use Snopes.com. This was one of those rare occasions when the verdict was ‘mostly true’. 

What happened to us in such a short period of time?
Have we lost the good habit of telling bedtime stories to our children and this has already changed us?

“”Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear.” — Harry S. Truman 

After President Truman retired from office in 1952, he was left with an income consisting of basically just a U.S. Army pension, reported to have been only $13,507.72 a year. Congress, noting that he was paying for his stamps and personally licking them, granted him an “allowance” and, later, a retroactive pension of $25,000 per year. When offered corporate positions at large salaries, he declined, stating, “You don’t want me. You want the office of the president, and that doesn’t belong to me. It belongs to the American people and it’s not for sale.” 

Even later, on May 6, 1971, when Congress was preparing to award him the Medal of Honor on his 87th birthday, he refused to accept it, writing, “I don’t consider that I have done anything which should be the reason for any award, Congressional or otherwise.” 

We now see that other past presidents, have found a new level of success in cashing in on the presidency, resulting in untold wealth. Today, many in Congress also have found a way to become quite wealthy while enjoying the fruits of their offices. Obviously, political offices are now for sale. 

Good old Harry Truman could have been correct when he observed, “My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician. And to tell the truth, there’s hardly any difference. I, for one, believe the piano player job to be much more honorable than current politicians.” “
Read more at http://www.snopes.com/quotes/truman/truman.asp#QXuDo347lVhWWO1F.99

What might have Spain in common with Syria except for the first and last letters of their names?

Quite a lot and there are many more countries that belong to the same group: Portugal, Turkey, Ukraine, Thailand, South Korea, almost the entire Latin America and the list is far from being complete.

They all traversed a period of dictatorship during which a sizable portion of the population had left the poverty zone, entered the middle class and started to demand ‘political rights’. In some of those countries the political establishment of that day understood that it was in their own (personal) best interest to give up some of their political power and personal clout – and by doing so vastly increased the chances of long term stability in their respective countries – while in other instances the rulers clung jealously to power unwilling to cede even an iota of it.

And this is exactly why Chile, Portugal, Spain and South Korea are in a completely different situation than Syria while in Thailand, Turkey and Ukraine things are in full process of being sorted out, one way or another.

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Pur si simplu ne impuscam singuri in picior cu chestia asta.
Avem nevoie de gaze si gata. Tehnologia asta, frackingul, ca toate tehnologiile din lume, e intr-adevar potential periculoasa.
Solutia este sa o aplicam corect, acolo unde se poate aplica cu costuri minime si sa ii despagubim pe cei care sufera efectele unor eventuale accidente.
Daca nu o aplicam de loc singurii castigatori vor fi rusii.
Pe de alta parte nu ne impiedica nimeni sa negociem conditii comerciale civilizate cu alde Chevron si altii ca ei.
Avem si politicieni corupti care ne-ar vinde pe la spate? Hai sa-i schimbam, asta nu e motiv sa nu exploatam gazele de sist. Daca astora le e a fura, o sa fure cu orice prilej, nu rezolvam nimic alungandu-i pe cei cu gazele de sist.

Treziti-va ba! 
Sa nu-mi veniti acuma cu argumentul ca melodia asta a fost folosita in campania electorala a lui Basescu. Asta nu schimba cu nimic faptul ca Morometii au pus degetul pe rana:

Se vede ca dormim cu totii si visam sperante
In vreme ce altii ne iau banii si ne dau chitante
Daca toate astea le vad eu le vedeti si voi
Deci ce mai asteptati acum, viata de apoi?”

Morometii ne-au spus doar sa ne trezim, ce-am facut noi dupa ce ne-am trezit e responsabilitatea noastra, nu a lor.

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“Fleming moved to Federal parliament in 1913 as the member for the Division of Robertson, initially as a representative of the Commonwealth Liberal Party, then the Nationalist Party and later the Country Party.

While a member of Federal parliament, Fleming joined the Australian Infantry Forces on 6 October 1916 and served as a Driver in the Army Service Corps until his discharge in England on 27 December 1918. He returned to parliament and served until his retirement from politics in 1922. Fleming became an orchardist in Terrigal, New South Wales, where he died in 1961.”

So 100 years ago at least one member of a Parliament volunteered for active duty then retired from politics and took up a real job.

Nowadays we tend to equate involvement in politics with being a member of organised crime…

Don’t tell me the politicians should bear all the blame. After all this is our world too!

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I share his concern about the huge social and economic effects produced by extreme wealth polarization but I don’t think that beating anybody may solve anything.
On the contrary, starting a fight instead of a dialog only compounds the problem and worsens the perspectives.
As to why the Icelanders where successful in what they did…this is indeed very simple.
They focused on the wrong doers, not on the 1%.
Belonging to the 1% is not a sin.
Trying to get/remain there by wrongful means is the place where problems are generated and it is here where we should concentrate our attention.

Ce e nou in asta? Din cauza nenorocitului de Ceausescu care adusese tara intr-un asfel de hal incat copii prematuri sau bolnavi erau transfuzati cu sange testat superficial si in felul asta a aparut o intreaga generatie de bolnavi?

Pentru aceia dintre voi care nu stiu cum e cu SIDA asta, treaba sta cam asa.
Iei virusul, de cele mai multe ori prin contact sexual dar se poate si prin transfuzii sau pe alte cai, dupa cateva saptamani sau luni ai niste simptome ca de raceala si boala intra in latenta. In timp virusul se imprastie in intregul sistem imunitar si il slabeste in asa hal incat, netratat, bolnavul moare din cauza unor infectii cu germeni ‘oportunisti’ (prezenti in mod curent si de obicei nepericulosi) sau a unor cancere rare si ciudate.
Perversitatea acestui virus consta exact in faptul ca ‘adoarme’ vigilenta sistemului imunitar. In felul asta organismul nu mai recunoaste agresorii (virusul cu pricina isi face ‘un culcus’ chiar in interiorul sistemului imunitar, pe care il slabeste treptat) si apoi cade prada atacului patogenilor oportunisti.

 

Bine, numai ca eu nu la felul asta de SIDA ma gandeam acum.
La nivel societal rolul sistemului imunitar este jucat de triada libertate de exprimare (presa)/justitie/politie. In felul asta ies la iveala comportamentele aberante/antisociale ale acelora dintre noi care incearca sa o ia ‘pe scurtatura’ iar societatea poate sa se protejeze de efectele nefaste ale activitatii acestora. Pe termen lung toti avem are de castigat, tocmai prin mentinerea intregului mecanism in stare de functionare iar intr-o societate normala cei mai interesati de bunul mers al acestor mecanisme sunt chiar cei care au cel mai mult de pierdut daca totul se duce dracului.
Adica oamenii cu dare de mana care au de pierdut averile stranse cu greu si oamenii educati care inteleg ce se intampla.

Acum hai sa ne uitam in jur.

” “O parte semnificativă a presei este în continuare folosită de patroni ca armă în vederea obţinerii unor avantaje politice şi economice sau pentru a pune presiune pe justiţie”, se spune în raport, precizându-se că “politizarea discursului mediatic a fost evidenţiată de decizia unor jurnalişti de a migra în mediul politic şi de atacurile tot mai frecvente între oamenii din presă, în care predomină ameninţările, injuriile şi limbajul vulgar”.

În raportul ActiveWatch se spune şi că media îşi abandonează adeseori misiunea de a informa, în schimbul promovării unor mesaje favorabile intereselor unor entităţi private.

Totodată, conform raportului FreeEx, unele instituţii media folosesc abuziv dreptul la liberă exprimare pentru a intimida alte persoane/grupuri sociale/ justiţia/grupări politice, iar, pe de altă parte, “mai mulţi politicieni au cerut închiderea unor instituţii media”.

“Abaterile etice tot mai frecvente ale presei au fost sancţionate de instanţe, în baza noului Cod Civil”, se spune în raport.

Potrivit aceluiaşi raport, unele instituţii media şi unii oameni din presă îşi somează colegii de breaslă să nu mai relateze critic despre ei, ameninţând cu procese.”

 

Adica exact o parte dintre cei care au cel mai mult de pierdut, investitori si ‘oameni de cultura’, comploteaza pentru a deturna ‘triada de protectie’ de la functia ei fireasca – apararea intregului organism social – catre promovarea unor interese de grup.

SIDA, mâncați-aș!!!

Si noi, astialalti, stam ca fraierii si asteptam sa ne manance ‘oportunistii’ de cur.
OK, aia care fac treaba asta nu isi dau seama ca isi taie singuri creanga de sub picioare, cred ca vor putea fugi la timp din tara, or fi convinsi ca sunt deasupra ‘tutulor’… da’ chiar toti… parca a dat cineva cu praf de orbu’ gainilor … nu ne mai vine odata mintea cea de pe urma la cap…

PS 1. Pentru cine vrea sa citeasca intregul raport Active Watch, iata-l aici: http://www.activewatch.ro/ro/freeex/publicatii/raport-freeex-2013-video/

 

 

Do you remember my bewilderment about how come so many people think it’s OK to use, indiscriminately, every opportunity to increase their personal wealth?

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By reading the comments at the bottom of this post one would get the feeling that the current Ukrainian government is nothing but a bunch of islamists and that Russia deserves kudos for standing up to western bullies…
Well…the Ukrainians are anything but islamic, bar the Tartars now living in the Russian occupied Crimea, and Putin is not standing up against any bully but trying to get some more elbow room at the bully convention he, and others, is currently attending.
And the rest of us, middle of the road people, will continue to stay in the sorry state we currently dwell as long as we’ll let others speak for us, unchecked. I understand why too many of us are so disheartened but this is exactly where the bullies want us to be and the longer we stay here the harder it will be for us to climb out of here.
So get hold of your shoe laces, pull yourself up and let’s go.
Don’t ask/wait for guidance. You already know, deep in your hearts, what is it that you have to do.

PS I must also mention that there is a big mistake, albeit a common one, to conflate the image of a people with that of those who temporarily rule that people. Yes, there is link between the two, but they are not the same thing. Not even when the rulers are democratically elected and so much less so when we are discussing a country that finds itself under a totalitarian regime.