The Global Warming Hoax

I received the following from a family member:

Greenpeace Founder Says Climate Change A Combo Of ‘Extreme Political Ideology And A Religious Cult’
Posted on February 28, 2014

Climate Change in our whole solar system should be taken into account.
Check it out:

This guy is my new hero on Climate Change. Patrick Moore, the founder of Greenpeace, says he left the group back in the mid ’80s after being with them for 15 years, when he says the group took a hard turn to the political left and began to adopt positions he could not accept with his scientific background.

When asked by Hannity what’s driving the Climate Change agenda, he said this:

It is a powerful convergence of interests among a very large number of elites, including politicians who want to make it seem as though they are saving the world, environmentalists who want to raise money and get control over very large issues like our entire energy policy, media for sensationalism, universities and professors for grants – you can’t hardly get a science grant these days without saying it has something to do with Climate Change.

http://conservativebyte.com/2014/02/greenpeace-founder-says-climate-change-combo-extreme-political-ideology-religious-cult/

Consider the Source
First, we should consider the source of this information.  This is from "ConservativeByte.com".  Whose tagline is: "Taking a byte out of Liberalism".  Note that their tagline is not "bringing you unvarnished facts".  Here's the first paragraph from their About page:

ConservativeByte.com provides you with the latest news from a conservative perspective to counter the liberal bias of the mainstream media. These news bits help you to take a byte out of liberalism, socialism, and other threats to the freedom that our founding fathers fought and died to give all Americans.

 So again, their stated goal is not publishing unbiased information.  They clearly state that they intend to provide "new" to *counter libarl bias*.

All fair and good.  They've found a former "Socialist" who says Climate Change is a hoax to in a bitd for power.  I'll throw this in the category of "Conservatives Discover Yet Another Black Conservative".

Bits of Truth
But even considering how biased the source of this information is, this information is not entire wrong.  There are bits of truth here. The "Greenpeace founder" is right: There are many on the political left whose main goals are gaining power and influence -- just like on the right side of the "aisle".

I have personally read many articles by "scientists" (anyone can call themselves that -- at least until they are actively discredited by the scientific community) drawing rediculous links to global warming.  Years ago, the ruin of every ancient city uncovered was blamed on "an asteroid event".  These days they blame such things on "climate change".  What happened to the civilizations on Easter Island?  Climate change! (I've seen articles literally blaming the downfall of Incan/Mayan civilizations on climate change.)

I suspect this has to do with some researchers with "flexible" moral structures willing to tag onto whatever the political/scientific/social hotbutton of the day is in order to win funding for their pet project.  I'm not sure how many real scientists are biasing their information in bids for power.. but there are many people posing as scientists who are willing to pump the media for the chance at a few bucks.


However

However, this doesn't mean that global warming isn't a real and present threat.

Just because the Koch brothers declare global warming is a hoax doesn't mean it isn't real.  It also doesn't mean that everyone on the right of the ideological scale agrees with them.  Finding several dozen "Liberals" who think Global Warming is a hoax would likewise be interesting, but not compelling.

We're in the middle of a potentially decades-long drought here in the West.  When a rainstorm blows through, no-one says, "See -- there's no drought, its raining!"

Likewise, just because the South got freezing weather, it doesn't mean global warming isn't happening.

Re: Solar Activity
There happens to be little to no scientific evidence to pin our change in climate to "solar activity".
But does Conservative ideology blaming Global Warming on solar activity mean that "The Right" (whoever that is) concedes that Global Warming is real... just not "our fault"?


Even if it is not "our fault", wouldn't it behoove us to attempt to counteract it?

Burning Millions of Years of Forests
I view our situation as the following thought experiment:
Think of the cataclysmic events that are recorded in the fossil record.  There are several events from mega-volcanoes and at least one (probably more) from giant meteor strikes (one of the events "killed the dinosaurs").  Those events alone weren't enough to kill 90% of life on earth.  But they were catastrophic enough to fill the atmosphere with enough particles to filter the sunlight enough to kill the plants... and hence life on earth.

Imagine, if over a million years, we let all the plant matter on earth regrow, then burned it all -- and repeated this for a million years, no one would argue that the CO2 released in that millions-of-years series of events would not be enough to alter our climate.

Yet that's what we've been doing over the last 50 years.  When we burn fossil fuels, we're combusting carbon from millions upon millions of years worth of condensed plant material.



Puny Humans
It's comforting to think that we humans are still so puny that we can't affect the ecology of the entire planet, but time and time again we have.  To wit:

- We wiped out the *billions* of passenger pigeons -- down to the last bird... with relatively primitive technology -- in less than 100 years.

- We took decimated bison populations estimated at 60 million creatures down to ~700 in little more time it took us to build a railroad.  Those numbers were killed primarily by rifle -- one at a time.

- In a single decade, we turned the American midwest into a near lifeless dustbowl.  (http://capita.wustl.edu/namaerosol/Dust%20Bowl%20map.htm)  So much of the American midwest had gone to ruin that single, giant storms would leave 1/4" layers of midwest soil on ships in New York City harbor.

- China today has pollution levels *20* times higher than the UN recommends as the maximum pollution allowable for humans.  China is *literally* concerned that their food supply is in jeopardy due to decreased photosythesis in their field crops. (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/02/26/pollution_in_china_having_nuclear_winter_impact_on_crops/)  Note: The original link is from a government-censored *CHINESE newspaper*.  Let that sink in a moment.  China has been downplaying this for years, so one can only imagine what the *real* situation is like.

Here's an idea of how much land we're talking about:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2478300/Pictured-Nasa-satellite-images-reveal-terrifying-extent-Chinas-air-pollution.html

The pollution in China has really only been building up since American manufacturing moved there in the last 20 years or so.


Summary:
To stand around and deny all the evidence rolling in is foolhardy -- no matter how comfortable it is to console ourselves there's no problem or that humans could not be the cause of it.

Newest reality show concept

I want to pitch this one.

I am *so* tired of hearing how group X wants to secede from the Union.  Here's the latest I've run across.  Can't control the eye-rolls on this one.

http://valleywag.gawker.com/silicon-valleys-ultimate-exit-is-a-fantasy-of-seceding-1449199349

I propose a new reality show. "Start Your Own Nirvana".  Each month, some new group of starry-eyed Libertarians/Liberals/Conservatives/Technologists/whatnot can vie for their chance to start their own society.  It would be very-much like Survivor.  The whole lot of them are dumped into some random location and live-broadcasted as they all work together to form a new country.  They'll start from the beginning: they'll all be given knives (hey, we're not completely heartless here) and a crew to video them.  Let the nation-building begin!

What every one of these "we're gonna secede" idiots blatantly fail to acknowledge is that the most expensive part of starting their own country is the air-fare to go there.  Hell, I seem to recall a certain group of Kool-Aid loving personality-cultists who had no trouble obtaining their own slice of heaven from Guyana.  Doubt they paid much for it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonestown

I'm sure there are other large swathes of real-estate available in hell-holes such as Mexico, South America, Africa and Texas.

Think of the ratings!  After several months, you'd have multiple "Freedom Countries" going strong all over the globe.  Think of the advertising!  Hell, the Freedom Countries could gain revenue by selling advertising rights to simply view their glorious successes.  Before too long, the world would be dotted with new-found whateverinthefuck these 14-y.o. dreamers are yammering about.

Fuck Survivor.  This would be the REAL reality TV.

It would also move these idiots from my news feeds onto the reality TV stations I never watch.  Win-win.

Destroying the Village in Order to Save It

So if I can paraphrase the logic of the Government Shutdown, Congress's argument goes something like this:

"The debt is getting out of hand due to out-of-control spending by Congress (i.e. "Us"). The long-term consequence of this irresponsibility will be that the Government will run out of money and fail (i.e. "Close").
In order to prevent this catastrophe, we, Congress, are shutting the government down now in order to save the country from the pain, suffering and misery of living without a government."

So, in other words, only by stopping those that would shut down the government can we stop the people who have shut down the government. But considering that this whole brouhaha is generated by the people whose job it is to prevent all this from happening in the first place, why are they the only ones not suffering the consequences of this?

If we turn to the first tool of figuring out government (Follow the Money), our real question should be, "Who's benefiting most from the government shutdown?" Obviously Congress itself is high on the list, but who else?

The old "Shutting Down the Government" game

Once again, Congress is playing with "Shutting Down the Government".  This take on Karaoke theater follows closely to the old, "We Couldn't Pass a Budget" classic.

This gave me an idea:  Since we hire Congress to run (specifically, run the finances of) The Government, I propose that if at any time The Government

A) Is closed due to a lack of funding
B) The Budget is not passed by deadline

all members of Congress be declared in violation of the law and immediately imprisoned.

But that was a stupid idea.  A co-worker had a much better one.  In case of A or B above, Congress would be declared in dereliction of its duty and fired - never to be allowed to run for public office again.  New elections would be held immediately.


Yeah, I know, this would put us much closer to a Parliamentary style of government.  Yeah I know, to get even close to this would require an amendment to the Constitution.  But it sure is fun to fantasize.

If you have any other good reasons why this wouldn't work, keep them to yourself.  Or put it politely in the comments.  Either one.

Why People Hate Windows

People buy computers for a lot of different reasons.  Some like to blog, others tweet, most surf, many use computers to do their work.  Very few people buy computers solely to maintain Microsoft Windows.

But Microsoft hasn't grasped this yet.  In Microsoft's view, we buy Windows to enjoy installing Windows... because you never, ever actually finish installing Windows.

Now, I use my Windows 7 machine once every few weeks.  I turn it on, I want to get a few things done in the hour I have available and I want to move on.  This is impossible with Windows.

First off, without fail, Windows announces there are updates available.  Fine.  Do the updates.  Go away; I've got work to do, kid.

In a sane world, Windows would update everything, finish and pop up a screen that says, "When you're done, please shut down your computer so we can finish the updates."  Rational, brief, sane.

But instead, Microsoft pops a screen to tell me that it's loading a new Keyboard/Mouse sofware.  "Please Wait" the dialog box asks politely.  So instead of continuing what I'm doing while MS installs in the "background", I should instead stop everything and turn my full attention to watching a program *I didn't even ask for* to *DO NOTHING*.    "Please wait." it says.

It doesn't stop there.  I finally push that steaming pile into the backround and the inevitable comes, right on schedule:


"Please shut down what you're doing so we can reboot!"


You can't escape this one.  You fell for the every 10 minute nagging to update your software.  The rest of your work plans are shit now because everything you have open must be stopped, saved, rebooted and restarted.  Every 10 minutes: STOP WHAT YOUR DOING AND DO OUR STUFF.

Unfortunately, it's not just Microsoft.  My workplace has an automated backup system that runs every day.  Its starts whether you want it or not.  Fine.  Backups are a Good Thing.  Leave me alone.  What drives me insane is backup software's driving need to become a Tomogachi pet.  I'm working away on one screen, trying to figure out how to solve some problem or another and the keyboard stops working.  The mouse pointer disappears.  Great!  The freaking network/computer/something has hung/stopped working.  I put down what I'm doing, start searching around for ways I can get things going again.  What's this? There's a dialog box on the other screen:

 

Backup was successful!

WHAT THE FUCKING HELL?!?!?  It's bad enough that you've competely wrecked my train of thought and made me believe the computer hung (again) but you've done this in order to force me to acknowledge that you DID YOUR FUCKING JOB AND EVERYHING IS OK??  They've turned an almost-decent OS into a freaking cat!  Click me and I'll go away until this time tomorrow!  PURRRR!

This batshit reasoning infects the offerings of dozens of big software houses.  Take Semantec/Computer Associates/whatever they're calling themselves this week.  Semantec believes that you bought your computer in order to run their anti-virus software, and maybe squeeze in a few installations of whatever extra garbage software they're hawking this week.  Installing any of their products means the speed of your computer will immediately cut in half.  Then throw in their constant scans, updates, false virus detections and virus dictionary updates and you may never get to use your computer again.   When is the last time you've gone a week without another fucking update to Adobe Flash?

Tragically, this same line of reasoning that also brought us flashing text, spinning icons, dancing babies and popup windows is also invading the mobile-devices internet.  Every webpage on the 'net detects if you're using a mobile device and completely blocks a screen demanding that you download their iPhone app.  Are we to give up and browsers and experience each site on the internet as a separate app?   Follow this link, download the app, install it on your phone and run it so we can display a 404 message saying the information you want isn't here.

Please: stop this.

Is Capitalism Working Itself Out of a Job?

Years ago, a guy that worked on the Apollo program said, "Then finally, after all that work, we put a man on the moon. Then what happened? They fired us all. Yep, all that effort and we just worked ourselves out of a job."

Our current economy has decided that it no longer needs ~25% of our country's population. (Lazy bastards!) That is in addition to the (I'm guessing here) approx 10% of (300+M) that never had employment. What we have left over has been outsourced to China/India or "insourced" from Mexico.

Meanwhile, the relentless march to "reduce labor costs" marches on. Google and others are working hard to create driverless cars. Airports are just starting "self-check" kiosks where the only person you interact with is at the TSA patdown. Retail stores are continuing to push "self checkout" (see any grocery store or Home Depot checkout line). We've long-since replaced our TV news anchors with robots, now computers are generating the copy, much like the CEOs of Fox and MSNBC.

Once automated car technology hits taxis and 18-wheelers, tens of thousands will be unemployed. These folks are going to just grab a degree and join a biotech startup as a reseach scientist either. We are transitioning to a "service" economy, yet we're rapidly approaching a point where we'll only be servicing robots. The job market for that role will probably be as large as the current one for elevator service people.

So, my previous question on this topic was: "What does a society do with 200M people for whom there is not only little work, but little work that needs to be done? Once the house-cleaning robot is invented, even the Mexican immigrants will be screwed (again). People that wish to dismiss the question fall back on vague promises of the future (i.e. "We'll innovate") How many Silicon Valley tech firms do you know of that are working to create technology that requires *more people*?

So here is my question: Will Capitalism eventually be so successful that it works itself out of job? 200M people (that's just in the US) aren't going to just return peacefully to dust without a *lot* of help.

"Help" could be the traditional approach (war, mass killings, etc.) or the "Star Trek" approach... known amongst conservative types as "Socialism". The anti-socialist members of society will continue to get more and more agitated as more and more tax money goes to social programs. Do we tell these uber-capitalists to stop bitching, get a haircut and "Go make a job"? Likely we'll continue on the same course we have been.

We've entered into an historic time. I believe we have entered into the next stage of human social evolution: the period of No Work to be Had. What say ye?

The Fib(?) of "Free Speech" in America

Well, Occupy Wall Street has exposed many lies our society clings to. Of them, "Free Speech"

"We totally support the First Amendment rights of these individuals," police spokesman Randy Jackson told the station. "We just want them to do it in a law-abiding manner. The right-of-way enforcement is going to definitely be taken seriously. We can't afford for people to be injured, tripped, hurt, as they walk through the area."
CNN

So you have Free Speech, just make it between the hours of 8:00 a.m and 5:00 p.m. With a permit (2 weeks in advance, please), in the pre-approved area. Also, don't camp overnight. Take public transit to/from each day instead. And don't crowd public transportation mind you, or we'll start "keeping that safe" as well. Please limit your "free speech" to Public Areas, which consit of: the middle of the street (which you can't block, that would be a nuisance), sidewalks (ditto) and that small public park where no one can see you... if it hasn't been sold off to redevelopers already.

Oh, also: if you're demonstrating between the hours of 8 and 5: why aren't you at work? If you don't have a job, we don't have to listen to your concerns as you really no longer exist. Get a job.

As long as we're talking about the lazy, good-for-nothing losers... er the "unemployed: Please only exist where we can't see you. Please don't use a tent -- they're dirty and fetid. Please use a city homeless shelter (now closed due to budget cuts).

Thank you for exercising your "Free Speech(TM)"

Bill Moyers on (what passes for) the News (these days)

Bill Moyers on The Daily Show:

"The news is about what people want to keep hidden. Everything else is publicity. And people don't want to keep their opinions hidden but they want to keep the facts hidden. And it takes a lot of money and a lot of time and a lot of effort to go and explore the facts and bring them out."

Current US Political System, Explained

kievite, at June 7, 2011 at 10:50 am in response to this posting at Naked Capitalism gives a wonderful synopsys of our current political system:

...Political parties are organizations composed of blocs of major investors who come together to advance favored candidates in order to control the state. They do this through direct cash contributions and by providing organizational support through the contacts, fundraisers and think tanks. Candidates are invested in like stocks. For them electoral success is dependent on establishing the broadest base of elite support. Candidates whom best internalized investor values see their political “portfolios” grow exponentially at the expense of candidates who have poor level of internalization.

So what you have is a filtering system in which only the most indoctrinated and business friendly advance to state power. Representatives of the major business groups are also often chosen to fill political appointments after a favored candidate is elected (GS is a nice example).

This is a poliarchy, a political-economic model in which the state by-and-large functions to advance elite business interests on the domestic and international fronts.

And that is what is meant in promoting “democracy abroad”. Like Mark Curtis said “Polyarchy is generally what British leaders mean when they speak of promoting ‘democracy’ abroad. This is a system in which a small group actually rules and mass participation is confined to choosing leaders in elections managed by competing elites.”

The Republican Ideal Nation

Gahh! This is what I've been trying to put into words so many years! It's not just Pakistan. All of Central and South America, much of Africa, much of Central Europe. *They* are the result of "low taxes" and centralized wealth.

Kudos Nicholas D. Kristof!

Nicholas D. Kristof, New York Times

With Tea Party conservatives and many Republicans balking at raising the debt ceiling, let me offer them an example of a nation that lives up to their ideals.

It has among the lowest tax burdens of any major country: fewer than 2 percent of the people pay any taxes. Government is limited, so that burdensome regulations never kill jobs.

This society embraces traditional religious values and a conservative sensibility. Nobody minds school prayer, same-sex marriage isn’t imaginable, and criminals are never coddled.

The budget priority is a strong military, the nation’s most respected institution. When generals decide on a policy for, say, Afghanistan, politicians defer to them. Citizens are deeply patriotic, and nobody burns flags.

So what is this Republican Eden, this Utopia? Why, it’s Pakistan.

Now obviously Sarah Palin and John Boehner don’t intend to turn Washington into Islamabad-on-the-Potomac. And they are right that long-term budget issues do need to be addressed. But when many Republicans insist on “starving the beast” of government, cutting taxes, regulations and social services — slashing everything but the military — well, those are steps toward Pakistan.

The United States is, of course, in no danger of actually becoming Pakistan, any more than we’re going to become Sweden at the other extreme. But as America has become more unequal, as we cut off government lifelines to the neediest Americans, as half of states plan to cut spending on higher education this year, let’s be clear about our direction — and about the turnaround that a Republican budget victory would represent.

The long trajectory of history has been for governments to take on more responsibilities, and for citizens to pay more taxes. Now we’re at a turning point, with Republicans arguing that we need to reverse course.

I spend a fair amount of time reporting in developing countries, from Congo to Colombia. They’re typically characterized by minimal taxes, high levels of inequality, free-wheeling businesses and high military expenditures. Any of that ring a bell?

In Latin American, African or Asian countries, I sometimes see shiny tanks and fighter aircraft — but schools that have trouble paying teachers. Sound familiar? And the upshot is societies that are quasi-feudal, stratified by social class, held back by a limited sense of common purpose.

Maybe that’s why the growing inequality in America pains me so. The wealthiest 1 percent of Americans already have a greater net worth than the bottom 90 percent, based on Federal Reserve data. Yet two-thirds of the proposed Republican budget cuts would harm low- and moderate-income families, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

For a country that prides itself on social mobility, where higher education has been a traditional escalator to a better life, cutbacks in access to college are a scandal. G. Jeremiah Ryan, the president of Bergen Community College in New Jersey, tells me that when the college was set up in 1965, two-thirds of the cost of running it was supposed to be covered by state and local governments, and one-third by students. The reality today, Dr. Ryan says, is that students bear 78 percent of the cost.

In fairness to Pakistan and Congo, wealthy people in such countries manage to live surprisingly comfortably. Instead of financing education with taxes, these feudal elites send their children to elite private schools. Instead of financing a reliable police force, they hire bodyguards. Instead of supporting a modern health care system for their nation, they fly to hospitals in London.

You can tell the extreme cases by the hum of diesel generators at night. Instead of paying taxes for a reliable electrical grid, each wealthy family installs its own powerful generator to run the lights and air-conditioning. It’s noisy and stinks, but at least you don’t have to pay for the poor.

I’ve always made fun of these countries, but now I see echoes of that pattern of privatization of public services in America. Police budgets are being cut, but the wealthy take refuge in gated communities with private security guards. Their children are spared the impact of budget cuts at public schools and state universities because they attend private institutions.

Mass transit is underfinanced; after all, Mercedes-Benzes and private jets are much more practical, no? And maybe the most striking push for reversal of historical trends is the Republican plan to dismantle Medicare as a universal health care program for the elderly.

There’s even an echo of the electrical generator problem. More and more affluent homes in the suburbs are buying electrical generators to use when the power fails.

So in this season’s political debates, let’s remember that we’re arguing not only over debt ceilings and budgets, but about larger questions of our vision for our country. Do we really aspire to take a step in the direction of a low-tax laissez-faire Eden ...like Pakistan?

The Current US Depression vs Egypt's Revolution

Our woes are caused by an overconcentration of wealth. The
fundamental concept of Democracy is the theory that power is better
distributed amongst the many than concentrated in the few.

As we continue to concentrate all economic, political and social power
into fewer and fewer people, we fundamentally reject the very notion
of Democracy we claim to hold dear. Our continued concentration of
power is leading us into becoming what Egypt *was*, not into what
Egypt hopes to be.

You can always count on America to do the right thing (QE edition)

You can always count on America to do the right thing...after she's tried everything else.

The latest "big response" to our current "recession" is "Quantitative Easing". In English, this means, "Printing gobs of money."

What is that supposed to do? Well, in *theory* it is to put more money into circulation, thus increasing inflation.

"Inflation?", you ask.

Yes! Inflation. Because there's nothing worse than something that's even wrong in theory, let alone in practice.

The theory is that people aren't spending money because prices are currently deflationary. (Note that this was visciously denied for over two years.) The thought is that people aren't spending money because they're sitting around the house waiting for prices to go down.

The answer to that "problem" is to cause inflation, thus prompting people to get off their duffs and go spend money before prices go up.

But everyone *not* bought and paid for by Wall St. realizes that we're not sitting around waiting for prices to go down -- WE'RE WAITING FOR A PAYCHECK BECAUSE NO ONE HAS ANY JOBS.

No, the problem isn't that "finance" accounts for 40% of our GDP and millions are being tossed out of homes they were duped into buying.

Nope, it because the lazy, no working motherf*ckers are sitting at home waiting for prices to go down.

So, what does inflation do to people who don't have money?

I'll let you ponder that one. Shouldn't be hard... unless your job is to protect Wall St.

More Lazy F*cking Americans

NPR

Bob Brody, who has an apple orchard next door to Gebbers, says he thinks the visa system is too expensive, and the other alternative — hiring Americans — is a fantasy.

"They won't do it," he says. "Talk to any grower."

In the last 10 years, Brody says he's had only one American ask for a job as an apple picker, and he wanted too much money.

But now, the pay is inching up. Like most growers in the region, Brody says he needs more workers. He's offering an extra dollar per bin of apples picked; in his productive Red Delicious orchards, he's offering $15 per bin. At that rate, a fast worker can make $120 a day.

You'll have to listen to the piece to get this next part: for some reason they chose not to print it:

Brody: "What I like about the Hispanics is they'll work 7 days a week, 14 hours a day if you ask them to. And not once have I had anybody bitch."

Bitch? What's to bitch about? Read further down the page and see what it takes to earn your $15:

The bin holds half a ton of apples...

That's right. Pick a *ton* of apples... literally.. and they'll pay you $30.

This is how our slave class lives.

Lazy fucking Americans: welcome to your future.

New Old Restaurant

So we went to dinner tonight at the Thai restaurant downtown -- you know, the one that's been at least a half-dozen restaurants in the past 3 years.

TLDR:  After a dozen or so tries, this week's version of a Thai restaurant isn't that good either.

The only interesting part of this story happened just as we were finishing up.  A new table arrived and sat beside us.  Soon the waitress brought the guy sitting next to me a green drink.  It looked exactly like a Thai iced tea, except, well green.  On top, however, was the magic - a thick, brown layer of albatross vomit.

That stuff *reaked*.  I had to turn my head and hold my nose *from another table away*.  If I'd had a plate of 3-day old sun-ripened anchovies I could have stuffed them up my nose and still cut the smell coming off that guy's *drink*.

Now keep in mind this was an *iced* drink, one that I would suppose would have been a sweet one until the kitchen staff allowed three cats sick from rummaging in a canning factory dumpster to retch on top of it.

In two seconds, that guy managed to remove from me any desire to visit Asia.

"Progression" of Cancer Treatment

Until circa 1800:

Relative: "What killed him?"
Doctor: "I dunno."

Circa 1860:
Relative: "What did he die of?"
Doctor: "Cancer"

Circa 1950:
Relative: "What did he die of?"
Doctor: "Lung cancer."

Circa 1970:
Doctor: "The lab results are back."
Patient: "What do they say?"
Doctor: "You've got lung cancer. You have 6 months to live."

Circa 2010:
Doctor: "Your genetic tests are back."
Parent: "What do they say?"
Doctor: "Your son will be 6'2", he'll be very successful but won't quite be able to get into Dartmouth, and he'll die of lung cancer at age 50."

We've made terrific advances in the diagnosis of cancer. That's fine and good, but wouldn't you agree it's way past time we:
- Learned to prevent it?
or
- Learned to treat it?
or
- Learned to cure it?

The Bells of the New Church

It's 2 p.m. Those at work hear nothing. For those about and listening to the "airwaves", the bells of the new church are ringing. "The Dow is up ten points this hour on the announcement of Google's new ..." We may not understand the text, but we sure understand the sub-text: "Why aren't you at work? Aren't you a good Calvinist?"

The call from the temple is carried live across the land every hour. The news of the day, followed by the news from the church. The Dow is up. You should hope so, at least.

The new American puritans have given up on the old god... with his requirements for honesty, foregiveness and care for those less fortunate. Sure, they never held themselves to those ideals, but why embarass everyone be even bringing them up anymore? Let the old church fuck the choirboys. The new church has something better: money. The new church calls for only one thing: Greed. What can you do for yourself? Does it make money?

If you're poor, you must not be pleasing the new god. Please it and you'll be rich for life. Never have to work again. You weren't *lucky* you were *smart*. Or so the theory goes. Sure, you hear stories here and there of someone who knew someone who made it to the new nirvana. But for most, you're just not doing something right.

Obey the holy books. Profits for the shareholders! Remember your mantra: "It's only business". Please the new god and you're rich. We're all shareholders... right? Yeah! To Hell with everyone else!

The new church brings hell closer than ever. No more fire; no more brimstone incense in the back alcove to stoke the fear. With this new church you've already seen *your* future. You've seen the bills, the mortgage payments, the car loan, the food receits; all debts to the church. Fail your god now and Hell is as close as the nearest debtor's prison... (what is it called these days? Oh right, bad credit.. or homeless shelter... we forget which.)

"Jobs"? "A home"? "A retirement plan"? Come on, that wasn't really working for you, was it? With the new religion, you'll be *rich*. You won't *have* to work. Just sit at home with your computer and wire us your funds. The old system of houses, jobs and decent retirement sounds pretty Socialist to us, anyway. The new holy books have all the answers. The books said to send the jobs somewhere else and we obeyed. It's only business. How could we make a living giving all the work to you guys? You're just too expensive. It just wouldn't have worked out. The Holy Market said so.

Don't question it... you'll just embarrass yourself. Why, you sound like a Socialist.. or a Marxist, or Communist or some other "ist" we don't really understand.

3 p.m. "The Dow is up this hour on news that unemployment numbers were down less than predicted by The Analysts. The Dow is up.... erm... 1 point." The sub-priests of the airwaves poke sticks into the entrails of the infotainment to ascertain what must be making god angry. Meanwhile, the true priests battle each other over the collection plate offerings of stock purchases and who will be saddled each other with the burnt offerings of mortgage market derivatives gone foul.

Socialism might be ok? What are you, an Elitist? Don't you know that no one really knows just what Socialism is? Even a little bit is a gift from Satan.. or Stalin or that other evil guy from the war we won. We won the holy World War II against the best evil reference of known history. Known history being very short these days. The true enemy of this church --education-- died quietly years ago... victim of continuous budget cuts. Cut Taxes! Was the battle cry. Teachers are stealing your money! Firefighters and nurses cost too much! Sure, history is written by the victors, but no one needs history anymore. Hitler was evil and he was a Nazi and that's the same as Socialism and Communism. Enough said.


4 p.m. "The Dow is up on news of the arrest of those suspected in the terrorist plot to blow up the...." How much to we have to torture people before they learn not to attack the new church? Those infidels! Hell, they were even infidels of the old one. How can these throwbacks believe the things their wacky religion teaches? Don't they have *education* for Wall Street's sake?

Let them fuck choirboys with the old church. The new church has its eye on the orifices on an entire nation. Investments, retirements, federal dollars, mortgages, dirivatives on mortgages, dirivatives on dirivatives and other confidence schemes. Entire Federal Treasuries and soon even Federal retirement funds will flow into the insatiable maw.


5 p.m. "The Dow closes even." rings across the fields. But the fields are empty. The jobs were sent elsewhere by order of the holy Books. Here lay the answer to every question. "Did we make a profit?" "Should we sell?" "Can our costs be passed to someone else? The taxpayer, perhaps?" "Will we get caught?" Leave the the media to the tea leaves and talking heads the prognosticators. We'll make our money in the private after-hours markets.. far from the eyes of prying commoners.

The only possible concern for The Future in the new church is where the money will come from then. But that will only concen those that are here *next quarter*. That's too far away to be of concern. After all, our golden parachute guarantees us money whether tomorrow comes or not.

Economy Will Not be Fixed

I was wrong when I implied that our financial situation isn't going to be fixed because Republicans and Democrats are owned by Big Money.

Truth is, they apparently have to beg from Big Money.

I regret the error.

NY Times

WASHINGTON — If the Democratic Party has a stronghold on Wall Street, it is JPMorgan Chase.

Its chief executive, Jamie Dimon, is a friend of President Obama’s from Chicago, a frequent White House guest and a big Democratic donor. Its vice chairman, William M. Daley, a former Clinton administration cabinet official and Obama transition adviser, comes from Chicago’s Democratic dynasty.

But this year Chase’s political action committee is sending the Democrats a pointed message. While it has contributed to some individual Democrats and state organizations, it has rebuffed solicitations from the national Democratic House and Senate campaign committees. Instead, it gave $30,000 to their Republican counterparts.

The shift reflects the hard political edge to the industry’s campaign to thwart Mr. Obama’s proposals for tighter financial regulations.

Quote: The Average Person

"The average person has one breast and one testicle." -- Watts Wacker

"Moral Hazards"

When the whole "US Government will backstop Wall Steet" thing happened, all everyone could talk about was "Moral Hazard".

In short, Moral Hazard posits that if the government bails them out this time, then it increases the odds that the Banksters will make even more risky bets in the future, betting on yet another bailout.

What a wonderful mis-direction this is!

"Be careful! Doing this could cause the entire financial system to collapse next time."

"Next time"? WTF? WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?

Again, what a wonderful mis-direction! In essense, its saying, "Well, ok, this time, but not again." Don't punish anyone now, just make sure it doesn't happen again [sound of wrist being slapped].


BS!

It's not a "Moral Hazard" for the future, it is a complete breakdown of morals right now!


Principal: "Ms. Smith, your son has been setting fires in the classrooms and has caused the school to burn down."

Ms. Smith: "Oh, goodness! We should do something about this. One day he could wind up burning down the entire school!"

Principal: "Yes, Ms. Smith. That's very precient of you. He could burn down the school [again]. But in the meantime, WOULD YOU PLEASE STOP GIVING HIM MATCHES!?!?!"

Haiti: Water and Food in Crisis

Will someone who has experience with distributing food and water in crisis areas please consider the following and tell me why it won't/doesn't work?


If there's anything we learned spending 3 days watching hundreds of Americans starve in the Convention Center area of the New Orleans Katrina aftermath, it is that Americans really have no idea of how to provide basic essentials after a disaster.

Well -- pending someone explaining to me why this won't work -- here is a way to make it work.

First year engineering students are often tasked with a competition: create an entry that will drop an egg 'N' feet to the ground without breaking the egg.

I posit that we're have and continue to waste engineering expertise on such a stupid goal. Why not change the challenge to: 'Drop water safely to the ground from 10,000 feet'?

In a widespread disaster, there are plenty of things in short supply (in order of severity): rescue, medical treatment, water, food, shelter, security, communication, transportation.

Unbeknownst to the US military (doesn't the US have any other organization to help people? Most other countries seem to be able to get these things done without toting machine guns.) there are ways to get at least some of these items to people fast. Here's what you do.

Make many different small kits:

A) Water: 5-gal cardboard "cubetainers" would be excellent for this. Fill each container only half-way to provide some crash-resistance. "Cube-tainers" stack well and the inner liner can be easily re-used to store water from other sources as/if it becomes available. If all else fails, strap a parachute on a 1-liter Desani bottle for Christ's sake.

B) "Food": Candy bars, granola bars, Lord knows the US if full of "sports bars". Pack 'em up and strap on a 'chute.

C) Shelter: Tents, battery-powered flashlights, water purification tablets, blankets.

D) Medical supplies: Basics, with instructions in 400 different languages.

E) One-way and Two-way radios: One-way to receive broadcasts such as "Sit tight, we're coming to deliver X in Y hours." A smaller number of two-way radios, hard-tuned to fixed frequencies to allow vicims to organize and radio authorities on their situations, their needs and what resources they have to contribute, if possible.

Now, the US military tries to deliver these things to ground-level in pallets and gets all wound up when starving people rush their helicopters (those damn poor people!)

The right way to do this is push this shit out the back of a C-5 at 10,000 ft. That's right, no 15 pallets of X. I'm talking 10,000 pieces each of A through E. Yes, it will land all over the place and yes, it will land in a lot of "wrong" places. But what this does accomplish is scatter people about. Scattered bits of food, water, clothing, shelter, med supplies, etc. don't get gobbled up by "greedy" people. There's no way to Bogart too much because it's all over the place. Also, it keeps rioting mosh-pits from forming at distribution points because there ain't any.

Yes, you're gonna have to make more trips to do this and yes, it's gonna be "inefficient". But you also are getting water, food, shelter and basic medicine to people *on the day of the disters* and not 2 weeks later after everyone has died from starvation waiting to fill out forms in triplicate.

So yes, the Haitians are rioting. Good on them. Lord knows we should have rioted when the US Gub took 3 days just to get a bottle of water to downtown New Orleans. In-fucking-excusible.