Most Americans couldn't find Kazakhstan on a map. Do they know they're sending millions of tax dollars there every year?
Seems Kazakhstan is a strategic US ally. They've got oil. They've also got a "democratically elected" president who likes to make his critics disappear. But he's our kind of guy. He's got oil.
The oil workers have been occupying the civic square in the capital on and off for the last six months. The usual disgruntled-worker stuff. They want a living wage and health care and blah blah blah... Fail to appreciate that just because they earn a tenth of what their American counterparts in the oilfields do, doesn't mean they're underpaid.
It just means American workers are overpaid.
Which is why we'll never see Occupy Kazakhstan on our eleven o'clock news.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Ron Paul finally gets respect
Ron Paul is the candidate not like the others.
Just full of crazy ideas. Such as why should America be supporting Israel financially or militarily, when Israel is in better shape than we are and has enough nuclear weapons to keep the Ayatollahs minding their own business for the next five hundred years.
In fact, Paul doesn't see why America needs to be aiding anybody when we've got people living in parks and under bridges and in their cars by the hundreds of thousands.
Paul thinks American tax dollars should be spent helping Americans.
The media do their level best to ignore him. But the times are changing. How do I know?
Wolf Blitzer had Paul on tonight. Not only did he talk to him, he talked to him respectfully, courteously, almost deferentially.
If CNN is starting to take Ron Paul seriously, then the rest of the mainstream media won't be far behind, and once the Paul camp gets the kind of publicity lavished on Gingrich, Paul is a shoe-in for the nomination.
Then the 2012 election might actually become an exercise in democracy.
Just full of crazy ideas. Such as why should America be supporting Israel financially or militarily, when Israel is in better shape than we are and has enough nuclear weapons to keep the Ayatollahs minding their own business for the next five hundred years.
In fact, Paul doesn't see why America needs to be aiding anybody when we've got people living in parks and under bridges and in their cars by the hundreds of thousands.
Paul thinks American tax dollars should be spent helping Americans.
The media do their level best to ignore him. But the times are changing. How do I know?
Wolf Blitzer had Paul on tonight. Not only did he talk to him, he talked to him respectfully, courteously, almost deferentially.
If CNN is starting to take Ron Paul seriously, then the rest of the mainstream media won't be far behind, and once the Paul camp gets the kind of publicity lavished on Gingrich, Paul is a shoe-in for the nomination.
Then the 2012 election might actually become an exercise in democracy.
Occupy Cairo: Arab spring all over again
The protesters are being bludgeoned in Tahrir Square again. By the Egyptian army.
The think tank here at Falling Downs never thought it was mere coincidence that General Anan, at the time the number two guy in the Egyptian military, happened to be in Washington when the original Tahrir protests begat Arab Spring, which went on to inspire a thousand Occupations in the west.
Occupy Wall Street.
Occupy Portland.
Occupy Toronto. And so on.
The Occupiers have for the most part faded back into their nine to five realities. But not in Tahrir Square.
In Egypt, everything has changed and nothing has changed. General Anan is now the number one guy. Egypt is ostensibly a democracy, albeit a democracy taking its first baby steps. How is that working out for "the people"?
The people are back in Tahrir Square. In January and February there was a wide-spread belief that the army was on the side of the people. Now the people realize that Mubarak was just the figure-head for a military regime, and that the same military that was in charge under Sadat and Mubarak is in charge today.
Sami Anan has to cope with some day to day realities that Hillary Clinton and David Cameron and the rest of his cheerleaders don't. Were Egypt to be truly democratic, they might not be our friends anymore. A majority of Egyptian voters could very well turn their backs on the peace treaty with Israel. A majority of Egyptian voters could very well say good-bye to American aid, and hello to China.
The Egyptian military gets over a billion dollars a year from the US. We expect something in return.
And no matter what Hillary says, it isn't democracy.
The think tank here at Falling Downs never thought it was mere coincidence that General Anan, at the time the number two guy in the Egyptian military, happened to be in Washington when the original Tahrir protests begat Arab Spring, which went on to inspire a thousand Occupations in the west.
Occupy Wall Street.
Occupy Portland.
Occupy Toronto. And so on.
The Occupiers have for the most part faded back into their nine to five realities. But not in Tahrir Square.
In Egypt, everything has changed and nothing has changed. General Anan is now the number one guy. Egypt is ostensibly a democracy, albeit a democracy taking its first baby steps. How is that working out for "the people"?
The people are back in Tahrir Square. In January and February there was a wide-spread belief that the army was on the side of the people. Now the people realize that Mubarak was just the figure-head for a military regime, and that the same military that was in charge under Sadat and Mubarak is in charge today.
Sami Anan has to cope with some day to day realities that Hillary Clinton and David Cameron and the rest of his cheerleaders don't. Were Egypt to be truly democratic, they might not be our friends anymore. A majority of Egyptian voters could very well turn their backs on the peace treaty with Israel. A majority of Egyptian voters could very well say good-bye to American aid, and hello to China.
The Egyptian military gets over a billion dollars a year from the US. We expect something in return.
And no matter what Hillary says, it isn't democracy.
Christopher Hitchens: man of many faces
I really liked some of Hitchens' work. His unremitting contempt for Henry Kissinger is in itself sufficient reason to keep Hitchens name on the walk of fame.
On the other hand, why kick around Mother Teresa?
Where Hitchens really lost me was in his support for the Iraq war. That still looks to me like a calculated attempt to be as controversial as possible and thereby maximize his own marketability, for by then Hitchens had become a brand.
And the so-called debates with Tony Blair about the relative merits of religion were sheer marketing fakery from stem to stern. If God needs Tony Blair as His spokesman on earth, then He must be in worse shape than we can possibly imagine. The life and works of Phony Tony are a more profound argument for atheism than anything Cristopher Hitchens ever wrote.
But overall, love him or hate him, when you saw the name you read the work. He will be missed.
On the other hand, why kick around Mother Teresa?
Where Hitchens really lost me was in his support for the Iraq war. That still looks to me like a calculated attempt to be as controversial as possible and thereby maximize his own marketability, for by then Hitchens had become a brand.
And the so-called debates with Tony Blair about the relative merits of religion were sheer marketing fakery from stem to stern. If God needs Tony Blair as His spokesman on earth, then He must be in worse shape than we can possibly imagine. The life and works of Phony Tony are a more profound argument for atheism than anything Cristopher Hitchens ever wrote.
But overall, love him or hate him, when you saw the name you read the work. He will be missed.
Occupy Kemble: taking it to the street in a small town
Kemble doesn't have a town square per se, so I took my demo to the lawn in front of the post office on Friday.
Mrs. Wallace, the post office lady, was not impressed. "Get the fuck off my lawn" were her exact words.
I was not deterred. I marched up and down with my sign. Somebody has to breathe new life into the flagging Occupy movement.
"Pogey stamps not food stamps" my sign read. Lucy wore a sign that said "capitalism sucks."
Going for a touch of levity, I had a sign on Boomer that said "bow wow."
Mrs. Wallace didn't think any of this was funny. Sent her kids out with their BB guns. They were taking shots at my sign. When I almost got hit in the eye I hid in my tent.
Next thing I know Mrs. Wallace is kicking me through the side of my 6x9 Walmart camper's special.
"If you don't get your shit off the lawn right now I'm gonna have Billy put you and your tent through the wood-chipper!"
The wood-chipper? I didn't like the sound of that. And knowing Billy, he'd be likely to do it too. Did everything his missus told him. Once you've pissed her off you've pretty much got the whole town against you. Plus, and I wish I'd thought of this sooner, any government checks you might be expecting are definitely going to be taking the long way to your mailbox.
Time to reassess the situation. Besides, I was almost out of beer. Took the last two cans in and handed them to Mrs. Wallace.
"I'd like for you and Billy to have these" I said.
I think I made my point.
Mrs. Wallace, the post office lady, was not impressed. "Get the fuck off my lawn" were her exact words.
I was not deterred. I marched up and down with my sign. Somebody has to breathe new life into the flagging Occupy movement.
"Pogey stamps not food stamps" my sign read. Lucy wore a sign that said "capitalism sucks."
Going for a touch of levity, I had a sign on Boomer that said "bow wow."
Mrs. Wallace didn't think any of this was funny. Sent her kids out with their BB guns. They were taking shots at my sign. When I almost got hit in the eye I hid in my tent.
Next thing I know Mrs. Wallace is kicking me through the side of my 6x9 Walmart camper's special.
"If you don't get your shit off the lawn right now I'm gonna have Billy put you and your tent through the wood-chipper!"
The wood-chipper? I didn't like the sound of that. And knowing Billy, he'd be likely to do it too. Did everything his missus told him. Once you've pissed her off you've pretty much got the whole town against you. Plus, and I wish I'd thought of this sooner, any government checks you might be expecting are definitely going to be taking the long way to your mailbox.
Time to reassess the situation. Besides, I was almost out of beer. Took the last two cans in and handed them to Mrs. Wallace.
"I'd like for you and Billy to have these" I said.
I think I made my point.
So many jobs in Texas Governor Perry gets two paychecks
Rick Perry has created so many new jobs that many Texans are finding themselves with multiple paychecks!
The Lone Star jobs bonanza has even reached the governors office. Perry the fiscal conservative finds himself with the unwanted good fortune of collecting two checks from the state's coffers; one for being the top dog and one for being an old dog.
That's right! At 61 Perry qualifies for a pension. Not just any piddly pension, but a sweet $7,700 a month!
This should give fresh legs to the ailing Perry campaign. If he can work the Perry magic on the entire nation we'll all retire at 61 with a full pension plus get another paycheck as well.
Hard times will be just a Texas dust storm in the rear-view mirror.
The Lone Star jobs bonanza has even reached the governors office. Perry the fiscal conservative finds himself with the unwanted good fortune of collecting two checks from the state's coffers; one for being the top dog and one for being an old dog.
That's right! At 61 Perry qualifies for a pension. Not just any piddly pension, but a sweet $7,700 a month!
This should give fresh legs to the ailing Perry campaign. If he can work the Perry magic on the entire nation we'll all retire at 61 with a full pension plus get another paycheck as well.
Hard times will be just a Texas dust storm in the rear-view mirror.
The guidance counsellor is out to lunch
A few years ago I was reading something about a Louisiana shipyard, and the story mentioned in passing that the Northrop corporation was bringing in overseas workers for the skilled trade jobs because they couldn't find American workers.
Damned capitalist jackals, I thought. Yet one more example of corporate America's abhorrent and never ending campaign to screw labor.
Did a little digging. Northrop not only tried to find local trades, they even set up a training program at one of the regional tech colleges. It was a dismal failure. For every applicant with the basic math and literacy skills required to learn a trade, they'd get a hundred who had no idea how to show up on time, how to study, and no familiarity whatsover with the concept of doing a days work.
I am reminded of this by a job ad in the paper today. ThyssenKrupp is looking for an elevator mechanic for their Newfoundland operations. Who even knew they had elevators in Newfoundland? Apparenly they do, but they don't have anyone to service them. Hence the nation wide search. Good luck to them.
When I was a highschooler I once fancied the idea of being an elevator mechanic. Not sure why. Figured you'd get plenty of variety. Never be at the same workplace two days in a row. That appealed to me.
Screwed up my courage and found my way to the guidance office. The door was locked. In the window, a handwritten sign; "the guidance counsellor is out to lunch." It was two in the afternoon.
The guidance counsellors are still out to lunch, all over north America. Coincidentally, the same paper has a feature article on the shortage of skilled labor not only in Newfoundland, but all over the country. They could have added Louisiana too.
In hindsight, I can't blame the guidance counsellor for the fact that my dreams of becoming an elevator mechanic were never realized (although I came close; built a couple of escalators when I worked at Sandvik).
Guidance counsellors are just teachers who took a couple of extra courses to get themselves out of the classroom. These aren't courses about what skills are needed for which careers or what kind of careers are likely to be in demand. They're courses about identifying students' "learning styles" and how to make sure their self-esteem banks are perpetually topped up. The only career most guidance counsellors know anything about is teaching.
Twenty-five years ago I was on a Lackie Brothers crew installing an overhead crane in a steel mill. (Why do they call them overhead? Aren't all cranes overhead?) Harnischfeger had sent a guy all the way from Wisconsin to supervise the operation. He was in his late sixties, smoked one cigarette after another, and had just returned to work after convalescing from a triple by-pass.
He was a hands-on supervisor, that's for sure, up there on the girders with the rest of us, and getting his hands just as dirty. Between the heart issues and the cigarettes we had side-bets going about when he was going to drop dead, but I think what would have killed the man is if you'd told him he couldn't go to work anymore. He absolutely loved his job.
That's the kind of guy guidance counsellors should spend a day job shadowing. It would be far more useful than another course in teen psychology.
Damned capitalist jackals, I thought. Yet one more example of corporate America's abhorrent and never ending campaign to screw labor.
Did a little digging. Northrop not only tried to find local trades, they even set up a training program at one of the regional tech colleges. It was a dismal failure. For every applicant with the basic math and literacy skills required to learn a trade, they'd get a hundred who had no idea how to show up on time, how to study, and no familiarity whatsover with the concept of doing a days work.
I am reminded of this by a job ad in the paper today. ThyssenKrupp is looking for an elevator mechanic for their Newfoundland operations. Who even knew they had elevators in Newfoundland? Apparenly they do, but they don't have anyone to service them. Hence the nation wide search. Good luck to them.
When I was a highschooler I once fancied the idea of being an elevator mechanic. Not sure why. Figured you'd get plenty of variety. Never be at the same workplace two days in a row. That appealed to me.
Screwed up my courage and found my way to the guidance office. The door was locked. In the window, a handwritten sign; "the guidance counsellor is out to lunch." It was two in the afternoon.
The guidance counsellors are still out to lunch, all over north America. Coincidentally, the same paper has a feature article on the shortage of skilled labor not only in Newfoundland, but all over the country. They could have added Louisiana too.
In hindsight, I can't blame the guidance counsellor for the fact that my dreams of becoming an elevator mechanic were never realized (although I came close; built a couple of escalators when I worked at Sandvik).
Guidance counsellors are just teachers who took a couple of extra courses to get themselves out of the classroom. These aren't courses about what skills are needed for which careers or what kind of careers are likely to be in demand. They're courses about identifying students' "learning styles" and how to make sure their self-esteem banks are perpetually topped up. The only career most guidance counsellors know anything about is teaching.
Twenty-five years ago I was on a Lackie Brothers crew installing an overhead crane in a steel mill. (Why do they call them overhead? Aren't all cranes overhead?) Harnischfeger had sent a guy all the way from Wisconsin to supervise the operation. He was in his late sixties, smoked one cigarette after another, and had just returned to work after convalescing from a triple by-pass.
He was a hands-on supervisor, that's for sure, up there on the girders with the rest of us, and getting his hands just as dirty. Between the heart issues and the cigarettes we had side-bets going about when he was going to drop dead, but I think what would have killed the man is if you'd told him he couldn't go to work anymore. He absolutely loved his job.
That's the kind of guy guidance counsellors should spend a day job shadowing. It would be far more useful than another course in teen psychology.
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