Ja, ich weiss, das Foto ist verwackelt: Schuld ist der fahrende Bus, im Ernst! Das Bild hab ich auch nur schnell-schnell editiert, ich bin müde. Aber dennoch, eine kleine Ironie des Alltags.
20’000 Menschen seien’s gewesen an der AKW-Demo heute, hier beim Tagi ist ein kleines Log des Tages in Döttingen zu finden. Auf dem Retourweg gegen Abend dann die grosse Überraschung im Shuttle-Bus:
Hier hängt ein Plakat für ein «Halt Festival» mit garantiertem, geistigem Mehrwert von Comedy über Beach- zu Schlagerparty, uniformes Linedancing für Dummies und – das Beste – alles zum «sparen Sie doppelt»-Preis!
Als Hauptsponsor tritt die AEW Energie AG auf, ein Mitglied der AXPO, wie da steht, welche Betreiberin ist der AKWs Beznau, Gösgen und Leibstadt.
Was will mir das bloss sagen? Etwa, dass die AXPO mit dem aus Kernenergie verdienten Geld auch gute Kultur unterstützt und damit eine Existenzberechtigung hat? «Ohne Beznau kein doppeltes sparen»? Werbung für ein «Linedance der AKWs»? «Strahlende Comedians»?
:dontget:
Ich entscheide mich mal für «AKW-Schla(e)ger am Sonntag», da fühle ich mich just in time angesprochen, trotz meiner pazifistischen Einstellung. Ich hoffe, wir alle haben sie heute erfolgreich geschlagen.
Ich habe ein ziemlich schlechtes Gewissen, den geklauten Inhalt der WoZ zum 1. Mai hier zu posten – aber alleine schon das Titelbild nicht schweizweit per Zwangsverordnung und Strafandrohung zu verbreiten, hielte ich für ein Verbrechen, geschweige denn von der Einleitung zum Hauptartikel:
Bei der Lohnverteilung, bei der Abgabenpolitik, bei der Vermögensentwicklung: In der Schweiz findet eine gigantische und systematische Umverteilung von unten nach oben statt. Das belegt der «Verteilungsbericht» des Schweizerischen Gewerkschaftsbundes, der diese Woche erschienen ist.
Wie gigantisch die Umverteilung ist, zeigt sich beim Betrachten der Zahlen: Das Lohnwachstum der Mehrheit der Beschäftigten blieb unter ihrem Beitrag an die Produktivität, die Zahl der Gehaltsmillionäre hat sich hingegen in den letzten zwanzig Jahren verfünffacht. Systematisch wird die Umverteilung von der Politik ermöglicht: Direkte Steuern, die progressiv wirken, werden durch indirekte Abgaben ersetzt. Mit der Folge, dass einer Familie mit tiefem Einkommen von ihrem Lohnzuwachs noch ein Zehntel, einer Familie mit hohem Einkommen alles bleibt (vgl. Seite 3).
Dass die Umverteilung mit voller Absicht erfolgt, wurde diesen Frühling exemplarisch an der Unternehmenssteuerreform II ersichtlich: Nachdem bekannt wurde, dass sie für Aktionärinnen Steuergeschenke in Milliardenhöhe bringt, von denen der verantwortliche Finanzminister Hans-Rudolf Merz im Abstimmungskampf nichts gesagt hatte, trat das Parlament nochmals zusammen. Nicht wider besseres Wissen, sondern im besseren Wissen beschloss es, die Steuergeschenke zu akzeptieren.
Auf der WoZ-Site ist weiterhin ein 10-Punkteplan zu finden, wie wir den Reichen das Geld wegnehmen können. Damit ich nicht in falschem Licht da stehe: Ich will es ja nicht haben, zumindest nicht direkt. Aber wenn unser aller Lebenshaltungkosten etwas sinken, wäre ich um meinen kleinen Anteil natürlich nicht traurig – so wenig wie Du! Dafür würde ich es begrüssen, wenn wir für energie- und materialintensive Produkte und Dienstleistungen der Kostenwahrheit entsprechend bezahlen müssten; die Lebenszyklen heutiger Produkte sind um ein mehrfaches zu kurz. Allerdings könnten diese helfen, für eine Neue Welt Produkte schnell und flächendeckend durch effizientere und langlebigere zu ersetzen – wenn man sich dazu entschliessen würde.
Wer den Film nicht gesehen hat, muss das unbedingt nach holen: Let’s make money, ein Stück Kunst!
Aber ich vermute, wer hier auf meinem Blog landet, ist sich all dessen schon bewusst. Ich kann nicht viel mehr sagen als «Du bist nicht alleine – go for it!», lass Dich nicht unterkriegen! :peace:
It’s facinating to see the world’s regions in a kind of likewise status: The fear of Islam and migration gave us a distinctive shift to the right, with a result of xenophobic politics and things like the initiative for a minarett ban. The sudden popularity of nationalism amd rassism surprised politicians and intellectuals. Now is the same thing in the Middle East: Politicians, despots and intellectuals are surprised how fast peaceful protests spread all over the region. The global public was not aware how near the tipping points were and are. Me included.
So the questions coming up: Who benefits from the situation? And why now?
I think the economic crisis plays a major role in the game. Costs of living are rising everywhere. And like my father alway said: You can deny your people food or the right to speak – but not both. And the crisis took the food (through price increase) – so people stand up, where they cannot speak (or are not heard).
Then, if one would belive in conspiracies, it could be a modern kind of scorched earth policy: If we cannot have them, nobody should have them – where nobody is China. China can can get economic control – what it will – but not political anymore, because the corrupt leaders are gone. If a country becomes democratic, it becomes self-determined. You can control a despot in a direct manner, but not a democracy: Berlusconi cannot control Italy like Gadhaffi can do in Lybia.
So if the economic crisis is a contingency like 9/11, then it was damn good luck for the neoliberals, always in the right time. First a long game of dominating the Middle East, which was control though a kind of balance of force (terror vs repression). When it got to dangerous, the USA made its threat real to gain balance again: We CAN shoot! But the islamic world was not terrorized. The attempt to conquer Iraq followed, politically possible because of 9/11: Democracy through a military strategy. Then the crisis, government depts, new credits, austerity policies, price increases, you know the stuff.
Trend (Gerd Altmann, pixelio.de)
Everything is, if not good, perfect for the neoliberals. Either way to redistribute money from down upwards, to gain profit in other ways or to buy stability and control. If it works like this the crisis was a high price, yes, but the bill is paid by you and me. Banks get our money through old-age provisions, make governments to need money, lend it, and we pay the interest for our own money throuigh taxes. And they get all the transaction fees. Crappy game.
However, I wish the New World Movement will be as «lucky» in the next decades as the Neoliberals were in the last. It’s facinating to see that not only the powerful can play the claviature of fear! I bet the cumulative fear of all regimes right now is a global record. Satisfactory to see the masses stay calm allthou they get shot at and that thugs cannot seed riots. All together I think it’s a sign and the world is not the same anymore, inshallah!
Who eats meat and eggs from animals which got fed up with fat made of (as it seems at this point) old deep-fry oil and waste from biodiesel (what else is anybody’s guess) – and supports animal factories – deserves to get poisoned. That is act of market beyond control, and ignorance is no excuse.
The same applies to everyone who believes that the free market will regulate all. They deserves to eat what their market regulates.
If you’d like to minimize the risk that your body become hazardous waste, buy and eat organic. Your graveyards earthworms will be thankful.
„Organic“ is no registered trade mark, so be careful what you choose. As a major consumer you need to be informed – and there is a big difference in knowledge and belief, facts and advertising.
Tests showed up to a 77-fold excess of dioxin over the legal limit in food fats from the manufacturer Harles und Jentzsch, 18 out of 30 tests were contaminated. Up to now. Harles und Jentzsch knows about the problem since March 2010, but kept it secret.
Officials said there would be no danger – what else can they say? If you’re working in marketing you know: nothing…
Like I said, all is coming back to you, some day.
Have a nice one! >:)
Update 8.1.2011: Now the first contaminated meat was found: Chicken with 4.99 picogram. Legal limit is 2 picogram. But surely there is still no danger for consumers…
«Water, thou hast no taste, no color, no odor; canst not be defined, art relished while ever mysterious. Not necessary to life, but rather life itself, thou fillest us with a gratification that exceeds the delight of the senses.» (Quote by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, From Wind, Sand and Stars, 1939)
Do you know Armajaro, an investment firm based in London, specialised within the cocoa and coffee markets? A week ago I read about them the first time: The WochenZeitung (German) wrote that Armajaro bought cocoa beans on the European market. Above 240’000 metric tons, worth over $ 1’000’000’000, to be exact, sometime between July and September it seems – the equivalent of almost the entire supply of the commodity in Liffe-registered warehouses across Europe. Or about 7% of the annually, global production. But guess, this was not the first time.
Cocoa Flower (Dieter Schütz/pixelio.de)
In August 2002 Armajaro acquired 204’000 tons of cocoa beans and, as it seems, gained $ 64’000’000 out of the deal (Talk about finding a golden ticket in a bar of chocolate). Mr. Ward, the head and founder of Armajaro, told The Daily Telegraph in 2002: «We are not trying to inflate the market.» He founded Armajaro in 1998, which is today one of the top three players in the cocoa market, in which prices have risen 150 percent over the past two-and-a-half years.
Armajaros highest-paid director received a salary of $ 8’500’000 last year, $ 1’000’000 more than in 2008. Mr Ward manages Armajaro’s flagship CC+ Fund, which specialises in cocoa and coffee. He achieved a double-digit growth in the value of the fund in the year to September. His fund forms part of Armajaro Asset Management, which has over $ 1’500’000’000 under management. I love zeros visualized. And Mr. Ward too, it seems. (source: www.africanagricultureblog.com)
This is a blog post for the Blog Action Day 2010 about water, so what I’m writing about cocoa and abuser of nearly one million childs (Ghana only)? About that $ 7 million committed by the International Chocolate and Cocoa Industry (Harkin-Engel Protocol) towards addressing the situation of worst form of child labour in Cocoa farms over 5 year was inadequate, compared to the countless zeros above?
Water makes money: the film
Ever heard of Nestle? 12 % of the $ 112’600’000’000 annual sales are made from chocolate, 27 % from drinks. Nestle is working hard on privatization of water. There’s a very good new documentary about water on this topic. Veolia and Suez, the world’s biggest water multinational companies, are already active in at least 69 countries on all five continents. More than 80 % of the water supply is still in the hands of the public sector. Every time, however, a town council in financial fetters asks around to be relieved of this burden, Veolia and Suez come knocking at the door. I’m not an highly educated economist – but I don’t need to understand a gearbox to see what goes in and what comes out. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer, redistribution of income from the bottom up, what equates the neo-liberal concept. Privatization of public infrastructure is a giant vacuum cleaner for the small men’s pockets. They pray «it’s getting cheaper», we pray «oh really, yeah, sure, cool!», then it doesn’t, but it’s to late. And if it’s cheap, it costs lives. And for the counter value of only 12 litres of milk from the nearby farmer you get a 32 GB piece of USB-hightech made of diverse highly energy intensive special materials from all over the world produced on microscopic scale in a dustfree production hall on the other side of the globe. While many places and air and water got polluted in the process. For 3 gallons of milk! And if the newspaper tells it’s the only good and true system, then it must be true, ain’t it?
Once water will be dealt via companies quoted on the stock exchange while there is a global shortage – man-made, what else? – the cocoa game will have started on water too. I don’t need to guess who the winners will be: Those who’s earnings rise one million dollars per year – and that’s not you and me. We and 99.9 % of mankind will be on the losers side. Today, unsafe water kills more peaple than war. The most bitter conflicts of the next 50 years won’t be over oil. Become aware of virtual water – that, by way of example, one kilogram of beef costs 15’500 litres. One kilogram wheat costs 1’300 litres.
Global Awareness
What can we do to save water, environment, ourselves for a New World? It is all about the same with modern problems in the 21st century: Education. Don’t believe anyone (not even me), think for your self, think holistic. And then vote! If you can, politically, and not for the neo-liberal and neocon moneymakers. Buy fair. Get informed. Vote by buying stuff that don’t hurt anyone. Don’t buy from Nestle and the like! Avoid shopping at Lidl, Aldi, Walmart and suchlike. Try to buy local stuff. Teach your and others children. Inform others. Don’t invest if you get more than, let’s say 7 or 8 % return – or someone far or not so far away will die for that, well, the fund manager, by stroke of luck. :whistle:
Or the war on bottled water might get globally, as the world tends to import American habits. Or we might get millions of environmental refugees, in addition to the millions of political, war and economicfugitives. We teach our children to share – I just wonder why we adults don’t do this. Maybe you know?
Place name sign, above: modern era / below: middle ages (Gerd Altmann/pixelio.de)
P.S: Speak german? While trying to translate american and german billions and milliards once more, I stumbled over this discussion, which is 24 posts about 3 zeros less or more. And I thought I’m confused about this topic…
Endlich ist es soweit: Die Erkenntnis der Perversion unserer Finanzökonomie hat es in die Mainstream-Medien geschafft! Nachdem die Politik werbewirksam griffige Massnahmen zur Eindämmung der Spekulationsgeschäfte versprach – es dann aber dabei beliess, den Markt mit billigem Geld voll zu pumpen – merken nun langsam auch die Letzten, dass genau dieses billige Geld die neuen Spekulationsblasen schafft.
The gap between rich and poor
Die Politik gewährt der globalen Hochfinanz eine steuerfreie Wertschöpfung aus einem virtuellen Kapital, das sieben Mal grösser ist wie das des weltweiten, jährlichen Bruttoinlandproduktes, bis das System zwangsweise kollabiert. Im Auftrag der Politik verleihen die Nationalbanken neues Geld quasi gratis und ohne Auflagen den Banken, die es gewinnträchtig in Staaten investieren, die durch den Kollaps bakrott gegangen sind. Somit werden nach den öffentlichen Infrastrukturen ganze Staaten privatisiert.
Zugegeben, der letzte Absatz ist etwas reisserisch – wie anders könnte man etwas auf den Punkt bringen, das nicht mal Fachleute in seiner ganzen Komplexität erfassen. Der Rekord von 140 Milliarden Boni im Jahr 2009 ist ja auch nicht ganz unreisserisch. 🙂
Etwas ausführlicher geht es in dieser ZDF-Dokumentation zur Sache:
Für tiefergehende Lektüre kann ich Artikel zum Thema von blog.4st.ch empfehlen. Auch der Film Let’s make money ist ein guter Konsumtipp. Nach überwundener Wut, Übelkeit und Hoffnungslosigkeit checkt doch mal die Bücher in aller Gründlichkeit, um eure Rendite sauber zu halten.
Profit aus unendlichem Wachstum auf einem endlichen Planeten ist schlicht nicht möglich. Das ist etwa so, wie wir die Schuldenkriese mit neuen Schulden bekämpfen. Und in der Medizin wird tatsächlich noch diskutiert, ab wann man hirntot ist – um Volker Pispers zu zitiern.
Der vermutlich einzige Weg, da wieder raus zu kommen, wird eine Geldentwertung sein. Die, die heute unverschämt viel haben, haben dann immer noch viel, während unsereins gar nichts mehr hat. Bliebe zu hoffen, die Vertreter des staatlichen Gewaltmonopols wählen einmal die gerechte und nicht die profitable Seite…
“In a world overflowing with riches, it is a outrageous scandal that more than 852 million people suffer hunger and malnutrition and that every year over 6 million children die of starvation and related causes. We must take urgent action now.” (Jean Ziegler, April 2008)
In other words, imagine every 7th human you see on street has nothing or not enough to eat. Sit on a shopping malls gallery, watch people passing by while thinking about this…
It is not science. It is not technology. It is not anything but us. It is the way we think and the way we react on and experience our environment. Up to now there were only a few smaller collectives of people who became witnesses of destructions of their environment. Otherwise we would collectively remember that and its consequences. But we don’t.
If it would be something like “Go and run against a spiky branch!” obviously nobody would follow. Nobody will sniff slurry for having fun I assume. We are programmed to protect us from harm.
Where the shit hits the fan
There are dangers where our protection algorithm breaks down: Changes, happening so slowly that we simply adapt to, and therefore overlook the upcoming situation. This is a pure failure in our modern consciousness because – for humanity as such – there was no need to learn this lesson, until now.
Different people react differently on situations like this and the following is no judgment but a kind of analysis. A zero-dimensional mind just sits on a point in the here and now, eats when hungry, sleeps when tired. A one-dimensional mind gets a way: If thirsty, it goes straight to the well. A two-dimensional mind sees the surrounding area and takes a longer way to the well because it may be less exhausting. A three-dimensional mind may be asking about what is up there in heaven and down here in hell, whereas a four-dimensional mind sees how time influences the fire which is trying to burn us.
We all know all of this conditions, more or less, it got nothing to do with our western-style intelligence. If you are sitting in a dock of a bay, you are a zero. If you put a water pot on ball bearing wheels, you are a three – and a four, if you share the water. The question is: What is your motivation?
If the situation brings comfort, you tend to be even a five. If it seems like a lot of work and hassle, you will be a big zero. This is the way Godmother has created us, it is our biological heritage. And it will be our downfall, because Godmother and the tree of evolution never thought of atom bombs, let alone of blowing all the carbon and cesium into the air. They are creators, not destroyers.
Since anyone got a kind of main character, fours tend to be leaders, which get the threes to build guns, which the twos will use, while the ones are singing Hallelujah, and the zeros play cannon fodder. This is true for secular and religious leaders.
Now I do not think we all need a rat-race to become the highest possible number. The New World needs autonomous thinkers and tinkers, who do it with all their hands, brains and hearts. Brains we have enough in the First World, hands we shipped to the Chinese, hearts we loosed some time ago.
My vision is to follow the numbers, put the pedal to the metal and BE, HERE and NOW. I’m sure, anyone likes this! Put the pedal to the metal and MOVE, mentally too, do not stop. Then put the pedal to the metal and LIVE TO SEE, explore. Put the pedal to the metal again and THINK, be an inventor. No stop, put the pedal to the metal once more and DECIDE whether you would like the others to do the same as you do.
If our decisions are not based on IQ, EQ and SQ (intelligence, emotional and soul quotient), we will neither save the climate nor anything other, not even our selves, obviously. But one cannot order people to be like that – you and me have to start! We need political pressure, civil and industrial disobedience, to stand together against our biological heritage of laziness. Every penny we spend is a vote for tomorrows productions. Every action leads to a reaction. You decide!
Do not wait for others, hurry! Time is running out! Good thing is we have the Star Trek and Babylon 5 Seasons – if we do not make it that far, we have at least dreamed about it…
Defective thinking
(If you do not think that it is that urgent, think again. Think of all the normal, poisoned or radioactive waste in the seas and everywhere, used depleted uranium munitions (google it), other poison everywhere, sick bodies, sick minds, sick souls, climate change, acquisitiveness, craving for power, economic growth, overfishing, extinction of species, you name it. To me it seems like a wonder that it did not got worse. Or maybe it had, but we still do not know… This is hard to face, but we have to. Let me assure you: putting the pedal to the metal is fun! Do it as long as possible.)
Went to watch this documentary last weekend and been deeply impressed! From an artistic point of view: It’s a piece of art! From a didactic point of view: It’s brilliant! Looking at it’s content: You simply hear the naked truth.
Now you might think this is a film where you’ll walk out and go to jump straight form the next bridge. You’ll not. Perhaps you’ll hesitate to buy your next comemercial ultra-cheap t-shirt in favor to a fair traded one — but I won’t consider that bad. 🙂
Furthermore you might start to see who’s working for your money which’s working for you. And you might ask yourself whether it is right to steal the persons produced overvalue, especially because best profit comes from places with blood on streets.
One could write a big pile of books about this, so I stop here. And it’s much easier for you to go and watch this movie than to read a pile of books! I promise you’ll see things differently afterwards — if you already do you’ll be glad to be part of a new species with open eyes. You’ll have pity on the ones who can’t see that their way had turned out a dead end, as some said since decades and even longer.
Talking of poverty most of us thinks in terms of money. I would like to bring up another point: It seems to me that povertys mainly reason is that we – who rule the world – are poor at heart. If not, we would help the poor in an efficient way. The world is talking all about — and does nothing. Not for the so-called third world neither our own local neighbors.
Many of us are educated enough to see the „Big Picture“, how all and everything is connected: „We would like to give you some millions development aid — and see what nice armored vehicle and guns we have! If we can put our leash on you as our pitbull in war against terrorism, you can have it all for free. And we sell cheap Tomatoes and Chicken too. You want technology? Sit up and beg…“ (I know it’s not that simple. However, it is like that. 😉 )
But few of us are educated enough at heart to feel the „Big Picture“. Only if one can feel it, one will change life and take responsibility. But poor hearts don’t feel, they calculate.
The world hunger index 2008 made official today in Berlin tells us there are 923’000’000 (923 Millions) hungry people, 75’000’000 more than last year. Currently one says that the financial crisis costs us 1’400’000’000’000 $ (1.4 Billions, IWF 7.10.2008). The loosings of only the ecosystem wood are acording to the study „The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity“ (TEEB) about 5’000’000’000’000 € (5 Billions) yearly, overfishing 50’000’000’000 (50 Mrd).
As a football freak a can’t wait for Euro 2010, so I did some research and came along some very interesting news you’ll want to know! The economically oriented think tank „Profeetball“ found out that with some new, interesting rules sales could be doubled by minimum!
So they asked: If football falls flat, why not play with flat fool footballs to kick off the business? With less injuries estimated, insurance rates will be massively lower, slow runners catch more balls and even chinese manufacturers should have no problems with quality control.
So less expenses and more turnover will follow. Governments already pays for infrastructure, tax exemption should follow for Euro 2012, making it the perfect event: Circuses for all, bread for some and profits for a few.
But that’s not all: Bala Fuss, a Swiss member of the think tank, brought in another idea. Since flat building land will become rare and expensive in future they plan alternative football pitches:
The idea is, all 22 player walk the street at the bottom, kicking upwards. The team making a goal has to run up and down as many times as they have scored goals yet. This new kind of fairplay aligns with the marketing trend of fairtrade, fairtravel, fairvote, fair whatever. So less trained, cheap or child teams have a chance too.
To lean in the „fair“ trend to polish UEFA image some more, used foolballs should be donated to help feed the world.
But Mr. Fuss stated that content must be delivered by NGOs. Development aid for stockholders eats up all of UEFAs excesses. The possibility of child work could be met with the slogan „children help children“.
Ain’t that big news? There’s a whole new world of football awaiting! Speaking of the future: A new discovery proofs the beginnings of football:
According to the newest historic researches where ancient men kicking each others balls to pay tribute to the last man standing. It took some centuries and some women’s heads until they started team playing with two „real“ balls, but since men are overstrained in multitasking they could only manage one — so football was born. In American football some ancient rules seems to have survived and are considered as proof.
Now it will be a question of time until the new political correctness from subway stations will influence football. Possibly a player then will ask a member of the other team kindly «Could I get the ball, please?». On negative answer the whole first team will kick balls on the questioned player, while the audience goes nuts. It’s called „back to the roots“!
Personally I wouldn’t mind to hand out clubs to players, even to the audience. This could speed up natural selection on mankind.
Have you ever bought a radio for € 7.50? Ever asked yourself how it is possible to pay for the high tech insides, the plastic housing, the disposal of toxic waste from production, the fees, the transport from China, the margins of producer, dealer and seller with out of this low amount?
Did you ever thought about what goes on before and after you buy stuff? In this 20 minute animation you’ll get a firm overview of the whole process: earn resources, production, distribution, selling and disposal of waste. Where does our consumption lead us?
Probably this is nothing new to you — nevertheless it’s fun to watch this piece of art, which shows in a surprisingly clear and funny manner the complex connections, the big picture of what is going on when you buy stuff.
You won’t feel sad after, because Annie don’t point a finger at you saying «You’re a dumb, mean destroyer». You’ll feel like «Wow, why don’t we change that, I want to».
This is great educational stuff! Show and talk about this with you children and everyone who wants to know or wonders. And them who don’t too! They will go 😯 !
In USA, between 1979 and 2005, the income of the poorest households increased by 1.3 % annually, the average income less than 1 %, the top revenues by 200 %. If you calculate the latter after tax it even grew 228 %.
The richest percent in the USA earned between 2002 and 2006 3/4 from the earnings growth. Statistically followed by Great Britain, Spain and Switzerland (oh my!).
In Germany, two tenth own about 80 % from the assets.
In 2007, top managers income grew 25 % in Germany.
In the 1920s we had about the same extraordinary mess, followed by the great depression in the 30s. As a consequence (also because WW II), in the middle 50s the highest US tax rate was 91 %, the one for corporate profits 45 %. But today?
We all know who is responsible for todays inequity. It’s not me, not you (well, the chances are about 1:10), it’s not God, it’s neither Mickey Mouse nor Dagobert Duck. It’s THEM! If one points at someone, three fingers point at yourself, so we know who is THEM: We ALL are.
We are in the advantageous situation where we all vote every day several times. Do you buy Nestlé or regional products? On which bank do you save your money? Do you use escalators and go to your fitness center by car? Who do you vote for, politically? Do you buy fast or organic food? Do you buy and travel fair?
Profit (or a real fair amount of) belongs to the one who spins the screw driver. Why let we the one who paid for the screw driver steal the profit? And, finally, why is this thefts income tax rate even lower than the one of them who are cleaning his office? Who is doing the real work here, the dollar?
We all know from our own inner temptation that everyone thinks of himself first. So why do we vote for the rich? Do we believe the rich must be wise? Or do we believe they do know to deal with crisis because they became rich? Have we all missed Dagobert Duck stories in our youth?
Everywhere you can read who and what is responsible for the actual crisis. The Neocons/-liberals have proofed themselves as not survivable without their hated, „over regulating“ governments and state banks paying for their mess. Why can’t we simply stop this behavior? What are we afraid of? Of loosing our employment? Todays production is in China because we vote for the thefts rules — we vote for our own crisis every day. Why is this so hard to understand?
:dontget:
Diversification is good for social stability — but it seems we don’t want a peaceful society. In the end we shoot ourselves in our homes, schools and on streets, out of frustration and fear. Sometimes this system is unbelievable: We vote for our own slavery while believing to be free, and when we check our misery, we execute ourselves. Is this the meaning of life? Or maybe an intermediate step in our evolution? Hopefully we will evolve a bit cleverer than lemmings…
Hello, today’s Blog Action Day! So here’s my post. Since it’s about environment and I thought there are so many experts better than me out there, I’ll write a nice little tale. Well, finally it got a bit oversized, because I tried to tell this and to tell that too, and those points seems important, and so on. There are no Karl-May-like lengthy descriptions, but our little friend stumbles from one adventure into the next before he reaches his destiny.
So I hope you take your time and enjoy the reading! However, I had fun writing it. And please leave a note. 🙂
A dollars wondrous journey
Once upon a time there was a lonesome Dollar. It was not very beautiful – more the average type of a green printed piece of paper. He was very ambitious and wanted to make more out of his live. So he decided to go out into the big, wide world to see it all – and to become more beautiful, as every dollar wants to be.
By chance he found himself in Indonesia. He remembered that rainforest is considered as a good place to become more beautiful – for the price of only one tree. «There are so many trees» he thought, «nobody will miss it if I’ll take one».
Short time later he felt more beautiful because it had taken the trees beauty and Dollar was very pleased with himself. But, on the other hand, he felt no longer independent. «Doesn’t matter» he told himself matter-of-factly, and was magically drawn along with the tree over the ocean to America.
He never looked behind and so he couldn’t see all the other dollars hunting for beauty in the woods and the trees vanishing one by one. Very quickly the rainforests was cleared of trees – which enhanced neatness and visibility of the environment enormously – and also in making Dollars more beautiful. Problem was, once the forests were deserted, no dollars came anymore. People in now raindesert-countries started to fight each other out of frustration and lack of education to free themselves from their anger. Many times their leaders told them to do so because they feared the powers from the poor. And as long as they fought each other, they wouldn’t fight the leaders.
In America, in the meantime, the tree had ended up as a door case. Our dollar was owned by an international habitation proprietor, now ten times more beautiful. Although he was not free anymore, he had a good life and enjoyed his beauty. To become even more beautiful, he was sent to Germany: There were low cost housings for sale and they promised much beauty. After some home-improvement projects that made the workers sweat, Dollar pocketed his first slice of beauty.
Then the buildings were sold again and our dollar got his second slice of beauty. He returned to America twenty times as beautiful as when he arrived in Europe. Again he didn’t look back and therefore couldn’t see the tears of families which didn’t find a payable flat anymore. And those who could afford high lease prices had to live in energy wasting houses full of toxic materials. It paid the most beauty – for Dollar.
«The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function.»
Watch this dissertation from Dr. Albert A. Bartlett, professor emeritus of physics at the university of Boulder, Colorado (8 parts, each approx. 9 min):
Mankind is growing with approx. 1.6 percent a year. This means, in 780 years we’ll have an one-squaremeter-society: on every squaremeter land is one person living. And in 2500 years mankind will weigh the same as the whole earth (dear Albert is a joker for shure).
Or think of bacteria living in a bottle. It’s eleven o’clock. They double their volume once a minute. What time is it, when they realize that the bottle is half full and they’re getting a place problem? Right, it’s exact 11:59. If they become aware of the fact when the bottle is one eighth full? It’s 11:57. Ok, they start a big search now and can find 3 more bottles by the time when the first is one fourth full, witch gives an amazing amount of space: 16 times the room they use now! Problem solved, you think? Wait until 12:02…
Click above – this is the most important video you’ll ever see! Find out why it seems that most politicians, economists and even scientists are unable to do simple math we all did back in school.
And while you are at it, asking yourselt why we should act today to save our tomorrow, have a quick look at this video (9 min).
Or think of bacteria living in a bottle. It’s eleven o’clock. They double their volume once a minute. What time is it, when they realize that the bottle is half full and they’re getting a place problem? Right, it’s exact 11:59. If they become aware of the fact when the bottle is one eighth full? It’s 11:57. Ok, they start a big search now and can find 3 more bottles by the time when the first is one fourth full, witch gives an amazing amount of space: 16 times the room they use now! Problem solved, you think? Wait until 12:02…