Sunday, October 19, 2014

Sunday musings

The world never learns does it?
Specifically in the instance of the Ebola scourge.
Just ignore it and it will go away.
Honestly, that was the reaction of the world community at large.
As long as it killed - and let us be honest here - blacks in some part of Africa - who cared?
The so called wonderful WHO (World Health Organization - headquartered in Geneva of course) now kinda says, oops, maybe, perhaps, possibly, someone, somehow in our org. screwed up in this mess.
And in America, Canada, Europe - well now that, due to incredible incompetence of front line health care workers in Dallas, officals and folks are going nutbag crazy over fear of this "epidemic".
Now that middle class folks might be at risk - now it is a problem.
Too bad for all the black folks that died because no one cared - right?
Ebola is horrible and why is it only now that governments are pushing researchers to develop a vaccine for it?
You and I know the answer right?
Sometimes being a human being is nothing to be proud of is it?
And one of the early big selling Halloween costumes in North America is - yes guessed it, a HazMat suit for trick or treaters.
What the hell is the matter with people and the parents of young kids that allow this?
Maybe, but one doubts it, people will learn how this disease is truly transmitted and act accordingly. But the drivel and pap spewed by news media is so full of lies and distortions - fear mongers in search of ratings and advertisings dollars.
No more and no less.
Greed.
Great folks, these "servants" of free speech.
Joseph Goebbels would have been proud of them.
Strong words yes - but fear mongering and sanctioned disregard for safety cannot be excused -period.
 More and more governments are adopting a strategy of passing laws to enable them to confiscate identity papers of suspected jihadists and like minded terrorists.
And of course some civil libertarians will decry this supposed erosion of individual rights by the "state".
So what?
Did they think for even a second that these evil doers flourish because people like the "liberty at any and all cost" have systematically dismantled rules of civil conduct under the guise of "freedom" of the masses?
And these staunch defenders always live in countries that have sacrificed lives to protect their freedoms?
They never live or move to such free lands such as Ethiopia, North Korea, Iran - want a bigger list or do you get the idea?
Yah, thought so.
Have you heard of "crowdfunding?"
If not, it is mostly a social media driven item where a cause or item is flogged to the general public for funding. An electronic way of "begging" for money in a way. Sometimes the cause is truly noble. Cases where money is needed for health care/operations for people lacking in health coverage or too poor to have any savings at all to pay or have used up all savings and need help in the most drastic way.
And that is a good thing.
And then sometimes the appeal is for a product that banks will not dole out loans for because it is deemed "too risky".
And for some deserving items, crowdfunding is a good thing.
And in some cases, well, it is for something silly and people give money - well, just because.
Soooooo.....anybody out there want to start a crowdfunding project on my behalf so that I can fly first class to Australia???
Yah, thought so.
Maybe I will rent a travel DVD instead...sigh...
The stock markets tanked this week amid fears of Ebola, dropping oil prices, ISIS, and a toilet paper shortage in Bremen, Germany.
OK, joking about the shortage in Bremen, but it does show what a mugs game the stock market is. A whisper here and there and prices surge or drop and many times for no reason except trading companies have been allowed to computerize ordering based on algorithms and to hell with logic. All to make money and lots of it.
So, on Friday, all the "cheap" stocks were snatched up in a round of profit taking by the same outfits that sold them.
The losers?
Not the traders - no, just the taxpayer and by that - you.
Remember the phrase used so much recently about banks?
"Too big to fail"
Yup - bailed out with your tax money and your net worth decreases because of it - not theirs.
The old saying about storing your money under the mattress seems a lot more reasonable these days.
 Now for your Hawaiian word of the day - ikiiki and it is a cool one at that as it means sticky or humid!
And of course the German equivalent is  feucht
Quite similar in spelling right?
Well here on my Island, ahhhh.... life goes on quietly and I still enjoy my solitary walks in the woods as the leaves change colour and the slow advent of some rainy days starts.
All in all, not a bad life for an old fart! 
And we have a new "member" of the family...


 What can I say??

take care out there,
flatlander52


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