jacee Posted October 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2011 What's it all about worldwide? The G20 "austerity" agenda imposed on our governments by the world corporate powers in Toronto June 2010, while Canadians' rights of freedom of expression and assembly were being violated en masse in the streets, the largest single violation of civil liberties in our history. The “austerity agenda” is a consensus amongst G20 states that, in order to keep the current capitalist system afloat, over the next ten to twenty years public spending on things like social services education and health care, will be sacrificed for financial sector bailouts, so that banks and large corporations can remain profitable and viable. The austerity agenda will ensure that the costs of a failing capitalist system will be felt by poor communities. http://alexhundert.wordpress.com/2011/06/25/ongoing-resistance-to-the-g20-agenda/ ... AND NOT BY THE RICH, ESPECIALLY NOT BY THE RICHEST 1%, WHO WERE THE ONES AT THE G20 TABLE GIVING ORDERS TO OUR GOVERNMENTS ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shady Posted October 3, 2011 Report Share Posted October 3, 2011 What's it all about worldwide? The G20 "austerity" agenda imposed on our governments by the world corporate powers in Toronto June 2010, while Canadians' rights of freedom of expression and assembly were being violated en masse in the streets, the largest single violation of civil liberties in our history. ... AND NOT BY THE RICH, ESPECIALLY NOT BY THE RICHEST 1%, WHO WERE THE ONES AT THE G20 TABLE GIVING ORDERS TO OUR GOVERNMENTS ! Really? LeBron James was at the G20 table giving orders? And Tom Brady? And Sidney Crosby? And Derek Jeter? Who knew! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GostHacked Posted October 3, 2011 Report Share Posted October 3, 2011 Really? LeBron James was at the G20 table giving orders? And Tom Brady? And Sidney Crosby? And Derek Jeter? Who knew! What do these people have to do with the topic at hand? Am I missing something here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPCFTW Posted October 3, 2011 Report Share Posted October 3, 2011 What's it all about worldwide? The G20 "austerity" agenda imposed on our governments by the world corporate powers in Toronto June 2010, while Canadians' rights of freedom of expression and assembly were being violated en masse in the streets, the largest single violation of civil liberties in our history. ... AND NOT BY THE RICH, ESPECIALLY NOT BY THE RICHEST 1%, WHO WERE THE ONES AT THE G20 TABLE GIVING ORDERS TO OUR GOVERNMENTS ! Why should the wealthy 20% of the world population be able to oppress the bottom 80%. The austerity measures ensure the survival of a system that redistributes wealth from the elitist developed world to hard working developing world. Are you really trying to take the moral highground by suggesting we default on Chinese loans paid for by the backbreaking labour of Chinese workers who are lucky to earn the equivalent of one welfare cheque in an entire year of labour? No. It is the western world's social services and entitlement mentality that is in the wrong here. Capitalism and the financial system just allocates benefits to the hardest workers. It doesn't have the biased, emotional eye of the oversensitive, politically-correct lefties who wouldn't bat an eye at further impoverishing a billion Chinese so that a couple million North Americans and Europeans in "poverty" can continue to be given a free ride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacee Posted October 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2011 Really? LeBron James was at the G20 table giving orders? And Tom Brady? And Sidney Crosby? And Derek Jeter? Who knew! Athletes don't make it to the richest 1% because their careers are short. Neither do rock/movie stars because they have large business costs.I found this interesting report evaluating countries' compliance with G20 agreements. Not surprisingly ... The issue of corruption scored the lowest compliance with a score of -0.20, as no G20 member implemented all the principles of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC). The issue of energy scored second lowest at +0.05. http://www.g20.utoronto.ca/analysis/2010toronto-compliance.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bush_cheney2004 Posted October 3, 2011 Report Share Posted October 3, 2011 Athletes don't make it to the richest 1% because their careers are short. Neither do rock/movie stars because they have large business costs. Oprah Winfrey just sneezed...now she is worth $2.8 billion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shady Posted October 4, 2011 Report Share Posted October 4, 2011 Athletes don't make it to the richest 1% because their careers are short. Actually, any athlete earning more than a million dollars per year is in the richest 1%. It just proves that you have no idea what you're talking about. Neither do rock/movie stars because they have large business costs. Really? What's a movie stars so-called large business cost? And cocain doesn't count! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacee Posted October 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2011 (edited) Why should the wealthy 20% of the world population be able to oppress the bottom 80%. The austerity measures ensure the survival of a system that redistributes wealth from the elitist developed world to hard working developing world. Are you really trying to take the moral highground by suggesting we default on Chinese loans paid for by the backbreaking labour of Chinese workers who are lucky to earn the equivalent of one welfare cheque in an entire year of labour? No. It is the western world's social services and entitlement mentality that is in the wrong here. Capitalism and the financial system just allocates benefits to the hardest workers. It doesn't have the biased, emotional eye of the oversensitive, politically-correct lefties who wouldn't bat an eye at further impoverishing a billion Chinese so that a couple million North Americans and Europeans in "poverty" can continue to be given a free ride. Our biggest 'social service' expense is health care. It will become increasingly expensive as baby boomers age. 'Austerity' in health care will mean lower life expectancies for us, currently. 79yrs for men and 84 for women. What country do you think we should emulate? China? Men 72 Women 76 http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expectancy The other big expense for baby boomers will be CPP and OAS. Not sure how you think we can cut those expenses down for aging family members, and they do get pretty cranky about health care and their pensions. TO GET THEIR VOTES (They were threatening to vote NDP.) Harper had to promise his elderly voters that he would maintain the current 6% increase in health transfers to the provinces. And those are the compliant elders. Baby boomer seniors will be much more organized and vocal. Health care is very sophisticated and costly these days. Maybe there are some savings to be had by getting rid of the big pharma corruption, but health care costs will be going up a lot as the population bulge ages. Not sure what you are thinking in terms of cuts to social services but everything else is a drop in the bucket compared to health care, and there is already no wiggle room there. What are you thinking? Here's a study of the effects of Mike Harris' welfare cuts on single mothers and kids, who make up 80% of the welfare caseload and stay on welfare an average of 3 years. The study found they couldn't look after their children properly or get employment on reduced benefits. That would mean collecting them longer, so there weren't likely any real savings there. Cut them off? That's millions of starving children. http://www.jstor.org/pss/3552330 Social Assistance Today Posted June 9, 2011Ontario’s social assistance system is made up of two programs: Ontario Works for people in temporary financial need, and the Ontario temporary financial need, and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), which is intended to help people with disabilities live as independently as possible and to reduce or eliminate disability-related barriers to employment. Together, Ontario Works and ODSP serve approximately 857,000 Ontarians each month. In 2009–10, total provincial expenditures on social assistance were about $6.6 billion, about six per cent of the provincial budget. (Includes administration costs.) http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/onwelf.htm Cut people on disability off? Streets full of begging amputees? We already have streets full of panhandling people with mental illnesses. Just who is it you think is getting 'a free ride'? Edited October 4, 2011 by jacee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cybercoma Posted October 4, 2011 Report Share Posted October 4, 2011 Wow...that's more American wannabes than I thought...organized by American mainstream social media. Isn't America a wonderful country! AdBusters began the protest. They're a Canadian magazine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bush_cheney2004 Posted October 4, 2011 Report Share Posted October 4, 2011 AdBusters began the protest. They're a Canadian magazine. Did they create Wall Street, the Internet, YouTube, and Twitter....impressive! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bush_cheney2004 Posted October 4, 2011 Report Share Posted October 4, 2011 Cut people on disability off? Streets full of begging amputees? We already have streets full of panhandling people with mental illnesses. Yes...like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zsocoyMftI&feature=related Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacee Posted October 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2011 (edited) Actually, any athlete earning more than a million dollars per year is in the richest 1%. It just proves that you have no idea what you're talking about. I know I'm talking about (accumulated) wealth, not annual income. @BC Oprah ... I guess a few stars do make it. Tell me BC, do protests against the corporate/finance establishments in over 100 US cities, with massive donations pouring in from supporters ... does that bother or affect you at all? You seem to be your normal curmudgeonly self ... I would have expected you to be kinda pi$$ed. Edited October 4, 2011 by jacee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bush_cheney2004 Posted October 4, 2011 Report Share Posted October 4, 2011 I know I'm talking about (accumulated) wealth, not annual income. Oprah ... I guess a few stars do make it. Ya think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacee Posted October 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2011 (edited) So that is how protests start. Can I say this will end in complete victory? No, you can never say that. But it may begin to change public opinion enough to give Congress people in Washington the courage of their own convictions. Many of them are disgusted by what's happening and can't get any traction for their own ideas and maybe they will begin to get the courage to come forward. PETER LLOYD: Well what material, constructive and positive changes do you think that they can make? How would you shape the agenda? JEFF MADRICK: Well first of all we've got to get over this obsession with austerity economics and we need very serious stimulus in this economy. But secondly we have to reinvest in this economy in significant ways Third, we really need a different regulation scheme for Wall Street which will be very difficult to do given the power and money on Wall Street We have not solved the problems of how to make a financial system allocate our precious savings to productive resources. We've got to work on that. The prosecution of wrongdoing on Wall Street have been almost negligible. Is it really true there was almost no wrongdoing on Wall Street that led to this crisis? Just a bunch of well meaning but foolish people who made a lot of money by abusing a system innocently? I hardly think so. And we can go on but I hope they ask one fundamental question and I hope the American establishment has the courage to ask one fundamental question; what is Wall Street for? What are they supposed to do? Do we need a Wall Street that takes 40 per cent of American profits? No way. Let's rethink that. But the American establishment seems anyway afraid to ask that question and we have to start asking that. MARK COLVIN: Jeff Madrick, economics writer and author of The Age of Greed, speaking to Peter Lloyd http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2011/s3332160.htm Edited October 4, 2011 by jacee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oleg Bach Posted October 4, 2011 Report Share Posted October 4, 2011 Arab spring? Now some attempt at revoltuion - perhaps a Canadian spring? Not likely - we are to rich and to privledged to be taken seriously as a revolutionary force - what is there to rebel agains - our poorest members live like millionares in comparison to other places on earth - what do these protesters want? I don't understand - do they not have a clean bed - medical care - food - security of person....seems all they want is what the rich have ----------------MORE MONEY. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacee Posted October 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2011 A job would help. But that's not enough of course ... http://www.citywatchla.com/lead-stories/2304-occupy-wall-street-middle-class-issues But what sort of change is he demanding exactly? He seems amused by this question. The point is to crystallize a dialogue with the people able to take effective action, to prod the political system to focus on the right questions. He is not the answer man. I'm a 25-year-old kid," Carlson says. "If you're honestly expecting answers from a 25-year-old kid ..." His voice trails off. "What we're doing is trying to do is get answers. We're very educated people and these problems are very complicated and it's gotten to the point where there are serious repercussions. We can't deny this anymore. We're a very prideful country, and it's hard for people to admit that our system is not working."Susie and Artie Ravitz stand next to Carlson. Retirees from Easton, Pa., they have driven here for the day to add to the numbers"The main thing is to draw attention to the disparities," she says. "The rich and the greedy are taking the country down. It's really a discouraging time. You have young people with college degrees left out in the cold, unable to find jobs. I have kids and grandchildren. I really worry what their lives are going to be like. As she speaks, a group of tourists from Shanghai gathers around, snapping photos of Carlson and the dollar bill taped over his mouth. One of the Chinese tourists gives a thumbs up. "We support freedom," he says later, when asked, before the minder of his mainland Chinese tourist group hurriedly leads him away. Because in mainland China, utopia for the predatory corporate richEST 1%. They don't allow freedom of speech and assembly for student protesters. They just shoot them dead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shady Posted October 4, 2011 Report Share Posted October 4, 2011 These wingnut protesters have some pretty ludicrous demands. Free college education and a $20 dollar per hour minimum wage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bush_cheney2004 Posted October 4, 2011 Report Share Posted October 4, 2011 (edited) ...Tell me BC, do protests against the corporate/finance establishments in over 100 US cities, with massive donations pouring in from supporters ... does that bother or affect you at all? You seem to be your normal curmudgeonly self ... I would have expected you to be kinda pi$$ed. Not at all....remember....there were millions protesting the Iraq War around the world and it amounted to squat. "Occupy Wall Street" is just a glorified flash mob organized by social media that is already co-opted by corporations. This "movement" has no soul and no passion to compare to Vietnam War protests or the American civil rights movement. These poor bastards are trying to find a cause but won't give anything up to achieve it. Good luck kids... Edited October 4, 2011 by bush_cheney2004 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oleg Bach Posted October 4, 2011 Report Share Posted October 4, 2011 Not at all....remember....there were millions protesting the Iraq War around the world and it ammounted to squat. "Occupy Wall Street" is just a glorified flash mob organized by social media that is already co-opted by corporations. This "movement" has no soul and no passion to compare to Vietnam War protests or the American civil rights movement. These poor bastards are trying to find a cause but won't give anything up to achieve it. Good luck kids... The old protestors believed in something - if they did not agree with a war and there was a draft - some would do the time behind bars. These young upstarts will do the time at the bar talking big but not willing to put it on the line - main problem is no one knows where the line is - let alone the battle line. What do they expect - rich people hand over their money? Not going to happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bush_cheney2004 Posted October 4, 2011 Report Share Posted October 4, 2011 (edited) These wingnut protesters have some pretty ludicrous demands. Free college education and a $20 dollar per hour minimum wage. Yep....even NPR regulars were laughing at their list of demands. If these be mostly millennials, they see the big squeeze coming and they are gonna miss out on the gravy train of the past. That's why they are protesting, not because of any fundamental problem with capitalism or corporatism. I almost feel sorry for them...like a game of musical chairs....the music has stopped and they don't have a chair. Edited October 4, 2011 by bush_cheney2004 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oleg Bach Posted October 4, 2011 Report Share Posted October 4, 2011 Yep....even NPR regulars were laughing at there list of demands. If these be mostly millennials, they see the big squeeze coming and they are gonna miss out on the gravy train of the past. That's why they are protesting, not because of any fundamental problem with capitalism or corporatism. I almost feel sorry them...like a game of musical chairs....the music has stopped and they don't have a chair. The guarentee of secure future through education no longer exists...better to butter up to Uncle Charely and get into the family buisness...nothing wrong with pouring concrete and making an honest dollar...not everyone can be the top dog - the top dog positions are all filled up...gotta wait for the big dog to die - and that could take a long long time - the big dogs say like Dick Cheney have access not just to health care - but to life extension - have fun waiting....or go out and build something - heaven forbid you use your hands . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bush_cheney2004 Posted October 4, 2011 Report Share Posted October 4, 2011 The old protestors believed in something - if they did not agree with a war and there was a draft - some would do the time behind bars.... They think "protesting" against corporatism can be done with an iPhone, iPad, and $6 gourmet coffee in hand. Social, political, or economic change means that something has to actually change. Methinks these people actually believe that as long as they appear in a YouTube video, they are making such a change. I would have more respect for a tagger with a can of spray paint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bush_cheney2004 Posted October 4, 2011 Report Share Posted October 4, 2011 ... have fun waiting....or go out and build something - heaven forbid you use your hands . When did that change happen....my own kid is a slacker that way as well. Illegals will break their backs just for a shot at the dream, while these spoiled punks think reality is making it with American Idol or Facebook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oleg Bach Posted October 4, 2011 Report Share Posted October 4, 2011 They think "protesting" against corporatism can be done with an iPhone, iPad, and $6 gourmet coffee in hand. Social, political, or economic change means that something has to actually change. Methinks these people actually believe that as long as they appear in a YouTube video, they are making such a change. I would have more respect for a tagger with a can of spray paint. You have got that right - I see young people tied to face book to the point that the high-def screen is reality and reality is just some bothersome thing you strol through on your way to buy a gram of pot. You know and I know - that what we are doing here for instance is entertainment...It is not the real world....the only way you create change is face to face - flesh on flesh - eye to eye...cos - all that is going to happen to these protestors is that some corporate bureacrate will press the IGNORE button. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bush_cheney2004 Posted October 4, 2011 Report Share Posted October 4, 2011 ...It is not the real world....the only way you create change is face to face - flesh on flesh - eye to eye...cos - all that is going to happen to these protestors is that some corporate bureacrate will press the IGNORE button. Touche...like I've said before, you should write for television. Toyota is running a series of clever ads that employ your very point...kids living in an online world while their boomer parents enjoy reality. I guess that sells cars. All I know is that when my kid doesn't do his chores, a simple loss of power to the cable modem and router brings instant compliance. He may think I am a dick now, but he will understand later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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