Posted by 838 on March 7, 2006, at 17:22:35 [reposted on March 7, 2006, at 22:17:37 | original URL]
In reply to Re: random discourse on mortality, redirect if nec. » 838, posted by zeugma on March 7, 2006, at 16:52:29
> In the US there is a strong belief in the free market,
I don't really know what that is either... Is that about the govt butting out of regulating business... In the sense that it won't subsidise things to help businesses get started / get up off the ground... And it won't tax (or 'penalise') things to help the environment or to help give other businesses a chance?
I had heard... (You might want to correct me) That free trade... Typically what happened was the bigger country subsidised the businesses back home so that the prices could undercut the businesses in the smaller country so that people from the smaller country would go with imported over local product. Then... Eventually the local businesses go under... Then there is fairly much a monopoly and the prices can go up again (and the govt can stop subsidising the businesses exporting to the smaller country). I heard... That seemed to be a pattern with 'free trade'... The result was fairly much... Economic takeover type thing... Though the pattern is complicated by the appearance of choice... And typically it helps things along to employ 3rd world labour so it looks like the product is coming from somewhere else etc etc... If that is right... Then isn't subsidising.... Isn't offering tax breaks to certain products / businesses a form of regulation?
> is not to use certain materials that are highly damaging to the environment.
Oh. I don't know what to say...
:-(> you can tell a lot by body language and such.
Yeah. I thought they thought it was quaint how naieve I am...
But there it is. I find it hard to comprehend...
It is hard to know whether the measures are likely to help (should someone try something...) Or whether the measures are likely to prevent someone trying something... Or whether the measures are keeping it alive in the public's mind... Whether the measuers are helping pepole stay afraid thus making it more likely that the population will be more sympathetic to things such as... pre emptive strike to get the 'terrorists'... Hard to know... I laughted in sydney 'cause I thought it was a joke to start with. We had this campaign 'don't drink and drive' then in the hostels i saw these posters 'don't drink and fry' in the kitchen. i laughed. I thought it was a joke. Taking the piss. But apparantly tehy are serious... kitchen fires due to cooking while drunk is a very real problem... And apparantly the posters are serious too... I don't know... Paranoia or due caution? Hard to know... I just worry because I know in NZ the foreign minister accused someone of being a terrorist.. Or having affiliations with Saddam or somesuch. The guy had emigrated from there and used to work as a govt. engineer... He was hauled over the coals... He was put in quaranteen or security holding or something... He was cleared completely... And the point of the exercise??? Seemed to be to show the US that while we are not 'for you' in the sense of sending people to die for a war we don't believe in... We are 'for you' in the sense of being prepared to hunt out terrorists... He was cleared... But I'm sure he isn't so happy with having his face all over the news as a 'suspected terrorist'...> You must remember President Bush's poll ratings are the lowest of any President since these measurements began. This is just a fact, a most interesting fact.
Yeah.
A country divided... Thats what I was told...
And 'cause of the division...
The topic is fairly heated...Hmm.
I guess we don't really get that...
Maybe the MMP voting system has a bit to do with it...
Dunno...
poster:838
thread:617294
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/poli/20060304/msgs/617303.html