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disillusions

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Dutch Josh View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: disillusions
    Posted: March 21 2022 at 10:02pm

DJ, 

I like to believe in ratio-eventhough I admit there may be some contradiction in "believing in ratio"....

I would love to-still-be able to believe in politics...

I start realizing even here in NL I think we have a very major political problem...maybe I am wrong-but NL major political parties have 50-60% the SAME points of view...I was hoping a multi-party system could maybe serve democracy better then a two/three party-system....but just learned it does not work that way...

Here in NL ALL major political parties think NATO is a good idea...ALL are against free public transport...just to give a few examples...If that was the view of most voters-okay...but it is NOT !

In local elections here in NL [url]https://nltimes.nl/2022/03/17/historic-low-turnout-just-50-voted-municipal-election[/url] or https://nltimes.nl/2022/03/17/historic-low-turnout-just-50-voted-municipal-election and [url]https://nltimes.nl/2022/03/18/distrust-politics-behind-historically-low-election-turnout-poll[/url] or https://nltimes.nl/2022/03/18/distrust-politics-behind-historically-low-election-turnout-poll hardly 50% of those that had a vote did use it...and a lot of them in protest, trying to "limit damage"....

Under the Ukraine-crisis, climate collapse, pandemic there is a political dysfunction...

Once politicians stood for some ideas...now it has become part of a carreer...

The inability to solve major crises is linked to how our democracies turned into "democrazy"....and we-as voters-have a duty, a task, to get democracy back....

I myself me have to rethink if I still will vote...if all parties I can choose from have that many idea's with wich I disagree...

Is there an underlying "motive", a "common driver" in political parties becoming 50-60% representing the same views ? 

"Politics as a profession", next step somewhere else in bussiness or government...may be one factor. You can not vote for increasing tax on airtravel and expect KLM to offer you a job...but nowadays even most banks may not offer you a job after getting out of politics because the way you voted...

If we want to find ways out of the increasing number of crises we need politics to do a better job...

Here in NL a.o. a Christian-Democrat did show to take his job very serious...but did suffer burn-out...He [url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pieter_Omtzigt[/url] or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pieter_Omtzigt most likely did win his party leadership elections but was kept out by party-fraud...(Just like in the liberal vvd our PM did not get more votes then his female opponent...She ([url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rita_Verdonk#2006_Bid_for_VVD_leadership[/url] or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rita_Verdonk#2006_Bid_for_VVD_leadership, story a bit more complicated... ) had to start her own political carreer...became marginalized...

For that matter the US seeing Bernie Sanders being pushed aside to give biden the presidency is not the only country with an anti democratic political elite....

I think-by definition-democracies are far from perfect...but once they become imperfect to much may end up as "democrazy" ...with hitler-like political leadership (ne became German sort of PM in a more or less democratic way in 1931...with support of conservative parties...)...

So many questions, and no doubt I am not the only one...


We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
~Albert Einstein
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Dutch Josh View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 22 2022 at 1:20am

DJ, 

Both the US and EU "solved problems" in the past (bankingcrisis, Eurocrisis) by printing more money and kicking the can down the road...

Buying time has an end...we are now at "the end" of going that way and may face the price of those-wrong-choices...Russia, China did buy gold...we printed money-backed by future economic growth-illusions..."Privatize everythingh" as a neo-liberal credo...in the UK NHS may be next...public services now in a permanent crisis...teachers being fired in may, welcomed at schools early september...This pandemic did do a lot of damage to Health Care Workers...so now we import HCW-ers from allover the planet-limit access to healthcare by increasing the price...

Live is good for the rich, becoming more and more "bitter" for to many others...often in debt for housing, study...NOT making the income needed to get good housing, healthcare, education any longer...

But it is a "new normal"...

Another "new normal" is denying the problems one can not solve by printing extra Euro's, Dollars, Yens...De-funding unwelcome science-on climate collapse, war, economy, history, healthcare..."Don't look up" as a strategy...

Only problem with that...a political "phantasy island" is NOT solving any problem...

[url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_Look_Up[/url] or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_Look_Up A comet on its way to destroy planet earth....

DJ-We did get ourselves now in an "ocean of problems" wich interact...

Climate change increasing pandemic risks but also worsening food/water-crises...increasing war-risks...My impression is most of politics do not even want to see the interaction-downward spiral-often even in denial of the basic problems...

We can not survive this way....but does anybody care ? 


We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
~Albert Einstein
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ME163 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 03 2022 at 4:30pm

I think that the world economic system is going thru a transition that will shift power from the west to China and India.  As George Freidman has aptly noted, " we are in a pivot of power." Russia is effectively a vassal state of China.  The only way we in the west will have influence is in the margins. Acting like we still have power is delusional and dangerous. However, this Ukraine war ends, we need to do some resets.   

First, we need to realize that no matter what happens in Europe, we need to let the Europeans work it out.  Over the long term, we as Americans need to withdraw from these alliances and go home.  

Second, we need to tackle climate change and it's impacts on our world.  We need to concentrate on finding more energy and different sources of energy to prevent a horrible future.  This will be a long-term project.  

Third, we need to consider the upcoming food crisis that is going to explode in the next few years.  The potash shortage and natural gas price rises are causing Nitrogen fertilizer prices to inflate in many ways.  Food supports for low income americans and grain incentives for farmers is a must in order to support farmers and consumers alike.  Protecting the farmer from the shortages of inputs is not only smart but it encourages farmers to plant whatever they can in order to protect our food supply.  

Fourth, we need to work within each nation to find ways to reduce our waste of food and products. We can start with our individual efforts to prevent waste and spoilage of food.  Changing tort laws and allowing cafe's to donate surplus food to food banks will cut waste and serve food to the elderly and disabled populations more effectively.  While this might seem a minor issue in most nations, in the west is a large issue.  We need to find ways to solve our food waste issue.    Communities need to find ways to end waste, period.  

Fifth, we need to conserve water.  Climate change is impacting our water supply, globally.  One drop of motor oil ruins 1000 gallons of drinking water.  We need to protect our freshwater supplies and our oceans, lakes and rivers. My own community has unsafe drinking water due to Benzine.  We buy bottled water for drinking and only shower once a week.  

I hope this reaches you in good spirits, 


ME163 

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 03 2022 at 9:51pm

ME163, 

Thanks for your-wise-reaction...

-I think we are going towards a multi-polar world...no longer one, two countries or a "bloc" going for domination

-If Europe can not solve its problems why someone else (either US, Russia, China) could solve Europe's problems / 

-I think more global "project based" cooperation would be welcome; the pandemic, climate change needs a global answer..

-Basic human rights needs to include a right for healthcare, housing, education...maybe even "public transport" to a certain limit...

Maybe the basic point is that if we are wiser and more honest with food, water, energy there would not be a shortage for that many (and that much for a few)...governments should (re)start serving the population...(not only the rich)

I hope there will be enough time left for the needed reforms...

Three major-very urgent-risks; War, Pandemics, Climate collapse may give us "only a few years" to make very major changes....

Peace !

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
~Albert Einstein
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KiwiMum View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote KiwiMum Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 04 2022 at 1:32pm

Originally posted by ME163 ME163 wrote:

I think that the world economic system is going thru a transition that will shift power from the west to China and India.  As George Freidman has aptly noted, " we are in a pivot of power." Russia is effectively a vassal state of China.  The only way we in the west will have influence is in the margins. Acting like we still have power is delusional and dangerous. However, this Ukraine war ends, we need to do some resets.   

First, we need to realize that no matter what happens in Europe, we need to let the Europeans work it out.  Over the long term, we as Americans need to withdraw from these alliances and go home.  

Second, we need to tackle climate change and it's impacts on our world.  We need to concentrate on finding more energy and different sources of energy to prevent a horrible future.  This will be a long-term project.  

Third, we need to consider the upcoming food crisis that is going to explode in the next few years.  The potash shortage and natural gas price rises are causing Nitrogen fertilizer prices to inflate in many ways.  Food supports for low income americans and grain incentives for farmers is a must in order to support farmers and consumers alike.  Protecting the farmer from the shortages of inputs is not only smart but it encourages farmers to plant whatever they can in order to protect our food supply.  

Fourth, we need to work within each nation to find ways to reduce our waste of food and products. We can start with our individual efforts to prevent waste and spoilage of food.  Changing tort laws and allowing cafe's to donate surplus food to food banks will cut waste and serve food to the elderly and disabled populations more effectively.  While this might seem a minor issue in most nations, in the west is a large issue.  We need to find ways to solve our food waste issue.    Communities need to find ways to end waste, period.  

Fifth, we need to conserve water.  Climate change is impacting our water supply, globally.  One drop of motor oil ruins 1000 gallons of drinking water.  We need to protect our freshwater supplies and our oceans, lakes and rivers. My own community has unsafe drinking water due to Benzine.  We buy bottled water for drinking and only shower once a week.  

I hope this reaches you in good spirits, 


ME163 

Well said. I agree with all of this but I'd add a sixth one:

We need to bring back small scale manufacturing in every country. We are learning painfully that specialization by country can be affected by supply chain issues but also gives the producing country power over the their customers. If we look back to the 50's and 60's, every western country manufactured most of what it needed, and then in the pursuit of cheaper and cheaper products, those manufacturers moved overseas to use what is essentially slave labour, and we all encouraged it. Now we are faced with countries that have farmed out the production of almost everything including food, and that puts them in a very vulnerable position. Granted there are things that we can't make if we don't have the natural resources, things like oil for example, but everything that we can produce, we should. 

You only have to look at the current medication supply issues from India, and the upcoming wheat shortage from Ukraine to realise how bad it's becoming.

Those who got it wrong, for whatever reason, may feel defensive and retrench into a position that doesn’t accord with the facts.
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