Month: August 2013

Increasing violence and anti- social behaviour in the modern world


 

With the senseless and random killing of Australian baseballer Chris Lane in the U.S. earlier this month the question must be asked; has humanity reached a further low point in its downward spiral?

 

Is it possible that deteriorating behaviour – think of the Syrian crisis and terrorism – is part of Nature’s response to the massive human overpopulation? Laboratory tests have shown increases in anti-social and negative behaviour amongst rats in an overcrowded environment.  The same now appears to be happening amongst humans!

 

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Environment, Society and Economy


As political players around the world try to recover from the GFC one wonders what the ultimate objectives are. Austerity seems to create as many problems as it solves, spending other people’s money to spur the economy does likewise and in the meantime we can see our environment crapping out at a rate of knots.

Using common sense we can see that there has to be an intelligent balance between environment, social justice and economy. Protecting the environment has to come first, both for ourselves and the other creatures on the planet. If we have any pretence at all of a reasonable social order then social justice and a sustainable, as fair as possible, society must be a priority. That leaves economy. If we mean by economy that you can’t spend wealth that has not been created that is a correct assumption (although many governments love to spend money that they hope to raise in the future from taxes on a probably impoverished generation). On the other hand, if economy means a robust capitalistic system that enables the rich to get richer, then we should simply forget about that particular parameter.

More practicality demanded from the Greens


In the coming Australian federal election the Greens are the only party who care a smidgen about the environment or social justice rather the inequities of rampant capitalism. However, their boat arrival asylum seeker policy is likely to lose them votes. They must make policy decisions about not disadvantaging the huge numbers of asylum seekers who rot for years in UNHCR camps because of “queue jumping” by those who are able to pay people smugglers.

Likewise, the Australian electorate is concerned about the possibility of huge numbers of Islamist extremists arriving this way. Recent events in Egypt raise concern amongst Australians about the possibility of deadly discord resulting from the establishment of significant numbers of Islamic extremists! If the Greens can come out with policies to successfully address these areas of concern they should do well in the election. However time is short!

Australian tobacco taxes – Rhemus Rudd the dud does it again


 

 

Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd (affectionately known as Rudd the dud) has done the unthinkable yet again. He has introduced progressively escalating tobacco taxes on top of the highest such taxes in the world. He obviously wants to go down in history as the greatest anti-smoker in all creation. This sudden decision, once again, is made without thought of the drug kings who now see tobacco as a new field of illegal profits or of the children of addicted parents (who are generally the poorest people in the community). Where will their next meal or necessary pair of shoes come from? Mr Rudd’s wife is a multi-millionaire. Their family has no idea of the situation of others who are much less fortunate.

Mr Rudd claims that this new tax will fund shortfalls in his government’s budget and will further discourage smoking. He also claims that smokers cost the taxpayer, through the health system, millions of dollars. This is a gross lie. Most cancers caused by smoking result in a quick death, unlike dementia sufferers and others. Also, those smokers who are unfortunate enough to die this way have paid for their deaths many times over in the form of tobacco taxes.

This new tax plus another one targeting bank deposits (so say to form a fund to protect against the possibility of bank failures – Australian banks make huge profits and can afford to pay it themselves but will pass on the cost to their customers – has probably knifed any chance the government has of being re-elected. However the Coalition, when elected, undoubtedly will just accept these new tax increases to fund their programs. After all, they will say, they did not implement these new taxes but certainly they will not get rid of them.

As regards the leaders of the two parties it appears to be a contest between two megalomaniacs who will do anything to further their own interests and agendas. I for one will vote Greens. They do leave a lot to be desired but are the least of several evils.

In regards to the ridiculous level of tobacco taxes I sent a letter to British and American Tobacco but was not favoured with a response. In the current political and world situation it is very difficult to be optimistic about anything.

– See more at: http://creativityandpower.com/australian_tobaco_taxes_rhemus_rudd_the_dud_does_it_again/#sthash.1V6DKP6e.dpuf

Testosterone and Youth


Have you ever wondered about why so many of our youth come to violent ends? Many die in car accidents and others perish in needless social violence, often fuelled by drugs and alcohol.

As part of the growing process it seems certain that risk taking, particularly amongst young males but also to a much lesser extent among females, is here to stay. Why? It would appear that such behaviour, although undesirable, is a part of the human condition. After the Second World War there was much less deliberate risk taking by youth than is the case today. The reason is simple. The youth then had totally got this behaviour out of their system because they were exposed to massive risks during the war. Those that survived had moved past that stage of development.

The question today is “How do we accommodate this natural but undesirable behaviour in our current world?” I would suggest that teens who feel this primal urge be encouraged to undertake dangerous but socially beneficial work as charity workers in war zones or places that are simply too dangerous to attract most people. In that way the “danger urge” of youth is spent while improving the world rather than detracting from it.

The Unsung heroes of Public Transport


 

 

 

All of us catch buses and taxis, almost daily, in attempting to get around. However, few of us give any thought to the drivers of those vehicles. Around the world, bus and taxi drivers endure a relatively dangerous job for generally poor wages. Yet those same drivers generally do their utmost to ensure that their passengers arrive safely at their destination with as few delays and frustrations as possible. Undoubtedly, there are some rogue taxi drivers (known in the industry as cowboys) on this planet but the vast majority are reasonably honest and do their best. Likewise, bus drivers do their best to protect their passengers. Not so long ago a school bus driver  in the U.S. was shot dead rather than surrender any children on his bus to a gun toting maniac.

When you next catch public transport spare a thought for the driver who does his best despite the poor remuneration.