Category: economics

“Nollywood” – Black November

On By Rick McIn economics, ethics, government, moviesLeave a comment

by Nigerian filmmaker, Jeta Amata.

… “Black November” is a drama about Nigeria’s Niger-Delta region. The film is weighing into the 50-year history of western exploitation of the region’s oil resources, local collusion and violent resistance to it.

Nigeria’s Niger Delta region is the world’s third largest wetland but decades of oil drilling have turned it into one of the most oil-polluted places on earth. …

… The film has a cast that include Mickey Rourke, Kim Bassinger, Hakeem Kae-Kazim and Enyinna Nwigwe.
It also features Mbong Amata, Jeta’s wife; his father, Zack and his uncle, Fred. …

read more

Click PLAY or watch a trailer on YouTube.

official website of the film

… The cinema of Nigeria grew quickly in the 1990s and 2000s to become the second largest film industry in the world in terms of number of annual film productions, placing it ahead of the United States and behind the Indian film industry.

… The average film costs between US$17,000 and US$23,000, is shot on video in just a week—selling up to 150,000–200,000 units nationwide in one day. …

… about “1,200 films are produced in Nigeria annually.” And more and more filmmakers are heading to Nigeria because of “competitive distribution system and a cheap workforce.”

the economics of Parking

On By Rick McIn economicsLeave a comment

• 97% of cars are parked at any time

• in some cities, parking lots cover a full third of the land area downtown

• the value of that land we must pay for, indirectly. The cost of subsidized parking in the USA is about equal to the budget for National Defense.

• we want to reduce the congestion and pollution caused by cruising for spots

An optimistic few are looking for solutions.

Bad-parking-713253

Freakonomics Radio podcast:

The episode begins with Stephen Dubner talking to parking guru Donald Shoup, a professor of urban planning at UCLA and author of the landmark book The High Cost of Free Parking.

In a famous Times op-ed, Shoup argued that as much as one-third of urban congestion is caused by people cruising for curb parking. But, as Shoup tells Dubner, there ain’t no such thing as a free parking spot:

listen here – Parking Is Hell: A New Freakonomics Radio Podcast

SFpark in San Francisco is a pilot project to try to help solve some of the many, many problems.

Dynamic Pricing – Parking costs change during the day, depending on demand.

George W Bush – worst President

On By Rick McIn economics, governmentLeave a comment

Obama might be bad. Even terrible.

But history will confirm that G.W. was the worst President all time. He did more damage in 8 years than is even conceivable. I’m not sure anyone will be able to bring in a surplus budget in the foreseeable future.

George W. Bush

By comparison, I thought George H.W. Bush was pretty good.

Tomas Young, dying American vet:

I write this letter on the 10th anniversary of the Iraq War on behalf of my fellow Iraq War veterans. …

… I joined the Army two days after the 9/11 attacks. I joined the Army because our country had been attacked. I wanted to strike back at those who had killed some 3,000 of my fellow citizens.

I did not join the Army to go to Iraq, a country that had no part in the September 2001 attacks and did not pose a threat to its neighbors, much less to the United States.

I did not join the Army to “liberate” Iraqis or to shut down mythical weapons-of-mass-destruction facilities or to implant what you cynically called “democracy” in Baghdad and the Middle East.

I did not join the Army to rebuild Iraq, which at the time you told us could be paid for by Iraq’s oil revenues. Instead, this war has cost the United States over $3 trillion.

I especially did not join the Army to carry out pre-emptive war. Pre-emptive war is illegal under international law. And as a soldier in Iraq I was, I now know, abetting your idiocy and your crimes.

The Iraq War is the largest strategic blunder in U.S. history. It obliterated the balance of power in the Middle East. It installed a corrupt and brutal pro-Iranian government in Baghdad, one cemented in power through the use of torture, death squads and terror. And it has left Iran as the dominant force in the region. On every level—moral, strategic, military and economic—Iraq was a failure. And it was you, Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney, who started this war. It is you who should pay the consequences. …

read more on Dangerous Minds

Krakauer – Pat Tillman and American Wars

On By Rick McIn bad news, books, economics, governmentLeave a comment

Tillman500Pat Tillman, a free-thinking, hard-hitting safety for the Arizona Cardinals, walked away from a multimillion-dollar contract after 9/11 to enlist in the Army.

He joined an elite unit, the Rangers, and was killed on April 22, 2004, in a canyon in eastern Afghanistan.

The story did not end there: Tillman’s commanders and possibly officials in the Bush administration suppressed that he had been killed accidentally by his own comrades. They publicly lionized Tillman as a hero who died fighting the enemy and fed the phony account even to Tillman’s grieving family. The sordid truth, or most of it, came out later.

The best-selling author Jon Krakauer … told the full story in “Where Men Win Glory.” …

read more in the NY Times review by Dexter Filkins, author of “The Forever War.”

I read everything Krakauer writes. An odd guy, he’s one of our best living writers.

Why did Krakauer pick Tillman?

PAT TILLMAN

The story is symbolic of the disaster of the USA invading the Middle East.

What did cost?

What did the American people gain from invading Iraq and Afghanistan?

It’s unlikely the USA will ever again have enough money to engage in a war that ineffective.

I recommend the book. Especially for any young people considering joining any Military.

krakauerbook_custom-700b33c5da722664913b3d904872131ffb20f7bb-s6-c10

Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman

related:

Pat’s brother Kevin wrote an anti-war essay titled Revisiting ‘After Pat’s Birthday’

Pat’s Mom Mary Tillman – Boots on the Ground by Dusk: My Tribute to Pat Tillman

Pat’s wife Marie Tillman – The Letter: My Journey Through Love, Loss, and Life

climate change – SOLVED

On By Rick McIn economics, education, food, good news, government, things getting betterLeave a comment

I’m a “global warming” skeptic.

The climate is changing as it always has. Ice ages come and go.

I’m skeptical that the Earth is warming mainly due to fossil fuels. And I hope I’m right. Because there is almost NO chance that the world is going to reduce the use of fossil fuels anytime soon.

Here’s the best solution I’ve yet heard. Allan Savory’s explains how we can improve the world’s climate in a cost efficient way. AND feed millions of the poorest of the poor at the same time.

Click PLAY or watch it on TED.

“Desertification is a fancy word for land that is turning to desert,” begins Allan Savory in this quietly powerful talk. And it’s happening to about two-thirds of the world’s grasslands, accelerating climate change and causing traditional grazing societies to descend into social chaos. Savory has devoted his life to stopping it.

He now believes — and his work so far shows — that a surprising factor can protect grasslands and even reclaim degraded land that was once desert.

Allan Savory: Grassland ecosystem pioneer

Thanks for the link, Ron.

wealth inequality in the USA

On By Rick McIn economics, governmentLeave a comment

I’ve posted dozens of times regarding this phenomenon.

In 2010, 93 percent of the additional income created in the country that year, compared to 2009 — $288 billion — went to the top 1 percent of taxpayers …

It’s not smart. It’s not healthy.

The wealth gap has not resonated much in the American psyche. Republicans can still rant about “redistribution”, as if it’s a heinous crime.

Many poor people, those suffering most, continue to listen to Rush Limbaugh.

… But for some reason, this video’s gone viral.

The issue of wealth inequality across the United States is well known, but this video shows you the extent of that imbalance in dramatic and graphic fashion.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Fact is the rich are too rich in the USA. Many of the most affluent do not deserve their wealth.

“Behind (most) every great fortune there is a crime.”

– Honoré de Balzac

(via Mashable)

anti-Socialist Americans

On By Rick McIn economics, education, government, happinessLeave a comment

There are many like Susan in the USA.

Susan Clark of Santa Monica, California, who opposes health care reform, stands with a red hand painted over her mouth to represent what she said is socialism taking away her choices and rights, in front of the Supreme Court in Washington, DC, on March 28, 2012, on the final day of arguments regarding the health care law signed by President Barack Obama. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Screenshot 2012-12-06 2:18 PM

Yet many nations she’d call “Socialist” are successful in 2012. And happy.

Norway
Denmark
Finland
Australia
New Zealand
Sweden
Canada
Switzerland
Netherlands

You’d be hard pressed to convince any of those nations that the American model is “better”.

Turns out that spending money on a social welfare safety net is a better investment longterm than military and prisons.

It’s time to rethink priorities, America.

That’s one of the best photos of the year 2012 as chosen by The Atlantic.

takeaways from the American election …

On By Rick McIn bad news, economics, GOP USA, government, things getting worse1 Comment

After this, I’ll try to shut up.

• President Thomas Jefferson coined the phrase — Separation of church and state

Republicans need embrace the concept.

• U.S. Republicans can learn from Canada’s Conservatives

Neither American party is fiscally conservative. I truly believe Romney would have run up an even bigger debt than will Obama.

• Donald Trump is an ass

• Michael Moore‘s heart is in the right place, but he’s as dangerous a left wing zealot as right wing extremists like Trump. I disagree with more than half of what he says.

• Romney’s a good guy. But was forced to associate with Evangelic extremists, bigots, billionaires, bankers and other unsavory characters. Pray for his sold soul.

Mitt’s quite the chameleon. Has any other politician flip-flopped so many times and almost gotten away with it?

I’ll be entertained by the many books with titles like: Why Romney Lost

His math-illiterate, vague platform was an insult to any thinking voter. The only possible reason to vote for him was … ABO (anybody but Obama)

• “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt” was not the title of the editorial he wrote for the NY Times. Whomever penned that catchy headline — Obama owes him a drink

• the worst decision of the Supreme Court in a long, long time was Citizens United. Corporations are not people. Campaign spending should be limited, difficult as that is to do.

• men talking about rape is a very, very bad idea

In fact, a good rule of thumb for men — DON”T talk about women’s bodies on the campaign trail.

• I loved how Chris Christie blew off partisan politics when his own people were in crisis. He’ll never be the Republican candidate.

• the trend is towards approve Gay marriage. Get used to it.

• the trend is to a more diverse population. Politicians anti-immigrant, racist and those surrounded by white advisers will lose. Expect Asian and Hispanic Americans to get more vocal.

• John McCain’s daughter, Meghan, calls for the GOP to #evolve

More than a few dinosaurs need go extinct

• most Tea Party and Occupy proponents simply protest — they don’t have much to offer as politicians. I hope both movements fizzle over the next 4yrs. The Tea Party has done more damage than good.

• young people are most influenced politically by two TV programs on the Comedy Network: Daily Show & Colbert. Both are left wing. (Colbert is my favourite show, so I must be young at heart.)

Republicans need a candidate who can handle youth culture and social media —  McCain and Romney? … Not so good.

• voters watching Fox News and MSNBC know less about government than those who watched any other news source. Or none. Folks who watch NPR and the Daily Show know most.

The right wing pundits at FOX really seem to believe their talking points. That’s surprising. O’Reilly is not a fool.

• Read my lips: Republicans need stop signing Grover Norquist’s NO TAX Pledge. It hamstrings.

• the trend is towards legalized marijuana. Colorado & Washington have legalized recreational use. It’s inevitable that ganja will be as restricted as alcohol.

Personally, I think the USA is doomed. I can’t see any way out for their polarized government. The debt and deficit will continue to balloon.

The trillions in debt will grow. I can’t see any way they can repay with both parties refusing to raise revenue.

Where are new trillion dollar industries going to come from?

Potential for American growth is limited to small business.

America could do better than Barack Obama; sadly, Mitt Romney does not fit the bill

future

• there’s some chance Obama will end the expensive, ineffective war on drugs

• accelerate troop withdrawals. QUIT putting boots on the ground in other nations. Bring the troops home and have them work on infrastructure.

• some day, hopefully within my lifetime, women will take over politics. And I trust women more than I trust men. In 2012 Americans elected a record 19% women to the Senate.

19% !! — WOW … That’s something to celebrate 😦

Tammy Baldwin made history when she became Wisconsin’s first female senator and America’s first openly gay senator. (VIDEO) … Homophobe Paul Ryan’s neighbour.

Next President?

Best would be a bilingual (Spanish & English) woman. Fiscal conservative. Advocating a very minimum social safety net. Requiring individuals who live or work in the USA to pay taxes. Requiring corporations earning money in the USA to pay taxes. Advocating a major reduction in the military. Focused on improving the American infrastructure: roads, rapid transit, sewage, etc.

Increasing regulations of banks.

… In the meantime, this guy’s got problems.

I wish him well.

Sincere thanks to everyone who engaged in the issues of the American election. I learned a lot.

Thanks also to the gluttons for punishment who decided not to HIDE me on Facebook.

Note the very, very few in 2012 who are willing to voice political support online for either Democrats or Republicans. It’s very divisive.

There truly are two Americas. If you could wave a magic wand, something like this wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Folks would have to MOVE. Like they moved between Pakistans and India when that nation broke up.