20-year old Taylor Wilson wrote the best article I’ve read so far on the 2020 Black Lives Matters protests.
Racism is housing discrimination, food inequity, mass incarceration, underfunded schools, unequal access to sport, over-policing, voter disenfranchisement, the war on drugs, hiring discrimination, unequal access to healthcare, and a flawed criminal justice system that far too often lets officers go unchecked for abusing their power.
I am tired of seeing Black people beaten and murdered by police. I am deeply disturbed by the lack of accountability for police officers who so blatantly cause harm, shielded by a blue wall of silence that seems impenetrable by the justice system. …
Dr. King – “I Have a Dream”
Almost 56 years after the Civil Rights Act was signed, and Black people are STILL fighting for equal protection under the law and the genuine right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. …
Enough is enough. “Thoughts and prayers” is no longer a sufficient response …
Denounce racism when it’s not convenient for you. In rooms where there are no Black people. … In every space, especially those in which you hold a position of power or influence, leverage your privilege. Do not stay silent. Be explicitly anti-racist and hold others accountable for their words and actions. …
If reading this made you uncomfortable, good.
Get comfortable being uncomfortable because I promise you, this is just the beginning.
I was offline cycling for 6 days of the protests and riots, folks angered about American police brutality against African Americans.
Happy to miss so much of that pain and anger. Actually.
It’s not easy to see any way the USA will be less divided anytime soon. If 40% of Americans still support Trump after his gross incompetence, they’ll go to the grave believing he was some kind of genius.
Marvin Gaye:
Mother, mother
There’s too many of you crying
Brother, brother, brother
There’s far too many of you dying
You know we’ve got to find a way
To bring some lovin’ here today, yeah
Father, father
We don’t need to escalate
You see, war is not the answer
For only love can conquer hate …
Jude Law is the conspiracy theorist flogging a fake cure.
… The film has received renewed popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
There are many parallels between the fictitious MEV-1 and COVID-19.
But MEV-1 is much more severe. More like the 1918 Flu.
In a flashback, a bulldozer razes palm trees while clearing a rainforest in China that disturbs the natural habitat of some bats. One bat finds shelter in a pig farm and drops an infected piece of banana, which is eaten by a pig. The pig is slaughtered and prepared by a chef in a Macau casino, who transmits the virus to Beth (Paltrow) in a handshake.
Free trade is one way to ensure efficient use of resources.
In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold liberal economic positions while economically left-wing and nationalist political parties generally support protectionism, the opposite of free trade.
So when you see Trump impose tariffs, know that he’s a protectionist. And nationalist. Not a fiscal conservative.
Since at least 2005 there’s been increasing distrust in ‘globalisation’. We ended up with idiots like Trump making decisions, his unsuccessful trade war with China, for example. Both sides lose in trade wars.
Expect everything to get more expensive and/or unavailable as free trade continues to decline.
There is a broad consensus among economists that protectionism has a negative effect on economic growth and economic welfare while free trade and the reduction of trade barriers has a positive effect on economic growth and economic stability.
One bit of good news – USMCA Free Trade Agreement will come into effect soon. That’s NAFTA 2.0 with minor tinkering of auto exports, steel and aluminum tariffs, dairy, egg, and poultry markets.