Peace equal rights and justice……

Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2012 11:13 pm

Peace equal rights and justice……

Yup it sounds like the title to a reggae number.
Fact is in my mind…….what it the point of peace without justice.
OK……what is peace? Is it a cessation of violence. Possibly but a cessation of violence could also be that the people are passified coerced or maybe just terrorized into compliance. Is it then Peace.
Well the answer to the question if I put it in such a manner is a resounding NO

Ok I am no spring chicken at 54 but I do remember when people were pursued for being activist…..basically they were sought after and prosecuted for “Disturbing the Peace” how quaint is that ?? sorry peeps just very cynical today.
OK…..peaceful protest…….whoopee people out in the streets and waving colourful banners and the governments just loved it…….you see in my warped perception of reality I see it as a perfect platform for the government to allow a march with minimum control and then to offer an olive branch in the form of “yes, you have a point we will discuss it and then let you know”

So a quick fast forward to events in recent months. Our police or security now look like nazis and have an amazing array of Star Wars armour that makes them all look like effing Darth Vader clones minus cape. May the force not be with u cause we have pepper spray…..oh and we can best the crap out of you with sticks batons and for good fun we have the TAZER…….oh what a bonus for people keeping the peace. And no I am not talking Russia Iraq Iran or Cambodia but talking London New York Paris and Any other western land where people gather together peacefully to ask for justice……oops Did I mention that the new world dictionary according to johnno means that the word Justice is a red flag for maximum aggression and politicians pick up the phone and call in the Darth Vader clones.

Now I would not in any form means or design incite violence or preach revolution.
BUT: The actions of present day governments are so heavy handed that when old ladies are pepper sprayed…..young people in Wheelchairs are beaten to the ground and when any voice of reason is sidestepped then I see no alternative in our future.
When did it become normal that people sitting on the streets or in the parks to protest their awful plight and financial situations become a target for the Security Forces ???
When people are not on a rampage or burning and a looting did it become OK to send in the troops ?

This post is a reaction to the thread on WW3…….you see the war is already taking place. We are slowly but surely being put in a place of servitude. Our workers either have little to no work or if they work are being paid a subsistence income which is then taxed making it impossible for the average family to exist without turning into a society of beggars and waiting for handouts.
People…….we will soon be back on food stamps and rations. Yeah yeah…….we all have tv’s and running water. But the water is getting scarce. The quality of the water is getting worse and the price for clean water is rising. As for the TV…….well to be a true cynical brat it is now connected to the nets and it has a face time camera built in.
So no more nooky on the couch with the loved one as software to control the camera remotely already exists…..hahahaha…got to laugh and yes I can hear people thinking WTF johnno is on a bad acid trip and suffering paranoia. Actually I am not. I am just aware of the fact that if I look at how the controls for the web are being put into place and look at how the old fashioned police man has changed from public servant to a tool for beating the public into submission I can only see cause and effect. There will be violence and I do not think it is going to be pretty. I also feel that the usage of the term terror is the perfect screen by which many western governments now have imposed new laws and new forms of invasion into privacy to assist in controlling the public. The media machine is for most already a laughable comic book affair and this is in my opinion a deliberate strategy. Afterall if they are so dumb and unbelievable then the truth is easy to disguise when no one takes news reporting seriously.

To say we are moving toward a system of those that have and those that have not is also laughable…….we have already arrived at that point as was demonstrated peacefully by the recent wall street sit down and occupy. The voice of the public was not violent did not raise ludicrous wish lists but quietly asked for help……and what did they get ?? Darth Vader Clones was the reply.
What has happened since ? nothing, it is business as usual and the usual suspects make billions and pay almost zero tax when the %’s are looked at between those that work to survive for those controlling the workplace.
Now once again this is not a call for the French style revolution or to sieze from the rich to give to the poor. It is simple a call for JUSTICE.
Where is it “just” that a few who have incredible wealth can dictate the law to support their need to pay less in a society where all men are seen as equal and the burden of tax should fall upon every citizen according to their means ????
How is it just, that if I pay 30% or more of my income to the government as tax that a billion dollar enterprise can get away with less. A lot less.
Here is a little nut of info from 2010
Last year the conglomerate General Electric USA generated $10.3 billion in pretax income, but ended up owing nothing to Uncle Sam. In fact, it recorded a tax benefit of $1.1 billion.

And here is an eye opener.

Avoiding taxes is nothing new for General Electric. In 2008 its effective tax rate was 5.3%; in 2007 it was 15%. The marginal U.S. corporate rate is 35%.
Now an interesting statement was made and it is the following

"The average Joe should be in favor of lower corporate taxes," says Hodge, "because ultimately they are paying the corporate income tax. Either as workers, getting lower wages and fewer jobs, or as consumers, paying higher prices, or as retirees, getting lower dividends and earnings on their investments."

How quaint this statement is…..I find it insulting as it basically says that obscene profit margins are the norm and if such margins are effected by taxes then we will foot the bill. Again how can there be peace when there is no justice. Is it “Just” for a company that has such a high profit margin to simply say……”tax me and I will reduce workers wages or put up prices”
Ok not an attack on the companies but more a statement of how ineffectual governments have become. If the basic services of water energy transport and infrastucture were nationalised then the price is controlled. There is no need for profit and a break even scenario would be the target. Government had this in the UK and it worked until union idiocy and corruption forced later governments to sell off to the private sector as wage bills could not be met.
The downside is that the government now buys these services and the quality has not improved and the number of people employed has been reduced to a situation where the workload cannot be effectively carried by the few that are employed. You see profit comes first and service is dead or dying.
All companies may have a profit but so must workers ?? It is ludicrous to assume that workers may work for a salary that ensures that at the end of each month they have nothing left. No profit from their labours.

Today this is pretty much where we are. Many workers have no profit and are therefore dissatisfied. They remain for the majority compliant to the system as the number of those that have no work is the stick used to keep them in line.
The number without work is now such a burden that the very fabric of society is being torn apart. It is not a Hollywood movie but a reality that some towns have 80% unemployment. Those that work are those in service industries as cafes boarding houses garages hospitals schools etc. Some areas now have zero production. Many of the younger people flee in the hope of work elsewhere but there will always remain a substantial number that cannot move and these are a society left without income unless it is a pension or a handout. Our society is rapidly becoming a society of beggars and that beggars belief in today’s ultra modern and highly advanced technical civilisation.

It need not be all gloom as many towns and smaller cities can be given a lease of life at low cost but the will to do so will not happen all the time governments are supported by those with wealth and funding to ensure that they get what they want at the cost of society and the populace as a whole. I do not call for a socialist reform or a taxation of the rich to feed the needy as that is not an answer…..it would be merely a bandaid on a fatal wound.
What is needed is that governments take a stand and do their work which is govern and to treat all members of society as important.

The present form of government suppression of the people who voice opinion as a coherent group with Darth Vader clones is in my humble opinion the final stage of government losing control. If a countries citizens are content then there would be no need for such extremes.
We are today at the apex of a power struggle between those that will rule and those that will serve. No wonder they want to sieze the nets. The nets are a double edged sword…….they can be seized and used as a totalitarian tool for control or they remain free and the world as we know it is going to change.
I think that within the next five years there will be violence in the streets. Not a happy thought but whichever train of thought I follow brings me to the same conclusion…….there is coming a straw that will break the camels back.

Posted: Wed May 09, 2012 10:55 am

I agree. At least I think I do. I'm not too sure really, I'm so pie eyed it took me 40 mins to read and I don't remember what it said but I think I agree anyway.

Posted: Wed May 09, 2012 6:27 pm

hahaha...... i would like to not agree.
I had a few beers and was basically minding my own business but was catching up on some news. When back tracking and reading about some of the actions results etc of the Arab Spring I could not help but see a bucket load of similarities between what was going on there and what happens here.
Many of the basics may have a different cause and effect but overall the dissatisfaction of regular citizens and respective bodies of those who rule is similar.
I think things like riots in France and those that took place in England more recently whilst not good and possibly counter productive do illustrate an undercurrent of people being sick n tired of the state of affairs.
When things look to be getting worse than better then I do worry that people will start getting moe radical in their actions.

Posted: Fri May 11, 2012 12:28 am

interesting thought, never considered the reason for "Darth Vader clones", only resented the use of.

In the current economic environment companies don't need to lobby politicians for tax brakes or pay them off with electioneering funding, they can literally blackmail them into submission
Big companies and conglomerates now have so much power they can just simply tell government they will not pay a 35% tax rate and if made too will just move off shore.

I think it's now about damage control. How much can you let them get away with while weighing up unemployment and economic costs.
I also think this runs hand in hand with the attempted introduction of SOPA, PIPA and any other legislation they try to pass and why politicians will
not step up when the MPAA hunts little old ladies.

There are countries actively courting the movie companies to have productions made within their borders. New Zealand being one.
It's rumoured that Peter Jackson will pay no tax and get 10 mill to keep the hobbit movie down her, Just so NZ is brought back into the lime light of hollywood as a possible movie site.

Now when it comes to MPAA it is now a numbers game. How many little old ladies, including those that have been dead for 8 years, can you afford to piss off and still retain your place at the trough.
Just so the general masses don't rise up in retaliation to them putting the boot into said little old ladies, they make them out to be the scum of society by portraying them as pornographers.
But it doesn't stop there, the PR pulled on the general masses now has them believing that all little old ladies, some little old men and a couple of 6 year olds are also pornographers

ffs get f'ing real, if you ask me the majority of the human race is as pig ignorant as when it dragged itself out of the mud. Instead of trying to find out about the topic they argue
it based on what they hear from the PR out of the states. I wear my iso and file shear T's at every opportunity and I am starting to get tired of defending myself and the P2P community.

And as far as the media is concerned the topic of file sharing is taboo. We still get Kim avoiding url block will get you banned on the news occasionally down here but it has nothing to do with file sharing
but because he made a donation to a tosser politicians election fund. Like I give a shit, what it does tell me is that avoiding url block will get you banned is an idiot with a poor judge of corrector

oh F it, I going to writing to Keys our PM to inform him that I will only be paying 5% tax or I will run my business into the ground and go on welfare

Posted: Fri May 11, 2012 7:18 am

Holy CRAP!!!! A person could have an aneurism trying to decipher all this LOL.... Quite the Report Johnno!!!

Hmmmm Well my thought is this.... in the history of man it's always been whom-ever has the biggest stick wins... IE... if you hit me with that stick... I'll Beat you with this club!... Eyre-Go. there is peace. Until some Dick with a club goes rouge and then everyone in the world has to beat him to death with sticks.... But hey... over thousands of years society has progressed to the wonderful state we are all in now.... Which is.... whom-ever has the biggest stick... AND the most CASH Wins!!! I need a beer! Cool

Posted: Fri May 11, 2012 2:02 pm

Very thought provoking stuff Johnno.
Here in Oz, we don't really have a problem with "Vader Clones", yet. But I'm sure it won't be too long before we catch up to the rest of the world.
You mention the word Justice a few times.
Justice is only for those who can afford it I'm afraid.
Big business rules the world now.
I remember when our government thought they could simply shame big business into behaving by publicly berating them. (how naive)
When a company like apple makes profits in the 100's of billions, does that mean they now their shit or their products are way over priced. Do they a a responsibility to return more to the community?
Banks in Oz cry poor while making record profits. Banks were once pillars of the community but now are more like some sort of parasite you carry with you for life.
I think we have brought this on ourselves by being lazy and greedy.
We have sold off all the utilities here under the illusion that privatization would bring competition and therefore lower prices. Ha. Suckers.
Who needs a roof over their head, or clean water, or Justice , so long as we have the latest big arse flat screen and an ipad all is good.

Posted: Fri May 11, 2012 6:34 pm

very true stonecold.3.16.....

In the past a bank was a personal kinda service. One paid for the services but today they take your money and even charge you if you ask whats left.

What I find so hard to accept is that in the past the local bobby to use an English expression, was just that . he was a local who knew the neighbourhood knew the people and knew of their personal circumstance troubles and triumphs. He was a part of the community.

Today he is a stranger and most times merely a figurehead of repression. I use this word deliberately as in the past your local bobby could show some form of compassion. I have seen them put someone in the back of the car and drive them home as they knew that the guy had just lost his job and was blind drunk with rage.....they also knew that the guy was not a total arse but just suffering the circumstances of losing his work.
Today no such thing happens and I see police busy issuing tickets and fining those that do work for the most needless of minor infractions....the reason why is that the police now must bring in revenue to pay for the work that they do. The police were once paid by peoples taxes but now they are just another arm of the governments revenue sources.....
I stated once that the police in Amsterdam demanded a pay increase and better conditions to tackle crime. The Government gave them an 11% increase or thereabouts but instead of crime going down the government stated that they needed to have an increase in 16% of fines to help pay for their wage increase .........
Now the issue I have with this is that the most people doing crimes if caught redhanded cost the state money and wht they have in their possesion at the time of capture actually belongs to someone else. Therefore the average criminal does not have money so how can you fine them.....end result the only people you can fine are those who have an income. So in a perverse manner those not breaking the law need to be fined for stupid things like not locking a car door to help pay for police who shoud be chasing criminals.
Now add to this insane dilemma and look at the communities that rise up in protest.....even when it is peaceful.....if it is not over and done in a period deemed acceptable by the local authorities then in come Darth Vader Clones with sticks......WTF ever happened to dialogue.?? How about those in Authority come out and speak directly to the people ??? Sadly its a case of politicians today are not there to help the countries they should be serving as service is DEAD. They are in fact in politics not for any idealistic reason other than it is a well paid career.
Maybe I should not say that as i am sure to be wrong and a few of them truly try to help their country but then the numbers doing ok for themselves do not want any one upsetting the apple cart and the voices of reason compassion and justice are drowned in the noise of who did what when and why. I am sick of how these people live off the state when they should be serving the state and most of their time is spent purely covering their own tracks and protecting themselves from loss of power.
Any ways.....time for a coffee before I get really caustic.....

Posted: Sat May 12, 2012 7:06 am

I don't think you saying anything far from the truth here johnno... the cops are becoming more of a para-military organization rather than just being cops... They are also becoming just as corrupt as the Government A-holes they're working for... Locally here 3 cops have been charged with Impaired driving... LOL one was actually driving a cop car when he was charged... We've had MLA's and other Government officials charged with misuse of tax money among other things... Looks like "Organized Crime" is moving into Politics!

But I agree... there's no such thing as the "Local" cop anymore... someone that you know, and who actually cares about the community... Even in standard everyday dress they look like their ready for a riot to break out any second... The Cops are using much more aggressive tactics in any given situation and using power and intimidation as tools... The days of you're local Cop talking you home cause you had a few to many are long gone... Now it's a "Go Directly to Jail Free Card"!! If they're not out writing you a ticket for breathing the wrong way, they're sitting in the local coffee shop sucking back donuts and swilling coffee!

Again... it's all about "Control" over the masses...

Posted: Sat May 12, 2012 7:34 am

control indeed.....
I cannot speak for everyone but back in the 20's and 30's it was a mess and after WW2 there seemed to be a real change. The gap between those with everything and those with nothing altered. We kinda shifted to a mass middle class. Communities were thriving and people earned a decent living. governemnts had plenty f tax revenue and all was relatively ok.....around the 70's it began to slide.....by the 80's we had in England a reaction by the youth of the day...the Punk Revolution.....which in turn was fashionised and its meaning and messages were lost. By the end of the 80's the shift towards more extreme measures of control were beginning and in the 90's it was apparent that a man could no longer support a family.....the wife must also work and children went daycare. By the turn of this century the rot had truly set in with mass unemployments and the shift of production was pretty much in its entirety sent oerseas. We now live in a society where the squeeze on the middle classes that were the backbone of many societies are themselves now unemployed and spiralling towards the bottom of the scale. As these people begin to raise their voices in protest then the DVC's (darth vader clones) have become more visible.....I think the reason is simple.....it is no longer a mob or a group of disgruntled youth that take part in protest marches but a much wider group. Many of this new age protest are well educated, have good credentials and have everything to lose if they have not lost most of it already.
In this respect the fear for government is now much higher and the need to silence peoples right to air their grievances is being curtailed. It is being curtailed I think as many of those that would speak can do so with eloquence and in a maner that everyone can understand....they could talk of injustice as banks being paid billions in tax money and then rewarding their ceo's etc. They can speak in a manner that could incite anger and possible riot. For this reason the need to keep people shut down and in their homes......couple this with the present danger to the webs and it is clear imo that governments are only too happy to concede to hollywood and copyrights law as this is a free ticket to control of people..A tool used to monitor what people download is the same tool needed to follow what people communicate. It is a free ticket to invasion of privacy and reinforced by similar laws being presented as "needed in the interest of security and prevention of terror"
We see ever broader terminolgy being used to convince people that there is a need to spy on eveyone using the nets.....Even Canada has an absurd paper being proposed and it is saddled upon peoples hate of child abuse....they will use the excuse of pedo prevention to basically seize one rights to access files on the nets. Whilst i would welcome any filter as such that might deter such files being on the nets the paper and its proposals basically open a door of censorship to a very much wider range of data that can be blocked. The blocking of a movie is no big deal but the tools needed are the same tools that can be used to block access to any site or data that a government might feel is not in their best interests. We are led to think we have freedom and democracy but all I see is lots of stick on offer and very little carrot.
Whilst my posting might seem very negative I am a positive kinda person....I do still have faith in the power of some individuals to do amazing things but I am finding that for every voice of reason....people as Clay Shirky there are ten shouting foul where one man speaks calmly and truth.

Posted: Wed May 30, 2012 4:47 am

The quotation "All men are created equal" has been called an "immortal declaration", and "perhaps" the single phrase of the United States Revolutionary period with the most grand "continuing importance" Thomas Jefferson first used the phrase in the Declaration of independence. But it's quintessentially a Pandora's box. Peace has multiple origins but with a common purpose and decree. Justice is a constant and perpetual process.Natural justice is a man-made theory; it is not a reality. In nature, justice is purely theoretic, wholly a fiction. Nature provides but one kind of justice -- inevitable conformity of results to causes. Justice, as conceived by man, means getting one's rights and has, therefore, been a matter of progressive evolution. The concept of justice may well be constitutive in a spirit-endowed mind, but it does not spring full-fledgedly into existence on the worlds of space.

The economic disparity and political control is altogether a different issue. Everyone expects a chauvinist but the situation doesn't demands so. We are still in a process of evolution and that applies to everything we created; including economy, government , control and execution.
This post is a " epiphany of theoretical models in political sociology by karl marx. " Anyways a good one as always johnno..

Posted: Wed May 30, 2012 5:55 am

90% of protests are made by the same people and 90% of them have no idea what they are protesting about.

Posted: Wed May 30, 2012 6:08 am

I am not one for saying make everyone equal.....theory is sound but in practice we see on a daily basis that some are thick but think they are superior.....they moan over a fake download but are too smart to learn how to spot one. Basic example of course.
What troubles me is the social fabric of society is being ripped apart as governments are are a group of individuals that choose a political career....please note CAREER. Its a job opportunity and no longer a form of philanthropic service to ones country. How on earth can a politician state they do a service when in fact they service their own interests and not those of the people.
To make matters more complicated those in power in most western countries are in power due to funding from corporations who show no compassin for their own country men whatsoever.
Apple sells an iphone for 499 USD but pays the Chinese 6 USD to assemble it. Easy target i know but many larger USA and European companies are doing the same. OK good profits but those profits come at a cost to the American and european worker. They have no assembly plants they have no manufacturing and no way of supporting their own people other than handouts. Given that this is an image of western business practice I find it only natural that people want to retaliate in one form or another.
After all if you can only give handouts to your home based work force then the government has in fact turned a productive society into a society of beggars. Most people do not want a handout.......most want to do something for reward. If that is assembling iphones or cars then maybe it is not a glamorous livelihood but it is something that many people would regard as a form of independence and self satisfaction. I think that people in government often overlook a simple fact........people are proud. People do not want to be told sit down here is some money feed yourself and find entertainment. this is pretty much the way the west is headed. If I lok at how the western system is falling apart due to cost then I really think that things as Hollywood paying the government for concession and control of the nets is a bit of a farce........Government imo has no choice but to seize the nets along with the entertainment industry as it needs to placate the populace in some manner. If there is no work and only a form of say 2 years social service to ones country then film music and games need to be supplied and not paid for. Elsewhere i once wrote that I beleive the visions of huxley and orwell to be quite profound......there will at some point be designer drugs. These of course are again needed as people with nothing else but time on their hands need to have some form of outlet. If it is in escapism via a designer drug or through entertainment as film and games then so be it. If not when western societies have 70% Unemployment levels then unless the population is placated there will be chaos.....
Already in the last 30 years we have been witness to how security has shifted. Take any western city of say 8 million plus and there are areas for the wealthy with police on every street and its inhabitants are safe......look to the other end of the scale and we have streets where no law as such is truly present and those that live there live in fear and are in many respects isolated and pretty much contained.......almost a prison. Sadly if I look to the future such areas may well indeed become barricaded and used as a type of prison.
Where we as a grown up society should be looking for reform and how to include our fellow citizens I see all too often that people do not matter....it is always a question of economics. There is more than enough of everything to go around but still we create a system where we hold back and offer the goods to the highest bidder. This archaic form of business is imo reaching a point of being no longer sustainable.....after all if the majority of your population has no money than who can these items be sold to ??.
Whilst I do not propose a communist ideology I truly see no alternative to a state where everything is controlled and owned by the state. The future of society is one where we are either given everything we need or the people will rise up and take it. I only hope that such a future is still a long way ahead but when I look at figures like the following
Wednesday 11 January 2012 for the USA it was reported that in 2010, the number of people living in poverty rose to 46.2 million and continued to grow over the past year. It is now 2012 and the number has increased plus the number of those who have simply given up looking for work are not even counted. People out of work for more than a year are no longer counted in the unemployment figures so the true number of those either withput work or living in poverty in what is supposed to be the worlds strongest power is quite astonishing and scary.....
Another item to fear is this.....Last year, about 48 million people ages 18 to 64 did not work even one week out of the year, up from 45 million in 2009..... again a report that is already outdated as this was made in 2010.
Why is this scary ?? because despite all of the problems in the USA it is still one of the most open countries with regard to public information even if they do try to make it look better than it truly is. So lets assume that the figures are just a tad higher than the government wants us to think then if I ignore those with a pension and those too young to work then the numbers of those in an age group capable of working the figures are devastating. And it can only get worse.
If the USA is in this mess think of some european countries.....Greece at almost 22% Spain at almost 20% but almost everywhere a figure of 10% is nothing special.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_unemployment_rate
the wiki link is quite interesting.....I will not go into every detail but if one takes time to cross reference the countries with the highest unemployment figures it relates directly to the political turmoil and also some of the most violent states on our planet.
Anyways......all too heavy for me right now so time to raid the fridge and enjoy a cold beer.

Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2012 9:54 pm

True ,mankind runs on two sides of coin . I guess since evolution only one guy advocated "middle path ".. yes in a different context but nevertheless a palpable and veritable statement. " The results of philanthropy are always beyond calculation".. hehe.. Do we need philanthropic leaders ? yes, its a necessary trait.. and it exists in everyone.. but decisions and circumstances weigh more in executing and foreseeing a policy. A social fabric is built on "society".. And this society chooses some to cattle them forward .. If the govt policies are biased then its the voice of all who put up a clown show in every 5 years... Its really interesting to ask what people need... needs are insatiable and unsustainable ..And why should a corporate involve in a prejudiced endeavor ? Its a global market and a merciless one.. The effect of globalization has always been controversial and debatable. Indeed your concern is absolute .. without work the decorum of a social fabric degrades ..
but its inevitable..
If everything could be given then it will result in chaos.. History speaks for itself.. Without a price the essence of the needs cannot be measured or satisfied to its true purpose.