Saturday, June 26, 2010

G(aga)8

I went to check the news as per usual on a few different sites and was amazed to see that there was little to no mention of the G8/G20 summit in Canada this weekend. However, I know that Lady Gaga is having trouble with her driver and that her and Obama are in a facebook war. Fascinating...
Not to give props to our former kingdom, but BBC was the only news site that had a front page mention of it. Considering that this summit comprises of the worlds 8 biggest economies (except for the biggest, China) and the G20 which is a group of finance ministers and central bank governors overseeing the world economy, I'd think major news organizations would give just two more shits about that than Gaga's employee problems. But I guess she looks hotter in a machine gun bra than Obama would...
As far as what is going on at the G8/G20 summit, so far it's been a lot of Big Brother condemnation of what other countries are doing wrong, a playground pow-wow between the big kids about what the little kids should be doing. For example, the North Korea/South Korea ship incident, the North Korean and Iranian arms development, and suggesting that the Gaza situation is unsustainable.
Well, having an erection for a day is also unsustainable but what does that have to do with the price of rice? Interestingly enough, this seems to me to be regurgitation of earlier arguments just with more big wigs in a different place. We are sticking our nose in other peoples business while simultaneously doing nothing about it. We shove Afghanistan and Iraq under the rug as if they're the embarrasing stepchildren and focus on the countries we haven't started wars with yet.
The G20 summit is another can of worms being that you have 19 different countries and then the EU that sit there and argue about how to unfuck the current economic situation. It reminds me a bit of when I was in Switzerland and was asking a French man and a German for directions, having no idea what they were saying or who was right...needless to say, I got lost and tried again with a happily found Brit. Unfortunately, I don't think the same strategy will work at the G8/G20 summit. Decisions need to be made and we can't afford to get lost and hope for the best.
It also doesn't do to sit and discuss who did what wrong when you're involved in two wars and have an arsenal of nuclear weapons. Leaders lead best by example. As always, talking is cheap, actions are not. Best of luck in Canada everyone.

Friday, June 25, 2010

and we're back with a random post...

Sorry it's been so long dear blog...life is a strange series of ups, downs, rights and lefts and now I'm back again...that is of course the abridged version. If you're interested in the fuller version, just lemme know.

At the moment, I'm in lovely Stockholm, Sweden, enjoying midsummers eve in the clean air and under a utopian blue sky.
Sweden is known for their eco-friendly stance in this shit storm of trashing our planet and raping her resources. In January 1999, an Environmental Bill was passed including many laws penned to protect the natural Sweden for this generation and those to come. However since then, many amendments have taken place that according to the Swedish EPA has greatly weakened the bill.
Mikael Karlsson, the speaker for the Swedish EPA suggested that Parliament has several times been a doormat to companies that trampled the laws with the pretense that they just wanted to make the laws simpler. Even though, the laws barely effect the companies' bottom line and stimulate competition amongst manufacturers.
A Swedish environmental lawyer said that she is disappointed with how the environmental laws have slipped, under two successive governments, both Alliansen (the Alliance) and Socialdemokraterna (Socialists).
I might add just to the reader who isn't stuck into Swedish politics that those two groups are quite on opposite sides...one might say, quite like Democrats and Republicans...hmmmm, drawing parallels...reminds me of math class.

As much good as I have to say about Sweden, this article that I read on Svenska Dagbladet (a popular newspaper) leaves me sad and irritable. If you've read any of my posts you know that I am not an extremist, whether we be talking of right or left. In Sweden, I am not a socialist nor a conservative. I believe in getting things done, regardless of what your voting card says.
The continued fucking over of our planet by big corporations is not just something that hails from the land of the free and home of the brave. This is an international problem, because corporations work globally.
For anyone who didn't think we live in a global world, wake up and smell the stench of 6 billion people crowded in your back yard...b/c that's basically where they are.

While Sweden may be a ways away from "oops, is that my oil spill?" and "we must strike before stricken," these trends of government laying down their justice and morals to the full pocket books of corporate interest is a striking and scary one. And it is one I don't intend to accept...it's good to be back.
Happy Midsummer.