the eleven of twenty

[Brunhidden]

let us all remenice about the year, and call to mind some things people may not have noticed which are worth celebrating

- a traditional Japanese tea ceremony was held on pearl harbor. the tea-master was a survivor of the Japanese air force, and the guests were survivors of pearl harbor. i  hear it was quite pleasant, though i don't know what kind of tea service was included

- world is running out of evil dictators. no, seriously. theres not only a pile of dead ones but also a number of countries that are trying to peacefully oust totalitarian regiemes in favor of leaders who actually lead. among the rouges gallery of yesteryear are Kim Jong Il, Mubarak, Former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo (ending a civil war), Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi, Bin Laden if you stretch the definition, and several other countries are showing efforts to create stable and effective governments so keep your eyes open. if Egypt can have the first election in 30 years where you don't already know the outcome a month before the polls open then the republic of congo may still earn that 'democratic' prefix yet. Goran Hadžić , whoever that is, was detained in Serbia, becoming the last of 161 people indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia- so even what may be considered 'small time'  despots are being hunted down like dog the bounty hunter.... wait, that made more sense in my head.

- Portugal goes nearly bankrupt, gets 78 billion euros in aid in stabilizing economy. keep in mind Portugal was briefly the most wealthy and powerful nation on earth, so it might count as ironic.

- educational shows try to be both educational and entertaining, again. anything from a reality show about trying to get jousting as a mainstream sport to a riveting documentary about the epic history of everyday things (including string, canned foods, the toilet, and beer) we now once again have television that is not only educational but actually worth watching. sure, theres still about five shows titled 'freaky doctor stuff that will give you nightmares' and even hits like pawn stars get bad imitations like 'hardcore pawn- now with more shouting and less history'.

to me this shows hope for the world, because not all television is simply substituting ashton kutcher for that other guy on a show that was not very funny and really cant even say what its about anymore. in retrospect think of the man who invented television- he had intended it to be a magical window that would take people across the world and learn of far away cultures and breaking news but what he got was gilligans island, which apparently killed him

- India and Bangladesh sign papers ending a 40 year border dispute. everyone is feeling the mellow

- progressive Islamic movement tries to publish/re-publish a comic book called ' the 99 ' to raise awareness of the positive aspects of Islam. each of the 99 superheroes  represents one of the virtues taught by the faith, and virtually none of the women have head coverings while all the men are dressed in modern attire with well groomed facial hair.

radical Islamic leaders make themselves appear more spiteful by telling their followers that this comic book is forbidden because of its attempts to educate people that not all Muslims wear towels and duct tape bombs to their chests in jeff dunnham level hilarity. thus the gap between the crazy and the sane widens, much like fred phelps separated himself from sane christians back in the states. reaction of same leaders to the new television show 'all american muslum' have not been recorded yet.

yes, i am aware that 'islam' is the religon and 'muslum' means "one who believes in god", a bit of fun trivia to turn things around.

- protesters in wisconsin show that you can still march in a pitchfork and torch bearing mob even though the 60s are over. the foundation of politics is shaken when everyone remembers that the support of the people is what gives power to anyone in office. however the govenor then has the gall to say the people support his decisions in spite of the twenty thousand angry people parked on his lawn the night prior.

although no longer in the news rest assured that that particular govenor (it was about disbanding teachers unions, followed by all public servant unions and passing a law allowing all state employees to be fired at will for no listed reason in case you forgot) has had most of his functions held up in wait for him to be removed from office, most state employees spend their days off standing on street corners holding lengthening petition papers, while he spends money nobody knows where he got it to run commercials with actors claiming to be teachers who are glad he is trying to remove their job security (yes, i know teachers unions are also a pain in the ass to teachers, but lets not get ahead of ourselves), more recently the booming 'recall' bumper sticker and lawn sign business has a competitor of 'recalling the governor would be a waste of taxpayer money, no, seriously, thats the best defence we have now' lawn signs. har.

- photographic evidence of liquid water on the surface of mars. once again nobody seems to care on a level that borders on frightening. another probe, this one the most advanced ever made to date is launched, expected to reach mars in early august of next year

- Space shuttle retired, United states to go back to buck rogers style rockets. instead of improving upon an outdated 1970s design in space flight so instead uses 1960s design for space flight

- also from wisconsin... wait, wisconsin is in the news twice in one year? anyways apparently the daughter of Joseph Stallin, yes that one, the one who killed 'a-Canada-full-of-people' Stallin, was found dead in wisconsin after having lived under an assumed name. local cheeseheads gave blank stares when told the old lady who talked funny (well, funny-er, it is wisconsin after all) was in fact the refugee offspring of one of history's greatest monsters. that's...well... about it really, she herself didn't really do anything important other then happily live a life where the leader of the soviet union no longer reciprocated between arranging her marriage and offing her husband for little discernable reason. harvest of the cheese crop was not delayed by this event

- 37 killed and 180 injured in a bombing in Moscow international airport, and somehow nobody things this is breaking news. are people just more chilled out for some reason? or do people not care so much because it was Russia? feel free to have that song in your head, somehow it seems appropriate in this situation.

- Sudan splits into two countries, once again what normally would be freaking people out is somehow not getting anyone freaked out. mellow for the win.

- you may have heard of that earthquake in japan, but oddly enough those living in the area largely didn't care other then they spilled their tea and kimonos are dry clean only. locals of japan were actually more concerned over the china/japan trade relation which will allow them to sync their currencies without another world currency (formerly the dollar) so trade relations can be carried out with a more equitable exchange rate. countries near japan however were pretty much boned

- The world's first artificial organ transplant is achieved, using an artificial windpipe coated with stem cells

- doctor Kevorkian, Betty Ford, and Amy Winehouse, and Annie McAffrey die, mixed feelings all around

- 76 people killed in terrorist attacks in Norway. what? im not even going to try and say the name of the city it happened at, that word looks painful enough to injure that many people. the attacks were aimed at the prime minister and primarily spearheaded by an elderly right wing political extremist. why the hell do i find this funny in some bizzare way?

- United states of america formally announces end to that war thingy that's been petering on for the last freaking ten years already. soldiers who had been shoved into places they really don't want to be by people no longer in office are now eagerly waiting in line to return to western hemisphere



May the next year bring more hope, and more progress!

any of you have more of 2011 that you want to share?

[Alondro]

Oh, you got my gall with the Wisconsin public worker protests.  I DO NOT FEEL PITY FOR THEM!!!  Too many are parasprites who do the minimum amount of work possible and then retire early and leech off the regular tax payers for 30-40 years.  Public workers unions suck in most states.

They're the reason NJ is in the financial mess it's in, with a $60 billion unfunded pension program.

Any system that lets anyone get a $50,000 a year full pension, with full medical benefits FOR LIFE after only 8 years of service is going downhill, fast. 

And don't even get me started on the school administrators who miraculously never get sick or take a vacation and cash out unused sick and vacation days to the tune of over $100,000 when they retire (that, at least, is going to be done away with soon... hopefully.)

NJ's system has poisoned my attitude toward unions in general.  The sheer, unmitigated level of waste and graft in my home state has raised my fury to QUITE MIFFED IN TRUE BRITISH STYLE levels.

[VAE]

Oh, you got my gall with the Wisconsin public worker protests.  I DO NOT FEEL PITY FOR THEM!!!  Too many are parasprites who do the minimum amount of work possible and then retire early and leech off the regular tax payers for 30-40 years.  Public workers unions suck in most states.

No.
Everyone should have working conditions like that, not just public workers.
Looking at them with spite is crying at the wrong grave - it's not their fault most live worse than them, but the capital owners and their political yes-men.
After all.. how silly is being jealous of someone who gets to retire early when there are thousands of shareholders and such that do next to no work at all, and have millions to throw away.

[justacritic]

We need to create something so irresistible that they'll actually throw their millions away. We need some new Isomething.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

This year sucks. Can I go back to last year?

[VAE]

That's called passing quick judgement.

[TheDXM]

This year sucks. Can I go back to last year?

Do not worry. Next December, things will get a LOT better!

[joshofspam]

I'm in a love and hate relationship with this year.

I simply love to hate the year 2011. It didn't bring me much joy. Hopefully 2012 will be an improvement.

[Darkmoon]

Oh, you got my gall with the Wisconsin public worker protests.  I DO NOT FEEL PITY FOR THEM!!!  Too many are parasprites who do the minimum amount of work possible and then retire early and leech off the regular tax payers for 30-40 years.  Public workers unions suck in most states.

No.
Everyone should have working conditions like that, not just public workers.
Looking at them with spite is crying at the wrong grave - it's not their fault most live worse than them, but the capital owners and their political yes-men.
After all.. how silly is being jealous of someone who gets to retire early when there are thousands of shareholders and such that do next to no work at all, and have millions to throw away.

This.

[Aisha deCabre]

If I were to give this year a grade, it'd be B-.  Mostly for my own personal experiences of it. x3

[Alondro]

You'd all be singing a different tune if you lived in NJ.

We are the end result of public worker unions which have become direct backers of a political party.  It is utterly corrupt.

The pension systems ended up tens of billions underfunded, our state taxes explode, regulations make doing anything (even putting up a shed in your yard) a mountain of paperwork and zoning inspections (unless you just quietly put it up, age it a bit with some chemicals, and pretend it's been there for 40 years.  Yes, we actually do that here.)  Our infrastructure is a disaster, our schools cost more per student than any other state and have terrible results.  Our roads cost nearly a $1 million per mile when repairs are done, many times higher than the national average, all due to public graft, nepotism, and absurdly overpriced state contracts awarded via a corrupt process that essentially removes any competition.

Not to mention that reforms are nearly impossible to get through, thanks to the state worker unions being basically a voting block commanded to vote a specific way... or (as is subtly suggested) face discrimination.  Both my brothers found that part out personally when one brother wanted to become a teacher and the other a police officer. 

I'm not saying that the ultra-rich are good.  They aren't, and many of them are part and parcel of the political system that perpetuates the corruption.  Large political contributors have enormous influence on policy, after all.  In NJ, we have Boss Norcross, for instance.  I'm saying that the public worker unions are also part of the problem.  Maybe not in every state, but certainly in mine and a number of others.  I KNOW personally some of the parasites in my state.  Some are in my family, some live on our street, some I see in the local diners. 

We ask them to put just 1 or 2% toward their pension and health plans, far less than most private employees have to put toward their plans, and they go berserk!  Well sorry, our state has no money!  And we're NOT going to pay even higher taxes to fund their decades of retirement! 

And taxing the rich (at least in a single state) is pointless.  They can afford to leave.  Besides, how many of those rich are rich today primarily because the huge bailouts kept them from losing everything?  If this was truly about attaining equality for the masses, the federal government should have either allowed every last one of those failing banks and mortgage companies to collapse OR given the money to people who owed on mortgages so they could keep meeting their payments. 

The banks would still have gotten the money via payments, only at a slower pace (which would have prevented the hoarding of the stimulus money and the massive outpaying from those banks to foreign investors).  It would have allowed for far greater liquidity in the economy, kept hundreds of thousands of homes off an already glutted housing market, stabilized prices faster since far fewer homes would have to be re-sold or dumped into auctions, and maybe forced the banks to reorganize their lending practices as it would have been a very clear signal that the federal government would not be taking crap from them and stood by the people rather than the politically-connected corporations.

If anything should be protested, it's the set of bailouts from the politicians directly to the banks to keep their rich investors in the black, while those same banks were allowed to forclose on millions of homeowners after receiving tax-payer money. 

[Damaris]

Don't paint the entire country with your state's brush.

In Indiana, public workers are habitually paid 10-20k less than their counterparts in other states, and 20-40k less than they would receive in the private sector.

We spent the last three years without a raise, in order to balance our state's budget, and are one of (last I knew) three in the country to not be running a deficit.

Our retirement match - which was $30 a month, by the way - was suspended at the beginning of the economic downturn, and was only reinstated for 2012. Our health care has continued to increase. We have had layoffs (other agencies) or achieved smaller numbers through natural attrition (my agency), meaning that we are expected to do more with less resources, at the same rate of pay that we were receiving in 2008.

We stay because Indiana government is stable, especially in a state with some of the highest unemployment in the country. We stay because we're making a difference. This has been my reality, and I'm not complaining about the fact that I'm employed. But I'll be damned if I'm going to be called lazy because I serve my fellow constituents. I get called a soulless mouthpiece enough. I won't be berated about my lack of work ethic too, especially from someone who knows nothing about states outside of his own.