Thank you Ha-Joon chang

At last something I can read in the media which is common sensical and gives me pleasure.

Everybody knows it now!

Thank you, Ha-Joon Chang!


"Acceptance of inequality rests on assumptions that 'free markets' make us all richer in the end. Growth figures tell it differently"

Ha-Joon Chang has asaid it on Tuesday August 31 2010 in ' The Guardian' at last.

"...Virtually no politician challenges a basic, erroneous premise that inequality is a price worth paying for a more efficient market system that enriches us all. The simplistic, free-market view of the Thatcher-Major era said equality of opportunity is all we need for a fair society. If no one had their market participation blocked, the result, however unfair it may look to some, should be accepted as fair. Today many people, both on the left and the right, recognise that this is not enough. We can accept the outcome of a competitive process as fair only when the participants have equality in basic capabilities; the fact that no one is allowed to have a head start does not make the race fair if some contestants have only one leg...."


Thank you Ha-Joon for the first bit of common sense I have read in the a newspaper for fifty years.

The Fiefdom of the Don

The Fiefdom of the Don
The Bourgeois 'Conservative' waits and waits: emotionally numb, he sleepwalks through life in a  trance leaving a trail of debris from destructive relationships:shunning, shaming and snuffing out all possibility of intimate human transactions he has to clutch in desperation for relief from’ his own anomie.

‘Righteous Indignation’ is the refuge of the guilty –the hypocrite who is afraid his selfishness will be will be exposed to others, but especially to himself”.The righteously indignant person always requires victims. He is a serial victimizer. I am just a little indignant myself about the media.

In short:

Citizens should keep their guard up and be wary of being patronized  by condescending self-important opinion peddlers such as chat-show hosts, radio reporters newspaper journalists, reporters and other vampires.

On the Media and Elections in a Democracy:

In Australia, the media “manage” every election so that it is horse race with a close finish. They do this by suggestion, insinuation, innuendo, manipulation and fear. They don’t care who wins really (although they usually try and make the conservative party if forced to choose).

They do this without scruple because it serves their own selfish interests. By appealing to the basest instincts of their readers they write anything which will make people ultimately purchase their newspapers or boost their program ratings whether it be Radio, TV, Newspaper or internet article. Sensationalizing trivial events and trivializing important issues, intimidating people with questions and exploiting people’s fears are the most common methods used to make customers/listeners /readers purchase their ‘product’.

In the past three decades the media have facilitated the aim of corporations to turn life into a “business’ in which people see each other only terms of their usefulness to each other. If I am no use to you then why should I bother talking to you and vice versa.

The media strategy is firstly to mentally paralyze the gullible citizen so that he is dependent on them for information and entertainment. Then they parasitize him by taking his money. This process is similar to how a tarantula or a vampire kills it’s victims.

How do the media manipulate the elections?

In many ways, but mostly by “suggestion” to vote for the winner! They specialize in leading the bleating sheep (‘the so-called swinging voter’) like a lamb to the slaughter (The swinging voter is a person who is unable to make his mind up how to vote).

Once enticed into their mental abattoir the swinging voter is ‘told’ the likely result of the election as predicted by polls or other vampires in the media (reporters, talkback radio hosts or TV chat show hosts) - all of whom willingly prostitute themselves to media magnates such as Rupert Murdoch and  other unscrupulous, arrogant, power-hungry, corporate bullies who all, coincidentally seem to wear black these days-just like tarantulas and vampires.

In his desperate need to be connected to escape his anomie and be a member of a group, the gullible and naïve ‘swinger’ then tries to vote for the winner according to the results of the latest opinion poll.

The media amplify people’s insecurities through the exacerbation of fear, clash, conflict, sexual titillation, racism, lust for power, jealousy, envy and material status. Above all they try to appease the lust of the customer to be entertained and divert him from his mundane existence working like a slave at some mundane  job 

In other contexts this process of brainwashing by suggestion of the population is rightfully called manipulation and even corruption. George Orwell did it  in ‘1984’. But in the west it is all politically correct and justified in the name of 'Freedom of the Press', 'Choice' or even 'Democracy! (Don’t laugh!)

The Media

The media give the citizen permission, encourage them  even, to be selfish, vote for themselves  and forget everyone else

This is the situation as it stands but things are going to change:

As a consequence with respect to the media and elections the following measures will be taken when I assume power:

All newspapers , radio programs TV programs will carry a health warning : which says “Listening , Reading or Watching this will damage your health and that of every other human being on the planet” and/or “Commercial media is self-serving and kills people”

Only investigative reporting and in-depth documentaries will be published thenceforth. News and pseudo-news (That is news or information in the disguised as entertainment will cease immediately. 95 percent of all newspapers, radio programs and chat shows will therefore cease to be published or be aired forthwith. All retrenched mangers form media outlets employees will have to sign on the dole. These managers, chat show hosts, reporters  will all have to appear on the internet and publically confess to being on the dole wearing 'Dunce' hats so people can sneer and whisper to each other about them.

Thenceforth, all entertainment such as drama and movies will be on DVD or 'Sting-ray disk' or whatever it is called in the future.

There will no longer be daily news programs or newspapers. This is because, as we all know, there is not enough real news to be published on a daily basis. All media organs outlets will publish weekly thenceforth. People can get relief from mundane jobs and by washing the dishes by watching cricket.

24 hour news channels will be abolished for ever

International news will only be published if it presents other people and places in a positive light.

Media employees-presenters, anchors and political lackeys and hacks who repeat themselves, or repeat what their program anchor says while on air – hence  boring their audiences into a state of numbness- will have their tongue cut out.

Reporters or chat show interviewers who try to put words into interviewees mouths with loaded questions will have a thesaurus stuffed into their mouth to shut them up...

Reporters and interviewers who attempt to answer their own questions by suggestion or putting words in the mouth of the interviewee will be drilled through the right knee cap.

Reporters who attempt to make an interview about themselves rather than the interviewee will also be drilled in the knee-cap-the other one if necessary.

Reporters, anchors and media producers who mention a homicide, disaster, kidnapping, fire, earthquake, hurricane, mudslide or any disaster human or natural, which doesn’t occur within a ten mile radius of the listener will be wrenched from their office or home by a citizen and whipped mercilessly until they confess.

Reporters who start with irritating questions such as “How much do you think…. or “To what extent do you think…?

will be sprayed with insect repellent until they have to be hospitalized.

Newsreaders and TV and Radio ‘anchors’ who speak in a self –important tone of voice will have their larynx cut out.

Reporters who ask facile and provocative questions to defenseless people ( such as the BBC World Service bint on the radio who has just asked a defenceless and poverty-stricken Malawian tobacco farmer how he feels about growing a crop which “harms people’s health”)

will be gathered together weekly and collectively wiped out with a nerve agent..

The whole process will be recorded on the internet as an incentive to reporters to lift their game...

Elections

In elections Media proprietors such as Rupert Murdoch will have minus one hundred thousand votes each.

People who are seen speaking to media owners will be arrested and lose their tongues slowly and painfully. 

The media will be banned from publishing opinion polls one month before an election

One week before any election the media will be closed down entirely and the populace given a holiday at the expense of Rupert Murdoch and the other owners of media outlets. People will watch cricket continuously for a week at Murdoch’s expense on large Television screens installed all over the world.

People who have completed a secondary education and vote for a conservative candidate will have their hair removed. They will also be disenfranchised temporarily for one election and sent for a course of  re-education to my home.

People who have completed a tertiary education and vote conservative will be tortured, forced to make a confession and their hands cut-off so that they can never vote again.

Families who earn less than 50,000 a year as a couple will have fifty votes each in election. This is affirmative action to compensate these people from the negligence they have experienced at the hands of the smug and complacent conservative capitalist, property-owning , share-holders, bond buyers and other conservative prostitutes who inhabit the leafy groves of the suburbs of the eastern suburbs of Melbourne and Adelaide

Newspapers editors who publish opinion polls will be drilled through both knee-caps.

Reporters who interview Islamofascists will be stoned to death

Whether they are interviewed or not islamofascists will be stoned to death and their executions recorded on the internet.

Other Matters

People who have abandoned their idealism to become little capitalists and conservative small business owners will be drilled through both kneecaps.

People who speak to me with “I need you to.." will be drilled through the kneecap.

Final comments

The only problem with communism was that it didn’t work It was a noble idea which was betrayed by the selfishness of human beings.


There should be more choice in life: all children will be warned in the womb about the perils of being born and given the option to abort themselves before birth. (By the time I assume power, technology will  probably have made this possible). This is merely a logical extension of the neo-conservative, corporate, politically correct post modern, post Thatcherite, Post ‘Tea Party’ new millennium concept of “Choice” and self-empowerment as espoused by the space-based, faith based, corporately sponsored religious right in the West.

Choice is for the wealthy -the rest of us do what we have to do.

Space-based, faith-based morons such as Glen 'Feck' Beck and Rush 'Wimpo' Limpaugh will be tortured, forced to confess to being narcassitic megalomaniacs and never allowed to work again. They will be denied health insurance and welfare cheques until they starve to death.

Spineless Teachers and Bullies in the workplace Flinders University

It is my experience that those dedicated ESL teachers who care about their professional ethics and their own performance in their job are often seen as a threat by bullying operational managers and their faceless bureaucratic masters and mistresses in the hierarchy who inhabit the offices at the back of the workplace.

Such teachers eventually become a target of the bullies.

When this happens, to make matters worse, in order to survive, quite often the colleagues of such conscientious teachers are then obliged to participate in the bullying or, at the very least , turn a blind eye to it.

You see , the bully is not content to victimise the victim -he/she must have the cooperation of other colleagues in order to legitimise the bullying in the bully's own eyes. He must have stooges.

Sadly, most teachers in my experience are happy to assist in the legitimisation of the bullying in order to remain in favour with the bully. It is a bit like forcing a witness to participate in a rape so that the witness will keep quiet later about the crime. The witness becomes a rapist too.

It also reminds me of the now infamous scientific experiment in which a person in the role of doctor was asked to inflict pain on a person playing the role of patient in order to continue receiving the approval of the experimenter. Surprisingly, most people playing the role of Doctor were indeed ok with inflicting pain on the patient -just in order to retain the approval of authority.

Throughout my career it has disappointed me to learn that most teachers are prepared to be stooges in order to survive - and they appear to able to sleep soundly on it. Others are not so happy about it but will do it anyway and then keep a low profile, avoid the victim, and stay away from him/her in the staffroom. Keeping away from the victim in order not to be reminded of their collusion is cowardice.. Either way most teachers seem to willingly sell their soul in order to survive themselves.

Darwin would have explained these observations by telling us that people are ultimately only looking out for themselves and their offspring-their genes.

In which case it should come as no surprise that some victims have a desire to attack and destroy bullies and stooges.

Darwin would say it is human nature.

The devout would tell us to forgive the bullies and the stooges.

But how can you forgive a sin unless the sinner first admits the sin?

Do you know of a bully or a stooge who will admit to being one?

And yet, dear teacher,most of your colleagues are one or the other.


The moral of the story-is to find another profession if you are young enough to do so.

Free at last!

This is my experience as a teacher for thirty five years in many different countries and contexts.

Most teachers are cowards.

For thirty years as a teacher I have watched teachers hide, run and ultimately serve themselves as their colleagues are eliminated by poor or corrupt managers.

People in Australia these days are so afraid of losing their contracts.

Why?

A lifetime of contracting overseas as a teacher has taught me one thing-if nothing else--that the contract is not worth the paper it is written on. No matter where it is, from the UK to Australia, from South America to the Middle-East and from Africa to Asia -the contract has meant meant almost nothing to the two signatories!

Well, are you going to sue the Sultan of Brunei or the Sheik of the United Arab Emirates? No.

Are you in a position to sue anyone overseas? No!

Is it worth while suing your boss in Australia or the UK? of course not -do you have the money for legal aid? Do you want to get all the dirty jobs to do? or be blacklisted by the bosses friends in the 'industry' ? Of course not!

I am 58, and I have come to the conclusion that I don't want a contract as a language teacher in Australia. A contract is a trap designed to force me do what someone else in the company wants me to do.

I want my freedom and will remain as a casual employee.

That way, my employer has to be reasonable. If he or she isn't -then I will walk away.

In the old days the union would have ensured the employer behaved-but the unions have been broken by the employers, by the selfishness of Union officials and of union members. The Unions are now are now weak.

So now, after a war of attrition for about forty years, employers and their stooges in mangaement have what they want -a more-or- less powerless employee to exploit and manipulate at will.

There is a way out of this depressing mess for the employee. But you have to pay for it. There is a way out.

Only the wealthy really seek contracts-because the job isn't really essential to their survival. The wealthy teacher deludes him/herself that they actually need a contract when , in fact, they don't need it -they just want it.

You don't need a contract-all you have to do is be prepared to give up something. But there is the rub!

The teacher who is comfortably off is never prepared to do that. He/she is addicted to their own material comforts.

So,the teacher who is comfortably-off is a problem. He/she is invariably a coward who, when push comes to shove, will hang his/her colleagues out to dry.

I don't care if I have no house, less money, no holidays , no sick leave. I am prepared to give all that away. I don't need a house -I can rent one.

Nobody is going to hang a mortgage around my neck and imprison me.

When I am casual the bosses have to be pleasant and reasonable to me or I will leave and work somewhere else -or not at all.

If I sign a contract my bosses will eventually exploit me -and my colleagues will just sit and watch and do nothing as I am crushed in front of their eyes.

That has been my experience , anyway.

I find this new freedom quite liberating. I am a free agent at last. I no longer care what the boss thinks -or who his/her 'pet' on the staff currently is or indeed, what such people think of me.

People talk about working FOR someone. I now want to satisfy myself first-and only then other people. I feel much freer at last .

What do I get out of all this?

Self-respect.

Cheap at twice the price!

I wonder have other people had the same experience in the workplace?

mind you -if there is no work what happens?

Selfishness and the Devout

Openness is my religion. Religions promote closed minds (Christianity and Islam included). Indeed very much so.

The real heroes are the doubters -sceptics the people who struggle with doubt and uncertainty. This is my own faith. The devout are ultimately cowardly and quitters. They choose the easy path. They give up on the world, their neighbour and their friends eventually. They are selfish.

I also believe that the human need to believe in something is almost as important as the need for food, accomodation, sex and status.

The devout are selfish - believing that they are going to have a good time in heaven. When push comes to shove, they ultimately will look after themselves. It's their own salvation they are concerned with.

skepticism is the most difficult faith to keep. But I do accept that some people can make something beautiful out of religion, whether Islam, Judaism or Christianity. Ultimately, though being devout makes you mentally lazy, selfish and complacent-and even cruel to your neighbour or your friend.

I hate fighting but it is necessary.

Life is one long fight - one long struggle with myself and everyone around me.

As a friend said 'I don't like to mess with the certainties of the devout-they need them for their own sense of validation'

But they sure don't care about messing with my uncertainties. When they get an apportunity the devout feel they have a right to do that.

I wish they would just leave my uncertainties alone.

They are my faith.

Pretending in Adelaide

It is the process not the product which is important. A mantra which I repeat to myself every couple of days and forget in between times.

I have to make do with the simple things like the winter sun, the birds and and reading a book in this pretty but joyless city.

Adelaide is beautiful but many people are closed and humourless.

Electronic friends bring some relief from anomie in this emotional wilderness.

People rushing around trying to earn money to collect more commodities to make themselves more comfortable so they can show off to themelves and their friends. Comfort doesn't make us happy.

Success, exhiliration and joy make us happy.

People who don't know and think they don't need friendship or joy.

People who want to do instead of be

People running away from themselves and everyone and  everything.

People pretending to themselves and everyone else.

Pretending...pretending....pretending...

Always pretending.

Surviving!

Waiting for a miracle to come in Australia

In spite of protestations to the contrary, the "stand-offishness" of Australians is legendary..

It is difficult to get further than the overly familiar "Hail fellow well-met" transaction at the petrol station, shop or the supermarket.

The Aussies are if anything worse than the British in this respect. (I am British myself)

The Aussie seems to be loathe to ask anyone for help or assistance - even the most trifling of things.

At the barbecue or dinner party they seem to make a point of not enquiring about anything personal of each other.

In fact, it seems they are ashamed to ask anyone about or for anything!

They just don't ask questions!

As aussies, we are all supposed to be perfect individuals-self contained and independent - able to look after ourselves.

Is this due to pride, arrogance and conceit?

Is it due to a lack of curiosity? .

Is it due to indifference to the concerns of others?

I think it is mostly due to a fear of intimacy

Probably all of the above.

Why?

The history I suppose.

In the same way as the British stand-offishness must be the fault of the Romans, Vikings, Normans and other invaders (The invaders traumatised the British and the British, in turn, traumatised the Aussies, both indigenous and convicts)

Both cultures are 'Developed' that is their original traditional sense of community has broken down as a result of urbanization and industrialisation. People have moved around looking for work and abandoned their communities.  Their mental health has deteriorated and they have become suspicious of strangers. They lack intimacy with their neighbours.

Both cultures are traumatized and the signs of dysfunctionality are there to be seen...

and they are all so 'busy!'

They are scuttling about in a frenzy pretending to be doing something.

But inside they are empty and lonely...."waiting for the miracle to come" (As Leonard Cohen says in his song)

They buzz around like flies on a window on a summers day.

Up and down, up and down. Trying to get through the glass.

Buzz...Buzz..!

Look at me -I'm busy!

Don't bother me - I'm busy!

Buzz... Buzz...!