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- Written by: Rod Boyle
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I'm a liberal. You know, you know, you found me out, I'm outing myself....
Not politically, not necessarily, it depends really, and too often it's just the lesser of two evils. But generally, in that I welcome and accept contradictory philosophies and viewpoints upon the world. Diversity, to a point, is the key and joy to existence. While I might not think or believe or act the same as you I want a society where we can each be ourselves, within the limits of freedom. You broaden my world.
But Conservatives, well, their view is different. They welcome anyone who shares their worldview (even if their worldview excludes them, and I'm amazed by how many black/Indian/Pakistani Conservatives there are...clearly they don't understand). But those who don't are to be excluded, suspected, condemned (and, in Alberta, Liberal is as much an epitaph as it is a description...). Conservatives, by their nature, welcome a world that conforms to their expectations, behave as they wish, and silences/persuades/intimidates all opposition into thinking the same. People of color (different color, than them), of faith (different, than them), are generally not welcome. The phrase "Progressive Conservative" is as much an oxymoron as "Military Intelligence" or "Microsoft Works".
Religion, by it's very nature, is Conservative. It's the unquestioned accepting of inherited belief and cultural determinations. The more conservative the religion, the more it seeks to proselytize others. Organized Religion - in Canada, institutionalized, has been diminishing. We are entering the age of reason. And as we enter this, our Liberal acceptance of others, of those of different, often religious or dogmatic cultural beliefs from countries at war about those self-same beliefs, we open ourselves to possible extinction.
...Always, we doom ourselves, our acceptance of others is the end of us ...
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
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There's something about corporations that sell you an "Ethos" or "Values" that kinda gives you a feel good feeling. Like buying free range eggs, you'll pay a little more to know that the animal was treated properly. Or knowing that the company shares the same love for the environment that you do. Or finding out that their commitment ends with putting out recycling bins and then throwing everything out with the trash...
Link: http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/marketplace-tim-hortons-starbucks-coffee-cups-recycling-1.3278648
Now, given the presence of recycling containers I think a strong case could be made that as the "Feel Good" aspect of their marketing is fraudulent and constitutes false or misleading advertising.
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
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It's in that little space where doubt creeps in and you realize that reason and math can never have all the answers...
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6del%27s_incompleteness_theorems
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
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And this is one take on the value of a human life:
{embed:youtube:XarO3VoNwmc}
Uncomfortable, this measuring of one's worth with dollars and cents, but it's something that companies do all the time. Think Union Carbide in Bhopal, or The Ford Pinto, both of which saw companies cheerfully put a dollar value on Human Lives. We do it all the time as well, Xenophobia sees us raise the value of lives in our own country VS lives of those in other countries, sees us raise money for the rich (think Fort MacMurray, no lives lost (well, one, in a traffic accident fleeing the fire)), yet in Alberta more money was raised to support the victims of insured inconvenience and homelessness than was donated to victims of the Lac Megantic rail disaster in Quebec. Clearly Albertan property and industry is far more valuable than Quebec lives. Think of the welfare allocated to a single mother VS the amount of money it takes to incarcerate a sex offender - several times more money is "invested" - to questionable return - in the sex offender. Insurance companies assign your life a value based on your ability to pay them and the probability of them having to pay out. And I could continue. The video only lightly touches on some important questions that we, as a society, need to revisit...
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Ideas & Questions
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An interesting look and breakdown at the cost of Urban Sprawl in the United States. While the conclusions are both predictable and obvious it's good that someone crunched the math. I'm guessing that they've underestimated it greatly, Calgary's sprawl alone must account for several billion dollars squandered annually...
Link: http://www.citylab.com/design/2016/06/cost-of-sprawl-us-commuters/486170/