With all the signs of the impending doom (Gaza War, Ukranian/Russian War, Ebola outbreak, planes falling out of the sky...), how long is it until people start to look to shift the blame?
If history has taught us anything, it is that in times of despair and crisis, the world leaders will look to give the people someone to hate and blame. In the end, it's good policitcs, right?
With the recent updates in the Ebola outbreak (you know, how that guy with Ebola got on a plan, vomitted eeverywhere, made a stopover and then landed in Nigeria - which now means Ebola has spread outside of remote African villages), it is only a matter of time until the leaders of the western world look to blame the African people and government.
Considering the people of these remote villages who are infected with Ebola are turning away the WHO in favor of witch doctors, it shouldn't be hard for Obama or Abbot to ensure there is a villan in all this...
If you think the outbreaks and wars aren't bad enough, wait until the citizens start taking things into their own hands...
It's the end of the world as we know it
Wednesday, 30 July 2014
Saturday, 26 July 2014
Paper castles crumbling
Something isn't right in the global economy.
I have stood by and watched silently as share markets and property prices have continued to rocket skywards, even when I see problems everywhere in the "little things". Globally, wages haven't improved significantly. Unemployment continues to be a major problem that is now evolving into something more insidious as the unemployed get moved into increasingly low paying and menial jobs, the entry level jobs that once existed for graduates are disappearing and many of those jobs that do remain are being sent offshore to cheaper jurisdictions. Cost of living continues to rise and people seem to be stuck treading water.
All of it seems to be driven by the same old story of cheap money.
However, it seems like I'm not the only one concerned about the direction we are all heading.
Sharemarkets set for biggest tumble since GFC, says veteran investor Han K. Lee
Is it possible for markets to continue to grow without the fundamental problems with our society being resolved? Or will there be another innocuous event that will trigger another even more devastating meltdown?
I have stood by and watched silently as share markets and property prices have continued to rocket skywards, even when I see problems everywhere in the "little things". Globally, wages haven't improved significantly. Unemployment continues to be a major problem that is now evolving into something more insidious as the unemployed get moved into increasingly low paying and menial jobs, the entry level jobs that once existed for graduates are disappearing and many of those jobs that do remain are being sent offshore to cheaper jurisdictions. Cost of living continues to rise and people seem to be stuck treading water.
All of it seems to be driven by the same old story of cheap money.
However, it seems like I'm not the only one concerned about the direction we are all heading.
Sharemarkets set for biggest tumble since GFC, says veteran investor Han K. Lee
Is it possible for markets to continue to grow without the fundamental problems with our society being resolved? Or will there be another innocuous event that will trigger another even more devastating meltdown?
Saturday, 19 July 2014
Worthless world
This is nothing particularly new, but the size of it is astounding.
Amazon, Twitter, JB Hifi and Groupon may be worth billions but their profit margins are tiny
How many people today live in paper castles? How many people have their entire lives supported on the back of non-existent wealth? How much of a shock would it really take for these companies to go from being enormous entities that are making little money to being enormous entities that are making enormous losses?
What happens to the world when all these emperors are found to be naked?
Amazon, Twitter, JB Hifi and Groupon may be worth billions but their profit margins are tiny
How many people today live in paper castles? How many people have their entire lives supported on the back of non-existent wealth? How much of a shock would it really take for these companies to go from being enormous entities that are making little money to being enormous entities that are making enormous losses?
What happens to the world when all these emperors are found to be naked?
Do you hear the people sing?
How long will people be happy with growing global inequality?
United States Is Now the Most Unequal of All Advanced Economies
There have always been rich and poor, but the sheer size of the discrepancy is now truly breathtaking. To add to this problem, the mass of the middle class who once made up the bulk of the Western democratic nations are now being hollowed up. It is as if feudalism is slowly returning before our eyes and robbing us of the last two centuries of development.
When people are unhappy, they will accept it for a while. But when they begin to lose hope with what is before them, will they continue to accept it? Or will they take alternative actions that could be more devastating and terrifying for us all?
United States Is Now the Most Unequal of All Advanced Economies
There have always been rich and poor, but the sheer size of the discrepancy is now truly breathtaking. To add to this problem, the mass of the middle class who once made up the bulk of the Western democratic nations are now being hollowed up. It is as if feudalism is slowly returning before our eyes and robbing us of the last two centuries of development.
When people are unhappy, they will accept it for a while. But when they begin to lose hope with what is before them, will they continue to accept it? Or will they take alternative actions that could be more devastating and terrifying for us all?
Thursday, 3 July 2014
Pandemics are scary
Well isn't this just terrifying.
There is now a major ebola epidemic in West Africa, one of the biggest if not the biggest ever on record. Ebola is a particularly terrifying disease, with a 90% mortality rate for those who are unfortunate enough to contract it.
Ebola toll jumps to 467, worst outbreak on record
With such a high mortality rate, it isn't at all surprising that numerous movies and pieces of fiction have centred on ebola or a mutation of ebola as the cause of the next great global pandemic. The knowledge that infection is an almost certain death sentence creates a terrifying image of desperation and inevitability that cannot be dismissed. It defeats optimism and kills hope.
There is now a major ebola epidemic in West Africa, one of the biggest if not the biggest ever on record. Ebola is a particularly terrifying disease, with a 90% mortality rate for those who are unfortunate enough to contract it.
Ebola toll jumps to 467, worst outbreak on record
With such a high mortality rate, it isn't at all surprising that numerous movies and pieces of fiction have centred on ebola or a mutation of ebola as the cause of the next great global pandemic. The knowledge that infection is an almost certain death sentence creates a terrifying image of desperation and inevitability that cannot be dismissed. It defeats optimism and kills hope.
What would happen if transmission of this disease were to suddenly become easier? What would happen if the outbreak were to jump to a place other than the remote parts of West Africa to say London or Paris?
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