strange times

Hmmm... 2011... What a year. Not sure what to think of it actually.

Perhaps a year with more potential than most. Dictators have fallen, EU treaties have been (finally) overhauled (well... the intention has been agreed upon), a Republican centrist is in the lead in the US primaries, Russia is starting to have an Opposition voice, and in countries like Myanmar a careful start of progress may be detected.

There was even a moment where movement towards a new Kyoto treaty might have been possible. But so little result...
Every step forward has hollowed out by national protectionism, political opportunism and partisanship.

 "Better to let the whole world go to hell on a fast train than to take the first step" seems to have been the motto at the climate talks.
What do these so-called leaders think? That ignoring it is going to make this problem go away? No boys and girls, the bill is simply growing, and going to be paid by the next generations (Like the national debt bill, the reduced pensions bill, and all the other bill which have grown beyond control because there were simply no leaders courageous enough to nip these issues in the bud when they could). You all know that, so get your heads out of your asses and make those unavoidable decisions!

The next leaders of some Arab countries (where the population has fought long and hard for their freedom) seem intent on becoming as bad as the rulers they have just replaced (see Egypt), while the established leaders of the Arab world have sent the architect of the Darfur genocide to lead the Syria "observer" mission. Come on, talk about no form of credibility!!!

In the US we have people supporting potential president candidates who make such stupid comments that they make Bush look smart (quite a feat in itself). Bachmann, Perry, Paul, and the other extreme right wingers all seem to me too stupid, uneducated and frankly too dangerous to let anywhere near a position of power.
Not saying that Obama is doing a good job btw, but at least he's an incompetent with good intentions. The GOP batch seems to have been selected from a mental institution!
Seriously, the John Wayne affair by Bachmann revealed a level of stupidity that beggars belief, and the others are only fractionally better. One of these people is likely to end up with his / her hand on the nuke button. Im not sure if I find that less scary that Ayatollah Khamenei having nukes...

 The EU meanwhile blunders from one "final Euro solution" (pun intended) to the next. Here as well a distinct lack of leadership and a huge overdose of nationalism is painfully apparent. What do these so-called leaders think? That if France gets back up onto its knees, it will all be ok? Doesnt for instance the German leadership realise that Germany has raked in a huge profit over the last 10 years thanks to the Euro, and that every day this crisis lasts is one more day in which Germany WONT rake in that huge bounty?
Come on, the EU is asking poorer Asian, African and South American countries to save them (through the IMF) while its own population can buy the entire debt overnight and make the problem go away. Credibility?? Far to be sought... (Btw, Belgium is doing exactly this, Japan has a similar system).
Create Eurobonds (sorry Angela, its also in the long run the best for Germany. The sooner the EU is financially healthy again, the sooner the German economy can go back to making a fortune off of the other EU countries), which will have an interest rate high enough to be interesting for private people to buy as an alternative to having a saving account. As a result of this, the interest paid by EU governments on these bonds flows back into the EU economy, where it can strengthen the EU economy. Now its only fortifying China's position...

 Its all so ridiculus...
The answers are known to everyone. Banks (and hedge funds, structured investment vehicles, and all the other dangerously powerful hypercapitalist institutions/companies) need to be more regulated so they cant hold the entire world economy hostage, the US tax system (amongst others) needs to be cleaned up and made much more fair (and while were at it, perhaps those multi million Dollar / Euro salaries can be cut down to less absurd levels. No-one deserves to earn that much money, its daylight robbery!), the stronger EU countries need to back up the weaker ones, while the citizens dare to invest in their own countries, and the UN should read its own charter again (its one for all, not each for his own interest).
The climate decisions need to be made NOW (not just CO2, think of realistic fishing quotas, pollution reduction, nuclear waste and responsible and durable stewardship of our planet) or the next set of figures will only be that much worse.

All these things seem so obvious.

A bit like reaching the conclusion that smoking is bad for you the day after you smoked two packs at a party. (Your lungs will tell you its bad. If you choose to ignore how you feel whilst you're coughing up a bucket of black mucus and claim that "you didnt know", you're simply lying to yourself!).
Why is it so difficult for a majority of the voting population to act like adults and face the problems we have? How can educated people state that "because there has never been a proven link between rising CO2 levels and global warming, we can ignore the environment".
Think about it, do you feel good with your head in a cloud of industrial smoke? Than that alone should be enough to encourage you to want to reduce pollution... nooooo, its easier to say that because there is a 1% doubt (eeehmm... less actually if you look at the scientific consensus. About 99.7% of the scientists in this field agree with climate change predictions), we can go on without worry... ARG!!!
 How can 15% of the US population support someone too stupid to realise that by questioning the HPV vaccine based on a smattering of wild stories (the doctors/pharma industry are intentionally poisoning the population!), she potentially endangers hundreds of thousands of woman who believe her, avoid the shot and have an elevated risk of ovarian cancer...
How can about half a nation (99% average Joe's in there btw) support trickle down economy, without realising that its the biggest hoax of the century. The rich have convinced the working class that limiting the extreme wealth gap by forcing the rich to contribute a little more to the public good will be bad for the working class...

Eeeehmmmm...
What?

Basically trickle down economy is Robin Hood stealing from the poor, giving to the rich, and convincing the poor that its in their interest. These billionaires have meanwhile themselves asked to be taxed more in the interest of the country for pete's sake (see http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/opinion/stop-coddling-the-super-rich.html)!

Is this all a joke? It seems too awful to be true.

Are people really so stupid they will let themselves and the next generations go to hell on a fast train, just because we find rationally thinking to be too much like hard work?

I cant believe what I read in the papers, and it seems to be getting worse every day.
Is there no small hopeful bit of news which wont turn sour the next day? Maybe these questions are the reason why so may people stop taking an interest and follow the nearest soundbyte, its easier than feeling this huge disappointment in my fellow humans all the time.
Ill still prefer to be aware (even of bad things) that to actively try to be ignorant. But maybe that makes me a naive idealist.
Any other naive idealists out there?
Anyone?

Can Gepet: looking for a house! (reward offered)

Or actually, looking for whoever owns it...
Can Gepet (also known as Cal Gepet or Cal Gepes, coordinates: 41° 20′ 44.13″ N, 1° 54′ 53.14″ E), a beautiful Masia (old Catalan Farmhouse) in the picturesque town of Begues (or Begues) near Barcelona now looks like this:

Back view:


Front view:



Now you might say its a little run down, I see huge potential in this magnificent place.
But...
I cant seem to find out who owns it!!

So, a call out to anyone who sees this:
if you know to who this place belongs, if you know someone who might know (or be able to find out), please leave a comment!
Any comment leading to contact with the owners (not necessarily a purchase) will be rewarded!

And if the Owners see this post, Im offering a substantial amount for the purchase of this property, please contact me!
thanks for your help.

Some extra links:
Can Gepet
Local Archaeology

Interwebz censorship

China had been censoring the Internet for decades, and being criticized for it. See also the recent withdrawal of Google from China, as it refuses to filter its search results any longer.
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Myanmar, Iran, Pakistan, Cuba, North Korea, etc , there are quite a few countries doing it. But these countries are not considered to be free, democratic & enlightened, are they?
But... most of Europe censors internet, the US, Canada, most countries censor try to have some content blocked. The main difference is that in most countries considered to be free, the filter is non-mandatory for USPs, and the sites blocked break Laws.

Now Australia is experimenting with a mutiple Million dollar webfilter. And they intend to block more than just illegal content. Pornography of woman with small breasts is an example. Its 100% legal, but as it might be confused with something illegal (child pornography) its best to ban it anyway, right?
WRONG!!! without hard rules to govern a filter, it can (and thus invariably will) be abused. The absence of hard rules allows the than dominant opinion bearer to stifle any other opinions. And the Nets greatest achievement was in fact the variety of opinions that could be found, mixing & coexisting.
Progress will be retarded, freedom will be lost, people will be persecuted for their opinions...

Take an example: Up to a bit more than a decade ago (1996), Gay people were persecuted in certain parts of Australia. Now dont get me wrong, Im not saying that Australians are backward or homophobes. Just that public opinion can change quite rapidly, and something which is now considered the most normal thing in the world (womans right to vote, the right of consenting adults to make love to each other) has a few short years ago been something people had to fight for.
Censorship is one of the main tools to stifle those types of progress. Therefore its used mainly by regimes which actively try to maintain the status quo, if necessary with force.
Im very disappointed that an an enlightened country like Australia would even consider setting such a dangerous precedent.



People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people.

Driving instructions from a pro!

As you can read in many of my posts, I drive a motorbike. It’s a bigun! A BWM R1100GS from 1997. 80HP, 97 Nm torque, 240 kg (dry!!) and 840 mm seat hight.
Probably a bit too big for a first bike, but I like to travel with it, and this is the ultimate traveling bike. Perhaps you’ve seen the long way round (or the long way down, which was the sequel)? This bike is the predecessor of that one.

Anyway, during driving lessons in Holland (where I got my license last year) there is a lot of emphasis on bike control. The idea being that you’re going to get into situations where you’re range of options is going to be extremely limited, so you’d better feel like the bike is an extension of your body, or you’re going to end up as a red stain in the highway.

This video shows a driving instructor-friend of mine (and a fellow GS driver) demonstrating how it’s supposed to be done… Don’t try this at home ;-) )

Brilliant answering phone message

A school in Australia has apparently had enough of certian parents who are blaming the failure of their kids to perform adequately on the school.
They now have a new message on their answering phone.

Enjoy!