Protesting vs Rioting

Here is another subject to be answered - since it's running late, I'm running sick, and I'm supposed to go put up a tent in one of the camps surrounding the Roskilde Festival in the morning. I just thought I'd remind myself of this video, since there are a couple of points I'd like to respond to!

Exactly.

Which is why noone is willing to put down the "toys" first - thinking that if the other sees a weak spot, a loophole (if you will), they will shoot right through it and blast the country to pieces.

But guess what? If we all put down the weapons, noone will blast the other country! We can respect the borders of a country! We can - *gasp* - BEHAVE LIKE MATURE ADULTS!

Please don't call me a naïve fool or an idiot (I'm not the one with the nukes!). I do realize that we are animals with certain instincts (like survival and protecting our home and kin), but one of the things making us superior in the animal kingdom is our ability to communicate like we can; not only like the clicks of the dolphins or the moans of the whales, but through words and empathy. It's in the detail. It's all in the frontal lobes, people! And we have so many ways of connecting.

I know it's something that's not going to happen - not anytime soon, anyways. But here's to hoping.

- and if you cough/sneeze into your elbow joint instead, you don't have to worry about washing your hands before shaking hands with someone else!

EDIT: Here are the articles she mentions:

USA Today: Swine flu vaccine would take months to develop, distribute

Los Angeles Times: Do face masks help prevent swine flu infection?

>> Most were wearing face masks, which are loosefitting and designed largely to help stop droplets from spreading from the person wearing the mask. They also protect the wearer's mouth and nose from splashes. They are not created to protect the wearer from breathing in very small particles.

[...]

Health experts note that face masks and respirators should be used along with other precautions, such as frequent hand-washing, covering coughs, staying at home if ill and avoiding crowds. <<

Bloomberg: South African Rand Falls as Swine Flu May Deepen Recession

Unable to find AP: US Flu Victims May Be Infecting Others

FOX News: Worst-Case Scenario Underlies U.S. Pandemic Plan

>> Take a breath. Even if the new swine flu from Mexico should turn out to be especially aggressive, the worst consequences could be averted.

[...]

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Monday that the United States is preparing as if the swine flu outbreak were a full pandemic. It is not at that stage and may never reach it.

Disease detectives are following a series of outbreaks, of varying severity, all of which appear to be related to Mexico. A pandemic would spread throughout the world with explosive speed.

The government got serious about worst-case planning during the 2005 bird flu scare, partly as a result of the grossly unprepared state of relief agencies after the August 2005 monster Hurricane Katrina, which destroyed large sections of historic New Orleans, Louisiana.

"We have a playback that was developed and is being followed," said Michael Leavitt, who as secretary of Health and Human Services oversaw pandemic planning for President George W. Bush. "It's a substantially better picture than what we faced three years ago." <<

CNN: Pandemic: What would happen next?

Unable to find Telegraph: UK should expect swine flu cases

BBC: World moves to contain flu spread

>>

• Mexico: 103 dead - 20 confirmed to have died from swine flu, 18 confirmed ill with swine flu
• United States: 20 confirmed cases of swine flu
• Canada: 6 confirmed cases
• Spain: 1 confirmed case, 17 others being investigated
• UK, Israel, Brazil, Australia and New Zealand: suspected cases being tested. Suspected cases in France tested negative
<<

I just have to add that according to one of the articles she includes in this episode, it's not just "a couple of countries". According to her background material, there are only confirmed deaths in Mexico - but confirmed cases of the flu in Mexico, the US, Canada, and Spain - and other countries are testing suspected cases. While googling for one of the articles (from the Telegraph), I found numerous articles stating that cases had been found in the UK; specifically in Scotland.

But I do agree with her on the number of cases in her background material - I just don't think that it's enough to call it a pandemic (but feel welcome to correct me of you have official numbers on what it takes to call it so). In France, all of the suspected cases were tasted negative.

To be honest, I think it's best to be on the safe side. Of course, we COULD end up like France, having no cases where we thought we DID have cases - rather than the other way around. Rather safe than sorry. Still, it's been said that it's too productive to last for too long in many cases - so as long as we take care (washing hands, etc.), we will peobably last just a few minutes longer on this earth.

Looking positively on the recession/financial crisis.

You want to know my theory?

Less money means more good/memorable memories.

Why?

Well, when we have enough money to do so, we just go buy whatever - be it the movie ticket with all the trimmings (in the movie theater's own shop, that is!), the airplane ticket to our favorite destinations (and we want the hotel breakfast included while we're there, right?), all the ingredients to make all the "right" dishes in that new fancy cookbooks (and remember they "should" all be bought in organic delis and ditto specialty stores, too), and now that we already have the Louis Vuitton travel bag, we'll just HAVE to have the clutch AND the airplane bag to go with it, right?

But when we suddenly don't have the money for the movie theater's trimmings, barely have for the airplane ticket alone, only have money for the supermarket (which, btw, also sells organic produce cheaper than delis and specialty stores), let alone thousands of kroner - or hundreds of dollars/pounds/euro - to buy one single bag, we suddenly appreciate things more. The shopping for a new bag is suddenly unmanagable, and the longer we live without a simple luxury like a trip to the movies with all the trimmings or a latté at a cafe with our best girl, the more we crave it.

In such situations, a simple luxury could in theory be fading away quickly, and we're left sitting with a disappointing feeling - "Was that it?!". But my experience is that this is more likely the case when we do it all the time. We get used to it. So when we have less money, we're not able to do it that often, and each time we let ourselves go to a café, go to the movie theater, etc., it lands somewhere dry, and stands out longer in our memory.
As for the bag, I usually turn it around and see it more like a safari through the jungle of alternative shops to find a proper bag for cheap (since I'm guessing you already have a steady LV-pusher) - and that being a positive thing, another simple luxury. Shopping is probably something else we miss when having less money, but as long as we can look at a shop without buying the entire thing, a "bag safari" can be a treat. Or there may just be a bag that can be used at home - so an old impulse doesn't have to be in vain.

Some of my best lattés have been downed when I was in school - and although we do have educational grants paid through taxes here in Denmark, they're usually not leaving money for these kinds of simple luxuries - actually barely enough for rent, bills, and food. Luckily most of us are either able to work a little on the side (which can be difficult when going to school full time and having to do homework outside school hours) or having people who can help us out.
Anyway - point being that it could sometimes be difficult to find the money for the visits at our favorite cafés. But we - schoolmates and I - still did, and we had fantastic afternoons over coffee and pie.

Another memory I have from a situation with little money was back in 2005 - this was the situation I used as an example when commenting on the video (I added the comment in the end of this entry).

So, what other good things can come out of this?

If you ask my inner theologian (or just me for a Christian point of view), I'd have to go for the hope that people withdraw just the least from their materialistic way of thinking, and become more considerate to the people around them. Yes, I'm talking about neighborly love here. Be it financial help or just keeping eachother up - sticking together more. If one has some to give, the other may have the need to receive - and vice versa.

If you ask my inner actress/dramaturg, I think this could be the great chance of smaller theaters/productions, professional as amateurs. Not having a lot of money or ways to get a free ticket, people won't go to the big, fancy theaters for their next cultural experience. Small theaters are most likely to ask less for a ticket, and especially amateurs might just do this - exactly because they aren't pros. And buying a ticket for a smaller production is most likely also giving a chance to non-established names and giving others the chance of living out their dream and passion for theater - and giving everybody a chance to have a great time in sharing that cultural experience.
This also roughly goes if you ask my inner musician.

And if you ask my inner Dutch/English student, you can train your foreign languages and learn about new cultures. You don't have to pay to talk to each other or go to the library. If you have already paid you TV/Internet bills and are free of fines at the library, you're free to watch PLENTY of foreign TV (don't tell me your local networks don't air shitloads of American series - and as for the Danes: squeeze and drain DR2 for what they have!), chat, mail, search the Internet for info, and borrow fact and fiction from the library.

I've started to think about what you can do for less or no money - but I think that would be another post.

Of course I also responded to the video on YouTube. I did so in the comments area, where comments are limited to 500 characters. I think mine is on 499.

This is my response from YouTube:
Some of the most beautiful moments I have had was when I had very little means to work with - somehow I appreciate them more.
Example: It can be so easy to go to a movie theater, buy the ticket, and use a shitload of money on soda, candy, and popcorn. But one of my most memorable visits to a movie theater was when I had very little - but a free ticket and just enough money to buy soda and candy from a supermarket (MUCH cheaper than in the theater's shop!) and smuggle them in there in my bag.

Social Healthcare - Social Wellfare!

Finally! It's so wonderful to hear a US citizen in her position say something like this.

I have friends who are citizens and residents of the US who can't afford healthcare at all on their own - and yet others who are working their butts of to pay for the basic necessities, paying to keep their healthcare, and yet have to choose between paying the rent and buying groceries that month - and luckily, the fortunate ones who are able to cover it all, PLUS having children and dogs (yes, both in plural).

This is why I am so happy that I live in a country like Denmark - and why I worry what it will be looking like if we go on with a right-wing government; they have already been here for three electoral periods, and it only seems to get worse.

We pay high taxes here in Denmark, but we also have a motherload of benifits. We have free public schools, our universities (college/grad school) are for free - you can basically get the education to become almost(!) anything you want for free (except for the books at university and study trips in general).

We even have educational grants for everybody the age of 18 and up so you don't have to have more than a student or part time job to put yourself through school (although this is one of the things the right wing government has wrecked - you can only get the grant for the minimum/normal time of one education).

We also have free healthcare; visits at the doctor and the hospitals are for free.

We have social security; when being out of a job for some reason and have a social security number, you're most likely to be approved for social security and activation - such as classes and an internship with the possibility of being hired in the end.

Imagine having all of this as a US citizen. The security it is to have. Yes, we pay a shitload in taxes (approximately 35 - 60 %, all depending on your income) - but we don't have to worry about spending money on healthcare and tuition fees. And if you wonder about how little things cost in Denmark if we can afford living with such taxes: Our minimum wage is just above 100 kr. (€13/£10/$20) per hour - as far as I remember, the US minimum wage is around $7-8.

Either way, someone is going to pay for the hospital visit. Pay the doc. Pay the school. Support the unemployed, students, sick, and elderly (if they are being supported, that is - because they may not be!). So why not do it through taxes and get it overwith already?

You may not have a kid to put through school, but don't you think another kid could benefit from that?
You may drink a lot of milk and have strong bones (well done!), but don't you think that someone with osteoporosis could benifit from that?
You may be physically strong/healthy, but don't you think someone with cancer or a weak heart could benifit from that?
You may be an unfertil man, but don't you think a pregnant woman could benifit from that?
Your parents may have saved for their retirement while they could (or passed on to a better place), but don't you think someone who has been forced to retire early or had too little money or otherwise have been unable to save could benifit from that?

I'm not saying that it should be put directly into work in the US - it took us two World Wars to decide to get the point, and we have a significally longer history than the US as a nation - but it would be nice to see some baby steps towards something similar in the US.

Obama promised change, and I do hope some of these baby steps are included when the financial crisis is over and done with.