Growth? Are They Serious? ....and Other Things....

[Mitch Cronin]

I turned on the TV yesterday - an extremely rare event for me, but there was supposed to be a race happening... rain fouled the plan. - and to my utter amazement, I found myself looking at some kind of government sponsored ad that popped the word "Growth" on the screen, as though that 'motto' would be our salvation.

What kind of blinders does one have to wear nowadays in order to believe that? Growth? .....I've had to stop watching documentaries on Netflix because there's not a one that doesn't add, for me, the extremely depressing notion that we've already caused immeasurable damage with our unfettered growth. Even the David Attenborough Nature docs are filled with reminders of the obscene pressures we've imposed on the natural environments around us... 7 billion of us, and we think "growth" is good?

We've got world-wide clean water problems; we've been eating all the fish in the seas - and it looks like that'll continue until they're all gone; we appear to be destined to burn every ounce of fossil fuel we can possibly scrounge out of every possible nook and cranny it may exist within - regardless of environmental impacts; we've allowed genetic manipulation of our food supply to such an extent that we have no means of determining the downstream effects of same.... and on and on and on.... We've put so much "pressure" on almost every natural resource this earth holds that sustainability is questionable, even with our current numbers, much less with more growth!

Who, in their right mind, can possibly believe "growth" is any kind of answer? Why? So fat cats can continue to increase their "wealth" at the expense of almost everything else? How is that a good thing?

Elsewhere on these pages there are oodles of threads where one or another of our familiar bean counters espouse the need to keep "investors" cash flow rich enough to remain "happy", yet, to me, that notion seems particularly absurd in a "service" industry! Customers, or "guests" if you prefer, it seems to me, ought to be the only "investors" whose needs we need to cater to. In turn, they would, hopefully, continue to provide the cash flow necessary to sustain the livings of their service provider's employees, and a tidy living for the brains at the top who co-ordinate it all. Where on earth do "investors" need to interfere in that process? To what end? For what benefit?

Growth eh? Yah, that's what we need. More room for more gain for more faceless folks who know nothing of the business, add nothing to the process, and demand priority on whatever meagre "profits" that actually come.

Growth? ....in a tapped out, closed loop system, where too many hamsters already exist?

Really?

Listen, there's absolutely no arguing that Carlin was right.... The Earth doesn't need "saving". It's just fine with whatever comes it's way. It's us that are "f___ked", as the man said. In the grand scale of the universe, whether or not our entire species is wiped out completely is no more relevant than whether or not you eat that Veal on your plate.... We're nothing.

....except that we're not.... we're living, breathing, loving and suffering beings. We feel for one another. We have relationships that matter. .... .... .... .... .... and here we all are, prepared to destroy it all, so that the investors at Monsanto and Esso and such, can "earn" a profit.

WTF? Are we really content with handing over control of planetary resources to that fraction of the 1% so they can continue stashing their extra cutting stones in the back of their too many caves?

....are we reeeeeealy that stupid?

Are we really that stupid?

[boestar]

Apparently....Yes....

Great post though.

[Mitch Cronin]

I know I may regret asking but "Which Government" placed the ad?

I'm not certain, but I think it was Harper's.

[Mitch Cronin]

http://www.actionpla....asp?category=1

There you go. "Focused on Jobs and Growth" as in a slogan, or a mission statement. That must be what I saw on the screen.

.....so now, as I mull it over some more, I wonder if those who immerse themselves in the economy and economics of the day, even care that their train is headed straight over a cliff? ....so long as they and theirs can get off before it gets there?

That sounds like an awful thing to say, I'm sure, but what else can I gather? Surely it's clear to any intelligent, thinking, warm-blooded human, that we have an ever-pressing, increasingly urgent need to STOP our growth? (....and more likely, to reverse it some!) ...or do we prefer to see the calamity that will - as sure as day follows night, result from letting self-serving hoarders run all things to dust?

[DEFCON]

Government does not create jobs. For starters; stop the refugee immigration freight train, become selective in that regard, and come up with a plan that reduces population. Covering the only great farm land (Windsor through Toronto) in concrete and pavement is a great example of the 'growth model gone mad'!

[Don Hudson]

Mitch;

A number of years ago I climbed to the Burgess Shale, near Field BC - it was still relatively unknown at the time except for those who may have read "Wonderful Life" by Stephen J. Gould. For those who may still not have heard of the Burgess site, here is one link: http://www.burgess-shale.bc.ca/discover-burgess-shale/burgess-shale-fossils-and-their-importance . The site is protected as a world heritage site and you can't hike to it now except by guided tour. There is another site across the Trans-Canada Highway on Mt. Stephen but the Burgess is only one of three such rich sites in the world.

As we walked the small site and examined some of the fossils, I knew I was looking at life's history, even though none of the animals which had been fossilized existed after what many think to have been a catastrophic life extinction. In some sense looking at fossilized remains was like looking in the mirror, only a bit removed in time. Two thoughts came to mind - one was the notion of "the promise", and the other was the notion of "intelligence", as in "sentient life forms".

The 550-million-year-old animals that once thrived in the Pre-Cambrian life-explosion and ate, and motored their way about the seas trying to avoid being eaten were now registered in layers of rock in one infintesmally-tiny location on our blue dot.

There is an exhilaration in such realizations...that, God or no, we need to get on "with life". Presently, we are defined by the discourse of commodification...we, our planet and all the plants and animals are merely "resources" and "commodities".

Of course, that's "okay" in the sense that George Carlin brilliantly put it. Earth doesn't/can't "care"...we're just the latest in DNA's long replication experiment, which someone labeled "evolution". There is no such thing as "evolution" beyond our meaning of the term...there is just molecules which gather into locally-familiar forms and which then dissipate into other familiar forms and which change so slowly that such change is not visible over many of our local lifetimes. We make up utterances which, by local agreement, become equivalents of both things and our fondest-held notions. This does not make them any less crucial or important as such notions guide our behaviour and thus, now, life upon this planet, which is, despite global-warming deniers, is not assurred. Nor should this be anything but exhilarating for us to contemplate for it puts us, and no one or no thing else, in control of and responsible for, our future on our little planet.

Despite what Sarah Palin says about Wasilla being the place to be when armageddon comes and all except Sinners will be saved in the Kingdom of Heaven, I can't get the images of the Burgess Shale out of my mind.

Don

[Don Hudson]

DEFCON;

Re, "For starters; stop the refugee immigration freight train, become selective in that regard, and come up with a plan that reduces population."

Canada to crack down on 'birth tourism'

Consultants coach pregnant women in China

Citizenship and Immigration Canada is poised to crack down on "passport babies" or "birth tourism"--the practice of travelling to Canada to give birth so that child can have Canadian citizenship--as a media report out of China reveals a ring of consultants who coach pregnant women to do exactly that.

"We are aware of crooked consultants who encourage pregnant women to illegally travel to Canada to give birth and gain access to Canada's considerable benefits," Citizenship and Immigration spokeswoman Candice Malcolm told Postmedia News on Sunday.

"We condemn the practice of circumventing our laws to game the system, leaving Canadians taxpayers with the bill. This is unfair and not right."

The government will introduce changes to the citizenship laws in the next year, Ms. Malcolm said.

Read more: http://www.vancouver...l#ixzz1nhuDufR6

[CD]

Following a program aired recently on the National Geographic channel, I'm going to read a few books associated with the subject:

The Collapse of Complex Societies

Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed

The Long Emergency: Surviving the Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century

[Specs]

Somebody left a copy of Soylent Green on the coffee table Mitch?

If it's any consolation, sooner or later a bio warfare lab is bound to slip up or a virulent and drug resistant plague will become airborne and and the entire problem will take care of itself in about 2 weeks.

[conehead]

Something like this could take care of things;

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2002/28jan_extinction/

90% of species on the planet were wiped out. That's a big correction.

[Mitch Cronin]

The Burgess Shale eh? .... I certainly see why your thoughts drift that way Don, but for most of my life I've had a foundation of faith in our intelligence, that I've hoped would prevent our creating such a small footnote to the archives of the universe. No doubt that "foundation" was built from a diet of dogma, arrogance and ignorance, but it leaves me wanting to do all I can to protect it... lest I find myself with nothing at all to stand on.

CD,

Those look like quite interesting books... I may order them myself, thanks for the links.

Specs,

No worries mate, I wouldn't read that book anyway. ...I saw the movie and hated it. ... really all I'm doing is wondering out loud why we still have our foot on the gas pedal, when the end of the road is so clearly in view.

[J.O.]

Soylent Green (the movie) gave me nightmares. As a relatively innocent 12 yr old farm boy, I had never envisioned a world so desparate. Sadly, my mind is now capable of seeing such a scenario. Parts of this world are already close to being that desparate, it's just not front of mind for us here in the comfortable West.

[Specs]

I go home to Ireland every once in awhile and sometimes don't even pop in on anybody to tell them I'm there. The reason is the simple peacefulness of the countryside. It's different there than in Canada. Less rectilinear and greener I suppose and the farming is denser but far from crowded. Kind of like you can easily be left alone or easily reach out if you want.

It's changing just like everywhere else of course, and don't get me started about Dublin traffic, but there are still places where the neighbors are out of line of sight and only the cattle and sheep are making any noise. It's also kind of neat to climb up through the mountain pastures and watch the hustle and bustle of the town miles away down the valley from a peaceful solitude on high. I love that for some reason. I've taken friends a few times and I swear to god once you get up there you won't share twenty words between yourselves it's that calming. The cars are few and far between and when you meet a stranger or friend on the road you're genuinely pleased to see them and actually want to chat or catch up. You don't even have to use the roads when you go for a walk or to town. Paddy or Michael wouldn't think twice of it if you crossed their land on foot on your way to wherever as long as you closed the gate behind you. And while I haven't fished often or in many foreign places, the lure is to get back to the Shannon is always present. It's the quintessential river for me. Ancient, wide, clear and strong, and it provides a decent simple livelihood to those that live on it's shores.

I'd recommend a trip to anybody if you want to get away from your cares for 2 weeks. It's all disappearing real quick though.

I sometimes look at the Amish here in Canada and think to myself that those folks have the right ideas in many aspects of their lives. Simple, clean, unpretentious, self reliant, etc.

[boestar]

Specs. I get the same feeling when I visit Scotland and head to the highlands. SUrely one of the most beautiful places to visit for all the same reasons.

[Specs]

It is really great isn't it?

Right up to that point where you put your hands down to get up off the grass and break the skin of the the warm cow patty you happened not to notice while in your trance. That kind of breaks the mood right there but with your newfound perspective on the world, you do get it back kind of quick.

Either that, or, on the one day you didn't wear you wellies, and in a field that hasn't seen a herd for months, you always seem to find a fresh one no matter how much care you take to avoid them.

Strange as it seems, I miss that occasional reminder of how insignificant we really are.

[boestar]

[J.O.]

Specs, you should read the book "A Course Called Ireland". It's the story of a guy from the US who went to Ireland and proceeded to walk the entire outer ring of the island playing golf at many courses along the way. Whether you are a lover of golf, or not, his adventures between rounds are every bit as entertaining as the golf stories.

[Specs]

I'll look it up J.O. Thanks.

[J.O.]

Let me know if you have trouble finding it. You're welcome to borrow my copy.

[CanadaEH]

Another measure our Government is taking to cut down bogus immigration.

Tories announce crackdown on bogus marriages with five-year wait time for new spouses

Postmedia News Mar 2, 2012 – 2:26 PM ET | Last Updated: Mar 2, 2012 3:24 PM ET

AFP files

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney announced Friday that starting immediately, spouses will have to wait five years from the day they are granted permanent residence status in Canada before they can sponsor a new spouse.

• By Tobi Cohen
  

OTTAWA — The federal government is introducing a five-year sponsorship bar to crack down on bogus marriages of convenience.

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney announced Friday that starting immediately, spouses will have to wait five years from the day they are granted permanent residence status in Canada before they can sponsor a new spouse.

The move is meant to prevent people from fraudulently marrying Canadians for the purposes of immigration only to leave them and then sponsor a new partner while their Canadian spouse is still financially responsible for them for three years.

Related

• Thousands to be stripped of Canadian citizenship in historic fraud sweep
  
• Auditor general finds ‘disturbing’ cracks in Canada’s visa approval system
  

“I held town hall meetings across the country to hear from victims of marriage fraud,” said Kenney, who made the announcement in Brampton, Ont., just west of Toronto.

“In addition to the heartbreak and pain that came from being lied to and deceived, these people were angry. They felt they had been used as a way to get to Canada. We’re taking action because immigration to Canada should not be built upon deceit.”

The move comes less than two years after the Conservatives promised to tackle marriage fraud. In the fall of 2010, the government held online consultations to gather public opinion and ideas on how to address the issue.

The idea of a five-year sponsorship bar was proposed in the Canada Gazette last April and was followed by a 30-day public comment period.

It also comes just weeks after outspoken Ottawa victim Lainie Towell’s ex-husband was, after a three-year fight, finally deported to his native Guinea after walking out on her just three weeks after they exchanged vows.

The measure officially came into force on Friday and is just one of several actions the government is considering.

Public consultations will begin in the coming weeks on a proposed conditional permanent-residence provision that would deter people in newer relationships from attempting to gain quick entry to Canada when they have no plans to remain with their sponsoring partner.

According to the proposal first published in the Canada Gazette last spring, the sponsored partner in a marriage or common-law relationship of fewer than two years would be subject to a conditional two-year period of permanent residence.

The measure would bring Canada in line with other countries, such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, which have similar policies.

http://news.national...ogus-marriages/

Good. I know a few people that've been burned by "spouses" that've used them for citizenship.

[Don Hudson]

Malcolm;

Re, "Tories announce crackdown on bogus marriages with five-year wait time for new spouses"

Good.

Next on the list is bogus property ownership, done to avoid paying foreign student rates making Canadian taxpayers subsidize schools and universities while our own Canadian students leave university with tens of thousands in student debt.

[Trader]

The sad fact is that Canada is viewed as a desirable country that is easy to get into. EVERY newspaper in the Middle East is filled with ads that promote immigrating to Canada with its FREE education and health care. I have lost track of the number of people that I work with who have Canadian passports and barely lived in the country.

Canada (and Australia and England) are easy to get into and even easier to exploit. Just look at our refugee policy!! They are viewed as easy marks and therefore popular destinations.

[Don Hudson]

Trader;

Re, "The sad fact is that Canada is viewed as a desirable country that is easy to get into. EVERY newspaper in the Middle East is filled with ads that promote immigrating to Canada with its FREE education and health care."

A good friend (currently on strike for three days...) who teaches and works closely with those from within and those who have immigrated to Canada who require additional educational qualifications before being granted recognition in the labour market, tells the other side of the "free education" and "free healthcare" story. The advertisements in such foreign countries are entirely misleading given what actually must occur for even highly-trained professionals from other countries, and what they must do to establish their professional credentials in Canada. Even Grade 12 equivalent education is not easily recognized. This is of course not merely job protectionsim. It is for the protection of high standards and for the protection of those who would be receiving the services of those educated or trained "elsewhere". In short, while the advertisements are enticing, (we might ask "why?..."), they do not let potential immigrants know just how difficult accreditation is once they have landed and reality hits. I strongly suspect that despite our intuitions, the path for new immigrants to Canada is not nearly as straightforward or easy as most coming here expect it to be.

Speaking more broadly, I have no problem with "immigration with integrity". That means, I would never expect that, having moved to another country I would be handed that which is only provided through effort, time and engagement with my newly-adopted country. I think most of us have a big problem with "bought immigration" because it privileges those who have not spent time within our borders and our cultures while permitting mere economics to pave the quicker way. Now, I haven't seen statistics on this type of immigration vs. those who apply, wait patiently, (two years I believe, for landed-status) and adopt their new country as their own. After all, it is the original way Canada came to be.

Even more broadly, the notion of "borders" is changing, as is the idea of "nation". Humans naturally are "alive to difference"...it is biologically, evolutionarily established that "difference" is to be greeted with caution. Today that no longer applies, physically. Worldwide migrations are how regions were populated. The "Occupy" movement isn't a new idea, the most recent and most destructive one being the invasion of 1492 and after. "Immigration/emigration" are perennial, eons-old human phenomena which states such as Arizona only seem to have discovered within the past few years.

Don

[Trader]

Hi Don,

What is interesting is that these ads are not targeting the educated!!! They are ads from Cdn lawyers and services that promote Canada to anyone willing to come listen (and potentially pay) the firm.

I have watched the debate regarding foreign education credentials closely. I know 7 people who are or have taught in MBA programs in the Middle East and ALL of them have left or succumbed to pressure to pass individuals who are unworthy of the mark.

My wife, who works in finance, no longer hires Indians without better proof of their abilities because 90% cannot meet the work requirements of basic finance while holding degrees and MBa's!!!!! When she started looking into it further she discovered that at most Indian universities the pass mark is 35%.

The Economist ran a good article a year or so ago and quoted an Indian educator who said that 75% of Indian grads were unsuitable to work in India, certainly not in the International arena.

So when I read stories about the engineer or doctor who is driving a taxi I now see it from a very different point of view. Thankfully, Canada has been watchful of its professional standards and I don't believe it is protectionism. I think it more likely that they have experienced the same issues my wife has come across.

I also find it off that someone with a professional designation would move to Canada and then be surprised by the requirements to recognize their credentials, considering how easy it is to research via the internet.

[Seeker]

I also find it off that someone with a professional designation would move to Canada and then be surprised by the requirements to recognize their credentials, considering how easy it is to research via the internet.

That a "professional" would come to Canada and be surprised by the requirements is a test in itself - basically proves that the required thought processes and decision-making abilities are not present.