Jimspeak

Swiss drug case threatens developing world - MSF - Yahoo! News

Pharm companies are great aren't they? I guess since they are a business it's ok that they are more interested in making more money than helping people. Intellectual rights? That's great. I guess it's the fault of the poor people that they can't afford the meds?

Most people say that lawyers have no soul. A strong argument could be made that the pharm. companies are so much worse.

Labels: AIDS, evil, Novartis, Pharmaceutical companies

Something is trying to tell me that I should not own any material goods. At least not anything worth anything.

The weekend went like this:

I spent most of it indoors and/or on my own getting some valuable Corey-time. Which sort of work except for intense mental distractions. But that is another subject. Friday night I explored the cause for my stereo's one speaker output. I feared speaker but I should have feared more. Seems it is most likely the stereo receiver. Not good.

Then the iPod. Oh man. That poor things seems to really be on its last legs. Again, not good.

But it goes on! I spent much of Saturday afternoon/evening giving Seymour (my bike, the Schwinn) a much needed cleaning. The little guy sparkles now (who knew I could be so detail oriented for so long in getting the ratty chain uncaked?) except for one problem: he only has one wheel. I put on a new rear tire (and tube), a new seat and a rear luggage rack. He's gleaming! And my old seat? A good decade old? The mount was pressed into the seat itself. A bit old, to be sure. Then problems arose. While the rear tire was mounted without issue, the front tire is giving me no end to consternation. I've popped 4 tubes now, tho I'm almost a pro at changing the damn things. I got a patching kit today and patched them all. Two attempts to have a workable tire resulted in blown patches and major frustration. I'm done for the night. I won't be riding to work, as badly as I want to try out the new tires and clean chain. It's gonna have to wait. "An evening with John Denver" and some wine are making it all better.

On a positive note, I built up a scratching post/tower for Marvin and tomorrow I'll put on his shelf/viewing platform. He loves the platform when it's on the coffee table so he'll have to adore it when it's up on high, right? He'd damn well better!

Work tomorrow. Crap. I need to plan a long vacation, an international excursion fraught with excitement and all that jazz. It's been too long! A year ago I was on my way back from Central America. Can you believe it?

If I haven't mentioned it, as of last Monday I am IN my 30s. Seems more affecting that actually hitting 30 last year. Odd.

Labels: bike, John Denver, old, tire change

"I think most of the nations in that part of the world believe their security is supported, if you will, by the United States. They want us to have a major presence there," Cheney said in an interview with Newsweek magazine, according to a transcript released by the White House on Sunday.

Yup, all those Middle Eastern countries adore us and our military presence over there and they sure feel much more protected from unwanted invasion and interference. Just ask them. If they don't agree, they must be terrorists. Our leaders sure are looking for a peaceful resolution to all "our" problems, aren't they? Thank goodness.

How much longer do we have to deal with these yahoos?

"When we -- as the president did, for example, recently -- deploy another aircraft carrier task force to the Gulf, that sends a very strong signal to everybody in the region that the United States is here to stay, that we clearly have significant capabilities, and that we are working with friends and allies as well as the international organizations to deal with the Iranian threat," Cheney said.

Which international organizations, exactly, are we working with I'd like to know?

It can't be much longer until we're an autocracy. At least not if a select few have their way.

Labels: autocracy, Cheney, idiot

But now I'm sleepy. Darn the over eating.

It's been a hazy couple of weeks. A long weekend away in the frigid cold and good times with friends. Weeks of hectic-osity at work. Last weekend my little sis came down and we had a good time relaxing, chatting and taking it easy. Good times. Hopefully I'll see her again soon!

A couple days ago I turned one year older. Damn. I'm old. I'm now IN my 30s! This bday wasn't nearly as exotic as last year, but at least this year I didn't spend it alone and broke and hungry! That was exciting. A rowdy group of my friends met up with me in various places in the city to celebrate. A fairly low key affair, really. And that was just fine. Going to work the next morning was not a problem. And we had a great time! I've gotten to know some fine people out here. So thanks, gang, for celebrating with me!

Now another weekend is on the horizon. And I have plans. Oh yes, I have plans. And mainly they involve relaxing. Maybe do some paddling, get a planter box built (god love the ReBuilding Center), do some reading....what else? No idea. It sounds like a good start to me.

There is nothing more absurd, to give an example that is only apparently trivial, than the millions who wish to live in luxury and idleness and yet be slender and good-looking. We have millions, too, whose livelihoods, amusements, and comforts are all destructive, who nevertheless wish to live in a healthy environment; they want to run their recreational engines in clean, fresh air. - p.15,16.

The Agricultural Crisis, a Crisis of Culture, Wendell Berry:

"I have no doubt that we will be successful in harnessing the sun's energy.... If sunbeams were weapons of war, we would have had solar energy centuries ago."

~Sir George Porter, The Observer, 26 August 1973

Yeah! The Bears are finally going back to the Super Bowl! It's been 21 years and now they're headed back!!!

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Washington 'snubbed Iran offer'

Ah, more good news. Nice that a good sounding offer was rejected. But I guess it makes sense. What good can come from "talking to evil"? I guess it can be done, but only on our terms. So silly. I'm too tired and worn out to get worked up by this. Maybe later.

If everyone in the world only cared about money, we would be more screwed than we already are.

Mr Jolissaint, a Chrysler veteran who was recently appointed the chief economist for the German-US DaimlerChrysler Group, said that since he started spending more time at the company's corporate headquarters in Stuttgart he had been shocked by the absurdity of European attitudes towards global warming.

In response to a question from the floor, he said that global warming was a far-off risk whose magnitude was uncertain.

He said that from an economic point of view, it would be more rational to spend lots of money on today's other big problems, and only make small and limited changes in policies relating to global warming, such as a slight increase in gasoline or carbon taxes.

Mr Jolissaint was particularly scathing about the Stern Report, which was recently published by the UK government.

The report urged governments to take urgent action now to tackle climate change, arguing that it would be much cheaper to act, rather than face the $10 trillion cost of not doing anything until later.

Mr Jolissaint said the report was based on dubious economics, did not include a discount rate, and was written by an informal adviser to Gordon Brown - in fact, at the time of the report, Mr Stern was the Second Permanent Secretary at the UK Treasury.

He said that he had been surprised by how much support there had been in the Daimler office in Stuttgart for these "quasi-hysterical" policies that smacked of "Chicken Little" politics - referring to the US children's story in which Chicken Little runs around in circles saying "the sky is falling".

If nothing else, Mr Jolissaint's remarks illustrate the yawning gap between mainstream opinion on climate change among the educated elites of Europe and America.

But they are also consistent with the cynical view held by some in the US environmental lobby that announcements by car companies about the future development of green vehicles are nothing more than window dressing.

Sometimes it's hard to know what to say. Thank goodness we're inundated, constantly, by ads (most of which make no sense) put out by folks such as these. It really warms the heart, yeah?

Read the entire earticle here.

Labels: auto industry, Chrysler chief economist, global warming

I win

Labels: New Years Eve 2007

I've been so busy doing nothing that I've neglected my duties to the blogosphere!

It's been a crazy couple of weeks filled with guests, crazy cats, parties, New Years Eve, New Years Eve Part II, a going away party more goings away, gale force winds atop a mountain accompanied by snow and rain.

Oy