Swing Girls

Whether you're a fan of big band swing or not, this is an engaging clip.

It's full of life and energy, and you'd have to be moribund not to get caught up in the sheer joy of performance. It's from a Japanese movie called Swing Girls, with a fiendishly convoluted plot.

Forget the movie, just enjoy the band.

 H/T Dave.

Francis on the Market

 The worldwide financial and economic crisis seems to highlight their distortions and above all the gravely deficient human perspective, which reduces man to one of his needs alone, namely, consumption. Worse yet, human beings themselves are nowadays considered as consumer goods which can be used and thrown away. We have started a throw-away culture. This tendency is seen on the level of individuals and whole societies; and it is being promoted! In circumstances like these, solidarity, which is the treasure of the poor, is often considered counterproductive, opposed to the logic of finance and the economy. While the income of a minority is increasing exponentially, that of the majority is crumbling. 

This imbalance results from ideologies which uphold the absolute autonomy of markets and financial speculation, and thus deny the right of control to States, which are themselves charged with providing for the common good. A new, invisible and at times virtual, tyranny is established, one which unilaterally and irremediably imposes its own laws and rules. Moreover, indebtedness and credit distance countries from their real economy and citizens from their real buying power. Added to this, as if it were needed, is widespread corruption and selfish fiscal evasion which have taken on worldwide dimensions. The will to power and of possession has become limitless. 

This is a quote from a recent speech made to diplomats accredited to the Holy See by Pope Francis.

He is obviously no admirer of the mantra that the market rules, and is our salvation.

He calls this belief a cult, and he's not far from the mark.

I probably would have used slightly more colourful language. For mine, the market can be described as behaving like a reptile, rather than resembling a cult.

That is, I guess, a distinction between what it is, and what it does.

Ask Google - they have used the market successfully to avoid paying their fair share of tax for years.

The Doors

This is as good an excuse as any to post this vid.

Make sure you have your headphones turned up high.

Fixer Fixed

One of the hallmarks of a corrupt government is its capacity to privatise and sell (or simply allocate) public property and services to cronies.

There is a proud history of these shenanigans in Queensland.

The current administration is moving, quite rapidly, in the same direction. The selling-off of nursing homes is a prime example.

Unfortunately, when this happens, the individuals supported by these services become collateral damage.

This has been turned into a fine art in Pennsylvania, in the USA, by an ex-judge, who put simply, sold juvenile offenders to privately run prisons.

Sounds a bit far-fetched? Well no, he’s been convicted on 12 counts, and put away for 30 years.

I wonder if the prison is privately run. It would be a delicious piece of irony if it was. The market rules, after all.

Couldn’t happen here?

I wouldn’t bet on it – something pretty similar happened not so long ago and the Newman government is doing its level best to neuter the CMC..

Equality Vs Justice

I never cease to be amazed at the lack of understanding of this basic Australian principle.

H/T Sharon.

Unintended Consequences

As I've been in schools this week I've had to work around NAPLAN testing.

This is a minor pain in the butt, and fairly easily managed, but there are other aspects of the process that I find disquieting.

The atmosphere in schools during the week of testing is, to say the least, toxic.

It reminds me of the days when school inspectors ruled and teachers, principals and students quaked in their presence.

This atmosphere is indicative of the collateral damage caused by the all size fits all big stick approach that accompanies political interference in the education process.

Schools resemble families more than they do factories.

Until the pollies understand this, their interventions, even if well-intentioned, will always produce unintended consequences, including the commercial cashing in exemplified in the pic.

A Reading of History

This is one of those images that speaks louder than words.

It pretty neatly summarises the view of some in this country who are uncomfortable with our history.

It was posted on Facebook by a family member, but I don't know where he found it.