Self-destruction of Free Enterprise

 How long will Capitalism last?

If you read the title or heading of this post and then Google any similar phrase you will find how difficult it is for a blog like this to compete for readers. The search engine(s) discover hundreds of millions and sometimes billions of hits on similar topics.

It seems safe to conclude however that there is a clear divide here. You are either a pure unfettered Capitalist who exists to attain as much wealth as possible with zero regard for consequences, or you are a "Socialist" - especially in America. 

Later I will reference an interesting and eye opening article by John Horgan in Scientific American on the same topic. Although it and the documentary it features are frightening, they also require some reading. That is a big problem which I continually face. Today's average citizen no longer wants to read more than a Tweet. They want funny entertaining platforms like TikTok or Instagram. This topic is too big for a Tweet. Most will probably leave this post before the end but I hope you read on.

Trends are indicating that Free Enterprise Capitalism as we know it will self-destruct. It will happen right under our noses because those who are most negatively affected are too apathetic to take action. As well the very wealthy who control politicians will use all of their wealth to preserve the status quo. They will be long dead when any apocalypse occurs. Remember the phrase "History repeats itself!"

There have been many great revolutions depending upon how you define them:
Russia 1917 - 1923; French 1789 - 1799; American 1785 - 1783; Mexican 1910 - 1920; Spanish 1936 - 1939; Chinese 1949 - present day; Greek 1821 - 1829; Cuba 1953 - 1959. Some empires like the Roman and Greek and many dynasties lasted for centuries. Look at those dates - this has been happening for a very long time, not one or two generations.

One thing to notice with all of these is that the common people - the workers and have nots finally had enough. Death became a risk worth taking for their descendants and to finally punish those who had all the wealth and kept it for themselves. Another thing to note is that none of this happened overnight - it took many years of battle and carnage. Today I fear that those years are not far away .

I could cite the Industrial Revolution as the worst of all. Despite the comforts it has given many modern societies, others still struggle to merely survive. Once more, a few at the top have learned how to use industrialization to become obscenely rich, despite what it has done to our physical world and its environment. Also remember that after the environment declines to the point that most of us will not survive - and it will - the rich will prevail. They can afford to move and to buy or simply take the necessities of life from the rest of us.

So is there any hope? We have two choices.

1) Some will attempt to repeat history through a violent revolution. In America, why do you think so many want to keep their assault rifles - to shoot ducks?

2) The rest of us have to get off our asses, do the research, and vote. Start watching and reading something meaningful for a change. TikTok and Instagram are not going to fix this. YOU have to vote out the bad guys and vote in the good ones. This is the one thing missing in most of those eras mentioned above - the people didn't HAVE a vote.

Stop wasting yours.

#thebrewserblock

PS: Here is a link to that article, It mentions a documentary on Netflix that I will certainly watch. You should as well. 

Big Tech, Out-of-Control Capitalism and the End of  Civilization - Scientific American

Fascination with Other Peoples' Problems

Cameras in Courtrooms and Dr. Phil.

Why do we have such a fascination with the lives of others? Celebrities; Judge Judy and clones; Dr. Phil? If we spent an equal amount of time on bettering our own lives we wouldn't have time to bother with other people. Maybe that is the key. Being entertained is much easier than spending time improving oneself. I have no time whatsoever for celebrity gossip, Hollywood's latest, Kardashians, or who's zoomin who. Obviously I am in the minority or maybe I AM the minority.

In this post I highlight two outstanding examples of this obsession. The first is courtroom drama. The second is doctors airing their patients' problems - most notably Dr. Phil.

As stated in previous posts, I am against cameras in a courtroom. Here in Canada it is not permitted which I strongly support. With soap operas like Judge Judy (is she still on?) and Hot Bench, courtroom officials end up performing for the camera. Why? Because it is a TV show and they have to compete for ratings. More drama - higher ratings.

In more serious cases Like OJ, George Floyd's killers, Ahmaud Arbery, the same thing applies. How can a judge focus on the intricacies of the law, the case, the evidence, the jury, (if there is one), the testimony etc. knowing full well his/her every word is being heard by millions? It is like singing in the shower vs. singing at Carnegie Hall. Americans love the cameras and think this is true democracy and transparency. I think it would be like preaching from a pulpit knowing that the Pope and every Cardinal are just out of site listening to every word you say. Observation is the job of the jury, not the public and social media.

But in America the almighty dollar (maybe not so almighty anymore) still rules and boy does it generate jobs and employment! Is that really what true justice should be about? Should the trial of the century be motivated by book sales and the big chance to be a star?

I think not but please comment below.

The second focus is on shows which feature airing one's most intimate and profound problems in front of hundreds of millions of people. I am using Dr. Phil as an example because I just don't like that show or quite frankly its stars.

Obviously the show, the good doctor and his wife, the network, and the whole gang are covered legally upside down an backwards. I assume guests must sign something akin to the Magna Carta to be on the show. That also begs the question "Why do they do it?" Is the driving force financial? To me it is fundamentally wrong to have people - who might or might not be the host's patients - baring their souls to the world. How can this be medically ethical? Almost every type of doctor with which I am familiar, who has met rigorous standards to earn his/her certificate to practice, swears to keep their patients' conditions and problems confidential. Period.

I am sure those profiting from the show (note that word - show) will argue that transparency is good. It helps people to relate to symptoms and situations from which they might suffer themselves. Surely this can be done anonymously using actors rather than real people. Why not? Because the old advertising slogan "Tiny Tears cries REAL Tears" is still alive and well. Just as journalists want to get real tears in a tragic situation (the public has a "right to know") these shows make millions on other peoples' misery.

Shame on them all.

Disagree? Please comment below.

#thebrewsterblock

Job Description: President of the U.S.A.

So you think your job is tough?

Be honest. Do you think you have a tough job? Does it deserve more compensation? Most people would probably say "yes." All of us often go home feeling drained and wondering if another calling would be a solution.

Consider this: You are the leader of a country - the bigger and more powerful the country, the tougher the job. You could be Prime Minister, President, Premier, King, Queen, or even dictator anywhere. Do your typical days involve any of these events?

• Disasters: Some 50 tornadoes destroyed vast swaths of land, property, and lives in many states. Every community wants you to visit, sympathize, and promise federal aid. Some were bad mouthing you politically yesterday.
• Two days later an entire town is destroyed in a fire or completely submerged in several feet of water. More funds and labour are required.
• A Chinese balloon is slowly tracking across the country. Should you give the order to shoot it down?
• Every reporter you can name wants you to comment on Trump's indictment. You want to but resist.
• Similarly the same reporters want to know if you are concerned about your own health holding out for another term.
• Putin has just committed more atrocities in Ukraine and you need more funding approved to give Ukraine weapons.
• The Senate is threatening to get your son and prove you did him favors while you were V.P.
• You wake up to discover that secure documents have been found in your remote offices and residences. You know nothing about it. Please comment.
• China is threatening to invade Taiwan. What are you going to do Mr. President? What is your plan?
• North Korea is launching more rockets capable of carrying nuclear weapons to America. Should you strike first Sir?
• The Republicans are threatening to shut down the country over debt limit increases. You swear you won't let them.
• The military is planning a top secret mission like the one to take out Bin Laden. You have to be on top of it in case the order to GO is required.
• The State of the Nation speech is coming up fast.
• Your grandkids are having birthdays, graduations etc. or just want you to visit.
• Your wife and First Lady wants to talk to you one on one about something serious going on in her life.
• One wrong decision in your four or eight years could destroy the entire world. It could come in the middle of the night.

Think you could handle it and a lot more? I know I couldn't. If you have a job smile and be grateful for it!

#thebrewsterblock

• 
  

Digital Blackface: the Modern Minstrel Show

Are you Guilty of Digital Blackface?

I just read a couple of interesting articles: What Is Digital Blackface? - Experts Explain Why It's Problematic (womenshealthmag.com) and What to know about digital blackface in social media | CNN

Try them - you won't have to read the entire pieces although they are good reads. These describe a term which is new to me: #DIGITAL BLACKFACE. Many white people will scoff at the term claiming that people of colour are being too sensitive.

I am white and I think I understand the term better... for now. I guarantee you the list of inclusions will expand. The best description I have seen is that this is the modern version of the old minstrel shows. Google "Al Jolson" if you don't know what they were - popular way back in the 19th century. They were wrong then and would cause riots today.

If I address a black guy (can I use that word?) as Bro or I say 'Sup is that Blackspeak? If he addresses me the same way and I respond in kind - same question.

For years many white writers and journalists made fun of Yogi Berra for his famous "It ain't over 'till it's over" and "Pair up in threes!". There is even an expression now which is Yogi-isms. President George W. Bush probably generated a similar list. 

If we quote them is this "Whiteface?" My wife often watches the Kelly Clarkson show and almost every day Kelly addresses the audience as "Y'all". I think she has recently introduced the term. To Canadians like me it grates on the ears but to millions of people in the south it is everyday "speak". Is Kelly using Southern Face?

Sometimes on certain talk shows a panelist is of colour and speaks in a very expressive manner. They appear to be acting - the emotion sounds artificial. I often wonder if I woke the same person in the middle of the night would they really speak the same way? Yet I see other shows where no panelist is of colour and I want to say the same thing! People express emotion in different ways.

Language and expression are results of many factors - culture; parental influence; religion; peer pressure; and for sure education.

That last one stands out for me. People - in particular white people - have looked down their noses at almost everyone else for centuries. Entire societies have perpetuated classes and castes to guarantee that the privileged few at the top stay there. South African Apartheid was a blatant example - so was established North America. One of the paths to the top if you are not born there is education. If those in control deny it to the masses precisely to preserve the status quo the problem will always exist. If you have never experienced this - I have not - don't mock Blackface.

Controversial perhaps but education also reflects the way we express ourselves  regardless of colour, age, or race. Many young kids including white ones choose to leave school early. They don't like it and want to be free as soon as they can. Lots find trades or other jobs and live great lives - good for them. Others sell drugs and enter the criminal world - not so good for them or the rest of us.

I have become aware of my own language and grammar because I actually enjoyed it in primary school. Some have called me arrogant or conceited because of the way I express myself. Others have accused me of showing no emotion or passion. Both hurt. I would like people to accept me as I am the same way we should accept others the way they are. No Blackface or ridicule please.

Because I am white I can only say I think I understand this phenomenon. I will never experience the feelings and realities of discrimination that others still live every day.

You are reading this digitally. I hope it is not full of Digital Whiteface. If so please comment below. No names necessary.

#thebrewsterblock

Orwell's 1984 Forty Years Later

The Next Nuclear Button Push will be the Last

Whatever your religion,
Or how you think and pray,
Some might find this offensive,
But there are things to say.

Wherever is the Heaven
Or Hell that you might fear,
Our Earth is in grave danger.
Armageddon's near.

Some of you are yawning,
"Old news" I hear you say.
Y2K would self implode
Yet here we are today.

Butchery and genocide
Fill history books galore.
But sadly men have never learned
These lessons from before.

Never through those wicked times
And genocides that linger,
Could man annihilate this Earth
With one touch of a finger.

There won't be any Marshall Plan
No cities to remake.
The greatest minds know when to blink
For all of mankind's sake.

Is Heaven watching as its flocks
Approach the great abyss?
Surely there's a better way
To test our Faith than this.

#thebrewsterblock

Road Rage and People with Guns

Want to Self-Destruct? It's Easy

Violence is everywhere we look today. How many generations have said that? Not much has changed except the frequency and magnitude. Here are a few things to ponder:

1. ROAD RAGE: Have you experienced this while driving - either the sudden impulse to explode at someone yourself or being the victim of another whose blood was apparently made to boil by you? If you are saying "No" you can leave now. You are a Saint. We all have been there to some degree.

This is probably because all drivers that have acquired a license to drive a vehicle think they are the best drivers on the road. My fault? Not bloody likely. Here are a few habits that really get under my skin. Those who:

a) Refuse to use turn indicators
b) Never completely stop at STOP signs or when turning right on a red light (in my province we can do that.)
c) Those for whom a yellow light means floor it and you will probably not get caught
d) The ones guilty of c) who don't even think about T-boning a car or killing a pedestrian when both of them had the right of way after the light turned red
e) The ones who continue to use Cell phones while driving with one hand
f) Those whose brains seem to malfunction when they enter a parking lot
g) In winter the bozos that don't clean their entire car of snow and ice
h) The really slow drivers - below the speed limit - who are not in the slow lane

I could carry on. But when it is extreme, what is your usual reaction? Flip the finger? Honk the horn? Yell out the window? Follow the person to tailgate them?

There is something about driving that just flips our rage switch. Usually we are in the safety of our vehicle at the time. Store that thought.

2) GUN RAGE: As we have all seen far too many times before a similar thing happens when someone possesses a gun and gets enraged at others. The same switch is flipped! Unlike road rage this tends to happen more with men but when you are the victim, does it matter? Gun shootings do happen throughout the world but America to guns is like Coke or Pepsi to colas - almost synonymous.

So what is the third step mentioned in the heading?

3) If you want to get seriously hurt or killed, especially in America, just remember that that the driver at whom you scream or flip the bird causing them to come after and confront you just might be afflicted by 2).

Step 3: SAME SWITCH! Bang - you're dead.

#thebrewsterblock

Best Holiday wishes to all, Religions aside

 A Very Happy ---- and a Very Merry ----

In extending my best wishes to people around the world, it is sad but I have be concerned that I might offend someone or some group with what they perceive to be an inappropriate greeting. How can this be?

At this time and on many other occasions like festive days and holy days throughout the year, people celebrate and give Thanks. If you are truly faithful - no matter what the faith - I am including you in my wishes. It might not be the best time to do so according to YOUR beliefs and customs. In that case I apologize. To me however this is like greeting someone on the street with a simple Hello despite not knowing their name or where they are from. I appreciate such an initiative from a stranger and I hope that they feel the same. Religion and a God? Both have nothing to do with it.

Sadly not everyone feels the same. Somebody will get upset at a word - like Christmas, or a symbol - like a tree. You are the problem, not my greeting. If someone wishes me a Happy Hanukkah I am grateful even though I know little about Hanukkah. Today I received a greeting from one of my oldest friends - Happy Hogmanay. It is apparently well celebrated in Scotland - his heritage. So as well as being grateful, I learned something this Christmas! I had to GOOGLE it - did you?

More than many recent years, this is one for those who are lucky enough to be enjoying their lives - to REALLY be grateful and to wish from the bottom of their hearts - with or without prayer - a better life and future for so many others.

Off the top I am going to make a list of several things in the last few years that were unique and horrible. I ask you to do the same. Then use whatever means you choose to wish some of them away. I will stop at 10

1. COVID-19 and all the hardships and division it brought
2. The horrific and unjustified attack on Ukraine
3. Brutal - and I mean REALLY brutal weather events and their cause: climate change since the industrial revolution
4. The death of The Queen. This is questionable to some, but the very fact that I only have to say THE QUEEN to identify her speaks volumes. She was overall a good person in a difficult role
5. The return to the rise of extreme dictators and autocrats. They purport to be helping their fellow man but are really only helping themselves - usually men
6. Severe financial crises for many
7. The threat of international war
8. In particular in the USA but also around the world major threats to freedom
9. The continuing attack on many species throughout the world either by massive killing or destruction of their environments
10. Pollution caused by only one of the species "Homo Sapiens": Human Beings.

That's my spontaneous list. What is yours?

I don't have a lot of material wealth but I am warm, live in a house that I co-own and tomorrow will celebrate - in my case Christmas - with bountiful food and drink. I would not classify myself as faithful but I will make an appeal - not a prayer - to any and all powers beyond myself. There are hundreds of thousands of people out there with next to nothing. Some will freeze to death tonight and tomorrow - December 25th, 2022. Elsewhere many will starve and die of dehydration or disease. They really have no future compared to the rest of us.

So please share some of the bounty you have bestowed upon us with as many as you can of them. I don't know what they ever did to deserve their fate. Some of them just want a chance to have what we have. Others have no idea what we have and never will. If that story about feeding the masses with a few fish and some bread is true, how bout doing it again - big time?

If Christ was sacrificed on behalf of all of us and our evil, we haven't learned much from it. 

There is MY wish. It comes from my brain - the one the powers that be gave me. I hope they at least recognize its sincerity.


#thebrewsterblock.

Freedom of the Press

Bang Bang Chitty Twitty Bang Bang!

The earth just shook, or was it the arrival of you know who back on Twitter. Now he has some competition in the form of its new owner. Is Elon trying to restore the internal workings of the Donald's fav. platform with a little Musk oil or is it really snake oil in disguise?

If you Google musk oil there is a lot to read. I digress - get used to it now that The Donald is back. This is a link that talks about the original oil from the glands of the Himalayan musk dear, a practice banned since 1979. However the more recent artificial varieties claim to cure as many things as good old snake oil did.
Musk Essential Oil: Benefits, Uses, and Precautions - Naturally Daily

For those who think that like musk, a man's sweat turns women on, read this one! Once it turns foul, and it does very quickly, it turns everybody off!
The Smell Report - Sexual Attraction. (sirc.org)

Many including me blame social media as a catalyst for today's rage. Without doubt this is true. But social media is just an instant version of slower media forms of the past like radio, TV, newspapers, and magazines. The constant throughout is that bad news sells better than good news. Tabloids often outsold more academic papers because they were all that the common working person could handle. These people had a need to become emotional about something - usually sex or bad news! Sad but true.

This claim is proven by the number of traditional newspapers that have shut their doors. The entire model is too slow including the advertising that was their lifeblood. It is sad but at least everybody is better off without the wasted paper - unless you were in the logging or pulp and paper business.

The Steve Bannons, Donald Trumps, and right winged extremist groups have known forever that bad new sells. If there is none just make up something. Media barons like the Hearsts and the Murdochs made their fortunes with the same insight. I would maintain that throughout history those who were permitted to learn how to write including priests, knew how to bamboozle the few with basic reading skills. It is still a fact of life today.

Social media takes advantage of individual laziness and apathy towards articles that make you think. People would rather be entertained.

So I have always wondered whether a newspaper or web company could make a profit by establishing a reputation for publishing or broadcasting only good news. That is naturally very subjective but its team of editors would have to agree that items published passed their internal standard. They had to be uplifting. They had to foster hope.

Again I Googled "Good News Media" and found that others did have the same ideas and beat me to it back in 1997! See About GNN - Good News Network. I shall have to read some of their materials to see if my mood changes for the better. Check it out for yourselves.

I don't know what their fact checking and editorial processes are but there is always a danger that fake news can creep into good news sites as well. That is ironic but sadly true. Congratulations to the founders. They have been around a long time.

I bet most of you had not heard of them or visited their website either. I'll let you know how I make out.

#thebrewsterblock

Critical Race Theory. What's in a name?

One Clear Remnant of America's Racist Past: Lynching

To those of us who are not American, the effort by many of her politicians and citizens to hide their shameful racist past is in itself shameful. Along with its gun sickness, it is just another example that characterizes this country as a special needs country on the world scene. In modern schools there are special teachers for special needs children - not so on the international stage.

Other nations who have infamous and horrible racial pasts such as Germany and South Africa have long since acknowledged their sins. They have made a point of educating younger generations of same, in order to help prevent it from being repeated. They didn't do it with assault weapons or by trying to sweep it under the carpet. Great Britain has not gone quite as far but certainly teaches its past colonial policies to history students. 

The USA and Canada did horrible things to native people in their very distant pasts. That was an unfortunate element of all discoveries by explorers and conquerors when they settled new lands with abundant resources but were inhabited by other beings to whom those resources rightly belonged.

But there is a special place in hell for those who then travelled to foreign lands like Africa and southern islands to capture and force black people to be taken back to America (and Britain) and turned into personal property like common beasts of burden. 

It happened. Surely the way to redeem oneself is to own up to the deeds and make amends. America has indeed come a long way but at the heart of most of her problems today is the same old passion - racism. 

If you consider an alcoholic or other addict, many also fail to admit their problem and seek help. In many cases they don't think they have a problem. There is an urgent need for it to continue. They don't want it "fixed" especially if it means going public and admitting a weakness. It seems in America that racism is no different.

However there is at least one scar on America that will never go away whether they ban them all from the text books or not. That is lynching. I have just read that it took some 120 years to finally outlaw this practice, and then it is only a hate crime! Indeed!  How can anyone have hesitated for so long to make such an horrific practice illegal in every single state? Are there really people who plan to use it again? Were some of them the ones yelling "Hang Mike Pence" on January 6th, 2020? 

You can also charge a lynching perpetrator with murder but why was the practice itself not put on a parallel with murder deserving equal punishment? It is just a personal form of 1st degree murder driven by hatred. American law has always been based on the premise that no one person or group can be judge, jury, and executioner. Apparently lynching was an exception.

It seems like a "no brainer" to the world at large. Perhaps those two simple words provide the simple explanation for taking so long to do the right thing.

Trying to abolish critical race teachings is just Critical Race Tinkering. The cat is out of the bag. The world and history already know.

#thebrewsterblock

Are Democracy and American Independence Dead?

Is Democracy Bound to Fail?

Last Sunday I watched Fareed Zukaria's show GPS Fareed Zakaria GPS - Podcast on CNN Audio which provided a deep look into Saudi Arabia and its past and present leadership. You want scary? Watch it. GPS is a great show. Too bad that many won't watch it for two reasons: Fareed's level of intellect is beyond many who watch the idiot box and to them he will represent a visible minority.

To see men in Arab garb doling out "justice" to those they don't like or women who don't behave is sickening. They are forced to their knees while grabbing their hair with one hand and slicing off their heads with a sword in the other. It makes you shiver. Remember that this form of leadership is the extreme opposite to what we now enjoy and should never lose. This episode of GPS also covers the butchering of Jamal Khashoggi, in the Saudi embassy within the USA.

Unfortunately there have been many flaws with the American style of Democracy and they have eaten away at it like a cancer or rot. It is getting worse, not better.

It is supposed to be a form of government for the people and by the people. The problem is that you have to be the right kind of "people". Increasingly in North America, most are not.

Here are at least some of the things that should change but don't hold your breath (although some of you younger people who live on the coast should practice doing so. You will soon need it.)

Most democracies like other forms of leadership are controlled by the silent and secret super rich who will never let any of these things happen:

- Invoke once and for all true representation by population. This is the only fair way to make everyone's vote equal. Those at the top don't want this. In the USA it should be enshrined in their constitution, although Trump and company and SCOTUS don't give a rat's ass for that document anymore.

- bring back humane capital punishment for a strict list of the worst crimes against fellow men/women. It will never deter some but it will always deter the majority.

- Most countries which do not suffer from the sick American gun disease already know what follows but Americans are blinded to it. The Constitution might give the right to bear arms but to my knowledge it says nothing about how you are permitted to use them. A lot could be done here. Eliminate any idea that if somebody invades your "space" you can shoot them. Another is that if you feet "threatened" it is OK to shoot someone. These might vary by state but should not. Only extreme circumstances should justify one citizen shooting another - otherwise you pay a steep price. Guns are not like chain saws where owners feel they have to use it to justify its existence. No more cases like Kyle Rittenhouse please.

- Heads of countries must show their tax returns. It should be mandatory. That goes for provinces and states as well.

- Make the separation of church and state unequivocally clear and unalterable.

- Make sure every person and corporation pays taxes scaled to income level. Any deductions allowed as expenses for the rich and corporations should also be available to all taxpayers.

- Elect Supreme Court justices and limit their terms.

- Account for every dollar of campaign financing and audit their source and use. Impose the same limits on all candidates.

- Clamp down on phony and misleading advertising with severe financial penalties for violations. You should not consider something to be freedom of speech when blatant lies cause people to spend their hard earned money on a product or service. It makes everybody rich except the poor customer.

- More high profile cases are needed in which the rich and famous, police, and politicians to name a few face the same justice and punishment as others. In America some good examples are the prosecution of actors who used money to gain entry into colleges for which their kids were unqualified; armed white men tracking down and killing an unarmed black man while he was jogging; and police officer who choked a subdued captive to death.

Trump violated many norms. If leaders ignore the most sacred institutions then America and other countries like it are doomed. The middle / lower classes and visible minorities who are full citizens are becoming increasingly unhappy with the status quo. Violence erupts as a result.


If things don't improve there will be another big bang that is more than just theoretical.

#thebrewsterblock

SEO for Blogs. What's Trending?

Where are YOUR priorities?

One of the things that have always been on the minds of bloggers is how to get higher viewership. The fact is that blogs had their heyday many years ago and have been replaced by the likes of Facebook and Twitter. They face the same challenge as newspapers. Few people want to read or even think. They just want entertainment. I knew this when I began but here I am. I would rather write for my own entertainment than watch the crap that is on TV or play electronic games.

There are thousands of websites whose hosts claim to be able to share the secrets of making money by Blogging. It didn't take long to find that most of the more popular sites indeed made money by telling readers one thing: how to make money by Blogging. A lot of it is the technical side but generally these "bloggers" never write anything creative at all. Today this is adorned with lots of video as well.

To put this in perspective, this is like placing an ad claiming you know how to turn anybody into a professional baseball player will can make millions per year. The subscribers receive some snail mail or email telling them to place an ad just like the author. Tell people you can make them into a professional ball player and watch the cash roll in!

Seriously though, the most sound advice I found is simply to use the many tools available from Google to find out what is trending. Identify what people are searching for and write good quality material about THAT. This makes perfect sense, but the key is quality - consistent quality. My problem is that I just don't relate to what people are seeking. I just don't give a flying "F" about the Kardashians or who just cheated on whom in the Etalk world.

So just from curiosity I started typing random arguments (words) into the www.google.com page and looking at the numbers under the reply. It was entertaining to say the least.
Most of these numbers are in the billions or hundreds of millions. They really only represent places on the entire internet that might have a reference to the argument submitted. I also see that they are only estimates and that in some locations Google has dropped them.

Try it for yourselves. If these numbers tell you anything it is that in my opinion our priorities are all screwed up. This has always been the case - sitcoms over news; game shows over documentaries; smutty over intellectual. Here is what I entered, sequenced by declining number of hits:

Environment change 10,240,000,000 (10.24 billion)
God                             4,580,000,000
Sex                              4,400,000,000
Cancer                         4,320,000,000
Stroke                         4,270,000,000
The war in Ukraine     4,150,000,000
Heart disease             4,130,000,000
Global warming          3,600,000,000
Kim Kardashian          3,070,000,000
Kardashians               2,780,000,000
Botox                          1,490,000,000
New York Yankees     1,140,000,000
The Garden of Eden      586,000,000
Abraham Lincoln           443,000,000
Adolf Hitler                    137,000,000
Elvis Presley                 122,000,000
The price of gas              68,700,000
Nuclear war                    59,500,000
Toronto Blue Jays           48,900,000
Gobboldygook                   1,420,000 (misspelled)
Gobbledygook                       19,000

I'm sure that God is pleased to see people are concerned about the space that he/she created but maybe a bit ticked that we messed it up so badly. Being almost tied with "Sex" might put us in disfavor as well.

It appears that many people are more concerned with their own demise than that of the Ukraine. I am not sure why Heart disease lags behind. It is good to see that that global warming beat out the Kardashians, but not by much.

Botox and the Yankees made the billion mark but things fall off dramatically after that. Not sure why but the misspelled Gobboldygook got more hits than Gobbledygook by a factor of 75!

When I entered "Thebrewsterblock" it scored 4,300,000 which was an old nickname. There used to be a small hotel chain and bus line in western Canada by that name but the number amazed me. The big let down was that my actual blog name (based on this) which is www.thebrewsterblock.com mustered a mere 480.

And that is why I write for my own enjoyment!

Brewster
#thebrewsterblock.com

Is Population Control Inevitable?

Against Vaccination? What about Sterilization?

I have touched on this topic before. I do so again because it is one of those looming problems which nobody will address - no democratic leaders at least - until it is too late. This makes it just like the stop sign that never arrives until "enough" people are killed or some kind of gun control until...well let's not go there again.

This is right up there with climate control. It will not cause the imminent demise of all humans in our lifetime, so it is not our problem. Careers and reputations would be on the line for anyone who brings this to the table, so don't! Bury your head(s) in the sand. Who knows - much of the world might soon be covered by it.

The world population as of this writing for 2022 is 7.9 billion. In 2024 it is projected to be 8.1 billion (world population january 2022 - Google Search). We have all seen images of the most populated cities on the globe, especially in the poorest countries - deplorable.

As well we have all seen images of the melting ice caps and glaciers; rising ocean water levels; forests and other arable land being destroyed by fire, drought, volcanic eruptions, and mankind. The latter is always to make a buck - often at the expense of others.

All of this means fewer places to live and grow food or raise livestock. One way to both reduce this loss and reduce the need for the food and accommodation is to control the population.

China has tried it. It was not popular. People couple up to reproduce for the most part! So do animals and the only reason I have not included them in this post is because mankind controls them. It is usually for food or sport but animal population control is why this is not part of our overcrowding problem. In fact some animals no longer exist.

How can that be applied to Homo Erectus? Simple - no more erectus! There is another big problem. Should the man be sterilized or the woman? We all know what men's choice would be. I can't see it being voluntary. The rich will go berserk at the thought of being told that they can not have more kids. Many religions will echo their cry. "Why should I suffer because others have too many kids and can't afford them?" Sterilize the poor but leave us alone! What do you do with the over-the-limit children? Unlike fish you can't throw them back! I guess they would have to be adapted by couples who can't have kids - up to the limit naturally!

If sterilization were to be mandatory it would have to apply to everyone, world wide,  to be effective. Good luck with that. Too bad because it would likely work.

As for the stars, I can't see it. Some day there might be a small colony on perhaps Mars. It would be totally dependent upon Mother Earth however and what happens when she is destroyed? I could see it working far beyond in another solar system where a planet very like Earth existed and I have not doubt they do.

The 1st problem is - how do you get there? The second is what kind of reception will there be by whomever or whatever has evolved on that planet? If they are indeed like us they will hopefully want to know how we got there.

On the other hand of they are some kind of weapon lovers they will probably shoot us first. We will be their Roswell and if there is anyone left here we will never find out their destiny.

Happy New Year

#thebrewsterblock

Ten Streetwise Proverbs

If I'd Only Known Back Then

1. Look out for number one. None of the other number ones will.
2. Do unto others before they do unto you.
3. That bird in the hand? Ask why the other 10 won't let him into the bush.
4. Don't count your cookies before they hatch. Wait...no...That's the way the chickens crumble. Oh hell...don't drink!
5. If you really want to feel good - do something nice for someone. Start with yourself.
6. Always check for the paper before you sit down!
7. Better late than pregnant.
8. The importance of a will is all relative.
9. If you want someone to keep a secret, don't tell them.
10. Behind every successful man are many daggers.

11. Size doesn't matter. Right.

#thebrewsterblock

Kim Potter and other Big Mistakes

Is "Guilty" Justified?

There are many who feel that the guilty verdict for Kim Potter is just, while many others disagree. This is a tough one but it raises a larger point. Take it up to the 10,000 foot level and view the forest rather than the trees.

I think most would agree that Kim was horrified at what she did. The act itself was a mistake - an accident. Let's ignore other factors like fellow officers not detaining Daunte away from the open car door. The focus here is on Kim.

She had years of training. We know about carrying tasers on the opposite side from a firearm, the different color and weight of a taser etc. We also know that the Wright family will be without Daunte forever. None of that can be changed.

It would be more clear cut if, for example, Kim did not carry her Taser on the opposite side. Another remote example would be if any officer intended to draw their firearm but accidently fired it killing a bystander because they triggered their finger too soon before taking aim. In that case they clearly would have neglected an established procedure. Here it seems to have been an accident. Society is weighing a life against an accident, preventable or not.

So I am going to invent a different scenario to make my point. Let us say that an Air Traffic Controller with many years of experience makes an innocent mistake and hundreds of people die. Perhaps there was a situation like 9/11 and under extreme pressure with immense air traffic and they mistook one plane for another or misunderstood a pilot's words. Should they spend decades in prison because they were supposed to be able to handle it?

There is a big difference between "should have known" or "should have been able to" and negligence. People seem to have an overwhelming need for blame or retribution when someone else has suffered. It is worse in America where filing huge lawsuits is almost a distinct career path. That has yet to come in this case.

From what I heard and saw Kim followed procedure, especially if she thought Daunte might be going for a weapon. There is no question she should have been immediately dismissed because she caved under pressure. But how much of this was to satisfy a thirst for revenge or to satisfy a whole group who would have seen an acquittal as another injustice for a black man?

I hope no-one ever trips and falls on my property resulting in an injury. I am too old to go to prison.

#thebrewsterblock  

History's Greatest Death Mongers vs COVID-19

Real Life Doctors of  Death

According to the following website, the men (no women) outlined are leaders and tyrants responsible for over 160 million deaths. The total time span covers many decades. Read the article to see just how little these butchers cared about their fellow humans.

8 World Leaders With The Highest Death Tolls (whatculture.com)

On the other hand the following website outlines the horror of 10 known pandemics and their death tolls since 165 AD. The total was over 310 million - about twice the above number. The time span is many centuries.

Outbreak: 10 of the Worst Pandemics in History - MPH Online

HIV/AIDS (2005 - 2012) killed 36 million. The 1918 flu death total was estimated to be 20 - 50 million; the Black Death (Bubonic Plague) 1348-1353 killed 75 - 200 million and is the largest in the article.

COVID-19 is estimated to have killed just over 5 million people in less than two years. This number already surpasses four of those pandemics listed in the above article. We don't know how bad it will get.

We have every right to be worried about these pandemics but there is little we can do to prevent them. We are spending billions to minimize their effects, including the rapid development of vaccination technology.

But the biggest take away is that for the limited timeframe involved, man is his own worst virus. The atrocities committed by some of the men mentioned above are just as horrible to the victims as the worst of any pandemic. I am assuming a virus really does not know what it is doing. Men on the other hand, do. We are worried about a tiny group of molecules and meantime, mankind is destroying the planet on which we live and will probably initiate wars which will kill millions more. In a few decades - mere seconds in the continuum of time - man will probably destroy this planet - and all men and microscopic bugs on it.

According to some, COVID-19 was created by men and many other of the bugs that have killed millions. This makes the case against us even worse.

Let me say it again - man is his own worst virus. That greedy, selfish, look out for number one now and who cares after I am dead man, should be worried about himself.

I am not a great believer in Holy books. The problem is that they were written by - you guessed it - men. But one quote is worth all of the books combined: The actual quote from the Bible is from Luke 6:31, “And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.” The Golden Rule.

#thebrewsterblock

The Next U.S. Election Needs Unbiased Observers. Who?

Presidential Election 2024 will need Chaperones - like a Prom!

I have said this many times. It will never happen, but I will write it anyway. After all of the lies that Trump and very deceitful Republican members of both the House and Senate have spread, there can not be another U.S. election without all the crap generated in 2020. The damage is done. Thanks Donald, Mitch, Ted, Lindsey and the rest.

When you add to that all of the "fix is in" legislation recently passed at the state level (again primarily Republican) there is no way anyone resident or not will have faith in future elections. Trump has put his country right up there with Russia and North Korea in terms in that nobody in the international community, and unfortunately the domestic one, has faith that American elections are fair.

It is time for impartial observers to be present at all levels of American elections. Apparently some 23 states already allow this (https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/international-election-observation.aspx). Articles I have just read point out that it is a very difficult task for a non-resident. 

They don't know the system or the habits of a country's good and bad voting practices. They don't know the tricks of the trade. I remember in 2020 a Republican faction in California put out its own "collection" boxes in democratic areas. What do you think was going to happen to any blue votes in those boxes? We only found out because of the media. Just the same, I think the time has come. Any attempt to build back better voting integrity should be encouraged. New Republican state laws have turned their own future elections into a farce.

So who could play this role? The potential list is long. A few follow but it is all for naught as I will explain later.

1. Judges. This is a very expensive solution and as most people know by now, some American judges are not saints and typically lean left or right. This includes the Supreme Court. Besides being a very expensive suggestion, many, many would be required and they are needed elsewhere in the crime ridden paradise called United States.

2. Priests or other religious leaders. Once again perhaps elsewhere but remember this is the home of Jim and Tammy; Jim Jones; Ted Haggard; Richard Baker (Google him); Jimmy Swaggart (I think I remember him "crying" for his sins) and many more. It is too bad but many of the country's most visible men (and women?) of the cloth are wolves in sheep's clothing. Let us not forget that the worst of them got rich by hoodwinking millions of gullible Americans. Why trust them with ballots?

3. Mickey, Minnie and the gang from Disneyland? OK I threw that in to see if you read even this far.

4. Audit Firms? This seems like a good choice. Still, recall that they look after the Oscar selection process and that is hardly squeaky clean. Every corrupt Wall Street firm that screwed the entire country had auditors. So did Donald Trump. Need I say more? We all laughed at Cyber Ninjas because they had never handled an election before but hey - they found that Biden won even more soundly. That was one tiny area. The largest audit companies have big, big, corporations who pay them lots of money. The lobbyists will just switch from influencing politicians to influencing auditors.

5. Another country or two? Who? Most don't trust America anymore. Why should they? America has broken one too many agreements. Russia? China? Others? They wouldn't know a legitimate election if they tripped over one. Canada might be a possibility. They could be bilingual for the French communities. I am Canadian. Don't forget we have a hell of a lot of money riding on America buying our oil and permitting our pipelines through certain states. Maybe this is not a good idea. Besides - could Americans really tolerate Justin Trudeau's doublespeak for that many months? We don't know what he is really saying ourselves so how could Americans? 

I like the idea but it will not happen. Why? Because anyone chosen will want to return home some day in something other than a pine box. If the Republicans lost, a few would most certainly be hung outside a polling station or be shot by one of the thousands of guns in bystanders' back pockets. Yes it is that bad.

Only in America. You made your own bed. Now you have to LIE in it. Many in Washington and state capitals are already doing so and don't want to wake up.

#thebrewsterblock

A Sincere Apology

Hatred was Not my Objective    

Not everyone is willing to apologize - for anything. I am one who will apologize when I feet the need and I feel such a need.

There are over 350 posts on this blog. They often get intense when I feel strongly about something. Such topics include Trump; his followers; those who attacked The Capital Building; other politicians; and those unwilling to get a COVID shot among others.

It has recently come to my attention that when I used the term "Jabasses" to describe anti-vaxxers I went too far. I accept that and to any that I hurt I hereby apologize. Someone went so far as to imply that this was incenting "hatred." In my opinion, that goes too far. I never write to cause people to hate. If I used the term in any of my posts, it was most likely saying that I personally hate something. I will temper my use of the term in future.

I have removed "Jabasses" from the posting.

What I had in mind when I wrote the piece were people like those in the recent incident involving a school board meeting. Someone who merely expressed their desire to have kids wear masks at school was met with near violence. Their car was surrounded and rocked when they tried to leave. They required an escort. One man was banging on the window saying that he knew where the occupant lived and that they would never be safe again - they should stay inside. Now THAT is fomenting hatred.

On January 6th, building a gallows and calling for Mike Pence to be hanged and Nancy Pelosi to be harmed or killed as well - THAT was hatred.

Most of my former post was also devoted to castigating those who protest just for the sake of it. There were people stating that the Feds under Biden would be coming door to door trying to force people to be vaccinated. That was a blatant lie and the speaker knew it. I was directing the term at those people and any of the "you can't make me" crowd.

So there you have it. To me a little well intended apology goes a long way. I hope it does here also.

#thebrewsterblock.

Problems for the World to Solve

Let's Get Together

Remember the song "Let's get together, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!" (Haley Mills; Robert and Richard Sherman)? It is one the world should be singing, translated into many languages with the same refrain but new lyrics.

Some of the world's greatest problems - COVID for example - would be better addressed by international cooperation. The International Space Station is a great example. The problem is that much of the needed funds are now going towards the goal of self preservation or being ready to destroy the other guy. This must make God or our alien creators and masters proud.

Here are some suggestions from which we would all be beneficiaries, including other living things like plants, fish, and animals. There would have to be an agreement that any new invention or technology which resulted from the combined effort could not be patented. That way any country would be free to allow private industry to help without any monopolies locking up the creation out of financial greed.

Let's hear some of your thoughts. Comment below.

CARS: Thankfully this is being addressed albeit slowly. Petroleum powered cars must go. This alone will help to purify the air and slow down global warming. Petroleum will always be needed for commerce, construction, and travel but there are hundreds of millions of cars, most being extremely inefficient.

PLASTICS: I doubt they will disappear but some like shopping bags and drink / water bottles could go. Replacement products are needed. There is hope with the commercials I am seeing involving three major soda companies and their new bottles.

DRINKING WATER: More high volume low cost desalination technology is needed. Israel is advanced in this area. The whole world should have access to clean, safe, drinking water.

FOOD: I have read that there is enough food to feed the world but not everybody has access. Large scale food greenhouses already exist. You can't always spread crops laterally but you can go vertically, just like residential buildings. Sharing such technology would allow current countries who can't grow crops to do so.

ENERGY: Solar, wind, and harnessing the tides are all possibilities here with minimal progress in each. Another known technology is the use of the sun's rays to superheat a liquid using huge parabolic lenses. This is ultimately used to boil water for a steam engine, which then drives a generator. Combined knowledge here could be shared and large plants built in the hottest areas of the world. Electrical power could then be transported in conventional towers and cables.

SHELTER: Many of the poorest have never had a home. I saw a video once about someone who was building stacked homes out of large concrete sewer pipes. Sounds crude but these were liveable. What about spent shipping containers and tractor trailers once they are off the road. Now they end up in some farmer's field. Quonset huts would also be like a palace to those with no home of their own.

CLOTHING: Right up there with food and shelter. Used clothing is already collected - for a profit. Governments could do it, on a non profit basis (cover costs only) for the needy both here and abroad.

There are lots of possibilities where combined genius can be used for common good. Surely re-directing government money from charitable handouts to jobs for the betterment of the human race is desirable.

It easy to talk about taxing the super rich and certain corporations so that they pay more to fund common benefits, many of whom pay none. These are good causes to which the extra cash could be directed, rather than to executive salaries and bonuses, and politicians' pensions.

What are your ideas?

#thebrewsterblock

Does God Exist?

Will I be taking the Stairway to Heaven or the Highway to Hell?

Are you a devout follower of a religion; an agnostic (humans have no way of knowing); an atheist (do not believe in any God); or something else? I am the latter.

Regardless of the label however, here are some things to think about if you dare. I dare all the time. I even dare to say if God exists, perhaps she is a woman. Today people would say that if not a man, what about OTHER gender choices? I'm not even going to go there!

The idea of a male supreme deity I have addressed before. Essentially that is only because thousands of years ago man's superior strength made males rule the earth. Women were second class only because men were able to force the issue. Men created, and through war men destroyed.

When reading and education came along, only men were permitted to take advantage. The naturally clever ones did and became holy leaders. You believed or you died. When they created the notion of a God and a theory of creation, it all began - naturally - with a man. Woman was created, but as a very evil partner whose only job was to bear children and pleasure man. So much for that.

That is not today's topic. Before I begin let us dispose of the biggest copout of them all, "God works in mysterious ways." Indeed they/he/she/it does. This is the standard reply when there really is no other. So the lead in for today is:

If there IS a God, then why...

Why is it not a perfect world with no injustice and plenty for all? Are we just characters in some live game? To hell with virtual when you can create the real thing. If so, against whom is God playing? Lucifer/Satan? Finally of course, who is winning? The way the world is today, I'd bet on Satan.

Why, if there were to be a superior sex, would it not be the one who bears and looks after future generations - woman?

Why, when there are so many heavenly bodies in the universe we can not even fathom the number, would there only be life, even identical life, on only one of them?

Why are some of the most evil beings on this planet rewarded and some of the most giving and noble punished - often in horrible fashion?

Why were we given the intelligence - of all of the species - to question this as I am? Is it part of the game?

Why, if there is other "life" out there, have the game makers not introduced them to spice up the play? Stay tuned. Maybe they will. Perhaps all astronauts and #Branson the other day were just more steps in that direction. Surely this would be a supreme high for any creator - to allow the peons (us) to think we actually discovered each other.

Why did the dinosaurs and other species suddenly disappear? Was it because we were the next invention and they just had to go? If so, what is waiting in the wings or in Beta test to replace us? Will it happen soon? How will we all perish. There are many signs that an apocalypse is near.

Why don't we know more about heaven from God and not some anointed clergy person. Will it be just like the politics in a country or corporation? If you are no good at politics here will you have a hard time in heaven? Do you have to be a "Survivor" winner?

Why don't we actually see ghosts if they exist, or angels? What better way is there to make us all believers? Churches teach us that we must simply be faithful. The truth is that they - all of them - simply want us to be faithful to them, coughing up some coin along the way.

Why was God always associated with fire and fury and as coming from above? The only reason I can come up with is that indeed there was fire from above and visitors once upon a time.

That might be a good place to end - "Once upon a time" - a famous beginning often associated with the Brothers Grimm. We know what they wrote. Need I say more?

#thebrewsterblock

Surfside: Where was God?

 The BIG Question on Surfside

Before lighting into me, I have already heard this question asked of a Rabbi on TV. I only repeat it here but I do frequently pose the question.

In all disasters like this, you have to wonder why. Why if there is a God, was this allowed to happen? I heard him answer in a typical fashion - he deflected the question. He cited all the other faiths' holy leaders who rallied around the event and the affected families. This is where God was. A poor answer.

If God - your God - represents goodness, then this should not have taken place. Saying that God works in mysterious ways does not cut it. If you believe that God punishes, perhaps this level of punishment on one or two guilty or evil parties can be argued - not an entire half of a building.

There will be more claimed acts of God as hopefully, people are found alive. The same question applies.

The immediate cause could have been:

- Aging material like cement or steel
- Nature as in a sink hole or soft ground under the foundation
- Sabotage. A structural engineer said only one strategic column failing or demolished could cause this
- Faulty or second rate material used in the first place
- Poor maintenance

It does not matter. God as portrayed could have prevented any of these. He/she/it/they did not. For me punishing innocent families like this brings the entire notion of a supreme creator and guardian into question.

Think about it. Tonight when you retire, you could wake up under fifty feet of mud or water, or solidified forever in molten lava. If you muster one final thought I'm sure you will ask "Why me?"

This morning close to where I live an innocent (presumed) man lost his life on a freeway after his car stalled and it was rear ended by a truck. Was God involved there too? If there is a purpose perhaps it is to make all of us realize that we are fortunate and that we should spend more time, effort, and care on others and less on ourselves.

Enjoy life and those around you while you can whether you are religious or not! Life can be snuffed out by many things and events in an instant. This bit of truth requires no book, faith, preacher, diploma, or service to understand or witness.

Start now.

#thebrewsterblock