Gas Bandit's Political Thread V: The Vampire Likes Bats

drifter

drifter

Demeaning tweets happened in early 2011. Donation e-mail sent out last Friday. Doesn't seem very likely to be retribution by the aide, nor am I buying the stated reason for her firing.
 
D

Dubyamn

AshburnerX said:
Not really news or anything, but I've been reading Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick. It's basically about what life is like in North Korea, as told by people who have fled the country. It's been pretty interesting, but the most interesting thing I've read so far is how free markets basically opened up all on their own once it became apparent that the government could no longer provide food to the population. Most men were stuck doing government jobs they weren't getting paid for, so the women of country basically run the economy by making and selling stuff on the market in order to buy the meager amount of food they can get because it was the ONLY way they could survive. Ironically, once the government started paying the men again, the price of food had gone up so much because of the markets that no one could afford it working a government job ANYWAY. You'd be lucky to afford 2-3 days of food with an entire month's salary.

It literally became such a big deal that the government had to okay these markets because to not do so would have triggered revolution.

I just thought it was interesting that the free markets are what enabled some people to survive the famine, but that those same markets have basically condemned many more to death because they can't afford the prices. North Korea has gone through a sped up economic timeline compared to our own and it's basically shown that the end game of both communism and capitalism is the same: a few rich people on top, no middle class, a multitude of poor working from dawn to dusk just to live and everyone else dead from hunger.

I'd highly recommend this book if you've ever wanted first hand accounts of life in North Korea. It's pretty awesome.
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Heard about those private markets on and NPR story that also talked about how domestic abuse is sky high. Do they go into that with the book?

And another story talked about how North Koreans loved crystal meth.

Definatley buying the book cause everything I've heard about North Korea is insane and incredibly interesting.
 
AshburnerX

AshburnerX

Dubyamn said:
Heard about those private markets on and NPR story that also talked about how domestic abuse is sky high. Do they go into that with the book?

And another story talked about how North Koreans loved crystal meth.

Definatley buying the book cause everything I've heard about North Korea is insane and incredibly interesting.
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Yeah, they talk about all of that.
 
Bubble181

Bubble181

Didn't want to start a new thread for this and this one can use a new story; so a question: last weekend, following a trend from New York and other American cities (apparently), a group of people organised an underwear subway day. Which is just what it sounds like - a bunch of people taking the subway in their underwear. Fashion statement, statement for freedom, what have you.
Now, what I'm wondering about: over here, there were almost as many counterprotesters as participants - "our children take this subway as well", "women shouldn't go shamelessly undressed", "you're all filthy whores and Allah will strike you down".

Now, I haven't really found much on the American version - it doesn't seem as big as some of the organizers over here want people to believe. Or I'm just not searching the right places. Anyway, I'm just wondering - were there protests over there as well? If so, from Christians? Muslims? Both? Other? And what's your own opinion - is it OK? (mind, they were mostly grany panties and boxer shorts - I didn't meet anyone in a string or sexy lingerie...Though I suppose there may have been some, I only passed by and saw a few pictures)
 
jwhouk

jwhouk

WRT the underwear thing - I don't think it got much traction here in the states, what with that little Polar Vortex thing which made wearing nothing but underwear outside a proposition in instant frostbite.
 
Ravenpoe

Ravenpoe

Bubble181 said:
Didn't want to start a new thread for this and this one can use a new story; so a question: last weekend, following a trend from New York and other American cities (apparently), a group of people organised an underwear subway day. Which is just what it sounds like - a bunch of people taking the subway in their underwear. Fashion statement, statement for freedom, what have you.
Now, what I'm wondering about: over here, there were almost as many counterprotesters as participants - "our children take this subway as well", "women shouldn't go shamelessly undressed", "you're all filthy whores and Allah will strike you down".

Now, I haven't really found much on the American version - it doesn't seem as big as some of the organizers over here want people to believe. Or I'm just not searching the right places. Anyway, I'm just wondering - were there protests over there as well? If so, from Christians? Muslims? Both? Other? And what's your own opinion - is it OK? (mind, they were mostly grany panties and boxer shorts - I didn't meet anyone in a string or sexy lingerie...Though I suppose there may have been some, I only passed by and saw a few pictures)
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No protests that I know of, but there's usually at least one guy in his underpants on the subway, usually talking to himself.
 
GasBandit

GasBandit

Staff member


During a discussion regarding the NSA and phone record privacy, MSNBC Host Andrea Mitchell interrupts former Congresswoman Jane Harman to report breaking news regarding let latest news on the Justin Bieber Arrest.
 
Frank

Frank

Gotta make sure those dirty poors get used to it early in life.

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/57468293-78/lunches-olsen-lunch-district.html.csp

Up to 40 kids at Uintah Elementary in Salt Lake City picked up their lunches Tuesday, then watched as the meals were taken and thrown away because of outstanding balances on their accounts
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They waited until the kids had those meals in their hands before taking them and throwing them out, because you can't serve food that's already been handed out.

Fucking abysmal story.
 
GasBandit

GasBandit

Staff member
Jason Olsen, a Salt Lake City District spokesman, said the district’s child-nutrition department became aware that Uintah had a large number of students who owed money for lunches.

As a result, the child-nutrition manager visited the school and decided to withhold lunches to deal with the issue, he said.
But cafeteria workers weren’t able to see which children owed money until they had already received lunches, Olsen explained.

The workers then took those lunches from the students and threw them away, he said, because once food is served to one student it can’t be served to another.
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Hooray for officious government bureaucrats and regulations that leave no room for common sense solutions, am I right?
 
blotsfan

blotsfan

I feel like it wouldn't be as bad if they checked it before so they just wouldn't be served food. The fact that the food was just wasted is what makes it stand out.
 
GasBandit

GasBandit

Staff member
I dunno about you guys, but we had a lady with a list at the head of our lunch line back in school, double checking us against the list. You'd think this wouldn't be a hard concept to grasp.
 
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Covar

Covar

stienman said:
While I would hate for my child to experience this, I would recognize that it was my fault for not sending them to school with lunch, or for not keeping the account paid up - or, in the case where the lunch cost can vary it would be my child's fault for taking too much food early in the semester and not dealing with it (for older children, obviously).
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HOW DARE YOU take responsibility and fault for not providing money for your child's lunch! Don't your realize it's the fault of ALL THOSE EVIL CRAZY CONSERVATIVES!!!!
 
Tress

Tress

The school really develop a smarter way to track student accounts, so they could see which students had overdue balances before handing out the food. But yes, the parents are the ones who need to straighten up and they are the ones ultimately at fault.
 
Shakey

Shakey

stienman said:
A school lunchlady was SUPER MEAN and made some kids cry, and now people are saying...



And so forth, because humiliating a child is the worst thing ever.

Good thing Utah still has capital punishment, I'm sure she'll get the justice she so richly deserves for demanding that parents pay their bills or their children won't receive lunch service anymore.

What a wretched woman.

:troll:
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The point is they are doing it in the worst way possible by letting these kids get food and then taking it away. Not that they are doing it. It's not that hard to put someone at the front of the line to check to see if they kids have an outstanding balance or not. On top of that they're wasting even more money by just tossing the food.
 
SpecialKO

SpecialKO

Clearly, the lost money on the meals doesn't bother them that much if they can't be bothered to figure out how to not waste it....
 
Tress

Tress

I'm not clear how my saying that whole situation was fucked up lead to hyperbole about calling lunch ladies monsters or comparing it to rape. You are making some amazing assumptions there.

So, my apologies for not quietly stating that I found the situation less than ideal and advocating that all parties involved spend time coming up with practical solutions to alleviate any distress the minors may have experienced. I'll remember next time to scrub any emotion or style from my writing, just so you don't misunderstand my comments.
 
Covar

Covar

Shockingly a government bureaucracy manages to accomplish a task in the most wasteful and inefficient manner possible. Who would have expected that?
 
Tress

Tress

My comment was around a 4 on that scale. And yeah, the things I say when I'm really upset would probably be... distasteful, to say the least.
 
Shakey

Shakey

stienman said:
Actually you make a good point. It is that hard. Schools are understaffed as it is - who will you assign to this new job? How will they do it without another cash register tied to the school's computer system?
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No, it's not that hard. They just need to take the time to figure it out. Just because the current way is easier doesn't mean it's better. They could take the order ahead and give the student a reciept that shows what they bought. Those serving the food can go off of that and give them what they ordered. Or they could just hire someone. My guess is the amount they pay a part time worker for 2 or 3 hours a day at $9 and hour would more than make up for the food they toss. That's what, 3 or 4 meals an hour? I'm guessing they were giving a whole lot more of that away if it became such an issue. They also don't need a full register at the front. Just a scanner and terminal to read that it's not past due.

It's not rocket science, and the fact that they didn't even think it would be embarrassing or wasteful says a lot.
 
GasBandit

GasBandit

Staff member
I'll bet they could pay a lot of part time list checkers with the money they'll save firing the child nutrition manager who thought THIS was the best way to fix the problem.
 
Krisken

Krisken

I'm so confused. What ever happened to buying tickets for the week at a counter and then turning them in when you get a hot lunch? Does nobody do that anymore?
 
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