East Meets West – Podcast

I'd go to the movies more often if they would actually put movies out that I think are worth taking the time to go to the theatre to see on the big screen. While I do like nice visual effects I like there to also be an interesting story/plot. Case in point, I hated the original live action Transformers, though this is probably also due to the fact I grew up watching the cartoon and felt that Michael Bay took my childhood memories and threw them off a cliff onto craggy rocks below... So, while Avatar might be pretty, Tom and Roger's review make me want to wait til the dvd comes out, if I see it at all.

I have seen the movie only in 3D at this point (though I plan to see it again in 2D to compare it) and I would say if you plan on only watching it on dvd then I would not bother. The story was ok but it is the 3D visuals that make it a wonderful thing to see and that has to be done in the theater. Of course this is just my opinion.

Even though I don't think that this is the end of the decade but rather its at the end of 2010 there has been an interesting article with photos of major events through the decade. I think that Time also has a similar article.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/12/the_decade_in_news_photographs.html

It got me thinking about what were the items that had the most impact on me during this decade. I was thinking that it was the GFC, 9/11, and online shopping.

What had the most impact for the people here?

Roger is younger people do say "you people" does actually mean they are racist. The use of those words is denoting that they think there is an otherness to themselves as a racial group. Even if it is 'cultural' then it is a culturally embedded form of racism.

Concerning Avatar, I can't take seriously the opinions of guys who watch Stargate Universe. What was so complex about the plot of Star Wars? Or Lord of the Rings? Wizard of Oz? Etc, etc.

Long time listener, first time poster...

Like most Hollywood blockbusters, Avatar's plot is at best formulaic. But at least Avatar's take on the "going native" plot formula is, in my opinion, well implemented. I ended up being lost in the imagery of Pandora, and feeling emotionally invested with the characters in a way I didn't expect.

With regard to healthcare reform, I have lived in the US and in Japan, where healthcare was provided by the state. Having used medical services in both countries, I feel comfortable with a single payer, cost controlling system such as Japan's. At this point, I fear a final bill will not address rising costs nor provide universal coverage. Indeed, the likely compromise bill seems poised to create a system more ineffective that the current one by penalizing people for not having private insurance rather than guaranteeing access. It seems that yet again, the moneyed industry groups that own our Congress will succeed in denying the American people what should be a basic human right.

The bill is as much a testament to the currently broken nature of congress, as the broken nature of the giant influence of the moneyed interests. The Arcane Filibuster is an afront to Democracy, the possibility that important bills could be wiped out by a 40% minority in nothing more than a procedural vote is frankly ridiculous. The complicated bill left process forged by the constitution, while originally useful in stopping what Jefferson referred to as the "tyranny of the legislature", also did nothing for the Healthcare cause. The president could do little more than issue a "request" for a bills creation (since Congress and the Administration are "co-equal" legislatively speaking). Various committees in the house then had to meet, and spend weeks creating multiple potential bills, amendments were then passed on those bills, the bills were then watered down to merge them, further amendments were passed, and the "Semi-final" vote was passed in the House, Senate Committees then had to forge bills, with the "baucus" bill eventually surviving, which then had to survive the fillibusters, and had to be watered down to survive to garner the votes of the blue-dog-democrats, one republican, and the 2 independent democrats (read: lieberman), resulting in the current semi-final Senate Bill. The Senate And House Bills will eventually go to a reconciliation committee, to be merged (and watered down further to facilitate that merger, if necessary). A FINAL-final-final vote in both houses will then take place to pass the result, which can then be signed into law by the president.

This complicated flow-chart bending of a process does not lend itself to performing the radical changes that healthcare requires. Congress, while notionally, the "supreme organ of US legislative power" no longer functions as intended.

It should be noted that the countries with universal coverage and/or healthcare that is rated higher than that of the US tend to have simpler legislative processes. Japan's healthcare system was created by a parliamentary democracy held in an iron grip by the mighty LDP party, Frances system created by the fifth republic- which is designed to create majority governments able to force through bills and while presidential, the president has strong links to the legislature, Swedens made by a parliamentary democracy with just one chamber, Britains created by the original Parliament (Government writes act, commons amends+passes act, Lords Amends+passes act, King Signs act), and Canada's system was created by the Canada Health act, by a government with a strong majority in an era when the Canadian senate was by-convention forbidden from defeating acts passed by the commons.

To quote Molly Wood: "Congress! What in the HELL are you doing!?!?"

News on the Healthcare front, the Senate has made a step towards passing the descendant of the original "baucus" healthcare bill.

Despite the slow dumbing down of the bill and its slide towards uselessness, the argument of "better than nothing" has tended to prevail, and i used to be an adherent of that argument.

Till i read this:

http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2009/12/21/10-reasons-to-kill-the-senate-bill/

The current Senate bill appears to be bordering on worse than useless, in the sense it appears to break healthcare even more, crucially it does close to zip at controlling cost. It is easy to argue that the primary reason US healthcare is broken is that it costs so much, and that if costs were controlled, then providing Universal healthcare would be a doddle, in contrast, this bill attempts to provide universal healthcare by just continuing to buy the over-expensive healthcare the US already deals with, just in even bigger proportions, in the belief that the US's AAA+ bonds will continue to print money as long as the borrowing binge is required.

Exasperating...

Roger, I don't agree with your statement that capitalism is the basis of human activity (or something to that effect). You underpin this argument by providing examples of trade and commerce throughout history, but you are confusing capitalism with commerce. Capitalism is a specific commercial framework whereby the means of production (labor) are separated from the financial investment in, or reward of, production and/or commerce. Yes, commerce has been around 'forever', but capitalism != commerce.

I agree with Len that Capitalism is just a form of commerce that has evolved from the need to bring together large amounts of capital, labour and management together to do, classically, large enterprises such as bridges, railways, ships etc.