As Peacenik walked to the bus this morning Peacenik noticed swarms of little red ants on the sidewalk. They seemed aimless. Peacenik wondered if these were the new European fire ants. What did they know?
Then on University Avenue Peacenik saw swarms of people, also seemingly aimless. What did they know? World leaders, and the leaders of Wall Street look at people the way Peacenik looked at those ants. 500,000 more unemployed people in the U.S. this week. 500,000 more people who won't be buying new cars or new tv's this week. The leaders don't care. Is society, and peoples' economic well being, and peoples' health as fragile as the ants Peacenik saw this morning? Everyday people choose which information to act on or to ignore. Why did Peacenik notice the ants this morning. Were they a sign? Is a storm coming? Were the ants a warning? People ants. Ants people. Have a good weekend.
by Ilargi
Then on University Avenue Peacenik saw swarms of people, also seemingly aimless. What did they know? World leaders, and the leaders of Wall Street look at people the way Peacenik looked at those ants. 500,000 more unemployed people in the U.S. this week. 500,000 more people who won't be buying new cars or new tv's this week. The leaders don't care. Is society, and peoples' economic well being, and peoples' health as fragile as the ants Peacenik saw this morning? Everyday people choose which information to act on or to ignore. Why did Peacenik notice the ants this morning. Were they a sign? Is a storm coming? Were the ants a warning? People ants. Ants people. Have a good weekend.
by Ilargi
Washington, D.C. Ingenious Prohibition-era fashion accessory, the cane-flask.
Foreclosures. I’ve never been foreclosed on. I can only imagine what it must feel like, be like. Having to tell your little children that they will never see their home again. That they will now live with grandma, or in a smaller place, or a tent.
"More than 1.5 million properties received a default or auction notice or were seized by banks in the six months through June, the Irvine, California-based seller of default data said today in a statement. That’s a 15 percent increase from the year earlier. One in 84 received a filing."
Annualized, that's 3 million homes, or one in 42 U.S. households, which directly affects some 10 million people, and indirectly perhaps as much as a third of the population, with neighbors, suppliers, family etc etc. tossed in.
We’re threatening to become blind and immune to numbers. "Trillion" is a household term, where it never was until 2 years ago, like almost no-one would have known what a tsunami was until one happened, and now everybody thinks they do. The effect of billion and trillion becoming so normal in our daily language, what does it mean to those of us not directly impacted that 10 million of our fellow citizens are under threat of losing their homes?
Read on...
