The "Occupy" Movement

[Jed]

I hope you are not a proponent of the "Soylent Green" option, there Nemo. 

 

[cupper]

I hope you are not a proponent of the "Soylent Green" option, there Nemo. 

That the one that has the punchline Corporations are People? ;D

 

[Jed]

I think so. Charleton Heston at his finest.

 

[a_majoor]

TV's point about older kids using a lunch program to learn is a common part of Montessori education (My children partook for a number of years), but the combined environment of the school created by parents, teachers and students also made sure the food went downrange and not into the dumpster.

The current models of public education does not provide such an environment, so while providing the opportunity is great in theory, the practical results will end up being more and more coercive, as the choices are restricted to whatever sort of diet is deemed healthy, then efforts are made to ensure the meals are actually consumed and costs minimized. I can see everything from attempting to close variety stores and fast food joints withing radius "x" of any school to literally locking the children inside for the duration of lunch hour. (And if you think that idea is over the top, just look at the sorts of restrictions schools attempt to put on the lunches children do bring, including what sort of packaging the food can come in. I'm not talking about common sense things like reducing or eliminating foods which can cause allergies, although this seems to be the opening which allowed the current control frenzy to enter).

I'd be all for changing the pedagogical model and school environments; Edmonton's system of charter schools is a jumping off point if you are not interested in looking at alternative models like Montessori, Waldorf and so on. Probably get far more bang for the buck (and comparing the cost/student at the Montessori school to the advertized spending/pupil in the current Ontario public school system, it would actually be much more cost effective as well...)

 

[Fishbone Jones]

I'm trying to figure out, how we went from a bunch of people that think we owe them a living, raping each other, doing drugs and assaulting one another in tent cities, to kids getting enough to eat to make them smart.

I agree with a poster who previously espoused (paraphrase) If you have the answers, why aren't you initiating them? Why aren't you working for the UN? Where are your outraged morales?

Put them to work, instead of whining and discussing them here. Think of all the wasted energy you've spent arguing your points here while the socialist classes live in decay and children grow stupid because they aren't being fed.

Sorry, needed to get that off my chest, simply, because this thread has gone beyond the sublime to the ridiculous.

Just MHO and :2c:

 

[OldSolduer]

Update from the Peg aka Winterpeg.

The "Occupy Winnipeg: movement wanted to bring in straw bales for a windbreak and a trailer - and were told "NO".

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/occupiers-ok-hay-bales-not-134896663.html

Poor muffins..... :'(

>

 

[a_majoor]

Recceguy

The evolution of the thread makes sense to me, after having our fun mocking the #occupy movement *we* (being generally practical people) start looking at the issue to see if there really is anything to it, and extracting the small crumbs of truth from the dross, see if there are any real solutions (political, economic, practical etc.)

I suspect far more people on this board are doing *something*, even if it is local volunteerism or advocacy for something of practical worth from local politicians (even writing letters to the editor counts in its own small way) than is generally known or suspected. After all, most people join the military because they want to do and experience things, as we get older and more experienced then our horizons expand as well.

WRT the "real solutions", they will obviously not resemble anything the #occupiers or their enablers will come up with...

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Recceguy

The evolution of the thread makes sense to me, after having our fun mocking the #occupy movement *we* (being generally practical people) start looking at the issue to see if there really is anything to it, and extracting the small crumbs of truth from the dross, see if there are any real solutions (political, economic, practical etc.)

I suspect far more people on this board are doing *something*, even if it is local volunteerism or advocacy for something of practical worth from local politicians (even writing letters to the editor counts in its own small way) than is generally known or suspected. After all, most people join the military because they want to do and experience things, as we get older and more experienced then our horizons expand as well.

WRT the "real solutions", they will obviously not resemble anything the #occupiers or their enablers will come up with...

Fair enough

 

[OldSolduer]

WRT the "real solutions", they will obviously not resemble anything the #occupiers or their enablers will come up with...

We used to call them dirty rotten Russian Commies!

 

[ModlrMike]

Update from the Peg aka Winterpeg.

The "Occupy Winnipeg: movement wanted to bring in straw bales for a windbreak and a trailer - and were told "NO".

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/occupiers-ok-hay-bales-not-134896663.html

Poor muffins..... :'(

>

I can't wait until it actually gets cold here.

 

[muskrat89]

1. Any business will only hire the amount of labour it needs (demands) at the lowest possible price. The price is dependent on the overall demand for that type of labour and how many of those workers actualy exist. Plumbers and other skilled tradesmen are in short supply these days, hence the pretty good living skilled trades make.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/12/02/on-job-hunt-manufacturing-jobs-readily-available-with-no-skilled-workers-to/

Anyone who tells you the jobs just aren’t out there, has not spoken with the employers at Excel Foundry and machine in Pekin, Illinois. That company is trying to expand but is having difficulty.

Excel says the reason for this is because recruiters cannot fill the job vacancies. Yes, you read that right, they can not fill the vacancies.

“We’re absolutely frustrated, we’re doing everything we can to attract employees we desperately need right now,” says Doug Parsons with Excel.

The catch is that Excel, like many U.S. manufacturers, is looking to hire skilled workers. That means tradesmen with training like welders, pipe fitters and machinists. That is where the problem lies.

For most Americans while in their high school years, the pressure was on to go to college and get a degree. Trade schools were looked at as a back up plan for those who did not excel.

Larry Sarff with Morton Industries says, “One of the problems in finding people is the perception that manufacturing is a dying art and that jobs are not going to be there because they're being sent overseas.”



Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/12/02/on-job-hunt-manufacturing-jobs-readily-available-with-no-skilled-workers-to/#ixzz1fPeUhY5U

 

[Redeye]

Then there's complimentary lunch in the teacher's lounge, complete with doggy bags for leftovers. They save money that can be put towards their own personal entertainment/betterment. More and more people are winning here...

It sounds like a brilliant idea - and as long as the contracting is done right, the quantity ordered can always be adjusted to match demand once a good estimate of what the demand is - the problem being the potential stigma. However, from what I gather, things like breakfast programs are well-utilized, not so much an issue.

When I was a course officer, I was constantly frustrated by how much food we threw out form hayboxes. One of the candidates solved that by being the first person to show up with TupperWare to take the leftovers home. And most of the course followed suit. I thought it was great, since it would go to waste otherwise.

 

[Hammer Sandwich]

... the first person to show up with TupperWare to take the leftovers home. And most of the course followed suit. I thought it was great, since it would go to waste otherwise.

I didn't know that it was allowed in my neck of the woods...(we thought we were outlaws.....pie outlaws)....but my kid got to eat a lotta great pies/cakes before I got out.

God bless the NS foods......

 

[vonGarvin]

When I was a course officer, I was constantly frustrated by how much food we threw out form hayboxes.

Unless grade 5 PRBs kids at the rate I do on DP 1.1, this won't be a problem.  The problem is that for us, we order food for "x" candidates, and then the candidates let us down by failing.  But the food is already ordered.


For the kids, even if there is overage, it's better than being under.  My  :2c:

 

[Retired AF Guy]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/12/02/on-job-hunt-manufacturing-jobs-readily-available-with-no-skilled-workers-to/

Excel says the reason for this is because recruiters cannot fill the job vacancies. Yes, you read that right, they can not fill the vacancies.

“We’re absolutely frustrated, we’re doing everything we can to attract employees we desperately need right now,” says Doug Parsons with Excel.

The catch is that Excel, like many U.S. manufacturers, is looking to hire skilled workers. That means tradesmen with training like welders, pipe fitters and machinists. That is where the problem lies.

For most Americans while in their high school years, the pressure was on to go to college and get a degree. Trade schools were looked at as a back up plan for those who did not excel.

It not just an American problem, its also a Canadian problem. I remember reading a newspaper writeup (not sure G & M, National Post or Kingston Whig) about the problem companies were having not only in hiring people for blue collar jobs, but when they did get someone, they had no clue how to handle the equipment. I remember one guy saying that some guys didn't even know how to hold a hammer properly. The other problem was that many of them had no work ethic (e.g.) showing up at work on time.

 

[Bass ackwards]

The other problem was that many of them had no work ethic (e.g.) showing up at work on time.

I was 33 years old before I ever heard the term "blow a shift" (for those not in the know, this refers to not showing up for work and not calling in to advise your supervisor about it).
I was used to places where "blowing a shift" would either get you charged (the military) or fired (any non-unionized place in the known world).

Fourteen years later, I'm an oddity in that I don't "blow shifts". I'm certainly not the only one, but it is a common thing in today's workforce.

 

[mariomike]

I was 33 years old before I ever heard the term "blow a shift" (for those not in the know, this refers to not showing up for work and not calling in to advise your supervisor about it).

We called it Fail To Report FTR,  aka "a quiet shift" for the partner who did show up. 

 

[a_majoor]

#occupyfail. This is the sort of thing they should have been protesting; millions of taxpayer dollars to rich hollywood diretor to produce pro administration propaganda. Even if One Economy were able to hire Leni Riefenstahl or Sergei Eizenshtein this is still wrong...

http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2011/12/02/how-did-obamas-stimulus-end-up-paying-a-rich-hollywood-director-to-produce-a-web-video-show/?print=1

How Did Obama’s Stimulus End Up Paying a Rich Hollywood Director to Produce a Web Video Show?

Posted By Bryan Preston On December 2, 2011 @ 9:12 am In Culture,Economy,media,Politics | 5 Comments

Drudge links a provocative Washington Times headline today, “Online soap cleans up with stimulus broadband cash.” Reading the story, we learn that Hollywood director Robert Townsend got nearly $1 million in taxpayer dollars to produce a web video series entitled “Diary of a Single Mom.” The series is a feature on a website called pic.tv, the “pic” being an acronym for “Public Internet Channel.” That implies a PBS-like status. Google “pic.tv” and you’ll see that Townsend’s “Diary” series is pic.tv’s marquee offering.

Townsend isn’t exactly a fringe, struggling artist. It’s probably fair to say that he’s among the 1%.

But the taxpayer money he received to produce “Diary” is just a tiny portion of the money that the various web sites the show lives on got, also in taxpayer money.

On pic.tv’s “About” page, we learn that while it claims to be a “network of free websites with videos and tools to help you live a better life,” it’s a production of something called One Economy. Follow the links on One Economy to discover, as the Washington Times noted, that One Economy is also feeding at the stimulus trough.

    In 2010, One Economy received one of the largest federal grants through the America Recovery and Reinvestment Act to expand affordable access, digital literacy training and online tools and resources to low-income communities across the United States.

They’re not kidding; through the stimulus, One Economy received a nice chunk of your change. Townsend’s “Diary” money came from One Economy’s stimulus grant.

    According to grant reports, One Economy so far has invoiced the government $18.9 million of the $28.5 million awarded under the grant, with 142.47 jobs created. The jobs include field supervisors, sales representatives and program managers, as well as numerous production-related positions, such as producers, cast members, casting director and an executive assistant to Mr. Townsend.

Aren’t you glad to be paying for an executive assistant to a Hollywood director who can surely pay for one out of his own ample pockets?

This story gets even better. Remember, the money for all this came from the stimulus bill. That bill was supposed to create jobs. But that’s not exactly how One Economy sees their grant money. From the Times story:

    Officials at One Economy said the grant wasn’t primarily about creating jobs. Instead, they said, the primary purpose was to increase broadband access and adoption, as well as to increase the number of people interacting with content “local and relevant to their lives.”

Let’s tease the logic out of the statement a bit. One Economy wanted to increase broadband access, and then fund the content people would find “local and relevant to their lives.” That’s not so much a stimulus as a never-ending government gravy train. The content they’re talking about, by the way, isn’t limited to Robert Townsend’s online soap guest starring Billy Dee Williams. If you poke around the Pic.tv and One Economy network of “free web sites” that you paid for, you’ll find helpful links promoting…wait for it…ObamaCare.

Here’s how that works. Let’s go back to pic.tv’s About page, where we learn about some of the other “free” web sites.

    On The Beehive, you can learn about taking control of your diabetes, managing your money, being a single mother, saving money by recycling, and so much more.

Let’s take a look at The Beehive, links to which are all over the pic.tv site. There’s a health care link up top at Beehive, let’s click on it. Click on the “Health Care Law: What Does It Mean For Me Today?” link to find what amounts to an online sales brochure for ObamaCare. And the very first sentence on the page gives President Obama credit for doling out all the benefits that are listed on the page. Unsurprisingly, “killing jobs and keeping capital on the sidelines” aren’t among the listed benefits.

Here’s what all this looks like. One Economy gets a pile of taxpayer money to “increase broadband access,” and to provide “relevant” content to these new internet users. Hello, gravy train. Robert Townsend et al get a little chunk of One Economy’s big pile to produce a show that amounts to bait to get people to discover pic.tv. This audience hunts around pic.tv’s helpful lifestyle links and finds pro-Obama propaganda disguised as free, helpful and neutral information to “live a better life.”

And you and I got to pay for it all.

Want to laugh out loud? Then go to this page and click on the “How is the Affordable Care Act going to cut health care costs?” link.

Article printed from The PJ Tatler: http://pjmedia.com/tatler

URL to article: http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2011/12/02/how-did-obamas-stimulus-end-up-paying-a-rich-hollywood-director-to-produce-a-web-video-show/

 

[Spanky]

I guess I should have checked in to read the whole "feed the student" conversion.  Having properly fed students does make it easier for them to learn and decreases some negative behaviour.  We are running a snack program here at my school of 430 kids.  They have daily access to fresh fruit and veggies, cheese and crackers a couple of times a week (cheese is expensive)  and bag lunches of juice boxes, granola bars, fruit cups and cheese and cracker packages.  The lunches are for those who request it, and we issue 5/6 a day.  We have parent and student volunteers that do the preparation and cleanup.  This year we'll spend close to $8,000. 
If it were to be a national program that involves all students, it should be funded by lottery and bingo proceeds, as well as cigarette and booze taxes, since that's where a lot of the money for proper breakfasts and lunches goes to in the first place.

 

[PMedMoe]

If it were to be a national program that involves all students, it should be funded by lottery and bingo proceeds, as well as cigarette and booze taxes, since that's where a lot of the money for proper breakfasts and lunches goes to in the first place.

Got stats for that?