Austeria
“Austeria”. An informal talk to OMSSA’s 2013 Learning Symposium, held in Ottawa, Ontario from June 16 to 19, 2013.
Video · Posted by himelfarb on August 11, 2013 · 18 Comments
“Austeria”. An informal talk to OMSSA’s 2013 Learning Symposium, held in Ottawa, Ontario from June 16 to 19, 2013.
Filed under Post featured on front page · Tagged with austerity, David Cameron, G20, taxes
Alex's Blog · Centre for Global Challenges
Song: Evidently chicken town Writer: John Cooper Clark
The bloody cops are bloody keen
To bloody keep it bloody clean
The bloody chief’s a bloody swine
Who bloody draws a bloody line
At bloody fun and bloody games
The bloody kids he bloody blames
Are nowhere to be bloody found
Anywhere in chicken town
The bloody scene is bloody sad
The bloody news is bloody bad
The bloody weed is bloody turf
The bloody speed is bloody surf
The bloody folks are bloody daft
Don’t make me bloody laugh
It bloody hurts to look around
Everywhere in chicken town
The bloody train is bloody late
You bloody wait you bloody wait
You’re bloody lost and bloody found
Stuck in fucking chicken town
The bloody view is bloody vile
For bloody miles and bloody miles
The bloody babies bloody cry
The bloody flowers bloody die
The bloody food is bloody muck
The bloody drains are bloody fucked
The colour scheme is bloody brown
Everywhere in chicken town
The bloody pubs are bloody dull
The bloody clubs are bloody full
Of bloody girls and bloody guys
With bloody murder in their eyes
A bloody bloke is bloody stabbed
Waiting for a bloody cab
You bloody stay at bloody home
The bloody neighbors bloody moan
Keep the bloody racket down
This is bloody chicken town
The bloody pies are bloody old
The bloody chips are bloody cold
The bloody beer is bloody flat
The bloody flats have bloody rats
The bloody clocks are bloody wrong
The bloody days are bloody long
It bloody gets you bloody down
Evidently chicken town
The bloody train is bloody late
You bloody wait you bloody wait
You’re bloody lost and bloody found
Stuck in fucking chicken town
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Everybody has become timid
They now fear the small white mice
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Oh, yeah.
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That was an excellent presentation. I’m hoping those in the audience, probably many members of the civil service and maybe government in waiting MPs, took notes.
Other than recent economic jargon, cuts are considered a very negative thing. A gardener will prune a failing tree or plant to avoid cutting and killing it.
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Thanks BY. “Avoid cutting and killing” is a pretty good motto.
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Great speech, Alex. I agree, movements are beginning to coalesce, and ‘Enough Already’ would be as good a rallying cry as any. Please continue.
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Thanks Ian!
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Hi Alex,
Just now, I read Paul Krugman’s take on the U.S. situation of all actors not allowing ‘the system’ to work in the way that it is supposed to work:
I am reminded of the anger I felt recently in watching yet another comedian interview a politician and discuss public policy.
IMHO, while Jon Stewart asks some very good questions, he is not a trained journalist. I expect more public benefit if Neil MacDonald or John Dickerson, trained journalists, were conducting interviews! Yet, these events are hailed as examples of ‘open and transparent’ government…
Am I alone in believing that the system is breaking down around us!?!?
While this article doesn’t address directly the elephant in the room, perhaps it may help us unpack some of the issues stored in its trunk!!!
Thanks,
Lynn
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Thanks for the link, and no, you are not alone.
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Hi Alex,
Not sure if you have read this yet, but the idea of scarcity consuming ‘bandwidth’, poverty itself impacting one’s capacity for decision making, is remarkable.
Perhaps these research findings can assist in the development of more effective social programs.
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/25/escaping-the-cycle-of-scarcity/?hp&_r=0
Thanks,
Lynn
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Lynn, thanks so much. Read the one on bandwith, the other new to me and both very useful, Thanks again
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Gee Alex, I have an opportunity to share with you two articles of interest in a single day!
This recent OECD speech addresses the importance of ‘trust in government’ – a theme central to so many of your blog posts.
http://www.oecd.org/governance/recovering-trust-as-a-key-to-effective-public-policy.htm
Thanks,
Lynn
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