Denmark is no Utopia, for sure, and the weather sucks! *LOL* ...but I hear bad things said all the time about "socialized" healthcare, about how taxes are baaad and corporations are goood. I dare to object. Things like that are just the means we use to get what we want while still being good stewards of the Earth and caring for each other. It's about demanding what we want from our government, not just asking or hoping. Don't let your government rule you, you must rule your government. I made this clip to maybe sow the thought, that people are not as powerless, as I fear they sometimes feel. If you stand together, you can achieve so much! We're only 6½ million people, so if we can do it, an...

Denmark is no Utopia, for sure, and the weather sucks! *LOL* ...but I hear bad things said all the time about "socialized" healthcare, about how taxes are baaad and corporations are goood. I dare to object. Things like that are just the means we use to get what we want while still being good stewards of the Earth and caring for each other. It's about demanding what we want from our government, not just asking or hoping. Don't let your government rule you, you must rule your government. I made this clip to maybe sow the thought, that people are not as powerless, as I fear they sometimes feel. If you stand together, you can achieve so much! We're only 6½ million people, so if we can do it, anyone can. Even though it's from 1993, I hope the article I am going to link to below, can explain it. It's a bit long, but please read the whole thing. In 1993, we had a HUGE general strike here and the article will explain what happened and why we had it, why we're happy and why we gladly pay our taxes.

Here are some quick excerpts from the article I really liked though... especially the beer bit. I remember that. So funny. *LOL*

"How do you go about making a welfare state?" I tell them "You fight for it, you strike for it, you vote for it, of course!"

One dollar spent as early investment in human beings equals 5-6 dollars saved years later.

One thing American workers could learn from all this is: if they really united like the Danish (or most other European) workers, they could in the same fashion obtain a full blown cradle-to-grave welfare state with 5 weeks paid vacations and all medical care and education, child care etc. for free. All it takes is a full blown nationwide strike every fifteen years to get the employers to give in.

Yes, American friends, can you actually imagine how much fun it is to shut down a whole society - to literally bring a country to its knees?

So - although society in one respect has resembled the shortages in the worst Communist countries for a couple of weeks - in other respects the country looked like one giant beer drinking party - not least because it all coincided with May 1. - the international labor day. When people in Norway wanted to show support for our struggle the other day, they sent a whole airplane (landing on water since the airports and ferries to Norway are closed) - loaded with thousands of free packages of yeast to "our Danish brothers and sisters to thank you for all the beer you have supplied Norway with over the years" - to a huge receiving crowd of cheering and partying Danes on the beach.

...

So - although society in one respect has resembled the shortages in the worst Communist countries for a couple of weeks - in other respects the country looked like one giant beer drinking party - not least because it all coincided with May 1. - the international labor day. When people in Norway wanted to show support for our struggle the other day, they sent a whole airplane (landing on water since the airports and ferries to Norway are closed) - loaded with thousands of free packages of yeast to "our Danish brothers and sisters to thank you for all the beer you have supplied Norway with over the years" - to a huge receiving crowd of cheering and partying Danes on the beach.

"Fighting for your rights is really great fun!"

Dare to struggle, dare to win.

http://www.holdt.us/from/wasting/our/money/

There will only ever be one Denmark, but the recipe can be translated, so take from this what you can use. I just want to spread the *secret* to wealth, around to everyone. Real wealth, not just money. (It's an old article, so of course we of have six weeks paid vacation now. (5 weeks + 5 personal days.))

Cheers. c{_}

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FjSchBoch0

Oh, an addendum!

I know some people must be thinking: "WAAAH! . We don't want to end up Communists, or Marxists or to be *socialized*! We want freedom! We want liberty!"

Baaah, sound bites! . Do we look Communist to you? *LOL* Hardly... and exactly what freedoms do Americans think they have, that we don't? Exactly what liberties do they think we have sacrificed? None. None at all. We have a way of doing things that puts people first, that's all and we'll do whatever it takes to keep it that way. Isn't being free, in the most practical sense of the word, about being healthy, happy, well-educated, having a job, a decent wage, a nice home, time to enjoy life, a secure old ag...

Oh, an addendum!

I know some people must be thinking: "WAAAH! . We don't want to end up Communists, or Marxists or to be *socialized*! We want freedom! We want liberty!"

Baaah, sound bites! . Do we look Communist to you? *LOL* Hardly... and exactly what freedoms do Americans think they have, that we don't? Exactly what liberties do they think we have sacrificed? None. None at all. We have a way of doing things that puts people first, that's all and we'll do whatever it takes to keep it that way. Isn't being free, in the most practical sense of the word, about being healthy, happy, well-educated, having a job, a decent wage, a nice home, time to enjoy life, a secure old age, etc? Well, isn't it?? Exactly what kind of *freedom and liberty* is it people supposedly think we're missing out on, by putting people before corporate profit?

What does it really mean to be free? Think about it. .

Americans have been propagandized into thinking, that they somehow have to coddle companies and corporations and employers, to be free and prosperous, instead of investing that money in the people. Imagine what you could get for all that money! Good schools, healthcare etc. Letting banksters and war-profiteers and Wall Street and corporations run wild isn't doing Americans any favours. People think, if you tax the corporations, regulate, raise wages etc, it will cost jobs! It will stifle the free markets! Poppycock. The corporations NEED your labour, so either they make a FAIR profit, or they make nothing at all. They NEED the people, but you have to stick together! All the constant left / r...

Americans have been propagandized into thinking, that they somehow have to coddle companies and corporations and employers, to be free and prosperous, instead of investing that money in the people. Imagine what you could get for all that money! Good schools, healthcare etc. Letting banksters and war-profiteers and Wall Street and corporations run wild isn't doing Americans any favours. People think, if you tax the corporations, regulate, raise wages etc, it will cost jobs! It will stifle the free markets! Poppycock. The corporations NEED your labour, so either they make a FAIR profit, or they make nothing at all. They NEED the people, but you have to stick together! All the constant left / right bickering means you're taking your eye off the ball. Americans need to realize it is THEIR lives, their money, their country, and not the fatcats! Make capitalism work for YOU, not for those who already have more than they can spend. *Socializing* (a terrible word for just taking care of each other) will not make you a poorer nation or less free. The proof is in the pudding, I reckon, right here in Denmark. You simply have to reign in the corporations and put people first.

Com'on, people! You can all do this! You just have to want it enough...

Too many Americans want a free ride. They want safe freeways for zipping back and forth to work, but they don't want to pay for the cost of construction or maintenance. They want schools and libraries for their kids, parks for their family picnics, police and fire departments to protect their homes, but they don't want to dig into their own pockets to make them available.

Well, guess what? Community just doesn't work that way. In addition tax policy should work to alleviate poverty, not deepen or prolong it. And the wealthier Americans should bear the greater tax burden.

I've seen plenty of greedy bastards who do nothing but bitch and moan and groan about taxes. Well, they want all t...

Too many Americans want a free ride. They want safe freeways for zipping back and forth to work, but they don't want to pay for the cost of construction or maintenance. They want schools and libraries for their kids, parks for their family picnics, police and fire departments to protect their homes, but they don't want to dig into their own pockets to make them available.

Well, guess what? Community just doesn't work that way. In addition tax policy should work to alleviate poverty, not deepen or prolong it. And the wealthier Americans should bear the greater tax burden.

I've seen plenty of greedy bastards who do nothing but bitch and moan and groan about taxes. Well, they want all the advantages without paying the price, and they want everybody else to bear the burden, even those who suffer from the direst need.

Therefore, as Americans, we should willingly pay our share of taxes. And those blessed with greater wealth should be happy to pay more.

*LOL* I am totally spamming my own clip here, but consider this: Remember how the Wall Street fat cats in America claim, that they have to give bonuses and perks to their best and brightest, or else they'll leave and go work somewhere else? That's the way it works here pretty much all round, for the workers too. If a company doesn't offer it's workers good wages, reasonable work hours etc etc, then who's gonna want to work for them? Workers will migrate to their competitors to get a better deal and the too greedy companies will be out of business. With the system set up as it is, with a safety net for the people, the employers can't hold you *hostage* in a crappy job because you can't afford...

*LOL* I am totally spamming my own clip here, but consider this: Remember how the Wall Street fat cats in America claim, that they have to give bonuses and perks to their best and brightest, or else they'll leave and go work somewhere else? That's the way it works here pretty much all round, for the workers too. If a company doesn't offer it's workers good wages, reasonable work hours etc etc, then who's gonna want to work for them? Workers will migrate to their competitors to get a better deal and the too greedy companies will be out of business. With the system set up as it is, with a safety net for the people, the employers can't hold you *hostage* in a crappy job because you can't afford to quit, and you don't risk losing your home or going hungry merely because you won't work for slave wages etc. You see?

My father was a union president and organizer. He was instrumental in getting key legislation passed for worker's health and safety benefits. I belonged to a union for a good portion of my working life, and I saw the greed voiced by non-union workers who thought unions had outlived their purpose (translation--I don't want to pay union dues but I want all the benefits for free).

TN: It is my humble opinion that a lot of people are greedy and it will as Kat said take a lot of social change because for one thing our government is paid for lock, stock, and barrel by wealthy corporations. And money not only talks and influences legislation, it also buys what we read and see on television eve...

My father was a union president and organizer. He was instrumental in getting key legislation passed for worker's health and safety benefits. I belonged to a union for a good portion of my working life, and I saw the greed voiced by non-union workers who thought unions had outlived their purpose (translation--I don't want to pay union dues but I want all the benefits for free).

TN: It is my humble opinion that a lot of people are greedy and it will as Kat said take a lot of social change because for one thing our government is paid for lock, stock, and barrel by wealthy corporations. And money not only talks and influences legislation, it also buys what we read and see on television everyday, and that is just hang in there and you will be RICH. Well, newsflash, most people ain't never gonna be rich. The American Dream is turning into the American Nightmare and we are all sitting back on our collective asses watching it happen.

I once read this somewhere (a news blog, I think) and hope I can remember it well enough to make sense - adapted to the circumstances of this clip.

There was a race track, and all the racers were told that their prize was behind a screen and they wouldn't be able to see it until they'd crossed the finish line. In one heat, Americans were running. One of the runners pushed and shoved his way to the front of the pack, got ahead and crossed the finish line. When the rest of the racers finally got there, they found that the prize was a cake, but the winner had gorged himself on most of it and what was left over had been licked clean of frosting.

The Europeans ran next, and each runner staye...

I once read this somewhere (a news blog, I think) and hope I can remember it well enough to make sense - adapted to the circumstances of this clip.

There was a race track, and all the racers were told that their prize was behind a screen and they wouldn't be able to see it until they'd crossed the finish line. In one heat, Americans were running. One of the runners pushed and shoved his way to the front of the pack, got ahead and crossed the finish line. When the rest of the racers finally got there, they found that the prize was a cake, but the winner had gorged himself on most of it and what was left over had been licked clean of frosting.

The Europeans ran next, and each runner stayed in their proper lane, but the Dane took the lead and crossed the line first. When the other runners finished, they found that the prize was also a cake, but the Dane had cut the cake into equal pieces and had taken two for himself (he [b]was[/b the winner after all) and shared the rest.

If I ever track down the original, I'll post it or a link.

I made a cake-race comparison comment on CM a long time ago, maybe that was it? I can't find it though, it has got to be more than a year ago or more I posted it.

Anyway, the whole demonizing of unions is totally ludicrous. Without them, we wouldn't be so prosperous. The same goes for that tired old fear-mongering argument, that taking care of your workers and giving them good wages etc, providing welfare and benefits and free healthcare etc, will somehow damage your competitiveness or put the employers out of business. That's bullshit. Every time we have fought for better conditions and more welfare, we all just seem to get richer and richer! We're totally competitive and very capitalisti...

I made a cake-race comparison comment on CM a long time ago, maybe that was it? I can't find it though, it has got to be more than a year ago or more I posted it.

Anyway, the whole demonizing of unions is totally ludicrous. Without them, we wouldn't be so prosperous. The same goes for that tired old fear-mongering argument, that taking care of your workers and giving them good wages etc, providing welfare and benefits and free healthcare etc, will somehow damage your competitiveness or put the employers out of business. That's bullshit. Every time we have fought for better conditions and more welfare, we all just seem to get richer and richer! We're totally competitive and very capitalistic. The more you pay your workers and the better you treat them, the more they can afford to buy, and the more the companies make in profits!. It's self-perpetuating prosperity. The only difference I see is, whether or not the companies make large profits (as they do here), or obscenely large profits at the expense of the little guy. (as in the US) which in the end, really only benefits the employers up to a certain point, coz they will have a tired, weary, overworked workforce who can't even afford to buy the shit the companies make!

It's all in the numbers. It is PROVEN that the welfare state model works...for all! We're one of the most prosperous (and happy!) countries on Earth! It simply wouldn't be so, if the *leftist* welfare ideology didn't work. I don't care if people call it marxism or socialism or nanny-state or waaah, whatever. They're just stoopid slogans from people who know no better.. All I care about is having a good quality of life and the time and money to enjoy it!

What is this comment?

Here's how I see it; (as a European)

Imagine a race. 8 folks lined up at the start. At the 100 yard mark, is a huge triple-layers chocolate cake, waiting for the winner. Off goes the race and in a mad dash, the folks run as fast as they can, elbowing each other and tripping their running mates, running themselves ragged, to be the first across the finish line. The winner takes it all. Spends his time guarding and hiding his cake, and so it won't be taken away from him. He won the race. It's HIS cake.

That's America and the cake is wealth.

Now imagine a race, where all 8 folks figure out; "Hey, let's just take it easy, enjoy the view, whistle a tune and walk t...

What is this comment?

Here's how I see it; (as a European)

Imagine a race. 8 folks lined up at the start. At the 100 yard mark, is a huge triple-layers chocolate cake, waiting for the winner. Off goes the race and in a mad dash, the folks run as fast as they can, elbowing each other and tripping their running mates, running themselves ragged, to be the first across the finish line. The winner takes it all. Spends his time guarding and hiding his cake, and so it won't be taken away from him. He won the race. It's HIS cake.

That's America and the cake is wealth.

Now imagine a race, where all 8 folks figure out; "Hey, let's just take it easy, enjoy the view, whistle a tune and walk together across the finish line and we'll share." If someone trips along the way, we give him a hand till he's on his feet again and off we go. At the finish line, there's more than enough for everyone.

That's Europe.

http://clipmarks.com/clipmark/9E74C987-33D9-4AEB-ADCA-9B30E8E1835E/

And what do you mean it sounds like something I would say?? Are you teasing me? .

You know what? I have bookmarked your clip and the excellent comments. I have sent it to everyone on my mailing list, and I am going to use this URL on Twitter to support my arguments.

Many people in America will give their lives to defend corporates and war-profiteers who couldn't care whether they live or die. They have been brainwashed completely to equate "free market" with "corporate".

In effect none of the international corporates are in the least interested in a free market. All they strive for is to become monopolies. How you can equate that with individual freedom is beyond my comprehension.

The military industrial complex is running rampant in America. The more wars (funded by ...

You know what? I have bookmarked your clip and the excellent comments. I have sent it to everyone on my mailing list, and I am going to use this URL on Twitter to support my arguments.

Many people in America will give their lives to defend corporates and war-profiteers who couldn't care whether they live or die. They have been brainwashed completely to equate "free market" with "corporate".

In effect none of the international corporates are in the least interested in a free market. All they strive for is to become monopolies. How you can equate that with individual freedom is beyond my comprehension.

The military industrial complex is running rampant in America. The more wars (funded by tax money) America is involved in, the more money they make from lucrative contracts and selling war machinery to the government.

When it comes to a choice, therefore, about whether to spend money on health care or on weapons, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that these guys will choose continued funding of their killing machines over saving lives every single time.

There's a bit of a story behind that. Back in 1986, I was working at a small software firm in Minnesota. At that time, the local PBS station was running the TV version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and I was also rereading the books.

At work, all of our programming was being done in FORTH. One of the features of FORTH is that you can dynamically change the number base anywhere from 2 to 255 (it can actually work beyond that, but it runs out of characters to represent digits). So during a break, I was thinking about the "answer" from HHGttG, 42, and the "question" that 42 was t...

There's a bit of a story behind that. Back in 1986, I was working at a small software firm in Minnesota. At that time, the local PBS station was running the TV version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and I was also rereading the books.

At work, all of our programming was being done in FORTH. One of the features of FORTH is that you can dynamically change the number base anywhere from 2 to 255 (it can actually work beyond that, but it runs out of characters to represent digits). So during a break, I was thinking about the "answer" from HHGttG, 42, and the "question" that 42 was the answer to: "What do you get when you multiply six by nine?", and I wondered if the question and answer would work out correctly in something other than base ten.

So I tried going up, and tried base eleven, then 12, then 13, and lo and behold, it worked out in base thirteen (the FORTH expression is 13 BASE ! 6 9 * .)

(Continued)

My reaction was "Ha! I wonder if Douglas Adams knows about this?" I didn't think that he'd done it deliberately, I just thought it was an interesting coincidence. I told a number of my friends about this, not as anything profound, but more of a hey, hooda thunk it kind of thing. But my friends were well-traveled in science fiction fandom circles as well as gaming and other geeky stuff, so I guess word spread.

Adams himself eventually learned of this, and his reaction was "I may be a sorry case, but I don't write jokes in base 13.". Apparently, a lot of people attached some deep significance to this, but I have always thought of it as nothing more than an interesting ...

(Continued)

My reaction was "Ha! I wonder if Douglas Adams knows about this?" I didn't think that he'd done it deliberately, I just thought it was an interesting coincidence. I told a number of my friends about this, not as anything profound, but more of a hey, hooda thunk it kind of thing. But my friends were well-traveled in science fiction fandom circles as well as gaming and other geeky stuff, so I guess word spread.

Adams himself eventually learned of this, and his reaction was "I may be a sorry case, but I don't write jokes in base 13.". Apparently, a lot of people attached some deep significance to this, but I have always thought of it as nothing more than an interesting coincidence.

In any case, the book was published in 1980, i did my bit-twiddling in 1986, and Adams made his remark in 1991 or so. I haven't heard about any mention of this before than I suppose if I had made a lot of noise about it, or if the internet had been around back then, I might have been known for this.

If any of you are curious, in base 11, 6x9=49 and in base 12, 6x9=46.