Flutterby™! : Ads and headlines 2009-09-10 02:43:40.826093+00

Ads and headlines

2009-09-10 02:43:40.826093+00 by Dan Lyke 7 comments

Interesting juxtaposition of "Banana Republic" ad there, SFGate.com...

Side note: They sell a lot of Obama-ish T-Shirts in the "Banana Republic's" I have been visiting. They've always followed US politics closely, but now they have a hero figure. In some ways, he's done incredible good things for the general perception of the USA. I just hope we survive his and the party's reign internally.

My step mother is from Guatemala and I've had some interesting conversations on politics with her children and grandchildren who still live there. They are better informed about our government than 90% of the citizens of this country. A couple of them have jumped me pretty hard about the evils our government is causing and what our government ought to be doing. I've told them a couple of times that they need to straighten out their own government before worrying about our country's politics. I'm quickly told that if my government will quit interfering with their country's politics they could do that.

#Comment Re: made: 2009-09-10 13:30:55.006943+00 by: meuon [edit history]

We (the USA) often interferes with a large pile of cash in one hand, and a "do this, get what is in my hand" offer that is almost

optional. In for a penny, in for a dollar... Once you start on the dole, it's hard to get off.

I have mixed feelings, largely because I'm on the inside of some Inter-American Development Bank funded projects and have seen really good things happen because of them. Admittedly, I'm ignorant of what was in the other hand, if anything.

#Comment Re: made: 2009-09-10 20:52:45.218092+00 by: andylyke [edit history]

Aside from our* history of overthrowing any central american (or hawai'ian) government that United Fruit (Chiquita) asks us* to, and supporting the subjugation of native and indigenous peoples by large corporations, I'm concerned about our supporting the electrification of rural formerly self sufficient communities, or forcing once self reliant cultures to provide cash crops where they formerly raised their own sustenance. Each of these latter requires that the community generate a source of cash to pay for what it formerly didn't have to buy.

*for "our" and "us', read "our government". (On the other hand, the theory of "democracy" that we seek to export makes us responsible for the actions of our government.)

Andy, the way I see it is that as long as it is pre-paid utilities no one is pledging tomorrows crops for the power so force isn't a part of the equation.

Bringing electricity to rural areas expands the free-trade market. Once these people can buy electricity, they buy TVs. Once they buy TVs, they get advertising. Before you know it, they want Big Macs and Camel cigarettes.

Of course, who can argue against Big Macs and Camel cigarettes? In order to sustain the market growth, however, farming techniques become mechanized. Before long fewer people are farming. Others are working in factories. Not only are they buying from our companies, they are providing cheap labor!

Oh, did you say "what happened to their culture"? That wasn't culture - that was backwards, uneducated ways. Obviously - look at the decrease in the infant mortality rate. Now, instead of 10 out of 12 children per couple dying, they all live! Isn't that grand? More consumers!

"Presidential Programming" - for a speech where Obama is programming our youth using NLP.