I’m sure we have all seen the rash of protests (and the accompanying police riot gear) that heve been prevailant in the past few months (starting with the WTO thing IIRC). my question to you is, where do you think all this is leading? Are my children going to read in history boks about the social upheaval at the turn of the century? are we about to go through another major social change like that that happened in the 1960s? What do you think?
I think this would do better in another forum. although it is an opinion question, it doesn’t fit the lighthearted mood of IMHO. could you move it to GD slythe?
thanks a bunch.
Well, I was beginning to think that with all the untested medical paraphenalia (sp?) floating around, that the 00’s are going to be a lot like the 1900’s.
Case in point: I was watching TV the other day and I saw this ad for a device called the Electro-Massage (or something similar). It supposedly gives you a salon-quality massage by shocking you. Such electric medical quackery devices were prevelent in the 1900’s for various ailments.
“'00s”? Would that be the Double-Naughts? Or after this year, the Naughties?
Personally, I can’t wait for '007 (the International Year of the Casino, Walther PPK and Martinis – shaken, not stirred).
what protests?
don’t watch the news much Asmodean? I’m refering in particular to the protests (most recently) at the democratic national convention. and before that, the ones at the republician convention, and before that, the ones at the WTO [World Trade Organization] summit in Seatle, WA (i’m leaving a few out.). at all of these, there have been overly strong displays of force on the part of the police. at a few of them there have been attacks on peacefull protestors, and even people that are just walking down the street. the police have been confiscating all manner of things, from banners to puppets to cell phones, calling them terorist instruments.
It all seems pretty unjust to me, and after watching some footage of the random croud beatings at the WTO protests, I couldn’t help but see the similarities to what happened at berkley (and other colleges) in the 60s.
It’s realy pretty scary that the police departments aren’t being chastised, and the main-stream media is, for the most part, ignoring the stories.
Eggo
I think you will find that presidential conventions breed protest. That is good. The people are speaking out. The violence is not good.
I hope it doesn’t get as bad. We were protesting an unjust war racism and just about everything else protestable.
Were you protesting protests?
The 00’s are probably going to be somewhat like the 60’s, only with charge cards, SUVs, stock options and $100 brand name sneakers.
The ‘quackery’ does concern me because it used to be that an advertised product had to be proven safe, effective and do what it claims. Not so today. The majority of those exercise machines fall far short of their claims. Most of the ‘hawkers’ will rapidly ‘blurb’ a disclaimer at the end that is impossible to understand but points out that one needs additional exercise and diet to make the thing work.
The herbal commercials sell products that do not have FDA approval. Ginko-Bilboa the much touted intelligence enhancer – and now sexual aid – works simply by thinning the blood which allows more to get to the brain. However, an aspirin a day could do the same and they don’t mention that if you are on a blood thinner already – prescription strength – you could seriously injure yourself.
Kava-Kava the natural ‘booze’ herb, a tranquilizer, which guys in some South American County drink as a tea instead of alcohol and get mellow does not have the same effect. If you are on any medication, like Xanax, Lithium, Paxil, or Valium, taking this herb can intensify the sleepiness and affect your mental function.
Then there are the usual get rich quick scams like buying distressed properties, slapping on a coat of paint, and reselling them for tremendous profits. If it was that easy, every local Realtor around here would be fighting each other with sticks to become millionaires by buying up cheap houses.
Does that RONCO roaster have a UL sticker? The top – a convenient heating pad for vegetables – seems rather dangerous to me.
Is that new cleaning liquid that removes all mess from a 20 year old badly stained shower and leaves it looking like new environmentally friendly or are you dumping a caustic into your septic tank?
The RONCO food dehydrator looked so easy – but they never told you that you need to prepare the vegetables first – by cleaning them carefully, skinning some and lightly poaching others. The dehydrating temperature is low and for best results, you need to rotate the tray positions now and then.
Actually, one of the best things on the market is the juicer – though you can get one for $30 instead of $69.95, because the basic principals are the same – a spinning extractor/basket/cutter and a juice reservoir. The product is low fat, pretty good and nourishing but they don’t tell you about the strong ‘earthy’ smell the stuff has that you’ll have to get used to. Nor do they tell you that clean up is a pain in the ass, often requiring one to use a small brush to clean the extractor basket of pulp.
Are the '00s going to be like the 60’s? I certainly hope so.
If these protests actually get some things done (so far they have, by showing people that the WTO isn’t a good thing) then it would be great. Sadly, they haven’t been getting enough media coverage about their actual issues yet.
One of my dad’s coworkers recently bought his wife a $100 juicer that she had been begging for. The first morning, she made some raddish, lettuce, and tomato juice for breakfast. When she asked him what he wanted with his juice, he requested vodka.
I think she has gotten tired of cleaning it though. She wants to sell it now.
Having been there and participated in the protests of the 60’s I can see the ground work for similar protests. The WTO protests are a sample of what is probably to come.