Archive for November, 2008
November 10, 2008 at 11:48 pm · Filed under daily, interests, thoughts
This is interesting. I was doing some research to compare the U.S.’s capitalistic/market economy versus other developed countries’ socialistic governments, and I came across this. Doesn’t it make you want to move to a socialist country? I’m so glad I live in Canada now. Vancouver, BC, Canada, by the way, was voted #3 best place in the world to live. Woo!!
Why Socialism Works
Lets compare the neocons favorite target country France and the U.S.
Population :France 63,000,000
U.S. 300,000,000
GDP (official exchange rate):France $2.154 trillion
U.S. $13.22 trillion (2006 est.)
Growth rate:France 2.4%
U.S. 2.1% (2007 1RST QUTR.)
Budget:revenues:France $1.15 trillion
expenditures: $1.211 trillion
(This means the French government has $1.15
trillion to spend on only 63 million people.
We have only twice that much to spend on 300
million people.Almost 5 times as many people.
This explains why they have no potholes,can
afford universal health care and a 350+ mph train system.)
revenues:U.S. $2.409 trillion
expenditures: $2.66 trillion
Currency reserves:France $74,360,000,000
U.S. $86,940,000,000
Public debt:France 64.7% of GDP
$3,461,000,000,000 Trillion
U.S.64.7% of GDP
$8,825,000,000,000 Trillion
Deficit:France $58.8 billion
(By law Soc.Sec. funds can’t be spent
for anything but Soc.Sec.)
U.S. $760 billion (SOC.SEC. and Iraq funding
money spent but not counted in deficit.
350 billion +)
Military spending:France $46 Billion (3RD)
U.S. $276 Billion (1RST)
Gross National Income
(per capita):France $30,693.70
U.S. $43,144.30
(This doesn’t take into account Americans work an
extra 400 Hrs.per year for the extra income.)
Unemployment Rate:France 8%
(This is a bit misleading since most young
adults in France 16-26 don’t work but go
to school full-time)
U.S. 4.8%
Unemployment pay:France 57% For 22 Months
(75% For low Income)
U.S. 48% For 6 Months
Worker Productivity per hr:France $35 Per Hour (#2)
U.S. $32 Per Hour (#4)
(This blows away the myth that
socialism makes workers lazy.)
Population below
poverty line:France 6.2%
(Lowest for industrial countries)
U.S. 14%
Population below
median Income:France 8%
U.S. 17%
Inflation rate:France 1.5%
U.S. 2.5%
Average Work Week:France 35 Hours
U.S. 46 Hours
Minimum Wage:France $9.50
U.S. $5.15
Comparative price
levels by country:France 94
U.S. 109
(OECD AVE.=100, LESS THAN 100=Cheaper cost of living)
Vacation :France 7 weeks average
(5 Weeks minimum paid, by law)
U.S. 13 days average (source Infoplease)
Health Care:France Ranked #1
U.S. Ranked #37 (W.H.O. 2001)
Population gov.covered:France 99%
U.S. 40% (15% have no coverage.)
source (U.S. CENSUS BUREAU)
gov. cost per person :France $3,048
U.S. $5,711
yearly gov. cost growth:France 2.3%
U.S. 3.2%
Life expectancy:France 72 years
U.S. 69 years
Infant mortality rate:France 4.31 per 1,000
U.S. 10.4 per 1,000
Paid Maturnity leave:France 1 Year up to 3 for 3 children
U.S. none
GOV. pay for children:France 2 $480, 3 $960 Per month
(%40 Discount on publicTransit,Pools,etc.)
U.S. $0
Daycare:France 1-3 Free 3+ School
U.S. $400+ Per month,Per Child
Education:France free Preschool through College
U.S. Free Kindergarten-Through 12th Grade
Retirement age:France Average 59 Yrs old
U.S average 67 yrs old
Total crimes 2006:France 3,771,850
U.S. 23,677,800
Teen Pregnancy:France 17,985 births (2006)
U.S. 494,357 births (2006)
SIDE NOTES:
In France almost all workers get Saturday off and
Even more get Sunday off.
Additional
—-sources:
—–CIA world fact book
—–Nation Master
—–WIKIPEDIA
—–http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article
—–/2006/10/17/AR2006101701652.html
—–http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4856992.stm
—–http://www.kff.org/insurance/snapshot/chcm010307oth.cfm
—–http://www.easyexpat.com/paris_en/work_unemployment-benefits.htm
—–World Health Organisation
—–Personal Information
November 9, 2008 at 10:24 am · Filed under meme
Have you been naughty or nice this year? – I’ve been very nice. 
What do you want most for Christmas? – This is a 2-part answer to a simple question. First, I want to get more BumGenius AIO One-Size diapers for Lily Bean. Second, for myself, I want more yoga package classes from Sol Yoga and/or hot stone massage gift certificates from the same place.
Do you believe in Father Christmas? – No. If he ever existed, he’s long forgotten about me, so I don’t believe in him.
What is your favorite food at Christmas? – Errmm… the garlic bread?
Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? – I have a list, but haven’t started on anything, no. Grrr.
Have you finished your Christmas shopping yet? – Omg, I haven’t even started. We\’re so behind this year!
What is your favorite Christmas song? – The Drummer Boy.
What is your favorite Christmas movie? – It’s a Wonderful Life, probably.
What is your best memory of Christmas? – My first Christmas with Dave and his family. My family never celebrated it before, so it was “Bah Humbug” before then.
What do you look forward to most at Christmas? – Giving people presents and watching them open them. I love seeing everyone\’s faces when they open my gifts.
What are you doing for Christmas this year? – I believe we’ll have my brother and sister with us this Christmas, which is a great blessing. We’ll be spending it with my in-laws for dinner.
Who do you want to kiss under the mistletoe? – My husband.
What kind of Christmas tree do you have? – A fake one, and we decorate it blue and white every year.
Do you take part in a secret santa? – We used to with Dave’s sibs, but we’ve decided to nix that so that we have more presents for all the kids.
Do you go to any Christmas parties? – Nope.
Have you ever had a white Christmas? – It snowed a bit last year, and was sort of white, but not too white.
How early do you wake up on Christmas morning? – Not too early – about 9am, which is my usual time. This year it will be earlier, as my sibs will be with us, and Lily Bean wakes up earlier.
Do you still get a stocking? – Nope, but we’ll be filling stockings this year. How exciting!
How many Christmas cards do you normally send out? – About 20. So many.
What is your Christmas wish? – That everyone I know and love are happy and healthy.
Take This Survey at Quizopolis.com
http://www.quizopolis.com/christmas_survey.php
November 7, 2008 at 5:45 pm · Filed under meme
I stole this from Ronni-boo, who is the queen of all surveys and memes. Yay.
Who is your favorite LJ friend and why?
Favorite LJ friend? Hmm.. I love them all, but I think my longest internet friend on LJ is Wendy. She’s my net sis, and she’s been there when I was just an internet virgin!
What is the story of your first kiss?
Coincidentally, like Ronni’s, my first kiss was with a dude named Adam, too. Huge crush on him, it was after school sometime, I was just gonna walk away and walk home after hanging out with him, and he pulled me back and stole a kiss. It was surreal, and I remember thinking, while I was walking home, “Can people tell just by looking at me that I just got my first kiss?”
What is your favorite flavor of jelly/jam.
None. I don’t like jelly or jam.
What color nail polish is the sexiest for women’s toes?
I don’t paint my toe nails and I think it’s weird, so none.
What is your favorite thing about kissing, or kissing someone new?
The contact. Heh. And the fact that it usually comes with touching and hugging. It’s nice to be that close to someone. I remember kissing Dave on our wedding day, with him in his awesome tuxedo and all. So wonderful.
What is your favorite dessert?
Orange sherbet. Oooh I’m gonna have some tonight!!!
What is the one thing that you most definitely for sure MUST accomplish today?
Going to the government office to get my SIN card. I did it, yay!
What are you top five places in the world you still want to see?
Vietnam (again), China, New Zealand, Thailand, and France.
Which one of your friends should I add to my FList?
Any one of ‘em is awesome.
What animal are you afraid of?
The big ones, cuz they’re just so… big. Whales, lions, sharks, even elephants. Scary.
Can men and women really be platonic friends?
Yes, I have some awesome dude friends.
What book are you reading these days?
Almost Moon by Alice Sebold.
November 5, 2008 at 4:02 pm · Filed under interests, thoughts
So yes, Obama won. I was on a huge high yesterday. I, among so many Americans out there, was desperate for change, and I was also cynical that this change was going to come. Hopeful, but cynical. This is the first time in my voting history that I am actually excited for a presidential candidate, and I am excited that he got elected. In fact, he won by a landslide. A landslide, people!! It wasn’t even “close.” It wasn’t as close as the last two elections, which were stolen by the Republican right-wing. This one was won fair and square, and I couldn’t be more proud.
I was one of those people who threatened to move to Canada after Bush got elected the last time around. I am one of them who actually made the move. Yesterday not only marked the official day of this election, it also marked the official day I made my move legal. I’m officially a Canadian resident. I still have the right to vote in the U.S., and I vote I did. But, as I took seriously what so many hateful Americans told me to do four years ago when I complained about Bush being in office for another 4 years, I simply “left.” However, from a distance, I am still promoting change in America, and I couldn’t be more proud.
The last eight years confirmed my final progression to Canada. It also confirmed, without a shadow of a doubt, that Dave and I would be bringing our children into this world on Canadian soil instead of U.S. soil. The last eight years changed me a lot. It changed the way I identified myself and it changed the way I looked at America. Now, hopefully, the next four years and so forth will help mend this view.
Since Obama’s victory, I have seen and read and heard a lot of weird things from the right-wingers and those who voted for McCain. While I can’t understand (and probably never will, no matter how hard I may try) their reason to vote for McCain, I respect their votes nonetheless. What remains strange, though, is the reasoning some of them give for voting for McCain. I hear that Obama only won because he is “black.”
Seriously? We’re pulling the race card? While watching McCain’s defeat speech last night, the camera showed two people in his fan audience who appeared to be a father-and-son team of skinheads. The father was pissed off, and he was holding his toddler son in his arms. Of course, I cannot confirm that these two were in fact skinheads and rioting for hate crimes against ethnic minorities. However, the thought of this scares me. Having an African American for president is a big deal because I didn’t think we were ready to have anyone other than an old white dude. In all our progression, we haven’t progressed that far yet. But, as important as it is, it is not as important as his policies, and I respect this man and his policies way more than I respect the color of his skin. After all, he is just as “white” as he is “black,” having his mother being white and his father being black. So no, race is not an issue in this election for me. It is an issue in America because we’re still much more backwards than we would like to believe. I mean, 45 years ago, black people couldn’t even vote, and now we have a black president. Of course it is important. But more than anything else, he is a genuine man, a man of the people, a man who remembers that just because you’re “rich” doesn’t mean the poor deserves to be poor.
And then there are the others who say that “non-Christian values” got elected into office this term. First feeling: anger. Second feeling: “What the HELL does that mean??” At the risk of getting too political, really, people, explain this to me. Other than the fact that I am not a Christian, I would have thought that I too have “Christian values,” except well, I call them simply “morals.” What are these “Christian” values that Christians have that I don’t? I don’t get it.
Thou art not kill?
Thou art not commit adultery?
Thou art not be stupid and hurt other people?
Thou art be kind to thy neighbor?
Thou art help people as much as thou can?
I think I am a good person, with good values, with good morals. The fact that I am not religious doesn’t take away this fact at all, in my belief. These “Christian” values normal people call simply “morals.” I do not need the fear of God in me to lead me to be a good person, with good morals and values, albeit Christian or Olympian or Buddhist.
But if you will, please explain to me what these “Christian values” are that I may be lacking merely because I’m not a Christian. I just don’t get it. Maybe I’m ignorant or something?
And correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t Obama announce that he IS a religious man, that he does believe in God and that he is a Christian? How, then, are Christian values not elected in this time? Is it because he’s a Democrat? Or left-wing? Or that he helps the poor and believes in small business? Or that he has “socialist values,” heaven forbid? That he wants to help everyone and not just people who are willing to be capitalists? What is it about these these “Christian values” that are so sought after?
Thirdly, wait a minute, isn’t there a specific thing in the American legislation that states “separation of church and state”? If so, what does it matter that the president is religious or not? Christian or Muslim? Atheist, even? *gasp*
Fourth, seeing as how Bush was such a “Christian” man and what a crappy job he did in 8 years (count the innocent civilian lives he helped murder in the Middle East, the thousands of American soldiers who were killed by enemy AND friendly fire, the vast economic deficit accumulated over the last 8 years, and the list goes on), isn’t it time for a change, then? Isn’t it safe to say, by logical deduction, that perhaps we don’t need more “Christian values” in the White House?
I am set to remember over the next four years that it will take longer than four years to fix all the crap that Bush did to this country. The separation, the polarization, the enemies we’ve made overseas, the terrorists we helped create, the wars we’ve created, the laws that have vastly excluded the down trodden (but hey, they don’t deserve any of our love or sympathy because they’re all a bunch of lazy Democrats who want free handouts anyway!), etc. etc. Here’s hoping Obama can make even a slither of change that we need. And perhaps we can vote him in for another round of change.
November 2, 2008 at 9:06 am · Filed under daily
I’m going to try to do Nablopomo this month: posting 30 posts in 30 days, which means, one post per day. Well, considering I’ve been so horrible at blogging regularly lately, this will be quite the challenge for me. I’m not entirely sure why I want to join in on November, except that it’s something to do. I don’t even know I have that much to say everyday. Hah. My life is so mundane and routine now, it’s hard to find something to write about every single day. Still, it’s a challenge, and I like challenges.
To recap the last few days.
October 30: I turned 28 years old. Yup, I’m an oldie now. 28. Geez. Where did the time go? Dave asked me what I wanted to do that day, and my only answer was to stay home with him and Lily Bean and have a relaxing day without chores and work. That’s exactly what I did. I was treated very special that day. I only wish my birthday was all year round. Haha. That would mean the husband would make me breakfast, lunch, and dinner everyday. Poor guy, since I eat mighty much for a teeny tiny person! For breakfast, he made me silver dollar pancakes (YUM!!), two sunny side up eggs, and toast. I scraped it all off the plate, it was so good! For lunch, he made me orange davius, which was filling in and of itself. For dinner, he made stir fry beans with button mushrooms and fake meats with rice. It was soooo good. He cooks more often than I do, and this was definitely a treat. Lily Bean, for my birthday, slept her first 12 hours, which meant I had a lot of free time in the morning to myself (what a perfect way to start a birthday!), and was cheerful for the rest of the day. She wasn’t fussy at all, barely cried, and when it was bedtime she cheerfully went down for her big sleep. Sometimes that happens, sometimes she’s the fussiest, noisiest little bugger ever. It was nice that she was so cheerful for my birthday.
For my birthday, Dave got me a 10-class yoga package,which I’ve been coveting because I couldn’t afford it myself this month. He also got me color ink for our printer, so I’ve been going a little nutty printing photos of Lily Bean and framing them all over the house. We’re running out of wall space. Must get more walls.
October 31: it wasn’t much of a Halloween, in the traditional sense of the word. Dave and I don’t really celebrate holidays, and even though I got LB a costume this year, it was too big for her so we didn’t really dress her up. Gran took us out to dinner at our favorite Japanese restaurant by the beach, for my birthday dinner. We had a good time, but I was absolutely exhausted from my hyperthyroidism, so I was anxious to get back home and just rest. We had NO trick or treaters (how weird), so we got to keep all the chocolates that Dave bought to ourselves. Uh oh. Hehe.
November 1: we didn’t do much yesterday. It was another relaxing day. I was feeling very dizzy and headachey and exhausted, so I took a lot of the day easy. Played with LB a lot, and she was rather fussy and active yesterday. I think it was from all the chocolates I ate. Oops. She ended up going to sleep well past midnight, which rarely happens anymore. She’s usually zonked out by 10pm. That was strange last night.
Today, we have a dinner party for our combined birthdays and Kennedy’s baby shower at my MIL’s house. I’m looking forward to it. Haven’t seen the in-laws in a very long time, so it will be good to see everyone again.
This week will be another busy work week. I have to get my passport in to Seattle, and then maybe after that I will hopefully have some time to renew it to put my name change in. I’ve changed my name everywhere but my passport, and apparently that’s one of the most important documents to update when you change your name due to a marriage. Oops. I never got around to it!
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