ALERT: JENNY CRWYS-WILLIAMS interviews James Kunstler on 702 Talk Radio at 2pm

NVDL: This is awesome. Really respect Jim's views and have read 2 of his books. Make sure you catch this show.

clipped from www.702.co.za JENNY CRWYS-WILLIAMS SHOW Join Jenny for Q&A Catch Jenny speaking to James Kunstler – visiting urban planning expert, social critic, journalist and author extraordinaire. He’s a fierce critic of urban sprawl and the high cost associated with an automobile-centric culture. Thursdays also mean Q&A – answering questions like if eels are electric, how do they live in the water? And, is there any legislation which protects property owners from neighbours who threaten to bring down the values of their properties?

Joost voyeurism a sad state of affairs - WELL SAID!

The only way people can distance themselves from this culture and show that they are not driven by such base sadistic and voyeuristic instincts is to turn their gaze away from the shame of others.

This means not supporting media that perpetrates such abuse, in fact, not even asking whether the story is true.

NVDL: Fact is the Media are complicit in this, which makes the Media as debaucherous as the deed. Really, aren't there more important things to worry about than potentially dishonest celebrities who snort coke and cheat ion their wives? If you or I or someone on the street did that, would anyone have any interest at all. Jeepers, get a life.

clipped from www.thetimes.co.za His theory was that America does not convict its heroes. I thought of that when the Joost van der Westhuizen story broke. Trial by media seems to have become a national sport. The rules seem to be guilty until proven innocent and even then doubted. People seem to believe that justice is better administered through kangaroo courts than more traditional forums. Instead of proving a matter beyond reasonable doubt, they rely on unreasonable certainty to make a finding of guilt, regardless of how flimsy the evidence or how corruptly it was acquired. It shows that while the Colosseum might be in ruins, the culture it represents still prevails. When challenged, the perpetrators — in this case the makers and publishers of the video — did not relent or concede even the possibility of poor judgment or wrongdoing. In the process, enough profit is made from magazine sales to make the legal fees spent in ensuing litigation negligible, even if they are found to have acted in bad faith.

IMF warns of Great Recession [Better late than never eh...]

NVDL: Of course on blogs like mine, we've been saying this for a few weeks. We have paid a price for being 'positive' and 'optimistic' rather than appropriately realistic. We will continue to pay a price for these errors in judgement, in response and in 'reasoning' for possibly decades to come.

clipped from www.sowetan.co.za The International Monetary Fund is warning that the world economy will likely contract this year in a “Great Recession”. Meanwhile, African leaders are concerned the financial crisis could undo hard-won social-economic gains. “The IMF expects global growth to slow below zero this year, the worst performance in most of our lifetimes,” IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn told African political and financial leaders in the Tanzanian capital Dar es Salaam. “Continued deleveraging by world financial institutions, combined with a collapse in consumer and business confidence is depressing domestic demand across the globe, while world trade is falling at an alarming rate and commodity prices have tumbled,” Strauss-Kahn added. That forecast may “even be too optimistic”, he said.

Gauteng Road Hogs - Staight to Jail!

Minnaar said that JMPD’s acting chief David Tembe cracked the whip recently after charging that motorists were “perpetually breaking the rules” and that paying traffic fines was not changing attitudes.

NVDL: I must say I have experienced frankly the most appalling and stupid driving in Johannesburg. People swerve and dive ahead of you just to get ahead of you at the next traffic light. I've also seen a lot of drivers simply going through red traffic lights.

clipped from www.sowetan.co.za Among the road offences which would result in immediate arrest are skipping red traffic lights, using an emergency lane, driving facing oncoming traffic, passing on shoulder lanes, overtaking on a solid line and disregarding pedestrians. Driving beyond the speed limit by more than 40km/h and drunken driving are also included.

How we waste good money.

Fruits and veggies. Sure, precut vegetables and salad mixes that are washed and bagged save a little time. But you'll pay for the convenience. Broccoli florets and sliced peppers cost $6 per pound, compared with one-third to one-half the price for the uncut versions. Lettuce varieties that are pre-washed and bagged sell for $5.98 a pound. But it takes just minutes to wash and spin dry enough arugula for your evening salad, and you'll pay one-third as much. Buying whole strawberries rather than sliced ones that are prepackaged cuts the price by 75%.

NVDL: Great article. |I'm guilty of a few of these. Movies is one, bottled water, in fact all 10 of 'em at one point or another. Do yourself a favor and read the whole article. I must get an aluminium flask for water.

clipped from finance.yahoo.com You can save big by buying cheap alternatives instead. Does the avalanche of news about layoffs, business losses and a declining stock market have you looking for ways to cut your spending so you can beef up your savings? We're here to help, with suggestions for less-expensive alternatives to ten everyday purchases (for more ideas, go to www.BillShrink.com, which tracks cell-phone plans and credit cards). Bottled water. Yes, it's important to drink water every day. But picking up the bottled variety with your lunch is an expensive way to stay hydrated. Rather than spend $2 a day for water, buy a pitcher and a filter for about $20 and drink as much as you want for pennies a glass. Favorite tunes. Do you rush out to buy the latest CD by your favorite group even though there are only one or two songs you really like? Instead of paying up to $18 for the CD, download those cuts you want from iTunes for 99 cents each, or from Amazon for as little as 79 cents. A night at the movies.

What, me Worry?

So, the Rand has gained some value, some employees are still under threat of being laid off, petrol remains under pressure and our endearing politicians still go about their business in style. Yet, I remain un-phased.

The Rand gaining some value has no real bearing on my working day. I continue to pay my accounts, loan money at will and buy food. I have no choice in the matter. I simply adjust, and pay, and pay, and pay.

Employees loosing their job? Who cares! Me is not affected in the least. I still have my job, my motor vehicle, my tax burden, my inevitable destiny with the weekly Lotto frenzy…and face crime like a seasoned war veteran; behind palisade fencing, well guarded windows and with my trusty firearm at my side.

And petrol. What about petrol? I go to a petrol station, look the attendant in the eye and tell him to fill up. Maybe not as much as before, but “fill her up” none the less. I mean, its not as if an alternative means of transport is readily available?

And what of the endearing politicians? Well, they will carry on taking advantages of our hard earned tax-money, taking well rationalised paid for vacations and encouraging us to dispense with our votes at a drop of a hat. They are, after all, a bunch of do-gooders who carry my best interests at heart.

Thank goodness for the all consuming Circus Maximus. A good few clicks of the remote and a world of choice unfolds before one’s eyes: from soaps to sex, from sports to sex, from news to sex. And all one needs is to shift expectations, buy well-hung chickens, be simply irresistible, and be loving it.

Whatever…!?

Too saccharine, too ponderous - Movie Mogul feels films are capable of more

clipped from www.thetimes.co.za SUPERHERO movies are no fun anymore. And the explanation seems to be that they are no longer based on comic books. Instead they plunder the world of the “graphic novel”, which is like a comic book only it’s for grown-ups — at least, ostensibly. So instead of cheap thrills, we get existential brooding. Director Zack Snyder takes this new dark and gritty approach to its extreme with Watchmen, adapted from the celebrated graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. The result is one of the most violent and unexpectedly raunchy superhero movies in Hollywood history. But it’s also one of the most ponderous. Whether this is evidence of the same slavish devotion to the original work he exhibited with 300, I can’t say as I haven’t read the graphic novel. Maybe he’ll gets a sequel to work out what that actually is.