Suicide in Japan

Almost daily, definitely weekly, there are cases of people committing suicide in Japan. The ages range from too young to old. Do not yet read into my saying "too young" and not simply "young". The first question is this because of it simply being more in the open, or is it that much more prevalent in Japan. It is news here when somebody commits suicide. In America it may be local news, ut unless they take other people out with them, it is not national news. In Japan, it definitely seems as more of a tragedy and a moment of reflection. Every death has meaning behind it, or cause. What is the failure that lead to it? This is highlighted when a school age person commits suicide.
Bullying is under the microscope. Largley because of how it can lead to suicide here. Lately, in America, it more so leads to rampages or attempted rampages. But, there is more of an outlet for the bullied. Japan is a trap in this regard. Once one is ostracized from ones peers, there are not many places one can turn to. There is little intermingling among groups, be it age groups, or social groups. The government, schools, and everybodies' first question is "Was he/she bullied at school?" Though, just by seeing the failure in a dead child, that is reflective of a society asking itself the big "Why?".
I must move away from young to old. It is definitely more cultural that suicides are more visible here. That was the noble way to atone for mistakes. Now it addresses mistakes, simple financial failures, and depression in general. Not to mention craziness and emotional instability. In such a semi-rigid society, few outs are presented. They are there, they must be.
What is the line? What does it look like? How do you walk away from it?

Blogger is trying to kill my sanity

There hasn't been a post for ages becuase netscape crashes everytime I go to the sign on screen. I finally dusted off my internet explorer to make this post and learn that there is a new version they want me to switch to. But, alas, they are only letting a limited number of people do it. I have no idea what is going on with netscape. Eventually the posts will start again, but I am loathe to use internet explorer.

Switch

OK, so I did switch to beta and it should work. We'll see tomorrow.

Naruto

Yes, I watched some Naruto while in the States. But, the weekly delay, waiting for new episodes upset me. Now, I am watching them in Japanese with subtitles on a site that shall remain nameless. They are addictive, largely because the sheer volume overwhelms my capacity to be bored. But, mainly I have started connecting, unless it is just in my head, the commentary on Japanese society that is contained within the episodes. It is partly trying to break out of the mold that is supposedly "predetermined", but also supporting group mentality. I feel a study could be done on what is trying to be emphasized and how it reaches the target audience. It is a commentary on the Japanese school system. I will leave it at that (explore it later).

Dogen vs. Shinran: A Simple Approach

I say simple approach because I think I only half get what is going on. I would say "A simplified Approach", but that would imply that I have comprehended it on an advanced level and am simplifying it for the masses. Here I am just trying to find some conclusion in the semi-comparative reflection/studying I am doing. What is life without conclusions? (That last sentence was just words that sounded nice)

The way I see it, Soto Zen/Dogen and Jodo Shin Shu/Shinran lead to different approaches to live. This is pretty easy to see just from exploring the philosophies, but that is not the point. That is like saying "If you read every philosophy book, you will understand how the philosophies differ." I am trying to get at what type of life they...encourage...promote (too strong)...yield to.
(Please note the disclaimer relating to what I actually understand and what I may understand of the philosophies involved. This is tainted with what I feel they should, in a sense, be about/want them to be about. Does trying to cover my ass with a disclaimer mean I am simply afraid to appear that I think I know something? You be the judge)

Soto Zen is very inward oriented. Practice, meditation, is what is enlightenment and is what is the purpose of Buddhism. Enlightenment is not reached and that is the end game. When one partakes in mediation/practice, they achieve enlightenment and consequently help all achieve enlightenment/freedom from suffering. When you break down all the non-dualities, there is seemingly no motivation to reach beyond practice and the spreading of the word of practice. Though, I see no real motivation to do that either over the the implicit desire to help as achieve enlightenment inherent in the nature of what enlightenment in Buddhism is. As stated previously, if you do not wish to enlighten all, then you are not enlightened.

Jodo Shin Shu is outwardly focused, relying on the promise of Houzo (or just Hozo) bosatsu. Shinran sees people trapped in an unescapable sinful life. Sin is what cannot be escaped, not life. Though, life is not the absolute that Christianity would make it out to be. For Shinran, there is a peculiar nature to this existence as a person and such. The important thing is about how individuals may be trapped in sin, and yet saved already. It opens the door to some questionable behavior. But, from/through Honen, it was intended as a means of bringing Buddhism to the masses. Buddhism was co-opted by the elite, and used to humble the peons and rob them of value...but that is the nature of ancient Japanese society, as all ancient societies and religions. Jodo gave everyone a chance at enlightenment and has expanded in that capacity.

Embrace the world and what is good about existence because we are all saved and blessed. To wallow in self-pity is to waste what precious gift that his life is. I really need to re-read this great book I have dealing with this point because it is more complex than this. Temptation are on both sides and we walk a fine line to deal with it towards enlightenment. But, in the end we will get there eventually. I think the key I was looking for was that you can enjoy life, but to succumb to temptation means that maybe another reincarnation is in the works. The main point is that it is about life and living. There are sensory experiences to explore that can't be downplayed.

Well, this has gotten way to long and that last point interjected way too make of my own personal beliefs to be as relevant to the Buddhist discussion. So, I will stop her and maybe pick up around why I am more of a Taoist then a Buddhist tomorrow or the day after.

Response to T S

Pessism and cynicism reign, or rain down upon the masses. The only people who do not see this are cocooned in the delusions but will be inevitably wakened to life's harsh realities. Okay, I can't write dark and poetically.

The guys from South Park, parker and stone, recently said in an interview that the only truly crazy people, though they used a more benign term than crazy, are atheists. They also make fun of religion, but to believe in nothing is just weird. Agnostics seem to be alright.

What am I getting to? Look at the big picture. The big picture sucks. The best way to become pessimistic is to look at the world as it is. Oh wait, look a beautiful picture of a family playing with a puppy. My faith in the beauty of life is restored. Maybe not, people are people kind right now by people who do not give one shit that they are ending someone's life. Sometimes they are even overjoyed. It is truly a horrible world. The sum total of all our existences seems like an excercise is cruelty and futility. People are designed to covet, take, and defile.

Love. Love will solve are problems. That is all we need. Love, the ultimate impossibility. To desire someone so much that you want them to be a part of you. But, you will always be left wanting. No one can become you, or know you that well, as well as you know yourself. My head head itches, I don't move. Can my lover/partner ever possibly understand that without me telling them? What a burden. To have someone satisfy some of your needs but in the end leaves you wanting.

Have you ever walked outside and thought "being alive smells wonderful today."? The sheer pleasure of any one of the five senses can be appreciated every moment. It is a blessing, though not from any particular god, to be alive. The Hunted, a movie with Christopher Lambert, yes, him, gives us a good quote, from a Japanese female. "Do you want to die quickly or slowly?" Slowly." "Why?" "So I can enjoy every last moment of life." A little hard to appreciate. When I am in pain, I usually only think about getting out of the pain and back into a bottle. But the it is a very Buddhist outlook, though not from every Buddhist sect.

This very ego-centric way of looking at life can seem very limiting and escapist to a degree. The challenge comes with expanding it to encompassing world changing actions. Or, agruing how the world can be saved through enlightenment/you become one with everything to put it simply. But, both topics have filled books written by other people so I will end here for today.

Three Gorges Dam

I have always been somewhat of a fan of the Three Gorges Dam project. Maybe not because it was the wisest thing to do, at least according to many scientists in the West who criticize it. But, the sheer audacity of the project and the will behind it has impressed me. Just moving all those people forcefully was a feat in itself. There are times when the US government could copy a page from that book (The book of a government doing something regardless of the people). Wait, they do do that kind of thing. Well, if only they weren't simply bastards and destroying the country.

Back to the big dam. The lake/reservoir is filling up with trash and waste because of a fairly dry year. There is not enough water for the river system to process the garbage, or something. Soon they will be raising the water level again and all the junk that is near the shore will also join the floating trash in one big cesspool :(. This is exactly what people had predicted would happen. This is planning at its best. Sometimes I am amazed how China manages to have so many people. It is a giant trainwreck.

Previously, maybe two weeks, there was a story about a town that had a couple hundred cases of lead poisoning in kids. Some, like 2 or so, we have permanent brain damage. This was all because a selfish factory near the down refused to follow proper procedures after having been warned numerous times. The plant has since been shut down. Elsewhere, polluting plants are pumping large amounts of SO2 into the air, causing acid rain. This is destroying the viablity, without the excessive use of fertilizers, of large tracts of farmland in China. In about 20 years, China will be importing food from elsewhere. Factory owners and most government officials are useless in China.

This is not to say that other countries, America, don't also suck. But, they suck in different ways. But, China probably has to be studied on a more local level. That is one of its main problems. Everything is designed to be guided by the central government. China would benefit from micro-planning at the local level. Also, more decentralization. When wrongs are perpetrated against communities, they have to petition the central government for reparations/justice. The distance involved is prohibitive. The government officials have no stake in the community becuase of regional divisions/loyalties. It just doesn't work. Damnit.

Reading

I had to get this link down before losing it. It is almost beyond comment in the naivete. Everyone should not be bothered in thinking abstractly and thinking about more than the next Big Mac.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14823087/?GT1=8506

Some more Zen

The unltimate dilemma is between focusing on the small or large picture. Universe-wide consciousness, or non-consciousness, and living through the small things in life. It might not come down to this, but that is where I feel Dogen's philosophy is taking me. In order to eliminate suffering one embraces the universe, in simple terms, and does not worry about this body and life. Wait...hmm...okay, you yourself may not achieve lasting enlightenment until the body is gone. Eveytime you practice zazen, sitting meditation, you become one with the It (the universe and beyond/everything and nothing). Beyond zazen, as an enlighten person/entity, it is also your duty, but it is beyond duty, to help all achieve the same awareness. It is not a duty because it is a necessity to want to eliminate all suffering in the universe. If you were apathetic towards others, then you are not enlightened. Where does that leave this?

In other zen things I have read parts of (zen 365 days a year or something), they focus on being aware of the little things/constantly aware, by being constantly aware you don't forget the little things. The two zens, rinzai and soto, though there are the original Chinese Zens, but I am not sure how much of that has survived continuously in China, seem to different focused. But, I say this from total inexperience in Rinzai Zen, other than the fact that they use koans. I am just arguing against the seeming detachment of Zen...but because t is Buddhist, there is attachment to all life. The nature of the attachment is different in Zen. It is even more beyond this earth than the others.

Why this post? I am stating an intitial dissatisatisfaction with Soto Zen. In my heart, I feel more in tune with an earthly slant that demands more caring and caretaking. In the end I will do my best to clarify some of these things as I study more. Sorry to drag this out.

Dogen and Soto Zen

Have been slugging my way through a book on Dogen, the founder of the Soto Zen sect in Japanese Buddhism. It is pretty amazing stuff. The way in which he approached the Buddhist teachings and existence were/are revolutionary. I am loathe to try and summarize what the conclusions are, as I feel I would to a poor job, so I will just try and stick to a few minor points that can hopefully be extrapoliated to more practical thought streams.
The thing that is most difficult, and yet interesting, is how his views are based on non-duality among concepts that seem to appear dualisticly (don't know if that is a word, but it is all I got). For example, existence and no-existence, are both important aspects of existence. But, no-existence is not the opposite of existence. It exists independently from existence, and is part of the same whole. A better relationship is the one between Being and non-Being, which is similar to the whole existence thing. Non-Being is not the opposite of Being. It is beyond being, and a reflection of being with everything. The awareness that Being also is non-Being, because you Be so much that you are part of everything. But, the identity of you is going, so you are non-Being as a "you" that lives, you are Being. Once we achieve this awareness and become enlightened are impermanence is understood and embraced. But, you are beyond such concepts as embracing. That is about as far as I can get in explaining a little of the philosophy.
The intriguing thing is in eliminating the duality inherent in the concepts. Things like life and death exist as opposities. Without life, is there not death? Yes, but when you change the nature of how you define the terms, then you can go beyond the conventional. One of the terms used, nonanthropocentric, I think, was intriguing. It means removing Man as the center of a philosophy. If you define Man, or things related to him, as the defining characteristic of your universe, then you are kind of limited in how you are able transcend the ideas about the univerese and beyond. I suppose this is true in all cases. How you define your terms limits how far you can go. So what this post has degraded into is an idea that everyone knows...hmm.
I guess it breaks down to people understanding the terms by which they lead their lives. How do you define what defines you? (That soundd kind of lame) I'll get back to this later.

Politics

I don't usually like to dwell on politics specifically, but it is a midterm election year and all the news is about what is going to happen. The Republicans are going to lead a smear campaign and try to focus on terrorism while the Democrats are going to be anti-Republican, but not too much. The way people are supposedly acting in America makes me want to return and become in the cause for common sense. Life has become about hate and victory. Hate of everything that is different, and victory against all who oppose us in our cause.

Yes, their are many people toiling away to make the world a better place by simply living their lives and improving upon our systems. But, they do not control the purse strings that are in control of the global economy. The world needs to refocus on the micro and forget about global politics. Global politics are simply the things that have the potential to destroy the world. If everybody focused on the samll ways they are impacting the environment and the people around them, then the whole world would benefit. If every factory in China understood the environmental havoc it is wreaking upon its people, then China would turn into the beautiful land it once was, not filled with corruption and wasted lives (yes, wasted lives is one of the harshest things I can say, as life has unmatched potential to bring joy). If Americans looked at how we were imposing our will on others and over-consuming, then the environment would breath a little sigh and maybe people in other places would sort things for themselves.

No, we can't ignore the world and let people commit atrocities until some part of the conflict is eliminated (usually the weaker half). We should put are faith in a bigger system, or just act in a smaller microcosm. A quote that is old, but I recently came across, but probably read before "When two small countries have a conflict, the UN steps in and the conflict disappears. When a large and a small country have a conflict, the UN steps and the small country disappears. When two large countries have a conflict, the UN disappears."

We all, me especially, should have a sign above our mirrors that says "What do you see?"

I want to write about some Zen stuff that was breathtaking(?). I couldn't find a better word. Beautiful and complex, my brain still hurts from trying to understand it all. I am just trying to see how it fits into my life-view. If I accepted it, would I have to abandon some of my Jodo Shin beliefs. We will see as I read on, but I mainly just didn't want to leave this post to waste.

Sorry about the delay

For anyone reading this, I apologize about not posting for so long. I recently moved to Japan and have been settling in. Once I get a regular schedule I will start posting again. The focus might shift a little as I have less time to drift away from the rigors of learning japanese and working.

Mental exercise

From an overhead view we see Africa divided into countries. Visualize as it is geographically, a live continent. Slowly all the "hot spots" of armed conflict appear as beacons in red. The intensity of color is based upon length of conflict and intensity. Then come the areas of instability where armed conflict could break out or just was recently resolved in an orange. How much of the continent and its people are affected by these areas? (A lot) Next we fly over the continent looking at everybody. The poverty, the hate, the greed, the compassion, the love, the utter hopelessness of the situation so many find themselves, a kaleidoscope of human life. We also see the natural and insecurity embodied in it. All these motives, all these things, we feel them, we see it. What is this? What is the answer contained in the sum total of all this life? What is too big for a person to conceptualize/grasp and project solutions on?

Is planning over-complicated on the macro-level? Visualize like SimCity. Zoom in, zoom out, and treat people like automatons. I would say that the problem with development is related to the ability to perceive. The larger your view, the more you have turn people and things into numbers. Once everything is just a collection of statistics, you lose the dynamic of how they act/react in the real world. There has to be a level of disassociation. You can't plan for every single individual. You need to be able to see the dominoe effects of actions from an overhead perspective.

Imagine city planners working in a blimp, or zeppelin, anything that hovers above a city that is just below the cloud level, maybe lower. As construction is taking place and the city developing, they can see how the entire city, more like a larger portion of it, is affected organically. They become trained to see, to project, what projects will do to the overall dynamic of areas. By seeing it in a more complete way, it simply isn't a matter of numbers, and things can be done on more of a micro-level too.

I really like this idea.

Corporate maleficence

Just watched a show about the collapse of the "sang pon" (spelling is way off) shopping center in Korea. I am not sure what year it happened, but it was fairly recent, 90's or sooner. The day before it collapsed a building inspector, wisely, deemed the building structurally unsound and should be evacuated. The owners covered it up with spackle and then moved out, only closing one floor of a five story structure. 501 people died in the collapse. Many things were done wrong in the building. It is hard to imagine such arrogance. Though, recently in Japan there was a huge scandal about false earthquake safety data for maybe hundreds of apartment buldings that put thousands in danger to preserve profits. The owners got jail, as did many involved in the building/approval process. But, the damage was done and many people suffered. Everyday companies commit atrocities, largely environmental, and think nothing of it. How did the development of our, the West/capitalism, economic system lead to this? Oh wait, that what is largely designed for, as these costs are superluous to the equations of profit. But this system was not predetermined. I am not arguing for Communism. No no, innumerable atrocities have been committed in the name of Communism, or ideology in general.

When will our global system become humanistic, or more ecologically focused? By that I mean when will it care about the system it resides in and not just about what can be produced by exploiting what exists here and now.

Overheating

Sorry about the long break, I was on vacation this time, not just lazy as usual.

China's construction boom has turned into an adventure into the ridiculous. Well, it already was ridiculous, but now even the central government is trying to stop it/rein it in. The economy is growing at around 10% and the central government is worried about overheating. So, they tell banks to cut down on their lending, especially for construction and real estate projects. They also restrict foreign investing, which is focused on luxury housing, according to the article. But, governors, mayors, and local officials will have none of it. They pressure local institutions to fund their pet projects which are insane in scope and have no economic justification. All this construction is distoring the materials market, probably steering it toward a big crash.

Like the earlier 20th century China, fiefdoms are merely being built by the local officials. It is all based on prestige and power grabbing. Nobody cares about the common Chinese. They toil away at their low wage job making stuff for the West while those with power get rich and feel important. This is no different than in America, except for there isn't even the pretense, other than the Communism being "for the worker", that this boom is for the people. If lives improved and wages went up, who would make everything? China is producing enough capacity to build about 2 million more cars than it has demand for. Where will these cars go? How many loans will be forced upon local banks to get regional producers solvent?

The history of China is about those with power controlling the masses through ideology while enriching themselves. The whole Confuscian system is based on classifying people and putting them in their proper place while respecting people with power. It was/is based on merit. Merit is easier to build with money, though the system preaches hard work and perseverance. The latter aspect allowed it to endure and validated it to a degree. But, there was always those that were born into wealth, respect, and power. Today it is no different. The sons and daughters of the party's elite have been free to wield their influence to gain wealth and power, like George W....

The only protection that the world has against the twin behemoths of China and America is to insulate itself through smart planning. These two countries won't change without revolution or catastrophe, both inevitable. Everyone must prepare by encouraging renewable resources and redesigning the economic model to not reward consumption. The world is aging and the developed countries have run out of time to follow the traditional model. Quality of life, not quantity of stuff, must be the future agenda.

Planning and US

It took me a couple of days but I think I finally made a connection to WV, coal mining, and development thanks to a magazine at the Doctor's.

A sign of growth in the towns in mining areas was the appearance/development of gated communities. (What is this, Brazil? Though, there was an article about the growing income/wealth disparities and how we are the closest country to Brazil, but very far away from it) For awhile now gated communities have been the thing, but maybe they are a good. I can see how higher density developments (townhouses and apts) need a way to restrict car access because of parking constraints. Traditional suburban development provides each house with more than enough parking with driveways and such, but near apts, parking is at a premium and needs to managed. Call me a convert, gated communities for all.

What I actually wanted to discuss is affordable housing and affordable rentals, which is somewhat unrelated to WV because I am not sure if these towns have a plan for their development or are just cashing in wherever possible...a la big box retailers and such. All across America in either wealthyareas or tight housing markets, or both, we see low income and public servants (teachers, police officers, etc.) being priced out of the area. And yet, these communities need these people. Where will they live. Movements towards affordable housing and affordable rentals are usually stalled because of NIMBY issues, forcing people to commute ridiculous distances. It is the wealthy's (wealthies') right to get the undesirables (sic)(is the the proper usage of "sic"?) out of there neighborhoods/boroughs/counties. But, there should either be reduced services or increased wages in these areas. Ahhhh, the problem is becoming too complex to right in a blog. The nature of the planning problem could possibly be addressed in a Phd thesis. Would it require planning down to a house by house basis and a monitoring of the system to ensure the needy get the benefits.

Everybody wants a house because a house can store equity..and you can live there while doing it. It is automatic saving. Everybody wants a backyard and a two-car garage and privacy from neighbors. But that takes space and infrastructure and stuff in general. Apartments/condos decay over time and there is nothing individual owners can do to stop the building itself from eventually ecoming obsolete, especially when other tenants/owners neglect the property. Where is the answer....

West Virginia

West Virginia coal country is "booming". The price of coal has more than doubled over the last 6 years and mines are re-opening and such. This is probably due to Bush and China, among other things. The whole Sago mine accident overshadows the prosperity seen in parts of West Virginia becuase of coals resurgence. Is coal really such a blessing to the area?

Appalachia is the poorest area of the country....

I am not sure where to go from here. I will try again later.

The End of ....History?

Sorry for the break from semi-consistency. I was on vacation and then got sick and when I am sick I can't focus on anything.

I was reading some things, sci fi, and thought about how no one really thinks about the end, in real life. Some people ARE thinking about the end, currently reading a nonfiction book about where capitalism and growth should go, but most people prescribe growth for the sake of growth. But what does capitalism lead to? Incentives should guide th economy onto a path that doesn't destroy itself in the end. But, when these incentives don't mainfest themselves until it is too late, then we are screwed. There has to be development beyond stuff. Does it not seem obvious that intellectual or spiritual development has to take center stage in the end? The amount of knowledge in the world continues to grow, but do people take this into account in the everyday lives? No, people are just trying to survive, they have to. If each individual isn't doing it, shouldn't somebody be looking out for them?
I am not trying to say government or some supranational organization should be in charge of people's well-being per se. But, should not the leaders of industry, government, and other areas be enlightened to a degree. No, of course not, just look at who gets elected to Congress, both sides. I have seen the best minds of mind generation destroyed by greed and self-interest...because that is how the world works.
I think I just caused myself to become depressed....
Is there a point when you can't change someone for the better? Educationally (is that a word), or socially, is there a point when the oppurtunity has been missed? I have seen kids in elementary school and said "well, he probably isn't going to make it to college and will probably be a social burden in the future, what can I do?" I do not know. You can tell people to be good, but when people all around aren't reciprocating, how do you tell them to take the high road? Kids don't necessarily understand the high road. But, you can't wait until later, or can you? There has to be a point when you knuckle down and say "quite the bullshit and grow up. Look around and see the world and act like a person"...or something similar. What do you tell adults that have other things on their minds? Maybe you just need to talk to them. When I get older and have proved something I can help people. I just don't feel like I deserve to tell people anything.
In conclusion, everybody, including me, needs to think about where they want us all to go, and not just themselves. In the end, it seems that only knowledge/information and humanity, the caring for other people, are the only things that can last...and styrofoam cups...

Rural poverty

I was debating what to post on, rural poverty or infrastructure and budget surpluses...I have more unfinished business with rural poverty.
I would guess that most rural places are on the lower end of the wealth scale. Unless the "rural" place is on the outer each of ever-expanding suburbs, it is probably poor, because of lack of opportunity. I am trying to get to the idea that rural areas are inherently poor because of their lack of economic development, but have not figured out the right way yet. Because rural areas lack a large service industry, most of the jobs are in agriculture or resource extraction. The resources are not very valuable, if they were, then they area would develop beyond rural. Or the area is unlivable. Example, near oil wells in many areas it is rural because of pollution from the extraction, or the harsh conditions surrounding the extraction. What I wish to discuss is how to have rural areas not mired in poverty?
This post is getting out of hand as I contemplate high pop. density rural areas vs. low pop.density areas. High pop. dense areas that are rural because the lack of investment for a "city"to grow. This would consist of families in small single story homes close together with a large distance to the closest urban area. Other areas would just not have many people. My main focus will be on the more dense "trapped" areas. By trapped I mean that they cannot exact the cycle of poverty on their own because of poor farming conditions and/or lack of industrial or service opportunities. People are living in areas that have no chance of endogeneously becoming more than poverty stricken.
How do you improve these areas? Just move the people. "Hey, the land stinks. Why are you living here? Just give it up and move to an area that has potential and let nature retake this area." That would be an interesting experiment, but people are too attached to....just about everything to let it go. Though, China moving a couple million people to construct the Three Gorges Dam is very similar to this scenario. I respect the idea of moving people to accomplish a possibly, the jury is still out, worthy goal. But, it was the chinese govt. simply s***ting on people with no real political power. People should not live in disaster prone areas and expect the govt. to protect (new orleans sucks) them and bail them out.
I will continue this tomorrow, as I got nowhere today.

Shin Buddhism

I feel that I need to address a more spiritual topic, as development can only be pounded out so much until you realize that answers might not be there, but anyway.
When I was in Japan and refreshing myself in Shin Buddhism and the ideas embodied in it, I felt rejuvenated ("...was juvenated before, lost it, and then got juvenated again....rejuvenated" Pooty Tang). The all embracing concept of giving and receiving compassion on all levels just makes it feel good to be alive. Then, I return to Hawaii and to work, and eveything disappears in the busy-ness and tiredness. Maybe it was being on vacation, but it is so easy to lose oneself in the sometimes inevitable monotomy of life that we forget the uniqueness of each day and each person. The challenge is embracing that and not worrying about all the problems confronting us in the future. I wake up tired and regret getting out of bed because it feels so good to dream. But, I should be embracing the new day and ability to experience life some more.

Hygiene

This post is a little random. But, it is related to skipping layers of development in developing countries. What happens in the near, or far, future, if you just integrated technology/knowledge saturation into the lives of those still living in "backward" lifestyles. A library in the middle of Combodia (don't ask why I though of Cambodia), or in a similar place. Things would get dirty and technology would fail. Libraries in America have enough problems with mold, general decay, and computer abuse, how would less hygienic places fare? Should we be obsessed with cleanliness? Or, should materials science cope with such issues?
So much of the effort of the developed world is expended in cleaning everything we own...for good measure. I have a couple cleaning products in my room and there are numerous in the bathroom I share with others. If I didn't clean, partly a reflection on the people I live with, things would get stinky after awhile. Is it a negative that I am concerned with certain aspects? The areas where food is prepared can not be ignored. But is there a simpler way to keep the floors clean...occasionally? Is the packaging and chemical/environmental expense equal to the benefit of a clean floor and such? Those type of questions seem moot until you think of the cost of providing everyone in Africa with a hot shower in the morning. Why the ****does Arizona exist? It gets cheap water at the expense of so many others...as does Nevada. Talk about thievery.
At what point is ultimate cleanliness, beyond basic hygienic standards, too costly?

Food and Books

So you want to eliminate the developing countries' desire to become a developed country like the US, with the out of control consumerism and waste, what do you need to provide the people to be satisfied, and what do Americans, and others, need to change their ways.

The masses need to be satisfied. They, everyone/we, need is food and shelter, in the most basic sense. The emotional and psychological needs are beyond definition. Also, a cause of much woe in the world. Of course, you need to start with the physical, and build to the mental and metaphysical. Unfortunately, every discussion of how to engineer the good "citizen"(person), leads to the inevitable journey into distopia. But, I consider those more failings of the system in regards to people than an impossibility of a system. Later...maybe.

It would be relatively cheap to feed those that are hungry. Though, the international community is being prevented from feeding people by those who have power in certain areas . Petty insecurities lead to countless deaths everyday.

To return, the best plan would be to create enclaves of sustainable agriculture around large scale agriculture areas that can provide work and food. The problem is that the surrounding poor invade the areas that are to be developed/developed areas within poor countries. Attempts to open industrial parks in places like Indonesia have run into massive squatter problems. It doesn't help that Indonesia was/is extremely corrupt and the people are not being thought about...not that transnationals think about such things. Summary: Yes, widespread government action is needed to have a comprehensive enough plan.

There are hungry and homeless everywhere, except the suburbs, in America. That would largely be a consequence of the price of space in America, and most places. And, NIMBY(Not in my backyard). Who wants to help people next to their house? I feel that I cannot truly attack these selfish actions until I have my own family, or advocate that such "negative" things be moved near my family that I do not live near (aka mom, dad, sister). But, on principle, I find that people who do not accept facts and such as disappointing, but people are people.

I must pause here on this post for reflection....and yes, it does seem somewhat communist or socialist and self-righteous. But, capitalism/consumerism is not the answer as it has been shown to not take the true cost of inputs into account. I do understand economics...sorry.

Education Addendum

What I really wanted to say is the quest for consumption/attainment of goods is endless and pointless, while the wuest for knowledge is endless and fulfilling. That is only an opinion, but think about the implications in teaching it.

Education

Is education not the most important function of a government once the government structure has been stabilized? That question is phrased oddly, but the main point is that education is important. The only way to create stable development is to educate the people. Everyone can fight to acquire all the resources that they accumulate, which is what we have today in most parts of the world. Education is necessary to teach people to work together and subsume aspects of their individual to society. Do I mean social programming? I do, to a degree. This is not a Brave New World I am trying to create. But, with about the socialization of a large, hmm, value system, you have the anarchy of a "free" market, survival of the greediest. But, everyone needs to survive.

Note: Chad is becoming very annoyed at Sudan and threatening war. Isn't Chad the country Pauly Shore was deployed to in "In the Army Now". Makes you think doesn't it.

This post was interrupted halfway through and I lost my train of thought.

The Lost Continent

Another post about Africa...I will get more specific as I consistently post and get into the flow.

Is it not time for a new paradigm in development theory? Africa is done...put a fork in it. The only news is famine, fighting, or ****nuts being horrible human beings (Zimbabwe). Monkeys are being hunted into extinction. Resources are being taken to fund fighting, either by rebels or government. And, genocide is occuring while the world watches and goes "eh".

Development's answer is to strengthen intstiutions and industrialize while giving agriculture a more balanced reward. An industrialized Africa can only serve Africa...who buys a PSP that says "made in Ghana"? But, Africa is so compartmentalized that people are too stubborn to buy from some neighboring countries. Though, this only seems to be the case and I have no actual proof. Africa has no need for industrialization.

The world does not need more stuff. Small scale production would be an interesting approach. But, this would be interesting on many levels as many countries don't need industrialization and many Western countries need to de-consumerize. Africa seems to have lost its values. There doesn't need to be a specific set that they need, but they definitely need one that does not involve killing rivals and such.

The focus needs to be on education and infrastructure. Why is there not research being conducted in materials science in Africa's harsh climate? There is much to be learned, much to be taught.

The next post will be on education in America.

Philip K. Dick

This post strays from the hard facts and reflection on the current state of affairs to reflect on reflections of development. The title author that I would like to muse on is Philip K. Dick. He schizophrenic and such and wrote many stories that were out there. But, they are on the edge in that they take you on a journey with a mind that can't rely on reality, or even its beliefs. So few things in this world make people think in that way. People with chemical imbalances have similar things....I do not know this because I have not experienced and do not claim to know what it is like. I am approaching this from a "sane" person's standpoint, as most of the pop. is.

Many of Dick's stories involve development...of course, they are science fiction, so they involve the future. But, Philip usual imagines a near future and he delves into the negative of the technological and socio-chemical aspects that were developing is his time. The human psyche is very fragile, and without the comforts of what it assumes should be right, it fights and struggles and searches for purchase. You have to step out of the box and ask "what if?", "why this way?", "what values define this world?"

Also, are you interested in penny stocks and how to make money, I have a great link...just kidding.

What we create is lead on by what we value. Are we ruled by out innate desire to get our genes, or genes like us, passed on? Is it all a product of evolution? Or have we transcended to a greater understanded of what it takes to balance a system? No animal does not have the desire to over-reproduce and eventually destroy its ecosystem. Humans are just the best at it, it is natural. At some point we need to forget the natural and look at the future.

In conclusion, many of Philip's stories ask what is the ultimate end/have past or current actions looked at what might happen in the future, and/or where do our conceptions of what is right/wrong/or best for the world fit.

How do your values shape your perception of the present and future? And, what do you want to create with those values?

Development II

I found a good definition/criteria to define development. It was, surprisingly, in a book about development economics. Development, or its goal, is the improvement in the living conditions of the people. If GDP, or GNP, grows and the people's lives stink, then it is not positive development.

In America, we have pretty much given up on any form of positive development. Wait, sorry, urban redevelopment is an attempt to repair past mistakes, but it simply tries to give the middle class, or young single folk, an incentive to move back to parts of the city while not addressing why areas degraded, though it is usually because the tax base left, and not addressing the plight of the urban poor. Just because you shuffle the urban poor around does not mean you have improved their lot. Development in America means the elimination of "affordable" housing. Pretty soon, in Hawaii and Las Vegas, the lower classes that work the tourist related jobs will have nowhere to live. If they can find something, then it will not be very conducive to the creation of a positive environment. Yes, saying "lower classes" may not be the best label, but I can't think of anything better to capture what is happening in America, but especially Hawaii. I am only thankful that I do not, at this point, want to start a family on the medicore wages I get working at a hotel in childcare, at an elementary school in aftercare, and at a local home improvement store. I would have to possibly sacrifice my values and get a crap job if a kid suddenly showed up in my life, which it won't. And, people complain about service and price.

Without respecting how communities evolve and grow, people won't respect the community. Once that happens, there is no hope. Future development in the development world takes the awareness that life is not a one player game (horrible analogy). To escape this vicious downward spiral that we are in, people must realize that all people are people, not sons of bitches that can be **** upon in order to get ahead. Then there is the whole illusion of consumerism being the ultimate goal in life.

You'll never take me alive, unless my death will help people.

Growth

The obsession with growth is what will doom are future. Those are harsh words, but in the long term, everybody is dead...to quote a famous economist and not use quotes at the same time. The real question is how do we want the world to die? I would prefer we delay it a little by being smart.

My ultimate goal, I may have said it before, is to understand a zero-growth economy. I often confuse myself when trying to expand upon this concept, and am confused now, but wil try. A develeped economy with little real estate to grow with an a shrinking population has to create a situation where it grows even more, in order to compensate for the shrinking pop. In the end that is consuming more resources and a losing battle is being waged. A balance must be sought where production is renewable and finances are stable so increasing tax revenues are not needed. When it comes down to it, almost every single govt. has the ever increasing cost of debt to address as their populations mature.

You need to balance inputs and outputs while maintaining a standard of living. The question is, can this be done without a general paradigm shift in what it means to be alive? Different things need to be valued. The wage disparaities that are increasing everyday need to be reduced/eliminated. I am not preaching communism, though I am probably approaching socialism. The difference is that it can not be something imposed, it has to be embraced. The sense of community, the respect for man (human), and what is beyond/around man. I have often heard people say "I don't care what I leave for tomorrow, let them deal with this ***." and am like "what?" That don't make sense. But it does, tragically so. There is no pleasure in protecting and appreciating. There is pleasure in consumption and possession.

Unfortunately, the nature of the current economic system yields a situation where there is little value to be found in work and people consequently turn to satisfying there own desires. Dmanit, but where is the balance....I don't know

Sorry, I exhausted myself

Development

It seems like the whole world has forgotten about development. They have forgotten about development of poor countries, from a mainly economic standpoint. And, they have forgotten about how the developed world is developing, in total. It is hard to simplify arguments from around the world, gathered from mass media, but I will try a little.

America-So embroiled in partisan politics and the fight against protecting "me" that is never looks around at the "us" that is the country. (will explain more later)

Asia-A mixed bag of countries, but ultimately concerned with growth at any cost. I say this because of the attention China gets and its impact on the region. Japan is obsessed with growing again, but has many more issues that it is slowly dealing with (maybe will explain later...or tomorrow)

Europe-Well, the only news comes from France, but the people are obsessed what they feel they have a right to, for some reason. Focused on the past basically.

Africa-Does anyone care anymore? Most countries are going down the crapper. There is no good news. They have truly been forgotten, largely because of the Iraq war/insurrection.

South America-Venezuela is crazy and obsessed with its oil. The other countries have been forgotten...what is going on in these countries?

My initial concern with this post is to see how everyone has lost the big picture, as my brother mentioned in an email. Nobody cares where the world is going...unless it relates to oil prices. The oil companies don't deserve to be making record profits, but people shouldn't care that they are somewhat approaching appropriate prices for gas. The one thing that is outrageous is that prices are not driven by any real supply side factors. It is mainly the perception of scarcity where adequate supplies exist. People should be worried about oil use in the present and future. But, only oil companies/oil rich countries are profiting off of this.

Other than stopping McMansions, does anyone in America really care about creating a sustainable future...no. People should truly shut up and get to work. Bush is a horrible President, but ultimately it is the people who control the future.

Sorry about the things not yet covered, I will get to them in the future.

Reborn

I post this because I finally got all my **** together and can start posting again, not that anyone is still reading.

I plan to be much much more consistent as an April resolution. Though, you never what will happen, there will be a definite delay come June-July, but that is well in the future.

I have recently started studying economic topics again and wish to offer comments on them before I lose them in the haze of life.

The main problem is getting overwhelmed with the size of the issue while looking at finer points. The larger issue being, we are screwed.

Later