On Bangladesh and the Decline of Western Civilization
Hat tip to Mr. Piotrowicz, with whom I carried on two distinct and intriguing e-mail conversations this morning....
The first was on Bangladesh... apparently, his valiant continuing effort to protect the country from nuclear terrorism culminated in a discovery that Al-Qaeda terrorists are hiding in this small South Asian country, near the nation's rather prolific single port. This called to my memory some research I did on Bangladesh - why this place could distract both of us in our ongoing efforts to maintain relevance I have no clue - that indicated the primary challenge anybody moving into the country might face. What's the problem? Over a third of the country gets washed away every year during the rainy season.
I can immediately see the problems, starting with the maps that they sell on http://www.virtualbangladesh.com: accurate only nine months out of the year, the rest of the time we look like part of the Indian Ocean.
Flood insurance would make a killing, except that nobody really has a net worth to insure - all the sheep and shepherds and musk oxen get washed away in the flood every year, along with that suburban mud hut we just came up with at the end of last year's disaster.
You would think that it might occur to people, "For the last twenty years, my house&home and all my earthly possessions have washed away in a flood every year. I think I'll get a summer home in Nepal."
Be on the lookout for terrorism sponsored by Bangladeshi Al-Qaeda.... but wait until at least December so they can dig their dastardly implements - and colaborers - out of the mud.
On the decline of Western Civilization - this is the diagnosis Mr. Piotrowicz presented to me after I gave him a rough approximation of one of our clients' medication tally. She was taking a total of something like 21 pills every day and listed their various side effects, usually limited to "sleepiness" and "the taste gives her a headache." Laughable, tragic, and highly unfortunate, we all can probably agree. Mr. Piotrowicz even believes he would rather die than dose so heavily. I agree with him, at least in his case although I'm undecided on my own.
But the reason this woman is so overmedicated is that we have to advise our clients they are unlikely to get SSD (Social Security Disability) benefits unless they frequently see a physician, psychiatrist, and/or hospitals & other medical facilities for their ailments.
All of this is almost always rather visibly smoke and mirrors when what the client really needs to do is take better care of their health and sometimes get a more sedentary job. In the meantime, we manage to screw Uncle Sam and thus the American taxpayer, giving a lot of these people 80% of their salary for the rest of their lives for doing nothing. A systemic flaw.
Well... I think Western Civilization will pull through this one. Think of it this way: we could all be underwater.
The first was on Bangladesh... apparently, his valiant continuing effort to protect the country from nuclear terrorism culminated in a discovery that Al-Qaeda terrorists are hiding in this small South Asian country, near the nation's rather prolific single port. This called to my memory some research I did on Bangladesh - why this place could distract both of us in our ongoing efforts to maintain relevance I have no clue - that indicated the primary challenge anybody moving into the country might face. What's the problem? Over a third of the country gets washed away every year during the rainy season.
I can immediately see the problems, starting with the maps that they sell on http://www.virtualbangladesh.com: accurate only nine months out of the year, the rest of the time we look like part of the Indian Ocean.
Flood insurance would make a killing, except that nobody really has a net worth to insure - all the sheep and shepherds and musk oxen get washed away in the flood every year, along with that suburban mud hut we just came up with at the end of last year's disaster.
You would think that it might occur to people, "For the last twenty years, my house&home and all my earthly possessions have washed away in a flood every year. I think I'll get a summer home in Nepal."
Be on the lookout for terrorism sponsored by Bangladeshi Al-Qaeda.... but wait until at least December so they can dig their dastardly implements - and colaborers - out of the mud.
On the decline of Western Civilization - this is the diagnosis Mr. Piotrowicz presented to me after I gave him a rough approximation of one of our clients' medication tally. She was taking a total of something like 21 pills every day and listed their various side effects, usually limited to "sleepiness" and "the taste gives her a headache." Laughable, tragic, and highly unfortunate, we all can probably agree. Mr. Piotrowicz even believes he would rather die than dose so heavily. I agree with him, at least in his case although I'm undecided on my own.
But the reason this woman is so overmedicated is that we have to advise our clients they are unlikely to get SSD (Social Security Disability) benefits unless they frequently see a physician, psychiatrist, and/or hospitals & other medical facilities for their ailments.
All of this is almost always rather visibly smoke and mirrors when what the client really needs to do is take better care of their health and sometimes get a more sedentary job. In the meantime, we manage to screw Uncle Sam and thus the American taxpayer, giving a lot of these people 80% of their salary for the rest of their lives for doing nothing. A systemic flaw.
Well... I think Western Civilization will pull through this one. Think of it this way: we could all be underwater.
posted by Brian at 11:30 AM
1 Comments:
I cannot help but concede a brilliance in Mr. Piotrowicz's post that nearly surpasses my own. The fact that he posted a response two hours before I posted the original proves he is in possession of a peculiarly strong strategic foresight.
I agree that we are slouching toward Grumpy Old Men (sorry Robert Bork), and that China and India are surpassing us as vigorous intelligent workforces.
I actually also agree that NPR cannot save us, although I am convinced that Mr. Piotrowicz can. Especially, that is, if he is willing to broaden his focus beyond maritime smuggling and attempt to save a remnant of intelligent laborers from the American populace to provide for the future.
Hat tip to both of us in our new business venture dedicated to doing just that: http://www.wrightclasses.com - saving the homeschooled world from ignorance and bad grades.
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