A Deadly Midwest Corner

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune has published an article describing the situation at the corner of N. Lyndale Ave. and West Broadway on the city's north side.

The famously liberal paper has identified the cause of the location's violence problem as two adjoining businesses, a Merwin Liquor store and a Winner gas station. These two establishments are described as the "epicenter" of violence in the city because 10% of the killings in Minneapolis since 2010 have taken place within a half-mile of that intersection.

While the businesses are about the general size for those with similar operations, an area described as having a radius of a half-mile covers a  little over 502 acres. The size of the average farm in Minnesota is about 377 acres. The distance from the center of this circle to its circumference would amount to a little over 1000 paces. So two geographically small businesses are to blame for a crime wave in a much larger, densely inhabited area. At the same time, the employees and ownership of the two businesses aren't accused of murder or robbery or encouraging others in those activities. The issue appears to be the people that frequent that area.

This is actually often the response to criminal and anti-social activity by many cities, like this one. The businesses themselves are very limited in their tactics to address what happens off of their own property. 

If the city is able to close the two businesses, as seems to be its intent, what will be the result? First of all, those individuals that produce the violence are unlikely to enroll in nursing programs or divinity schools. They are far more likely to move their operation to another nearby spot that supplies liquor and potato chips. The crime problems of Minneapolis are a product of the city's residents and its administration, not two businesses in a rough neighborhood. 

 

 

F.A. Hayek

 And since the theoreticians of democracy have for over a hundred years taught the majorities that whatever they desire is just, we must not be surprised if the majorities no longer even ask whether what they decide is just.

F.A. Hayek

Zelensky Fashion Statement

Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky has abandoned the tonsorial style of other world leaders to embrace that of the proletariat. During meetings he dons the ubiquitous T-shirt, in his case a drab, green affair with no graphics indicating an affinity with some business, an educational institution or a prominent pro sports team.

AFP / Ukrainian Presidential Press Service

 

Even a Vogue cover photo shoot of him and his wife shows the Ukrainian chief wearing his signature attire, a rare example of a lower class look  in the fashion magazine.

What, if anything, does the Zelensky T-shirt mean? It certainly must mean something. In fact, he must own a number of these shirts if he wears them much of the time. There's a conscious effort on his part or his advisory staff or the propaganda/public relations arm of his administration to project an image that's different from his previous standard business suit and tie. We can imagine what this image is meant to accomplish.

Of course, as a head of state, Zelensky never stoops so low as to wear clothes that have been washed. An olive drab T-shirt is worn only once. After a single use a Zelensky T-shirt becomes a valuable souvenir that finds its way into the possession of Ukrainian teen-age girls with a crush on the leader. 

 

  

Xcel Energy Timetable

A July article in the Denver Post describes the goals of Alice Jackson, the newly created senior vice president in charge of system strategy and chief planning officer for all of Xcel Energy, which is based in Minneapolis and serves customers in eight states.

Jackson, and thus the company's, goal is  reducing carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 60 percent and increasing its use of renewable energy sources to 55 percent of its mix by 2026 as part of its Colorado Energy Plan, which was approved by state regulators in August. The new plan includes a goal of reducing carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2030 across eight states and getting to zero emissions of the greenhouse gas by 2050.

 

 At the same time, Xcel is presently engaged in construction of natural gas distribution that will soon need to be abandoned. Evidently, if utility managers can keep convincing their customers and the climate warming fanatics that they are hard at work planning for technology that doesn't exist to make their power carbon-free they'll be able to survive until retirement rolls around.

It's easy for business leaders and politicians like Alice Jackson, Joe Biden and Gavin Newsom to make demands that extend far into the future. They won't be around to take the responsibility or even see what the requirements have accomplished.

  

Menopause Vacations

In keeping with Pulverized Concepts' recognition of and concern for the somewhat more than 50% of society that undergoes menopause, we bring to your attention an article that appeared in the Sept. 6, 2022 edition of the Wall Street Journal, "Menopause Vacations Soothe Midlife Change". 

The article, by Andrea Petersen, tells us about the growing effort to help alleviate the inconveniences of the biological transformation through stays at spas where dietary and exercise programs are used to cross the bridge to post adulthood. Most of the women interested in the subject have money to spend and a growing number of entrepreneurs and investors are looking at ways to tap in to those funds.

More information on the subject is available here.

 

 urbanaunty.com

Doctors who specialize in the treatment of menopause problems say there's no scientific evidence that changes in diet actually alleviate the unpleasant symptoms. Dr.Stephanie Faubion, medical director of the North American Menopause Society, says that there's no evidence that dietary supplements help eliminate hot flashes and that exercise doesn't either, although it will improve one's general health. Probably the point would be that eating good food and learning some yoga with other ladies might just be a pleasant experience. 

The total bill for that experience is predicted to be in the neighborhood of $815.5 billion for 2022, according to the Global Wellness Institute. 

Communist Chinese Spy Chief Loses Job and Party Membership

 

 

 

Photo: Weibo 

The godless Commies are relentless in policing their own ranks and another member that has fallen to the temptations of greed and corruption will be facing an unpleasant future, as seen here.

Liu Yanping, a career figure in the CCP coercion complex, has run afoul of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the investigative agency that monitors the behavior and lifestyles of party leaders. 

His problems may be related to those of Sun Lijun, another party and government big wig awaiting sentencing for bribery and stock market manipulation.

There are a number of ways to consider this move and others of a similar nature. First of all, the arrest and demotion of Liu may very well be the outcome of the normal way of doing things in China. Obey the rules or face the consequences. Secondly, this sends a message to others that such behavior will be discovered and punished, discouraging it among junior cadres. 

On the other hand, Liu, for unknown reasons, may have aroused the ire of party superiors. This would be a likely outcome for one that has fallen out of favor.

In a sophisticated and benevolent democratic system such as that of the US, no such sequence of events is likely to occur, at least for now. With the notable exceptions of political figures like Ted Stevens and Scooter Libby it takes extravagant misbehavior for an American politician or appointed agent to suffer criminal prosecution, unless he is a member of the minority political party. Disgraced FBI people, James Comey, Andrew McCabe, Peter Skrzok and Lisa Page have actually been rewarded for their illegal and unethical behavior.

Donald Trump, an independent force in many ways, has faced and continues to face, continuous legal hurdles in his political, business and government affairs. The biggest difference between his problems and that of any Chinese malefactor is that Trump's issues are a gold mine for the legal profession. In China, Liu's thing is more of an exercise in bureaucratic infighting.