INAPPROPRIATE SEXUAL BEHAVIOR AND MORE

   The reporting of numerous high profile sexual charges has taken us by surprise. It was always known that there were sexual assaults and more that occurred and were never reported. The rate of reporting is extremely low. The rate of conviction for offenders is again extremely low. 

    There would be numerous reasons why the very few assault charges were laid.

     Our justice system is woefully inadequate to process sexual assaults. Women are unwilling to report and lay  charges as the system doesn't work with respect to sexual charges. It's difficult for a complainant to give evidence regarding an assault. It's a personal and hurtful experience. Then a cross examination can add another layer of stress. The offender then gives his side of the story. So you have two stories. Which one does the justice system accept. Historically it's been very difficult to get a conviction on a sexual assault.
   
     So the justice system has limped along making a very poor job of cases. 

    Too many males and very few females have been involved in setting up a legal system that works better than what we have now. The justice system until recently was mainly male and they set up and ran a very ineffective system. One judge in Alberta asked a rape victim why she didn't keep her legs together during the assault..

    Now since some women have skirted the justice system and reported assault many more women feel confident enough to report what has happened to them. That is good.

     So now we have men who are publicly accused of sexual misconduct . Many men have lost their positions without going through due process. So again the justice system fails us. 

    The patriarchal system we have leads to male behavior of dominance. I wonder if matriarchal systems have been looked at as far as their issues with sexual assault is concerned. 

     We are a highly competitive society. People who desire leadership rolls compete vigorously for the position. No holds  barred. Many politicians are now accused of misconduct. Politicians are able to negate half of their rivals with inappropriate sexual conduct.

   The justice system is only one piece of the puzzle. Education? Social behavior?

    We have a long way to go on this one before an acceptable level of justice and equality are achieved.

AUTOMATION ?

   The other day Connie from Far Side of Fifty was talking about buying a new car. She had a few "needs". She wants a car that drives itself, avoids accidents, stops at garage sales and antique shops and lets you read and maybe have a snooze. Well, such a car is almost here. It still costs a lot of money.

    Shortly after reading her post I heard an interview on automation and what it may or not do to our economy and society. The possibilities for automation are endless and the technology is here. Money is the main issue for not going automation all the way. It's not just the equipment that costs but changing the whole system of transportation and assembly.

    I like to watch videos of auto assembly plants. The worker controls a device that  grabs a part , lifts it in place so that the worker can use his high speed screwdriver and attach the part. Automation is one of the reasons that made the  rust belt in the U.S. Automation has taken away millions of jobs.

     Writers are not going to be spared the job loss. Today the beginning of a sports story is generated by a computer. The writer fills in the details like the score. Hey, I wonder if this works for college assays?  Just think it would put cheating out of business.  I wonder if this works for blog posts? Blogging would really become easy!

     Several years ago I posted on the same topic. I found machines that would pick oranges. How many pickers would lose their employment?

     What is going to be done with the millions of people who are replaced by automatons? The interviewer didn't have an answer.

     Most of my life I have heard about shorter working hours and more leisure time. It hasn't really happened.  The sad part is that there are many very low end part time jobs with low pay.

     Science may have the automation but does society have a way to live with automation?

     Hard work by my neighbor , Barb , to take down my birch tree. In the forest most work is done by machine and very little is touched by hand except for machine controls.

Be it resolved that bylaws be enforced.

        It's time for a gripe. Usually I am fairly calm, laid back and agreeable. I hope that Hiawatha House is usually upbeat. So what has crossed me so that I will complain?

       Here's an example. Our city has a bylaw which says that receational vehicles cannot be parked in a front driveway from Nov.1 to Mar.31. On my daily rambles through the neighborhood I see all kinds of recreational vehicles parked in the front drive way. They don't bother me, but if they were right next to me it would be a nuisance. 

      Here's my point . The city only enforces the bylaw when someone complains. So somebody has to be the bad guy and turn in his neighbor. How many people will do this? Not very many. The city will not make a patrol and request owners to move rec vehicles. Most other bylaws are treated the same way.

     Now here's my point. If we have laws which are nor enforced it tends to give people the wrong idea. People will think that their chances of geting away with things will be pretty good.Yes, people will easily think that they can get away with many other violations because bylaws are not enforced. We are giving citizens the wrong idea. We would be better to not have bylaws if they are going to cause other problems. Are we bringing about a general disrespect of laws and bylaws?