Thursday, August 12, 2010

U.S. Treasury Announces Initiative to Save Blue-Bellied Parrots

File under: I am not making this up.

The Governments of the United States of America and the Federative Republic of Brazil signed a Debt-for-Nature Agreement today to reduce Brazil’s debt payments to the United States by close to $21 million over the next five years, the Treasury has announced.

The Treasury will forgive this debt and in return Brazil promises to use the funds on its tropical forests.

According to the Treasury, funds generated by the Agreement will help Brazil protect the Atlantic Rainforest (Mata Atlantica) as well as the Caatinga and the Cerrado ecosystems. Together, these ecosystems cover approximately 50 percent of Brazil’s territory and are home to some of the world’s most unique wildlife, such as Black-faced Lion Tamarins, Brazilian Gold Frogs, Blue-Bellied Parrots, and the Brazilian rosewood.

Who really knows what this hocus pocus is about? If Blue-Bellied Parrots were valuable to human life, and needed protecting, the private sector would protect them. In fact, the entire Rainforest should be privatized.

Let famed bird watcher, Hank Paulson, save the parrot if it's endangered. He certainly has the money, after cashing out from Goldman to the tune of hundreds of millions, and engineering the bailout of Wall Street to the tune of hundreds of billions.

13 comments:

  1. While in grade school, one of my fellow students used to take donations to save the forests in Brazil. I have no idea what she used to do with the money, but now I realize if she really wanted to save a patch of green all you have to do is buy it.

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  2. Your dogma just ran over your karma.

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  3. I'm getting a psychic premonition... wait... wait... here is comes... aaahhhhh.

    The $21 million will be spent with companies that have political connections, and there will be little or nothing to show for it other than executive bonuses.

    [but, I'm not cynical]

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  4. 'If Blue-Bellied Parrots were valuable to human life, and needed protecting, the private sector would protect them....'

    WTF?

    It's not all about us. Like George Carlin said, the Earth's not going anywhere...we're the ones going away. At least faster than the Earth itself.

    (but, I'm not cynical...no, really).

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  5. Brazil doesn't need debt forgiveness in light of their growth. Crowds knock on their door, looking to invest.

    Brazil has the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics.

    The $21 million is a bargaining chit. For what, I don't know.

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  6. This is probably the most moronic comment I've read in quite some time:

    "Who really knows what this hocus pocus is about? If Blue-Bellied Parrots were valuable to human life, and needed protecting, the private sector would protect them."

    Unfortunately, I see no evidence of irony in this grotesque comment.

    That single sentence has cost you most if not all of your credibility.

    If your only tool is a hammer, it tends to make you see the world as being filled with nails.

    You need a couple more tools in your belt Mr. Wenzel. As you've now demonstrated, you're a one-trick pony.

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  7. @10:49 Anonymous

    Hey, thanks for the insight. I will remember to ditch free markets and call for no holds barred taxation and government control of the people, whenever it comes to Blue-Bellied Parrots.

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  8. OT: have you ever read the daily Federal Register? This goes on times 1000 every single day. Here is today's:

    http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/a100813c.html

    Federal Communications Commission

    NOTICES
    Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities:
    Approval of New Rates ,
    49491–49493 [2010–20047]

    Federal Property Suitable as Facilities To Assist Homeless

    Environmental Impact Statements; Availability, etc.:
    Ione Band of Miwok Indians Fee-to-Trust Land Transfer and Casino Project; Amador County, CA ,
    49513–49514 [2010–19906]

    Your tax dollars at work...you could make a blog just following the nonsense the Fed's codify very day. Any takers? Too depressing for me.

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  9. To both anons who think Wenzel is a stooge for privatizing the rainforest, it remineded me of this Mises blog post: http://blog.mises.org/12008/daniel-hannan-privatize-the-elephant/

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  10. Hey, thanks for the insight. I will remember to ditch free markets and call for no holds barred taxation and government control of the people, whenever it comes to Blue-Bellied Parrots.

    Haha, you nailed those morons good.

    I love the idea of you being 100% credible until you make a remark about an endangered species and suddenly everything else you've said up to this point gets called into question.

    Krunchy fools.

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  11. What endangered species?

    Humans?

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  12. Sorry, the logical and tautological fallacy in Mr. Wenzel's original statement is obvious.

    "If Blue-Bellied Parrots were valuable to human life, and needed protecting, the private sector would protect them."

    Which is to say that if they aren't 'valuable to human life, and needed protecting', then their existence is of no value or import.

    Sorry, but the amount of hubris and selfishness in that statement is patently obvious to all but the most cynical.

    What is the value to human life of the Bengal Tiger, just to give one example. It is on the verge of extinction, hunted and killed for its organs to be sold in the markets of Calcutta and China. A number of other animals (e.g., rhinos) whose organs and body parts are more 'valuable' as aphrodisiacs and other powdered concoctions to shriveled up old men and one-trick economists than their existence are also on the verge of extinction. Even those in zoos are being killed.

    But no concern. If they were valuable to human existence they would be saved from extinction. And if not, well too bad, they're destined for extinction.

    Your position here is one of manifest destiny leading to extinction of any and all life forms you or 'the market' do not favor or to which you are unable to assign a 'value' at the moment, or to which such great values are assigned any efforts to preserve the species outside of a zoo (which will not hinder their effective extinction anyway) are destined to fail.

    Your thoughts on this subject are no different from, say, a Crusader.

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  13. The private sector has repeatedly shown that it doesn't care at all about ecological conservation, even when it directly affects the quality of life of it's customers (see bottled water companies destroying the water table in small American towns one example here: http://www.orwelltoday.com/watercoke.shtml). How can you possibly say that the rain forrests are only worth saving if a profit can be turned from them?

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