Today's Random News

[Fe 26]

I'm really enjoying the irony of all these news stories about the boston bomber being on the cover of rolling stone.
Stories about the retailer boycott have resulted in the cover being shown repeatedly on pretty much every news outlet imaginable.
I haven't seen a copy of that magazine in years, but I've seen this cover dozens of times in the last few days.
I can't wait for the follow up about it being the fastest selling issue in history.

I think it is hilarious that people are upset. We have a huge entertainment industry that makes bad people look cool. We have an incredible amount of dissonance as a culture in regards to bad behavior, sex, and fame. But this kid is what bothers them? And what about him bothers them? That he is human? That he looks somewhat normal?

Hilarious, if not pathetic.

[Diff-chan]

Or give incentives to the tech sector to buy up those old factories and turn them into office buildings. Or for industries to return and to use them for factories. Which would also probably fix the problem of getting approval to get bank loans to renovate those houses, because suddenly it would become very lucrative.

The problem is those factories and buildings really are unusable at this stage. Here in New Jersey we have lots of those old factories in places like Newark, Hoboken, and Jersey City. Most of them have been torn down and replaced. A few have been converted into lofts, but to build a loft you need people to live there, which brings me to the second response.

I don't buy into the whole BS shit that yoshi does about the evils of unions and the democratic party, but Detroit must have done something to run off all the industry they had while not looking inviting to new industry.

The problem with Detroit is the same one as a lot of Midwestern cities, they put all their eggs into the manufacturing basket. Once those industries left for China, they were fucked. Detroit did not build up a professional/knowledge/service sector to replace manufacturing with.

[Yoshi]

Because the unions didn't want competition, and the politicians were in the unions' pocket.

edit: Detroit isn't some small town that was built on one industry. It had more in common with St. Louis, Indianapolis, and Chicago than any small town in Ohio that has essentially shut down. But St. Louis and Indianapolis aren't run by unions, and Chicago is too busy being run by its crooked political machine, which has created a fish bowl of what gun control does instead of Detroit's fish bowl of what entitlements do.

[Fe 26]

The problem is those factories and buildings really are unusable at this stage.

Everything is restorable. Or at least, able to be made useful. Its only a matter of having the direction, will, and resources.

In the case of making use of a factory with brick walls, a collapsed roof, etc, you're not looking at much more expense than building a normal building. You just build inside a box, with the brick outside wall already up.

Which, mind you, is a pretty popular thing for 'hipsters' and other young professionals to do. They already do this kind of thing to houses. There are plenty of tech office buildings built out of old factories.

A bigger question is why Detroit has been unable to kick start such a thing? Are they just unable to change their image? Do they refuse to give the tax incentives for those new companies? Is their local cultural just completely repulsive to young adults?

They should be asking why eBay's headquarters is in San Jose, CA. Google, Santa Clara County, California. Microsoft, Redmond, WA. Apple, Cupertino, CA. Seattle, WA. What do those cities have that they don't have?

"well, those are tech sectors" isn't a viable excuse anymore. You can put a tech company anywhere. Viable workforces don't matter anymore. Every new programer, engineer or designer coming out of school now is taught that they have to move for work, and that you have to look for a new job every 4 to 5 years. Secondly, even if they don't want to move, people can work tech jobs from just about anywhere. You can have your headquarters in Detroit and have people write code for you from anywhere.

The correct response isn't "Well bad stuff happened. Nothing Detroit can do. Knock the buildings down. Get into the fetal position and cry."

The problem with Detroit is the same one as a lot of Midwestern cities, they put all their eggs into the manufacturing basket. Once those industries left for China, they were fucked. Detroit did not build up a professional/knowledge/service sector to replace manufacturing with.

Too bad. Time to fix it.

[cka]

They should be asking why eBay's headquarters is in San Jose, CA. Google, Santa Clara County, California. Microsoft, Redmond, WA. Apple, Cupertino, CA. Seattle, WA. What do those cities have that they don't have?

favourable living conditions

e: also I'm sure former mayor kwame kilpatrick is another big thread in the "why is detroit a miserable shithole that has no money" mystery

[Diff-chan]

Detroit's population is half of what it was at its peak. Those people are never coming back. There are houses they can't sell for $10. Literally. They need to consolidate and clean up and focus. There are parts undergoing somewhat of a renaissance, focus on that and clear out all the blight and give it back to nature.

[YellerDog]

Also, the west coast rules pretty hard.

[Fe 26]

Detroit's population is half of what it was at its peak. Those people are never coming back. There are houses they can't sell for $10. Literally. They need to consolidate and clean up and focus. There are parts undergoing somewhat of a renaissance, focus on that and clear out all the blight and give it back to nature.

I don't know if clearing out some of the worst shit will make it better. I don't think creating scarcity will get the ball rolling. People aren't going to think "well fuck, they're knocking down those old buildings. I better go get one before they're all gone."

There has to be an incentive first. Like jobs. Or ease of creating new businesses (that will generate jobs).

THEN maybe knock down the shitty houses across from the slightly less shitty houses and put in a park. That park will make the land across from it, worth more.

But only after there is a bigger reason to live in that city.

[Yoshi]

George Zimmerman rescues a family of four from their overturned SUV

[YellerDog]

The police department is putting out press releases for do-gooding now? Fishy.

(The same police department that let the guy walk no problem after shooting a child, it bears mentioning)