Virgil Showlion
Distinguished Associate
Moderator
[b]leones potest resistere[/b]
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 15:19:33 GMT -5
Posts: 27,448
|
Post by Virgil Showlion on Nov 16, 2022 15:17:38 GMT -5
Hi Virgil. I don't know where you are in BC, but Red Mountain in Rossland has the best skiing ever. Nelson is beautiful, and there are some hot springs near that, i have no idea where I was. We have a timeshare at a resort called "Panorama" near Invermere. Nelson is quite far south, although I have some family around there. Currently, my family and I are in Coquitlam (Vancouver). I prefer the prairies, but... ces't la vie.
|
|
Virgil Showlion
Distinguished Associate
Moderator
[b]leones potest resistere[/b]
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 15:19:33 GMT -5
Posts: 27,448
|
Post by Virgil Showlion on Nov 16, 2022 12:02:44 GMT -5
Well, well, well. Look what the snow leopard dragged in! Good to see you, Virgil, and to know all is right in your world. There were people asking about you over on support, too. Can't remember if I messaged you about it or not. Glad you lurk once in a while. I'm still waiting on them to release v6 and I imagine there will be plugins that break. Oh boy. Yeah, I suppose there's going to cranky people over at support for the various plugins. I wonder if I dare peek over there to see... Good to hear from you, Virgil. I'm jealous....I want to move to BC but I can't afford it. Is it true you're a Daddy now? I'm not on Facebook so I don't know. I am a dad now. One girl and one boy. Two of the reasons why those carefree days of online debate are behind me. I'm not on Facebook either, and never have been. I've been stubbornly resistant to the whole social media experience (except for my time on YMAM, and I have a LinkedIn profile for work, since many employers expect it now). I won't say that social media is categorically bad, since I've seen it positively impact many people's lives. But the more time goes on, the more research seems to indicate that the Facebooks, Twitters, Tiktoks, Instagrams, etc. can create a lot of problems. So, there you go. We're not asocial. We're following the science. Thanks for the update and it would be nice to hear more about your family. Does this mean you are working for a new cabal of Microsoftian snow leopards? Just wondering. Optimist! How could I forget you in my list of shout-outs? You must not have been logged in recently, or I missed your name on the list. Thanks for asking after my family. Right now, it's my wife, my two kids, and myself. We're doing fine. The kids came down with "RSV" (all the kids here are getting it) but are over it now. I'm off to pick up my wife right now. All the best!
|
|
Virgil Showlion
Distinguished Associate
Moderator
[b]leones potest resistere[/b]
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 15:19:33 GMT -5
Posts: 27,448
|
Post by Virgil Showlion on Nov 15, 2022 19:06:22 GMT -5
Sooooo good to hear from you Virgil Showlion . Someone spread the rumor that the Snow Leopards had won the battle! Oh and surely you have me confused with someone else when you referred to me as "insightful" or had tongue in cheek but I will hold that statement near and dear to my heart. And will make sure son sees it so I can tell him "I told you so" But seriously wish you and yours the very best and thanks for the update. Of course I referred to you as insightful. And really good to hear from you again too. Speaking of "them who shall not be named", we have called a temporary truce.
|
|
Virgil Showlion
Distinguished Associate
Moderator
[b]leones potest resistere[/b]
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 15:19:33 GMT -5
Posts: 27,448
|
Post by Virgil Showlion on Nov 15, 2022 14:43:30 GMT -5
Thanks for stopping by and updating us. Glad you and the family are well. I do miss your insightful posts. Some of the members are on facebook. Rosemarie posts there daily. Really good to know she's OK. Thanks, Ken.
|
|
Virgil Showlion
Distinguished Associate
Moderator
[b]leones potest resistere[/b]
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 15:19:33 GMT -5
Posts: 27,448
|
Post by Virgil Showlion on Nov 15, 2022 14:15:44 GMT -5
Hi YMAM, It's been several years since I've posted here. I feel badly about not stopping in to at least touch base a few times. Time was always a factor, but mainly I've avoided touching base because of the "drive-by dynamic". That is: message boards, to me, carry the inherent expectation that if a person shows up, (s)he's supposed to stick around and chat for a while. It's a commitment of at least a few days, checking, reading, and replying. I haven't had time for this, and only have limited time now, but I figure at this point that a drive-by is better than never stopping to say 'hi' at all. For those who've inquired in PMs, my family and I are doing well. We moved from Toronto to British Columbia (western Canada) some years back due to my work. I still follow Canadian, US, and world politics closely, although I no longer actively debate online. I post once in a blue moon on another political forum, but between time restrictions and a growing aversion to the disputatious, often hostile, and rarely productive "political social media environment" generally, I'm channeling my energies elsewhere. In looking at the "users recently online" list I see a lot of familiar names, which is heartening. Of those I see listed currently, special greetings go out to the sage billisonboard, the ever-passionate djAdvocate (I do miss our Obama-era debates), the darkling ArchietheDragon, the zealous weltschmerz and thyme4change, the sprightly zibazinski, the insightful toomuchreality and NoNamePerson, my favourite public defender swamp, the lighthearted Miss Tequila, and too many others to individually list. And, of course, I cannot leave out moon/Laura. I hope all of you are doing well. I'm sorry to see that mmhmm seems to have stopped posting (August 2020), and it looks as though ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ stopped posting this past June. Value Buy's last post is from August. I hope this is just them deciding to move on and not a sign that something has happened to them. I had expected them to still be here. I'm also dismayed to see that OldCoyote, Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger, Firebird, and several other "regulars" seem to have left in the last few years. But... nil interit. For those of you wondering about Rosemarie ("diamonds"), I have been keeping in contact with her, although our last correspondence was in July of this year. She stated at that time that she was being admitted to the hospital for some ongoing health problems. Since then, I haven't been able to reach her, which worries me. However, this may be because I recently changed my primary e-mail address, and she may be screening e-mails from my new account, which would be unfamiliar to her.
I suppose there's not too much more to say than this. I do miss a lot of the discussions and personalities here. I should also mention that over the years I have visited YMAM a few times (not logging in, for the reasons I mentioned above) just to see who's still around, what topics are being discussed, and to keep tabs on the community. So, although I'm not really a part of the community any longer, I do think back on you crazy lot fondly from time to time. I'll be sticking around for 1-2 days more just to read replies, PMs, etc. So... it won't be a complete drive-by. Best Regards and Warmest Wishes to All, Virgil S. P.S. The "© 2016 moonbeam and the YMAM team" copyright notice is slightly in need of an update, admin.
|
|
Virgil Showlion
Distinguished Associate
Moderator
[b]leones potest resistere[/b]
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 15:19:33 GMT -5
Posts: 27,448
|
Post by Virgil Showlion on Mar 30, 2019 18:31:10 GMT -5
Fixed. And you'll note the only explanation anyone could give was that Mr. Khashoggi was a symbol and an icon, and that man has an irrational fixation with symbols and icons. It was a good thread. It didn't inspire you to any kind of introspection, but some others...
Got it. We post about the wrong things, according to Your Highness. Weren't you just bitching about Trump, Trump, Trump, 100% of the time? That wasn't about Trump, but it was not good enough for you. No, we had to post about starving people in Yemen, and Khashoggi be damned! You (the board) weren't directly upset about Mr. Khashoggi's murder. You were loudly condemning Pres. Trump for refusing to sever ties with Saudi Arabia over the murder, calling him inhuman, etc. Much of the thread was my pointing out that US-Saudi relations have endured through a dozen US administrations and crimes literally tens of thousands of times greater than the murder of a single journalist, even during recent administrations. I also pointed out that the US maintains ties with other nations with equally deplorable records, such as China.
So yes, the fixation with Mr. Khashoggi was "about Trump", and that thread was just one more appeal for reason and perspective.
|
|
Virgil Showlion
Distinguished Associate
Moderator
[b]leones potest resistere[/b]
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 15:19:33 GMT -5
Posts: 27,448
|
Post by Virgil Showlion on Mar 30, 2019 18:06:40 GMT -5
"Why do you post exclusively on this one guy when countless more people like him are dying in Yemen , murdered by the same regime??" Fixed. And you'll note the only explanation anyone could give was that Mr. Khashoggi was a symbol and an icon, and that man has an irrational fixation with symbols and icons. It was a good thread. It didn't inspire you to any kind of introspection, but some others...
|
|
Virgil Showlion
Distinguished Associate
Moderator
[b]leones potest resistere[/b]
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 15:19:33 GMT -5
Posts: 27,448
|
Post by Virgil Showlion on Mar 30, 2019 17:25:37 GMT -5
Perhaps people are tired of your long-winded screeds, complaints about only 4 sentences instead of a novel, your theoreticals and hypotheticals, your stalking behaviour, bitching about what we choose to post about, etc. Don't let the door hit you on your way out. Thanks for the fond farewell, Weltz. I'll miss you guys too.
|
|
Virgil Showlion
Distinguished Associate
Moderator
[b]leones potest resistere[/b]
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 15:19:33 GMT -5
Posts: 27,448
|
Post by Virgil Showlion on Mar 30, 2019 13:17:53 GMT -5
You're actually one of the least afflicted. I've seen you contribute to discussions like AS's thread on police violence, billis' thread on feds and campus censorship, gun control debates, and some of my recent failed attempts to stimulate discussion (Syria, Internet Censorhip, Sergei Skripal, etc.). Often just brief comments, but at least you care about something other than Pres. Trump. Try as I might, I just don't really care all that much about Syria.
I'm opposed to internet censorship.
Sergei Skripal was murdered by the Russkies. I wish the current administration wasn't so cozy with them.
Next!
Thanks for your... four sentences. Technically just three, since the last one ("I wish...") is the segue back to Trump bashing. All-Trump-all-the-time would be tolerable if there was some kind of discussion about ideas, values, theories, hypotheticals... anything besides the mind-numbing dead-end critiques that only ever yield insipid echo chambers or (equally insipid) partisan bickering over which party/politician is worse. But such is not to be. Happy and Tenn are right. The spirit of online political discourse has changed, and I haven't changed with it. It may be time to hunt for another watering hole. Or, in the likely event I don't find anything more agreeable, give up on this social media adventure completely. It does take up a lot of my free time. I will miss those discussions of old, though.
|
|
Virgil Showlion
Distinguished Associate
Moderator
[b]leones potest resistere[/b]
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 15:19:33 GMT -5
Posts: 27,448
|
Post by Virgil Showlion on Mar 30, 2019 11:20:06 GMT -5
[link to our previous discussion is here] It's tough to say whether the scandal will 'bring him down'. It won't end his political career, but it looks like it may cost him the next federal election. There's little doubt among the electorate that he and other members of his cabinet pressured Ms. Raybould to get SNC off the hook, or that they did it for political reasons, or that her being shuffled out of her position was related to her refusal to bend. But then comes the issue of: Was the PM's conduct a major sin? Some would say, "Absolutely. He acted purely out of self-interest and in clear contravention of the statutes set out to ensure impartiality of the judiciary." Others would say, "No. He was being pragmatic, zealously defending Quebec jobs, and he can be forgiven for overstepping his authority this once." I don't know the specific breakdown of Canadian opinion, but I suspect that how any given voter sees the issue correlates strongly with who they voted for in the last federal election.
|
|
Virgil Showlion
Distinguished Associate
Moderator
[b]leones potest resistere[/b]
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 15:19:33 GMT -5
Posts: 27,448
|
Post by Virgil Showlion on Mar 29, 2019 18:50:34 GMT -5
Several million Americans own weapons that would be affected by even the most lighthanded prohibitions. That's not an "almost nil demand".
I believe many of these concede that banning the weapons may reduce the number of fatalities in the US, just not by a margin sufficient to justify the loss of liberty and happiness for the multitude who owns them. It's a values judgment. Liberty vs. security. bold - you missed my point entirely. what NEED does a non-soldier have for some of the weapons currently held by private citizens, that a weapon of lighter capacity couldn't handle? "because I can!" isn't a NEED. so there's your almost nil. red - do you look down your nose at NZ the same way? just curious. An "almost nil NEED" and an "almost nil demand" are different things, and you used the latter. I agree the need for these high-powered rifles is marginal. The only legitimate need I've ever heard of for one is to help repel foreign invaders or a tyrannical government run amok, and men could debate for years whether either need will ever be extant. Where you get "look[ing] down your nose" from my pointing out that gun control is a values judgment is beyond me. If anyone is looking down their nose, it's you, for asserting your values and judgments are right, and 2A supporters' are wrong. But even this isn't looking down your nose, since I well understand that some values/judgments are superior to others and we have to defend those we're reasonably convinced are superior.
|
|
Virgil Showlion
Distinguished Associate
Moderator
[b]leones potest resistere[/b]
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 15:19:33 GMT -5
Posts: 27,448
|
Post by Virgil Showlion on Mar 29, 2019 17:59:04 GMT -5
... and I fail to understand how 2A superfanatics can't understand that limiting the existence of these weapons by an almost nil demand is going to make all of us safer. Several million Americans own weapons that would be affected by even the most lighthanded prohibitions. That's not an "almost nil demand". I believe many of these concede that banning the weapons may reduce the number of fatalities in the US, just not by a margin sufficient to justify the loss of liberty and happiness for the multitude who owns them. It's a values judgment. Liberty vs. security.
|
|
Virgil Showlion
Distinguished Associate
Moderator
[b]leones potest resistere[/b]
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 15:19:33 GMT -5
Posts: 27,448
|
Post by Virgil Showlion on Mar 29, 2019 17:28:07 GMT -5
Cheap, safe renewables mean government won't have to tax, ban, subsidize, or legislate to get consumers to convert. I look forward to an imminent end to all those things.
|
|
Virgil Showlion
Distinguished Associate
Moderator
[b]leones potest resistere[/b]
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 15:19:33 GMT -5
Posts: 27,448
|
Post by Virgil Showlion on Mar 29, 2019 17:18:22 GMT -5
Not solely responsible, no. Just one piece of a bigger puzzle, as you say. You said this.... "The (still-ongoing) "Yellow Vest" riots in France: their biggest concern? Joblessness and runaway taxation, largely brought about by climate-related policies from the past few years (which they embraced like fools, by the way)"
Largely responsible. ...and that's wrong. I've already amended my statement, in Reply #22. What more do you want?
|
|
Virgil Showlion
Distinguished Associate
Moderator
[b]leones potest resistere[/b]
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 15:19:33 GMT -5
Posts: 27,448
|
Post by Virgil Showlion on Mar 29, 2019 17:16:43 GMT -5
Any negative effects on the French economy by climate mitigation efforts are negligible, and more than offset by positive effects elsewhere. We'll agree to disagree on the magnitude of the negative effects. I'd love to here about these positive effects.
|
|
Virgil Showlion
Distinguished Associate
Moderator
[b]leones potest resistere[/b]
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 15:19:33 GMT -5
Posts: 27,448
|
Post by Virgil Showlion on Mar 29, 2019 17:09:27 GMT -5
just like I have 100% faith that you wouldn't set out to kill 100K people. what's your point? That regardless of who I am, you need to have 100% faith I wouldn't set out to kill 100K+ people. There's no way to prevent it through legislation.
|
|
Virgil Showlion
Distinguished Associate
Moderator
[b]leones potest resistere[/b]
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 15:19:33 GMT -5
Posts: 27,448
|
Post by Virgil Showlion on Mar 29, 2019 13:17:37 GMT -5
Some of us do consider him a clear and present danger to the Republic. So there is that Virgil Showlion There are a lot of clear and present dangers to your Republic. You're actually one of the least afflicted. I've seen you contribute to discussions like AS's thread on police violence, billis' thread on feds and campus censorship, gun control debates, and some of my recent failed attempts to stimulate discussion (Syria, Internet Censorhip, Sergei Skripal, etc.). Often just brief comments, but at least you care about something other than Pres. Trump.
Hence thank you for that, sincerely. Do what the other mods and Moon tell us: just skip past those threads. Skip past to what? There's nothing else here. That's what I'm lamenting.
|
|
Virgil Showlion
Distinguished Associate
Moderator
[b]leones potest resistere[/b]
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 15:19:33 GMT -5
Posts: 27,448
|
Post by Virgil Showlion on Mar 29, 2019 13:03:10 GMT -5
If they were protesting because of efforts to mitigate climate change, we would know it! You don't protest mitigating climate change. You protest the economic consequences of mitigating climate change, often without realizing where those consequences come from.
|
|
Virgil Showlion
Distinguished Associate
Moderator
[b]leones potest resistere[/b]
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 15:19:33 GMT -5
Posts: 27,448
|
Post by Virgil Showlion on Mar 29, 2019 13:00:46 GMT -5
I challenge the bolded statement. There are many reasons for high unemployment and the high level of taxation in France. To blame them on the Paris Accord is highly inaccurate. uh.....this is the closest we have been to full employment in decades, and taxes are also at their lowest ebb in decades.
is Virgil talking about Canada?
I don't know. Is France in Canada? If so, then yes, the "Yellow Vest riots in France" we're clearly talking about are in Canada.
|
|
Virgil Showlion
Distinguished Associate
Moderator
[b]leones potest resistere[/b]
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 15:19:33 GMT -5
Posts: 27,448
|
Post by Virgil Showlion on Mar 29, 2019 12:52:09 GMT -5
Regarding the incessant drum beat of all things trump- I would suggest that the man does that to himself, and he does it very purposefully. Not a day goes by (sometimes not an hour) without the latest incendiary trump tweet of press bomb, designed specifically to grab headlines, usually in a shocking and insulting manner. Can there be any other reaction from a message board whose purpose is politics? Of course people react to this, and it becomes an all trump show, all the time. Very, very unfortunately so. It's not so much the drum beat I mind as it is the fact that it monopolizes everyone's time and there's nowhere to escape it. I can remember those great debates I had back in 2011: Fukushima, anti-intellectualism, social security, militias and the Sovereign Citizens movement, ...
2016: and here comes | Trump Trump Tru-tru-tru-Trump | Trump Trump Trump-Trump-Trump | and Trump Trump ... Those thought-provoking scrums with DJ and Billis in 2012, 2013: torture memos, Wikileaks, Snowden, thorium, Common Core, Obamacare... 2017: ... | Trump Trump Tru-tru-tru-Trump | Trump Trump Trumpity-Trump | and Trump Trump Tru-tru-tru-Trump | ... And who could forget 2014: Stand Your Ground, pot legalization, capital punishment, Benghazi and the CIA rat line, ...
2018: ... Tru-tru-tru-Trump | Trump-Ditty-ump-ump Trump-Trump-Trump | here's Trump Trump Tru-tru-tru-Trump | ... Oh, we had lively debates in 2015: Religious freedom, the Ashley Madison hack, Ferguson, Google, ISIS, literacy, campus censorship, Chemical warfare, the Vault 7 leaks, ... 2019: ...ump Trump More-of-Trump | Trump-a-lay-dee Trump-a-lay-dee T. R. Ump | Trump Trump Tru-tru-tru-Trump | Trump Trump... I lament that online political discussion--at least here--is less than a shadow of what it once was. Pres. Trump is partly to blame, but only a small part. This was voluntary.
|
|
Virgil Showlion
Distinguished Associate
Moderator
[b]leones potest resistere[/b]
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 15:19:33 GMT -5
Posts: 27,448
|
Post by Virgil Showlion on Mar 29, 2019 12:10:42 GMT -5
9,014 sounds right around the number of anti-Trump threads we've seen in the past 773 days, so I can believe it. I notice the article mentions a database, but it's behind a paywall. Is there a searchable database on these "false or misleading claims"? Perhaps indexed by severity, frequency, etc.? I gave you a start. Use Google. In your neck of the woods, check the Toronto Star. They were keeping a dstabase at one point. "Severity"? A lie is a lie. The guy doesn't lie to spare others' feelings like a white lie/little fib would. He lies to make himself look good. I want to know how many lies are of the "US trade deficits have never been smaller" 'undeniably false' variety versus the "MSNBC is conspiring with Robert Mueller in a witch hunt" 'depends on how you look at it' variety. Also, how many are of the "We're pulling our troops out of Syria" 'will impact people's lives' variety versus the "I'm the most popular president ever" 'whatever; nobody but you cares' variety. Finally, what about redundancy and subjectivity? Suppose Pres. Trump says in a speech (and this is indicative of the way he speaks): "So the Democrats... the Democrats are out to get me. They hate me. They can't stand that I'm here and that Crooked Hillary Lost. They hate democracy, folks. They just hate it. Anyway, Mueller and all the angry, unfair people the Democrats sent to get me, what have they found yet? What? Nothing. They've found nothing. Zero. No collusion. No... let me tell you folks, no collusion, nothing. They can't stand it. They're on TV every night, on Fake News CNN, saying 'Oh yeah, well we haven't found anything, but we're going to.' They're losers. They're not going to find anything. They're just losers on their low-rated cable networks. I don't think their ratings have ever been lower. ..." Depending on the way you ran the true/false accounting on this, you could count as few as zero lies, or as many as 24. Hence the raw 9,014 number doesn't really mean much unless we know the specifics of their accounting process. I'm not going out hunting for this pap.
I thought you might have it as your browser homepage or something.
|
|
Virgil Showlion
Distinguished Associate
Moderator
[b]leones potest resistere[/b]
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 15:19:33 GMT -5
Posts: 27,448
|
Post by Virgil Showlion on Mar 29, 2019 9:19:31 GMT -5
9,014 sounds right around the number of anti-Trump threads we've seen in the past 773 days, so I can believe it. I notice the article mentions a database, but it's behind a paywall. Is there a searchable database on these "false or misleading claims"? Perhaps indexed by severity, frequency, etc.?
|
|
Virgil Showlion
Distinguished Associate
Moderator
[b]leones potest resistere[/b]
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 15:19:33 GMT -5
Posts: 27,448
|
Post by Virgil Showlion on Mar 29, 2019 9:09:00 GMT -5
I'm not going to share the details here, but I've taken part in academic blue-sky discussions with other engineers about just how easy it would be to kill 100K, 200K, even a million people, if i) you had $100K and six months to plan, ii) you didn't care specifically who you killed, iii) you didn't expect to live/get away, and iv) you possessed certain esoteric technological/industrial knowledge that some engineers possess. Our industries use so many phenomenally dangerous, lethal agents. Our power, water, and food supplies are terrifyingly vulnerable. There are so many vectors for attack, and so many wicked applications of modern technology. I personally believe it's Divine intervention that's spared us from attacks with hundreds of thousands or millions dead. If that protection is revoked, I don't even want to know what the world will look like. This isn't to say mass shootings aren't horrid, tragic events, but they're negligible compared to the damage one man could wreak with sufficient skill, determination, and imagination. And you really wouldn't have to be a genius to be a "supervillain". Just a peculiar combination of knowledgeable, patient, resourceful, and homicidally deranged.
|
|
Virgil Showlion
Distinguished Associate
Moderator
[b]leones potest resistere[/b]
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 15:19:33 GMT -5
Posts: 27,448
|
Post by Virgil Showlion on Mar 29, 2019 8:39:26 GMT -5
why do conservatives hate the truth so much? Why do conservatives accept trump's daily lies to the U.S. and say nothing. Perhaps they are saying something and you simply can't hear it because you won't shut up about Pres. Trump for a solid tenth of a second. You (Pres. Trump's detractors) march into discussions that have nothing to do with Trump and make them about Trump. If we (the unconverted) aren't criticizing Trump, or we're giving him the benefit of the doubt, you lay bare your anti-Trump case with fanatical zeal. If you're rebuffed, out come the accusations of racism, sexism, xenophobia, blindness, hatred, and the whole gamut. If we're lightly criticizing Pres. Trump, your only desire is that we criticize him more fiercely. If we're fiercely criticizing Pres. Trump, your reproachful voices demand to know why we weren't also criticizing him in the "Venezuela melting down" thread, or for that matter the "Funny! Drunk beavers!" thread.
You're obsessed with the man. Are there any P/CE threads left that haven't been infected by your monomania in this era of all-Trump-all-the-time? I criticize Pres. Trump plenty. If it's not good enough for you, beans on you. I have my religion and obsessing over Pres. Trump isn't it.
|
|
Virgil Showlion
Distinguished Associate
Moderator
[b]leones potest resistere[/b]
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 15:19:33 GMT -5
Posts: 27,448
|
Post by Virgil Showlion on Mar 29, 2019 8:01:23 GMT -5
Carbon credits are not the reason for the French unemployment rate being where it is. Not solely responsible, no. Just one piece of a bigger puzzle, as you say.
|
|
Virgil Showlion
Distinguished Associate
Moderator
[b]leones potest resistere[/b]
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 15:19:33 GMT -5
Posts: 27,448
|
Post by Virgil Showlion on Mar 28, 2019 22:43:16 GMT -5
Think transport taxes. Huge, crushing fuel taxes. All those Parisians unable to afford the gas they need to drive to work. Partly that's due to geopolitical factors, but a big share of it is also climate-related tax grabs. As for joblessness, think back to Europe's disastrous experiment with cap and trade. Rampant corruption was what ultimately killed it, but it did lasting damage. For example, rather than costly upgrades or production cuts, it was actually cheaper for big emitters to buy smaller, dirtier businesses (say, steel plants) and simply shut them down. So... they did. Hurray for carbon credits. Those jobs never came back.
Oh,please. Fuel is a bit more expensive than in Canada, but many things are cheaper, from milk to rent to the internet. It evens out. Are your saying that Canadians are taxed so much, they can't get to work? That's bull. I'm just telling you what the newsmen said. And frankly, yeah. Minimum wage. CAD 2.15/liter for gas. That's going to limit where you work and how much you travel even if you're puttering around in one of those mopeds. Now, are the French paragons of stoicism and self-reliance? No. Would Canadians be rioting in the streets if faced with similar austerity? Probably not. But the fact remains that over there, like over here, things are a lot more expensive than they need to be, and a lot of industries that could exist don't, due to climate change policies that haven't done one whit to curb emissions--for those who even give a damn.
|
|
Virgil Showlion
Distinguished Associate
Moderator
[b]leones potest resistere[/b]
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 15:19:33 GMT -5
Posts: 27,448
|
Post by Virgil Showlion on Mar 28, 2019 19:52:10 GMT -5
Unfortunately, that is still inaccurate. France faces competitive disadvantages with it's neighbors for several reasons, among them -ironically- policies that are very generous to French workers, such as short work weeks, early retirement, and other generous benefits. Climate related policies are not a trigger for this. In fact, France's large dependence on nuclear power generation is an economic driver for them, not an onus. (of course nukes have their own serious problems, but turning francs and complying with the Paris Accords are not part of them) Think transport taxes. Huge, crushing fuel taxes. All those Parisians unable to afford the gas they need to drive to work. Partly that's due to geopolitical factors, but a big share of it is also climate-related tax grabs. As for joblessness, think back to Europe's disastrous experiment with cap and trade. Rampant corruption was what ultimately killed it, but it did lasting damage. For example, rather than costly upgrades or production cuts, it was actually cheaper for big emitters to buy smaller, dirtier businesses (say, steel plants) and simply shut them down. So... they did. Hurray for carbon credits. Those jobs never came back.
|
|
Virgil Showlion
Distinguished Associate
Moderator
[b]leones potest resistere[/b]
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 15:19:33 GMT -5
Posts: 27,448
|
Post by Virgil Showlion on Mar 28, 2019 19:37:03 GMT -5
I think Jussie Smollett will have trouble getting work in the future, so if he was guilty, I think he will be punished Economically.
If he is innocent, then he may have been better served to go to trial, although, I think this is one of those cases where people will still think he is Innocent/Guilty based on their personal opinion rather than trusting the Judicial Process to work as designed. They didn't exonerate him. He paid a $10,000 fine, did 18 hours community service, and the DA said "Don't do it again." There's not even the pretense here that he didn't perpetrate the hoax.
And today, this: But we will give the final word to Georgetown Law professor Randy Barnett who asks the question everyone is considering: "None of this is normal - even for Crook County where I was an Assistant State’s Attorney. Educated guess: this hoax implicated someone very important who had pull with the State’s Attorney, and who very badly did not want to be implicated." with the FBI opening an investigation. "Oh! What A Tangled Web We Weave When First We Practice To Deceive" - Sir Walter Scott
|
|
Virgil Showlion
Distinguished Associate
Moderator
[b]leones potest resistere[/b]
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 15:19:33 GMT -5
Posts: 27,448
|
Post by Virgil Showlion on Mar 28, 2019 19:22:57 GMT -5
- The policies I'm talking about long predate the PCCA. I shouldn't have said "past few years"; it's closer to "past 10-15 years".
- The causes of mass unemployment, crushing taxes, and riots in France not attributable to climate-related policies are attributable to other policies Rep. Cortez has endorsed. France is an oversocialized, overtaxed, overregulated, overimmigrated, underassimilated mess that's running out the socialist death clock just a bit slower than the PIIGS, and it will be a grim spectacle to behold over the coming decade.
Look at the bright side, though: as France slowly transforms into rural Afghanistan, eventually their carbon emissions will have to come down.
So the joblessness and runaway taxation are NOT largely attributed to climate change policies, as you previously claimed. "The (still-ongoing) "Yellow Vest" riots in France: their biggest concern? Joblessness and runaway taxation, largely brought about by climate-related policies from the past few years (which they embraced like fools, by the way)"In recollection, most reports identified climate-related policies more as "the straw that broke the camel's back" than "most of what was on the camel's" back. Hence I'll amend my statement: The (still-ongoing) "Yellow Vest" riots in France: their biggest concern? Joblessness and runaway taxation, in part brought about by climate-related policies from the past 15 years. The proximate trigger for the riots, insofar as I've read, is taxes and job losses largely brought about by climate-related policies from the past few years.
|
|
Virgil Showlion
Distinguished Associate
Moderator
[b]leones potest resistere[/b]
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 15:19:33 GMT -5
Posts: 27,448
|
Post by Virgil Showlion on Mar 28, 2019 17:06:51 GMT -5
Is this your thread to ask whether Ms. Almanzar is being treated less harshly than a male performer? The article mentions "R. Kelly" (the name sounds familiar) and seems to suggest that a similar confession he made would be a good standard for comparison. So... what happened to him? Did the public forgive him or not?
You really need to have some awareness of pop culture before you comment on this because you're coming across completely uninformed. ETA: R. Kelly is probably on his way to prison, and there was an widely seen interview on network news with Gayle King where he ranted like a madman. Several memes have been made from it, and it was the opening on SNL a few weeks ago. Maybe I couldn't give a snow leopard's fuzzy white arse about pop culture, which is why I ask specific questions in the few instances it intersects the things I do care about. If "the name sounds familiar" wasn't a tipoff as to how little I know about the man... All the same: thank you for answering my question in the ETA.
|
|