Random Politics & Religion #00

The main problem I have with ISP are the contract based pricing. Lure you in with a low rate then raise it after two years.

I had Comcast for 3 years the service is fine just the price keeps going up.

Basically that. It tells us the economic growth of a country compared to the economic growth of another country.

Don't worry, Nik is being Nik.

People say the opposite of this statement, but this is the reality of the situation: Money does buy happiness.

Why does it only have to be those two options? Why isn't "an education that teaches me how to be rich and happy" not an option for you?

It'snot a fair comparison using Finland's education system because all they teach is cross country skiing.

Daniel Tosh said it best, as loathe as I am to quote him:

I'm never been poor*, and I'm going to do my absolute best to keep it that way.

*Disclaimer: Well, during school I didn't have access to all of my money. But I do now....

See you need money to buy happiness. Then you get tired of happiness and resort to drinking. It's a cycle !

And yet you seem like one of the most miserable people here. Not that text on an internet forum is any kind of way to judge, but you appear to spend more time logged in here than I do and I can say unequivocably that I'm very impoverished and thoroughly miserable.

Before you jump on that too hard, if I won the lottery tomorrow, I'd do like Warren Buffet: buy a modest house that I'd be content to grow old in, then drop the rest somewhere to accrue interest so I can focus on things I want to do. What I wouldn't do is toil. Money hypothetically buys you away from toil (which isn't the same as work), but lack of toil is a long way from happiness.

Really, though, you demonstrate my point. You're doing your "absolute best" to avoid poverty. That's not normal thinking. You don't tumble from making $200,000 a year to less than $14,000 without being seriously messed up and you shouldn't be able to even think like that.

Given a choice, if I could make Oxford University circa 1800 exist here in modern 2015, I'd go there in a second. I'd secure a professorship, teach whatever I wanted, learn whatever I wanted, have my own apartment, be fed, and have at most a small allowance for the few accoutrements I desired. I own two moderately expensive bicycles and I don't even think about getting some really expensive ones because there's no point and I'm not interested in getting into a ***-measuring contest with all my cyclist friends. Which is always what happens.

For the same reason a degree in muggle studies isn't in my list of things to do: I don't believe it really exists.

Interesting topic more so than net neutrality...(plus already has a thread)

First thing I would do is move to a warm climate. Second open up a bar and serve people the rest of my life.

(since we don't have a random philosophy question thread)

Reminds me of a philosophical question: Would you live your life over again if given the chance ? Eternal return

Or would you say no one life is enough for me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_return

What, if some day or night a demon were to steal after you into your loneliest loneliness and say to you: 'This life as you now live it and have lived it, you will have to live once more and innumerable times more' ... Would you not throw yourself down and gnash your teeth and curse the demon who spoke thus? Or have you once experienced a tremendous moment when you would have answered
him: 'You are a god and never have I heard anything more divine.'

The Gay Science

Bill Murray in Ground Hog Day.

Basically. But it sounds better when Nietzsche proposes it !

Now I want to watch that movie.

If you are interested there are philosophical discussions of the movie.


https://philosophynow.org/issues/93/Groundhog_Day

Well you might have to subscribe to read it...I'm sure there are free ones out there.

I don't get how you attribute posting here as being miserable....

Actually, Buffet purchases securities and bonds, and he manages multiple mutual and index funds with his money. He puts in a lot more work than you think, especially as he was growing his wealth.

There is a lot of calculations to be done in regards to knowing the beta of each stock, and attributing (aka guessing) the stock's beta against another stock's beta to determine the maximum output of growth in your portfolio.

It's more complicated than that, but this is about as basic as I can make it.

Let me elaborate then. I don't willy-nilly pick my investments and let it go to town. I keep up with my money, I make sure that my projections are being fulfilled. I'm calculating my growth pattern to determine if I need to pull an investment or expand on it.

That's not abnormal thinking. That's asset protection. I don't trust anyone to make my decisions for me. I have seen too many clients lose millions of dollars from investment firms they trusted (granted, this was back in 2008-2011, and the firms had nothing to do with it).

Granted, this is actually fun to do, and I enjoy being a nit-pick on my own investments.

I pity you then, for being such a pessimist.

I come here to escape reality since I have slow internet this is one of the only sources I have of entertainment.

I guess I'm the only person in the world that doesn't like watching terrible movies / TV.

It's like reading the Huff Post women section which I actually do (sorta embarrassed) but it is an escape of reality !

Every time you see an insane post on here just think there is something more insane on Huff Post where people actually get paid to write...

Simple extrapolation: if you had better things to do with your time, you'd be doing them. But mere post frequency isn't enough, there's also the tone of so many of your posts. You and I are fairly similar in the emotional context of our posts, which tends to waver between annoyance and more annoyance, but I know I'm poor as a churchmouse while you say you're well-off.

Yes, I know. He enjoys what he does, so it isn't toil. You don't see him working in McDonald's. Nor do you see him buying entire city blocks of NYC to turn into a giant phallus with his name on it, which was the point I was actually making.

Valid point. Problem: if you actually have, let's say, half a million dollars to invest in the stock market, you should have some source of income. All those "Retire by age 35!" scams at least point out that you'll still need to be doing something, even if it is for "only 2 hours a week!!" Unless you're an heiress like Paris Hilton with literally no marketable skills, even if you get completely tanked by the stock market, you shouldn't be asking for room in the local homeless shelter.

Unless you're a complete buffoon, put every penny you own and loans you couldn't afford into something that tanked right before one of the 10-year stock market crashes. Buffoons should worry about being impoverished. I may be unclear on this, so I'll be very clear: I don't think you're a buffoon. Your fear and insecurity about poverty may have some logical basis, but it's roughly the same logical basis as being afraid of a dinosaur-killer asteroid. However, that fear is one shared amongst virtually all people with more money than they need to comfortably continue existing on.

I find it curious that someone who believes anything done by the government will automatically and inevitably lead to wrack and ruin for the country calling me a pessimist. Pots and kettles and all that.

Also, I was lying. I may live in crushing poverty, but I've probably never been happier. Those two facts are wholly unrelated. Humans are weird.

I'd honestly rather take my chance with the Mob than Comcast, usually the Mob has a code they go by.

Well I was going to write a dissertation but seeing how FFXIAH doesn't give me credit for college I'll move right along.

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/02/ethics-approval-came-easily-at-hillary-clintons-state-department-115468.html?hp=b3_l1

TLDR Hillary has questionable ethics and no one is shocked.

She is going to have so much money for her campaign, lol

Totally looking forward to 4 years of Hilary. 8 if her age allows.

I'd like to see it just to have the lulz.

If I want to laugh I'll just come here !

The Democrats have pretty much already figured out the "who", but I have yet to hear hardly one explain the "why" yet.

Hillary 2016! Because... reasons!

Because it's obvious. She's who the establishment wants.

Things are a bit more unclear on the republican side, though Jeb Bush seems to be winning that race.

Just curious. Why? What exactly about her Presidency are you looking forward to? What is she bringing to the table besides ovaries?

I'm not, it was sarcasm. She's as corporatist as any republican. Only difference is that she'll have an easier time swinging to the left if there's money to be made, ie. Obama and his stance on gay marriage.

You're a trust fund baby, aren't you?

That would explain so much...

I would do this in a heartbeat. I hate to do the "speaking so sappy I give you all diabetes" thing, but I have a wonderful companion who outshines the darkest moments by a such a margin I can't describe.

And trust me, there were some pretty dark moments in there.

Unlike so many other trust fund babies, I actually care about how I got it, and although I'm blessed with it, I'm not going to squander it like most others.

Look into the Clintons public and private actions on the subject of Rwanda. Bill's actions as president on the subject are pretty bad and he himself has admitted he approached it entirely the wrong way and could have helped far more people than he did.

But their private actions are what are really deplorable. It takes some research that I don't have time to link things right now, but the Clintons are, essentially, the reason I don't believe in any politicians, no matter how much I may agree with their publically-stated policies and beliefs.

You don't reach the top in this country without stepping on people. You just don't. And until we can somehow force that change, I'm going to give them all the respect they gave to those they stepped upon to reach their seats of power.

Okay, no, I get that, and I believe you. You'll note how I still like you and joke around with you despite our many differences.

I'm just saying that it does explain a lot. Your background can color your entire view on life and a lot of your beliefs -- especially those discussed yesterday on things like labor and unions and the like -- make a lot more sense now.

See if I had a trust fund I would have spent it on women and booze. Probably...

Effective how? Beyond GDP and economics then What is Finland doing with all of this MORE EFFECTIVE education?

It's effective HOW?

Are they blazing new frontiers in medicine NO cures for diseases? NO ...or perhaps scientific discovery NO and space exploration? NO give me one example. one.

If their education system is really so much better than everyone else.... wouldn't that LOGICALLY PRODUCE SOMETHING!? ANYTHING AT ALL YOU COULD POINT TO AND SAY "IN YOUR FACE NIKOLCE, they are also NUMBER ONE in _____________"