Pages: 1 ... 28 29 [30] 31 32 ... 34   Go Down

Author Topic: Is Richard Snowden a heroe or a criminal?  (Read 193202 times)

Rob C

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 24074
Re: Is Richard Snowden a hero?
« Reply #580 on: August 27, 2013, 05:55:56 pm »

From what I heard, your money will now be diverted to a war in Syria.   >:(

They'll be lucky! Spain has already done its best to cancel its own financial disaster by forcing all expats living here to declare their assets over a certain level. We, of course, have no alternative left because all the rest of the countries that matter have managed to join together in a huge gang - best word for it - to rob the innocent citizenry of its hard-earned, tax-paid. That, of course, was never going to be enough: it must continue to be milked until there's none left. I wonder whom they'll fuck then? Each other?

Of course, that's the result of Helvetia caving in to Uncle Sam: the snowball effect.

You know, the longer I listen, the more I hear local folks saying they wished the Euro had never been invented or, at the very least, Spain had kept its nose out and retained its flexible peseta and national identity. Common market, yes; common currency and laws, no! Just more tiers of costly officials who, of course, manage their personal taxation far better, mostly by not having any.

Rob C
« Last Edit: August 28, 2013, 04:22:41 am by Rob C »
Logged

RSL

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 16046
    • http://www.russ-lewis.com
Re: Is Richard Snowden a heroe or a criminal?
« Reply #581 on: August 27, 2013, 06:40:07 pm »

Rob, Relax. It's not going to be long before the Germans get fed up with supporting Southern Europe. The Euro is simply going to HAVE to go the way of the dodo bird so that Southern European countries can go back to their own currencies and monetize their debt.

I know that I'm facing the same problem here in the U.S. In spite of repeated demonstrations that Keynes was wrong, and in spite of the fact that Keynes finally realized he was wrong, Keynesians like Mr. Bernanke have backed our economy into a corner from which there's no reasonable escape. As soon as interest rates begin to approach the inflation rate the feds are going to have to devalue. They won't call it that, but that's what will be happening.

It's the perpetual Liberal problem: if a theory thought up by someone with a lot of credentials doesn't fit reality, the problem has to be with reality because the theory just can't be wrong.
Logged
Russ Lewis  www.russ-lewis.com.

dreed

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1715
Re: Is Richard Snowden a heroe or a criminal?
« Reply #582 on: August 27, 2013, 08:02:06 pm »

I know that I'm facing the same problem here in the U.S. In spite of repeated demonstrations that Keynes was wrong, and in spite of the fact that Keynes finally realized he was wrong, Keynesians like Mr. Bernanke have backed our economy into a corner from which there's no reasonable escape. As soon as interest rates begin to approach the inflation rate the feds are going to have to devalue. They won't call it that, but that's what will be happening.

I hate to be the one that tells you but it has already happened.
Logged

RSL

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 16046
    • http://www.russ-lewis.com
Re: Is Richard Snowden a heroe or a criminal?
« Reply #583 on: August 27, 2013, 09:38:38 pm »

In a sense, you're right, Dreed. Prices haven't gone berserk yet, and as a result our government masters keep telling us there's no inflation. But the definition of inflation isn't increasing prices; the definition is an increase in the money supply relative to the supply of other goods. The inflation's already there. If the Fed can't get that funny money back, as soon as its velocity increases, prices are going to skyrocket. I can't see any way Bernanke or anybody else can get the thing back under control. And today, as soon as the rumor of war was out, stock markets plummeted. That's probably going to lead to even more asinine financial activity on the part of the government.
Logged
Russ Lewis  www.russ-lewis.com.

dreed

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1715
Re: Is Richard Snowden a heroe or a criminal?
« Reply #584 on: August 27, 2013, 10:55:19 pm »

In a sense, you're right, Dreed. Prices haven't gone berserk yet, and as a result our government masters keep telling us there's no inflation. But the definition of inflation isn't increasing prices; the definition is an increase in the money supply relative to the supply of other goods. The inflation's already there.

Bingo.

Quote
If the Fed can't get that funny money back, as soon as its velocity increases, prices are going to skyrocket. I can't see any way Bernanke or anybody else can get the thing back under control. And today, as soon as the rumor of war was out, stock markets plummeted. That's probably going to lead to even more asinine financial activity on the part of the government.

That's when the Fed puts the interest rates up - that's how the government takes money out of circulation.
Logged

RSL

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 16046
    • http://www.russ-lewis.com
Re: Is Richard Snowden a heroe or a criminal?
« Reply #585 on: August 28, 2013, 10:50:43 am »

That's when the Fed puts the interest rates up - that's how the government takes money out of circulation.

Not sure they can afford to do that at this point. Considering the crushing debt this administration has taken on, a rise in interest rates is going to result in even more borrowing to pay the interest on the debt, thereby increasing the debt upon which interest has to be paid. It becomes a really nasty cycle when borrowing gets out of control.
Logged
Russ Lewis  www.russ-lewis.com.

Chris_Brown

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 974
  • Smile dammit!
    • Chris Brown Photography
Re: Is Richard Snowden a heroe or a criminal?
« Reply #586 on: August 29, 2013, 12:32:42 pm »

Not sure they can afford to do that at this point. Considering the crushing debt this administration has taken on, a rise in interest rates is going to result in even more borrowing to pay the interest on the debt, thereby increasing the debt upon which interest has to be paid. It becomes a really nasty cycle when borrowing gets out of control.

And when emerging markets around the world have more sway on the relative price of the dollar, the mix can be toxic. Decent article about it here.
Logged
~ CB

dreed

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1715
Re: Is Richard Snowden a heroe or a criminal?
« Reply #587 on: August 29, 2013, 10:07:47 pm »

Not sure they can afford to do that at this point. Considering the crushing debt this administration has taken on, a rise in interest rates is going to result in even more borrowing to pay the interest on the debt, thereby increasing the debt upon which interest has to be paid. It becomes a really nasty cycle when borrowing gets out of control.

It's more complex than this. Whilst the administration has taken on a lot of debt, it can also print more money (which is what it has done and thus why inflation has already risen) in order to pay off that debt. Of course were it to do that, the value of the currency would also drop.  Additionally, the interest rates and movement of the interest rates that the government pays are different to what you or I experience.
Logged

RSL

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 16046
    • http://www.russ-lewis.com
Re: Is Richard Snowden a heroe or a criminal?
« Reply #588 on: August 30, 2013, 02:07:40 pm »

Exactly. That's called "monetizing the debt." The Weimar Republic had it down cold. Several socialist countries are trying to outdo the Weimar Republic and the U.S. isn't far behind. Buy gold!
Logged
Russ Lewis  www.russ-lewis.com.

Rob C

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 24074
Re: Is Richard Snowden a heroe or a criminal?
« Reply #589 on: August 31, 2013, 04:11:21 am »

Exactly. That's called "monetizing the debt." The Weimar Republic had it down cold. Several socialist countries are trying to outdo the Weimar Republic and the U.S. isn't far behind. Buy gold!


Better yet: buy my prints - all of them! Over and over again!

;-)

Rob C

Rocco Penny

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 483
Re: Is Richard Snowden a heroe or a criminal?
« Reply #590 on: August 31, 2013, 08:02:09 am »

a quick reminder of the seriousness of having CREDIBILITY as the leader of the "free" world-
The United States has always stood for democracy and openness  These have become the elements lacking in so many of the machinations behind the building of our security state.
9/11 didn't give the heavies the rights they think they have.
Putin says intervention in Syria is illegal, short of saying what the Russians will do about it.
The interventionists have gone full tilt off the rails.
There was a mention in one of these threads about having the iraq debacle as an example of what our govt has done to screw up the world.
Now we're going to trust the same people to somehow do better this time around?
No, I don't trust them, Putin has more of a chance with me right now.
At least he is openly a thug...
Back to the world stage,
too little, too late, and now our once primary moral leadership position has been usurped by the likes of
Jon Stewart and Bill O'Reily
You all begged for the cuture war in America.
You lost...
Logged

Rob C

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 24074
Re: Is Richard Snowden a heroe or a criminal?
« Reply #591 on: September 01, 2013, 05:32:34 am »

“a quick reminder of the seriousness of having CREDIBILITY as the leader of the "free" world-
The United States has always stood for democracy and openness  These have become the elements lacking in so many of the machinations behind the building of our security state.
9/11 didn't give the heavies the rights they think they have.
Putin says intervention in Syria is illegal, short of saying what the Russians will do about it.
The interventionists have gone full tilt off the rails.
There was a mention in one of these threads about having the iraq debacle as an example of what our govt has done to screw up the world.
Now we're going to trust the same people to somehow do better this time around?
No, I don't trust them, Putin has more of a chance with me right now.
At least he is openly a thug...
Back to the world stage,
too little, too late, and now our once primary moral leadership position has been usurped by the likes of
Jon Stewart and Bill O'Reily
You all begged for the cuture war in America.”

If you meant couture, well, you got Calvin Klein and the worldwide thrill of countless male assholes on show; if you meant culture, not only did you invent political correctness but exported it to the rest of the poor world!

Some things are best enjoyed at home.

;-)

Rob C
« Last Edit: September 01, 2013, 05:35:09 am by Rob C »
Logged

Rocco Penny

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 483
Re: Is Richard Snowden a heroe or a criminal?
« Reply #592 on: September 01, 2013, 08:15:43 am »

lets see,
there has been a sustained gutting of american societal institutions at the bidding of our traditionalists and right wing political conservatives.
Smashing regulations, building a police state, relying on a new polarization in america to provide a basis for building the middle class off of those least able to defend themselves.
This is what america has become.
This is what america has been given over to.
And it is people like me that will not stand by and see a further erosion of the best things left in america.
Like freedom for black teens, reproductive rights for all, prison for scheming politicians and bankers.
Not one US backer of Iraq went to prison over the 4 million dead in Iraq,
We let war criminals mingle with their bros in wyoming and texas,
we starve children and let people die for silly reasons.
There are children less than 5 years old sleeping on a dirt floor right here in my neighborhood.
Million dollar properties, facade of opulence and dream fulfillment,
just under the surface there are grinding circumstances a couple blocks from anyone living...
Now there is a movement underway to change some of these injustices.
It starts at the top...
We'll see, this is the beginning of the end for perpetual war and the security state-
Just how far it goes isn't up to just anyone, it's up to us voters.
We will get our desires,
even if it takes another hundred years.
No to the police state, no to perpetual war,
no to politicians diverging from their constituent's direction...
Just accept it, the culture war is over,
there is no chance the scheming right wing is going to win,
just give it up...
« Last Edit: September 01, 2013, 08:17:27 am by Rocco Penny »
Logged

Rob C

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 24074
Re: Is Richard Snowden a heroe or a criminal?
« Reply #593 on: September 02, 2013, 11:53:08 am »

lets see,
there has been a sustained gutting of american societal institutions at the bidding of our traditionalists and right wing political conservatives.
Smashing regulations, building a police state, relying on a new polarization in america to provide a basis for building the middle class off of those least able to defend themselves.
This is what america has become.
This is what america has been given over to.
And it is people like me that will not stand by and see a further erosion of the best things left in america.
Like freedom for black teens, reproductive rights for all, prison for scheming politicians and bankers.
Not one US backer of Iraq went to prison over the 4 million dead in Iraq,
We let war criminals mingle with their bros in wyoming and texas,
we starve children and let people die for silly reasons.
There are children less than 5 years old sleeping on a dirt floor right here in my neighborhood.
Million dollar properties, facade of opulence and dream fulfillment,
just under the surface there are grinding circumstances a couple blocks from anyone living...
Now there is a movement underway to change some of these injustices.
It starts at the top...
We'll see, this is the beginning of the end for perpetual war and the security state-
Just how far it goes isn't up to just anyone, it's up to us voters.
We will get our desires,
even if it takes another hundred years.
No to the police state, no to perpetual war,
no to politicians diverging from their constituent's direction...
Just accept it, the culture war is over,
there is no chance the scheming right wing is going to win,
just give it up...


It could be interesting to read what people think constitutes a 'police state'.

As interesting, if not more so, would be the methods by which this state of equality for all would be achieved; as it is, those who work bitch enough already about the abuse their tax contributions recieve... Left-wing or right-wing, in the end, the books have to balance. That's the first - and often final - lesson in earning one's living.

One has to realise (and accept) that there are swathes of people who are ignorant, are offered the educational opportunity that the state is obliged to offer but either refuse it or waste their time in education playing silly games behind the teacher's back - or even in the teacher's face, in some schools. Of course, that's usually turned into the teacher's fault, never that of the dipstick child. Discipline? Do you personally know any teachers who have had to face the parent(s) of such brats at those parent/teacher evenings? Teachers even get assaulted, physically, by parents. It is never the brat's fault when certificates are not forthcoming.

You accept the truth of that, and you can't help but at once realise that there are thousands and thousands of people leaving schools with not a snowball's chance of finding work through which they can earn enough to sustain themselves - unless they do the drug and crime circuit, I suppose. What do you suggest that we do with this bunch? You can't educate someone who doesn't want to know. Should taxation be raised even further just to bankroll them through life?

Rob C
« Last Edit: September 02, 2013, 11:56:57 am by Rob C »
Logged

Slobodan Blagojevic

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 18087
  • When everyone thinks the same, nobody thinks
    • My website
Re: Is Richard Snowden a heroe or a criminal?
« Reply #594 on: September 02, 2013, 12:13:45 pm »

Rob,

Have you ever checked how many of highly successful people, the likes of rock and movie stars, entrepreneurs, etc, were good boys/girls in school? I bet a minuscule minority. It is precisely their refusal to fit their energy and creativity into the molds of the mediocre that has propelled them to success later in life. By the same token, some of us (or many of us) who excelled in school, never managed to raise above the mediocre later in life.

Perhaps because of the following:

Unreasonable people expect the world to bend to their desires.

Reasonable people know better, and adjust to how the world works.

Therefore, all the progress in the world depends on the unreasonable.

Rob C

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 24074
Re: Is Richard Snowden a heroe or a criminal?
« Reply #595 on: September 03, 2013, 05:20:51 am »

No; many people who make it big, such as rock stars, do that not from ignorance (you wouldn't listen to Jagger, McCartney, Ferry and others like them and think them dumb or uneducated; in interviews, these people come over as rather well-spoken, intelligent and perfectly capable of fine reasoning; in fact, many went to art school, displaying an artistic bent from early on.

The difference that makes them successful, in my view, is something that I've said over and over again here when some folks post asking advice about becoming pro photographers: the key is two-fold - talent and dedication. We all need both, especially the latter. As that lady who just swan from Cuba to Florida (broad hint to others?) said: never give up and never think of yourself as too old.

It isn't about being put into moulds; education at basic school level is about acquiring the tools of survival: the ability to express oneself, to cope with fairly universal problems and to have a broad understanding of several measurable disciplines.

The thing is, Slobodan, that citing successful entrepreneurs is dangerous at best: many, many fail – I’m told more new-starts collapse than succeed – and there are also exceptions to most rules. The general point I am trying to make is that many school kids fail because they deserve to fail because of their own personal faults and failings; others are on a borderline, and home help or its lack ruins their chances. We also have a society where nobody is allowed to be seen to have failed so worthless certificates are issued to save face all round. Some universities have had to offer additional classes in basic English to new arrivals, something that a few years ago would have seemed an absurdity and a contradiction in terms.

 In a world whose populations are becoming increasingly divided into either highly skilled technicians or drones, where does it end? I believe much is to be blamed on this nonsense of checking boxes rather than writing a reply to questions. I'd even go so far as to blame keyboards; ever since I got myself one, I have hardly written anything other than a shopping list (which I often forget at home) and telephone messages are rendered in a scrawl that I understand at the time but is totally indecipherable to me ten minutes later. Use it or lose it?

Rob C
« Last Edit: September 03, 2013, 05:50:25 am by Rob C »
Logged

Rocco Penny

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 483
Re: Is Richard Snowden a heroe or a criminal?
« Reply #596 on: September 06, 2013, 07:53:36 am »

I say use it...
There are physical capabilities beyond which there would be no point,

EVERYBODY everywhere start attaching encrypted files to random emails.
Just for fun...
Everybody do this for a period of time.
Say 3 months.
Render the bastards helpless...
Do it three times and they'll get the message.
Logged

Rocco Penny

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 483
Re: Is Richard Snowden a heroe or a criminal?
« Reply #597 on: September 08, 2013, 11:02:20 am »

Now about this cloud thing,
so every single photograph ever taken and processed by Photoshop on the cloud is being downloaded.
Every single one.
I'm not sure they'd bother with the contents of a hard drive, but maybe,
so every single photograph ever taken and on the internet, or on any cloud based server is in the hands of these people that have already proven they'll stop at nothing gathering then using information to attack everything in sight....
Reminds me of THE PRISONER
"what do you want!"
"information."
Well, now that art is dead on the internet, we can say America killed it.
fuckers
Logged

Rob C

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 24074
Re: Is Richard Snowden a heroe or a criminal?
« Reply #598 on: September 08, 2013, 01:30:30 pm »

Rocco,

When you get too blue:

http://youtu.be/DofQHvU_6oo

Full screen and max. volume.

;-)

Rob C



Rocco Penny

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 483
Re: Is Richard Snowden a heroe or a criminal?
« Reply #599 on: September 08, 2013, 08:09:49 pm »

Rocco,When you get too blue:http://youtu.be/DofQHvU_6ooFull screen and max. volume.;-)Rob C

Yeppers this is quite a bit closer to what my sentiments are, and if you get this,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aRuN0DY41s
try a youtube stream featuring Ray Wylie Hubbard,
you know the guy who wrote
"(Up Against the wall) Redneck Mothers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWImBgdnKEk
Logged
Pages: 1 ... 28 29 [30] 31 32 ... 34   Go Up