Politics 2017 part V

[Guard Dog]

The dollar has never been worth nothing. But I've been advising here since 2007 that everyone, no matter where you live, invest a little in real assets like gold, silver or other commodities. That is the best hedge against currency devaluation due to inflation or whatever.

[pmp10]

This one might be good for the politics thread..

 

Politico - The Media Bubble is Real, and Worse than you Think

Thanks.

That's a really interesting way of looking at change in media.

[Wrath of Dagon]

Can North Korea really destroy Seoul? http://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2017/04/26/could_north_korea_annihilate_seoul_with_its_artillery_111248.html

 

We should've kept the neutron bomb.

[Zoraptor]

 

 

Never heard of that happening in the US, sounds ridiculous.

I have to idea whether it's legal in the US, but depositor 'haircuts' have been widely suggested in the Euro Zone, especially Cyprus where they stole ~50% of deposits (mostly Russian) to bail out that failed garbage tier Euro, again. Kind of ironic, you get people who seem to genuinely wonder why Russia hates the EU as if there's no reason when they've outright stolen billions to prop up their failed economic model.

 

But they were authorized by government to do it, which is what GD was saying, not stealing your money on their own as Elerond was claiming.

 

(I'd also bet that if a bank outright failed you'd not get your money back except via insurance, though that's a somewhat different situation. Seizing depositor money is obviously a last resort- or done to people you don't like to avoid your deserved political repercussions from your funny money joke currency experiment- since it utterly destroys confidence in those banks every bit as much as them actually bankrupting)

In US deposits are insured by the government up to $250000 per bank per account ownership type (except for accrued but unpaid interest), but in practice no one's ever lost money in a bank as the government takes them over when they fail.

 

 

The haircuts were not only authorised by the government, they were forced by them. The government of Cyprus basically nationalised their banks then stuck all the bad assets into one and grabbed depositor cash under direct orders of the EU/ ECB and under threat of being taken out behind the shed and Greeced into submission if they didn't.

 

No bank is going to seize depositor cash 'voluntarily', anywhere, since it utterly destroys their credibility and business. But theoretically at least depositors are the same as other creditors to a failing business and much as a creditor may only get cents back on the dollar owed from a failing business the same can happen to banks. Practically though, they're bailed out as the consequences are so severe and failure may make people realise that 'money' is a completely fiat concept practically as well as theoretically. That's also why the Cyprus approach was so utterly moronic, since it encouraged people not to deposit in Cypriot banks lest it happen again, which makes them even less solvent (but, coincidentally, makes German banks more appealing; coincidentally)

[Guard Dog]

66% of all murders in the US occur in just 5% of US counties:

 

 

A study by the Crime Prevention Research Center has found The overwhelming majority of murders happen in just a handful of counties with 2/3 in just 5% of the 3144 Counties that exist in the US. Now that might sound impressive but anyone with a casual knowledge of US Geography can glance at that map and tell you those red counties correspond with major cities. So the majority of the murders occur where the majority of the people are. Hmmm... never would have guessed. What an amazing statistical coincidence. They cited the state of Indiana which had 135 murders in 2014 but take Indianapolis out of the equation and that number drops to 4.

 

They also pointed out that the areas with the highest probable gun ownership (meaning most relaxed gun laws) had the lowest murder rate. The top four percent strictest counties had a rate of 4.4 per 100000 and the four percent most relaxed it was .056 per 100000. But none of those had a metro area in them.

 

So the conclusion I take from this is don't live in a city. Either it's the traffic, the noise, the crowds, the high cost of everything, or the inability to find a parking spot. Whatever it is it's driving people nuts enough to kill each other.

[Hurlshort]

Law and Order taught me that long ago.

[Gfted1]

Huh, Canadian border nice and peaceful. Mexican border is murderpalloza.

[Wrath of Dagon]

There are no cities in Canada, hence no crime.

 

Edit:

When you look at individual counties with a high number of murders, you find large areas with few murders. Take Los Angeles County, with 526 murders in 2014, the most of any county in the US. The county has virtually no murders in the northwestern part of the county. There was only one murder each in Beverly Hills, Hawthorne, and Van Nuys. Clearly, different parts of the county face very different risks of murder.

 

The map below shows the distribution of murders in Indianapolis, with 135 murders. Although the city extends well beyond the 465 Highway that encircles downtown Indianapolis, there are only four murders outside of that loop. The northern half of the city within 465 also has relatively few murders.

 

Washington, DC has large areas without murders. 14th Street NW divides the eastern and western parts of the district, with murders overwhelmingly limited to the eastern half. The area around the capitol is also extremely safe.

Quite a mystery all right. Edited April 27, 2017 by Wrath of Dagon

[Guard Dog]

Huh, Canadian border nice and peaceful. Mexican border is murderpalloza.

Of all the cities I worked in Mexico, the two worst, by far, were Juarez and Nuevo Laredo. And they were right on the border. Nuevo Laredo was the worst. I never actually saw anything bad go down but the project manager for our customer told me in no uncertain terms all the places not to go. And there were a lot of them.

[Volourn]

"So the conclusion I take from this is don't live in a city"

 

Is it a coincidence that the cities is where you find the most leftards? That likely leads to a lot of murders too.

 

As for the Kanada goes, our big cities have theire share of crime. Just ask Toronto - our most Ameirkan like city. R00fles!

Edited April 27, 2017 by Volourn

[Raithe]

Does this count as politics or just a commentary on the nature of division and engagement?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wYXw4K0A3g&feature=youtu.be

[Gfted1]

Of all the cities I worked in Mexico, the two worst, by far, were Juarez and Nuevo Laredo. And they were right on the border. Nuevo Laredo was the worst. I never actually saw anything bad go down but the project manager for our customer told me in no uncertain terms all the places not to go. And there were a lot of them.

Never you mind that dark crimson blob just SW of lake Michigan.

[HoonDing]

What's that red blob in Montana?

 

isn't that middle of nowhere

[redneckdevil]

I don't even need to zoom in and tell 4 of NC red blobs are mainly Winston Salem, Greensboro, Raliegh, and Charlotte.

[Amentep]

What's that red blob in Montana?

 

isn't that middle of nowhere

Looks like it corresponds with Billings to me.

[Guard Dog]

 

"So the conclusion I take from this is don't live in a city"

 

Is it a coincidence that the cities is where you find the most leftards? That likely leads to a lot of murders too.

 

As for the Kanada goes, our big cities have theire share of crime. Just ask Toronto - our most Ameirkan like city. R00fles!

Actually, more people in the city are left since they are exposed to social (cultural, economical, political, etc.) heterogeneity on a daily basis

 

 

Well that is a factor. I think the reason urban areas tend to be more comfortable with government is because they live in a "controlled environment" so to speak. If you live in an apartment in a major city you share a building with maybe hundreds of other people. Maybe more. Part of the cost of the apartment is upkeep on the common areas of the building. If you step outside you are on a street that is maintained by a municipality that collects taxes from you for that purpose. The landscaping, home security, etc most folks take for granted are being done by entities they pay for. Even single family homes in the suburbs are often part of community associations where just living there means ceding some control over the property you own to the association. Government is everywhere in a city. Even when it become odious and heavy handed, like an abusive parent, you still depend on it. Becoming comfortable with government at smaller levels makes them comfortable with heavy handed and odious government at higher levels. If people live their whole lives in a major city they may not even be able to conceive of a different way to do things.

 

The nearest city to me is Memphis over an hour and a half south of here. There are two towns pretty close but they are tiny. And even they are 30 minutes away. My nearest neighbor is 3 miles away (5 kilometers give or take). We share a dirt road neither of us owns. In seven years here I have never seen a country grader maintaining that road. So when it gets out of hand one of us will take care of it. I've got a box frame disc that connects to my John Deere that smoothes out the whole road in about two hours. Police? Fire? EMS? They are a minimum for 15 minutes away. Whatever happens you have to be able to take care of yourself, at least for a little while. People who live in rural areas suddenly realize we don't need the government that isn't doing anything for us pushing us around and telling us what we can and can't do with the property we own.

 

I believe that is the root of the difference of attitude on government between urban and rural areas. It's a difference of dependency and self sufficiency to a point.

[BruceVC]

"So the conclusion I take from this is don't live in a city"

 

Is it a coincidence that the cities is where you find the most leftards? That likely leads to a lot of murders too.

 

As for the Kanada goes, our big cities have theire share of crime. Just ask Toronto - our most Ameirkan like city. R00fles!

volo I still cant believe you live in the mountains without electricity, I was watching this episode of Mountain Men and man those guys are tough 

[Chilloutman]

 

"So the conclusion I take from this is don't live in a city"

 

Is it a coincidence that the cities is where you find the most leftards? That likely leads to a lot of murders too.

 

As for the Kanada goes, our big cities have theire share of crime. Just ask Toronto - our most Ameirkan like city. R00fles!

volo I still cant believe you live in the mountains without electricity, I was watching this episode of Mountain Men and man those guys are tough 

 

I would take mountains without electricity over Johannesburg anytime...

[Raithe]

 

That does kind of say it all about his perception of the President doesn't it?

 

Thought it was less work than a reality tv host and businessman...

[Pidesco]

He thought that it was less work than essentially doing nothing?

[Hurlshort]

He thought that it was less work than essentially doing nothing?

 

I don't think that is a fair characterization of Trump's work in business and television. Although I've said it many times before, the Presidency is probably the most difficult job in the country and most people don't seem to fully grasp the tremendous toll it takes on an individual. That's why I never understood why Trump even wanted the job.

[Pidesco]

Saying he did nothing is certainly hyperbole. However, the most tiring thing he ever did, mentally or physically, before becoming the President was probably recording episodes of The Apprentice.

[Hurlshort]

Saying he did nothing is certainly hyperbole. However, the most tiring thing he ever did, mentally or physically, before becoming the President was probably recording episodes of The Apprentice.

 

Actually I doubt his hosting duties were all that strenuous. However running multiple business and handling real estate is where he makes his money, and he seems to be very involved in that. I don't think it is reasonable to dismiss his work ethic. There are plenty of other flaws for us to hold against him.

 

edit: Also, the campaign itself is a tremendous grind, and should have given him a pretty good idea of what the presidency would be like. He campaigned for well over a year and all evidence points to him doing it tirelessly. He would have burnt out long before the election if he really was a lazy guy.

Edited April 28, 2017 by Hurlshot

[redneckdevil]

Plus having the overall media scrutinized and blow up your every move (good and bad) I think adds into it. At least Obama and Bush didn't have it anywhere near as bad.

Also I think he was assuming that he would be in charge of making decisions and people would follow them instead our govt works as everyone is opposed to everything and anything getting done

[Wrath of Dagon]

Trump probably didn't mean "easier than his previous life" he meant "easier than it actually is".