| “The Great Depression, like most other periods of severe unemployment, was produced by government mismanagement rather than by any inherent instability of the private economy.” | |
 Milton Friedman quote |
Hungry? Disease ridden? Too much genocide? F@#K You! Don't use condoms!
Pope Benedict has been in a lot of hot water. First he admits holocaust deniers back into the church, then he instructs a continent suffering from unspeakable horrors (genocide, famine, indiscriminate violence and AIDS) that those condoms the UN and the Red Cross are giving out, will only make AIDS worse.
The pope is a figure head to most and God’s word on earth to others. In both roles he has failed miserable.
The figure head’s role is reserved for ribbon cutting and rubber stamping what has already been decided by experts in the field - in this case the UN and international Red Cross. A figure head does not directly contradict policy. That’s the role of an asshole.
In the role of God’s word on earth, he has fallen into the trap than any of us know what God has in store. I realize that it is the work of the religious-evangelical establishment to staunchly assert what can’t possibly be known. But in doing so they do more harm than good. By ascribing black and white religious value statements to topic that are very much grey all over, they mobilize a crowd that could not possibly understand the nuances of any given situation into action.
Try explaining to an angry mob that when you entered the line you thought that multiple items of the same kind counted only once in the ten items or less line. Now switch that petty argument for a religious one and not only is the mob angry convinced that God called on them to punish you for having 12 items in the ten item or less line, but it is a sin against God to deny him his justice for your two extra items.
The pope is a man that who holds more sway over more people that anyone since Gahndi, but instead of talking about peace and love and treating other people as you would like to be treated (some Jesus guy spoke at great length about that stuff), he’s preaching to folks without running water that condoms are bad for them. Are you fucking insane?
Jesus never spoke about condoms! Not once! In fact holy men of his day would usually traveled with a harem of women. You think Jesus was abstaining? Let’s see what the bible says about condoms.
According to this “reliable” source there is absolutely nothing wrong with condoms. In fact the bible specifies times at which husband and wife can take a break from their Christian duties of baby making including to fast and pray.
But what’s most dangerous is analyzing historical documents without regard for the historical context in which they were written. In this case the Old Testament was written at a time that populations dictated power. You can’t conquer a neighboring nation with insufficient numbers. You can’t impose beneficial trade agreements without the men to back it up. And you certainly can’t honor your God appropriately with only a few people. So yes, the Bible suggest that everyone go out RIGHT NOW and have a bunch of babies. Oh course it does.
But we live in a time when nearly 18 percent of children in the U.S. live in poverty.
And that’s the industrialized world!
So let’s figure out a way that proven ways of preventing disease aren’t against your religion!
Pope meet science. You two need to sit down and figure shit out. Because this isn’t helping anyone.
Nicholas D. Kristof investigates experts:
You are all blithering idiots that couldn’t form your own opinion to save your life and the folks you rely on to make opinions for you are ”the equivalent of a chimpanzee throwing darts at a board.”
Turns out people firm in their conviction are right less often that those with more pliable world-view. Oh and loud-mouthed pompous asses score the worst. Still these are the people we are innately draw to believe. God really screwed us on that one.
Have fun idiots! Kristof OUT!
Oh wait, I mean hold us accountable, except for that whole anthrax libel thing. Oh you don’t remember that I ruined a man’s life by falsely accusing him of being a suspect in the anthrax attacks? Me neither! Carry on.
They missed Nevada, Wyoming, Delaware . . .
It seems that the banking laws in offshore tax havens are a little too strict for some in the U.S. Apparently you have to give your name. But that can all be taken care of with a simply romp to . . . .Wyoming? That’s right. In Wyoming you can start a shell business anonymously and start a bank account for that business, also anonymously. From the Economist article:
For shady clients, this is a far better proposition: what their bankers do not know, they can never be forced to reveal.
Ah yes. Well if there’s a market for such things someone should make money off of it right? The free market at work.
Nowhere is this more prevalent than in America. Take Nevada, for example. Its official website touts its “limited reporting and disclosure requirements” and a speedy one-hour incorporation service. Nevada does not ask for the names of company shareholders, nor does it routinely share the little information it has with the federal government.
There is demand for this ask-no-questions approach. The state, with a population of only 2.6m, incorporates about 80,000 new firms a year and now has more than 400,000, roughly one for every six people. A study by the Internal Revenue Service found that 50-90% of those registering companies were already in breach of federal tax laws elsewhere.
So all this time our shady citizens were taking their money to Switzerland, while the Swiss’ shady citizens were coming back to America.
A money-laundering threat assessment in 2005 by the federal government found that corporate anonymity offered by Delaware, Nevada and Wyoming rivalled that of familiar offshore financial centres. For foreigners, America is a particularly attractive place to stash cash, because it does not tax the interest income they earn. Thus with both anonymity and no taxation, America offers them all the elements of a tax haven.
It seems the Caymans were just a slight of hand from the rich, and Obama fell for it.
On the campaign trail, Obama several times cited a single building in the Cayman Islands called Ugland House which notionally houses 12,000 corporations. He said: “That’s either the biggest building or the biggest tax scam on record.”
What about the 400,000 corporations in Nevada? The 1-in-6 ratio? That’s either the most CEO infested state in the Union or its the biggest tax scam in history.
The Dalai Lama’s message of peace and reconciliation will not be heard this year at a peace conference for Nobel laureates in South Africa. It seems that “the Lama’s” presence distracts from the whole issue at hand - the 2010 World Cup. From the BBC article:
The visa had been declined because the Dalai Lama’s presence “would not be in the best interests of South Africa at this time”, he said.
The government spokesman told Reuters news agency that the presence of the Dalai Lama risked distracting attention from the World Cup.
It’s funny that everyone is outraged and embarrassed, but still China pulls the strings from behind the scenery. Was there ever a more polite and secretive super-power? Never taking full credit for its authority. China keeps it’s people the hell out of the papers and let’s your people feel ashamed and embarrassed.
I welcome our new benevolent overlords!
"I depart, but my stain shall always remain"
Rod Blagojevich ranted live on-air for several hours in an attempt to reach the last few people in Illinois to let them know just how innocent he is.
A couple in Orland Park who had been hiding out in a bomb shelter since the end of the Cold War, finally decided it was safe to come above ground. Hearing Blago on the radio, the Orland Park couple has been quoted as saying, “This Rod Blagnovic guy seems like a stand-up citizen. He really needs to run for public office.”
Greg Hinz details the self-serving rant, and how much more bearable it it coming from a radio host, that from a governor.
And Blago still thinks he’s a politician. It’s sad really.
Seems like the spin starts in the bed room.
Now let’s see what can be done with these. . . .
Or you can . . .
No matter how shitty, you can always find someone who likes it . . . “The print is a good size for reading.”
Well, not maybe not yours, but they still do work hard on the intricacies of good governance.
In the Idaho House you can take off your jacket but there’s no spitting on the floor.
Members of the Idaho House loosened their ties Monday and waived the decorum rule for the rest of the session.
That means they can take off their jackets and eat or drink on the floor of the House - they just can’t smoke or spit.
Rexburg Republican Rep. Dell Raybould asked members to keep the no smoking or spitting provision because some members on the main floor voiced concern about what could fall on them from members who sit in the balcony.
So then this is still cool?
Just when you thought the grand ole US of A had the market cornered on crazy, comes this report from our neighbors to the north. Take that you smug French-Canadians. Yes, this means you Celine Dion.
Weird Al Interviews Celine Dion - Funny home videos are a click away
I hate to say it, but if we don't pay these guys they will blow up the world.
The Case for Paying Out Bonuses at A.I.G.
I know that the official line is that the U.S. does not negotiate with terrorists, but these guys at AIG have pieced together one of the most destructive weapons of mass destruction known to man and they say they are the only ones that know how to diffuse it. Also, even though the job market in general is shit right now, it turns out the job market for top executives, who brought about calamitous failure to their companies is still really good. So, let’s just pay them off, because if we don’t someone else will. There is still hope that they give back some of their ill gotten gains later. Sound Good? Also, if they leave they will do everything in their power to work against the government for further ill gotten gains. Maybe we can ask them nicely to save the global economy and then shower them with money for un-fucking what they fucked. It’s just crazy enough to work!
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