Gasoline/diesel prices hit record highs

Originally Posted by Arainach

Which is indicative that the SYSTEM rather than the idea is retarded.

Yeah, I want a system where bureaucrats can implement sweeping changes to the economy with zero accountability. You are a credit to your race.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Arainach

Psh, like there's any "accountability" now. When's the last time a politician was voted out of office for incompetence? Barring sexual scandal, I don't think anyone's paid attention to a politician's views in forty years.

I would RATHER have a system with unaccountable people who at least tried to do the right thing than a system with "accountable" people who act only in their personal interests without even pretending to care what was good for people.

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Stalin, Kruschev, Brezhnev, and Gorbachov are all riding on a train when suddenly it breaks down. After a little while the four men get to talking about what they'd do to get the train working again.

Stalin: I say, we shoot the driver.

Kruschev: I say, we rehabilitate the driver.

Brezhnev: Why don't we put on the phonogram, draw the curtains, and pretend that the train is moving?

Gorbachov: Gentlemen, gentlemen, please. Let's all get out and push.


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A socialist, a capitalist and a communist agreed to meet. The socialist was late. 'Excuse me for being late, I was standing in a queue for sausages.'

'And what is a queue?' the capitalist asked.

'And what is a sausage?' the communist asked.


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Will there be KGB in communism?

No, by then people will have learned to arrest themselves.


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What is the difference between the two newspapers "The Truth" and "The News"?

In "The Truth" there is no news, and in the "The News" there is no truth.


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In a madhouse there was a propagandist highly praising the Soviet Authority. When he finished everyone applauded except for one man standing off to one side.

'And why aren't you clapping?' asked the propagandist.

'I'm not a lunatic, I'm the hospital attendant!'


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A patient asks the chemist to write down in the registry for him to see the eye-ear doctor. But instead he's told there's an ear-throat-foot doctor and an eye doctor but no ear-eye doctor.

'But I need an ear-eye doctor!' the patient insists.

'And what are you complaining of?'

'I hear one thing, and see another!


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Why have the newer models of TVs been equipped with screen wipers, similar to the windshield wipers on a car?

Because people are frequently spitting at the screen.


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A lawyer, a surgeon, a builder and a communist were having an argument about whose trade was older.

'When God condemned Adam and Eve and exiled them from paradise,' said the lawyer, 'that was a legal act! So my profession is the oldest.'

'But please,' the surgeon said, 'before that God created Eve from Adam's rib. And that was a surgical operation! So my profession is older.'

'Forgive me,' said the builder, 'but a little bit earlier than that God created the world, he constructed it. So my profession is the oldest. Because as is known, there was only chaos before that.'

'And who created chaos?' the communist exclaimed triumphantly. 'Certainly, we communists!'


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What is economic reform?

An injection into an artificial limb.


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Brezhnev called together a group of cosmonauts. 'Comrades! The Americans have landed on the Moon. We here have consulted and have decided that you will go to the Sun!'

'But we will burn up, Leonid Iljich!'

'Be not afraid, comrades, the Party has thought of everything. You
will leave at night.'


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There was a question on Armenian radio for which there was no answer: If all countries became socialist, where would we buy grain?


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What's the real ratio between the Pound, the Rouble and the Dollar?

A pound of Roubles is worth a Dollar.


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Brezhnev and Nixon took a trip by helicopter to inspect workers in the suburbs of Moscow. Nixon noticed workers' barracks with television aerials and exclaimed, 'You have surpassed us! We still don't have TVs in our pigsties!'


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Is it true that America comes in first place in the world for the number of cars?

It's truth. But the Soviet Union comes in first for the number of places to park.


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An Englishman, a Frenchman and a Russian are praising their wives.

'When my wife goes for a ride,' the Englishman says, 'her
legs drag on the ground. Not because the horse is small, but
because my wife has long beautiful legs!'

'I embrace my wife around the waist with only two fingers,' says the Frenchman, 'not because I have a big hand, but because my wife has a slim waist!'

'Before leaving for work,' says the Russian, 'I slap my wife's behind. And when I come back from work, her behind is still shaking. It's not because my wife has a big flabby ass, but because in the USSR we have the shortest working day in the world!'


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A customer asks at a shop, 'What's this, you don't have any meat again?'

'That's not true! There's no meat in the shop opposite. We don't have fish.'


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A person is walking along the street in one boot.

'Have you lost a boot?' a passer-by asks.

'On the contrary - I've found one!'


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When did the first Soviet elections take place?

When God put Eve before Adam and said: 'Choose yourself a wife!'


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On the day of elections a voter received a ballot, but instead of lowering the ballot into the voting box, he began to read the surname of the single candidate.

'What are you doing?' his observer asked

'I want to find out, who I voted for.'

'Yes but don't you know that elections are secret?!'


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When Nixon visited the USSR, Brezhnev showed him a Soviet phone of the latest technology in which it was possible to call Hell. Nixon called the Devil. The conversation cost only 27 Kopecks.

Upon returning to America, Nixon told everyone about the Soviet marvel. But as it turned out such a phone had been invented in America a long time ago. Nixon again called Hell, but this time the conversation cost 12 thousand dollars!

Nixon, understandedly upset, cried, 'But in the USSR a phone call to Hell costs only 27 kopecks!'

'Yes sir, but there it was a local call.'


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The seven miracles of the Soviet Authority:
1. There is no unemployment, yet nobody works.
2. Nobody works, yet the Grand Scheme is carried out.
3. The Grand Scheme is carried out, yet there is nothing to buy.
4. There is nothing to buy, yet there are lineups everywhere.
5. There are lineups everywhere, yet everyone has everything.
6. Everyone has everything yet everyone is dissatisfied.
7. Everyone is dissatisfied, yet everyone votes 'Yes'.


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Why is the Soviet Sun so joyful in the morning ?

Because it knows that by evening it will be in the West.


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'Lena, I have ordered that the border be opened,' said Brezhnev.

'What! Have you lost your mind?! Everyone will get away, only the two of us will remain!'

'Hmmm, and who's the second?'


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Why doesn't the USSR start sending people to the Moon?

Because they are afraid they will become defectors.


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Why did the Supreme Soviet decided to invade Afghanistan?

They decided to begin alphabetically.


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'Who's your father?' the teacher asked Vovo.

'Comrade Stalin!'

'And who's your mother?'

'The Soviet native land!'

'And what do you want to become?'

'An orphan!'


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Stalin informed Beria that his phone was missing. The next day
Stalin told Beria that the phone was found.

'But I've already arrested 25 people regarding this matter, and they all
admitted to the crime!' said Beria.


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In a prison:

'How many years did you get?

'Twenty-five.'

'For what?'

'For nothing.'

'You're lying! For nothing they give ten.'


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'Comrade,' asks the secretary of the Party Bureau, 'Do you have an opinion on this question?'

'I have an opinion yes, but I don't agree with it!'


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What is democratic centralism?

It's when everyone together says, 'yes' and when everyone individually says, 'nay'.


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An Englishman, a Frenchman and a Russian once shared their opinions on what was happiness.

'I test happiness,' said the Englishman, 'when in the winter, after good hunting I come back home and with a glass of good brandy, I settle down in an armchair opposite a roaring fire.'

'For me happiness,' said the Frenchman, 'is when I'm in a good restaurant eating good food and drinking good wine in the company of a fine woman, and then - a night of passion.'

'How you understand happiness!' exclaims the Russian. 'For me happiness is when, after a wearisome workday, I come into my room in my communal home, where I live together with my wife, my two children and the mother-in-law, and during the night there is a loud knock at the door, and I open it, and on the threshold are two threatening looking creatures standing there and ask me "Are you citizen Paramonov?" and I answer them: "He's not here, Paramonov lives a floor above!" Now there is true happiness!'


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Brezhnev and Nixon are standing near Niagara Falls with their bodyguards when they decide to test them. They both order them to jump into the falls. The American bodyguard refuses, saying, 'I have a family and children!'

The Russian rushes towards the Falls without thinking, but at the last moment he's stopped.

'How did you decide to do such a thing without even thinking?' asks Nixon.

'I have a family and children!'


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What is Russian business?

Stealing a box of vodka and selling it so as to have money to spend on drink.


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One East German policeman asks another:

'What do you think of our regime?'

'The same as you.'

'Then it's my duty to arrest you!'


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A Soviet tourist examines the home of a foreign worker: a bedroom, a dining room, a children's room, a living room, a kitchen...

'We have all this too, only without partitions!'


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In prison:

'What are you in for?'

'I told a joke.'

'And you?'

'Listened to a joke.'

'And you?'

'For laziness! I was at a party. One person there told a joke. I went home wondering whether to inform right then or tomorrow morning? "All right," I thought," tomorrow morning will be fine." And I was taken away during the night!'


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Under the specified theory of historical materialism between Socialism and Communism the intermediate stage is inevitably-alcoholism.


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I bet you'll get it right, though.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Arainach

Capitalism != Liberty. Hell, Accountable Government != Liberty, as we've seen. Capitalism is not some perfect solution. Given the choice between absolute communism and absolute capitalism, I'd pick absolute communism any day, since governments are more inefficient at screwing you than corporations. A balanced system is needed, and we've leaned way too far towards laissez-faire, as indicated by the fact that, you know, our entire economy is collapsing. I'm not discussing governments that are real and/or practical. I already admitted that earlier in this thread. I'm discussing that, in absolute terms, I would prefer an authoritarian government that paid attention and cared over a 'free' one that continued driving us towards starvation, chaos, anarchy, and destruction any day.

Look at how dumb you are.

Authoritarian governments are never a better alternative to any form of democracy, since giving complete control to thinktanks is a recipe for disaster. New Jersey put birth control hormones in their waterways instead of extending deer hunting season, what makes you think that the Central Authority is going to come up with better ideas?

In real terms, absolute freedom is better than absolute authority because in free societies people are at least able to support each other communally instead of having their labor and lives dictated by the central authority.

Also in case you didn't get it before, those jokes were all told by Soviets under Communism, which is for all intents and purposes the kind of system that you're proposing. An absolute authority which means well. (in theory)

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What has it provided for us technologically? Most of the NASA spinoffs seem to be either very narrowly used, or just part of natural technological progress that would have occured with or without NASA.

Not a whole lot, tbqh. At this point megacorporations are the entities most likely to attempt space development since the trend in international politics is tending towards the denationalisation of space entirely. What point is there in government space programs developing outer space beyond immediate scientific curiosity when they can't even claim moon rocks?

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

In case you were addressing me before, Racin, I was referring to the benefit of NASA as far as consumer goods went, which is how the issue is always framed.

The net benefits from scientific advancement and international communications were all well worth the investment.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by RacinReaver

What do you actually define as a "consumer good," though?

At first I thought this was pretty self-evident until I started to doubt myself in thinking of consumer goods from a pre-information age perspective. Then I realized no wait you're probably just fucking with me, because global communications are a service and not a good.

What I was hinting at before is that NASA haters like to beat Tang and Temperpedic mattresses into the ground as if NASA programs have resulted in no other benefits to consumers or the world at large.

NASA on the net is worth it I guess, I dunno, they're just grossly inefficient and bogglingly retarded for a bunch of smart people.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Investment banking does create wealth, just not new types of wealth. Oh wait, it indirectly does that too, shit, fuck jews.

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I'm hoping this is something that the recent proclamation of us wanting to build a moon base/go to mars will help fuel, though I really doubt it.

It won't. In order to get taxpayers to sign on to a project of that scope you have to present it as either A. necessary for the long-term survival of the human race, B. an opportunity to expand the resources available to the human pop at large, or C. fuck them chinky-chongs man free tibet

It's not going to happen with tepid lip service to circle jerking nerds.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Collectors.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by RacinReaver

Could you sustain a country off of investment banking?

lolololol

I'm just making the point that investment banking does create wealth by allowing capital to be fluid instead of just sitting in banks or under mattresses.

Yeah, if nobody wants to be a scientist that is a problem. I'm sorry your earnings don't match your self-importance.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Yes. That is exactly how investment banking works Nehmi, you got it right. (hang the jews)

Quote:

It's not so much the earnings don't match self-importance, as I feel many scientists are compensated quite fairly for what they do, it's more of other professions being overpaid for what their role is. I also feel it creates too much of a disincentive for people to become scientists/engineers and, in the long run, that will hurt our economy.

It is distressing, but then these fields do draw different types and as Watts hinted at it's probably best that the sexed up alcoholic frat idiots who join major firms aren't tasked with scientific study. Plus you're ignoring the element of social capital. Investment bankers are widely seen as scum while scientists are placed on a pedestal and engineering often dovetails into many already nerdy pastimes. It's far more socially rewarding than selling your soul constantly handling other people's assets and monitoring the markets with a single fuckup bringing the entire sword of Damocles falling down on your head and JESUS CHRIST WHERE'S THAT FUCKING COKE!?

Teaching is even far less paying work but our education colleges aren't exactly drying up for want of prospective educators.

Quote:

Brady, how does it actually create wealth and not just provide a service for which new wealth can be generated from? A slightly different question; does me paying the mortgage on my house cause the bank to generate wealth?

If it provides a service from which wealth can be generated from then investment banking is generating wealth. I mean it is not producing widgets or springing new industries to life from theory but it still produces wealth the same way any other service does.

Your relationship is also flawed. Paying your mortgage doesn't create wealth, but the loan that the bank gave you beforehand enabled you to build that house in the first place and your mortgage payments are the incentive for the bank to have loaned you money to begin with. Without those kind of loans properties could only be developed by people with the raw cash reserves to purchase land outright from the Crown because the King had the good sense to run those damn jews out of town a long time ago.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

They get paid a lot because they help people make a lot of money that would have otherwise required a large amount of time and research. It's also a risky, stressful venture.

Take solace in the fact that society values you far more than the marketplace could value an investment banker.

There's nowhere I can't reach.