utemia

Reply to Homelessness: the Shameful Specter of the Capitalist Society..... in US Domestic JoeUser Forums

[quote]but instead of indoctrinating them with responsibility, being hard working, and morals, they are indocrinated with laziness, unfairness, working the system, and entitlement.[/quote] Yeah. Do you have a good idea how to do things differently? It isn't as simple as it sounds, educating young people and helping them to develop into responsible sensible beings. Do you chuck those out that don't make it lol.. that would be great problem solving but you'd only create problems for society tha

Reply to Homelessness: the Shameful Specter of the Capitalist Society..... in US Domestic JoeUser Forums

[quote]And you're right....it often IS due to a poor education. But there have to be efforts made on both sides of that issue. Here, even people with a high school diploma often can't identify historical figures, do basic math, read or write at adult levels; the educational system is geared toward overall testing results, rather than basic, "three-R's" learning. [/quote] That is an issue with the educational system and the way schools work. What is needed are motivated teachers and a

Reply to Evil Corporations in Blogging JoeUser Forums

[quote] Ordoliberalism is a school of liberalism that emphasises the need for the state to ensure that the free market produces results close to its theoretical potential (see allocative efficiency). The theory was developed by German economists and legal scholars such as Walter Eucken, Franz Böhm, Hans Grossmann-Doerth and Leonhard Miksch from about 1930-1950. Alexander Rüsto

Reply to Homelessness: the Shameful Specter of the Capitalist Society..... in US Domestic JoeUser Forums

I've always shared apartments to reduce costs. It is pretty common here. And I had a lot of crazy roommates lol sheesh. Ahh poverty.. another issue of huge political impact. If what you say were true, then nobody should live in poverty - which is not true. Even people that work hard from early to late in the evening are poor and stay that way in the US (and in the rest of the world). Reasons for that are manifold, I think it's mostly due to a poor education. In order to fight poverty

Reply to Evil Corporations in Blogging JoeUser Forums

[quote]in a self regulating market consumer education, morals, and intellect battle greed[/quote]Maybe in your utopia. Tell me, who educates the consumers? The companies that want them to buy their products? Which morals - that is totally vague, and intellect?! Whose intellect did you refer to here? Everybody wants to make money and morals seem always to be among the first casualties. I read several posts here on JU from people that believe that greed is the only motivator a

Reply to Homelessness: the Shameful Specter of the Capitalist Society..... in US Domestic JoeUser Forums

Economical reasons are one of many reasons, and I'd be surprised if that could be dismissed out of hand as having no importance at all. Read Barbara Ehrenreichs book on minimumwage. She tried to live off it as an social experiment and wrote a book about it. She said it is impossible to pull it off, and I am inclined to believe her. Maybe if you are single and have no children and very low living standards and never get sick, then you might get by. Otherwise I doubt it is as easy

Reply to Evil Corporations in Blogging JoeUser Forums

Social market economy (like in Germany) has the government as a component to ensure a fair competition because the economy is there fore the people and not the other way around. Uninhibited greed and bad laws are supposed to be kept in check that way and it works mostly.. unless you have too many regulations of what is considered fair like the EU does by labeling and defining everything. But it is still a better way to do things than saying that the market regulates itself. It doesn't because

Reply to Homelessness: the Shameful Specter of the Capitalist Society..... in US Domestic JoeUser Forums

I know what you mean with the panhandlers.. I grew up in very touristy town in Germany at the lake of Constance and we had this homeless guy who came every summer and had a few dogs and just begged - and he must have made alot of money. During wintertime he was in his house in southfrance. Freiburg, where I currently live, has a lot of homeless punks who just sit around all day and drink and do drugs. Public drinking is not forbidden here.. so they have their orgies right in the middle of the

Reply to Homelessness: the Shameful Specter of the Capitalist Society..... in US Domestic Stardock Forums

I doubt that most of those living on the street started living on the streets willingly and voluntarily gave up all their worldly possessions except for their bankaccount in which they had millions. I've helped out at a shelter once on christmas day while visiting friends in Sacramento and the people that came there for lunch were not looking like they wanted to live on the streets, I can tell you that much. I've never seen so broken people. You imply the possibility that those who liv

Reply to Evil Corporations in Blogging Stardock Forums

You forgot to mention that they ruin farmers with their terminator seeds in thirdworld countries and make them entirely dependable on them. It is a crying shame that crops and cattle have been industrialized so much that it is almost a perversion of nature. It is unethical and immoral, but good business. Greed is never a positive motivator, no matter what neolibertarian economists say. A social component has to keep that in check to make things sustainable for the benefit of everybody,

Reply to Review: The Da Vinci Code revisited in Books JoeUser Forums

Ok, change was initiated or had a catalyst in Cyrus, but it wasn't a coup to ensure political power by scheming men in the background - like described in Browns conspiracy plot. Which doesn't mean that the political benefits of Cyrus's policy weren't known to Cyrus, but it doesn't sound like a conspiracy from his part to disempower Ashera by rebuilding the temple in Jerusaelm. You used phrases like "perceptions changed" and "worship was discouraged" yourself which indicates that

Reply to Review: The Da Vinci Code revisited in Books JoeUser Forums

I didn't know that, but it doesn't surprise me. Goddesses for various reasons existed in almost every culture. But you pointed out that the people stopped worshipping her as the product of a development. It wasn't staged by some outside power but part of a process. Christians were a threat in ancient rome because they didn't worship and sacrifice to the pagan gods and that would piss them off and cause catastrophies etc. The only way to keep the gods happy was to sacrifice, and those

Reply to Review: The Da Vinci Code revisited in Books Stardock Forums

Actually.. the point of Brown was that Constantin created a sort of coup de etat in the council of Nicea, dethroning the goddess and making Jesus into the immortal son of god himself. He didn't want a king or queen, Constantine wanted to rule himself and created the catholic church as the antipolar construct to the feminine mothergoddess. The vatican became a male dominated patriarchaic dark powerhungry power. That part belongs to the conspiracy spun by Brown, and it's almost cliché.</

Reply to Review: The Da Vinci Code revisited in Books Stardock Forums

lol. Yeah,, you can try suggesting it. That part of the plot is actually pretty wild and completely made up. The Merovingians didn't suddenly rise in power and became royalty, it was a long process of working with the romans, being their soldiers and generals and gaining influence over time (becoming roman aristocracy) which lead them to be the ruling power in the 5th century in france. The roman empire perished, but it was more of a smooth transition of power in gaul. The Merovingian

Reply to Joseph Heller, Catch 22, London 1955, chapter 12 - Bologna in Books Stardock Forums

It can glue a whole formation together in the sky.. better watch out for that one, it really does sounds dangerous! I just reread the conversation between Yossarian and Lt. Scheisskopfs wife.. whew. The logic in the illogical arguments is simply breathtaking throughout the book.

Review: The Da Vinci Code revisited in Books JoeUser Forums

I was ransacking my bookshelfs the other day looking for Harry Potter book 1 to give to a friend, and I rediscovered my copy of Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code. I know that his book created quite a stir back in the day due to the conspiracy of Mary Magdalene and Jesus and their supposed offspring and subsequent royal dynasty of the Merovingians. Many religious people were outraged and warned against the dangers such statements could produ

Reply to Living the Dream...Again in Misc Stardock Forums

You know, I wouldn't actually mind a speedlimit of 140km/h or thereabout. It's still plenty fast if you ask me. It is the one thing I found really relaxing in the states, everybody going at the same speed with no hectic passing and worrying about those crazy idiots who just keep driving 180km/h and assume you'll just move out of the way. The only thing that is really nuts on the interstates is that you can pass on the right side.. and automatic cars. It wouldn't be fun to drive highspeeds in

Reply to Living the Dream...Again in Misc Stardock Forums

I never realized it would be a strange sight to see mercedeces lined up as Taxi's - it's totally normal here. You hardly see other cars as taxis Regular police cruisers used to be mercedes as well, but that changed. They got a new lease with VW and so that's what they drive in Freiburg. They also stopped using the colour green and white and went with the international trend of blue and white. I hardly notice them now as policecars because I am used to them being green. Now you ha

Reply to Dangerous neighbours: Bishkek counts on Russians and Americans in War on Terror JoeUser Forums

They still have lots of tanks, but do they also have the gas to run them, spare parts and mechanics.. the money to pay the soldiers a decent wage? Russia has draft, and I know some musicians who came to germany to study music and who have to be careful to go back home to not be drafted right away. A soldiers life in russia isn't really alot of fun.. I once saw this really disheartening documentary about the army. The young guys were always abused and beaten by the older ones, and there wasn't

Reply to Joseph Heller, Catch 22, London 1955, chapter 12 - Bologna in Books JoeUser Forums

So you're saying that your military experience concurs with that depiction of madness, satire and chaos? And ex-PFC Wintergreens who secretly rule the world.. I fell in love with the story in the 1st chapter which had me giggle.. the way he censored letters, hiding out in the hospital. True tragedy is always also comedy, and I believe it without a problem that most of the little skits in the book are probably true to some degree.

Reply to Joseph Heller, Catch 22, London 1955, chapter 12 - Bologna in Books JoeUser Forums

oops you're right.. I hadn't thought of that. I just wanted to show an example of the style the book is written in so people can get an idea about this great book. I'll edit the title.. copyright is really important. It would be plagiarism otherwise. Maybe Ill delete it in a few days.

Joseph Heller, Catch 22, London 1955, chapter 12 - Bologna in Books JoeUser Forums

First few pages of chapter 12 - Bologna Actually, itw as not Captain Black but Sergeant Knight who triggered the solemn panic of Bologna, slipping silently off the truck for two extra flak suits as soon as he learned the target and signaling the start of the grim procession back into the parachute tent that degenerated into a frantic stampede finally

Reply to I can read in Books JoeUser Forums

I decided to share a chapter of catch 22 so you get an idea, but since it's rather long I'll post it on under my blog. The book is not written in chronological order, and chapters can stand alone and still make sense. This particular one is about a mission to Bologna..

Reply to I can read in Books JoeUser Forums

Catch 22 has become idiomatic since. Yossarian, the main character is a bomber on an airplane. All he wants to do is get out and go home because war is crazy and madness. The only way to get out is to be declared crazy by the shrink, but anybody who turns crazy in war and wants to get out of it is actually very sane, so he can't go and has to stay. The story describes the assortment of characters very well, and there are very odd ones among them. The whole book is brilliantly

Reply to Dangerous neighbours: Bishkek counts on Russians and Americans in War on Terror JoeUser Forums

I didn't know about the HMMV's.. it is a tad emberassing, agreed. But still, Russia is chafing over not being a serious superpower anymore and they are very prickly about others trying to influence things on their doorstep. I just read this other article in my newspaper about the russian police/militia and they were mostly described as orgaized crime, a huge racketeering organization that "solves" crime because people pay to have cases closed, or pay to have people arrested. T