Then the people who actually write quality books would stop writing them - what incentive is there for them to produce material - the joy of spreading knowledge? That's all well and good but the landlord or bank doesn't usually accept hugs in lieu of currency. I also have to assume that you're talking right out of your ass since you refer to PJ Harvey as a truly independent artist. Barring her first release, every album she's put out has been on Island Records, who are a subsidiary of Universal.
"Africa" (as a vast generalization) still suffers from too much political instability and lacks high-tech manufacturing facilities. There are still vast stores of minerals and natural resources in Africa though, which is where much of the economy is focussed. Vietnam is definitely an up-and-comer for cheap manufacturing - they've been following China's lead in terms of liberalizing their economy to accommodate foreign investment, and they have an intelligent, hard working, underemployed labour pool.
I also was downtown (right at library square), and can corroborate pretty much what the DrunkenBum said - it was a core group of people doing the damage with thousands egging them on. For me that's the most disgraceful part - the thousands of people gathered round taking pictures for their blogs/facebook walls. I do believe the Vancouver PD should have been better prepared, based on the '94 riot. However, the giant TVs set up is a great idea. I was in Seoul for the 2002 World Cup - there were several areas with giant TVs set up, and drinking public is allowed in Korea. There was no rioting, no displays of real idiocy, and the police presence was largely invisible.
If all you listened to was commercial radio then sure. But the '80s saw bands like R.E.M. (who I don't especially like, but at least weren't cranking out formulaic pop), Bauhaus, Husker Du, Butthole Surfers, My Bloody Valentine, the Pixies, Cocteau Twins, the Smiths, Violent Femmes, New Order (yes yes, they were just a continuation of Joy Division - except they weren't really when you compare the two) come to fame of some degree and the list goes on and on. The bands I listed there were fairly big bands too, with the exception of the Surfers, who didn't really gain prominence until the '90s. There's shit in every era and there's good in every era; what's truly rare is greatness.
This is not an Apple fanboi - how could he be, he can't even afford an iPad - you think he has an iMac or MacBook pro kicking around? This is a guy who has fallen victim to the wonderful world of crass materialism. He doesn't care that it's made by apple, he cares that everyone else has one of these things, and he had better get one too.
Nor are you limited to linear lines of text with laptops/tablets. Mindmapping software, custom word processing templates, and so on. Additionally, you can format your text, move around large blocks of it easily, replicate it easily and edit it to your heart's content without it smudging all over the paper like a pencil/eraser combo...
All I'm trying to say is that there is no one correct way, and that it's good to keep an open mind.
Unless of course you're an arts major (which I happen to be), in which case sitting and listening to a professor talk can be quite valuable. Take notes on the thoughts that strike you as pertinent, or of particular value. Don't try and copy down the professor's words verbatim, that's an exercise in futility. The iPad combined with a bluetooth keyboard would be fantastic for me. Get something like omni graph sketcher for econ classes (thanks to whoever recommended that to me here, an excellent value) or the like. Excellent battery life, very portable, and useful. Software will continue to develop for it, and it will be a very useful tool. Having an iPad is no more an indicator that a student is likely to use facebook/twitter/youtube during class than having a laptop is. The students who are there to excel will focus and use the tools, the students who are there on daddy's dime to fuck around will do exactly that and then complain to the prof when they don't get anything above a C.
I can't remember the paragraph in "The Communist Manifesto" where Marx discusses the correct method of suppressing dissidents - could you cite it for me? Or is it in "Capital"?
Or is it simply that you're confused about a few things?
That's great, I bank at a credit union too (although in Canada credit unions are usually mandated to make a profit in order to provide services to customers). I would never advise anyone to play the stock market, but your numbers are way off. About 50% of households in the US own stocks.
A better indicator of houses vs family wealth is to look at it by regions, especially since there is such a disparity in America. Houses: http://www.realestateabc.com/outlook/overall.htm Median household income: http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/income_wealth/cb10-144.html#tablea Note that the disparity in housing prices is much greater than the disparity in income. The average home price is greater than the average household's income - but if you SAVE carefully and don't make unnecessary purchases like LCD TVs and new cars, you can pay off your mortgage quickly, own your house and then save more of your money. You do know why home prices have gone down right?
I might not know anything, but I'm not in debt, and that apparently pisses you off. Sorry about that. I know that while my family doesn't get to have vacations right now, we don't want for much, and we live within our means - not on credit. I'll take you up on any economics question you want to throw my way.
I love it - respond with some great ad hominems! Wait, I thought you said you couldn't own a house and have savings.... Many people (and I am neither rich nor clueless, but whatever) actually are able to pay off their house and then save considerable amounts of money. Maybe I should clarify - you shouldn't have much of your net worth tied up in your house for extended periods of time. But whatever, keep listening to those professionals who didn't irresponsibly hand out mortgages to people who should have never gotten them. They would never do anything contrary to your best interests.
of course things don't cost the same in India as they do in America - note that India's rate of inflation is rising, which as I said, is associated with rising wages. The rise in wages will cause them to be less competitive, allowing jobs to shift back to the American economy (which some posters have already discussed as occurring when the value provided by lower wages did not offset the cost of paying more to American IT workers).
The 65% is either one or the other, not both. Regardless, having that much of your net worth tied up in your house is never a good idea. You certainly can have savings and pay off your mortgage - it requires less spending on things like LCD TVs, new cars and vacations. I'm not sure which link you're referring to but I will refer you to the last link where spending on travel remains consistent as a function of income. I don't make much at the moment - I'm back to school and living off savings - so I don't take vacations. That's part of the opportunity cost of upgrading my education - not spending now so that I will have greater ability to earn (and presumably spend) later. I'm not blaming anyone, simply making observations.
First, do you believe that American citizens are beholden to contribute to the well being of India? Why?
No, I and I have no idea how you could interpret anything I wrote in the previous post to mean such a thing. My statement regarding the wages of the bottom 90% of American workers is simply that rich is a relative term.
Second, when the article says that the bottom 60% of Americans have 65% of their net worth tied up in their homes, how can you possibly read that as "Americans have mortgaged their homes to the hilt?" If that were that case, Americans would have NO net worth tied up in their homes. You do know what "net worth" means, right? Most Americans do not want to "participate in the culture of excess," they want to be able to eat, house themselves, heat their homes in the winter, and buy necessary medicine, all at the same time. Is that excess?
Net worth is simply Assets-Liabilities. If your 65% of your net worth is tied up in your home, it means could either mean 65% of your assets are represented by your actual house, or 65% of your liabilities is tied up in mortgage payments. Either way, it is not good financial practice to have that much of your net worth tied up in an asset that is not easily convertible to cash. As for the assertion that most Americans do not wish to participate in the culture of excess: LCD sales in decline for 2010 compared to double-digit growth for previous two years Auto sales in America on considerable upturn Spending on American travel - note especially travel expenditure as a function of household income - it remained remarkably consistent regardless of income. To me that doesn't read as simply wanting to "eat, house themselves, heat homes in the winter, and buy necessary medicine"...but then I'm just a simple Canadian yokel. Additionally - I am not advocating for the demise of the American worker - I am saying their needs to be a fundamental shift in consumer attitudes, and there also needs to be a fundamental shift in the way corporate capitalism is viewed and regulated in America (and around the world). However the importance of the corporation and the overvaluation of the CEOs won't change until consumer culture changes.
That $31,900 the bottom 90% of American workers make looks really really good to the bottom 90% of Indian workers. Wages are rising in India - that means they will become less competitive and US workers stand a chance of getting some of those jobs back. Article
India has a higher rate of inflation than America, typically associated with rising wages Link to data
Finally that mother jones article, while depressing in some aspects, does highlight one very important thing:
In 2007, the bottom 60% of Americans had 65% of their net worth tied up in their homes.
I'm sorry if I have little sympathy for those who mortgaged their homes to the hilt in an effort to keep up ridiculous lifestyles. I understand the sociological pressures that are placed on the average American due to advertising and socialization - but all it takes to break the cycle of debt is to do some simple math, that is - "I make x amount of dollars and thus i should not spend more than y in order to provide for my family." Yes it would be nice to drive a Bugatti and live in a big house, but the reality of the situation is that when you can't afford that, you shouldn't buy it. The culture of excess is ridiculous - the belief that everyone can participate in it, even more so.
Just a quick note - Japan was the world's 5th biggest economy in 1960 by GDP and 2nd biggest by 1970. They were hardly less-developed. They made their money the same way the States did - off war (Korean War in this case). I'm sure the rest of your conversation went the same though.:)
I would just as soon my car and toaster not have a computer. If they do, then yes I would prefer to be able to run third party software and modifications. For the car this can change handling and improve performance or mileage. For the toaster this could add support for imported bread.
If I had been drinking coffee when I read the above, it would be all over my keyboard right now. Bravo! +9000 funny
Slashdot Mirror
meta-pop songs for the win
I was gonna say - the KLF did it ages ago, without any fancy analytical software.
Then the people who actually write quality books would stop writing them - what incentive is there for them to produce material - the joy of spreading knowledge? That's all well and good but the landlord or bank doesn't usually accept hugs in lieu of currency.
I also have to assume that you're talking right out of your ass since you refer to PJ Harvey as a truly independent artist. Barring her first release, every album she's put out has been on Island Records, who are a subsidiary of Universal.
"Africa" (as a vast generalization) still suffers from too much political instability and lacks high-tech manufacturing facilities. There are still vast stores of minerals and natural resources in Africa though, which is where much of the economy is focussed.
Vietnam is definitely an up-and-comer for cheap manufacturing - they've been following China's lead in terms of liberalizing their economy to accommodate foreign investment, and they have an intelligent, hard working, underemployed labour pool.
"Times are changing. Women can do stuff now. And youre gonna have to get used to that"
I guess spelling, punctuation and syntax are among the things that women can't do though if the above is anything to go by.
I also was downtown (right at library square), and can corroborate pretty much what the DrunkenBum said - it was a core group of people doing the damage with thousands egging them on. For me that's the most disgraceful part - the thousands of people gathered round taking pictures for their blogs/facebook walls. I do believe the Vancouver PD should have been better prepared, based on the '94 riot.
However, the giant TVs set up is a great idea. I was in Seoul for the 2002 World Cup - there were several areas with giant TVs set up, and drinking public is allowed in Korea. There was no rioting, no displays of real idiocy, and the police presence was largely invisible.
If all you listened to was commercial radio then sure. But the '80s saw bands like R.E.M. (who I don't especially like, but at least weren't cranking out formulaic pop), Bauhaus, Husker Du, Butthole Surfers, My Bloody Valentine, the Pixies, Cocteau Twins, the Smiths, Violent Femmes, New Order (yes yes, they were just a continuation of Joy Division - except they weren't really when you compare the two) come to fame of some degree and the list goes on and on. The bands I listed there were fairly big bands too, with the exception of the Surfers, who didn't really gain prominence until the '90s.
There's shit in every era and there's good in every era; what's truly rare is greatness.
This is not an Apple fanboi - how could he be, he can't even afford an iPad - you think he has an iMac or MacBook pro kicking around?
This is a guy who has fallen victim to the wonderful world of crass materialism. He doesn't care that it's made by apple, he cares that everyone else has one of these things, and he had better get one too.
This whole mission was very, very well done, and I hope it represents a turning point for a lot of US foreign policy.
DG
It sure does! Public assassination is now part of the game of international relations! Wheeeee!
I know, I know - don't feed the trolls. But just in case anyone believes the above bullshit:
Togo student builds robot out of TV parts
Nor are you limited to linear lines of text with laptops/tablets. Mindmapping software, custom word processing templates, and so on. Additionally, you can format your text, move around large blocks of it easily, replicate it easily and edit it to your heart's content without it smudging all over the paper like a pencil/eraser combo...
All I'm trying to say is that there is no one correct way, and that it's good to keep an open mind.
Unless of course you're an arts major (which I happen to be), in which case sitting and listening to a professor talk can be quite valuable. Take notes on the thoughts that strike you as pertinent, or of particular value. Don't try and copy down the professor's words verbatim, that's an exercise in futility.
The iPad combined with a bluetooth keyboard would be fantastic for me. Get something like omni graph sketcher for econ classes (thanks to whoever recommended that to me here, an excellent value) or the like. Excellent battery life, very portable, and useful. Software will continue to develop for it, and it will be a very useful tool.
Having an iPad is no more an indicator that a student is likely to use facebook/twitter/youtube during class than having a laptop is. The students who are there to excel will focus and use the tools, the students who are there on daddy's dime to fuck around will do exactly that and then complain to the prof when they don't get anything above a C.
Umm in one case a copy has been made, in the other case, no copy has been made. With the copy made, you are now distributing.
Should Zuckerberg lose big here it is comforting to know the Winklevoss twins will be there to give him two shoulders to cry on.
Four shoulders. They're not co-joined twins.
Why would Zuckerberg need more than one shoulder to cry on? Unless he's related to someone else whose name starts with a "Z"
Indeed, even i understood that term, and I'm an Arts major!
But those deaths were a result of the earthquake, not because of the problems with the nuclear reactors.
8 minutes to Godwin?
Isn't that the upcoming blockbuster from Uwe Boll?
I can't remember the paragraph in "The Communist Manifesto" where Marx discusses the correct method of suppressing dissidents - could you cite it for me?
Or is it in "Capital"?
Or is it simply that you're confused about a few things?
That's great, I bank at a credit union too (although in Canada credit unions are usually mandated to make a profit in order to provide services to customers). I would never advise anyone to play the stock market, but your numbers are way off. About 50% of households in the US own stocks.
A better indicator of houses vs family wealth is to look at it by regions, especially since there is such a disparity in America.
Houses: http://www.realestateabc.com/outlook/overall.htm
Median household income: http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/income_wealth/cb10-144.html#tablea
Note that the disparity in housing prices is much greater than the disparity in income. The average home price is greater than the average household's income - but if you SAVE carefully and don't make unnecessary purchases like LCD TVs and new cars, you can pay off your mortgage quickly, own your house and then save more of your money. You do know why home prices have gone down right?
I might not know anything, but I'm not in debt, and that apparently pisses you off. Sorry about that. I know that while my family doesn't get to have vacations right now, we don't want for much, and we live within our means - not on credit. I'll take you up on any economics question you want to throw my way.
I love it - respond with some great ad hominems! Wait, I thought you said you couldn't own a house and have savings....
Many people (and I am neither rich nor clueless, but whatever) actually are able to pay off their house and then save considerable amounts of money.
Maybe I should clarify - you shouldn't have much of your net worth tied up in your house for extended periods of time. But whatever, keep listening to those professionals who didn't irresponsibly hand out mortgages to people who should have never gotten them. They would never do anything contrary to your best interests.
of course things don't cost the same in India as they do in America - note that India's rate of inflation is rising, which as I said, is associated with rising wages. The rise in wages will cause them to be less competitive, allowing jobs to shift back to the American economy (which some posters have already discussed as occurring when the value provided by lower wages did not offset the cost of paying more to American IT workers).
The 65% is either one or the other, not both. Regardless, having that much of your net worth tied up in your house is never a good idea.
You certainly can have savings and pay off your mortgage - it requires less spending on things like LCD TVs, new cars and vacations. I'm not sure which link you're referring to but I will refer you to the last link where spending on travel remains consistent as a function of income. I don't make much at the moment - I'm back to school and living off savings - so I don't take vacations. That's part of the opportunity cost of upgrading my education - not spending now so that I will have greater ability to earn (and presumably spend) later.
I'm not blaming anyone, simply making observations.
First, do you believe that American citizens are beholden to contribute to the well being of India? Why?
No, I and I have no idea how you could interpret anything I wrote in the previous post to mean such a thing. My statement regarding the wages of the bottom 90% of American workers is simply that rich is a relative term.
Second, when the article says that the bottom 60% of Americans have 65% of their net worth tied up in their homes, how can you possibly read that as "Americans have mortgaged their homes to the hilt?" If that were that case, Americans would have NO net worth tied up in their homes. You do know what "net worth" means, right? Most Americans do not want to "participate in the culture of excess," they want to be able to eat, house themselves, heat their homes in the winter, and buy necessary medicine, all at the same time. Is that excess?
Net worth is simply Assets-Liabilities. If your 65% of your net worth is tied up in your home, it means could either mean 65% of your assets are represented by your actual house, or 65% of your liabilities is tied up in mortgage payments. Either way, it is not good financial practice to have that much of your net worth tied up in an asset that is not easily convertible to cash.
As for the assertion that most Americans do not wish to participate in the culture of excess:
LCD sales in decline for 2010 compared to double-digit growth for previous two years
Auto sales in America on considerable upturn
Spending on American travel - note especially travel expenditure as a function of household income - it remained remarkably consistent regardless of income.
To me that doesn't read as simply wanting to "eat, house themselves, heat homes in the winter, and buy necessary medicine"...but then I'm just a simple Canadian yokel.
Additionally - I am not advocating for the demise of the American worker - I am saying their needs to be a fundamental shift in consumer attitudes, and there also needs to be a fundamental shift in the way corporate capitalism is viewed and regulated in America (and around the world). However the importance of the corporation and the overvaluation of the CEOs won't change until consumer culture changes.
That $31,900 the bottom 90% of American workers make looks really really good to the bottom 90% of Indian workers.
Wages are rising in India - that means they will become less competitive and US workers stand a chance of getting some of those jobs back. Article
India has a higher rate of inflation than America, typically associated with rising wages
Link to data
Finally that mother jones article, while depressing in some aspects, does highlight one very important thing:
In 2007, the bottom 60% of Americans had 65% of their net worth tied up in their homes.
I'm sorry if I have little sympathy for those who mortgaged their homes to the hilt in an effort to keep up ridiculous lifestyles. I understand the sociological pressures that are placed on the average American due to advertising and socialization - but all it takes to break the cycle of debt is to do some simple math, that is - "I make x amount of dollars and thus i should not spend more than y in order to provide for my family." Yes it would be nice to drive a Bugatti and live in a big house, but the reality of the situation is that when you can't afford that, you shouldn't buy it. The culture of excess is ridiculous - the belief that everyone can participate in it, even more so.
Just a quick note - Japan was the world's 5th biggest economy in 1960 by GDP and 2nd biggest by 1970. They were hardly less-developed. They made their money the same way the States did - off war (Korean War in this case). :)
I'm sure the rest of your conversation went the same though.
I would just as soon my car and toaster not have a computer. If they do, then yes I would prefer to be able to run third party software and modifications. For the car this can change handling and improve performance or mileage. For the toaster this could add support for imported bread.
If I had been drinking coffee when I read the above, it would be all over my keyboard right now. Bravo! +9000 funny