>>>when Al Gore and Goldman Sachs agree on something you know it's very very bad.
Not really. Both Gore and Sachs will get rich off the carbon-credit trading market. It's no surprise they're on the same side. Now if you said Al Gore and Ron Paul agree, then you'd scare me.
How come the world temprature has dropped half a degree since 2000? Even the Climate Change Congress now acknowledges this (quote: "temperature has plateaud"). Why?
And how are world leaders likely to respond if the temperature drops during the 2010s?
Because those rankings are based upon OPINION, not science. Kinda like those broadband stats that *deliberately skew* the numbers to make the U.S. somewhere around 25th place, but the reality is far different. As the saying goes, "There's lies, damn lies, and statistics." Don't believe everything you hear. Draw your own conclusions: rather than just swallow what you hear.
(1) Russian Federation 8.3 Mbit/s (2) U.S. 7.0 (3) E.U. 6.6 (4) Canada 5.7 (5) Australia 5.1 (6) China 3.0 (7) Brazil 2.1 (8) Mexico 1.1 Mbit/s
More stats about healthcare:
OVERALL SURVIVAL RATE WOMEN-American - 63; European - 56% MEN - American 66%; European 47% (The best is Sweden at just 61% - the UK is only 45%)
PREVENTATIVE CARE regular annual pap smears - American - 85%; British - 58% regular annual mammograms - American - 84%; British - 63%; Australia; Canada; New Zealand - 69%
That doesn't mean I think government is better - in fact I think it's worse because it's a monopoly (as evidenced by the fact they want to fine me ~$2500 for not taking Uncle Sam's proposed product). At least with the private market there's a choice - if Nationwide sucks, then I can try Allstate instead. Or Prudential. Or whoever.
Or just pay cash directly. I can get big discounts from the doctors when I pay cash or credit card (it makes their lives simpler). They key point is I DECIDE the course of my life, not somebody like Gordon Brown or George Bush
I accepted that argument the first time about mammograms. It sounded reasonable that they based their recommendation on science.
I did Not accept that argument the second time.
Especially since the second time mirrors so exactly that story from the UK about the college-aged woman being denied a PAP smear, and then dying as a result of the undetected cancer. They DO ration care in the UK - there's no denying the obvious.
>>>In my case it is cheaper to pay $0 per year for home repairs than to pay $1000 (or whatever) for fire insurance. That is, unless I'm unlucky enough to have a fire.
Yeah but if you save $1000/year over 80 years of life, then you'll have $80,000 in the bank, or $200,000+ with compound interest, and can easily afford to replace the burned-out shell. You don't need the insurance scammers. Worst-case: If you find yourself short, you can ask family, friends, and neighbors for financial assistance (like the non-insured Amish do). Best and most-likely case: You never have a fire and therefore get to keep all the money rather than make the CEO rich.
>>>in the US health insurance isn't really insurance - it is more of a purchasing plan for healthcare services. It would work a whole lot better if: 1. Insurance was catastrophic care only.
Agreed.
IMHO insurance companies are fear mongers. They prey upon people's wallets by making them scared. They use FUD for profit.
Here are the new taxes in the just-passed House bill:
1 individual mandate tax (~$2500 fine for not having insurance - where is this in the Constitution?) 2 employer mandate tax (matching fine) 3 40% on cadillac plans 4 medicine cabinet tax 5 HSA withdrawal tax hike 6 excise tax on children's hospitals (that greedy Johns Hopkins - let's show 'em Congress means business) 7 tax on innovator drug companies (you know, people inventing new ideas to save lives - let's Discourage them) 8 tax on medical device manfacturers (damn pacemaker companies- let's screw those guys) 9 tax on health insurers 10 tax on employer-provided free coverage (damn those employers for being generous) 11 raises "haircut" for itemized medical deduction (???) 12 hike the Medicare tax (thanks AARP) 13 BlueCross/Shield tax hike 14 tax on cosmetic procedures
So for five years, in the middle of the second Great Depression, we're going to be taxed to death. And then, if we're lucky, they'll start giving us free government care in 2015. Well not really free of course. ---- Some of these like taxing Botox I'm okay with. Tax luxuries. But what the heck are they doing taxing R&D and manufacturing companies for? If anybody should be tax free, it should be them, since they are creating the pills and devices that make saving lives possible.
And what the hell is up with the fine, simply because I choose to not have insurance? (rifles through Constitution). Ahhh here it is: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are RESERVED TO THE STATES respectively, or to the PEOPLE." What's next??? Fining me because my new car was a conventional 44mpg Civic, instead of a 45mpg Prius hybrid?!?!? What's the precedent is set to fine people for not buying a product, then it can be extended to other areas.
Damn, damn , damn them all to hell! (reaches for musket) I've had enough.
So who wins in this tug-of-war? The insurance companies who want people healthy, or the drugmakers who want people sick?
In my case the insurance companies lose, since I don't have insurance. It's cheaper to pay my ~$200 per year doctor's visit, than to pay ~$4000 a year to the insurance scam artists. The way they operate reminds me of these guys: http://worldwidescam.info/ They are like a giant Ponzi scheme
Please note that US Healthcare is essentially zero. My dad had a damaged shouler, and they had it fixed just 2 weeks later. (more below)
UK HEALTHCARE WAITING TIMES 8 months - cataract surgery 11 months- hip replacement 12 months- knee replacement 5 months - slipped disc 5 months - hernia repair - SOURCE - The BBC, May 2009
PROSTATE 5-YEAR CANCER SURVIVOR RATE 100%- United States 90% - Canada 77% - United Kingdom
*this* is just one example of many, why people say the U.S. has the best healthcare in the world, because the cure rate is soooo much higher than in countries where care is monopolized by the government. MEP Daniel Hannan said in early August, "The worst thing to be is elderly under the UK Health System..... you will be denied care and left starving in wards."
>>>"Yet another reason why private healthcare must be stopped."
Why? So we can switch to a government system where they ration care, like sayng, "Raise the mmamogram age from 40 to 50," and "We don't need annual PAP smears. Every three years is good enough." That last one really bother me because it reminds me of the story from the UK, where a college aged woman was told "no" every time she asked for a PAP smear *even though he grandmother and mother* had cervical cancer, and therefore she was high risk.
She then developed cervical cancer at age 25 and died shortly thereafter. Government rations. That's the whole reason why "NICE" exists in the UK - to deny care.
So will this new "no denial for existing conditions" Congressional law stop this stuff from happening? I hope so. I understand insurance companies need to watch out for fraudsters, but they should have more evidence than "we saw her smiling" to deny coverage.
>>>This reminds me exactly of the stories about consoles killing off PC gaming.
Yes. And? PC gaming is not completely dead, but it's nothing like it used to be. You used to be able to walk into any gaming store and find wall-after-wall of computer games. Not today.
And consoles used to be a generation (4-5 years) behind computers, but not anymore. Consoles are just as powerful as PCs in terms of sound and graphics, and a heck of a lot easier to use (no need to frak-around with settings or upgrading video cards).
I don't know. Right now I'm geeking-out about all the cool things the article suggested. I never thought to use my cellphone as an alarm clock. I'll have to try that next time I'm in a hotel.
I still don't want to get rid of my landline. The other day when my DSL stopped working, the dialup was the only connection I still had to the net. Downloading the latest episode of V over 50k may not be fun (took 6 hours) but at least I got to see it. And I was still able to keep up with my email and facebook.
I haven't used a watch in almost two decades. Simply put, clocks are ubiquitous. In fact there's several in front of me right now - one on the computer, one on the VCR, and one on the television. When I was a student the time was above every classroom door, and at work, it's typically on a nearby wall or on my PC or on the break room TV. There is almost no time when I am not within sight of a clock which is why the watch I bought 20 years ago still looks new.
From Asimov's story: "Divide twenty-seven by thirteen. Take it to six places."
Five minutes later Shuman said, "Two point oh seven six nine two three."
Is it sad that I've forgotten how to do long division? Let's see:
Anon. Coward wrote: No one gives a flying fuck about your toy OS, oldfag.
I could say the same about Linux or Mac. But I'm not a little kid anymore, and don't feel the need to insult people. Let us all know when you grow up little coward.
Not stupidity. Corruption. Here is your typical Pittsburgh-area politician in action. Both cities suffer from extreme corruption within: Timestamp 1:00 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yS4rRl5B7NI
Slashdot Mirror
>>>when Al Gore and Goldman Sachs agree on something you know it's very very bad.
Not really. Both Gore and Sachs will get rich off the carbon-credit trading market. It's no surprise they're on the same side. Now if you said Al Gore and Ron Paul agree, then you'd scare me.
Burning dead plants of course. i.e. Fossil fuels. Nobody denies that.
+1 informative. Next question:
How come the world temprature has dropped half a degree since 2000? Even the Climate Change Congress now acknowledges this (quote: "temperature has plateaud"). Why?
And how are world leaders likely to respond if the temperature drops during the 2010s?
Because those rankings are based upon OPINION, not science. Kinda like those broadband stats that *deliberately skew* the numbers to make the U.S. somewhere around 25th place, but the reality is far different. As the saying goes, "There's lies, damn lies, and statistics." Don't believe everything you hear. Draw your own conclusions: rather than just swallow what you hear.
(1) Russian Federation 8.3 Mbit/s
(2) U.S. 7.0
(3) E.U. 6.6
(4) Canada 5.7
(5) Australia 5.1
(6) China 3.0
(7) Brazil 2.1
(8) Mexico 1.1 Mbit/s
More stats about healthcare:
OVERALL SURVIVAL RATE
WOMEN-American - 63; European - 56%
MEN - American 66%; European 47% (The best is Sweden at just 61% - the UK is only 45%)
PREVENTATIVE CARE
regular annual pap smears - American - 85%; British - 58%
regular annual mammograms - American - 84%; British - 63%; Australia; Canada; New Zealand - 69%
I could fill-up these whole page with stats showing how U.S. care is superior to worldcare, but I'm tired of typing. Here's a link:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=U.S.+survival+rate&aq=f&oq=&aqi=
I heard somewhere on TV that insurance companies only earned 1% profit last year. That's less than Microsoft and Apple earned. Greedy MS and Apple. ;-)
Ya know I think woman just won the lottery.
She's hire a lawyer, drag the insurance company to court, win, and then collect several million dollars. I bet that'll cure her depression
I agree. Insurance companies can be bad.
That doesn't mean I think government is better - in fact I think it's worse because it's a monopoly (as evidenced by the fact they want to fine me ~$2500 for not taking Uncle Sam's proposed product). At least with the private market there's a choice - if Nationwide sucks, then I can try Allstate instead. Or Prudential. Or whoever.
Or just pay cash directly. I can get big discounts from the doctors when I pay cash or credit card (it makes their lives simpler). They key point is I DECIDE the course of my life, not somebody like Gordon Brown or George Bush
I accepted that argument the first time about mammograms. It sounded reasonable that they based their recommendation on science.
I did Not accept that argument the second time.
Especially since the second time mirrors so exactly that story from the UK about the college-aged woman being denied a PAP smear, and then dying as a result of the undetected cancer. They DO ration care in the UK - there's no denying the obvious.
>>>In my case it is cheaper to pay $0 per year for home repairs than to pay $1000 (or whatever) for fire insurance. That is, unless I'm unlucky enough to have a fire.
Yeah but if you save $1000/year over 80 years of life, then you'll have $80,000 in the bank, or $200,000+ with compound interest, and can easily afford to replace the burned-out shell. You don't need the insurance scammers. Worst-case: If you find yourself short, you can ask family, friends, and neighbors for financial assistance (like the non-insured Amish do). Best and most-likely case: You never have a fire and therefore get to keep all the money rather than make the CEO rich.
>>>in the US health insurance isn't really insurance - it is more of a purchasing plan for healthcare services. It would work a whole lot better if: 1. Insurance was catastrophic care only.
Agreed.
IMHO insurance companies are fear mongers. They prey upon people's wallets by making them scared. They use FUD for profit.
P.S.
Here are the new taxes in the just-passed House bill:
1 individual mandate tax (~$2500 fine for not having insurance - where is this in the Constitution?)
2 employer mandate tax (matching fine)
3 40% on cadillac plans
4 medicine cabinet tax
5 HSA withdrawal tax hike
6 excise tax on children's hospitals (that greedy Johns Hopkins - let's show 'em Congress means business)
7 tax on innovator drug companies (you know, people inventing new ideas to save lives - let's Discourage them)
8 tax on medical device manfacturers (damn pacemaker companies- let's screw those guys)
9 tax on health insurers
10 tax on employer-provided free coverage (damn those employers for being generous)
11 raises "haircut" for itemized medical deduction (???)
12 hike the Medicare tax (thanks AARP)
13 BlueCross/Shield tax hike
14 tax on cosmetic procedures
So for five years, in the middle of the second Great Depression, we're going to be taxed to death. And then, if we're lucky, they'll start giving us free government care in 2015. Well not really free of course. ---- Some of these like taxing Botox I'm okay with. Tax luxuries. But what the heck are they doing taxing R&D and manufacturing companies for? If anybody should be tax free, it should be them, since they are creating the pills and devices that make saving lives possible.
And what the hell is up with the fine, simply because I choose to not have insurance? (rifles through Constitution). Ahhh here it is: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are RESERVED TO THE STATES respectively, or to the PEOPLE." What's next??? Fining me because my new car was a conventional 44mpg Civic, instead of a 45mpg Prius hybrid?!?!? What's the precedent is set to fine people for not buying a product, then it can be extended to other areas.
Damn, damn , damn them all to hell!
(reaches for musket)
I've had enough.
So who wins in this tug-of-war? The insurance companies who want people healthy, or the drugmakers who want people sick?
In my case the insurance companies lose, since I don't have insurance. It's cheaper to pay my ~$200 per year doctor's visit, than to pay ~$4000 a year to the insurance scam artists. The way they operate reminds me of these guys: http://worldwidescam.info/ They are like a giant Ponzi scheme
Please note that US Healthcare is essentially zero. My dad had a damaged shouler, and they had it fixed just 2 weeks later. (more below)
UK HEALTHCARE WAITING TIMES
8 months - cataract surgery
11 months- hip replacement
12 months- knee replacement
5 months - slipped disc
5 months - hernia repair
- SOURCE - The BBC, May 2009
PROSTATE 5-YEAR CANCER SURVIVOR RATE
100%- United States
90% - Canada
77% - United Kingdom
*this* is just one example of many, why people say the U.S. has the best healthcare in the world, because the cure rate is soooo much higher than in countries where care is monopolized by the government. MEP Daniel Hannan said in early August, "The worst thing to be is elderly under the UK Health System..... you will be denied care and left starving in wards."
>>>"Yet another reason why private healthcare must be stopped."
Why? So we can switch to a government system where they ration care, like sayng, "Raise the mmamogram age from 40 to 50," and "We don't need annual PAP smears. Every three years is good enough." That last one really bother me because it reminds me of the story from the UK, where a college aged woman was told "no" every time she asked for a PAP smear *even though he grandmother and mother* had cervical cancer, and therefore she was high risk.
She then developed cervical cancer at age 25 and died shortly thereafter. Government rations. That's the whole reason why "NICE" exists in the UK - to deny care.
So will this new "no denial for existing conditions" Congressional law stop this stuff from happening? I hope so. I understand insurance companies need to watch out for fraudsters, but they should have more evidence than "we saw her smiling" to deny coverage.
Huh?
If you say so. I only see the differences if I get within an inch of my screen. Otherwise I'd never see anything different.
Now compare these two photos, one from a 1985 console, and the other from a 1985 computer. See? The difference used to be huge:
console - http://ryangenno.tripod.com/images/R-TypeSMS-ick.gif
computer - http://www.lemonamiga.com/games/screenshots/full/r-type_03.png
"That's what she said." But I still beg.
>>>It's easy to come up with $0.50 for a call, but $30-40/month is beyond a lot of people's budgets around here.
My cellphone only costs 18 cents per minute of use. That's within their budgets.
>>>This reminds me exactly of the stories about consoles killing off PC gaming.
Yes. And? PC gaming is not completely dead, but it's nothing like it used to be. You used to be able to walk into any gaming store and find wall-after-wall of computer games. Not today.
And consoles used to be a generation (4-5 years) behind computers, but not anymore. Consoles are just as powerful as PCs in terms of sound and graphics, and a heck of a lot easier to use (no need to frak-around with settings or upgrading video cards).
I don't know. Right now I'm geeking-out about all the cool things the article suggested. I never thought to use my cellphone as an alarm clock. I'll have to try that next time I'm in a hotel.
I still don't want to get rid of my landline. The other day when my DSL stopped working, the dialup was the only connection I still had to the net. Downloading the latest episode of V over 50k may not be fun (took 6 hours) but at least I got to see it. And I was still able to keep up with my email and facebook.
I haven't used a watch in almost two decades. Simply put, clocks are ubiquitous. In fact there's several in front of me right now - one on the computer, one on the VCR, and one on the television. When I was a student the time was above every classroom door, and at work, it's typically on a nearby wall or on my PC or on the break room TV. There is almost no time when I am not within sight of a clock which is why the watch I bought 20 years ago still looks new.
From Asimov's story:
"Divide twenty-seven by thirteen. Take it to six places."
Five minutes later Shuman said, "Two point oh seven six nine two three."
Is it sad that I've forgotten how to do long division? Let's see:
13|27 == 2.0769
..-26
=====
100
-91
===
90
78
==
12
Okay I'm bored with that. In 8th grade we used to do pages of this stuff, and now I've practically forgotten it all. That's sad.
+1 insightful
Anon. Coward wrote:
No one gives a flying fuck about your toy OS, oldfag.
I could say the same about Linux or Mac. But I'm not a little kid anymore, and don't feel the need to insult people. Let us all know when you grow up little coward.
Not stupidity. Corruption. Here is your typical Pittsburgh-area politician in action. Both cities suffer from extreme corruption within: Timestamp 1:00 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yS4rRl5B7NI
Naturally. PC is shorthand for "IBM PC-compatible computer" which by design was an x86.