But it's painless as it's already part of your taxes, in my country and in many others.
The US system, from what I've read over some decades, is.... quite the opposite.
And for those who don't pay taxes? Which is about 40% of households in Australia, so what?
We work together as a nation to bring us ALL up to an equal (ish) level so we don't have to worry about things like health, visiting a doctor and paying for medical bills.
It works, pretty much.
There are better systems, there are worse, but... the USA seems to be a stand out in the the worse section:(
"Free" and relatively cheap healthcare are achievable, just look at, well, pretty much any other western nation that's not the USA. Yes, it's paid for via taxes. Just like unemployment benefits (in Australia, very easy for an employer to set up, as it's paid for via taxes, so there is nothing to set up).
Sure, there are problems, but that's the case with anything.
I'd much rather have people wasting their life sitting on a couch than robbing me so that they can buy food.
Of my taxes, just $416 goes to unemployment benefit, while over $600 goes to pay the interest bill of the growing government debt.
And a few thousand dollars goes towards age and disability pensions.
And yes, I do live in a democratic socialist country with a welfare safety net, with a progressive tax system explicitly designed for wealth redistribution. It works pretty well.
It's just a shame that our (currently) neocon government seems hellbent on destroying that welfare net & progressive tax system with their idiotic* decisions!
* it's not idiotic if you are, like the politicians making the decisions, already very wealthy, but it is immoral, unjust and wrong.
But in the long run they are likely to relax those rules and allow people to pay a pittance to get them, and tick off extra sales, extra revenue, extra royalties and extra bonuses for the Execs.
I just push (direct credit it's called here, Downunder) $40 every pay to the electricity, gas and water companies, and every 2 or 3 months they send me a bill with a small credit or a small bill. It took me some trial and error (and basic math) to figure out that $40 a fortnight is about right for my usage.
Then the money I've got in that bank account on Friday after payday is mine to spend.
It is quite a funny snark, yes. And was similar to my thinking, who uses cheques these days, and why?
Do you have the ability to just type a bank branch & person's account number into your banking app (or bank website) and transfer money, for free, that way? It may take a business day or two to show up in their account, unless you both use the same bank, but it works and has no fee, you transfer $101.01, they get $101.01.
In Australia, and I thought most countries, there are limits to what is legal tender when tendered in cash. That is, backing up a dump truck full of coins to pay for your new car is not legal tender. I think the limit is as low as $20 in coin in... no, apparently I'm wrong...
" A payment of coins is a legal tender throughout Australia if it is made in Australian coins, but this is subject to some restrictions about how much can be paid in coin. According to the Currency Act 1965 (section 16) coins are legal tender for payment of amounts which are limited as follows:
not exceeding 20c if 1c and/or 2c coins are offered (these coins have been withdrawn from circulation, but are still legal tender);
not exceeding $5 if any combination of 5c, 10c, 20c and 50c coins are offered; and
not exceeding 10 times the face value of the coin if $1 or $2 coins are offered.
For example, if someone wants to pay a merchant with five cent coins, they can only pay up to $5 worth of five cent coins and any more than that will not be considered legal tender."
And in Australia a business can refuse to accept notes and/or coin as payment and insist on electronic payment. Or if really old fashioned and willing to take the risk, a cheque or money order.
"Add the cost of the eventual decommissioning into the tower when it's being constructed. "
Uh.... ""At each of our wind sites, for example, built into the construction and operational costs is also a plan for decommissioning," said Tammie McGee, director of corporate communications for Duke."
Why would you roll back if you had a manual transmission? Just use the handbrake to hold you until the clutch engages and drive forwards, it's a standard part of the driving test where I live.
Ice and snow are pretty awesome things to people who don't get to experience it 'at home', it's quite possible to enjoy freezing weather, even outside, if you can muck around in snow and stuff.
Though, admittedly, the ability to go "nup, had enough, going inside now" is kind of an essential, indeed integral, part of that enjoyment:)
I have a Canadian friend, when she & family emigrated Downunder, they left 40 below to arrive, 3 days later, at 40 above. Celsius. She was not impressed.
Like "Brazil"? I've got a Criterion copy of the the film Brazil, which includes the directors cut, the mainstream theatrical release and the USA release, which is 45 minutes (or 49, I forget which) shorter, since they cut out all the sad or thought provoking bits...
I also own 2001, which I really should get around to watching one day... Oops!
A bit of karma served upon me, and deservedly so. Nicely done, sir or madam:)
I was born about 10km from I've lived in a city for the last 16 years, but I grew up in "the country", several hundred km away from the city, and moved around to other country towns until high school, which I attended at a boarding school in the 'big smoke' (city).
Since then I've lived in the city, country life is a bit bland and lacking of opportunities (jobs) unless you are in one of a few specific careers.
And yes, my entire country is pleasantly climated, Gods Own, or Godzone, as you will, as we sometimes say here.
While I've seen snow and been out in it, decades ago (and in my own country, which has more snowfields than Switzerland) I prefer the heat and the summer to winter, at least it's more pleasant riding my bicycle to work in summer (even in 40) than in the cold (single digit temperatures! OMG!) wet (it might possibly rain!) and dark (it's certainly that until about halfway to work) when it's one of our mild winters.
As a jaded almost baby boomer (parents were born before that war) I'm increasingly of the opinion that the locals (before the invasion) had the right civilisation, wander around for a few hours a day collecting enough food, then socialise. I'm not sure that the couch-potato life of early 21st century is ideal. Sure, medicine and life spans are great, but...
Yeah, I'm too jaded and drunk to think it's the best solution to existence.
Full disclosure, I live in Western Australia, in the capital. It's quite pleasant here. All year round. If it hits freezing in winter it's front page news nation wide, as it is so rare.
Slashdot Mirror
I had no idea that an F150 was a car!
It's a small truck isn't it?
That's why I put "free" in quotes.
Sure, it's not free, as in beer.
But it's painless as it's already part of your taxes, in my country and in many others.
The US system, from what I've read over some decades, is .... quite the opposite.
And for those who don't pay taxes? Which is about 40% of households in Australia, so what?
We work together as a nation to bring us ALL up to an equal (ish) level so we don't have to worry about things like health, visiting a doctor and paying for medical bills.
It works, pretty much.
There are better systems, there are worse, but ... the USA seems to be a stand out in the the worse section :(
"Free" and relatively cheap healthcare are achievable, just look at, well, pretty much any other western nation that's not the USA. Yes, it's paid for via taxes. Just like unemployment benefits (in Australia, very easy for an employer to set up, as it's paid for via taxes, so there is nothing to set up).
Sure, there are problems, but that's the case with anything.
I'd much rather have people wasting their life sitting on a couch than robbing me so that they can buy food.
Of my taxes, just $416 goes to unemployment benefit, while over $600 goes to pay the interest bill of the growing government debt.
And a few thousand dollars goes towards age and disability pensions.
And yes, I do live in a democratic socialist country with a welfare safety net, with a progressive tax system explicitly designed for wealth redistribution. It works pretty well.
It's just a shame that our (currently) neocon government seems hellbent on destroying that welfare net & progressive tax system with their idiotic* decisions!
* it's not idiotic if you are, like the politicians making the decisions, already very wealthy, but it is immoral, unjust and wrong.
Well, ok, sure.
They do NOW.
But in the long run they are likely to relax those rules and allow people to pay a pittance to get them, and tick off extra sales, extra revenue, extra royalties and extra bonuses for the Execs.
The emphasis of GOG being the O, for OLD...
DethLok
Ideally those who disagree should state that, and explain why they disagree, to further the discussion.
I'm curious as to how this FB 'innovation' will pan out over time, if it's actually released broadly.
My mod points can't be used since I've already posted on this thread.
Damnit, I posted so can't upmod this... oddly amusing comment! :(
https://www.gog.com/
Good Old Games dot Com.
Just putting it out there.
Lots of DRM free gold old games for cheap, some for free (if you sign up to newsletter, I think).
Worth a look, I'd suggest.
I'm signed up, and (as far as I know) get no benefit apart from a warm feeling of satisfaction if other people visit and sign up).
I was wondering how long it would take until good old Revelations was quoted!
Surprisingly long, actually, I thought.
"Also, is your annoying relative or whatever hitting you up for money regularly? "Sorry, no cash on me", problem solved."
Or just say "No", and problem solved, as well as some education given to annoying relative or whatever.
It's OK to say No.
And often very satisfying.
I just push (direct credit it's called here, Downunder) $40 every pay to the electricity, gas and water companies, and every 2 or 3 months they send me a bill with a small credit or a small bill. It took me some trial and error (and basic math) to figure out that $40 a fortnight is about right for my usage.
Then the money I've got in that bank account on Friday after payday is mine to spend.
It is quite a funny snark, yes. And was similar to my thinking, who uses cheques these days, and why?
Do you have the ability to just type a bank branch & person's account number into your banking app (or bank website) and transfer money, for free, that way? It may take a business day or two to show up in their account, unless you both use the same bank, but it works and has no fee, you transfer $101.01, they get $101.01.
In Australia, and I thought most countries, there are limits to what is legal tender when tendered in cash. That is, backing up a dump truck full of coins to pay for your new car is not legal tender. I think the limit is as low as $20 in coin in ... no, apparently I'm wrong...
" A payment of coins is a legal tender throughout Australia if it is made in Australian coins, but this is subject to some restrictions about how much can be paid in coin. According to the Currency Act 1965 (section 16) coins are legal tender for payment of amounts which are limited as follows:
not exceeding 20c if 1c and/or 2c coins are offered (these coins have been withdrawn from circulation, but are still legal tender);
not exceeding $5 if any combination of 5c, 10c, 20c and 50c coins are offered; and
not exceeding 10 times the face value of the coin if $1 or $2 coins are offered.
For example, if someone wants to pay a merchant with five cent coins, they can only pay up to $5 worth of five cent coins and any more than that will not be considered legal tender."
And in Australia a business can refuse to accept notes and/or coin as payment and insist on electronic payment. Or if really old fashioned and willing to take the risk, a cheque or money order.
You mean, like in Australia?
The govt buys medicines in bulk and arranges to pay far less than the asking price, and distributes them under the pharmacuetical benefits scheme.
Medicare covers most treatments, though there may be some payment required for some. You can shop around to find a cheaper clinic/hospital/doctor.
Private health insurance covers most of those payments anyway.
It's not perfect but it's far cheaper than the USA system.
I would like to know about these "internet stills", what kind of proof alcohol do they produce and how much does it cost?
And where can I get some?
What about guys that hand out smallpox ridden blankets to POWs?
" It started with nuclear bombing of Japanese after WW2 ended."
Sorry?
Check this list out, it's a list of wars, not including smaller military actions, that the US has been involved in.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
Here's another list of US involvement in what is euphemistically called 'regime change',
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
Apparently the USA has been at peace for about 17 years of it's history, mainly during the great depression when it couldn't afford to wage war.
"all that crap" started, literally, centuries ago...
"Add the cost of the eventual decommissioning into the tower when it's being constructed. "
Uh.... ""At each of our wind sites, for example, built into the construction and operational costs is also a plan for decommissioning," said Tammie McGee, director of corporate communications for Duke."
So at least one company is doing just that.
Well, the deniers have had 18 months to repeat the 'fake news' and they don't seem to have done it, or did we blink and miss it?
The article was "posted on February 21, 2017", after all.
Why would you roll back if you had a manual transmission?
Just use the handbrake to hold you until the clutch engages and drive forwards, it's a standard part of the driving test where I live.
Ice and snow are pretty awesome things to people who don't get to experience it 'at home', it's quite possible to enjoy freezing weather, even outside, if you can muck around in snow and stuff.
Though, admittedly, the ability to go "nup, had enough, going inside now" is kind of an essential, indeed integral, part of that enjoyment :)
I have a Canadian friend, when she & family emigrated Downunder, they left 40 below to arrive, 3 days later, at 40 above.
Celsius.
She was not impressed.
Like "Brazil"? I've got a Criterion copy of the the film Brazil, which includes the directors cut, the mainstream theatrical release and the USA release, which is 45 minutes (or 49, I forget which) shorter, since they cut out all the sad or thought provoking bits...
I also own 2001, which I really should get around to watching one day... Oops!
A bit of karma served upon me, and deservedly so. Nicely done, sir or madam :)
I was born about 10km from I've lived in a city for the last 16 years, but I grew up in "the country", several hundred km away from the city, and moved around to other country towns until high school, which I attended at a boarding school in the 'big smoke' (city).
Since then I've lived in the city, country life is a bit bland and lacking of opportunities (jobs) unless you are in one of a few specific careers.
And yes, my entire country is pleasantly climated, Gods Own, or Godzone, as you will, as we sometimes say here.
While I've seen snow and been out in it, decades ago (and in my own country, which has more snowfields than Switzerland) I prefer the heat and the summer to winter, at least it's more pleasant riding my bicycle to work in summer (even in 40) than in the cold (single digit temperatures! OMG!) wet (it might possibly rain!) and dark (it's certainly that until about halfway to work) when it's one of our mild winters.
As a jaded almost baby boomer (parents were born before that war) I'm increasingly of the opinion that the locals (before the invasion) had the right civilisation, wander around for a few hours a day collecting enough food, then socialise. I'm not sure that the couch-potato life of early 21st century is ideal. Sure, medicine and life spans are great, but...
Yeah, I'm too jaded and drunk to think it's the best solution to existence.
Full disclosure, I live in Western Australia, in the capital. It's quite pleasant here. All year round. If it hits freezing in winter it's front page news nation wide, as it is so rare.
Damnit, you stole my joke! :)