wreak $1 trillion or more of economic damage in the first year alone
No problem, we've seen that before. The governments will spend countless amounts of taxpayer's money to bailout the Sun. Then the Sun will declare that we are in debt for living above our capabilities and force us to live in austerity.
Think about it - food gets trucked in from all over the globe (and people are too far removed from the food sources). Water often has to be trucked in. We need oil to transport people around to maintain infrastructure, emergency services and other tasks. And that's not considering our consumer use of oil. When it "runs out" (it doesn't ever run out since it's based on biological decay), all those things come to a screeching halt.
Electric cars are currently only good for short commutes, but we still need long-haul alternatives.
There is one. It's called train. But railway transportation is stupidly neglected in most of the world. Here in Portugal there was a blockade from the trucking companies a few years ago, because of fuel prices. They managed to stop the whole country's economy in a few days. There was no fuel and food was getting scarce. It scares the shit out of me how fragile civilization is. A few more days of blockade and people would start pillaging and killing each other for a bag of rice. Though the blockade was completely illegal nobody was ever prosecuted for it. Such is the power of the trucking lobby.
We have a 3rd world railway system and it's getting even worse every year. Please correct me if I'm wrong, I believe the USA too. There are a few countries in Europe that are notable exceptions, but not many.
Do these companies have any choice but to bend over to the government when they are told?
Yes, they could simply abide to the very own US laws and tell the government to shove it. But I think that's asking too much of them in Fascist America.
My grandfather was convinced a few times to sign stupid utility contracts. He was pretty clever and would never have done it before, but in the last years of his life he was increasingly confused and memoryless. This only stopped when my folks removed all his decision powers. From then on, he still kept signing contracts but these were all null and he couldn't access his money, anyway.
Utilities employ aggressive salesmen to prey on old people in rural areas. They convince them to sign contracts for telephone lines, Internet access, cable TV, and so on, with crazy prices. And this is legal.
There are also many scammers with incredible stories to get the oldtimers' money. At least one of these tried to dupe my grandfolks. Fortunately, with no success. And violent criminal gangs hunt on those sparsely inhabited areas, targeting old people. Oldtimers can't offer resistance and usually keep money and values in the house, since banks are too far.
Fortunately, oldtimers also use to have shotguns hidden behind the door. I suspect there are a few of these crooks buried under olive trees or cork oaks. I won't shed a tear for them. Legal or not, those who prey on old, illiterate people make me sick.
I never said herd immunity is bullshit. READ WHAT I WROTE and stop putting words in my mouth!
False. I recall a previous post from you:
I have seen nothing that makes me believe "vaccines rely on herd immunity".
. ..
I don't know where this idea you have got started, but it's like a meme now... people just repeat it without evidence all the time.
I said claiming herd immunity will fail if we don't start oppressing anti-vaxxers is a bullshit argument.
If the anti-vaxxer stupidity spreads enough, it will indeed fail. But don't bother backing your arguments with data. Who reads that shit?
And YOU cherry-picked influenza as an example, not me. Don't blame me that it supports my point more than yours.
Since we are cherry-picking, I can cherry-pick Variola, which disappeared due to a successful worldwide vaccination campaign.
Higher food prices have shit to do with the nature of the crops. They're caused by the unregulated markets and rampaging greed that give orgasms to our neoliberal politicians, business men and pundits.
I used influenza as a good example of how much pathogens can mutate, you cherry pick this virus and try to extrapolate to all pathogens its ability to survive in non-human hosts.
You come here defying herd immunity, a subject that has been widely studied by scientists, and try to fight it with a bunch of naive prejudicial bullshit. If you want to fight a scientific theory, at the very least you should read something about the subject.
Your nick matches your attitude pretty well. for someone claiming that he's not an anti-vaxxer, you surely try hard to defend their cause.
Pathogens mutate all the time. They can't mutate in a vaccinated population because they don't have the opportunity to reproduce anywhere. An unvaccinated person is a walking lab for pathogens to experiment until they've mutated enough to overcome vaccination.
As an example, the influenza virus mutates all the time, hence last year's vaccine is useless now.
Are there schools that ban unvaccinated children from attending? I think that'd be a more effective way than kicking them out off the doctors list.
In Portugal, kids can't attend public schools or kindergartens if they don't have all the vaccines. Unfortunately, I know at least one couple of anti-vaxer nutjobs and they have kids, so I presume there are a few private institutions willing to turn a blind eye for tuition money. Fortunately, I believe this anti-vaxer blight, like other stupid superstitions like creationism, is almost exclusively American, so the amount of nuts over here is negligible.
Parents who don't vaccinate their kids should be declared child abusers and treated like that.
With Francis Fukuyama involved, I'm afraid they'll be used to inflict permanent vigilance on all infidels that don't bow to Its Holiness The Almighty Free Market and don't read the Holy Bible Of The End Of History.
The empire is not the country. The USA territory is the head of the empire. The empire is global.
The USA dominate over much of the world. Economically via the worldwide spread of the USD, politically via pressure or puppet leaders and militarily because the US have their troops deployed everywhere.
And, like the other empires before, it's collapsing because it's externalising all the economic activity from the core to the periphery. The core is becoming more and more parasitical and unproductive and will eventually implode.
Slashdot Mirror
Metric IS the standard, asshole!
I seriously doubt it. After all, W. Bush was elected. Only once, but elected anyway.
But not Diesel ones. We in Europe will still drive to work while you Americans go back to horse and carriage :-)
wreak $1 trillion or more of economic damage in the first year alone
No problem, we've seen that before. The governments will spend countless amounts of taxpayer's money to bailout the Sun. Then the Sun will declare that we are in debt for living above our capabilities and force us to live in austerity.
If we ever get to 2020, of course.
Does a joint implant give you a permanent high?
Think about it - food gets trucked in from all over the globe (and people are too far removed from the food sources). Water often has to be trucked in. We need oil to transport people around to maintain infrastructure, emergency services and other tasks. And that's not considering our consumer use of oil. When it "runs out" (it doesn't ever run out since it's based on biological decay), all those things come to a screeching halt.
Electric cars are currently only good for short commutes, but we still need long-haul alternatives.
There is one. It's called train. But railway transportation is stupidly neglected in most of the world. Here in Portugal there was a blockade from the trucking companies a few years ago, because of fuel prices. They managed to stop the whole country's economy in a few days. There was no fuel and food was getting scarce. It scares the shit out of me how fragile civilization is. A few more days of blockade and people would start pillaging and killing each other for a bag of rice. Though the blockade was completely illegal nobody was ever prosecuted for it. Such is the power of the trucking lobby.
We have a 3rd world railway system and it's getting even worse every year. Please correct me if I'm wrong, I believe the USA too. There are a few countries in Europe that are notable exceptions, but not many.
Do these companies have any choice but to bend over to the government when they are told?
Yes, they could simply abide to the very own US laws and tell the government to shove it. But I think that's asking too much of them in Fascist America.
How the fuck are kids idle? I can't get mine to sit still for 2 minutes!
I can't imagine how kids get lazy and fat without some serious encouragement by their parents.
Take them out to play. Kids are naturally energetic and imaginative. You don't even need to do anything, they'll take care of the exercise for you.
My grandfather was convinced a few times to sign stupid utility contracts. He was pretty clever and would never have done it before, but in the last years of his life he was increasingly confused and memoryless. This only stopped when my folks removed all his decision powers. From then on, he still kept signing contracts but these were all null and he couldn't access his money, anyway.
Utilities employ aggressive salesmen to prey on old people in rural areas. They convince them to sign contracts for telephone lines, Internet access, cable TV, and so on, with crazy prices. And this is legal.
There are also many scammers with incredible stories to get the oldtimers' money. At least one of these tried to dupe my grandfolks. Fortunately, with no success. And violent criminal gangs hunt on those sparsely inhabited areas, targeting old people. Oldtimers can't offer resistance and usually keep money and values in the house, since banks are too far.
Fortunately, oldtimers also use to have shotguns hidden behind the door. I suspect there are a few of these crooks buried under olive trees or cork oaks. I won't shed a tear for them. Legal or not, those who prey on old, illiterate people make me sick.
...causing people to honestly ask the question, what are men FOR?
I asked my wife, and she couldn't find any reason.
Did you keep her number?
How, exactly, does withholding medical care from the unvaccinated cause "anti-vaxxer stupidity to spread?"
This is a straw man. When did I exactly say that?
I never said herd immunity is bullshit. READ WHAT I WROTE and stop putting words in my mouth!
False. I recall a previous post from you:
I have seen nothing that makes me believe "vaccines rely on herd immunity". .
. .
I don't know where this idea you have got started, but it's like a meme now... people just repeat it without evidence all the time.
I said claiming herd immunity will fail if we don't start oppressing anti-vaxxers is a bullshit argument.
If the anti-vaxxer stupidity spreads enough, it will indeed fail. But don't bother backing your arguments with data. Who reads that shit?
And YOU cherry-picked influenza as an example, not me. Don't blame me that it supports my point more than yours.
Since we are cherry-picking, I can cherry-pick Variola, which disappeared due to a successful worldwide vaccination campaign.
Or just use saline solution. I buy it in the supermarket for a few cents.
Higher food prices have shit to do with the nature of the crops. They're caused by the unregulated markets and rampaging greed that give orgasms to our neoliberal politicians, business men and pundits.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007%E2%80%932008_world_food_price_crisis#Financial_speculation
Of course, we could regulate the food markets, but that would be Socialism, which is baddie. Why is it baddie? Just because.
I used influenza as a good example of how much pathogens can mutate, you cherry pick this virus and try to extrapolate to all pathogens its ability to survive in non-human hosts.
You come here defying herd immunity, a subject that has been widely studied by scientists, and try to fight it with a bunch of naive prejudicial bullshit. If you want to fight a scientific theory, at the very least you should read something about the subject.
Your nick matches your attitude pretty well. for someone claiming that he's not an anti-vaxxer, you surely try hard to defend their cause.
Pathogens mutate all the time. They can't mutate in a vaccinated population because they don't have the opportunity to reproduce anywhere. An unvaccinated person is a walking lab for pathogens to experiment until they've mutated enough to overcome vaccination.
As an example, the influenza virus mutates all the time, hence last year's vaccine is useless now.
Are there schools that ban unvaccinated children from attending? I think that'd be a more effective way than kicking them out off the doctors list.
In Portugal, kids can't attend public schools or kindergartens if they don't have all the vaccines. Unfortunately, I know at least one couple of anti-vaxer nutjobs and they have kids, so I presume there are a few private institutions willing to turn a blind eye for tuition money. Fortunately, I believe this anti-vaxer blight, like other stupid superstitions like creationism, is almost exclusively American, so the amount of nuts over here is negligible.
Parents who don't vaccinate their kids should be declared child abusers and treated like that.
The parents believe in their minds that they are in fact VERY interested in their child's well-being.
Pedophiles and child beaters, too.
Oh shit. I've already been tagged Flamebait. I guess I hit a nerve, hey?
Never question religious dogmas, the fanatics will band together and mod you down into oblivion.
With Francis Fukuyama involved, I'm afraid they'll be used to inflict permanent vigilance on all infidels that don't bow to Its Holiness The Almighty Free Market and don't read the Holy Bible Of The End Of History.
Finally, somebody writes something sane. Servitude was banned long ago. What you do in your own time is your own business.
What will they demand next? That you deliver your children that have been conceived while working for the company?
I don't think it's legal in Europe to make people pay for the removal of features they don't want.
What the fuck is an American military airplane doing on the opposite side of the hemisphere?
The empire is not the country. The USA territory is the head of the empire. The empire is global.
The USA dominate over much of the world. Economically via the worldwide spread of the USD, politically via pressure or puppet leaders and militarily because the US have their troops deployed everywhere.
And, like the other empires before, it's collapsing because it's externalising all the economic activity from the core to the periphery. The core is becoming more and more parasitical and unproductive and will eventually implode.