I think his point was that Obama wouldn't have been on the ticket in the first place. If it was for a lifetime position, the election would be a *Big Deal*.
And I'm having trouble seeing the downside over what we have now. My main objection, is that it would make us like the Romans. Which means either: The Romans weren't as bad as I thought they were; or I'm already too far gone myself to be worth saving.
Either way, in hindsight, I now regret reading your post.
It's funny, the Dems have moved further left in that time span as well, the parties seem to be further apart than ever. And yet, you can't tell the difference in the two most recent presidents. With the exception of the healthcare law, the policies are barely different; certainly not some night and day difference that the campaign suggested. It's weird.
But don't forget, Reagan was a Democrat. I never held it against a guy that switched parties, except maybe on the eve of some critical vote. It tells me at least that he's not some ideologue, rigidly wedded to 'principle'. He weighs his issues against the two parties, and goes with one. Because we get one of two. Ard if you're not willing, at least in principle, to switch over; then your party affiliation means nothing. Because they've got you by default, is what you're admitting, so then, positions and issues don't matter.
And btw, Reagan did change the GOP, but it took him 8 years or more. He beat the in place, blue blood, Republican machine, and he used Democrat votes to do it. So he sort of cheated, and I think they held it against him.
Sort of what Sarah Palin did. Take away everything she's said, and all the coverage; and simply look at what she's done. Only one thing of note stands out: She rose to prominence by beating the long established Republican machine. She beat the Big Oil money funding that machine, not by using bigger money, but by using Democratic votes, along with some Republican. Populist, they call that. First, by getting Governor, then, by getting that guy tossed out; she got Alaskans like 2 grand a year more on their oil checks. Talk about tax the rich and redistribution and all that stuff, hopefully any Democrat would love to take credit for that one.
Other than that, not much; a minor politician thrust into fame by a desperate John McCain, obviously not ready for prime time, and would not have earned it on her own. It's just her talking really; I can't stand it. I think most people have that. She can't get three sentences out, without lecturing me on the values of the mother bear, or some life lesson, or other thing that annoys me; she's a younger version of my mom. An hour or two, and I'm good for a while, and must get away.;)
But she hasn't done anything bad, and she's not that radical. Conservative as they come, maybe, but when she showed up for work, the state was apparently governed adequately, with no huge cuts or fundamental changes, and she pulled off a Democrat's wet dream in the short time she was there. That doesn't qualify her for President, btw, and I'd rather not see her there, so you and I have that in common.
Where we might part ways, is if you run her down too much. That's the only thing that's given her any sticking power, is the media focus on her (not that she doesn't eat most of it up), and if you're too mean to her, then you end up forcing me to jump to her defense. We thus end up polarized over nothing, agreeing on many of the issues, and on the fact that we don't want her for President.
Which sentiment exactly? You just said he was right in his facts. How is he supposed to address the problem if you won't allow him to speak on it?
And this is also why this blurb was intended for a handful of faithful supporters and not the general public. He's talking nuts and bolts because these big money guys want to hear specifics. They already heard the commercials like the rest of us; if you want the hundred grand, they want to hear how smart you are. Romney blurts the uncomfortable elephant in the room truth out like somebody that doesn't have time to waste on a bunch of platitudes. A liberal hears that, is offended right off, that one's worth is judged by their income and taxes, especially by a rich man. it figures, huh?
And miss the whole point. Namely, that not only are these people not paying taxes, worse; they are not earning incomes worth taxing. And they still have to live and eat and spend on healthcare the same as the rest of us; 47% of the people are basically not even making a living. They are just squeaking by, or they're falling behind, but they're certainly not creating any wealth, which is what has to happen for us not to go broke. Exactly what this article says by the way: An influx of capital to jump-start business and jobs at the low end of the economy. (I wonder who would have been well qualified for that...)
So he's telling the rich Republican donors exactly the truth, and the real problem that needs to be attacked, and he still can't get a break from you. Okay, you did cut him a bit of a break, but you still couldn't possibly support him? Or the sentiment that some portion of that 47% need jobs? There's no evil there, which I believe you recognized.
Let me tell you something in case you're unaware: We're broke. Well, going broke; it takes a long time in a country this big. Romney would have made us money; that's what he does. He seems to be very good at it. Everything he touches. How many Olympics actually make money? I believe his Utah one did. And it was fucked up when he took over.
Here's another hint. Don't listen to what they say; look at what they've done. I know your biggest fear might be how far he sets back your causes, even while you admit the benefits of fiscal responsibility. But Massachusetts is still a pretty liberal place, in spite of him turning their giant deficit into a surplus, while phasing in universal health coverage, improved schools and tax cuts. They survived Romney.
They did what they had to do, not only to get a guy to run things right for a while, but more importantly maybe, send a message to the other side, which would be your side, that they don't own you, especially if they get too far from the center. And of course that goes for both sides. I wish you'd give me a Democrat I could cross over and vote for btw.
Is the Democrat that followed Romney more fiscally responsible than the ones before? I'm off to see if I can find out.
Uh, no; that's not what the words you posted say. You might think that definition is implied, but you would be incorrect.
Small government does not necessarily mean social inequality or social hierarchies. (btw, name for me a society ever in the history of man, that didn't have an upper crust.)
But I really don't care about social equality. Many of us just want equality under the law. That would be enough, but you won't even allow us that.
Because in your government, each law is 2400 pages long. Filled with exceptions, exemptions, addendums... A simple working man like myself can't possibly know the law in that case, so he has to take the government employee's word for it. Whatever his title is, he is now Minister of Law, as far as I'm concerned.
And I'm living under the rule of men, instead of the rule of law.
I got no mod points, but this is absolutely the takeaway.
The US depends on it's software industry; we shipped all our labor jobs overseas to trade them for office work (programming). That, and Hollywood, is why we're so mean to other countries over IP.
And now the US government has completely undermined them. It's probably a good time to be a programmer in Brazil and Germany. I wonder If our software industry will be able to recover from this.
"But FYI, the Maryland plan was sold out for the year months ago. I tried applying for it and was put on the waiting list. And told not to expect to get it this year (I haven't)."
Blizz should have realized that they would never top the Wrath Xpac of Wow, and moved it to a buy-the-game-once and subscribe for life model. Continual little updates, new content even (but that doesn't mean level and stat inflation), filling out areas rushed in the past; and maybe most importantly, keeping the game balanced for the best PvP on the internet. They really had it close to the perfect game at some point between BC and Wrath..
I'd still be playing if they had stuck with that. Titan might be finished by now if they had used the resources on it instead of destroying WoW.
Wow used to be like that. It's still baked in, in little ways. All my characters were different, and they played their roles. From unkillable bears to a gay mage that died when a semi rattled the windows too harshly. I really enjoyed questing, and you are right to point out the importance of the RP element, and how it sucks when it's missing. Once, when trying to help a dead little girl's ghost who didn't know she was dead, to find her family, and they're monsters now.. ; I cried and left that zone and never went back. That's role playing, right?
But WoW has eliminated a lot of the backstory, a lot of the old quests; trimming it down for newbies. And yet the more they trim and streamline, the less people they have..
Note to self: When you have a video game, never throw away the good work of previous developers. Generally, more is better.
Fancy (you might say pointless) formatting to please artsy sales types. Also disparate data sets, some related only by the whims and feelings of the person requesting the report. Applescript can do anything in Excel (Office X for Mac) you can do with the keyboard and mouse. They've tried to retire it a couple of times, and the SQL reporting services guy (who does most of the company reports and all the accounting reports) say these can't be replicated. I wouldn't know, so I take his word for it.
I have an original 1.42 Ghz mini sitting on my desk running nightly reports. It was a CFO's desktop for a year, (for a tiny company), and it's been running reports since then.
iCal repeating events tell Filemaker to query MSSQL databases, which outputs Excel files, which are manipulated using Applescript. Mail emails the finished and highly formatted reports to various people in the company. Pretty damned easy to work with, given the magic "Record" button. I used to have it print overnight, but that became too old school.
It still has the Apple serial number in the disk info box - never even been formatted. Still has 512K Ram. Never misses a beat. I guess for 8 years now. Put that ROI in your pipe and smoke it.
I should still probably get around to backing it up someday..
There is another explanation for your apparent dichotomy, but I believe your vitriol for "Evil people/Republicans" is blinding you to it.
You defined the problem: The cost of doing business in Ireland and China is far cheaper than Spain (and the US and other places). There are two solutions to that, although you only see the one of going after Ireland and the people who do business across borders. You could try to make it cheaper to do business in Spain. You can't magically lower the cost of commodities and land, but you can cut taxes. Especially if that was one of the major costs of doing business.
11% would be a decent tax, especially on a guy making millions. Romney's, like mine, was actually closer to 14%; which means about $7,000 for me, millions and millions for him. What's your moral justification for making either one of us pay a higher percentage than the other? Don't envy his stuff, man. Don't vote based on envy, which is simply self-justified greed.
The corporate rate over here is 35%. That's not a tax, that's a freakin' partner. It's obviously too high. "Tax" is supposed to be an incidental cost, not a major portion of a transaction. I'm not talking opinion here, the proof is in the facts. All these companies holding money offshore; they don't get to have that money either. It's still their money, but while it sits in the Caymans, not really earning enough interest to cover inflation; they don't get to have it, use it, spend it; just like we don't get to tax it. Google needs a billion dollar building in London about as much as you or I do. Hell, I guess that's better than it sitting in a damn bank somewhere though.
The fact that they would rather do without their own money, rather than have it, and pay the tax on it, proves the tax is too high. And if they are truly as greedy, and covet their money as much as you say, then you can trust their judgement on this one.
Over here, I am called a conservative, but yes; we are classical liberals.
As your simpler, dumber brother on the other side of the pond; please allow me to condense your thought into a sound byte so we can understand it over here:
If a billion dollar building in downtown London is cheaper than the tax, then the tax is too high.
The only viable stardrive is one that alters the local gravitational constant. It takes it way down, (or up maybe) in a bubble around the ship. Although it may, this mechanism doesn't necessarily alter any wavelengths of any EM inside it. So starlight that you ran up on, would enter your local bubble as you approached, be affected by your warp drive the same as you, and strike the surface of your ship as starlight, relative to you. In your local bubble, you're not going very fast; nothing approaching c.
So, starlight is still starlight, not gamma rays or radio waves when you see it. A useful stardrive would go some hundreds of times c. Then the fun part is the fact that you're running up on light that was emitted behind you, as well as the light in your path from stars in front. Also, light traveling perpendicular to your path; you're going to run up on that too.
I gotta believe that what ends up shining through the window would be a jumbled mess.
They've got business people making business decisions about the business of WoW. Has that ever worked for a game? Hear us Blizz: Never let anyone close to your game (mechanics, story, balance, etc.) that doesn't love it, and hasn't played it for years. It's too bad really. They are slowly blowing their chance to own a significant corner of the internet, in the same way that Youtube and Amazon and Ebay do.
Yes, the bad influences started in Wrath, but it (was) a really big game, and takes a long time to run it into the ground. Wrath was the pinnacle; you could have fun and be competitive in so many different things. No matter if you were the hardcore raider, bloodthirsty PvPer, or a flower picking grandma. Plus, let's admit it, the story of Wrath of the Lich King was beyond epic. Very difficult to top, and perhaps they shouldn't have tried.
One of the main reasons Wrath was the peak is because that's when they really started taking things away. Example: 71 talents mixable in 3 trees, is better than 30 constrained talents, and far better than 6 talents. Old class quests that were hard. It's a long list. On the other hand, most everything they've truly just added, as opposed to changed, is great. Tol Barad (Cata battlegound) was the most fun I ever had on a computer. The Mists farming and cooking stuff are great additions...
The game is based on fantasy; you make changes based on raid mechanics of the day, and you blow the fantasy right out of it. Example: Druids can bring stars down from the heavens to smite their enemies, only because Elune taught them that power long ago, in return for being the guardians of nature. It's a powerful spell on a long cooldown, and you need to be careful with it; you may very well smite someone 30 yards away that wasn't fighting you. Great power; great responsibility, all that. That was the great thing about Wow; the lore and scope of the game is so deep and broad, and however much of that character backstory you're interested in, it's there.
Lo and behold, patch 4.0.1 hits and Starfall no longer hits anyone, unless they were already fighting you. What the hell? Turns out newbs couldn't use it properly, and pulled random mobs in dungeons. Yeah, so? That's always been the case with Starfall. Be a better Druid.;) That's one example of hundreds. I used to tell whiners: "The game is hard; play it."
They'll never read this Opportunist, but just in case, I hope they hear this: The whole game is based on the fantasy. Without the fantasy, it's stupid cartoons running around on pixels; a screensaver with buttons to change the pattern. That's only fun for a little while. A few other points:
1. The Fantasy (that one should be said again) 2. Never throw away the good work of past game designers. 3. Grindy is not the opposite of easy. 4. Bring back Vengance for PvP bears...
I went through the same thing. Families often hide this well, but you'll generally find a strain of it in the family. When they grow up, it takes something to kick it off. Men usually "get" it at 18 - 21; just the tribulations of growing up is often enough to do it. Women often hang on quite some while. I suspect early birth control, possibly combined with pot use, can stave off the onset of inherited mental illness. Both of which stop abruptly upon pregnancy. And then childbirth, the single most emotional moment in a woman's life. (Women are emotionally stronger than men though, and that may provide some inherent advantage.)
In either case, some emotional event, trivial or significant, will cause them to go about a week without sleep, and that's when the real 'snap' occurs. Takes them years to recover from that, assuming they don't have another episode that does more damage. Meanwhile, they will pick someone or something as the focus of their paranoia. Usually the person closest to them. In the case of 18 year old boys, it's usually the mother. In the case of older wives, it's often the husband. Everyone is an individual, so it varies. Probably the most common theme is religion, which is actually not a bad thing from your point of view; as it means the world is the focus of the paranoia, not just you.
The only thing that really works is lithium, which sucks. There is such a thing as lithium aspartate (supplement store), which doesn't have the heinous side effects of lithium carbonate, but they won't prescribe it medically. All the other traditional drugs won't help. And they're not supposed to prescribe the newer serotonin brain drugs for this (it's on the label that it might cause this); but they throw them at everyone, they might be throwing them at her too. And the victim poster above is right, in that the long term goal is to get off the lithium; hopefully she knows she needs a coach she can trust with that route, it can't really be done alone.
I believe it is possible for a person with the inherited form to not ever have an actual episode. It's the week of no sleep that does the real damage, and maybe a person can come back from one of those, but not multiples. These people that escaped the family fate, either knocked themselves out and got some sleep during that crucial period, or maybe they had family that already had experience and helped them. Both seem rare. Victims usually go through this alone, or with someone totally unprepared.
If I have advice, it would be to knock her the hell out if you have to, to make sure she gets good sleep and decent nutrition. Exercise is a big part of both of those. Of course, dominating an already paranoid person is probably not good for the relationship. She will resent you for making her take medicine, etc. A unified family front is difficult for all but the most paranoid to contradict. Good luck.
Slashdot Mirror
I think his point was that Obama wouldn't have been on the ticket in the first place. If it was for a lifetime position, the election would be a *Big Deal*.
And I'm having trouble seeing the downside over what we have now. My main objection, is that it would make us like the Romans. Which means either: The Romans weren't as bad as I thought they were; or I'm already too far gone myself to be worth saving.
Either way, in hindsight, I now regret reading your post.
It's funny, the Dems have moved further left in that time span as well, the parties seem to be further apart than ever. And yet, you can't tell the difference in the two most recent presidents. With the exception of the healthcare law, the policies are barely different; certainly not some night and day difference that the campaign suggested. It's weird.
But don't forget, Reagan was a Democrat. I never held it against a guy that switched parties, except maybe on the eve of some critical vote. It tells me at least that he's not some ideologue, rigidly wedded to 'principle'. He weighs his issues against the two parties, and goes with one. Because we get one of two. Ard if you're not willing, at least in principle, to switch over; then your party affiliation means nothing. Because they've got you by default, is what you're admitting, so then, positions and issues don't matter.
And btw, Reagan did change the GOP, but it took him 8 years or more. He beat the in place, blue blood, Republican machine, and he used Democrat votes to do it. So he sort of cheated, and I think they held it against him.
Sort of what Sarah Palin did. Take away everything she's said, and all the coverage; and simply look at what she's done. Only one thing of note stands out: She rose to prominence by beating the long established Republican machine. She beat the Big Oil money funding that machine, not by using bigger money, but by using Democratic votes, along with some Republican. Populist, they call that. First, by getting Governor, then, by getting that guy tossed out; she got Alaskans like 2 grand a year more on their oil checks. Talk about tax the rich and redistribution and all that stuff, hopefully any Democrat would love to take credit for that one.
Other than that, not much; a minor politician thrust into fame by a desperate John McCain, obviously not ready for prime time, and would not have earned it on her own. It's just her talking really; I can't stand it. I think most people have that. She can't get three sentences out, without lecturing me on the values of the mother bear, or some life lesson, or other thing that annoys me; she's a younger version of my mom. An hour or two, and I'm good for a while, and must get away. ;)
But she hasn't done anything bad, and she's not that radical. Conservative as they come, maybe, but when she showed up for work, the state was apparently governed adequately, with no huge cuts or fundamental changes, and she pulled off a Democrat's wet dream in the short time she was there. That doesn't qualify her for President, btw, and I'd rather not see her there, so you and I have that in common.
Where we might part ways, is if you run her down too much. That's the only thing that's given her any sticking power, is the media focus on her (not that she doesn't eat most of it up), and if you're too mean to her, then you end up forcing me to jump to her defense. We thus end up polarized over nothing, agreeing on many of the issues, and on the fact that we don't want her for President.
Which sentiment exactly? You just said he was right in his facts. How is he supposed to address the problem if you won't allow him to speak on it?
And this is also why this blurb was intended for a handful of faithful supporters and not the general public. He's talking nuts and bolts because these big money guys want to hear specifics. They already heard the commercials like the rest of us; if you want the hundred grand, they want to hear how smart you are. Romney blurts the uncomfortable elephant in the room truth out like somebody that doesn't have time to waste on a bunch of platitudes. A liberal hears that, is offended right off, that one's worth is judged by their income and taxes, especially by a rich man. it figures, huh?
And miss the whole point. Namely, that not only are these people not paying taxes, worse; they are not earning incomes worth taxing. And they still have to live and eat and spend on healthcare the same as the rest of us; 47% of the people are basically not even making a living. They are just squeaking by, or they're falling behind, but they're certainly not creating any wealth, which is what has to happen for us not to go broke. Exactly what this article says by the way: An influx of capital to jump-start business and jobs at the low end of the economy. (I wonder who would have been well qualified for that...)
So he's telling the rich Republican donors exactly the truth, and the real problem that needs to be attacked, and he still can't get a break from you. Okay, you did cut him a bit of a break, but you still couldn't possibly support him? Or the sentiment that some portion of that 47% need jobs? There's no evil there, which I believe you recognized.
Let me tell you something in case you're unaware: We're broke. Well, going broke; it takes a long time in a country this big. Romney would have made us money; that's what he does. He seems to be very good at it. Everything he touches. How many Olympics actually make money? I believe his Utah one did. And it was fucked up when he took over.
Here's another hint. Don't listen to what they say; look at what they've done. I know your biggest fear might be how far he sets back your causes, even while you admit the benefits of fiscal responsibility. But Massachusetts is still a pretty liberal place, in spite of him turning their giant deficit into a surplus, while phasing in universal health coverage, improved schools and tax cuts. They survived Romney.
They did what they had to do, not only to get a guy to run things right for a while, but more importantly maybe, send a message to the other side, which would be your side, that they don't own you, especially if they get too far from the center. And of course that goes for both sides. I wish you'd give me a Democrat I could cross over and vote for btw.
Is the Democrat that followed Romney more fiscally responsible than the ones before? I'm off to see if I can find out.
Yep. First thing I thought.
Actually, the first thing I thought when I heard the term was that it was a Saturday Night Live thing. I remember thinking, 'that's not funny..'
"pretty much by definition"
Uh, no; that's not what the words you posted say. You might think that definition is implied, but you would be incorrect.
Small government does not necessarily mean social inequality or social hierarchies. (btw, name for me a society ever in the history of man, that didn't have an upper crust.)
But I really don't care about social equality. Many of us just want equality under the law. That would be enough, but you won't even allow us that.
Because in your government, each law is 2400 pages long. Filled with exceptions, exemptions, addendums ... A simple working man like myself can't possibly know the law in that case, so he has to take the government employee's word for it. Whatever his title is, he is now Minister of Law, as far as I'm concerned.
And I'm living under the rule of men, instead of the rule of law.
".. UCLA has filed a provisional patent on Horvath's clock .."
I thought he discovered something that was already there..
But I guess since it's *his* clock (or UCLAs), we shouldn't hold our breath on an anti-aging drug.
I got no mod points, but this is absolutely the takeaway.
The US depends on it's software industry; we shipped all our labor jobs overseas to trade them for office work (programming). That, and Hollywood, is why we're so mean to other countries over IP.
And now the US government has completely undermined them. It's probably a good time to be a programmer in Brazil and Germany. I wonder If our software industry will be able to recover from this.
Ars?
No, they are sliding down into darkness also. This was my bastion..
And who is the evil bastard that wants to kill slashdot?
"But FYI, the Maryland plan was sold out for the year months ago. I tried applying for it and was put on the waiting list. And told not to expect to get it this year (I haven't)."
So then, they don't have a plan, do they?
"Am I wearing a tinfoil hat?"
Unlikely, unless you saved a roll from 40 years ago...
You might be wearing an aluminum foil hat. Which is totally ineffective for your intended use of it.
Why do you thing the government made them stop making tin foil?
I don't think it has to get stale.
Blizz should have realized that they would never top the Wrath Xpac of Wow, and moved it to a buy-the-game-once and subscribe for life model. Continual little updates, new content even (but that doesn't mean level and stat inflation), filling out areas rushed in the past; and maybe most importantly, keeping the game balanced for the best PvP on the internet. They really had it close to the perfect game at some point between BC and Wrath..
I'd still be playing if they had stuck with that. Titan might be finished by now if they had used the resources on it instead of destroying WoW.
Wow used to be like that. It's still baked in, in little ways. All my characters were different, and they played their roles. From unkillable bears to a gay mage that died when a semi rattled the windows too harshly. I really enjoyed questing, and you are right to point out the importance of the RP element, and how it sucks when it's missing. Once, when trying to help a dead little girl's ghost who didn't know she was dead, to find her family, and they're monsters now .. ; I cried and left that zone and never went back. That's role playing, right?
But WoW has eliminated a lot of the backstory, a lot of the old quests; trimming it down for newbies. And yet the more they trim and streamline, the less people they have..
Note to self: When you have a video game, never throw away the good work of previous developers. Generally, more is better.
Wish I had mod points.
This is the real guy. Somebody mod the AC up.
Fancy (you might say pointless) formatting to please artsy sales types. Also disparate data sets, some related only by the whims and feelings of the person requesting the report. Applescript can do anything in Excel (Office X for Mac) you can do with the keyboard and mouse. They've tried to retire it a couple of times, and the SQL reporting services guy (who does most of the company reports and all the accounting reports) say these can't be replicated. I wouldn't know, so I take his word for it.
I have an original 1.42 Ghz mini sitting on my desk running nightly reports. It was a CFO's desktop for a year, (for a tiny company), and it's been running reports since then.
iCal repeating events tell Filemaker to query MSSQL databases, which outputs Excel files, which are manipulated using Applescript. Mail emails the finished and highly formatted reports to various people in the company. Pretty damned easy to work with, given the magic "Record" button. I used to have it print overnight, but that became too old school.
It still has the Apple serial number in the disk info box - never even been formatted. Still has 512K Ram. Never misses a beat. I guess for 8 years now. Put that ROI in your pipe and smoke it.
I should still probably get around to backing it up someday..
"It's not right to just judge each case on it's merits."
Think about what you're saying here. Take that statement to it's logical conclusion(s).
There is another explanation for your apparent dichotomy, but I believe your vitriol for "Evil people/Republicans" is blinding you to it.
You defined the problem: The cost of doing business in Ireland and China is far cheaper than Spain (and the US and other places). There are two solutions to that, although you only see the one of going after Ireland and the people who do business across borders. You could try to make it cheaper to do business in Spain. You can't magically lower the cost of commodities and land, but you can cut taxes. Especially if that was one of the major costs of doing business.
11% would be a decent tax, especially on a guy making millions. Romney's, like mine, was actually closer to 14%; which means about $7,000 for me, millions and millions for him. What's your moral justification for making either one of us pay a higher percentage than the other? Don't envy his stuff, man. Don't vote based on envy, which is simply self-justified greed.
The corporate rate over here is 35%. That's not a tax, that's a freakin' partner. It's obviously too high. "Tax" is supposed to be an incidental cost, not a major portion of a transaction. I'm not talking opinion here, the proof is in the facts. All these companies holding money offshore; they don't get to have that money either. It's still their money, but while it sits in the Caymans, not really earning enough interest to cover inflation; they don't get to have it, use it, spend it; just like we don't get to tax it. Google needs a billion dollar building in London about as much as you or I do. Hell, I guess that's better than it sitting in a damn bank somewhere though.
The fact that they would rather do without their own money, rather than have it, and pay the tax on it, proves the tax is too high. And if they are truly as greedy, and covet their money as much as you say, then you can trust their judgement on this one.
Over here, I am called a conservative, but yes; we are classical liberals.
As your simpler, dumber brother on the other side of the pond; please allow me to condense your thought into a sound byte so we can understand it over here:
If a billion dollar building in downtown London is cheaper than the tax, then the tax is too high.
The only viable stardrive is one that alters the local gravitational constant. It takes it way down, (or up maybe) in a bubble around the ship. Although it may, this mechanism doesn't necessarily alter any wavelengths of any EM inside it. So starlight that you ran up on, would enter your local bubble as you approached, be affected by your warp drive the same as you, and strike the surface of your ship as starlight, relative to you. In your local bubble, you're not going very fast; nothing approaching c.
So, starlight is still starlight, not gamma rays or radio waves when you see it. A useful stardrive would go some hundreds of times c. Then the fun part is the fact that you're running up on light that was emitted behind you, as well as the light in your path from stars in front. Also, light traveling perpendicular to your path; you're going to run up on that too.
I gotta believe that what ends up shining through the window would be a jumbled mess.
Nor really, no. They might leave a wake though.
Yep. Yep. Yep.
They've got business people making business decisions about the business of WoW. Has that ever worked for a game? Hear us Blizz: Never let anyone close to your game (mechanics, story, balance, etc.) that doesn't love it, and hasn't played it for years. It's too bad really. They are slowly blowing their chance to own a significant corner of the internet, in the same way that Youtube and Amazon and Ebay do.
Yes, the bad influences started in Wrath, but it (was) a really big game, and takes a long time to run it into the ground. Wrath was the pinnacle; you could have fun and be competitive in so many different things. No matter if you were the hardcore raider, bloodthirsty PvPer, or a flower picking grandma. Plus, let's admit it, the story of Wrath of the Lich King was beyond epic. Very difficult to top, and perhaps they shouldn't have tried.
One of the main reasons Wrath was the peak is because that's when they really started taking things away. Example: 71 talents mixable in 3 trees, is better than 30 constrained talents, and far better than 6 talents. Old class quests that were hard. It's a long list. On the other hand, most everything they've truly just added, as opposed to changed, is great. Tol Barad (Cata battlegound) was the most fun I ever had on a computer. The Mists farming and cooking stuff are great additions...
The game is based on fantasy; you make changes based on raid mechanics of the day, and you blow the fantasy right out of it. Example: Druids can bring stars down from the heavens to smite their enemies, only because Elune taught them that power long ago, in return for being the guardians of nature. It's a powerful spell on a long cooldown, and you need to be careful with it; you may very well smite someone 30 yards away that wasn't fighting you. Great power; great responsibility, all that. That was the great thing about Wow; the lore and scope of the game is so deep and broad, and however much of that character backstory you're interested in, it's there.
Lo and behold, patch 4.0.1 hits and Starfall no longer hits anyone, unless they were already fighting you. What the hell? Turns out newbs couldn't use it properly, and pulled random mobs in dungeons. Yeah, so? That's always been the case with Starfall. Be a better Druid. ;) That's one example of hundreds. I used to tell whiners: "The game is hard; play it."
They'll never read this Opportunist, but just in case, I hope they hear this: The whole game is based on the fantasy. Without the fantasy, it's stupid cartoons running around on pixels; a screensaver with buttons to change the pattern. That's only fun for a little while. A few other points:
1. The Fantasy (that one should be said again)
2. Never throw away the good work of past game designers.
3. Grindy is not the opposite of easy.
4. Bring back Vengance for PvP bears...
(Yes, I'm bitter.)
I went through the same thing. Families often hide this well, but you'll generally find a strain of it in the family. When they grow up, it takes something to kick it off. Men usually "get" it at 18 - 21; just the tribulations of growing up is often enough to do it. Women often hang on quite some while. I suspect early birth control, possibly combined with pot use, can stave off the onset of inherited mental illness. Both of which stop abruptly upon pregnancy. And then childbirth, the single most emotional moment in a woman's life. (Women are emotionally stronger than men though, and that may provide some inherent advantage.)
In either case, some emotional event, trivial or significant, will cause them to go about a week without sleep, and that's when the real 'snap' occurs. Takes them years to recover from that, assuming they don't have another episode that does more damage. Meanwhile, they will pick someone or something as the focus of their paranoia. Usually the person closest to them. In the case of 18 year old boys, it's usually the mother. In the case of older wives, it's often the husband. Everyone is an individual, so it varies. Probably the most common theme is religion, which is actually not a bad thing from your point of view; as it means the world is the focus of the paranoia, not just you.
The only thing that really works is lithium, which sucks. There is such a thing as lithium aspartate (supplement store), which doesn't have the heinous side effects of lithium carbonate, but they won't prescribe it medically. All the other traditional drugs won't help. And they're not supposed to prescribe the newer serotonin brain drugs for this (it's on the label that it might cause this); but they throw them at everyone, they might be throwing them at her too. And the victim poster above is right, in that the long term goal is to get off the lithium; hopefully she knows she needs a coach she can trust with that route, it can't really be done alone.
I believe it is possible for a person with the inherited form to not ever have an actual episode. It's the week of no sleep that does the real damage, and maybe a person can come back from one of those, but not multiples. These people that escaped the family fate, either knocked themselves out and got some sleep during that crucial period, or maybe they had family that already had experience and helped them. Both seem rare. Victims usually go through this alone, or with someone totally unprepared.
If I have advice, it would be to knock her the hell out if you have to, to make sure she gets good sleep and decent nutrition. Exercise is a big part of both of those. Of course, dominating an already paranoid person is probably not good for the relationship. She will resent you for making her take medicine, etc. A unified family front is difficult for all but the most paranoid to contradict. Good luck.
That money just buys the status quo. Put their backs against the wall, and things may change.
But they won't have to give the money back, or anything crazy like that.
Post of the month.