jazzyk

9 ms·

31.
by jazzyk 6y ago
It was just the previous King, Juan Carlos, his son (the current King) seems to conduct himself much better (no corruption, no elephant hunts, no tawdry extra-marital affairs). But I do agree with you that the concept of monarchy (hereditar
32.
by jazzyk 6y ago
Hillary had been claiming Trump's presidency was 'illegitimate' all 4 years. Just one link (there are hundreds of others), for example: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/hillary-clinton-trum...
33.
by jazzyk 6y ago
You assume that experts are completely impartial. Or ethical. They aren't. See "Inside Job" - an excellent documentary about the 2008 financial crisis. Highly credentialed Harvard, MIT, Columbia professors produced reports f
34.
by jazzyk 6y ago
Absolutely, but since we are off-topic, let's just leave it at that.
35.
by jazzyk 6y ago
Not inventing anything. Northeast US: Office hours: 9-6pm -> 9 hours (yes, includes "lunch" where people get a sandwich and eat it at the desk) Note that many people work longer, till 7pm or 8pm (startups, etc). Many people nee
36.
by jazzyk 6y ago
So efficient = working 12 hrs/day and being able to afford everything ready-made/shipped for/to you (frozen and flavorless, on occasion past expiration date). Even if you have an exciting/fulfilling job (a relative rarit
37.
by jazzyk 6y ago
I don't have a problem chipping in to cover those who can't afford it. I DO have a problem with paying at least 50% more than the next highest spending countries like Switzerland or Norway - all with excellent healthcare systems -
38.
by jazzyk 6y ago
Health-"care" costs are rising even faster - premiums are rising 13-15% EVERY year. And the only way you see it in full is when you are self-employed. If you have employer-sponsored health insurance, some part of the increase is c
39.
by jazzyk 6y ago
To me globalists - the top 0.1%, with their business interests spread over the world, completely unaccountable to any government (in fact, increasingly influencing/corrupting governments around the world with their money). And attempti
40.
by jazzyk 6y ago
Many people (even on this board, in other threads over the past couple of years) made similar observations. So no, it is not "just me".
41.
by jazzyk 6y ago
I think you are being paranoid - what has globalism got to do with anti-semitism? There are plenty of globalists of varying nationalities/religions.
42.
by jazzyk 6y ago
UPS says they found the missing package. https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/oct/29/fox-news-tucke...
43.
by jazzyk 6y ago
I had been a subscriber for almost 30 years. Loved their cheeky style and erudite, but clear writing. In 2015, the publishing house Pearson sold their majority stake to a bunch of globalists: the Agnelli family, the Rotschilds, Cadbury, etc
44.
by jazzyk 6y ago
There are people who age extremely well, though. Audrey Hepburn, in her early sixties (just before her death) was stunningly beautiful. She was merely "cute" when she was in her twenties.
45.
by jazzyk 6y ago
Where was NYT's policy of using real-names when they: - quoted anonymous source behind the White House "Op-Ed", - used "well-connected", (but anonymous) sources reporting on the "Russia collusion" news? I
46.
by jazzyk 6y ago
I disagree - many inner-city youths are into super-expensive sneakers ($300 and up), golden chains and other status symbols dictated by the social environment they grow up in. Computers are just not cool enough. Yes, there are exceptions, b
47.
by jazzyk 6y ago
There has been relatively little creative destruction in the US in the past decade, thanks to the Federal Reserve's policy of easy money, propping up badly managed companies. That's why the unemployment rate (which measures the dy
48.
by jazzyk 6y ago
Programming can be often fun, but if we want to be taken as seriously as other professionals: (doctors, lawyers) we need to stress that programming takes a lot of brains and hard work.
49.
by jazzyk 6y ago
Give it a few years As you age, other life aspects come into play - life partners, kids, taking care of your health, your parents' health, etc...
50.
by jazzyk 6y ago
By buying up junk bonds the government props up irresponsible, mismanaged companies, which possibly spent money on stock buybacks and bonuses for executives, instead of product/service development. The way to go is to protect workers
51.
by jazzyk 6y ago
Just a pedantic note - I have most of my 401K money in Certificates of Deposit, so you do not have to pump the market. However (thanks, Federal Reserve!), you get punished with interest rates below inflation, so people, increasingly despe
52.
by jazzyk 6y ago
What about people who are addicted (huge problem in the US)? If we give them money, they will spend it on drugs/alcohol/etc. and will still need to be taken care of. So while food stamps (universal or need based) may not be a perf
53.
by jazzyk 6y ago
Take a look at December 2018. There was no pandemic. The Fed tried to very slowly reduce its balance sheet. The stock market threw a major tantrum (by dropping 20% or so) and voila , the Fed reversed its course. The same in 2016, and oth
54.
by jazzyk 6y ago
Slightly off-topic, but if you consider that 90% of "mainstream" media is owned by 6 huge corporations, which are interested in maintaining crony capitalism (of which the state is a central player) - then it would not be complete
55.
by jazzyk 6y ago
I am not sure what is so particular about this company that the CEO deserved 30M, while neglecting to have a rainy-day fund, just like any reasonable business should. With 30M of bonus, it does not seem like the company was struggling las
56.
by jazzyk 6y ago
Do they all need to be late (2016+) models, though? It seems like most of them are.
57.
by jazzyk 6y ago
But perhaps, just perhaps, the CEO could take $2M as bonus and save $28M for a rainy day? A rainy day will arrive sooner or later - whether it is a pandemic or an economic crisis or a dry spell in additional funding, etc.
58.
by jazzyk 6y ago
Were any execs let go? I bet they all had severance guaranteed in their contracts...
59.
by jazzyk 6y ago
Yeah, but because it is o easy to fire, some companies (especially startups which just got some VC money) over-hire and then are forced to let people go. This creates a never-ending hamster-wheel of hiring-firing - not good for the employee
60.
by jazzyk 6y ago
As I mentioned I had been a subscriber for 30 years. And no, I am not missing your point. There was a clear change in direction a few years ago - as I mentioned, I sensed it, but was not aware of the ownership change at the time. You either

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