Messages |
Topics |
Attachments
This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.
|
 Show Posts
|
|
Pages: [1]
|
3
The Tech Section / No Agenda Unleashed/Comments / Re: cComments to #287 No Agenda Show for Thursday March 17th 2011 Death or Worse
« on: March 20, 2011, 08:47:21 PM »
|
I was commenting on the remarks made in the show about the last few centuries of colonialism, in particular how bad colonialism worked for Britain and most of the world. I don't disagree with your replied comments except I don't think I went too far with this. If we look at history from a greater perspective and the what-ifs of some major event not happening, like Victorian colonialism, maybe some imperialistic power conquered the world, or maybe we'd all be counting beads in a temple.
What I'm saying is, yes, colonialism is not a nice thing, but viewed in the perspective of history, maybe it was not so bad because we are presently discussing this topic over a medium we may not have had without colonialism. Perhaps I'm being too philosophical. To me, one of the worse things about colonialism is the social problems that is often created. Even the colonial power itself has to endure the retraction of power and wealth, somewhat akin to being employed by some industry that is going under, where everyone appears depressed and demoralized. Overall though and to date, Britain gained more than it lost.
|
|
|
4
The Tech Section / No Agenda Unleashed/Comments / #287 Colonialism and a Probable Reality to Ponder
« on: March 20, 2011, 04:14:43 PM »
|
Colonialism is often associated with greed and control, yet one wonders what reality we would be living in today if this had not taken place over the past few centuries.
It is interesting that Britain had one of the largest areas of the world colonized in recent history, yet in my opinion, it did not set out to do this. It ventured around the world to primarily trade, yet the Spanish and French were thwarting it at every turn. In an effort to combat this they promoted regional conflicts to drive away their trade adversaries. However, in order to maintain the exploitation of resources and trade, they ended up taking control of many areas.
Of course, there are always elements of any society that wish to take advantage of these situations in their own way, but by and large, Britain was something of an exception in that they tended to "not mix with the natives", something the Spanish in particular could care less about.
European religious zealots took advantage in colonized areas by spreading and imposing their ideals. An exception to following colonists was the birth of America by those seeking religious freedom. Perhaps because most Americans feel they were not a part of European expansionism, they can justly criticize the past few centuries of colonialism and maybe that's OK.
However, for all the grief colonialism is associated with, would we now be living in a non- or early industrialized society if this colonialism had not occurred? No Internet, no phone calls, and maybe "No Agenda"
|
|
|
6
The Tech Section / No Agenda Unleashed/Comments / Re: Comments to #280 No Agenda Show for Sunday Feb 20th 2011 Husslin’ for Humanity
« on: February 26, 2011, 06:54:20 PM »
|
Interesting. The comments you have just stated I essentially agree with, as you have opened the discussion much wider, although I could debate the pros and cons of certain salary structures and its impact on society.
As I had to take early retirement, I was not eligible for SSD because I had not paid enough for 7 or so years while trying to make a go of things myself. My concern is that with so many problems surrounding our economy there may not be much in the future to secure a tolerable level of security.
Government and society is simply not adjusting itself appropriately given the deepening economic crisis we now face.
|
|
|
8
The Tech Section / No Agenda Unleashed/Comments / Re: Comments to #280 No Agenda Show for Sunday Feb 20th 2011 Husslin’ for Humanity
« on: February 26, 2011, 01:41:44 PM »
|
Wow! your comments are seemingly focused on justifying the presence of millions of illegal immigrants with outstanding fuzzy math to further justify your own illegal cash flow. You get the handouts doing everything under the table and further that agenda with illegal immigrants.
No wonder the state and Fed is broke, nothing much coming in and a lot going out in benefits. Is this a socialistic thing?
I've worked in numerous countries, traveled extensively and if there is one thing I've learned from my travels it's that with all the conflict around us, the greatest battle we face is the battle against ignorance. I hate to see people in despair, but bringing everyone down to the lowest common [financial] denominator is not going to help.
I don't think we examine many social issues from a big enough picture, rather they are taken from a limited visual horizon. Getting bogged down in details of the cost of car insurance when they can't afford it anyway (so they probably don't buy it) is simply clogging the debate. Do we want a progressive yet ordered society or should we not care and live in poverty and chaos? It seems we continue to be on opposite sides of the fence on this.
|
|
|
9
The Tech Section / No Agenda Unleashed/Comments / Re: Comments to #280 No Agenda Show for Sunday Feb 20th 2011 Husslin’ for Humanity
« on: February 26, 2011, 01:42:10 AM »
|
It's a weak argument to state "has Probably"
What tax is in a driver's license, if indeed it is a legal one?
Fuel taxes are not really high.
Property taxes are paid indirectly, often with several families living in one residence, which hardly compensates under prop 13.
There is no tax on food.
What is missing is any reasonable proportion.
I don't understand your argument by comparing someone making less than $10 an hour to a person getting $20 per hour working for a Company--doesn't make sense at all.
Illegal immigrants are not barred from certain public benefits such as welfare, medical and legal representation. Their children born in the U.S. do qualify for benefits.
What is the cost of a bilingual society, neglected children that enter gangs, and those that drive around without insurance to name but a few social impacts.
To me, when there is a relatively small percentage of the population who are illegal and working under the table, it's not something that many would concern themselves about. But when some 12 to 20 million illegals are here it's a significant issue.
Welcome to the now world order of CHAOS.
|
|
|
10
The Tech Section / No Agenda Unleashed/Comments / Re: Comments to #280 No Agenda Show for Sunday Feb 20th 2011 Husslin’ for Humanity
« on: February 23, 2011, 01:49:56 PM »
|
I was rather shocked to hear that Adam is quite comfortable with hiring an illegal alien. The problem with this in my opinion is that there is a significant financial impact to our nation's economy costing hundreds of billions of dollars per year in education, medical and law enforcement services alone. Few, if any, pay appropriate taxes and while there is a significant monetary gain to those who hire illegal immigrants, the financial burden is placed on the rest of us. They are too often exploited and their presence also impacts the wages paid for lower-skilled workers.
For decades, I've advocated that the US should have poured billions into Mexico on education and industry to enhance trade, security and a strong neighbor. Now, we are spending more because we failed to invest.
|
|
|
11
The Tech Section / No Agenda Unleashed/Comments / Re: Comments for#260 No Agenda Show for 12/12th 2010 Madoff has left the building
« on: December 16, 2010, 04:08:56 PM »
|
It appears that there is a lot of misinformation regarding the recent proposals to increase student fees in the UK, so I’d like to present a few points.
Comparing costs to those in the US is complicated because the political and educational system, along with laws, tax and culture are quite different.
At the root of this current situation is a growing resentment by the younger English generation that baby boomers got all of their education for free, with a stipend, along with many other benefits which are now being paid for by future generations.
There is increasing perception and reaction to upper executives in the west receiving compensation estimated to be over 500 times the average worker in large corporations. These businesses move manufacturing and jobs to China where there is no concern for human rights, fair trade and environmental pollution, and then sell the stuff back to a demoralized society. The notion that the west should pursue and invest in new technologies appears to be somewhat lost within the current economic climate.
In the UK, there tends to be a greater resentment among the poorer elements of society that scorn the wealth of the upper class and rich, and they perceive fee hikes as being exclusionary. America is an aspirational society, unlike Europe and the UK, so Americans don’t tend to question paying higher fees for a university education.
Parliament actually voted on the right to allow universities to raise their costs from £3,290 per year to around £6,000 per year with some universities being allowed to get special approval from the Office For Fair Access (OFFA) to raise their fees to £9,000 per year. A provision in the new policy increases the payment threshold at which repayment is made. It is currently set at £15,000 and will rise to £21,000, but the interest rate will also rise from the current 1.5% to a variable rate between 0% and 3% plus inflation (using the Retail Price Index). Acquiring a mortgage or loan will not be affected, as the loan is not counted as debt. If after 30 years the loan is not paid, it is written off.
There are some 1.6 million University students in the UK, and the protestors account for a fractional percent of all students, with an even smaller fraction being violent anarchists. The protesters also occupied various buildings preventing students completing their dissertations, compromising months of work.
While there is a good argument for free education and the beneficial rewards in creating a prosperous society, there are those who would make a career out of being a student and love to live off the backs of others. I’m sure anyone with sufficient intelligence and awareness could come up with an effective policy regarding the cost of further education. One approach might be to provide free student education for the first year, and subsequent years involving increasing fees.
The bottom line however is that harming people and property because you are angry about something is fundamentally wrong.
|
|
|
| User
Home
Help
Search
Members List
Statistics
Login
Register
Read Dvorak Uncensored
Check the Tech Section for the Tech5,
Cranky Geeks and
No Agenda Webcasts.
About Us
Clear Sky Clock
44242 Posts
8578 Topics
1109 Members
Latest Member: Niestek
Powered by PHP
Powered by MySQL
Valid XHTML 1.0!
Valid CSS!
| 