Uncletommy wrote:
In addition to Robbie, Keterolac and cranberry juice with lots of lemon. Watch your intake of purines , as well. They tend to contribute to the crystalization of salts in the body(gout also). Rye and coke has been known to take the edge off, as well. More than n'said.
A not-to-be-named nation rejected a proposed bill that would enshrine the principle of the basic equality of all its citizens into its constitution.
In stark contradistinction, this nation enjoys considering itself as:
a lone beacon of democracy in the [region], a “unique sanctuary of democracy, freedom and pluralism” that protects its citizens’ rights.The speaker and deputy speakers blocked advancement of the bill to the floor of the parliament preventing even the initial stages of discussion and debate. This is a very unusual move, as no legislation has been blocked from reaching the public discussion stage in parliment in more than 5 years.
The proposed constitutional amendmendment would have: declared the "equality of all citizens," defined the nation as "a state of all its citizens," called for "the separation of religion and state, guarenteeing the right of worship for all"In explaining the reason for blocking this bill, the speaker
described it as “a bill that aims to gnaw at the foundations of the state” which must not be allowed.
Though Mr Speaker would not say it publically, the foundational principles of the state include the superiority of one group over others. (Source)
I believe they did outlaw alcohol at one point in our history…people drank more than ever.
https://kurtnimmo.blog/2018/06/24/poof-there-goes-the-mueller-investigation/
Mueller doesn’t have a case and he knows it. Now he will save face by passing off the investigation to underlings. Meanwhile, the rest of us get respite—until the next drummed up load of horse manure masquerading as high crimes and misdemeanors appears on the scene. Not to worry. There are always stories of political intrigue to fascinate the proles—for fifteen minutes at least—and distract from the real issues: endless war and a bankster rigged economy slowly turning America into a third world cesspool.
Check out this very recently posted flyer at Toys 'R US:
Someday soon the pitchforks are going to come out.
And deservedly so.
Plundering by pirates was deeply frowned upopn, not sure why it should be any different for a more sophisticated class of parasites.
Unsurprisingly, the old narrative is so dominant, it’s even part of the the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Number 8: “Decent work and economic growth”. People just don’t think, except for group think.
cmartenson wrote:
one day soon the pitchforks are going to come out.
And deservedly so.
Plundering by pirates was deeply frowned upopn, not sure why it should be any different for a more sophisticated class of parasites.
I really appreciate Chris’ point on the TRU fiasco. Here’s roughly how private equity operates:
- Purchase a low-debt barely profitable company whose operations could be improved upon.
- Load that company with as much debt as possible which is then paid as bonuses to the PE company’s partners.
- Improve the indebted company through a combination of layoffs, wage freezes, shifting of base comp over to variable comp for employees, reduction of benefits, reducing or eliminating reinvestment of capital, renegotiating existing contracts, and increasing customer prices.
- After doing this for several years you typically end up getting an increase in the margin of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), which in our overtly financialized economy translates to a higher company valuation.
- The company purchased in 1) is sold for a sizable profit most commonly to a close competitor who buys it to increase the competitor’s growth (this type of growth is called “inorganic” btw.) and improve its pricing power (most important in cases where the number of operators is reduced to four or less).
Often this happy scenario doesn’t quite work out because I) when you cut employees’ and their benefits you end up demoralizing those who remain making those employees less productive, II) when you don’t reinvest sufficiently your capital goods break down or become outdated making the company less productive, and III) when you renegotiate contracts and increase prices you alienate your existing customers and make acquiring new ones more difficult.
The reason this should be criminal is that when the plan doesn’t pan out and the company goes bankrupt the ones who suffer are the employees who lose their jobs and the creditors who lose their money. However, the PE partners who got hefty bonuses when the company was loaded with debt and who still got bonuses through the increased EBITDA margins year after year don’t end up repaying any of that money back. In the worst case scenario the creditor was a bank and if they are threatened with insolvency due to their loss it’s the tax payer who ends up with the final bill.
This whole scenario has become largely possibly due to the gross financialization of the economy. These days private equity is running rampart to the point of many exchange traded companies being privatized through private equity deals making the problem grossly worse.
I’ve witnessed this process first hand several times over my career through being a contractor for many companies that were taken over by PE and being laid off due to it. Most recently I’ve been part of the management team of a company taken over by PE and have had the unfortunate job of laying off good hard working people year after year for the futile reason of increasing margins, while the underlying business is performing worse and worse until it will eventually cease to be.
I seriously doubt that their will be any pitchforks. As a hedge though I do have one and will get right behind those who lead the way. It is the first guy through the door who does not fare so well
Because recently Subways the global sandwich chain hired Bain Crapitol to find it a buyer because the founders of the company are seeing their once thriving empire going into the dust heap of business failures. So they hired Bain to bail them out.
Remember the old scorpion joke?
“A scorpion asks a frog to carry it across a river. The frog hesitates, afraid of being stung, but the scorpion argues that if it did so, they would both drown. Considering this, the frog agrees, but midway across the river the scorpion does indeed sting the frog, dooming them both. When the frog asks the scorpion why, the scorpion replies that it was in its nature to do so.”
The best way to rob a bank is to own one.
Stabu’s description sounds like William Black tells of the S&L crisis.
- Make loans to people who have poor credit scores. Advertise this as “promoting diversity” and market to minority groups with poor / unstable employment history previously unable to get loans. You can charge high interst rates as you are the only place they can get loans. Bank officers get big bonuses because of all the loan fees they generate. The bank looks awesome in the initial years.
When the poor credit risk customer’s loans start to get in trouble, offer to “give them a second chance” and refinance. Keep the scam going for several years.
Retire with a huge golden parachutte retirement package and the reputation of a great turn-around artist.
Then the loans begin to fail in large numbers, the bank goes under, but the CEO is already out with LOTS of money. Stock and bond holders take the losses.
- CEO gets company stock as a part of his compensation package. Using the corporation, he borrows lots of money cheaply and buys back company stocks sending stock prices much higher. CEO sells his stocks at the top, then retires rich.
This leaves the company with big debts that may take it down. Creditors and the banks’ shareholders take the losses. CEO gets rich. Never prosecuted.
A clean robbery and getaway.
Who hear still hears crickets at night? With the unfolding insect apocalypse, fewer and fewer can make that claim.
I am sitting in my living room right now. The crickets are chirping away right now. Then later come the frogs. It’s an incredible racket that some times keep me up at night.
I’m completely in love with this world and with being alive in it. I love the beauty of Nature and all of its life forms, each beautiful and complete in its own way.
So do I. I am just starting to hear the first frogs of the evening. The noise is getting louder.
I am a US citizen who has moved to Costa Rica.
One of the many reasons I moved here was to join a community (the citizens and residents of Costa Rica) that respect and preserve nature to the best of their ability. The country is part of the developing world. However, I believe it is developing in a way that is different than most. About 99.9% of our electricity comes from renewable sources. About 25% of the land of Costa Rica is protected either in national parks or preserves. The country has a national goal of being carbon neutral by 2021. We probably won’t make it, but at least the government is working to get everyone is moving the the right direction.
Costa Rica follows the basic economic rules as other countries. Luckily, Costa Rica is still in the “developing” stage so it can embrace both capitalism and its natural resources.
Not everything is perfect here. This is a developing country and many of it’s citizens and residents are in the early stages of learning why it is important to preserve and protect the countries natural beauty and resources.
I not saying this to gloat. I am just trying to point out that the world is not necessarily marching in the same direction everywhere. If you are tired and depressed about the way things are going in the US, you might want to consider visiting or even joining us.
brucethompson wrote:
Who hear still hears crickets at night? With the unfolding insect apocalypse, fewer and fewer can make that claim.
From my point of view the planet’s ecological systems were in complete equilibrium until recently. There were short term ups and downs in diversity, population, etc. But those were the natural result of the system’s stabilizing negative feedback control mechanisms. The industrial revolution has severely destabilized things by introducing a self amplifying positive feedback component. The stabilizing parts of the ecological system had to be destroyed in order for the “economic growth forever” religion to thrive, and fossil fuels gave us the power to do so. Maximizing profit required the elimination of those things in the system that would limit them. A recent example of this is the multinationals’ fight to minimize the growing ecological awareness of us useless eaters with the Trans Pacific Partnership. If their profit goals were not met they would be able to sue governments for the difference, no matter what local ecological laws were passed. From what I remember congress stalled Obama’s attempt to push it through without congressional debate. I bet some of Trump’s recent war on the EPA etc is part of a new more obscure push.
Why are we here? Who’s to say there’s a reason. The universe is inherently unstable argument sounds like a promotion of the destabilizing business as usual model. And who’s to say we’re not in the universe’s latest collapse and regrowth cycle. There is nothing we can do about the universe, but we do something about our destructive powers here on planet earth if we choose to.
Les,
I agree with all your comments.
This place is certainly not for everyone. I am actually quite happy that it is not.
What are the major sources and sinks for methane gas? Are they “natural” or human caused; does “natural” even exist in our world of abrupt climate change? How does methane concentration change hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, seasonally and yearly? How does it change with latitude, elevation, and even temperature? Why does any of this matter? Believe me; if, or rather when, it comes up big time from a burst it will affect us all. This info is very important.
It’s very hard to prepare for, much harder to prepare for than plan old economic collapse. It is the worst case scenario but the most likely. It makes me very sad.