Brexit Results

[Eric the Green]

(06-27-2016, 02:52 AM)Ragnarök_62 Wrote: Trade deals or anything else for that matter that are kept secret from the public are by definition undemocratic. The People, regardless of nation are the employers of their representatives. That means they have every right to know the particulars of all legislation up for votes. I'd also extend that to stuff like the NSA here in the US.

Wow, this riff is getting long! Get me my purple pill and a glass of brown ale!

Yes agree, they should not be secret.

Quote: (me)I don't know if I am in favor of the European-American trade deal or not. I of course don't want to see secret corporate control that stifles regulations on labor, the environment, etc.

Quote:That's what the TPP for the US is and the TPIP is for Europe and the US.

If you're right, then I oppose it.

Quote:I don't think it's the common market that's got folks livid over the EU.  It's the power overreach on the part of Brussels.  Arrogant policy makers engender that reaction. In fact in the current 4T, where folks just get angry over the status quo anyhow, that attitude will become a larger and larger lightening rod as time passes.  So also, Congress/US bureaucrats  beware.

Mend it, don't end it. Make the EU more democratic. Don't blow it up. That's what I say. The EU has many positive purposes, but it should allow regional control too and not be controlled by the big money guys. I guess you say that's a feeble hope. But anger over the status quo is something that the media and the politicians like Trump are mis-directing. Hillary is not the Establishment or the status quo. To make change, you need good, thoughtful, experienced politicians like Hillary who know how to make it, not phony capitalist pig posers like Trump.

Quote:So why do economic entities just toss money away then?

They hope for influence, but they don't necessarily get it.

Quote:It isn't unilateral disarmament.   I bet if the DNC got behind Sanders like they did Clinton as per leaked DNC files, then Bernie would have been the nominee. Since I've decided, based on the leaked documents , that the DNC decided to be one sided, I'm going to say the hell with them and again, vote for Jill Stein.  I do not suffer obvious bias by political parties.

No, I don't go there, and would not make that bet, even though I like Bernie better. Hillary won the vote. And it doesn't matter who endorses you; that doesn't define you. Policies, skills and decisions define a politician.

Quote:That money goes for interest payments only and does not reduce the debt load.  Since this sort of policy has been going on for years now and there has been no change to Greece's financial situation, default is the best option for the Greeks.  Default by definition means the debt load just goes poof.

OK I'll take your word on that for now. An interesting topic to explore later.

Quote:Dunno about that. When I see my economic betters feathering their nests, I say to myself, why not help myself?

Because feathering your nest is not what life is about.

Quote:It's a mix of cynicism, anger, and self justification.  I'm not sure which generation(s) suffer from such handicaps, but I'm just being upfront.  The elites do that shit and since anger is the prime thing to get rid of, the act of helping myself makes it go away.  Anger is not a pleasant emotion by any means.  The spirit thingie might work better if/when the thumscrews go away.

The Spirit thingie always works, but it's not always easy to summon given the dense layers of crap that we have on the surface. We need to screw the elites, no question. So, we just do it, and "keep on truckin' "

Quote:But, but, IIRC you by some means there's Saturn messing up Rag's stuff.

Not that I know of right now. That's past by now for you.

Quote:Nope, older folks see that TPIP train coming down the track. The UK got off that train before the inevitable
train wreck.

I think the older folks are just xenophobic and nostalgic for the old days of pure England without all those fereners. Since the TPIP (European-American trade deal I assume you mean) will probably happen anyway, it's irrelevant to the Brexit vote. THAT vote was about stopping the "freedom of movement" whereby "fereners" can come live in Britain and "steal our jobs" (which they aren't doing). Same crap as the Trumpsters.

Quote:Uh, that's for the most part Boomers.  What happened to that youthful idealism?

I don't know. They forgot. They should chill out to some Dead and Marvin Gaye, or rock out to their wonderful British rockers like the imaginer John Lennon & The Beatles, the Stones, Led Zepp or The Who. Older people get lazy and forget who they are. They let their bodies and minds go. I don't agree with that approach to life. Stay as young as you can in all ways for as long as you can.

Quote:I bet you look like some some mix of those tribes.

Maybe, but I also look different. The difference in lifestyle from those old hard days would show. Also, of course, looks don't matter that much, in that regard. My identity is much more than my looks and my DNA.

Quote:I think she's a neocon herself because other neocons like here.  I even have a position in a defense stock, United Technologies in place for the expected Clinton win.  I may not like her, but at least I've done something to profit from her.  Since I can't get those juicy speaking fees like her, at least I can profit from her.  That's another way I mollify my anger.  In short, finding some way, some how to make money on something that pisses me off works wonders to bring peace to my soul.

I dissent from your conclusion. The neo-cons have nowhere else to go. Most of them realize Trump is a wild card and it's crazy to trust him with any kind of codes or any kind of power. Hillary is sensible and a mix of hawk and dove. I would never adopt your way of finding peace with neo-cons. In the case of Hillary, I generally agree with some of her hawkish stances, so I'm OK with her. No doubt she has been wrong on some things too. But, so are all presidents.

Quote:So, it is for good reason that resentment is growing.  Feminists are gonna have a hard time.  Either they defend women in Europe AND demand border controls or they discredit themselves.  There is no other way.  That's a nice feature of 4th turnings.  There arise situations where choices and consequences are demanded.

I don't agree that immigrants are predominantly rapists. You just put them in jail; not exclude refugees who through not fault of their own have to escape tyranny and death at least for a while. I don't understand why some people don't have compassion for these Syrian refugees. It's the tragedy of our time and people need to help them where they can.

Quote:Trump may have said that, but I don't recall coming across anything on the internet news sites that confirms that. All I've seen is that Mexicans are pretty much like other immigrant waves in that they tend to assimilate.

Of course. The point is only that Trump said that, and he got votes for saying it. Votes from Republicans, which proves my contention that they are stupid. Voting Republican proves you are stupid, or at least you've lost your marbles for a while, at least in that area of activity and thought.

Quote:Simple, you answered your own question.  A hard landing would hit the pocket books of the elites pretty bad. Sort of like those messed up Friday markets.

The EU is going to probably do as they should, and let the British elites lie in their own bed. They made their fortunes; let them experience the results of the hard landing they voted and campaigned for.

Quote:H1-B is a sort of work visa where companies can hire foreign workers to work in the US.  The intent of the visa is to relive labor shortages.  However it's used in financial engineering to replace US workers with cheap imported foreign labor.

OK yes; I know that first hand here in Silicon Valley. I think it's mostly used here by companies who think the foreigners like those from India are better educated. I don't think they can get away with not paying them well though, because even foreigners need a place to live, and living here can't happen on the cheap. Maybe elsewhere; but I think these better-educated workers are mostly used in blue states where they have to pay them well in order for them to live here. Blue (especially coastal) states are mostly high tech and have high costs of living. If they are just factory or farm workers, or in plants re-located to red/right-to-work states, less-educated poor migrants will do. There's plenty of those already here.

H1-B hmmmmmmmmmm;;;; sounds like a virus.

Quote:TPP/TPIP override any regulations that may keep Monsanto's misbehavior in check.  Under either treaty, Monsanto gains the right to sue over anything that messes up its profits.  

I'm thinking the Europeans are not going to agree to all that. Have they?

Quote:

Quote: (Eric)
Meanwhile, the best investment advice is not to pick and choose but to invest in indexed funds. Knowledgeable people have proven this to be the fact. Just relax and don't try to pick and choose. You lose that way. The market moves too fast, and big investors have a huge advantage over the little guy.

It's the 4th turning.  While index funds were the way to go, they are not that way now. Anyhow, to each their own.
I just prefer to have a strategy as such.

OK, best of luck with your exams, as they would say in The Village. I note, though, that the reports I saw about indexed funds being the best are very recent, 4T-era reports.