For anyone who has their youth still and their natural talents whether they be strength, intelligence, looks, whatever you have, I have a message to all of you: Build something.
It doesn't matter what your natural talent, it will fade.
In our superficial world everyone knows about looks, that eventually you're not a hot young thing anymore, but eventually your looks fade, and you better hope you built something because if you didn't then you won't have anything.
If you're intelligent, let me warn you: As you get older your mind slows down. You will hit a peak, and after that you'll have to work a little harder every year, you'll be a little dimmer every year, you'll have to fight to remember that fact a little more every year, and eventually your intelligence will fade and you better hope you built something because if you didn't you won't have anything.
If you're strong, let me warn you: As you get older, your body will lose its strength. You will be stronger than anyone but as time goes on you won't be able to keep up with the exercise, you won't be able to work hard enough, and some brat will come up behind you and overwhelm you, and you better hope you build something because if you didn't you won't have anything.
Over the years you can build wisdom, a body of knowledge and experience that doesn't rely on pure intelligence. You can build relationships, bonds with other people that don't rely on looks. You can build gravitas, the ability to get people's attention without relying on strength. You can build the next generation, a chance to live on in what you impart upon those who come after you. You can even build resources, a bunch of stuff so you don't need to live hand to mouth. There's many more ways you can build something, but it doesn't really matter as much as just building something.
We're seeing it right now, a generation that was never told tomorrow would come, who was always told they were the future without every being told that someday that future would come and you better be ready, who was never told there would be consequences to squandering their gifts. They get older, their natural gifts fade, they never built anything, and they panic and they get really angry.
When I was young and starting my career, I was told all the time "the baby boomers will be retiring soon, and then there's going to be a bunch of jobs out there!" -- It was always a thing that was coming, a thing that was on its way, and there were people who complained that they hadn't retired yet. Well, that day has arrived, and there's all kinds of jobs for someone who has built something -- but most people haven't built any of it! It doesn't matter if the boomers retire for these people because those people aren't in any position to be hired for these jobs. Doesn't matter the opportunity because they never built anything.
Young men who aren't successful have taken to hating themselves and claiming they'll never accomplish anything. They call themselves "Incel", a portmanteau of Involuntary Celibate. These people have the opposite problem: They don't realize that they can build something. Often they've been beaten down and told they can't. They've been told that they'll always be losers and that they shouldn't even try to be anything but. This is a tragedy, because we all have the potential to build something. Thinking that we will always be what we are now is a bad thing for the gifted, but it's also a bad thing for the ungifted. If you put in the effort, you can build something even if you feel like you're useless today.
Humans have had a large number of evolutionary advantages over the millennia. Today we're the smartest creature on the planet, we have uniquely powerful language skills, we are uniquely powerful tool users, but our first advantage evolved on the savanna. The reason we're hairless apes is that our bodies are covered in sweat glands, and our entire body is an endurance machine. Our upright locomotion, the way our hips are set up, the way we can sway our arms, it's all set up so we are capable of running longer than most any other creature. We were able to chase down prey until it became exhausted and we could catch up and get a meal. That was the first step on our way to our current situation. That endurance persists in our psyche. Most creatures on earth might plan ahead for a season, possibly a year. Humans can plan ahead decades, and they can stick with those plans for those decades. It's that ability to plan ahead so far, and to work for years to achieve a master plan that lets us have the most incredible lifestyle of any creature, even compared to other reasonably intelligent creatures.
You're a human, so act like it. Plan ahead, follow your plan, and build something. If you are like the mosquito and think only for the moment, if you're like the bird and plan only for the season, then you're going to wake up one day and realize you've lost everything you had and you can't get it back.
It doesn't matter what your natural talent, it will fade.
In our superficial world everyone knows about looks, that eventually you're not a hot young thing anymore, but eventually your looks fade, and you better hope you built something because if you didn't then you won't have anything.
If you're intelligent, let me warn you: As you get older your mind slows down. You will hit a peak, and after that you'll have to work a little harder every year, you'll be a little dimmer every year, you'll have to fight to remember that fact a little more every year, and eventually your intelligence will fade and you better hope you built something because if you didn't you won't have anything.
If you're strong, let me warn you: As you get older, your body will lose its strength. You will be stronger than anyone but as time goes on you won't be able to keep up with the exercise, you won't be able to work hard enough, and some brat will come up behind you and overwhelm you, and you better hope you build something because if you didn't you won't have anything.
Over the years you can build wisdom, a body of knowledge and experience that doesn't rely on pure intelligence. You can build relationships, bonds with other people that don't rely on looks. You can build gravitas, the ability to get people's attention without relying on strength. You can build the next generation, a chance to live on in what you impart upon those who come after you. You can even build resources, a bunch of stuff so you don't need to live hand to mouth. There's many more ways you can build something, but it doesn't really matter as much as just building something.
We're seeing it right now, a generation that was never told tomorrow would come, who was always told they were the future without every being told that someday that future would come and you better be ready, who was never told there would be consequences to squandering their gifts. They get older, their natural gifts fade, they never built anything, and they panic and they get really angry.
When I was young and starting my career, I was told all the time "the baby boomers will be retiring soon, and then there's going to be a bunch of jobs out there!" -- It was always a thing that was coming, a thing that was on its way, and there were people who complained that they hadn't retired yet. Well, that day has arrived, and there's all kinds of jobs for someone who has built something -- but most people haven't built any of it! It doesn't matter if the boomers retire for these people because those people aren't in any position to be hired for these jobs. Doesn't matter the opportunity because they never built anything.
Young men who aren't successful have taken to hating themselves and claiming they'll never accomplish anything. They call themselves "Incel", a portmanteau of Involuntary Celibate. These people have the opposite problem: They don't realize that they can build something. Often they've been beaten down and told they can't. They've been told that they'll always be losers and that they shouldn't even try to be anything but. This is a tragedy, because we all have the potential to build something. Thinking that we will always be what we are now is a bad thing for the gifted, but it's also a bad thing for the ungifted. If you put in the effort, you can build something even if you feel like you're useless today.
Humans have had a large number of evolutionary advantages over the millennia. Today we're the smartest creature on the planet, we have uniquely powerful language skills, we are uniquely powerful tool users, but our first advantage evolved on the savanna. The reason we're hairless apes is that our bodies are covered in sweat glands, and our entire body is an endurance machine. Our upright locomotion, the way our hips are set up, the way we can sway our arms, it's all set up so we are capable of running longer than most any other creature. We were able to chase down prey until it became exhausted and we could catch up and get a meal. That was the first step on our way to our current situation. That endurance persists in our psyche. Most creatures on earth might plan ahead for a season, possibly a year. Humans can plan ahead decades, and they can stick with those plans for those decades. It's that ability to plan ahead so far, and to work for years to achieve a master plan that lets us have the most incredible lifestyle of any creature, even compared to other reasonably intelligent creatures.
You're a human, so act like it. Plan ahead, follow your plan, and build something. If you are like the mosquito and think only for the moment, if you're like the bird and plan only for the season, then you're going to wake up one day and realize you've lost everything you had and you can't get it back.
@arh Compared to mustard gas, chlorine or phosphene, it's a completely different thing, yes.
It can be a terrible weapon, but comparing the two is like comparing a tazer to a handgun. Yes the tazer can be lethal, it can cause harm to a person and it has killed, but if you have a choice between getting hit with a tazer and a pistol, I'd choose the tazer every day of the week.
It can be a terrible weapon, but comparing the two is like comparing a tazer to a handgun. Yes the tazer can be lethal, it can cause harm to a person and it has killed, but if you have a choice between getting hit with a tazer and a pistol, I'd choose the tazer every day of the week.
@arh
We're living in an age of mass lies. Everyone is lying, everyone is misleading people, everyone has their propaganda machine out in full force. There's rooms full of people whose only job is coming up with ways to deceive us.
That misleading and incomplete fact about tear gas being banned in war caught my eye because it's irrelevant. It's propaganda. The information I've provided shows why it's deceptive.
Now on the other hand, "Tear gas is a terrible weapon and shouldn't be shot at protesters", that's something real. Notwithstanding some fringe cases including mass violence, I could even get behind it.
Why *do* we see so much use of tear gas at protests, particularly ones that don't seem to be violent?
We're living in an age of mass lies. Everyone is lying, everyone is misleading people, everyone has their propaganda machine out in full force. There's rooms full of people whose only job is coming up with ways to deceive us.
That misleading and incomplete fact about tear gas being banned in war caught my eye because it's irrelevant. It's propaganda. The information I've provided shows why it's deceptive.
Now on the other hand, "Tear gas is a terrible weapon and shouldn't be shot at protesters", that's something real. Notwithstanding some fringe cases including mass violence, I could even get behind it.
Why *do* we see so much use of tear gas at protests, particularly ones that don't seem to be violent?
@arh
(Forgive the long post, I mostly wrote it because I was enjoying the research and connecting the dots, not because I'm some passionate tear gas advocate)
And I was pointing out that saying something is legal or illegal under wartime law isn't really meaningful.
The law on chemical weapons defines chemical weapons as follows:
---
1. "Chemical Weapons" means the following, together or separately:
(a) Toxic chemicals and their precursors, except where intended for purposes
not prohibited under this Convention, as long as the types and quantities are
consistent with such purposes;
(b) Munitions and devices, specifically designed to cause death or other
harm through the toxic properties of those toxic chemicals specified in
subparagraph (a), which would be released as a result of the employment of
such munitions and devices;
(c) Any equipment specifically designed for use directly in connection with
the employment of munitions and devices specified in subparagraph (b).
2. "Toxic Chemical" means:
Any chemical which through its chemical action on life processes can cause
death, temporary incapacitation or permanent harm to humans or animals. This
includes all such chemicals, regardless of their origin or of their method of
production, and regardless of whether they are produced in facilities, in
munitions or elsewhere.
---
Note in particular that it's a blanket ban on the entire class of weapon.
The history of this body of international law comes from World War 1, when a variety of chemical weapons were employed. The Germans used Chlorine gas which is horrible -- it reacts with your skin, with your eyes, with your mucous membranes, with the tissue in your nose and mouth and throat and lungs. Phosgene would start causing harm but would not fully manifest until 24 hours after exposure, killing someone who appeared healthy after a battle is already won or lost. Mustard gas was incredibly painful, and would painfully harm the skin, the lungs, the eyes, the nose. Death by mustard gas could take weeks and was incredibly painful, chemical burns all over your body. By the end you might be coughing up two litres of yellow fluid every hour trying desperately to breathe before you choke to death. In addition, civilians could be injured as the deadly gas travelled on the breeze.
So as a result of the terrible nature of chemical weapons in general, they were totally banned in war, and because all chemical weapons were banned, so was tear gas.
The thing is, that doesn't really mean anything. It was banned incidentally because everything related to the practice was banned, but a chemical that causes some tears simply doesn't compare to mustard gas, phosgene, or chlorine gas.
So as I said before, it's an interesting factoid for propaganda purposes, but it's irrelevant. War law is irrelevant and if it was applied in any other way it would result in rioters being massacred due to mass violation of war law, and the fact that one chemical is banned because an entire practice is banned is also irrelevant.
The little kid whose lemonade stand was shut down because massive multinational corporations require health and safety regulations and the regulations don't differentiate between the two is technically illegal, but nobody thinks they're the same thing or that they're comparable.
(Forgive the long post, I mostly wrote it because I was enjoying the research and connecting the dots, not because I'm some passionate tear gas advocate)
And I was pointing out that saying something is legal or illegal under wartime law isn't really meaningful.
The law on chemical weapons defines chemical weapons as follows:
---
1. "Chemical Weapons" means the following, together or separately:
(a) Toxic chemicals and their precursors, except where intended for purposes
not prohibited under this Convention, as long as the types and quantities are
consistent with such purposes;
(b) Munitions and devices, specifically designed to cause death or other
harm through the toxic properties of those toxic chemicals specified in
subparagraph (a), which would be released as a result of the employment of
such munitions and devices;
(c) Any equipment specifically designed for use directly in connection with
the employment of munitions and devices specified in subparagraph (b).
2. "Toxic Chemical" means:
Any chemical which through its chemical action on life processes can cause
death, temporary incapacitation or permanent harm to humans or animals. This
includes all such chemicals, regardless of their origin or of their method of
production, and regardless of whether they are produced in facilities, in
munitions or elsewhere.
---
Note in particular that it's a blanket ban on the entire class of weapon.
The history of this body of international law comes from World War 1, when a variety of chemical weapons were employed. The Germans used Chlorine gas which is horrible -- it reacts with your skin, with your eyes, with your mucous membranes, with the tissue in your nose and mouth and throat and lungs. Phosgene would start causing harm but would not fully manifest until 24 hours after exposure, killing someone who appeared healthy after a battle is already won or lost. Mustard gas was incredibly painful, and would painfully harm the skin, the lungs, the eyes, the nose. Death by mustard gas could take weeks and was incredibly painful, chemical burns all over your body. By the end you might be coughing up two litres of yellow fluid every hour trying desperately to breathe before you choke to death. In addition, civilians could be injured as the deadly gas travelled on the breeze.
So as a result of the terrible nature of chemical weapons in general, they were totally banned in war, and because all chemical weapons were banned, so was tear gas.
The thing is, that doesn't really mean anything. It was banned incidentally because everything related to the practice was banned, but a chemical that causes some tears simply doesn't compare to mustard gas, phosgene, or chlorine gas.
So as I said before, it's an interesting factoid for propaganda purposes, but it's irrelevant. War law is irrelevant and if it was applied in any other way it would result in rioters being massacred due to mass violation of war law, and the fact that one chemical is banned because an entire practice is banned is also irrelevant.
The little kid whose lemonade stand was shut down because massive multinational corporations require health and safety regulations and the regulations don't differentiate between the two is technically illegal, but nobody thinks they're the same thing or that they're comparable.
@arh The point I'm making is that applying war law to a riot is not meaningful. The only reason to talk about war law is that it's good for propaganda purposes.
Let's look at some of the rules of war:
Tear gas is illegal but nuclear weapons are OK.
Everyone fighting must be wearing a uniform of an established nation.
Anyone fighting must do so with an established declaration of war.
Anyone fighting must be under the command of a responsible officer.
Anyone found violating the war law will be executed.
Still looking forward to apply the rules of war to a riot?
Let's look at some of the rules of war:
Tear gas is illegal but nuclear weapons are OK.
Everyone fighting must be wearing a uniform of an established nation.
Anyone fighting must do so with an established declaration of war.
Anyone fighting must be under the command of a responsible officer.
Anyone found violating the war law will be executed.
Still looking forward to apply the rules of war to a riot?
@arh So should anyone fighting who is not in the uniform of a country be arrested immediately and be put to death? The punishment for war crimes is death, after all.
@arh bullets, mortars, and bombs are allowed in war. Do you propose they use those instead?
#canada
Total federal spending in 2019 was 378 billion dollars. Rumor is that the debt in 2021 will not exceed 400 billion dollars. In other words, total debt will not exceed all spending.
When Trudeau took office, the federal debt was about 700 billion dollars. So the rumor is that the debt in 2021 will not exceed half the total debt the company had accumulated in 200 years prior.
This sort of debt accumulation is a mortal threat to any left wing program. Like your universal healthcare? Good news! Instead we're going to be paying bankers! Like your reasonably priced higher education? Good news! Instead we're going to be paying bankers! Like your CBC? Good news! Instead we're going to be paying bankers!
Total federal spending in 2019 was 378 billion dollars. Rumor is that the debt in 2021 will not exceed 400 billion dollars. In other words, total debt will not exceed all spending.
When Trudeau took office, the federal debt was about 700 billion dollars. So the rumor is that the debt in 2021 will not exceed half the total debt the company had accumulated in 200 years prior.
This sort of debt accumulation is a mortal threat to any left wing program. Like your universal healthcare? Good news! Instead we're going to be paying bankers! Like your reasonably priced higher education? Good news! Instead we're going to be paying bankers! Like your CBC? Good news! Instead we're going to be paying bankers!
@aral Economic bubbles such as the bitcoin bubble are fueled by policies such as what we're seeing right now: Massive monetary and fiscal stimulus inevitably leads to people spending huge amounts of resources on ridiculous wasteful things that look like they'll make a profit.
This isn't new. It happens every time. In the 1920s unprecedented lax monetary policy caused a boom in investment in farmland that didn't have access to water. That led to the environmental catastrophe known as the dustbowl and ultimately to the great depression. There are presently entire cities in china filled with buildings that are slowly degrading because of a bubble in real estate there. the 2007 financial crisis led to entire residential zones sitting half-built to this day.
But the problem is that it's win/win for the politicians. The politicians on the right get to have their economic growth fueled by bubble economies (remember that the first stimulus checks were sent out by none other than George W. Bush and financed by debt), and the politicians on the left get to have their cake and eat it too -- they get to spend money nobody has on whatever their pet cause de jour is, and they get to further ecological catastrophe they can then run against while simultaneously doing nothing meaningful against it because all their policy ideas come from the same lobbyists who are working on behalf of the companies making billions off of destroying the earth.
And the lobbyists aren't just whispering in the ears of politicians, they're whispering in your ears too. Where do you think your own mainstream ideas come from, the same ideas at the same time as a whole bunch of other people?
This isn't new. It happens every time. In the 1920s unprecedented lax monetary policy caused a boom in investment in farmland that didn't have access to water. That led to the environmental catastrophe known as the dustbowl and ultimately to the great depression. There are presently entire cities in china filled with buildings that are slowly degrading because of a bubble in real estate there. the 2007 financial crisis led to entire residential zones sitting half-built to this day.
But the problem is that it's win/win for the politicians. The politicians on the right get to have their economic growth fueled by bubble economies (remember that the first stimulus checks were sent out by none other than George W. Bush and financed by debt), and the politicians on the left get to have their cake and eat it too -- they get to spend money nobody has on whatever their pet cause de jour is, and they get to further ecological catastrophe they can then run against while simultaneously doing nothing meaningful against it because all their policy ideas come from the same lobbyists who are working on behalf of the companies making billions off of destroying the earth.
And the lobbyists aren't just whispering in the ears of politicians, they're whispering in your ears too. Where do you think your own mainstream ideas come from, the same ideas at the same time as a whole bunch of other people?
If the left wants to reduce the amount of money that we're sending to rich people, stop falling for the scam salesman who keep telling you that you can get Federal programs without paying for it. You guys hate payday loans so much and yet that's exactly what you're doing with the federal government right now. Don't worry, we're going to give you all this money, at low low price of all the money.
"Oh but interest rates are low right now so we should be borrowing!" That might be true if this were something like a mortgage where you could lock in for a certain period of time so that you were done paying off that loan by the time interest rates rise, but it's not. We still have debt from the second world war! Yes the war bonds expired, and then the government just bought brand new bonds at the current rate. Even if we borrow this money for 30 years which we didn't that just means 30 years from now we're going to buy it again. The interest paid to that goes to bankers.
Not to mention, all this spending and all this money printing guess what happens next? Inflation rises and as a response to higher inflation banks will increase their interest rates. Guess what happens then? That debt that you took out because it was so low rate suddenly resets at a much higher rate. I've said it before, but ask your boomer parents how great it was to have debt in the 1970s.
"Oh but interest rates are low right now so we should be borrowing!" That might be true if this were something like a mortgage where you could lock in for a certain period of time so that you were done paying off that loan by the time interest rates rise, but it's not. We still have debt from the second world war! Yes the war bonds expired, and then the government just bought brand new bonds at the current rate. Even if we borrow this money for 30 years which we didn't that just means 30 years from now we're going to buy it again. The interest paid to that goes to bankers.
Not to mention, all this spending and all this money printing guess what happens next? Inflation rises and as a response to higher inflation banks will increase their interest rates. Guess what happens then? That debt that you took out because it was so low rate suddenly resets at a much higher rate. I've said it before, but ask your boomer parents how great it was to have debt in the 1970s.
Correction, the actual amount spent for the 2019 budget year was $378 billion. Still less than the amount that they're saying they could go into debt this year.
When Trudeau took office, the federal debt was around $700 billion dollars. He will have a doubled it at least in 4 years.
I know everyone seems to forget this, but even if we don't think we have to pay that back, we do have to pay maintenance. The maintenance on that type of debt is going to be such that major federal programs disappear. Hey did you like your health care? Maybe that'll be gone. Hey do you think National defense really needs to be bolstered right now? Maybe that'll be gone. Hey, do you really like the cbc? Maybe that'll be gone. We're going to be paying way more tax but a lot of stuff's going to have to get cut. Even if you're a leftist you have to realize this doesn't work out well for you. You're going to be selling your soul to the banks.
Seriously, this is entirely predictable. And you idiots are going to be sitting there complaining about how your taxes are too high and the government just cut a bunch of programs that you liked, and you're not going to have any idea why that happened and you're going to be out there protesting when you what you should really be protesting are these massive deficits.
When Trudeau took office, the federal debt was around $700 billion dollars. He will have a doubled it at least in 4 years.
I know everyone seems to forget this, but even if we don't think we have to pay that back, we do have to pay maintenance. The maintenance on that type of debt is going to be such that major federal programs disappear. Hey did you like your health care? Maybe that'll be gone. Hey do you think National defense really needs to be bolstered right now? Maybe that'll be gone. Hey, do you really like the cbc? Maybe that'll be gone. We're going to be paying way more tax but a lot of stuff's going to have to get cut. Even if you're a leftist you have to realize this doesn't work out well for you. You're going to be selling your soul to the banks.
Seriously, this is entirely predictable. And you idiots are going to be sitting there complaining about how your taxes are too high and the government just cut a bunch of programs that you liked, and you're not going to have any idea why that happened and you're going to be out there protesting when you what you should really be protesting are these massive deficits.
According to Trudeau, the deficit for next year will be no more than 400 billion dollars.
The federal budget in 2019 was $358 billion dollars.
In other words, the deficit for the next year will be no more than every penny in the federal budget. Thanks guys.
The federal budget in 2019 was $358 billion dollars.
In other words, the deficit for the next year will be no more than every penny in the federal budget. Thanks guys.
@cereal Can you even commit a crime in space?
@RekietaLaw seriously, if you're in space, are you under anyone's jurisdiction?
@RekietaLaw seriously, if you're in space, are you under anyone's jurisdiction?
@jeffcliff Virtually none of those values make any sense.
One in ten people with covid will get blood clots? X to doubt
One in a thousand people who fly will get blood clots every single flight? Press X to doubt
One in ten people with covid will get blood clots? X to doubt
One in a thousand people who fly will get blood clots every single flight? Press X to doubt
In a surprising decision, Minneapolis police will now be armed solely with Jewish mothers. The idea is that they will successfully guilt violent criminals into giving themselves up.
