The P/R-side Chat Thread v.2

[El Barto]

Douglas Adams actually got it.

[An extraterrestrial robot and spaceship has just landed on earth. The robot steps out of the spaceship...]

"I come in peace," it said, adding after a long moment of further grinding, "take me to your Lizard."

Ford Prefect, of course, had an explanation for this...

"It comes from a very ancient democracy, you see..."

"You mean, it comes from a world of lizards?"

"No," said Ford, who by this time was a little more rational and coherent than he had been, having finally had the coffee forced down him, "nothing so simple. Nothing anything like to straightforward. On its world, the people are people. The leaders are lizards. The people hate the lizards and the lizards rule the people."

"Odd," said Arthur, "I thought you said it was a democracy."

"I did," said ford. "It is."

"So," said Arthur, hoping he wasn't sounding ridiculously obtuse, "why don't the people get rid of the lizards?"

"It honestly doesn't occur to them," said Ford. "They've all got the vote, so they all pretty much assume that the government they've voted in more or less approximates to the government they want."

"You mean they actually vote for the lizards?"

"Oh yes," said Ford with a shrug, "of course."

"But," said Arthur, going for the big one again, "why?"

"Because if they didn't vote for a lizard," said Ford, "the wrong lizard might get in. Got any gin?"

[Sigz]

 

[AndyDT]

Is there some kind of problem with posting positive material now?

[PlaysLikeMyung]

Douglas Adams actually got it.

[An extraterrestrial robot and spaceship has just landed on earth. The robot steps out of the spaceship...]

"I come in peace," it said, adding after a long moment of further grinding, "take me to your Lizard."

Ford Prefect, of course, had an explanation for this...

"It comes from a very ancient democracy, you see..."

"You mean, it comes from a world of lizards?"

"No," said Ford, who by this time was a little more rational and coherent than he had been, having finally had the coffee forced down him, "nothing so simple. Nothing anything like to straightforward. On its world, the people are people. The leaders are lizards. The people hate the lizards and the lizards rule the people."

"Odd," said Arthur, "I thought you said it was a democracy."

"I did," said ford. "It is."

"So," said Arthur, hoping he wasn't sounding ridiculously obtuse, "why don't the people get rid of the lizards?"

"It honestly doesn't occur to them," said Ford. "They've all got the vote, so they all pretty much assume that the government they've voted in more or less approximates to the government they want."

"You mean they actually vote for the lizards?"

"Oh yes," said Ford with a shrug, "of course."

"But," said Arthur, going for the big one again, "why?"

"Because if they didn't vote for a lizard," said Ford, "the wrong lizard might get in. Got any gin?"

I love this series

[Sigz]

https://www.theonion.com/articles/white-house-jester-beheaded-for-making-fun-of-soar,17495/

 

[emindead]

OK, I never thought to see the day...

I was coming back home from having a chat with some friends at this restaurant and this guy comes over me. "Excuse me, do you speak English?" I was surprised. No one speaks English here, and you will never get attended by someone in English unless you are in a big and expensive place. So I was surprised because I was stopped by a guy talking to me in English. I said "Yeah". I noticed how he was dressed; he was missing all of his front teeth; his face was dirty and his hands were dirty. He extended his hand and said "What's up, man? I'm American". Because I've lived here all my life I know how things run here. In two seconds I could just read the background of this guy. I was thinking to myself "He's American, so what? yeah, his accent is legit but he wants your money". He extended his dirty hand at me for me to shake it, I looked at it and said in a serious tone "No!". He asked: "Hey, man, could you please help me out?" I knew he wanted money. I knew he wanted money for drugs. I said to him "NO" and I give a step forward, he threw away at me some papers he had in his hand and says "Fuck off". I turned my head and yelled "FUCK YOU!" and walked away.

I never thought to see the day where an American will come here to Colombia, get his life in the toilet because he got addicted to drugs, and expected me to help him get his hourly fix. An American almsman in Colombia? It's supposed to be the other way around!

[AndyDT]

OK, I never thought to see the day...

I was coming back home from having a chat with some friends at this restaurant and this guy comes over me. "Excuse me, do you speak English?" I was surprised. No one speaks English here, and you will never get attended by someone in English unless you are in a big and expensive place. So I was surprised because I was stopped by a guy talking to me in English. I said "Yeah". I noticed how he was dressed; he was missing all of his front teeth; his face was dirty and his hands were dirty. He extended his hand and said "What's up, man? I'm American". Because I've lived here all my life I know how things run here. In two seconds I could just read the background of this guy. I was thinking to myself "He's American, so what? yeah, his accent is legit but he wants your money". He extended his dirty hand at me for me to shake it, I looked at it and said in a serious tone "No!". He asked: "Hey, man, could you please help me out?" I knew he wanted money. I knew he wanted money for drugs. I said to him "NO" and I give a step forward, he threw away at me some papers he had in his hand and says "Fuck off". I turned my head and yelled "FUCK YOU!" and walked away.

I never thought to see the day where an American will come here to Colombia, get his life in the toilet because he got addicted to drugs, and expected me to help him get his hourly fix. An American almsman in Colombia? It's supposed to be the other way around!

You "knew" he wanted drugs? Did you ask?

[emindead]

I'm no expert, true, but when you have been living here all your life you know how a street junkie looks like -no matter the nationality (and I've seen street junkies here that came from Peru, Argentina etc).

Had him be just a beggar he would have walked away. Junkies have the peculiarity of dismissing you in an aggressive way when you don't collaborate with them. This asshole even threw me some papers at me saying "fuck off".

[Sigz]

Andy, every beggar wants money to buy alcohol and drugs, that's why they're bums in the first place.

[AndyDT]

I'm no expert, true, but when you have been living here all your life you know how a street junkie looks like -no matter the nationality (and I've seen street junkies here that came from Peru, Argentina etc).

Had him be just a beggar he would have walked away. Junkies have the peculiarity of dismissing you in an aggressive way when you don't collaborate with them. This asshole even threw me some papers at me saying "fuck off".

I thought you said that was after you abused him aggressively?

[emindead]

It might have sounded that way, but I knew at first glance what I was facing with.

[AndyDT]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0z_Qqnq8pI8&NR=1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyVDOB0wU78&feature=related
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNuHTEqSoRs&feature=related

[emindead]

OK, today could be a historic day for Colombia. We vote for our president (today is the first round -the candidate needs 50%+1 vote to win unanimously or there will be a second round with the top two candidates of today's election).

This could be the first time that an independent, under the Green Party flag, could be named president of Colombia. He has no strings attached, he's honest and has an impeccable record.

My problem is that his ideas are too socialist for me and he wants the State to grow bigger but more transparent. That's a contradiction in my book. Hopefully, the elections today will be held with peace and a massive a assistance in the urns.

[TheVoxyn]

Dutch elections next week, going to be very interesting.

[emindead]

What's the most likely situation over there?

[TheVoxyn]

What's the most likely situation over there?

Thats the thing, nobody seems to know. Some parties are already announcing preferences for a coalition before the elections have even started. But almost none are compatible seeing as they are also stating that some things are 'breaking points' for them (Things they absolutely don't/do want to change).

Also, the two parties who are now projected to get most votes are a pretty left and a pretty right party. The biggest party has to make a coalition, so a few votes could make a huge difference.

O, and we also have this extreme right party, led by Geert Wilders. You might know him from the fact that he is a Islam-hating attention whore.

[PlaysLikeMyung]

Prime Minister of Japan resigns

German President resigns


Who's next?

[El Barto]

Andy, every beggar wants money to buy alcohol and drugs, that's why they're bums in the first place.

Often, but definitely not always the case.  I work in an area with a ton of bums, and I can tell you that while plenty of them are drunks, plenty of them aren't.  Moreover, I suspect quite a few of them are drunks because they're homeless and not the other way around.  I can tell you that if I were stuck in that kind of cycle¹, I'd probably want to get shitfaced every night too. 

¹Yes, I'm aware that "stuck" is a debatable term.  Not relevant to the topic at hand.

[Sigz]

No I totally agree, I was semi-mocking emindead's post. I get to interact with the local bums on a daily basis as well.

[El Barto]

No I totally agree, I was semi-mocking emindead's post. I get to interact with the local bums on a daily basis as well.

Sorry, didn't catch that (though it's pretty clear in retrospect).  I certainly figured being in So-Cal you'd be pretty knowledgeable. 

[Adami]

Prime Minister of Japan resigns

German President resigns


Who's next?

I hope the Prime Minister of Israel. Oh lord what a good day that will be.

That is of course until he is replaced with another psycho douche bag.

[PlaysLikeMyung]

Prime Minister of Japan resigns

German President resigns


Who's next?

I hope the Prime Minister of Israel. Oh lord what a good day that will be.

That is of course until he is replaced with another psycho douche bag.

I agree, actually

[Adami]

Seriously, at this point the only hope I see for Israel is either...

A) The religious right realizes they are ruinign everything and change all of their policies
or
B) A civil war happens and the moderates take over without the consent of the religious extremists who need be to kicked out.


Seriously, I have so many ideas as to how to fix that country, sucks I'll never be in a place to do anything about it.

[emindead]

Andy, every beggar wants money to buy alcohol and drugs, that's why they're bums in the first place.

Often, but definitely not always the case.  I work in an area with a ton of bums, and I can tell you that while plenty of them are drunks, plenty of them aren't.  Moreover, I suspect quite a few of them are drunks because they're homeless and not the other way around.  I can tell you that if I were stuck in that kind of cycle¹, I'd probably want to get shitfaced every night too. 

¹Yes, I'm aware that "stuck" is a debatable term.  Not relevant to the topic at hand.

I'm certain he was a drug addict.

[Scheavo]

Seriously, at this point the only hope I see for Israel is either...

A) The religious right realizes they are ruinign everything and change all of their policies
or
B) A civil war happens and the moderates take over without the consent of the religious extremists who need be to kicked out.


Seriously, I have so many ideas as to how to fix that country, sucks I'll never be in a place to do anything about it.

For a second there, I could swear you said America...

[Adami]

Americas leadership isn't NEARLY as bad as Israels. Hell, even bush wasn't as bad as Israels recent leadership.

However, I know a lot of americans associate the country to the leader. So like when they hated bush, they for some reason hated america. I don't do that. I hate the current Israeli government, but I love my country. Not blindly, as I hope some of you can see.

[AndyDT]

but I love my country.

Roll out Cpl. Matt Barlow.

[AndyDT]

By the way, there isn't just one black woman in the House of Lords:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valerie_Amos,_Baroness_Amos

[hefdaddy42]

Last night, I was channel-surfing the various "news" networks following the President's speech.  I was surprised by two things:

1) The talking heads on MSNBC (Olbermann and Matthews), which I think we can all agree is the most left-leaning network, completely lambasted Obama.

2) On FOX Lies, O'Reilly was hosting Palin, and referred to her as "Governor."  WTF, she quit, she doesn't get to wear that title anymore.

[Nick]

2) You can resign as president and you're still forever referred to as Mr. President. It's just the way it's done.

[hefdaddy42]

2) You can resign as president and you're still forever referred to as Mr. President. It's just the way it's done.

Was Nixon referred to as Mr. President after he left?  I could be wrong, but I don't think so.

[Sigz]

1) The talking heads on MSNBC (Olbermann and Matthews), which I think we can all agree is the most left-leaning network, completely lambasted Obama.

My parents watch MSNBC all the time, and I see that pretty often actually. They're definitely left-leaning, but they're not nearly as pro-Obama.

[El Barto]

2) You can resign as president and you're still forever referred to as Mr. President. It's just the way it's done.

Was Nixon referred to as Mr. President after he left?  I could be wrong, but I don't think so.

We've had this discussion in another thread. 

Formally, neither presidents nor governors get to keep their titles.  The rule is if there is only one at a time, then that person gets the title.  President Obama.  Mr Clinton, Mr. Nixon, etc.  The Honorable is an acceptable honorific which remains in place:  The Honorable Mr. Dumbass.   Judges, congressmen, generals, etc. all get to keep their titles since it's not exclusive to the current holder. 

In private, it's considered acceptable to use any title; all of their friends refer[ed] to President Nixon and Speaker Gingrich.  It's considered a courtesy title. 

Lastly, people who retire can choose to revert back to a previous title if it's acceptable after the fact.  General Eisenhower>>>President Eisenhower>>> General Eisenhower, Ret.  Clinton can't go back to Governor Clinton because of the first rule.

https://www.formsofaddress.info/former.html#FO011

Also, Fuckwad O'Reilley might not have been technically incorrect, depending on the context.  Basically, he can refer to her any way she wants.  While Governor Palin is technically incorrect,  she can ask to be called "Her Royal majesty, the Queen of Shit for Brains" if she'd like (see Nixon and Gingrich).  Also, if he's referring to her in the third person, then it's acceptable for reporters to use an honorific to be more specific, though appending former would be the non-biased way to go about it. 

Sincerely,

Clifford Claven

[Scheavo]

This was too obviously a derailment...

Because of what I bolded... can the environment be incidentally on their way to profits? Of course! Going "green" is the way of the future because going "green" simply means getting more efficient. McDondalds isn't just going to go green just because it improves their public image, but because it will also, eventually, save them money.

I disagree. Going green is switching to methods of power which damage the environment the least. Oil and Gasoline are the cheapest sources of power right now which makes them the most efficient to use. I have no doubt that if the green movement never existed that any non essential industrial green improvements would never be made ever. In fact, artificially requiring companies to switch without the proper mechanisms causing the market to naturally shift causes more eventual harm then good.

It's also about reducing our demands, which not only eases the demand on a fledgling green energy industry, but it quite obviously saves you money. Lower monthly bills eventually counter the initial cost of investment, just like how higher monthly income eventually counter's the initial cost of investment.

El Barto, you have any insight on the wind industry in Texas? From what I've heard, the State created a carbon market, and made incentives for there to be wind energy. The market took off, exceeding expectations, and Texas now leads the nation in Wind energy production.

[icysk8r]

Hello there.  I'm gonna try posting in this forum more often.  I may not be the most politically intelligent person, but I do have solid opinions on things I'd like to express. I'm pretty good at debating things with my stepdad, so I'll see how I do here.  So give me some time to get used to everything in here.
Thanks!
-Collin