Jump to content
Phantis Forums

athinaios

SuperMods
  • Posts

    3,996
  • Joined

  • Days Won

    36

Everything posted by athinaios

  1. It seems I was right in predicting AEK would win 0-3! [I had a feeling that match wouldn't finish]
  2. The "donor class" gets lots of benefits from an expensive political system it helps fund, and this is evident from the chasm between the super rich and the rest. However, there are still big differences between the two major political parties, and anyone who says otherwise is either trying to confuse and distract or doesn't know what he's talking about. I don't know how the Green party and those who voted for Jill Stein (arguably may have tipped the election to Trump) can still say with a straight face that the Trump admin. is nothing different than one under HRC might have been! Tsk... Yeah, the Earth is elated with this bunch of anti-science, anti-environment, non-qualified and dangerous Trump people. Sure, no difference between hiring competent people in leadership positions and the Trump charlatans. I mean, Trumpism identified the sources of our troubles: The Chinese, the Mexicans, and ..Obama. I'd even argue that the recent tax bill wouldn't have passed under HRC. She'd be raising her own taxes to pay for health care instead of giving bigger tax breaks to the wealthy and taking health insurance from millions of Americans. Just on these two, health care and the environment, and probably now with gun control [Clinton's sensible gun control expired in 2004 and despite popular support the Repubs didn't renew it], the differences are striking. Oh, I almost forgot.... the Supreme Court matters a lot and this is where presidents leave a legacy for decades since their appointees stay on the bench for 20-30+ years.
  3. It seems that the gig is over, for now. Get the domestic title, play in the CL for lots of money, invest that in buying good players, etc, and repeat. But, apparently things have changed now. Still, Oly has the bigger budget than any other domestic team. It'll be competitive next year.
  4. The intelligence community, as explained in the video, did say that the Russians meddled in our election and they had a clear preference to help Trump by discrediting (hacking and leaking internal emails, etc) HR Clinton. Indeed DJT and the GOP used the Russian info to attack HRC. Last week, we learned that Russia "successfully penetrated voter systems" .... If you think the constant leaks and attacks on HRC didn't make a difference in an election decided by a few thousand votes in 3 states, then there's no point of discussing this topic. Those who are OK that a foreign, hostile gov interferes in our electoral process, and hacks into American emails, computer systems, etc, then they may want to check their super-patriotism at the door. (and please don't tell your patron saint, Reagan) Inside the Muller indictments.... and how Russian oligarchs and other Putin allies spent tons of money supporting Trump in many ways. I remember how many of our (ex) members were citing those sources, pictures, hacked emails, falsehoods, etc. A major part of any US election strategy is to mobilize your voters while suppressing the turnout of the opposite voters. Democrats had/have more voters, but given HRC unpopularity, many stayed home on election day.
  5. If you don't clap and praise the great leader, it's treason!
  6. 1. I have no ties to Lamia, but I'm happy to see smaller teams advance. I had even suggested the cup be open only to teams finishing below 3-4th place in the league. This because the Greek league is so crappy when only 2-3 top teams win it almost all the time. Oly winning so many times in the last 10+ years show how the game is fixed. 2. Many people are to blame for PAO's condition. The organized fans have a lot of the blame in my opinion, but let's not forget it's the people at the helm who have been making the ultimate decisions how to run the club. The level of incompetence after the captain's tenure is astounding. The fans are the fans, same in all clubs, complaining and whatever. But look at the fortunes of the other big clubs.... they fell and rose due to their leadership, not the fans!
  7. There will be a different species (if we survive) in a few thousand years. We're already replacing human body parts with mechanical/electronic parts. Brain diseases, like Alzheimer's, may be cured with a microchip implant. Same with eyes, ears, etc. The key is the mind, the intelligence of a person, the self identity. But, this is pliable, I think. You wouldn't know otherwise if you were born into a certain species (transhuman?) Many species have an average life span of 3 million years; we haven't done this yet. So, what would you choose if faced an extinction--your own or the species? Would you adapt or adopt the merging with machines? Would you choose to live in a virtual reality (in the ..Matrix) or opt for death?
  8. Yeah, that's why we were charitable allowing Lamia to advance in the cup competition. We are going to win every game from now on and get the title. I heard the found some Russian for a striker! Look, when 70-80% of the players are looking for another team, and when they're not getting paid, and when the future is uncertain, I'm amazed that the club isn't at the bottom of the league.
  9. What? I bet the next thing you'll tell me is that Santa (Aghios Vassilis) was a fat Anglo, and that Jesus was pale white with blue eyes.
  10. If the Norse god were portrayed by purple or green people, it wouldn't bother me a bit. I wouldn't take this as a history lesson either. If I cared enough, I'd read some reliable sources on Norse mythology and history. I meant "artistic license" would allow the creators to veer off historical facts and established culture. It really doesn't bother me. Granted many people learn history from the movies, but is shouldn't be the responsibility of the artist to educate them. Like any other expression, producing art isn't necessarily tasteful or ..non-arrogant. If the BBC billed this series as a historical piece, then BBC should be criticized. Please don't spray-paint the original Starry Night. But if you're so inclined to spray paint a ..copy, I may even buy it from you!
  11. There are too many people who have worked for Trump in his campaign and later the White House who have said he's childish, ignorant, probably mentally unstable, and generally not qualified to be president. Of course, his defenders would say it's politics, but look how many people in very high positions have left after very brief time. Apparently he likes to fire people when his policies or ideas don't pan out. But let's not forget that he hired those "incompetent and mean" people to begin with. DJT: .. Actually, throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart. Crooked Hillary Clinton also played these cards very hard and, as everyone knows, went down in flames. I went from VERY successful businessman, to top T.V. Star... I think that would qualify as not smart, but genius....and a very stable genius at that! Like, nothing screams stable when you tweet in the middle of the night about "sloppy Joe," "little Marco," "lyin' Ted" and all the other childish insults... This is how children drink water (2 hands) The person who said would "drain the swamp" and hire the best, most terrific people!
  12. I'm all for "bare arms"..... in warmer climate of course, because these days, your arms would fall off in the frigid temperatures we're having in the northeast. Yeah, I find it amazing that there are so many people following the NRA, Alex Jones, etc. The conspiracy is not that the gov wants to take guns away but how the gun manufacturers and their political allies have managed to convince so many Americans that guns equal freedom.
  13. First, George Orwell is one of my favorite authors. But, I would take issue with that statement. What does "Own understanding" mean? Should such statement stand if people's understanding of their own history is based on myth?* In the beginning, various groups and tribes felt "chosen" by God(s), and their "history" was based on this understanding. Secondly, what kind of destruction are we talking here when myths eventually are replaced by scientific facts? Many advanced societies have given up believing their ancient history. I don't think the Norse today are destroyed because they don't believe in Thor and Odin. Lastly, when it comes to artistic license, I don't think we have to stick to tradition, or history. Of course, this should not be presented as history or a documentary. I'm trying to advocate for such artistic freedom here. I'm tired of being told that myth (something without any scientific or scholarly evidence to back a story telling) should be fed to us as history. We just ended a holiday season seeped in such myth. Happy new year** to all. * I hear that there are some ..Macedonians who believe Alexander was a Slav. hmmm **when the new year starts is another arbitrary notion; it would make more sense if it was on the solstice or equinox just sayin'....
  14. After beating Platanias today, 2-0, we're unstoppable!
  15. Though I wouldn't call this a documentary, but BBC has a new series, Troy: Fall of a City I was reading some Greek news sites and saw that many people expressed their outrage because Zeus, Achilles and Patroclus are portrayed by black actors. I don't have a problem with this, and I don't think it makes a difference to tell a story about events 2,000 4,000 years in the past. What do you think? EDIT: Correction.... it wasn't 2,000 years ago the Trojan war happened. Homer is believed that he wrote the Iliad about 8th century BCE and he may have been writing about something that happened in the 13th c. BCE. So, the story of that war could be 3,300+ years ago.
  16. The two major pol parties lost nomination control in the 1970s and 80s when they opened up the nomination process to the public. Ever since, party leadership favors the candidate it thinks will be the stronger in the general elections, because this is really what they care about the most. The Dem party establishment of course wanted HRC and not a ..socialist independent (Bernie was not a Dem before the primaries) from a small state (Vermont). Looking back, I think most would agree Bernie could have beaten Trump, rather easily. Of course, it wasn't clear that Trump would have been the nominee when the primaries began... The Russians favored Trump and Wiki Leaks (in collusion with Russia) leaked damaging info on Dems and HRC. This steady drip eroded her credibility to the point that a ..stadium full of Dems (less than 100,000* combined in 3 states) decided to stay home on election day. The rest is history as they say... *an incredibly small number of voters given the 139 million who voted. HRC got 66 million and DT 63.
  17. Interesting videos. There might be some people on this planet that they have the knowledge and ability to survive in the state of nature without modern tools. However, advancing civilizations brought a division of labor (specialization) which increased efficiency and thus a single person didn't need to know how to make tools, build shelter, hunt, farm, etc... in other words to be self-sufficient. All of which are needed for survival in a state of nature. Also, you don't think of the diseases, injuries, bad teeth, and accidents you may have had in your life, all of which could have killed you. Primitive people had an average life span of less than 30. ...when I said no one, I meant in a general sense people have left the primitive life (and lost the knowledge of survival in a state of nature). We now have a complex life because there's complexity with division of labor/specialization. I don't need to know how my computer is made (there's no single person who knows all the steps*), but this complexity allows me a richer life. *Even if you provided the modern tools to the smartest more capable individual, no single person can construct a computer from scratch. I mean, to know how to make plastic, procure rare earth elements, make and shape metal, etc. There are probably many thousands of people involved in making a single computer, including the farmers who grow coffee, the traders, the coffee makers, et al, who enable the code makers and engineers to function later into the night under man-made electric lights.... .Who also manage to have some free time because they don't have to cut a tree to make bow and arrows to go hunting for dinner. Now this is the complexity modern civilizations have.
  18. Most politicians who want to be elected to high office have to play to the public sentiment. They can be honest like Bernie who said that democratic socialism is the best way to the good (better) life in the US. It wasn't the Dem party establishment but the voters who rejected his message. And those primary voters were even more to the left than the generic Dem or mainstream Repub. Now, many people do change their minds over time, not during the heat of a campaign. Dems will be proposing universal health care in the next prez election. But, there's a fear among the population of socialism, even though there's a clean majority that favors its basic tenets. Same with Obamacare, where the majority was against it, but if you asked them separate about the particular provisions, they loved them. And if you were to be in politics, what would you say?.... Also, would you try to get elected and do 10% to help people's lives or be marginalized and do nothing for them? This when the other party would actually harm middle class interests. No matter who Hillary Clinton was, I'd bet that she would be raising her own taxes right now to pay for Obamacare, not what Trump did to benefit himself and the super wealthy. Elections have consequences.... Here's a review of the first year under the current so-called president from The Atlantic PS> The top two Repub Congressional leaders said they want to end food stamps, Medicaid, and all sorts of "entitlements" (for the poor not the rich of course).
  19. I don't know what's sustainable if the time frame isn't specified, but the US is the only advanced country with such weird notions about the role of government. Of course it's tribalism and a particular major political party has succeeded in framing the lack of universal health care as ..freedom. Who needs a social safety net, public libraries, parks, good infrastructure, accessible good education, etc,? It's the middle and lower classes. These benefits of citizenship must be paid for and they could easily be if the US rearranges its spending and taxing priorities. I pay taxes for the local schools (which by the way are great) while not having any kids in the system. I've paid health care premiums for ever and only recently I had a medical emergency (I'm OK) when my insurance paid for it. When I become very wealthy, my taxes--in absolute numbers and as a % of income--should definitively go up.... unless they leave me more money to create jobs (haha). The great example of people voting against their interests is a morally corrupt party that convinces voters they're free when they actually lack good opportunity and forgo possibilities for a better life. I'm talking, of course, about the Torry party in 19th c. Britain.... (what else?)
  20. Don't be confused by the small arguments. Look at the outcomes. The middle class has not gained any ground since the 1970s. Wealth concentration to the very top is highest since the gilded age. Economic advancement for poor and middle class is worse in the US compared to most advanced western countries. [check the Economist and Wall Street Journal on this] Unemployment is very low as it was under Obama; some economists call it "full-employment" but wages have not advanced (adjusted for inflation in decades). Corporations are sitting on trillions of cash. A slice of middle class will see marginally lower taxes that will expire, whereas the corporations breaks are permanent; same for very wealthy individuals, investors, pass-through, etc. Taxes should be used to buy.. civilization and the good life. It's what you get for paying taxes. Not saying all taxes are good or as used prudently, but goodies cost money. Paying less taxes may seem good but not having health insurance, or pay high tuition rates, living in toxic environment, etc, cost you a lot more. So, outcomes? Compared to major countries, people in the US are not as healthy, or educated, or relaxed (more stress due to weak social safety net, higher crime, etc), don't live as long, and don't have as many chances to opportunity. But they are freer, right?...
  21. We can easily win 3-0 at home. We've done it before, no?
  22. Unless you become very primitive, you can't be self-sufficient. No one knows how to do anything any more (from a to z), unless you're talking about constructing a hut and fish with primitive tools you also make.
  23. Crisis or not, I do not believe there will be more than a few thousand of PAO fans that would contribute any significant amount. Such efforts are bound to fail. Why contribute when you're not sure how this money will be spent? Or, to be used to pay the bad decisions by wealthy owners. Or, that the fans would have no control over how their money will be spent, or the direction of the club, etc. Or, that it may be throwing good money after bad when it's not certain that this effort won't prevent the team from going bankrupt and to 3rd div.... There has to be a crazy wealthy man who loves PAO. He won't make money with a Greek football club, but there are some very rich people out there who can play big shot. But he has to be serious and hire the appropriate people. Alafouzos proved to be such an incompetent owner the likes of none we've had in our club before.
  24. I think humans will merge with machines. It's already happening with replacing parts, including microchips into brains. The question of AI is an open one. Anything can happen, but it's possible that AI will become its own species once it gains independence of action, can learn, can "procreate" and even become conscious. Now, I don't have a clue how we'd know about self-conscience. I don't know whether you have it, but I assume so since you're human like me.... but how about "machines" that may not want to be turned off??!! Stephen Hawking thinks AI will be our doom. [source]
×
×
  • Create New...