athinaios
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Posts posted by athinaios
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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.
On 12/29/2017 at 10:35 PM, athinaios said: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.
...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.
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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).
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5 hours ago, Tzatziki said:
This can't be sustainable, eventually something is gonna give no?
Health care should be a no brainer for such a rich country, people should not be denied medical assistance or treatment because it is not within their means...this should be something all citizens can rally around but its not the case. People are imbeciles, shame on all and any who are against this and the ones who actively work against this....I would say what I really feel but get F'd you soulless parasites.
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?)
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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?...
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We can easily win 3-0 at home. We've done it before, no?
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On 12/21/2017 at 3:28 PM, Athens4 said:
It is times like these that I would like to sell everything I own (which is not much) and just go to the woods or next to the sea and become self-sufficient.
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.
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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.
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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]
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UEFA seems to be content with PAO's arrangements so far with its creditors and others who are owed money. But this is not so great if you think there's no income for a while, until they sell some players in January. This is the best team and it's only 4 points clear of relegation. Things won't get easier in the second half of the season. The last effort by someone to come up with a financial plan ended in immediate failure.
I don't see how the fans can come up with money (even if it's 50e a person) in such difficult times. The rich owners who made the horrible decisions and mismanaged players and money should be paying. But, unfortunately this isn't happening.
I'm afraid a historic team may soon go under.... I don't see any solution now. If there was someone interested with enough $ $$ to really save the club, they would have appeared by now, don't you think?
As for the article above, why haven't they applied for such extensions with the bank? DOn't they know about it? The longer the Nova money goes to the bank (all of it) this season, the less ability the club has to pay its expenses. The bank should be aware that if PAO goes to 2nd div, no tv contract; also the league will lose.
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There's lots of debates about economic theories and their outcomes. What surprises me is that we see the same arguments for economic growth* that have no evidence of their efficacy. Today, in the US, the conservatives are pushing a tax bill that would give further tax breaks to the super rich and the idea is that the rich & big corporations will generate more jobs and a bigger economy. There's no proof that such a policy works.
So, after 30+ years of conservative economics, the gap between the super rich and everyone else has grown tremendously. This is a fact.
Same with health outcomes. You may hear how the US health care model is good and how bad the Canadian, French or German are, but we can definitely see & measure the health outcomes in all of those countries..... with the US not doing so great!
* there might be growth but the lower classes don't benefit; in the US, the middle class has lost ground since the 1970s.
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Never underestimate the stupidity of people.... It'd only take 1 disgruntled person owed money by PAO to send the club down to 3rd div. if they're not willing to settle. Likewise if a player with a long(er) contract doesn't like the payment situation and has found a team offering him a good contract, what do you think he'd do? Players who aren't paid according to their contract, can demand 100% payment, and if the club doensn't pay on time, they can be free to go to another team.
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Too many people don't really understand government and how it works. They vote for a party that is for the interests of big business and the very wealthy. They voted for a president because the other candidate was not liked and she had some "secret" emails... Many voters don't think that electing a president and members of Congress greatly impacts their daily lives and their future, from the environment, to consumer protection, to retirement, to education and health care.
These days I see so many people willing to camp outside stores to get a sale deal for few bucks but aren't willing to spend 10' voting.
@Bananas you ask, "what gives?"... In 1832, Britain passed the Great Reform Act that allowed the common people to vote. The conservatives were panicking because they had been openly advocating for the aristocracy, banks, big business, and generally for nothing to benefit the lower classes. However, they figured out that their party could forge an alliance with the working class. How? They'd would sell patriotism, law and order, xenophobia, identity politics, religion, morality, and a ..great Britain! Today the cons are in power.
Sounds familiar?...
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It's way past midnight, and I'm watching the Senate debate a horrendous tax bill. Even conservative think tanks acknowledge it's a big give-away to the wealthy. Those (the majority of taxpayers) who make under $70/year will see taxes go up. This bill is very unpopular and the GOP is trying to cram this through with little debate and, most importantly, without time for the Senators to know exactly what's in the bill.
This will add to the deficit but no worries, cuts in Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security are coming in order to reduce the deficit.
I'm sorry but this is a new low for the conservatives.
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Look, only some very rich person who's a bit crazy would spend* the money to get control of the club and make it into a great (for Greek standards) club again. (*I almost said "invest" but this would imply the possibility of some $ returns). The league is bad, attendance is down, corruption and incompetence abound, and there's a good chance that the fan base would curse you out. So, they should find a masochist or someone very rich that $100 mil. isn't a problem. I mean if you're a billionaire (and some Greeks are multi-b) buy this club and show off to the other big 3 club owners!
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The majority of gun owners do agree that a gun is a dangerous thing to have so a license has to include training on how to use a weapon.
I don't see gun ownership from an ideological point of view. I want to figure out a way to reduce violence. *
Guns in the wrong hands kill. The abundance of guns is a dangerous thing in a modern, civilized society. Statistics show that more guns=more deadly violence, including unintended consequences of gun availability, like suicide, accidents, domestic disputes, etc. Crime also does not go down when there are more guns. [cities have strict gun laws but it's not the laws, it's the availability of guns that matters the most]
It's misleading to say that if you stop 2 out of 10 mass shootings proves the point that guns everywhere is the solution.This would mean 20% and simply hasn't happened to that extend. It's more like 3% when a good civilian with a gun has stopped a bad gun guy.
You have to weigh the benefits versus the costs of gun ownership.
Let's stop pretending.... You want to have guns because you like them, and I can totally understand such an argument, but at least let's have an honest discussion.
*you can't administer a solution that is worse than the problem; artificial intelligence in the future will be able to eliminate violence... by killing all humans!
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Not a good game by either team.
Final, PAO-AEK 1:1
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I missed the first half, but PAO is up 1-0 with Moledo scoring. Moledo got injured and was subbed.
Even ball control now, but AEK is more threatening, about 20' left.
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Yes, I read the article(s) about this archaeological find; it's amazing in its detail.
One of the things I admire about the Hellenic civilization was its emphasis on the human condition. It wasn't all about glorifying the kings or the gods. Even their religion was humanly based! The human form was idealized.
Also, their attempt to understand the physical world by using reason and the scientific method--extremely rare for the times then.
As for things back then and even today, we have to define what greatness is! So, what were the "great civilizations" or the people that achieved extraordinary things?
One was military power, brute force, battle tactics. Genghis Khan conquered huge swaths of lands. The Vikings were great warriors too. Same with Assyrians, Babylonians, et al.
The other one was ideas, science, philosophy, etc, that survived and influenced thousands of future generations. The Athenian model of organizing tribes on a more open, tolerant political system, gave rise to all these things, which in turn produced greatness. For me, ideas and culture matter as to what possible outcomes are likely. It could have been an accident of history that the Athenians did what they did, but they ..did it! Not many other societies copied them.
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21 hours ago, Bananas said:
The powers that be have create a world such that having children is detrimental for a woman's career. ...
It doesn't have to be a conspiracy by the established powers/elites.... Actually such "powers that be" would want to maintain the old order since anytime you empower one group (like women), there's a power shift by definition. {I may paraphrasing your point}
I'd want the best for my sister, wife, girlfriend, etc, to pursue their own bliss. If it's a career they seek, so be it. At least in the last 50 years, in the advanced countries, this is a possibility for them. By the way, the birth control pill (or other methods) empowered women. In the US, before the 1970s, many professions that required a loooong commitment of time were dominated by men. Delaying becoming a mother, allows women to get education, jobs, etc. Indeed, one of the reason (glass ceiling and prejudice are others) women aren't advancing as fast as men is that they take time off for motherhood.
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If you wanted to bring every human to the level of affluence and comforts of modern life, you wouldn't be able as you'd need 3+ Earths to do it..... (not enough resources). So much of humanity is still suffering in the 21st c. Maybe technology will make things easier, but population growth has to stop at some point. One way to reduce population growth is to raise the status of women!
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The latest mass shooting in Texas, dozens dead, shows that good people with guns can't stop a bad person with a gun. It's only 3% of cases that armed civilians stop a perp with a gun). But no matter what the numbers and statistics show, many people don't change their minds nor do they change their tune. You show them the facts and they keep repeating the same nonsense.
In the latest incident, it's the availability of guns, plus an inadequate system of background checks. The shooter had a history of violence and even craziness. But the NRA and many Repubs don't want sensible background checks, which is crazy.
On 11/6/2017 at 12:20 AM, tantra129 said:and ANOTHER ..... guns for all.
i can't believe people believe in this crap and this idiot of a non-leader
By the way, guns for all isn't the solution. We tried this in early America. Oh, I like westerns.... By the way, I'm looking forward to season 2 of WestWorld
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Thanks Tantra, very interesting.
The geographical area of Greece produced some great civilization. Yes, the genetic code shows that there's a lineage from the ancients to the modern Greeks, but also a mixing of the populations of peoples who lived in the area.
Does DNA carry qualities that make one people more special or even superior to others? Is there genetic memory that makes people predisposed to something? I think that people can make themselves what they want. It certainly feels good to have ancestors with a history of greatness, but it's up to you to learn from them and carry on the tradition.
Also, should you be given privileges because your ..father won the Nobel Prize? You can certainly feel proud, but I'd ask you, have you done anything of importance? I see DNA lineage the same way. It's nice to have but show me something new, say your generation has done.... Also, nobody prevents anyone from adopting great ideas from the ancients, or from anywhere really, even if they don't have direct lineage, and I think this is beautiful.
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What is the problem of bringing in people to a country whose population is declining? .. Is it their color of skin? Their culture? Their ethnicity?
I don't think that a population decline is necessarily a bad thing. I believe humanity doesn't need 10 billion people. At any rate, rapid increases or decreases present problems since transitions are abrupt.
If you want to maintain your population, and you don't have 2.2 children per couple (to maintain population size), then you have to bring in people. So, the key is how to do it. You do it smartly and not by creating ghettos but by making the newcomers feel patriotic.* Many immigrants to the US become more patriotic than older groups. The story of the creation of the modern state itself is based on giving benefits to people who in turn become nationalists/patriots.
As for having fewer kids, because women seek to further their careers.... well, so what? I'm all for that. They have no obligation to churn out many children to satisfy anyone's grand nationalist desires. In my view, women should pursue their own happiness the way they seem fit... and now they have that opportunity which was denied since ..ever.
* when children want to carry the country's flag and you have knuckleheads saying "only Greeks can carry the Greek flag" is NOT the way to make people call a country their "home." Anyone who calls a country their home has created an emotional attachment and a commitment to their adopted/adoptive country. Greece should have a smart immigration policy. Admit, even invite those who want to stay and prosper, and, why not, have a better life than in their country of birth.
PS. If the neo-fascists of today knew Greek history they would.......... Hmmm, forget it, they'd still be morons, because they don't care for facts; they have an infantile obsession to feel superior to others, though the truth is they're dumb as bricks. So, yeah, many of those who fought for Greek independence (like the Αρβανιτες) wouldn't be accepted as Greeks today by those morons.
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Special investigator Muller (former FBI chief) will get to the bottom of this. His top deputy was the one that broke up the Italian mafia in NY and put away many gangsters, so he knows how to get people. Obviously one tactic is to get insiders to testify on the big bosses....
One thing for sure so far, there was ..eagerness for a collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russians. Trump Jr has admitted so, and he's not the only one.
But, I think there's a bigger story here, besides Trump colluding with a foreign power to win the election, in that I think there are links, like bankrolling the Trump business, money laundering, etc. Trump said he'd release his tax returns after he was elected... We're still waiting... I wonder why he's not doing that when everyone one has...
Trump Presidency
in Let's talk about this
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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.