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Did you literally never visit a dentist or pediatrician at any point during your entire childhood? Or were you raised by wolves in Ecuador?
Well I was afraid of the dentist and don't really have a lot of memories of the Pediatrics office (sorry, I was raised in a small town). Sears catalogs! S&H Green stamp catalogs! I'm literally hanging my head in shame because had I known they were talking about sex I'd have maybe picked once up... (yes, they were in the stack...)
I mean I had to walk 5 miles to school uphill both ways!
Well I was afraid of the dentist and don't really have a lot of memories of the Pediatrics office (sorry, I was raised in a small town). Sears catalogs! S&H Green stamp catalogs! I'm literally hanging my head in shame because had I known they were talking about sex I'd have maybe picked once up... (yes, they were in the stack...)
Aaaah, the stamp catalog. There's some old-timey ****.
Fun Fact: The actual, original scheme proposed by Charles Ponzi (namesake of the Ponzi scheme) involved taking advantage of an inherent arbitrage opportunity offered by the Universal Postal Union. His idea was to purchase large numbers of International Reply Coupons in countries such as Italy with weak economies and low postal rates, then importing them to the US in bulk and exchanging them for postage stamps.
Der Spiegel (The Mirror) is a news magazine published in Germany. It engages in a combination of investigative journalism and commentary (much like Time in the US), and is one of the most widely-read weekly periodicals in Europe.
Europe Must Defend Itself Against A Dangerous President The United States president is becoming a danger to the world. It is time for Germany and Europe to prepare their political and economic defenses.
A DER SPIEGEL Editorial By Klaus Brinkbäumer
February 05, 2017 11:14 AM
Is the United States turning its back on liberty?
There are times in life that really do count. Times when a person's character is revealed, when the important is separated from the unimportant. Soon decisions are taken that will determine the further path a person takes. With some, this can be tragic, and the moment comes too soon in their youth at a time when they aren't mature enough yet to foresee all the potential consequences. They make the decisions cheerfully and they lead to either luck or bad luck. But countries and governments are seldom as innocent when it comes to their decisions.
That's the kind of situation now approaching. The people who will soon have to decide are already grown up. They now have to start preparing, even if it will be painful.
Germany must stand up in opposition to the 45th president of the United States and his government. That's difficult enough already for two reasons: Because it is from the Americans that we obtained our liberal democracy in the first place; and because it is unclear how the brute and choleric man on the other side will react to diplomatic pressure. The fact that opposition to the American government can only succeed when mounted together with Asian and African partners -- and no doubt with our partners in Europe, with the EU -- doesn't make the situation any easier.
So far, Germany has viewed its leadership role -- at least the leadership understanding of Chancellor Angela Merkel and Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble -- as one that is by all means in opposition to the interests of other European countries. Whether Schäuble's austerity policies or Merkel's migration policies, it all happened without much co-coordination and with considerable force. It is thus somewhat ironical that it is Germany, the country that is politically and economically dominant in Europe, that will now have to fill in many of the gaps created by America's withdrawal from the old world order, the one referred to by former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer as "Pax Americana." At the same time, Germany must build an alliance against Donald Trump, because it otherwise won't take shape. It is, however, absolutely necessary.
It is literally painful to write this sentence, but the president of the United States is a pathological liar. The president of the U.S. is a racist (it also hurts to write this). He is attempting a coup from the top; he wants to establish an illiberal democracy, or worse; he wants to undermine the balance of power. He fired an acting attorney general who held a differing opinion from his own and accused her of "betrayal." This is the vocabulary used by Nero, the emperor and destroyer of Rome. It is the way tyrants think.
A Serious Threat
Donald Trump and his fire-starter Stephen Bannon discriminate against certain people by decree, but not against those from countries in which Trump does business. The contempt the president of the United States and his most important adviser have for science and education is so blatant that it's almost difficult to write. But their disdain for climate and environmental policies has to be stated, because four or eight years of it could become a serious threat.
Among the things that counted as true progress during the 20th century were multilateralism and free trade. The world has become so complex that no single country can solve the major problems on its own -- that was our recognition. Organizations like the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, NATO and the EU were all created for this reason. None of these organizations is perfect, but they are what we launched -- and we do need them. Bannon now wants to wipe them away, and either Trump is executing Bannon's intentions or he shares them.
That's why under President Trump, both the justified and the contemptible will be melded. Injustice is a major issue of our times, as are fears of digitalization and globalization -- and rightfully so given that the division of society and the speed of modern life is, in fact, extreme. Trump fuses these worries of his voters with nationalism and xenophobia. That's how demagogues work and it is how they become effective. The fact that the United States, a nuclear superpower that has dominated the world economically, militarily and culturally for decades, is now presenting itself as the victim, calling in all seriousness for "America first" and trying to force the rest of the world into humiliating concessions is absurd. But precisely because this nonsense is coming from the world's most powerful man, it is getting trapped by him.
This is not a threat that will somehow resolve itself. The German economy has become the target of American trade policy and German democracy is ideologically antithetical to Trump's vision. But even here, in the middle of Germany, right-wing extremists are trying to give him a helping hand. It is high time that we stand up for what is important: democracy, freedom, the West and its alliances.
This does not mean escalation or that we must abandon our contacts with America and all the working groups between our governments. What is does mean, though, is that Europe must grow stronger and start planning its political and economic defenses. Against America's dangerous president.
Speaking of Hitler, I’m ending my support of UC Berkeley, where I got my MBA years ago. I have been a big supporter lately, with both my time and money, but that ends today. I wish them well, but I wouldn’t feel safe or welcome on the campus. A Berkeley professor made that clear to me recently. He seems smart, so I’ll take his word for it.
I’ve decided to side with the Jewish gay immigrant who has an African-American boyfriend, not the hypnotized zombie-boys in black masks who were clubbing people who hold different points of view. I feel that’s reasonable, but I know many will disagree, and possibly try to club me to death if I walk on campus.
...
Note: I endorsed Hillary Clinton – for my personal safety – because I live in California. It isn’t safe to be viewed as a Trump supporter where I live. My politics don’t align with either candidate, but backing Clinton reduces my odds of dying at the hands of my fellow citizens. (And yes, I am 100% serious. It just happens to be funny by coincidence.)
During an interview with Nebraska Senator Deb Fischer, a Republican, Tur suggested Trump would take a page from Russian President Vladimir Putin’s playbook and start targeting journalists for death.
“As we know, there's, since 2000, been a couple dozen suspicious deaths of journalists in Russia who came out against the government there,” Tur reminded the Senator before unscrupulously suggesting Trumps distaste for the media would escalate, “Donald Trump has made no secret about going after journalists and his distaste for any news that doesn't agree with him here. Do you find that this is a dangerous path he is heading down?”
Fischer defending the president saying that it’s his job to foster relationships with leaders from countries around the globe. “And I believe that President Trump will recognize, or does recognize right now, who Putin is,” she added in his defense.
But Tur wasn’t having any of it, pressuring the Senator by asking, “What makes you say that he does recognize who Putin is when he hasn't said so publicly?” The Senator tried to argue that the new president wasn’t going to sour the relationship right out of the gate, but was cut off by her interviewer. “There is a difference between attacking and flattering,” Tur spat.
According to a promotional Breitbart story that ran before the event, Yiannopoulos was going to “call for the withdrawal of federal grants and the prosecution of university officials who endanger their students with their policies.”
Which is exactly what Trump did via tweet early the next morning:: “If U.C. Berkeley does not allow free speech and practices violence on innocent people with a different point of view — NO FEDERAL FUNDS?”
Thursday night, Yiannopoulos had a friendly interview on Fox News’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight” – a show that, according to the Washington Post, has ridden anger at left-wing activism into best-in-class prime time ratings.
Yiannopoulos wasn’t asked about the content of the speech that was shut down. The conversation focused instead on how Berkeley proved the point that the Left was ceding its right to federal grants by cracking down on free speech.
...
Which raises the possibility that Yiannopoulos and Breitbart were in cahoots with the agitators in order to lay the groundwork for a Trump crackdown on universities and their federal funding.
“In response to the record number of hate crimes against Latinxs, Immigrants, Muslims, Women, the LGBTQIA+ community, Jews, African Americans and other minorities since the rise of Donald Trump and other Alt-Right Neo-*****, Knights for Socialism has decided to host a series of self-defense clinics for anyone that wants to learn how to BASH THE FASH,” asserts the Facebook event page for “Leftist Fight Club: The Rumbles at Lake Claire.”
“This event is open to everyone and anyone, EXCEPT REPUBLICANS.”
The description explains that a local amateur boxer was on hand to teach basic hand-to-hand combat techniques at the self-defense clinic, in order to help the socialist students better protect themselves from potential hate crimes performed by those sympathetic to “Donald Trump and other Alt-Right Neo-*****.”
...
“Ladies: The Commander in thief is a sexual predator and rapist,” the description warns. “He has normalised sexual assault and it is expected that sexual violence against women is going to skyrocket in the next 12 months. Please join us! There will be other women there for you to spar against!”
The organizers also imply that they are looking forward to unprotected sparring, remarking that “We will have gloves and pads, no bare-knuckle yet .”
so now, i guess, the right needs to be more armed, to protect ourselves not against leftist-thieves, but now leftist-thought police.
We’ve seen nothing where we can where — where I can work with President Bush on…”
“I’m disappointed because I thought there might be some interest because of what he said in the campaign. It turned out to be not true, a hoax and really dangerous to economic stability of America’s working families..."
How can a president who is acting the manner he is acting — whether he’s talking about the travel ban, the way he’s targeted Muslims, or whether he’s talking about his relationship to (Vladimir) Putin and the Kremlin and knowing that they have hacked our (Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee) and the (Democratic National Committee),”
“And knowing that he’s responsible for supplying the bombs that killed innocent children and families in, um, in, um,” she said, forgetting the name before someone behind her whispered, “Aleppo.”
“Yeah, in Aleppo,” she said.
Waters continued, “And the fact that he is wrapping his arms around Putin while Putin is continuing to advance into Korea.”
City College of San Francisco will be free of charge to all city residents under a deal announced Monday by Mayor Ed Lee and Supervisor Jane Kim that college trustees hope will lead to an enrollment jolt and more state funding for the school.
Under the agreement, which is expected to take effect in the fall, the city will pay $5.4 million a year to buy out the $46-a-credit fee usually paid by students.
The city’s contribution will also provide $250 a semester to full-time, low-income students who already receive a state-funded fee waiver. They will be able to use the money to pay for books, transportation, school supplies and health fees. Part-time students with fee waivers will get $100 a semester for the same purpose.
i wonder why it's so dammed expensive out there...
02-04-2017, 05:03 PM
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