jkjk Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 11 minutes ago, Enrico_sw said: The only question is: what the frak is the US waiting for to blow up its oligopolies? I'm not an expert on the topic and definitely not on the timing. The US was a country of a small number of gigantic countries in the late 1800's. The government realized this was bad and passed laws and broke up these companies. I forget the timing of when it reversed, mainly because it was a slow reverse, but I believe the 1980's is when it began to be a real problem again and something needed to be done, but never was. It seems like it will never happen. I'm sure some of that is wrong, probably shouldn't have tried. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stromboli1 Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 1 hour ago, jkjk said: Mainly, it's the large companies who are in charge. Also, hypocrisy is the biggest similarity between the two parties. The parties' values are really important, until they get in the way. They still don't hold each other accountable cause they're both in on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkjk Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 3 minutes ago, Stromboli1 said: They still don't hold each other accountable cause they're both in on it. That made me think about the polling from the US I saw recently. People from each party were polled and each say the country is getting worse and it's the fault of the other party. I used to think that means people have no idea what state the country is in, they just want to blame the other side for their problems. Maybe not. If each side is in on it together, then the people polled are actually right, just not in the way they think they are. In my head, that was funnier before I typed it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stromboli1 Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 2 minutes ago, jkjk said: That made me think about the polling from the US I saw recently. People from each party were polled and each say the country is getting worse and it's the fault of the other party. I used to think that means people have no idea what state the country is in, they just want to blame the other side for their problems. Maybe not. If each side is in on it together, then the people polled are actually right, just not in the way they think they are. In my head, that was funnier before I typed it out. I don't think people will realize how bad the initial CARES Act was, I thought it was shit at the time and will be proven to be worse over time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enrico_sw Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 36 minutes ago, jkjk said: The government realized this was bad and passed laws and broke up these companies. I guess Standard Oil was one of the early big cases . Ironically, the companies that rose from its ashes became part of another cartel (the seven sisters) afterwards. I understand that companies need to get bigger in order to get economies of scale, but, at some point, if they become too big, like ogres, they end up bullying entire sectors. 40 minutes ago, jkjk said: It seems like it will never happen. I guess that the political party funding in the US doesn't make it easy... politicians owe debts (real or implicit ones) after the elections, don't they? I guess that the struggles between the political and financial power is an old story. The most famous case we have here is between Louis XIV and his Superintendent of Finances. At that time, the politicial power (the monarchy) was much stronger, because it had traditions (and the army) to back it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enrico_sw Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 Looking good, not as graphically beautiful as Sekiro, but still good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkjk Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 Parallel universe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stromboli1 Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 14 minutes ago, Enrico_sw said: I guess Standard Oil was one of the early big cases . Ironically, the companies that rose from its ashes became part of another cartel (the seven sisters) afterwards. I understand that companies need to get bigger in order to get economies of scale, but, at some point, if they become too big, like ogres, they end up bullying entire sectors. AT&T was broken up in the last 50 years, but has slowly reacquired the companies that were born of their breakup over the years. 16 minutes ago, Enrico_sw said: I guess that the political party funding in the US doesn't make it easy... politicians owe debts (real or implicit ones) after the elections, don't they? Yes 100%. Then after they do their bidding, the politicians give speeches for outrageous fees at companies, book deals, etc. The oligarchs, lobbyists, and politicians know how to funnel the dark money around. Politicians (especially the Senate) also get access to stock information as well............. basically insider trading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elfstone Posted May 23, 2020 Share Posted May 23, 2020 Mission accomplished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stromboli1 Posted May 23, 2020 Share Posted May 23, 2020 @elfstone What do you think of this? https://futurism.com/the-byte/government-contact-tracing-app-sending-data-foursquare-google Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkjk Posted May 23, 2020 Share Posted May 23, 2020 20 minutes ago, Stromboli1 said: What do you think of this? I think people gave up on protecting themselves and their data a long time ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stromboli1 Posted May 23, 2020 Share Posted May 23, 2020 33 minutes ago, jkjk said: I think people gave up on protecting themselves and their data a long time ago. I'm fully against the government gaining powers............. the government's powers needs to be limited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkjk Posted May 23, 2020 Share Posted May 23, 2020 12 minutes ago, Stromboli1 said: I'm fully against the government gaining powers............. the government's powers needs to be limited. I understand that, I was saying people don't seem to react to questions of privacy/data. It's as if people have decided to ignore those issues because they don't want to give up their phones, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stromboli1 Posted May 23, 2020 Share Posted May 23, 2020 4 minutes ago, jkjk said: I understand that, I was saying people don't seem to react to questions of privacy/data. It's as if people have decided to ignore those issues because they don't want to give up their phones, etc. Okay................... the phone companies user agreements are bullshit anyways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormbringer Posted May 23, 2020 Share Posted May 23, 2020 The land of the earthquakes has been quite active these last couple of days Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stromboli1 Posted May 23, 2020 Share Posted May 23, 2020 <br /> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stromboli1 Posted May 23, 2020 Share Posted May 23, 2020 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stromboli1 Posted May 23, 2020 Share Posted May 23, 2020 @jkjk This does no good as it's bipartisan and there are other factors involved. I'm not a fan of those Democratic Governors though and they should start reopening with precautions. <br /> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stromboli1 Posted May 23, 2020 Share Posted May 23, 2020 20 hours ago, elfstone said: Mission accomplished. Lots of governors killed small businesses in their states in favor of the bigger box stores cause they sell food for example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkjk Posted May 23, 2020 Share Posted May 23, 2020 5 minutes ago, Stromboli1 said: This does no good as it's bipartisan and there are other factors involved. This is what political discourse is at this point. Take part of the whole story and use it to say the other side is the problem. When the reality is always more complicated and nuanced. For example, if 20 states do something that doesn't work out, people will only point out that is didn't work in states run by the party they don't like. About the mask thing. The mask conversation should be easier. If you choose to wear one, it's because you can't be sure if you are a carrier and you don't want to be the one to get someone else sick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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