Posts by BenWilson
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Hard News: European Horror Stories, in reply to Nathaniel Wilson,
This isn't Germany's fault, and I can't help but feel if it were France or England doing the "best" at present the entire narrative would be different. Yes German banks (amongst others) are involved, but that doesn't make the people of Germany responsible anymore than we (New Zealanders) are responsible for the behaviour of finance companies here.
"Fault" isn't a word I used. I don't care who is at fault. I care about what they're going to do about it and what that might mean. If Germans actually want Europe to work out, they need to consider whether the point of their Union is to punish entire nations. Do they really want a civil war? That's where this shit leads.
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Hard News: European Horror Stories, in reply to Nathaniel Wilson,
Fair enough, my point was simply about the "really bad things happen" angle, that sucking all the wealth out of a nation ruins it and turns it violent, and putting it back in makes it prosperous and peaceful.
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Hard News: That page doesn't exist ..., in reply to Tamara,
Yes, indeed. They're aiming to be the worst landlord in town.
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Hard News: European Horror Stories, in reply to Angus Robertson,
The Germans really don't like it, their existential beliefs equate high inflation with very very bad things happening.
How is that an argument? Firstly, they're wrong, high inflation is not always bad. Second, even if they're right, they don't have a viable alternative, because they can't/won't control the banks which are the source of the inflation. Third, not all Germans have such dopey faith driven beliefs. Fourth, printing money is not proven to generate high inflation anyway, because it is not the only source of inflation.
This really is a time to go right back to basics. A great many of the most fundamental beliefs we have about economics need to be examined closely.
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Hard News: European Horror Stories, in reply to Stephen R,
The Germans got hit by hyperinflation followed by a depression after WWI. They are currently more scared of the possibility of hyper-inflation than the coming (arrived?) depression, but it's not completely irrational of them.
Yes, it is. Their economy went to shit because of the incredibly harsh Versailles terms that forced them pay endlessly for WW1. How can they not see that any country you do that to is likely to turn nationalistic real fast, just like they themselves did? Can they also not understand that the Marshall Plan was what set up their meteoric rise from the ashes of total destruction? Do they really think things would have gone so well for them if a second Versailles had been imposed on them then?
This was about the only thing that the Allies really learned that was of any use from that war - that throttling a country to death does not lead to peace, and that building it up rapidly is the very best way to gain a powerful and loyal ally. If only the Germans themselves could have learned from any of these lessons.
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Hard News: European Horror Stories, in reply to Russell Brown,
The degree to which shit is fucked up is really quite hard to grasp.
Are we allowed to start calling this a depression yet? It's quite an important psychological boundary, because it suddenly unlocks solutions that have been considered impossible since...well, the last depression. It's also very fucking important to recognize that the actual cure for the last depression was a much bitterer pill than anything Angus is worried about. I really don't care to pander to German cultural misgivings, I get enough of that from my father-in-law.
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Hard News: European Horror Stories, in reply to Angus Robertson,
Probably much of southern Europe (Giovanni included) is angling for this print lots of money option, but the Germans have very deep cultural misgivings about it.
It's an option that is very much worth considering. You don't present any reasonable argument why not.
It could also work here. Big hat tip to Bernard Hickey for suggesting it in the Herald on the weekend. Yes, it's shades of Social Credit, but that is also not a reasonable argument. They might have been right all along, as up to 20% of NZers felt whilst FPP systematically robbed them of any representation.
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Gotta back Sofie. Diaz is sexy. Her look has never been sophisticated so I can imagine, without even seeing the Oscars, that she might pale on the costume front. But my eye would still be drawn to her slender body, and naturally beautiful face, and the slightly goofy movement that often accompanies being very tall and surrounded by short men.
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Hard News: That page doesn't exist ..., in reply to Morgan Nichol,
Thanks for speaking out about your feelings on this Morgan. I think this feeling of depressed powerless gloom has been settling over the country for quite a while. I think it's also settling over the whole western world, but one of the feelings that goes with it is a contraction of your world, so that local affairs really do take higher importance, and one loses touch with global trends. I've felt it most keenly myself. It's like the whole country needs counseling. A depressed person becomes self-obsessed, and I think the same goes for a depressed country.
On the subject of getting rid of these fucksticks, I think you're right about preaching to the choir - that doesn't change anything. Which is not to say that the choir is useless - it's most definitely not. It's a place to go to recharge yourself, to get useful advice to swap ideas in good faith, etc. But if we are to really make ourselves useful in the fuckstick eradication campaign, we have to get our noses bloodied. I mean this metaphorically, mostly. We need to stop avoiding people who we strongly disagree with and take them on head-to-head. On their own ground, or a neutral ground. Only retreat to safe ground when you need to "heal up". Do not underestimate your power to persuade people, if you go at it, you're an eloquent guy. You won't convince the trolls, definitely won't make any progress against shills, but always remember that the real audience of a debate that aims to change people are those who are silently listening. On the internet, there could be thousands of these people reading things you say, and that can cascade outwards into the debates that form parts of their lives, so you can end up convincing even people who haven't read you.
I'm mentioning the rhetorical side of the campaign, but the same goes for all activity, really, that standing by while good things are taken away is all too easy. All of the small acts don't count for nothing, everyone has a chance to be Claude Rains if they feel strongly enough. And our power to organize into group action is the most important resistance of all.
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I was going to skip over this post because I hate the Oscars, which is seldom a useful contribution on a thread about it. But since that is actually the theme of the post, I'm going to agree.
I probably wouldn't dislike them so much if there were some films from Hollywood in the last year I'd actually felt compelled to watch. Then I could be cheering for my preferences, and even if they didn't win there'd at least be some tension. But unfortunately no trailer for the entirety of a year has had me willing to risk the $50 it always seems to cost me. I think of all the other actually enjoyable things I could do with $50. Indeed, I think of a great many things I can do for free that I'd enjoy more.
But I do have to temper my comment by also saying that I've never liked the Oscars, even when I did actually like Hollywood movies. They're one of those things that you had to be there for. Good on them for having their award ceremony, but it's not a great deal more interesting than a school prizegiving.
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