dieseltaylor

Anti-democratic? I don't think per se wealth is anti-democratic anymore than dandruff shampoo is. I think concentrated wealth in any system is probably a recipe for dissent/problems. That it occurs in a democracy rather than a dictatorship is a bigger problem as voters confuse one man one vote to also mean equal opportunities. Daft buggers eh! If I hold a portfolio of $100M in stocks/bonds/assets I can get an easy couple of million a year and re-invest a little. If I have an easy lifestyle I could invest a lot, if I am greedy I could overspend. If I have $250M I can invest loads and live like a happy pig also. So at the end of a decade with standard inflation and reasonable investments I would have doubled my asset value. And of course I may be an absolute twit but thankfully my parents, or grandparents were smart and I am doing nothing apart from growing richer and richer by owning more and more assets which thankfully the taxation system colludes in. Its good us rich folk have enough leverage to make it so. Some of us actually go into politics just to make sure it stays that way [and we like the power] but I just give parties for politicos and contribute to the war chest of the right candidate. Easy life. Of course there is nothing stopping poorer folks buying shares and property, we like that because they then have a vested interest in lower tax on invested income. They are saving for a good retirement where all of this will be spent in due course. As it happens of their 50000$ annual income after paying for the mortgage, food, healthcare etc they may only be able to invest $5000 if they are very careful so in a 30 year working life, reduced by children cost ets, they may have a $200000- $500000 portfolio. Sounds a lot but with inflation it is buying less and they may 20 years of living off the portfolio and paying medical fees etc. So really zilchio at the end. Me, well I invest about $5000 per day because I have a bigger income stream than I can manage to spend. As for the children , well they will only get a house each when I die and will have to live off only 100M$ each. However if they are frugal they should be able to live on $1m a years and invest the other couple of million so over 50 years they will be worth a bit. http://afferentinput.blogspot.com/2007/12/if-america-had-100-and-100-people.html is interesting. Inherited great wealth is better done away with. Care has tto be taken to see that everlasting corporations do not then occupy the same position and just incidentally recruit the same family members at very high salaries .... : )

Winner of the 2010 European Solar DecathlonCompetition http://www.lumenhaus.com/eu/sustainability/materials.html I particularly like the Aerogel insulation.

http://www.alternet.org/story/147469/we%27re_in_a_recession_because_the_rich_are_raking_in_an_absurd_portion_of_wealth?page=entire

The LRDG were an exceptional unit and the game engine is completely unable to recreate the tactics and the elan of the men. If I were to attempt it as a scenario I would suggest that only HQ units are used - elite naturally as that would be the nearest CM could get to independently thinking groups. You will of courser still be screwed by borg-spotting and the AI's view of vehicle movement but at least the men will have the right pizazz. However if I were you and I had that much time available I would join a club. : ) In passing the WeBoB Bash 9 has the same game being played by 21 pairs which is allowing for some number crunching and analysis of outlier results. The most obvious is that big winners outgrade their opponents when viewed against the BoBster player ranking. Very high correlation. However aside from that the interesting thing is that the Italian s are unable to identify captured Italian tanks - well they do identify them but as VIb's which being armed with HMG's is not viewed as a threat. They may live long enough to realise their mistake but it does rather alter what might be seen as a perfect balancing device in a scenario. Other things to note are that the Italian ATG tankettes kick the British carrier ATG's butt quite handily. My personal opinion from the start was that the Italians would be the winners in the expected draw result. I did allow for outliers in mismatches. I have to say I am very happily being proved right after 18 battles with the median score being 51.5% to the Axis. As for the average, it is 50.8% to the Allies.

I do wonder if there is a problem in that in the US peoples value is only wealth and acknowledged influence. Consider the situation where people could actually be awarded roles for good citezenship - like blowing the whislte on the house of cards, or being Warren Buffet, or being benefactor by honest public works. A counter to the elected bought politicians that occupy the seats of power. However, and despite me being a conservative by nature, I am beginning to believe the biggest problem for America is inherited wealth. When 1% of the population recieves 23% of the annual income something sucks mightily.

Dear Mum,Our Scoutmaster told us to write to our parents in case you saw the flood on TV and got worried.We are okay. Only one of our tents and 2 sleeping bags got washed away. Luckily, none of us got drowned because we were all up on the mountain looking for Adam when it happened. Oh yes, please call Adam's mother and tell her he is okay. He can't write because of the cast. I got to ride in one of the search and rescue Jeeps. It was great. We never would have found Adam in the dark if it hadn't been for the lightning. Scoutmaster Ted got mad at Adam for going on a hike alone without telling anyone. Adam said he did tell him, but it was during the fire so he probably didn't hear him. Did you know that if you put gas on a fire, the gas will blow up? The wet wood didn't burn, but one of the tents did and also some of our clothes.Matthew is going to look weird until his hair grows back. We will be home on Saturday if Scoutmaster Ted gets the bus fixed. It wasn't his fault about the crash. The brakes worked okay when we left. Scoutmaster Ted said that with a bus that old, you have to expect something to break down; that's probably why he can't get insurance. We think it's a super bus. He doesn't care if we get it dirty, and sometimes he lets us ride on the bumpers if it's hot. It gets pretty hot with 45 people in a bus made for 24. He let us take turns riding in the trailer until the policeman stopped and talked to us. Scoutmaster Ted is a neat guy. Don't worry, he is a good driver. In fact, he is teaching Horace how to drive on the mountain roads where there aren't any cops. All we ever see up there are huge logging trucks. This morning all of the guys were diving off the rocks and swimming out to the rapids. Scoutmaster Ted wouldn't let me because I can't swim, and Adam was afraid he would sink because of his cast (it's concrete because we didn't have any plaster), so he let us take the canoe out. It was great. You can still see some of the trees under the water from the flood. Scoutmaster Ted isn't crabby like some scoutmasters. He didn't even get mad about the life jackets. He has to spend a lot of time working on the bus so we are trying not to cause him any trouble. Guess what? We have all passed our first aid merit badges. When Andrew dived into the lake and cut his arm, we all got to see how a tourniquet works. Steve and I threw up, but Scoutmaster Ted said it was probably just food poisoning from the left-over chicken. He said they got sick that way with food they ate in prison. I'm so glad he got out and became our scoutmaster. He said he sure figured out how to get things done better while he was doing his time. By the way, what is a pedal-file? I have to go now. We are going to town to post our letters andbuy some more beer and ammo. Don't worry about anything. We are fine and tonight it's my turn to sleep in the Scoutmaster's tent.

Interesting stuff. I think healthcare is a very interesting area for Governments to be active. My view is that there has to be very definite limits on what the state will provide, and what medicine is capable of. And just before I start that the State also has to protect its citizens from ill-health which opens another line of liberty and the state. For instance BP's refinery at Texas City has been pumping out carciogenic benzene becuase they did not want to shut down the refinery. If they followed Californian code the problem would not have arisen. Aples Ipod had no logical loudness control and until the French government kicked up and refused importation nothing would have happened. In the UK ,and I assume a lot of the world, I have absolutely no doubt that we will have millions claiming a deafness benefit in a decades time or so. Even if yor country decides to consider deafness as not a disability worth paying for it is as though the Stae has connived at the problem . Part two , individuals responsibilities ,after the wimbledon finals

If Carling did complaint letters ... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/4344890/Virgin-the-worlds-best-passenger-complaint-letter.html the start

I just heard an interview with the author, and was very choked. Here is what I discovered: Incidentally in the interview it appears the mother was very upset and angry her private thoughts had come out. Eventually they met and after a tense first meeting they have met two more times and talk on the phone. It really got to me.

Only you whities, bro! : )

An indictment on the Victorian forensic department - I look forward to someone getting done for it. Also the defending lawyer is going to look very stupid, very stupid. However it would hardly fit my incontrovertible standard would it for capital punishment.

At WeBob a player mentioned that he was using a scenario map but turning it by 90 degrees. As it is for his persoanl use with a couple of mates not a problem. However it set me thinking of the good scenarios, or scenarios with good maps that had been flawed and were therefore not played. I am not a great fan of tweaking but it did cross my mind what Tiger Valley might be like fought as a night battle [ I hate night fights as being something the system does not handle well]. There are also scenarios like Tebourba Engagemnet where everyone who has ever played complains about the reinforcements arriving in clumps of 20. If anything needed a tweak .... Anybody think of some amusing games tweaked Gheel in Daylight! : (

http://www.propublica.org/feature/california-eyes-discipline-for-2000-nurses-sanctioned-by-other-states Yep its true they will hire any nurse from anywhere in the US. What I find amazing is that in a country that makes a big deal about the art of management, that states can opt out of a national register of nurses thereby ensuring a flawed system. http://projects.propublica.org/nurses The other thing is the average time for a disciplinary is 1200 days - is this a tribute to legal suffocation of commonsense?

I had not considered the problems coming with censoring correct spelling. It would be nice if they censored all the bad spelling! It realy is firking annoying

OZ PM has had a number of relationships with other men. I think she sensibly worked out all men are pretty much the same but she could save a fortune on her hair. Incidentally the OZ Labour Party spells it Labor! Weird I thought most Australians new good English

Lets not. However there is always, in any society, opinion against peoples who do not conform or are seen to be unfairly benefitting. In Israel the ultra-orthodox are funded by the stae and do not need to serve in the armed forces. In most Western countries discrimination against Bankers would be welcome I suspect. : ) Shorthanding it to religion or race or colour perhaps hides actual reasons why people feel there is a problem. This does not mean I condone violence at all. I just think some of the problems are not really addressed.

Picked up around the media so no added light on the subject yet. Does seem extremely bizarre.

From this rather saddening piece http://www.alternet.org/story/147340/why_do_murderers_get_mailbags_full_of_love_letters_and_marriage_proposals?page=entire Gunnergoz - surely your view is coloured because of the US justice system which seems insanely poor from where I am. ANd I do reas a lot on America. My point is only incontrovertibles haed to the chair.

Is he by any chance crazy?

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_687146.html I wonder how strong the evidence was. According to Wikipedia the French population was in favour of capital punishment when it was abolished. I think the general rule is that politicians generally live better lives than the vast majority of the population so being seen as enlightened comes with little cost to them. The only seamy side of life they see is influence peddling.

no conflict of interest then

Hoolaman - I can see lots of shades of grey and it is only the blackest of crimes that deserve the death penalty. If I killed an intruder who broke into my house during the night then that is hardly premeditated and in the same league as if I killed several people or decided to murder the PM. As I have repeatedly tried to make clear not all murders are equivalent. Rendering someone a vegetable in a vicious assault is not the same degree as most assaults and we do not expect them to be treated the same. If I decide not to fit safety equipment to my Bhopal plant but do to my US plant and then kill 2000 Indians am I not guilty of deliberate murder? If I design a car where the chances of dying from a rear-end shunt are higher than any other car do I pull it from production, do I re-design it, or do I just go on selling it having decided the extra deaths caused will be covered by sales. This reference is of course to the Pinto case, which on further investigation, is largely mythical in terms of Pinto lethality: http://www.pointoflaw.com/articles/The_Myth_of_the_Ford_Pinto_Case.pdf but enshrined in memory and many text books. However the general point remains that deliberate "murder" or inhuman crimes can be punished by execution without having all murderers deserve the death penalty argument.

Laughably the case for costs rests on some dubious figures from the most expensive state of the most expensive country in the world. This is further made murky byt he fact that ther US justice system sucks. And because it sucks thye have built in huge safeguards to delay executions. Perhaps being more rigorous at the trial might be a better method all round. If we look at the specific case of the guy who murdered two men in court whilst on trial for a third murder one cannot but feel that there would be NO grounds for appeal. Therefore the life cost of looking after hime would be zero as opposed to somewhat over $1M for 40 years incarceration. [Figure based on annual cost for a prisoner in 1993 with someone on death row being a few hundred dollars more expensive. You will appreciate that with inflation the costs would double at least every decade] Bearing in mind my distinction about murderers to be executed would exclude all of those that were done in passion and therefore would form only a small part of the total number of murders committed. Most people convicted of murder may get lightish sentences as per the current regime in the UK. There does exist a group though were death is the logical answer. Mexican gand killers are hardly the type of person where keeping them in goal all the remainder of their life seems very logical. Who knows dying might suggest a chat to the DA. BTW as for Myra Hindley and her toothbrush - you really have no idea how much comfort there is in prison.

Another example of unforeseen consequences. For us blokes not directly relevant but I am sure we have daughters and friends wher this may be of interest: http://www.physorg.com/news196350347.html

Seems like a lot of re-hashing and obsfucation of my arguement. 1] We know the current systems jail innocent people. The remedy is that we do not execute people unless the evidence is incontrovertible and the murder premeditated. 2] Murderers released from prison do murder again - note however by my first rule not all murderers would be executed anyway. 3] I am disheartened to find that no-one has advanced the cause of crimes of passion as opposed to deliberate crime. Crimes of passion are another case in my book as people can in the heat of the moment do unnatural things. 4] You will note that in case 3] that one could include Directors who deliberately place people at risk. 5] Basing arguments on the inadequacies of the US experience is crap as they have perhaps the worst judicial system of the Western nations. Society and individuals rights. As a member of society we have an implied contract we do not go around robbing and raping and murdering because if we did society would collapse. Therefore we support a police force to protect us, and expect villains to be punished. JonS JonS post gives somethings to hang on. Firstly moral issues. That is rich really from a society prepared to go and kill some other nationals because their rulers may be supporting something the West does not like. Seems a very fine point indeed to say that because we totally control a convicted murderer that means his/her life is more valuable than some innocent native somewhere. Its pure cant to suggest life is sacrosanct. For the good of the nation/society we go to war and kill innocents. For the good of society please explain why certain classes of murderers should not be topped. Keeping people alive for life is an expense, and if we release after decades then there is the danger of more innocent people being killed. Is capital punishment a deterrent - well lets put it this way if I were deliberately considering murder the risk reward favours me taking a punt on a ten year term as preferable to dying. After all a decade would be enough to get a degree in crimnology. I doubt there have been many surveys asking how many people seriously considered murdering someone but decided the risk was not worth the candle. Incidentally according to Wikipedia there was a spike in murders following the abolition pretty much of the death penalty in the US. Though there may have been other factors operating. The concept that justice has to be seen to be done is a very important one for society and I would make the argument that high profile cases of criminals [corrupt politicians, fraudsters, murderers] need to be dealt with severely for the benefit of societies belief that there is a just system. If the population believe that money buys the system. or that detection rates are abysmal, or punishments are laughable, then crime is likely to increase. Knowledge that the average murderer gets out after a decade may be felt more acceptable if it is known that the "serious" murderers are executed. Punish or revenge seem to me to be quite close in intent and the semantics. Keeping someone incarcerated for ever may sound cruel. Myrs Hindley who tortured and killed children lived for 37 years after her victims, enjoyed several lesbian relationships and was fed and protected by the State. Curiously she was a heavy smoker and died aged 60 partially due to the State providing her with plenty of fags. According to a psychiatrist know to me she was very manipulative with above average intelligence. In all honesty can anyone say that Myra Hindley suffered for her crime. Do you really think Society felt good about the outcome.