Status
Not open for further replies.

padraig (u.s.)

a monkey that will go ape
anything that will remove him from decision-making of any kind

what's absolutely crazy is that his approval ratings are the highest they've been in 3 years

it's only a few % points, but it's been trending upward the last 2 weeks

I know, it's America, everything, but it is so frustrating. if you want to see more competent leadership you can look at literally almost any other country on Earth.

this fucking guy has literally ensured the deaths of a huge number of Americans that he more than any other person could have prevented
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
I thought that the tide was beginning to turn today... I saw a poll saying more were now disapproving of his handling of the crisis. I know there are lots of polls with surprisingly (not) different results but that was noteworthy today cos it was the first I'd seen saying that. I have a feeling that it won't be the last.. but I been wrong before.
 

version

Well-known member
I dunno whether this is actually true but it'd be cool if it were,

"Banning the working class from working during a pandemic but not banning the rentier class from extracting rents has done more to instill an immediate and furious class consciousness than anything else I've ever seen."
 

version

Well-known member
Watch Sparks' Ron Mael Show Off His Hand Sanitizer Collection

Recent hand sanitizer hoarders include coronavirus panic buyers and the morally bankrupt, but Sparks' Ron Mael is neither. In fact, the keyboardist was collecting the cleaner before it was cool, and he is now showing off his stockpile of sanitizers from around the globe

In a video shared through Sparks' social channels, the elder Mael spends just over seven minutes taking viewers through his collection of travel-sized bottles.

Leading off with some different coloured variants of Purell packaging, his crash course in becoming a cleanliness connoisseur focuses on offerings from Sweden, Finland, Spain, Italy, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and Japan.

Mael shows that Japan, which he identifies as "the epicentre of a great variety of hand sanitizers," has a popular brand of gel that features a raccoon on the label. Sticking with the same brand, he shows off a more powerful gel in yellow packaging, along with a "very rare" edition in slim tube format perfect for travel.
 

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
I've noticed that since this thing really became impossible to ignore in the UK I've been having constantly negative and/or upsetting dreams. It's interesting cos I don't feel I'm having THAT bad a time on "lockdown. Certainly a lot better than many people. For one thing, I'm used to spending a lot of time alone in my room.

But yeah, obviously on the level of the subconscious I'm very worried and depressed about it all.

Economically speaking there hasn't been good news for decades now. In my simplistic map of the past, 9/11 heralded the death of all good news and optimism. But until the last few weeks it's been easy enough to ignore or escape from mentally.

As Eliot says "humankind cannot bear very much reality".
 

sadmanbarty

Well-known member
I've noticed that since this thing really became impossible to ignore in the UK I've been having constantly negative and/or upsetting dreams. ".

i believe it or not have been having loads of sex dreams. very, very vivid ones. very realistic (the other night it was doggy style with my foot wedged against the door so a flatmate couldn't open the door and walk in).

i never, ever have sex dreams. very much a product of quarantine. my subconscious compensating for the lack of physical contact.
 

DannyL

Wild Horses
So you three all, uh, play the market? Is it fun? Or you just do it for the money?

No, not at all. I don't have the money so though my partner's family have invested some money for our kids in index funds. Though anyone who has a pension is connected to the markets whether they like it or not.

I started taking an interest in reading about finance and economics a few years ago - firstly, 'cos I think it's getting closer to a real understanding of what power is and how and why it's exercised (as Padraig says), and secondly, I think because of my own financial insecurity - a hedge, if you will. Was quite impressed with John Kay's work (in general, his books are brilliant) - specifically The Long & Short of It which details an investment strategy - basically shadow the investments some of the big funds make (he mentions Local Govt pension funds as being quite well managed IIRC). This way you save all the costs associated with having your money managed which can make a big difference in the long term, given the magic of compounding interest. Or so he says, this is strictly theoretical knowledge on my part. Would like to try it someday, don't know if I ever will.

BTW There's a surprising amount of good writing on finance. Michael Lewis's books are brilliant, real page turners. Everyone should read Flash Boys just to get a sense of how insanely dysfunctional our systems are. John Lanchester's pieces for the LRB are another huge fave of mine. Wish he'd stop writing bloody novels and just churn these out every week.
 
Last edited:

luka

Well-known member
One thing I've noticed is that people with investments are, 99% of the time, politically more conservative because they are invested in the status quo. It has a drastic effect on the way they align themselves.
 

luka

Well-known member
I say 99% of the time just in case Padraig thinks I'm having a pop at him. He can situate himself in the 1%
 

DannyL

Wild Horses
Yeah, that's true. As is the opposite - most of the people I knew supporting Corbyn hadn't "made it". The politics of envy and all that.
 

Leo

Well-known member
dreamt last night I was back in college, the area went on virus lockdown and my best friend was leading a protest against it on civil liberties grounds. it was a real dilemma because there are questions of civil liberties and government overreach and he is my best friend, but public safety was at risk and quarantine helps slow the spread. woke up before I'd resolved the dilemma.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
I had a really realistic dream that Boris Johnson not only contracted the virus but had died of it and I was feeling a bit conflicted about wanting him to die but when I thought about it I decided it was overall better for everyone on the whole. I felt a bit sorry for Cary but then thought that she would eventually get over it and ultimately lead a better life without him. I remember actually thinking that one day they would make a great film about his life, it ending with him tragically dying alone, missed by no-one, his ambition come to naught. When I woke up I couldn't at first work out whether or not he was dead.
The night before I had a sex dream involving a particularly beautiful woman.
Let's hope for the good of the world that my dreams do have a predictive power.
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
Not a fan of that phrase

I think it's an apt description of the mentality of a minority of people who assume that anyone who's accrued any level of wealth whatsoever must have done so by exploiting others and should have it taken away from them. But it's used more often in a dishonest way to dismiss anyone who is critical of massive levels of inequality and real exploitation.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top