Tales of Home [6]

I think it has a lot to do with the average working person. Governments encouraged the credit boom, banks went with it, customers lapped it up. Everyone was having great time with increasing standards of living and wages going up. It started at the top and was embraced at the bottom. Not by everyone, the same as not every bank or politician was involved directly. But it was fuelled by a common greed which drove an unsustainable credit boom.

Yes, since the collapse there have been a variety of winners and losers but that is nothing to do with the cause.

So you don't think the vast sums of money the banks were making off loans and mortgages to people they knew could not repay them had anyhting to do with it?

And you do think responsibility lies with those making these offers or those who knew a lot less about it and took up the offers?

'Yes, since the collapse there have been a variety of winners and losers but that is nothing to do with the cause.'

No it had nothing to do with the cause but you said I was playing the blame game- I was pointing out if you look who has been hit hardest by the effects of it, the poor, and who has been legislated against the most to take money from them, the poorest again, its clear who government is pinning the blame on- a relentless propaganda machine has been in place since the crash blaming the 'work shy' 'benefits cheats' 'immigrants' and even the disabled and sick.
And in the same space of time almost no legislation curbing the activity at the top and in fact the richest 10% in the same period of time have got even richer.

And that I find sick.

You have to maintain a certain quota of poor people to keep the flow. Who else could Government, big banks, high uppers blame & then pick on when politicians,or whoever was foolish to be caught lacking, or out cock up ? They NEED poor people to lay blame on & victimize. Its a kinda guilt thing, like a pounding of Religion. "you shall go to hell because all this is your fault !" I feel quite confident that you will never stamp out poverty. It may lessen but total equality ? I dont think so. And besides, there's just so MANY poor, comes in jolly handy  Its not "share the love" but, "share the blame".

A good debate. I'll stay out of it for now except to weigh in on one point--

Lancebloke wrote:

Until this is sorted out, hybrid and fully electric cars are a waste of time as it takes about the same, if not more, energy to be produced in the first place which currently comes from fossil fuels and therefore is worse for the environment.

I can say from personal experience that hybrids can be amazingly more efficient than comparable hon-hybrid cars due to the regenerative braking. The actual fuel I save when I borrow a Prius is a lot more than the official fuel economy numbers would suggest. If you're climbing a mountain, you can watch the fuel economy suffer, but when you come back down the other side you'll find the fuel economy has climbed back to where it was when you started. Same with winding roads. On anything but flat and level driving with no stops, I can drive almost twice as far on the same gallon of fuel, no matter where it comes from.

The advantage of fully electric vehicles is more theoretical for now. It's based on the ability to charge them in the night when conventional power plants are currently wasting energy spinning their wheels, just waiting for that hour of the morning when millions of people turn on their coffee machines at once. That's almost free energy now. They have to produce it, but there's almost no market for it.

You have to maintain a certain quota of poor people to keep the flow.- Azriel

Very true. Capitalism as a system cannot function without maintaining a constant minimum level of poverty and poor.

Oddly enough for all I hate Thatcher she was honest about that- she knew her boom made a lot of unemployed- so instead of punishing them and name calling she quietly but effectively moved long term unemployed onto long term sick benefits which paid more money and actual real rock bottom poverty was elevated by quite a degree.
The current Tories however want to both have the unemployed and stigmatise and blame them and use them as scapegoats for a disgruntled middle class and they have created a huge amount of real hardship and poverty in doing so.

There were 5000 lightening strikes during the recent storm here-



My barrel is under there somewhere

I'm currently doing research in lightning. Do you know where that dataset is from, Petty?

That map and its info is from Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution

Usually lightning strikes are measured by triangulating the radio frequency noise. I wonder if SHEPD have their own network or are using somebody else's?

You've not been cursing any gods lately, have you Petty?

Not more than usual- no wait when I had to go the half a mile up the bloody drive of Ambassador Amarie's Ambassadorial mansion to deliver the NotP (why can't she just get a bloody post box?!!   )I may have cursed all Fjordians and their Gods.
But I do that every delivery.

Couple of pictures taken in the last few days and nicked from friends facebook pages-



Inverary Castle, home of the Duke of Argyll and Head of the Clan Campbell-

Oooh, I like that last pic ! It doesnt look creepy scarey but romantic scarey Like a dozen lost souls are there still , trying to find home.

nice pics Petty

You should come and pay us a visit Sin when you're up and about again.

Picture taken about two hours ago- the Holy Loch- this is where I grew up (not in it obviously, but in the village on the shore) the US Naval Base and nuclear subs were stationed there- it still looks weird to me, empty, even after all this time. Hard to believe the hub of constant activity it once was, or that a very large ship and submarine dry-dock were parked in the middle with boats and subs constantly coming and going, tannoys constantly blaring and Americans everywhere. I dont miss the nukes on my doorstep (not that that has changed, the UK's are just round the corner instead) but I do miss you UShobbits, it was a different place back then-

Pettytyrant101 wrote:Not more than usual- no wait when I had to go the half a mile up the bloody drive of Ambassador Amarie's Ambassadorial mansion to deliver the NotP (why can't she just get a bloody post box?!!   )I may have cursed all Fjordians and their Gods.
But I do that every delivery.

I don't see how you can complain, I may have just proven the existence of God*. Oh, right!
[witchy cuckle] Hahahahaaa!! [/witchy cuckle]






*Or the "think positive and the Universe will do what ever it can to give you what you want, or vice versa" thing.
Sure it has a name, it's a quite recent thing (so not the good, old Karma or old religions, but some new fancy fashion thing.)

nic pics Petty love the castley one. tell the Earl of Bute to expect me.

Duke! Dont get that wrong when you arrive.

he wont care by the time I have finished

Finished what? I am hesitant to ask what you plan on doing to him!

I will be sorting out his priorities.

I'm sure there's quite a few strapping men that would like you to sort out their priorities, Figgy!

Pettytyrant101 wrote:
Picture taken about two hours ago- the Holy Loch- this is where I grew up (not in it obviously, but in the village on the shore) the US Naval Base and nuclear subs were stationed there- it still looks weird to me, empty, even after all this time. Hard to believe the hub of constant activity it once was, or that a very large ship and submarine dry-dock were parked in the middle with boats and subs constantly coming and going, tannoys constantly blaring and Americans everywhere. I dont miss the nukes on my doorstep (not that that has changed, the UK's are just round the corner instead) but I do miss you UShobbits, it was a different place back then-

Did I get that right? Did somebody actually miss the Yanks? Must have been the unabashed cluelessness, that's our most lovable trait.

My Dad (who worked for over 30 years with the US Navy and spent some time in the US) used to say that Americans improved for every mile and every hour they were outside America!

Your dad was a wise man. That's a good general rule that applies to most nationalities.

halfwise wrote:I'm sure there's quite a few strapping men that would like you to sort out their priorities, Figgy!