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skaboomizzy posted:Speaking of our good friend W: Its amazing what being handed powerful connections and ton of money can do for your career prospects.
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Apr 10, 2014 08:13
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When I originally heard about the NV thing I thought it was up north in the middle of nowhere but that guy is grazing his cattle in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. He's loving insane if he thinks that would go unchallenged. Outside of the federal land in NV used by the military that's easily the most important piece of property in the region. Also I need to find the article I read but he had this great quote about how he was a better steward of the land and included his ability to keep the brush from growing too densely which is hilarious to anyone who's ever seen that region of NV. I drove through it today and thick brush isn't even on the list of concerns. The other major concern with that region is the desert tortoise is protected and he's trespassing on part of that protected land. The desert tortoise issue is powerful enough that it killed plans for another solar plant in the region. And here's his legal basis: quote:"My forefathers have been up and down the Virgin Valley ever since 1877. All these rights I claim have been created through pre-emptive rights and beneficial use of the forage and water. I have been here longer. My rights are before the BLM even existed," Bundy said. http://www.8newsnow.com/story/25168654/i-team-feds-and-nevada-rancher-facing-off-over-public-lands My ancestors were part of the Virginia Colony, guess that means I've got a large tract of land in the Kentucky/W Virginia region I can go claim now. Relentlessboredomm fucked around with this message at 10:09 on Apr 11, 2014 |
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Apr 11, 2014 10:02
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Oh I know, it's just such a laughable claim. Getting anything to grow at all in that region is a miracle and you want a pat on the back for your cows eating what little is there? Yea ok. This weird historical claim business reminds me. Bizarrely enough in CA the water rights are based on historical precedent from claims made during the Gold Rush era. This is just a reminder that water issues in CA are absurdly complicated.
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Apr 11, 2014 10:20
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Fried Chicken posted:SEC caught colluding with the banks on CEO prosecutions *Clutches pearls dramatically* I do declare! Not those bastions of integrity and justice. What ever is the world coming to? Also Vox got good fast.
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Apr 11, 2014 19:00
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Old D&D was terrible. LF was funny and sometimes fascinating if a bit too intense. I did love the initial Obama campaign's effect on the forums. Everyone on here got swept up with Obama fever. Most posters had some avatar of Obama or that stupid little orb thing they used in his campaign. I remember there being a mild shift against him when he got to the general election and a few of the British posters started referring to him as the American Tony Blair but by and large the forums were totally on board the Obama express. Just goes to show if you manage to tap into a deep desire among the people for reform you can completely short circuit their normal cynicism and doubt. Also the forum as a whole was younger then. It's definitely been an interesting life cycle even if I only dip into it on occasion.
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Apr 12, 2014 07:10
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Lost For Words posted:Some nerds did a study about what actually drives public policy. Spoilers: it's rich dudes Hahah I love the bit about the political scientists JUST NOW looking into the effects of money in politics. That doesn't at all seem like an incredibly pertinent and important piece of the puzzle that should be a constant source of investigation. No sir. Still at least there finally is some research being done which verifies everyone's worst fears.
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Apr 12, 2014 23:53
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computer parts posted:Maybe they didn't do it because people would make fun of them for stating the obvious. Like you just did. Its not obvious to most people and Im mocking them for taking an eternity to get to it. The actual research is fascinating if a bit depressing. Plus one would hope that research doesn't get pursued or not based on the whims of imbeciles like myself. Here's the money shot on that article quote:Gilens and Page analyze 1,779 policy outcomes over a period of more than 20 years. They conclude that “economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on U.S. government policy, while mass-based interest groups and average citizens have little or no independent influence.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2014/04/08/rich-people-rule/ Relentlessboredomm fucked around with this message at 00:48 on Apr 13, 2014 |
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Apr 13, 2014 00:45
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computer parts posted:There was literally no time they could have produced it and not have it "take an eternity to get to it". I know being pedantic is a good time and all but to circle back to the point I personally find it quite striking and a bit puzzling that the field of political science has seemingly very little research done on money in politics.
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Apr 13, 2014 00:51
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Luigi Thirty posted:Rick Scott is an expert on healthcare and insurance! I was fortunate enough to escape FL but please tell me thats not the options for Floridians for the next gubernatorial race. Thats like choosing between getting shot in the head or being burned to death. Clearly getting shot in the head is better but you're still loving dead at the end of it. Armani posted:Sorry to bring back LF chat briefly (not really) but I loved the forum alone for this: I've been rereading this and while I remember most of it I forgot some of the more hilariously hosed up details like Seimens trying to get a copyright on the name Zyklon with the intention of using it on a new line of gas ovens. Could we do a modern day version of the most evil companies in the world thread? I want to talk about the banana companies.
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Apr 14, 2014 04:31
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skaboomizzy posted:Nope. It's going to be newly converted Democrat Charlie Crist vs Rick "Bat Boy" Scott. FL is never going to get better is it? At least the rising sea levels will do some good somewhere. Are there seriously not any better candidates? The Democrats can't find anyone better than Crist?
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Apr 14, 2014 04:58
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Luigi Thirty posted:Who the hell's going to run as a D in Florida? My dad loved him because even though he was an R he increased regulation on home insurance companies and utilities (which Scott rolled back of course), opposed offshore drilling, vetoed the anti-abortion crap coming out of the legislature, supported gay marriage, and hated the Tea Party. You could do a lot worse in this state. I figured the State Democrats would realize that Scott is utterly reviled by most of the state and if they ran a semi competent moderate Dem they would win. Crist was a terrible governor who only looks good in the unholy light generated by Rick Scott. It just seems like a good opportunity to run an actual decent moderate candidate for once but nevermind lets go back to the last governor. Ugh.
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Apr 14, 2014 07:14
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comes along bort posted:Unfortunately all the stock down at the unicorn farm was devoured by the Burmese pythons that got loose when Andrew came through back in '92. Hahahha. I mean all of those in the loosest possible sense. I can't emphasize enough that any Dem would be running against Rick loving Scott. He's almost universally reviled. It's not difficult to look semi-competent next to him. Edit: Although apparently having a terrible approval rating doesn't mean anything so long as you have that R by your name quote:The gubernatorial race has tightened despite continuing dismal job approval for Scott: only 34% of voters approve of the job he’s doing while 51% disapprove... http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2014/01/crist-holds-onto-narrow-lead-over-scott.html#more Relentlessboredomm fucked around with this message at 08:42 on Apr 14, 2014 |
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Apr 14, 2014 08:38
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zoux posted:Welcome to the unbelievable economic juggernaut that is the independent nation of Wisconsin. This is the part of secession talk that I always find most amusing. They're too focused on loving the Feds to realize the terrible new nation they've created. "We've successfully condemned an entire state to abject poverty possible starvation, and a new place at the third world countries table in the UN." I do like to imagine the horror when they realize they've effectively neutered what little power they have internationally by going solo.
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Apr 15, 2014 01:14
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Radish posted:Or when they see first hand how America typically treats the residents of third world countries. Hell you don't even need to leave the country to see how America treats third world residents just head over to Charleston, WV or New Orleans, LA.
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Apr 15, 2014 02:01
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comes along bort posted:Lewis Black gave a talk at the National Press Club today, dispelling the idea that he'd lost his edge in his old age. Things we learn: he's a socialist, he used to work for the Appalachian Regional Commission, and reliance on entrepreneurship to fix social ills is a crock of poo poo. That bit about him working for the civil service during the Nixon administration blew my mind. I also got a chuckle out of his father sitting down and reading the Geneva Accords before deciding his position on Vietnam. Radish posted:There's a joke here about how America is already a third world country that I'm not talented enough to make. That makes two of us. I can see it but I can arrange the words properly to get there.
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Apr 15, 2014 02:30
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Joementum posted:Except that in Kochisconsin, rather than handing it out, the Central Market Cheese Dispensary would sell the cheese back to the populace in exchange for gold, silver, or scrip. And the workers at the Central Market Cheese Dispensary will be paid in company credits.
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Apr 15, 2014 02:33
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anonumos posted:The worst part is that they (Republicans) are sticking up for abusive men and rapists. Holy cow. Isn't that about par for the course? Also whoever posted that Truman speech, thank you. That was fascinating and disheartening.
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Apr 20, 2014 21:09
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You could also point out his small but unfortunate role in the Bonus Army incident:quote:At 4:45 p.m., commanded by Gen. Douglas MacArthur, the 12th Infantry Regiment, Fort Howard, Maryland, and the 3rd Cavalry Regiment, supported by six battle tanks commanded by Maj. George S. Patton, formed in Pennsylvania Avenue while thousands of civil service employees left work to line the street and watch. The Bonus Marchers, believing the troops were marching in their honor, cheered the troops until Patton ordered[citation needed] the cavalry to charge them—an action which prompted the spectators to yell, "Shame! Shame!"... All in all pretty mild but he quite possibly could've side stepped writing the official supporting documentation for treating WWI vets like loving criminals after Congress screwed them on pay/benefits but he was an aide and that's what aides do. MacArthur on the other hand has zero excuses.
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Apr 23, 2014 08:53
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Im reading the new Michael Lewis book, Flash Boys, and its fantastic. I recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone interested in the dark inner workings of High Frequency Trading. Alternatively its a great way to keep abreast of the new financial wankery Wall Street has invented with which to gently caress you.
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Apr 26, 2014 04:17
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SubponticatePoster posted:I haven't heard this, could you provide an article tailored to dummies or sum it up? Ditto. I haven't heard anything about the Manuka honey research. Also, Flash Boys was fantastic if you have any interest in the modern stock market/Wall Street then you should read it. Definitely have a stiff drink on hand when you begin to understand the enormity of the loving American investors have taken from intermediaries due to HFT.
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Apr 26, 2014 19:42
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SumYungGui posted:...but, but, market liquidity! Price discovery! Meaningless buzz words! Nessus posted:Liquidity means it's easier for me to move it around, and price discovery means I just discovered there's a price for doing it! He actually discusses how pro-HFT groups use buzzwords to confuse others and love to say they add liquidity to the market. That is complete bullshit. HFT never actually takes a position in the market. At the end of the day the HFT firms don't hold a position. They're just front running actual investors and acting as a tax on capital and the SEC isn't going to do a goddamn thing about it partly because this particular loophole is a result of an SEC regulation taking effect.
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Apr 27, 2014 00:25
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Pope Guilty posted:That's a pretty clever little scam. If the solution is known, why can it still happen? Well, most of the younger members of the SEC go straight into HFT after a few years so the agency itself is split on how to proceed plus the pro-HFT groups got to them before anyone really knew what was happening and they're specifically exploiting 2 pieces of regulation that the SEC passed. One of them caused the creation of a SIP which is a computer that has a constantly updated picture of the market and if you put your trading machine in literally the same room as the SIP you'll have access to market movements before anyone else by a few microseconds. Secondly the SEC forced brokers to buy/sell shares by seeking the best price available in response to brokers previously abusing their customers. Well now if you're an HFT firm you put out small offers on every stock available for less than the going price and you say "hey no fees for brokers here" so they're legally obligated to buy the 100 shares you're selling of IBM at 85.5 before they can they go purchase the rest of the order at 86.1. The problem is that this transaction gives the HFT guys enough information to run ahead of the broker buying up the rest of IBM and selling it back to the broker at 87.0 for a nice profit. Imagine this happening on every single trade all day every day and it adds up fast. In addition a lot of the major banks, Goldman, Bank of America, Credit Suisse, etc run their own mini exchanges called dark pools. They claim they'll be able to find a seller or buyer for their clients without going outside their own mini exchange. They're called dark pools because they don't publish the rules of the exchange meaning that you're completely at the mercy of the bank as to how your order gets filled. What they've taken to doing is selling access to HFT shops to their dark pools so the HFT shops can take informed positions in the market. This is notable because the banks are once again actively working against their own clients. If a client comes in wanting to buy 1000 shares of IBM in their dark pool they tell the bank, lets say Morgan Stanley, and Morgan Stanley first offers outside HFT shops a chance to see the order and move the market before Morgan Stanley fills that order. It's a wonderful system, truly the freest of markets.
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Apr 27, 2014 04:44
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shrike82 posted:Dark pools were originally meant to reduce market impact i.e., shifting prices when buying or selling large volumes of a ticket. I figured it would be a bit out of date. It's nearly impossible for the book industry cycle for a book to keep up with Wall Street changes. What's the new thing as HFT has gotten saturated?
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Apr 27, 2014 05:47
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effectual posted:Well yeah, we're stuck with college debt but min-wage jobs, never gonna afford a house at this rate. But gently caress the suburbs anyway, they're an abomination. Amen. Getting married and settling down in a suburb might be the least appealing path my life could take. Luckily Ill be too poor to even consider that for years to come. Saw this chart the other day and its helpful in illuminating some of the reasons for skyrocketing tuition costs: 
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Apr 27, 2014 19:24
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effectual posted:Jesus, and I thought uni was overpriced back in '02. They've been cutting funding (and removing price caps) for at least 2 decades. Yep and that chart is only the most recent 5 years I haven't been able to find a good one that does the past decade or more. My alma mater has doubled in price in ~6 years.
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Apr 27, 2014 19:37
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Crossposting some news from the football forum. Recently Northwestern has been given the opportunity to vote for a union by the NLRB. The vote was on Friday but before the players voted there was a fairly large union busting push by the alumni, the school, and the athletic department to encourage them to vote properly. http://deadspin.com/northwestern-goes-union-busting-1567067701 Some of the best bits: quote:Brown also allegedthat current players have received phone calls from former players, warning them that if they vote "yes" they'll be shut out of the football alumni network and lose out on future employment opportunities. Early indications are that the vote was lopsided against unionizing. On the plus side the recent NLRB ruling has opened the door for other schools to try this. Relentlessboredomm fucked around with this message at 20:49 on Apr 27, 2014 |
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Apr 27, 2014 20:38
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mdemone posted:I thought the ballots weren't to be opened for a few weeks; how do we know they voted No? Its not 100% by any means, my bad for being unclear about it. All early indications are that its fairly lopsided against unionizing something like 60-15.
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Apr 27, 2014 20:48
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Fried Chicken posted:Georgia passed a new gun law, allowing them to be carried drat near anywhere (including airports and churches, the former where the feds frown harshly, the latter where it has been a mortal sin for 800 years) Wait they're legal in airports? How exactly is that going to work because it sounds like a wonderful recipe for the TSA shooting/arresting some jackass.
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Apr 28, 2014 07:12
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Is there any good indication that Jeb Bush will be running next time? He honestly seems to me to be the most likely R candidate who could win the general election. I can't tell if all the chatter about him is overt pining by the establishment or his people drumming him up.
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Apr 28, 2014 20:37
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Phone posted:All signs are pointing towards Jeb because he doesn't reek of failure and has the least probable chance of either saying something wildly inappropriate or has multiple skeletons in his closet. Yea that's what I figured. I can see why the establishment is pining over him. He's also their only chance to appeal to Hispanic voters. Rick Scott is so terrible people in FL are pining for Charlie Crist. Ugh. So yea Jeb looks like a loving savior in comparison. I am curious if the base lets Jeb get through the primaries unspoiled. I wonder if they'll label him a RINO once they hear his fairly moderate (compared to modern GOP) policies. Also someone running against him is going to use his wife against him. Probably in some way similar to the McCain "black baby" bullshit. Dystram posted:It'll be Hillary v. Jeb Bush in the general. Nothing says America is an oligarchy like having two families hold the Oval office for 20 of the past 28 years with a member of each running in the general to make it 24 of the past 32.
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Apr 28, 2014 20:57
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Shageletic posted:This article needs to be reposted. Thank you for this. Definitely saving it.
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Apr 29, 2014 08:36
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Kiwi Ghost Chips posted:Using the military for law enforcement is a terrible idea. At least the military understands trigger discipline but yes that's true.
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Apr 29, 2014 19:52
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^^^^^Every once in a great while there is a positive bit of labor news like this and it fills my black heart with joy.axeil posted:The thread in SAS just copy/pasted a tweet indicating that had the NBAPA not been happy with Silver's ruling, there would've been a boycott of tonight's game. Woah, no wonder they crushed him. If the players are willing to boycott a playoff game, and will be supported by everyone when they do so, the NBA has no other options.
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Apr 29, 2014 20:58
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Y-Hat posted:I did not see a lifetime ban on Sterling coming. Props for Adam Silver on doing the right thing. Why does FL insist on destroying any industry that's not tourism or catered to old people? Even though I left years ago it still irritates me no end.
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Apr 29, 2014 23:19
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Fried Chicken posted:Because the way it works is that small jails run by local sherrifs outfits are counted as part of the larger prison. So you see the sherrifs having things built on land they own, leasing the space to the prison when a prisoner is housed htere, and then going out and arresting people to make sure that there are prisoners there. Exactly. The LA prison system is a special sort of hell. The Times Picayune did an amazing series on it here: http://www.nola.com/prisons/ Here's a fun graphic: 
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Apr 30, 2014 07:05
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Samurai Sanders posted:Is that first one comparing Louisiana's incarceration rate to other whole countries? Wouldn't it only make sense to compare it to only the most backwoods part of each of those countries? It is. They were making a point that a landmass roughly the size of Greece with roughly the same population as Ireland has the worst per capita incarceration rate of any country or of any state in the US. I think they worked backwards and after they discovered it had the worst incarceration rate of any state they wanted to compare that to other countries. I imagine if they could get a hold of the state/regional data for countries they could come up with a more apt comparison. Something tells me LA would still reign supreme.
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Apr 30, 2014 10:01
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Saki posted:What on earth is going on in Louisiana to skew those incarceration rates so highly? You should absolutely read that series I posted earlier because they get into depth about it but here's a bit that will explain part of it: quote:With little oversight from the Department of Corrections, sheriffs wheel and deal among themselves for inmates. Cupp and other rural north Louisiana wardens drum up business with daily rounds of phone calls to their suppliers -- urban areas such as New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Shreveport that produce more criminals than their own jails can hold. The mad scramble to build prisons has become a mad scramble for inmates. http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2012/05/in_world_of_prisons_some_rural.html
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Apr 30, 2014 19:32
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Raskolnikov38 posted:I've got some bad news for you then. Shitheads exist everywhere. While true they're more consistently reigned in, better educated, or have less power in some other places. Its varying levels of poo poo of course but why not try for a less lovely option?
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May 1, 2014 00:38
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Talmonis posted:We're still more productive than any prior generation, regardless of what we do with our downtime. Your productivity gains are less important than your slavish devotion to your employer manifesting itself in a willingness to debase yourself to customer and employer alike while you toil away for every second that you're on the clock.
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May 1, 2014 19:12
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Every nation seems to have a founding myth and a founding sin. Just like in New Zealand the founding myth is intrepid colonists and the founding sin is ecological catastrophe with the introduction of non-native species, in America the founding myth is justified rebellion against government authority and the founding sin is slavery and racism. This is a fascinating way to look at it. Also go ahead and put me on that list for emigrating to New Zealand. A Winner is Jew posted:The fact that the US Government hasn't just dropped a few drone strikes on these chuckle fucks and then gone to lunch is all the proof you need that the government isn't some tyrannical entity out to enslave or oppress them. The main base that runs UAVs is just north of Vegas and they do all of their training locally in Nevada ranges. It would be very very easy. I do wonder if they're using this opportunity to do surveillance training with the drones.
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May 1, 2014 21:07
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