What grinds my gears...

[Danizen]

Just searched Google for something about a loose connection and had to wade through pages and pages of illiterate ****s moaning about when their internet 'looses connection'.

 

 

[Darkon84]

Reading that the "leader" of my country, when asked about the horrific loss of life in the Mediterranean, says....

 

"Well i suppose we must grieve for the loss but..."

 

What a shameful human being.

 

What would you suggest he does?

[AoWW]

What would you suggest he does?

 

Try to sound a bit more sympathetic and compassionate? 

[leicsmac]

It must be a bit stressful to go through your entire life constantly worried that in the face of an undefined threat humanity may be wiped out due to a lack of sufficient global collaboration. It's an incredibly obscure thing to be worried about. I can only guess that proximity to North Korea is taking its toll on you, leicsmac.

 

Well, someones got to worry about humanity so you don't have to, Moosey. 

[Rincewind]

I feel much the same as you leicsmac.. There is a vast amount of waste in food for example. There are nations that could benefit from it but it won't be shared because it will mean financial loss. I see no reason why countries cannot keep their individuality whilst at the same time working together for the good of mankind. I can but dream.

[Finnegan]

Nothing wrong with dreaming, Ken, I'd probably describe my political leaning as utopian anarchist. But at late twenties I'm old enough to realise the difference between the dream and the world we live in.

You live your life with your head in the clouds and you're never going to see far infront of your face.

[leicsmac]

Nothing wrong with dreaming, Ken, I'd probably describe my political leaning as utopian anarchist. But at late twenties I'm old enough to realise the difference between the dream and the world we live in.

You live your life with your head in the clouds and you're never going to see far infront of your face.

 

That's the way I look at it too. It's the way things are and it's not likely to change - doesn't mean there shouldn't be some raging against the machine, though. You just have to try and stop yourself from becoming a total cynic and take pleasure in some little things. Which is easier now that City are actually fvcking winning.

[MooseBreath]

Yeah or the little things like the almost total eradication of real poverty, ever increasing standards of health and of living around the world. God what a burden this earth is on us all.

Edited 22 April 2015 by MooseBreath

[Finnegan]

Sorry, is that sloppy writing, me being thick or you actually implying that poverty has been eradicated globally?

[MooseBreath]

Sorry, is that sloppy writing, me being thick or you actually implying that poverty has been eradicated globally?

You must have missed the "almost" and the "real" but in any case, the point is that we live in an age of rapid worldwide progress. Even as a thoroughly miserable cynic I find it hard to be depressed about the the way the world is progressing, except perhaps in a very selfish way to yearn for the old cultures lost.

[ADK]

The solution is education. The more educated people become the better the society for everyone.

[Webbo]

The solution is education. The more educated people become the better the society for everyone.

Cuba has some of the highest literacy rates in the world and most of them live in poverty.

[The God Emperor]

Good question.

 

No, I'm not for a One World Order or any of that rubbish - such ideas are invariably authoritarian, I despise authoritarianism and it would simply result in a world with the power as imbalanced as it is today, or even more so ala 1984. I'm a big fan of power being decentralised amongst as many groups and individuals as is possible, due to how it corrupts people (and it invariably does). However I'm really not a fan of the idea of the nation state either, for the reasons that I describe above. Nations as a whole seem to spend far, far too much time and resources trying to get one over on other nations through military strength, aggressive diplomacy or espionage, often for reasons that are totally absurd and actually have zero to do with the wellbeing of the citizens of that nations and more to do with the wellbeing of certain powerful individuals or groups within that nation (the most recent Iraq war being one key example of that). It's been the case throughout history, and it leads to a great many people dying for utterly pointless reasons.

 

I'm of the opinion that for certain projects humanity should act with one agenda (space programs, mass environmental and energy projects) because such things are too big for one nation (or even possibly a group) to handle by themselves, and that more emphasis (time, money, resources) should be placed on cooperation in these projects, rather than new ways to fight or otherwise supersede other countries. Such projects should though, of course, be subject to the democratic will of their people, rather than pursued without their consent.

 

Of course, the way the world is is the way the world is, and I don't see the landscape changing for a while yet, if at all. It would be nice if it did, though.

Thank you for the clarification.

Governments do have a knack for getting in the way of good things, even when it attempts to be or presents itself as well meaning.

The solution is education. The more educated people become the better the society for everyone.

All depends on who's doing the educating.

[Darkon84]

Try to sound a bit more sympathetic and compassionate? 

 

 

I much prefer the full quote, instead of it being taken out of context, where he actually suggest something needs to be done, rather than just saying something along the lines of 'oh no, it's terrible, we should make a bridge so they can all come over for free'. Which isn't too far off one of the suggestions, which is to force the migrants upon wealthier countries such as the UK, USA and Australia. For me, the real solution should be to make their countries safer and better, so they don't want or need to leave. The fact that the coast guards on the African side, predominantly Libya is laughable and all paid off, probably doesn't aid the situation.

 

 “Plainly, there is a terrible, terrible tragedy unfolding in the Mediterranean right now. We have got hundreds, maybe thousands of people drowning in the attempts to get from Africa to Europe and I suppose we must grieve for the loss but at the same time we must resolve to stop this terrible problem and the only way you can stop the deaths is to stop the people smuggling trade. The only way you can stop the deaths is in fact to stop the boats. That’s why it is so urgent that the countries of Europe adopt very strong policies that will end the people smuggling trade across the Mediterranean.”

Edited 22 April 2015 by Darkon84

[Finnegan]

You must have missed the "almost" and the "real" but in any case, the point is that we live in an age of rapid worldwide progress. Even as a thoroughly miserable cynic I find it hard to be depressed about the the way the world is progressing, except perhaps in a very selfish way to yearn for the old cultures lost.

What exactly is real poverty that we're so close to eradicating?

I get the whole "you've got a council house, you eat McDonald's and you've got a PlayStation - you're not in poverty" shit but are you seriously saying that that's global?

That's just batshit.

[ADK]

I mean in the sense of people being more enlightened and able to think for themselves. Literacy might be almost necessary for that to happen but the simple ability to read and write does not mean that is automatically the case. Also Cuba is only so poor because of the behaviour of the USA.

[Webbo]

I mean in the sense of people being more enlightened and able to think for themselves. Literacy might be almost necessary for that to happen but the simple ability to read and write does not mean that is automatically the case. Also Cuba is only so poor because of the behaviour of the USA.

Yeah right.

 

Just because people are educated doesn't mean that they'll always agree or do what some might consider to be the right thing.

[MooseBreath]

What exactly is real poverty that we're so close to eradicating?

I get the whole "you've got a council house, you eat McDonald's and you've got a PlayStation - you're not in poverty" shit but are you seriously saying that that's global?

That's just batshit.

Not really. Obviously the global improvements don't all end up with such a British/western sounding result but it's a fact that global numbers of people living in poverty has declined in the billions over the last couple of decades. Were you seriously not aware of this? The rapid elevation of living standards around the world is probably the great achievement of our time. Edited 22 April 2015 by MooseBreath

[Finnegan]

A problem getting better doesn't mean it's gone away. There's still countless people in shanty towns and favellas, refugee camps and even living on garbage tips, prostituting themselves for scrap.

Working in sweatshops, building half of the Emirates as passport_stripped slaves, living without power and water scattered across Africa and Asia getting decimated by diseases and hunger.

Whether it's proportionately better than it was twenty years ago is pretty ****ing irrelevant, you need to have your head seriously up your arse or on an all time major troll to think that global poverty is "almost eradicated."

****ing hell.

[The Doctor]

Moose not understanding there's a world beyond Dover shocker... Poverty is still a massive problem globally, particularly in Africa, areas like Tibet and for a lot of immigrants into the middle east. Claiming it's eradicated in this country? fair enough, but it's clearly nowhere near gone across the globe.

[MooseBreath]

A problem getting better doesn't mean it's gone away. There's still countless people in shanty towns and favellas, refugee camps and even living on garbage tips, prostituting themselves for scrap.

Working in sweatshops, building half of the Emirates as passport_stripped slaves, living without power and water scattered across Africa and Asia getting decimated by diseases and hunger.

Whether it's proportionately better than it was twenty years ago is pretty ****ing irrelevant, you need to have your head seriously up your arse or on an all time major troll to think that global poverty is "almost eradicated."

****ing hell.

I think you're being unnecessarily negative. A problem getting much better and continuing to do so is a problem getting much better and continuing to do so. Global living standards are improving at a faster rate than at any point in the history of humanity. It's the great achievement of our time.

[Strokes]

Can humans eat flies? That could solve a few grumbly tums, they're always on poor people faces in those comic relief vids. I hope they aren't just being fussy.

Edited 22 April 2015 by Strokes

[MooseBreath]

Moose not understanding there's a world beyond Dover shocker... Poverty is still a massive problem globally, particularly in Africa, areas like Tibet and for a lot of immigrants into the middle east. Claiming it's eradicated in this country? fair enough, but it's clearly nowhere near gone across the globe.

Pretty sure I've seen a fair bit more of the world than you to be fair. Have you ever even seen real poverty? I have, lots of times, and it's shocking. Good news is, things are getting better at a faster rate than ever before.

[ADK]

Typical Moose argument.

[Alf Bentley]

Typical Moose argument.

 

Walk serenely by or enjoy the fun of life....

 

Here's Moose's Scottish cousin to help you.

Hoots, Mon! There's a Moose loose aboot this hoose!