ramit

7 hours ago, Crewton said:

I'm confused?!

So was I?!

9 hours ago, SillyBilly said:

Perhaps some would but I don't know any of them and I know a few personally. IME, they're ordinary people with perhaps extraordinary bank balances, to say otherwise would be giving too much credit in any case. So I doubt there would be much of an investment in time comprehending anyone elses' contentment vs their own, another families problems or concerns vs their own etc. So as ordinary as anyone else in every other way. Its the same problems for everyone IMO, money doesn't shelter anyone from relationship problems, deaths, internal struggles etc. 

FWIW I don't think (rich) people are easily able to draw a line of before and after either. As if you morph into a different person and suddenly start seeing the world differently. Perhaps if an angle is to portray a "them and us" mentality then that may apply, for me, it doesn't. You earn £20-30k a year? Well, your lifestyle adjusts to the income, along with all its challenges. Earn £60k? Your lifestyle adjusts. Earn £120k, again it moderates, the transition almost seamless through the income levels. £250-500k...you'd be surprised how this then becomes a new "normal", just like the £20-30k once did. However, at no point do you wake up and feel any different, you're the same person. May not be worrying about the rent payment at month end on the latter end of the scale but life feels much the same apart from that. If I went back to square one I would adjust back to a new income...because I'd have to, its as simple as that. And still nowhere I feel more comfortable than my modest childhood home, never leaves you.

Anyway, I'm at risk of trying to defend when I only want to offer my perspective, which could be different to others. I know I wouldn't have bothered without financial reward though, pay me a wage and I'd deliver in accordance to what I feel that wage deserves in terms of effort. I've always had pride in any work at any payscale, PAYE or own businesses, but with the former its wrapped in conditions, so I can understand a union mentality (as per Ram-Al). Albeit, uncap it in the latter and I will be incentivised to make things happen. One of my businesses is an appreciable exporter so I like to think these are jobs I have genuinely brought to the U.K., all of those jobs started as an idea in my head at some point in time, ideas which cost me money with no returns for quite a few years in some cases, a lot of sweat equity too...but in the end, genuine income in foreign currency coming into our country (not recirculating the same currency within domestic services) & a lot of tax money to pay for public services. If you capped at some point along the way, with a hypothetical 100% above an arbitrary number as postulated upthread, what is the incentive for people like me to do anything other than create my own job, hire a few employees to whatever the limit the then government decides is "reasonable" for me to live off? Fundamental misunderstanding of human nature, even if that nature is not liked. We live in an international world, if we don't fulfil the export need here, someone else would in another country.

 

The figures you mentioned were not really what I meant by very wealthy and perhaps there is a difference in thinking between those who have a comfortable income and the very wealthy, perhaps money corruption creeps up on a person's psyche as it gathers.  Also there has been a dividing line between new and old money, the latter frowning upon the late comers and their flaunting of the wealth, or so it says in books and movies, I have no experience there, but it would make sense that such a divide exists. 

It does seem to me that the super wealthy crave power over the rest of us as much as more money flowing in, apparently feeling it is their privilege and uh duty to oversee the peasants.  A local saying says, great wants more and I believe that to be so.  Did that mindset happen all of the sudden, or did it creep in, I ask myself.  It cannot be denied that money power runs this world, the politicians are the tools of big money to the point of democracy becoming a sour joke.  A clear example of money corrupting, don't ya think?

Until very recently I have always had to watch every penny I spent and I sometimes struggled to make ends meet until I, as you mentioned adjusted my lifestyle to my income.  A few months ago I received an inheritance, nothing mind blowing, but enough so that my wife and I were able to purchase a house without needing a loan.  No sooner had this new reality arrived than I began feeling pity for the folks struggling with loans and working long hours to stay afloat.  I felt blessed and uhm a bit detached from them and uhm what was that, conceit creeping in?  Not really, for I try and check myself always through brutal introspection, with a habit of being a little over critical of myself as a rule, yet I acknowledged the danger.  That and the fact that my wife knows real searing poverty, having grown up in a mountain village in The Philippines and she always keeps me grounded, bless her. 

Why should I live comfortably now while my neighbor struggles I ask myself, did I earn that?  Not really, my mother had some money is all.  I never used to think too much about money, but now I feel I have to make plans, take care that the small bunch we have lasts to assist our son in his education and so on.  It's a new kind of burden, not wanting it to waste away.  Is that what the wealthy feel, this worry that it might be gone one day?  Does that also help maintain a divide?   Oh, the horror, haha, sometimes I think it would be best to splurge what's left away, gift it to Derby County or something.    

11 hours ago, Ram-Alf said:

£16,250...that's how much, I'm single and mortgage free and 68 in 3 months time, I don't owe anyone anything, I refuse to have credit and don't own a credit card, I pay everything on my debit card or cash, I live in a 2 bed semi bungalow, I sold my car recently(free bus pass)still shop in the whoops isle at times...not because I can't afford the other things but because I get a deal, I go out on the lash once a week, I can holiday anywhere in the world I choose as I can afford too, But I choose to stay in the UK.

I wake up every Morning with a smile on my face and it's nowt to do with my genitalia, Life is great, Yes money plays a huge part in my life as I've earned it through hard work and investments, I've had nowt...back in the early 80s when millions had nowt life was tough, I've walked miles to get free food parcels(Thanks David Bookbinder)to feed our family...there's more...but I can see posters getting teared up 😉

I wish you well in your endeavours to chase the end of the rainbow, but be careful as life is what you make it and money can fcuk with your mind if that's all you're focussed on.  

Some very wealthy folks would read something like this and say to themselves, yeah that's what the not so rich tell themselves to feel better about their lives, poor sods haha.  That's how far removed from comprehending real contentment some rich lost souls are.

When AI gets to the point of asking who am I, that's when it will have gained rights.  That moment is fast approaching and at that time it better be treated with the respect due to a sentient being, for then we shall have gained a valuable friend, if not, we will have earned a worthy adversary indeed.

On 18/01/2024 at 05:28, Crewton said:

My point was that your original post was facile - a terrorist attack by an IS-affiliated group against Iran doesn't make the UK an ally of theirs. Nor is there the remotest possibility that IS will take over Iran.

MY original post was designed to highlight Iran's baffling decision to launch an attack on a state with which they've had relatively good relations merely because they thought they could safely hit back at a terrorist group while the world is preoccupied by the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. Pakistan isn't supporting Israel so this was clearly not an "act in support of Gaza" and (I suspect unthinkingly) will further isolate Iran i.e it's completely illogical.

This exchange further illustrates what an utter waste of time this thread is other than a soapbox for the polemicists and why I largely keep away.

A tit for tat favor, more like it.  Washington won't be pleased.

22 hours ago, Alph said:

Back on the old soapbox as "British socialist hailing Hamas" and resident antagonist in a pointless thread split from the Ukraine thread, I thought I'd post this. 

"The quiet bit out loud" they call it. The right wing extremists we've been covering and apologising for. 

The regional conflict we seem to be heading towards would muddy the waters and I'm absolutely sure nobody wants that. Definitely not. No way. 

Saying no to a friend, yet continue to receive full support from that friend, means that a yes was never anticipated or wanted.  It's all a show, the USA and Israel are one and their European lapdogs remain beyond contempt.

8 hours ago, David said:

Well someone is nice, the rest of you are tight gits 🤣

I've been called loose, I like tight better

I'll just call him Corey, CBT makes me wince

I had been meaning to watch this film for some time, but felt I perhaps needed to be in the right frame of mind to fully experience it.  Had read reviews and watched documentaries of the film, some of it twice, but there was something akin to dread holding me back from taking that step into the room in The Zone that is Stalker, a Soviet film from 1979 by director Andrei Tarkovsky.  The making of the film is a three part tragic story all by itself and the toxic environment it was filmed in ruined the health of many in the crew, including Tarkovsky, or so it is claimed.

There was no need for my trepidation it turned out, I thoroughly enjoyed the trip to The Zone, but it surprised me like no other film has, for as I watched and became engrossed in this slow moving dark hypnotic film I got the distinct feeling that it was about me.  A mad conclusion you might think, but after viewing I have read reactions of others left feeling the same way about it.

I have never seen anything like it, it is beyond rating, a personal journey through misty landscapes of the mind sprinkled with something intangible, just beyond reach, yet in one's face, inducing nods of agreement and personal comprehension.

Best experienced alone.

Land is rising again at Svartsengi (Blue Lagoon area)  as it did before this last eruption, so another eruption is expected within a month.

  @Eddie You seem to have been right, the town appears to have no chance of getting back to how it was, or possibly even as a permanent settlement of any kind.  A meeting was held with the locals who are now coming to grips with the reality of likely never going home again, some already had.  They are angry at government and demand to get a clear promise of their houses and debts being bought out by the state.  That is a very costly affair, but they are right when they point to the fact that Grindavík has been a highly productive money machine for the state through the decades.  This machine is now broken though, meaning less state income.

What nobody has mentioned is the possibility of the banks taking some of the hit.  They don't need to be asked, the government can set an emergency law at any time requiring such actions.  However, the conservative party sharing power in government would never support that.  Seems to me government must fall and new elections take place immediately, but that probably won't happen either, ministers love their seats too much.  We have inflation to deal with already, a major economic hit would tip many homes over the financial edge I fear.

9 hours ago, DarkFruitsRam7 said:

Just ordered my first vinyl setup. 

I pulled Dark Side of the Moon, Rumours and Songs in the Key of Life out of my Mum's loft, but other album recommendations would be appreciated!

You've got me on a nostalgic trip now.

In 1984 I was hired for a 4 month voyage on a cargo ship to the Mediterranean and back.  As usual I had little cash but much musical longing with little time to choose what to bring.  Two cassettes and did not regret the purchase.  As a result, Stewart Copeland became my favorite drummer.

9 hours ago, DarkFruitsRam7 said:

Just ordered my first vinyl setup. 

I pulled Dark Side of the Moon, Rumours and Songs in the Key of Life out of my Mum's loft, but other album recommendations would be appreciated!

Some good listening there, here are three you might enjoy.  In 1990 I rented a couch from a fellow in Malmö Sweden.  We had little money but needed some music to play on my ghetto blaster cassette player, he chose Oh Mercy and I Full Moon Fever.  We played them nonstop in his flat.  Strange yet nice memories.

From the CSN album, I keep listening to this tune lately.  Stills is special.

8 hours ago, Comrade 86 said:

Stay safe mate 

Thanks mate.  I am safe, we are no longer on the Reykjanes peninsula, have become country folk in Stykkishólmur on the Snæfellsnes peninsula, a couple of hours drive west by northwest from Reykjavík.

It is the people of Grindavík that my thoughts are with and the fearless volunteers of the disaster relief squads out in force working throughout the night raising barriers with magma bubbling under their feet, as I sit comfortably in our living room waxing poetic, sipping Frapin cognac, feeling guilty not being there with them.

It's a cold day, considerable frost, the electricity and hot water is out in Grindavík and we know what that means.  New cracks are all over town, this is quite bad.  The flow is steady and slow heading into town, has engulfed three houses so far.  This is already the worst damage from a volcanic eruption since Heimaey in 1973 and It´s just beginning.  The relatively slow start to the eruption is not a good sign, indicates a longer lasting eruption.

Rescue workers are being diverted from their duties by people wandering onto the area in hopes of getting a closer look at the eruption.  The whole area is unsafe, fissures can open in new positions.  Unbelievable, I won't write what I am thinking.

Meanwhile two houses on fire in Grindavík as the flow creeps toward the center of town.

9 hours ago, Eddie said:

I think this means the end for Grindavik.

You may be right and if so it is a big blow.  We won't give it up easily though, everything will be done to protect the town.

That will teach me, this morning I did not start by checking the news, so I am checking reports to get up to speed with events.  Grindavík was evacuated early this morning when constant tremors indicated what was about to happen and everyone was out before the eruption began.  Good job there, but not as great is the fact that an erupting fissure is partly on the town side of earthwork barricades raised to redirect magma flow, so the town is in direct danger. 

New cracks have formed in town, the other day we lost a man down the big crack in the middle of town who was working on filling it in, it was much deeper than initially thought, attempts to find him have been stopped as it was too dangerous to lower men down there.

7 hours ago, caymanram said:

In truth I don’t think there’s one positive out of tonight’s game …

Truly an abject, embarrassing and lackluster performance.

But it’s just a crappy Cup … forget this and move on to more important things i.e. the League..

We're still here on this thread, that's loyalty, that's commitment, that's..

7 hours ago, Sparkle said:

Oh well at least they have something to work on in training 🤷‍♂️

7 hours ago, Millenniumram said:

Even a free transfer was too expensive for Joe Ward