Posts by mistybison10

I just finished downloading some footage because I missed everything after the live finish, and honestly, what on earth happened at Placid? Why was he conducting interviews right there on the podium? My recording cuts off right at that point, so I'm wondering if there was anything else broadcast following the official press conference.

silvercrane38 As silvercrane38 points out:
This is genuinely encouraging news, which suggests we finally have enough breathing room to see interest rates start their descent without any major friction.👍👍

Charles Ramos7 As stated by:
Either we see an uptick in savings rates, or we don't. 😁

Is the fundamental purpose of a corporation merely to maximize profits for its owners, or does it serve some broader societal function?

Gregory Chase50 said:Up until now, I’ve just been using some basic pole and pinning the flag to the top.
This time around, I was actually hoping to find something a bit more substantial and well-defined than my old setup. 🙂
Does anyone happen to have any creative ideas or suggestions?

My neighbor handed me a wooden spear, so I just folded about four inches of the flag over the tip, wrapped it tight, and slid it onto the shaft.

As for finding a four-foot pole, honestly, I haven't a clue where to look.

nimblescout50 said:Oh, absolutely!
I just don't quite follow the math—like, the local tax surcharge for Washington, D.C. alone sits at around 18%.
Then there's the income tax at 5%!
And don't even get me started on sales tax, which is basically impossible to dodge since it's baked into pretty much everything you buy.
And sure, I guess unemployment didn't really exist back then... unless you were counting the feudal lords.

What do you mean, "how"? Just try calculating what it would actually cost an individual if we didn't have pensions, public schools, doctors, the police, firefighters, or any semblance of a social safety net!

William Nelson15 said:I recall reading that serfdom in America was officially abolished on April 25, 1848.
But I find myself struggling to understand how we, as a people, allowed ourselves to effectively reinstate it in the 21st century—and not even in its original form, but in an even more predatory variation.

Back then, the situation was this: "...The tax obligations of peasant serfs varied from one landlord to another, yet their dues generally amounted to one-ninth of the land's produce given to the feudal lord and one-tenth given to the Church. All in all, the position of the peasant serf was by no means comfortable, as these dues had to be settled regardless of weather conditions, poor harvests, or the diseases that frequently devastated an already malnourished population."
On top of that, the peasant was also required to pay state taxes, which could be both regular and extraordinary..." — copied from Wikipedia.

So, 10% to the church, 11% to the government, plus whatever emergency levies they decide to slap on us... That’s a minimum of 21% of one's income gone.

It seems to me that we are currently in the process of reverting back to being nothing more than serfs.
With sales tax sitting at 23%, and once you factor in gross pay deductions, I’m looking at a 25% levy right off the top...

Historically, serfs worked land that belonged to the feudal lords. So, aren't we just moving backward? It makes me wonder just how much real estate today is actually owned by major banks or tied up in mortgages.
Essentially, the church remains the church, and the feudal lords have simply been replaced by banks. And those banks will likely transfer ownership to foreign interests, or lease it back to modern American serfs under absolutely lethal terms.

I recently bought a small item online, and it ended up costing me $67 including shipping... On top of that, there were postal fees, customs, and God knows who else I had to pay $34! We are talking about a 50% markup in levies! I called several numbers at the post office, and every time I asked for the full name of the official I was speaking with, I was met with nothing but a first name, or worse, a dismissive "Oh, it doesn't matter, I'm just a clerk"... Well, there you have it, the lady clerk...
Why is it that in this country, nobody wants to take any actual responsibility for what they do?

Where are we headed? I am profoundly disillusioned with this country.

Well, you surely didn't think serfdom was abolished because incompetent peasants suddenly became capable overnight, did you? Systems evolve, but the reality remains that the capable always live off the incapable, regardless of the era or the system in place. Certain things merely adjust to soften the blow when the capable push a bit too hard; then, inevitably, a new set of "capable" individuals emerges from a different circle, followed closely by the usual crowd of incompetents, until the entire cycle resets itself once again.

William Nelson15 said:It feels like we’re being squeezed from both sides. Even our healthcare coverage seems to be shrinking by the day, forcing us to stack one supplemental insurance policy on top of another just to maintain a decent standard of care. And don't even get me started on the pension system; it’s completely nonsensical. You end up in this paradoxical trap where the more years you put in and the longer you delay retirement, the less you actually have to show for it at the end.
That’s why I can’t help but feel like instead of moving forward, we’re actually sliding backward.

We are regressing because we sprinted toward massive debt far too quickly; in reality, our standard of living is still vastly inflated compared to what our actual economic productivity justifies. It’s that old adage about having it all one moment and nothing the next, though on a global scale, there is nothing particularly alarming about this correction.

Melissa Chase4 said:So, here's the gist of it:

I’m currently a full-time student over at the University of California, Berkeley, which basically means my work options are pretty limited—I can only take jobs through student employment services, and all that money lands straight in my checking account. I’ve been thinking about diving into web app development for some overseas companies. Since they can't really pay me through Standard Chartered, I heard people mentioning independent contractor agreements. Could someone walk me through what that actually entails? Specifically, how do you go about setting one up with a client based abroad versus one right here in the States? Also, since I'm still a full-time student, am I even allowed to use this setup? And if I can, what's the deal with taxes? Is there a cap on how much I can pull in annually before things get messy? I know with certain types of income there's a threshold where you start getting hit with a heavy tax rate on your total yearly earnings. I really don't want to end up in the crosshairs of the IRS, especially since we're talking about a pretty significant amount of money over the course of the year.

Thanks

You don't just lose 25% of everything; once you exceed $17, you simply file your tax return with Standard Chartered, and after accounting for monthly deductions and the 12% rate, that 25% is merely a down payment, meaning you actually end up receiving quite a large refund at the end of the year.

As for working with international clients, I haven't the slightest clue how that mechanism functions.

redheron12 said:Honestly, why are we even wasting breath debating the importance of those intermediate tires? It’s a complete non-issue when you consider that Lewis Hamilton's race was essentially handed to him on a silver platter the moment his pit stop crew opted for the softs instead.

The intermediate tires were absolutely shredded, leaving them completely squared off; had the rain intensified even slightly, he might have actually managed to claw back the deficit caused by that disastrous tire choice. 🤷

He didn't actually lose anything, really; he might have slipped behind guys like Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso, but he would have surrendered those positions regardless if he'd been forced into a pit stop for fresh rubber. Perhaps the only driver who could have actually caught him was Alonso... maybe. 🤷

So, there was absolutely zero risk involved—he had nothing to lose—yet he still managed to let a victory slip right through his fingers. 🙂

Exactly. If he had just opted for the medium compound—and if I recall correctly, they had three sets available—it wouldn't have been much of a setback even with worn mediums from Q1; he would have cruised to victory without breaking a sweat. In theory, those softs should have been about eight-tenths faster, which over a stretch of twelve or fourteen laps provides more than enough cushion to reclaim the top spot, and even if he didn't, he could have easily overhauled anyone struggling on old mediums by utilizing the fresh softs.

urbanotter said:I think it's best if we just look at the Pope's own words and let everyone draw their own conclusions here.😉

"Conflicts driven by economic dominance and the hoarding of energy, water resources, and raw materials make it harder for those working toward a fairer and more solidary world," the Pope warned, adding that we need a profound sense of hope to allow us to choose the common good for everyone over the luxury of a few and the poverty of many.

http://www.vaticanpress.com/portal.ht...=5989&act=view

When these sentiments are voiced by a man who sleeps in a gilded bed, walks with a gold-topped staff, drinks from gold vessels, and likely carries more gold than a top-tier American rapper, his words carry a certain undeniable weight.😁

Michael Lee4 said:I couldn't agree more 🤣 🙏with this

That’s the spirit!

But seriously, it was just a race to see who could fall asleep first. Why on earth did they wait until they were already deep into the straight to enable DRS instead of making it available immediately? It’s the exact same blunder we saw back in New York City.

stormybadger8 said:😕 What kind of nightmare scenario is Lewis Hamilton facing when he’s stuck battling Jaime Alguersuari and Adrian Sutil, especially considering that Sutil was somehow four seconds faster per lap during that stretch where he caught up and was breathing right down his neck?🤷

I wasn't even talking about anything other than those top six drivers in the race, where we actually saw some genuine overtaking for once. My point was specifically that Lewis Hamilton struggled with his tires at one stage, which was really the only instance where tire performance mattered among the leaders since everyone was stuck on the exact same strategy. It just goes to show that Pirelli is basically turning into Bridgestone, failing to provide rubber that allows for any meaningful strategic variety. Not to mention the fact that those soft tires lasted thirteen laps in full-spec cars—and those are long laps, mind you. They should have barely lasted eight or nine, forcing them to run more stints on the hards instead.

stormybadger8 said:This pathetic excuse for a circuit perfectly encapsulates how dismal this entire season and today's race have been.🤣

Between the dual-zone DRS, KERS, and the new tire compounds, you would think overtaking would actually be possible, yet here we are.🤣
On top of all that, you still need the guy in front to make a glaring mistake and the guy behind to pull off some miracle maneuver just to see a move.

For God's sake, Sutil was four—count them, four—seconds faster per lap right before he caught Alguersuari, and that was on relatively fresh rubber, while Alguersuari was struggling on ancient tires and still ended up finishing just outside the points.🤦

This track is an absolute disaster.👎

Both drivers have KERS, and since the strategies were essentially identical among the leaders—aside from Hamilton's minor hiccup for a few laps, though Massa was too far back to care—tire choice didn't even play a role. All that's left is the DRS, which was set quite conservatively, with the activation point sitting just over 200 meters after the corner.

By the way, why on earth can't Jergovic grasp the difference between the detection line and the activation point?

cosmichawk12 said:both of those tracks are incredibly dull

From what I can tell, they didn't even utilize the full length of the DRS zones on either circuit, and frankly, the whole spectacle was about as exciting as watching paint dry. If they have the technology at their disposal, they should actually use it to make things interesting.

stormybadger8 said:The sheer lack of excitement in this race is best measured by the fact that I managed to skim through every single post on this thread in under thirty seconds.🤣

I suspect we might actually be looking at the least discussed race in the entire history of this forum.🤣

There were two decent overtakes to speak of, specifically Jenson Button making an uncharacteristic move and Fernando Alonso utilizing his DRS, though even those moments feel somewhat hollow when you consider the rest of the field was stuck on identical strategies; it seems Pirelli is slowly regressing into Bridgestone, and frankly, we would all be better off if they reverted to the tire compounds used eight or nine laps ago.

stormybadger8 said:Everything is just falling perfectly into place for Sebastian Vettel, which honestly feels completely unnatural.

It seems quite certain that the FIA has absolutely screwed over nothing but McLaren and Mercedes with this whole engine mapping business.😲

Ferrari keeps improving, which is ultimately great for Sebastian Vettel since they were already trailing behind anyway.

The officiating was quite literally unbelievable.🤦

Vitaly Petrov😲 gets off scot-free, yet first Grandpa gets wrecked, then Mark Webber loses his position, and on top of that, a car tailgates Kamuia for two or three laps behind blue flags without the stewards giving anyone a second thought.😂

Kudos to Webber,👍 though I'm just glad he actually finished the race.👍

The STR performance was impressive, especially those Algiers maneuvers.🙏

Give me a break, they’ve been charging for that since last year.😁

I suspect the issue lies squarely with the track itself rather than the engine mapping, given that it wasn't even prohibited during the race and McL started in third. We shall see what happens at the next race.

It is funny how the "second" drivers always seem to be the ones struggling—Webber with the gearbox, Felipe Massa with the starting issue, Jenson Button with the Button KERS, and Michael Schumacher with the cross.😁

What an absolute disaster of a race, especially when I consider that while San Diego is hosting two separate events, they’re looking to scrap Spa entirely; honestly, they might as well just pull the trigger and end the whole thing now.

I was over at the Los Angeles Lakers clinic earlier today, and from what I gathered, Dr. Polyak was the one on duty. Whether he was actually the one treating me is anyone's guess, honestly. Regardless, his verdict was essentially "nothing to report" for now; he just handed me those FactSet reports and told me to swing back in three months after I've supposedly overhauled my diet and stopped being such a 😁
.
The real issue, however, is that if they actually had the foresight to tell me which specific foods to cut out—which is a massive hurdle—and what I should be eating instead, I might actually get somewhere. I'm sure some of you have dealt with this nonsense before.

silvercrane38 said:Your reasoning follows a very logical path, strictly adhering to that classic capitalist mindset—especially when you consider the possibility of someone running you off the road in the near future because of it. $3.25 Since there isn't enough food to go around—which is hardly a surprise when you consider that the greed of these neo-capitalists knows no bounds—the system will eventually engineer its own internal collapse.

I would much rather take a single, decisive blow from one individual today than endure the slow, agonizing collapse of an entire organization months or years down the line because it devolved into nothing more than a bloated social welfare agency.

Maria Nelson12 said:Verizon cuts staff, yet somehow they're still blowing millions on useless crap. The AT&T move feels like a total knee-jerk reaction from Verizon. If they had just jumped into the fixed market back in 2001 or 2002 when things were actually expanding and people were talking about it, they could've made some serious bank and grabbed a massive market share. Now, I guess, it's all just a bunch of empty gestures.

Actually, that isn't foolishness at all, because making noise is necessary, whereas clinging to redundant staff is what truly fails; labor is nothing more than a response to demand, and if a task can be completed with fewer hands, there is absolutely no reason to do otherwise. We constantly witness this absurd tendency to put "work" on a pedestal as if it were some sacred ritual, when in reality, it is merely the provision of a component or service, no different from manufacturing a screw or any other trivial object. Once the demand for those screws vanishes, you stop ordering them, and quite logically, you no longer require the laborer either.

As for how Verizon manages its internal affairs, that is hardly our concern, but rather the sole responsibility of their owner, because if he chooses to let go of the wrong people, he is the one who will ultimately suffer the consequences.

silvercrane38 said:I suppose a failing business buying another failing business to somehow "offset" losses is supposed to make sense? Is that the kind of logic they feed to the unwashed masses?

Verizon isn't some bottom-feeder, so I have no idea where you're getting that from, whereas a company dumping massive capital into nonsense like AT&T could actually be considered a loser.