Re: Skodas and Ladas
"...It's true: the Germans have no sense of humour...."
The German sense of humour is no laughing matter!
1738 publicly visible posts • joined 19 Apr 2007
Off-topic, but in the same vein: when (in the 1960's) I was a school prefect at an English boarding school, it amused me to despatch some irritating little oik to the Post Office to enquire as to the price of a verbal agreement stamp (back in the days when most agreements attracted 2d stamp duty).
'Cos having received their scan by email, the first thing they'll do is print out the attachment. This could have ever such a fun effect on the work throughput schedule, and be terrifically profitable to the scanner and paper vendors. I know your suggestion was meant jokingly, but I've seen many dafter suggestions actually implemented.
"but they can be as large as a cardboard box in a strong thermal.
That would have to be one hell of a thermal."
Depends on the cardboard box:- they come in sizes from smaller than a matchbox to the size of a packing crate - and in materials from very light card to multi-ply heavy duty stuff.
"...Apple computers are not for the technically oriented minds. People will buy Macs regardless with the content smile of lobotomized, bordering on Nirvana..."
Whereas I, Sandtitz, am one of the élite cognoscenti who look down on those who merely want to get on with using a machine without having to fart about with it.
And yes, I have been involved in both H/W ands S/W support/engineering since the late 1970's, and surprisingly enough, have been a Mac user since 1990. Even the most experienced mechanics like something which they can just drive...
(Awaits hordes of downvotes from the anti-Apple mob, desperate to show how they're too cool and too technically brilliant to use something which just runs...)
@Ratfox:-
"...Taxes are now used to pay for necessities which make it possible to have a successful society: Roads, infrastructure, a functional justice system..."
Our roads are in one hell of a state, our infrastructure is broken & can't cope, and it's been one hell of a long time since our legal system had anything to do with justice.
So where are my taxes going???
"...Airing concerns about security, money laundering and financing of terrorism is a standard tactic employed by the banks..."
Hence the recent humomgous settlements paid by HSBC and others to the US regulatory authorities for dealings with massive sums of drug money, financial dealings with terrorist-sponsoring states, and myriad other skullduggeries.
Concerned - but mainly about how much they can make from it, it seems.
"...I thought the reason the Saudi's were doing it was to screw up investment in western shale oil which would wipe out a lot of their customers..."
Not at all old lad. The House of Saud (with a little prompting from that nice Mr Obama) has its prime intention as severely harming Iran - their implacable anemy/arch-rival - whose export of oil is the only thing keeping the Tehrani economy anything like afloat. Depress the price of oil, and the general populace in Iran become somewhat disenchanted with the Ayatollahs...
Mr Obama is pefectly happy to see Tehran deep in the mire, and with the added bonus of buggering up Boris, he has had a pefectly happy Christmas - with it all effectively done through proxies.
The EU's rush (under US prompting) for expansion eastwards has fuelled Boris's natural age-old paranoia regarding being encircled by the enemy. with the enemy at the gates. The EU foray towards the Ukraine was a step too far from Boris's point of view.
Also, in reply to Arnaut the less, who states "With the possible exception of Angela Merkel, please let me have the name of a single leader of a major first world country who is not a putz.", the delightful Frau Merkel might not be a putz, but she is a dyed-in-the-wool authoritarian not-so-ex Osti apparatchik who views German hegemony over an enlarged European Union as the Fourth Reich.
Interesting times...
Google, Amazon & Apple remove bugger all money from circulation when viewed in the context of QE - or printing as many 'new' dollars, pounds or euros as our esteemed overlords feel like.
Add to this the fact that with fractional reserve banking, loans made by banks are little more than money created out of thin air, and it becomes apparent that the whole system is a house of cards.
It continues as long as the participants believe - or pretend to - in it, but at some point someone of power/influence is bound to say "Hold on, this here's all funny money which doesn't really exist".
And then? - Solids, meet air-conditioning...