quote:

Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN there's a big difference between trancer and i. i am more than capable of changing my mind (or having my mind changed hehe) and there are plenty of examples here in the PDD. i have yet to see trancer do the same, even once.

So that leaves us with either:

• he is consistently believing x1 % of truth or y1 % of lies
  
• you are constantly flip flopping between x2 % of truth and y2 % of lies
  
• he reaches new plateaus or abysmal depths, and moves in the respective direction... but on a larger scale, in one direction
  
• you either continue to refine your view, or stay stagnated in a constant state of confusion
  

Do you really care what the case might be, since you already have a conclusion?

___________________
"The Greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge." -Stephen Hawking
"First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me— and there was no one left to speak out for me." -Martin Niemöller

quote:

Originally posted by shaolin_Z They propagate their world view, you propagate yours. No one discusses anything, all we have is more mindless agenda pushing from every angle.

nah man, that's only what its like between certain people, and on certain topics. the topics might not be thrilling and the expertise isnt what it was say 4 years ago, but there's still some pretty bright people with an honest position to discuss. i even consider the CT peddlers as bright in some ways, if seriously twisted or malformed.

its like hunting for good music

quote:

Originally posted by shaolin_Z And some of us just find it so pointless and hilarious now, at least largely so. Once the boards loose any kind of value personally, more of 'us' will be posting less frequently, perhaps disappear completely. And you'll (generic you here) still be here butting heads .

meh, its only pointless if you cant pick out the shit from the substance. i am swayed way more by a TA's eloquent justification for a position than i am by amateur, dishonest films. there are so many fantastic documentaries out there, why the fuck do these tools have to promote the idiotic ones? the corporation, now that's a film that presents a real, compelling narrative.

fuck zeitgeist and the false intellectualism it seeks to inspire. marx did all this a million times better, 170 odd years ago. but picking up a book is much harder than youtubing your way to absolute knowledge

___________________

I'm reading Capital Vol. 1 these days . And got a copy of Chomsky's Imperial Grand Strategy. You know, stuff grounded in Academia. I never restrict myself to Academia though, and would be quite foolish of me. But leaving that framework generally implies one must proceed with caution, perhaps even more so than you must have in that framework .

___________________
"The Greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge." -Stephen Hawking
"First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me— and there was no one left to speak out for me." -Martin Niemöller

quote:

Originally posted by shaolin_Z So that leaves us with either: he is consistently believing x1 % of truth or y1 % of lies you are constantly flip flopping between x2 % of truth and y2 % of lies he reaches new plateaus or abysmal depths, and moves in the respective direction... but on a larger scale, in one direction you either continue to refine your view, or stay stagnated in a constant state of confusion Do you really care what the case might be, since you already have a conclusion?

it means i have very very few areas of 'expertise' and i am willing to be swayed by compelling argument and/or evidence. trancer is an immovable object. i believe immediate history and social theory is in a constant state of flux and there are very few ideas i will not abandon in the face of newer ideas. fuck, is it dialectics - thesis, antithesis, synthesis? i forget, im too old you have gone a long way in changing my opinion about israel ffs.

my rigid adherence to ideology as a child has made me a much more flexible adult, as has meeting so many people right here that know a fucklot more about various things than i do (the CT peddlers not included ).

___________________

quote:

Originally posted by shaolin_Z I'm reading Capital Vol. 1 these days

hahahahahahahaaha.

oh, fuck man. you must really hate yourself!! i reckon ive read a total of 5 chapters, tops. talk about dry! ha. when it comes to marx, for me it was those writing in the 20th century that piqued my interest the most. they 'sexed' up the language and made it more interesting for an adolescent to get all fired up about

quote:

Originally posted by shaolin_Z And got a copy of Chomsky's Imperial Grand Strategy. You know, stuff grounded in Academia. I never restrict myself to Academia though, and would be quite foolish of me. But leaving that framework generally implies one must proceed with caution, perhaps even more so than you must have in that framework .

yeah, and you should never restrict what you want to get into. i dont think academia is the money shot or anything (except in hard sciences) and it can often be thrashed by a good, personal understanding of an issue. i just find that academic prose is more compelling than say, the stuff one might read on prison planet. and whilst i might disagree with chomsky quite a bit, fuck he was always a pleasure to read. making an idiot like me understand complex social science issues is a skill!

___________________

There is no grand conspiracy around the fed. It is not a for profit institution so I wish that example should not be used. It discredits the other criticisms people have. There are plenty of legitimate arguments to be made against the fed and our fiat money system..but the fact that it is "for profit" is not one of them.

The Federal Reserve is a corrupt for-profit institution which monopolizes the creation of the money supply thus they exert more influence over our country and indeed the world than any president can
George W. Bush's federal deficits amounted to 4 billion in his 8 years in office so where did the nearly 8 trillion dollars worth of additional debt originate? do your homework the united states is in for a long ride before it
read this article for example
http://market-ticker.denninger.net/...Government.html

The problem has not been the solely the lack of oversight by the government in financial institutions but also the lack of oversight over the federal reserve. The Fed may not be responsible for 9/11 or the instigation of the world wars but it is certainly responsible for the current financial meltdown...if only we still had something backing our worthless currency? gold perhaps? all fiat empires have failed before us and we are about to witness the end of the American Imperialism that came to define the ill-fated Bush legacy. Regardless of whether you vote for Obama or John Mccain the fact that the fed essentially controls the government by determining without oversight or any accountability the size of the money supply and the nature of the fractional reserve system. The federal reserve is just about as "federal" as federal express. 911 may not have been an inside job but the fed is still a quasi-government agency that tyrannizes the poor for the benefit of the rich, just like nearly every central bank in the world
Do not underestimate the influence and independence of the men behind the curtain

___________________

quote:

Originally posted by Funkesthesiac69 The Federal Reserve is a corrupt for-profit institution which monopolizes the creation of the money supply thus they exert more influence over our country and indeed the world than any president can George W. Bush's federal deficits amounted to 4 billion in his 8 years in office so where did the nearly 8 trillion dollars worth of additional debt originate? do your homework the united states is in for a long ride before it read this article for example http://market-ticker.denninger.net/...Government.html The problem has not been the solely the lack of oversight by the government in financial institutions but also the lack of oversight over the federal reserve. The Fed may not be responsible for 9/11 or the instigation of the world wars but it is certainly responsible for the current financial meltdown...if only we still had something backing our worthless currency? gold perhaps? all fiat empires have failed before us and we are about to witness the end of the American Imperialism that came to define the ill-fated Bush legacy. Regardless of whether you vote for Obama or John Mccain the fact that the fed essentially controls the government by determining without oversight or any accountability the size of the money supply and the nature of the fractional reserve system. The federal reserve is just about as "federal" as federal express. 911 may not have been an inside job but the fed is still a quasi-government agency that tyrannizes the poor for the benefit of the rich, just like nearly every central bank in the world Do not underestimate the influence and independence of the men behind the curtain

liar.

___________________

quote:

Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN liar.

LOL, give it a rest Tasmanian Jesus .

___________________
"The Greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge." -Stephen Hawking
"First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me— and there was no one left to speak out for me." -Martin Niemöller

quote:

Originally posted by shaolin_Z LOL, give it a rest Tasmanian Jesus .

haha, since when did anyone know where hobart was?

___________________

quote:

Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN haha, since when did anyone know where hobart was?

Dammit, you just made me feel like an American! And now I must google a map of Kangaroo land. Bastard!

___________________
"The Greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge." -Stephen Hawking
"First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me— and there was no one left to speak out for me." -Martin Niemöller

quote:

Originally posted by shaolin_Z Dammit, you just made me feel like an American! And now I must google a map of Kangaroo land. Bastard!

Nah, you got it right champ! Which is why I was surprised. Nobody knows where hobart is!

___________________