A person doesn't have to lower themselves to get true power. True power lies NOT in minipulating and frightening people. Didn't Hitler and Huessian find that out? Real power lies in self control and self disipline so you can navigate through life in the most healthy way possible, and reap the rewards of good health. This may be a short-range bore, but it's a long range boon. If a person has the courage to "seek his or her bliss" and be true to himself THAT is power. LONG TERM, the two famous sayings are true: "Crime does not pay." and, "You can't cheat an honest man."
Hitler = Hussein? Really, were exactly have you heard this before? Or do you feel it's your own equation?
What exactly would you do in a subjectively life threatening situation? "Seek bliss"? Or would you maybe use manipulation combined with Dostoevsky's psychological expertise, if that was the only thing that came in handy at the time, in a scenario with a circling knife and photos of females all in the same situation, if that seemed to hold the only promise to get you out of the trap?
The wisdom as I remembered it at the time, went somewhat like this: If you can combine a lie with something perceptibly real you can add whatever embroidery to it you like (or need in my case) and it will be considered the truth as a whole. (from The Idiot)
The only power ordinary folks have is the power as consumers (chosing between similar pro-capitalist political parties is more illusion than power). They only have to dare to refuse to buy something, as a collective, to wield their fearsome power! Dare they?
Too true unfortunately. There are many individuals out there that do 'dare' but never enough to really make a difference. Do me and a few hundred thousand other people boycotting Amazon for tax evasion really hurt them in their pockets? Nope! But will I continue to boycott them regardless? Hell yeah!
Yeah, because my choosing to buy music and books from businesses other than Amazon is exactly like going on hunger strike and leading mass protests in front of the world's media. Amazon is the Evil Empire, and I'm the little Indian guy with big ideas. Hey maybe if my angry emails get annoying enough, they'll send out their best soldiers to massacre my people.
Look, we always have the term mob for the undesireables out there, don't we? That is quite a weapon in politics, isn't it?
But Jamie: Concerning Amazon, what precisely am I missing since my bookshop around the corner is gone? That was also the only one that didn't make me pay 50% extra for e.g. American books. Do I have to feel sorry for the ones that exploited the market in time when Amazon wasn't there to a far bigger extend? Do the former owners need my empathy?
Should I pay more attention to the people supposedly exploited by Amazon?
If I look at this. People doing menial jobs, like sending my books or whatever else to me, are already above the minimum pay the German Socialists want to achieve at the moment as a basic pay everyone should get over here in their future possible big coalition with the "Christian Democrats" which consider it too high.
The pay the "german socialists" suggests is 8,50 € per hour. Are you trying to convince me this is all Amazon's fault? Seems they are above that minimum wage already, even in the least educated sections.
But no doubt this will create a problem with our pension system in the future. But blame the chance on Amazon? Can you explain why?
"Are you trying to convince me this is all Amazon's fault?" No, anon, I'm not trying to convince you anything of the sort! It seems my problem with Amazon (which is their repeated tax avoidance in numerous countries btw) is not the only thing people can find with which to fault them.
I am concerned that companies such as Amazon, Apple, Starbucks and others get away with paying as little tax as possible, far below the usual percentage. I dislike that such avoidance is accepted and in some cases encouraged by those in power around the world. On the other hand, if your local book shop (for example) had paid only a tiny amount of the tax they owe, they would rightly be shut down and prosecuted as criminals. Where’s the equality in that?
In relation to what I think you’re talking about, yes I think it’s a shame that smaller businesses are driven out by larger competitors but such is the nature of the capitalist system. I don’t think it’s a question of feeling sorry for anyone whose business fails, it’s just I’d rather live in a world where there is freedom to choose between a variety of different companies offering services, not in one where corporation X controls the market by selling everything.
On a side note, it amuses me that each of my comments on this thread have been very different in tone and content.
I am concerned that companies such as Amazon, Apple, Starbucks and others get away with paying as little tax as possible, far below the usual percentage
hint appreciated, Jamie, I wasn't too aware beyond my basic cynicism concerning accounting business as usual. According to this "Die Zeit" (the time) article they pay almost no taxes over here, well a little and all their employees of course do. The trick is done by transferring gains in Germany (and the ones in other European countries, I guess) to Luxembourg. Although, is Germany Amazon's biggest market outside the US? One third of total gains, that sounds too much, somehow. The Luxembourg trick again, that's a European money oasis like Switzerland with a long and old history. The last big bank scandal about helping client avoid taxes via Luxembourg I am aware of was decades ago. I guess the financial tools have been refined since then. Nowadays it is mostly about Switzerland. ... Ireland was a business oasis for a time due to it's enormously low taxes, and if you have branches in different countries no problem to transfer income to where they are taxed with the lowest rate. I guess that was always done and still is to the extend our complex tax laws still allow it. But lately low tax Ireland got in trouble too. Anyway, Luxembourg has a strong reputation as a tiny country, with many banks and letterbox companies. At least Amazon employs 300 people there, so it's not a letterbox only or an obscure money collecting foundation based in the office of a lawyer. So I guess it is tax-loop-holey-legit. ;)
But the article also claims that tricks are used by many others including Google, Apple. Starbucks, which are explicitly listed. That's what I allude to as accounting business as usual.
Hint appreciated, nevertheless, I'll consider that in the future.
On a side note, it amuses me that each of my comments on this thread have been very different in tone and content.
Don't worry, that is fine with me.
To return to our basic topic here: Power. Here comes power at the state level: Empire. Remember: Americans are from Mars, Europeans are from Venus, what does the neocon's regime-change-ideology or Empire Power look like 10 years after?
I guess Pat's allusion to zero option means no American troops will be allowed to stay in Afghanistan, I guess. The immunity issue is not decided yet, it seems. And you don't want your soldiers to be prosecuted by the jirga. Do you? That would be a little powerless. ;) take care Jamie.
Although I can see why you've made the assumption that I'm American, I'm actually British. Of course we like to pretend we're bestest buddies with the US when we're probably more similar to the Germans than we'd like to think :)
Amazon UK is also based in Luxembourg, so I guess all the tax money that should be going to Westminster, the Bundestag et al just sits in Luxembourgish banks...
And yes, you're right, it's completely natural for those countries with power to not want their troops to be tried by the countries they suppress. So the soldiers will go home, and then off to Guantanamo for trial, I don't think! Bis später :)
Talking about daring, I'm new around here. But have lots to say, though never dared to. I am a sociopath, diagnosed a while ago. I really like this blog, kind of makes me have a certain ease when I read the posts. It's actually what pushed me to write my own blog or shall I say dare to say a few things. So thanks:)
thats my blog: http://chuckfranky.blogspot.com/ Feedback from people here would be great.
I tried to register in the Forum, but I couldnt for some reason...
Interesting. But absolutely wrong on dogs. Maybe you consider them through a much too narrow lens, independence? Now of course that type of element dogs have too, if you allow them to have it. Which unfortunately rarely happens in a society with a high percentage of people that fear dogs.
Welcome anyway, Chuck.
What would be your most daring article, under the guise of anonymity, that is? The most straightforwardly frank?
Interesting blog Chuck. You seem more violent than M.E. (or at least more comfortably prepared to admit being violent) which if nothing else is refreshing in its frankness. I like your human / dog analogy, even though where I'm from dangerous dogs tend to be put down rather than locked up! But we don't do that to people...
Just relating to your country of origin, you wouldn't happen to speak French would you?
I wouldn't worry missing out on the forum, it's always dreadfully boring to read and I can't imagine having to actually contribute to it.
To Anonymous: The dog thing has many layers I guess, in general that is. So depends on how you look at it. And about the article, well...its an interesting question. Thank you for asking, makes me wonder actually. But I think there are many, I will post some soon, but I guess I have one specific one in mind now. How about you give me a name that I'll use as a tittle. That way, when you visit the blog again, you'll know which one it is.:)
To Jamie: Thank you for the input, your comment gave me a smile. Kind of a push to write more:) And actually, its weird you'd ask, but yes I do speak french. Its not my native language. But I was in a french school, and in order to get in, you have to be fluent in french before the age of 3. So I learned it simultaneously with my mother tongue. Why do you ask? If you want to know about my country, I recently posted something about it. It might make it seem scary, but you'll get the full picture in the post:)
I read parts of your blog, and I find your natural attraction and curiosity to killing and torture interesting and very familiar. It's a shame not more girls are like you, maybe then I wouldn't be so bored with them. Mais c'est la vie.
Alors, j'ai posé cette question à vous parce que j’ai découvert que vous êtes libanaise et je sais que c’est un pays quasi-francophone. Puisque je suis étudiant universitaire de la langue, trouver des gens francophones sur Internet est une de mes compétences les plus fortes ;)
J’ai lu l’article décrivant votre pays et je lui réagirai sur ce blog-là (en anglais !). J’espère que vous ne trouviez pas trop d’erreurs dans mon français mais je m’excuse si c’est le cas.
Well if you understood French you'd see that it was for Chucky. Seeing as it has already been established that she's a fluent French speaker, and I don't know you from all the other Anonymouses on here, I'd say it was obvious, wouldn't you? :)
Comments are unmoderated. Blog owner is not responsible for third party content. By leaving comments on the blog, commenters give license to the blog owner to reprint attributed comments in any form.
To be able to dare = to be able to act.
ReplyDeleteReminds me of the book "Think and grow rich" by Napoleon Hill.
"Procrastination is the bad habit of putting of until the day after tomorrow what should have been done the day before yesterday." - Napoleon Hill
Which does not make you rich, and does not make you powerful.
Power is the ability to act, and get the results you want.
sometimes it takes power to w8
DeleteA person doesn't have to lower themselves to get true power.
ReplyDeleteTrue power lies NOT in minipulating and frightening people.
Didn't Hitler and Huessian find that out?
Real power lies in self control and self disipline so you can navigate
through life in the most healthy way possible, and reap the rewards
of good health. This may be a short-range bore, but it's a long range
boon.
If a person has the courage to "seek his or her bliss" and be true
to himself THAT is power. LONG TERM, the two famous sayings are
true: "Crime does not pay." and, "You can't cheat an honest man."
Hitler = Hussein? Really, were exactly have you heard this before? Or do you feel it's your own equation?
DeleteWhat exactly would you do in a subjectively life threatening situation? "Seek bliss"? Or would you maybe use manipulation combined with Dostoevsky's psychological expertise, if that was the only thing that came in handy at the time, in a scenario with a circling knife and photos of females all in the same situation, if that seemed to hold the only promise to get you out of the trap?
The wisdom as I remembered it at the time, went somewhat like this: If you can combine a lie with something perceptibly real you can add whatever embroidery to it you like (or need in my case) and it will be considered the truth as a whole. (from The Idiot)
my power is the ability to figure out any system (inclueding people) and make it work for me
ReplyDeleteThe only power ordinary folks have is the power as consumers (chosing between similar pro-capitalist political parties is more illusion than power). They only have to dare to refuse to buy something, as a collective, to wield their fearsome power! Dare they?
ReplyDeleteToo true unfortunately. There are many individuals out there that do 'dare' but never enough to really make a difference. Do me and a few hundred thousand other people boycotting Amazon for tax evasion really hurt them in their pockets? Nope! But will I continue to boycott them regardless? Hell yeah!
Deletemake a difference?
Deletewho the fuck do you think we are gandhi
Yeah, because my choosing to buy music and books from businesses other than Amazon is exactly like going on hunger strike and leading mass protests in front of the world's media. Amazon is the Evil Empire, and I'm the little Indian guy with big ideas. Hey maybe if my angry emails get annoying enough, they'll send out their best soldiers to massacre my people.
DeleteLook, we always have the term mob for the undesireables out there, don't we? That is quite a weapon in politics, isn't it?
DeleteBut Jamie: Concerning Amazon, what precisely am I missing since my bookshop around the corner is gone? That was also the only one that didn't make me pay 50% extra for e.g. American books. Do I have to feel sorry for the ones that exploited the market in time when Amazon wasn't there to a far bigger extend? Do the former owners need my empathy?
Should I pay more attention to the people supposedly exploited by Amazon?
If I look at this. People doing menial jobs, like sending my books or whatever else to me, are already above the minimum pay the German Socialists want to achieve at the moment as a basic pay everyone should get over here in their future possible big coalition with the "Christian Democrats" which consider it too high.
The pay the "german socialists" suggests is 8,50 € per hour. Are you trying to convince me this is all Amazon's fault? Seems they are above that minimum wage already, even in the least educated sections.
But no doubt this will create a problem with our pension system in the future. But blame the chance on Amazon? Can you explain why?
fucking hippies
Delete"Are you trying to convince me this is all Amazon's fault?" No, anon, I'm not trying to convince you anything of the sort! It seems my problem with Amazon (which is their repeated tax avoidance in numerous countries btw) is not the only thing people can find with which to fault them.
DeleteI am concerned that companies such as Amazon, Apple, Starbucks and others get away with paying as little tax as possible, far below the usual percentage. I dislike that such avoidance is accepted and in some cases encouraged by those in power around the world. On the other hand, if your local book shop (for example) had paid only a tiny amount of the tax they owe, they would rightly be shut down and prosecuted as criminals. Where’s the equality in that?
In relation to what I think you’re talking about, yes I think it’s a shame that smaller businesses are driven out by larger competitors but such is the nature of the capitalist system. I don’t think it’s a question of feeling sorry for anyone whose business fails, it’s just I’d rather live in a world where there is freedom to choose between a variety of different companies offering services, not in one where corporation X controls the market by selling everything.
On a side note, it amuses me that each of my comments on this thread have been very different in tone and content.
(reposted from the bottom of the comments page)
I am concerned that companies such as Amazon, Apple, Starbucks and others get away with paying as little tax as possible, far below the usual percentage
Deletehint appreciated, Jamie, I wasn't too aware beyond my basic cynicism concerning accounting business as usual. According to this "Die Zeit" (the time) article they pay almost no taxes over here, well a little and all their employees of course do. The trick is done by transferring gains in Germany (and the ones in other European countries, I guess) to Luxembourg. Although, is Germany Amazon's biggest market outside the US? One third of total gains, that sounds too much, somehow. The Luxembourg trick again, that's a European money oasis like Switzerland with a long and old history. The last big bank scandal about helping client avoid taxes via Luxembourg I am aware of was decades ago. I guess the financial tools have been refined since then. Nowadays it is mostly about Switzerland. ... Ireland was a business oasis for a time due to it's enormously low taxes, and if you have branches in different countries no problem to transfer income to where they are taxed with the lowest rate. I guess that was always done and still is to the extend our complex tax laws still allow it. But lately low tax Ireland got in trouble too. Anyway, Luxembourg has a strong reputation as a tiny country, with many banks and letterbox companies. At least Amazon employs 300 people there, so it's not a letterbox only or an obscure money collecting foundation based in the office of a lawyer. So I guess it is tax-loop-holey-legit. ;)
But the article also claims that tricks are used by many others including Google, Apple. Starbucks, which are explicitly listed. That's what I allude to as accounting business as usual.
Hint appreciated, nevertheless, I'll consider that in the future.
On a side note, it amuses me that each of my comments on this thread have been very different in tone and content.
Don't worry, that is fine with me.
To return to our basic topic here: Power. Here comes power at the state level: Empire. Remember: Americans are from Mars, Europeans are from Venus, what does the neocon's regime-change-ideology or Empire Power look like 10 years after?
I guess Pat's allusion to zero option means no American troops will be allowed to stay in Afghanistan, I guess. The immunity issue is not decided yet, it seems. And you don't want your soldiers to be prosecuted by the jirga. Do you? That would be a little powerless. ;) take care Jamie.
Although I can see why you've made the assumption that I'm American, I'm actually British. Of course we like to pretend we're bestest buddies with the US when we're probably more similar to the Germans than we'd like to think :)
DeleteAmazon UK is also based in Luxembourg, so I guess all the tax money that should be going to Westminster, the Bundestag et al just sits in Luxembourgish banks...
And yes, you're right, it's completely natural for those countries with power to not want their troops to be tried by the countries they suppress. So the soldiers will go home, and then off to Guantanamo for trial, I don't think!
Bis später :)
Talking about daring, I'm new around here. But have lots to say, though never dared to. I am a sociopath, diagnosed a while ago. I really like this blog, kind of makes me have a certain ease when I read the posts. It's actually what pushed me to write my own blog or shall I say dare to say a few things. So thanks:)
ReplyDeletethats my blog: http://chuckfranky.blogspot.com/
Feedback from people here would be great.
I tried to register in the Forum, but I couldnt for some reason...
Interesting. But absolutely wrong on dogs. Maybe you consider them through a much too narrow lens, independence? Now of course that type of element dogs have too, if you allow them to have it. Which unfortunately rarely happens in a society with a high percentage of people that fear dogs.
DeleteWelcome anyway, Chuck.
What would be your most daring article, under the guise of anonymity, that is? The most straightforwardly frank?
Interesting blog Chuck. You seem more violent than M.E. (or at least more comfortably prepared to admit being violent) which if nothing else is refreshing in its frankness. I like your human / dog analogy, even though where I'm from dangerous dogs tend to be put down rather than locked up! But we don't do that to people...
DeleteJust relating to your country of origin, you wouldn't happen to speak French would you?
I wouldn't worry missing out on the forum, it's always dreadfully boring to read and I can't imagine having to actually contribute to it.
Thank you so much for the feedback:)
DeleteTo Anonymous: The dog thing has many layers I guess, in general that is. So depends on how you look at it. And about the article, well...its an interesting question. Thank you for asking, makes me wonder actually. But I think there are many, I will post some soon, but I guess I have one specific one in mind now. How about you give me a name that I'll use as a tittle. That way, when you visit the blog again, you'll know which one it is.:)
To Jamie: Thank you for the input, your comment gave me a smile. Kind of a push to write more:)
And actually, its weird you'd ask, but yes I do speak french. Its not my native language. But I was in a french school, and in order to get in, you have to be fluent in french before the age of 3. So I learned it simultaneously with my mother tongue. Why do you ask?
If you want to know about my country, I recently posted something about it. It might make it seem scary, but you'll get the full picture in the post:)
I read parts of your blog, and I find your natural attraction and curiosity to killing and torture interesting and very familiar. It's a shame not more girls are like you, maybe then I wouldn't be so bored with them. Mais c'est la vie.
DeleteAlors, j'ai posé cette question à vous parce que j’ai découvert que vous êtes libanaise et je sais que c’est un pays quasi-francophone. Puisque je suis étudiant universitaire de la langue, trouver des gens francophones sur Internet est une de mes compétences les plus fortes ;)
DeleteJ’ai lu l’article décrivant votre pays et je lui réagirai sur ce blog-là (en anglais !). J’espère que vous ne trouviez pas trop d’erreurs dans mon français mais je m’excuse si c’est le cas.
To whom is that directed too? Chucky or myself?
DeleteWell if you understood French you'd see that it was for Chucky. Seeing as it has already been established that she's a fluent French speaker, and I don't know you from all the other Anonymouses on here, I'd say it was obvious, wouldn't you? :)
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThere are two types of power: coercive and motivational. Dostoyevsky's quote only applies to the first type.
ReplyDeleteMight be good to keep in mind that the quote belongs to Raskolnikov — a fictional character, not Dostoevsky himself.
ReplyDeletethank you, 11:53. point well taken. Dostoyevsky may state this reality but that does not mean he endorses it. Great distinction.
Delete