Is There a New Dotcom Bubble?

[Ed209]

@Juan, I'm surprised you agreed with Dan's post as communism takes away people's basic freedoms and civil liberties. I guess our ideologies are miles apart as the last thing I would want to live under is an authoritarian dictatorship.

 

[PeteJ]

When former Yugoslavia was under the authoritarian leadership of Josip Tito, many people living in those parts saw him as a benevolent dictator. My grandfather (from Montenegro) always tells me how quality of life was way better under him. Everyone was given a car and taken care of with other basic needs. It's not the same in terms of prosperity for some of these countries now post Yugoslav breakup.

I dunno, I guess I wanted to share this anecdote.

Baltic and Eastern countries would disagree. Ask Ukrainians how they felt during Holodomor - obviously, the ones that survived. Just because some brainwashed Soviets were happy, it doesn't mean all were happy.

Dan should do some research instead of relying on a few relatives. The other tangible there is you couldn't "complain." Even if various people liked or tolerated it, there wasn't freedom to complain. You would have a visit to your door.

 

[PeteJ]

Incorrect. The penalty was jail time or sent to Siberia... do not exaggerate lol.

Did I say Commie was perfect? No, but in order to control prices and keep everyone equal more or less, they could not have people sneak Western merchandise which was often sold for profit (speculation... sound familiar?)... Yes, speculation and business for personal profit was illegal, but this was to prevent big business from exploiting the common people as they do today.

The death sentence shooting squad against the wall was earlier during Stalin days. In the 60's and onward death sentences were only in extreme cases of treason (not smuggling a Beatles record).

Whatever, who cares anyways. We have much worse things to worry about today like the vaccine mandates that they now want to force people in Austria soon or face prison time - how is that different from Stalin?

Really? Is that why the world's greatest scientists were in Russia at the time and USA was scared shitless lol. Theft was extremely rare, you could leave your bike outside and it would still be there 3 hours later... I could go on and on at all the perks.

Russians were also first in Space and USSR had the most Olympic gold medals... quite an achievement for couch potatoes. The golden period of USSR was quite nice. WW2 veterans were respected there, in fact my grandfather who lost a leg against the Nazis near Stalingrad, received a modified car for free. Which country has ever gave away free vehicles to its injured war veterans please tell me.

You guys know only what the West has indocrinated you against former USSR so I don't blame you.

It's not any different. The difference is the FSU only indoctrinated Eastern European countries and a few of western ones (but, they had backlash and push back - see Poland, East/West Germany and Czechoslovakia).

Now, there's global collusion all over to implement totalitarianism and more than half the populations support or enable it.

 

[PeteJ]

Each regime has its goods and bads. Even in capitalist countries across Europe you see a huge variation in how the wealth is spread. I believe Norway is doing quite well, it gets lots of income from the oil industry and citizens seem to be getting lots of benefits from it.

Holland is not perfect, but I have always been grateful to the social system there. You barely see homeless people there and there's always some sense of social security (I remember my Canadian colleague couldn't comprehend that in Holland you get 1 year full pay on a sick leave and 2nd year 75 percent of your salary). The downside of the Dutch society is that it's rather hard to achieve the top, as the society will try to push you down. Paul Verhoeven was talking about it in one of the interviews, that he had to go to the US to fully utilise his talent.

So I believe it's very much down to how the society is, people's mentality etc rather than the regime alone.

It's crony capitalism, rigged elections, censorship, draconian laws and socialist policies intended to indoctrinate the populace (few people in these countries would abandon the welfare state - every party has to maintain it - how is that capitalist?).

Freedom of expression and speech is not allowed and now these so-called liberal/capitalist countries are enforcing vaccine mandates.

 

[Johan001]

It's crony capitalism, rigged elections, censorship, draconian laws and socialist policies intended to indoctrinate the populace (few people in these countries would abandon the welfare state - every party has to maintain it - how is that capitalist?).

Freedom of expression and speech is not allowed and now these so-called liberal/capitalist countries are enforcing vaccine mandates.

I believe Churchill said that capitalism is horrible but people haven't come up with a better solution yet.

In essence, indigenous people do it right, they live in touch with the nature and are much happier than so called developed world.

We just got carried away and overcomplicated things

 

[Juan]

@Juan, I'm surprised you agreed with Dan's post as communism takes away people's basic freedoms and civil liberties. I guess our ideologies are miles apart as the last thing I would want to live under is an authoritarian dictatorship.

I think it depends on how you define "freedom" ;-)

I know a few older people in Moscow (already retired people) who own apartments in downtown Moscow, which were assigned when the Soviet Union was standing. Those people are passionate about what they do, professors, scientists, etc and in today's "free world" would not be able to live comfortably and devote their time to studying, research, thinking etc.

In today's world those people would have to deal with ordinary worries like being able to afford... a simple apartment (and they would not be able to afford it). Scientists in Spain live in dire straits. The economy is ruined, because politicians and central bankers ruined it on purpose, to serve Big Tech.

As any political system, communism had its lights and shadows.

Now, under the "new normal", politicians are restricting what we call "freedom" in the West. As you can see from protests in the Netherlands, people have been shot, people demonstrating have been hit, water cannons have been fired on them... just because they want to go out and have a coffee undisturbed... this is today's "freedom".

On top of that, those people cannot afford to own property because those idiots that decide on the monetary policy and interest rates have rigged the game and are playing to the tune set by a few billionaires, leaving out 99% of the normal population.

I have never lived under communism, but from what I am told by people who did live under that regime, 99% of people were not excluded, ignored, or had to worry about having a roof over their heads.

 

[Juan]

I believe Churchill said that capitalism is horrible but people haven't come up with a better solution yet.

Churchill was filthy rich from birth. He liked being on the spotlight in a difficult time, but he personally was very well off.

 

[Johan001]

Churchill was filthy rich from birth. He liked being on the spotlight in a difficult time, but he personally was very well off.

Yeah, I just like his quote. I wouldn't say I am a big fan of his, but he definitely did a better job as a PM than Boris

 

[Johan001]

One of the advantages of communism over the West are the women rights. You can see it in the East and West Germany.

In the West women were fairly oppressed and expected to be housewives, perhaps mainly under the church rule. You saw this a lot in Holland, Western Germany etc.

In the East, it was normal that women were chief engineers in factories, and everyone was encouraged to work. There was more equality in that regard.

 

[dan]

One of the advantages of communism over the West are the women rights. You can see it in the East and West Germany.

In the West women were fairly oppressed and expected to be housewives, perhaps mainly under the church rule. You saw this a lot in Holland, Western Germany etc.

In the East, it was normal that women were chief engineers in factories, and everyone was encouraged to work. There was more equality in that regard.

Yes, thank you Johan.

All I was saying that there were good aspects about Communism. Free education for all, free excellent personalized Healthcare, equal gender rights, high pensions for elderly and veterans, taking care of veterans injured in wars (and there were millions of injured and disabled), children were loved and cherished it, low crime, and no Poverty, no hard drug addiction (fentanyl, crack, pain killers, etc).

Sadly, the authoritarian rule of restrictions such as freedom to leave if you preferred the Capitalist dream.

That is the only thing I disagree with. In the 70's they did let Jews leave to Israel, but no country has the right to hold its citizens prisoner if they did not commit any crime.

 

[Johan001]

Yes, thank you Johan.

All I was saying that there were good aspects about Communism. Free education for all, free excellent personalized Healthcare, equal gender rights, high pensions for elderly and veterans, taking care of veterans injured in wars (and there were millions of injured and disabled), children were loved and cherished it, low crime, and no Poverty, no hard drug addiction (fentanyl, crack, pain killers, etc).

Sadly, the authoritarian rule of restrictions such as freedom to leave if you preferred the Capitalist dream.

That is the only thing I disagree with. In the 70's they did let Jews leave to Israel, but no country has the right to hold its citizens prisoner if they did not commit any crime.

What I don't like about capitalism is obsession with money. Everything needs to be about cash. Even in times of pandemic, BoJo says he'd rather see bodies piling up in the streets than another lockdown that'd harm the economy. Big pharma is all about cash. Our wish for the tinnitus cure is also all about funding, i.e. cash. It's sickening how money really corrupts people in all aspects of the society.

 

[Juan]

Paytm is down 35% from IPO price. People continue selling.

 

[Exit]

What I don't like about capitalism is obsession with money. Everything needs to be about cash. Even in times of pandemic, BoJo says he'd rather see bodies piling up in the streets than another lockdown that'd harm the economy. Big pharma is all about cash. Our wish for the tinnitus cure is also all about funding, i.e. cash. It's sickening how money really corrupts people in all aspects of the society.

Corruption is about moral and got nothing to do with money...

When a taxi driver in Cuba makes more money than a neurosurgeon, then it's something really messed up about society...

Communism suck.
Politicians suck.
Money is just money.

 

[Johan001]

I don't know much about Cuba, but I thought in communism salaries are regulated by the state, so you won't make more than a surgeon as a taxi driver. If you try to work off hours, it'd be considered an illegal activity.

 

[Ed209]

Corruption is about moral and got nothing to do with money...

When a taxi driver in Cuba makes more money than a neurosurgeon, then it's something really messed up about society...

Communism suck.
Politicians suck.
Money is just money.

There is no perfect system. No matter how society is structured there will always be pros and cons, but I personally believe the closest we're going to get is a hybrid of capitalism and socialism.

Communism doesn't work; it suppresses growth, innovation, and prosperity. Everyone may be equal, but they are equally poor.

Capitalism's downside is the gap that grows between the rich and the poor, but this comes with massive amounts of innovation. Technology improves, infrastructure improves, and people's quality of life across the board generally improves. One may be poor relative to the rich in a capitalist society, but being poor in a first world country is like being rich in a communist country. It's all relative.

I believe social security and socialised healthcare further improves the situation, and many capitalist countries provide this.

I think where we're at now is certainly better than feudalism, but there is no way to create a perfect utopia. There will always be winners and losers in a society for the rest of time, it seems.

 

[PeteJ]

All I was saying that there were good aspects about Communism. Free education for all, free excellent personalized Healthcare, equal gender rights, high pensions for elderly and veterans, taking care of veterans injured in wars (and there were millions of injured and disabled), children were loved and cherished it, low crime, and no Poverty, no hard drug addiction (fentanyl, crack, pain killers, etc).

Sadly, the authoritarian rule of restrictions such as freedom to leave if you preferred the Capitalist dream.

That is the only thing I disagree with. In the 70's they did let Jews leave to Israel, but no country has the right to hold its citizens prisoner if they did not commit any crime.

Wow, you're clueless.

 

[PeteJ]

Corruption is about moral and got nothing to do with money...

When a taxi driver in Cuba makes more money than a neurosurgeon, then it's something really messed up about society...

Communism suck.
Politicians suck.
Money is just money.

I would have agreed with all that years ago but what I learned about people in the medical field... I can probably relate more to cab drivers so wouldn't mind that.

 

[Exit]

I don't know much about Cuba, but I thought in communism salaries are regulated by the state, so you won't make more than a surgeon as a taxi driver. If you try to work off hours, it'd be considered an illegal activity.

Well even though they had a policeman on every second corner they certainly didn't have enough control to stop taxi drivers from taking what they wanted from tourists. You had to make a deal before you got in, otherwise you would be really hustled

Communism would only work if you had 1 person employed to look after another one

They do really try that but yeah what can they do

When I was there 10 years ago, a normal salary was $25-35 a month.

A maid in a hotel would receive salary plus whatever she would get in tips...

If they banned tourism then maybe easier to maintain a fair system...

Some of the taxi drivers told me they used to work as doctors

Not so much fun was the intense prostitution...

Some of you have probably heard about the riots this summer in Cuba. 2 years without tourist money and problems getting imported goods have really made a bad situation worse.

The good about Cuba is free healthcare, good education system and low crime rates due to the big police state system. That's why we chose a holiday in Cuba instead of Rio Janeiro.

 

[dan]

I don't know much about Cuba, but I thought in communism salaries are regulated by the state, so you won't make more than a surgeon as a taxi driver. If you try to work off hours, it'd be considered an illegal activity.

There is no more communism today. China, Cuba today are a parody on communism. Communism is the ideal system, but due to negative aspects of human nature (greed, power, jealousy, control, sadism, etc...), it is not sustainable. The only option we have is Capitalism and the slow burn of mankind... in just half a decade we have decimated the planet. Capitalism = survival of the fittest... which has always been the natural order of things.

Funny how only saying the word Communism, sends shivers down American spines. Ok we shall see where Capitalism leads us... so far not so well, as here people keep on saying "the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer"... true? Perhaps.

We here on Tinnitus Talk cannot even have our tinnitus cure... all talk and talk... bickering amongst each other like it's gonna change something lol.

 

[Ed209]

When I was there 10 years ago, a normal salary was $25-35 a month.

The current minimum wage is 2100 Cuban pesos per month. That's about $87. A relatively poor American would be living a life of luxury compared to your average Cuban, and that's the difference.

 

[dan]

It's crony capitalism, rigged elections, censorship, draconian laws and socialist policies intended to indoctrinate the populace (few people in these countries would abandon the welfare state - every party has to maintain it - how is that capitalist?).

Freedom of expression and speech is not allowed and now these so-called liberal/capitalist countries are enforcing vaccine mandates.

Didn't know there was another class of capitalism - "Crony Capitalism" lol.

This is just the end result of "healthy capitalism". This is what happens when big business gets so greedy that it turns on its own people (trying to make money at the expense of our health and now even our lives), so the result reverts back to "Crony Communism" LOL.

I ain't clueless, on the contrary I am well aware of what's happening in our Capitalist world today.

Think about that when the Capitalist forces you to take a medicine against your will and you die from it.

 

[Juan]

Deliveroo is pulling out of Spain. They have discovered - at last - that, ignoring and breaking the law, companies get fined.

Glovo, Deliveroo, these sort of companies chose to ignore the law and did not recognise their workforce as employees, as required by labour laws in Spain. Now they are facing multi-million fines, plus interest and extra sanctions for non compliance and late payment.

 

[Ed209]

The only option we have is Capitalism and the slow burn of mankind... in just half a decade we have decimated the planet. Capitalism = survival of the fittest... which has always been the natural order of things.

That is a valid point. Capitalism has sped up the destruction of the planet. This needs to be addressed, but it's a fundamental flaw of capitalism. As I said earlier, there are pros and cons to all of these ideologies. There is no perfect way of living that leads to a utopian situation.

 

[Johan001]

That is a valid point. Capitalism has sped up the destruction of the planet. This needs to be addressed, but it's a fundamental flaw of capitalism. As I said earlier, there are pros and cons to all of these ideologies. There is no perfect way of living that leads to a utopian situation.

I think communism did it too. Lots of factories, nuclear plants incl. Chernobyl, pumping oil etc. People are just destroying the planet no matter the regime... It's sad.

 

[dan]

Star Trek gives a pretty good prediction at what humanity has to go thru before achieving Utopia.

WW3 and the Eugenics wars (The Wrath of Khan)... But the end result will be Paradise on Earth and Space exploration. However, billions of lives will be lost - didn't that Karl dude say the global population cannot sustain itself, it has to be reduced...

 

[Stacken77]

Deliveroo is pulling out of Spain.

That's good. Hopefully they pull out of the UK too so @Damocles's neighbors stop eating crap.

 

[Juan]

That is a valid point. Capitalism has sped up the destruction of the planet. This needs to be addressed, but it's a fundamental flaw of capitalism. As I said earlier, there are pros and cons to all of these ideologies. There is no perfect way of living that leads to a utopian situation.

There are good things about COVID-19: lots of people have forgot about their cars and started to bike everywhere. In Spain bicycles were out of stock for a while, and now it's not really possible to choose, people buy the bicycles that are already at the shops... due to stock shortages it is hard to make an order and have a specific bicycle delivered.

People are flying less as well, which is positive for the planet.

 

[Exit]

The current minimum wage is 2100 Cuban pesos per month. That's about $87. A relatively poor American would be living a life of luxury compared to your average Cuban, and that's the difference.

Wait a minute...

Are you really saying an American can live off $90 a month if his rent was paid for...?

That sounds like BS even though soap, toothpaste and food is 5 times cheaper in the United States than in Fidel islands.

 

[Ed209]

Wait a minute...

Are you really saying an American can live off $90 a month if his rent was paid for...?

That sounds like BS even though soap, toothpaste and food are 5 times cheaper in the United States than in Fidel islands.

No, I'm saying Cubans are very poor in comparison. An average poor person in a first world country does not experience extreme poverty like people in third world countries do. There is a big difference.

A relatively poor American could live like a king in Cuba, comparatively speaking. They wouldn't be able to go out and buy Ferraris and stuff - because there aren't any - but in comparison to the other Cubans, they'd be doing a lot more with the money they have.

 

[Damocles]

That's good. Hopefully they pull out of the UK too so @Damocles's neighbors stop eating crap.

The residents in my apartment building are the only reason that piss poor excuse for a business is still running anywhere in Europe...