Inflation

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canpakes
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Re: Inflation

Post by canpakes »

ajax18 wrote:
Fri Jan 14, 2022 11:54 pm
They’d better pass flammability tests per 16 CFR part 1611).
Nothing like government regulations to stamp out small businesses and keep the market under the control of the corporate giants.
I’ll take sensible regulations over burning babies any day.
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Re: Inflation

Post by Chap »

ajax18 wrote:
Fri Jan 14, 2022 11:54 pm
They’d better pass flammability tests per 16 CFR part 1611).
Nothing like government regulations to stamp out small businesses and keep the market under the control of the corporate giants.
Exactly. If babies want to exercise their personal choice to wear diapers that can burst into flames, what business is that of the government?

Maybe we could come to a compromise, though. How would you be about diapers that fail the flammability test being allowed to be sold, but with a prominent notice saying:

This is a FREEDOM DIAPER! It's cheaper, but it may catch fire. You get to choose!!

Would that be OK, Ajax?
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Re: Inflation

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Chap wrote:
Sat Jan 15, 2022 10:30 am
ajax18 wrote:
Fri Jan 14, 2022 11:54 pm


Nothing like government regulations to stamp out small businesses and keep the market under the control of the corporate giants.
Exactly. If babies want to exercise their personal choice to wear diapers that can burst into flames, what business is that of the government?

Maybe we could come to a compromise, though. How would you be about diapers that fail the flammability test being allowed to be sold, but with a prominent notice saying:

This is a FREEDOM DIAPER! It's cheaper, but it may catch fire. You get to choose!!

Would that be OK, Ajax?
I guess captial and startup costs shouldn't be issue for a left wing labor party member in the UK. There seems to be no shortage of Chinese spies willing to invest.

Labour Party Accepted £700,000 From Alleged Chinese Communist Spy: Report

Christine Lee, the alleged Chinese Communist spy, reportedly donated over £700,000 to the left-wing Labour Party in Britain as a part of a “political interference” campaign orchestrated by Beijing.

On Thursday, it was revealed that MI5 had contacted the Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, warning that the founder of the “British Chinese Project”, Christine Lee had been working to engage with members of parliament to “subvert the process” of democracy.

The main target of the alleged espionage plot centred around former socialist Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, Barry Gardiner MP.

Lee donated nearly £700,000 in political contributions to the Labour Party, according to The Sun, the vast majority of which directly went into the coffers of former Blair-era minister and Corbyn-era shadow cabinet member Barry Gardiner. Mr Gardiner is reported to have received over £500,000 from Ms Lee over a six-year period.

Beyond the financial investment, the Labour MP was also revealed to have been employing the alleged Chinese spy’s son until Thursday morning, when he claims he was first notified by security services of Ms Lee being an agent of espionage.

“I then went and I immediately contacted her son who has worked in my office as the diary manager and I asked him to tender his resignation forthwith, which he did,” Mr Gardiner told Sky News.

“But I want to stress to you that the security services said to me they had no information that led them to believe that he was aware of his mother’s illegal activity.”

Mr Gardner did admit that he had “spoken openly and frankly” with British intelligence services “for a number of years” about his relationship with Ms Lee. However, he claimed that he was never told to cut off ties with the alleged spy and said that there was “no evidence” that the money she donated to him came from the regime in Beijing.

The Labour MP went on to suggest that his past criticisms of the Chinese Communist Party on issues such as climate change and human rights demonstrated that he was not beholden to China.

The Chinese Communist Party has previously targeted left-wing politicians in a similar manner, including California Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein, who reportedly employed a Chinese spy as her driver for twenty years.

Lee, the founder of the ‘British Chinese Project’ non-profit, which seeks to “promote engagement, understanding and cooperation between the Chinese community and wider UK society,” has been active in engaging with heavy hitters from across the political specturm in Britain.

The purported spy has been pictured with former Labour Party leader, socialist Jeremy Corbyn, as well as with former Tory Party Prime Minister David Cameron, who has long sought to increase economic ties between the UK and the communist state, including attempts to forge a £1 billion investment fund with China.

Cameron’s right-hand man, Chancellor George Osborne, even boasted of a “golden era” that had been created between Britain and China.

Lee was also given an award by Cameron’s successor, former PM Theresa May, who said at the time: “You should feel very proud of the difference that ‘The British Chinese Project’ is making in promoting engagement, understanding, and cooperation between the Chinese and British communities in the UK.

“I also wish you well with your work to further the inclusion and participation of British-Chinese people in the UK political system.”

Parliamentary records also revealed that the leader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Ed Davey was also a recipient of political donations from Ms Lee.

Responding to the revelation, Sir Ed said on Friday that he was “shocked” over the donation, saying: “I can’t even remember this woman, to be frank.”

The Chinese Embassy in London denied that Lee was operating as a spy in Britain, going on to accuse MI5 of using smear and intimidation tactics to target the Chinese community in the UK.

“China always adheres to the principle of non-interference in other country’s internal affairs,” a spokesman said.

“We have no need and never seek to ‘buy influence’ in any foreign parliament. We firmly oppose the trick of smearing and intimidation against the Chinese community in the UK.”

The former leader of the Conservative Party and prominent critic of the communist state, Sir Iain Duncan Smith said that he believed that “this is clearly a form of spying”.

Sir Iain, who was personally sanctioned last year by Beijing over his efforts to label the persecution of Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region of China a genocide, went on to say that he has been told that Lee and her associates will not be deported from the UK.

“Why in heaven’s name is such an agent allowed in the country?” he questioned.

Another MP who was sanctioned by the communist regime, Tory Tim Loughton said that the scandal shows “why I and other MPs sanctioned by China have repeatedly called for a full audit of exactly where all the sinister tentacles of the Chinese Communist Party have bought influence or inveigled their way into so many institutions, board rooms and organisations across the UK.”

The Chinese spying scandal comes just days after the Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua released a James Bond parody, entitled ‘0.07 No Time to Die Laughing’ which mocked the notion of China representing an espionage threat to Britain, in particular concerns over Chinese telecom firm Huawei having a “backdoor” for Beijing to access the data of Britons.

The cringe sketch came in response to a speech in November from the Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) Richard Moore, in which he characterised China as the top priority for the foreign intelligence service.

“The Chinese Intelligence Services are highly capable and continue to conduct large scale espionage operations against the UK and our allies. This includes targeting those working in government, industries, or on research of particular interest to the Chinese state. They also monitor and attempt to exercise undue influence over the Chinese diaspora,” Moore said.

“Adapting to a world affected by the rise of China is the single greatest priority for MI6. We are deepening our understanding of China across the UK intelligence community, and widening the options available to the government in managing the systemic challenges that it poses.”

Follow Kurt Zindulka on Twitter here @KurtZindulka

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2022/0 ... py-report/
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ajax18
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Re: Inflation

Post by ajax18 »

How far we've fallen from real English men.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wT5Q2osNADw

This is our land, our Wessex, our England! And we'll murder and heathen bastard who tries to take it!
And when the Confederates saw Jackson standing fearless like a stonewall, the army of Northern Virginia took courage and drove the federal army off their land.
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Re: Inflation

Post by Chap »

Chap wrote:
Sat Jan 15, 2022 10:30 am
ajax18 wrote:
Fri Jan 14, 2022 11:54 pm


Nothing like government regulations to stamp out small businesses and keep the market under the control of the corporate giants.
Exactly. If babies want to exercise their personal choice to wear diapers that can burst into flames, what business is that of the government?

Maybe we could come to a compromise, though. How would you be about diapers that fail the flammability test being allowed to be sold, but with a prominent notice saying:

This is a FREEDOM DIAPER! It's cheaper, but it may catch fire. You get to choose!!

Would that be OK, Ajax?
To which the response is:
ajax18 wrote:
Sat Jan 15, 2022 1:08 pm
I guess captial and startup costs shouldn't be issue for a left wing labor party member in the UK. There seems to be no shortage of Chinese spies willing to invest.

Labour Party Accepted £700,000 From Alleged Chinese Communist Spy: Report

Christine Lee, the alleged Chinese Communist spy, reportedly donated over £700,000 to the left-wing Labour Party in Britain as a part of a “political interference” campaign orchestrated by Beijing.
And
ajax18 wrote:
Sat Jan 15, 2022 1:12 pm
How far we've fallen from real English men.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wT5Q2osNADw

This is our land, our Wessex, our England! And we'll murder and heathen bastard who tries to take it!
Divert much?

I think you will find that the lady in question (Christine Lee) was in the good books of quite a few politicians of all parties before MI5 broke the news that she was actually working for the Chinese Communist Party, rather than (as she represented herself) channeling donations from the large and rather prosperous British Chinese community:

Here she is whispering in the ear of David Cameron, the last (conservative) Prime Minister but one, at the ceremony of the British GG2 leadership awards in 2015

Image

And:
Lee also received an award from Theresa May when she was [Conservative] prime minister, for her work on a project promoting good relations between the Chinese and British communities in the UK, and was a VIP guest when David Cameron hosted President Xi Jinping in London. Her connections with the Chinese embassy were widely known.
Now can we get back to diapers?

Don't you agree that launching a real commercial competitor for the big brands would be almost prohibitively difficult under the current conditions of oligopoly?
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That's the problem with this supernatural stuff, it doesn't really solve anything. It's a placeholder for ignorance.
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Re: Inflation

Post by Physics Guy »

I’m by no means dedicated to laissez-faire but let’s just get our principles clear.

The big guys could sell diapers for less than they do, but I can’t start a diaper business undercutting the big guys because without their established distribution systems I can’t actually supply the diapers at lower cost than they charge. Is that it?

If so, then this just sounds like basic capitalism. The person who owns an anvil can make horseshoes for ten cents each, but sells them for fifty cents because that’s what people will pay. I can’t undercut them because I don’t have an anvil.
Should we compel the anvil owners to sell horseshoes for 15 cents? Or is the opportunity for lucrative price-gouging just their reward for investing in an anvil?

I’m not necessarily saying that either smiths or corporations should just be allowed to price-gouge if they can. I’m just trying to see if there’s any difference of principle here. The “capital” in capitalism is precisely about using expensive assets that most people can’t afford to lower your marginal production costs, and then getting rich by charging whatever the market will bear. So if we’re complaining about oligopolistic price-gouging, are we complaining about a bug in capitalism, or about its basic feature?
Last edited by Physics Guy on Sat Jan 15, 2022 4:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Inflation

Post by K Graham »

Physics Guy wrote:
Sat Jan 15, 2022 3:15 pm
I’m by no means dedicated to laissez-faire but let’s just get our principles clear.

The big guys could sell diapers for less than they do, but I can’t start a diaper business undercutting the big guys because without their established distribution systems I can’t actually supply the diapers at lower cost than they charge. Is that it?

If so, then this just sounds like basic capitalism. The person who owns an anvil can make horseshoes for ten cents each, but sells them for fifty cents because that’s what people will pay. I can’t undercut them because I don’t have an anvil. Should we compel the anvil owners to sell horseshoes for 15 cents? Or is the opportunity for lucrative price-gouging just their reward for investing in an anvil?

I’m not necessarily saying that either smiths or corporations should just be allowed to price-gouge if they can. I’m just trying to see if there’s any difference of principle here.
I think price controls and anti-price gouging laws should apply especially during times of national crisis. I mean we already do this with stores try charging four times the price for a generator whenever a hurricane hits.
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canpakes
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Re: Inflation

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Physics Guy wrote:
Sat Jan 15, 2022 3:15 pm
If so, then this just sounds like basic capitalism. The person who owns an anvil can make horseshoes for ten cents each, but sells them for fifty cents because that’s what people will pay. I can’t undercut them because I don’t have an anvil.
Should we compel the anvil owners to sell horseshoes for 15 cents? Or is the opportunity for lucrative price-gouging just their reward for investing in an anvil?

I’m not necessarily saying that either smiths or corporations should just be allowed to price-gouge if they can. I’m just trying to see if there’s any difference of principle here. The “capital” in capitalism is precisely about using expensive assets that most people can’t afford to lower your marginal production costs, and then getting rich by charging whatever the market will bear. So if we’re complaining about oligopolistic price-gouging, are we complaining about a bug in capitalism, or about its basic feature?

You’re absolutely right about this.

I haven’t seen a better basic system for the marketplace than capitalism, but it definitely can be abused.

Imagine that we’re not talking about diapers, but water. If I have enough money to drill the deepest well in my county and can pump enough water into my own reservoir to make all of my neighbor’s wells run dry, then I store it and sell it to them at increasingly greater cost as the overall supply dwindles elsewhere, at what point do questions of monopolization and ethics emerge?

But, in keeping with the diaper theme, how does the small startup compete on the slotting fee front?

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Re: Inflation

Post by ajax18 »

K Graham wrote:
Sat Jan 15, 2022 3:29 pm
Physics Guy wrote:
Sat Jan 15, 2022 3:15 pm
I’m by no means dedicated to laissez-faire but let’s just get our principles clear.

The big guys could sell diapers for less than they do, but I can’t start a diaper business undercutting the big guys because without their established distribution systems I can’t actually supply the diapers at lower cost than they charge. Is that it?

If so, then this just sounds like basic capitalism. The person who owns an anvil can make horseshoes for ten cents each, but sells them for fifty cents because that’s what people will pay. I can’t undercut them because I don’t have an anvil. Should we compel the anvil owners to sell horseshoes for 15 cents? Or is the opportunity for lucrative price-gouging just their reward for investing in an anvil?

I’m not necessarily saying that either smiths or corporations should just be allowed to price-gouge if they can. I’m just trying to see if there’s any difference of principle here.
I think price controls and anti-price gouging laws should apply especially during times of national crisis. I mean we already do this with stores try charging four times the price for a generator whenever a hurricane hits.
I think you'd put the nation into a perpetual crisis if it furthered your woke communist agenda.
And when the Confederates saw Jackson standing fearless like a stonewall, the army of Northern Virginia took courage and drove the federal army off their land.
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Re: Inflation

Post by K Graham »

ajax18 wrote:
Sun Jan 16, 2022 12:34 am
K Graham wrote:
Sat Jan 15, 2022 3:29 pm


I think price controls and anti-price gouging laws should apply especially during times of national crisis. I mean we already do this with stores try charging four times the price for a generator whenever a hurricane hits.
I think you'd put the nation into a perpetual crisis if it furthered your woke communist agenda.
But given that you're an established moron, economic illiterate and fake "doctor," I doubt your idiotic opinions carry any weight here.

It is precisely this dismissive approach by idiot right wingers that fuel corporate greed. They're literally stealing from you, but you don't care because their theft currently hurts Biden. You're not a patriot, you're a traitor who worships an imaginary autocratic state that has nothing to do with being American.
"I am not an American ... In my view premarital sex should be illegal" - Ajax18
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