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Messages - More Than Mortal
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6061
« on: May 01, 2015, 05:28:01 PM »
6062
« on: May 01, 2015, 05:20:40 PM »
Camnator's the hero the Flood needs, but not the one it deserves.
6063
« on: May 01, 2015, 05:18:48 PM »
but I don't believe that the best way to achieve comprehensive universal healthcare (One of the few human rights I give a flying fuck about) is through the private sector.
Not what I asked. Let's assume that the most efficient way of delivering healthcare is totally through the private sector and with no government involvement (that's not true, but just assume), would you honestly still have a problem with it?
6064
« on: May 01, 2015, 05:07:43 PM »
I don't believe people should be making money off of healthcare. Does it really matter if it works.
6065
« on: May 01, 2015, 04:53:59 PM »
I, too, am outraged.
6066
« on: May 01, 2015, 04:50:16 PM »
That's mostly because healthcare shouldn't be a profit making business Then you're at a massive loss to explain the efficiency of SHI systems in Germany and the Netherlands and France, which routinely use subsidised and regulated private insurance, and are reliably ranked as the best of the best; or other countries which don't use such systems, like Canada and Sweden, and still allow much more consumer choice and much less restriction. it is a money sink but it's one of those areas that repays it's costs by keeping the population healthy and thus working. But it's not doing that, despite the fact we've historically met the rising funding needs. It's not that the NHS isn't being funded enough, it's that it's a ridiculously inefficient system.
6067
« on: May 01, 2015, 04:44:12 PM »
She's honestly kind of just riding on her reputation for apparently keeping Germany stable throughout the whole Eurozone crisis. So? She hasn't innovated, or made grand sweeping reforms, or done anything new at all other than maintain the status-quo. How is this a bad thing? Germany doesn't need "grand sweeping reforms" for the sake of it. The Eurozone crisis is gonna hit Germany at one point or anothe I highly doubt it. Unless we have another unforeseen economic crash, Germany at the moment is about as bad as its going to get. Unlike Greece and other periphery nations, they didn't have a ridiculous amount of debt when the Recession struck.
6068
« on: May 01, 2015, 04:41:36 PM »
The NHS doesn't have enough funds to invest in more efficient strategies of prevention
And it never will. NHS funding requirements have consistently outpaced economic growth as a whole since it was created.
6069
« on: May 01, 2015, 04:11:18 PM »
When people rush to the defence of the ailing NHS, they often cite the 2014 Commonwealth Fund Report. Which is legitimate, of course, after reading through it I'm confident in saying that it's a solid paper. However, especially when it comes to healthcare, academic papers still have to make presuppositions; the CF report, for instance, is incredibly biased towards the NHS since it puts so much weight on metrics involving centralised systems, out-of-pocket costs or insurer rejection in some manner; all disregarding actually access to treatment, or the fact that there are around 9,000 unnecessary deaths a year as a result of negligence or inefficiency. The 2014 European Health Consumer Index spits out a totally opposite result, throwing the NHS to the bottom of the pile behind even Portugal. I find the EHCI report more valid, since it places much less emphasis on principles like who is controlling the deliverance of healthcare or whether somebody is making a profit, and focuses on things like waiting times. When it comes down to it, however, I think the OECD's healthcare efficiency reports are the best studies into the real efficiency of healthcare, as the OECD even acknowledges: “there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to reforming health care systems. Policymakers should aim for coherence in policy settings by adopting best practices from the many different health care systems that exist in the OECD and tailor them to suit actual circumstances.” Meaning they also judge groups singularly according to the type of system they have.  The UK falls into Group 6, defined as: "Mostly public insurance. Health care is mainly provided by a heavily regulated public system, with strict gate-keeping, little decentralisation and a tight spending limit imposed via the budget process" The OECD has noted before that the UK could make significant efficiency gains when it comes to cost--in fact, it was in the top three countries for potential efficiency gains alongside Greece and Ireland. And the OECD's ultimate analysis of the UK is that: “The quantity and quality of health care services (in the UK) remain lower than the OECD average while compensation levels are higher. Reinforcing competitive pressures on providers could help mitigate price pressures, e.g. by increasing user choice further and reforming compensation systems.” The UK could look to be more like Norway in its deliverance of healthcare, which came out as the most efficient in group six, or it could seek to be more like Germany (where less than half of the hospitals are government owned), the Netherlands, Canada or Sweden which all have universal systems with varying methods of funding but with much less restriction, much more consumer choice and much more efficiency.
6070
« on: May 01, 2015, 03:30:09 PM »
I thought he was gone for good after that whole drunk sex on a podcast debacle.
Wait, what? I haven't heard about that. What happened there.
He did some gamergate podcast where he got drunk and started fucking a chick while on air. After that he took down all his videos.
Brilliant.
6071
« on: May 01, 2015, 03:26:37 PM »
I thought he was gone for good after that whole drunk sex on a podcast debacle.
Wait, what? I haven't heard about that. What happened there.
6072
« on: May 01, 2015, 03:21:17 PM »
6073
« on: May 01, 2015, 03:19:21 PM »
In all seriousness, I have no issue calling out conservatives when they do stupid shit.
6074
« on: May 01, 2015, 03:04:12 PM »
If it was a liberal Meta would be laughing
Because some gay dude is going to try and get revenge on a liberal for voting against anti-discrimination laws, right?
6075
« on: May 01, 2015, 02:59:39 PM »
So, Sandtrap did a post not too long ago about chemotherapy and all that stuff, and there's nowhere near enough discussion about mental illness on Serious. So I figured I'd post a few things, most importantly this TED talk by Andrew Solomon: And, also, this video: Depression is something I think most people will experience at least at some point in their lives. Even if they never actually have some form of depressive illness, they'll probably catch a glimpse of what it's like through extreme grief--or something similar enough. There are, of course, numerous forms of depression. Dysthymia, "minor" and chronic depression; Major Depressive Disorder; or a combination thereof known as "double depression", wherein people are chronically dysthymic with bouts of major depression. All of these besides the cyclical mood disorders like cyclothymia and bipolar disorder. On a personal level, depression is both difficult to live with and difficult to treat. It often feels as if you are one of the only people capable of perceiving the world correctly, and it sucks the motivation and vitality out of your life. It doesn't so much make you sad, as make you as close to dead as a living person can be besides a coma. The thing about depression, too, is that while it's correlated with certain personality types (Mr. P can probably give a better account of this than I), it can co-exist with either egosyntonic or egodystonic illnesses. People all across the board, from psychopaths and narcissists to the anxious and borderline, can feel depression for prolonged periods of time. And, even though on an intellectual level you're capable of understanding that help is available and that what you're feeling is ridiculous, you can't shake it. There's a deep delusional undertone to depressive thought and behaviour; fundamental and existential beliefs which are horribly mistaken, and impossible to relieve. It's an illness that truly plagues you for the rest of your life. And, I think, that is the most important thing to take away from discussions about depression. People who are depressed are not weak, or spineless. Depression is not a problem with an individual's will, but an individual's perception. As piling weights on the back of a man will cause his back to break eventually; so too will the constricted perception of a depressive, in time, cause his will to break as a natural consequence.
6076
« on: May 01, 2015, 02:10:07 PM »
Wisdom is knowing that Frankenstein was the monster.
6077
« on: May 01, 2015, 01:58:56 PM »
you'd be perfectly fine with that and wouldn't tell anybody?
I'd block them and forget about the issue. I wouldn't go "Oh look, a closeted congressman" and then run to the press with it.
6078
« on: May 01, 2015, 01:22:59 PM »
North Dakota state Rep. Randy Boehning: sending unsolicited explicit photos to other men
So what part of sending explicit photos of yourself to people who never wanted or asked for them is ok? This was bound to happen eventually.
Looking at the image in the news story, it looks as if the person he sent the picture to reciprocated nonetheless. Not, of course, that sending unsolicited pictures justifies outing somebody in the first place--regardless of how stupid a thing it is to do.
6079
« on: May 01, 2015, 01:20:11 PM »
Where this idea has come from that Iran is some peaceful nation being bullied by the West I'll never fucking know. Everybody seems content to forget that it tried to procure nuclear contraband while negotiating with the US, purchased embargoed weapons from the Kremlin, actively funds Hamas (and has been arming the Houthis in Yemen since 2009), performing military drills on mock US carriers and intimidating international cargo ships. And all of this besides the habitual anti-semitism, and "death to America" proclamations. Oh, and let's not forget the escalating demands and obscurantism by Iran during the recent nuclear agreements, and the Iranians' brazen rejection of any international investigations into their nuclear facilities. All of this from a fundamentalist Shi'a theocracy which actively celebrates terrorism. And yet again, the West will capitulate to these barbarous dogs.
6080
« on: May 01, 2015, 01:00:32 PM »
So, you're telling me that I have a ridiculous amount of testosterone?
6081
« on: May 01, 2015, 12:51:35 PM »
Jesus ChristNote to North Dakota state Rep. Randy Boehning: sending unsolicited explicit photos to other men via a gay dating app is a bad way to hide your sexuality.
The anti-gay Republican learned that the hard way this week after he was outed by the man who received those photos, according to multiple reports.
The Forum, a Fargo paper that first reported the story, reports that 21-year-old Dustin Smith of Bismarck contacted the paper earlier this month when he recognized Boehning from photos he had sent to him via the gay dating app Grindr under the name “Top Man!”.
Per The Forum:
Boehning, who is not married, said there are people who know he is gay, but many of his family members and friends do not. He said Saturday he is also attracted to women and was relieved to come out because he no longer has to worry about being outed.
“The 1,000-pound gorilla has been lifted,” he said. “I have to confront it at some point.”
Why would Smith release the photos? According to The Forum, the move was retaliation for Boehning’s repeated “nay” votes on anti-discrimination bills.
The Forum continues:
Boehning said before he voted against the anti-discrimination bill on April 2 a Capitol employee told him a fellow House lawmaker who supported the bill said Boehning would be targeted for retaliation if he didn’t vote for it. The 12-year veteran of the House still voted against 2279. He also voted against a similar bill in 2009 and would have in 2013, had the proposal not died in the Senate before a House vote [...]
As of Monday, Boehning said he hadn’t talked to legislative leaders about the alleged threat and wouldn’t identify who he thinks is involved without doing that first. Though there is no binding ethics code for North Dakota legislators, he said there could be ramifications and “this isn’t something I take lightly.”
For his part, Boehning said his anti-gay vote reflected his constituents’ wishes, and that he had problems with the bills’ language, especially a provision that protected people who were “perceived as gay.”
“Politics makes strange bedfellows,” he told The Forum. This is disgusting. Regardless of how the man voted, outing somebody in this manner is never okay. But I suppose that doesn't matter to the liberals obsessed with identity politics; this is surely his "comeuppance", right? No. Fuck you. I'm glad that the representative feels okay about the issue, but many of his friends and family didn't know, and his private life has been put on display for everybody to laugh and gawp at.
6082
« on: May 01, 2015, 12:38:16 PM »
According to some, they may be more efficient when it comes to deterring recidivism: Private companies are better at running prisons than the public sector, a study by a centre-right think tank says.
Reform said 10 out of 12 privately-run prisons had lower reoffending rates among those serving 12 months or more than comparable public jails.
Last year, the government signalled a move away from wholesale privatisation in England and Wales. Reform says this decision is not backed up by evidence.
Justice Minister Jeremy Wright said the report was a "simplistic analysis".
Privately-managed prisons were introduced in the UK in the 1990s and there are currently 14 private prisons in England and Wales, all managed by one of three firms - G4S, Serco and Sodexo Justice Services (formerly Kalyx).
Value for money
In November, Justice Secretary Chris Grayling set out the government's plan for prison competition and he decided four prisons, including G4S-run HMP Wolds, should be run by the public sector.
Mr Grayling said private firms would be brought in to all public prisons to run maintenance, resettlement and catering, saving up to £450m over six years.
From Ministry of Justice data, it is almost impossible to compare the performance and reoffending rates of one establishment with another
Juliet Lyon, Prison Reform Trust
Policy groups, including Reform, said the decision amounted to the end of competition for prison management between the public and private sector, although Mr Grayling insisted it did not rule out further prison-by-prison competitions in the future.
For its report "The case for private prisons", Reform studied Ministry of Justice statistics for prison operation performance and rehabilitation. Some data was not available for all of the 14 private prisons.
The think tank said private prisons outperformed their public counterparts in the majority of the performance measures used by the Ministry of Justice.
Among the report findings were:
seven out of 10 privately-managed prisons had lower re-offending rates among offenders serving fewer than 12 months
12 out of 12 private jails performed better than the public sector at "resource management and operational effectiveness"
However, seven out of 12 public prisons performed better than private jails at "public protection"
Report author Will Tanner said: "Private contractors outperform comparable public sector prisons on both cost and quality, delivering better value for money for the taxpayer.
"In addition, the vast majority of contracted prisons have lower reoffending rates than similar public sector prisons for both long and short term prisoners, a key government objective."
Reform recommended that all prisons should be subject to competition. It also called for the end to national pay bargaining for prison officers with pay and conditions to be set locally by governors.
Serco and G4S were among 64 firms which provided more than £5,000 in sponsorship for events run by Reform last year, but the think tank said it was "editorially independent" .
Mr Tanner said its external reviewers included former governors of public sector and private sector jails. He added that the data on which its analysis was based was from the government, not the private sector.
'Mixed results'
Justice Minister Jeremy Wright says Reform's "simplistic analysis does not tell the whole story".
This report acknowledges that the private sector is a source of innovation
"A wide range of factors contribute to reoffending including previous criminal behaviour, drug and alcohol dependency and the support offenders receive on release from prison," he said.
"This is why we are committed to introducing significant reforms that will bring down our stubbornly high reoffending rates."
Juliet Lyon, director of the Prison Reform Trust, said the report's selective use of data masked "decidedly mixed results".
"Some private prisons have proved innovative and effective, but others have been criticised by the Chief Inspector for their high staff turnover, tendency to cut corners and weaknesses in security.
"From Ministry of Justice data, it is almost impossible to compare the performance and reoffending rates of one establishment with another, partly because prisons hold different categories of offenders and also because prisoners often serve their sentences in a number of different jails."
And Steve Gillan, of the Prison Officers Association told BBC Radio 4's Today programme his trade union was opposed to private prisons in concept and because it believes "it is a duty of the state" to handle justice and not for share holders who would be "gaining from incarceration".
However, Jerry Petherick, G4S managing director of custodial and detention services, said the report had looked at a "wide range" of official performance measures.
"This report acknowledges that the private sector is a source of innovation in areas like reducing reoffending, encouraging employment and fostering an environment which promotes constructive staff-prisoner relationships," he said.
6083
« on: May 01, 2015, 12:30:18 PM »
This gets funnier the older I get.
6084
« on: May 01, 2015, 12:28:37 PM »
6085
« on: May 01, 2015, 11:22:30 AM »
380 CAD.
6086
« on: May 01, 2015, 11:13:31 AM »
6087
« on: May 01, 2015, 10:52:45 AM »
Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys fame was a guest vocalist for If I Had a Tail. Only one which immediately comes to mind.
6088
« on: May 01, 2015, 10:26:18 AM »
which meta does rather incessantly--the pigeonholing thing
It's very difficult not to do when I have an incredibly large pigeonhole to work with. This bullshit form of feminism that only cares for the minor inconveniences of women in developed countries has spread to even the Universities of my country.
6089
« on: May 01, 2015, 10:02:56 AM »
#FallacyofRelativePrivation
I don't even think that's a real fallacy for two reasons: 1. Telling people to think about more important issues is completely valid so long as those issues actually are more important. 2. It ain't a fallacy if the smaller 'problem' isn't really a problem. Also, which faggot moved this out of Serious.
6090
« on: May 01, 2015, 09:36:23 AM »
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