Merv's Politically Incorrect Audio Blog

Discussion in 'SBAF Blogs' started by purr1n, Dec 26, 2018.

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  1. Pancakes

    Pancakes Friend

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    If regular mass school shootings/killings haven't forced any change in gun ownership laws, trivial shit like limits on driving your own car isn't going to happen. I don't know what other countries will do but I just don't see it in the US.
     
  2. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 already started on this with the $600 reporting requirement to the IRS from online payment processors. Initially there was talk of reporting requirements from banks with accounts over $600 in transactions. That proposal got shut down. The banks (and the people) won out for a variety of reasons: onerousness of the process and personal privacy concerns (do you trust the randoms at the IRS? I don't, given the history of leaks).

    However, online payment processors such as Venmo and Paypal were not able to escape this reporting requirement. As I've always said, high-tech companies not being old-school industries are dumb and haven't invested as nearly as much in lobbyists as they should.

    Who cares about central bank digital currencies when the likes of Paypal and Venmo digitize the currency that we already use. Basically, our government will have full access to most peoples' Paypal and Venmo accounts in world where more and more people are starting to use such processors.

    This is just the beginning. Once government gets a taste of this, they won't be able to stop. I bet you guys don't even know how the banks themselves got roped (this was 1970) into being responsible for keeping tabs on money laundering. If banks don't do their job right, the government can shut the non-compliant banks down. This is blatantly unfair, especially because the banks need to do this work without compensation from the US government. (Hint: for a small bank, that means the bank needs to hire a person or two do monitor accounts for money laundering).

    Not quite 100% with this 117th Congress, but maybe 44% there. I'd feel much more comfortable if it were 5%. Of course Congress doesn't get it because 99% of them are 1% or 0.1%ers.

    P.S.

    BTW, don't accept Venmo from your roommates or friends for rent or beer. Unless you want to fill out an entirely new set of forms on your tax returns.

    And as far as any SBAF community warchest loaner that I sell? It will likely be Friends and Family payments. You guys will just have to trust me. Actually, you guys have nothing to fear because I've always been super cool about resolving an issues. Besides, my karmic vector points strongly in the smooth transaction direction.
     
    Last edited: Jan 9, 2022
  3. HHS

    HHS Almost "Made"

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    Stuff like rent over Venmo or selling personal property for less than you paid for it still won't be taxable income even under the new reporting rules, even if you start getting a 1099-k from PayPal or venmo
     
  4. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Of course it's not. The problem is when you forget about the filling out the proper forms and the IRS gets on your ass. Last year the IRS took eight months to get me my refund. My finances are not complex. It's never taken this long. I'm 100% sure I was audited, at least internally. I see what's really going on here. I find it problematic that the IRS is clawing back a few dollars and cents from regular folks like me when Congress can just tax mega rich people with spaceships with a much higher return and less effort.

    This regulation is onerous and affects working class people the most. I find it hypocritical, especially coming from this Congress. I don't see Uber drivers, the "writers", and the regular folks guys and gals who pay me back for beers via Venmo as having their own spaceships.
     
    Last edited: Jan 9, 2022
  5. ufospls2

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    The reason I feel that way, even though only 10% of the current money used is actually physical, is because the currency is still physically based.

    Even though people digitize their money through online banking, paypal, venmo etc....

    If someone turns off my online banking account, or my PayPal or whatever, I can still go out into society and use cash for essentials items. An entirely digitally based currency does not allow for this, and if 90% of money is already digitally based (which is absolutely true) then why introduce and entirely digital based currency in its place. There isn't really any reason to beyond the cost of the creation of the physical money, which is relatively tiny.

    Of course, I'm also talking in theoretical, worst case scenario type ways. Its unlikely, just a possibility. And yes, there are certainly ways they could limit your use of currency with the current technologies, thats absolutely true too :)
     
  6. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Exactly. The only reason for digital currency is because it would outside the reach of government. Of course government would never let that happen. The ability to "print" money is too much to give up.

    And it's not like digital currency outside of government control is necessarily better either. Just look how volatile Bitcoin or Dogecoin have been, how subject to speculation and wild behavior. Besides, I still can't buy pizza with it at my favorite local pizza and beer joint.

    Let's not even talk about NFTs. The digital age has made people utterly retarded.
     
  7. ufospls2

    ufospls2 Friend

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    oui, also lol at bold.

    [​IMG]
     
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  8. Biodegraded

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  9. Deep Funk

    Deep Funk Deep thoughts - Friend

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    The entire financial and banking system is built on trust. This trust is based on a number of assumptions that allow economies to function. The problem with trust is that it is brittle. One broken promise can turn a person into a liar, turn 100% result into 50% result and so on.

    In order to safeguard this trust all kinds of rules, mechanisms and deals exist. When the new generations invent new currencies and other payment methods/systems, they risk creating something that cannot be liquidated by the financial and banking system already in place in today's society.

    Part of our money as we know it is based on gold reserves. Gold you can liquidate for money. Money you can liquidate for gold. I am very simple: if I were to use this new currency/coin/thingy, well could I buy a bread or house with it?

    If the answer is not yes, I have doubts. Doubts can lead to speculation. f**k that, I am not wealthy enough to play with money...
     
  10. Deep Funk

    Deep Funk Deep thoughts - Friend

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  11. crenca

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    Well, up till now I've been a supporter of Fauci and the American government/CDC health bureaucracy. Since the libertarian right, ably represented by Rand Paul, has been wrong factually and philosophically on the most salient aspects of viruses, vaccines, and vectors. They are still wrong.

    However, it looks like Fauci/Collins/CDC leadership played the role of "noble liars", lying about what they knew and when they knew it. They consciously covered up lab research in China and U.S. funding of it, thinking it was somehow necessary politically in this country. Elites in this country appear hell bent on undermining what little authority they have left. There is a solidifying 'negative solidarity' among the non-elite, non-masters level and above educated, non-liberal inner city true believers, non Media/University/Church/Hollywood/Government woke thinkers.

    Oh well, the leftist elite in this country is going to get Trump v.2 and they are going to deserve every bit of it. Perhaps (probably not) it will not lead to just symbolic "owning the libs", but real policy that starts to wean us off the tit of cheap China.
     
  12. Thad E Ginathom

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    Is it? Britain did away with the gold standard yonks ago. Even the restriction on money created by banks, that it must be no more than a stated multiple of money they hold on deposit, has gone.

    Even if money is backed by gold, the value of gold itself is a construct of the markets. It has an intrinsic value as a metal used in industry, electronics, etc, as well a metal to make very beautiful things, but its value, as far as I know, is a financial-market fiction.
     
  13. HHS

    HHS Almost "Made"

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    Yeah, gold standard has been dead for decades. I don't think US currency has been redeemable for gold since the 70s. Countries do still hold gold reserves, but its relationship to official currency doesn't exist as it used to.

    Our global financial system is more imaginary than ever, though as you mention even with something like gold that has some intrinsic value, part of that value is ultimately a construct
     
    Last edited: Jan 13, 2022
  14. Pancakes

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    This was known pretty early on, specifically in regards to the Wuhan virology center where this thing originated. I'm not really sure what there is to cover up.

    I'd like to know who's being protected though. Is the US military behind the funding? Is it some corporation? "A university" is not really a valid answer - research funding comes from military or private business. Although I suppose in the grand scheme of things it doesn't matter. Some research was happening, somebody didn't follow some rule to the "t", some shit got released, here we are.
     
    Last edited: Jan 13, 2022
  15. haywood

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    It was known but suppressed as a conspiracy theory by social media and most news organizations. The facts are that the NIAID (Fauci) helped fund the research through a grant to EcoHealth Alliance (Daczak) because it’s illegal to conduct gain of function research in the United States. The problem isn’t Rand Paul grilling Fauci, it’s the senators who aren’t.
     
  16. Pancakes

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    I don't even get why these things need to be hidden (who's behind the research or if it started at the institute). It's not like an accident is going to ruin anything. For example, the oil companies that have caused ecological disasters are still around and doing quite well. I dunno, maybe the US just doesn't want a black eye. Although, I suppose if there's any owning up to "we fucked up", the international fallout could be disastrous in terms of court filings, boycotts of US products, etc, etc. Maybe that's why most on both sides of the isle are keeping their mouth shut.
     
  17. Beefy

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    Is there a new development in the "funding gain-of-function research" story that I have missed? I'm not seeing anything prominent on CNN or Fox.

    Gain of function is a difficult thing to classify. In any fundamental molecular biology research, you basically have to induce point mutations to understand how, say, receptor-agonist binding dynamics works. Sometimes you get a gain of function, sometimes you get a loss of function, it's incidental.

    If you are working on a virus and want to understand exactly how it binds to a cell, you have to induce mutations in the binding protein. Does this count as gain of function research? It really doesn't, even if you do end up with a gain.

    Real gain of function research, with the express purpose of increasing virulence is carried out quite differently. Even if the end results are the same.

    But in the absence of any new information, I'm really just rambling......
     
  18. haywood

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    The only thing I know of was a Project Veritas info dump of some DARPA documents, I didn’t read that but I think this summarizes the jist of it:

    https://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/jan/12/marine-researcher-covid-19-virus-made-chinese-lab-/

    Take
    with a grain of salt because Washington Times but unfortunately that’s become par for the course with any media source these days.
     
  19. Beefy

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    Thanks. Yeah, big grain of salt, pending the scientific credentials of Major Joseph P Murphy, and whether there is any hard evidence supporting his theory.
     
    Last edited: Jan 13, 2022
  20. Wilewarer

    Wilewarer Almost "Made"

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    I don't understand why people who want to discredit the public health authorities don't make some of the much easier cases, like for instance that a lot of them lied about masks early in the pandemic for no good reason.

    Well, actually, I do understand. Communist schemes are just more exciting, and also maybe basing that case around masks is uncomfortable for people who think wearing masks is for pansies or whatever. It's still an easier case though!
     
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