Police killings in the USA

[HAL]

The large one, I think.

[watt price tully]

[Mugwump]

Mugwamp: If you see the change of hegemon from a democratic power to a dictatorship as neutral ....

Which part of "from frying pan to fire" are you having trouble understanding?

No part. It's an expression of indifference, of equivalence, hence "neutrality"... as I said. (Insert confused emoticon here)

On US economics, you make a good point, but it's all relative. Every society can misallocate capital, and the GFC was indeed a great example (though the consequences, thanks largely to Bernanke, have been far less malign than 1930). I'd say that China, despite having many more high return opportunities because of its low base, has been even more wasteful. Debt-fueled bridges to nowhere, empty and unfinished real estate blocks in provincial towns, real estate bubbles are very visible in China, and these are more shocking when people are still visibly ploughing fields with oxen.

Avenues for earning high returns are fewer in a rich society, but the US system still does a good job of creating things like Facebook, Uber, Tesla, Google, Amazon et al. These are not all lovely businesses, but they are all powerful machines for innovation and wealth creation.

[Wokko]

I think it's far more ironic that those calling for politics to be out of sport when people held up anti-Islam banners are now cheering on the 'Yes' support of the AFL and NRL.

[Mugwump]

I think it's far more ironic that those calling for politics to be out of sport when people held up anti-Islam banners are now cheering on the 'Yes' support of the AFL and NRL.

Quite. The liberal Left is a pretty totalitarian movement, properly understood. They seek to permit only that communication which reinforces their power and world-view, and they have infiltrated many major institutions to that end.

[David]

Those people weren't calling for politics to be out of sport, they were calling for hate to be out of sport.

[Mugwump]

Your "hate" seems to mean "disagreeable (to me) views about the desirability of certain forms of life and values." I'd say their protest about the undesirability of a mosque in a given area was expressed in the wrong place, and I think it is problematic in various ways, but it was, in principle, a perfectly democratic protest to make.

And if you think that is "hate", you'll be sorely unprepared for when the real thing is brought on by the social breakdown that may well be coming in the West.

The best way to keep hate out of sport is to play the bloody game and keep politics away from it.

[David]

[Mugwump]

^ fair point. See my comment on the inherent totalitarian tendency of the Left liberal world view and its desire to remove certain kinds of speech from the public square while licensing, and indeed institutionally funding, sympathetic speech freely. Confining politics to politics (which can include certain types of arts) and allowing free speech on it is the grown-up way to prevent having our social reality defined by propaganda. Once we get the AFL telling us how to vote we are on the way to 1984.

[Dave The Man]

Wish they do it bit more here.

Plenty of Dickheads around better off Dead

[Mugwump]

Wish they do it bit more here.

Plenty of Dickheads around better off Dead

.... Until some twitchy cop with a trigger-happy finger defines you as a dickhead one afternoon, Dave. Can you see the problem ?

[Dave The Man]

Wish they do it bit more here.

Plenty of Dickheads around better off Dead

.... Until some twitchy cop with a trigger-happy finger defines you as a dickhead one afternoon, Dave. Can you see the problem ?

I do but I doubt I put myself into a Situation like that though

[Tannin]

Mugwamp: If you see the change of hegemon from a democratic power to a dictatorship as neutral ....

Which part of "from frying pan to fire" are you having trouble understanding?

No part. It's an expression of indifference, of equivalence, hence "neutrality"... as I said.

You're completely loopy. Or possibly making a joke, I can't tell which. But just in case you really are having the trouble with reading your post says you are, "from frying pan to fire" means "from bad to worse".

"Worse" is more bad than "bad" is.

Still not clear?

OK, "bad" is like "Mummy cross". "Worse" is like "Mummy spank".

[Mugwump]

Well, that is interesting. For years I have understood that expr ssion to mean moving from a state where you will be burned to another where you will be burned - thereby implying relative indifference. A friend used it in exactly that way a week ago. But having researched it, you are indeed correct and I've learned something. I'm also delighted to note that you do, in fact, understand that China is likely to prove a far worse hegemon than the USA. Well done you on two counts.

[Tannin]

Mummy hug.