[POLL] United States Presidential Elections 2016
- Thread starter Sanji Himura
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squadops
(Banned)
- 1,987
- United States
There is manipulation for sure, but your scenario doesn't pass the test for me, just sayin. 👍
So...
The powers that be have always been, I guess I'm telling you there is no wizard of oz, so you can go ahead and ignore the guy behind the curtain because he does not exist.
So...
The powers that be have always been, I guess I'm telling you there is no wizard of oz, so you can go ahead and ignore the guy behind the curtain because he does not exist.
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- 6,067
- Simcoeace
Glen Beck speaking out against Trump on CNN. 
Yeah, I know. But in all honesty, Jesse Ventura sounds like a freakin' STATESMAN compared to what was going down in the last GOP debate.
Gold makes no sense to me. It's a metal that isn't much use for anything - attractive to the pillaging vikings I guess, but not very useful in a high tech world. I understand the libertarian side has a fetishistic fascination with it. I have a good friend who is a senior accountant with the largest gold mining company in the world. He doesn't recommend gold. My wife bought gold (against my advice
) at the more or less peak price. At some point in time it will no doubt prove to have been a "good buy" - it's a reasonable component of an overall portfolio. When the zombie apocalypse arrives, gold ain't going to help you much though.
Yeah, I know. But in all honesty, Jesse Ventura sounds like a freakin' STATESMAN compared to what was going down in the last GOP debate.
Gold makes no sense to me. It's a metal that isn't much use for anything - attractive to the pillaging vikings I guess, but not very useful in a high tech world. I understand the libertarian side has a fetishistic fascination with it. I have a good friend who is a senior accountant with the largest gold mining company in the world. He doesn't recommend gold. My wife bought gold (against my advice
) at the more or less peak price. At some point in time it will no doubt prove to have been a "good buy" - it's a reasonable component of an overall portfolio. When the zombie apocalypse arrives, gold ain't going to help you much though.
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- 6,067
- Simcoeace
Well, to be fair, that is an article from "Bullionstreet" with perhaps a vested interest in touting the "usefulness" of gold. Let's put it this way: only 12% of gold is used for "industrial purposes", the remaining 88% is used for jewelry or "investment" - pretty much the same use the vikings put it to. In comparison, with copper the proportions are reversed, 88% is used for industrial purposes. The BS article also points out that 7,500 tons of silver is used in the electronics industry annually, 23 times more tonnage than the gold used.
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- 22,551
- Arizona
- HamiltonMP427
He does that with politics, but you usually find a person like him or others so refreshing after sitting through a couple months of the crap we saw at the last GOP debate. Also I found Trump's theme song,
language warning but I think you'll appreciate where I'm coming from on this for satire purposes.
As for Ventura, I've always liked his political views since they're more independent with Libertarian leanings, but he's a conspiracy theorist with things you would be fine with, and then things you just wouldn't be. So he just comes off as the crazy guy for everything he believes that's just off the wall, despite making sense from time to time.
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- 3,308
- Kentucky
- Chrunch_Houston
I find it amazing and a bit chilling how far the GOP elites are willing to go to stop Trump from getting the nomination. It seems these guys will do anything to stay in power.
Frankly, I found the speech Romney gave the other day to be quite disgusting. He repeated the lie about Trump and David Duke. He insinuated that Trump must be hiding something because he hasn't released his tax returns. This is particularly ironic since Harry Reid said the same thing about him in 2012. He presented his opinion that Trump is a conman and a fraud as fact. I really liked Romney in 2012, and thought he would make a great president. I have lost a lot of respect for the man now.
Donald Trump is winning the nomination because the people are voting for him. The GOP has said for years that they want to be the 'big tent' party that draws support from more than just the 'angry white men' they are so often accused of attracting. Now there is a candidate that is attracting broad support and votes. It appears that the GOP elites don't give a **** what the people want. They want someone they can control and Trump is not that someone.
Frankly, I found the speech Romney gave the other day to be quite disgusting. He repeated the lie about Trump and David Duke. He insinuated that Trump must be hiding something because he hasn't released his tax returns. This is particularly ironic since Harry Reid said the same thing about him in 2012. He presented his opinion that Trump is a conman and a fraud as fact. I really liked Romney in 2012, and thought he would make a great president. I have lost a lot of respect for the man now.
Donald Trump is winning the nomination because the people are voting for him. The GOP has said for years that they want to be the 'big tent' party that draws support from more than just the 'angry white men' they are so often accused of attracting. Now there is a candidate that is attracting broad support and votes. It appears that the GOP elites don't give a **** what the people want. They want someone they can control and Trump is not that someone.
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- 1,591
- Under the Hood
Completely agree, the GOP is in panic mode. The more they try to stop Trump the more they play into his narrative. Did they forget this is a democracy? By attacking Trump they are attacking essentially half of the people who label themselves as Republicans along with a good chunk of Independents and Reagan Democrats. Not such an 'inclusive' party after all.
Dotini
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- CR80_Shifty
"Circular firing squad" is what it is. The GOP is self-destructing. Stuffed shirts like David Brooks are in a complete dither. Couldn't happen to a better bunch of jerks. Very fun to watch. The Dems have their own issues, of course. Also a bunch of jerks. Meanwhile the bubble economy is on the verge of collapse and they're not even talking about it. If it weren't for booze, dope, NASCAR, and other classy entertainments, the people could easily get really riled up.
Edit: I see I've been edited by a mod. I'll try to rephrase the offending remark in another way:
Should a serious global economic downturn eventuate, be advised that many stocks and bonds stand to fall far and fast. I would add that real estate is also overvalued, and it could be unlucky to be highly leveraged or indebted in any of the above holdings.
Edit: I see I've been edited by a mod. I'll try to rephrase the offending remark in another way:
Should a serious global economic downturn eventuate, be advised that many stocks and bonds stand to fall far and fast. I would add that real estate is also overvalued, and it could be unlucky to be highly leveraged or indebted in any of the above holdings.
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- 87,412
- Rule 12
- GTP_Famine
That's interesting. I remember in the 2012 US election thread someone tried to make the same argument and, when it was pointed out that gold is, in fact, very useful in a high tech world, they ignored it away...
I'm sure the same thing won't happen this time...
Hmm.
- 7,689
- Michigan
- Rallywgn81
I kinda agree with noob and boggles.
Gold is a great conductor sure, but when it comes to electronics it's not the only choice, the best choice or the most used material. There is more dust on a typical PC than there is gold. Usually it's used to plate connector components. Lithium is far more useful in the electronics world than gold, and will likely match, or possibly exceed the value of gold. (Citation)
Same goes with diamonds. The price is outrageous for mined diamonds. Industrial diamonds are made, not mined, and cubic zirconia is superior to natural diamonds in both clarity and size. We have made a better diamond in a lab and yet it is still a violently viable trade to mine them. Their value a highly imaginary thing. Gold is very similar. It does have uses, and it can't be lab made, but it's hardly the rarest or most used material in electronics. It's value, I also feel, is artificial. Probably because gold has always been, well, the gold standard.
Gold is a great conductor sure, but when it comes to electronics it's not the only choice, the best choice or the most used material. There is more dust on a typical PC than there is gold. Usually it's used to plate connector components. Lithium is far more useful in the electronics world than gold, and will likely match, or possibly exceed the value of gold. (Citation)
Same goes with diamonds. The price is outrageous for mined diamonds. Industrial diamonds are made, not mined, and cubic zirconia is superior to natural diamonds in both clarity and size. We have made a better diamond in a lab and yet it is still a violently viable trade to mine them. Their value a highly imaginary thing. Gold is very similar. It does have uses, and it can't be lab made, but it's hardly the rarest or most used material in electronics. It's value, I also feel, is artificial. Probably because gold has always been, well, the gold standard.
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Joel
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- Noob616
I was just making a joke about the article being from Bullionstreet. I don't really have an informed opinion on this.
- 7,689
- Michigan
- Rallywgn81
Looks like you forgot the joke "trigger" then... Cause there is really no way to tell you said that as a joke... But I get. Good one...
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- GTP_Famine
Nevertheless, it has uses - so to say it "makes no sense" and "isn't much use for anything" is demonstrably wrong.
Gold is used in electronics because it's highly malleable, conductive and resistant to corrosion - which is why it's used in electrical connectors and it is the best choice for that. It's also very reflective to infrared and medically inert. The malleability (and low melting point) and corrosion resistance is why it has been used for long-term storage of value too - you can make it into any shape, cheaply, and it doesn't gain or lose mass through chemical reaction.
Diamond values are effectively a cross between a very good PR department and a cartel. Diamond does, of course, have uses - not just industrial, but in research (it's a good insulator of electricity - though some contaminated diamonds are good semiconductors - and can be used to create extremely high pressure environments) - but it's not as fundamentally useful as gold.
- 6,067
- Simcoeace
Well, I'll admit that I'm no expert when it comes to the importance of the particular "functional" qualities of gold compared to other metals. The statistics do seem to indicate that the vast majority of gold mined is not used for "functional" purposes. The perceived value of gold is a fascinating subject though. If the zombie apocalypse came, paper money would presumably become meaningless, would gold still have value?
With regards to diamonds I can relate this anecdote: my great grandparents were very wealthy. They lived in a major Eastern European capital. In the Second World war they lost everything, including their lives. My grandmother & her children survived. The only thing that she was able to salvage was some of the family jewelry which could be easily concealed. Having experienced the total destruction of everything in her life she was a big advocate of "brilliants" - diamonds - because of their value/portability. I guess it all depends on your perspective ...
- 22,551
- Arizona
- HamiltonMP427
Then you don't understand the stats your reading anymore than a certain other user that threw out stats earlier. The gold market as you've suggested leans high toward it as a jewelry but due to that, the tech side of it suffers because market value is too expensive for it to be used in large quantities when other materials can come close enough for less.
However, the thermal properties, conductivity, malleability of the element while still retaining relative strength, as well as its resistance to corrosion make it quite a useful asset in many areas of tech and industry
Sure there is bullionstreet (hence BS), some can see an obvious internet joke*, some obviously take the internet too seriously.
*good joke too
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- 6,067
- Simcoeace
Then you don't understand the stats your reading anymore than a certain other user that threw out stats earlier. The gold market as you've suggested leans high toward it as a jewelry but due to that, the tech side of it suffers because market value is too expensive for it to be used in large quantities when other materials can come close enough for less.
However, the thermal properties, conductivity, malleability of the element while still retaining relative strength, as well as its resistance to corrosion make it quite a useful asset in many areas of tech and industry
Sure there is bullionstreet (hence BS), some can see an obvious internet joke*, some obviously take the internet too seriously.
*good joke too
Yes, you're right. I imagine gold would be used a lot more for functional/industrial purposes if it weren't so expensive ... & the reason it's so expensive is because it is so valued for non-commercial reasons. It's a circular relationship. But I think it's fair to say that its value as a commodity isn't primarily based on its functional usefulness. And the market for gold, like the market for diamonds, is also a manipulated one. Consider the question of oil - one of the most straightforwardly "functional" commodities there is. A few years ago it was worth 3 - 4 times what it's selling for now.
That's true, but that was also in a pre-industrial era where the range of goods available was extremely limited. The question I'm posing is, in a post-industrial, high-tech world what is the significance of gold? Anyway - completely off the topic of this thread.
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- GTP_Famine
It may be largely based on what gives it value as value - it can be easily and cheaply melted and formed into any shape and doesn't corrode or tarnish.
All the gold ever mined would fit into a cube 22 metres across. To fill the same volume with oil you'd need about 55 seconds of global oil production.
Its malleability and chemical inertness make it excellent at preserving its mass without diminishing (corrosion) or gaining through impurities (tarnishing), meaning that "x" amount of gold will, in most cases, always be "x" amount of gold.
In the 'high-tech world' its electrical conductivity, along with its malleability - one ounce of gold can be drawn into a 50 mile long strip of wire just 5um thick - make it incredibly useful for electrical connectors that remain free of impurities and do not corrode or tarnish.
It's an excellent reflector of EM and particularly infrared. It's used in satellite shielding and the next generation of space telescopes, along with astronaut's visors - it can be beaten thin enough to be transparent in visible light spectrums.
Gold-198 is used as a radiation treatment for cancer and gold can be used as a conductive coating for electron microscopy of non-conducting samples.
In fact the further we move into the 'high-tech world', the more useful this stuff becomes - whereas previously it was just neat because it's always shiny.
squadops
(Banned)
- 1,987
- United States
Those who dismiss gold are usually ones who push for rapid expansion and prosperity. The oil bit is an interesting point, I wonder how much gold The Kingdom has. Maybe I'll look...
323 tonnes it appears, top 20 in the world, a balance of sorts?
I'm not sure what gold has to do with a U.S. Presidential election however
*FDR and Nixon had their reasons
323 tonnes it appears, top 20 in the world, a balance of sorts?
I'm not sure what gold has to do with a U.S. Presidential election however
*FDR and Nixon had their reasons
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