What are your opinions on Pick Up Artists (PUAs) and "game"?

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bobby 55
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Re: What are your opinions on Pick Up Artists (PUAs) and "ga

Post by bobby 55 »

VectorM wrote:I am pretty much done arguing on this thread, since I am finding it harder and harder not to be toxic with the things said in the last posts, but here are some hopefully useful links for you guys to read/watch.
Well allow me to be toxic instead. Watching the "Why Healthcare is so Expensive" link has cured me of opening anymore links to "informed" sources. So, after 27 minutes his theory boils down to doctors restricting the number of doctors so they can be paid more as a result of supply and demand. That makes the oath "First do no harm" redundant.

As a side note, Youtube has become such a source of truth and wisdom. I mean it's not like any silly cunt with the ability to record and upload would ever appear there.
Last edited by bobby 55 on Sun Dec 09, 2012 3:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: What are your opinions on Pick Up Artists (PUAs) and "ga

Post by Jaedar »

Even bobby is mad. Successful troll is successful.
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Cybernetic pig
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Re: What are your opinions on Pick Up Artists (PUAs) and "ga

Post by Cybernetic pig »

Jaedar wrote:Even bobby is mad. Successful troll is successful.
[-( Not constructive dude :P

Honestly though I was wrong about VectorM. He is not a troll. Well not this time anyway.

No response to my helios idea?
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Re: What are your opinions on Pick Up Artists (PUAs) and "ga

Post by G-Flex »

VectorM wrote:
whereas his actual policies seem to imply that he'd prefer a situation where America is controlled by regionalistic robber barons who get to impose their own will and prejudices, and Ron Paul sure as hell has his own he'd love to do something about.
I don't understand how people still say stuff like this, when anyone with basic Google skills can go and see who donated to his champaign. And you can see a severe lack of big corporations, fuck, his biggest donors are SOLDIERS.

http://www.opensecrets.org/pres12/contr ... =N00005906

https://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/cont ... =N00009638

Yeah, he wants the country to be run by corporations, right? That's why corporations love him and donate so much to him...oh wait THEY DON'T.
... When did I say anything about corporations? I was talking about politicians.
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Re: What are your opinions on Pick Up Artists (PUAs) and "ga

Post by AEmer »

G-Flex wrote:
AEmer wrote:I believe his belief is that people will step in with charity in most cases - and that there will be very, very few, because only a very small percentage of people will be willing to take the risk of running with no insurance in the first place.
Except it's trivial to see that charity doesn't provide for people that often, and that a lot of people can't afford health insurance even when it is (sorta) well-regulated.
His point would be, that's because of a rotten culture. That there is a dialectic between the role government assumes, and the role people are willing to assume. That when government assumes control of a practice, people become unconcerned with it; they skirt their responsibility.

He's arguing, people who aren't getting insurance right now are doing so because the emergeancy room is going to not only be free, it is going to be risk-free. Charity would be different; with charity, if you're being abusive of the system, it might say 'no, you made your bed, now you can damn well lay in it'.

You might say, 'HAHA!, but there are people who are currently being denied insurance, what about them?' - Pauls retort would be, 'It's been that way for decades, and we have done nothing, because we have these emergeancy rooms people fall back on. It has allowed lawmakers to skirt their responsibility. If people were forced to rely on charity, we would have regulated the insurance industry long ago, because of a change in public oppinion'.

In other words, Paul is arguing that the troubles with health care are systemic. That the incentive structure is messed up, and therefore every current facet of how healthcare works is twisted and different from how it would be according to his vision.

Because of this, no, it is not trivial to see. Also, here's another fact about his position: The US currently isn't a single payer system, but the government _has_ socialized healthcare to the tune of 60% of the cost _already_ (2006 numbers). Paul is arguing, this system, the one you have, is ridiculously inefficient - and doing a federal health care system would be even worse. He's arguing that you can't afford this system at all. He's right that it's the most inefficient in the world; and he might even be right that a federal system can never be as efficient as competing models.

Again, this is idealism, and I think it's terribly naive. On the other hand, I have my own pet ideal system - Direct Repressentative Democracy - that I think would solve everything, which might also be hopelessly naive. Regardless: On this one, Pauls belief hinges on something you can neither confirm or deny to be true, because his idea is very radical.
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Re: What are your opinions on Pick Up Artists (PUAs) and "ga

Post by DDL »

The fundamental flaw with the insurance-based model is it places emphasis on profits over emphasis on providing healthcare.
The problem with some sort of free-market hospital system is again that it would place emphasis on profit over providing healthcare. Services might get more cut-throat, and cut-throat isn't a phrase you really want to associate with healthcare.

An advantage, therefore (at least in theory) of something like the national health service is that you have a large pot of taxpayer money up front for the ostensibly exclusive purpose of providing healthcare. It avoids the point-of-sale profiteering of a free-market system, and avoids the shareholder-profiteering of an insurance system: everyone who pays tax chips in and everyone is then entitled to a certain level of default healthcare. It's not ideal, certainly, but it maximises the "money spent toward healthcare:money spent ON healthcare" ratio.
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Re: What are your opinions on Pick Up Artists (PUAs) and "ga

Post by bobby 55 »

DDL wrote: An advantage, therefore (at least in theory) of something like the national health service is that you have a large pot of taxpayer money up front for the ostensibly exclusive purpose of providing healthcare. It avoids the point-of-sale profiteering of a free-market system, and avoids the shareholder-profiteering of an insurance system: everyone who pays tax chips in and everyone is then entitled to a certain level of default healthcare. It's not ideal, certainly, but it maximises the "money spent toward healthcare:money spent ON healthcare" ratio.
That's Medicare here. My mum, a pensioner and an outpatient in a public hospital for the last several years, had the best medical treatment the state run health service could provide. I think the cost for a patient in a hospital bed is something like $5000 a day. My mum passed away on the 2nd but I truly believe the ongoing treatment she received there (and modern medicine) gave her an extra 7 years after her health began it's decline.
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Re: What are your opinions on Pick Up Artists (PUAs) and "ga

Post by Jonas »

You have Medicare in Australia? I thought you had free public health care just like Britain or Canada.
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bobby 55
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Re: What are your opinions on Pick Up Artists (PUAs) and "ga

Post by bobby 55 »

Jonas wrote:You have Medicare in Australia? I thought you had free public health care just like Britain or Canada.
Yeah we have that too but Medicare cuts various costs if you aren't in any of the private health funds. Eye examinations cost nothing if you have the test done every two years and present your card. Dental isn't covered but doctors you only pay about 25% of the consultation.

Here's their site: http://www.humanservices.gov.au/custome ... e/medicare
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Re: What are your opinions on Pick Up Artists (PUAs) and "ga

Post by AEmer »

My mum passed away on the 2nd

My condolences man :-(
bobby 55
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Re: What are your opinions on Pick Up Artists (PUAs) and "ga

Post by bobby 55 »

AEmer wrote:
My mum passed away on the 2nd

My condolences man :-(
Thanks AEmer. She went peacefully in her sleep.... which I guess is as much as anyone can hope for.
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Re: What are your opinions on Pick Up Artists (PUAs) and "ga

Post by AEmer »

I...I guess but, well, it still sucks :-(

Stay strong my man. It's not much, but at times like these, sometimes an off the cuffs compliment helps, so just so you know: Everybody here likes you. You're one of the good internet people, one like those that made my highschool experience bearable, back when just having someone listen to you, someone who you could actually communicate with, was pretty much impossible for me. Being friendly and decent and just all around alright is, well, we all recognize it and we appreciate it.
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Re: What are your opinions on Pick Up Artists (PUAs) and "ga

Post by Cybernetic pig »

You can't help but like Bobby :D
bobby 55
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Re: What are your opinions on Pick Up Artists (PUAs) and "ga

Post by bobby 55 »

Awww thanks guys. I don't think it's any secret that I was only brave enough to initially post here, and subsequently hang around the forums coz of all you guys. It's by far and away the best boards I've seen, with people who are friendly, helpful, and intelligent. I know we can get a little passionate in our discussions but I think it's a credit to the mods and forumites that things usually sort themselves out.

With regards to mum, I'm a lot better this week and I have great friends and wonderful siblings for support. I guess being closer to forty than I am to twenty helps in dealing with it, though I've seen 60 year olds devastated by a loss of a parent.
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Re: What are your opinions on Pick Up Artists (PUAs) and "ga

Post by Jonas »

bobby 55 wrote:It's by far and away the best boards I've seen, with people who are friendly, helpful, and intelligent.
Oh yeah?! Well your face is friendly, helpful, and intelligent! Take that!
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