@DontTouchMyDaughterYouFilthyGaijin...: not only alchohol. cigarettes alone have killed a lot more people than weed can take credit for, probably more than most wars can take credit for, maybe even extinctions. :/
@nekocomet: I weep for the US deficit and the simple honest fact that if they decriminalized marijuana and sold it legally and taxed the shit out of it, we could damn near solve most of our deficit in roughly ten years. But that won't happen. So here's to booze!
@NeVeRMoRe666: Well, to be honest, since we no longer work on a gold-standard and are in a paper market, debt really doesn't matter. The entire rules of economics are drastically different than they've ever been.
The people being laid off is really just complete BS. The entire crisis happened because the economy was riding on bubble economics. The problem is that banking is intrinsically tied to housing. When the housing market collapsed (as many predicted since 2003 when the bubble began massively expanding despite the lack of population boom), it took the banks with it.
People are whining and crying about the bankers. "How dare they do this!" That's all just smoke and mirrors. The real assholes were the housing marketers and Wall Street.
You had developers cranking out cheaply made houses in hopes of reaping massive profits. You had house-flipping running rampant (which TLC and Home & Garden TV were pimping en masse). All of these people were massively inflating the value of houses and flooding the market. There simply was not enough of population boom or population influx with enough wealth to meet the supply.
This isn't to say that banks didn't carry some of the burden. According to the National Banking Association, in 2004 23% of all loans were for flipping houses. The banks saw the opportunity and the need to supply loan options for those flipping houses. So they went to the FDIC with all sorts of insane loan packages, such as being able to not pay interest on your loan and tack it on to your overall debt. A crazy idea for a home owner, but made sense if you planned to sell it within a few weeks or a month. The FDIC rubber-stamped the loan packages and off the banks went.
Then Wall Street saw an opportunity to skim some money off the top of this booming business. They bought these loans from banks and packaged them into massive security bundles. They then sold these to foreign investors with the original intent being that, as these houses got paid off, the investors would be able to reap marginal benefits. These marginal benefits, a few thousand off each loan, would add up to significant wealth boons when packaged with bunches of these loans. Essentially making potential profit margins in the tune of millions of dollars. If these loans were mostly comprised of house flipping loans, which most were, then the loan payments (and interest from which the investor would profit) would be paid off in lump sums at a fairly high rate, instead of a slow trickle rate (which normal home-buyer loans would pay off as).
So, when the housing bubble collapsed, as all bubbles eventually do, it took down many of the uber-wealthy that had invested in these, many of the banks, and many people who got caught up in the house flipping "get rich quick" craze. It is estimated that 30%-40% of the defaulted loans were taken out for house flipping. These people were hoping that they could sell these houses quickly and get back their investment plus some extra. Many of these people didn't have the backup capital needed to have such an investment fail. Essentially, they were gambling with money they didn't have. When the banks suddenly began losing 25% or more of their money; very, very large sums of their money, they had to raise interest rates on their adjustable rate loans, which put heavy strains on the poorer who had bought into these low-rate loans.
I realize this all sounds horrendously complex, but it's basically trickle-down bankruptcy. The big guys lost a bunch of money because the bank loans weren't being paid, the banks lost a lot of money and tried to recoup it from other places (mainly adjustable rate loans), and those people were horribly strained and couldn't pay up. It wasn't poor people that fucked things up, it was house flipping. It wasn't the bankers that caused this, they were just the enablers.
@stupid_mcgee: simply the stupidest: Even though I knew the premise of everything you said I learned quite a bit about the intrinsical aspects. Thanks. I feel smarter already :)
I must say that people who keep saying "do people still play Halo?" have got to be suffering from a strange form of mental retardation so severe that they can't even notice a top rated game with one of the largest online communities for an FPS in existence. WAKE THE FUCK UP PEOPLE!
@okenny :) ...building bridges (to hide under): Seriously. Shoot people are still playing the original starcraft. You think because a game is a few years old that people stop playing it? Baseball is a pretty old game but people still play that. Good multiplayer is good multiplayer. If i'm not mistaken Counterstrike Source is still one of valves top selling games.
@okenny :) ...building bridges (to hide under): Just because a lot of people play it doesn't mean it's good. Most of them are 12-14 year old kids who don't even really like it, they just play it because Microsoft pours millions into advertising it for that very reason.
@Duffernaut: You're right...the millions upon millions of people who have purchased and continue to play the game must not play it because they enjoy playing it. It must be MS 'pouring millions into advertising'. Wow..they tricked us.
@okenny :) ...building bridges (to hide under): I will freely admit that, for consoles, Halo was pretty ground-breaking and an amazing breath of fresh air. But I'm a PC player, and Halo brought nothing amazing to the table. I can understand people praising it compared amongst other console FPS games, but to view it within the entire stratosphere of FPS video games, it really isn't all that great, IMO. Others may think it's the greatest thing since sliced bread, and that's fine, too. Many people think Britney Spears is (or was) an amazing artist. When compared to bands like the Talking Heads, it makes the opinion of Spears' amazingness seem ignorant, like they have never listened to (IMO) much better and more innovative pop music to make a truly proper comparison.
I mean I understand some of the things you;re saying. I guess what I meant to say, where are the numbers? How much revenue will we see from this market? How much will it cost to create these jobs? And then, what do we do about those serving time for marijuana related crimes? I wont get into the social effects cause thats a different issue, since we are discussing economic impact here.
I understand it might bring some cash in, sure, and I understand its only illegal cause they can't tax it (hell prostitution is only illegal cause the government cant tax your ass) but will the revenue be that much of an impact? Will it outweigh its preliminary costs?
@Terrorsaur.: Well..for what its worth I read in an article in our national newspaper once which estimated that the tax revenue for MJ alone could bring in $36B in Canada alone. That's some heavy pocket change right there...
I have never smoked Marijuana. I don't know if I could be one of those guys whose whole lives revolves around smoking it. It seems more of a culture than just people doing some drug. I really don't care if people smoke it but I am really tired about those people always talking about it. If Marijuana really doesn't make you stupid than think of something else to say.
@FriedConsole: If a persons life revolved around drinking, we would call that person an alcoholic. There's nothing wrong with a little recreational drinking/smoking. But when your life revolves around it, we call that being an addict.
There's a fine line between having some fun now and again and being ensnared by your drug of choice.
I have never played videogames. I don't know if I could be one of those guys whose whole lives revolves around playing videogames. It seems more of a culture than entertainment. I really don't care if people play it it but I am really tired about those people always talking about it. If games really doesn't make you stupid than think of something else to say.
It's stupid to look down on a culture that you don't understand, much less engage in. Till then, I don't think your opinion means squat.
@FriedConsole: Well I smoke many times a day on a daily basis. I am NEVER late to work..I have held the same job for nearly 5 years now. I manage to pay my bills and take care of my responsibilities. Saying it makes you stupid is nothing less than propaganda.
I am not encouraging you use an illegal substance, nor is it for everybody. NOt to mention the multiple studies released showing it's benefits in fighting pain and disease. Also the newest study released a couple of days ago has shown that marijuana aids in the destruction of brain cancer cells....
There is a lot of myth and disinformation out there so do some research if you are truly curious.
@Stream Of Consciousness: You know I don't read medical journals so I don't know either way. All I have is what I seen in my life. I've hung out with old friends from high school who got into the pot lifestyle and they become obsessed with pot. Either I became smarter or they got stupider. I believe something about pot effects the brain long term where potheads start to think everything is funny even when they aren't smoking. I know you going to say I am just believing the government propaganda that pot is evil. I do not. What I do believe is that there is a lot of propaganda going the other way saying that pot doesn't have long term side effects. I really don't give a rats ass if you smoke yourself stupid. What I would really like is for some real studies that list the positive and negative effects of pot so at least kids can know what they are doing to themselves.
@NeVeRMoRe666: Fight the power? I dunno. I think it's a little lame to condemn someone else's opinion just because they haven't participated in it. I've looked at both sides of the argument, and I still think that it's a stupid habit, just as smoking tobacco or drinking alcohol are.
Anyone who needs a crutch like marijuana needs to take a look at why they couldn't work out their problems in the first place. "Recreational" use is an excuse, and anyone who says otherwise is selling something.
@VyseTheQuick: However, it's worth noting that weed is not an addictive substance by any means. What people often mistake for addiction is in fact plain old habit.
If you're grabbing a dimebag every friday and find you can't get one some friday, you're going to feel something is missing but it's only because you've accustomed yourself to filling your time in such a manner that you're not sure how to spend it and end upo feeling bored which in turn makes you wish you had a dimebag which in turn makes the people around you think you're an addict.
@Balmut: Actually, 420 is a meme that started in some high school with a group of kids that every day knocked off at 4:20. 420 became their code for getting high and like everything persistent, it eventually spread beyond them and became globally synonymous with marijuana use.
@FriedConsole: Like the countless already publicly available for those who do their research?
Maybe you're just a condescending, egotistical ass that thinks he's automatically smarter than his pot smoking friends or maybe your friends are dumbasses but having being a long term heavy marijuana user for nearly ten years now I can say without a shadow of a blink of a doubt that marijuana has no effect whatsoever on I.Q.
@Omelet: From reading up on 420 and other high people, i'd think that they'd be more inclined to do things like this. nothing like "cleaning their room", but anything having to do with weed or drugs, because they begin to worship it and it becomes part of them, sorta like rastafarians.
@LllusionX:Cooking grenades for the Helghast: I've made some awesome levels when I was high. I never put anything drug related in them because I think it's childish. Just like I think think putting "zomg boobies!" images is childish. Some people become over-infatuated with drug culture and let it rule their lives, others realize it's just something for fun and recreation. There's a lot of people that smoke pot that you would probably never suspect. Doctors, lawyers, Christian preachers, professors, etc.
And in case you actually want to know, Rastafari use marijuana as it part of a sacrament to cleanse the soul before prayer. If you think that sounds stupid, well, there's plenty more things than just that which are rather stupid about the Rastafari religion. As is usually the case with most religions.
I toke one for thee, Mr. Phelps! Don't want to hurt your lungs? Use a vaporizer or cook with cannabutter. Or grind it up and cook it with beef. Or beans. Or anything that has fatty oils in it, which is nearly anything.
@stupid_mcgee: simply the stupidest: I regret to say I have never cooked with weed. I would love to though. Only thing stopping me is the deals over here.
@BigBossPETE: I'm surprised you're complaining about a game that you don't like. Just because you don't like it, doesn't mean other people don't. I have played just about every big FPS released in the past ten years and happen to love Halo for it's story and multiplayer. Trash it all you want, but Forge is revolutionary for consoles.
@Deus-Ex: Personally, I'd rather get high and draw than play Halo. Halo was fun for it's time, but there's much better games then and there's much, much better games now. (for the PC at least)
@Bernoulli: By popular conception I would be considered a stoner yet it may surprise you to discover I have a deep, seething, almost unnatural hate of Halo.
04/04/09
"You're all so stupid because you smoke weed! /shot of whiskey"
"Don't you have anything better to do with your life?! /opens beer"
That being said; this is still pretty stupid.
04/04/09
alcohol is way less productive and leads to more problems than weed ever has.
people who talk shit about teh pots have no business saying said shit unless they've actually puffed one themselves.
04/04/09
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The people being laid off is really just complete BS. The entire crisis happened because the economy was riding on bubble economics. The problem is that banking is intrinsically tied to housing. When the housing market collapsed (as many predicted since 2003 when the bubble began massively expanding despite the lack of population boom), it took the banks with it.
People are whining and crying about the bankers. "How dare they do this!" That's all just smoke and mirrors. The real assholes were the housing marketers and Wall Street.
You had developers cranking out cheaply made houses in hopes of reaping massive profits. You had house-flipping running rampant (which TLC and Home & Garden TV were pimping en masse). All of these people were massively inflating the value of houses and flooding the market. There simply was not enough of population boom or population influx with enough wealth to meet the supply.
This isn't to say that banks didn't carry some of the burden. According to the National Banking Association, in 2004 23% of all loans were for flipping houses. The banks saw the opportunity and the need to supply loan options for those flipping houses. So they went to the FDIC with all sorts of insane loan packages, such as being able to not pay interest on your loan and tack it on to your overall debt. A crazy idea for a home owner, but made sense if you planned to sell it within a few weeks or a month. The FDIC rubber-stamped the loan packages and off the banks went.
Then Wall Street saw an opportunity to skim some money off the top of this booming business. They bought these loans from banks and packaged them into massive security bundles. They then sold these to foreign investors with the original intent being that, as these houses got paid off, the investors would be able to reap marginal benefits. These marginal benefits, a few thousand off each loan, would add up to significant wealth boons when packaged with bunches of these loans. Essentially making potential profit margins in the tune of millions of dollars. If these loans were mostly comprised of house flipping loans, which most were, then the loan payments (and interest from which the investor would profit) would be paid off in lump sums at a fairly high rate, instead of a slow trickle rate (which normal home-buyer loans would pay off as).
So, when the housing bubble collapsed, as all bubbles eventually do, it took down many of the uber-wealthy that had invested in these, many of the banks, and many people who got caught up in the house flipping "get rich quick" craze. It is estimated that 30%-40% of the defaulted loans were taken out for house flipping. These people were hoping that they could sell these houses quickly and get back their investment plus some extra. Many of these people didn't have the backup capital needed to have such an investment fail. Essentially, they were gambling with money they didn't have. When the banks suddenly began losing 25% or more of their money; very, very large sums of their money, they had to raise interest rates on their adjustable rate loans, which put heavy strains on the poorer who had bought into these low-rate loans.
I realize this all sounds horrendously complex, but it's basically trickle-down bankruptcy. The big guys lost a bunch of money because the bank loans weren't being paid, the banks lost a lot of money and tried to recoup it from other places (mainly adjustable rate loans), and those people were horribly strained and couldn't pay up. It wasn't poor people that fucked things up, it was house flipping. It wasn't the bankers that caused this, they were just the enablers.
04/05/09
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04/04/09
Yeah I am surprised people still play Halo.
04/04/09
04/04/09
But Halo? Game is overrated same as Tera Patrick.
As You can see on screens guys are pretty bored :)
04/04/09
Says you...compared to the millions that still play it.
04/04/09
04/04/09
/sarcasm
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04/04/09
I mean I understand some of the things you;re saying. I guess what I meant to say, where are the numbers? How much revenue will we see from this market? How much will it cost to create these jobs? And then, what do we do about those serving time for marijuana related crimes? I wont get into the social effects cause thats a different issue, since we are discussing economic impact here.
I understand it might bring some cash in, sure, and I understand its only illegal cause they can't tax it (hell prostitution is only illegal cause the government cant tax your ass) but will the revenue be that much of an impact? Will it outweigh its preliminary costs?
04/05/09
04/05/09
04/04/09
"Sweet! What's mine say?"
"Dude! What's mine say?"
"Sweet! What's mine say?"
04/04/09
04/04/09
I'm not all anti-drug or anything, but I think the whole "pot culture" is just stupid.
04/04/09
There's a fine line between having some fun now and again and being ensnared by your drug of choice.
04/04/09
I have never played videogames. I don't know if I could be one of those guys whose whole lives revolves around playing videogames. It seems more of a culture than entertainment. I really don't care if people play it it but I am really tired about those people always talking about it. If games really doesn't make you stupid than think of something else to say.
It's stupid to look down on a culture that you don't understand, much less engage in. Till then, I don't think your opinion means squat.
04/04/09
04/04/09
I am not encouraging you use an illegal substance, nor is it for everybody. NOt to mention the multiple studies released showing it's benefits in fighting pain and disease. Also the newest study released a couple of days ago has shown that marijuana aids in the destruction of brain cancer cells....
There is a lot of myth and disinformation out there so do some research if you are truly curious.
04/04/09
Stoner 1: "what time is it?"
(time: 03:00)
Stoner 2: "4:20 man!"
*passes biff*
i believe that is how it happens.
04/04/09
04/04/09
Anyone who needs a crutch like marijuana needs to take a look at why they couldn't work out their problems in the first place. "Recreational" use is an excuse, and anyone who says otherwise is selling something.
04/05/09
If you're grabbing a dimebag every friday and find you can't get one some friday, you're going to feel something is missing but it's only because you've accustomed yourself to filling your time in such a manner that you're not sure how to spend it and end upo feeling bored which in turn makes you wish you had a dimebag which in turn makes the people around you think you're an addict.
04/05/09
04/05/09
04/05/09
Maybe you're just a condescending, egotistical ass that thinks he's automatically smarter than his pot smoking friends or maybe your friends are dumbasses but having being a long term heavy marijuana user for nearly ten years now I can say without a shadow of a blink of a doubt that marijuana has no effect whatsoever on I.Q.
04/05/09
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04/04/09
And in case you actually want to know, Rastafari use marijuana as it part of a sacrament to cleanse the soul before prayer. If you think that sounds stupid, well, there's plenty more things than just that which are rather stupid about the Rastafari religion. As is usually the case with most religions.
Praise Xenu, our inter-galactic overlord!
04/04/09
04/04/09
I toke one for thee, Mr. Phelps! Don't want to hurt your lungs? Use a vaporizer or cook with cannabutter. Or grind it up and cook it with beef. Or beans. Or anything that has fatty oils in it, which is nearly anything.
04/05/09
'reading up' about 'high people' gives you no merit to comment about their personality, behaviour or inclinations.
04/05/09
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Really.
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I guess people would rather fantasize about getting high via Forge, than actually getting high....
04/04/09
I bet that 80% of the people who make those have never even tried to get high.
04/04/09
I doubt it, seems like halo is a stoner's game.
04/04/09
04/04/09
There were always much better games for the PC than Halo.
04/04/09
04/04/09
America's Army Rise of a Soldier (first xbox)
or
Star Wars Republican Commando (PC)
or
Sniper Elite (first xbox)
04/04/09
*shoe drops*
04/05/09
Try harder.
04/04/09
04/04/09
Hitler's birthday?
04/04/09
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04/05/09
Nah I think that was a one time thing.
04/04/09