BenjaminFranklin

Cool.

If you wait till you're 50 to start living the "American Dream", then you missed out on 50 years of living.

As for savings... interest rates tend to be adjusted for inflation. That's if you are keeping your extra money in a bank... safe, but lame. And if you have enough money to have "savings", and if you invest it smartly, you can easily make a much higher percentage off of your investments then inflation will eat.

Having extra money in investments is a VERY VERY VERY VERY good thing in a capitalist economy, even with inflation. It's how to get rich, and it's how the rich get richer.

Inflation isn't "designed" by anyone; it's an natural (but not inevitable) effect of a market economy.

I don't think that's true. The wealthy consume the most resources per capita, so they are the biggest consumers of them all.

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BenjaminFranklin

*High fives Hartpool*

Cool. There are some other nations out there that seem rather good, tho. I would have to visit them to see what they're like, tho.... And to be fair to my native country, parts of the USA are great, parts of it are OK, and parts of it just suck.

If I wasn't living in the US, where would I live?

Probably Israel. Israel kicks ass! ...And I say that as a Catholic. But anyone who's someone knows that Jews and Catholics get along like long lost brothers. (At least we do in the US... almost all of my friends are Catholic or Jewish, and that is unintentional.... it just happens.... I think it's because Judaism and Catholicism are two of the most rational religions in the world.)

Yeah, Israel rox! Palestine sux.

*Waits for the pro-Palestinian people to throw rocks*

Hehe, silly Palestinians. Hey Palestinians: Stop trying to suicide bomb the Jews and fix your own problems!

(OK, I really shouldn't be bringing up all these issues in this thread... ah, what the heck; we can switch over to dedicated issue-oriented threads later.)

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Roland

Now is your time for reeducation. Find out how money really works.

Money what is it explained.

Aardvark

Benjamin Franklin, you've clearly never lived or worked in Israel. Lots of issues that never get discussed ouside of Israel - read online Ha'aretz. Paradise it is not.

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When in Woking do as the Wokes do.

"I do not wish to form my opinions by thoughtlessly quoting others; I wish others to support their opinions by sensibly quoting me." Paul Wesson (Aardvark) 13th April 2008

BenjaminFranklin

Please do not assume what I do and do not know. I've talked at length with people who have lived in Israel. While I do not have first hand knowledge of Israel (yet), I am much more aware of the issues there then the average American.

Israel is far from perfect, but it does many things well, and it is also the only democracy in the middle east.

I don't think that paradise (utopia) exists yet... but I think that, just looking at reasons for it's existence (the Holocaust) and the attitude of the citizens in it (aka "we love peace but will fight like lions if threatened"), Israel is a smart and noble country.

(If you doubt anything in the above paragraph, I have plenty of evidence to back it up; just point me to an appropriate discussion thread.)

Incidentally, if I could pick two and only two countries as allies in a war, I would pick England and Israel.

I like using Google News to search for news stories and get multiple perspectives, and Ha'aretz is indexed on there. I will keep an eye out for stories from that paper.

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Aardvark

The problem with Israel is highlighted by your comment on the "attitude of the citizens".

There is no common attitude. Many Israelis do not believe in democracy. A drive through Mea Sharim is enlightening (walking is not good for Goyim). The settlements are illegal under international law, but Israel demands obedience to international law by the Palestinians, but refuses to obey the Geneva Convention, large numbers of UN resolutions etc.

The ultra-Orthodox do not believe in Israel as a state, but believe they have a right to settle anywhere in Eretz Israel, which includes a lot of Jordan. They also avoid fighting in the IDF.

The settlers kill and bully Palestinians at random; they go everywhere heavily armed and they stop Palestinians farming their lands and even travelling in their home territories (google 'settlers roads').

The IDF is a bunch of scruffy Russian immigrants. Young soldiers can't speak Hebrew, as my interpreters would demonstrate, and wave their guns around as if they're little Gods. Crossing an IDF checkpoint, as I have done many times, is an unhappy experience. The only people who have ever pointed guns at me at close range are IDF soldiers (I was in vehicles with diplomatic plates).

I've lived in Jerusalem and it opens your eyes in a way that watching TV never can.

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When in Woking do as the Wokes do.

"I do not wish to form my opinions by thoughtlessly quoting others; I wish others to support their opinions by sensibly quoting me." Paul Wesson (Aardvark) 13th April 2008

John Connor

No they don't. If they did, we wouldn't be having a pensions crisis here in old Blighty.

I was talking with my joiner the other day - due to a combination of inflation and low interest rates his pension is now worth far, far less than the money he put into it.

This approach requires you to continue to be a slave to money (and thus, the system). I'm talking about a situation where you no longer have to think about money.

But hey, continue to invest "smartly" if you like and just hope that events like the sub-prime dip don't eat your income.

Suggest you go look at the link posted by Roland and educate yourself as to how money really works. Inflation *is* designed by someone. Period.

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BenjaminFranklin

John Connor, I will look at the link when I get a chance to give it the time it deserves.

Aardvark:

Killing at random? I've seen no evidence of this.

And everything I've seen that can be objectively verified indicates otherwise. Israel is, from what I've seen, a moral and smart nation (on balance). The Palestinians, from what I've seen, are neither.

I try to be neutral in conflicts. But it this conflict, all that I've seen indicates that Israel is in the right.

Never forget that it was the 5 Arab nations who attacked Israel almost immediately after Israel declared independence. Israel didn't want a war, but the 5 nations did. And so Israel gave them one and kicked their asses. And why did the 5 nations attack Israel? Becuase they hated the Jewish religion. And why did they hate it? because they didn't know any better. And Israel has continued to defend itself against such ignorance and hate into the present day.

Here's one of many articles that provides what I consider to be a moral and rational perspective on things:

Crime and Punishment - bu Michael Anbar, Ph.D.

A segment of it:

With all that conflict, it's amazing that Israelis are as nice to their neighbors as they are. There are exceptions, of course (there are criminals in every country), but every objectively verifiable source that I've seen indicates that most Israelis attempt to respect the human rights of their enemies, even as their enemies plot to kill them simply for being Jewish.

That's a pretty admirable thing in my book.

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BenjaminFranklin

Rats, my last changes did not make it into the 15 minute edit mark.

I was going to add...

It is the Palestinians who are launching unguided rockets into Isreal that are randomly killing Israeli civilians.

Now *that* I have seen plenty of evidence of.

Here's a list:
List of Qassam rocket attacks

Who's randomly killing whom again?

Israel may retaliate, but with a key difference. Israel does NOT strike at random. Israel targets those who seek to kill Israelis, and makes every reasonable effort to avoid innocent loss of life in the process.

The zealots among the Palestinians... do not.

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Roland

Was you aware Iran is a democratic country where the people vote for their leader and president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is probably going to lose the next election.

Was you aware that Iran has a population of 25,000 jews who live there with no fear of anti-Semitism. It's also should be noted that wile some laws favor Muslims others favor jews. One example jews in Iran our allowed to drink alcohol wile it is strictly forbidden for muslims.

Not quite the story we get told by the media is it.