Reflection on News Articles

Use this forum to discuss August 2018 book of the month "World, Incorporated" by Tom Gariffo.
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Re: Reflection on News Articles

Post by tarafarah7 »

Bianka Walter wrote: 11 Aug 2018, 03:21
tarafarah7 wrote: 10 Aug 2018, 16:35
JHuschle519 wrote: 04 Aug 2018, 18:48

Oh, I agree that it could happen ... I guess I just kind of hope it never does. I have a feeling it would be complete chaos. I hate paying taxes, but I would hate to see the state of the country if everyone suddenly stopped paying them.
I fully agree with you. The amount of complaining people do about paying taxes, wouldn't even compare to the shock they would be in if we no longer paid them. Unfortunately, many people are more concerned with immediate gratification than the impact this would have on our lives long-term if we didnt.
So, something happened in our country which was an example of everyone sticking together. A few years ago (about 2011 I think), the road agency put something called E-tolls up on our roads. They are toll gates on the highways that drivers get tagged in and charged. Drivers then get mails telling them how much they owe. Because no one ever agreed to this - the majority of people refused to pay. I think 30% of all people paid the tolls and the rest didn't. To this day, I still get post (yes, from the actual postal service) telling me that I owe E-tolls. But they have mostly scrapped it.
Can you imagine we were all to decide not to pay taxes, and they just decided to scrap it? Would Amazon be running the country by now?
Hahaaaa! Bianca, I don't know you but already love you! Ha! I'm veering a bit off topic, but this is the comment of the year, in my book! I swear to you, almost every day, I wonder what Amazon and Google are working on....are they secretly plotting together to take over the world? Are they really competing with each other for the same spot (in various areas)? Or, are they playing a game with consumers by drawing our constant attention to their head-to-head "new and improved" products, which are probably just about the same thing, just in a different looking package? Are Coke and Pepsi really that different....actually, don't answer that (I know some of you will fight me on this! 😂😂😂). Either way, in my opinion, the one thing we can be sure of is that Amazon and Google aren't going anywhere.
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Post by Bianka Walter »

tarafarah7 wrote: 13 Aug 2018, 14:05
Bianka Walter wrote: 11 Aug 2018, 03:21
tarafarah7 wrote: 10 Aug 2018, 16:35

I fully agree with you. The amount of complaining people do about paying taxes, wouldn't even compare to the shock they would be in if we no longer paid them. Unfortunately, many people are more concerned with immediate gratification than the impact this would have on our lives long-term if we didnt.
So, something happened in our country which was an example of everyone sticking together. A few years ago (about 2011 I think), the road agency put something called E-tolls up on our roads. They are toll gates on the highways that drivers get tagged in and charged. Drivers then get mails telling them how much they owe. Because no one ever agreed to this - the majority of people refused to pay. I think 30% of all people paid the tolls and the rest didn't. To this day, I still get post (yes, from the actual postal service) telling me that I owe E-tolls. But they have mostly scrapped it.
Can you imagine we were all to decide not to pay taxes, and they just decided to scrap it? Would Amazon be running the country by now?
Hahaaaa! Bianca, I don't know you but already love you! Ha! I'm veering a bit off topic, but this is the comment of the year, in my book! I swear to you, almost every day, I wonder what Amazon and Google are working on....are they secretly plotting together to take over the world? Are they really competing with each other for the same spot (in various areas)? Or, are they playing a game with consumers by drawing our constant attention to their head-to-head "new and improved" products, which are probably just about the same thing, just in a different looking package? Are Coke and Pepsi really that different....actually, don't answer that (I know some of you will fight me on this! 😂😂😂). Either way, in my opinion, the one thing we can be sure of is that Amazon and Google aren't going anywhere.
For all we know, Amazon and Google are already running the world. Us little ants know nothing.
But as far as Pepsi and Coke are concerned, we don't really have Pepsi in our country, so Coke has won this race. They are still competing for rule over the bigger countries. :lol2:
And I mean, come on. They are DEFINITELY not that different.
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Post by Yoli García »

I loved reading the chapter full of news articles that informed Kelly of what had happened.

What struck me the most was that the author used current events to depict what could happen if we keep going down the same road. An example is that in the story a mediocre and partisan US government is not able to reach deals on economic and social issues. That leads to an economic and social breakdown, which eventually allows the corporations to take over.

What I found scary is that once the corporations took over, they established a society similar to that of the communism in George Orwell’s 1984. Everyone has to live the same way, the corporations provide everything, but if you question the order of things, you are dead.
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Post by tarafarah7 »

tarafarah7 wrote: 13 Aug 2018, 14:05
Bianka Walter wrote: 11 Aug 2018, 03:21
tarafarah7 wrote: 10 Aug 2018, 16:35

I fully agree with you. The amount of complaining people do about paying taxes, wouldn't even compare to the shock they would be in if we no longer paid them. Unfortunately, many people are more concerned with immediate gratification than the impact this would have on our lives long-term if we didnt.
So, something happened in our country which was an example of everyone sticking together. A few years ago (about 2011 I think), the road agency put something called E-tolls up on our roads. They are toll gates on the highways that drivers get tagged in and charged. Drivers then get mails telling them how much they owe. Because no one ever agreed to this - the majority of people refused to pay. I think 30% of all people paid the tolls and the rest didn't. To this day, I still get post (yes, from the actual postal service) telling me that I owe E-tolls. But they have mostly scrapped it.
Can you imagine we were all to decide not to pay taxes, and they just decided to scrap it? Would Amazon be running the country by now?
Hahaaaa! Bianca, I don't know you but already love you! Ha! I'm veering a bit off topic, but this is the comment of the year, in my book! I swear to you, almost every day, I wonder what Amazon and Google are working on....are they secretly plotting together to take over the world? Are they really competing with each other for the same spot (in various areas)? Or, are they playing a game with consumers by drawing our constant attention to their head-to-head "new and improved" products, which are probably just about the same thing, just in a different looking package? Are Coke and Pepsi really that different....actually, don't answer that (I know some of you will fight me on this! 😂😂😂). Either way, in my opinion, the one thing we can be sure of is that Amazon and Google aren't going anywhere.
Haha! Amen!
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Post by Kibet Hillary »

JHuschle519 wrote: 04 Aug 2018, 14:28
hsimone wrote: 04 Aug 2018, 11:30 While reading the articles that Kelly reads following the events that has occurred the last 50 years, leading to the current state of the world, what struck you? Was there something that surprised you? Was there something that you liked? Something that disturbed you?
There was one part of the news article chapters of this book that really got me thinking. What would happen if a large group of people just stopped paying their taxes? Yes, the IRS could garnish their wages and try to come after their possessions, but if people were able to find away to protect their assets or had so few assets that they didn't care, what would the government do? What kind of damage would it do to the economy? I don't think it will ever happen, but it is an interesting thought exercise.
This is thought-provoking. This came to my mind a few days ago and what a surprise that it is also in the news articles!
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Post by Helen_Combe »

Britty01 wrote: 04 Aug 2018, 20:19 Quite a few things disturbed me. I got the impression that various Cities had been reclaimed, new ones built in other parts of the world, but life outside of those ‘controlled’ areas might be very different. Instead of wars between countries and nations, there are conflicts between super corporations – the people sometimes end up as collateral damage. The establishment of security zones where one super corporation has jurisdiction of control. Only they have access to media in their jurisdiction. That sounds like a total lack of freedom.
We’ve come close to that with the Pepsi and Coke wars in Latin America.
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Post by David Horta Alonso »

I'm an a campaigner of a clean environment. Every citizen has a right to clean environment. Decrease in air pollution is just nice considering industries emit lots of effluent in the air everyday.
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Post by Britty01 »

Helen_Combe wrote: 15 Aug 2018, 01:09
Britty01 wrote: 04 Aug 2018, 20:19 Quite a few things disturbed me. I got the impression that various Cities had been reclaimed, new ones built in other parts of the world, but life outside of those ‘controlled’ areas might be very different. Instead of wars between countries and nations, there are conflicts between super corporations – the people sometimes end up as collateral damage. The establishment of security zones where one super corporation has jurisdiction of control. Only they have access to media in their jurisdiction. That sounds like a total lack of freedom.
We’ve come close to that with the Pepsi and Coke wars in Latin America.
Good heavens. I had not heard about that, I will look into it.
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Post by Helen_Combe »

Britty01 wrote: 17 Aug 2018, 08:09
Helen_Combe wrote: 15 Aug 2018, 01:09
Britty01 wrote: 04 Aug 2018, 20:19 Quite a few things disturbed me. I got the impression that various Cities had been reclaimed, new ones built in other parts of the world, but life outside of those ‘controlled’ areas might be very different. Instead of wars between countries and nations, there are conflicts between super corporations – the people sometimes end up as collateral damage. The establishment of security zones where one super corporation has jurisdiction of control. Only they have access to media in their jurisdiction. That sounds like a total lack of freedom.
We’ve come close to that with the Pepsi and Coke wars in Latin America.
Good heavens. I had not heard about that, I will look into it.
Coke accused of hiring death squads in Colombia.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/1448962.stm

Pepsi and Coke competing in Venezuela

https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB84792428752932500
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Post by Mindy Conahye »

I have not read this book yet, but I've heard a lot of people say they didn't like the articles section. I'm not sure if I would like it very much. I like to be able to read through and not have a lot of jumping around or other things to be processing. I like to follow the storyline the whole way through. I'm not sure if the book would appeal to me just because of what I've read about the way the article section is.
Mac :techie-reference:
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Post by Britty01 »

mac83 wrote: 17 Aug 2018, 09:01 I have not read this book yet, but I've heard a lot of people say they didn't like the articles section. I'm not sure if I would like it very much. I like to be able to read through and not have a lot of jumping around or other things to be processing. I like to follow the storyline the whole way through. I'm not sure if the book would appeal to me just because of what I've read about the way the article section is.
That is certainly something to consider. When I first saw them I thought they were amusing, then they change a little as they are written by someone who represents World Inc. They are a little long but they do provide background information and it gives the reader Kelly's perspective which is very useful for understanding how she could go from hating/wanting to kill Agent Sliver to being open to receiving new information about how he got to be the person he is now. There are a couple of interesting clues in there also. It's only a couple of chapters near the beginning. After that the story flows to the end and it does flow nicely. After I had read the book and I could see the whole story and how everything fit together, I began to see why the author chose to put the articles in the story. It also helps you to figure out how old Agent Sliver is and what he endured.
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Post by Britty01 »

Helen_Combe wrote: 17 Aug 2018, 08:49
Britty01 wrote: 17 Aug 2018, 08:09
Helen_Combe wrote: 15 Aug 2018, 01:09

We’ve come close to that with the Pepsi and Coke wars in Latin America.
Good heavens. I had not heard about that, I will look into it.
Coke accused of hiring death squads in Colombia.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/1448962.stm

Pepsi and Coke competing in Venezuela

https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB84792428752932500
Thank you for providing the look up information to get me started. I have to say as a Brit, I do not have much faith in the BBC anymore. I always take into account who published the article and their motive. However, I do know someone who has family in Columbia so I will ask them about it. Thanks again.
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Post by David Horta Alonso »

I was intrigued by the discussion on lifespan. I think its just a myth that no one today can live beyond 120 years. With good health and proper medication that includes routine exercise, people could live beyond 120 years. There have been cases of individuals surpassing that age limit.
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Post by Helen_Combe »

Britty01 wrote: 17 Aug 2018, 17:52
Thank you for providing the look up information to get me started. I have to say as a Brit, I do not have much faith in the BBC anymore. I always take into account who published the article and their motive. However, I do know someone who has family in Columbia so I will ask them about it. Thanks again.
I’m a Brit too and recently cancelled my TV licence due to lack if faith in the BBC. However, I saw a documentary quite a few years back about how extreme the competition us between the two corporations.
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Post by Helen_Combe »

tarafarah7 wrote: 13 Aug 2018, 14:05
I fully agree with you. The amount of complaining people do about paying taxes, wouldn't even compare to the shock they would be in if we no longer paid them. Unfortunately, many people are more concerned with immediate gratification than the impact this would have on our lives long-term if we didnt.
Nobody likes paying taxes, but I consider them to be the lifeblood of the country. I’m always astonished at how many people are willing to die for their country but won’t support the welfare of their country.
Mind you, I would like more say over what the taxes get spent on. I didn’t see ten billion pound bung to the DUP in order to prop up the conservative government on the manifesto. :evil:
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