The global society is currently at somewhat of an unstable stage. Many different political events are happening all around the world at the moment that will shape civilization for the next few decades. It’s impossible to predict how things might pan out, but it’s important that everyone understands the situations as they are right now. The events and issues mentioned in this article could make or break the countries involved. So, it’s possible that people will see some significant power shifts during the next few years.
North Korea is one of the most fascinating countries in the world according to most experts. That is because it’s an isolated nation that doesn’t seem to have evolved for the last forty years. Those who visit the country claim it’s like traveling back in time to an era best left in the past. However, there is no getting away from the fact that leader Kim Jong Un invested a lot of money in weapons recently. He’s also made some pretty violent threats against Donald Trump and the American people. If the conflict of words descends into war, millions of people could die. Indeed, with Russian and Chinese backing, North Korea could essentially start World War 3.
Britain voting to leave the European Union
The British people recently voted to leave the European Union in a referendum. While experts like Antonio Horta-Osorio from Lloyd’s Bank say the EU will survive, there is a lot of confusion at the moment. Nobody knows how the UK will design their final deal, or whether the country will manage to leave without sending millions in compensation payments. However, the way in which the situation plays out could affect every nation on earth. It’s important to remember that the UK government has a hand in almost every economy on the planet. So, any financial problems could affect less wealthy countries and ruin their trade relations.
France falling victim to hundreds of attacks
Most people will have seen some of the terrorist attacks happening in France since just after Brexit on their TV screens. The people living in Paris and similar areas will only take so much before they begin hitting back. That could mean individuals who identify as Muslim could soon face immense persecution if they choose to reside in France. Indeed, the country has already banned the burka, and far right groups are on the rise. Naziism has once again become a problem in Europe, and many other societies might have to worry if that philosophy begins to spread.
The political situations outlined in this article will shape the future of the planet for the next generation. While it’s important to remain positive, there is no getting away from the fact that things look set to take a turn for the worse. Still, there is always a way to solve problems of that nature without resorting to blood and conflict. It’s down to political leaders to use their intelligence rather than their weight to address those issues for the rest of the people.
There are thousands of motor vehicles on the roads today, and the potential for accidents and fatalities are huge. In 2016, the National Safety Council estimated around 40,000 people lost their lives due to motoring accidents and millions more were injured. Making the road safe is your responsibility. Having a car or a motorbike offers you tremendous freedom and convenience, but if you are an unsafe driver, you are risking the lives of others as well as your own. Safe driving is not only about saving lives. The cost of a road accident can be huge. Not only will there be the potential for medical bills, but you are also liable to pay higher premiums on your insurance. Motorcyclists are at particular risk of being shortchanged and there are law firms who will fight on your side, but your priority should be safer driving before you get into that position. Here are four ways you can be safer on the road.
Take further lessons
There aren’t many people who could call themselves a perfect driver, and those that do are probably being a tad arrogant. We can all do with more practice, especially if we have been driving for a long time and become complacent in our driving standards. Taking a refresher course, such as in defensive driving, will make you a better driver and save money on your car insurance.
Be responsible
You should already know what you shouldn’t do when behind the wheel. Using your phone when driving, getting in your car while under the influence of alcohol, and driving while feeling sleepy, are just some of the ways you are being negligent. There are countless other ways you can behave badly. From speeding to road rage, you need to take greater control of your attitude when out on the road. Other drivers may behave irresponsibly, but you don’t need to follow their actions. Do the right thing, follow the Highway Code, and reduce the risk of an accident through your good behavior.
Keep your car maintained
No matter how good your driving skills, if your car is a potential deathtrap, you are increasing the chances of an accident or fatality. Always keep on top of your car maintenance. Follow this handy checklist to help you take better care of your car. While there may be things you can do yourself, you should still take your car to a qualified technician if you are unsure. At the very least, you need to make sure you get your car serviced annually for your peace of mind.
Buy a safe car
When possible, consider a newer car with the latest safety features. While the cost will be high, you will at least have a better chance at staying safe on the road. However, whatever car you choose, ensure it is roadworthy before purchase. Always hire a technician to check a used car, as there may be potential pitfalls you are unaware of. A brand new car is safer but check online for any known problems that may have occurred with the manufacturer.
Add to Flipboard Magazine. More and more people are realizing just how important it is to care about the environment. Even the smallest change in a person’s life can make the biggest difference. So many people out there don’t bother changing their ways, with the false belief that they can’t make a difference on their own. However, if everybody who thought that made one small change, we’d all be on our way to a healthier, more sustainable planet!
Non-Renewable Resources
There are so many people and even businesses out there that are still using non-renewable resources that are damaging to the environment. Utility companies are one example of this. Every single household needs a utility company, so imagine the difference we could make to the world if we all chose to work with one that was making an effort to be kinder?
One Small Change Can Make A Huge Difference
Making one small change can make a huge difference. Take a shower a couple of times a week rather than a bath every day. Don’t leave the tap running when you wash up and brush your teeth. Memorize what can be recycled and make it your mission to become a recycling junkie! By taking small steps like this each and every day, you can make sure that your efforts are having a positive effect on the environment. There are even things you can do that take a little more effort, if you want to be extra committed to the cause. How about cutting down on meat and dairy products? Working solely with eco-friendly companies? Starting your own compost bin?
Take a look at the infographic below for more information on how being eco-friendly can help businesses:
Photo courtesy of Flickr, under creative commons license
Recently I have had the living shit scared out of me. No, I haven’t been to a haunted house or watched a scary movie. It is all from watching A Handmaid’s Tale on Hulu. It’s simple. People honestly sit in our government that think somewhat similar and no matter how much you try to admonish this upon their supporters, the votes will still come.
You see it constantly. Not one person reading this can say they haven’t at least opened a thread on a Facebook discussion (political argument) and thought, “Holy shit, this is nuts.”
Why did you think that? Because facts are gone, stats are now a lie and every person in the U.S. has an excuse that makes them the expert. They are right and no one else is. In a country where roadside billboards nationwide now have signs that say, “There is Evidence for God” and urge you to call 855-for-truth, anything is now possible. Conspiracy theories are accepted, Alex Jones is a patriotic American and science is a lie. (bonus: 104 Actual Headlines from Alex Jones’ InfoWars
We’re headed to a special kind of hell that is of our own doing. Where the real Hell never existed, the believers thought it best to subconsciously create one. Their hypocrisy is non-existent with the new logic of America and their sins can easily be forgiven with a prayer and a vote for Fuhrer Trump. It doesn’t matter if you think, or attempt to do so, only that you stand for the Pledge.
It makes perfect sense that we have ended up here. A high standard of living, unrivaled power, constant marketing, materialism, entitlement, multi-level marketing, an Internet of echo chambers, polarized politics, biblical literalism, hidden racism, easy outs and a the political mythotainment complex that began with the first actor president, 37 years ago, have made us the bastard nation of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. The rest of the world is looking at us in utter disbelief and still, a very large percentage of our population, with zero world view, believes they absolutely know more. They know so much and are so patriotic that they might even tell certain people to leave the country and never come back if someone has so much as questioned.
That the country once achieved such highs and is now moving backwards, has become the justification to suspend all ability to think. As the US enters the unthinkable territory of becoming the first poor superpower, with male longevity actually falling, household incomes falling against inflation for 40 years and economic disparity equal to a third world country, the myths associated with a country that once was are easy to grasp for many than tackling policy failures. A hat that says, “Make America Great Again” is easier than admitting we have been sold a line of bullshit.
The rise of Trump has given them a renewed sense of power and being on the right side of history. Suddenly, moving to the right of the highway shoulder by 400 feet means you sit exactly in the center. Anyone near the center or that ever bothered to take a logic class, is now a Commie. Na Zdorovie!
So, let’s get to the point. Here is a list of every argument that reaffirms the rest of us shouldn’t even bother anymore:
Fake News
We must start with the new rally cry of the right. What started as phenomenon of kids from Macedonia making bank from stories designed to trick and incense conservatives, has been turned back around by them. It is the new supplement for the term main stream media. One could ask if the inverse term of alternative media is now the purveyor of real news, but we all know that the articles written at a fifth-grade level about PizzaGate and the 30,000 scientists that dispute global warming, will always win.
Recently, even Fox News had a rash of social media proclamations against it as a purveyor of fake news. Why? Their latest poll showed Donald Trump at a 40% approval rating.
The argument is now so simple. If they don’t like what it says, it is fake. Only a news source that continually tells them what they want can be real.
Of course, it was the largest inauguration ever. The pictures were faked by a news media that doesn’t want to admit to our new President’s popularity.
Even worse, you can include an actual Trump tweet to show his Moron-In-Chief for what he is and even that will be called fake news.
Hey. I don’t like the thought of climate change wrecking my kid’s future, but that doesn’t mean I get to call it a hoax.
Alternative Facts
Ok. What the hell is an alternative to a fact? Believe it or not, the alternative to a fact is a lie. That this term has ever been used, even once, shows that the US is now subject to a world where stupidity is in charge and anything can be real. Will we outlaw the teaching of evolution soon as well?
Tit – for Tat Arguments
For years the Fox News crowd was given scandal after scandal, whether they existed or not, about our former President. They were told he was constantly ignoring the Constitution and breaking the law. The Article “Criminal In Chief” — 78 Times President Obama Broke The Law During Presidency, lists such egregious activities as trying to shut down family farms, proposing military intervention in Syria, “illegally” didn’t submit a budget on time and this laughable list goes on and on with offenses that either never happened or aren’t offenses in the first place. Many things listed as horrific on this list, pale in comparison to actions of the new President in less than 6 months. The Trump supporters will believe everything in their search for reaffirmation of the ego.
The common argument is that if Obama had done so many horrific things, surely Trump can be excused for his misdeeds. After all, Trump is going to defend the Constitution where Obama was trying to destroy it to found a Communist utopia.
Well people, regardless of what you think Barack Obama did, Trump is President now. You long ago showed us that a higher standard wasn’t what you wanted with the election of a vile human being. No, you’ll create any past act that justifies current actions despite how unconstitutional and ridiculous they might be. In fact, some of you justify the current racist sentiments as a valid response to the “horrors” you were subjected to for 8 years.
There is no point arguing this either.
Common Sense
It is so painful when one of them says, “You can have all your facts and stats, but I have common sense.” The reasoning behind this is that stats can be manipulated to fit the narrative but what this country has been lacking is common sense, despite that people with common sense actually would use good data.
Obtaining this common sense is apparently the function of hours of reading and watching news and commentary sources that frequently abuse the living shit out of actual data to achieve their points.
So… no matter how often you quote an actual stat or fact, it doesn’t matter. Obviously, you have no “common sense”.
Walk away and save your breath.
Science is Your Religion
Seriously? Is their “common sense” unable to distinguish between a religion and science? When was the last time you saw a peer reviewed paper discussing how many times someone in the old testament lived to be older than 500?
This is the de facto argument from someone that is religious, their religion supersedes good governance and everything else in the world is out to destroy their way of life. Their reasoning, or lack of it, has a Christian country being destroyed and the scientists are in on it. A belief in scientific tenants at odds with their religion is not only an attack but also indicates the presence of an evil liberal.
Isn’t it funny that science process seeks to correct itself while religion and politics often mean doubling down on what already hasn’t been working? Science can be neither a religion or a political conviction. It’s simply science and it doesn’t care what you believe.
Recent discussions observed online even have the Trumpanistas disavowing math. Seriously math? If math didn’t exist as a universal constant, neither would we.
Once again, no amount of logic or facts will work here. They are impervious.
Universities are Hotbeds of Communism (i.e. the educated should be dismissed for their bias)
Yes, it has happened. Experts don’t matter and education is now an indicator of stupidity. Those with degrees lack common sense, are indoctrinated, think they know it all and only argue points that fit their political bent.
Every single authoritarian movement has needed to marginalize the educated elite to maintain the populism and centralized control of the movement. The US is now following this trend.
The everyman is reaffirmed in that they aren’t “brainwashed”.
Your degree and background means nothing with this crowd. Any expertise you have is a waste. They know how science works, understand economics and have a lock on their revised history.
Another instance of wasted breath is upon us.
You’re Just Another Snowflake, Mad that Hillary Won
No jackass, the election is long over. I am mad that my kid’s future is being destroyed. That’s the extent of the argument. They’ll believe that is the case regardless though.
Walk again
The list of logical and argumentative fallacies (isn’t cool I included a list of them?) goes on and on. There are straw man arguments, anecdotal evidence, false correlations, arguments of false consequences, etc. No debate judge is sitting there to show them they are wrong and even if there were, they wouldn’t accept it in any case.
This is America now. Our exclamations are wasted on the new experts of everything. A Ph.D means nothing. Critical thinking is dismissed. The crowd that thinks an open window wastes the air conditioning even if it is colder outside, has won.
For now
A professor of history told me prior to the election that if Trump won he would kick back in his easy chair and watch the destruction. He knew the secret; that there would be no fix or argument until everything fell apart.
The world has changed and those of our ilk know the proposals of Trump are only detrimental to supporters. He can’t do what he promised. You can’t bring back jobs automated away. One cannot defeat an ideology. The workings of checks and balances restrain him for now.
20 percent of Trump supporters will always support him. The rest might eventually be up for grabs.
So, the art of the argument is dead. It gave way to the fake Art of the Deal. They believe their extremism is center right and nothing will change that.
Forget the argument. Keep it civil at the bar.
Our moment comes when we all turn out in 2018. Let’s expend our energy on motivating everyone that knows better when the time comes.
Sit back, watch the destruction, leave them with nothing to assuage their ego and get ready to act in less than 18 months.
No memes were harmed in the making of this article.
Pixabay Add to Flipboard Magazine. There are a lot of things you need when you’re developing a business. And one of those things is a lawsuit.
…wait, no. A lawsuit is what you definitely don’t need. So make sure you don’t get sued. This should be fairly easy if you make sure your business is friendly with the law! Here are some of the key elements you should keep in mind.
Intellectual property law
There is a lot of controversy surrounding intellectual property laws; a lot of people seem to think they shouldn’t exist at all because they stifle creativity. But there are two facts we need to consider: 1) they’re partly responsible for many of the innovations that made our society so wealthy and technologically advanced, and 2) regardless of your opinion on them, they’re law! You need to ensure you’re not violating intellectual property law whenever you’ve brainstorming a new product or service. You also need to make sure your own ideas are protected! You can visit https://www.thoughtco.com/turning-an-invention-idea-into-money-p2-1991741 if you need to know more about protecting your ideas with patents.
Employee problems
Employers like to think they know pretty much everything that’s going on among their employees; at least, if there’s a problem, then they assume they would hear about it. But this isn’t necessarily the case. A lot of employees tend to keep problems among themselves instead of reporting them to the boss. This can create serious issues if those problems turn out to be more severe than initially thought. Having an HR department is essential. You can read more about this at http://www.media-gypsy.com/2017/02/21/turn-your-hr-into-a-major-asset/. Employees will feel more comfortable reporting issues in varying size to an HR department instead of directly to their boss. This can ensure problems are solved much quicker!
When you own a business, you’re going to sign a tremendous amount of contracts. There will be contracts between you and the creditors who gave you a business loan. The contract you signed with the landlord who leased you the office space you’re using. Then there are all the contracts you signed with all of your employees! So you have a lot of obligations to a lot of parties. Because there are so many contracts going around, there’s always the risk that you won’t even remember all the obligations. But if you don’t fulfill contractual obligations to any given party, then you’re at risk of getting a big, fat lawsuit getting thrown at your feet. You can read http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/8724-small-business-lawsuit-tips.html if you want to know how to deal with that, but it’s really best if you prevent it from happening at all.
There’s more – like, a lot more
The world of business is complex. The world of law is complex. Put them together and you’re not exactly left with something simple. It can be a headache trying to keep it all in your head, but it’s to the benefit of you and your business that you do. You need legal protection as you build your business, so research it as much as possible and get help when you need it.
Photo Source Add to Flipboard Magazine. If modern politics were not so consumed with petty bipartisan squabbles and the sorts of controversies that 24 hour a day news cycles rely on, then perhaps more attention would be paid to some of the issues that are require change. The problems facing the world right now are not just of a domestic character. International aid is a contentious subject, but when you consider that 130,000,000 girls are not in education, you start to realise that more money and time needs to spent on conditions around the world. As a point of reference, if just these girls were a country of their own, it would be the tenth largest in the world. However, education is not quite as impressive as it could be in so-called developed nations either. Research conducted by U.S Department of Education in 2013 found that 32 million adults in the United States cannot read (which is about 14% of the total population). This is not functional illiteracy either. A massive 21% can read to only a fifth-grade level with 19% of high school graduates not being able to read. Another crucial issue that affects everyone around the world is the availability of energy and the efficacy of generating it.
For educated adults, some of whom were elected to political office, to continue to deny the existence of global warming and climate change in the face of the ostensibly overwhelming evidence is simply embarrassing. However, truth is not a democracy and the planet will continue to become warmer whether those people believe in it or not. The problem with their obstinacy is that it will hinder the efforts to ameliorate the human impact on the environment. Unless everyone is serious about doing their part, humanity may be condemned to learn the consequences of their actions the hard way. The reality is that as individuals, there is only so much that you can do but it is your responsibility to do it. If you run a business and you are concerned about your environmental impact, here are a few things that you should consider:
Whether your company uses Independent power systems or the national grid, wasting energy is not good. It harms the environment, and it is a great way to waste your own money too. A better alternative is to generate your own energy using solar technology. Depending on the model and the weather conditions, you can expect to comfortably have made all your money back within ten years. You may also be able to sell any excess energy that you do not use yourself, and the system could actually help you make a profit.
Another thing that you should do if you recognize that some aspects of your business are unavoidably polluting the earth is to invest in carbon offsetting projects. This may mean helping communities in poorer parts of the world with cookstoves or with finding clean water. You could also contribute towards planting trees and help to reverse the ugly and dangerous effects of deforestation.
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