Donald Trump for President Thread

[SNova]

?? who are you wanting to win?

I will always back the nationalist over the globalist.

 

[neil999]

I will always back the nationalist over the globalist.

ddint realise you were so single issue...

 

[magicjuan]

Cable news is a complete disaster and should be abolished. No matter which channel you watch it makes you dumber and less informed. They chase sensationalist stories with no real substance for ratings and prioritize entertainment over news. They are a huge contributor to our broken media system.

Just like the 'Liverpool' echo....

 

[abelard]

Aye, the MOOC thing is an interesting one. With regards to the drop out rate, I suppose there are a number of unknowns with that. Firstly, we don't really know what motivated someone to enroll (or indeed leave). It could have been curiosity, it could have been a particular module and so on. Not doing the whole thing needn't mean that value hasn't been gained from it, it's just the only really metric we have from the traditional model as certification = proof that you learned something.

I know there have been a couple of experiments with the model that have had much better success rates in terms of completion. I can't remember the name of the institution, but there's a masters in computer science delivered ala MOOC, and it costs a grand or something as opposed to > 10k, and the completion rate is very high, with those that do 'drop out' tending to return to finish it when the circumstances that caused them to fall behind clear up. What's more, the grades achieved were very comparable with the physical course.

So it's not impossible, but I do agree completely about the fluff that surrounds many universities, although I suspect British institutions are much better at that than American ones. The amount US institutions spend on sports teams is insane, but then the money they make from college sports is equally insane.

Of course, another failing with MOOCs to date. No, failing denotes they've done something to cause it. Another interesting thing with MOOCs to date is that they've mainly attracted college educated people. Despite ostensibly offering free access to college level tuition, few of those who enroll lack a degree already. If you're being optimistic then you could say that folks just aren't aware of what's out there and they'd jump on them if they were. If you're being pessimistic you could say that folks are well aware of what's out there but prefer to shift the blame for their circumstances onto someone else. As with most things, I suspect the answer is somewhere in between.

it is certainly worth looking into, and given the financial stakes, it will be looked into, though more likely as a replacement for the traditional model rather than a supplement.

for what its worth, i have taught at prisons before, on 18th century southeast asia, of all things, and there is something qualitatively different about being in a room together than is very difficult to replicate remotely, which i've also experienced. not that you could ever quantify it to the satisfaction of decision-makers, but the sense of being part of a community really seems to motivate interest and participation.

technology tends to defy even the most committed moral authorities and policy-makers though, and i could easily imagine my concerns seeming very quaint some day, even i'm right to sense that something important has been lost.

 

[SNova]

ddint realise you were so single issue...

I see it as the main political battle taking place in the west.

 

[neil999]

I see it as the main political battle taking place in the west.

europes very different to america politically, cant see it..

 

[SNova]

europes very different to america politically, cant see it..

I predict Austria and the Netherlands will elect the nationalists.
Not sue about Germany. The migrant crisis might push them to the nationalist.
I think the main parties in France will come together to stop Le Pen.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

I predict Austria and the Netherlands will elect the nationalists.
Not sue about Germany. The migrant crisis might push them to the nationalist.
I think the main parties in France will come together to stop Le Pen.

Must not invoke Godwin's Law
Must not invoke Godwin's Law
Must not invoke Godwin's Law
Must not invoke Godwin's Law
Must not invoke Godwin's Law
....

 

[Whistlin' Dixie]

It annoys Clint no end, but I actually think we already have a tonne of ways of learning for hardly any money. If you think of what a university actually is. You have lectures where you listen to someone speak, well we have a shed load of free video lectures online, whether on YouTube, MOOCs and so on. You also have the free courseware provided by MIT et al so that course materials are freely available.

You might then have books and the knowledge contained within. Now I'm a bookworm, but I'd gladly admit that I could probably get 99% of what I get from books for free online. When you add in that a growing volume of research papers are open access, there is no real shortage of learning material out there for free.

You also get collaborations with colleagues and assignments. This isn't quite so easy to replicate, but I know many MOOCs have local offline study groups where you get together with your peers in the real world, so it's doable.

The assignments, and accreditation, is a trickier thing. I suspect this is doable, but universities can charge high fees in large part due to the exclusivity around accreditation, so I can't see them giving that up any time soon, but whether that is the best signal to say you know stuff I'm not so sure.

The thing is, in my discussions with folks in government, they're not promoting this whatsoever to those who are out of work. Indeed, they didn't even know such things existed, and this despite the fact that the organization behind one such channel was on the envoy to India with Teresa May this week.

I guess that's the frustrating thing. It isn't 'that' hard to do a lot better than we are currently.

All very well - if you've got the time, the moolah, and are commitment-free, Bruce.

For example the unemployed & PT workers... They have to spend a minimum of 30 hours per week looking for (more/better paid in the case of PT workers) work - kids or not. Then you have people (working or not) what have no other access to the interwebz other than the local library; where you only get an half hour free and then pay an hourly rate....And libraries are being hit by austerity cuts.

The unemployed used to get a training grant if they were out of work for 3 (Or 6 months IIRC). They got scrapped for being 'too expensive' leaving people to rot & then blaming them for not being able to find jobs that they couldn't get, because all these quango's demanded tickets for the most basic of jobs. So now they stop people's dole for being unemployed - and that helps access, doesn't it?

If you really want to get to the root of these problems, Bruce - speak to the people these problems affect and take it on board - not the people who are imposing the ridiculous and barely deliverable restrictions on them to fulfill an ideology, as you seem to have the same comprehensive, one-size-fits-all approach as those Government departments you speak to.

 

[1966efc]

I predict Austria and the Netherlands will elect the nationalists.
Not sue about Germany. The migrant crisis might push them to the nationalist.
I think the main parties in France will come together to stop Le Pen.

I'm not clear that the history of German nationalism is hugely encouraging.

Must not invoke Godwin's Law
Must not invoke Godwin's Law
Must not invoke Godwin's Law
Must not invoke Godwin's Law
Must not invoke Godwin's Law
....

Allow me.

 

[neil999]

I see it as the main political battle taking place in the west.

why is nationalism a good idea?

 

[SNova]

I'm not clear that the history of German nationalism is hugely encouraging.



Allow me.

If a Hitler did come to power you can blame the likes of Merkel.

why is nationalism a good idea?

I use the term nationalist in a loose sense. I'm reffering to patriotic people who believe in the nation.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

All very well - if you've got the time, the moolah, and are commitment-free, Bruce.

For example the unemployed & PT workers... They have to spend a minimum of 30 hours per week looking for (more/better paid in the case of PT workers) work - kids or not. Then you have people (working or not) what have no other access to the interwebz other than the local library; where you only get an half hour free and then pay an hourly rate....And libraries are being hit by austerity cuts.

The unemployed used to get a training grant if they were out of work for 3 (Or 6 months IIRC). They got scrapped for being 'too expensive' leaving people to rot & then blaming them for not being able to find jobs that they couldn't get, because all these quango's demanded tickets for the most basic of jobs. So now they stop people's dole for being unemployed - and that helps access, doesn't it?

If you really want to get to the root of these problems, Bruce - speak to the people these problems affect and take it on board - not the people who are imposing the ridiculous and barely deliverable restrictions on them to fulfill an ideology, as you seem to have the same comprehensive, one-size-fits-all approach as those Government departments you speak to.

I haven't said it's the only solution, I said it's a free option that isn't being used much at all at the moment. According to the ONS, 89% of British households have Internet access, which I suspect is a higher proportion than have a higher education college within walking distance. It's quite probably not an answer for everyone, but equally it may well be for someone.

 

[dholliday]

aye, i made one single post under the profilename "unblinkered" and started a thread asking why they hate so much. it got a couple hundred responses, none of which i replied to but it made interesting (if often distasteful) reading as to how their minds tick and also the variations of extreme opinion. i got banned soon after.

mayhap the thread still survives but as you say it's a dirty place and there's no need for most of us to sully ourselves in that way.

still, these are real and numerous people and they vote. we have to find some way to communicate with them.

Most probably were. Never been there, no desire to go there, but you were doing God's work. Still, if you go, go prepared, and clean up after.

When someone points at obvious racists and makes associations that link genuine non-racists to them by common association with some candidate or platform or policy that the obvious racists are clearly using opportunistically to promote their racial theories, you cut yourself off from those non-racists who are still willing to communicate. Seeing those guys in your corner isn't a happy event, but focusing solely on the virulence of the haters to peel off support from members of polite society has its limits. It is easy to peel off support (or admission of support) by said association. The cost is low, it is very effective in today's society, and it is self-reinforcing. Most people have no desire to stand up to that heat for fear of being labelled, and I think you have to be pretty secure in your own beliefs to even try to make any other point against that effort that doesn't consist of virtue signalling as fast as possible to avoid the taint of association. By indulging yourself in this way against people of good will, you throw the baby out with the bath water.

When it is aimed at me, my instinct is to hold up a mirror and ask the accuser what he or she sees now.

You may think you are doing God's work, but in doing so you can often miss the point that is hidden behind the racial facade. That said, seeing the self-described "race realists" around is a lot like finding you've stepped into a giant pile of doggie doo on your way to Lourdes for the cure.

It is just as unsavoury as it sounds.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

If a Hitler did come to power you can blame the likes of Merkel.



I use the term nationalist in a loose sense. I'm reffering to patriotic people who believe in the nation.

So if AN Politician decided in a few years to exterminate a whole bunch of Muslims, it would be people who welcomed Muslims to settle in Europe rather than the hate filled people who voted for politicians who wanted to remove them?

Well, that takes passing the buck to a whole new level.