Debates has gone down hill

@moonbus said
When my wife-to-be was a teenager, she spent a year as an exchange student with a family in Iowa. They were wonderful people, friendly, welcoming, they were still in contact with her decades later -- and thoroughly provincial. They asked her whether there were refrigerators in the country she came from (Germany). No kidding, they really did not know. Fertilizer for brains. Ho ...[text shortened]... did[/i] they put a man on the moon??





Oh, wait . . . some of them don't believe they did.

@zahlanzi said
THEY didn't. A few smart americans did. They just get to feel proud and cocky about the accomplishments of a few great people (many of whom were immigrants).

It's the american way: trumpet all the accomplishments the country did, ignore the failings. Now whenever someone says something is wrong he is shouted down as unpatriotic.

Our country! In her intercourse with foreign nations, may she always be in the right, but our country, right or wrong!

@moonbus said
1. Somebody lied/ the govt cannot be trusted.
2. The Russians did not meddle in the 2016 election.
3. Somebody did meddle in the 2020 election.

Isn't there something else to talk about here?

@eladar said
When was debates ever a placed of actual topics and not simply a place go express opinion and belittle people?

@Zahlanzi

You don't even play chess here so who gives a damn if you leave?

@contenchess said
@Zahlanzi

You don't even play chess here so who gives a damn if you leave?

@zahlanzi said
yeh, the chess playing is suuuper important in this forum. The arguments one makes is directly tied to the amount of moves he played lately.

@zahlanzi said
when Vivify and I disagree, we don't belittle each other. When sonhouse and No1 disagree, they don't belittle each other.

We belittle you, joe, mott and whoever patzering is now. We belittle you because you hold abject views. Morally repugnant views. And since this forum is a joke anyway, since people get banned for saying naughty words but not outright homophobia like ...[text shortened]... ventually we will probably do just that. This forum is never going back to what it was 10 years ago.

Take mchill with you.

@eladar said
Conservatives belittle you.

@zahlanzi said
I am fine with that 😀

Aside from sh76 (sometimes) not one of them ever presented an argument to make me go "hmm, maybe i am not right on the money on this, i better do some reading and expand my knowledge". You never did. Average joe, bless his heart, proudly declares he "doesn't have to research a subject to have an opinion on it". Why on earth would i be offended by the opinion of a person i think so little of?

Top 10 Facts about Living Conditions in Romania. Compared to 23.5 percent of Europeans, about 25 percent of Romanians were considered to be at risk of poverty in 2016, including over half of all people living in rural areas. This rate is higher for adults supporting children at 42.5 percent, particularly single parents at 58.2 percent. An estimated 22 percent of the population already live below the poverty line.Factors including overcrowding, environmental disturbances like pollution, noise or violence and difficulties keeping homes heated have been measured in Romania by the European Commission. Sixty percent of Romanians live in detached houses with one room per person, with 96 percent of those owning their own home. However, in 2016, 13.8 percent of Romanians reported being unable to heat these homes and 20 percent of the population lives without an improved source of sanitation.Economic growth of 4 percent was recorded in 2018, down from 7 percent increase the year before, mostly due to slowing foreign investment. Consumption among the Romanian people has helped the economy, rising rapidly due to decreased taxes, alongside exports and trade with EU member states that opened up after Romania joined the EU in 2007. Corruption and slow restructuring following liberation from communism in 1989 have withheld real economic stability.Average household income in 2016 was about $3,300, a massive increase from about $700 in 2001. Household spending has also increased, from $1,900 in 2006 to $2,800 per capita within 10 years. These increases have likely resulted from Romania’s economic growth, successful exports to the EU and the complete removal of income tax on low-income pensioners, allowing for greater disposable income for older people in particular, who make up most of Romania’s population.The unemployment rate has declined to 3.7 percent in 2018 from 7.2 percent in 2010. However, the youth unemployment rate is dramatically higher, at 16.8 percent, likely contributing to massive youth migration that search work and better living opportunities. It should be noted, however, that employment does not prevent individuals from becoming at risk of poverty. Over 20 percent of Romanian men and 15 percent of women considered at risk in 2016 were employed.Romanians experience the fourth highest rate of severe material deprivation in Europe. In 2016, 23.8 percent of Romanians could not afford at least four out of nine necessary material items set by the EU, compared to 7.5 percent of Europeans. Necessary materials include a complete meal every two days, paying for unexpected expenses, an annual vacation, adequate heating, a car, washing machine, color television, telephone and paying for routine bills.Groups like the estimated 2.4 million Roma people in the country suffer a higher rate of poverty than the ethnic majority. They have been historically persecuted and enslaved and continue to suffer prejudice. Around 42 percent of Roma cannot afford health care and suffer from increased exposure to diseases of poverty. Employment for Roma is estimated at only 42 percent for males and 19 percent for females, compared to over 60 percent employment among the general Romanian population. Many Roma people are subject to human rights abuses, including forced eviction, with little social welfare assistance to fall back on.Only 7.2 percent of Romanians reported having bad or very bad health in 2016 compared to 8.8 percent of other EU citizens. UNAIDS estimated in 2017 that 16,000 Romanians were living with HIV/AIDS, many as a result of poor hygiene practices that led to an AIDS epidemic in the 1990s. The overall population has a life expectancy at birth of about 75 years, just below the European average of 79 years.Emigration to neighboring countries and more prosperous European nations like the U.K., Italy and Germany has been significant since the 1990s. An estimated 3.9 million Romanians live outside their native country, leading to a consistently declining population. The Romanian economy is currently suffering from a shortage of skilled laborers and dwindling supply of young workers, prompting initiatives by the Romanian government to draw its citizens back into the country with incentives for reintegration.Many nonprofit organizations have worked in Romania since the fall of communism in 1989 to help the nation restructure and better serve its people. Habitat for Humanity has worked in Romania since the 1990s, serving 58,000 families and helping to replace crumbling communist-era apartment blocks, install plumbing and access to water. UNICEF works with the Romanian government and other organizations to create support networks for Romanians living with AIDS and to fund HIV/AIDS research. Several World Bank projects are also underway, including reimbursable projects to restructure Romania’s social welfare systems and provide higher quality education and health care.

Romania is currently one of the most underdeveloped nations of the European Union. Due to this reason, many young people are leaving the country, in search of work and better living conditions. However, various nongovernmental organization and government are working to improve the living conditions for the young people and other citizens of the country.

– Marissa Field

@contenchess said
Here's one for you.

When the USA is worse than Romania you can judge.

@zahlanzi said
when Vivify and I disagree, we don't belittle each other. When sonhouse and No1 disagree, they don't belittle each other.

We belittle you, joe, mott and whoever patzering is now. We belittle you because you hold abject views. Morally repugnant views. And since this forum is a joke anyway, since people get banned for saying naughty words but not outright homophobia like ...[text shortened]... ventually we will probably do just that. This forum is never going back to what it was 10 years ago.

@mott-the-hoople said
“ . And since this forum is a joke anyway, since people get banned for saying naughty words but not outright homophobia like the mott did just a few days ago,”


funny how the truth slips out isnt it?