Gas Bandit's Political Thread II

[JCM]

According to a recent Rasmussen poll, 34% of Americans believe that they can't earn a living without government help.

Fuck.

If the poll is even within a 10+- error margin of the real opinion of all americans , thats fucked up.
Now I can see why Gas is so bitter.

 

[Futureking]

A state housing agency in Minnesota is launching a new program to offer Islamic mortgages to home owners. Let a state agency offer Christian mortgages and the ACLU will pop a gasket.

As a guy who studied banking, I'll sum up Islamic banking.
1) No investing or lending to sinful industries. That sums up alcohol and gambling industries, and pig farmers. The list goes on.
2) No risky stuff. But risk is subjective, so its a grey-ish area.
3) No interest. Because it is evil, according to Islam.

As a workaround to the "no interest" rule for Muslims, all they do is just buy the house and sell it to them at a jacked up price. Nothing special. Done correctly, its even better than plain old interest income.

 

[JCM]

A state housing agency in Minnesota is launching a new program to offer Islamic mortgages to home owners. Let a state agency offer Christian mortgages and the ACLU will pop a gasket.

As a guy who studied banking, I'll sum up Islamic banking.
1) No investing or lending to sinful industries. That sums up alcohol and gambling industries, and pig farmers. The list goes on.
2) No risky stuff. But risk is subjective, so its a grey-ish area.
3) No interest. Because it is evil, according to Islam.

As a workaround to the "no interest" rule for Muslims, all they do is just buy the house and sell it to them at a jacked up price. Nothing special.

Or do like in Malaysia, charge you huge processing fees.

 

[Futureking]

A state housing agency in Minnesota is launching a new program to offer Islamic mortgages to home owners. Let a state agency offer Christian mortgages and the ACLU will pop a gasket.

As a guy who studied banking, I'll sum up Islamic banking.
1) No investing or lending to sinful industries. That sums up alcohol and gambling industries, and pig farmers. The list goes on.
2) No risky stuff. But risk is subjective, so its a grey-ish area.
3) No interest. Because it is evil, according to Islam.

As a workaround to the "no interest" rule for Muslims, all they do is just buy the house and sell it to them at a jacked up price. Nothing special.

Or do like in Malaysia, charge you huge processing fees.

It happens. If you can't get interest income, you need income from some other source. Especially when Muslims make up more than half of the population.

Some banks just decided to slap a new label on the word "interest" and call it something else, like "Return on Loan/Investment". Technically, interest income and processing fees make up the ROI in a loan. So, the term is not entirely wrong.

But of course, the average borrower knows close to nothing of finance terminology. Don't ask. Don't tell.

 

[Iaculus]

The Prime Minister from the UK came to visit Barack Obama last week. That didn't go over too well. Apparently Obama was suffering from exhaustion from handling our economic crisis.

Heh heh heh... poor old Gordo. He just can't catch a break, can he?

 

Oh, Gas! You missed a GREAT one!

Plans to refurbish Trident nuclear weapons had to be put on hold because US scientists forgot how to manufacture a component of the warhead.

The making of it was such a secret nobody knows how it was done.

 

[Dieb]

* Durbin wrote an amendment to a Senate bill that would force the FCC to "take actions to encourage and promote diversity in communication media ownership and to ensure that broadcast station licenses are used in the public interest." And Nancy Pelosi agrees. She says, "Diversity in media ownership is very, very, important." So what are they going to do, confiscate radio stations owned by white people and give them to deserving minorities?

I don't know if you're being sarcastic here, but just in case you aren't.....no, "diversity" here doesn't mean race. It means having rules that prohibit companies from gaining monopolies in local media markets. For example, Clear Channel buying up all the radio stations in one city. Or having a market where all the tv stations and the newspaper are owned by one company. That sort of thing.

Are you ready for the battle? Healthcare is taking center stage in Washington. Say hello to complete government dependence, sheeple!

You actually used the word "sheeple"? Are you TRYING to have no relavence?

Hugo Chavez wants Barack Obama to follow the path of socialism in leading the US out of this economic crisis. Hugo needs to pay more attention. Obama is already on that path.

Yes, Barack Obama wants to restore Clinton-era tax levels! Oh my God, that's SOCIALIST!!!

 

[GasBandit]

I don't know if you're being sarcastic here, but just in case you aren't.....no, "diversity" here doesn't mean race. It means having rules that prohibit companies from gaining monopolies in local media markets. For example, Clear Channel buying up all the radio stations in one city. Or having a market where all the tv stations and the newspaper are owned by one company. That sort of thing.

Which is kind of odd, seeing as how clear channel sold off a bunch of stations and local media monopoly isn't much of a problem any more.

You actually used the word "sheeple"? Are you TRYING to have no relavence?

C'mon, the other side got to use it so much during the previous 8 years, and it looked so fun! I just thought I'd take it for a spin.

Yes, Barack Obama wants to restore Clinton-era tax levels! Oh my God, that's SOCIALIST!!!

Maybe it wouldn't be, if that was the only thing he was doing.

 

[makare]

You actually used the word "sheeple"? Are you TRYING to have no relavence?

C'mon, the other side got to use it so much during the previous 8 years, and it looked so fun! I just thought I'd take it for a spin.

Well, if your goal in life is to never be any better than "the other side" I guess that is a fine way to go about it.

If I do not like the way someone does something I actively try not to emulate that behavior. I guess I am strange.

 

[Lamont]

I spend most of my forum time on the Tenth Planet sub-section of the Doctor Who Forum. And I suddenly realised that Gas Bandit's head would explode if he ever went there.

 

[GasBandit]

I spend most of my forum time on the Tenth Planet sub-section of the Doctor Who Forum. And I suddenly realised that Gas Bandit's head would explode if he ever went there.

Probably. I can't stand doctor who fanboyism in progress.