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What Dreams May Come

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Re: What Dreams May Come

#221

Post by saalweachter »

theknown99 wrote: post #112
saalweachter wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

6. You're expressing yesterday's fear. Population growth in the first world is stable, low, or even negative. We currently have no reason to believe that the third world's population growth won't do the same. Current projections for peak world population are "a little bit larger than now" instead of "trillions and trillions", and the problems of providing for them indefinitely "surmountable".

* Population growth in the first world is stable, low, or even negative. A quick google search shows that whilst population was pretty stable in UK in the 80s, since then it's been steadily rising. Growth is now 0.75% a year. But that growth rate is deceptive. Look at https://www.google.co.uk/publicdata/explore?ds=d5bncppjof8f9... But that growth rate is deceptive - it "looks" low. But if you check the absolute numbe…

The fertility rate in the UK is below 2.0.

The US has a similar story, fertility rate below 2.0 plus migration from the third world results in net population growth, even though the population of the US is no longer "exploding".

Re: What Dreams May Come

#222

Post by woobar »

arethuza wrote: post #23
girvo wrote: post #3

I feel nothing but sympathy for Jonathan. I can barely imagine the pain he and his family would be going through :( What are the medical costs for someone with terminal cancer in the USA? I assume they're pretty astronomical, so I can understand why he'd ask for help (I'm donating myself). In terms of his house and the like, I was always led to believe that life insurance was specifically for cases like his? Is life…

It seems pretty common for employers to offer life cover in the UK (my wife has critical illness cover as well) - I have 4x annual salary from my employer, my wife has 3x from hers. We also both have additional personal life cover for at least 6x annual salary. This doesn't seem excessive cover to me - maybe because we are in our 40s with kids (and knowing people who have died and having close relatives who are termi…

A lot of US employers do same. But it is not a good idea to put all your eggs in one basket.

Any case similar to OP will become problematic. When you get terminally ill you will eventually lose your job. Thanks to COBRA you can keep health insurance, but not the life, disability and long-term care insurance plans. And getting new term life policy at this stage is not really an option.

Re: What Dreams May Come

#223

Post by renata »

hueving wrote: post #188
Blahah wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's true only in the specific case of HIV in the USA - the funding in the USA for cancer vs HIV is about right for the global number of deaths from those diseases. Especially if you consider that cancer is showing no sign of being a curable problem, while HIV is. For other diseases - malaria, dengue, hepatitis, typhoid etc., not to mention malnutrition - global spending is massively disporportionate in favour of c…

>Especially if you consider that cancer is showing no sign of being a curable problem, while HIV is. "We haven't found a solution to this problem" is possibly the worst reason I've ever heard to cut back on research.

Surely at some point it makes sense to cut your losses and redirect funding to research on other diseases. It's just an ROI calculation.

Re: What Dreams May Come

#224

Post by gress »

adventured wrote: post #45
sneak wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We spend most of our lives, terminal or not, "worrying about" money. That's the beauty (or perhaps tragedy to some people) of a capitalist society. We are driven by our metric for value. It's not a bad thing.

Has absolutely nothing to do with Capitalism. It's core to existence for any living thing. The need to create value, be productive, acquire food, trade for something, and so on, to sustain one's self. No matter what you are, if you're living, you have to do this, or someone else has to do it for you. If you live in a society where the government, or church, or ... whatever entity, provides everything for you, that st…

'Creating value' is a capitalist concept, as is 'being productive.

Re: What Dreams May Come

#225

Post by scottjad »

stefantalpalaru wrote: post #30

So the house you purchased and the van you upgraded to are not yours, disposing of your body costs more than a car, visiting family means you have to stay in a hotel, the basic survival needs of your wife and four children are not guaranteed and you want to visit Disneyland and meet celebrities before you die? Capitalism is beautiful.

Capitalism is beautiful. It's the reason someone built the home that his family lives in. It's the reason why the resources and technologies to build that home were used for that purpose instead of another. It's the reason why people loaned him money to buy that home. It's the reason people built his van instead of something else. It's the reason a stranger is willing to dispose of his body. It's the reason cremation is so affordable if they choose that option.

Capitalism is the reason there will be a hotel with a room available when he goes to visit family. It's the reason there will be gas at the gas stations along the way. It's the reason Disneyworld will still be operating when he gets there.

Most important of all, Capitalism is the reason why so many of his peers are wealthy enough to afford the basic survival needs of themselves and their own families that they are able to donate some of their surplus to help this family in need.

That said, I agree that consumerism and living beyond one's means and not saving for a rainy day and distorted markets are problems.

Re: What Dreams May Come

#226

Post by Aqueous »

jmadsen wrote: post #130
jmadsen wrote: post #21

OP here: His donation page is at: https://www.giveforward.com/fundraiser/w704/beating-cancer-o... which can handle the load much better Should have thought to put that up earlier

They are awake in Texas. We've been noticed :-) https://d4l3.com/blogs/darthclue/entries/treasure-good-days "At around 5AM, I awoke to the sound of Michelle crying while staring at her phone and mumbling incoherently. She eventually calmed down enough to tell me that she was being spammed with Give Forward donation notifications. It took me a bit to figure out that somehow, my 'Bucket List' had been posted to https:/…

If you could by any chance set up a BTC address more may donate because of the lower fees. I will donate via the provided page, but just something to keep in mind :-)

Re: What Dreams May Come

#227

Post by fantnn »

theknown99 wrote: post #76
ryanjshaw wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

5) He hasn't offered a sensible and complete policy - what counts as saving lives? Cancer treatment? What about transplant surgery? What about amputations? What about medicines that prevent many conditions from becoming serious? Or lets make things really fun - what about mental illness? How about a person who's solving overpopulation in some way who suddenly contracts cancer? Where does one draw the line and who get…

There is no solution I can see, and that's worrying. While we're all running around curing diseases, solving global warming etc, the thing that will kill off our species is our own "success".

clearly 15, gtfo faggot

Re: What Dreams May Come

#228

Post by runjake »

sonnyz wrote: post #165
darthclue wrote: post #74

Jonathan here. Being woke up by my wife crying because the donations just aren't stopping is both heart-breaking and comforting. For those of you who haven't seen the 'Bucket List' post, here's what it says at the very top: As I try to deal with the reality that is my impending death I can't help but wonder how many things I might have been able to accomplish given just a little more time. When I was diagnosed, I had…

If you can make it to Florida I can take you and your family to any of the four Disney parks, at no cost to you. I can't find your email address anywhere, but if you can provide it I'll send you my info so that you can reach me if you do decide to come.

It's listed on his professional website:

me@jonathandale.com https://jonathandale.com/

PS: Very cool of you.

Re: What Dreams May Come

#229

Post by kissickas »

chongli wrote: post #144
adventured wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A poorly run welfare state is a bad word, to so speak, and that's exactly what America has. Some of the worst functioning countries on earth are also very poorly run welfare states. Feel free to point out several poorly functioning, free market Capitalism countries though. Socialism is what gives rise to Corporatism. The intrusion of government into the economy - rather than the proper separation of the two - through…

If you acknowledge that "welfare state" is not a bad word, then why not just say "a poorly run state is bad"? Adding the word welfare serves only to confuse and misdirect the reader.

Maybe because it's common knowledge that America is poorly run.

Re: What Dreams May Come

#230

Post by jcromartie »

girvo wrote: post #3

I feel nothing but sympathy for Jonathan. I can barely imagine the pain he and his family would be going through :( What are the medical costs for someone with terminal cancer in the USA? I assume they're pretty astronomical, so I can understand why he'd ask for help (I'm donating myself). In terms of his house and the like, I was always led to believe that life insurance was specifically for cases like his? Is life…

I just got $500K life insurance for $30 a month. That's less than we usually spend on pizza.
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