HN user
"There's a huge difference between being first world poor, and third world poor."
True.
"but my first world poor friends, without exception are all bad with money." ROTFL. What about your third world friend? This may give you an idea.
"Look at restaurants. A large percentage fail, about a quarter in the first year. But can you think of one restaurant that had really good food and went out of business?"
Yes. In fact I know a shitload of restaurants with excellent food, that went out of business. In the restaurant business your are more in the real estate business than in the food business. Location, Location, Location is everything. And how much you pay for it.
For a developing country to increase life span in general, it makes most sense to decrease child mortality and increase vaccinations. Old and sick people don't matter much for the statistic, since a child dying with 2 years is much worse for the statistic than an old persons getting one year less out of life.
Well, Asians are a different race but they also eat more rice than wheat
http://healthcorrelator.blogspot.com/2010/09/china-study-ii-...
"Anodized aluminum and titanium don't rust - and if by whatever means you DO allow them to oxidize, the oxygen-bound outer layer forms a protective barrier against further rusting."
So what? But they do melt. And you can't eat Titanium or Aluminum. We would starve to dead soon without Pt/Rh
No, it is you that has the clear agenda. You don't accept anything else than your own view of the world.
I don't trust random blogs.
The blog has 4 links, it basically quotes only from these four links. That are:
1. Welt.de (major German Newspaper)
2. Focus.de (major German magazine)
3. Welt.de again
4. New York Times.
If these sources are "not credible" for you, we have indeed no way of communicating.
Which statement do you doubt? I will search a FOCUS or SPIEGEL link for you. Maybe it is your world, that is clouded.
That Merkel's open borders are a crime based on German law. If you are able to read German, take this as a start: https://alexanderdilger.wordpress.com/2016/01/13/drei-ex-ver...
Colombia caught my attention when I lived in the states. But before I come to Colombia, lets talk about Brazil.
I fell in love with Brazil many years ago. Many people did, some may still do. It was an amazing place. People were super friendly, the women were curious about foreigners... Today Brazil is much less welcoming for foreigners, even slightly xenophobic. They still have an economic crisis and I wonder what will happen if the world economy cools down. It also has become dangerous again. People change, countries change, I may have changed.
So this brings us to Colombia. It is very cheap to fly there from the states. I had many adventures there, got certified in scuba diving, slept on a tiny house on an island when scuba diving, learned horse riding in Saint Augustin, got lost in the mountains when hiking near Armenia (visit Salento!). Partied super hard at night in Medellin, Cali and Bogota. People were super friendly, approaching me and other travelers and telling us how happy they are the things have changed in Colombia and foreigners are now visiting. The climate is super interesting since you are near the equator but also have the Andean mountains. You basically can get every temperature you want. From hot Caribbean (and overrated) Cartagena, to the city of eternal spring, Medellin, to cold Bogota. I love the Candelaria district in Bogota (as I once loved Santa Teresa in Rio). It is a magic place and brings me happiness.
People change, countries change, and I may change again. What worries me about Colombia is that more and more foreigners are coming (voted as number ?. tourist destination last year). This is seldom a good thing. Sooner or later the place will change and people will get fed up with tourists. SO if you want to visit, better visit now and not in 10 years.
Literature, there is not only 100 years of solitude, try to appreciate Nicolás Gómez Dávila.
"Der Linke schreit, daß die Freiheit untergeht, wenn seine Opfer es ablehnen, ihre eigene Ermordung zu finanzieren." Gomez DaVila
A 20 year expat (speak, before the Ethiopia hype( told me this joke:
How to shoot an Ethiopian? Aim 1 meter above his hear. You have to hit his ego!
Yes, they are a special kind of people and they take proud in it. If they ever throw me out of my current home, Ethiopia may be, besides Colombia, my second destination. It is happening there!
"Merkel personally voted against it."
Hey man, Hitler may have voted against raiding Russia but it is the outcome the counts. Fact is, that Merkel's politics is a left wing come true. Proven by the support of people like Fisher and Campino, who claimed to have voted "green" his whole life.
https://rp-online.de/kultur/musik/toten-hosen-saenger-campin...
I don't care about what you think about "black stereotypes".
But try to see the difference between welcoming Uganda (based on a statistic they are the most welcoming nation to foreigners) and Ethiopians. Yet, they are nearly neighbors.
I don't dislike that the Ethiopians are reserved. What did one of the rangers tell me? We are dirty. We don't have showers. We don't have washing machines. We are dirty. But we know that we are dirty. We are dirty but not stupid!
Ethiopia is an interesting place. You can smell the money in the air.
"Ethiopia hailed as 'African lion' with fastest creation of millionaires" https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/04/ethiopia-faste...
Ethiopia is not an easy place to travel. People are friendly but reserved. English it not very common there. They are not the African "buddy" type of people (ey man, lets have a beer!). If you are into adventure, go to the Bale mountains and take a three day horse ride expedition and try to see the Ethiopian fox. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopian_wolf Or take a two week expedition on horsed to see the Ethiopian lions (unfortunately longer that my ass can sustain on a horse). AFAIK the only lions that live in the jungle. It is a rough place. I like it. Possibly love it, but Ethiopia is not for everyone.
Addis has two major museums. If you want to see Lucy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucy_(Australopithecus) make sure you go to the right one.
If anyone is interested in importing ore, please ask me. My Ethiopian friends are always nagging me for business contacts.
"Merkel is solidly centre to centre-right. "
Cough, cough. Look, I gave REASONS why I think she is extremely left wing. Pointing out that she is leading the conservative party is not enough to counter my point.
What in her politics is conservative, right, or liberal?
(I would consider "marriage for all" liberal but in the end marriage should be not the business of the government)
What does the AfD stand for? Basically AfD is CDU before Merkel.
By the way, the day I went off gmail, I used a script like this to download all my emails: http://taoofmac.com/space/projects/imapbackup
"some of their personal e-mails are also blocked as well. "
Never, never ever use a gmail account for anything important. I learned it the hard way and once nearly lost a domain because of this.
gandi.net offers domains with free IMAP email service
infomaniak.com is also good for email. Switzerland based.
" our IT guys were trying to get a hold of Google but couldn't get in touch with anyone."
ROTFL.
Look. Posting on facebook "lets lynch some {ni..ers, Jews, Arabs, minority of your choice} also gets you into trouble with the law in the states. I doubt that anyone claims this is free speech.
But questioning the Open borders situation in Europe Germany in public (speak facebook) that is BLUNTLY violating German law and Dublin III regulation is what gets you blocked. It is a left wing junta in the final stages that is ruling Germany at the moment. And making law by chancellor decree has been out of fashion in Germany for over 70 years. Not a good idea to bring it back!
(The same seems to be true of elevators.)
The solution to this is called "Pater noster". Just kidding....
"They got ripped off after the cold war/ the wall fell " Also the buildings and land they stole from the Germans? It is a dog eats dog world man!
"Better schools for your kids"
You have better schools in the US if you live in the right neighborhood. Also, getting called "pig eater" is likely not tolerated in the US.
"safer cities" Europe is trying hard to catch up.
"better public transport" The only good thing. Yet, nothing beats public transport in NYC.
"more and better maintained parks" Not sure about this.
"better local produce" If you can afford to buy at Whole Paycheck, you get everything.
"There are a lot of potential reasons for a decision like that." The bottom line is: if you have money, life is better in the states. If you are poor, go to Germany.
" including an Italian girlfriend."
Try to bring an Indian one. Or Chinese.
"I'm sorry if something unpleasant happened to you"
It is less about me. I have been there three times and I can take a lot. On my last trip, I spare you my experiences, I stayed one day in the hotel to work on my computer and my GF came back crying and told me she wants to leave and never come back. On the Train to Budapest I met an American Lady. She said, she would not come back to Prague, people are "harsh".
"but it still wouldn't entitle such sweeping generalizations."
I saw once a statistic about foreigners (can't find it anymore). They were hated the most in the Czech republic, the most welcoming country was Uganda. BTW, I have lined up a trip to Uganda, there is a great music festival every summer.
Make you own experiences. It is not a terrible place, but why go to Prague if you can go to Budapest? Total different bunch already.
Many of the East European countries are not very open and friendly to foreigners. Speak Poland, Czech Republic for example. Travel there and see for yourself. Sometimes it is country specific (e.g. Russians and Germans in Poland) or Ethnic specific (Say Hungary and Poland) or sometimes they hate everyone (speak Czech republic). Travel there to see yourself. Try to bring a foreign looking girl friend. Enjoy.
People in Romania seem to be very friendly. GDP growth higher than China but not sure I see a basis for a silicon valley there. I don't know Bulgaria.
Before you downvote, give a reason. All these are interesting places. I likely prefer to live in Budapest or somewhere before I live in Berlin (again). Yet, this does not make these places a silicon valley contender.
Lisbon is a great place. I speak the language. Real Estate is already expensive as f.. if you want something decent. Great place to live or retire. But a new Silicon Valley? No.
"Mark my words, Berlin will be Europe's Silicon Valley within a few years."
Doubt it. Lack of professional attitude. Disastrous politicians. 3rd tier universities. Lack of capital. Large underclass, big welfare spending.
It is very hard to set up a "silicon valley". The silicon valley had and has some very unique points, including military origins, if I remember right. Germany still has a strong and broad industry, which is lacking in most Eastern and Western European Economies. This is an advantage (try to do a non-software technology start-up in a country that does not have the suppliers and partners, then you know). In the end it is extremely unlikely that EUrope will achieve something similar than the Silicon valley.
Yes, Berlin once was a scientific, cultural, industrial and technological powerhouse. These times won't come back.
The more interesting question would be, can China manage to create a new silicon valley? I have my doubts.
"Warsaw, Sophia, Tallinn"
Doubt that any East European city will be close to a "European Silicon Valley" because of many reasons. Language. Xenophobia. Capital. Location. Culture.
Bucharest comes to mind but because of other reasons. Quite big and Romania has a higher GDP growth than China. But still. no.
I don't buy it. Be patience.
I am not worried about the strength of China at all. It comes with too many weaknesses. What worries me is the weakness of Europe, but not the strength of China.
They already have the MIPS based Loongson
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loongson#Loongson_3
Out of curiosity I tried to buy the Loongson 3 one year ago on Taobao (Chinese ebay/Amazon). It was basically impossible to buy except for underpowered old versions.
As far as I know the company has been called a scam by some Chinese (just sucking gov incentives etc.)
If you are interested, not very powerful MIPS boards are available: https://creatordev.io/ci20.html
I guess the company "imagination" is for sale too. There were some issues last year.
It is also good to have several lines of defense
* Host File
https://oldj.github.io/SwitchHosts/
* Browser:
uBlock
uMatrix
* Facebook:
"Facebook serve their own ads inline. "
It is never too early to say goodbye to ads