MonteZuma

Well isn't this a blast from the past. Thanks Plut! I would also add to your list my own special mentions, including Kawika, Vaal'Enga and Moooose, but there are many more great people that made Chaos so much fun. I'll try and drop in for a while some time soon. Monte

Sorry Astro, but I think that you and SeVeR answered very well - I have nothing to add because I think that all of Aileron's !@#$%^&*ertions are preposterous.

Aileron. This is crazy talk.

The christians can celebrate easter by going to church and I can celebrate friendships and family by buying people I love or like some nice chocolate. ez. Everyone wins! Even the chocolate manufacturers.

If someone wishes me a happy Easter, I don't feel insulted. If a jew wished me a happy passover I wouldn't be insulted. I'm not isulted when people wish me a Merry Christmas. I wouldn't be insulted if you wished me a happy 4th July either. So what if I'm not Christian? Even if I'm not a christian, why shouldn't I be Merry on Christmas day or happy on Good Friday? And why shouldn't a jew or muslim or a friggin heathen wish a christian a happy Easter or a Merry Christmas? Maybe s/he wants you to be happy on your special day even if s/he thinks the day is just a great excuse to have time off work? Lighten up people. Its ok to be happy and Merry even if you aren't christian. And its ok for heathens to want christians to be happy and merry, too.

Its like saying 'have a good weekend'. Forget the religious meaning. Easter is a holiday. People are wishing you a happy holiday.

I gave you reasoning why I thought your reasoning (or the French reasoning) was unreasonable. Young people are an important part of the workforce. They shouldn't be treated as 2nd class citizens.

A generous welfare system is not the same as socialism. What Astro said. In my first job (an office job), most young people behaved more responsibly than most older people. Most young people still had ambition and drive. The older people doing the same work were stale and often lazy. It isn't true that young people are generally less 'responsible' than older people at work. Car insurance is more exxie for <30yos because young people are often less responsible behind the wheel of a car. But when it comes to doing office work or flipping burgers or operating a cash register, I doubt there is much difference between age groups. Any difference is more than made up for by the lower pay rates for young people anyway.

France is not a socialist country. Fast food joints, supermarkets, offices, call centres, etc, etc, etc prefer to hire young people for many positions because they are cheaper. They do this even in countries where young workers are protected. Some industries also have graduate traineeships that target <26yos. Other jobs prefer young people because of their fitness and lack of family ties. Young people have !@#$%^&*ets that some industries want. There are ways to make industry and youth and unions happy without taking away young people's right to job security (yes I think job security is a right). Job security doesn't mean a job for life...but it does mean that the welfare of the employee is at least partly the responsibility of the employer. If you hire and then fire somebody there should be a good reason, or the employee should be compensated through redundancy payments or whatnot. People shouldn't be treated as consumables.

no. >=Win95

I think most revolutions are like that. Few revolutionaries have a detailed plan for the future, they are just reacting to something they perceive as wrong in the present. I see your point. I don't think mom and dad stockholders should be responsible for corporate mismanagement or illegal dealings, except to the value of their holding. Perhaps Directors should be held more accountable? If that is your point, I might agree with you.

Maybe. But one of the saddest parts of modern life is the move towards contract work and out-sourcing. Without stable employment it is difficult to plan for the future (eg basic stuff like getting a mortgage and settling down in a given suburb or city). What is wrong with a standard 3, 6, or even 12 month probation period? !@#$%^&*uming that people under 26 make worse workers than people over 26 is a mistake. I assume that even in France, irresponsible people can be fired - if the irresponsibility can be proved.

Not really. There are more people going to college now than there were 25 years ago, so today's youth are probably more skilled, but less experienced. For unskilled labour, experience is not very important, so I don't think your logic works. No. Because there is an aging population, putting more older people on welfare increases the burden on the welfare system, which is already over-burdened in France. Young people out-compete older people in the supermarket because they work faster and are paid lower. I don't think skilled people working in supermarkets are the problem. Skilled people that work in unrewarding low-paid jobs don't do so out of boredom. They do it out of necessity. No. old people should be able to work if they choose to. But they should compete in the labour market on the same terms as everyone else. I'm not sure about France, but in most of Europe, college education is free or very cheap.

If you don't have large corporations you don't have large economies of scale. Things like banks, insurance companies, shipping companies, airlines, mining companies, supermarkets, shopping malls. I like to use large chain supermarkets because they have a larger range and bigger aisles. I don't have to trot off to the butcher and the fruiterer and the baker. I like very large shopping malls because they are convenient. I like buying cars from large m!@#$%^&*-producers because they are cheaper and have a larger service network. Sure there are serious problems that need to be managed with respect to large companies (#1 I think is rampant consumerism), but it is kinda necessary if we want a high standard of living in a capitalist system. Unless you can think of a better idea? Fwiw, there are things about theoretical communism that appeal to me. The fact that it is not based on class, but based on ability and need. But by the same token, I'm glad I live in a capitalist society. I just wish it was better regulated.

According to the CIA factbook, the full name of Spain is "The Kingdom of Spain". It is a parliamentary monarchy. It has a cons!@#$%^&*ution.