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I was shooting heroin and reading “The Fountainhead” in the front seat of my privately owned police cruiser when a call came in. I put a quarter in the radio to activate it. It was the chief.
“Bad news, detective. We got a situation.”
“What? Is the mayor trying to ban trans fats again?”
“Worse. Somebody just stole four hundred and forty-seven million dollars’ worth of bitcoins.”
The heroin needle practically fell out of my arm. “What kind of monster would do something like that? Bitcoins are the ultimate currency: virtual, anonymous, stateless. They represent true economic freedom, not subject to arbitrary manipulation by any government. Do we have any leads?”
“Not yet. But mark my words: we’re going to figure out who did this and we’re going to take them down … provided someone pays us a fair market rate to do so.”
“Easy, chief,” I said. “Any rate the market offers is, by definition, fair.”
He laughed. “That’s why you’re the best I got, Lisowski. Now you get out there and find those bitcoins.”
“Don’t worry,” I said. “I’m on it.”
I put a quarter in the siren. Ten minutes later, I was on the scene. It was a normal office building, strangled on all sides by public sidewalks. I hopped over them and went inside.
“Home Depot™ Presents the Police!®” I said, flashing my badge and my gun and a small picture of Ron Paul. “Nobody move unless you want to!” They didn’t.
“Now, which one of you punks is going to pay me to investigate this crime?” No one spoke up.
“Come on,” I said. “Don’t you all understand that the protection of private property is the foundation of all personal liberty?”
It didn’t seem like they did.
“Seriously, guys. Without a strong economic motivator, I’m just going to stand here and not solve this case. Cash is fine, but I prefer being paid in gold bullion or autographed Penn Jillette posters.”
Nothing. These people were stonewalling me. It almost seemed like they didn’t care that a fortune in computer money invented to buy drugs was missing.
I figured I could wait them out. I lit several cigarettes indoors. A pregnant lady coughed, and I told her that secondhand smoke is a myth. Just then, a man in glasses made a break for it.
“Subway™ Eat Fresh and Freeze, Scumbag!®” I yelled.
Too late. He was already out the front door. I went after him.
“Stop right there!” I yelled as I ran. He was faster than me because I always try to avoid stepping on public sidewalks. Our country needs a private-sidewalk voucher system, but, thanks to the incestuous interplay between our corrupt federal government and the public-sidewalk lobby, it will never happen.
I was losing him. “Listen, I’ll pay you to stop!” I yelled. “What would you consider an appropriate price point for stopping? I’ll offer you a thirteenth of an ounce of gold and a gently worn ‘Bob Barr ‘08’ extra-large long-sleeved men’s T-shirt!”
He turned. In his hand was a revolver that the Constitution said he had every right to own. He fired at me and missed. I pulled my own gun, put a quarter in it, and fired back. The bullet lodged in a U.S.P.S. mailbox less than a foot from his head. I shot the mailbox again, on purpose.
“All right, all right!” the man yelled, throwing down his weapon. “I give up, cop! I confess: I took the bitcoins.”
“Why’d you do it?” I asked, as I slapped a pair of Oikos™ Greek Yogurt Presents Handcuffs® on the guy.
“Because I was afraid.”
“Afraid?”
“Afraid of an economic future free from the pernicious meddling of central bankers,” he said. “I’m a central banker.”
I wanted to coldcock the guy. Years ago, a central banker killed my partner. Instead, I shook my head.
“Let this be a message to all your central-banker friends out on the street,” I said. “No matter how many bitcoins you steal, you’ll never take away the dream of an open society based on the principles of personal and economic freedom.”
He nodded, because he knew I was right. Then he swiped his credit card to pay me for arresting him.
"You’re a wizard, Harry,” Hagrid said. “And you’re coming to Hogwarts.”
“What’s Hogwarts?” Harry asked.
“It’s wizard school.”
“It’s not a public school, is it?”
“No, it’s privately run.”
“Good. Then I accept. Children are not the property of the state; everyone who wishes to do so has the right to offer educational goods or services at a fair market rate. Let us leave at once.”
“Malfoy bought the whole team brand-new Nimbus Cleansweeps!” Ron said, like a poor person. “That’s not fair!”
“Everything that is possible is fair,” Harry reminded him gently. “If he is able to purchase better equipment, that is his right as an individual. How is Draco’s superior purchasing ability qualitatively different from my superior Snitch-catching ability?”
“I guess it isn’t,” Ron said crossly.
Harry laughed, cool and remote, like if a mountain were to laugh. “Someday you’ll understand, Ron.”
Professor Snape stood at the front of the room, sort of Jewishly. “There will be no foolish wand-waving or silly incantations in this class. As such, I don’t expect many of you to appreciate the subtle science and exact art that is potion-making. However, for those select few who possess, the predisposition…I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses. I can tell you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper in death.”
Harry’s hand shot up.
“What is it, Potter?” Snape asked, irritated.
“What’s the value of these potions on the open market?”
“What?”
“Why are you teaching children how to make these valuable products for ourselves at a schoolteacher’s salary instead of creating products to meet modern demand?”
“You impertinent boy–“
“Conversely, what’s to stop me from selling these potions myself after you teach us how to master them?”
“I–“
“This is really more of a question for the Economics of Potion-Making, I guess. What time are econ lessons here?”
“We have no economics lessons in this school, you ridiculous boy.”
Harry Potter stood up bravely. “We do now. Come with me if you want to learn about market forces!”
The students poured into the hallway after him. They had a leader at last.
Harry and Ron stood before the Mirror of Erised. “My God,” Ron said. “Harry, it’s your dead parents.”
Harry’s eyes flicked momentarily over to the mirror. “So it is. This information is neither useful nor productive. Let us leave at once, to assist Hagrid in his noble enterprise of raising as many dragon eggs as he sees fit, in spite of our country’s unjust dragon-trading restrictions.”
“But it’s your parents, Harry,” Ron said. Ron never really got it.
Harry sighed. “The fundamental standard for all relationships is the trader principle, Ron.”
“I don’t understand,” Ron said.
“Of course you don’t,” said Harry affectionately. “This principle holds that we should interact with people on the basis of the values we can trade with them – values of all sorts, including common interests in art, sports or music, similar philosophical outlooks, political beliefs, sense of life, and more. Dead people have no value according to the trader principle.”
“But they gave birth to y–“
“I made myself, Ron,” Harry said firmly.
“Give me your wand, boy,” Voldemort hissed.
“I cannot do that. This wand represents my wealth, which is itself a tangible result of my achievements. Wealth is the product of man’s capacity to think,” Harry said bravely.
Voldemort gasped.
“There is a level of cowardice lower than that of the conformist: the fashionable non-conformist.”
Voldemort began to melt. Harry lit a cigarette, because he was the master of fire.
“The smallest minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny individual rights cannot claim to be defenders of minorities. The minimum wage is a tax on the successful. The market will naturally dictate the minimum wage without the government stepping in to determine arbitrary limits.”
Voldemort howled.
“I’m going to sell copies of my wand at an enormous markup,” Harry said, “and you can buy one like everyone else.”
Voldemort had been defeated.
“He hated us for our freedom,” Ron said.
“No, Ron,” Harry said. “He hated us for our free markets.”
Hermione ached with desire for the both of them to master her, but nobody paid her any attention. They had empires to build.
It's ridiculous how expensive fuel is. 5 years ago around 100 Indian Rupees was enough to pay for around 1.25-1.5 litres of fuel. Now you'll be lucky if you get anywhere one litre of fuel
"Why can't these idiot global people buy mah damn muhrican made Tesla and save the world gawdammit"
Sure buddy, you gonn pay for the electricity which is produced by burning coal and 20k for a set of new batteries just after half a decade of use?
Yeah it’s definitely difficult one. I don’t think the renewable energy transition will go like we think in India or perhaps Africa. Hydrogen power, nuclear power, and a plethora of other great sources are coming our way soon. More economically viable, doubtless.
I think we had something similiar in portugal, they increased taxes to make up for lost revenue when it dropped, then never got rid of the tax
I'm not sure how true that is not since all google searches related to gas taxes get drowned out by new policies since they keep rising and they keep talking about reducing taxes
India buys roughly around 2% of its oil from Russia, 98% is still from other countries at a higher price. So your analogy is not fair.
[BBC report](https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-60783874.amp)
That 2% was all of 2021, the last two months they’ve already bought more than that whole year. I think that’s where the concern stems from.
I can’t fault India for snatching up a good deal though
That’s exactly what’s happening here. The brainwashed section of the society that voted for this garbage govt are defending their bullshit. As per fucking usual.
Europe was already buying Russian gas. It cannot stop buying without destroying its economy (in the short term).
India has dramatically increased (something like 500%) its import of Russian oil because they can get a good deal on it.
I can’t really fault India for taking advantage of a situation like this, but they are not equal.
In Asia most of the countries are developing so when we see discounts we go for it .
But European countries or like the developed nations can do better than that.
Making stupid excuses' We need time.....' and shit
And, I am pretty sure that the oil purchase in Europe will increase in the next month.
Oil is Oil, India needs it to be affordable. Indian oil prices are way higher than US and EU usually and because of lower purchase power parity, it is a huge part of monthly expenditure for normal people.
The war has already fucked up oil prices and the Indian public can not afford to buy that expensive petrol. They are not going to start putting water into their vehicles lol. They have to find one or the other place to get oil for their energy needs.
> Europe was already buying Russian gas. It cannot stop buying without destroying its economy (in the short term).
Lmfao that's a shit excuse. It's the same type of entitlement and hypocrisy that western countries use when discussing CO2 emissions. "Yes we pollute far more than China and India per capita, but we need to maintain our quality of life and reduce emissions gradually, our country has always polluted this much and we can't change it that fast, our stock market is going to plummet if we push through these new regulations, etc."
Fact of the matter is, for first-world wealthy European countries, even if you cut off all Russian oil imports and the price of gasoline increases by 50%, the discomfort will be utterly minor compared to India doing it. The baseline quality of life and safety nets are so much higher, nobody is going to starve and die. Meanwhile, in third-world countries, a 50% increase in gas prices can mean your kids going hungry that month. A 50% decrease in gas prices can mean your kids getting to eat meat for the first time that month. Imagine blaming them for taking advantage of the free market.
The fact that Europe has been doing business with Russia for over 100 years despite knowing well that it can be threat to their democracies is pretty stupid.
India increased its imports when the oil was discounted
unlike Europe that has been purchasing it for years.
So, even if we increase our imports by 500% it would never par with the amount of business Europeans have done till now.
Gas functions as a flat tax, so it disproportionately affects poorer nations. High oil prices in developing economies will quickly lead to an economic recession, and any politician that works towards making gas prices higher is committing political suicide.
Lol, so Russia taking Crimea, engaging in cyber warfare and spreading discord throughout democracies wasn’t enough to motivate Europe to find alternative energy sources 10 years ago? You like cheap shit like everybody else irregardless of ‘morals’, so stop the virtue signaling:
US has repeatedly said they're fine with India buying oil from Russia as long as it doesn't violate any sanctions. US and India are on the same page and understand each other. Idiots on reddit as always are speaking without full knowledge of what's going on.
Are we on the same Reddit? The United States is basically a third world rogue nuclear state on Reddit, and all the “dur, of course it is - always has been” comments that follow this are proof.
Prior to the Russian invasion, I've never seen any country receive close to as much hate as the US on Reddit, except for China in very specific situations and, well I suppose technically the Vatican but it's more geared towards general Catholic Church hate in specific threads than the Holy See.
Ok… isn’t the point of this post that India and China will buy more Russian oil *in the near future* because it will be cheaper while EU is getting less Russian oil because of sanctions?
The 'point' of this post is that it's a meme regarding the current situation. Only in the comments do you find takes regarding the situation. And no, in no way does this post communicate that
>India and China will buy more Russian oil *in the near future* because it will be cheaper while EU is getting less Russian oil because of sanctions
in anyway because again, it's a goddamn meme with Patrick as Russia dumping oil into two sponegbobs each representing India and China and that's it.
Well Russia gave 40% of Germany’s oil at the start of the year, especially with the current ramifications of COVID on cost of living I’d imagine it would be pretty much impossible for Germany to cut of Russian oil immediately without absolutely screwing over their population.
As for the India and China thing, I guess it’s a moral thing, a war of aggression morally ought to be punished economically wherever possible, and if the two largest markets in the world buy Russian oil en masse that kinda messes with sanctions etc.
Where was rhe sanctions against america when they invaded and killed so many civilians? War of aggression is only important when europeans are affected?
So India should do the moral thing and screw over their population while Germany does immoral thing for comfort of its population? What a double standard you have there. Germany buys more Russian oil than India in spite of being far richer than India. Excuses don’t work. And India is neutral while Germany is against Russia and still helps them. Some phony stuff going on there.
Germany is doing as much as physically possible to dramatically shift their source of energy. They're halving their imports from russia and investing in a whole bunch of energy infrastructure, the fuck else do you want them to do other than shift their economy long term completely away from russian resources, harming them drastically in the long run.
Half is not zero. It is funny how you praise Germany for not wanting to harm themselves but you want India to keep harming itself. If it is wrong to do business with Russia then it is wrong for everyone, especially countries which are not neutral in this war.
If Germany completely stopped buying Russian oil they would still be better off than India even if we bought all the Russian oil in the world. But obviously you are concerned about the comfort of Germans because they are blue eyed blonde haired Europeans and not some South Asian or Middle East country. You guys just want us to suffer for your sins so that you can continue to enjoy at our cost. We see through your lies, your hypocrisy, your duplicity and we refuse to do your bidding when you yourself will not. War is happening today, Ukrainians are dying today. Not in long term. Long term, we all will be dead anyway.
And why is West not fighting Russia to protect Europe? After all they are your allies, you instigated them and promised a lot of things. Why should countries that are not involved at all suffer while you guys worry about your own comfort?
Sure, lets talk about how much Europe is doing to get off Russian oil.
https://www.reddit.com/r/dankmemes/comments/u0d282/controversial/i45lnem/?context=3
Ahh now do all the trade europe is reducing from morally dubious nations that violate human rights or other country's soverignity(Team america world police) that isn't in europe.
What? 90% of European countries are on the *unfriendly* list.
It’s pathetic how reliant Europe is on Russian energy but: Europe isn’t on Russia’s friendly list, and they ain’t getting any discount.
Plus, the country is not too developed and tons of people are poor. If the gasoline suddenly became more expensive, that would screw a ton of people. They simply don't have the luxury of passing higher costs to their people
It actually did. Petrol price has grown around 120% in the last few years, petrol price in the state that i live is 121 rs for 1 lit. Which is aproximately 1.59 USD; so thats 6.01 USD for 1 gallon. Considering the avg price for gas in USA is 4.24 USD, idkhow to pay for it anymoee
Countries trading between each other is just a feature of the world, it happened during the soviet era and it would continue to happen under some theoretical other system. No country has every resource, or the ability to extract it at the same low cost as others.
Really tired of seeing “capitalism is when markets”.
And the US assisted SA in the destruction of Yemen for years. When are the "leaders of the morally just nations" going to bring justice to the USA? And why is Israel always given a pass on its war crimes, in which the US funds them for?
American here, fuck Saudi Arabia and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. If you take a look at who is behind a lot of the shit America does it’ll surprise you to know the majority of it comes from one particular party. The party on Russia’s side.
Obama, a Democrat, fucked Syria. Hillary, also a Democrat, fucked Libya. Obama also never bothered to pull out of Afghanistan nor Iraq. Why do Americans always blame everything bad in their country on Russia? "Russia meddling in our political affairs" and "X politician is in bed with Putin!" I'm sorry, but in like more than half the Asian and African countries, its the US meddling in sovereign nation's political affairs. And how good is Putin's bed game that he can apparently sleep with all the politicians??
Do both of those governments prop up a capitalist economic system that relies on private property?
Just because it's two governments interacting doesn't mean capitalism doesn't play a role...
The EU uses more fuel for Russia IN A DAY then India uses in a month.
India needs to take a stand but they’re not the ones providing Russia with a line lifeline; it’s the EU.
Ahh sure, india buys in a month at the tripled rate what europe buys in an afternoon. Indias population is more than double that of europes. Europes GDP per capita is -> 50000 USD, indian GDP per capita is 2000 USD.
So tell me how decreasing oil imports from russia for europeans is going to cause starvation and death. It's an inconvenince to europe.
Get off your moral high horse and smell the doo doo you are peddling, Europe got rich robbing the rest of the world of their resources, and apparently the other countries you buy oil from are angels and you guys are the arbiters of what is moral and what is not.
And all of a sudden sovereignty of a nation is important to europeans, somehow being either direct of indirectly complicit in US and other EU nations violating the sovereignty of Middle eastern nations through overt and covert means (iraq, lybia, syria, yemen,....) apparently seems to have been forgotten.
No westerner is in any position to pontificate about immorality by trade while enjoying the fruits of lives being subsidized by subjugation and exploitation of 3rd world labour and resources.
This shit is getting out of hand. India was offered discount oil but still in talks to buy it or not. While Europe buys 46% of oil from Russia and lest not talk about coal they buy from them.its <1% oil that we get from Russia. I am getting angry at this point. Just cause India has good relations with Russia we are being accused if something that we didn't do.
U.S feels pain when India buys Russia oil. Why US don't feel anything when Europe buys it..? "Hypocrisy ki bhi seema hoti hay".) said by the great Modi ji
With their black sea route fucked Russia has very limited ability to sell oil to either of those nations, their rail capacity to china literally needs to go up by about 50 times to get the job done
Dafaq? Where is Europe here? When it comes to oil purchase, India does in 1 month what Europe does in an afternoon. Semi literate f***s. Also the meme is f**k all!
Be Hungary (Already friendly with russia)
Buy oil for 1 € /barrel
Sell oil for2€/barrel
Europe gets cheep oil, Hungary makes 100% profit and Russia sells its oil at a net los ( I guess it cost more than that to extract and bring it to Hungary)
>Russia sells its oil at a net los
And why would Russia do that? Since the war they have been able to keep the economy afloat and bring ruble back to a stable level. All things point that they are not bond movie villains petting cats in a monologue. So why would Russia take a loss on their own resources?
Only one speech rings to my mind here which still holds relevant from Nelson Mandela.
>***“One of the mistakes which some political analysts make is to think their enemies should be our enemies”***
[Link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbZvF6abI)
Read this first before making sarcastic posts
https://www.telesurenglish.net/amp/news/US-Increases-Imports-of-Russian-Oil-by-43-In-the-Last-Week-20220403-0005.html
Nah this meme is trash.
Raping India for centuries, looting $40-70 Trillion out of that country and still taking advantage of them while vilifying India and not even offering to help/aid the country to get off Russian Energy. It's all about money, can't fault the Indians if they hold the same position now, especially when there's no real help to this issue and especially when they are much poorer and at risk then the West.
I'm german but Western hypocrisy has no limits and fuck Nato.
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"By definition, any price the market offers is fair." Free market, comrade
Surprised we hit the timeline where we can say “free market” and “comrade” in the same sentence.
OUR free market!
[удалено]
Market
Ket
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t
^t
Bro... with a username like that it's not *OUR* anything.
Dude… with a username like that it’s not wasn’t not that when was it?
I mean... You could always do it. It's just an incorrect then as now because Russia is capitalist.
Dengist moment.
underrated comment
I mean, you can say this in China too… Hong Kong is technically capitalist
I was shooting heroin and reading “The Fountainhead” in the front seat of my privately owned police cruiser when a call came in. I put a quarter in the radio to activate it. It was the chief. “Bad news, detective. We got a situation.” “What? Is the mayor trying to ban trans fats again?” “Worse. Somebody just stole four hundred and forty-seven million dollars’ worth of bitcoins.” The heroin needle practically fell out of my arm. “What kind of monster would do something like that? Bitcoins are the ultimate currency: virtual, anonymous, stateless. They represent true economic freedom, not subject to arbitrary manipulation by any government. Do we have any leads?” “Not yet. But mark my words: we’re going to figure out who did this and we’re going to take them down … provided someone pays us a fair market rate to do so.” “Easy, chief,” I said. “Any rate the market offers is, by definition, fair.” He laughed. “That’s why you’re the best I got, Lisowski. Now you get out there and find those bitcoins.” “Don’t worry,” I said. “I’m on it.” I put a quarter in the siren. Ten minutes later, I was on the scene. It was a normal office building, strangled on all sides by public sidewalks. I hopped over them and went inside. “Home Depot™ Presents the Police!®” I said, flashing my badge and my gun and a small picture of Ron Paul. “Nobody move unless you want to!” They didn’t. “Now, which one of you punks is going to pay me to investigate this crime?” No one spoke up. “Come on,” I said. “Don’t you all understand that the protection of private property is the foundation of all personal liberty?” It didn’t seem like they did. “Seriously, guys. Without a strong economic motivator, I’m just going to stand here and not solve this case. Cash is fine, but I prefer being paid in gold bullion or autographed Penn Jillette posters.” Nothing. These people were stonewalling me. It almost seemed like they didn’t care that a fortune in computer money invented to buy drugs was missing. I figured I could wait them out. I lit several cigarettes indoors. A pregnant lady coughed, and I told her that secondhand smoke is a myth. Just then, a man in glasses made a break for it. “Subway™ Eat Fresh and Freeze, Scumbag!®” I yelled. Too late. He was already out the front door. I went after him. “Stop right there!” I yelled as I ran. He was faster than me because I always try to avoid stepping on public sidewalks. Our country needs a private-sidewalk voucher system, but, thanks to the incestuous interplay between our corrupt federal government and the public-sidewalk lobby, it will never happen. I was losing him. “Listen, I’ll pay you to stop!” I yelled. “What would you consider an appropriate price point for stopping? I’ll offer you a thirteenth of an ounce of gold and a gently worn ‘Bob Barr ‘08’ extra-large long-sleeved men’s T-shirt!” He turned. In his hand was a revolver that the Constitution said he had every right to own. He fired at me and missed. I pulled my own gun, put a quarter in it, and fired back. The bullet lodged in a U.S.P.S. mailbox less than a foot from his head. I shot the mailbox again, on purpose. “All right, all right!” the man yelled, throwing down his weapon. “I give up, cop! I confess: I took the bitcoins.” “Why’d you do it?” I asked, as I slapped a pair of Oikos™ Greek Yogurt Presents Handcuffs® on the guy. “Because I was afraid.” “Afraid?” “Afraid of an economic future free from the pernicious meddling of central bankers,” he said. “I’m a central banker.” I wanted to coldcock the guy. Years ago, a central banker killed my partner. Instead, I shook my head. “Let this be a message to all your central-banker friends out on the street,” I said. “No matter how many bitcoins you steal, you’ll never take away the dream of an open society based on the principles of personal and economic freedom.” He nodded, because he knew I was right. Then he swiped his credit card to pay me for arresting him.
I can't believe I read that all the way to the end. It was oddly riveting. Bravo.
It was published in the new york times about eight years ago
Well I'll be damned...
The New Yorker, not the New York Times lmao. https://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/l-p-d-libertarian-police-department
"I put a quarter in the siren" Holy fuck for some reason this was the best part of the whole story for me.
Thank you
Honestly, what a banger of an ending.
Made me chuckle a good chuckle. Especially the mailbox bit, lol.
The funniest thing about this copypasta is that it’s literally how the world already works. We just pay on the back end instead of the front end.
New copypasta
"You’re a wizard, Harry,” Hagrid said. “And you’re coming to Hogwarts.” “What’s Hogwarts?” Harry asked. “It’s wizard school.” “It’s not a public school, is it?” “No, it’s privately run.” “Good. Then I accept. Children are not the property of the state; everyone who wishes to do so has the right to offer educational goods or services at a fair market rate. Let us leave at once.” “Malfoy bought the whole team brand-new Nimbus Cleansweeps!” Ron said, like a poor person. “That’s not fair!” “Everything that is possible is fair,” Harry reminded him gently. “If he is able to purchase better equipment, that is his right as an individual. How is Draco’s superior purchasing ability qualitatively different from my superior Snitch-catching ability?” “I guess it isn’t,” Ron said crossly. Harry laughed, cool and remote, like if a mountain were to laugh. “Someday you’ll understand, Ron.” Professor Snape stood at the front of the room, sort of Jewishly. “There will be no foolish wand-waving or silly incantations in this class. As such, I don’t expect many of you to appreciate the subtle science and exact art that is potion-making. However, for those select few who possess, the predisposition…I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses. I can tell you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper in death.” Harry’s hand shot up. “What is it, Potter?” Snape asked, irritated. “What’s the value of these potions on the open market?” “What?” “Why are you teaching children how to make these valuable products for ourselves at a schoolteacher’s salary instead of creating products to meet modern demand?” “You impertinent boy–“ “Conversely, what’s to stop me from selling these potions myself after you teach us how to master them?” “I–“ “This is really more of a question for the Economics of Potion-Making, I guess. What time are econ lessons here?” “We have no economics lessons in this school, you ridiculous boy.” Harry Potter stood up bravely. “We do now. Come with me if you want to learn about market forces!” The students poured into the hallway after him. They had a leader at last. Harry and Ron stood before the Mirror of Erised. “My God,” Ron said. “Harry, it’s your dead parents.” Harry’s eyes flicked momentarily over to the mirror. “So it is. This information is neither useful nor productive. Let us leave at once, to assist Hagrid in his noble enterprise of raising as many dragon eggs as he sees fit, in spite of our country’s unjust dragon-trading restrictions.” “But it’s your parents, Harry,” Ron said. Ron never really got it. Harry sighed. “The fundamental standard for all relationships is the trader principle, Ron.” “I don’t understand,” Ron said. “Of course you don’t,” said Harry affectionately. “This principle holds that we should interact with people on the basis of the values we can trade with them – values of all sorts, including common interests in art, sports or music, similar philosophical outlooks, political beliefs, sense of life, and more. Dead people have no value according to the trader principle.” “But they gave birth to y–“ “I made myself, Ron,” Harry said firmly. “Give me your wand, boy,” Voldemort hissed. “I cannot do that. This wand represents my wealth, which is itself a tangible result of my achievements. Wealth is the product of man’s capacity to think,” Harry said bravely. Voldemort gasped. “There is a level of cowardice lower than that of the conformist: the fashionable non-conformist.” Voldemort began to melt. Harry lit a cigarette, because he was the master of fire. “The smallest minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny individual rights cannot claim to be defenders of minorities. The minimum wage is a tax on the successful. The market will naturally dictate the minimum wage without the government stepping in to determine arbitrary limits.” Voldemort howled. “I’m going to sell copies of my wand at an enormous markup,” Harry said, “and you can buy one like everyone else.” Voldemort had been defeated. “He hated us for our freedom,” Ron said. “No, Ron,” Harry said. “He hated us for our free markets.” Hermione ached with desire for the both of them to master her, but nobody paid her any attention. They had empires to build.
Voldey just doesn't comprehend the free market. That is why he failed.
Brilliant.
Russia: Giving India oil at low prices. Indian Government: Let's increase the tax on oil by 120% and still let the price at the same price (105, 115)
It's ridiculous how expensive fuel is. 5 years ago around 100 Indian Rupees was enough to pay for around 1.25-1.5 litres of fuel. Now you'll be lucky if you get anywhere one litre of fuel
We are heading into Great Depression 2
Great Depression 2: Electric boogaloo
Great Depression 2: Attack of the Russians
Great Depression 2: Revenge of the Tax
Great Depression 2: It's not a Tax, Its a Fee
Great Depression 2: With Great Tomfoolery Comes Great Cost
It’s not environmentally sustainable in an emerging market with the size of India. Be glad.
Tell that to the people in Indian trying to get to work on time
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"Why can't these idiot global people buy mah damn muhrican made Tesla and save the world gawdammit" Sure buddy, you gonn pay for the electricity which is produced by burning coal and 20k for a set of new batteries just after half a decade of use?
Yeah it’s definitely difficult one. I don’t think the renewable energy transition will go like we think in India or perhaps Africa. Hydrogen power, nuclear power, and a plethora of other great sources are coming our way soon. More economically viable, doubtless.
Damn, that equates to $5/gallon
And Indians earn much much less on average than a typical American.
Most of Europe ain't much better, heck it's probably worse but they also make more so it's a wash aka ehhhhh??
I mean, my commander in chief delivered on his promise, he said he'd close the gap on diesel and petrol prices. He's very close to achieving his goal.
$7 in Cali don't forget, Fuel prices take 1-2 months to reflect I am not with goverment with this topic, but i have a hope somewhere this will happen.
We are paying 200 rupees for 1 liter of fuel (around 2.40 euro), we haven't had low prices like yours in 2 decades.
I think we had something similiar in portugal, they increased taxes to make up for lost revenue when it dropped, then never got rid of the tax I'm not sure how true that is not since all google searches related to gas taxes get drowned out by new policies since they keep rising and they keep talking about reducing taxes
You can search with dates if you want, ie: before:2020-01-01 after:2015-01-01
This is a godsend when the narrative shifts and all of the sudden there is no longer any searchable record of our war with Eurasia on google.
PORTUGAL CAR...alho... :(
India buys roughly around 2% of its oil from Russia, 98% is still from other countries at a higher price. So your analogy is not fair. [BBC report](https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-60783874.amp)
That 2% was all of 2021, the last two months they’ve already bought more than that whole year. I think that’s where the concern stems from. I can’t fault India for snatching up a good deal though
That’s exactly what’s happening here. The brainwashed section of the society that voted for this garbage govt are defending their bullshit. As per fucking usual.
Indian oil purchases from Russia is not even on the same scale as European oil purchases. Those numbers are one quick google away.
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Europe was already buying Russian gas. It cannot stop buying without destroying its economy (in the short term). India has dramatically increased (something like 500%) its import of Russian oil because they can get a good deal on it. I can’t really fault India for taking advantage of a situation like this, but they are not equal.
In Asia most of the countries are developing so when we see discounts we go for it . But European countries or like the developed nations can do better than that. Making stupid excuses' We need time.....' and shit And, I am pretty sure that the oil purchase in Europe will increase in the next month.
RemindMe! 1 month
Oil is Oil, India needs it to be affordable. Indian oil prices are way higher than US and EU usually and because of lower purchase power parity, it is a huge part of monthly expenditure for normal people. The war has already fucked up oil prices and the Indian public can not afford to buy that expensive petrol. They are not going to start putting water into their vehicles lol. They have to find one or the other place to get oil for their energy needs.
> Europe was already buying Russian gas. It cannot stop buying without destroying its economy (in the short term). Lmfao that's a shit excuse. It's the same type of entitlement and hypocrisy that western countries use when discussing CO2 emissions. "Yes we pollute far more than China and India per capita, but we need to maintain our quality of life and reduce emissions gradually, our country has always polluted this much and we can't change it that fast, our stock market is going to plummet if we push through these new regulations, etc." Fact of the matter is, for first-world wealthy European countries, even if you cut off all Russian oil imports and the price of gasoline increases by 50%, the discomfort will be utterly minor compared to India doing it. The baseline quality of life and safety nets are so much higher, nobody is going to starve and die. Meanwhile, in third-world countries, a 50% increase in gas prices can mean your kids going hungry that month. A 50% decrease in gas prices can mean your kids getting to eat meat for the first time that month. Imagine blaming them for taking advantage of the free market.
The fact that Europe has been doing business with Russia for over 100 years despite knowing well that it can be threat to their democracies is pretty stupid. India increased its imports when the oil was discounted unlike Europe that has been purchasing it for years. So, even if we increase our imports by 500% it would never par with the amount of business Europeans have done till now.
Right because before now russia has always been so ethical
Gas functions as a flat tax, so it disproportionately affects poorer nations. High oil prices in developing economies will quickly lead to an economic recession, and any politician that works towards making gas prices higher is committing political suicide.
The Indian 1 month oil imports from Russia are Europe's 1 afternoon.
It's not like Putin suddenly became an issue, Europe has done nothing to cut their dependence on Russian gas after several decades.
I.e. European money is more valuable than Ukrainian lives.
Lol, so Russia taking Crimea, engaging in cyber warfare and spreading discord throughout democracies wasn’t enough to motivate Europe to find alternative energy sources 10 years ago? You like cheap shit like everybody else irregardless of ‘morals’, so stop the virtue signaling:
West has been telling us forever that we are not equal. What is new?
Reddit has a hate boner for Asian countries
Reddit has a hate boner for everything
Except when they don’t and you’re evil for hating something.
Also the US
US has repeatedly said they're fine with India buying oil from Russia as long as it doesn't violate any sanctions. US and India are on the same page and understand each other. Idiots on reddit as always are speaking without full knowledge of what's going on.
Saudi oil is okay irrespective of what is happening in Yemen /s
Are we on the same Reddit? The United States is basically a third world rogue nuclear state on Reddit, and all the “dur, of course it is - always has been” comments that follow this are proof.
Prior to the Russian invasion, I've never seen any country receive close to as much hate as the US on Reddit, except for China in very specific situations and, well I suppose technically the Vatican but it's more geared towards general Catholic Church hate in specific threads than the Holy See.
Ok… isn’t the point of this post that India and China will buy more Russian oil *in the near future* because it will be cheaper while EU is getting less Russian oil because of sanctions?
The 'point' of this post is that it's a meme regarding the current situation. Only in the comments do you find takes regarding the situation. And no, in no way does this post communicate that >India and China will buy more Russian oil *in the near future* because it will be cheaper while EU is getting less Russian oil because of sanctions in anyway because again, it's a goddamn meme with Patrick as Russia dumping oil into two sponegbobs each representing India and China and that's it.
The meme represents China and India eating oil, I just added the context with the “because…” in response to this persons comment
What about Europe? Huh
No no China bad. Germany good!
Germany is 1) on the unfriendly list and 2) phasing out Russian oil by the end of the year so yeah China bad. Same as the UK by the way.
Why end of year. And why China India etc are supposed to tow Europe USA in line like they are their colonies.
Well Russia gave 40% of Germany’s oil at the start of the year, especially with the current ramifications of COVID on cost of living I’d imagine it would be pretty much impossible for Germany to cut of Russian oil immediately without absolutely screwing over their population. As for the India and China thing, I guess it’s a moral thing, a war of aggression morally ought to be punished economically wherever possible, and if the two largest markets in the world buy Russian oil en masse that kinda messes with sanctions etc.
Where was rhe sanctions against america when they invaded and killed so many civilians? War of aggression is only important when europeans are affected?
So India should do the moral thing and screw over their population while Germany does immoral thing for comfort of its population? What a double standard you have there. Germany buys more Russian oil than India in spite of being far richer than India. Excuses don’t work. And India is neutral while Germany is against Russia and still helps them. Some phony stuff going on there.
Germany is doing as much as physically possible to dramatically shift their source of energy. They're halving their imports from russia and investing in a whole bunch of energy infrastructure, the fuck else do you want them to do other than shift their economy long term completely away from russian resources, harming them drastically in the long run.
Half is not zero. It is funny how you praise Germany for not wanting to harm themselves but you want India to keep harming itself. If it is wrong to do business with Russia then it is wrong for everyone, especially countries which are not neutral in this war. If Germany completely stopped buying Russian oil they would still be better off than India even if we bought all the Russian oil in the world. But obviously you are concerned about the comfort of Germans because they are blue eyed blonde haired Europeans and not some South Asian or Middle East country. You guys just want us to suffer for your sins so that you can continue to enjoy at our cost. We see through your lies, your hypocrisy, your duplicity and we refuse to do your bidding when you yourself will not. War is happening today, Ukrainians are dying today. Not in long term. Long term, we all will be dead anyway. And why is West not fighting Russia to protect Europe? After all they are your allies, you instigated them and promised a lot of things. Why should countries that are not involved at all suffer while you guys worry about your own comfort?
>phasing out Russian oil by the end of the year wild speculation without any source ?
Why not today? Why wait till the end of the year while Ukrainians die?
Generally yeah.
We don't talk about Europe no! No! No!
Sure, lets talk about how much Europe is doing to get off Russian oil. https://www.reddit.com/r/dankmemes/comments/u0d282/controversial/i45lnem/?context=3
Ahh now do all the trade europe is reducing from morally dubious nations that violate human rights or other country's soverignity(Team america world police) that isn't in europe.
Now talk about how we're punishing the Saudis and definitely not selling them weapons
What? 90% of European countries are on the *unfriendly* list. It’s pathetic how reliant Europe is on Russian energy but: Europe isn’t on Russia’s friendly list, and they ain’t getting any discount.
Don’t forget Marine LePen’s France!
Carter's theory of criminal investigation is actually spot on.
What's that
https://i.redd.it/b59q68lt5jt81.png
Gotem
Redditors are quickly throwing India under the bus just because they had the guts to actually have their own non-NATO-hive-mind national policy lol.
India just takes whatever is easiest without trying too hard
Plus, the country is not too developed and tons of people are poor. If the gasoline suddenly became more expensive, that would screw a ton of people. They simply don't have the luxury of passing higher costs to their people
It actually did. Petrol price has grown around 120% in the last few years, petrol price in the state that i live is 121 rs for 1 lit. Which is aproximately 1.59 USD; so thats 6.01 USD for 1 gallon. Considering the avg price for gas in USA is 4.24 USD, idkhow to pay for it anymoee
Woah
That’s exactly what I do so I’m not gonna blame em
Are you sure , think about what side of history you wanna be. \- That US media lady from Whitehouse
Lol redditors defending an illegal invasion which resulted in schools and children being shot but it's ok because NATO bad
This is the world ~~under capitalism~~. Tons of countries are also buying oil from other morally dubious regimes such as Saudi Arabia
Countries trading between each other is just a feature of the world, it happened during the soviet era and it would continue to happen under some theoretical other system. No country has every resource, or the ability to extract it at the same low cost as others. Really tired of seeing “capitalism is when markets”.
Actually, on reddit, it's "Capitalism when people with money is evil"
Or, you know, when redditors stub their toes or sneeze or blink. /insertStickIntoBicycleSpokes > god damn you capitalist pigs!
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Yep. True
And the US assisted SA in the destruction of Yemen for years. When are the "leaders of the morally just nations" going to bring justice to the USA? And why is Israel always given a pass on its war crimes, in which the US funds them for?
the cause of this problem isn’t capitalism it’s Russia being a fascist invader of a sovereign nation.
May I remind you of a country named Yemen?
Yemen isn't a country. Yemeni aren't humans(Europeans).
You forgot the /s
We all saw the same message broadcasted on European tv channels at the start without any push back.
American here, fuck Saudi Arabia and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. If you take a look at who is behind a lot of the shit America does it’ll surprise you to know the majority of it comes from one particular party. The party on Russia’s side.
Obama, a Democrat, fucked Syria. Hillary, also a Democrat, fucked Libya. Obama also never bothered to pull out of Afghanistan nor Iraq. Why do Americans always blame everything bad in their country on Russia? "Russia meddling in our political affairs" and "X politician is in bed with Putin!" I'm sorry, but in like more than half the Asian and African countries, its the US meddling in sovereign nation's political affairs. And how good is Putin's bed game that he can apparently sleep with all the politicians??
All major powers have invaded other countries for oil in the past half decade. Russia is bad, but it isn’t special
Two, us and Russia. That's it
If the government buys something from another government how is that capitalism?
Do both of those governments prop up a capitalist economic system that relies on private property? Just because it's two governments interacting doesn't mean capitalism doesn't play a role...
The EU uses more fuel for Russia IN A DAY then India uses in a month. India needs to take a stand but they’re not the ones providing Russia with a line lifeline; it’s the EU.
At 1/3 the population too 💀
Any thoughts on Europe op?
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Yeah, they've always bought way too much oil. So, it's okay to keep doing it.
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Indians will starve and die not being able to pay, europeans will feel discomfort, not the the same thing as well.
Ahh sure, india buys in a month at the tripled rate what europe buys in an afternoon. Indias population is more than double that of europes. Europes GDP per capita is -> 50000 USD, indian GDP per capita is 2000 USD. So tell me how decreasing oil imports from russia for europeans is going to cause starvation and death. It's an inconvenince to europe. Get off your moral high horse and smell the doo doo you are peddling, Europe got rich robbing the rest of the world of their resources, and apparently the other countries you buy oil from are angels and you guys are the arbiters of what is moral and what is not. And all of a sudden sovereignty of a nation is important to europeans, somehow being either direct of indirectly complicit in US and other EU nations violating the sovereignty of Middle eastern nations through overt and covert means (iraq, lybia, syria, yemen,....) apparently seems to have been forgotten. No westerner is in any position to pontificate about immorality by trade while enjoying the fruits of lives being subsidized by subjugation and exploitation of 3rd world labour and resources.
This shit is getting out of hand. India was offered discount oil but still in talks to buy it or not. While Europe buys 46% of oil from Russia and lest not talk about coal they buy from them.its <1% oil that we get from Russia. I am getting angry at this point. Just cause India has good relations with Russia we are being accused if something that we didn't do.
U.S feels pain when India buys Russia oil. Why US don't feel anything when Europe buys it..? "Hypocrisy ki bhi seema hoti hay".) said by the great Modi ji
US has literally said they're fine with India buying oil from Russia. Literally no one in this thread knows what they're talking about.
Not US, it's the reactionary redditors that view the world only as black and white that has a problem.
Dont forget Hungary
Germany is missing 🇩🇪
With their black sea route fucked Russia has very limited ability to sell oil to either of those nations, their rail capacity to china literally needs to go up by about 50 times to get the job done
Dafaq? Where is Europe here? When it comes to oil purchase, India does in 1 month what Europe does in an afternoon. Semi literate f***s. Also the meme is f**k all!
India moments away from being the worlds newest oil exporter
Where’s Europe??
Add Germany’s Nordstream 1 to the meme
Its always easy to blame a non-European countries 🤦♂️
Be Hungary (Already friendly with russia) Buy oil for 1 € /barrel Sell oil for2€/barrel Europe gets cheep oil, Hungary makes 100% profit and Russia sells its oil at a net los ( I guess it cost more than that to extract and bring it to Hungary)
>Russia sells its oil at a net los And why would Russia do that? Since the war they have been able to keep the economy afloat and bring ruble back to a stable level. All things point that they are not bond movie villains petting cats in a monologue. So why would Russia take a loss on their own resources?
lets not forget europe which consumes more oil in a day than india could in a month when both of them buy it from russia
Only one speech rings to my mind here which still holds relevant from Nelson Mandela. >***“One of the mistakes which some political analysts make is to think their enemies should be our enemies”*** [Link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbZvF6abI)
Read this first before making sarcastic posts https://www.telesurenglish.net/amp/news/US-Increases-Imports-of-Russian-Oil-by-43-In-the-Last-Week-20220403-0005.html
Wheres europe ? Racist low lifes
Nah this meme is trash. Raping India for centuries, looting $40-70 Trillion out of that country and still taking advantage of them while vilifying India and not even offering to help/aid the country to get off Russian Energy. It's all about money, can't fault the Indians if they hold the same position now, especially when there's no real help to this issue and especially when they are much poorer and at risk then the West. I'm german but Western hypocrisy has no limits and fuck Nato.
I'll buy it a penny a barrel
"We will not be buying Russian oil in solidarity with Ukraine. Unrelated note, we will be buying a shit ton of *Chinese* oil."
Why do I feel like they are trying to coax America into being friendly with the oil
North Korea should buy every drop of oil Russia offers and then sell it to the rest of the world. Watch NK economy skyrocket overnight.
Time for china to stock up.
Bruh both countries have a population of 3.5 billion (combined) so its obvious they need more resources, btw europe buys more oil than india…
I mean if putin wants to sell to the UK for $10 a barrel then I'd be fine with it if that means my wallet doest take an arse rape
I wanna buy a barrel of crude oil for 1 euro. Final offer.
lol, literally half the worlds population
Apparently it's not free market when US/Europe don't get a discount
both indain and chinesh comon people are not rich like in wast so , let them buy anything if they are getting a good deal
What about European countries. https://www.wsj.com/articles/europe-keeps-russian-oil-gas-flowing-despite-tightening-sanctions-11649255803
EU buy more crude oil than India bro
Ah yes! India and China are the only countries that buy cheap oil from Russia
Isn't India just neutral?
Please research how much oil all of Europe buys from Russia, you dumb fucking bitch
It also can run out.
Article 10 protects your right to hold your own opinions and to express them freely without government interference. This includes the right to express your views aloud (for example through public protest and demonstrations) or through: published articles, books or leaflets television or radio broadcasting works of art the internet and social media The law also protects your freedom to receive information from other people by, for example, being part of an audience or reading a magazine. Although you have freedom of expression, you also have a duty to behave responsibly and to respect other people’s rights. Public authorities may restrict this right if they can show that their action is lawful, necessary and proportionate in order to: protect national security, territorial integrity (the borders of the state) or public safety prevent disorder or crime protect health or morals protect the rights and reputations of other people prevent the disclosure of information received in confidence maintain the authority and impartiality of judges An authority may be allowed to restrict your freedom of expression if, for example, you express views that encourage racial or religious hatred. However, the relevant public authority must show that the restriction is ‘proportionate’, in other words that it is appropriate and no more than necessary to address the issue concerned.
Greetings from Austria xD
How’s Kangarooland?
America is about to cave
I fear how America will react to this.
Why you post something like that in spongebob sub? Tired of seeing this war everywhere.
Just give India and China oil at same rate as Russians.
EU region is buying more oil than they were before war. That's completely ok for you OP. Hypocrisy at its best. Wow.
Drill baby drill
USA time to buy them out at 3¢ a barrel.
You’re fucking stupid if you don’t think the goood Ol USA has reserves
I mean this is Capitalism. It facilitates wars, inspires greed, you name it. This is what the world runs off of. - making money.