tmay

blastdoor said:

9secondkox2 said:

But it’s the DOJ. They’re not concerned with actual justice. Just control. Based on the arguments so far, it’s likely the last few years have not been spent researching the case, but rather securing a judge predisposed to rule in their favor. 

I don't agree that they are interested in "control." I think the issue is that some anti-trust people at DOJ (and the lefty wing of the Democratic Party, like Warren) are blinded by the ideological view that if a company is persistently earning big profits then they *must* be using monopolistic coercion to extract rents from people. The notion that a company might be highly profitable because they consistently make a better product than everyone else and consumers just really like their products is alien to them. 

Ironically, this is the same reason that people on Wall Street, who very much are NOT lefties, consistently undervalued Apple stock for a very long time. They also thought that  only a coercive monopolist could earn big profits over the long run, and so they assumed for a very long time that because apple is NOT a coercive monopolist that their profits would go away. The only diff between the Wall Street guys and the lefties is that the Wall Street guys *like* profits earned by coercive monopolists and the lefties do not. But both agreed with the notion that only a coercive monopolist could earn those big profits consistently over time. 

The Wall Streeters finally decided that even though Apple isn't a coercive monopolist, they do appear to be able to make profits by just consistently churning out really great products that consumers love. And so they finally decided Apple stock is worth buying and the P/E ratio on apple stock went up.  

Some lefties have not yet had the same realization. For them, the realization won't be manifest in the P/E ratio of a stock, but rather in losing court cases and perhaps voters expressing annoyance. 

In fairness to both the Wall Street folks and the lefties, it is pretty darned unusual for a company to consistently churn out great products and earn high profits without being a coercive monopolist. Usually other firms figure out the secret sauce and emulate it. Or it turns out the successful company just got lucky and the luck runs out. It's worth asking -- why can't other companies copy Apple's playbook, offer similarly great products, and drive down prices? I think it's because Steve Jobs was able to create a company that other corporations cannot easily copy due to the inherently corrupt structure of most companies, in which fundamentally corrupt managers are answerable to a fundamentally corrupt board of directors, who all are focused more on stripping a company of value and then moving on. Steve Jobs created a company that, at least so far, has been resistant to that corruption. I guess we'll see how long that resistance lasts... 

In the year 2081, the Constitution dictates that all Americans are fully equal and not allowed to be smarter, better-looking, or more physically able than anyone else. The Handicapper General's agents enforce the equality laws, forcing citizens to wear "handicaps": masks for those who are too beautiful, earpiece radios for the intelligent that broadcast loud noises meant to disrupt thoughts, and heavy weights for the strong or athletic.

George and Hazel Bergeron have a 14-year old son named Harrison. He takes after his father, who is highly intelligent and physically strong. The government removes Harrison from his home. His parents are barely aware because of Hazel's low intelligence and George's mandated handicaps.

George and Hazel watch a ballet on TV. Some dancers are weighed down to counteract their gracefulness and masked to hide their attractiveness. George's thoughts are continually interrupted by the different noises emitted by his handicap radio. Hazel urges George to lie down and rest his "handicap bag", 47 pounds (21 kg) of weights locked around his neck. She suggests taking a few of the weights out of the bag, but George resists because it is against the law.

On TV, a reporter struggles to read a bulletin and hands it to the ballerina wearing the most grotesque mask and heaviest weights. She begins reading in her natural, beautiful voice before switching to a more unpleasant one. Harrison's escape from prison is announced, and a full-body photograph of him is shown. He is seven feet (2.1 m) tall and burdened by three hundred pounds (140 kg) of handicaps.

George recognizes his son for a moment, before having the thought eliminated by his radio. Harrison storms the TV studio in an attempt to overthrow the government. He declares himself Emperor and rips off both his own handicaps and those of a ballerina, whom he chooses as his Empress. 

Diana Moon Glampers, (Margrethe Verstager) the Handicapper General, enters the studio and kills Harrison and the Empress with two shotgun blasts. She threatens the musicians at gunpoint to put on their handicaps again. The TV goes dark. George, who left to get a beer and has returned, asks Hazel why she is crying, to which she replies that something sad happened on television that she cannot remember.

avon b7 said:

drewys808 said:

avon b7 said:

blastdoor

The reason being that food and drink isn't the main business of movie theaters. 

You mean the 35% - 75% of income derived from food/drink/concessions?  Pretty sure you should just concede that point to Blastdoor.  

Nope. This has already been through the courts here. The movie theaters cannot stop you from bringing your own food and beverages in if they also sell them. 

They are movie theaters, not food outlets.

https://www.theolivepress.es/spain-news/2019/10/16/cinema-in-spain-slapped-with-e3000-fine-for-banning-customers-from-bringing-their-own-food-into-film-screenings/

freeassociate2 said:

tmay said:

nubus said:

freeassociate2 said:

Also, I’d like the EU to open up all transportation systems to third party availability, with no tax subsidies. No more government monopolies.

Eh... USPS is running a government monopoly on letters and mailboxes with subsidies. Are you really that happy about service and pricing at USPS? And Amtrak... seems you just can't get enough services from government monopolies loaded with tax funding.

EU forced competition on rail in 2010 and the postal directive has opened competition on letters as well. We do add subsidies as needed, but we let real companies compete on services and pricing. No USPS or Amtrak here.

Actually, I am happy about the service and pricing of the USPS, which delivers to all communities at a fair price, thanks for asking, and given that the U.S. isn't as passenger train friendly as Europe is, almost certainly due to distances, I am also happy that the U.S. has Amtrak. Bet you weren't aware that the U.S. subsidizes air travel to smaller, rural communities.

Decades ago, I drove something on the order of 2800 miles in 4 days, from Reno to Fairbanks, so that I could have my vehicle with me for my summer job as a smokejumper. That would be similar to driving from Lisbon to Talinn. Dead Horse to Key West would likely be the longest trip at 5500 miles/8850 km, a significant portion through Canada.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkOLKzgjNj0

Key West, FL to Deadhorse AK

I threw the gov monopoly example in for shits & giggles, mostly over the fact that a central feature of governments is to act as a gatekeeper directly or anoint a proxy, yet think that’s a valid prerogative. I don’t necessarily disagree with that distinction, just pointing out the hypocrisy. (For example, for better or worse, governments have a monopoly on murder, and enforce it assiduously.)

But thanks for the little pointers on the train resources. I’ve worked as a subcontractor for a number of city and regional rail systems, so have an abiding interest in their evolution.

Europe’s rail systems are a real hodgepodge, with varying degrees of comfort and convenience to travelers. Most are showing signs of aging infrastructure, despite being seemingly well maintained and funded. (Watch a few YouTube videos — it’s a popular topic with some particularly well done material.)

Anyway, it’s clear that litigate and delay is the way to go. So many circumstances could change over time.

[Maybe this is all a conspiracy to funnel money to NATO countries for preparing to counter Russia’s current and future invasion plans.   Sorry, had to poke the tinfoil hat brigade. I’d really rather be shot by comrade murder squad than deal with the Randian drivel that’s been seeping in here. But I digress. Apologies.]

nubus said:

rob53 said:

Communists? What term do you use for the EU? I see them as being an economic dictatorship over Europe. The biggest problem with all these lawsuits by the EU is that the EU is struggling to produce much of anything that people outside of the EU really want to buy. 

1. The politicians elected to the EU and in the EU are mixed. Italy and Hungary are very much to the right while Greece has been communist at times. But still... all democracies. "Economic dictatorship"? Really?!? Go check EU countries like Luxembourg, Malta, and Ireland... their economies are based on banking, gaming, and corporations. Not much dictatorship.

2. US is running a huge trade deficit towards the EU. Seems we're doing fine in producing what you want. From BMW to Wegovy.

nubus said:

freeassociate2 said:

Also, I’d like the EU to open up all transportation systems to third party availability, with no tax subsidies. No more government monopolies.

Eh... USPS is running a government monopoly on letters and mailboxes with subsidies. Are you really that happy about service and pricing at USPS? And Amtrak... seems you just can't get enough services from government monopolies loaded with tax funding.

EU forced competition on rail in 2010 and the postal directive has opened competition on letters as well. We do add subsidies as needed, but we let real companies compete on services and pricing. No USPS or Amtrak here.