Where debating everything under the sun is only the beginning

In Portugal, lottery, as well as other money games like sportive bets, are a monopoly of Santa Casa da Misericordia, (Holy House of Mercy) a six hundred years old charity instititution that spends the money won with gaming into social causes.

WHO WE ARE:
Our Association was created in 1983 under Swiss law and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. In 1999, we adopted the name The European Lotteries and added the sport betting operators to our membership. In 2007, we set up an EU Representation office in Brussels.
Member Lotteries

Is the above the same institution you are referring to?

Well, six hundred years ago they put Jews to run businesses like that, because Christians must have nothing to do with usury.

Quote from: ersi on 2017-06-18, 12:43:48

Well, six hundred years ago they put Jews to run businesses like that, because Christians must have nothing to do with usury.

Like that, like what? Jews never did charity. Usury was their specialized game.

In the Middle Ages, the Church, in a misapplication of the Biblical prohibition against charging interest, forbade interest in all instances. The Talmud, in contrast, created an economic system in which loans could be converted into investments, so interest could accrue from them, but under the Christian interpretation, no credit market was possible. The way the Church got around that was by forcing the Jews to become the bankers.

A major obstacle to the growth of banks in the Middle Ages was the Church's prohibition of usury, the charging of interest on loans. As economic activity expanded, however, the papacy became one of the first to insist that interest should be paid on investments made at a risk. Because they were forbidden to hold land or engage in more "acceptable" sources of economic enterprise, money changers in the Middle Ages were typically Jews.

The regulation of usury was to prevent the separation of money from reality. Money is not a good, it is a measure. It is fraud to pretend otherwise, and constitutes theft. Usury is making money from lending money; it is making money from nothing. This is exactly what is happening today on a colossal scale.

Several important things arose from the prohibition of usury in medieval Christendom. Firstly Jews, who had taken to wandering around Europe in the Middle Ages, began to specialize in money-lending and other practices which were forbidden to Christians. Exploited Christians, both peasants and aristocracy, found themselves being bled dry by usurers, which is why there were sporadic uprisings, imprisonments and expulsions of Jews throughout Europe. It is one reason why King Edward I expelled these perfidious people from England in 1290.

Over here nobody ever thought of arguing for state lottery by something like, "The winner gets money to pay for a college degree/debts/..."

The winner's can do as they please with their money. My point continued as to how that works out.

The European Lotteries Association from where you're quoting "Who we are"  is just that, an Association of European Lotteries regardless their institutional nature. It's because SCML to be a member that it represents Euromillions for Portugal.

Another failed attempt to misquote and discredit.

Luckily they are very few, and that's why the point cannot be about them.

I am sick and goddamned tired of this corporate socialism.

Oh and the dream of winning big. State sanctioned criminal activity? Guess it depends who gets the money.

Farmer dies after pig bit off his penis and three fingers

We have a multi-party democracy, welfare state, national health service and much else.

Scotland is the assault capital of the world according to UN stats on violent crime

United Nations fly in special investigator to probe whether hated bedroom tax has broken human rights laws

Scandal as Scottish doctors convicted of violent attacks are allowed to keep their jobs

May I inform you on your limited corner that the top 1% here contribute 23% of the government's tax income so can you say that??

You have over 40 million poor and over 2.1 million in jail being the world's toppers in that one.

You have a massive amount of people shot to death annually plus a 4-figure number of children plus the also figure i quoted of 5,000 kids injured in that corner as well.

The ObamaCare boasting only involves 20% of Yanks no Welfare state or national Health

You lot like to bum about being so wonderful a world paradise but the hard facts (of which a couple I give) show a different picture. Gung ho, gun mad.

If this country needs to break apart ([…] California […] I'm looking at you) - I'm for that.

In their way, these workarounds are almost as dangerous to the American system of government as the Trump presidency itself. They tend to reduce the president to the status of an absentee emperor while promoting his subordinates into shoguns who exercise power in his name. Maybe that is the least-bad practicable solution to the unprecedented threat of a presidency-under-suspicion. But what a terrible price for the failure of so many American institutions—not least the voters!—to protect the country in 2016 from Russia’s attack on its election and its democracy.

I did that.