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Miscellaneous News. - Page 37

post #1441 of 2499
4/2/12 at 4:08am
Surprised that this isn't a thread, so I'll post it here.

North Korea plans to launch a rocket in the coming weeks that they say will carry up a satellite. Of course, the tech needed for a rocket launch goes against the forbiddance of ballistic missile tech placed on NK by the UN.

Japan and Korea are pretty anxious about the launch. Japan has moved Aegis destroyers into the sea between the Korean peninsula and Japan interceptor missiles to strategic points along the announced flint path, and around Tokyo just in case.

With all the war hawks in the US, and some possibly here on PO, I'm surprised by how little attention this seems to be getting in the US as NK already has the tech to make a nuclear bomb whereas Iran is still some ways off. This rocket launch, if successful, would put American bases in the Pacific at potential risk; it could possibly show NK has the ability to reach Alaska with a launch.

Where are the war drums?

Or is it that NK doesn't have oil?

 

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post #1442 of 2499
4/2/12 at 4:32am
It's counterproductive for the right wing to push the North Korea issue right now because it does absolutely nothing to advance the war on Islam, which is their real baby (with Islamic oil in mind, of course).
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post #1443 of 2499
4/2/12 at 6:00am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bergermeister View Post

Surprised that this isn't a thread, so I'll post it here.

North Korea plans to launch a rocket in the coming weeks that they say will carry up a satellite. Of course, the tech needed for a rocket launch goes against the forbiddance of ballistic missile tech placed on NK by the UN.

Japan and Korea are pretty anxious about the launch. Japan has moved Aegis destroyers into the sea between the Korean peninsula and Japan interceptor missiles to strategic points along the announced flint path, and around Tokyo just in case.

With all the war hawks in the US, and some possibly here on PO, I'm surprised by how little attention this seems to be getting in the US as NK already has the tech to make a nuclear bomb whereas Iran is still some ways off. This rocket launch, if successful, would put American bases in the Pacific at potential risk; it could possibly show NK has the ability to reach Alaska with a launch.

Where are the war drums?

Or is it that NK doesn't have oil?

We should worry about North Korea and not Iran as I ran has no nuclear weapons to speak at all. It is a political motive for the Republicans to start this crap about Iran because they have plenty of oil which many countries need including us.More fear made by the Republicans!
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post #1444 of 2499
4/2/12 at 7:08am
Quote:
Originally Posted by marvfox View Post

We should worry about North Korea and not Iran as I ran has no nuclear weapons to speak at all. It is a political motive for the Republicans to start this crap about Iran because they have plenty of oil which many countries need including us.More fear made by the Republicans!

Actually, it just hit me that there's no plan to seize the oil. There wasn't a plan to seize oil in Iraq. I'm sure I'm not the first one to realize this, and I'm sure I'll be attacked by the right wing for being behind the curve with regard to liberal talking points (actually I NEVER use talking points).

The plan was neither to seize oil nor to strengthen trade between the target country and the US. The plan was to destroy the target country's production efficiency, at least for a while.

That allows American (and Canadian and European) oil producers to sell their oil at a higher price, making those people billions.

And that's exactly what has been happening.

Now ask yourself... why are you REALLY paying more at the pump?
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post #1445 of 2499
4/2/12 at 7:47am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by tonton View Post

Actually, it just hit me that there's no plan to seize the oil. There wasn't a plan to seize oil in Iraq. I'm sure I'm not the first one to realize this, and I'm sure I'll be attacked by the right wing for being behind the curve with regard to liberal talking points (actually I NEVER use talking points).

The plan was neither to seize oil nor to strengthen trade between the target country and the US. The plan was to destroy the target country's production efficiency, at least for a while.

That allows American (and Canadian and European) oil producers to sell their oil at a higher price, making those people billions.

And that's exactly what has been happening.

Now ask yourself... why are you REALLY paying more at the pump?

Foreign companies, especially US and UK companies most definitely have and continue to exploit Iraq for its oil.

"If your enemies cannot find a flaw in your reasoning, they will find it in your reputation".

~ William Hazlitt

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~ William Hazlitt

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post #1446 of 2499
4/13/12 at 3:21am
Thread Starter 
Faith predominantly on the side of the poor and sharing in the UK. Is that really what God wants!?


"The research, revealed in a new report by the thinktank Demos, undermines the widely held view that members of religious groups are more likely to have conservative tendencies.

The report found that 55% of people with faith placed themselves on the left of politics, compared with 40% who placed themselves on the right. The report also suggests that people with faith are more likely to value equality over freedom than their non-religious counterparts. It discloses that 41% of people with religious views prioritise equality over freedom, compared with 36% of those without faith.

The report, based on an analysis of the European Values Study, also finds evidence that people who belong to a religious organisation are more likely to say they are very interested in politics, to have signed a petition and to have participated in a demonstration.

The writer and philosopher Alain de Botton whose latest book, Religion for Atheists, examines the consolations of faith for those who do not believe argues that the internal dynamics of religions often confer progressive views on their followers, who find themselves at odds with today's free-market society.

"The progressive side of religion springs from their frequent reminders to live for others and to concentrate more on the wellbeing of the group than on the happiness of the individual," de Botton said. "In this sense, religions run counter to the implicit philosophy of modern consumer capitalism.""
~ http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012...leftwing-demos

"If your enemies cannot find a flaw in your reasoning, they will find it in your reputation".

~ William Hazlitt

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"If your enemies cannot find a flaw in your reasoning, they will find it in your reputation".

~ William Hazlitt

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post #1447 of 2499
4/13/12 at 4:32am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bergermeister View Post

Surprised that this isn't a thread, so I'll post it here.

North Korea plans to launch a rocket in the coming weeks that they say will carry up a satellite. Of course, the tech needed for a rocket launch goes against the forbiddance of ballistic missile tech placed on NK by the UN.

Japan and Korea are pretty anxious about the launch. Japan has moved Aegis destroyers into the sea between the Korean peninsula and Japan interceptor missiles to strategic points along the announced flint path, and around Tokyo just in case.

With all the war hawks in the US, and some possibly here on PO, I'm surprised by how little attention this seems to be getting in the US as NK already has the tech to make a nuclear bomb whereas Iran is still some ways off. This rocket launch, if successful, would put American bases in the Pacific at potential risk; it could possibly show NK has the ability to reach Alaska with a launch.

Where are the war drums?

Or is it that NK doesn't have oil?

Great news North Korea rocket was a dismal failure today. They look like real idiots in the eyes of other countries now..Screw them!
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post #1448 of 2499
4/20/12 at 4:36am
Thread Starter 
This site on an iPhone is now useless. The text is often tiny and requires endless scrolling.
Edited by Hands Sandon - 4/20/12 at 4:44am

"If your enemies cannot find a flaw in your reasoning, they will find it in your reputation".

~ William Hazlitt

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post #1449 of 2499
4/22/12 at 8:56am

Whistleblower: The NSA is Lying -- The U.S. Government Has Copies of Most of Your Emails

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post #1450 of 2499
4/23/12 at 2:59pm

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by MJ1970 View Post

Whistleblower: The NSA is Lying -- The U.S. Government Has Copies of Most of Your Emails

 

Honestly, I'm not surprised.  My belief is that all the debate about wiretapping and government surveillance is nothing but a smokescreen. and that the government has been essentially reading/listening to EVERYTHING for at least 30 years if not longer.  

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post #1451 of 2499
4/23/12 at 3:32pm

The auto mailing system is sending me posts by users who are on my Ignore List with good cause; do I need to remake the list?

 

It is hard to not read some of the posts that arrive and it is frustrating having to waste time deleting the mail messages.

 

Your = the possessive of you, as in, "Your name is Tom, right?" or "What is your name?"

 

You're = a contraction of YOU + ARE as in, "You are right" --> "You're right."

 

 

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Your = the possessive of you, as in, "Your name is Tom, right?" or "What is your name?"

 

You're = a contraction of YOU + ARE as in, "You are right" --> "You're right."

 

 

Reply
post #1452 of 2499
4/25/12 at 12:44pm
Thread Starter 

Donald Trump makes a total buffoon out of himself yet again. 

 

It's funny though.

 

 

"The outspoken businessman is giving his views to MSPs probing the Scottish Government’s renewable energy targets.

Mr Trump is an outspoken critic of wind farms and bitterly opposes an offshore turbine development near the site of his golf course in Aberdeenshire.

He said: “This is a very, very serious problem that we are addressing. In my opinion, it is one of the most serious problems that Scotland will have or has had.”

He offered support to technologies such as wind and wave, but warned: “Wind turbines, made in China, are going to be the destruction - almost a total destruction - of your tourism industry.”

 

A survey for tourism body VisitScotland, published yesterday, found that four out of five people said wind farms do not affect their decisions over where to holiday in the UK.

 

The Scottish Government wants renewable energy sources to meet the existing demand for electricity by 2020.

 

But Mr Trump went on to tell MSPs: “Many countries have decided they don’t want wind, because it doesn’t work without massive subsidies, it kills massive amounts of birds and wildlife and there are lots of other reasons.

 

“It’s a very inefficient form of energy, it’s an energy that when you need it most you don’t get it because the wind isn’t blowing when you need it most.”

 

He claimed the subsidies needed to support wind power developments were “enormous” and added that wind farms were “so unattractive, so noisy, so ugly and so dangerous”.

 

Mr Trump continued: “If Scotland does this, I think Scotland will be in serious trouble.

“You will lose your tourism industry to Ireland and lots of other places that are laughing at what Scotland is doing.”

 

However, SNP MSPs on the committee pressed Mr Trump on his belief that wind farms would damage the tourism sector.

Chic Brodie said there had been a 9% increase in tourism visits to Scotland last year and pointed to research by VisitScotland in which 80% of people in the UK said the presence of a wind farm would not affect their decision

about where to stay when on a holiday or short break in Britain.

 

The South of Scotland MSP asked the US tycoon what analysis he had that “supports the assertions you have made against wind”.

 

But Mr Trump insisted he was “an expert on tourism”.

 

He told MSPs: “I have won many many awards over the last short period of time, let alone long period of time. My clubs are rated amongst the best in the world.

“I am an expert on tourism. If you dot your landscape with these horrible, horrible structures, you will do tremendous damage.”

Mr Brodie demanded Mr Trump produce “clinical evidence” to support his views.

However, the American insisted: “I am the evidence. I am an expert in tourism, I am considered a world-class expert in tourism, so when you say where is the evidence, I am the evidence.”"

~ http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/donald-trump-warns-holyrood-committee-wind-farms-will-kill-scottish-tourism-1-2254046

"If your enemies cannot find a flaw in your reasoning, they will find it in your reputation".

~ William Hazlitt

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~ William Hazlitt

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post #1453 of 2499
4/26/12 at 1:48pm
Thread Starter 

Is the government really allowed to record all our phone calls, e-mails and every other electronic data relating to us? It seems, no make that "is", an outrageous violation of privacy. And yet recently Apple had politicians at their heels about a few gps data points they'd collected. Isn't this far worse?

 

The following is a great article on how by September 2013 the US government will have all your info stored in one neat place....to catch terrorists, yeah right... :[

 

Under construction by contractors with top-secret clearances, the blandly named Utah Data Center is being built for the National Security Agency. A project of immense secrecy, it is the final piece in a complex puzzle assembled over the past decade. Its purpose: to intercept, decipher, analyze, and store vast swaths of the world’s communications as they zap down from satellites and zip through the underground and undersea cables of international, foreign, and domestic networks. The heavily fortified $2 billion center should be up and running in September 2013. Flowing through its servers and routers and stored in near-bottomless databases will be all forms of communication, including the complete contents of private emails, cell phone calls, and Google searches, as well as all sorts of personal data trails—parking receipts, travel itineraries, bookstore purchases, and other digital “pocket litter.” It is, in some measure, the realization of the “total information awareness” program created during the first term of the Bush administration—an effort that was killed by Congress in 2003 after it caused an outcry over its potential for invading Americans’ privacy.

 

Binney left the NSA in late 2001, shortly after the agency launched its warrantless-wiretapping program. “They violated the Constitution setting it up,” he says bluntly. “But they didn’t care. They were going to do it anyway, and they were going to crucify anyone who stood in the way. When they started violating the Constitution, I couldn’t stay.” Binney says Stellar Wind was far larger than has been publicly disclosed and included not just eavesdropping on domestic phone calls but the inspection of domestic email. At the outset the program recorded 320 million calls a day, he says, which represented about 73 to 80 percent of the total volume of the agency’s worldwide intercepts. The haul only grew from there. According to Binney—who has maintained close contact with agency employees until a few years ago—the taps in the secret rooms dotting the country are actually powered by highly sophisticated software programs that conduct “deep packet inspection,” examining Internet traffic as it passes through the 10-gigabit-per-second cables at the speed of light.

 

 

Sitting in a restaurant not far from NSA headquarters, the place where he spent nearly 40 years of his life, Binney held his thumb and forefinger close together. “We are, like, that far from a turnkey totalitarian state,” he says."

~ http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/03/ff_nsadatacenter/all/1

"If your enemies cannot find a flaw in your reasoning, they will find it in your reputation".

~ William Hazlitt

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~ William Hazlitt

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post #1454 of 2499
4/27/12 at 4:36pm
Thread Starter 

 

Mad Elephant  Cow Disease-

 

"Back in 1997, in response to the UK mad cow crisis, the FDA banned the longstanding practice of feeding rendered cow protein to cows, and in 2008 banned "the tissues that have the highest risk for carrying the agent thought to cause BSE"—brains and spinal tissue from cows older than 30 months—from animal feed altogether.

But there is still at least one pathway through which cow proteins move into cow feed: the practice of feeding "poultry litter"—poultry feces mixed with bedding, spilled feed, and chicken carcasses—to cows. How does that bring cow protein into cow diets?

 

 

Let's go back to that rendering plant in California, Baker Commodities, where the current case of BSE was discovered. Rendering plants like Baker buy downed cows and other animals and transform them into a variety of products, including feed for chickens. Here's how it describes one of its products, "protein meal":

Meat and bone meal produced from the rendering process is used as a protein and energy supplement in poultry and swine feed and may also be utilized as an ingredient in the manufacture of pet food.

Now, meat and bone meal from cows is explicitly banned from cow diets. But it ends up in chicken feed; a significant amount of it spills into bedding and ends up in poultry litter; and poultry litter gets fed back to cows.

Official numbers on just how much poultry litter ends up in bovine diets is hard to come by. But with corn and soy prices at heightened levels in recent years, feedlot operators are always looking for cheaper alternatives, and poultry litter is very much in the mix. Consumer Union's Michael Hansen claims that 2 billion pounds of chicken litter are consumed by cows each year—as much as a third of which consists of spilled feed, including bovine meat and bone meal."

~ http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2012/04/mad-cow-california

"If your enemies cannot find a flaw in your reasoning, they will find it in your reputation".

~ William Hazlitt

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~ William Hazlitt

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post #1455 of 2499
4/28/12 at 5:24am

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Hands Sandon View Post

Is the government really allowed to record all our phone calls, e-mails and every other electronic data relating to us? It seems, no make that "is", an outrageous violation of privacy. And yet recently Apple had politicians at their heels about a few gps data points they'd collected. Isn't this far worse?

 

The following is a great article on how by September 2013 the US government will have all your info stored in one neat place....to catch terrorists, yeah right... :[

 

Under construction by contractors with top-secret clearances, the blandly named Utah Data Center is being built for the National Security Agency. A project of immense secrecy, it is the final piece in a complex puzzle assembled over the past decade. Its purpose: to intercept, decipher, analyze, and store vast swaths of the world’s communications as they zap down from satellites and zip through the underground and undersea cables of international, foreign, and domestic networks. The heavily fortified $2 billion center should be up and running in September 2013. Flowing through its servers and routers and stored in near-bottomless databases will be all forms of communication, including the complete contents of private emails, cell phone calls, and Google searches, as well as all sorts of personal data trails—parking receipts, travel itineraries, bookstore purchases, and other digital “pocket litter.” It is, in some measure, the realization of the “total information awareness” program created during the first term of the Bush administration—an effort that was killed by Congress in 2003 after it caused an outcry over its potential for invading Americans’ privacy.

 

Binney left the NSA in late 2001, shortly after the agency launched its warrantless-wiretapping program. “They violated the Constitution setting it up,” he says bluntly. “But they didn’t care. They were going to do it anyway, and they were going to crucify anyone who stood in the way. When they started violating the Constitution, I couldn’t stay.” Binney says Stellar Wind was far larger than has been publicly disclosed and included not just eavesdropping on domestic phone calls but the inspection of domestic email. At the outset the program recorded 320 million calls a day, he says, which represented about 73 to 80 percent of the total volume of the agency’s worldwide intercepts. The haul only grew from there. According to Binney—who has maintained close contact with agency employees until a few years ago—the taps in the secret rooms dotting the country are actually powered by highly sophisticated software programs that conduct “deep packet inspection,” examining Internet traffic as it passes through the 10-gigabit-per-second cables at the speed of light.

 

 

Sitting in a restaurant not far from NSA headquarters, the place where he spent nearly 40 years of his life, Binney held his thumb and forefinger close together. “We are, like, that far from a turnkey totalitarian state,” he says."

~ http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/03/ff_nsadatacenter/all/1

 

Do you honestly believe such as program as created "during the Bush Administration?"  My feeling on this is that the debate on warrantless tapping of certain communications, this issue raised in the article and pretty much every privacy debate in the last 30 years are all nothing but distractions.  That is, my belief is the government has been doing this far longer than anyone realizes.  And yes, most of it is directed at security.  Look at our history of terrorist attacks on American soil as compared to nations in Europe and elsewhere.  We had 9/11 and the 93 WTC bombing.  We had the OKC bombing.  Other than those, we've had few if any major terrorist attacks.  I can't believe that this is due to luck, or the fact that we have those two great oceans on either side of us.   I think the government has been monitoring phone calls, e-mail and internet traffic for some time (most likely automated).  

 

Let me be clear, I don't celebrate this.  However, I do think there is an argument that it's necessary.  No one (including me) likes to say it, because we all would like if things like this weren't done and/or we lived in society with actual rights of privacy.  Realistically though, I don't think that's true.  

 

 

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post #1456 of 2499
5/2/12 at 5:40pm

More Americans Ditching Their Citizenship

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post #1457 of 2499
5/6/12 at 6:44pm

FBI wants wiretap-ready websites

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post #1458 of 2499
5/7/12 at 4:18am

At least Obama is trying to have Russia become a friend of ours instead of an enemy.It is crucial when we have to rely on them for a space ride now.I do not trust Putin though!
 

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post #1459 of 2499
5/7/12 at 4:20am

Why is there a better country than the U.S. A to live in now.I sincerely doubt that.
 

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post #1460 of 2499
5/7/12 at 11:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by marvfox View Post

At least Obama is trying to have Russia become a friend of ours instead of an enemy.It is crucial when we have to rely on them for a space ride now.I do not trust Putin though!
 

 

 

Bush tried to "have Russia become a friend" and was roundly criticized for it.  He was called naive.  One member here even talked about Russia's slide towards more state control being Bush's fault, because he wasn't willing to stand up to Putin.  As for Obama, he's allowed Russia to openly threaten to preemptively take out our missile defense sites.  He's portraying us as weak.  Not exactly the way to deal with Mr. Putin.  

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post #1461 of 2499
5/7/12 at 1:53pm
Thread Starter 

It's hard to imagine that without 9/11 this would be possible... But then again.

 

My guess is that this is all really a way of keeping us all desperately in line. The fundamental goal of authority is compliance. It lubricates society far more than oil ever could. We are being "individually" cleansed. 

 

 

 

%%% this post was meant for mj, but this site on an iPhone is a joke.

"If your enemies cannot find a flaw in your reasoning, they will find it in your reputation".

~ William Hazlitt

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~ William Hazlitt

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post #1462 of 2499
5/7/12 at 5:23pm

Woman arrested for re-filling prescription

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post #1463 of 2499
5/10/12 at 6:27am

Was Ron Paul right 10 years ago?

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post #1464 of 2499
5/10/12 at 12:58pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by MJ1970 View Post

Was Ron Paul right 10 years ago?

Yes, he nailed that almost. Has he made any for the next ten years?

"If your enemies cannot find a flaw in your reasoning, they will find it in your reputation".

~ William Hazlitt

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post #1465 of 2499
5/11/12 at 2:02pm

Facebook co-founder renounces his US citizenship

 

And one of the comments at MSNBC.com:

 

 

Quote:
DISGUSTING! Good riddance. The U.S. Federal Government should pull his VISA Privileges as well! Absolutely appalling. He should be denied further entry and all taxes must be collected tout de suite! This is a perfect example of Pigs get fat. Hogs get slaugthered! Saverin is a gluttonous hog!

 

I have no problem with his decision at all. Though I am curious about his voting record (if any) within the US.

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post #1466 of 2499
5/15/12 at 8:21am

United States government seizes money from dairy farmer for trying to maintain his privacy:

 

 

Quote:

In its latest move against small farmers who dare to operate outside the umbrella of CAFOs (confined animal feeding operations) and Monsanto-dominated crops, the U.S. government has seized $70,000 from a small dairy farmer in Maryland. The feds did this under the "Bank Secrecy Act," which requires that paperwork be filled out for any cash deposit in excess of $10,000.

 

The farmers, Randy Sowers and his wife Karen, made deposits totaling more than $295,000 from May 2011 to February 2012, but each transaction was less than $10,000.

 

Now they are being accused of "structuring," a violation of federal currency reporting requirements, as the feds are accusing them of deliberately depositing money in increments of less than $10,000 in an attempt to evade Currency Transaction Reporting requirements.

 

But there's more from the same link. Here's what the United States government things about you and food:

 

Quote:
  • "There is no absolute right to consume or feed children any particular food."
  • "There is no 'deeply rooted' historical tradition of unfettered access to foods of all kinds."
  • "Plaintiffs' assertion of a 'fundamental right to their own bodily and physical health, which includes what foods they do and do not choose to consume for themselves and their families' is similarly unavailing because plaintiffs do not have a fundamental right to obtain any food they wish."
  • FDA's brief goes on to state that "even if such a right did exist, it would not render FDA's regulations unconstitutional because prohibiting the interstate sale and distribution of unpasteurized milk promotes bodily and physical health."
  • "There is no fundamental right to freedom of contract."

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post #1467 of 2499
5/24/12 at 6:08am

We hear much about how great Europe is compared to the US. We've heard about Greece's problems. Well here's more from the PIIGS:

 

So much for 'the Spanish dream': Euro crisis turns suburbs into ghost towns:

 

 

Quote:
Just north of Spanish capital Madrid lies Cuidad Valdeluz. Built during the country's economic boom, it was promoted as a suburban family paradise for tens of thousands of people. 
 
Today, it is one of 12 near ghost towns in Spain, a country that -- despite being the European Union's fifth-largest economy -- is teetering on the brink of a Greece-style meltdown.
 
Spain has the highest unemployment rate of all European Union countries at 21.7 percent, according to a report published this month by the Center for Economic and Social Rights. Among those aged under 25, nearly half -- 46.4 percent -- are without a job. More than half a million households had no one earning an income in 2011.

 

Of course there's more..."One-fifth of Spain's GDP is now black market":

 

 

 

Quote:
Since then, Juan has continued doing more or less the same work. But instead of doing it on the payroll of Pantoja, a transport subcontractor to Ikea, he hovers around the parking lot of the megastore, luring customers of his own by offering not only to deliver their furniture but also to do “general work,” like painting and repairs, all for the bargain price of €40, or $51, a day.
 
“I will do anything except electricity and plumbing, where I really don’t have enough expertise to guarantee a safe and decent job,” said Juan, who did not want his full name used because he does not declare his income and did not want to run afoul of the tax authorities.

 

 

Quote:
Many of those interviewed said they had no qualms about cheating the Spanish treasury, arguing that avoiding social security and other tax payments is their only way to make ends meet.
 
“Some people might think that I’m abusing the system, but I really see myself as a victim of a completely faulty economic model,” said Belen, a 34-year-old graphic designer whose Seville-based company closed down last year. She continues to design logos for a sportswear company and other customers, but off the books, and did not want her full name to be used for fear of the tax authorities.

 

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post #1468 of 2499
5/24/12 at 7:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by MJ1970 View Post

We hear much about how great Europe is compared to the US. We've heard about Greece's problems. Well here's more from the PIIGS:

 

So much for 'the Spanish dream': Euro crisis turns suburbs into ghost towns:

 

Of course there's more..."One-fifth of Spain's GDP is now black market":

 

 

 

Europe is now fucked for a decade at least. This is why. Post Cold War -> 2000 UK, France, Germany, Netherlands, Scandinavia, were doing quite well, and were kicking ass in various ways. Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Eastern Europe, whole different story. But Western Europe... Better governance, better quality of life, environmental stewardship, in various ways compared to the USA etc.

 

Then around the late 90's they started to be too "nice", if there is such a thing, and very ambitiously increased the scope of the EU/Eurozone/etc ~ masses of immigrants flooding Europe. Entire suburbs and neighbourhoods becoming Muslim (moderate or otherwise) enclaves. Eastern Europe, Portugal, Greece, Italy, Ireland and Spain coming along, seeing the wonderful buffet spread, and just gorging themselves until their bellies exploded. Not to mention the UK, which has slowly gone down the tubes in the past 10 years (consider hordes of illegal Indian immigrants just trying to get the hell out but can't due to ludicrous red tape driving them to drug abuse just to stay warm when sleeping in a box under a bridge in London), not helped by London being such a massive financial centre that like a vampire sucked the life out of Europe while blaming the US for its woes. I needn't even bring up the Murdoch scandal.

 

Like a wealthy mother of a hopeless drug addict, France and Germany still tried to reform the PIIGS but at most times closed a blind eye to the drug addict son stealing 50 bucks from his parents' wallet and sneaking out for a quick score of meth. Said wealthy mother kept saying to herself, it's okay, he just needs a little hit, then he'll give up, I know he will, he just needs to know he's "loved"...

 

Eventually as it is now, said wealthy mother (France and Germany) has at least five kids (PIIGS) fully overdosed, in the hospital on life support, and it's all a matter of whether to turn of the life support machine or not. In the meantime, the idiot son (UK) is prancing around trying to say, nah, I'm not part of this problem, you all did it, neneer neener neener, while he sniffs a line of coke, and all his good friends, disgusted by his behaviour, abandon him to go work in Australia and Canada.

 

All the time the hard-working father, aka Scandinavia and the Netherlands, is just sitting at their study desk with their heads in their hands, wondering what the hell went wrong and almost catatonic.

 

If you have a better analogy for what's happening in Europe, please share.

 

Also, not to mention the "borderless EU" work rights for all EU Citizens. Poorer EU countries just hammered the wealthier EU countries with no real management of what was going on. Kinda like the US-Mexico thing. But like the US removing the fences and border patrols and just erecting a special freeway from Mexico City right up to Los Angeles, with flashing "Come On In!" neon signs.


Edited by nvidia2008 - 5/24/12 at 7:41am
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post #1469 of 2499
5/25/12 at 4:42am

Why don't you imply Obama is a a traitor for the U.S. like the rest of the cone heads say.Romney still thinks Russia is our enemy what world is he coming from? He knows nothing about foreign policy at all.
 

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post #1470 of 2499
5/25/12 at 12:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by marvfox View Post

Why don't you imply Obama is a a traitor for the U.S. like the rest of the cone heads say.Romney Obama still thinks Russia is our enemy friend what world is he coming from? He knows nothing about foreign policy at all.
 

 

 

Fixed that for you.

The politics of charisma is so Third World. Americans were never going to buy into it for long. - Foudad Ajami
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The politics of charisma is so Third World. Americans were never going to buy into it for long. - Foudad Ajami
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post #1471 of 2499
5/25/12 at 2:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by marvfox View Post

Why don't you imply Obama is a a traitor for the U.S. like the rest of the cone heads say.Romney still thinks Russia is our enemy what world is he coming from? He knows nothing about foreign policy at all.
 

 

Obama is not a traitor.  He is, however, actively working to reduce U.S. power.  This is what he believes.  As for Romney, he's got as much experience as Obama had before he was President, so it's a wash.  

To save time, assume I know everything.
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To save time, assume I know everything.
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post #1472 of 2499
5/25/12 at 11:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SDW2001 View Post

 

Obama is not a traitor.  He is, however, actively working to reduce U.S. power.  This is what he believes.  As for Romney, he's got as much experience as Obama had before he was President, so it's a wash.  

 

Again, Obama is not your "enemy", 1%, Wall Street and China is. Sure, brush this off as hippie nonsense, but I'll say it now for posterity, "I told y'all so".

 

15 Trillion USD in debt. The Fed already printing 2 Trillion USD in "quantitative bollocks" and everyone's lining up for another 1 Trillion USD.

 

Keep believing Obama is the "enemy" and China has already won.

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post #1473 of 2499
5/26/12 at 3:54am
Thread Starter 

Concerned citizens sellouts.

 

"This year, coal is throwing around its weight by spending tens of millions of dollars on media advertising and political contributions.

Coal is also engaging in fake advocacy campaigns, known as astroturfing. In a Craigslist ad found by the Environmental Law & Policy Center in Chicago, a coal group promised participants $50 to “wear a t-shirt in support of an energy project.” Upon further digging, the Sierra Club blog pieced together much of the deleted Craigslist ad:

People needed to attend a public meeting (Tinley Park /Chicago)

Reply to: px6mq-3031150602@gigs.craigslist.org (email address no longer valid)

Looking for people THIS THURSDAY, MAY 24 who want to make a couple of dollars for a few hours of your time.

All you need to do is wear a t-shirt in support of an energy project for two hours during the public meeting. We will be departing the Tinely Park convention center at 8:15 am for the meeting and we will be back by 1:30 pm. For your time we will pay you $50 cash and provide you lunch once we return to the convention centre."

~ http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/05/25/490340/coal-astroturfing-epa-hearing/

"If your enemies cannot find a flaw in your reasoning, they will find it in your reputation".

~ William Hazlitt

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"If your enemies cannot find a flaw in your reasoning, they will find it in your reputation".

~ William Hazlitt

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post #1474 of 2499
5/27/12 at 9:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by nvidia2008 View Post

 

Again, Obama is not your "enemy", 1%, Wall Street and China is. Sure, brush this off as hippie nonsense, but I'll say it now for posterity, "I told y'all so".

 

15 Trillion USD in debt. The Fed already printing 2 Trillion USD in "quantitative bollocks" and everyone's lining up for another 1 Trillion USD.

 

Keep believing Obama is the "enemy" and China has already won.

 

Neither the 1% nor Wall Street is my enemy.  That is where you are absolutely incorrect.  China may be our enemy though, and Romney's stance on China is far better than Obama's.  I agree with you on the debt issue and Fed's money printing.  It's out of hand and is likely to lead to disaster.  Here again, Romney is far better.   I still want to see him propose something more aggressive on government spending and tax reform.  

To save time, assume I know everything.
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To save time, assume I know everything.
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post #1475 of 2499
5/27/12 at 10:17am
  • BR
  • Justified Arrogance

But the Republican Party is--busting unions left and right, saying teachers are the problem with budgets.  You vote against your own interests just like 99% of the other Republicans.

 

“The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of starstuff.” 
-Sagan
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“The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of starstuff.” 
-Sagan
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post #1476 of 2499
5/27/12 at 11:17am

Teachers Unions are the biggest problem with education. Even Steve Jobs, a Democratic donor, thought so.

The evil that we fight is but the shadow of the evil that we do.
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The evil that we fight is but the shadow of the evil that we do.
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post #1477 of 2499
5/27/12 at 11:09pm
  • BR
  • Justified Arrogance

If Steve thought that, he was wrong.  Yeah, let's remove union protections so that whenever there's a budget shortfall, the experienced teachers can be fired to make way for younger, cheaper teachers.  That's a fucking great idea.  No, what's wrong with education is ridiculous class size, profit-motivated testing companies selling bullshit standardized tests to schools, idiots believing in the validity of said tests, and non-experts deciding what goes into the curriculum.

 

Mittens actually said that class size doesn't matter.  Are you fucking kidding me?

 

“The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of starstuff.” 
-Sagan
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“The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of starstuff.” 
-Sagan
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post #1478 of 2499
5/28/12 at 7:30am
Quote:
Originally Posted by BR View Post

If Steve thought that, he was wrong.  Yeah, let's remove union protections so that whenever there's a budget shortfall, the experienced teachers can be fired to make way for younger, cheaper teachers.  That's a fucking great idea.

 

I'll just point out your fallacy (non sequitur) and we can move on.

 

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by BR View Post

No, what's wrong with education is ridiculous class size, profit-motivated testing companies selling bullshit standardized tests to schools, idiots believing in the validity of said tests, and non-experts deciding what goes into the curriculum.

 

No...the problem with education is that parents have very few (if any) choices and are forced into schools based primarily on geography and have little recourse against an increasingly centralized (state, then federal) control of the schools instead of being free to take their money and chose the best educational options and mixes for their kids and forcing education product and service providers of all forms to meet their standards and demands and expectations for the educating of their kids.

 

We see evidence of this in almost every other market for products and services. When consumers have greater choice of where and how to spend their money for the products and services they want, and where competitors can more easily enter those markets and where government is least intrusive and doesn't do stupid shit like bail out the losers...the prices go down, quality goes up, consumers generally and widely get the results they want.

 

"But education is different!"

"But healthcare is different!"

"But banking and money is different!"

 

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by BR View Post

No, what's wrong with education is ridiculous class size...

 

If you think that, you might be wrong...

 

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by BR View Post

Mittens actually said that class size doesn't matter.  Are you fucking kidding me?

 

Apparently, it might not.

 

The problem is also not spending.


Edited by MJ1970 - 5/28/12 at 7:38am

The state is nothing more than a criminal gang writ large.

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The state is nothing more than a criminal gang writ large.

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post #1479 of 2499
5/28/12 at 1:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BR View Post

If Steve thought that, he was wrong.  Yeah, let's remove union protections so that whenever there's a budget shortfall, the experienced teachers can be fired to make way for younger, cheaper teachers.

 

Even you have to admit that this is only possible because government bureaucrats only think in the short term. Kinda like how the same bureaucrats in the health ministry cut the number of doctors graduating to save money and create a crisis that last for decades afterward.

 

And your solution? Give government and unions more power!

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by BR View Post

No, what's wrong with education is ridiculous class size, profit-motivated testing companies selling bullshit standardized tests to schools, idiots believing in the validity of said tests, and non-experts deciding what goes into the curriculum.

 

What's wrong with education is that it's government-run. Period. All schools should be privately owned and in competition with each other, with government regulating the industry.

 

When your kid graduates from a government-run school unable to do basic math, can you sue the school? Nope. Class sizes, testing and curriculum issues are merely union sideshows. You can't show me a jurisdiction where government schooling truly excels today, even in the most leftist of North American jurisdictions. The problem is systemic, and everybody knows it.

The evil that we fight is but the shadow of the evil that we do.
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The evil that we fight is but the shadow of the evil that we do.
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post #1480 of 2499
5/28/12 at 9:30pm
  • BR
  • Justified Arrogance

Government run and the best in the world.  Why are you limiting it to North America?  You and MJ just don't like government run education because it makes it harder to shelter your idiotic children from science.  If the local community wants to, in their schools, teach that Jesus road a dinosaur, that local community should NOT be allowed to do so.

 

“The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of starstuff.” 
-Sagan
Reply

 

“The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of starstuff.” 
-Sagan
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