America's appetite for junk food has taken on terrifying new proportions in the form of the highest calorie hamburger ever marketed to a nation already sick from overeating.
Speak for yourself
The "Monster Thickburger" is nothing less than a "monument to decadence", declares Hardee's, the chain pandering to the country's worst instincts for greed and gluttony.
It's called giving your customers a choice.
The burger, which packs a bulging 1,420 calories and 107 grams of fat per portion, also bucks the trend of fast-food restaurants offering healthier alternatives. "It's not a burger for tree-huggers," said a Hardee's executive, rejoicing in their defiance of the fad for salads and "Atkins-friendly" menus. "It's a lot," one bloated diner said after surviving the challenge of eating one in Pennsylvania. "It tastes better than you might suspect. But I think it's a special treat more than a regular meal." The Monster Thickburger consists of two slabs of Angus beef (664 calories) and four rashers of bacon (150 calories) with three slices of processed cheese (186 calories), plus mayonnaise (160 calories), sandwiched between a sesame seed bun (230 calories) spread with butter for a final 30.
Damm, that sounds good.
The equivalent of two Big Macs, it costs $7. For around $2 more, you can throw in a medium fries and a soft drink and consume an adult's recommended daily intake of calories at one sitting. The burger requires "two hands, a firm grip and a serious appetite", Hardee's boasts. It is also a "heart attack in a bun", say nutritionists. The company is not as widely spread in America as McDonald's or Burger King. But by gambling on bigger burgers, it is earning notoriety - and market buzz. However, it also increases the company's exposure to the threat of lawsuits from customers blaming its food for their obesity, diabetes, heart problems or other conditions linked to poor diet. Attempts to sue McDonald's for health problems have so far failed, but the litigation threat is still taken seriously. Hardee's previous attempt to seduce big eaters was the plain Thickburger. "If the old Thickburger was 'food porn', the new Monster Thickburger is the fast-food equivalent of a snuff movie," the Centre for Science in the Public Interest commented.
Oh, bite me
Posted by: Steve ||
11/18/2004 11:51:41 AM ||
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It's the Center for "Science" in the "Public" Interest.
#5
Lol, Steve - great heads-up! I'm headed out for a printer cable - now I'll have to stop by Carl's Jr (weird incestuous relationship with Hardee's) on the way home to see if they have it on the menu, yet, lol! "Snuff movie" did it, for me... Thanx for the hat tip, CSPI!
MUSIC legend Bob Dylan's soulful classic Like a Rolling Stone has been voted the greatest song of all time by Rolling Stone magazine.
"I feel a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and posted their greatest songs here!"
The song, penned by the 24-year-old folk-rocker in 1965, topped the magazine's list of "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" that will appear in a special edition this weekend. The hit that captured the searching spirit of the 1960s was voted the best song ever by 172 writers and artists, including Joni Mitchell, Elvis Costello and K.D. Lang. The music of the turbulent and artistically rich sixties dominated the list, producing more than 200 of the 500 songs, with The Beatles leading the musical charge. Britain's Fab Four were responsible for 23 of the top 500 songs, while The Rolling Stones scored 14 and Dylan 12.
Following Like a Rolling Stone on the list was The Rolling Stones' (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction (1965) in second place and former Beatle John Lennon's 1971 song Imagine in third. Fourth was Marvin Gaye's 1971 hit What's Going On, followed by Aretha Franklin Respect (1967), The Beach Boys Good Vibrations (1966) and rocker Chuck Berry's Johnny B. Goode (1958). In eighth spot was The Beatles' Hey Jude' from 1968, followed by grunge rock band Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit (1991) and soul king Ray Charles's What'd I Say (1959). Some 144 of the top tunes were penned in the 1970s, while the 1980s glam rock era contributed only 55 songs. Among the other Beatles's tunes on the list are 1965's Yesterday, I Want To Hold Your Hand, (1964), Let it Be from 1970, Help (1965), 1967's Strawberry Fields Forever, Eleanor Rigby (1966), Please Please Me and Can't Buy Me Love, both from 1964, and With A Little Help From My Friends (1967).
The Stones scored with Sympathy For The Devil (1968), Gimme Shelter(1969), Honky Tonk Women (1969), Jumpin' Jack Flash (1968), Ruby Tuesday (1967) and Brown Sugar (1971). Dylan's other triumphs were Blowin' in the Wind and The Times They Are A-Changin', both from 1963, Tangled Up In Blue (1975), Mr Tambourine Man (1965) and Knocking On Heaven's Door (1973). The Beach Boys scored seven songs on the list, including 1966's Good Vibrations, God Only Knows (1966) and California Girls (1965) and Sloop John B (1966). British punk rockers The Clash scored four entries, led by their 1982 classic Should I Stay or Should I Go? and London Calling. The legally-embattled Michael Jackson came in at No.58 for 1983's Billie Jean and in No.337 for Beat It.
Posted by: God Save The World ||
11/18/2004 9:39:26 AM ||
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I've never heard "Like A Rolling Stone". I've heard most of the other songs. Seems to me that if a song is that flippin' great everybody would have heard it, whether they're a fan or not.
#4
True gb506, Dylan does suck. I'm a huge Zep fan, and even though "Stairway" is the most played rock song of all time and many people are clearly tired of it - I find it odd that it did not crack the Top 5. Urethra Franklin?? Gimme a break, that buffet jockey only had that one song and it wasn't even that great.
Rolling Stone did a 100 greatest guitar players of all time in which they placed Edward Van Halen at #55 or so - just goes to show how stupid Rolling Stone is - the M-TV of magazines, all style no substance.
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/18/2004 15:01 Comments ||
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Bob Dylan is one of the finest song writers alive today, and while there are many people that sing his songs better than him, no one, performs them as well as he does.
His songs have been performed by many well known entertainers, and quite a few have topped the charts. True, his singing is an acquired taste just like many things in this world. But, he in fact, does not blow!
So, gb506, how many music awards do you have?
-AR
Posted by: Analog Roam ||
11/18/2004 22:15 Comments ||
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There was a Peta goof on FOX just now complaining about and promoting a protest aginst people eating fish.Saying people who eat fish are supporting cruelty to fish.
Posted by: raptor ||
11/18/2004 5:57:33 AM ||
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Jeff at Protein Wisdom has something related you might find equally interesting... ;-)
"Show us your Tuts!" (sign on the Egypt-themed water table at the Mardi Gras Marathon, New Orleans)
THE mummy of King Tutankhamun will be examined by a team of experts to determine whether it needs to be moved from its tomb for restoration, Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities decided today. The mummy will also be X-rayed in an attempt to solve the mystery of the teenage Pharaoh's death. "If the mummy is in bad condition ... if we need to restore it, we will move it to Cairo," said Zahi Hawass, Egypt's chief archaeologist. "If it is in good condition we will do it in the tomb."
Wasn't it in bad condition when it was discovered?
Tut was in perfect condition, till Howard Carter dismembered him to get all the gold and jewels off the mummy.
Previous reports indicated the mummy would be moved to Cairo for X-rays, but Mr Hawass said the X-rays will be taken in the tomb. Mr Hawass said the examination will be completed by the end of the year. If the mummy is removed, it will be the first time in 82 years that Tutankhamun's remains leave the tomb. The mummy, which Mr Hawass said consists of scattered bones, has not left the tomb since the British archaeologist Howard Carter excavated the tomb in 1922.
Opposition to the mummy's possible removal spread this week in the southern city of Luxor, near where the tomb is located, and among some of the country's archaeologists. A Luxor city official, Mohammed Gameel, said moving the mummy would be a "big blow" to tourism in the city. An archaeologist and former Luxor city official also filed a lawsuit to prevent the removal of Tutankhamun's remains. "Religious rules prevent moving the dead bodies outside their tombs," stated the lawsuit, which also demanded that local officials stop "tampering with Egypt's historic sites and ruins". Ahmed Saleh Abdullah, director of the Abu Simbel temple site in southern Egypt, said he opposed the removal of the mummy due to its condition and insisted that more Egyptians be involved in all parts of the examination. "It's very dangerous to move the mummy at the moment," said Mr Abdullah. "We want the Egyptians to do this, we have specialities and machines in Cairo University."
King Tut ruled about 3300 years ago. He ascended to the throne at about age 8 and died around 1323 BC at 17. An X-ray in 1968 showed bone fragments inside the skull, suggesting the young pharoah was killed by a blow to the head. But Mr Hawass has said the X-ray machine "was not sophisticated enough to find out about the damage" to his skull. This year's X-ray will be done with a German CT scan machine donated by Siemens and National Geographic, Mr Hawass said earlier.
Bone fragments inside the skull isn't a complicated diagnosis.
My guess would be that somebody conked him on the nut. Perhaps they should call in Dr. Quincy for a second opinion?
Posted by: God Save The World ||
11/18/2004 4:54:49 PM ||
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Zahi Hawass wants to shore up that 'cash cow' in the King Tut tourism banner! I wish he would get off his 'high horse' and progress with the proposed Alexander The Great site find! At this rate WE ALL will be dead and lying beside ole king tut before he's finished!
#2
Expert one - ' Is this King Tutankhamun ? '
Expert two - ' Yes '
Expert one - ' Yup , he's dead and rotting , lets go home now , I have to post on rantburg'
Expert two - ' Sounds good '
#3
Ohh great! Are these the same experts who took - what? - ten years examining his corpse before noticing that Oetzi the Iceman had an arrowead embedded between his shoulderblades?
#4
Bulldog - Ten years of hearing about how the peaceful hunter-gatherer probably died in a sudden snowstorm while on his way to pick mountain berries. Iceboy had defensive knife cuts on his hands if I remember the Discovery Channel show-of-the-week properly.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
11/18/2004 8:19 Comments ||
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Better they spend ten years not seeing the obvious than chuck him back in the ground inside of a month, like we do here in the US.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
11/18/2004 10:43 Comments ||
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Remember, there's no statute of limitations on murder! If Tut was murdered, we must find the perpetrator!
Posted by: Dar ||
11/18/2004 10:47 Comments ||
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Let's drag Hosni Mubarak over the the International Criminal Court an' ask him a few questions...
Swarms of pink locusts swept through Cairo on Wednesday in scenes that recalled the biblical plague of Egypt. The swarms flew high above tall towers or swooped down onto tree-lined streets, where scared pedestrians stamped on them or ran for cover. The flying insects arrived from neighbouring Libya after devouring the countryside in central and western Africa in past months. But locust experts said they were unlikely to wreak similar havoc in Egypt, where agriculture is a cornerstone of the economy. "This is really horrible," said one man as he ran past a building where locusts, some of them more than 3 inches (7.6 cm) long, smacked into office windows or landed on cars.
Toldja not to let those guys out of jug. Now you're gonna have to do the thing with the lamb's blood on your doorsills...
Posted by: Fred ||
11/18/2004 11:44:06 PM ||
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Pink locusts, well at least people will see them swarming. Last Days sign? It would great for a horror movie. 'Attack of The Pink Locust'!
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
11/18/2004 0:34 Comments ||
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This was like the second or third seal (The Seventh Sign), wasn't it?
#3
I am not sure which sign it is. Although Egypt was a 'Biblical land" and with everything else taking place in lands mentioned in the Bible from Persia (Iran) to the land of Israel, this event should not be a surprise to anyone, expect those which have totally discounted Biblical signs for future trends in the general area where man began. There are always previews prior to the real thing, thus stay tune, things are about to become increasingly more volatile.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
11/18/2004 0:46 Comments ||
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Are you sure that it is 'possed to be PINK locusts?
Anyhoo, that's 4th seal.
#5
I'm an atheist, Mark, so my comment was rhetorical and the movie reference was just my curiosity - easy bro!
As for Pink, well, I have little first-hand experience with "locusts" so any old color could be the normal color as far as I know, lol! Pink is provocative and must be unusual, however, else I don't think it would've been mentioned, heh.
And I am fascinated with apocalypse stories, for some reason. I favor "On the Beach" (Nevile Shute), myself. Must've been those "duck and cover" drills in school...
#7
.Com there is an old saying; ..There are no true atheists in foxholes when under enemy fire..
I just think it more than odd looking at the center of global conflict today, the beginning of the end, may have already begun, where man began.
As far as those locust, wouldn't it nice if they could skip over a few nations and head right into to the mullahs dwellings, while they are sleeping?
Just like monkeys
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
11/18/2004 4:33 Comments ||
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There are no true atheists in foxholes when under enemy fire..
Just for the record, Mark, that really annoys atheists -- because, like so many old sayings, it isn't in the least bit true -- at least according to my husband's favorite great uncle, who spent WWII in Europe shooting things that moved.
Other than that, every generation since -- at least! -- Plato has complained that a) today's youngsters are lazy, shiftless, and coddled, and b) the world is about to end. To the best of my knowledge, neither has yet been true, and I don't see any reason why the trend should change.
SCANTILY-clad mannequins should be banned from lingerie shop windows, says a Muharraq [Bahrain] councillor. Modern mannequins look too real and are exciting young men, who crowd round the shop windows, says Majeed Karimi.
"They keep leavin' those stains on the glass. It's disgusting!"
Male assistants should also be banned from lingerie shops, says Mr Karimi, chairman of Muharraq Municipal Council's legislative, financial and administrative affairs committee. Displaying mannequins clad in lingerie is against Islamic and social values, he said.
Isn't everything?
"These mannequins look like real-life women, with exactly the same features," said Mr Karimi.
"They got them titties... an' them thighs... and buttocks... an'... an'... Oh, Allah! Where's my gun? I must... I must... I must shoot off!"
"I have received various complaints from people that they feel aroused by seeing these mannequins being exhibited in front of them."
"They're givin' all those young fellers stiffies, those plastic hussies!"
It's as close as some of these lads are going to get ...
He said that many young men in Muharraq stand in front of these shops, not just to watch women enter and leave, but fantasise about the mannequins. "We want shop owners to remove them at once, because these mannequins are affecting the way our children are being raised," said Mr Karimi.
"Do it for the children!"
Posted by: Fred ||
11/18/2004 10:29:42 PM ||
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More graven images! What's a pure woman-hating infidel-beheading schoolchild-murdering grenade-tossing True Believer to do?
#2
Time for the Arab world to 'get a grip' on their sexuality.. *sheesh*
Posted by: Howard UK ||
11/18/2004 7:27 Comments ||
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I think that's the problem. They spend the time they're not reading the Koran in the bathroom, exploring their sexuality, then feeling guilty about it.
I'd say they should get out and meet some chicks who aren't made out of plastic.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/18/2004 8:57 Comments ||
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Just for grins and chuckles folks I would like to propose a little thought experiment.
Since we all know that Islam is kinda stuck around the 10th century, what would your reactions be to a reform of the Arab world that brought them up to the equivalent of the USA circa 1880?
There's no womens vote, public displays of flesh and or affection are highly frowned upon, etc. etc. But, wouldn't this be a good thing since it would introduce the concepts of freedom in a way that would avoid all of the tumult of stomping on all their sensibilities? Then in what I'm sure would be a compressed time frame they could move into the 20th century and finally work their way through suffarage and flappers and modernity.
Maybe we're all trying to bite off more modernization than they can chew, hmmmm?
#6
You know, maybe we are onto something here. Instead of dropping bombs and explosives to 'loosen up' the terrorists in Iraq we should drop Playboy magazines!
We might even get them to create a 'Girls of Fallujah!' edition.
#7
Prefer the idea of seeing dead scum in the road , than seeing a poor Marine turn a corner to see some jihadi with his trousers round his ankles cracking one off , but hey , maybe u have a point CrazyFool
Fox hunting has been banned, despite a last-minute attempt by the government to delay its demise until after the next election. Prime Minister Tony Blair, worried that banning the pastime now would hurt his campaign for a third term in power in an election expected next year, tried to put off the day on which hunters with hounds would no longer be able to chase and kill the fox. But, in extraordinary scenes in parliament, he was defied by both lower house politicians, many of them members of his Labour Party, and the House of Lords, the upper chamber. The ancient pursuit has long inflamed passions across the country, opponents denouncing it as a barbaric sport while supporters argue it is an essential element of country life, providing employment for thousands. The elected House of Commons has consistently voted for a complete ban while the unelected Lords have demanded that some hunting be allowed to continue in England and Wales...
EQUATORIAL Guinea prosecutors confirmed today they have charged Mark Thatcher, son of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, in an alleged coup plot in the oil-rich west African nation. Mr Thatcher is accused of having helped finance the coup attempt, Attorney-General Jose Olo Obono said. Mr Thatcher was added to the existing list of 19 other defendants on trial in Malabo, all accused mercenaries, on Tuesday, Mr Obono said. Equatorial Guinea intends to seek Mr Thatcher's extradition, a legal official close to the government's case had said earlier this week. Equatorial Guinea alleges Mr Thatcher and other, mainly British financiers, worked with Equatorial Guinea opposition figures, scores of African mercenaries, and six Armenian pilots in a takeover plot. The coup plotters intended to force out the 25 year regime of President Teodoro Obiang and install an exiled opposition figure as a figurehead leader for Africa's No.3 oil producer, Equatorial Guinea claims.
They seem to have used the book "The Dogs of War" as a operational plan.
The alleged plot was exposed in March by South African intelligence services, and scores of accused mercenaries were arrested in Malabo and in Zimbabwe. Mr Thatcher was arrested in August at his home in South Africa. South Africa's own investigation has also just linked Thatcher with the alleged coup plot, South Africa's News24 reported. News24 cited documents it said were submitted in Pretoria, South Africa by that country's National Prosecuting Authority yesterday. The documents allege meetings between Mr Thatcher, famed British mercenary Simon Mann and British financier Greg Wales, the report said. Mr Thatcher in January made two bank deposits for a helicopter to be used in the coup attempt, South African investigators said, according to News24. The trial in Equatorial Guinea resumed today, with prosecuton's lead witness formally facing the death penalty after repudiating his alleged confessions in the case in court on Tuesday. Three other accused mercenaries pleaded guilty in South Africa this week to involvement in the plot and agreed to testify against others in the case. Execution in Equatorial Guinea is generally by firing squad.
Posted by: God Save The World ||
11/18/2004 9:37:21 AM ||
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the 25 year regime of President Teodoro Obiang
If you've been in office for 25 years, you're probably not a president. Dictator, more likely.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
11/18/2004 10:36 Comments ||
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If you've been in office for 25 years, you're probably not a president.
At least the guy's smart, and didn't claim that he was "President-for-life". If he did, he probably would have been knocked off the hilltop already.
Lawyers for film director Roman Polanski have urged the House of Lords to allow him to pursue a libel case without giving evidence in Britain. He has a human right to a fair hearing and to protect his reputation through the courts, it was argued. The Oscar-winner wants to testify via videolink from France, to avoid the risk of extradition to the US to face outstanding child sex offences. The 71-year-old is suing Vanity Fair over an article published in 2002. He fled the US in 1977 after admitting that he had unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl before a sentence was imposed, and has not returned since. He could be handed over to the US if he comes to Britain, because there is an extradition agreement between the two countries.
Richard Spearman QC, representing the director before a panel of five Law Lords, said Mr Polanski's inability to give evidence in Britain was being used as a reason to impede the libel case - or cause it to collapse. "This leaves the case in a mess and a situation where a defendant can get away with libel scot-free," said Mr Spearman. The appeal judges were effectively saying the trial could not go ahead because the director was "a fugitive from justice" in America, he added. He said there was no basis for suggesting a trial could not begin until the claimant had come into the UK and exposed himself to the extradition process. Polish-born Mr Polanski was described by his lawyer as a French citizen.
Fair trial
He said the director had returned to live in France after US courts hinted he would get a long jail term, despite the parents of the girl involved saying he should not be punished by prison. "There is nothing in the extradition treaty to say that a country should impose sanctions on citizens of other countries," said Mr Spearman. He said his client had been stopped from coming into the country because the courts did not like his fugitive status. Mr Spearman said the starting point in any decision on how Mr Polanski should give his evidence should be based on whether he could receive a fair trial of the libel case. "The court is imposing a sanction on him that unless he comes to this country, exposing himself to extradition, his civil claim will fail or be impeded." The hearing was later adjourned to Thursday.
Postponement
Earlier this month, the Court of Appeal upheld a ruling that Polanski would have to appear in person to give evidence rather than via a link from his Paris home. "The court should not be seen to assist a claimant who is a fugitive from justice to evade sentence for a crime of which he has been convicted," Lord Justice Jonathan Parker, one of the Court of Appeal's three judges, said. The libel case was postponed until January following the court's decision. The Law Lords will reserve their judgment and a written decision made early next year. Media law experts have said that if Mr Polanksi's appeal fails, it could put an end to his libel battle. He's worried about his reputation. I wonder if anyone outside the US is concerned about the "human rights" of the 13 yr old child he sexually molested. Anyone taking bets on how this will go?
Posted by: .com ||
11/18/2004 2:26:19 AM ||
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Seems to me when Charles Manson mu=rdered his wife, Sharon Tate, he really got wierd. In spite of the tragedy from 30-yrs ago, he needs to be locked away...
Nothing is sacred anymore in the UK. Junk Food. Stogies. Foxes. Next, Ale?
A ban on fox hunting is expected to be forced onto the statute book after peers defied the House of Commons and voted against outlawing the practice. The House of Lords instead backed by two to one a licensed system which would not be introduced until 2007. The Parliament Act now looks sure to be invoked to force a total ban on hunting with dogs in England and Wales.That would happen when the Hunting Bill returns to the House of Commons on Thursday. But pro-hunt campaigners have said they intend to challenge the use of the Act. Wednesday's Lords vote came after MPs rejected a last-ditch compromise on the issue, voting by 321 to 204 against a deal which would have allowed regulated hunting of foxes.
Gesture politics?
In the Lords, Environment Minister Lords Whitty urged peers to back down but in the end they opted to back a licensed hunt system - something which anti-hunting Labour MPs are just not prepared to accept. Labour's Baroness Mallalieu, who is also Countryside Alliance president, said the Hunting Bill was "rank bad", adding: "Its foundations are naked prejudice and wilful ignorance, it is without rationality and without principle". She argued it was the "worst sort of gesture politics". But a government source told BBC News that at "not point" had anti-hunt peers offered a "sensible compromise" over the issue.
Parliament is the highest court. There is not a superior court. If [the pro-hunt lobby] want to spend their money, good luck to them -- Tony Banks MP
Hunt supporters 'defiant'
Tony Blair had favoured a deal proposed in the Commons on Wednesday to allow licensed hunting of foxes to continue which Tories in the Commons also backed the deal, though in the words of party spokesman James Gray only "through gritted teeth". Mr Gray warned that if hunting was banned "the people of the countryside will neither forget it or forgive it". Commons Speaker Michael Martin is expected to agree to allow the Parliament Act to be used. Once a ban goes through, some pro-hunt campaigners intend to exploit any loopholes or even openly defy the law. They could also mount political campaigns against Labour MPs in marginal seats in the run up to the general election. Rural Affairs Minister Alun Michael has already indicated a delay on implementing a hunting ban could be put in place for 18 months. Tory spokesman Tim Yeo said the delay was being touted because the government "was quite rightly fearful of the backlash in many parts of the country against this infringement of civil liberties". He told the BBC the issue could "play very badly for Labour in the general election".
Legal challenge
The BBC has learned the pro-hunt Countryside Alliance has already written to Attorney General Lord Goldsmith giving notice it will challenge the legality of the 1949 Parliament Act if it is invoked. Simon Hart, president of the pro-hunting Countryside Alliance, said: "This is not the end of our campaign - it is just the beginning of the next stage." Phyllis Campbell-McRae, director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, said: "Banning hunting will put Britain back at the forefront of animal welfare worldwide. "It has been a long, hard campaign, won by the determination of tens of thousands of people in urban and rural communities who are dedicated to protecting animals from senseless and appalling cruelty." And I posted this story as an excuse to post these pix links to protesters, both pro and con: _1__2__3_... Cuz I'm tired of PCism.
And I only read the article for the... ummm... article. (Y'know, that sort of protest is banned in Bahrain unless you use plastic dummies? And they're trying to ban that...)
Posted by: .com ||
11/18/2004 2:06:33 AM ||
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And who would you choose? Kennedy? Howard? Bwahahaha.. TWAT.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
11/18/2004 6:00 Comments ||
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I'll stick with Blair, the rest are all stupid gits.
The law of unintended consequences may come into play however if they pass this hunting ban. Between the peace and any cost creeps and the horsemen and countryside Labor could lose.
Growing global demand for cleaner vehicle fuels and the possibility of falling farm subsidies in Europe have sparked several investments in Brazil's ethanol industry. Brazilian and foreign investors are set to invest as much as $3bn (â¬2.3bn, £1.6bn) over the next five years to increase ethanol production by 40 per cent, according to Unica, the S'o Paulo sugar cane federation. Current ethanol production is about 15bn litres a year. Huge water and land supplies help make Brazil the world's largest, cheapest producer of ethanol, derived locally from sugar cane. Production costs for one cubic metre average $160, says FNP, an agricultural consultancy in Sa~o Paulo. In the US corn-based ethanol costs roughly 40 per cent more and Europe's beet-based ethanol roughly double.
With far lower emission levels than hydrocarbons, demand for ethanol is expected to surge, with many parts of Europe, Asia, and the Americas legislating for ethanol or other clean fuels to be mixed into petrol. In Brazil, ethanol makes up between 25 per cent and 100 per cent of automotive fuel. "Ethanol is becoming a global commodity and Brazil is its most competitive producer," says Luiz Guilherme Zancaner, president of Unialco, a cane distiller and refiner. Lots more in the link
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
11/18/2004 8:09:28 AM ||
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This just greenie lunacy. Even in Brazil ethanol requires twice as much energy to produce as it delivers. Its cleaner becuase the dirty fuels are burned in the production process. In reality it's twice as dirty as gas/petrol.
#2
Actually it releases more of some types of emissions and less of others than gas, but to say it releases more or twice as dirty as petrol isn't right... Also the fact that it is renewable and the growth of new ethanol crops absorbs all the emissions is a valid point and leads to net zero emissions. Using oil from the ground is releasing emissions from a sink and reintegrating them into the environment, growing fuel doesn't do that. Whether this is really having an effect on the environment (or whether that effect is positive or negative) I'm have no idea.
Also, it's no longer true that ethanol requires more energy to produce than it stores. This used to be true but with new methods of farming and ethanol distilling it's a net energy gainer. When the new method of cellulostic ethanol comes on line it will become even more.
I like ethanol, it removes a source of income for terrorists (the oil sold from the ME) and reduces our trade deficit. The crazy thing is that with oil where it is today, ethanol is almost the same price as gas without the net dollar of tax subsidy (~50 cents for gas and ~-50 cents for the ethanol).
#3
Ethanol is awesome thankyou for reminding me Mark!
The grand thing about ethanol is it isn't expensive relatively to convert to it.
Unlike Hydrogen or whatever fad is on now, Ethanol can be pumped out of existing petrol stations.
Ethanol was used in the past for farm machinery and farmers used to brew their own fuel: for free.
Fuel cost: 0.
Ethanol is used now in high-performance racing cars.
Your engine needs modifications to run on ethanol as it is very corrosive. It needs a teflon coated engine.
You can buy cars that run on ethanol. Once long ago i posted the links I can't be bothered looking again, but anybody who is interested can just do a google search.
It is my dream that we should be weaned off Saudi Black Skag so the Saudis can go back to being the povo-stricken third world neanderthals they really are and stop trying to own the whole world with the money we are stupidly throwing at them.
We rantburgers should be the first ones lining up to convert our engines as WE KNOW just how bad it is to give money to rabid Islamonazis.
I agree with you Damn Proud American.
All the best from a Damn Proud Australian (ready to go out and sink Indo fishing ships at that)
#4
The statement, "ethanol requires twice as much energy to produce as it delivers" is meaningless because it doesn't have a $ figure attatched. What are the energy inputs from: electric, diesel, mule power? But most importantly, what are their total cost? The bottom line is what is important. That is, what is the price differential between your total cost of production and the selling price?. If it's enough to give you a healthy ROI, then it's a winner. The article states that in Brazil, sugar based alcohol was very attractive when oil was $30/barrel. Well, with the price now hovering around $50/barrel it must beextremely attractive. My feeling is that companies were hesitant to jump on the bandwagon until now because they weren't sure the price would stay up there or not. But now the consensus seems to be that it will because of continued strong demand for oil from Asia, especially China, which will only get more so in the years ahead. Hence the new interest in this fuel. What I like about alcohol is that it can be mixed with gasoline in almost any proportion.
Btw, we will never free ourselves from "Saudi Black Skag", because Saudi light crude is the cheapest to produce in the world, something like $1/barrel on average. What widespread adoption of alcohol would do is terminate the high cost producers of oil, like those deep sea wells in the Gulf of Mexico and Canadian tar sands oil(maybe). Ethanol would in effect act as a cost ceiling for oil - oil would not go beyond a certain cost because there is a widely available alternative which is cheaper. This will not impoverish the Saudis, only make them somewhat poorer than they would be otherwise. To impoverish the Saudis you would need a fuel alternative that is dirt cheap.
#6
I agree with BlueMeanie up to a point. Granted if you go from nukular or solar or wind, then conversion losses are OK to produce ethanol, since you can't use those directly. If the source is coal, it's a somewhat different matter, since liquification is an (expensive, but perhaps no more so) alternative. If they are using oil or natural gas, then this is just plain stupid.
However, to consider it for the US, we have to consider several other factors:
1. How would the cost structure work here? We have higher labor costs, lower taxes, different climate and soil, etc.
2. What is the yield per acre? How much land would it cost to substitute for our gasoline/diesel consumption? What would happen to the grain market if we used it all for alcohol? Would half the world starve?
3. What are the conversion costs? I just bought a new car. I would hate to have to trade it in in less than 5 years, or spend 10% of the purchase price to retrofit it.
4. Ethanol is something like 2/3 energy content per gallon of gasoline and even lower compared to diesel. You lose power and fuel economy and range.
5. Of course, you have to build all the conversion plants. That's a big capital cost.
#7
USDA's 1998 Ethanol Cost-of-Production Survey In late 1999 and early 2000, USDAsurveyed 28 ethanol plants, both wet and dry mills, to estimate their 1998 costs of production (net corn costs and cash variable costs). These ethanol plants processed more than 400 million bushels of corn and sorghum in 1998 to produce more than 1.1 billion gallons of ethanol. The average variable cost of production of ethanol (the sum of the net corn cost plus net variable operating costs) weighted by industry sector was 93.9 cents per gallon. The net feedstock cost averaged about 53 cents per gallon for dry mills and 48 cents per gallon for wet mills.
Another way to look at it is that it is the same energy output of 3 1000MW nuclear reactors run 365 days for 1 year. In addition, the corn feedstocks eat up $2 billion each year (more if you include corn subsidies).
As for energy efficiency, here is another article quote using biomass (e.g. waste wheat stalks) ethanol production: A performed system assessment for a bio-ethanol plant (156 kton/yr; Fig. 1) for three feedstocks. Bio-ethanol (99.9 vol%) is produced at an energetic efficiency of 40-55%. CHP of non-fermentable residues provides the total steam and electricity demand of the plant plus an electricity surplus, giving a total efficiency of 56-68%.
So add in the surplus electricity from burning the waste and you get another 1000MW reactor of power out of it. To see just how little this is, 4000MW is 1% of US electricity production, or 0.3% of total US energy consumption. If the US would put in the effort, we could put online every 1 or 2 months in nuclear energy production, the entire US ethanol energy production, and without the huge feedstock costs.
Posted by: ed ||
11/18/2004 16:27 Comments ||
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#8
BlueMeanie, you're right of course. But as the price of ethanol production drops (we have technology already that should cut it in half when it's implemented) the cost ceiling of oil will continue to be lowered. At least once ethanol production is somewhere near ethanol demand (right now it's not even close).
Jackal, i think ethanol is about 80% of the energy content of gas, not 2/3s. Also it's higher octane so you get more acceleration (power) not less. You don't lose range if you make fuel tanks slightly bigger. And if ethanol costs less than gas per gallon than the fuel efficiency isn't relevant (cost per mile should be how it's measured).
It would increase the costs of grain in the short term (as demand exceeds supply until demand is built up) but shouldn't affect in the long term.
Yields from corn is about 3 gallons of ethanol per bushel. Also with cellulostic production we can use literally any cellulose material... which means you could use the parts of plants that are currently being thrown in landfills. This is a BIG deal and the tech is only first coming online now.
Some other points you should be able to use up to 15% ethanol mix gas in all current cars without an upgrade. The upgrade to a FlexFuel Vehicle (FFV) mainly consists of applying a coating layer to the fuel line because alcohol is corrosive and replacing the chip that controls the combusion in the car to handle the increase in octane based on the fuel mix. It wou ld cost about $1000... so probably significantly less than 10% and to do it in new cars currently costs manufacturers only a few hundred bucks/vehicle.
#9
ed, that was our production in 1999. In 2004 we're gonna produce well over 3 billion gallons (increase of factor of 3 from that survey) and in 2005 we're gonna produce over 4 bilion gallons. Also the costs have dropped from that survey. More importantly you need the fuel in easily transportable and storable form for cars. Electricity from a nuclear plant doesn't fit the bill... ethanol does.
Btw, I think we should be building more nuclear plants to limit our coal and natural gas usage.
Edited for brevity.
The president of Russia Vladimir Putin has awarded Army Marshal Dmitry Yazov with the Order of Merit. He conferred the award on the marshal on the occasion of the latter's 80th birthday, after taking part in a gathering of Russia's military brass, RIA Novosti news agency reported. Of course, the president's gesture is symbolic. By making it he has proved that, if nothing else, he does not back any of the sides involved in the 1991 confrontation between the hard-line Soviet-era generals and the reformist Gorbachev whom they took captive during an abortive attempt to overthrow him. He has also proved that the merits of the Soviet marshal, for him, are of undisputable value, regardless of any political upheavals. All in all, Putin has made it clear that he feels deep sympathy and respect for Marshal Yazov and his colleagues and their efforts aimed at preserving the unity of the country.
On Aug. 19, 1991 Marshal Dmitry Yazov joined a group of top Soviet officials who said that in light of Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev's inability to fulfill his duties and in conditions where the country was on the verge of disintegration they assumed full control of the government and declared a state of emergency.
Posted by: Dar ||
11/18/2004 1:04:30 PM ||
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Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
11/18/2004 07:45 ||
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#1
Hit the button too soon. This is the video link
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
11/18/2004 7:47 Comments ||
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Outside of deploying multiple maneuverable independ-targetable re-entry vehicles/warheads, i.e missle(s) within a missle, another pragmatic anti-GMD covert method is to deploy submarine-launched hypersonic, variable maneuver, LR "fire-and-forget" cruise missles, includ "pop-up" SLCMS that can maneuver, evade, and defend underwater, i.e. "sub within a sub". IOW, HYBRIDS OR UW versions of remote- or "brilliant" [FAF] UAVS/UARVs, aka Unmanned [Maneuverable]Submersible Attack Vehicles, or similar. This can explain why the Russians and Chicom PLAN are engaging in intensified underwater surveys, and going gaga reportedly buying up underwater geography maps from any source - HEADS UP, SSN Boyz, YOUR "JUTLAND", OR PEARL HARBOR, MAY ABOUT TO DAWN ON NAVAL WARFARE! Subs, likely based on the TYPHOON/AKULA hull series, that can not only land large first-strike commando units/forces but can also launch underwater first-strike mini-vehicles. The rest,as is said, is POLITICS.
#3
Theoretically, it should mean a significant boost to the Navy's budget, as at minimum the Navy will have to upgrade its worldwide SATWAR and sib detection nets, and in layered defense; and will also likely have to build, deploy, and keep on near-permanent locale more hunter-killer subs and multipurpose "sea control" surface ships, prob includ armed airships or other air-based slow armed platforms. The sooner GMD is operational and Communism implodes and forever dies, the better for the budget and the US taxpayer.
China has suspended work on a dam project in the southwestern province of Sichuan and sacked at least one Communist Party cadre as armed police patrol the streets weeks after thousands gathered in violent protests. At least one person was killed when tens of thousands of farmers in Hanyuan county protested over a hydroelectric dam project that will flood 100,000 people out of their homes. The local Communist Party propaganda office said Hanyuan county party secretary Tan Zhengyu had been removed from his post and replaced by one of his deputies. "The removal was suggested by the city party committee and approved by the provincial party committee," the official told Reuters.
An announcement had been made earlier this week, the official said. "Construction of the dam has been temporarily halted." The protest came amid a string of unusually violent demonstrations around the country that illustrated the extent of grievances in rural China, plagued by corruption and falling economically far behind the booming coastal regions. But the government is intent on maintaining social stability, and sent thousands of paramilitary police to quell the protest. Hundreds of farmers in the area were also detained after they surrounded a high-ranking provincial official whom Taiwan and Western media identified as Sichuan party chief Zhang Xuezhong. Nonetheless, the punishment of the county official suggests that the leadership is keen to reinforce a message of accountability, which became a priority in the months after President Hu Jintao took office. China dismissed a naval commander after a deadly submarine accident in May last year, sacked its health minister and the Beijing mayor for mishandling the SARS crisis, and fired officials for negligence over a coal mine explosion. "The rules may be correct, but the enforcement at the local government level may have problems... So we have to rethink what is wrong -- the rules or implementation," said Mao Shoulong, a public administration professor at the Peopleâs University...
#1
Al-Aska Paul's been keeping me up to date on the Chinese Dams - I don't think you have the ability to file a lawsuit/contest to the Environmental Impact Report over there heh heh
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/18/2004 20:21 Comments ||
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At least one person was killed when tens of thousands of farmers in Hanyuan county protested over a hydroelectric dam project that will flood 100,000 people out of their homes.
#3
Nations at the other end of China's various damming projects reportedly have filed diplomatic protests as water levels in vital riverine systems have dropped. Looks like the anti-USA UNO may end with a WATER-FOR-MONEY/SECURITY controversy after all.
China may have lost the latest skirmish with the European Union to get the latter to lift its arms ban, but Beijing is still able to buy what it needs - solid, serviceable hardware and technology - from Russia, former Soviet-bloc nations and Israel. And the embargo gives China greater incentive to develop its own weapons systems.
On Wednesday, the European parliament in Brussels voted, as expected, to maintain the EU embargo on arms trade with the People's Republic of China until the PRC improves its human rights record. It voted not to weaken national restrictions on such arms sales and said the ban should continue in force until the EU itself had adopted an improved code of conduct, providing legal restraints on arms experts. The current ban is largely voluntary, and strongly opposed by France and Germany.
No matter, China is still a big arms buyer, though economic constraints if maintained at the current level probably will keep Beijing from doing anything extraordinary, military-wise, for the next decade, experts say. There is a famous incident recounted by the late Colonel Harry Summers, author of the classic 1982 book On Strategy: A Critical Analysis of the Vietnam War. In it he notes that at the very end of the war he was in Hanoi trying to make an agreement on the former Republic of Vietnam. In the course of the conversation he said, "Well, at least we never lost a battle to you." One North Vietnamese general then replied, "That's true, but it doesn't matter."
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Posted by: tipper ||
11/18/2004 9:11:23 AM ||
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Atimes: While China does not have the most modern weaponry or military technologies, the reality is that it has most of what it needs and is not having great difficulties in procuring from other countries, outside the European Union and the United States, what it does need. So the European parliament vote is not that significant to China.
This is wrong. Completely wrong. If the EU breaks its embargo, China will get its advanced weapons for far less. If the Soviets were able to buy their advanced weaponry from the West, they wouldn't have had to spend huge chunks of their economy researching and developing new weaponry. And their economy wouldn't have collapsed. China is spending all it can afford. Any more and it risks the fate of the Soviet Union (the collapse of the Communist party and perhaps the dissolution of the Chinese empire).
#2
The thing is the Russians make weapons a peasant can use. They are not great but they are sturdy as hell. This applies to Kalishnikovs and tanks.
Western gear is a lot more demanding to keep servicable and thus is unpopular in much of the third world.
The interesting thing I read is that western gear is far superior if you are planning a war with another nation. Russian gear is great if you just want to keep your own people in their place.
#3
rjschwarz: The thing is the Russians make weapons a peasant can use. They are not great but they are sturdy as hell. This applies to Kalishnikovs and tanks.
The Chinese have been making their own tanks and automatic rifles for decades. All you need to do this is heavy industry (steel, and various other metals) and blueprints, things that China has had for decades.
The things that the Chinese are importing from Russia are items that will improve China's force projection capabilities. From example, Russia makes some pretty high performance airframes. China has been buying the aviation electronics (avionics) from Israel to replace the crappy Russian flight controls. In selected instances, the Russians and the Israelis aren't just selling the kits - they are selling the knowhow for manufacturing the items. Given the increasingly sophisticated manufacturing capabilities being transferred to China via the move of entire physical plants from the West, Chinese armament makers are not to be underestimated.
Note that Toshiba transferred the milling machines that made Russian Kilo subs all but undetectable during the 1980's (the milling machines gave the submarine propeller blades a finely-honed finish that made them much quieter than the Russians were able to achieve using Russian machine tools). Today, this kind of machinery is routinely moved to China to take advantage of its low labor costs, for manufacturing tools for re-export to the developed world.
#4
Thanks for clearing that up. I'm aware of Toshiba's betrayal of the West and won't buy one of their products to this day (unless it's well hidden inside someone elses computer).
China's biggest PC maker Lenovo has launched the world's first 13.1-inch wide-screen collaborative PC. The Lenovo Tianyi Y200 integrates popular broadband applications like video communication, interactive video applications and online payments, with collaborative applications among various digital home appliances, China Radio International reported Thursday. The unique 13.1-inch liquid-crystal display gives a better picture than the existing 12-inch PCs; it is slimmer and lighter than the ordinary 14-inch PCs with a travel weight of only two kilograms and a battery supporting over four hours of working time. The new PC offers users access to an integrated suite of broadband resources including entertainment, a search engine and other information services, giving them the most convenient and stylish one-stop broadband application experience. More importantly, with broadband connectivity, users can now access an enlarged scope of audio and visual resources more conveniently than ever.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
11/18/2004 6:01:54 AM ||
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I see the Centrino and Windows stickers on the bottom right. So what's newsworthy here? That Lenovo has ripped off 40 or 50 patents in one package? What?
WASHINGTON still had concerns about the free trade deal with Australia, US Ambassador Tom Schieffer said tonight. Australia and the US gave the final go ahead to the deal overnight, paving the way for it to come into effect on January 1 next year. The US last month signalled there could be delays amid concerns from American drug companies over Labor amendments to the Australian laws underpinning the agreement. Mr Schieffer told ABC TV the concerns were still there. "What we basically said was we'll agree to disagree," he said. "The government assured us the amendments would not be contrary to the spirit of the agreement. "While we still have concerns, what we basically said is if it presents a problem in the future, we will try to deal with it first on a bilateral basis, and if we're not able to resolve it in that way we'll try to resolve it through the forum of the World Trade Organisation." Mr Schieffer said the compromise over the concerns showed the benefit of the close relationship between the two nations. "Close friends can have those kind of concerns and resolve them in this way," he said.
Posted by: God Save The World ||
11/18/2004 9:35:25 AM ||
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SYDNEY radio broadcaster John Laws has published a grovelling apology to the gay community for comments he made a fortnight ago about visiting US TV star Carson Kressley. After a comprehensive campaign from Sydney's gay community, the 2UE veteran broadcaster yesterday moved to end the standoff. This week Laws met key members of the community to settle the dispute, which stemmed from a November 3 broadcast in which he called Kressley, star of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, a "pompous little pansy prig" and a "pillow-biter" and ended the stream of abuse with the words: "P*** off, pansy." EFL
Posted by: God Save The World ||
11/18/2004 9:43:25 AM ||
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He's right about the pompous part, anyway. The blonde Smurf-like one reeks of vanity and self-importance. I can't watch that show (and most / all 'reality'-based TV as well) for more than 60 seconds before I reach / retch for the remote and the barf bag.
Sydney, Australia: DRINKING at the beach on Christmas Day will be banned in the latest attempt to kill fun in Sydney. Guards and police will patrol Bondi beach during Christmas-New Year, strictly enforcing a no-alcohol policy. Waverley Council has endorsed an alcohol management project calling for security guards and police to be stationed in "strategic locations" on the beach and in neighbouring parks. There is currently an alcohol ban at Bondi, Tamarama and Bronte beaches but the focus will be on Bondi.
Waverley Mayor Peter Muscatel Moscat denied council was made up of "wowsers". He said people would still be able to drink at a function in the Bondi Pavilion - as long as they were willing to pay $30. "On Christmas Day they're going to be turning people away if they bring alcohol to the beach," he said. Mr Muscatel Moscat said the number of people drinking on the beach was increasing. "Ten years ago there were riots on Christmas and New Year and we got that under control by working with the police and locals and making sure people drank in a certain area," he said. "Over the years that worked well but last year we had nearly 40,000 people on Christmas Day and almost 200 rescues.
Beachgoers weren't thrilled. "It seems a bit excessive," Irish tourist Neasa Smith, 23, said. "Do they just want to try and produce a bit of extra revenue?" Local Emily Bowdler said there was a nice atmosphere on the beach at Christmas: "Most people are well behaved." Aaah well, plenty of other beaches to drown at.
Posted by: God Save The World ||
11/18/2004 8:32:02 PM ||
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Spoilsports. Oh well, there's other great beaches to head to, like Manly, Narrabeen, or Cronulla. Hopefully the killjoys haven't reached those places yet. :)
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/18/2004 10:56 Comments ||
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#7
My wife's biological father had a place near Bondi beech. When I saw it I never understood what the big deal was. It seemed no better or worse than a dozen beeches we have here in California or the ones I've seen in Florida.
By the way the beaches in the South of France, Nice in particular, are some of the worst I've ever seen. Pebbles intead of sand. What's up with that.
Any Aussies in the house care to explain the special appeal of Bondi?
#8
RJ - you're in SD, right? Ever been to Tourmaline after a storm? Pebbles, man.....
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/18/2004 11:14 Comments ||
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#9
Bondi is MY beach. I grew up on it. My father's ashes are in the water there. Every day I'm not there I miss it.
Bondi water is clean and cold. No more dirty sewage. There are octopuses, blue gropers, and many interesting fish living in the rocks around. There is a woman who sells organic corn on the promenade. There is always free entertainment: brazilians doing capoeira, african drumming, or just musclemen showing off.
There's always festivals there: sculpture by the sea, festival of the winds, south american food festival etc. Every weekend something different is on.
There are waves down the south end for surfers, and flat calm water up the north end for toddlers.
The beach has something for everyone, it's the best beach in the world.
But alcohol on christmas day is a tradition! Damn you Waverley council Damn you to hell. And double damn you for my parking fine!
#10
It seemed no better or worse than a dozen beeches we have here in California..
Most, if not all, of the beaches I strolled in NSW were exceptionally clean, and the sand was a nice golden color. Little garbage, flotsam, etc, and the water was pretty clear. Go down to the coast here in CA (the central coast fo rme) and there's all kinds of garbage laying around, the ocean water is all foamy and icky, and the sand is like a dull gray. The CA coastal areas look good from a distance, like say if you're sitting on a tall bluff overlooking the water, but up close the beaches aren't all that great.
Survivors of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre are set to file a suit in a French court, demanding financial compensation from the United Nations for "abandoning" the Muslim enclave of Bosnia. The case will be filed with an administrative court in Paris by the group's Toulouse-based lawyer, Agnes Casero, who says she is representing 329 Srebrenica survivors. Up to 8,000 Muslim males were killed in the Srebrenica slaughter, the worst in Europe since World War II. In mid-October the Bosnian Serb Government issued a report on Srebrenica, admitting the scale of the crime for the first time. Serb authorities had previously downplayed the killing, classed as an act of genocide by the UN War Crimes Tribunal at The Hague. However, the report's toll of up to 8,000 victims is in line with independent estimates. Ms Casero told a press conference in Toulouse, southern France, that the suit could have been filed in another UN member nation but that as she was a French lawyer the group had decided to take the action in Paris.
Bosnian Serb war-time leader Radovan Karadzic and his army commander, Ratko Mladic, both charged by the UN court for war crimes and genocide in Srebrenica, still remain at large. A Dutch battalion serving with the UN peacekeeping mission in Bosnia was tasked to protect Srebrenica Muslims but failed to do so. The entire Dutch government resigned in 2002 after a damning official report blamed the country's political and military leaders for giving their peacekeepers an "impossible" mission to protect the enclave. In June, Srebrenica survivors had given the Dutch authorities a proposal for an out-of-court settlement for two billion euros as compensation for failing to prevent the massacre. In July Ms Casero began the procedure in Geneva by lodging a demand, addressed to UN secretary-general Kofi Annan. She warned then that a failure to reply would lead to action in the Paris court. At her press conference, Ms Casero said that today the poorest of the massacre's survivors lived in camps and the others were forced to live abroad. "This massacre was committed under the spotlight of the whole world, with the presence of the UN and nothing was done," she said. "From this point of view Srebrenica is not a massacre like the others."
Posted by: God Save The World ||
11/18/2004 7:22:09 AM ||
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"also named in the suit was noted UN/Kofi apologist Mike Sylwester. Mr. Sylwester asked the plaintiffs to 'restate the suit differently so he could understand it, as well as providing links, proof, ...'"
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/18/2004 10:29 Comments ||
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#2
Frank G, I'm sorry that I had to pop your bubble about the Kojo scandal. Let's forget about that. Maybe sometime you'll find that I was wrong about something too. Then we'll be even. Friends?
.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
11/18/2004 10:32 Comments ||
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Comfy is some kind of genius for sure. A UN operation fails to save lives, and the Dutch government carries the can. Surely the Nobel Peace Prize is too lowly an accolade for this great man.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
11/18/2004 19:49 Comments ||
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Kojo and his father are thieves and liars and teh rest of your UN is as well, apologist-boy. Friends? I wouldn't let you fold my socks - some may turn up missing
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/18/2004 20:00 Comments ||
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#6
Re #5 (Frank G): I wouldn't let you fold my socks
Has it come to that? Frank, where did it go wrong between us?
.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
11/18/2004 22:08 Comments ||
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This one's for rex, if he's still here:
The conservative-leaning Fox News Channel will soon be coming to Canadian digital television channels. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approved an application Thursday to bring the Fox News Channel, one of the highest-rated news channels in the United States, onto Canadian digital airwaves. The Canadian Cable Telecommunications Association (CCTA) applied to the broadcast regulator in April....The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) opposed the application, saying it would discourage foreign broadcasters from partnering with Canadian broadcasters. However, in its decision, the CRTC said Fox News offers little Canadian coverage and is not "partially or totally competitive with any Canadian pay or specialty service."...The CRTC rejected a CCTA application to bring Fox to Canada last November because Fox News U.S. and Winnipeg-based Global Television were planning to create Fox News Canada, a combination of U.S. and Canadian news. However, in March, a Fox U.S. executive said there were no plans to create the combined channel. The CRTC was thrust into the spotlight in July after giving conditional approval to the digital broadcast of Arab television station al-Jazeera....No Canadian distributors carry al-Jazeera.... Hmm, CNN or Fox. I'll reserve judgment for now. And no, that's not sarcasm.
Posted by: Rafael ||
11/18/2004 2:44:00 PM ||
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Fox will be popular west of Ontario except in Vancouver, if the election returns from their parliamentary election is an indication.
#3
Have you seen enough of Fox News to make the comparison?
None. Except for bits and pieces here and there. But I mean, c'mon...CNN has Christiane Amanpour. And Christiane has the ability to parachute in on any story around the world within 30 seconds of the "Breaking News" banner sliding across the screen. No one can beat that.
And where else could you find people like Paula Zahn, who maintains that Jihadis can't see (literally) the difference between Iraqi government troops and US soldiers from a distance, even though this is completely irrelevant to what her guest is talking about (and everything else for that matter, but y'see, it's nice to know she cares about the Jihadis).
And Aaron Brown, Michael Moore's buddy. (No need to say anything else, is there?)
And of course, last but not least, Larry King.
But there's some sane people there too, like Lou Dobbs.
The main reason why I'll continue watching CNN is because there's now a filter available for all the BS, spin, propaganda, bias, and general moonbattery: it's called Rantburg :)
Posted by: Rafael ||
11/18/2004 16:56 Comments ||
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I saw a CNN special with Paula Zahn visiting with the families of a deployed marine unit a few months ago. She spent the whole time looking like she was holding a dead rat by the tail.
Posted by: Matt ||
11/18/2004 17:17 Comments ||
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Singer: 'People don't realize that by voting Republican, they voted against themselves'
"It's springtime
For Linda..."
Posted by: Anonymoose ||
11/18/2004 10:45:36 AM ||
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New bunch of Hitlers as performing artists?
Posted by: Capt America ||
11/18/2004 10:52 Comments ||
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Come again how the Dems think they can just say the right words and recapture the redlands?
Posted by: Don ||
11/18/2004 10:59 Comments ||
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that's her lame backup band "New Bunch Of Hitlers"
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/18/2004 11:09 Comments ||
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Thirty-five years ago she was talented and sexy, a veritable siren. Now she's just another pathetic aging rocker, desperately trying to get back into the spotlight for just a few minutes more.
#8
On the issue of the ongoing battle in Iraq, Ronstadt added, "I worry that some people are entertained by the idea of this war. They don't know anything about the Iraqis, but they're angry and frustrated in their own lives..."
Democratic Party leaders said Wednesday they want to know why Sen. John Kerry ended his presidential campaign with more than $15 million in the bank, money that could have helped Democratic candidates across the country. Some said he will be pressured to give the money to Democratic campaign committees rather than save it for a potential White House bid in 2008. "Democrats are questioning why he sat on so much money that could have helped him defeat George Bush or helped down-ballot races, many of which could have gone our way with a few more million dollars," said Donna Brazile, campaign manager for Al Gore's 2000 presidential race.
Brazile is a member of the 400-plus member Democratic National Committee, which meets early next year to pick a new party chairman. One high-ranking member of the DNC, speaking on condition of anonymity, said word of Kerry's nest egg has stirred anger on the committee and could hurt his chances of putting an ally in the chairmanship. Congressional Democrats and labor leaders also privately questioned Kerry's motives. One said he would personally ask the Massachusetts senator to donate some of the money to the Democratic House and Senate campaign committees.
And so, the infighting begins.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/18/2004 10:33:45 AM ||
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Why did Kerry keep $15mm in the bank? To pay for litigation over the result of the election. The election just turned out not to be close enough to litigate. I think the money should be given to Tereza to compensate her for having to shake hands with all of those little people. It must have been ghastly for her.
Posted by: Matt ||
11/18/2004 10:50 Comments ||
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#2
And so, the infighting begins.
Where's the popcorn?
Posted by: Steve from Relto ||
11/18/2004 10:58 Comments ||
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#3
Hey, back off, it's the first real money the shitbag has ever "earned". No rich women, just a bunch of gullible lefties.
#6
He might use part of that to repay that Wells Fargo bridge loan / mortgage he took against Teresa's his Beacon Hill mansion for $6 million. I haven't seen anything saying that Kerry's paid this off yet, so I'm assuming he didn't. He's a dumb mofo if he hasn't as the spread between money market rates and his (at least) 4.5% on the loan rate doesn't make any financial sense.
#7
Matt - Actually, there was another $7M in a litigation account for after the election. The $15M should have all been spent pre-election. I'm SO sorry he's not doing the planning for the USG now ...
One of the ten evangelical church leaders of the Assemblies of God Church in Iran reportedly released from detention by police authorities on Sept. 12 may possibly be charged with "espionage" and face the death penalty, sources reported today "Chances that Hamid Pourmand will be sentenced to death are growing," AsiaNews reported. "His conversion alone—which a friend said he never kept secret—is ground for the death penalty for, under Islamic law, apostasy is a capital crime." Born a Muslim, Pourmand converted to Christianity 25 years ago. AsiaNews reports that over the past decade, local Protestant congregations have been harshly suppressed by the Iranian authorities for allowing Muslims to visit their services or for being suspected of baptizing former Muslims converting to Christianity. There are about 360,000 Christians in Iran out of a population of 65 million. Of these, 335,000 are Protestants.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
11/18/2004 12:38:58 AM ||
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âHis conversion aloneâwhich a friend said he never kept secretâis ground for the death penalty for, under Islamic law, apostasy is a capital crime.â
That won't stop Jack Straw and his EUppeasement buddies shuffling off planes at Tehran on bended knee.
Basilica in India Will Ask Pilgrims for Identification
In the wake of violence by Hindu extremists and a recent fire at a basilica, security measures have been stepped up for the imminent exposition of St. Francis Xavier's relics. The exposition, from Nov. 21 to Jan. 2, is expected to attract 3 million pilgrims to the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Old Goa (India). The basilica, which houses the relics of the Spanish Jesuit missionary, will expose for veneration the remains of the great apostle of the East. St. Francis Xavier (1506-1552) is sometimes described as the greatest figure of Christianity in Asia after St. Thomas the Apostle... Sounds like a major target for terrorist attack.
The remote Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan has decided to ban all tobacco products from Wednesday, a government notification says. Shops, hotels, restaurants and bars selling tobacco products have been ordered to dispose of existing stocks before 17 December. The tobacco ban will not apply to foreign tourists, diplomats or those working for NGOs. Bhutan is thought to be the first country with a full tobacco sales ban...
Comparing pornography to heroin, researchers on Thursday called on Congress to finance studies on "porn addiction" and launch a public health campaign about the dangers. "We're so afraid to talk about sex in our society that we really give carte blanche to the people who are producing this kind of material," said James B. Weaver, a Virginia Tech professor who studies the impact of pornography. Internet pornography is corrupting children and hooking adults into an addiction that threatens their jobs and families, a panel of anti-porn advocates told the hearing organized by Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., chairman of the Commerce subcommittee on science.
Brownback, a father of five, said when he was a boy, the typical kid's exposure was limited to occasional peeks at dirty magazines illicitly obtained by a buddy. Now, he said, pornography seems pervasive. Children run across it while researching homework on the Internet. Vulgar ads arrive unexpectedly by e-mail. Some of his middle-age male friends limit their time alone in hotel rooms to avoid the temptation of graphic pay-per-view movies, Brownback said. Mary Anne Layden, co-director of a sexual trauma program at the University of Pennsylvania, said pornography's effect on the brain mirrors addiction to heroin or crack cocaine...
#6
I'm sure each Senator will do extensive private research into the issue.
Posted by: Tibor ||
11/18/2004 21:52 Comments ||
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#7
God I just want to pound the piss out of these goody two shoes types. Get the fark out of our lives and leave us alone. Worry about your own morality not mine. Get your book banning asses out of my way.
#8
I wonder where I would volunteer for one of Dr. Layden's studies: "First we'll scan your brain while you're on the heroin, then the crack, then the naughty cheerleader film festival."
Posted by: Jonathan ||
11/18/2004 22:40 Comments ||
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#9
6 Billion on the planet and still multplying. Oh, the humanity of it all. Just say NO! Don't think porn is responsible for getting us to this population level, we've been working on it for a while.
Posted by: Don ||
11/18/2004 23:37 Comments ||
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#10
I gotta get me one of those Government Grants to study this......
...First, let me start by saying that I'm pretty sure that it may not be entirely legal to use a Mountain Howitzer Cannon for deer hunting, at least not here in Wisconsin. (I didn't actually ask the DNR about using a Mountain Howitzer, but I'm pretty sure they wouldn't like it) Check with your own State Hunting regulations, ... or not ... (see hunting with artillery section) But, never-the-less, if you live on the edge, and want a real hunting experience, ... read on ... So having said all that, I'll give the standard disclaimer ... "Don't try this at Home" ... "Leave it to Professionals..." And now for something completely different.
#4
I'm against using this to slaughter innocent F 3s (furry forest friends), but it might be just the thing for mobs of blackshirt PEST-sufferers when their psychosis reaches the terminal stage.
Zimbabwean human rights activists have criticised the British government for its decision to end a two-year suspension of the forced repatriation of failed asylum seekers. Des Browne, the British minister for citizenship and immigration, announced on Tuesday that while "there has not been any improvement in conditions in Zimbabwe", he was removing the suspension put in place in January 2002, as it was being abused. "We can appreciate the fact that the suspension was perhaps being abused, but the timing of the announcement - ahead of the [Zimbabwe] general elections [in March 2005], when a number of opposition party supporters could possibly face persecution - is unfortunate," said Bidi Munyaradzi, director of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Association...
The unprecedented explosion of violence in Ivory Coast this month, which sparked an exodus of foreigners, has plunged relations between France and its west African former colony over a cliff with no hope of reconciliation, experts say. The dire state of affairs was underlined Thursday when Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo made a plea on French radio for French businessmen to return to his country, the world's biggest cocoa producer now facing economic ruin. "The breaking point has been reached, a certain post-colonial era has come to an end and there will be no going back. French-Ivorian ties will never be as they were," said Antoine Glaser, an Africa specialist and director of the authoritative "La Latrine Lettre du Continent" publication.
He says this as if it's a bad thing.
More than 6,000 French citizens were evacuated from Ivory Coast after a sudden rise in racist violence against whites spread by militant gangs of youths loyal to Gbagbo. Several Frenchwomen were raped and other brutal assaults were said to have occurred. The gangs have been roaming Abidjan in anger after French forces acting as a buffer between government troops and rebels wiped out Ivory Coast's tiny air force in retaliation for a November 6 air attack that killed nine French soldiers and an American. "Before, during crises, there was only pillaging of property. But now, for the first time, we have seen physical assaults, rapes, a real witch-hunt against the French," Glaser said. The result was that "a taboo had been broken" and the sort of protection the French had assumed had existed had been swept aside. "The line has been stepped over, and the model of successful decolonisation has been blown to bits," he said.
The rapes are bad, and the rapists need to be jugged. The violence is bad, and the perpetrators need to be jugged. Gbagbo, are you listening?
Week old news, but another report that the UN has spent 600 million dollars to date on solving the problem caught my attention. Another glowing example of the taxpayer funded UN at work.
Morocco's state media say King Mohammed has asked Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe to help mediate in the dispute over Western Sahara.
Because he's done such a bang-up job in his country.
Morocco annexed the phosphate-rich desert territory 30 years ago after colonial power Spain pulled out. Morocco took the action despite a World Court ruling in favor of autonomy for Western Sahara.
OK, now I see why they picked Bob. He's a expert at taking land that belongs to someone else.
Fighting Morocco for independence for the region is the Polisario Front, backed by neighboring Algeria. Morocco has rejected a UN-backed peace plan, which would allow the people of Western Sahara determine its future in a referendum. The former mediator, US diplomat James Baker, resigned in June, and his successor has said he would support the UN plan.
"That way when thing's go to hell, we can point a finger at the UN and blame them."
Suliman Nyang is the director of African Studies at Howard University in Washington, DC. He says the move improves Morocco's standing in Africa because President Mugabe has the credentials within Africa of being a former liberation leader.
Not to mention a brutal thug, that gives you street cred in Africa as well.
Posted by: phil_b ||
11/18/2004 7:52:26 AM ||
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African U.N. forces should have been sent to free Zimbabwe a very long time ago, from the horrific corruption & murderous ways of Robert Mugabe, not asking him for any advice, never mind mediate a conflict?
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
11/18/2004 9:21 Comments ||
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#2
Black Pot: "Hello Kettle."
Black Kettle: "Hello Pot, nice to meet you."
Posted by: BA ||
11/18/2004 12:45 Comments ||
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The U.S. dollar tumbled to its lowest rate in years against key Asian currencies Thursday after a top U.S. official indicated the government wouldn't intervene to halt the American currency's recent slide worldwide. The dollar fell to a four-and-a-half-year low against the Japanese yen, and a seven-year low against the South Korean won. The trend continued as European markets opened, and the dollar fell to a new record low against the euro. The euro surged to US$1.3074, breaking the record set on Wednesday, as concerns about high oil prices and the U.S. trade and budget deficits continued to push the dollar lower.
Analysts attributed Thursday's plunge to comments by U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow in London on Wednesday, that "no one has ever devalued their way to prosperity" but the "only way to get prosperity is to follow the marketplace." In Tokyo, the dollar fell late Thursday to 103.76 yen, its lowest level since April 2000, down 1.30 yen from late Wednesday. On Thursday, several Japanese financial officials expressed concern about the dollar's moves, and the top government spokesman said Japan was ready to intervene as it has done in the past to prop up the dollar. Some Asian officials have been worried the United States will start relying on a weak dollar to fight the ballooning American trade and budget deficits.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
11/18/2004 5:56:06 AM ||
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#1
As I have said before, there is one humdinger of a financial crisis coming.
#2
Like to give us the top 4 or 5 fallout items from said crisis, phil? I don't expect you to write a book, but I would be fascinated by some 90K ft view semi-predictions... If you have the time & inclination, that is. ;-)
#3
Fallout item number one is that Germany (and any other export-oriented Euroland economy) is screwed. Fallout item number two is that if Russia and other crucial oil producers decide to price their oil in euros, then we're screwed-- so long as we remain addicted to the crack that is oil. I would expect us to finally get serious about shifting massively to nuclear fuel in that case.
#4
This is a currency cycle. A devalued U.S. dollar is great for our exports, because American made products become cheaper for foreign importers.
The downside is, people working for American companies overseas, earning dollars have been hit hard by the rise in the euro. It also raises costs for Americans on vacation in Europe and burdens businesses that rely on tourism, such as hotels and restaurants.
Across the Pond: The Euro, launched in 1999, slumped to less than a dollar for about 2 1/2 years between 2000 and mid-2002. It's now 57 percent above its all-time low against the dollar of 82 cents from October 2000.
The Germans and French were the big promoters of a Euro Superstate currency and now French Finance Minister Nicholas Sarkozy is crying about the Euro's dramatic climb. Get this guy, "The U.S. must cut its budget deficit: This is an unanimous message from Europe and the International Monetary Fund which we're sending to our American friends,"
I have two words for this weasel like frog, 'Drop & Dead'! What happened, all of Saddam's UN Oil-for-Profits dough dry up Mr. Frenchie? It would be great just to teach the E.U. Superstate a hard currency lesson, to drive the Euro up to 140+ against the U.S. Dollar and then reverse the cycle.
Are the French & Germans still in love with their soaring Euro?
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
11/18/2004 8:45 Comments ||
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#5
Crisis or not it's reality coming home to roost.
No one can dictate a free market for long. And when its tried to only exacerbates the inevitable correction.
#6
It means that items like electronics and automobiles are going to cost more if they are produced or assembled in Asia. Those companies that established plants in the US will be able to keep their prices stable and be competitive. Its a wake up call for those businesses that have placed nearly all their product creation in China, etc. They will see the profit margins decrease unless they shift production to other locations. Technically, it should make American materials cheaper, like agro products, but since we tolerate trade barriers against our materials [the endless negotiations without resolution], we are unlikely to see any real increase in sells.
Posted by: Don ||
11/18/2004 10:36 Comments ||
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#7
Problems are coming home to roost, yes Phil B I think you are right.
This has been brewing since the free money party of the 90s pumped too much liquidity into the system. Greenspan can't take the punchbowl away and now it's paying time.
They want to inflate their way out of the deficit.
Problem is: China pegs the Yuan to to Dollar, so falling dollar means even cheaper products from China.
another problem is: Japan cannot prop up the dollar and thus bond market for too much longer.
IF the dollar values too much more people will take their money out of US Bonds.... leading to interest rate rises.
Because the US boom is running on re-fi cash, interest rate rises will be a fatal blow to domestic demand.
Fleckenstein has written loads of good stuff on this: he's been calling it since he was one of the few to call the tech wreck (before it happened).
#9
Asian countries will act to prop up the dollar. They don't have a choice. Chinese sales of the dollar to buy Asian currencies is what's driving the dollar down. The thinking is that what they're doing is to front-run their repegging of the yuan-dollar exchange rate, which is rumored to be set at a 10% revaluation of the yuan (i.e. the yuan buys 10% more dollars). Since the dollar is about to become less valuable with respect to the yuan, the revaluation makes Chinese labor and materials costs less competititive. As a result they are trying to ding their biggest competitors, the other Asian countries, by making their currencies stronger with respect to the dollar as well. And the Asian central banks will respond to keep their currencies competitive by buying dollars with their own currencies - but only after the Chinese have stopped selling their dollar holdings. They are waiting for the dollar to hit its lows before responding.
#10
If ZF's analysis is right, an interesting implication is that the euro is simply a spectator here. Nothing that the EU central bankers, or the EU economies' central banks, do will have much effect on the dollar's trajectory.
An additional reason may be that, even with very strong strong incentives to world investors to buy euro-denominated bonds, they still don't find Europe's prospects attractive. Or perhaps because the EU budget data and the EU central banks have zero credibility with investors.
#12
Firstly, the US trade deficit and the government deficit are not the same thing and while they are related, fixing one doesn't require fixing the other. (Australia also has a big trade deficit while the government runs big surpluses) The trade deficit is the problem that must eventually rectify itself and that must be by the USD falling much further (markets always overshoot).
The main impact is a recession in East Asia and Europe. Probably a big one - think back to 1972. US imports get a lot more expensive, so manufacturing gets repatriated back to teh USA and dollar zone (primarily Latin America). You would expect oil to get a lot more expensive in USD but a global recession is more likely to send it into free fall (10 USD a barrel?). Interest rates will go up as will inflation, and we will see a fall in asset prices (particularly houses).
Perhaps the consequence of most concern here is the fighting the WoT gets a lot more expensive (in USD) and the USA pulls back into a more defensive posture and the Anglosphere is drawn closer together (the Australian dollar, canadian dollar and UK pound will tend to follow the USD down.)
Politically who knows? I doubt there will be serious instability in China. Instability in the Arab world is much more likely. The Norks starve in the dark and cry 'uncle'.
#13
The likelyhood that the Euro will be used for oil purchases is remote. The European economy is tightly regulated and they have severe growing social problems, not exactly a good investment.
#14
Ok, had to comment here. The trade deficit affects the current account deficit, not the federal deficit. The federal deficit is a function of how much in taxes we feel like paying.
The dollar has ben overvalued for decades because Japan (and then China joined them recently) made a deal with the devil to keep the dollar overvalued in order to increase their exports. But, it's not as simple as that because the cost to them is that they've been forced to buy ridiculously low interest rate treasuries from us (thus funding our growth and standard of living) to keep the dollar high. The net affect is that we get a trade deficit but we get higher standards of living, huge amounts of capital for cheap to invest in growth and money to do foreign direct investment abroad (which has a much higher return than our treasuries other countries are buying and in fact we have a net profit of about 10 or 20 billion dollars every year from our deficits). Japan and China have played a VERY stupid game and it's about to come home to roost. The can't afford to continue propping up the dollar (both countries are in debt up to their eyebrows from financing our growth at below fair market rates) and they are both saying they can't do it anymore. That's why the dollar is dropping... it's dropping back to it's fair market value after decades of being artificially pumped up.
The fall of the dollar will increase our interest rates, increase our exports, decrease our imports. The biggest loser is Europe, second is asia. The biggest winner is the US.
Anon1, you need to understand the whole process... china doesn't simply decide to say "Hey we set our currency to the dollar". That doesn't mean anything. To set their currency to the dollar they have to be willing to trade their currency for dollars at their set ratio (~8:1). Since people don't believe this ratio is correct, they beliece the yuan is worth more... the chinese gov't has to be willing to convert yuan to dollars at this ratio to maintain it. And they have been... that's why they're buying treasuries like mad. They day they stop is the day the yuan is no longer pegged to the dollar. Because it's bankrupting them they are trying to switch off the dollar peg (but this is a big problem because there is now such a huge difference in value of a yuan and dollar and the shock of adjustment would send the chinese economy into depression) by switching to a basket of asian currency peg. They can't go free floating because their currency would skyrocket in value over night.
#15
One other thing, the world economy was more globalized in 1913 than it was in 2003. After 1913 globalization went into reverse for 50 years. There is nothing inevitable about globalization. I predict the world in 15 years time will be less globalized than it is today.
#16
"After 1913 globalization went into reverse for 50 years. There is nothing inevitable about globalization. I predict the world in 15 years time will be less globalized than it is today."
Whoa, that's a pretty out there claim. You gotta back something like that up with facts when you say it...
#19
My $0.02: Agree with scenario of much higher US interest rates and a crash in housing prices, but only in certain hypergrowth coastal property markets.
I'd guess that crash is most likely in the downtown condo markets (Manhattan, SF, Boston especially) and in the ex-urbs way out from the cities where speculative new home building has been fiercest (formerly rural New Jersey bumf*ck nowhere counties, for ex).
But unlikely in the blueblood suburbs and other toney places that had the wisdom to artificially restrict new home supply via, for ex., environmental restrictions (Palo Alto/Atherton, eg).
My own long-term strategy is to find a place in the Rockies <2 hrs from Colorado Springs, get broadband, and run my own business from there. Best to reduce expenses wherever possible. And no letdown in real estate appreciation potential in the gorgeous mountain areas. Better than buying an overvalued Dow, anyway.
#20
"One other thing, the world economy was more globalized in 1913 than it was in 2003."
Phil's probably right. Back in the days when he was still an excellent international trade economist instead of a full-time moonbat, Krugman used to point out that as a % of GDP our foriegn trade is tiny: ~8%. And even in the most internationally-oriented of the major economies, Germany's, foreign trade accounts for only ~12% of GDP.
And in the period 1865-1913, there were enormous cross-border financial flows funding huge, capital-intensive public works projects such as railroads spanning North and South America as well as Russia and imperial territories in Asia and Africa, as well as gargantuan projects like the Suez and Panama Canals. I'd bet that the average English aristocrat's investment portfolio in 1913 had far more international exposure than the average high net worth personal account at Merrill today.
#21
At the beginning of the 20th century South America was a powerhouse, in particular Argentina was an immigration country on its way to grow as prosperous as the USA.
Then the Europeans and Latin Americans switched to national-socialism (aka fascism and nazism).
#23
DPA, I'll amend my statement to the world economy was more globalized in 1913 than it was in 1973. Whether the world has surpassed the level of glbalization reached pre WW1 is open to discussion if you factor out things like oil and countries are smaller and there are more of them. HEre is a long IMF report. See particularly table 2.1 and associated text.
I don't see a war. What I see is an end to an International order based on free-riding.
At the birthplace of the free speech movement, campus radicals have a new target: the faculty that came of age in the 60's. They say their professors have been preaching multiculturalism and diversity while creating a political monoculture on campus. Conservatism is becoming more visible at the University of California here, where students put out a feisty magazine called The California Patriot and have made the Berkeley Republicans one of the largest groups on campus. But here, as at schools nationwide, the professors seem to be moving in the other direction, as evidenced by their campaign contributions and two studies being published on Nov. 18.
One of the studies, a national survey of more than 1,000 academics, shows that Democratic professors outnumber Republicans by at least seven to one in the humanities and social sciences. That ratio is more than twice as lopsided as it was three decades ago, and it seems quite likely to keep increasing, because the younger faculty members are more consistently Democratic than the ones nearing retirement, said Daniel Klein, an associate professor of economics at Santa Clara University and a co-author of the study. In a separate study of voter registration records, Professor Klein found a nine-to-one ratio of Democrats to Republicans on the faculties of Berkeley and Stanford. That study, which included professors from the hard sciences, engineering and professional schools as well as the humanities and social sciences, also found the ratio especially lopsided among the younger professors of assistant or associate rank: 183 Democrats versus 6 Republicans.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
11/18/2004 5:13:28 AM ||
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I love the youth, lol! No matter what the position of their elders, there is a backlash of some magnitude when the choices are few and the voices are strident -- and they look for alternatives. In the academic world, this just happens to be a great thing, since most of the professors are zipperheads from LalaLand and their election screeching has betrayed them to the kids with antennae. Of course these initial reactions are spotty, but in time perhaps it will grow and many will arrive at a common sense realization that they're being sold a load of shit - that doesn't stand up in the real world. Cool. Flipping burgers for a living may help the philsophy and poly-sci majors later.
#4
College is increasingly a kind of finishing school in which one fills time by listening to and laughing at lefty profs before getting serious about life.
As a profession, academe increasingly attracts hardcore partisans who've given up trying to compete in much tougher markets such as business and government, which have effectively been ceded to the Republicans. Academically-inclined Republicans go to Washington and wield influence. Academically-inclined Democrats go to academe and disappear from public view (except for the odd NYT OpEd or other screed that few read or pay attention to).
#5
I have become convinced that academics have always become the epitome of a generation's failures for the young to gawk at so that as they grow old they don't repeat their parent's mistakes. When academics learn that the now young are laughing with contempt at the beliefs they formed so firmly when they were young, the entire process becomes farce. We're there.
This brought to you by the Center for the Studies of the Completely Obvious.
Posted by: BA ||
11/18/2004 13:07 Comments ||
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#8
A very good friend of mine and the smartest person I ever knew became a philosophy prof. at a prominent university. I was astounded when one day he told me he was a socialist. I thought long and hard about that and concluded that the problem was academia's separation from the real world of messy problems and flawed solutions. They live in an artificial world and convince themselves it's the real world.
When they look out onto the real world, rather than realize those are hard problems, they conclude its stupid bad people that are causing the problems. That incidentally explains MM's (and conspiracy views in general) popularity in universities.
If you've ever wondered why India is taking so many jobs away from Britain because of outsourcing, you need look no further than the Subcontinent's most popular TV gameshow - India's Child Genius. In the programme, which has just finished its 27-week run with an avidly watched grand final, Indian children as young as 10 confidently answer questions that are often harder than those on University Challenge. Some examples: What inherited form of anaemia is characterised by a deficiency of haemoglobin? What does the term thrombosis literally mean in Greek? The contestants were asked to identify the missing symbols in molecular models. They were shown diagrams of curved mirrors and asked to identify the numerical value of the difference in size between an object and its reflection.
All this was conducted in English, which for many contestants would not have been their first language - although many Indian middle-class parents speak English with their children at home to improve their command of the language. In some rounds, children were offered the option of seeing multiple choice answers, in the style of Who Wants to be a Millionaire - but the majority chose instead to answer the questions without seeing the choices, for extra points. Winner of the £12,000 prize was Shubham Prakhar, 12, from Bihar. "I've never stood second in life and that's how I want to be," he said.
Posted by: tipper ||
11/18/2004 2:44:46 AM ||
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Think about that when your child tells you he wants to major in modern dance or womyn's studies...
Posted by: Fred ||
11/18/2004 9:21 Comments ||
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#2
The downside is that they will grow up to be the arrogant know-it-alls that my customers hire as the lowest cost IT solution, who won't follow my advice or RTFM when they run into problems running our product, consequently wasting my time, hurting my company's reputation, and driving me to drink, but I'm not bitter.
Posted by: Carl in N.H. ||
11/18/2004 12:32 Comments ||
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#3
Note the high correlation between educational spending and educational attainment. What does India spend per middle-class pupil? Maybe $100/yr?
Even adjusting for PPP, the joke is obvious: the best math and science students around the world come from miserably piss-poor countries (Russia, India, Hungary, etc) in which school budgets are a tiny fraction of what they are in the worst US slum. Tell me again why we need to increase annual primary/secondary school spending beyond the current average of $8,000 per pupil?
#4
See what kids can do when they pick up a science textbook on occasion instead of some call to jihad?
Yeah, I know....not that the Islamonutz were watching that show......
#1
Being from Arkansas -- never voted for Clinton (insider Arkansan's admit they voted for him, only to get him out of state) just one more "legacy" he gives to the good folks of Arkansas... Double-Wide Presidential Library. Yes, he was extremely involved in the design.
As I fly into Little Rock on Tuesday, I will be in a window seat, to view from above, this injustice added to the landscape of my home town. Current friends want a pic of me, in front of this Double-Wide.... I ---- JUST ----- CAN'T ----- DO ------ IT............ Well, maybe for a price....
#13
Plenty of room for a coupla' dawg's under that big porch... Right where the homeless camp used to be before the Little Rock Police started moving them out...
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Growing global demand for cleaner vehicle fuels and the possibility of falling farm subsidies in Europe have sparked several investments in Brazil's ethanol industry. Brazilian and foreign investors are set to invest as much as $3bn (â¬2.3bn, £1.6bn) over the next five years to increase ethanol production by 40 per cent, according to Unica, the S'o Paulo sugar cane federation. Current ethanol production is about 15bn litres a year. Huge water and land supplies help make Brazil the world's largest, cheapest producer of ethanol, derived locally from sugar cane. Production costs for one cubic metre average $160, says FNP, an agricultural consultancy in Sa~o Paulo. In the US corn-based ethanol costs roughly 40 per cent more and Europe's beet-based ethanol roughly double. 
China's biggest PC maker Lenovo has launched the world's first 13.1-inch wide-screen collaborative PC. The Lenovo Tianyi Y200 integrates popular broadband applications like video communication, interactive video applications and online payments, with collaborative applications among various digital home appliances, China Radio International reported Thursday. The unique 13.1-inch liquid-crystal display gives a better picture than the existing 12-inch PCs; it is slimmer and lighter than the ordinary 14-inch PCs with a travel weight of only two kilograms and a battery supporting over four hours of working time. The new PC offers users access to an integrated suite of broadband resources including entertainment, a search engine and other information services, giving them the most convenient and stylish one-stop broadband application experience. More importantly, with broadband connectivity, users can now access an enlarged scope of audio and visual resources more conveniently than ever.
Singer: 'People don't realize that by voting Republican, they voted against themselves'
Some said he will be pressured to give the money to Democratic campaign committees rather than save it for a potential White House bid in 2008. "Democrats are questioning why he sat on so much money that could have helped him defeat George Bush or helped down-ballot races, many of which could have gone our way with a few more million dollars," said Donna Brazile, campaign manager for Al Gore's 2000 presidential race. 
At the birthplace of the free speech movement, campus radicals have a new target: the faculty that came of age in the 60's. They say their professors have been preaching multiculturalism and diversity while creating a political monoculture on campus. Conservatism is becoming more visible at the University of California here, where students put out a feisty magazine called The California Patriot and have made the Berkeley Republicans one of the largest groups on campus. But here, as at schools nationwide, the professors seem to be moving in the other direction, as evidenced by their campaign contributions and two studies being published on Nov. 18.
