LAWRENCE, Mass. (AP) - Two men who claimed in numerous national television interviews that they found buried treasure in the back yard of a home were arrested early Friday after being questioned by police, who said the money was stolen. Investigators believe Barry Billcliff, 27, of Manchester, N.H., and Timothy Crebase, 22, of Methuen, Mass., found old bank notes and bills in a house where they were doing roofing work. Both men were charged with receiving stolen property, conspiracy and accessory after the fact, Lt. Kevin Martin said. They were to be arraigned Friday morning.
The men said they found 1,800 bank notes and bills dating between 1899 and 1928, with a face value of about $7,000. Domenic Mangano, owner of the Village Coin Shop in Plaistow, N.H., examined the find and estimated its value between $50,000 to $75,000.
Saw it on tv, the old bills looked in good shape. Collectors would snap them up.
The men's stories, though, prompted some suspicions because of discrepancies. The depth of the buried crate, for example, ranged from 9 inches to 2 feet.
The men also gave conflicting reasons for digging in the yard of the house Crebase rents. They told one reporter they were digging a hole to plant a tree. In other reports, they said they were trying to remove a small tree or dig up the roots of a shrub that was damaging the home's foundation.
They screwed up when they went public. Should have gone to coin collector shows and flea markets, selling them one by one. No one would have asked questions and they would have gotten away with it. So sad, not!
Posted by: Steve ||
04/29/2005 9:46:31 AM ||
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04/29/2005 3:52:46 AM ||
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#1
Rantburg has its own niche quite unlike any other blog I know of. 'Mainstream' bloggers particularly those on the Right are concerned to not be seen as extreme. RB's formula of tighly coupling news and comments and its largely unregulated content make it too edgy for the 'Mainstream' which is why RB is rarely linked to. Another unusual aspect to RB is its strong sense of community. I know of no other blog that comes close. My opinion for what its worth is RB will be an influential model in the future of blogging.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
04/29/2005 5:19 Comments ||
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#3
A few observations about the article and idea...
You have to register to post a comment on Simon's blog. Same on CJ's LGF. You can only send email for Instapundit and PowerLine. Wretchard's been down for much of the last 2 weeks. Anyone taking bets about how easy or hard it will be to give feedback? Do they need it? Or are they anointed and their posts stand as prime carve-into-stone content?
To be honest, they're actually proposing something not all that different from The Command Post, I'd say. Been there, done that. If you ever run afoul of Michele's mood, you're toast. She's got issues with certain comment styles. They'll allow some asstard to post the full text of AntiWar & Peaceniks, but go berserk if you say it was asinine, inane, and simply a fuckwit thing to do. Reg Req'd there, too.
RB is, indeed, unique. If those other guys want to post news links and their "value-added" brilliance, well sure, okay. They do that now in a scattered fashion. I heard as much about advertising and business as I did about "News Service".
This, as described, isn't the answer - except, perhaps, to their retirement. If Fred can find a way to involve himself and make real money, well, I couldn't blame him for even a second. Otherwise, they want to wank for dollars, instead of for free. Fine. More power to 'em. Won't mean jackshit to the blogosphere.
RB is 10x more interactive, 100x more instantaneous, 1000x more interesting, and a googleplex more informative.
#4
Eh. I think you're misreading the announcement, .com. Glenn and the gang are the masthead folks, for credibility and general editorial direction. I don't think what pops up on the site(s) will be substantially their own content.
The interesting things of this new project, or what I can glean from it, are:
(1) This is, I assume, going to be a broad-spectrum news organization. Not just WOT & large-scale politics.
(2) They will have instant MSM credibility because of the big names involved. To the extent that media organizations want to coopt the blog space themselves, they'll attack it, but they won't be able just to ignore the thing.
What this means for a superb specialist site like this one (of which, incidentally, Reynolds has often expressed admiration) isn't clear. Depends on the details, of course. (How much will be original reporting and how much collation&comment, for example?)
(By the way, Wretchard has been posting at his old blogspot site for a while now.)
#5
If Reynolds lists the 'burg, he must be commenting. You can't read here and not comment. What is his nom d' berg?
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
04/29/2005 6:43 Comments ||
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#6
I see this as a very bad development. This is a for profit corporate effort. When one starts talking money like that, lawyers aren't far behind. And whatever lawyers start, legislators finish. This is the beginning of the end of the Folden Years of the blogosphere.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
04/29/2005 6:54 Comments ||
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#7
All I know is I been reading Rantburg since way before the Iraq war and I like it just the way it is :)
#9
Rantburg is still the best and most comprehensive WOT site out there. The sheer volume and diversity of the WOT articles Rantburgers find boggles the mind, and it can only get bigger.
Posted by: Chris W. ||
04/29/2005 9:42 Comments ||
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#10
I like Rantburg just the way it is, except for the crappy dental plan.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/29/2005 10:01 Comments ||
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#12
It isn't clear to me what a "Blogge News Service" is other than an attempt to replace, over time, the MSM with their "own" news service. And at some point, the professional journalists weigh in and either imitate it using their superior resources, or infiltrate it and take it for themselves.
I'm happy with Rantburg as well. What I like most (of many things) is "Rantburg U": the fact that someone around here knows a lot about a given topic and is willing to share. Just about every day I get an education in something. That sense of knowledge-sharing is something I find on very few group blogs. I don't know how we did it, exactly, but if we joined the BNS we'd probably lose it. Thanks, but I like the 'Burg the way it is.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/29/2005 10:08 Comments ||
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#13
Blog News Service? We don't need no stinking Blog News Services!
I've learned more about how the world operates here than anywhere in the MSM. Long live free Rantburg!
#14
SW: And at some point, the professional journalists weigh in and either imitate it using their superior resources, or infiltrate it and take it for themselves.
The media don't have superior resources. All they have are journalists - the guys who couldn't make it as English or history majors. The only superior resource they command is from a sheer quantity standpoint, because they do get paid for what they're doing. But the reason we come to Rantburg is not to get vapid commentary from the media. We come here to get well-reasoned arguments that journalists aren't equipped to make.
This is why Rantburg will always have a niche, because with few exceptions, the kind of people who become journalists are too stupid, ignorant, left-wing and anti-American to replicate the kind of commentary found here. The media's prejudices are a kind of secular religion that gives meaning to journalists' lives and that is why they will never give them up. Journalists' superstition and obscurantism are why Rantburg will always have an audience.
#15
Every time I see a .net "innovation", I think, "How is this different from our last innovation?" It seldeom is. For example, a blog isn't really any different from a personal web page, except that it's updated more frequently.
So I'm unsure how this "Blog News Service" is going to be an improvement.
But some of you guys seem to regard it as a threat. What's up with that?
I also find it kinda funny that some of you free-market captialist studmuffins are sneering at the idea of somebody making a profit off this thing.
I wish we had more Rantburg U., by the way. Maybe collected into a single page for easy reference (Rantburg just doesn't have enough pages!).
As I understood this over at Roger's place, the idea is that the reporting side of the news is to be performed by bloggers around the world, rather than just commentary. This gets rid of the MSM as sole source (and the 'berg has done some pioneering work here, too).
And I also read this as NOT just WOT stuff.
I have been an inveterate blog-aholic for 4 years now. Due to time contraints I've been forced to cut way down on the daily dose. From a time when I religiously followed Instapundit, Daily Pundit, Roger, Rantburg, LGF, Tim Blair, Kim duToit, Michael Totten, Jeff Jarvis, etc.
I'm down to daily following of only Insta and the 'burg with a smattering of Tim B.
#17
I think that it will be interesting to see what develops, and I don't see it as a threat to rantburg or "traditional" blogs --- amazing, we can already think about "tradition" after only a few years of existence!
The internet and the blogosphere is big enough for all kinds of things, and it also self selects, if the new concept is valuable, it will thrive and survive, and if not, it will fold.
I enjoy Instapundit and Rantburg for different reasons and don't see them as being in competition with each other.
It's possible that the "internet news service" will offer an outlet for original news reporting by the "net swarm" of the blogosphere. So far most of that has been done by the net providing the data to truly authenticate (and, generally, debunk) stories being hyped by the mainstream media. PERHAPS there's a way to use the same energy to locate and develop truly original sotires. While the blogosphere has been particularly valuable in controlling the spin from the MSM, it's still been largely limited to reacting to stories originated by the MSM.
Time will tell, but I suspect that we'll still be commenting on Rantburg well into the future.
Posted by: Ralph Tacoma ||
04/29/2005 10:48 Comments ||
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#18
It sounds like an interesting experiment. I wish them well.
Reynolds, Simon, Wretchard, LGF, Hewitt, and Blair are daily reads for me. So's Rantburg. None of that will change.
Posted by: Mike ||
04/29/2005 10:50 Comments ||
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#19
I have some concerns about the "business" aspect of a blog news service. Right now we link and quote freely from other sites' content. Certainly that relationship would change in a business paradigm.
As we're all here appreciating Rantburg, I'd like to say how happy I am to be a part of it. I've made many friends and learned so much the last 3.5 years.
The BlogFather does read Rantburg frequently; he listed us in his ten "must-read" blogs in a survey over at John Hawkins' Right Wing News. We're also read in Iraq, at the White House, DoD, and prob'ly more than one three-letter agency.
Spot just said "long live free Rantburg." I second that emotion, but I'd like to note that RB isn't possible without the long hours put in by our readers, commenters, unpaid researchers, moderators, and one irreplaceable Fred Pruitt. He's currently rewriting the RB code for the umpteenth time. Let's all show Fred a little love and throw some change in the tip jar.
#21
Sea, there's a lot more "business" on a few of the big blogs than may be obvious.
Everytime Glenn Reynolds comments on a book he just happens to be "reading", or a product you can buy through - surprise! - an Amazon affilate, he includes a specially coded link to Amazon. If people click that and order the book, he gets a percentage of the sales price. If they click but don't buy, he still indirectly benefits by upping his ad rate.
Fred and Rantburg are a real jewel. Fred's been working overtime to keep this place running. I agree with Sea - hit the tipjar, folks!
Posted by: too true ||
04/29/2005 11:12 Comments ||
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#22
If you look at the bloggie news service as shared infrastructure it makes a lot of sense. Bloggers don't want to spend time redesigning their sites, spell checking, monitoring the forums, dealing with ad revenue. Most of them have other jobs. If this bloggie news service is smart it'll do all of that for them, then combine the ad revenues to pay for it and dole the remainder out to the bloggers involved.
Because of the names involved it will get much more notice in the MSM as well as ad revenue. I think it could be very effective and look forward to it.
Funny thing is bloggers that are mostly linkers (Roger L. Simon, Glen Reynolds) will now be self-linking or will have less to link too. A site like this really needs mostly Thinker blogs to provide content. If they did that they'll be close to the National Review Online site (corner and all) without the paper magazine to shill for.
#23
Functional capabilities required for success include:
1) news development or "scooping" capabilities (sourcing from stringers, editing, presentation/writing)
2) a means of capturing user-provided demographic data
3) a platform enabling micro-targeted ads served to users
Unless these guys are developing a new technology platform to enable the above (and other conversation or IM-type functionality), this will be just another version of either Salon.com or Arianna's blogfest. Or another undifferentiated news aggregator.
#24
Without a robust technology platform, the ad revenues will be trivial. Relying on subscriptions didn't cut it for salon or slate and will not cut it for Glenn & Co, either.
#25
Rantburg has done more to further my political education than any other source of information I have yet encountered on the web. It has also proved to be a wonderful resource for better comprehending the war on terror, other nations’ foreign policy, and the nefarious doings of the United Nations’ various sycophants.
And when you spend most of your time in San Francisco, you need all the help you can get.
#28
I also count Rantburg as a must read, daily--- both for the sarcasm and the expert knowlege on all sorts of arcane matters--- and I wouldn't have it change for anything. OTO, I would love to be able to be make a jump to where I am being paid for some of my writing, aside from what I do on "The Daily Brief", and so would Kevin and some of the other "Briefers", so we may very well give it a shot. Nothing ventured, nothing gained...
#29
Everything I ever needed to know I learned in kindergarden on Rantburg.
What I like about Rantburg is the diversity of the readers and commentators as well as their topic knowledge who are willing to share their knowledge (and not treat us like drooling idiots like the MSM does). Also the respect people generally show to each other.
#31
Agreed, CF! I've read RB for about a year and a half now, and comment only at certain times. I have withdrawls if I'm on the road (away from computer) or just busy. I love RB's style (and I peruse most of the above mentioned blogs often). I think there's room for both! Personally, I love RB more for it's "smalltown" feeling and the level of knowledge all of you have. The extreme sarcasm and .com's pics don't hurt, either! Bravo, Fred and keep RB the way it is! I've never in my life even considered giving money to websites or the political parties until 9/11! You all have opened my eyes to the MSM and to the fact that there are some sane people left in this country!
Posted by: BA ||
04/29/2005 15:12 Comments ||
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#32
Rantburg's embedded comments / fisking are one of the major reasons that I choose to get a large portion of my foreign news here.
Yelling at the TV or radio only scares the dog and annoys my wife. RB does the commenting for me and my laughter is neither as scary nor as annoying to the folks around here.
#33
What's to say... I share the feelings expressed in posts above regarding RB. I did not digest yet what the Glen & Co are up to, but agree with Thibaud's assessment.
#3
They tell you in BSA youth protection training that it's an undebatable statistical fact that a lot (if not an absolute majority) of abusers are former abuse victims. That's different from saying it's an excuse. Most abuse victims never become abusers--they know better.
Posted by: Mike ||
04/29/2005 10:54 Comments ||
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#4
Why didn't he just go with the old "honor killing" defense and take his shot with that? This defense is just so...infidel.
April 29, 2005: It appears that some supporters of former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide have been in contact with the Hugo Chavez government of Venezuela. This is in keeping with the political objectives of both the Aristide supporters and the Chavez regime, which include reducing U.S. influence in the region. Chavez can provide money for guns, and a payroll. What keeps the armed groups in Haiti together is the ability of the warlord to provide to cash flow, and spread it around. A suitcase from Venezuela, full of hundred dollar bills, can put a lot of gunmen on the street.
The continuing disorder in Haiti apparently has been good for Colombia's FARC rebels. Recent UN operations have uncovered several caches of arms that were apparently intended to be shipped to Colombia. FARC is using the disorder in Haiti to use the country as a waystation for shipments of weapons and drugs.
An increasingly aggressive approach by MINUSTAH, the UN mission in Haiti, has been effective in reducing armed opposition to the interim Haitian government. Armed opposition has fallen to an estimated 2,500 men, mostly former Aristide regime soldiers and police, but with some free-lance thugs involved as well, from a high of perhaps as many as 7,000 just a year or so ago. But the high tempo of operations and the difficult operating environment have led to sagging morale among some of the UN's 6,000 troops and 1,400 civilian police. Fortunately, the troops, who come from Argentina, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Ecuador, France, Guatemala, Jordan, Morocco, Nepal, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, Spain, Sri Lanka, the United States, & Uruguay, were of relatively high quality to begin with. There have been no incidents of abuse of civilians as has occurred on some peacekeeping missions elsewhere.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/29/2005 10:42:15 AM ||
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#1
Chavez is more than a pest. Won't be long before we hear about how some of those 100,000 AK-47s found their way into the hands of Al Qaeda operatives seeking to strike soft targets here.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his visiting Japanese counterpart, Junichiro Koizumi, have agreed on an eight-point agenda for closer ties between the two Asian countries. Hu feels noose tighten
They signed a joint statement in New Delhi that proposes a high-level strategic dialogue and suggests steps to boost sagging trade ties between the two nations. It also urges an early expansion of the United Nations Security Council in which both countries aspire a permanent seat. With a veto, no doubt
Relations between India and Japan have improved significantly since 2000, after Tokyo began lifting economic sanctions imposed because of India's nuclear tests. And China started acting like a bully
But their bilateral trade has been limited to $4 billion for years. On this trip, Mr. Koizumi told Indian business leaders he hopes the trend will change.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
04/29/2005 7:06:37 PM ||
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April 29, 2005: Discussion of China's plans to invade Taiwan often ignore the smaller, Taiwan controlled islands, that the Chinese invasion forces will either bypass, or hit first, on their way to Taiwan. The smaller islands, Quemoy and Matsu, are within artillery range of the mainland. But a group of larger islands, the Pescadores, are within artillery range of Taiwan itself. The Pescadores have an area of only 127 square kilometers, and a population of 90,000. There is also a military garrison on the island, including an armored brigade, plus anti-aircraft missiles and mobile anti-ship missile units. The Pescadores are doubly important, as they are opposite the most important landing beaches on Taiwan. Any invasion force must seize a port as soon as possible, in order to bring in more troops and supplies. You don't have much chance of conquering the island until you've done that. The two best landing are areas, for seizing nearby ports, are in the northwest and southwest regions of Taiwan. The better of the two is in the southwest, where the ports of Kaohsiung and Tsinan are near the landing beaches. Those beaches are also near the Pescadores islands. If China uses some of its airborne and amphibious forces to take the Pescadores, they will have a base for the next stage of the operation; the landing on Taiwan itself. But it is likely that speed will be the most important element. The faster the Chinese establish themselves on Taiwan, the better their bargaining position with the United States, and the rest of the world. If China does not win a quick victory, the economic sanctions start kicking in. Billions of dollars of cancelled orders from the United States and Europe put millions of Chinese out of work, and make the invasion very unpopular. Should the invasion prove unsuccessful as well, a change in Chinese leadership is likely to quickly follow. One way or another, the Pescadores islands will play a major role in any assault on Taiwan.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/29/2005 10:44:20 AM ||
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#1
Remember how bloody the Normandy Beech invasion was? That's nothing compared to what the Chinese will face crossing such a long stretch of water against a country determined to defend their own soil after decades of preparing their defenses, knowing that the US will be there to back them up if they can just survive the initial assault.
Basically Tiawan can use up everything, reserves and all, taking out Chinese planes and boats while China has to keep a massive reserve to keep their logistical tail defended against the most powerful nation in the world which will arrive pretty soon after any assault.
If I were China I'd dump the invasion option and simply declare Taiwan a Special Autonomous Area, refer to the Taiwanese President as Governor, and continue the fiction.
#3
Taiwan should bury a bunch of fiber-optics lines from Taiwan to the Pescadores. They should then have a sensor net wired into the island chain and connected to Taiwan via the fiber. This could provide great remote targeting of any occupying force. Just turn up the CAM production line in their Logitech factories and put them to a useful purpose.
BTW some of these cams are stand alone remote controlable web sites. They would be ideal. The wifi ones could be useful too.
Ad in a few remote guns and it would get real interesting.
#4
With the head of the KMT in Peking making nice with the Reds, my belief that Taiwan will fold under an invasion grows even stronger. There are a whole lot of Taiwanese prepared to accept a fait accompli.
#5
Of course, rjs' strategy assume the ChiComs are rational.
I sure wouldn't bet the farm on that.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/29/2005 14:19 Comments ||
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#6
I agree Barbara, but it does allow them to save face because even they have to realize the chance of losing such a conflict over Taiwan is pretty high.
I wouldn't be surprised if such a realization is why they've started emphasizing the bad Japanese lately. Nobody expects them to invade Japan and they can leverage Japan over the Security Council seat so they have something to gain and little to lose there.
But they are not entirely rational (or at least the don't seem so) so I wouldn't bet money on any outcome.
#7
Don'y count the Russkis out. i.e. alleged PC/Deniable "REACTIONARY" milfors - America is being labeled by the Left as the true terrorist of the world, and post-Beslan there are dem dar a'Taliban and Al Qaeda in CANADA. America can't help Taiwan or South Korea, etal iff the USDOD has to face Russian /Commie milfors in NORAM whom invaded "accidentally" looking for Radical Islam in Clintonian Americas. The Left > America is to be manipulated by every side, issue, or controversy - you know, Lefty and Socialist Secular Moralism/Ethicism where one doesn't have to believe in God to [always] tell the truth!? Without American firepower andor leadership around, ot not around for awhile, it leaves only the outnumbered local forces!
#8
always good to have your take, JM. Establishes the goal line for teh field of discussion
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/29/2005 23:11 Comments ||
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#9
This article points out the obvious landing areas. I thinkg the ChiComs have studied our D-Day and noticed we hit the unobvious landing areas. Give some attention to those!
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
04/29/2005 23:39 Comments ||
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#10
Got click happy and forgot to add the ChiComs will not invade before they've sent tons of spec ops into Taiwan, crippled things as much as they can w/o bringing allot of attention to it (ie fires and 'gremlins' into the communication and electrical infrastructure. I think all this talk of invasion is an attempt to hoodwink the world. I think they'll take Taiwan w/o a shoot being fired, from the inside.
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
04/29/2005 23:43 Comments ||
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NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi wooed India on Friday, aiming to build a partnership with New Delhi to cope with the growing clout of China in a changing continent. "The world's attention is fixed on India's breathtaking progress," Koizumi told business leaders, ahead of talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
His three-day trip to India, the first by a Japanese prime minister in five years, comes only weeks after a landmark visit by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and is part of Tokyo's "strategic diplomacy" to compete with Beijing. India's own growing economic and geo-political clout is not lost on Tokyo which, over the past few weeks, has been trying to cope with anti-Japanese sentiments in China. "Japan and India need each other as strong and prospering countries. Japan and India share strategic interests," Koizumi said.
Koizumi and Singh were due to sign a document to strengthen bilateral ties and increase cooperation in their bids to win permanent seats on the U.N. Security Council. "Japan is now becoming cognisant of India's strategic profile in the coming 10-to-15 years and wants to build a foundation for long-term strategic ties," said Uday Bhaskar, director of the New Delhi-based Institute of Defense Studies and Analyzes.
Tokyo and New Delhi are also trying to improve trade ties hurt when India conducted nuclear tests in 1998, prompting sanctions from Japan. India-Japan trade was $4.35 billion in the year ending March 2004, about one third of New Delhi's two-way trade of more than $13-billion with China. "Countries like South Korea, China and the United States have recognized the intrinsic strength of the Indian economy...and have made significant investments in India," Indian Commerce Minister Kamal Nath said. "Japan, on the other hand, has remained somewhat hesitant."
Japan lifted its sanctions on India in October 2001 in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States and Tokyo has gradually turned its attention to India in recent years. Koizumi will also travel to Pakistan where he is likely to announce Tokyo's decision to resume yen loans to Pakistan, suspended after its nuclear tests in 1998, Japanese officials said.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/29/2005 10:01:15 AM ||
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#1
I think we can all give a hearty and humble thanks that the Chinese have an astoundingly incompetant foreign service, and have never cared what foreigners think.
#3
Japan has heavily invested in China, now China is acting up and Japan is making it clear that China isn't the only player able to provide highly skilled, highly educated, very cheap workers.
I hope it's not just a bluff though because I've long thought US companies should do the same thing with all of China's threats and bluster.
#4
I think it was last yr that there was long story of how China was going to build a superhighway from China thru the "Stans" and the steppes,and it was to be financed by the Japanese. Wonder how the project is doing now?
Posted by: Stephen ||
04/29/2005 15:47 Comments ||
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#5
You haven't seen Loomin
Till you seen Nippon blooming
The Chrysanthemum sez it best.
Japan will build a $5-billion east-west rail corridor between Delhi and Mumbai and Delhi and Howrah in its latest effort to promote India’s infrastructure. The corridor will allow multi-modal, high-axle load freight trains, with a fully-computerised traffic control system, to run from one end of the country to the other.
Posted by: john ||
04/29/2005 18:36 Comments ||
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#7
When you think about the belligerent China foreign policy, name one place their asshole attitude has made long-term sense? Lunatics looking for face, when they could be a legit world power....communists still don't get it, that's a good thing. Now, Japan, how about that missile defense and rearmament...nukes yet?
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/29/2005 19:03 Comments ||
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#8
I see the defensive line forming up composed of India/Taiwan/Japan with the US as a blitzing linebacker. Russia should be worried.
#10
Badanov: I'm digesting your concept - (sayeth Ratburt) its making my head hurt. My belief is China needs "stuff" not more people. Eastern Russia has "stuff", Taiwan has only technology and workers, not resources. I think the rhetoric we hear is a faint. Whereas, we will come to the aid of India/Taiwan/Japan, Russia will consider it too much a loss of face to ask for our help. Big war.
#11
well, at least the forces are associating to stop a Clancyesque Chinese breakout for raw materials...
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/29/2005 22:01 Comments ||
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#12
Brer Rabbit,
The Mainland Chinese leaders WANT Taiwan back. First,they really believe all Chines and Chinese territory should be united. Second,the existance of a prosperous,free Taiwan offers a successful competing vision of China that cannot be tolerated. Third,all the Western reasons-hostile "unsinkable aircraft carrier",need to distract unhappy people,gain the econmic resources of Taiwan,eliminate an economic competitor,wanting to dominate Western Pacific,etc.-all may play a part,but for the Cinese,it's reasons 1 and 2 that really matter.
Posted by: Stephen ||
04/29/2005 22:32 Comments ||
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Flat taxes, once a fantasy of free-market ideologues, are sweeping across the European Union and could be introduced in more than 10 of the bloc's 25 member states.
The European commissioner for taxation, Laszlo Kovacs, described flat taxes, - one rate for all income and corporate taxation - as "absolutely legitimate" and said Western European nations may be tempted to adopt them. His comments will fuel debate that low-tax, low-cost economies of the East are undercutting Europe's industrial heartland.
In place in Slovakia and the three Baltic states, which joined the EU last year, flat taxes are credited with helping them grow fast and creating thousands of jobs. French politicians have led complaints about "social dumping" and the risk to their employment and social standards. Others argue that such a regressive system, under which a millionaire and a road-sweeper pay the same rate, can never be fair.
Mr Kovacs, a former Hungarian foreign minister, said: "As far as the position of the EU is concerned, we consider it as absolutely legitimate because the EU does not tackle the issue of income and corporate tax rates.
"Four countries have introduced it and are satisfied, and they claim that it works properly. Some six or seven are considering flat taxes - that makes 10 or 11 member states that could introduce flat tax.
"But it means the majority of the member states do not apply and do not have the aspiration to introduce flat taxes."
Dispensing with the need for exemptions and allowances, flat taxes rely on simplicity: all those whose earnings exceed a threshold pay the same rate.
Sometimes, revenues have increased because fewer people take the risk of evading lower thresholds and there are fewer exemptions for accountants to exploit. Applying a basic - if regressive -system also saves time for citizens completing tax returns and for civil servants.
Mr Kovacs argued: "The advantage is that it limits tax avoidance but also it is more simple, so it reduces the administrative burden and reduces the compliance cost. The disadvantage is the lack of progressivity in the case of personal income." The commissioner did not name the nations considering flat taxes, though Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland are known to be among them, and the issue has been raised in Cyprus and Malta.
However Mr Kovacs said that the idea is not "specific to the new member states". Greek politicians have debated the subject and Germany's opposition Christian Democrat party discussed a simplification of the tax system - though it would not be a classic flat tax but comprise three income categories. Policy advisers and political parties in the Netherlands and Spain have also given the idea a hearing.
Former Communist countries were open to the experiment because they did not inherit sophisticated tax collection machinery. In 1994, Estonia pioneered the move when its prime minister, Mart Laar, took the plunge, to be followed by Latvia and Lithuania. Others jumped on to the bandwagon including Russia, Serbia, Ukraine and Georgia. Slovakia, which joined the EU last May, introduced a flat tax of 19 per cent on income, corporate tax and VAT, in 2003. Romania - to become a member of the bloc in two years - has followed suit.
In Slovakia, the experiment has gone hand in hand with a boom in foreign direct investment worth €2.29bn (£1.5bn)this year.
The positive impact of flat taxes is almost certainly exaggerated. Slovakia's position as a magnet for car companies, such as VW and Peugeot, is based on a cheap and skilled labour force and its geographical position, rather than its tax regime.
Mihir Kotecha, CEO of Cologne-based Getrag Ford Transmissions, which has invested in Slovakia, said: "The tax rate did not swing our decision. A 19 per cent tax rate is very attractive but will it be there in five years?" Typical EuroPessimism. "Oh, sure, it looks good now, but having all that money will make everybody lazy and overweight, so they'll all get sick and die."
Posted by: Anonymoose ||
04/29/2005 10:37:14 AM ||
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#1
This is both great and off-pissing.
I first read about this in a book by Milton Friedman 30+ years ago. It's a very good, fair system and " Applying a basic - if regressive -system " IT IS NOT REGRESSIVE!!!!!!!!!!!
The tax is slightly progressive in that the personal exemption (the only one allowed) comes off the top. Anyone making a small amount is paying a flat rate on a greatly reduced income. The rich pay the same rate on a very slightly reduced income. So, the tax paid vs. the gross amount turns out to be slightly progressive.
#3
You know for a group that calls themselves 'progressive' the LLL doesn't like to try any new fangled ideas. Mention Flat Tax, Private SS accounts, Drilling in Alaska, or Education Vouchers and any LLL start to vent steam from their ears. They would rather go with the status quo, doesn't sound progressive to me.
#6
I wonder if this new, enlarged EU will simply split into two EUs. On one side a group of countries with near zero percent growth called the Western EU(i.e. France, Germany, Belgium) and a groups of countries with up and coming economies with good positive growth rates called the Eastern EU(i.e. Poland, the Baltics, Czech, Slovakia).
I don't see how either side can stay combined with such different visions of the future
Posted by: The Chemist ||
04/29/2005 17:00 Comments ||
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#7
Barb, nice idea. I am sure we could come up with some methods how to make them more productive (more steam=more energy). ;-)
#10
what's all this I hear about a Fat tax. Isn't it bad enough that Little Debbie's aren't on sale anymore...what?...a ...Flat Tax...oh, ....nevermind
#12
Chemist, you wouldn't happen to be thinking along the lines of Old Europe and New Europe? Although your formulation is definitely more tactful... ;-)
#1
As much as I'd like to have a 35 hour work week and 6 week vacations - it's just not competitive with the rest of the world. Propping up corrupt mismanaged companies (as opposed to letting them go bankrupt and putting their CEO's in jail) isn't a good idea either.
#2
The 35h work-week was introduced to reduce unemployment, by the way.
Imagine that: "we have a problem, people don't work enough; we have a solution, force them to work even less."
All statist responses to unemployment are wrong because they assume that "work" is a "pie" which must somehow be split in ever thinner "slices". Hence the notion that the solution to unemployment is to ration labor, i.e. make everybody work a little less (the French elite call it "the society of leisure").
#3
Unfortunately my wife has many European friends, and I'm just rude enough to talk politics with them.
On this subject, one of the defenses they have of this shortened workweek is that it forces people to spend time with their families. Ditto for forcing grocery stores to be closed on Sundays, late nights, etc.
My response is always if spending time with your family is important than you as an individual should find the right job. That floors them everytime because they instinctively look to governmental solution. The knockout blow is to point out that many young people would like to work hard when they have the energy so that they can build wealth before having a family. The artificially shortened workweek guts one of the most productive segments of your population.
#4
On this subject, one of the defenses they have of this shortened workweek is that it forces people to..
Stop right there. If they are ready and willing to defend a government practice of forcing people to do things instead of letting them decide for themselves, then nothing else needs to be said or heard.
#5
Government fiat is a dumb way to enforce this, but the truth is that American professionals are far less productive and efficient than they could be precisely because they assume that there's no logical end to the work day. So busywork, re-work, endless revisions and scope expansion result. My French colleagues are much more productive than we are simply because they refuse to let meetings and projects and proposals drag out endlessly as so many Americans do.
The intelligent approach is to create a culture in which the norm is for people to leave the office no later than 6:30 or 7, and force them to work intelligently and reduce unnecessary scope expansion and revisions.
Scott Adams had a chaper at the end of one of his Dilbert books that he called OA5: Out at Five, which described the virtues of working smarter not harder (actually longer in this case). Having worked in several companies that prized "long" hours, I can tell you that the one thing they had in common was a very low retention rate, which meant that knowledge and competence simply bled out the door. The market eventually punishes bad behavior. No Al Gore solutions required for that.
#7
I agree it's not a problem for Al-Gore or the nanny state. But the market takes a vewwy long time to punish companies, long after many thousands of families have been damaged. It's a culture-wide problem, not limited to just a few bad firms.
#8
"Unfortunately my wife has many European friends, and I'm just rude enough to talk politics with them. On this subject, one of the defenses they have of this shortened workweek is that it forces people to spend time with their families"
Yes, like the French children taking care of their parents during a heatwave. Forced time off saw lots of quality time w/the family...
Posted by: Francis ||
04/29/2005 14:43 Comments ||
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#9
#5 overall what is so may be correct in some intances..I have been in countless meetings where you talk and no execution..lets you know who not to count on..
but numbers should speak louder...if the french and euros were that intelligent in their approach to busniness then why are they not number one? or two productivity?
american business seems to outclass the euros at every turn ... that doesn't happen when you have people doing 'busywork'....
Posted by: Dan ||
04/29/2005 17:31 Comments ||
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#10
I was speaking mainly about US professionals working in large corporations, not hourly staff or the self-employed. The latter are far more productive than their west european counterparts, but French corporate pros are at least as productive as their peers in corporate America. Especially if one were to measure productivity in terms of output per professional man-hour rather than per person.
#11
AMerica's productivity advantage is almost entirely concentrated in the technology and retail (esp big-box, esp Walmart) sectors. One Nobellist economist analyzed our productivity gains from 1997-2002 and determined that fully one-third of this increase was attributable to Walmart's process and IT improvements. Corporate America overall is still hugely inefficient.
#13
Lex is right the average French worker is almost 25% more productive per hour worked than the average American. It is well understood with considerable research to back it up that within certain limits increasing the time worked does not increase to anything like the same extent the work completed. Its a variation on Parkinson's law - Work expands to fit the time aloted. However, this in no way justifies the French governments idiotic attempts at social engineering.
First a disclaimer. This is a left leaning blog Gotham Image.
Second the teaser:
Europe is different than America.
European history and culture often moves in a dialectic - thesis, anti-thesis, and synthesis.
America does not.
America moves inexorably forward, with mini-reversals, but with twin pistons of Good Cop and Bad Cop endlessly chugging.
...
Third the entry:
The dialtone-like secular quiesence one now hears in Europe, from the cafe's of Seville to the Brandenberg gate, is very real, but misleading because it will not last. The dilalectic will change. The Opera will commence. Now, Europa is in the the eye of the demographic storm. The Venus-days have started ending as Kagan went to press.
Dialtones always end, if you leave the phone off the hook.
You cannot forever not have children, then import workers to do your work.
This is especially so when you do not like them and they do not like you, and you do not melt with them, nor share religion. This will end -first with a whimper, followed by a bang(s).
Prediction:
In less than a generation, after Muslim pluralities are achieved in major cities in the Low Counties, you will see a right wing reaction all accross Europe that will make Tom DeLay's most fevered dreams look like Alan Alda-type chin scratching by comparison.
There will also be the emergence of a new Christ Militant - operating against Ecclesiatical approval, but ostensibly on behalf of European Christian heritage. They could be a a far more serious version of "The Minutemen" on the Mexican border, who were denounced and denied (while seemingly inspired and provoked) by their hero Bush.
...
enjoy...
Posted by: 3dc ||
04/29/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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#1
What's the downside? ;-p
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/29/2005 0:53 Comments ||
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#2
We get to listen to the Gotham Image chucklehead's near-unreadable whining about it.
#3
I wouldn't be too hard on them. They are just begining to recognize that multiculturalism, large scale immigration of unassimilated and largely unemployed minorities might just be a problem. To date the Left has considered this 'progress'.
#6
The use of allegory in most leftist articles leaves me confused. I don't have their knowledge of popular culture to understand the points they are trying to make. The comment section, as usual, was more informative. At the bottom was a link to an article about the different schools of political thought in this country. To abuse a punchline from a old joke i'd like to say, I thought I was a cowboy but I just found out I'm a Jeffersonian.
#8
Don't feel confused, BrerRabbit. They're just using all that allegory cuz they're too dense to use reason. That's why narrative is so important to them since they don't understand little things like causality, probability, confidence intervals, risk premiums, analysis, synthesis [here is where I wish I could do the shrinking text thingy, but am too lazy to look up the source].....
#9
Forget the dopey rhetorical tropes. Using the standard leftist reliance on "cultural contradictions", the guy has arrived at a very valid insight: the European center can't hold.
There will be a populist backlash that will at some point gain critical mass across Europe. The European political class is almost completely blind to this and will be sandbagged by new Fortuyns. They may or may not assume a religious cast, but they will all draw from a deep reservoir of popular discontent with the elites' cluelessness, fecklessness and arrogance.
The big question is whether these inevitable populist upsurges will be accompanied by organized violence-- brownshirt or blackshirt, militia or vigilante or what-have-you.
#10
thibaud (aka lex):
It’s a rhetorical question, but what does history teach us about Europe? It’ll be blackshirts from Belfast to the Bosporus.
A follow-up to a recent discussion on using the new airships to put out wildfires. Although, admittedly, there is no mention in this article about new fire control methods. ;-)
We’re in the seventh year of drought in the Northern Rockies, with precipitation deficits running about 20% annually. At the same time poor management of the regional national forests has left them brush-choked and bark beetle-ravaged and susceptible to wildfire. The Bush Administration’s 2003 "Healthy Forests Initiative" is designed to prevent these conflagrations by streamlining the bureaucratic "analysis paralysis" when processing timber sales. But the scope of the problem is such that these conditions will remain for years to come. In this year, the centenary of the United States Forest Service, the woods are a wreck. How did our national forests get into this predicament?
For a century it’s been the policy of the U.S. Forest Service -- simply put -- to fight forest fires. This seems like sound practice, but in the end it has disrupted the natural benefits of small fires -- usually caused by lightning strikes in remote areas -- that are useful to keep brush and ground fuel down. This constant fire suppression over a century has been detrimental to forest health.
Near my home in Cody, Wyoming, is the "Buffalo Bill Cody Scenic Byway," running 52 miles from Cody to the East Entrance of Yellowstone National Park. The last twenty miles to the Park are beetle-infested and the dying trees are purple-tinged. Tourists remark on this, thinking the colorful woods are beautiful. In reality, there is nothing for these trees to do but burn, probably the result of one of those errant lightning strikes. It’s not a case of "if," but "when."
snip
Also relatively near my home is Boulder Canyon, about 100 miles away near Big Timber, Montana. It’s 24 miles long and is accessed by a single narrow winding road. The canyon contains dozens of homes and vacation cabins, and on busy summer weekends as many as 3,000 people are present, using hiking trails, campgrounds, and two church camps. Gallatin National Forest officials in Montana believe it’s only a matter of time before a major fire sweeps up the canyon. It is heavily timbered and bordered by the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness.
The main concern is that single road, which is the escape route down-canyon in the event of a fire that could trap thousands of people. The Forest Service plan calls for the thinning of 2,500 acres of brush and small diameter trees at strategic points along the canyon. To do so would place breaks barring fire spread and ensuring the safer evacuation of homeowners and recreationists.
Most environmental groups in the region (along with local Sweet Grass and Park Counties government and property owners in the canyon) support the project. That hasn’t stopped three Montana enviro-groups, namely the Missoula-based "Alliance for the Wild Rockies," the "Ecology Center" and the "Native Ecosystems Council" from filing a Forest Service appeal and temporarily halting it.
The Gallatin National Forest, after dotting all the "i’s" and crossing all the "t’s" in its Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), seems to have included discrepancies in the project’s effect on Northern Goshawks, raptors that frequent the canyon. "I think it’s a paperwork correction," Brent Foster, a resource assistant for the Gallatin National Forest told the Bozeman Chronicle. "I don’t think it’s a big thing." The above illustrates a common strategy used by Greens to sabotage forest service timber sales, no matter their merit. The Northern Goshawk does not appear on either the "Endangered" or "Threatened" lists of the ESA, so this minor imbroglio will never even get to court. As for Boulder Canyon, Forest Service officials "hope to get some work done this year." We’ll see.
In the last few years 51 wildland firefighters have lost their lives in the West. In 2002 alone, some 7 million acres burned. In 2003, a record 6,800 "structures" (mostly private homes) burned. And this summer big swaths of the public domain will go up in smoke.
#1
Oh I wish they would get some of those fire-fighting airships off the ground. They make so much sense, carrying a huge payload of water high above the fire and then raining it for an hour or two, rather than dumping a much smaller amount. And while such an airship might not completely put out a fire, it could supress it so much that it wouldn't be a problem. It could keep it away from houses, and even sodden an area as a barrier to the progress of the thing. A few million dollars into one of those craft could save billions each year.
A coalition of agencies, publishers and measurement firms hopes to head off a consumer revolt against Internet tracking cookies.
Safecount brings together online ad industry leaders to discuss steps to insure the reliability of cookies, which are used throughout Internet advertising for measurement, targeting, frequency capping and research. The group said it would work to safeguard consumer privacy while improving counting systems for advertisers. Surveys by Nielsen//Net-Ratings and Jupiter Research suggested over 40 percent of users delete cookies from their computers monthly.
"There are beneficial reasons for consumers to want to have these tools in place," said Cory Treffiletti, svp and managing director of Isobar's Carat Interactive, San Francisco. "We need to support the proper measurement and counting methods out there."
Much of the concern stems from spyware-removal software, which often identify Internet cookies as spyware. Treffiletti blames these companies for "preying on consumer fear" of identity theft. He said Safecount hopes to work with the firms to separate cookies from malicious tracking programs.
The group's 19 founding members include agencies Carat, Interpublic Group's Universal McCann, WPP Group's mOne and aQuantive's Avenue A/Razorfish; publishers like MSN and About.com; and research firms Dynamic Logic and Luntz Research.
Reports in March of the demise of cookies sent tremors through the online ad industry, since without them the Internet would lose its major advantage on many media: measurability. Though research released last week by aQuantive's research unit suggested the cookie surveys greatly exaggerated actual deletion, Nick Nyhan, CEO of Dynamic Logic, said they are a warning shot for advertisers as tracking spreads to other media.
"We want to provide a way for the industry as whole to learn and to come to some consensus," he said. Like a coalition of spammers who want to protect "good" spam?
From the LA Times??? Enjoy!
The ugly truth is that Democrats habitually treat voters like children. It's the basis of their philosophy.
Who could possibly be against cutting voter fraud on election day? You'd have to be some sort of fruitcake. But when Georgia's Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue recently signed a bill to reduce voter fraud, under which voters must show a photo ID before casting their ballots, many of Georgia's black legislators stormed out in protest. They even threatened to sue. The new process is simple, easy and fairly effective, but Democrats alleged that it would reduce voting by minorities, the elderly and the poor. So black legislators had to oppose it.
For legislators to announce that getting a photo ID is too tricky for their constituents is downright amazing. Wouldn't you expect those constituents to say, "Drop dead! Stop treating us like morons!"?
After all, any 15-year-old half-wit can get a photo ID — and the governor is promising to hand them out gratis to voters who don't already have one. All you need to do is show up in the right place at the right time — which is just what you have to do in order to vote. (Unless you vote absentee, which will still be allowed under the new law.) In short: If you can vote, you can get a photo ID. So there's no reason why a single legitimate voter should be excluded.
Lots of Georgia Democrats are outraged anyway. As Michelle Malkin points out on her blog, those outraged Democrats are treating their constituents like children. But actually the episode points to a bigger, deeper, uglier truth: Democrats habitually treat Americans like children.
That's the whole basis of Democratic philosophy (I use the term loosely). We'll take care of you. Leave the thinking to us. Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, minority leaders of the House and Senate, respectively, — kindly Mom and Pop to a nation of intellectually limited youngsters. (But thank goodness, they love us anyway.)
How could anyone be opposed in principle to private investment accounts within Social Security? I could understand Democrats arguing that "private accounts are a wonderful idea but the country can't afford the transition costs right now." But mostly I hear Democrats saying they're a lousy idea, and that President Bush wants to wreck Social Security — because, after all, he wants to let you keep a great big whopping 4% of your payroll taxes in a private account instead of handing over every cent to the government. How on Earth could anyone be opposed in principle to letting taxpayers manage a minuscule fraction of their own money (their own money, dammit!) if they want to? Because private accounts violate the Infantile American Principle, so dear to Democratic hearts. Little kids should turn over their cash to the Big Smart Government for safekeeping.
But of course they can't say that, so instead they say, "Bush wants to privatize Social Security" — as if government were going to wash its hands of the whole mess. The technical term that logicians use for this rhetorical gambit — applying a correct word for one part of a proposal to the proposal as a whole — is "lying."
Here's another one: How could anyone be opposed to school vouchers? Vouchers let you decide where to spend tax money to educate your children. You give the voucher to any public or private school; it's your call. But Democrats worry that (among other things) too many parents will spend their vouchers at a local Obedience School for Little Nazis or the neighborhood Witchcraft Academy. That's what they think of their fellow citizens. That's what they think of you!
Now some readers will say, hold on, be fair! Democrats only oppose vouchers because the teachers unions ordered them to. Agreed, teachers unions are a big factor in every major decision a good Democrat makes, starting with what cereal to have for breakfast. But Democrats also oppose vouchers out of honest conviction. They are honestly convinced that ordinary Americans don't have the brains to choose a school for their own kids.
Advanced Democrats are now revving up to make sure you eat your vegetables and steer clear of those nasty French fries. Why is it their business? Because Democrats are professors in disguise. Scratch a Democrat, find a professor.
It all goes back to central planning, socialism, Marxism — let the experts run the economy; free markets are too democratic and messy. Many professors believed in Marxism right up to the point where Communist China itself bailed out in disgust.
Professors see the world in terms of experts and students: "We are smart; you are dumb." That's the Infantile American Principle in a nutshell. Now go play with your toys and don't bother me. DAVID GELERNTER, David Gelernter is professor of computer science at Yale University and a senior fellow in Jewish thought at the Shalem Center, Jerusalem.
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/29/2005 7:33:10 PM ||
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I saw this when I was at work today, but didn't have time to post it.
Glad you did. It sums up the DemocRats perfectly.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/29/2005 20:10 Comments ||
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#3
:-) sorry Barbara
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/29/2005 20:16 Comments ||
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#4
Wow - I can't believe the El Lay Times printed this. It, it, it makes sense! It rocks, in fact. Galernter has better keep his authorship quiet. I don't think he'll be welcome at many Ivy League soirees after this...
ROME (Reuters) - Pope Benedict's ascent to the papacy took a conclave of 115 cardinals, four rounds of voting and followed a lifetime of service to the Vatican. But ask Internet doomsayers eyeing a 12th century Catholic prophecy and they'll tell you it was all stitched up more than eight centuries ago and that judgment day is nigh. Maybe this will boost efforts to reform Social Security...
The prophecy -- widely dismissed by scholars as a hoax -- is attributed to St. Malachy, an Irish archbishop recognized by members of the Church for his ability to read the future. Hiccup! I saw it myself!
Benedict, believers say, fits the description of the second-to-last pope listed under the prophecy before the Last Judgement, when the bible says God separates the wicked from the righteous at the end of time. "The Old Testament states: 'believe his prophets and you will prosper' -- so believe it. We are close to the return of the Judge of the nations. Christ is coming," wrote one Internet post by the Rev. Pat Reynolds. Get the milk and cookies ready, Ethyl!
"Thank God for the witness of St. Malachy."
St. Malachy was said to have had a vision during a trip to Rome around 1139 of the remaining 112 Popes. The new pope would be number 111 on that list, and is described in a text attributed to St. Malachy as the "Glory of the Olive." To connect Benedict, a pale, bookish German, to anything olive takes some imagination. But Malachy-watchers point to the choice of the name Benedict -- an allusion to the Order of Saint Benedict, a branch of which is known as the Olivetans. And off this branch, you see Karl Rove...Or the Trilateral Commission.
"When (he) chose the name Benedict XVI, this was seen as fulfilling the prophecy for this pope," wrote one entry on www.wikipedia.org. Aris strikes again!
Benedict said that he chose the name partly in honor of Pope Benedict XV (1914-1922), calling him a "courageous prophet of peace." On Wednesday, Benedict dedicated his papacy to "the service of reconciliation and harmony between peoples." "Perhaps Benedict XVI will be a peacemaker in the Church or in the world, and thus carry the olive branch," speculated www.catholic-pages.com. It's all ov...wait, why is that a sign of the end?
Another site, www.bibleprobe.com, went even further, showing a picture of Benedict holding olive branches in March during Palm Sunday celebrations. "Is this the Pope of Peace (olive)?" it asked in the caption.
Critics widely dismiss the Malachy prophecy as a forgery and possible propaganda meant to influence a 16th century conclave. Doses of skepticism even appear on the most energetic Malachy web pages. But believers point out similarities between the prophecy's descriptions and past pontificates. Pope John Paul II, number 110, was described in the prophecy as "de labore solis" -- or "of the labor of the sun." He was born on May 18, 1920, the same day as a solar eclipse. The pontiff was buried on April 8, 2005 -- the same day as a partial eclipse, visible in the Americas. Watch out, they might fall into their own navels.
More pressing for doomsayers are the prophecy's references to the last Pope on the list, Peter the Roman, who will lead the Church before "the formidable judge will judge his people."
Since Benedict is already 78 years old, they say Peter the Roman must be coming soon, and with him, the end of the world. "His reign will only last a few years at most. This signals that we are living in what may be the end of days as we know it," said one Web Site entry by someone calling himself SmartBob. SMARTBOB PREDICTS APOCALYPSE!
Posted by: Mahmoud, the Weasel ||
04/29/2005 7:57:30 AM ||
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#1
Now wait here a second. I heard this story before, only it was John Paul that was second to last.
Nice how these things keep updating themselves.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
04/29/2005 10:19 Comments ||
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#2
I was thinking the same thing. They keep advancing the Pope forward. First it was JPI, then JPII, and now the new kid. Well, you can always count on Nostradamus:
In a year holding a three, or seven,
or five, or nine, or maybe not,
Two things, might be people, or armies,
or buildings,
Or anything really, blades of grass,
or stoats, or crapulous charlatans
spouting mimsy,
Might do something nebulous.
Insert made-up-bit here.
--Generic Nostradamus Quatrain from
"The Guardian" (U.K.)
#4
I always have a laugh when one of them's drowned in a butt of mimsy...
Posted by: Fred ||
04/29/2005 12:54 Comments ||
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#5
A little bit of the bible, with which one can confound these foools. The words of Chirst himself, which these folks seem to ignore:
Matthew 24:42 "Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming."
Matthew 24:44 "For the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.
Matthew 24:36 "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone."
Matthew 25:13 "Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour."
Given Matthew 24:36, these folks seem to put themselves above everyone but God himself in saying that they "know" when the return is happening.
#7
Didn't they have two Popes for awhile? When you're counting down to doomsday to you count both, or just one assuming the second was a pretender/heretic.
If you were God and you set up a system dependent upon Faith and not facts, why would you give hints as to when Judgement day was? I mean now when Benedict dies we all seek forgiveness and we're in time for the end of the world. All is gold. God's a softy if he gave out hints.
#8
The way I remember it Judgement day was suppossed to occur during the Reign of Pope John Paul the 2nd but John Conner and his Mom pushed things back a bit schedule wise.
I'm not sure when the last movie took place but since we're not all dead I have to assume it was sometime in the near future.
#11
Xbalanke - it depends on how thin you want to slice the baloney.
Evenutally they get to debating what the meaning of "is" is; at which time they are lost.
Better to take the scriptures at both their literal value and anagogical sense:
As believers, we do not know when he is coming, but we need to behave as if it is at any minute.
Trying to predict the return of Christ is to take time, effort and attention away from works God would rather have us do; Christians would be better off reading the Bible or the works of the Saints, or better yet, volunteering or praying.
#15
Just as there is no contradiction between God and science, only mankind's inability [ or refusal?] to comprehend, as the saying goes, so also there is nothing wrong with NOSTRY, only man's failure to comprehend his codes. As Nostry himself alluded, only God or the Servants of God can truly understand and interprete his meanings. Since the true threat to America vv 9-11 is Socialism, OWG and Commie World Order, the real threat to Catholicism, JudeoChristianity, and world religion in general is REGULATION-BASED, GLOBAL SECULARISM-SECULARIST ABSOLUTISM - post 9-11 America already has BILL MAHER and other Lefty commentators belabeling God and Religion as "FAKES", besides also media-blitzing crimes amongst white America to justify REGULATION, SUPER-REGULATION, and ever more HYPER-REGULATION, FOR EMPIRE AND BIG, BIG, BIG-G-G-ER WELFARE GOVERNMENTISM. You know the Failed Left - America must MUst MUST M-U-S-T-T-T create Global Empire, ergo America can't be allowed to govern its own newfound Empire, silly boy!?
Just as Airbus's super-jumbo makes its maiden flight, Boeing bounces back
WHEN the new A380 took off from Airbus's French production base in Toulouse on April 27th, it should have been the European aircraft manufacturer's big week. The successful first test-flight of a 555-seat super-jumbo was quite an event. Instead, Airbus's American rival Boeing almost stole the show. On April 25th, Boeing said that, if all the options are taken up in a new order for widebody jets from Air Canada, the value at list prices would be around $15 billion—making it one of the biggest aircraft orders ever. The following day, Boeing landed a second huge order from Air India. Soon it will announce a third, this time from Northwest Airlines for its new 787 long-haul aircraft.
The timing may well have been deliberate. Nevertheless, the three orders are more than marketing hype, and should worry Airbus. They all come from airlines that have long been big Airbus customers, and they reflect a new sense of purpose at Boeing, which now looks like outselling Airbus for the first time in recent years under its new super-salesman, Scott Carson. They also bring the tally of launch orders for Boeing's new 787 to over 200—impressive for a new plane which has been on the market for only a year. Airbus, by contrast, has only one customer for its rival A350 long-haul plane, and sees orders for the A380 obstinately stuck at 154.
Posted by: Captain America ||
04/29/2005 2:57:32 AM ||
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#1
I think Boeing's ace-in-the-hole is that the 787's operating costs are supposed to be 20% less that equivalent aircraft. Given the cost of fuel these days, not insignificant. I think the A380 will prove to be a bust; just a niche aircraft.
#2
If the A380 is a bust, then hopefully its not the kind that involves the Airbus special: tails falling off.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
04/29/2005 10:23 Comments ||
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#3
A380: 154 x $275 million list price = $4.23 billion
787: 200 x $120 million list price = $2.40 billion
Airbus, as a company, will do fine. The EU is paying (loan guarantees and direct subsidies?) for the $15 billion A380 development, so Airbus will make a profit, while Boeing's much smaller indirect subsidies come from supplier countries (e.g. Japanese subsidies of their companies design and manufacture of the 787 wings).
The 747 ($200-230 mil) passenger plane market has been dead, and I think the freighter market will also die due to 50% greater payload and lower ton-mile costs.
Posted by: ed ||
04/29/2005 10:42 Comments ||
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#4
I think the ultimate market for the 380 will be the air cargo version. IMO the insurance companies will quail at the tought of one of these things augering with a full load of economy class passengers. Some how a full load of Chiliean fruit is not quite as unsettling
#5
Whoops. Can't count my zeros.
A380: 154 x $275 million list price = $42.3 billion
787: 200 x $120 million list price = $24.0 billion
If the 787 is as efficient as advertised and has 1/2 the payload (max take off 450K lbs / 590K lbs = .76[first order payload approx]) then it will always be cheaper and more flexible to buy and operate 2 787s vs 1 A380 freighter.
Posted by: ed ||
04/29/2005 11:24 Comments ||
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#6
..while Boeing's much smaller indirect subsidies come from supplier countries (e.g. Japanese subsidies of their companies design and manufacture of the 787 wings).
According to the idiots at Airbus, they claim that Boeing's military contracts amount to "indirect subsidies". Apparently, they don't seem to understand that Boeing just might be making stuff that the U.S. military, or other nations' military entities even, want to buy.
#7
Ed - that's list price. Do you have a range for what the actual prices will be? Is it correct to assume that Airbus's discounting will not be greater than Boeing's discounting?
Also, what's the pipeline? The Economist seems to suggest that Boeing's adding to its pipeline while Airbus is not ("obstinately stuck at 154").
This is only the first inning. I wouldn't leap to conclusions, especially with the global airline industry.
#8
The max takeoff weight of the A380 is about 900K pounds. The site I got the 590K from put the empty weight in the MTO field. Still, the 1/2 ratio applies and the 787 should be the economic winner in the freighter game.
I don't know the customary discount in the airliner biz. But I read a rumor somewhere that the launch customer (Japanese: Japan Air Lines?) got a fantastic 50% discount. Of course, no one is going to get that discount again on the 787.
Posted by: ed ||
04/29/2005 12:51 Comments ||
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#9
If the competition's intense, and governments are involved as well, then the discounts could easily top 50%. They could range very widely, too.
The Concorde, you recall, was the fastest bird. The AirbusT A380 is the fattest.
I see a pattern here, folks.
Hard to recall the concorde nowadays.
Posted by: Captain America ||
04/29/2005 14:38 Comments ||
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#11
The other major problem w/the A380 is the limited # of runways that can safely accomodate the plane. Most airports around the world will have to expand and reinforce their runways,which in US is EXTREMELY costly as you would have to buy private property at extremely high prices. Add noise abatement regulations and this turkey will find few places to roost. Typical Euro-French arrogance-they just assume if they build it others will make long enough runways.(Fortunately for them,I forsee a lot of EU foreign aid being tied to EU countries getting contracts to build airports in poor countries.) But one aspect of lack of proper runways is what happens if there is an in-air emergency and the plane has to divert? Having long enough runways in LA,NY,Memphis(lots of air cargo) does you no good if you are over Kansas and you need to land NOW!
Posted by: Stephen ||
04/29/2005 16:02 Comments ||
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#12
Having long enough runways in LA,NY,Memphis(lots of air cargo) does you no good if you are over Kansas and you need to land NOW!
The same is true of most of the ocean.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
04/29/2005 16:22 Comments ||
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#13
It seems targeted mainly at China and other Asian emerging mkts that are building new airports.
#14
I wouldn't read too much into the runway issue. The market is transpacific and the Kangaroo run from Oz to SEA and then Europe. Perhaps 2 dozen airports have to accomodate it and the only US one that must is LAX, but SFX, Seattle, JFK and Chicago would be desireable.
#15
Never happen at O'Hare. Never. Da Mayor can't get the airport reconfigured (he wants to build 8 parallel runways and scrap the current 5 completely). If he did that, the A380 might be able to do it, or at least block only 2. But the NIMBYs around the airport are particularly ferocious so the runways aren't going to be built for a good 20 years.
Don't worry, a Daley will still be Mayor then.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/29/2005 21:08 Comments ||
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#16
Phil,the issue of runways is going to be big in the US. Just trying to get favorable enviromental impact statements,not to mention all the permits,etc. will be bruising political fights. Then there is cost of buying land in some cases-land which the owners know has to be bought. Land seizures will be fought in court. Homes that were blocks away from the runway will find themselves next to it and they will file lawsuits. While the runways are being expanded,they will have to be shut down,causing all kinds of disruption.
And we haven't even started discussing who's going to pay for them. Even if we pretend Boeing won't be lobbying against such expansion any proponents have a tough fight on their hands. I'd like to meet the State or Local politician who supports a massive bond issue to finance runway expansion for just 1 type of airplane while opponents are screaming for money for education(think of the kids!),health care,etc.,all during times of tight budgets. Trying to get money from the Feds will be problamatic at best(let's ignore most of the logical airports are in BLUE states-we all know Bush doesn't hold grudges),because it is for so few airports,10 at best-what's in it for the rest,esp. when they can legitimately claim Federal funding should go to upgrading the obsolete Air Traffic Control System.
Posted by: Stephen ||
04/29/2005 22:11 Comments ||
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NEW DELHI - UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on Thursday urged India to sign an international treaty banning nuclear testing and support another that puts a cap on the production of fissile material needed for making atomic weapons.
In a public speech in New Delhi, Annan said he was pleased the international community had managed to successfully conclude a convention on nuclear terrorism earlier this month. "I beg hope India will set an example by rapidly adhering to that convention, and will also soon sign and ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, as well as giving active support to the negotiations on a fissile material cut-off treaty," Annan said.
"Please, guys, I need a success and I need it soon!"
The convention on nuclear terrorism adopted by the UN General Assembly on April 13 gives legal definitions to virtually all varieties of potential terrorist acts. Adopted by consensus after seven years of negotiation, it was added to 12 existing anti-terror measures.
India, which came out of the nuclear closet in 1998 conducting five tests, has resisted signing the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) describing it as discriminatory. New Delhi says the CTBT does not address its concerns on complete nuclear disarmament, does not aim to abolish or ban nuclear weapons but allows countries with atomic arms to refine their arsenals with simulated tests. India announced a moratorium on further tests immediately after its 1998 tests.
On the Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty, which demands an ends to the production of fissile material, India says it will follow the five nuclear weapon states -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/29/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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#1
Any good restaurants in New Delhi, Kofi? Make sure that's in your report. It's the only info you provide that I'd consider credible.
#5
Kofi was persona non grata in India for a while.
He suggested a UN role in mediating the so called Kashmir conflict between India and Pakistan.
That did not go down well with the then PM Vajpayee. Kofi was bluntly told not to show up uninvited in Delhi. Later, during Vajpayee's trip to the UN in New York, he declined a meeting with Kofi.
Posted by: john ||
04/29/2005 18:27 Comments ||
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#6
Sounds like a timely reminder of who's the employer, and who's the employee.
One is actually accountable to the people of his country and must deliver on promises made.
The other is accountable to no one, apparently, and couldn't deliver a pizza even from his chauffeured limosine.
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.
ROME (Reuters) - Pope Benedict's ascent to the papacy took a conclave of 115 cardinals, four rounds of voting and followed a lifetime of service to the Vatican. But ask Internet doomsayers eyeing a 12th century Catholic prophecy and they'll tell you it was all stitched up more than eight centuries ago and that judgment day is nigh.
