A Reuterista, no less! Excellent work, Barney.
Republicans have been waiting for a prominent Republican official to finally go after the corrupt and biased media propaganda machine, and throughout this election campaign, there has been little promise that we would see it. At long, long last, one of our own drew some blood: Barney, the first dog, finally decided to bite a reporter.
Apparently, he was as sick of the disgusting media jackals as I have become.
Mind you, that Reuters journalist is fortunate that Barney did not bite him where I would have bitten him were I in Barney's place. Let us just say that he would have filed his future stories in a voice rendered permanently falsetto.
Now I'm waiting for Barney's article on how to deal with the liberal media. I'm just wishing that Barney had run for President instead of John McCain. I get the sense he would have really gone after Barack Obama where it would have done some real damage...
#11
I liked Laura's quip "Barney's sick of the paparazzi, too". Dogs are intuitive, Scottish terriers not an aggressive breed, and apparently smelled a rodent!
India will send one of its most decorated army units to join a U.N. mission in Congo and support other Indian troops as Congolese rebels advance to seize fresh areas, the military said on Friday. The 3rd battalion of the 3rd Gurkha Rifles regiment, first formed during World War One, will reach the Democratic Republic of Congo later this month and await deployment, a defence spokesman said in New Delhi.
"Hopefully the unit will play an important role," the spokesman said.
India already has about 4,000 troops serving in Congo. The Gurkha unit will replace the Sikh Light Infantry Battalion. The decision to deploy the Gurkha unit comes days after New Delhi said it was concerned about its troops serving in Congo.
Advances last week by Tutsi rebels toward Goma, a major city in east Congo, have forced at least 200,000 people from their homes and further destabilized the already volatile North Kivu province.
Indian officials said some of their soldiers were seriously wounded last month when they were hit by rockets fired by rebels. Sending supplies to troops in the area was also becoming increasingly difficult due to the intensified fighting.
"The Gurkhas are highly efficient and the decision to send the best men to the war-hit region to help out is correct," said A.K. Mitra, retired chief of India's Border Security Force.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for an immediate halt to fighting in eastern Congo and has urged all forces to withdraw to positions they held at the end of August. He has called on all armed groups involved in the fighting to help work out a political solution to the crisis.
Some analysts say India should re-think sending its troops to Congo, fearing they could get caught in the crossfire. "We don't know how long they will be deployed in Congo yet," a defence official said.
Indian peacekeepers in Congo have also been accused of sexual exploitation and abuse in the past.
Posted by: john frum ||
11/07/2008 16:02 ||
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#1
Here's a local tidbit for them
GOMA, Congo Angolan troops have joined Congolese soldiers battling rebels near the city of Goma, U.N. officials reported Friday, raising new fears the conflict will spread as African leaders struggled to find a way to stop it. New clashes between army and rebels erupted just outside Goma near Kibati, where about 45,000 refugees from the rebellion in mineral-rich eastern Congo have taken refuge. Thousands fled toward the relative safety of Goma.
Congo asked Angola for political and military support on Oct. 29 as rebels led by Tutsi former general Laurent Nkunda advanced toward Goma, capital of North Kivu province near the border with Rwanda. Nkunda called a unilateral cease-fire last week when his forces reached the outskirts of the city, but the truce has crumbled.
A U.N. official and a Uruguayan peacekeeping officer said Friday that an unspecified number of Angolans troops arrived four days ago. The two officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the subject's sensitivity.
But in New York, U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Edmond Mulet denied Angolan troops had joined the fighting. "We have no evidence of that, and MONUC has not been able to confirm any of that," Mulet said, referring to the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo. "So for us it is not happening."
So maybe it'll just "go away".
Where ya going for dinner tonight, Eddie?Someplace expensive I'll bet...
The Supreme Court (SC) yesterday summoned 11 doctors and the registrar of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) for signing a "false" medical certificate for detained former BNP lawmaker Mosaddek Ali Falu that earned him bail from the High Court (HC).
Posted by: Fred ||
11/07/2008 00:00 ||
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Thousands of opposition activists have demonstrated in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi - their first major protest since the conflict with Russia. Critics have accused President Mikhail Saakashvili of starting a war with Russia that Georgia could not win.
"We are starting a new wave of civil confrontation, and we will not give up until new elections are called," opposition leader Kakha Kukava said.
A year ago opposition rallies were broken up by police. Rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannon were used in a crackdown that ended days of protests but opened the government up to accusations of heavy-handedness. Following those protests, Mr Saakashvili went on to call snap elections, which he won.
There were about 10,000 protesters at Friday's rally, according to estimates by reporters at the scene. They crowded the steps outside parliament, holding banners and waving flags, calling for democratic reforms. They were fewer than the 30,000 the opposition had hoped for, and fewer than at protests a year ago.
But while these do not pose as much of a threat to the president as the 2007 protests, they do come at critical time, says the BBC's Tom Esslemont in Tbilisi. Mr Saakashvili is facing questions, both at home and abroad, about whether Georgia used indiscriminate force at the outset of the war in August. The president is adamant Georgia was provoked by Russia, and has called for an inquiry.
At least five opposition groups were involved in Friday's protests, though one of the leading parties, the Christian Democrats, did not join in.
Analysts say some Georgians are reluctant to stoke unrest, fearing that will be exploited by Russia.
Earlier this week Mr Saakashvili dismissed his army chief, Zaza Gogava, following a review of the conflict with Russia in August. He said "the enemy" was still at Georgia's door and he had to address "shortcomings" in the military.
The conflict in the region began on 7 August when Georgia tried to retake its breakaway region of South Ossetia by force after a series of lower-level clashes with Russian-backed rebels. Russia launched a counter-attack and the Georgian troops were ejected from both South Ossetia and Abkhazia, a second breakaway region, days later.
Russian forces remain in the two regions, and Moscow has backed their declarations of independence.
Posted by: john frum ||
11/07/2008 14:01 ||
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Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and a top UN official urged industrialised nations Friday to alter their lifestyles and not let the global financial crisis hamper climate change efforts.
You first. Let's see your party leaders live like your peasants, as one example ...
Industrialised nations should also help developing countries respond to climate change, Wen said at the opening of a two-day international meeting on global warming in Beijing.
Since we have to be sustainable, we'll have to forego any assistance coming your way.
"The developed countries have a responsibility and an obligation to respond to global climate change by altering their unsustainable way of life," the state news agency Xinhua quoted him as saying. "As the global financial crisis spreads and worsens, and the world economy slows down, the international community must not waver in its determination to tackle climate change."
Again, you first: you stop building coal-fired power plants, for example.
The gathering in Beijing is focused on the development and transfer of technology that can help tackle climate change ahead of next month's talks on creating a new global treaty on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Representatives from 76 nations are attending.
China proposed last week that rich nations devote one percent of their economic output to helping poor countries fight global warming.
How much does China contribute? As if I didn't already know the answer.
Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, said Friday a lack of firm funding commitments could derail efforts to cut emissions in developing countries, especially during the financial crisis.
That would seem to be a problem, especially for the UN apparatchiks ...
"The financial crisis is definitely going to affect international climate change policy," he said.
But "the financial crisis offers the world an opportunity to move away from toxic investments and make sustainable investments, for example into low emissions energy infrastructure," he said.
In the landmark Kyoto Protocol, rich nations agreed to targets for cutting greenhouse gases as well as helping to transfer clean technology to developing nations to help them reduce their emissions. But much of the pledged transfers are not happening, said de Boer.
"Industrial countries must meet their technology transfer obligations," he told journalists. "Given their historical responsibility for the problem, it is essential that industrialised countries take the lead in reducing emissions and that they show real leadership (in climate change negotiations)."
We didn't sign, and even the new Senate won't ratify Kyoto, so count us out.
Formal negotiations on a new treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol when it expires in 2012 will begin in Poznan, Poland next month, with the UN hoping that a new agreement will be ready by the end of 2009, de Boer said. "Governments have used 2008 to gather information and clarify their positions on a number of topics. At Poznan governments need to go into full negotiation mode and make concrete results," he said.
China has long resisted calls to join rich nations in setting targets for emissions cuts, saying its relatively low per capita emissions and recent emergence as a major source of greenhouse gases should exempt it from action. Scientists said in September that China had leapfrogged the United States as the world's biggest producer of carbon dioxide (CO2), one of the principal gases that cause global warming.
Doesn't matter, the Chinese will still demand a free pass, and the apparatchiks will allow them to have one.
#1
Why in the hell is China of all ppl preaching about climate change. They alone are prob doing more damge than half the nations on earth combined and i don't remember any US rivers being poisoned this year and how many did they killl before they let the cat out of the bag about that one?
Posted by: chris ||
11/07/2008 11:11 Comments ||
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#3
This guy has the guts to stand in Beijing, gasping for breath, talking about 'unsustainable' policies?
What a choad. What a one-way little mother f*cker.
And when are we going to quit calling China a 'developing country'?
#4
They should consider the law of unintended consequences before making pronouncements like this. For most industrialized nations, the first thing to go if they were to abandon 'unsustainable lifestyles" would be all the trinkets imported from China. Sustainable lifestyles are built on domestic production. China would implode faster than the housing bubble.
#7
Better yet save 2% of US GDP and quit importing from China. That will have multiplier effect on reducing CO2 and make US lifestyles a heck of a lot more sustainable.
Posted by: ed ||
11/07/2008 13:38 Comments ||
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#8
ed is right on the mark. Premier Wen Jiabao---we agree with your statement of ditching unsustainable lifestyles. We will start with imported cheap and toxic items from your country. Beware of what you wish for.
I will implement your policy immediately with my family. Thank you for opening my eyes.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/07/2008 14:39 Comments ||
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#9
Where will we import "stuff" from? It seems to me the latte-sipping wing of the American people now considers factories dirty, and working in them far beneath them.
What to do?
Posted by: Grenter, Protector of the Geats ||
11/07/2008 16:38 Comments ||
Top||
#10
IIRC, PRAVDA [paraph]> At least under Communism Soviet citizens [Russian/National]were poor but optimistic.
DARE BECOMES:
MSM-NET > 2009-2016 [beyond?] > At least under OWG-NWO + GLOBAL SOCIALISM, Fascist = Limited Communist-Whom are-Weirdly-and-Mysteriously-But-Only-Coincidentally-PCorrectly/Deniably-NOT-"REAL/FULL COMMUNISTS" American = Amerikan citizens were poor but optimistic???
* WORLD MIL FORUM POSTER(S) [paraph/Chinese = Chinglish Translation] > COLD WAR US LEFTIST POLITICIANS HAVE MADE AMERICA INTO A VEILED/SHADOW SOCIALIST STATE. WORLD JUST NEEDS PRESIDENT OBAMA AND SUCCESSORS TO MAKE IT OFFICIAL. AMERICA IS FINISHED???
Madeline Albright picking out new broach.
Jimmah Cartuh prepared to lift wallets and sell America down the river for another failed attempt to create a legacy.
Posted by: ed ||
11/07/2008 07:40 ||
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ION TOPIX > KOREAN AMERICANS PLAY KEY ROLE IN OBAMA CAMPAIGN [Campaign Operations]; + WHY OBAMA WILL BE GOOD FOR ASIA!? Article - title rewrite more like "SHOULD BE GOOD" + "FOR US-ASIA TRADE"???
#2
ALso from TOPIX > GUAM > US, JAPAN COMMITTED TO TRANSFORMATION DESPITE DELAYS [US Budget]. Marine Reloc to Guam will ideally try to be completed by 2014 as planned, BUT MAY NOT BE SO COME EVEN THE NEXT YEAR 2015. KEATING > the relocation process to Guam of 8000 [of 18000] US Marines + US-Japan mil transformation will generally take a DECADE to complete [2008-2018]???
Chinese hackers have penetrated the White House computer network on multiple occasions, and obtained e-mails between government officials, a senior US official told the FT.
The cyber attackers managed to penetrate the White House system for brief periods that allowed them to steal information before US government experts each time patched the system. "We are getting very targeted Chinese attacks so its stretches credulity that these are not directed by government-related organisations," said the official.
The National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force, a unit established in 2007 to tackle security, detected the attacks. The official stressed the hackers had accessed only the unclassified computer network, and not the more secure classified network.
"For a short period of time, they successfully breach a wall, and then you rebuild the wall . . . it is not as if they have continued access," said the official. "It is constant cat and mouse on this stuff."
The US has increased efforts to tackle cyber security in the past year, especially since Chinese hackers penetrated the Pentagon last year, in an attack that obtained e-mails from the system serving Robert Gates, the defence secretary.
Separately, US government cyber investigations have determined that an attack this summer on the Obama and McCain campaign computer networks originated in China. Details of the attack were first reported by Newsweek. The secret service told the Obama and McCain campaigns that their networks had been comprised by foreign hackers. The cyber attackers successfully downloaded large quantities of information from the campaign networks, which security agencies believed was an attempt to learn more about the contenders' policy positions.
A second US official said government cyber experts had determined that the attacks originated from China, but he cautioned that they could not determine whether they were related to the government. "There is no doubt that foreign governments are actively targeting cyber space not only for sensitive information but to influence our most sensitive processes such as the US presidential election," said Sami Saydjari, head of the Cyber Defence Agency, a private company that advises government. "This underscores the need for president-elect Obama to take leadership in the cyber space race that is well under way."
While the US has raised concerns about cyber attacks, many foreign governments believe the US is also engaged in electronic spying. Bob Woodward, the veteran Washington Post reporter, this year revealed that the US had been spying on the Iraqi government.
#2
COUNTERTERRORISM BLOG > USA: CIA WANTS PRESIDENT OBAMA TO "HAVE/WATCH ITS BACK" WHEN THINGS GO WRONG.
After all, PATRIOTISM = merely LIMITED TREASON, just as FASCISM = merely LIMITED COMMUNISM, etc.
BUT-T-T, IS [true]TREASON = LIMITED PATRIOTISM, JUST AS [TRUE]COMMUNISM = should be LIMITED FASCISM, CORRECT???
Notice how Kimmie is such a pure leftist he will not even cast a shadow to his right.
It was intended to be the photograph that settled the matter once and for all -- three months after vanishing from public view, and after reports that he had undergone brain surgery following a stroke, the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Il, was alive and well. But a close look reveals something shady around the ankles of the world's last Cold War dictator.
While the legs of his soldiers cast a shadow at a sharp angle, the shadow of the "Dear Leader" is dead straight. Also, there is a black line running horizontally behind the soliders' legs but which mysteriously disappears behing Mr Kim. Rather than a genuine photograph, there were growing suspicions last night that the image may be the result of digital trickery.
Today, the state controlled North Korean media announced that Mr Kim had attended a musical performances, at which he "waved back to the cheering performers and audience and congratulated them on their successful presentation". The photographs were first presented the day before -- and together they eroded the consensus among North Korea-watchers that the leader of the world's most unpredictable nuclear power has suffered a serious health problem over the past few months.
The pictures show Mr Kim posing for a group photograph with a military unit, wearing a light coloured winter coat, sunglasses and sporting his familiar pompadour. On Sunday, in similarly undated photographs, he was shown apparently attending a football match.
"He expressed expectation and conviction that all the artistes would conduct dynamic revolutionary art activities in the future too, to powerfully encourage the army and people in the drive for accomplishing the cause of building a great prosperous powerful nation," said yesterday's report on KCNA.
Mr Kim ceased making public appearances in mid-August but it was only on 9 September that his absence from view became a matter of pressing concern. That was the 60th anniversary of the North Korean state, a day of almost sacred significance, when parades and celebrations were held all over the country. Despite having attended the 50th and 55th anniversaries, Mr Kim failed to appear.
There was speculation that he was ill, or had even died -- an alarming possibility in a country with a million strong army, nuclear weapons technology, a hungry population and no formal system of succession. The head of the South Korea spy agency, Kim Sung Ho, publicly confirmed media reports from unnamed US intelligence sources that Mr Kim had suffered stroke and been treated by foreign doctors. "Although he is not in a state to walk around, he is conscious," he told South Korean MPs. "We understand that he can control the situation and he is not in an unstable condition."
But if the recent photographs and reports are genuine, then either he has made a remarkable recovery or reports of his indisposition have been greatly exaggerated. It is a big if -- and there has been much poring over other images for signs of fraud or fakery.
Pictures released last month, for example, were dismissed because the state of foliage in the background suggested they had been taken in summer -- probably before the alleged stroke.
In the photographs at the football match, Mr Kim is not making great use of his left arm, leading to speculation that he was suffering partial paralysis. But in the latest pictures of the military, he is seen to be clapping and raising both hands.
North Korea analysts suggested that the release of the news was deliberately timed to coincide with the election of Barack Obama. "He's sending a message to the US," says Moon Chung In, a professor at Seoul's Yonsei University, who has twice net Mr Kim in Pyongyang. "They're saying our leader is alive and well, and we're ready to talk."
#9
Everybody is overlooking the obvious: he is SOOO much taller now also.
(surely there can't be that many midgets in NK, can there?
I don't know, but stop calling me Shirley.)
This is disgusting. An Obama supporting teacher in Asheville, North Carolina, is caught on tape ridiculing the young daughter of a soldier stationed in Iraq.
========================================
Followup email:
========================================
To keep from launching into a frothing tirade I'll just make this simple comment:
This story angers me.
This is a video of Diantha Harris, a lifelong democrat and avid Barack Obama supporter. She is also a lousy schoolteacher, as is evidenced by the mushmouthed kids in her class. And instead of concentrating on grammar and English, math and science, she abuses and ridicules any child who dares to speak up in support of John McCain. This video is part of a Finnish documentary on Obama fans, and it is shocking that you have to go to a foreign country to learn what goes on in our own classrooms.
See how she singles out the little girl and mocks her for having an absent parent, who is off defending the country, and lies to her, saying her Dad would have to stay in Iraq for a hundred years? The little girl was ready to cry.
Partial Transcript:
We want to talk about the presidential election. I want to ask you, who are you pulling for? Raise your hand.
Obama.
You pullin for Obama. Who you pullin for?
Obama.
Any of you pullin for John McCain? That's fine, say him as well.
Obama.
Obama.
John, oh lord, John McCain.
Oh Jesus, John McCain.
ok, now I wanna axe you somethin.
why are you pullin for John McCain? It's ok, but why are you pullin for John McCain?
I thinks it's because my parents are going for him too.
Ok, your parents are going for him. Why are you pullin for Borack. Barack
I just want a black president sometimes.
Ok, you want a black president.
The reason why I want Barack Obama is because he's making good changes in the good country and stuff like that.
So, he's making good changes for our country. Now can you tell me just a little bit more, like what type of changes?
Like not having big fights between Iraq and having soldiers killed.
So in other words, Barack is going to end that war in Iraq. What do you all know about that war in Iraq?
[Harris addresses Kathy] Talk, cause yo daddy in the military. Talk. It's a senseless war! And by the way, Kathy, the person that you're picking for president said that our troops could stay in Iraq for another hundred years if they need to!
[Kathy bites her lip, looks ashamed. Other kids stare at Kathy, laugh, smirk.]
So that means that your daddy could stay in the military for another hundred years!
===================================
Now. Here's the information that you're wanting right about now.
The teacher's name is Diantha Harris. Although this incident took place in Asheville, NC, Harris is currently in the Cumberland county school system in Fayetteville.
Harris' School email form can be accessed here:
http://www.mmes.ccs.k12.nc.us/email/diathaharris.htm
Cumberland County Board of Education
http://www.communications.ccs.k12.nc.us/Board/BOE.htm
Posted by: DanNY ||
11/07/2008 08:51 ||
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#1
Wow, the teacher involved cannot even speak proper english. This is disturbing on so many levels.
#2
My answer is: Sue. Sue for the abuse at an innocent person (attacking someone even Hitler relatives for something one of his relatives did is IMHO, a form of racism). Sue for predating on a child. But that is for the criminal part.
Sue also for spending her time, a a time who belongs not to her but to the tax payer, for something differnt than what it was supposed to be. Not to mention dammage to the education (and future revenue) of the children since all tghis time wasn't spent on their education. And sue the school for allowing this to happen.
Once some teachers and schools are forced to pay millions of dollars in compansation that kind of things will no longer happen. And little Americans will get a better education.
#3
Years a go a colleague of mine was PCS'd (assigned) to the Special Warfare Center (SWC) at Bragg, NC. His wife was a school teacher. I asked him if his wife was going to continue to teach. He just laughed and replied, "Hell no! North Carolina schools are ranked 38th in the nation. Cumberland County schools are ranked LAST in North Carolina. End of discussion.
#4
I'm the guy who broke the story, please supply a link to the original post: http://tundratabloid.blogspot.com/2008/11/swedish-documentary-shows-ashville.html
I reported it as being from Ashville due to the documentary, because the family is from Asheville, her ex-husband a part of the Asheville School board. Her kids were raised there as well. I spent alot of time trying to find this woman, and due to the producers of the documentary misspelling her name, resulted in her being labeled as being a part of the Asheville school system.
Also Debbie Schlussel ran the story after I informed her,
I am presently updating all three posts with the new information on this incident. The Asheville local paper, the Citizen-Times spoke with me, and mentioned the TT is its article.
#5
It has to be said, note that all the black kids said obama, also note pointedly the Teacher, is A fat Black woman.
Racism has just been oficialy made Govt policy, (For Blacks only).
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
11/07/2008 11:16 Comments ||
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#6
this is fucking disgusting. i couldn't even watch the rest after they left the classroom scene and then the teacher saying she can support who she wants too support. You can't discriminate against religion but you can discriminate against a swhat 13 yr old student who really doesn't understand and then pick on her. I thought teachers where suppoosed too be role models? Sorry but if that where my daughter that bitch would be picking her teeth up the next morning
Posted by: chris ||
11/07/2008 11:18 Comments ||
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#11
School choice. We wouldn't patronize a company that produces shoddy merchandise and insults the customers. Why should we be forced to buy an inferior educational product?
Posted by: ed ||
11/07/2008 13:45 Comments ||
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#12
I'll have an order of Democratic talking points and a large teachers union kool aid.
#13
Perhaps OT, but last night I had the honor to attend my Grand-daughter's school program honoring the flag and the veterans that fought to keep it flying. These are 1st-4th graders ( Bekah is in 2nd)
anyway, it started with 'Betsy' sewing the flag and describing that Gen. Washington wanted a uniform symbol for the Colonies. Then the story flashed through the War of 1812, the Civil War, both WW, Korea, VN, DS1 and ended with the Cole.
Then each service's song was played and vets from that branch stood.
It was well worth the 9 hours of windshield time to attend.
Topper was that the little girl doing the narration was a 5xgreat granddaughter of Betsy Ross herself!
#14
I'm with JFM on this. Sue the arse off her. And the school board. As much as outsiders view the US as litagation happy (not that Aus is much better these days) I'v come to the conclusion that
peaople who live in a moral vacuum will only ever feel any remorse through the hip pocket.
#17
Did anyone notice that this happened LAST SPRING, and we're just getting to hear about it, AFTER BO is elected? We really need to start battering the he$$ out of the syncoptic press that did everything, including lying, whoring, and falsifying reporting to get a Democrat elected. They need to do more than just fold - the people at the top need to learn what the inside of a jail looks like - for several years.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/07/2008 18:34 Comments ||
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#19
tipper, if they follow up, I'd be pleasantly surprised. Extended observation and pressure will be necessary to get this ignorant POS out of the indoctrination biz
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/07/2008 20:17 Comments ||
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Prime Minister Stephen Harper is proposing to strike a joint climate-change pact with president-elect Barack Obama, an initiative that would seek to protect Alberta's oil sands projects from potentially tough new U.S. climate-change rules by offering a secure North American energy supply.
Key federal ministers issued the call for a climate-change pact Wednesday, less than 24 hours after Mr. Obama won his historic election victory, in a clear bid by Ottawa to carve out a key place for Canada on the new administration's agenda.
Energy security has been a major issue in the U.S. election, and Mr. Obama campaigned heavily on eliminating dependence on Middle East and Venezuelan oil. But he has also condemned the United States's reliance on "dirty oil" -- his advisers have specifically criticized the oil sands -- and has promised tougher climate-change action. Check if the Japanese are interested in a reliable 5M barrel/day supply (planned).
A Canada-U.S. climate-change pact could tie those issues together by adopting common standards and mechanisms such as a market-based emission trading system, while acknowledging the important contribution the oil sands make to North American supplies and the need to adopt technologies that would reduce oil sands emissions.
Environment Minister Jim Prentice said Ottawa is looking for a joint approach that would protect both the environment and the economy. "When you're talking about the environment, you're also talking about energy, and when you're talking about energy, you're also talking about the economy," Mr. Prentice said in an interview.
"The election of president Obama, when one looks at the speeches and the commitments he's talked about in terms of the environment, presents really exciting opportunities for us, as Canadians." To bend over.
Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said the proposed pact would provide uniformity and supplant the patchwork of plans that are being implemented in various states and provinces.
The proposed climate-change deal would also offer Mr. Harper's government a means to engage Mr. Obama on the president-elect's own priorities at a time when the U.S. recession and the resurgence of the Democrats in Washington have fuelled fears of rising protectionism.
"The broader importance, I think, is huge," said Tom d'Aquino, president of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, a big-business lobby group. "How important is energy independence to the United States? It's a top priority for them. And where does Canada fit into this top priority? Bingo -- we are essential." Canadian Crude: The ones we have really been waiting for.
Unlike George W. Bush, who set no medium-term climate-change targets, Mr. Obama has pledged to cut greenhouse-gas emissions to bring them back to 1990 levels by 2020, a reduction of about 15 to 20 per cent. Mr. Harper's government is promising a cut of 20 per cent by 2020, though critics argue his policies are insufficient to meet that target. By which time Obama will be but a memory.
Posted by: ed ||
11/07/2008 16:30 ||
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#2
ION RUSSIA TODAY > GROW GILLS! EARTH WILL SINK BY 2030 [UNIEA 2008 World ENergy Outlook Report]
* In aproxi 20 Years [2028-2030 r.o.], World's natural fossil fuels will run out.
* ATMOSPHERIC CARBON EMISSIONS FROM BURNT FOSSIL FUEL IS "THE" MAJOR = SINGLE ALL-ENCOMPASSING CAUSE OF GLOBAL WARMING > may increase world temperature 4*C by 2030 which in turn will melt polar ice caps and raise sea levels. E.G. NETHERLANDS, AUSTRALIA,+ MANY LOW-LYING REGIONS TO DISAPPEAR = "FLOAT AWAY".
* OCTOBER 2038 WILL BE "PIVOTAL" FOR WORLD.
ULTIMATELY, PERTS > A NEW "SECOND EARTH" WILL BE NEEDED AS NORMAL CIVILIZATION = QUALITY-OF-LIFE ENDS.
"GLOBALISM/OWG-NWO" TEST > LHC-HADRON COLLIDER + RELATED SUPERTECHS > MANKIND MUST LEARN TO SAFELY AND ROUTINELY CONTROL-MANAGE ARTIFICIAL
"BLACK/WORM HOLES" [Micro Holes] FOR TIME-SPACE TRAVEL + DEEP SPACE COLONIZATION [ + all other Space Techs] WIDOUT DESTROYING HIMSELF AND HIS FAVORI-I-I-TE "THIRD ROCK FROM THE SUN" IN THE PROCESS.
Once again, I am curious how the US-World is gonna achieve this wid same as per POST-DUBYA PROLONGED OR PROTRACTIVE NATIONAL-GLOBAL ECON CHAOS, FOR THE SAKE OF EMPOWERING + ENTRENCHING US-WORLD SOCIALIST ORDER!
HMMMMM, HMMMMM, DEMANDS FOR "IMMEDIATE/NEAR-TERM" GLOBAL WARMING, ETC. "GREENS" RESOLUTIONS, VERSUS TYPICALLY LONG-TERM, TYPICALLY PERVASIVE, SOCIALIST GOVT-SOCIETAL PAN-REGRESSIONISMS???
ADMIRAL FARRAGUT > D *** NG THE TORPEDOES, MORIARITY, FULL SPEED AHEAD - YOU KNOW, RETREAT???
SARAH Palin has hit back at "diva" claims and says she's being unfairly attacked by "jerks". The Alaskan governor went on the attack after anonymous slurs from the Republican camp in the wake of Barack Obama's US election victory. Mrs Palin, who was often derided in her role as John McCain's running mate, called her critics cowards, the Associated Press reports.
"I never asked for anything more than a Diet Dr Pepper once in a while," she was quoted as saying.
Since the election result Mrs Palin has faced fresh criticism over her designer wardrobe for the campaign and ridicule of her grasp of foreign affairs. But today she said: "Those are the RNC's (Republican National Committee) clothes. They're not my clothes. I never forced anybody to buy anything."
She also responded to widely-reported claims from Republican campaign sources that she did not know Africa was a continent and was clueless on the signatories to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
"I consider it cowardly" she said of the anonymous attacks. "If there are allegations based on questions or comments that I made in debate prep about NAFTA, and about the continent vs the country when we talk about Africa there, then those were taken out of context," she said.
"That's cruel, It's mean-spirited. It's immature. It's unprofessional and those guys are jerks if they came away with it, taking things out of context and then tried to spread something on national news. It's not fair, and it's not right."
#3
Correct in everything she says, but the response sounds weak and a little petulant. She's got a great sense of humor, and she should have structured her comments so that she, and everyone else, could laugh at her accusers. That's the best way to get people to leave the issue alone.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/07/2008 21:33 Comments ||
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#4
#2 Besoeker,
Not DNC but RNC. I'd wager they are former/future operatives of other GOP campaigns that got folded into McCain '08 but are now looking to promote, for example Huckabee, or some other in '12.
WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration sent Russia proposals aimed at revising a nuclear-disarmament agreement and assuaging Moscow's growing opposition to a U.S. missile-defense system for Europe, according to senior American officials.
Why bother, Bambi will fix this right after the oceans recede ...
Washington's overture comes as the Kremlin has increased its criticism of the U.S. in recent weeks, particularly its program to deploy antimissile batteries and radars in Poland and the Czech Republic. On Wednesday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev threatened to dispatch Iskander missiles to Russia's border with Poland in order "to neutralize" Washington's missile-defense system.
This week, the State Department communicated to Moscow the outlines of an enhanced program to allow Russian military officials greater access to U.S. missile-defense installations in Europe. "We remain hopeful that we can find a solution" to address Russia's concerns, said John Rood, the State Department's acting undersecretary for arms control.
Mr. Rood said he plans to meet his Russian counterpart, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, in Moscow this month to directly discuss the Bush administration's proposal on missile-defense. The American said he plans to discuss with Moscow a new U.S. proposal to revise the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or Start, which governs the numbers of long-range nuclear weapons Washington and Moscow can possess. The treaty, signed in 1991, expires the end of next year.
The U.S. proposal, delivered to Moscow last month, seeks to reduce further the total number of nuclear warheads, rather than just the long-range nuclear weapons each country possesses, Mr. Rood said. Russia is seeking to expand the treaty to include a reduction of the conventional forces both sides can deploy.
Mr. Rood said a resolution wouldn't occur on the Bush administration's watch. He said he hoped the delivery of a draft proposal would help to get the "ball rolling" for President-elect Barack Obama's administration, which takes office Jan. 20.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/07/2008 01:23 ||
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Missouri Rep. Roy Blunt, the No. 2 Republican in the House, announced Thursday that he is stepping aside after Democrats added to their numbers in Congress and captured the White House.
Blunt said he had long ago decided that if Republicans did not reclaim the majority in Tuesday's elections, he would leave the difficult job of shepherding votes. "Ten years of asking people to do some things they don't want to do is a long time," Blunt, 58, told reporters Thursday morning. "I can tell you more problems about more members of Congress than you'll ever want to hear; I can tell you more reasons not to do something than you'll ever want to hear."
Blunt was elevated into leadership by former whip and majority leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, and was schooled in the hardball tactics employed when DeLay was a driving force in running the House.
Blunt's move avoids a difficult intraparty battle with protege Eric Cantor, a Virginia Republican who's already campaigning for the job of Republican whip. Blunt says it's time for a new generation of Republicans to assume leadership roles. Cantor is 45. "We're in a totally new environment now," Blunt said. "We need to find a new way forward."
Posted by: Fred ||
11/07/2008 00:00 ||
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Saudi Arabia has agreed to bail out cash-strapped Pakistan with 'substantial oil supply' on deferred payment and cash assistance, according to a Dawn News report on Thursday.
Another report by the Online news agency said Saudi Arabia had agreed to provide 'tangible assistance' to 'ease Pakistan's balance of payment pressure' and has assured the visiting Pakistani delegation of investing more than $1 billion in the livestock and agricultural sectors.
"Foreign Minister Shah Mehmoud Qureshi is expected to announce the Saudi package in Islamabad on Friday," Dawn News said.
Online said the Saudi leadership also said they would increase hiring of Pakistani labour and would provide more financial assistance through the Friends of Pakistan initiative.
So that no Saudi man will ever lift anything heavier than his purse ...
President Zardari and King Abdullah decided to expand the volume of mutual trade from $5.7 billion to $7 billion. They stressed long-term strategic mutual ties and enhanced defence co-operation. Zardari accepted the Saudi king's invitation to the Interfaith International Conference scheduled in New York for November 12.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/07/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
And throw in a few more nukes.
Posted by: ed ||
11/07/2008 2:01 Comments ||
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So is U S of KKKA Inc. outta business now, rev? You gonna have a yard sale? Gonna merge with Jesse and Al since it looks like their scams were also blown to shit on Tuesday too?
MILFORD, Conn. -- Barack Obama's former pastor, speaking Thursday at a forum about race and religion, criticized the media's coverage of a controversy that threatened to derail Obama's campaign and caused the president-elect to sever ties with his longtime spiritual leader. Where ya been, rev? How much did it cost Barry to keep you stashed?
The Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. said the media took videotaped clips out of context that showed him making anti-American statements from the pulpit of the Chicago church where Obama had worshipped for 20 years. Ah, yes. Ye Olde Out of Context...
The videos, which included Wright thundering "God Damn America" from his pulpit, dominated cable television for weeks. Wright, speaking to an audience of about 200 people at a Milford church, said he was trying to convey the anger and desire for vengeance that people felt following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. ...and you were right out front leading the charge, right, rev?
He said the media failed to explain that Wright was a proud Christian who was raised in a Christian home. Speaking of homes, how's the new place coming along? Ya get the butler's pantry in yet? Got the white lawn jockey up? How's the Porsche running? At least ya made your killing while the getting was good...
"Their intention was to use me as a weapon of mass destruction, to tear down that man's integrity," said Wright, former pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. This must've beeen when the media thought that they had to at least look objective. Now? You'd be guest hosting Saturday Night Live...
In a question-and-answer session with the audience, Wright said he didn't believe Obama shared opinions that were publicized on the video clips. "Do you agree with everything your pastor says?" Wright asked. "Ninety percent of the people sitting in church don't agree with everything their pastor says. What I saw is not an index on what he did or does not believe." That's what I did and believe. I think Barack was sick that day...
Last spring's controversy was a stumbling block for Obama's campaign and prompted him to make an impassioned speech about faith and religion. Obama at first expressed support for Wright, saying that "I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother." Which he...kinda did to both of them anyways. Sacrifices have to be made, folks.
But six weeks later during a speech at the National Press Club, Wright offered eyebrow-raising opinions about the U.S. government, praised Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and hinted that Obama was distancing himself from the pastor for political expediency. So ya think now that Obama's in charge, he'll stop that AIDS against blacks program and make the CIA stop dealing crack in the ghetto?
#1
said the media took videotaped clips out of context that showed him making anti-American statements from the pulpit of the Chicago church where Obama had worshipped for 20 years
My standard response: Please, sir, tell me the context which you consider those statements acceptable.
Posted by: Grenter, Protector of the Geats ||
11/07/2008 15:24 Comments ||
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#2
The best way to deal with this guy is to bring him on ABC,CBS,NBC,CNN, and yes, MSNBC and Fox, too! I believe that he will be shown for who he is best by letting him do it himself. Larry King, Jay Leno, Bill O'Reilly, et al, would be happy to give him a forum, I'm sure.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
11/07/2008 16:25 Comments ||
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#3
My standard response: There's bound to be a firely gasoline tanker pileup somewhere soon on the I-90/94 Dan Ryan Expressway, don't miss out...BE IN IT!
Anyone who would openly support the Obama doctrine of taxation and 'spreading the wealth around' has accrued a certain amount of karmic retribution. find them all and punish them with your $$$ by avoiding any activity that would enrich them.
Posted by: Abu do you love ||
11/07/2008 23:47 Comments ||
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The Donk dominated California Legislature has always had an interesting spending habit. They are like a person that earns $80,000 a year and gets a one time $20,000 bonus, he immediately goes out and buys a bigger house and a new car. The next year there is no bonus so he's upside down. This time it's worse, he gets a pay cut to $60,000 a year. The Donks will blame the Trunks for cutting their precious handouts. SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - The nation's economic meltdown is taking state budgets down with it - especially in California, where Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Thursday he wants to close a $11.2 billion gap in part by raising sales taxes on everything from cars to Disneyland tickets.
Several other states are confronting billion-dollar deficits. Some, including Massachusetts, North Carolina and Wisconsin, have ordered broad and deep cuts in spending, while others have only begun to consider how to compensate for their revenue wells drying up.
Schwarzenegger wants $4.5 billion in cuts; one of his proposals would force state employees to take a day off each month without pay and give up two holidays. But he says cuts alone aren't enough to deal with a steep drop in revenue, and he proposes $4.7 billion in tax hikes, including a three-year, 1.5-percentage-point increase in the sales tax.
"We have a dramatic situation here and it takes dramatic solutions ... and immediate action," Schwarzenegger said as he called the Legislature back into session to deal with the shortfall. "We must stop the bleeding."
California's bleak new projections come just six weeks after Schwarzenegger signed this year's budget, which made $7.1 billion in cuts to services to help close a $15.2 billion deficit. "I'm not a believer in taxes, I'm not a believer of increasing fees. It's just under these circumstances it's necessary to do," Schwarzenegger said.
California relies heavily on capital gains taxes, which have plunged along with the stock market. Sales taxes also have plummeted as consumers have cut off nonessential spending. And California is among the states hardest hit by falling housing prices.
The state controller issued a statement saying California runs "the very real risk" of a severe cash shortage by the end of the year and may have to resort to borrowing so it can balance its books. Its deficit is now 11 percent of general fund spending and could double by next fiscal year if not addressed immediately, the controller said.
The shortfall in Arizona is even worse, on a percentage basis, than California's. Gov. Janet Napolitano on Thursday said the state's deficit had grown to an estimated $1.2 billion, or 12 percent of general fund spending, forcing lawmakers into a likely special session by the end of the year.
The deficit in Washington state is projected at $3.2 billion, but could grow by the time officials get an update later this month.
Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons and the Legislature have cut spending by $1.2 billion because of declining tax revenue, but Gibbons warned lawmakers they might have to cut another 14 percent when they go into session in February.
Wisconsin's governor has ordered state agencies to trim 10 percent to cover a $3 billion hole over two years, while North Carolina's governor has ordered several departments to make do with 5 percent less. Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick announced last month that the state would eliminate up to 1,000 jobs and make more than $1 billion in cuts and spending controls to bridge a growing budget gap.
New York Gov. David Paterson last week asked Congress for as much as $8.6 billion from an economic stimulus measure Democrats are considering. He already has called a special session for later this month to tackle a $1.5 billion deficit for the fiscal year that ends in April and warned that New York's deficit could hit $47 billion by 2012.
California's crisis has brought a change in rhetoric from Schwarzenegger. Since taking office in 2003, he has blamed "autopilot spending" by the Legislature whenever California has confronted fiscal woes, but on Thursday he said, "It is now a revenue problem rather than a spending problem."
His proposed sales-tax increase would apply to items as varied as cars and amusement park and sporting game tickets. For the first time, the sales tax also would be applied to services such as vehicle, appliance and furniture repairs, veterinarian services and even greens fees for playing golf. Taxes on alcohol also would increase.
The sales tax plan met immediate opposition from some in the business community. Peter Welch, president of the California New Car Dealers Association, said raising vehicle prices by hundreds of dollars is the last thing his faltering industry needs. "The fact of the matter is we are in an historic car recession (that's) bordering on a depression," he said. "We actually think we need an economic stimulus package to get people to come in and buy cars. This is just the opposite."
Other revenue could come from raising the registration fee for vehicles by $12 and taxing companies that extract oil from California, which Schwarzenegger said would generate $528 million this year.
The governor also wants to accelerate hundreds of millions of dollars in public works spending to spark job creation. At the same, the newly unemployed would struggle more under his plan. He wants to tighten eligibility for unemployment benefits because the state's unemployment insurance fund is on the brink of insolvency.
#3
Negative feedback. The idea is during good times they put some in the bank for the lean years. But somehow beautiful theories get beaten to a pulp by the ugly reality of politics.
Posted by: ed ||
11/07/2008 7:25 Comments ||
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#4
The people of Massachusetts had a golden opportunity Tuesday to dump their state income tax. They voted it down. Now I see why they keep sending losers like Frank and Kennedy to DC--they're all masochists who LIKE being hurt.
#5
They could have also replaced Kerry with a former US Army officer, Delta Force vet, former agency AND FBI Special Agent who was instrumental in forming the FBI's first HRT element and CT force. He ran his own very successful security business.
New Englanders....they never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. I had an old NCO years ago who had spent a lot of time in Army counterintelligence in the late 50's and 60's at Fort Devons and the East Coast. He always said "if the nation goes communist, it will happen in New England first." I have no sympathy for them whatsoever.
#7
JM7800,
The only sensible thing the Taxachusetts voters did was to retain an income tax. They are deep in the hole. Someone has to pay. They put in "free" medical care and it's waay in debt already. Have you ever resided in any state with no state income tax ? What you have is 20 or 30 taxing entities instead of one. And they all need increases all the damn time. Of, course they put that shitbag Kerry back in. They certainly are demented in that sense. As for Californios, they're even worse. Fot the past 20 years, they keep passing bond meaures they don't want to pay for. Just proves they can't even operate a calculator. They were fortunate to just have sold about $5 bilion in revenue bonds. But the situation is precarious, because the commies(not Demmos, not lefties...commies) have a deathgrip on the legislature. They insiist on spending 20% more each year than is taken in. When Ahnold mentions cutbacks, everyone starts hollering. His first instinct of 10% across the board cutbacks was correct. Let everyone taste the poison. Otherwise, belly up to the bar and pay the bar bill, chilluns.
#9
I live here in Khalifornia. At least everyone will be paying the proposed tax and not just "the rich". But the Gov also needs to continue to push a 10% across the board cut in spending. Sure people are going to scream. They like their free stuff. But guess what, I'll bet that each department finds a way to operate on 10% less. I'll bet they discover efficiencies that were staring them in the face. Government is like a tumor...one of the few ways to stop its growth is to cut off its blood supply.
#13
Coloradans just defeated several revenue bills, including one to gut TABOR. This morning's newspaper had an article that the city's Mayor is going to push a sales tax increase in the April city elections. There's plenty of fat to cut, and many other ways to balance the city's budget without a tax increase, but the first instinct of politicians is "raise taxes".
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/07/2008 18:04 Comments ||
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#14
WE gets it; WA state has something like 800 distinct taxing districts / authorities; each city or county has their own tax rate; our newly reelected donk gov'nor has decreed that WA state will tax internet sales. there are several e-sites that have ceased doing business in the state because they do not have the desire or cash to set up a sales tax table that can capture the correct S.T.
yet any politician that even whispers income tax is dead meat.
#15
You guys are wrong. I've lived both types of places, w/income tax and without. With the income tax they can hide the fat/corruption easier. Without it, every one of those little taxing entities has to explain why they need more money and what they intend to use it for.
ANYTIME you can bring government closer to the people and make it more responsive, it gets better. WE, you got it wrong and the people of Mass are damned fools for having not taken the golden opportunity of getting rid of the millstone around their necks. Of course, that's exactly what I would have anticipated they would do, being from Mass...
Oil fell below $60 a barrel for the first time in 20 months on Friday, extending its overnight drop of 7 percent, as spreading economic gloom further dampened the outlook for energy demand. $60 a barrel=$1.50 for product, add .50 for transportation and refining for $2.00 a gallon gas. It's $2.06 at my neighborhood BP and Shell. Hess and Texaco are two cents higher. I'm still not doing any extra driving, but it'll be comforting to see the price go under $2.00 a gallon.
The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday it now expects 2009 global economic growth of 2.2 percent, down 0.8 percentage points from its October forecast. It also cut its 2009 baseline oil price projection to $68 a barrel from $100.
U.S. light crude for December delivery fell 44 cents to $60.33 a barrel by 8:50 p.m. EST, having earlier fallen to $59.97, its lowest since March 22, 2007. London Brent Crude was down 73 cents to $56.70.
Oil prices have tumbled more than 10 percent this week as a series of dismal economic data from the United States sharpened investors' worries of a protracted global recession and growing U.S. fuel stockpiles underscored thinning energy demand.
Britain and Europe slashed interest rates on Thursday amid recession fears deepened by some of the worst U.S. retail sales in decades and an IMF forecast for an economic contraction not seen since World War Two.
Moves by top automaker Toyota to halve its profit forecast and expectations the U.S. could report another 200,000 job losses on Friday also added to signs of distress.
Analysts said Asian stock markets' performance and dollar movements would be key to oil prices. Fears of a global recession dragged down Asian stocks on Friday, with the Japan's Nikkei average tumbling 6 percent and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index shedding 4 percent in early trading.
Traders will also be looking toward U.S. economic indicators due out later on Friday, including government reports on October unemployment data and September wholesale inventories, to gauge how the world's largest economy is faring.
In just about three months, oil prices lost nearly $90 from record highs above $147 a barrel, as the growing global economic crisis cuts energy demand in the United States, the world's largest energy consumer, and other industrialized nations.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/07/2008 00:00 ||
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Do your part.
1. Replace the 12-15mpg trucks and SUVs with something in the 30mpg range. A Ford Escape hybrid will do 32-34mpg. That alone will avoid the 60% of imported oil those monster sized vehicles are using.
2. Go hybrid. Even the cheap BAS systems will give 20% mileage improvement.
3. Push for electrification of transportation.
Even a 20% reduction in oil consumption will allow us to eliminate all middle east oil imports. The sooner this can be accomplished, the sooner we can wash our hands of these turds.
Posted by: ed ||
11/07/2008 1:20 Comments ||
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#2
uh huh....and your Escape will carry how much camping gear? Or how many trips to move a friend to a new condo? Or how many people can it carry... in 4WD?
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/07/2008 6:13 Comments ||
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#3
How many times do you see 8 people in an SUV or towing 10,000 lbs on the freeway. The typical 6-7000 truck or SUV is carrying 1 person to work or the store. Even a 5 passenger Escape is overkill.
The fact is we have to downsize and cut oil consumption. 90% of Expedition or GMC Supercab drivers would be equally as well off in an Escape or Ranger and get twice or better fuel mileage. That's less fuel we have to import and burn, less unstable suppliers we have to suck up to and protect, less money wasted in higher fuel and military expenditures, and less blood spilled acting as Janissaries for corrupt and murderous shieks.
Posted by: ed ||
11/07/2008 7:21 Comments ||
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#4
Will it pull a trailer with my 3 horses? Or a trailer with 200 bales of hay? I didn't think so.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
11/07/2008 7:36 Comments ||
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#5
There is about 0.40 cents in state and federal tax, per gallon depending on where you live as well.
On the topic of replacing large vehicles, we can all agree that some folks need a big ol truck to haul their boat or camping stuff from time to time. So, in order to use a smaller vehicle to commute to work or run errands, then that family would have to buy a second vehicle. But the marginal cost of a second car for plates, taxes, insurance, repairs and parking is probably higher than the gas savings. And that is without even considering the cost of acquiring the car itself.
#6
Deacon, you are one the 10% that actually uses, even once or twice a year, a large truck/SUV capability or has more than 5 members in the family. That still leaves 90% who would be better off downsizing. I don't know anyone in my subdivision that houses 1 let alone 3 horses. And the subdiv is surrounded by working cattle and horse ranches.
I'm not advocating going and buying a smaller car this minute. It's not cost effective. It is cost effective to replace, when the time comes, with a smaller, fuel efficient and less expensive vehicle. Not only for the buyer, but the country too.
2.5M barrels/day or 20% of imports (not total comsumption) is the amount the US imports from the mideast. That amount of oil can be saved by raising avg US vehicle mileage by just 3 mpg. It is also the sum of OPEC's agreed cuts + proposed cuts to drive the price of oil back up to $100/barrel. Woulnd't it be better to lower US consumption and take away OPEC's ability to make easy production cuts or jack up the price to $200/barrel in the future (as the IEA report predicts) because we refuse to make the prudent choices today?
Posted by: ed ||
11/07/2008 8:58 Comments ||
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#7
Oil falls below $60 to 20-month lows as demand slows
And as the banks finally stop loaning money to speculators [or most everyone else who have only paper and promises to back their requests].
#9
I wish I had three horses so I would have justification for having a big SUV/dualie truck to haul them around with.
Deacon, you're a lucky man. Go gently rub one of those horses' noses for me. Nothing smoother or softer than the end of a horse' nose. I've kissed one many a time, particularly since the day I realized you can make a good equine friend real fast with some cube sugar and a dozen apples.
#11
Ed, my problem is that teh market will respond well to lack of interest in trucks and SUV's. I own an F150 with 4WD, and currently, I have it in 4WD every day on my jobsites. our argument sounds suspiciously like prohibiting choice in vehicles and having someone determine whether you are justified in owning one. I say, if you have a 3 or 4 member family, want an SUV because they are safer and have more utility the couple times a month or year when you need it, and are willing to pay the extra gas costs, go right ahead. That's capitalism and a market of choice, man. Anything else is....unacceptable to me. Gas prices (and higher Truck registration - as a comm'l vehicle) are a necessary cost that I'm willing to pay
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/07/2008 11:42 Comments ||
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#12
"Push for electrification of transportation."
You must have been out of town, ed. Obama is going to bankrupt the coal business and nobody's volunteering to build more nuke plants.
#13
Drive what you need to drive. I have a relatively new Aveo five-door, as it's about as little car as I could find. For every Deacon, there's people like the programmer talking outside of my cubicle right now, who uses his big ol' Explorer to carry around himself and about sixty pounds of random garbage scattered across the seat-covers and in the foot-wells.
As for moving - this is what U-Haul rentals are for.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
11/07/2008 11:56 Comments ||
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#14
The American people have a funny way of responding when people try to tell them what kind of car they should be driving.
#15
I got an idea. I'm gonna ask my boss to let me telecommute because it's the patriotic thing to do. Then I can program the computers in my jammies and slippers.
#16
I used to telecommute 1 day a week (can't now - different job). The right kinds of work can easily be done quicker and more efficiently without workplace distractions. Unfortunately, many pointy-haired-supervisors consider it a day off, regardless of the productivity demonstrated...and it does get another vehicle off the freeway
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/07/2008 12:47 Comments ||
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#17
Real capitalism would add another $200 billion/year ($220/barrel for 2.5M barrels/day) to your mideast imported fuel bill. Instead the cost of fuel wastage is socialized on the backs of all taxpayers. The choices are to continue getting screwed and bled by oil suppliers who wish us dead or take sensible and painless measures to raise auto fuel mileage.
Posted by: ed ||
11/07/2008 12:57 Comments ||
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#18
so "real capitalism" would artificially inflate the price to accomplish societal goals? That may be a worthy proposal, but don't call it real capitalism, and don't take that $200M and spend it on worthless unrelated causes or candy for your campaign supporters, as our gov't surely would
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/07/2008 13:04 Comments ||
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#19
The $200 billion is being spent. It buying access to middle east oil. Oil that is exchanged for even more money that is then used to attack us like on Sept 11. The cost, est. $500 billion btw, which should also be added to the cost oil imports. No oil imports and nobody would give a shit about them and the world would content to leave them to wander the desert herding goats and beating women.
Posted by: ed ||
11/07/2008 13:19 Comments ||
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#20
trophy wives in suburbans : problem
Actually, we might consider a ban on any vehical over 3000 lbs in a municipality ( depending on size)
Millions of "city people" driving huge SUV's daily in stopped traffic for 2 hours a day : problem
#24
40 mpg just pushed your argument to its' logical ends. I say drill here, drill now, advance all types of energy and let the marketplace work, rather than diktats from bureaucrats. And keep your hands off my truck
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/07/2008 14:28 Comments ||
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#25
Pay your share of the $200B/year that your truck uses above my car. Why should I have to subsidize you because I realized in 2003 the coming financial drain and huge run up in energy prices and took action by buying a fuel efficient car and eliminated the daily commute.
Posted by: ed ||
11/07/2008 14:33 Comments ||
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#26
Cripes, this is nuts. Sure, it would be "better" if everyone who didn't NEED an SUV used a more fuel-efficient vehicle. But that is their decision. The country would be better if there were not so many fatties too. Who is going to "ban" them from McDonalds, The Cheesecake Factory and Sizzler? Should fatties pay higher insurance premiums? Yes, just as SUV drivers pay more for their weekly gas costs. But both are still their decisions. (unless you're going with the "glands/big boned" argument).
#27
The extra gas costs doesn't begin the cover the real costs of importing mideast oil.
40% of petrol is domestic.
18% from Canada and Mexico
11% from Africa
12% is from South America
12% from the Mideast
The federal budget outlays to defend the first 4 sources is low, while $200B/year spent on middle east mischief has already been discussed. And extra $200B for 2.4M barrels or a $220/barrel subsidy paid through Uncle Sugar.
That $200B is fully 10% of the total personal and corporate income taxes collected. So for privilege of gas guzzling drivers their 5000+lb monsters, every taxpayer in the country forks 10% of his income taxes. That's a expense any private business would have to recoup by adding the cost into the price of the product and would be the first product dropped if demand were lower.
So I say pay for marginal cost of your Arab oil that we would not need except for the gas guzzlers and refund every taxpayer 10% on his income taxes. Pay the real cost of a gas sucking lifestyle. Don't socialize it.
You can bet that when government takes over health care that they will regulate eating, drinking, and smoking (eve more).
BTW, where
Posted by: ed ||
11/07/2008 15:30 Comments ||
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#28
Hmmmmm. Sounds like you guys need to read about Clotaire Rapaille. He's an advertising consultant who developed the theory that people have three brains one of which is the reptilian brain which gives us our survival and reproduction instincts. The theory asserts that people buy big ass SUVs because they appeal to our reptilian brains by being bigger and stronger than other cars and because they protect us from the outside world. "The reptilian always wins," says Rapaille. Forget logic. GM, Ford and Chrysler have made a lot of money on that theory. Might have been about all that's kept them alive this long.
As for the gas guzzling, bear with me here, I told the guy at the hardware store I needed a new toilet that would flush a lot of water because my old low flow wasn't getting the job done. He said 1.6 gallons per flush was the most I could buy. He said they used to have toilets that would flush 3.5 gpf. "I want one of them", I said. "You can't have one," he said. "They're illegal in the state of California." Water shortages, you know. So, if I can't get a 3.5 gpf toilet then how can anybody get a 12 mpg vehicle? Maybe the toilet doesn't have quite the same appeal to the reptilian.
Well, Frank G might need it for his work. The solo commuter on the freeway or the trophy wife in the Suburban? I dunno. But if you need to move somebody into a condo you could surely rent a truck for a heckuva lot cheaper than you could own, operate and maintain one year in and year out.
#29
I've got a bad back - herniated disks, bulging disks, facet joint damage, osteoarthritis, spinal stenosis, a two-level cervical fusion, and quite a bit of "neuropathy". There's not a small car out there that allows me to sit up straight so I don't cause extra problems. Some of those big honking trucks RIDE like a truck, other larger vehicles give a smoother ride than just about anything small. Deacon needs a truck to work, AP needs something large and stable to get around in Alaska in the winter, lots of other folks have needs that can't be met by tin cans on roller skates. The one thing we DON'T need is a government dictating what we will end up purchasing. There's enough crude in this country to supply 100% of our transportation needs for the next 50 years, if we were allowed to produce it. When government starts dictating, they get into the habit, and it gets harder and harder to break. We need to stop it now, and let them know that the only dictating is going to come from the PEOPLE, not the government. Anyone that can't accept that deserves, and should get, a slap upside the head with a 4x4 (and I'm not talking about the wooden variety).
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/07/2008 18:27 Comments ||
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#30
ed, I do pay my share. You drive the same highways and roads I do but if you drive a vehicle that gets really good mileage you pay less for the privelege. I pay more. My truck has a 30 gallon tank. at $4.00 per gallon I pay 120 dollars to fill up an empty tank. A small car has a 12 to 15 gallon tank. For an empty tank you pay at most $45.00.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
11/07/2008 21:22 Comments ||
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#31
Any bets on how long this $60 oil will last? OPEC cuts production = $100 oil, don't give a bleep about yo poor recession ass, someone's gotta pay for this new tower in Dubai.
So pay up, brothers and sisters. And say thank you.
#32
I've got a Charger with a 5.7l Hemi I commute and date with, and a Durango with a Magnum 5.2l V8 for hauling the dogs, bikes, firewood, soccer teams, and stuff from Home Depot around. But, I live 2.5 miles from work and drive an average of 11 miles a day, and the Hemi is multi-displacement switches from 8 to 4 cylinders when it does not need the extra power, getting around 25mpg. My twist on all of this has not been to buy an electric lunchbox, as Achmed calls the Prius, but just to move closer to work. Location, location, location. Your mileage may vary.
#34
Deacon, one of my points is that gas guzzlers do not pay their share. My point is every that 10% of income tax dollar is taken to pay to keep mideast oil flowing or fund the war against those who want to kill or enslave us using the wealth from selling us oil. Much of that expense could be avoided by decreasing oil consumption 12% (or raising gas mileage by 3mpg). Instead the socialized subsidy of every barrel imported from the Persian Gulf is $220. I don't gas hogs paying for that at all (other than increased taxes paid by all Americans).
As for gas taxes, the total Fed gas and diesel taxes all go into the Highway Trust Fund which is then used to fund the bulk of the Dept of Transportation to road and bridge work. None of it is used to mideast supply lines open.
While you may pay twice the gas tax to drive per mile, because your vehicle is twice as heavy it also tears up the road 16 times as fast than my car. So in effect, my gas taxes are also subsidizing you right to tear up the roads faster. Care to make up the difference and send a check?
Posted by: ed ||
11/07/2008 23:30 Comments ||
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#35
I don't SEE gas hogs paying for that
Posted by: ed ||
11/07/2008 23:30 Comments ||
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#36
Too may grammar errors. I going to have a last drink and go to bed.
Posted by: ed ||
11/07/2008 23:32 Comments ||
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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.
Chinese hackers have penetrated the White House computer network on multiple occasions, and obtained e-mails between government officials, a senior US official told the FT.
Today, the state controlled North Korean media announced that Mr Kim had attended a musical performances, at which he "waved back to the cheering performers and audience and congratulated them on their successful presentation". The photographs were first presented the day before -- and together they eroded the consensus among North Korea-watchers that the leader of the world's most unpredictable nuclear power has suffered a serious health problem over the past few months. 
Saudi Arabia has agreed to bail out cash-strapped Pakistan with 'substantial oil supply' on deferred payment and cash assistance, according to a Dawn News report on Thursday.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - The nation's economic meltdown is taking state budgets down with it - especially in California, where Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Thursday he wants to close a $11.2 billion gap in part by raising sales taxes on everything from cars to Disneyland tickets.
Oil fell below $60 a barrel for the first time in 20 months on Friday, extending its overnight drop of 7 percent, as spreading economic gloom further dampened the outlook for energy demand.
