World Politics

[Semper Fidelis]

Yes, my "bomb their soil, take their oil" t-shirt didn't go over too well over there.

That is a great shirt. I wear it on casual Friday's.

My "Made in USA, Tested in Japan" shirt causes a few problems when I visit the X.

 

[VeloCity]

I saw a pickup yesterday with a bunch of marines stickers all over the back, and "it's not your country if you didn't fight for it" in bold letters written across the rear window. It had a fancy paint job of the statue of liberty on it, and other such patriotic emblems. I almost snapped a picture of it with my cell, but I was distracted by another pickup pulling up beside it with a confederate flag all across the back window.

I was so overcome with inadequacy on what it takes to be a real American that I could barely continue to drive.

Guy's in a tough position: none of the presidential candidates have fought for their country, so who's he going to vote for? Yet doesn't seem very American not to vote. Quite the conundrum for Mr. Real American.

 

[patricknd]

Guy's in a tough position: none of the presidential candidates have fought for their country, so who's he going to vote for? Yet doesn't seem very American not to vote. Quite the conundrum for Mr. Real American.

that's why i'm writing in Glenn Wilson.

 

[Tank Engine]

...an interesting read on Britain's response to the Euro financial crisis...and yeah it is The Guardian, but others, whose opinion I respect ( for whatever that is worth ) have said more or less the same thing...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/dec/12/britain-ruled-by-banks

blutto

Note: this is also posted on the Brits and EU thread

I'm an archetypal Guardian reader, but as I had a flight a couple of days ago and due to the veto, I thought it might be interesting to get the Torygraph's (Telegraph's) view on this. I'll mention a couple of commentaries, one that had my palm racing towards my pace (an opposite reaction to the comments from the paper's website) and one which was interesting (this in a future post though).

Janet Daley - Pity those still trapped in the euro nightmare
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/f...nightmare.html

A lot of the first paragraph is hyperbole and rhetoric. The second half attacks the EU policy on taxation (which implies a much higher level of influence of the EU on national taxation policy than there is and calls for the "poorer" countries to devalue. I'd say that the arguments are those used by "little Englanders", but Daley is originally from the US.

Firstly, regarding taxation in the US, yes the individual states do have their own powers to set indirect taxes. She then comments

"If Ireland, for example, is forced to give up its lower rate of corporation tax (because the EU regards that as an “unfair” competitive advantage), it will lose the capacity that it might have had to recover under its own steam."

OK, she is not stating that this is happening or will happen, but within the context of the article, she is implying very strongly that the EU has such power over taxation policy in the member states. However, there has been no pressure on the Irish government to change the rate of corporate tax. In reality, Ireland has to balance its budget (for its own sake), the rules are there to ensure just this and not to say how Ireland should balance its budget.

After this she states

Without being able to devalue their currencies, or to slash their taxes in order to attract investment and commercial activity, the poor countries of Europe will be locked permanently into disadvantage and dependence. They will be forced to accept austerity programmes while being deprived of any of the fiscal mechanisms for improving their own economic condition. And if they behave in what the EU decides are incorrigibly delinquent ways, they may even have their elected governments replaced – so the democratic mechanisms for political change will go, too.


I now live in a country (I'm just in Austria for a while) which was definitely poor by European standards on accessing the EU. The EU certainly hasn't locked Ireland into disadvantage and dependence. True, at present the economy is presently in a bad state, but hardly anyone in Ireland would think seriously about leaving the EU or the Eurozone. Also, the recession hit Ireland hard due to the culture of borrowing, speculation and corruption in the banks (the last two factors arguably being much more acute than in the UK). As for the possibility of leaving the Euro and devaluation that, as I argued recently, is a pipedream. There are two possibilities:

1. The most likely in my opinion. Irish debts would still have to be paid in Euro. Thanks to devaluation, our savings would disappear and our debts will grow hugely in terms of the new currency, i.e. recession big-time.

2. Irish debts would be transferred to the new currency. In the short term, this would would Ireland less hard, but as happened to Argentina, Ireland would become a pariah in international trade.

Times are tough now, but looking at the history of the EU as a whole, it has been a positive influence.

Also, if governments do behave in "incorrigibly delinquent ways" they will be replaced. Not by the EU, but by the electorate. I'll admit that EU democracy is far from ideal, but her allusions to Soviet domination are simply sensational. Berlusconi wasn't replaced by the EU (OK not directly by the electorate, but there certainly a lot of pressure from that quarter).

 

[Bala Verde]

Rush for Gas Rights Plunges Towns Into Battle for Control - NYT

SOUTH FAYETTE, Pa. — As energy companies move to drill in densely populated areas from Pennsylvania to Texas, battles are breaking out over who will have the final say in managing the shale gas boom.

Local governments argue that drilling is an industrial activity, just like a gas station or a cement factory, that should be subject to zoning. Dozens of towns, cities and counties across the country have enacted rules on noise, lighting and the distance from homes and, in some cases, outright bans. In New York alone, there have been at least 70 such actions.

Companies say the rush to regulate has produced an overly burdensome set of demands that is denting their potential when the economy desperately needs a boost.

Mr. Coppola argued that the most immediate risk in Pennsylvania was the possibility that companies, which are not required to share infrastructure like pipelines and compressor stations, could erect multiple sets, driving away developers and affluent residents and reducing the tax base.

 

[redtreviso]

This is fPATHETIC.. Right up there with Bush's snoped ministering to a high school student..


http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/12/13/bush-aide-finds-forgiveness-and-a-second-career/?hpt=hp_c2

 

[Semper Fidelis]

This is fPATHETIC.. Right up there with Bush's snoped ministering to a high school student..


http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/12/13/bush-aide-finds-forgiveness-and-a-second-career/?hpt=hp_c2

suprised that it was not a FoxNews link.

I am dealing with something along the religious lines everyday now at my job. It is like walking on egg shells.

 

[ChrisE]

That is a great shirt. I wear it on casual Friday's.

My "Made in USA, Tested in Japan" shirt causes a few problems when I visit the X.

The funny part is I was kidding, but you are serious.

I have never seen a tshirt with the Japan stuff. I have only seen the bomb/oil stuff on the bumper of pickups. It would've worked on the bumper of the marine "my country" patriot-mobile.

 

[ChrisE]

Guy's in a tough position: none of the presidential candidates have fought for their country, so who's he going to vote for? Yet doesn't seem very American not to vote. Quite the conundrum for Mr. Real American.

I am pretty sure Bachmann or Newt would've enlisted if they weren't busy fighting the commies here in congress, so they really are fighting for their country against the liberals.

We are under attack from all sides....we're fighting them over there so they don't come kill us over here and we are simultaneously fighting them here so they don't have abortions and give lazy black people our jobs, or take our guns, or let those homos serve in the army, or keep our children from praying to Jesus in school.

See, if you just think hard enough you can get through these pesky little details that would seemingly derail the movement.

 

[redtreviso]

“Our elected-official targets are so amenable to our corrupting influence, we can accomplish what our clients want so quickly, that the hourly rate system is outmoded. Congresspersons are so eager to meet our demands, and in such record time, that the actual moments involved no longer accurately represent the value to our client. Going forward, we’ll take a percentage of the cash value to our clients instead. If we save a client one hundred million dollars in taxes over ten years, we’ll take ten percent. If we game the system so that our client earns that sum in one year, we’ll take our cut all at once.”

http://my.firedoglake.com/teddysanfran/2011/12/14/lobbying-so-easy-lobbyists-can-no-longer-bill-by-the-hour/

 

[Semper Fidelis]

The funny part is I was kidding, but you are serious.

I have never seen a tshirt with the Japan stuff. I have only seen the bomb/oil stuff on the bumper of pickups. It would've worked on the bumper of the marine "my country" patriot-mobile.

yeah I was serious lol

Hey ,,,you hit any crawfish stands lately?

Why you want to Bash that Marine patriot mobile?

 

[ramjambunath]

80 people die in Sangrampur, Bengal, after consuming illicit liquor.

It's time to frame laws similar to another state, Gujarat, where illicit liquor causing death is punishable by the death sentence or life imprisonment and distribution of spurious liquor having a 7-10 year imprisonment.

 

[ChrisE]

yeah I was serious lol

Hey ,,,you hit any crawfish stands lately?

Why you want to Bash that Marine patriot mobile?

I'm not. I'm making fun of the fact that he thinks since he enlisted in the armed forces that he is more of an American than me. Maybe I can use this line of reasoning to get out of paying taxes this year.

 

[ramjambunath]

USA's war in Iraq ends formally
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-16192105

 

[Semper Fidelis]

I'm not. I'm making fun of the fact that he thinks since he enlisted in the armed forces that he is more of an American than me. Maybe I can use this line of reasoning to get out of paying taxes this year.

He might have some military developed syndrome that is causing that. I think it is called headinazz syndrome but could be wrong with that diagnoses.

I think the reason some or many of the people who have served in the armed forces have that opinion regarding …”I served so I am more Merican than you syndrome” is because of where they came from in the first place. There is a large population of Whisky Tango’s etc. who enlist in the armed forces. They were already misinformed and the military never did anything to reverse that thinking.

I said in an earlier post “There is a good chance the person driving that vehicle / pickup truck did not fight for it either. He probably was a "water dog" or some other type of devil dog but far from being a 0311 or 0341 etc.” Let me translate. Water dog is the nick name for a US Marine who’s MOS (military occupational specialty) is the purification of water and doing laundry on field operations. That particular MOS catches a ton of heat from Grunt Marines for never doing anything but workout in the gym and getting devil dog tattoos. So basically what I was trying to say was that the guy driving that truck has a high possibility to never have fought for his country.

Most Marines I know will not stand around and brag about fighting for their country and would dammmsure not put any bumper stickers on their vehicles. Maybe a small hint here and there but not a freaking driving billboard.

 

[Semper Fidelis]

USA's war in Iraq ends formally
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-16192105

"The US Defence Secretary, Leon Panetta, told troops the mission had been worth the cost in blood and dollars."

It was never worth it. Leon Panetta is a typical washington asshat!

 

[patricknd]

"The US Defence Secretary, Leon Panetta, told troops the mission had been worth the cost in blood and dollars."

It was never worth it. Leon Panetta is a typical washington asshat!

wasn't his blood or money, what does he care?

 

[ramjambunath]

"The US Defence Secretary, Leon Panetta, told troops the mission had been worth the cost in blood and dollars."

It was never worth it. Leon Panetta is a typical washington asshat!

$1 trillion for eradicating WMDs that did not exist seem a worthwhile expenditure of resources.

Nothing's worth the loss of 4500 troops and 100k Iraqis.

145 dead in the illicit liquor tragedy in Bengal.

 

[Zam_Olyas]

George w bush follows the footstep of Alexander The Great by invading countries that Alexander invade in Asia but i doubt that he will ever be called George Bush The Great

 

[Bala Verde]

Gore Advocates ‘Sustainable Capitalism’ as Harvard Finds Superior Returns

They cited a Harvard Business School study published last month that tracked the performance of 180 companies over 18 years. The 90 firms that adopted environmentally and socially responsible policies years ago outperformed their peers during the period, Robert G. Eccles, Ioannis Ioannou and George Serafeim wrote on Nov. 25.

To improve returns, investors should push companies to stop issuing quarterly earnings guidance that encourages management to prefer short-term gains and instead concentrate on the longer-term sustainable value creation, according to Gore and Blood. Executive compensation should also be linked to long-term performance, they said.

 

[ramjambunath]

Note: this is also posted on the Brits and EU thread

I'm an archetypal Guardian reader, but as I had a flight a couple of days ago and due to the veto, I thought it might be interesting to get the Torygraph's (Telegraph's) view on this. I'll mention a couple of commentaries, one that had my palm racing towards my pace (an opposite reaction to the comments from the paper's website) and one which was interesting (this in a future post though).....

....Also, if governments do behave in "incorrigibly delinquent ways" they will be replaced. Not by the EU, but by the electorate. I'll admit that EU democracy is far from ideal, but her allusions to Soviet domination are simply sensational. Berlusconi wasn't replaced by the EU (OK not directly by the electorate, but there certainly a lot of pressure from that quarter).

How has the reaction in the media been to Ed Miliband's performance? He seemed to be at his strongest (and much stronger than his brother) when the session was held to discuss the EU summit. I'll also agree with him in that the vote against the motion wasn't a real veto either as the resolution will be adopted in most other countries and won't be blocked.

A general question, how are the other countries which haven't yet voted in favour of the EU resolutions handling discussions in their respective parliaments?

 

[VeloCity]

I am pretty sure Bachmann or Newt would've enlisted if they weren't busy fighting the commies here in congress, so they really are fighting for their country against the liberals.

We are under attack from all sides....we're fighting them over there so they don't come kill us over here and we are simultaneously fighting them here so they don't have abortions and give lazy black people our jobs, or take our guns, or let those homos serve in the army, or keep our children from praying to Jesus in school.

See, if you just think hard enough you can get through these pesky little details that would seemingly derail the movement.

And someone had to defend Freddie Mac. For a $1.6 million taxpayer-funded fee, sure, but hey, freedom isn't free.

 

[jorgea]

Like Him?

I do not trust politicians in general. Look at how they are all destroying not only the economy but civilization! Must I say more?

 

[VeloCity]

Shocked. Joe Arpaio, "Real America's Sheriff", "unfairly targeting Latinos for detentions and arrests and retaliating against those who complain"? Couldn't be.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/16/u...-latinos-justice-department-says.html?_r=1&hp

 

[Amsterhammer]

Military given go-ahead to detain US terrorist suspects without trial

Civil rights groups dismayed as Barack Obama abandons commitment to veto new security law contained in defence bill

Barack Obama has abandoned a commitment to veto a new security law that allows the military to indefinitely detain without trial American terrorism suspects arrested on US soil who could then be shipped to Guantánamo Bay.

Human rights groups accused the president of deserting his principles and disregarding the long-established principle that the military is not used in domestic policing. The legislation has also been strongly criticised by libertarians on the right angered at the stripping of individual rights for the duration of "a war that appears to have no end".

The law, contained in the defence authorisation bill that funds the US military, effectively extends the battlefield in the "war on terror" to the US and applies the established principle that combatants in any war are subject to military detention.

The legislation's supporters in Congress say it simply codifies existing practice, such as the indefinite detention of alleged terrorists at Guantánamo Bay. But the law's critics describe it as a draconian piece of legislation that extends the reach of detention without trial to include US citizens arrested in their own country.

"It's something so radical that it would have been considered crazy had it been pushed by the Bush administration," said Tom Malinowski of Human Rights Watch. "It establishes precisely the kind of system that the United States has consistently urged other countries not to adopt. At a time when the United States is urging Egypt, for example, to scrap its emergency law and military courts, this is not consistent."

more at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/15/americans-face-guantanamo-detention-obama


Would I be right in thinking that people of all political persuasions are opposed to this outrage? I am...not sure of the right word here....seriously disappointed......ah, ********, I am really ****ed off with him for bottling the veto he had previously promised. Funny how they're almost trying to 'hide' this with the great 'withdrawal from Iraq' extravaganza. Bah.