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Jonsa

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Everything posted by Jonsa

  1. I am not aware of these international rulings. do you have any references?
  2. I agree tempest in a teapot. OTOH, the practice of honour killings IS barbaric. Its a perfectly acceptable and entirely accurate descriptor. bar·bar·ic/bärˈbarik/Adjective 1. Savagely cruel; exceedingly brutal. 2. Primitive; unsophisticated. If I call a white power pinhead a racist asshole, I could care less that he is offended, he's still a racist asshole.
  3. Actually the settlements in the west bank are "illegal" according to international law. You might recall that the WB was actually annexed by Jordan and its inhabitants were granted Jordanian citizenship. there can be no dispute that Israel occupied the territories. You seem to be inferring that the palestinians, as an occupied people, do not have the right to resist that occupation by whatever means at their disposal. I abhor terrorism and for the palestinians it hasn't been a winning strategy, but they have every right to fight.
  4. If I understand you correctly, Christians are hypocrites who on the one had accept Jesus as the son of god and his innerrent word while on the other are selective about his teachings and have been this way throughout history. Okay. can't really argue with that. What I found interesting is the attitudes of those that identify themselves as evangelicals. Seems irony is lost on themselves.
  5. The japanese reactors were designed to withstand earthquakes and did a fantastic job of it for a 40 year old design. What created this particular crisis was the tsunami breaching the protective sea wall. (just wasn't high enough, just like the sea walls around the coast). This was further compounded by the placement of the diesel generators in a low lying area of the plant, disabling them when they were needed most. No doubt there will be a number of very valuable lessons learnt for furture design/construction. Won't even get into the nonsense about using MOX fuel in a reactor that wasn't designed for it, but hey, the japanese got a great deal from the russians on the fuel. In addition, there are some really promising new reactor technologies being researched right now with a view to commercial implementation within the next 10 to 15 years. these will be infinitely cheaper, safer and more efficient than existing technologies. So far there isn't anything that comes close to the price performance of nuclear power generation.
  6. think you missed the point. Its about the contradiction in religious and political beliefs, particularly those of evangelicals as the pew poll seems to indicate.
  7. I came across this article and thought it provided an interesting (if over the top) perspective. Could it be that religious beliefs are really matters of convenience? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/phil-zuckerman/why-evangelicals-hate-jes_b_830237.html Phil Zukerman Why Evangelicals Hate Jesus.
  8. Interesting. A personal opinion of somebody with no involvement in editorial and on air content is enough to paint an entire organization. Using your superb logic, I guess those white power supremecists who "belong" to the tea party make the tea party a bunch of racists.
  9. Be awfully tough for any "frenzied doomsday" scenerio when the bill hasn't passed yet. But on the other hand I'm just relaying what contents of the bill are. Or do you think that they are just kidding?
  10. I was refering to the fact that part of this bill slashes the state payments to counties by 1/3 overnight or cutting out $40 million. Then, changing the methodology of distribution from per capita to achievement of arbitrary goals.
  11. Interesting that the discussion devolves to union busting in wisconsin again. this is far far more extensive. I guess the ability to assign non elected officials to arbitrarily and without recourse dissolve local governments, fire elected officials, dispose of local assets, ban politicians from holding office, isn't as bad as decertifying a union or taking away all or some collective bargaining rights. In other words, under the guise of financial crisis, democracy is suspended. If a state government could do that, imagine what a similar federal government could and would do.
  12. If only you could respond on point. But that would mean looking in the mirror and I suspect that scares you.
  13. which naturally explains your recent steady decline into debt and mediocrity.
  14. You can bet there's gonna be some judicial reviews on this beaut. the party that won sure as hell didn't run on that platform. And nothing like winning an election, creating a crisis and then assigning CORPORATIONS to arbitrarily remedy that crisis by screwing the local elected government. Nice giant step towards totalitarianism. Won't be long now before the "conservatives" figure to do away with the inconvenience of elections altogether.
  15. Michigan is experiencing something that is truly chilling. All in the name of fiscal responsibility, the Republicans in Michigan are moving to create fiscal emergencies then using appointed emergency financial managers (who can be corporations or individuals) usurp local government completely, sell off local assets, dissolve municipal incorporations, dissolve any and all contracts, suspend collective bargaining. The state republicans seem to be positioning themselves to take over the entire state whilst removing all local democratic opposition. Oh yeah, and there isn't any appeal process. Amazing stuff and its a good bet they'll get away with it. http://michiganmessenger.com/46665/gov-snyder-unveils-his-budget-plan# That $1.8 billion business tax cut is being offset by tax increases and steep cuts to other parts of the budget, including a new tax on public and private pensions for retirees. Under current law, public pensions are entirely untaxed in the state, while private pensions are exempt from taxation up to $45,000 for individuals and $90,000 for couples. That tax would raise about $1 billion a year in new revenue. On the spending side, Snyder’s plan would also reduce local revenue sharing by a third. That is tax funding sent to the local communities that help pay for local services such police and fire service, parks and recreation programming and more. The plan would also change the way such revenue is shared; instead of being distributed by population, communities would have to compete for the funds based on their willingness to share services and make other reforms. http://michiganmessenger.com/47013/bill-offers-no-guidelines-for-use-of-emergency-managers-powers#’ State officials estimate that dozens of local governments and school districts will soon be unable to pay their bills and the Treasury dept. is on record supporting a bill — passed by the House last week — which would recast Emergency Financial Managers as Emergency Managers and give them unprecedented new power to fire elected officials, dissolve labor contracts and reorganize or dissolve cities and school districts. http://michiganmessenger.com/46589/house-considers-new-powers-for-emergency-financial-managers The state House is holding hearings this week on a package of bills that would allow the state treasurer to appoint corporations to replace the elected governments of towns in fiscal crisis. The legislation before the House Local, Intergovernmental and Regional Affairs Committee allows the state treasurer and state superintendent to appoint firms rather than individuals to take over insolvent municipalities and school systems. The proposed law gives emergency financial managers the power to cancel existing labor contracts, suspend collective bargaining for up to five years, and remove officials from office and prohibit them from seeking office for 10 years. Emergency financial managers would also get power to restructure local government, exclude elected officials from meetings and sell, lease or otherwise use local government assets to pay off debt, according to a House Fiscal Agency analysis.
  16. Denying the soviets access to oil? Get real.
  17. THE OTHER SUPERPOWER China's lobbying efforts yield new influence, openness on Capitol Hill http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/08/AR2010010803710.html This is a helluva lobby group dedicated to doing business with china. http://www.uschina.org/board_of_directors.html China Lobby Curries Favor With U.S. Government http://english.caijing.com.cn/2006-08-07/100014037.html China broadens espionage operations http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&rls=com.microsoft%3Aen-US&rlz=1I7_____en&q=china+espionage+us&aq=0&aqi=g1g-v9&aql=&oq=China+espionage+ U.S. worries about Chinese espionage http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&rls=com.microsoft%3Aen-US&rlz=1I7_____en&q=china+espionage+us&aq=0&aqi=g1g-v9&aql=&oq=China+espionage+ From China with Love: How China Spies http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/spy/spies/ I could go on and on and on. Interesting use of the term rogue state. Wrong, but interesting. I maintain that Petreus premise that dropping support to Israel and/or boosting direct support to say Hamas or the PA would make arab and muslim nations like the US more and would make the US prosecution of war in Iraq and Afghanistan easier. I think that is a facile and altogether niaive expectation. I reject the notion that US support for Israel makes it easier to recruit for Al queada. Since 2002 that is a red herring as direct US actions have provide AQ with all the recruiting red meat they need (if anti evil infidel capitalist america is indeed a recruiting draw). You think the the generational emnity of arabs to the jews needs any american involvement to continue to fester? American support is incidental to the underlying issues involved. Notwithstanding the US will continue to support Israel for two very simple related reasons: 1. If Israel lays down its weapons, there will be genocide, if arabs lay down their weapons there will be peace. 2. The US will not allow genocide of jews to happen again on their watch as the internal and external political capital that would squander would morally bankrupt the country. Oh of course not, "its we sent a sternly worded diplomatic note, we expelled two cultural attaches and we're going to really get mad at the spy we caught". Then, depending on if the nation caught spying can conveniently catch a spy from the nation that caught their spy, they exchange spys. spys caught in most totalitarian countries are treated to any number of painful deaths unless that spy's continued existence would be an embarrassment to his home country. I could go on and on about how undefinitive the treatment of spies is, depending on circumstance, parties involved, and how much is in the pot. Guess Pollard didn't have enough juice. Harman got off and was re-elected, the american got 12 years and the other two got off cause a trial would divulge top secret stuff (according to the prosecution). Ya see, juggle, dodge, make it look good,news cycle over, move on, nothing to see. Net result, business as usual.
  18. If its about income gap, then there's a whole lot of other places that should be going apeshit. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_income_equality
  19. The UN is a useless debating society when it comes to political crisis in any particular jurisdiction. That is because it was originally set up that way. The notion of Sovereignty reigns supreme at the UN because the last thing all these countries want is somebody messing with their own turf. Considering at the time of its inception less than half the world was democratic, its understandable. The idea of UN military intervention is incredibly scary and given its track record not something anyone should welcome. Why the security council could collude and conquer the world! . Even when they do get off their fat asses they make sure that whatever troops they send are de-clawed with ridiuclous rules of engagement even when sitting in the middle of a genocidal civil war.
  20. China so why are you responding to me? So what patreus is saying is abandon support for Israel and the arab states will allow the US to have more power and influence over them? Seems their really pissed with the US because of Israel so naturally what the US should do is whatever the arabs want. Great policy there. Yes. It is a fact of realpolitik. Everybody does it. Hand wringing is hypocritical. yes I do think there is something wrong with that. I'm pretty sure that any congressperson directly intervening in any legal case is against the law. Not to mention if she knowingly was consorting with a foreign agent. am I surprised this stuff happens - no.
  21. UN general assembly resolutions aren't worth the paper they are printed on. UN Security council resolutions actually have some weight. The problem is that the UN can't do much and any resolution that says "we condemn and you should stop" is useless and only serves to undermine the security council's "power". given the UN's track record in conflict intervention, what does a resolution matter? Who is going to listen? Who is going to care?
  22. Aren't they doing what every other lobby group does? Isn't that the purpose of a lobby group? I don't beleive it is "at the expense" of american security. I think Israel and US support for same is a relatively small part of a much much bigger global picture. I'm sorry I can't seem to work up any false outrage about spying. I think every country and special interest on the planet does it and its kinda hypocritical to start jumping up and down condemning the poor bastard that got caught. You think all those cultural attaches and trade analysts are actually cultural attaches and trade analysts? Cheering for my tribe? Hardly. What I am is a pragmatist. I try to see the world for what it is, not what we would like it to be. You get all hot and bothered about a lobby group that is really really good at its job. Its one of hundreds of lobby groups in washington and they all attempt to do the same thing - influence policy and policy makers. You are one of those people who think that Israel is the root causes of US troubles in the world. I just don't see it like that.Firstly the US is more than capable of causing their own trouble and secondly, The Israeli/Palestinian conflict is an excuse and not a reason used by Islamist assholes to justify some idiotic heinous action on their part in some other part of the world and who haven't given a damn about people of palestine EVER. Then again, the protocols say.........
  23. Well I guess having 50% of the population experiencing flat income growth over a period of 38 years isn't bad by your standards. then again, if you followed the link you'd see that income for the 95 percentile went up 98%. Yep a classic example of the rich getting richer at the expense of the poor. US GINI index shows and increasing income gap over the past 25 years, now on par with China and Mexico. At some point something is going to have to give. You can't have that many poor pissed off Americans running around. They all have guns. Indeed...Canadians are now #1 in that department! (see how I smoothly worked that in?) You want to discuss the debt issues in canada, start a thread in Canadian politics. I do admit that that was smoothly done.
  24. Yuk Yuk. I beleive we are talking about your economy. thank you for once again demonstrating a congnitive disfunction, unable to relate to the topic at a hand and ready for the nonsequitar at the drop of your pants. You really should see somebody about that. While you gush in your pants about critics of the US on a US politics discussion forum. Not that I would expect you to see the irony in that.
  25. I see nothing about a system here. I see a lobby group doing its business and cutting a political deal with a politician. Something that is done every single day of the week in washington and expensive golf clubs around the country. I don't say its nothing. Actually, it is significant and they are really good at their jobs. I just don't think its a bad thing in context of the american political system. Its how things get done for good or bad. And let me tell you the palestinian lobby in washington really sucks at their job. And what about all those Canadian spies running around Washington? Or are you going to deny that CSIS hasn't infiltrated Homeland Security, the DEA, and the CIA? You can easily identify them running around in lumber jackets, hockey sweater, shades and kodiaks.
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