Golly gee, Caroline Kennedy is interested in being appointed to the US Senate from New York. Now why would that be? Well, let' s do the math. She would have the New York Times gushing for two years, then she has to run and likely wins, add six years, voila, we have Camelot. Biden will be too old to run and we get our first woman President, who happens to be JFK's daughter.
We have just been blessed with eight years of Presidential Rule by heredity, fended off a second Clinton and now face the next Kennedy.
Are we so intellectually shabby, so shallow and cloyingly sentimental that this is how we pick our Presidents?
There can be many a slip, 'tween cup and lip
ReplyDeleteDeuce: Are we so intellectually shabby, so shallow and cloyingly sentimental that this is how we pick our Presidents?
ReplyDeleteIt occured to me in 2000 that we don't really pick our Presidents. What was Bush's qualifications to be Commander -in-Chief anyway? No, we pick brands. There's the Elephant Brand and the Jackass Brand. The ideologically-driven inaction of the Elephant Brand from 1929-1933 led to the ideologically-driven interventionism of the Jackass Brand from 1933-1953 and from 1961-1969 with a brief flirtation with the Jackass-Elephant hybrid of Brand Ike from 1953-1961. Then Tricky Dicky gave us Watergate, which led to the biggest Jackass of all, Carter, which in turn led to an long-term Elephant resurgence. Even the Clintoon years were elephantine. Unfortunately, by 2000 this resulted in the makers of the Elephant Brand thinking they could throw someone with no competence whatsoever out there as the Brand Mascot, and people would overlook his deer-in-headlights look when 9-11 hit and Katrina and the 2008 market meltdown. They would stand by their out of sheer brand loyalty. Now it's clear that even brand names don't help when you deliver stinkers like New Coke or Windows Vista or the Ford Pinto.
What with Jeb lining up for the Senate seat from FL, it'll be old home for both families, in the Senate.
ReplyDeleteOff topic right off the bat, but of course:
ReplyDeleteBob w.'s short Gates/Foreign Affairs Quarterly take (referenced at Belmont)
http://acreofindependence.com/
2008/12/05/dod-20/
Yes, yes, and yes.
Caroline Kennedy: The young girl who, it was once cattily said, never let an unnatural fiber come in contact with her skin. Can't quite see her running for President, though there may be mileage yet to be gotten out of those Profiles in Courage years.
December 6, 2008
ReplyDeleteDemocrats Plan Short-Term Rescue for Automakers
By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN and BILL VLASIC
WASHINGTON — Faced with staggering new unemployment figures, Democratic Congressional leaders said on Friday that they were ready to provide a rescue plan for American automakers, and that they expected to hold a vote on the legislation in a special session next week.
Seeking to end a weeks-long stalemate between the Bush administration and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, senior aides said that the money would most likely come from $25 billion in federally subsidized loans intended for developing fuel-efficient cars.
By breaking that impasse, the lawmakers could also clear the way for the Treasury secretary, Henry M. Paulson Jr., to request the remaining $350 billion of the financial industry bailout fund.
Democrats are hoping Mr. Paulson will use some of that money to help individual homeowners avoid foreclosure.
President-elect Barack Obama and his transition team have been involved in the discussions with Congressional leaders. Mr. Obama spoke to Ms. Pelosi on Thursday, and Rahm Emanuel, Mr. Obama’s chief of staff, spoke to her twice on Friday.
Ms. Pelosi also spoke by phone on Friday with Joshua B. Bolten, President Bush’s chief of staff, and the White House also seemed ready to reach a deal.
“We’re continuing to talk to both parties and both houses of Congress, and we hope to make more progress this weekend,” said Tony Fratto, the White House deputy press secretary.
Details of the auto companies’ rescue package were not immediately available, but senior Congressional aides said that it would include billions of dollars in short-term loans to keep the automakers afloat at least until Mr. Obama takes office.
The auto companies will have to submit to strict government oversight to make sure that the bailout funds are used to carry out the reorganization plans they delivered to Congress this week. The auto company chiefs testified this week that they were willing to accept the regulation.
[...]
Well you can always say the hell with it, like my wife and I did tonight, and drive cattle though the NeverNever with Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, to make it to the wharf on time. You can adopt a dreamy creamy magical abo, fight the evil landowner(Nicole's ranch was 7 million acres, none of it worth a shit, worse than Nevada) and his first man, who was father of the creamy abo, watch the Japs attack Darwin, rescue the kids from the state run asylum, and, weep with joy when Nicole, Hugh and abo all are reunited. And watch the little abo take off to the desert at the end with his grandfather, spears in hands, rather than lead a life on the ranch or live on sit down money in some godawful outback craparoo.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was sappy and long(nearly three hours, remember to take a piss before you settle in), my wife loved it.(She likes that Jackman chest.)
"Australia"
A Dog Is A - Dog's - Best Friend
ReplyDeleteVideo of a brave dog saving another dog on a freeway in Chile.
And the muzzies don't see any good in dogs.
When was the last time a politician ever took such a chance for another politician?
Our dog had her check-up today for her flight home for the holidays. She had the check-up, and nail clipping, in our kitchen. Because the vets here come to you. How convenient is that?
ReplyDeleteHome in a week; home in a week; home in a week.
My cup runneth over.
Returning here sans man of the house...not so joyful a thought. The cookie does tend to crumble.
But for one month: No roadways full of assholes; no thumping music til 5 AM; no chunks of bus exhaust in the air; no blaring sirens; no nauseating smells from the kitchen; and best of all, no pressure, no worries.
No duties.
ReplyDeleteTrish, your link:
ReplyDeleteThere clearly is no apparent successor to US world leadership, not even a close second. My own preferences would be for us to re-focus our strategic interests on the Americas. However fate seems to dictate, not yet.
It is a constant source of amazement to me, that we now have B52 pilots whose grandfathers flew the same plane, but the B52 is really a metaphor for US power. At its inception, 1/3 were in the air 24/7 . It projected to the world the troika of American power, economic and technological leadership , military prowess, and the responsible use and willingness to use it based on an ideology attractive to the civilized world.
The mission was defined by the threat. The threat at that time was obvious. It is less so today. It takes a political establishment responsible enough and articulate enough to keep the American public engaged and supportive against an enemy that is often silent and transparent. Unfortunately, the case to commit to the unending war has not been made accept by the infrequent violence of an amorphous enemy.
The war on terror can only be successful if the institutions of government in the host state has the economic capacity, political will and military capability to do something about it. The US simply does not have the discretionary resources to do the job alone while other powers, China for instance, takes advantage of our burning of military and economic assets in disproportionate measures to the threat. That is unsustainable and unsustainable against an ever present threat is self-defeating.
But for one month: No roadways full of assholes; no thumping music til 5 AM; no chunks of bus exhaust in the air; no blaring sirens; no nauseating smells from the kitchen; and best of all, no pressure, no worries.
ReplyDelete...or ever-barking dogs, gun shots and motorcycles in the night.
Chinese property hunters to raid US
ReplyDeleteBy Geoff Dyer in Beijing
Published: December 5 2008 20:10 | Last updated: December 5 2008 20:10
Chinese bargain hunters are preparing to descend on American cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, where homeowners have suffered some of the steepest price falls in the US.
SouFun, the biggest real estate website in China, is organising a trip next month to look at properties in California and possibly Nevada. Liu Jian, the company’s chief operating officer, said about 300 people had expressed interest in the idea in the three days since it was advertised, though the company would take only a small group on the first trip.
“Given the problems in the Chinese market now, many people have been asking us about taking a look at overseas markets, especially the US,” he said.
"My own preferences would be for us to re-focus our strategic interests on the Americas. However fate seems to dictate, not yet."
ReplyDeleteBless the hearts of everyone I've met down here - and I mean down here generally - they do their best to get a little movement in this direction wherever and whenever they can. And things would be different if things were different, if you get my drift.
But in all honesty, it's going to take what it usually takes: Shit hits fan.
We're so damned reactive. No point even in whining about it. We just are.
...or ever-barking dogs, gun shots and motorcycles in the night.
ReplyDeleteSat Dec 06, 01:13:00 AM EST
Those, too.
A little peace. A little quiet. Many games of cards with a houseful of people who do not agree on much but that. It's all I want right now.
Skiing in Idaho:)
ReplyDeleteReverend Manning is on Plains Radio Network, and making a lot of sense.
ReplyDeleteThe Washington Post:
ReplyDelete"There's nothing more appealing in politics than a storybook ending.
And so, the idea that Caroline Kennedy might be appointed by New York Gov. David Paterson to replace Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Senate, the same chamber in which her late father -- John F. Kennedy -- served and the same seat her uncle -- Robert Kennedy -- held, is drawing huge amounts of attention."
________________________
it really brings tears to your eyes, tugs at your heart and fills you with hope.
http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=
ReplyDeleteEhhZSbSF2cE
The idea comes ballroom dancing into my head, that, since we have ignored the Constitution on so many other things, and may be about to do it again regarding Presidential requirements, we might as well go whole hog, and start handing out titles of Nobility and Royalty. Economically and socially we already have the basics, only missing are the formal titles. We're no longer the farmer based society we were when we started out.
ReplyDeleteHow does Bobal, Blått Blod, Svenneklassen, sound to you?
O.J. Sentenced to as much as 33 Years for Robbery
ReplyDelete(FROM: Associated Press) From some friends of mine:
"The Juice is no longer loose."
"He used to be a running back, now he's gonna be a wide receiver."
"Now, nobody will ever mistake him for a tight end."
"Orenthal James? Now O.J. stands for 'oh, Jesus, it's the pokey.
Regardless, no matter how you look at it, no matter what you want to say -- good riddance. Don't let the bars hit you in the posterior on the way into the clink, Orenthal.
National Parks Allow Right-to-Carry
(FROM: U.S. Dept. of the Interior) It only makes sense that law-abiding citizens should be allowed to protect both themselves and their families while visiting our national parks. Of course, there are the animals and wildlife, but so many of our parks have their share of violent crime as well. Common sense decision, and I'm glad it was made.
America's Right
A Sound So Beautiful, Like A Soul Stirring
Coleman Still Ahead Of Frankenstein By A Very Few Votes
ReplyDeleteIndeed, bob.
ReplyDeleteMiller caller said Coleman, after "winning" takes the stage for his victory address, only to pull off his latex mask, revealing the Familiar Frankenfraud Visage.
ReplyDeleteHoly ACORN!
For Mat, Not That I Believe It
ReplyDeletegrrrnight
Woman Remembers Everything That Has Happened to Her Since Age 14
ReplyDeleteHuh?
Watch that short video before you turn in, al-Bob:
ReplyDeleteMaybe it'll spark a re-run of your life in your dreams.
Peace.
Obama picks Racist open-borders advocate for administration.
ReplyDelete---
EB responds by forming "White Bob Party"
Enough about the Kennedys, and Bush's, I want to know about Chris Matthews becoming PA's Senator, in 2010.
ReplyDeleteDoes that not send a warm tingle down your leg, or what?
VDH expounds on how the current crop of lefty villains are given a pass.
ReplyDeleteIn politics today, intention, symbolism, and rhetoric are everything; facts, nothing. By Victor Davis Hanson
Parallel Lives
First light in the east.
ReplyDeleteAt the EB, the early birds are stirring and the night owls are retiring.
Retire?
ReplyDeleteDamn the Coronaries,
Full Speed Ahead!
Since you're half way around the world, I never know what schedule you're on. :)
ReplyDeleteSymbolism:
ReplyDeleteWall St arrives by private jets, leaves with (starting) payment of Trillions.
Detroit told to don dunce caps and hitchhike or arrive by Mat's Energy Bunny Power.
Kiss ass for a measly few billion.
...funny that Wall St would do so well under Paulson, Bernanke, and Bush.
hardy har har, doug.
ReplyDeleteThe pieces are just falling into place, as we watch.
Not seeing the forest,
for the trees.
What "New Order?"
ReplyDeleteThe President Elect draws on all of his experience as a community organizer with his vision for economic recovery.
ReplyDeleteI've got the Janitorial Contract for the
ReplyDeleteOffice of the President Elect
"School buildings would get an upgrade, too. "Because to help our children compete in a 21st century economy, we need to send them to 21st century schools," Obama said.
ReplyDeleteAs a part of the plan, Obama said he wants to expand Internet access in communities. Hospitals also should be connected to each other online.
"Here, in the country that invented the Internet, every child should have the chance to get online," he said."
---
Children learn from buildings and networks.
...teachers being mere time card punchers and propagandists.
Rich Lowery on Obama's green jobs.
ReplyDeleteTo make people buy biofuels or wind power, either these energy sources have to be subsidized (draining resources away from more productive uses) or traditional sources of energy have to be taxed or regulated, which is what Obama proposes with his cap-and-trade plan on carbon emissions. The latter policy will cost jobs in the traditional energy sector and leave consumers with less to save and spend elsewhere. As Iain Murray of the Competitive Enterprise Institute points out, advocates of “green” jobs always emphasize the gross rather than the net job figures because a more complete picture shows they are ultimately subtracting, not adding.
The Invisible Hand contracted
ReplyDeleteGanGREEN.
Sitting on the World's largest coal resources?
ReplyDeleteOutlaw Coal!
...the World EnergyCourt will be pleased.
ReplyDeleteAfter Taxes.
Interesting News
ReplyDeleteYoung Muslim men are being recruited from mosques and Islamic Centers in the U.S., Canada for terrorist training. They are beginning to return, some in plastic bags.
Whit: Young Muslim men are being recruited from mosques and Islamic Centers in the U.S., Canada for terrorist training. They are beginning to return, some in plastic bags.
ReplyDeleteHopefully these plastic bags
Careful with those tatoos.
ReplyDeleteeeiiiyyyeeee- I can remember everything Doug has posted over the years!
ReplyDeleteIt's hell, I tell ya! :)
ReplyDeleteYou add in Teresita of many names, and some others, eeeiiiyyyeeeee.....
WHO WAS THE CRAZY PERSON THAT INVENTED ENGLISH AS A LANGUAGE?
ReplyDeleteBill Bryson?
>
>
> English is easy ! almost ! ?
>
>
> 1) The bandage was wound around the wound.
>
> 2) The farm was used to produce produce .
>
> 3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
>
> 4) We must polish the Polish furniture.
>
> 5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.
>
> & nbsp; 6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
>
> 7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present .
>
> 8) A bass was painted on the base of the bass drum.
>
> 9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
>
> 10) I did not object to the object.
>
> 11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
>
> 12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row ..
>
> & nbsp; 13) They were too close to the door to close it.
>
> 14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.
>
> 15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
>
> 16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
>
> 17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
>
> 18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
>
> 19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
>
> 20) H ow can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?
>
> Let's face it - English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat. We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.
>
> And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, 2 geese So one moose, 2 meese? One in de x, 2 indices? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? If yo u have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?
>
> If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell?
>
> How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are oppos ites? You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which, an alarm goes off by going on.
>
> & nbsp; English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all. That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.
>
> PS. - Why doesn't 'Buick' rhyme with 'quick' ?
>
>
> You lovers of the English language might enjoy this .
> There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that is 'UP.'
>
> It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP ? At a meeting, why does a topic come UP ? Why do we speak UP and wh y are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP? We call UP our friends. And we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver; we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car. At other times the little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, l ine UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses. To be dressed is one thing, but to be dressed UP is special .
>
> And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP. We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night.
>
> We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP ! To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4th of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions. If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more. When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP . When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP
> When it rains, it wets the earth and often messes things UP.
> When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP.
> One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP, for now my time is UP, so........it is time to shut UP!
Bobal, English beats the alternative. Which is French.
ReplyDeleteLet's see, we've got this nice Chinese-American dude with a computer science degree, and we got Tattoo Face just out of the joint. Who do I hire? Decisions, decisions...
ReplyDeleteI want to meet the farmer and see his sowing sow.
ReplyDeleteUS Supreme
ReplyDeleteCourt Researches Donofrio Case
How runaway mortgage lending, combined with government meddling with interest rates and loan terms resulted in a credit crunch and an eventual collapse in real estate prices in ancient Rome
ReplyDeleteTacitus explains it all.
I've said it before, will say it again, God Bless Francisco Franco savior of Spain. And King Juan Carlos.
ReplyDeleteJust to tick Doug off---
ReplyDeleteSimpson sentencing unfair---
Simpson Sentenced Up to 33 Years
Published, December 5, 2008 Criminal Law Society
A Nevada judge has sentenced O.J. Simpson to up to 33 years for his role in taking property in a Las Vegas hotel that he claimed was stolen from him. While this may not be popular, I think the sentence is excessive and that the entire case was overcharged. He was convicted of armed robbery, kidnapping and assault 13 years to the day after his acquittal in the killings of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Lyle Goldman.
Before sentencing, a clearly upset Simpson, 61, apologized in court and insisted he was merely trying to recover property that had been stolen from him. He was facing a recommendation of 18 years in a pre-sentence report.
Judge Jackie Glass was unmoved and repeatedly referenced his words on the tape — showing that tapes not only have an overwhelming impact of juries but judges also. She stated “[e]verything in this case was on tape. You went to the room. You took guns. You used force. You took property, and in this state, that amounts to robbery with the use of a deadly weapon.”
There is no question that he deserved to be prosecuted and deserves jail time. However, 33 years? This is not for the earlier murders, which I happen to believe that he committed. This was a serious but not uncommon act. People will often feel empowered when retrieving what they believe is their own property. Yet, no one was injured and there was a valid claim of ownership by Simpson. I can see jail for one or two years, but this is a sentence that you would get on murder charges.
I certainly have no sympathy for Simpson and I am glad that the Goldman family will feel some sense of relief. However, this strikes me as a case where celebrity status worked to the disadvantage of the defendant.
He will be eligible for parole in nine years.
His appeal will include the issue of an infair sentence. After all, the guy has no prior criminal record.
As Iain Murray of the Competitive Enterprise Institute points out, advocates of “green” jobs always emphasize the gross rather than the net job figures because a more complete picture shows they are ultimately subtracting, not adding.
ReplyDeleteGreen = Fraud, Mat.
Foisted off on us by the taxeaters and rent seekers.
Buy yourself some green blankets. You'll need them.
To keep warm when the lights go out. See how far your green smugness spreads then.
blanket
ReplyDeleteNoun
1. a large piece of thick cloth for use as a bed covering
2. a concealing cover, as of smoke, leaves, or snow
Leaf blankies in summer
Snow blankies in winter
For warmth, and concealment, too.
:)
Green = Fraud, Mat.
ReplyDelete==
Them are fighting words, laddie. Prepare to have them ears boxed. :)
We had our office xmas party yesterday. Turns out, even in the remote cold that is northern Ontario, Canada, solar off grid is a viable solution. Competitive with diesel and NG power generation. I have the personal testimony of one of the attendees!
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of figure did that liar have?
ReplyDeleteAsk her to keep your bed warm in a Earth-Friendly way.
ReplyDeleteAnybody here who CAN'T remember what they were doing when Challenger Exploded?
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of figure did that liar have?
ReplyDelete==
I don't sign her paycheck. :)
Doug: Anybody here who CAN'T remember what they were doing when Challenger Exploded?
ReplyDeleteI remember what I was doing (training) and where (Point Loma, Sand Dog, CA) but I sure as heck can't say any more than that. I remember the instructor stuck his head in the door when we was studyin' and he said, "The space shuttle blew up!" and we all said in unison, "Bullshit!"
Challenger
ReplyDeleteI was at work. A retired senior project engineer from McDonnell-Douglas, maybe it was just Douglas at that time, who'd been volunteering for us gave us the news. He was quite affected by the whole thing. As I recall, he was also deeply concerned when India and Pakistan both joined the N-club. He'd been on the crew that mounted the triggers on the test shots in Nevada and the Canniken test at Amchitka.
I remember listening to the Columbia reentry coverage live on the radio when observers were reporting some disintegration as early as its passage over California.
Here's the booger that caused that.
I was just waking up at home in Moscow.
ReplyDeleteC2C tonite---
Noted historian and author Jonathan Kirsch will discuss the racial profiling, terror and torture used during the Inquisition, and show how these same techniques are the blueprint for abuses being conducted today.
First Hour: Reporter Kristi Piehl will provide an update on the Smiley Face Serial Killers. :)
Them are fighting words, laddie. Prepare to have them ears boxed. :)
ReplyDeleteAnything but my ears. They're almost deaf to begin with...
:-)
Challenger
ReplyDeleteNASA Managers overruled the engineers at both Thiokol and NASA, as I recall. The infamous O-Ring seals and their vulnerability to freezing.
Careers of innocent whistle-blowers were wrecked in the aftermath.
Muzzies Circumambulate The Kabaa
ReplyDeleteMillions Of muzzies On Hajj
Muzzies At Prayer
The Lord's Prayer
Don't pray in public, like the hypocrites do, but in your closet.
King James Bible
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
Matthew 6:6
Guy one of my cousins married was an engineer, and worked with Rocketdyne in California on solid fuel rockets. He showed me how the solid rocket fuel could be configured in various ways, resulting in different burn rates, which seemed simple, reliable, elegant to an uninformed farmer.
ReplyDeleteLike the hollow core of the fuel would be an octogon, hexagon, triangle etc.
ReplyDeleteShaped charges, Bob. Like using a little C4 and an empty champaign bottle to breach armor plate. [champagne-?]
ReplyDeleteI'm sure rat knows the trick.
Chester "The Constitutional Molester" Arthur was a fraud, and knew it, and covered it up, and got away with it.
ReplyDeleteChester Was A British Subject At Birth
Interesting read, providing historical context for our current constitutional conunbrums.
Anybody here who CAN'T remember what they were doing when Challenger Exploded?
ReplyDeleteSat Dec 06, 07:03:00 PM EST
We were on break between interrogations.
Memories.
And my partner that day was one Marine SSG Jeff Gorton.
ReplyDeleteconunbrums, conundrums
ReplyDeleteFunny the things you can remember. And the things you can't. Like yesterday's lunch. Or your last zip code.
ReplyDeleteSAfrica drops planned nuclear plant
ReplyDeleteBy CLARE NULLIS, Associated Press Writer Posted Fri Dec 5, 2008 8:27am PST
CAPE TOWN, South Africa - In a blow to South Africa's efforts to reduce reliance on cheap, polluting coal, the state electricity company said Friday it could not afford to build a planned new nuclear power plant.
Eskom said it had ended the bidding process between the EPR consortium led by Areva of France and the N-Powerment consortium led by Westinghouse of the United States because of the "magnitude of the investment."
It was estimated that the pressurized water reactor would cost more than 100 billion rands ($10 billion) — the largest single investment in Eskom's history. Construction was due to start in late 2010 to complement the sole existing nuclear power station at Koeberg near Cape Town.
.
.
==
$10 billion! LOL!
And that probably doesn't even include construction overruns.
I can remember everything that's ever happened to me:)
ReplyDeleteDrives ya nuts after a while. Going over the same shit, time and again.
Mat, 10 billion's nothin'.
Those folks are just broke.
General Electric is the only member of the original DJ Industrials still on the list.
ReplyDeleteMat, 10 billion's nothin'.
ReplyDelete==
Not by my calculation:
/ The largest nuke plant in operation is 1.3 GW.
/ Today Solar costs $1Bn per 0.5 GW.
/ Solar costs are being reduced at a rate of 8% per year.
In 10 years, which is how long it takes to build your nuke plants, for the price of a single nuke plant, you could build 10 solar plants each with the equivalent power output of your largest nuke plant. But what's money.
Ha!
ReplyDeleteHow Fishy Technology Could Power the Future
http://green.yahoo.com/news/livescience/20081203/sc_livescience/howfishytechnologycouldpowerthefuture.html
Canada oil sands seen threatening millions of birds
ReplyDeletePosted Tue Dec 2, 2008 8:19am PST
CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - A coalition of North American environmental groups says the development of Canada's oil sands region threatens to kill as many as 166 million birds over the next five decades and is calling for a moratorium on new projects in the region.
The coalition's groups, which include the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Boreal Songbirds Initiative and the Pembina Institute, say petroleum-extraction projects in the oil-rich region of northern Alberta are a threat to migratory birds and the boreal forest they rely on.
Their study concluded that development of the oil sands, would be fatal for 6 million to 166 million birds because of habitat loss, shrinking wetlands, accumulation of toxins and other causes.
The solution, the groups say, is to halt new projects in the oil sands and to clean up existing facilities. They are also calling for strengthened regulations to protect Canada's vast boreal, or northern, forest and for Alberta, whose government has backed oil sands developments, to prove the resource can be exploited without serious environmental harm.
.
.
==
Good. The sooner, the better.
would be fatal for 6 million to 166 million feathered friends
ReplyDeleteThat's quite a spread there, for our feathered friends.
Sounds like a lot of bunk to me.
Here, we're beginning to worry about the Giant Palouse Earthworm.
10 million birds here, 30 million birds there, pretty soon you're talking a lot of birds.
ReplyDelete:)
Trish,
ReplyDeleteI remember my folks phone number and Dad's Store number!
(of course one was only 4 digits, and the other one 3!)
He's just puttin that up as a distraction from the Zillions of birds that'll be wiped out by all the windmills needed to run his electric cars, al-Bob.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a lot of bunk to me.
ReplyDelete==
Bob, did you have a listen to the podcast I posted the other day on the tar sand Indians dying from alarming rates of cancer?
Doug is passing wind from his methane gas tank.
ReplyDeleteDo they just get sick when the rates aren't so alarming?
ReplyDeleteProbly the same genetic defect that makes them alkies.
ReplyDelete(The Irish Gene)
ReplyDeleteMat, I must have missed that. I usually read everything here, but don't recall that.
ReplyDeleteLuck of the Irish they don't have to camp out in that nauseous soup of carcinogens to prove their good luck.
ReplyDeleteHere you go, Bob:
ReplyDeleteCLIMATE TERRORISM: The Tar Sands
http://www.ecoshock.org/2008/12/climate-terrorism-tar-sands.html
If I had my personal druthers, I'd rather not monkey around with the tar sands. But, I don't know what to make of the article, coming from an ecology site. Around here, you'd think the world is going to end if we build a nuclear reactor in south Idaho, if you believe the stuff coming from the Snake River Alliance.
ReplyDelete"The Radio Ecoshock Show 081205 1 hour CD Quality 56 MB or Lo-Fi 14 MB"
ReplyDelete---
That's like Algore flying a private jet:
...takes electricity to run the internets, and nobody needs to hear their dulcet tones @ CD quality.
(couldn't tell the diff anyhow)
Wasteful.
For many of the things we can't remember, Doug, we simply say, "Dumped that file."
ReplyDeleteI am famously, notoriously absent-minded (I require notes pinned to my shirt) so I consider myself fortunate to remember to put on my pants before walking the dog.
The pleasantest and most pedestrian childhood memories are more vivid and compelling than ever, while I cannot for the life of me recall, lest it's written down, the name of someone I was introduced to and happily conversed with hours ago.
In my ideal universe, everyone would always wear name tags. And a helpful wake-up call would remind one that today is your anniversary.
56mb/hr.
ReplyDeletebit rate = 128kps ?
6 million to 166 million Boreal songbirds, saved by Canadian activists, fly south and are slaughtered by Boone Pickens' wind farm.
ReplyDeleteslaughtered by Boone Pickens' wind farm.
ReplyDelete==
Good. Chicken is getting boring. :)
The pleasantest and most pedestrian childhood memories are more vivid and compelling than ever, while I cannot for the life of me recall, lest it's written down, the name of someone I was introduced to and happily conversed with hours ago.
ReplyDeleteWelcome.
Ethiopian oleh seeks slot in Likud as young candidate
ReplyDeleteDec. 6, 2008
Shelly Paz , THE JERUSALEM POST
The Likud's presentation of its MK hopefuls continued last week with the introduction of 27-year-old Gadi Yavarkan, who is originally from Ethiopia but is competing for the young candidate's slot (No. 35), rather than for an immigrant slot (21 or 30).
"The Likud is the natural home of the Ethiopian community in Israel, which remains loyal to the party whose leaders made it possible for Ethiopian Jews to make aliya," said Yavarkan, a former IDF officer who is soon to complete his law studies.
Speaking at a press conference with Likud chairman Binyamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, he said the Likud "is the only party that can lead Israel to a better future."
Yavarkan, who made aliya with Operation Solomon in 1991, believes that last month's victory of US President-elect Barack Obama has taken the color issue off the table, allowing for a focus on ideological discussions. He believes he can be a catalyst for change.
"I have decided not to run for the immigrant's slot, because I believe the Ethiopian community should fight for things that concern it, irrespective of the fact that they immigrated to Israel," he said.
Five years ago, Yavarkan published a book of poetry called Starting from the Start , in which he depicted his mental and social journey from Ethiopia to Israel.
He believes that Likud voters will deem him worthy of their support.
"I am familiar with the field, and as a young candidate I can attract both the young voters and the Ethiopian [voters]," he said, describing what he sees as his advantage over the other young candidates.
"Nothing was promised me," he insisted. "I am a marathon-runner, and I joined Likud out of the desire to make a change, not to make a career as a politician."
Yavarkan, the youngest of 17 siblings, added that his making aliya as a child meant that his biggest dream had already come true.
"Now everything I do is a bonus," he said.
==
Nice. Another lawyer politician.
the youngest of 17 siblings
ReplyDeleteSmall family.
Yes, impressive story. 17 years in the country, and the family which undoubtedly came with nothing but their cloths on their back, is able to send their kid to Law school.
ReplyDeleteThis honestly sickens me:
ReplyDelete"(CNN) -- Caroline Kennedy, who spent most of her life looking to steer clear of the spotlight, is capping off a year of unusually public -- and political -- activity with interest in the Senate seat that would be vacated by Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton.
And her interest in that seat could mean the continuation of a Kennedy legacy in the Senate that began 56 years ago with the election of her father, John F. Kennedy, as the junior senator from Massachusetts.
Her uncle Edward has represented Massachusetts in the Senate for more than four decades. Her uncle Robert served as junior senator from New York from 1965 until he was assassinated in 1968"
_________________________
It so disgusts me.
New York and Massachusetts have the dumbest voters in the United States, if not the world.
ReplyDelete