COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Wednesday, October 09, 2013

About one-third of people on the planet drink water that is dangerous for health, while even a larger part of population lack adequate sanitation, according to the UN chief.


Water scarcity by 2030: True for every second person on earth, UN says
Published time: October 08, 2013 20:01

About a half of the global population could be facing water shortages by 2030 when demand would exceed water supply by 40 percent, says United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.
Opening the Water Summit in Budapest, Hungary on Tuesday, the UN chief warned against unsustainable use of water resources.
Water is wasted and poorly used by all sectors in all countries. That means all sectors in all countries must cooperate for sustainable solutions. We must use what we have more equitably and wisely,” Ban said, as cited by the UN website.
By 2030 nearly half the global population could be facing water scarcity. Demand could outstrip supply by 40 per cent.”
Governments cannot cope with the problem on their own, without the “full engagement” of all other players, including business, Ban underlined. 
Agriculture remains the largest consumer of freshwater. “There is growing urgency to reconcile its demands with the needs of domestic and industrial uses, especially energy production,” the UN Secretary General said. 
He urged industrial giants as well as small farmers to learn to get “more crop per drop” by using advanced irrigation technologies and focusing on “climate-resilient” rather than water intensive crops (i.e. rice).

Climate change adds to the risk of water shortages in large parts of the world and that is another challenge that nations should cooperate on.
We must make sure that water remains a catalyst for cooperation not conflict among communities and countries,” Ban stressed. 
Global warming means not only more droughts, but also more floods.
That is why we must do everything we can to keep global temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels,” the UN chief said.
Back in 2000, world leaders adopted Millennium Development Goals (MDG). Among them was to halve the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015.
While the MDG target for providing access to improved water sources has been reached, 780 million people lack this basic necessity,” Ban said on Tuesday. “Roughly 80 per cent of global wastewater from human settlements or industrial sources is discharged untreated. Water quality in at least parts of most major river systems still fails to meet basic World Health Organization standards.”
About one-third of people on the planet drink water that is dangerous for health, while even a larger part of population lack adequate sanitation, according to the UN chief.
Some 2.5 billion people lack the dignity and health offered by access to a safe, decent toilet and protection from untreated waste. One billion people practice open defecation.”
Such insanitary practices, common for many developing countries, are considered among the main causes of diarrhea – the second biggest killer of children in the world after pneumonia.
Even when it does not kill, repeated diarrhea can cause childhood stunting. These children are more vulnerable to disease and their brains do not develop as they should,” Ban’s speech at the Budapest Water Summit reads.
In his words, investment in sanitation is a down-payment on a sustainable future, with economists estimating that every dollar spent can bring a five-fold return.
Our societies cannot prosper without clean, plentiful freshwater. People cannot thrive without adequate sanitation.
According to the United Nations, Sub-Saharan Africa has the largest number of water-stressed countries of any region. 

182 comments:

  1. Have read this kind of story my entire life, also about sub-Sahara Africa. It never changes. Conclusion is there is not enough possible wealth to be gotten to make a go of it? Or is it the character of the people or something else? Since it hasn't changed in my 50 years of reading of it I really doubt it will improve now. No answer or magic want here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What comes to mind to me in the USA, as regards sub-Sahara Africa, would be trying to make a living in Northern Nevada by grazing the sage with goats and having a lot of kids. A tough proposition. Better to leave it vacant and avoid the human misery. It is beautiful in its way, but really really hard to live there for any length of time. Better to just pass through on the way to Vegas.

      Delete
    2. Or is it the character of the people or something else?

      The culture?

      What is it that drives the free spirited American culture that creates wealth and other cultures that sit static for centuries or even thousands of years?

      Imagination, resources and Sweet liberty make for a creative mix, no?

      Delete
    3. Oh, and Individuals being able to reap their rewards by the sweat of their brow.

      Delete
    4. .

      You ain't got water? Move.

      You ain't got water? Work harder.

      Easy-peazee.

      .

      Delete
    5. .

      Considering that less than 1 percent of all the water on the planet is usable freshwater, we’re not nearly as careful as we should be with this precious resource. To put things in perspective.

      ◾Set in the desert of Dubai, the Tiger Woods Golf Course uses 4 million gallons of water every day to maintain its lush appearance.
      ◾Since 1950, water usage in the United States has risen 127 percent.
      ◾Even though each person only requires 48 liters of water on a daily basis, individuals in the United States use an average of 500 liters, those in Canada an average of 300 liters and those in England an average of 200 liters.
      ◾Of all the water that enters each household, about 95% of it ends up down the drain.
      ◾With access to just 5 liters of water each day, more than a billion people in water poor regions around the globe survive on the same amount used to flush a toilet or take a 5-minute shower.
      ◾If you shorten your showers by just a single minute, you can save approximately 700 gallons of water in a month.
      ◾Letting the tap run when you brush your teeth wastes up to 4 gallons of water every time.
      ◾It takes an average of 300 gallons to water your lawn. During the summer, this can account for almost half of your water usage.
      ◾Every time you throw your clothes in the washer, you use about 50 gallons of water.
      ◾Another wasteful desert endeavor, the proposed Waveyards water park in Mesa, Arizona will require up to 100 million gallons of groundwater every year in an area that receives a mere 8 inches of rainfall in that time.

      Don't know for sure but I suspect that in some parts of the water challenged Southwest those who water their lawn probably lose a third to a half of it to evaporation before it hits the ground.

      In Detroit, one of the biggest problems for the Detroit Water and Sewage Dept. is getting running or dripping water shut off in abandoned buildings.

      Some of the water and sewage systems in the Northeast are over a century old.

      When I moved into my current house the two month water bill was around $30. Now its over $200.

      I pay as much for water as I do for heat or electricity.

      .

      Delete
    6. You're getting screwed Quirk.


      There used to be people in Northern Nevada, lakes in the valleys, huge game.........then the dry came.

      What did they do?

      MOVED! To the south, southeast and southwest, it is thought.

      The animals died out.

      Delete
    7. .

      Geez, Bob.

      Your solution to everything.

      Hey, you guys in the Sudan, if you don't have enough water, just move. I hear the Congo has a lot of water.

      Good grief.

      And what do you tell the people in the US southwest? Move?

      .

      Delete
    8. They got plenty of water, land and a low income base.

      Easy to be a big fish, in Idaho, it is a very small pond.

      Delete
    9. Been checkin' out opportunities up that way.

      Maybe next summer, instead of Colorado ....

      Delete
    10. Per capita GDP, idaho ranks 49th.
      Just one from lowest.

      If success is "doing something" with a place, they are failing in idaho.

      It is a land just ready to start bustin' out, full of opportunity.
      The stupid, low information, lazy residents up there just won't work hard.

      That is why they are at 49, out of 50.
      Real losers.

      Delete
    11. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_GDP

      Delete
    12. The Antarctic ice cap has 29 million cubic kilometres of ice. This is 90% of all the ice on the planet and between 60 and 70 % of all of the world's fresh water....just a factoid...

      Delete
    13. In an earlier comment the vast Nubian aquifer was given as a resource worth fighting over.

      Although no one is sure how the Romans accomplished the fete, until the conquest of north Africa by the Arabs, it was lush farmland, serviced by a complex, integrated system of agueducts, canals, lakes, terracing, and other water management projects. Through wanton destruction and ignorance of the fundamentals of hydrology by the Arabs, the land returned to desert. As this is written archaeologists and engineers are trying to unravel the mystery. It needs be pointed out that at the time of the 4th C. C.E. the climate was about the same as today.

      Delete
  2. http://israelnewtech.com/2012/07/oecd-and-un-recognize-israel-as-world-leader-in-water-for-agriculture/

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    Replies
    1. According to the report, Agricultural production needs to increase by 60% over the next 40 years to meet rising demand for food.
      Planning on the population growing or exporting food?
      Both?

      Delete
    2. Thank goodness for Monsanto.

      Delete
    3. .

      Right, and the 'Monsanto Protection Act'.

      .

      Delete
    4. allen posted just the other day, a link to a story that reported ...

      40% of food was wasted , in the production/consumption process.

      40% waste is a lot of food wasted.

      Hunger is the result of discrimination and social exclusion. It's not a question of production
      .SOURCE: Guardian Global Development Network 2013-10-09 11:50:00


      Delete
    5. Paul Bulcke, CEO of NestléWed Oct 09, 11:23:00 AM EDT


      “We need to strengthen research for efficiently produced, healthy food, while ensuring the availability of food at affordable prices. This includes improving logistics, infrastructure, and transportation systems to ensure those who need food are supplied with it.”


      Delete
    6. Ditto on thank goodness for Monsanto.

      Delete
    7. "Monsanto should not have to vouchsafe the safety of biotech food.
      Our interest is in selling as much of it as possible.
      Assuring its safety is the F.D.A's [Food and Drug Administration] job."


      Phil Angell,
      Monsanto's director of corporate communications,
      in an interview with the New York Times Sunday Magazine

      Delete
    8. "There are still hungry people in Ethiopia, but they are hungry because they have no money, no longer because there is no food to buy ....we strongly resent the abuse of our poverty to sway the interests of the European public."

      Tewolde Berhan Gebre Egziabher of the Institute of Sustainable Development in Addis Ababa,
      in response to a comment in late 1997 by a British scientist who claimed that those who want GMOs banned are undermining the position of starving people in Ethiopia.

      Delete
    9. "We do not believe that such companies or gene technologies will help our farmers to produce the food that is needed in the 21st century. On the contrary, we think it will destroy the diversity, the local knowledge and the sustainable agricultural systems that our farmers have developed for millennia and that it will thus undermine our capacity to feed ourselves."

      Statement by 24 leading African agriculturalists and environmental scientists representing their countries at the UN in response to claims by Monsanto that GM crops will help feed the world's growing population.

      Delete
    10. "History has many records of crimes against humanity,
      which were also justified by dominant commercial interests and governments of the day.
      Despite protests from citizens, social justice for the common good was eroded in favour of private profits.
      Today, patenting of life forms and the genetic engineering which it stimulates,
      is being justified on the grounds that it will benefit society, especially the poor,
      by providing better and more food and medicine.

      But in fact, by monopolising the 'raw' biological materials, the development of other options is deliberately blocked.
      Farmers therefore, become totally dependent on the corporations for seeds".


      Prof. Wangari Mathai of the Green Belt Movement Kenya

      Delete
    11. .

      Ditto on thank goodness for Monsanto.

      Ah, the authoritative opinions of Phony Farmer Bob, absentee landlord, succubus of government subsidies, philanthropist, faux farmer, commando fisherman, free t-shirt collector.

      Of course, real farmers have a different opinion.

      From Salon

      Original post: Slipped into the Agricultural Appropriations Bill, which passed through Congress last week, was a small provision that’s a big deal for Monsanto and its opponents. The provision protects genetically modified seeds from litigation in the face of health risks and has thus been dubbed the “Monsanto Protection Act” by activists who oppose the biotech giant. President Barack Obama signed the spending bill, including the provision, into law on Tuesday

      Since the act’s passing, more than 250,000 people have signed a petition opposing the provision and a rally, consisting largely of farmers organized by the Food Democracy Now network, protested outside the White House Wednesday. Not only has anger been directed at the Monsanto Protection Act’s content, but the way in which the provision was passed through Congress without appropriate review by the Agricultural or Judiciary Committees. The biotech rider instead was introduced anonymously as the larger bill progressed — little wonder food activists are accusing lobbyists and Congress members of backroom dealings.


      Written by Monsanto with the aid of Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mssouri) and slipped in by Barbara Mikulski.

      Five Things to Know About the Monsanto Protection Act

      http://www.ibtimes.com/monsanto-protection-act-5-terrifying-things-know-about-hr-933-provision-1156079

      In the case of Monsanto, thank god for the EU.

      .

      Delete
    12. Monsanto does business with the EU with just enough complaining to give the EU the appearance of concern.

      Without the R&D of Monsanto, far more people would be starving. As to the bill, I cannot offer an opinion except to say it is not the first time the US government has given cover to an industry - railroads come to mind.. Certainly, French farmers will be pleased if Monsanto abandons the EU, given the comfy subsides they receive from Germany to continue gross inefficiencies, why not? I am pretty sure the Chinese et al will be far less concerned with unscientific gamesmanship.

      Delete
    13. Re: Monsanto and GMO

      Governmental regulatory agencies, scientific organizations and leading health associations worldwide agree that food grown from GM crops is safe to eat. The World Health Organization, the American Medical Association, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the British Royal Society, among others that have examined the evidence, all come to the same conclusion: consuming foods con¬taining ingredients derived from GM crops is safe to eat and no riskier than consuming the same foods containing ingredi¬ents from crop plants modified by conventional plant improvement techniques (i.e. plant breeding).

      Delete
    14. Monsanto cont.

      Among others, these internationally recognized bodies have supported GM products.
      The US National Academy of Sciences
      The American Association for the Advancement of Science
      The American Medical Association
      The European Commission
      Royal Society of Medicine
      The French Supreme Court
      http://rameznaam.com/2013/04/28/the-evidence-on-gmo-safety/

      Luddite comes to mind.

      http://www.forbes.com/sites/jonentine/2012/09/20/scientists-savage-study-purportedly-showing-health-dangers-of-monsantos-genetically-modified-corn/

      http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/once-more-bad-science-in-the-service-of-anti-gmo-activism/

      Delete
  3. Government actuaries say" ObamaCare?" will cost $621 billion more than originally predicted over the next 10 years.

    http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/10/08/gov-actuaries-say-obamacare-will-increase-health-care-spending-by-621-billion/?intcmp=latestnews

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    Replies
    1. A wild underestimation, IMO.

      Delete
    2. Health Care Reform Cost Estimates: What is the Track Record?

      President Barack Obama has promised the American people that his health care plan “will help bring our deficits under control in the long term.” But so far, the cost estimates coming out of the Congressional Budget Office are not matching up with Obama’s rhetoric. The latest CBO scoring of the Senate’s leading bill, Dodd-Kennedy, estimates that Obamacare will add $597 billion over just the next ten years. Meanwhile, CBO director Doug Elmendorf has said the House health plan will increase the budget deficit by $239 billion over ten years, and “generate substantial increases in federal budget deficits during the decade beyond the current 10-year budget window.”
      But a fair-minded person may ask:

      But those are just cost estimates; what is the federal government’s track record when it comes to accurately measuring the future costs of health care programs? Well, the Senate Joint Economic Committee has released a report studying exactly that issue, and they found that health care plan costs are always dramatically underestimated. From the report:

      Medicare (hospital insurance). In 1965, as Congress considered legislation to establish a national Medicare program, the House Ways and Means Committee estimated that the hospital insurance portion of the program, Part A, would cost about $9 billion annually by 1990.v Actual Part A spending in 1990 was $67 billion.
      The actuary who provided the original cost estimates acknowledged in 1994 that, even after conservatively discounting for the unexpectedly high inflation rates of the early ‘70s and other factors, “the actual [Part A] experience was 165% higher than the estimate.”

      Medicare (entire program). In 1967, the House Ways and Means Committee predicted that the new Medicare program, launched the previous year, would cost about $12 billion in 1990. Actual Medicare spending in 1990 was $110 billion—off by nearly a factor of 10.

      Medicaid DSH program. In 1987, Congress estimated that Medicaid’s disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments—which states use to provide relief to hospitals that serve especially large numbers of Medicaid and uninsured patients—would cost less than $1 billion in 1992. The actual cost that year was a staggering $17 billion.
      Among other things, federal lawmakers had failed to detect loopholes in the legislation that enabled states to draw significantly more money from the federal treasury than they would otherwise have been entitled to claim under the program’s traditional 50-50 funding scheme.

      Delete
    3. A bargain, no matter the cost, says Rufus the True Blue Stater at Heart if not in fact.

      Delete
    4. .

      It's the MO of OZ.

      Iraq was only supposed to cost $80 billion. This was laughed at by others in OZ that said it wouldn't cost anything since it would be paid for by oil money from the grateful Iraqis.

      The fully accounted total cost of the F-35 has now at least doubled making it the most expensive weapons system in history.

      Some people suggested the government shutdown would actually save money. Morons. All we are seeing is a congressional hissy fit that has caused unnecessary inconvenience to many a paid vacation for government workers.

      Luckily, this causes zero pain to those responsible. It's not their money.

      .

      Delete
    5. "He who is the author of a war lets loose the whole contagion of hell and opens a vein that bleeds a nation to death."

      Delete
  4. ...balancing Doug the Red in Blue Hawaii.

    ReplyDelete

  5. “To achieve world government, it is necessary to remove from the minds of men,
    their individualism, loyalty to family traditions, national patriotism and religious dogmas.”

    –G. Brock Chisholm,
    co-founder of the World Federation for Mental Health, former director of UN World Health Organization

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous, the other day advocated for limiting motorcycle riders to groups of five or less ...
    Because motorcycle riders had beatdown that SUV driver, in New York.

    But, just who were those bikers ....

    New York Daily News

    An undercover NYPD detective swapped his biker's helmet for handcuffs Tuesday after a video captured his hands-on role in a motorcycle mob's attack on a helpless dad.


    Because of gross police misconduct, participating in the attack rather than preventing it ....
    Fascist Farmer Fudd finds yet another excuse to advocate for limiting the liberty of the people.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Name calling? Sounds like someone cant stick to ideas. Rather must make personal attacks to attempt to lift his or her self esteem.

      Delete
    2. Five, ten, some reasonable number, yes indeed.


      The public roads - one doesn't have a 'right' to use them. You must have a license, which can be taken away, you must follow the rules society has imposed, generally you can't go over 70mph, you can't be drunk, etc. or you privileges to drive may be taken from you by society.

      A mob of a hundred bikers all over the road poses a danger to other drivers and passengers. All impedes the safe flow of traffic,etc.

      Sewer rat is ((((( c r a z y )))))

      "There's something really wrong with you, Rat"

      Trish

      Sewer rat thought these bikers were simply gathering - peacefully assembling, as he put it - to petition government for a redress of grievances, or some shit.

      Point and laugh, point and laugh at..........Our Sewer rat!!!!!----

      There he is......over there.......bwahahahahahaha....

      Delete
    3. Mr. Manners, I've made it a policy to name call back when name called.

      Is this reasonable or should I knock it off?

      Thank you, concerned blogger

      Delete
    4. .

      Knock it off.

      Mr. Manners.

      .

      Delete
  7. With regards to the F35, it would be a bitch to build a less than stellar product, then have to get your competitor to sign off on it and buy, rather than cancel the program.


    The incoming director of the Pentagon’s F-35 program says that the US Defense Department’s relationship with the contractor responsible for the most expensive weapons project ever is on the verge of fallout.

    Speaking at the Air Force Association's annual conference outside of Washington, DC on Monday, Maj. Gen. Christopher Bogdan had harsh words to describe the bond between the Pentagon and Lockheed Martin Corp, the DoD contractor that continues to encounter one roadblock after another as it works towards developing the military’s most advanced fighter jet ever.

    According to one recent estimate, the F-35 project will cost the United States $1.5 trillion by the time it is all done. To Bogdan, the Pentagon’s association with the aircraft manufacturer is making matters abhorrent.

    “It is the worst I have ever seen,”
    Bogdan described the relationship to reporters.

    Bogdan is expected to formally take over for the F-35 program later this year after the endeavor’s current manager formally retires from the Pentagon. And if his statements from Monday are any indication of how he intends on running things, Lockheed need to look towards shaping up if they expect to continue working with unarguably their biggest client — the Department of Defense.

    "Here comes a little bit of straight talk," Bogdan told attendees.
    "Today, I am going to manage this program as if there is no more time and no more money."


    The Joint Program Office will "have to fundamentally change the way we do business with Lockheed Martin,” said Bogdan. "Lockheed Martin is showing some improvements in producing this aircraft. Is it coming fast enough for us? No."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Onward, with information from leaked documents and an assessment of the budgetary impasse ...

      Leaked documents from a Pentagon budget review suggest that the agency is tired of its costly F-35 fighter jets, and has thoughts about cancelling the $391.2 billion program that has already expanded into 10 foreign countries.

      Pentagon officials held a briefing on Wednesday in which they mapped out ways to manage the $500 billion in automated budget cuts required over the next decade. A slideshow laid out a number of suggestions and exposed the Pentagon’s frustration with its F-35 jets, which are designed and manufactured by Lockheed Martin Corp. based out of Bethesda, Md. The agency also suggested scrapping plans for a new stealthy, long-range bomber, attendees of the briefing told Reuters.

      Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel spoke to reporters on Wednesday and indicated that the Pentagon might have to decide between a "much smaller force" and a decade-long "holiday" from modernizing weapons systems and technology.

      Pentagon briefing slides indicated that a decision to maintain a larger military "could result in the cancellation of the $392 billion Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 program and a new stealthy, long-range bomber," Reuters reports.

      Delete
    2. .

      ...expanded into 10 foreign countries.

      Canadian tv has a program similar to 60 Minutes and about a year ago they went into the lies and corruption that have been part of the whole F-35 procurement program in Canada. The U.S. has been browbeating allies like Japan and South Korea to buy these planes. Israel wanted modified F-22's but agreed to buy the F-35's. The US is giving them 20 of them in 2015.

      The whole program has been marked by corruption and incompetence.

      .

      Delete
    3. No two are the same. Thus, aircraft are being upgraded constantly with the new equipment on the most recent unit off the line.

      Delete
  8. QuirkWed Oct 09, 10:30:00 AM EDT

    The fully accounted total cost of the F-35 has now at least doubled making it the most expensive weapons system in history.

    ---

    DougWed Oct 09, 09:57:00 AM EDT

    Health Care Reform Cost Estimates: What is the Track Record?

    Medicare (entire program). In 1967, the House Ways and Means Committee predicted that the new Medicare program, launched the previous year, would cost about $12 billion in 1990. Actual Medicare spending in 1990 was $110 billion—off by nearly a factor of 10.

    Medicaid DSH program. In 1987, Congress estimated that Medicaid’s disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments—which states use to provide relief to hospitals that serve especially large numbers of Medicaid and uninsured patients—would cost less than $1 billion in 1992. The actual cost that year was a staggering $17 billion.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. $110 billion—off by nearly a factor of 10.

      Medicaid DSH program. In 1987, Congress estimated that Medicaid’s disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments—which states use to provide relief to hospitals that serve especially large numbers of Medicaid and uninsured patients—would cost less than $1 billion in 1992. The actual cost that year was a staggering $17 billion.


      ...only 17 times more expensive more than predicted.

      Delete
    2. .

      Billions?

      The F35 is estimated to cost $1.5 trillion over its life for a piece of shit.

      .

      Delete
    3. It's not exactly a piece of shit. It can do stuff.

      And think of the progress we've made since the days when weapons systems were independently created for each of the services. Can't think of the names now, but there were some missiles being created for the Air Force, Army, Marines there for awhile, all basically the same......

      It's all a conspiracy by Lester Crown, he is behind it all.

      Delete
    4. "F-35 - A Bargain At Any Price"

      Delete
    5. Quirk,

      The figure you cite is for the whole fleet?

      Delete
    6. .

      Of course, so what?

      Just the 20 we are giving Israel cost $2.75 billion and I don't believe that includes amortization of the R$D costs. Current price of each is $207 million and when fully accounted (based on latest estimated sales which are dropping) goes to over $300 million.

      .

      Delete
    7. The F35 would probably outfight any other plane in the world by a 10-1, or greater, ratio - excepting, of course, the F22.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous is hysterical

      To think that General Dynamics would attempt to influence the procurement policies of the US military ....

      That Anonymous would think that the largest single stock holder in General Dynamics, Lester Crown, would be involved in anything so nefarious, as buying politicians, at the start of their careers.
      When they are much less expensive ...

      Parish the thought!

      Delete
    9. Especially when his friend, Zbigniew, said, "Lester, I think we might be able to make this boy, President."

      :)

      Delete
    10. So, too, rufus is the F15.

      There is no threat that the F15 cannot handle.
      At much lower cost,with proven dependability

      The F18, same as the above
      The Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is a twin-engine carrier-based multirole fighter aircraft variant based on the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. Wikipedia
      Top speed: 1,190 mph (1,915 km/h)
      Range: 2,069 miles (3,330 km)
      Weight: 32,080 lbs (14,550 kg)
      Unit cost: 66,900,000–66,900,000 USD (2012)
      Engine type: General Electric F414
      Manufacturers: McDonnell Douglas, Boeing Defense, Space & Security


      While the F35 ...
      Dec 19, 2012 - The JPO also released the final LRIP unit price for each of the three F-35 variants. These prices are: -- $105 million for each of 22 F-35A ...

      Almost twice the cost, in a time of austerity and no real threat.
      There is no reasonable case that can be made to go ahead with the procurements.

      Not when death benefits to the families of our fallen soldiers are being held up, for lack of cash.

      There is no military threat that the current fleet of combat aircraft cannot handle.

      Delete
    11. .

      Allen, just so I didn't give the wrong costs, I got the $1.5 trillion out of Wiki.

      The total life-cycle cost for the entire American fleet is estimated to be US$1.51 trillion over its 50-year life, or $618 million per plane.[106]

      So about $30 billion a year for 50 years.

      .

      Delete
    12. The proper term, rufus, is "young man"
      "boy" has such racial overtones, I doubt if Zbigniew would have used it in reference to a Community Organizer.

      Delete
    13. The JPO also released the final LRIP unit price for each of the three F-35 variants. These prices are:
      -- $105 million for each of 22 F-35A Conventional Take-off and Landing (CTOL) aircraft for the US Air Force;
      -- $125 million for each of seven F-35C Carrier Variant (CV) aircraft for the US Navy; and
      -- $113 million for each of 3 F-35B Short Take-off Vertical Landing (STOVL) aircraft for the US Marine Corps.

      These prices are expressed in BY12 dollars, and do not include the aircraft’s F-135 engine, which is procured separately.

      The average unit cost of these three variants is $114.3 million, rising to $146.3 million when the cost of its engine is added.

      http://www.defense-aerospace.com/article-view/feature/141238/**f_35-lot-5-unit-costs-exceed-$223m.html

      Delete
    14. :)

      Rat, the F22 has been defeating the F15's Ten at a time.

      One F15 pilot said, "we go up, fly over to the battle area, the F22 shoots us down, and we come home - takes about 15 minutes."

      Delete
    15. .

      The F35 would probably outfight any other plane in the world by a 10-1, or greater, ratio - excepting, of course, the F22.

      If it could fly.

      They should have thrown in a few hundred more billion and designed it to fly without a pilot.

      :)

      .

      Delete
    16. It's true; the next fighter won't be bothered by a pilot.

      Delete
    17. Here I thought we were discussing the F35, not the F22 ...

      Which was a program canceled by Mr Obama, back in early 2009.
      One of his first actions as President, cancel the F22.

      July 21 2009

      This is a big deal: The Senate today voted to halt production of the F-22 stealth fighter plane, and it did so 58-40, a margin much wider than expected.



      Not only is this a major victory for Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who lobbied strenuously (something he rarely does) to kill this program, and for President Barack Obama, who pledged to veto the defense bill if it contained a nickel for more F-22s. The vote might also mark the beginning of a new phase in defense politics, a scaling-back of the influence that defense contractors have over budgets and policies.

      Then again, I might be dreaming. Surely things couldn't be changing quite that much. Could they?

      In any case, the blow against the F-22 is a substantial step. Gates has been publicly inveighing against the fighter for more than a year, calling it a Cold War relic, noting that it hasn't been used in any of the wars we've fought lately, and noting that our current stock—187 F-22s, which have cost $60 billion to develop, build, and maintain to date—is more than adequate to handle the extremely narrow and unlikely range of threats for which they might be suitable in the future.

      The Air Force brass wanted $4 billion in the fiscal year 2010 budget to build 20 more F-22s. Gates slashed the request to zero. The Senate Armed Services Committee voted, 13-11, to shift $1.7 billion from other programs in order to fund another seven planes. That's the line item that the full Senate excised this afternoon.

      The amendment to halt the plane's production was co-sponsored by Sens. Carl Levin, D-Mich., and John McCain, R-Ariz. McCain, who has never been an F-22 fan, went so far as to quote at some length President Dwight Eisenhower's farewell address, which warned of the "military-industrial complex," though McCain noted that the proper phrase should be the "military-industrial-congressional complex."

      Delete
    18. Everything after the date, should have been italicized. Oh,well ....

      http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/war_stories/2009/07/they_scrapped_the_f22.html

      Delete
    19. It's hard to imagine that there's a whole lot of difference between the fighting ability of the two planes, Rat. They're both stealthy, and they both do virtually all of their damage from 20+ miles out.

      Delete
    20. The Air Force shrewdly spread the plane's contracts to firms in 46 states, thus giving a solid majority of senators—and a lot of House members, too—a financial (and, therefore, electoral) stake in the program's survival.

      Widening the constituency is a tried-and-true method of keeping dubious weapons systems alive. It dates back to 1960, when the managers of the Army's Nike-Zeus missile-defense program set up subcontractors in 37 states, fearing that the incoming president, John F. Kennedy, would try to kill the system. (Their fear was well-founded; Kennedy and his defense secretary, Robert McNamara, did kill the Nike-Zeus, though the chiefs later pushed through an upgrade.)

      The long history of congressional-contractor relations makes today's Senate vote all the more remarkable. The vote was not along party lines: 15 Republicans sided with Obama and Gates to kill the F-22; 15 Democrats (counting Sen. Joe Lieberman, who's an Independent) voted to keep the plane alive.

      Rather, it was a vote that reflected corporate contracts. The floor leaders of the faction in favor of more F-22s were Sens. Saxby Chambliss, a Republican from Georgia, where the F-22 is assembled, and Chris Dodd, a Democrat from Connecticut, where parts of the plane are built. Joining this strange couple were such erstwhile doves as Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein of California, which also hosts several F-22 contractors.

      Delete
    21. That's the avionic, rufus, not the platform.
      Mount those avionics in an F15 or F18 they could do it to.

      Is the F35 stealthier than an F16 ...
      Hard for anyone to see 'em, in the maintenance hanger.

      It is a major expense, to build the F35, against a threat that does not exist.

      The Iranians could not beat the UAE,, which fly in F16's, according to General P anyway.

      Who else can project a threat that requires the US to uild a generation of aircraft that are not needed, if there is no threat.

      Who has the capacity to deploy an air to air capability in quantities that could effectively deny the US of air superiority over any battle space?

      Delete
    22. If the politicos were just itching to spend that borrowed money ....

      Let 'em build ethanol distilleries, so as to afford the US a greater degree of independence from the fluctuations in the supply and cost of oil in the global marketplace.

      At least there would be at least the possibility of a long term positive effect as the result of the expenditure of Federal funds.

      Delete
    23. .

      It all comes down to money.

      Other than the F22, the U.S. has no other 5th generation fighter in the pipeline, nothing to compete with the new Russian and Chinese planes that are in development. There is no way the MIC will admit a mistake and take the hit to prestige and t sales.

      .

      Delete
    24. Even with the Chi-com economy going gang busters, they cannot field a fleet of planes that can compete.
      Not in the next decade.

      We still own the air.
      That will not change.

      The US will Just skip Generation 5, not going into production until gearing up for Generation 6, in a decade.

      Delete
  9. “In a world of seven billion people, set to grow to nine billion by 2050, wasting food makes no sense – economically, environmentally and ethically, aside from the cost implications, all the land, water, fertilizers and labour needed to grow that food is wasted – not to mention the generation of greenhouse gas emissions produced by food decomposing on landfill and the transport of food that is ultimately thrown away.”
    UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner


    ReplyDelete
  10. If true, punishment should be sure, swift, and severe. This not our way!!!!

    http://news.yahoo.com/attack-jerusalem-graves-unnerves-christians-072829881.html

    ReplyDelete
  11. It looks like the State exchanges have, despite all the ongoing glitches, signed up well over 100,000 (maybe closer to 200,000,) already.

    article

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Medicaid DSH program. In 1987, Congress estimated that Medicaid’s disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments—which states use to provide relief to hospitals that serve especially large numbers of Medicaid and uninsured patients—would cost less than $1 billion in 1992. The actual cost that year was a staggering $17 billion.


      ...only 17 times more expensive more than predicted.

      ---

      BHO Approval:

      37 Percent

      Delete
    2. Same poll: Congressional approval - 5%.

      Delete
    3. You conveniently forget that I predicted from the very start that the administration was Underestimating the costs.

      Delete
    4. Free Everything For Everybody.

      It Sells.

      Delete
    5. When did $17 Billion become "Staggering"?

      That is the very first question to be asked?

      The US was spending $100 billion annually to occupy Iraq.
      $17 billion would be ... 17%

      17% of 365 ... that comes to 62.

      So, two months of the US occupation of Iraq,is now considered a "Staggering" amount, when it comes to the health and well being of the American people, as opposed to protecting US "Interests" in Iraq for two months?

      So what if the projections are off, the expense is not "staggering", it is inconsequential. Especially when compared to the other expenses of the Federal government

      Delete
    6. DoD has over 400,000 workers doing "Nonessential" tasks.

      How could ANYONE not be able to find a 5% reduction in "Nonessential" expenses?

      The Federal revenue as a share of GDP has not been lower since 1950.
      That is a GOOD THING.

      Now, Federal expenses MUST be cut.
      Priorities WILL be chosen.

      There will be no "Real Cuts" to Social Security benefits.
      There will be an expansion of Federal spending on Health Care.

      Some where else in the budget, there are gong to be cut , real cuts, made.

      Will the US cut back on the size of its Army, scale back to 8 carrier battle groups, or ...
      Limit procurement for a decade?

      My bet would be on limiting procurements.
      General Dynamics builds vehicles for the Army, submarines for the Navy.
      It is out of the aircraft manufacturing business.

      Planes will be first on the list, of things to not be bought.
      Big ticket items, lots of press coverage when they go, "bye bye!

      Delete
    7. .

      As the rat recently pointed out, there is a 6-7% annual increase built into the budget baseline. Don't expect any 'actual' cuts.

      Both sides in the continuing budget debate want to trim back the sequestration cuts. The only difference is where they want to put the money back. More than likely both sides will get their way.

      Instead of arguing about where to cut they will likely end up arguing about where to increase.

      .

      Delete
    8. Desert rat wrote, "There will be no "Real Cuts" to Social Security benefits"

      I must disagree. If one accepts the government's metrics, all is well. However, there are some first-rate economists who insist the inflation rate is near 9% and that this has been the case for some time. .

      Delete
    9. If a Social Security recipient is getting $1,000 per month, today ...
      A "Real Cut" is if they were to receive $950 per month next year.

      If for the next three years the stipend did not increase, stayed a $1,000 pr month, that would not be a "Real Cut" in Social Security benefits.
      Not receiving an increase in the monthly stipend, that is not a "Real Cut", allen

      Delete
  12. "We in France have set the objective of halving food waste by 2025. Currently we are mobilizing the whole of the food chain, from producers and industry, through distribution, and up to consumers for this essential action.
    This is why I welcome this UNEP and FAO initiative,
    which will create an international mobilization that will prove more effective by virtue of everybody working together. The fight against food waste on a global scale is a key priority of civilization and an imperative path we must take if we want to ameliorate the food challenge."

    Guillaume GAROT, French Minister Agrofood

    ReplyDelete
  13. Only Six Trillion Dollars Debt Added in less than 5 years under BHO.

    MORE Big Govt Needed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If that debt is the problem, then Federal revenues have to get back up to 17% of GDP, the historic norm, rather than the 15% it is at, today. Where revenues have been since 2009.

      That is the "Cause" of the deficits.
      Real decreases in the percentage of the GDP dedicated to Federal revenue, while Federal spending continues to increase.

      Little matter who is in control of the Congress, spending continues to increase.

      Delete
  14. Lock Out Veterans...

    Let In Illegals!

    ReplyDelete
  15. "So, you're telling me you have so much clean water you shit in it?"

    http://www.killthehydra.com/wp-content/uploads/telling-me-you-have-so-much-clean-water-meme1.jpg

    ReplyDelete
  16. The Palestinian statehood vote in the UN shows support for Israel confined to the United States and a handful of nations likely to be supporting the US rather than Israel.

    The question is – why does the US continue to blindly and unconditionally support a nation which ignores international law? As you so often document, there is little to admire in this aggressive Middle Eastern state but America’s entire foreign policy appears to be dictated by a tiny bunch of religious fundamentalists half a world away. Relating to the post on water, Israel defies any accepted sense of decency:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_A0K4AGVns

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Because the "international laws" you refer to are nonsense.

      But thanks for adding your propaganda to the dialogue.

      Better question, how greedy do the arabs need to be since they already occupy 899/900th of the middle east?

      Delete
    2. What should US of A do about this prospect, Mr. Liu -

      (Reuters) - China will be able to fend off U.S. forces and successfully invade Taiwan by 2020, the island's Defense Ministry said on Wednesday, the first time Taipei has given such a precise timetable for the threat it says it faces.

      China and Taiwan have been ruled separately since Nationalist forces, defeated by the Communists, fled to the island at the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949. China considers Taiwan a renegade province and has never ruled out the use of force to bring it under its control.

      While relations have improved dramatically since the China-friendly Ma Ying-jeou was elected Taiwan president in 2008, with a series of trade and tourism deals, there has been no progress towards political reconciliation or a lessening of military distrust.

      In its annual national defense report, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense cited a number of ways China will likely enhance its military might aimed at Taiwan, including honing its ability to coordinate a landing on the island and deploying anti-aircraft missiles in the Taiwan Strait.

      China has been rapidly modernizing its sea and air forces as well as missile capabilities, according to the report, so that it will be able to prevent intervention from other nations that would come to Taiwan's defense - a reference to the United States, which is treaty bound to come to the island's aid.

      "In the future, the Chinese military will continue focusing on further integration of its military units, with the expectation that it will be able to resist foreign forces' intervention in any attack on Taiwan," the report said.

      "Over the long-term, it will be wholly sufficient to engage in a war over Taiwan by 2020."

      It was the first time the ministry has publicly issued a specific timetable for China's military build-up to reach globally-dominant levels, said ministry spokesman Luo Shou-he.

      China's Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment, though the government has repeatedly said the world has nothing to fear from its military spending which is needed for legitimate defensive purposes.

      China has advertised its long-term military ambitions with shows of new hardware, including its first test flight of a stealth fighter jet in early 2011 and its launch of a fledgling aircraft carrier - both trials of technologies needing years more of development.

      Beijing is also building new submarines, ships and anti-ship ballistic missiles as part of its naval modernization, and has tested emerging technology aimed at destroying missiles in mid-air.

      Chinese President Xi Jinping told an envoy from Taiwan on Sunday that a political solution to the standoff over sovereignty could not be postponed forever.

      (Reporting by Michael Gold; Additional reporting by Ben Blancha

      Delete
    3. Those folk living on Formosa are just going to have to devote more of the GDP to military spending.

      Maybe the Chinese will loan them the money to upgrade their defenses.
      Then the Formosan government could pay Charlie Chi-com back, over time.

      Delete
  17. You know, if they don't want to increase the debt ceiling to pay for the gov's bills then the solution seems pretty straight forward - raise enough revenues to pay the bills. Time to up taxes! How about a VAT?

    ReplyDelete
  18. Passing a VAT at a time when Median Incomes have fallen over 10% since 1999? I doubt it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. if they don't want to borrow to pay their bills they gotta do sumtin!

      Delete
  19. 'Civilized' life in Philly - pedestrians stroll past as a blind man gets the hell kicked out of him -

    http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57606697-504083/video-blind-man-beaten-on-phila-street-as-witnesses-look-on/

    Not even a thought to try and intervene.

    Chicago, Philly, Detroit, you can have them all.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hell, in New York the cops join in the beat down of citizens!
      It does seem more civilized in PA.

      Delete
  20. Good Morning Ash. Quirk and Mr Manners say we ought not to call one another names any longer.

    I will not go first.

    I see you want to raise taxes, which probably means you really don't pay much taxes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I see you still have trouble comprehending the world around you. The US government has bills to pay. If they don't want to borrow to pay those bills then they have to do something to pay them and the only other option is to raise taxes in order to pay those bills. Are you suggesting they should simply not pay the bills?

      Delete
    2. Cut the budget till you have a surplus.

      Delete
    3. Social Security payments to retirees, cut by 1/3.
      End Medicare Part D

      Decommission three of the carrier battle groups
      Close the TSA.
      End foreign aid to Egypt, Israel and Jordon.

      Withdraw from Afghanistan.
      End foreign aid to Pakistan.

      Stop all big ticket military procurements for ten years.

      Cut the pay to all Federal employees by a third.

      Just the start of the list, Federal expeditures would have to pared by a third, across the board.

      Never going to happen.

      Delete
    4. What do you propose they cut to achieve enough savings to close the deficit? Use real numbers please.

      Slash the military budget? Slash Medicare? Slash Social Security? You will get very little by slashing Obamacare during this fiscal year.

      Delete
    5. There you go, your buddy rat is helping you out. All that needs be done in the next two weeks if you don't want to increase the debt ceiling.

      Delete
    6. Sorry, 8 days if the Oct 17th date is accurate.

      Delete
    7. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
  21. How would just cutting 10% across the board, except for the military, do, Ash?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not even close to closing the budget gap, dimwit.

      We'd have to cut EVERYTHING by 33%.

      Military, Social Security, Medicare, FBI ...
      EVERYTHING by a THIRD!

      To be in balance.
      If being in balance is the important thing.

      Delete
    2. While the House has voted to INCREASE spending in 2014, already.

      Both in terms of the baseline and in "Real Terms"

      Delete
    3. If you are not in balance then you need either raise revenues or increase the debt ceiling. Hard concept for some I guess...

      Delete
    4. You mean there's a law against spending less?

      Delete
    5. If you are interested in reality, read this primer ...

      http://nationalpriorities.org/budget-basics/federal-budget-101/spending/

      Delete
    6. I think this new Fed chairwoman will keep on printing money. And soon, one of these fine days, the inflation will set in hard.

      But, I don't claim to be an economist.

      Wife is calling.

      Nice talking to you Ash. You've been gone so long, I began to miss you.

      :)

      Delete
    7. Yes, there is a Law that requires the Federals to spend more, each year.

      You really are a "Low Information Voter"

      Delete
    8. no kidding! Not only can't log in to google but thinks a blog comment section is a private conversation...

      Delete
    9. If there is such a law, simply change it.

      Where is this law to be found?

      Quote the law.

      If there is such a law, simply change the law.

      Delete
    10. Do not sacrifice the good on the alter of the perfect.Any number is infinitely greater than zero. And any number is a step in the right direction.

      Delete
  22. Increase Federal revenue to 18% of GDP., at the same time the Federal expenditures are being cut.

    If the "real" problem were the Federal deficit, then that would be part of the solution, too.

    But the economic problems are not caused by the Federal deficits, the deficits are an effect that illustrate the problem.

    The "Problem" is the over supply of labor and production, world wide.
    A lack of demand commensurate to supply.

    A Supply Side Nightmare Scenario
    http://www.pbs.org/newshour/businessdesk/2013/09/a-supply-side-nightmare-scenar.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If there is a lack of demand, and I agree with you on that point, then, we are in a depression that is being camouflaged by federal balance sheet manipulation. Consider the millions of vampire houses.

      Delete
  23. Wasn't asking you, sewer rat.

    Quit interrupting my conversations.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't give a shit who you are, what you want, or why.
      You are less than nothing, you are Anonymous.
      A zip, nil, nada.

      Your wants and desires, meaningless.
      Inconsequential.

      Delete
    2. .

      Looks like you are getting into the rat's head Anon.

      :)

      .

      Delete
    3. Come on down to AZ, Q, we'll play a little poker.

      ;-)

      Delete
    4. rat doesn't play poker, Quirk. He has never mentioned poker before. He bowls with his buds, drinks beer at the alley and they all dream about leading militias, taking the law into their own hands. He is not smart enough to be a real lawyer, so he dreams.

      Delete
  24. It's impolite and uncouth to butt in when one is trying to talk to another.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Don't really give a shit about you, or Ms Manners.

      But keep on keepin' on.
      I will use your comments as spring boards for education and edification.

      And cause I like it.
      * RULE 6: “A good tactic is one your people enjoy.” They’ll keep doing it without urging and come back to do more. :-)

      Delete
    2. .

      Don't really give a shit about you, or Ms Manners.

      Go piss up a rope, you friggin whackadoodle.

      Ms. Manners

      .

      Delete
    3. whackadoodle?

      What int he world is a whackadoodle?
      Did you mean:.. wackadoodle

      Tell me, Ms Manners, cause i really need to know!

      Because wackadoodle could frit the character in development,
      A whackadoodle, I'll have to have another meeting with the Editorial Board,

      Whackadoodle do?
      No it does not!

      desert rat is supposed to be a wackadoodle!

      Delete
  25. You are becoming frustrated. You are swearing.

    The deaths are close again?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's all in the character, Fascist Farmer Fudd.

      Are the cuss words "tells"/

      You really think so?
      Morea seperation of the author from the character. desert rat has no problem cursin' up a storm.

      Myself, the feller that writes it, not so much. I try to avoid the use of anal or feces-centric remarks.
      The rat does not operate under the same cultural norms or standard, as i do.

      We call it character development, you mother fucking' fascist farmer Fudd!

      Delete
    2. The death threats are close again.

      Apologies.

      Delete
    3. John Henry "Doc" HollidayWed Oct 09, 08:25:00 PM EDT


      "I'm your huckleberry... "

      Delete
    4. Quot Doc, oh NO!

      :-(

      Delete
    5. oooooooo......you sound so strong Mr Rat.

      Maria from Salvador

      Delete
    6. I'm so happy to hear that, Maria.
      Do you still have your teeth?

      If you don't, head on up to Idaho, Farmer Fudd is looking for another girl.
      He will adopt you, then you can be his next "Niece".

      If you have teeth, get 'em pulled, Fudd says it makes for a better hummmmmm

      He pays top dollar, but may want to Skype a little, first.
      Be forewarned, he is a Tea Bagger!

      Delete
  26. It seems so, Quirk.

    ReplyDelete
  27. The woman featured on Drudge right now looks like Ben Franklin in drag.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Rejoice: the Yellen Fed will print money forever to create jobs

    http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/ambroseevans-pritchard/100025713/rejoice-the-yellen-fed-will-print-money-forever-to-create-jobs/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Banana Republic

      Delete
    2. Good time to borrow money.

      Delete
    3. A least you do not think that is worthy of a ...

      News Flash!

      Stay the Course!

      Delete
    4. If you had any credit, you too could borrow money.

      Delete
    5. I loan money, don't need to borrow it.

      Silliest thing in the world to do, borrow money at interest, any rate of interest.

      I'll let no one be my master.

      Delete
    6. Loan money these days? Not so smart, can't get anything for it.

      But then, no one ever has said you were smart.

      Delete
    7. No one believes a word you say anymore anyway.

      Delete
    8. desert ratWed Oct 09, 09:48:00 PM EDT
      I loan money, don't need to borrow it.
      Silliest thing in the world to do, borrow money at interest, any rate of interest.
      I'll let no one be my master.



      I didnt know giving joe the wino $20 bucks for the weekend was considered "lending"?

      Delete
    9. Quirk wrote, "Of course, so what?

      The question was not loaded or meant to be controversial; it was just a question.

      Delete
    10. Seven or eight percent, on Deeds of Trust, Elmer.
      Whether you or anyone else believes it, just another day in the life ....

      Don't need a lot of money on the table, to make out okay.

      That and the cattle, the value of the top dollar horses went to shit.
      The working stock still does alright. Couple thousand bucks on the train and flip.
      Thirty to ninety days to turn one.

      Begs the question, Anonymous, why would anyone believe a desert rat?
      Or an Anonymous Farmer Fudd?

      A Q, or a Deuce?
      Why would anyone "Believe" a nameless, unidentified, unknown source?
      Especially one so limited as to be unable to access their Google account.

      That is why on the serious issues, sources are referenced, links assigned.

      The other shit, just frivolous entertainment.
      Sometimes it flows, sometimes no.

      Doesn't much matter.
      In the end, we're all dead, anyway.

      Betcha you go before me, I'm a happy, low stress kind of a guy.
      Younger than you, too.

      Cats don't piss on my slippers.
      Don't even have slippers. They're kind of "gay".

      Booties, real men have fleece lined booties.


      Delete
  29. Shall we raise Rufus from the dead?

    Liberal Democrat: I think we can all agree that the Renewable Fuel Standard has “been a flop”
    POSTED AT 8:41 PM ON OCTOBER 9, 2013 BY ERIKA JOHNSEN


    True that lawmakers’ allegiance or opposition to the Renewable Fuel Standard — one of the many EPA-administered “green energy” mandates that requires refiners to blend an ever-increasing volume of regulators’ favored biofuels with the nation’s fuel supply, or else purchase credits — often correlates more closely with their geographical loyalties over their party identification, but the apologetics of the economically- and environmentally-damaging practice definitely skew Democratic. The “Environmental Protection” Agency plays major defense for the Big Ethanol lobby largely because the White House wants to have as many types of alternative-energy programs in their arsenal as possible, the better to cushion their “all of the above,” “less foreign oil,” “climate change mitigation” recitations, and plenty of Congressional Democrats are content to follow suit.

    Ergo, this is notable and most welcome development, via The Hill:

    The federal requirement for gas refiners to mix biofuel in with conventional gasoline is a “flop,” according to Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and should be eliminated.

    Welch said that the renewable fuel standard, administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), drives up the cost of corn, which ends up raising prices for dairy farmers in his state as well as other livestock producers.

    Plus, he said, the amount of energy required to produce the biofuel ends up hurting the environment.

    “It’s been a flop, and the amount of energy that goes into producing a gallon of ethanol is a lot. Twenty-eight gallons of water to produce a gallon of gas, 170 gallons, I guess, to produce a gallon of ethanol,” he said.

    “There’s not been an environment benefit; there’s actually been an environmental detriment and there’s been an economic detriment to many sectors of the economy, even though there’s been a significant benefit to the Corn Belt,” Welch said.

    Even so, the EPA has utterly refused to back down from their… a policy with which the White House is clearly on board, given their veto threat of the mandate’s repeal.
    Both the idea and the actual legislation for repealing this expensive and market-defying boondoggle of a mandate have already garnered bipartisan support, but if we are ever going to rid ourselves of the food-and-gasoline price-spiking consequences of this particularly insidious bit of central planning, it’s going to need a lot more political momentum — and it is way past time to do away with this thing once and for all.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Those starving and thirsty people around the globe that this thread is supposed to be concentrating on would be better off without the Big Ethanol Boondoggle. Been wonderful for the farmers though.

      Delete
    2. Better for you that the people of Brazil don't even have cars, aye Fascist Fudd?

      You are dumber than a gnat, no change there.
      Still sucking Saudi dick for fun though, aren't you?
      I've told you before there is no prophet in the Middle East.

      Comin' to Branson, just as the Bishop Romney told the congregation
      Opening night is already "Sold Out"!

      Delete
    3. If you had READ, the thread, Fascist Fudd, you'd have learned there is plenty of food in the world.
      No shortages of food, just shortages of money to pay for it.

      But being a Low Information Voter, you have never allowed a fact to interfere with your opinions.

      Delete
    4. The more corn on the market, the lower the price. The lower the price, the greater the number of people that can afford it.

      Ask the Egyptians.

      Delete
    5. Yeah, those Vt. Dairy farmers loved that cheap, subsidized corn. Of course, it was costing the American taxpayers up to $9 Billion/yr.

      World's Largest Cellulosic (ag waste to ethanol) Refinery opens

      Delete
    6. The alfalfa farming Fascist Fudd is once again bearing false witness.
      By trying to tell us that the Egyptians would be eating the ethanol feedstocks.

      The so-called "food vs. fuel" wrongly asserts that a choice must be made between corn for food and corn for ethanol; in reality, the U.S. corn supply is ample enough to satisfy the needs of food, fuel, and feed markets.

      Misunderstanding corn for human consumption
      - Many don't realize that corn for ethanol and corn for human consumption are two different types.
      Field corn, the type used to feed livestock, goes into ethanol production.
      Sweet corn, a very small portion of the U.S. crop, is the type eaten by humans.


      - Critics routinely overstate how much corn is consumed as human food; in reality,
      less than 10 percent of the U.S. corn crop is annually used for human food in the form of sweeteners, cereals, etc.

      - Corn's customers, in order, historically have been: the livestock sector,
      export markets, processors (including ethanol), and lastly, humans.

      - Those spinning the "food vs. fuel" debate suggest that U.S. corn exports go directly to feed the malnourished in developing countries and that ethanol directly removes food from those in need.
      In reality, the majority of corn exports from the U.S. are used to feed livestock in developed countries.

      - There is more food per capita today on a global scale than ever before, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Lack of infrastructure, access to capital, political instability, and other issues are the more likely causes of hunger than scarcity of food.


      Just as we read up thread, there is plenty of food in the world.
      40% of it is wasted, in the production-consumption cycle.

      Anonymous is a Fraudulent Farmer, no one should give credence to the morbid musings of Fascist Fudd.

      Delete
    7. - There is more food per capita today on a global scale than ever before, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Lack of infrastructure, access to capital, political instability, and other issues are the more likely causes of hunger than scarcity of food.

      Delete
    8. desert ratWed Oct 09, 10:21:00 PM EDT
      If you had READ, the thread, Fascist Fudd, you'd have learned there is plenty of food in the world.
      No shortages of food, just shortages of money to pay for it.
      But being a Low Information Voter, you have never allowed a fact to interfere with your opinions.


      Wow who is this "desert rat" and why is he so nasty?

      Maybe he is not "regular"? Maybe he's homeless and hates everyone?

      Delete
  30. This sounds like some truly good news for a change -

    Alzheimer’s breakthrough: British scientists pave way for simple pill to cure disease
    Historic ‘turning point’ hailed as UK researchers discover how to halt death of brain cells, opening new pathway for future drug treatments

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/alzheimers-breakthrough-british-scientists-pave-way-for-simple-pill-to-cure-disease-8869716.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Worried about Alzheimer's? Take the peanut butter test -

      http://www.futurity.org/can-peanut-butter-smell-test-confirm-alzheimers/

      There is also the fingerprint swirl test.

      Delete
    2. Only people that have forgotten who they are, or can't remember their password to the Google account need to worry.
      But then, they're already ...

      "To Far Gone"

      Delete
    3. Shouldn't that be "Too Far Gone", Robert Robertson?

      Slipping, dear?

      heh

      It doesn't seem to be a matter of the password. My hired professional techy wasn't able to fix it at the first go, but when I see her again, perhaps tomorrow, perhaps she will do better.

      Delete

    4. "It is a damn poor mind indeed which can't think of at least two ways to spell any word."


      Delete
    5. Right off of "Seinfeld" .... The Fascist Speller ...

      You WILL follow the Rules!

      Myself, I'll be a Freedom Rider for Liberty, just a little to the right of Andy Jackson, by God, but thanks anyway, Anonymous

      ;)

      Delete
    6. If you want to spell the number 2, it is like this - t w o - Robbie.

      TWO

      :)

      Delete
  31. Poor Rat.

    There will be more tomorrow folks.

    A legend in his own mind, though he has never really done anything notable, he loves to be the center of attention, as he thinks. Most people would just like him to go away.

    g'nite

    ReplyDelete
  32. Heritage Action, a prominent conservative group leading the charge against the health law, said it would support a short-term extension of the country's borrowing limit—but only to refocus the fight on the health law.

    "We should raise the debt limit," Heritage Action Chief Executive Michael Needham said at a breakfast organized by the Christian Science Monitor. But he insisted that curbs on the health law be attached to any measure reopening the government.

    A number of prominent conservatives agree with that tactic. "I still think Obamacare is central" to the broader budget impasse, said Rep. Jim Jordan (R., Ohio).

    ReplyDelete
  33. F-35

    Other than this, it's a pretty fair plane...for mail delivery.

    "Not only is the F-35 roughly ten years behind schedule and 100% over budget, it’s still years from being operational. At Eglin Air Forc Base in Florida, where F-35’s are being tested, its current safety limitations are severe: “the squadrons at Eglin are prohibited from flying at night, prohibited from flying at supersonic speed, prohibited from flying in bad weather (including within 25 miles of lightning), prohibited from dropping live ordnance, and prohibited from firing their guns,” according to a September 16 article in Vanity Fair"

    http://www.globalresearch.ca/weapons-of-mass-destruction-wanted-protecting-neighbors-from-air-force-f-35-attack/5351798.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That F15 sounds all the better, with each passing update on the F35.

      The F18E/F sounds ever more capable, too.

      Delete
  34. The Obama administration will cut hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to Egypt to register displeasure over the military's pace of restoring democracy following the ouster of President Mohammed Morsi.

    ...

    Some analysts and Egyptian said the move could backfire.

    ReplyDelete
  35. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  36. .

    ===============

    whackadoodle?

    What int he world is a whackadoodle?
    Did you mean:.. wackadoodle

    Tell me, Ms Manners, cause i really need to know!

    Because wackadoodle could frit the character in development,
    A whackadoodle, I'll have to have another meeting with the Editorial Board,

    Whackadoodle do?
    No it does not!

    desert rat is supposed to be a wackadoodle!


    =====================



    :)

    Desert rat is supposed to be a wackadoodle? Is that what you really believe? Desert rat, an eccentric, good natured, sympathetic person.

    I repeat

    :)

    Naw, I was just jerking your chain a bit. You will notice I didn't call you a wack job.

    Wackadoodle? No, I don't think so.

    From the Urban Dictionary


    Whackadoodle

    A paranoid conspiracy nut, usually on the right wing of the political spectrum.


    Sincerely,

    Ms. Manners

    .

    ReplyDelete
  37. .

    Come on down to AZ, Q, we'll play a little poker.


    Geez, rat.

    Arizona is a long way and they only let me out on work release for about 9 hours a day. I've put in for reintegration leave but I haven't been accepted into the program yet. I could ask for a leave to attend a funeral but they always send a cop with you so it probably wouldn't work. The only other option is to ask for a leave to visit a gravely ill person something that just might work in this case.

    I'll let you know.

    :)


    Hey, wait a minute. Didn't you invite Melody down there a while back and then give her the wrong address? Fool me once my friend.

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Melody took one look and spooked and took off like the rat's first wife, fast as her husband's hot rod could carry her.

      Delete
  38. .

    Quirk wrote, "Of course, so what?

    The question was not loaded or meant to be controversial; it was just a question.



    Good lord, Allen, you know the Quirkster is an asshole.

    Noting that my response was a little short, I put up another down a ways from that one which directed at you to show that at times even I can be civil.

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Everyone knew, everyone is surprised the Quirkster knew.too.

      Making you a cut above the sewer rat in self consciousness.

      Delete
  39. .


    Azerbaijan releases election results before the voting began.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  40. .

    10 pols who indicated they intend to take their salary even during the shutdown.

    My favorite is Roy Blunt (R-Mo). He's the guy who dreamed up the 'Monsanto Protection Act.'


    http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/members-of-congress-whove-said-they-deserve-their-shutdown-pay/2013/10/08/a1557738-2fa4-11e3-9ccc-2252bdb14df5_gallery.html#photo=1

    .

    ReplyDelete
  41. .

    Gunmen Seize Libyan Prime Minister in Raid

    Now, why doesn't this surprise me?

    .

    ReplyDelete
  42. .

    I'm loving this headline

    Momentum Building Against Lindsey Graham in SC GOP Primary

    Even though he may be upset by some nut who is more conservative than him.

    I just want to see the guy disappear into the dustbin of history.

    http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/10/08/Momentum-building-against-Lindsey-Graham-in-SC-GOP-primary

    .

    ReplyDelete
  43. The blog is really informative and i like to share it with my friends.I love to come back on a regular basis, please post more on the subject.
    Your posts are simply fabulous and inspiring . Thanks for the inspiration!

    ReplyDelete