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."

Monday, January 05, 2015

It is time to take the taxing ability on oil away from Russia, Saudi Arabia and Iran and give it to ourselves


Congress may consider raising gas tax to address budget shortfall
BY ASSOCIATED PRESS  January 4, 2015 at 1:19 PM EST
WASHINGTON — The incoming chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee says raising the federal fuel taxes is among the options under consideration to replenish the dwindling Highway Trust Fund.
Sen. John Thune of South Dakota says all options must be looked at to fill an enormous shortfall when the existing highway legislation expires in May.
Gas and diesel taxes haven’t risen since 1993, resulting in perennial shortfalls in the fund that pays for most road projects.
Several commissions have called for raising the taxes, but Congress has been reluctant. Instead lawmakers have dipped repeatedly into the general treasury to keep the trust fund solvent.
The federal gas tax is 18.4 cents per gallon and the diesel tax is 24.4 cents per gallon.
Thune spoke on “Fox News Sunday.”

114 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Ridiculously High Taxes on Petrol,

      and a stupid, regressive VAT (fancy, multi-layered sales tax) are a large part of what has Europe in such a jam, right now.

      Delete
    2. Let the motherfuckers like Buffet, and Romney, that are paying 15% on Income pay something a little closer to their fair share, for a change.

      Delete
    3. At last look, Buffet and Romney, as citizens of the state, use the exact same allocated resources from the state as the "common man"

      So why should, if they earn, let's say 10 million dollars, they should have to pony up 1.5 MILLION dollars for the same services the common man earning 40,000 dollars has to pay 8 k for?

      How is that fair?

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

    ReplyDelete
  3. Right now, the common man is paying 11.5% tax on gasoline in Memphis.

    Now, they want to raise it?

    Fuck that.

    How about we raise the Sales Tax on $100 Million Yachts, and Rolls Royces.

    ReplyDelete
  4. You see, the asshole republicans aren't "anti-tax."

    They're anti-tax on the things that they but.

    They're 100% Pro-Tax on things that You buy.

    ReplyDelete
  5. "So, here’s the question I was just asked: How can it be that interest rates on U.S. government bonds are so much higher than on European bonds — not just German bunds, but even Spanish and Italian bonds are now paying less than their U.S. counterparts. My correspondent asks, Is the U.S. government really a riskier bet than that of Spain?

    The answer is no, it isn’t. In fact, investors assign virtually no risk premium to holding U.S. government debt, and rightly so. I mean, even if you thought the US might default in the next 10 years, what, exactly, would you propose to hold instead? A world in which America defaults is one in which you might want to invest in guns and survival rations, not German bonds.

    In that case, however, what explains our relatively high interest rates?

    Well, let’s compare with Germany, also perceived as almost completely safe — but paying much lower interest. Why?

    The crucial point here is that German bonds are denominated in euros, while U.S. bonds are denominated in dollars. And what that means in turn is that higher U.S. rates don’t reflect fear of default; they reflect the expectation that the dollar will fall against the euro over the decade ahead.

    But why should we expect a falling dollar vis-a-vis the euro? One big reason is that European inflation is very low and falling, while the U.S. seems to be holding near (although below) its 2 percent target. And other things equal, higher inflation should translate into a falling currency, just to keep competitiveness unchanged. If you look at the expected inflation implied by yields on inflation-protected bonds relative to ordinary bonds, they seem to imply roughly 1.8 percent inflation in the US over the next decade versus half that in the euro area, which means that the inflation differential explains about 60 percent of the interest rate differential.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Beyond that, there is good reason to expect the dollar to fall in real terms over the medium term. Why? The relative strength of the US economy has led to a perception that the Fed will raise rates much sooner than the ECB, which makes dollar assets attractive — and as Rudi Dornbusch explained long ago, what that does is cause your currency to rise until people expect it to fall in the future. The dollar is strong right now because the U.S. economy is doing better than the euro area, and this very strength means that investors expect the dollar to fall in the future.

      So that’s what the Germany-US differential is about: higher US inflation (which is a good thing) plus the expectation that the dollar-euro rate, adjusted for inflation, will eventually revert to a normal level. Ultimately, it’s all about European weakness and relative US strength.

      Finally, Spain and Italy have higher rates than Germany because they really are perceived as risky. But the risk spreads are fairly small these days, so that at this point their rates are nonetheless lower than ours.

      Now, the interesting point about my correspondent’s confusion is that it ties right into a key policy issue, namely, how much should countries like the US or the UK worry about bond vigilantes? The answer is, not much, which is apparent once you realize that economic expectations, not fear of default, are the main reason their rates go up and down. It’s too bad that so much of the financial press still doesn’t understand this."


      Thinking about International bond yields

      Delete
  6. "There are many risks in the world economy right now — a possible Chinese hard landing (local governments depend heavily on land sales for revenue? Oh, boy), a financial crisis in Russia and other oil exporters, etc.. But one thing is not a risk, because it has already happened: the euro area has entered a Japan-style deflationary trap.

    No, it’s not literally deflation at an EA-wide level, but that doesn’t matter — slightly positive and slightly negative inflation with interest rates already at the zero lower bound are essentially the same. Furthermore, southern Europe still needs substantial amounts of “internal devaluation” — that is, still needs to reduce costs and prices relative to Germany — so that a low overall euro area inflation rate means destructive deflation in much of the continent.

    And if you look at the implied market forecast, it’s truly disastrous. Right now, German 5-year bonds offer a yield of zero — an implicit firm forecast that Europe will be in a liquidity trap for the foreseeable future, while 5-year index bonds are yielding about -0.35 percent. That’s telling you two things: investors see so little in the way of profitable investment opportunities that they’re willing to pay the German government to protect their wealth, and they expect something like 0.3 percent inflation over the next five years, which is catastrophically below target.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How is this supposed to end? I like and admire Mario Draghi, and believe that he’s doing his best. But it’s really hard to see how the ECB could gain enough traction here to solve the problem even if it didn’t face internal dissent from the hard-money types.

      So don’t think of Europe as having a tough but workable economic strategy, endangered by Greek voters and such. Europe is at a dead end; if anything, Greece is doing the rest of Europe a favor by sounding a wake-up call."


      Europe's Trap

      Delete
  7. Rufus wrote:

    "The Stock Market is a short-term thinker. Oil Companies, and other "oil-related" stocks make up a large part of the stock market, and, needless to say, oil-related shares are getting hammered."



    The sell off appears to be much broader than that doesn't it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I said that the stock market hates the plunge in oil prices; I Did not say that that was necessarily why stock sold off, today.

      Delete
    2. The stock market is irrational on a day-to-day basis; hence, buy on the rumor, sell on the news. Most "investors" would incorrectly answer the question of the probability of rolling 7 or 11 on any cast of the dice.

      Delete
    3. Could we, perchance, be hearing the early popping of bubbles?

      Delete
    4. .

      Margin Debt in the stock market is at an all time high mirroring the situation just prior the recessions resulting from the stock market bubbles in the 90's and the financial bubble before 2008. I suspect part of the stability of oil prices at the high end has been supported by financial speculation by hedge funds, index funds, and other financial institutions in oil futures. As margin calls start coming in, no doubt there are people out there that are getting nervous.

      As to whether the declining oil prices are a good thing, I would imagine it depends on your perspective. Naturally, the benefits to the average American are obvious; however, it seems to recall having read that even though the Energy Sector represents only about 9% or maybe 10% of the overall economy, since 2009 it represents about 40% of the job growth in the country.

      Should be interesting.

      .

      Delete
    5. Declining oil prices are a good thing for nearly everyone.

      Lower transportation costs, lower manufacturing costs, lower nearly everything costs...

      Delete
    6. Lower fertilizer costs, lower farm operating costs....

      Delete
    7. Lower farm production/operating costs = more farm income = increased machinery sales..........

      Delete
  8. The Harvard dons see it as a tax by any other name; or what you say when the chickens come home to roost.

    Health Care Fixes Backed by Harvard’s Experts Now Roil Its Faculty

    The university is adopting standard features of most employer-sponsored health plans: Employees will now pay deductibles and a share of the costs, known as coinsurance, for hospitalization, surgery and certain advanced diagnostic tests. The plan has an annual deductible of $250 per individual and $750 for a family. For a doctor’s office visit, the charge is $20. For most other services, patients will pay 10 percent of the cost until they reach the out-of-pocket limit of $1,500 for an individual and $4,500 for a family.

    Previously, Harvard employees paid a portion of insurance premiums and had low out-of-pocket costs when they received care.


    Fascinatingly, they do not see previous subsidization by the university as income.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Rufus is irrational when it comes to the Republicans.

    The first talk of raising the gas tax was in the State of California, which seems to be heading to raising their tax on gas.

    There is barely a Republican left standing in California.

    Talk of raising the gas tax pisses me off too but it most certainly isn't just the Republicans.

    ReplyDelete
  10. GIRLS SILENCED BY PALM BEACH PEDOPHILE.................drudge

    With such exciting sordid news on the internet perhaps implicating a major politician or two why worry about gas taxes?

    ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I notice Buckingham Palace hasn't denied that the Royal Prince knew the Pedophile Prince nor even that the Royal Prince had visited Pedophile Pleasure Island, just that he didn't do anything wrong.

      Delete
    2. Breaking Pedophile News is making Fox News in a few minutes............

      Delete
    3. Seems some more girls may have come forward...........

      ;)

      Delete
  11. A tax on gasoline is necessary to break OPEC. Like it or hate it, there is no sense in destroying the US and Canadian oil industry for the pleasure of resuming payment of $120 a barrel to Russia and Saudi Arabia. In reality, oil at that price means that we are giving Saudi Arabia and Russia taxing privileges of about $1.25 per gallon. What sense is there to that? We pay them a tax so that they can build their own infrastructure?

    If the tax at the pump is used for highways and bridges, it will create construction jobs in the US. Let Russia and Saudi Arabia break the US domestic oil extraction business and we subsidize them like we subsidized the Chinese for twenty years with debt subsidized imports.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Understand, this is all temporary. We're not about to "break" OPEC.

      But, if you just have to "tax" OPEC, then "Tax Opec." Hit'em with an Import tax.

      Delete
    2. A gas tax doesn't affect the market prices of crude, does it?

      It just affects those who buy the refined products?

      If a gas tax increase lowers the amount of fuel used wouldn't that eventually lower the price of crude?

      Economics isn't really my thing, and it may be showing.

      Delete
    3. Being of a farm background I like the idea of lower fuel prices, I do know that much from experience.

      Delete
    4. What is a farmer largest expense?

      Delete
    5. What proportion of the expenses are for energy?

      Delete
    6. Machinery, fertilizer, fuel, interest.

      What proportion of the expenses are for energy?

      Fluctuates widely by year.

      Machinery and fertilizer and pesticides/herbicides are the biggies usually.

      Delete
    7. Some of these new combines have fuel tanks of a couple hundred gallons or more.

      Nearly $1,000 to fill them up. That might last a day and a half, two days maybe.

      On the other hand, they reap like a whirlwind.....

      Delete
  12. Idaho drivers are cheering as prices at the gas pump continue their free-fall.

    ...

    "It's a relief," said Richard Keyes. "A buck-91 is not too bad, especially after what it was."

    ReplyDelete
  13. (CNN) Germany's Cologne Cathedral turned off its lights Monday in a symbolic rejection of an anti-Islamification rally taking place in its shadow.

    ReplyDelete
  14. There is no need for a gasoline tax increase.
    If you want to diminish the power of imports to disrupt domestic markets, the proper tool is an import tariff.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Plunging world oil prices have cheered consuming nations and troubled producers, but the effect on China is likely to be mixed.

    ...

    The effects of declining energy revenues would also be felt unevenly in China.

    ...

    The balance of advantages for consumers and oil companies may depend on how well the government’s domestic fuel pricing formula responds to crude oil price declines.


    China's Policies

    ReplyDelete
  16. What have you been paying for gas, Sam?

    ReplyDelete
  17. BUBBA AND THE PALM BEACH PEDOPHILE...

    CLINTON HAD 20 PHONE NUMBERS.......Drudge


    ;0

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can imagine Bubba -

      "It depends on what the meaning of underage is...."

      Delete
    2. Monica was 21 at the time.

      As Bubba ages, the ages of the girls go down.....

      Delete
    3. 'SEX SLAVE' TO WRITE TELL-ALL..........Drudge

      A certainty to make the NYT Bestseller List........

      :)

      Delete
  18. Production Expenses

    Between 2007 and 2012, agricultural production costs increased 36 percent. The largest expense categories in 2012 were feed, livestock and poultry purchases, fertilizer, hired labor, and cash rent. The largest percentage increases were in seeds, chemicals, and cash rent. (Table 4)

    Table 4
    Table 4 - Agricultural Production Expenses, 2007 and 2012

    USDA Census of Agriculture 2012

    Interest is not listed, unless it is a component of "Cash Rent".

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The question was not limited to 'production' costs, allen.

      Delete
    2. Energy not even on your list, allen.
      Isn't that more pertinent?

      Delete
    3. "feed, livestock and poultry expenses"

      Looks like allen's list may be heavy on cattle expenses.

      Not much energy consumed in watching the cattle graze.

      But you wouldn't know that, never having had any cattle.

      Delete
    4. Only a 'City Boy' would equate poultry and their feed to cattle.

      Delete
    5. And you are correct, Anonymous, Jack Hawkins does not own much of anything.
      Has limited income and few assets.

      No cattle, in his name, at all.
      Ownership, that's not all it is cracked up to be.

      Better to secure your posterity, and then do the things that you enjoy, rather than chasing material possessions into the ground.

      Delete
    6. What happened to The Jack Hawkins Portfolio we heard so much about?

      And the printing business?

      Delete
    7. The Jack Hawkins Portfolio, that was a projection on the part of Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson.
      I work for a small, off shore corporation, based out of Panama.

      It owns lots of stuff.
      I get to use the stuff, when and if I want.

      Delete
    8. But you said you were in the printing business.

      And traded stocks and had a big portfolio.

      What gives?

      You run drugs up from Panama?

      Delete
    9. It is the publishing business, Anonymous, not printing.

      Printing requires a physical plant. Printing presses, folders, trimmers, employees, all things that should be avoided.
      Publishers are folks that contract for the product of the physical plant, usually on a job basis.

      I've been a Publisher, but would never have been a printer.

      Delete
    10. What gives, Anonymous, is not the actions, but ownership.

      Who or what owns something makes little difference, what is important, really, is who maintains control.

      Delete
    11. Analogous, in a way, to the Israeli control of Gaza, which the Israeli maintain, while claiming they do not 'own' it.

      Delete
    12. If Israel CONTROLLED Gaza?

      Iran would not be able to import 1 billion dollars in rockets., Hamas's leaders would have been dead and Jews would be living there.

      Jack,good to see you are still as full of shit as you were a few days ago.

      moron

      Delete
    13. What is this new mysterious business off the coast of Panama?

      Tax haven?

      Pedophile sex ship?

      Gun running ship?

      Floating casino?

      Or just a bullshit boat?

      Delete
  19. NEW YORK (AP) - A 30-year-old man shot his hedge fund founder father to death inside his Manhattan apartment after the two argued over the son's allowance, police said Monday.

    ReplyDelete
  20. A source inside Ramadi said that fighting raged street-to-street and alley-to-alley in the capital of Iraq’s largest province.

    “Military forces, in coordination with tribal fighters in Ramadi, launched an assault on ISIS in the areas of Andalus, Mostaudah and Hoz in the city’s downtown, where the clashes continue,” said a tribal chief in Anbar.

    “To control the city ISIS militants have targeted a military base in Ramadi with mortars,” he added. “At the same time, the military base of Ainoun Al-Assad has been besieged by ISIS fighters.”

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The tribal chief said that fighting also raged in Fallujah, the other major city in Anbar.

      “Some areas inside Fallujah have been shelled with rocket-propelled grenades and mortar by the Iraqi army to target ISIS bases in the city,” he said. “Some civilian areas have also mistakenly been shelled by Iraqi warplanes,” he added.

      “ISIS continues to advance in some areas of Fallujah such as the cement factory area and some other alleys in the city’s southern part,”

      Delete
  21. (Reuters) - Iraqi Defence Minister Khaled al-Obeidi said ...
    ...
    Currently, several Iraqi security officials estimate the number of functioning military forces at between seven and nine divisions. They caution even those divisions are not all operating at full strength.

    The Iraqi army had at least 14 divisions on paper before Islamic State toppled the north's biggest city of Mosul and soldiers deserted en masse.

    Obeidi also vowed on Tuesday that the Iraqi forces would soon retake the lands they lost in northern Salahuddin and Nineveh provinces. Obeidi highlighted the importance of Mosul.

    "We will liberate it with the hard efforts of our armed forces, volunteers and with the aid of our allies.”

    ReplyDelete
  22. .

    You have to love it.

    First Gruber exposes the tactics that the progressives use in their debates. Now, Harvard exposes the elitist thinking that motivates much of academia.

    WASHINGTON — For years, Harvard’s experts on health economics and policy have advised presidents and Congress on how to provide health benefits to the nation at a reasonable cost. But those remedies will now be applied to the Harvard faculty, and the professors are in an uproar.

    Members of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the heart of the 378-year-old university, voted overwhelmingly in November to oppose changes that would require them and thousands of other Harvard employees to pay more for health care. The university says the increases are in part a result of the Obama administration’s Affordable Care Act, which many Harvard professors championed...


    http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/06/us/health-care-fixes-backed-by-harvards-experts-now-roil-its-faculty.html?hpw&rref=us&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region&region=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well&_r=0


    Despite the fact that the university, which has an endowment valued at more than $36 billion, had an unusual program to provide protection against high out-of-pocket costs for employees earning $95,000 a year or less... Still, professors said the protections did not offset the new financial burdens that would fall on junior faculty and lower-paid staff members.

    The following quotes reflect the mindset that permeates the ivory towers,

    Richard F. Thomas, a Harvard professor of classics and one of the world’s leading authorities on Virgil, called the changes “deplorable, deeply regressive, a sign of the corporatization of the university.”

    Mary D. Lewis, a professor who specializes in the history of modern France and has led opposition to the benefit changes, said they were tantamount to a pay cut. “Moreover,” she said, “this pay cut will be timed to come at precisely the moment when you are sick, stressed or facing the challenges of being a new parent.”

    “It’s equivalent to taxing the sick,” Professor Green said. “I don’t think there’s any government in the world that would tax the sick.”

    “Consumer cost-sharing is a blunt instrument,” Professor Rosenthal said. “It will save money, but we have strong evidence that when faced with high out-of-pocket costs, consumers make choices that do not appear to be in their best interests in terms of health.”

    “Harvard employees want access to everything,” said Dr. Barbara J. McNeil, the head of the health care policy department at Harvard Medical School and a member of the benefits committee. “They don’t want to be restricted in what institutions they can get care from.”

    “It seems that Harvard is trying to save money by shifting costs to sick people,” said Mary C. Waters, a professor of sociology. “I don’t understand why a university with Harvard’s incredible resources would do this. What is the crisis?”


    Reality bites.

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "save money by shifting costs to sick people"

      Harvard is stuck in the old paradigm.

      The new is to save money by withholding treatments to cancer patients and save money that way.

      The new paradigm is that cancer is wonderful way to go.

      Delete
  23. It is possible to say that there are three different concepts of statehood in this story:

    Syria: UN member with defined borders, partial control of land, a government disliked by the West, apparently no right to protect its territory
    Iraq: UN member with defined borders, partial control of land, a government favoured by the West, able to garner help to protect its territory
    Islamic State: Unilaterally declared caliphate, no UN membership, no defined borders, partial control of land, a government with no international recognition, no right to protect its territory

    Islamic State's claims have no support among states, but they illustrate that there is no universally accepted definition of statehood. Put the question "What is a state?" to a politician, a lawyer, a sociologist and an economist and you would get four different answers.

    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-30150681

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Are these states?

      Kosovo: Declared independence from Serbia in 2008 after a period of UN administration; recognised by more than 100 states; path to UN membership blocked by Russia

      Palestinian territories: Declared independent by PLO in 1988; currently represented at the UN as a "non-member observer state"; recognised by more than 100 other states but not Security Council members UK, US or France

      Abkhazia: Broke away from Georgia in 1999; recognised by Russia and three other states; dependent on Russia for economic support

      Somalia: Full UN member, wide recognition, but no functioning central government; several regions have declared independence

      In law, for example, an attempt was made in the 1930s to distil the meaning of statehood in a single treaty - the Montevideo Convention. It lists four qualities a state must have:

      A permanent population
      A defined territory
      A government
      Capacity to enter into relations with the other states

      Crucially, it also attempts to shackle politicians to the law by stipulating: "The political existence of the state is independent of recognition by the other states."

      There is little in the Montevideo Convention that would clearly deny statehood to IS, or any other violent group capable of seizing territory and subjugating a population. The Convention has no moral dimension.

      Delete
  24. Jack HawkinsTue Jan 06, 01:23:00 AM EST
    Energy not even on your list, allen.
    Isn't that more pertinent?



    You did not look at the USDA list, morons. Had you done so, you would have seen that "fuel costs" are .

    You guys are too easy: Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. USDA Census of Agriculture

      Scroll down to “Table 4”. Using your fingers (you may include the thumb) mark off until you come to “eight”: Gasoline, fuels, and oils

      Morons…

      Delete
    2. Why even look, when we all knew you would get around to it.

      Delete
    3. While we realize that USGA numbers are averages of the aggregate, for which there are always exceptions that prove the rule.

      So, thanks for chasing that meaningless piece of trivia down, allen

      {;-)

      Delete
    4. I think that is what I was saying, or trying to say.

      Gas is usually little of it.

      Fertilizer etc is much more.

      Depends on the type of operation as well.

      Delete
    5. It's not trivia if one is penciling out the costs of the years farm operation, looking ahead....

      Delete
  25. January 6, 2015
    Palestinians May Face Charges of War Crimes
    By Michael Curtis


    .........Charges of war crimes can in fact be brought against both Hamas and Fatah. The actuality of crimes committed by Hamas, with its Charter calling for the elimination of Israel, and its war of aggression, almost goes without saying. The continuing attacks by more than 4000 rockets and missiles against Israel civilians, the building of tunnels by the use of children, about 160 of whom have died in the digging, the use of international UNRWA buildings and schools from which to launch rockets, are war crimes witnessed on television and videos. No humane observer can feel anything but abhorrence at the execution on August 2, 2014 by Hamas of 18 “collaborators” who were never tried of any offence, or the execution on July 28, 2014 of 20 Gaza civilians for “antiwar protests.”

    President Abbas also faces a problem: be careful what you wish for lest it come true. As head of a number of Palestinian organizations he is liable for their actions, terrorist as well as other activities. Even if he did not personally give the orders he is supposedly responsible for actions by the Al-Aksa Martyrs’ Brigade that fired more than 2000 rockets against Israel, the Abu Nidal Brigades, and the Abdul Kader Husseini Brigade. The rockets fired by Fatah groups against Kibbutz Nir Or, Ashkelon, and other Israeli places on July 10, 2014 were, according to Abbas Zaki, a Fatah spokesman for Abbas, “a message to the Israeli enemy.” Zaki is already notorious for his statement on Al-Jazeera TV in 2011 that Israel “must be removed from existence.” President Abbas has given financial payments to terrorists and their families. He has named places and institutions in honor of killed terrorists.

    By now Abbas must be aware that he faces the possibility of charges against him not only in the ICC, but also in U.S. courts. He can be tried in U.S. District Courts for hate speech made by members of his organizations. He can also be prosecuted in U.S. courts under RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) laws for his activity in financing terrorists.......


    http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2015/01/palestinians_may_face_charges_of_war_crimes_.html


    ReplyDelete
  26. Great find on the video, Rat. I hope those people make it.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Since the Palestinians have for years operated outside the conditions set by Oslo, Oslo is null and void. Israel should start with that and arbitrarily do what needs to be done to recreate the status quo ante.

    By bringing charges against the Palestinians, Israel would legitimize illegitimate, inimical international institutions.

    If Israel and the US withhold funding from Fatah, which has aligned itself with Hamas, a terrorist organization, Fatah will self-destruct. Israel can then move in to tidy up the mess.

    As a bene, when Fatah commits suicide, its leadership will move outside Judea and Samaria in order to save themselves from their angry constituents and rivals and protect their stolen loot. Fatah should be outlawed and its leadership permanently denied reentry into Judea and Samaria.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hear there is some land outside of Scottsdale that would be perfect for a new "Palestine".

      :)

      Delete
    2. Abbas is now into the 10th year of his 4 year electoral term............

      Delete
    3. rat is working off the shore of Panama these days.

      No longer in Arizona.

      How he gets down to Panama I don't know, being on the no-fly list as he is......

      Delete
    4. .

      Oslo null and void?

      :o)

      That presumes it ever was...well...ever was anything but a continuation of the kabuki that has been going on for 30 years, a fabricated hiatus euphemistically called a 'negotiation' that provided an interim period of relative peace in between the fighting. Blaming the 'death' of the Oslo process is merely an attempt to rationalize the overall 'plan' and the "trend'.

      .

      Delete
    5. relative peace in between the fighting. Blaming the 'death' of the Oslo process is merely an attempt to rationalize the overall 'plan' and the "trend'.

      ... unless you were one of the 10,000 Israelis killed or wounded during the Second Intifada ... Fatah does have a plan, which has included two murderous intifadas.

      Based on its breaches of the Oslo agreement, Fatah will lose US funding.

      Delete
    6. About 3200 Israelis were killed or wounded during the First Intifada.

      Delete
    7. Bob OreilleTue Jan 06, 10:35:00 AM EST
      Abbas is now into the 10th year of his 4 year electoral term............


      Since Abbu Mazen came to power, Israel has held three national elections. Israeli Arabs have run for office and been elected in each. Fatah disqualifies Jews from holding elective office. The difference is not subtle.

      Delete
    8. .

      Based on its breaches of the Oslo agreement, Fatah will lose US funding.

      Nonsense, they will lose US funding because they had the temerity to move against the Israeli/US line at the UN. It will be a preemptive move by the US to try to avoid the embarrassment of having to cast a veto vote at the UN.

      .

      .

      Delete
    9. .

      ... unless you were one of the 10,000 Israelis killed or wounded during the Second Intifada ...

      Irrelevant with regard to my point about the Oslo process. It was dead in the water long before the 2nd Intifada. Why do you think there was a 2nd Intifada?

      .

      Delete
  28. Jack HawkinsTue Jan 06, 10:21:00 AM EST
    Why even look, when we all knew you would get around to it.


    Liar and Moron

    It’s better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than open it and remove all doubt.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He has not done anything cowardly thus far on this issue. With time, he will not disappoint. Of course, if he is "Anonymous", that would make him a coward.

      Delete
  29. Jack HawkinsTue Jan 06, 10:25:00 AM EST
    So, thanks for chasing that meaningless piece of trivia down, allen


    Since you now have responded to a "meaningless piece of trivia" on, what, six occasions, it must have meant something to you -- as well it should.

    a) You shot from the mouth and were incorrect. Interest isn't even on the list of expenses it is so negligible.

    b) You then lied by implying that you had looked at the list and had found that fuel costs were not listed.

    c) You then petulantly, like a little girl, stamp you feet and say it was meaningless.

    LIAR and MORON

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That goes for the gutless wonder known as Anonymous, as well.

      Delete
    2. Interest is negligible now but it wasn't under President Carter when the interest rates hit 20%.

      On top of that Carter I believe it was who halted wheat sales to the Soviet Union.

      I nearly went bust at the time.

      Delete
    3. It was all because the American People were in a 'malaise'.

      Delete
  30. I wish the House would take this opportunity and elect a new Speaker.

    ReplyDelete
  31. We have a couple guys here who spout BS as if it were G-d's truth. They count on not being called. I like calling.

    They are so insecure that they will dispute government and institutional analyses by trying to sell anecdotal trivia as universal truth. The great egg dispute is a classic example.

    ReplyDelete
  32. I stay away from eggs, and egg disputes.

    Eggs are high in cholesterol.

    I was high in cholesterol until I started taking Simvastatin.

    Now eggless and on Sim I'm normal....

    ReplyDelete
  33. Grade A Large Eggs - $1.69 Dozen at the Piggly Wiggly in Tunica, yesterday.

    No dispute. Just a fact.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      Piggly Wiggly.

      I've always loved that name.

      .

      Delete
  34. Another fact: On average, the U.S. farmer uses 4.5 Gallons of Diesel to raise an Acre of Corn.

    Average yield, this year, was about 170 bu / acre.

    Corn was $4.08 / bu. the last I looked (a couple of days ago.)

    The two major input costs for eggs are: chicken feed (corn,) and transportation (dominated by the cost of diesel.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The major cost of raising corn/chicken feed must be fertilizer/herbicides/pesticides and machinery, I'd think.

      Delete
    2. Raise peas you can get rid of most of the fertilizer costs.

      Though the pesticide costs go up.

      Delete
    3. Since California consumes 30-40% of domestically produced eggs, its new law addressing the housing of chickens will drive up the price of eggs. As well, California exerts a tremendous influence on the price of gasoline because of its market share and draconian seasonal blend regulations. Whatever starts in California does not long stay in California. Thank goodness for the electoral college.

      Delete
    4. So, you could probably pencil in $15.00 for fuel costs for your 2015 corn crop.

      Top of the Line Seed, on the other hand, could run you as much as $200.00 / Acre.

      Fertilizer/Nitrogen around $100.00, I imagine.

      Cash Rent (you can't afford it with $4.00 corn.) It was running as high as $300.00 to $350.00 for prime corn land when corn was selling for $7.50 ish; one would have to assume that it will have to drop back some, now.

      Delete
    5. Best of all is a hell of a good hail insurance policy and a 100% wipe out.

      You used to be able to get Federal crop disaster money in that case too, regardless of your hail insurance policy.

      Don't know if that still applies though.

      Delete
    6. Added benefit: some free time to fly fish in August.

      Delete
    7. $200/acre for seed?

      Jeez, I had no idea.....

      I think you might be low on the fertilizer....

      Delete
  35. Israel says Qatar expels Hamas leader; militant group denies

    If the claim is true, the expulsion would mark a major setback for Hamas. In recent years, Hamas has faced growing isolation in the region after disputes with its longtime sponsors, Syria and Iran, and the downfall of its close ally, former Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, who was overthrown by the military. Mashaal moved to Qatar after the Syrian civil war erupted in 2011.

    There is France, Italy, Spain, and Greece.

    ReplyDelete