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 03, 2007

Don Imus is Back. Mostly?


This was an effort by the left to dictate what content can go out over talk radio. It was successful. Like Imus or not, it is not about him. Recently the left wingers in the Democratic Party have gone after Limbaugh. It will be interesting to see if Imus comes back a gelding.

BY NEIL BEST NewsDay

neil.best@newsday.com

10:25 PM EDT, October 2, 2007


Imus fans: Your wait is almost over!

Citadel Broadcasting is close to finalizing a contract with Don Imus that would bring the controversial radio host back to the airwaves, a person familiar with the discussions said Tuesday.

It was not immediately clear from where Imus would be heard, but Citadel owns WABC in New York, making its morning slot a logical destination. It also owns WPLJ-FM.

Currently the ABC spot is occupied by Ron Kuby and Curtis Sliwa.

Citadel and its chief executive, Farid Suleman, have been rumored to be interested in Imus for months, and WABC long has been considered a logical platform for him to launch a comeback.

He would bring along his longtime newsman, Charles McCord, who last appeared on WFAN Aug. 31. Less clear is what role, if any, a more controversial member of Imus' old crew, Bernard McGuirk, would play. One possibility is a nonspeaking role as a producer/writer.

Imus was fired by CBS Radio and removed from WFAN April 12, eight days after making comments that many regarded as sexist and/or racist directed at the Rutgers women's basketball team . His show also had been simulcast on MSNBC.


74 comments:

  1. When I was a kid WABC AM was a top 40 format, but that'd be 40 years ago, now.

    Fire up the morning drive with Imus

    Syndication rights ...

    No mo' ho ho ho's

    nothin' but a thing ...

    As for Rush...
    He doesn't mind what they say, long as they spell his local station's call letters right.

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  2. If you get the MP3's of Rush for your ipod (by subscription), they don't include the 26 minutes of ads per hour. Content vs. commercials, it's almost one for one.

    In other news, how do you make sure the FBI doesn't uncover anything in their Blackwater investigation? Assign Blackwater as their "security" "guards".

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  3. Speaking of Rush, "Why Conservatives are Fed Up.

    Also, Russian Roulette on Iran: "Why Russian Wants US-Iranian escalation".

    I'm doing more stuff on Russia lately for work, as most of you are aware, they're making big influence power plays nearly everywhere.

    For example, Putin made visits this year to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE - first time every for a Russian President. And he offered nuclear power to anyone who wanted it, which is part of the reason we're not pushing back so hard against the "peaceful" Saudi, Egyptian, Jordanian, etc, etc, nuclear programs.

    In the long run, European Russia is a dying country, but in the meantime, an awful spoiler. Russia being everywhere with arms is dramatically reducing our ability to maneuver.

    This is also a good article on Russia mucking up our plans in the Middle East.

    The irony is I agree more with their position towards the Middle East more than ours, but I digress...

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  4. Rubin's is good because there's few people, outside of the Russia-specific experts, who have realized that of the "Great Powers (those that have the ability to be a global spoiler)," Russia seems to be the one that least benefits from stable oil prices. Most of the rest, China included to an extent, either directly benefit from low oil prices and stability, or indirectly benefit due to the fact that their trading powers do. Russia, not so clear.

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  5. We've got freedom of speech here in the western world. Sometimes I hear stuff on KGO Late Night that makes Imus sound like a child. It seems that anything that can be said, will be said, sooner or later, somewhere around the country.

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  6. That's not to defend Imus of course. What he said was disgraceful.

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  7. supporting his right to say anything doesn't mean you support what is said. Nor is anyone obligated to provide a platform for someone to say what they like.

    What's with this left vs right dichotomy alleged?

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  8. Rush says he wants to go head-to-head with Senator Reid. Does that mean Rush is running for election to the World's Greatest Deliberative Body?

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  9. Fly that Mexican Flag at your own risk, in Reno Nevada.

    Looks like a wingnut

    Civil Disobedience at it's best.

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  10. Civil vigilanteism

    That's the ticket

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  11. Russia's state-controlled energy company Gazprom says Ukraine's government has agreed to pay its debt to Russia to avoid a reduction in gas supplies.

    Gazprom Chairman Dmitry Medvedev announced the agreement Wednesday after talks in Moscow with Ukrainian Energy Minister Yury Boiko. He said Ukraine plans to pay its debt before November. The payment deal has not been confirmed by Ukrainian officals.

    On Tuesday, Gazprom warned Ukraine that it would reduce supplies to the country, if Kyiv failed to pay more than $1.3 billion it owes Russia.

    The gas issue had raised fears of a repeat of last year's price dispute, when Gazprom halted natural gas shipments to Ukraine. The stoppage sharply reduced the flow of gas to European Union countries that depend on Russia for a quarter of their supplies.

    The European Commission announced Wednesday that it plans to meet with representatives of Russia and Ukraine later this month to discuss the gas issue.

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  12. ohmigod RAT, we should all get together and form a group to slap those suckers down - just like the minute men!

    THE HORROR OF IT ALL

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  13. Np one got slapped, ash.

    Fellow cut a rope.
    Citizen enforcement of Federal Law.

    Civil Vigilanteism.

    Whether a "good sign" or not ...

    It is a sign of the times.

    If it was a sit in at a University, you'd a cheerin'.

    An interesting question, ash, is what happens when the status que majority becomes radicalized.
    Willing to be as law breaking as the minorities.

    The veneer of civilization. hard to balkinize the majority, if they won't let you. Despite the lack of law enforcement by officials.

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  14. we're 'mericans rat, we don't need no damn law, no guvment interference in our affairs, especially in the international realm.

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  15. Glad to see you've finally come to your senses, Ash!

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  16. More insensitive speech:

    "The Philippine government is seeking an apology from the producers of "Desperate Housewives" for a perceived racial slur against Filipino medics, the Philippine Daily Inquirer said on its Web site Wednesday, according to Breitbart.com.

    The officials cited a recent episode in which actress Teri Hatcher, who plays Susan Mayer, said to the person attending to her during a medical consultation, "Can I check those diplomas because I want to make sure that they're not from some med school in the Philippines?"

    Asked if the government would seek an apology from the producers of the show, and ABC, the network that carries it, executive secretary Eduardo Ermita said: "Yes, I think we should,
    "

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  17. 3 Questions:
    1 & 2:
    How do I determine Nahncee's and Ashley's Gender?

    3:
    What is Cutler's line of "work?"

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  18. Another Red State goin' Blue ...

    Bill Richardson's State.

    New Mexico

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  19. "Rush says he wants to go head-to-head with Senator Reid. Does that mean Rush is running for election to the World's Greatest Deliberative Body? "
    ---
    Um, No!
    It means his curiosity about Senate Bathroom Protocols has become unbearable.

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  20. Iran Building Missile to Reach U.S.
    Pentagon says Tehran on track to deploy long-range missiles by 2015; officials push anti-missile system as best defense
    ---
    I think the Best Defense would be a Manhatten Project with the Goal of getting all of us living in underground Bunkers before 2015.

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  21. um... no

    That estimate sounds like "Global Warming" spin to me.

    Project another country's R&R spending and development schedule, eight years out...

    See you all with Mr Bush, at that comprehensive immigration bill signing...

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  22. Alert to Elephant Bar readers--speaking of the 1st Amendment--S and M parade coming up soon in New York City.

    S and M stands for sado/masochist(I think).

    We have now reached a 'new low' in our public discourse here in America. What's next, flag burning?

    These 'ladies and gentlemen' should have a right to their parade. Or should they?

    I picked up on this bit of info listening to Michael Savage this afternoon. Evidently S and M demos have occurred in San Francisco. 'The Movement is spreading'.

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  23. westhawk says

    Writing in today’s Washington Post, Mr. Griff Witte (a researcher and contributor to Ghost Wars, the massive study of Afghanistan and Pakistan from 1979 to 2001) asserts that Pakistan’s government is losing its war against al Qaeda and the Taliban:

    Meanwhile, radical Islamic fighters who were evicted from Afghanistan by the 2001 U.S.-led invasion have intensified a ruthless campaign that has consumed Pakistan's tribal areas and now affects its major cities. Military officials say the insurgents have enhanced their ability to threaten not only Pakistan but the United States and Europe as well.

    "They've had a chance to regroup and reorganize," said a Western military official in Pakistan. "They're well equipped. They're clearly getting training from somewhere. And they're using more and more advanced tactics."


    Who would have guessed

    but ahhh .... yeah

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  24. And 'The Greater Moscow Alliance' must be gaining some traction around here, as there was a big editorial in the local fishwrap a day ago, saying what bastards we old timers are.

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  25. Reactionaries.

    Now you'll be on the list...
    and you've got a gun, now.

    Reactionary ...
    Radical ...

    Demonstrating on the street
    Aggitating the Folk

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  26. The S&M Parades are freak shows, bob.
    Leather, chains, piercings, tattoos. Costumed nudity

    Designed to shock the "straights", the easily offended.

    I'm sure NYCity can handle it.

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  27. We have a rich dentist here, Dr. W., who is on the board of the Greater Moscow Alliance. Before the Alliance was even formed, Dr. W. tried to build a school at the old 7-11 store, right across from his office, all with his own money, as a school for local youth, mostly a trade school, who had dropped out of the system.


    The local planning and zoning committee and the city council nixed his plan.

    He sued on the issue. He also sued on an issue of tax formulas funding the public schools, a legitimate suit, what ever the outcome.

    The lawsuit is still working its way through the court, out come uncertain.

    According to the local fishwrap, Dr. W. is a bastard, as are all of us in the Greater Moscow Alliance.

    In a town in which the main industry is education, we can't have a Dr. W. starting his own little school, outside the system, you see.

    Dr. W. has a lot of support. His lawsuits have a lot of merit. The issue isn't going away.

    And Dr. W. is not a bastard, but a hell of a good guy, when you get to know him.

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  28. bobal wrote:

    "These 'ladies and gentlemen' should have a right to their parade. Or should they?"

    You tell us Bobal, should their 'free expression' be suppressed because you don't like it?

    Doug,

    It is interesting to see that you don't give a hoot as to what happens to the flag.

    With respect to the gender question - I find it funny that you should care and that Mats seems to think it an insult to consider me female. An honest display of misogyny perhaps?

    And Rat, I am forever perplexed by your staunch Law and Order approach to things - unless it is with respect to America's actions in the world where you revert to the opposite approach.

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  29. No, ash, I retain US Law, not another set, to guide me.

    Which is not to say that it is always right, but it is the law.

    As the immigration and work place enforcement of legal status, the unenforced law is the source of the problem.

    If the law was enforced, the law would be changed. Those now living in the "gray zone", being exploited would become regularized.

    International law is dependent upon the Sheriff. The US enforces those UN writs it sees fit to. Even if all the members of the UN do not want those writs served.

    No other Nation State can project the power of the law, but the US.

    France tries to project power, from time to time, in Africa.
    Mr Chirac had to rattle his nuclear sword, to stop the car-b-ques in Paris.

    Who should deliver those indictments the ICC handed down in the Sudan?
    Who can?

    As I learned long ago, far away...

    political power grows out of the barrel of a gun

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  30. Ash, should the North American Man Boy Love Association have a right to a parade?

    ReplyDelete
  31. Bobal, pedophilia is against the Law.

    Rat, the conundrum for you is how far does US law extend? Are you proposing a one world government administered by the US? All terrorists now get the rights granted US citizens? If not, then there is law outside of the US...no?

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  32. duh! pedophilia is against the law duh!

    To harm anyone is against the law.

    S and M parades advocate harm to others, psychologically or otherwise.

    The North American Man Boy Love Association advocates harm to minors, not to mention the spiritual harm to the majors.

    How about a parade for the Citizens Allied for Creative Homicide?

    Where do you draw the line?

    In my view, from the old civil law. To do harm, or advocate harm, is illegal.

    The 1st Amendment stops there, in my outlook.

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  33. The terrorists already have been granted all the "rights", ash.
    That was Hamdan v Rumsfeld.
    The detainees will win with the Supremes, again.

    Nothing new there.

    Where the US stands the US rules.
    Ask General Lynch.

    That's a reality. We stand in over 700 foreign bases, spread across the globe, with fleets of warships and troop carriers, forward deployeed.

    With regards a foreign land, Panama, for example. The US will reach in and depose a tyrant, to serve an arrest warrant.

    From the Halls of Montezuma to the Shores of Tripoli.

    So yes, ash, if there is "Global Law" there only is to the extent the US will enforce it, as the only "Global Power".

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  34. We are slowly maneuvering Ash into a position where he will be forced to defend the indefensible, an impossible position to be in.

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  35. 'harm' can be a pretty nebulous concept and hardly a simple discrete line we can draw. Cigarettes cause harm, so do guns, I'm gonna have another drink and don't you try to stop me! I think it is more important to view it in the context of 'consent'. A minor is incapable of consent (especially when considering man/boy love, an adult is.

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  36. ah Rat, that is Hubris, and you know it. There are many powers in the world. The US may be strong but she is not the only one.

    There are many in the custody of the US and they do not enjoy habeus corpus and all the other protections of the US constitution. Guantanamo just one example of a holding pen for folks held by the US but denied the protections emobodied in the Constitution.

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  37. That makes some sense. But I ask, where do you draw the line on these parades, and free speech? I don't know for sure, but a sane society has to draw a line somewhere.

    The North American Man Boy Love Association would disagree with your (our) thesis, that it is harmful.

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  38. If we had a ticket of John Edwards and Dan Rather, nothing would ever get done.

    And I used to laugh, the two or three times it snowed in Seattle, when I was there, those people just don't know how to drive in snow. Talk about accidents on those hills!

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  39. Larry Craig's favorite recipe (not a joke):

    "Wash and dry potato. Rub with shortening or butter. With an apple corer or small knife, core out the potato center (end to end). Push hot dog through the center. Bake until potato is cooked through."

    Paging Dr. Freud!

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  40. When one nation spends more than all the rest, the proof is there.

    No one else has 'Gators to bring relief supplies to tsunami victims, do they?

    Look at the Russian Bears that are approaching North American airspace. Prop driven.

    Of course there is hubris

    No one else spans the Globe.
    That's the truth.

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  41. Prisoners of War?

    or the two Gitmo boys goin' before the Supremes, this session.

    Fully within the law

    As the US wields it.

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  42. Leave it to Ash to equate a perversion with First Amendment Rights.

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  43. DR: Look at the Russian Bears that are approaching North American airspace. Prop driven.

    Don't knock the prop job. That 11-man P-3 Orion crew that was briefly detained by the Chinese at the very beginning of Bush 43's Administration managed to chew up a Chinese MiG and spit out the pieces.

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  44. Doug: Pentagon says Tehran on track to deploy long-range missiles by 2015

    Yeah, right, the Iranians can't even maintain their legacy oil refineries and have to import 40% of their gasoline. North Korea can't even manufacture a bicycle or keep their hinterlands lit at night. But the Pentagon wants us to believe these bass-ackwards states can reach out and touch us.

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  45. whit, the whole porn industry is based upon first amendment rights and S & M is just one variant upon many perversions found in the genre. If your wife wants you to tie her up and then engage in the nasty, well, go for it. You want to video it and sell it, enjoy the extra cash. You want to diddle your 12 year old daughter - biggo difference. Man/boy love is explicitly illegal as is any other sexual action with a minor. There is a difference in kind here.

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  46. I do not disdain them, but those shots are photographic examples of the disparity of power.

    Picture speakin' a thousand words.

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  47. teresita,

    ...yet we have trouble keeping the baghdad airport road open for safe travel, and the Israelis cower as the Katusya's fall...

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  48. Earlier, Carlson called out former General Wesley Clark [who did have the coolest job title in the western world, "Supreme Allied Commander Europe"] on his bizarre claim that Rush Limbaugh was seeking to "censor" our service people when it is Clark who is seeking to censor Rush.

    TUCKER CARLSON: Here's part of what you wrote on the Huffington Post [see "Take Rush Limbaugh Off Armed Forces Radio".] Here's what you wrote: "Since Rush Limbaugh won't listen to us, we're going directly to Congress, which can prevent him from disrespecting and censoring the voices of our soldiers."
    Now with all respect, that's almost Orwellian. You're accusing him of censorship, and at the same time attempting to censor him by taking him off the air.

    WESLEY CLARK: Well, I think he's crossed the line, Tucker.

    As Tucker subsequently said, in so many words: who died and made Wesley Clark keeper of "the line"?

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  49. DR, sure US power spans the globe, to some extent, but you don't even want to extend rights of citizenship to our next door neighbor much less the rest of the world.

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  50. Not US citizenship, but the Universal Rights of Man should apply. In the US and across the Americas.

    The US should not partake in the hypocricy of the current immigration system.

    The Borders should be secured.
    The true numbers of undocumented people in the US should be determined, those people becoming regularized, legalized, but not necessarily citizens in any case.

    Very few cases would citizenship be extended. Mr Calderon sees them as dual citizens, regardless.

    Mexico a bastion of racist nationalism. Viva la Raza!

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  51. Ash: DR, sure US power spans the globe, to some extent, but you don't even want to extend rights of citizenship to our next door neighbor much less the rest of the world.

    Ash, in about 100 BC in the time of Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Sulla, the Republic of Rome was already a major power throughout the Mediterranean, but it denied citizenship to many of the other tribes on the Italian boot, and there followed the Social Wars. We may have to go through that phase and become the North American Union before we can have our way with the rest of the globe, as the neo-centrists want.

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  52. The Tupolev Tu-95 (Туполев Ту–95) (NATO reporting name Bear) is the most successful and longest-serving Tupolev strategic bomber and missile carrier built by the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

    The Tu-95 is still in service, as of 2007, and expected to remain so with the Russian Air Force until at least 2040.[1] The Tu-95 is powered by four Kuznetsov turboprop engines, each driving contra-rotating propellers, and remains the fastest propeller-driven aircraft to go into operational use. Its wings are swept back at 35 degrees, a very sharp angle by the standards of propeller-driven aircraft.

    To date, it remains the only turboprop-powered strategic bomber to have entered operational service. A naval version of the bomber is designated Tu-142.

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  53. O come on Ms T., I am an Idaho potato and I am not buying that line.

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  54. "'What is Cutler's line of "work?"'

    As much as I'd like to say the opposite - nothing flashy. A pretty lowly defense job at a high profile think tank.

    After I graduate in a year or so it'll probably be much different though.

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  55. TOM HARKIN, FAKE WAR HERO.

    Fake war hero Tom Harkin smears Rush Limbaugh; Update: Harkin earns his Absolute Moral Authority card; Update: Rush on Harkin: “I feel like apologizing to his family” for his behavior; Update: VoteVets.org moonbats launch attack ad; Update: Yep, the same VoteVets.org that used a vet who made phony injury claims
    - Michelle Malkin

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  56. And more Craig News.

    What we need around here is a program to get rid of the four Snake Rivers Dams, put in nuclear generating plants, save the fish, clear up the environment, and put Senator Craig out to pasture.

    I might have voted democratic in the past if they would have agreed to "put in nuclear generating plants" which they were chicken shit to do, for all of the reasons Ash might come up with.

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  57. I also take objection to the words "after a sex scandal" in the above report.

    A sex scandal? My wife and I can do much better than that.

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  58. Toilet Paper Scandal:

    Senator Caught Stealing used TP from a Stall in a Public Bathroom.

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  59. "Secretary of State?"

    Yeah, of the Libertarian Party of Guam.

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  60. Rat, Your Neighbors might, actually, be CHANGING THE WORLD!

    If it keeps progressing it could be as close to a perpetual motion machine as you're ever, likely, to see.

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  61. Good news, Rufus. I'm with you, I think we can 'whip this thing'. Nite.

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  62. Nite Bob,

    You see guys, when the algae is transformed into biofuels, the CO2 can be "Recaptured." Capiche?

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  63. Comment to linked article:

    "Lol, weren't they bankrupt?
    Their photobioreactor plan has clearly been abandoned, so now they're using greenhouses.

    Also, don't forget that in winter, yields tend to drop to very low levels, sometimes close to zero.

    I'm not sure that a company that wasted millions on a flawed concept and fired half its staff just months ago, will succeed this time by suddenly taking a totally different approach.

    I wouldn't put a dollar in it, but I admire those who do."

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  64. "From that article, it seems like a Pyhrric victory of sorts:

    Metcalfe put it this way in a note to GreenFuel staff: "Our current third-generation engineering scale greenhouse grew algae faster than expected ... however, this very success triggered failure, as we could not harvest the rapidly growing algae quickly enough. Their unexpected density limited light and nutrient supply, which caused them to start dying. As a result, the greenhouse had to be shut down."

    Emphasis added. So, there's the redesign of their system currently in testing. I hope it works. But even if they fail, there's more than one company working on this. And their research will still be very valuable.

    And how is this different from CTL? Unlike straight CTL, the CO2 is, in effect, being used twice. Once when the power plant burns the natural gas/coal, and once again when it goes into a vehicle as biodiesel. This results in a net reduction in the plant and vehicle's carbon footprint. A very good thing.

    Assuming they can create a system to make it work economically. Which is in itself a long shot.
    "

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  65. 3 COM Returns to Burn!
    Metcalf is at it again.

    Bowling for Greenfuel
    And $17 million dollar Fraud.

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