i don't know how we are supposed to maintain our empire with that kind of debt...yet here we are expanding it into a permanent base in australia....
you wont.... youll collapse in a big heap and we will all laugh at the stupidity of your govt... and how they sold your future and security for what..???
Its not just the gov't , its the electorate. 51% pay for nothing, want everything, and are voting for politicians that promise this utopian impossibility.
i don't know how we are supposed to maintain our empire with that kind of debt...yet here we are expanding it into a permanent base in australia....
you wont.... youll collapse in a big heap and we will all laugh at the stupidity of your govt... and how they sold your future and security for what..???
Its not just the gov't , its the electorate. 51% pay for nothing, want everything, and are voting for politicians that promise this utopian impossibility.
The end is nigh...
Nervous American Voters Worried About Botching Another Election
Voters all across the country can feel themselves about to screw things up again.
WASHINGTON—According to a Rasmussen poll released Thursday, nearly all American voters share a deeply held fear of botching another election in 2012, with the majority admitting that selecting candidates suitable for public office is something they are just not very good at.
"When I think about how bad things are already, I can't help but worry that it's going to get infinitely worse once we step into the voting booth next November," said Gavin Daniels, 34, of Columbus, OH, one of 1,200 registered voters who participated in the survey. "This country has repeatedly screwed itself over at the ballot box, and I have this really sickening, unshakable feeling we're going to do it again next year. That's just sort of what we do."
"I keep asking myself, 'Am I going to completely fuck things up by dropping the ball on my vote for president and sending someone patently corrupt or incompetent to Congress?" he continued. "And the answer for me and millions of other American voters is yeah, probably. God knows we do almost every time."
According to the poll, 9 out of 10 likely voters said they did not trust themselves to make choices that were in the nation's best interests, three-quarters said Election Day panic would likely cause them to base their votes entirely on hearsay, and 93 percent admitted that when it came to state and local races they would probably only recognize the names of candidates who had been featured prominently in attack ads.
In addition, almost all respondents said they feared being unable to summon the self-discipline required to read any proposition or ballot initiative running longer than 150 words.
The poll also suggested that despite a presidential campaign season that now lasts a full year and a half, American voters feel they still fail to acquire useful information about the relative merits of a candidate, acknowledging that on the whole, they cannot make the sound decisions required of a functioning electorate in a representative democracy.
"In the end, I just know I'm going to hear one catchy sound bite and make a terrible, emotionally driven decision that's going to screw us over for another two, four, or six years," said Kyla Simpson of Denver, a working mother of three who confirmed she routinely elects officials whose actions damage the health, safety, and economic security of her family. "I always wind up going with my gut instinct and making an impulsive choice that sends everything straight to hell."
"Goddammit, why do I keep doing that?" she added.
Voters indicated their nerves typically begin to fray early in the campaign cycle, when they make the mistake of tuning out any reasonable opinion uttered by a non-telegenic or poorly funded candidate. Their anxiety is then compounded, they said, after they bungle things further with responses to opinion polls that winnow the contenders down to an unsatisfactory few.
Following primaries and the selection of a nominee frighteningly committed to defending every last inch of party orthodoxy, nervousness reaches a fever pitch and stays there until the general election, at which time, voters confirmed, they tend to "royally fuck things up beyond any shred of hope whatsoever."
While conceding the nation occasionally gets an election right, historians point out the successes have been outweighed by the spectacular failures, which include Richard Nixon's re-election, the nomination of Michael Dukakis, Winfield Scott's crushing 1852 loss to Franklin Pierce amidst disaffection with the Whig Party, every political contest held in 2004, and the 47-year Senate career of Strom Thurmond.
"If there's any way at all way to shit the bed on this one, you can bet Americans will find it," said Mike Hodgson, 54, of Gainesville, FL. "Even if we see the blatantly manipulative campaign tricks and fear-mongering buzzwords for what they really are, they're still the only things we'll pay attention to."
"Frankly, it's going to come down to me taking a complete stab in the dark on this one," he added. "Yep, here I go again."
AT&T, Citigroup, and Goldman Sachs issued statements Tuesday confirming they are not among those nervous about the first presidential election since the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling.
Well, I would be upset if China was setting up shop in Central America.
...
And... if we really wanted to quit supporting China... all we'd have to do is quit shopping at Wal-Mart, where they hock all their goods, right?
Allen Fieldhouse, home of the 2008 NCAA men's Basketball Champions! Go Jayhawks!
Hail, Hail!!!
Well, I would be upset if China was setting up shop in Central America.
...
And... if we really wanted to quit supporting China... all we'd have to do is quit shopping at Wal-Mart, where they hock all their goods, right?
right. though i bought some shit at walmart and it was made in honduras and el salvador.... quite a novelty for this aussie.
anyhoo... china is australias biggest trading partner, so i can understand why beijing would be upset.
hear my name
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
Well, I would be upset if China was setting up shop in Central America.
...
And... if we really wanted to quit supporting China... all we'd have to do is quit shopping at Wal-Mart, where they hock all their goods, right?
right. though i bought some shit at walmart and it was made in honduras and el salvador.... quite a novelty for this aussie.
anyhoo... china is australias biggest trading partner, so i can understand why beijing would be upset.
...
For those who are afraid of China... take an inventory of your home and identify all the stuff you have bought that was 'Made In China' (and don't forget that 'I Support the Troops' magnet on the back of your car). This also includes things like the components in your computer, components in your car (tail light lenses, steering wheels, electronic components, led bulbs, etc...), the paint you bought to change the wall color of your kid's room and the ingredients that went into your dog's food.
That is what made China what it is today... an odd mixture of ideologies that resulted in a bizzare form of State Run Capitalism and your expendible income.
Allen Fieldhouse, home of the 2008 NCAA men's Basketball Champions! Go Jayhawks!
Hail, Hail!!!
Well, I would be upset if China was setting up shop in Central America.
...
And... if we really wanted to quit supporting China... all we'd have to do is quit shopping at Wal-Mart, where they hock all their goods, right?
right. though i bought some shit at walmart and it was made in honduras and el salvador.... quite a novelty for this aussie.
anyhoo... china is australias biggest trading partner, so i can understand why beijing would be upset.
...
For those who are afraid of China... take an inventory of your home and identify all the stuff you have bought that was 'Made In China' (and don't forget that 'I Support the Troops' magnet on the back of your car). This also includes things like the components in your computer, components in your car (tail light lenses, steering wheels, electronic components, led bulbs, etc...), the paint you bought to change the wall color of your kid's room and the ingredients that went into your dog's food.
That is what made China what it is today... an odd mixture of ideologies that resulted in a bizzare form of State Run Capitalism and your expendible income.
but... but....
hear my name
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
...And I'm glad the USA is strengthening our military alliance w/ them.
of course you are... the US is getting the better deal.
Well, Cate as with any base for the military, it WILL benefit the local econmy. With civilian jobs and military pay being spent there. Its not all downside.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
...And I'm glad the USA is strengthening our military alliance w/ them.
of course you are... the US is getting the better deal.
Well, Cate as with any base for the military, it WILL benefit the local econmy. With civilian jobs and military pay being spent there. Its not all downside.
i said better deal.. not that there was nothing in it for oz. and you are talking to the wrong person if you think i think anything to do with shoring up our capitalist society is a good thing. our economy is strong enough thanks very much... stronger than yours in fact.
Post edited by catefrances on
hear my name
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
i don't know how we are supposed to maintain our empire with that kind of debt...yet here we are expanding it into a permanent base in australia....
you wont.... youll collapse in a big heap and we will all laugh at the stupidity of your govt... and how they sold your future and security for what..???
i don't know how we are supposed to maintain our empire with that kind of debt...yet here we are expanding it into a permanent base in australia....
you wont.... youll collapse in a big heap and we will all laugh at the stupidity of your govt... and how they sold your future and security for what..???
The US has long held a military presence in Australia. Australia has participated in joint US military exercises so what has changed. Why did the US need to announce to the world that it was going to send troops to Australia? Come on people, say it, say it - OIL. Seems like we're using our military to secure and protect the spread of corporate greed for oil, water, water rights, minerals, and forests, its getting crazy.
The battle for the OIL in the South China Sea is heating up.
BEIJING, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- China has cautioned against foreign interference in the disputed oil-rich South China Sea.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao discussed the South China Sea dispute on the sidelines of last week's East Asia summit, Press Trust of India reports.
At issue is the agreement last month between India and Vietnam to promote oil exploration in the South China Sea, the announcement of which irked China.
When asked Monday about the discussion between the two leaders, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said China has repeatedly said it doesn't want to see outside forces involved in the dispute.
"China's position on this is clear and consistent. That is, the dispute should be solved between countries directly concerned through friendly consultation and negotiation. Outside intervention or bringing the issue to a multilateral forum will only complicate the issue and will not help resolve the issue," Liu said.
The South China Sea has proven oil reserves of around 7.7 billion barrels, with estimates reaching 28 billion barrels.
China maintains it has sovereignty over all the South China Sea, while Vietnam asserts competing claims over parts of the sea, including the Spratly Islands. The disputed waters are also claimed in whole or in part by the Philippines, Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia.
Wen maintained he didn't want to address the South China Sea issue at the summit but said he was "willing to reiterate China's stance," China's official Xinhua news agency reports.
But the BBC quoted an unnamed White House official as saying that during the East Asia summit, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Australia and India had all raised the South China Seas issue.
And U.S. President Barak Obama, who attended the summit for the first time, said it was a "premier" arena to discuss "maritime security."
The White House official said that China would come away from the summit "believing that a heavy-handed approach on the South China Sea will backfire badly and there is a genuine consensus on the importance of a constructive process to find a peaceful way forward," the source told the BBC.
But on Monday Liu, of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said "There is no power in the world that can prevent the development of bilateral relations between the two countries," in apparent reference to Obama's efforts during the summit to isolate China on the South China Sea dispute.
SIN EATERS--We take the moral excrement we find in this equation and we bury it down deep inside of us so that the rest of our case can stay pure. That is the job. We are morally indefensible and absolutely necessary.
Comments
The empire strikes back!
Its not just the gov't , its the electorate. 51% pay for nothing, want everything, and are voting for politicians that promise this utopian impossibility.
The end is nigh...
Nervous American Voters Worried About Botching Another Election
Voters all across the country can feel themselves about to screw things up again.
WASHINGTON—According to a Rasmussen poll released Thursday, nearly all American voters share a deeply held fear of botching another election in 2012, with the majority admitting that selecting candidates suitable for public office is something they are just not very good at.
"When I think about how bad things are already, I can't help but worry that it's going to get infinitely worse once we step into the voting booth next November," said Gavin Daniels, 34, of Columbus, OH, one of 1,200 registered voters who participated in the survey. "This country has repeatedly screwed itself over at the ballot box, and I have this really sickening, unshakable feeling we're going to do it again next year. That's just sort of what we do."
"I keep asking myself, 'Am I going to completely fuck things up by dropping the ball on my vote for president and sending someone patently corrupt or incompetent to Congress?" he continued. "And the answer for me and millions of other American voters is yeah, probably. God knows we do almost every time."
According to the poll, 9 out of 10 likely voters said they did not trust themselves to make choices that were in the nation's best interests, three-quarters said Election Day panic would likely cause them to base their votes entirely on hearsay, and 93 percent admitted that when it came to state and local races they would probably only recognize the names of candidates who had been featured prominently in attack ads.
In addition, almost all respondents said they feared being unable to summon the self-discipline required to read any proposition or ballot initiative running longer than 150 words.
The poll also suggested that despite a presidential campaign season that now lasts a full year and a half, American voters feel they still fail to acquire useful information about the relative merits of a candidate, acknowledging that on the whole, they cannot make the sound decisions required of a functioning electorate in a representative democracy.
"In the end, I just know I'm going to hear one catchy sound bite and make a terrible, emotionally driven decision that's going to screw us over for another two, four, or six years," said Kyla Simpson of Denver, a working mother of three who confirmed she routinely elects officials whose actions damage the health, safety, and economic security of her family. "I always wind up going with my gut instinct and making an impulsive choice that sends everything straight to hell."
"Goddammit, why do I keep doing that?" she added.
Voters indicated their nerves typically begin to fray early in the campaign cycle, when they make the mistake of tuning out any reasonable opinion uttered by a non-telegenic or poorly funded candidate. Their anxiety is then compounded, they said, after they bungle things further with responses to opinion polls that winnow the contenders down to an unsatisfactory few.
Following primaries and the selection of a nominee frighteningly committed to defending every last inch of party orthodoxy, nervousness reaches a fever pitch and stays there until the general election, at which time, voters confirmed, they tend to "royally fuck things up beyond any shred of hope whatsoever."
While conceding the nation occasionally gets an election right, historians point out the successes have been outweighed by the spectacular failures, which include Richard Nixon's re-election, the nomination of Michael Dukakis, Winfield Scott's crushing 1852 loss to Franklin Pierce amidst disaffection with the Whig Party, every political contest held in 2004, and the 47-year Senate career of Strom Thurmond.
"If there's any way at all way to shit the bed on this one, you can bet Americans will find it," said Mike Hodgson, 54, of Gainesville, FL. "Even if we see the blatantly manipulative campaign tricks and fear-mongering buzzwords for what they really are, they're still the only things we'll pay attention to."
"Frankly, it's going to come down to me taking a complete stab in the dark on this one," he added. "Yep, here I go again."
AT&T, Citigroup, and Goldman Sachs issued statements Tuesday confirming they are not among those nervous about the first presidential election since the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling.
http://www.theonion.com/video/last-bast ... tic,26285/
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
...
And... if we really wanted to quit supporting China... all we'd have to do is quit shopping at Wal-Mart, where they hock all their goods, right?
Hail, Hail!!!
right. though i bought some shit at walmart and it was made in honduras and el salvador.... quite a novelty for this aussie.
anyhoo... china is australias biggest trading partner, so i can understand why beijing would be upset.
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
For those who are afraid of China... take an inventory of your home and identify all the stuff you have bought that was 'Made In China' (and don't forget that 'I Support the Troops' magnet on the back of your car). This also includes things like the components in your computer, components in your car (tail light lenses, steering wheels, electronic components, led bulbs, etc...), the paint you bought to change the wall color of your kid's room and the ingredients that went into your dog's food.
That is what made China what it is today... an odd mixture of ideologies that resulted in a bizzare form of State Run Capitalism and your expendible income.
Hail, Hail!!!
but... but....
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
i said better deal.. not that there was nothing in it for oz. and you are talking to the wrong person if you think i think anything to do with shoring up our capitalist society is a good thing. our economy is strong enough thanks very much... stronger than yours in fact.
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
You mean another permanent base in Australia
Pine Gap
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_Gap
sssh secrets. :shh:
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
The battle for the OIL in the South China Sea is heating up.
http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy ... 321904579/
BEIJING, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- China has cautioned against foreign interference in the disputed oil-rich South China Sea.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao discussed the South China Sea dispute on the sidelines of last week's East Asia summit, Press Trust of India reports.
At issue is the agreement last month between India and Vietnam to promote oil exploration in the South China Sea, the announcement of which irked China.
When asked Monday about the discussion between the two leaders, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said China has repeatedly said it doesn't want to see outside forces involved in the dispute.
"China's position on this is clear and consistent. That is, the dispute should be solved between countries directly concerned through friendly consultation and negotiation. Outside intervention or bringing the issue to a multilateral forum will only complicate the issue and will not help resolve the issue," Liu said.
The South China Sea has proven oil reserves of around 7.7 billion barrels, with estimates reaching 28 billion barrels.
China maintains it has sovereignty over all the South China Sea, while Vietnam asserts competing claims over parts of the sea, including the Spratly Islands. The disputed waters are also claimed in whole or in part by the Philippines, Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia.
Wen maintained he didn't want to address the South China Sea issue at the summit but said he was "willing to reiterate China's stance," China's official Xinhua news agency reports.
But the BBC quoted an unnamed White House official as saying that during the East Asia summit, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Australia and India had all raised the South China Seas issue.
And U.S. President Barak Obama, who attended the summit for the first time, said it was a "premier" arena to discuss "maritime security."
The White House official said that China would come away from the summit "believing that a heavy-handed approach on the South China Sea will backfire badly and there is a genuine consensus on the importance of a constructive process to find a peaceful way forward," the source told the BBC.
But on Monday Liu, of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said "There is no power in the world that can prevent the development of bilateral relations between the two countries," in apparent reference to Obama's efforts during the summit to isolate China on the South China Sea dispute.
More “peace initiatives” from Mr. Nobel Peace Prize.
"Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
all china needs to do is call in our debt to them and then we are crippled....
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."