There is a lot of waste in road repair/build spending. Here is an idea: Instead of paying five guys to stand around and watch one guy work, how about if they only pay two or three guys to stand around and watch one guy work? That way, they would build and repair more roads with the money they already have.
They would need to be old timers to have originally been GM employees. GM bought EDS and transferred all of their IT folks to EDS back in the 80s. It was an odd time. I worked with one guy that was within a couple of months of getting his GM pension (30 and out), and suddenly, poof, he was now an EDS employee, with no pension. He sued.
Think of all the good this person could do if he opened the building to the homeless or community organizations.
Think of all the permits that would be required before the building could be used for this. Think of all the inspectors that would need to be paid off.
Guantanamo Bay, for example, is a violation of numerous Geneva Conventions.
Have you actually read the Geneva Convention (which one)? You should at least read the first page or two of one of them before you comment. In order to be afforded the protections of the Geneva convention, several things need to happen.
The combatant needs to be a member of the armed forces of a sovereign state that signed the treaty. They need to be in uniform or clearly marked as being in the military. They need to be carrying their arms openly. They need to be under clear military command and control. A state of war needs to exist between the two sovereign states. The terrorists in Gitmo meet none of these conditions.
If you want to be afforded the protections of a Treaty, you have to follow the rules and meet the conditions of the treaty. Here is a news flash for you: Terrorists don't follow the rules.
Wrong. It took the shock of the second A-bomb at Nagasaki and the Russian declaration of War (they occurred on the same day) to convince the Emperor to "endure the unendurable" and surrender. Up to that time, the Japanese leadership was willing to see "One Hundred Million Die Together."
As for keeping the price of fossil fuels artificially low (which they are in the US)
This again..... the difference in the price of fossil fuels between the US and Europe is TAXES. The price of a barrel of oil is the same in both places. The price difference between what Europeans pay for a gallon (or litre) of gasoline is the amount of taxes that Europeans allow their governments to gouge them. How is a lack of tax "artificial?" I am waiting for the first US politician (besides the current Secretary of Energy, who quickly recanted) to propose European levels of tax on fuel. That would be a career ending move.
I can see Greece from my house. That's where we're headed. First, people will become more addicted to getting their "Obama money." Then, the masses will revolt when their government handout gets trimmed. As Margaret Thatcher observed, " The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money to spend." We will get there much sooner with Obama in charge.
No, we don't have an ocean. But, we do have the Great Lakes, which contain 20% of the world's fresh water. I've actually done offshore sailing on Lakes Huron, Michigan and Erie. The upper peninsula of Michigan contains great wilderness areas for hiking and hunting. We don't have a desert, though.
The delicious irony is, of course, that GM bought EDS back in the 80s and then transferred all of their IT staff to EDS. What goes around, comes around.
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
The only time I have been on Jury Duty, I asked them how they could get away with paying us less than minimum wage to be there. After all, "no one is above the law." The only response I got was a shrug.
I don't care what your average commute is. I told you what my daily commute is. Why is that rubbish?
Europeans could pay what Americans pay for gasoline if they stopped letting their politicians and governments gouge them with fuel taxes. The price of a barrel of oil is the same in Europe and in the US. The price difference in gasoline is fuel taxes. Just because you have decided to allow your government to gouge you at the pump, that does not mean that the rest of us should do so.
Automakers have tried importing the small eurocars and Americans would not buy them. I remember Ford trying to sell the Ka here, and nobody bought them. We spend more time in our cars and drive more distance than Europeans do. Not only are Americans bigger than Europeans, but America is bigger than Europe. I drive 40+ miles to work each day. I am about to drive 250+ miles to meet with a customer. America is not as densely populated as Europe. Cars are how we travel. This is why we won't buy the small cars that are popular in Europe.
... and the folks in mission control will be required to drink a Coca Cola during when they are interviewed. They will also be required to say things like "The Penzoil, Gatoraid, Whizzo-Butter Rover had a good day today."
When the US starts paying what other countries pay for fossil fuel (as any European could say), then maybe solar power research will skyrocket.
Just because Europeans let their governments gouge them on fuel taxes, you think that everyone else should, too? The price of oil is the same in Europe and the U.S. The price difference between what an American and a European pay at the pump is primarily due to the taxes that European citizens let their governments add.
Seems to work well in Japan over similarly long distances and much more difficult terrain.
Where do you get the idea that distances are similar? Japan is the size of California. Your trip from Tokyo to Osaka is a whopping 318 miles. A trip from Detroit to Denver is 1200 miles. That's only a two timezone trip. If I wanted to go to the west coast a trip from Detroit to LA is 2200 miles.
Because in the US, we've decided that the only people that get health care are those with jobs.
First, you are wrong. Medicare and Medicaid provide healthcare to the poor and the elderly. We spent close to a trillion dollars on those entitlement programs in 2010. Second, some other countries with "socialized medicine" tie health insurance to employment. Third, the making of healthcare and health insurance into a "benefit" of employment dates back to WW2, when prices and wages were frozen. Benefits were not. So, to entice workers to come work at a munitions plant, an employer would add "healthcare" benefits. If you recall, FDR was President, and he was a Democrat. So, the tying of healthcare benefits to employment in the US is their fault:-)
So, where are all the folks who were singing the praises of government run utilities over the evils of privately run utilities in the previous articles on power outages in the United States?
All of the people griping about how "bad" the opening ceremony was have two things in common: 1 they're American, and 2 They watched it on NBC.
1. I am an American. 2. I never watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. I think they are all lame and pathetic. Yes, I griped. But I did not watch it on NBC. Sorry to disappoint you.
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There is a lot of waste in road repair/build spending. Here is an idea: Instead of paying five guys to stand around and watch one guy work, how about if they only pay two or three guys to stand around and watch one guy work? That way, they would build and repair more roads with the money they already have.
They would need to be old timers to have originally been GM employees. GM bought EDS and transferred all of their IT folks to EDS back in the 80s. It was an odd time. I worked with one guy that was within a couple of months of getting his GM pension (30 and out), and suddenly, poof, he was now an EDS employee, with no pension. He sued.
Think of all the good this person could do if he opened the building to the homeless or community organizations.
Think of all the permits that would be required before the building could be used for this. Think of all the inspectors that would need to be paid off.
Guantanamo Bay, for example, is a violation of numerous Geneva Conventions.
Have you actually read the Geneva Convention (which one)? You should at least read the first page or two of one of them before you comment. In order to be afforded the protections of the Geneva convention, several things need to happen.
The combatant needs to be a member of the armed forces of a sovereign state that signed the treaty. They need to be in uniform or clearly marked as being in the military. They need to be carrying their arms openly. They need to be under clear military command and control. A state of war needs to exist between the two sovereign states. The terrorists in Gitmo meet none of these conditions.
If you want to be afforded the protections of a Treaty, you have to follow the rules and meet the conditions of the treaty. Here is a news flash for you: Terrorists don't follow the rules.
Wrong. It took the shock of the second A-bomb at Nagasaki and the Russian declaration of War (they occurred on the same day) to convince the Emperor to "endure the unendurable" and surrender. Up to that time, the Japanese leadership was willing to see "One Hundred Million Die Together."
As for keeping the price of fossil fuels artificially low (which they are in the US)
This again..... the difference in the price of fossil fuels between the US and Europe is TAXES. The price of a barrel of oil is the same in both places. The price difference between what Europeans pay for a gallon (or litre) of gasoline is the amount of taxes that Europeans allow their governments to gouge them. How is a lack of tax "artificial?" I am waiting for the first US politician (besides the current Secretary of Energy, who quickly recanted) to propose European levels of tax on fuel. That would be a career ending move.
Can you imagine if that money had remained in the wallets of the taxpayers that earned it?
I can see Greece from my house. That's where we're headed. First, people will become more addicted to getting their "Obama money." Then, the masses will revolt when their government handout gets trimmed. As Margaret Thatcher observed, " The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money to spend." We will get there much sooner with Obama in charge.
No, we don't have an ocean. But, we do have the Great Lakes, which contain 20% of the world's fresh water. I've actually done offshore sailing on Lakes Huron, Michigan and Erie. The upper peninsula of Michigan contains great wilderness areas for hiking and hunting. We don't have a desert, though.
The delicious irony is, of course, that GM bought EDS back in the 80s and then transferred all of their IT staff to EDS. What goes around, comes around.
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
-- John McCrae
The only time I have been on Jury Duty, I asked them how they could get away with paying us less than minimum wage to be there. After all, "no one is above the law." The only response I got was a shrug.
I don't care what your average commute is. I told you what my daily commute is. Why is that rubbish?
Europeans could pay what Americans pay for gasoline if they stopped letting their politicians and governments gouge them with fuel taxes. The price of a barrel of oil is the same in Europe and in the US. The price difference in gasoline is fuel taxes. Just because you have decided to allow your government to gouge you at the pump, that does not mean that the rest of us should do so.
Automakers have tried importing the small eurocars and Americans would not buy them. I remember Ford trying to sell the Ka here, and nobody bought them. We spend more time in our cars and drive more distance than Europeans do. Not only are Americans bigger than Europeans, but America is bigger than Europe. I drive 40+ miles to work each day. I am about to drive 250+ miles to meet with a customer. America is not as densely populated as Europe. Cars are how we travel. This is why we won't buy the small cars that are popular in Europe.
When the US starts paying what other countries pay for fossil fuel (as any European could say), then maybe solar power research will skyrocket.
Just because Europeans let their governments gouge them on fuel taxes, you think that everyone else should, too? The price of oil is the same in Europe and the U.S. The price difference between what an American and a European pay at the pump is primarily due to the taxes that European citizens let their governments add.
These folks are in a permanent state of outrage against the US. They are just looking for any reason whatsoever to vent their unfounded anger.
I thought that Obama's cunning plan was that he would start pronouncing it "tahl-ee-bahn" and they would stop hating us.
And also, don't forget the war ending slogan of the Japanese Government: "100 million die together."
Seems to work well in Japan over similarly long distances and much more difficult terrain.
Where do you get the idea that distances are similar? Japan is the size of California. Your trip from Tokyo to Osaka is a whopping 318 miles. A trip from Detroit to Denver is 1200 miles. That's only a two timezone trip. If I wanted to go to the west coast a trip from Detroit to LA is 2200 miles.
I'm looking forward to the Ryan vs Biden debate. Real hair vs Hair plugs.
Bordered in Black by Larry Niven. An entire planet of humanoids grown to be food for some other species and the implications of that.
Because in the US, we've decided that the only people that get health care are those with jobs.
First, you are wrong. Medicare and Medicaid provide healthcare to the poor and the elderly. We spent close to a trillion dollars on those entitlement programs in 2010. Second, some other countries with "socialized medicine" tie health insurance to employment. Third, the making of healthcare and health insurance into a "benefit" of employment dates back to WW2, when prices and wages were frozen. Benefits were not. So, to entice workers to come work at a munitions plant, an employer would add "healthcare" benefits. If you recall, FDR was President, and he was a Democrat. So, the tying of healthcare benefits to employment in the US is their fault :-)
So, where are all the folks who were singing the praises of government run utilities over the evils of privately run utilities in the previous articles on power outages in the United States?
All of the people griping about how "bad" the opening ceremony was have two things in common: 1 they're American, and 2 They watched it on NBC.
1. I am an American. 2. I never watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. I think they are all lame and pathetic. Yes, I griped. But I did not watch it on NBC. Sorry to disappoint you.
That's a nice angle. How about "We'll meet again" by Vera Lynn? Think of the ending scenes from Doctor Strangelove.