Murder on the Nile

When Mubarak was teetering but had not yet toppled, the question in Egypt was whether we would see a full-fledged revolution or just a palace coup. After last night's events in Tahrir Square, it's clear that thus far they've achieved a mere coup -- though there's hundreds of thousands of Egyptians pushing hard for a real revolution.

Comments

[Otto]

Does it even count as a coup yet? It sounds like Mubarak and his thugs are biding their time.

[heller]

Who could possibly have predicted that the military was not to be trusted? Who???

[Tulpa]

Looks like the "mission accomplished" posturing on the part of Obama supporters might have been premature.

[Episiarch]

You think? It's not just premature when done by Republicans. Being a fucking douchebag is an equal TEAM opportunity.

[Nobel WarPig Obama]

"Some nations may be able to turn a blind eye to atrocities in other countries. The United States of America is different."

[heller]

Egyptian-American War anyone?

[Kon Schultz]

It's another opportunity to make the terrorists love us. We'd be fools to let it pass by.

[Captain Government]

Your crazy Feministing links for the weekend:

"The Point is... Not to have fear of our menstrual blood"

Also, no organization other than the Federal Government can fund roughly 1/3 of planned parenthood... and thus, in order: women's health, global population, and TEH CHILDRUNZ!!!!

[heller]

Holy fucking shit.

10:00 AM: Betsy Hartman titles her talk "Radioactive roulette at the capitalist casino, or why we wont play their game anymore." Um, this might be my favorite speech title ever.

She posits that "fInancial meltdown and nuclear meltdown are closely related."

"The system is profoundly broken", Hartman says, "yet the fat cats at the capitalist casino play on into the night, spinning the wheel rolling the dice betting thee fate of the planet as if it were some game. They have no answers, no solutions?so let's shut down their game. We don't need to shut down the government, we need to shut down the game at the capitalist casino! And while we're at it, let's shut down the nuclear reactors too! After all, nuclear power is a reproductive justice issue?.nuclear power is an environmental justice issue, it's a climate justice issue?If we want clean energy, we need clean elections.

"This is no time to be passive, to wait for others to find solutions. Collectively, we must take the reins and be the problem solvers. We also need practical tools and ideas. The personal is political, but the practical is political too!"

BAAAAAAAAARF!!!!!!!!!1

[Betsy the would-be Nazi]

Throw the capitalists in a concentration camp and work them to death. THAT's practical social justice -- and no game.

[AU H20]

I know some "feminists" at my school, and whenever I point them to shit like this and say, "But feminism is about social and politcal equality for women!!!" I always respond, "Well, tell that to the loudest assholes in your movement."

All those friends, are, shockingly liberal, and when I tried to explain the idea that, while I agree with abortion, I don't believe that federal funding of planned parenthood is necessary, they looked at me like I had grown two heads.

I just kept being told, "But your for reproductive rights!!!"

[Little Betsy]

Worldwide Forced Free Abortions!

[Night Elf Mohawk]

I'm for freedom of the press, too, but that doesn't mean I think the federal government needs to buy us all one.

[Joshua Corning]

I remember choosing to vote for Clinton. there was this huge fluff piece in Time magazine about his plan to spend spend spend. In the back of my head i did ask "Where is this money coming from for all this spending?" For some weird reason i thought "Oh no big deal we must have the money otherwise he would not be proposing to spend it."

and i voted for him.

I about 18 at the time. I think the whole thing comes down to age and naivete.

The sad thing is some people don't come out of it...or they realize that the money is not limitless but form some odd Keynesian ideology of saying it will generate more revenue or some shit.

[J]

It's amazing that for some, not funding something with federal dollars is the same as being against it. The question becomes, do they really not see the difference, or just not want to?

[AU H20]

No, sadly, they don't. I had a big debate earlier this year with a girl I had once been involved with, stormed out of an argument because I basically argued, "As a male, my reproductive rights end at the drug store counter."

She slapped me and stormed off, because my basic policy is that women can choose to either have an abortion or force the father to pay for a kid, whereas the best a man can expect is buying a condom that hopefully doesn't break (crap, he can double bag it and it can still break, although if you don't trust who your having sex with, double bag it, although I unfortunately will not have cause to in my last month of college. Apropos of nothing, what city should I go for with a History-Poly Sci degree according to HnR commentators?)

Oddly enough, college has totally changed my view on hitting women. I used to be, "NO! NEVER!!!" but after arguing with a number of chicks whose solution to losing was slapping/hitting someone (because they're chicks and you can't hit back) my policy now (and I, admittedly, have yet to enact it) it to respond in full force if the bitch hits me. Seems only fair.

[Hitting Bitches:]

They're perfectly capable of taking it. And fighting back. Just because they have a pussy, doesn't mean they need to be one.

[Richard]

Washington, DC may have job opportunities for someone with your major.

[AU H20]

Yeah, sadly, despite my major, I hate the people who actually work in politics, having worked with them for a summer.

They are so myopic and stupid in the support of their respective teams (favorite things from one chick I met: "I can't believe I dated a Republican for a month!!!!") and don't understand when I try to explain that my views don't fit on their compass, and use taboo words (like calling myself a social liberal around Republicans) that, while I will apply to political jobs, I hope I never get one.

[sloopyinca]

Back to your earlier remark about father's rights/responsibilities. I tried to get this point across to a judge, who basically told me to fuck off and pay a woman $183,000 after taxes over the next 18 years for a child I never wanted and offered to pay for her abortion. The judge actually told me, "you should have thought of this before you chose to get her pregnant." I told the judge I wanted to terminate the pregnancy, but I am not afforded equal protection under the law. She threatened to hold me in contempt because I tried to argue against child support on constitutional grounds. Oh, and she didn't even grant me visitation rights because I said I didn't want to have the child.

If you got away with just a slap to the face, consider yourself lucky.

[sloopyinca]

Apropos of nothing, what city should I go for with a History-Poly Sci degree according to HnR commentators?

You should be fine in any major city. Restaurants will always need waiters and Subway will always need sandwich artists.

[mad libertarian guy]

"If you want to have the same pay, benefits, and opportunities as a man, you need to learn to get beat down like one too."

[Fatty Bolger]

What I wonder is, do they know what a shithole this country would become if they had their way? Or do they just assume it will never actually happen, so they're free to engage in posturing and grandstanding?

[AU H20]

But Fatty, don't you understand that through activism, Justice can be achieved in society?

Just look at the number of signatures I have on my petition to end racism!

[Hazel Meade]

If you know that nobody is going to take you seriously, you don't have to bother trying to prove that anything you say is true.

[Jeffersonian]

Yes, a shithole, but one they run. See how it works?

[Hazel Meade]

After all, nuclear power is a reproductive justice issue?.

Nevermind that there's literally no evidence that low-level radiation has any effect on fertility or birth defect rates.

Well, I suppose it's "emotionally true". For them.

[Irresponsible Hater]

The army hates the protesters for their freedom.

[Ken Shultz]

If the Egyptian military had stayed up all night trying to think up a better way to drive the Egyptian people into the arms of the Muslim Brotherhood, I don't think they could have come up with anything better than this.

[PapayaSF]

Maybe that's what's happening. The MB must have a presence in the Army.

[Ken Shultz]

Perhaps, but JFTR I wasn't trying to suggest that as a possible explanation--just pointing out that if the Egyptian military doesn't want the Muslim Brotherhood to win big come election time, then this was a stupid thing to do.

[Ken Shultz]

People who are accustomed to having to worry about how voters behave? Are reluctant to do things that might make the voters angry.

Shooting voters typically makes them angry.

So I think there's still some room for hope here. In other words, shooting voters may be a lagging indicator--a product of having operated without having to worry about what the voters thought for so long rather than as a leading indicator of the future direction of the junta.

I guess that's the rosy glasses read anyway.

Time will tell.

[Ynot]

The MB is in a quasi-alliance with the Military; they have taken a united line with regards to timing of elections and the writing of a new constitution. The MB has agreed to let the Military keep its power and grip on the economy (the Military is the direct and indirect largest owner of business and capital in Egypt) in exchange for the military supporting the MB's line with regards to elections and the constitution.

[PapayaSF]

An Arab military that's in control of an economy? No wonder they're poor and soon to begin starving without massive foreign aid as food prices continue skyrocketing. And no wonder some think the MB is holding back so that they can gain control after the resulting chaos and not before.

[Spiny Norman]

That image at the top of the Arabist looks like it was drawn by Herg

[heller]

I was just thinking that.

[sloopyinca]

This is the French part of Africa, you know.

[Jesse Walker]

You're right. I wouldn't be surprised if it came from someplace like Cigars of the Pharaohs.

[Otto]

I thought it was taken from a Tintin cartoon.

[Otto]

Crap. What Jesse said.

[Otto]

Actually, what Spiny and Jesse said, since I added nothing to the conversation.

I got a couple of the books to read to my niece, but not Cigars of the Pharoahs.

I'm going to get a beer now.

[CoyoteBlue]

US foreign assistance to Egypt.
PDF> go to page 512

http://www.state.gov/documents.....158268.pdf

1.3 billion in military equipment and 1.9million in training aid.
1 million law enforcement and drugs
2.8 million anti-terrorism
250 million for economic, health, education and civil society aid.

[juris imprudent]

"Meet the new boss..."

[John]

Well surprise surprise surprise. Looks like BO is going to keep the US in Iraq continueing his perfect record of fucking his anti war supporters at every opportunity.

http://www.blackfive.net/main/.....-iraq.html

We are cutting a deal with the Iraqis to keep troops in the country indefinitely. I can tell you that that has been the rumor for months in the military. If that happens, and it looks like it will, Iraq is no longer Bush's war but Obama's war. When you have a chance to declare victory and go home but choose not to, you just bought the war lock stock and barrell.

[Episiarch]

There's no surprise, John. I have had no expectation that we would ever actually leave Iraq. If we haven't left Germany or Korea or Japan, why the fuck would we ever leave Iraq?

We continue to become a fucking empire, without any of the "benefits" of empire, just the costs. It's literally the stupidest thing ever. It is solely for politicians' egos, and nothing more.

And we foot the bill.

[John]

We stayed in Germany to stop the Commies. And we did get a lot of benefits from that. The economic benefits of trading with a free Europe rather than not trading with a commie Europe more than paid for the cost of keeping troops there. Also, we kept troops in Germany because we wanted to make sure the God damned gerrys didn't start sticking people in ovens and trying to take over Europe again. That may sound far fetched now, but in the 40s and 50s it wasn't so far fetched.

As far as staying in Iraq, I frankly can't see a reason. If we ever get into it with Iran, we can just come back. And we are not going to invade Iran anyway. The Iraqis have had 8 years of Americans fighting their battles for them. If they can't get their act together by now, fuck them.

[robc]

The berlin wall fell in 1989.

Twenty-two fucking years ago.

We have been in Germany since 1945, or 66 years. So a full 1/3 of the occupation is post-death of the Soviet block.

Even assuming your reasons were valid, that doesnt excuse 33% of it.

[John]

The people were already there. It cost us more money to pull them out than it did just to keep them there. It was one thing to draw down and eliminate units. That made sense. But we have spent billions moving people out of Germany back to the US. For what purpose? They can train and deploy from Germany just as easy as they can from the US. In some cases easier. And the Germans don't want them to leave. So why spend billions moving them if you don't have to?

The whole "we still have troops in Germany" thing is Pat Buchanan level retarded.

[AU H20]

Well then, John, couldn't we draw down and eliminate some of our units stationed overseas, so as to more slowly and gradually eliminate some of our overseas bases?

To not use Germany again, take Korea. Right now, 20,000 American troops are essentially held hostage. If North Korea ever attacks, their artillery is going to hit us on the DMZ first, and while some people will make it to bunkers, quite a lot will die. Secondly, I highly doubt that, should he start a war, Kim Jong Il is sane enough to care about our presence.

[John]

couldn't we draw down and eliminate some of our units stationed overseas, so as to more slowly and gradually eliminate some of our overseas bases?

We did that. What do you think happened in the 1990s? In 1990 the US Army had 18 divisions. It now has nine. Most of those units were eliminated in Germany. All of VII Corps is gone the 3rd and 4th Armored Divisions gone. The armored cav regiment (the 11th I think) that used to sit in the Fulda gap, gone. 3rd ID, essentially gone (the old 24th ID was reflagged as the 3rd). We eliminated a huge portion of our military and most of that was staioned overseas.

And in Korea we have massively drawn down in Korea. And we have also pulled completely back from the DMZ. All the old camps like Howzie that used to be up on the DMZ no longer exist. Rumsfeld did that. He didn't want 2ID held hostage by dear leaders artillary anymore. There is currently almost no US military presence north of Seoul.

[John]

The Army currently has 10 divisions and an ACR. Not nine. My mistake.

[Episiarch]

Surprise, surprise, surprise; John defends the existing and TEAM RED occupations, but now that TEAM BLUE is running shit, he decries Iraq.

I actually thought you were going to be on the right side of this one, John, when I responded to you, but you just went full TEAM RED retard instead.

I guess I'm an idiot for having some faith in you.

[Tulpa]

Germany and Korea aren't really occupations at this point (and haven't been for decades), and both long predate the current Blue vs Red landscape. In fact, both were initiated under a Democratic president, anyway.

[Episiarch]

What part of "existing and TEAM RED" don't you understand, Commodore Decker?

[sloopyinca]

The Korean scenario is a bit of an outlier, Goldwater.

Any invasion will end as soon as the first wave hits a grocery store.

[AU H20]

Or a pet store.

[sloopyinca]

Is there a difference to them?

[rather]

sick

[AU H20]

What is the sensation I feel when I look at Rather's face, Alex?

[rather retarded]

Sorry guys, I think I just ate some tainted cat food.

[Joshua Corning]

But we have spent billions moving people out of Germany back to the US. For what purpose?

First off we have been there 66 years.

how many years would it take of not being there offset the cost of pulling back our troops?

5? maybe 10?

Second pulling troops out of Europe and Germany would discourage us from going on foreign adventures in the middle east and Africa.

Not invading Iraq alone would have payed for removing our presence in Germany 100 times over.

[John]

1. It will take a lot more than 10 years to make up for the cost of taking them back. In fact it is not any cheaper to keep them here than it is to keep them in Europe.

2. If you think not having troops in Europe would keep us out of foreign adventures, you are really naive. You really think we invaded Iraq because we had a division or two left in Europe?

And Episiarch as usual losses his mind when talking about anything beyond the shores of the US. Our people in Germany or Korea are not occupying forces. And they were put there by a Democratic President. To call that a "team red occupation" whatever the fuck that is, is just stupid. Really Episiarch, you can do better than that.

[rather]

no he can't

[rather retarded]

He can't do better than me! I'm a prime catch! Really!

[Otto]

So why spend billions moving them if you don't have to?

Because it's a one-time cost, and in the long run, having only bases in the US will be cheaper.

Also, I don't think you understand, John - most of us aren't talking about bringing soldiers from Europe back to the US so they can be soldiers in the US, but instead bring them back so they can finish their tours and then draw down the number of soldiers we have, as we have way to fucking many soldiers. That does invite foreign interventionism.

[robc]

Im not sure why we have a standing army. Yeah, yeah, war of 1812. To me, the lesson to be learned is dont invade other countries if you cant even beat Canada.

[John]

I don't know either rob. The world is just such a wondeful safe place. I mean why would anyone need an army. Not like anyone in the world hates the US and wouldn't love to bully the shit out of us and dictate whatever terms they want to us.

Oh I know, we will just nuke anyone who fucks with us. Yeah, that is real likely to happen.

[robc]

You dont need a STANDING army. Someone fucks with us, we can put together an army.

And no one will successfully invade. The 2nd amendment will take care of that. Plus, havent you seen Red Dawn?

And, re: the post below this one, what is wrong with fortress America? Seems to work just fine for Switzerland. And, yes, I realize they have an army. I dont like it, but, if necessary, I would accept a Swiss style army. Im too old now, but I would have done my 3 weeks a year for 20 years.

[robc]

Three weeks per year riding a mountain bike along the Canadian border...actually sounds pretty nice.

[sloopyinca]

^^This^^ can't be repeated often enough.

The only exception would be if a foreign government actually paid our government the full amount it costs to keep a base there + a 10% fee and any soldier stationed there volunteered for the duty. I wouldn't oppose this, as it would probably be how Korea played out. Hell, Israel would probably end up the same way.

We save money, our real allies pay for the risk our soldiers take and we can't be accused of adventurism.

[John]

Not having them invites foreign attack to. You guys live in a fantasy world were everyone loves us and we have no need for a defense. Or we can have fortress America. We just can't do that. And once our land force is gone, it would never come back in time to save us from an enemy.

Everyone says we only fight insurgent wars now and that no one will ever challenge us. Well, that is only true because we have overwelming ground forces. If we ever stop having that, people will stop fighting insurgent wars and just kick the shit out of us old style.

Inside every libertarian is a peacenik appeaser waiting to get out.

[Joshua Corning]

Inside every libertarian is a peacenik appeaser waiting to get out.

Bullshit and Epi is an anarchist.

On a side note i would like to see a chart of US military spending as a function of GDP. If that number has gone up since the fall of the Berlin wall i am going to have to call you out as a left wing nut.

You know as well as i that if you spend to much you hurt the US economy and you also know that it is the US economy that makes our military the strongest in the world.

If our military is too big it is in fact hurting its own long term growth and sustainability.

[robc]

Not having them invites foreign attack

Which is why Costa Rica has been invaded 14 times in the last 2 years.

[Otto]

Not having [a standing army] invites foreign attack [too].

Who is going to invade us? The Canadians? The Mexicans? We'd do fine with the National Guard, Army Reserve and a few divisions worth of full-time specialized troops.

We would still have an Air Force and a Navy (both of which could be scaled down, since we'd pretty much only be protecting our shores), so I think we'd be safe if Raul Castro and Chavez tried a reverse Bay of Pigs...

[Joshua Corning]

It will take a lot more than 10 years to make up for the cost of taking them back. In fact it is not any cheaper to keep them here than it is to keep them in Europe.

And

You really think we invaded Iraq because we had a division or two left in Europe?

Well the first statement is absurd on its face. (we pay to transport troops and equipment between Germany and the US everyday. Why would it cost more to change the flow so it is one way back to the US? and eventually we will run out of stuff to move back to the US. On that day we will stop paying to transport it like we do today) But you do realize how these two statements completely contradict themselves right?

Anyway you did have a question with #2 and the answer is that both Iraq and Germany are symptoms of they same fucked up foreign policy we have had since the end of the cold war...of course this in no way excuses our fucked up foreign policy that we had during the cold war....but at least then we sort of had an excuse.

[J]

My question is, why does Obama want to stay in Iraq?

[John]

And also, when the inevitable conflict comes with the crazy bastards running Iran comes, it will probably be nuclear. So why they hell would we want 1000s of American troops within range of Iranian nukes? We need to get back as far as possible in preperation for the day we are forced to turn the country into a parking lot.

[Otto]

If we get out of the Middle East, the conflict need not be inevitable.

[Neu Mejican]

And the Germans don't want them to leave. So why spend billions moving them if you don't have to?

But the whole point here is that Iraq doesn't want us to leave, so why spend billions moving troops if they want us to stay?

/irony

[Joshua Corning]

Spend billions moving troops

This is so fucking weird....we are already spending the billions keeping transporting troops and equipment back and forth. Troops go on vacation equipment is rotated every fucking day.

In what unicorn paradise would changing the transportation of these things cost more if the trips started to become one way back to the US?

John's military spending math looks early similar to Obama's economic spending math.

[Joshua Corning]

Wow my sentences have been fucked up lately.

Why did I not see I wrote early and instead of eerily?

what the fuck is that word "keeping" even doing between "billions" and "transporting"?

[John]

This is a mildly interesting piece on Obama. But damn, Kristen Soltis is a babe. The blond with her is a little chunky. But Soltis makes the whole thing worth while.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....e=youtu.be

[sloopyinca]

RAAAAAACIST!!!

You didn't even bring up Amy Holmes. That's one nice looking piece of milk chocolate.

[John]

You can vagazzile your genitile warts. Read this at your own risk. If you do, you may never want to have sex again.

http://www.thefrisky.com/post/.....t-having-/

[heller]

Why John? Why?

[Hazel Meade]

Isn't this sort of thing usually SugarFree's job?

[Ice Nine]

You can vagazzile your genitile warts. Read this at your own risk. If you do, you may never want to have sex again.

It would certainly remove the slang designation from "grinding".

[John]

What is really scary about this article is that if the picture in the author's profile is actually her, she is pretty hot. But my God what a skank.

[Gregory Smith]

Mubarak is an idiot for not quashing the revolution, which could turn Egypt into another Iran. He's also an idiot for accepting house arrest. And if the Egyptian people accept to be ruled by the Muslim Brotherhood, they are also idiots as well.

MEET OBAMA FOR ONLY $35,800!
http://libertarians4freedom.bl.....35800.html

[rather]

and we would be idiots for thinking we can direct their choices

[rather retarded]

Irrelevant statement ahoy!

[MWG]

Barf.

[sloopyinca]

For all you movie buffs out there in Libertopia:

Sidney Lumet has died. He directed Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, Twelve Angry Men and most-notably Network.

The NYT obit here.

[Episiarch]

He didn't do anything of worth for years, unfortunately. But Serpico alone is enough, let alone the rest.

[sloopyinca]

Sadly, I think Serpico and

[sloopyinca]

Fucking squirrels.

What I said was: Sadly, I think Serpico and 12 Angry Men could only be conceived as works of fiction in this day and age. 40 years ago, either could have been real (and one was).

[AU H20]

Yeah, in 12 Angry Men they just seem more cooperative and reasonable than any jury I could possibly believe in real life.

[Otto]

There also someone who questions authority.

[MNG]

Didn't he do Before the Devil Knows...I liked that flick, it was neat how Hoffman and Hawke played against type.

[John]

And that movie had Marissa Tomei getting her kit off as well. The only downside was that it was a sex scene with Phillip Semour Hoffman. As attractive as Tomei is, Hoffman made the scene really disturbing.

[MNG]

I dunno, I thought it was awesome that ol' Hoff was getting some Tomei doggy-style!

Gives us all a little hope...

But man, Tomei is hotter than Georgia asphalt.

[John]

And for years she would never do nude scenes. And then out of the blue she does the Wrestler and Before the Devil Knows Your Dead and it is like she is Kate Winslet or sometime. It was totally shocking.

[Otto]

She probably stopped getting phone calls from directors and got some advice from her agent...

[PapayaSF]

OT but funny:

"No one should be guarding the gate on the Internet," Pelosi said.

Free access to information and communication "is not just about entertainment," Copps told the conference. "It goes to the heart of the future of Democracy."

He called for more regulations based on the public interest, including an "honest-to-God licensing system" to ensure that broadcasters are filling the public need.

Fellow Democratic FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn agreed that the public must be "very vigilant" in protecting free and open communication networks

All these people think they're saying the same thing!

[sloopyinca]

Free speech through regulation. In their world, this phrase isn't an oxymoron.

[HERCULE TRIATHLON SAVINIEN]

WHY WITH FORCE OF COURSE!

HOW TO SUPPRESS DEMOCRACY AND FREEDOM ? Why with force of course!

[The Carrot and Stick]

So, just how do you stop Democracy and Freedom, why with a massive use of force to stifle any reform movement of course! So the American-Israeli Military Industrial Complex, [THE EMPIRE] can breath a sigh of relief as its minions of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain continue to do their bidding, security personnel surrounding mosques', as Clerics within spoke to the teaching of Islam that, unjustified demonstrations were opposite to Islamic teachings, leaving the question of who or what then determines when the line has been crossed when does Islamic teaching say that under religious and universal moral right it is necessary for those under oppression, to stand against those who break the laws of the Koran, by not acting within the teaching of the Koran, how longer must the yoke of government corruption and oppression be carried as the House of Saud uses the carrot of financial aid and stick of security force clamp down, to ensure The Divine Right of Kings and it is illegal to protest against that supreme authority. The House of Saud security forces are authorized to set up check points checking identification and document, place under surveillance, travel ban, and detain any who are suspected of anti House of Saud sediments the imprisonment of any who would dare sign any petitions demanding reforms, questioning or demanding the ending of the totalitarian or top down House of Saud Divine Right of Kings rule, or the calling for the establishment opposition political parties, free elections, a co-operative amalgamation based upon freedom of expression, a and free press providing the public a universal knowledge of government activities keeping a check upon government to report and abate corruption, the establishment of regional localized economies, a government working in co-operation with other regional block or regional association members to form a regional sphere of parity in line with the [BRICS] Brazil, The Russian Federation, India, The Democratic Peoples Republic of China, and The Union of South Africa, and the [EU] European Union.

[The spike]

What has the [Empire] done with its selective bi-polar actions concerning the House of Saud and Bahrain, with its massive external interference, subversion, both open and covert, stopping the current demands of freedom in the emerging Islamic Parity Sphere of Influence? What has been described as the ['arc of disaster'] has been created, and that arc will extend from Gibraltar to Indonesia, from The Russian Federation to the tip of Africa, a rage beyond all control, a backlash of religious extremism, a spike in radical Islam, revolutionaries forced to resort to what ever acts and terrorist warfare, against governments support by the American-Israel Military Industrial Complex, [THE EMPIRE] and the Empire itself, [911] will only seem like a small prick of a needle by comparison!

HERCULE TRIATHLON SAVINIEN

[HERCULE TRIATHLON SAVINIEN]

[TRIATHLON REPLYS]

Another case of the [EMPIRE] American-Israeli Empire using their various Spheres of Influence to prevent the emergence of the [PDIR] People's Democratic Islamic Repbulic, instead the Media Messiah Imperial President [OBAMA] wishes to continue in the [20th] Twentieth-Century Old Think, instead of the new [21st] Twenty-First Century of Dreamers, Thinkers, Doers, and Netizens.

Down with the [EMPIRE] and its National Interests [OIL]!

HERCULE TRIATHLON SAVINIEN

[HERCULE TRIATHLON SAVINIEN]

The People's Democratic Islamic Republic the time is now!

[HTS]

Down with the empire!

[P Brooks]

We spent all that money on a fabulous embassy compound in Iraq (not to mention various military installations); who ever really thought we'd leave?

[John]

No. I am working on the drawdown right now. I can tell you we built all that shit so the contractors building it could get rich. Most of the good stuff we are just giving to the Iraqis. Why keep it? The contractors made their money so the buildings have served their purpose.

[TeamBarstool]

I wouldn't be surprised if were helping Mubarak behind the scenes in exchange for help in Libya.

[rather]

How so?

[AU H20]

So, I think we are approaching "The World's Longest Suicide Note" terriotory for progressives.

From all the stuff I read in the comments sections of places like Kos, NY Times(which is itself not progressive per se but whose entire comenteriat is liberal) and HP, it seems like the left-liberal plan to cut spending is as follows:

1. End Iraq and Afghanistan(can't say I disagree, but I could still see it being unpopular, especially when the President and parts of the left in this country support it).
2. Gut military spending (because apparently, it accounts for between 25 and 50 percent of our spending, with on average most people fervently arguing that its in the 30-40 percent range).
3. Hike up taxes dramastically (comparisons are often made to the 50s, with 90% tax rates, often cited).
4. End corporate welfare (once again, don't disagree).
5. Repeal NAFTA/Stop companies from outsourcing... somehow. I hear by taxing corporate profits or something.
6. Tariff on China, which restores our manufacturing... somehow.

Seriously, when they lose, and they will lose (because the American people may not like spending cuts, but you are definitely not selling them on the crap that liberals have been typecast as for 40 years- higher taxes, peacenik, idiotic economically) it is going to be impossible to get to work on time if you live/work near the mall for like a goddamn month.

You know these fuckers are going to be unable to accept that the American people just aren't going to ever be like other Western nations, and it will all be the fault of TEH CORPOTATIONZ!!!! and "STUPID TEABAGGER AMERICANS WHO VOTE AGAINST THEIR INTERESTS." And you know that they are going to think being annoying, protesting cunts is some kind of great and noble good.

Say what you will about the kookiness of libertarians, but at least you'll never be late to work because of a libertarian protest. Requires way to much control and organization.

[Ice Nine]

Can someone explain why Sarah Palin has been running political ads in Holland?

[heller]

Probably caused by legal weed.

[John]

Maybe she really is the female Obama.

[John]

http://dailycaller.com/2011/04.....-too-much/

Mickey Klaus makes an interesting point. All of the "take on entitlements first" talk is really just Washingtonians protecting each other. Shouldn't we cut the non important stuff as much as possible before we start taking people's social security?

[robc]

I thought social security WAS the non-important stuff?

[Donny Iris]

Wow, kinda crazy when you think about it.

http://www.Privacy-Net.tk

[MNG]

This is a neat article.

we've fallen dangerously behind the Chinese, the Finns, the Liechtensteiners and plenty more in the PISA rankings...When the kids from Shanghai aced reading, math and science on their first outing, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said, "We can quibble, or we can face the brutal truth we're being out-educated."

Now, critics say that PISA, the SAT and other standardized tests are a lousy way to measure educational attainment or value. But I say enough criticism already. Once you truly understand the awesome power of test scores, you will embrace them, as I have done ? especially after realizing how standardized testing proves that I am a better basketball player than Michael Jordan.

I read something in a blog somewhere about how MJ recently made 16 out of 20 free throws in a friendly shooting contest. Pretty good, but I thought I could do better. So I went to my local gym and practiced and practiced until I achieved my aim: 18 out of 20 free throws!

You may argue that it's not a fair comparison, but that's what so great about this ? simply use the same rules we apply to judging PISA scores, and it's perfectly fair.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....story.html

[John]

http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/54/12/46643496.pdf

Here are the 2009 rankings. The US ranks above some pretty decent countries, Sweden, Germany, Ireland and France. So, it doesn't look to bad when you consider how large the US is and how diverse our student population is. Also, I don't buy the Chinese scores any more than I believe that their gymnists are really 14 years old or their swimmers don't use steroids.

[MNG]

I've always thought it was a bit unfair to compare the US to nations that are about as big and diverse as one of our states. In some ways better comparisons would be places like Russia, Brazil, China, where we come out looking pretty good.

[John]

Yup. Carve out the rich suburbs of a large American city and I bet the US scores look really good.

[MNG]

If you compare Vermont to most small European or Asian nations on pretty much any indicator, whether infant mortality, crime or education I bet it does well.

[Otto]

I wanted to look up a few statistics, but got lazy, so I just looked at homicide: (per 100,000 people)

1.13 Vermont
2.04 Belgium
2.37 Bulgaria
1.99 Czech Republic
1.17 Denmark
0.90 Germany
7.30 Estonia
1.45 Ireland
1.05 Greece
1.12 Spain
1.46 France
1.13 Italy
1.66 Cyprus
9.69 Lithuania
1.42 Luxembourg
1.57 Hungary
0.66 Malta
1.06 Netherlands
...

The really sad thing was looking at the prison populations of European countries. The largest was under 100,000. Then I thought about our 3,000,000 prison population, with at least 1/3 of that being non-violent drug offenders and other consensual "criminals."

[Sidd Finch]

US Asians score higher than all Asian countries. US blacks score higher than all black countries. US whites score higher than all white countries except Finland. That's pretty remarkable.

[@]

African-Americans not only outscore African and Afro-Caribbean countries, but most of Eastern Europe, too.

[@]

To add on that--

We need to be focused on the great disparaties WITHIN the American educational system rather than how it compares internationally. The former is much more worrisome.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

In China, most of the kids don't get to the point where they *can* compete. School is very competitive, and most of the children in primary schools don't get to go to public school. There's a good deal of selection bias going on here (especially when you consider that China's urban areas are the ones most likely to harbor their better-educated people).

[MNG]

Opinion Article on Using Open-Records Laws Against Universities

A national debate is underway over the use of open-records laws to seek documents from professors at public institutions of higher education.

Our request involves the labor studies centers at Wayne State University, Michigan State University and the University of Michigan. We seek department members' e-mails on labor-related events, including the Wisconsin showdown over public-sector unions and a new Michigan law with controversial labor provisions for local governments in financial distress.

Our inquiry was prompted primarily by a history of activity at Wayne State that seemed inappropriately political ? and perhaps illegal ? for a state educational institution. Until this week, the Web site of the university's Labor Studies Center said that the department has "produced a comprehensive guide for activists for organizing living wage campaigns" and offered a paper on "Understanding and Preventing Privatization" of government services. It helped workers "research" their employers through numerous links to such online resources as the "Dirt Diggers Digest" and the Strategic Action Center, an organization "designed to assist progressive organizations with .?.?. campaign needs."

That this use of a state university's resources is questionable is as clear as it would be if the Web site were "designed to assist Tea Party organizations with campaign needs."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....story.html

[MNG]

It's been a while since my school days, but I detested politicalized profs and classes. They were boring and simplistic, like watching Foxnews or MSNBC.

Having said that I'm not sure that most colleges have things analogous for businesses to what these places were doing for labor organizations. I can remember the business schools at the colleges I went to organizing seminars and workshops on furthering entrepeneurship and such and having presentations and policy papers favoring privatization and such.

[MNG]

I worded that awkwardly, it probably better reads "most colleges do have analogous programs for businesses"

[John]

http://www.theatlantic.com/mag.....myth/4883/

Wow. Great article on the birth of the cargo cult known as "management science".

[MNG]

I dunno, while I'm sure there is a lot of silly that goes under the name management science I don't see any problem with applying sound social science methodology to measuring management outcomes.

I do a fair amount of program evaluation myself so perhaps I'm biased, but why not use survey methods and advanced statistical techniques to assess things like organizational committment, job satisfaction, work outcomes and the like? And why not theorize based on careful analysis of many such studies?

[John]

I think the biggest problem is that since you are measuring a human endeavour, the results tend not to be reproducable. What works in one situation may not work in others. And because there are so many variables, it is generally imposible to understand why something works one time but doesn't work the next.

[John]

From the article.

"The world of management theorists remains exempt from accountability. In my experience, for what it's worth, consultants monitored the progress of former clients about as diligently as they checked up on ex-spouses (of which there were many). Unless there was some hope of renewing the relationship (or dating a sister company), it was Hasta la vista, baby. And why should they have cared? Consultants' recommendations have the same semantic properties as campaign promises: it's almost freakish if they are remembered in the following year.

In one episode, when I got involved in winding up the failed subsidiary of a large European bank, I noticed on the expense ledger that a rival consulting firm had racked up $5 million in fees from the same subsidiary. "They were supposed to save the business," said one client manager, rolling his eyes. "Actually," he corrected himself, "they were supposed to keep the illusion going long enough for the boss to find a new job." Was my competitor held to account for failing to turn around the business and/or violating the rock-solid ethical standards of consulting firms? On the contrary, it was ringing up even higher fees over in another wing of the same organization.

And so was I. In fact, we kind of liked failing businesses: there was usually plenty of money to be made in propping them up before they finally went under. After Enron, true enough, Arthur Andersen sank. But what happened to such stalwarts as McKinsey, which generated millions in fees from Enron and supplied it with its CEO? The Enron story wasn't just about bad deeds or false accounts; it was about confusing sound business practices with faddish management ideas, celebrated with gusto by the leading lights of the management world all the way to the end of the party."

There doesn't seem to be any "science" going on there.

[bilgibank]

very nice informative article. my search ends here. thank you

[The Truth]

China is getting ready to have an aircraft carrier ready to go much earlier than expected:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04.....rrier.html

Much, much faster and more advanced than projections.

[Episiarch]

THE YELLOW PERIL!!!

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Cool, maybe in 10 years they'll be able to compete with France.

[The Truth]

You don't get it. This is way ahead of schedule, they're modernizing their navy, and at a breakneck pace.

[Episiarch]

THE YELLOW PERIL!!!

[The Truth]

Go away, the adults are talking, child.

[Episiarch]

THE ADULT YELLOW PERIL!!!

[The Truth]

Do you ever, in any way, contribute anything of value to the discussions on this blog, or just reply with unfunny, meaningless, non-sequiturs?

[Episiarch]

YELLOW! PERIL! CHINESE NAVY! THE GOOKS ARE GOING TO GET US!!! THE SLOPES ARE COMING FOR OUR DAUGHTERS!

[The Truth]

Did you finally get permanent brain damage from all the pills you pop or something?

[Episiarch]

The Truth is rectal? Amazing. I knew she was 90% of the trolls here, but I didn't know she was a racist too.

[The Truth]

Who the fuck is rectal?

And on what planet is talking about the modernization of the Chinese navy "racist"?

[Episiarch]

OH NOES THE CHINKS ARE GOING TO GET US

[rather]

Who the fuck is rectal?

She one of billions who will never fuck epi

[rather retarded]

She one of billions who will never fuck epi

Is this supposed to be an insult or just a statement of fact? There is no person that this statement would not apply to. HERP DERP.

[NotSure]

What are you afraid of ? That America will not be the only country anymore that can bully weaker countries ?

[The Immaculate Trouser]

I get it. I also get that the Chinese should have done this years ago, considering that most of their objectives in the region are, you know, only doable with a powerful navy. Fucking Argentina, Italy, India, and Thailand have aircraft carriers -- forgive me for not shitting the bed now that China has finally schlepped up a crappy Soviet carrier that used to belong to fucking Ukraine.

[The Truth]

In short, China has established an impressive track record of confounding Western expectations. That says something about China, and it says something about China watchers. China has studied its own past, along with the rise of past great powers, and has carefully learned the lessons from these experiences. It has marshalled the impressive resources made available by economic development, harnessed equally impressive political resolve, and striven to manage foreign fears of its growing naval might. Such steadfastness has allowed the PLAN to make a leap in combat power in short order.

Why is this so difficult for outsiders to grasp? There's one straightforward reason. If China's new weaponry works as advertised, the PLAN will have achieved certain technical breakthroughs?phased-array radar and stealth technology, to name two?faster than the United States did, with its scientific and technical mastery.

Keep sticking your head in the sand.

http://the-diplomat.com/flashp.....ing-china/

[Episiarch]

OH NOES THE NIPS ARE GOING TO ATTACK US! RUN!

[rather]

Epi, are you sure oil will last perpetually?

You're confused with your oral and anal diarrhea -poor baby, it will never quit

[rather retarded]

CHINESE HAVE SMALL DICKS THEY WILL KILL US FOR VIAGRA AAAAAAAAH

[P Brooks]

YELLOW

PERIL!!!!!!!!!!!!11

[P Brooks]

Maybe those wily gooks have learned the lessons of empire so well they won't waste a big slice of GDP on weaponry, when they can just go to Africa and make deals.

[The Truth]

Pretty soon (+/- 20 years, maybe even 10), we'll be in the same position in relation to China that the USSR was to us in the Cold War--we will have the smaller economy that is unable to win an arms race, the US will either have to give up and let the Chinese rerun the world or end up collapsing like the USSR.

I don't think a USSR-style collapse is that far off, especially with Peak Oil (they are investing in the technology to get off oil, we aren't):

http://www.energybulletin.net/node/23259

[The Truth]

And just like the refusal to follow anything other than Marxist-Leninist dogma doomed the USSR, the refusal in this country to realize that American-style capitalism and American-style democracy is unfit to successfully run a 21st-Century society will lead to collapse here.

[Episiarch]

Oh my god, you're a peak oil loon. Can you get any stupider? Please do, it's just so entertaining, you fucking idiot.

OH NOES THE CHINKS ARE GOING TO ARMS RACE US WITH THEIR AMAZING ECONOMY! RUNNNNNNNN!!!

[The Truth]

Tell me why Peak Oil is wrong or "nutty", or maybe you can't and would prefer to engage in childish insults.

I just love the fact on this board that everyone (1) thinks man-made global warming is a fraud and (2) believes that the oil economy can go on forever. Basically, people denying objective reality because it violates their pet economic cult.

[Episiarch]

There is nothing funnier than a retard like yourself talking about denying reality. I asked you to get stupider, and you did. Can you keep going? Tell me more about peak oil, you fucking cretin. This is amusing beyond belief.

[Joshua Corning]

Tell me why Peak Oil is wrong or "nutty", or maybe you can't and would prefer to engage in childish insults.

Over 100 years worth of current global consumption of oil can be converted from US coal preserves alone....this only includes the amount of coal we know about let alone the oil and natural gas preserves we do know about.

Oh yeah and our natural gas production recently became number one in the world, which is directly counter to the peak oil arguments.

Then we can get into the comparative advantage argument about free trade and the whole idea that the US need to produce all of its own fossil fuel energy becomes not only absurd but childish to consider.

Then looking at the fact that US consumption (READ CONSUMPTION NOT PRODUCTION) of oil has peaked this decade one has to wonder how you have to mental capability to breath.

[The Truth]

Over 100 years worth of current global consumption of oil can be converted from US coal preserves alone

That's extremely energy intensive. Nobody is going to use two barrels worth of oil to get one. Not to mention extremely dirty (lots and lots of carbon).

Natural gas? Fracking (which they use to get natural gas now) is setting people's water on fire and spreading toxins in the air, and quite possibly may cause earthquakes. Doesn't sound like a great idea to me.

The only reason oil consumption peaked was because we had an economic meltdown at the end of the last decade. Once the economy fully recovers its right back to overconsumption.

[R C Dean]

Fracking (which they use to get natural gas now) is setting people's water on fire and spreading toxins in the air, and quite possibly may cause earthquakes.

I think fracking has become the new chemtrails.

[The Truth]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRZ4LQSonXA

I guess that was just made up, huh?

[Joshua Corning]

That's extremely energy intensive. Nobody is going to use two barrels worth of oil to get one. Not to mention extremely dirty (lots and lots of carbon).

it can be produced at $40 a barrel.

Fracking (which they use to get natural gas now) is setting people's water on fire and spreading toxins in the air, and quite possibly may cause earthquakes. Doesn't sound like a great idea to me.

Good idea or not we are doing it right now and we are the no 1 producer of natural gas. Also coal and oil pollute water....so i fail to see the difference.

The only reason oil consumption peaked was because we had an economic meltdown at the end of the last decade. Once the economy fully recovers its right back to overconsumption.

This is dead wrong. Following trends peak oil consumption was set to occur by 2020 anyway. The recession just sped it up.

Finally none of your bullshit examples demonstrate how peak oil is not complete nonsense. Even if what you said is remotely true (it is not) none of them demonstrate that oil is running out in any sort of time line that matters.

Is it possible we will run out 1000 years from now? sure...but who the fuck gives a shit.

I also like how you totally skipped over comparative advantage.I can tell it is a huge blind spot in your grade school "YELLOW PEOPLE ARE GOING TO KILL US" thinking.

[Buster Bunns]

The Right needs to cool it with the rhetoric about abortions, planned parenthood, NPR et alia. Its the economy stupid and Independents will place this issue front and center every time they vote or voice opinion. And they decide elections.

[P Brooks]

Wake me up when China has a higher per capita GDP than Peru.

[The Truth]

Per capita GDP is not the measure of raw war-making ability and power, total GDP (PPP) is.

If the former were true, then Switzerland, Luxembourg and Norway would be world powers since they have per capita GDP that dwarfs ours.

[R C Dean]

I would note that not even the Nazis were willing to fuck with Switzerland's awesome per capita GDP. And universal gun ownership. So, if you're worried about being invaded, that there's a pretty good model to follow.

[The Truth]

Heh, the Swiss pretty much did what the Nazis wanted (not out of choice, of course) so there was no need to invade. The joke was that the Swiss worked for the Nazis six days of the week and prayed for the Allies on the seventh.

Switzerland isn't invincible. Napoleon established control over it rather easily.

[rather]

http://www.amazon.com/Swiss-Go.....0151003343

[Joshua Corning]

And universal gun ownership.

Wow i did not know that.

hey you might know,
Why are their army knives so tiny?

And why can you uncork a wine bottle with one but you cant fasten one to the end of a rifle?

[Tncm]

"Per capita GDP is not the measure of raw war-making ability and power, total GDP (PPP) is."

Do you know what gross domestic product is? It's an approximation of how much a country would get if it literally sold all of its assets on the market at one time. It does not mean that a country has some fixed amount of USD that it magically gets every year which it can then spend on anything it wants. Moreover, all of the statistical information we have on China's economy comes from PROC's central government, and they don't exactly have an incentive to be honest with the rest of the world.

All of the meaningful growth in China has occurred in the special economic zones, places of low taxation and regulation. The wealthiest area in China (which also has the fourth highest human development rating in the world) is Hong Kong, a tax haven where business regulation is almost non-existent. The central planners in China can't take credit for any of this besides recognizing the futility of Marxism-Leninism.

I don't know how many times I have to repeat this to you, but China is gearing itself up for a Great Depression-style meltdown. It's pushing interest rates close to 0% with one of the most reckless credit expansion schemes ever witnessed, causing a massive housing and stock bubble that isn't even comparable to our own. To put it in perspective, entire cities are being built in China with absolutely no one inhabiting them (see: "ghost cities"). By continually depreciating the value of the yuan they are in essence "exporting" their purchasing power to the United States and depressing real wages at home. Couple that with a government that has an, at best, tenuous control over Chinese society and you've got a ticking time bomb waiting to go off. And when it does, we'll all be here to say, "I told you so".

[The Truth]

People have been predicting a China "meltdown" for the last thirty years.

Meanwhile, the only country that actually had an economic meltdown was the US in 2008.

[Tncm]

"People have been predicting a China 'meltdown' for the last thirty years."

Totally irrelevant. I know this is difficult to understand, but bland, unsupported platitudes don't make an adequate substitute for debate here. Either address the points I made or don't bother responding at all. Even Tony and Chad at least do me that courtesy, however haphazardly.

"Meanwhile, the only country that actually had an economic meltdown"

Global recession?

"was the US in 2008."

And we certainly weren't forcing down interest rates through credit expansion, causing malinvestment in capital and capital-intensive industries like housing and the stock market. Nope, it was the spawn of Satan known as Capitalism that caused the Great Recession.

[Joshua Corning]

Meanwhile, the only country that actually had an economic meltdown was the US in 2008.

Yeah china had theirs in 2009....because of the US melt down.

You do realize that two countries going to war against each other that are as trade dependent on each other as the US and china are would be unprecedented in human history right?

Also the Greeks would disagree with you.

[The Truth]

BTW, the CCP has an approval rating of 80% when Pew did a poll of the population in China. I wouldn't call it "tenuous" control, they're incredibly popular with everyone except Tibetan religious wackos, nutty artists, and people who just want to make trouble.

[Tncm]

"BTW, the CCP has an approval rating of 80% when Pew did a poll of the population in China."

And I'm sure fear of reprisal from a dictatorial regime didn't skew those numbers at all. Please link the poll, though, I'd be interested in reading it.

"I wouldn't call it 'tenuous' control"

Clearly. That's why political dissidents aren't disappearing by the hundreds and why China feels no need to constantly intimidate its populous.

"Tibetan religious wackos"

You mean the people who had their country invaded, property seized, and friends and family killed. Yeah, "religious wackos".

"nutty artists,"

Are these artists the same as the artist who got arrested for making an offhand remark on Twitter about the Jasmine Revolution?

"and people who just want to make trouble."

Supporters of freedom, democracy, and individualism.

Your fetish for autocracy is truly disgusting.

[The Truth]

They don't want to live in a country that can't even pass a budget on time, that can't get its fiscal house in order, and that is controlled by masses of ignorant voters manipulated by demagouges--which is what the US is now.

You mean the people who had their country invaded, property seized, and friends and family killed. Yeah, "religious wackos".

The Dali Lama is to China what David Koresh was to the federal government. If the tables were turned, we'd be doing the same thing.

[Tncm]

"They don't want to live in a country that can't even pass a budget on time, that can't get its fiscal house in order, and that is controlled by masses of ignorant voters manipulated by demagouges--which is what the US is now."

Which has what to with China, exactly?

"The Dali Lama is to China what David Koresh was to the federal government."

The leader of an independent, sovereign nation has what do with David Koresh, exactly?

"If the tables were turned, we'd be doing the same thing."

And it would be equally as damnable and fascistic.

[The Truth]

If China is "occupying" Tibet, I guess the US is "occupying" the Southwest and Hawaii then, huh?

[Tncm]

"If China is "occupying" Tibet"

I don't know why you're putting scare quotes around occupying; that is what the People's Republic of China is doing to Tibet. They are using their military to subject Tibetans to martial law. There is no room for debate on that subject.

"I guess the US is 'occupying' the Southwest"

We did acquire most of the Southwest from the Mexican-American War, yes. But so far as I know, we aren't brutally oppressing rebellions, jailing political dissidents, and instituting martial law in New Mexico.

"Hawaii"

Hawaii was unlawfully annexed, no question there.

[The Truth]

And BTW, if the Dali Lama lived in the US and been a right wing Christian talking about overthrowing the government the FBI would have burned down his compound and thrown him in federal prison by now.

[Tncm]

"And BTW, if the Dali Lama lived in the US and been a right wing Christian talking about overthrowing the government the FBI would have burned down his compound and thrown him in federal prison by now."

Red herring. And please stop speaking in acronyms; it's incredibly obnoxious.

[The Truth]

This is hilarious:

http://www.balloon-juice.com/2.....meet-ikea/

The US is now Sweden's Mexico! A third world hell hole to get cheap labor from, since Swedish workers would never work for such little money and so few benefits.

Thanks again, Reagan!

[Tncm]

Comparative advantage, how does it work?

[The Truth]

Read the article, the environment in that factory is abusive. Swedish workers don't take it, why should Americans?

Why don't we have five weeks paid vacation gauranteed by law and a $19/hour minimum wage?

[Tncm]

I take it that you don't know what comparative advantage is.

"Read the article, the environment in that factory is abusive. Swedish workers don't take it, why should Americans?"

I don't know, why don't you go ask them?

"Why don't we have five weeks paid vacation"

You mean five weeks of lost productivity, subsidized by the people who do work?

"and a $19/hour minimum wage?"

Maybe we should get their unemployment rate of 17%?

[The Immaculate Trouser]

So lemme get your thought process straight.

1) China is "beating" the US at growth. Let's ignore all proximate causes and whether trends can continue, and give all glory to the Hypnotoad CCP.

2) America is doomed unless it devolves further in European-style social democracy -- Europe being a region of the world with growth rates even more sclerotic than ours.

That about sum it up, cupcake, or should there be a step in between where you beat off to images of mutilated Tibetans?

[Tncm]

"That about sum it up, cupcake, or should there be a step in between where you beat off to images of mutilated Tibetans?"

I'm pretty sure he's a sockpuppet, but that's what he's been doing for a good hour and a half now.

[AU H20]

Also, given that at least 3 different Euro area countries have requested a bailout, with Italy and Spain looming as possibilities... why the fuck would we want to emulate the things over there?

The only Euro-zone country who came out of this thing well was Germany, with no minimum wage and a pretty good debt to GDP ratio.

[Tncm]

"2) America is doomed unless it devolves further in European-style social democracy -- Europe being a region of the world with growth rates even more sclerotic than ours."

I don't have the numbers on this, but wasn't it common for countries like Sweden to have years of zero annual growth?

[The Immaculate Trouser]

Yes, it was until the 90s, when Sweden stopped choking its own economy and rolled back some of the worst excesses of its system.

[Joshua Corning]

Wait....

Balloon juice?

Are you joe?

What the fuck happened?

Did Obama's inept presidency give you a stroke?

I have to say that the cognitive dissonance of your support of our new war in Libya probably caused the fracture in your head.

[Big pony]

I like it...thanks...

[Links of London]

The hourglass recall deficit or protect is Links of London silver elapsed bangles or more of the past The spit the ache is still unwilling links of london sale part and spit jolt it is not to vacation down the place is the destiny of millions of reverberated London

[Links of London]

The hourglass recall deficit or protect is Links of London silver elapsed bangles or more of the past The spit the ache is still unwilling

[small toy]

If China is "occupying" Tibet, I guess the US is "occupying" the Southwest and Hawaii then