Text 8366, 183 rader
Skriven 2006-09-13 10:52:00 av Robert E Starr JR (8863.babylon5)
Ärende: Re: My presidential pick
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Vorlonagent wrote:
> Nobody have ever called me "Johnny" before. Not even when I was a kid.
I figured a few of the regulars around here might also get a chuckle
out of that :^)
> Are you suggesting government evangilization of organic farms or what? The
> market should take care of a lot of this. If there's more demand than
> supply for organic food, farms will convert to produce organic food.
> Farming's tough business. I grew up (and currently live) in CA's central
> valley, which is prime faming land. I'm not sure we're organized to the
> point of co-ops around here, but there are produce stands everywhere and for
> "organic" we have Whole Foods.
No government evangelization or intervention required. Our local whole
foods sells 'local harvest' right alongside the nationally
available brands, thus encouraging, not discouraging, growth in the
local markets.
I was thinking in terms of expertise. Since our government is in the
farming business I thought it might be of some use, perhaps not. :^)
there is a national, I forget the name, organization of retired (and
successful) business people who conduct free seminars for budding
entrepreneurs, offering advice and constructive review of fledgling
business plans. There's plenty of know how out there. The trick is
making it available to those who would most benefit.
> We got plenty of migrants here in central CA. Are you suggesting something
> like "gypsy schools" and/or "gypsy clinics" that follow the major migrant
> movement patterns? Sounds like a potentially interesting AmeriCorps
> project. Lots of practicality issues, but none that couldn't conceivably be
> overcome. The question would be whether it could be overcome within a
> budget.
I have no idea if I'm suggesting 'gypsy services.' I was
thinking more that they could be encouraged to give up their nomadic
lifestyle for a more permanent one. AmeriCorps, sure. (although,
admittedly, I don't know much about it.)
> Not that I begrudge retired people a reasonable income, but are the people
> earning a supplemental income the ones that need help?
Yes, as the cost of living traditionally goes up, not down. ;^)
> Corporations would want to take on those who are most desirable to them, and
> they would not generally be inner-city kids. This would be good for poor
> but promising students. You would need some kind of means-test and
> companies would want some kind of aptitude test.
(gasp!) shame on you. A company like FUBU would gladly employ a street
savvy yute with a basic understanding of the market economy. I
wasn't suggesting that the students receiving 'forgiveness' are
necessarily the same students being considered for internships. I was
looking at it more as a vehicle to generate money that could be used to
sponsor those less fortunate. Not everyone will leave college able to
pay off student loans through gainful employment. But there is value
in education, making it available (minus the delayed financial burden)
makes sense to me.
> > Confronting poverty can happen in any political situation. It's a
> > matter of priority.
>
> ....and agreement on a direction.
Yes.
> Nobody ever wants to leave a job they like. :) My rep promised to
> self-term-limit. He didn't.
>
> I wish the framers had paid a little more attention to the Judicial Branch.
>
> The system in place for implementing social change is legislation, which is
> the provice of the legislative branch of government. Over the last 20-30
> years, we've seen legislation originate from the judicial branch.
Can you give me an example of this, I'm not sure I follow.
> Minor Correction: Hezbollah is a minority player in the Lebanese government.
> Some Hezbos are ministers in the Lebanese cabinet, I think in recognition of
> the military power they had before inciting the Israelis. IIRC, they're
> minority players (in terms of numbers) in the lebanese government.
>
> Hamas' ascention to control of the Palestinian authority was expected and
> probably unavoidable. Just because you're holding elections doesn't mean
> there's anyone running we'd actually want to have power. Both Arafat's
> Fatah and Hamas are terroist groups. In many ways, Hamas' win takes the
> "Arafat gloss" off the PA and enables us all to see things as they are. The
> people running the show in Palestine are terrorists. They were before the
> election as well as after. But the Palestinian people got the chance to
> choose the terrorists who'd helped people and choose against than the
> terrorists who should be helping people and who were instead stealing aid
> money and socking it away in wiss bank accounts (RE Arafat himself). It's a
> start. Down the road, they may get the chance to choose someone who
> actually has their interests at heart.
>
> Hezbollah uses more or less the same methods. The moment the ceasefire went
> into effect, they were flashing cash in southern lebanon. It is worth
> noting that Hezbollah has counterfeited US currency before.
Minor corrections noted (and discarded :^)
Counterfeiting.... unnecessary. Oil is bought and sold exclusively in
'petrodollars,' meaning US currency only. As a member of opec
Lebanon gets all the US dollars it needs. Interestingly enough iran
may be trying to change this by suggesting oil be bought and sold with
euros as well as dollars.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/C1C0C9B3-DDA9-42E2-AE9C-B7CDBA08A6E9.htm
> Nobody likes something imposed on them. Nor did we really "impose"
> democracy on Iraq so much as give them the opportunity. The turnout in last
> years' elections doesn't suggest it to have been a bad fit.
what?!....excuse me while I go bang my head against a wall :^)
> The problem with your theory is that the arab peoples already have something
> that gets our attention. Oil. If we don't speak to (rather than at them)
> them with oil running at $70/barrel, a nuke isn't going to change that
> situation.
>
> I consider Iran as desiring the be THE power in its sphere of influence. I
> read the mullah's motivation as powerlust, not feelings of powerlessness.
> They most certainly are capitalizing on of feelings of helplessness among
> the common people.
It all boils down to the same thing, our nations unhealthy dependency
on foreign oil (the fact that its influence over the global energy
market is waning isn't helping.) Before the administration took it
upon itself to 'liberate' the Iraqi people from a cruel dictator
(and the world from the threat of WMD's he supposedly had) the US
bought zero oil from iraq. As of jun/06 iraq is one of the top 10
exporters of oil to the US at 617 thousand barrels a day.
http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/company_level_imports/current/import.html
how much oil do we import from iran? zero, because the US doesn't do
business with terrorist, and rightly so. But I look at the situation
in iran and I think, here we go. Our government is preparing to go to
war (again) in order to circumvent an inconvenient principle through
forceful regime change.
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0411-21.htm
crazy as this sounds I really want to believe the conflict with iran is
about nukes. But I can't. iran is sitting on the second largest oil
reserve on the planet. Are we going to invade iran, you betch-ya.
(Nukes or no nukes.) Our government desperately needs to control/have
influence over the global energy market because our economy is largely
oil based. Iran is not the least bit interested in feeding our need
for cheap fuel and is actively seeking to change the nature of the fuel
trade. can't have that. bloody terrorists!
> Consider the example of MTV. The programming is as shallow as it comes.
> Then we talk about the freedom implied in the ability to actually make and
> distribute it. I'd be willing to be that CSI lays similar lessons between
> the lines--only about authority figures that are concerned about something
> other than personal convienence and bribes.
we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one.
> I oped for ruthlessly cutting back to the bare minimum verbage.
thank you kindly
lg
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