Dude, you are so full of shit it's coming out your keyboard.>> ^quantumushroom:

Why would I debate the particulars of this socialist bu11sh!t? Ears is the same inexperienced, clueless N00B from yesterday and the day before.
So as the atheist announces arguing over the particulars of deities is irrelevant, so I proclaim arguing the details of a phony "right" to health care that has never existed in America is also irrelevant.
USA is going broke, and of the two parties, one won't go far enough in trying to stop it, and the other that believes Government is the True God will attempt to raise taxes, their only solution to every problem and the equivalent of demolishing coastal homes to protect them from being destroyed by tsunamis.

In reply to this comment by RedSky:
Can you try responding to the video next time? Especially the last minute.>> ^quantumushroom:
The only sin in dealing with His Earness is not being tough enough.
Taxocrats rejoice. This latest crop of "new" Republicans is too cowardly and too weak to be effective.

Why would I debate the particulars of this socialist bu11sh!t? Ears is the same inexperienced, clueless N00B from yesterday and the day before.

So as the atheist announces arguing over the particulars of deities is irrelevant, so I proclaim arguing the details of a phony "right" to health care that has never existed in America is also irrelevant.

USA is going broke, and of the two parties, one won't go far enough in trying to stop it, and the other that believes Government is the True God will attempt to raise taxes, their only solution to every problem and the equivalent of demolishing coastal homes to protect them from being destroyed by tsunamis.



In reply to this comment by RedSky:
Can you try responding to the video next time? Especially the last minute.>> ^quantumushroom:

The only sin in dealing with His Earness is not being tough enough.
Taxocrats rejoice. This latest crop of "new" Republicans is too cowardly and too weak to be effective.

I had to do a paper on them. Gold is a huge export as well as diamonds (although I don't see gold mentioned that much anymore; maybe it died out as the report is ten years old). It's chief exports are cocoa, iron, petroleum, copper, and cobalt (plus fish as they are coastal).

The French have a direct involvement with their past and I believe they still have ties presently. We do have reasons to be there "resource wise" as others were asking; like I said the French are there already. The "strange" name of Ivory Coast compared to other African countries is a dead giveaway that it was a colony (like South Africa--an extremely simplistic choice for a country's name).

I know someone from Ghana (next to Ivory Coast) and the situation there is bad (I believe he left in the early 90's; it was during a lot of bloodshed--I know another from Bulgaria, actually he was in the army for them; he left literally because his life and his mother's life were in grave danger--they got into the U.S. via political asylum). Ghana I think is the main exporter of gold and is next door. It wouldn't surprise me if the U.N. or a country does something soon if the situation spreads. To me it seems highly likely that this could spread to Ghana and a bit in every direction around those two.

For example, I watched to find out the extent of damage from the tsunami, and I've watched the videos on the sift of the wave hitting the coastal towns, but since then there's been 'up to the minute' updates on the nuclear situation from people who don't understand nuclear technology and have no new information. It seems to me that there'll be a while before anything significantly changes on that, and I'm not willing to stay glued to the telly while this goes on. Honestly, it seems a bit depraved to me to want to do that. I'm not saying I'm normal, that's just how I see it.

Just to be clear, from video description itself:

"Be aware, the one in this footage is not the original Tsunami. If you see the coastal land, you will see that the initial Tsunami has already struck."

>> ^Trancecoach:

true f ing story.


It's also interesting to note that these are the same times you'll find Puritans going nuts about everything and prohibition.

All this "blue law" crap and other culture/societal based laws literally sent us on a path with the Mob/Mafia that we still deal with today; it almost destroyed the country (or atleast it may have fragmented it). Now we have the "Drug Wars™" and they're doing the same thing. We even got a new Federal Arm as the DHS. Time will tell if we dig ourselves out before it gets to bloody.

/Just look at Texas, New Mexico, Florida, Arizona, and California (and to a lesser degree other coastal/border states). It's the Mob/Mafia Part II, except we call them Druglords™ and Gangs™ and speak of them as though they're a tiny nuisance to the community and that once they're in jail everything is peachy again. Wait ten too twenty years when it gets farther into the country than right at the border. Then in 50-60 years Zynga can make a new, really popular game called Drug Wars™. Hollywood will have it's movies as well: Druglord I, Druglord II, Druglord III...

//So frustratingly predictable.

This is perfectly normal procedure when a plane has to return to/land at an airport when heavily laden with fuel. It's not to reduce the risk of explosions on landing impact, it's simply because the plane is too heavy to land with all that fuel on board. Planes have a maximum landing weight that the aircraft body and landing gear can withstand, and this weight is always less than the maximum take off weight. So, if a plane has to make an emergency landing (in this case due to a hydraulic issue), they need to dump the fuel to get it below the maximum landing weight.

Saying that, fuel dumping normally occurs out at sea (for coastal airports) or over uninhabited land. However in this case, that could obviously not be done.

... in an emergency (as in the plane could potentially crash), fuel dumping is the last thing on the pilot's mind... what if the pilot dumps the fuel and recovers from the emergency? He may have dumped too much fuel to get to the nearest airport.
>> ^ponceleon:

Interesting but I have to wonder whether it is a matter of an emergency. Ultimately if a plane is having an emergency and can dump the fuel to reduce risk of explosions on impact (or elsewhere) I don't see a problem. I'd rather have a plane with little fuel falling out of the sky than a plane full of fuel falling out of the sky.

>> ^Mcboinkens:

He proposed a problem, but no solution. So he gets nothing. Stopping dispersants will keep the oil on the surface, and then it will just screw up the coastline. Dispersants will keep the coastline slightly more clear, but may harm creatures that live under the slick because it will create a column of oilwater.
Anyone could say dispersants are dangerous. This guy had nothing interesting to say except that one heartbeat a minute still gives an all clear rating by the EPA, and even that could just be big talk. He said he worked on those type of tests and has seen it before. Well, way to speak up before the spill. What other chemicals have been given an all clear when they are really toxic?



While it is always easier to poke holes in the boat rather than make it float, it still is valid concern. Moreover, what if breaking up the oil saves the beaches and kills the entire ocean for the next 200 years instead? These are questions you want the answers to before you start dumping millions of tons of chemical solvents in the ocean. Let it be known that all forms of corexit are not non-toxic. 2-Butoxyethanol, a main component of corexit is known to cause tumors in air breathing mamals after exposure. Heavy exposure via respiratory, dermal or oral routes can lead to hypotension, metabolic acidosis, hemolysis, pulmonary edema and coma. The cure in this case might be worse than the sickness. We might toxify (which isn't a word sadly even though detoxify is) the oceans to the point of causing a breakdown in the phytoplankton's ability to ability to survive in coastal waters for some generations.

The point is we don't know, the studies on corexit are limited, even by the EPAs own admission. This could be the equivalent of dumping cyanide in the base of the food chain for most life on the planet.

Right, that is what I was trying to point out which you made much more clear

Watching the video, I don't understand how BP "owned" the oil. As far as I understand the government owns all coastal waters and BP just leases it. I think the way property and mineral rights work in the US need some slight refinement. I think it is dumb that a person can own something they do not yet have control over. Just because of the fact that you own some land, I don't think that should give you claim over things that you haven't yet cultivated from it. If we adjusted ownership claims sightly, it could give more powers to the people whom actually do the mining/making. It would place more power back into the hands of the people that do things instead of the people who buy things. I have the same kind of thoughts on intellectual property. You can't own ideas, you can only own what you do with them. In the same fashion, you can't just own the ground, you own what you do (on/in/with/from/more verbs) it. I think this slight adjustment could do great things, though I still need to work through all the logical implications (one day).

For me, that is one of the largest roles of government, defining private property. It isn't something that is an objective truth. The way that mineral rights, and intellectual rights are configured right now are horrible. They encourage large concentration of power for people who no longer produce goods, just buy ideas/property.

Though, I don't find fault with people get lots of money for something they do well, I love newegg and amazon, and have no problem with the people living the good life. I think we all find a problem with people that don't really do anything but game the system and somehow squeeze money from it without providing any real benefit, hell, even BP makes something we all need desperately. Day traders, property flippers, and the like I see as people who are found glitches in the system they are exploiting, and while there will always be such things I still think they could be mended with more clearly defining some of the base elements. The fact that BP owns the oil just due to the fact they have enough money to lease land and make more money seems off. It is like renting someone to make the money for you that you already bought.

This Be The Verse

They fuck you up, your mum and dad.
They may not mean to, but they do.
They fill you with the faults they had
And add some extra, just for you.

But they were fucked up in their turn
By fools in old-style hats and coats,
Who half the time were soppy-stern
And half at one another's throats.

Man hands on misery to man.
It deepens like a coastal shelf.
Get out as early as you can,
And don't have any kids yourself.

~ Philip Larkin

^Nice copy pasta. Well then I raise you with this:

Richard Falk, professor emeritus of international law at Princeton University and U.N. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory said that the “ships that were situated in the high seas where freedom of navigation exists, according to the law of the seas” and called for those responsible to "be held criminally accountable for their wrongful acts".[181]

In a legal analysis published by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, a staff expert on international law explained that countries are not allowed to extend their sovereignty on areas outside of their coastal waters. In a zone extending 24 nautical miles (44 km) from the coast, countries have the right to inspect ships in order to enforce immigration and public health laws and regulations. In international waters, if there is reasonable suspicion of piracy or human trafficking, a country has the right to access foreign ships. If the suspicion remains, it can search the ship. Israeli soldiers have the right to defend themselves. If Israel has used force against the ships without legal justification, the crew members had the right to defend themselves.[text 2]

Robin Churchill, international law professor at the University of Dundee in Scotland, said there was no legal basis for boarding the ships as they were in international waters. [182] Ove Bring, Swedish international law professor, said that Israel had no right to take military action.[183] That was supported by Mark Klamberg at Stockholm University,[184] Hugo Tiberg, maritime law professor[185] and Geir Ulfstein, professor at maritime law at University of Oslo,[186] while Jan Egeland, director of the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs said that only North Korea behaved in international waters in the same manner as Israel.[187]

Canadian scholar Michael Byers notes that the event would only be legal if the Israeli boarding were necessary and proportionate for the country's self defence. Byers believes that "the action does not appear to have been necessary in that the threat was not imminent."[188] Jason Alderwick, a maritime analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies of London, was quoted as saying that the Israeli raid did not appear to have been conducted lawfully under the convention.[189] Anthony D'Amato, international law professor at Northwestern University School of Law, argued that the San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea applies to a situation in which the laws of war between states are in force. He said the laws of war do not apply in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, which isn't even a state. He said the law of the Geneva Conventions would apply.[9] Said Mahmoudi, an international law professor, said that boarding a ship on international waters, kill and capture civilians is not in line with the law.[190]

A group of Israeli lawyers, including Avigdor Feldman, petitioned the Israeli High Court charging that Israel had violated the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea by capturing the boats in international waters. [191]

Turkey's foreign minister Ahmet Davutoğlu called the raid "a grave breach of international law and constituted banditry and piracy—it was “murder” conducted by a State, without justification".[22] Prominent Turkish jurists have characterized Israel's actions as a violation of international law and a "war crime."

Turkey's deputy parliament speaker, Guldal Mumcu, said in a declaration that "[t]his attack was an open violation of United Nations rules and international law," and that "Turkey should seek justice against Israel through national and international legal authorities. The parliament expects the Turkish government to revise the political, military and economic relations with Israel, and to take effective measures."[192]
Dr. Turgut Tarhanlı, dean of the Law department of İstanbul Bilgi University,[193] cited the concept of innocent passage, under which vessels are granted safe passage through territorial waters in a manner which is not "prejudicial to the peace, good order or the security" of the state.[194] He said that the Convention on the Law of the Sea stipulates that a coastal state may consider intervention if a ship is engaged in arms and drug smuggling, the slave trade or terrorist activities. However, the case with the aid boats is totally different. They set sail in accordance with the Customs Act and are known to be carrying humanitarian aid, not weapons or ammunition. According to the Convention on the Law of the Sea, Israel was not entitled to launch a military operation against the boats and activists.[195]

>> ^blankfist:

What I wish could happen is the entire east coastal residents of the US sue the fucking bijeezus out of those corrupt corporatist cock bastards. I wish they couldn't only be sued as a corporation, but also individually.



Yeah, I'm often frustrated by how it seems that corporate crimes rarely ever catch up to the individuals responsible. More often the company loses money through settlements or fines, and they can always declare bankruptcy and reform if it gets too bad. Meanwhile the actual individuals at the top that profited most from the misdeeds get to keep their golden parachutes, and those at the bottom with the least involvement lose their jobs and pensions.

But one bit of good news, the federal government recently launched a criminal investigation. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/01/bp-criminal-investigation_n_596626.html

What I wish could happen is the entire east coastal residents of the US sue the fucking bijeezus out of those corrupt corporatist cock bastards. I wish they couldn't only be sued as a corporation, but also individually.

^He didn't choose his words very well, and it comes across as a little selfish and insensitive. Unless he goes to jail for this (HA!), his life will be just fine. Even if the board fires him, he'll still be stinking rich with nothing to worry about. His kids will want for nothing. In the mean time, back in the Gulf, environments will be ruined, jobs will be lost, and coastal communities ravaged. And like Pong said, 11 people have no lives at all to go back to.

So before he opened his mouth he should have chose his words better. A LOT better.

I agree with dystosdopoigva'sdfvtoday. Some people talk like that, but those people aren't a representation of postmodernist culture. They're just like, you know, idiots? No different from the idiots that have existed since the beginning of humanity. Art, civility, perspectives on our role in society, pretensions, our relationships. Those where the things I was hoping for when I watched the video.

Upvote because I openly loathe people who talk like that. I went so far as explaining to a Botany assistant that the way she talked ensured that she would automatically receive less credibility than her peers. Regardless of how intelligent her ideas had been. She since went to grad school and studyed the coastal redwood symbiosis with fungi. When she gave her thesis presentation, I was pleased to hear her talk confidently and with conviction. I was the first one out of my seat to give her an ovation, she nailed the research.