ZENmud

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Merkel Presses U.S. on Climate Change Deal

Well, I lived up in Vail, COLO, for thirteen years, and one year we had a huge storm in October: over three feet in one night at the top o' the mountain, and maybe 15 fast-melting inches in-town. And that was the last storm until January: the Christmas crowd was skiing on the vestiges (and man-made) of that one storm... The factor that people don't follow, is that 'Warming' tends to mean more extremes, and changed patterns... Also consider 'global humidification'... ? if we're on a planet with 71pc surface water, and if it warms, then we are certain to have more rain, more snow, more fog.. (I realize that's too many 'if's' classic case of 'free riders' syndrome: no matter how many want a constructive reform, the minority that refuses gets to have their own way, and retard progress. Z  (Tuesday Nov 3 | post #37)

Top Stories

Merkel Presses U.S. on Climate Change Deal

what a pile of çhit... ALERT>> >>>> >URGENT TPX has a new 'Dunce-o-th-month' club, and the nominations are piling up... (actually this sounds cool; you're saying Swahili-speaking bureaucrats are going to take over Joe's Diner in Butte, Montana... and Gonzales' Tire store there in La Jolla... my gods! what are we going to dooooooo, dew?) Z  (Tuesday Nov 3 | post #36)

Offbeat

Has anyone installed the Topix Toolbar yet?

I'm disappointed also in TPX's 'reply notification' system... it would be very easy to have a link-system that actually generated how many times someone actually hit 'your' post, and thus tell you you 'actually' had "six replies", but instead, the system enumerates how many subsequent posts are generated since 'your' last writing... and the notices are often wigged-out. but all that's changed, now, the idea is to tell how 'hot' a TPX might be, by stating the most recent-reply time. That may be more useful than knowing that a) no one, b) someone, or c) 14,364 ppl have registered a comment since 'your' last post... I'm still trying to find the reason a Yahoo! page appears every time my recently upgraded Firefox opens a new tab... pesky wabbits... (means I'll prob'ly skip their tool bar... ZENjd  (Tuesday Nov 3 | post #17)

Cycling

Cycling: I just want to race, says Landis

well I couldn't restrain myself: here's a great paragraph from that report by the UCI: quote: Before moving on to the specifics of the report, it should be added that the UCI is aware of at least three other major International Federations who have experienced significant problems working with AFLD. One International Federation now arranges sample collection and analysis of samples by parties outside of France for its premier event on French soil; another International Federation had to severely reprimand AFLD for failing to conduct sufficient tests on the French national team members before a major World Championships in 2009. Yet another International Federation experienced the same breakdown of anonymity of a sample sent to the laboratory with the athlete’s name included. endQUOTE SO... that would the the ITF, which sends its samples (collected by a Swedish company) to Montreal, to Dr Ayotte's lab, from Roland Garros, only 18km by TAXI from the French lab... UCI didn't state where the 'World Championships' were in 2009, but France hosted the Skiing WCs... would the French Agency have ignored French skiers before an on-French-snow Championship? or is this a Rugby team or... handball? I dunno... Personally, I think it's time for Plucky Pierre Bordry to stop obsessing and start planning for his seaside retreat (probably funded by pharmaceutical kickbacks hehheh) Ztwo  (Tuesday Nov 3 | post #18)

Cycling

Cycling: I just want to race, says Landis

Raymond my friend, your cousin's in A HEAP of sh/t, dans le merde, for real! After slipping an 'official report' to LE MONDE newspaper, so they could leak it's devastating effects (in 'reputation' only, not in 'substance'), the UCI has blasted back with a report that should allow French Minister Rosalyne Bachelot enough 'ammo' to fire his sorry pinched ass... How about the five samples from ONE French team, whose riders were tested in May... and then Named on the sample bottles, thus rendering each Sample 'Void' (what dear lost wILL would have called 'a technicality'... sheeeeesh); Even better, mon ami: the AFLD Director asked for 'whereabouts' testing information from the UCI in the spring, and the UCI was happy to comply... in the time that UCI performed 190 tests, the AFLD performed 13! And five of those are above... I'm guessing that 5 or 6 of the eight remaining tests were on Armstrong himself... whaddaya think? How about the assigned AFLD DCO (doping control officers: doctors who 'take an oath in French courts to do their work honestly'), as I said 'assigned', by AFLD to attend certain UCI races, and who didn't ever show up? How about the claim by cousin Plucky Pierre Bordry that "UCI officials were discussing future doping test 'victims' in 'a loud discussion in a public setting'" in Barcelona on July SEVENTH (that was the claim written in AFLD official Report), when the Tour wasn't even in Barcelona until July NINTH? (bwaaaaaahahahahaa aaa); How about his claim that the UCI wasn't using the AFLD 'chaperones' when the UCI response was that 'one chaperone went to the TdF organizers (ASO group, as we know here), to 'inform them about a 'CERTAIN RIDER'S' morning test 'irregularity'? How about Plucky Pierre's claim that UCI didn't follow the rules to limit testing period to 30 minutes after the race, when ALL sports' rules have an exception for 'Medal ceremonies and Media interviews' (duh... that's what the chaperones are for!)... I'd go on but you guys should read the report itself www.uci.ch (the link to the Official report page is on the front page, top of middle column...) or read WADAwatch... Oh yeah! Cousin Bordry put out a Press statement /communiqué stating that he would 'make no public comments on the UCI report', which is chowderçhit when we remember how the LE MONDE paper must have had that October 5 report for at least three days, to write the drivel they did... (MOeP: heh heh: there's a good French 'old-school' sports writer, whose name escapes me, who mentioned that this 'October Surprise' happened the very DAY before Sarkozy was to sign FOUR BILLION euros' worth of contracts and 'bilaterals' with Kazakhi president, in ASTANA KZ (you can't buy bad timing like that ... heh heh hehh) ZENinsomnick  (Tuesday Nov 3 | post #17)

US Politics

Seventh-Grader Finds Barack Obama, All Presidents, Save One, Re...

His presence in Jackson Hole cost them this faithful skier-visitor... and it isn't even their fault... Can't we give him an outdated offshore Oil Rig and offer him a Prince-status to live there? :-)z  (Tuesday Nov 3 | post #31)

US Politics

Seventh-Grader Finds Barack Obama, All Presidents, Save One, Re...

FR network "CANAL +" actually showed the two incidents in which Obama's teleprompter fell, or broke (stopped scrolling at least... hung-up?), tonight, but the coverage was more oriented to 'what a bizarre media event/topic this is, when prompters have been part of Presidential TV life since the Seventies or Eighties' If the USA can survive George DoubleWar Bush, it'll probably survive Obama... look how much Bush did, since the day he welcomed the Taleban into his Governor's Office in 1996? Probably shook hands on the outcome of the next ten years, ehhh? ZENyup  (Tuesday Nov 3 | post #30)

US Politics

'If The Election Were Held Today Obama Would Lose'

Try telling us something we don't know... Clinton didn't abdicate to Bush the way that Bush did to Obama... I hope that's logical enough for you, simple-y? I lived in three regions of the USA... East, Midwest and the Rockies (thirteen years in Vail Colorado, thirteen years next to the Alpes in Switzerland: I think I 'understand' a couple things you've never experienced... sheeeeeeesh) I repeat, because you obviously DON'T understand logic, that the premise is based on what has happened since Obama took over, NOT on what would have happened if the election was this year. If the election was retarded a year, WHO would have presided in the interim? BUSH. You actually think two illogical thoughts: 1- Bush would have had his only successful year in office in the year since he left 2- McCain would have won against Obama or another, because he 'obviously' is/was the better candidate. Combined with the unrealistic premise of a nonsensical hypothetical 'what-if' situation, I hope that you understand it better this time, with the blinders off. Sorry you made me repeat myself, good luck with that problem of yours... ZENup  (Tuesday Nov 3 | post #166)

US Politics

'If The Election Were Held Today Obama Would Lose'

You do realize that 'voter records' are notorious for not 'cleaning out' the names of people who MOVED? or Died? Or married, so Anndee Harris became Anndee Hardy, and thus is on the rolls twice? Out of curiousity, for the City of Indianapolis, is their 'Chief Voting Officer' a Rep or a Dem? just curious, Z  (Tuesday Nov 3 | post #164)

US Politics

'If The Election Were Held Today Obama Would Lose'

Considering that Chatty-Kathy Harris disenfranchised some 300,000 Floridians, under the colour of office of Secretary of State, your blinders and hysteria are, in combo... kind of 'hysterical'... Go google 'convictions for voter fraud' instead of 'indictments'... and please link to your C-N-Paste sources? We'd like to confirm the source.... "Disinformati on" isn't a crime... so keep going anyway... ZENjd  (Tuesday Nov 3 | post #163)

US Politics

'If The Election Were Held Today Obama Would Lose'

I hate to bust in dear ANNDEE, but you're funny and ignorant about Volcker. Do you know Seventies history? There's only one reason we had a problem: Nixon took the USA off of the Gold Standard: gold went from $30/ounce to 325/ounce. Do you remember Jerry Ford? WIN buttons? ('Whip Inflation Now!'??) we had a substitute lineman-President replacing a disgraced former backup lineman President, after the end of the disgraceful Vnam war, and the launching of the Deficit engine, our form of permanent Military Keynesianism... Carter's ability to repair Nixon's damage is quite a good comparison to the situation today: only the numbers are magnified. Volcker, who stayed on under Reagan, 'busted' the 'inflation cycle' by jacking up FED rates to something like 20pc, which was one of many factors in the Savings and Loan crisis... Remember, 3 of the last five Republican Two-Term Presidents have presided over the three major housing failure-crises of the past 100 years. ZENstorian  (Tuesday Nov 3 | post #162)

US Politics

'If The Election Were Held Today Obama Would Lose'

I recall in 1993 or '4, when Bob Dole was whining and whimpering on Meet the dePressed, about Clinton's lack of mandate... (if you remember, it was a three-way, Clinton got 43pc, Ross Perot took 19pc, and Bush-the-Elder took most of the rest... 37pc). Anywho, Dole was whinnying that "Clinton had no mandate, fifty-seven percent didn't support him!" I thought 'what a dunderhead from the flatlands! That means SIXTY-THREE pc didn't support Your Guy'... So if Mr Obama only receives 41pc support, there's no guarantee that ONE person gets the 49pc of 'opposing Americans' Time soon to start getting returns (now 21h in NY, NJ, VA) zenJD  (Tuesday Nov 3 | post #158)

US Politics

'If The Election Were Held Today Obama Would Lose'

it's a funny logic you use, Gunnerif you took a moment to find any graph of US Fed Govt. deficits since 1940, you'd quickly discern that the red ink is ALWAYS trending to Republican Congresses. Many forget that the US Govt. nearly went bankrupt in the WWII budgets ('Victory Bonds'? 'War Bonds'?). "Liberal spending" puts money in pockets of people that HAVE NONE. You know what happens next? they pay landlords, supermarkets and used car lots... what do you think happens with the Tax cuts to millionaires? do you think that they spend that money on mp3 players? Nikes? Most of it goes into banks in Delaware, Bahamas, Jersey Islands, and yes: der Schweiz. (etc etc). Rich peoples' tax cuts go OUT of the economy, and are horded. Poor peoples' subsistence payments are more rapidly injected into the economy, than a LA junkie with his first hit in four days... it's been proven, time and again, that 'trickle up' works better than 'trickle down'... Back to the analogy... you're wrong: you should have said "we should sit around while Republicans slash the fire hoses he's using to put out the fire". Lastly: when someone causes a fire, and someone else comes and attempts to put it out, it's really bad manners to tell them that their methodology to solve 'Your' problems isn't the right one, because if you hadn't started the fire, it wouldn't be there in the first place! NO doubt about it: no President in the US history, ever handed his successor a bigger pail of SH/TE than did George DoubleWAR Bush... (I kinda like that... 'DoubleWAR Bush'... that's as sticky as molasses) ZENquoteme  (Tuesday Nov 3 | post #152)

US Politics

'If The Election Were Held Today Obama Would Lose'

Name one...? They (or you) threw out Howard a coupla years ago, non? :-) Actually this forum has a false premise in its logic. If the ELECTION WERE HELD TODAY, that means Bush (who ABDICATED to Obama in abject admission that the incoming President showed (and offered destroyed investors) more hope and more level-headed judgement than did Bush and his puppeteer Paulson, who certainly jerked all of our strings with his 'PAY AIG so GodSax gets paid its billions' strategy (and shutting down main competitor Lehman Brothers)... would have stayed in office one more year. THAT MEANS, that the crisis would have been worse, Iraq would have been worse, New Orleans would have been worse (the recovery), and Trees-know-what-el se would have compounded the failures of 14 years of Republican Congressional Mischief... So the false premise falls, and the odds are overwhelming that Obama or ANY other Democrat would have won with an even larger majority... It's always fun to dream about 'Republican Renaissances', when its only themselves that took their popularity to the lowest levels since 1932... their voices, in desperation, are strong, one admits that  (Tuesday Nov 3 | post #150)

US Politics

'If The Election Were Held Today Obama Would Lose'

You must be my long-lost, demented twin alter ego? (mudsin~~zenmud) I'm first of all, trying to figure out the quotes around your previous post, since there's no link or citation... unless you took personal notes? Now, as to their substance: Americans, or anyone (check out how French Conservatives are staining their U-trou because Sarkozy has taken normally-tightfist ed FR rightwingers into a deficit-upon-extra vaganza series of budgetary exercises (46million for a two day meeting of 45 heads of state!! heh heh)), enjoy watching someone without the CASH in pocket, spending their future paychecks on today's consumerist desires... do you think Germany would be in a better place if Americans stopped buying Bayer products, Beemers or Liebfraumilch wine? but you're writing as if Merkel's "uncited quote" justifies our economic policy (which has NOT changed since the 14yr Rep Congress was chased out in 2006), is that your point? as to your second post (below cited), I guess my twenty years studying US Foreign Policy, modern History, and six years in the UN Agency (one on a Treaty Committee, for in their (chuckles) Internal Audit office) puts me in exactly the situation you described: fantasy-land. Because, when it comes to the 'business of America being Business', my friend, you must understand that there is always a 'second-level' analysis to be undertaken, whenever you see a 'first-level analysis' being offered as a justification. Besides: if you don't like my reasoning as to the 'why', you certainly must assert that the facts fit: America elects a half-white President, and he is treated by Network TV and a vocal and over-video'd lunatic "electoral minority" as being the death of America... So, other than un-cited quotes and 'oh wow', whaddaya got in that head, mate? Z))) PS: I admit you're right: on the lakeshore of the biggest freshwater lake (30 meters from my door), a vinyard 400m from my 500yr-old home, Swiss mass-transit, chocolate and Spanish wine, skiing 45min away, and a 50mile bike route that goes over two Alpine passes (low)... it's fantasy land  (Tuesday Nov 3 | post #148)