Displaying 61 To 90 Of 132 Comments Thanks escribacat! I was startin’ to think that I was losing it… » Posted By ParadisePlacebo74 On February 7, 2011 @ 2:33 pm I guess the Chinese have been paying a lot more attention than we have. From The Times, December 2007: Water shortages are likely to be trigger for wars, says UN chief Ban Ki Moon And The Independant, March 2008: Water will be source of war unless world acts now, warns minister This makes the idea of neocons running the U.S. in the future even more terrifying. » Posted By ParadisePlacebo74 On March 5, 2011 @ 9:56 am Hmm… How about a simple mural of children playing, or people dancing. Humans are hardwired to notice the outline of other humans much more rapidly than geometric shapes. » Posted By ParadisePlacebo74 On February 21, 2011 @ 2:29 am Agreed. When it comes to “big oil”, I don’t see any clear dividing line between American and British interests. Its sticky tendrils are wrapped solidly around both governments. » Posted By ParadisePlacebo74 On February 21, 2011 @ 2:22 am Good morning, Kalima. Perhaps you should paint a large bullseye target on the wall after the next repair — if they’re too busy noticing it, maybe they won’t crash into it! » Posted By ParadisePlacebo74 On February 21, 2011 @ 2:11 am THE RAPTURE HAS HAPPENED!! JESUS WINS THE PREAKNESS!! Well, a guy named Jesus Castanon rode Shackleford to victory at 6:20pm local time– and that’s as close as the crazies are ever going to be when it comes to predicting anything. » Posted By ParadisePlacebo74 On May 21, 2011 @ 3:34 pm I like to think that I pay attention to what’s going on in the world, but I completely missed this story: “How a big US bank laundered billions from Mexico’s murderous drug gangs” During a 22-month investigation by agents from the US Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service and others, it emerged that the cocaine smugglers had bought the plane with money they had laundered through one of the biggest banks in the United States: Wachovia, now part of the giant Wells Fargo. The authorities uncovered billions of dollars in wire transfers, traveller’s cheques and cash shipments through Mexican exchanges into Wachovia accounts. Wachovia was put under immediate investigation for failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering programme. Of special significance was that the period concerned began in 2004, which coincided with the first escalation of violence along the US-Mexico border that ignited the current drugs war. Criminal proceedings were brought against Wachovia, though not against any individual, but the case never came to court. In March 2010, Wachovia settled the biggest action brought under the US bank secrecy act, through the US district court in Miami. Now that the year’s “deferred prosecution” has expired, the bank is in effect in the clear. It paid federal authorities $110m in forfeiture, for allowing transactions later proved to be connected to drug smuggling, and incurred a $50m fine for failing to monitor cash used to ship 22 tons of cocaine. More shocking, and more important, the bank was sanctioned for failing to apply the proper anti-laundering strictures to the transfer of $378.4bn – a sum equivalent to one-third of Mexico’s gross national product – into dollar accounts from so-called casas de cambio (CDCs) in Mexico, currency exchange houses with which the bank did business. “Wachovia’s blatant disregard for our banking laws gave international cocaine cartels a virtual carte blanche to finance their operations,” said Jeffrey Sloman, the federal prosecutor. Yet the total fine was less than 2% of the bank’s $12.3bn profit for 2009. On 24 March 2010, Wells Fargo stock traded at $30.86 – up 1% on the week of the court settlement. The conclusion to the case was only the tip of an iceberg, demonstrating the role of the “legal” banking sector in swilling hundreds of billions of dollars – the blood money from the murderous drug trade in Mexico and other places in the world – around their global operations, now bailed out by the taxpayer. At the height of the 2008 banking crisis, Antonio Maria Costa, then head of the United Nations office on drugs and crime, said he had evidence to suggest the proceeds from drugs and crime were “the only liquid investment capital” available to banks on the brink of collapse. “Inter-bank loans were funded by money that originated from the drugs trade,” he said. “There were signs that some banks were rescued that way.” Has the U.S. media been reporting on this, and I just completely missed it? Or has the corporate U.S. media been bought off on this issue? I’m completely dumb-founded. » Posted By ParadisePlacebo74 On April 7, 2011 @ 2:05 pm And there is this:
» Posted By ParadisePlacebo74 On March 30, 2011 @ 6:45 pm The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on an Arizona public campaign financing law. Once again, the precedent they set could have major long term implications for those of us who want to reclaim our democracy from those with the means to purchase it: From the L.A. Times: Arizona election law heads to Supreme Court From the Washington Post: With Ariz. case, Supreme Court takes up campaign finance issue again What are the odds that the same SCOTUS that gave us the Citizens United ruling will once again bend over backward to make sure that corporate money in elections is protected as “freedom of speech”? » Posted By ParadisePlacebo74 On March 27, 2011 @ 3:14 pm More Koch Brothers crap to throw on the shit-pile: Koch And Native-American Reservation Oil Theft Even the brother of Koch Industries owners David and Charles Koch called the company an “organized crime” operation. Puke inducing. » Posted By ParadisePlacebo74 On March 24, 2011 @ 3:23 pm Based on what I’ve read, I think you’re correct. The hydrogen is highly flammable, but it needs free oxygen to have an explosion, and that’s why the explosion happens outside the the reactor containment. The explosion blows the exterior walls and roof off of the building, but it doesn’t necessarily damage the containment itself (which is basically a big, high-strength concrete box). » Posted By ParadisePlacebo74 On March 13, 2011 @ 8:09 pm I saw those earlier, but the link wasn’t on this site. They’re all terrible, but the one that made me wonder the most was the area that didn’t drain back into the ocean. There has been some talk that a few coastal areas near Sendai have actually lost elevation, possibly as much as several feet — enough that these areas could become subject to regular tidal flooding, and have a much greater risk of storm surge flooding. Some Japanese may never get the opportunity rebuild, or even keep ownership of their property. » Posted By ParadisePlacebo74 On March 12, 2011 @ 11:15 pm You mean these: European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre I don’t know if that’s normal or not. I’ve clicked on the USGS site in the past and there have been that many — but I’m not sure about the intensity of the quakes. It could be unusual, but it would take an expert to make a correlation and raise the alarm. » Posted By ParadisePlacebo74 On March 12, 2011 @ 10:00 pm I’m glad you’re ok, Kalima. For everyone else, I’m getting a good live stream at: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/foxtokimekitonight It’s in Japanese, but it’s a live helicopter feed of the coastal flooding, and it’s terrible. This is the fifth largest earthquake EVER RECORDED! Tsunami could hit Hawaii at around 3:00am local time, no height estimates have been made. » Posted By ParadisePlacebo74 On March 10, 2011 @ 11:23 pm As far as consumer products go, these are the ones that are recognizable retail products: Georgia-Pacific’s consumer brands in North America including: Quilted Northern®, Angel Soft®, Brawny®, Sparkle® , Soft ‘n Gentle®, Mardi Gras®, Vanity Fair®, and the Dixie® brand of tabletop products. LYCRA® fiber and COOLMAX® fabric based garments. STAINMASTER® carpet, ANTRON® carpet fiber, CORDURA® fabric, and COMFOREL® fiberfill. There are a lot more aspects to their empire, but it’s difficult to find the retail connection. You can see for yourself on Koch’s website: http://www.kochind.com/IndustryAreas/forestry.aspx You could be buying a Koch product if you buy a generic or store brand product, but there’s really no way to know for sure. » Posted By ParadisePlacebo74 On March 9, 2011 @ 9:06 pm Has anyone here ever read the Progressive Party platforms from 1912 and 1924? It’s amazing just how specifically similar their desires were compared to today. Almost a full century later, and with everything that has changed for the better, we’re so close to being in the same place. Here’s the intro to the 1924 platform: The great issue before the American people today is the control of government and industry by private monopoly. For a generation the people have struggled patiently, in the face of repeated betrayals by successive administrations, to free themselves from this intolerable power which has been undermining representative government. Through control of government, monopoly has steadily extended its absolute dominion to every basic industry. In violation of law, monopoly has crushed competition, stifled private initiative and independent enterprise, and without fear of punishment now exacts extortionate profits upon every necessity of life consumed by the public. The equality of opportunity proclaimed by the Declaration of Independence and asserted and defended by Jefferson and Lincoln as the heritage of every American citizen has been displaced by special privilege for the few, wrested from the government of the many. Amazing, isn’t it? » Posted By ParadisePlacebo74 On March 7, 2011 @ 7:45 pm I agree — that pretty much hit the nail on the head. » Posted By ParadisePlacebo74 On March 5, 2011 @ 9:15 pm On that show, he’s probably just playing the petty game that he’s allowed to play so that he can get his name out there, like so many do. I don’t blame him — I’d do the same thing. Sachs has no use for the all-consuming “dueling political parties” crap that can’t effect any real change, and anti-oligarchy type stuff isn’t considered “on topic” around there. I don’t bother watching Morning Joe anymore ’cause I usually feel less informed by the time it’s over. » Posted By ParadisePlacebo74 On March 5, 2011 @ 8:54 pm This is an excellent essay by Jeffrey D. Sachs on just how high the global stakes are if we, the other 98%, don’t take back control of our government asap: Need Versus Greed » Posted By ParadisePlacebo74 On March 5, 2011 @ 8:02 pm At this point, it’s pretty much a losing battle. » Posted By ParadisePlacebo74 On March 5, 2011 @ 10:12 am There will never be any manipulation proof aspect of human society — it’s just not possible. But what allows us to be manipulated are our emotions, and that’s why the plutocrats will eventually lose the battle either way. They’ll continue to be so intent on manipulating our ideologies that they won’t bother addressing our increasing desperation, and in a battle between the two, desperation wins every time. It happened in Egypt, and it’ll eventually happen here too. In the end, the question becomes whether they’ll lose their fortunes, or their lives. » Posted By ParadisePlacebo74 On March 4, 2011 @ 1:10 am R-Song — You mean like a shareholder type of system? That sounds a lot like the exact thing that the plutocrats want. They hold more wealth (shares), so their vote should carry more weight. I don’t see how that could possibly be a good thing. » Posted By ParadisePlacebo74 On March 4, 2011 @ 12:42 am The people at the top tend to stay at the top because they actively manipulate the society they’re in to keep it that way. How diversity will effect that is an unknown — mostly because there hasn’t been a dominant society with our level of diversity that maintained itself as a democracy all the way through its existence. The “have’s vs. the have not’s” paradigm can’t be sustained in a one person, one vote type of society for long. To the have’s, the intentional spreading of conservative ideology is just a useful weapon — there’s nothing natural about it. » Posted By ParadisePlacebo74 On March 4, 2011 @ 12:11 am DAMN IT!!! » Posted By ParadisePlacebo74 On March 3, 2011 @ 2:04 pm Tacos Koalas Ninjas Did I win? » Posted By ParadisePlacebo74 On March 3, 2011 @ 1:06 pm Hearing stuff like this usually makes me want to put the evil Big Pharma overlords into the “health care system”, one by one. I hope your daughter can get on the correct medication and have as normal of a life as possible. I don’t see the government bureaucracy as the root of these types of ass-backward pricing structures. No human is going to come up with that type of system without an outside force driving their decisions — and as usual that force is profit. It’s all just a heartless piece of programming for Big Pharma — full of any number if-then’s and goto’s all ending in a single result: profit — including which politicians to buy so they can appoint the “right” people to corrupt the “health care system” in their favor. The only way to slay the dragon is to implement a single payer system, and allow those who want to take on the challenge of overseeing the system to do so with a people motive instead of a profit motive. » Posted By ParadisePlacebo74 On March 3, 2011 @ 12:50 pm I think this is how Chase wanted her comment to look: Snippet from Jason Linkins’ hilarious article on WI lawmakers’ response to Walker’s prank phone call– Wisconsin lawmakers at the center of the conflagration over Walker’s “budget repair” bill have been quick to address the problem that lies at the heart of the Koch prank call, and are responding to it by » Posted By ParadisePlacebo74 On March 1, 2011 @ 3:46 pm Except for the ones who are unemployed due to the cuts, or the ones forced to move to high property value areas to find work and have to pay out half of their income in rent or mortgage payments. » Posted By ParadisePlacebo74 On March 1, 2011 @ 3:36 pm » Posted By ParadisePlacebo74 On March 1, 2011 @ 3:15 pm Ok, I got it. You can use the html tag < strike >Text to be seen< /strike > without the spaces inside the < strike > and < /strike >. It will put a line through all the words inside the tag, including the spaces. You need a tag for each word if you don’t want the line to be continuous between words. **EDIT** You can shorten it to just the letter < s > and < /s > < s >Text< /s > < s >to< /s > < s >be< /s > < s >seen< /s > » Posted By ParadisePlacebo74 On March 1, 2011 @ 3:11 pmComments Posted By ParadisePlacebo74
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/03/us-bank-mexico-drug-gangs
demanding greater transparency over the special interests and influence peddlers who have direct access to the statehouse moving to criminalize prank phone calls.Strike through
«« Back To Stats Page Text to be seen
Home Stats