Smoothseas

Reply to Can the U.S. Medical in Current Events JoeUser Forums

The system in the US can certainly deal with ebola. The key is to prevent an outbreak. We have already shown the ability to contain potential outbreak. As far as individual cases that will always vary. if you have good benefits from a decent job in a state that has decent laws siding with the patient you will usually get better care than if you have lousy benefits in a state that has laws tilting in favor of the insurance companies and hospital corps.

Reply to IS BARACK OBAMA ENCOURAGING THE JEHADI RESURGENCE IN SYRIA in International JoeUser Forums

there is no good side to be on is the problem. ISIS is the enemy of Assad and Iran. So if the end game includes getting rid of Assad and creating a situation in which Iran has less influence over Iraq, then it is not necessarily a good idea to eliminate ISIS too quickly. We have created the situation in Iraq that the analysts at the Naval War College warned about before we got rid of Sadaam. Three ethnic groups that hate each other, the Kurds, Sunnis, and Shia. Then add in the fact that the T

Reply to Religion of Peace Update: September 2013 in War on Terror JoeUser Forums

[quote who="lulapilgrim" reply="15" id="3402354"]Was it political or religious or both for these Islamists who murdered 39 in Kenya? [/quote] It was a politically motivated action that was retribution for another politically motivated action.

Reply to Religion of Peace Update: September 2013 in War on Terror JoeUser Forums

[quote who="Daiwa" reply="11" id="3401048"]I'm unaware of a Christian equivalent (sorry, you can't 'balance the scale' with the Crusades - just doesn't wash).[/quote] Who's trying to balance the scales other than you? This is about political groups using the guise of religion to recruit and appease others in order to forward their political agendas . Wha

Reply to Religion of Peace Update: September 2013 in War on Terror JoeUser Forums

[quote who="myfist0" reply="7" id="3399101"]Americans would love to hide all the reasons for these attacks with the simplest line of propaganda[/quote] You should have said the U.S. Govt. as opposed to Americans. I honestly don't think most Americans really know what is going on behind the scenes. It's fairly obvious that the islamophobes within the blogospere don't.

Reply to Religion of Peace Update: September 2013 in War on Terror JoeUser Forums

It is unfortunate that too many people tend to group certain religions as a whole for the actions of specific militant groups. Maybe you should look more closely to see what the big picture really is. I bet if the US had the same per capita GDP as Somalia there would be an awful lot of militant Christians. It's very difficult to justify "raising arms" when you're reclining comfortably in your Lazy Boy using a remote to channel surf between stations showing you just how g

Reply to Climate modeling continues to fail in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote who="Dr Guy" reply="26" id="3389718"]And I can show you the dust bowl of the 1930s (before CO2)[/quote] And your point is? Any good documentary will tell you what caused the dustbowl and what was done to correct the problems that caused it. Why even mention something that wasn't caused by climate change? I'm certainly glad that science allows us to do what was once considered "overfarming". [quote who="Dr Guy" reply="26" id="3389718"]And if that is what Global W

Reply to Climate modeling continues to fail in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote who="Dr Guy" reply="24" id="3389689"]No, I am showing you current events.[/quote] You pointed out US hurricane landfalls for one specific high point and another low. Thats quite specific. Now I could be very specific on the other side of the argument if I wanted too. How about last years midwest drought? What about this years drought in Brazil? Maybe Ill add more specifics like the increased incidents of severe flooding in Venice. Pick today all you want. How many glaciers

Reply to Climate modeling continues to fail in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote who="Dr Guy" reply="22" id="3389496"]None of it is selective[/quote] Everything you pointed out is selective. You're selecting single or specific years in most of your cases and noting specific weather events as opposed to climate. Once you realize that certain cyclical factors like solar activity and el nino are in play maybe you will realize where your thinking process is failing you. [quote who="Dr Guy" reply="22" id="3389496"]I am more concerned with ending pove

Reply to Climate modeling continues to fail in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote who="Dr Guy" reply="19" id="3389217"]Or perhaps the fact that only 3 hurricanes have hit the US in the past 5 years[/quote] You can "selectively" use whatever data you wish in an attempt to backup your ignorance. Doesn't really matter to me.

Reply to Climate modeling continues to fail in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote who="Dr Guy" reply="17" id="3389098"]Don't you think that you should determine what the problem is before you start prescribing remedies?[/quote] The thing is I haven't prescribed any remedies. Personally I think the problem is too vast and complicated to solve and that maybe what we should be spending our time on is finding ways to deal with the changes that are IMHO inevitable. But this doesn't make me deny what i see happening all around me. My po

Reply to Climate modeling continues to fail in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote]But hopefully people will start to decouple their political beliefs from their scientific beliefs.[/quote] You should practice what you preach. [quote]I don’t think the evidence is compelling enough to justify a world wide economic depression[/quote] About the only thing that people should be skeptical about is what the best course of action should be. There's no golden pill to cure this one and most of the "solutions" proposed in DC are not really sol

Reply to The Red-shield: A Nation Wide Conspiracy to Kill American Prosperity in Republican JoeUser Forums

You might want to find some nonfiction text that explains how the fed and other countries central banks ACTUALLY work. First off the FED is set up quite different from the first few attempts at central banking and second the debt is tied to mainly Treasuries. I'm sure the wealthiest of families do have quite a few treasuries in their portfolios however the debt is spread around quite a bit. I would worry more abt. Foreign investors who own abt half the debt, in particular sovereign banks.

Reply to The answer isn't "more" in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote who="Daiwa" reply="3" id="3284379"]That assumes all other aspects of the economies of disparate nations are equivalent. They aren't. There are so many other potential reasons for variation in competitiveness. France loses productivity to vacations, we lose productivity to health care. Might be better off with a vacation than a coronary bypass, I don't know.[/quote] It assumes no such thing. It is simply taking one factor and comparing it amongst

Reply to The answer isn't "more" in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote who="Daiwa" reply="1" id="3284138"] It's a little like the alarmists who say health care takes up 'too much' of GDP. Expressing it in terms of GDP implies that the pie is fixed in size and that a dollar spent on someone's health care is a dollar 'not spent' somewhere else in the economy when that's not really the case. Who's to determine what the 'right' percentage of GDP that health care should 'consume' (another m

Reply to CEO pay in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote who="Daiwa" reply="20" id="3283593"] The only thing that does torque me a bit is that too many athletes/actors/musicians believe their success somehow validates their particular political views, when it has nothing to do with them, and earns them a special place (and standing) on the soap box.[/quote] I don't think it is success that drives their political views. Their careers simply give them the soapbox on which to express their views, but I think just like everyone

Reply to Hostess and the bakers union in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote who="Daiwa" reply="23" id="3283607"] I suspect, but don't know, that it depends on the industry, and the degree of affiliation with and control by larger, national unions.[/quote] It depends mostly on the companies themselves. some of the better non-union companies offered better compensation packages in order to keep the unions out. From there it depends on management. I've seen way too many personality conflicts where exceptional workers were lo

Reply to CEO pay in Politics JoeUser Forums

No the judge was right. I wouldn't have expected the BCTGM to make certain suggestions that they made either, but they are tasked with representing the interests of their own members and not others unless they have agreements to do such with the other unions involved.

Reply to CEO pay in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote who="Daiwa" reply="15" id="3282287"] Quoting Smoothseas, reply 14You simply have to tune into Bloomberg instead of FOX. Not having cable, I 'tune in' to neither. Usually good to avoid assumptions.[/quote] Except for the fact that both have websites. My assumption is that you are ignorant to the actual circumstances of Hostess' situation, and it is obvious that I hit the nail on the head as far as that goes.

Reply to Hostess and the bakers union in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote who="Alstein" reply="6" id="3281902"] Vulture Capitalism of this sort is not good for society. Note: I'm not opposed to capitalism of the sort Brad practices, which is about growing a business and creating. It's the capitalism of destruction that I have problems with. [/quote] vulture capitalism is simply part of capitalism. Out with the old in with the new. That's how it works. Hostess failed because other compa

Reply to Hostess and the bakers union in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote who="WhiteElk" reply="11" id="3281968"]Then there is the sugar cartel. These are the real bad guys here. Research them. Rather than fight the sugar lobbyists,.[/quote] You're kidding, right? Sugar has been a protected trade since 1785. And now that it's part of the farm bill, sugar tariffs ain't going anywhere anytime soon! It starts with a senator in a sugar state like for example Marco Rubio, who then shakes hands with a Senator in a corn state, li

Reply to Hostess and the bakers union in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote who="DrJBHL" reply="3" id="3281874"]Correct, because with each change of management, valuable assets were sold off.[/quote] You are incorrect however. They held onto everything while they defaulted on pension contributions then tried to get the unions to forgive that debt and take a stake in the company whose debt and liabilities are more than twice the value of its assets. They still own all the Hostess brands as well all the other signature brands they bought over the years i

Reply to Hostess and the bakers union in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote who="Daiwa" reply="4" id="3281883"]The union bosses won't lose their 'jobs', whether management or labor was the more to blame. But the intransigence of both was enough for the mediator to say 'effit, liquidate' & offshore some more jobs.[/quote] About the only jobs that will be offshored in this case is upper management if the brands are bought by a foreign company. Imported food is not cheap. Food is a very low margin product whose price is very

Reply to Hostess and the bakers union in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote who="DaveRI" reply="13" id="3281994"]Since Hostess is/was such a huge company, this would seem to provide an opportunity for smaller, more regional bakeries to start up or expand. That might actually be kind of nice for a change.[/quote] It is actually smaller regional bakeries as well as larger ones like Grupo Bimbo that put them out of business. They owned a lot of older bakeries. They kept buying up old bakeries instead of investing in newer equipment for the outdated

Reply to CEO pay in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote who="Daiwa" reply="13" id="3282084"]The market usually works, after all. Nothing magic about Hostess. Sounds to me like both sides failed. The dust will settle but in the meantime lots of folks will be losing jobs. That's just the price one pays for taking risks. Management risked and failed. Labor risked and failed. There are countless similar stories which play out every day; we don't hear about them because they are on too small a sc