A few thoughts about the future of this planet
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@mike lucey said:
Jeeeez, Stinkie, that Border Wall IKEA flatpack looks to be a 'one man job' as it comes with just one screw turn
It's all about responsibility and job security...
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That wall is unlikely to keep anyone out. A short paddle and they are in. Are they going to follow the Russian and East German example and put minefields in place? They are going to have to force the issue in the courts by tracking down and forcibly removing every single illegal before a message gets through that it will not be tolerated. Not an easy thing to do. What then for children of illegals that are born in the USA? Technically they have a right to stay. This will run and run.
PS, not your wall Stinkie, the real one. Yours looks more reasonable cost wise and just as tough.
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Tomorrow, maybe we can all just start again somewhere else haha: https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-to-host-news-conference-on-discovery-beyond-our-solar-system
Dr. Brand: We're not meant to save the world. We're meant to leave it, and this is the mission you were trained for.
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@liam887 said:
Tomorrow, maybe we can all just start again somewhere else haha: https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-to-host-news-conference-on-discovery-beyond-our-solar-system
Dr. Brand: We're not meant to save the world. We're meant to leave it, and this is the mission you were trained for.
The latest today is the (not unexpected) step-up in enforcement on undocumented immigrants. They will be asking Congress (i.e. the taxpayer) for more money. They will be detaining people caught at the border. So this will create more security jobs and prison construction. Imagine all the sweetheart deals with billionaires to throw money at this and the wall. Imagine the nightmare of locking up men women and children from various foreign countries in detention centers.
All part of the plan. No immigration reform, build detention centers and walls. No two state solution. Build the settlements, concentration camps, and prisons.
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@liam887 said:
Tomorrow, maybe we can all just start again somewhere else haha: https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-to-host-news-conference-on-discovery-beyond-our-solar-system
Dr. Brand: We're not meant to save the world. We're meant to leave it, and this is the mission you were trained for.
I'm ready to be shot into space, whatever.
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This picture is most def worth a thousand words...
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A thought provoking article here,
'A new model of climate change for the anthropocene epoch'
http://www.treehugger.com/climate-change/new-model-climate-change-anthropocene-epoch.htmlHere is something that struck a cord,
"To see how broader integration is essential, take this example: if we educate women birth rates fall and population growth slows. Education would not be selected as a priority influence in current climate models which do not "couple" social factors with climate outcomes, but could be analyzed more fully in Earth System Models. Perhaps money currently spent subsidizing electric cars would be better spent in educational outreach?"
I think that there is something fishy about the carbon tax we have here in the EU. Big Government have for years been trying to figure out a way of taxing fresh air and this carbon tax is a start. What concerns me is where does this tax go and what way is it spent.
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I think the carbon tax is an attempt to monetize the social (if we can call the demise of civilization social) costs of carbon emissions and making it possible for organizations to directly (indirectly?) offset their use of carbon with real (or imagined) mitigations, via cap and trade. Taxes are more often utilized to effect change (like the cigarette tax), which is debatable as a norm in our system. Anyway the carbon tax is a transparent and discreet mechanism with supporters and detractors along the spectrum, not just another amorphous conspiracy.
But I agree that once we make something a Tax we hand over the decisions and execution on what to do with the revenue to the governments which we may or may not trust. I'd like the factors that help change to stay more in the hands of the people.
A tax on water? I think the pressure on water is privatization and selling off our natural resources to the right wing oligarchs. Sure the politicians are helping to make it happen but to simply blame the government for everything as if the government were the source and not the tool of the greed and malevolence that stems from the heart of darkness, doesn't get you far. Talk about scams so is bottled water (Okay I've used bottled water, it's great in an emergency but--have you ever checked out hotel room bottled water over $7 depending on the hotel...usually just tap water shipped thousands of miles). It's a capitalist scam, nothing to do with taxes.
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Take a look at the number of companies involved in the supply of potable water, they claim investment is needed to secure our supply of clean drinkable water and put the prices UP. Where is the investment? The London circular water resovoir was funded nby the nation rather than the water companies and yet THEY put up the price for water rates as though they HAD. Take a look at farming in the downstream parts of the middle east and shortages are increasing year on year. We will face more and more cost for drinking water over the next ten years and it will be no joke then. http://www.middleeasterner.net/blog/2015/2/9/the-thirst-is-real-water-scarcity-and-solutions-in-the-middle-east
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There is little doubt that the carbon tax is just another con, every time something new comes along there is an associated tax on it. Looking at the way things are going, how ;long before we get even larger taxes on drinking water? Seriously, how much does a litre of evian cost compared to petrol or diesel?
We are facing a serious shortage of water in the mmiddle east due to the conflagration of the major water sources with hydro electric dams which will in future drier years create conflict. There are so many areas where we as citizens of this planet need to pull together or end up fighting for a chance to live. What a tragedy it would be if we could not do that. -
@mike amos said:
We will face more and more cost for drinking water over the next ten years and it will be no joke then. http://www.middleeasterner.net/blog/2015/2/9/the-thirst-is-real-water-scarcity-and-solutions-in-the-middle-east
Ireland is in a mess with regard to the new Water Board was set up to centralise the charging for water. It hasn't worked as there has been a mass revolt across the country and more than 40% of users did not and will not pay.
It is not that folks don't want to pay for their use of water. I think it's more a case of them not wanting a centralised controlling system that could easily be sold off to big corporations.
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No doubt where government would like to go. Public resources have been sold off for decades now.
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And again ... one cannot make this sh*t up.
#potus_ignoramus
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This administration ruins all the political dramas like "House of Cards" we were enjoying. Now nothing is too outrageous or outrageous enough to entertain. The shows are less enjoyable to watch, because calumny and calamity are real and sad, and everyday now.
Of course the real anti-hero is less a ruthless mastermind than a dangerous fool. Perhaps more like "Boss" or "Veep" than "House of Cards".
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@pbacot said:
Of course the real anti-hero is less a ruthless mastermind than a dangerous fool.
Sounds about right. From where I am standing, Trump distinctively looks like a complete dunce.
"Nobody knew that healthcare could be so complicated." Frightening. -
This is precious.
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This isn't bad either. From an interview with The Economist:
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