Obama's First Year

quote:

Originally posted by Roy T:
Neutrality policies along the lines of those adopted by Switzerland could be done but due to world commerce and the interdependencies due to government bonds, trading obligations and alike isolationist policies may not work and may not be desirable.

"isolationist policies may not work and may not be desirable"

For whom?
Business is business.
However, After this last debacle, why would you want to pursue a continuation of madness?
Such greed.
MN

quote:

Originally posted by mongo:
An odd position in these pc days Marc? Indeed perhaps even brave

Excellent point about the Roman attitude though.

But even if enough Americans were willing to enforce a Pax Americana I believe their opportunity has passed. Late fifties or following Gorbachev perhaps, now.....

How bout?
All Americans,because we are Americans,may be allowed to where our guns,openly,wherever we may go in this world.

I'll get my coat-
MN

quote:

For whom?

Will USA default on USA bonds held by China?

quote:

Originally posted by Roy T:

quote:

For whom?

Will USA default on USA bonds held by China?

I was going to go there but...........
Ok. China owns us. I admit it.

America can still do business,"As usual". We just can't be the worlds ,"Police".
Democracy is wonderful. Freedom is sublime!!
Sometimes we should back off and wait to be asked?
Somewhere(I'm sure)someone wrote the USA thinks it's on a,"Crusade",of it's own.
MN

What a dilemma, owing money to China who is at the same time a handy external enemy used to fuel military spending packed with delicious pork and all this funded by tax payers.

quote:

Originally posted by Roy T:
What a dilemma, owing money to China who is at the same time a handy external enemy used to fuel military spending packed with delicious pork and all this funded by tax payers.

OUCH!! Play nice....
MN

Trim the pork, pass the medical bill and it may well help to fix some problems seen only 25 minutes away from your home. Rest assured you are suffering some of the same problems experienced by many governments across the globe. Just listened to Obama (on BBC World Service) talking tough to China, he has been telling them to open their markets to US goods and not to manipulate their currency...

quote:

Originally posted by Roy T:
You buy the right tool for the job be you Israeli or Saudi and the USA sell the right tools for the job so that's a Win-Win all around. If you have the time you could always work you way through the budget detail and see just how much is spent is subsidies to Israeli and Saudi arms buyers as I expect it amounts to rather a large figure indeed.

Roy-
Look at the differences between the (advertised) amounts to fund legit armies compared to the monies and arms supplied to,"Third parties".
You may choke on your pudding.
MN

quote:

Originally posted by Roy T:
Trim the pork, pass the medical bill and it may well help to fix some problems seen only 25 minutes away from your home. Rest assured you are suffering some of the same problems experienced by many governments across the globe. Just listened to Obama (on BBC World Service) talking tough to China, he has been telling them to open their markets to US goods and not to manipulate their currency...

I agree with that because it is true and there is proof. With Japan,it took how many years to get Kodak film sold there? We should have sent back every god damn roll of Fuji film in a leaky boat.
MN
Passing any of the 30 insurance bills that are floating around will do nothing to fix what you want fixed. Besides any of those individuals can walk in any hospital and get treatment without any lien.

quote:

Passing any of the 30 insurance bills that are floating around will do nothing to fix what you want fixed. Besides any of those individuals can walk in any hospital and get treatment without any lien.

It is more those who have to finance long term drugs / treatment bills rather than emergency room one off treatment.

Marc

America is in a similar position to Britain in the early 1950s. We had a massive empire but not the money to finance it. WW2 crucified us financially and Harry S Trueman put the knife in by foreclosing on a loan. We had to police Africa and it was only the Suez affair that rammed the message home that we were no longer imperial and that the role was to transfer to America.

Whether you like it or not, America needs oil, in fact you are addicted to the stuff and you have no alternative but to protect your supply.

Regards

Mick

Addiction is a very strong word when used as hyperbole.

Facts-
The sum whole of the U.K. is 94,526 square miles.
Which is,by chance,slightly smaller than where that,"hick",you stated resides.Namely,Oregon.

The USA is 3,537,441 square miles.

Some fun facts about the USA-
National Parks
5.5 Million Acres Number of acres in Park System that are not Federally owned (included in 84.6 million acres total managed by NPS)
209 Units Number of NPS units that are Recreation Fee Demo sites
55 Million Acres Number of acres managed by the National Park Service in Alaska
3.6 Percent U.S. Percent of the U.S. that is in the National Park System
120 National Historic Parks Number of National Historic Parks and Historic Sites
391 Units Number of National Park System Units (parks, national monuments, seashore sites, battlefields and other recreational and cultural sites)
58 National Parks Number of National Parks
13.2 Million Acres Size of the largest national park Wrangell - St. Elias and Preserve in Alaska
3.3 Million Acres Size of largest National Park in contiguous 48 states (Death Valley National Park in CA)

According to those facts our National park system is 127,347 square miles.Which is almost 26% larger than the whole of the UK.


The population of the UK in 2008 was 61,399,018.
The population in the USA in 2008 was 303,824,640.

The number of vehicles in the UK in 2005 was 2,443,000.
The number of NEW cars sold in the USA in 2005 was 17,000,000..

More fun facts-
Supply Sources Percent of Source Demand Sectors Percent of Sector
Petroleum
37.1% 71% Transportation
23% Industrial
5% Residential and Commercial
1% Electric Power Transportation
27.8% 95% Petroleum
2% Natural Gas
3% Renewable Energy

Natural Gas
23.8% 3% Transportation
34% Industrial
34% Residential and Commercial
29% Electric Power Industrial
20.6% 42% Petroleum
40% Natural Gas
9% Coal
10% Renewable Energy

Coal
22.5% 8% Industrial
<1% Residential and Commercial
91% Electric Power Residential and Commercial
10.8% 16% Petroleum
76% Natural Gas
1% Coal
1% Renewable Energy

Renewable Energy
7.3% 11% Transportation
28% Industrial
10% Residential and Commercial
51% Electric Power Electric Power
40.1% 1% Petroleum
17% Natural Gas
51% Coal
9% Renewable Energy
21% Nuclear Electric Power

Nuclear Electric Power
8.5% 100% Electric Power

Just wait.. China is slowly converting all those bikes to cars.
"Need to protect your supply". If that be the case? Let's make sure you protect yours.
Talk about needs,not addiction.

By the way, I drive a hybrid.

MN

Mark

Your are rambling.

Even GWB admitted America was addicted to oil.

The simple truth is that if oil is cut off, we are all in the mire. Oil is essential and we need it not just for cars and energy but also for manufacturing all sorts of by products essential for modern life.

Regards

Mick

Mick.

I may owe you a partial apology for not taking your point more seriously earlier in this thread. Some recent posts lend credence to a point or two of yours made then.

Regards, Paul.

quote:

According to those facts our National park system is 127,347 square miles.Which is almost 26% larger than the whole of the UK.

Need to correct my math-
Not 26% But in actuality(using new math)almost 35% larger than the whole of the UK.

Marc, in a most friendly fashion, might I ask if you are partaking of anything interesting?

Paul

Thank you. The unpleasant truth is that I am alway right. Now that I have made my point, people like yourself will observe and then agree with me.

Hopefully we will have less moronic ramblings on this great forum.

Regards

Mick

What size is your National debt , if you insist on pointless willie waving.
So you have a big country so F***ing what, it's nothing to do with Americans.

quote:

Originally posted by mongo:
Marc, in a most friendly fashion, might I ask if you are partaking of anything interesting?

Just 14 things at the same time.
This being the least important.
I did a good job proving Mick's above post. Good job Mick attaching yourself to make your point.
My reason for posting the above was to show the difference between your island(s) and our continent.
If I listen to his alternate view, I can see his point and agree with it. My vector was off and I did not suggest how much better we are doing,as a nation,in this area. Unfortunately, technology takes time and the cost to the consumer/industry must always be considered most important.
Transition,because of our size and laws takes time. Nuke power was basically shut down here in California in the late 90s. We are paying for that mistake. Coal makes up over 50% of the energy consumed to make electricity and remains the least expensive to harvest.
Our size causes great pains because we must consume with great abandon.This is what I was communicating in the above post.
We need to expedite the transition to electric,hydrogen cells,and bio fuels. The sooner we do, the less interest we will have in installing "democracy" in other regions of the world.
I see another down side to this progress. Once we are there, we will no longer be the worlds police force. We will go back to where we were before WW2.
MN

quote:

Originally posted by Mick Parry:
Paul

Thank you. The unpleasant truth is that I am alway right. Now that I have made my point, people like yourself will observe and then agree with me.

Hopefully we will have less moronic ramblings on this great forum.

Regards

Mick

I take it this is dry wit, the lack of which you so sorely lamented earlier? Have a smily

quote:

Originally posted by BigH47:
What size is your National debt , if you insist on pointless willie waving.
So you have a big country so F***ing what, it's nothing to do with Americans.

It has everything to do with being American and how much we need to consume to do our business and travel. That is the point. Nothing else.

As far as national debt goes-
Let's call in all our markers from around the world. Pay off China and go back to small government. The way it was intended to be.

The 2 nations look at the world very differently. This is something I can appreciate and embrace. We will never see eye to eye and as mentioned before,it should be that way. It is what makes the world interesting and most intriguing.

Rambling not.
MN

OK.

quote:

Originally posted by BigH47:
OK.

Now you understand what I was communicating in my post.
The last line sums it up.
"Talk about needs, not addiction".

GWB is in the business to keep us addicted. This is how his family makes a living.

My guess is Mr. Mick understood the first time he read it. He just chose to do do what he does best. Arrogance.
MN

Marc

If you genuinely believe that the West will not suffer if oil supplies are cut off, then you are without doubt a total fool.

Oil is the life blood of our commerce and unfortunately that is likely to be the case for many years to come.

If you can think of a way of eliminating that dependancy, then you will make so much money, you will make Bill Gates appear to be a pauper.

Regards

Mick