Does anyone believe this?

Oh look they're lying again.

How would you either get on or get off this jury?

"I'm planning on going to law school."

It warms my heart to hear people calling this propaganda out as BS.

#37 I've never heard of the BRIC? Is that backed by China and Russia?

Yes, Brazil, Russia, India and China. Basically, India and Brazil are along for the ride. In addition, it's anticipated that the BRIC bank will be backed by precious metals. If you're a tinpot dictator with a hankering for murdering your buddies and setting up a steady stream of revenue, don't you want the loan that's going to give you the most bang for your buck with as little devaluation as possible? Again, this ultimately will lead to another beating for the dollar once the IMF/World Bank aren't the only gig in town.

Based on your theory China not only wants to improve it's standing in the world as a super power but, they want to do it based on economic sabotage rather than the historical military methods used in the past?

China lacks the military to conduct such an operation to improve it's standing. Russia has the petrochemical infrastructure expertise and the muscle. China has the pile of US T-bills, a gigantic pile of gold for backing the BRIC and an insatiable demand for energy.

But, are we sticking it to the Russians b/c they want to control the pipeline you mentioned?

Yes.

Or do the Russians really not care about control just that it's built and they can take advantage of it?

The Russians want it built so they can control the infrastructure. China wants it built because they need the energy. At the very least, they both have to ensure that it's sustainable and isn't a target of terrorism.

This goes hand-in-hand with the creation of a BRIC development bank (not based in dollars or Euros) as a competitor to the IMF/World Bank. In theory, how this will work is the BRIC offers your country a loan and offers to work the oil infrastructure that it will build with that loan. In return, you are forced to sell oil to China in return for US Treasury bonds. So our debt will eventually be used to build out as much infrastructure for the Chinese and Russians as possible before the dollar loses reserve status (and significant purchasing power). I believe the LNG pipeline to Syria in many ways a proof-of-concept of this future model involving the BRIC bank.

You seem to think that the US gets to dictate who will run nations in the ME.

As long as you take IMF and World Bank loans to rebuild your country and you buy and sell your oil in dollars, they don't really care who's running the nation.

I think Saudi Arabia is next.

Don't you love this "Lets see who can destabilize a country faster" contest between us and the Russians?

If we aren't going to make sure they win why bother arming or training them?

Because I don't think that we think we can win...all we're trying to do is make this a giant mess for the Russians.

In my opinion, Syria is all about controlling the flow of hydrocarbons (protecting the petro-dollar) from east to west. The west does not want the Syria-Iran-Paki LNG pipeline completed if they cannot control it. If we can't control it, creating an inhospitable environment for the pipeline to be built is the next best thing.

There will not be American casualties on the ground and Assad is firmly entrenched with the Russians, so the only option is destabilization with rebel groups and propaganda bombardment.

This is very similar to Libya. We attacked Libya because when Egypt revolted, that opened up the Suez canal and that gave Libya an alternative to selling oil to Western Europe. Iranian warships were entering the Mediterranean for the first time in over 30 years. That's a problem. We fixed it.

Same thing in Syria. We must force the trade of oil and LNG in dollars as much as possible. If we can't force you, we'll try and be as convincing as possible. It happened in Iran (and they want it to happen again). It happened in Iraq. It happened in Libya...and that's what I think is happening in Syria.

Capitalists have lost sight that consumers have to have discretionary income to spend in order for the true producers and providers of goods and services to be profitable.

They haven't lost sight of that at all...your discretionary income is to make banker's bad investments whole again.

If the firearm in question held a couple less rounds, or was sold with less accessories, this couldn't have happened.

How ridiculous. If you can't see how a 7 day waiting period and registering firearms couldn't have prevented this, you're a tea party [...].

I defy anyone to identify a significant percentage of Europeans who would trade their systems for ours. Even the extreme right wingers in Europe (England excepted) would never consider a health system like ours. The right wing in Europe is to the left of most US Democrats.

Ok, I'll ask you since Danni refuses to answer.

Are you advocating for a system that has the state determine if you go to college by grade 5 or 6?

...except in all the other "1st world" countries. Those countries see an education as a human right.

This is simply not true. As we've explored earlier with Germany, you are tracked toward university at as early as the fifth grade level. Idiots need not apply.

How exactly would "unknown targets" be covered under the AUMF?

What we do here in the U.S. is test people before they can enroll, they have to pass prerequisites before they can proceed, they are then told to enroll in classes to raise their scores on those prerequisites. Most get discouraged and finally go away.

I have an open enrollment university 500 yards from my home that will take free tax money all day long.

...and you know what, when you find out you need Calculus 4 to complete your engineering degree and you're starting at pre-Algebra? Guess what? You aren't an engineer, bro. You should get discouraged and go away because you suck at math.

Same thing as Germany except Germany helps them choose a goal they can actually achieve and become successful in. Everyone has the freedom to choose what they want to do but they first have to show they have the proper basic skills to have a real chance at success. This has little or nothing to do with the discussion about the cost of higher education which has spiraled out of control.

Danni, you generally decide if you want to go to college in Germany by the fifth or sixth grade. There will be no floating by in college for two years while you find yourself. Is that the type of system you want?

...and this has everything to do with costs spiraling out of control. Too much money in the system. "Everyone" needs a bachelor's degree, etc...

So you don't.

I know this conversation is frustrating for you Danni, because the systems you tout as superior are the result of means testing and not the principle of "college for all".

I agree with you that means testing is the solution to this problem.

No one wants to take away anyone's right to choose their own future, we just want to make opportunity available to all.

There will be means testing, no matter what system you use. You insist that foreign systems are superior to ours while completely disregarding their means testing to prevent people from going to school who are deemed by the state to not be a *good investment* for going to college.

Do you want the State to decide who goes to college, or should an individual determine their own fate? It's a simple question.

You've got the blame part down Danni...how about some solutions?

Do you want a centrally planned determination on whether you go to college, or should one have the personal choice to attend college?

Answering this question goes a long way toward figuring out a solution.

And if you are a dummy with rich parents in America you can go to college while the hard working genius son of a poor family does the ditch digging.

What absolute nonsense. If anyone is being priced out of college, it's middle class families.

If you're a "poor hard working genius" in America, you're going to college if you want to...

Other nations which are now passing us by economically believe educating their populations shouldn't be profit oriented, education is really infrastructure investment, probably the most important investment a nation can make but America doesn't get that.

If you're a dummy, you don't get to go to college in other nations...You become a ditch digger. It's disingenuous to ignore means testing in other countries as if everyone gets to go to college regardless of their intellectual capabilities and performance.

1941 -1973 was our best growth period.

I couldn't agree more. Post WWII destruction combined with the Gold standard implemented by Bretton Woods was by far our best growth period. Nixon pulls us off the gold standard in '73 and the downward spiral begins.

Including tax rates in the 90 percentile range in the '50's.

I'll take 90 percent tax rates if I can write off nearly every penny I spend as a business expense. That's one important point that pro-tax folks like to ignore: When the rate was 90 percent, you had loopholes in the tax code that were a mile wide.

I thought they would melt these guns down and turn them into a statue for anti-gun violence?

RT is a better news source than FOX, MSNBC and CNN put together.

I made a double eagle today.

Pierce Lake GC, 4th Hole.

RARR!