Comments archigeek has made

Weeell...

Instead of the Making Work Pay foolishness, why doesn't the government just offer grants to individual homeowners and businesses to install their own power gen. capacity? Solar PV, Geothermal heat pumps, solar water heating, etc. Or at least budget it for efficiency upgrades and the costs related to that. Removing old knob-and-tube wiring in flat-roof attic crawlspaces and rewiring with modern service so that celluse insulation can be installed? That's about a 6000 USD cost right there. The whole tax cut deal will just encourage people to go out and buy more useless junk.

The mellotron is your friend.

Bingo!

Props to you, scatter! There's company called Tri-Gen housed in an old Union Electric coal-fired plant on the riverfront just north of downtown St. Louis. They use trigen technology to provide the steam for the loop which feeds most of the buildings in the DT area. The old power plant is a very pretty, albiet dirty, structure, too.

The mellotron is your friend.

Gasp...

I-I-I think, I mean, I may be in agreement with John Bailo. He says more input by human citizens/taxpayers, and Russ explains why that outcome is desirable. Grist I love.

The mellotron is your friend.

Feh...

Economics, a science? Don't make me laugh. As Mr. Anderson so adroitly pointed out, economics is about as much science as astrology. Listen to an economist sometime. They always pepper their comments with some kind of jingoistic pro-American boilerplate, usually to cover up the fact that they haven't a clue about what they just said. Does anyone recall a geologist speaking about the purple maountains majesty? No, she would throw in words like dolomite, schist, ground movement, friction, etc. And would know precisely about what she was speaking. The problem with economics is that they always refer to the "consumer" or "producer". The word "human" never enters into the dialogue. Since when does a REAL science ignore one of the contributing factors in a system? The "science" of economics operates as if goods and services flow--or don't, as the current case seems to be--without the billions of inputs we as humans contribute each and every second of the day. Until "economics" factors in the inherent value of human and other animal life, outside and above any considerations of "market value", then it simply will be just a debating society cirle-jerk.

The mellotron is your friend.

Hmm,

Well, Grist isn't owned by General Electric, fer instance.

The mellotron is your friend.

Well...

MTR may be losing the public relations battle, (debatable) but they are winning the important battles in the courts and amongst our paid-off whores we call Congress- men and women. When Pompey Road comes to this blog one day and says he/she is HAPPY with the way MTR is in rapid retreat, in theory, conception, and practice, then we can all celebrate. Not only in the Coal River area, but EVERYWHERE. I expect that day, unfortunately, is a good number of years away. The injustice of it all sickens me.

The mellotron is your friend.

Feh

The wildfires in Australia are about as much natural disaster as the Flood of '93 on the Mississippi. Liberal media, my ass. CORPORATE media.

The mellotron is your friend.

F***ing brilliant...

"You cannot save the planet. What you need to do is see if you can try to save yourself," said Maathai. "The planet is not going to die. The planet will survive. It will adjust itself, as it has always done." Thank you, thank you, thank you Ms. Maathai. I wish more people would state publicly, rather than mumble amongst their "colleagues", the importance to human and other animal life of arresting the diffusion of co2 and methane into the atmosphere. As she said, the planet will be fine. We, and millions of other species on our Big Blue Marble, will not. Shout out to Pompey Road: I'm with you 100% on those statements. Every word. Well said...and unfortunately, ignored. C'm-F***ing-on Grist, howsaboot you rip Mr. Obama a new one for not immediately rescinding the MTR rules, etc., initiated during the Boosh Lost Years.

The mellotron is your friend.

Um...

The financial crises were triggered at least somewhat, if not largely so, by the credit default swaps and collateralized debt obligations, many of which were repackaged and resold mortgages. They were sold, resold, and resold again, each time gaining "value" in the dervative marketplace, itself a shadow market which has, for the most part, remained entirely unregulated. People default on their mortgages when the ARM readjusts, the derivatives get "called", and it's discovered that there is no real value in these products, soooo...we have banks and insurance cos. holding these--whoops!--now valueless products, and we get what we have now. The Four Big Banks are insolvent, though noone wants to say that. Except Nouriel Roubini. "So long, it's been good to know ya'..."

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Don't forget...

The New York Times is owned by GE, if I recall correctly, a company heavily vested in coal and nuke generating industries. Doesn't take a genius to figure why an article like this, so poorly researched and written, was published in the NYT. I remember seeing a documentary featuring a NYT reporter who had her story, carefully and responsibly researched, axed by the editorial board. Why? Because the subject of the story just happened to be on the massive cost-overruns, etcetera, at the twin-nuke plant GE was building on Long Island at the time. She quit shortly after that.

The mellotron is your friend.

OMG! Hilarious...

Man, where does Glennie Boy come up with this stuff? I mean, is he sitting on the can every day and breathing in his own noxious vapors for inspiration? F***in' funny! Him and all of the other reprobates he "represents".

The mellotron is your friend.

Weeell...

I've been thinking lately that the entire post-WWII suburbanisation has been one monstrous, gigantic building bubble. We have not only spread out the ways in which we live, but at the same time, we have spread out all of the services which connect to the structures making up our suburbs: sewers, water treatment, electrical delivery, gas lines, roads, bridges, fire/police, etc, ad ifinitum. We spent Trillions on this post-war mindset, and have discovered at this late hour that it incredibly inefficient. Oh, and don't dorget the red-lining used by the "insurance" and "finance" cos., which decimated our urban areas by restricting the money available to home and business owners to improve and upgrade their properties. And of course, what discussion of government-sponsored suburban development would be complete without the mention of "urban renewal", that benighted and not-quite-so-discredited practice of demolishing entire neighborhoods for highways, "redevolopment", (ie: some white-owned cos. want to put their new buildings there) and "slum clearance". "Slum clearance" was justified by the misfortunate tendency to dismiss century-old buildings as obsolete. A spurious conclusion if I ever heard one. Livin' in a ninety-seven yr old house here. Seems to work just fine. Now if I only had 4KUSD to take out the old knob and tube electrial service in the ceiling, so I could spend 500USD to blow R40-equivalent cellulose insulation into the flat-roofed attic crawlspace, I'd be set. Hey, how about Federal grants to people to fix just that sort of thing? Not a bad idea if I do say so myself. 'Twould go a long way towards paying the debt the Feds owe us for screwing over the Cities of this country.

The mellotron is your friend.

Oh, brother...

Mr. President, you are a Know Nothing fool. The human costs associated with doing nothing would probably bring you to your knees, you weak-minded cretin. You are condemning your grandchildren to lives of misery and wont. The economic costs are irrelevent when you consider this. We as humans must stop living for ourselves now. We must live for the future, and those who come after us. The planet will be fine. It has recovered from cataclysmic climate change before, it will surely do so again. It is not a given however, that intelligent life, human or otherwise, will evolve from the figuraive ashes of our civilazation. On Czech president attacks Al Gore's climate campaign posted 10 months ago 3 Responses

An addendum...

"...unreasonable and uncompassionate all the same." Let's not forget inhuman, benighted, ignorant, unethical, immoral, illogical, shortsighted...oh, hell, these twits are just plain stupid. Ya' know, capitalism is kind of funny that way. It seems to want to eliminate human beings from the production side of things, and to eliminate the various factors which are considered liabilities with regards to profitability. Oddly enough, the former of the twain would result in many fewer people with jobs, a result of the continued and expanding use of automation in the workplace, which would produce fewer "consumers". The latter would give us policies and laws which would and will benefit faceless, nameless, personless corporations, to the detrimaent of humanity. LETHALLY negative feedbacks could be the ultimate product of capitalism's ongoing plan to reduce the human factor in profit/loss equations. Too much variability. The uncertainty of huma-er, I mean "consumer/producer" inputs is simply too much to be tolerated by capitalistic planners. In short, it seems to me that we are killing ourselves for a philosophy of economics. Bizarre.

The mellotron is your friend.

A note...

Perhaps if we got back to roots science, ie: as a system of empirical discovery, assumption, description, and explantion of Nature. Maybe, as we educate children on the wonders of our natural world, they will grow up through their elementary years curious and eager to learn more of how our planet works. For isn't that what science is primarily all about? Describing and explaining the mechanisms by which life thrives, survives, and dies in Nature? Science as Commerce isn't working to ease our ignorance. In fact Corporate science, and the education system built up around it to support it, is often disdainful of hard, or explorative study. Shocking students in freshman year of high school with RNA mechanisms and frog anatomy doesn't work. The curriculum of our countries' classrooms needs to incorporate science in all study plans from kindergarten to 12th grade.

The mellotron is your friend.

solar panels...

I think the solar panels are just another innovation, much like ABS or seat belts. Not a gimmick at all, but merely another evolutionary step in the realm of personal transportation. Not that the automobile is the best form of transport, but if we're going to build them, we may as well make them more efficient. This innovation will merely make the ac's work a little easier on a hot summer's day, but it's a start.  

The mellotron is your friend.

Good start...

"...recognizing that such agencies are servants of the public." Including that phrase says volumes about the venality of the benighted Bush administration.

The mellotron is your friend.

Holy crap...

"Politics intervened?!!!!!" Are you f***in' kiddin' me? George W. Bush should be lead away from the White House (or Camp David, since I understand he's there for the weekend) in chains. Nuff' said. And yes, I did hear of this area being designated as a monument. Funny though, Republicans screamed to high heaven when Bill Clinton used the same law to establish Grand Staircase Escalante in Utah. On Few Americans are ever likely to see George W. Bush's greatest environmental legacy posted 10 months, 2 weeks ago 7 Responses

Oh, brother...

Someone get the straight jacket, I believe Mr. Inhofe has finally gone over the edge.

The mellotron is your friend.

Hmm...

What the members of the Bush administration are now doing is precisely what the old Stalinists in the Soviet Union did in the past: to whit, change it. Yep, nothing like a little Soviet-style historical revisionism to cap off the the most authoritarian administration in our nations' history. Who knew these guys were secret admirers of Uncle Joe and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics? Ok, so the CCCP was more totalitarian, but hey, why quibble over the political disposition of moral degenerates.

The mellotron is your friend.

Again...

The message coming from our soon-to-be government: No climate emergency to see here. Move along people. Status quo politics at its' finest. These ass-hats are going to kill us and the planet. OK, well, they won't kill the planet. As long as the plates still move around the globe, thus providing energy to the various weather systems and climates, the planet will continue. We, however, if nothing is done, will cease to exist.

The mellotron is your friend.

Funny...

What a colossally idiotic person. She clearly doesn't realise how inadvertantly humorous she sounds. From Big Oils' PR to her mouth. Who believes these hacks don't take bribes or at least practice a little quid pro quo, raise your hand?

The mellotron is your friend.

Hmm...

I understand that due to the drawing-down of aquifers underneath the city that it is actually sinking. Indeed, it has sunk about twelve inches so far. Warm weather is for wimps anyway.

The mellotron is your friend.

WOW...

This monkeywrenching hell-raiser has got a PAIR! More than can be attributed to the craven corporate lackeys in Congress who let the the war criminals and traitors George W. Bush and Dick Cheney off the hook. My hat is off to this man.

The mellotron is your friend.

ce1907

Another nicely cryptic mess of gibberish from a troll. Thanks for the laugh.

The mellotron is your friend.

Weeell...

What does everyone expect from some double-dipping ex-military reprobate who has been whoring himself for the CoC, Big Oil and the military industrial complex ever since he retired? Funny, when he listened to the part of his oath "to protect and defend the Constitution" he must have heard "protect and defend the bank account". Peace and prosperity don't make enough profit for his constituency, whereas war and global instability are VERY good for bidness...and his bank account...and his 401k's...and his Caymen accounts...and...

The mellotron is your friend.

So...

Renegotiate CAFTA, WTO, NAFTA, etc? Sounds like a good idea to me. Wouldn't mind seeing them go away completely, as they are entirely much too authoritarian for my taste. Chapter 11 in NAFTA is particularly appalling.  On Obama says trade agreements must protect environment posted 11 months, 1 week ago 2 Responses

Yay!

Hooray for the jammer! Bully to you Mr. DeChristopher.On Eco-activist bids up oil and gas leases at auction posted 11 months, 2 weeks ago 6 Responses

Ha...

Johnson should be lead away in shackles and locked up, along with the rest of the Bush-Cheney admin. Sadly, high profile criminals in this country get pardoned and go off to lucrative careers as think tank apparatchiks and 5-figure lecturers. It's no wonder our country is as corrupt as it is: these cretins, Democratic and Republican, commit crimes against their constituents and the Constitution every day and we all take it. And what's worse, we praise their "knowledge" and "wisdom". Two of the biggest perpe-traitors of the whole financial mess, Larry Summers and Robert Rubin, are now holding prominent positions in the new Obama administration. O is either a genius, or a complete patsy. Considering some of his other appointments, Vilsack in particular, I go with idiot. Pass the lube, please.On EPA says ignore CO2 when issuing permits for coal plants posted 11 months, 2 weeks ago 3 Responses

Good luck, Cali...

 The lawsuits to prevent the divulging of "proprietary" product ingredients and processes are probably being written as we speak. Expect to see various corpse lining up at the courthouse door to present their cases. Of course, that's provided it isn't compromised to death by briber...er, I mean lobbying and campaign contributions. On California unveils comprehensive 'green chemistry' plan posted 11 months, 2 weeks ago 2 Responses

Nice...but...

Suppose you can't get your home down 75% from current levels because, well, let's use my own house as an example: Solid brick construction of aproximately 1000sq. ft. with a flat roof. I have already installed a high-efficiency furnace(6-7000USD: 92+ AFUE), a TPO(thermoplastic polyolefin) roof w/1.5" polyiso insulation(6600USD). I was planning on solar thermal water heating, but my budget ran out. Since I'm also restoring some of the houses' architectural historic elements(original galvanised cornice and associated parapet cap pieces, windows, brick repointing), my budget was to improve and stabilise the exterior of the building so that over the years I could concentrate on the interior without worrying if I'll need more exterior work. All of this has cost in excess of 22,000USD, not counting the insulation I'll be putting in the attic crawlspace of my flat-roof home, or the cornice work. The cost of blown-in insulation will only be 6-700USD, but in order for the contractor to access the entire space, I'll need to hire someone to come in and drywall, tape and mud the holes I'll need to make in the ceiling (approx. 1'x 12' in the back-of-the-house kitchen, and 1' x 1' in the front of the house), another couple of hundred, offhand. I'm not certain how else we'll be able to incur any more savings. PV is not an option, simply too much cost. Furring out the interior walls and insulation the cavities would also involve a significent cost, in addition to the fact we'll need to move out of the house for a month or two while the work is done. Three cats, all of our stuff we can't cram into our basement, living expenses while we're away from the house (we might be better than some: my older bro' owns 4-5 rental properties on his block. One or two units always seem to be vacant). All of this is good idea, but you'll have to illustrate how urban homeowners with solid-masonry construction will ba able to benefit. Well, anyone with solid-masonry construction. In addition, if all the components are not installed properly, the 75% figure won't be acheived. I'd love to remove a large portion of my energy expenses from the oil, gas and coal/nuke nipple, but my guess is that because of the type of constuction, my options may be limited to such an extent that I couldn't benefit from this program. So I'll need the nice architects at A2030 to explain how I, as the owner of a solid-masonry structure, may benefit from their program. Get to work, folks...

The mellotron is your friend.

Adios...

So long, it's been good to know ya'...This song goes through my head each and every time I hear about some venal pol getting a slot in the "new" Obama administration. Another nail in the coffin of progressive ideas and solutions, each new blow to the head a signal that it is anything but change which is coming to DC. Might as well prepare for the long slog of national penury and environmental degredation to come as industrial ag destroys our soil for fun and profit. A few thousand wind turbines would do more good for farmer's than Monsanto's flim-flam science. I tells ya', these farmer's are being sold a bill of goods. And now, Obama just sh*t on them.

The mellotron is your friend.

Ha...

I'm glad she actually said, "...we hate to say we told you so, but we did."

The mellotron is your friend.

ya know...

We are essentially terra-forming our planet. Unfortunately, unlike the sci-fi narratives in which the objective is to transform the planets' atmosphere to one which benefits the protaganist humans, we are terra-forming ourselves into oblivion.On Ban wants 'Green New Deal' on climate change, financial crisis posted 11 months, 3 weeks ago 1 Response

I like this...

 Alot of their listeners are probably people who don't think about FREE electricity. So for these yay-hoos to mention the very realistic and attainable goal of bringing generating capacity to the average homeowner, I can't imagine that's a bad thing. The joke about the birds? Meh...

The mellotron is your friend.

Smart, smart, smart, smart, smart...

Your old man is a smart guy. Sadly, we ran out of money to buy a solar thermal water heater when the cost of repointing the brick and the new roof were added up. Oh, well, maybe next year. I believe the credits have been renewed, so it's possible we'll have another chance.

The mellotron is your friend.

Geez...

Is Lutz on some sort of meds? 'Cause he seems disoriented and confused...and delusional. Blaming the current global crisis for GM's problems is a bit of a stretch. GM has been mismanaged for the last 35 yrs. Since the 1973 oil embargo. Time to retire Bobby. I'm sure you're well situated with regards to your nest egg. So, sell the place in Bloomfield Hills or Grosse Point and take up permanent res at your place in AZ. Oh, by the way, when I mean mismanaged, I mean MISMANAGED, not "misworkered". There is only so much an average worker can do to influence management. So what if they made good money? Good for them! Bitch about your own employers not paying you decent wages. You want better wages and pay, America, O-R-G-A-N-I-S-E! Don't stab you fellow workers in the back just because you don't have the berries to organise your workplace.

The mellotron is your friend.

Yaaay!

I agree with everything in this post. The emphasis on decentralised power distribution is especially important. Specifically, why, after 120+ yrs of centralised power generation and distribution, are we still operating on this model? Why can't I, and you, and you, and your employer, OUR SCHOOLS, at least in some part, generate our own power, and heat--approximately 75% with solar thermal--our own water, cleanly and efficiently, thus saving ourselves countless billions more USD in the long run. This savings could be used to invest in our nieghborhoods and our communities, in a very direct way, more so than any supranational corporate entity could or, more importantly, WOULD be willing to commit. As a matter of fact, I would say that it will be the lobbying of these supranationals and energy generators and exploiters--not to mention the neo-liberal capitalists in the Obama administration--who will mount the most fervent campaign against INDIVIDUAL ownership of our future power capacity. For obvious reasons, of course. Think of all of the generating, engineering/design/build, mining/exploration supranationals(Bechtel, Fluor, Peabody Energy, Arch Coal, Entergy, Duke, Edison, GE, Westinghouse, AmerenUE, Massey, etc.) out there which would either cease to exist or would be forced to contract because their bidness model thrived on keeping us--as consumers and citizens--tied to their corporate nipple. America--and our friends across the planet--it's time we weaned ourselves off of these spongers and schnorrers. Tough work ahead. But not an impossible task.

The mellotron is your friend.

Hmm...

Why don't we jettison the whole Board of Directors, including the union rep, while we're at it? Fresh thinkers, and all that rot.

The mellotron is your friend.

Uuuuh...

Links?On Scientists using consumers' computing power to develop new solar cell posted 11 months, 4 weeks ago 3 Responses

Weeell...

Since OPEC decided recently--I read this within the last week--to drop production 1.5 MIllion barrels a day, I think this whole argument is rather moot. I don't have links. I don't hover around my computer copying and saving links to stories which will magically dovetail with stories Grist publishes.

The mellotron is your friend.

Debra...

Word...

The mellotron is your friend.

hey...

How did I get that bold in there? What key was that? Meh...On Ford planning shift to small cars, company says posted 12 months ago 5 Responses

Hmm...

Get it in writing. Oh, and get the resignations of all three boards and CEOs in writing, too. That would be enough for me. Ah-hah, and no freakin' engineers at the head of any of the  companies. Damn fools can never admit they are wrong. A conversation I overheard at the printing company I once worked at(rotogravure press operator): Pressman: Don, this things f**ing up again! I thought you fixed it?! Engineer: Well, it's not supposed to do that[that was funny]. Pressman: G*ddammit, Don, what the fk are you talking about, It's not supposed to do that? It's doing it, I can see it with my own f*king eyes!    And so on for about 5-10 minutes, with no resolution. Engineers: can't live with 'em, and ya' can't shoot 'em.On Ford planning shift to small cars, company says posted 12 months ago 5 Responses

other filters...

I wonder if they'll take Pur filters, too?On Brita announces recycling program for used water filters posted 1 year ago 7 Responses

Ouch,

Outside of Mr. Pollan and Mr. Boyd, they all look like the usual industry whores. As a matter of fact, I could actually be enthusiastic about Mr. Boyd, depending on his enviro/sustainability bona fides.

The mellotron is your friend.

Ambitious...

That word alone is one which I believe trumps any notion, as offered by the Guardian, et al, that Mrs. Palin won't come back to haunt our Republic. She may be the gov of a state with a small pop., but she is the governor, and didn't get there by sitting on her can. She's dangerous: a manipulative, vindictive, narrow-minded demogogue, proud of her own ignorance, and unwilling to compromise on what she views as god's plan. People think she's stupid. No, she's just vapid, banal, and poorly educated. She's a bit like Booosh in a skirt, if that helps. At this point, I'd say she may be tired of the attacks she has experienced, but she probably has a long memory, and like a shark and blood, she's had a taste of what political life could be like at the national level, and most assuredly enjoyed it. Sure, there is the downside, but OH!, the ADORATION!

The mellotron is your friend.

Booyah?

Bully, I say! Now, perhaps after the elections, MO's AG can come to the same agreement with AmerenUE, our states' largest utility. Maybe, as a recent shareholder(50 shares), I could write a letter expressing my enthusiasm for Mr. Cuomo's scheme. After all, as the story said, it's the law. Maybe, just maybe, if Mr. Obama wins the office of President, the Board and Directors of AmerenUE will be more receptive to this line of thinking. On Coal-power producer will disclose climate-change risks to shareholders posted 1 year, 1 month ago 3 Responses

So...

Sanderson is probably going to make the same mistake(my guess) as Pilgrims Pride: leveraging themselves to a fare-thee-well. More debt, more instability. Consolidation also increases the consolidation of risk; see current financial mess for relevant examples.

The mellotron is your friend.

Weeell...

Whikerfish, the 12 sq. mile figure is most certainly not an indication of contiguous develoment. And while I am concerned about cryptobiotic soil death and water consumption, I'm willing to trust but verify--to borrow a phrase from Mr. Raygun--in order to quickly get us away from our carbon generation addiction. Which addiction BTW, and its' concomitant economic strain on American residenctial, commercial, and industrial users the coal, natural gas and the coal-fired electrical gen cos. are eager to maintain. I am, however, right with you on the NEED for the average person--home or business owner--to have the ability and resources to install PV gen capacity on their own residences and facilities. Why must we continue this reliance on centrally-sourced power gen--renewable or otherwise--that these el gen cos. have built up for the last 125 yrs? We neddn't. The quicker we get Americans the ability to gen their own power--at least to a certain degree--the quicker we can break the stranglehold these one-trick corp. ponies have over us.

The mellotron is your friend.

Chuck...

I'll take "Environmental War Economy" and "Protectionist World" for $1000, without the retreat to Antarctica(out of which orifice did they pull that one..?) I'm a realist, not a pessimist. I'm trying, personally, to work towards an "Energy Efficiency" world, but the rest of my neighbors, the country, and the planet seem to be going in the opposite direction, towards Oblivion. On Report envisions various scenarios for global economy in 2030 posted 1 year, 1 month ago 1 Response

Sigh...

Why are marketing and sales people so bloody dim? It figures that an American executive would proposesuch a ridiculous idea. Now, I'm not saying that Toyota won't go along with this malarky, just that it's an incredibly stupid idea.On Toyota may develop "Prius on steroids" posted 1 year, 1 month ago 22 Responses

Tee-hee...

The Bush administration: inadvertantly writing classic comedy since 2001. I also heard on Democracy Now! that Mr. Kashkari received his degree in his field only five years ago. Nothing like a little experience to help us out of the financiers' rape of the global economy. Brilliant, Mr. Paulson.

The mellotron is your friend.

But...

Vakibs, I think your statement about nuke power being a technology and not "the market" is true. However, this is the US we are talking about, and it will be impossible to seperate the political from the technological. In other words, the lobbying which will be conducted on behalf of the Nuke power interests could and probably will have a corrupting influence on the regulators and the legislative process. The track record of the industry is not good on either count, and while I am not opposed to nuclear power per se, I will let history be my guide and judge the industry on its' past actions, not on what they presently say. If memory serves, not one of the nuclear power stations in this country came in on budget or on time. To say the least most of them came in at hundreds of millions, and in some cases, billions over budget. I won't even bore you with the safety lapses--many of them "near misses"--which have occurred in the last 40 yrs.

The mellotron is your friend.

lol

Oh, that Greenspan. He's a cut-up, ain't he? Please, Tigger, you and others in positions who could have had an impact on zealous and corrupt traders ignored the warnings of economists and other financial experts that the system was in danger of melting down. Yeeesh!

The mellotron is your friend.

Shucks...

 Jim Hightower has been using that one for quite some time. It's a good 'un, indeed.

The mellotron is your friend.

Lol all week...

The Daily Show and Colbert have been brilliant all week. It's good to be laughing as you're being bent over and economically raped by our Senators and their Masters. What to expect from a failed democratic Republic. Thanks George W. Bush, the Republican and--to a somewhat lesser extant--the Democratic parties for our mismanaged and stolen country.

The mellotron is your friend.

'nother cookbook or two...

 "Simple Suppers", recommended to me by a friend, is quite good for a beginning or "expert" veg. I'm also warming to "Vegetarian" by Linda Fraser/Hermes House, publisher. Not too many of what I call "exotic" ingredients. Ya' know, that weird or unusual thing that one can't find anywhere in town, unless you live in NY, Seattle, Chicago, San Fran, etc. Mangia!On Umbra on shifting to vegetarianism posted 1 year, 2 months ago 19 Responses

BS..

Who says this country doesn't practice socialism. It's just not supposed to be applied to the hoi-poloi. Here's $.05 for you, Mr. and Mrs. Citizen. Go buy yourselves a cuppa and a sinker. Oh, wait a minute. Those are Old Depression prices. Well, give it back, then.

The mellotron is your friend.

No offense...

...but, Bill, there are alot of hurting farmers right here in the good ol' US of A. How about throwing some of those billions towards them. Maybe some lobbying money to help them get rid of some of the more onerous Big Ag regs designed to put the small farmer and "organic" farmer out of business.On Gates Foundation wants to boost local agriculture in developing nations posted 1 year, 2 months ago 12 Responses

Hmm, let me guess...

Michael Hurwitz, that illustrious--infamous?--Houston financier, bought out Pacific Lumber in a leveraged(he borrowed a sh*tload of debt)buyout, then couldn't cut fast enough to pay off the note. Then comes the credit bubble bursting, the market for his product dries up domestically, and the sh*t really hits the fan. Why can't "money experts" handle their money? I guess a college education just isn't all it's cracked up to be. What's more, depending on which type of bancruptcy he files under, the debt can be had at pennies on the dollar. Hell, he could buy himself out of this mess...that is, if anyone will lend him more money.On Tree-sitting in Northern Calif. redwoods ends for now posted 1 year, 2 months ago 1 Response

Well...

So much for the vaunted "honor" supposedly present in the military. Seems to be a bunch of BS. If this behavior is so unacceptable to service members who have "honor", why don't they stick their necks out in an effort to stanch this corruption? Not wanting to put the pension at risk, perhaps?  On States say Pentagon bullies them into not enforcing toxic cleanups posted 1 year, 2 months ago 3 Responses

Nooooo!

Corruption in the Bush administration?! I'm shocked, shocked, I tell you! Hmm, I wonder what Transparency Int'l thinks about our country now. Oh, well, at least we're not as corrupt as Nigeria or Russia. USA! USA! USA!On Ethics violations alleged at agency that collects oil and gas royalties posted 1 year, 2 months ago 1 Response

Like this report

The authors of this report don't seem to pull any punches. Rather a refreshing, and surprising, assessment considering which administration is currently at the helm of the sinking SS USofA.On U.S. intelligence report says climate change likely to lead to security threats posted 1 year, 2 months ago 2 Responses

Huzzah...

I like to think that somewhere, somehow, Cesar Chavez is smiling down on Mr. Schlosser. NEVER forget the people who planted, picked, and processed your food. We owe them a great debt of gratitude. As a boy I learned the word "boycott"  from my mom in the 70's when the UFW issued a call to stop buying grapes. I also learned about a great man named Cesar Chavez. We should all have such good teachers.On Slow Food Nation was magnificent in many ways, but overshot its mandate posted 1 year, 2 months ago 17 Responses

oil shale...

Oil shale, the scam that just keeps on giving.On BLM finalizes plan for leasing oil shale in U.S. West posted 1 year, 2 months ago 10 Responses

pfffft...

 I'd trash her if she were purple. The charges of racism? Laughable.

The mellotron is your friend.

he-he

Not so much "truthfulness" as it was "truthiness".

The mellotron is your friend.

As well...

Let's keep our eyes on Bobby Jindal. I understand he's considered a rising star in the Republican ranks. He's just as much of a neo-con fascist as the rest of the lot. Oh, yeah, and a Dominionist rapture-bunny like Mrs. Palin. Crikey, 40 yrs ago these loony fringe types would have huddled in basement John Birch Society meetings and railed against the "commies" and "fellow travellers" endangering our Merkin way of life. Without buzzing around our ears like so many no-see-ums. Ironic that they are the greatest threat facing our Republic since the Axis of WWII.

The mellotron is your friend.

Ah...

Oil shale: the sham that just keeps on giving. I'm old enough to remember the scam perpetrated on us as taxpayers by speculators who said oil shale could deliver us from the A-rabs. Went through a few billion with that one. Capitalism as Ponzi scheme. I get the impression that Mr. V is either too dim or too corrupt to realize this. Probably both.

The mellotron is your friend.

Delays...

Um, guys, I think that was the point: to delay implentation, thus reducing associated costs to industry. Man, these people are so bloody naive. They still seem to think that the Federal gov't is for the protection--ya' know, "promote the general welfare", and all that--of the people. The Boosh admin. is only there to enrich the corporate/bidness community and release them from liability. Good grief, get a clue, folks.On Bush admin proposes rule that could delay workplace toxics standards posted 1 year, 3 months ago 1 Response

Whoops...

Madagascar and Haiti here we come...On Tigers and elephants applaud expansion of Sumatra park posted 1 year, 3 months ago 1 Response

Lap dog...

 "This John Dingell moment brought to you by the new 2009 Denali hybrid. Contact your GMC dealer and arrange for a test-drive today." Total stooge.

The mellotron is your friend.

Ah...

Corporations are just too funny: "labelling" and an "educational campaign". The comedy that writes itself. Pure gold. Call my agent. I'll make millions.

The mellotron is your friend.

Funny...

I've always found it funny that people who fashion themselves as skeptics and are scornful of anything "eco" or "environmental", or whatever, are not only willing, but enthusiastic supporters of corporations which don't give a rat's patoot about their health, their families or their humanity. Hmm, which source do I trust: the one with the bottom line, or the one which advocates for humanity?

The mellotron is your friend.

Sad, really...

It seems most Americans look upon excess with envy, not disdain or scorn. This country has been turned upside down. Right is might, power is truth, torture is "enhanced interrogation", and the biggest criminal gang in the history of our country will almost certainly go unpunished. What does it mean to be an American when the people who are entrusted to enforce and protect the rule of law are the ones who engage in the most base and dehumanising efforts to pillage our Constitution and strip us citizens of our rights? If, though the Constitution still exists, there are efforts to not only undermine, but ultimately eliminate those rights, how can we still call ourselves American, when the reason for our countries' existence is being systematically and enthusiastically dismantled by those both on the right and the left? All in the name of "security". OT, I know, but the question bothers me. Another rant over.

The mellotron is your friend.

Whoops...

Too bad for them. The only agencies getting more money these are the fear-mongers at the various police-state departments(NSA, CIA, etc.) and the Dep't of Death, er, "Defense". Hell, the National Park Service alone has about 6-8BUSD just in capital improvements and maintainence, let alone new acquisitions. This country is broke. We don't make enough value-added goods to keep our money from going out the door. Whoo-hoo, Second-world status here we come! On Science orgs plead for more funding for severe-weather preparation posted 1 year, 3 months ago 2 Responses

Baffling question...

I've always been confused about how people who call themselves Christians have such disregard for human life and worker safety. I suppose that wearing the mantle of "Christian" is a good mask for those who have not, and never will be, committed to the tenets of whichever particular sect of Fishtianity to which they may adhere. Somehow, being a good "Christian" gives one carte-blanche in society to mistreat your fellow human beings, and yet still maintain the facade of respectability. "Oh, he's a good Christian. He would never be involved in (insert indiscretion here)". What do you call this? Corporate theocracy? Theocratic capitalism? Tar and feathering really needs to make a comeback. For pols and corporatists/capitalists.

The mellotron is your friend.

Just wait...

The death-chem industry is basically playing a stall game. This legislation is too important to too many people(don't piss off your mother) to not eventually make it onto the books.On California won't ban BPA in baby bottles, sippy cups posted 1 year, 3 months ago 2 Responses

Clock...

I don't know why, but I kept hearing a cuckoo-cuckoo clock sounding in my head as I read about Ms. Bachmann...oh, well, just another Fishtian hypocrite Congressperson whoring herself for her major corporate contributors. <Yawn>

The mellotron is your friend.

Ha...

My fellow idiot American will be back in their cars once the price of gas goes down...and back to buying big, galumping exSUV's. Fools...On Americans drive less, use less gas, buy fewer cars posted 1 year, 3 months ago 2 Responses

Hmm...

 I recall reading about a large PV producer which is planning to construct a major facility in the SW, with the ability to double production facilities as needed. I wonder if there is a connection? A project this big could eventually help bring down the cost of PV. After a majority of production goes to the PV station, consumers could benefit from the surplus capacity and lower prices expected from such excess capacity.On Ginormous solar plants to be built in California posted 1 year, 3 months ago 15 Responses

Ah...

The goopers are always good for a satisfying belly laugh.

The mellotron is your friend.

Local leaders...

"Local leaders...have greater freedom...to fund...as they choose..." Oh, brother. This sounds more like the "local leaders" will have even more opportunities to defraud taxpayers by planning useless and unneeded projects which have no uses other than to provide the pols with a pretty photo op and connected(he-he$$$) contractors with more busy work. Plus, the idea of more toll roads, while not entirely objctionable, leads me to ask a question: who controls the roads? Will the state hang on to the roadway, or will they hand it over to a contractor?  We've all seen in Iraq(and, actually, most areas of gov't) how well that idea has worked. In addition, considering the burgeoning security/police state/plutocracy, will indivduals be barred from these roads if they somehow run afoul of the Draconian laws which have been enacted(and certainly WILL be enacted in the future)to this date?

The mellotron is your friend.

Sweater...

Hmm, I don't know. I think this may be just another way the criminals in the Grand Oil Party want to hang an albatross around Mr. Obama's neck. Much like they did with Jimmy Carter's sweater and Dukakis's tank helmet...and of course Mr. Clinton's stain. The GOP is about as subtle as a truncheon-wielding Pinkerton. But...they, admittedly, have BIG brass ones. The Dems are a bunch of snivelling cowards who couldn't stand up to a gust of wind.

The mellotron is your friend.

Yes...

Where are the Yes Men when you need 'em?

The mellotron is your friend.

no saint

From what I read and understand, Mr. Pickens is buying all the water rights(well, trying to...)under Texas, so he's no saint. Not in my book.

The mellotron is your friend.

But, but...

 It's not a bribe. Really. I mean, do you have evidence of quid pro quo? See, I'm as pure as the driven slush. Er, snow. Sorry. Still, one should note that the contributions have slipped from yr'06 to '08. That money had to go somewhere. To the Democratic members, perhaps? No, of course not. The Dems consider thier palms sacrosanct. None of your filthy lucre here, sir.

The mellotron is your friend.

cough...

Corporations have basically "exported" the pollution the US and Europe have been trying--with good success--to suppress for the last 50 yrs. What you see in China is a result of little or no laws governing emissions. If China does have laws on the books governing idustrial pollutants, they should enforce them. What, you say, that would increase the cost of production? That protecting the health of its citizens may lead to a flood of manufacturing and capital leaving the country because of the expense of running a clean operation? That investors and corporations(and apparently the Chinese government)don't give a rats patoot about human life and would rather naw off their left arms than submit to greater controls, lest their profit margins go down? Yeah, it's a damn shame what's happening to capitalists. I mean really, everybody has to die sometime, right? If you go from industrial toxins or a heart attack, what's the dif? Seriously, folks, if fekking China can't stand a little criricism about providing a healthy environment for the athletes--much less its own citizens--it shouldn't have applied for the Games. Whining, insecure, xenophobic creeps.

The mellotron is your friend.

Dude...

Wolverine, you are hardcore.

The mellotron is your friend.

Crap...

 I suppose what pisses me off the most about people like this is that their political views are often detrimental to the very landscape they seek to live on. Not to mention that most of these tools locate themselves near OUR federal lands and benefit from OUR tax support of National Parks, BLM, National Forest, Riverways, etc., thereby enjoying the vistas provided by our guardianship, all the while voting for and contributing to mostly Republican efforts to ravage the land WE THE PEOPLE have set aside for future generations. I'm pretty certain Mt. Hood and vicinity are located in National Forest lands, and that these folks are directly benefitting from this proximity. Not to mention the people who have been priced out of these areas because of development and escalating property prices and taxes. How many miles does a restaurant worker have to drive to get to her job in Jackson Hole?  

The mellotron is your friend.

Ignore it...

 Just ignore the Troll MADMAC. The guy is clearly certifiably delusional, or just abbysmally ignorant. Nature is the enemy? What a kook. Other animals get along just fine with nature. They do their "jobs", and nature does its' job. The problem with humans is that nature just going about its' bidness(hurricanes, typhoons, tornado, seismic events, etc.) often kills humans. I suppose some people take offense at that, but it's just the way it is. MADMAC, in his childish view of life, hasn't grasped this yet. Nature is the enemy. Shit, that's funny.

The mellotron is your friend.

Go hang...

Hmm, it's to bad Mr. Obama couldn't reaffirm the Constitution when he cast his vote for the new and improved(Look, More Tyranny! Increased Despotism! Fresher Authoritarianism!) FISA law. He, and other Dems, have betrayed the Republic. I just had to say that. Mr. Obama lost my vote with that decision. I'll probably vote for whatever wacko the Lyndon Larouche crowd is putting on the  ballot. Jabailo, are you running for Pres?

The mellotron is your friend.

he-he

Funny, George. At least you didn't molester Angela Merkel again. Really, were you freaking drunk? Again?

The mellotron is your friend.

Ha...

Well, at least the manufacturers admitted they knew about the chemicals in their trailers. It would have been laughable if they denied knowing about the presence of formaldehyde. I worked for 14 years for a company called ADSI(previous names for this company include: DSI, or Dcorative Surfaces Int'l, Borden Decorative Products, and Orchard Corporation of America), which was a mid-size rotogravure printing company here in St. Louis. It no longer exists, having been mismanaged into the ground by 2006 by the management group installed when the company was purchased from Borden in late 90's. I, along with 88 other men, were fired from that company in 2004 after going on strike(although we were locked out when we showed for work on third shift). I am a pressman with many years of experience at rotogravure printing and I can tell you that we printed for many companies(including Fleetwood) which used the melamine topcoat which was standard for the industry at the time. I believe the melamine topcoat is cheaper than the superior and less toxic urethane. This coating DID contain formaldehyde, and it was clearly stated on the 8x10 label affixed to every roll of these products shipped from our facility. Let me tell you folks, you can't sneeze in that industry as a supplier(printer) without telling your customers about ANY changes to coating or paper specs. The fact that we tried a different formulation(though still containing "hyde") and different paper and subsequently lost two of our largest customers(our management kind of forget to tell them about these changes) should give some indication of how sensitive Fleetwood, et al, are about the contents of vendor-supplied materiel. The "confusion" is just a smoke-screen put there by the spokesman, er, I mean, Representative to obscure the FACT that the trailer manufcturers knew about the presence of various chemicals in their manufactured products. I mean really, EVERYBODY must have had the MSDS for all the chemicals in these trailers. That includes FEMA. CDC, probably not. Having said all that, airing out the trailers for a few days or weeks should reduce the levels of toxins to a "safer" level. It's funny reading the symptoms of various afflicted people: dizziness, headaches, nosebleeds, etc. These were among the things listed on the label we sent out with ADSI's product. In addition to the warning about formaldehyde's KNOWN carcinogenic tendencies.On Companies knew about high formaldehyde levels in FEMA trailers, Dems say posted 1 year, 4 months ago 4 Responses

Oy vey...

Oh, j, you've done it again.

The mellotron is your friend.

Linseed oil paint...

There's a guy and his wife in Sweden who started a company to manufacture organic Linseed oil paint. It's called Allback and you can find their products at silentpaintremover.com. I ordered some for restoring my windows, brick-mould, front metal facia and porch. I should be applying the first coats to two basement sashes(stripped with Soy-Gel stripper, Franmar.com) over the next few days. I'm kind of excited about this paint. This should be interesting and, I hope, fun. Sorry I shilled. On R.I. court reverses ruling, says paint companies not responsible for lead cleanup posted 1 year, 5 months ago 2 Responses

The fact of the matter is...

...it's not that people NEED things, it's that they WANT things. And THAT is the problem. We as Americans tend to use the words "need" and "want" interchangeably, without realising the differences between the two. Do we all need shelter over our heads? Yes. Do we need to get to work, whether it's transit or personal vehicle? Yes. Do we need a new plasma TV? No. Do we need a 5500lb vehicle to transport one person to and from work? No. Do we need clothing for ourselves and our families? Yes. Do we need to ship wool from New Zealand to China to make a scarf, and then ship that scarf to the US or Europe? No. We certainly don't need to to live in anything larger than 2500 sq ft. No one has 5-6 kids anymore, so why the desire for such large living spaces? Marketing. That desire and others are CREATED by marketing firms whose sole purpose, and that of their clients, the corporate supra-national, is to seperate you and your money. They are apparently doing a great job, by the way. This is why I have little hope for the future of the human race: corporate propaganda(marketing and advertising) has convinced us not only that we need frivolous items, but that it is our right to have them.  Try deprogramming millions upon millions of people who have been marketed to in this manner for the last 80 years and see what I'm talking about.

The mellotron is your friend.

Goose-stepping

This is simply a case of the government using "terrorism" as pretext for prosecution. Vandalism such as that committed by this woman and her friends is certainly not in any way similar in scope, tatics, stated goals, or outcome to any(pick one) attack which most of us would equate with the term "terrorism". Furthermore, in noting the lack of Constitutional thought given to the consideration of the FISA vote this past Friday, this prosecution is merely another nail in the coffin of American republicanism. Our Republic is DEAD. It has been replaced by an authoritarian, increasingly fascist plutocracy. With a little theocracy thrown in for good measure, just in case us athiests were feeling too comfortable. The war criminal George W. Bush will remain unpunished for his crimes, and the NSA and the telecoms may now listen, look, and data-mine all they wish, with zero imnpunity. Just keep shopping and don't mind your disappeared nieghbor.On Convicted eco-vandal sentenced to six years in prison posted 1 year, 5 months ago 57 Responses

OK, but...

Where's the hydrogen coming from? What's powering the hydrogen plant?On Honda produces new fuel-cell car posted 1 year, 5 months ago 4 Responses

Geez...

Are we as citizens going to find it necessary to use the tactics of Earth First! to rid ourselves of these scoundrels?On Fumes from Minn. dairy force neighbors to evacuate posted 1 year, 5 months ago 3 Responses

Ouch,

It hurts me to say this, but I have read the same info elsewhere(NRDC, Sierra?)regarding the dirty coal plants that J has posted for our perusal, and I can't disagree with him: clean these plants up or shut them down first, and we make large strides in reducing carbon emissions. Having said that, that would be only the first step. Step Two(To run concurrently): a Manhattan Project-like endeavor to wean ourselves off of the carbon teat.

The mellotron is your friend.

Hmm, reminds me of a song...

So long, it's been good to know ya', so long, it's been good to know ya'...This version brought to you by the Weavers(in my head).On Science academies of 13 nations urge G8 to tackle climate change posted 1 year, 5 months ago 1 Response

Pilgrimage...

 Hmm, I bet the Saudis would install these routes to service the increasing number of Muslim individuals making the journey to Mecca for the pilgrimage. Rather smart of them.

The mellotron is your friend.

Hmm,

...so, apparently he was't nuts, just embracing a cause which doesn't have as much cache as GW. Sad. So much greed on our lovely Earth, and not enough generosity, self-sacrifice and humility.On Climber scales New York Times building with climate message posted 1 year, 5 months ago 2 Responses

Oh, brother...

Christopher Kit "We need to do more studies/and the science just isn't in" Bond. What a farging tool he has become. Too bad, he wasn't such a bad gov. I guess when you get to DC, you automatically whore-up on the lobbyists. Having said that, it seems both parties are more concerned with getting and retaining power than with representing the most noble and pressing NEEDS of their constituents. I suppose that's one my greatest fears: that when/if the Dems take control of the gov't, it will be, relatively speaking, more of the same spineless Dem governance. Oh, well.

The mellotron is your friend.

Whither trash...

Ya, but where does the waste go after that? To a domestic special waste recycling center where it's broken down into its' constituent parts, or into a container for the trip to China via diesel-powered 100,000T container ship?On Best Buy tests free e-waste recycling program to ease its eco-impact posted 1 year, 6 months ago 3 Responses

Laugh-riot

Jabailo: Well, other than the fact that they are fascist authoritarians and mass-murderers, yes, then they may well get another look-see from me. When the 10th level of Hell thaws. I don't know though. I remember reading some wag comment in Adbusters Magazine a couple years ago that the Republicans are the party that wants to give our country away to the corporate fascists immediately, but that the Democratic Party wanted to take a go-slow, wait and see approach. I had to think honestly about that a few seconds, and concluded that by and large, with a few exceptions, at least on a national level, the author of those comments was correct. Bravery, common sense, intellectual curiosty, and foresight are not the hallmark of most of todays political, corporate and institutional management. "Leader" is a term I use very sparingly, lest it become like the currently devalued "hero".On White House admits humans causing climate change posted 1 year, 6 months ago 9 Responses

Ponzi

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks that the current incarnation of so-called free-market capitalism is essentially a Ponzi scheme on a massive scale. Indeed, it seems to me that most of the solutions presented by the usual trolls involve massive amounts of public money to subsidise industries which are already swimming in filthy lucre. Why should I be forced to buy electrical generation from a company that's not changed fudamentally its' technology or business model for one hundred years? Why can't I get the same subsudies(scaled to meet residential and commercial needs) that these companies have been receiving from the feds so that I may affordably buy on the open market electrical gen and solar water heating? To be sure, a 6 Kw system will not power my AC in the summer, but my home, and millions of others, could certainly offset most a significant potion of the alledged need for nuclear and more coal. As for nuclear, I am not an idiot. I'm old enough to remember that all of the nuclear plants in this country had MASSIVE cost overruns, in addition to many of them experiencing numerous near-misses with regards to safety and operational protocols. Here in Missouri, the Callaway County nuke plant was conceived with a budget of about $500MUSD. The final cost ran up to $3BUSD+ by the time it came on-line. And this country still has not found a viable way to clean up the mess. What's galling about the current "solution", Yucca Mt., aside from the fact it is a sacred to the tribal peoples in the area, is that it being paid for largely through my expense, not the polluters. I have a very simple dictum when comes to messes in my workplace and home: you make a mess, you clean it up. So, are the utility companies and nuclear plant buildiers willing to put up a multi-billion dollar bond to ensure that the wastes from generation and decommissioning will be properly taken of? No, well maybe you folks advocating for increased nuclear capacity better go back to the drawing board. Oh, another thing. Even though, admittedly, the number of potentially lethal incidents vs the number of KwH is fairly low, the risk will certainly increase with the number of plants operating. One other thing to consider: how committed do you think the utilities will be to safely operating their properties when they take possession of a facility that has sextupled its construction costs and the utility can't get the PSC's of various states to go along with a rate increase? I can't deny that we should be paying rates that reflect the TRUE costs of current electric gen technology, but to force me to pay the piper for something I don't want, don't need, the country doesn't want, and the country doesn't need, strikes me as a tyrannical gesture unbecoming of a Constitutional, pluralistic, democratic republic. Hell, just eliminate the subsidies(ALL subsidies) for energy companies and make them clean up their messes with their own money. Seems to me, if they were competently operated in the first place, we and our country wouldn't be in the position we are in today.  

The mellotron is your friend.

jamming

Wow, wolverine, that is one of the best culture-jamming efforts I've ever read about. Must have been quite a sight. It also must have pissed off the marketing whores who ordered and designed it.On Chevron throws hissy fit that anti-Chevron activists received award posted 1 year, 7 months ago 5 Responses

Superconducting cable

Couple those Nevada-based generators with the newly available superconducting power transmission cable(a pilot line was recently installed-certainly VERY expensive at this stage)and we could have that power we need in our homes. Of course, conservation and efficiencies are coupled with cleaner generation.

The mellotron is your friend.

Right-to-work?!

I think right-to-work should be changed to "low wage" and business friendly to "anti-worker". Just skewering your pro-Ponzi scheme free-market capitalism. Oh, BTW, just because output has gone up doesn't mean employment has gone up along with it. With temp employment, automation, and the simple fact that businesses are many times not hiring the workers they need, it's difficult to believe your analysis. As for total US output, well of course the US still leads in the manufacture of many goods. It's because we're still the world's largest economy. Besides, simply saying, by way of quoting those particular gov't statistics, that the manufacturing economy is doing well in this country is somewhat mis-leading. When you take into account that the economy has lost approximately 3 million manufacturing jobs in the last 7 yrs., the ol' industrial sector doesn't look so hale and hearty. And, from a larger standpoint, even if output is strong and the contributions to the countries' bottom line are robust, it really doesn't help the worker who lost her or his job because of "cost-cutting", or "efficiencies", or "consolidation", or outsourcing. Manufacturing once payed good money, often enough, that mom and dad could send their children to college. Manufacturing was once the only way most black folks could make a decent wage without attending college. Actually, if one thinks about it, the same holds true for whites. As manufacturing is diminished as a way for workers to earn a more than livable wage, I think we may find that our greatness as a nation will diminish as well. Certainly, the so-called service sector isn't keeping up with regards to wages. Far from it. And as the choices for employment continue to shrink, the downward pressure on wages will continue. Do you want THIS service sector job, or do you want THAT service sector job? Or maybe this manufacturing job which used to pay $22/hr., but now you'll be lucky to get $12/hr. Ooh, ooh, better yet, we pay a salary, and don't have to pay you overtime anymore by classifying you as a supervisory member of staff. You'll get flex-time, though. Bwwah-hah-hah-hah! Oh, and retain the capacity to decline or accept the occasions, and frequency, on which you may take your flex-time. And so on, and so on, and so on...Not a good time to be a worker. Period. Hmm, not a good time to be human or American.  

The mellotron is your friend.

engineering

Good ideas all. I am aware of many of the solutions to all of the listed problems, but I wanted simply to illustrate what I considered to be a source of confusion regarding "agrichem"(like that one: short and sweet). Oh, another thing. If the information I have read about genetic manipulation is correct, then one should refer to this method as "transgenic", for the most part. I'm not a scientist, merely a "buff", but it seems that most of this field involves selecting the trait or attribute of one organism and depositing it into the genetic structure of another organism. To be sure, this is not always strictly the case, but it is my understanding that the majority of procedures deal with these methods of splicing, etc. Forgive any apparent ignorance. I am only a high-school graduate, after all.

The mellotron is your friend.

cash

Oh, I con't know. Seems like 350,000USD in three yrs is a pretty good chunk of change...and without taking any $$$ from the very polluting industries they are up against. Maintaining that level of purity while still managing to raise 350K seems impressive to me. I must say, as well, that their ideas regarding our sexual and human rights are ones that I can't disagree with. The hypocrisy associated with, on the one hand, so-called liberal enviros, and on the other, rejection of the monies associated with Fuck for Forest(ooh, I feel so naughty) is quite nauseating. As they say, sex is a natural, nay, necessary part of our existence. Denying it, or marginalizing it, won't make sex(or fucking) go away. Thank goodness for that. In this day and age when our civil and human rights are being stolen or legislated away in the name of commerce, capitalism, profit, "national security", etc., ad infitum, it's refreshing to see two attractive and enthusiastic people remind us that these rights are closer to the natural world than we'd sometimes like to admit. I seem to remember some political philosopher referring to our rights as "natural". In other words, inherent. The US Constitution(BTW, we live in a constitutional, pluralistic, democratic republic) is, in my opinion and others, only the BEGINNING of my rights as a human and a citizen. I think this may be, inadvertantly, another aspect of FFF's mission: to remind us all that EVERYONE has the same rights on this planet, no matter your social class, geographical location, income, ethnicity(there is only ONE race: human), development status, medical comdition, gender...I could go on. Besides, I personally find sex one of the best ways to remind myself that I am human first--homo sapiens sapiens--and a citizen second. My allegience is to my fellow human beings and other living creatures, not to my job, the corporation, not to my government. To live my life any other way is to be anti-human. That's my political affiliation: humanity. Keep on Fuckin'!  On Catching up with our favorite European eco-porn activists posted 1 year, 8 months ago 11 Responses

My rambling 'bout this...

I have two nearly antique Stanley Co. vacuum flasks. These work very well in maintaining the temperature of whichever liquid you may be carrying. I definately would stay away from the glass-lined models as they are almost worthless when you take them out and about. Recalling my elementary school years, I have good memories of breaking not one, but two, glass-lined flasks. Break a glass-lined flask, and it's off to the landfill. Steel-lined is the way to go: no leaching of any nasty synthetic chemical and the damn things are practically bullet-proof. I found one my flasks at a resale/antique shop, and the other one is practically a family heirloom. That's abother good thing about used: no new resources were used to manufacture it. 'Tho' I will concede that the steel in any new product is almost certainly rrecycled. Metals recycling is one of the biggest businesses out there. Getting the natural cork stoppers, though, is getting harder to do. Oh, one of the other peculiarities of a vacuum flask with a natural cork stopper is that the darn things can be a BEAR to open. Seems the cork gets drawn, basically, further into the spout during the time you fill it and the first time you actually use it. Watch that coffee, it will be HOT! On Umbra on transporting coffee by bike posted 1 year, 8 months ago 12 Responses