(Biofuels)

Originally Posted by mmarsh

Its a factor but not the overwhelming one. The reason I say this is because Food prices are going up everywhere, especially in countries (Middle East, Africa, Asia) that eat more rice than grain, and therefore biofuel is not grown there. There is not a global food shortage (although there are regional shortages due to severe drought). But the real culprit is high oil prices as its so much more expensive to ship food now.

Mmarsh I understand that increased demand for meat in developing countries is probably the most important single factor. Feeding grain to animals is far less efficient than eating it directly. However, we come back to population and affluence again. The world can sustain only so many people at the standards we are used to, and the other 5 billion people will want what we have had for decades.

Originally Posted by mmarsh

I was just reading a few moments ago that US border patrols now have the right to check your laptop PC as your cross the border. Not to check to see if its a bomb, or being used to smuggle drugs, but to actually make a copy of your files and examine them. George Orwell is turning in his grave.

You may be interested in reading my contribution to this thread, my arms got tired listing the abuses of human rights!

Come back George Orwell.

I am delighted to see thoughtful replies to his original post. Gaining consensus on what are the problems and how to fix them is an essential keystone of democracy...

Lonnie Courtney Clay

I am not sure how to react on the original post.... Is this really a much shared view on current affairs? Where to begin? I miss the selfreflection in many points.

For the illegal immigrants but a strain on our public and private sectors. They take income from legal Americans and do not contribute to the public sector.

If they weren't offered any jobs they wouldn't come now would they? How many illegals are working in American shops and why? Because they are cheap!

Also our economy is going down because of OPEC.

How about this? Your economy is down the drain because you spend more then you earn. America thrives on import. The credit card is as important as a lung and using it abundantly is even more important. Spending money which isn't yours will get you into trouble.

Because of the liberal eco-terrorists; claim that we cannot do the job safely and environmentally friendly.

Drilling for oil is a dirty business. And exploiting this in a mangrove will surely mean the end of this eco-system. And to give this oil to the Chinaman can mean only one thing: money.

Secondly and more important then the first. By turning our corn into fuel we are burning our own food source.

Come on man! Look at the ratio of obescity, the US has the highest ratio of dangerously fat people in the world. Food hardly costs a thing (according to my standard) and all-you-can-eat menu's are plentyful. And then we have overproduction. The average farmer in Ohio or Wyoming produces about as much on his own as a, average African country. So I reckon there is plenty of food to go around.

We have elected officials in all levels of power that abuse and pass laws that go against our rights. They wish to strip us of our rights to freedom of speech

Simple! Vote democrate... Who's laws started this process and don't blaim the terrorists on this one. The curtailing of privacy has brought a lot of trouble and did nothing to decrease the threat of a terrorist attack.

We must make alliances with our enemies.

Oh yeah right.... let's do this! How do you think you can make an alliance if you see them (and continu to see them) as an enemy?

By sending them our jobs we limit ourselves to produce the good that we need in case we go to war or worse.

Economics is a dog eat dog world. US businesses prefer to hire a Chinaman then an American... why? Because he is cheaper and complains less! Why keep your business in the US if it is much much more profitable to go elsewhere. Dutch multinationals do the same for the same reason. So it is not this global shift which causes or helps cause the economic decine.

And I want to end on an upbeat:

Lastly, please educate yourselves. Most Americans that I have seen and meet are dumb.

Luckily this is a global trend! I see it in my classroom too and I am a geography teacher for godsake! So this is isn't a US problem only. And topography doesn't make you a better captain of industry. It is merely an indication that you have been to school and know something. SUccesful businesses also thrive on good management and clever choices....

The problem is a lack of discipline.
How do you end up eating so much that you need two stools to sit down?
And as Ted said, why are people surprised that if you spend more than you earn, you'll be in trouble?
The issue, Ted, though is America isn't really a democracy. The electoral college and basically the current system doesn't allow for direct elections so if you live in a state that will vote Republican, you might as well stay home because the Republicans will win no matter what you do anyway. Either that or you can stand in line for about five hours for a vote that won't count either way.

Originally Posted by the_13th_redneck

The problem is a lack of discipline.
How do you end up eating so much that you need two stools to sit down?
And as Ted said, why are people surprised that if you spend more than you earn, you'll be in trouble?
The issue, Ted, though is America isn't really a democracy. The electoral college and basically the current system doesn't allow for direct elections so if you live in a state that will vote Republican, you might as well stay home because the Republicans will win no matter what you do anyway. Either that or you can stand in line for about five hours for a vote that won't count either way.

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I agree the electoral system is pasted its due, we would be better off with a popular system, its a fairer system too, everybody get to vote who they chose for. Of course that means the GOP would never become elected as there are much more registered Democrats than Republicans in America -and the GOP knows it. They would have to completely invent their platform.

We could see a few RED states switch this year as people are FURIOUS at the Bush Administration. Keep an eye on Colorado and Iowa, the Dems have a real chance to steal both.

Then of course are the purple states which are always at risk. But according to Gallup both Dems are beating McCain in New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Florida, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Oregon.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/106579/De...le-States.aspx

Ohio is usually a rather interesting state. The Northern half (Cleveland, Toledo, Akron) is almost always very Democratic. The Southern half (Cincinnati, Portsmouth) tends to vote Republican. The Middle (Columbus, Dayton) is usually divided about 50/50. It leaves some pretty interesting elections.

I guess that our system isn't all that bad then.... Anybody can start a politcal party, but if you want to come in the houses of parliament you must reach a 5% threshold. If you get less then 5% of the total votes you are not admitted into the houses of P. In the houses there are 150 seats which are divided according to the amount of votes and nobody ever gets an absolute majority. So you have to make deals with other parties so that you get 76 seats for a cabinet.
This ensures that differtent political ideas get to rule the country and that much more different political preferences get the support they need....

That sounds great Ted. The candidates over here are beginning to blend together.

Originally Posted by mmarsh

I was just reading a few moments ago that US border patrols now have the right to check your laptop PC as your cross the border. Not to check to see if its a bomb, or being used to smuggle drugs, but to actually make a copy of your files and examine them. George Orwell is turning in his grave.

Fill up your laptop with gibberish files then encrypt them using high level encryption several times, and put a password on them in a hidden folder. The backroom boys will beat the password etc., in seconds, but the files will keep them scratching their heads for a while .

Originally Posted by major liability

That sounds great Ted. The candidates over here are beginning to blend together.

MMP has three major problems in that you end up with:

A) 50% of your officials are unelected "Party" candidates.
B) You end up with more politicians than you had before.
C) Minor parties end up holding the balance of power and usually end up wielding more power than there percentage of the vote should allow.

Having lived with both MMP and FPP (first past the post ie the candidate with the most votes wins the seat and the party with the most seats wins government) I would go back to FPP any day.

Originally Posted by senojekips

Fill up your laptop with gibberish files then encrypt them using high level encryption several times, and put a password on them in a hidden folder. The backroom boys will beat the password etc., in seconds, but the files will keep them scratching their heads for a while .

Bleh just fill it with virus's and smile nicely.
I would doubt you could be charged with anything as you are not distributing them they are taking them.