Boston Bomber Guilty On All Counts -- Face Death Penalty

[mvp 78]

They should kill Michael Slager's family while he watches. Then taser him. Then kill him. Only fair, right?

[a700hitter]

This isn't a time of war, no matter what the news and politicians tell you...

An act of war does not equate to a time of war. These act are acts of war against a people and a society to instil fear and terror. These are not crimes against individuals.

[a700hitter]

The U.S. should cut off all involvement in the Middle East. Nothing good comes from it, might as well let them kill eachother.

They will be killing each other for a thousand more years. It will never end, but somehow that region draws the rest of the world into its conflict.

[pruneface]

The U.S. should cut off all involvement in the Middle East. Nothing good comes from it, might as well let them kill eachother.

America needs their resources. Once that's gone, they'll descend into fighting with sticks and stones.

[a700hitter]

They should kill Michael Slager's family while he watches. Then taser him. Then kill him. Only fair, right?

His crime was heinous and he will go to prison for life at the very least, but it was a crime against an individual, not against a people and a society with the intent of instilling fear in and disrupting society.

[mvp 78]

I disagree.

[pruneface]

They will be killing each other for a thousand more years. It will never end, but somehow that region draws the rest of the world into its conflict.

That somehow is oil. Dunkin Donuts is guilty of misappropriation; America runs on oil, as does every other industrial nation. People who fret about the Middle East can take solace in the thought that it used to be a fercund forest. Now it's desert.

Demonizing the other is an important exercise in laying the foundation for what comes next; that, and the lies we tell ourselves. Those lies are equally important because they boost morale and make us feel better about where we are and what we're doing.

[Northern Star]

I disagree.

I disagree with your disagreement.

[a700hitter]

That somehow is oil. Dunkin Donuts is guilty of misappropriation; America runs on oil, as does every other industrial nation. People who fret about the Middle East can take solace in the thought that it used to be a fercund forest. Now it's desert.

Demonizing the other is an important exercise in laying the foundation for what comes next; that, and the lies we tell ourselves. Those lies are equally important because they boost morale and make us feel better about where we are and what we're doing.

We don't need their oil. Less than 20 percent of the oil used in the U.S. comes from the Middle East and that is without tapping some of the very rich U.S. oil reserves. European countries need the OPEC stuff, not us. We are involved in the Middle East and will continue to b involved, because Israel could not survive without the U.S. as an ally.

[mvp 78]

Fuck Israel

[yeszir]

This thread is fun!

[pruneface]

We don't need their oil. Less than 20 percent of the oil used in the U.S. comes from the Middle East and that is without tapping some of the very rich U.S. oil reserves. European countries need the OPEC stuff, not us. We are involved in the Middle East and will continue to b involved, because Israel could not survive without the U.S. as an ally.

It's mostly about energy. Israel is a client state with nukes, representing a physical ally in the region. Those maintenance costs are getting so high, they're starting to outweigh the benefits.

You no doubt disagree, but America's oil peaked in the 70's. Fracking and the like is scraping the bottom of the barrel. Watch while those claims of 100 years of future energy independence evaporate like so much vaporware, especially if oil prices stay low, much too low to pull a profit. They're low because of an affordability problem; world-wide growth is slowing despite those glossy and mostly fabricated GDP numbers - hey, we need to paint a pretty picture to ease investment concerns. I expect fracking and tar sands to burst like every other bubble by 2020. So, if I'm the US, I take as much oil as I can and stockpile even more of it. People don't give up their resources willingly.

Before a rebuttal - consider truth is what we believe to be true and it usually involves something that makes us feel better.

[Palodios]

I expect fracking and tar sands to burst like every other bubble by 2020

If that were the case, why is OPEC so scared of it? The oil just needs to last 10-20 more years until green energy becomes a thing.

[pruneface]

If that were the case, why is OPEC so scared of it? The oil just needs to last 10-20 more years until green energy becomes a thing.

There is no magic to save us. Calling any industrial process 'green' is just another gimmick - but i think it's clever. Who said OPEC is afraid of these other, marginal methods? They've maintained their production, which has plateaued since 2005, and this play undoubtedly does help keep prices deflated. That should help push the competitors who rely on more expensive extraction methods out of the picture. Nevertheless, overproduction isn't the problem here, slowing economic growth is. All we can do is wait and watch it all unfold. I think I'm right. Other people think they are right.

[a700hitter]

There is no magic to save us. Calling any industrial process 'green' is just another gimmick - but i think it's clever. Who said OPEC is afraid of these other, marginal methods? They've maintained their production, which has plateaued since 2005, and this play undoubtedly does help keep prices deflated. That should help push the competitors who rely on more expensive extraction methods out of the picture. Nevertheless, overproduction isn't the problem here, slowing economic growth is. All we can do is wait and watch it all unfold. I think I'm right. Other people think they are right.

I don't know if I buy into your theories, but I do agree that the news is nothing but a narrative used to manipulate and placate the electorate. Our massively powerful federal government is more of a monolith than people believe. Democrats and Republicans are 2 sides of the same coin that use different constituencies in their paths to power.

State and local governments have been gutted of their power, because governing bodies that are too close to the people would be a threat to the federal monolith. For all the lip service paid to transparency by politicians, the federal government is not at all transparent. It is much harder to hide significant abuses at State and Local levels, but we are sold this story that almost every issue needs to be regulated by the all knowing, all omniscient and beneficent federal government.