Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Forecast the next 25 years...

Forecasting world events is a difficult task that takes guts and discipline. Though you can find endless scenarios in a number of places, Stratfor – the same people that predicted, in 2002, the EU crisis; and in 2010, the U.S.-Iranian negotiations – focuses on countries’ constraints, which eliminates the impossibilities down to a likely path.

Here are a few things we see ahead by 2039:
  • The United States will continue to be the leading economic power.
  • Conflict in the Middle East will continue, but the United States will take a much more hands-off approach in the region.
  • German and Russian interests will align, trading natural gas and technology, and could potentially threaten Washington's global strategy.
  • Mexico will become an industrial powerhouse by taking low-level production from China and monetizing its energy sector.
  • China will continue to face more internal tension and slower economic growth.
Even though our forecasts might not coincide with popular belief, we use a proven methodology that is based on a sober, geopolitical understanding – how geography, economics, politics and technology intersect to shape international relations. When combined with a deep appreciation of history and intelligence collected from all around the globe, our analysts emerge with an understanding of what must happen, rather than whatmay. This is forecasting at Stratfor.

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

This is Canada's Top Ten List of America's Stupidity. Of course we look like idiots ... because we are for supporting democratSocialism!


 
Number 10) - Only in America...could politicians talk about the greed of the rich at a $35,000.00 a plate campaign fund-raising event.
 
Number 9) - Only in America ...could people claim that the government still discriminates against black Americans when they have a black President, a black Attorney General and roughly 20% of the federal workforce is black while only 14% of the population is black 40+% of all federal entitlements goes to black Americans - 3X the rate that go to whites, 5X the rate that go to Hispanics!
 
Number 8) - Only in America...could they have had the two people most responsible for our tax code, Timothy Geithner (the head of the Treasury Department) and Charles Rangel (who once ran the Ways and Means Committee), BOTH turn out to be tax cheats who are in favor of higher taxes.
 
Number 7) - Only in America...can they have terrorists kill people in the name of Allah and have the media primarily react by fretting that Muslims might be harmed by the backlash.
 
Number 6) - Only in America...would they make people who want to legally become American citizens wait for years in their home countries and pay tens of thousands of dollars for the privilege, while they discuss letting anyone who sneaks into the country illegally just 'magically' become American citizens.
 
Number 5) - Only in America....could the people who believe in balancing the budget and sticking by the country's Constitution be thought of as "extremists."
 
Number 4) - Only in America...could you need to present a driver's license to cash a check or buy alcohol, but not to vote.
 
Number 3) - Only in America...could people demand the government investigate whether oil companies are gouging the public because the price of gas went up when the return on equity invested in a major U.S. oil company (Marathon Oil) is less than half of a company making tennis shoes (Nike).
 
Number 2) - Only in America....could the government collect more tax dollars from the people than any nation in recorded history, still spend a Trillion dollars more than it has per year - for total spending of $7-Million PER MINUTE, and complain that it doesn't have nearly enough money.
 
And the Number 1) - Only in America...could the rich people - who pay 86% of all income taxes - be accused of not paying their "fair share" by people who don't pay any income taxes at all (which happens to be about 46% at this time)..

 

Puns for those with a slightly higher IQ...

 

Those who jump off a bridge in Paris are in Seine.


A man's home is his castle, in a manor of speaking.

Dijon vu - the same mustard as before.

Practice safe eating - always use condiments.

Shotgun wedding - A case of wife or death.

A man needs a mistress just to break the monogamy.

A hangover is the wrath of grapes.

Dancing cheek-to-cheek is really a form of floor play.

Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?

Condoms should be used on every conceivable occasion.

When two egotists meet, it's an I for an I.

What's the definition of a will? (It's a dead give away.)

Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

In democracy your vote counts.  In feudalism your count votes.

She was engaged to a boyfriend with a wooden leg but broke it off.

A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.

If you don't pay your exorcist, you'll get repossessed.

With her marriage, she got a new name and a dress.

The man who fell into an upholstery machine is fully recovered.

You feel stuck with your debt if you can't budge it.

Local Area Network in Australia - the LAN down under.

Every calendar's days are numbered.

A lot of money is tainted - taint yours and taint mine.

A boiled egg in the morning is hard to beat.

He had a photographic memory that was never developed.

A midget fortune-teller who escapes from prison is a small medium at large.

Once you've seen one shopping centre, you've seen a mall.

Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead-to-know basis.

Santa's helpers are subordinate clauses.

Acupuncture is a jab well done.

 

 

 

 

Have fun!!!! I did. Only very good minds can read this.


       Good example of a Brain  Study: If you can read this OUT LOUD 
    you have a strong mind.  And better than that: Alzheimer's is a long, 
    long, ways down the road  before it ever gets anywhere near you.
    To my "selected"  strange-minded friends: 
If you can read the  following paragraph in RED and  BLACK below,  
    forward it on to your  friends and the person that sent it to you with 
    'yes' in the subject  line. Only very good minds can read this. 
    This is weird, but  interesting! 
  
 7H15 M3554G3  
53RV35 7O  PR0V3 
H0W 0UR M1ND5  C4N 
D0 4M4Z1NG  7H1NG5! 
1MPR3551V3  7H1NG5! 
1N 7H3  B3G1NN1NG 
17 WA5 H4RD  BU7 
N0W, 0N 7H15  LIN3 
Y0UR M1ND 1S  
R34D1NG 17  
4U70M471C4LLY  
W17H 0U7 3V3N  
7H1NK1NG  4B0U7 17, 
B3 PROUD!  0NLY 
C3R741N  P30PL3 C4N 
R3AD 7H15.  
PL3453  F0RW4RD 1F 
U C4N R34D  7H15
  
 If you can read this, you have a  strange mind, too.   
  
     Only 55 people out of 100  can.
        
       I cdnuolt blveiee that I cluod  aulaclty uesdnatnrd what I was rdanieg. 
    The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan  mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch 
    at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it  dseno't mtaetr in what oerdr the ltteres in 
    a word are, the olny iproamtnt  tihng is that the frsit and last ltteer be 
    in the rghit pclae. The rset can  be a taotl mses and you can still raed 
    it whotuit a pboerlm. This is  bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed 
    ervey lteter by istlef, but the word as  a wlohe. Azanmig huh? Yaeh and 
    I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was  ipmorantt! If you can raed this forwrad it
        
       FORWARD ONLY IF YOU CAN READ  IT 
Forward it & put 'YES' in the  Subject Line 
Even if you are not old, you will  find this interesting...
        
       This is a  TEST ----------------  Good Luck!!!  
I don't know about the wishes but  we can all use some brain exercise!!
        
       How old are your eyes?  
The Eye  Test
        
       Can you find  the B's  
(there are 2 B's) DON'T  skip, or your wish won't come True...
        
       RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
RRRRRRRRRRRBRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
RRRRRRRRRRBRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
        
       Once you've found the B's  
Find the 1  
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII  
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII  
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII  
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII  
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII  
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII  
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII  
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII  
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII1III  
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII  
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
        
       Once you found the  1................Find the 6
        
       9999999999999999999999999999999999  
9999999999999999999999999999999999  
9999999999999999999999999999999999  
9999999999999999999999999999999999  
9999999999999999999999999999999999  
9999999999999999999999999999999999  
9999699999999999999999999999999999  
9999999999999999999999999999999999  
9999999999999999999999999999999999  
9999999999999999999999999999999999  
9999999999999999999999999999999999  
9999999999999999999999999999999999
        
       Once you've found the 6...  
Find the N (it's  hard!!)
        
       MMMMMMMMMMMMM  
MMMMMMMMMMMMM  
MMMMMMMMMMMMM  
MMMMMMMNMMMMM  
MMMMMMMMMMMMM  
MMMMMMMMMMMMM  
MMMMMMMMMMMMM  
MMMMMMMMMMMMM  
MMMMMMMMMMMMM  
MMMMMMMMMMMMM
        
       Once you've found the N...  
Find the  Q..
        
       OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO  
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO  
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO  
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO  
OOOOOOOOOOQOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO  
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO  
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO  
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO  
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO  
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
        
       Make 2 wishes!  
>  
>>  
>>>  
>>>>  
>>>>>  
>>>>>>  
>>>>>>>  
>>>>>>>>  
>>>>>>>>>  
>>>>>>>>>>  
>>>>>>>>>>>  
>>>>>>>>>>  > > 
>>>>>>>>>>>>>  
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>  
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>  
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>  
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>  
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>  
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>  
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>  
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>  
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>  
>>>>>>>>>>>>>  
>>>>>>>>>>>>  
>>>>>>>>>>>  
>>>>>>>>>>  
>>>>>>>>>  
>>>>>>>>  
>>>>>>>  
>>>> >>  
>>>>>  
>>>>  
>>>  
>>  
>
        
       OK, NOW THAT YOU HAVE MADE A  WISH, IT WILL COME TRUE.....
    ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS FORWARD TO  THREE PEOPLE BUT IF 
    YOU FORWARD TO MORE IT WILL  HAPPEN SOONER!! 
Do send this message  on. It is great fun and good  
    for the  Brain!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These will make your day. Can people really be this dumb?


 TOP 8 Obamites and Supporters OF 2013

 

1. WILL THE REAL DUMMY PLEASE STAND UP?

AT&T fired President John Walter after nine months, saying he lacked

intellectual leadership. He received a $26 million severance package.

Perhaps it's not Walter who's lacking intelligence.

 

2. WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM OUR FRIENDS:

Police in Oakland, CA spent two hours attempting to subdue a gunman who

had barricaded himself inside his home. After firing ten tear gas canisters, officers

discovered that the man was standing beside them in the police line, shouting, 'Please 
come out and give yourself up.'

 

3. WHAT WAS PLAN B???

An Illinois man, pretending to have a gun, kidnapped a motorist and forced him

to drive to two different automated teller machines, wherein the kidnapper

proceeded to withdraw money from his own bank accounts.

 

4. THE GETAWAY!

A man walked into a Topeka, Kansas Kwik Stop and asked 
for all the money in the cash drawer. Apparently, the take was too 
small, so he tied up the store clerk and worked the counter himself for 
three hours until police showed up and grabbed him.

 

5. DID I SAY THAT???

Police in Los Angeles had good luck with a robbery 
suspect who just couldn't control himself during a lineup. When 
detectives asked each man in the lineup to repeat the words: 'Give me
all your money or I'll shoot', the man shouted, 'that's not what I 
said!'

 

6. ARE WE COMMUNICATING???

A man spoke frantically into the phone: 'My wife is pregnant and her contractions

are only two minutes apart'. 'Is this her first child?' the doctor asked. 'No!' the man shouted,

'This is her husband!'

 

7. NOT THE SHARPEST TOOL IN THE SHED!

In Modesto, CA, Steven Richard King was arrested for trying to hold up a

Bank of America branch without a weapon. King used a thumb and a finger

to simulate a gun. Unfortunately, he failed to keep his hand in his pocket. (hellooooooo)!

 

8. THE GRAND FINALE!!!Last summer, down on Lake Isabella, located in 
the high desert, an hour east of Bakersfield, CA, some folks, new to 
boating, were having a problem. No matter how hard they tried, they 
couldn't get their brand new 22 foot boat, going. It was very sluggish 
in almost every maneuver, no matter how much power they applied. After 
about an hour of trying to make it go, they putted into a nearby 
marina, thinking someone there may be able to tell them what was wrong. 
A thorough topside check revealed everything in perfect working 
condition The engine ran fine, the out-drive went up and down, and the 
propeller was the correct size and pitch. So, one of the marina guys 
jumped in the water to check underneath. He came up choking on water, 
he was laughing so hard.    NOW REMEMBER...THIS IS TRUE.

Under the boat, still strapped securely in place, was the trailer!

 

 

 

 

Predicting the coups of 2014 The dart-throwing chimp takes a look.

Predicting the coups of 2014

The dart-throwing chimp takes a look.

By Staff writer / January 27, 2014

Demonstrators in Kiev would like to see the back of Viktor Yanukovich. They might get something else.

Marko Djurica

Enlarge

Where are coups most likely this year? Political scientist Jay Ulfelder, who uses statistical models based on past history from who colonized a country to GDP to frequency of coups in a nation's past, takes a stab at it.

Staff writer

Dan Murphy is a staff writer for the Monitor's international desk, focused on the Middle East. Murphy, who has reported from Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt, and more than a dozen other countries, writes and edits Backchannels. The focus? War and international relations, leaning toward things Middle East.

Recent posts

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He cautions (at his blog The Dart-Throwing Chimp) that identifying where a coup is "likeliest" doesn't mean one will occur - far from it. As he writes: "Statistically speaking, the safest bet for any country almost any year is that a coup attempt won’t occur. The point of this exercise is to try to get a better handle on where the few coup attempts we can expect to see this year are most likely to happen."

He separates nations into fifths - the top fifth, the countries likeliest to suffer a coup, the bottom fifth where it's least likely. The bottom three-fifths aren't really at risk at all. Within the top fifth of 40 countries, seven stand out as far more likely than those that follow. In order:

  1. Guinea
  2. Madagascar
  3. Mali
  4. Equatorial Guinea
  5. Niger
  6. Guinea-Bissau
  7. Sudan

There are no countries from Europe in the top-fifth on his map (represented by the color red), with the Ukrainethe only country in the second-fifth (orange). Ecuadorand Haiti are the only two countries in the Americas in red on the map. Six countries in Asia are in the most at risk category, and only one in the Middle East (Iraq). To a casual observer Yemen being in the second fifth rather than the top tier is kind of surprising, but that's what his numbers show. The remaining countries are in Africa(among them Egypt and Algeria).

Recent coups, among other factors, increase the chances of a coup in the coming year in his model, and the numbers rely on the definition of "coup" by theCenter for Systemic Peace. (Correction: While Jay relied on CSP last year, he writes in to say "this year I used a mash-up of coup lists from two sources, not just CSP.) Since that's a somewhat subjective determination, it can effect the numbers substantially. As Ulfelder wrote about his 2013 predictions:

Finally, notable for its absence is Egypt, which ranks 48th on the 2013 list and has been a source of coup rumors throughout its seemingly interminable transitional period. It’s worth noting though, that if you consider SCAF’s ouster of Mubarak in 2011 to be a successful coup (CSP doesn’t), Egypt would make its way into the top 30.

Again - the safe bet is that a coup or coup attempt won't take place in any of these countries. At least, in particular. But Ulfelder's post on the matter, full of details about how his models are built and tweaked, is an interesting window on how this type of forecasting is done warts, uncertainty, and all.

Famous Presidential Lies...



 
 
Famous Presidential Lies
Written by, To The Point News
 

LBJ:
  • We were attacked (in the Gulf of Tonkin)
Nixon:
  • I am not a crook
GHW Bush:
  • Read my lips - No New Taxes
Clinton:
  • I did not have sex with that woman... Miss Lewinski
GW Bush:
  • Iraq has weapons of mass destruction
Obama:
  • I will have the most transparent administration in history.
  • The stimulus will fund shovel-ready jobs.
  • I am focused like a laser on creating jobs.
  • The IRS is not targeting anyone.
  • It was a spontaneous riot about a movie.
  • If I had a son.
  • I will put an end to the type of politics that "breeds division, conflict and cynicism".
  • You didn't build that!
  • I will restore trust in Government.
  • The Cambridge cops acted stupidly.
  • The public will have 5 days to look at every bill that lands on my desk
  • It's not my red line - it is the world's red line.
  • Whistle blowers will be protected in my administration.
  • We got back every dime we used to rescue the banks and auto companies, with interest.
  • I am not spying on American citizens.
  • Obama Care will be good for America.
  • You can keep your family doctor.
  • Premiums will be lowered by $2500.
  • If you like it, you can keep your current healthcare plan.
  • It's just like shopping at Amazon.
  • I knew nothing about "Fast and Furious" gunrunning to Mexican drug cartels.
  • I knew nothing about IRS targeting conservative groups.
  • I knew nothing about what happened in Benghazi.
  • I have never known my uncle from Kenya who is in the country illegally and that was arrested and told to leave the country over 20 years ago.
  • And, I have never lived with that uncle. He finally admitted (12-05-2013) that he DID know his uncle and that he DID live with him.

And the biggest one of all:
  • "I, Barrack Hussein Obama, pledge to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America."
I believe we have a winner!
 
 


Sunday, January 26, 2014

Five years is long enough to keep Canadians waiting!

Five years is long enough to keep Canadians waiting

Jan. 25, 2014 11:09 PM   |  
1 Comment

Fixated as we Americans are on Canada’s three most attention-getting exports — polar vortexes, Alberta clippers and the antics of Toronto’s addled mayor — we’ve somewhat overlooked a major feature of Canada’s current relations with the United States: extreme annoyance.

Last week, speaking to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Canada’s foreign minister calmly but pointedly complained that the U.S. owes Canada a response on the Keystone XL pipeline. “We can’t continue in this state of limbo,” he sort of complained, in what for a placid, imperturbable Canadian passes for an explosion of volcanic rage.

Canadians may be preternaturally measured and polite, but they simply can’t believe how they’ve been treated by President Obama — left hanging humiliatingly on an issue whose merits were settled years ago.

Canada, the Saudi Arabia of oil sands, is committed to developing this priceless resource. Its natural export partner is the United States. But crossing the border requires State Department approval, which means the president decides yes or no.

After three years of review, the State Department found no significant environmental risk to Keystone. Nonetheless, the original route was changed to assuage concerns regarding the Ogallala Aquifer. Obama withheld approval through the 2012 election. To this day he has issued no decision.

The Canadians are beside themselves. After five years of manufactured delay, they need a decision one way or the other because if denied a pipeline south, they could build a pipeline west to the Pacific. China would buy their oil in a New York minute.

Yet John Kerry fumblingly says he is awaiting yet another environmental report. He offered no decision date.

If Obama wants to cave to his environmental left, go ahead. But why keep Canada in limbo? It’s a show of supreme and undeserved disrespect for yet another ally. It seems not enough to have given the back of the hand to Britain, Israel, Poland and the Czech Republic, and to have so enraged the Saudis that they actually rejected a Security Council seat — disgusted as they were with this administration’s remarkable combination of fecklessness and highhandedness. Must we crown this run of diplomatic malpractice with gratuitous injury to Canada, our most reliable, most congenial friend in the world?

Charles Krauthammer’s email address isletters@charleskrauthammer.com.

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