Happy May Day, everyone!

[pettyfog]

Let's stop edging toward rancorous personal politics and tricky questions on what constitutes a 'socialist' - yeah.. it's like defining who is a 'Yankee'..and talk about something safe.
like weather!
A few years ago the UK Met{eorological} office was famously beaten out in the forecasting for the next winter by a guy with a laptop forecasting program.
- That was highlighted by the then mayor of London, 'Red Ken' Livingston, basing his winter plans on forecasts by 'LaptopGuy'.

Well changes were swiftly made at the Met.. no, nobody got fired - hell there's 400 scientists with families to feed.. they ordered a new supercomputer, instead.

And, naturally, they stopped making long range weather forecasts. The better to devote those resources to figuring what the climate is gonna do in 50 years,
You know how that goes.. if you got a guy who cant score on a pk from the spot, you put him in goal and hope he makes it from there.

Well now they got there 18 million sterling number cruncher {Latest state of the art IBM mainframe, dontcha know. They dont believe in 'Cloud Computing', they believe in 'Heat Island' Computing.. and they're happily churning out forecasts for the quarter annum, releasing them one month ahead.
Here's the March release for April/May/ June

Met Office 3-month Outlook
Period: April – June 2012 Issue date: 23.03.12

SUMMARY – PRECIPITATION:
The forecast for average UK rainfall slightly favours drier than average conditions for April-May-June as a whole, and also slightly favours April being the driest of the 3 months. With this forecast, the water resources situation in southern, eastern and central England is likely to deteriorate further during the April-May-June period. The probability that UK precipitation for April-May-June will fall into the driest of our five categories is 20-25% whilst the probability that it will fall into the wettest of our five categories is 10-15% (the 197-2000 climatological probability for each of these categories is 20%).
... The Environment Agency advises that, given the current state of soils and groundwater levels in these
areas, drought impacts in the coming months are virtually inevitable.

So.....
BBC: April is the wettest month for 100 years

It has been the wettest April in the UK for over 100 years, with some areas seeing three times their usual average, figures from the Met Office show. Some 121.8mm of rain has fallen, beating the previous record of 120.3mm which was set in 2000.

Flood warnings are in place with up to 20mm to 30mm of rain forecast for southern England on Monday night.

"Tera-GiGo was it's name-Oh!"

What a waste! Tim Flannery, the Australian Climate Change czar gets the same effect just by watching Inconvenient Truths and reading Warmista Blogs

Tim Flannery (2005):

Since 1998 particularly, we’ve seen just drought, drought, drought … when the models start confirming what you’re observing on the ground, then there’s some fairly strong basis for believing that we’re understanding what’s causing these weather shifts and these rainfall declines, and they do seem to be of a permanent nature.

Reality:

Australia on Friday said it would be officially drought-free next week for the first time in more than a decade ...

Agriculture Minister Joe Ludwig said an end was in sight.

When he lifts the last two Exceptional Circumstances declarations – which provide subsidies to hard-up farmers – in two areas on Monday, the vast island continent will officially no longer be in drought.

And to top all... Flannery's been in London the last week or so.

I blame Gaia
**********************************

Bonus Feature.. how government improves all our lives:
Germany Succeeds Making Energy Unaffordable For 15% Of Its Population – 600,000 Households Disconnected Annually!

Every year 600,000 households (2 million people) are getting their power switched off in Germany because they can’t afford the skyrocketing electric bills.
..........
Many people in Germany are no longer able to pay their electricity bills. And energy prices continue to climb – rapidly. The president of the VdK social association Ulrike Masche, accuses the German federal government “of having neglected the social dimension of the energy transformation”.

Over 10 years ago Germany enacted the Renewable Energy Feed-In Act (EEG) which requires power companies to pay small producers of renewable energy exorbitant rates for their green power. The power companies in turn simply pass the higher prices on to their customers. Electricity prices rose 10% in 2011 alone!

..
As utilities are forced to buy the exorbitantly expensive renewable energy, even when they don’t need it, they are forced to increase the prices they charge consumers.

Die Welt writes that the prices are expected to rise unabated and that they likely will even accelerate. The feed-in tariffs will add up to 5.2 cents to the price of each kilowatt-hour.
The greens, the architects of the energy feed-in act, deny they are responsible for the disaster, and blame Germany’s current conservative, liberal-democrat coalition government for the skyrocketing prices. The truth is that all the politicians zealously supported the feed-in tariffs, especially the conservative CDU led by Angela Merkel, who was duped and spurred on by crackpot scientists in Potsdam.

Of course the Greens deny it. It's NEVER the Watermelon's fault.

Let's all grab a ribbon!

[HatterDon]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABy_06p4bFI

[VegasJustin]

Salud Comrade Pettyfog. Happy Mayday Everybody. Solidarity!

At least that's what I thought this thread would be about.

[pettyfog]

Salud Comrade Pettyfog. Happy Mayday Everybody. Solidarity!

At least that's what I thought this thread would be about.

Well, of course it is. I'm surprised you dont see the connection. We can only have true solidarity under the wise and compassionate guidance of the fearless leaders and those they appoint to make our lives easier...and just to make sure:
Our fearless elected leaders have made it so:
Presidential Proclamation -- Loyalty Day, 2012

LOYALTY DAY, 2012

In order to recognize the American spirit of loyalty and the sacrifices that so many have made for our Nation, the Congress, by Public Law 85-529 as amended, has designated May 1 of each year as "Loyalty Day." On this day, let us reaffirm our allegiance to the United States of America, our Constitution, and our founding values.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 1, 2012, as Loyalty Day. This Loyalty Day, I call upon all the people of the United States to join in support of this national observance, whether by displaying the flag of the United States or pledging allegiance to the Republic for which it stands.

Can you feel it?!!!!
Sheesh....
- Just in case you dont get my feelings on it, this is totally unnecessary and I consider it wholesale pandering to the mind numbed base... whichever base. And I'm also pissed off everyone doesnt see this the same. Why do we put up with those who think so little of us!

[Clevelandmo]

He's been throwing those platitudes out since his first presidential campaign, that's how he fooled people like me into voting for him, well that and the fact that I just couldnt possibly vote McCain-Palin. Obama is a poser and a liar; I have to throw arrogant in there too.

I guess this means on Flag Day we are literally just honoring the piece of cloth with some stars and stripes on it and not the struggle of over 200 years by millions of citizens and service men and women to become a more perfect nation.

[HatterDon]

He's been throwing those platitudes out since his first presidential campaign, that's how he fooled people like me into voting for him, well that and the fact that I just couldnt possibly vote McCain-Palin. Obama is a poser and a liar; I have to throw arrogant in there too.

I guess this means on Flag Day we are literally just honoring the piece of cloth with some stars and stripes on it and not the struggle of over 200 years by millions of citizens and service men and women to become a more perfect nation.

and the birthday of the United States Army, Ms. Maureen

[VegasJustin]

How did he fool everybody? If you take away the hope and change crap, all campaigns have silly slogans, he has pretty much governed how he said he would. He said he would try and bring in the Republicans and he has tried to do that, they just wouldn't go along. He said he didn't give a crap about sovereignty of other countries and he has done that by going into Pakistan to kill Bin Laden. The list goes on.

[Clevelandmo]

How did he fool everybody? If you take away the hope and change crap, all campaigns have silly slogans, he has pretty much governed how he said he would. He said he would try and bring in the Republicans and he has tried to do that, they just wouldn't go along. He said he didn't give a crap about sovereignty of other countries and he has done that by going into Pakistan to kill Bin Laden. The list goes on.

He talked a lot about people (individuals, parents, organization, etc) having to take more responsibility for their actions and lives. He talked about a work ethic. But his actions, in my mind, have mostly been contrary to this. He gave the peace activists reason to hope but then wasnt much different than W. He said he would support a manned mission to the moon as a first step to Mars, but then reversed that policy once in office. He said he would close Gitmo. He lied to my local congressmen that the auto bailouts would not result in any NE Ohio plant closings and then one day later plant closing announcements were made. He promised more transparency in government and then look how his healthcare bill was passed, and in general I see no more transparency than those before him. Some of this is a result of his arrogance but some have been just out right lies.

[VegasJustin]

While he has lied, he did do alot of the stuff he said he would do. Sure, alot of the stuff was pretty weak, but it was done nonetheless. All politicians lie and use campaign slogans to get elected, but he's not been the huge liar that people say he has been. There has been more politicians who have lied far worse than he has.


I guess I can't get pissed off over the lack of transparency and such because I expected this. While all my social democratic friends were jumping aboard the hope train, I actually listened to what he said he would do and realized he was another centrist democrat who wasn't going to bring about any huge change.

[pettyfog]

While he has lied, he did do alot of the stuff he said he would do. Sure, alot of the stuff was pretty weak, but it was done nonetheless. All politicians lie and use campaign slogans to get elected, but he's not been the huge liar that people say he has been. There has been more politicians who have lied far worse than he has.


I guess I can't get pissed off over the lack of transparency and such because I expected this. While all my social democratic friends were jumping aboard the hope train, I actually listened to what he said he would do and realized he was another centrist democrat who wasn't going to bring about any huge change.

Gimme a break. 'Centrist Democrat'!
He is a pragmatist. In no way do his appointments or his executive orders show 'centrist' tendencies. Only if you listen to his speechifying is there centrism. Depending on who he is speaking to.

Oh.. btw. Speaking to 'Progressives' he has said all along what he believes:
- Single payer gov administered health care. He even said you cant get there in one swoop. First you have to force private insurors - and employers- out of the business. You dont do that by edict or nationalizing them, you make private/employer health care economically non-viable.
- A strong executive. He's certainly done that. Now EPA is the defacto administrator of our energy policies. ATF is not regulating firearm sales and traffic so much as it is creating dog and pony shows, under the guise of a 'sting' which got several of our good border people killed, to justify federal gun ownership prohibition. He's as much as admitted that access to the white house depends on campaign funding.
- America needs to be 'remade' to live up to its founding promise.
- I didnt really think he would close Gitmo. It's just too handy. 'Course I wasnt sure of that either.

Already he's rolled up more national debt than all the Presidents since Ford, combined. There's no denying he took over a tough situation but now it's almost to critical mass where there's no hope of recovery. But who promoted those Housing Bust financial shenanigans in the first place? CRA 99 broke the nut... as I pointed out on the old site. Mortgage financers had to buy bad paper to play with FNMA. Who ran FNMA?

Nope.. it's a laugh to hear the Progressives whine about what he hasnt done yet. But of course, that's also a good way to whip up acts of anarchy among the masses, as in 'Occupy', who already 'girding their loins' so to speak. In fact the terrorism has already begun.
It's 'interesting times', indeed.

[VegasJustin]

He's not a progressive. His foreign policy is more hawkish than Bush, and that's damn near impossible, and his economic policy has been extremely restrained. I couldn't give a shit about debt as its always going to happen in a recession, the government needs to make up for the lack of private debt. If that doesn't happen then we would be where the UK is right now, a double dip recession. And while our austerity hasn't been as severe as the Euro countries, we have had our own form of austerity.


http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/0 ... austerity/

[Clevelandmo]

Justin that graph is pretty meaningless to me. It just says "public" employees. Lots of state and local governments, all of mine included in that, have cut back on employees, and that has more to do with Republicans in office or balanced budget laws. Impossible to get any meaning out of that graph/article without more explanation from the author. Also, neither Bush or Clinton inherited the mess that Obama did so I dont even see them as a logical source for comparison. Also, the author says Europe has suddenly realized austerity doesnt work, where does that come from? Havent they just started with austerity in the last two years or so? Considering all the money protesters wasted in property damage and overtime wages for public safety employees, I cant see how they could've concluded this yet, but then I dont follow the news very well these days.

I agree Obama is a centrist in certain ways, but I also agree with 'fog that deep down he's not. It's all just to get elected. Perhaps he "lies" and panders in the name of getting elected no more than any other elected officials, but I just cant come up with as many examples for others. Maybe that's because I had been waiting a long time to hear a candidate say some of the things Obama did so when he didnt/doesnt deliver, maybe it has an exaggerated impact. Nevertheless, I have never seen a president lie so blatantly as he did to our local politicians about plant closings. You cant plan and decide on a plant closing in 16 hrs. He got away with it because we dont have anyone but democrats to vote for in my area.

[VegasJustin]

The UK started austerity a couple of years ago and the numbers coming out of that country show that the country has hit a double dip recession. The same sorts of things are happening in Greece and Spain and it's why Hollande is going to win in the French elections. It was predicted that it would happen, but Merkel has demanded austerity and she's been utterly wrong on this.


I don't know what Obama is deep down. All I can go by is what he's done and it's not a helluva lot for the progressives. Maybe he is lying, but that wasn't necessary when he had both houses under democratic control and still pursued centrist policies. So I guess I doubt that he's a progressive considering that fact.

[pettyfog]

Really.. 'austerity' without spending cuts is what they all instituted. You're quoting from words not figures.
Where's the money Justin? where does money come from.. do you just print it? The entire world's monetary systems are linked. Linked by trade. You screw with the money source you mess it all up. The productive countries, like Germany, have to pay for the non-producers, like Greece. What do you buy from Greece, Justin.. what does Greece give the world?
Of course it doesn't help that Germany has wasted billions of euro's on funding 'Alternative Energy'. And that's with a so-called 'Conservative' government.
Once the Social Democrats institute austerity, it's too late.

Oh well... back on topic: Been waiting for a good pictorial of May-Day - LA. I figgered it would be a hoot..

Several hundred images taken on the route.

As usual for an Occupy Event, it was 'Mostly Peaceful'.. no more than 1 or 2 cops bashed from behind

This image blogger uses his wife as editor to keep it tame; all references to 'idiots' and 'occutards' removed so it's mostly just reporting facts by image not editorial opinion. And it's easy to not read the text, isnt it.



Hmmm maybe it would be in the interest of fairness if I threw in a 'Tea Party Rally' image:

[HatterDon]

I hope you vetted these photos, 'fog. You know you can't trust the right-wing sites not to contain a lot of stuff from other places, times, and groups. I'm sure you remember.

Speaking of "proof." I'd like a link to the speech in which the president said that his aim was to run private insurors out of the health care business by making it economically unviable. THAT video -- or audio -- would have gone viral by now and would be recycled on Fox News every single day -- if it really existed. Or is this another of those, "The fact that he hasn't actually come out and said it is PROOF THAT IT'S WHAT HE WANTS TO DO." You know, like gun confiscation.