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Open thread
- By Phillip Brownlee
- Posted March 29, 2007 at 1:04 a.m.
- Filed under Open thread
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28 Comments
Have you ever seen CBS 60 Minute’s Andy Rooney’s comments about government and gambling?
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/16/60minutes/rooney/main1412330.shtml?source=search_story
“A lottery is a stupid, inefficient way to raise money. Governments are supposed to do things that we can’t do for ourselves – like fight wars, enforce laws, prevent crimes and put out fires.”
“It’s outrageous when a government agency advertises to encourage anything as damaging to society as gambling is.”
KSBird,If you really want to get rid of gambling in the state and make it last, Open the state up for casinos everywhere! At least six here in Wichita, and four or five each for Topeka, Lawrence, Johnson and Wyandotte, and a few for western Kansas and anyplace else we can cram one in! Make sure they’re all lavish to the hilt. Put slots everywhere.In a while, the gambling dollar will be stretched so thin that all the casinos and slots companies will simply have to go belly up, never to return, and we’ll have a lot of new posh buildings that we can surely find uses for.
“If you really want to get rid of gambling in the state and make it last, Open the state up for casinos everywhere!” Posted by: Jed | March 29, 2007 at 02:57 AM
Ummmm, no Jed…they call that Vegas…
The Kansas Legislature (both houses) have done at least one thing right this session. Casino gambling in Kansas in my lifetime! Wow! Thanks to the Legislature.
Does anyone know where the proceeds from the proposed gambling is earmarked to go?
Sam:According to the paper, distribution of Casino funds:22 percent of casino revenue goes to state.- 3 percent goes to local units of government.- 2 percent goes to problem gambling and addiction fund.
Not sure where the other 73% goes..
Quite the system…by law, slots will pay out 87% of their take. So, that means, on average, for every $100 someone puts into a slot, they will get back $87.
Here is a deal…I will pay $90 for every $100 that people give me. Better odds…!
Did anyone see the video of “MC” Rove at the Radio and Television Correspondents’ Association dinner?
I can’t defend that. Go ahead and indict.
raptor…
Good point… I’ll give $91 for every $100.
That’s pretty vague and not very comforting. If I remember correctly, the lottery proceeds were supposed to go for education. Do they? No.
If they do pass this thing, they need to be specific about HOW the proceeds will be spent. Otherwise, I fear it will just be more money down a rat hole!
Is Iran really trying to pick a fight with the Brits? Its bad enough that they have been outed for the sailor blunder, now they are digging deeper to cause problems.
I thought there would be a peaceful conclusion to this issue with some kind of private trade off for the Iranians to save SOME kind of face, but it appears now that they really want to start some s**t with the Brits…http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,262280,00.html
They also seem to be reneging on the release of the female sailor. I too had thought Iran would try to find a way to resolve this; I wonder if this is tied up in their own internal power struggles. Their own radicals have to show they are ‘tough’ to try to suppress the more ‘liberal’ elements.
Unknown. It would seem that Bush has been trying to get the pot stirred with Iran. If the Brits go in, we are obliged to follow as they have given us so much support in the past.
The OUT OF IRAQ liberals seem to be asleep at the wheel on this on. We may very well be OUT OF IRAQ… and into Iran.
Sam…I will give $91.50 for every $100!
To bad they cant get the slots to pay out like the Farm programs do. There you have an item that is worth 5.00 per unit on the market but the government will pay out 8.00 for it.
That is better than gambling, and those in that part of the State are the ones that always vote gambling down. Maybe that is why they vote it down…they already have a much better racket going….which they do. Until the WTO starts kicking in and upsets their little fiefdoms….then listen to the kicks and screams…heh.
Casino’s? I think I will continue to just do my betting at BCBS
I don’t know if I am considered an ‘OUT OF IRAQ liberal’ but I certainly think following the UK into Iran would be pretty stupid at this point.
Talk about a lose-lose decision if it comes to that. Hopefully we have some proactive diplomats working with London and Tehran right now.
‘Iraq Occupation Illegitimate’
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia 29 March 2007 — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah yesterday lambasted the “illegitimate foreign occupation” of Iraq by US-led forces and urged Arab leaders attending a historic summit in the Saudi capital not to allow foreign powers to determine the future course of the region.
In his keynote address opening the two-day summit, King Abdullah called upon Arab leaders to usher in a new era in Arab joint work while holding them accountable for disunity in the Arab world over the past decades.
“In Iraq, blood flows between brothers in the shadow of an illegitimate foreign occupation and hateful sectarianism, threatening a civil war,” King Abdullah said after taking over the presidency of the 23-member Arab League from Sudan’s President Omar Bashir.
Washington, however, justified its occupation of Iraq. “The US is in Iraq at the request of the Iraqis { hiding inside the fortress in the middle of Baghdad } and under a UN mandate. Any suggestion to the contrary is wrong,” said National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe.
The Saudi leader also called for an end to the international blockade on the Palestinians. “It has become necessary to end the unjust blockade imposed on the Palestinian people as soon as possible so that the peace process can move in an atmosphere far from oppression and force,” the king said.
Saudi Arabia last month brokered a unity government between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah faction and Hamas, hoping it would help end a crippling Western blockade imposed after the Islamist group took office over a year ago. The summit drew a number of world and Muslim leaders, including Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.
Red carpets and streets lined with flags of the nations attending the summit greeted heads of state who have adopted a number of resolutions on restarting the Arab peace plan. “The leaders have approved all the draft resolutions in the closed-door session,” said Palestinian Ambassador Jamal Shobaki.
Israel yesterday gave a guarded welcome to the peace plan, saying it contained some positive elements. “We need to take our time studying { another 60 years } what has happened at the summit before taking an official position,” said an aide of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Read more: http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=94311&d=29&m=3&y=2007
0-60 in 4 seconds, 250 mile range, no power band (i.e. full torque at take off) and zero emissions. Meet the Tesla roadster. All that for just 92k — oh, and they throw in the special power adapter for FREE!!!!
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2109194,00.asp
Leaving Iraq is not a left or right issue. Leaving is a commonsense decision. Commonsense being “out-to lunch at the White House these days.
The Tesla is a sweet car indeed. But way out of anybodies price range.
Maybe Eddie Griffin can wreck one for us. ;)
Actually, since the Bush tax cuts, the market for $95,000 sports cars has exploded. As a gazillionaire, my tax refund this year will more than cover a new Tesla roadster, with enough leftover for a nice champagne bath.
I think the Tesla’s role will be as a ‘proving ground.’ The EF-1 was successful to the extent it was allowed to be; hopefully the Tesla will make it sexy. Then they can come out with something I can justify.
Actually, Tesla has pre-sold a few already. The ultra-luxury car market has really taken off as the mega-rich look for new ways to spend their tax cuts. Ferrari, Lambo, Bughatti, BMW, all are selling $100k+ cars in record numbers. $95k is a bargain for a car that will out-accelerate them all.
The future is here, but as usual it is expensive.
Oh, and did I mention it was invented by a bunch of west coast liberals?
I always thought Tesla was an immigrant who lived in New York that invented the concept design of the Tesla engine.
The key here is that the car was named after the inventor of the original engine design.
Nope, it is not a true design of Tesla.Tesla car did not run on batteries, it drew its power thru a RF receiver from a RF transmitter.
Why is it named Tesla then? :)
Because Tesla is the grandpa of AC and it is good name for it.
Kingdom Warns Against Iran StrikeRaid Qusti, Arab News
“RIYADH, Saudi Arabia 30 March 2007 — Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal warned of the consequences a strike against Iran regarding its nuclear program would have on the Middle East region.
“The news of any war in the Gulf would have a large impact on the region,” he said, adding that every country in the region was taking “its own precautionary measures” to defend itself.
Addressing a joint press conference with Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa after the conclusion of the 19th Arab Summit here yesterday, Prince Saud ruled out any differences with Libya regarding its boycott of the summit.
“Saudi Arabia has no problems with Libya,” he said. “Libya has problems with Libyans,” he added, to the applause of journalists. “There were problems in the past … but that was long gone and had been resolved. We do not have any problems now.
Prince Saud said it was not a surprise that Israel rejected the Arab peace initiative, which was relaunched in the Arab summit.
“This has always been its stance whenever a serious and vivid peace initiative is proposed,” he said. “It signals that it is a country that does not want peace.”
Commenting on mechanisms of implementation of the Arab peace initiative, Moussa said that the Arab world was now waiting from the United States to play its peace-broker role in the region after the revival of the peace initiative by the Arab summit.
“We will give enough time for the American initiative to produce whatever they can produce if they are serious,” he said. “We will give them the benefit of doubt.”
He said only by time would Arab leaders then be able to sit down and discuss what steps they would take after the American one. “It is serious. And we have to sit together to decide a new course of action if our assessment would lead us to believe that all this is nonsense,” he added.
Prince Saud denied that the Arab peace initiative would have a timeframe. “This is not possible. It does not have a timeframe,” he said. “As soon as Israel finishes its negotiations with the countries whose lands it occupies, Arab countries will sign a peace accord with Israel . . . If the signing takes place next year, it will take place next year.”
He said the purpose of relaunching the Arab peace initiative was to confirm Arab states’ stance on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the international arena.
Prince Saud said the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah was candid in his description of the situation in Iraq, where he described the US-led occupation as “illegitimate”.
“King Abdullah does not avoid realistic issues for diplomatic reasons,” he said. “He is candid and transparent.”
Prince Saud denied that the Arab summit had any conflicts or did not live up to the standards of the Arab nations. “There was a great deal of agreement,” he said. “They did not leave anything out in their discussions. Their discussions were frank and transparent that had overcome all of the previous obstacles.”
On his part, Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said the Arab League was successful in getting funds to the Palestinian government, despite the economic embargo imposed on it.
“During the embargo, The Arab League transferred over $120 million to the Palestinian government. In addition, Arab states have also donated some $450 million during the embargo, much of which was represented in medicine, clothes, foodstuff,” he said. “Despite the embargo we were persistent in our work and were successful to overcome it.”
He lauded many European states that have decided to disregard the economic embargo and continued their financial support to the Palestinian government, such as Norway, Sweden, and Spain.
“I urge all European Union countries to follow suit,” he said. “The international community should support the Palestinian people and uplift this embargo which does nothing but serve the occupation force.”
Asked about the Kingdom’s stance on the 15 British soldiers who are withheld with Iranian officials, Prince Saud described it as “unfortunate.”
“We do not need any things to add to the already inflammatory situation in the region,” he said. He said he extended his heart out to the families of the captured British sailors.
Moussa also said the summit was successful in many respects as it took a number of important resolutions in the areas of politics, economics, education, social development and security.
Speaking about the peace initiative, Moussa said: “Once Israel completes its negotiations with the concerned parties, the Arab countries will sign a peace agreement with Israel … There is no timeframe for this.”
The summit leadership also:
• Rejected unilateral US sanctions imposed on Syria;
• Urged member countries to complete measures to create a greater Arab free-trade zone;
• Called to speed up measures to facilitate transportation links among member states by air, land and sea;
• Called for the implementation of the Arab project to improve health facilities;
• Urged Arab governments to review a report on educational development in order to present it at the next summit;
• Approved the strategy for sustained agricultural development;
• Endorsed a framework for the executive program for Arab customs union; and
• Agreed to teach nuclear science and technology at Arab universities and set up nuclear plants for scientific research and use the research for economic and health purposes.”
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=93484&d=30&m=3&y=2007
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I saw on Frontline the other night that there is an al-Jazeera English channel with a lot of American TV journalists on staff, and it works with people from the U.S. military to present differing views. It’s broadcast all over Europe, not just the Middle East. Blacked out by satellite and cable providers here.
It’s not that important to understand the people whom our troops are dying for. Anna Nicole Smith’s death is way more important to cover.
The elites consider most Americans to be stupid. But who’s making Americans ignorant?
Ed – as interesting as the idea of an Arab common market seems I cannot see it happening. So many have tried for so long to foster unity in the Arab world – all to no avail. I think there are simply too many differences – cultural, economic, political – among the countries. Morocco is nothing like Egypt is nothing like Lebanon is nothing like Saudi Arabia. I think a smaller and more homogeneous area might make more sense.
The one I’d like to see the most is the Levant region: Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine. These lands have long been a sort of ‘bridge’ between Europe and the rest of the Middle East and Near east.
Ironically, there is one more country that should be a part of that – IF they could get past their history of animosity of the past 60 years. It will take time; however we have seen Germany/France/Poland etc come together. That country is Israel. Think of that economic union.