Hi graeme,

I was planning on spending a load of money this winter, maybe a huge trip around the world and drill a few wells in Africa.

You have convinced me. I'm just going to build a modest bomb shelter instead and stock pile 7 years supply of food.

You have always been right about everything and if anyone knows the fate of this world - its you.

Thanks for the heads up!

Oops! I guess winter will be too late.

If I were you, I wouldn't plan to do anything until you get your name figured out.

Today, Netanyahu appeared on US TV to attack obama, criticize him for not following the foreign policy Israel tells him to, and this is the home stretch of the American election.

Here is a country the size of Toronto, one that gets more US aid that any other country in the world, whose whole military is US supplied publicly dictating foreign policy to the US, and doing it during an election. Any other visitor who did that anywhere else in the world would be kicked out. It could even cause war.

Saul/paul - you know nothing about it - and can't rise above kindergarten wit.

mind you. Stephen Harper and you would get along well. He wags his tail at Netanyahu, too.

Do you thinmk Netanyaho will not attack Iran if Obama is elected. Or is he holding off bombing Iran so as to not help Obama win the elections?

Isn't the Big Day supposed to be December sometime? That sucks because I REALLY wanted to see The Hobbit in theaters. Or maybe that is what the Mayans were counting down to, the release of the movie?

I laugh at the matter wether it comes true or not because it is COMPLETELY out of my hands.  And if mankind as we know it comes to an end, no stockpiling of goods or digging is going to do any good in the long run. It will  just perhaps prolong suffering and a brutal existence. SOOOO I'm just keeping faith in my Salvation.

I know a person can completely lose it if the mull over such things. I would rather live my life with my family and friends. Besides I don't have the money for that kind of thing; Bunkers and stockpiling.

Much as I disagree with Greame on this, he's twice the Christian you'll ever be.

Of course that's not really saying much, I know...

I don't think Netanyahu will go it alone. I could be wrong, though. I do however think that either Romney or Obama could militarily confront Iran next year. However, this has been bantered about for years, so noone really knows what's up. Apparently all those military ships meeting in the Gulf is an annual exercise...but with a bit of sensationalism, paints a different story. We have no way of knowing for sure, and things can change on a dime, and we have no control over that either.I mean, who could have predicted, in the midst of everything else, that a you tube movie could send the region into chaos? I agree with Trish. And I also don't think we get truthful information. Very confusing. The reports and articles are not consistent from one day to the next, or from one jouranlist to the next. We are all just armchair journalists taking guesses.

I have heard Netanyahu freaking out about Iran for years now. Every year he says the same thing. I am not saying there is no threat, they may well be, but frantic blustery talk only increases the threat, imo. The more he talks like that, the more he spurs on his potential enemies to think they need to protect themselves too,and then the Iranians talk becomes more bellicose and the people respond to that too...and on and on. I can only imagine what it is like to live there with them talking like that constantly. We think we are concerned? The average Israeli public, and Iranian public for that matter, must be suffering from collective PTSD. It's not responsible leadership by either country. Now Netanyahu says Iran is 6-7 months away from being capable of building the bomb. Didn't he say that last year? The year before?  Anyway, they also have elections in Israel, coming up in October of 2013. More political and war games to come I'm sure. It's almost futile to try keep up with it, but it is disconcerting.

We should keep in mind that Iran isn't a major threat, not yet. They are a potential one. It is possible they will be turned into one, but right now there are more credible threats out there. I don't really understand the game that is being played. I don't think anyone can, with the media to go on.

Pray for peace, keep calm, carry on, and vote with your conscience not your pocketbook...that's my advice.

I find it interesting that everyone is hand-wringing over the Israel-Iran thing when China and Japan are actually as close, or closer, to coming to blows (over the Diaoyu Islands, as China calls them).

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/growing-tension-between-china-and-japan-fuels-concerns-over-potential-war/article4548515/

Given that the US is a strong ally of the Japanese, any escalation in the South China Sea could suck them in. Of course, Taiwan, another US ally, basically supports the Chinese position (to the extent that they argue for a claim on the island and they are still, at this point, technically part of China) which complicates things even more.

Mendalla

Is it really in anyones interest to fight over those tiny islands? What is there for anyone to gain there by doing so? I read about that too and I don't get it.

Add: Mendalla, I just read the article you posted and I found the last paragraph, comment from Ai Weiwei interesting...

Hi Kimmio,

Control of Islands can give a nation greater ocean territory to fish in or explore for oil.

It probably isn't about the Islands themselves but the natural resources that owning those Islands entitles a nation to.

Grace and peace to you.

John

yes. China is very anxious to stake out rights to as much ocean as it can.And the US has been expanding its  operations in the Pacific region with bases in Austraila and The Phillipines. It's also massing its major warships in the Pacific, or close to it.

It will be interesting to see what polls reveal about the impact of the Nethanyahu interview.

The sad irony is that the Iranian people were rising up against their leadership, and then the US decided to invade Iraq,. Which among other things scared the Iranians back to supporting the current leadership. 

Even through the real reason for the invasion, was oil, the "official excuse" was that Iraq was developing weapons of mass destruction, (nuclear bombs) 

Now Israel and the US are  concerned that Iran is developing nuclear power. And Israel is prepared to bomb Iran if they go to far in their research.

If the US had not invaded and bombed Iraq over it's nuclear "threat, the current regime in Iran would have been despoised by the people, or at the least replaced by a more moderate group.

It would have been harder for Israel to bomb Iran if they had had a democratically elected Iranian governement, or were run by a more moderate group.  

War alays leads to more war.

It is about the Chinese people memory and fears, and the horrible atrocities commited by the Japanese when they invaded China. Millions were killed in battle, million were executed, and untold numbers of Chinese women who were tortured and kept as sex slaves by the Japanese.

Mock vote for president:

Who do you choose?

Barack 675 Mitt 787

I voted for Barack, I couldn't vote twice!

http://voteforthepresidentonline.com/vote-online-now/

Even as a mock volt, that's jolting.

I wonder if they could share the islands? That would be a departure from norms, but they don't seem worth battling over.

Wars are usually not worth it.

Except for the Antartica, which is so cold people stay in dorrs most of the time, I do not know of any place that is shared between countries.

Sometimes things are split down the middle, like the temple mount or Cyprus, but it does not seem to create peace.

The Church of the Nativity in Bethlaham is split between different churchs, but often this means fist fights break out amongst Monks of the different Christian denomination s taht share it.

If Monks are unable to share, what hope is there for people of different cultures with different languages, religions, and history. Especially when one side was recentlly involved in crimes against humanity against the other group/

If the Japanese were interested in peace, they would just give up their claim. Likewise for the Chinese.  Likewise for the monks in Bethlaham. Likewise for the Isarelis on the west bank, and the Americans globally.

I'm projecting it now -- Romney will win.

Edit:

Romney buying facebook "likes" moved to a new thread.

McJae, I'm thinking the same. The crucial factor will be the turnout. I expect it to be low - and I expect that to benefit Romney.

The islands off China are important because there are many of them, so complete control would give China access to a huge area of potential resources, especially oil. And oil is going to be crucial very soon.

I know some people say there's plenty of it. I doubt that very much. If there were plenty of it, we wouldn't be supporting such an environmental disaster as oil sands; nor would oilmen be interesting in investing in oilsands. And if there were lots of oil, we would now be in a frantic rush to develop shale gas - or to find oil in the Arctic.

And the demand for oil is going to be huge. - and note that  even Saudi Arabia uses a quarter of all the oil it produces for itself. I'm afraid the chances of sharing are nil.

Question: Will Romney play nice if he wins? 

Will he really create lots of new jobs?

Romney and Bain:

http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2012/09/17/romney-talks-tough-on-china-but-romne...

The oil sands have been going on for a long time though, it's not like they just discovered it because oil is running out ( I know it is running out, but the oil sands are not that recent a discovery). One of my relatives used to work for Sincrude in the 70's (ironic name huh?--oh, sorry, it's Syncrude).

Alex,

Deep down, I knew my question about them sharing the islands was rhetorical. War is rarely ever, if ever at all, worth it, and only leads to more war, I agree.

This video was discovered by Jimmy Carter's grandson, and is getting wide covergae today. It shows how good Romney is at shotting himself in the foot. It is a secret taping of a speech to a group of 30 wealthy donors where Romeny attacks the middle class.

Maybe Romney will lose.

Alex

Romney promises to produce a whole lot of new jobs. I forget the figures. CNN was saying he can only create gov't jobs.  It is corporations that create jobs. I don't believe he has laid his plans on the table has he? How does he intend to do it?  I'm quite skeptical that the high unemployment in the U.S. can be turned around quickly by either Romney or Obama.

I agree. Maybe Romney will lose. What he says in your posted  video isn't very pretty.

well, HOT DIGGITY!

I suspect Obama will actually win fairly comfortably, not necessarily in the popular vote but in the electoral vote, which is all that counts in the United States.

If Obama is re-elected I'll eat my hat. He is an opponent to those on the right, and a disappointment to many on the left. He promised change, and delivered not enough. 

Strange video, MCJae - especially since by almost every ranking I've ever seen Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower are ranked among the best presidents, and hardly mediocre.

As to the election, we'll see. I note that the Huffington Post has an election dashboard, where they keep track of polls on a continual basis, and look for trends. They currently have Obama at 307 solid and likely electoral votes compared to 191 for Romney, with 40 being too close to call. It takes 270 to win.

I expect this will be a fun quote to bring up again in a few months.

Just for clarification, what hat are you talking about? What is it made out of?

MC jae wrote:

He is an opponent to those on the right, and a disappointment to many on the left. He promised change, and delivered not enough. 

 

I think he has moved slower on social change than people would like, but I think it would have been a mistake to ram change down people's throats, as that type of change would have backfired. The Affordable Care Act was a big step in the right direction, even if it didn't go far enough. Ending Don't Ask Don't Tell was a positive step. Killing Osama Bin Laden would have been hailed by Republicans if a Republican had ordered the attack, but since it was Obama, they now act like Bin Laden was no big deal, but everyone knows better. Gay marriage advocates aren't completely happy, but gay marriage will happen state by state across the US, gradually, with the passing of those who will never accept it.

But the clincher for Obama, is that Romney can not control the religious right and tea-party-ists, who scare the crap out of the independent voters, and lately, he can't even control his own mouth. Romney is in perpetual damage control right now.

Hey, it could still happen that Romney wins. He'll need the help of the angel Moroni and some gold plates.

I believe Romeny already has enough gold to win the election. 

Please tell me that's a photoshop.

Poor Romney . I think he only has something like 250 million? Obama started as the most poor president  but he managed to do very well for himself with the books he wrote and published. I believe he's worth 10 million or more today. He was lucky to even be in the running back then.

Politics is the way to go. Tony Blair just bought a nest for two @$4,500,000.

IS that his 4 th house or his fifth. LAst year I read he had 4 residences in England, France and the US

At least  Blair made his money after he was PM and served on the boards of the rich in reward for his service.

He has nothing on Pauline Marois, howevr who just sold a home for 4 or 5  million,(which she bullt on land designated for agricultural use only)  and who made all of her money while she was in Politcs.

Correction her husband made millions, in the private sector.(not)  Correction,  her husband made millions while working for public pension funds, for which he was hired by people working for governements she was in, or the FTQ (fonds solidarity) investment arm, created by the PQ.

Gee. Romney could lose. His gaffes of the last few days have been stunning. Now, it many all depend on which side has done the most damage to voter registration lists, and to the computers that record the vote.

And Netanyahu may decided he has to bomb sooner rather than later.

It's a Tilley hat. Looks something like this:

If the Democrats spend their billion airing this ad during Primetime for the next 2 months, MC Jae will be eating his hat.

Hi MC Jae,

I know a Tilley hat can survive several trips through the bowels of an elephant and still be wearable (after washing).

I suspect you would not survive a single trip of a Tilley hat through your digestive system (if the hat is to remain wearable).

Suggest you switch to a straw hat or look to Carmen Miranda for some other fashion ideas.

Grace and peace to you.

John

Definitely after washing!

Tim Pawlenty has quit as Romney's co-chair and gone to work as a Wall Street lobbyist in Washington. Somehow the phrase "rats fleeing a sinking ship" comes to mind.

There's always the joker in the deck. netanyahu might decide he has to go now if he wants his war. I'm not sure which way that would swing it.

Good question. Generally speaking, from my American friends (and I have a good number of them) I get the impression that most Americans are fed up with fighting wars. I suspect that if a crisis came up, people would shy away from Romney, because they'd see him as more likely to back Israel militarily, and to do so more aggressively. Truthfully, though, even with Obama, I think the US is so intertwined with Israel that ultimately they'd have to back them up if it came to it. But electorally, I suspect it would help Obama.

Thanks for the tip John.

Please note --> I never said how quickly I'd eat it.

Hi MC jae,

That's true you never did.  Care to share how you plan to eat your Tilley hat now that it is on the menu?

Grace and peace to you.

John

LOL! Might be good on the barbie!...oh, oops the Aussie hat is an Akubra (I googled it-- Tilley hats come from BC. I did not know that). Well, you could try it anyway. A little chewy, mind you...not as good as BC salmon.