j_b

One ice tool + one ice axe were sufficient in mid-winter about 15 years ago. The icefall seems to have gotten a little more broken over the years but it's hard to tell whether it requires any steeper climbing than it used to.

it doesn't matter, but especially make sure it's not too tight for it appears to correlate with erratic behavior.

please, leave me out of this; however, if there is anything specific you want to get off your chest, why don't you just go ahead.

starting a McFeta restaurant chain abroad might be more lucrative. The mainstays of the Greek economy are tourism and maritime transport, both of which got hammered along with the global economy. No wonder revenues took a dive.

Greece has a tax evasion rate much greater than that of other European countries. Bringing it down to the European average would go a long way toward solving the debt problem. Easier said than done of course.

Remember when Republicans were against "unruly mobs" demonstrating in the street, against "activist judges", against violence, against "terrorists", and for democracy? Well, that was yesterday when they controlled the state. Now, that they are in the minority opposition, they are for all these things they used to demonize the opposition.

The very same thugs who cheered on the 2000 Republican coup d'etat (let's face it, it was a conservative coup) and told us to "get over it" when widespread voter suppression shenanigans again took place in Ohio in 2004, now claim that congress passing a health care bill is a "power grab" and threaten violence (I notice that you changed your post but we know exactly your type of goon). Conservatives have totally lost touch with reality, but they'll eventually cry themselves to sleep and tomorrow is always a better day sickie

Very insightful video about tea-baggers: [video:youtube]pilG7PCV448

It seems that if lobbyists and the white house chief of staff tell us that informal deals were made between the health care and drug lobbies and Democrats, it's reasonably safe to assume that deals were made. As to who said exactly what to whom, it's for the press to find out but I am not holding my breath in view of the fact they have so far mostly ignored this story and in view of their general unwillingness to publicize anything that pertains to the way the corporatocracy operates.

"structural reforms" - privatization of public services - deregulation of economic activity - strict "free trade" policy - cutting public expenditures - favoring cash crops and resource extraction for export - increasing the rights of foreign investors In other words, all that which neoliberals have wet dreams about.

Just wait. We'll hear soon enough how it's all the fault of the greedy municipal street sweepers.

Yes. All private sector employees have their pay and benefits financed with tax revenues. Are you claiming the pay of employees in the financial sector (among other recipients of corporate welfare) isn't subsidized by the taxpayer.

time for "structural reform" Yes. In England and the Netherlands, and rather sooner as a result of the Icelandic vote. Well, the English and the Dutch have the choice to accept austerity measures or not.

I brought it up because you are again purposefully confusing cause and effect like you do all the times to indict public services. You claimed the Greek economy cratered due to the public debt and denied the role played by speculation in the casino economy, and the transfer of private liability to public books, which is obviously false. In Greece like elsewhere the public debt exploded due to revenue shortfall and debt transfer to public books, but also because the banksters likely enabled crooked politicians to fudge the books and later bet against Greece.

time for "structural reform"

You are starting to sound like the neocons who insist that Bush didn't lie because there is no paper trail to "prove" Bush lied.

surely you jest? The economy cannot tell whether the debt is public or private. Yet you keep pointing out the public debt to justify ending social welfare and completely ignore a much larger private debt that brought the economy to the brink.

he has plenty of time to cherry pick data but would have none to answer charges that he cherry-picks data? come on.

The NYT Washington reporter and the White house deputy chief of staff have no access? Citing them amounts to "innuendos"?

uh-hoh! I can already feel JayB cherry-picking yet another unusual admin assistant compensation package to show that people are overpaid. No accounting for how gross rise in inequalities to levels unseen since the age of the robber barons distort the economy, of course.

it's not a new fad. I told JayB years ago that he never acknowledged what he couldn't answer.

Despite Somalia being the closest to the model you continually advocate I don't see you wanting to move there.

Someone should break this news to Argentina, post haste... Argentina, another victim of privatization, deregulation, globalization and bankruptcy (neoliberalism's recipe for a country financial ruin). You can add Iceland to the list refusing to pay back the bankers' debt.