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fear_and_greed

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Posts posted by fear_and_greed

    US debt

    in Spray

    Posted

    This must be that new super secret energy source GW was spouting off about last week...the Debt bomb.

     

    WASHINGTON (AP) - Treasury Secretary John Snow notified Congress on Monday that the administration has now taken "all prudent and legal actions," including tapping certain government retirement funds, to keep from hitting the $8.2 trillion US national debt limit.

    In a letter to Congress, Snow urged legislators to pass a new debt ceiling immediately to avoid the country's first-ever default on its obligations.

    Treasury officials, briefing congressional aides last week, said that the government will run out of manoeuvring room to keep from exceeding the current limit sometime during the week of March 20.

    Snow in his letter notified legislators that Treasury would begin tapping the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund, which Treasury officials said would provide a "few billion" dollars in extra borrowing ability.

    Treasury officials also announced that on Friday they had used the $15 billion in the Exchange Stabilization Fund, a reserve that the Treasury secretary has that is normally used to smooth out volatile movements in the value of the dollar in currency markets.

    Treasury has also been taking investments out of a $65.3 billion government pension fund known as the G-fund.

    Officials have said that once the debt limit is raised, the investments taken out of the pension funds would be replaced and any lost interest payments would be made up. The formal title for the G-fund is the Government Securities Investment Fund of the Federal Employees Retirement System.

    An actual default on the debt, a situation when the government misses making payments to current bondholders, is a doomsday scenario considered highly unlikely given what it would do to the government's credit rating.

    It is expected that after intense debate, Congress will approve an increase in the current $8.18 trillion debt limit by perhaps $781 billion.

    But Representative Charles Rangel, the top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, said Monday that any further increase in the debt limit should be tied to legislation that would get future deficits under control.

    "Simply raising the limit on George W. Bush's credit card and crossing our fingers won't solve anything," Rangel (D-N.Y.) said in a statement. "Any long-term debt limit increase must be accompanied by a serious effort to bring our budget back to the balance we achieved under the Clinton administration."

    Treasury Department spokesman Tony Fratto said it was critical for Congress to act before leaving for a spring recess on March 17. He said Snow planned a number of meetings with legislators this week to discuss the urgency of taking action.

    The administration has sent Congress a budget that on paper would cut the deficit in half by 2009, the year President George W. Bush leaves office.

    But Democrats contend the administration met its deficit-reduction goal only by leaving out major spending items such as the full costs of the Iraq war. They say the deficit will not improve unless Bush abandons his effort to make his first-term tax cuts permanent.

    Senator Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said last week that under Bush, the total of the deficits has increased by $3 trillion, a 40 per cent increase from where the national debt - the total of previous deficits - stood when Bush took office in January 2001.

    Muslim anger at Danish cartoons

    in Spray

    Posted

    With the muslim outrage rising to new levels the Danes must be sweating a bit now. Although I think that the motherland is safe from attack since 90% of college graduates can't locate the country on a map much less a bunch of rock throwing, koran spewing, suicide bomber wannabees.

    State of the Union, part duh.

    in Spray

    Posted

    ...and now Mr. President look directly into the camera and hit 'em with the sound bite #5. Ok cue Condi to start another standing ovation, get ready with the applause sign and go! "... with freedom and liberty for all people of the world". Great job Mr. President!

    Ok Mr. President after you're finished reminding Europe we saved them 60 years ago, don't forget to chastise all the evildoers. Get ready for sound bite #6. Medical team give VP Cheney another 20 volt increase, he's nodding off again. Ok now look directly into camera front and let 'em have sound bite #6 Mr President. "...from a dictatorship to democracy". Good job. Bring that applause level up. Good.

    Get that camera off the Saudi ambassador, he won't be very happy that we won't be buying any oil from them in the near future. And now Mr. President look directly into the camera, get ready for the next soundbite "...and so the future of a strong America is our world dominance in corn".

    Cue condi and the applause..................................

    BD Firstlight tent in wind

    in The Gear Critic

    Posted

    That was my trip report you are thinking about. I now have great confidence in these tents to withstand quite extreme conditions. One gust was so strong it deflected a pole down and smacked my partner in the head. It bounced right back into shape with no damage to either the tent or pole. I had the tent staked out with soft stakes buried maybe 18", had to leave 1 up there though as we beat a hasty retreat.

    At times the guylines were buzzing like a swarm of angry hornets and twice on the descent the wind blew me off my feet and on my ass.

    I notice the new models from BD have the side wall tie down points similiar to Bibliers so they would be even more bomb proof.

    I have not seam sealed my tent.

    [TR] Mt. Athabasca/ Andromeda- 12/26/2005

    in British Columbia/Canada

    Posted

    I realize that it is safer to stay in a Chilliwack trailer park, thumbing through the latest issue of Enumclaw Farm Animal Centerfolds. Thumbing because those are the only digits not afflicted with carpal tunnel syndrome after 29,000+ posts.

    If you guys look at the photos you will notice that there was NO SNOW. Well actually there was a lofty 2'' covering the unfrozen scree. The route through the icefall had deep snow that we avoided by going up bare rock to the left. The glacier had NO SNOW, only great ice. Up to where we stopped, both Athabasca and Andromeda had virtually NO SNOW. It's quite difficult to have avalance conditions when there is NO SNOW. If when we climbed up to the AA col the following day, discovered sketchy conditions, we would have abandoned the N.face plan and just walked the ridge to the top, then tried the practice gullies and crevasse rescue in the remaining days.

    No rain had fallen in that area as evidenced by the loose scree, bare Sno-coach road and complete lack of crust.

    If I remember correctly the weather forecast for the 1st day was overcast, hi -5C, lo -8C, POP 60%, 2nd day sunny breaks, hi -12, lo -18 POP 30%, 3rd day similiar to day 1 but slightly colder.

    As for the tent, BD claims they have been used in the Himalayas and Alaska ranges. Based on the conditions we saw, I believe these tents can take a lot of abuse.

    Now why don't you guys go down to the barn and find your dates for New Years eve.

    Rockies ski and ez climbing Dec. 23-Jan2

    in Climbing Partners

    Posted

    Leaving Vancouver on the 22nd. Lots of options but Mt. Hector, Victoria or Temple normal routes , then after

    x-mas Mt. Columbia. I have another guy in Calgary ready to join me on this one, leave early on the 26th, return 29th. If the weather sucks for that then plan B is Mt. Athabasca. Lots of skiing and EZ climbing potential.

    Of course you know this means war...

    in Spray

    Posted

    Last week, MSNBC host Tucker Carlson, a well-known conservative pundit, let loose with a string of anti-Canada rants.

     

    "Anybody with any ambition at all, or intelligence, has left Canada and is now living in New York," he said.

     

    "Canada is a sweet country. It is like your retarded cousin you see at Thanksgiving and sort of pat him on the head. You know, he's nice but you don't take him seriously. That's Canada."

     

    All this from a cross dressing, w.a.s.p. faggot, who probably skips home early so he can be the star attraction in a bukkake fest.

    Climate change and US policy.

    in Spray

    Posted

    Jay, stick your head back in the sandbox. The USA emits roughly 11 times the amount of CO2 that Canada does.

    http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/env_co2_emi

    Thus, per captia and per unit GDP are meaningless compared to the total output.

    It's going to take the cooperation of all nations to agree on a solution and implement an action plan so that our childrens children have a world to live in.

    Having the negotiator of the nation that is the largest single emitter throwing a temper tantrum and walking out is disgusting.

    Climate change and US policy.

    in Spray

    Posted

    What's wrong with you pricks down there? What's its going to take to make you realize that this should be the number 1 issue to cooperate on. In the future without a healthy planet nothing else will exist.

    "Delegates said U.S. climate negotiator Harlan Watson walked out of a session of talks overnight, saying host Canada's proposal for dialogue on long-term actions was tantamount to entering negotiations.

     

    "By walking out of the room, this shows just how willing the U.S. administration is to walk away from a healthy planet and its responsibilities," said Jennifer Morgan, climate change expert for environmental group WWF.

    New Orleans

    in Spray

    Posted

    Ever wonder why that group of SAR guys from Vancouver pulled outta there so quickly? A friend of mine spoke to one of them and was told it was because they ran into some rednecks in Zodiacs, armed with semi-automatics, "coon huntin".

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