southsider2k5

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Nov 8, 2007 -> 03:33 PM) No idea where to put this, so here we go. The Yellowstone Caldera has been inflating at the fastest rate recorded since they began measuring in 1923 - about 3 inches a year - for the past 3 years. Some geologist from UU says no imminent threat is apparent. But the timing cycle, if it can be relied upon, does seem to indicate that we are coming up on a slot. This could be nothing of course. Hard to tell, it seems. There is your mildly alarming thought for the day. The biggest volcano in the US with 3 historical eruptions that would pretty much bury Chicago in feet of ash... nope that isn't disheartening at all.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Nov 9, 2007 -> 09:14 AM) So, entirely seperate from the debates about CTA's operating expenses and budget is the fact that the system itself is crumbling and is badly in need of updating. In fact, they estimate that the system needs $6 billion dollars of work on its infrastructure. This is not something that can easily be blamed on operating costs or management overhead - this is mostly just the reality of maintaining such a huge transit system. 6 billion is a huge number. But then, as has been shown repeatedly over the years, that 6 billion invested in mass transit will save even more than that on the roads. Unfortunately, not everyone is willing to see that relationship. I have said it before, and I will say it again. If you REALLY want to get people out of their cars, you HAVE to give them an alternative mode of transportation. The decay of the Chicago mass transit system, and the neglect of mass transit in the US is a joke. It sends the message that all of the talk about going green, is just talk.

Its seems movie viewers are getting Iraqnaphobia at the theaters... http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=07...;show_article=1

No one else?

f***ing Borass is already crying about collusion. What a tool. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21699518/

QUOTE(fathom @ Nov 8, 2007 -> 12:05 AM) Josh Fields will be starting for the Sox next year somewhere....don't overreact to what KW said. I heard the interview on the radio tonight, and it was totally bulls***. Congrats for being the only one to recognize the now classic Kenny Williams bluff. Its obvious that Kenny is trying to pump up Joe Crede's trade value by trying to say that we done HAVE to trade him. That's all that was.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Nov 9, 2007 -> 08:37 AM) I didn't say it was unfair. That was why I placed the caveat. Some will think its just mudslinging because he was Giuliani's appointee. Others will point at the close relationship and say its relevant. I'd say it has some relevance. So that makes 4 of top 6 (at least) Presidential candidates that have had close relations with people who have been at least indicted of impressive crimes. (Guilliani, Clinton, Thompson, and Obama) Yeah, election of change my ass.

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Nov 9, 2007 -> 08:24 AM) Yes, which is exactly what they are trying to accomplish, BTW. I personally have a little disagreement with this policy, but they are trying to make our goods cheaper overseas to alleviate some of the trade imbalances. FWIW, the full story http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/071109/economy.html?.v=5

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Nov 8, 2007 -> 03:22 PM) Actually, while they don't have nearly the numbers that, say, India and China have... Russia does have a quickly growing, educated middle class, specifically in the larger cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg. Some outsourcing in technology is already going there. Speaking of India and China... Some companies in India who sell their outsource services are getting so much work, and are so hard-pressed for cheap labor, that they are double-outsourcing to China. And, interestingly enough, there have been some problems there because apparently Chinese workers sometimes refuse to work for an Indian firm. There is apparently some history there, probably over issues like Tibet and Burma. That's I think the problem here... we were in different economic classes, I think I was envisioning more like grunt labor, you know, manufacturing and industry. Also another interesting tidbit of info I picked up this morning... The trade deficit narrowed way more than expected. They had predicted $58.5 billion, and it was actually $56.5 billion.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Nov 8, 2007 -> 03:06 PM) In my last job, as you know, I managed some staff in India. Programmers. I'm quite familiar with this topic. What you are discussing is already underway. Labor costs in India in technology, medicine and other areas is skyrocketing. They are so well trained and educated, and realize that they are good at what they do, and the demand for their labor is so high... salaries are going up like you wouldn't believe. And as salary pressures on those fields continue to keep wage growth neutral stateside, the cost gap of outsourcing diminishes. Plus, as companies emerge from the herd mentality-induced fog of "outsource! outsource! outsource!" and realize the performance cost differential, they suddenly see that outsourcing doesn't work so well in all areas all the time. This forces one of two paths - bring the labor back home, or, outsource to the next sphere of influence. (and both things are happening, BTW) Africa is one possibility. China, smartly, has been investing a ton into Africa already, so the US is already at a disadvantage. But there is another emerging market for cheap, educated labor - Russia. That is already being tapped by American interests. And outsourcing, unlike manufacturing, has much lower total risk profile. So here we go again. Manufacturing is slightly different of course, but the same forces apply to some degree. Russia is an interesting place, I spent a lot of time in high school and college reading about it. The biggest reason they won't be a big player, besides the historical political hostilness and instability in general, is they don't have the population numbers needed to be that kind of a place. They don't have enough people to take care of themselves, let alone work for the rest of the world. Unless they throw open the doors to immigration, I don't see them happening.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Nov 8, 2007 -> 02:59 PM) Kenny Rogers is a Boras client. And looking for one last big contract according to the rumor mill...

One thing I have never seen mentioned before... Phelps's political backround. One thing I had never seen before also was Al Gore's position, at least at the time, on gay rights. Regardless the guy is a nutjob. From wiki... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Phelps#Democratic_Party

QUOTE(Rex Kicka** @ Nov 4, 2007 -> 09:19 AM) Fred Thompson might have been a prosecutor in Law & Order, but really seems to like hanging out with criminals in real life. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...ml?hpid=topnews So Thompson isn't aware that his campaign chairs are convicted drug traffickers, he isn't aware of high level defections within his campaign, and apparently didnt turn his hearing aid up enough to understand the difference between Civil Unions and the Soviet Union. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...7102901455.html I understand wanting someone from outside Washington running, but I don't understand why this guy is running. Our of curiousity, what is your reaction to Team Clinton hiring Sandy Berger, knowing the legal problems he has had?

From Page 19 of the New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/08/world/mi...amp;oref=slogin

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Nov 8, 2007 -> 02:24 PM) For me, as we continue to rape (yes, I mean that) "cheap labor" - which then escalates into out of control inflation whereever that cheap labor came from (Vietnam, China, Central America, Mexico, Brazil, etc.) - we put ourselves to the point where prices across the board MUST come up. The Walmarts of the world continue to drive prices down, and it works, but only for so long. Eventually, the pool of cheap labor will run out, rampant global inflation will run its course, and in the US, it will hit particularly hard. One of the reasons is because as you put it earlier today, Americans are spoiled rotten. There's some things fighting against that (service based economy vs. much more manufacturing of old, lower dollar to push down foreign good prices, etc) but at some point, something has to give way. I understand that there will be less money available because of "credit tightening", but IMO the Fed wants to put inflation back out there. I have my own "conspiracy" reasons for that, but I digress. BTW, just so I can say you heard it here first... When places like S and SE Asia start getting to expensive for labor, you will start to see a push into Africa, probably with in the next two decades. Its the last bastion of underutilized, cheap labor on the planet.

QUOTE(Controlled Chaos @ Nov 8, 2007 -> 10:51 AM) uggh...I hate those peeps! Another commuter one. Waiting for the train and everyone is kind of bunched up where the doors stop and then everyone starts filing in. Then here comes Mr/Ms important walking right past everyone and then just tries to merge in along the side at the door. HELLO.....Cutting in line is like one of the first things you learn not to do as a kid. What distorted twisted self serving version of reality do you live in that makes you think walking in front of 20 people is some how the correct thing to do?? I just don't get it. More commuters ones... The Oompa-loopa looking person who can barely walk, yet has to line up at the door multiple stops early and jams up the exit for everyone else, so that they can be the first off of the train at their stop, only to then clog up the stairs with their fat/slow ass. If you move that slow, you aren't going to get to work any quicker by being the first off of the train.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Nov 8, 2007 -> 01:26 PM) Thus, as I pointed out, corn derivatives. Milk is up mostly because of the rise in price of feed corn. That rise in price is at least partially due to the ethanol trend. We are again back to the fact that ethanol might be a nice bridge, but its not a viable long term solution. Soft drinks and eggs, same thing. Corn-driven. Actually if you really want to look at it, we are in a general capital commodity based inflation right now. It isn't just energy stuff. Metals are at all time highs, energies are at all time highs, food stuffs are at multi-decade highs, lumber is at very high levels... These things touch everyday lives, so it is not like we are talking about a small portion of people or economy.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Nov 8, 2007 -> 12:56 PM) One of the guys on the fed who I'm told is usually one of the biggest inflation hawks seemed to suggest that inflation right now just wasn't their big concern when he spoke yesterday. Fed Fund futures are pricing a 94% chance of a rate cut to 4.25% at the next meeting. And yes, inflation is coming.

QUOTE(FlaSoxxJim @ Nov 8, 2007 -> 12:54 PM) I see the inability to meet demand for hot hybrids as being a way to sell traditional inventory. I personally know three different people who have gone into dealerships in the last year intent on buying a hybrid vehicle, but ending up buying a traditional car because they couldn't wait the 9-12 months for the hybrid. That said, I agree with you that there are scale-up issues that keep the companies from putting out an unlimited number of new technology vehicles. For cars inventory is a year to year thing. They build new models every year. Changing the platforms is a whole nother story. Theoretially, if hybrids were doubling each year, they should be able to start with the next model year, but unfortunately they are so antiquated and outdated in their business model, they do not have the flexibility that other countries have. It is especially bad because they can charge more for hybrids, so they could make a way bigger profit off of those, than they can on traditional models, the waiting lists are just missed chances.

The more money becomes a part of political process, the worse it is going to. People don't give you outrageous amounts of money without expecting something in return.

So I am curious exactly how far people are willing to sacrfice in order to protect the rights of others? This is obviously a purely hypothetical thing, but I am curious about how other people on here would react to specific situations. If anyone else has some good ones, feel free to add them. Would you understand if a loved one died in an incident where the US held someone who had the information that could have stopped the event, but couldn't because their hands were tied on how they could get information out of the suspect? In the same situtation as if the suspect were a non-citizen, should a request for legal representation be allowed, even if it potentially allows an attack to occur? If you had the ability, could you represent that person knowing that your actions could allow that same potential attack to happen? Would you protest to protect the speech rights of someone who was saying something that absolutely discusted you to your core? What is the worst speech you could consciously protect? Sex? Religion? Pornography? Child Pornography? Would you allow your minor children to be exposed to any of the previous things to protect the freedoms of speech of others? If the US had intelligence on where someone like an Osama Bin Laden what level certianty would they need before you would be OK with them launching an attack based on that intel? 50%? 75%? 100% What about if there were civilians around him that would probably die in said attack? How about if one of the civilians was a family member?

QUOTE(FlaSoxxJim @ Nov 8, 2007 -> 10:48 AM) Yeah, I agree, the shortage of these vehicles is artificial and unnecessary - a way to spike demand and price them at a premium. Seriously? You honestly believe that American car companies are in cahoots together to sell less cars? At a time when their profits are in the toilet, that makes no sense. It makes more sense that their outdates platforms, factories, and unions don't allow them the nimbleness to adjust on the fly like their counterparts. They need sales volume now, worse than anytime in their history, selling a few cars at a high margin isn't going to make up for the lost sales by their Japanese counterparts and their taking of a bigger chunk of the overall car market.

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Nov 8, 2007 -> 10:19 AM) That is a good point. And to a large extent, I agree. I guess what I cannot understand is at what point is anything "acceptable", and where do you draw the line? I have a hard time with this issue, because I realize the need to get information, but at what cost/price (depending on how you look at it)? I smell another thread...

For those who did not see this yesterday, there was some interesting manuevers taken in the House the other day. First Dennis Kucinich tried to pass a resolution to impeach Dick Cheney. No one really expected it to go anywhere, until the Republicians decided to let this actually come up for debate and vote, at which time the Dem's got scared and referred it back to committee so that it could die quietly, instead of actually going on record with their feeling, comments, and votes. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/06/...in3462837.shtml

QUOTE(NCsoxfan @ Nov 8, 2007 -> 10:12 AM) Ok, if not Colon, then what about Matt Clement? Kenny did make a run at Clement the last time he was a FA and got outbid...