ican711nm wrote:Roxxxanne wrote:ican711nm wrote:revel wrote:Typical response from a shallow poster we all know.
I haven't really been keeping up with that news and/or comments concerning it; however, everyone knows that overall infrastructure spending has been down because states are having trouble coming up with the money to spend on things like that and the federal spends all of our resources on Iraq. Thats just reality however much certain folks like to brush aside the cost of this war has on the
average American lives as well as Iraqi lives.
The War Racket
All the states are running budget surpluses. The states running the largest budget surpluses have the lowest taxes.
You need an attribution for this claim. BTW many States by Constitution or Legislation prohibit deficit spending.
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/71384.html
First, that article says that 'more than 40' states, not all of them.
Second, it provides no attribution to the idea that the states with the lowest taxes are enjoying the highest revenues.
Cycloptichorn
Cycloptichorn wrote:ican711nm wrote:Roxxxanne wrote:ican711nm wrote:revel wrote:Typical response from a shallow poster we all know.
I haven't really been keeping up with that news and/or comments concerning it; however, everyone knows that overall infrastructure spending has been down because states are having trouble coming up with the money to spend on things like that and the federal spends all of our resources on Iraq. Thats just reality however much certain folks like to brush aside the cost of this war has on the
average American lives as well as Iraqi lives.
The War Racket
All the states are running budget surpluses. The states running the largest budget surpluses have the lowest taxes.
You need an attribution for this claim. BTW many States by Constitution or Legislation prohibit deficit spending.
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/71384.html
First, that article says that 'more than 40' states, not all of them.
Second, it provides no attribution to the idea that the states with the lowest taxes are enjoying the highest revenues.
Cycloptichorn
Do I really have to hold your hand?
Quote:
NEW YORK, June 11 U.S. states have been experiencing budget surpluses, mainly because of higher than expected tax collections,
Lawmakers in more than 40 states have been using the surplus funds for tax cuts and infrastructure repairs, and setting aside extra funds for rainy day emergencies, the newspaper said Monday.[/B]
...
Governors in 23 states where revenues were up proposed tax cuts ...
To verify the lowest tax rate states have the biggest surpluses, check the surpluses of each state and the tax rate levels of each state and compare them. It's more work than I want to invest again.
I think you are lying, you never did the work in the first place, and I don't believe you.
Keep your assertions to yourself; nobody here is interested in them.
Cycloptichorn
if the SURGE continues with a similar success rate , i don't have much hope for the iraqi people .
it seems no longer possible to even get sufficient supplies of food to the people .
btw. i believe i just saw on CNN that the iraqi PM is meeting with iranian leaders in the hope of receiving support from iran . this sounds similar to the praise given by the afghan president for iran's help .
is this what it has come to ? the iranians are now "helping" ?
perhaps it is a good sign - but i don't think it was expected to turn out this way , was it ?
hbg
Quote:Iraq violence: Monitoring the surge
An extra 30,000 US troops have been deployed in Iraq, mainly in and around the capital Baghdad, since the launch of the security drive, or "surge", in February.
The BBC World Service is monitoring its effects, week by week, by looking at casualty figures, the pressure on hospitals and quality of life for ordinary civilians.
The graphics (see link) and analysis are based on figures from the US and Iraqi authorities, Baghdad's hospitals and three families from different neighbourhoods in the capital.
SECURITY
During the seven-day period from 26 July to 1 August there were 482 violent deaths across Iraq. This is a rise of nearly 70 people on last week's total.
Of the groups charted in the graphic above, only the Iraqi police saw their number of fatalities fall.
Iraqi civilians had both the greatest rise in their number of people killed and the greatest total number of deaths; as has been the case since this series of reports began seven weeks ago.
Looking back over the whole of July, Iraqi officials say more than 1,600 civilians were killed.
This figure is higher than the number of deaths for February this year, when the US surge began.
Political developments in Iraq this week include the announcement from the main Sunni Arab political bloc in the country, the Iraqi Accordance Front, that it is withdrawing from the government.
ECONOMICS
Fuel shortages remain a major problem for Iraqis, with long power cuts and fuel queues a common feature of civilian life, particularly in Baghdad.
Fuel shortages worsened for two out of the three families this week. The Palestine Street family saw their access to power plunge from an hour a day to 10 minutes, while the Zayouna family received no power for the entire week. The third family experienced no change at 30 minutes a day.
There have been some improvements; the al-Hurriya district of Baghdad has had a very limited access to electricity this week for the first time in three weeks.
The people of the Adhamiyia district are again without power.
Day-long petrol queues are still being reported by some, as are waits of between seven and eight hours, by others.
The price of fuel at forecourts is 9,000 Iraqi dinars ($7) for 20 litres. After falling last week black market prices are rising again; 20 litres of fuel now costs 25,000 dinars.
Prices for gas cylinders range from 7,500 dinars at petrol stations, up from 4,000 dinars, to 30,000 dinars on the black market in Baghdad, and 40,000 dinars on the black market in Falluja, where cars are not allowed into town.
Food is scarce in the Adhamiyia district, as food trucks are all being checked by the Iraqi army before being allowed inside.
The shortages come as a report by Oxfam and Iraqi NGOs has said that nearly a third of Iraq's population needs emergency aid, while US authorities say corruption in the country is so bad that it amounts to "a second insurgency".
BAGHDAD HOSPITALS
One of the al-Kindi hospital's staff, an assistant pharmacist was killed this week, as was a physiotherapist working for the Iraqi Olympic committee.
Figures for the number of people arriving at the hospital after suffering violent injuries have not yet been compiled.
In the last seven days the al-Yarmouk hospital has received a large number of unidentified bodies, including 30 from Dura, eight bodies from the Taji district, seven from the Amil and Bayaa districts as well as the bodies of nine policemen.
Data compiled by BBC producer Mona Mahmoud
link to full report and graphs :
THE SURGE IS WORKING ?
it looks as if the iraqi P.M. is taking things into his own hands .
that , perhaps , is a good sign .
but is he going in the direction the U.S. wants him to go one has to wonder ?
hbg
Quote:Iraq PM Maliki in Iran for talks
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has arrived in Iran for talks which are expected to concentrate mainly on security and co-operation.
Mr Maliki's visit comes days after Iran and the Unites States held a third round of talks in Baghdad on improving Iraqi security.
Iran and Iraq fought an eight-year war in the 1980s.
But ties between the mainly Shia Iran and the Shia-dominated Iraqi government have become increasingly close.
Mr Maliki can expect strong expressions of support from Iran and offers of further help to quell the ongoing violence in Iraq, says the BBC's Pam O'Toole.
'Help on border'
The Iraqi ambassador to Tehran, Mohammad Majeed al-Sheikh, explained what Iran could do to bolster Iraq's security.
"We have a common border with Iran, nearly 1,400km (875 miles), which is the longest border we have with a neighbouring country. We don't think we're able, or rather we don't have the capabilities, to control the border," he told the BBC.
"Until our armed forces and border guards are strong enough, we believe we need the Iranians to help us do that at this stage and to stand by us.
"We also need them to talk to some neighbouring countries with whom Iran has strong relations to maintain security within Iraq. As you know, some of the terrorists infiltrate into Iraq from neighbouring countries."
Baghdad has also expressed hope that the ongoing talks between Washington and Tehran about Iraqi security could be held at a higher level, and the Iranian and Iraqi delegations may well discuss the next steps in that dialogue.
'Constructive role'
Mr Maliki is visiting Iran at a time of increasing domestic and international pressure on his government.
Most Sunni members of his cabinet have withdrawn, leading to speculation about his political future; and Washington has been increasingly critical of his administration's record.
Although Iran is strongly opposed to the presence of US forces in Iraq, it is anxious to prevent the country disintegrating, our correspondent adds.
It has strong historical ties with Iraqi Shia groups and would like a relatively strong Shia-dominated government to remain in power there.
US officials have recently accused Iran of stepping up its support for Iraqi militias - allegations Iran has always denied.
But Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said this week Iran had always played a constructive role in helping Baghdad to restore security and stability.
IRAQI P.M. IN IRAN
Funny how all this is playing out when Bush refused to talk to Iran, the axis of evil, and the government of Iraq is doing what we should have five years ago.
c.i. :
i would think that the white house must be noticing what's going on in the middle-east ???
i wonder if any of the journalists will raise questions at their next briefing by the white house press secretary ???
hbg
hbg, They're still calling it "progress." It doesn't matter how many Iraqis get killed and maimed, and how many are near starvation. It's still "progress."
Cycloptichorn wrote:I think you are lying, you never did the work in the first place, and I don't believe you.
Keep your assertions to yourself; nobody here is interested in them.
Cycloptichorn
So why do you respond to my assertions if you're not interested in them?
What evidence do you have that I "never did did the work in the first place?"
I feel sorry for you. All you've got much of the time are your slanders.
ican711nm wrote:Cycloptichorn wrote:I think you are lying, you never did the work in the first place, and I don't believe you.
Keep your assertions to yourself; nobody here is interested in them.
Cycloptichorn
So why do you respond to my assertions if you're not interested in them?
What evidence do you have that I "never did did the work in the first place?"
I feel sorry for you. All you've got much of the time are your slanders.
You fail to present the evidence or any semblance of it. When asked for it, you claim that you 'don't have time.' That's an artful dodge. It would have taken a few seconds to link to the right place.
It only takes me a few seconds, as well, to point out when I don't think you are being truthful, Ican. It leaves plenty of time for factual posts.
I think that you will find that I rarely if ever do what you do, that is, make assertions and then refuse to provide evidence for them.
Cycloptichorn
ican711nm wrote:Cycloptichorn wrote:ican711nm wrote:Roxxxanne wrote:ican711nm wrote:revel wrote:Typical response from a shallow poster we all know.
I haven't really been keeping up with that news and/or comments concerning it; however, everyone knows that overall infrastructure spending has been down because states are having trouble coming up with the money to spend on things like that and the federal spends all of our resources on Iraq. Thats just reality however much certain folks like to brush aside the cost of this war has on the
average American lives as well as Iraqi lives.
The War Racket
All the states are running budget surpluses. The states running the largest budget surpluses have the lowest taxes.
You need an attribution for this claim. BTW many States by Constitution or Legislation prohibit deficit spending.
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/71384.html
First, that article says that 'more than 40' states, not all of them.
Second, it provides no attribution to the idea that the states with the lowest taxes are enjoying the highest revenues.
Cycloptichorn
Do I really have to hold your hand?
Quote:
NEW YORK, June 11 U.S. states have been experiencing budget surpluses, mainly because of higher than expected tax collections,
Lawmakers in more than 40 states have been using the surplus funds for tax cuts and infrastructure repairs, and setting aside extra funds for rainy day emergencies, the newspaper said Monday.[/B]
...
Governors in 23 states where revenues were up proposed tax cuts ...
To verify the lowest tax rate states have the biggest surpluses, check the surpluses of each state and the tax rate levels of each state and compare them. It's more work than I want to invest again.
Reading the article I see the reason they have surpluses is that they have been having higher tax collections and doing without building needed repairs on infrastructure.
Quote:Even though states have enjoyed rebounding revenues, many states have some catching up to do on infrastructure spending, said Ray Scheppach, the executive director of the National Governors Association.
"Because states cut back so in the early part of the decade," he said, "they put off maintenance, they put off building, things like that, so they are beginning to do some one-time spending." Governors in 23 states where revenues were up proposed tax cuts, the Times reported.
They got these surpluses from higher than expected tax collections. Plus from a reduction in medicaid spending. And a better than usual local economies.
Lower State Medicaid Spending Contributes to Budget Surpluses
So rather than spending the surpluses on needed maintenance which has been neglected to the point where our infrastructure is rated D;
More than 70,000 bridges rated deficient some Governors propose tax cuts. Totally irresponsible. How long do you republicans think we can keep up these wars, keeping these old roads and infrastructure, no health insurance or poor health insurance; little spending on education and still be a super power to be reckoned with in the world? Not to mention the poor quality of life ordinary Americans will have if we keep cutting taxes and not investing in the future with education and health insurance; infrastructure... but still spend billions upon billions on wars and war products?
A word of advice; if you are too lazy to do the work to back up your claims, don't make the claims in the first place if you want them to carry any weight.
revel, Good post; so many of he conservatives only want to look at one side of any issue, and ignore the important stuff like infrastructure, education, and health care. It's like Bush looking into Putin's eyes, and saying "I sense his soul" to be a good man; total ignorance.
An air of desperation.
Army to expand recruiting incentives
By KIMBERLY HEFLING, Associated Press Writer
37 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Need a down-payment for your home? Seed money to start a business? The Army wants to help ?- if you're willing to join up. Despite spending nearly $1 billion last year on recruiting bonuses and ads, Army leaders say an even bolder approach is needed to fill wartime ranks.
Under a new proposal, men and women who enlist could pick from a "buffet" of incentives, including up to $45,000 tax-free that they accrue during their career to help buy a home or build a business. Other options would include money for college and to pay off student loans.
An Associated Press review of the increasingly aggressive recruiting offerings found the Army is not only dangling more sign-up rewards ?- it's loosening rules on age and weight limits, education and drug and criminal records.
Cycloptichorn wrote:ican711nm wrote:Cycloptichorn wrote:I think you are lying, you never did the work in the first place, and I don't believe you.
Keep your assertions to yourself; nobody here is interested in them.
Cycloptichorn
So why do you respond to my assertions if you're not interested in them?
What evidence do you have that I "never did did the work in the first place?"
I feel sorry for you. All you've got much of the time are your slanders.
You fail to present the evidence or any semblance of it. When asked for it, you claim that you 'don't have time.' That's an artful dodge. It would have taken a few seconds to link to the right place.
It only takes me a few seconds, as well, to point out when I don't think you are being truthful, Ican. It leaves plenty of time for factual posts.
I think that you will find that I rarely if ever do what you do, that is, make assertions and then refuse to provide evidence for them.
Cycloptichorn
Your last sentence is malarkey. You have several times told me that if I wanted evidence whether what you asserted was true or false, it was my job to provide that evidence.
-------------------------------------------
This first link shows that all states have enjoyed revenue surpluses.
STATE REVENUE SURPLUSES
This second link in combination with the third link can be used in combination with the first link to study the influence of state tax collections per capita on state tax surpluses per capita.
STATE TAX COLLECTIONS
STATE POPULATIONS
Abou time!
Security Council OKs expanded Iraq role 31 minutes ago
UNITED NATIONS - The Security Council unanimously approved a resolution Friday expanding the United Nations' role in Iraq in a move aimed at reconciling the country's rival groups, winning support from neighboring countries and tackling Iraq's humanitarian crisis.
The resolution authorizes the U.N., at the request of the Iraqi government, to promote political talks among the country's ethnic and religious groups and a regional dialogue on issues including border security, energy and refugees.
The United States and Britain, who have the largest military forces in Iraq and cosponsored the resolution, believe the U.N. should play a greater part there because the world body is viewed by many as a more neutral party that can facilitate talks among feuding parties.
ican711nm wrote:Cycloptichorn wrote:ican711nm wrote:Cycloptichorn wrote:I think you are lying, you never did the work in the first place, and I don't believe you.
Keep your assertions to yourself; nobody here is interested in them.
Cycloptichorn
So why do you respond to my assertions if you're not interested in them?
What evidence do you have that I "never did did the work in the first place?"
I feel sorry for you. All you've got much of the time are your slanders.
You fail to present the evidence or any semblance of it. When asked for it, you claim that you 'don't have time.' That's an artful dodge. It would have taken a few seconds to link to the right place.
It only takes me a few seconds, as well, to point out when I don't think you are being truthful, Ican. It leaves plenty of time for factual posts.
I think that you will find that I rarely if ever do what you do, that is, make assertions and then refuse to provide evidence for them.
Cycloptichorn
Your last sentence is malarkey. You have several times told me that if I wanted evidence whether what you asserted was true or false, it was my job to provide that evidence.
-------------------------------------------
This first link shows that all states have enjoyed revenue surpluses.
STATE REVENUE SURPLUSES
This second link in combination with the third link can be used in combination with the first link to study the influence of state tax collections per capita on state tax surpluses per capita.
STATE TAX COLLECTIONS
STATE POPULATIONS
It should be a trivial matter for you to link to a statement or two of mine where I have demanded that you look up information to justify my claims.
Your links, while showing that every state is showing a surplus, do not show how the levels of taxation correlate to the amount of surplus seen. I think there are two factors here:
1, this doesn't show business taxes at all; and
2, the states with the highest surpluses per capita are generally low-population states. It makes sense to posit that they have a very high per-capita surplus, when there are so few people involved. It isn't until #10, Texas, that you see a large state on the list.
Cycloptichorjn
If there is such a surplus of tax revenue, why is our infrastructure breaking down? Our roads, bridges, schools, hospitals, and other public buildings are all falling behind in repairs/maintenance. Also, many local governments are cutting back on government services, because they don't have enough revenue.
A surplus? Who's doing the counting?
Bomb kills southern Iraq governor
A powerful roadside bomb has killed the governor and police chief of the southern Iraqi province of Diwaniya.
The governor was a key figure in the Badr Organisation, the military wing of the largest Shia Muslim party, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC).
Khalil Jalil Hamza and police chief Maj-Gen Khaled Hassan were returning to Diwaniya city after a funeral when a bomb exploded beside their convoy.
The area has seen clashes between Shia militias and security forces.
The bomb blew the vehicle off the road into a water-channel as the officials returned from a tribal leader's funeral.
The governor died instantly, while the police chief died in hospital.
Indefinite curfew
It is believed to be the first time since the US-led invasion four years ago that the two most important officials of any province in Iraq have been assassinated.
c.i. wrote :
Quote:A surplus? Who's doing the counting?
put enron in charge , they understood the art of "creative accounting" !
or i'll offer our own LORD BLACK OF CROSSHARBOUR !
Another bungle?
Italy probe unearths huge Iraq arms deal
By CHARLES J. HANLEY and ARIEL DAVID, Associated Press Writers
1 hour, 31 minutes ago
PERUGIA, Italy - In a hidden corner of Rome's busy Fiumicino Airport, police dug quietly through a traveler's checked baggage, looking for smuggled drugs. What they found instead was a catalog of weapons, a clue to something bigger.
Their discovery led anti-Mafia investigators down a monthslong trail of telephone and e-mail intercepts, into the midst of a huge black-market transaction, as Iraqi and Italian partners haggled over shipping more than 100,000 Russian-made automatic weapons into the bloodbath of Iraq.
As the secretive, $40 million deal neared completion, Italian authorities moved in, making arrests and breaking it up. But key questions remain unanswered.
For one thing, The Associated Press has learned that Iraqi government officials were involved in the deal, apparently without the knowledge of the U.S. Baghdad command ?- a departure from the usual pattern of U.S.-overseen arms purchases.
Why these officials resorted to "black" channels and where the weapons were headed is unclear.
The purchase would merely have been the most spectacular example of how Iraq has become a magnet for arms traffickers and a place of vanishing weapons stockpiles and uncontrolled gun markets since the 2003 U.S. invasion and the onset of civil war.
Some guns the U.S. bought for Iraq's police and army are unaccounted for, possibly fallen into the hands of insurgents or sectarian militias. Meanwhile, the planned replacement of the army's AK-47s with U.S.-made M-16s may throw more assault rifles onto the black market. And the weapons free-for-all apparently is spilling over borders: Turkey and Iran complain U.S.-supplied guns are flowing from Iraq to anti-government militants on their soil.
Iraqi middlemen in the Italian deal, in intercepted e-mails, claimed the arrangement had official American approval. A U.S. spokesman in Baghdad denied that.
"Iraqi officials did not make MNSTC-I aware that they were making purchases," Lt. Col. Daniel Williams of the Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq (MNSTC-I), which oversees arming and training of the Iraqi police and army, told the AP.
Operation Parabellum, the investigation led by Dario Razzi, anti-Mafia prosecutor in this central Italian city, began in 2005 as a routine investigation into drug trafficking by organized-crime figures, branched out into an inquiry into arms dealing with Libya, and then widened to Iraq.
Court documents obtained by the AP show that Razzi's break came early last year when police monitoring one of the drug suspects covertly opened his luggage as he left on a flight to Libya. Instead of the expected drugs, they found helmets, bulletproof vests and the weapons catalog.
Tapping telephones, monitoring e-mails, Razzi's investigators followed the trail to a group of Italian businessmen, otherwise unrelated to the drug probe, who were working to sell arms to Libya and, by late 2006, to Iraq as well, through offshore companies they set up in Malta and Cyprus.
Four Italians have been arrested and are awaiting court indictment for allegedly creating a criminal association and alleged arms trafficking ?- trading in weapons without a government license. A fifth Italian is being sought in Africa. In addition, 13 other Italians were arrested on drug charges.
In the documents, Razzi describes it as "strange" that the U.S.-supported Iraqi government would seek such weapons via the black market.
