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POPSWho Are The Real Pirates In Africa's Waters? Like the pirates of the ``golden age’’, today's Somali pirates see themselves as fighting for justice. As Sugale Ali told the October 1, 2008, NYT: ``We don’t consider ourselves sea bandits. We consider sea bandits those who illegally fish in our seas and dump waste in our seas and carry weapons in our seas. We are simply patrolling our seas. Think of us like a coast guard.’’ ``The truth is, if you ask any Somali, if getting rid of the pirates only means the continuous rape of our coast by unmonitored Western vessels, and the production of a new cancerous generation, we would all fly our pirate flags high. It is time that the world gave the Somali people some assurance that these Western illegal activities will end, if our pirates are to their operations. We do not want the EU and NATO serving as a shield for these nuclear waste-dumping hoodlums.’’
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POPSRA in Moscow Times:Clan Politics of Russia, Venezuela, and Iran the leaders of these three countries regularly employ the powers of the state in support of clan-controlled businesses, especially in the energy and arms sectors. When Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin travels to Venezuela (he visits Caracas with extraordinary frequency), there is little to no separation between his diplomatic duties and personal financial interests in inking deals between Rosneft and PDVSA. When the Iranians travel to Caracas, they are given a red carpet welcome to jointly operated factories and the assistance of elaborate money-laundering networks. Chavez's family and close-knit clan of loyal military officers have become multibillionaires under his rule. Known as the boligarchs, they benefit directly from the alliance of Russia and Iran since it lends much-needed credibility and legitimacy to their plunder of the country.
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POPSShocker: Dems Tell Obama To Let the Market Decide Dealership Closures So not only do they suddenly and fervently embrace the free market and question the wisdom of raising the unemployment rate by closing the dealerships, they seem to actually care about Obama's running roughshod over Constitutional property rights. However, we are concerned that manufacturers are closing profitable dealerships to circumvent current contracts which could require expensive buy-outs under normal conditions. Now that sounds like a letter written by Newt Gingrich, Steve Forbes, or any one of those greedy capitalist pigs on our side of the aisle. Is the tide turning against Obama on this, or are these spineless wonders, who didn't step in to prevent this takeover in the first place, trying to get to the head of the line for pickings from the carcasses?
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POPSHugo Chavez To Present 0bama With Book By Vladimir Lenin It was not immediately clear, however, if Chavez, who is building an original version of Latin American socialism in his country, said it seriously or with a pinch of irony. The news about the present that Chavez handed to Obama at the summit in Trinidad and Tobago propelled the book, which Galeano wrote about thirty years ago, to the top of the popularity charts. This story of centuries-long plunder of Latin America’s riches was immediately translated into English and fell into the category of best-selling books in Internet shops.
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POPS Lobbyists Write Climate Change Bill climate and energy policy director for the Competitive Enterprise Institute, told lawmakers, "The authors of the draft bill have invited the beneficiaries of what could turn out to be the biggest transfer of wealth from consumers to special interests in American history to write the rules for this legalized plunder." It was USCAP that provided language to the Waxman-Market draft that effectively bars construction of new coal-fired projects for 10 to 15 years, until "clean coal" technology is developed. The draft bill has language that effectively shields Duke and few other energy companies from the restrictions for unfinished plants already well along in the permitting process. Critics say the little-noticed provision affecting the Duke Energy coal plant is a prime illustration of the close links between industry and environmental lobbies and the bill's authors.
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POPSWhy Do the Pirates Plunder Us? If we really want to stop the problem of piracy, we need to help the pirates. That, or we could develop a special sniper bullet that would cause a person’s head to explode, because if a pirate saw his buddy’s head explode, he’d probably drop piracy right then and there. One or the other.
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POPSExpensive Pleasure Boats Being Abandoned continues:" Derelict boats are environmental and navigational hazards, leaking toxins and posing obstacles for other craft, especially at night. Thieves plunder them for scrap metal. In a storm, these runabouts and sailboats, cruisers and houseboats can break free or break up, causing havoc. " Hmm, what about salvage rights or does that only work out at sea?
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POPS'Sacrifice' And The Practice Of Slaves and Masters
Liberals always talk about sacrifice -- Obama, every time he opens his mouth, mentions the need for people to sacrifice. ... We all have to jointly suffer in order for all of us to somehow be the same. ... self-interest is not selfishness. Self-interest is what built this country. Somebody starting a business did it in his self-interest. He didn't start a business so that there would be jobs and health care in the community. He started a business because he loved the business that he was in. ... He had a product or a service that he thought would improve the lives of people. ... Let me give you a quote from Ayn Rand on this. 'It only stands to reason that where there's sacrifice, there's someone collecting the sacrificial offerings. Where there's service, there is someone being served. The man who speaks to you of sacrifice is speaking of slaves and masters, and intends to be the master.' That is President Obama." --radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh
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POPSHelp Wanted: Vikings If you have the looks and manners of Hagar the Horrible or Helga from American Gladiators, then you could get paid to pillage and plunder for two days at Lake Tahoe just for submitting a video!
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POPSWhen You Put It That Way, It Seems So Simple I like this comment, too. . . . . . . . . . . . . Capitalism is mankind’s first best attempt at a paradigm other than plunder and pillage. It is, at its best the willing exchange between two parties on mutually agreed upon terms. Socialism is saying, we don’t think you need or deserve what you have, there being more of us than there are of you, we will take from you what we wish. It is a return to the pillage and plunder paradigm Exhibit A in the Plunder and Pillage Paradigm: The US Congress.
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POPSA Few Important Questions for President Obama's Teleprompter As dissatisfaction with Obama mounts, expect the teleprompter to become a much more familiar topic of conversation. Maureen Dowd @New York Times Barack Obama even needs a teleprompter to get mad. As he watches the fury of ordinary Americans bubble up at those who continue to plunder our economy, he should keep in mind one of my dad’s favorite Gaelic sayings: “Never bolt the door with a boiled carrot.” At the White House on Monday, the president read reporters some tough talk from the teleprompter about the chuckleheads at A.I.G., accusing them of “recklessness and greed.” http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/18/opinion/18dowd.html?_r=1
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POPSButterflies of the World
Butterflies have been revered by mankind since before the dawn of recorded history. They are among the most fascinating and beautiful animals; even people who care not for insects in general usually have an affection for these winged wonders. They live nearly everywhere -- from gardens and forests and mountains to acid bogs and frozen arctic tundra. Almost 700 of the world's 10 - 20,000 species live in North America north of Mexico. The butterflies pictured here are captive, live butterflies. Live butterfly exhibits have become very popular in the United States, for obvious reasons. Children love butterflies, adults love butterflies and museums find them easy to raise and maintain - everybody wins. This happy circumstance is also good for the wild butterflies - people who used to go into the rain forest and capture live butterflies, or plunder their eggs and chrysalises now can be set to work on butterfly farms, thereby sparing our wild populations, and providing much needed jobs for m
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POPSAfrica: Paradox of Plenty INTERACTIVE While Africa is blessed with much natural wealth — gold, diamonds, ores from tin to uranium, oil and ivory — it has also long been a target for plunder. Listen to Ian Fisher recount how some, mostly outsiders, built great fortunes off of Africa's material riches — and for centuries its people as well — while it remained the poorest continent in the world. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/12/14/world/africa/20081215-africa-resources-graphic.html
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POPSBush Looting Public Wealth. No-Risk Capitalist. There has been no nationalisation, partial or otherwise. American taxpayers have gained no meaningful control over the banks , which is why the banks are free to spend the new money as they wish. At Morgan Stanley , it looks as if much of the windfall will cover this year's bonuses. Citigroup has been hinting it will use its $25bn buying other banks, while John Thain, the chief executive of Merrill Lynch , told analysts: "At least for the next quarter, it's just going to be a cushion." The US government, meanwhile, is reduced to pleading with the banks that they at least spend a portion of the taxpayer windfall for loans - officially, the reason for the entire programme.
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POPSHistory: Aaron Burr v. Thomas Jefferson An endorsement of a great leader over a man surrounded by corruption, in 1800 Alexander Hamilton endorsed Thomas Jefferson over Aaron Burr. Yesterday Colin Powell went the opposite direction and endorsed socialism and corruption over leadership and greatness. Colin Powell is no Alexander Hamilton
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POPSA Confusion in Terms: Society & Government Socialism, like the ancient ideas from which it springs, confuses the distinction between government and society. As a result of this, every time we object to a thing being done by government, the socialists conclude that we object to its being done at all.
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POPSLegal Plunder It is to be regretted that the word plunder is offensive. I have tried in vain to find an inoffensive word, for I would not at any time—especially now—wish to add an irritating word to our dissentions. Thus, whether I am believed or not, I declare that I do not mean to attack the intentions or the morality of anyone. Rather, I am attacking an idea which I believe to be false; a system which appears to me to be unjust; an injustice so independent of personal intentions that each of us profits from it without wishing to do so, and suffers from it without knowing the cause of the suffering.
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