text:
Your letters:
So, you're informed that you are going to be transported back to the day after your college graduation, to live your adult life over again. Your memory is going to be wiped, but before transportation you are given an hour (plus internet access) to write down 50 words on a piece of paper that will be sitting on the bedside table when you wake up after transportation. What do you write to your 23-year-old self? Sports results, so you can pull a Biff Tannen? The basic architecture of Facebook? Useful advice for avoiding bad hookups? I think "BUY APPLE SHARES" would certainly be worth 3 words.
I graduated in 1998, so there would have to be some kind of 9/11 warning on there. And it would have to be somewhat specific:
"9/11/01 terrorists will destroy World Trade Center"
That's seven words right there, about the bare minimum needed to get all the info across. You might even need to add WITH PLANES to make it specific. I may not be able to prevent 9/11 with such a warning, but at least I would be able to scream, "I TOLD YOU SO," to people at my office. That has to count for something. Everyone else would be sad that day, but Past You would be full of smug cheer. And kinda sad, but mostly smug.
"Buy Apple Shares" would certainly be worth three words. And I thought about Josh's aforementioned sports results, but it seems like a big waste of words. If you maxed out a credit card and started with a $5,000 bet, you would need 18 guaranteed bets until your money doubled enough times (minus the vig) to make you a billionaire, although you could whittle that number down with prop bets and parlays. So let's say you would need seven or eight results to get rich. You would have to make sure the games listed were specific, like so ...
1999 NFL regular season
Rams 27, Ravens 10
Redskins 27, Jets 20
49ers 24, Titans 22
Rams 34, Browns 3
Browns 21, Saints 16
Bills 34, Redskins 17
Colts 27, Giants 19
Panthers 31, Browns 17
Those are real results of games that were played that season, and since they were all interconference matchups, you know they occurred only one time (adding REGULAR lets your past self know this wasn't a Super Bowl). That's 36 words. So that only gives you four words left. I think I'd rather just include the numbers from a Powerball drawing, like so ...
6/24/00 Powerball drawing
If numbers count as words, that's a mere nine words. You may then want to take the time to warn yourself against making future personal mistakes. DON'T FUCK (insert name of former boyfriend or girlfriend here), or (insert name of former sexual conquest) HAS HERPES, or DON'T SEE PHANTOM MENACE. Stuff like that. There are any number of personal regrets you could probably reverse with your remaining words, which is good because your personal welfare is far more important than preventing, say, the bond market crash. Who has time for that kind of weak shit?
If you're like me and you're happy with your domestic situation, you might advise your past self to MARRY (your wife's name here), just to drive the point home. And if you only have a couple words left after that, they should probably be used on BLACK PRESIDENT.
I've chosen these 50 words mostly as an information dump. I'd be extremely pissed at my future self if he decided to waste those 50 words on some kind of poetic, writerly bullshit. "Time is so precious, and you'll wonder where the days went ..." Oh God, that would be horrible. FUCK YOU, FUTURE ME. You may as well send a note back in time that says YOU'LL BE A FUCKING DIPSHIT. Don't give your past self advice because your past self will be wayyy too drunk and horny to heed it. Your past self will just throw that shit in the trash and call you a pussy. Total waste of time.
By the way, no matter what you write, I guarantee you that your life would probably turn out worse if you got a note from your future self than if you didn't. You might get rich, but you'd probably end up marrying some awful woman, blowing through the cash, getting VD, and living your life in opulent misery. Be glad your future self didn't come to steer you off course. Unless someone shot you dead six years ago and your future self warned you about it. Then I guess it could be useful.
Watching the games this weekend, I'm honestly not convinced it would be any worse if the NFL just went the pickup basketball "call your own fouls" route. And now I can't stop fantasizing about the NFL going insane and doing this for a week.
That's one of the worst parts about this ongoing ref lockout. Players are now begging for flags on virtually every play. Players did this before, of course, especially some of the more annoying ones. But now everyone is doing it on every single down and it's getting out of control. Players are trying to game these refs because they think they're more likely to cave in to pressure (and they're right). As long as the scab refs are out there, players will try to game them any way they can, and means lots of bitching and flopping and shit that will make you yell at the TV, "GET UP YOU FUCKING PUSSY!" It won't be pretty.
If he really wanted to, do you think the President could commit suicide?
He uses pens, right? Just jab one in your own carotid artery and PRESTO! No more president. It annoys me that, if the president ever did such a thing, you'd never know the truth. They'll just say, "The President had a fatal heart attack" and you'll be forced to believe it, which is bullshit. Every day, I wake up wondering if the president will turn up dead. Imagine the news boner that would result from a president dying in office in this day and age. If that day should ever pass, I think my daydreams deserve to know the truth: that the president accidentally choked himself to death while jerking off to redhead porn.
While it's entirely possible this guy's last name is LeBron, I highly doubt it considering he was a Jersey Cowboys fan who probably has never been to Dallas in his entire life... BTW, he and most of the other fairweather Jersey Cowboys fans left before the 3rd quarter of their trashing against the Seahawks was over.
He should be in jail for wearing that.
What would be like if dudes shit out their penis and pissed out their ass? And I guess you'd fart out of your dick too?
All men would take stool softeners to make sure that they didn't have to pass any hard poops through their urethra, which would be remarkably painful. And then the bastards at Big Stool Softener would jack up prices by 300 percent, causing a massive class war between rich men and angry poor men who have to shit out pebbles every third hour of the day. Anti-anxiety pill sales would skyrocket because the fear of urinal splashback would be so crippling. And no man would ever receive a blowjob again. And even if a girl did give you a blowjob, you'd wonder about her loose morals and end up treating her poorly. So be glad that poop doesn't come out of your dick. That would be bad.
Drew Magary writes for Deadspin and Gawker. He's also a correspondent for GQ. Follow him on Twitter @drewmagary and email him at email@example.com.
Whenever I go to 7-11 and I buy something for say $0.99, I hand the guy my dollar and BOLT. Even though it's kind of a dick move, no way I'm going to get stuck with that useless penny.
Sometimes I'll mouth out a weak "keep the change" as I scram for the door so that I don't get stuck with the penny. But if the store you're in has no TAKE A PENNY tray, they've earned your bad manners.
I also have no idea what gets me sales tax and what doesn't. Sometimes I'll pay for something that's 99 cents expecting that to be the final total, only to get boned with a $1.04 total with tax. And I'll never have the extra change needed. I'll always have to break another single, which destroys me. Just a pocketful of nickels charley horsing your thigh for the rest of the fucking day.
So I walk into my work bathroom to drop a bomb. Pretty standard operation—2 urinals, 2 shitters. I sit down at the shitter, and as I'm getting situated I knock the only roll of TP on the ground and it proceeds to roll into the station next to me. The roll is about 3 inches due East of my area (see picture above). I'm still here right now—dare I reach for the roll? On a related note, if you were on the other side of this equation, wouldn't you politely kick the roll back? What the hell.
If someone else is in that stall, I think you should resort to reaching over only after asking the guy next door for a little help. Now, I know how awful that can be. The idea of opening your mouth and saying words to the guy shitting next door is such an awful prospect that many men would rather pull up trou and walk around for the rest of the day with an oatmeal cream pie between their asscheeks. I get it. It sucks. You're right: a good man would kick that roll back over without you having to ask. You might even be able to prompt him by talking to yourself and saying, "SHIT. That was my only roll." It takes a real douche to not get the hint, but offices are full of such douches. They're too busy CRUSHING that toilet to help a man in need.
If the guy next door won't help you out, then you have free rein to reach into his shitspace. Because fuck him. A private toilet stall is a privilege, not a right.
Given the multitude of films and video games on the subject, do you think that we would stand any chance of fending off an alien invasion if it happened in our lifetime?
I think the Earth itself would probably serve as our closest ally if such an invasion were to occur, because the planet's atmosphere, gravity, and microbes could cause any incoming aliens massive problems right from the beginning. The end to War of the Worlds, in which (SPOILER) bacteria end up killing off the aliens for us, is probably more likely than the end to, say, Independence Day, when Will Smith pulled a 4Chan on an alien spacecraft. And I say that while still declaring that War of the Worlds had a fucking terrible ending. "Oh hey, my son was alive and living in a tasteful Boston townhome the entire time!" Awful.
However, as of right now, it is physically impossible for human beings to travel the billions and billions of miles necessary to reach other star systems that may or may not contain intelligent alien life forms, and there's little reason to believe aliens could do likewise. If they were, they will have an understanding and mastery of physics so much greater than ours that they would probably be able to kill us off in a heartbeat. But that would be assuming that they were bloodthirsty savages, which makes little sense because I don't think bloodthirsty savages would be all that interested in unlocking the secrets to quantum physics.
I think, and I hope, that any alien civilization that landed here would have their fucking minds blown. I mean, look around you. Look at what mankind has built here. HOLY SHIT, YOU GUYS. Cars and roads and buildings and flying airplanes and bullet trains and electric carving knifes... we're an impressive civilization. You should be proud of what you've helped accomplished, even if you really didn't do anything. Even if you're like me and have spent the majority of your life enjoying an infrastructure built on the backs of other assholes. Whatever, I BUILT THAT. If we were wiped out by an asteroid and a future race of aliens or humanoids stumbled upon the remnants of our history, they would be flabbergasted. And that's not even factoring in our porn stash. Once they find that ... GREATEST CIVILIZATION IN THE UNIVERSE.
Who wins a 100m dash on a hot summer day: an average American in professional running gear including spikes, or Usain Bolt in full winter outdoor work gear (insulated boots, multiple layers of heavy winter clothing)?
Bolt. It's not even close. Think about whether or not you'd outrun Calvin Johnson if Megatron were in full pads. The boots might give Bolt a few problems, but he's still smoke you.
Andy (again):
Who wins in a 1-mile bike race: average American with top-of-the line racing bike and gear, or Lance Armstrong at his peak on a 10-year-old Wal-Mart bike and wearing in full winter outdoor work gear? He can still have the benefit of whatever steroids he was taking and the average American will be fueled by McDonalds.
This is a little bit closer than Bolt but I think that Armstrong would still find a way to beat you. Remember: Lance Armstrong is a megalomaniacal asshole who would sooner watch his own children die in front of him than lose ANYTHING: a race, a lawsuit, whatever. He's right up there with Michael Jordan in the history of men whose competitiveness we admire when they're achieving great things and we abhor when we have to deal with them on a personal level. Armstrong would find a way to beat you, even if it meant injecting thirty gallons of cord blood before the race. He hates the idea of you winning just that much. And frankly, you should let him win. Let him have his sorry little victory. By being a stable, happy person, you win in the long run.
Worst last name ever, or best?
I live next to a high school freshman and his single mom. He is a typical 14-year-old - typical smart ass but we have cordial relationship
Yesterday I found a note on our lawn - being nosy I read it right away. It was a letter to his girlfriend with explicit sexual language and references to him being drunk and smoking weed.
Should I show his mom what I found, or give it back to him or shut my mouth?
Shut your mouth. You weren't even supposed to read it, so nothing good can come from you telling someone that you did. The mother won't thank you. The mother will scream at you for invading her kid's privacy and for daring to suggest that her sweet little boy is less than an angel. She's a single mom, so that kid is all she's got. She'll claw your face off defending his honor. And then you'll be left without a face and that kid will never sell you weed. Just a shitty situation all around. Besides, showing it to his mom isn't magically gonna make him stop fingerblasting his girl and packing bowls every night. That'll only happen when Daddy finally comes home from prison.
By the way, I have no idea how single parents do it. None. If my wife left me with these kids, I'd shoot myself dead by the second day. Running six ultramarathons in a row would be an easier prospect.
Do boobs sag on the moon?
Not mine!
If you had to choose a professional sport to officiate tomorrow in a game, which would it be based on your knowledge of the game, physical ability, etc? I would choose baseball only because umps don't really have to run and if a coach or player screams at you, you can just boot 'em from the game. SO MUCH POWER.
Plus, if you're the home plate ump, you get to make loud grunting noises without anyone questioning it. When I played little league baseball, there was this one coach's kid that always demanded to be the makeshift home plate ump whenever he wasn't batting, and he'd yell out STEEEEEE! just like Enrico Pallazzo on every pitch he deemed a strike. And you could tell he loved every minute of it. The grunting. The joy of judging another boy's pitch. The fun of showing up a batter with a strike count. The fucker ate that shit up. Coach's kids are the worst.
(By the way, ever get a terrible wiffle ball ump? Drunken bros who insist on umping your wiffle ball game should be lashed.)
So yeah, I'd choose baseball. Basketball and soccer would involve too much running. Football would be too hard. And hockey! Hockey would be the absolute worst. You have to skate, avoid contact, and try to maintain order among goons. I'm surprised NHL refs aren't allowed to carry firearms.
Who bought this terrible window sticker? Was it the daddy or the girl? Which would be worse?
I vote for the dad as the culprit. That phrase should be banned from everything. I hate it. It's fucking horrible. It's an open challenge for a drummer to come defile your daughter. If you have a daughter and you're stupid enough to use this phrase, you deserve the life of angry fisting porn she'll end up engaged in. Much better to have a sign that reads "Daddy's Very Large Daughter Who Is Now A Grown Woman Who Can Make Her Own Decisions And Carries Pepper Spray On Her At All Times."
Dick Utah:
Fact: A BCS-conference head football coach has had sex with a player since 2000. Just run the numbers. Dozens of teams with nearly a hundred players on each, not to mention the strong mentor-mentee relationship... At least one coach has absolutely diddled or gotten railed by a player. The only question is who?
Well, Mike Leach does like being unconventional. And I bet if Chip Kelly made love to one of his players, he'd do it with LIGHTNING SPEED. And I could see Nick Saban punishing a player with some light spanking for not buying into THE PROCESS.
However, I do think it's possible that a head coach hasn't had sex with a player since 2000, only because, as I've said before, head coaches have such little day-to-day contact with individual players. Much more likely that a position coach and a player would have a torrid love affair. After all, you're up late, in a dark room, watching tape. Who's to say your running back coach wouldn't try a little hanky panky? Anything's better than studying tape. Plus, you get bonus playing time out of it! Now that's a win-win.
Also, for some reason, I find it hard to believe and NFL coach and a player would engage in a similar affair, even though it would be just as plausible and, in fact, a bit more appropriate. Imagine if it came out that Tom Coughlin and Eli had fallen in love with each other. That would blow a hole in the universe. I SO BADLY WANT IT TO HAPPEN.
How would you rank the following in order of perceived size: cock, dong, wang, prick, schlong and pecker?
Smallest to biggest: pecker, wang, prick, dong, cock, schlong
I'm expecting my first child in October and am really curious on how I can balance raising her and simultaneously watch a multitude of sports while drinking a lot of beer and hoping my wife doesn't kill me at the same time?
You can't, really. The more you try and retain all your sports viewing habits, the more likely you are to drive yourself batshit insane. Your wife will hate you. You'll resent her. The baby will shit on you right as the winning field goal is being kicked. You have bite the bullet and accept that some of your free time will be compromised. You won't get to watch every NCAA tournament game. Big fucking deal. Not all of those games are winners, you know.
However, all is not lost. You can preserve a good deal of your sports fandom by doing a few simple things:
1. Do your part during non-sports hours. Cook. Clean. Take care of the kid while the wife goes out for a spa day or whatever. Load up on brownie points and then cash them in.
2. Get a DVR if you can afford it. If your child gets onto a reasonable sleeping schedule, that leaves the majority of prime time still free for you.
3. Give your wife reasonable expectations for your sports viewing habits. It helps to be honest and tell the lady, "Watching some of this stuff is super important to me, so I'd like to have Sunday to watch the NFL and two weeks in March to watch the tournament." Women appreciate long-term planning, so letting them know in advance is less likely to get them all pissy at you. And if you've done your part and your wife still isn't happy, then DIVORCE. DIVORCE DIVORCE DIVORCE.
By the way, one baby shouldn't hurt your TV habits too much. They sleep a lot and don't really do anything when they're awake. It's when they grow and you add more kids ot the mix that everything gets a little dicey.
This week's email of the week comes from Bobby Big Wheel. I must warn you in advance... it's the worst thing ever. And now that I've told you that, you must read on.
Bobby Big Wheel:
OK, this is a story of one of my friend's from when she was a camp counselor in Massachusetts. Every year the counselors would take the kids on a trip to Boston, stay in some shitty motel outside of town, and take them on the Freedom Trail and whatnot. Well, two of the counselors, "Zack" and "Caroline," had been hooking up at the time. After they got to the hotel everyone went to their rooms, but Zack and Caroline managed to sneak away and hook up somehow. The next morning the counselors saw Zack and Caroline walk into breakfast. Caroline did not look happy and Zack's face was covered in zits. They wouldn't say what happened, but eventually the truth was pried out.
Zack and Caroline were hooking up and Zack decided to eat Caroline out. When he was done he mentioned how great it tasted and she told him it was because she put a Jolly Rancher in her vagina. So Zack decides to go in for more and find the Jolly Rancher. He thought he found it and he bit down. Caroline let out a scream.
It wasn't a Jolly Rancher, it was an infected wart.
Blood and pus sprayed all over Zack's face. Caroline freaked out and couldn't stop bleeding so they went to the hospital. While Zack was waiting somebody noticed that the infected blood and pus from Caroline's infected wart had messed with his skin and caused him to break out. The doctor fixed Caroline up, gave Zack some ointment for his skin, and sent them back to the hotel.
Oh, and it was a watermelon Jolly Rancher.


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Shaun Chamberlin
Joined: 04 Feb 2007
Posts: 120
Location: London
Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2014 2:05 pm
Post subject: TEQs news - 31 Oct 2014 - MEPs support TEQs, new team mem...
The latest TEQs newsletter can be read
Includes news of the campaign stepping up, with two supporters becoming MEPs, the UK Green Party adding TEQs to their election manifesto and two more new team members swelling our ranks.
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Joined: 30 Jan 2015
Posts: 2
Location: Port Elizabeth South Africa
Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2015 9:35 am
Post subject:
Hi This is a follow up of a discussion started with Shaun on the TN blog about the Pros and Cons of the TEQ.
As I lost my comments on Shaun paper, I copy hereafter the little I could retrieve in order to start a discussion:
1. "In my view, the whole discussion fails to set the big picture which should be informed by the economic model and related society we want and what sustainable development means. Does the worry of economic catastrophe implies that the present neoliberal, top down global market oriented driven by large interests for an ever consumerism model we want and is that sustainable ?
Isnt it that if we keep that big picture as a given, shouldnt we be surprise that pressure will remain to keep a soft instead of a hard cap (see global interference on EU cap and trade system) ? As you say the integrity of the cap will remain, in my view a question mark in this frame
But in the other hand if we recognize that the present economic model and related society is not what we want because it is for many reasons not sustainable, we ought to define what exactly we want and make it the big picture of any development related policy definition. That new vision should then inform the type of tools that will be required to achieve it.
In other words, future policy (including anyone related to low carbon development) should not be considered as aims on their own but mere tools for achieving our long term vision.
Finally the sustainability issue is much bigger than the carbon emission only. It is why it doesnt make much sense to deal with the latter in isolation."
2. As all depends on the definition of the economic model and related society we want, this cannot remain exclusively in a few politicians and expert hands.
We should therefore initiate such broad discussions to at least achieve a broad agreement that what is happening is not sustainable. This hopefully would achieve the beginning of a recognition that a bottom up, decentralized and localized economic system will better lead to the type of society and sustainable development we want.
As it is written further down there is both a need and a failure to engage people individually and collectively in establishing more sustainable, low-carbon societies, with the provision of a clear vision recognised as critical for such large-scale system change
Regarding If a clear and effective method could be found to stimulate common purpose in carbon reductions through out society, articulating the direction of travel visibly at a range of levels, then the practical and political challenges of achieving dramatic emissions cuts could quickly take on a very different appearance.
It emphasises that since society and its practices are made up of institutions, techniques and artefacts, as well as rules, practices and networks that determine the normal development and use of technologies we need to alter not only our policy tools and structures, but also markets, user practices, policy and cultural meanings
We first need the above mentioned vision before defining the purpose in carbon reduction and the alteration market, user practices, policy and cultural meaning. And yes the tricky part would be to find an effective method to stimulate that common vision and it may seem unlikely, even utopian, to imagine communities and households collaborating with each other to this end, alongside companies and local and national government.
But in the mean time, it would make sense to do a rapid appraisal of a common vision which hopefully will inform the need of a clear cut FF tax and related RE alternatives."
I would love to discuss and hear more about Low carbon development and localized economic system initiatives to take over topdown and dimining capitalistic system. PL
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Joined: 30 Jan 2015
Posts: 2
Location: Port Elizabeth South Africa
Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2015 10:34 am
Post subject:
In response to Shaun who wrote:
"A FF tax would doubtless be easier to achieve politically, but would, to my eyes, reinforce the current orthodoxy and the problems outlined above, pretending that emissions are just another financial issue to be dealt with by paying a certain amount of tax (just as carbon offsetting tells us that our environmental impact can be addressed just by earning more and paying off our sins) rather than encouraging engagement with the roots of the problem.
As yet I don't understand why you call for a more radical overall outlook, but then advocate carbon taxes on the basis that they are less challenging to implement. Perhaps you can explain why in the other forum"
For the following reasons:
1. As a radical consensus about a sustainable economic system, as explained before should inform any policy on the subject, it would make sense then to approach the issue from its roots, which are indeed the first FF users.
The latter have, together with the system started an unacceptable process of "using the resources as they want, leaving the society dealing with "external costs".
In other words, give to Caesar what belongs to him, and that is the responsibility of the mess we are in.
2. The global society has never been consulted on the subject. It was imposed upon it, partly when the big shots said "their is no alternative" TINA.
3. The society in general will have great difficulties to change rapidly if it is not pressed a bit from the top as it has been disempowered "to think for itself". This time it could be through a LITHA instead (localization is the alternative)
4. The latter is a long term process that should go in parallel with any low carbon development. Hence why not considering the two, namely carbon tax at the source staged with TEQ/education for the users ?
I would love to discuss and hear more about Low carbon development and localized economic system initiatives to take over topdown and dimining capitalistic system. PL
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Shaun Chamberlin
Joined: 04 Feb 2007
Posts: 120
Location: London
Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2015 10:38 am
Post subject:
Hi Pierre-Louis,
Welcome to the Powerswitch forums.
I'm sorry to hear that you lost your detailed comments on
our paper
Since what you have posted here is copied from
the Transition Network forum
, I'll copy my response here too:
In terms of your overall comments, yes, I couldn't agree more. We are so much on the same page it hurts!
My 2009
Transition book
sought to do just what you call for, fleshing out the 'Transition vision' for a different future that underlies the movement, across food, transport, healthcare etc etc.
And I am currently finalising an abridged version of the late David Fleming's legendary
Lean Logic
for publication later this year. His book sets out the most radical, exciting vision of an alternative social/economic model I have yet encountered, of just the kind that you call for, and which underpinned the thinking of Transition folk like me and Rob from the outset.
I would say that your drive for fundamental change to our social/economic frameworks is possibly the unifying factor in everything I work on.
And you're absolutely right that this is why the government fought back against the hard cap in TEQs, and tried to neuter it, as they have done with the EU ETS (was that actually a well-designed scheme at the outset then, corrupted by contact with power? If so, that's a story I don't know and would be interested to know more about).
Within that context, I see TEQs as a really important potential step in the right direction. It is radical, certainly, but not so radical that I can dismiss implementation as an outright impossibility (we got so far as a government-funded feasibility study before the Treasury stamped on it by demanding negative conclusions). It is at the very limits of what our current dominant cultural narratives might permit, I would say, but if we could get it done, I believe it would in turn facilitate further shifts, designed as it is to stimulate collaboration and common purpose across society, as well as encouraging and supporting local initiatives like Transition groups. To quote our academic paper:
"Crucially, under current policy frameworks [Transition Towns and similar] efforts are always swimming against the tide. For example, a hard-won reduction in petrol use in one city might serve to bring down the price a little, thus encouraging greater consumption elsewhere and leading to little or no net reduction in emissions.
Understanding this can be disheartening for those trying to contribute towards large-scale problems like climate change, which helps explain why those involved with such local climate initiatives have consistently been among the strongest campaigners for TEQs [80,81].
With its hard cap on emissions in place, TEQs would reverse this effect. Any local reductions in energy use would not only save money for those involved, but also play a clear, practical part in aiding the energy transition of the nation as a whole, with the contribution to lower energy prices for all becoming a straightforwardly desirable outcome which helps to defend the political sustainability of the TEQs framework and its hard cap.
The implementation of TEQs would provide clear reassurance that we really are all in it together' at the national scale, greatly diminishing established psychological barriers to energy demand reduction such as concerns about free riders and the sense that your personal contribution cannot make a difference [47,82]."
An upstream FF tax would likely be easier to achieve politically, but would, to my eyes, reinforce the current narratives and the problems outlined in that quote, pretending that emissions are just another financial issue to be dealt with by paying a certain amount of tax (just as
carbon offsetting tells us that our environmental impact can be addressed just by earning more and paying off our sins
) rather than encouraging engagement with the roots of the problem.
As yet I don't understand why you call for a more radical overall outlook, but then advocate carbon taxes (perhaps on the basis that they may be less challenging to implement?)
I look forward to hearing your further thoughts.
All the best,
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Shaun Chamberlin
Joined: 04 Feb 2007
Posts: 120
Location: London
Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2015 8:00 pm
Post subject:
Ah, you posted a reply to my comment before I had posted the comment!
As I understand it, you're saying that we should focus on upstream policy (i.e. policy that targets the extractors/importers of fossil fuels), since it is they who are the cause of the problem, not the end consumers?
I would certainly agree that infrastructural choices (not to mention planning policy decisions, investment choices etc) made 'upstream' limit the lifestyle choices we face at the local level, so I have substantial sympathy with this. It's a good point that you make.
However, I don't think either of us would suggest that it's realistic that upstream changes alone could transform society at the rate required by the findings of climate science. Our individual and community lifestyles need transformation too - downstream energy demand needs to shift and reduce since upstream energy supply changes alone simply cannot provide the speed of transition required
(you may well already be familiar with
Prof. Kevin Anderson's brilliantly clear presentation on this
As you say, there is a need for top-down and bottom-up to meet, and I think that maybe we agree that a purely money-based approach like taxation can't stimulate the latter.
So yes, there is certainly scope for supplementing TEQs with carbon taxation, as long as it doesn't threaten the necessary shift in cultural narrative (the rekindling of thinking for ourselves) integral to TEQs, nor the integrity of the overall carbon cap.
Sadly, at present, due to the dominance of market-based orthodoxy, all the talk is about tax and other price-based mechanisms, with little understanding of their significant limitations. That's what our team are working to challenge. Hopefully you may join our efforts in this regard.
All the best,
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Battlestar Galactica is an action-packed top-down space combat game set in the universe of the hugely popular sci-fi television show. Sign up to defend the Galactica, or play as the ruthless Cylons as they seek to remove the human menace from existence. Take part in enormous multiplayer space battles – up to 8 players online – or play through the single-player campaign.
- Single-Player Campaign – Pilot various ships and complete memorable missions from the TV series.
- Multiplayer Game Mode – Play online with 8 players in this relentless space-based action shooter in Firefight, Skirmish and Domination modes.
- Legendary Spaceships – Fly 4 Human and 4 Cylon ships from the Viper II to the Cylon Raider, each with unique weapon capabilities.
- Special Weapons – Coordinate attacks with a gallery of destructive weapons including the missiles, guns and more.
- Realistic Effects – Full 3D graphics to show off the detailed ships and cosmic environment.
- Defensive Maneuvers – Avoid annihilation with the barrel roll, quick turnabouts and other aerial moves.
Xbox Live Arcade and PC Online Availability Q3 2007
More articles about Battlestar Galactica


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Sometimes when troubleshooting issues, the exact cause of the issue may be difficult to find. You may run across an error appearing in the log file. But it may not have enough information about what went wrong...or how it might happen again. So you can turn on tracing and watch the output, but if you don't know when the error may happen, you may have to sift through a lot of trace logs to find the spot of the error. That's where Event Trap tracing comes it.
Main Article
Event Trap tracing allows you to specify keywords for content server to look for as it's writing out tracing in the server output. If that keyword is found, all of the tracing in the buffer at that time will be sent to a separate event tracing output file. So now you have a nice slice of tracing activity at the exact moment the particular keyword (based off error message or such) is hit. In addition, a thread dump from the JVM can be obtained at the same time to capture all of the thread activity as well. By default, the keyword is Exception so that every exception is captured this way.
By default, the log files can be found in the <content server instance directory>/data/trace/event directory or they can be viewed in the browser by clicking on the 'View Event Output' link.


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Office Chairs & Seating
- Office Task/ Operator Chairs
- Mesh Office Chairs
- Fabric Executive Office Chairs
- Leather Office Chairs
- Executive Leather Office Chairs
- Traditional Study Chairs
- Designer Office Chairs
- Ergonomic Office Chairs
- 24 Hour Office Chairs
- Kneeling Chairs/ Stools
- Counter Stools
- Recliners; Reclining Chairs
- Massage Office Chairs
- Meeting Room Chairs
- Visitor Chairs
- Office Chair Mats
- Office Chair Accessories
- Office Desking & Furniture +-
- Home Office Furniture +-
- Office Reception Furniture +-
- School/ Classroom Furniture +-
- Cafe & Bistro Furniture +-
- Office Tables +-
- Office Storage Products +-
MISTRAL Silver Cantilever Leg Office Desk 1000x600mm
It is essential that you complete our RETURNS FORM to obtain an RMA number (so that we can log and keep track of your return).
Your Review: Note: HTML is not translated!
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Enter the code in the box below:
MISTRAL Silver Cantilever Leg Office Desk 1000x600mm
Condition: New
Brand: D.I
Product Code: D-MC610S
Brand: D.I
Product Code: D-MC610S
Price: £145.00
Ex Tax: £120.83
Ex Tax: £120.83
5 or more £135.00
UK Mainland
UK Mainland
14 day returns
14 day returns
Shop Safely
Shop Safely
Friendly staff
Friendly staff
Delivery Charges:
**FREE DELIVERY** to UK Mainland Postcodes (Not including Highlands and Islands)
- England, Scotland, Wales : FREE DELIVERY
- Northern Ireland: : PLEASE ASK FOR PRICE
- Highlands & Islands: PLEASE ASK FOR PRICE
- Republic of Ireland: PLEASE ASK FOR PRICE
- Rest of EU: PLEASE ASK FOR PRICE
- Rest of the World: PLEASE ASK FOR PRICE
Delivery Service:
- Once we are in receipt of cleared payment, goods will be shipped by our designated distributors using 3rd party professional courier services.
Estimated delivery times are shown below (these are guidelines only and may vary depending on the type and quantity of products you are ordering)
Chair/Seating: 1-5 working days
Furniture: 7-10 working days
- Delivery will be to GROUND FLOOR ENTRANCE ONLY
- Please note that our couriers do not deliver at the weekends.
- If you need something by guaranteed next day delivery, please contact us and we'll do our best to arrange this. There will normally be an additional charge for this service.
- Unusually heavy items may take extra time to deliver. Please contact us if you have an urgent order in such cases.
- You may have your order despatched to your home/billing address or if more convenient or you are buying a gift you may choose a separate delivery address.
Items out of stock:
Normally the items listed on our website are in stock. In the event that an ordered item is out of stock we will notify you of this by email and give you an estimated delivery time for the item. If the new delivery date does not meet your expectations then you are free to change or cancel your order.
Special Instructions
Many customers ask us for special instructions to be conveyed to the delivery driver eg asking him to call before delivery or to leave goods in specific places if out etc. We can put these instructions on our on-line shipping booking form but we cannot guarantee that the driver will comply with the instructions, they are not obliged to do so, all they are obliged to do is to deliver the goods on time and get a signature from the recipient. We can only guarantee that we have made the booking correctly and that we have loaded the goods onto the carrier's van on time, we have no control over the internal operations of another company's organisation.
What if you are not in when the delivery is attempted?
If you are not in when the goods are delivered, the goods will not be left, a signature is required. It is the only way we can guarantee that the goods have been delivered. If out the driver will leave a card and attempt once (sometimes twice) more to deliver the goods. If you are out for the subsequent attempts the goods will be retained at the delivery company's depot for about 2 days awaiting your call. If you do not call the goods will be returned to us, this incurs a return delivery charge of £15 + vat to us. If you subsequently call us requesting the goods you will be charged the return delivery charge plus a new delivery charge.
Returns Policy
In the unlikely event that you have to return any products to us you should be aware of the following:
All products are covered with a component warranty. In the event of damaged or faulty component we should be able to arrange a swap part directly with the manufacturer without the need to return to our premises.
Product Returns
You are entitled to return the goods you purchased from us within 14 days, beginning the day after the date of receipt of the goods (excluding Made to Order goods where a specific fabric is selected, ordered and cut to size to your requirements - e.g. soft seating, office chairs etc. Please see below for our terms regarding Made to Order Goods). This does not affect your statutory rights - you may return the goods for any reason (e.g. colour not as expected) but we do ask that you pay the courier collection charges to return the product(s) to our distributors warehouse (we can advise you of the address) and that the goods must be in the original packaging and in a new and re-saleable condition. A quotation for collection can be obtained by completing the Returns Form below or by emailing firstname.lastname@example.com or writing to us at Project X Office, 314 The Workstation, 15 Paternoster Row, Sheffield, S1 2BX
How to request a Return
It is essential that you complete our RETURNS FORM to obtain an RMA number (so that we can log and keep track of your return).
Please include as much information as possible about the nature of the problem and the reason for the return.
Please Note -
- we do also require images of any items that are damaged.
- Monies can only be refunded to the original credit/debit card used to purchase the goods, or alternatively a cheque payment can be sent.
- We will advise the cost of collecting the product from you by e-mail. You can then decide if you wish to proceed with the return.
Faulty or Damaged Goods
Our obligation is to replace any damaged parts, if the item has been delivered with a damaged replaceable part we will send a replacement to you - However you must notify us within 48 hours that the item has damage. We will not replace products that have replaceable damaged parts, products will only be replaced if the parts are not replaceable.
We will ask for a photograph of the damage so that this can be passed to our Quality Department and used for further analysis or investigation. Please note that if the goods appear to be damaged on delivery, you should not accept the goods and should reject the delivery. Refunds will be processed within 14 days of our distributors receiving the goods and inspecting them.
Made To Order Items
If you decided to cancel your made-to-order product (a made to order product is defined as a product where you have selected a specific fabric which has been ordered and cut to size to cover the product you have chosen) for any reason, it is unlikely that we could sell it to another customer at full selling price. We will therefore charge a cancellation fee of 20% of the order price - this applies to all made to order products when the order is cancelled after 24 hours of placing the order. Made to order products cannot be returned after delivery. Our usual refund policy does not apply to this type of made-to-order products, which cannot be returned or exchanged unless faulty. Neither of the above conditions affect your statutory rights when goods are faulty, or not as described.
Returns Address
We normally arrange for returns to be sent directly to our distributors/manufacturers. We will advise you on the relevant address to return your goods to.
Out Of Stock Items
Out of stock items are normally automatically removed from our site. Whilst we make every effort to ensure our website is always accurate with it's stock monitoring, there are rare occasions when the website will have an incorrect stock figure. If you order an item that is out of stock, you would be refunded for that item to the same credit card of payment method that you used to place the order. We have facilities to place items on backorder (Pre-order) - if you wish to place a pre-order for a product which is currently out of stock, we may ask for a small deposit. We also do not always know when an item would be back into stock. Most customers prefer an instant refund which would enable them to source their goods elsewhere if required urgently.
Damaged Goods
You should inspect the goods when you receive them for any damage. If the package you receive looks like it may be damaged or has been tampered with you should refuse the package or mark the courier's sheet to show this (if you do sign to accept the package). If the goods are found to be damaged prior to delivery to you then we will replace or refund the price paid. If you find any damages you must inform us by telephone on 0845 108 4288 within 24hrs (preferably immediately on the same day you receive them). We will make a note of the order number when you phone, You will then need to inform us in writing or send an email to email@example.com listing any damages/shortages and if possible, e-mail us with a photograph showing the damage. We will try to resolve this ASAP. We cannot be held responsible for damages reported after 48hrs of receipt. Goods must be returned in the original packaging and sealed securely.
All our products are covered by a minimum 1 year mechanical parts replacement warranty, (excluding foam and fabric, wear and tear). Some products have an additional warranty of 2-5 years (see individual product for details). We reserve the right to modify and improve our products without notice. Replacement parts shipped to standard, mainland UK delivery point
Leather Chairs
All leather chairs are leather faced (ie/ contact surfaces are leather) with simulated leather frames/none-contact surfaces, unless otherwise stated.
Contemporary Mistral Silver Leg/Frame Office Desk. Compact size 1000mm x 600mm. Ideal for smaller space or home office. Available in Beech, Oak, Maple Walnut or White finish.
These modern office desks feature a solid 25mm thick MFC desktop supported with a fully welded contemporary cantilever frame leg design finished in a stylish silver paint finish.
All items in this range include a full 8 YEAR MANUFACTURERS WARRANTY
Our superb value Mistral Silver office furniture range features a sturdy cantilever leg design and comes with a modesty Panel as standard. This flexible range of office desking also includes versions with side modesty panels and can be supplied with or without integrated storage.
- Contemporary cantilever leg office desking
- 600mm Deep
- 25mm solid desk tops
- Silver cantilever style legs
- Integrated modesty panel
- Includes x1 cable access port
- Please allow 5-7 working days for delivery
- Requires self assembly
- 8 Year Warranty
Color Options:
- Beech
- Oak
- Maple
- Walnut
- White
All measurements are in (mm)
- Width: 1000mm
- Depth: 600mm
- Height: 725mm
- 8 Years manufacturers warranty
Write a reviewYour Name:
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Project X Office © 2020


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Use a crane claw to move building blocks in this game with very realistic physics!
You will need skillful hands and good planning…
Move, tilt, pile, stabilize and slide building blocks to
* build towers
* construct bridges
* create other great constructions
to fulfill lots of different missions!
There are currently 5 different scenarios and a free build mode where you can build whatever you like!
The current scenerios:
Foggy City: This is the introduction to the game but the higher levels of this scenario can be quite challenging.
Windy Mountain: In this scenario wind will make it more difficult for you to stack the building blocks! Also the smileys are introduced in this scenario.
Ropes over Vienna: Build rope brigdes, balance scales and stack blocks that are connected with ropes and a lot more…
The Island:
This scenario is all about water. You will have to build a raft for the smiley and brigdes with floating bodies.
San Francisco:
In this scenario you will have to rebuild construction that you see in background. It starts out very easy but the later levels require a lot of precision and very good planning!
The only limit in this scenario is your imagination.


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I am using the freeware version of Password Expiration Notifier. It's a great program, but we're having some trouble with the way the emails our users receive show up.
If I enter email@example.com as the From address, the email will show up with that address as seen in the attached file "howitlooks".
Obviously this looks illegitimate, and we've had some calls from users as a result.
If I configure the program with "Example" <firstname.lastname@example.com> in the From address (see "fromaddress" attached), the email shows up perfectly. See "howitshouldlook" attachment.
The problem is, when I go to save the "Example" <example.example.com> address in the From field in Netwrix, it throws up an error! This despite the fact that hitting 'verify' successfully sends an email to that address.
Am I doing something wrong, or is this a limitation of the program? The screenshot at:
Shows an email from "IT Helpdesk", so it certainly seems like this should be possible if I configure it right.
Thanks for the help!


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In Morguard Corporation v. The Queen, 2012 TCC 55, Justice Boyle of the Tax Court of Canada considered whether a "break fee" received by a predecessor of the Appellant (for the purposes of this discussion, the "Appellant") in respect of its unsuccessful attempted acquisition of a public corporation, was received on account of income or capital (there was also a procedural issue that will not be discussed in this post). Based on the approach set out in Ikea Ltd. v. Canada, [1988] 1 SCR 196, 98 DTC 6092, affirming 96 DTC 6526 (FCA) and 94 DTC 1112 (TCC), Justice Boyle concluded that, on the facts, a break fee such as the one received by the Appellant was taxable on account of income because the negotiation and inclusion of break fees in the Appellant's acquisition agreements was an integral part of its commercial business operations and activities.
The relevant facts in this case are quite simple. In early 1997, the Appellant commenced implementation of its business strategy of assembling direct or indirect ownership of, or controlling positions in, real estate companies. As a result of this business strategy, the Appellant acquired large/controlling interests in a number of real estate companies.
In 1998, the Appellant acquired 19.2% of Acanthus Real Estate Corporation ("Acanthus"). In June 2000, the Appellant made a hostile take-over bid for all of the remaining shares in Acanthus at a purchase price of $8.00, thereby increasing its position to 19.9%. Following negotiations between Acanthus and the Appellant, the parties entered into a pre-acquisition agreement in order to give support and deal protection to the Appellant and the bid. Pursuant to this pre-acquisition agreement, it was agreed that the Appellant would acquire all the outstanding shares of Acanthus at a purchase price of $8.25 per share and that Acanthus would, inter alia, pay a break fee of $4.7 million to the Appellant if a better bid was received and accepted by Acanthus.
On June 29, 2000, Acanthus received an unsolicited bid from a third-party (the "Third-Party") for all of the outstanding shares of Acanthus at a purchase price of $8.75. Attempting to thwart the Third-Party bid, the Appellant increased its bid to $9.00 per share on July 2, 2000. At that time, the Appellant and Acanthus entered into an amending agreement (the "Amending Agreement") to the original pre-acquisition agreement, pursuant to which a superior offer from a third-party would need to be for at least $9.30 per share and the break fee was increased to $7.7 million.
Ultimately, Acanthus accepted an offer from the Third-Party for $9.40 and the Appellant chose not to match the offer. Consequently, the Amending Agreement was terminated and Acanthus paid the Appellant the $7.7 million break fee. In addition to the $7.7 million break fee (the "Break Fee"), the Appellant realised a gain of $4.8 million on the sale of its shares of Acanthus.
The Appellant argued that the Break Fee was a capital receipt and therefore should not be taxable because it was not received in respect of a disposition of property (i.e. no property was actually disposed of). Critical to the Appellant's argument was, the fact that (a) the Break Fee was received in relation to the acquisition of shares of Acanthus, which was a capital investment, and (b) the receipt of the Break Fee was the only time the Appellant had ever received a break fee in attempting to implement its real estate company acquisition strategy.
After dismissing the Appellant's "windfall" argument, Justice Boyle noted that Ikea is the leading modern case on the characterization of extraordinary or unusual receipts in the business context. In that case, the taxpayer sought to assemble long-term leaseholds from which to operate its business. In doing so, the taxpayer received a "tenant inducement payment" which it treated on capital account because the payment was received in respect of a long-term lease, which is capital in nature. All levels of court found that the receipt was on income account because the leaseholds were necessary to the business of the taxpayer and they were a necessary incident to the conduct of the taxpayer's business. Consequently, the capital purpose (assembling long-term leaseholds) was not the relevant link to be considered.
Citing the reasons for Judgment in the Tax Court of Canada in Ikea, Justice Boyle noted, at paragraph 43, that Justice Bowman was correct in finding "that the payment was clearly received and inextricably linked to [the taxpayer's] ordinary business operations, and further that no question of linkage to a capital purpose could even be seriously entertained." In this case, Justice Boyle found that break fees were expected incidents of the Appellant's business strategy of entering into acquisition agreements with real estate corporations, regardless of how unusual the receipt of such a payment may be and, therefore, the Break Fee was an amount received in the course of the Appellant's business and commercial activities. Consequently, the receipt of the Break Fee by the Appellant was on account of income.


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Jump to navigation
The Hagley Digital Archives provides online access to selected items from the Hagley Library's collection of images, documents, and publications related to the history of business, technology, and society.
Automobility: A Conference on the 100th Anniversary of the Model T
Conference sponsored by the Center for the History of Business, Technology and Society
Hagley Museum and Library
ConferencesFord Model T automobileAutomobile industry and tradeAutomobiles--History
conference materials
1 item (1 page)
Audiovisual Collections and Digital Initiatives Department, Hagley Museum and Library
Hagley Publications Archive
[Description and dates], Hagley ID, Box/folder number, Hagley Publications Archive, Audiovisual Collections and Digital Initiatives Department, Hagley Museum and Library, Wilmington, DE 19807
Access to this item is provided for educational and research purposes only. The user assumes responsibility for obtaining permission from the copyright holder to publish or distribute this image. If you would like more information, please contact firstname.lastname@example.com


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These days it's assumed that any presidential candidate is relatively wealthy. The degree of that wealth can range from a few million like President Barack Obama, made mostly from his two best-selling books before his presidency, to the mega-bucks of Gov. Mitt Romney, made from inherited wealth and a successful private equity career. Even relatively poor chief executives, like Bill Clinton, have wealthy benefactors who help them until that autobiography hits the best-seller list.
The annual salary of the president today is $400,000, last raised in 2001, and it includes a $50,000 expense allowance. After leaving office a former president will earn a taxable pension of $199,700 per year.
In the 19th century, things were a little different. Several presidents, Thomas Jefferson for instance, saw their finances melt down after serving the nation. Part of the problem was that in the early days of the nation, presidents were responsible for paying for travel, diplomatic entertaining and the salaries of their staffs. Expenses ate into the proscribed annual salary of $25,000 (adjusted for inflation, that's $316,000 today) that did not rise until 1873.
By 1949, when the salary for the first time reached $100,000 ($904,000 today), plus a nontaxable expense account of $50,000, it had been decades since anyone of less than considerable wealth had ascended to the nation's top office.
It must have been quite an amazing moment for Harry Truman when his salary reached six figures. As a young man, Truman had been on the brink of bankruptcy. It was the classic tale of the American dream that any boy can grow up to be president.
Here's AdvisorOne's look at 7 U.S. Presidents Who Flopped Financially:
1. Thomas Jefferson: 1801-1809
The nation's third president might seem an unlikely candidate for bankruptcy. His Virginia estate, Monticello, his work as an inventor and his interest in science all add up to the image of a wealthy landowner who was free to help lead a revolution—the Revolution.
But things are often not what they seem. Growing tobacco in colonial Virginia was risky and often left landowners in debt because of loans taken out to purchase crops. This was the case for Jefferson. Add to that a debt of about $10,000 ($137,000 today) incurred conducting the nation's business while president and a downturn in land values after the Louisiana Purchase, and the seeds were sown for a financial meltdown.
As he neared the end of his life in 1826, according to Monticello.org, the debts had mounted, causing Jefferson to hatch a lottery scheme with his estate as the big prize. The state legislature assented to the idea. The idea was to raise enough money to pay off the debts and help his heirs. Intervention by private citizens urging Jefferson to raise the money through private subscriptions stopped the lottery. Jefferson died before more than a fraction of the approximately $100,000 ($1.9 million today) needed was raised. His heirs sold off Monticello and its slaves by 1831.
2. James Monroe: 1817-1825
Being in politics was not lucrative in the early days of the republic. Ambassadors and even presidents had to pay the salaries of their personal staffs. That combination of jobs led James Monroe, our fifth president, to be deeply in debt when he retired to Oak Hill, his Virginia estate. Needing $75,000 ($1.5 million today) to become solvent, Monroe received a gift from Congress that helped ease his debt. Still, he sold his property in 1830, living the last year of his life with his daughter's family in New York City, where he died on July 4, 1831, the third early president to pass away on the nation's birthday.
(Madame Tussauds' wax renderings of U.S. presidents, with William Henry
Harrison standing fourth from left. Photo: AP)
3. William Henry Harrison: 1841 (31 days)
William Henry Harrison has the distinction of having been, until Ronald Regan, the oldest man to assume the office of president at 68. He also, because of his two-hour inaugural speech on a cold, wet day without an overcoat or hat, spent the least amount of time in office. He lasted just 31 days before pneumonia ended his life. At one point in his life, Harrison, the son of a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was wealthy, having married into money. He also inherited a 3,000-acre Virginia estate from his mother. He eventually sold the estate to his brother, while retaining title to a home he built in Indiana.
Still, after decades of service in the military and politics, Harrison died penniless. His widow, Anna, hadn't even arrived at the White House during his presidency, but she did manage to enter the history books. Congress granted her an annual pension equal to the presidential salary of $25,000 ($522,000 today) along with franking privileges. She was the first former first lady to receive such largess.
4. Abraham Lincoln: 1861-65
No list of presidents with financial problems would be complete without Honest Abe. The stories of his failures are legion, but also mostly not accurate, as delineated by snopes.com, which leaned heavily on "Lincoln" by David Herbert Donald. He was born of humble origins and the first store he managed, in 1831, did go bankrupt. But that was more because the owner was a poor businessman than any failings on the part of the future president. A later store Lincoln owned did go under. His partner died leaving no assets. Lincoln assumed the debts of his partner of his own accord and over several years paid them all off.
A successful lawyer by the time he became a national political figure, Lincoln had elevated himself and his family far above his humble frontier beginnings. That didn't stop his wife, Mary, from overspending the public funds allotted for sprucing up the shabby White House furnishings. Lincoln's legacy, of course, is far greater than any financial reverses could obscure.
5. Ulysses Grant: 1869-77
The story of the general that saved the Union during the Civil War and his scandal-plagued presidency is well told. By most accounts, Ulysses Grant was an honorable man who was too trusting of associates in his Cabinet and later in business. After his presidency, he and his namesake son each invested $100,000 ($2.2 million today) in a brokerage firm that would carry their name. His Wall Street genius partner stole all the money, including funds invested by war vets and others. Ferdinand Ward went to prison and the Grants were left penniless. The former president famously wrote his memoir of the Civil War as he neared death. Mark Twain turned it into one of the best-selling books of all time, ensuring the family's fortune.
6. William McKinley: 1897-1901
William McKinley's assassination in 1901 has likely obscured the fact that in 1893 his personal finances were in disarray. McKinley had enjoyed a steady rise from county prosecutor in Ohio in 1869 to longtime congressman and head of the House Ways and Means Committee and finally the presidency. At the time of his meltdown, he was Ohio's governor. He had co-signed a $100,000 ($2.4 million today) note to help a friend's business. The business went bust in the panic of 1893 and McKinley was left holding the bag. Businessman and political boss Mark Hanna bailed McKinley out, enabling him to avoid declaring bankruptcy. The voters didn't seem to mind, re-electing McKinley to another term and then sending him to the White House twice.
7. Harry Truman: 1945-53
He might have been the president known for "giving 'em hell," but Harry Truman was another who came perilously close to bankruptcy. The haberdashery he ran with a partner went belly-up in 1922, and family and friends reportedly urged him to file for bankruptcy. Truman would have none of it. He repaid the debts over the years, sticking to his humble Missouri roots. Truman would be front and center on at least one topic of this year's campaign. When President Lyndon Johnson signed Medicare into law, he gave Truman credit for getting the ball rolling by calling for a national health insurance plan nearly two decades earlier. He and his wife, Bess, were honored as the first two enrollees in Medicare.
More Top 10 lists from AdvisorOne:


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'X Factor' adds Kelly Rowland, Paulino Rubio as judges
"X Factor" has two new judges.
Paulina Rubio and Kelly Rowland will join Demi Lovato and Simon Cowell on the show's third season, according to E! News.
"It's taken more than a decade, but I'm delighted to finally be on a panel with three girls (I think!)," Cowell said in a statement. "Paulina and Kelly both have great taste and massive experience in the music industry and together with Demi, this is going to be a fun panel. It just feels like the time to do something different."
In other words, it will be nice not worrying about Britney Spears getting up and running off the set.
"I am very excited to be reuniting with Simon Cowell and 'The X Factor' family," said Rowland, who did a judging stint on Britain's version of "X Factor," and who's best knwn as a founding member of R&B group Destiny's Child. "It feels great to be able to take this journey here at home in the states!"
Rubio, the Mexican-born pop star who was a coach on Telemundo's "La Voz," said, "I love 'The X Factor!' I can't wait to find the next big music star here in America. I'm so thrilled to be part of the show as a judge. Simon, be careful what you wish for, let's see if you are ready to handle me, empieza la fiesta, amigo!"


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Pista Kulfi
Pista Kulfi is a very popular Indian ice cream. Kulfi comes in a variety of different flavors. Traditional kulfi is flavored with cardamom; this recipe is flavored with cardamom and pistachios.
- 4 cupa whole milk
- 1 slice white bread
- 1 tsp corn starch
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp coarsely ground cardamom (ilachi)
- 10 pistachios sliced
Remove the crust from all sides of the bread and cut the bread in small pieces.
Blend bread pieces, cornstarch, and a 1/2 cup of milk, making smooth paste and set aside.
Boil remaining milk (3.5 cups) in nonstick frying pan on medium high heat. Stir milk as needed to keep milk from burning on the bottom of the frying pan. Stir the sides of the pan to avoid scalding.
After milk comes to boil, let the milk boil for another 12 minutes. The goal is to boil the milk from 3 1/2 cups to 2 1/2 cups.
Add the bread mixture to the milk in frying the pan and cook for another 4 minutes, reducing the heat to medium. Bread and cornstarch are added to reduce the water crystallizing in kulfi during freezing.
Next add sugar and pistachios and cook for 2 more minutes. Turn off the heat and add cardamom powder.
Cool the milk to room temperature and pour into a bowl,
Take cellophane wrap and place it right over the milk covering it completely. Note: It is important that the cellophane wrap touches the milk.
Put it in freezer. It will take about 7 hours for the kulfi to be ready to serve.
Recipe Notes
Replace pistachios with almond or coconut powder.
Replace pistachios with finally chopped fruits like mangos or strawberries. Add fruits in the end after turning off the heat.
Many people enjoy eating kulfi like a Popsicle. Before freezing, pour the milk mixture in to a Popsicle mold. If you don't have Popsicle mold use small paper cups and place cellophane wrap on top of the milk and place a Popsicle stick in center of cup and freeze.


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RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- The Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) can spread the lethal and incurable citrus disease known as huanglongbing (HLB) or citrus greening that threatens the multi-billion dollar global citrus industry. In Southern California, large and widespread populations of ACP have been detected in several counties, having arrived, most likely, from Mexico where ACP is widely established.
In 2011, for the first time entomologists at the University of California, Riverside released Tamarixia radiata, a wasp that is the natural enemy of the ACP, in a citrus grove in Riverside to help control the psyllid. But is this wasp safe to use? Does its introduction pose any risk to the environment?
Results from Federally mandated tests performed at the University of California, Riverside now show that Tamarixia radiata is indeed safe for the environment and poses no undue risk to other insects, humans or pets.
"Our work demonstrates that Tamarixia radiata is very specific to the target it is being released to kill -- the nymphs of the Asian citrus psyllid in this case," said Mark Hoddle, the director of the Center for Invasive Species Research, whose lab performed the tests.
Study results appear in the February 2014 issue of the Journal of Economic Entomology.
Safety testing in biological control is important as the release of natural enemies may pose some type of environmental risk. In this instance, Tamarixia radiata were imported from the Punjab region of Pakistan, and tested for safety in quarantine at UCR over an 18 month period.
The study is the first published study designed specifically to determine the host range of Tamarixia radiata. The results are important as the wasp is being used for ACP biological control in Florida, Texas, the Caribbean, Central and South America, and Mexico.
"These types of studies continue to advance the safety of biological control for suppressing populations of invasive pests thereby greatly reducing reliance on pesticides for control," said Hoddle, a biological control specialist in the Department of Entomology. "In urban areas, initially pesticide treatments were applied to ACP-infested trees, and chemically-treated buffer zones were established around sites to control the pest."
To test the safety of Tamarixia, different species of native California psyllids were exposed to the wasp in a series of tests. The tests were designed to give the wasp a "choice" between ACP and a non-target psyllid speices, or there was "no choice" (that is, the wasp was only given access to a non-target species, one it had not evolved with). When given a choice, Tamarixia overwhelming attacked ACP, the researchers found.
"In only one instance was a non-target species attacked at very low rates -- less than 5 percent," Hoddle said. "This was the native pest potato psyllid, which spreads a bacterium that causes zebra chip disease. Such low attack rates are unlikely to cause population declines of this pest."
According to Hoddle, such results demonstrate that carefully selected natural enemies used in biological control programs for invasive pests can be very safe and should not cause unwanted environmental damage.
"There is growing concern over the damage that invasive species cause," he said, "and biological control programs don't want to be causing additional problems through releasing inappropriate agents for the control of invasive pests. Safety tests like those conducted in this study greatly minimize these risks."
Hoddle noted that the tests were difficult to conduct in quarantine.
"Native psyllids are hard to find and the native plants they grow on are difficult to culture in the laboratory," he said. "It was very rewarding to have completed these demanding studies over an 18 month period and to discover that the Pakistani wasp will be a good natural enemy to use in California for the biological control of ACP."
In 2011, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reviewed and approved the 60-page Environment Assessment Report, the foundational work that the research paper is based on, and approved release of Tamarixia from quarantine. The data presented in the report is essentially the same as the published paper except that this time it was reviewed by additional scientists.
"We have now released more than 200,000 Tamarixia radiata in Southern California at more than 350 different sites, mainly in urban areas and spanning six counties -- Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego," Hoddle said. "They have established and are spreading, tracking down ACP on citrus in people's gardens and orchards."
The Tamarixia larvae will eat the ACP nymphs, killing them, and emerge as adults about 12 days later. Adult female Tamarixia also eat other ACP nymphs, killing many in the process.
Hoddle was joined in the study by Raju Pandey, a former postdoctoral researcher in his lab and working now with the Citrus Research Board.
The research was supported by a California Department of Food and Agriculture Specialty Crops Grant and a Citrus Research Board grant.
The University of California, Riverside is a doctoral research university, a living laboratory for groundbreaking exploration of issues critical to Inland Southern California, the state and communities around the world. Reflecting California's diverse culture, UCR's enrollment has exceeded 21,000 students. The campus opened a medical school in 2013 and has reached the heart of the Coachella Valley by way of the UCR Palm Desert Center. The campus has an annual statewide economic impact of more than $1 billion. A broadcast studio with fiber cable to the AT&T Hollywood hub is available for live or taped interviews. UCR also has ISDN for radio interviews. To learn more, call (951) UCR-NEWS.


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Going to your favorite fast food joint in a drunken stupor at 4 a.m. only to find that it's closed is a sublimely frustrating experience. But trying to convince that poor bastard you can see through the drive thru window to let you in hardly ever works.
So many of us have tried this tactic, but that miserable, mopping employee inside wishes she was the drunk guy outside the window instead of the one scrubbing grease spatter from around the frier. So there's no sympathy from her.
But then there's Donald Delong. He's 21, lives in Florida, and if reports are to be believed, thinks he's a muthafuckin' drive thru thug. The bitch inside McDonalds told him no at 4:30 a.m., so he pulled his gat and said, no what, sucka. She was not moved by Delong's hardness.
Apparently, he must have tried the same thing at the Pizza Hut next door with similar result, because that's where the cops found him. If they were any good as cops, they probably said, "You'll shoot your eye out, kid!"
Photo credit: Shutterstock; Osceola County Jail


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Fiscal Cliff Watch: State Education Cuts Loom as Midnight Oil Runs Low
Cross-posted from the Politics K-12 blog
Only five days are left before the country falls off the "fiscal cliff." While there's been a lot of political posturing, Congress doesn't seem close to figuring out how to cope with a series of planned tax hikes and spending cuts set to kick in early next year.
So what does that mean for education? Well, it means the automatic spending cuts that are set to hit just about every federal program, including most in the U.S. Department of Education, could go through, at least temporarily. For K-12 programs and Head Start, that would mean an across-the-board cut of 8.2 percent. The trigger cuts are known in Beltway-speak as "sequestration."
Education isn't alone here. The cuts would also hit a wide range of what's called "discretionary spending," including health, labor, criminal justice, and even military programs. (Way more about the cuts here.)
Congressional leaders are slated to head to the White House Dec. 28 to meet with President Barack Obama to see if a last-minute deal can be worked out.
It seems no one on Capitol Hill would be particularly happy to see sequestration—and planned tax hikes—come to fruition. In fact, earlier this year, lots of policymakers predicted sequestration wouldn't happen, including President Barack Obama during a debate with Mitt Romney, his Republican rival. Way back in March, Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., the chairman of the House education committee, assured members of the Council of Chief State School Officers that sequestration was "set up to be so bad that it would never happen."
And Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, who oversees the Senate panels that deal with both K-12 spending and policy, held a hearing earlier this year on the impact of sequestration on education. He's still hoping that Congress can figure something out in the 11th hour.
"If fully implemented, across-the-board cuts to Head Start, Title I, special education, and other programs could have a devastating impact on students, their families, and the entire nation," said Sen. Harkin in a Dec. 27 statement emailed to Education Week. "I continue to hope that we can avoid that outcome by reaching agreement on a balanced approach to deficit reduction."
But that may be difficult. Leaders in the GOP-controlled House of Representatives and the Democratic-held Senate each point to legislation that they've already passed that would avert parts of the fiscal cliff, and say it's the other side's turn to act. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., the Senate majority leader, said in a speech on the floor Thursday that he thinks the country is headed over the cliff. Later, however, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the Republican Senate leader, left open the possibility that a deal could still be reached. UPDATE: After a meeting at the White House on Dec. 28, Reid and McConnell agreed to work on legislation to avert the fiscal cliff—or at least some parts of it—by the end of the year. It remains unclear whether the looming education cuts would be dealt with in any potential agreement.
The good news for education:The biggest and most important K-12 programs—Title I grants for districts and special education state grants—are "forward funded." That means schools won't start to feel the squeeze until next school year, giving lawmakers time to work out a deal, if they aren't able to come to one before the end of the year.
But there's also bad news: For one thing, at least one K-12 program will face cuts much sooner, the $1.1 billion impact-aid program. That money goes to districts that lose out on tax revenue or have to spend extra money because of a federal presence, such as a military base, or a nearby Native American reservation.
Impact-aid districts are expecting their next payments in April, said John Forkenbrock, the executive director of the National Association of Federally Impacted Schools. If Congress hasn't figured out a way to stop sequestration by that point, they're going to get less money, he said. Most districts have planned for the possibility already, he said, or can draw on reserve funding, but the cuts would still be painful.
Another key education program, Head Start, the federal preschool program administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, also faces cuts early in 2013.
More bad news: Even though the cuts wouldn't hit right away, states and school districts start planning their budgets in the spring, meaning that if lawmakers continue to drag their feet, states, districts, and schools may be in the dark about their federal funding, even as they try to figure out their spending plans for next school year.
And it isn't going to be easy for states to absorb new cuts. Most of them are still struggling to rebound from the recent recession, even as they're working to implement "critical reforms," such as the new common academic standards and revamped assessments, said Adam Ezring, a senior advocate at the CCSSO.
"These cuts would be devastating to reform efforts already under way in states and districts," he said. And it's difficult to drive that home to policymakers, given the scope of the fiscal-cliff discussions, he added. "The issue of the fiscal cliff goes well beyond education," he said. "Negotiations are occurring at the absolute highest levels. [Most lawmakers] are not intimately involved in discussions at this point."
On top of that, the Obama administration hasn't spelled out yet just how sequestration would work when it comes to "maintenance of effort," which requires states and districts to keep up their own spending at a certain level in order to tap key federal sources of funding.
And the administration hasn't been specific about what happens when it comes to another technical, but important requirement of the Title I program, which allows states to set aside 4 percent of Title I funding for school improvement activities, as long as they hold districts harmless (meaning, make sure they get the same amount of Title I funding as the previous year). States would be unable to set aside those funds under the proposed 8 percent cut, making it difficult to provide state level technical assistance and support to school improvement activities, Ezring said.
For a rundown of what cuts districts are facing, check out this analysis of reports by the American Association of School Administrators.
The worst news: This isn't the last spending battle that Congress is facing by a long shot, said Joel Packer, the executive director of the Committee for Education Funding, a lobbying group, and an all-around edu-budget smarty pants. Congress still has to pass a final budget for fiscal year 2013, which began Oct. 1; right now, the federal government is operating on an extension measure that expires at the end of March.
So where did these sequestration cuts come from to begin with? In a nutshell, they were the result of a deal that allowed Congress to raise the debt ceiling back in the summer of 2011. And now, yet again, the nation will likely need new legislation—or some kind of other deal—to raise the debt ceiling early next year, according U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
"That could be another big fight," Packer said. "There's almost an endless series of fiscal cliffs we're facing; ... it's just endless uncertainty for everybody."


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Hey Loren.
thanks again for the quick turn around on my Truck.........and good luck to Monte on his F.I.C.M repairs
i had the 03 6.0 with the HPOP, i attempted to replace but too much work for me right now
Hey whats up? Is it true are you taking over the whole building down there?
Hey Loren,
Thanks again. Check out the link.
you should post a link up on the article of the egr install.
does your phone work or are you still using hearing aids???????
SoCAPS Member


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Alabama Sen. Roger Bedford, D-Russellville, is sponsoring legislation that would ban the use of drones from bothering those engaged in legal hunting and fishing activities.
Drop the word "drones" in mixed company and the conversation can easily turn into a high-level debate about "Big Brother" watching our every move. But while infringement of privacy rights are a legitimate concern, some special interest groups are alarmed that activists will use the technology to harass them.
One such group is outdoor sportsmen in Alabama, who fear drones will interfere with legal hunting and angling activities. In response, legislation was introduced that amends existing state law -- which already forbids the obstruction of lawful hunting and fishing -- to include new language prohibiting drone use. Sponsored by Sen. Roger Bedford, D-Russellville, SB 240 defines the devices as "any aerial vehicle that does not carry a human operator."
Speaking to the Decatur Daily last month, Bedford called the use of drones to irritate hunters "a growing problem," and that a person has a right to legally hunt and fish without being harassed. The publication reported that Illinois passed a similar bill last year, supposedly due in part to the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) looking to use drones.
PETA has hobby drones for sale on its website. Called "Air Angels." The sales pitch describes the devices as a way for people to capture video footage of illegal hunting and fishing activities that can be sent to game wardens and local law enforcement.
Ingrid Newkirk, president of PETA, said the idea was to introduce a new hobby for its members, in the vein of bird-watching. But instead of observing birds, people can keep an eye on hunters and anglers to make sure they are conducting themselves properly.
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"We had so many complaints over the years about illegal practices – drunk hunters, hunters failing to pursue animals they've injured that are slowly left to die, all manner of things," Newkirk said. "Anyone who reads the paper knows that there are things that go on in the woods that probably shouldn't. I think that hunters seem to have the feeling that they are impervious to public criticism because they are hidden away in the trees."
Jason Bruce, president of the National Predator Hunters Association, wasn't buying it. He called PETA's selling of drones a "marketing ploy" to convince people there is a lot of illegal activity going on when there isn't.
"I think most people realize there are a lot of wildlife agencies out there to deal with that, notwithstanding legitimate sportsmen that would turn in others that don't abide by the rules," Bruce said.
Newkirk, however, felt her organization's efforts were needed and warranted. She said when PETA introduced the drones at the start of hunting season last year, it "sent a shockwave" through hunters and generated outcry from sportsmen that validates PETA's belief hunters are doing things they don't want people to see.
"We just want to arm our people with a non-violent object that can go out and see if animals are being tormented against the law," Newkirk said.
The problem with using a drone to observe hunters, Bruce said, is that the technology alerts wildlife of an unfamiliar presence in the area, which disrupts legal hunting activities. He called the pursuit of an animal "long and tedious," and remarked that "99 percent" of hunting doesn't involve killing an animal.
Bruce explained that hunters typically sit in the woods for hours at a time, silently blending in with the environment. But while animals "get numb" to planes flying overhead at 30,000 feet, a drone hovering a few hundred feet in the air may spook animals and in turn, ruin the hunt and hours of preparation.
So not only would drones harass sportsmen, they would also drive wildlife out of their natural bedding and feeding grounds. As a result, those animals may run off onto private lands or suburban areas where it's more likely they'll be killed.
Newkirk called Bruce's rationale about drones being a disruption "balderdash."
"A drone is like a bug, and wildlife is used to bugs," she said. "Anybody who cares about protecting wildlife is going to be very conscientious about not disturbing wildlife."
While Bruce admitted he hasn't heard of drones actually harassing any fellow hunters out in the field yet, he said there has been some chatter about it in online groups. He also wondered how Amazon's plans to use drones for deliveries might impact hunting.
Bruce noted that the peak breeding time for many big game species falls right during the holiday shopping season.
"The likelihood of hunters being disrupted by those drones may be significantly higher … between November 1 and December 21," Bruce said.
In regard to PETA's drones, however, Bruce was adamant that use of the technology by civilians to observe what legitimate hunters and anglers are doing is going to do more harm than good. He pointed to the various local, state and federal wildlife agencies involved in the protection of animals, and said he felt they were much more qualified to keep tabs on hunters and anglers.
Bruce added that if drones were an effective way to spot illegal hunting and fishing practices, agencies would already be using them.
"Our law enforcement officers have been doing this for years and they know exactly how to get in and weed out the problems [without disturbing other hunters]," Bruce said. "If someone is pushing a line they shouldn't push, they have methods of approaching that."
Newkirk responded by saying since legitimate sportsmen are operating under licenses acquired from a state, people have a right to go onto public lands and observe what they're doing. She said that "harassment" would have to take on a "brand new meaning" to include hobby drones and welcomed litigation about the topic.
"Most of this, I think, is chest-beating legislation to suck up to the NRA or the hunting fraternity, because it is so meaningless," Newkirk said. "You can certainly go out there and have a look, and I don't think this legislation in any way impedes that. But if anyone wishes to bring a case, we'd be most interested in seeing the results of it."
Government Technology contacted Sen. Bedford for his comments on the bill, but after agreeing to an interview, he did not respond to scheduling attempts by press time.
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03 March, 2011 | (30 min)
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The concept of "Green Jobs" as a key element of job growth and sustainable economic recovery is a subject of great interest to policy makers at the federal and state level. What exactly qualifies as a "green job", where are these jobs located, and what skills are necessary to qualify workers to hold them? Using extensive data from The Conference Board's Help Wanted Online and other data at the state and local level, this webcast will focus on what we know about green jobs and how government and business can begin to shape this emerging sector for real growth.
Hear from state leaders in California and Michigan about what they are doing to help companies and workers take advantage of green job opportunities.
This webcast will address:
- Green jobs: Saving energy and creating energy
- The state of green jobs across the nation
- Retooling workers for green jobs; what do we need to do?
This webcast is designed for policymakers at the Federal, state and local level who are concerned with defining and developing green jobs, educators who are focused on training related to green jobs, and executives responsible for developing and/or implementing the company's human capital strategies.
Michael Mandel
Dr. Michael Mandel is chief economic strategist at the Progressive Policy Institute in Washington, where he supervises PPI's research and policy work across a wide range of topics, including the data-driven economy, the impact of regulation on innovation, and policies to improve production,...Full Bio
Cynthia Solorio
Cynthia Solorio started with EDD in the Unemployment Insurance (UI) Program. Later, she transferred to EDD's Central Office responsible for UI policy, procedure, and legislative analysis. She worked in Workforce Services and Tax Branch before joining EDD's Labor Market Information Div...Full Bio
Richard H. Waclawek
Richard Waclawek is Director of Labor Market Informatin and Strategic Initiatives, the bureau that provides data on occupational wages, job outlooks, industry forecasts and employment statistics for the state of Michigan. Rick has extensive experience in the global automotive industry, most recen...Full Bio
June Shelp
June Shelp is a vice president at The Conference Board. She developed and manages The Conference Board Help Wanted OnLine® (HWOL) data series, which is the only nationally recognized economic data series published monthly on labor demand. The HWOL labor demand series...Full Bio


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The U.S. oil industry, riding a domestic energy boom, is preparing to challenge restrictions on crude exports, possibly by arguing that limits designed to keep petroleum in America may violate international trade rules.
"Export issues are something we're going to have to address," John Felmy, the chief economist for the American Petroleum Institute trade group said in an interview. "It's a debate we have to have."
He declined to discuss lobbying strategy or trade rules, though a June planning document on API letterhead obtained by Bloomberg News says the group has begun to develop "the necessary legal analysis" to support export approvals.
API is planning to "highlight potential violations of the World Trade Organization rules against export restrictions," according to the draft document, prepared for the group's executive committee meeting.
Industry officials say the push is just starting to lift the 1970s-era restrictions, and they acknowledge it will be an uphill fight that raises sensitive political issues. The U.S. is producing more oil than it has in nearly a quarter-century, though, reducing its reliance on imports and putting the nation closer to energy independence than it has been since 1989, according to the Energy Information Administration.
Reid Porter, a spokesman for the Washington-based group, said he wouldn't comment on specific strategies, though he confirmed the group supports lifting export restrictions.
"Supporting the free market and supporting open trade is a key priority for our industry," Porter said. "It creates efficiencies, creates jobs, and increases revenue to our government."
Lobbying Spending
The document indicates that the industry is more focused on protecting tax breaks as Congress considers a tax-code overhaul than on export restrictions. The organization spent about $6.7 million on lobbying for the first nine months of the year, according to public documents.
Still, removing trade restrictions is rising on the industry's list of priorities as U.S. production soars, said Stephen Brown, vice president and counsel for federal government affairs at Tesoro Corp., a San Antonio-based oil refiner that is not a member of API.
"It's time it gets a full airing," Brown said in an interview.
The push represents a shift in the U.S. energy policy that since the oil embargo imposed by Arab nations in the 1970s has focused on reducing imports from places like Venezuela and Russia. The U.S. still imported about 11 million barrels a day of crude oil and refined products in 2012.
Fracking Boost
Advances in techniques such as hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking, and horizontal drilling have sparked a boom in production. The International Energy Agency in Paris predicted last year that the U.S. would overtake Saudi Arabia by 2020 as the world's largest producer.
Natural gas production has pushed prices for that fuel down and led to a flurry of applications to the U.S. Energy Department from companies seeking permission to export a liquefied form of the fuel to gas-thirsty markets such as Japan.
The department has approved four applications to construct export terminals to sell natural gas to countries — permission that is necessary to export to nations that don't have free trade deals with the U.S. The department is considering another 20 applications.
Constraints on crude oil exports are governed by a different law and date to the 1975 Energy Policy and Conservation Act, enacted in the wake of the Arab oil embargo.
'National Interest'
With few exceptions, that measure prohibits exports unless the U.S. Commerce Department finds those shipments to be "consistent with the national interest."
The restrictions apply to crude oil, not refined gasoline or related products.
The U.S. exported about 2.6 million barrels of refined petroleum products a day in 2012, more than double what it exported in 2007, according to EIA data.
Some companies are setting up small refineries to process certain grades of crude to qualify as refined so that they can be exported, Bloomberg reported in February.
The U.S. produced about 6.5 million barrels a day on average in 2012. In August, production had risen to 7.5 million barrels per day.
Refinery Capacity
Without additional exports, oil production may soon exceed the capacity for the type of light sweet crude being produced in North Dakota and elsewhere in the U.S., said Kevin Book, managing director of ClearView Energy Partners LLC, a Washington-based consultancy group.
While in the short term, that means lower gasoline prices, in the longer term it hurts consumers because it will discourage U.S. production, Book said.
"Anyone who looks at this objectively can see this is something that should be addressed," Book said.
Other analysts said exports may not be a pressing concern for producers for years.
"It really depends on how fast production would continue to ramp up," said Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates LLC, a Houston-based consultancy. He said a capacity crunch may not come until 2017.
Exporting oil would give producers greater ability to get a higher price for their crude.
Integrated Companies
In an interview, Harold Hamm, chief executive officer of Continental Resources Inc., the most active driller in the Bakken field in North Dakota, said export controls put producers at a disadvantage to the major integrated oil companies. Those big multinational companies can still sell gasoline, diesel or jet fuel overseas, whereas Continental's crude is bound to the U.S. market.
"It's an archaic law," Hamm said at Bloomberg energy conference in Houston last month. "Closed societies don't work."
West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. benchmark price, dropped $1.25 to $93.37 a barrel for December delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange yesterday. Brent oil, the European benchmark price, for December fell 90 cents, or 0.8 percent, to close at $105.33 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.
Neither Felmy nor Porter of API discussed whether the group would argue that U.S. restrictions on exports violate trade rules developed by the World Trade Organization, as the planning document indicates.
A country claiming harm from the restrictions would have to bring a case before the body. Gary Hufbauer, a fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, said a country would likely have a strong case that the U.S. restrictions do violate trade rules.
"There is a national security exemption, but I don't think it could be supported now," Hufbauer, who published a paper earlier this year about natural gas exports, said. "I don't think the arguments would prevail."