MsGuy

Well yes, it kinda does. Especially so if you are inclined to refer to the West Bank territory as Judea and Samaria. Of course some Israelis and some Pals have pretty much agreed on an alternative solution: The only remaining point of dispute seems to be who gets to hold the rifles. ==== "So called" Palestinians? Really? You really want to go there? Although I readily concede that Israeli nationalism in the 20th century has managed to conjure up the golem of PAL nationalism out to the varied Arab inhabitants of Palestine. Not unlike the French reinvention of the nation state during the revolution calling up a corresponding German nationalism the way a magnet organizes a random heap of iron filings. ---- How 'bout that; worked a medieval Jewish myth into a historical parallel with a scientific analogy thrown in to boot. When you're good, you're good and, baby, I'm on a roll! ==== PS RA1, I'd never deny I walk around in my own reality distortion field.

No doubt large farms consume the bulk of agri-water, tomcal, but that does mean they should be shut down tomorrow so that pool owners can take a pleasant, cooling dip whenever the inclination hits them. All caricatures aside, there appears to be more than enough water available for all reasonable uses if only folks would stop squandering so much of it on insane practices. It is beyond me why the endless suburbs of LA. Orange County & San Diego have to have the appearance of being located in Wessex, England. And it is equally absurd to be producing high water demand, low value crops like alfalfa in a desert. If ag water were properly priced, it would not be. The contented cows your state is justly famous for might get a bit cranky but se la vie. Almonds are another question (that they are largely grown for export is irrelevant, IMO). I suspect they represent a relatively high value added per acre foot of water particularly if serviced by a state of the art drip water system.1 1 Full disclosure, I'm a Southerner and prefer pecans over almonds, so I have no dog in this hunt.

RA1, personally I think the Israeli's are doing a fair job of running a Western style parliamentary democracy in the midst of a god awful bunch of neighbors. Particularly so since they've chosen to handicap themselves with the whackiest possible version of a party list proportional system for electing the Knesset, a system so daffy you wouldn't wish it on your worst enemy. And I'm one of those that doubt there is any solution to the PAL/Jew conflict, much less a simple, easy one. That said, when I read your comment quoted above I was torn between thinking you were jerking my chain and attributing it to your very own personal reality distortion field. Possibly both? Inquiring minds want to know.

That's pretty much what I've been telling my pro Israel friends ever since Bibi started yakking about this nonsense, lookin. It's nothing more than a way to stop any 2 state negotiation in its tracks w/o admitting he has no interest in allowing a Pal state under any circumstances.

Questions that come to mind: Can you in fact squeeze enough water out of golf courses and McMansions with Olympic sized pools in the back and acres of lush lawn in front to make up the shortage? How long do the farmers have to adjust? Things that are easy in 10 years may be difficult in 5 and impossible in one. Letting yellow mellow and flushing brown seems a trivial ask compared to telling a farmer the 200 acres of almond trees that have supported 3 generations of his family have to die & right now. And if the drought breaks next year, well, so sad, too bad for you. You can always get a job mowing lawns in McMansionville. Assuming the bank doesn't seize your pickup too. (not a question, but what the hell) Point being that cities (or agriculture) don't use water, individuals do. And the consequences of turning off the sprinklers in the front yard are not life changing for the individual involved but the consequences of turning off the sprinklers in an orchard can be catastrophic for a farmer. Clearly water in the desert West has been misallocated and mispriced for decades. The price of agricultural water should rise to reflect its true value and encourage the installation of efficient, Israeli style irrigation systems. The same goes for urban use (with a cheaper residential allocation sufficient to cover the personal needs of a family). A golf course manager was yacking today on the golf channel about this issue. According to him the average course today uses 40% more water than it did as recently as 20 years ago, for no better reason than to cater to the preferences of today's golfers for the visual appearance of their courses. What with evaporation and changing out the water, a single large swimming pool consumes enough water to support hundreds of families. Who knows, if the bill gets high enough the owners of McMansions might reconsider the merits of tennis courts and landscaping more suitable to a desert. And farmers of crops that can't make efficient use of water might find other employment before the bank grabs the pickup.

RA1, what does it mean to say that Israel is a Jewish state? That some variant of Judaism is followed by a majority of its citizens? That's no more than a statement of fact & not subject to much controversy. That nearly 80% of its citizens claim a Jewish ethnicity? Again, a statement of fact. That Jews are privileged above other citizens? That they in fact are privileged is not really subject to legitimate dispute but if you mean to ask whether any more so than might be expected in any democratic entity dominated by a single ethnic/religious group, well then maybe, maybe not. Good question. That Jews must/should be by law privileged above Arabs/Muslims? Seems to me that's a big ask both of the Arab population of Isreal and Israel's friends overseas. That non Jewish citizens must pledge to accept and support enshrining the superior status of Jews by basic law1 on pain of loss of their citizenship & deportation? Welcome to the reality distortion field that envelopes Israeli politics. 1 Basic Law = Israeli equivalent of US Constitution, more or less.

What can I say, Sucky, when you're right, you're right. ---- Just FYI, Chance agrees with you. He further states that he would rather rather clean his ears with a rusty tire tool than spend one single minute discussing anything even remotely related to such a preposterous topic. And there he goes, out the door. (sigh)

AS, what part of ignorance is bliss did you not quite understand?

PS Fortunately, I don't know squat about Kuru. Ignorance is bliss. Naw, I aint got a whole lot longer to go anyway, so it doesn't make that much practical difference to me. I just want her to put a hold on the reset button until after the Supremes rule on marriage equality. It would really be nice to know how that turns out.

Only takes one case zero airline steward.

And this statement differs from "I won't be humping any AIDS patients" how? Remember we're talking guys that have been fully recovered for six months, maybe for years; or maybe just pre-Ebola asymptomatic.

Just in case you need a little extra motivation to strap on a rubber, turns out Ebola can be spread through the semen of former Ebola patients long since fully recovered from the disease. If the medical boffins don't get a handle on this one quick, we may have a new STD spreading. (Syphilis was originally an Andean skin disease that evolved into a VD after Europeans picked it up.) ---- Sucky, it occurs to me that this also means you better make hay while the sun shines (unless you enjoy the taste of latex).

I think Mini-Me would be a little young even for AdamSmith.

Hahahahahahahahahaha...the perils of being a popular farang. The boys called your bluff. PS What's the Vietnamese word for 'farang'?

The distinguishing features between a gaycation and your everyday life escape me. Seriously, I have not a clue. What am I overlooking?

Very observant of you, RA1. Used in conjunction with a rubber both are equally safe and effective. ==== PS What, you got a 40 cal? A S&W? A Glock? OOO, OOO, I know... SNIPER RIFLE! Now that's some real eye candy.

The late, great Senator "Big Jim" Eastland of Mississippi, on meeting President Anwar Sadat of Egypt at a diplomatic reception remarked in surprise to a companion, "My God, the man's a N----r." The point being, of course, that American notions about race aren't particularly useful in Egypt. And not in Brazil either, I suspect. lol ???

MsAnn, please stop encouraging AdamSmith.

Damn, tomcal, you're kinda hot. I'd sure stuff a dollar or two in your shorts.

Or Thailand.

Parisrio, giving you the benefit of the doubt, that notion strikes me as very European, maybe appropriate for a country with one nationality that's overwhelmingly dominant both culturally and numerically. For America it's not one or the other, it's going to be both or neither. We are just going to have to make the best job of it we can.

Hmm...no doubt their wonder was well warranted, AS, as all here will testify...and yet... And yet... "Full well they laughed, with counterfeited glee, At all his jokes, for many a joke had he." Perhaps his sense of humor was just a trifle less glorious.

Eau de goat poo, fear sweat and piss. Trust AS to sniff out this one.

If at first you don't succeed: Try, try again: Too RA1?

You could hold an audition?