Every time I hear some Islamic spokesman trying to explain the religion of peace, I always get some variation on,
"It was a terrible thing that your mother's house was blown up by a suicide Muslim girl scout cookie seller, but you have to understand that US support for..."Always a comma. Always a comma. We shall call it the Islamic comma.
This snippet from an article caught my eye...
"Mrs Lamb, from Fareham, fled Iran in 1988 with her sister after they faced persecution for following the Baha'i faith outlawed by Iran's Islamic fundamentalist leaders.
The 38-year-old accountant said: 'I have all the respect for the sailors and sympathy for their families, and I pray to God they come home as soon as possible, safe and healthy.
'But the British and American governments have got to learn to respect other countries and their boundaries..."
Now here is some Muslim drivel from someone who has been no doubt sponging off the British taxpayer because she had to flee the Iranian cesspool created by the mullahs. Yet she has to revert to the use of the "comma". No simple declaration of support just the normal polite version of ,"we hate your guts."
'Capture was wrong – but so is British presence in Gulf'
Pourtsmouth Today (UK)
AN ACTIVE member of the local Iranian community has said both sides must take some of the blame in the ongoing row over the 15 captured sailors.
Munni Lamb is calling for the prisoners to be released safely but has also questioned why British forces need to be in the Gulf at all.
And as the row escalates over what exactly happened during the raid where eight British sailors and seven Royal Marines were captured, UK diplomats are still trying to gain access to the prisoners. It is not currently known where they are being held, although Iranian sources suggest they have been taken to the capital Tehran.
Mrs Lamb, from Fareham, fled Iran in 1988 with her sister after they faced persecution for following the Baha'i faith outlawed by Iran's Islamic fundamentalist leaders.
The 38-year-old accountant said: 'I have all the respect for the sailors and sympathy for their families, and I pray to God they come home as soon as possible, safe and healthy.
'But the British and American governments have got to learn to respect other countries and their boundaries.
'I think the British government is as answerable as the
Iranian government in this situation.
'I don't think any of the politicians on either side are quite telling the truth, but I do think the sailors were in Iranian waters.'
When even the Iraqis are confuused about the Brits location that day, with different Iraqi officials making different and conflicting statements:
ReplyDeleteA senior Iraqi officer appeared to back Tehran’s claim that the British had entered Iranian waters. “We were informed by Iraqi fishermen after they had returned from sea that there were British gunboats in an area that is out of Iraqi control,” said Brigadier-General Hakim Jassim, who is in charge of Iraq’s territorial waters. “We don’t know why they were there.”
Which was soon followed by this other Iraqi statement:
On Sunday, Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari called his Iranian counterpart, asking him to release the Britons who Zebari said were operating legally in Iraqi waters, his office announced Monday.
It is easy to see how Mrs Lamb, a refugee from Iranian religious persecution now living far away in Fareham, England, can become confused as to what the facts are.
Even the Brit Commander, there on the water, said the Iranians could be justified in their believes of British trespass, even though there was "no doubt" in his mind that the Iranians were wrong.
The US Command, in Iraq, has also excused other Iranian transgressions and trespasses in the past, the last one publicly acknowledged being last September.
Also with a similar explanation, that positions and borderlines are confusing "out there".
Deuce,
ReplyDeletere: "Iranian community"
Such conflicted loyalties are bound to come from the fragmentation wrought by multiculturalism. No, they are not Britains, subjects of Her Majesty; instead, they are the Iranian community.
Under the same circumstances, loyalty to the United States would fare no better, I am certain.
Panama Yellow,
ReplyDeletePretzel logic on Bernard Lewis, the President, Winston Churchill.
But the pretzel did have extra fancy twists in it. Good job.
Bernard Lewis is regularly consulted by our government on things Mid East. Out of the loop..not.
Winston Churchill died 24 January 1965, now that's out of the loop old boy.
Then there was some extraneous polemic challenging whether I supported the President and could smile on a sunny day or some other totally illogical comparison.
I believe the bloggers know how caustic and corrosive you entire history has been toward this administration.
By your logic I would expect going forward for you to use Winston's English of 1950, the year the volumes of "A History of the English Speaking People" were released.
This should make for great fun as you, I am sure want to maintain continuity in your presentations and will follow through with using 1950's terminology and knowledge to make your points.
Oh, but I forgot, you caustically reminded me that all history began with Anna Nicole Smith. Golly, you're kinda all over the place.
Best regards,
Habu
If you did not see the humor in the Ms Nicole comment, habu, ah well ...
ReplyDeleteThat I saw the inconsistencies between the Administration's rhetoric and their realities before you or others did, ah well ...
If you wish to use those terms that the Islamoids prefer, to accommodate their sensibilites and feelings, have at it.
If you wish to prove that you have "grown" into a multiculturalist, suits me.
If you had spent as much time as you claim, reading my posts, you'd have seen that I do use the terms Islamic and Muslim, when discussing those that do not seem to be radical jihadists.
If Mr Lewis is consulted by those in positions of power, he must not be able to convince those he is speaking to see the core truths of his position.
As no one, in any elected office, that I have heard or read echo his views. Especially Mr Bush, who continues to refer to Islam as the Religion of Peace.
You are correct though, "slow failure" has caused my attitude to become a bit more caustic then it once once. Mr Bush recongnized that his policies were leading US on that course later than I had seen it, but, as they say:
"Better late than never"
Panama Yellow,
ReplyDeleteMisdirect,misstate,obfuscate all you care to about what you think my positions are.
I quite reading your posts and this blogsite for many months because the caustic puling of many who felt they were in positions to know what was what. They didn't. None of us do. The President's daily PICL comes closest.
Amist the caustic miasma I must have missed your humor.
And my sensitivities to the Islams. I was THE FIRST to recommend nuking them out of existence, a position I still hold. I was you who defended them.
You're still swelcome to sign on to the Gen. Curtis LeMay Squadron.
We can always use good men and although we bark at each other I do believe you are a patriot and a fine man. I'll give you Chuchill and 5 on the ME and still take B. Lewis.
Habu, I do wonder what would have happened had the US shot the looters in the street and leveled Fallujah after they strung up those contractors.
ReplyDeleteThe US and Brits killed 75,000 + in Dresden,and when it was over Germany knew she was beaten and defeated.
"what would happen 'if'?"
ReplyDeleteDo you really think we are at war with all the Iraqis like we were against the Germans? I think the dynamics in Iraq are very very different from the dynamics in Germany - apples and oranges.
Maybe imposing strict martial law (shooting all those looters ect) and administering the place like Saddam did would let US rule in a modicum of peace, but to what end? Oil?
Just shutup and take their money:
ReplyDeleteHerbert
Bubba
Hillary
and W do.
(and a cast of thousands of minor moral whores)
Ash will give a disertation on dynamics right after Algore explains Worldwide Longrange Climate Prediction.
ReplyDeletedissertation
ReplyDeleteA dissertation on the Dynamics of power relationships wrt...
ReplyDeleteYou got your dynamic apples in this corner,
ReplyDeleteand you got your dynamic oranges in that.
Whatareyougonnado?
"The President's daily PICL comes closest."
ReplyDelete---
That and the MILLIONS the Bushes, Clintons, and the rest rake in from our friends the Saudis, et al.
Iraq asks Iran to free British crewmen
ReplyDeleteIraq has called on neighbouring Iran to release the eight British sailors and seven marines arrested on Friday. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari says the British sailors and marines were in Iraqi waters when they were taken prisoner. Iran says they had illegally entered Iranian waters. The British ambassador in Tehran has been told the men are in good health but was refused permission to visit them. The British navy says the crew members from the British frigate HMS Cornwall were arrested during a routine patrol in Iraqi territorial waters. The incident has further damaged relations between Iran and Britain, which were already poor because of the dispute about Iran's nuclear programme.
Why the fuck do so many of you have such difficulty accepting how much corruption now runs DC?
ReplyDelete2164,
ReplyDeleteThat's a good wonder. My guess is that a good many more would have boogied onto Syria. Those who stayed would have peed in their pants at the site of a US Soldier or Marine..the way it should be.
As for Dresden. You say that German was beaten. At the end of the war Albert Speer had Germany producing armss at it's highest level of the war. Dresden wasn't attacked because it was a carnival with a bad bearded lady in it, it was a legit military target.
The Air Force Historical Studies Center has the full story.
US Air Force History on Dresden Bombing
re: my 02:55:00 PM EDT,
ReplyDeleteEasier to discuss history than present events!
Bobal,
ReplyDeletePresent events, Human events, I'm sure I'll appreciate Babbin reminding us we once had common sense and weren't all as corrupt as the Bushes Clintons, and Carters.
Thanks.
It would be such a pleasure to have read four years ago an after action report that reads like paragraph #25 in the referenced 3:19 US Air Force Bombing of Dresden Report.
ReplyDeleteIt would have saved many US lives and blown up a good many weapons caches and small IED factories. The inceneration of muzzies would simply have hastened their trip to paradise.
Ladies and Gentlemen I give you paragraph #25. Allow you eye to fall on how war should be conducted.
******************
The Immediate Consequences of the Dresden Bombings on the Physical Structure and Populace of the City:
25. The RAF Bomber Command’s are raid on Dresden, conducted on the night of 13/14 February 1945, resulted in fires that did great damage to the city proper, particularly in the older and more densely built up areas.46 Early official Allied post-strike reports estimated that 85 per cent of the fully built-up city area was destroyed, that the old part of the city, which comprised the greater portion of the built-up areas was largely wiped out, that the majority of buildings in the inner suburbs was gutted, and that in the outer suburbs, few buildings were effected by the area bombing attack. Virtually all major public buildings appeared heavily gutted or severely damaged. Public utilities, and facilities such as slaughter houses, warehouses, and distribution centers, were severely affected.47 A very large number of the city’s industrial facilities were destroyed or severely damaged,48 with perhaps a four-fifth’s reduction in the productive capacity of the arms plants.49 Later British assessments, which were more conservative, concluded that 23 per cent of the city’s industrial buildings were seriously damaged and that 56 per cent of the non-industrial buildings (exclusive of dwellings) had been heavily damaged. Of the total number of dwelling units in the city proper, 78,000 were regarded as demolished, 27,70 temporarily uninhabitable but ultimately repairable, and 64,500 readily repairable from minor damage. This later assessment indicated that 80 per cent of the city’s housing units had undergone some degree of damage and that 50 per cent of the dwellings had been demolished or seriously damaged.50
Doug,
ReplyDeleteCorruption in DC? When did that happen?
I've been doing much reading and listening to books on tape about the Revolutionary War and the events and men who developed this nation.
Talk about having your balloon burst. I guess intrigue, pettiness, corruption, blackmail, the entire cornicopia of human behavior hasn't really changed much in hundreds if not thousands of years.
I have been especially surprised at the pettiness. I've kinda been working backwards from the Civil War which was my last five years heavy interest to the Revolutionary War ... always the pettiness of some of our "biggest" men..it's truly astonishing to me, and as I said has burst a few of my party balloons with the happy clown face on them.
Don't misread, a vast,vast majority were , or appear to be, great men. But others don't past the smell test.
It's just now we are in so much more receipt of info and the money is so huge that it all seems fetid.
The GI handing out soccer balls has become such a cliche on the blogs, I thought this was a joke at first:
ReplyDelete"But violence in some districts of Ramadi previously hit by daily street battles has dwindled to a degree so low that American soldiers can walk on the streets in some areas and hand out soccer balls without provoking a firefight — apparently a direct result of the sheik's influence."
How about we stop handing out soccer balls and start handing out some whup-ass? Oh, wait, this is Bush we're talking about.
1959!
ReplyDeleteI met a guy that had 300 or so landings in the F3H Demon.
Hard to believe they developed the Phantom as the next step.
Opps, wrong thread!
ReplyDeleteBeers all around!
I just read "Gates of Fire" on Michael Yon's website. Good stuff and good photos. Talk about some whoop ass..
ReplyDeleteThe latter jettisoned their tanks, turned on the enemy and enjoyed the greatest day in the history of the U.S. [Army-Air Corps].
ReplyDeleteI don't recall the exact number, but I believe that the Mustangs shot down over 70 German fighers that day, while losing only one Mustang but no bombers!
Over the next week, the Mustangs shot down several hundred German fighters, ripping the heart out of the German Luftwaffe, which never again was a force to be reckoned with in the war.
That is, in only a week, the Mustang literally put the German fighters out of business. The Mustang turned the war around and made eventaul victory possible at a time when it appeared that the war was lost.
And all this was possible because one man, Dutch Kindleberger, was so deeply respected - by a President who gambled the war effort on his word and by a team of workers who would do anything for the man who, in turn, had shown such empathy and devotion to them.
The Dutch Kindleberger legend is a great example of leadership at its best.
You Can't Follow a Legend.
Gene E. Burton Memoirs
ReplyDeleteMr Bush, on January 10 said "I've made it clear to the prime minister and Iraq's other leaders that America's commitment is not open-ended. If the Iraqi government does not follow through on its promises, it will lose the support of the American people."
ReplyDeleteAs General P said not all that long ago:
"Any student of history recognizes there is no military solution to a problem like that in Iraq,"
So while, as expected, the levels of violence in Baghdad are dropping, let's look to see where development along the Iraqi political track is taking US.
In October of '05 the Sunni were promised by US Ambassador Khalilzad that within 4 months of the Iraqi Government forming a Committees would be established to amend it. By September of '06.
STILL NO COMMITTEE
When Mr Maliki took office there was great fanfare, National Reconciliation, revised de-Baathification Rules and amnesty to Insurgents.
Not yet implemented, it's been a year.
Oil revenue sharing is another oft discussed but not yet acted upon issue that plauges Iraqi politics.
No forward motion, there.
Mr Maliki, it was reported just a month ago, was to reshuffle his Cabinet within two weeks. Didn't happen.
Where are there signs of progress?
In Anbar where there were Six Enemy Tribes, just months ago, reliable sources (RoggioI think) now report we are down to Three Wnwmy Tribes. Three nuetral and the rest leaning US to differing degrees.
In Basra, which has been declared a success for the Coalition. There are occasional Intra Secterian gang or militia violence, but not a lot of casualties reported in those fights.
The Supereme Council for Islamic Revolution Iraq, headed by Mr al-Hakim who has met privately with Mr Bush, at the White House, seems to rule the roost.
Men who have been associated with Mr al-Sadr and the Mahdi Army are battling other Parties & militas for the scraps.
But things are reasonably stable.
In Kurdistan things are stable.
Reconciliation required with the Sunni, that is benchmark that Ms Rice and Mr Bush put forward on 10 Jan '07.
"I've made it clear to the prime minister and Iraq's other leaders that America's commitment is not open-ended. If the Iraqi government does not follow through on its promises, it will lose the support of the American people."
Now some may disagree, but a promise is a contract. And contracts are "time essential".
Time is of the essence, I've often been told, as deadlines appear to draw closer.
So as General P's Plan begins to provide Security, how long, how much time are we talkin' about?
Now Mr Maliki stated upon coming to office, that November '07 was his projected turnover time. 18 months he said, that was his timetable.
Mr Gates, he said "end of summer" to the Senate. We'd have success or "We'll get out of the way", to paraphrase.
Why not steal the Dems thunder, take the propaganda inititive, show some cajones and agree with Mr Maliki's time table?
Make a big deal about it.
Then follow through, with at least token withdrawals, which we'll have to do, anyway. Instead of just pulling back to Camps Anaconda & Fallujah?
Announce we win by October,
ReplyDeleteMaliki will agree.
General P will have the place locked down
Maliki will agree.
What ever the outcome, on Oct 25, declare success.
Maliki will agree,
like in Basra, Iraq is a Success.
"We as an Army failed in our duty to the Tillman family, the duty we owe to all the families of our fallen soldiers: Give them the truth, the best we know it, as fast as we can," said Acting Army Secretary Pete Geren. "Our failure in fulfilling this duty brought discredit to the Army and compounded the grief suffered by the Tillman family. For that, on behalf of the Army, I apologize to the Tillman family."
ReplyDeleteThe Army, he said, will take corrective action and hold people accountable.
He said he had accepted the recommendation of an Army board that Tillman's Silver Star award be affirmed, even though some information submitted in support of it was inaccurate. "The Silver Star stands," Geren said. He added that the citation would be rewritten to correct inaccuracies.
Besmirched the Honor of the Service, those Generals did.
Mr Geren performs as an honorable man and admits it.
I appreciate your corruption post, Habu.
ReplyDeleteAll too true, I guess, but there are differences, as you pointed out, money being one.
Like I say, Truman drove home w/Bess in their Plymouth Coupe.
Someone asked him what he'd do when he got there:
Truman said he'd take the suitcases up to the attic!
Far cry from these jerks taking millions from the Muzzies, as if that's no problem.
Anyway, to all the Bar patrons, my apologies for the excess ranting and raving.
A series of seemingly unrelated events having to do with veterans, guns, Gonzo & Mr Libby and the Fifth Amendment.
ReplyDeleteWASHINGTON (Associated Press) -- An aide to Sen. Jim Webb was arrested Monday when he entered a Senate office building with a loaded pistol belonging to the senator.
Capitol Police spokeswoman Sgt. Kimberly Schneider said the aide was charged with carrying a pistol without a license and possessing an unregistered firearm and unregistered ammunition.
The office of Webb, D-Va., identified the aide as Phillip Thompson and said he was "a former Marine, a long-term friend and trusted employee of the senator."
A congressional official briefed on the incident said Webb gave the gun to Thompson when the assistant drove him to an airport earlier in the day. Thompson, upon entering the Senate building, forgot he was carrying the weapon.
"To our knowledge, this incident was an oversight," Webb's office
WASHINGTON (Associated Press) -- Monica Goodling, a senior Justice Department official involved in the firings of federal prosecutors, will refuse to answer questions at upcoming Senate hearings, citing Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination, her lawyer said Monday.
"The potential for legal jeopardy for Ms. Goodling from even her most truthful and accurate testimony under these circumstances is very real," said the lawyer, John Dowd.
"One need look no further than the recent circumstances and proceedings involving Lewis Libby," he said, a reference to the recent conviction of Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff in the CIA leak case.
PHOENIX (Associated Press) -- Gov. Janet Napolitano removed the director of the Department of Veterans' Services on Monday from direct responsibility over the state's troubled nursing home for military veterans, the governor's spokeswoman said.
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services penalized the state $10,000 on March 16 for substandard care conditions at the Arizona State Veteran Home in Phoenix.
While Patrick F. Chorpenning remains department director, "at this point he is being separated from any action that has to do with operation of the home," Napolitano spokeswoman Jeanine L'Ecuyer said. The governor on Monday also ordered an immediate review of the home's management.
The nursing home provides long-term care to as many as 200 veterans. Most are World War II and Korean War veterans.
Sounds reasonable, 'Rat, but I thought General Petraeus fixed things back in '04?
ReplyDelete"Every American official from the president on down has adopted the same mantra:
ReplyDeletesoon, Iraqis themselves are going to handle the insurgency and take responsibility for the security and safety of their own country. The process officially begins this week, with the handover of sovereignty to an Iraqi interim government.
Then, "every day the Iraqis get better at securing their nation is a day sooner that our troops can come home," says National Security Council spokesman James Wilkinson.
General Petraeus, in short, is the closest thing to an exit strategy the United States now has."
They took his tactical solutions off the case, sent him to KS, to stew. Wrote a book, he did. Instead of living it.
ReplyDeleteGeneral Casey had a different tactical plan, a course of slow failure it turned out, instead of slow success.
General P's long term plan is a plausable, we both advocated for it at the BC, in '04, as I recall. But there are no do overs, no by gones, the sand in that hour glass does not fall up.
Instead of bold aggresive action, Mr Bush plays political defense, threatens to veto Emergency Funding for the War.
He'll be beat about the head and shoulders by the media and the Congressional Dems, if he does.
Mr Clinton won a similar dispute with Newt, but Bill had the Media. Mr Bush, as Bob Novak says, is standing pretty much alone.
DR,
ReplyDeleteMy word! How you miss these details?
“But investigators said there was no broad cover-up. "We thought there was never an attempt to cover up that we saw," Gimble said.”
“High-ranking Army officers made critical errors in reporting the friendly fire death of Army Ranger Pat Tillman in Afghanistan, but there was no criminal wrongdoing in the shooting of the former NFL star by fellow soldiers, the military concluded Monday.”
Military: Errors Were Made in Tillman’s Death
***
Stump break those Dems at their own game, set a "Target Date" with Mr Maliki.
ReplyDeleteThen get 'er done.
But no faith in his Army to get 'er done. He's been burned, but still didn't fire Casey, instead he "Peter Pricipled" him.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI never said there was criminal actions, allen, not at all.
ReplyDeleteI said they decieved, distorted and lied.
That's all it takes to be dishonorable.
As Acting Army Secretary Pete Geren so aptly put it:
"Our failure in fulfilling this duty brought discredit to the Army ..."
Which is exactly what I said they did. Dishonor the Service.
"brought discredit to the Army"
Soiled the Service. Took a dump on it.
That's all.
Notice, if you will the use of the word "Our" by Acting Army Secretary Pete Geren.
ReplyDelete"Our" is the entire Service, the complete collection.
Not select individuals.
It is not "Their" failure he speaks of, but the Army's.
The Generals dishonored more then themselves.
Pennies off a dead man's Eyes
ReplyDelete"This is about as low as you can stoop for a dollar," Sheriff Jack Strain said.
Strain said Stockdale, an emergency room clerk, allegedly sent her son text messages with names, birth dates and Social Security numbers of patients who were near death or had recently died. Ezell then used that information to submit credit card applications in the dead patients' names, using addresses of hurricane-damaged, unoccupied homes near his house in Slidell, authorities said.
Now about that book. It's entitled "Pennies, Off a Dead Man's Eyes." It was written by someone named Harlan Ellison and was first published in 1969. The description is interesting if not a tad bit dated:
If you steal the pennies off a dead man's eyes, you send him to hell, for he has no way to pay for his passage. Who is this woman who dares to take the pennies from a dead man's eyes? The foundling whom the dead man raised is going to find out, that's for sure. And he'll use all his abilities to do it.
DR,
ReplyDeleteI hate to break it to you, but under the UCMJ deception, distortion and untruth are criminal. You didn't know that?
"But there are no do overs, no by gones, the sand in that hour glass does not fall up."
ReplyDelete---
Trish:
"Fuck 'Rat!
Don't you ever get tired of this?"
:-)
You two are like a twothache!
ReplyDeleteNo, allen, I don't do crime, or the UCMJ.
ReplyDeleteThe Military does what they want with criminal charges, I always was talkin' of Honor, as in Duty, Honor, Country. Wanna bet those Generals resign, or what?
Mr Geren, he was speakin' of duty & honor, too. If you think that it's criminal or should be, that's good for you to think. If it's not important to you, if only the criminal activity is your concern, ok.
doug, you know that story about Dutch Kindleberger, it is a telling tale for today.
All about setting a target, then hitting it. Above and beyond the ordinary performance of Government experts.
If only Mr Bush had a Dutch Kindleberger. Then again, maybe he does, in General P.
In which case, if only Mr Bush had the cajones of FDR.
Now there was a War President.
He sure LOOKS more unbalanced than you,
ReplyDeleteMr. Possumtater.
"Manic," at times.
ReplyDeleteThen there's those stories that the WaPo buried while they were burying Sen Macaca:
ReplyDeleteBout Cruisin the ghettos in SoCal, callin out the "N" word, and such.
That was on the word of a retired officer that served w/him.
ReplyDeleteI just wish we could start over in size and the trappings of Royalty in DC back to what it was in Truman's time.
ReplyDelete...all's happened in my lifetime.
Fat Chance.
Indeed, it would be hard to understate Blackwater's capabilities:
ReplyDelete* A burgeoning logistics operation that can deliver 100- or 200-ton self-contained humanitarian relief response packages faster than the Red Cross.
* A Florida aviation division with 26 different platforms, from helicopter gunships to a massive Boeing 767. The company even has a Zeppelin.
* The country's largest tactical driving track, with multi-surface, multi-elevation positive and negative cambered turns, a skid pad, and a ram pad for drivers learning how to escape ambushes.
Warriors for Hire
Harold Ickes ,Jr is heavily involved in Hillary's campaign. He may be her manager I haven't double checked.....
ReplyDeleteand we still don't know what BillC did in the Soviet Union in the 1960's, but for sure he was a prime target for recruitment. He fits all the catagories for recruitment.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIn 2006, Corzine also sent $25,000 checks to the Democratic State Committee and the Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee.
ReplyDeleteHe was also active outside New Jersey, giving $25,000 each to the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, $20,000 to the Kansas Democratic Party, $30,000 to Emily's List, which helps elect women candidates, and smaller checks to several other candidates, including $4,200 each to Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and to state Assemblywoman Linda Stender (D-Union), who ran unsuccessfully for Congress.
Corzine emerged as a major donor in the mid-1990s before he spent a record $63 million on his own successful run for U.S. Senate in 2000. He has often been praised by Democrats for his party-building efforts, while Republicans have accused Corzine of using his enormous fortune to buy his way into politics.
Donations to Democrats
At least FDR left Mr Truman in a position to win WWII.
ReplyDeleteMore than may be said of Mr Bush and the Mohammedan Wars, or not.
Since there are no Mohammedan Wars. Nor a War on Islam or even a War on Islamofascism, any more, on Mr Bush's watch. None of those expressions being multi culturally acceptable enough for the thought police.
Nope just a couple of unassociated local conflicts, at least one of which you, habu, have reported we are losing, in the sphere of realpolitck.
So, perhaps like FDR, Mr Bush will leave it to his successor to complete the Mission. I just hope he does not die in office, like FDR. That would be bad.
Any way, habu, thought you were refraining from reading my little missives.
As with your statements about Nantz and your further postings, what you say, is not what you mean.
Or maybe you just got tired of waiting and wanted to exercise your writers voice before your time on Earth runs out, while still waiting for Mr Bush or Mr Olmert to take those actions you foresaw, for last November '06.
Still waiting, aren't we.
Ah well, so it goes.
Viva Basra and further similar success in all of Iraq!
From Bobalharb’s link:
ReplyDelete“At present, it seems that some Democrats are interpreting public disillusionment with Iraq as a mandate for isolationism and for treating a country that occupies a keystone position between Iran and Saudi Arabia as if it were negligible or irritating or an obstacle to plans for universal health care or the arrest of global warming. That this is a huge historical mistake is the least offensive way of putting it.”
Bob, it is hard to go wrong with Hitchen’s, even when you disagree. Thanks for the link.
Hitchens
ReplyDeleteThe Democratic-led House of Representatives has passed its own version of the legislation, with a provision requiring a troop pullout from Iraq by September first of next year.
ReplyDeleteIt is unclear whether the troop withdrawal measure in the Senate bill will survive. The Senate earlier this month voted against Democratic-sponsored resolution to establish a timetable for a troop pullout from Iraq.
The legislation also includes $2 billion to improve mass transit and port security, and billions more for hurricane victims along the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Military Missions
Preferring to trash the US legal system rather than actually explain its headline, an Australian rag (link at Drudge) is reporting a "guilty plea" by Muslim kangaroo skinner and would-be holy warrior, David Hicks. My guess, based on earlier reports: support of a terrorist organization. If true, Dave will be heading home soon.
ReplyDeleteMr Hitchens, bob, he's bit caustic now-a-days, too.
ReplyDelete" ... First, it gives one of the most acute and intimate portraits of the Bush administration's catastrophic mismanagement of the intervention. ..."
But, Mr Hitchens, he was a Trotskyite, before he began supporting Mr Bush and the War in Iraq.
Wonder what the says about him, or Mr Bush? Is Mr Bush a Trotskyite in disquise?
Mr Bush definately is a one worlder, a supporter of both the UN and the North American Union.
Trotsky did die in Mexico, a conspiracy perhaps, did the Bush forebears meet with Trotsky, in Mexico?
Any way, pull US into Kurdistan and let the others factions fight it out. Mr Hitchens is against the idea, but makes the case for it, regardless.
Where have we heard that case before?
Do not see Mr Bush allowing that path to be taken. Since Mr Biden reccomended it, also.
Anyway, back to Trotskyism in the 21st Century and Mr Bush. His Commerce Department has been busy.
a State Department cable released to WND(WorldNetDaily) shows Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez pressing to implement major trilateral initiatives to help "capture the vision of North American integration."
...
The State Department communiqué, dated May 20, 2005, documents a March 13, 2005, meeting between Gutierrez, Mexican Secretary of Economy Fernando Canales and Canadian Privy Council Assistant Secretary Phil Ventura. The meeting was held just prior to the announcement of SPP at the trilateral summit with the country's three leaders in Waco, Texas, March 23, 2005.
The cable notes Gutierrez opened the discussion by stressing that the July 23, 2005, "Report to Leaders" needed "to show results" that would be "enduring and create an on-going process."
...
"This memo gives us an important 'behind the scenes' look at the trilateral bureaucratic process that gave rise to the "Report to Leaders".
The 2005 "Report to Leaders" on the SPP website, Phillips noted, resulted from a detailed process of trilateral bureaucratic meetings that led to cabinet-level discussions within the three governments. The end result, he said, was for the report to "focus on the major SPP working group initiatives that could advance the goal of North American integration."
The Freedom of Information Act, what a wonder.
Onward Progressives onward!
Viva Basra and Success!
GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba — An Australian terror suspect pleaded guilty Monday to a war-crime charge of providing material support to terrorism.
ReplyDeleteAnd you are a winner! allen.
Mr Bush did promise Mr Howard that little David could serve his time in Oz.
Wonder what parole options will be open to him?
Wanna bet on if the Oz judges give him credit for time already served?
Hicks, a Muslim convert, is one of some 385 prisoners being held by the United States at Guantanamo. Officials have said they plan to prosecute as many as 80 Guantanamo prisoners, and some could face the death penalty.
So what do we do with the other 305 of those fellows, let 'em go, or hold them for the duration?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteJust show to go ya, it does not pay to be a rude rube.
ReplyDeleteThe lack of smoke in the air gives the term "blow it out your ass" a whole new aromatic exposure
Guttierez/Canales/Ventura
ReplyDeleteAre you for real?
I studiously read everyone's missives in the time I am allowed.
ReplyDelete"Since there are no Mohammedan Wars. Nor a War on Islam or even a War on Islamofascism, any more, on Mr Bush's watch."
In Terror's Mask: Insurgency Within Islam, Michael Vlahos argues that what we are seeing in the Islamic world today follows an age-old pattern. Purist elements arise that accuse existing Islamic governments of straying from Islam; that pure Islam cannot govern; attempting to make things work, they also become corrupt; and new purist elements gather to bring about their overthrow. This cycle could work to America’s advantage if she isolated herself from it, because it focuses Islamic energies inward. As Boyd would say it tends to...
fold Islam back on itself.
- William S. Lind
Is Islam currently folding on itself?
Who's watch is it currently?
Now...let's read the writings of those who may have completely different wordviews compared to Boyd and Lind, but also speak of Islam folding on itself.
Would these be considered Mohammedan Wars?
"This could become the Islamic equivalent of the Thirty Years War between Protestants and Catholics in Europe in the 1600s — a religious schism that blossoms into overt mayhem and murder and massacres and warfare. The various Iraqi factions will obtain the backing of other Middle Eastern states as they conduct their ideological and ethnic struggles. It will be a free-for-all that spreads beyond the anarchic zone of Iraq."
- Chas Freeman
Ambassador to Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War; president of the Middle East Policy Council
...another perspective
"The Shiites in Iran will not tolerate the re-emergence of a Sunni government in Iraq. And the last thing the Saudis, Kuwaitis, Egyptians, Jordanians and the rest of the Sunni-dominated states will tolerate is letting the Shia control another oil-rich state in the Muslim heartland. So you’re going to see those states running guns and money to Sunni fighters in Iraq. For Jordan and Egypt, this is a golden opportunity to send their young firebrands to fight in Iraq as they did in Afghanistan. It’s kind of a pressure-release valve for Sunni dictatorships: People who would be out causing problems because their governments aren’t Islamic enough will be out in Iraq fighting the ultimate heretics, the Shia.
- Michael Scheuer
Former chief of the CIA’s Osama bin Laden unit; author of Imperial Hubris
Finally...
"Nope just a couple of unassociated local conflicts"
...The scope of Philip Bobbitt's The Shield of Achilles is breathtaking: the interplay, over the last six centuries, among war, jurisprudence, and the reshaping of countries
Bobbitt posits that certain wars should be deemed epochal-that is, seen as composed of many "smaller" wars.
The "Long War" as coined by both AQ and U.S. military strategists, is also such an epochal conflict, and not just a couple of unassociated local conflicts.
Mitch McDonnell, according to Fred Barnes, sometime you have to lose to be a winner.
ReplyDeleteAt McConnell's instigation, Republican senators have been meeting for weeks to discuss immigration reform. The group includes Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Jon Kyl of Arizona, Mel Martinez of Florida, and Johnny Isakson of Georgia. Isakson is important because the Republican bill now taking shape is centered around his idea of staggering reform by doing border security first, then taking steps to deal with the illegal immigrants who are already here.
The latter steps would be pursued once the Department of Homeland Security certified that five measures necessary to border security had been undertaken. These include the hiring of 14,000 new Border Patrol agents, authorizing the construction of 370 more miles of fence along the border with Mexico, deployment of unmanned aerial vehicles, deployment of ground radar, and the creation of a biometric ID card so employers can verify whether an immigrant worker is legally in the country.
The only part that is offense is the biometric ID. Everyone will have to have one, not just those "little brown people", to prove they are regular residents.
Little "internal passports & work permits" if you're "regular" you won't mind, nor should you, they'll say.
McVeigh thought they put a chip up his ass, in the Army. Wonder how he'd feel about a biometric ID?
Then they can demand:
"Your papers, please!"
and know it's you.
I agree with you, elijah. The Wars are all connected, but the Supremes, in Hamadan, disagreed.
ReplyDeleteThe Congress and Executive, in their response to Hamadan, agree with the Supremes, as well.
The wars are local and not connected, by Law, for US.
If the Congress or Mr Bush wanted them to be, Mr Bush could have made the case and Congress could have confirmed the were. Instead they took another route. Agreeing the Wars are local and unconnected.
If the idea of Mohammedan Civil War was or is the "Plan", we should get out of their way, ASAP.
sam,
sure World Net Daily, not the NYTimes.
When even the Iraqis are confuused about the Brits location that day..
ReplyDeleteThe Iraqis, confused? LOL. They were part of the Iranian setup!
and now supporting DR's view on a different topic
ReplyDelete"At McConnell's instigation, Republican senators have been meeting for weeks to discuss... immigration reform."
...To survive the crisis of legitimacy of the state that lies at the heart of Fourth Generation war, a state needs two qualities: an open political system and a unitary culture. At present, America has a closed political system, dominated by an establishment that is in essence a single political party, and she is pursuing a policy of multiculturalism that enhances and exacerbates cultural frictions. While an open political system and a unitary culture are to some degree fungible—Japan’s unitary culture will probably allow the Japanese state to survive despite its closed political system, while Switzerland’s open political system preserves legitimacy despite three distinct cultures—any state that has neither is likely to experience a crisis of legitimacy. At the least, we cannot assume that the United States will not experience such a crisis, to the point where self-generated Fourth Generation war is not even a possibility. Police departments in some large American cities would be quick to note that they are already facing Fourth Generation opponents on the streets.
There are, of course, steps the American state could take to minimize the chance of Fourth Generation war developing here. The most urgent is to end the current de facto policy of open immigration. Because multiculturalism works against acculturation of immigrants, mass immigration from other cultures is a clear and present danger in a Fourth Generation world. When large numbers of immigrants retain a primary loyalty to their own cultures rather than to the American state, they provide an ideal base for Fourth Generation war.
More broadly, if America is to avoid Fourth Generation war on her own soil, she needs to address the two origins of the crisis of legitimacy of the state. That means opening up the political system and abandoning multiculturalism for a policy of encouraging what used to be called Americanization (and is in fact the adoption of Anglo-Saxon norms, at least in the public square). Americanization means actions such as restoring America’s public schools as primary centers of acculturation, a role they played effectively a century ago, and making English the only legal language in public business. Opening the political system means actions such as giving third parties a real chance against the two major parties, term limits, putting “none of the above” on the ballots, reducing the power of money in politics (what American politicians call “campaign contributions” are recognized in the rest of the world as bribes), making much more use of ballot initiatives and referenda, and restraining the judiciary from legislating.
- William S. Lind
Panama Yellow,
ReplyDeleteJust trying to keep the record straight about FDR and his administration. Perhaps the information on the Venona Papers was unknown to you. Had it been I'm sure you might have tempered your enthusiasm for the most Soviet penetrated administration we have ever had. And as I said earlier Harry Hopkins and FDR sold out much of Europe at Yalta, but thta's perhaps for you to research. If it pierced your facade in invicibility, well, ouch, take two aspirin and put a bandaid on it.
Same thing with the usage of the Mohammedan thing. Just wanted the bloggers to know the current thinking on that useage. You know, like an update type thing from 1950 bringing it up to 2007 scholarship level, with the most knowledgeable Islamic scholar on the planet.
Certainly you can have no objection to current thought by Dr. Bernard Lewis in 2007 verses Sir Winston Churchill in 1950.
Regards,
Habu
Iran said Monday it was questioning 15 British sailors and marines to determine if their alleged entry into Iranian waters was "intentional or unintentional" before deciding what to do with them -- the first sign it could be seeking a way out of the standoff. There were worries Iran might seek to trade the prisoners for at least five Iranians detained by the United States in Iraq.
ReplyDeleteThe Marine Corps is recalling 1,800 reservists to active duty, citing a shortage of volunteers to fill some jobs in Iraq. Members of the branch's Individual Ready Reserve will be notified this week.
From the 1,800 called, officials hope to get 1,200 Marines for the early 2008 rotation into Iraq.
Iraq Developments
Let's start with Hamdan Decision, not Hamadan, my error.
ReplyDeleteThe National Review had a long article regarding that decision, part of it is:
the Court had to invoke (and distort) “Common Article 3” of the conventions, which applies only to civil wars taking place within the territory of a single country, as opposed to international conflicts. The Court argued, absurdly, that because al Qaeda is not a nation, it cannot be in an international conflict: so the global War on Terror is not “international,” ..."
The Congress reauthorized the Tribunals to comply with Art 3, and not to "Internationalize" the War.
Each of the conflicts are local and not inter-connected, by Law.
Mr Lewis is a respected scholar, habu. He is also more correct than not about the 21st and 15th century divergence.
He may also be correct about the meaning of Mohammedan, I would assume he is. But it offends the Mohammedans, which has always been the point of using it. Whether an accurate translation of the use of the word, or not.
Part of referencing Winston was to see the reaction. I do like pretzels.
FDR as War President referenced his faith in the NAA man that doug linked to, Dutch Kindleberger. Where FDR had the faith enough in US capacity to commit the US to a possibly reckless course, to achieve Victory.
Not a general endorsement of FDR as a Predident or a man.
"we should get out of their way, ASAP"
ReplyDeleteWell, that is the paradox.
Attempting to employ a chaos strategy (dividing the enemy), while at the same time, striving to prevent interruption of global hydrocarbon flow which feeds U.S. global interests (and that of all other powers - China, India, Russia, Japan, the EU, Sunni states, etc.) is extremely complex.
Powers are currently in an obvious phase of financial warfare (as characterized by Liang and Xiangsui in Unrestricted warfare) with Iran.
- From today at American Future
...An article ("Iran Feels Pinch As Major Banks Curtail Business") in today's Washington Post indicates that Iran is experiencing a credit collapse as more than 40 major international banks and financial institutions have either cut off or cut back business with the Iranian government or private sector as a result of a quiet campaign launched last September by the U.S.Treasury and State departments.
Says Stuart Levey, the Treasury's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence:
All the banks we've talked to are reducing significantly their exposure to Iranian business. It's been a universal response. They all recognize the risks—some because of what we've told them and some on their own. You don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to see the dangers.
The financial institutions cutting back business ties are mainly in Europe and Asia, U.S. officials say. UBS last year said it was cutting off all dealings with Iran. London-based HSBC (which has 5,000 offices in 79 countries) and Standard Chartered (with 1,400 branches in 50 countries) as well as Commerzbank of Germany have indicated they are limiting their exposure to Iranian business, Levey said. The rest have asked the United States not to publicize their names.
In a related effort, the Bush administration has warned "relevant companies and countries" about the risks of investing in Iran's oil and gas sector, R. Nicholas Burns, undersecretary of state for political affairs, said in congressional testimony Wednesday. Washington is generally trying to drive home to Tehran that its policies will lead to serious "financial hardship," he said.
Taking the Persian view of the hydrocarbon equation, Spengler writes at Asia Times -
...too little attention is paid to Iran's underlying motives. Within as little as a decade, Iran will produce too little oil to export, and its economy will collapse, as I warned in several locations, most recently on December 5 (Civil wars or proxy wars?). Within a generation Iran will have half as many soldiers and twice as many pensioners. Driving down the price of oil to crush the Iranian economy sooner rather than later is a favorite scenario of American strategists (or attenuating investment in Iran) - Victor Davis Hanson offers it up in his latest column - and the Iranians know better than Americans that the sand has nearly run through the hourglass. Iran's
...imperial ambitions...
I maintain, express a unique solution to an otherwise insoluble problem, namely to grab the oil resources of southern Iraq, Azerbaijan, and perhaps even northern Saudi Arabia.
So some of you may now see that Ash's perspective on the topic of oil, is on target.
With that i bid you all goodnight
shhh...
ReplyDelete"At least FDR left Mr Truman in a position to win WWII"
ReplyDeleteWell it seems that FDR did in fact die with Truman as his VP who then under our Constitution became President. But Truman was not FDR's pick at the 1944 Democratic Convention. Kinda leaves you shaking your head, don't it. Let's take a short look and then a reference page for the big read.
"It was a cabal of machine politicians (Interior Secretary Harold Ickes called them "corrupt city bosses"), led by Edward J. Flynn, boss of the Bronx Democratic machine, who bumped the Vice President off the Democratic ticket. The others were Frank Walker, postmaster general and chairman of the Democratic National Committee; Ed Pauley, DNC treasurer and a wealthy West Coast oil magnate; George E. Allen, DNC secretary and a well-known Washington lobbyist; Robert E. Hannegan, commissioner of Interanl Revenue, who was approinted DNC chairman to succeed Walker. (The notorious Mayor Frank Hague of Jersey City and Chicago Mayor Edward J. Kelly joined the plotters at the convention itself) There is nothing to indicate that they were principally concerned that Wallace was too pro-Soviet and pro-Stalin. The Democratic higher-ups simply regarded him as an electoral liability, someone who might cause FDR to lose his bid for a fourth term. They all knew about the "Dear Guru" correspondence and were probably fearful of what else might come up during the campaign. After all, FDR's popular-vote percentage in 1940 had been only 52.8 per cent, the lowest in any of his four presidential races."
and the full story...which is very interesting about the Dear Guru episode...
1944 Democratic Convention
and then this...
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Unlike President Franklin Roosevelt himself, Democratic Party leaders were intensely anxious about choosing a running mate in the 1944 convention, aware that, given FDR's failing health, the Vice President would probably become chief executive. In this pungent examination of one of the century's great political stories, Ferrell analyzes the crucial meeting of July 11, 1944, in which Roosevelt and his lieutenants rejected both the sitting Vice President Henry Wallace and adviser James Byrnes in favor of a relatively unknown senator from Missouri. The author maintains that Harry S. Truman was surprisingly reluctant to accept the party's bid. One reason: his wife Bess and sister Mary Jane were on his Senate-office payroll, though neither performed clearly defined services. This revelation, notes Ferrell ( Dear Bess: The Letters from Harry to Bess Truman, 1910-1959 ), "does not accord with Truman's historical image as a man honest in all his dealings." The author's account of the Democratic national convention in Chicago includes a vivid description of the attempt by Wallace supporters to stampede the convention, yet Truman won the vice-presidential nomination by a landslide.
Choosing Truman
Interesting about having relatives on the Federal payroll who didn't do anything ... but that was HST.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Or so it seems
ReplyDeleteelijah,
The US operated quite well with an embargo on Iraqi oil, in the Saddam years, Marc Rich not withstanding. Since Iraqi oil production has not changed, it has not added to world production levels since the "liberation".
We could still do fine without it.
The idea that is the US's responsibility to protect Chinese or Japanese oil supplies is misplaced. Neither are paying for the protection.
If the US was going to take the oil fields in question, the time to do it was Fall '03 to Spring '04, as some of US advocated for.
Instead the US stopped and started Nation Building, before the War was won. Now the window is closed.
Trish: Does it benefit us? That view has been expressed. The trick is to keep it from moving beyond the backyard. Europe is, unfortunately, the backyard.
ReplyDeleteOne or two more terrorist attacks in the US and we will resort to turning away anyone whose passport is stamped with a visa from a Muslim country, even if they were just passing through Turkey on the way from Israel to New York.
Iraqi Police apprehended a suicide truck bomber and captured his vehicle, containing a large quantity of chlorine and explosives, when it failed to detonate in Ramadi March 23.
ReplyDeleteAt approximately 1:30 p.m., a white cargo truck came to a halt near the entrance to the Jezeera police station, located about 150 meters from a water treatment plant.
The police approached the truck for further investigation and detained the driver when they discovered the truck was rigged with explosives and the driver was attempting to detonate the vehicle.
Upon further investigation, the truck contained an unknown number of 55-gallon drums, which were used to camouflage five 1000-gallon barrels filled with chlorine and more than two tons of explosives.
The driver is being held for further questioning and all explosives were removed from the truck and destroyed by demolition experts.
Captured in Ramadi
Sam, good link. I have run out of words to describe these sick-sons-of -Islamic-whores.
ReplyDelete