COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Obama's Running Shoes



"I love the smell of napalm in the morning", well being a REMF AF type, I never smelled it, but I do love MSM being glum in the morning. It is a rare day when I wake with a smile, and look forward to seeing Chris Mouthews and Tim Russet Potato Head. I think I will grind some coffee beans and cook up some blueberries and maple syrup to put on a waffle. Thank you Pennsylvania.

Good stuff from Maureen Dowd. No waffles for that girl.
__________________________________

Wilting Over Waffles

By MAUREEN DOWD NY Times
Published: April 23, 2008

He’s never going to shake her off.

The very fact that he can’t shake her off has become her best argument against him. “Why can’t he close the deal?” Hillary taunted at a polling place on Tuesday.

She’s been running ads about it, suggesting he doesn’t have “what it takes” to run the country. Her message is unapologetically emasculating: If he does not have the gumption to put me in my place, when superdelegates are deserting me, money is drying up, he’s outspending me 2-to-1 on TV ads, my husband’s going crackers and party leaders are sick of me, how can he be trusted to totally obliterate Iran and stop Osama?

Now that Hillary has won Pennsylvania, it will take a village to help Obama escape from the suffocating embrace of his rival. Certainly Howard Dean will be of no use steering her to the exit. It’s like Micronesia telling Russia to denuke.

“You know, some people counted me out and said to drop out,” said a glowing Hillary at her Philadelphia victory party, with Bill and Chelsea by her side. “Well, the American people don’t quit. And they deserve a president who doesn’t quit, either.”

The Democrats are growing ever more desperate about the Attack of the 50 Foot Woman. With gas prices out of control, with the comically oblivious President Bush shimmying around New Orleans — the city he let drown — and Condi sneaking into Baghdad as rockets and mortars hail down on the Green Zone, beating the Republicans should be a cinch.

But the Democrats watch in horror as Hillary continues to scratch up the once silvery sheen on Obama, and as John McCain not only consolidates his own party but encroaches on theirs by boldly venturing into Selma, Ala., on Monday to woo black voters.

They also cringe as Bill continues his honey-crusted-nut-bar meltdown. With his usual exquisite timing, just as Pennsylvanians were about to vote, Hillary’s husband became the first person ever to play the Caucasian Card. First, he blurted out to a radio interviewer that the Obama camp had played the race card against him after he compared Obama’s strength in South Carolina to Jesse Jackson’s. And then, with a Brobdingnagian finger-wagging on the screen, he denied it to an NBC News reporter.

“You always follow me around and play these little games, and I’m not going to play your games today,” he said, accusing the reporter of looking for “another cheap story to divert the American people from the real urgent issues before us.”

If there’s one person who knows about crass diversions, it’s Bill. But even for him, it was an embarrassing explosion, capped with some blue language to an aide that was caught on air.

The Democrats are eager to move on to an Obama-McCain race. But they can’t because no one seems to be able to show Hillary the door. Despite all his incandescent gifts, Obama has missed several opportunities to smash the ball over the net and end the game. Again and again, he has seemed stuck at deuce. He complains about the politics of scoring points, but to win, you’ve got to score points.

He knew he tanked in the Philadelphia debate, but he was so irritated by the moderators — and by having to stand next to Hillary again — that he couldn’t summon a single merry dart.

Is he skittish around her because he knows that she detests him and he’s used to charming everyone? Or does he feel guilty that he cut in line ahead of her? As the husband of Michelle, does he know better than to defy the will of a strong woman? Or is he simply scared of Hillary because she’s scary?

He is frantic to get away from her because he can’t keep carbo-loading to relate to the common people.

In the final days in Pennsylvania, he dutifully logged time at diners and force-fed himself waffles, pancakes, sausage and a Philly cheese steak. He split the pancakes with Michelle, left some of the waffle and sausage behind, and gave away the French fries that came with the cheese steak.

But this is clearly a man who can’t wait to get back to his organic scrambled egg whites. That was made plain with his cri de coeur at the Glider Diner in Scranton when a reporter asked him about Jimmy Carter and Hamas.

“Why” he pleaded, sounding a bit, dare we say, bitter, “can’t I just eat my waffle?”

His subtext was obvious: Why can’t I just be president? Why do I have to keep eating these gooey waffles and answering these gotcha questions and debating this gonzo woman?

Before they devour themselves once more, perhaps the Democrats will take a cue from Dr. Seuss’s “Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now!” (The writer once mischievously redid it for his friend Art Buchwald as “Richard M. Nixon Will You Please Go Now!”) They could sing:

“The time has come. The time has come. The time is now. Just go. ... I don’t care how. You can go by foot. You can go by cow. Hillary R. Clinton, will you please go now! You can go on skates. You can go on skis. ... You can go in an old blue shoe.

Just go, go, GO!”


96 comments:

  1. And no Ash, I am not supporting Hillary. I enjoy a good show and this one goes on.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Doug,

    Unleash your links. It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood.

    ReplyDelete
  3. And if you look to the banner you will see we have added a barkeep to the staff. Welcome Vic.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Chelsea Clinton says her mother is more prepared than father

    By MIKE BAKER, Associated Press Writer Tue Apr 22, 5:22 PM ET

    DURHAM, N.C. - Chelsea Clinton said Tuesday her mother would be a better president than her father because Hillary Rodham Clinton is more prepared and more progressive.

    ReplyDelete
  5. As to turnout, GOP vs Dem, it is not that the GOP race has been decided, oh no.

    Back when the GOP contest was "up in the air" the Dems were getting at least double the number of voters to the polls.

    If one is a GOP supporter, your heart should be troubled.

    Especially with the McCain stance on free speach, campaign finance and global warming. There are large numbers of GOP voters that will not support him.

    Look to the fund raising numbers, as another indicator of voter interest in the election.

    The Dems are raising $50 & $60 million, each month, while Mr McCain has a hard time raising $30 million, in a year.

    As to the two throne houshold, that is not how the Clintons operate, Ms Clinton has never been an equal, but has always played second fiddle.

    She'd not even be in the game, but for her marriage to Bill. Not in the Senate or in the race for the White House, if her last name was still Rodman. Funny, how that name has faded into oblivion. When once it was so prominent in her message.

    Therein lies the truth to the power in that household.

    ReplyDelete
  6. While our good source, Westhawk, tells US that
    Basra battle validates U.S. exit strategy

    ReplyDelete
  7. It seems as if a lot of people were wrong about Basra, me included.

    ReplyDelete
  8. As long as Sadr continues skimming revenue from the ports, this military operation is a failure. Military operations are inconsequential if it the political picture remains unchanged. The political power of Sadr does not come from his ragtag militia, it comes from the money he redistributes and the allegiance that this buys.

    ReplyDelete
  9. The exit strategy is one of marketing, nothing more.

    The original, public, war aims were achieved, years ago.
    The rebuilding of Iraq, in some kind of "democratic" model, has failed, miserably.

    The Baathist tribal leaders are still in control of the Sunni triangle.
    The militias both Sunni and Shia are still in place, but renamed in the marketing effort. The Mahdi Army will soon be "rebranded", as well.

    So that, when the next President takes office, the withdrawal can be spun as a US success story, at least that is the hope.

    ReplyDelete
  10. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Deuce
    Many thanks. I am pleased to be here.

    ReplyDelete
  12. If male jihadists get 72 virgins when they die, what do female suicide bombers get?

    ReplyDelete
  13. 1. I am AGAINST Barry

    2. I LOVE WAFFLES, BUTTER and BEEF BACON

    3. Neither Hillary or Barry can lower gas prices

    4. A BAD economy is a good thing... If causes China to CHOKE on the cheap shit they make...

    5. High OIL prices are great for the reputation of OPEC and the arabs... after all everyone LOVES greedy monopolies...

    6. Iran is at war with us... (even if DR cant see it)

    7. The rise in WORLD food prices is a good thing.. now all those ngo's that complained that our food aid (1/2 the total of the world's) wont put local african farmers out of business

    8. the devalued dollar is great for usa exports

    9. the devalued dollar is great for sending a thank you message to china for unfairly pegging the yuan to the dollar

    10. the increased value of the EU currency is actually a bad thing, causing european decline in exports

    11. the bad economy will make more illegals LEAVE america

    12. high fuel costs will motivate americans to CONSERVE

    i give our nation an A-

    btw, war in iraq? NOTICE NOT A FUCKIN WORD ON THE NEWS.

    ReplyDelete
  14. While I like to see the dems have their problems, as neither Hillary or Obama have any business in the White House, or even the Senate, it is kind of worrying, the potential for a big blow up at the convention. If Hillary is able to pull this off, the Obama folks are going to be really ticked. I'm too old to get any pleasure out of watching a real fight. I hope they keep it peaceful, but I'm beginning to worry a bit. I hope they keep it civilized. I hope they do, it's still America. When I say I want to see blood on the floor of the convention, I mean it metaphorically.

    Both Obama and Clinton represent vast and legit segments of America. Keep it peaceful, people.

    No bombings here.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Talking about waffles, you can't beat This

    ReplyDelete
  16. Iran has been at war with US since the Carter years, wi"o".

    The US is not at war with Iran, not since we helped to depose Mohammed Mossadeq, in August 1953.

    The Iranians are of little consequence.
    It has been decided, already.

    Their oil production is more important to the economic elites than their ideology. After all, their ruling Mullahs represent the Religion of Peace.

    That is US policy.
    Love it or leave it.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Blogger desert rat said...

    "I have never seen a trio of less qualified candidates, in all my days."

    I guess the operative word there is "trio" because Dubya certainly lowered the bar awfully far and I would place him as "less qualified" then all three currently running.

    Re. Obama,

    Yep, his shine has been dulled, sapped primarily, in my view, by his attempt to play the standard game of politics - i.e. offend no one, pander to every damn constituency possible, try to get every damn vote out there. That is the one thing I've admired about Dubya, at least once he was in office, is his courage to say "I made a decision and that's the path we are treading". Too damn bad he makes such awful decisions.

    On Basra and Sadr:

    There was one statement by some military guy I read where he expressed the commands puzzlement at Sadr folk briefly engaging and then fading away. I think Sadr, after Najaf, realized that directly engaging the US military was a bad strategy. The fact that the Iraqi military could not handle the fight on their own, that things only turned once coalition forces engaged does not bode well. As Rat likes to say, you can spin it to victory but I think Mats point about the politics is an important one.

    I've heard victory proclaimed, tipping points reached, corners turned (especially in the Belmont Westhawk crowd) that I'm skeptical even when the Grand ole Dame NYT makes a similar claim.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Oh ya,

    I look forward to some Victor Silo above the fold. His wit has been apparent below it and hopefully it won't be constricted by such a prominent location.

    ReplyDelete
  19. When US policy makers speak poorly of Iran, the speak of President Abracabra, a mere political puppet of the Mullahs. But US policy makers never speak poorly, publicly, of those Mullahs.

    There is a reason for that.
    We are not at war with the ruling elite of Iran. Nor their people, just have a marketing campaign against the current Iranian figure head.
    Who is allowed to visit the US and speak at US universities.

    ReplyDelete
  20. A stack of warm, fresh old fashioned pancakes or waffles made from Old Fashioned Pancake & Waffle Mix will bring you back to a time when breakfast was as magnificent and unique as the natural world that went into making it.

    Ash, have a Waffle.

    On me.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Bush was qualified, ash.

    He'd held an executive position as Gov of Texas and had worked in both the Reagan and Bush41 White Houses.

    In that regard he had as much White HOuse experience as Hillary, which is one of her claims to fame.

    His experience in Texas is/was a better qualifier than any number of terms in the Senate.

    He was a qualified US Air Force pilot, even though he only served in the National Guard. In this regard he had more military experience than either Billary or Obama, while not being mind fucked by the North Vietnamese.

    No, GWBush was marginally qualified, just turned out to perform below expectations. His experiences in the White House and in Texas did not serve him adequately in the top spot, but his resume was adequate.

    ReplyDelete
  22. I'm not just 'stirrin' batter' here, that
    Snoqualmie mix is really really good.

    ReplyDelete
  23. And I don't own any stock in the company.

    ReplyDelete
  24. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I cannot imagine Hitler being invited and allowed to speak at a US University, in 1942.

    Which is analogous to Abracadbra speaking at Columbia University, in 2007.

    If the US were at war with Iran

    ReplyDelete
  26. None of the current crop of candidates has ever held an executive political position.

    Neither of the Democrats have had much of a Senate career, though Hillary has more tenure than Obama, who has not even served a full term, there.

    McCain, his executive experience dates back to commanding a Naval air wing in Florida, many years ago, in a much different enviorment than an executive political position.

    No, on paper even GWBush was better qualified than any of the current candidates.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Kind of makes one wonder how we would do if we just didn't have a President for four or eight years.

    Just kind of let the
    Senate run things.

    Kind of let things trail along, and see how it works.

    But what to do with the nuclear football?

    ReplyDelete
  28. Jimmy Carter was better qualfied than any of the current candidates, while he and Mr Bush vie for the title of worse President in memory

    ReplyDelete
  29. Toyota Overcomes GM

    If we are a big mean Empire, as some say, we are a strange one.

    ReplyDelete
  30. "If one is a GOP supporter, your heart should be troubled."

    Sorry. It's not.

    First of all, I am relatively optimistic about McCain. Second, I am looking forward SIMPLY to Bush being gone. The man is an executive disaster. A full-fledged catastrophe. And that's saying it, obviously, without the colorful epithet I favor.

    No, Rat. My heart is not troubled.

    I'm counting the months.

    ReplyDelete
  31. desert rat said...
    I cannot imagine Hitler being invited and allowed to speak at a US University, in 1942.

    Which is analogous to Abracadbra speaking at Columbia University, in 2007.

    If the US were at war with Iran


    .....

    dr you twist my words so nicely.....

    i stated:


    6. Iran is at war with us... (even if DR cant see it)



    notice what i said and how you twisted into something completely different...

    where i come from that is called being a fibber....

    I'd take my son out back for twisting someone's words like that...

    as for your other faulty analogy...

    hitler had the 1936 Olympics...... that is much closer to the mark...

    1933

    Jan 30, 1933 - Adolf Hitler is appointed Chancellor of Germany a nation with a Jewish population of 566,000.

    Feb 22, 1933 - 40,000 SA and SS men are sworn in as auxiliary police.

    Feb 27, 1933 - Nazis burn Reichstag building to create crisis atmosphere.

    Feb 28, 1933 - Emergency powers granted to Hitler as a result of the Reichstag fire.

    March 22, 1933 - Nazis open Dachau concentration camp near Munich, to be followed by Buchenwald near Weimar in central Germany, Sachsenhausen near Berlin in northern Germany, and Ravensbrück for women.

    March 24, 1933 - German Parliament passes Enabling Act giving Hitler dictatorial powers.

    See also - The Rise of Hitler - from Unknown to Dictator of Germany

    April 1, 1933 - Nazis stage boycott of Jewish shops and businesses.

    April 11, 1933 - Nazis issue a decree defining a non-Aryan as "anyone descended from non-Aryan, especially Jewish, parents or grandparents. One parent or grandparent classifies the descendant as non-Aryan...especially if one parent or grandparent was of the Jewish faith."

    April 26, 1933 - The Gestapo is born, created by Hermann Göring in the German state of Prussia.

    May 10, 1933 - Burning of books in Berlin and throughout Germany.

    July 14, 1933 - Nazi Party is declared the only legal party in Germany; Also, Nazis pass Law to strip Jewish immigrants from Poland of their German citizenship.

    In July - Nazis pass law allowing for forced sterilization of those found by a Hereditary Health Court to have genetic defects.

    In Sept - Nazis establish Reich Chamber of Culture, then exclude Jews from the Arts.

    Sept 29, 1933 - Nazis prohibit Jews from owning land.

    Oct 4, 1933 - Jews are prohibited from being newspaper editors.

    Nov 24, 1933 - Nazis pass a Law against Habitual and Dangerous Criminals, which allows beggars, the homeless, alcoholics and the unemployed to be sent to concentration camps.



    1934

    Jan 24, 1934 - Jews are banned from the German Labor Front.

    May 17, 1934 - Jews not allowed national health insurance.

    June 30, 1934 - The Night of Long Knives occurs as Hitler, Göring and Himmler conduct a purge of the SA (storm trooper) leadership.

    July 20, 1934 - The SS (Schutzstaffel) is made an independent organization from the SA.

    July 22, 1934 - Jews are prohibited from getting legal qualifications.

    Aug 2, 1934 - German President von Hindenburg dies. Hitler becomes Führer.

    Aug 19, 1934 - Hitler receives a 90 percent 'Yes' vote from German voters approving his new powers.



    1935

    May 21, 1935 - Nazis ban Jews from serving in the military.

    June 26, 1935 - Nazis pass law allowing forced abortions on women to prevent them from passing on hereditary diseases.

    Aug 6, 1935 - Nazis force Jewish performers/artists to join Jewish Cultural Unions.

    Sept 15, 1935 - Nuremberg Race Laws against Jews decreed.



    1936

    Feb 10, 1936 - The German Gestapo is placed above the law.

    In March - SS Deathshead division is established to guard concentration camps.

    March 7, 1936 - Nazis occupy the Rhineland.

    June 17, 1936 - Heinrich Himmler is appointed chief of the German Police.

    Aug 1, 1936 - Olympic games begin in Berlin. Hitler and top Nazis seek to gain legitimacy through favorable public opinion from foreign visitors and thus temporarily refrain from actions against Jews.

    In Aug - Nazis set up an Office for Combating Homosexuality and Abortions (by healthy women).


    yep..... 1936.....

    ReplyDelete
  32. from 1937-1942

    1937

    In Jan - Jews are banned from many professional occupations including teaching Germans, and from being accountants or dentists. They are also denied tax reductions and child allowances.

    Nov 8, 1937 - 'Eternal Jew' travelling exhibition opens in Munich.



    1938 Return to Top of Page

    March 12/13, 1938 - Nazi troops enter Austria, which has a population of 200,000 Jews, mainly living in Vienna. Hitler announces Anschluss (union) with Austria.

    In March - After the Anschluss, the SS is placed in charge of Jewish affairs in Austria with Adolf Eichmann establishing an Office for Jewish Emigration in Vienna. Himmler then establishes Mauthausen concentration camp near Linz.

    April 22, 1938 - Nazis prohibit Aryan 'front-ownership' of Jewish businesses.

    April 26, 1938 - Nazis order Jews to register wealth and property.

    June 14, 1938 - Nazis order Jewish owned businesses to register.

    In July - At Evian, France, the U.S. convenes a League of Nations conference with delegates from 32 countries to consider helping Jews fleeing Hitler, but results in inaction as no country will accept them.

    July 6, 1938 - Nazis prohibited Jews from trading and providing a variety of specified commercial services.

    July 23, 1938 - Nazis order Jews over age 15 to apply for identity cards from the police, to be shown on demand to any police officer.

    July 25, 1938 - Jewish doctors prohibited by law from practicing medicine.

    Aug 11, 1938 - Nazis destroy the synagogue in Nuremberg.

    Aug 17, 1938 - Nazis require Jewish women to add Sarah and men to add Israel to their names on all legal documents including passports.

    Sept 27, 1938 - Jews are prohibited from all legal practices.

    Oct 5, 1938 - Law requires Jewish passports to be stamped with a large red "J."

    Oct 15, 1938 - Nazi troops occupy the Sudetenland.

    Oct 28, 1938 - Nazis arrest 17,000 Jews of Polish nationality living in Germany, then expel them back to Poland which refuses them entry, leaving them in 'no-man's land' near the Polish border for several months.

    Nov 7, 1938 - Ernst vom Rath, third secretary in the German Embassy in Paris, is shot and mortally wounded by Herschel Grynszpan, the 17 year old son of one of the deported Polish Jews. Rath dies on November 9, precipitating Kristallnacht.

    Nov 9/10 - Kristallnacht - The Night of Broken Glass.

    Nov 12, 1938 - Nazis fine Jews one billion marks for damages related to Kristallnacht.

    Nov 15, 1938 - Jewish pupils are expelled from all non-Jewish German schools.

    Dec 3, 1938 - Law for compulsory Aryanization of all Jewish businesses.

    Dec 14, 1938 - Hermann Göring takes charge of resolving the "Jewish Question."



    1939 Return to Top of Page

    Jan 24, 1939 - SS leader Reinhard Heydrich is ordered by Göring to speed up emigration of Jews.

    Jan 30, 1939 - Hitler threatens Jews during Reichstag speech.

    Feb 21, 1939 - Nazis force Jews to hand over all gold and silver items.

    March 15/16 - Nazi troops seize Czechoslovakia (Jewish pop. 350,000).

    April 19, 1939 - Slovakia passes its own version of the Nuremberg Laws.

    April 30, 1939 - Jews lose rights as tenants and are relocated into Jewish houses.

    In May - The St. Louis, a ship crowded with 930 Jewish refugees, is turned away by Cuba, the United States and other countries and returns to Europe.

    July 4, 1939 - German Jews denied the right to hold government jobs.

    July 21, 1939 - Adolf Eichmann is appointed director of the Prague Office of Jewish Emigration.

    Sept 1, 1939 - Nazis invade Poland (Jewish pop. 3.35 million, the largest in Europe). Beginning of SS activity in Poland.

    See also - World War Two in Europe Timeline

    Sept 1, 1939 - Jews in Germany are forbidden to be outdoors after 8 p.m. in winter and 9 p.m. in summer.

    Sept 3, 1939 - England and France declare war on Germany.

    Sept 4, 1939 - Warsaw is cut off by the German Army.

    Sept 17, 1939 - Soviet troops invade eastern Poland.

    Sept 21, 1939 - Heydrich issues instructions to SS Einsatzgruppen (special action squads) in Poland regarding treatment of Jews, stating they are to be gathered into ghettos near railroads for the future "final goal." He also orders a census and the establishment of Jewish administrative councils within the ghettos to implement Nazi policies and decrees.

    Sept 23, 1939 - German Jews are forbidden to own wireless (radio) sets.

    Sept 27, 1939 - Warsaw surrenders; Heydrich becomes leader of RSHA.

    Sept 29, 1939 - Nazis and Soviets divide up Poland. Over two million Jews reside in Nazi controlled areas, leaving 1.3 million in the Soviet area.

    In Sept - Quote from Nazi newspaper, Der Stürmer, published by Julius Streicher - "The Jewish people ought to be exterminated root and branch. Then the plague of pests would have disappeared in Poland at one stroke."

    In Oct - Nazis begin euthanasia on sick and disabled in Germany.

    Oct 6, 1939 - Proclamation by Hitler on the isolation of Jews.

    Oct 12, 1939 - Evacuation of Jews from Vienna.

    Oct 12, 1939 - Hans Frank appointed Nazi Gauleiter (governor) of Poland.

    Oct 26, 1939 - Forced labor decree issued for Polish Jews aged 14 to 60.

    Nov 23, 1939 - Yellow stars required to be worn by Polish Jews over age 10.

    In Dec - Adolf Eichmann takes over section IV B4 of the Gestapo dealing solely with Jewish affairs and evacuations.



    1940 Return to Top of Page

    Jan 25, 1940 - Nazis choose the town of Oswiecim (Auschwitz) in Poland near Krakow as site of new concentration camp.

    In Jan - Quote from Nazi newspaper, Der Stürmer, published by Julius Streicher - "...The time is near when a machine will go into motion which is going to prepare a grave for the world's criminal - Judah - from which there will be no resurrection."

    Feb 12, 1940 - First deportation of German Jews into occupied Poland.

    April 9, 1940 - Nazis invade Denmark (Jewish pop. 8,000) and Norway (Jewish pop. 2,000).

    April 30, 1940 - The Lodz Ghetto in occupied Poland is sealed off from the outside world with 230,000 Jews locked inside.

    May 1, 1940 - Rudolf Höss is chosen to be kommandant of Auschwitz.

    May 10, 1940 - Nazis invade France (Jewish pop. 350,000), Belgium (Jewish pop. 65,000), Holland (Jewish pop. 140,000), and Luxembourg (Jewish pop. 3,500).

    June 14, 1940 - Paris is occupied by the Nazis.

    June 22, 1940 - France signs an armistice with Hitler.

    In July - Eichmann's Madagascar Plan presented, proposing to deport all European Jews to the island of Madagascar, off the coast of east Africa.

    July 17, 1940 - The first anti-Jewish measures are taken in Vichy France.

    Aug 8, 1940 - Romania introduces anti-Jewish measures restricting education and employment, then later begins "Romanianization" of Jewish businesses.

    Sept 27, 1940 - Tripartite (Axis) Pact signed by Germany, Italy and Japan.

    Oct 3, 1940 - Vichy France passes its own version of the Nuremberg Laws.

    Oct 7, 1940 - Nazis invade Romania (Jewish pop. 34,000).

    Oct 22, 1940 - Deportation of 29,000 German Jews from Baden, the Saar, and Alsace-Lorraine into Vichy France.

    In Nov - Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia become Nazi Allies.

    In Nov - The Krakow Ghetto is sealed off containing 70,000 Jews.

    Nov 15, 1940 - The Warsaw Ghetto, containing over 400,000 Jews, is sealed off.



    1941 Return to Top of Page

    In 1941 - Hans Frank, Gauleiter of Poland, states, "I ask nothing of the Jews except that they should disappear."

    In Jan - Quote from Nazi newspaper, Der Stürmer, published by Julius Streicher - "Now judgment has begun and it will reach its conclusion only when knowledge of the Jews has been erased from the earth."

    In Jan - A pogrom in Romania results in over 2,000 Jews killed.

    Feb 22, 1941 - 430 Jewish hostages are deported from Amsterdam after a Dutch Nazi is killed by Jews.

    In March - Hitler's Commissar Order authorizes execution of anyone suspected of being a Communist official in territories about to be seized from the Soviets.

    March 1, 1941 - Himmler makes his first visit to Auschwitz, during which he orders Kommandant Höss to begin massive expansion, including a new compound to be built at nearby Birkenau that can hold 100,000 prisoners.

    March 2, 1941 - Nazis occupy Bulgaria (Jewish pop. 50,000).

    March 7, 1941 - German Jews ordered into forced labor.

    March 26, 1941 - The German Army High Command gives approval to RSHA and Heydrich on the tasks of SS murder squads (Einsatzgruppen) in occupied Poland.

    March 29, 1941 - A 'Commissariat' for Jewish Affairs is set up in Vichy France.

    April 6, 1941 - Nazis invade Yugoslavia (Jewish pop. 75,000) and Greece (Jewish pop. 77,000).

    May 14, 1941 - 3,600 Jews arrested in Paris.

    May 16, 1941 - French Marshal Petain issues a radio broadcast approving collaboration with Hitler.

    June 22, 1941 - Nazis invade the Soviet Union (Jewish pop. 3 million).

    June 29/30 - Romanian troops conduct a pogrom against Jews in the town of Jassy, killing 10,000.

    Summer - Himmler summons Auschwitz Kommandant Höss to Berlin and tells him, "The Führer has ordered the Final Solution of the Jewish question. We, the SS, have to carry out this order...I have therefore chosen Auschwitz for this purpose."

    In July - As the German Army advances, SS Einsatzgruppen follow along and conduct mass murder of Jews in seized lands.

    In July - Ghettos established at Kovno, Minsk, Vitebsk and Zhitomer. Also in July, the government of Vichy France seizes Jewish owned property.

    July 17, 1941 - Nazi racial 'philosopher' Alfred Rosenberg is appointed Reich Minister for the Eastern Occupied Territories to administer territories seized from the Soviet Union.

    July 21, 1941 - In occupied Poland near Lublin, Majdanek concentration camp becomes operational.

    July 25/26 - 3,800 Jews killed during a pogrom by Lithuanians in Kovno.

    July 31, 1941 - Göring instructs Heydrich to prepare for Final Solution.

    In Aug - Jews in Romania forced into Transnistria. By December, 70,000 perish.

    In Aug - Ghettos established at Bialystok and Lvov.

    Aug 26, 1941 - The Hungarian Army rounds up 18,000 Jews at Kamenets-Podolsk.

    Sept 3, 1941 - The first test use of Zyklon-B gas at Auschwitz.

    Sept 1, 1941 - German Jews ordered to wear yellow stars.

    Sept 6, 1941 - The Vilna Ghetto is established containing 40,000 Jews.

    Sept 17, 1941 - Beginning of general deportation of German Jews.

    Sept 19, 1941 - Nazis take Kiev.

    Sept 27/28 - 23,000 Jews killed at Kamenets-Podolsk, in the Ukraine.

    Sept 29/30 - SS Einsatzgruppen murder 33,771 Jews at Babi Yar near Kiev.

    In Oct - 35,000 Jews from Odessa shot.

    Oct 2, 1941 - Beginning of the German Army drive on Moscow.

    Oct 23, 1941 - Nazis forbid emigration of Jews from the Reich.

    In Nov - SS Einsatzgruppe B reports a tally of 45,476 Jews killed.

    Nov 24, 1941 - Theresienstadt Ghetto is established near Prague, Czechoslovakia. The Nazis will use it as a model ghetto for propaganda purposes.

    Nov 30, 1941 - Near Riga, a mass shooting of Latvian and German Jews.

    Dec 7, 1941 - Japanese attack United States at Pearl Harbor. The next day the U.S. and Britain declare war on Japan.

    Dec 8, 1941 - In occupied Poland, near Lodz, Chelmno extermination camp becomes operational. Jews taken there are placed in mobile gas vans and driven to a burial place while carbon monoxide from the engine exhaust is fed into the sealed rear compartment, killing them. The first gassing victims include 5,000 Gypsies who had been deported from the Reich to Lodz.

    Dec 11, 1941 - Hitler declares war on the United States. Roosevelt then declares war on Germany saying, "Never before has there been a greater challenge to life, liberty and civilization." The U.S.A. then enters the war in Europe and will concentrate nearly 90 percent of its military resources to defeat Hitler.

    Dec 12, 1941 - The ship "Struma" leaves Romania for Palestine carrying 769 Jews but is later denied permission by British authorities to allow the passengers to disembark. In Feb. 1942, it sails back into the Black Sea where it is intercepted by a Soviet submarine and sunk as an "enemy target."

    Dec 16, 1941 - During a cabinet meeting, Hans Frank, Gauleiter of Poland, states - "Gentlemen, I must ask you to rid yourselves of all feeling of pity. We must annihilate the Jews wherever we find them and wherever it is possible in order to maintain there the structure of the Reich as a whole..."



    1942 Return to Top of Page

    In Jan - Mass killings of Jews using Zyklon-B begin at Auschwitz-Birkenau in Bunker I (the red farmhouse) in Birkenau with the bodies being buried in mass graves in a nearby meadow.

    Jan 20, 1942 - Wannsee Conference to coordinate the "Final Solution."

    Jan 31, 1942 - SS Einsatzgruppe A reports a tally of 229,052 Jews killed.

    In March - In occupied Poland, Belzec extermination camp becomes operational. The camp is fitted with permanent gas chambers using carbon monoxide piped in from engines placed outside the chamber, but will later substitute Zyklon-B.

    March 17, 1942 - The deportation of Jews from Lublin to Belzec.

    March 24, 1942 - The start of deportation of Slovak Jews to Auschwitz.

    March 27, 1942 - The start of deportation of French Jews to Auschwitz.

    March 28, 1942 - Fritz Sauckel named Chief of Manpower to expedite recruitment of slave labor.

    March 30, 1942 - First trainloads of Jews from Paris arrive at Auschwitz.

    In April - First transports of Jews arrive at Majdanek.

    April 20, 1942 - German Jews are banned from using public transportation.

    In May - In occupied Poland, Sobibor extermination camp becomes operational. The camp is fitted with three gas chambers using carbon monoxide piped in from engines, but will later substitute Zyklon-B.

    May 18, 1942 - The New York Times reports on an inside page that Nazis have machine-gunned over 100,000 Jews in the Baltic states, 100,000 in Poland and twice as many in western Russia.

    May 27, 1942 - SS leader Heydrich is mortally wounded by Czech Underground agents.

    In June - Gas vans used in Riga.

    June 1, 1942 - Jews in France, Holland, Belgium, Croatia, Slovakia, Romania ordered to wear yellow stars.

    June 4, 1942 - Heydrich dies of his wounds.

    June 5, 1942 - SS report 97,000 persons have been "processed" in mobile gas vans.

    June 10, 1942 - Nazis liquidate Lidice in retaliation for Heydrich's death.

    June 11, 1942 - Eichmann meets with representatives from France, Belgium and Holland to coordinate deportation plans for Jews.

    June 30, 1942 - At Auschwitz, a second gas chamber, Bunker II (the white farmhouse), is made operational at Birkenau due to the number of Jews arriving.

    June 30 and July 2 - The New York Times reports via the London Daily Telegraph that over 1,000,000 Jews have already been killed by Nazis.

    Summer - Swiss representatives of the World Jewish Congress receive information from a German industrialist regarding the Nazi plan to exterminate the Jews. They then pass the information on to London and Washington.

    July 2, 1942 - Jews from Berlin sent to Theresienstadt.

    July 7, 1942 - Himmler grants permission for sterilization experiments at Auschwitz.

    July 14, 1942 - Beginning of deportation of Dutch Jews to Auschwitz.

    July 16/17 - 12,887 Jews of Paris are rounded up and sent to Drancy Internment Camp located outside the city. A total of approximately 74,000 Jews, including 11,000 children, will eventually be transported from Drancy to Auschwitz, Majdanek and Sobibor.

    July 17/18 - Himmler visits Auschwitz-Birkenau for two days, inspecting all ongoing construction and expansion, then observes the extermination process from start to finish as two trainloads of Jews arrive from Holland. Kommandant Höss is then promoted. Construction includes four large gas chamber/crematories.

    July 19, 1942 - Himmler orders Operation Reinhard, mass deportations of Jews in Poland to extermination camps.

    July 22, 1942 - Beginning of deportations from the Warsaw Ghetto to the new extermination camp, Treblinka. Also, beginning of the deportation of Belgian Jews to Auschwitz.

    July 23, 1942 - Treblinka extermination camp opened in occupied Poland, east of Warsaw. The camp is fitted with two buildings containing 10 gas chambers, each holding 200 persons. Carbon monoxide gas is piped in from engines placed outside the chamber, but Zyklon-B will later be substituted. Bodies are burned in open pits.

    In Aug - The start of deportations of Croatian Jews to Auschwitz.

    Aug 23, 1942 - Beginning of German Army attack on Stalingrad.

    Aug 26-28 - 7,000 Jews arrested in unoccupied France.

    Sept 9, 1942 - Open pit burning of bodies begins at Auschwitz in place of burial. The decision is made to dig up and burn those already buried, 107,000 corpses, to prevent fouling of ground water.

    Sept 18, 1942 - Reduction of food rations for Jews in Germany.

    Sept 26, 1942 - SS begins cashing in possessions and valuables of Jews from Auschwitz and Majdanek. German banknotes are sent to the Reichs Bank. Foreign currency, gold, jewels and other valuables are sent to SS Headquarters of the Economic Administration. Watches, clocks and pens are distributed to troops at the front. Clothing is distributed to German families. By Feb. 1943, over 800 boxcars of confiscated goods will have left Auschwitz.

    Oct 5, 1942 - Himmler orders all Jews in concentration camps in Germany to be sent to Auschwitz and Majdanek.

    Oct 5, 1942 - A German eyewitness observes SS mass murder.

    Oct 14, 1942 - Mass killing of Jews from Mizocz Ghetto in the Ukraine.

    Oct 22, 1942 - SS put down a revolt at Sachsenhausen by a group of Jews about to be sent to Auschwitz.

    Oct 25, 1942 - Deportations of Jews from Norway to Auschwitz begin.

    Oct 28, 1942 - The first transport from Theresienstadt arrives at Auschwitz.

    In Nov - The mass killing of 170,000 Jews in the area of Bialystok.

    Dec 10, 1942 - The first transport of Jews from Germany arrives at Auschwitz.

    In Dec - Exterminations at Belzec cease after an estimated 600,000 Jews have been murdered. The camp is then dismantled, plowed over and planted.

    Dec 17, 1942 - British Foreign Secretary Eden tells the British House of Commons the Nazis are "now carrying into effect Hitler's oft repeated intention to exterminate the Jewish people of Europe." U.S. declares those crimes will be avenged.

    Dec 28, 1942 - Sterilization experiments on women at Birkenau begin.

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  33. Geez wio, you were ready for that one.

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  34. Hitchens, observant, and on the topic of the thread
    ...................

    on a different topic, Gates comments on the Air Force activities and paradigms are interesting

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  35. But wi"o", I agreed with you, about Iran being at war with US.
    Was just stating the obvious, that the US was not at war with Iran.

    Iran has been at war with US since the Carter years, wi"o".

    The US is not at war with Iran, not since we helped to depose Mohammed Mossadeq, in August 1953.

    The Iranians are of little consequence.
    It has been decided, already.

    Their oil production is more important to the economic elites than their ideology. After all, their ruling Mullahs represent the Religion of Peace.

    That is US policy.
    Love it or leave it.

    Wed Apr 23, 10:36:00 AM EDT



    I could easily list the transgressions against civilized behaviour that Iran has made, since 1979, much as you have listed Germany's. The Iranians have a longer track record of uncivilized behaviour, but the scale is not comparable to Germany's in the 1930's & 40's

    But what's the point.
    You skipped the point, to argue with me, about something where there is no arguement.

    Unless you are going to say the US is at war with Iran.

    ReplyDelete
  36. DR: Unless you are going to say the US is at war with Iran.

    Congress shall have the power to declare war.

    ReplyDelete
  37. But no, the 1936 Olympics are not analogous, since the US has made claims that Iran was a main source of arms and munitions to the insurgents in Iraq before Sept 2007.
    Iraq, where US troops are engaged.

    Prior to 1936 Germany had neither caused, nor supported actions against the US, as the Iranians had in Iraq, prior to September 2007, when Abracabra spoke at Columbia University.

    Prior to his speaking, there at Columbia, the US had charged Iran with complicity in the military actions against US troops.

    The Germans did not act against US interests, militarily, prior to 11 Dec 1941, when they declared war upon US.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Prior to 11Dec41 the US was neutral in that European War, though we did "covertly" support England.

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  39. Most of all, Rat, in the wake of GWB's departure - and regardless of who ends up in the oval office - I look forward to approximating, however briefly, however shallowly, Jeane Kirkpatrick's "normal country." I think we severely underestimate or fail to notice at all, in this regard, this particular administration's deforming effect upon the whole, so long now has it been with us.

    How many Republicans, in their heart of hearts, are ready to breathe the same sigh of relief? I don't know. But I do know that I'm not alone in this sentiment.

    ReplyDelete
  40. But back to Obama and Billary, Dick Morris made an interesting observation.

    No Independents could particpate in PA. This is not the case in either Indiana or North Carolina.
    Obama, much like McCain is stronger amongst the "Independents" than the Party faithful.

    He does better when they are permitted to participate.

    Obama is still thought to be a Muslim, by about 15% of the voters, even after the Rev. Wright brouhaha. That's how little impact that dust up has had upon the public's perception of things religious and Obama.

    Morris thinks Obama will win in both Indiana and North Carolina, then march on to victory in Denver.

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  41. As a US citizen, I'll be happy to see him leave. As a registered Repub I do not think the disaster he leaves in his wake will create a "normal country", though.

    I think that Team43 will deliver to the Dems a filibuster and veto proof Senate.

    So that they will control the Supreme choices, even if McCain were to be elected.

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  42. Trish,

    I know a lot of Republicans who voted for Bush twice. I did. To a person, with the benefit of hindsight, with no exception, when asked if they would have voted for Bush, all have given me an emphatic, NO.

    If I find one and get a yes, I'll ask why.

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  43. Hoyer: Electability Key to Democratic Choice

    "Electability." That has been the fundamental premise of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's (D-N.Y.) presidential campaign for months now, as she makes the case that, even if Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) leads in delegates or the popular vote, she should be the Democratic nominee because she has the best chance in November.

    As House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) sees it, electability should also be the animating principle behind Democratic superdelegates' decisions on which candidate to support.

    At his weekly press briefing today, Hoyer cited the mantra of the civil rights movement: Keep your eyes on the prize. "The prize for me is winning the November election and changing direction in this country," Hoyer said. "And as a delegate to the convention ... I intend to vote in a way that best accomplishes that objective."

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  44. Then, duece, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) will be voting for Al Gore.

    On the second ballot, at the convention.

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  45. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  46. Little wonder, wi"o" that your son lives in fear, you do not listen, nor read the entire comment, but cherry pick those that you feel empower your position.

    To bad for him.

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  47. I do not think the disaster he leaves in his wake will create a "normal country", though.

    - Rat

    Eight years on, my standards are that much lower. And I am thinking internationally as well as domestically.

    Speaking simply of the party, GWB has been a net negative and his departure from the scene will be nothing other than a badly needed end to an atrocious figurehead. Political recovery and rehabilitation may be painful and messy, but there's nothing for it.

    That we are so close to the end has me optimistic for the first time in YEARS.

    ReplyDelete
  48. That he is merely, as you say, a figurehead leaves me with little room for optimism.
    McCain and what he represents is worse, at least more of the same.

    ReplyDelete
  49. That would be my husband as well, dear host - and that is even given that in 04 he was desperate for an alternative. Kerry is what the other side coughed up, hairball-like.

    GWB is hardly evil incarnate, nor the worst president ever. But he certainly will not be a tough act to follow.

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  50. I maintain that McCain, mixed bag that he is and antithetical to many of my own beliefs, will be a better president than this one.

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  51. DR:

    "McCain and what he represents is worse, at least more of the same."

    yeppers, and Hillary seems to fit pretty darn nicely in that mold as well. Obama, the blank slate, can at least reflect my sentiments.

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  52. Yours and anyone elses, ash.

    All things to all people.

    Or so many are led to believe.

    As Mr Lincoln said

    "You can fool all the people,
    some of the time"

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  53. The point, wi"o" of stating, by example, how the US is not at war with Iran, despite multiple provocations since 1979, is to illustrate just how inconsequental Iran is to US global policies.

    And, of course, how their oil production is more important, to US vis a vie its' global economic impact, than any of their provocations or ideologies.
    Which are considered inconsequental, proven by US actions against Iran.
    Actions that are inconsequental to Irans' military activities, both overt and covert.

    ReplyDelete
  54. And, of course, how their oil production is more important, to US vis a vie its' global economic impact, than any of their provocations or ideologies.
    Which are considered inconsequental, proven by US actions against Iran.
    Actions that are inconsequental to Irans' military activities, both overt and covert.

    Wed Apr 23, 02:00:00 PM EDT

    It's not that they're inconsequential. It's that they don't merit the intervention that so many anticipated - and the administration has kept it that way. Why? Because the ONLY way that intervention will take place in that particular country is through a *total* war. Repeat that to yourself a few times, because it's a fact. All this easy air strike nonsense is just that. Nonsense. Same for removal by proxy.





    And speaking of wars, the next administration doesn't have a particularly tall order in besting the current one: Just don't step in the big shit. How hard is that?

    ReplyDelete
  55. Well, there still is a pretty tall order in dealing with Iraq and Afghanistan whether we stay or go. Loads of shit already underfoot.

    ReplyDelete
  56. Loads of shit already underfoot.

    Wed Apr 23, 02:18:00 PM EDT

    Watch that foot move, ash, cuz that's what it's gonna do.

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  57. I'd say that is correct, trish.
    Have for quite a while now.

    Total War, or no war.

    Iranian actions do not warrant a war, and you are also right that there is no "easy air strike" option that'd be effective.

    The Iranian reacton would not to be to roll over.

    We'd remember, fondly, $117 USD per barrel oil.
    And hope for its' return.

    The US is not prepared for war with Iran, still lazy after all those years.

    Ill-prepared is the word.

    Where or where have the Eagle Scouts gone
    Where oh where can they be?

    ReplyDelete
  58. GWB is hardly evil incarnate, nor the worst president ever. But he certainly will not be a tough act to follow.

    If I had the choice of voting for Bush, again, or Obama, I'd take the devil I know. Same with Hillary.

    Who would be my ideal Pres? That's a hard one.

    Maybe that Gardener fellow.
    But that would be taking a chance.

    Somebody that would close the border, anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  59. DR: Morris thinks Obama will win in both Indiana and North Carolina, then march on to victory in Denver.

    We'll know by June, not August. Howard Dean wants the superdelegates to commit now.

    ReplyDelete
  60. There hasn't been any sexual hijincks in the White House, with Bush. That we know of.

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  61. Trish: Because the ONLY way that intervention will take place in that particular country is through a *total* war.

    Correctamundo. Look at the 1981-88Gulf War. Iran was sending waves of children to clear mine fields. This pinpoint air strike nonsense never worked. The Air Force and Navy would send in everything they got, 2 AM to 5 AM on a moonless night, and you'd get a press conference the next morning, where they'd say, "Well five buildings in the suspected WMD complex are 100% destroyed, and ten more are seriously degraded, blah blah blah." Lather rinse, repeat, only without the element of surprise, for another three days while the hawks on EB and BC cheer 'em on, just like the 2006 Lebanon War. Meanwhile Iran's got thousands of centrifuges whirling away deep under concrete.

    ReplyDelete
  62. If I find one and get a yes, I'll ask why.

    Cause the other live option was John Kerry.

    ReplyDelete
  63. What will be the situation, when Iran gets its nuclear weapons? We aren't going to attack them. We aren't
    doing it now and we won't then, when they are well armed.

    The best we can hope for is a Mexican standoff. In a situation like that, I would rather standoff with the Mexicans, or even MS-13, than the Iranians.

    But then I'm a bed wetter, and worry too much.

    Olmert is not going to do anything. I doubt Netanyehu even would, lacking the means.

    ReplyDelete
  64. If that is the way it is, or is going to be, maybe we'd be just as well off with Obama the Talker.

    Then when the talk doesn't work, we can blame him, like Ruf says.

    ReplyDelete
  65. I've always thought the Israeli attack on Hezbollah was a dry run for a bigger war with Iran. That didn't go well so...

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  66. The Israeli should have taken out the Syrian armor, that being a mission they could have succeeded at.

    A conventional airwar, which they could have accomplished, instead they chose to half-step a ground war against well emplaced defensive fighting positions.

    Which, to be taken, required Israeli casualties amongst their Reserves and conscripts. Bad PR.

    And they could not stop the rocket assualts against Haifa, from the air, either.

    ReplyDelete
  67. It'll be a MAD region, bob.

    They'll all "arm up"

    The Sauds may already have some Pakistani capacity, if not, they'll buy it.

    The Eygptians will start their march to capacity, aided by the Pakistani.

    A MAD, MAD world, as it has been for all my life. Stay the Course.

    ReplyDelete
  68. Meanwhile Iran's got thousands of centrifuges whirling away deep under concrete.

    That seems to be the problem, alright.

    An all out assault could shut their country down, and make them really negotiate the weapons program away, but it would take really steely, long lasting balls to do it.

    And the sand pours in the hourglass.

    It's not likely to happen.

    So we will cruise the carriers around the Gulf in what amounts to a meaningless show.

    ReplyDelete
  69. Stay the Course.

    To Alaska, the South Seas, someplace....:(

    ReplyDelete
  70. Idaho, bob, Idaho

    Safe as a bug in a rug

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  71. As I get a tad older each day, the preMAD generation is dying off. Those that can remember when we did not live under the threat of nuclear exchange diminish with each passing day.

    Nuclear weaponry is now a given.
    The "enemy" has always had it.

    Duck and cover, amigos.

    ReplyDelete
  72. The problem with this kind of situation is, it seems to me, there isn't any 'right' answer to it. Because we can't know enough about the way the river of the future will flow, and therefore any side of the argument is left really with a wish, and a prayer. We can't really know what those gentlemen that end up with the nuclear weapons in Iran will do. We don't even know who they are.

    If Bush were to attack Iran this afternoon, I wouldn't criticize him, because he might be right.

    I might soil my sheets however.

    ReplyDelete
  73. As stated in an earlier thread, the US is trying to influence Pakistan with $7 billion USD.

    As sam noted in another thread, that'd be less than five days worth of Saudi oil revenue cash flow.

    ReplyDelete
  74. "...he might be right"???? That is one heck of a flimsy basis to go off starting a war Bobal. Didn't you know that war is hell? A last resort? Not some sort of benign picnic in the park, or even a slap on the wrist, but real life killing and suffering on an industrial scale. You better have a damn good reason for undertaking such a immense undertaking. Quick way to go to hell if you are a believer killing so many on a "he might be right" justification.

    ReplyDelete
  75. But, you see Ash, or rather, you don't, it might be much much worse in the long run not to do so.

    An ounce of prevention, pound of cure, that kind of thing.

    Because these people are nuts. Not Swedes and Norwegians, who might drink a little too much, once in a while.

    See: The Three Conjectures, by Wretchard

    See: The Gathering Storm, by Churchill

    But we
    ve been through this two dozen times. You might be right, as well.

    ReplyDelete
  76. Bobal,

    So, in your view, flying planes into the World Trade Center was justified because we might further occupy Muslim lands? The USA has a long track record of militarily intervening in other countries so the fact that we might do it somewhere else gives ample justification for others to attack US, however they choose - say with nukes? Or do you simply assert that the USA is pure and only justified in attacking others?

    ReplyDelete
  77. I've always thought the Israeli attack on Hezbollah was a dry run for a bigger war with Iran. That didn't go well so...



    it went very well...

    just because the public deems it a failure doesnt mean it was...

    israel learned some great things about hezbollah and iran, from that battle the usa and israel learned about the transfer of advanced anti-ship and tank technology that iran had.

    hezbollah lost 800 of it's trained fighters, it did not get to used it's long range missiles (nor really it's mid ranged missiles) those can be taken out asap, the one great surprise of course was before the war, the arabs/persians of lebanon claimed they would burn 1/2 of the zionist entity with 10,000 rockets...

    the truth? ineffective rockets by and large.

    israel in the end managed a war that rained 4400 rockets down on her all the while taking out high value hezbollah targets.

    I see the next war to be even deadlier on israeli's part. do not expect israel to use cell phones, leaflets to war people to get out of the way...

    israel learn some great lesson about troop training or lack thereof, about how hezbollah had tapped into the idf's comm sys...

    no all good to learn before the syria/iran/hezbollah/hamas was to come...

    2006 was a live fire battle school.

    look for the summer war of 2008 to be faster & more lethal on israel's part...

    look for fast troop migration

    look for fast major killing zones

    look for israel to take out 500 syrian tanks and artillery pieces in a lighting hit...

    look for syria, hamas, hezbollah & iran to TRY to shoot off as many rockets as fast as possible

    thus the reason israel has already started in it's shelter exercises

    it's going to be a hot bloody summer....

    ReplyDelete
  78. DR: As I get a tad older each day, the preMAD generation is dying off. Those that can remember when we did not live under the threat of nuclear exchange diminish with each passing day.

    By the same token, those who remember how well MAD worked to prevent the outbreak of Armageddon are dying off too. Someday there will be a whole bunch of chickens in power itching to launch air strikes or invasions to attempt to do by force what the logic of MAD automatically does-without-doing for us, Wu Wei style.

    ReplyDelete
  79. viktor please resend the email. we didn't get it.

    make sure that you send it to elephant.bar@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  80. Teresita:
    The "grand mufti" of New York City was on a Barbara Walters special and said that Muslim women receive studs in the afterlife.

    Heard it with my own two ears.

    ReplyDelete
  81. Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, founder of the American Society for Muslim Advancement, tells Walters he believes heaven is indeed a physical place, but getting there depends on your behavior in this life. "The real life is the next life … and based upon how we live this life, it determines where we shall be in the next. We are told we will be in comfortable homes, reclining on silk couches … so we're given the delights of sex, the delights of wine, the delights of food with all of their positive things without their negative aspects." ABC Link

    ReplyDelete
  82. Gen. Petraeus named as next commander of Mideast command
    Army Gen. David Petraeus, the four-star general who led troops in Iraq for the past year, will be nominated by President Bush to be the next commander of U.S. Central Command, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday

    ReplyDelete
  83. EB

    Message re-sent.

    My Gmail is acting up.

    If you don't get my message I can send it to you as a draft post then you can delete it after you've read it.

    ReplyDelete
  84. Whit: The "grand mufti" of New York City was on a Barbara Walters special and said that Muslim women receive studs in the afterlife.

    I suppose Allah does that because he needs some way of punishing the studs in the afterlife.

    ReplyDelete
  85. So, in your view, flying planes into the World Trade Center was justified because we might further occupy Muslim lands?

    I never cease to be amazed how Ash can continue, daily, to come up with such crap. An inventive, inscrutable, almost perverse mind, yet claiming to be good natured at heart

    ReplyDelete
  86. said that Muslim women receive studs in the afterlife.

    Really?

    This is the first I have heard of this insight.

    So, if you have been fucked over during your entire earthly life, you at least have this to look forward to?

    Well, Ash would figure it out someways.

    ReplyDelete
  87. receive studs


    What is the exact meaning of this 'receive studs'?

    ReplyDelete
  88. Fucked, in the here, and the hereinafter.

    ReplyDelete
  89. History, however, looms large in the claims to space within Sri Lanka among the propagandists and ultra-nationalists who are at the cutting edge of claim and counter-claim. Historical data, or, rather, what passes for data, is at the root of arguments of legitimisation and demand.

    Any Tom, Dick or Harry in the ultra camps feels that s/he can deploy bits and pieces of historical ‘fact’ to support the various claims to island-space. They also voice interpretations of the more recent past to emphasise their grievances and the legitimacy of political position.

    These claims cannot be majestically cast aside: for the reason that they emanate from emotional commitments and earnest belief and, as such, are part of the politics of identity and political competition. It is for this reason that I addressed the subject of “History-Making” in an article that appeared in cyber-space within www.federalidea.com.


    Sri Lankan Politics

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  90. WiO: look for the summer war of 2008 to be faster & more lethal on israel's part...

    Is this war going to be Israel trying a second time to get master sergeant Ehud Goldwasser and first sergeant Eldad Regev back, or is it going to be sparked by another abduction incident? Perhaps Israel will just attack Lebanon for shits and grins.

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  91. Unlike other peoples, the people of Israel in its land cannot allow itself such great fluctuations and periods of weakness. That is why there is a need to generally shake up the army, through dismissals as well.

    But for the shake-up to have a long-term impact, its shock waves must reach those who determine the norms in civil society, and shake them up as well. Because by the egotistic norms that society dictates, which have also trickled into the army, individualism is the most important value, and the individual owes nothing to the collective.

    That is what has caused most of the failures that endanger the existence of the Jewish state.


    When the Obvious Becomes Revolutionary

    ReplyDelete
  92. teresita said...
    WiO: look for the summer war of 2008 to be faster & more lethal on israel's part...

    Is this war going to be Israel trying a second time to get master sergeant Ehud Goldwasser and first sergeant Eldad Regev back, or is it going to be sparked by another abduction incident? Perhaps Israel will just attack Lebanon for shits and grins.

    dear teresita,

    ehud and eldad are dead, they have been tortured, cut up & mutilated. Fed through wood wood chippers while alive or had their hearts torn out of their chests while watching....

    the point of the 2006 leb exercise to was to make the fucktard know that there is a cost for kidnapping a jew...

    i'd say it's about 3.5 billion dollars & about 500 lives.

    The lesson was taught and it was learned by the arab world EVEN as they SCREAM VICTORY in the streets...

    In 2006 the public aims of destroying hezbollah and getting the guys back was a smokescreen for the naive public such as yourself. The purpose of the 2006 exercise was to PUNISH hezbollah and lebanon for iranian/syrian/palestinian/arab bullshit..

    it's PURE pavlovian conditioned response.

    The arab world MUST be taught, JUST AS A DOG, that if it bites, we are the alpha dog and will will KICK the shit out of you.

    This was accomplished to a degree, was it enough? nope, as with dogs, this lesson needs a rinse and repeat cycle. So far the other bitches in the pack (iran, syria, hamas & palios of the leb camps) have not learned the lesson and truthfully, they need to have an additional lesson of far greater intensity than last time.

    in 2006 israel notified 10's of thousands of southern lebanese arabs to get out by cell phones and leaflets, this will have a much shorter notice if any at all this time.

    as with most punishments with the arabs, the 1st application draws great condemnation from the international community at 1st (as happened in 2006) but then, as with training dogs, sometimes greater applications are added without fanfare and comment

    already in 2007 the lebanese army destroy a palio camp driving 60,000 out and killing scores and wiping out the camp into dust...

    the pattern is set...

    hezbollah, iran, syria, hamas are all tweaking up the game, hezbollah as rearmed with 4x the number of rockets than before, hamas shoots rockets on a daily basis, also suicide attacks, snipers, ied's, stabbings, iran has paid BILLIONS to uparm the syrians, syria is talking smack, iran is talking smack...

    i dont know what the trip wire will be, but it could be anything, and i do know one thing...

    israel is ready to kill some bad guys....

    I have the popcorn ready and the pompoms...

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