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."
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ReplyDeleteI read within the last few days that Israel and the Palestineans were talking to set up the resumptions of the peace talks.
Pure kabuki. The charade continues. Under the current reality there will be no peace between the two.
.
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ReplyDeleteSaw an interview with Abbas at the time he was asking for UN recognition of Palestine.
It was the first time that clarified for me the Palestinian position on Jewish statehood as outlined in this interview.
While the Palestinians will recognize the state of Israel, they will not recognize or sign on to the Zionistic concept of a 'Jewish State of Israel'.
One more issue among many that will not get resolved under the current leadership of the two sides.
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If the US can accept the reality of the Taliban, then Israel will eventually have to admit to the reality of Hamas.
ReplyDeleteThe hypocrisy of Bibi described right around the ten minute mark.
Quadrantids Tonight!
ReplyDeleteMy daughter and I, going to the stables last night, saw the largest meteor either of us has ever seen. Big, close, brilliant, long lasting, streaking from north to south, big break up at the end. WOW.
OOOOOO.
b
Look for them --
ReplyDeleteafter the waxing gibbous moon sets
There is a phrase that has a good ring to it.
b
Drudge Report caucus goers are showing themselves to be fools so far.
ReplyDeleteb
I've voted for Michelle three times and it seems to keep taking, and counting, my votes!
ReplyDeleteb
Read today that the Iranians were threatening to sink an aircraft carrier.
ReplyDeleteTherefore, the Iranians can project force beyond their border and do pose a threat to the U.S.
In the video, does bibi threaten U.S. Navy ships in the Med?
Ron Paul supporters must be voting 10, 15 times each on the Drudge Report Caucus board. I wouldn't put it past them.....
ReplyDeleteHerman Cain is beating Michelle, and he's not even in the race.....
b
It seems that anoni needs a geography lesson.
ReplyDeleteThe Straits of Hormuz and the entirety of the Persian Gulf ARE their frontier.
It may be that the Persians intend to defend what they see as their "rights" in the Persian Gulf.
Get the clue as to where the Persians are "projecting" their limited resources?
I think this looks to be a fair review of Netanyahu’s speech to the US Congress...
ReplyDeleteUse of "fair" in sentence referencing a Palistinian is oxymoronic.
The whole thing makes my head hurt. I don't care what they do to each other, as long as I don't have to pay for it (and my kids don't have to die for it.)
ReplyDeleteOff topic and elsewhere...
ReplyDeleteAnother argument against nurturing the rent seekers and tax eaters who suck at the teat of government subsidies for green energy. Such an argument would be a waste of time in a rational world.
Idaho Power plans to cut off electricity on Tuesday to plant in Pocatello, Idaho, that makes material for solar energy, because the factory owes $1.9 million in unpaid utility bills. The dispute is with Honolulu-based Hoku Scientific, Inc., which is backed by Chinese financing and enjoys federal and state incentives.
I may have driven past this plant back around Memorial Day, speeding past Pocatello enroute to Twin Falls, Jack Pot, and points south. It was an impressive layout, but there were no signs or logos. Strange, I thought. But I was in a hurry, making up lost time from a stop by a highway cop for speeding. My honey was waiting for me back in California.
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteRon Paul supporters must be voting 10, 15 times each on the Drudge Report Caucus board. I wouldn't put it past them…..
b
Anonymous said...
I've voted for Michelle three times and it seems to keep taking, and counting, my votes!
b
___________________
You wouldn’t put it past them or they wouldn’t put it past you?
Actually David Frost was doing the review.
ReplyDelete.
ReplyDeleteLT, it's been a while. Good to see you drop in. Happy New Year.
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If the Lutherans attacked the Church of Christers I would put a bag of popcorn in the microwave, and turn on CNN.
ReplyDeleteI sure as hell am not going to get all het up over what those two groups of religious, middleeast whackjobs say, or do.
Now, that deal with Iran, and our Carrier: That's important.
If I'm reading this correctly there's some small sense of relief that it didn't originate from someone I have in the past respected.
ReplyDeleteIt might help to qualify the lead. Unless you happen to agree with Frost.
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ReplyDeleteRon Paul supporters must be voting 10, 15 times each on the Drudge Report Caucus board. I wouldn't put it past them…..
It's been tracked elsewhere (CNN was the last one I'd seen) when polls like this are taken. A large chunk of Paul's supporters are young, computer savvy, and wired. The can pump out a lot virtual votes for Paul.
You'd fit right in with them bobbo if you could learn how to get a blue screen name out of Blogger.
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Well, shucks. Thank you, Quirk.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you, too. And to all my rowdy friends, multiple personality sufferers, et al.
What happened to Whit? Did his wife make him move into a gated community, or something?
ReplyDeleteLOS ANGELES (AP) — A State Department official says a German man was identified as a suspect in the Los Angeles arson spree because his mother was the subject of a provisional arrest request by Germany.
Speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigations are ongoing, the official told The Associated Press Tuesday that authorities learned about Harry Burkhart while working on the mother's case and recognized him in security video of the arson suspect.
...
The official didn't know the status of Burkhart's mother, Dorothee, or what type of visas the pair had entered the country on. ...
... said Harry Burkhart was present when his mother was arrested Dec. 28 by deputy U.S. marshals and Los Angeles police on the provisional arrest warrant.
It's no known why Germany sought the mother.
Petroplus, Europes's largest refiner, has been force to shut down 3 of its 5 refineries.
ReplyDeleteBasically, they said, "Oil's too expensive, and the folks can't afford it."
France, a few years ago, had 24 refineries; today they have 9.
Europe looks to be the first casualty of "peak oil."
ReplyDeleteThe U.S. will not be deterred by an Iranian military leader's warning to keep an American carrier out of the Persian Gulf, a senior military official said Tuesday as the White House declared Iran's latest threat a sign of domestic troubles for Tehran's theocratic leadership.
The Navy will "certainly not disrupt any of its planned movements based on this latest threat," the U.S. official told Fox News, adding that Iran's threat to close the Strait of Hormuz or act outside recognized international law is "further evidence that Iran continues to operate outside the norms of most nations."
"The deployment of U.S. military assets in the Persian Gulf region will continue as it has for decades," added Commander Bill Speaks in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/01/03/pentagon-officials-dismiss-iranian-warning-against-us-carrier-in-gulf/#ixzz1iQe7LlHH
As reported in Haaratz...
ReplyDelete... in response to Iranian talk of closing the Strait of Hormuz, Pentagon spokesperson George Little did not answer directly but said,
"No one in this government seeks confrontation over the Strait of Hormuz. It's important to lower the temperature."
Also referring to Iranian threats on Tuesday, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the U.S. saw "these threats from Tehran as just increasing evidence that the international pressure is beginning to bite."
"They are feeling increasingly isolated and they are trying to divert the attention of their own public from the difficulties inside Iran, including the economic difficulties as a result of sanctions," Nuland told a news briefing.
With the USS John C Stennis on its' way to support air operations in Afghanistan
ReplyDeleteSo there are no US carriers reported in the area of the Straits of Hormuz.
The US Navy moving forward, right on schedule.
Read that the UAE received approval from the Obama administration for the purchase of THAAD missile defense systems.
ReplyDeleteThe administration and UAE recognizing the threat posed by Iran, its missiles, and warmongers.
Next thing you know the Iranians will be threatening U.S. military installations, Turk NATO bases, or Israel.
Of course the US wants to manipulate ever more sales of military weaponry. The casus belli of the Military Industrial Complex.
ReplyDeletea major U.S. ally in the Persian Gulf has contracted to buy nearly $2 billion worth of state-of-the-art mobile missile defense systems.
Lockheed Martin announced Dec. 30 the first international sale of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system to the United Arab Emirates.
Company officials heralded the $1.9 billion sale as the first in a likely series of contracts with U.S. allies seeking protection from rogue nations.
$2 billion from the UAE, $3.5 billion from the Saudis ...
"Real" money.
If there were no "rouges" there'd be no need.
Can't be having any of that.
And, Iran exports (net) almost 3 Million bbl of oil/day.
ReplyDeleteTheir little press squib, today, increased their revenues by about $12 Million/Day.
Worked out pretty good for Shell, BP, and Exxon, too.
Not so hot for me, and thee, however.
The perceived threat from Iran, much like the perceived threat from violent crime, here in the US.
ReplyDeleteWhile violent crime has been on a downward trend, for four and a half years, the public is buying ever increasing amounts of small arms.
The better defended the public is perceived to be, the greater the threat from the miscreants is diminished.
So the Iranians have warned the U.S. Navy not to transit the strait.
ReplyDeleteGonna be tough for 5th fleet ships to get to back to Bahrain.
The Scud, the latest variant of the famous V2 rocket. The V2, described by the allies as a terrorist weapon.
ReplyDeleteNot a military threat.
The attack marked the beginning of a terror campaign by Adolf Hitler against targets in Allied territory that would claim at least 5,000 lives.
But of no military significance.
The V-2 campaign was a last desperate attempt by the Nazi leadership to turn the course of the war.
In all, over 1,300 V-2s were fired at England, killing 2,724 people. Germany struck Antwerp in Belgium with 1,265 V-2s and Paris with hundreds more. An accurate count of casualties on the continent is not available.
It was not to be the war-winning weapon the Nazis hoped for. In March 1945, the western front collapsed and Allied forces swarmed across the Rhine.
If that's our "state of the art" THAAD, that's some powerful stuff. I can't believe we're selling it to a ME Country. I wonder if our own guys will keep control in some way.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteDresden was not the only city destroyed by the Allies. The bombing of the larger city of Hamburg in 1943 created one of the greatest firestorms raised by the RAF and USAAF, killing roughly 50,000 civilians in Hamburg and practically destroying the entire city. The Allies also bombed the smaller city of Pforzheim in 1945, killing roughly 18,000 civilians, suggesting that the bombing raids over Dresden were actually not the most severe of World War II. However, they continue to be recognized as one of the many examples of civilian suffering caused by Allied strategic bombing, and have become exposed among the moral causes célèbres of the Second World War
...
It is notable that the V-2 was presented by Nazi propaganda as a retaliation for the bombers that attacked ever more German cities from 1942 until Germany surrendered.
Strategic bombing, tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands of fatalities.
V2s, Scuds and the other variants, weapons of terror.
Agan, you are misreporting what was said.
ReplyDeleteThe Iranians warned off the carriers, which has already left for parts eastward.
No mention was made of other US Navy vessels.
Ameros to do-nuts that there are no US carrier movements into the Persian Gulf scheduled at this time.
Nor will there be, soon.
Leaving the economic sanctions to do their magic.
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ReplyDeleteLT, Whit got fed up and left.
He stopped back in about a month ago, the same arguments started up, and he hit the door again.
I expect he will show up again in the future. You can check out but you can never leave. About the most anyone can do here is change their screen name.
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DRUDGE READERS FROM IOWA VOTE:
ReplyDeletePAUL 883 32.86%
ROMNEY 569 21.18%
SANTORUM 562 20.92%
b
I know the feeling well.
ReplyDeleteStill there's something comforting about your neighborhood bar...too many have close hereabouts...
The Paulbots are Infamous for spamming online polls. Probably the main reason why no one takes such polls seriously any more.
ReplyDelete"The whole thing makes my head hurt. I don't care what they do to each other,
ReplyDeleteas long as I don't have to pay for it
(and my kids don't have to die for it.)"
i emphathize with rufus.
his point is extremely understandable and undeniabley right. there can be no argument against it.
But the chances of our children dying in a conflict are much much smaller now then it would be if we decide to allow iran to proliferate. what's inescapable is that you cant sincerely believe the world for our kids will be safer with a proliferating
nuclear armed iran? can you? if you are genuine in your belief about protecting your family than the shit needs to be shut down for as long as it takes and go easy on the ground.
Al Qaeda on the Ropes: One Fighter's Inside Story
ReplyDelete... it’s been months since anyone in Waziristan has seen or heard directly from bin Laden’s successor, Ayman al-Zawahiri. The Egyptian-born physician did post a video message on Dec. 1 boasting that al Qaeda had seized aid worker Warren Weinstein, a 70-year-old American, in Lahore—as if holding one old man hostage was an achievement. “I think the martyrdom of our great Sheik was the end,” Hanif says. “As long as the Sheik was alive, our leaders were strong and were determined to fight. But his death and the drones have sucked the blood out of our leadership. Now leaders seem to spend all their time moving from one place to another for their safety.” Lying low didn’t save Sheik Ayatullah; the drones got him soon after Hanif’s return to Waziristan.
Nonsense. That's like "fucking for virginity."
ReplyDeleteI do not consider Iran a threat. You can talk until you're blue in the face, but you won't change my mind.
MAD has been effictive against everyone else, and you can't convince me that it won't be effective against Iran.
We're being played for hayseeds.
"I think this looks to be a fair review of Netanyahu’s speech to the US Congress:"
ReplyDeleteTo gutless to post what Bibi actually said?
Yep, I thought so.
Rufus II said...
ReplyDeleteNonsense. That's like "fucking for virginity."
I do not consider Iran a threat. You can talk until you're blue in the face, but you won't change my mind.
MAD has been effictive against everyone else, and you can't convince me that it won't be effective against Iran.
We're being played for hayseeds.
I think the word you are looking for is "appeasing cowardly pussy", cause that is what you are..
And your children COULD die because you are not a man, but a coward.
Iran is a threat to the USA, if you are to stupid or just to much of a coward to understand that?
i pity your offspring.
What is the threat, exactly, that the Iranians pose to the US that Pakistani do not?
ReplyDeleteIf the Pakistani were not nuclear proliferaters, already, the Iranians would not have the blueprints for the explosive ignition system.
ReplyDeleteAnd the NorKs would not have access to big bang capacity, either.
That's great, anon. And your foreign war experience is?
ReplyDeleteAbout the same as most of the chickenhawks, I would imagine.
ReplyDeleteI heard the same nonsense during my 3 years in The USMC,
ReplyDeletebut, not so much during my 13 months in Vietnam.
Rufus II said...
ReplyDeleteThat's great, anon. And your foreign war experience is?
I have buried enough family members to understand the threats coming out of Iran.
I have seen the bodies of men, women and children whose flesh is scattered like hamburger.
You don't KNOW shit about the Jihadist mind.
And if you think you can HIDE in fortress America and they bad guys will leave you alone ? You are on crack.
Pity your kids and grandkids when they ask you, Hey grandpa? Why did you do nothing when you could....
Just tell them you were either to stupid to see the threat or just a pussy.
Rufus II said...
ReplyDeleteI heard the same nonsense during my 3 years in The USMC,
but, not so much during my 13 months in Vietnam.
Vietnam aint Iran nor Jihadists.
My Uncle's name is on the wall, we understood Vietnam back then, this aint Vietnam, this Is JIHADIST Iran.
Grow the fuck up
Anoni of Cleveland has led the Boy Scout Troop on overnight winter camping maneuvers.
ReplyDeleteBought himself a Glock. Part of the threat reduction through enhanced defense trendline.
And, you need to go ahead and move to where your heart is. I'm sure the IDF could use your help.
ReplyDeleteVietnam was a nonsensical clusterfuck, and us getting involved in Israel's wars would be as well.
Rufus, what's Obama's foreign war experience?
ReplyDeleteThe current administration positions:
The Assad regime must go
Iran with nuclear weapons is not acceptable
The strait will stay open
Cape May County NJ was rated the least angry and least depressed in the US, but not the happiest. That goes to Casper Wyoming.
ReplyDeleteObama's agenda is getting reelected. The Pub agenda is "get elected."
ReplyDeleteI'm actually looking forward to seeing the results out of Iowa.
ReplyDeleteI think I'll probably be surprised and disappointed, again, though. If I actually had to bet money, I'd have a hard time betting much against Santorum beating Paul for second.
Santorum could, actually, win the danged thing. Them Fundies turn out, big-time, in Iowa.
desert rat said...
ReplyDeleteAnoni of Cleveland has led the Boy Scout Troop on overnight winter camping maneuvers.
Bought himself a Glock. Part of the threat reduction through enhanced defense trendline.
And you have told everyone that you have murdered civilians in Central America.
That you used to be a sniper in the Armed Forces.
That you murdered under the orders of Ollie North but because you were not convicted no crime was committed.
Now I am sure your friends in AZ are happy to have you in a fox hole.
Either you are a pathetic liar or just a cold blooded murderer.
Either way?
You are the Cliff Claven of the internet, an opinion on everything and not one bit of intelligence behind any of it...
And those goals can all obtained, anon, without interventionist military action by the US.
ReplyDeleteSimple as that.
Neither of our current anoni can provide reasonable cause to take military action, soon.
Not one report that contradicts
... Tamir Pardo, the chief of Israel’s intelligence service known as the Mossad, said last week that a nuclear weapon in the hands of the Iranian government would not necessarily pose an “existential threat” to the Jewish state.
“What is the significance of the term ‘existential’?” Pardo was quoted as saying in an article by the Washington Times.
Citing Israeli diplomats who met with the spy chief last week in a closed-door session, the paper reported that, according to Pardo, the danger posed by a hypothetical nuclear weapon in Iranian hands was being overblown.
Or that contradicts
ReplyDeleteDecember 2, 2011
Former Mossad chief Meir Dagan warned Thursday against an Israeli attack on Iran, saying such a move would likely lead to a regional war involving Hezbollah, Hamas, and Syria.
“I’m concerned about possible mistakes and I prefer to speak out before there is a catastrophe,”
Dagan said in an interview on the Israeli television program “Uvda.”
Rufus II said...
ReplyDeleteAnd, you need to go ahead and move to where your heart is. I'm sure the IDF could use your help.
Vietnam was a nonsensical clusterfuck, and us getting involved in Israel's wars would be as well.
See there you go again, you start out making sense, the poof, your retarded brain takes over...
Iran her NUKES aint Israel's war.
Can you not understand that?
Iran IS a threat to the USA, just listen to EVERY President since 1978....
Dont take MY word for it nitwit. Go ask YOUR own Senator, Congressmen or even OBAMA.
Maybe Rufus you are just stuck on stupid when it comes to Israel. You have never been there, you KNOW nothing about it. You know NOTHING about the jihadists but you are stuck like a broken record.
Iran aint Israel's war.
But if Israel decides that the USA has become on chicken shit appeasing nation that lacks the balls to be a world leader and is threatened with genocide?
Israel will fight it's OWN battles. Like it has fought everyone of her own battles.
Can someone put up that link when the Pakis threatened U.S. aircraft carriers?
ReplyDeleteRat never stop making defending Iran, Jihadists and terrorists.
ReplyDeleteMaybe cause he is one....
Birds of a feather, flock together.
Did the Pakis threaten U. S. Generals?
ReplyDeleteWith our missile defense capabilities there is not one chance in a million that Iran could ever be a threat to the U.S.
ReplyDelete"Maybe he is one"
ReplyDeleteWell, the bellicosity is there
And, it's almost impossible to imagine a scenario in which they would want to. As someone pointed out on the previous thread, Iran hasn't invaded another country since before the colonies became the States.
ReplyDeleteEven that tanker war, if you'll look back at it, was instigated by Iraq.
Interestingly, even though "Unemployment" is 34% Lower in Iowa than the rest of the country, it is miles ahead of all other issues in voter polling, there.
ReplyDeleteAll that treasure spent on the stimulus solved unemployment Rufus.
ReplyDeleteWait a minute... Oh never mind
At least the deficit has been cut in half
ReplyDeleteWait a minute, never mind
Can’t we all just get along?
ReplyDeleteWell, at least we have the most honorable DoJ evah.
ReplyDeleteOh...never mind
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ReplyDeleteCan’t we all just get along?
Hi, Jenny. Come to watch the boys play?
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Ok, ok here we go...
ReplyDeleteFISA was abolished, the drone strikes ended, and the NDAA was not signed
Or not
At least Keynesian economics solved the debt problem?
ReplyDeleteUS Closes 2011 With Record $15.22 Trillion In Debt
Or not
"Iran hasn't invaded another country since before the colonies became the States."
ReplyDeleteno one is claiming that they are going to invade anyone so your argument is a strawman.
"With our missile defense capabilities there is not one chance in a million that Iran
could ever be a threat to the U.S."
do you have data to back this up? once the proliferation starts things may unravel and
i think you are assuming an ICBM attack, allowing for tracking time. very conventional and
simply not the hallmark of the jihadist.
Good Lord; just google "missile defense tests"
ReplyDeleteWe've been shooting down missile 100 miles up, traveling 13,000 mph.
ReplyDeleteAnd, that was 2 years ago.
.
ReplyDeleteWell it isn't just the EB that needs to get along.
In Iowa,
Paul calls Santorum "very liberal". Oohhh.
Santorum says "Ron Paul is digusting".
Gingrich calls Romney a liar.
Romney, on the other hand, confident he will win concentrated on Obama's "failed presidency".
It only gets better.
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ReplyDeletePakistan fired on U.S. troops ahead of airstrike, officials say...
...
Nov 26, 2011 –
Pakistani authorities on Saturday gave the United States 15 days to leave the Shamsi airbase, and closed NATO supply lines into Afghanistan ...
...
Jul 9, 2008
Pakistan blamed for Kabul bombing
Paul Woodward
....
Steve Coll:
Q. How do we understand the relationship between the ISI [Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence] and the Taliban?
A. The Taliban arose in the fall of 1994 and sort of presented themselves as a fact on the ground in southern Afghanistan and rather quickly made contact with the Pakistan army and with the chief of its intelligence service.
There was a meeting at ISI headquarters with some of the early leaders of the Taliban -- not Mullah Omar, but some of his aides -- and the ISI chief in the late autumn of 1994. It was a get-to-know-you, introductory meeting. From that beginning, the ISI became more and more involved with the Taliban as the Taliban increased its ambitions in southern Afghanistan.
Throughout 1995, the collaboration between ISI and the Taliban increased, and it changed character. It became more and more of a direct military alliance. ...
Rufus II said...
ReplyDeleteWith our missile defense capabilities there is not one chance in a million that Iran could ever be a threat to the U.S.
If you actually BELIEVE that I could understand your point of view.
But the fact is our missile defense would not stop a nuke in a shipping container, a missile fired from an ocean liner or an airliner with a nuke on board.
To suggest that it's ONE in a million?
You are truly delusional.
But I will cut you some slack, I do not think you are a coward/pussy, just a nitwit.
A nitwit that I certainly would not rely on for our nations security.
and LIKE or NOT, I am JUST as much America as you .
ReplyDeleteQ. You describe them as a client of the ISI.
A. They received guns; they received money; they received fuel; they received infrastructure support. They also, we know, had direct on-the-ground support from undercover Pakistani officers in civilian clothes who would participate in particular military battles.
Q. Is it a fair characterization to say that the Taliban were an asset of the ISI?
A. They were an asset of the ISI. I think it's impossible to understand the Taliban's military triumph in Afghanistan, culminating in their takeover of Kabul in 1996, without understanding that they were a proxy force, a client of the Pakistan army, and benefited from all of the materiel support that the Pakistan army could provide them, given its own constrained resources.
Rufus II said...
ReplyDeleteWe've been shooting down missile 100 miles up, traveling 13,000 mph.
And, that was 2 years ago.
that would not have stopped 9/11 and that was 11 years ago.
you simply are out classed.
ReplyDeleteQ. So where does the ISI stand vis-à-vis the Taliban just prior to 9/11?
A. The Taliban remained an important client of the ISI right up until 9/11. They were an ally of the Pakistan government, and the ISI maintained contact with them to support their governance, but also their military campaign in the Afghan civil war that persisted despite the Taliban's takeover of Kabul.
A. The Taliban were important to the ISI in the late 1990s for another reason. The ISI also promoted a rebellion against what it regarded as Indian occupation in Kashmir. The Taliban in Afghanistan provided logistical support, training and other bases that the ISI could use to train and develop its Kashmir rebellion as well.
Q. And Al Qaeda had a hand in that as well?
A. Some of the camps that were used by the ISI to train Kashmiri militants were managed on the ground by Al Qaeda.
And what happens if Iran nukes the oil fields of Saudi Arabia?
ReplyDeleteIs that in the USA's interest?
What happens then Sherlock?
ReplyDeleteQ. After 9/11 and the bombs start to fall on Afghanistan, there are a large number of Pakistanis, aren't there, that go across the border to fight?
A. The Taliban drew, with ISI's support, on a large number of volunteers who came often out of madrassas that were located near the Afghan frontier, sometimes out of Karachi, [Pakistan].
The ISI had quite systematically built up an identification of fervent interest between these young Pakistanis and the Taliban cause. And of course after 9/11, many of these young Pakistanis saw not that there was a reason to change sides, but that there was more reason than ever to defend the Taliban against the United States.
The Iranians ...
ReplyDeleteDO NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!
The Mossad man said it would be three to five years, before the Iranians could build one, in February of 2011.
Which is the same timeline Bibi said Iran was capable of, in 1992.
What has changed?
What happens if Iran uses the Palestinians to set off a nuke in Tel Aviv?
ReplyDeleteWill America's interests and security be served with the doomsday reaction?
What if the Iranians NUKE an European capital?
Will that not cause one giant clusterfuck?
Please tell us General Rufus USMC, Ret.
(by the way what was your rank after leaving the Marines in 3 years? E-3? or were you after 3 years, full blown O-6?
Come on inquiring minds want to know your rank, since you are so proud of your knowledge you acquired in the service of OUR nation.
When you were serving OUR nation int he Marines what was your JOB? Strategic planning and defense or were you a grunt?
Really be honest (if you are capable)...
Rufus - teach us about those supersonic cruise missiles such as Yakonts, Moskits, Granits, and Brahmos, controlled by the Iranians.
ReplyDeleteGoogle it Rufus and tell us what you learn. Also, google Hanit and USS Stark and tell us the relationship.
Look forward to reading about your findings.
.
ReplyDeleteGingrich calls Romney 'moderate'. Ooohh.
Down and dirty.
.
desert rat said...
ReplyDeleteThe Iranians ...
DO NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!
The Mossad man said it would be three to five years, before the Iranians could build one, in February of 2011.
Which is the same timeline Bibi said Iran was capable of, in 1992.
We'll judging how poorly intelligence actually is it is amazing that you, a Jew hating, Israel bashing, zionist trashing person would take "Bibi" or some other's PUBLIC word for it...
Really Rat, you don't KNOW shit.
Not that ANYONE here actually KNOWS if Iran has one or not.
But for me? I dont want to WAIT til the nuke "easy button" has been constructed to deal with a jihadist psyco case.
Just because you live in a cave with a horse (as your love interest) doesnt mean the rest of us need to take a chance on a nation that has never stopped murdering Americans, westerners and it's own citizens.
What has changed?
I think I've given out about as much personal information as I care to.
ReplyDeleteI will say this; I was not an O-6. :)
So, now we're down to: Iran might give a nuke to a terrorist who flies into Boston, Logan?
really?
"So, now we're down to: Iran might give a nuke to a terrorist who flies into Boston, Logan?
ReplyDeletereally?"
who really knows. were you imagining the kind of previous terror attacks prior to them happening?
they seem to focus thier ingenuity on this. i get the impression that since viet nam
you feel the us is bad and will attack anyone for any reason and this is why iran wants
to nuke up, as a defensive measure. do you think they need these weapons for defensive
reasons? pakistan shares a border with a nuked armed country they have been to war with.
does iran have this same issue?
Casper's a nice place, home on the range, deer and antelope play, never is heard a discouraging word in Casper. Laramie is great too. No pissing and moaning all day in their bars.
ReplyDeleteb
I've now voted for Bachmann eleven times.
ReplyDeleteb
Now it's twelve times.
ReplyDeleteb
"Vote early, vote often."
ReplyDeleteb
4% reporting. Paul and Santorum in a dead heat at 24%.
ReplyDeleteIf the Iraelis want to bomb Iran, let them. Just keep the US out. Israel without a doubt would be biting much more than they can chew.
ReplyDeleteI am not a military strategist, and putting to one side, for the moment, the fact that Israel has nearly 400 nuclear warheads (as well as support from the USA and most of Europe), I would not like to bet on Israel's chances in a straight on, one-to-one conflict with Iran. if Iran had a one on one war with Israel, Israel would be defeated in an instant; this assuming that Israel's nuclear weapons are neutralised with a MAD policy.
As a national character, Israelis are cowardly bullies. 5000 Hisbullah showed how 40,000 zionist invaders to fight in 2006. Israel's response was to use US made aircraft to bomb schools, apartment building, hospitals, roads, etc.
Israel are not the 4th strongest military in the world (as they would have everyone believe). They are the tenth (not of course accounting for nuclear weapons - but then again, Israel really would have to be far more insane than it already is to use them against Iran and then expect the world to break into applause) and Iran is not the tin pot, Banana Republic state, the world would have you believe. They are rated 12th in military strength so they are not so far behind Israel.
PERSONNEL
IRAN - Total Population: 77,891,220 [2011]
ISRAEL - Total Population: 7,473,052 [2011]
IRAN - Available Manpower: 46,247,556 [2011]
ISRAEL - Available Manpower: 3,511,190 [2011
IRAN - Fit for Service: 39,556,497 [2011]
ISRAEL - Fit for Service: 2,963,642 [2011]
IRAN - Of Military Age: 1,392,483 [2011]
ISRAEL - Of Military Age: 121,722 [2011]
IRAN - Active Military: 545,000 [2011]
ISRAEL - Active Military: 187,000 [2011]
IRAN - Active Reserve: 650,000 [2011]
ISRAEL - Active Reserve: 565,000 [2011]
Israel cannot take Iran by itself
Go Ahead, Mullahs. Make My Day.
ReplyDeleteJames G. Wiles
We may have just witnessed a Blazing Saddles Moment on the part of the Iranian mullahs' regime in Teheran.
You remember: actor Cleavon Little, standing before the angry citizenry of a Western town - holding them all hostage by the simple expedient of holding a pistol to his own head. Shouts Little: "Don't shoot! He's desperate!"
I wonder if that movie's available in Teheran. Earlier today, msnbc.com's World News was quoting Iranian Army commander Ataollah Salehi (no relation, we hope, to that couple who crashed a White House state dinner a while back ) as daring the United States to send a supercarrier into the Straits of Hormuz again. Really.
Apparently channeling the spirit of "Baghdad Bob," another famous Middle Eastern military spokesman, General Salehi beat on his chest and issued a powerful statement.
"Iran," he told the IRNA, "will not repeat its warning...[T]he enemy's carrier has been moved to the Sea of Oman because of our drill. I recommend and emphasize to the American carrier not to return to the Persian Gulf."
You gotta love that.
That's that, then. Time to go.
Actually, guys: go ahead - shoot. Richard Terrell's fine graphic in AT on Monday captured it all:
Truth is, Terrell didn't tell the half of it. There isn't just one U.S. supercarrier potentially bearing down on the Iranians. There are three.
Three.
Currently on station in the Arabian Sea is the USS John C. Stennis and her Carrier Strike Group. That's the "enemy carrier" to which General Salehi was, um, giving the bird. But now in the Western Pacific, wending their way towards the Indian Ocean and, if necessary, thence to within striking distance of Teheran, are two more CSG's.
The USS Carl Vinson sailed from San Diego on November 30. She and her CSG left Hong Kong on December 30. The USS Abraham Lincoln and her CSG left San Diego on December 10, on a round-the-world cruise. The Hero of the 2004 Asian Tsunami is ultimately bound for her new homeport in Norfolk.
(Aside: it will be interesting -especially to the Government of the Peoples Republic of China -- to see whether either CSG makes port calls in Indonesia, India, Australia or East Africa.).
If sanity prevails, the Iranians will STFU. If not, well, the Can of Whup Ass is on its way.
As Charles Krauthammer was explaining on Bill O'Reilly's show last night, the only option left if an oil embargo fails to stop Iran's nuclear weapons program is military force. Besides the impending convergence of three U.S. Carrier Strike Groups, some of the U.S. ground troops and U.S. Air Force assets which were recently in Iraq are now available to target another objective. The Israel and British Air Forces are reportedly ready to go too.
Pity the Royal Navy doesn't have any aircraft carriers any more. Second time in the last year they could have used one, too.
So, to quote President Ronald Reagan, who (of course) was quoting that great American actor Clint Eastwood: "Go ahead. Make my day."
Then again, maybe I've got the wrong movie. Maybe, just maybe, the current Leader of the Free World is about to wag the dog.
b
I'd love to see Ron Paul win that poll.
ReplyDeleteIf nothing else, just to see Brit Hume's head explode.
Drudge has Santorum and Paul neck and neck, Mitt third, Newt fourth.
ReplyDeleteI'd vote for Ron Paul if it would make Chris Matthews' head explode.
ReplyDeleteb
PERSONNEL
ReplyDeleteIRAN - Total Population: 77,891,220 [2011]
ISRAEL - Total Population: 7,473,052 [2011]
IRAN - Available Manpower: 46,247,556 [2011]
ISRAEL - Available Manpower: 3,511,190 [2011
IRAN - Fit for Service: 39,556,497 [2011]
ISRAEL - Fit for Service: 2,963,642 [2011]
IRAN - Of Military Age: 1,392,483 [2011]
ISRAEL - Of Military Age: 121,722 [2011]
IRAN - Active Military: 545,000 [2011]
ISRAEL - Active Military: 187,000 [2011]
IRAN - Active Reserve: 650,000 [2011]
ISRAEL - Active Reserve: 565,000 [2011]
Wow now that's a deep thinker...
Ok Mr Deep Thinker,
Please add in the 300,000,000 DEFEATED arabs into the equation.
Now the entire jihadist world counts ONE Israeli solder is equal to 1000 Jihadis please revamp your numbers and get back to me.
BTW I love the way Hezbollah defeated the IDF in the last war.
Reminds me of Monty Python and the night stating "it's just a fleshwound"
If and when Israel has the next war with jihadist murderers I have a feeling Israel will be fighting a much different type of fight and will not waste days and days sending leaflets warning of the upcoming battle.
COme on Deuce, show some balls, put up Bibi's speech
ReplyDeleteMaybe the bar should move to Cape May. There would be less anger.
ReplyDeleteA nice beach front header with the sun shining bright might subdue the animosity that lingers in the air around this bar.
Iran would get its ass kicked all the way up to its eyeballs if it attacked Israel.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, it would be "ditto" if Israel attacked Iran.
Neither country has a military that can "Travel." It's a lot harder than it looks.
Rufus II said...
ReplyDeleteI think I've given out about as much personal information as I care to.
I will say this; I was not an O-6. :)
So, now we're down to: Iran might give a nuke to a terrorist who flies into Boston, Logan?
really?
I love how you change the discussion to the most absurd situation.
Iran could put a nuke in a shipping container, load it on a commercial airliner and explode it over a european or western nation (or anywhere they have landing rights), they could give it to a terror group and attack an ally, they could shoot it at an sunni oil producing enemy.
From that you say " Iran might give a nuke to a terrorist who flies into Boston, Logan?"
How juvenile.
Treat the subject with some element of intelligence.
Iran flew weekly flights to Venezuela moving cargo and men that by-passed all customs.
How the heck do you KNOW what was on those flights.
here is a list of cargo services from Iran Air sparky...
IranAir Cargo
Amsterdam Schiphol airport
IranAir CARGO in Europe
With Best connection to all European cities and around the world .
Wide network of trucking .
Overnight delivery to all major European cities .
Possibility of Airport – to – Door delivery
Now smart ass, try answering the question.
Is it a threat if Iran delivers a NUKE in a shipping container to a city that houses a USA airbase? or one of an Ally?
It's killing the guys on Fox. They can't bring themselves to say Paul's name.
ReplyDeleteSantorum, Santorum, Santorum, Santorum, Romney, Santorum, Santorum, Santorum, Romney, Santorum, Santorum . . . . . .
Rufus II said...
ReplyDeleteIran would get its ass kicked all the way up to its eyeballs if it attacked Israel.
On the other hand, it would be "ditto" if Israel attacked Iran.
Neither country has a military that can "Travel." It's a lot harder than it looks.
Iran has attacked Israel, England and America thru proxies for decades.
Hamas, Hezbollah and Sadr in Iraq have murdered Americans from the Marine barracks (your fellow soldiers) to IED's to funding and supplying terror teams thruout the world.
Ignore it at your own peril
Deuce, show some spine...
ReplyDeletePost the Actual Speech BY bibi, not some terrorist's pov..
"IIranAir Cargo
ReplyDeleteOne of the strongest cargo carrier in the region
With Boeing 747 200 full freighter
No matter what your type of Cargo is
We carry it for you"
This includes nukes, chem weapons and bio weapons...
Paul/Romney/Santorum all locked up at 23%
ReplyDeleteCounty Results
Hell no.
ReplyDeleteAll containers bound for the U.S. now undergo nuke screening.
They know that they, their families, their dogs, their whores, their boyfriends, and most of their country would be vaporized.
Even the crazies in Pakistan don't want any part of that action.
You might very well get what you want, anon; but I won't be changing my opinion. I feel it will be a catastrophic error.
I've been doing some reading about Santorum. He, too, seems more than a little nuts. Can we find a candidate that can pass a basic psychological exam? And one that's not a rino?
ReplyDeleteb
Rufus II said...
ReplyDeleteHell no.
All containers bound for the U.S. now undergo nuke screening.
They know that they, their families, their dogs, their whores, their boyfriends, and most of their country would be vaporized.
Even the crazies in Pakistan don't want any part of that action.
You might very well get what you want, anon; but I won't be changing my opinion. I feel it will be a catastrophic error.
It's not the masses that make that decision, It's the ruling mullahs
And the RULING Mullahs WANT the Hidden Imam to reappear.
Learn the faith, the culture and the beliefs before offering an opinion on what you do not understand or know.
As for your opinion about EVERY container being searched?
Here you go numbnuts:
Cargo security
U.S. no longer mandating 100 percent screening of cargo containers
Published 24 June, 2011 - 04:04Share |
Email to a friend
DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that the United States is no longer going to screen every cargo container before it enters the United States; she said, "We believe the so-called 100 percent requirement is probably not the best way to go"; in 2007 Congress mandated that all containers entering the United States must be scanned at their ports of exit by 2012; the 2007 bill empowers DHS to extend the 2012 deadline if the agency believed that the goal was not achievable and in the past Napolitano has expressed doubts about the feasibility of screening 100 percent of the cargo entering the United States
Rufus, did you get that?
ReplyDeletecontainers NOT being scanned, right into America, and you live in Baltimore?
Near a PORT?
Willing to bet that crazy jihadists would not try something?????
Well, it's an idiot idea, whether 100% are screened or some lesser number.
ReplyDeleteLike I said, there's a good chance our corrupt politicians will bow to the AIPAC money, and the Bible-thumpin' vote, and do something that I consider "incredibly stupid."
So there you go; good luck, and thanks for the fish. But you'll never get my vote.
Romney/Santorum - 24%
ReplyDeleteBut the caucus site was hardly unified. Bachmann would need more than hometown connections to pull back into contention.
ReplyDelete"I feel sorry for her," said Randy Herod, a retired business consultant. "She's real nice, but this isn't her time."
Bachmann spent days before the big vote deflecting questions about her staying power. Her campaign team insisted she would press on to South Carolina, where Republicans have a Jan. 21 primary, no matter the caucus outcome.
No, I don't live in Baltimore. But I have children, and grandchildren in Houston, another very large port. And, yes, I believe they have a better chance of getting mauled by a Siberian Tiger than of being killed by an Iranian bomb.
ReplyDeleteAnd, I'm quite sure that members of my extended family have a greater danger of dying in an idiotic war/occupation of Iran than they do of dying from an Iranian nuke.
Ann Ritter, a teacher from Stanton, said she's never participated in the caucuses or attended a campaign event until Sunday, when she drove an hour to see Romney in Atlantic.
ReplyDelete...
Ritter said she won't make a decision on who to support until the night of the caucuses. Her husband, Phil, a retired Lutheran minister, said he's also undecided.
"All I know is we gotta get rid of Obama," he said. "Otherwise, we're toast."
Ah, Paul ain't gonna make it. Santorum/Romney.
ReplyDeleteThe idiot biblethumper, and the sane man. Typical Iowa.
Rufus:
ReplyDeleteLike I said, there's a good chance our corrupt politicians will bow to the AIPAC money
Do you have any CLUE what AIPAC actually lobbies for?
Or are you just repeating talking points?
Really I put it to you, go to AIPAC website and read what they advocate.
then tell me what is so wrong with their message.
I bet you dont...
Cause you dont know shit...
Rufus II said...
ReplyDeleteNo, I don't live in Baltimore. But I have children, and grandchildren in Houston, another very large port. And, yes, I believe they have a better chance of getting mauled by a Siberian Tiger than of being killed by an Iranian bomb.
And, I'm quite sure that members of my extended family have a greater danger of dying in an idiotic war/occupation of Iran than they do of dying from an Iranian nuke.
We are not going to "occupy" Iran.
Never was in the cards.
Iran NUKING a USA city?
Very Plausible, very possible.
bob said...
ReplyDeleteReally I put it to you, go to AIPAC website and read what they advocate.
then tell me what is so wrong with their message.
I bet you dont...
Cause you dont know shit...
Tue Jan 03, 10:27:00 PM EST
Rufus has on more than this occasion brought up AIPAC money. How much does AIPAC give and to whom? Strangely, I've never heard that.
It's not the masses that make that decision, It's the ruling mullahs
ReplyDeleteAnd the RULING Mullahs WANT the Hidden Imam to reappear.
Learn the faith, the culture and the beliefs before offering an opinion on what you do not understand or know.
This seems to me the center of today's ongoing argument. It certainly does seem crazy - to us - it seems Jonestown crazy. And is, of course - according to us.
Yet Jonestown happened, in the past sons and daughters have been sacrificed to the gods, one man's rhetoric turned all of Europe upside down.
Here in America we have plenty of people - some voting tonight - who think and believe Jesus might appear at any time, descending from the clouds.
Obviously, I don't know how seriously to take them, but we might be wise to take the talk seriously.
b
You call "me" an idiot, and "you" think the U.S. can stop Iran from developing nukes Without Occupying Iran?
ReplyDeleteEven an idiot can't be that stupid, so I just have to assume you're a damned Israelphile liar.
I think that was WiO talking about going to AIPAC, wasn't me. I've been there.
ReplyDeleteb
Romney, Santorum and Paul appear to be ending the night in a tie.
ReplyDeleteLooked at another way, 2/3 of Iowans do not agree with the radical/insane agenda of Dr. Ron Paul. I'm guessing that includes his take on Israel. And that is just a bit less than the polls show. But you guys keep trying; you got plenty of sock puppets :-)
You can watch the Iowa election coverage live Here
ReplyDeleteb
25 -23 -21 latest, Santorum pulling away a bit
ReplyDeleteb
Bob, the rulling mullahs in Iran are just like politicians, everywhere. Cynical, old, millionaire conmen, playing the masses for the suckers they are.
ReplyDeleteThey've all had their chances to strap on the bomb vests, or charge the machine guns; and they've all "passed."
Even Ahmadinejad taught the other kids how to clear the minefields; he didn't do it "himself."
Those people aren't any more suicidal than you or I.
25 - 25 - 21 now.
ReplyDelete25 -25 -21 with 80% reporting
ReplyDeleteb
They didn't spend their lives becoming millionaires, and billionaires, just to throw it all away on some suicidal attack that odds-on wouldn't be successful, anyway.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the next state up?
ReplyDeleteNH?
Yep, Romney wins big there.
ReplyDeleteThen the knife fight in S. Carolina.
In only a short time, I think, it is NH.
ReplyDeleteb
Yeah, Romney +22.2 (RCP).
ReplyDeleteThe big action is the Idaho primary late in the spring. The nation waits breathlessly for that.
ReplyDeleteI am working day and night to get a 'favorite son' on the ballot, Butch Otter, Governor.
b
Rufus II said...
ReplyDeleteThey didn't spend their lives becoming millionaires, and billionaires, just to throw it all away on some suicidal attack that odds-on wouldn't be successful, anyway.
You are one stupid hilljack.
You know nothing of what you speak.
You really need to embrace the concept of silence.
Your opinions about nukes, Iran, containers and stopping an iranian bomb show lame your ideas are.
Your talking points about aipac show you KNOW nothing and more importantly when it proven that you are WRONG? You get pissy....
Instead of being a man, admitting you are WRONG and LEARNING something, you basically state "i know what i know, dont confuse me with the facts"
What a dumpshit...
Mahdi is reported to have said:
ReplyDeleteShi'as believe that Imam al-Mahdi will reappear when the world has fallen into chaos and civil war emerges between the human race for no reason. At this time, it is believed, half of the true believers will ride from Yemen carrying white flags to Makkah, while the other half will ride from Karbala, in Iraq, carrying black flags to Makkah. At this time, Imam al-Mahdi will come wielding Allah's Sword, the Blade of Evil's Bane, Zulfiqar (Arabic: ذو الفقار, ðū l-fiqār), the Double-Bladed Sword. He will also come and reveal the texts in his possession, such as al-Jafr and al-Jamia.
MITT 27,101
ReplyDeleteRICK 26,976
b
That's fairly tight.
ReplyDeleteMan, big difference between Iowa and New Hampshire.
ReplyDelete.
ReplyDeleteDeuce, show some spine...
Post the Actual Speech BY bibi, not some terrorist's pov..
You post it asshole.
I've seen it.
You post it and anyone else that wants to read it or see it can.
.
It's back to Minnesota for Bachmann.
ReplyDeleteDead last and politically dead.
b
But, she still has 2300 kids, right? :)
ReplyDeleteMeantime, oil refineries are closing left and right in Europe, and we're heading back toward $3.50/gal gasoline.
ReplyDeleteMore kids than votes!
ReplyDeleteb
.
ReplyDeleteA nice beach front header with the sun shining bright might subdue the animosity that lingers in the air around this bar.
Amimosity?
.
Fuck you, Quirk.
ReplyDeleteGet a speller, asshole!
b
.
ReplyDeleteI mean, Animosity?
.
Amimosity
ReplyDeleteShit, what a dumbfuck
b
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete.
ReplyDelete.
Your quick on the trigger bobbo.
Got me before I could post the correction.
Saver it. That may be the last time anyone refers to you as quick. I mean with the possible exception of your wife of course.
.
Santorum up by 67 votes. 95% reporting.
ReplyDeleteRomney up by 41 votes. 98% reporting.
ReplyDeleteWashington’s concept of squeezing a country’s government by interfering with its energy policies has a dolorous history seven decades old.
ReplyDeleteWhen Japan invaded Vichy French-ruled southern Indo-China in July 1941 the U.S. demanded Japan withdraw. In addition, on 1 August the U.S., Japan’s biggest oil supplier at the time, imposed an oil embargo on the country.
Pearl Harbor occurred less than four months later.
22. Tcobb
ReplyDeleteCould our Nobel Laureate Empty suit of a President actually be leading us into war?
Let us hope not. Obama has as much talent for running a military conflict as a hamster has of solving differential equations.
Santorum upstaged Romney and proposed a pro-manufacturing populist message that sounds as if it will sell. Gingrich left with his blood up against Romney. This will be interesting.
ReplyDelete5 votes. Maybe they will tie.
ReplyDeleteb
I heard something about his "manufacturing" schtick a couple of weeks ago. Almost commented on it, because I thought it was ironic that in the same breath he was saying the government should
ReplyDeleteget out of "business," and let the "free market" work,
and that the government should "incentivise manufacturing."
No 1 issue - Unemployment
Looks Like Perry Is Dropping Out
ReplyDeleteb
That should raise the average IQ of the field by more than a bit.
ReplyDelete:)
ReplyDeleteHow old is he? He may have the beginnings of an age related memory problem.
I liked his idea of a part time Congress.
How you'd get Congress to agree to that, I don't think he had thought through.
b
All I can say to that is "welcome to the club."
ReplyDeleteJust offer'em more money. They'll do anything for "mo money."
The parliament down here (congress) just voted themselves a pay increase last month.
ReplyDeleteJunior ministers got a 45k raise taking their pay up to 185k/year.
Julia Gillard got a 114k raise taking her to 481k/year. More than Obama.
4 votes. out of 120,000.
ReplyDeleteOne precinct out. How does this happen?
Simply Amazin'.
Romney by 14.
ReplyDeleteShoot them, Sam.
ReplyDeleteb
Scratch that. Romney by 8.
ReplyDeleteOut of 122,000
Santorum got the 'rural' vote -:)- Romney got the 'city slickers'.
ReplyDeleteHere
b
The Republicans love them some "rural" hicks. Easier to snow.
ReplyDeleteThe board I'm watching has given Romney the big red check mark and says he has won by 8 votes.
ReplyDeletenite, ruf
b
It ain't over till you get the big red check mark. :)
ReplyDeletenite Bob.
ReplyDelete