It’s a truism that conventional armies cannot win revolutionary wars—that for all their resources and firepower, they will be defeated by guerrilla insurgencies. This lesson of Vietnam is rarely questioned, but it is false. Under Johnson and Westmoreland we lost a war the establishment said we were winning. Under Abrams and Nixon we won one they said we were losing. The Vietnam war tells us a lot more about American government and popular perception than it does the quest for a victory of arms.
Conventional armies can easily defeat revolutionary ones if they adapt to their means and methods. (We did it in Afghanistan in 2001, for instance.) Our armies lose, though, because our governments are incapable of pursuing victory in revolutionary war—which requires the methods that built the great colonial empires and are no longer palatable to the society that our wealth and relativism have created.
-Robert Messenger (2010)
Sounds like fighting words to me. At a minimum, he is faulting government, the modern incarnation. At most, he is condemning all of this country - institutions, culture, and people - for evolving in a direction that does not support colonialism; use of "relativism" strongly suggesting an anti-progressive bias. Somewhere in the middle is an ill-defined argument for nation-building.
McChrystal has a point:
Caution and cynicism are safe, but soldiers don’t want to follow cautious cynics. They follow leaders who believe enough to risk failure or disappointment for a worthy cause.
That kind of brings us back full circle to the hated Powell Doctrine.
It would be the height of absurdity to assume that the various war colleges and war gaming institutions have not studies the required intersections suggested by the DIME acronym. So optimal strategies are abandoned why?
The ME was and is all about money - and oil. I do not believe that the role of religion will become fully apparent until the historical dust settles, but my guess is that the final assessment will include something along the lines of religious conflict as an excuse to further the revolutionary objectives of archaic societies under pressure to self-sustain in a world for which they were not prepared. When all else fails, fight. What more enduring incentive than a god?
All of which is a springboard off of Desert Rat's contention that the Mad Mullahs intentionally attacked with the sole purpose of financially draining the Great Satan by permanently planting their military in the desert sands of the ME. I am not completely convinced, but there is little doubt in my mind that *some entity* wanted USA "over there."
Shorter version is that I agree with Rufus - out tomorrow. I remember Trish used to post too-cryptic-for-me reasons why USA military presence was important but my IQ digits didn't wrap around the argument. Then again, I note, as wretchard recently admitted, there is much about 9/11 that will never be made public during our lifetimes. Major Cypher.
-Robert Messenger (2010)
Sounds like fighting words to me. At a minimum, he is faulting government, the modern incarnation. At most, he is condemning all of this country - institutions, culture, and people - for evolving in a direction that does not support colonialism; use of "relativism" strongly suggesting an anti-progressive bias. Somewhere in the middle is an ill-defined argument for nation-building.
McChrystal has a point:
Caution and cynicism are safe, but soldiers don’t want to follow cautious cynics. They follow leaders who believe enough to risk failure or disappointment for a worthy cause.
That kind of brings us back full circle to the hated Powell Doctrine.
It would be the height of absurdity to assume that the various war colleges and war gaming institutions have not studies the required intersections suggested by the DIME acronym. So optimal strategies are abandoned why?
The ME was and is all about money - and oil. I do not believe that the role of religion will become fully apparent until the historical dust settles, but my guess is that the final assessment will include something along the lines of religious conflict as an excuse to further the revolutionary objectives of archaic societies under pressure to self-sustain in a world for which they were not prepared. When all else fails, fight. What more enduring incentive than a god?
All of which is a springboard off of Desert Rat's contention that the Mad Mullahs intentionally attacked with the sole purpose of financially draining the Great Satan by permanently planting their military in the desert sands of the ME. I am not completely convinced, but there is little doubt in my mind that *some entity* wanted USA "over there."
Shorter version is that I agree with Rufus - out tomorrow. I remember Trish used to post too-cryptic-for-me reasons why USA military presence was important but my IQ digits didn't wrap around the argument. Then again, I note, as wretchard recently admitted, there is much about 9/11 that will never be made public during our lifetimes. Major Cypher.
Cool. That looks *just* like me - except that I'm blonde.
ReplyDeleteThat looks *just* like me - except that I'm blonde.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure WiO will believe that.
Hang in there. I'm going to (re)watch Escape from LA.
ReplyDeleteThanks Deuce.
Santorum pulled it off.
ReplyDeleteRomney's gonna come in 3rd in both.
ReplyDelete"Santorum At Desperate End of His Campaign" HERE
ReplyDeleteA quote perfectly crafted for the morning news :)
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteRICHMOND — A low-level leak of mustard agent was detected in a storage igloo, and unfiltered process water used to wash explosives out old conventional munitions made its way to the Blue Grass Army Depot’s general waste-water treatment plant.
ReplyDeleteDepot officials reported both incidents Monday, saying they believe no toxins were released into the general environment. Local and state environmental immediately were notified, they said.
AH!!! Finally! This Explains A Lot
ReplyDeleteAH!!! Finally! This Explains A Lot
ReplyDelete“Senator Santorum is at the desperate end of his campaign,” Mitt Romney told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Tuesday. Oops. For weeks, Team Romney and many of its allies have been eager—one might even say desperate—to end this campaign.
ReplyDelete...
So contrary to conventional wisdom, last night was a good night for Republican prospects to defeat Barack Obama. The point, after all, isn't to end the primary campaign early. It's to end the Obama presidency in November.
What is Sheldon Adelson to do now? He was putting his hard earned casino bucks on Neuter cause he though Newt would be the best friend of Israel of the bunch. Or, was he somehow trying to help Cayman Islands, by dividing up the 'conservative vote'. It all gets very confusing.
ReplyDeleteI have learned yesterday and today though that Mittens has had it pretty easy with this 10% tithing stuff.
The early Mormon elders were more severe.
One was to give them everything and then they- the 12 Apostles of the Sacred Quorum or some such thing, would, in their guided wisdom, use it for the overall benefit of the tribe.
Good work if you can get, but seemingly, human nature was a little too much to overcome there.
In this regard, one is reminded of the New Testament tale of Ananias and Sapphira, in Acts 5:1-6
But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. 2 And kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? 4 While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” 5 Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things. 6 And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him.
They didn't f around, in those days.
We had no strategic reason to be in Afghanistan and no realistic strategy to win. The U.S. soldier who had that mental breakdown and killed all those Afghans reveals what happens when men are given long tours of combat duty one after another without enough leave time. The soldier involved had already had a serious brain injury and was displaying serious mental problems and should have been in a veterans hospital receiving intensive care instead of in a combat zone.
ReplyDeleteO, really, what the hell
ReplyDeleteThis is so really swell
The Mahdi is risen from the well
At last we ring ding dong bell
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteDoc | March 13, 2012 4:09 PM | Reply
ReplyDeleteEgypt has a proven track record of producing such deranged and dangerous moonbats. In fact dealing with one of them in the 19th century - the Mahdist uprising in the Sudan 1881-1885 - was the first modern war between Islam and the West. That Mahdi, Mahdi Muhammad Ahmad, after starting a very bloody war that killed tens of thousands (mainly fellow Muslims of course) is believed to have died a very un-holy death from cholera. Some may remember the 1960's film 'Khartoum' starring Charleton Heston with Sir Lawrence Olivier giving a terrific performance as the Mahdi (albeit as more an evil sly-boots than a fanatical madman) - the siege by Mahdist forces and the death of British general 'China' Gordon was a signal point in the up rising.
There is little doubt that, after defeating a succession of Egyptian armies, there was little to stop the Mahdists overrunning Egypt had the British not reluctantly intervened.
The Mahdi died but his legacy was carried on by his followers led by Khalifa Abdulla al-Taashi and four tough years of very bloody warfare with the Anglo-Egyptian forces under the British. The Mahdists under the Mahdis' successor held Khartoum as their capital and were not finally defeated until 1898 by Lord Kitchener at Omdurmman.
This conflict had all the hallmarks of the modern War on Terror with no less than Churchill himself (who took part in the last campaign) accusing Kitchener of war crimes against the Dervishes (ordering the killing of wounded) after Omdurman in his first famous book 'The River War'.
This war was the first and most serious modern clash between Islam and the West. But this fundamentalist uprising is frequently forgotten because it was largely considered part of the British Empire's colonial wars (which, strictly speaking, it wasn't) and the first attempt by Muslim fanatics to take over Egypt before the present so-called 'Arab Spring' and overthrow of the Mubarak regime. Most people have long forgotten about it - but you can bet that any current 'Mahdi' and his fundamentalist followers won't have!
from Comments
Ah what the fuck these guys can handle nukes.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteArab columnists are harshly critical of Obama’s lack of action in Syria
ReplyDeleteWhat the fuck do they want us to do when their own arms supplier, Russia, vetoed our ideas in the UNSC?
Logos: We had no strategic reason to be in Afghanistan and no realistic strategy to win.
ReplyDeleteThe ship of empire washes up on the shoals of Asscrackistan again and again, from the British to the Soviet Union to us. Alexander the Great said Afghanistan is "easy to march into, hard to march out of."
No one has really put a serious effort into carpet bombing the place, yet.
ReplyDeleteCourse the ship of empire had zero to do with our being there.
Doug had it right. Arming and helping the opposition to the Russians was a really really stupid thing to do, in hindsight.
Wasp said...
ReplyDeleteThat looks *just* like me - except that I'm blonde.
I'm sure WiO will believe that.
Why not she, unlike you, has not a record of lying for years. You have freely admitted that you did yank the chain of all of us, even those you were friendly too about being an avowed lesbian with a life partner, serving our nation under Reagan.
It's funny actually, I can see you distorting me, Jews, Zionism, Israel and Judaism since you are a hater, but you actually lied to your "friends".
I used to get all pissy about the Catholic Church, then I learned what they did to their own and understood if they would do that to their own children then I should not take it personal that they did it to the Jews.
The same logic holds for you. Whatever you call yourself today... Ms T, Teresita, Zena, Wasp, whatever. If you were willing to misrepresent yourself for YEARS here to those that you sought acceptance and fellowship from? Then I cant be mad that you are a shit to me and Jews, Judiasm, Israel or Zionism. After all you pissed on those you pretended to like....
No one has really put a serious effort into carpet bombing the place, yet.
ReplyDeleteYou better look at a map.
Gingrich no longer says he can capture the 1,144 delegates required to wrap up the Republican nomination. Instead, he now speaks frankly about a new plan: Keep Romney from getting to 1,144 by the end of the GOP primary season in June, and then start what Gingrich calls a "conversation" about who should be the Republican nominee. That conversation, the plan goes, would lead to a brokered GOP convention at which Gingrich would emerge as the eventual nominee.
ReplyDeleteBrother Heber C. Kimball’s remarks concerning Jedediah M. Grant's visits to the other world -
ReplyDeleteDeath Is A Transition
Obviously I picked up a book about the Mormons the other day.
Mormon musings on this topic of the structure of the other world track very well with many reflections and remembrances (especially Mormon ones!:) of some of the near death experiences of other groups.
Minas Crude (Indonesia) Spot Price:
ReplyDelete$139.19
And, you wonder why the oil guys really want that XL Pipeline?
Don't you know they hate selling that stuff to my local refinery for $106.00?
heh, some of these Mormon comments are interestin'
ReplyDeleteNew Yorker
Pleasant Grove, UT
@ Red Corvette
You apparently didn't watch the most recent new Nova series on time and space. Everything is all their, all the time. Time, if viewed as a loaf of bread, can be sliced in any direction. Nothing is gone, nor ever will be. You've got to watch the whole series to grasp that our human paradigm about what is going on around us is not just flawed by our own limitations, but absolutely wrong. As Latter-day Saints, we call it the veil. When the veil is removed in the final resurrection we'll see things as they really are. One of the real possibilities discussed in the Nova series is that 3 dimensional space as we perceive it is actually only a holographic projection of reality on a two-dimensional surface. True science and true religion will someday be one and our limited views will fall as scales from our eyes.
That's dang near William Blake - if the eyes of perception were cleansed...all would appear as it is, infinite....
Not sure about the bread slice, though.
But, sure beats thinkin' bout ethanol for a day.
Just read up in Deseret News.
Yeah, let's spend the day ruminating on religious conmen, and queer poets. That's the ticket.
ReplyDeleteGasoline Supplied over the last 4 wks Down 7.2% YOY
ReplyDeleteDistillate (diesel) Down 7.1%.
Rufus II said...
ReplyDeleteYeah, let's spend the day ruminating on religious conmen, and queer poets. That's the ticket.
Once in a blue moon Rufus gets it correct.
William Blake wasn't queer.
ReplyDeleteALL Poets are queer.
ReplyDeleteSome just don't know it.
ReplyDeleteDeuce you talking to yourself again?
ReplyDeleteWilliam Blake wasn't queer. Odd, but not queer.
ReplyDeleteWe could spend the day talking about the conmen at Solyandra, and wind power, and .....the criminal in the White House....
we call it the veil. When the veil is removed in the final resurrection we'll see things as they really are. One of the real possibilities discussed in the Nova series is that 3 dimensional space as we perceive it is actually only a holographic projection of reality on a two-dimensional surface. True science and true religion will someday be one and our limited views will fall as scales from our eyes.
ReplyDeleteyawn...
smoked brisket, 18 year old scotch, good sex.
that's what the Jew thinks and I aint no poet.
William Blake wasn't queer. Odd, but not queer.
ReplyDeleteWe could spend the day talking about the conmen at Solyandra, and wind power, and .....the criminal in the White House....
Israel Strikes Oil Off Tel-Aviv Coast
But, then, they are not DUMBSHITS, and figure it's OK to DRILL OFF THEIR OWN COASTS, and if they had Alaska, THEY'D DRILL THERE TOO.
232 million barrels.
ReplyDelete3 days global supply.
and, the first well will be producing in only 5 yrs.
let the partying begin.
"all caps" for 3 days supply.
ReplyDeleteabout right
Rufus II said...
ReplyDelete"all caps" for 3 days supply.
about right
Easy to say when you live in AMerica.
But if you live in Israel where there is almost NO oil or gas resources up to 12 months ago?
It's a game changer.
Up to now Israel had to buy oil and gas on the world market and usually from hostile sellers.
You also say: 232 million barrels.
3 days global supply.
and, the first well will be producing in only 5 yrs.
let the partying begin.
Again, from your pov? meaningless..
Now it's all relative.
Meaning if my relative UNcle had the income from those barrels?
24,360,000,000
That's 24 BILLION dollars...
Israel could use that for lot's of things..
It's also 24 BILLION opec doesnt get...
It also means energy independence for Israel. No more arab boycotts...
SO again, your bah humbug?
that is what is meaningless..
It's all relative...
Get over yourself. Of course, it's good for Israel. But, from the perspective of a country of 320 million, it would be of no consequence.
ReplyDeleteI've read dozens of Mormon life after life accounts, and I'm not certain Rufus would like it, much.
ReplyDeleteThere are no idle hands, there, in the celestial city.
You won't be finding any hammocks between shade trees, either, or Budweiser beer in the fruit jar glasses.
You'll be finding - who would have guessed?! - Salt Lake City writ large, all abuzz with meaningful activity, and hierarchies of every sort too.
A lazy old inebriated anarchist like Ruf just wouldn't fit in.
I forgot the smiley face --
ReplyDelete:)
I've read dozens of Mormon life after life accounts, and I'm not certain Rufus would like it, much.
There are no idle hands, there, in the celestial city.
You won't be finding any hammocks between shade trees, either, or Budweiser beer in the fruit jar glasses.
You'll be finding - who would have guessed?! - Salt Lake City writ large, all abuzz with meaningful activity, and hierarchies of every sort too.
A lazy old inebriated anarchist like Ruf just wouldn't fit in.
:)
Rufus II said...
ReplyDeleteGet over yourself. Of course, it's good for Israel. But, from the perspective of a country of 320 million, it would be of no consequence.
Get over MYSELF?
No Rufus, get your yourself.
It's a game changer for Israel.
America? We are shooting ourselves in the head with Obama. We are not the issue. Thanks to Obama? we will not be important on the world stage.
But 24 BILLION in oil for Israel?
That rocks.
But then again you have said you could care less about Israel or the Jewish survival as a people. Not calling you anti-semetic, just calling you as not caring.
But there are many more in this nation that do care.
And israel having it's own fuel resources is a BIG deal.
It also allows the USA not to have supply Israel with oil in the event of another arab war.
Now I know it's hard for you to understand these complicated ideas...
Israel not needing outside OIL helps America.
think of it...
Israel being energy independent HELPS America.
anytime Israel can help America not need to help it, helps America..
Depending on the geology, a resource that size would probably yield around 60,000 bbl/day for approx 10 yrs (more at first, a lot less toward the end.)
ReplyDeleteI haven't looked it up, but Israel probably uses about 150,000 bbl/day. So, you're probably looking at somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 of Israel's needs, for about 10 yrs. A help, but "gamechanger?" eh.
Israel Safest Place In Mideast For Christians
ReplyDeletegotta run, ta ta
And, you wonder why the oil guys really want that XL Pipeline?
ReplyDeleteI don't. I know it's because the Canadians want to put America back to work again.
It may not matter. Afghanistan will be abandoned like yesterday's iPad for Iran. Some are making an argument that the Mullahs have a much different objective of uniting Sunni's over Shi'a and building an Islamic arc by overtaking any number of weaker sisters including Yemen and UAE. At any rate, Let the polling begin for the Iran invasion:
The poll showed 56 percent of Americans would support U.S. military action against Iran if there were evidence of a nuclear weapon program. Thirty-nine percent of Americans opposed military strikes.
...
"What we're seeing is kind of a general trend that we always see, that Republicans tend to be more hawkish than Democrats or independents," said Ipsos pollster Cliff Young. "Historically Republicans have been much more security-centric."
A potential conflict with Iran has cast a foreign policy shadow over the U.S. election, which is expected to be dominated by voter concerns over the domestic economy.
Obama accused Republican presidential candidates earlier this month of "beating the drums of war" while failing to consider the consequences.
Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, one of the top Republican presidential contenders, told the powerful pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC: "If Iran doesn't get rid of nuclear facilities, we will tear them down ourselves."
Appending /sarcasm/ to that first line of course.
ReplyDeleteCOIN in Afghanistan
ReplyDelete(Submitted without Comment)
Tossing the Afghan COIN
To be sure, many of these arguments have been made for some time by COIN skeptics. But what is most revelatory is that the US military seems to be finally getting the message. In the media uproar over the Rolling Stone article that sank the career of General McChrystal, often overlooked was the recounting of his conversation with US soldiers in southern Afghanistan who complained that restrictive rules of engagement made it nearly impossible for them to do the job they were trained for—killing the enemy. With no sense of irony, McChrystal complained, "This is the philosophical part that works with think tanks...but it doesn't get the same reception from infantry companies."
--Michael Cohen, Sr Fellow, American Security Project
So what do the think tanks think now?
Iran is Rational:
“All of Iran’s foreign policy decisions have fit within the rational framework of improving their national defense and increasing regional influence. It is clear that Supreme Leader Khamenei believes that the goal for United States’ sanctions against Iran is not the removal of the nuclear program but the destruction of the regime itself. Because of this belief, and the perceived dangers that the United States presents to Iran, Iran maintains strong relationships with Hezbollah and Syria, continues to improve its indigenous nuclear program, and retains potent asymmetrical warfare capabilities.
--Joshua Foust, Fellow, American Security Project
As a COIN theorist and military official said to me, "COIN is a form of warfare and thus involves violence. Don't be fooled by the fact that Petraeus found some useful idiots to make it sound more palatable and humanitarian."
ReplyDelete...
The shift in emphasis toward a more traditional conflict is compelling evidence of the disconnect between the theory of population-centric COIN and actual US capabilities—and an unstated recognition that FM 3-24 has so far not succeeded. This hasn't stopped COIN advocates from arguing that the shift in military emphasis is all part of the larger COIN effort; after all, they claim, direct military action is a crucial element of counterinsurgency. But these are self-serving and deceptive arguments, intended in part to mask the failure of the military to capture Afghan hearts and minds.
One can argue that the recent failures in the ME are both political *and* military. It seems to me that COIN is a failure in the ME. If it can't be bought with a what was the estimated number a $40B to $60B bribe, time to rethink. Should have field tested it with a nicer group of tribes.
We heard all this COIN bullshit 50 yrs ago. It was stupid in Vietnam, and it's stupid now.
ReplyDeleteAnonyma: I don't. I know it's because the Canadians want to put America back to work again.
ReplyDeleteThe same sort of short-term construction jobs that would have come with building the NAFTA superhighway from Juarez to KCMO.
Israel Safest Place In Mideast For Christians
ReplyDeleteREV 11:8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
That may well be, Rufus but Trish (and her (then?) husband) were heavily invested in it. Trish being, still is, I presume, a smart (and connected) woman, I looked into it some more to better understand all the WTF crap coming out of Iraq, AfPak, and now Iran.
ReplyDeleteAlso believe McChrystal and Petraeus are dedicated professionals who did their damdest to "deactivate" that hornets nest from hell. I for one like the idea of Petraeus at CIA. Good match - for him and the country.
WiO: Thanks to Obama? we will not be important on the world stage.
ReplyDelete60% of the global currency reserves are in US dollars. But WiO says we won't be important.
Lying through their teeth, W, lying through their teeth. (Don't make me redraw that dismal road map from 20,000!!!! ... to 50. :)
ReplyDeleteWiO: It also allows the USA not to have supply Israel with oil in the event of another arab war.
ReplyDeleteWe can choose not to have to supply Israel with oil in the event of another Israeli-instigated Arab war right now (ala '56, '67, '82, '06) with or without an independent Israeli energy supply.
1956: On Oct. 29, Israeli forces, directed by Moshe Dayan, launched a combined air and ground assault into Egypt's Sinai peninsula.
1967: The escalation of threats and provocations continued until June 5, 1967, when Israel launched a massive air assault that crippled Arab air capability.
1982: In June Israel launched a massive attack to destroy all military bases of the Palestine Liberation Organization in S. Lebanon.
2006: On July 12,Israel launched air strikes on Hezbollah strongholds in Southern Lebanon, starting the Lebanon War.
So in 2013 when the IDF kicks the Iranian hornet's nest maybe their arms customers in China will kick in some oil.
China, Israeli's new special friend
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of Keystone, the latest entry into the arena from Texas farmers. The video says is pretty good.
ReplyDeleteAnonyma: I don't. I know it's because the Canadians want to put America back to work again.
ReplyDeleteThe same sort of short-term construction jobs that would have come with building the NAFTA superhighway from Juarez to KCMO.
Wed Mar 14, 02:33:00 PM EDT
Wasp said...
Israel Safest Place In Mideast For Christians
REV 11:8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
Wed Mar 14, 02:35:00 PM EDT
You stupid shit, you couldn't spiritually discern your twat from your asshole.
Revelation
At least 1,000 Israeli firms now operate in China, home to a massive $10 billion kosher food industry that sends much of its output to Israel. Last September, the Israeli government announced Chinese participation in a rail project that would allow overland cargo transport through Israel's Negev desert, bypassing the Suez Canal. Two months later, the Chinese vice minister of commerce announced the two countries were mulling a free trade agreement.
ReplyDeleteThe Israeli's, unlike the USA, don't seem to be locating their hi-tech industry in China, which, if one assumes business as usual, means that China is reduced to stealing kosher falafel recipes.
Protect your pita patents.
ReplyDeleteGood article, W. Started to do some commentary but the article stands on its own. Good read.
ReplyDeleteRufus II said...
ReplyDeleteDepending on the geology, a resource that size would probably yield around 60,000 bbl/day for approx 10 yrs (more at first, a lot less toward the end.)
I haven't looked it up, but Israel probably uses about 150,000 bbl/day. So, you're probably looking at somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 of Israel's needs, for about 10 yrs. A help, but "gamechanger?" eh.
Sure it is... and couple that with Israel recent natural gas finds?
Total gamer changer.
Love the way you play it down.
Shows how unbiased you are....
Wasp said...
ReplyDeleteWiO: Thanks to Obama? we will not be important on the world stage.
60% of the global currency reserves are in US dollars. But WiO says we won't be important.
Interesting distortion as usual.
WASP proves once again all she does is cut and paste, lie and distort.
But what could we ever expect from someone that lied to her cyber pals for years on end?
Fake sexual orientation, fake gender? Fake cancer?
Once a liar, always a liar...
wasp, aka teresita, aka ms t, aka zena, aka anti-semitic cunt says:
ReplyDeleteWe can choose not to have to supply Israel with oil in the event of another Israeli-instigated Arab war right now (ala '56, '67, '82, '06) with or without an independent Israeli energy supply.
Notice how our islamic filipino claims Israel "instigated" all those wars...
Now go and study how Ms t's, ZENA's, Teresita's Wasp's people murdered thousands of American boys in the Philippines.
The truth is coming out...
Ms T, Zena, Wasp, Teresita is an anti-semite, jew hating, Israel hating, Judaism hating islamic filipino.
Scum doesnt get much lower than that...
Earlier in the day, two smaller motorcycle bombs exploded in neighboring Kandahar province. The first bomb was located by local Afghan security forces, working off a tip, and detonated safely without causing casualties, provincial government spokesman Faisal Jawed said.
ReplyDeleteShortly after noon, Afghan police were tipped off to a second motorcycle bomb, Mr. Jawed said. As police were searching for the motorcycle, the explosives went off.
An officer with the National Directorate of Security spy agency was killed and three Afghans were wounded, including a civilian, he said.
Will 2012 be one of those presidential years in which social issues play a significant role in the general election?
ReplyDeleteIn a cycle so far dominated by a stagnant economy, no one is predicting this. But, then, virtually no one predicted social issues would rise to the top in 1988 or 2004, the post-Reagan elections in which they did so.
Republican elites who fear such a development should keep in mind that 1988 and 2004 were also the only two post-Reagan elections in which their party won a popular majority. The signs are growing that this is a history capable of repeating itself.
Mr Cameron said the current EU-wide oil embargo had "dramatically increased pressure" on President Bashar Assad's murderous regime but the UK and US were prepared to go further.
ReplyDelete...
"If it refuses to do so, then Britain and America, along with our international partners, will continue to increase the political and economic pressure to achieve a peaceful outcome to this crisis.
"The President and I have said that nothing is off the table."
"In some kind of insane bout of mass misogyny, Republicans are hounding out the women voters," Dowd writes, providing "a glide path to the White House both for Obama in 2012 and Hillary in 2016." Women have realized that their emancipation isn't as secure as they thought, and that to protect it "they may need one of their own." The column has set Washington talking. On MSNBC this morning, Game Change author John Heilemann predicted there was a "99.4%" chance Clinton would run in 2016, according to Politico.
ReplyDelete--http://www.newser.com/story/141789/gop-handing-2016-to-hillary.html
Every once in awhile some new-to-blogging poster enters one of the conservative bull pens with the standard happy-face comment "I'm fiscally conservative but socially liberal." It's fun to watch the ensuing shit storm. They never know what hit them.
Premier Wen noted that the party had delivered its verdict on the mistakes of that period at a landmark meeting in 1978—two years after Chairman Mao's death—when it decided to switch course and launch market-oriented reforms.
ReplyDelete...
Mr. Wen did not, however, make any specific recommendations on political reform other than suggesting that direct elections in Chinese villages should be expanded to townships and counties—something the party committed to achieve long ago.
He has made repeated appeals for political reform over the past two years, but they have failed to translate into policy changes, leading many Chinese people to believe he lacks either the will or the power to push such changes through the party's collective leadership.
It has been a tough week for the president. Just as things were supposed to be getting better for him—as they were for the economy—his support and approval ratings took a severe hit in two important polls.
ReplyDelete...
Then, anyone who still feels a need to read the piece is greeted with this opening sentence:
Voters are appalled at President Barrack Obama’s handling of gas prices, even though virtually every policy expert in both parties says there’s little a president can do to affect the day-to-day price of fuel in a global market.
...
The Politico piece goes on to explain that when it comes to the big issues that the Washington elite has mastered so thoroughly, the public is … well, stupid.
“The first lesson you learn as a pollster is that people are stupid,” said Tom Jensen of Public Policy Polling, a Democratic polling firm. “I tell a client trying to make sense of numbers on a poll that are inherently contradictory that at least once a week.”
(Not to light a fire under Rufus) but the irony of COIN doctrine is that it might have worked in Vietnam, if given more of a chance (nipped in the bud by Westmoreland) but it was never going to work in Afghanistan, (in the absence of a legitimate state, despite the huge push given by the military.
ReplyDeleteNobel Prize-winning Albert Einstein was born on this day in 1879.
ReplyDeleteUseless fact #13:
ReplyDeleteThe lion used in the original MGM movie logo killed its trainer and 2 assistants the day after the logo was filmed.
Damn That Abe Lincoln For Messing With Things
ReplyDeleteNumber of slaves rose after the introduction of the cotton gin, article states.
“The first lesson you learn as a pollster is that people are stupid,”
ReplyDeleteI'm not going to take the rebuttal position on that one, but I will say this: the public is fully tuned in to the depth of the corruption among the Washington elite and it's a short synaptic connection from corruption to why we have pricing problems at the pump.
Hot from the Wires of the Ideologically Unhinged: The military is poised to take up arms against Washington. This armchair saber rattling is irre-fucking-sponsible.
A stolen vehicle was driven onto the runway of the main British base in Afghanistan then burst into flames as US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta arrived there today.
ReplyDelete...
Asked about the incident at a White House press conference with US President Barack Obama, Prime Minister David Cameron said it was not yet clear exactly what had happened.
...
"If there are things that need to be done in the coming hours and days to keep them safer, be in no doubt we will do them."
A new Pew Research survey finds that 59% of American voters say that President Obama is likely to be re-elected if his
ReplyDeleteopponent is Mitt Romney.
If the contest is between Obama and Rick Santorum, 68% anticipate an Obama victory.
before we go coup, we ought to see how the election turns out. :)
ReplyDeleteMaybe we can vote him out.
Maybe we will win the Senate and House and impeach has scrawny ass.
xxxxxx
Sheriff Joe needs your help -
Dear Patriot,
Barack Obama and his Justice Department are spending millions of YOUR taxpayer dollars to defeat and destroy Sheriff Joe Arpaio because of his tough stance on illegal immigration.
Left-wing billionaire George Soros has joined the fray by pledging $10 million to defeat this dedicated law-enforcement officer.
Even the radical ACLU has joined the attacks against America’s Toughest Sheriff and has called defeating Sheriff Joe their “top priority.”
You and I must stand behind Sheriff Joe Arpaio and make sure this patriot is reelected!
Please make an emergency donation of $15, $20, $25, $50, $100, $250 or whatever you can afford to help reelect Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Your help is needed today to beat back Obama’s multi-million dollar campaign of lies and smears.
Why has President Obama made defeating a single Arizona county sheriff one of his top political goals of 2012?
Because Joe Arpaio is the only person standing between Barack Obama and his ultimate goal of amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants.
Sheriff Joe makes no excuses for his tough stance on illegal immigration. He stands as proof that enforcing the law works. His record speaks for itself. Thanks to his dedication of enforcing immigration law, thousands of violent criminals have been kept out of your neighborhoods because Sheriff Joe stopped them at the gates.
Americans deserve great men like Sheriff Joe to defend them and their families.
Your help today can truly make a difference in his reelection.
We must act now. Sheriff Joe’s enemies will stop at nothing to defeat him.
If Joe loses this fight, it will result in amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants.
You and I can’t let this happen. When my great-grandfather, John Philip Sousa, wrote Stars and Stripes Forever, he was paying tribute to the great Americans who make this nation strong… he called them the “Brave and True.” I can’t think of anyone more “brave and true” than Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
Your help is desperately needed to arm voters with the truth. Your support will allow us to produce and run ads, and print and distribute literature containing the facts about how effective Sheriff Joe has been in stopping illegal immigration.
With your help, Americans for Sheriff Joe will create the most effective hard-hitting truth squad possible!
Please do what you can. America NEEDS Sheriff Joe Arpaio in office to keep fighting!
Remember, Sheriff Joe, is our last line of defense in the battle against illegal immigration.
He has been fighting on America’s behalf for over two decades, now it’s time that we fight on his behalf.
Sheriff Joe is not a politician -- He doesn’t have a massive campaign operation or the resources to fight against the liberal establishment.
Joe Arpaio is simply a tough cop working to protect all Americans.
Working together we can ensure his reelection! Please make the most generous contribution you can to Americans for Sheriff Joe right now. We don’t have much time left to defend this true American hero.
For America,
John Philip Sousa IV
National Chairman
JPSIV is related to that music guy.
An American flag featuring an image of President Barack Obama’s face was removed from outside a local Florida Democratic Party headquarters Tuesday after several veterans called it “despicable” and a “desecration,” the Orlando Sentinel reported.
ReplyDeleteA new Pew Research survey finds...
ReplyDeleteSo is that an argument for smart or stupid??
That flag thing was shockingly ignorant. That woman should be removed from her position.
ReplyDeletescrew up
ReplyDeletePew surveys democrats and independents and calls it a poll.
ReplyDeleteREUTERS - For the first time since early July, more Americans approve of the job President Barack Obama is doing than disapprove, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll that shows his approval rating now at 50 percent.
ReplyDeleteFifty-fifty, but they quite can't bring themselves to say "the same numbers of American approve of the job Obummer is doing as disapprove".
Former Vice President Dick Cheney has cancelled an April appearance in Toronto citing concerns Canada is too dangerous,
ReplyDeletethe National Post reports.
You saw what those Vancouverites did when they lost the Stanley Cup.
Better rethink that pipeline.
ReplyDeleteIndia is poised to overtake Japan as Asia's No. 2 vehicle market by 2016, and sales gains in China will remain strong this decade, according to new estimates.
ReplyDeleteDespite recent concerns about slower economic growth, China is on track to hit sales of 30.68 million vehicles by 2020, up 74% from 17.66 million last year, according to IHS Automotive.
recent concerns about slower economic growth...
ReplyDeleteConsumption cannot drive economic growth forever. Just think about it. It's not logical. There will come a time - in this century I wager - when all households have "boxes" that "produce" by menu. So what comes after that?
Asia will continue to experience consumption-driven economic growth. The worry is that the economic prosperity will feed directly into geopolitical dominance, which is a very strong possibility.
The last guy standing gets to call the shots for the next stage. Will that be USA or Asia?
It's both a near-term question and a far-term question. Near-term is dominated by labor force issues. Long-term - I believe - will be in space. (Medium-term will be in energy.)
International order is not an evolution; it is an imposition. It is the domination of one vision over others -- in America's case, the domination of liberal free market principles of economics, democratic principles of politics, and a peaceful international system that supports these, over other visions that other nations and peoples may have.
ReplyDelete...
If and when American power declines, the institutions and norms American power has supported will decline, too. Or they may collapse altogether as we transition into another kind of world order, or into disorder.
We may discover then that the United States was essential to keeping the present world order together and that the alternative to American power was not peace and harmony but chaos and catastrophe -- which was what the world looked like right before the American order came into being.
link, Sam ????????
ReplyDeleteGood quote, I like it.
ReplyDeleteTry on muzzie dominance if you don't like ours.
Sam generally doesn't do links, anon, like you don't do names
Safer And Wealthier
ReplyDeleteKagan is FOS. I may have more later.
ReplyDelete259 comments
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete.
ReplyDeleteIdaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter, a Romney supporter, said he did not know the story about Seamus but did not see any harm in an open-air ride...
Well, hell, if Butch Otter feels its ok to strap a dog inside a cage on the top of a car for a 12 hour ride down the expressway, well...
.
All Guys Want This For Christmas
ReplyDeleteIt's A Dog's World
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteWE USED TO TRAVEL 'EM LIKE THIS - FAST OUT WHEN THE GAME IS SPOTTED
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteIdaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter, a Romney supporter, said he did not know the story about Seamus but did not see any harm in an open-air ride.
ReplyDelete“We carry our dogs around in the back of our pickup all the time,” Otter said. “I’ve got two dogs, and I just say, ‘Get in,’ and they jump in the back.”
If I get another dog, I'm naming it Quirk.
I'll say 'Get in' and Quirk will jump in the back.
Blog administrator: if I post once it often gets swallowed, is why I have posted twice.
But, you know best.