Tuesday, March 06, 2012

Instability Provides the Obvious in the Middle East

…but then who is paying attention?



Al-Qa'ida kills 107 soldiers at Yemeni army base
AHMED AL-HAJ TUESDAY 06 MARCH 2012 INDEPENDENT


Al-Qa'ida militants have launched a surprise attack against an army base in southern Yemen, killing 107 soldiers, seizing weapons and parading 55 troops they had taken captive through the centre of a town under their control, military officials said.


The battle in Abyan province shows how militants have taken advantage of the political turmoil created by the year-long uprising against Ali Abdullah Saleh, who handed over power to a successor last month.


The scale of Sunday's attack points to the combat-readiness of the militants as they launch more and more attacks in a region that the US considers a key battleground in the war on al-Qa'ida.


Military officials in Yemen said 32 militants also died in the fighting and scores were wounded on both sides. Medical officials confirmed the latest death toll.


The captives were paraded late on Sunday through the streets of Jaar, a nearby town that has been under al-Qa'ida's control for nearly a year. Militants seized control of Zinjibar in May and Jaar the previous month as security officials were focused on the rebellion against Mr Saleh.


A Defence Ministry statement said the fighting began when militants detonated "booby-trapped vehicles" at an army base in the region of Koud near Zinjibar. The wording of the statement suggested that the base had been occupied by the militants before army forces regrouped and took it back. The fighting lasted the whole day, stopping only by sunset.


AP

102 comments:

  1. In broad terms, Iran’s choices include:

    - Withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and increase its long-term resolve to develop a nuclear deterrent program.

    - Create an all-out nuclear weapons program with its surviving equipment and technology base, using Israel’s strike and aggression as an excuse to openly pursue a nuclear program.

    - Shift to genetically engineered biological weapons if such a program does not already exist.


    Waiting Option

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  2. What a glorious idea: foster more instability in the Middle East.

    Let’s do the math.

    Egypt, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Afghanistan, we will throw in Syria just for fun and if Netanyahu gets his way the big kahuna will be Iran. Once the Israelis take on Iran, dragging us into it, all bets are off. You better believe the Iranians will get busy on taking down the Saudis. How will
    that happen? Read Yemen and AQ.

    What better way for paybacks to the Americans that $200 oil?

    You think you can out-nasty the Islamists? We are creating our own demise.

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  3. You do have to see the humor in stupidity. Should Netanyahu get his wish and drag Uncle Stupid into another needless war, it will cost us trillions in debt, loss of wealth and will devastate the chances for a continued economic recovery. The dip sticks in the Republican party will not pay for the war with taxes. China will take a pass on financing it. Putin will enhance the role of Russia in the region . AQ will be collecting virgins in battalion levels. Israel will need a dozen or so billions. The Republicans will give it without raising taxes. The American public will wake up. care to speculate on what will happen then?

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  4. Should Netanyahu get his wish and drag Uncle Stupid into another needless war

    That is really quite unfair. He might wish the United States had kept the shah on the throne, or that the Iranians would act like Canadians, or even Saudis, but I doubt it's his wish to drag anyone into a war over nuclear arms.

    Most reasonable people I read don't see Israel as the one pushing the situation; they do, after all, already have the means to wipe out all the moslems in the middle east and have not done it. If the tables had been turned Israel would have been gone decades ago.

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  5. HERE IT IS I FINALLY FOUND IT

    Sharing with you - Bergmann's Rule

    Works for horses too. Got larger the colder it got, got smaller the warmer it got.

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  6. California used to be the World's Largest Oil Producer.

    Now, it imports over half its oil from overseas, most from the Mideast (read: Iraq, and Saudi Arabia.)

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  7. We have to get out of the "Oil-Importing" business.

    We have, already, cut our imports from 14 Million bbl to 8 Million bbl/day.

    If we can do Six, we can do Eight more.

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  8. Another couple of Million bbl/day from Biofuels, and we can do the rest with higher mpg vehicles - and, do it pretty easily.

    After all, we've cut Six Million bbl/day of "Net" Imports (oil And products,) and our GDP is still slightly above where it was when the recession hit in the first qtr of 2008.

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  9. Gasoline averaged $3.51/gal last year. I expect it will be about the same, or a little higher, this year (not a lot higher, because Obammie will hit the SPR, hard, trying to get prices down in an election yr.)

    Next year it will, quite likely, be getting close to $4.00/gal. At Four bucks a gallon, kiddos, I can make go-juice out of your granny's underbritches, and be competitive.

    If the damned car companies will just get on board.

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  10. Yep, that's the Obama/Rufus energy plan, high gas prices for the smucks.

    Trust, But Verify

    Why Deuce isn't all over this story, where Sheriff Joe is backing him up on the fakaroo birth certificate, I don't know.

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  11. Bob, you're the dumbest hayseed motherfucker I've ever not-quite met.

    The "Obama" plan is Electric cars.

    The "Rufus" plan is biofuels.

    The "Republican" plan is "dependence on Saudi Arabia" (despite the "drill, drill, drill" bullshit.)

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  12. Asshole, we've asked you to put up a warning when you link to that inane bullshit rag.

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  13. Deuce is probably not "all over" that story because you just look stupid when you beat a "dead horse."

    Just like the Republicans are looking with their anti-birth control bullshit.

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  14. Something like 90% of Catholic Women use Birth Control.

    Now, tell me where the dumbass Republicans come out ahead on this story.

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  15. As for Iran, the Republicans can suck every dick at AIPAC, but Obama is Not going to greenlight an attack on Iran,

    and the Jews are still going to vote 80%, plus, for the Dems.

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  16. Al Qaeda in Iraq, the Osama bin Laden-inspired terrorist group that sank the country into sectarian violence five years ago, is trying to make a comeback in post-U.S.-occupied Iraq, analysts and intelligence officials say.

    Washington is closely watching whether AQI, as it is called, in the next year can reassemble networks smashed by the U.S. counterterrorism campaign. American commandos and intelligence officers killed AQI leader Abu Musab Zarqawi in 2006 and then scores of other chieftains until, by 2011, the group was decimated.

    But right after the last U.S. troops left Iraq in mid-December, the Sunni Muslim AQI claimed responsibility for a string of deadly attacks, primarily against Shiites, whose sect dominates Iraq's government. Last week, an AQI spokesman claimed that it had carried out multiple bombings that killed 55.

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  17. Iraq is a great place for Saudi Arabia, and Iran to fight their "proxy" war. It keeps the nutjobs busy, and every now and then they can blow up a pipeline, which is great for the price of their own oil.

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  18. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

    By Alan M. Dershowitz

    Published: February 28th, 2012
    It’s the kind of anti-Jewish hate speech you’d expect to find on a neo Nazi website or in a Patrick Buchanan column: American Jews who support current Israeli policies are accused of dual loyalty and called “Israel Firsters” because they place their loyalty to Israel above their loyalty to the United States.

    AIPAC (the American Israel Public Affairs Committee) fares even worse:

    “saying AIPAC is guilty of dual loyalty is giving it credit for one more loyalty that it holds.”

    In other words, this widely respected American organization, and the hundreds of thousands of Jews (and Christians) who support it, including senators, congressmen and other elected officials, have absolutely no loyalty to our nation; their sole loyalty is to the foreign nation of Israel.

    -----------

    Geez Alan, get a grip. When we see demonstrations by Hispanics in the US waving Mexican flags what does one conclude? What is the difference when every American politician is forced to submit to a loyalty test to the PC position on all things Israel. It is happening this week as AIPAC checks pro-Israeli credentials in a very public way. Of course there are Jews who are "Israeli firsters”. If I believed that Israel should be a Jewish state and that every Jew should automatically be a citizen, I would do so for a reason based on experience. I would by definition be a dual-national, having loyalty to two countries and rights and obligations to two countries. Up until the PC era, dual-nationals could not get the highest security clearances and for good reasons based on experience.

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  19. George Bush wrecked the Republican Party. The question has been, “can it be fixed”? The answer to more and more Republicans is that it is looking doubtful. The Democrats are far less conflicted. The Republicans are stuck with Romney. The majority have chosen someone other than Romney.

    Obama or Romney? War with Iran or not?

    I am supporting Rob Paul in the primary. I will not vote for Romney.

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  20. I supported Romney last time. Then I held my nose, and voted for McNutz. But, I can't take any more. The Republicans have pissed me off too much. I be an "Obama-man" This year.

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  21. Rufus: Just like the Republicans are looking with their anti-birth control bullshit.

    I just want to do my own thing man. I want government out of my bedroom, man. But if I get pregnant, I want you to pay for the Plan B drugs.

    (Talk about bullshit)

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  22. !!

    Got the Rufus goat again. :)
    Always feels good.



    I am supporting Ron Paul in the primary. I will not vote for Romney.

    I saw the old duffer yesterday. If you like dementia, you'll love Ron Paul. Got the 'Ron Paul Cookbook' too, and a free bumpersticker.

    I'm going to the caucus.

    Going to speak in favor of Sarah Palin.

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  23. This election hasnt even started yet. Once the Republicans pick their guy, it starts all over again. Obama against that person and that person only and that person is who I will vote for.

    Obama has his bowing head so far up the unions' asses, he hasnt seen daylight since he left Chicago in his piece of shit Chrysler 300, with that big assed simeon looking vacation taking wife of his.

    Can you say Chevy Volt? What a joke.

    Can you say bailout with big bonuses? What a joke.

    Can you say broken, massively abused healthcare program that is and will be totally ineffective? What a joke.

    As Deuce once said, he is a product of affirmative action and liberal NE and West Coast guilt.

    Everyone should go to college and everyone should own a house. Do you know who everyone is? It ain't you and it ain't me.

    What a joke.

    What a joke.

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  24. .

    The dispute goes deeper than mere seats on a board, Cato administrators argued.

    “This is an effort by the Kochs to turn the Cato Institute into some sort of auxiliary for the G.O.P.,” said Edward H. Crane, who is president of Cato and co-founded it with Charles Koch. “What he is doing now is detrimental to Cato, it’s detrimental to Koch Industries, it’s detrimental to the libertarian movement.”

    Tensions between such research organizations and the donors who finance them are nothing new in Washington. But the public nature of the spat and the big names involved — Cato is one of the country’s most widely cited research organizations, while the Koch brothers are perhaps the biggest benefactors of the conservative movement — has caused considerable buzz in Washington and on the Internet.

    While its focus on libertarianism and individual liberties has often aligned the Cato Institute with conservatives on issues like gun rights and financial regulation, it has also staked out a number of positions closely tied to liberals. It generally supports same-sex marriage and guest immigrant-worker programs, for instance, while opposing the Patriot Act’s sweeping counterterrorism powers, aggressive use of American military intervention, and the criminalization of drugs...




    Kochs Try to Take Over CATO for Political Gain

    .

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  25. We let the banks fail in 1930. How'd that work out?

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  26. Pretty good. Got along fine for 80years until they got too greedy again.

    Let's bail out every business that fails, and make sure people get paid on entitlement, not merit.

    Let's keep dumbing everything down until everything is an entitlement. THAT'S THE OBAMA WAY!!!

    What a joke.

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  27. My Daddy told me that first ten years was "rougher'n a cob," though.

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  28. I hope that's not spoken by someone that deducts the interest on his home mortgage, and has his health insurance paid for through his company with "Before Tax" Dollars.

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  29. BTW, the bank bailout bill (TARP)

    The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) is a program of the United States government to purchase assets and equity from financial institutions to strengthen its financial sector that was signed into law by U.S. President George W. Bush on October 3, 2008.

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  30. BTW

    My insurance is partially paid for by the company I work for as part of my compensation. I can elect to pay for all of it if I choose, which could be offset by more pay. I choose not.

    I pay the required amount of taxes every year and I take deductions that are allowed on my mortgage, BTW, that took years of hard work and savings, and being responsible (good credit)in order to have the PRIVILEGE, not the right, to own a house.

    Do volunteer more taxes than you should pay? Do you deduct those gambling losses? Do you pay taxes on your winnings?

    If you are trying to make me feel guilty or call me a hypocrite, it aint working.

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  31. Winnings? :)

    In other words, you get a break on your taxes that a less wealthy person that rents doesn't get.

    You also get a tax break on your health insurance that a poorer, and/or self-employed person that can't pay for their insurance with pre-tax dollars doesn't get.

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  32. I'm NOT trying to call you a hypocrite, or make you feel guilty; I'm merely pointing out that many middle, and upper-income taxpayers get tax breaks that sometimes go overlooked.

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  33. I wont split hairs with you Rufus as we can go on and on about this.

    A person who rents doenst have to pay any property taxes. I do, quite a lot here in Texas.

    The hospital ERS are full of the uninsured and poorer people getting premium treatment for free.

    If you don't believe me ask some of the frustrated hospital personnel who work the weekend shifts.

    Simply put, I am not one of Obama's constituency (I am almost sure I didnt spell that right).

    You might as well know that I also take what ever deduction I get off charitable donations which for 2011 will equate to about 15% of my net.

    I won't be voting for him.

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  34. Sure, the renter pays property taxes (econ 101, I suppose.) The landlord pays the taxes, and passes the cost on to the renter.


    And, no, the poor do Not get "Premium healthcare," "for free" in emergency rooms.

    They get "Emergency" care, and they are billed for it.

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  35. I'm almost sure you did spell that right. :)

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  36. They might get billed for it, but they don't pay. It's mostly no habla around these parts.

    Peace.

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  37. .

    I gotta go with Rufus on this one, Gag. Not the part about voting for Obama (I've got things other than economics that would prevent that) but with the idea that the tax structure is a zero-sum game with everyone trying to protect their own part of the pie.

    If your comment about 'voting for any GOP contender' is driven by the fact that you dislike Obama, I guess that is a legitimate position to take.

    If it is driven by the expectation you will see any improvement offered by GOP policies, I suspect you will be disappointed.

    Just looking at Ryan's tax plan (the blueprint for the GOP model) you'll note it's all pretty superficial, filled with a lot of generalities. Talks a lot about cutting waste and abuse (who hasn't talked about that since Ike). They rant about Obamacare yet their budget includes the savings projected from Obamacare with none of the costs. They talk of lowering tax rates and paying for it by cuts in 'loopholes' and entitlements. It's obvious what they mean by cuts in entitlements but the only loopholes they ever seem to mention are things like the deduction for charity, or the deduction for mortgage interest. Surprisingly, you never hear them talking about cuts in oil subsidies or corporate loopholes.
    When it comes to those, it is always "We will flesh those out 'later'. The same old scam like backending the 10 year budget, like Bush offering a drug program and never paying for it or putiing out a 10 year budget showing his tax cuts to the rich dropping off at the end, or Obama putting off all the hard cost savings to the end (doc-fix, waivers to the unions, waivers to key businesses, etc.). If you expect any of those cuts to actually happen, you're off in lalaland.

    No, GOP, Dems, Obama, the Four Dwarves, thay're all dicks. Under any administration Dem or GOP, count on it, it's you taking it in the ass.

    .

    .

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  38. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  39. Israel, like the Bush administration, considers a nuclear capability in Iran a red line. It argues that the only acceptable guarantee that Iran does not get a nuclear weapon is for Iran to have no enrichment program.

    The Obama administration puts the red line not at enrichment — which is permitted under international law — but at nuclear weapons. This is a clearer, more enforceable red line that also has the force of international law behind it.

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  40. Q

    go with Rufus on what? I don't like Obama for all the reasons I stated, and many more. I never said the alternative would be better, but it is time to try someone else. He has been a disastrous failure on all fronts. Please dont come back and tell me "yes but he got Bin Laden." So what.

    As far as taxes go, I pay what I owe. Period. I am glad I pay because that means I work and own property. I don't care much for the alternative.

    I am still waiting on the blogger that says he volunteers more taxes than he owes, because "it's the right thing to do."

    Even the Oracle of Omaha says change the tax laws and he will pay more, but I didnt see him volunteer more without the change.

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  41. .

    Yours was a long post, Gag, that boiled down to its essence says, "Things are bad so let's try a change."

    Mine was even longer but boiled down to its essence says, "If you think the change you suggest will make a difference, I suspect you will be disappointed."

    .

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  42. The only change I am suggesting is who's narrow ass is sitting in the oval office. It's the only change I want. My expectations beyond that are minimal.

    We have done the experiment, and it didn't work ;-)

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  43. Obama has been better than Bush!

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  44. and looking forward he appears to be a damn sight better than Romney, Santorum, Gingrich, or Paul!

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  45. Better than Bush!

    Glad you took the time and effort to weigh in, Ash.
    Very profound.

    Please.

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  46. I am glad I could help you Gag for Bush was indeed one of the worst US presidents in recent history. From the quagmires in Iraq and Afghanistan to the myriad of problems domestically he piloted the US, and much of the rest of the world, in to one heck of a mess.

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  47. And you felt the need to tell me this why?

    We were discussing the upcoming election. Bush isn't running this time. Please try to keep up.

    Oh Canada!!!

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  48. I am keeping up Gag but I am not so sure about you. Obama is better than Romney, Santorum, Gingrich or Paul.

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  49. My team is better than your team!

    Then you should vote for him, Ash.
    Oh wait, you can't.

    Oh Canada!!

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  50. Actually Gag, I can being a US citizen and all.

    Which of the 4 GOP candidates do you like Gag - are you a Santorum fan?

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  51. Obama is a Communist Fascist Muslim atheist Kenyan non-American Hawaiian socialist dope dealer dedicated to turning the US into a welfare ghetto like Europe.

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  52. Today's Intrade Market:

    Barack Obama to be re-elected President in 2012 -- 60.0%

    Mitt Romney to be elected President in 2012 -- 34.9%

    Newt Gingrich to be elected President in 2012 -- 1.6%

    Rick Santorum to be elected President in 2012 -- 0.9%

    Ron Paul to be elected President in 2012 -- 1.0%

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  53. Wasp at 1:16.
    But I still am becoming more and more wealthy.

    Mr. Rufus, u sure do have some strong opinions concerning hydrocarbons and the energy sector. Where did u acquire your expertise; academia or industry?

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  54. Mr Ash - can u share the metrics by which President Obama is so better than the Republican candidates? Ur analysis is rather lacking thus far.

    ReplyDelete
  55. 26 advertisers have dropped Rush.

    A Jackson Heights imam has started a campaign to make April 26, the birthday of the Prophet Mohammad, a national holiday.

    ReplyDelete
  56. Ash - better than Bush at spending money the U.S. does not have.
    U r so funny.

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  57. Carbonite stock (NASDAQ:CARB) has plummeted nearly 12 % after pulling adv from Rush. That's what they get for trying to punish El Rushbo for calling that woman Tulsa backwards.

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  58. .

    Over the next four years the economy will improve (in the absence of geopolitical events that either drive us into war or drive up the cost of oil and other commodities.) It won't be spectacular growth but there will be improvement. We've seen it started already, record profits, auto sales picking up, the stock market up, unemployment down (if you can believe the numbers), the FED continues to give money away for free, etc.

    The real reason things are improving? It's called the 'business cycle'.

    It's been a long time coming which is understandible given that the world financial system nearly imploded.

    But it wasn't Obama's actions that turned things around. He was late to the party and offered remedies that were too little too late.

    We see improvement because of factors driving the 'business cycle'.

    The GOP claims if they had been in charge things would be a lot better. Easy thing to claim but hard to prove based on our past experiance with these same guys.

    Though the 'business cycle' will drive the economy slowly upwards over the next four years, no matter who wins in 2012, when viewed in its totality, we will be worse off.

    There are no more moderates in Congress, there are no politicians, only ideologues. The extremes on both sides are driving the debate. There is no compromise only ideology. No matter which side wins in 2012, they will claim they have a 'mandate'. Laughable.

    If Obama wins, he will no longer have any incentive for compromise. The wackos on the left will applaud. If the GOP wins, they will claim a mandate as they did in 2010 and pursue their own agenda. The wackos on the right will applaud. The majority of people, the people in the middle, as usual will take it in the ass.

    And regardless of who wins in 2012, the incumbant will claim in 2016 that the improvement in the economy was because of him and his party ignoring the impact of

    'the business cycle'.

    .

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  59. Democrats really are against the Keystone Pipeline scheme that is already under construction, and has been the whole time Obama played them for a sucker and pretended he was against it....

    Democrats are against GITMO, the PATRIOT ACT and neocon interventionist policies....Obama isn't. Democrats are but Obama isn't.

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  60. Quirk wrote:

    "...We've seen it started already, record profits..."

    That reminds me of something I saw today:

    "There's a U.S. equities bubble (and it's not valuations)


    MARTIN HUTCHINSON
    Reuters Breakingviews

    "There’s a bubble in U.S. stocks – but it’s in profitability, not valuation metrics. The S&P 500 Index (SPX-I1,343.36-20.97-1.54%) trades at 14 times historical earnings, so the valuation multiple isn’t excessive. But a measure of domestic U.S. profit margins stands 50 per cent above its long-term average. Global profitability has soared even higher. This is unlikely to last long.

    ...

    However, even narrowing the scope to just domestic activities, profitability is still startlingly strong. In the first nine months of 2011, the aggregate post-tax profit of all corporations totalled 7.2 per cent of gross domestic income, a measure similar to GDP. That’s well above the cyclical peaks of 6.4 per cent in 1997 and 2006 and the postwar record of 7.1 per cent. In the BEA’s records, the ratio of domestic profit to GDI was only higher in 1929, at 8.8 per cent. The current level is half as high again as the long-term average of 4.8 per cent.

    A chunk of the surge in profit derives from interest rates. Corporate leverage has increased in recent years, according to the Federal Reserve, and the debt of U.S. non-farm businesses currently amounts to 60 per cent of the value of their equity."

    http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/investment-ideas/breaking-views/theres-a-us-equities-bubble-and-its-not-valuations/article2359598/

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  61. Their attacks allegedly included breaches of the website for Irish political party Fine Gael, security firm HBGary Inc. and Fox.

    ...

    A sixth person, Jeremy Hammond, was arrested in Chicago and charged with conspiracy in connection with a December 2011 hacking of Strategic Forecasting Inc., or Stratfor, prosecutors said.

    Mr. Hammond, who has identified himself as a member of another offshoot group, AntiSec, and his co-conspirators allegedly stole confidential information related to about 860,000 clients and subscribers of Stratfor and used some of the data to make unauthorized credit-card charges in excess of $700,000, prosecutors said. A lawyer for Mr. Hammond couldn't immediately be located Tuesday.

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  62. Of course, moments earlier Obama had taken the liberty to comment on a radio talk show host's comments. "What I can comment on is the fact that all decent folks can agree that the remarks that were made don't have any place in the public discourse," Obama said, regarding Limbaugh's insults.

    "And the reason I called her is because I thought about Malia and Sasha, and one of the things want them to do as they get older is to engage in issues they care about. Even ones I may not agree with them on.

    ...

    In other words, if Rush Limbaugh says something nasty, Obama's got your back. If DNC chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz says all pro-lifers and supporters of religious liberty are waging a war on women--which implies that female pro-lifers are self-hating women--Obama says he can't be expected to speak up.

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  63. Samantha Lewthwaite, 28, arrived in the East African country last year as part of a group which allegedly planned to bomb the region's coast over Christmas and New Year.

    ...

    Ms Lewthwaite was married to King's Cross suicide bomber Jermaine Lindsay, 19, who carried out the most deadly of the July 7 attacks, killing 26 people.

    ...

    Ms Lewthwaite converted to Islam at the age of 15 and married Lindsay in 2002 before he blew himself up in July 2005.

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  64. On this day in 1834, a British settlement of 9,000-odd residents on the banks of Lake Ontario, called Fort York, was incorporated and rechristened by its original native name, Toronto. The city would grow to 2.6 million, making it Canada's biggest city.

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  65. Forget Romney, Santorum, and Newt. Goodbye pining for Mitch Daniels, Sarah Palin, or Chris Christie.

    ...

    And big deal that Obama went to Harvard. Bibi went to MIT.

    We all know that’s harder.


    Bibi Solution

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  66. Those BC'ers really love Netanyahu.

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  67. Alas, I have been detecting an undertone of woe in Quirk's more recent politico/philosophical postings, as if, woe, woe, there is nothing we can do, come left, come right, we smucks are fucked in the end, in the end.

    I guess I can understand such a doleful outlook after all from a man who has spent his working life building up his horoscope business, where, alas, a person's fate is writ in the stars, unalterable.

    An almost islamic air of despair and submission now seems a prominent theme in Quirk's worldly musings. On almost wants to check his forehead for floor bumping bruises.

    Quirk, remind yourself, and think how you have succeeded in the future forecasting bidness, how you moved it up from a rundown storefront in an alley on a mean street in inner Detroit, to its current prominence as a sought after international link on the world wide web!

    Wrestle with the Lord, O Quirk, like Jacob, do not submit like Mo!

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  68. House Passes Bill That Will Make Protesting Illegal at Secret Service
    Covered Events...We are also to kneel before the Presidential motorcade as it passes by as well.

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  69. Steve Jobs, who ran Apple as CEO during the launch of the first two iPads before dying of cancer in October, had previously expressed disdain for 7-inch tablets. In a conference call on Oct. 18, 2010, Jobs said 7-inch tablets were "not sufficient to create great tablet apps, in our opinion."

    He also added that 7-inch tablets compared unfavorably to both smartphones and other tablets.

    "Given that all tablet users will already have a smartphone in their pockets, giving up precious display area to fit a tablet in our pockets is clearly the wrong tradeoff," he said. "The 7-inch tablets are tweeners, too big to compete with a smartphone, and too small to compete with an iPad."

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  70. .

    Wrestle with the Lord, O Quirk, like Jacob, do not submit like Mo!


    Pish tosh!

    I have evolved beyond the stilted apologue of the Abrahamic religions. I have looked East searching for enlightenment and found TM where collective meditation causes changes in a fundamental, unified physical field, and those changes radiate into society and affect all aspects of society for the better.

    Field consciousness, or 'global consciousness' if you like, is the only path to world piece.

    Join the Natural Law Party.


    [Note: If you are non-political but are still interested in TM and want to save the world; if you want to learn to relax and attain bliss; if you want to reduce street crime, telemarketers, robo-calls, and auto accidents; if you want to improve your child's test scores, increase crop yields, and reduce unemployment, visit our Souls-R-Us website.

    We offer TM training starting at $2,500, unique mantras for $1,000, flying lessons $250 per sessions (includes text books and goggles).

    Join today. Get more shut-eye. Save the world, or at least, your neighborhood. Kick ass in a non-violent way.]

    Ohmmmmmm.


    .

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  71. .

    "...world peace...."


    Ohmmmmmmm.


    .

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  72. increase crop yields?

    How does your cost compare to anhydrous?

    I might be interested.

    Is weed control included?

    ReplyDelete
  73. increase crop yields?

    How does your cost compare to anhydrous?

    I might be interested.

    Is weed control included?

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  74. Ash
    None in particular. I will vote for which ever one runs against your boy.

    ReplyDelete
  75. Interesting stat out of the Mass primary: Almost half of "Republicans" from the Bay State think Romneycare was "about right," or "did not go far enough."

    And, that's Massachusetts REPUBLICANS!

    ReplyDelete
  76. Anonymous, I'm just an amateur student of energy. It's just something I got interested in.

    ReplyDelete
  77. .

    increase crop yields?

    How does your cost compare to anhydrous?



    Jeez, Bob, you just don't get it. We have moved beyond the physical and use the combined power of the universal consciousness.

    It, like Rufus' wind power and solar energy, is free, free, free. (Well, except for the initial training of course.)

    And I believe, if we can get enough people interested, we might be able to do something about your stuttering.

    .

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  78. President Obama clarified his statement from a speech Sunday Morning at AIPAC that he has Israel’s back at press conference at the White House this afternoon.

    ...

    This statement might undermine what others took the president’s statement to mean. “Not a military doctrine” would suggest that America would not eliminate an Iranian nuclear weapon by using military force, even as some understood President Obama to be saying that Israel should trust him to eliminate an Iranian nuclear weapon should the rogue state develop one.

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  79. Why is there an initial training fee for free universal consciousness?

    Would we be able to do anything about Ruf's gas?

    And, I don't mean ethanol.

    Will we be able to instill honesty in the women?

    And at least a minimal rock bottom amount of good sense in Ash?

    Will I still be eligible for the Conservation Reserve Program?

    What stuttering?

    ReplyDelete
  80. It looks like Santorum is going to win Ohio.

    Freakin' amazin'.

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  81. Then there's the all-purpose al-Qa'ida. The Syrian regime says it is being attacked by al-Qa'ida.

    ...

    We will eventually get to Homs, of course, broken and crushed and with its people only quietly admitting the horrors they have undergone. I briefly got into Hama during the 1982 battles and I went back afterwards and the most I could elicit from a frightened trader with a barrow of sweetcorn were three words: "God knows everything."

    Ergo Homs, I suppose.


    Homs

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  82. No miracle for Santorum, tonite.

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  83. Netanyahu Controls Obama’s Fate
    By Dick Morris And Eileen McGann on March 6, 2012

    If Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to seal President Obama’s fate, all he has to do is to attack Iran. It is clear from Obama’s AIPAC speech that the president will continue to talk about diplomacy and sanctions for the remainder of his term and will take no military action against Iran. If Israel attacks Iran, she will achieve three things:

    a. Israel will buy time by delaying the Iranian nuclear program by one to three years.

    b. Those extra years will give the effective sanctions, only now being imposed, time to work.

    c. The resulting increase in the price of oil – and its impact on the American economy – will doom Obama’s re-election chances, assuring that a pro-Israeli Republican Administration takes power.

    With a Republican in the White House and in control of Congress, Israel will be well positioned to derail permanently the Iranian nuclear program.

    Obama could never recover from the run-up of oil prices that would follow an Israeli attack. His refusal to approve the Keystone Pipeline, to drill in the ANWR reserve, and to issue permits for deep sea drilling, all make him ultra-vulnerable on the gas price issue. He has no good answers on the subject.

    A huge increase in gas prices at the pump will also send the world into the same kind of oil shock as happened in 1973 and 1979, each of which was followed by a global recession in reaction. Obama would not be able to be re-elected amid the tidal wave of bad economic news he would face.

    How ironic that Netanyahu, therefore, really controls Obama’s fate. He can’t re-elect his sworn enemy (I doubt anyone can do that) but he can defeat him and likely will do so.

    Netanyahu has to face the fundamental fact that Israel cannot survive another four years of an Obama presidency. Freed of the constraints that the need to get re-elected imposes, the president’s anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian bias will come out in virulent form with likely lethal implications for Israel. If Bibi lets Obama get re-elected, he will be dooming the Jewish State to extinction.

    All the evidence indicates that he understands his choices and will respond accordingly. At least we hope so.

    ReplyDelete
  84. Netanyahu Controls Obama’s Fate
    By Dick Morris And Eileen McGann on March 6, 2012

    If Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to seal President Obama’s fate, all he has to do is to attack Iran. It is clear from Obama’s AIPAC speech that the president will continue to talk about diplomacy and sanctions for the remainder of his term and will take no military action against Iran. If Israel attacks Iran, she will achieve three things:

    a. Israel will buy time by delaying the Iranian nuclear program by one to three years.

    b. Those extra years will give the effective sanctions, only now being imposed, time to work.

    c. The resulting increase in the price of oil – and its impact on the American economy – will doom Obama’s re-election chances, assuring that a pro-Israeli Republican Administration takes power.

    With a Republican in the White House and in control of Congress, Israel will be well positioned to derail permanently the Iranian nuclear program.

    Obama could never recover from the run-up of oil prices that would follow an Israeli attack. His refusal to approve the Keystone Pipeline, to drill in the ANWR reserve, and to issue permits for deep sea drilling, all make him ultra-vulnerable on the gas price issue. He has no good answers on the subject.

    A huge increase in gas prices at the pump will also send the world into the same kind of oil shock as happened in 1973 and 1979, each of which was followed by a global recession in reaction. Obama would not be able to be re-elected amid the tidal wave of bad economic news he would face.

    How ironic that Netanyahu, therefore, really controls Obama’s fate. He can’t re-elect his sworn enemy (I doubt anyone can do that) but he can defeat him and likely will do so.

    Netanyahu has to face the fundamental fact that Israel cannot survive another four years of an Obama presidency. Freed of the constraints that the need to get re-elected imposes, the president’s anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian bias will come out in virulent form with likely lethal implications for Israel. If Bibi lets Obama get re-elected, he will be dooming the Jewish State to extinction.

    All the evidence indicates that he understands his choices and will respond accordingly. At least we hope so.

    ReplyDelete
  85. That's bizarre - even for Ol' Toesuck.

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  86. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  87. .

    All the evidence indicates that he understands his choices and will respond accordingly. At least we hope so.


    So, to keep Obama from getting elected, Dick Morris would prefer that Israel attack Iran so that a "...huge increase in gas prices at the pump will also send the world into the same kind of oil shock as happened in 1973 and 1979, each of which was followed by a global recession in reaction."


    Dick's a real sweetheart.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  88. .

    Obama derides Republican 'posturing' over use of force against Iran

    President responds to criticism of his Iran policy by challenging GOP candidates to address the consequences of an attack.

    Iran: To Attack Or Not To Attack

    .

    ReplyDelete