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."

Sunday, February 10, 2013

How the Syrian civil war is being reported in western media




“How many more have to die before you recommend military action?” Mr. McCain asked Mr. Panetta on Thursday, noting that an estimated 60,000 Syrians had been killed in the fighting.
And did the Pentagon, Mr. McCain continued, support the recommendation by Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Petraeus “that we provide weapons to the resistance in Syria? Did you support that?”
“We did,” Mr. Panetta said.
“You did support that,” Mr. McCain said.
“We did,” General Dempsey added.
Neither Mr. Panetta nor General Dempsey explained why President Obama did not heed their recommendation. But senior American officials have said that the White House was worried about the risks of becoming more deeply involved in the Syria crisis, including the possibility that weapons could fall into the wrong hands. And with Mr. Obama in the middle of a re-election campaign, the White House rebuffed the plan, a decision that Mr. Panetta says he now accepts

47 comments:

  1. Way off thread, yet media related:

    Moment of Silence

    Cal State Fullerton Titans basketball players wipe away tears after observing a moment of silence for slain assistant coach Monica Quan. Quan and her fiance are believed to be the first victims of Christopher Dorner. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)

    In Torrance, a second case of mistaken identity

    Torrance police opened fire Thursday on a man they say was driving a pickup resembling the fugitive's. The incident happened just after the LAPD fired on women delivering newspapers nearby.

    They heard the cops nearby firing on the two women delivering papers, and figured this guy driving down the street toward them was an imminent threat!

    ...the women's pickup and this guys truck were both different colors than the perps!

    •LAPD will give new truck to women who were shot.

    GREAT!
    ...BFD

    ...call a lawyer.
    LA is already bankrupt, wtf, bring it on!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Torrance police chief apologized to Perdue and offered him a rental car and payment for his medical expenses, the statement said.

      Delete
  2. Man, that guys shirt, belt, and white watch almost makes the shooting seem justifiable.

    ...looks more like a porno queen than an LAX Baggage Handler.

    ...aren't those slots reserved for deserving blacks anymore.

    (hopelessly out of touch on Maui)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Stay on Maui, Doug, it's nuts back here on the mainland.

    ReplyDelete
  4. "David Perdue with his wife, Lyzzette"

    Hi, I'm David, this is my wife, Lyzzette.

    How can I service, er, help you?

    What's that, Lyzzette, dear?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lyzzette, heh, missed that.

    Check out that white collar, he is some kind of religious.

    "May I offer you Communion for a small fee?"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "We offer Old Rite Communion, or New Rite, even New Age", Lyzzette hissed.

      Delete
    2. I'm a sucker for New Age.

      I stop before sucking David, tho.

      Lyzzette, who knows what goes?

      Delete
  6. Bob said:

    "Stay on Maui, Doug, it's nuts back here on the mainland."

    I probly should, but I bought these new digs on the Big Island:

    Jaw-Dropping Oceanfront Estate

    Figure if I can find a blind young wahine, I can leave my troubles behind.

    Your thoughts on this matter are welcome.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A good compromise, between Maui and the mainland, but at $11 million plus, you paid way too little. You should have been fair about it, and offered them more.

      A change of scene, maybe that would do some good though. Connect with and stay close to family, if possible. A good church never hurts.

      A young wahine, that sounds iffy, might be spelled t r o u b l e. Go slowly there.....

      Delete
    2. I drive a hard bargain, and carry a hard on.

      We can dream, can't we?

      ---

      I have talked w/my brother (age 79) more in the past year than I had in the previous Decade.

      Last month, he lost his wife after a Decade of dealing w/alzheimers.

      Age, and the "luck" of the draw conspire to weave a treacherous and unpleasant web.

      ...in the same year, my sister was struck down blind and almost bedridden, by a series of mini-strokes.

      Hoop de frigging do!

      Delete
    3. Her son bought her a new Camry 5 years ago in return for her pledge to stop smoking.
      Sadly, it was too late.

      Delete
  7. It appears the frigging ceilings are marble!
    ...excessive excess?

    ReplyDelete
  8. You obviously didn't think that purchase through. You are in the tsunami zone.

    Better to have stayed in the lava tubes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You only live life once:
      Go for it!

      ...if the Kiluea shelf slides off into the sea, most of Hawaii will be eradicated by the Tsunami, human habitat-wise.

      Last time, a 300 foot wave wiped out Molakai, Maui, and God knows what else.

      "What will be, will be."

      ...you know that:
      You listened to Art Bell, fer Chrisakes.

      Delete
    2. Never had heard that before. What happens, happens. Long time ago, no doubt.

      Delete
  9. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Rufie is ecstatic:

    Nirvana has arrived!

    "Automatic federal budget cuts are almost certain.

    The ax is set to fall March 1 — with the first installment of $1.2 trillion in reductions over the next decade — because lawmakers can't agree on an alternative
    ."

    ---

    ...so we cut (from increased baseline increases in spending) $1.2 trillion, while we add 6 Trillion (estimated) in additional debt over the next four years.

    Nirvana has arrived!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Maybe the USA, the Arab world and of course the UN, and while we are at it, ANYONE that supports the "palestinians" to redirect their misplaced concern and cash to the truly deserving Syrian refugees.

    Face the facts folks.

    BILLIONS are squandered on Palestinians living in high rise apartments, with cable/internet, dont pay for food, medical care, taxes or even electric bills.

    Maybe the world needs to understand what a "true" refugee is???

    ReplyDelete
  12. DEBKAfile’s military sources report that, notwithstanding the bitter fighting, the flow of refugees fleeing Syria has slowed down substantially, as many choose life in war zones over the wretched conditions prevailing in Turkish, Lebanese and Jordanian refugee camps, where rudimentary essentials such as food, clean water, heating and basic medical services are lacking for the hundreds of thousands of dispossessed Syrians. Adding to these horrors, some Syrian families are said to be selling their daughters for food.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Yep all the while Hamas pockets billion to build rocket launchers, build bunkers and train little kids in camps to murder Jews.

    and we PAY for it...

    who is the jackass here????

    ReplyDelete
  14. http://www.examiner.com/article/hamas-training-children-terror-tactics-at-summer-camp

    The core values are radical Islam, “the liberation of Palestine”, jihad and death for the sake of Allah, and other messages drawn from Hamas’ ideology and strategy in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (e.g., support for the “right of return”, demand to free all Palestinian (terrorist) prisoners, the “liberation” of Palestine from Israel, and indoctrination of hatred against Israel and the Jewish people). The summer camps are often visited by top Hamas officials who help spread the political messages among the youngsters.

    Every year the children and adolescents taking part in the summer camps undergo paramilitary training. In some cases they carry wooden rifles, but some of the older children also use real rifles. The training includes various exercises, hand-to-hand combat, rope climbing, jumping, and crawling, as well as practice in the use of weapons such as handguns, rifles and knives.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm sending my three kids to gun safety classes. Getting them ready to defend the Judeo-Christian-Truth-loving atheist moral lifestyle.


      Delete
    2. Dougman, not even on the same planet

      Delete
    3. Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, "Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice."-John 18:37

      Is a truth loving athiest still an athiest than?

      Delete
  15. arabs have been faking news since the printing press was invented.

    The funny thing?

    There are 60k dead syrians, there are massacres, there is torture of arabs by arabs and no one gives hoot.

    Now IF israel bulldozers an empty house? It's a war crime and the entire world joins in.

    So it's karma baby, the arabs who cried wolf. Classic.

    ReplyDelete

  16. February 10, 2013
    Which Country has the Highest Rape Rate in the World?
    John-Pierre Maeli

    After thinking over the question for five minutes, you might come up with South Africa or some other third world country as your answer. However, the real answer might shock you.

    Who has the highest number of rapes in the world?

    The title sadly goes to Sweden, which now sees one out of every four Swedish women being the victim of rape.

    Is this the result of the rapid influx of Muslim immigrants who continue to form a larger percentage of the Swedish population?

    From the Counter Jihad Report:

    With Muslims represented in as many as 77 percent of the rape cases and a major increase in rape cases paralleling a major increase in Muslim immigration, the wages of Muslim immigration are proving to be a sexual assault epidemic by a misogynistic ideology.

    The escalation of rape in Sweden is so bad that in July of last year there were an average of five rapes a day reported in Stockholm. Think about that for a minute; five women being raped a day in a modern civilized city. This isn't Afghanistan or Mexico we're talking about; it's Sweden.

    The fact that the quantity of rapes is increasing due to the increase of Muslim immigrants is in itself disturbing. As of 2008, Sweden's rape statistics were up to 53.2 per 100,000 population. Sadly, they are most likely higher as the Muslim population continues to grow without any willingness to assimilate into Swedish society.

    The only way to fix such a problem is either halt immigration altogether, or to bring down the law on Muslim immigrants who are unwilling to obey. However, such actions force Swedish officials to recognize the root of the problem - Islam. And we all know how government officials react to that.


    ReplyDelete
  17. We can still get our news from Alarabiya.net in English --

    Iranians on revolution day chant ‘death to America’

    Sunday, 10 February 2013

    Hundreds of thousands of people marched on Sunday in Tehran and other cities chanting “Death to America” as Iran marked the 34th anniversary of the Islamic revolution that ousted the U.S.-backed shah.

    In the capital, crowds waving Iranian flags and portraits of revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini walked toward the landmark Azadi (Freedom) Square, in a government-sponsored rally which is now a cornerstone of the regime.

    Marchers also chanted “Death to Israel” and “Death to America” as they headed for the square, some waving posters of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, where President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was expected to make an address.

    Iran is holding similar rallies nationwide, especially in large provincial capitals such as Mashhad, Isfahan, Shiraz and Kerman.


    http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2013/02/10/265448.html


    It's all just a local custom, a little love fest they have each year. Put on by the government, you probably lose your job if you don't show. Or maybe they just hate us. Hard to tell. Some years they have thrown in "Death to France" and "Death to England" too, adding a little more international flavor.

    Nice pic of a poster of a very large eared Barky with the article, surrounded by all the ladies burka-ed up with little green slogan banners too.

    ReplyDelete
  18. “You pull away the gun from the face of the Iranian nation, and I myself will enter the talks with you” Ahmadinejad

    Betcha a Trillion Platinum Barky bites this apple. One on one, glory to the One, irresistible. And he'll come home like Chamberlain, with a smile, a handshake, and a piece of paper.

    The West claims Iran's nuclear activities are aimed at developing weapons. Iran denies it seeks atomic arms, saying its nuclear fuel is only for energy-producing reactors and medical applications, and insists that its operations will continue.

    "The Iranian nation will not give up one iota of its rights," Ahmadinejad said. "Your efforts had aimed at preventing us from become nuclear, but we did."


    http://news.yahoo.com/ahmadinejad-ill-talk-us-pressure-stops-092548564.html

    ReplyDelete
  19. We can always turn to Hezb'allah's al Manar television for the truth of things -

    February 10, 2013
    Talking heads, Hezb'allah-style
    Thomas Lifson

    What you see on al Manar television is the high end of that culture - the elites who get to be on television shows telling the masses what to think. These fellas are among the more polite, thoughtful, and well-spoken members of that culture - role models, in fact.

    http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2013/02/talking_heads_hezballah-style.html

    video clip of typical al Manar discussion included

    Negotiated peace?



    ReplyDelete
  20. Still, it typically takes a decade to train a physician. Health experts say the pool of graduates cannot keep pace.

    California - State lacks doctors to meet demand of national healthcare law
    Lawmakers are working on proposals that would enable physician assistants, nurse practitioners, optometrists and pharmacists to diagnose, treat and manage some illnesses.

    "We're going to be mandating that every single person in this state have insurance," said state Sen. Ed Hernandez (D-West Covina), chairman of the Senate Health Committee and leader of the effort to expand professional boundaries. "What good is it if they are going to have a health insurance card but no access to doctors?"

    Good question.

    http://www.latimes.com/health/la-me-doctors-20130210,0,1509396.story


    Told you so.

    ReplyDelete
  21. .

    And with no physicians around the are likely to be a lot more deaths by WOLVES.

    Morning Joe Discusses Rampaging Wolves

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. To the spittal with thee -

      Europe
      A 16th-century engraving depicting a wolf attack from Johann Geiler von Kaisersberg's Die Emeis (1516)

      In Scotland, during the reign of James VI, wolves were considered such a threat to travelers that special houses called spittals were erected on the highways for protection.[8] In France alone, historical records indicate that between the years 1580-1830, 3,069 people were killed by wolves, 1,857 of which were non-rabid.[9] Italian records indicate that between the 15th-19th centuries, 440 people were killed by wolves in central Po valley.[10] In Imperial Russia 1890, a document was produced stating that 161 people had been killed by wolves in 1871.[8] During the First World War, starving wolves had amassed in great numbers in Kaunas, Vilnius and Minsk and began attacking Imperial Russian and Imperial German fighting forces, causing the two fighting armies to form a temporary truce to fight off the animals.[11]

      After the fall of the Soviet Union, those within the new administration discovered documents indicating that several wolf attacks had occurred in villages during the Eastern front. This information was apparently suppressed by the Soviet government in order to hide the consequences of the mass confiscation of firearms during the war.[5]

      A hypothesis as to why wolves in Eurasia historically acted more aggressively toward humans than those in North America is that in the past, Old World wolf hunting was mostly an activity for the nobility, whereas American wolf hunts were partaken by ordinary citizens, ((((nearly all of them possessing firearms.)))) This difference could have caused American wolves to be more fearful of humans, making them less willing to venture into settled areas.[12]

      Nonetheless, with the exception of one attack on a French shepherd in 2001,[13] modern Western Europe has had very few attacks and no recent fatalities due significantly to the near complete lack of wolves in Western Europe. "Lupus", a German group of wildlife biologists, says it has documented 250 encounters among people and wolves in the Lusatia region and there were no problems in any of the cases.[14]
      North America

      Oral histories of Native American tribes indicate they were attacked by wolves on occasion, before the arrival of European settlers. Woodland Indians were usually most at risk, as they would often encounter wolves suddenly, and at close quarters. An old Nunamiut hunter, in an interview with author Barry Lopez, said that wolves used to attack his people, ((((until the introduction of firearms)))), at which point the attacks ceased.[15]

      When settlers began colonizing the continent, they noticed that while local wolves were more numerous than in Europe, they were less aggressive.[15] In Canada, an Ontario newspaper offered a $100 reward for proof of an unprovoked wolf attack on a human. The money was left uncollected.[8] Though Theodore Roosevelt considered the large timber wolves of north-western Montana and Washington equal to Northern European wolves in size and strength, he noted they were nonetheless much shyer around man.[16]


      Delete
    2. In modern times, as humans begin to encroach on wolf habitats more contacts are being recorded.[17] Often the contact is because the person is walking their pet dog, and the wolf pack considers the dog a prey item, inciting an attack.[18][19][20][21] Retired wolf biologist Mark McNay compiled 80 events in Alaska and Canada where wolves closely approached or attacked people, finding 39 cases of aggression by apparently healthy wolves, and 29 cases of fearless behavior by non-aggressive wolves.[22][23][24][25]

      Unlike the grey wolf, the red wolf has not been known to attack people. However, packs of red wolves were reported to scavenge on battlefield corpses during the Mexican-American War.[26]
      Asia

      In the 18th century, Japan experienced an outbreak of wolf attacks due to the spread of rabies from China and Korea.[27]

      Traditionally, Hindus have refrained from killing even man-eating wolves, due to the superstition even one drop of wolf blood spilled could result in a bad harvest.[28] During a 2-year period (1996–1997) in Uttar Pradesh, wolves killed or seriously injured 74 humans, mostly children under the age of 10. The attacks were well documented by wolf authorities.[29] One of the worst cases ever recorded occurred in 1878 in British India. During a one year period 624 people were killed by man-eating wolves.[30] A series of guidelines on avoidance of wolf attacks were written by Yadvendradev V. Jhala and Dinesh Kumar Sharma, both of the Wildlife Institute of India. Vulnerable-aged children, according to Indian researchers, are those among the ages of 2–10 living in areas where huts are scattered and where vegetation can conceal predators.[31]


      -- or, if you don't like living in a spittal, pack a 30-30.

      It's sad watching a grown man fall so easily for a propaganda video.

      Delete
    3. .

      Yes, it is. You read ancient history from far away places and cite it as true.

      The only wolf attacks you hear about and post are those offered up by outfitters and hunters whose livelihoods depend on it, urban legends like Bigfoot and Thunderbirds.

      Yet, the grown man cries in the night over wolves. It must be the European heritage, benighted peasants cringing in fear, waiting for the dawn.

      Wolves? You should be worrying about bears.

      And clowns.

      .

      Delete
  22. Maybe this, from your own, must be forgotten, tradition, will help you -




    When Even Wolves Kept Their Word…

    Hugh O’Reilly

    During the time that St. Francis was preaching in Gubbio, an enormous and ferocious wolf appeared in that area. It not only devoured other animals, but also men; and since it often came near the town, the inhabitants were taken by great fear. When the people went out to the fields, they would go armed as if for combat. Nonetheless, if any of the townspeople, even if armed, came upon it alone, he could not defend himself against it. The fear of this wolf became so great that no one had the courage to go beyond the city walls.


    http://www.traditioninaction.org/religious/h023rp.FrancisWolf_OReilly.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. After that, the said wolf lived two more years in Gubbio. It would enter docilely into the houses, going from door to door, without harming anyone and not being harmed by anyone. It was courteously fed by the people, and as it went about through the houses and city, no dog ever barked at it or chased it. When the worf died of old age after two years, all the townspeople mourned the loss greatly because in seeing it walking through the city so tame, they were better reminded of the virtue and charity of St. Francis of Assisi.

      May Christ be glorified. Amen.

      Delete
    2. .

      Right and Odysseus killed the giant cyclops and Perseus the Medusa.

      Go back to reading the Hobbit.

      .

      Delete
  23. FREE TERRY JONES - JAILED IN QUIRKTOWN

    News (and videos) spread about Dearborn's contempt for the First Amendment, and this drew a number of protesters to the city (including Terry Jones, who was convicted and jailed for planning to protest outside a mosque). Now that the city has gained worldwide attention for its stance against free speech, city leaders want to move the festival in order to escape the consequences of their actions.

    Sunday, February 10, 2013
    Dearborn Muslim Calls for Killing Anti-Islam Protesters

    http://www.answeringmuslims.com/2013/02/dearborn-muslim-calls-for-killing-anti.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      Right, a defense of Terry Jones.

      What more can one expect?

      I've posted the true story of what happened here in 2009 as reported in the local papers. And yet you post from the likes of Jihadwatch and answeringmuslims. This from the man who daily calls this blog racist and anti-semitic.

      Telling.

      .

      Delete
  24. .


    Breaking News From Newsmax.com

    Pope Benedict to Resign, Citing Failing Health

    Pope Benedict XVI announced Monday that he would resign on Feb. 28 because he was simply too infirm to carry on — the first pontiff to do so in nearly 600 years. The decision sets the stage for a conclave to elect a new pope before the end of March.

    The 85-year-old Pope announced his decision in Latin during a meeting of Vatican cardinals on Monday morning.

    .

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

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    2. Paolo Gabriele for Pope, the only honest man in Vatican City.

      Delete