The village of Maaloula has been taken over by Syrian rebels associated with al Qaeda, who have stormed the Christian center and offered local Christians a choice: conversion or death. A resident of the town said the rebels shouted “Allahu Akhbar” as they moved through the village, and proceeded to assault Christian homes and churches.
“They shot and killed people,” he said. “I heard gunshots and then I saw three bodies lying in the middle of a street in the old quarters of the village. Where is President Obama to see what has befallen us?” Another witness stated, “I saw the militants grabbing five villagers and threatening them and saying, ‘Either you convert to Islam, or you will be beheaded.’”
The village is located just 25 miles from Damascus, and sites within the village are dedicated as United Nations world heritage sites. Residents still speak Aramaic, the language of Jesus. The rebels who took over the city are associated with the al Nusra Front, an al Qaeda-associated Islamist group. Villagers reported foreign dialects ranging from Tunisian to Libyan, from Moroccan to Chechen.
BREITBART
Barack Hussein Obama, John Kerry and John McCain.
ReplyDeleteOffensive language
John McCain was definite about it, speaking to the FOX News morning man ...
Delete“Allahu Akhbar! Allahu Akhbar!”
Translates as ...
... "Thank God! Thank God!"...
Johnnie McCain, Republican standard bearer!
.
DeleteJohn would know.
Look how much time he has spent there mingling with the 'good' rebels.
.
Guess which side of the street AIPAC is on. Hint, not on the American people’s side.
ReplyDeleteOver just the past week, the share of Americans who oppose U.S. airstrikes in Syria has surged 15 points, from 48% to 63%, as many who were undecided about the issue have turned against military action. By contrast, the share of Americans who support airstrikes remains virtually unchanged: Just 28% favor U.S. military airstrikes against Syria in response to reports that its government used chemical weapons.
Hint: You are wrong.
Deleteagain.
Just cause you dont like their position, (and I am not sure I am supportive of it either) doesnt make them "not on American people's side".
That's just down right disgusting.
Now if you say that EVERYONE that supports the airstrikes are NOT ON THE AMERICAN PEOPLE'S SIDE then that would be different.
But your SINGLING OUT AIPAC for this treatment is blatantly disingenuous.
Just to refresh my memory I looked:
ReplyDeleteAIPAC urges Congress to grant the President the authority he has requested to protect America’s national security interests and dissuade the Syrian regime’s further use of unconventional weapons. The civilized world cannot tolerate the use of these barbaric weapons, particularly against an innocent civilian population including hundreds of children.
Simply put, barbarism on a mass scale must not be given a free pass.
This is a critical moment when America must also send a forceful message of resolve to Iran and Hezbollah -- both of whom have provided direct and extensive military support to Assad. The Syrian regime and its Iranian ally have repeatedly demonstrated that they will not respect civilized norms. That is why America must act, and why we must prevent further proliferation of unconventional weapons in this region.
…Simply put, barbarism on a mass scale must not be given a free pass.
ReplyDeleteSince AIPAC and ISRAEL must not allow barbarism, saddle up! Get those IDF boys out there in the badlands.
They have been fighting the fight for decades.
DeleteAgain, your singling out Israel and AIPAC shows a disgusting amount of bias.
One standard for Jews and no standards for anyone else.
Please. grow up
There is a difference between arguing and fighting.
DeleteThe Jew thing is your thing. I am agnostic about someone’s religion. Name another blogger on this site that brings up his religion. Religion bores me and to be perfectly frank, I think the very idea of an adult being religious puzzles me.
Israel is another matter.
Name one other society that is always trying to get this country to fight their battles. You can’t. If Irish catholics were as big a pain in the ass as AIPAC, I would have something to say about them.
Name one other society that is always trying to get this country to fight their battles
DeleteYou really are drinking cool aid...
This is choice:
ReplyDeleteAIPAC “When the United States takes a stand, and then goes back on its word, we’re left in an even more dangerous place.”-@bobschieffer September 9 4:22 AM
Sure is.
DeleteRemember America went back on it's word in 1967 and the Straits of Titran and caused the 6 day war.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem told reporters in Moscow that his nation "welcomes" a proposal by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during talks on Monday: put Syria's chemical weapons under international control to avert a U.S. military response over an alleged poison gas attack last month.
ReplyDelete"I declare that the Syrian Arab Republic welcomes Russia's initiative, on the basis that the Syrian leadership cares about the lives of our citizens and the security in our country," Moallem said. "We are also confident in the wisdom of the Russian government, which is trying to prevent an American aggression against our people."
The comments came after Secretary of State John Kerry discussed a similar scenario, though the State Department stressed later Monday that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad could not be trusted to relinquish his country's chemical stockpiles.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said the "credible threat" of a U.S. military attack on Syria led to the Russian proposal, but he said any such plan would require close evaluation and that Washington remained "highly skeptical" of the Syrian regime
WASHINGTON–Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota became the latest Democrat Monday to say she would not support the current Senate resolution authorizing the use of force in Syria.
ReplyDeleteAfter a week of hearings and briefings, including one with Vice President Joe Biden at the White House, Ms. Heitkamp said she has “serious concerns” about the use of force in Syria and cannot support the current Senate resolution.
“At its core, I believe the current Senate resolution falls short because it calls for military action in Syria without carefully looking at diplomatic or alternative solutions,” Ms. Heitkamp said in a statement Monday. “I strongly believe that we need the entire world, not just America, to prevent and deter the use of chemical weapons in Syria, or anywhere else on the globe.
Ms. Heitkamp joins other Democrats from conservative-leaning states to oppose the current Senate resolution on Syria, including Sens. Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Joe Manchin of West Virginia, with whom Ms. Heitkamp drafted an alternate resolution that wouldn’t authorize immediate military action.
DeleteThe measure from Sens. Heitkamp and Manchin would give Mr. Assad 45 days to sign an international chemical weapons ban and begin turning over the country’s chemical weapons. The Democrats’ resolution would also require President Barack Obama to submit a long-term strategy on Syria to Congress, giving the U.S. time to seek more international support for a response to Syria’s alleged use of chemical weapons.
That red-headed, freckled gal is a pretty smart cookie.
Delete.
DeleteI don't know about that. Asking the administration to offer "a long-term strategy on Syria" kind of sounds like wishful thinking. They are having a hard time articulating a short-term policy.
.
Ahh, that's just a nice way of saying, "What, are you out of your freakin' mind?"
Delete"Here, let me give you an Out."
Delete.
DeleteNaw, I just forgot to put the IMO in.
.
"Here, let me give you an out."
DeleteI was just putting words into Heidi's mouth.
.
DeleteOK, but just make sure that is the only thing.
.
"If the establishment of international control over chemical weapons in that country would allow avoiding strikes, we will immediately start working with Damascus," Lavrov said. "We are calling on the Syrian leadership to not only agree on placing chemical weapons storage sites under international control, but also on its subsequent destruction and fully joining the treaty on prohibition of chemical weapons," he said. Lavrov said that he has already handed over the proposal to al-Moallem and expects a "quick, and, hopefully, positive answer." His statement followed media reports alleging that Russian President Vladimir Putin, who discussed Syria with President Barack Obama during the group of 20 summit in St. Petersburg last week, sought to negotiate a deal that would have Assad hand over control of chemical weapons. Speaking earlier in the day, Lavrov denied that Russia was trying to sponsor any deal "behind the back of the Syrian people." The Russian move comes as Obama, who has blamed Assad for killing hundreds of his own people in a chemical attack last month, is pressing for a limited strike against the Syrian government. It has denied launching the attack, insisting along with its ally Russia that the attack was launched by the rebels to drag the U.S. into war. Lavrov and al-Moallem said after their talks that U.N. chemical weapons experts should complete their probe and present their findings to the U.N. Security Council. Al-Moallem said his government was ready to host the U.N. team, and insisted that Syria is ready to use all channels to convince the Americans that it wasn't behind the attack. He added that Syria was ready for "full cooperation with Russia to remove any pretext for aggression."
ReplyDeleteRead More at: http://www.cbs2iowa.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/russia-proposes-alternative-syria-21940.shtml
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ReplyDeleteMerely, a stalling tactic. Even if all parties agreed it would take months to implement and even after that people on both sides would accuse the other of cheating. Likewise, who is going to offer their military as peacekeepers to go in to guard WMDs in the middle of a civil war?
Just one more item to add to the confusion already created by the administration, as if they needed any. It will no doubt be welcomed by those on both sides looking to save face, those looking for additional rationale to shoot down the presidents proposal and those who are looking for any excuse for the president not to attack and yet still save some measure of face.
.
A way to step back from the brink.
DeleteI'd bet an Amero that there are a couple of the 'Stanistans' that would send "PieceKeeper"
If he doesn't take a shot at this, he Is an idiot.
Delete.
DeleteI'm cynic enough to say it is unlikely to work; however, I would take any excuse if it kept us from bombing Syria.
.
Jeremiah 49.
ReplyDeleteFuck it. Bombs away.
ReplyDeleteReinforce the stale mate.
Divide Syria into three or four.
It's great to have a firm Commander in Chief for once.
It looks like Putin is showing that dumb ass president how to get back to the links.
ReplyDeleteCommander in Chief. I have been trying all day to think if I ever met a dumber second lieutenant. I need more time to think.
ReplyDeleteMaybe a corpse-man.
ReplyDeleteHey,this is the guy Rufus voted for, and told us we was all 'racists' for not following his foolish lead
DeleteEven my Niece knew better and she's not into politics at all.
She's into brain science and knows a nitwit when she sees one.
.
DeleteShe's into brain science and knows a nitwit when she sees one.
:)
No doubt.
I doubt any one here would deny it.
.
President Obama said on Monday he would "run to ground" a proposal floated by the Russians that would wrest control of chemical weapons from Syria and would potentially head off a U.S. military strike against the Bashar Assad regime.
ReplyDeleteObama, who conducted a half dozen television interviews on Monday afternoon to try to gin up support for his call for military action against Syria said he would "absolutely" put off a punitive strike if Assad gave up his weapons.
"It's possible if it's real," Obama told CNN in an interview that aired Monday of the possible breakthrough on the Syria crisis. "And, you know, I think it's certainly a positive development when, the Russians and the Syrians both make gestures toward dealing with these chemical weapons. This is what we've been asking for not just over the last week or the last month, but for the last couple of years."
See, if they can work it out, hitting that "reset" button on our relationship with Russia, it was a good thing, don't ya know?
Success due to the work done for the "last couple of years".
Legacy Building Time!
"Don't ever ever vote for O'Bonkers, Uncle Bob. He is crazy.""
ReplyDeletePolitical advice from my niece.
Reid delays vote in Senate.
ReplyDeleteA cynic might suspect that he just didn't have the votes.
Never give money to a Hindu whore, unless you get the blowjob up front.
Deleteadvice from My uncle
She is not a whore.
DeleteShe is a beautiful intelligent young woman, in the process of choosing where to get her PhD.
You and your uncle can go with the whores.
Slum buckets both.
Asshole.
DeletePhD is about 8 levels above your 8th grade education, asshole
DeleteFurther she is bilingual.
You sound pissed; I take it you gave her the money, first.
DeleteNo fool like an old fool.
Rufus, has anyone called you a disgusting old goat?
DeleteNo?
Then I will.
Rufus, you are a disgusting old goat.
He'll get her to Vegas, to the Circus! Circus!, and then ...
Delete... Jungle Fever!
What she does in Vegas, stays in Vegas.
Who she does in Vegas ...
She asked me once:
Delete"Uncle Bob, are people in Mississississisippi really as stupid as rumor has it?"
I answered:
"Not exactly stupid, it's just that they never go past the eight grade."
"That is sad", she replied.
They'll be goin' back to ...
DeleteSweet Home Alabama
Oh sweet home baby
Where the skies are so blue
And the governor's true
Sweet Home Alabama
Lordy
Lord, I'm coming home to you
Yea, yea
The main thing we are doing in Vegas, anon, is check out UNLV psychology department.
DeleteShe doesn't gamble or drink.
We are going to some Hindu restaurants though. There are about 10 good ones there.
I think I see a wagon rutted road
DeleteWith the weeds growing tall between the tracks,
And along one side runs a
Rusty barbed wire fence and beyond there
Sits an old tar paper shack.
Mississippi, you're on my mind,
Mississippi, you're on my mind,
Mississippi you're on my mind.
I think I hear a noisy old John Deere in a field
Specked with dirty cotton lint, and beyond that
Field runs a little country creek, and there you'll
Find the cool green leaves of mint.
DeleteMississippi, you're on my mind,
Mississippi, you're on my mind,
Mississippi you're on my mind.
I think I smell the honeysuckle vine,
It's thick sweetness like to make me sick.
And the dogs, my God, how they're hungry all the time
And the snakes are sleeping where the weeds are thick.
DeleteMississippi, you're on my mind,
Mississippi, you're on my mind,
Mississippi you're on my mind.
I think I feel the angry oven heat,
The southern sun just blazes in the sky.
In the dusty weeds, an old fat grasshopper jumps.
I wanna make it to that creek before I fry.
DeleteMississippi, you're on my mind,
Mississippi, you're on my mind,
Mississippi you're on my mind.
Mississippi, you're on my mind,
Mississippi, you're on my mind,
Mississippi you're on my mind.
.
DeleteFurther she is bilingual.
:)
You big dummy. That only means she speaks two languages.
Always check the dictionary before handing out money.
.
LOL!!
DeletePresident Barack Obama's campaign for an attack on Syria took an unexpected turn as his administration inadvertently gave the Assad regime a potential way out that spawned second thoughts on Capitol Hill and enthusiasm among international opponents of a military strike.
ReplyDelete...
The shift, which Mr. Obama called "a potentially positive development," paused a Senate debate and complicated the president's pitch...
On this day in 1791, our nation’s capital was officially named after President George Washington and given the name Washington D.C.
ReplyDeleteBrit Hume told viewers Monday on “Special Report with Bret Baier” that the Russian offer to work with the Syrian regime to put its chemical arsenals under international control might be a way for President Barack Obama to get himself out of the corner he painted himself into “without firing a shot."
ReplyDeleteThe idea originally came up when Secretary of State John Kerry was asked if there was anything that could be done to stop a strike on Syria. Kerry said President Bashar Assad would have to give up all his chemical weapons by the end of the week.
The Russians then worked with members of the Assad regime who agreed they would welcome the idea to place their chemical arsenals under international control.
Brit Hume, FOX News Channel’s senior political analyst said,“this thing is a political lifeline, not just for the president, but for all these members of Congress who don't want to vote on this issue.
“I didn't think it was possible for there to be any kind of escape from the corner into which Barack Obama had painted himself, this may however be it. If this can be done, if this is feasible, if the U.N. can some way find a way to detect and get control of these weapons or some process by which that can be started. What does that do? First of all what did the president say he wanted his military strike to accomplish? It was to rob Bashar Assad of his ability to use chemical weapons. This does that. This is without firing a shot.”
Evidently, Obama, and Putin talked about this very thing while at the G-20.
DeleteMaybe not quite so "accidental," after all.
Intentional noise that randomly suppresses error ...
DeleteDither ...
Assad turns old and degraded chemical weapons for a guarantee of his government's legitimacy from "The West".
Everyone saves face. Obtains the objectives that they publicly set.
Sweetness for Obama, that's fer sur. He's ridin' the wave!
Hangin' ten on the nose of the long board!
"Good?" or "lucky?"
DeleteOr, "Good'n lucky?"
.
DeleteNaw, you guys have got it all wrong.
The WaPo editorial board says there is no way this would have happened except for the Obama's threatened "devastating military strike".
I am shocked and awed by the board's insight.
(note: the editorial was beamed in from the WaPo's Uranus site)
.
The estranged wife of George Zimmerman opted not to press charges against her husband Monday after police in Florida responded to her sobbing 911 call reporting he had punched her ...
ReplyDeleteTo bad she did not shoot the squirrelly bastard!
Zimmerman abuses women ...
His own wife ...
What piece of shit!
He may be a piece of shit, but he was not guilty of murder.
DeleteAccept it.
To bad that hoodie boy, Trayvon Martin didn't bash Zimmerman to death, it would have saved Zimmerman's wife and father-in-law from the threats posed by an armed vigilante on a rampage.
DeleteThe estranged wife of George Zimmerman opted not to press charges against her husband Monday after police in Florida responded to her sobbing 911 call reporting he had punched her father and was threatening them with a gun.
"I'm really scared,'' Shellie Zimmerman can be heard telling Lake Mary, Fla., police in an audio recording of a 911 call placed around 2 p.m. Monday to authorities in the suburb northeast of Orlando.
What is this, his third run-in with the law since his trial?
DeleteHe's another O.J.
It's just a matter of time.
Zimmerman, what a piece of human refuse.
DeleteNot worthy of drawing another breath, he is just another despicable mixed race piece of shit.
Bullies his wife, beats her and then threatens both her and her father with a gun!
DeleteFace it Rufus.
ReplyDeleteBe a man.
O'bungle doesn't know what the fuck he is doing.
Just accept.
Get over it.
I bet He never paid for poontang he didn't get.
DeleteI understand all of his women were "cunnilingual."
DeleteHe knew how to become President.
DeleteTaught the Clintons about the primary process.
Made John McCain and Mitt Romney look like foolish children in the general elections.
Gave the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt their chance to rule, legally. But the Brotherhood proved to be politically inept, unsuited to the task. The US Security Partner took the Brotherhood out of power, out of Egyptian politics, at least for the next cycle.
In Syria, not a shot has been fired by or at the US. Assad just may turn his chemical stockpiles over to the Russians and some UN Peace Keepers.
Victory for US if Assad complies.
Assad gains legitimacy, much as Castro did back in 1961, after the CIA fiasco at the Bay of Pigs, in Cuba followed by the US/Soviet agreement ending the Missile Crisis.
What they call a "Win - Win" kind of a deal.
Even "Historical" in scale and scope.
Rufus has now proven himself to be a truly disgusting old fart
DeleteCongrats, Rufie.
You disgusting old fart.
DeleteNothing is better than eating at the "Y"!
DeleteWow, I should dig out my old photoshop of Kerry in the “did I say something wrong Ollie?” post.
ReplyDeleteI have to take this all in. Can you imagine the recalibration going on? This should finish off John McCain. I am sure the IDF is now going to show us how it is done. :) The Israelis must have Netanyahu restrained and safely away from any sharp objects. So close yet so far. Putin must have completely converted to Catholicism. He looked into Obama’s soul and thought I’ll save this dumb bastard.
The Saudis and the ass-stabbing Turks must have the worry beads in overdrive.
Surely, there can’t be many politicians, foreign or domestic that will step out on a limb for Obama. Didn’t that whackjob from North Korea pull a similar stunt a few months ago?
I better not get too excited.
Obama gets the Republican leadership to commit to supporting a hugely unpopular military operation, then pulls the plug on the request to use military force, because his Nobel Prize winning political maneuvers restrict and then eliminate the Assad regime's access to the chemical weapons stockpiles maintained by that regime.
DeleteAssad buys in, as most of those weapons are aged and/or no longer part of the combat doctrine espoused by their mentors and sponsors, the Russians.
It is striking how delighted Americans are to have found this way out of a divisive mess, over a proposal to do something that would kill people but would not help, deadly symbolism, a message in blood.
DeleteIn 1973, the Israeli Army was almost there in its drive on Damascus, and the US had great difficulty stopping it as part of a deal in the Security Council.
The Russian response to that example was to supply this chemical weapon system as a deterrent to the Israelis. Chemical weapons are not actually an especially effective weapon to use as a deterrent, but the Israelis for historic reasons are especially sensitive politically to the threat of gas warfare.
Now if Syria gives up its deterrent, what is to keep the US and/or Israel from doing what the US did to Libya, what Israel already did in 1973 driving to Damascus? Yes, it is possible to craft an answer to that, and a better answer than these chemical weapons. However, an answer will need to be part of this deal. It cannot be ignored in our general glee.
Furthermore, when the chemical weapons treaty came along 20 years later, Israel also refused to join. Israel now will need to join too, and on the same terms, because this was a tit-for-tat to keep balance, and balance must still be kept.
The most difficult problem will be a credible way to keep the Americans and Israelis from attacking Syria, in lieu of Syria's deterrent. Both have demonstrated what the rest of the world takes to be extreme bad faith in such matters.
Hezbollah stopped the Israeli assault into Lebanon, last time around.
DeleteFortified fighting positions with interlocking fire, combined with adequate anti-tank weaponry.
Hezbollah anti-amour
Tactics and weapons
Assessment of the Second Lebanon War By Col. David Eshel
Realizing the capabilities of the Merkava 4 tank, Hezbollah allocated their most advanced weaponry to combat this advanced tank, engaging these tanks exclusively with the heavier, more capable missiles such as 9M133 AT-14 Kornet, 9M131 Metis M and RPG-29.
RPG-29 and 9M113 Konkurs (AT-5) were employed mostly against Merkava 3 and 2 while non-tandem weapons, such as Tow, Fagot and improved RPG 7Vs were left to engage other armored vehicles such as AIFV. The least used were AT-3 Sagger and, to a limited extent, the TOW as well as non tandem RPGs, were considered obsolete against tanks, but proved quite lethal against troops seeking cover in buildings.
Overall, almost 90% of the tanks hit were by tandem warheads. In general, Hezbollah militants prioritized Merkava Mk 4 over Merkava Mk 2 and 3, and in general, targeted tanks over AIFV. At the beginning of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, the main Israeli concern was a report that Hezbollah possessed Russian Kornet antitank missiles. However, it also saw the RPG-29 Vampir with a tandem HEAT that had stolen the show. There were even rumors that Hezbollah had received the notorious TBG-29V thermobaric rounds, but these could not be confirmed in action.
Hezbollah deployed their tank-killer teams in a thin but effective defensive scheme, protecting the villages where the organization's Shiite members reside; villages where their short range rockets were positioned and where command infrastructure and logistics support was set up. An estimated 500 to 600 members of their roughly 4,000-strong Hezbollah fighting strength in South Lebanon were divided into tank-killer teams of 5 or 6, each armed with 5-8 anti-tank missiles, with further supplies stored in small fortified well camouflaged bunkers and fortified basements, built to withstand Israeli air attacks.
Putin has Obama by the short hairs (and, vice verse.) Assad will be protected. No more serious weapons to the "rebels."
DeleteAl Queda will not get control of Syria, and the Winter Games will go off without a major chemical weapons attack.
engagements were encountered at ranges below 3000 meters. Hezbollah tank-killer teams would lay in wait in camouflaged bunkers or houses, having planted large IEDs on known approach routes. Once an Israeli tank would detonate one of these, Hezbollah would start lobbing mortar shells onto the scene to prevent rescue teams rushing forward, also firing at outflanking Merkava tanks by targeting the more vulnerable rear zone with RPGs. In general, Hezbollah demonstrated rather slow regrouping and response rate, since their mobility and command links were severely restricted by the IDF dominating the open areas. However, even this slow pace was fast enough to match the slow and indecisive movements of the Israelis forces.
DeleteThe night vision equipment used by Hezbollah was not as advanced as the IDF's. They possess mainly individual night vision equipment and some night observation systems, but generally lacked night capabilities for their anti-tank weapons. Benefiting from its superior night combat capability, the IDF conducted most movements at night, minimizing exposure of forces during day time.
New tactical doctrines makes the chemicals obsolete.
They are a 20th century solution to a 19th century challenge.
Speaking Monday in London, Secretary of State John F. Kerry said that a U.S. military strike on Syria would constitute an “unbelievably small, limited kind of effort.”
ReplyDeleteLater at the White House, President Obama insisted that any such action would be significant. “The U.S. does not do pinpricks,” he told an NBC News interviewer. “Our military is the greatest the world has ever known.”
The dueling statements underscored the administration’s muddled message on Syria. The confusion has complicated Obama’s effort to persuade a reluctant Congress and American public to support a strike against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for its alleged use of chemical weapons to kill more than 1,400 civilians outside Damascus last month.
Over the past 10 days, Obama and his aides have offered varied and often shifting justifications for military action against Syria, and differing accounts of what such an intervention would look like.
Administration officials have said that the world cannot turn away while a tyrant gasses children but stressed that their war plans don’t involve expelling Assad from power. They’ve said that strikes could hurt the regime’s fighting capacity in its civil war — perhaps tipping the balance of power — but that they are intended only to degrade its ability to use chemical weapons.
Some Republicans say the convoluted messageshave left them with little confidence in Obama’s plans.
“There’s no clarity, there’s no focus,” Rep. John Abney Culberson (Tex.), who opposes military action, told reporters recently. “The president’s position is so wobbly and uncertain, I’m not even clear on what he’s trying to do.”
In six television interviews Monday, Obama acknowledged that he cannot be certain that the strikes would be as limited and as powerful as predicted. But he said it’s critical for the United States to hold Assad accountable and send a global message that the use of poison gas as a weapon of war will not be tolerated.
“Nothing is 100 percent guaranteed in life,” he said. “But I think it’s fair to say that our military is outstanding, our intelligence is outstanding, and we have shown ourselves capable of taking precision strikes on military installations in ways that would degrade Assad’s capabilities to deliver chemical weapons.”
Putin, and Obama might have been "negotiating" this play for the last year. If so, I don't think Kerry is "in on it." He's entirely too stupid for a game this nuanced, and complex.
DeleteThose anti-American vets:
ReplyDeleteAs a soldier in the Hawaii National Guard who did two tours of duty in the Middle East, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard says she learned firsthand that military action must have a clear objective, the public’s support and an exit plan.
On Monday Ms. Gabbard said Syria offers none of those — and she would vote against the president’s request to authorize military strikes on the Assad regime’s chemical weapons facilities.
“We should learn from history; we cannot afford to be the world’s policeman,” Ms. Gabbard said in a statement announcing her position. “The United States should not insert itself in the midst of this civil war, which is rooted in sectarian hatred and animosity between various warring religious groups.”
Ms. Gabbard is one of two female combat veterans in the House and a member of Mr. Obama’s party, but her stance puts her in line with most of the more than 100 veterans who serve in Congress.
Indeed, of the 103 senators and representatives with military service, 65 have said they will vote no or are leaning against strikes, according to a Washington Times survey of news reports and statements. Only 12 have come out in support of retaliatory attacks.
Those who have announced their opposition span generations, including those who served in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and most recently in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Rep. Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat from Illinois, echoed the views of fellow Iraq veteran Ms. Gabbard that there is not a viable plan for success in Syria. Ms. Duckworth is an Illinois ArmyNational Guard veteran who lost both legs when her helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade in Iraq in 2004. She received a Purple Heart.
“It’s my responsibility as a member of Congress to make sure we don’t commit resources, the most precious of which are our men and women in uniform, with no comprehensive plan for our involvement,” she said in a statement. “It’s military families like mine that are the first to bleed when our nation makes this kind of commitment.”
Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/sep/9/majority-of-vets-in-congress-leaning-against-syria/#ixzz2eSa4lwXS
Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter
NPR Politics
ReplyDeleteShared publicly - Yesterday 8:20 PM
Obama: Diplomatic Solution In Syria Is 'Overwhelmingly My Preference'
After much diplomatic wrangling, President Obama on Monday left open the possibility of a diplomatic solution in Syria, saying a proposal allowing Syria to give up its chemical weapons was a "potentially positive development."
In interviews with six television network anchors, Obama said his administration would "run to ground" a Russian proposal that would avoid an international military confrontation by putting Syria's chemical weapons in international hands. As we reported, Secretary of State John Kerry first floated the possibility during a press conference in England this morning. The proposal was then picked up by the Russians and Syria's foreign minister said the country welcomed the overture.
In an interview with PBS, President Obama said if there is a diplomatic path to stop the use of chemical weapons in Syria it would be "overwhelmingly my preference."
Obama also added that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin had talked about the plan now on the table both during the recent G-20 meeting in Russia and during another meeting last year in Mexico.
In other words, the proposal is a true diplomatic breakthrough long in the making.
Obama said his administration will work with Russia to see if Syria is serious about the proposal and to see if they can reach a deal that is "enforceable and serious."
However, Obama said that he will ask Congress to move forward with a debate on whether to approve military action against Syria.
Now, Obama said, is not the time to let up on the pressure.
"We would not be at this point if there were not a credible military threat standing behind the norm against the use of chemical weapons," Obama said.
EDITORIAL FROM NY TIMES
ReplyDeleteA Diplomatic Proposal for Syria
By THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Published: September 9, 2013
Secretary of State John Kerry may not have expected his casual suggestion that Syria avert American military action by giving up its chemical weapons to be taken seriously. But it may have created a diplomatic way out for President Obama, who has insisted that a military strike is the only way to respond after concluding that the Syrian government used poison gas in its civil war.
Russia, Syria’s arms supplier and ally, immediately embraced Mr. Kerry’s suggestion on Monday and proposed that President Bashar al-Assad do exactly that. “If the establishment of international control over chemical weapons in the country will prevent attacks, then we will immediately begin work with Damascus,” Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister said. “And we call on the Syrian leadership to not only agree to setting the chemical weapons storage sites under international control, but also to their subsequent destruction.”
Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said Syria welcomed the proposal. The swift endorsement of the idea by the United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, and Britain’s prime minister, David Cameron, show how eager the world is to avoid a military showdown when removing the chemical weapons might be a realistic option. Mr. Obama called the proposal “a potentially positive development.” White House officials said it was worth taking a “hard look” at.
The Obama administration has good reason to be skeptical of any promises made by the Assad regime or its Russian backers. Mr. Assad, who has denied using chemical weapons, could begin by actually acknowledging that he has the weapons, which Western nations say amount to hundreds of tons of nerve gas and blister agents.
Nonetheless, Mr. Obama and Mr. Kerry should pursue this possible solution. The removal and destruction of stockpiles of weapons would ensure greater safety for the Syrian people. And it would have longer lasting deterrent effects than the limited strikes Mr. Obama wants to deliver, without the likelihood of more civilian casualties.
Obama really is Chancy Gardener.
ReplyDeleteHe is "Constant"
DeleteChancy was of the intelligentsia compared to barky.
DeleteWhat a dumb fuck.
In a statement, Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and John McCain, R-Ariz., said that only the threat of military action could push Syrian President Bashar Assad to give up control of the chemical weapons.
ReplyDelete"For this reason, Congress should proceed with its plans to consider and vote on the authorization for use of force that is now before the Senate, and today's development should make Members of Congress more willing to vote yes," they wrote in a statement.
Giving Obama the stick does not mean that the Nobel Prize winning President would wield it.
DeleteJust the "threat" could be enough ...
It does raise the stakes for those Republican Congressmen.
Peace through Superior Firepower ...
But the threat of being targeted by that firepower has to be credible, to be effective in promoting the peace.
They gave Dubya the big stick and he couldn't help but go about beating people with it. Obama...?
DeletePresident Barack Obama faces a “tall order” in convincing Americans on Syria with nearly 60 percent who say they want their member of Congress to oppose the use of military force there, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.
ReplyDeletePresident Obama says Syria saying it would consider giving international control to its chemical arsenal is a good step, but it doesn't coincide with the country's past actions. NBC’s Savannah Guthrie reports.
With Obama set to address the nation Tuesday night to advocate U.S. intervention against Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime, just 24 percent of Americans believe military action in response to Assad’s reported use of chemical weapons is in the United States’ interest.
More ominously for Obama and his allies, opposition to military action only has grown since the president first sought approval from Congress and since the administration began waging an intense campaign to win congressional support. Congress is expected to vote on authorization this week but the timing is uncertain.
And in another sign suggesting the public’s reluctance to intervene in Syria’s bloody civil war, almost three-quarters of respondents agree with the statement that the United States should focus more on its domestic problems than promoting democracy and freedom abroad.
The fever has broken. The only thing left to end this is the coup de grâce from the comedians, but wait! Hollande to his horror sees what it costs to follow Obama:
ReplyDeleteMoscow is deftly pulling the rug from under President Barack Obama with today’s proposal to confiscate and destroy Syrian Bashar al Assad’s chemical weapons but Paris may be the one to deliver the coup de grace.
The Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov’s sudden diplomatic initiative gave the beleaguered French President Francois Hollande an opportunity to start backing away from his earlier strong support for Obama’s position on Syria.
He immediately announced support for Lavrov’s proposal so long as it does not allow Assad to procrastinate, but added more fog by saying he will wait for the US Congressional votes as well as reports from United Nations inspectors. He expected both to happen by next week end although such highly charged UN reports usually take several weeks to complete.
The French, who suffered the most from chemical weapons in World War 1, would have stood behind Obama as one. But the impression is that Obama dithered and has allowed Lavrov to outwit him within days of frosty meetings with Vladimir Putin.
Obama seemed to recognize that when he told NBC today the proposal “could potentially be a significant breakthrough.”
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, whose Syria peace conference is stalled, also jumped at the proposal. “I’m considering urging the Security Council to demand the immediate transfer of Syria’s chemical weapons and chemical precursor stocks to places inside Syria where they can be safely stored and destroyed,” Ban said.
Secretary of State John Kerry thinks verifying compliance is impossible but will find it very hard to avoid negotiations to work out modalities or prevent interference from the UN Security Council.
Keeping chemical stores inside Syria as Ban suggests will be very contentious because no entity in the country can guarantee protection of UN or other officials in charge of storage and ensuring that small quantities are not hidden elsewhere. So the negotiations will be harsh and divisive.
It is now most likely that Hollande will stand isolated both in French politics and in Europe if he continues to follow Obama instead of taking independent stands, particularly as Moscow suspects Washington of using the chemical issue to depose Assad.
Hollande’s wavering heightened after Obama’s and his own failure to persuade the G-20 or the European Union to endorse their decisions. Britain’s refusal to follow Obama has cast a deep shadow on assertions that Assad, rather than a rebel faction, is responsible for the chemical weapons horror. It has also turned French public opinion against Hollande and brought calls for a vote in Parliament.
Read more at http://themoderatevoice.com/186472/syria-coup-de-grace/#CkfU1o20mSA9EYoE.99
This was a head fake all along.
ReplyDeleteThe real goal was to have Syria get rid of chemical weapons. This was a deep finesse by Obama the master manipulator. His greatness has morphed into a transcendence of sublime statesmanship. To be alive in such times!
The removal of WMD from the arsenals of hostile regimes in Middle East HAS been a long term goal of the United States. It would be a feather in Obama's bonnet if the Syrians gave up their chemical weapons.
DeleteHistorical, to say the least.
A real legacy.
The only way it could work was if Putin convinced Assad that Obama was a bat-shit, crazy killer, and would attack him with a million tomahawks whether congress acquiesced, or not.
Deletedon't know if that's what's happening, or not. I'm just supposin' like everyone else; but it's sure as hell looking feasible.
Now it will be Israel’s turn to relieve the burden of her chemically weaponized heart. Cleanse the soul.
DeleteYou know, this would be a win for Israel, too. Sure, they'd still have the annoyance of Hesbollah on their Northern flank, but they wouldn't have Al Queda sitting on their doorstep with the world's second largest stockpile of chemical weapons at their disposal.
DeleteBrings up an interesting question, though; how did they know that Assad would launch such an egregious chemical attack - the day after the arrival of the U.N. Inspectors, at that?
Delete:)
Them Russkies. Plays for keeps, they does.
I wonder how much it would cost to bribe a Syrian General to fire off some chemical rounds when the "special guests" were in town? :)
DeleteIsrael's wmd's aint the issue.
Deleteas long as 330 million arabs and 1.3 billion moslems call for their death?
wmd's are defensive in the hands of Israel.
after all, Israel has had them for decades and not a one arab or islamic capital has been nuked, although it could have...
Interesting that Pakistan and India can make the same claim.
Deleteinteresting that thee arab/islamic world's stated goal is wiping israel off the map.
DeleteIsrael goal is not wiping islam or the arab world off the map.
Deuce you just dont get it... Or shall we say you do get it.
DeleteYou believe that Israel should be erased. Sorry Israel will not comply.
As for your comparison of Pakistan and India?
DeletePakistan was carved off of India, Pakistan still wants Kashmir. Pakistan still uses islam as a force for violence inside of India.
You forget that Israel was carved out of Palestine, Israel is absorbing territory it acquired in war from Palestine and like it or not, Israel is a creation of European colonialism as is Pakistan. You may not like the context but that doesn’t make it go away.
DeleteYou forget there NEVER was a nation called "palestine"
DeleteIsrael is liberating it's own land.
Like it or not, the league of nations and the UN BOTH recognized that the "Lands of Palestine" belonged to the Jews.
The arabs squatters that lived in the "lands of palestine"?
DeleteNothing more than other arabs that migrated into the area over the years. No cultural differences, no language or religious differences to show there were a separate peoples from the other areas of the middle east.
This is why Jordan will become AGAIN the lands of arab palestine.
Let us not forget the ethnic cleansing by the arabs of the other 899/900th of the arab occupied middle east.
You cannot discuss the creation of Israel in 1948 if you dont discuss the other arab nationalistic movements also created.
DeuceTue Sep 10, 12:58:00 AM EDT
DeleteNow it will be Israel’s turn to relieve the burden of her chemically weaponized heart. Cleanse the soul.
Israel has never used poison gas as has the Europeans, the Egyptians, the Iraqis and the Syrians.
Israel has no reason to give up something that is PURELY a defensive weapon. After all the arabs? have threatened to BURN Israel with gas numerous times.
When the savages stop threatening to genocide every man, women and child in Israel we can talk disarming the Jewish state. Until the SAVAGES stop being savages...
Savages I say...
They GAS one another. They suicide bomb one another. They murder and rape one another. They toss each other off rooftops and have vice police that beat and murder women that feel are "dishonoring" them...
Yep savages.
Will you Deuce, get rid of your weapons?
Great question Deuce. Without knowing the specific weapons you own. Do you need to have more than a 3 round magazine? Do you need to own more than a .22?
DeleteWhy should you own more ammo than can use at one sitting?
Hmmm... Maybe Israel is at constant threat by savages?
Let's USE the word savages. After all this aint a BORDER dispute. Israel declares it's intent not to commit suicide. And that pisses off the arabs/palestinians/islamists.
Even you have a problem with Israel being a Jewish nation. You bark all the time that it's colony. (shh I guess your American "occupying" ass is somehow special?)
The king's a beggar, now the play is done;
ReplyDeleteAll is well ended if this suit be won.
That you express content; which we will pay,
With strife to please you, day exceeding day:
Ours be your patience then, and yours our
parts;
Your gentle hands lend us, and take our hearts.
Sweet dreams motherfuckers :)
.
ReplyDeleteNot sure how this will play out myself. Too many open questions.
But if it does slow the rush to war,...well...
Just as things were getting interest.
China sends a ship with 1000 marines to the Syrian coast, Turkey moves troops to the border, Russia indicates they will provide air cover assistance for Assad, all because of a potential "unbelievably small, limited effort".
The BS will flow from both sides on this one. However, the important thing is that the market was up today.
.
AnonymousTue Sep 10, 02:03:00 AM EDT
ReplyDeleteChancy was of the intelligentsia compared to barky.
What a dumb fuck.
I agree with WiO.
ReplyDeleteNukes in the hands of the Israelis are a damned good thing.
The ghetto is now nuclear armed.
Deal with it.
There are nukes in the ghetto of Gaza?
DeleteThere are nukes in Detroit?
DeleteConsiderate Racial Predators
ReplyDeleteSeptember 10, 2013 By Colin Flaherty 5 Comments
Before he bashed the 62-year-old Jeffrey Babbitt in the face this week in a New York park, leaving him with permanent brain damage, LaShawn Marten proclaimed: “I hate white people.”
He saved us the trouble of wondering if the attack was “racially motivated.”
Same for Nkosi Thandiwe. Last year in Atlanta, Thandiwe testified he learned to hate white people in college and that is why he killed one white person and hurt a few others.
And if anyone had any doubts about why a car full of five black people drove through the French Quarter just a few days ago assaulting white and gay people, they cleared that up by announcing their intentions with racial and sexual slurs.
But that is not how most racial violence happens.
Most does not come gift wrapped with racial expletives or press releases or Tweets that say “90% of white ppl are nasty. #HATE THEM.” As was the case in the recent Oklahoma killing of Chris Lane.
Neither do most perpetrators leave behind clues like a senior thesis at Princeton, where they accuse their white classmates of racism.
That’s why a crowd of 50 black people in Norfolk could beat up two reporters last year. And why their editor refused to even report the crime for two weeks. He said he had no evidence it was “racially motivated.”
Let’s give the trolls their due. A single episode of black mob violence in New York, or Atlanta, or New Orleans or Norfolk or Burlington, North Carolina is hardly enough to merit national attention.
But when these episodes of black mob violence continue over and over again; and when they happen exponentially out of proportion; and when many are on videos featuring the bad actors bragging about their exploits; even the brightest star in the MSNBC line-up is hard pressed to answer two questions:
What is going on with this epidemic of black mob violence all over the country? And how can so many editors ignore it?
Not just the racial violence in the Baltimores, Chicagos, Detroits, Phillies, and New Yorks. But also the Peorias, Springfields, Dovers and even Burlingtons of the world.
More and more people in these tiny corners of the world want to know too.
The Greensboro – Burlington area of North Carolina used to be Andy of Mayberry country. Today this area is a center of racial violence — and official denial. As was documented in White Girl Bleed a Lot: The return of racial violence and how the media ignore it.
In the upcoming new edition, readers can use their smart phones to scan QR codes so they can see the riots on video as they read about them in the book.
Over the last two years, Greensboro has been the site of more than a dozen episodes of large-scale black mob violence. Some of it on video. It got so bad prior to the Fourth of July this year that the Greensboro city council met in an emergency session to slap a curfew on the downtown area.
In addition to violence earlier this summer, they were afraid of a repeat of last year’s Fourth of July mayhem: 1000 black people rampaged through the streets of Greensboro, beating people up, destroying property, attacking police. Tear gas and tasers took care of that. Some of it, anyway.
This was hardly the first episode of black mob violence, as the local TV news breathlessly reported in July 2012:
“We’ve uncovered a series — a series! — of mob attacks in the heart downtown Greensboro,” said the anchor for the WFMY news. “All of them planned through the social media. And I know it sounds unlikely but it has happened in Chicago and Philadelphia and Milwaukee and now right here in the Triad. Every single weekend this month.
Some might think it strange that hundreds of black people were storming through the busiest part of a usually quiet city, creating epic levels of violence and mayhem, and it took the local news more than a month to notice.
Even then, never once reporting the race of the culprits: There were no printed signs. No epithets. No racist tweets. So it never happened.
At least one city council member acknowledged it in a back hand way: She said she hated to play the race card, but she had to point out the curfew would disproportionately affect black people.
DeleteDespite the curfew, the black mob violence in Greensboro continued with at least two major episodes after the curfew was imposed. Including one episode just a few blocks outside of the Maginot Line-like curfew zone.
Now quiet Burlington is trying to catch up.
In July, a mob of at least eight black people beat and robbed a man on a Saturday afternoon. Police soon arrested one person and are looking for the others.
The injuries may not have been “life threatening” as local police say, but to the victims, violent crime is life changing.
“If you look at the news accounts of this case of black on white violence, the police and press tell us this was not a major crime,” said Taleeb Starkes, author of The Uncivil War. “There was not much money involved. The victim lived. But one of the reasons these crimes happen so much is that we take them so lightly. This kind of violent crime is life changing and traumatic to the victim. If they lose a little money and no one gets hurt, its no harm, no foul. These predators are domestic terrorists and should be treated as such.”
Just two days before this robbery and beat down, a group of at least five black people broke into a Burlington home and assaulted several people.
“The victims described the intruders as five black males wearing black clothing; each had his face covered and was armed with a handgun.
According to police, several victims were physically assaulted with blunt force, and one was transported by Alamance County EMS to Alamance Regional Medical Center with injuries that weren’t considered life threatening.”
“Just another day,” said Starkes. “If you believe the city officials and the press.”
More and more do not.
“It’s not going to stop,” said reader David Troutman to the Times News in Burlington. “Are we another Detroit in the making?”
“Once again the culture of violence continues,” added Chuck Spring.
DeleteBut for every commentator like Chuck Spring looking for answers, someone like Becky Thompson is willing to provide them: Conservatives are to blame for the racial injustice that has created the tsunami of black mob violence around the country.
“Chuck Spring and once again, you could help by paying living wages and start voting for jobs instead of voting against the people that need jobs by voting tea party. Obama has had a jobs bill since I believe it was 2011 but the republicans and the tea party are not interested.”
This home invasion was not too different from a robbery and break-in last July. A gang of black men robbed and assaulted a 79-year Burlington woman. Several of the men were eventually arrested and the victim said she would pray for them. She said she was thankful the men did not kill her.
Her Burlington neighbors were not quite as forgiving: “It took 7 of them to rob a 79-year-old woman,” said one reader to the local Fox affiliate. “Shame, they’ll probably get a slap on the wrist…’My boy a good boy. He ain’t do nothin’.”
And where media outlets permit comments on racially charged crimes like this — some do, some do not — self-defense is a popular them. “Break-in on me?” asked a reader. “As soon as the pistol is in my hands you had better be out of my range.”
But no matter how bad the crime, no matter how often leniency and clemency and more programs are tried and found wanting, some insist we have to continue. Danielle Smith posted her reply to the “get tough” crowd at the Fox News outlet:
You seem to have little faith not only in our justice system but in humanity as a whole. Perhaps these criminals aren’t the only ones to blame (though they ARE very much in the wrong and SHOULD be punished), but who is there to help them stop? Who will take the time to help rehabilitate?
Some version of this question has been asked over and over for 50 years. With still no answer.
More and more people are turning for answers to LaShawn and Nkosi, whom we may condemn for racial violence, but applaud for their illuminating and unflinching honesty.
Iran is signing onto the Russian plan on the elimination of chemical weapons from Syria. Oh my, how un-existential is that?
ReplyDeleteWhich means WiO is automatically against it. I don't care who came up with the plan and how, as long as we don't go to war in Syria.
DeleteExistential?
DeleteOdd way of putting it.
We are past the age of existentialism, thank God.
What a lot of horse shit that swerve was.
Sartre, Camus, those ladies, what a bunch of fools.
My Niece knows better when she says all can work out for the best, Uncle Bob.
But the she comes from a real tradition.
A tradition of prostitution that would shame a whore on the streets of Deadwood!
DeleteBut then she comes from a real tradition.
DeleteThousands of years old.
Even the Egyptians of old got their knowledge from her folk, in the form of a white bull, that came from the east.
See: Egyptian iconography of the day and the meaning of it and how it tracks exactly with the east.
Why not have a man on the street offering contracts to folks to appear on "COPS" if they agree to hand over their chemicals weapons?
DeleteFollow the course of "The W" :
...pay off the Generals to Pay Off The Perps.
When does "Camus II" air?
Delete.
DeleteThe genius of "I voted for it before I voted against it" John Kerry.
When asked during his presentation at the Foreign Office in London what Assad could do to stop the US attack, Kerry offered the mockingly sarcastic suggestion
He could turn over every single bit of his chemical weapons to the international community in the next week. Turn it over, all of it, without delay, and allow a full and total accounting for that. But he isn’t about to do it, and it can’t be done, obviously.
To his utter surprise, someone was actually listening to him this time, in this case, Russia.
.
"chemicals weapons"
DeleteSome of those bastards are Asian housekeepers hired on Saudi Petrodollars.
.
DeleteHow come you just offer us ordinary bull, Uncle Gob, instead of that white bull stuff.
.
A thousand year tradition of being a sex toy, for both men and women, that's what my niece brings to the crib!
DeleteYou better believe it, my niece has the training, she has the experience, she has a real snapper, you better believe that!
My niece and her traditional application of the techniques found in the Kama Sutra makes for a thrilling ride, let me tell you!
Fellers do pay to play!
Go away anon.
ReplyDeleteYou are really a sick person.
Can't you get him/her out of here, Deuce?
bob
"Camus II For Me and You"
Deleteis a surefire Existential Bestseller.
Nothing Stranger than an Existential ReMake.
DeleteMy niece is the best traditional piece of ass, ever!
DeleteShe is a "Bestseller", you better believe it!
You just hang around here all day long?
ReplyDeleteJesus, get a life, man.
Get some counseling.
You are so sad.
STOP TALKING TO YOURSELF!!!
DeleteHi Doug.
DeleteSeems I have a pest following me around.
Have a good day over there in Paradise.
She get's down on it!
DeleteYou better believe it!
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteDoes your contract with your daughter preventing you from logging in have something to do with her worrying about you sending too much money to your niece?
DeleteThis anon the follows me around is really really fucked up.
ReplyDelete"that" ???
DeleteI'm trying to copy, but I do not follow.
Delete"The Follows"
Delete...sounds like a geographical feature that attracts tourists.
Fuck it.....that follows....I ain't awake yet.....
DeleteThe fellow that follows or something....
That is just what my niece said
DeleteFuck for money, my niece is not free!
COPS can't "film" in Honarooroo:
ReplyDeleteBad for the Asian Tourism Business.
I think of these 'existentialists' as the pouting children of the philosophical world.
ReplyDeleteOh woe is us, woe is us, a big line of bull shit......
Grieving folks that have yet to encounter true pain.
Delete
Delete**************************************************************************************
Yea, that is right, Doug. Great way to put it.
Also, they have not known true love.
They are children.
And they don't know what hope is.
****************************************************************************
Yep, that Caste System makes for some great "culture," unless, of course, you're an "untouchable."
ReplyDeleteNot my niece!
DeleteShe is really "touchable"
And boy, does she have some culture!
The way the earth moves, under her feet!
Hemingway tried to describe it, but fell short.
The earth really did move!
I was speaking of their philosophical tradition, Rufus.
DeleteTheir village culture is all fucked up, as she has already told me.
She is a victim of it, so she knows.
That niece, she sure can take' a licking
ReplyDeleteSyrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem strengthened Tuesday his nation's backing for a Russian proposal to see his nation turn its chemical weapons stockpiles over to international control
Then again she likes the taste of fur burger in the morning!
Poor Michael Douglas.
DeleteHe innocently blames Zeta Fur Burger for his throat cancer rather than his two pack a day habit.
Result?
Zeta's gone Theta, assuming "Theta" means whatever I hope it does.
My bad: It means "9"
Deletenot 69
"The eighth letter of the Greek alphabet, derived from the Phoenician letter Teth"
DeleteIs EVERY GD Greek a Homo?
Delete"In Ancient Greek, θ represented the aspirated voiceless dental plosive /t̪ʰ/, but in Modern Greek it represents the voiceless dental fricative /θ/."
DeleteI await an explanation tailored for me,
a common workingman.
What would a Modern Greek look like?
Delete...if he had a job.
My niece let me in on a secret.
DeleteHomosexuality is the cultural proclivity of the "West" that makes it superior to all others, Doug.
Homosexuality is what makes the "West" best.
It is what made Alexander "Great"!
Let's not debate, "Great"
DeleteLETS GET IT ON!
Our strength is our Diversity.
Delete.
ReplyDeleteNormally, I wouldn't watch Obama's address to the nation tonight as most of it will no doubt consist of the same sales job we have been hearing for the past couple weeks.
However, tonight's address may be must see TV if only to see Obama's response to the Russian proposal that Syria seems to have tacitly indicated they could go along with. Some sources seem to be indicating that Obama is actually taking this offer seriously. Now, I can see him talking as if it must be taken seriously as that buys him some time on an issue where he seems to have lost any chance of majority support either with Congress, the American people, or the world.
However, I cant' believe he could actually take the offer all that seriously.
First, why would Assad be threatened by a US attack that has been described by Kerry as incredibly small? But more important, Assad's stockpiles of these WMDs are widely dispersed and the US admits it only has an idea of where about half of them are. This means you would have to trust the Assad regime.
Second, chemical weapons are much harder to dispose of than to build. The job would require a large amount of specialists to collect, transport, and dispose of the weapons, and since the entire country is in conflict, it would also require the troops to protect them. Would Assad allow a large number of troops and possibly CIA operatives into his country?
Third, what country is going to be willing to send their people into the middle of a civil war for this task? Would it once again fall on the US to provide the troops?
I can't see it happening.
However, if in some way they try it, I predict a bad end.
There is the potential for assassination attempts on the people or troops sent in. Attempts at stealing the weapons as they are being moved. Possible false flag operations involving chem weapons. And ultimately recriminations from both sides that the other didn't act honestly.
.
.
DeletePerhaps, I am being too negative.
.
You, sir, could not recognize a voiceless dental plosive if it sat across from you at your breakfast table.
Delete"First, why would Assad be threatened by a US attack that has been described by Kerry as incredibly small?"
Delete***
Why do Assad and Putin make more sense than anyone else in the headlines?
Assad sounds like a trained Ocular Expert.
DeleteObama sounds like his eyes are brown because he's Full of Shit.
Don't you make his brown eyes blue!
DeleteHe's Red Until Dead
DeleteYou've seen the rumors, in the last couple of days, about the strike being much, much bigger than advertised. This probably allowed Putin to convince the ophthalmologist that he's looking at an impending hell.
ReplyDeleteI think Obama will make conditional approving sounds because this is the Obama/Putin Plan coming to fruition.
I'm glad we can finally all agree that Bash Her is an Ophthalmologist, not a Dentist.
DeleteWe all agree that Zimmerman is a Bash Her.
DeleteAfter he punched Shellie Zimmerman out, he then threatened her and his father-in-law with a handgun!
What a worthless piece of shit.
It is a shame that TM did not bash Z's brains out all over that sidewalk!
I was so, so wrong abut that Zimmerman
Sadly, I'm way behind things regarding The Z Man, but why not come up with a scenario where BOTH The President's Son AND The Z Man get dispatched to The Great Roundup in The Heavens?
DeleteThe average fuel economy of the vehicles sold in August was 24.9 mpg. That's up almost 25% in just a few years.
ReplyDeleteMy 74 Pinto got 25 in 75.
ReplyDelete...I did not opt for the V-6.
DeleteMy '75 gets about 7.5, today.
DeleteLicense plates are $10, annually.
Maintenance runs a hundred a month, not even that, really.
Good tires all around, all six of 'em.
May drop couple thousand into cosmetics, paint and interior.
Maybe not.
A fella that was supposed to know told me that he recommended replacing the carb with fuel injection.
DeleteThat the fuel mileage would markedly improve.
Figured that it would cost about $1,200 dollar for the computer and the bolt-on injector hardware.
Wonder if that would get the Beast to 10 or 12 mpg?
Hmm, how many miles/year do you drive the duallie?
DeleteAs someone whose mechanical aptitude falls somewhere south of the beginning tinker toy set, I think I'd want to talk to someone who had actually had it done.
DeleteDon't run ethanol.
DeleteNo matter what Rufus says......
DeleteI have difficulty imagining someone with limited mechanical aptitude dealing with combat in the jungle.
DeleteWhat was your MOS/daily routine in the 'Nam, Rufus?
Sorry, NEC
DeleteIn the United States Navy, a system of naval ratings and designators is used along with the Navy Enlisted Classification (NEC) system.
Our kid pledges allegiance to the AFSC Code.
Under 10,000, rufus.
DeleteIt spends a lot of time parked.
Don't commute.
Drive to town a couple times a week.
I do plan on having it another ten or twenty years.
If only because I plan on living another ten or twenty years.
New trucks of similar capacity, but which are without the "classic" styling of a '75 Chevy One Ton Dually, are north of $35,000. But it is like comparing apples and oranges.
May as well ride in style with a "Classic".
I own the old beast, and it has never let me down on the side of the road.
She has always managed to limp on back to the house.
Let's just say I was a "Community Organizer." :)
DeleteHeaders, electronic ignition, fuel injection ...
DeleteThe 350 Turbo trans I had rebuilt, but that is no piece of environmental engineering.
If I could get the mpg to 12, then I'd have a "Classic" I could show off. It could be worth painting, a new headliner, seat covers, carpet and floor mats.
Could be a nice "Classic" rather than just an old truck. Mechanically I've got her pretty sound.
Maybe I've just seen to many of those "Car Flipper" TV shows.
It is a lot easier than upgrading a house.
Well, if you are driving 9,000 miles/yr @ 7.5 mpg that would be 1200 gallons of gas/yr.
DeleteIf such a conversion really could lift you to 12.5 (seems like a lot, though) then you would be using 9,000/12.5 or 720 gal/yr - a savings of 480 gal/yr, or approx. $1,680.00/yr.
If it lifted you to 10 mpg you would use 300 gpy less, for a savings (@ $3.50/gal) of $1,050.00/yr.
hmmmm, I gotta admit, it's starting to sound feasible. :)
For a while we talked about putting a Dodge/Cummins drive train under it.
DeleteThat, I decided, was beyond my skill level.
But to upgrade a 350 Chevy, that seems to have been pretty well engineered by experts.
Ah, I see, now; you're thinking about doing the work, yourself. Now I understand the $1200.00 number. Even if you only raised it to 9 mpg it would pay out in a couple of years, or less. Good luck. :)
DeleteFound a fella in the old neighborhood that rebuilds the old 350 trannies in his garage, at home.
Delete$350 bucks for the rebuild and a new torque converter.
Gotta study up on the fuel injection, find out where the sensors go.
Everything else is buy and bolt-on.
Electric windows and door locks, standard.
The stereo system leaves a lot to be desired. The dash has the three old style holes for the radio, w/knobs.
A good neighborhood "shadetree mechanic" is worth his weight in gold.
DeleteUnfortunately with the computer systems in the new cars not even independent owned garages have much chance of survival what with the cost of diagnostic systems much less a dude under a tree. Up in Canada all the 70's technology rusted away ages ago.
DeleteNo rust in the great deserts of the southwestern United States, ash.
Deleteyeah, that's why I threw in the caveat about 'up here'. Drive her till she (or you) drops!
DeleteI met a guy just recently who was a mechanic. He had is own garage for many years but the cost of the diagnostic systems drove him to a job at a big chain.
DeleteAll stolen from the Navajo by rustlers like rat.
DeleteTime to give it back.
The Navajo?
DeleteYou are both geographically and linguistically challenged, anoi.
There are no Navajo.
When there were, they were never this far south.
C'mon Rat, don't you know nothing? The Navajo manufactured Chevy trucks but they all got rustled. No the injuns just drink and dance at wumpum night.
Delete"Wampum," it's WAMPUM!
Delete