The Obamacare deception continues. A new "tweak" on the White House website (assuming you can actually get logged in) maintains the lie about keeping your policy. Even at this late date, when it's the stuff of comedy routines. To sign up, you have to provide more personal information than Obama did to become President.
Meanwhile three random 20 year old dudes build a fully functional health care website in a few days with a zero budget.
HealthSherpa.com, which is just two weeks old, allows a user to simply input their zip code and view all the health plans available to them.
The website claims: 'The Health Sherpa is a free guide that makes it easier to find and sign up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. We only use carefully vetted, publicly available data.'
The programmers are also adding features to the site, such as a section on tax subsidies. But the three 20-year-olds say they worked on the project as a service rather than to make money.
But none of these dudes were buddies of Michelle.
Looks good kid. ;-)
ReplyDeleteYes, nice work, T.
ReplyDelete.
ReplyDeleteExcellent, Dudette.
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You called me a fat ass, Gimpy. I think your work stinks.
ReplyDeleteI've have you know I have a real doctor's report before me here that says definitely I am not a fat ass. It says I am "well nourished".
:)
My Niece wants it to pass it around her German doctor friends for a second opinion. I got about six or seven options here about what to do about a little prostate problem.
ObamaCare isn't one of them.
Thankfully.
Now that you are in charge can you get rid of Professional Asshole and do this place some real good?
Want me to list the vast majority here that would be so pleased?
Do it, then I'll think very highly of your work.
I'll take the doc's there at The Max Planck Institute any day over our run of the mill missing ObamaCare docs.
Delete"It's all in who you know."
I didn't find that Ash comment you were recommending.
DeletePlease paste the address here.
Thanks
You called me a fat ass, Gimpy. I think your work stinks.
DeleteIt doesn't have to smell good, Bobby Fudd, just has to be a place to land when the other'un hits 200 posts.
The misogynist Farmer Fudd.
DeleteYou just can't take him anywhere.
Sign up ASAP!
ReplyDeleteSure there's problems but they NEED that info now to make this thing work.
Services will be rendered at a later date.
To worry about ex-cons and govt functionaries misusing your private medical information is PARANOIA.
DeleteSeek out a source for Lithium.
'They got it completely backwards in terms of what people want up front,' Liang told CBS News. The programmer continued: 'They want prices and benefits, so that they could make the decision.'
Delete---
Actually, that was part of the plan all along.
Get us by the balls, provide details and "benefits" later.
From the link 3 random 20-year-old dudes build fully functional ObamaCare web site in a few days in the article.
DeleteDidn't know Taylor Swift was buddies with Michelle when I linked that Country Music Awards video showing her to be a clueless, overly made up young zombie.
ReplyDeleteI've since learned.
So put her in the penalty box with the Dixie Chicks.
DeleteI'd settle for some warm soapy water on that now sappy looking face.
Delete.
DeleteShe does look kind of rat-like.
No offense to the rat.
.
“The Five Year Plan Was Overfullfilled”
ReplyDeleteSo when it became apparent that the website was well and truly broken, the first instinct of the White House was to implement more sleight of hand. Applicants were told alternative enrollment methods were available even if in reality the alternative was a cruel hoax, since those taking their details by phone still had to use the same broken system they were supposed to replace.
Internal memos from the Obama administration suggest Obamacare’s Web problems are holding up the entire enrollment process, including the phone and paper options that President Obama and top officials are pushing as an alternative to the troubled HealthCare.gov website, according to a report by ABC News.
“The same portal is used to determine eligibility no matter how the application is submitted (paper, online),” an Oct. 11 memo from the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight says, according to ABC.
“The paper applications allow people to feel like they are moving forward in the process and provides another option,” it says. “At the end of the day, we are all stuck in the same queue.”
But at least the public feels better. Obamacare may not give you insurance to treat your dread disease, but it gives you the Hope that you will. And if you keep feeling hopeful until you’re too sick to care then the problem is solved. What the Administration apparatchiks are now worrying about is how to keep the public from ever learning the truth about their higher insurance premiums as Jake Tapper explains:
Washington (CNN) – Officials expressed concern that the next shoe to drop in the evolving story about the Affordable Care Act would be disappointment from consumers once they are able to get on the troubled HealthCare.gov website – disappointment because of sticker shock and limited choice, according to a new document obtained by CNN.
“Mike described a general concern of PM (Project Management): getting to the point where the website is functioning properly and individuals begin to select plans; the media attention will follow individuals to plan selection and their ultimate choices; and, in some cases, there will be fewer options than would be desired to promote consumer choice and an ideal shopping experience. Additionally, in some cases there will be relatively high cost plans,” say the notes from the Obama administration’s Obamacare ‘War Room’ from one week ago.
The president may by now resigned to the fact that consumers will eventually see how they’ve been ‘helped’. But so they won’t have time to be outraged by the draining feeling of thousands of dollars leaving their pockets, he’s prepared a PR blitz on immigration reform to change the subject. The Daily Caller reports:
What the Administration apparatchiks are now worrying about is how to keep the public from ever learning the truth about their higher insurance premium...
DeleteGood luck with that. If there's one thing people always pay very close attention to, it's accounts payable.
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DeleteI worry that the next thing to worry about will not be sticker shock but horror stories of cancer victims cancelled when their policies are dropped and dying before they can get new ones set up.
.
That's a fun one, whether it's insurance related, or negligent Docs.
DeleteI know only too well.
In the nearby city of Palo, where the wind bulldozed through hundreds of homes, making them resemble piles of crumpled matchbooks, residents queued for up to six hours for handouts of sardines and noodles outside a truck brought in by a local company.
ReplyDelete"We have enough food for only one day left," said Mark Joe Mejico, 18, whose house was destroyed and who was sheltering in a local high school.
Still, as he waited in line, he was primarily worrying about his sister in Manila, whom he hadn't yet been able to reach to tell her that he had survived the typhoon.
Well, by now Twitter has gotten back to her.
Delete.
DeleteSurprisingly, T, not everyone is as tech savvy as you. Some of us don't even have Facebook much less Twitter.
.
News moves very fast on Twitter, and it's on almost every smartphone in existence. Rest assured, if that article used Mr. Mejico's real name, then his sister learned he was alive within an hour. I got the image used in this article on Twitter. If Blogger is the dirt road from Bob's house to his barn where he stacks his alfalfa, then Twitter is an eight lane superhighway.
DeleteI knew that nobody could be on television week after week as themselves and exist for any length of time, because no one has that rich a personality.... So I knew that I had to create some characters.
ReplyDeleteRat, I served with Jackie Gleason. I knew Jackie Gleason, Jackie Gleason was a friend of mine. Rat, you're no Jackie Gleason.
DeleteIn fact? If Jackie Gleason ever met you? "to the moon" is what he'd say about you.....
"The second day of a diet is always easier than the first. By the second day you're off it." - Jackie Gleason
Delete
DeleteWhy do you keep talking about the 'Rat'?
Are you in love with him?
You are inane, stupid, boring.
DeleteNo one takes you seriously.
You need counseling.
You are nuts.
Even polite Ash says so.
Go away. Get some help.
Are you so lacking in self worth that the only way you can feel good about yourself is when people notice you by asking you to leave?
You are sad and sick. You need help.
Does not solve your problem though, Farmer Fudd, what ash thinks.
DeleteWhat Quirk thinks,
What Ms T thinks,
Don't mean nothin to me.
You are the center of attention. just You.
You can admit your errors, when accusing Deuce and I of crimes, or not.
If you admit your errors, it is back to normal.
If you do not accept responsibility, then the pressure mounts, just as it will with the Iranians.
I may be all the things you think I am. I may be ill, insane, crazy.
It does not solve your delemia and should influence your decision.
Rest assured the resolve to Stay the Course has not diminished.
It is up to you, choose responsibility, or continue to be an ass.
Experts: Maine, Michigan votes another 'green light' for marijuana legalization
ReplyDelete(CNN) -- Marijuana is moving on "greased tracks" toward legalization, according to the advocacy group that's been riding the train for more than 40 years.
The reason is a stark shift in public opinion, said Allen St. Pierre, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. On Tuesday, Portland, Maine, followed Washington and Colorado's lead and legalized recreational use of the drug, while the Michigan cities of Lansing, Jackson and Ferndale resoundingly voted to let people older than 21 possess an ounce of the green stuff on private property.
The municipal votes may seem like small potatoes, but St. Pierre said that 2013 isn't just an off-year for elections, it's an "off-off-year."
"I absolutely pinch myself every single day, affirming that these changes are happening and they appear long-lasting," he said.
In Colorado, where voters OK'd recreational use in last year's election, another measure to tax marijuana -- opposed by some pot proponents -- also passed Tuesday.
"Here on K Street, that's a victory," he said, referring to the lobbyist row in Washington where NORML is headquartered. "(Not taxing marijuana) would've created a whole heap of mess with the federal government. Institutionally, strategically speaking, marijuana isn't going to become legal if it's not being taxed."
While public opinion on legalization has changed drastically since the 1960s, St. Pierre notes there has been an unprecedented spike in approval ratings just in the past year, reaching 58%, according to a Gallup Poll last month. The number marks a 10% increase since Colorado and Washington voted to legalize it, "and the legal momentum shows no sign of abating," according to Gallup.
Pasted from
http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/09/us/marijuana-public-opinion/
A libertarian is a Republican who smokes dope.
DeleteThough trading volume was lower than usual on Monday because of the holiday, stocks inched up and The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record high for the third time in a week. The Dow Jones industrial average closed at 15,783.10 on Monday.
ReplyDeleteThe Dow Jones climbed 21.32 points on Monday, after closing at 15,61.78 on Friday and raising 128 points to close at 15,746 last Wednesday. Friday’s positive jobs report, which showed modest gains, is largely responsible for last week’s peak. More broadly, “Corporate earnings have been strong, and the view is that the Fed is on hold for the foreseeable future, so the focus turns to the holiday season, and the strength of the U.S. consumer,” Alan Skrainka, chief investment officer at Cornerstone Wealth Management, told CNBC.
Read more: Dow Jones Closes at Record High — Again | TIME.com
http://business.time.com/2013/11/11/dow-jones-closes-at-record-high-again/#ixzz2kNwSknCE
Worst. Socialist. Ever.
DeleteIf not for Obamanomics we would have come out of recession like we did all the other ones, after a few quarters, not a few years.
DeleteYou can't be that clueless.
DeleteSometimes the data sets do not fulfill expectations.
DeleteBut there is always the fear it will not last.
That it has no been enough, to which I would agree, but from the starting point, the trends of '08, they could have done much worse. Go back and glance at the '08 and '09 threads.
The one that sticks in my mind, Obama "losing" billions in wealth, as the stock market tumbled.
No where have I read of the billions in wealth gained, since May of 2009.
There are still systemic challenges in housing.
Still major challenges in Energy Production, even though domestic oil production is at an all time high.
The Saudi still account for supplying almost 20% of our liquid fuel consumption, and that is a disaster just waiting to happen.
Still a lot of work to be done, and the Government does not really have a suitable program, to "bust" the trend with regards income stagnation and lack of employment growth in the face of increased productivity.
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DeleteThe one that sticks in my mind, Obama "losing" billions in wealth, as the stock market tumbled.
No where have I read of the billions in wealth gained, since May of 2009.
Ask yourself this one.
Who lost the billions in '08 and '09 and who gained it back in the time since?
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It looks simple enough to me. Bushco came within a gnats' lash of putting us into Great Depression II, and Obama's spent 4 1/2 years digging us out (with the pubs fighting him every step of the way.)
DeleteSo you call the $800 Billion Dollar Porkulus package "digging us out".
DeleteYeah. It was a start.
DeleteIt probably should have been a whole lot larger.
Delete.
DeleteIn '08 and '09, it was the average Joe that took it on the chin in the market. In the time since, with the aid of the current administration, it was the 1% that made the billions back in the market.
.
Well, the thread I recall was Stock Market/Wall Street centric.
DeleteBut I do agree that the "Great Middle" is being sandwiched.
That neither "Party" has a viable solution, it seems as if they have not even developed any consensus on the symptoms, let alone any cure for the aliments in the economy.
The only plus, the hundreds of millions of people around the world that are being lifted out of abject poverty, while the US suffers anemic economic growth. But even so, the US share of the global economy remains around the 23% level.
I'm no Bush fan but he started all the easy money policies that Obama continued. He did nothing to cut spending. Tarp was his baby. If you want to blame Bush blame him for continuing and multiplying the lax regulatory regime. That and gladly going to war.
DeleteBush didn't "print" 85 Billion a month for years on end.
DeleteObama's Deficit Spending and Corporate Welfare put Bush to shame.
Five years after Michigan voters legalized marijuana use for medical purposes, lawmakers say it’s time the drug is brought into the fold of the health care industry so patients can buy it at their corner pharmacy.
ReplyDelete...
“Marijuana, if it’s to be medical marijuana, should be held to the standard of medical safety, dosage predictability,” said Sen. Roger Kahn, a Saginaw Township Republican and cardiologist. “Our medical marijuana (law) does neither of those.
The "Medical" aspects of the laws are a ruse.
DeleteA slip and a slide, but there you have it.
That's the way the powers that be want to do it.
A little spin and .... Away We GO!
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DeleteMichigan's law is dead and likely won't be coming back.
It didn't last that long and there were more recreational users than actual people who needed it for medical reasons.
I should have taken advantage of the law while it was still around. They say its the things you don't do in your life that you regret most.
.
On this day in 1918, Germany signed an armistice agreement with the Allies to end World War I. The day is celebrated, in France and Belgium as Armistice Day, in the U.K. as Remembrance Day, and in the U.S. as Veterans Day.
ReplyDeleteAnd a lot of men got shot in the trenches waiting for 11:11 AM just to make it a "cool" number.
Delete
ReplyDeleteDougMon Nov 11, 04:32:00 PM EST
I didn't find that Ash comment you were recommending.
Please paste the address here.
Thanks
AshSun Nov 10, 10:50:00 AM EST
Rat,
Deuce has said that he reads every comment. I wonder if that is still true now that you are foaming at the mouth. I certainly don't. My personal taste in writing is clarity and brevity - sharp crisp writing that is to the point. I tried to read your fiction about the airplane guy to see if I could enjoy it. I was left with rather detailed description of the plane and its operation. That might be interesting to airplane fetishists but I kept wondering "what was the point? Where was the story?" I'm not big on authors who wax poetic stringing long descriptive words together trying to 'paint a scene'. I'm more a Bukowski guy.
but hey that 's me.
I'm no fan of b00b but your fudd busting is tiresome and clogs this place up. You may think you are weaving a larger story but does it exist if no-one but you reads it?
Maybe some here are reading it and grokking that larger story but it ain't me. I saw, up-thread as I skimmed the rat-crap, some interesting things that would be worth commenting on but the crap put me off. Heck, once comments get past 200 there is difficulty posting and most don't read them. If I post against the actual comment made there is so much crap to sift through that it'll be like a fart in a gale.
Some things that interested me were the banking talk. Quirk note that only one of the top 10 banks is US, your comment that private interests shouldn't run the central bank. Those two comments actually dove-tail quite nicely. Allen pointed to an interesting article but for me to go check it now means I've got sift through all that rat crap. Ms. T mentioned the press inflating the death toll in the Philippines - I remember when my mother-in-law squawked the same idea on Christmas morning when the Tsunami washed Thailand and area. That death toll went way up from that day. Hopefully you are correct about the self-serving crocodile tears this time.
b00b - create a new google account!!!
Go to Hotmail and create a brand new email account there then go to Google and create a brand new email account there. You can refer google to hotmail if they want an email account to set up that new google account. Using that BRAND NEW google email account you can set up a brand fresh spanking new google login. I suggest you make your hand "Farmer (the b00bie) Fudd"
In other less polite words, shut the f**k up rathole.
DeleteNobody thinks you're funny, no one reads your rat crap.
You are talking to, and making a fool of, yourself.
Why do you keep talking about 'Rat"?
DeleteAre you in love with him?
Do want him to fuck you, your wife?
What is your fixation?
We continue, full bore, hard corps. until the Fudds surrender their ability to enrich.
DeleteThere is no limit to the resolve we bring to this effort.
Day and night, we will defend against those that disrespect women, those that are racist, those that limit liberty, those that refuse to be a member of the community.
We will not stop.
There's a new sheriff in town.
DeleteYou attack those who have an ability to enrich others, a capacity you totally lack.
DeleteGo seek help.
9 out of 10 people here want you to leave.
Go see a mental health professional.
We do not run for election, we have no constituents but our own honor.
DeleteWe will bring down the Temple of Dagon, destroying all the self-serving Philistines, if need be, before the battle is done.
You bear witness to the blood oath.
You will be a Busted Fudd before this is done!
He gets a little wound up but I am sure you get the point, aye Fudd?
DeleteNot others, Fudd, you only attempt to enrich yourself, at others expense.
DeleteYour enrichment endangers the entire global community, by going over the 20% mark ...
You are enriching beyond what is needed for your own legitimate uses.
You will be stopped.
All options are on the table.
.
DeleteRat, for the last couple months you have merely attempted to fill the role of wallpaper hanger here, posting, sans meaningful context, the thoughts of those better than you thus rendering them nothing more than graffiti smeared upon the walls of the blog, distracting and unwanted detritus that litters the landscape. While you have mastered the finger motion required to ‘cut’ and ‘paste’ the balance of your contributions have become minimal, or to be more exact, on net negative since you have become the single biggest reason why streams here now consistently go past the dreaded 200 post mark thus causing undue inconvenience for all. During WWII, pilots used to complain about the mischievous little creatures that caused such problems. They called them gremlins. Today we just call them dicks.
Luckily, T's latest initiative has helped reduce the damage.
.
Really do not care about, of or for your opinion, Quirk.
DeleteI do have an agenda. It will be fulfilled, on way or another.
Ms T is a doing a fine job. I applaud her efforts, Deuce's, too.
I think it a shame that Anony would demean our host, accuse him of committing Federal Crimes, then when informed that it was impossible for Deuce to have performed such a fiendish act, that the accuser did not say, would not say, he made an error.
Fuck him. Fuck you for defending the slithering fascist, misogynist, racist bigot.
You can diagnosis my mental state, you can pontificate all you wish and I do not give a shit.
It is Drive ON! - DRIVE ON!
It is carpet bombing an insurrection.
It is a whirling dervish of a wind riffle.
I am not bull shittin' or funnin' around, he will admit the errors, with regards Deuce and desert rat, or I will not stop.
I am with the French, the Israeli and the Saudi on this issue.
The Fudd does not get a break.
He can admit his errors, or not
But it keeps on keepin' on. Just like Iraq, just like Afpakistan, a decade and more, to prove a mute point.
If need be.
He can man up or fuck off and enjoy, it does not matter to me which he chooses to do.
And if you think that is CRAZY ...
DeleteRemember .... it merely mirrors US policy with regards Iran.
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DeleteI think it a shame that Anony would demean our host, accuse him of committing Federal Crimes, then when informed that it was impossible for Deuce to have performed such a fiendish act, that the accuser did not say, would not say, he made an error.
:)
Diagnose your mental state? No need. Your projection is obvious. You accuse me of R2P but in your own words you admit to indulging in it.
The funny thing is Deuce doesn't seem to think he needs it. At least, I haven't seen him talking about any of this lately and he doesn't seem like the sort that requires you to fight his battles for him.
Fuck him. Fuck you for defending the slithering fascist, misogynist, racist bigot.
Lordy, rat. You might want to put a cold compress on your forehead. You appear to be getting downright hysterical. Since you have proved yourself proficient at googling, I will leave it to you to research the cures for that particular ailment. No sense bringing them up here in mixed company.
I am with the French, the Israeli and the Saudi on this issue...
Just like Iraq, just like Afpakistan, a decade and more, to prove a mute point...
Listen to yourself, boy. You are losing it.
.
.
DeleteAnd if you think that is CRAZY ...
Remember .... it merely mirrors US policy with regards Iran.
Comparing your little tussle on the Libertarian with the geopolitics of the US/Iran relationship?
Crazy?
Naw.
:)
.
Not at all, Quirk, just painting on a bigger canvas than you envision.
DeleteMetaphorically of course.
Calling it "Improvisational Blogging".
You are in the cast. playing your part.
So are the Fudd Busters.
So is Anonymous, the fascist Fudd.
All have their parts to play, as they wish to play them.
I am enjoying it, so others may as well.
I do not think Fudd is enjoying it, but he can always end the Era of Sanctions.
Simply by admitting his errors, in two cases of false accusations of criminal activities.
It would not be that hard for him to do.
Even Bibi apologized to the Turks, for Israeli transgressions.
If Fudd were to end this Chapter of the Story, we could "Turn the Page".
DeleteBut the Hegemony is resolved to carry on.
Despite the protestations, even to the point of enlarging the conflict.
Even Mr Assad chose to accommodate the Hegemony.
Another Fudd busted.
It is always up to the Fudd.
They get to choose their course.
He fired the first shots, was not expecting the results that have transpired.
Unintended consequence, there is a geo-political lesson in that, as well.
This has been planned, as you say, Q ...
DeleteFor months, now.
It will not go away.
Rest assured.
i will gain satisfaction, either way.
If it continues to bother you, then you should advise the Fudd to man up.
Rat,
Deleteb00bie is an idiot. You can't change that. You have followed him down the rabbit hole and ate now putting yourself on par with him. You are better than that.
Humorous, I really did laugh, but you don't see the larger canvas, either, Ash.
DeleteFudd is representing Iran, the evil "They", "Them", the "Other".
I killed the boobie character, we even had a little memorial service for him.
There was no Farmer Fudd. There was Anonymous.
I created Farmr Fudd, to personify the "Evil Doer". Did I utilize Anonymous posts in that creation?
Of course.
That is a keystone to Improvisational Blogging, using Anonymous and Name/URL contributions that help form the characters.
Am I responsible for Anonymous becoming Farmer Fudd through his own projection, not really.
That was an Improv Plus!
The concerned 'International Community', we have contributors that, as time and the story evolve, into representing the Chinese or Russian perspective. The 'Responsibility to Protect' syndrome has presented itself, and will again.
We already have contributors that present the Israeli perspective.
We have Nelson Mandela and a whole host of other, established voices for the Palestinians.
Automatons on both sides, going through the motions just as in real life.
Improvisational blogging, expanding the metaphoric universe, in real time.
Presenting all sides of the debate, with real avatars representing the various global factions.
Farmer Fudd is my character, that Anonymous has claimed him, acknowledges Fudd as himself ...
Improvisational good fortune.
Head games on multiple levels, amongst multiple players.
Directing, not jus the select post, not the thread, but as quot said, no long ago, the message delivered by the entirety of the work, of the messages between the lines.
Well, I'm going to try to expand on that messaging concept, and will use the characters I created in the attempt.
Because, as Jakie Gleason opined, without Characters, a single contributor cannot do it alone.
DeleteAnd the Israeli Fudds have forced me to research their "deal" and it is repulsive that the US supports that situation.
It deserves to be fought, just as the Abraham Lincoln Brigades fought Fascism in Spain.
The Israeli recognize their vulnerability and have mobilized, moving towards making Social Networks a digital battle ground.
This is serious shit, or the Israeli government would not have created a budgetary line item to wage their propaganda war on the World Wide Web.
I am going do my part, to help end direct US funding of sectarian oppression and ethnic apartheid
Delete“You can only fight the way you practice”
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DeleteIf it continues to bother you, then you should advise the Fudd to man up.
Not hardly, rat. I enjoy the chance to occasionally point out what a silly little man you have become over this. Your continued dissociative pathology and the occasional accompanying hysteria allows me to practice my Shrinks-R-Us training.
.
.
DeleteYou are a classic case. A good topic for an extended paper.
:)
.
.
DeleteYou have followed him down the rabbit hole and ate now putting yourself on par with him. You are better than that.
Better than that?
Not really, Ash. I joke about him licking toads but in reality he has become addicted to the 'blue' pill, lost in his own fantasy world, one of his own creation (or so he would have us believe). He has become a blue pills person, lost to reality.
The only thing that can save him is to take the 'red' pill but he has apparently lost his stash.
.
[;-)
DeleteFun and Games, for one and all.
Do what you're gonna do.
I am going to have fun, bustin' Fudds.
.
DeleteOr you can just take the red pill and rejoin the society of men.
:)
.
Except, of course, for his brief stint on the 2012 presidential campaign trail, which ended disastrously. Several strategists told POLITICO that Perry would likely run a better campaign in 2016, but that many donors would initially look at him skeptically, their view colored by his last go-round on the national stage.
ReplyDelete...
For political junkies in Texas and elsewhere, a Perry-Cruz showdown would be a sight to behold, said Evan Smith, editor-in-chief of The Texas Tribune.
“It will be Christmas every day for people who do what we do,” Smith said. “It will be amazing.”
Perry and Cruz would annihilate each other, like matter and anti-matter, leaving the NJ Elephant In The Room to pick up the pieces.
Delete.
DeleteSomewhere in this whole country there has to be some Republican better than those you just described.
.
Running for President is so demeaning, Quirk, that all the good Republicans are hiding.
DeletePaul Ryan, many here thought he was qualified to be President.
DeleteChris Christie, Jeb Bush, Sarah Palin?
An unknown Governor?
Crazy McCain, Newt or Mitt Romney redux?
Rubio barely makes this list.
Who else do they have?
Mitch McConnell?
Who do you think of, Ms T, when you refer to the "Good" Republicans?
DeleteDo they have names?
Rob McKenna, who failed in a bid to become Washington State governor, is a good Republican. Fred Thompson says all the right things, but he just doesn't have the drive to make the run for the top spot. That's too bad, because Jeri Kehn-Thompson would make a better-looking First Spouse than Bubba Clinton.
DeleteIf Mr McKeena could not carry his home state, in a Governor race, doubtful he could gear up for a Presidential run.
DeleteEven though he could be a fabulous fellow.
Mr Thompson is selling Reverse Mortgages, last I heard.
Another good, 'Pop" candidate.
I'd hate to see Hillary get in, it would serve to verify our "Banana Republic" status.
On par with Argentina, it'd be funny in any other country.
That Obama-hugger Christie could carry a blue state, but there you go. He'd be another Romney.
DeleteHere's the problem for republicans. To the extent that there will be "losers" in Obamacare, they will overwhelmingly be from the group that votes Republican, anyway (late fifties/early sixties, self-employed, making over 60k/year, with sketchy insurance policies, and No pre-existing conditions.)
ReplyDeleteAnd the alt.twentysomethings who were planning on putting off getting insurance because they've never gotten hurt skateboarding to work, they won't be "losers" when they're forced to pony up.
DeleteWhat gets overlooked, I think, T, is that the twenny-somethings with a degree will almost, without exception go to work for a company that provided health insurance.
DeleteThe High-School graduates will qualify for almost 100% Subsidies.
Or, expanded Medicaid.
DeleteRufus, do you work for a living? When you go to work for a company that "provides health insurance" what that really means is they split the bill. And when you say "without exception" you are ignoring the 25% unemployment rate among that demographic. It's us old farts got all the jobs, and we're hanging on for dear life.
DeleteI've been retired for slightly over 20 years, T. I do know that that unemployed cohort would qualify for the expanded Medicaid.
Delete.
DeleteIn 2010, I suggested that Obamacare was the first step towards the liberal wet dream of single payer healthcare, the camel's nose under the tent.
I figured it would be a drawn out process.
Maybe not.
Now, Obama has granted the delay of the employer mandate for a year. Will it be expanded beyond that, and then beyond that? The more companies that drop coverage, the more the libs like it since that merely increases the number of individuals dependent upon the government for their healthcare through the subsidies.
Medicaid? Obama promised everyone 'good, decent' healthcare coverage. I have never heard Medicaid described that way before, at least by the people who are on it.
As for high school graduates, you need a job before you get any subsidies.
.
Rufus IIMon Nov 11, 08:40:00 PM EST
DeleteWhat gets overlooked, I think, T, is that the twenny-somethings with a degree will almost, without exception go to work for a company that provided health insurance.
Sorry Charlie, you don't have a clue.
I can't tell you the number of "twenty-somethings" with a degree that beg me for a $9 an hour job (with no benefits). Those "great" corporate jobs? All gone...
Rufus IIMon Nov 11, 08:51:00 PM EST
DeleteI've been retired for slightly over 20 years
So that makes you about 85?
Wow...
Again, if they have a job they will probably qualify for substantial subsidies, and if they don't have a job they will qualify for the expanded Medicaid.
DeleteThis is reminding me of doubleplumbdumbpolling.
Nope, I retired young.
DeleteRetire young, while you can enjoy it..
DeleteSeven more years, I can go out at age 56 if I wanna. Maybe I don't wanna.
DeleteI always Wuz a Travis McGee fan. :)
DeleteAs for "is Medicaid good insurance?" It depends on your point of view. If you've Never had health insurance, it's pretty damned good.
DeleteIf you're poor, with a pre-existing condition, you might fall into the category of people that would kill to get Medicaid.
DeleteAnd that's precisely why insurance plans can do nothing but go up under the ACA.
DeleteHealthcare "plans" for certain groups, yes. But, healthcare "costs," for the country as a whole, perhaps not as much as you would think.
DeleteAnyway, it doesn't matter; the deal is done. We gots Obamacare.
Thanks, Teresita
ReplyDeleteWhat did I do now? Should I go for the starch?
DeleteI could write a tome about the history and politics of Palestine, producing irrefutable evidence in the form of agreements, treaties, deeds, diaries and awards, all having force and effect of law, with an exhaustive list of places, names, and dates. Within five minutes, I would find "x" number of contributors telling me they do not feel that way. Since everyone has the right to an opinion, no matter how ill informed, far be from me to attempt to change a feeling.
ReplyDeleteWhat I do know with certainty is the fact that Jews now hold Jerusalem. While we are hospitable to those who come in peace, wishing to worship, we will never willingly give up control of the city to perfidious Muslims (been there, done that) or neutered so-called peacekeepers (been there, doing that -- Lebanon). We will rely upon ourselves to defend our homeland, having never asked a foreigner to spill so much as a drop of blood in our past conflicts.
Unlike my ancient ancestors, I am not delusional: Israel cannot win a war against the world. But Israel can change the world. And when the dust clears, there will still be Jews and there will still be a Torah, and at sundown Friday we will begin Shabbat,, just as we have for millennia.
92 comments into my thread and you introduce the "I" word, and the "J" word. You lose, Allen. There should be a revision of Godwin's Law.
ReplyDeleteSome folks are obsessed by a single subject
DeleteWhile others have free rein, ranging all across the spectrum.
...sorry, T...I had something to say and the previous thread appeared filled to capacity. As I recall, it was this sort of control issue that got you bounced several times before. There was something to be said and I did so. Live with it.
DeleteI was just expressing my annoyance at that particular topic, which has been done to death, I believe.
DeleteTwo aspects of the negotiating structure were working against the international community in the diplomacy surrounding the Iranian nuclear issue: the swift pace of progress in the talks and the round-robin format. Both made it harder for the P5+1, the coalition of world powers that has sought to negotiate with Iran, to remain unified in ranking their preferences and honing their strategy toward Iran, and allowed Iran more scope to exploit gaps between them.
ReplyDelete...
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and President Barack Obama want a deal with Iran if they can get one on terms they think will resolve the threat. If he doesn’t trust that deal, Netanyahu can seek to scuttle it (as with the “step-one” deal this weekend) — but he will prefer for the Iran talks to fail in a way that does not lead to anyone blaming either Washington or Jerusalem for the breakdown.
What is "Occupation"Mon Nov 11, 09:13:00 PM EST
ReplyDeleteRufus IIMon Nov 11, 08:51:00 PM EST
I've been retired for slightly over 20 years
So that makes you about 85?
Wow...
Quirk hit the nail on the head then when he described Rufus as demented old geezer!
:)
In the defense of Rufus he isn't rapidly anti- semitic.
He's too old too be rabidly anything. :)
With Rufus being in his eighties one must admire his ability to drink so much Budweiser and whiskey, sometimes at the same time too.
God don't make real men like Ruf very often any more.
I've maintained here, only partly in jest, that the whole wind blown riffle was a literary event, a contest between two opposed readings of the Christian Bible.
DeleteOne wonders how he could show such callous disregard of the human carnage, the 600,000 or even more dead Americans, all that pain, and treat it so lightly as a wind riffle across the prairie?
It has been documented that Fudd is …
the slithering fascist, misogynist, racist bigot.
These, I suppose, will be declared the property of the world, despite useless bills of sale, lading, museum catalogs, etc. Most certainly, they will not be returned to the rightful owners, most of whom are now dead. And since they were Jews, different rules apply. And it's only been 80 years, what's a little longer.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/the-mystery-of-the-gurlitt-family-and-the-munich-nazi-art-find-a-932899.html
"Fuck him. Fuck you for defending the slithering fascist, misogynist, racist bigot."
ReplyDeleteLordy, rat. You might want to put a cold compress on your forehead. You appear to be getting downright hysterical. Since you have proved yourself proficient at googling, I will leave it to you to research the cures for that particular ailment. No sense bringing them up here in mixed company.
Bears repeating,,,,,,
It has been documented that Fudd is …
Deletethe slithering fascist, misogynist, racist bigot.
.
DeleteThere is no Fudd, rat. It's a figment of your imagination. You have said so. You must try to keep your stories straight.
Take the 'red' pill.
.
Fudd is whatever I want him to be, Q.
DeleteHe is a figment of the reader's mind.
Definitely a figment of Anonymous's mind
It is all about the reader and their perceptions.
You, though, are not classified as a "Reader", you are a "Contributor".
But Fudd, he exists if I want him to.
This comment has been removed by the author.
Delete.
Delete.
Fudd is whatever I want him to be, Q.
Yours is a bifurcated mind, rat. One minute you argue that Fudd exists, the next that he is nothing. Like an electron, one minute appearing a particle and the next appearing a wave. But in fact the electron exists as itself despite what it appears to the observer to be at any particular moment. However, in your Fudd you conjure up a pooka, a nothing, a figment of your imagination, an image that deteriorates over time with your devolving character. It's a mirror image of you as you are not as you were, a projection, like Dorian Grey's picture in the attic.
He is a figment of the reader's mind.
Surely, the name Fudd might, of itself, call up images in the reader's mind, likely of some Disney character from their childhood but certainly not the image you try to create. Admittedly, their image is a figment, but it is a figment based on past experience from a character pictured in a book or from a cartoon.
But Fudd, he exists if I want him to.
You might think so, rat, but that is part of your delusion.
When you first conjured up the image it became a thought, a figment unique to your mind only, a pooka. You have no control over it. Even in trying not to think of it you think of it. The fact that the image devolves over time is merely a reflection of your sad pathology.
Take the red pill, rat, return to reality.
There may still be time.
:)
.
Addendum: If the stolen artwork were sold, it would fetch well over a billion dollars (billion). Why, that would reduce Israel's welfare payment by 1/3. And if the Swiss would ever get around to repatriating stolen Jew gold and jewels, that could easily take care of the remainder.
ReplyDeleteFat chance.
Why would the art go to Israel?
Deletehe art belonged, for the most part to individuals. The was no state of Israel when the art was appropriated, so the state of Israel would not have title to it.
The descendents of the individual owners should retain their rights, if they are deceased or not trackable, the state where the art was appropriated would be the proper reciprient of the art work.
Why would Israel gain access to a position in a "Chain of Custody"?
Get in there and start deleting comments like this, Miss T--
ReplyDelete"Fuck him. Fuck you for defending the slithering fascist, misogynist, racist bigot."
Day in and day out he is obsessed.
Then you will have done the blog some real good and I will support you 100%.
To this point you have tried to change the subject, and bless you for that too.
How about a thread on the possibility of SAT scores heading south in Washington and Colorado in the coming years?
Or Budweiser and longevity?
Cameras and lenses?
Best new pickup on the market for 2014?
Country/western music?
10 best sights in the Western USA, excluding California?
How to be polite on the Internet: does and don'ts?
Anything but Israel, 'Palestine' and the middle east for at least two weeks.
It has been documented that Fudd is …
Deletethe slithering fascist, misogynist, racist bigot.
How to avoid issuing gratuitous out of the blue insults on a blog: example - calling someone a fat ass out of the blue when that person's medical report states he is in generally good shape and is "well nourished". No mention of being a fat ass at all.
Delete:) heheheheh
Call it a day for today, Whacky. There is always tomorrow.
DeleteWhat Quirk means when he says that you project is that you are the "slithering fascist,misogynist, racist bigot" and that you are 'projecting' your embarrassing qualities over to others in order to feel better about yourself.
That is what he is saying.
g'nite, get some peaceful sleep
I don't believe for a minute that Rufus is 85. I think he is just under seventy. He is just trolling for sympathy.
ReplyDeleteAnd I never did believe for a minute that he had saved the lives of uncounted peoples by selling them insurance.
I thought that a simple effort at ego enhancement.
When he said he had retired over twenty years ago I think he was referring to when he got out of the insurance business, having milked the customers sufficiently to allow a comfortable early retirement, the goal of us all.
:)
Teresita wrote:
ReplyDeleteTeresita Redinge rMon Nov 11, 09:59:00 PM EST
92 comments into my thread and you introduce the "I" word, and the "J" word. You lose, Allen. There should be a revision of Godwin's Law.
See:
desert ratMon Nov 11, 09:17:00 PM EST
slithering fascist, Israeli
QuirkMon Nov 11, 09:41:00 PM EST
the Israeli
Fudd Busters InternationalMon Nov 11, 09:55:00 PM EST
for Israeli transgressions
Panama EdMon Nov 11, 11:00:00 PM EST
Israeli perspective
Napoleon once observed that we should never attribute to malice that which can be seen as incompetence. It's your lucky day.
.
DeleteNow. Now.
Your reference to the old Quirkster at 9:41 was merely Quirk printing a quote from the rat.
No double-dipping.
.
:):):):)
Deleteheh
Technically, you may be right. But you did quote the quote, so to speak.
This is the Houdini like escape artist Quirk always preternaturally talented when the chips are down that I know and love so well!!
The escape artist that left me in that phone booth in Vegas that time without enough change to call a cab, took the pickup, stopped in at The Cottontail Ranch, before heading north.
Delete“Giving style” to one’s character - a great and rare art!
DeleteIt is exercised by those who see all the strengths and weaknesses of their own natures and then comprehend them in an artistic plan until everything appears as art and reason and even weakness delights the eye.”
Quirk,
DeleteWho wrote what doesn't matter. I didn't pay attention to thesis or context. Frankly, I just looked for the use of the infamous words to prove the point that they had been used prior to my usage on some number of occasions. This was accomplished.
I tried to leave the door open for the editor's extrication: she could be a bigot or she could be a moron. Whatever the case, being clever by half takes skill.
Former Mossad Director Ephraim Halevy not only has publicly opposed an Israeli attack on Iran as anything but a last resort; he is a longstanding supporter of a diplomatic solution to the Iran nuclear issue. In September of 2012, Halevy told Haaretz‘s Ari Shavit that Israel needed to understand the Iranian perspective:
ReplyDeleteThe basic feeling of that ancient nation is one of humiliation. Both religious Iranians and secular Iranians feel that for 200 years the Western powers used them as their playthings. They do not forget for a moment that the British and the Americans intervened in their internal affairs and toppled the regime of Mohammad Mosaddeq in 1953. From their perspective, the reason why, to this day, there is no modern rail network and no modern oil refineries in Iran is that the West prevented that. Thus, the deep motive behind the Iranian nuclear project − which was launched by the Shah − is not the confrontation with Israel, but the desire to restore to Iran the greatness of which it was long deprived. I believe that if the West could find a way to propose to Iran alternative methods to acquire that sense of greatness, Iran would forsake the nuclear road. If Iran were offered trains and oil refineries and a place of honor in regional trade, it would consider this seriously.
A month later, in an interview with al-Monitor‘s Laura Rozen just before the U.S. presidential election, Halevy defended President Obama’s willingness to negotiate with Iran as ” very courageous.”
He also criticized Netanyahu for “invoking Auschwitz twice a week.”
The interview was published amid rumors that the United States and Iran had agreed to hold direct talks on Iran’s nuclear program after the US presidential elections.
Halevy sees the “end game” of the negotiations with Iran as being of primary importance and urgency.
In what appears to be an argument for a speedy wrap-up of an agreement, Friday’s New York Times quoted Halevy as saying,
“The more you enter stages, the less you can be certain that you will get what you need in the end.”
For Halevy, the desired end of the Iran negotiations would be an Iran without nuclear weapon capability that has reconciled itself to Israel’s existence. Halevy told Rozen in an interview last week:
“IF, if, the nuclear file is closed, and sanctions removed, it will bring economic relief...[and] a renewed view from Tehran of the opportunities the world is offering. And then, if there will be a desire to move beyond the nuclear issue, then the Iran regime will be able to turn to the public and say, ‘we should no longer be in the business of fear mongering. If we want to move forward with the US, it will be difficult while maintaining a state of belligerency against one of the US key friends and allies.’”
About the Author
Marsha B. Cohen is an analyst specializing in Israeli-Iranian relations and US foreign policy towards Iran and Israel. Her articles have been published by PBS/Frontline's Tehran Bureau. IPS, Alternet, Payvand and Global Dialogue. She earned her PhD in International Relations from Florida International University, and her BA in Political Philosophy from Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
For years, we played nice with North Korea. They asked for stuff and we accommodated. Mr. Bush and Mr. Clinton knew how to handle them. For them it was a matter of gaining standing in the world, don't ya know?
DeleteHowever, after all the stuff and wasted time, they laughingly shoved nuclear weapons under our noses. No dummies they, they use their nuclear arsenal to extort stuff.
This article is uncomfortably reminiscent of that time. I have no doubt the outcome will be the same. Like the North Koreans, the Iranians know sheep when they see them.
The West has already offered Iran all those things many times. Everyone hopes it might work out that way, but experience doesn't support the idea. We are being played for fools.
DeleteAnd this -
DeleteHe also criticized Netanyahu for “invoking Auschwitz twice a week.”
- seems an utterly cheap shot.
Of course Netanyahu is concerned. It is their experience. Obviously it is uppermost in their minds. They do not wish to re-experience the old horrors in some new form.
Not a "Cheap Shot" by anyone but Bibi.
DeleteWho is invoking the "Worse Than Hitler" propaganda technique just one more time!
It has worn thin.
The Iranians have tens of thousands of Jews living, peaceably, in Iran.
That's the reality.
The Israeli are oppressing MILLIONS o Palestinians.
The people that are lined up against Bibi are not "Out of the Main Stream" of Israeli politics.
The are Former Mossad Director Ephraim Halevy
The head of Israel’s Military Intelligence (AMAN), Major General Aviv Kochavi.
Amos Yadlin, a former chief of Israeli defense intelligence, currently the director of Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies.
Bibi is playing politics, and as President Eisenhower said ...
“In most communities it is illegal to cry "fire" in a crowded assembly.
Should it not be considered serious international misconduct to manufacture a general war scare in an effort to achieve local political aims? ”
Israeli Intelligence Sources Contradict Bibi, Congress on Iran
ReplyDeleteBy Marsha B. Cohen (Source: Lobe Log)
For months, top Israeli intelligence sources have been providing Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu with assessments that ought to make him welcome the progress being made at the most recent negotiations in Geneva, instead of, as one prominent Israeli journalist put it, a “party-pooper.”
Last month, days before his visit to the U.S., Netanyahu received a report from the head of Israel’s Military Intelligence (AMAN), Major General Aviv Kochavi.
Kochavi’s assessment described the changes in Iran’s internal politics since Hassan Rouhani’s election as president not only as real, but “significant” and “strategic,” according to Barak Ravid of Haaretz:
“In particular, Kochavi cited the increased strength of the moderate faction and the fact that 51 percent of the public voted for Rouhani, who was not the preferred candidate of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Kochavi also based his analysis on the stated intention of Rouhani and his cabinet to promote internal reform, increase the country’s openness to the West and end the economic sanctions on Iran.”
The position paper by Israel’s top military assessor stated that the process of change sparked by Rouhani’s victory s “cannot be ignored,” according to Ravid. Netanyahu ignored it.
Although Netanyahu received Kochavi’s assessment a few days before he left for the U.S. in late September, the Israeli Prime Minister disregarded it entirely in his speech to the UN on Sept. 30, in which he vilified Rouhani as nothing more than a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” who was no different than his predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
In the numerous interviews he gave during and after his visit to New York, Netanyahu complained that all Iranian presidents, whether hardliners or moderate, were all alike, since they served “that same unforgiving creed, that same unforgiving regime,” implicitly calling for regime change in Iran.
Kochavi didn’t question that Iran has a nuclear weapons program. According to Kochavi, the objective of that program has not changed:
“Iran still seeks to reach the status of a nuclear threshold state,”
in which it could manufacture a nuclear bomb fairly quickly, if and when it decided to do so.”
That assessment, however, is a long way from Netanyahu’s hyperbolic insistence that “Iran is developing nuclear weapons.”
Even before the Iranian election in June, Kochavi had been much less histrionic than Netanyahu in his evaluation of the threat to Israel posed by Iran.
Along with other Israeli top military and intelligence officials, Kochavi has thus far opposed Israel attacking Iran.
Assessing Iran’s nuclear program in mid-March, Kochavi stated,
“At this time 10,000 centrifuges are at work, mainly in Qom and Natanz, enriching 240 kilos of uranium, which is enough to produce between five and six bombs, should the Iranian leader decide to make them.”
Nevertheless, when speaking at a security conference in Herzliya, Israel, Kochavi nonetheless pointed out that Iran was being careful not to cross any “red lines.”
This differed sharply from Netanyahu’s accusations that Iran has been actively engaged in developing nuclear weapons, and had crossed numerous red lines.
Three months prior to Iran’s presidential election, Kochavi hinted that Israel’s intelligence sources inside Iran were reporting that Iranian strategy was under review.
About the Author
Marsha B. Cohen is an analyst specializing in Israeli-Iranian relations and US foreign policy towards Iran and Israel. Her articles have been published by PBS/Frontline's Tehran Bureau. IPS, Alternet, Payvand and Global Dialogue. She earned her PhD in International Relations from Florida International University, and her BA in Political Philosophy from Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
Another top Israeli national security figure whose view diverges from Netanyahu’s hostile response to any diplomatic approach to Iran is Amos Yadlin, a former chief of Israeli defense intelligence and the currently the director of Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies.
DeleteAt the end of September, Yadlin issued a communique in which recommended that Netanyahu “adopt a ‘positive approach’ which welcomes effective dialogue and negotiations as tools that are preferable to a military solution to Iran’s nuclear program, but stressed that ‘dialogue is not a goal in itself, but rather a framework for the process, the goal of which is to neutralize the Iranian military nuclear threat’.”
In the Wall Street Journal on Oct. 15, Yadlin co-authored an op-ed which outlined four types of deals that could emerge from Geneva: ideal; reasonable; bad and phased.
The “ideal” agreement approximates Netanyahu’s most minimal demands: an Iranian commitment to dismantle its nuclear program, beginning with the closure of its enrichment facility at Fordow and its yet-to-be-completed Arak reactor.
Furthermore, Iran would be required to “ship out its entire stockpile of enriched uranium, which today is enough to produce five to seven bombs.” All sanctions would then be lifted against Iran.
Yadlin also outlines a “less good, but still reasonable, agreement” according to which Iran would retain its right to enrich uranium at a non-military level of 3.5-5%. It would also allow Iran to keep “a small, symbolic number” of centrifuges.
Iran would have to re-sign and implement the Additional Protocol, which would enable the IAEA to carry out much more thorough oversight of Iran’s nuclear facilities, including suspected sites.
Furthermore, all Iranian nuclear activities would be limited to Natanz; the Arak reactor would be rendered non-functional; and Fordow would be closed. Finally, transformation of enriched uranium to fuel rods would have to be done outside of Iran, just in case the Iranians change their mind about wanting to build a bomb at any time in the future.
While not dismantling Iran’s nuclear program, Yadlin insists a “reasonable agreement” would give the UN Security Council sufficient lead time to detect and prevent the development of an Iranian nuclear weapon.
“This compromise would prolong the Iranian breakout capacity timeline to years rather than months, and it may well be preferable to bombing Iran’s nuclear program or accepting an Iranian nuclear weapon.”
Yadlin’s idea of a “bad agreement”-easing of Western sanctions in exchange for Iran’s partial limitation of its nuclear program-is on par with the view of most hawks in the U.S. and Israel.
Yadlin also doesn’t approve of a phased building of trust between Iran and the West, through a “process of reciprocal, partial steps” unless all current economic sanctions are maintained.
“Only after Iran proves its resolve to abandon all the key elements in its military nuclear program should sanctions be lifted, and not a moment before.”
Nonetheless, the fact that Yadlin can conceive of, and advocate, a “reasonable”agreement that falls short of “ideal” but nonetheless is not “bad” is worth noting: “Western diplomats in Geneva need to find their way to a reasonable deal if reaching an ideal agreement proves impossible.”
On Friday, Yadlin accused Netanyahu of “crying wolf” about the agreement with Iran.
“It seems like he thinks that this is the final agreement - it is not,”
Yadlin told The New York Times.
“The real judgment of whether it’s a bad deal or an acceptable deal will be in the end of the negotiating period.”
About the Author
Marsha B. Cohen is an analyst specializing in Israeli-Iranian relations and US foreign policy towards Iran and Israel. Her articles have been published by PBS/Frontline's Tehran Bureau. IPS, Alternet, Payvand and Global Dialogue. She earned her PhD in International Relations from Florida International University, and her BA in Political Philosophy from Hebrew University in Jerusalem
And this is all splitting hairs and straining gnats.
DeleteThe West has already offered for years to provide them enriched stuff for reactors. They can get all they need for free from the West, now.
All they need to do is join the sane world. Become a responsible nation. Like so many others.
The Iranians have every right to porcess and enrich uranium.
DeleteThey are part of the Community of Nations, signatory to the NPT.
Unlike Israel, India, North Korea and Pakistan, the Real Rouge Regimes of the world..
Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty
ARTICLE IV
1. Nothing in this Treaty shall be interpreted as affecting the inalienable right of all the
Parties to the Treaty to develop research, production and use of nuclear energy for peaceful
purposes without discrimination and in conformity with Articles I and II of this Treaty.
2. All the Parties to the Treaty undertake to facilitate, and have the right to participate in. the
fullest possible exchange of equipment, materials and scientific and technological information
for the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Parties to the Treaty in a position to do so shall also cooperate in contributing alone or together with other States or international organizations to the
further development of the applications of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, especially in
the territories of nonnuclear weapon States Party to the Treaty, with due consideration for the
needs of the developing areas of the world.
.
Pasted from
http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Documents/Infcircs/Others/infcirc140.pdf
The Iranians have every right to porcess and enrich uranium.
DeleteThey are part of the Community of Nations, signatory to the NPT.
Unlike Israel, India, North Korea and Pakistan, the Real Rouge Regimes of the world..
Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty
ARTICLE IV
1. Nothing in this Treaty shall be interpreted as affecting the inalienable right of all the
Parties to the Treaty to develop research, production and use of nuclear energy for peaceful
purposes without discrimination and in conformity with Articles I and II of this Treaty.
2. All the Parties to the Treaty undertake to facilitate, and have the right to participate in. the
fullest possible exchange of equipment, materials and scientific and technological information
for the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Parties to the Treaty in a position to do so shall also cooperate in contributing alone or together with other States or international organizations to the
further development of the applications of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, especially in
the territories of nonnuclear weapon States Party to the Treaty, with due consideration for the
needs of the developing areas of the world.
.
Pasted from
http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Documents/Infcircs/Others/infcirc140.pdf
There's the rub, Bob, nobody in the whole wide world believes they are up to peaceful purposes.
DeleteToo many undeclared sites, too much cheating on inspections, too many threats to wipe Israel and USA off the map, too much terrorism, too much theology of s Shia apocalyptic type......
The IAEA is there righ now, inspecing.
DeleteIf the Iranians have "so" many sites, then the is no military option, which is what the US military has repeatedly reported.
There is no "War Option", not in the "Real World".
The US is not gong war with Iran.
The Sanction Regime WILL breakdown.
If a "Deal" is not made now, there will be no "Deal".
allen's expert ...
The "Countdown" is now 26 days.
If the Iranians are building a nuclear weapon, that's when they will have i.
If they are not, well it will just be another Israeli timeline that was "Busted" by reality.
Well, Abner, think about it.
Delete"If the Iranians have "so" many sites, then the is no military option, which is what the US military has repeatedly reported."
So, giving our military the benefit of the doubt -
We can conclude then, Abner, that the Iranians have many, many sites, many undeclared, probably some totally unknown.
Well, yes, we should conclude that.
And that the Iranians are not to be trusted, Abner, not to be trusted at all.
And what's the point of a 'deal' under such circumstances, Abner?
The IAEA can be "inspecing" all they wish and it don't, as Whacky sometimes says, 'mean shit'.
Do you know Whacky, Abner?
Miss T, here is a possible topic of conversation -
ReplyDeleteNovember 11, 2013
Showdown in Seattle: Boeing vs. Union
Thomas Lifson
A dramatic showdown is underway in the State of Washington, pitting Boeing against its largest labor union, the International Association of Machinists (IAM). If the union, voting Wednesday, rejects a proposed contract that includes lower health care benefits, Boeing is threatening to move production of its next generation airliner, the 777X, out of the Puget Sound region, to such locations as Charleston, SC (where it is assembling the new 787) or Texas, right-to-work states where the union's demands would hold no sway.
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2013/11/showdown_in_seattle_boeing_vs_union.html
You must know a lot about this. I didn't know it was going on till now.
I recall though a similar situation regarding Boeing and the unions many years back. Boeing more or less built most of Seattle. One shouldn't bite the hand that feeds one.
It's difficult to see which way it's headed. Even that socialist moron Patty Murray is coming down on Boeing's side with respect to the contract.
DeletePostPartisan
ReplyDeleteThe Insiders: Six reasons Obamacare will only get worse for Democrats
BY ED ROGERS
November 8 at 1:40 pm
Here are six reasons that Obamacare will only get worse for the Democrats:
There will be more canceled health insurance plans. Every day, more and more Americans are receiving cancellation notices for plans they liked and wanted to keep. And every day, they continue to hear administration officials and their Democratic allies insist that the president didn’t lie about people being able to keep their health insurance plans. Dissatisfaction with Obamacare grows exponentially as people witness family members and colleagues being victimized by the “big lie.”
If you like your doctor, you can’t keep your doctor. Soon the story will break through that a lot of Americans will be losing access to their doctors and will be forced to pick one approved by Obamacare. Health-care plans are instituting very restrictive provider networks to try to keep down costs in the face of astronomically rising premiums. In New Hampshire, for instance, only 16 of the state’s 26 hospitals will be in the network of exchange plans approved by Obamacare. The reaction of voters losing, in some cases, the person who has been their doctor for years could be worse for Democrats than what we are currently seeing in the involuntary loss of insurance plans.
Sticker shock. Prices for health-care plans are not coming down for many voters. Once the Web site starts working and Americans can “shop around” for their new health insurance plans as the president instructed they should do, they are going to experience sticker shock. Premiums and deductibles will be going up for millions of hardworking Americans who can’t afford these increases – especially for coverage they don’t need or want.
Obamacare ads. Throughout the 2014 campaign, Republicans will use footage of Democrats repeating the “big lie” in ads targeting Democrats. The search is on for news clips, town-hall meeting videos, and other instances where Democrats have committed on the record and on video that “if you like your health plan, you can keep it.”
Navigators. If you liked ACORN, you’ll love the Obamacare Navigators. I’m sure there will be good, sincere people who really want to help people navigate the Obamacare maze. But there will be enough bad apples employed as navigators to supply plenty of scary anecdotes and weird encounters that will result in a steady ridicule of the overall program. And there will no doubt be activists with hidden cameras ready to capture a few creepy and outrageous encounters that will grab everybody’s attention and make voters even more skeptical of Obamacare.
Security breaches. Security breaches will increase. There have already been so many Web site problems and so many unanswered questions about Web site security that it’s surprising administration officials are still claiming they are “confident” in the system. A big security breach is inevitable. It’s just a matter of time. Even just the few horror stories we have heard so far prove what we all know: The Web site will not protect everybody’s sensitive, personal health care and financial data. Period. You know it and I know it.
ReplyDeleteThe Healthcare.gov website is displayed on laptop computers arranged for a photograph in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013. The failure of Obamacare's website to process millions of applications drew fire from contractors who said more time was needed for final testing and from lawmakers who traded criticism over political motivations. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
The Healthcare.gov Web site (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg)
With Democrats now stuck in a downward spiral, lying about the Obamacare lies, Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) offered Team Obama a way out at Wednesday’s Senate Finance Committee hearing. He asked Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, “Why not shut it [the Obamacare Web site] down and do it right?” But inexplicably, rather than trying to reboot, the White House continues to stare straight at the camera and stand in front of audiences everywhere and tell one whopper after another, even though everyone knows officials aren’t telling the truth. This is bewildering, insulting and corrosive, all at the same time. And everyone gets that, except for a few isolated souls in the West Wing.
On Wednesday, the president held a meeting with the 15 Democratic senators who are facing reelection, trying to get them to quit whining and get on board with the deceit. A lot of Democrats wish the White House would come clean, do a mea culpa and ask for forgiveness and patience – instead of issuing half-apologies like President Obama did on Thursday. Then perhaps the president could at least start approaching the problems from an honest place.
The White House will tighten its messaging, and it will fix the Web site, but that won’t change the underlying fact that this bill will negatively affect a huge portion of Americans, and superficial fixes aren’t the answer. Half-apologies and a refusal to hold anyone accountable are causing only more distress within the Democratic Party. A lot of Democrats are beginning to think a little panic is in order. The worst is yet to come.
Follow Ed on Twitter: @EdRogersDC
Iran arrests author of article questioning Shi'ite Islam
ReplyDeleteNote here again the absolute intolerance of dissent, the inability to deal with opposing points of view in any way other than to silence them forcibly. That same authoritarian impulse is present in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation's "Islamophobia" campaign, which seeks not to refute or debate the so-called "Islamophobes," or to demonstrate that what they say is false in any way, but simply to shut them down. The campaign to smear them as "hatemongers" and "bigots" goes hand-in-hand with this -- it doesn't prove them wrong, it just makes timid and ignorant people think they better run the other way rather than listen to them.
"Iran arrests author of controversial article on Shiite Islam," from Agence France Presse, November 11 (thanks to Benedict):
TEHRAN: Iran on Monday arrested Ali Asghar Gharavi, the author of a controversial article seen by critics as questioning the beliefs of Shiite Islam, a prosecutor general said.
"In regards with the banned newspaper (Bahar), the author of that article was arrested yesterday," prosecutor Mohseni Ejeie was quoted as saying by Fars news agency.
In late October, the pro-reformist Bahar daily published an opinion piece penned by Gharavi, which drew heavy criticism from the authorities.
Bahar had issued an apology, saying publishing the article was an "unintentional mistake" and it had temporarily suspended activities to "ease the tensions".
But the Iran's press watchdog banned the reformist daily and Saeed Pourazizi, the head of newspaper, was arrested on November 2 for publishing the article. He was later freed on bail.
Judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani has warned his department will "act with determination against those who falsify the history and try to undermine the fundamentals of the regime."
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani, a cleric and a reputed moderate, pledged to work for greater social freedoms during his election campaign....
Yes, and this kind of incident shows how much his "moderate" reputation is a charade.
Posted by Robert on November 11, 2013 11:07 AM | 3 Comments
| Leave a comment
Salah | November 11, 2013 11:40 AM | Reply
They can't arrest them all.
Another Islamic scholar:
"Islamic Paradise is nothing but a sheep pen!"
http://www.memri.org/report/en/print7015.htm
They flog old ladies and hang gay guys from a crane, but you're shocked they arrest newspaper editors.
DeleteNovember 12, 2013
ReplyDeleteCan Israel Survive Obama?
By Noah Beck
See also: A Dangerous Time for Israel
Those who hoped that Obama's Middle East policies wouldn't get any worse have awakened to a nasty surprise: the Obama administration is actively making it harder for Israel to neutralize Iran's nukes, and more likely that Iran will develop a nuclear arsenal.
About a year ago, the New York Times reported that "intense, secret exchanges between American and Iranian officials [dating] almost to the beginning of President Obama's term" resulted in an agreement to conduct one-on-one negotiations over Iran's nuclear program. In those secret talks, did Obama long ago concede to Iran a nuclear capability? If so, then the current Geneva negotiations merely provide the international imprimatur for what Iran and the US have already privately agreed. That might explain why France (of all countries) had to reject a Geneva deal that would have left Iran with a nuclear breakout capability.
An investigation by the Daily Beast also reveals that the "Obama administration began softening sanctions on Iran after the election of Iran's new president last June, months before the current round of nuclear talks in Geneva..." The report notes that Treasury Department notices show "that the U.S. government has all but stopped the financial blacklisting of entities and people that help Iran evade international sanctions since the election of its president, Hassan Rouhani, in June."
Obama's desperately eager posture towards the smiling Mullahs has doomed any negotiation to failure by signaling that the U.S. fears confrontation more than anything else. Obama's pathetic approach to the world's most pressing national security threat also makes U.S. military action virtually impossible from a public relations and diplomatic standpoint because it promotes the naive idea that more diplomacy will resolve what a decade of talking hasn't. And as long as the Iranians are "talking," world opinion will also oppose an Israeli military strike, so naturally Iran will find ways to keep talking until it's too late for Israel to act.
Obama has been downright duplicitous towards key Mideast allies. When in campaign mode or speaking to Israel supporters, Obama emphatically rejected containment as a policy option for dealing with Iranian nukes but he's now taking steps that effectively make containment the only option available (while repeating the same empty reassurance that he has Israel's back and won't be duped by the smiling Iranians).
Despite his repeated reassurances, Obama rejected Israel's estimates for how much more time Iran needs to develop its nuclear capability, and accepted overly optimistic timetables that assumed at least a year for more talking. Soon afterwards, the Institute for
Despite his repeated reassurances, Obama rejected Israel's estimates for how much more time Iran needs to develop its nuclear capability, and accepted overly optimistic timetables that assumed at least a year for more talking. Soon afterwards, the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) confirmed Israel's estimates that Iran could be just weeks away from the critical nuclear threshold. Ignoring these critical facts, Obama has given diplomatic cover to Iran's nuclear program by seizing on the cosmetic changes presented by the Iranian regime's Ahmadinejad-to-Rouhani facelift.
DeleteThat this makeover is just a ruse becomes obvious from this video, in which Rouhani boasts about masterfully manipulating diplomacy to achieve Iran's nuclear objectives. So Obama must have known all along that "talks" are a fool's errand that allow him to "fall back to" what has been his position all along: containment.
And despite repeated assurances from Secretary of State John Kerry that "no deal is better than a bad deal," the current Geneva talks appear headed towards precisely that: a bad deal that leaves Iran with the very nuclear breakout capability that a diplomatic "solution" was supposed to prevent.
On the other hand, after Obama's weak response to Syria's crossing of his "red line" against the use of chemical weapons, the threat of U.S. force against Iranian nukes lost all credibility, making it even harder to change Iranian nuclear behavior without force. So containing the mess produced by weak negotiations is really all that's left of Obama's Iran "strategy."
Only epic ineptitude or anti-Israel hostility no longer checked by reelection considerations can explain Obama's moves on Iran. And the stakes couldn't be higher for the rest of the world. After all, if Iran is the world's biggest state sponsor of terrorism without nuclear weapons, what will terrorism look like once Iran goes nuclear? And there are already hints of the nuclear proliferation nightmare that will follow Iran's nuclearization: Saudi Arabia has Pakistani nukes already lined up for purchase. Remarkably, Obama has known this since 2009 and apparently doesn't care about that consequence any more than he does about Israel's security. How else to explain his acceptance of the dreadful Geneva proposal granting Iran a nuclear weapons capability?
Exacerbating an existential threat against Israel is bad enough, but Obama has been an abysmal ally in other respects. Despite being history's most aggressive president to punish leakers (except when they make him look good), Obama's administration has repeatedly leaked sensitive Israeli information that could have easily provoked a Syrian-Israeli war. Obama summarily dumped a decades-long alliance with Egypt (that is also key to Israeli security) over some Egyptian state violence that is dwarfed by the decades-long brutality and terrorism of the Iranian regime now enjoying Obama's overzealous courtship. And Obama's image as a multi-lateralist who subordinates U.S. interests to higher principles has been exposed as a fraud following reports that he knew that the U.S. was spying on close European allies (contrary to his denials).
DeleteAdd to that list Kerry's increasing hostility to Israel and reports that the U.S. plans to impose its undoubtedly risky vision of peace on Israel in a few months, and you have Israel's worst nightmare in the White House. The irony is that the less Israel feels secure because of Obama's betrayals, the less likely it is to behave as Obama would like. Why humor Obama's requests and take unrequited risks for peace with the Palestinians or indulge yet another round of counter-productive "talks" about Iran's nuclear program when Obama has apparently abandoned Israel anyway?
As if Israel didn't face enough threats and challenges, it must now survive the Obama nightmare until he's out of office in 38 months. Isolated like never before thanks to Obama, the stark choices facing Israel's leadership are unimaginably difficult.
With roughly 75 times more territory, 10 times as many people, and two times as big an economy, Iran is a Goliath compared to Israel, and has repeatedly threatened to destroy it. So what does David (Israel) do now that Obama's perfidy has been exposed? If the neighborhood bully is bigger than you, has threatened you, and is reaching for a bat, do you preemptively attack him before he gets the bat and becomes even more dangerous?
Noah Beck is the author of The Last Israelis, an apocalyptic novel about Iranian nukes and other geopolitical issues in the Middle East.
In the event, the Israeli evaluation proved true. Nixon initiated an airlift of emergency supply to Israel in the first week of the war, and promised to make good Israeli losses in equipment and munitions. After the IDF turned the tide against the Arabs, Nixon put American forces on nuclear alert to deter Soviet intervention in the conflict. Though Nixon and Kissinger forced hard bargains on the victorious Israelis after the war, the Meir government's decision to forgo a pre-emptive strike seems on balance to have been correct.
ReplyDeleteIn calculating whether to launch a pre-emptive attack on Iran, the Netanyahu government has to size up President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry, in the same way the Meir government did Nixon and Kissinger. When it does, it is likely to come to different conclusions.
Obama has long opposed an Israeli pre-emptive strike on Iran. Israel has deferred to Obama's preference in the hope that international sanctions might eventually force Iran to abandon its nuclear program. Those hopes now appear to have been dashed, with the Obama administration's weak, even delusional leadership of negotiations in Geneva. Indeed, were it not for surprising French toughness, it is likely that Iran would have already been freed from serious sanctions, without any meaningful curtailment of its nuclear program. And in the end, it appears likely that French resistance or no, Obama and his other P5+1 partners (Russia, China, Great Britain, and Germany) are determined to let the Iranians off the hook.
November 12, 2013
A Dangerous Time for Israel
By Jonathan F. Keiler
http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/11/a_dangerous_time_for_israel.html
Just in the continuing effort to post some stuff that has some thoughtfulness behind it.