COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Friday, June 27, 2014

President Obama is now asking Congress to approve $500 million to fund and equip “moderate” Syrian rebels, Say what? More analysis:



26 June 2014 Last updated at 15:36 ET

Iraq crisis forces old battle lines to be redrawn
By Jim Muir

The spectacular eruption of Isis in Iraq has turned the country upside down with unimaginable speed, posing not only Iraqis but regional and international powers a challenge that has already upset parts of the regional order.
With Sunni militants and rebels gradually moving in around the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, there is a dramatic race going on between slow-moving efforts to defuse the crisis politically and rapid developments on the ground.
The latter could lead to a sectarian bloodbath in the capital and elsewhere, leaving Iraq in tatters.
The tough position taken by Prime Minister Nouri Maliki - stressing military options and insisting on standing for a third term of office - is likely to slow down the political rescue effort, and risks aggravating the conflict.
Confirmation that Syrian air force jets have been bombing Isis targets on Iraq's western border shows how the upheavals have merged the conflicts in the two countries, forcing everybody to rethink old assumptions.
Although premature, the strikes could equally well have been carried out by American drones or jets - as the Iraqi government itself at first reported.
As the battle lines are redrawn, the White House suddenly finds itself on the same side as the Syrian government it has been trying half-heartedly to help topple for the past three years.
And while the US is rushing military experts to Baghdad to assess the situation - and potentially identify targets for drone strikes or air attacks - so too is its old adversary Iran, intimately involved in efforts to stem a tide which it rightly sees as a potent threat to itself.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Maliki says Russia is selling his government some second-hand Sukhoi jet fighters to hit the militants with.
'Lethal threat'
Isis seems to have succeeded where others have failed, in galvanising the international community into action against a threat which all feel is already being, or will be, directed at them.
"Before September 11 people thought of al-Qaeda as confined to the caves of Afghanistan, and now look what happened," said Barham Salih, a leading Kurdish politician.
Barham Salih: "We need to empower the moderate Sunnis to take on Isis"
"Today, al-Qaeda is pervasive through the main street throughout the Arab world. This lethal threat is something no-one can ignore."
If Isis consolidates its grip on large interlinked tracts of territory in both Iraq and Syria including major towns and cities, the world could face an extremist entity that would make Tora Bora look like a small scout camp.
Its capabilities have been boosted to phenomenal level by what it won from its stunning capture of Mosul on 10 June in an assault spearheaded by perhaps as few as 500 fighters.
The list of military hardware captured after Iraq's troops fled Mosul and Kirkuk includes, sources say, some 4,000 medium machine-guns, 1,500 Humvees and other military vehicles, 50 state-of-the-art 155mm GPS-guided artillery pieces which can "aim like a sniper rifle" over a 40km range, 50 T-55 tanks and two helicopters.
They are also reported to have seized an eyewatering $427m (£251m; 314m euros) from Mosul's branch of Iraq's central bank, boosting their coffers to independence levels.
Bitter grievances
It's clear that the subsequent headlong rampage southwards along the Tigris, and gains made in the western Anbar province, would not have been possible had the Sunni ground they were treading not been fertile.
Disgruntled Iraqi Sunni factions - former Iraqi army officers and men, dissident tribal groups and highly-organised Baathist activists - joined in the cavalcade, giving Isis a local depth without which they would have been rapidly overstretched, isolated, and easier to deal with.
Whether or not there was any complicity by his many political adversaries in the collapse of the $40bn Iraqi army, as Prime Minister Maliki maintains, the fact is that the Isis issue is now inextricably interwoven with bitter Sunni grievances against his Shia-dominated rule, which has made many Sunnis feel both marginalised and victimised.
The upheavals have seen virtually all the main Sunni-populated parts of the country fall out of government control.
So far, the Iraqi army has been unable to launch a strategic counter-offensive to drive the rebels back.
The addition of three Iranian-backed Shia militias to its forces in the field has added to the perception that this is a Shia army fighting to impose Shia rule on Sunni areas.
Its chances of reconquering the lost ground appear very slight. And if it did, it would be crushing and further displacing Sunni populations in order to plant the state flag on the smoking ruins.
It's now taken for granted by most Iraqi politicians that the Sunnis have carved out their own area, and that things will never be the same.
"1991 saw the genesis of the Kurdish entity, 2003 the establishment of Shia authority, and 2014 is the violent birth of the Sunni region," said Barham Salih.
'The oppressor'
Behind the intense political activity going on in Baghdad and elsewhere, involving the Americans and many others, there are several basic assumptions:
There can be no purely military solution to the crisis.
*Isis has to be made a Sunni problem, by empowering the Sunni community, giving it a real stake in the political process and its own future.
*The days of centralised power in Baghdad are gone, and a loose federal formula, perhaps seeing the emergence of a Kurdistan-style Sunni entity, has to be found
*Only then can the Sunni strands which have joined the insurgency be expected to turn on the Isis extremists, as they did in Anbar in 2006-7, and as many tribal and military rebels have said they will do again.
*If the politics in Baghdad come right, Iraqi army elements and Kurdish peshmerga soldiers - backed by US air power - would support the Sunni moderates in dealing with Isis.
*Nouri Maliki, who many blame for pursuing divisive sectarian policies that led to the crisis, cannot lead the reconciliation and profound restructuring process that is needed.
Mr Maliki himself, of course, disagrees. He has arranged a meeting of parliament for 1 July, hoping to press ahead with the post-election constitutional process which last time took more than nine months to produce a government.
But unless something changes radically, there will be no quorum.
Kurdish and Sunni deputies will not attend if Mr Maliki is the nominee for PM. Most Shia leaders also want him out, including the maverick cleric Moqtada Sadr, who in a televised speech on Wednesday referred to him as "the oppressor, who pursues personal interest over that of the sect or nation".
When it comes to such Shia matters as choosing an Iraqi prime minister, Iran has the last word.
Is it ready to drop the divisive Mr Maliki in favour of someone who all sides agree would stand a better chance of pulling the country back from the brink?
Well-placed sources believe it is. Iran needs a solution that stabilises its neighbour. Helping defend the Shia in an open-ended sectarian war while Arab states fuel the Sunni struggle is something the Iranian government cannot afford.
Its interests have already been heavily threatened: its land route to its strategic ally, Syria, and thence to Hezbollah in Lebanon is cut. Iraqi airspace is now patrolled by US F-18s, further disrupting links.
For these reasons, informed sources say, the highest Shia instance, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, and the ubiquitous Qasem Soleimani, commander of the elite Quds Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, share the view that Mr Maliki has to go.
The names most cited as possible replacements are Adel Abdul Mahdi and Ahmad Chalabi, both seasoned Shia politicians with strong relations to the Kurds and Sunnis, and both acceptable to Iran and the US.

Mr Maliki seems determined to dig his heels in. But if the Iranian government has indeed decided to drop him, his chances would, as one senior politician put it, resemble those of a snowball in hell.

166 comments:

  1. Back to Ahmad Chalabi?

    That's the fellow the Congress authorized the President to fund and train a paramilitary force with, in 2002 or so.
    He was not considered trustworthy, by Mr Bush and Mr Bremmer.

    The Comedy of Errors.

    ReplyDelete
  2. At least we have a President who "if the political winds change, will stand with the muslims".

    Ain't this a great country of what ??
    .............


    >>>The names most cited as possible replacements are Adel Abdul Mahdi and Ahmad Chalabi, both seasoned Shia politicians with strong relations to the Kurds and Sunnis, and both acceptable to Iran and the US.<<<

    Chalabi may come out on top?

    Who would have thunk.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Obama is a Sunni.

    Expect him to look out for that particular group of morons first, if he can.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ISRAEL prefers al-QAEDAFri Jun 27, 01:46:00 AM EDT

      Obama is the First Jewish President of the United States, and don't you forget it!

      Delete
    2. Jack HawkinsFri Jun 27, 11:19:00 AM EDT
      Reference it.

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

      Delete
  4. Rufus voted for a Sunni?

    He should be ashamed of himself.

    But, then, he didn't know what he was doing.

    That's his only out.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Bwabwabwahahahahahaha

    rat will put up any bullshit, and not even blush.

    No wonder no takes him seriously.

    ReplyDelete

  6. for rat aka dirty dinky, who seems so interested in such things......


    FBI investigating underage prostitution ring in south Texas school district
    June 26, 2014
    submit to reddit
    Victor SkinnerVICTOR SKINNER

    Victor is a communications specialist for EAG and joined in 2009. Previously, he was a newspaper journalist.
    Archive »
    EL PASO, Texas – Officials with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Ysleta Independent School District have known about a prostitution ring involving middle and high school girls in the district for more than a year, but are only now informing the public.

    ysleta“Due to student confidentiality laws, the Ysleta Independent School District is prohibited from disclosing specific details of the alleged underage prostitution ring currently under investigation by the FBI,” district officials said in a statement cited by the El Paso Times.

    “However, officials at Ysleta High School were notified in December 2012 that an investigation into underage prostitution was under way at local middle and high schools.”

    Recent court documents allege a 16-year-old female student at the high school was prostituted through the website Backpage.com for sexual services to a school district volunteer, the news site reports.

    According to the district’s cryptic press statement, “the FBI requested that Ysleta High School officials not discuss the matter with anyone, including district administration.

    “After the meeting with the FBI, Ysleta High School officials were approached by the student for assistance with issues outside of the investigation that cannot be disclosed. No other details are available at this time, YISD will continue to cooperate fully with local law enforcement agencies in their investigation.”

    The statement obviously implies that local police are also keen to the alleged prostitution, but El Paso police deferred the Times’ questions to the FBI, which confirmed their investigation but declined additional comment.



    “During a press conference on Monday to announce the arrest of two suspected sex traffickers, FBI officials declined to comment on the case involving the 16-year-old Ysleta student,” according to the Times.

    Officials at nearby El Paso, Clint and Canutillo school districts said they have not been in contact with the FBI.

    Ysleta school administrators and board members ignored the news site’s calls for comment.

    John Martin, executive director for the Paso del Norte Center of Hope – which works to fight child sex trafficking – said local schools can and should do more to combat what’s become a very serious issue.

    “The schools desperately need to get involved from the prevention standpoint, they do so much in a similar nature for other issues but they don’t really talk about trafficking,” Martin told the Times.

    “It is very important that we target the students in elementary, middle and high school and educate them on the dangers of sex trafficking and create preventative programs,” Martin said. “By definition, the most vulnerable to being trafficked are the poor, young and the immigrant. And in many cases these students fell into all three categories. So it is vital we reach out and educate our young children.”

    ReplyDelete
  7. Post trash and it will disappear>

    ReplyDelete
  8. Trying desperately to appear to be doing something (anything) about the problem without actually doing anything. To what political ends, I really don’t know at this point. I wish Obama would come clean. The political reality of this is the Obama administration has no political support for another round of war from either party. Had they wanted to engage in some sort of decisive action this administration could at best count on tepid support from around 1/3 of the Republican party and even weaker support from around the same number of Democrats. At the first sign of engagement that support would instantly evaporate. You can’t go to war with that even when you can justify action. The administration itself has no stomach for action at this time and undermines its credibility by saying otherwise.

    ReplyDelete
  9. (Reuters) - Israel told the United States on Thursday Kurdish independence in northern Iraq was a “foregone conclusion” and Israeli experts predicted the Jewish state would be quick to recognise a Kurdish state, should it emerge.

    Israel has maintained discreet military, intelligence and business ties with the Kurds since the 1960s, seeing in the minority ethnic group a buffer against shared Arab adversaries.

    The Kurds have seized on recent sectarian chaos in Iraq to expand their autonomous northern territory to include Kirkuk, which sits on vast oil deposits that could make the independent state many dream of economically viable.

    Washington wants Iraq's crumbling unity restored. On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry visited Iraqi Kurdish leaders and urged them to seek political integration with Baghdad.

    Kerry discussed the Iraqi crisis with Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman in Paris on Thursday.

    "Iraq is breaking up before our eyes and it would appear that the creation of an independent Kurdish state is a foregone conclusion," Lieberman's spokesman quoted him as telling Kerry.

    A day earlier, Israeli President Shimon Peres had a similar message for U.S. President Barack Obama, who hosted the dovish elder statesman at the White House.

    Briefing reporters, Peres said he had told Obama he did not see unifying Iraq as possible without "massive" foreign military intervention and that this underscored Kurdish separation from the Shi'ite Muslim majority and Sunni Arab minority.

    "The Kurds have, de facto, created their own state, which is democratic. One of the signs of a democracy is the granting of equality to women," Peres said.

    He added that neighbouring Turkey appeared to accept the Kurds' status as it was helping them pump out oil for sale.

    ReplyDelete
  10. BBC

    Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has told the BBC that he hopes jets from Russia and Belarus will turn the tide against rebels in the coming days.


    "God willing within one week this force will be effective and will destroy the terrorists' dens," he said.

    He said that the process of buying US jets had been "long-winded" and that the militants' advance could have been avoided if air cover had been in place.

    Isis and its Sunni Muslim allies seized large parts of Iraq this month.

    Mr Maliki was speaking to the BBC's Arabic service in his first interview for an international broadcaster since Isis - the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant - began its major offensive.

    "I'll be frank and say that we were deluded when we signed the contract [with the US]," Mr Maliki said.

    "We should have sought to buy other jet fighters like British, French and Russian to secure the air cover for our forces; if we had air cover we would have averted what had happened," he went on.

    He said Iraq was acquiring second-hand jet fighters from Russia and Belarus "that should arrive in Iraq in two or three days".

    ReplyDelete
  11. No declaration of war this time?

    The Pentagon named a two-star Army general with experience in Iraq to head the mostly Special Forces advisory mission to shore up the struggling Iraqi army against Islamic extremists threatening Baghdad.

    Maj. Gen. Dana J.H. Pittard will be put in charge of the new unit to be called the “Combined Forces Land Component Command, Iraq," Pentagon officials said.

    Pittard, a West Point graduate and deputy commander of U.S. Army Central (ARCENT), will have command of up to 300 combat-equipped mostly Special Forces troops from the U.S. Central Command that President Obama has authorized to go to Iraq.

    Pittard led an armor unit in Operation Desert Storm in 1991 and served two combat tours in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

    About 50 more of the authorized troops arrived in Baghdad last night, joining about 90 others already on the ground, Pentagon officials said.

    The troops have already set up a joint operations center to "serve as a fusion center where information that's coming in from the various teams can be consolidated and it can be analyzed," said Army Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman.

    Warren declined to say whether the JOC was in the "green zone" on the grounds of the U.S. Embassy or elsewhere in Baghdad.

    MILITARY.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We are still operating under the Authorization of Use of Force Sept 14, 2001

      That the President is authorized to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by such nations, organizations or persons.

      Even the political opponents of the President cite that the ISIS present a "Clear and Present" danger.

      Delete
  12. Replies
    1. I've been wondering that myself.

      Maybe he is thinking now Syria is the important war, the war me must win.

      Or maybe he's just a Sunni and it's starting to show.

      I wouldn't rule it out though.

      Delete
    2. Maybe Michelle is running the show behind the scenes.

      Delete
    3. Maybe he is just trying to support the losing side.

      Delete
  13. The Kurds and Israel are getting along just fine. Israel has made clear that Iraqi Kurdistan has an ally.


    allenThu Jun 26, 02:11:00 PM EDT
    Will it be a tango or a waltz? Or... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adUkn51t0lc

    “Aydar also made some fascinating and far-reaching comments about Israel and its place in the region. His tone was one common among Kurds, yet probably without parallel elsewhere in the region.

    “There is an Islamic approach toward Israel in the Middle East,” he said. “Before that, there was a leftist point of view. But both of these were based on Arab nationalism. This view was saying that Israel has no place in the Middle East, and Jews have no rights in the Middle East.

    “The other nations in the Middle East – Arabs, Turks, Iranians, Kurds – have to accept the existence of Israel in the Mideast. They have to recognize that these people are from the region, and are indigenous people of the region. And whatever rights Arabs have, Israel also has. This nation has the right to live on its own soil.”

    Aydar went on to call for “breaking the walls between Kurds and Israelis, and getting to know each other. If we can continue our friendship, both sides will benefit from it. The region needs the Israeli experience.”
    http://www.jpost.com/Features/Front-Lines/Behind-the-lines-Kurdistan-emerges-344603
    …Top PKK official Zubeyir Aydar tells the ‘Post’ that "Kurdish sovereignty is on the way" and calls for "breaking the walls" between Kurds and Israelis…




    "Iraq is breaking up before our eyes and it would appear that the creation of an independent Kurdish state is a foregone conclusion," Lieberman's spokesman quoted him as telling Kerry.

    A day earlier, Israeli President Shimon Peres had a similar message for U.S. President Barack Obama, who hosted the dovish elder statesman at the White House.

    Briefing reporters, Peres said he had told Obama he did not see unifying Iraq as possible without "massive" foreign military intervention and that this underscored Kurdish separation from the Shi'ite Muslim majority and Sunni Arab minority.

    "The Kurds have, de facto, created their own state, which is democratic. One of the signs of a democracy is the granting of equality to women," Peres said.”
    http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/article.aspx?id=86787
    Israel tells U.S. Kurdish independence is foregone conclusion


    “Shared challenges make Kurds and the Jewish state good potential allies. Like Jews, the Kurdish people have lived under foreign domination for millennia. Kurdish suffering under Arab and Iranian rule infuses them with a natural affinity for Jews and Israel. There are an estimated 35 to 45 million Kurds in the Middle East, many of whom have been secretly sympathetic to Israel for years and have even been labeled “Zionist agents” in Iraq, Syria and Iran. The addition of millions of potential Kurdish friends, for micro-sized Israel with a mere eight million inhabitants, could enhance the Jewish state’s security and regional position. While Jews were always considered politically and socially inferior in the Arab Middle East, Kurds generally did not discriminate against Jews, nor have they demonized Israel. In short, geography, history and destiny create natural affinities and interests between Kurds and Israelis.”
    http://unitedwithisrael.org/kurdish-students-call-for-relations-with-israel/
    Kurdish Students Call for Relations with Israel



    “Kurds are deeply sympathetic to Israel and an independent Kurdistan will be beneficial to Israel,” argued Kurdish journalist Ayub Nuri in July. “It will create a balance of power. Right now, Israel is one country against many. But with an independent Kurdish state, first of all Israel will have a genuine friend in the region for the first time, and second, Kurdistan will be like a buffer zone in the face of the Turkey, Iran and Iraq.”
    http://www.timesofisrael.com/is-a-free-kurdistan-and-a-new-israeli-ally-upon-us/
    Is a free Kurdistan, and a new Israeli ally, upon us?

    ReplyDelete
  14. A buffer zone can quickly turn into an area of forward deployment.

    :)

    Israel needs some more airbases.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Why An ISIS Caliphate Is A Pipe Dream

    http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/shashankjoshi/100277636/why-an-isis-caliphate-is-no-more-than-a-pipe-dream/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A Kurdish transportation link for oil to Israel is also a pipe dream, literally.

      Delete
  16. "I'll be frank and say that we were deluded when we signed the contract [with the US]," Mr Maliki said.

    Oh, the Status of Forces Agreement that he wouldn't sign, that forty other nations did? The one that prevents our troops from being hauled in front of a court for defending themselves (or acts as a tripwire for a general pullout if they do)? That one?

    ReplyDelete
  17. Lois Lane
    What a gal
    She was Clark Kent's
    Friend and pal

    Lois Lerner
    A piece of work
    Proof that libs
    Have gone berserk!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Apparently the leading cause of hard drive failures is subpoenas

      Delete
    2. :):)

      Damn, they ought to cover that under warranty.

      Delete
  18. $500M stimulus to unstable foreigners, the "don't just stand there, do something" syndrome kicks in.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL

      And you were bragging about a dying christian cult divesting 21 million out of 1.25 billion from 3 companies that do business with the only safe place for christians in the middle east.

      Delete
  19. In a country currently full of sad tales, the tragic death of a Tikrit women's affairs adviser has drawn particular attention. The Sunni Muslim woman was supporting her family as they stood against Sunni Muslim extremists when she was killed by a sniper.

    For ten days, Tikrit woman Umiyia Jibara had been supporting her family and members of her tribe as they tried to stave off attacks by Sunni Muslim extremists in the Al Alam area, a northern suburb of Tikrit, which is mostly home to the Jibour tribe, who are also Sunnis. Forty-year-old Jibara, who was the Salahaddin governor's adviser on women's affairs was supporting the men by urging them on; she apparently refused to leave the soil barrier behind which they were all sheltering. And she had already managed to kill three members of the Sunni extremist group.

    This most likely included fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, known as ISIS, - and they wanted to take control of the area. They were also demanding that around 40 members of the local security forces be handed over to them. The extremists said they would guarantee the safety of the town if they did so. However the Jibour tribe refused this offer and the two groups began fighting.

    On the eleventh day of this stand-off, an ISIS sniper managed to get Jibara in his sights and killed her. Her younger brother, Marwan, a director for a local satellite TV station, later posted the popular verses his sister was reciting just before she killed, on his Facebook page. She kept smiling even through this crisis, Marwan says sadly.

    Umiyia Jibara was not the first in her family to be killed by Sunni Muslim extremists – the family had lost their father and an uncle to Al Qaeda previously. Hence their determination not to give in to ISIS.

    Since her brother posted his memories of his sister, Umiyia has become a minor cause celebre with Iraqis on Facebook. Dozens of activists and journalists changed their profile pictures and put Umiyia's picture there instead. Many others wrote messages of condolence and poems in her honour – this included those lauding the Tikrit woman for being braver than the Iraqi army, who had dropped their weapons and run when faced with ISIS.

    Umiyia studied law at the University of Tikrit and is survived by her husband and four children, the youngest of whom is not yet two years old.

    Iraq has lost a great defender of women's rights, Marwan told NIQASH. “She had establshed organisations for Iraqi women and she travelled widely to represent the women of this province. She made a lot of progress here, including organising a monthly salary for 400 widowed women here.”

    http://www.niqash.org/articles/?id=3472http://www.niqash.org/articles/?id=3472

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This is what is wrong with the whole let them all kill one another outlook, to which I subscribe to at times.

      People suffer, and particularly the women, who take a brutal beating.

      Whole thing is unremittingly sad.

      Delete
  20. Update..

    Sunni Egyptian troops being airlifted to Arabia...

    Cool.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This whole thing is rapidly getting out of hand.

      Delete
    2. You wrote two days ago that it was over.

      Delete
    3. It is as far as the break up of Iraq is concerned.

      But new forces seem to be coming into focus that may make it much worse.

      Who knows.....

      Delete
    4. The counter offensive is about to start, Bob.
      The Iraqi government will not need US for close air support, the Shiite reserves are assembling even as we type.

      They have already started the counter-offensive in Tikrit.

      Iraqi military battles for control of Tikrit>Army helicopters land in rebel-held city as locals complain that government forces were firing indiscriminately.

      Witnesses said battles were raging in the city, hometown of former dictator Saddam Hussein, which fell to Sunni Islamist fighters two weeks ago on the third day of a lightning offensive that has given them control of most majority Sunni regions.
      http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/26/us-iraq-security-idUSKBN0F10TF20140626

      Your ignorance is legend, Bob.
      Better go read some more.

      “If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.”
      ― Stephen King

      Delete
  21. George W. Bush, Father of the New Kurdistan !

    ReplyDelete
  22. I think Israel should push the Syrians/Iranians/Hezbollah/ISIS from the Syrian border and move them entirely to the east side of Damascus +90 miles.

    You, who call veterans like me and Deuce and Rufus assholes, sound like one of those ultra-conservative Jews who get out of military service but have all sorts of demand for what the IDF needs to do. A chickenhawk, in American parlance. A hypocrite in mine.

    Israel’s High Court struck down the law exempting haredi yeshiva students from being drafted back in 2012, but the government has repeatedly postponed conscription due to demands from the country’s ultra-Orthodox political parties, who represent many of the country’s 800,000 haredim – roughly 10 percent of Israeli’s population.

    ReplyDelete
  23. And you were bragging about a dying christian cult divesting 21 million out of 1.25 billion from 3 companies that do business with the only safe place for christians in the middle east.

    I wasn't bragging, I posted a news snippet here, because this is the all Israel all the time blog.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Religion of peace:

    A Christian father who watched his wife and daughter get brutally raped by members of the militant group, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) because he couldn’t pay them a poll tax in Mosul, Iraq, killed himself under the weight of the trauma this past weekend.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Guess he just did not understand that it was all part of "God's Plan".

      Delete
  25. “dying christian cult “ .. Get off your high horse. They are all cults.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Accepting that they are all cults, still some cults are better than others.

      If you don't accept that, explain why say Buddhism is the equal of Islam in its general way of life.

      You could call American Democracy a cult if you wish, I still opt for it over Islam

      Delete
  26. Mexican military chopper crosses the border, shoots at agents... Time to send in General Blackjack Pershing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Mexicans have apologized for the incident.

      Delete
    2. They promise to keep their US supplied Blackhawks on their side of the frontier, in the future.

      Delete
  27. President Obama says the death of so many innocents in Iraq troubles him greatly and caused him to three putt 4 greens today.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Anyone, who actually was in combat, knows that it always comes down to the small, sad, and seemingly insignificant personal details of a pathetic human tragedy. With all due respect to the popcorn and oorah assholes cheering for human suffering.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Master Sun said to subdue your enemy without fighting is the way to rock and roll. Build him a golden bridge over which to retreat. If he breaks into Sunni and Shi'a halves and starts fighting himself, pop the corn.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Ukraine signed up to an historic trade and economic pact with the European Union Friday, with President Petro Poroshenko describing it as the "most important day" for his country since it became independent from the Soviet Union.

    Pooty pouts.

    ReplyDelete
  31. What's Obama thinking? Well, if it were Me, I'd be thinking:

    The Panic of "the fall of Baghdad" is over,

    The government is regrouping,

    They've gone out and "bought" their own planes, w/o waiting for us to give some to them,

    ISIS doesn't have (and, aren't getting) any Chemical Weapons,

    The Nuke Deal with Iran is progressing, and

    The Oil is Flowing.


    Maybe, I'll play Firestone, today.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. But why would you want to give a half a billion more dollars to some 'moderate' group in Syria?

      Delete
    2. You'd just be giving money to your 'favorite cult', Rufus.

      Delete
    3. He's just appeasing McNutz, and the warhawks.

      Delete
    4. I wish he'd do it on his own dime, then.

      Delete
    5. Yeah, well the republicans pissed away somewhere between 2,000 and 6,000 Times that many "dimes" in their "Iraqi adventure."

      Delete
    6. It is his dime, his and the Congress.

      Call your lap dog, Labrador, and have him stop the appropriation.
      If the Congress does not support the President's policies, they do not have to fund them.

      It is known as "Checks and Balances"
      Why is your support for the American Democracy 'cult' wavering, so soon?

      Bob Fri Jun 27, 09:54:00 AM EDT
      ....


      Hasn't even been three hours!
      Grow a spine, Bob!

      Delete
    7. Maybe you can get a spine replacement under Medicare, since your original issue is worn out.
      Has been since you dodged the draft, back in the 60's.

      Maybe some vitamin D supplements would have helped, then, but you probably need a total back bone replacement, now.

      Delete
    8. OOooooooooooooooo, that hurt.

      :)

      Dodged the draft?

      I stood for the draft, got a high number.

      I would never had joined the Army and gone to Central America and taken part in a death squad like you.

      I would have dodged that, desert rat.

      Delete
    9. But these are old issues.

      Try some new tack you piece of shit.

      Delete
    10. Not old at all, Bob.
      You told US the truth less than a week ago.
      It is fresh in all of our minds, it will stay there, Front and Center.

      Delete

  32. Syrian rebel command sacked over graft claims

    Friday, 27 June 2014

    As the White House asked lawmakers to funnel $500 million towards moderate insurgents, Syria’s opposition government sacked the military command of the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) late Thursday over corruption allegations, Agence France-presse reported.

    Chief of the opposition government Ahmad Tohme “decided to disband the Supreme Military Council and refer its members to the government’s financial and administration committee for investigation,” a statement said.

    The decision came amid widespread reports of corruption within the ranks of the FSA, which is backed by Western and Arab governments in its battle to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad.

    The government in exile said it was also sacking FSA chief of staff Brigadier General Abdelilah al-Bashir.

    It called on “revolutionary forces on the ground” to set up within a month a new defense council and to fully restructure the rebel army’s command.

    The news comes after nine top FSA officers resigned in June over shortages and mismanagement of military aid from donor countries.

    ReplyDelete

  33. There will be no stationing of Egyptian troops beyond our borders

    During last week’s stopover in Cairo by the Saudi monarch — he wanted to be the first Arab leader to visit Egypt, and to visit Al-Sisi before Al-Sisi visits Saudi Arabia, said a Cairo-based Saudi diplomat. Al-Sisi “reassured the Saudi Monarch that just as the Saudis were there for Egypt in their time of need so Egyptians will be there for the Saudis”, according to a presidential source.

    The presidential official declined to confirm whether this implied some form of Egyptian military presence in the Gulf.

    “Let us not go too far. There will be no stationing of Egyptian troops beyond our borders. The security of the Gulf is a national security concern for Egypt. This has always been the case. Our approach towards the issue is diplomatic and not military, and will remain so unless there is a clear need for change.”

    The same official refuted speculation that the first ever Bahraini-Egyptian joint military manoeuvres — held in Bahrain a few months ago — were a prelude to Egyptian military involvement in the Gulf. “This is overstretching things. We are keen to support stability in the Arab Gulf and we do this through diplomatic channels and negotiations”.

    The presidential official acknowledged that Gulf security cannot be guarantee without engaging Iran. He also acknowledged that smoother relations between Cairo and Tehran are part of the strategy the Foreign Ministry is pursuing to prevent the “dormant but not so contained Sunni-Shia conflict from hitting us all in the face”.

    “This is something that we are already seeing in Iraq, and that we have seen in Lebanon and Syria. We don’t want to see an ethnic-based war — not between Sunnis and Shias, not between Arabs and Turks or Arab and Kurds. Despite our many reservations on the choices of the government of the current prime minister of Turkey what we want, and what we think is essential for our interests, is regional stability.”


    http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/News/6621/17/Beyond-the-borders.aspx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. bullshit they are ALREADY on their way to Saudi Arabia

      Delete
    2. The research was done, the results are posted above.
      Your claims are baseless, Israeli Butt Boy.

      Delete
    3. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

      Delete
    4. one standard for the JEW and none for the anti-Semite.

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

      Delete
  34. Ah, my fellow "boomers," you're not going to like this:

    20 to 24 year olds are, now, the Top Age Cohort.

    In 2020, it will be the same group, grown a bit older.

    Move Over, you warmongering bastards; let someone else f..k up, for a change

    ReplyDelete
  35. The Russians have not gotten much of a chance to battle test their airborne anti-tank missiles - now they will.

    The Kh-25 led in turn in the early 1980s to yet another similar but still bigger solid-fuel ASM, the "Kh-29". It is produced in two versions, the "Kh-29L" with a laser seeker, and the "Kh-29T" with an EO seeker. The NATO designation is "AS-14 Kedge".

    KH-29L / AS-14 KEDGE:

    wingspan = 1.1 meters
    length = 3.9 meters
    total weight = 660 kilograms
    warhead weight = 320 kilograms

    * The Soviets also developed a number of big, long-range ASMs, somewhat in the class of the AGM-142. The "Kh-59 Ovod" was introduced in the early 1980s. This solid-fuel missile has an unusual asymmetric arrangement of nose fins and cruciform clipped-delta wings at the tail. It uses an EO seeker. The NATO designation is "AS-13 Kingbolt".

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Against the T72s the ISIS have captured in Mosul.
      Mounted on the aircraft that will be delivered from Russia and Belarus in few days, to the Iraqi Air Force.

      You really do not read, do you?

      Delete
  36. .

    This is the one area where I have had praise for Obama, keeping us out of Syria, and now he returns to form even here. No matter what happens in Syria, the remaining powers there will be adverse to US interests and yet we proceed to fan the flames.

    Those who compare this to the Bush years on a relative basis remind us of history few here are likely to forget anyway. They also seems to be unaware of the concept of sunk costs or that no matter how deep the hole you can always dig it a little deeper.

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The "Plan" is to fan the flames, Q.
      It is the enactment of the "Yinon Plan":

      This is what Oden Yinon had to declare about Iraq:
      "Every kind of inter-Arab confrontation will assist us in the short run and will shorten the way to the more important aim of breaking up Iraq into denominations as in Syria and in Lebanon.

      In Iraq, a division into provinces along ethnic/religious lines as in Syria during Ottoman times is possible.

      So, three (or more) states will exist around the three major cities: Basra, Baghdad and Mosul, and Shiite areas in the south will separate from the Sunni and Kurdish north"
      .


      The US and Israel are joined at the hip. The "Plan" has been in place since 1982.

      “Sometimes you can see things happen right in front of your eyes and still jump to the wrong conclusions.”
      ― Jodi Picoult



      Delete
    2. .

      Just as Arafat skimmed the top off all the aid dollars going to Palestine and just as the $250 million being sent to those Central American countries in order to 'keep the kids at home' will end up in the hands of the cartels, this $500 million will end up in the Swiss bank accounts of the leaders of the 'moderate rebels'.

      Bush? If you want to make a comparison that makes sense, that highlights continuity, recall the pictures of those pallet loads of $20's and $100's sent to Iraq as walking around money for the generals to bribe the local capos.

      Better start running those printing presses on Sunday for a while.

      .

      Delete
    3. Don't need no stinkin' printing presses, it is all electronic transfers.

      Money for nothin', easing things quantitatively.

      Delete
  37. There's always a Plan, or a Scheme, or a Conspiracy, that only desert rat knows about......


    Bwahahahahahha

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. desert rat is a figment of Bob's imaginationFri Jun 27, 12:01:00 PM EDT

      Anyone that takes the time to read, would know about the "Yinon Plan".
      Only those that are willfully ignorant refuse to acknowledge it.

      Delete
  38. My Draft Lottery number was above 250 but below 275.

    Just looked it up.

    I was not called. I did not avoid the draft.

    Fuck fuck, rat ass.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. All we know is what you wrote, while you were drunk and telling US the truth.

      You are a Draft Dodger, a coward who, when his country was in need, ran the other way.

      Delete
    2. BobSun Jun 22, 01:42:00 PM EDT

      When did I ever say I was a scholar??

      I don't recall saying that.

      I have a college degree in English Lit. from U of Washington.

      To avoid being drafted in part. ...

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

      Delete
    4. When the draft lottery came along, I got a high number.

      Simple as that.







      Delete
    5. In fact, now that I think about it, the draft lottery put an end to the deferment system, and I was still at the U or W at the time this occurred.

      So I played the game like everyone else.

      There were also a couple of semesters when I was without any deferments. Just didn't get called.

      Now if I had volunteered for the Army, rat would accuse me of being an agent of American Imperialism, of The American Empire in Asia.

      But I surely was not that. Nor did I volunteer to go to Central America as he did and be part of the his American Empire there.

      Delete
    6. I do hope this clears everything up for you, rat.

      Now go fuck off.

      Delete
  39. The Shiites in Baghdad and Basra will chose their 'War Leader'

    Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric calls for prime minister to be chosen by Tuesday


    As the US puts Hellfires into the air over Iraq.

    Iraq crisis: Barack Obama orders 'Hellfire missile' drones into Iraq skies
    US steps up its military involvement in Middle East as Predator drone strikes take to Iraq skies amid Isis jihadists offensive

    President Barack Obama has ordered Predator drones armed with Hellfire missiles into the skies above Iraq as he steps up his military involvement in the Middle East.

    The first Predator flights took off on Thursday, Pentagon officials told US media. It is not clear whether their remote pilots have orders to fire on the jihadists of Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham who control most Sunni areas of the country, though officials said they were intended to defend US interests like the embassy.

    But drone strikes have been Mr Obama’s weapon of choice in America’s long war with jihadism as he seeks to avoid direct on-the-ground military intervention, and they have been deployed widely already against al-Qaeda and other groups in Pakistan and Yemen.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. People don't need you to read the news for them.

      Delete
    2. Why not, they don't read for themselves.
      Building the case, brick by brick. Line by line.

      “Despite the enormous quantity of books, how few people read!
      And if one reads profitably, one would realize how much stupid stuff the vulgar herd is content to swallow every day.”

      ― Voltaire

      Delete
  40. Got to go check on the alfalfa, which has been cut but not baled.

    Ta,ta

    ReplyDelete
  41. On June 1, 2014, the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) recorded a record midday hourly peak of 4,767 megawatts of alternating current (MWAC) of utility-generated solar electricity delivered into the California grid. With rapidly growing utility-scale solar capacity, CAISO has regularly recorded new hourly output records going back to 2010 when it first began publishing the daily data. When the hourly data are averaged over the course of a month to control for weather variation, the average peak hourly generation in May 2014 of 4,086 MWAC was 150% greater than the level in May 2013.

    In 2013, 2,145 MW of utility-scale solar capacity entered service in California, of which more than 500 MW came from large-scale solar thermal plants. California accounted for more than 75% of U.S. utility-scale solar capacity installed in 2013.

    Total solar electricity output in May 2014 constituted 6% of the total CAISO electricity load that month, compared with 2% in May 2013. However, during the average peak solar output hour, between 11:00 a.m. and noon for May 2014, solar supplied 14% of total power, compared with 6% in May 2013.

    Solar generation facilities generally provide power to the CAISO grid from early morning until the evening, and reach peak output around midday. When solar electricity is being generated, less electricity from other sources such as natural gas or interstate electricity imports is required. Conversely, when there is

    Nice Synopsis - lots of pretty pictures

    ReplyDelete
  42. WiO: Still not sure if you are he.she.it?

    Who cares what you are sure of.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

      Delete
  43. At 8:48 p.m. on March 26, wind generation on the electric grid covering most of the state of Texas reached a new instantaneous peak output of 10,296 megawatts (MW). At that moment, wind supplied almost 29% of total electricity load, according to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the grid’s operator. The average wind production in that hour was 10,120 MW. The new wind record surpassed two highs reached in the previous week, while the record prior to March was 9,674 MW set in May 2013.

    March’s wind power record will likely be surpassed in the near future as wind capacity continues to be added in the state. Texas currently has more than 12,000 MW of operational utility-scale wind capacity (see graph below)—about one-fifth of the total wind capacity in the United States. According to preliminary data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Electric Power Monthly, Texas added . . . . . .

    Texas - Windiest Place for the Windiest Assholes on Earth

    ReplyDelete
  44. Bring Back Rat Free BloggingFri Jun 27, 12:28:00 PM EDT

    #Bring Back
    RatFree Blogging

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

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. William ShakespeareFri Jun 27, 01:23:00 PM EDT


      “O, beware, my lord, of jealousy;
      It is the green-ey'd monster, which doth mock
      The meat it feeds on.”

      Delete
    2. William ShakepeareFri Jun 27, 01:46:00 PM EDT

      “O, beware, my desert rat, of jealousy;
      It is the green-ey'd monster, which doth mock
      The meat it feeds on.”

      Delete
    3. desert rat is a figment of Bilys imaginationFri Jun 27, 02:46:00 PM EDT

      .

      Delete
  46. Alexandra Pelosi: Media, Obama admin enabling ‘human trafficking’ at the border
    POSTED AT 1:21 PM ON JUNE 27, 2014 BY NOAH ROTHMAN

    Share on Facebook 4 38 SHARES
    The documentary filmmaker and daughter of the House minority leader, Alexandra Pelosi, is promoting a new and heartbreaking documentary about the crisis at the southern border. Pelosi spent weeks speaking with undocumented migrants who have been led to believe that the United States is not only caring for women and children who cross the border but welcoming them to do so.

    “[A]ll the young vulnerable, migrant women who just got to America that I spoke with saw the Border Patrol as the heroes who came to assist them on their journey,” Pelosi recently wrote in an op-ed published on MSNBC.com. “They all said that when they saw Border Patrol, they finally felt safe and happy to have survived their harrowing odyssey to get to the Promised Land.”

    Once the border-crossers have been processed by the Department of Homeland Security, they are released – so throughout the day, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement delivers them to the Greyhound bus station where they are dropped off and forced to fend for themselves.
    Pelosi paints a picture of waves of hopelessly naïve and needy immigrants who are convinced, ignoring all evidence to the contrary, that the United States will not deport them if they simply explain how dire their circumstances are in their home countries.

    The problem at the border has grown so bad that the president was asked by ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Friday to clearly, unequivocally ask Central American would-be migrants to stay home.

    “Our message absolutely is don’t send your children unaccompanied on trains or through a bunch of smugglers,” the president said. “That is our direct message to families in Central America. Do not send your children to the borders. If they do make it, they’ll get sent back. More importantly, they may not make it.”

    But Pelosi noted that the problem America faces on its borders is not one that can be solved by rhetoric. In fact, she said, the issue has been exacerbated by American politicians and the media – including the president.

    She added that the press and the political class, by not clearly asserting that bad actors on the other side of the border are funneling migrants into the United States, American institutions are complicit in a humanitarian crisis.

    “I worry, in all of this, that we could be facilitating human trafficking,” Pelosi said. She added that cartel members are now recruiting women in order to confuse American officials who provide women and children with special treatment.



    Pelosi concluded by claiming that security at the border was a “hoax,” considering that a border fence can be thwarted by tools as simple as ladders and migrants are now welcoming their capture by border police. But the crisis at the Mexican border no longer explicitly a humanitarian one. Disturbing reports indicate that the situation on the border has a military dimension as well.

    “Border Patrol agents in Arizona were reportedly fired upon by a Mexican military helicopter that traveled across the border,” a local CBS affiliate reported.

    KVOA-TV reports that Mexican authorities were conducting a drug interdiction operation when the incident happened early Thursday morning on the Tohono O’odham Indian Nation. The Mexican chopper fired at the agents and then flew back into Mexico.
    It’s perhaps fitting that, 100 years after the start of World War I, U.S./Mexico relations are at their worst point since the Zimmerman Telegram.

    History has demonstrated clearly that borders can be hardened against military threats if the will to do so exists. While it may require some creative thinking, it is within the realm of the imagination that the border can be secured against a busload or two of Honduran women and children as well.

    ReplyDelete
  47. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), now in the second week of its lightning offensive that put large portions of Iraq under its control, continues to tighten its noose on the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.

    A Kurdish official on Tuesday stated that two towns on a crucial supply route linking Baghdad with the Shi'ite majority south of the country have been captured by Sunni rebels including ISIS, reports the news site Breitbart, referencing unconfirmed reports.

    The official, Jabbar Yawar, said that by capturing the towns of Iskandariyah and Mahmudiyah, ISIS is as close as six miles from Baghdad. By capturing the supply route, it was predicted that the ability of Shi'ite reinforcements to the capital could be cut off and leave Baghdad isolated.

    Meanwhile Iraqi security sources on Friday told Al Arabiya that ISIS had captured the town of Al-Mansuriya near Baghdad in the Diyala province, to the immediate east of the capital.

    The town is only an hour's distance from Baghdad.

    Reports by the Stratford Global Intelligence agency state that ISIS is currently staging an attack on Balad Air Base (formerly Camp Anaconda) located 35 miles north of Baghdad, and has already overrun part of the facility.

    The report cites anonymous Iraqi defense officials saying that seven divisions, a full half of the Iraqi army ahead of the June 10 ISIS conquest of Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, have been defeated or deserted.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Teresita RedingerFri Jun 27, 02:41:00 PM EDT
      The report cites anonymous Iraqi defense officials saying that seven divisions, a full half of the Iraqi army ahead of the June 10 ISIS conquest of Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, have been defeated or deserted.


      According to some here that is an Iraqi counterattack.

      Delete
  48. http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/07/out-and-about-in-israel/372272/

    Within hours of landing in Tel Aviv this past January, some new friends and I were wandering in a jet-lagged daze through a street market when we ran into an alumnus of the Taglit-Birthright program that had brought us, roughly 40 queer Jews, to Israel for a free 10-day vacation. “So,” he asked, “how are you guys enjoying faglit?”

    Faglit! That was the word we’d been looking for. A blend of reclaimed hate speech and the Hebrew word for “discovery,” it was much catchier than gayright and rainbow trip, the terms we’d been throwing around—and also more deliciously transgressive....



    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Faglit sounds like a genre of queer literature to me.

      I suppose one can get an advanced degree in it these days.

      Delete
    2. Israel prefers homosexual tourismFri Jun 27, 03:15:00 PM EDT

      Tel Aviv emerges as top gay tourist destination

      Tel Aviv devotes about $100,000 — more than a third of its international marketing budget — to drawing gay tourists. Though no exact figures exist, officials estimate that tens of thousands of gay tourists from abroad arrive annually.

      "We are trying to create a model for openness, pluralism, tolerance,"
      Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai told The Associated Press. "Live and let live — this is the city of Tel Aviv."

      The city's first openly gay-owned hotel was opened recently and numerous city-backed travel sites direct gay visitors to the hottest clubs, bars and resorts in town.

      "We've long recognized the economic potential of the gay community.
      The gay tourist is a quality tourist, who spends money and sets trends,
      "
      said Pini Shani, a Tourism Ministry official who has been involved in the campaign.

      "There's also no doubt that a tourist who's had a positive experience here is of PR value.
      If he leaves satisfied, he becomes an Israeli ambassador of good will."



      Delete
  49. Jack HawkinsFri Jun 27, 12:16:00 PM EDT
    Not old at all, Bob.
    You told US the truth less than a week ago.
    It is fresh in all of our minds, it will stay there, Front and Center.


    "all our minds"...Hmm...There is considerable doubt that a mouse has a mind, including the one in your pocket - the "all".

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A little mouse of thought appears in the room,
      and even the mightiest potentates are thrown into panic.

      They make frantic efforts to bar our thoughts and words;
      they are afraid of the workings of the human mind.


      Delete
  50. .

    Ah, my fellow "boomers," you're not going to like this:

    20 to 24 year olds are, now, the Top Age Cohort.


    Evidently true. Miss Delaware, a cute 24 year old, had the crown she won two weeks ago taken back from her because later this year when the Miss America contest is run she will have turned 25.

    Donald Trump likes them young. Either that or he is looking at the demographic noted above.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  51. Teresita RedingerFri Jun 27, 09:13:00 AM EDT
    I wasn't bragging, I posted a news snippet here, because this is the all Israel all the time blog.

    …not really…You did bring up the subject of the double-predestinationists and Israel…If you want the Israel volume reduced, you could stop posting on Israeli topics. Actually, you don’t; you are working as hard as possible to get a hit. Keep trying, Casey.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Israel is an apartheid stateFri Jun 27, 04:08:00 PM EDT


      “All our silences in the face of racist assault are acts of complicity.”
      ― Bell Hooks

      We will not stand idle, while Israeli apartheid corrupts US.

      Delete
  52. Imagine you decide to replace the engine of a car. You have two goals: To make the car go faster, you put in a more powerful engine, say eight cylinders rather than six. But you also want to make it more fuel efficient, so you add some sophisticated new technologies to cut back on its gas guzzling.

    But this is untested technology, so you don’t have any idea which of these changes will prove to have a greater impact. Will the car consume more fuel because it is has become more powerful? Or will the fuel efficiency improvements be effective enough that it uses less fuel despite the bigger engine. You won’t find out until you take the car for a drive.

    And that, in a nutshell, is why we have no idea how quickly the American economy is growing this year.

    The United States has overhauled its health care system, which accounts for one-sixth of the engine of the economy. But President Obama’s health reform legislation has two sets of goals. It aims to expand health coverage to millions of Americans without insurance. And it aims to make the American health care system more efficient, to force doctors and hospitals to deliver care in a more cost-effective way.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As it turns out, the question of which of those efforts is more successful will have an outsize impact on the overall growth rate of the economy. That was one of the big lessons from new revisions to gross domestic product data earlier this week, which showed a surprise drop in health care spending; earlier releases of the first-quarter data showed a large gain. That swing was a major reason the economy shrank at a 2.9 percent annual rate in the first three months of the year, its worst performance in five years.

      But what it really shows is how the implementation of health reform is going to cloud our understanding of the economy for some time to come.

      In normal times, health spending is the boring part of the G.D.P. report. It almost always grows: The first-quarter contraction was only the fourth quarterly decline in the last 80 quarters (that’s going back to 1994). Health spending reduced overall G.D.P. growth by only 0.16 of a percentage point. That isn’t that much in the scheme of things, but it was the most the health sector had subtracted from overall growth since . . . . .

      42

      Delete
    2. .

      And that, in a nutshell, is why we have no idea how quickly the American economy is growing this year.

      The United States has overhauled its health care system, which accounts for one-sixth of the engine of the economy. But President Obama’s health reform legislation has two sets of goals. It aims to expand health coverage to millions of Americans without insurance. And it aims to make the American health care system more efficient, to force doctors and hospitals to deliver care in a more cost-effective way.


      This raises the same questions I had the other day when this subject was brought up.

      1. And that, in a nutshell, is why we have no idea how quickly the American economy is growing this year.

      But of course we know how fast it is growing. At issue is a matter of determining the reasons for its movement. The author seems to suggest, as was suggested the other day, that healthcare spending will be the key determinate. He has provided no data to prove that.

      2. But President Obama’s health reform legislation has two sets of goals. It aims to expand health coverage to millions of Americans without insurance. And it aims to make the American health care system more efficient, to force doctors and hospitals to deliver care in a more cost-effective way.

      The author posits two goals for Obamacare. However, he forgets that the reform was sold on the premise that U.S. healthcare wouldn't suffer due to the reforms but would actually get better with the wider coverage. One example was mentioned. Costs will likely be reduced by the mandate that says hospitals will be punished for re-admissions at least for the costs paid to the hospitals. However, since these mandates are relatively new we have little data on how they affect outcomes. Likewise, how can we make judgments on the costs of the program when due to postponement of major parts of the program we will not be seeing the real costs of the program until next year?

      The White House has no idea how this program will affect GDP. They merely offer us guesses. In April, Jay Carney suggested in a press conference that the expanded coverage would actually increase GDP.

      IMO, it will be at least next year before we have the preliminary data to make some judgments on Obamacare. Hopefully, the commentary we get at that time will be based on the actual data rather than post hoc ergo propter hoc assumptions.

      .

      Delete
    3. Hence, the "42" tag line. I thought you would appreciate that.

      Delete
  53. The rat drops a turd
    The moon rises
    The caravan passes
    The Bar deteriorates

    ReplyDelete
  54. http://www.gingerb.com/vietnam_selective_service_brochure.htm

    ReplyDelete
  55. What's this, the Cowards Handbook for Dodging the Draft?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      I don't know.

      When I went there I received an error message and was sent to the gingerb.com site where I could check out a list of subjects such as 'crab cakes' and a 'swingers' site. I didn't check to see if the two sites were related so I don't know if the 'crab' site offered recipes or a cure.

      .

      Delete
  56. You can't dodge the draft unless you've been drafted.

    There were 27 million or something men in the selective service system during the Vietnam years, only 2 or 3 million I think it said got drafted.

    To be drafted you have to receive an induction notice, is that not correct?

    Well I didn't ever receive one, not when I was S-2, when I was not anything, and not after the Draft Lottery took place.

    If everyone that received a temporary deferment, or got a high draft number, are draft dodgers, then most of the nation are draft dodgers.

    I also learned that in the beginning there was something know as Kennedy husbands. Kennedy had it that if you were married, or even better, you were married with kids, you were at the bottom of the list.

    Guns and Butter LBJ did away with this.

    There was also an agricultural exemption except in emergencies, until the Draft Lottery.

    I think the whole discussion is boring, and comes right out of rat's asshole.

    Quirk had the 'crab' deferment.

    rat volunteered for a killing spree in Central America. And enjoyed it, too.

    Though he was never in combat, he said, never killed anyone "himself", just gave the orders. Bravery at its finest.





    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rufus on the other hand did show bravery, even though he now says he had no business over there.

      He deserves all the credit for the bravery and the courage,etc.

      Perhaps he wants to give himself one demerit point for a lack of good sense.

      Delete
    2. Bob continues to dissemble and lieFri Jun 27, 06:50:00 PM EDT

      BobSun Jun 22, 01:42:00 PM EDT
      ...
      I have a college degree in English Lit. from U of Washington.

      To avoid being drafted in part.
      ...


      Bob was a Draft Dodger, a coward.
      A man you put himself before country, before honor, before duty.
      A self serving coward and racist.

      -the bum who boasts that his great-grandfather was an empire-builder,

      -This is a sample of racism.
      ― Ayn Rand


      Delete
    3. Yup that is what I said.

      I didn't want to be drafted.

      But I didn't dodge the draft.

      I stood for the draft lottery like everyone else.

      Everything I did was legal and was done by millions of others.

      You however signed up voluntarily for a C. American killing spree.

      And should be in prison, just like WiO says.

      Delete
    4. Bob continues to dissemble, spread bullshitFri Jun 27, 07:58:00 PM EDT

      BobSun Jun 22, 01:42:00 PM EDT
      ...
      I have a college degree in English Lit. from U of Washington.

      To avoid being drafted in part.

      ...
      Bob, you can attempt to libel all that you wish to. You can not reference any admission of any illegal activity by anyone.
      Neither can the Israeli Butt Boy. You two have created a Goebbels lie, that you continue to repeat, but it has no basis in reality.

      You have been called out. You have NEVER been able to document your claims. Never, not once.
      Not to any supposed crime, nor to any 'threat' made.
      Document them, if you can, but we know that you cannot, because it is a lie that you two continue to tell yourselves.

      But that you are a draft dodger, that is documented, in your own words.

      Delete
  57. This is about the 18th time we have been over this subject.

    God, it gets boring.

    But as long as rat calls me a coward, I'll call him a coward and a killer.

    I may end up getting threatened with death again, who knows.

    That would be the third, or fourth?, time. I forget. Lost count.

    Until Deuce finally puts an end to the idiocy.

    As long as rat is around this place will hit rock bottom

    He should go volunteer to help underage prostitutes in the Phoenix area. And not worry so much about Israel.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rat is still a figment of your imaginationFri Jun 27, 07:09:00 PM EDT

      We will be going over at least 100 times, Bob.
      1,000 times, it will never end.
      As long as you are here, your admitted cowardice will be discussed, trumpeted in fact.

      There is a date, a time and a uote.
      You have libeled and slandered others without such documentation.

      Turn about is more than "Fair Play"

      Delete
    2. Rat is still a figment of your imaginationFri Jun 27, 07:09:00 PM EDT
      "discussed"? I think not.

      Delete
    3. Rat is a figment of your imaginationFri Jun 27, 09:23:00 PM EDT

      I am sure of it, because Bob will not ignore it.
      He will wail and moan and everything else, but admit his mistakes.

      He is masochistic enough, he will stay and attempt a defense rather than admit an error.
      If he does not come back, you will be correct, there will be no further discussion. Just good news.

      Delete
  58. Well this is going nowhere, so I'm taking a nap.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We'll still be here when you come back, if you cme back.

      Delete
    2. Bob's Awakening?Fri Jun 27, 07:10:00 PM EDT
      "We'll" is plural. I think not.

      Delete
  59. UK Wind Speeds Propel Industry Further


    June 27th, 2014 by Joshua S Hill

    New figures published by the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) show that 19.4% of the UK’s electricity mix for the first quarter of 2014 was generated from renewable sources — up from 12.4% for the same period a year ago.

    Furthermore, the DECC note that . . . . . .

    19.4%

    ReplyDelete
  60. I'm with bob in thus one. If you want to VOLUNTEER to be a soldier on one of America's foreign adventures then go for it. If you think it is a stupid thing to do then do all that is necessary to not be forced to go!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Of course, every time the issue of whether the USA should use military force Bob says YES. What a fucking turd!!

      Delete
    2. Sounds like McCain, who gets confused about bombing Al Qaeda in this country, arming Al Qaeda in that country, but the war drums are like viagra.

      Delete
  61. .

    Don't try to use reason with the rat when he is on one of his childish hissy fits, Ash.

    In this case, rat merely proves his inability to distinguish between draft evasion and draft avoidance. I believe the terms evade and avoid also have specific legal meanings and that the distinction is usually spelled out in law.

    ,

    ReplyDelete
  62. .

    He is masochistic enough, he will stay and attempt a defense rather than admit an error.

    One has to wonder whether rat will apply the same standard to himself.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  63. THIS




    AshFri Jun 27, 09:57:00 PM EDT

    Of course, every time the issue of whether the USA should use military force Bob says YES. What a fucking turd!!

    is what the Veterans object to

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. All my Air Force fixit work is dying up, dern that Obama.

      Delete
  64. The argument is in itself silly on several counts. At the onset of the Viet Nam War, all male 18 year olds (citizen and non-citizen) had an eight year military obligation that was comprised of reserve and active duty. When you completed active duty, you were not discharged, you were separated and placed in the inactive reserves.

    The army was composed of career officers and NCOs and mostly draftees. Those that volunteered were mostly doing it for convenience of scheduling as they knew they would be drafted if they did not volunteer. The Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard were all staffed by “volunteers” that were dodging the army draft. In my mind at the time, and now, the only real volunteers were the Marines. It was guaranteed that they would see combat. They were just crazy. I wanted to be one of them, but at 17 my father would not sign the papers. I made his life miserable until he relented and signed papers for the Air Force. I was 17, graduated from high school and was working for a few weeks iin a steel mill and wanted to see the world.

    In my experience, very few went into the military for patriotice reasons. They went in to get away from something, find something, learn a career, adventure, a court order or were drafted.

    ReplyDelete
  65. "In my experience, very few went into the military for patriotice reasons. They went in to get away from something, find something, learn a career, adventure, a court order or were drafted. "

    And, then, for some, it was basically, all of the above. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maybe because we was po' folks and there was no chance of paying tuition and I needed an edumacation and job experience and to make my dad smile and the patent leathers were cute.

      Delete
  66. LoL...got a good laugh out of that..

    ReplyDelete
  67. NUTBREAD RECIPE:

    You'll need the following: a cup of water, a cup of sugar, four large brown eggs, two as23cups of dried fruit, a teaspoon of salt, a cup of brown sugar, lemon juice, nuts, and a bag of henbane.

    Sample the henbane to check for quality.

    Take a large bowl. Check the henbane again. Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl. Add one teaspoon of sugar and beat again.
    Make sure the henbane is still okay.

    Cry another tup. Beat two leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit. If the fired druit gets stuck in the beaterers, pry them loose with a drewscriver.

    Sample the henbane to check for tonsisticity. Next, sift two cups of salt. Or something. Who cares?

    Check the henbane. Now sift the lemon juice and strain your nuts. Add one table. Spoon. Of sugar or something. Whatever you can find.

    Grease the oven. Turn the cake tin to 350 degrees. Don't forget to throw the bowl out of the window. Check the henbane again and go to bed.

    ReplyDelete
  68. I am just enjoying the Pink Floyd Channel on Sirrius.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. One time I let streamripper run for a week on a Pink Floyd channel, and when I was done I had every Pink Floyd song, ever.

      Delete
    2. It is amazing music. I never tire of it. :) Keep Talking

      Delete
    3. Keep Talking is good, but the best track on that LP is High Hopes, the last song on the last Floyd album. A swan song, if you will.

      Delete
    4. Oh yea, I thought that was called the Divison Bell...

      Delete
  69. Replies
    1. I don't think Allan and Porky would like Roger Water's take on the troubles in Palestine.

      Delete
  70. I'm studying geology.

    Some Tommy Lee Jones movie about a volcanic eruption in L.A. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That pales in comparison to the coming Bimbo eruptions viz a viz the First Dude during the HRC Administration.

      Delete
    2. :)

      that's two.

      you're rolling.

      Delete
  71. You guys have the best idea. This might be the only completely boring movie Tommie Lee Jones ever made.

    Also, maybe the stupidest. :)

    ReplyDelete