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."

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Israeli air strikes struck a fuel tank off Gaza’s only electricity plant early Tuesday, forcing it to shut down, according to Palestinian officials. The attack threatens to cut off power to the more than 1.8 million residents of Gaza, who were only getting electricity a few hours a day.

Gaza’s power plant was forced to shut down after two tank shells hit one of three fuel tanks, said Jamal Dardasawi, a spokesman for Gaza’s electricity distribution company. The shelling sparked a large fire and a huge column of smoke was seen rising from the site. Dardasawi said 15 workers were trapped inside by the fire and that the damage would take months to repair. There was no immediate word on casualties.
Even before the shutdown, Gaza residents only had electricity for about three hours a day because fighting had damaged power lines.
Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, an Israeli military spokesman, did not comment on the explosion at the plant, but told The Associated Press that Israel’s latest strikes signal “a gradual increase in the pressure” on Hamas.
“Israel is ”determined to strike this organization and relieve us of this threat,“ Lerner said.




At least 40 were killed in a series of Israeli strikes from land, air, and sea since midnight.



Journalist Izzat Duheir, 23, Turkiya Duheir, 80, Yasmin Duheir, 25, Mary Duheir, 12 , and Tasnim Duheir, 8, were killed in Israeli airstrikes targeting the Duheir family house in Rafah.



Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned of a "prolonged" military campaign in Gaza

141 comments:

  1. Supporters of Israel have God on their side.

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

      Delete
    2. .

      Deuce, if you have any friends in Gaza? I'd tell them to go to the rafah border at once...

      Maybe the Gazans should flee into the Sinai...


      Why? So they can be picked off one at a time trying to cross no-man's land?

      Gaza is the size of Las Vegas. Perhaps, Obumble can call up his friend there and have her explain just how big that it. It is completely walled in, no exit by land, air, or sea, basically a prison.

      While watching CNN lat night one of the reporters in Gaza City said that Gaza citizens had been warned to leave the northern 40% of the country and head to Gaza City to 'avoid the Israeli attacks'. While he was reporting, Israeli bombs were going off in Gaza City. He also reported the attacks were going on in the north as warned as well as in the south. In the last few weeks many of the families have picked up and run a number of times as they are repeatedly told to move.

      I'm sure there are plenty who would like to escape Gaza. Hell, there were many before the war started. My question to WiO, why won't Israel let them out.

      Fish in a barrel.

      Or lifeboats strafed on a disabled ship.

      Terror? As good a definition as any.

      .

      Delete
    3. .

      Yep the Hamas whacked their own at the hospital...

      Anyone who would believe this would believe

      - Israel wasn't involved in the Lavon Affair. After all Israel denied it until someone confessed.

      - Pollard was not a spy. Israel denied it for years.

      - That the Israeli government was actually interested a peace agreement with the Palestinians. Bibi said he was until he was caught on tape bragging about how he had managed to scuttle the agreement.

      - Or that Hamas leadership was behind the kidnapping and murder of those three Jewish youth. To date, Israel has provided zip in the way of proof to support the claim though they have arrested hundreds.

      The propaganda from Hamas is starting to get to them so they have now decided to step up their own in order to counteract it. I saw Alan Durshowitz in an interview last night and his meme was consistent, the Hamas tunnels have one purpose and that is to kill Jewish children. Within a short interview he appeared to use 'kill Jewish children' every few words or so.

      Yet, as has been reported, prior to Bibi's pogrom against Hamas leadership and the death of the Arab boy that was burned alive, Hamas attacks were reaching their nadir.

      https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Peace/osloterr.html

      Expect the propaganda war to continue. Just don't expect much truth from either side.

      .

      https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Peace/osloterr.html

      Delete
    4. Deuce ☂Tue Jul 29, 05:56:00 AM EDT
      Supporters of Israel have God on their side.


      And Hamas has who? The Ghost of Hitler? Satan? Lucifer?

      Delete
    5. Quirk: I'm sure there are plenty who would like to escape Gaza. Hell, there were many before the war started. My question to WiO, why won't Israel let them out.
      Fish in a barrel.
      Or lifeboats strafed on a disabled ship.
      Terror? As good a definition as any.



      Sure, I guess you are disabled and cannot look at a map...

      Gaza SHARES a border and town (Rafah) with Egypt. The Sinai is HUGE. Why should the refugees from Gaza NOT set up refugee camps there.

      And before you bitch like a whinny 12 year old girl who lost her lipstick, the border has NEVER stopped Gazans from breaking out of Gaza.

      One time Hamas actually coordinated a cutting down of the fence, all at one time, of several miles, This was because the people of Gaza wanted to go to Egypt.

      Your view of history is getting more and more cartoonish by the hour.

      Delete
    6. QuirkTue Jul 29, 08:18:00 AM EDT
      (I said) Yep the Hamas whacked their own at the hospital...

      Anyone who would believe this would believe....


      13% of all Hamas rockets LAND inside of the gaza strip.

      To you? Nothing Hamas does is wrong and everything that bad happens is Israel's fault..

      It makes sense that Hamas's rocket struck it's own, it's happened before and it will happen again.

      AND you will blame Israel.

      I can deal with that.

      Those that seek to exonerate Hamas will do everything to avoid responsibility for it's actions.

      Poor poor palestinians.

      Tell me, if you were alive during ww2, would you be protesting American and British forces bombing German cities because of the German kids having no where to run to?

      Delete
    7. .

      Right,

      And you divert from the main question just as you did yesterday when we were talking about who put the kabash to the '95 interim agreement.

      The people in Gaza have nowhere to run, nowhere to hid.

      .

      Delete
    8. QuirkTue Jul 29, 08:41:00 AM EDT
      Right,
      And you divert from the main question just as you did yesterday when we were talking about who put the kabash to the '95 interim agreement.
      The people in Gaza have nowhere to run, nowhere to hid.

      The PEOPLE of Gaza ELECTED Hamas and supported and helped build the terror machine they are NOW using..

      I suggest they go to the Sinai. They are NOT welcome in Israel.

      The PEOPLE of Gaza have made their bed...

      I hope they enjoy it...

      Delete
  2. Quirk,

    I see you have joined the mel gibson school of logic and conspiracy.


    I said Maybe the Gazans should flee into the Sinai...

    Why? So they can be picked off one at a time trying to cross no-man's land?

    By who?

    their BROTHER arabs?

    After all a genocidal army like Israel doesn't "pick off" one or two at a time, they go for hundreds or tens of thousands...


    ReplyDelete
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    1. .

      I said Maybe the Gazans should flee into the Sinai...

      Maybe?

      :-)

      .

      Delete
    2. Ok, not maybe...

      Go tot he beach, LISTEN to where the IDF tells you to go and don't listen to the Hamas.

      Delete
    3. .

      See

      QuirkTue Jul 29, 07:54:00 AM EDT

      and the CNN reporter's description of what is happening in that regard.

      .

      Delete
    4. Good ole "ethnic cleanser" WiO urging the Palestinians exit to Egypt. True to form! I'm sure the Israelis will let refugees return home once hostilities cease - not!

      Delete
    5. Ash,

      Thanks for taking the words out of context.

      For getting out of the way of bombs I said flee.

      But now that you bring it up?

      When the Jews were driven out of the 899/900th of the arab controlled middle east was that ethnic cleansing?

      When the Jews were driven out of Spain and England in the 1400's was that ethnic cleansing?

      When Mohammed drove the jews out of Medina in 640 CE was that ethnic cleansing?

      Since Israel has a population that is 20% Arab and we are talking about one specific area no bigger than an average sized texas ranch, why is telling the civilians in gaza, in harms way, to get to safety "ethnic cleansing"?

      Delete
    6. Because, like in 1948, they are told to flee and then never allowed to return. That is ethnic cleansing.

      Delete
    7. Israel, to this day, has not allowed them to return. They were civilians caught in the battle zone fleeing the war. It is pretty cynical of you to expect them to believe you 'this time' that if they should flee to Egypt, as you urge, that you'd ever let them return to their homes in Gaza. One gets the impression you are looking for cheap beach front property.

      Delete
  3. Israeli air strikes struck a fuel tank off Gaza’s only electricity plant early Tuesday, forcing it to shut down


    Hamas air strikes shut down for 2 days Israel's international airport, stranding thousands across the world, terrorizing a major city and threatened to hit civilian airliners from dozens of countries FIRST

    Not to worry, Hamas LEADERSHIP has plenty of generators and fuel under the schools, hospitals and mosques where it has it's ammo dumps and command centers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Now Israel COULD have just destroyed the plant....

      Fuel tanks can be repaired/replaced IF hamas is disarmed and the tunnels destroyed.

      Hamas started the war. Israel is going to finish it..

      I suggest the Palestinians start walking to the Sinai for MRI's and shelter...

      JUST like the arabs, kurds and others had to do in Syria, Iraq and Kurdistan.

      Delete
    2. Nine out of 10 Israel’s war dead Monday died on Israeli soil

      A Hamas terror tunnel

      That nine of the 10 Israeli servicemen killed in the counter-terror operation against Hamas Monday, July 28, died on Israeli soil was a wake-up call for Israel’s war leaders. It meant that Hamas had used the 22 days of combat to carry the contest from its own home ground into Israel



      Yep, hamas is fighting a war with Israel, inside Israel. Israel is fighting a war with Hamas, inside Gaza...

      War sucks.

      But Hamas is still shooting rockets aimed at civilians on purpose. Using it's kids to shield ammo dumps and fighting positions...

      Delete
  4. .

    I don't always agree with Stratfor in their analysis but the following article is pretty much right on, IMO. It describes the current Israel/Palestinian situation realistically and then goes on to project what we might expect to see in the future.

    The author's concluding remark is:

    Looking at the relative risks, making a high-risk deal with the Palestinians would seem prudent in the long run. But nations do not make decisions on such abstract calculations. Israel will bet on its ability to stay strong. From a political standpoint, it has no choice. The Palestinians will bet on the long game. They have no choice. And in the meantime, blood will periodically flow.

    Sounds about right.

    http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2014/07/29/israel_is_losing_the_long_game.html

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There are 2 choices for the Palestinians.

      1. Go forward with violence.
      2. Go forward with peace.

      Neither way will give it even close to what it wants.

      1st way? Will be a continued cycle of destruction and pain.
      2nd way? COULD have happened a dozen times in the past 66 years. Each time the prize for peace shrinks. But it still is available tomorrow if the palestinians give up on trying to genocide the Jews.

      The only way a settlement between the arabs and the jews is possible is that the arabs give up on erasing Israel from the map.

      It is said "If tomorrow Israel laid down it's arms? It would be wiped out. IF the arabs laid down their arms? There would be peace."

      That was true 66 years ago as it is true today.

      900,000 tons of concrete could have build tens of thousands of homes, schools, roads, water treatment plants, malls and a port. The billions spent on tunnels and rockets could have alleviated the suffering of the average schmo living in the strip but that is NOT what Hamas is about.

      Hamas is about one thing. Liberating all of PALESTINE and the genocide of the Jews

      Delete
  5. The Palestinians were right about us the whole time; we were wrong about ourselves.

    No wonder they went out into the streets and cheered on 9-11. I would have, too.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. what is "occupation" loser. you say so yourself. we all agree

      Delete
    2. AnonymousTue Jul 29, 10:07:00 AM EDT
      what is "occupation" loser. you say so yourself. we all agree

      Ok Mr Coward..

      What a ball-less wonder

      Delete
  6. .

    I see you have joined the mel gibson school of logic and conspiracy.

    Don't be stupider.

    You don't see me posting articles about electricity or water plants being taken down. You didn't see me posting any articles on the hospital being hit. You don't even see me posting articles about the women and children being killed. I don't try to make excuses for the Hamas when they use human shields or put weapons in schools.

    Hamas is a terrorist organization and therefore cretins the same as Irgun was before them.

    However, what I do complain about is stupid ass remarks coming from you and the rest of the Lobby about the root cause of the current conflict and who has precipitated it. Or, that every school and hospital that is destroyed is because of a Hamas rocket that went astray. Or your stupid ass remark that the Gazans should just leave. Only a moron would believe that they could.

    .

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Or, that every school and hospital that is destroyed is because of a Hamas rocket that went astray. Or your stupid ass remark that the Gazans should just leave. Only a moron would believe that they could.


      Where have I said that EVERY school or hospital is because of a Hamas rocket?

      I havent.

      And my stupid ass remark about Gazans getting out of dodge?

      It aint stupid, it's done all the time. And if 500,000 gazans stormed the border into the Sinai? they'd get there.

      JUST as the Syrians BY THE MILLIONS went to Jordan and Turkey and in Iraq MILLIONS fled our of their areas...

      Pull your head out. The IDF DOES direct the population of which block is being targeted. Don't want to leave? Then it's a Darwin award for you...

      Delete
    2. .

      And if 500,000 gazans stormed the border into the Sinai? they'd get there.

      This statement is an example of your convoluted thinking. Why should 500,000 Gazans have to 'storm the border'? Why doesn't Israel allow them to come and go especially in situations like this. What about the other million left behind?

      As I said, fish in a barrel. One has to assume that the psychological effects on the Gazan population is part of Israel's strategy.

      .

      Delete

    3. Israel - Founded by Terrorists and Sustained by Terrorism

      period

      Delete
    4. Then by that standard?

      America is as well.

      Delete
  7. Quirk is literally beyond criticism.

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    1. Don't thank me. Thank Deuce, your protector.

      Delete
    2. .

      Lordy, you have lost it Obumble.

      :-)

      or on second thought maybe it should be

      :-(

      .

      Delete
    3. Every time I start to criticize Your Highness I get vanished.

      Deuce must have recognized you are not capable of defending yourself.

      :(

      You, and Deuce, and rat, and Ash, and Rufus should all head to Gaza and take up The Cause.

      Quit blabbing and ACT.

      Delete
    4. .

      Dear Deuce,

      Thank you for protecting me. It was only recently brought to my attention by the resident empath that you were in fact protecting me and I was metagrabolized by the revelation. Pardon my insensitivity for not noticing it and my ingratitude for delaying this moment for so long. Mea culpa.

      Your pal,

      Quirk

      .




      .

      .

      Delete
    5. .

      ...should all head to Gaza...

      Did you phone that in from Tel Aviv?

      You are a hypocrite as well as a moron.

      .

      Delete
    6. I'd reply, but it would be taken down.

      You are protected.

      Delete
    7. No Quirk, it's a fine suggestion.

      You should go to Israel and then to Gaza. See with your own eyes the societies...

      Delete
    8. That was a nice suck up note, Quirk.

      I'm certain it will be appreciated.

      ;)

      Delete
    9. .

      I'd reply, but it would be taken down.

      You are protected.


      Perhaps, in some future life, you will grow a brain and you too may become a capo.

      .

      Delete
    10. .

      You should go to Israel and then to Gaza.

      I'll ask the same question I asked Obumble, was this post sent from Tel Aviv, Ohio?

      As for Gaza, I hear its difficult to get in there and near impossible to get out. It's kind of the Hotel California of the ME.


      "Relax, " said the night man,
      "We are programmed to receive.
      You can check-out any time you like,
      But you can never leave! "

      .

      Delete
    11. Nope from Ohio, as all of my posts for the past 11 years except when traveling overseas.

      But you CAN get to Israel.

      and YOU can get into Gaza if you wish...

      Now will the Hamas let you go? Or just behead you as a spy? That's your call..

      But you can go to Israel, visit and leave when you want...

      Israel would welcome even you.

      Delete
    12. Perhaps, in some future life, you will grow a brain and you too may become a capo.



      Words have meanings.

      CAPO

      A caporegime or capodecina, usually shortened to just a capo, is a term used in the Mafia for a high-ranking made member of a crime family who heads a "crew" of soldiers and has major social status and influence in the organization. Caporegime is an Italian word, which is used to signify the head of a family in Sicily, but has now come to mean a ranking member, similar to captain or senior sergeant in a military unit. In general, the term indicates the head of a branch of an organized crime syndicate who commands a crew of soldiers and reports directly to a boss or an underboss.

      Is that what you were intending?

      Delete
    13. .

      Words do have meaning and there are differences between literal, sarcastic, ironic, and satiric.

      Given the context, an educated man should be able to tell the difference.

      .

      Delete
  8. Speaking of Las Vegas, if the Gazans had made it their project to turn the place into a gambling mecca years ago they could be stripping Israelis tourists of their money by now.

    If their Charter had consisted of fair gambling rules instead of a call to perpetual war and genocide they'd be a hell of a lot better off.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I've been paying particular attention to the automobiles I see on the footage from Fox. If they are any indication, the Gazans are doing well in that regard. All shiny and new, most of them.

    Though I suppose it's only the certified members of the Hamas that have them.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. .

      Any autos there would have to be shiny and new.

      All the old ones were blown up the last time Israel attacked.

      .

      Delete
    2. Any autos there would have to be shiny and new.
      All the old ones were blown up the last time Israel attacked.

      That's the nonsense you spout...

      Delete
    3. Gaza has 1.8 million people.

      Just how many cars do you think they have?

      The government in the Gaza Strip has decided that there are too many cars being imported into the Palestinian territory, and on Wednesday announced it had reduced the number of vehicles due to oversupply.



      In February, “we imported 63 cars from Egypt and 242 from Israel, and that’s a small number,” Basel Deeb, head of imports at the Gazan transportation ministry, told the Palestinian news agency Ma’an. In previous months the number of vehicles transferred into the Strip was larger, he said.


      People in Gaza were not ordering cars in an indication that there was no lack of private vehicles, Deeb said.



      Read more: 'Too many' cars in Gaza | The Times of Israel http://www.timesofisrael.com/too-many-cars-in-gaza/#ixzz38rsDzZYV


      Such a prison... New Cars and all...

      Delete
    4. .

      From above,

      Words do have meaning and there are differences between literal, sarcastic, ironic, and satiric.

      Given the context, an educated man should be able to tell the difference.


      .

      Delete
  10. Medicare gets new lease on life thanks to ACA, hospital expenses.

    "Medicare’s financial stability has been strengthened by the Affordable Care Act and other forces that have been subduing health-care spending, according to a new official forecast that says the fund covering the program’s hospital costs will remain solvent until 2030 — four years later than expected a year ago....The trustees welcomed the improved financial prospects for . . . . . . . . .

    Wonkbook - Washington Post

    ReplyDelete
  11. If you can read this article, and look at these two maps, and still be against the ACA, I'll give up and never bother you again. (you believe that, right? :) )

    Medicaid expansion leads to booming reimbursements, plunging uninsured rate in Kentucky


    Larry Kissner, the commissioner of Kentucky’s Department of Medicaid Services, told a legislative committee in Frankfort last week that Kentucky’s decision to expand Medicaid not only dramatically increased the number of insured Kentuckians taking advantage of preventative screenings, but also the amount of Medicaid reimbursements received by health care providers, particularly hospitals.

    One piece of new information revealed was the number of people who signed up for Medicaid through Kynect by the April deadline who are part of the state’s new Medicaid expansion: 290,000, which makes up 88 percent of the 330,000 total, meaning only roughly 40,000 were previously eligible for Medicaid and signed up through the so-called “woodwork effect.” Even though these 40,000 signed up through Kynect, this has not produced a boom in the number of Kentuckians signed up through traditional Medicaid, whom the state has to pay for 30 percent of their costs, as opposed to zero for those under the expansion. As you can see in the numbers provided below, the amount of people signing up for traditional Medicaid actually went down compared to last year:

    Two of the most amazing maps you'll ever see -

    If this doesn't do it, I quit

    ReplyDelete
  12. KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai's powerful cousin, a close ally of presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani, was killed in a suicide bomb attack on Tuesday, officials said, deepening strains over an election marred by fraud and under a ...

    ReplyDelete
  13. The Conference Board's "Consumer Confidence" number took an unexpectedly large jump this month.

    90.9

    ReplyDelete
  14. E85 for $2.29 / gal. in New Hampton, Iowa

    5 Star Co-op

    ReplyDelete
  15. Re: All the old ones were blown up the last time Israel attacked.

    :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ROBERT SIEGEL reporting:

      Sometimes when you you're traveling in this divided and often chaotic place, real life is stranger than the movies.

      SOUNDBITE OF CITY TRAFFIC

      SIEGEL: Last week, as we were riding through the streets of Gaza, our interpreter, Hosam Arhoun(ph), pointed out something that is, so far as we know, unique to that isolated strip of Mediterranean coast. It's a kind of license plate.

      SOUNDBITE OF CITY TRAFFIC

      SIEGEL: I thought he was kidding. We would be behind a car, and he would say, `See that pair of Arabic letters on the tag? That indicates this is a stolen car. And that one,' he said, `that's an official stolen car.'

      Well, we dropped in on Raeed el-Sa'ati, who owns the Ekhlas Driving School in Gaza, to get more details. And he explained that Gaza license plates can be red for official, green for taxis, and white for private vehicles. The lower the number on the red plates, the higher the position of the official. The number 30 designates a truck.

      All this is pretty conventional stuff for license plates. But then...

      Mr. RAEED EL-SA'ATI (Ekhlas Driving School): (Through Translator) And then the cars which, written in Arabic, the letters M and F, it is the stolen cars.

      SIEGEL: The stolen cars?

      Mr. EL-SA'ATI: (Through Translator) And then there is these plates which, M-H-F--it is stolen cars, but working at the authority, means, aha, it is a stolen governmental car. There's also another kind, but this is the same plates; the numbers are different. The numbers which started with 25, it is a stolen car, but it is allowed to work as taxis. This is a very modern law in the world.

      SIEGEL: As you can hear, our man Hosam could hardly stop laughing as he translated this.

      It turns out this system is a legacy of the most efficient but embarrassing example of Israeli-Palestinian cooperation in the 1990s: auto theft. The Palestinian Authority took over Gaza, and the Israeli police were out, so Israeli car thieves fenced thousands of stolen cars into the Gaza Strip, about 15,000 of them, where they were then sold. Thousands are driven by Palestinian security and other officials. A lot of them are in that stolen taxicab category, vehicles that provide income while costing a lot less than a legal yellow minivan.

      When their cars were stolen, the Israeli car owners would get reimbursed by their insurance, and they would go buy new cars. So in effect, Israeli insurance companies were paying for Gaza's used car trade. When the insurance companies sued, the Palestinian Authority settled, and the settlement cost was offset in part by much higher registration fees for cars that had been stolen. So to designate those cars, they were given special license plates. According to the Transportation Department in Gaza, the news is that the Authority has decided in principle to end stolen car plates. Everyone will pay the same registration fees. But since this may put a lot of self-employed taxi drivers out of work, no one is saying how long it will take to abolish the license plate that says, `This car was stolen.'

      MICHELE NORRIS (Host): You can hear all of our stories from this week's special look at the Middle East at our Web site, npr.org. You'll also find photos, maps and background on the politics of the region.

      Delete
  16. HARRISBURG, PA—With both sides increasing their initial offers for the prized asset, multinational energy companies ExxonMobil and Chevron Corporation are currently locked in a fierce bidding war to obtain a lucrative Pennsylvania senator, sources confirmed Monday. “This legislator represents an incredibly valuable commodity in the energy world, and both ExxonMobil and Chevron appear to be willing to pay whatever is necessary to acquire him,” said oil and gas industry analyst John Blakey of the ongoing, back-and-forth bidding process for U.S. Sen. Patrick Toomey (R-PA), noting that both of the politician’s potential owners are enthusiastic about the prospect of utilizing the treasured beltway resource for multiple terms. “Granted, securing such a highly profitable elected official won’t be cheap—it never is. Both of these companies know that if they are fortunate enough to gain possession of this senator, the acquisition will pay dividends for years to come.” At press time, sources confirmed that ExxonMobil and Chevron had entered talks with Pacific Gas and Electric, British Petroleum, Royal Dutch Shell, and Duke Energy to share claims in the senator for the . . . . . . .

    Bidding War

    ReplyDelete
  17. http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/turkey-women-shall-not-laugh-public-says-erdogans-deputy-1458847
    Turkey: 'Women Shall Not Laugh in Public' says Erdogan's Deputy

    Yea, Turkey is definitely ready for EU admission.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. NATO and Article Five & Article Six - done deals.

      The US is ratcheting up the 'Cold War' with Russia and Turkey is integral to that.
      Always has been, always will be. It is a matter of geography.

      US national interests require Turkey to be standing with US, shoulder to shoulder.

      The Turks have got a "Full House"
      While the Zionists are holding two pair -
      Aces & Eights -the Dead Man's Hand.

      Delete
    2. http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/turkey-women-shall-not-laugh-public-says-erdogans-deputy-1458847
      Turkey: 'Women Shall Not Laugh in Public' says Erdogan's Deputy

      Yea, Turkey is definitely ready for EU admission.

      Delete
  18. http://washington.cbslocal.com/2014/07/29/israeli-official-to-obama-leave-us-alone/

    Israeli Official To Obama: ‘Leave Us Alone’

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. "But do not forget to send the expense check !"


      The Zionists are sounding off, like spoiled college kids.

      Delete
  19. http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/07/29/va-officials-will-get-millions-of-dollars-in-bonuses-under-house-senate-agreement/
    VA Officials Will Get Millions of Dollars in Bonuses Under House-Senate Agreement

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. The House of Representatives, Republicans leading the way, doing the people's work.

      Delete
    2. http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/07/29/va-officials-will-get-millions-of-dollars-in-bonuses-under-house-senate-agreement/
      VA Officials Will Get Millions of Dollars in Bonuses Under House-Senate Agreement

      Delete
  20. http://apnews.myway.com/article/20140729/as--china-xinjiang_violence-9435bfb366.html
    China reports deadly attack in northwest


    ...Muslims...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. But of course.

      Over 90% of the conflicts around the world involve the Muslims against whoever may be nearby.

      Delete
    2. The world would be nearly a perfectly peaceful place if it were not for the Muslims.

      Criminality would be the only problem

      Delete
  21. 14 WAYS HAMAS WEAPONIZES WOMEN, CHILDREN, ANIMALS AGAINST ISRAEL

    http://grid.pjmedia.com/?cmd=view-show-profile-article&id=1934

    All the children in Gaza should be under Child Protective Services in some western country or in Israel.

    ReplyDelete
  22. And Quirk is getting to the point where he qualifies for Adult Protective Services, as rat already does.

    ReplyDelete
  23. http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2014/07/28/Thousands-Demand-Mayor-of-The-Hague-Resign-for-Allowing-ISIS-Rally
    THOUSANDS DEMAND MAYOR OF THE HAGUE RESIGN FOR ALLOWING ISIS RALLY

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He too probably would have passed out "sweets" on 9/11.

      Delete
  24. OBAMA: Muslims built 'the very fabric of our nation'..........drudge

    Unbelievable is it not?

    "If the political winds change, I will side with the Muslims."

    President Barack 'sunni' Obama

    ReplyDelete
  25. SURRENDER: BOEHNER RULES OUT IMPEACHMENT.............drudge

    While Obama richly deserves it, it would be a terrible political move, so I am glad to hear this news. It would put Republican capture of the Senate in November in jeopardy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is the Republican Party that you have been boosting for a decade, at work.
      Doing the best it can for US.

      Delete
    2. The headline reads:

      BOEHNER RULES OUT IMPEACHMENT

      The real impeachment talk is coming from the White House and the dems to stir up their base and increase their turnout in November.

      Delete
    3. Been a rural Republican for a lot longer than a decade.

      Like, all my life.

      Delete
    4. It's the emotional thoughtless like Ruf and Deuce that suddenly switch views.

      Delete

    5. "I didn't leave the ... Party," he famously said. "The party left me."

      What famous Democrat / Republican said that?
      Betcha know!

      Loyalty to the Country comes before loyalty to the Party....

      Unless you are a Communist, then it is ALL about the Party.

      The Republicans have left the building, only a fool or a traitor would follow them off the cliff.

      Delete
    6. Robert Peterson now telling the rest of US that ronald Wilson Reagan was ""emotional thoughtless" because they ...
      suddenly switch views

      When the reality is their views have stayed pretty much the same, it is the Republican Party that has abandoned those views.

      Delete
    7. Robert Peterson now telling the rest of US that Ronald Wilson Reagan was ...

      Delete
  26. http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/07/25/war-weary-gazans-lash-out-at-hamas-over-refusal-cease-fire/
    War-weary Gazans lash out at Hamas

    ReplyDelete

  27. Global View
    Palestine Makes You Dumb
    To argue the Palestinian side, in the Gaza war, is to make the case for barbarism.

    http://online.wsj.com/articles/bret-stephens-palestine-makes-you-dumb-1406590159


    Certainly has been happening around these august pages.

    Otherwise more or less sane and intelligent men turning into intellectual zombies.

    YOU know who you are..........

    ReplyDelete
  28. Iraq is already splitting into three states
    Jim Michaels, USA TODAY 7:53 p.m. EDT July 28, 2014


    (Photo: european pressphoto agency)


    Ever since U.S. forces invaded Iraq and toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003, the U.S. government has worried that Iraq would splinter into three states — each representing the feuding religious and ethnic factions the dictator held together through his iron rule.

    It may no longer be necessary to worry that Iraq will break apart. In many ways, it already has.

    The radical Islamic State that seized a swath of western and central Iraq last month effectively left the nation in three pieces, government officials and analysts say.

    The United States worries that a fractured Iraq could lead to a failed state, allowing the radical Islamists to establish a stronghold from which they can export terrorism to other parts of the region and world.

    Ryan Crocker, who served as U.S. ambassador to Iraq from 2007 to 2009, described the divisions as "Shiastan," "Jihadistan" and Kurdistan. The references are to the majority Shiite Muslims, who run the national government in Baghdad; the insurgent Sunni Muslim jihadists who make up the Islamic State; and the ethnic Kurds, who have long presided over an oil-rich, semiautonomous enclave in the north

    "In a sense, it's apocalypse now," Crocker said.

    "Iraq is not one Iraq anymore," Fuad Hussein, chief of staff to Kurdistan Regional Government President Massoud Barzani, said at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy during a recent U.S. visit.

    Somaskanda from Berlin

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The challenge for Washington is determining whether — and how — the country can be pieced back together. The Obama administration says Iraq must stay united if it is to take back the country from the radical Islamists.

      Ironically, Joe Biden had argued as a U.S. senator in 2006, when Iraq was in the throes of sectarian violence, that the country be divided into three autonomous regions with a weak central government . His idea never gained traction, and the administration in which he serves as vice president argues the opposite view.

      "The strongest single blunt to that threat (division) would be a strong capable federal government in Iraq that is actually able to exert control and influence to push back on that threat," Elissa Slotkin, a top Pentagon official, testified to Congress recently.

      Politicians in Baghdad are haggling over formation of a unity government that can fulfill the mission outlined by Slotkin. By custom, the top three jobs are parceled out to the three factions.
      EPA_IRAQ_NEW_PRESIDENT

      Iraqi President Fouad Massoum attends a news conference during the fifth session of the Iraqi Parliament in Baghdad on July 24.(Photo: Ali Abbas, epa)

      Last week, Kurdish politician Fouad Massoum was named the new president of Iraq by Parliament. His selection followed lawmakers' election of a Sunni, Salim al-Jabouri, as speaker of Parliament.

      Delete
    2. Lawmakers have a long way to go before creating a broad government that would lessen tensions among the Kurds, Sunnis and Shiites. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, has been widely criticized within his country and the USA for limiting Sunni participation in his government and empowering Shiite militias that have targeted Sunnis during his eight-year rule. Al-Maliki is fighting to stay in office for a new four-year term.

      One key to holding Iraq together is convincing the Kurds, who have long sought an independent state, to remain part of the central government. The Obama administration is trying to convince Kurdish leaders to remain part of Iraq.

      "Without the Kurds, you're going to have a struggle with all Sunni Arabs against an Iranian-backed Shiite rump state," said James Jeffrey, a former U.S. ambassador to Iraq.

      The Kurds have seized on the offensive by the radical Sunnis to further assert their independence. Kurdish forces have occupied territory abandoned by Iraq's army, attempted to sell oil without Baghdad's approval and announced plans for a referendum on independence.

      "Division is the only solution, provided that this division should be consensual," said Barzo Ibrahim, a civil engineer in Irbil, in Kurdistan. "This is the most difficult part of the task."

      The Kurds have the best chance of survival should they break away from Iraq's central government. They have created an oasis of political stability in the north, fueled by their own oil reserves and protected by one of the most disciplined fighting forces in the region, the peshmerga.

      The Kurds have used the crisis to expand their control over oil-rich Kirkuk in the north by taking over positions from Iraq's army when it retreated in the face of attacks from Islamic militants. It's not clear whether the Kurds will withdraw should the crisis subside.

      "They are making the most of the current tactical situation," said Mark Kimmit, a retired Army brigadier general and former State Department official with extensive experience in Iraq.

      "They achieved on the ground what they were unable to achieve politically, by moving into positions abandoned by the Iraqi security forces," he said.
      AFP_531639366

      The Kawergosk Refinery in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq.(Photo: Safin Hamed, AFP/Getty Images)

      The Kurdish regional government has begun pumping oil from the Kirkuk field into its own network, so it can sell it independently through its pipeline into Turkey, according to the Iraq Oil Report, which covers the industry. Baghdad considers the move illegal.

      The Kurds have said Iraq's central government hasn't fulfilled its commitment to support the regional government's budget, leaving the government with no choice but to sell its own oil.

      Baghdad still has control over the bulk of Iraq's oil wealth. The Kurdish region produces about 220,000 barrels per day, compared with about 2.6 million in the Shiite south.

      The Sunnis, whose power center is in western Iraq, have little in the way of resources to fall back on. Their anger against al-Maliki's Shiite-dominated government has driven many to support the Islamic State.

      While the government's forces are in disarray, al-Maliki has turned again to Shiite militias to help provide security, further heightening sectarian tensions.

      Delete
    3. Iraq has long had sectarian clashes and divisions. The Sunni minority held power for centuries until the United States ousted Saddam, a Sunni. Iraq's mostly Sunni Baath Party, which ruled Iraq for decades, ruthlessly suppressed Shiites and Kurds.

      Some Iraqis, such as Omar Mohammed, a dentist in Diyala in eastern Iraq, see a splintered Iraq as the only solution after so many episodes of sectarian bloodshed.

      "I would accept any solution to stop the bloodshed," he said, "even if it was a confederation or division."

      Contributing: Gilgamesh Nabeel, Ammar Al Shamary and John Dyer in Baghdad and Sumi Somaskanda from Berlin

      http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/07/28/iraq-divided-into-three-states/13165519/

      Delete
  29. Now this is interesting..

    In some of the most gruesome images yet to emerge from the latest mass violence in Syria, videos show militants raising their victims' severed heads on poles.
    The amateur videos emerged as a Syrian human rights group reported 1,600 deaths in just 10 days this month.
    The latest images come from an area taken over by the militant terrorist group the Islamic State, which recently changed its name from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS. The group is known for killing dozens of people at a time and beheading some.

    Gots to LOVE the moslem's style…

    So 4th century,,,,,

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/28/world/meast/syria-crisis/

      Delete
    2. Nothing makes one feel like a 'winner' in life like hoisting a severed head on a pole.

      (if one has the mentality of a twelve year old)

      Delete
    3. America supported ISIS.

      The enemy of my enemy is my friend…

      Now for ISIS to go after Iran?

      Wonderful…

      Next chapter? Lebanon. Druze, Sunnis & Christians going after Hezbollah and the Shia…

      But not let's forget the PA verses Hamas civil war a brewing..

      And the egyptians verses the safists in the sinai..

      Yep, Rat told us it was MY plan….

      OK, I can accept that..

      Now throw in some plague… Some wheat rust and some ebola...

      Delete
  30. Some people are now demanding 'marijuana reparations' for those poor souls who got busted when the drug was outlawed.

    We are going downhill fast, now.

    And the SAT scores are sure to follow.

    ReplyDelete
  31. I am reading that this is the first time in American history when the bulk of the people have gotten poorer.

    This is occurring under Obama and the democrats.

    "You go broke slowly, then all at once."

    Ernest Hemingway

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. July 29, 2014
      Government Is Destroying our Standard of Living
      By Monty Pelerin

      Finally, the change in net worth has made the mainstream media. The statistics, as reported in the NY Times, are horrific, as are the implications for the future of the country.

      Net worth may be the best single measure of a country's well-being. Median net worth is a reasonable marker for the standard of living. Medians (or averages) are not good measures to capture what is happening at the lowest or highest ends. (More about that below.)

      In the simplest terms, net worth is the value of a person's assets minus his liabilities. If this measure is growing, a person is becoming better off. If it is shrinking then that person is becoming worse off, at least in terms of wealth.

      Shocking Drop in Net Worth

      Conditions economically (and politically) may be getting so indefensible that even the NY Times feels compelled to report them, in this article by Anna Bernasek, which reported:

      The inflation-adjusted net worth for the typical household was $87,992 in 2003. Ten years later, it was only $56,335, or a 36 percent decline, according to a study financed by the Russell Sage Foundation.......

      http://www.americanthinker.com/2014/07/government_is_destroying_our_standard_of_living.html

      Delete
  32. It's going to get VERY interesting really really soon…

    A leading member of the House Appropriations Committee said the Obama administration needs to get cracking on an Ebola strategy in the event the deadly virus hops a plane to the U.S.

    Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) on the House floor yesterday referenced the growing outbreak in West Africa, which has made two American healthcare workers in Liberia ill.


    “This horrible disease knows no borders and has already claimed the lives of 660 people in four countries since it was first detected in March,” Wolf said.


    There is no specific treatment for the virus with efforts to help people including giving the person either oral rehydration therapy or intravenous fluids.[1] The disease has a high death rate: often between 50% and 90%.[1][2] It typically occurs in outbreaks in tropical regions of Sub-Saharan Africa.[1] Between 1976, when it was first identified, and 2014, fewer than 1,000 people a year have been infected.[1][3] The largest outbreak to date is the ongoing 2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak, which is affecting Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. A Liberian national who recently travelled to Nigeria died in Lagos as a result of the disease, so far, none of those who had contact with him got infected. The disease was first identified in the Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Efforts are ongoing to develop a vaccine; however, none exists as of 2014.[1]


    It's going to get very interesting. very very soon...

    ReplyDelete
  33. For the ignorant, Obama-hating Racists that don't know any better, here's a chart that clearly shows that it was Bush's Crash that blew off all the wealth.

    For YOU, Dumbfucks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      Gee, thanks for the welcoming preamble. Sure makes me want to look at it.

      .

      Delete
    2. I don't give a fuck if you look at it, or not.

      Delete
    3. The crash was brought to us by Bwarney Frank and his democratic friends.

      Bush warned about Fannie and Freddi EIGHT TIMES, in each of his State of the Union addresses.

      You are living in denial.

      Delete
    4. .

      Watch it, Obumble, Rufus has got his mad on today, an awesome and dire thing to behold.

      .

      Delete
  34. BTW, what kind of SAT score would you expect out of a kid sitting in jail for marijuana possession?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I would bet that SAT scores go up, or stay the same.

      Delete
    2. .

      Not sure the point you are getting at but a recent study argues that even moderate marijuana use in young people adversely affects brain function.

      It is a preliminary study but it was run by researchers at Harvard and Northwestern at it suggests that conventional wisdom might not be correct regarding marijuana use especially in young people. The study was published in the Journal of Neuroscience (my bible).

      However, if you have any doubts, you can have Obumble send an e-mail to his 'niece' and get the straight skinny.

      .

      Delete
    3. Obama was a stoner..

      That study explains a lot.

      Delete
    4. It's hard to imagine anything that can't be shown to adversely affect brain function.

      One thing that Is happening in Colorado is less drinking and driving.

      Inasmuch as drinking and driving has been shown to lead to total cessation of brain function

      And, since, mj remains illegal for those under the age of 18, anyway, I'm going to remain somewhat sanguine about pot legalization.

      Delete
    5. .

      Did you see the part in the study that concerned old farts who drink Bud?

      .

      Delete
    6. That part about Native Americans that drink Bud Light growing ENORMOUS Cocks kind of concerned me.

      Delete
    7. I might have to cut back a little bit; my back isn't in very good shape, as it is.

      Delete
    8. Native Americans don't grow "enormous cocks" they are just tiny men with normal ones…

      Just looks big since you are so small and puny.

      Delete
    9. It was your buddy that named it. I just accepted the accolades. (you Jewish guys Are bad about "peeking in the shower," aren't you?) :) :) :) :) :)

      Delete
    10. QuirkTue Jul 29, 03:41:00 PM EDT

      .

      Not sure the point you are getting at but a recent study argues that even moderate marijuana use in young people adversely affects brain function.
      .....................

      They don't call it dope for nothing.

      Delete
  35. Well aint this special…

    https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=iw&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.nana10.co.il%2FArticle%2F%3FArticleID%3D1072361

    20 Palestinians took to Bsg'aaih against Hamas - and executed

    Last night several dozen Palestinians have decided to protest against the Hamas government following the huge damage caused to Gaza - only that Hamas incarcerated them and shot them to death. Hamas is concerned that Israel manages to neutralize the threat of the tunnel, leave Gaza and return to aerial bombing


    wow…Hamas SHOT TO DEATH 20 of it's own for protesting!!!

    Now that's a FUN group of "freedom fighters"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I got to say….

      This is great news…

      The Palestinians people will learn of this and it's a Hamas jumping the shark moment…

      Delete
    2. Now, now, WiO, boys will be boys when playing with toys.

      Deaths in Gaza are important only if they are orchestrated by Hamas to include women and especially children. Regular guys, say genuine democrats and patriots, don't count.

      At some point soon, I hope that the IDF can catch these rats in one of their lairs and kill them en masse. To get to the big cheeses will require a trip to Qatar.

      Meanwhile, a new report from Syria shows that Assad and Hezbollah suffered their largest number of KIAs during the preceding week period - about 1,300. There is some understandable confusion because of the problems associated with matching heads to corpses.

      Delete
    3. Hamas shooting their own protesters?

      How shocking is this?

      Not very, if one has read about them a little.

      Delete
  36. To be honest, I've been spending too much time thinking about "payroll to population," "unemployment," "participation rate," "median income," and "GDP" to think much about "pot," or "Palestine."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've been particularly interested the last couple of days looking at "participation rate" in relation to "Payroll to Population."

      Delete
    2. For example, while the participation rate Has fallen in the last year by 0.7%, the "Payroll to Population" ratio has Risen by 0.3%.

      BLS

      Delete
  37. http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/kyle-wingfield/2014/jul/28/embarrassing-leaked-campaign-memo-spells-out-nunns/?__federated=1
    Embarrassing leaked campaign memo spells out Nunn's strategies, vulnerabilities

    ...no Republican dirty tricks...Her own staff done her in...

    Many will recall her father, Sam, a former senator and perhaps, in his day, the most knowledgeable military and foreign affairs expert in the Senate's history. Senator Nunn nullified the anti-American votes of Senator Kerry, current SoS. Her uncle is a highly regarded Chief Superior Court judge (he signed off on one of my divorce decrees, G-d love hime). She is not well known to Georgians. This leak may make her too well known.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Bob OreilleTue Jul 29, 01:30:00 PM EDT
    It's the emotional thoughtless like Ruf and Deuce that suddenly switch views.

    And would have handed out "sweets" on 9/11.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rufus wants his hero, Obama, to pay Mexico to build more tunnels into what once was the USA.

      ...For shits and giggles.

      Delete
    2. Actually, I wanted them to tunnel to Hawaii, but they said that was just a little Too far.

      Delete
  39. Bob,

    This pretty conclusively answers an old riddle: Could an infinite number of monkeys using an infinite number of typewriters compose Hamlet? The issues encountered are consistent across the country.

    http://www.wnyc.org/story/why-hoboken-throwing-away-all-its-student-laptops/
    Why Hoboken is Throwing Away All of its Student Laptops

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maybe they should throw the students away and resell the laptops?

      Delete
  40. If Ruf switched from Bud to maryjane, his SAT score would be sure to go UP cause it can't go any LOWER.

    His SIT score would go up too, and his SLEEP score as well.

    His comment score would go WAY DOWN, which would be a good thing.

    ;)

    ReplyDelete
  41. In Denver the violent crime rate seems to have gone a bit, but the number of homeless has surged.

    No one seems quite certain why the number of homeless has surged, but it might be due to out-of-staters coming in with only enough money to get high.

    What fun !! Sleeping on the streets of Denver !!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If the homeless trend continues into the Colorado winter...........it might even match Moscow, Russia in the number of frozen corpses found on the streets.

      Delete
  42. WiO,

    http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2014/07/29/Israel-s-Plan-B-Let-the-Palestinians-Destroy-Hamas
    ISRAEL'S PLAN B: LET THE PALESTINIANS DESTROY HAMAS

    Palestinians may have started to note that none of the Hamas leadership has shown up in Gaza.

    That thoughtlessly barbaric execution of the 20 protesters may have been the most colossal mistake Hamas has made internally. First, there is the duty of revenge coming from infuriated family and friends. Additionally, and closely tied to revenge, may come voluntary information on the Hamas tunnel complex. Such information could save both Palestinian and Israeli lives and markedly shorten the duration of the Israeli incursion. It might also lead to special, limited operations that would decapitate the leadership of Hamas. We should know more in a few days.

    ReplyDelete
  43. Top Secret Hamas Command Bunker in Gaza Revealed

    And why reporters won’t talk about it
    By Staff Notes|July 29, 2014 10:30 AM|Comments: 15
    Print Email
    Share2K Tweet1.2K 47 0
    A displaced Palestinian woman hangs washed laundry to dry near makeshift tents on July 27, 2014 in the garden of Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City. (Getty Images)

    The idea that one of Hamas’ main command bunkers is located beneath Shifa Hospital in Gaza City is one of the worst-kept secrets of the Gaza war. So why aren’t reporters in Gaza ferreting it out? The precise location of a large underground bunker equipped with sophisticated communications equipment and housing some part of the leadership of a major terrorist organization beneath a major hospital would seem to qualify as a world-class scoop—the kind that might merit a Pulitzer, or at least a Polk.

    So why isn’t the fact that Hamas uses Shifa Hospital as a command post making headlines? In part, it’s because the location is so un-secret that Hamas regularly meets with reporters there. On July 15, for example, William Booth of the Washington Post wrote that the hospital “has become a de facto headquarters for Hamas leaders, who can be seen in the hallways and offices.” Back in 2006, PBS even aired a documentary showing how gunmen roam the halls of the hospital, intimidate the staff, and deny them access to protected locations within the building—where the camera crew was obviously prohibited from filming. Yet the confirmation that Hamas is using Gaza City’s biggest hospital as its de facto headquarters was made in the last sentence of the eighth paragraph of Booth’s story—which would appear to be the kind of rookie mistake that is known in journalistic parlance as “burying the lede.”

    But Booth is no rookie—he’s an experienced foreign reporter, which means that he buried the lede on purpose. Why? Well, one reason might be that the “security sources” quoted whenever the location of the Hamas command bunker is mentioned—which, as evidenced by this 2009 article by the excellent and highly experienced foreign correspondent Steven Erlanger of the New York Times, happens every time there’s a war in Gaza—are obviously Israelis, not members of Hamas. It might be hard to believe the Israelis, the simple logic might run, since they obviously have an investment in arguing that Hamas is using hospitals and schools as human shields.

    The Israelis are so sure about the location of the Hamas bunker, however, not because they are trying to score propaganda points, or because it has been repeatedly mentioned in passing by Western reporters—but because they built it. Back in 1983, when Israel still ruled Gaza, they built a secure underground operating room and tunnel network beneath Shifa hospital—which is one among several reasons why Israeli security sources are so sure that there is a main Hamas command bunker in or around the large cement basement beneath the area of Building 2 of the Hospital, which reporters are obviously prohibited from entering.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hamas obviously has no interest in having a photo-layout of one of its command bunkers beneath Shifa Hospital splashed on the front pages of newspapers. After all, such pictures would show that the organization uses the sick and wounded of Gaza as human shields while launching missiles against Israeli civilians. What Hamas wants is for reporters to use very different pictures from Shifa—namely, photos of Palestinians killed and wounded by Israelis, which make Palestinians look like innocent victims of wanton Israeli brutality.

      To that end, the rules of reporting from Shifa Hospital are easy for any newbie reporter to understand: No pictures of members of Hamas with their weapons inside the hospital, and don’t go anywhere near the bunkers, or the operating rooms where members of Hamas are treated. While reporters can meet with members of Hamas inside the hospital—because it’s obviously convenient for everyone—they are not allowed to take pictures. Reporters inside Gaza who are risking their lives to bring the world whatever news they can should hardly be blamed for obeying Hamas’ media rules, which the organization has helpfully written down in case anyone has doubts about what they are permitted to show.

      Reporters who bravely or foolishly violate Hamas’ rules even on their social media accounts can be seen to repent with such alacrity that it’s not difficult to imagine how scared and dependent they are. Nick Casey of the Wall Street Journal, for example, tweeted that “You have to wonder w the shelling how patients at Shifa hospital feel as Hamas uses it as a safe place to see media.” Casey then quickly deleted his tweet, which didn’t save him from being put on a list of journalists who “lie/fabricate info for Israel” and “must be sued” – a threat which is surely the least of Casey’s fears. Last week, French-Palestinian journalist Radjaa Abu Dagg was summoned to Shifa by Hamas and interrogated. He wrote about the experience of “attempted intimidation” for Liberation—and then quickly had the paper take down the article.

      It can hardly be lost on any sane journalist that tempers in combat zones can be short, and that Hamas has used the kidnapping of foreign journalists like Alan Johnson of the BBC to advance its own agenda. The fact that Hamas has closed the border and will not let journalists in or out of Gaza can’t make journalists who being used as de facto human shields by a terrorist organization feel any more eager to offend their hosts.

      What Hamas has done, therefore, is to turn Shifa Hospital into a Hollywood sound-stage filled with real, live war victims who are used to score propaganda points, while the terrorists inside the hospital itself are erased from photographs and news accounts through a combination of pressure and threats, in order to produce the stories that Hamas wants. So if reporters aren’t entirely to blame for participating in this sick charade, then who is?

      The answer is that reporters write what they can, and some do their job better than others, and some are braver or more foolhardy than their peers. But it’s the job of editors, sitting thousands of miles away, at a very safe remove from the battlefield, to note that dispatches were produced under pressure, or that key information was removed by a government—as nearly all mainstream media outlets do when battlefield dispatches pass through the hands of the IDF censor. A good editor might attach similar notes to dispatches from combat zones controlled by terrorist organizations. He or she might also decide that reporting only the news that Hamas deems fit to print from Shifa Hospital isn’t actually reporting at all: It’s propaganda.

      http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/180730/top-secret-hamas-command-bunker-in-gaza-revealed#undefined

      Delete
  44. 2 Armed 'Older Men' Rob Medical Clinic Of VIAGRA Pills............drudge

    If this doesn't have Quirk and Rufus written all over it, I'll eat my hat.

    ReplyDelete
  45. http://news.yahoo.com/iraq-gets-u-seize-100-million-kurdish-oil-191333205.html
    Iraq gets U.S. to seize $100 million Kurdish oil cargo off Texas

    ...making new friends everyday...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We should be recognizing Kurdistan as an independent nation the moment they've held their referendum on the issue.

      Delete
  46. Israel Is Winning This War

    By BRENT E. SASLEY

    July 28, 2014

    Is Israel losing the Gaza war? There is a lot of commentary arguing that it is. Certainly, this thinking goes, Israel is racking up considerable battlefield victories, but they pale in comparison to the broader defeat it is suffering. After all, Hamas is achieving its goal of disrupting of Israelis’ ability to live a normal life, grim images of Palestinian civilian deaths (including children and entire families) are being piped through televisions and computer screens around the world, and international opposition to Israel’s actions is growing.

    To be sure, Hamas did demonstrate considerable rocket capability, shooting them toward Haifa, Dimona (the site of Israel’s nuclear program) and Ben-Gurion airport. Its tunnel network was exposed as very sophisticated, though there is some debate over whether Israel knew how extensive it really was. But at the regional level, the clear winner is Israel.

    Surviving a war with Israel simply isn’t enough for Hamas anymore. Its legitimacy, credibility and authority have been severely undermined, and it’s not clear yet how it will be able to rebuild any of them.

    Regional conditions before the war favored Israel, and the war augmented them. Hamas’ financial house is in disorder, it is suffering from a loss of serious Middle Eastern allies—Egypt, which was meant to be replaced by Turkey and Qatar, both of whom are alienated in the region—and now much of the military capability it could use to strike at Israel has been destroyed and reduced. Meanwhile, the smaller jihadist groups, such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad, don’t pose anywhere near as serious a threat to Israel.

    ReplyDelete