Thursday, November 06, 2014

Finland warns Europe is 'at the gates of a new cold war' in wake of Russian military activity

British jets had to ‘escort’ Russian bombers away from UK airspace twice in three days last week





Finland’s president has reportedly warned that Europe is on the brink of “a new kind of cold war” in the wake of apparent military aggression from Russia.
Sauli Niinisto said the US and EU were failing to take Vladimir Putin’s actions seriously, even after he annexed Crimea and after repeated reports of Russian involvement in the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
Advisers to the Russian President have previously warned that Putin wants to “regain Finland”, and speaking from his official residence in Helsinki Mr Niinisto said his country would be “very decisive” in response.
In recent weeks “provocative” Russian jets have been intercepted in operations involving RAF Typhoons, Finnish Hornets, Swedish surveillance planes as well as US and Canadian jets off Alaska.
Mr Niinisto told the Guardian the combination of Putin’s anti-Nato rhetoric and his air force’s behaviour represented “a situation that is not promising”. “I have said we are almost at the gates of a new kind of cold war,” he said, which had the potential to involve the entire of Europe.

Russian Propaganda: The 12 Labours of Putin"


The Finnish president’s comments came before a conference in Helsinki that will involve various northern European leaders, including David Cameron.
And he spoke after the MoD confirmed British jets had intercepted a Russian Tupolev Tu-95 bomber that was “approaching UK airspace” for the second time in three days.


It was intercepted by fighter jets from RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland and “escorted” out of British-monitored airspace on Friday.

READ MORE: SONIC BOOM AS RAF JETS SCRAMBLE TO LATVIAN PLANE
SIX RUSSIAN MILITARY PLANES INTERCEPTED OFF ALASKA
RUSSIAN FIGHTER JET PASSES 'WITHIN FEET' OF SWEDISH PLANE
A spokesperson from the RAF said: “Following a similar incident on Wednesday 29 October, the RAF Typhoon pilots visually identified the Russian aircraft and escorted them through the UK flight information region.”
That and other recent events led Nato to warn of an “unusual level” of Russian military activity in European airspace.

Talk about a stupid spokesman, check this response from a reporter’s question:

'You're moving closer to Russia and blame Russians for being close to NATO'


182 comments:

  1. Forward on Ukraine: The U.S. should steer clear of a new Cold War
    November 5, 2014 12:00 AM

    By the Editorial Board - Pittsburg Post Gazette
    Developments in the evolving relationship among elements in Ukraine and Russia continue to play out, most recently with disputed elections Sunday in the Donetsk and Luhansk areas of eastern Ukraine.

    The critical piece for the United States is not to be drawn into a new Cold War with Russia. For President Vladimir Putin, it’s about restoring Russian pride, which was diminished substantially when the Soviet Union collapsed in the last century. For the United States, the danger comes from military types and the weapons industry, which are always looking for new opportunities.

    Mr. Putin appears to be gradually withdrawing Russian forces from eastern Ukraine and neighboring Russia. Yet U.S. and some NATO military leaders appear to be trumpeting alleged but insufficiently documented signs of more Russian aggressiveness in Europe.

    Russia has “recognized” the Nov. 2 elections in Ukraine’s Donbas region, the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, but is not beyond urging the Ukrainian government in Kiev, which held elections itself the week before in the areas it controls, to negotiate with the separatists.

    The only way unity will be restored is through talks, although some elements in Kiev hope the United States or NATO will intervene to unite the divided country. The Oct. 26 elections left the pro-Western elements in Ukraine in disarray, with divisions between rival leaders and dozens of political parties represented in the 450-member parliament waiting to be resolved.

    For the United States, the correct position is to stay in touch with the Kiev government, Mr. Putin and, if possible, the Donetsk and Luhansk leaders, urging increased cooperation leading toward Ukrainian unity. There is no useful military role for the United States or NATO, but economic aid can certainly be delayed as an incentive to restoring unity.

    ReplyDelete
  2. NICOSIA, Cyprus — Cyprus' right to explore for oil and gas off its shores must be respected by all countries, including Turkey, Israel's foreign minister said Thursday.

    "We think it's crucial to respect all international norms and obligations and to act according to acceptable rules in the international community," Avigdor Lieberman said after talks with his Cypriot counterpart Ioannis Kasoulides.

    Lieberman said it's "extremely unnecessary" to stir any more tension in a conflict-ridden region.

    Turkey doesn't recognize ethnically divided Cyprus as a sovereign state and strongly opposes its gas search, arguing that it ignores the rights of breakaway Turkish Cypriots to any mineral-generated wealth.

    Cyprus was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded after a coup by supporters of uniting the island with Greece. A Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence in 1983 is recognized only by Turkey which maintains some 35,000 troops in the island's breakaway north.

    Cyprus' Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades last month suspended United Nations-sponsored reunification talks after Turkey carried out a mineral search in waters where the Cypriot government had already granted drilling rights.

    Espen Barth Eide, the newly appointed U.N. envoy for Cyprus, is conducting shuttle diplomacy in the region to get reunification talks back on track. U.S. Ambassador to Cyprus John Koenig said Tuesday that Washington is "seriously engaged with all parties" in support of those U.N. efforts.

    Lieberman said Israel, whose relations with Turkey are strained, is looking to achieve "tangible results next year" in its cooperation with Cyprus to exploit gas reserves that have been found in exclusive economic zones of both countries.

    ReplyDelete
  3. One happy result of this election for many is that it will much easier perhaps to blame the N-C's for all the coming woes of the world, of which there are always too many.

    Bill Murray was really good in St Vincent.

    A much older Bill Murray.

    You should all go see it.

    I very rarely recommend a movie, but it was the kind I like a lot.

    A great movie doesn't need any shoot 'em ups, or big love scenes...................and there's that special warm relationship between 'grandpa' and 'grandson', even though they really weren't related at all......J. Campbell noted this was the norm all around the world.....

    Cheers !

    ReplyDelete
  4. Here's a nice color map of the country

    http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/here-s-what-a-republican-takeover-looks-likes-20141105

    114th U.S. House of Representatives


    Fly Over Country Rules !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Republicans win by running to the "Left"

      Twelve issues where the GOP went and took the "Left" lane

      No, Republicans haven’t become liberals. They still hate taxes and blame everything bad on President Obama, Obamacare, and big government. But their focus on wage stagnation and class stratification reflects the economy and the political climate. And when you use egalitarian benchmarks to indict the opposition, those benchmarks endure. In the next election, Republicans, too, will be measured by median income, black unemployment, and what they pay women. They’ll have to account for the poverty rate, the tax burden on low-income people, and the widening gap between investors and laborers. It’s these underlying benchmarks, not the partisan composition of Congress, that signal the fundamental direction in which the country is heading.

      Delete
    2. In the next election, Republicans, too, will be measured by median income, black unemployment, and what they pay women. They’ll have to account for the poverty rate, the tax burden on low-income people, and the widening gap between investors and laborers. It’s these underlying benchmarks, not the partisan composition of Congress, that signal the fundamental direction in which the country is heading.

      Delete

  5. Wendy Davis Was The Face Of ‘War On Women’ Politics. How’d That Go?
    November 4, 2014 By Mollie Hemingway

    This was a year when the War on Women messaging — previously employed so successfully by the Democrats — failed to yield the desired results. Most of the discussions about that failure have focused on Sen. Mark Udall of Colorado. Udall’s obsessive focus on the “War on Women” playbook became so annoying that journalists and even his own supporters dubbed him “Mark Uterus.”

    But it is absolutely unfair that Udall be tarred with all the failures of the War on Women messaging. No one better encapsulates the Democratic playbook than Wendy Davis, who ran for governor of Texas.

    Her campaign was launched in vintage War on Women style. By filibustering a popular late-term abortion ban in Texas, she immediately gained the support of many in the mainstream media. They feted her with free in-kind advertising in the form of puffy profile pieces, cover stories, and other effusive coverage.

    Sarah Kliff, who famously dismissed the Kermit Gosnell story as nothing more than “local crime” and therefore unworthy of coverage, covered Davis extensively while at the Washington Post and later when she moved to Vox. For instance, she tweeted this on the night of Davis’ filibuster:

    Even on election day, the Washington Post continued its coverage of Davis as Philip Bump, previously receiving attention for not having the slightest clue how babies are made, gushed “*This* is how you go vote for yourself on Election Day.” He wrote an entire story about — and I’m not joking here — what t-shirt Wendy Davis wore to vote.

    In between these stories were who knows how many articles and video packages claiming that Texas might turn purple, that Wendy Davis would be a formidable candidate, that the War on Women was a weakness … for Republicans.

    Planned Parenthood treated Mark Udall and Wendy Davis as their most important races, knocking on a million doors and making two million phone calls, they claimed, to drive votes to them.

    Wendy Davis lost. We’re waiting to hear the final details, but it looks like she lost big. A media less invested in carrying War on Women water might have led fewer cheers for Davis and the country’s largest abortion provider Planned Parenthood and more thoughtful coverage about the issues of concern to actual Texas voters, never as pleased with late-term abortion rights as the people inhabiting American newsrooms.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Since the War is over, I call for a ticker tape parade.

      Delete
    2. Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson, half-stepping down the boulevard, a "One Man Band".

      Delete

  6. Israel's ties with Jordan put to test in face of Jerusalem crisis

    The sword is dangling not just over the Israeli-Jordanian peace treaty, but over the interlocking relationship between Israel, Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinians.


    Jordan’s recall of its ambassador for “consultations” on Wednesday as an act of protest is liable to be only the first crack in the vital relations between the two states. The hints dropped by the Jordanian information minister about reviewing the clauses of the agreement, a possible prelude to a freeze in relations, ought to raise great concern because the sword is dangling not just over this agreement, but over the interlocking relationship between Israel, Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinians. Any deterioration in relations with Jordan could have an impact on the ties between Israel and Egypt.
    ...
    Jordan’s ambassador was not recalled on a whim. The move was coordinated with the United States, in talks held in Paris between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, and follows a long list of what Jordan says are Israeli efforts to Judaize all of Jerusalem and seize control of the holy sites on the Temple Mount. The formal explanation for Jordan’s move is derived from Israel’s obligation to consider Jordan’s preferred status with regard to the holy places, and coordinate any steps taken there with Amman.

    The entrance of Israeli security forces on the Temple Mount, the frequent approval of new plans to build in East Jerusalem, Construction and Housing Minister Uri Ariel’s announced plan to move to Silwan, and the closing of the Temple Mount to worshippers twice in the past few days provoked public outrage in Jordan and sharp protests in the Jordanian parliament.


    http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.624939

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. “It is time to honestly admit that Israeli society is ill – and it is our duty to treat this disease,”
      Reuven Rivlin - President of Israel, told the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities on Sunday at a conference titled
      “From Xenophobia to Accepting the Other.”
      -

      Delete

  7. 10 Things Everyone Needs to Know About the Drug War Violence in Mexico

    Among the issues: the U.S. military and intelligence collaborates with and empowers a corrupt narco-state in Mexico.


    (1) The Mexican and U.S. tax payers pay billions of dollars for the drug war, mainly to military contractors, to no avail and creating no improvement for either country’s national security.

    (2) The U.S. military and intelligence collaborates with and empowers a corrupt narco-state in Mexico.

    (3) The DEA collaborated with the Sinaloa Cartel, providing them with support such as visas and legal access to move drugs into the U.S., including inside of a cocaine-packed 747 cargo plane, in exchange for "intel” on the other cartels.

    (4) The CIA distributed U.S. weapons to cartels (allegedly to "track" the guns, although it is believed this is meant to help it fight the rogue and ruthless Zetas cartel, which was started by former members of the Mexican army’s special forces also trained in counterinsurgency tactics by the U.S. army in Fort Bragg, Georgia).

    (5) Corruption is not only in the public sector: even the giant Walmart allegedly bribed its way through the Mexican bureaucracy. Meanwhile, the world’s big banks help launder money for the cartels, who rack in profits to the tune of more than $40b each year.

    (6) With that kind of money, the narcos can, and do, purchase police chiefs, entire departments, and higher levels of the state—both within Mexico and increasingly, in cities across the U.S. (not to mention, in scores of other countries: the narcos have at least attempted to infiltrate crime webs in places including Peru and Australia).

    (7) The Mexican government does not prosecute more than 93.8% of reported crimes (perhaps because it is difficult to find a politician, at any level of government, in any part of the country, who is not in deep collusion with organized crime or at least with big business).

    (8) And while the population gets scared to death at incessant violence, the state pushes the structural and economic reforms to open the country for business, such as removing protections and standards, as well as using the armed forces and other thugs to silence resistance.

    (9) Which is partly why the immigration crisis only increases, flooding the U.S. labor market with easily exploitable labor and filling U.S. for-profit prisons.

    (10) And finally: there's a lot that people in both Mexico and the US can do: ...




    http://www.alternet.org/world/10-things-everyone-needs-know-about-drug-war-violence-mexico?paging=off&current_page=1#bookmark

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. what no hyperlink?

      You flame people for not using HTML and YET you violate the standard that you insist for everyone else?


      HYPOCRITE

      Delete
  8. Jack's up, the name calling begins........this blog goes down the toilet.

    About the same time every day.

    Out

    Cheers !

    ReplyDelete
  9. On Time and On Target - Objective Achieved.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Notice the lack of actual goals?

      Objective achieved?

      One can picture Jack successfully washing his hands and then pronouncing to his empty room "On Time and On Target - Objective Achieved"

      I wonder does he say that after going to the bathroom? Shoveling out a stall? Cooking some Ramen noodles? Getting slapped at a gay bar?

      Will wonder ever cease?

      On Time and On Target - Objective Achieved.

      Delete
  10. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black ...

    http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/11/06/israeli-foreign-minister-berates-right-wing-politicians-for-exploiting/>Israeli foreign minister berates right-wing politicians for exploiting Jerusalem tensions

    http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/11/06/israeli-foreign-minister-berates-right-wing-politicians-for-exploiting/>http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/11/06/israeli-foreign-minister-berates-right-wing-politicians-for-exploiting/


    “It is time to honestly admit that Israeli society is ill – and it is our duty to treat this disease,”
    - Reuven Rivlin, President of Israel

    ReplyDelete
  11. Jobless Claims - 278,000

    4 wk. average - 279,000

    4 wk. average lowest since 2000.

    ReplyDelete
  12. THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Israeli forces may have committed war crimes when they stormed an aid flotilla boat heading to Gaza, but the possible crimes aren't grave enough to merit a prosecution at the International Criminal Court, the court's prosecutor said Thursday.

    Eight Turks and one Turkish-American were killed and several other pro-Palestinian activists were wounded when Israeli commandos stormed the ship Mavi Marmara on May 31, 2010.

    "Following a thorough legal and factual analysis of the information available, I have concluded that there is a reasonable basis to believe that war crimes under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court were committed on one of the vessels, the Mavi Marmara, when Israeli Defense Forces intercepted the 'Gaza Freedom Flotilla' on 31 May 2010," Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said in a statement.

    But Bensouda said that any cases relating to the storming "would not be of sufficient gravity to justify further action by the ICC."

    "Without in any way minimizing the impact of the alleged crimes on the victims and their families, I have to be guided by the Rome Statute, in accordance with which, the ICC shall prioritize war crimes committed on a large scale or pursuant to a plan or policy," Bensouda said, referring to the court's founding document.

    In a written statement, Israel's Foreign Ministry welcomed the decision to close the preliminary probe into a case it called "legally unfounded and politically motivated."

    It added that the investigation, formally known as a preliminary examination, had been closed without the prosecutor "seeing a need to address the issue of resort to self-defense by IDF soldiers who were confronted, as mentioned in the report, by violence" from activists on the flotilla.

    Bensouda opened a preliminary investigation last year after the tiny African state of Comoros — which is a member of the court — filed a complaint about the boarding of the ship which was flying under a Comoros flag.

    A Turkish lawyer representing Comoros vowed not to give up the case.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Those "aid" workers were terrorists.

      War sucks….

      Guess they were just pissed off that the JEWS actually fought back…

      New dawn has risen…

      Fuck with Israel?

      Get a boot up your ass…

      Turkey's Erdogan just moved into the world's most expensive palace. Here's what $615 million could have bought instead

      If Recep Tayyip Erdogan's brutal crackdown on protesters in Taksim Square wasn't enough to convince you that he's an autocrat, maybe his crazy new palace will do the trick.

      With the Islamic State knocking on the door and around a million Syrian refugees living in his country, the Turkish president inaugurated a fancy new palace that he had built for himself at a cost of $615 million.

      Let that sink in for a second. $615 million.

      What does that buy you these days? The Ak Saray, or "White Palace," comes with 1,000 rooms, 3.1 million square feet of space, and the title of largest residential palace in the world. (Previous record held by the Sultan of Brunei.) It's four times the size of Versailles, for historical comparison.

      That sounds about right for $615 million. But there are plenty of other things Erdogan should have done with that money. Here are 7 of them.

      1) Deal with the Syrian refugee crisis in his own country

      Around a million Syrians are now living in Turkey, having fled a horrifying civil war and the new arrival of the Islamic State. The UN Refugee Agency needs almost $500 million to care for them this year. Erdogan could have footed the bill and still have $115 million left for more reasonably appointed palace.

      Delete
  13. The majority of the Senate battleground in the next election cycle will be fought on Republican turf, with the GOP defending 24 seats to the Democrats’ 10.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      This year it was the opposite equation.

      There was much in the election that said 'Throw the bums out.'

      I wouldn't expect it to change next time except for the direction.

      .

      Delete
  14. A Finnish journalist who inadvertently confirmed on-air that Hamas has been shielding its rocket attacks by operating from the parking lot of Gaza’s Al Shifa Hospital was remorseful and angry at the weekend because the news was beneficial to the Israeli side.

    “My story was about the Palestinian civilians who were victims of war,” Aisha Zidan, a reporter from Finland’s Helsingin Sanomat, said on Facebook. “I spent a night at the Shifa hospital in Gaza two weeks ago. I was covering the situation in Gaza for my newspaper.”

    She said, “During the night someone launched a rocket somewhere behind the hospital. Now this sentence from my article is spreading in the pro-Israeli medias.”

    That one “sentence” confirmed a war crime that few journalists had dared to report.

    Using hospitals, schools and mosques to store weapons or as a military base is against international rules of war. The Al Shifa Hospital, in particular, was in focus after journalists reported that Hamas was using the hospital as a headquarters, but many of their early reports were withdrawn, deleted on social media or actually taken off their newspaper websites because of fears for their safety and retribution from Hamas for reporting the truth.

    “I mentioned this in my article because I’m a professional journalist,” Zidan said. “I try to cover the events truthfully as I see them and I strongly condemn these kind of actions.”

    “But I find it very disgusting how this one sentence was taken out context to be used as an excuse to target civilians in Gaza,” she said. “My story became quickly a tool of propaganda.”

    Her claims, likely against this newspaper, which was the first to report on her clip on Friday, expressed personal dismay that the first segment of her broadcast didn’t get the same type of viral social media response as her newsworthy “sentence” towards the end of her dispatch.

    SUCKS When you try t be a "journalist" and actual TRUTH gets out anyway…

    Those PESKY facts about Hamas using Hospitals, Schools and Mosques as military positions coming to light….

    ReplyDelete
    Replies


    1. “It is time to honestly admit that Israeli society is ill – and it is our duty to treat this disease,”
      Reuven Rivlin, President of Israel

      Israel Prefers al-Qeada
      Michael Oren - US Ambassador to the United States

      Delete
    2. Gaza After Action: No Rockets In Schools
      First appeared: http://journal-neo.org/2014/10/06/gaza-after-action-no-rockets-in-schools/>Gaza After Action: No Rockets In Schools


      An analysis of after action reports of the war in Gaza have yielded startling results, startling to those who continued to assess Israel’s actions as defensive while evidence to the contrary was suppressed from day one. Israel was never able to successfully target rocket launch or storage facilities of Hamas and, in actuality, waged a terror campaign specifically targeting women and children, UN facilities and infrastructure as their chosen method of waging war.

      National leaders with access to real intelligence, including America’s President Barak Obama and Secretary of State Kerry repeatedly issued false statements as did Cameron in Britain and others.

      Many press organizations as well were advised that Israeli operations were terrorist in nature only and, only to a minor extent, ever went after Hamas or its seemingly endless supply of missiles stored up to 200 feet underground.
      ...
      During the attack on Gaza, Israel using artillery, drone based attacks and precision bombing, weapons including Hellfire missiles, 2000 pound iron bombs, cluster munitions and white phosphorous air burst incendiaries, systematically destroyed the majority of schools and hospitals in Gaza.

      Other facilities were targeted as well, power plants, water purification, sewage treatment and fuel storage in addition to warehousing facilities for food and medical supplies, but these are not the issues.

      The issue is the attacks, systematic attacks on schools, in particular. These led to the deaths of numerous children. Israel’s claim is that Hamas used these facilities to store munitions and to house rocket launching facilities, using civilians, in particular, children, as “human shields.”

      This was reported in the Western press on a daily basis, in fact hundreds of stories were published based on press releases from the Israeli government. There is, however, a major flaw in what we have observed.

      Almost every attack was videotaped by Israel and broadcast on Israeli television. Additionally, both video and digital photography exists from independent sources as well, Israeli observers, “war tourists” and Palestinians on the ground.
      ...
      Here is the problem. When a bomb or artillery shell lands on a storage area filled with rockets, something happens. Rockets use propellant. Imagine a conflagration at a factory that manufactures fireworks. Hamas’ rockets are, in a sense, large fireworks, with highly volatile propellants and explosive charges.

      When a bomb or artillery shell hits such a facility there are secondary explosions. Observation of “secondaries” is the basis for after action reports that are used to gage the success of any bombing campaign.

      If a bomb hits a facility filled with ammunition, particularly rockets, some explode immediately but more explode seconds and then minutes later. Some of the rockets ignite, flying into the air, skidding across the ground, with explosions that reveal the type and nature of propellants and explosives used, based on photographic analysis using special filters and broad spectrum sensors known as hyperspectral cameras.

      Israel is one of the nations that manufactures some of the world’s finest hyperspectral cameras.

      Not one attack on a rocket launching facility, not one bombed school or hospital caused secondary explosions.


      First appeared: http://journal-neo.org/2014/10/06/gaza-after-action-no-rockets-in-schools/

      Delete
    3. al-Queda has killed about ten thousand people in Syria and Iraq.

      Assad and Iran have killed close to 300,000 and made over 11 million homeless.

      Which is the lesser of two evils?

      Come on Jack, think hard. Use your own words, not cut and paste…

      Can you do it Jack?

      Write a sentence?

      I know kindergarden is hard… But you need to TRY

      It's hard for your type to learn how to actually converse and form complete sentences but she have FAITH and HOPE that you will, in spite of your learning disability progress….

      Now come on Jack…

      Lesser of 2 evils…

      Use your own words…

      We are waiting..

      Delete
    4. Israeli science trumps Zionist lies

      Delete
    5. Wow…

      Deep thoughts from our retarded friend...

      Delete
  15. http://apnews.myway.com/article/20141106/eu--international_court-israel-75ec30d452.html

    Intl court: No action against Israel over aid boat

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. But that will not stop those committed to fighting Israel as the evil windmills of the world…

      The good news? Those committed to destroying Israel are destroying themselves faster and faster…

      Now wait for it…

      jack will paste a comment that israel will be dead in 8 years…

      I predict in 8 years? A whole lot of jew hating, israel bashing, zionist trashing, judaism smashing sub human's will not exist. And not by mine or your (or Israel's) hand…

      So as Deuce loves to criticize us for a few sitting on lawn chairs celebrating an attack on a place and people that for 10 years shot missiles at their homes, schools, hospitals, malls?

      I'll take that criticism and raise my glass….

      Delete
    2. http://www.france24.com/en/20141106-war-crimes-court-wont-prosecute-over-israels-gaza-flotilla-raid/
      War crimes court won't prosecute over Israel's Gaza flotilla raid

      "'The information available does not provide for a reasonable basis to proceed with an investigation of the situation on the registered vessels? that arose in relation to the 31 May 2010 incident,' chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said in a statement Thursday."

      Delete
    3. http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Global-court-says-will-not-investigate-Israeli-raid-on-Turkish-flotilla-380954
      Global court says will not investigate Israeli raid on Turkish flotilla

      Delete
    4. as Jack Hawkins would say?

      No Arrests, no trial, No convictions?

      NO CRIME

      Delete
  16. “It is time to honestly admit that Israeli society is ill – and it is our duty to treat this disease,”
    Reuven Rivlin, President of Israel


    It is ill, it's called the virus of Jihadism.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wrong, again, "O"rdure.

      Listen to your elders.
      Listen to the 'real' Israelis.
      Especially if, as you say, you don't live there, but are merely a US tourist, in Tel Aviv.

      Delete
    2. Response is non-responsive.

      You don't actually say anything..

      AS USUAL

      Delete
    3. You respond ... as usual ... so ...

      On Time, On Target ... Firing for Effect

      Delete
    4. “From Xenophobia to Accepting the Other.”
      “The tension between Jews and Arabs within the State of Israel has risen to record heights, and the relationship between all parties has reached a new low,”
      he said.
      “We have all witnessed the shocking sequence of incidents and violence taking place by both sides.
      The epidemic of violence is not limited to one sector or another, it permeates every area and doesn’t skip any arena.
      There is violence in soccer stadiums as well as in the academia.
      There is violence in the social media and in everyday discourse, in hospitals and in schools.”

      - Reuven Rivlin, President of Israel

      Delete
    5. “I’m not asking if they’ve forgotten how to be Jews, but if they’ve forgotten how to be decent human beings.
      Have they forgotten how to converse?”
      -

      Reuven Rivlin, President of Israel

      Delete
    6. So again, you fail to actually use words and sentences of your own construct.

      Special Needs of Jack Hawkins on display.

      The readers will enjoy the fact that Jack, can't communicate.

      Just cut and paste like any young child....

      Or maybe Jack has Downs syndrome?

      It would explain a lot..

      Delete
    7. I like the continual use of his big black letters.

      Delete
  17. Obama's best political move now would be to change parties, become a Republican.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They wouldn't accept him as a member. They would disown him.

      He should go back to Indonesia.

      Delete
    2. If he were honorable, he could take the honorable way out and shoot himself.

      Delete
    3. So could Jack Hawkins.

      Delete
    4. Okay, that's enough of that crap.

      Delete
    5. Naw. It's just as brilliant as your buddy Jack's cut and paste posts.

      But you never have ask him to stop

      Delete
    6. Rat never wishes death on fellow bloggers.

      Delete
  18. http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Israel-okays-Egypt-request-to-deploy-more-military-forces-in-Sinai-380970
    Report: Israel okays Egypt request to deploy more military forces in Sinai

    ReplyDelete
  19. http://aclj.org/persecuted-church/horror-in-pakistan-christians-burned-alive?sf33375511=1
    Horror in Pakistan: Christians Burned Alive

    ReplyDelete
  20. Reyhaneh Jabbari’s Execution Shows Emboldened Iran
    November 6, 2014 by Majid Rafizadeh 7 Comments

    Majid Rafizadeh, an Iranian-American political scientist and scholar, is president of the International American Council and serves on the board of the Harvard International Review at Harvard University. Rafizadeh is also a former senior fellow at the Nonviolence International Organization based in Washington, DC and is a member of the Gulf project at Columbia University. He can be reached at rafizadeh@fas.harvard.edu. Follow Rafizadeh at @majidrafizadeh.

    212111
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    1412068835096_wps_19_A_picture_taken_on_July_8Despite the surge in executions and human rights violations in the Islamic Republic, the mainstream media and some Western politicians still depict the Iranian president Hassan Rouhani and his governmental technocrat team as moderate or reformist.

    Recently, a 26-year-old Iranian woman, Reyhaneh Jabbari, was executed in Iran’s prison for allegedly killing the man who raped her. Morteza Abdolali Sarbandi, the alleged rapist, was a former employee in Iran’s intelligence ministry. The trial of Jabbari lacked fair and due process.

    The intriguing issue is that this execution led to a considerable amount of international outcry from human rights groups. Many requested that the Islamic Republic’s president, Hassan Rouhani, rescind the death sentence against Jabbari.

    Normally, when there is significant international pressure, the Islamic Republic has tended to shift the death sentence or postpone it. But the fact that the Iranian government went ahead and executed this women highlights the increasing empowerment and emboldened sentiments of the Iranian regime as it defies, as well as disregards, the international condemnation.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Several crucial factors, including President Obama’s projection of weak foreign policy, leadership, as well as his administration’s appeasement policies toward the Islamic Republic’s domestic and foreign policy, play crucial roles in emboldening and empowering the Islamic Republic.

      In addition, the new wave of acid attacks against Iranian women appear not to raise any concerns in the Iranian government with regards to its global and regional image.

      A new report by a United Nations Human Rights investigator further highlights the surge in executions and human rights violations, and it underlines the fallacy of the narrative that President Hassan Rouhani is distinct from other Iranian politicians, such as his predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

      The new report was provided by a United Nations human rights investigator, Ahmad Shaheed, who was a former diplomat from the Maldives and currently special rapporteur on human rights issues in the Islamic Republic.

      Shaheed, who has been denied to entry into the Islamic Republic, conducted his report by amassing hundreds of interviews and substantiated records of human rights abuses, including those executions officially reported by the Iranian government. Although he did not directly blame Rouhani, Shaheed recently addressed and briefed the United Nations General Assembly on Iran’s human rights record, which corresponds with the timing that Rouhani had been in office.

      The surge in human rights abuses appear to have been carried out on several crucial platforms. First of all, there is an alarming increase in the number of prison and public executions in comparison to the prior year.

      Delete
    2. In 2012, under the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the recorded number of executions was 580 people. This indicates that there has been an increase of approximately 45 percent in executions under Rouhani. In 2013, 687 people were executed.

      In addition, the range of charges for executing Iranian citizens appears to have been widened. The legal reasons behind executions include political, economic, human rights activism, and drug trafficking. Addressing a General Assembly human rights committee this week, Ahmad Shaheed pointed out this “surge in executions in the country over the past 12-15 months.” Shaheed added, “At least 852 individuals were executed in the period since June of last year, including eight juveniles.”

      The second manner of human rights violation is targeted at those who are engaged in freedom of information, particularly journalists. In addition, other reporters and posters, such as bloggers, Facebook users, and people who are active on social media, have been restricted as well. The number of journalists who have been detained in the Islamic Republic have also ratcheted up. According to Shaheed, there are currently 35 journalists under detention in Iran.

      The third phenomenon appears to represent the concerns regarding the persecution of religious minorities, including the Christians, Sunnis, Dervishes, and Baha’i community. Currently, 120 people of the Baha’i community, as well as 49 Christians, have been documented to be in prison in Iran solely for religious practices. Some members of the Arab community, characterized as “cultural rights activists,” as well as juveniles, have also been put to death sentence.

      The fourth category of human rights abuses is linked to the restrictions on and deterioration of women’s rights in the Islamic Republic. For example, the Iranian government has also imposed a quota on the admission of Iranian girls to universities. According the UN human rights reports, the number of Iranian women being enrolled at universities has come down to 48 percent.

      President Rouhani was elected by the majority of Iranian people as a moderate candidate who would potentially promote civil liberties, social justice, and individual freedoms (including freedom of speech, assembly and press).

      Instead of taking a more robust position towards the Islamic Republic when it comes to dealing with the Islamic Republic, President Obama will more likely disregard the recent surge in egregious and appalling human rights abuses due to the administration’s extreme focus on striking a final nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic. The comprehensive nuclear deal would ultimately remove political and economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic. The United States should concentrate more on human rights violations in Iran by incorporating this issue with the country’s nuclear defiance.

      Delete
    3. http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/majid-rafizadeh/reyhaneh-jabbaris-execution-shows-emboldened-iran/

      Delete
  21. http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2014/11/what-i-saw-gaza-20141149645737912.html
    What I saw in Gaza

    "The conflict and humanitarian tragedy in Gaza has made an already struggling Palestinian economy worse and put further stress on the fiscal situation of the Palestinian Authority. Recession hit the Palestinian territories in the first quarter of 2014, with levels of consumption and donor assistance declining significantly. Donors' assistance in the first half of 2014 has fallen by more than $200m compared to 2013."


    ReplyDelete
  22. Politics is tough.

    Some people have taken to calling President Obama President Ebola.

    I think this goes too far.

    I am sticking with President Incompetent.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Re: "President Rouhani was elected by the majority of Iranian people as a moderate candidate who would potentially promote civil liberties, social justice, and individual freedoms (including freedom of speech, assembly and press)."

    He was elected in a rigged election. He was the most moderate of the psychopaths, vetted by the clergy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My understanding is there are no free elections in Iran. The people have the choice of clergy pick 1 or clergy pick 2.....if that.

      That's one reason I enjoyed following these truly hard fought USA elections here recently. Hard fought primaries, hard fought generals................the candidates inspected by the microscopes of a free press......and the internet.......

      Delete
  24. $2.99/gallon in Cour d Alene, Idaho yesterday.

    Well, $2.99 9/10.

    ReplyDelete
  25. .

    HOUSEKEEPING

    Oh, and, yeah, when you're complaining about Low Interest Rates, "because they're bad for the Little Guy," you're just grasping at nonsense in order to bitch.

    :o)

    This from one of the Krugette’s. Hilarious.

    There is no doubt I like to complain. However, that is irrelevant to my statement. The formulation is simple. The FEDS low interest rate policy is ineffective except in pushing down a supply side, trickle down, policy. They want to keep banks liquid, help corporate profits, and boost the stock market in the hopes that banks will increase lending and corporations will increase investment and ultimately jobs. The only problem with the plan is that it hasn’t worked. Banks are sitting on piles of cash and corporate profits are at record highs yet lending and investment are limited, most will say the job market stinks, and wage growth is stagnant.

    The Fed’s low interest rate policy only helps the rich, the corporations , and the banks and it hurts savers, those on fixed income, the elderly, and small investors like those who took a bath on 2008 who are looking for some kind of lower risk investment.

    The FED has been providing free money to banks and corporations for years. It lowers costs and provides a great boost to the bottom line. These companies are sitting on trillions in unspent profits. That drives the asset bubble that is the stock market. However, the companies are not investing those profits in new research or facilities; they use it to buy back stock. The banks use the money for arbitrage or to invest in the same risky types of investments that got us into trouble in the first place. The have money to lend but tightened credit rules mean only the rich can qualify.

    On the other hand, the saver has no place to invest. The individual investor never came back to the stock market after the crash. Many had their savings and retirement cut in half. Others no longer have money to invest. Either they lost it or they are underemployed or worse unemployed. For those working, many are still scared shitless of the market.

    For those who are still employed things are not getting any better. They are not even keeping up with inflation. Median wages are falling. Due to FED policy their inflation adjusted return on savings accounts or CDs is negative.

    Lower income people don’t benefit from the lower FED interest rates. They certainly don’t get loans at 0%. Heck, it’s hard enough for them to get loans at all.

    Oh wait, I’m sure this is probably falling on deaf ears. I forgot you are one of the Krugette’s. Paul Krugman the guy who put out that argument that it is ‘really the rich that are suffering’ due to lower interest rates.

    The Krug man argues that it only makes sense that if the rich have more money to invest they naturally will be losing more money because of the lower interest rates. Since the rich, the same people that are buying up all that foreclosed property at bargain-basement interest rates, the guys who are getting rich in that FED driven stock market bubble, the 1% of guys who took in 95% of the income increase since 2009. Those poor babies. Spare me. The rich can afford to invest in a whole range of different investment types. They have options up the ass.

    Krugman isn’t an economist. He is a political hack. He writes shit like that to try to influence the poor dumb slugs that read his columns to ‘don’t worry, be happy’, things will be ok under Obama.
    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is the silliest word salad that you've ever published.

      To get back to the subject at hand, please explain how the "little guy" that in the best, and worst, of times derives less than 1% of his income from interest is harmed greatly by low interest rates

      Especially, in light of the fact that his by-far, going-away Major investment is real estate, which is greatly helped by low interest rates.

      Delete
    2. The "Big" guy loans the "little" guy the money to buy his car, his house, and his kids' college education.

      Now, tell me again how low interest rates are a Bad thing for "the little guy."

      Delete
    3. Krugman has a Nobel Prize in Economics, and has been consistently right about the effects of the Fed's monetary actions.

      How are you doing?

      Delete
    4. Especially, in light of the fact that his by-far, going-away Major investment is real estate, which is greatly helped by low interest rates.


      If you can get refinanced

      Delete
  26. .

    HOUSEKEEPING


    The U.S. Commander denied the reports. I'll go with our guy.

    :o)

    Of course you will, Ruf.

    Your credulity is your greatest achievement.

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're right. Taking the word of an American Major General over that of an Al Queda Terrorist - I must be mad.

      Delete
    2. Does that apply to the USS Liberty investigations or are your standards selective?

      Delete
    3. What is "Occupation"Thu Nov 06, 05:50:00 PM EST
      Does that apply to the USS Liberty investigations or are your standards selective?

      You jest! Those guys in '67 were all traitors, dicks, and paper-pushers, who would have sold their sisters into whoredom for the sake of Israel and their careers. In fact, anyone disagreeing with the EB's commandos is a traitor and probably in the employ of Mossad.

      WiO, stop pointing out logical flaws or you will be disliked.

      Delete
  27. .

    To me, based on the news reports and articles I have seen lately, it seems that the US focus in the war on IS has shifter towards Syria and away from Iraq. I may be wrong, but there seems to be at least one group that agrees, the Yazidis on Sinjar Mountain.

    Months after the president stepped in to save the Yazidis from genocide, the airstrikes have slowed to a trickle. Supplies have dried up. And ISIS is closing in on Mount Sinjar again.

    http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/11/03/yazidis-face-genocide-by-isis-after-u-s-turns-away.html

    .

    ReplyDelete
  28. .

    Some here have argued that the US policy in Iraq/Syria is the 'Goldilocks' scenario, "just right" while others have indicated it appeared disjointed, half-hearted, and with no clear focus.

    Pentagon spokesman, Rear Admiral John Kirby, denies the latter view.

    http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/nov/04/pentagon-denies-us-strategy-to-defeat-isis-is-unravelling-syria-iraq

    Isis has faced stiffer resistance than expected in taking the Syrian Kurdish border town of Kobani, where the US military commander has boasted of taking advantage of the “opportunity” the jihadist army presented. US airstrikes on Isis positions in Kobani occur daily despite the Obama administration’s portrayal of the city as peripheral to its strategy. Yet military officials still caution that Isis may prevail there.

    Beyond Kobani, the US war effort, which has already morphed from its initial summer formations, has begun to look dire.

    On Tuesday Kirby confirmed that the “vetting process has not yet begun” for the desired proxy Syrian rebel force. While the US has secured facilities to host the training outside Syria, the military has yet to even announce an officer tasked with leading the vetting. Once the training gets underway, the Pentagon anticipates that an initial cohort of Syrian proxy units will take the better part of a year to field, and will total approximately 5,000 fighters, against an Isis force that may command as many as 31,000.


    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We have Zero casualties (after killing thousands of the other guys,) and the "war effort" looks dire?

      really?

      Delete
    2. How many civilians have been killed?

      Oh yeah from 30,000 feet they all look like unfriendlies

      Delete
    3. Go fuck yourself, wio. I don't fuck with you; don't fuck with me.

      Delete
    4. OH O

      Enough with that crap now.

      Knock it off, now.

      Delete
    5. Rufus IIThu Nov 06, 05:57:00 PM EST
      Go fuck yourself, wio. I don't fuck with you; don't fuck with me.


      It's an honest question.

      What the truth hurts?

      Delete
  29. If you will go

    Here,

    you will find that we have 146,600,000 people Employed in the United States.

    And, if you go

    Here

    you will find that there were 137,792,000 Americans working in Dec. 2009.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So, in a little less than 5 years we have put 8 Million, 800 Thousand (8,800) Americans back to work.

      Delete
    2. Most at lower paying, non-career jobs.

      Forget those that have given up....

      Delete
    3. If you'll notice, the number of Marginally Attached, and Discouraged Workers is actually Down, not up.

      Delete
    4. It's why people all over the USA voted for President Obama's party in the recent elections...........things are said to be great.

      Even though everyone knows things are not great.

      Delete
    5. Dumpster Diving is said to be the new 'growth industry'.

      Delete
  30. Obama's going to leave someone a hell of a lot better deal than Bush left him.

    And, considering that Bush actually Lost Jobs during his Presidency . . . . . . . .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oops, a little mea culpa, here; it looks like, by any reasonable metric I can come up with, Bush Did Not lose jobs during his Presidency.

      I might be missing something, but I think this is probably just a testament to being careful repeating anything read on the internet, or seen or heard on tv, or talk radio.

      Delete
    2. SO a major point avoided by the Obama supporters..

      Bush had a major economic attack at the last year of his presidency.

      Millions and Millions of jobs were lost.

      So since the business world was at it's LEANEST in decades how hard would, as the USA can back from the brink, to put those jobs back into play..

      Think of it....

      the contraction of the business world as traumatic and it's NATURAL for a rebound after such a contraction.

      Delete
    3. Some boosters learn from their mistakes, others ... not so much. Given the affinity of this administration for serial miscarriages of justice, how could any rational person take any metric as granted?

      Delete
  31. General Dempsey did not get the memo. This is the sort of service Israel would never get credit for at the EB. That's OK, the American people get the message, loud and clear.

    http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/US-sent-lessons-learned-team-to-model-Israel-tactics-in-Gaza-operation-381078
    US sent 'lessons learned' team to model Israel tactics in Gaza operation


    "Chairman of the joint chiefs of staff says US military learning from Israel's 'extraordinary lengths to limit collateral damage and civilian casualties.'"

    "'We sent a team of senior officers and non-commissioned officers over to work with the IDF to get the lessons from that particular operation in Gaza,' he told an audience at the Carnegie Endowment. He referred to the group of officers as the 'lessons learned team.'"

    "'But look– in this kind of conflict, where you are held to a standard that your enemy is not held to, you're going to be criticized for civilian casualties.'"

    Sweet ... :-)

    ReplyDelete
  32. Today is the fifth anniversary of the Fort Hood Massacre.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mere workplace dispute, a misunderstanding.....

      Delete
    2. So says the mighty "O". I hope the Congress overrides the administration on the issue of dependent benefits etc. Our troops were slaughtered just as surely as if the deed had been done downrange. One result of this perversity of justice is that the victims' children are not eligible for Chapter 35 educational benefits. I doubt they feel that America is better off with Obama at the helm.

      Delete
  33. Did you know the GOP now controls 66 of 99 state legislative houses?

    Yup.

    Obama's best move the next two years would simply be to go golfing full time.

    Those styrofoam pillars have melted. The halo is down by his ankles.

    The women no longer faint, some heckle.

    The oxygen has returned to their brains.

    It's over for Obozo.




    ReplyDelete
  34. Addressing the topic of this thread, Mr. Putin smells fear and, if nothing else, his adversaries are terrified because they have been caught woefully unprepared for Russian aggression. Mr. Putin knows full well that sanctions will have no impact on his ability to play territorial games. Since he has previously aggrandized Russia with impunity (See Ukraine and Georgia) and sees his adversaries bogged down in game playing in the ME and SW Asia, he is confident. Each time Syria, Iraq, Palestinian, or Israel is mentioned, he must smile from ear to ear. Both Russia and China are untouchable and know it. Poor Japan, Korea, Philippines, Vietnam, Finland, Poland, Ukraine, etc. are reduced to impotent whining. Contrary to the Finnish appraisal, Russia is not approaching the gates of a new Cold War, it is inside the walls.

    ReplyDelete
  35. In 2004, Republicans won big, and Democrats were left trying to figure out what went wrong.
    Then in 2006, Democrats won big, and they decided everything was fine. Republicans merely shrugged it off as the 6-year-itch that bedevils parties that hold the White House in a president's last midterm.

    2008, Democrats won big again, and Republicans were left fumbling for excuses, but mainly decided it was Bush's fault and an artifact of Barack Obama's historic campaign.

    In 2010, Republicans won big, so they were validated. All was fine! Democrats were left fumbling.

    In 2012, Democrats won big, so they decided everything was fine. Demographics and data to the rescue! Republicans decided to rebrand, until they decided fuck that, no rebranding was needed.

    And now in 2014, Republicans are validated again in the Democrats' own 6-year-itch election. Democrats are scrambling for answers.

    And I'll tell you what the future looks like:

    In 2016, Democrats will win big on the strength of presidential-year turnout. Republicans will realize they really have a shit time winning presidential elections, and maybe they should do something about that!

    In 2018, Republicans will win on the strength of off-year Democratic base apathy, and they'll decide everything is okay after all. And it's going to be brutal, because those are the governorships we need for 2020 redistricting. Republicans will then lock up the House for another decade.

    Then in 2020, Democrats will win on presidential year turnout, and ... you get the point.

    So in short, we have two separate Americas voting every two years. We have one that is more representative, that includes about 60 percent of voting age adults. Then we have one where we can barely get a third of voting age adults to turn out, and is much whiter and older than the country. And Democrats can win easily with the one, and Republicans can win easily with the other.

    And that cycle won't be broken until 1) the Democrats figure out how to inspire their voters to the polls on off years, or 2) Republicans figure out how to appeal to the nation's changing electorate.

    And given that each party is validated every two years after a blowout loss, the odds of either happening anytime soon? Bleak.

    Boom . . . . Bust

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      Naw, I say they are all just dicks and the public will keep voting them out of office on a regular basis until someone can prove they are capable of governing competently.

      .

      Delete
    2. There's something to what Ruf says, we all recognize the cycles. Quirk replies with his idiotic they are all dicks pseudo idea which enlightens not at all.

      It's the policies of the dicks that matter, not the dicks themselves. Taxes tend to be lower under Republican dicks. The level of corruption is slightly less. Keystone would get built. They lecture less. On and on.

      In short, not all dicks are the same. Some are slightly better than others.

      Obama has been a terrible dick, and an IDIOT.

      When Quirk says they are all dicks he is engaging in the infantile ego enhancement game - THEY are all dicks, but I, QUIRK,, am not a dick. I am above all that.

      Delete
    3. .

      Now, you got it Obumble. Finally.

      (Unfortunately, you will likely forget it by tomorrow if history is any guide.)

      .

      Delete
    4. .

      What we can expect from the GOP.

      There is a good chance John 'Cowboy' McCain will become Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. That should be enough to scare the bejeesus out of anyone.

      In the position, McCain will drive defense policy on Capitol Hill, including the Senate’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act dictating how the Pentagon spends money. He will also determine the foreign policy agenda of the United States.

      McCain and a clique of neocon Republicans have called for boots on the ground in Syria and Iraq. In addition to sending U.S. troops, McCain has called for arming the Kurds and intensive airstrikes against the Islamic State as the terrorist army consolidates recent military gains.

      He also wants to bolster support for the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) which is, as we noted on Sunday, an anachronism. Any distinction between the FSA, al-Nusra and the Islamic State is now rhetorical.


      http://www.infowars.com/election-win-mccain-will-head-up-senates-armed-services-committee/


      They lecture less.

      You are hopeless.

      .

      Delete
    5. .

      John McCain traveled to Kiev in December to give his support to fascist elements attempting to remove Ukraine’s elected president from power. He met Ukrainian opposition leaders Arseniy Yatsenyuk and Oleh Tyahnybok. Yatsenyuk, a former banker with connections to the financial elite, became interim prime minister. Tyahnybok is a member of the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian Parliament, and the leader of nationalist Svoboda political party. He has complained that Ukraine is controlled by a "Muscovite-Jewish mafia” and warns “Germans, kikes and other scum” want to “take away our Ukrainian state.”

      Haven't we seen this film before?

      .

      Delete
  36. .

    You're right. Taking the word of an American Major General over that of an Al Queda Terrorist - I must be mad.

    'Al Qaeda Terrorist'? Gee I don't remember mention of an al Qaeda terrorist in that LA Times story, Iraqi news outlets, Iraqi officials, but no al Qaeda terrorist. And now that I think about it, I seem to recall the US spokesman was a Rear Admiral rather than a Major General.

    :o)

    ...I think this is probably just a testament to being careful repeating anything read on the internet, or seen or heard on tv, or talk radio.

    Hey, just kidding.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  37. .

    You're right. Taking the word of an American Major General over that of an Al Queda Terrorist - I must be mad.

    Now, don't be getting down on yourself.

    Credulous sure. Bonkers? Naw.

    Well, not entirely anyway.

    .


    ReplyDelete
  38. .

    When faced with success in conflict broadcast it to the heavens, when faced with setbacks, lie.

    The Amended Sun Tzu

    .

    ReplyDelete
  39. When faced with Al Sharpton, change the channel.

    ReplyDelete
  40. "The secret of a tolerable political life is not to take it very seriously until the shooting starts."

    Wayne Mayoo

    ReplyDelete
  41. CLAIM: One Person's Brain Controlled Another's Movements in Mind Control Study..........drudge


    Nothing unusual in this .......Crapper has 80% of us rolling on the floor laughing everyday, just by stroking a keyboard.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      I assume drugs were involved in the study.

      .

      Delete
    2. Re: I assume drugs were involved in the study.

      ... only among the staff ...

      Delete
  42. CHARLIE LEDUFF IN THE NEWS


    Tries to outsquat Detroit squatter !!!

    Showdown between squatter aka Q. and LeDuff-



    Video: What happens when a reporter tries to out-squat a squatter in Detroit?
    posted at 10:01 pm on November 6, 2014 by Mary Katharine Ha

    Here’s Detroit reporter Charlie LeDuff, a truly great writer and character, giving a Detroit squatter a taste of her (his? It’s somewhat in question.) own medicine. A homeowner had allegedly been attacked by the squatter while trying to sell the property, so LeDuff paid a visit:

    Classic LeDuff/Sqautter Showdown here -

    http://hotair.com/archives/2014/11/06/video-what-happens-when-a-reporter-tries-to-out-squat-a-squatter-in-detroit/


    Attention All Quirk Lovers/Haters !

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

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Don't forget Idaho Vandals Football this coming Saturday Folks !

      Idaho AT San Diego State..........grrrrrrrrrrr

      Delete
  44. Campaign 2016 begins: Ben Carson to air 40-minute “introduction” ad in 22 states this weekend
    posted at 8:41 pm on November 6, 2014 by Allahpundit

    Share on Facebook 236
    293 SHARES

    Important news for two reasons. One: ABC is right. This really is the unofficial start to the next election.

    Two: Given how well Carson’s polling in Iowa at this very, very, very, very early stage, he might just be the grassroots stalking horse President Romney needs to beat back more formidable conservatives like Ted Cruz and Rand Paul.

    That should be worth an appointment to surgeon general in the Romney administration, if you ask me.

    Carson, a famous pediatric neurosurgeon and conservative political star, will air a nearly 40 minute-long ad introducing himself to the American people this weekend, an aide to Carson confirms to ABC News.

    The documentary titled “A Breath of Fresh Air: A New Prescription for America” will air in 22 states and Washington, DC. The paid video will detail some of his biography and family life, including his rise from being born to a single mother with a poor childhood in Detroit to director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins for almost 40 years, known for his work separating conjoined twins, to potential 2016 presidential candidate…

    In an ABC News/Washington Post poll from last month of the potential 2016 presidential candidates showed Carson in seventh place garnering seven percent of the vote after other notables including Jeb Bush, Mike Huckabee, Chris Christie, and Marco Rubio.

    Carson has a grassroots effort to draft him for a 2016 presidential run that has raised millions for the effort.

    It’ll air Sunday after the morning chat shows or NFL games, depending upon the state. ABC’s not kidding about his fans raising millions either: As of mid-October, the Draft Ben Carson for President PAC had drawn $10.6 million in donations, among the biggest hauls of any PAC this year. And they didn’t do it with mega-millions gifted to them by billionaires; 90 percent of their haul came from small donors. A lot of blog readers seem to be in eyeroll mode about a Carson candidacy right now, preferring more seasoned pols like Cruz and Paul, but there are people out there who like him. And there’s plenty of room for him to impress at the debates. Voters are expecting a vanity candidacy run by a famous neurosurgeon, but if he walks out there and shows some policy know-how, he’ll be taken seriously as a politician by some righties who are looking for an outside-the-box choice. His effect on Iowa if he sticks this out won’t be zero, I think, especially with voters in torches-and-pitchforks mode for Beltway types.

    Here’s the man himself formally changing his party registration from independent to Republican this past week, in case there was any lingering doubt that he’s serious about this.

    video of Ben



    Ben Carson for President 2016


    (Romney stay home)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Romney or Bush, one or the other will be the Republican nominee.
      Doc Carson, just doesn't not have the resources to be competitive.

      Har de har har.

      Delete
    2. I wouldn't be so certain of that.

      Political 'resources' are mostly in the man.

      Get a good man, the resources follow.

      Take a look at history.

      Delete
    3. That was a cute little har de har har.

      Like it, huh?

      Delete
    4. Looked at the other way, all the 'resources' in the world couldn't get you elected dog catcher once people got to know you.

      Delete
    5. Robert, you "Draft Dodger", you are not certain of anything, any more ...
      Ever since that barium enema, you've just not been 'yourself'

      Delete
  45. Amid revelations that Obama sent a letter to Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei last month pointing out the countries' shared interest in beating ISIS, a senior U.S. official and a Western diplomat tell CNN that Washington has gone through the Iraqis to communicate with Iran.

    The conversations do not include taking joint military action against ISIS targets, the sources said, but are seen as necessary to avert conflict in U.S. and Iranian operations.

    Senior White House adviser Dan Pfeiffer wouldn't address specific outreach efforts in an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, but said: "We work very closely with the Iraqis and the Iraqis have a relationship with the Iranians."
    Photos: The ISIS terror threat Photos: The ISIS terror threat

    The discussions through the Iraqis are informal and conducted on a case-by-case basis via the Iraqi military, the sources said. The channels have become necessary, the U.S. military official said, because the United States and Iran are now operating in the same spaces. As a result, "accommodations must be made indirectly,"

    ReplyDelete
  46. Boy oh boy, I see, above that so many inept and incompetent bloggers still cannot use the HTML codes.

    Even those that can on one occasion, seem to forget how to as soon as the desk co-ordninaor leaves their side.

    As if their posts were a Team Effort.

    Funny, funny shit, these Social Media Commandos that the Israeli deploy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Re: Even those that (sic) can on occasion ...

      The word you need at "sic" is not "that", but "who"... always glad to help non-native speakers ...

      Delete
  47. But ... Bibi's ineptitude is cutting Israel Out of the Loop
    Probably because he represents a Sick Society

    Obama sent letter to Iran's Khamenei; Israel kept in the dark

    ... if Israel really wasn’t informed about the letter to Khamenei, and learned of it only from the Wall Street Journal, that is liable to deepen the already severe lack of trust between Jerusalem and Washington on an issue –Iran – that is critical to their relationship.

    Israel has been critical of the US, that tail no longer seems to wag the dog ...
    And Mr Obama, he is still the President. Will be for a couple more years ...

    Little wonder, then, that Mr Kissinger thinks that Israel's future is so, so bleak.

    Henry Kissinger: ''In 10 years Israel will cease to exist''
    8 years to go ...
    http://www.kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2012/10/30/16913.shtml


    http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.625144

    ReplyDelete

  48. 106 retired Israeli generals, spy chiefs urge Netanyahu to push for peace
    Israel has the strength and means to reach a two-state solution that doesn't entail a security risk, signatories write in a letter sent to the prime minister.


    But Bibi will not do it he is representative of a Society that is Sick.
    He exemplifies the disease.

    Israel’s Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren told the Jerusalem Post that Israel so wanted Assad out and his Iranian backers weakened, that Israel would accept al-Qaeda operatives taking power in Syria.

    http://www.jpost.com/Syria-Crisis/Oren-Jerusalem-has-wanted-Assad-ousted-since-the-outbreak-of-the-Syrian-civil-war-326328


    http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.624251

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The sentiment, that Israel Prefers al-Qeada, echoed in the Israeli military

      West making big mistake in fighting ISIS, says senior Israeli officer
      IDF Northern Command officer says he thinks the U.S.-led coalition intervened too early against the Sunni militants, and 'not necessarily in the right direction.'


      "A strange situation has been created in which the United States, Canada and France are on the same side as Hezbollah, Iran and Assad. That doesn't make sense, ... I believe the West intervened too early and not necessarily in the right direction,"

      Israel is Out of the Loop thanks to the ineptitude of Bibi and the collapse of Israeli society.

      “I’m not asking if they’ve forgotten how to be Jews, but if they’ve forgotten how to be decent human beings.
      Have they forgotten how to converse?”

      - Reuven Rivlin, President of Israel

      Delete

  49. Ukraine Says 32 Tanks Cross Border as Tensions Intensify

    Dozens of tanks and other military vehicles crossed the border into Ukraine from Russia, the government in Kiev said, as tensions between the former Soviet republics threatened to escalate into open war.

    Military vehicles poured into Ukraine in multiple places and Ukraine’s army was preparing “for an adequate reaction,” military spokesman Andriy Lysenko told reporters in Kiev today. He said pro-Russian militants were shelling government troops in the conflict zone with grad missile systems, mortars and artillery, killing five servicemen and wounding 16.

    “Russia continues to supply manpower and military vehicles to Ukraine’s Donbas,” Lysenko said. “Yesterday, 32 tanks, 16 howitzers, and 30 trucks with ammunition and manpower crossed the border from Russia” into the conflict-torn Luhansk region.

    ReplyDelete
  50. A good jobs report this morning.

    The number of Employed increased by 683,000.

    The number of part-time for Economic Reasons fell by 76,000.

    Wages increased a little bit, and

    Hours increased by o.1 (this is, actually, a lot bigger deal than the small increase in wages.)

    BLS Release

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The labor force increased by 416,000, and the unemployment rate still dropped by 0.1%.

      Delete
  51. http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials-on-the-right/110614-725342-voters-tell-republicans-to-oppose-obama-policies.htm?p=full
    Did Voters Really Choose Compromise And Conciliation?

    Buchanan is right on target.

    ReplyDelete
  52. Don't project where the people are, by the low voter turnout of a midterm election that is of little consequence.

    An estimated 37% of eligible voters cast a ballot in the 2014 midterm

    Voter turnout lowest since World War II
    An estimated 37% of eligible voters cast a ballot in the 2014 midterm elections, which would be the lowest since 1942 if the projection holds.

    Michael McDonald, an associate professor at the University of Florida, estimated the turnout rate based on Associated Press tallies of votes reported so far and posted state-by-state data on his United States Election Project website.

    He cautions that the turnout rate is a preliminary projection that could be revised based on the outstanding ballots cast on Election Day still to be counted, along with provisional ballots and those still coming in by mail.

    The turnout rate was 34% in 1942 because Americans were off fighting in World War II, McDonald said.

    ..........................................................................

    Actual election turnout far lower than reported

    Public opinion polls such as the one released by Gallup earlier this week suggested that fewer Americans cared about this election than in previous years.

    But the data also proved more complicated than we anticipated. Election turnout is often cited as an indicator of the strength of the mandate of winning candidates, but it can be a misleading statistic: Turnout is usually measured as a proportion of registered voters, rather than of those eligible to vote – and U.S. census numbers show that more than 70 million U.S. citizens of voting age are not currently registered voters.

    Turnout in midterm elections measured by participation of registered voters has has fallen since 1840, according to the Pew Research Center. Voter turnout in 2010 rose slightly, but 2014 turnout is a return to the declining trend.


    The election of 2014 ...
    It don't mean nothin'

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Indiana voter turnout hit record low as GOP romped to victory
      Indiana’s voter turnout Tuesday hit a modern-day record low — and likely is the lowest in state history.

      Based on preliminary vote totals, it appears that turnout will fall somewhere between 29 and 35 percent. The previous low was 39 percent in 2002, according to Secretary of State data online going back to 1954.

      Delete
    2. Re: The election of 2014 ...
      It don't mean nothin'

      Actually, it does, which is why we have them. That may seem strange for a non-native-born American (?), but we, Americans, have usually preferred ballots to bullets.

      Delete
    3. Th election of 2014 will have no consequence.
      It may generate a headline, or three.
      But nothing of consequence.

      Watch and learn ...
      I know your learning curve will be steep, as it would for anyone that thought Mark Twain was a real person and not a literary character, one created by Samuel Clemens.

      Now I will grant you that Mark Twain may just be the greatest literary character in the history of US literature, but he was just a character.

      Delete

    4. "We have the best government that money can buy"

      - Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain)

      Since allen has qualified Samuel as a quotable authority ...

      Delete
  53. NY City Ebola patient to be out of quarantine, soon.

    Epidemic fizzling

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 357 people now being monitored for Ebola in New York

      The number of people who are being actively monitored for Ebola in New York has tripled to 357 people, none of whom has displayed any symptoms, city health officials announced Wednesday.

      The vast majority of those being monitored arrived in New York in the last 21 days from West Africa, the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation said in a statement. Those under monitoring are being checked out of “an abundance of caution,” the statement said.

      http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-ohio-ebola-free-monitoring-20141105-story.html

      If the Epidemic is fizzling why is there a ramp up of military spending on "mobil transports"?

      Pentagon builds units to transport Ebola patients

      As more U.S. troops head to West Africa, the Pentagon is developing portable isolation units that can carry up to 12 Ebola patients for transport on military planes.

      The Pentagon says it does not expect it will need the units for 3,000 U.S. troops heading to the region to combat the virus because military personnel will not be treating Ebola patients directly. Instead, the troops are focusing on building clinics, training personnel and testing patient blood samples for Ebola.

      Delete
  54. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/11/explosions-hit-fatah-officials-gaza-strip-201411724146181350.html
    Explosions hit Fatah officials in Gaza Strip
    Series of co-ordinated blasts target homes of leaders of President Mahmud Abbas' Fatah party in Hamas-ruled territory.


    Al Jazeera shows a weakness with facts when it reports: "Hamas gained control of Gaza from Fatah after winning the 2007 elections."
    It did not happen quite that way. Hamas first successful staged a coup and drove Fatah out of Gaza. Then, followed elections.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Who set the bombs ?

      It has been well established that Israel prefers Hamas to Fatah.

      Delete
    2. Jack HawkinsFri Nov 07, 10:01:00 AM EST
      Who set the bombs ?
      It has been well established that Israel prefers Hamas to Fatah.


      It has been well established that you lie, distort and are incapable of telling the truth under any circumstances.

      Delete
    3. Wrong, again, "O"rdure.
      No one has ever found a lie, that could be timestamped and posted....
      Sorry, Loser

      Delete
    4. Sorry Jack I looked up what a liar is in the dictionary and NO WHERE did it say I needed a timestamp..

      LIAR

      Delete
    5. The accusation is grondless, Loser
      That's the point.
      Why not quote that definition, and italicize it?

      Delete
    6. Go get the desk co-ordinator and let her do it, for you.

      {;-)

      Delete
    7. Because, we don't want to have "One Standard for US and another for Israeli".

      That's just not 'right'

      {;-)

      Delete
    8. The accusation is grondless, Loser



      What is a "grondless"?

      Delete
  55. It's hard being "The Party of the People That Don't Vote in Midterms."

    :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's even harder being the party of the ungrateful dead.

      Delete
  56. Jack HawkinsFri Nov 07, 06:27:00 AM EST
    "As if their posts were a Team Effort."

    Yep, I knew it could not last too long. It is hard to catch you napping, you sly old fox. I expressed my reservations the other day as WiO, Bob, Quirk, and I were working out at the Mossad gym. That’s the one on the tenth floor below the Washington Monument – not to be confused with the one Mossad shares with AIPAC under the West Wing. I told them straight up, “Rat will catch us. He is just too darned smart to be fooled – a genuine genius is Brother Rat.” But nobody listens to me. Good catch!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you had posted my quot in italics ... the blogging standard, your point would be well taken.
      If you had italicized the other purported quotes ... the blogging standard, your point would be well taken.

      But since you cannot do that ... meet the minimum standards, it merely makes my point.


      “I’m not asking if they’ve forgotten how to be Jews, but if they’ve forgotten how to be decent human beings.
      Have they forgotten how to converse?”

      - Reuven Rivlin, President of Israel

      Delete
    2. No matter WHAT we would have done, you would have found fault, an issue or a problem.

      Our team of EXPERTS have realized that even the smartest MIT and YALE interns we have here at Mossad Central, (My office is 8 floors below the Cleveland Indian's playing fields) are no match for you…

      Delete
  57. One of Liberty Blitzkrieg’s most popular posts in 2013 was titled: How Does America’s Middle Class Rank Globally? #27.
    Here’s an excerpt:

    We are number 1 right? USA! USA! No one can beat our wealth creation machine, our economic dynamism, our level playing field and our bastions of higher education. We have a middle class that is the envy of the world, right?

    Well, like so much of the “American dream” we have been force fed for a generation or more, this perception is not based in reality whatsoever. Sure it may have been the case for a couple of decades immediately after World War 2.

    Before the military-industrial-Wall Street complex fully took over the political process, but it certainly isn’t true any longer. Myths die hard and this one is particularly pernicious because it prevents people from changing things.


    Just 47 Wealthy Americans Own More Than Half of the US Population

    Oxfam reported that just 85 people own as much as half the world. Here in the US, with nearly a third of the world’s wealth, just 47 individuals own more than all 160 million people (about 60 million households) below the median wealth level of about $53,000.

    ReplyDelete
  58. The job-killer, Obamacare, was passed on Mar. 23, 2010. Since then, the U.S. has added 8,378 Jobs.

    That's some "job-killer."

    138,905 Working on Mar 23, 2010

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

      Delete
    2. Since then, the U.S. has added 8,378,000 Jobs

      Delete
    3. more like RECOVERED

      Delete
    4. .

      There will always be arguments on Obamacare .

      Proponents will argue the job growth since Obamacare was passed and the jobs created in the healthcare industry. Opponents will argue there is little correlation between the two since Obamacare wasn't implement until 2013 and then only partially. They will also argue about the quality of jobs created that results from hour limitations set to meet the requirements of the program.

      Because certain groups received waivers until this year, it will probably a while before we can see the real effects.

      On the actual employment numbers, we can make any point we want as long as we pick the 'right' numbers and 'ignore' others.

      There is no doubt the employment picture has been improving on a quantitative basis for the last couple years. For the last 9 months or so it has been good. That being said, it has been 5 years and this has been one of the slowest recoveries ever.

      Above, Rufus points out that since December 2009, 8.8 million jobs have been created. If we go from March, 2009, after Tarp and after the stimulus program was approved the net gain is only 6.5 million jobs.

      Perhaps, more importantly whether we start in March or December of 2009, there is a net drop in the civilian labor force participation rate, 65.6% (Mar, 2009) to 62.8% (now) or 64.6% (Dec, 2009) to 62.8% (now).

      The declining participation rate despite the rise in jobs can be explained in part by population growth (11 million in the period), choices to opt out (ie college students who elect to stay in school due to poor employment prospects and not wanting to start the clock on student loan payments), and those long-term unemployed who are discouraged and have given up.

      While some cite Baby Boomer retirements as a factor, I would doubt it has much effect given that some Boomers are choosing to work longer now due to economic uncertainty and because the Millennials (a group larger than the Boomers) is now entering (trying to enter?) the workforce.

      As important as the quantity of jobs created is the quality of the jobs being created. While this seem to be improving slightly, the stories about the huge amount of part time jobs, the employed and underemployed continue.

      This was no doubt a factor in the election.

      .

      Delete
  59. A column of 32 tanks, 16 howitzer artillery systems and trucks carrying ammunition and fighters has crossed into eastern Ukraine from Russia, the Kiev military said on Friday.

    "The deployment continues of military equipment and Russian mercenaries to the front lines," spokesman Andriy Lysenko said in a televised briefing referring to Thursday's cross-border incursion.


    ReplyDelete
  60. Haven't read a word Jack's written today, hardly ever do. Was just wondering, if anybody else has read him today, is he flapping his Schopenhaueran ham today, or his Teddy Roosevelt ham? By quoting, of course. I Big Black Letters, to impress the brunettes. Cause he can't think himself.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No one reads this blog except the few of us…

      Now if start counting all the loggings that Jack USES?

      it' would be in the hundreds…

      :)

      Delete
  61. Visitors last 10 minutes:

    Germany Berlin
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    United States Byram, Mississippi
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    United States Phoenix, Arizona
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    United States Springfield, Illinois
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    Unknown
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    United States Byram, Mississippi
    30
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    Japan
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    United States Springfield, Illinois
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    Unknown

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Byram, Mississippi.

      That's down by Jackson (I live up in the North-Western corner of the state.)

      Byram, Ms

      Delete
  62. .

    Given the amount of people that post here that is a little surprising; however, what is more surprising is the amount of times I have googled a topic and a reference to the EB has popped up. It probably should be a warning for me to clean up my act a bit.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  63. It doesn’t surprise me. It is very intimidating and comes off as very clubby.

    If you were logged on before that ten minute period, you would not come up.

    ReplyDelete
  64. I’m going to Szczecin in the morning and back to the States Sunday.

    ReplyDelete
  65. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BM-DGaNmtA0#t=19
    AF2011-A1 "Second Century" - Double barrel pistol

    ReplyDelete
  66. .

    9:54 P.M. U.S. authorizes deployment of up to 1,500 additional U.S. military personnel to Iraq

    White House authorizes deployment of up to 1,500 additional U.S. military personnel in non-combat roles to train, advise ans assist Iraqi security forces, including Kurdish forces.

    Obama will ask Congress for $5.6 billion for overseas contingency operations in fight against ISIS.


    http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/middle-east-updates/1.625241


    Well, it has been 3 days since the election.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  67. The Muslim Brotherhood is in Jordan, doing what they do best. Will there be a rerun of 1970?

    http://news.yahoo.com/video/brotherhood-wants-jordan-scrap-peace-164621231.html
    Brotherhood wants Jordan to scrap peace treaty with Israel

    ReplyDelete
  68. All those national and international viewers in the last ten minutes Deuce?

    Nothing but Vandal Fans, straining, yearning for any word of mine about tomorrow's Idaho v San Diego State football game, on air 3:30 Pacific.

    I shall, be 'on air' as usual unless I am having a particularly good day at the Casino.

    An away game, San Diego State is at the top of their league, we at the bottom of ours, and our league is the shits of the two.

    Prediction: Look for our long history making string of on the road loses to remain intact, increased by one.

    In short, they are gonna rip us a new asshole.

    Stay tuned, Vandal Fans !

    GO VANDALS !!!!!!!!!

    P.S. - Quirk tried for the cheer squad as a 'walk on' but was turned away when it was discovered over twenty poms- poms had gone 'missing'.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Along with three Vandalette pom-pom girls.......and a Vandal Tour Bus.......

      Delete
    2. A mysterious note was left behind - "let not they heart be worried, all shall be well at halftime"......

      Delete
  69. Genetically Modified Potato Approved by USDA...

    DNA altered........................drudge


    This is just be the breakthrough we have all been hoping for in a cure for Ash.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Word one is genes from the famous Idaho Spud have been successfully crossed into human couch potatoes such as Ash.

      Energy levels, thought processes, rationality, outlook on life in general, and sexual performance all dramatically improved, early results indicate.

      Delete
    2. Test Subject II, known as Rufus II, showed lesser improvement, possibly due to age and the fact this subject hadn't been out of his computer chair in over decade.

      A 'control'/'controlled' subject - he is incarcerated - Jack Hawkins, showed no improvement at all, leading investigators to speculate 'non-human' factors might be involved here.

      Delete
  70. For an American military struggling to respond to crises around the world, the answer might be just a little less firepower and a little more coup de maƮtre.

    At least that’s the RAND Corporation’s idea. A new report from the California think tank analyzes Operation Serval—France’s 2013 intervention in Mali—and argues the United States can learn a lot from how the French fight.

    This is also relevant as Army chief Gen. Ray Odierno wants the Army to shift to smaller units more closely tied to the service’s six combatant commands.
    http://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2014/11/07/think_tank_to_us_army_be_more_like_the_french_107532.html

    ReplyDelete
  71. .

    An automotive intifada?

    THE destruction of the temple in Jerusalem by the Romans in 70AD is seared in Jewish memory and carved in marble on the Arch of Titus in Rome, which depicts legionnaires carrying off the temple menorah. Every day since then, Jews have prayed that the temple may soon be rebuilt.

    For most, this has been an abstract longing for a future perfection, to be realised when the Messiah appears. Until then, they have been content to pray at their traditional holy place, the Western (formerly Wailing) Wall, at the foot of the mount where the temple once stood. For a growing band of zealots, however, this is not enough. Rabbis and activists have been preparing for the restoration of the temple and challenging the ban on Jews praying on the esplanade on top of the mount, the Haram al-Sharif, site of two venerable Muslim shrines, the golden Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa mosque.

    This would be esotericc if it were not so dangerous. A minority obsession with the temple is entering the mainstream and creating a vicious cycle. More temple activists, among them politicians and ministers, are visiting the Haram to demand the right to pray. To some, this is the first step to sweeping away the mosques. In turn, Palestinian rioters vow to “defend al-Aqsa”, the third-holiest site in Islam. The attempted murder of a prominent temple activist, Yehuda Glick, on October 29th has redoubled calls for Jewish prayers and more restrictions on Muslims. As Palestinians adopt a new tactic of driving into Jewish pedestrians, there is talk of a new uprising, even of war...


    http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21631026-binyamin-netanyahu-must-resist-dangerous-campaign-jewish-prayer-rights-muslim-holy

    .

    ReplyDelete