COLLECTIVE MADNESS


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

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Israeli arrogance is being answered by the EU

Secret EU Document Reveals Israel Sanctions Policy

EU has distributed document to member-states outlining punishments against Israel for 'red lines' - like Jerusalem construction.
By Ari Yashar First Publish: 11/17/2014, 9:41 ISRAEL NATIONAL NEWS

EU's Federica Mogherini, Mahmoud Abbas
EU's Federica Mogherini, Mahmoud Abbas
STR/Flash 90
The European Union (EU) has sent a secret document to its 28 member states detailing sanctions to be taken against Israel, if it takes moves the EU feels compromises the creation of an Arab state of ‘Palestine' inside Israel.

The paper, drafted by the European External Action Service (EEAS), was distributed to European diplomats who were told not to show it to Israel yet, according to Haaretz. Israeli diplomats in Europe became aware of the document and reported on it to the Foreign Ministry.

Some of the "red lines" which the EU would react to by punishing Israel with the sanctions include construction in the E1 area between Jerusalem and Ma'ale Adumim, as well as in Jerusalem neighborhoods over the 1949 Armistice line. According to the EU, such moves would prevent a division of Jerusalem by which it would be the capital of both Israel and “Palestine."

Sanctions under discussion in the document reportedly include marking products from Judea and Samaria in EU supermarkets to facilitate boycotts, limiting cooperation with Israel, and even limiting the free-trade agreement with Israel.

"There is big frustration in Europe and zero tolerance for settlement activity. This paper is part of the internal brainstorming being done in Brussels these days, about what can be done to keep the two-state solution alive,” a European diplomat revealed.

According to the diplomat and his colleagues, the document contains “sticks and carrots" to foist Europe's political vision on Israel - they acknowledged it mostly contains "sticks."

EU policy up to this point has put the development of ties with Israel as contingent upon the "peace process." The caveat of the new document is that the EU will now take negative steps such as sanctions and restrictions in ties in response to actions it views as being against that process.

“This paper is an uncooked dish and the process is only beginning, but it is slowly continuing," warned a senior European diplomat.

Officials speaking to Haaretz revealed the document was drafted by Christian Berger of Austria, the director for Middle East of the EEAS. Berger was behind EU sanctions last July as well.

The talk of EU sanctions comes two weeks after human rights groups and political parties in Europe demanded that the EU threaten to suspend the Association Agreement with Israel, which is the central treaty between the two sides. They called for the threat so as to force Israel to give a report on its actions fighting the Hamas terror group in Operation Protective Edge.

At the time Federica Mogherini, the EU’s new foreign affairs chief, was in Israel where she called to divide the Israeli capital of Jerusalem.

European officials last month revealed they are weighing various punitive actions against Israel, such as a travel ban on Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria with any criminal record, as well as moves to subvert the trade agreement.

The various moves against Israel come as anti-Semitism has been shown to be skyrocketing in Europe, with research revealing exponential increases in anti-Semitic acts and speech particularly around the recent Gaza operation.

118 comments:

  1. If you need proof that Israel is being run by religious nut jobs, read some of the comments.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The Israeli Lobby doesn’t like the First Amendment unless it supports them of course:

    A recent letter provides university officials with excellent advice on free speech in connection with issues of Israel and Palestine. The bottom line is this: Political speech, regardless of its civility, is protected by the First Amendment.

    The letter, sent November 4 to over 140 universities, was signed by seven attorneys and officers representing the Center for Constitutional Rights, the National Lawyers Guild, Palestine Solidarity Legal Support, Advancing Justice, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations. It makes two points. First, the expression of political views does not violate the civil rights of those who object to those views. Second, the First Amendment protects speech regardless of its "civility."

    The letter begins by noting the present context:

    Recently, expression about Israel, Palestine, and the United States' role in the Middle East has been a flashpoint for university administrators who have been asked to condemn certain viewpoints, monitor student expression or activism, and in some cases, to censor or punish students or faculty based on their opinions about these issues.
    Acknowledging the challenge posed by "the deeply-held beliefs and passions of students, faculty, and community members," the letter urges:

    We hope your university--through its policies, public statements, and actions--will treat freedom of speech not as a burden or a legal limitation, but rather, as a foundational value that enables searching scholarship and democratic governance.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Please don’t complain about the post. In the previous post I picked a place about as far away from Israel as possible (a comet) and the “its all about Israel” team took the field.

    The Netanyahu regime has setup Israel for more blowback from their hostage tribal areas and rejection by their former supporters, but as usual, it is all about Israeli denial of the consequences of their own bad behavior.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Egypt will double the depth of a security buffer zone it is clearing on its border with the Gaza Strip after some of the worst anti-state violence since President Mohamed Morsi was overthrown last year.

      Egypt declared a state of emergency in the border area after at least 33 security personnel were killed last month in two attacks in the Sinai Peninsula, a strategic region bordering Israel, Gaza and the Suez Canal.

      It also accelerated plans to create a 500-meter deep buffer strip along the border by clearing houses and trees and destroying subterranean tunnels it says are used to smuggle arms from Gaza to militants in Sinai.

      No one likes the Gazans..

      Egypt is fed up...

      Blowing up more and more homes of Gazans, about to dig a TRENCH... Doubling the width of the border..

      LOL

      Sometimes the truth rings out...

      Hamas sucks.

      Delete
  4. Your post is right on time!

    You did post 2 non-jew/israel bashing posts in a week and it's a record for the books!!!!

    But it's interesting that you post this topic and didn't post one on the Palestinian Unity Government's incitement for violence.

    The real blowback?

    It's happening as we speak...

    It just doesn't get the news headlines...

    Palestinians shown dancing in the streets, Hamas and Fatah celebrating the slaughter of 4 rabbis and as a "victory"... Handing out sweets...

    Everyday more and more people, the real ones, not those living in ivory towers, see the violence and sickness of the arab/islamic world..

    layers on an onion...

    Car bombings in iraq, pakistan, lebanon, syria, yemen, sudan, libya, mali... Hostage taking and murder by the scores in Nigeria, Sinai and others all by arabs and moslems... tens of millions of real refugees made really homeless by arabs and moslems...

    London, Sweden, France? have no go zones taken over by moslems...

    Now Ferguson! Islamic radicals are there too!!!

    As for Europe? They are dying. The EU? It's a joke.

    How did they stand up to Russia and the Ukraine issue? THEY FOLDED..

    SO they are going to "sanction" Israel?

    Sorry Deuce, but the EU can go fuck it's self. What has Europe done for Israel?

    Well let's see... It has provided them most radical arabs a base for decades, it now has the largest growing Islamist populations outside of the middle east...

    Maybe the PEOPLE of the EU will wake up and decide that they are tired of providing their women to be raped, their homes to be looted and their cars to be set on fire soon...

    and when they wake up?

    Sanctions against Israel aint going to be shit..

    Rather?

    Real violence against the moslems/arabs that are destroying Europe...

    ReplyDelete
  5. Now this is punishment..

    European officials last month revealed they are weighing various punitive actions against Israel, such as a travel ban on Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria with any criminal record, as well as moves to subvert the trade agreement.


    Wow, they will put a travel ban in effect for Jewish criminals...

    Heck even I LIKE THAT...

    Jews with CRIMINAL records should not be able to come to the USA. But I also wonder the inverse..

    Does the EU allow Moslems with criminal records access to Europe?

    If so WHY?

    Why should CRIMINALS be allowed to travel internationally?

    ReplyDelete
  6. The European Union (EU) has sent a secret document to its 28 member states detailing sanctions to be taken against Israel, if it takes moves the EU feels compromises the creation of an Arab state of ‘Palestine' inside Israel.

    Does the EU have a similar document for Turkey and it's occupation of Cyprus? Russia and Crimea? China and Tibet? England and the it's Colonies? Does the EU have a position paper on Spain and the Basque? How about Syria, Iran, Iraq, Turkey and the Kurds?

    What they don't?

    Oh my,

    I guess the Europeans, after failing to solve the Jewish question in Europe, they now need to add their expertise in solving the Jewish question in the middle east...

    And it is arrogant for the Jews not to listen to the EU...

    LOL

    ReplyDelete
  7. "There is big frustration in Europe and zero tolerance for settlement activity. This paper is part of the internal brainstorming being done in Brussels these days, about what can be done to keep the two-state solution alive,” a European diplomat revealed.


    How dare Jews build in Jerusalem.

    It's an interesting question...

    Reminds me of how England helped the Jews in the olden days..

    In 1290, King Edward I issued an edict expelling all Jews from England. The expulsion edict remained in force for the rest of the Middle Ages. The edict was not an isolated incident, but the culmination of over 200 years of increased persecution. Oliver Cromwell permitted Jews to return to England in 1657, over 350 years since their banishment by Edward I, in exchange for finance.


    Maybe the EU should advocate in clear terms it's policy.

    Jews should die. Die quietly and not live.

    Do not live in Europe, do not live in Jerusalem, Do not live in Tel Aviv.

    Do not live..

    :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. How about: Do not be so stupidly obnoxious.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Rufus IIWed Nov 19, 08:28:00 AM EST
    How about: Do not be so stupidly obnoxious.


    What does that actually mean?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Syrian aircraft dropped crude explosives on a neighborhood in the northern Aleppo province on Tuesday, killing at least 14 people, including children, and wounded another 20, activists said.

    The Qabr al-Inglizi neighborhood was struck by several so-called barrel bombs, according to the Aleppo Media Center, an activist collective, and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on activists on the ground in the war-torn country.

    Syrian aircraft have dropped hundreds of barrel bombs on rebel-held neighborhoods over the course of the civil war, killing thousands of civilians and causing widespread destruction. The crude tactic -- which often involves hurling explosives-filled canisters from helicopters -- has been widely criticized by human rights groups because the bombs cannot be precisely targeted.

    The Observatory said at least 14 people were killed, including five children and three women, and that the death toll was likely to rise because more people were buried under the rubble. It said the bombs struck an ambulance and several microbuses.


    Wow...

    I guess Iran and Russia are proud...

    ReplyDelete
  11. No civilized society would destroy the homes of innocent women, and children, because of a crime committed by a family member.

    Only a "religious" country would do that.

    If there really is a special place in hell, it has to be reserved for the Christians, Jews, and Muslims.

    ReplyDelete
  12. ... the worst kept "secret" of the year ...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. By the way, to real news, Russia is in the Ukraine.

      :-)

      Delete
    2. When the Chechnyans were acting up, Pooty didn't bulldoze a few homes, he leveled the whole the city..........

      Delete
    3. Oh really and that is your model?

      Delete
  13. allenTue Nov 18, 10:18:00 PM EST
    AshTue Nov 18, 09:46:00 PM EST
    It is interesting that how you gauge the importance is defined by how much loss will be inflicted on the Arabs - truly a moral compass gone awry!!


    Ash, tell me true, should Jews have the right to pray upon the Temple Mount? Being a dude with an aligned moral compass, I am sure you will answer forthrightly. Right?

    ReplyDelete
  14. A world-wide glut of savings, and a lack of demand for credit is the most interesting (challenging) story of this day.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Maybe a global minimum wage, enforced by tariffs, Is the answer.

    Delivered by porcine aviators.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Muslim groups seek to co-opt Ferguson protests, says watchdog group

    By Steven Edwards
    Published November 18, 2014
    FoxNews.com
    Facebook3744 Twitter1649 livefyre6636 Email Print
    fergusonprotestspic1.jpg

    A watchdog group believes Muslim activists have an ulterior motive for their involvement in protests over the police shooting of unarmed teen Michael Brown, left.

    Muslim groups have stepped up efforts to co-opt protests over the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., with a drive to equate the teen’s death to the death of a radical Islamist shot during an FBI raid in 2009, a Washington-based security watchdog group is warning.

    Using social media, conference calling and traditional outreach methods, leaders of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) are portraying Brown and Detroit mosque leader Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah as African-American victims of police targeting, according to the Washington-based Center for Security Policy (CSP). In a conference call organized by CAIR-linked "Muslims for Ferguson, a CAIR official called Abdullah a “Shaheed,” or martyr, and said both he and Brown were victims of a national security apparatus that had “completely gone wild” and engaged in “demonizing and criminalizing Muslims.”

    “The reality is that this country, in law enforcement, be it local, state or federal law enforcement, people with guns have always seen black men and black people as threats,” Dawud Walid, executive director of CAIR’s Michigan Chapter, told the some 100 protest organizers on the call, made on the five-year anniversary of Abdullah's death and which was monitored by CSP.

    Walid claimed Brown was a Muslim, although when pressed, Walid denied he had made such a claim. Brown was buried in August after a memorial service at the Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church in St. Louis. More............

    http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/11/18/muslim-groups-seek-to-co-opt-ferguson-protests-says-watchdog-group/


    Always raising hell where ever they can..............

    ReplyDelete
  17. Swedish Ambulance Workers Want Body Armor Against Machete Attacks
    November 19, 2014 by Daniel Greenfield 3 Comments

    Daniel Greenfield, a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the Freedom Center, is a New York writer focusing on radical Islam. He is completing a book on the international challenges America faces in the 21st century.

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    hqdefault

    Oddly enough Swedish ambulance workers didn’t need body armor or have to worry about machete attacks before the place became so very diversified. (via Religion of Peace)

    “‘- There have been so many incidents. There has been everything from shootings to people with machetes and people smashing ambulances or trying to attack the ambulance staff. We are not safe to the extent we have previously been,’ says Henrik Johansson, president of the Ambulance Association to Dagens Medicin.

    He explains that the organisation wants that the alarm center and ambulances should have access to the same information that police have on people who are likely to be violent or have weapons. But the union also wants to introduce what Henrik Johansson calls tactical units.

    ‘- Emergency Medic teams that are ready to enter a hot spot. They should have riot helmet, bulletproof vest and shin guards. They should have equipment relevant for working in such an environment. They of course also should have a gas mask.

    So they will more or less look like the riot police?

    ‘- No, the military, I would rather like to say.’”

    Sweden recognized “Palestine” but it’s the one under occupation.

    http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/swedish-ambulance-workers-want-body-armor-against-machete-attacks/

    ReplyDelete
  18. Condemnations and Double Standards
    November 18, 2014 by Ari Lieberman 10 Comments

    Ari Lieberman is an attorney and former prosecutor.

    803941
    Print This Post Print This Post

    u-s-state-department-spokesperson-jen-psakiLet us engage in a brief thought experiment. Imagine three US service members disembarking off their ship docked in the Israeli port of Haifa. They paint the town but are suddenly and unexpectedly surrounded by a group of 12 or so hooligans, who yell epithets at them, call them “murderers,” throw garbage at them, rough them up and then place bags over their heads. Imagine further that the hoodlums are caught and arrested by Israeli authorities but are inexplicably released shortly thereafter.

    Let us engage in another thought experiment. Imagine that Israel, under the pretext of ensuring its security, dynamites eight-hundred “Palestinian” homes. The Israelis argue that smuggling tunnels under some of those homes warrant drastic action and announce their intention to construct a barrier where those homes once stood, displacing ten-thousand residents.

    These two incidents actually occurred but not in Israel. On November 12, in a sickening display of brute thuggery, three US sailors in Istanbul were assaulted by a group of Turkish nationalists. They were roughed up, humiliated, had bags stuffed over their heads and chased to chants of “Yankee go home.” Some of the suspects were apprehended and despite the fact that they showed little remorse, were inexplicably released by Turkish authorities.

    The second incident, involving the wonton destruction of some eight-hundred homes and the displacement of some ten-thousand residents occurred in the Egyptian controlled part of Rafah that straddles the border between Sinai and the Hamas enclave of Gaza. It seems that the Egyptians had had enough of Hamas’s shenanigans and decided to act resolutely after as many as 31 Egyptian soldiers were killed in an attack that the Egyptian government blamed on Hamas.

    Now let us return to our thought experiment. What was the State Department’s reaction to these two occurrences? In the latter example, there was simply no reaction, only silence. There were no condemnations from John Kerry, no claims by Jen Psaki that such drastic measures were disproportionate and no protests from Obama shills Ben Rhodes, Phillip Gordon and Josh Earnest that such sweeping actions amount to collective punishment, are a source of regional instability and present obstacles to peace.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. In the former case, the State Department did issue a condemnation but that’s as far as it went. The hooligans responsible for the cowardly attack took their cues directly from their anti-American, Islamist government. During his 12-year reign, President Recep Erdogan worked tirelessly to create a toxic environment conducive to such base anti-American displays. More astonishingly was the muted response from the State Department after the charges against those responsible for the assault were dropped. The lawless message Turkey is conveying to the United States is clear; your servicemen and women can be humiliated and assaulted on Turkish soil with impunity.

      Had any of these incidents occurred in Israel, the State Department would have been up in arms. If there’s any doubt about that assertion, consider Jen Psaki’s comments concerning Israel’s decision to demolish the home of a terrorist responsible for crushing a pedestrian with a stolen excavator in August.

      Psaki condemned the Israeli decision stating that it amounted to “collective punishment.” In Psaki’s eyes, the destruction of 800 Rafah homes, most of which have no connection to illicit activity, suits the State Department just fine but the targeted demolition of a single home belonging to a confirmed depraved Palestinian terrorist amounts to “collective punishment.”

      Now consider the administration’s lackadaisical response to the humiliation of its servicemen on Turkish soil and subsequent dropping of all charges against the culprits by Turkish prosecutors. The State Department’s silence on the matter is deafening. By contrast, when a Palestinian terrorist with U.S. citizenship was shot while throwing gasoline bombs at vehicular traffic, Obama’s State Department went into high gear expressing its “deepest condolences” to the terrorist’s family and demanding a “speedy and transparent investigation” into the shooting.

      It appears that the Obama administration, which treats friends like enemies and enemies like friends, has adopted one standard for Israel and another for the autocratic governments that surround it. While Russia invades Ukraine, Turkey absorbs chunks of Cyprus and China continues its ethnic cleansing and occupation of Tibet as well as creeping annexation of areas within the South and East China seas, the administration appears besotted by the idea of tearing Israel away from parts of its ancestral land and creating yet another hostile and dysfunctional Arab country right on Israel’s doorstep. The administration’s continued haranguing of one of its closest allies is indicative of the disdain Obama has for Israel and serves only to embolden its genocidal enemies. But then again, maybe that’s precisely what he wants.

      http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/ari-lieberman/condemnations-and-double-standards/

      Delete
  19. Fox News:

    ObamaCare approval now down to 37%

    And dropping.............

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson ...
      News Flash - Obama is not running for reelection.
      It is almost two years until the election the next election he is not participating in.

      Delete
    2. At least focus on the 'real players' in the next election, Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson.

      Hillery Clinton, always much more electable' than Barack Obama

      Even if we set aside Arkansas where Clinton has roots, the differences are pretty stark, and with an exception here or there, the more southern the state, the bigger Clinton's margin was among white voters.
      She beat Obama by 49 points among whites in Kentucky,
      47 points in Alabama,
      46 points in West Virginia,
      44 points in Mississippi,
      and at least 20 points in nine other states of the 36 where exit polls were conducted.

      Even as he was heading for victory, the only state where Obama beat Clinton by 20 points among whites was Vermont.

      Delete
  20. And here's a surprise:

    The "Reverend" Al Sharpton doesn't pay his taxes..............

    ReplyDelete
  21. allenWed Nov 19, 09:06:00 AM EST

    allenTue Nov 18, 10:18:00 PM EST
    AshTue Nov 18, 09:46:00 PM EST
    It is interesting that how you gauge the importance is defined by how much loss will be inflicted on the Arabs - truly a moral compass gone awry!!


    Ash, tell me true, should Jews have the right to pray upon the Temple Mount? Being a dude with an aligned moral compass, I am sure you will answer forthrightly. Right?"


    The short answer is, no Jews do not have the "right" to pray upon the Temple Mount.

    In fact the Israeli government forbid non-muslims from praying there don't they? The site is currently has a mosque on it, correct?

    I'm not sure what this issue has to do with your morally decrepit notion ranking importance of things by the damage caused to Arabs but it seems to have play in your mind allen.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Re: The short answer is, no Jews do not have the "right" to pray upon the Temple Mount... In fact the Israeli government forbid non-muslims from praying there don't they?

      Wow, just freakin' Wow

      Delete
    2. Ash, thanks for clarifying.

      To say that one faith, Jews, do not have the RIGHT to pray on their Temple Mount is amazing. Just to clarify, there are 2 mosques on the Jewish Temple Mount, neither taking up more than 10% of the total land area.

      Tell me why Jews have no RIGHTS on the Temple Mount

      Delete
    3. Who bestows these "RIGHTS" you refer? A Constitutional Right? A God Given Right? If yes to God Given - which God?

      So, no Jews do not have a RIGHT to pray at that particular spot. Is that fair - maybe not.

      Delete
    4. Thanks Ash.

      Then I guess you have no right to live in Canada or LIVE for that matter...

      Delete
    5. Actually I have both those rights as per the Canadian Constitution.

      Delete
    6. AH, I am impressed.

      The Canadian CONSTITUTION….

      Well that settles it…

      Delete
    7. Glad to have impressed you WiO. What gives Jews the RIGHT to pray on the Temple Mount?

      Delete
  22. Rufus IIWed Nov 19, 08:34:00 AM EST
    No civilized society would destroy the homes of innocent women, and children, because of a crime committed by a family member.

    Only a "religious" country would do that.



    The Bombing of Dresden was an attack on the city of Dresden, the capital of the German state of Saxony, that took place in the final months of the Second World War in the European Theatre. In four raids between 13 and 15 February 1945, 722 heavy bombers of the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and 527 of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) dropped more than 3,900 tons of high-explosive bombs and incendiary devices on the city.[1] The bombing and the resulting firestorm destroyed over 1,600 acres (6.5 km2) of the city centre.[2] An estimated 22,700[3] to 25,000[4] people were killed. Three more USAAF air raids followed, two occurring on 2 March and 17 April aimed at the city's railroad marshaling yard and one small raid on 17 April aimed at industrial areas.

    ReplyDelete
  23. http://tabletmag.com/scroll/187101/remembering-the-druze-officer-who-died-defending-the-jerusalem-synagogue
    Remembering the Druze Officer Who Died Defending the Jerusalem Synagogue
    Ultra-Orthodox Jews across Israel attend the funeral of Zidan Sayif

    ... proving that Jews are haters, devoid of respect for others ...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Thousands-attend-funeral-of-policeman-who-died-defending-worshipers-in-synagogue-attack-382258
      Thousands attend funeral of policeman who died defending worshipers in synagogue attack

      "The funeral was also attended by Haredis from Jerusalem and beyond who organized buses to take them to the Galilee village to pay their respects to the officer who risked his life and ultimately died to stop the attack Tuesday."

      ... humbug ...

      Delete
    2. The only thing that was proven, allen, by the death of the security guard ...
      ... is that being a 'gun for hire' is not a safe occupation in a country in the midst of a Civil War.

      Delete
  24. Kurdish offensive targets Islamic State group

    BAGHDAD (AP) — Kurdish peshmerga forces launched a new offensive Wednesday targeting Islamic State group extremists in Iraq...
    ...
    The new peshmerga offensive targeted areas in Diyala and Kirkuk provinces seized by the extremists in their August offensive that saw them capture a third of Iraq, said Jaber Yawer, a spokesman for Kurdish forces.

    In Diyala, peshmerga forces worked in coordination with Iraqi security forces to retake the towns of Saadiya and Jalula, Yawer said. In Kirkuk, Kurdish forces backed by U.S.-led airstrikes launched attacks to retake territory near the town of Kharbaroot, located 35 kilometers (22 miles) west of the city of Kirkuk.


    The "Rat Doctrine" in action ...

    http://www.chron.com/news/world/article/2nd-Frenchman-seen-in-beheading-video-5902878.php

    ReplyDelete
  25. ISIS in trouble

    One of the most important areas captured by Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) looks as though it's back in Western-backed hands.

    Iraqi security forces have re-entered the key Baiji oil refinery, which has been held by ISIS since June, in what the Iraqi General Abdul Wahab al-Saadi said to state media could be the "main key in liberating each span of Iraq".


    http://www.cnbc.com/id/102198514#.

    ReplyDelete
  26. The rat has dun slunked back, the thread will now go straight downhill to hell and stupidity.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rat dominates your mindWed Nov 19, 11:12:00 AM EST

      'Bigotry does not consort easily with free trade.'

      Delete
    2. allenWed Nov 19, 11:10:00 AM EST

      Is that a law of nature?


      Yes, it's the nature of things.

      Delete
    3. Bob,

      If you see a dog turd on the sidewalk, it is advisable to step around it and move on. Trying to kick it into the gutter will soil your shoes.

      Delete
    4. From a high of $72.82 per share back in June of 2013 the Israeli company, Sodastream, is now trading at $22.29 per share.
      This after it was targeted by th Boycott, Divest and Sanction movement.

      The "Existential Threat" to Israel is economic, as illustrated by the collapse of Sodastream's equity value after being targeted by the BDS campaign. Forcing the labeling of Israeli goods. That course of action, by the EU, will be the death knell for Israel's economic viability.

      Delete
  27. http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/EU-Foreign-Affairs-Chief-questioned-on-lack-of-oversight-on-EU-funds-to-Gaza-382272
    EU Foreign Affairs Chief questioned on lack of oversight on EU funds to Gaza

    "Federica Mogherini must answer lawmaker's questions in the next few weeks, which could spark debate in the Brussels corridors of power."


    "Gericke said EU payment controls were 'light years behind where they should be... As thing stand, we cannot be sure that EU funds are not being used for terror tunnels and weapons.'

    In December 2013, the European Court of Auditors found that nearly €2b. in aid was untraceable; €400m. of the missing funds went to the Palestinian Authority and Gaza alone."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And that means what, exactly?

      Is demonizing the people of Gaza going to save the Israeli economy ... not likely.
      Will it stop the funds flowing to Palestinians, no.

      Will trying to focus attention of the ills of the Palestinians excuse the Apartheid System set up by the Israeli? ... Never.

      Delete
  28. Here's a perfect Gruber, an admission of the truth -



    allenThu Nov 13, 09:36:00 AM EST

    You are a moron.
    allenThu Nov 13, 09:37:00 AM EST

    ... nothing personal, mind you ...
    Jack HawkinsThu Nov 13, 09:45:00 AM EST

    But, unlike you, allen, I am no liar.

    I do not fabricate quotes.
    Bob OreilleThu Nov 13, 11:07:00 AM EST

    The rat admits he is a moron !

    :) hehe


    Wife and I are going to go check the trail cam at the farm, see what if any pictures we've gotten......

    Cheers !

    Later.............

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Running away, again, Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson?

      No stomach for the truth comin' at you, aye.

      “No man in the wrong can stand up against a fellow that's in the right and keeps on a-comin'.”
      ― Captain Bill McDonald, Texas Ranger

      Delete
  29. Rufus IIWed Nov 19, 08:34:00 AM EST
    No civilized society would destroy the homes of innocent women, and children, because of a crime committed by a family member.

    Only a "religious" country would do that.



    It was a crime for Japan to bomb Peal Harbor

    Hiroshima & Nagasaki



    ReplyDelete
  30. Just showered............

    Washed the rat shit off.............


    Later......Cheers !

    ReplyDelete
  31. Iran and what we would once have called the great powers – the five permanent members of the UN security council plus Germany – have been engaged in negotiations over the Iranian nuclear programme for well over a decade now. At times the US has been directly involved, and at other less friendly times, indirectly – but never in the years since, to great alarm if not outright panic, the world discovered that Iran possessed a nuclear programme have we been as close to resolving its fate as we are now.

    The reasons are myriad; certainly primary among them is the election of a pragmatist US president in 2008, one who, unlike his we-don’t-talk-to-evil predecessor, promised to engage directly with Iran on its nuclear program as well as on other issues of contention between the two countries, and the election of an Iranian president in 2013 who, unlike his predecessor, promised to pursue a “win-win” solution to the crisis. There are other reasons long debated in foreign policy circles. None of them, however, correctly stated or not, are important now.

    What is important is to recognise that with only days left to reach a comprehensive agreement – one that would satisfy the minimum requirements of the US and Iran (and the truth is that it is only theirs that matter, despite the presence of other powers at the table) – there may not be another opportunity for a generation. This is the diplomatic perfect storm, if you will, to begin the process of US-Iranian reconciliation.

    Such a reconciliation would entail a realignment of western interests – many shared with Iran – in the region that is far more important than numbers of centrifuges, kilograms of enriched uranium, months to theoretical “breakout”, or years that a deal will be in effect, that appear to be the last stumbling blocks. Those are technical issues that may be difficult, but not impossible, to resolve before 24 November. What has taken years – 35-plus to be precise – for many Americans to understand is the motivations behind Iran’s Islamic revolution. And it is these motivations which are behind what appears to be, if for peaceful purposes, an illogical nuclear ambition.

    ReplyDelete
  32. {...}

    Beyond building the world’s first modern theocracy, which some revolutionaries and perhaps a large percentage of the then silent population never bargained for, the revolution was as much about Persian dignity and greatness as it was about overthrowing a despotic monarchy. It isn’t just pride, as some suggest, that governs popular support for the nuclear programme (or any other technical accomplishment), although Iranians are proud – perhaps overly so – of their 5,000-year history and culture, and can be accused of faith in Persian exceptionalism in much the same way the US has in its own.

    It’s certainly a belief in exceptionalism, sometimes with racist undertones, that has rubbed Iran’s neighbours up the wrong way for centuries – far more so than the greatly debated Sunni-Shia divide – which partly explains why many Iranians, even those opposed to the Islamic system, are quick to ask that if lowly Pakistan and western-supported Israel can have nuclear weapons, why shouldn’t Iran have at least its own nuclear energy? Indeed, pride and a sense of exceptionalism can explain some Iranian behaviour, but more than anything it is dignity that drives the Islamic Republic’s foreign policy; a restored dignity that was promised its people in the revolution of 1979.

    After at least a century of being dictated to by foreign powers, in 1979 the people of a once-great nation – arguably the world’s first multi-ethnic state – chose dignity over subservience, whatever the cost. It didn’t matter that the shah and his father before him had wrested, by force, their nation out of its 19th-century stupor and into a 20th-century modern state. What mattered was that they, and particularly the younger shah, had done so at the cost of their dignity. In the waning years of the second world war, the great powers had removed occupied Iran’s first Pahlavi king and replaced him with his unprepared 21-year-old son; it was decided at the Tehran conference in late 1943, attended by Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill – who couldn’t even be bothered to pay a courtesy call to the monarch he helped install, the self-proclaimed “king of kings” and “light of the Aryans”. Iran’s independence was guaranteed, but in the minds of most Iranians nothing could be as humiliating as having their fate decided by three farangis, or foreign powers. The 1953 CIA- and MI6-backed coup against the democratically elected prime minister Mohammad Mossadegh only confirmed their sense of helplessness. The Islamic revolution put an end to that notion – Iran was never again to play a subservient role, in the region or in the world.

    ReplyDelete
  33. {...}

    It has, over the years, paid a great price to maintain that one aspect of its revolution that still resonates with its populace – for both Islamic and republic aspects have been in question to many, if not from the regime’s birth then certainly since the “green” uprising of 2009. It is therefore unlikely that those who control power in Iran, whether conservative, moderate or reform leaning, will surrender the nation’s dignity, along with the vestiges of their own legitimacy, by accepting the dictates of western powers. No: any deal, nuclear or otherwise, will have to take that into account, and it is not a matter of allowing Iran a “face-saving” deal but affording it and its people the dignity they believe they deserve.

    My own father, a supporter of Mossadeq who subsequently served the shah as a diplomat and a fan of all things American, only ever railed against the king – in private, of course – when he felt Iran’s dignity had been surrendered to the west, over matters both momentous and trivial. Late in his life, in exile in Britain and having been deprived of his Persian dignity by the revolution that discarded him, he said to me of the nuclear talks that were seemingly stalled forever that the Americans “harf-e zoor meezanan”, which translates roughly as the US “is talking with the language of imposition”. While on an extended stay in Tehran in the last years of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s presidency I heard my optician, ever cynical about the Islamic system, use exactly the same phrase when we discussed the nuclear crisis. Few Iranians, regime supporters or not, would willingly surrender to “harf-e zoor”, the “language of force” or “an unfair demand”.

    For all this, it isn’t hard to imagine a nuclear deal. Iranians recognise that they can compromise without loss of dignity, and the US recognises it must make concessions which, while seeming to be appeasement by some, in fact make no real difference to whether Iran can rush to a bomb or not. It is also not hard to predict the effects of a deal and the subsequent normalisation on Iranian people. For more than 35 years they have yearned for an end of isolation and ostracisation by the west – some of it their leaders’ fault – and are as hungry as a people can be for interaction – business, social and cultural – with the farang.

    Iranians have long looked to the Persian Gulf (and to Turkey) with some indignation. If it were not for the animosity with the west, Tehran would be a destination far more attractive to business than Dubai, they believe, and Isfahan to travellers than Istanbul. In an irony or ironies, Iran is also now, to quote Jimmy Carter from a different time, “an island of stability in one of the more troubled areas of the world”. Iranians look around them and don’t like what they see: revolution, unrest and civil war are not for them, but progress – social, political and technological – and healthy relations with the international community are.

    Iranians, especially the young, the vast majority highly educated but whose prospects are bleak, have been patiently waiting for this day Рpromised by a president they elected a year-and-a-half ago. They have no doubt that happier times await them if the west engages Iran in d̩tente, if not an entente cordiale. A nuclear deal, if it comes on 24 November, will bring dancing in the streets Рforbidden by law Рand many toasts Рforbidden but enjoyed behind Persian walls Рand dignity. On that day the authorities Рthemselves with smiles on their faces Рwill surely turn a blind eye.

    ReplyDelete
  34. From The Guardian

    Iran will do a deal with the west – but only if there’s no loss of dignity
    Hooman Majd

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

      Delete
  35. Israel does not fear Iran for their nuclear prowess or lack thereof. Israel as Saudi Arabia and Turkey fear Iran for all that Iran can be in a normalized World. US foreign policy should welcome that and demote Israel, and Saudi Arabia to their proper class and stare in the area of international affairs.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Complete and total bullshit.

      You really should learn more of the subject 1st as you sound quite frankly? CRAZY.

      If Iran was not intent on the genocide of Israel and it's people?

      Then Iran could be welcomed into the body of nations.

      After all, Iran is the #1 funder, promoter and helper of the worst terror groups on the planet.

      Not just those that enjoy hacking Jews to death...

      Delete
  36. Thats in US interests, not Aipac’s.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ah, back to the aipac bashing..

      it's a shame you actually know little about the work it does...

      but don't let us down, continue to "rules for radicals" it...

      Delete
    2. WiO,

      He has clearly never attended a meeting featuring AIPAC. AIPAC has all the testosterone found in a limp noodle. Compared to other pro-Israel organizations, mainly Christian, it is a shrimp among sharks. Of course, as long as he sees himself as a grasshopper in AIPAC's eyes, he is safely diverted.

      Delete
    3. I am most likely skipping this year's policy conference. It's getting way too left leaning for me.

      Delete
    4. year after year aipac has been pushing aid to the palestinians.

      I am over it.

      Delete
  37. PARIS, Nov 19 (Reuters) - France said on Wednesday that Rafale jets had struck Islamic State targets alongside coalition planes near the northern Iraq city of Kirkuk to help breach the group's frontlines, and was sending six fighter jets to Jordan to ramp up its strikes.

    Two Dassault-built Rafale fighters, both armed with four missiles, targeted trenches used by Islamic State to besiege the oil city at around 0330 GMT, the ministry said in a statement.

    "This action was carried out simultaneously with our allies to create a breach in the defensive positions held by the terrorists on the frontline between Iraqi forces and Islamic State," the defence ministry said in a statement.

    Islamic State (IS) fighters have seized swathes of territory in lightning offensives in the arid but oil-rich north of the country, and have repeatedly attacked oil installations.

    Peshmerga troops took control of Kirkuk following the withdrawal of Iraqi armed forces in the face of the IS advance. Government and Kurdish troops are slowly starting to turn the tide since getting air support from the U.S.-led coalition.

    Speaking to parliament Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said despite coalition strikes Iraqi government troops and Kurdish peshmerga forces continued to face serious attacks in Iraq's Sinjar and Anbar regions, and needed more help.

    "French air forces will be strengthened. There were nine Rafale (jets) in the United Arab Emirates and they will be reinforced with six Mirage fighter jets to be placed in Jordan to support our action," Le Drian said.

    Jordanian officials could not immediately comment.

    Officials told Reuters on Nov. 13 that putting the jets in the Kingdom would

    France expanding force

    ReplyDelete
  38. Deuce ☂Wed Nov 19, 12:13:00 PM EST
    Israel as Saudi Arabia and Turkey fear Iran for all that Iran can be in a normalized World.

    :-) Pray, tell.

    ReplyDelete
  39. What is "Occupation"Wed Nov 19, 11:28:00 AM EST
    Ash, thanks for clarifying.

    To say that one faith, Jews, do not have the RIGHT to pray on their Temple Mount is amazing.


    WiO,

    Ash doesn't really know what he is talking about as is obvious from his timorous approach. Of course, like others, that doesn't prevent diarrhea-mouth.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, WiO, I would like to harm Islam; indeed, I would like to snuff it completely. That is not going to happen by force of arms solely. An idea, like Marxism for example, must be destroyed by a successful countervailing argument in conjunction with economic ruin, the point of force of arms. At the end of WWII, neither the Japanese nor Germans were unwilling to fight; they were rendered impotent. To those who claim that Putin desires a revival of Communism, nonsense. Putin is as much a Communist as Augustus. When the West finds a Muslim as cynical as itself and Putin, there may be peace, but Islam will be as dead as European Christianity.

      Delete
    2. Yet again you have run out of rational argument, lost in other words, and been forced to your last resort - ad hominem. Have at it boyz!

      Delete
    3. allen wrote:

      "To say that one faith, Jews, do not have the RIGHT to pray on their Temple Mount is amazing."



      Why do you find it amazing when the current Israeli government does not allow non-muslims to pray there?

      Delete
  40. AshWed Nov 19, 03:11:00 PM EST
    allen wrote:

    "To say that one faith, Jews, do not have the RIGHT to pray on their Temple Mount is amazing."


    Allen wrote nothing of the sort.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. eh? Ok, then it isn't amazing after all now is it?

      Delete
    2. Still, it is not amazing, is it?

      It is the normal course of secular political dealings.
      The Zionists are not Jews, when are you going to wake up to that fact?

      Delete
  41. Bob,

    Smoke this in your pipe. At about 08:00 they go ballistic.

    Anoushka Shankar plays 'Pancham Se Gara'

    ReplyDelete
  42. The Ferguson Days of Rage
    November 19, 2014 by Ben Shapiro 21 Comments

    Ben Shapiro is a Senior Shillman Journalism Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center and Editor-in-Chief of TruthRevolt.org. He is the author of the new book "The People vs. Barack Obama: The Criminal Case Against the Obama Administration" (Threshold Editions).



    This week, America held its collective breath as it waited on the grand jury indictment verdict for Officer Darren Wilson. Wilson, you’ll recall, had the misfortune to run into 6’5″, 289-lb. Michael Brown, an 18-year-old black man who had just finished strong-arm robbing a convenience store. Wilson pulled Brown over as he and his accomplice walked in the middle of the street; all available evidence shows that Brown then pushed himself through the driver’s side window, punched Wilson, went for his gun, was shot in the hand, ran, turned around, charged Wilson, and was shot to death.

    But that doesn’t matter. And it has never mattered. Because facts do not matter to those attempting to rectify what they perceive as an unjust universe. For those utopian visionaries – and, yes, violent thugs who rob stores are minions of the utopian visionaries — individuals do not exist. Individuals are merely stand-ins for groups. Wilson was a white cop; therefore, he was the Racist White Establishment. Brown was a black teenager; therefore, he was the Innocent Black Victim. The parts have already been written; Wilson was merely unlucky enough to land the starring role.

    And so we expect riots no matter what the outcome of the indictment. Should Wilson escape indictment due to complete lack of evidence, the utopians and their rioting henchmen will attribute that acquittal to the Racist White Establishment. Should he be indicted, the utopians and their rioting henchmen will cite Wilson as merely the latest example of the Racist White Establishment. No matter the antecedent, the consequence has been determined in advance: rage, riots, recriminations.

    If all of this sounds familiar, that’s because it is.

    Alongside the anti-Racist White Establishment protesters taking to the streets in Ferguson in recent weeks, anti-Israel and pro-ISIS protesters have appeared. All utopian visionaries fighting the status quo — self-perceived victims — love their Days of Rage. And these Ragers don’t require evidence to incite their emotions. Evidence regarding individuals is for the reasonable; false stories of victims and villains are the fodder for Ragers.

    Whether we’re watching thousands of Muslims across the world protest and riot over cartoons of Mohammed, or whether we’re watching hundreds of people in Ferguson riot over a media-manufactured story about a racial killing, Days of Rage provide the outlet for delusional anger. Radical Muslims need an external enemy to justify their own brutality; protesters in Ferguson need an external enemy to justify their own failure to make good in the freest country in the history of humanity.

    Every society has its Ragers. The West’s suicidal impulse to humor those Ragers, however, spells the end of the West. When facts become secondary to emotion, truth dies. And a society that doesn’t value truth cannot survive. Calling out the National Guard in Ferguson while lending a sympathetic ear to the Ragers does little good, long-term. It merely staves off the inevitable surrender of the reasonable to the Ragers.

    http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/ben-shapiro/the-ferguson-days-of-rage/

    I doubt they will riot if he's indicted, but who knows?

    ReplyDelete
  43. Taliban Supreme leader Mullah Omar has possibly died

    By Khaama Press - Wed Nov 19 2014, 10:06 pm

    Mullah Mohammad OmarThe Taliban supreme leader Mullah Mohammad Omar has possibly passed away amid reports that the group has divided into three different parts.

    The Afghan Intelligence – National Directorate of Security (NDS) said Wednesday that Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor has initiated appointment of his friends as group’s top figures.

    Hasib Sediqi, spokesman for the National Directorate of Security (NDS) told reporters on Wednesday that senior Taliban figures have divided into three groups are having major differences among them.

    Sediqi further added that the first group is led by Mullah Qayum Zakir and Tayeb Agha is also a member along with Hafiz Majeed, Amir Khan Haqqani, Mullah Mohammad Esa, Khadim Abdul RAuf, Zia Agha and Torak Agha.

    He said the second group is led by Mullah Agha and Mullah Samad Sani, Mawlavi Nani, Sadar Ibrahim, Sheikh Mawlavi Abdul Hakimand Mawlavi Mohibulalh are members.

    Sediqi also added that the third group is comprised of neutral Taliban leaders.

    http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/content/taliban-supreme-leader-mullah-omar-has-possibly-died

    ReplyDelete
  44. RAF fighter bombers have taken part in a major coalition air strike against an Islamic State bunker complex in northern Iraq, the Ministry of Defence has said.

    Warplanes from seven nations took part in a "comprehensive and closely co-ordinated" attack on the target around 20 miles north west of the city of Kirkuk.

    The site - described as a "well concealed network of fighting positions and underground facilities" - had been under surveillance after IS fighters withdrew to the area in the face of advances by Kurdish peshmerga forces.

    RAF Tornado GR4 aircraft, carrying Paveway IV precision guided bombs, formed the UK element of the strike force.

    The involvement of aircraft from so many coalition countries was said to be a reflection of the significance of the target as well as the obstacle it posed to further peshmerga advances.

    Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said: "RAF missions continue to

    Haid Cutters - Virgins

    ReplyDelete
  45. ISIL seizes Libyan city

    Published November 19th, 2014 - 13:54 GMT via SyndiGate.info

    Such expansion is made possible when often little known or relatively new jihadist groups announce their allegiance to IS, as was the case in Derna. (AFP/File)

    The Islamic State has seized control of the coastal city of Derna on Libya's Mediterranean coast.The terror group's trademark black flags are now flying over government buildings.

    According to CNN, IS is in complete control of the city, located about 200 miles from the European coast. The Derna branch is composed of 800 fighters who operate six or so camps outside of town, with larger training facilities located in the Green Mountains.

    Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the self-proclaimed leader of IS, said in an audio recording posted online last week, "We give you good news by announcing the expansion of the Islamic State to new lands ... the lands of Al Haramayn [Saudi Arabia], Yemen, Egypt, Libya and Algeria."

    Such expansion is made possible when often little known or relatively new jihadist groups announce their allegiance to IS, as was the case in Derna.

    Majlis Shura Shabab al-Islam (the Islamic Youth Shura Council), founded in April, proclaimed allegiance to IS and announced in early October that territory it had seized in Derna was part of the IS "caliphate."

    What's happening in Derna "could be a model for future acquisition of territory by the Islamic State beyond its base in Iraq and Syria," Aaron Y. Zelin, a fellow with The Washington Institute, wrote in a piece titled "The Islamic State's First Colony in Libya," published by the Washington, D.C.-based think tank in October.

    Zelin noted that such a model for IS expansion differed from al-Qaida's practice of establishing "autonomous local franchise organizations" and acknowledged that oversight could be complicated. "Questions remain about the command-and-control capabilities that would be needed to realize such a scenario, as well as the logistics inherent in marshaling widespread foreign fighters and facilitation networks."

    http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/content/isis-seizes-control-libyan-city

    We need some Doctrine to stop this sort of thing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What is the US national interest in Derna, Libya?

      Unless, Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson you agree with President Obama and think that ISIL is part of the cabal that attacked the US on 11SEP2001 and his determination that they are is, in and of itself, valid cause for the US to attack them, anywhere in the world.

      Delete
  46. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S.-led forces conducted six air strikes against Islamic State militants and one against the al Qaeda-affiliated Khorasan Group in Syria since Monday and 24 air strikes in Iraq during the same period, the U.S. military said.

    In Syria, the military said on Wednesday that five strikes by U.S. and partner forces hit near Kobani, the contested border city near Turkey that Islamic State militants are fighting to control. Those damaged three buildings and hit two tactical and one large Islamic State unit, U.S. Central Command said.

    A crude oil collection point operated by Islamic State militants was damaged in a separate strike southeast of Hasaka, it added.

    In northwest Syria near Haram, a strike "destroyed a storage facility associated with a network of veteran al Qaeda operatives, sometimes called the 'Khorasan Group,' whose members are plotting external attacks against the United States and its allies," the statement said.

    In Iraq, the strikes against Islamic State were concentrated on the oil-producing north and included 13 near Kirkuk and seven near Mosul. Centcom said the strikes destroyed several fighting positions, staging areas, two buildings and four vehicles and damaged an IED factory.

    Three separate air strikes hit near Baiji and one near Falluja in Iraq, Centcom said.

    As Usual, No American Casualties

    Whatta Game.

    ReplyDelete
  47. Even in Africa, the effects of Ebola were Blown Out of Proportion

    Cost of Ebola for West Africa far lower than once feared

    Financial toll for hardest-hit region could fall between $3 billion and $4 billion, or about one-tenth of what the World Bank initially forecast.

    An aggressive response to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa has reduced a massive $32.6 billion economic tab initially forecast by the World Bank, a top official at the organization said Wednesday.

    Francisco Ferreira, the World Bank’s chief economist, said at a lecture in Johannesburg that the outbreak’s total financial toll in the region could fall between $3 billion and $4 billion, according to Reuters. Ferreira pointed to successful efforts to contain the disease in some West African countries as a sign that the World Bank’s worst-case scenario is unlikely.

    ReplyDelete
  48. In addition to the liens and warrants against him and his businesses, the advocacy group Mr. Sharpton founded, the National Action Network, owed the federal government more than $800,000 in payroll taxes at the end of 2012, the date of the group’s most recent tax filing. On Wednesday, he repeated an assertion he made in The Times’s article that the debt stemmed from a disagreement with the I.R.S. on how to classify certain workers.

    He did not address financial statements reviewed by The Times in which the group’s accountants indicated that for at least two years the National Action Network was sustaining itself in large part by not turning over money to the federal government for payroll taxes.

    Mr. Sharpton said the group’s tax debt might soon be paid off, thanks to the more than $1 million raised at his birthday party last month, but he added that the organization had asked the federal government to lower the amount it owed in penalties.

    ReplyDelete
  49. Funny how when the IRS harasses "Right Wing" Tea Partiers, it is an instrument of evil ...
    But when it harasses "Left Wing" Radicals, it is an instrument of justice ...

    In the eyes of Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson.

    “The essence of fascism is to make laws forbidding everything and then enforce them selectively against your enemies.”
    ― John Lescroart

    ReplyDelete
  50. Texas Governor Rick Perry acknowledged Wednesday what America has known for two years: He was not a very good presidential candidate in 2012.

    “I was a big arrogant,” Perry told The Washington Post during an interview at the Republican Governors Association in Florida. Perry said he believed at the time that his experience running one of the country’s most populous states prepared him. “I was mistaken,” he admitted.

    Next time, however, things will be different. “I’m comfortable I’m substantially more prepared to run for the presidency,” he said. “I know the challenges. And so, again, I’m not ready to pull the trigger and say I’m in, but I’m comfortable that the process I’ve put in place here is a proper, timely and thoughtful process.”

    ReplyDelete
  51. WASHINGTON (AP) — Two presidents have acted unilaterally on immigration — and both were Republican. Ronald Reagan and his successor George H.W. Bush extended amnesty to family members who were not covered by the last major overhaul of immigration law in 1986.

    Neither faced the political uproar widely anticipated if and when President Barack Obama uses his executive authority to protect millions of immigrants from deportation.

    Reagan's and Bush's actions were conducted in the wake of a sweeping, bipartisan immigration overhaul and at a time when "amnesty" was not a dirty word. Their actions were less controversial because there was a consensus in Washington that the 1986 law needed a few fixes and Congress was poised to act on them. Obama is acting as the country — and Washington — are bitterly divided over a broken immigration system and what to do about 11 million people living in the U.S. illegally.

    ReplyDelete
  52. Readers will recall it was on that date in 1965 when President Lyndon Baines Johnson formally signed these two programs into law in Independence, Missouri, as former president Harry S. Truman and his steadfast wife, Bess, looked on with pride. As LBJ handed “Give ‘Em Hell Harry” and Bess the pens he used to affix his signature to the document, the President proclaimed Mr. Truman as “the real daddy of Medicare.”

    Today marks the reason why LBJ bestowed such presidential credit to Harry Truman.

    Back in 1945 — a mere seven months into a presidency he inherited from Franklin D. Roosevelt — Truman proposed a “universal” national health insurance program. In his remarks to Congress, he declared,
    “Millions of our citizens do not now have a full measure of opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health. Millions do not now have protection or security against the economic effects of sickness. The time has arrived for action to help them attain that opportunity and that protection.”

    ReplyDelete
  53. Jack Shit is back, jack shitting us all.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jack Shit is the creator of The Jack Shit Doctrine.

      Delete
    2. Which isn't worth a jack shit.

      Turkey.

      Delete
    3. rat dominates your mind of mush, what's left of it.Wed Nov 19, 07:55:00 PM EST

      Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson, you and Mr Obama, standing shoulder to shoulder, that is an image worth all the bogus bullshit you spew.

      Delete
    4. Bob!

      Get that dog shit off your shoes.

      Catch 02:23-02:50, "Ruby". Now, this my kind of candy. Of course, you must know that none of them would be safe anywhere in country without armed escort.

      With Thoughts of Tamar

      Delete
  54. WiO,

    ... thinking of you and candy ... :-) ... Nothing else on earth comes close ...

    A Day at the Beach

    ReplyDelete
  55. 'Palestinians' can't handle a State.



    Let’s Face It, The Two-State Solution Is Dead (And Obama Helped Kill It)
    An idea that's time may never come.
    November 19, 2014 By David Harsanyi

    Nothing in history or current reality could possibly lead an honest observer to conclude that there’s a viable path to peace between Palestinians and Israel. Barring some dramatic exogenous event, this isn’t about to change. Give it up.

    After the murder of five Jews Israelis (three of them American citizens and one of them a Druze) this week, “people fired celebratory gunshots in the air … and praise for God and the attackers poured from mosque loudspeakers soon after the synagogue shooting,” reported The New York Times. Fatah officials in Lebanon chimed in to let us know that: “Jerusalem needs blood in order to purify itself of Jews.” There were congratulatory message on Fatah’s official Facebook page and festive post-murder spree sweets for the kids. This celebration of death—whether dead babies or dead rabbis, it matters not—doesn’t only illustrate the colossal moral gulf that exists between these societies, it reminds us that any Palestinian government inclined to entertain a viable agreement with Jews wouldn’t last long, anyway.

    Fatah, the thin thread that any workable agreement hangs on, is only in power because it refuses to hold elections. (And, to be fair, when you lose a campaign in Palestinian territories, there are no comebacks.) But even this more moderate faction brings with it archaic menu of nonstarters to the table. Arabs will not have meaningful control over Jerusalem proper. Or any “right of return.” Or the ability to control their borders as Sweden or Argentina controls theirs. At least, not any time soon. These are intractable disagreements. Every time the sides revisit the negotiations, it ends in disappointment and, inevitably, violence. And with each round, Palestinian society devolves further, becoming increasingly radicalized and violent. So what’s the point?

    Barack Obama wants peace. But as always, after a round of failed talks, there is terrorism. The tensions in Jerusalem today—and by tensions, I mean the indiscriminate killing of Jews over the past weeks—are driven, in part, by a conspiracy theory that posits Israelis are about to occupy the Temple Mount. Fatah’s Mahmoud Abbas has used the tension to agitate his people, reportedly urging Palestinians to prevent Jewish “settlers” (and by settler he means any Jews) from entering the Temple Mount and “fierce onslaught on Al-Aksa Mosque, Jerusalem and the Holy Sepulchre Church.”

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. In a piece titled “What’s Really Behind Jerusalem’s Explosion of Violence?” Slate’s Joshua Keating writes that “hard-line Jewish religious activists have been pushing for the right to pray at the site, which Jews refer to as the Temple Mount.” Hard-line. Ultra-conservative. Ultra-religious. These are the descriptions media outlets use to describe activists who propose that all religious groups should be able to pray peacefully at their holy sites. None of these activists have suggested barring anyone from entering those sites. Sounds like a bunch of extremists, right? Those throwing deadly stones down at non-Muslims, on the other hand, are innocent bystanders. In any event, they’re also the ones who would be overseeing all Jewish sites in a new Palestinian State. The ones that are allegedly interested in peace.

      Abbas, like Yasser Arafat before him, seems to believe inciting just a little bit of violence might make the situation untenable for the Israeli government. This reflects a deep misunderstanding of the dynamics of Israeli society and politics. With its technological, military, and economic power growing, Israel has become far less inclined to sacrifice security for “peace” today than it has been in the past. There is little internal political pressure to create an antagonistic anti-Semitic state next door—even from the Left.

      It’s likely that the fallout from this latest round of U.S.-led peace talks will have made Israel less inclined to engage in any meaningful discussions about Palestinian statehood in the foreseeable future. Obama will have two more years to try and embarrass Netanyahu into compliance. Two more years of holding Israel culpable. The next president, though, whatever party that person comes from, will almost certainly have less antipathy and less driven to pressure Israel into concessions it can’t accept.

      Anyway, we can do better. There are dozens of stateless minorities yearning for self-determination around the world that could use our moral and monetary support—such as the peaceful inhabitants of occupied Tibet or the Kurdish. So let’s advocate for peace where we can do some good. And let’s stop pretending that Palestinians are prepared for a state. It’s not going to happen.

      http://thefederalist.com/2014/11/19/lets-face-it-the-two-state-solution-is-dead-and-obama-helped-kill-it/



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

      Delete
    3. Bob,

      See "With Thoughts of Tamar", above 08:15 PM.

      Delete
    4. The article about sums things up in Israel. Israel doesn't have to do a darned thing and there is nothing anyone can do about it. It does make an easy target for EU diplonuts, as Ukraine weeps. Israelis are beginning to consider something other than a two state solution; that is bad for the Arabs. When a citizenry has to celebrate murder rather than GDP, it is toast... meanwhile, in the real world ...

      Vlad could have Western Europe (including Poland) anytime he wants. He doesn't because he gets the benefit of serfs without the sweat. Watching six Brits or eight French playing soldier from 35,000 ft. tells him all he needs to know about Europe's "A Team". Thus, Russia daily violates the territorial integrity of former "powers" with impunity, daring anyone to take exception. While George took the measure of Vlad's soul, Vlad took measure of George's IQ. Now, fourteen years later, Russia can field an honest-to-god military.

      Delete
    5. Bob,

      ... talked with my stepson (in Israel), yesterday and today ... While deeply saddened, he is resolute, writing, "Am Israel Chai"!

      Delete

    6. “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

      Delete
  56. Egypt is considering creating a moat at it's border with Gaza. Back to medieval times. Far out.

    ReplyDelete
  57. A moat.

    Nifty.

    Fill it with Nile crocodiles.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mo moat -


      Overheard on the Hill: How about a White House moat?
      By Jose A. DelReal November 19 at 12:01 PM
      Acting Secret Service director Joseph Clancy on Wednesday testified before the House Judiciary Committee, where several lawmakers asked questions about a security breach in September that led to a jumper making his way into the White House. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) had a creative recommendation: a moat. (AP)

      Go here -

      http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/11/19/overheard-on-the-hill-how-about-a-white-house-moat/

      to watch the Congressman suggest a moat.

      :)

      Delete
  58. There are not "Two States" and there will not be "Two States".
    The is only one state, an apartheid state.

    A state where religious prejudice is the "Law of the Occupied Land"
    From the mountains to the sea.

    “Israel’s ‘grand’ policy to fragment the OPT [and] ...
    ... ensure that Palestinians remain confined to the reserves designated for them ...


    This policy is evidenced by Israel’s extensive appropriation of Palestinian land, which continues to shrink the territorial space available to Palestinians;

    the hermetic closure and isolation of the Gaza Strip from the rest of the OPT;
    the deliberate severing of East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank;

    and the appropriation and construction policies serving to carve up the West Bank into an intricate and well-serviced network of connected settlements for Jewish-Israelis ...

    ... an archipelago of besieged and non-contiguous enclaves for Palestinians.”



    The apartheid state will fail, whether it does so peacefully, or not, in the hands of the residents.

    As Nelson Mandela said ...
    The Palestinian state cannot be the by-product of the Jewish state, just in order to keep the Jewish purity of Israel.
    Israel’s racial discrimination is daily life of most Palestinians.
    Since Israel is a Jewish state, Israeli Jews are able to accrue special rights which non-Jews cannot do.
    Palestinian Arabs have no place in a “Jewish” state.


    The "One State" solution will be the end of Zionist Israel.

    As Henry Kissinger said ...
    ''In 10 years Israel will cease to exist''

    8 years to go ...

    Enjoy

    {;-)


    ReplyDelete