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."

Sunday, January 04, 2015

Exposing the big Israeli lies about Palestine

Joel Beinin: A Boycott of Israel Has Nothing to Do with Anti-Semitism 






106 comments:

  1. Israel to drill for oil in occupied Syria
    By staff | January 3, 2015

    The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) is reporting that the Israeli corporation, Afek Oil and Gas, is about to start drilling for oil in the occupied Syrian Golan. The Jan. 2 report states that heavy equipment has arrived at a site called Oil 5. Actual drilling is expected in two weeks

    Afek Oil and Gas is a subsidiary of Genie Energy, Ltd., a U.S.-based public corporation that is traded on the New York Stock Exchange as NYSE: GNE.

    The SANA article states, “The Israeli hostile move comes after the UN reiterated its call on the Israeli occupation entity to abide by resolutions relevant to the occupied Syrian Golan, particularly Security Council Resolution No. 497 of 1981 which considers the occupation’s laws and administrative custody on the occupied Syrian Golan as null and void.”

    The Syrian Golan has been occupied since 1967. Israel also occupies Palestine and a portion of Lebanon, called the Shebaa Farms.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Syrian Golan has been occupied since 1967.

      The high place in the region that was used to attack Israel but was taken from an enemy.
      The UN wants Israel to just give it back huh?

      Delete
    2. That is the deal.

      Just like the US would like Russia to return the Crimea to Kiev.

      Delete
    3. That issue is one of my blind spots.
      Not up to date, so I haven't an opinion.

      Delete
    4. To your point about the attack on Israel in 1967. Do you really believe that the history of the conflict began then? According to the Zionists, their taking back of Israel is because it was theirs and god gave it to them a few thousand years ago. 1967 was just another move on the chess board.

      The Germans were all about taking back their ancient lands. Their claims were reinforced by the facts that the areas they reclaimed were occupied by German speaking people. Was their claim legitimate? The Greeks have as legitimate of an historic claim to Palestine as European Jews. The Romans as well.

      Delete
    5. Do you really believe that the history of the conflict began then?
      No.
      Was it the Israelis that forced the Syrians to attack?
      Again, no.

      So why did the Arab nations decide it prudent to try to wipe them off the face of the earth?

      Delete
    6. Because they were foreign invaders that won the first round. Mexico won the first round at the Alamo. Did that make it morally offensive for the US to retake it? History doesn’t begin and end on a certain date because some politician says it is so. The Palestinians and the Arabs are fighting the long war. Eventually they will win. Demographics will trump temporary technological advantages.

      Delete
    7. ...their taking back of Israel is because it was theirs and god gave it to them a few thousand years ago.

      This seems to be the overall dispute in many arguments.
      Not just between Arabs and Israelis, but Atheists and the indoctrinated, like I was, and the believer, like I am today.

      Atheists seem to look down on the believer.

      Delete
    8. That is why Putin is a traitor to Russia.

      He is worried about an attack from which European country? Greece, Belgium, France?

      He is weakening Russia and setting it up for it being cleaved by the Chinese. Russia no longer has a technological advantage over China. That is why the Israelis fear Iran. Without the US, Israel has no choice but to come to a political accommodation. Without it, it will vanish. God will be no more helpful in the future than he has been in the past.

      Delete
    9. God will be no more helpful in the future than he has been in the past.

      According to the New Testament, every nation will be against Israel when the L_RD comes.
      In my thinking, that won't ever happen as long as the US keeps being the "Handmaiden" of Israel.
      So if a "Christian Nation" wants to see the coming of the L_RD, they would be outwardly hostile.
      Obama just might step in to it and then we'll all see what comes of it.

      Delete
    10. I have to take the kid to church now.
      Be back in a couple of hours.

      Delete
  2. David Barsamian, mouthpiece of Noam Chomsky.

    I hope someday you will give equal time and critique of Mohamed and his religion of peace.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Happens every day, Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson and "O"rdure provide that content.

      If you were to provide more of that type content, Dougman, doubt if it would be expunged.

      Delete
    2. It would be a sign of intellectual honesty if it were to come from the blog administrator.

      I know I have blind spots and rely of others to point them out.

      Delete
  3. Dougman, Happy New Year.

    In fact, I am the attempt at equal time and an alternate point of view.

    ReplyDelete
  4. RealClearPolitics
    Saturday, January 03
    President Obama - Job Approval - Gallup: Approve = 48, Disapprove = 47

    Wow! ..

    JERUSALEM (EJP)---According to a new survey by Israel Radio, 43% favor Benjamin Netanyahu as the next Prime Minister with Herzog close behind at 41%.

    Mr Obama more popular in the US than Bibi is in Israel.

    {;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      Obama Numbers (RCP Poll Averages):

      Job Approval: 43.6% (within the margin of error and close enough for government work compared to Bibi)
      Economy: 43.0%
      Foreign Policy: 37.9%
      Obamacare: 37.1%
      Direction of the Country: 27.5%

      .


      Delete
  5. The Russian claims on Eastern Europe were as valid as the Eastern European claims on Palestine. Russia was attacked from the West and after winning the war decided it was keeping the border territories for security reasons. The Russians lost 20 million killed in WWII. Surely, there is more than a whiff of hypocrisy on the absolute and situationally convenient argument that winnings in a war are legitimate. They are not.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Did Russia deserve to keep Eastern Europe because it was attacked from the West and won the war?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No. As you may recall, Russia divided Poland up with Hitler.

      Russia was attacked by Germany, not Poland, nor Czechoslovakia, not Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, not Romania, not Hungary.....

      Delete
    2. And the only reason they gave any of it up was because their system finally failed.

      Delete
    3. And further, Pooty has said this was the biggest catastrophe in Russian history, giving up Eastern Europe.

      Delete
  7. Israel’s claim is every bit as dubious.

    ReplyDelete
  8. DougmanSun Jan 04, 08:03:00 AM EST

    David Barsamian, mouthpiece of Noam Chomsky.


    That figures. Chomsky is crazy, Barsamian is crazy, and to use either as a source is crazy.

    Syria was raining shells down on Israel and Israel doesn't want to give it back for fear it will happen again. Who can blame them?

    There is no peace treaty between the two, as there is between Egypt and Israel.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Obama's star is rising; Rasmussen has him at 50 - 48.

    First time I can remember that Rasmussen, and Gallup, both, have had him in the positive.

    ReplyDelete
  10. La Paz, Mexico (pop. 215,000) soon to be powered 100% by Solar.

    De Futuro es Now, Amigos

    ReplyDelete
  11. Urban renewal in Detroit -


    Detroit starts converting shipping containers into homes.......Drudge


    Actually, done right, they are kinda neat. Deuce had a thread on them once.

    In Detroit, though, they'll just trash 'em, like they do everything else.

    I call 'em "urban hicks".

    We don't have hicks in Idaho, just farmers, lawyers, and professors and a logger or two.

    Hicks refers to Mississippi out backers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And Detroit suburbanites like Quirk.

      Delete
    2. .

      We don't have hicks in Idaho... merely yahoos and bumpkins.

      .

      Delete
    3. 'Merely' is right.

      Better either a yahoo or a bumpkin than a hick.

      At least you know your social hierarchies.

      I am surprised.

      Most hicks don't.

      Delete
  12. .

    Michigan

    Ave E10 Price: $1.93
    Ave E85 Price: $1.50
    Price Spread: 22.9%

    E85prices.com US averages:

    Ave E10 price: $2.01
    Ave E85 price: $1.71
    Ave Spread: 15.7%

    Of the states reporting E85 prices to E85prices.com, four have price spreads lower than the US average spread of 15.7%.

    Michigan 22.9%
    Minnesota 22.3%
    Florida 21.7%
    Nebraska 17.0%

    .

    ReplyDelete
  13. January 4, 2015
    Bizarre sex story involving Prince Andrew, Alan Dershowitz and Bill Clinton may be true
    By Rick Moran

    On the surface, this sex scandal involving Prince Andrew, second in the line of succession to the British crown, famed constitutional lawyer Alan Derschowitz, and former President Bill Clinton, would appear too bizarre to be true.............

    .............Who to believe? Several women now adults who claim that many important people had sex with them, or the important people who are vociferously denying any trysts took place?

    Stay tuned. This might be the biggest sex scandal in a generation.

    http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2015/01/bizarre_sex_story_involving_prince_andrew_alan_derschowitz_and_bill_clinton_may_be_true.html


    Island underage sex prison in the Caribbean, Princes, Presidents, lawyers, scumbags, money and drugs......



    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wasn't there some Senator some time ago........?

      Who was that?

      Can't recall.

      Delete
    2. Went for underage Caribbean sex....

      Dang, senior moment....

      Delete
    3. Democratic NJ Sen. Robert Menendez......

      But that was in the Dominican Republic......

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

      Delete
    5. Andy's not 2nd in line, he's 5th. (Chuckie, Willie, George, Harry, *Andy*).

      Delete
    6. Chuckie, Willie, George, Harry got to her first ?

      Delete
  14. Seven-year-old Sailor Gutzler freed herself from the flipped-over plane and, dressed lightly on a frigid night with a broken wrist, scrambled roughly three-quarters of a mile through woods and tough terrain to seek help, state police said. She managed to find what police described as the nearest-possible local home.

    ...

    The twin engine Piper PA-34 plane was en route to Illinois from Florida when it went down about 7 miles east of a small airport in the southwest corner of Kentucky, not far from the Illinois border.

    ...

    But Sailor, who was dressed for Florida weather in shorts and a T-shirt, extricated herself from the plane and walked in near-freezing temperatures to find help.

    ReplyDelete
  15. "What we want to see is solutions....solutions for the American people, solutions that create jobs, that strengthen the middle class....."

    Some Republican talking head talking out his ass on Fox.

    blah blah blah.......

    Don't we all get sick of it on both sides?

    Yes, we do.

    What this country needs is a ripping good sex scandal to stir things up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. NO! We don't need to read about Sarah Palin more than we already do.

      Delete
    2. Peak Stupidity Ash

      If Bill gets implicated again, how will it affect Hillary's run?

      What if he's being screwing under age girls?

      What then, Ash?

      Delete
    3. Bill's got to be sleeping with someone.

      We know that.

      And he's not sleeping with Hillary.

      She's sleeping with Huma.

      Who is Bill sleeping with?

      Question of the Day

      Delete
  16. .

    Bob OreilleSun Jan 04, 04:42:00 PM EST

    'Merely' is right.

    Better either a yahoo or a bumpkin than a hick...


    :o)

    hick
    [hik]

    noun 1. an unsophisticated, boorish, and provincial person; rube.


    The unsophisticated and boorish rubes from Idaho would rather be called yahoos than hicks.

    Yahoo
    [yah-hoo, yey-, yah-hoo]

    noun, plural Yahoos. 1. (in Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels) one of a race of brutes, having the form and all the vices of humans, who are subject to the Houyhnhnms.
    2. (lowercase) an uncultivated or boorish person; lout; philistine; yokel.
    3. (lowercase) a coarse or brutish person.


    Sheesh

    :o)

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Yokellout Quirk has finally attained Peak Stupidity.

      Sheesh

      :o)

      Delete
    2. UYL

      Urban Yokel Lout

      ha ha ha ha ha

      That's good.

      Delete
  17. Marty Gutzler was flying the plane, which reported engine trouble and lost contact with air traffic controllers, authorities said. Controllers tried to direct the pilot to an airport several miles from the crash site.

    ...

    The Federal Aviation Administration said the plane had taken off from Tallahassee Regional Airport in Florida and was bound for Mount Vernon, Ill. Sailor told police the family had been to Key West.

    According to the FAA website, Gutzler was a licensed commercial pilot and flight instructor.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Dallas Cowboys beat Detroit Urban Yokels 24 to 20.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Well, I guess I don't need to watch the game tonight. Thanks, Bob.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Yokels go back to their shipping containers.

      The Seahawks are playing really well now, Sam.

      They might take it again.

      You should try to watch the University of Oregon/Ohio State game if you can too.

      Delete
  20. I think I'd rather be playing Detroit. Why try watching the games when you just spoil it for me?

    ReplyDelete
  21. Deuce- Because they were foreign invaders that won the first round.

    There have been Jewish descendants living there since Moses conquered the land of Canaan, I believe.

    Mexico won the first round at the Alamo. Did that make it morally offensive for the US to retake it?

    The US took all of Mexico after the Texans lost the Alamo, right? Wasn't it quite benevolent of the States to give back what they did? I bet the average Mexican citizen wishes that the US would conquer the country again and keep it.

    History doesn’t begin and end on a certain date because some politician says it is so.

    True enough. But the American Military has, for the most part, ended the primitive way of gaining wealth by conquering sovereign nations and stealing the wealth. No, Americans leave and leave behind a way for nations to create wealth.

    The Palestinians and the Arabs are fighting the long war.

    Only because the Israelis have practiced an amazing amount of patience and suffering to show the world the strength of their faith and G_D, IMO.
    Eventually they will win.

    How many must die before you are willing to say that one side or the other has "won"?

    Demographics will trump temporary technological advantages.

    Nuclear weapons are not temporary.

    Again I ask, How many must die before the world acknowledges the Truth?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Turks should give back Istanbul to the Christians.

      The Egyptians should give back Alexandria to the Jews and Christians.

      The Libyans should give back....

      Need I go on?

      And I haven't even mentioned India/Pakistan yet.....nor Afghanistan for that matter.......nor anywhere else.

      Moslem lands are all by conquest.

      Starting in what is now known as Saudi Arabia.

      Delete
    2. Let Saudi Arabia give Khaybar back to the Jews.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Khaybar

      Delete
    3. .

      True enough. But the American Military has, for the most part, ended the primitive way of gaining wealth by conquering sovereign nations and stealing the wealth. No, Americans leave and leave behind a way for nations to create wealth.


      Sigh. The word benighted comes to mind.

      .

      Delete
    4. Germany and Japan come to mind.

      I can think of others.

      Surely you can too, if you try real hard, Quirk.

      Delete
    5. Damn that Detroit shipping container trash !

      Delete
    6. Quirk-...benighted comes to mind.

      Possibly I am.
      I would call it a blind spot that you could open my eyes to if you would.

      Delete
    7. Quirk, like Deuce, though not so severely, is often two or three tuna fish sandwiches short of full picnic basket on these issues.

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

      Delete
    9. Bob OreilleSun Jan 04, 11:45:00 PM EST

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

      I got to thinking I've been too hard on poor old defenseless Quirk lately.

      Got to thinking someone might accuse me of 'elder abuse'.

      Delete
    10. The Liberation of Growing Old

      By ANNE KARPFJAN. 3, 2015
      Photo
      Credit Ed Kashi/VII Photo

      LONDON — WHY do we have such punitive attitudes toward old people? Granted, the ancients did hideous things to elders who were unable to work but still needed food and care, but in more recent times, that had changed: In 18th-century New England, it was common for people to make themselves seem older by adding years to their real age, rather than subtracting them................

      http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/04/opinion/sunday/the-liberation-of-growing-old.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

      Delete
  22. Brent crude futures traded at $55.86 per barrel in early Monday trade, just above Friday's low of $55.48.

    ...

    The Australian dollar likewise dropped to a 5-1/2-year low of $0.8053.

    The U.S. dollar also surged against the Swiss franc and sterling, extending a recent bull run as markets wagered a relatively healthy U.S. economy will lead the Federal Reserve to raise rates in the middle of this year.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Egypt’s al-Sisi Makes Extraordinary Speech on Islam
    January 3rd, 2015 - 10:20 pm
    Share

    Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi made an extraordinary speech on New Year’s Day to Cairo’s Al-Azhar and the Awqaf Ministry calling for a long overdue virtual ecclesiastical revolution in Islam. This is something no Western leader has the had the courage to do, certainly not Barack Obama, despite his Muslim education.

    Accusing the umma (world Islamic population) of encouraging the hostility of the entire world, al-Sisi’s speech is so dramatic and essentially revolutionary it brings to mind Khrushchev’s famous speech exposing Stalin. Many have called for a reformation of Islam, but for the leader of the largest Arab nation to do so has world-changing implications.

    Here are the key parts as translated on Raymond Ibrahim’s blog:

    I am referring here to the religious clerics. We have to think hard about what we are facing—and I have, in fact, addressed this topic a couple of times before. It’s inconceivable that the thinking that we hold most sacred should cause the entire umma [Islamic world] to be a source of anxiety, danger, killing and destruction for the rest of the world. Impossible!

    That thinking—I am not saying “religion” but “thinking”—that corpus of texts and ideas that we have sacralized over the years, to the point that departing from them has become almost impossible, is antagonizing the entire world. It’s antagonizing the entire world!

    Is it possible that 1.6 billion people [Muslims] should want to kill the rest of the world’s inhabitants—that is 7 billion—so that they themselves may live? Impossible!

    I am saying these words here at Al Azhar, before this assembly of scholars and ulema—Allah Almighty be witness to your truth on Judgment Day concerning that which I’m talking about now.

    All this that I am telling you, you cannot feel it if you remain trapped within this mindset. You need to step outside of yourselves to be able to observe it and reflect on it from a more enlightened perspective.

    I say and repeat again that we are in need of a religious revolution. You, imams, are responsible before Allah. The entire world, I say it again, the entire world is waiting for your next move… because this umma is being torn, it is being destroyed, it is being lost—and it is being lost by our own hands. [bolds mine]

    Al-Sisi is certainly correct. The whole world has been waiting for a long time for the next move of these imams or for somebody, anybody that will modernize Islam as other religions have done.. Whether that will happen, of course, is another question, but what al-Sisi is saying here is in many ways more revolutionary than the “Arab Spring.” People ask, where are the “moderate Muslims”? Well, one of them may be the president of Egypt. The boys from Hamas, Hezbollah, ISIS, Boko Haram, al Qaeda, etc., etc., are probably not too happy about what al-Sisi said. Let’s hope he doesn’t suffer the fate of Anwar Sadat for his courage.

    pjmedia.com/rogerlsimon/2015/01/03/egypts-al-sisi-makes-extraordinary-speech-on-islam/

    ReplyDelete
  24. .

    I would call it a blind spot that you could open my eyes to if you would.

    Sure, Dougman.

    Obumble waxes nostalgic about events of 70 years ago, halcyon days when the country actually went to ‘war’. Perhaps, we should confine ourselves to more recent events. After all, ‘the greatest generation’ just won’t be with us for that much longer.

    Starting in 2001, we declared a WOT thus committing ourselves to perpetual war ad infinatum. Then, we justifiably invaded Afghanistan. In two months, we drove the Taliban out along with OBL and most of al Qaeda and we did it with minimal death (4 US KIA) and destruction. And then we stayed, we stayed for what amounted to the longest ‘kinetic engagement’ in our history, and though the administration has indicated that all combat troops were pulled out at the end of 2014 there will be thousands of troops there until at least 2016 and it was recently announced some of them will be involved in combat missions. But let’s not talk about the cost to the US, the thousands of dead and wounded, the $ hundreds of billions in treasure spent and counting. Let’s talk about the advantages we brought to the Afghan people.

    We drove out the Taliban and replaced them with what has been called the most corrupt administration in the world. After 13 years, the Taliban is back and controls half the country. The poppy harvests there are larger than when we first went in. Drug money from that crop now funds terrorist organizations across the world. The people are no better off despite the billions we put into infrastructure projects. Those that weren’t lost through corruption are now falling apart. The people are caught in the middle of an ongoing war between the Taliban and the government. Good times. Obumble tells us...

    No, Americans leave and leave behind a way for nations to create wealth.

    Well, maybe... Drugs, crimes, corruption, terror...but still...


    (continued below...)

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      (continued...)

      Then came 2003. Based on trumped up evidence, we decided to invade Iraq in the name of the WOT. Again, in two months we had defeated the Iraqi army, captured Sadaam, and declared our mission accomplished although we had not found any WMDs. And then again, we stayed. We stayed for another 8 years. Sure, this time the US dead and wounded ran into the tens of thousands and the dollar cost ran into the trillions. But all that plus the opportunity costs lost were offset by what we did for the Iraqi people. Estimates run from 150,000 to 1 million dead. Millions of people displaced and turned into refugees. Infrastructure and utilities destroyed and just getting back to pre-war levels before the latest war there started. While people think the surge turned the situation around that is ridiculous. The situation turned around when the US paid off the Sunni tribes in Anbar, when Bush agreed to pull US troops out and as a result Al Sadr pulled his army out of the fighting, and when the US segregated Baghdad into Sunni, Shia, and Christian sections to keep them from killing each other. That same segregation continues today as does the territorial segregation between the countries three main sects, Sunnis, Shias and Kurds, segregation and discrimination pushed and exploited by the government the US installed. The segregation and discrimination that is today being exploited by IS. Yet, Obumble tells us...

      No, Americans leave and leave behind a way for nations to create wealth.

      Hmmmm. Well, maybe. I mean if you are not dead and have your own militia or are getting baksheesh or, I mean foreign aid, from the US.

      Otherwise, not so much.

      (continued below...)

      .

      Delete
    2. Well, come on, spit the rest of it out.

      Delete
    3. .

      (continued...)

      But then there is always Egypt.

      First, for years we support a sectarian dictator and pay him baksheesh to maintain peace with Israel. Then within the space of a year, we declare our support for him, then we declare our support for the democratic protesters opposed to him and declare he should step down, then we support the military when they force him to step down, then we support democratic elections and declare our support for the Islamists that take over, then we condemn them for their sectarian and political persecution of minorities, then we condemn the army for taking over again but continue to support them with their annual baksheesh so as to maintain peace with Israel.

      No doubt our actions have left a way for the nation of Egypt to create wealth. No?

      Hmmm. The last time I looked the persecution and discrimination of minorities in Egypt continues as the government, read army, looks the other way. The only way Egypt is able to continue is on the aid they receive from other countries, the US , Saudi Arabia. The people are still suffering from the hunger and lack of food that caused them to begin demonstrating in the first place. Minorities are being killed.

      Currently, Egypt has been called by various sources, a Failed State.


      Then there is Yemen. Our ally in the WOT. The US provide aid there in the form of drone strikes.

      Failed State.


      Or Libya,

      We went in there in order to save 10,000 people in Benghazi, a number Hillary pulled out of her ass. Our ‘humanitarian intervention’ resulted in regime change, the deaths of more people than we said we would save, the spread of arms to terror groups across the ME, the current civil war being waged in Libya and another Failed State.

      Or Syria,

      a country so screwed up it becomes very hard to assign specific blame but there appears to be enough circumstantial evidence to put the US right in the middle of it.

      Another Failed State.

      Hell, we seem to leave failed states in our wake wherever we tread.


      The latest effort in Iraq/Syria is just beginning. I would be willing to lay odds that if it goes on long enough will will screw it up too. What I will pretty much guarantee is that when it is over the majority of people in Iraq will not consider America their best buddy.

      Benighted? Hell, I think I’m being generous.


      .

      Delete
    4. Quirk you've got much of it wrong.

      But here's a hint. These countries are all Moslem countries, not the easiest to deal with......

      You might read Sisi's statement referenced above.

      And most of the current troubles come from mistakes made by O'bozo.

      You don't even give the USA any credit at all for 'giving peace a chance' between Egypt and Israel.

      It's all baksheesh this and baksheesh that.

      I'll make some comments but I got to to some laundry first. Might be tomorrow.

      And yes, Bust actually did leave Iraq with some hope for a better future......alas, Maliki, who immediately began getting even with the Sunnis, and O'bozo torpedoed the whole effort.



      Delete
    5. .

      Bob, you are crazy. Sorry, but it's true.

      .

      Delete
    6. Quirk, you are crazy. It is true.

      But then, you wouldn't be loveable YOU if you weren't.

      And don't attribute to me in your frenzy things I didn't say, as you did in your PART TWO.

      I might agree with the tenor of the statement but it wasn't my statement.



      Delete
    7. It is unprofessional and ratlike.

      Delete
    8. We declared a WOT.

      Sheesh, as you say.

      What would you have us do after 9/11?

      Demand an apology?

      We gave the Blind Sheik the opportunity to give Osama bin Laden up, he didn't, we went in.

      Perhaps we would have been better off to declare total war on Afghanistan and demand unconditional surrender, get it, and then rebuild the hell hole from scratch.

      Who knows for sure?

      Delete
    9. .

      Sorry, about getting the quote mixed up, Bob; however, I was merely responding to the Dougman's assertion that after US interventions amongst the droppings we leave behind are 'opportunities for wealth', an odd turn of phrase to my mind given the assorted 'collateral damage' we also leave.

      I have never argued that we shouldn't go into Afghanistan, only that we ended up staying 12 or 13 years too long. As for the other interventions, I saw no reason for them.

      It's hard to argue that we are in a better place today than we were in 1991 after the fall of the wall when we were the only HyperPower standing.

      .

      Delete
  25. Benighted? Hell, I think I’m being generous.

    :) I appreciate it, but you don't need to hold back.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      That was at a time when I was mixed up on the source of the quote. Based on other comments Bob made I got confused as to the source. That is how 'Wolfbane' and I usually talk to each other. Nothing serious about it. Merely busting balls.

      I've already offered him my mea culpa on the misquote and had I known it was from an infrequent visitor here I would have been more circumspect. Sorry.

      :o)

      .

      Delete
  26. Hell, we seem to leave failed states in our wake wherever we tread.

    You make it out to be a feature of the military instead of a bug of the politicians.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      No.

      Sorry if I left that impression. The military doesn't pick its own wars. They go were they are sent and fight for as long as they are told to fight.

      .

      Delete
  27. Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson so wrong, he is not even right, by mistake.

    Dougman, his view of history in the Americas, from a warped perspective, to say the least.
    No, the majority of Mexicans do not want the US to take over the 'rest' of Mexico, they would like to recover what was lost to the US in the 1800's.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. But that is not to say that US citizens of Mexican ancestry would like a change in Sovereign.
      Only that a sizable number of Mexican nationals do.

      A Zogby poll of Mexicans found that a substantial majority of Mexican citizens believe that southwestern America is rightfully the territory of Mexico and that Mexicans do not need the permission of the U.S. to enter.  The poll, a people search of appropriate persons,  found that 58 percent of Mexicans agree with the statement, "The territory of the United States' southwest rightfully belongs to Mexico." Zogby said 28 percent disagreed, while another 14 percent said they weren't sure.

      http://www.illegalaliens.us/aztlan.htm

      Delete
  28. .

    In an article Walter Russell Mead ranks the top 7 most influential world powers as"

    US
    Germany
    China
    Japan
    Russia
    India
    Saudi Arabia

    The ranking is arbitrary and offers one man's opinion on countries not so much on military might as on influence and ability to shape world events.

    http://www.the-american-interest.com/2015/01/04/the-seven-great-powers/

    .

    ReplyDelete
  29. The French president today called for the lifting of the West's economic sanctions on Russia, saying: 'Mr Putin does not want to annex eastern Ukraine.

    ReplyDelete
  30. .

    The world in 2050?

    Solar Power Might Be the World’s Biggest Energy Source

    Converting the sun’s rays into power is becoming cheaper and cheaper. The average cost of solar panels per watt in 1972 was $75, according to research compiled by Mother Jones. Today, it’s just shy of $1, with the price continuing to fall. By 2050, solar power could generate as much as 27 percent of the world’s energy, becoming the world’s largest source of electricity, according to recent research from the International Energy Agency.

    If that happens, the combined emissions savings could offset around 6 billion tons of carbon dioxide every year, which is roughly equal to all current carbon emissions from the U.S. energy sector combined, IEA reports.

    There Might Not Be Enough Food for Everyone, Unless We Play Our Cards Right

    The more of us there are, the more food and water we’ll need to survive. The worst consequences of climate change will still be in the future, but the rates of flooding and drought will have begun to increase, exacerbating food and water shortages. The swelling population will simultaneously exacerbate climate change, creating a dire feedback loop.

    Last year the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said that in order to feed a population of roughly 9 billion in 2050, the world will need to increase its food production by an average of 60 percent compared to current food production levels. Not doing so would risk serious food shortages, which could prompt major social upheaval, conflict, and civil wars. By comparison, wheat and rice production have grown at a rate of less than 1 percent for the past 20 years...


    http://www.newsweek.com/forget-2015-2050-year-predictions-296481

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ... the total production of rice in the world during 2007-08 was 433.82 million metric tons which was increased in 2008- 09 as 443.82 million metric tons
      http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/essay/rice-production-in-the-world-country-wise-production/25492/

      December 2014

      This month the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates that the World Rice Production 2014/2015 will be 475.24 million metric tons, around 0.19 million tons more than the previous month's projection.

      Rice Production last year (*) was 476.85 million tons.

      http://worldriceproduction.com/

      434 metric tons in 2007-08
      477 metric tons in 2014

      10% in 7 years --- yep right around 1% growth, compounded.

      Delete
  31. Israeli Gaza Division Commander: ISIS Would Replace Hamas If Toppled

    IDF Gaza Division Commander Itai Virov told reporters that he is happy Hamas remains in power in the Gaza Strip, as he fears that ISIS would fill the vacuum there if the terrorist network would have been toppled by Israel.
    “Even though Hamas is a bitter and cruel enemy, and the prospect of another war is ominous, the alternative to Hamas rule in Gaza is worse. I see what happens in the Sinai, with the network of ISIS, and it is good that these groups remain under the eye of the Egyptian army in the Sinai and that we will continue to fight our own battles.”

    ReplyDelete
  32. Rasmussen has Obamacare Approval up to 46% - the highest since Before the rollout.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Bill Clinton identified in lawsuit against his former friend and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein who had 'regular' orgies at his Caribbean compound that the former president visited multiple times

    The former president was friends with Jeffrey Epstein, a financier who was arrested in 2008 for soliciting underage prostitutes
    A new lawsuit has revealed how Clinton took multiple trips to Epstein's private island where he 'kept young women as sex slaves'
    Clinton was also apparently friends with a woman who collected naked pictures of underage girls for Epstein to choose from
    He hasn't cut ties with that woman, however, and invited her to Chelsea's wedding
    Comes as friends now fear that if Hillary Clinton runs for president in 2016, all of their family's old scandals will be brought to the forefront
    Epstein has a host of famous friends including Prince Andrew who stayed at his New York mansion AFTER his arrest


    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2584309/Bill-Clinton-identified-lawsuit-against-former-friend-pedophile-Jeffrey-Epstein-regular-orgies-Caribbean-compound-former-president-visited-multiple-times.html#ixzz3NyNrX5lk
    Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

    Excellent news for a Hillary candidacy.

    ReplyDelete
  34. >>>No doubt our actions have left a way for the nation of Egypt to create wealth. No?

    Hmmm. The last time I looked the persecution and discrimination of minorities in Egypt continues as the government, read army, looks the other way. The only way Egypt is able to continue is on the aid they receive from other countries, the US , Saudi Arabia. The people are still suffering from the hunger and lack of food that caused them to begin demonstrating in the first place. Minorities are being killed.<<<

    Quirk Quote


    This scrambled egg of a quote is supposed to prove what, exactly?

    Are you trying to say the USA is responsible for poverty in Egypt?

    And yet you say we are their aid lifeline.

    It's true the persecution of minorities under Sisi continues, and is disappointing but it would have been worse under Morsi, and how are we responsible for it? We most certainly did not install Sisi in power. O'bozo was for the MB guy, Morsi.

    Food? We sell food to Egypt every year.

    Without looking it up, I am nearly certain Egypt has received lots of Food for Peace aid.

    Honestly, I can't make head nor tail out of this quazzy quote.

    Had you been drinking?

    continued at my leisure throughout the day............

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      Give it up, Obumble.

      You have the attention span of a gnat. My quote that you put up above was posted last night. You can't manage the short term memory to remember a quote and its context from two hours ago much less twelve. You haven't a clue as to the basis for the quote or the context thus your questions.

      Go look up some football scores. Thinking about this stuff will just give you a head ache.

      .

      Delete
  35. The Clintons are really really really really sleazy folks.

    ReplyDelete

  36. Egyptian President Calls for ‘Religious Revolution’ in Islam
    Wants to displace violent jihad
    Share

    Abdel Fattah al-Sisi

    Abdel Fattah al-Sisi / AP

    BY: Abraham Rabinovich
    January 4, 2015 12:10 pm

    JERUSALEM—In a speech on New Year’s day, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called for a “religious revolution” in Islam that would displace violent jihad from the center of Muslim discourse.

    “Is it possible that 1.6 billion people (Muslims worldwide) should want to kill the rest of the world’s population—that is, 7 billion people—so that they themselves may live?” he asked. “Impossible.”

    Speaking to an audience of religious scholars celebrating the birth of Islam’s prophet, Mohammed, he called on the religious establishment to lead the fight for moderation in the Muslim world. “You imams (prayer leaders) are responsible before Allah. The entire world—I say it again, the entire world—is waiting for your next move because this umma (a word that can refer either to the Egyptian nation or the entire Muslim world) is being torn, it is being destroyed, it is being lost—and it is being lost by our own hands.”

    He was speaking in Al-Azhar University in Cairo, widely regarded as the leading world center for Islamic learning.

    “The corpus of texts and ideas that we have made sacred over the years, to the point that departing from them has become almost impossible, is antagonizing the entire world. You cannot feel it if you remain trapped within this mindset. You must step outside yourselves and reflect on it from a more enlightened perspective.”

    Sisi was a little known general when he was appointed over the heads of fellow officers in 2012 as commander of the Egyptian army by then President Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood. The religiosity of Sisi was said then to have been one of the reasons for the choice. However, when a popular uprising broke out the following year, Sisi swiftly ousted Morsi from power and brought charges against him, including conspiring to commit terrorist acts together with Hamas and other Islamic groups. The Muslim Brotherhood itself was banned.

    When new elections were held last May, Sisi, now a civilian, won a resounding victory.

    Although the Muslim Brotherhood and its Hamas supporters have been Sisi’s principal targets since assuming power, his talk made it clear that his concern over radical Islam extends to the entire Muslim world, particularly adherents of the Islamic State, and the non-Muslim world beyond.

    “We have to think hard about what we are facing,” he said. “It’s inconceivable that the thinking that we hold most sacred should cause the entire Islamic world to be a source of anxiety, danger, killing, and destruction for the rest of the world. Impossible.”

    http://freebeacon.com/national-security/egyptian-president-calls-for-religious-revolution-in-islam/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If the USA were responsible for the rise of this guy in Egypt, then I think we should be damned well proud of ourselves.

      Alas, O'bozo was supporting the MB guy Morsi, IIRC.

      Sisi has certainly put himself in the gun sights of the frenzied folk with this speech.

      May he prosper.

      A 'revolution' is what Islam needs, not a 'reformation', if we understand a reformation as a going back to the roots.

      Delete
  37. Stopped by the Piggly Wiggly in Tunica (a store, not widely renowned for its low prices,) today, and a Dozen Grade A, Large Eggs was

    $1.69.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Now, the stinking republicans are starting a push to raise the gasoline tax. They just can't stand to see the little guy get a break.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. OH bullshit.

      California is raising its gas tax.

      There is not a Republican left in California.

      Talk of raising the gas tax really pisses me off too, but its not solely the Republicans suggesting it.

      Delete
  39. Sams Club, and Costco have gasoline at $1.77 / Gallon in Memphis.


    The Stock Market hates it. A lot of regular people love it. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Why does the stock market hate it?

      Delete
    2. The Stock Market is a short-term thinker. Oil Companies, and other "oil-related" stocks make up a large part of the stock market, and, needless to say, oil-related shares are getting hammered.

      Delete
    3. Non sense.

      Most of the stocks on the stock market are helped by lower gas prices. Lower production costs, lower transportation costs, lower everything costs....

      Delete