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."

Saturday, January 24, 2015

The Logan Act (1 Stat. 613, 30 January 1799, currently codified at 18 U.S.C. § 953) is a United States federal law that forbids unauthorized citizens from negotiating with foreign governments. It was passed in 1799 and last amended in 1994

The Logan Act has remained almost unchanged and unused since its passage. The act is short and reads as follows:

Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.
This section shall not abridge the right of a citizen to apply, himself or his agent, to any foreign government or the agents thereof for redress of any injury which he may havesustained from such government or any of its agents or subjects.

115 comments:

  1. So John "the Boner" Boehner is committing a crime, inviting Bibi to DC.
    He is attempting to ... to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States ...

    He ought to be indicted.
    Wonder if U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has the cajones to prosecute.
    Proving, if he does, that US is a nation of laws, not men.

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    1. “A nation of laws” means that laws, not people, rule. Everyone is to be governed by the same laws, regardless of their station; whether it is the most common American or Members of Congress, high-ranking bureaucrats or the President of the United States; all must be held to the just laws of America. No one is, or can be allowed to be, above the law.

      Delete
  2. AIPAC is in direct violation os US law. They are involved in lawless activities averse to US interests and to the welfare and safety of US citizens that do not hold allegiance to the religious lawless State of Israel.


    Boner has no authority to invite a sitting head of state to address Congress:

    US Constitution:

    Section. 2.

    The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

    He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.

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    1. "religious lawless State of Israel"

      Wow...

      Your downright honest hatred is shining thru this am..

      Deuce, your anti-Israel, anti-Jewish, anti-zionist camp puts you firmly in the Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Iranian Mullahs, Assad and Hezbollah camp. I guess you just don't understand how far you travelled away from American interests or values.

      I'd recommend you NEVER talk, in real life, to actual, decent Americans about these topics.

      Delete
  3. The nonsense that special privilege is owed to the Lobby and to Saudi Arabia is a manipulation and a corruption, hardly unique in Washington but the one that has caused the most damage to the lives of ordinary Americans.

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    1. "The Lobby"?

      AIPAC is made up of 20,000 Americans that support the America Israel relationship and it's shared values, interests and such.

      Your constant accusation of the members being traitors, 5th column, Israel Firsters and such paints you far more than the LOYAL and Patriotic Americans that exercise their Constitution Right to petition their government.

      You can, because you are an American, petition your representatives in Congress with your opinions, no matter how vile and disgusting they are, and not be called a traitor, like you call us.

      Delete
  4. Senator Edward Kennedy proposed in the 95th Congress to delete the Logan Act from the bill to amend the United States criminal code.43 Senator James Allen insisted on reenacting the Act in exchange for promising not to prolong debate over the bill, and Senator Kennedy agreed to this. However, since the House was unable to consider the criminal reform bill in the 95th Congress, the possibility of deleting the Act in a conference committee was eliminated. It is possible, nevertheless, that the issue of whether the Logan Act should remain will be considered by another Congress.

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    1. Until it is repealed, it is the "Law of the Land", John "the Boner" Boehner should be indicted.

      Delete
    2. It would be amusing if he were indicted to see how the same right wing. that wanted his head prior to the election, would react to an indictment.

      Delete
    3. The House voted to take Mr Obama to court, an action that will be dismissed, as was the last attempt by the House to sue the President.
      If Mr Obama is really playing 'hardball politics', he'd have Mr Holder take Boehner before a Grand Jury and indicted.

      Delete
  5. United States v. Bryan14refers to 18 U.S.C. § 5, which is the predecessor of 18 U.S.C. § 953:
    That the subject of un-American and subversive activities is within the investigating power of the Congress is obvious. Conceivably, information in this field may aid the Congress in legislating concerning any one of many matters, such as correspondence with foreign governments....15
    United States v. Peace Information Center16held that Congress had the power to enact the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 under its inherent power to regulate external affairs as well as under its constitutional power to legislate concerning national defense and that the Act is not subject to any constitutional infirmity. The court mentioned similarities between the Logan Act and the Foreign Agents Registration Act, and the language used appears to indicate that the Logan Act, like the Foreign Agents Registration Act, is constitutional.
    Citizens of the United States are forbidden to carry on correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government with an intent to influence its measures or conduct in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States.
    The Act under scrutiny in this case represents the converse of the last mentioned statute. The former deals with citizens of the United States who attempt to conduct correspondence with foreign governments. The latter affects agents of foreign principals who carry on certain specified activities in the United States. Both matters are equally within the field of external affairs of this country, and, therefore, within the inherent regulatory power of the Congress.

    ReplyDelete
  6. http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/crs/rl33265.pdf

    ReplyDelete
  7. Our little "O"rdure lied to us, yet again, yesterday.

    There have only been 318,256 views @ https://plus.google.com/+JackHawkinswrites/

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    1. A mathematical over or under estimate of your views is not a lie.

      Now you? You lie on ISSUES and Statements all the time.

      Delete
  8. He does seem to have a problem telling the truth when he posts comments.

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  9. I've been doing some reading about Mosul.

    It had a population of nearly two million, majority Sunnis but a large mixture of many other groups.

    When ISIS walked in nearly unopposed the population had dropped nearly a million, these folks deciding to get out while the getting was good.

    It is now nearly all Sunni. Some Sunnis did flee too, but most stayed. Those that stayed casting a vote in a way by not using their feet.

    The Sunni part of the Iraqi Army of the time simply switched sides taking their weapons with them.

    The Shia troops of the Iraqi Army of the time mostly high tailed back towards the south.

    These folks in the Iraqi Army of those days had been 'trained' for much longer than 4 weeks.

    If anyone here thinks that 'retaking' Mosul is going to be a piece cake, retaking it with 4 week trained, newly minted 'Iraqi troops' they might do well to think again.

    There seems to exist no reliable Pew Poll on the support and the depth of it for ISIS at this time in Mosul but if there were we might all be surprised at the results.

    Then of course if Mosul were to be 'retaken' it would need to be occupied.

    As for me I see a disaster in the making here.

    The word now is that American 'advisers' may well be accompanying the newly minted 4 week trained 'Iraq' troops who will storm Mosul.

    Since most remaining Mosul-ites seem to support ISIS and as ISIS has declared war on us, perhaps then, just for a thought experiment, to 'save American lives' a little carpet bombing of the area might just be justified, though when I first used the term, once, it was a kind of 'language enlargement' born of frustration.

    I am starting to revisit the idea.

    After all, even Deuce is on record as saying we have to do something about ISIS.

    Perhaps the thing to do then is return the favor of the ISIS declaration of war against us, demand unconditional surrender, and bombs away to save American lives?

    Or the Quirkian anti-humanitarian view of let them all kill one another may be the way to go.

    I honestly don't know other than we should support the Kurds who have suffered enough already.

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    1. The US has been supporting them, as have the Iranians, as has the government in Baghdad.

      For US to do more, it's tough supporting folks when their cultural norm is 60% of their women have gotten their clit clipped.

      The discovery of widespread FGM in Iraqi Kurdistan suggests the assumption to be incorrect that FGM is primarily an African phenomenon with only marginal occurrence in the eastern Islamic world. FGM is practiced at a rate of nearly 60 percent by Iraqi Kurds, then how prevalent is the practice in neighboring Syria where living conditions and cultural and religious practices are comparable?

      Why should a single US soldier die to protect this horrid cultural practice,
      Answer US that Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson

      Delete
    2. .

      Or the Quirkian anti-humanitarian view of let them all kill one another may be the way to go.

      You dumb-shit, candy-assed hick, you are starting to get on my nerves. If you had the least bit of common sense AND/OR empathy for our guys or the people you say you want to help, you would give us this crusade to get the US militarily involved in every hot spot in the world.

      Here is a response to you I put up a couple threads back. I put it up again just in case your short term memory is giving way again.

      QuirkSat Jan 24, 09:16:00 AM EST

      .

      Once again, Obumble, you play the fool.

      I don't think I am a moral absolutist though what that would have to do with intervening in some warring state in the ME I haven't a clue. And just to be clear, my objections to US intervention in other countries are related to military interventions not humanitarian interventions, and by that I mean food, medicine, clothing, etc, not the euphemistic 'humanitarian interventions' we invent as excuse for military intervention.

      My objection to US intervention in the ME (or anywhere) is based not on lack of charity but rather on pragmatism. We have simply proven ourselves incompetent in our attempts to do so. All one has to do is look at US interventions over the past couple decades to see the effects of that intervention. Although the facts are obvious, you apparently remain confused.

      Wherever we go we end up 'burning the town to save it'. Look at Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, and now Iraq again. Wherever we have gone death and destruction follow all at a high price. Of the people we have gone to save, hundreds of thousands killed, millions turned into refugees, towns and infrastructure destroyed, $trillions wasted, the governments we leave behind as corrupt and incompetent as the ones they replaced. Today, we brag about 'and not one American killed' but we don't talk about the destruction we leave behind. When IS is finally kicked out of Kobane all that will be left is a rubble heap, it already is, yet we will brag that it was a great victory. The 200,000 refugees who fled will be left to pound sand in some refugee camp in Turkey. Look for the same to happen in Mosul when that action begins.

      Quirk's anti-humanitarian views? Good lord, you dolt. If you had an ounce of empathy and could think you would realize the opportunity costs lost through these interventions, you would realize what a few $trillion could do to improve the lives of people around the world rather than to destroy them. Look at the small cost and effectiveness of our intervention during the Ebola crisis in Africa. We should stick to the things we are good at.

      Military intervention? CAR, Libya, Nigeria, Congo, Kurdistan, a dozen more. What's next?

      Bob, get off this act. You continue to embarrass yourself.

      .

      Delete
  10. I see above another big anti-Semitic rant going on this early morning.

    Since I've read it all before two hundred times I'm going back to bed, having emptied by bladder to my blissful satisfaction.

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    1. There is a lot of anti-Arab ranting at the EB, no doubt about it.
      "O"rdure will be here with his lies, in no time.
      He does post some of the most anti-Semitic comments I have ever read.

      {;-(

      Delete
    2. But can't resist saying once more before beddy bye - if that moron O'bozo hadn't taken the troops out way too soon the USA and Iraq too would not be in current impossible pickle.

      Good pickle for the Kurds though. They may be able to cross over Jordon so to speak to finally arrive at their own promised land.

      Delete
    3. Oooops, forgot -

      Cheers !

      Delete
    4. Arabs = Semites, don't you know ...

      ... the term Semitic was first used to refer to a family of languages native to West Asia (the Middle East).

      The languages evolved and spread to Asia Minor, North Africa, The Horn of Africa and Malta, and are now referred to cumulatively as the Semitic languages.

      The languages include the ancient and modern forms of Ahlamu; Akkadian (including Assyrian and Babylonian dialects); Amharic; Amalekite; Ammonite; Amorite; Arabic; Aramaic/Syriac; the Canaanite languages (Phoenician, Punic or Carthaginian and Hebrew); Assyrian; Chaldean; Eblaite; Edomite; Ge'ez; Old South Arabian; Modern South Arabian languages; Maltese; Mandaic; Moabite; Proto-Sinaitic; Sutean; Syriac; Tigre and Tigrinya; and Ugaritic, among others.


      To use the term in any other manner, well, it just empowers the proto-NAZI amongst us.

      Delete
    5. Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson, even an ignorant dirt farmer like you should know that the US will not maintain military forces in a sovereign country that will not sign a 'Status of Forces" agreement with US.

      The Iraqi would not agree to terms acceptable to US, they wanted to have the authority to try US soldiers in Iraqi courts for crimes the soldiers may have committed in Iraq. This was not an acceptable condition, for US, and so we had to leave.

      Delete
  11. Bob just can't stand the fact that very few Iraqi civilians are getting killed along with the 6,000 Headcutters, and that NO American troops are dying.

    Now, we're back to "carpet bombing."

    I guess, next, we'll dust off the old "1st Airborne Division" strategy. :)

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    1. Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson's blood lust is not being satisfied ...

      Good thing, that.

      Delete
    2. He sees success when US soldiers are dying in the far flung corners of the world..

      He would not participate in those adventures, himself.

      Like Mr Cheney, our own Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson 'had other priorities in the 60's than military service'.

      Delete
  12. Speaking of the Kurds: We haven't been paying a lot of attention to all of the airstrikes around Kobane in the last couple of weeks, but there have been a lot of them. The Daesh are, evidently, putting on a hell of a push up there. I guess they figure it looks bad, not being able to take a small town just a few miles from their "headquarters." Bad for recruiting, one would assume.

    There were 12 Airstrikes around Kobane in just the last day.

    Dead Men, Not Walking

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    1. Kobane, it's turned into a 'Meat Grinder' for the Daesh.

      The Iraqi Security Forces, local Kurds and Coalition close air support,it's has been enough to hold back the tide.

      Delete
  13. DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - A steep fall in Ebola cases in Liberia will make it hard to prove whether experimental vaccines work in a major clinical trial about to start in the country

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  14. It was costing us about $165 Billion / year to keep 165,000 Troops in Iraq. (about 1,000,000.00 per year, per soldier/Marine)

    Our present bombing campaign looks like it's going to set us back about $5 Billion/yr. That means we've cut our expenses there by about 97%.

    Not to mention the avoidance in blood.

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    1. Low Cost, it is one of the primary attributes of the Rat Doctrine

      Delete
    2. As for "Occupying Mosul", that is for the Iraqi to figure out.
      It is their country, their challenge to overcome.

      Just another of the positive attributes that accrue to the Rat Doctrine

      Delete
    3. .

      Rat, you embarrass yourself with this talk of the 'Rat Doctrine'. It's called close air support (CAS) and it's been used since WWI. It is just one of many tactics being employed by the US in Iraq/Syria. There is no way you can win a war against an enemy that varies its tactics from mass formation attacks to suicide bombers using just one tactic. Get real.

      Your constant repetition of this idiocy wears.

      .

      Delete
    4. No, Legionnaire Q.

      Close Air Support is a vital, integral part of the Rat Doctrine, just as is logistical support.
      But the most important aspect of the Rat Doctrine, what sets it apart from merely Close Air Support ...

      That there are no US combat troops on the ground. that it is local forces that are being supported by Coalition air forces.

      Supporting allied local forces that is the essence, the core, of the Rat Doctrine

      Delete
    5. .

      Low cost?

      Tell that to those 200,000 refugees from Kobane that will have only rubble to come home to if they try to return. In the mean time, they pound sand in refugee camps in Turkey.

      You talk of our success in Kobane because we have been able to 'turn back the tide'. In another month, the 'Battle of Kobane' in which we have been fighting a few thousand IS fighters with the Kurdish military and the might of the US air power...oh, and employing the vaunted 'Rat Doctrine' will be going on as long as it took the Soviets to defeat the German army and drive them out of the city in the 'Battle of Stalingrad'.

      Get back to me when IS is gone and the fighting has stopped. That will be a success. Somewhat.

      .

      Delete
    6. Supporting Local Forces and not inserting US combat troops into the fight is something the US military has been extremely reluctant to do.

      It was first tried by the US successfully in Vietnam, and then the "Regular Army" took over and it all went to shit.
      It was done in Afghanistan, with extreme success. Then the "Regular Army" took over and it all went to shit.

      Delete
    7. .

      Supporting allied local forces that is the essence, the core, of the Rat Doctrine

      Don't be obtuse, rat. You offer us a distinction without a difference. It is one tactic, one that has whiskers, and the same limitations apply as previously mentioned. You are not going to win a war using only the 'rat doctrine'.

      .

      Delete
    8. Those people were not displaced by a US military attack upon Kobane.
      The refugees are not a cost attributable to the US, but to Daesh, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and its ally in Israel.

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

      Delete
    10. .

      .

      It was done in Afghanistan, with extreme success.

      Perhaps you haven't heard, in war success is winning.

      Although, admittedly, of late it is merelysaying that you won.

      .

      Delete
    11. .

      Those people were not displaced by a US military attack upon Kobane.

      I didn't say the were merely that with our bombing we have assured that what they will return to is a pile of rubble. It might be considered a success, perhaps even by some of them, when we win. Unlike you, I do not consider stopping IS a win. It will be a win when IS is driven out of the city and the fighting ends.

      .

      Delete
    12. The US and the Northern Alliance DID win the war in Afghanistan, Legionnaire Q.

      NATO lost the peace. Mismanaged the occupation.
      All the NATO troops in the world would not have changed that.
      The military does not 'manage peace' through occupation very well.

      Delete
    13. In fact the military occupation exacerbates the challenges, it does not solve them.

      Delete
    14. .

      The US and the Northern Alliance DID win the war in Afghanistan, Legionnaire Q.

      NATO lost the peace. Mismanaged the occupation.



      Good lord, rat, the US is NATO.

      In fact the military occupation exacerbates the challenges, it does not solve them.

      Do you really believe that NATO would've been in Afghanistan if the US didn't want them there?

      What planet have you been living on.

      Your disassociation from reality is troubling.

      .

      Delete
  15. The operations of the Sinaloa Cartel and the mountains of drugs they traffic has not been seen to be affected by the detention of certain leaders, including " El Chapo " , according to the chief of administration of the DEA in Arizona.

    We have not observed any significant change in the Sinaloa Cartel. We continue observing the same modus operandi before the capture of " El Chapo ", the same control of operations , the same people in charge of the trafficking of drugs destined for the USA and territorial control in Mexico explained Laurita in an interview for Proceso.

    This is pain for the Government of Enrique Pena Nieto , who promulgated the idea that said criminal organisation would be destabilised because of the detention of Guzman on 22nd February 2014, and of Ismael Zambada , " El Mayito Gordo " son of " El Mayo " Zambada this past November.

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    1. According to the Americans, the desert frontier between Arizona and Sonora is the favourite crossing point for the Sinaloa Cartel

      The unique change we have observed is between the people that control the Nogales plaza in Sonora , who handle the east zone of the Sonoran desert , and who wanted to have a relation with the Tohono O'odham reservation Indians , in the south east and central Arizona desert said Laurita.

      According to information from the DEA in Tuscon , there have only been personnel changes , but it has not affected the business, well the leaders of the plazas mentioned that the people of " El Chapo " have been replaced by people of " El Mayo " Zambada.

      In this manner , the conclusion of the north American functionary is that the territorial control and modus operandi of the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico is intact.

      http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2015/01/the-detentions-of-el-chapo-and-mayito.html#more

      Delete


  16. BobSat Jan 24, 09:52:00 AM EST
    This in its entirety is so utterly STUPID it is not worthy of any comment at all in part or in toto.

    What juvenile bullshit.

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    QuirkSat Jan 24, 09:54:00 AM EST
    .

    And yet, you do comment.

    .

    Delete

    Deuce ☂Sat Jan 24, 11:14:00 AM EST
    You do conflate froth, drool, dribble and drivel for reasoned argument and rebuttal.

    Delete

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    1. Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson foresees a problem in Mosul that would require an occupying force ...
      As if that were detrimental to taking the city.

      While at the same time he tells us that the US would have been at an advantage, if it had been in continuously occupying Mosul since 2009.

      His positions are oxymoronic.

      Delete
    2. That five years at $165 Billion per, or $885 Billion, plus untold amounts of US casualties.

      Rather than allow the Iraqi to control Iraq.

      Delete
    3. .

      Don't be silly, rat. Your assertions are ridiculous.

      .

      Delete
    4. Rat remains a figment of your imagination, LegionnaireSat Jan 24, 11:59:00 AM EST

      There are no assertions made, there are only facts related.

      Delete
    5. When I said ...

      He does seem to have a problem telling the truth when he posts comments.


      I was referencing WiO and if you think that particular assertion is silly Quirk ...
      Your judgement would have to be considered suspect.

      If you are referencing some of Jack's statements, you should address those comments to him

      Delete
    6. .

      Jesus, rat, I was referring to your comments about Bob to which I replied.

      You say, 'he tells us that the US would have been at an advantage, if it had been in continuously occupying Mosul since 2009.'

      No, he didn't.

      You say,

      That five years at $165 Billion per, or $885 Billion, plus untold amounts of US casualties.

      That's absurd.

      I think Obama was correct in withdrawing US troops from Iraq; in fact, given the agreement signed by Bush he had no choice; but still, the 'facts' you offer up are just plain silly.

      .

      Delete
  17. Really Legionnaire Q?

    BobSat Jan 24, 10:21:00 AM EST

    But can't resist saying once more before beddy bye - if that moron O'bozo hadn't taken the troops out way too soon the USA and Iraq too would not be in current impossible pickle.


    While the US does provide the major components of NATO, Germany, Poland, England are not dictated to, by US.
    NATO IS NOT the US

    Your hubris is overwhelming.

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    1. .

      But can't resist saying once more before beddy bye - if that moron O'bozo hadn't taken the troops out way too soon the USA and Iraq too would not be in current impossible pickle.

      Out of Iraq not out of Mosul. Surely, you can see the difference.

      NATO IS NOT the US

      But the US is NATO. At least, in any adventure the US participates in. Hell, NATO countries don't even carry enough ammo to conduct a small affair like the Libyan war. When they ran out, the US had to supply it.

      You really do need to keep up, rat.

      .

      Delete
    2. So, Legionnaire, are you claiming that Poland and Germany are vassal in the Empire of the United States?

      Truly interesting, that you surmise that those German troops in Afghanistan were US.
      Your hubris, as I said, is just overwhelming.

      Delete
    3. .

      Hubris?

      I just call it common sense and a keen appreciation of the reality of the situation.

      .

      Delete
  18. Dead Men Still Walking -

    Islamic State lose only one per cent of captured territory in Iraq after airstrikes
    US-led strikes have allowed Kurdish peshmerga forces and Iraqi government troops to retake just 270 square miles of ground in northern Iraq

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/islamic-state/11367172/Islamic-State-lose-only-one-per-cent-of-captured-territory-in-Iraq-after-airstrikes.html

    July 4th 2015 is a little less than 6 months away.

    The Rufus Brigade better get cracking.

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    1. Epic 'rat Doctrine' FAIL.

      Delete
    2. .

      The US and its allies helped stop the advance of IS into eastern and northern Iraq. That was a success.

      The US helped recapture the Mosul dam. That was a success.

      If Mosul is retaken from IS control, that will be a success.

      If the Kurds drive IS out of Kobane, that will be a success.

      It is unclear from most of the rest of the reporting just how effective we have been. And in some case, the info receive has to be classified as questionable, or possibly just speculation. For instance, a few days a go rat put up an article indicating that 6,000 IS fighters have been killed by our airstrikes. The number has since been repeated here. The article started out,

      BAGHDAD - A day after Iraq’s prime minister said his country’s ground forces were battling the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) “almost on our own,” the U.S. Ambassador in Baghdad was quoted as saying U.S.-led airstrikes have killed “more than half” of the terror group’s leadership.

      The Al Arabiya News Channel quoted Ambassador Stuart Jones in an interview published Thursday as saying U.S. estimates were that the airstrikes have now killed more than 6,000 ISIS fighters in Syria and Iraq.”

      Jones reportedly told the network the statistics were “not so important in themselves,” but argued “they do show the degradation of ISIS.”


      http://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-ambassador-iraq-stuart-jones-6000-isis-killed-by-airstrikes-al-arabiya/

      Despite Jones' statement, the statistics could be important to someone, oh like say the US Military for instance who might wonder how a State Department official could come up with the number of IS casualties when they can't.

      Pentagon Doesn’t Know How Many People It’s Killed in the ISIS War

      The questions are obvious. Did the envoy merely throw the number out there in a moment of pique after hearing the Iraqi prime minister say that Iraq was conducting the war almost on their own or does he have key info he is not sharing with the military? Since Admiral Kirby, the Pentagon spokesman, is on TV every night talking about the progress of the war, you would think they would share the info if it exists.

      .

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    3. Kirby used the 6,000 number, either yesterday, or the day before.

      The Pentagon is really trying to stay away from the body count game.

      Delete
    4. .

      He must have gotten the memo.

      :o)

      .

      Delete
  19. I suppose as long as there's one terrorist wandering around out in the middle of the desert, he can claim "control" of that however many thousands of sq. miles of land.

    Mosul Dam, on the other hand, is only a few sq. miles.

    All those towns, and cities that the Iraqi/Kurd forces took back are only a few hundred sq. miles.

    What a silly metric.

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    1. wiggle wiggle wiggle

      But I hope you are right.

      Outta here for the day.

      Cheers !

      Delete
  20. Mom and Pop Business Owners much more optimistic than one year ago.

    Gallup

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    Replies
    1. Microbusiness owners are starting 2015 in higher spirits and with higher expectations than one year ago. According to the Sam's Club/Gallup Microbusiness Tracker, fewer business owners find themselves letting employees go or worrying about cash on hand, and more express confidence in the future of their business. Even as microbusiness owners are feeling more confident, those with strong growth ambitions are more optimistic about business growth than other owners and are more likely to be hiring, but they also have more concerns and higher dissatisfaction with their current circumstances.


      So a year ago, they were drowning, today, they are just swallowing water and choking..

      That's improvement..

      Delete
    2. Those that expect to make more next year Up 20%.

      Those that expect to make less Down 50%

      Delete
    3. Not going to help the folks that used to be The Chocolate Emporium, an illustration of a micro business gone bust.

      'Dead and Gone', twenty years of 'building' just crushed

      Delete
    4. All the dreams, the expectations, the desire to leave something for their posterity, destroyed.
      Poor 'Management' or victim of the 'Economy', six of one, half dozen of the other.

      Dead is Dead.

      Delete
    5. While things are looking up for those that had the foresight, intelligence and pure grit that was required to survive the Bush & Obama Recession.

      Cheap money and low oil prices, the economy will be purring right along, in November of 2016.
      Advantage - Democrats.

      Delete
  21. Jindal headlining all-day prayer rally in Baton Rouge
    WZTV - ‎

    BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- Gov. Bobby Jindal continues to court Christian evangelicals for a possible presidential campaign with a headlining appearance at an all-day prayer rally.

    ReplyDelete
  22. DAKAR, Senegal - A top U.N. official in the fight against Ebola greeted just three patients at one treatment center he visited this week in Sierra Leone.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Jack HawkinsSat Jan 24, 02:14:00 PM EST
    Not going to help the folks that used to be The Chocolate Emporium, an illustration of a micro business gone bust.

    'Dead and Gone', twenty years of 'building' just crushed




    Interesting, still obsessed with the wrong Jew? But the fact is they had a business, employed people, created something. More than you ever did....

    Businesses come and go, provide wages and add to communities. Ebb and flow.

    Maybe I should look into the Parve chocolate category and expand?

    Either way, the Chocolate business is sweet....

    And at last check? Horse Manure? still is shit.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Has nothing to do with a Jew, has everything to do with a failed business.
      One brought to our attention by the "O"riginal.

      Delete
  24. Who do you stand with?

    Hitler?

    Hamas?

    The USA?

    Israel?

    Zionism

    Arab World?

    Russia?

    ReplyDelete
  25. As Rufus says, If he lived in Gaza he'd be a member of Hamas or dead.

    Interesting.

    What would the reason be to be a member of Hamas? After all there are all kinds of groups inside of Gaza.

    There is Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad.

    There are no Shriners, Christians or simply Nationalists seeking independence or statehood.

    Was Rufus being honest that he'd belong to a group whose Charter advocates the genocide of all Jews worldwide?

    Hamas is the spiritual descendant of Hitler's Germany.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Do you stand for Iran's Revolutionary Mullahs?

    Why do you not condemn the crimes of the Iranian Nation?

    Why are you silent?

    You are not silent to condemn Israel and the Jews, it's Religion, it's history and it's right to nationhood...

    ReplyDelete
  27. Let's say Deuce's, Rufus and Rat's wet dream is realized. Israel is destroyed.

    What then?

    Mass new concentration camps for the jews of Israel? FEMA camps in America to contain the virus of Zionism? Forced re-education camps for them?

    What is the plan AFTER Israel is destroyed or dismantled?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tell us of the Final Solution to the Jewish Question Deuce....

      Or shall we ask the Mullah's or Iran or the Leaders of Hamas?

      Delete
  28. Actually, there's no way you will (can) believe this, but I will say this, anyway:

    I don't want Israel "destroyed."

    I would like to see them start doing the right thing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And what would that be?

      Giving the arabs of the west bank and gaza the freedom to become another Iranian military base?

      Like Lebanon? Syria? Yemen?

      Israel, as a nation treats it's citizens, arab and jew, druze and christian as equal citizens. It is at war with other land masses that sit next to it.

      What is the "right thing"?

      Delete
  29. Washington (AFP) - US-led forces have carried out dozens of air strikes in Iraq to back up Kurdish forces advancing against Islamic State jihadists near the strategic city of Mosul, the American military said Saturday.

    Over the past 72 hours, US and coalition aircraft conducted 46 bombing raids in support of Kurdish peshmerga troops near Mosul and 80 hours of reconnaissance flights, the military said in a statement.

    Kurdish officials said previously that they cut a key road that links Mosul with Tal Afar to the west.

    The US military's statement confirmed that "forces from the Iraqi Kurdistan Region seized ground formerly held by the enemy, including a critical road junction that ISIL was using to resupply their stronghold in Mosul."

    The statement also said that coalition air power and other assistance in recent days meant that Kurdish forces "now hold the gains they have made and are postured to retake additional territory from ISIL in vicinity of Mosul."

    US and Iraqi commanders have vowed to recapture the large stretch of territory seized by the IS group last year and Mosul is seen as a pivotal battleground in any future counter-offensive.

    General Lloyd Austin, head of US Central Command, told the Wall Street Journal on Thursday that Iraqi troops should be ready to launch an operation to try and retake Mosul by the summer.

    After nearly 2,000 air strikes against IS extremists in Iraq and Syria since August, the IS group still holds virtually all of the ground it captured last year, including much of western Anbar province.

    But US commanders say the air war has halted the IS group's momentum, killed thousands of its fighters and put it on the defensive.

    The head of "Operation Inherent Resolve," Lieutenant General James Terry, said this week's Kurdish operation "is another superb example" of how the IS group can be defeated using "well-led ground forces" assisted and advised by the US-led coalition.

    The military's statement was issued by Terry's command which is based in Kuwait.

    Sounds a lot like "The Rat Doctrine,: eg? :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Israel is surrounded by "head cutters"

      What is the right thing?

      Surrender? Appeasement? Or should Israel FIGHT the head cutters?

      Delete
    2. YOU would never understand, but there are many people in Israel that do.

      Delete
    3. can't answer it?

      The "right thing"?

      BTW what is a "many"?

      The pro-peace movement, which I was part of advocated giving Gaza back, getting out of Southern Lebanon, withdrawing from 95% of the west bank and offered to give 1/2 of Jerusalem to the arabs.

      The palestinians rejected it and started another war....

      what is the RIGHT thing?

      Delete
    4. The peace movement in Israel, the left, is now a fragment of what it was. Why? Because after Israel gave back Gaza, withdrew from Lebanon these action were met with even more terrorism and war.

      When this summer Israel discovered in Gaza, not the tens of thousands of rockets, but the scores of tunnels INTO Israel for the purpose of mass slaughter and kidnapping, it drove home the point.

      You cannot make peace with headcutters

      Delete
    5. Liar

      Israel has not only made peace with headcutters, they have made them allies. The Saudi cut off a head every four days.

      In broad daylight, a Saudi-Israeli alliance
      ---------------------------------

      Saudi Israeli alliance forged in blood
      ---------------------------------

      Understanding the Israeli-Egyptian-Saudi alliance

      Delete
    6. The day that "O"rdure tells the truth, will be the day he does not make a statement.

      Delete
    7. Jack, or should I say, Herr Rodent, What is your final solution for the Jews?

      death camps? Mass extermination?

      Deportation to Siberia?

      tell us, Herr rodent...

      Delete
    8. Herr Rodent, I see you are incapable of making an intelligent contribution to the discussion, please what does your copy of mein kampf say? Is your in German or Arabic?

      Delete
    9. Pick any Semitic language you prefer, we'll hire a translator.
      Arabic or Canaanite would be preferred.

      Delete
    10. Why are you such an anti-Semite, "O"rdure?

      Delete
    11. Herr Rodent, I see you are incapable of making an intelligent contribution to the discussion, please what does your copy of mein kampf say? Is your in German or Arabic?

      Delete
    12. Herr Rodent, I see you are incapable of making an intelligent contribution to the discussion, please what does your copy of mein kampf say? Is yours in German or Arabic?

      Delete
  30. Thousands of Palestinians rallied in the occupied West Bank on Saturday to protest against the publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad in French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo.
    Simultaneous demonstrations were held in the cities of Ramallah and Hebron less than three weeks after Islamist gunmen shot dead 12 people in the Paris office of Charlie Hebdo, which has repeatedly featured cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad.
    ...

    "France is the mother of terrorism. America is the mother of terrorism," the protesters chanted. They carried black-and-white banners which read "There is only one God and Mohammad is his messenger."
    The protests were called by the Islamist Tahrir Party, which advocates the establishment of an Islamic Caliphate in Muslim countries.
    "We have taken to the streets in order to demand Muslim armies act the way France and the West deserve in response to the repeated offences against the Prophet, peace be upon him," said Baher Saleh, a member of the party.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Algeria set the precedents, for French Terrorism against Muslims.

      Delete
    2. Herr Rodent, I see you are incapable of making an intelligent contribution to the discussion, please what does your copy of mein kampf say? Is your in German or Arabic?

      Delete
    3. Jack supports the modern day nazis. Hamas and Iran.

      jack advocates the genocide of Israel and the Jews.

      that's why we call him "Herr Rodent"

      Delete
    4. When your write your you doe mean yours, do you not "O"rdure?

      You have made the same mistake three times now, you are out.

      Delete
    5. If you are going to 'cut and paste', "O"rdure, at least do so with a grammatically correct piece.

      Delete
    6. Herr Rodent, I see you are incapable of making an intelligent contribution to the discussion, please what does your copy of mein kampf say? Is yours in German or Arabic?

      Is that better Herr Rodent?

      Being the Hitler supporting Nazi that you are what is your excuse when you make typos and grammatical errors?

      Delete
    7. It's because the rat ass is a sub-human Ubermensch.

      :)

      Wonderful talk with my Niece today. There is an uberwoman !

      She can now carry on a basic conversation in German. Not fluent yet but she is getting there. She has an amazing talent for languages. German makes SIX !

      Delete
    8. Rufus can swear like Caliban, and rat ass can mumble.

      Delete
    9. And no, she doesn't eat cats, or alligators either.

      I must remember to tell her, since she loves cats and is interested in Hemingway, about the six toed cats Ernie had in Cuba, and why he was in Cuba, which was to fish and save on literary taxes, and why he left after Castro came to power, and how he ended up in Idaho which he grew to love.

      Delete
  31. From the article Rufus put up -

    >>>>General Lloyd Austin, head of US Central Command, told the Wall Street Journal on Thursday that Iraqi troops should be ready to launch an operation to try and retake Mosul by the summer.

    After nearly 2,000 air strikes against IS extremists in Iraq and Syria since August, the IS group still holds virtually all of the ground it captured last year, including much of western Anbar province. <<<<

    By the summer..... I wonder if that means by the 4th of July?

    That's when the job is supposed to be Finished, according to the Rufus Calendar of coming events.....

    ReplyDelete
  32. Herr Rodent, I see you are incapable of making an intelligent contribution to the discussion, please what does your copy of mein kampf say? Is your's in German or Arabic?

    ReplyDelete
  33. Could the mystery as to why Quirk, when the chips are down, is incapable of experiencing fear be found solved here? -

    The Woman Who Can't Feel Fear

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2015/01/20/meet-the-woman-who-cant-feel-fear/

    ReplyDelete