COLLECTIVE MADNESS


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

Tuesday, January 06, 2015

Welcome to Kobane



Hat Tip: DR





96 comments:

  1. (UPI) KOBANE , Iraq, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- The besieged city of Kobane, Iraq, is now 80 percent controlled by Kurdish fighters, activists said Tuesday.
    Iraqi and Syrian Kurdish troops have been fighting the Islamic State since the end of October, working to repel IS forces which advanced on Kobane, on the border between Turkey and Iraq, and overran most of the city in September. U.S.-led airstrikes and fresh reinforcements have pushed IS back far enough that the city's security district and police headquarters have been retaken by the Kurds, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

    U.S. Central Command reported eight airstrikes Sunday on Kobane which destroyed 11 IS positions.
    The push for the security district by Kurdish fighters, known as the People's Protection Units (YPG), began Sunday with numerous clashes in the streets. Kobane official Idriss Nassan said the IS was confined to eastern districts of the city.

    "Hopefully within days the (YPG) units will be in control of the whole city," he said. "The advance has become faster and the air strikes are more intense."



    Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2015/01/06/Key-parts-of-Kobane-Iraq-seized-by-Kurdish-troops/6211420557443/#ixzz3O3jbA1Eq

    ReplyDelete
  2. The YPG has a lot of guts, protecting their own and are attracting Christians and like-minded Arabs to their ranks.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This has to chaff the headcutters' asses real bad.

    Kobane is, basically, a strong 5-iron from their self-proclaimed Capitol of Raqqah.

    ReplyDelete
  4. First law of survival: Do it yourself

    ReplyDelete
  5. No doubt, the young lady does her makeup each morning or evening before heading to the front.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I doubt she did her own makeup for the shoot.

      Delete
  6. The Kurds have fought courageously in "Kobane". They hardly did it by themselves! What happened to all that air support, so highly touted, day in, day out? It is now chopped liver? You guys are amazing, and unbelievable -- literally.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "The advance has become faster and the air strikes are more intense."

      Delete
    2. faster... You jest. This is not the siege of Leningrad, for crying out loud. Like Verdun, both sides keep hammering away because of sunk costs. To be clear, "Kobene" is no Verdun by any other standard of comparison. By this point during Verdun, well over one million lives had been lost. As to intensity, during the entire battle of Verdun, 10 artillery rounds fell on each square meter of ground.

      Delete
    3. I own a couple French histories on the Battle of Verdun. The photographs remain graphically disturbing. The leadership on both sides should have been summarily executed by the troops by the end of week two. Miraculously, they never are.

      The battle proved the ancient adage of "He who hesitates is lost." Initially, the Germans had intended to push at least five divisions into the breach created by the most ferocious bombardment, to date. Someone got cold feet and sent in only a few battalions to reconnoiter in force. There was just enough French resistance left to slow down the Germans, causing even further delay. The rest is history (or atrocity).

      Had the Germans punched through as planned, the way across Champagne would have been unopposed all the way to Paris. C'est la vie.

      Consequentially, Russia could have been defeated in detail and the rise of Communism strangled in the crib. The US would not have entered the war because the British blockade would have been gone with the loss of France and unrestricted submarine warfare would not have been a necessary option. Because a peace agreement following the defeat of France would not have left the Germans resentful, National Socialism would have remained nothing more than the province of nutters. The little corporal would have gone back to water coloring or blown his brains out. One can dream.

      Delete
  7. They got the air support because they fought for themselves valiantly and people noticed. Had they not and just let themselves be slaughtered, as the Iraqi Army, I doubt they would have the air support:

    Serêkaniyê 16.07.2013 14:06:09
    Syria's Al Nusra Front has launched an attack targeting a patrolling car of Women's Defense Units (YPJ) affiliated to People's Defense Units (YPG).

    Clashes broke out after the attack in the neighborhood of Mehede in Serekaniye at around 11:30 local time.

    One YPG militant who was driving the patrolling car has been detained by the group.

    YPG fighters took strict measures in the area after the incident. The Front carried out another attack against a group of YPG fighters while negotiating with them over the release of the YPG militant detained.

    Clashes broke out as YPG responded to the attack and are still continuing in the area since early afternoon. No information has been received yet about casualties.

    ReplyDelete
  8. One group of commenters, here, see a plucky group of people fighting for their own survival, and are filled with admiration.

    Some others see the same thing and get nasty, and mad.

    Why is that?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I stress I hope you are right in your prediction, Rufus.

      I wish there were an anti-ISIS Death Ray we could employ.....

      Delete
    2. Years ago, you called the Kurds, "Turds" (no, I am not going to look it up). I have been a consistent supporter of Kurdish independence since before 2003. I remain so. CONSISTENT, not fly by night...

      The advances of the Kurds have been made possible by American air power and logistical support. Look at the uniform the young woman is wearing. It is not home spun.

      Facts is facts, unless someone wants to admit that American aid to the Kurds is meaningless.

      Hollywood could make a pumpkin into Paul Revere.

      Delete
    3. Kurdish independence is not an litmus test, allen.

      That is the same as saying you have been a firm supporter of the "Yinon Plan".
      Not that you support the US and its interests in the Middle East

      Delete
    4. Jack HawkinsTue Jan 06, 12:36:00 PM EST
      Kurdish independence is not an litmus test, allen.

      That is the same as saying you have been a firm supporter of the "Yinon Plan".
      Not that you support the US and its interests in the Middle East


      ... only if you are a dissembler, moron, and liar ...

      I have pointed out the obvious: The Kurds have advanced because the United States has materially assisted their cause. If you deny that, then, you deny your months' long cackling about the "Rat Doctrine", idiot. Do you ever think before you spout?

      As to good looking Kurdish girls, yes, the one shown is drop-dead gorgeous. She does not look that fine when going into battle, you may be certain. You need to learn more about the vanity of women and TV production.

      Delete
    5. Your idea of the interests of the US in the middle east is perverse.........

      The price of corn seed is much more interesting.

      Delete
  9. I'm still hung up on $200/acre seed cost for a corn crop.

    My wheat seeding cost was at most $15/acre and that included treatment for wire worm and foot rot.

    That must be some Gold Plated A++++++Super Genetically Modified Celestial Seed with an Iron Clad Warranty and a Cash Back Upon Failure Guarantee.
    .............

    The military talking heads on Fox are not nearly so optimistic about things in Iraq. While the Kurds might get Kobane back, IS is continuing to make advances elsewhere..........in SunniLand the locals aren't exactly rising up to kick IS out, as yet......so they say.

    ReplyDelete
  10. .

    That must be some Gold Plated A++++++Super Genetically Modified Celestial Seed with an Iron Clad Warranty and a Cash Back Upon Failure Guarantee.
    .............


    Of course. It's supplied by Monsanto and all that entails.

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You get your urban smart ass out there and try to farm without herbicides and pesticides......

      ;)

      Delete
    2. YOU might even be using Monsanto products on your lawn and garden, if you have a lawn and garden about your shipping container......

      Delete
    3. My wife wanted to know if these new Detroit shipping container homes are bullet proof.

      Since I wasn't sure, I turn to you.

      Delete
    4. Evil Monsanto, doing in a decade what would take a thousand years by traditional methods of gene modification. Hundreds of millions of people will eat today because of this evil: fully nutritious rice.

      There is not a widely used plant or animal product that is not the product of modification. Look at the history of beef carcass weights from the 17th c. to date. Consider the acreage/bushel of corn, wheat, oats, rye, millet, soybeans, etc., today, compared to the 18th c.

      Delete
    5. I totally agree.

      God Bless Monsanto.

      Delete
    6. I would not go that far. :-) The dangers of some insecticides and herbicides need a closer, objective look. I would agree that without them modernity as we know it would not be possible to developing countries and our costs for food would greatly dampen even the "ghost grow" of the current developed economies. By the way, US factory output has declined for four consecutive months.

      Delete
    7. If you and the wife and kids had empty tummies in some developing country you might go that far.

      :)

      Quirk would too.

      Delete
  11. The Kurdish success against IS has been directly proportional to US air support. It has been so since the beginning. You are trying to create a foolish myth. Such myths get people killed. The laws of physics have not changed: If you run headlong into a machine gun round, you die. If the gunner has his head down because of covering high explosives, you might win. Even the Brits finally figured that out at the end of WWI.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Actually, that Is a pretty good description of the new seeds. :)

    In fact, if your crop gets "washed out" Monsanto will replace the seeds.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Why, thank you, Rufus.

      Haven't had a compliment from you in about a decade.

      :)

      Delete
  13. Actually, factory output has been fairly robust the last four months. Don't confuse factory output with durables orders, which are ungodly disproportionately affected by Commercial Aircraft, and might not actually be delivered for decades (if at all.)

    ISM Manufacturing

    ReplyDelete
  14. Kurds Retake Kobane as ‘Demoralised’ ISIS Retreat in Face of Allied Airstrikes

    “The Kurds have retaken 80% of Kobane due to the continual attrition of Islamic State,” says Rami Abdurrahman, director of the SOHR, “especially during the last seven weeks after IS have failed to advance in the city.”

    “From the middle of November ISIS have tried to advance and they have been stopped. Before then, ISIS controlled about 60% of the city, now they have less than 20%,” he adds.


    http://www.newsweek.com/kurds-retake-kobane-demoralised-isis-retreat-face-allied-airstrikes-296954

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Those who read will know. You might try that, sometime.

      Delete
    2. What is worth reading, is read.

      Delete
    3. Then don't comment on what you have not read, knucklehead.

      Delete
  15. Wash Times: Cops more willing to shoot whites than blacks, study finds

    The real racial bias: Cops more willing to shoot whites than blacks, research finds

    ‘Counter-bias’ rooted in concerns over social and legal consequences

    Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jan/5/police-officers-more-hesitant-to-shoot-black-suspe/#ixzz3O4JaIhPM
    Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter


    ReplyDelete
  16. Since I cannot find the link to industrial output, I will stand corrected. As the matter of fact, I do not recall what sectors were reported. I hope for all our sakes that the report was incorrect.

    There is one concern, however. Given the hyper-investment by China in steel production, it is hoped that American companies did not tool up in anticipation of continued growth in those sectors reliant upon the use of steel at the artificially high prices of one year ago. It is also hoped that US inventories were not stocked based upon the same presumption. As all may recall, steel has dropped about 50% on the ton since last January. Chinese demand for many commodities has totally distorted normal market functionality.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Czech President: “Only Poorly Informed People” Don’t Know About Ukraine Coup
    A coup followed by an ethnic cleansing is nazi, not at all democratic

    The Czech Republic’s President Milos Zeman said, in an interview, in the January 3rd edition of Prague’s daily newspaper Pravo, that Czechs who think of the overthrow of Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovych, on 22 February 2014, as having been like Czechoslovakia’s authentically democratic “Velvet Revolution” are seeing it in a profoundly false light, because, (as Russian Television translated his statement into English) “Maidan was not a democratic revolution.” He said that this is the reason why Ukraine now is in a condition of “civil war,” in which the residents of the Donbass region in Ukraine’s southeast have broken away from the Ukrainian Government.

    He furthermore said that, “Judging by some of the statements of Prime Minister Yatsenyuk, I think that he is rather a prime minister of war because he does not want a peaceful solution, as recommended by the European Union (EU), but instead prefers to use force.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Where did he use the word, nazi? DR your writing is telling.

      Delete
    2. "not at all democratic"

      It's d. rat alright.

      He can't hide his writing.

      'not at all' is a giveaway.

      Delete
    3. “A sign of power in a man is not only when people follow what he suggests, but also when people make a conscious effort to do the exact opposite of what he suggests.”
      ― Criss Jami

      A little google and Anonymous's source becomes clear, No one I know ....

      http://www.infowars.com/czech-president-only-poorly-informed-people-dont-know-about-ukraine-coup/

      by Eric Zuesse | Infowars.com | January 5, 2015

      “You presume to name those who have no name."


      {;-)

      Delete
    4. .

      It appears the rat lacks blogging skills.

      No italics, no bold text, truly the work of an amateur.

      :o)

      .

      Delete
  18. I'm sure the Kurds would have lost Kobane without our air support, but that has nothing to do with my admiration for what they've done.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They are admired by me -- always have been, always will be. Saladin, one of the world's great warriors was a Kurd. He was also highly tolerant of all but those who opposed him.

      They need their own country, where that exceptionalism benefits them and not a bunch of kleptocrats in Baghdad.

      Delete
  19. And, makeup, or no makeup, those Warrior Princesses are dodging real bullets,

    and sending back the same.

    They're pretty special.

    ReplyDelete
  20. A Thousand Churches Destroyed in Nigeria

    January 6, 2015 by Raymond Ibrahim

    http://www.frontpagemag.com/2015/raymond-ibrahim/a-thousand-churches-destroyed-in-nigeria/

    Long article, very tough reading, which also covers a host of other countries where Islamics are behaving in a subhuman manner, including Iran, where, we have heard, the Iranians are 'fighting for civilization'.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. allenTue Jan 06, 03:31:00 PM EST
      Turkey is going to allow the construction of a new Christian church. This may not seem a big deal; it is. A new church has not been constructed in Turkey for more than a century. Those Turks are tolerant, aren't they?

      Meanwhile, back in fascist Israel, all manner of religious edifices have been built since 1948. Now, just like the US, one cannot just start nailing boards together and call it a church (or a beauty salon, for that matter) without valid permits. Indeed, one cannot build a synagogue without prior authorization.

      There are over 400 mosques inside Israel. How many synagogues remain in Fatah controlled Judea and Samaria?

      Delete
    2. Zero?

      That's my educated guess.

      Delete
    3. In square miles, Israel is smaller than metropolitan Chicago. Geographically, nineteen Israels would fit inside California. The population of Israel is less than that of New Jersey.

      Israel contains over 400 mosques.

      There are 60 mosques in New Jersey; 77 in Michigan; 246 in California; and 94 in the Chicago metroplex, serving over 300,000 Muslims (3191/mosque). Michigan has the largest percentage of Muslims of any state, estimated at 1.2%. The sum of mosques in California, Chicago Metro, and New Jersey is 400, serving approximately one million Muslims. 1.7 million Muslims reside in Israel.

      Delete
    4. The so-called PA is free of Jews.

      Delete
  21. Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
  22. Take a look at this video -

    Really odd if authentic -

    Mystery of the glowing orb: Bizarre fireball that splits in two could be a meteorite burning up in Earth's atmosphere

    Strange fireball was spotted by commuter Ken Roberts as he drove home
    American Meteor Society received 1,500 fireball sightings in the past week
    UFO experts say the bright orb flying in the opposite direction is 'peculiar'
    Sighting has sparked speculation that it may be a UFO or aircraft crashing
    Fireball may have also been a meteorite breaking apart in the atmosphere

    By Richard Gray for MailOnline

    Published: 06:39 EST, 6 January 2015 | Updated: 10:21 EST, 6 January 2015

    A mysterious glowing orb has been filmed breaking away from an unidentified meteorite-like object as it streaked across the sky above California.

    The unusual object can be seen moving through the sky leaving a long tail behind that is characteristic of space debris or a meteorite burning up in the atmosphere.

    But after a few seconds a second round object separates from the main fireball and moves off in the opposite direction.

    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2898667/Is-UFO-crashing-ejecting-miniature-spacecraft-meteorite-breaking-apart-Mysterious-glowing-orb-filmed-flying-fireball-California.html#ixzz3O4jA1TNz
    Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

    ReplyDelete
  23. In the ongoing fight against the terrorists of the Islamic State (ISIS), Kurdish women have had the spotlight turned on them like never before. Since the siege of Kobane by ISIS fighters, images of gun-toting female Kurds have been splashed across the newspaper pages and TV screens of the West.

    One, possibly mythological, female fighter has drawn particular attention. Dubbed the ‘Angel of Kobani’, she is beautiful and blonde-haired, is reputed to have killed a hundred ISIS fighters and has come to epitomise the media’s portrayal of the Kurdish women involved in the war. Underneath the ‘“bad-ass babes” stereotype, however, the real stories of Kurdish women represent a much wider, though perhaps less glamorous, revolution – one in which they are seizing a new, leading role in society and attempting to shrug off the patriarchalism that pervades the region.

    In Turkey, Kurdish nationalist parties have introduced a unique leadership model that goes well beyond the kind of quota systems imposed with varying degrees of success in parts of South Asia, but that often meet with derision, when proposed in Western countries. “Whenever there is an election now, there must be a male and female head of every organisation, whether it’s a municipality, union, association or charity,” explains Figen Aras of the Democratic Free Women’s Movement (DOKH), an amalgamation of mostly Kurdish women’s organisations and activists that is responsible for selecting female candidates for election. “It’s a compulsory system, no one has the power to oppose this. Men don’t have the chance to interfere in the decisions made here. We determine the candidates for parliament and for the co-mayoral system. But we also have an equal say in the selection of the male candidates too,” she adds.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Since the municipal elections in March, all local authorities controlled by the Kurdish nationalists are headed by co-mayors: a man and a woman. However, because this system is not recognised by the Turkish government, it has thus far been implemented on a de facto basis. “We find the co-presidential system very effective at distributing power. It’s not top down with one person telling everyone else what to do. In this case we have the initiative, we have a direct say in what the leaders decide,” says Aras.






      Necla Köroğlu of the Women’s Academy, a school set up to train women in the region’s capital, Diyarbakir, believes that the new system could have a great effect on the status of women in the region: “Having women in these positions is already paying off. We’ve seen women growing in confidence, feeling able to demand the things that they should be able to demand, and policies implemented to protect women’s rights,” she says.

      The Kurdish movement has a long history of female involvement. Since the 1970s, women have made up a significant proportion of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters and political involvement has been high.

      “This is not something that has been handed to us. It is something that women have struggled for over many decades through political involvement,” says Köroğlu. We managed to get a 30% quota, then a 40% quota, and now we have the balanced system we see today.” However, the women are keen to stress that the task facing them is not simple. There is no doubt that Kurdish regions are still dominated by patriarchy, tribal traditions, and, particularly away from the cities, there are major hurdles to overcome. One of the key issues is the practice in some rural areas of marrying off child brides, explains student activist Dipak Ahmed. “After primary school, at the age of around 13 or 14 years old, girls are married off, often to much older men who will pay the girl's family large sums,” Ahmed says. “This is a massive problem, and something that we are trying to fight. We are making people aware of the problem through extensive education programmes that go out into the regions. We also have programmes to get women involved in work so that there is less of a need for their family to take this kind of action.”

      Delete
    2. For the child brides that do manage to flee their husbands, local municipalities have set up women’s shelters that provide them with support and try to find them work. Indeed, one of the new co-mayors, Berivan Kilic, elected in Kocakoy in Diyarbakir province, was herself a child bride, helped out of an unhappy marriage by the staff of one of these centres.

      It’s not just in villages with traditional values that women face barriers. There are also cases of those within the nationalist movement attempting to block progress. “Of course there are instances where a woman is elected as a co-president or co-mayor, but is denied real power – is just a figurehead. This is something that has to be fought, and with the pressure the women’s movement can exert, we don’t believe that this is a major problem, and will be something that will drop away” says Aras.

      Female unemployment in Kurdistan is both the result of the policies of the Turkish state, including the clearance of 3,000 villages during the war in the 1990s, and a consequence of a traditional society that still sees women’s place as in the home. To combat this, DOKH has set up cooperatives. These shops, farms and restaurants are run by women, with all profits shared by the workers. “This is about bringing women into working life and empowering them. But it is also about making an intervention into a market which is based on the maximum profit and which exploits women,” says Aras. “In our cooperatives, everyone has an equal say in how they are run.”

      Ahmed says the fight is distinct from the more immediate struggle for freedom over how to dress or to move around at will: “That’s fine, but this is not true freedom. The freedom we want is the freedom that real power brings.”

      Skin in the Game

      Delete
    3. Hmmmummph!

      Sounds like the beginnings of the return of ancient matriarchy to me.....

      What's next? The overthrow of Allah, the return of the worship of the goddess, the Rule of The Great Mother?

      :)

      Delete
    4. http://www.amazon.com/The-Great-Goddess-Reverence-Paleolithic/dp/0892817151

      All about the Great Goddess


      https://images.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;_ylt=AwrTceIhbqxUhdoAOgcPxQt.;_ylu=X3oDMTBsOXB2YTRjBHNlYwNzYwRjb2xvA2dxMQR2dGlkAw--?_adv_prop=image&fr=yhs-mozilla-001&va=The+Great+goddess&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-001

      Images of the Great Goddess


      http://goddess-pages.com/Issue1/Articles/GreatGoddess.html

      The Great Goddess Through Herstory

      Delete
    5. If horses only knew how strong they are..........

      If Jews only knew how smart they are........

      If women only knew how powerful they are.......

      (adapted from Mark Twain)

      Delete
    6. Bob OreilleTue Jan 06, 06:16:00 PM EST
      Men as SEX SLAVES???


      A man is never too old to dream. :-)

      Delete
  24. After the lengthy roll call, the ever-emotional Boehner returned to the House chamber to an ovation, shook the hands of friends and challengers alike, and wiped away tears as he retook his gavel. He made no mention of the opposition, opting instead for a traditional speech highlighting his regular-guy reputation.

    ...

    "My door is always open," he said. "Now don't get carried away."

    ...

    He'll have his chance for another two years, but after the latest conservative uprising on Tuesday afternoon, score one more for the skeptics.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Kurdish militants kill 41 IS fighters in northern Syria

    DAMASCUS, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- A total of 41 fighters of the Islamic State (IS) group were killed in clashes with Kurdish militants in a predominantly Kurdish city in northern Syria on Tuesday, a monitoring group reported.

    The Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) killed at least 24 IS fighters during clashes and ambushes set up by the YPG in the surrounding of the al-Muhadatha School in the city of Ayn al-Arab, or Kobane, according to the oppositional Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

    The IS militants were trying to attack the YPG's positions in the school in a bid to recapture it, the Observatory said, adding that 20 bodies of those killed were taken by the YPG.

    Also in Ayn al-Arab, 17 IS fighters and seven YPG fighters were killed during the clashes between the two sides in the northern neighborhood of Mashtah Nour, the Observatory said, adding that two other civilians were killed in a fresh IS' mortar attack against that key city.

    Meanwhile, the U.S.-led anti-terror coalition carried out a number of airstrikes against the IS positions in Ayn al-Arab, destroying four trucks outfitted with machine guns and armored vehicle, said the Observatory.

    ReplyDelete
  26. A suicide blast targeting Iraqi security forces and subsequent clashes with Islamic State extremists yesterday killed at least 23 troops and pro-government Sunni fighters in the country’s embattled western province of Anbar.

    ReplyDelete
  27. The Israeli president, Reuven Rivlin, also denounced the move at a closed-door meeting with Israeli ambassadors.

    In remarks widely reported in the Israeli media, Rivlin said: “Freezing the transfer of Palestinian tax funds does not benefit us and does not benefit them. Using these funds, the Palestinians sustain themselves and [keep] the Palestinian Authority functioning. Israel’s interest is a functioning PA.”

    Those opposed to both the withholding of the tax revenues and US aid say the funds are used largely to pay civil servants and police officers and that any long-term punitive financial measures could ultimately lead to the collapse of the Palestinian Authority. About 25% of the authority’s $4bn annual budget comes from international aid.

    Theoretically, Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, could make up the shortfall, but Arab donors have not always followed through on their funding promises.

    Although Israel has frozen the tax revenues before and quietly backed down, it was not clear how long the current freeze might last in the midst of a long election campaign that will see Israeli voters go to the polls in mid-March.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I smell a rat.

      Delete
    2. Mr. Netanyahu will have to muster the resolve to keep the pressure on for more than a week. Rightly, given Israeli vacillation in this regard, Congress might not be in a hurry to follow current law and find itself standing alone against Fatah. With that in mind, Mr. Netanyahu has some work to do to prove himself and his government capable of waging a long-term economic war against a terrorist government in the form of Fatah.

      Delete
    3. Under the terms of Oslo, neither Israel nor the US should be transferring funds to Fatah.

      Under current US law, funds should have been cut off as soon as Fatah took Hamas into the fold. Hamas is a terrorist organization. Don't like that, well, change the law, assuming that anything even remotely like rule of law in the US is still applicable. Dictate and mob rule appear the order of the day.

      Mr. Rivlin may have been preoccupied when Oslo was accepted. By tomorrow, he will be singing another song.

      Delete
  28. Israel will be lobbying the U.S.’ Congress to enforce legislation to freeze funds for Palestine, should Palestine lodge charges at the ICC. Israel’s decision to withhold Palestinian tax funds caused presidential “double speak” in Israel and could be the final straw that breaks the back of the 1993 Oslo Accords.

    ...

    Rivlin described both the withholding of Palestinian tax revenue as well as the Palestinian Authorities accession to the Rome Statute and ICC membership as “violations of the 1993 Oslo Accords”.

    ...

    The question of a recognition of Israel implies the question: “What Israel”. Israel, including the Israeli occupied Syrian Golan, East Jerusalem, so-called “settlements” in the West Bank, parts of Lebanon which Israel still holds occupied?

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

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Re: "What Israel"

      This is the big question, and one whose answer will require more than doublespeak soundbites by Israeli politicians. Until Israeli leadership starts looking at Israel differently than "Italians" viewed 15 - 16th c. Italy, a satisfactory answer will be fraught with Machiavellian ramifications and plot twists.

      As for me, land taken as the result of Arab aggression should remain in Israeli hands. Land taken in future as the result of Arab aggression should remain in Israeli hands.

      If Fatah crumbles and falls, its leadership will enjoy Switzerland, leaving Israel to clean up the mess. At that point, Israel will have to decide how to govern. The baloney about shipping Palestinians to Jordan is absurd. Jews will have to adjust. What Israeli politicians seem not to have thought through is how to handle the riotous situation that will ensue at the death of Abu Mazen -- a crisis that is literally a heartbeat away.

      Delete
    2. As for you, War Crimes are the course of action you advocate, lets just be clear on that point.

      The Arabs have NEVER been the aggressor, yet the Israeli attempt to retain the land.
      That is a violation of the Geneva Accords, which the Israeli are signatory to.

      No doubt, no debate, even the US takes that position.

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

    ReplyDelete
  31. “At the end of the day, it’s about pleasure. We don’t want to frustrate anybody,” Suki said. “That’s it. It has to be easy.”

    This Vibrator Syncs With Your Smart Watch
    Written by
    Kaleigh Rogers
    January 6, 2015 // 10:00 AM EST

    http://motherboard.vice.com/read/this-vibrator-syncs-with-your-smart-watch


    Already known on the mean streets of Vegas simply as the Q-Vib (QueefWatchVib ) this marvelous device is a follow up to a vibrator launched nine years ago that plugged into an iPod and buzzed along to the beat of the music.

    The Q-Vib will soon be available for purchase through OhMiBod.

    http://www.ohmibod.com/

    >>>Brian tapped the application on his smartwatch to show me how it worked as it purred away in the palm of my hand. Along with syncing to the watch-wearer’s heartbeat (yours or your partner’s), the vibrator can be controlled through finger taps, voice, and music, all via the watch. OhMiBod aims to have the release of the new toy align with the launch of the hotly-anticipated Apple Watch later th​is year.

    It’s a creative idea that takes advantage of the latest advancement in technology and applies it in a meaningful way to their product: in short, everything CES aims to attract. But for one reason or another, OhMiBod stands alone as the only sex toy purveyors at the Vegas show this year. <<<

    ReplyDelete
  32. You seem to be surprised to hear that there are still problems of 1948 to be solved, the most important component of which is the right to return of Palestinian refugees.

    The Palestinian-Israeli conflict is not just an issue of military occupation and Israel is not a country that was established “normally” and happened to occupy another country in 1967.

    Palestinians are not struggling for a “state” but for freedom, liberation and equality, just like we were struggling for freedom in South Africa.


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You sound like a rat, Nelson.

      The whites were in S. Africa before many of the blacks moved in from the north. A little like the 'Palestinians', the desert Bedouin, who moved in when the Jews first began to come back and created jobs and opened up the area to modernity.

      They really didn't like burning camel dung for heat on those cold desert nights, though they had done so for centuries.

      Any white that has the money is leaving S. Africa now, Nelson.

      They see the writing on the wall.......they see the image of Zimbabwe forming on the wall.....

      Good luck, and Cheers !

      Delete
    2. Say, how is Winnie doing?

      Haven't heard anything about her in a long time.

      Delete
    3. And, what's your take on the situation in Nigeria, Nelson?

      Delete
    4. rat - O - rooter has played his Nelson Mandela Card many times in the past.

      He must be taking some time off from his new job with the super secret off shore Panamanian concern, being up so late.

      Delete
  33. Jerome Corsi of World Net Daily pointed out.

    “Boehner has continued to profit from health-industry investments tracing back to 2009 [before Obamacare was enacted into law]: Wellpoint Inc, which he bought at $56 a share, is now trading at $124.37. Cardinal Health, which he bought when it was trading at approximately $30 a share in 2011, is now trading at $80.44; and Pfizer which was trading at under $20 a share in 2010, is now at $31.06,” Corsi reported. “In addition to the health-care stocks, Boehner’s investment portfolio includes several large insurance companies, including shares in John Hancock (bonds and notes), Travelers (stock), Prudential Financial (bonds and notes), Allstate (stock), AFLAC (bonds and notes) and MetLife (bonds and notes).”

    Overall, Boehner’s portfolio of stocks prospering from Obamacare are worth $3.5 and $5 million, Corsi added.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sounds like Boehner is a conservative non risk type of investor.

      Delete
    2. .

      It appears Boehner was never gruberized.

      .

      Delete
  34. In a grotesque twist of the saying "live by the sword, die by the sword", an Islamic State executioner in Syria who carried out beheadings for the jihadist group has been found with his head cut off.

    The body of Egyptian-born Abu Zaid al-Masri, the deputy emir of the feared al-Hesbah (or Hisbah) force in the eastern province of Deir al-Zor, was recovered near a power plant in al-Mayadeen city, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

    The corpse showed signs of torture and carried the message "This is evil, you Sheikh" written on it. The severed head also had a cigarette in its mouth. It is unclear who carried out the decapitation but the message was obvious.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. >>> The severed head also had a cigarette in its mouth. <<<


      :):)

      Nice touch, giving the bastard a last smoke.....

      A lucky strike

      Delete
    2. ISIS is beginning to provide some rudimentary financial support to its 'citizens' in some areas, I have read.

      This is more than the Shia and Maliki were doing for the poor devils.

      Thus, they are picking up some support from the folks.....

      Delete
    3. .

      I would think to any reasonable people that a patch would be the logical first step.

      .

      Delete

  35. News
    Oklahoma Bill Would Ban Alcohol Purchases For Drivers Convicted Of DUI
    January 5, 2015 5:18 PM

    http://houston.cbslocal.com/2015/01/05/oklahoma-ban-alcohol-purchases-dui/

    What about the Communion Wine?

    ReplyDelete
  36. They don't have any sense of humor, the Moslems.

    Attack on Paris satirical newspaper offices.............

    11 dead so far

    While they haven't said yet it was Moslems, this is the paper that published the Mo cartoons, and recently one mocking ISIS.

    ReplyDelete