COLLECTIVE MADNESS


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

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

The True Folly of The FUKUS Attack and Destruction in Libya Comes Into Focus

HOW IT WAS REPORTED THEN:






Islamic State 'planning to use Libya as gateway to Europe' 

Exclusive: Jihadists hoping to use Libya as a “gateway" to wage war across the whole of southern Europe, plans by Isil supporters reveal

Telegraph 

Migrants wait to disembark from a ship in the port of Porto Empedocle, Sicily
The jihadists hope to flood Libya with Isil militiamen who will then pose as migrants on people trafficking vessels heading to Europe Photo: Marcello Paternostro/AFP

Islamic State militants are planning a takeover of Libya as a "gateway" to wage war across the whole of southern Europe, letters written by the group's supporters have revealed. 
The jihadists hope to flood the north African state with militiamen from Syria and Iraq, who will then sail across the Mediterranean posing as migrants on people trafficking vessels, according to plans seen by Quilliam, the British anti-extremist group. 
The fighters would then run amok in southern European cities and also try to attack maritime shipping. 
The document is written by an Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) propagandist who is believed to be an important online recruiter for the terror in Libya, where security has collapsed in the wake of the revolution that unseated Colonel Gaddafi in 2011. 
The video, which prompted Egypt to launch retaliatory bombing raids on Isil positions in Libya, included footage of a khaki-clad militant pointing a bloodstained finger northwards, declaring: "We will conquer Rome, by Allah's permission."
The Isil propagandist, who uses the alias Abu Arhim al-Libim, describes Libya as having "immense potential" for Isil. He points out with relish that it is awash with weapons from the Libyan civil war, when large quantities of Col Gaddafi's arsenals were appropriated by rebels. Some of those weapons came from Britain, which supplied the Gaddafi regime with machine guns, sniper rifles and ammunition during his final years in power, when he was seen as an ally against Islamist terrorism. 
Mr Libim also points out that Libya is less than around 300 miles from parts of the nearest European mainland. 
He writes: "It has a long coast and looks upon the southern Crusader states, which can be reached with ease by even a rudimentary boat."
He also cites "the number of trips known as 'illegal immigration' from this coast, which are huge in number ... if this was even partially exploited and developed strategically, pandemonium could be wrought in the southern European states and it is even possible that there could be a closure of shipping lines and targeting of Crusader ships and tankers."
The propagandist's comments come amid growing concerns in the West about the collapse of security in Libya, which has a large diaspora population in the UK. 
On Monday, Sir John Sawers, the former head of MI6, said that Britain should consider putting ground troops there to stop the country "being exploited by fanatics". 
Security officials also share Isil's view about the possibility of using people trafficking boats to smuggle fighters into Europe. 
Thanks to its vast, porous desert borders with Sub-Saharan Africa, Libya has long been a key operating hub for trafficking boats heading into Europe, but numbers have escalated dramatically since the collapse of the Gaddafi regime. 
Italy's interior ministry estimates that at least 200,000 refugees and immigrants are poised to make the crossing from Libya to Sicily or the tiny island of Lampedusa, Italy's southernmost territory. 
Last year more than 170,000 arrived in Italy by boat, including tens of thousands of Syrians fleeing the civil war in their home country. 
Search and rescue efforts entered a dangerous new phase this week when an Italian coast guard vessel rescuing migrants 50 miles off the Libyan coast was threatened by smugglers armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles. 
While the gang were concerned only with retrieving their boat for another smuggling trip, the incident demonstrated the potential threat were Isil to adopt similar smuggling tactics. 
There are also fears that an increased Isil presence in Libya would encourage existing migrants there to flee north in far greater numbers. 
Nasser Kamel, Egypt's ambassador to London, warned Britain brace itself for 'boats full of terrorists' unless action was taken in Libya. He spoke after 2,164 migrants were rescued at sea in a 24-hour period over the weekend in what has been described as an 'exodus without precedent'. 
"Those boat people who go for immigration purposes and try to cross the Mediterranean ... in the next few weeks, if we do not act together, they will be boats full of terrorists also," he said. 
Security in Libya has been on the slide due to the inability of the various militias that helped oust Col Gaddafi to agree a shared agenda. Its internationally recognised government is currently operating from the eastern city of Tobruk after being forced out of Tripoli by a rival government loosely allied with a range of Islamist factions. 
Most of these groups do not share Isil's extremist vision, although some are believed to have links to the al-Qaeda faction that killed the US Ambassador, Chris Stevens, during an attack on a diplomatic compound in the eastern city of Benghazi in 2012. 
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Isil's leader, has since laid claim to Libya as part of his "Caliphate". 
Whilst on the whole that remains more rhetoric than reality, support for the group in this war ravaged state is growing. 
In September, Abu Nabil, an Iraqi and key leader within Isil, travelled to the country to build support for the group. His men took control of much of Derna, a traditionally conservative city in the east of the country, that is now being run according to the extremist group's strict Shariah law. 
Hundreds of Libyans who had travelled to fight alongside Isil in Syria have started to return to fight for the group on home turf, residents say. They have expanded the group's influence into the east of the country, taking controlling of parts of Sirte, a former Gaddafi stronghold. 
In late January, a group of gunmen invoked Isil's name in an attack on the Corinthia, a five-star hotel in downtown Tripoli, killing at least eight people. 
Whilst The Telegraph cannot independently verify the identity of Mr Libim, the propagandist, analysts believe that his writing on Libya is widely read and influential online. 
"Twitter has shut down Libim's accounts several times and each time he starts a new one he gets thousands of followers very quickly, which is typical of an influential Isil affiliate," said Charlie Winter, a researcher with the Quilliam Foundation
Mr Winter added: "In terms of the demographics of Isil support in Libya, we see a lot in common with its base of support in Iraq and Syria – many of its fighters are young, disfranchised men who have only bought into Isil's brand of Islamist zealotry because they are looking to forcibly empower themselves in the penetrating absence of the state. 
"The risks Europe faces from Isil pre-eminence in Libya are substantial."
David Cameron has condemned the "barbaric" executions of the Egyptian Christians, who were kidnapped by Isil while working in Sirte. He added that he did not regret British efforts to oust Col Gaddafi, despite the threat from terrorists, insisting that it was the 'right thing to do". 
President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi of Egypt called for an international coalition to defeat Isil in Libya on Tuesday, saying: "We will not allow them to cut the heads off our children".

102 comments:

  1. Anonymous

    Thu Nov 24, 10:54:00 AM EST

    Cain, scorned and laughed at was correct about Al Qaeda in Libya. We "liberated" Libya from free education, free healthcare, free housing, no interest loans, and a government that would pay for half of the price of your new car so they could be downgraded to a fascist hellhole flying the Al Qaeda flag over their "government" buildings.

    ReplyDelete

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The military action to remove Colonel Q was not about making Libya 'better' place.
      It was not about "Nation Building", it was all about removing Colonel Q.
      It was about limiting the amount of oil that Libya exported.
      It was about wiping out the personal debts of French President Sarkozy.

      Delete

    2. War as a Way to Pay Off Debt

      Brit Dee
      March 13, 2012

      French President Nicolas Sarkozy has today been accused of accepting a €50 million donation from Libya’s former leader, Colonel Gaddafi.

      The allegations, made by French investigative website Mediapart, date back to Sarkozy’s election campaign in 2007. Mediapart claims to have seen leaked documents from a legal dossier currently under investigation by a judge, and journalist Fabrice Arfi has told The Guardian that:

      We knew these documents existed but it is the first time we have had the details of what was in them…and there are lots of details, including dates, places and amounts.

      One document allegedly suggests Sarkozy and his advisers made visits to Libya in order to secure campaign funding from Gaddafi.

      It is not the first time such allegations have been made. Gaddafi’s son Saif al-Islam made similar claims last year, shortly before NATO’s illegitimate bombardment of Libya.

      In March 2011, when Sarkozy was trying to rally international support for a no fly zone in Libya — supposedly to prevent Gaddafi from causing a massacre in Benghazi — Saif gave a Euronews TV interview in which he referred to the Libyan government’s funding of Sarkozy’s election. He said:

      We funded it. We have all the details and are ready to reveal everything. The first thing we want this clown to do is to give the money back to the Libyan people. He was given the assistance so he could help them, but he has disappointed us. Give us back our money.

      Delete
    3. Some say ...

      According to more than a few observers, Gadhafi’s plan to quit selling Libyan oil in U.S. dollars — demanding payment instead in gold-backed “dinars” (a single African currency made from gold) — was the real cause. The regime, sitting on massive amounts of gold, estimated at close to 150 tons, was also pushing other African and Middle Eastern governments to follow suit.

      And it literally had the potential to bring down the dollar and the world monetary system by extension, according to analysts. French President Nicolas Sarkozy reportedly went so far as to call Libya a “threat” to the financial security of the world. The “Insiders” were apparently panicking over Gadhafi’s plan.

      "Any move such as that would certainly not be welcomed by the power elite today, who are responsible for controlling the world's central banks,” noted financial analyst Anthony Wile, editor of the free market-oriented Daily Bell, in an interview with RT.

      “So yes, that would certainly be something that would cause his immediate dismissal and the need for other reasons to be brought forward [for] removing him from power."


      http://www.thenewamerican.com/economy/markets/item/4630-gadhafi-s-gold-money-plan-would-have-devastated-dollar

      Delete
    4. While there is an additional driver of events ...

      (Reuters) - Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, starting his first visit to post-Soviet Russia on Friday, will discuss opening a Russian naval base in Libya to counterbalance U.S. interests in the region, a paper reported.

      Gaddafi, who last visited then Soviet Russia in 1985, is expected to discuss purchases of Russian arms and energy cooperation during his three-day visit.

      The business daily Kommersant, quoting a source involved in preparing Gaddafi's visit, said "the colonel has saved the good news for his visit which will mollify the Kremlin's resentment" at a lack of deals with post-sanctions Libya.

      "During these talks the colonel intends to raise the issue of opening a base for Russia's navy in the Libyan port of Benghazi," the paper wrote.

      "In line with the Libyan leader's plan, Russia's military presence will become a guarantee of non-aggression from the United States which, despite numerous conciliatory gestures, is not in a hurry to embrace Colonel Gaddafi."


      Seventeen months later, NATO intervened ...

      Delete
  2. Nicholas Sarkozy in corruption probe amid claims he took £40MILLION from Colonel Gaddafi to fund election campaign

    French law bans candidates from receiving cash payments above £6,300
    Claims donations were laundered through banks in Panama and Switzerland
    Sarkozy called Gaddafi 'Brother Leader' at controversial visit to Paris in 2007
    Former president may have accepted £40million in under-the-table kickbacks


    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2311595/Corruption-probe-launched-Nicholas-Sarkozy-amid-claims-took-40m-Colonel-Gaddafi-fund-election-campaign.html

    ReplyDelete
  3. arf, arf, Harf


    February 18, 2015
    The Answer to ISIS is Midnight Basketball
    By Silvio Canto, Jr.

    The Obama White House has tried another explanation for the ISIS threat. I guess that ISIS taking over more and more territory and beheading people is just the latest version of "it's the economy stupid".

    Please check this out:

    "What the West really needs to take on the Islamic State is... a jobs program.

    That's what a top State Department spokeswoman suggested when asked in a TV interview Monday night about what the U.S.-led coalition is doing to stop the slaughter of civilians by Islamic State militants across the region.

    "We're killing a lot of them, and we're going to keep killing more of them. ... But we cannot win this war by killing them," department spokeswoman Marie Harf said on MSNBC's "Hardball." "We need ... to go after the root causes that leads people to join these groups, whether it's lack of opportunity for jobs, whether--"

    At that point, Harf was interrupted by host Chris Matthews, who pointed out, "There's always going to be poor people. There's always going to be poor Muslims."

    Harf continued to argue that the U.S. should work with other countries to "help improve their governance" and "help them build their economies so they can have job opportunities for these people."

    She acknowledged there's "no easy solution" and said the U.S. would still take out ISIS leaders. But Harf said: "If we can help countries work at the root causes of this -- what makes these 17-year-old kids pick up an AK-47 instead of trying to start a business?""

    This is beyond a lack of seriousness. Even Chris Matthews snapped!

    This is the kind of thinking that will get a lot of Americans killed.

    Wonder when they will suggest midnight basketball? We need to have these men put down their "machetes" and pick up a basketball.

    So let's form the Kareem Abdul Jabbar League and get them to play pick up basketball! We will all be "safe" after that!

    http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2015/02/_the_answer_to_isis_is_midnight_basketball.html


    Obviously this dimwit hasn't heard of the rat doctrine.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You seem to be correct Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson.

      Delete
    2. Like you she has no military experience, no practical experience with money, other than using other peoples.
      Maybe you could get a job at the State Department, you seem to be as qualified as she is.

      Delete
  4. Libya was a fantastic place under Qdaffy, to be sure.

    Only place on earth where everything was free.

    The Israelis, who control all of the US Congress, are behind this, that much is certain.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Miss Arf Harf is wrong.

      Why would those people need a jobs program when everything is free ?

      And this slandering of the French must stop.

      Delete
    2. Called the "Yinon Plan" the Israel 'road ma' does call for the destabilization of Libya.
      You guys are right on target, again.

      Delete
    3. Called the "Yinon Plan" the Israel 'road map' does call for the destabilization of Libya.

      Delete

    4. According to Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya in a 2011 Global Research article ...


      “[The Yinon plan] is an Israeli strategic plan to ensure Israeli regional superiority. It insists and stipulates that Israel must reconfigure its geo-political environment through the balkanization of the surrounding Arab states into smaller and weaker states.

      Israeli strategists viewed Iraq as their biggest strategic challenge from an Arab state. This is why Iraq was outlined as the centerpiece to the balkanization of the Middle East and the Arab World. In Iraq, on the basis of the concepts of the Yinon Plan, Israeli strategists have called for the division of Iraq into a Kurdish state and two Arab states, one for Shiite Muslims and the other for Sunni Muslims. The first step towards establishing this was a war between Iraq and Iran, which the Yinon Plan discusses.

      The Atlantic, in 2008, and the U.S. military’s Armed Forces Journal, in 2006, both published widely circulated maps that closely followed the outline of the Yinon Plan. Aside from a divided Iraq, which the Biden Plan also calls for, the Yinon Plan calls for a divided Lebanon, Egypt, and Syria.

      The partitioning of Iran, Turkey, Somalia, and Pakistan also all fall into line with these views.

      The Yinon Plan also calls for dissolution in North Africa and forecasts it as starting from Egypt and then spilling over into Sudan, Libya, and the rest of the region.


      http://www.globalresearch.ca/greater-israel-the-zionist-plan-for-the-middle-east/5324815

      Delete

    5. You guys are Gods gift, no doubt of that ...

      {;-)

      Delete

    6. Why is it assumed that there is no special risk from the outside in the publication of such plans?


      ...
      In the United States a very similar situation exists, at least until now.

      The more or less serious commentators take their information about Israel, and much of their opinions about it, from two sources. The first is from articles in the “liberal” American press, written almost totally by Jewish admirers of Israel who, even if they are critical of some aspects of the Israeli state, practice loyally what Stalin used to call “the constructive criticism.”

      (In fact those among them who claim also to be “Anti-Stalinist” are in reality more Stalinist than Stalin, with Israel being their god which has not yet failed).

      In the framework of such critical worship it must be assumed that Israel has always “good intentions” and only “makes mistakes,” and therefore such a plan would not be a matter for discussion–exactly as the Biblical genocides committed by Jews are not mentioned.

      The other source of information, The Jerusalem Post, has similar policies.

      So long, therefore, as the situation exists in which Israel is really a “closed society” to the rest of the world, because the world wants to close its eyes, the publication and even the beginning of the realization of such a plan is realistic and feasible.


      Israel Shahak
      June 17, 1982 Jerusalem

      About the Translator

      Israel Shahak is a professor of organic chemistly at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and the chairman of the Israeli League for Human and Civil Rights.

      Delete
    7. Wrong, again, "O"rdure.

      There are many gods, and you fellas are a gift, from them.

      Delete
    8. As for the next ten years, do you think the 2nd generation of the Chocolate Emporium will make it that long?

      Or will the failures of the father be visited upon the child?

      Delete
    9. I sure am happy that you provided the data sets needed to follow the rebirth of the Chocolate Emporium, it will provide us with an interesting case study.

      Never would have known about it, without you.

      Delete
    10. That the folks at Chocolate Emporium have embraced the Pagan holidays, as well as the Christian ones, a smart move.

      Delete
    11. Though it may explain why the 'rebirth' was not covered in the Cleveland Jewish News.

      Delete
    12. But the death of the Chocolate Emporium certainly was.

      Chocolate Emporium closing anything but sweet

      http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/news/local/article_8065c08e-9361-11e3-b526-0019bb2963f4.html

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

    ReplyDelete
  6. .

    I see we are inundated with more silliness from the rat this morning. Libya? The Yinon Plan. Syria? The Yinon Plan. No doubt we will soon hear that the Ukraine and Nigeria are both manifestations of the Yinon Plan. Heck, the Yinon Plan is the reason rat said the US would not provide CAS to the Kurds in Kobane.

    It's always the Yinon Plan. Well, until it is not.

    When it's not the Yinon Plan, it is the latest headline from his conspiracy theory websites.

    We will probably next be told that Obama went to war in Libya in order to cancel out a Sarkozy I.O.U.

    Oh, wait...

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Go and read it, Legionnaire.

      The fact is all are mentioned in the "Yinon Plan".
      It is quite comprehensive.

      It is also unfolding, though not exactly as outlined, but ....
      ... pretty damn close.

      Delete

    2. Sometimes it takes time, for the plan to come together.

      Delete
    3. “Sometimes you can see things happen right in front of your eyes and still jump to the wrong conclusions.”

      Delete
    4. Do you submit that Mr Obama knew about the Sarkozy payolla from Colonel Q. Legionnaire, Or do you think that the US was in the dark, about that?

      Delete
    5. .

      The fact is all are mentioned in the "Yinon Plan".

      So what?

      Last night my wife was watching a documentary on the Beatles. It argued that early on Paul was killed in an car accident and that MI5 came up with a plan to replace him with a body double. The reason for this bizarre plan? They were afraid there would be mass suicides when the public found out.

      The documentary explains it all, how they convinced dozens of people to cooperate, the 'real' reason for their trip to India, the deaths, the break-ups, you name it and it's covered, it's all in there, go check it out.

      I'm not saying there isn't a Yinon Plan. I'm not saying there aren't people around who ascribe to it. After all, all it really is, as you've explained it, is a 'divide and conquer' plan, a strategy that has been around forever, even longer than CAS. However, that you assume everything that happens in the world is because of the Yinon Plan is equivalent to those who ascribe to the belief that the real reason for most events in the world is control by the Illuminati.

      I suspect the only reason you give credence to the Yinon Plan was that it was written by a Jew. It's the same reason you continue to libel WiO over the Chocolate Emporium.

      .

      Delete
    6. .

      Do you submit that Mr Obama knew about the Sarkozy payolla from Colonel Q. Legionnaire, Or do you think that the US was in the dark, about that?

      I haven't a clue. Could care less. To assume Obama would go to war to cover Sarkozy's personal debts is something straight out of conspiracytheory.com.

      .

      Delete
    7. I would never have assumed Mr Obama knew, but Mr Sarkozy certainly did know.

      He was one of the more vocal NATO members, in the lead up to NATO intervention.

      Delete
    8. Never libel ""rdure about Chocolate Emporium Legionnaire.

      He is in no way connected to it. Told us so himself, many times.
      He never was connected to it. Told us so himself, many times.

      So there that is, besides, even if he was connected to it, neither he nor that corporation have been libeled.
      If you think that they have been, please cut and paste the libelous remark, so we can discuss what is and is not libel.

      I do not think you have a firm understanding of the meaning of the word, based upon your usage of it, above.

      Delete
    9. Never libeled "O"rdure about Chocolate Emporium, Legionnaire.

      Delete
    10. Now I realize that ...

      It may take a while to pull the piece together. ... the editing will be a bear.

      But carry on, as best you can.

      Delete
    11. As to motive, Legionnaire, it has nothing at all to do with the religion of either "O"rdure or Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson, but to their claims that I am a war criminal, a murderer and worse.

      But as Mr Blake wrote ...

      “A truth that's told with bad intent
      Beats all the lies you can invent.”



      Delete
    12. .

      The Blake quote cuts both ways , rat.

      .

      Delete
    13. I'll reference every claim, in their own words and deeds, Legionnaire.

      They cannot do the same.
      Never have, often as they have been asked.

      The Game is ON.

      Let's watch 'em pay to play.

      Delete
    14. We've been five months waiting for your expose ...

      Still waiting

      Delete
  7. What is "Occupation"Wed Feb 18, 09:57:00 AM EST

    All part of the plan...

    World domination...

    The Israelis also control the world's ear hair tweezer market...

    Look for some despicable plot to unfold...

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

    heh :)

    Gotta go to work again.

    Say, Jack, you ought to try working sometime. Even with your disability payments you could be a greeter at Wal-Mart, or something.

    Cheers !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson, I work every day.
      Even when 'on my knees' financially I did not use that as an excuse to 'rip off' a bank, as you have.

      {;-)

      Delete
    2. Credit card fraud, Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson does not qualify as 'work', you ought to have and gotten a job, rather than 'rip off' the bank and your Auntie's good name.

      Little wonder your cousin Sally took offense.

      Delete
    3. you ought to have gone and gotten a job, rather than 'rip off' the bank and your Auntie's good name.

      Delete
    4. No stalking involved, just connecting the dots ...

      It's a mosaic, no doubt.
      But the corporate filings paint a pretty clear picture.

      Delete
    5. No need to study 'em, a quick perusal was all that was required to know the story of abject failure of Chocolate Emporium Inc. and then the rebirth of Chocolate Emporium LLC complete with the Consent for Use of Similar Name...

      Well, the corporate filings and the story in the Cleveland Jewish News tell the tale.

      {;-)

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

      Delete
    7. I mean, you can even learn what the name of Chocolate Emporium's clown is, in the corporate filings, if you know where to look.

      Delete
    8. Nope.

      No one has been libeled.
      Even if they had, they would have to ask Google for a retraction.
      Google would laugh.

      What is there to retract?

      {;-)

      Delete
    9. The link to Cleveland Jewish news

      The mention of Pagan holidays, like Halloween?
      St Valentine's Day, Easter or Christmas?

      Nope, no libels there, you'll lose.

      Delete
    10. Thanks for the link to the 'new web site, though.
      It was the thread to pull.

      Delete
    11. Public records, Clown.

      You should have thought of that.

      {;-)

      Delete
    12. But you really are not much of a businessman, legal beagle nor even very smart.
      You've been played, hoisted, as it were, by your own petard.

      Which is a bomb, which when it explodes, blasts he who is 'hoisted' into the air
      Metaphorically speaking, of course.

      Har de har har.

      Delete

  8. Obama Is Not Capable Of Taking The Fight To ISIS


    US President Barack Hussein Obama will host the “Summit on Countering Violent Extremism” in Washington, DC Wednesday in an attempt to address the terrorist violence across the world.

    His White House summit will be attended by security experts and government officials from member countries of the US-led anti-terrorism coalition against the backdrop of recent terrorist attacks in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
    ...
    ... Mr. Obama’s coalition is not inclusive enough as he has not included Russia, Iran, Syria and other countries, which are capable of contributing to the fight against the ISIS.

    The Obama White House has limited the membership of the anti-terrorism coalition and alienated countries it dislikes out of geopolitical and global strategic considerations. Whether US “enemies” should become partners is one of the dilemmas facing the Obama coalition.

    ...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. http://www.livetradingnews.com/obama-not-capable-taking-fight-isis-96384.htm

      Delete
  9. Ukraine withdrew its troops from the strategic encircled railway junction of Debaltseve on Wednesday after weeks of fierce fighting against pro-Russia separatists, the country's president announced.

    ReplyDelete
  10. deuce, interesting you still won't delete your butt buddies comments...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Why would he?
      They are not libelous, they do not 'out' anyone.

      No one here is connected to the Chocolate Emporium LLC by their own words and admissions.
      Nor to Chocolate Emporium INC

      The fuse of your petard, you lit it, yourself.

      Delete
    2. I did not even use the names that were published in the Cleveland Jewish News

      http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/news/local/article_8065c08e-9361-11e3-b526-0019bb2963f4.html

      Nor the ones in the public records of the Ohio Sec of State.

      Delete
    3. There is no sense in responding since my replies are censored by the blog admin.

      Apparently his idea of open speech is to protect criminals like you....

      Delete
    4. Reference that claim, of criminality, will you please.

      But you can't do it, can you.

      {;-)

      Delete
    5. I did,

      Your protector in chief deleted it AGAIN..

      Delete

  11. "A quiet conscience sleeps in thunder."


    —Old Vaquero Saying

    ReplyDelete
  12. Bad News In China: Blue Collar Wages Are Soaring

    Wednesday, 18 February 2015 11:38



    Yes folks, the news just keeps getting worse. The NYT had an article touting India's economic prospects, which it contrasts with China. It told readers:

    "China’s investigations of multinationals, persistent tensions with neighboring countries and surging blue-collar wages have prompted many companies to start looking elsewhere for large labor forces."

    The piece also includes a box with a figure showing that the number of people in China between the ages of 15-24 (prime factory worker age) is projected to fall from 250 million in 2009 to roughly 160 million in 2019. It adds the information that, "a sharp increase in college attendance has made the problem more acute." Needless to say, this story is being told from the standpoint of businesses seeking low cost labor.

    It's fine for the NYT to run such pieces, but it would also be worth having a piece that described the impact that surging blue collar wages and a sharp increase in college attendance are having on the standard of living of hundreds of millions of people in China. From the standpoint of businesses looking for cheap labor this might be bad news, but from the standpoint of those who would like to see poor people lifted out of poverty, this sounds like very encouraging news. It would be great to see more coverage from the NYT from the perspective of workers in China.

    Dean Baker

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That would be the "Supply Side Nightmare Scenario", Rufus.

      All those new members of the 'middle class', they are 'savers' not credit using spenders.
      The Chinese model, not what was projected by our economic gurus when they granted MFN status to Charlie Chi-com.

      No doubt that for a sizable portion of the Chinese population, they are walking on the sunny side, now.

      Delete
    2. That's a fact, Jack. :)

      (I can't believe that I haven't had occasion to use That, before.)

      :)

      One thing I noticed when I started taking a layman's interest in Economics was that when you land in Asia, all rules are out the window. Their proclivity to work, and Save, turns Occidental Economics upside down, and backwards.

      They should have had a clue after dealing with Japan for 50 yrs., however. :)

      Delete
  13. UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Libya's foreign minister is asking the U.N. Security Council to lift an arms embargo so the country can fight the growing threat of the Islamic State group.

    ReplyDelete
  14. rat musta scored some meth again today.

    Monkey minded, irrational, repetitive, hammering on and on.........as usual

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Is that you, Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson?

      Ready to talk about 'ripping off the bank'?

      Or would you rather take a pass on that conversation?

      Delete
    2. bob Mon Nov 16, 04:13:00 PM EST (2009)

      I have the feeling we're going to get hit again, and soon, and hard.


      http://2164th.blogspot.com/2009/11/american-workers-under-siege-from-china.html

      Delete
    3. “Chocolate says "I'm sorry" so much better than words.”

      Delete
  15. WASHINGTON, Feb 18 (Reuters) -The United States accused Israel on Wednesday of leaking inaccurate information about nuclear negotiations with Iran, intensifying tensions over the issue before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's contentious March visit to Washington.

    President Barack Obama's spokesman accused Israel of misrepresenting the U.S. position. White House spokesman Josh Earnest criticized the "continued practice of cherry-picking specific pieces of information and using them out of context to distort the negotiating position of the United States."

    "There's no question that some of the things that the Israelis have said in characterizing our negotiating position have not been accurate," Earnest said at a news briefing. "There's no question about that."

    The public criticism of the longtime U.S. ally from both the White House and the State Department came as negotiations between the United States, Russia, China, France, Germany, Britain and Iran reached a crucial stage, with a basic framework agreement due by the end of March.

    It also followed a rift caused when . . . . . . .

    Obama the Pissed

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Washington (CNN) - A large majority of Americans believe that Republican congressional leaders should not have invited Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak to Congress without consulting the White House, according to a new CNN/ORC survey.

      The nationwide poll, released Tuesday, shows 63% of Americans say it was a bad move for congressional leadership to extend the invitation without giving President Barack Obama a heads up that it was coming.
      Only 33% say it was the right thing to do.

      Delete
    2. ... even Republicans are split on whether it was a good idea for leadership to invite Netanyahu without alerting the White House, with a slight majority — 52% — backing the move. Just 14% of Democrats say it was the right thing to do, and just over a third of independents support the move.

      But Americans overall believe the U.S. should stay out of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with 66% in the new poll advocating the U.S. remain neutral.

      Even Republicans, typically seen as the party offering the strongest defense of Israel, are split on whether the U.S. should officially support Israel in the conflict. Forty-nine percent support backing the nation, while 47% say the U.S. should stay out of it.

      And a significant age gap suggests U.S. sentiment may, in the long term, be moving further in favor of neutrality in the conflict. While 56% of those age 50 or older believe the U.S. should stay out of the Israeli-Palestinian fight, that number skyrockets to 75% of Americans under age 50.


      Delete
  16. New York Times -

    ARTEMIVSK, Ukraine - Ukrainian forces fought their way out of the embattled town of Debaltseve in the early hours of Wednesday, choosing a risky overnight breakout rather than surrender as they abandoned the town to Russian-backed militants.

    ReplyDelete
  17. 18 Feb 2015 10:39 AM EST

    The Combined Joint Task Force said in a statement, the U.S.-led coalition has staged 16 air strikes against Islamic State, including 14 in Iraq and two in Syria. The air strikes, launched during a 24-hour period since early Tuesday, struck several units of Islamic State fighters as well as staging areas, fighting positions, buildings and equipment, according to the statement released on Wednesday.

    Posted by Samantha Wilson

    Formerly Walking, Now Daid

    ReplyDelete
  18. Die Bastards DIE...

    Scores of Iranian and Hizballah fighters and a Syrian general were killed by “friendly fire” from the Syrian army’s 9th Division’s artillery and missiles Wednesday, Feb. 18,

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A military appeals court on Wednesday threw out the Guantanamo tribunal's conviction of Australian David Hicks on charges of material support to terrorism, agreeing with a U.S. civilian court's ruling last year that the charge is not a war crime and thus beyond the jurisdiction of a military court.

      The Hicks case was the fourth thrown out of the controversial war court since 2012, representing half of the eight convictions the tribunal has secured during 13-plus years of existence.
      David Hicks
      Australian David Hicks, the first Guantanamo prisoner to be convicted of war crimes, at a news conference in Sydney in 2013. (Rob Griffith / Associated Press)

      Hicks, 39, spent six years at the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, before becoming in 2007 the first detainee convicted there. He has long since been free and returned to Australia.

      Hicks was given a seven-year sentence for aiding Islamic militants in Pakistan and Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks but was released after nine months under a plea bargain.

      The ruling by the Court of Military Commission Review clears Hicks' record of terrorism-related charges and bolsters President Obama's efforts to close the detention center and war crimes tribunal before he leaves office.
      cComments

      Had he been tried in civilian court where he should have been in the first place, this conviction would not have been overturned. Just another reason for Congress to quit collecting welfare checks and close Gitmo...
      affableman
      at 5:02 PM February 18, 2015

      Add a comment See all comments
      2

      Rights advocates hailed the review court's ruling as further proof that the detention center and tribunal are poor substitutes for the U.S. criminal justice system in prosecuting terrorism suspects.

      “Today’s unanimous ruling is just one more piece of evidence showing that the inefficient, unnecessary military commission system at Guantanamo Bay is ill-equipped to handle terrorism cases,”

      http://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-na-guantanamo-tribunal-david-hicks-20150218-story.html

      Delete
  19. DAKAR, Senegal - Chad's army has made its deepest push yet into Nigeria in a three-front regional war against Boko Haram, entering a town 50 miles from a beleaguered Nigerian state capital that has been surrounded for months by the militant group,

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Will you lok at that, local forces doing the job ...

      No US air support required.

      Delete
    2. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto

      "In the first six to twelve months of a war with the United States and Great Britain I will run wild and win victory upon victory

      Delete
    3. Then the shit will hit the fan

      Delete
    4. Hitler could not fight and survive a three front war, in the East against the Soviets, in the West against US and then there was that "Soft Underbelly", in Italy and the Balkans.

      The idea that a bunch of Boko Haram can do in Africa, what stymied the Germans in Europe, unlikely.

      The logistics train of the Daesh, al-Qeada, Boko Haram, just cannot provide the juice required to fight the Arsenal of Democracy and the Coalition of the Willing over the long haul.

      Delete
    5. Yup :)

      But, Yamamoto was smart enough to realize that.

      These Dead Men Walking aren't (or, at least, most of them don't seem to be.)

      It just makes you wonder.

      Delete
    6. They don't read but a single book.

      Delete
    7. Well, they're not going to be reading That book, long.

      Delete
    8. Those not named Evelyn Wood might not make it to the end.

      Delete
    9. You guys are too funny - gloating over your superiority yet still stuck in the fight, bogged down in a quagmire - ok, ok, no bog there, just stuck pounding sand .

      Delete
  20. Replies
    1. According to the GAO, the fraud in this program is Less than 1%.

      Delete
    2. And, the average benefit is less than $1,200.00 / mo.

      Delete
  21. On an unrelated note: The Producer Price Index went negative YOY in January.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "Services" even declined by 0.2% Month on Month, pulled down by a 0.7% Decline in Outpatient Care.

      PPI-FD (Producer Price Index - Final Demand

      Delete
    2. Hospital costs declining? Maybe it is the "end times."

      :)

      Delete
    3. It's called less access to care, Rufus:

      My Doc's gone from 1,800 patients to 400.

      I pay a yearly fee to remain one of the chosen 400.

      He enjoys more family vacations.

      I thought I'd get to spend a lot more time on appointments, but the bastard still hustles me out pretty quick.

      Delete
    4. :) We'll just call it "disinflation" for the time being.

      But, you're right; at some point we will have to start using that dreaded "D-Word."

      If "Final Demand" fell for a couple of quarters, along with falling prices, THEN you would have to start talking about Deflation (and, that most dreaded of all D-Words, Depression. (esp., I would think, if these two things occurred during a time of Zero Interest Rates, and Federal Deficits.)

      Delete
    5. Doesn't reduced price for oil account for most of it?

      Delete
  22. Last time I knew anything about W's health, he had a pulse of 43 from all the biking he did.
    Skin looked great compared to mine.
    No gut.
    etc
    That boy's gotta be back on the bottle from the looks of that video.
    My skin looks like a teenager compared to that!
    Hell, he may even make Rufus look healthy by comparison.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rumor sheets say he's all broke up about dad preparing to depart.

      Nobody told him 88 is seriously into overtime?

      Delete
    2. He loses whether he scores on Barbara, or not.

      Delete