The surging dollar is a signal that a colossal financial event is just around the corner
REUTERS/Carlos Gutierrez
The dollar is set for its strongest quarterly strengthening since 1992, according to Bank of America, a good sign that a rate hike is around the corner.
When markets expect that US interest rates will be hiked, it typically strengthens the dollar. That's because people rush to change other currencies into dollars — they can make more money in dollar-denominated investments. The higher demand for the US currency drives its value up.
In the past, significant dollar gains against other currencies have pretty much happened only during periods of extreme financial or geopolitical distress.
The last four large dollar shocks in the past 45 years have been symptoms of huge financial events: the collapse of Lehman, Britain's panicky ejection from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) in 1992, the first Gulf War, and Paul Volcker's shock rate hikes in the early 1980s.
Today's surge is already considerably larger than the one that surrounded Lehman's collapse, although the economic conditions are very different.
Here's how it looks in historical context:
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Here's a snippet from BAML's researchers:
In our view, another concern is that the move in the US dollar reflects a dislocation within the financial system. Capital flight to the US is a symptom of systemic risk in financial markets. Certainly dollar shocks in the past have been associated with major market events as shown in detail on Chart 8 (1981 Volker shock, 1992 ERM crisis, Lehman in 2008 and so on).
And yet despite the strength of the dollar move, apart from a few CDS events in EM, there is little sign from the components of our Global Financial Stress Index that systemic risks are surging. Most of the components are less stressed than normal.
Once again, the missing ingredient is a “rates shock”.
The conditions in global markets right now are a historical anomaly. Rates around the world have been cut 558 times since the collapse of Lehman, according to BAML. So even a small, steady series of interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve is a colossal change in the global financial system — one that's sending the dollar through the roof.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/strong-dollar-is-a-signal-of-a-major-market-event-rate-hike-2015-3#ixzz3UJWDNo6u
Why not start selling the bonds they already hold?
ReplyDeleteWhat's all this mean for wheat prices ?
ReplyDeleteIf they started selling the bonds they already hold, it would have the effect of pushing Interest Rates UP. This would cause even More foreigners to buy dollars (with which to buy Bonds,) Raising the value of the dollar.
ReplyDeleteIt's Not good for wheat prices.
The answer, short version: Pray for Europe.
DeleteIf they go into the type of recession that it appears they're headed for, they will, surely, drag us down with them.
True, interests rates would start to increase and those that bought the bonds would have to buy dollars. But, foreign governments wishing to issue debt would have to raise interests rates to be competitive with US rates, taking pressure off a rising dollar.
ReplyDeleteThat's the problem, those big European countries aren't "borrowing" much at all. If you want to buy a German 3 yr. bond, you have to Pay Them. That's right; you don't get interest; you Give it.
DeleteThe German 10 yr. is yielding approx. 0.30% (for Idaho farmers, that $0.30 on a hundred dollars.)
They went crazy on "austerity," and completely screwed Everyone's pooch.
They can do that because investors don’t have alternative places to invest with a return. Low or negative interest rates obscure risk. It is absurd that Italy ad Portugal have such low interest rates.
DeleteRight now, buying European Bonds is just a "Currency Play."
DeleteThey're parking their money in those bonds (even if it costs a bit;) figuring that the Euro will, eventually, rise against the absurdly strong dollar.
Europe could invest in their defense and energy infrastructure. Today, the two are the same. The point would be to normalize interest rates and create jobs.
ReplyDeleteThe US could help the process by taking advantage of a strong dollar and invest heavily in neglected infra-structure, especially in the cities and the highway and communications and alternate energy systems.
ReplyDeleteYep, but neither country will do that. The same right-wing forces are holding sway on both continents.
DeleteThe ECB is starting a large QE Program. That's not as good as Government Spending, but it's all that can be got. :)
Delete(Reuters) - Foreign central banks have cut their holdings of U.S. bonds to their lowest level in nearly a year, as they have sought either to defend their currency pegs or to stem further depreciation against the greenback, according to recent Federal Reserve data.
ReplyDeleteThe fourth weekly drop in official foreign holdings of U.S. Treasuries and other debt offset the expected flood of money from overseas funds and private investors scrambling for higher yields on U.S. securities, analysts said.
Yields in Japan and parts of Europe have been stuck in negative territory as regional central banks embarked on bond purchase programs to stimulate their economies.
On Wednesday, the Fed's custody holdings of bonds for overseas central banks fell to $3.234 trillion, down from $3.253 trillion from the previous week, Fed data released late Thursday showed.
This latest figure was the lowest since March 19, 2014 when it was $3.232 trillion.
"There is a lot of talk about people heading to the U.S. for the yield. However, the strong dollar pushes foreign central banks to sell dollars to defend pegs or prevent depreciation of their currencies and this is strongly offsetting any private sector flow," David Keeble, global head of interest rates strategy at Credit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank wrote in a research note published on Friday.
Foreign central bank ownership of Treasuries at the Fed fell to $2.906 trillion in the latest week, which was the lowest level in nearly a year. A week ago, they held $2.925 trillion in Treasuries.
Trying to defend your currency on the "high" side is a mug's game. It'll get you killed every time.
DeleteEh, what the hell; at least, in the meantime, we can enjoy the low prices, and lack of inflation
ReplyDelete(at least, the ones that have jobs - or pensions - can. :)
Here's the thing: Europe is double-fucked.
ReplyDelete1) The Euro is the nuttiest idea in the history of currencies, and finance
and,
2) The VAT (Value Added Tax) is the most destructive idea in the history of Nations.
3) Add to that their excruciatingly high taxes on energy (particularly petrol,) and
I really don't see how in the hell they're going to get out of this mess.
Because, if you stop and think about it, one reason interest rates on Government Bonds is so low is that they're the only game in town. No one else wants to borrow any money.
DeleteThe VAT, and Energy Taxes have shut down demand. No one wants to invest in plant and equipment in a continent where everyone is broke.
Well, you guys figure it out (I expect to see some answers in the morning.) :)
DeleteDidn't someone say that economics is the dreary science ?
ReplyDeleteI may just be ignorant or apathetic, but I don't know and I don't care.
(when it comes to economics, actually I'm both)
DeleteYou realize, the tone has improved around here. Stick to the issues. I am enjoying the adult conversations.
Delete.
ReplyDeleteIt's simple, Bob, it's all Europe's fault.
Couldn't have been anything we've done or not done for the past six years.
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And here I thought it was all the fault of the Jews.
DeleteIt was the Swedes and the Poles instead.
Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson may just be ignorant or apathetic, but Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson doesn't know and Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson doesn't care.
Delete(when it comes to economics, actually Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson is both ignorant and apathetic)
He just doesn't understand the long term consequences of people, who like him, rip off banks.
Question:
DeleteWhich of these posters has called d. rat a liar?
1) WiO
2) Quirk
3) Ash
4) allen
5) Bob
6) Trish
7) Whit
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ReplyDeleteLet's bomb Iran?
The following article lays out the case for war with Iran. It does a fairly nice job laying out the issues involved in the discussion and it offers the solution Bibi and the neocons are really pushing for though they lack the balls to come out and say it, though in raising the issue of the Nazis the author does violate the Godwin Rule.
Joshua Muravchik is a fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute of Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies. He suggests that war with Iran seems to be our only viable option. Since he is a fellow at John's Hopkins University some might
think that gives his argument substantial weight; however, I, of course, disagree. However, he does provide a clear understanding of what the other side really wants.
And finally, wouldn’t Iran retaliate by using its own forces or proxies to attack Americans — as it has done in Lebanon, Iraq and Saudi Arabia — with new ferocity? Probably. We could attempt to deter this by warning that we would respond by targeting other military and infrastructure facilities.
Nonetheless, we might absorb some strikes. Wrenchingly, that might be the price of averting the heavier losses that we and others would suffer in the larger Middle Eastern conflagration that is the likely outcome of Iran’s drive to the bomb. Were Iran, which is already embroiled in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and Gaza, further emboldened by becoming a “nuclear threshold state,” it would probably overreach, kindling bigger wars — with Israel, Arab states or both. The United States would probably be drawn in, just as we have been in many other wars from which we had hoped to remain aloof.
Yes, there are risks to military action. But Iran’s nuclear program and vaunting ambitions have made the world a more dangerous place. Its achievement of a bomb would magnify that danger manyfold. Alas, sanctions and deals will not prevent this.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/war-with-iran-is-probably-our-best-option/2015/03/13/fb112eb0-c725-11e4-a199-6cb5e63819d2_story.html
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DeleteNote that Iran would 'probably' attack Israel and other Arab states and that in that case the US would 'probably' be drawn in.
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Ya gotta luv the meme 'wage war to prevent war'.
Deletesorta like 'you've got to destroy the village to save it'
War is Peace
Delete“I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we're really talking about peace.”
Delete— George W. Bush, 43rd President of the United States
Were Iran, which is already embroiled in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and Gaza, further emboldened by becoming a “nuclear threshold state,” it would probably overreach, kindling bigger wars — with Israel, Arab states or both. The United States would probably be drawn in, just as we have been in many other wars from which we had hoped to remain aloof.
DeleteExplain to me again how Iran got involved in these wars? These wars started from which of these capitals:
London
San Paulo
Rijhad
Washington
Toronto
Tel Aviv
Tokyo
Beijing
Tehran
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThe Fellows, Senior Fellows and Associate Fellows are about as full of shit as you can get without developing an anal fissure of an 8.0 on the Rectum Scale. It’s a known fact.
Delete.
ReplyDeleteThe World's Top 5 Energy Megastuctures
5 truly monumental structures created to produce energy, the Pieter Schelte, the Perdido oil platform, the Berkut platform, the Prelude, and the Three Gorges Dam.
• The Pieter Schelte. The Pieter Schelte is one of the largest ships on the planet. Owned by the Swiss company Allseas, the Pieter Schelte cost $1.7 billion to build. It is almost as long as the Empire State building and as wide as the Big Ben’s Elizabeth Tower. Up until now, offshore platforms had to be disassembled piece by piece, at great cost. But the Pieter Schelte will change that. It is so big and so powerful that it will sail to the Brent oil field and literally lift the Delta platform off of its concrete pillars. That will turn a job that used to take months into an operation that should only take a few days. Check out this video of how the dismantling is expected to take place...
Video
http://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/The-Worlds-Top-Five-Energy-MegaStructures.html
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As of this morning, the U.S. led coalition has killed some 9,000 Head-cutting Psychopaths from the air.
ReplyDeleteThis, with Zero American Casualties, and very little expenditure of treasure.
Easily, the most intelligent military campaign of my lifetime.
(Reuters) - Iraqi forces and mainly Shi'ite militiamen battling to wrest full control of the city of Tikrit from Islamic State militants paused their offensive for a second day on Saturday as they awaited reinforcements, a military source said.
DeleteMore than 20,000 troops and Iranian-backed Shi'ite fighters entered Tikrit on Wednesday, having retaken areas to the north and south in a campaign launched almost two weeks ago, Iraq's biggest offensive against the militants yet.
Islamic State fighters still hold about half the city and have booby-trapped buildings and laid improvised explosive devices and roadside bombs, the source in the local military command center told Reuters.
More "well-trained forces" were needed for the street-by-street battles that recapturing the whole city would require, the source said, speaking by phone from Tikrit. He did not give a timeline for their arrival.
Victory for Iraq's Shi'ite-led government in Tikrit against the Sunni insurgents would set the tone for a broader confrontation in Mosul, the largest city in the north.
"We do not need a large number, just one or two thousand. We need professional personnel and soldiers," the source told Reuters.
Military commanders had "reached a decision to halt the operation until a suitable, carefully set plan is in place" to break into central Tikrit, the source said.
It's all over but the dyin', and not a US trooper or aircraft involved
Yep, but you can bet your bootie they'd sure love to see some USAF A-10's overhead, about now. :)
DeleteThe Iraqi Irregulars, and the Iranian-led "Warriors of God" tm have shot their rifles in the air, and yelled Allahu Akbar to exhaustion; now, they're sitting around with their thumbs up their asses, waiting for the American-trained Brigades to arrive in the American-supplied MWraps, to do the dirty work.
This is, potentially, a teachable moment. :)
Good to see the potato doctrine yielding some success!
DeleteThe smaller the US footprint, the better.
DeleteWe are arming and training people who were on the same side as ISIS in the war against Assad. That civil war has now devolved into a war between different factions of Assad opponents. ISIS will be "defeated", but it will appear again morphed into a different brand that will attract many of the fighters we are now training and arming.
DeleteWhat we are unwilling to admit is that Iraq was a safer and better place to live under Saddam than it is now. Libya was better on Gaddafi, Egypt was better under Mubarek and, once we are through, Syria will be a worse place to live. Our ruing elite is a bull in the china shop, leaving destruction and chaos in the wake of its efforts to manage the world. Having screwed up, they can be counted on to make matters worse as they bumble around trying to correct the situation.
The business of the elites is bizness; and, war is good bizness.
ReplyDelete30,000 "Warriors of God," and other assorted jack-offs sitting around waiting for a couple of thousand trained and equipped troops to come handle the job.
ReplyDeleteI hope they put them under American air cover; this experiment has gone on long enough.
So it looks like the Liberation of Tikrit has bogged down. I was guessing the Iranians could do better. If Tikrit turns into a tough nut to crack, Mosul looks to be beyond the current capacity of the Shiites.
ReplyDeleteAdministration lies about degrading Islamic State leadership exposed
DeleteMarch 14, 2015
"I am very skeptical of the claim that the coalition has killed 50 percent of the leadership of the Islamic State."
More
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2015/03/administration_lies_about_degrading_islamic_state_leadership_exposed.html
The best military operation of our life times only if one believes the Administration.
Noble Ash, could you spell out exactly, but with elegant simplicity, so I can follow it, what the 'potato doctrine' entails ?
ReplyDeleteThis will help me compare and contrast and make judgements about the various 'doctrines' floating around in the Martini glass here at the Bar.
I am thinking of sponsoring a doctrine contest.
The winner gets an all expense paid trip and tour of Mosul.
The potato doctrine aka la doctrinaire de la patate = let the locals sort it out.
DeleteI am currently striving to reduce to writing the world famous, and often misunderstood, "Garbanzo Doctrine", my contribution to the Battle of the Doctrines.
DeleteThis may take a few days.....as I have other responsibilities that will inevitably intrude....
>>>The potato doctrine aka la doctrinaire de la patate = let the locals sort it out.<<<
DeleteWell, hell, why didn't you just say so at once ? Sounds like it's kinda some fancy international Frenchy doctrine, and not even original with you. This is a little disappointing in that I am hoping for home grown real American doctrines.
Nevertheless, you are fully entered in the contest, regardless.
I think I have a clear understanding of the futile "Bud/Beam Doctrine" which simply consists in dropping a few bombs, exaggerating the results, and bragging about it.
The Q Doctrine is tougher......
As is the Deuce Doctrine.....
Nevertheless, it too is fully entered in The Contest.
Duty calls, tata for now.
DeleteCheers !
I think it was Monday that I said the Tikrit operation was getting ready to slow down, and possibly "stall out."
ReplyDeleteIt was obvious if one had been watching similar operations over the last 6 to 9 months in Iraq. The Iraqi forces don't know how to, or have the stomach to, finish off an operation. Only those that have been operating under coalition air cover have been able to do that (and, that is mostly a result of standing back, and letting the coalition planes do most of the work.)
The reason it couldn't / wouldn't work in Tikrit is the Iraqi AF just doesn't have enough planes and helicopters to sustain the missions required. They could fly 15 or 20 sorties the First day, but as the days drug on more and more aircraft would have to be taken off-line for maintenance, and repairs. They're probably down to 3 or 4 missions a day by now.
You did indeed say that.
Delete.
ReplyDeleteI hope they put them under American air cover; this experiment has gone on long enough.
:o)
I think it was Monday that I said the Tikrit operation was getting ready to slow down, and possibly "stall out."
You will pardon me if I note a small tad of irony in these statements. I believe on Monday there was some mention of Arab 'fighters' not being able to cut the mustard because when confronted with a sniper they would rather stand behind a wall and wait for the helicopters. No suggestion as to an alternate course of action was offered. I guess if they didn't want to wait for the helicopter, they could wait for artillery to take out the position but really that would probably make them look as much like pansies in some eyes as waiting for a helicopter or plane. I guess they could bring up their own snipers to try and take out the guy but who has time for that? It might make it look like you 'stalled out'. The only other alternative that comes to mind is storming the sniper position. Dumb as hell but at least it would calm the critics.
It was obvious if one had been watching similar operations over the last 6 to 9 months in Iraq. The Iraqi forces don't know how to, or have the stomach to, finish off an operation.
Let's see, according to the story rat posted, Iraqi forces and Shia militia 'paused their offensive for a second day'. Holy shit, two full days and based on this their offensive has not only 'slowed' but 'possibly stalled out'. This is a force that is attacking a town that has been under enemy control for some time, where the enemy is dug in, where areas have been fortified and seeded with mines and IED's. Two days? Man, this is a tough crowd.
The irony of course is the overweening conviction that US air power is the number 42.
Let's take Kobane as an alternate example. IS attacked Kobane starting in July I believe. Kobane a large town was defended by the Kurds. They fought from fortified defensive positions though they didn't have the time to prepare that IS did in Tikrit. Though outgunned and losing most of the city, the Kurds held out for two months or more before the US began providing air support. I don't recall either side being called pansies. Once the US started providing air support, I suspect there were probably a lot of Kurds standing behind walls waiting for air support, helicopters or planes to take out enemy sniper positions. Even after the US started running daily air sorties in Kobane in October, it took months, actually to the end of January before Is was pushed completely out of Kobane.
We are told be patient, we have all the time in the world, yet...
Two days of no progress and the Iraqi and Shia forces are accused of 'sitting around with their thumbs up their asses'.
Definitely a tough crowd.
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I used the exact words: slow, and possibly even "stall."
DeleteNow, for two days the media reports have used the term "stall."
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Delete.
The damn natives need to buck up and show the same tenacity, courage, and stick-to-itiveness of the American forces as they drop their bombs from 10,000, 20,000, or 30,000 feet. Oorah.
There are times for patience and times for damn the torpedoes full speed ahead.
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Is there some sort of point in your whining?
Delete.
DeleteI used the exact words: slow, and possibly even "stall."
Now, for two days the media reports have used the term "stall."
All right, you get one 'gold' star.
Who gives a fuck. It's your view of the situation I find laughable. The offensive against Tikrit may fail. Who knows? But the same fellow who has been preaching patience, we have years, all the time in the world for weeks now throws in the towel after two days.
Sorry, I don't get it.
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I never "threw in any towel." Of course, they're going to take Tikrit. Too many numbers, not to.
DeleteThere IS NO urgency from our standpoint. I'm following, and commenting on, the operation as an interested observer.
I made a prediction about the operation, and it came true. Blow me.
I've been following the comments from the Iranian, Soulimani (or, however the hell you spell his name,) as he has, over the last couple of months, disparaged the U.S. efforts in defeating the Daesh.
DeleteHe has pooh-poohed any credit for the U.S. airstrikes, and, literally, claimed all the credit should go to the Shiite Militias.
So, it is true: I take a certain satisfaction in watching his boys sit around "with their thumbs up their asses," waiting for help from Baghdad, and you know damned well, hoping for the U.S. planes to show up.
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DeleteNo, you sit here pissing and moaning because the US isn't involved. You complain because the Iraqi forces haven't passed through Tikrit like shit through a pig. You brag about saying that there will be a two day 'stall' in the action while ignoring the fact that it took the US and Kurdish forces six months to drive a few thousand IS forces out of Kobane.
I have to admit it, doc. You are 'prescient'. A damn military genius. Great call.
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DeleteSorry,
I was writing the last post while you were agreeing with everything I was saying.
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I'm not "pissing," "moaning," or "complaining."
DeleteI made a call, and it was right.
As for Kobane, the two situations are totally dissimilar. Daesh continued assaulting Kobane with more, and more troops, week after week/month after month.
In Tikrit there is a finite (and, rather small) force of headcutters, completely surrounded, and cut off from reinforcements and resupply.
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DeleteAccording to Wiki, The Seige of Kobani
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Koban%C3%AE
ISIL Armed Forces: 4,000 - 9,000 Fighters
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And, beaten back by a force that, even after the 150 reinforcements, probably never numbered more than 500.
Delete.
Delete1,500–2,000 YPG & YPJ (as of 1 November 2014)[32]
300 FSA (originally)[33][34]
50[35]–200[36] FSA (reinforcements)
160 Peshmerga (reinforcements)[37][38]
Entrenched in defensive positions.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Koban%C3%AE
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ReplyDeleteI have no problem with the Iraqis taking Tikrit by themselves if they can. I would love to see them take Mosul the same way though that would be multiple times harder. It took 6 months to free Kobane a town of 400,000 even though we didn't leave much of a town left. The same issues will be there for Mosul a city of a million people.
You have said, once Mosul is taken it is pretty much all over for IS in Iraq. I don't really agree with that (so far since the war began 20% of the territory IS took in Iraq has been taken back but in the same period IS now has affiliates in 13 countries in the ME and Africa); however, with the fall of Mosul I figure it would be an ideal point for the US to declare victory and go home. They could simply say that the Iraqis and Kurds have proven their ability to handle IS on their own.
The faster we get out the better.
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DeleteHowever, I doubt things will be that simple.
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I wonder what the Kobanis would say if you asked them if they would rather be alive and have the town the way it is, or if they would rather be dead, and have Kobane be nice and pristine, and in the hands of the headcutters?
DeleteI, also, am totally in favor of the Iraqis taking Tikrit, themselves. But, I do get a certain pleasure watching Soulimani's gang sitting around on their pickup trucks, waiting for the cavalry to arrive, and bail them out.
DeleteHowever, I do not agree that the optimum strategy is "get out, the faster the better."
DeleteThe optimum strategy is to kill all of the murdering psychopaths, humanly possible, no matter how long it takes.
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DeleteA fair question. However, all that pin-point bombing destroyed half the town and left it without electricity and utilities. Luckily (?), almost the entire population left before the fighting got intense. One third of the population of Mosul has already skipped. Will the rest of them leave before the fighting starts? Got me. If they don't it could get real messy.
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What makes you think all that damage was caused by a limited number (yes, only a few of the airstrikes were "inside" the city) of precision air strikes, and not by months of artillery, and truck bombings by ISIS?
DeleteAnd, actually, that question about what the Kobani would prefer was not a "fair" question. It was a sarcastic question, with a no-brainer answer.
Delete.
DeleteJust sitting around killing IS fighters is not a strategy. It may provide some of a particular temperament with a certain cathartic pleasure but it is hardly the basis for a strategy.
Although, the current US strategy is so incoherent that when viewing it you could argue that that is simply it, the operative word being simply. Although...
I have argued there was no overriding national interest requiring the US to once again get involved in Iraq and that also if we got involved militarily in Iraq when we did eventually declare victory and go home we would be leaving behind the same shithole that was there before. If not worse.
There is no denying that the US air power helped stall the IS advance in Iraq. However, not only do I feel like Ash that we should have left the fight to the locals, I also feel IS had reached its natural apogee in Iraq and evidently unlike you that the locals had the stuff to turn them back. There is no way IS was going to take Baghdad or the Shia east. In the North, the Kurds were facing the same enemy in Iraq as in Syria and had their ethnic brothers to call on for support. Anbar was pretty much lost but it didn't necessarily have to stay that way.
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"Killing ISIS" became THE strategy when they decapitated those two American journalists.
DeleteThey made themselves "the enemy," and, in war, killing the enemy IS the strategy.
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DeletePerhaps killing headcutters is the US strategy.
If not, what is it?
We are insisting on the unity of Iraq. For this reason, the Kurds are disaffected, because although they have been promised heavy weapons by Baghdad they have yet to see any. Baghdad is no doubt reluctant because they fear the heavy arms used today against IS can tomorrow be turned against the Shia. Baghdad has insisted that they do no want US ground troops in Iraq and so they have turned to the Shia militias and Iran for aid. General Dempsey says the rising Iranian presence is a good thing. Obama doesn't want US troops there either; however, he indicates the goal is to 'defeat' IS which will require taking back Anbar which will require US troops or a Shia invasion of the Sunni homeland with unknown consequences.
Then you have Syria, currently an IS safe haven. Obama says we won't go to war with Assad but we won't help him either which are really two self-cancelling aims. Turkey, a NATO partner, is reluctant to help fight IS if that aids Assad. We don't want to get in a tussle with Assad because that might alienate some of our European partners, Iran, China, and Russia. Other allies who view Assad as the larger evil continue their occasional sparring with him and his allies. The US 'moderate militants' meant to take on IS in Syria have yet to be trained and equipped and there is no guarantee they won't use the weapons we give them on the Assad regime.
Wait, I'm starting to get confused...
What is the US strategy again?
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DeleteOh, right, it was killing headcutters because they killed two Americans after the US started bombing them.
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This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteRufus IISat Mar 14, 04:30:00 PM EDT
ReplyDeleteI used the exact words: slow, and possibly even "stall."
Now, for two days the media reports have used the term "stall."
.....................
I noticed this effect watching Fox News. Directly AFTER Rufus began using the word 'stall' those foremost in the media began using it too, and it spread out from there. I can think of many other examples of this phenomenon which I am now calling the "Rufus Media Effect".
All I can conclude is that the directors of these media outlets are glued to The Elephant Bar as some here are glued to the media.
Makes me feel like I'm in some sort of echo chamber......
3rd time is a charm
DeleteRufus IISat Mar 14, 05:41:00 PM EDT
ReplyDeleteHowever, I do not agree that the optimum strategy is "get out, the faster the better."
The optimum strategy is to kill all of the murdering psychopaths, humanly possible, no matter how long it takes.
...................
There is real insight here into the core beliefs of "The Bud/Beam Doctrine" - which shines with a certain Knightly Nobility in its resistance to, what everyone agrees, is true evil.
"The Q Doctrine" does seem quite feminized, quite 'metro', quite, may I say, 'city slicker', in comparison.
We may have the raw outline of a Mississippi/Detroit, Michigan cultural clash here......
If forced to decide the issue I'd probably come down with the Rebs, and not the Yanks, the rurals, and not the urbans.
DeleteBut then, probably thankfully, I will never be the guy to decide the issue.
The "Q Doctrine" is just basic Republicanism - be against anything, and everything, that Obama does.
DeleteThe various iterations in this instance were:
1) Attack Obama for not having a strategy for dealing with "the greatest threat since Hitler."
2) Attack Obama for having too weak a strategy - Boots on the ground being absolutely essential for success.
3) Attack Obama for taking action that wasn't really necessary. (Quirk is out ahead of the pack on this one.)
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DeleteI have to admit, that the Rufus strategy which if I understand it properly is to just kill headcutters has one big thing going for it in these troubles times. It offers job security to those troops involved in that eternal hunt and destroy mission.
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DeleteThe "Q Doctrine" is just basic Republicanism - be against anything, and everything, that Obama does.
More nonsense from the swamps of Mississippi. I have applauded Obama when he has done something that in my opinion is positive. It is hardly my fault that the instances are so few and far between.
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The "Garbanzo Doctrine", in contrast, urges a focus on the Kurds, and their becoming, at last, a state of their own.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the 'GD' would urge aiding and abetting to the extent possible the creation of a 'moderate' Sunni gathering of Egypt, Jordan, etc to fight the extremists, hoping to touch off something of a revolution in Islam, as that good man Egyptian President Sisi has been urging.
Speculation is arising that Pooty has kicked the bucket -
ReplyDeleteWhat Happens if Putin Really Is Dead?
Amanda Taub, Vox - March 14, 2015
www.realclearworld.com/2015/03/14/what_happens_iWhat Happens if Putin Really Is Dead?Amanda Taub, Vox - March 14, 2015f_putin_really_is_dead_165604.html
The story of The Voice in the River is becoming fascinating -
ReplyDeleteFox News is reporting the four first responders, who are quite sane and very definite about what they heard, are saying it was the voice of a woman, but not that of the mother, as they, I assume, have listened to some recordings of her voice.......and the child was without pulse and in a coma......and in any case the voice was that of a woman, not a child.
If it was not the voice of the mother it was not your normal ADC (after death communication). which is usually one to one in any case, but came from some other source..........
Oh, for Christ's fucking sake; the next day the little girl was singing "wheels on the bus" with her grandpa.
DeleteIf she can sing "wheels on the bus," she can say "help me."
They warmed her up, Doofus.
DeleteShe HAD NO PULSE, and WAS IN A COMA.
AND IT WAS NOT THE VOICE OF A CHILD
You simply lack reading and comprehension skills.
As many here have noted.
Neither have you ever read ANY of the vast literature on these sorts of events.
And it would do you no good even if you did, Doofus, lacking reading and comprehension skills as you obviously do.
Blow me !
:)
Cold, and without pulse. In other words, Dead. (if you're in a "coma," you are alive, and with pulse.)
DeleteBut, the next day she's singing "wheels on the bus."
Were there any UFOs involved?
A burning bush, perhaps?
Or was it just a little girl, upside down, with her mouth only inches from the river surface, crying "help me."
Little kids have a remarkable ability, more than adults, to survive extreme cold conditions. They go into a kind of hibernation mode, for lack of a better word.
DeleteCold, and without detectable pulse, that is what I have read.
If she were really dead this would amount to an even more remarkable event.
No UFO's mentioned.
No burning bush mentioned.
Just a Voice From the River, NOT, obviously, from a little unconscious nearly frozen like an ice cube girl with no detectable
pulse, but from something else.....not the voice of a child but of a 'woman', not the mother's voice, attested to by four perfectly sane first responders.
Rufus, you are William Blake's 'natural man', his 'sunflower', rooted in the earth, never escaping, but with this difference - the sunflower turns its head to the light, and you don't strive to even do that.
Go Bless ye, anyway, Brother Rufus...........
Ye of good heart, who loves his clan, as good men do.
Cheers !
"There is more in heaven and on earth than is dreamed of in your philosophy, Horation"
DeleteShakespeare - Hamlet (1.5.167-8), Hamlet to Horatio
Mystery voice: Utah baby rescuers led to baby in river by voice from beyond
March 9, 2015 4:43 PM
Baby rescued from car in river seemed to have a guardian angel as a woman was heard beckoning the rescuers to the car calling out "Help me," from inside the car. When the rescuers got there, the found the baby, but the baby's mother had died hours earler.
Baby rescued from car in river seemed to have a guardian angel as a woman was heard beckoning the rescuers to the car calling out "Help me," from inside the car. When the rescuers got there, the found the baby, but the baby's mother had died hours earler.
YouTube screen shot
It was a mystery voice that led the rescuers to the baby in the upside down car in the river. All four Utah rescuers who were first on the scene heard that voice, but where it came from remains a mystery today. Four policemen saved the baby from the upside down car submerged in a river this weekend and all swear they heard a woman’s voice calling for "help."
The mystery began once the men reached the submerged car and they found that it is impossible for the voice to have come from the vehicle. The only other person in the car with the 18-month old infant was the baby’s mother and she had been dead for hours when the rescuers arrived.
The four Spanish Fork, police officers heard this “as plain as day,” and they have compared stories and not one is doubting what they heard. They heard a woman from inside the car saying “Help me, help me,” reports WTHR.com on March 9. One of the officers even answered the woman's voice saying, "We're trying. We're trying our best to get in there."
Four Utah policemen answered a call from a man who was going fishing in the river and spotted the car wreck. When the officers arrived each one heard the cry for help coming from inside the car. “Help” was heard in a woman’s voice. Once they flipped the car and looked inside, they realized that voice could not possibly come from the car.
No one inside the car was able to speak. The baby could not have sounded like an adult female and the baby’s mother had passed away hours before the responders arrived. The preliminary investigation puts the mom, Jenny Groesbeck dying in the crash, 14 hours earlier.
The baby, Lily, was strapped into her car seat upside down as the rushing river water passed through the car below her. The car seat kept her head just an inch or two above the water line. Lily is in critical, but stable condition in the hospital today. Fox News live reports today that she was with her grandfather watching TV in the hospital, looking much better today.
CNN News reports that when Officer Jared Warner heard that the baby is doing better today, he had tears in his eyes. He was the officer that ran with the baby to the waiting ambulance once she was freed from the car.
Lily was in that car for 14 hours alone and in the cold and dark. The mother’s time of death was estimated at about 10:30 the night before the car was found, which is also the time estimated for the crash.
DeleteWhose voice was that beckoning the rescuers to the car? Officer Jared Warner has no doubt about what he heard, but “We’re not exactly sure where that voice came from,” he said during an interview.
It was as the officers got closer to the car and first spotted the mother that they heard the voice. They didn’t see the baby until they flipped the car over. This is when the voice cried out. Officer Bryan Dewitt said; "We were down on the car and a distinct voice says, 'Help me, help me."
"It wasn't just something that was just in our heads. To me it was plain as day cause I remember hearing a voice," officer Tyler Beddoes said. "I think it was Dewitt who said, 'We're trying. We're trying our best to get in there. How do you explain that? I don't know," he said, adding that "the voice didn't sound like a child."
"It was a positive boost for every one of us because I think it pushed us to go harder a little longer. I don't think that any one of us had intended on flipping a car over that day," Beddoes said. "We know there was some other help there, getting us where we needed to be," WTHR reports today.
Eerie, yes, but that voice wanted those officers to get close to the car to find the baby. That little girl was strapped upside down from 10:30 p.m. on Friday night and it wasn’t until 12: 30 p.m. on Saturday that the fisherman called the police. He reported the car as a possible abandoned vehicle.
That’s what police were going on when they neared the car, until they saw the woman behind the driver’s wheel. They didn’t see the baby and when they flipped the car, the baby came into sight and hearts sunk. They thought for sure the child was dead, but when they took the baby out of the car and passed her along from officer to officer to get her out of the river, her eyes fluttered.
The car left the road at about 30 to 50 mph and hit a concrete barrier rendering it airborne. It came to rest upside down in the river.
Was the spirit of the baby’s mother watching over the child? Was the voice they heard coming from the baby's mom calling out from beyond? Those out there who believe in ghosts will tell you that is more than just a remote possibility that Jenny Groesbeck’s spirit couldn’t leave this earth until her baby was in safe hands. What do you think?
http://www.examiner.com/article/baby-utah-river-4-rescuers-hear-help-from-car-with-baby-but-mom-dead
The word 'angel' really has no agreed upon meaning, but usually deals with an 'intervention' of some kind.
DeleteSo saying the voice was that of an angel is not really an improper way of speaking......
Inasmuch as many Military Commanders are Republican-leaning by nature, any effective strategy must, of necessity, be Simple.
ReplyDeleteHence, The Rufus Doctrine: Just Kill the Sonsabitches. - Until There Ain't No More of the Sonsabitches to Kill
Given that Mosul has been emptied of its anti - ISIS population, who have already fled, why not then, General Rufus, just carpet bomb the whole goddamned place ?
DeleteNo ground troops, even Iranian, needed at all.
If you are intelligent, you will reply, let our enemies the Iranians die for it. We shouldn't just hand them Iraq on a silver platter.
Your doctrine amounts to a doctrine of perpetual low level war, endless.
:(
You can't be that stupid; that's wio-level stupid.
DeleteALL of the non-ISIS supporting population hasn't left. That's insane. There are the old people. The less-wealthy with nowhere to go, and their kids. Those that are infirmed. Those that have to stay to care for the infirmed. Those that couldn't get out in time, and got trapped. Insane.
Most, then.
DeleteHave it your way.
From about 2 million down to about 1 million.
MOST, or all those able, have fled.
Except valiant Quirk, from whom I received a missive just this day.
Delete(Bobbo, I have joined a group of the Pesh Merga, translated as 'the quick strike group'......leaving Mosul...I head north morning tomorrow......tired of sitting on ass....Q)
And Abraham-rufus argued with the Lord:
DeleteSurely you will not bring down Mosul when there are the aged and helpless there....
And the Lord of the Universe said to Abraham-Rufus, a mere man, I, The Lord, will not bring down that sinful city Mosul if there are more than 50,000 aged and helpless there.
DeleteAnd Abraham-Rufus said to the Lord of the Universe:
Surely you will not bring down that sinful city Mosul if there are 40,000 aged and helpless there....
And the Lord of the Universe said to Abraham-Rufus - I, the Lord of the Universe.....
And Abraham-Rufus said to the Lord of the Universe:
DeleteSurely you will not bring down that sinful city Mosul if there are 1,000 aged and helpless there......
And the Lord of the Universe:
I will bring down.
And after the B-52 strikes the smoke rose of the embers of Mosul as smoke rises from a kiln.....
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Delete:o)
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DeleteThe boy has got his blue on today.
If you don't agree with Obama you are a Pub. Given the RCP poll averages for presidential approval, direction of the country, and foreign policy and given the GOP self-identification numbers of about 30%, there must be a hell of a lot of closet Pubs out there or, as WiO would put it, self-loathing Republicans.
Methinks the boy has turned in the Bud Lite for a hefty helping of the Blue Kool-aid.
:o)
But you have to admit he is a smooth operator.
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DeleteI don't drink much any more and it's been a while since I've had any Remy Martin but listening to Sade I had to go open a bottle.
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DeleteSweetest Taboo
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DeleteSantana and Sade
Why Can't We Live Together
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Israeli vote in balance as campaigning draws to close...
ReplyDeleteSenate panel probes whether Obama admin funded effort to oust Bibi...
Left Zionists Pull Ahead...
All bets are off..............Drudge
Mystery of our 145 'alien' genes: Scientists discover some DNA is NOT from our ancestors - and say it could change how we think about evolution
ReplyDeleteStudy challenges views that evolution relies solely on genes passed down
Instead says we acquired essential 'foreign' genes from microorganisms
By Mark Prigg For Dailymail.com
Published: 18:04 EST, 13 March 2015 | Updated: 08:39 EST, 14 March 2015
Humans contain 'alien' genes not passed on from our ancestors, researchers have discovered.
They say we acquired essential 'foreign' genes from microorganisms co-habiting their environment in ancient times.
The study challenges conventional views that animal evolution relies solely on genes passed down through ancestral lines - and says the process could still be going on.
Cambridge researchers say we acquired essential 'foreign' genes from microorganisms co-habiting their environment in ancient times.
Cambridge researchers say we acquired essential 'foreign' genes from microorganisms co-habiting their environment in ancient times.
HORIZONTAL GENE TRANSFER
The transfer of genes between organisms living in the same environment is known as horizontal gene transfer (HGT).
It is well known in single-celled organisms and thought to be an important process that explains how quickly bacteria evolve, for example, resistance to antibiotics.
HGT is thought to play an important role in the evolution of some animals, including nematode worms which have acquired genes from microorganisms and plants, and some beetles that gained bacterial genes to produce enzymes for digesting coffee berries.
The research published in the open access journal Genome Biology focuses on the use of horizontal gene transfer, the transfer of genes between organisms living in the same environment.
'This is the first study to show how widely horizontal gene transfer (HGT) occurs in animals, including humans, giving rise to tens or hundreds of active 'foreign' genes,' said lead author Alastair Crisp from the University of Cambridge.
'Surprisingly, far from being a rare occurrence, it appears that HGT has contributed to the evolution of many, perhaps all, animals and that the process is ongoing, meaning that we may need to re-evaluate how we think about evolution.'
It is well known in single-celled organisms and thought to be an important process that explains how quickly bacteria evolve, for example, resistance to antibiotics.
The authors say that their analysis probably underestimates the true extent of HGT in animals and that direct HGT between complex multicellular organisms is also plausible, and already known in some host-parasite relationships.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2994187/Mystery-alien-genes-Scientists-discover-DNA-NOT-ancestors-say-change-think-evolution.html#ixzz3UQEsdmz7
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
HGT is thought to play an important role in the evolution of some animals, including nematode worms which have acquired genes from microorganisms and plants, and some beetles that gained bacterial genes to produce enzymes for digesting coffee berries.
DeleteHowever, the idea that HGT occurs in more complex animals, such as humans, rather than them solely gaining genes directly from ancestors, has been widely debated and contested.
The researchers studied the genomes of 12 species of Drosophila or fruit fly, four species of nematode worm, and 10 species of primate, including humans.
They calculated how well each of their genes aligns to similar genes in other species to estimate how likely they were to be foreign in origin.
By comparing with other groups of species, they were able to estimate how long ago the genes were likely to have been acquired.
A number of genes, including the ABO blood group gene, were confirmed as having been acquired by vertebrates through HGT. The majority of the other genes were related to enzymes involved in metabolism.
In humans, they confirmed 17 previously-reported genes acquired from HGT, and identified 128 additional foreign genes in the human genome that have not previously been reported.
HGT is thought to play an important role in the evolution of some animals, including nematode worms which have acquired genes from microorganisms and plants
+2
HGT is thought to play an important role in the evolution of some animals, including nematode worms which have acquired genes from microorganisms and plants
A brief and simple description of DNA (related)
Some of those genes were involved in lipid metabolism, including the breakdown of fatty acids and the formation of glycolipids.
Others were involved in immune responses, including the inflammatory response, immune cell signalling, and antimicrobial responses, while further gene categories include amino-acid metabolism, protein modification and antioxidant activities.
The team were able to identify the likely class of organisms the transferred genes came from. Bacteria and protists, another class of microorganisms, were the most common donors in all species studied.
They also identified HGT from viruses, which was responsible for up to 50 more foreign genes in primates.
Some genes were identified as having originated from fungi.
This explains why some previous studies, which only focused on bacteria as the source of HGT, originally rejected the idea that these genes were 'foreign' in origin.
The majority of HGT in primates was found to be ancient, occurring sometime between the common ancestor of Chordata and the common ancestor of the primates.
And:
DeleteNorth Korea Dwarf Village Is Latest Human Rights Abuse
Little people sterilized, forced to live in remote area
North Koreans bow before a statue of Kim Il Sung, the regime's founder. / AP
North Koreans bow before a statue of Kim Il Sung, the regime's founder. / AP
BY: Bill Gertz
March 13, 2015 12:30 pm
TOKYO – North Korea’s communist government has created a dwarf village in a remote part of the country where short people it regards as undesirables are prevented from reproducing and forced to fend for themselves within the harsh Stalinist system.
The abuse of North Koreans who have dwarfism, a genetic condition that produces short bodies and disproportionate limbs, is the latest disclosure of widespread human rights abuses within the country. A U.N. commission report a year ago charged the regime with “crimes against humanity.”
Several North Korean defectors disclosed the existence of the village, called Yeonha-Ri, and said it is located in Kimhyongjik County, a border region in northeastern Ryanggang Province. The province is named after North Korea’s founding dictator Kim Il-Sung’s father, Kim Hyong-Jik.
Dwarfs are persecuted by the regime under a policy that combines Korean superstitions about physical deformities manifesting from personal or ancestral sin, and the hardline communist regime’s demand that all citizens must work, according to North Korean defectors.
As part of the anti-dwarf measures, all people under 120 centimeters in height, or just under four feet, have been forced to relocate to the farming village at Yeonha-Ri.
One defector, who disclosed details of the village on condition of anonymity, said the North Korean government originally planned to exterminate the dwarfs as part of a policy of eliminating those within the population with undesirable physical traits. But concerns about international reaction to the population “cleansing” instead resulted in allowing the dwarfs to set up the farming village.
The goal of the separation is to prevent the dwarfs from marrying and reproducing. To that end, they are forced to undergo sterilization.
http://freebeacon.com/issues/north-korea-dwarf-village-is-latest-human-rights-abuse/
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DeleteThere are rumors the village is going to be shut down as Kim Jung Un keeps getting shipped there by mistake.
If it is shut down, a key cultural festival will also likely end, the annual resident toss.
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Delete:)
I was going to make merry with the rumor about a mysterious Q Village in N. Korea, but decided against it.
My wife worked with a littler person in Post Falls, Idaho at a school there. Great guy.
He earned a little extra spending money once in a while getting tossed in the taverns, no kidding.
He drove a HUGE pickup truck all outfitted with special seats and stuff.
I must tell you, Q, it was something of a special revelation to me, very startling really, and quite unforeseen, when I first discovered the deep psychological and cultural affinities between Father Abraham, and our Father Rufus of the Clan.
ReplyDeleteBoth are men of the heart, willing to argue with the Master of the Universe, even to the point of denying His existence in the one case, always standing up for the underdogs, the innocent, the lame, deaf, aged and infirm; and both are dedicated to a life in service of their people.
Neither one is even close to being a psycho.
Quite admirable, both.
And brave, too.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
Delete.
DeleteMercy Mercy Me
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Rufus, like the Lord, is a little sloppy sometimes around the edges.
DeleteAnd illogical. Or better, sur-logical.
He takes me to task and then proclaims himself careless about the innocent Sunni dead himself.
By the way, there are stories coming out now - how accurate is hard to judge - about Sunni Iraqi Government atrocities and Iranian atrocities that give the ISIS atrocities at least some competition for 1st Place, Atrocities Division, Warfare Conduct Competition.
**********************
University of Kentucky basketball team is rated #1 in the Nation. My wife, an Alumni from there, is course extremely excited, as am I as well.
Can't wait for March Madness.
ReplyDeleteMOH recipient Dakota Meyer to wed Bristol Palin
posted at 7:01 pm on March 14, 2015 by Jazz Shaw
Feel free to hurl the insults if it appears that Hot Air has suddenly taken leave of its senses on a Saturday evening and attempted to take over the market space of E! Entertainment or Buzzfeed, but this is just a nice story. Most of you will probably recall the tale of Dakota Meyer, recipient of the Medal of Honor. He was commended and recognized as one of America’s true heroes for his death defying efforts during the Battle of Ganjgal in Kunar Province, Afghanistan in 2009. I’ve been following him on Twitter since his return, and while he doesn’t spend as much time on social media as some of us might wish, he’s always an entertaining and inspirational read. His humility in the face of public acclaim is one of his best features.
It looks like yet another big event has taken place in Dakota’s life. He’s going to be tying the knot with Bristol Palin.
Wedding bells are on the horizon for Bristol Palin and 2011 Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer.
Meyer, 26, proposed to Palin, 24, Friday night at a Rascal Flatts concert, Palin said on her blog.
“The lead singer, Gary LeVox, dedicated ‘Bless the Broken Road’ to us, and then Dakota got down on one knee and proposed!” she wrote. “It’s amazing to see what happens when you place everything in life in God’s hands.”
Meyer received the nation’s highest military honor for braving enemy fire in 2009 to recover 36 American and Afghan troops in Afghanistan. He was the third living recipient — and the first Marine — to be awarded the Medal of Honor for actions in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Dakota is also the author of Into the Fire: A Firsthand Account of the Most Extraordinary Battle in the Afghan War.
Just as a reminder, the citation for his MoH.
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with Marine Embedded Training Team 2-8, Regional Corps Advisory Command 3-7, in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, on 8 September 2009. Corporal Meyer maintained security at a patrol rally point while other members of his team moved on foot with two platoons of Afghan National Army and Border Police into the village of Ganjgal for a pre-dawn meeting with village elders. Moving into the village, the patrol was ambushed by more than 50 enemy fighters firing rocket propelled grenades, mortars, and machine guns from houses and fortified positions on the slopes above. Hearing over the radio that four U.S. team members were cut off, Corporal Meyer seized the initiative. With a fellow Marine driving, Corporal Meyer took the exposed gunner’s position in a gun-truck as they drove down the steeply terraced terrain in a daring attempt to disrupt the enemy attack and locate the trapped U.S. team. Disregarding intense enemy fire now concentrated on their lone vehicle, Corporal Meyer killed a number of enemy fighters with the mounted machine guns and his rifle, some at near point blank range, as he and his driver made three solo trips into the ambush area. During the first two trips, he and his driver evacuated two dozen Afghan soldiers, many of whom were wounded. When one machine gun became inoperable, he directed a return to the rally point to switch to another gun-truck for a third trip into the ambush area where his accurate fire directly supported the remaining U.S. personnel and Afghan soldiers fighting their way out of the ambush. Despite a shrapnel wound to his arm, Corporal Meyer made two more trips into the ambush area in a third gun-truck accompanied by four other Afghan vehicles to recover more wounded Afghan soldiers and search for the missing U.S. team members. Still under heavy enemy fire, he dismounted the vehicle on the fifth trip and moved on foot to locate and recover the bodies of his team members. Corporal Meyer’s daring initiative and bold fighting spirit throughout the 6-hour battle significantly disrupted the enemy’s attack and inspired the members of the combined force to fight on. His unwavering courage and steadfast devotion to his U.S. and Afghan comrades in the face of almost certain death reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.
DeleteNo word yet as to whether the happy couple will be living in Alaska with Bristol’s family or Kentucky with his… or somewhere else entirely. But for my part, best wishes to Dakota and Bristol. May you live long and prosper.
http://hotair.com/archives/2015/03/14/moh-recipient-dakota-meyer-to-wed-bristol-palin/
March 15, 2015
ReplyDeleteThe Hillary Broadcasting Network
By Wesley Clark, MD
Ambassador John Bolton, appearing on "Judge Jeanine" at Fox News, opened up an entirely new and thus far unreported aspect of the Hillary Clinton email debacle when he pointed out that Hillary was using her own commercial-version Blackberry for all of her communications. Not only was this commercial version much more susceptible to being hacked for the contents of her emails, it could also be converted into a microphone.
Unlike Blackberrys that are rendered more secure by State Department IT technologies, Hillary's Blackberry was susceptible to being hacked to activate the built-in microphone, to allow eavesdropping on any conversation where her Blackberry was in the room, such that the hacker would be capable of hearing private and privileged conversations by all parties present!
Hillary's track record as secretary of state is already recognized as pitiful, but now we know that various foreign adversary powers (China, Russia, Iran, etc.) may well have been listening to her private conversations with top-level advisors and executives (even those she had with Bill, if she actually had any), and foreign intelligence services would have been privy to top-level thinking and decisions, even before second-level persons in our own State Department learned about them.
If Obama wants to disable her candidacy, as analysts suspect he does, an indictment on multiple charges would certainly do the trick, and even Republicans would spare praise for him and his attorney general were they for once to enforce the laws equitably and fairly. What a strange situation, when Obama might actually be inclined to follow his oath to uphold the Constitution, and rid America once and for all of the Clinton menace.
Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2015/03/the_hillary_broadcasting_network.html#ixzz3URezdmwV