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."

Thursday, September 21, 2006

The Future of Iran's Nuclear Program


The chess pieces are being aligned. This much is known:

A. There will be no serious UN action.
B. The EU will not engage Iran in a meaningful way.
C. Iran will develop a nuclear weapon.
D. Iran has promised to destroy Israel.
E. None of the Arab countries want a nuclear Iran.
F. The US has nothing to gain by being the tip of the spear.
G. The US cannot afford for Israel to fail.
H. China and Russia will oppose anything.
I. Israel has little to lose and much to gain by destroying the Iranian program.

Conclusion

Israel will plan to attack the Iranian facilities with heavy US logistical and intelligence support. The US may loan military equipment to Israel to support the goal and provide backup if needed. Time of action within twelve to eighteen months. Iran will consider this and do anything, including stopping the program under international supervision, to stop this. With the proper Iranian fold, including pressure from Russia, China and the EU, the Iranian nuclear program will cease with the Israeli planes idle on the runway.

Israel Calls Iran Its Greatest Threat

Sep 20, 11:09 PM (ET)

By NICK WADHAMS

(AP) Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni addresses the 61st session of the United Nations General...


UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The Israeli foreign minister on Wednesday warned that Iranian leaders pose the biggest threat to the world's values because they "speak proudly" of their wish to destroy Israel and pursue weapons to achieve that objective.
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told the annual U.N. General Assembly session that the international community must stand up against Iran, which she claimed is pursuing the weapons to destroy Israel, a reference to its suspect nuclear program.
"There is no greater challenge to our values than that posed by the leaders of Iran," Livni said. "They deny and mock the Holocaust. They speak proudly and openly of their desire to wipe Israel off the map. And now, by their actions, they pursue the weapons to achieve this objective, to imperil the region and to threaten the world."
She said Iran's support of the Islamic militant group Hezbollah in south Lebanon showed the threat it poses to the region. The world must ensure that it enforces the U.N. Security Council resolution that ended more than a month of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, Livni said.
"There is no place for such a regime in the family of nations," she said.
MyWay News

68 comments:

  1. Some poll data heard this morning puts Mr. Olmert's popularity in the 25% range. Israel will have to have a new government before taking action against Iran. The same may be true for the US. Time is not our friend.

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  2. I love Livni. She has star power. Delicately attractive, intellectually rigorous, and afraid of nothing.

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  3. Well, my fellow Americans, Representative Charles Rangel just told Mr. Chavez to kiss our collective ass.

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  4. "... A rift on the Beirut political scene amid Hezbollah calls for a new national unity government has also come to the fore, with Prime Minister Fuad Siniora stopping short of viewing the conflict which ended with an August 14 ceasefire as a victory.


    "We succeeded in preventing Israel from winning the war," he said on Arab television, while pointing out he had not been invited to the demonstration.

    Siniora has said the war cost Lebanon billions of dollars, setting back the country several years, on top of the more than 1,200 people killed in the 34-day conflict sparked by Hezbollah's capture of two Israeli soldiers.

    Organisers of the rally said their aim was to make it one of the biggest demonstrations in Lebanon's history, with supporters of Hezbollah's Christian ally, General Michel Aoun, among several political groups taking part, As-Safir newspaper reported.

    Along with Amal, the Shiite party of parliament speaker Nabih Berri, and Palestinian groups, "the main leaders of Hezbollah will be present, but we cannot say if Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah will be there, for security reasons," spokesman Hossein Rahal said.

    Read More!
    "Hezbollah gears up for massive 'victory' rally"

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  5. The Air Force brass is again making short sighted decisions according to some who are not politically driven.

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  6. The Air Force brass is again making short sighted decisions according to some who are not politically driven.

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  7. It's not working. Try, try again.

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  8. Well, that worked, but how? Hmmm

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  9. Buddy Larsen said...
    "The Dumbest Weapons Decision of the Decade"
    by Joe Katzman on September 21, 2006 06:08 AM

    1:40:00 PM

    Well, La dee da! ;-)

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  10. Well, had i known you'd had a Eureka! moment simultaneously, I wouldn't've stuck my hand down there in the cabbage patch to hep you up.
    :)

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  11. 22 yr old collich dropout sells "facebook" to yahoo for millyuns.

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  12. No, buddy, the C17 decision is not stupid, for a country not at war.

    There my friend is the reality.

    Look to point G in the original post. The US could not afford for Israel to fail. After the Lebanonese experience, the Israeli airforce has been shown to be more than mortal.
    Thousands of sorties flown over 34 days of combat. Iranian supplied rockets toward Israel still flying on day 34.

    Point G is correct and the reason the Mission to Iran will not fly.
    Success cannot not be guarenteed nor even foreseen, really, from a DC point of view.

    Action towards Iran will be retaliatory. They have the ball and the momentuem.
    We have prevent defense and MAD.

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  13. The Air Force brass is again making short sighted decisions according to some who are not politically driven.
    The Air Force brass is again making short sighted decisions according to some who are not politically driven.
    The Air Force brass is again making short sighted decisions according to some who are not politically driven.
    The Air Force brass is again making short sighted decisions according to some who are not politically driven.
    The Air Force brass is again making short sighted decisions according to some who are not politically driven.
    The Air Force brass is again making short sighted decisions according to some who are not politically driven.
    The Air Force brass is again making short sighted decisions according to some who are not politically driven.
    The Air Force brass is again making short sighted decisions according to some who are not politically driven.
    The Air Force brass is again making short sighted decisions according to some who are not politically driven.
    The Air Force brass is again making short sighted decisions according to some who are not politically driven.
    The Air Force brass is again making short sighted decisions according to some who are not politically driven.
    The Air Force brass is again making short sighted decisions according to some who are not politically driven.

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  14. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  15. Point G is correct Point G is correct Point G is correct Point G is correct Point G is correct Point G is correct Point G is correct Point G is correct Point G is correct Point G is correct Point G is correct Point G is correct Point G is correct Point G is correct Point G is correct Point G is correct

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  16. A. There will be no serious UN action.
    B. The EU will not engage Iran in a meaningful way.
    C. Iran will develop a nuclear weapon.
    D. Iran has promised to destroy Israel.
    E. None of the Arab countries want a nuclear Iran.
    F. The US has nothing to gain by being the tip of the spear.
    G. The US cannot afford for Israel to fail.
    H. China and Russia will oppose anything.
    I. Israel has little to lose and much to gain by destroying the Iranian program.

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  17. Point G is correct

    G. The US cannot afford for Israel to fail.

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  18. It's not working. Try, try again.

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  19. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  20. So if failure was an option, which as history proves, it always is, the US would not assist Israel, in fact would limit assets available to Israel, as we did with the Cluster munitions as the 34 days of Lebanon was coming to a close.

    Look to past performance to see future trends.

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  21. Son of Shah should've tried for some press during the Achmiededajad speech.

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  22. Gentlemen, stop your engines
    EEStor's new automotive power source could eliminate the need for the combustion engine - and for oil.
    By Erick Schonfeld and Jeanette Borzo, Business 2.0
    September 20 2006: 2:16 PM EDT
    SAN FRANCISCO (Business 2.0 Magazine) -- The Disruptor: EEStor

    The Innovation: A ceramic power source for electric cars that could blow away the combustion engine

    The Disrupted: Oil companies and carmakers that don't climb aboard

    Forget hybrids and hydrogen-powered vehicles. EEStor, a stealth company in Cedar Park, Texas, is working on an "energy storage" device that could finally give the internal combustion engine a run for its money -- and begin saving us from our oil addiction. "To call it a battery discredits it," says Ian Clifford, the CEO of Toronto-based electric car company Feel Good Cars, which plans to incorporate EEStor's technology in vehicles by 2008.

    EEStor's device is not technically a battery because no chemicals are involved. In fact, it contains no hazardous materials whatsoever. Yet it acts like a battery in that it stores electricity. If it works as it's supposed to, it will charge up in five minutes and provide enough energy to drive 500 miles on about $9 worth of electricity. At today's gas prices, covering that distance can cost $60 or more; the EEStor device would power a car for the equivalent of about 45 cents a gallon.

    And we mean power a car. "A four-passenger sedan will drive like a Ferrari," Clifford predicts. In contrast, his first electric car, the Zenn, which debuted in August and is powered by a more conventional battery, can't go much faster than a moped and takes hours to charge.

    The cost of the engine itself depends on how much energy it can store; an EEStor-powered engine with a range roughly equivalent to that of a gasoline-powered car would cost about $5,200. That's a slight premium over the cost of the gas engine and the other parts the device would replace -- the gas tank, exhaust system, and drivetrain. But getting rid of the need to buy gas should more than make up for the extra cost of an EEStor-powered car.

    EEStor is tight-lipped about its device and how it manages to pack such a punch. According to a patent issued in April, the device is made of a ceramic powder coated with aluminum oxide and glass. A bank of these ceramic batteries could be used at "electrical energy stations" where people on the road could charge up.

    EEStor is backed by VC firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and the company's founders are engineers Richard Weir and Carl Nelson. CEO Weir, a former IBM-er, won't comment, but his son, Tom, an EEStor VP, acknowledges, "That is pretty much why we are here today, to compete with the internal combustion engine." He also hints that his engine technology is not just for the small passenger vehicles that Clifford is aiming at, but could easily replace the 300-horsepower brutes in today's SUVs. That would make it appealing to automakers like GM (Charts) and Ford (Charts), who are seeing sales of their gas-guzzling SUVs and pickup trucks begin to tank because of exorbitant fuel prices.

    _________________________________

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  23. At least credit the BC for charles work, anon

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  24. teresita, you not habin a identity crisis, is you?

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  25. Son of Shah is somewhat of a disappointment. Had higher hopes for the boy

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  26. Rufus

    Forget the rotten fruit and veggies,grass and methane.

    And I beat you to it didn't I

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  27. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  28. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  29. rufus--don't be too quick--we've already seen it rolling thru energy & transports--and odd combo to be falling together--

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  30. Don't panic until Elaine Garzarelli toots another line

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  31. elaine looks ahead, and las' I heard was still bullish--

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  32. Ya gotta know yer time frame--a trader is not an investor, nor vice versa.

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  33. I'll take a 34dd anyday.

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  34. long smooth legs, trimmed, and natural blond

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  35. The Fed has a wonderful way of shutting off growth in an absolute phobia over inflation.
    Greenspan killed the tech market years ago, strangled the seed money for small business' and we had a "correction" ..then he positioned himself as savior with rate cuts.
    Now the Fed is repeating the process. Rufus is right. Repeat, Rufus is right. The Fed has gone too far. It should have stopped at 4-4.25.
    I support Rufus.

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  36. Commods are weak, too. pretty full picture. but corporate earnings still showing strength. And just today the fed futures have made a small bet on a November rate cut.

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  37. That 730 gold scared the daylites outta bernanke. Copper, too.

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  38. but i think he will trade a small recession to wring out the liquidity. the price of powering thru the growrth of 02-05. pendulums are a given, the lags demand it. watch volume on the Philly sell-off. only 1.3 as we speak. no conviction--more a buyer's strike.

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  39. A rate cut of 50 basis points is needed to signal they're serious, but they'll do either nothing or 25 basis points.

    Corp earnings is a lagging indicator so even if they show support it's yesterdays news

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  40. LOL--bracin' is poppin a Bud top--i go the other way, mainline a couple pots o coffee and burn thru my E*trade goodwill.

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  41. yeh, it's 'rear-view mirror' alright--but the guidance is forward, and it's not bad, in the big caps esp.

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  42. I ain't sellin nuffin, dangit. not in the next few minutes anyway

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  43. Doug,Trish,Mad Fiddler all gone to the BC

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  44. eggplant,buddy,enscout,Ike,Herman Melville,Dante,Voltaire,Coolio

    all eroding to the BC

    we must offer free toaster and higher CD rates

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  45. It's flexible--belmont parlor, elephant back porch.

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  46. belmont didn't want this sort of chit-chat--it ain't rocket science. post on both of 'em, at discretion.

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  47. We are Darwinistas and believe in cross-pollination.

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  48. By the way 2164th. Been following your blog and commend you for you good work.

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  49. Just saw this on Drudge and had to quote it...

    "RANGEL: AN ATTACK ON BUSH IS AN ATTACK ON ALL AMERICANS... 'You do not come into my country, my congressional district, and you do not condemn my president. If there is any criticism of President Bush, it should be restricted to Americans, whether they voted for him or not. I just want to make it abundantly clear to Hugo Chavez or any other president, do not come to the United States and think because we have problems with our president that any foreigner can come to our country and not think that Americans do not feel offended when you offend our Chief of State'..."

    Whew! Houd of thot?

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  50. well, he's a partisan hack, but he's also a Korea War vet.

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  51. Anonymous said...
    The Air Force brass is again making short sighted decisions according to some who are not politically driven.

    It's not nice to mess with old people!

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  52. Buddy Larsen said...
    well, he's a partisan hack, but he's also a Korea War vet.

    But today he is our hack!

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  53. Pelosi, too. Said today that "Chavez thinks he's Simon Bolivar, but he's just another everyday thug." That ain't bad, Ms Pelosi. now let's have some follow-thru recognition of the water's edge.

    [[Yes, I know, "water's edge" doesn't work that well re Venezuela. "Border" works better.]]

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  54. I would say share this with some of the gentle souls at the BC, but…

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  55. I would say share this with some of the gentle souls at the BC, but…

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  56. I would say share this with some of the gentle souls at the BC, but…

    Yes, Virginia, “Torture” DOES Work

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  57. There will be no new elections in Israel for another year, at least. None of the Israeli political parties as yet have the money for the political campaigns needed, and half the Knesset members know that they will be replaced if early elections were to be called. Therefore, there will be no No-Confidence motions to be voted on in the Israeli Knesset, and no new elections.

    As far as the IDF goes, it suffers the same sort of corruption that is plaguing the Israeli political system. Basically, the political mafiosies in Israel use the police to open investigations against political opponents. The mafiosis of the Israeli media help in the propaganda role through alleged inside scoops and police leaks. Government and top military appointments are thus delivered through this coercive scheme. This results in ill-fitting and inferior IDF commanders, ill-fitting and inferior government ministers, and a generally incompetent command and governance.

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  58. matt, that's peacetime politics--they better get their shit together--

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  59. The reserve soldiers are furious at the general lack of preparedness and negligence of the senior commanders. But these reserve soldiers have lost a month’s wages because of the fighting, and very few can now afford the time to go to streets and protest. It will take a few months, and as the investigators do their work, their findings or lack of findings, will provide the real stimulus for change. Hopefully.

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