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, January 28, 2009

"The geniuses of capitalism who lost $15 billion in three months and helped usher in socialism."



An excellent column by Maureen Dowd on our masters and rulers of the financial world. Here is her finish and Amen:

...New York’s attorney general, Andrew Cuomo, always gratifying on the issue of clawing back money from the greedy creeps on Wall Street, on Tuesday subpoenaed Thain, the former Merrill Lynch chief executive, over $4 billion in bonuses he handed out as the failing firm was bought by Bank of America. (Bonuses we helped pay.)

In an interview with Maria Bartiromo on CNBC, Thain used the specious, contemptible reasoning that other executives use to rationalize why they’re keeping their bonuses as profits are plunging.

“If you don’t pay your best people, you will destroy your franchise” and they’ll go elsewhere, he said.

Hello? They destroyed the franchise. Let’s call their bluff. Let’s see what a great job market it is for the geniuses of capitalism who lost $15 billion in three months and helped usher in socialism.

Bartiromo also asked Thain to explain, when jobs and salaries were being cut at his firm, how he could justify spending $1 million to renovate his office. As The Daily Beast and CNBC reported, big-ticket items included curtains for $28,000, a pair of chairs for $87,000, fabric for a “Roman Shade” for $11,000, Regency chairs for $24,000, six wall sconces for $2,700, a $13,000 chandelier in the private dining room and six dining chairs for $37,000, a “custom coffee table” for $16,000, an antique commode “on legs” for $35,000, and a $1,400 “parchment waste can.”

Does that mean you can only throw used parchment in it or is it made of parchment? It’s psychopathic to spend a million redoing your office when the folks outside it are losing jobs, homes, pensions and savings.

Thain should never rise above the level of stocking the money in A.T.M.’s again. Just think: This guy could have been Treasury secretary if John McCain had won.

Bartiromo pressed: What was wrong with the office of his predecessor, Stanley O’Neal?

“Well — his office was very different — than — the — the general décor of — Merrill’s offices,” Thain replied. “It really would have been — very difficult — for — me to use it in the form that it was in.”

Did it have a desk and a phone?

How are these ruthless, careless ghouls who murdered the economy still walking around (not to mention that sociopathic sadist Bernie Madoff?) — and not as perps?

Bring on the shackles. Let the show trials begin."

159 comments:

  1. If Martha Stewart did time for her move to preserve her capital, let's just put these assholes, en masse, against the wall.

    We could make a movie

    Trish could tune up her knitting, and with that raging red hair make a perfectly fine Madame Thérèse Defarge.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well Here's The Solution

    The Big Wish List.

    All we got to do is spend our way out of this sucker. Sucker.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Here's another lu-lu: Congress wants to spend $600 million more for the federal government to buy new cars. Uncle Sam already spends $3 billion a year on its fleet of 600,000 vehicles.

    The Nez Perce seem to have already cashed in on this, what with 10 brand new shiny cruisers, but that must have been on last years budget. This year they'll probably get more. Soon, they'll be like the Idaho "More Pickup Trucks Than Employees" Fish and Game Department, having more cruisers than Nez Perce Indians.

    I want one, too.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wiki:

    Of the $1.22 million spent on the renovation, $800,000 was spent to hire celebrity designer Michael Smith, who subsequently redesigned the White House for the Obama family for $100,000.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Doomsday Machine Back In The News

    More dangerous than originally thought.

    Might as well spend like there's no tomorrow, there might not be.

    On that happy thought, grnite.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What this asshole did was pure fraud.

    $35,000.00 commode?

    When he gets to the big house I hope they put his precious ass to work cleaning toilets - at least when his inmate "buddies" aren't using it.

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  7. He lied about, and covered up the true state of a public company, and, in doing so, defrauded another public company.

    This is prima facie fraud. You, or I, would get ten years, federal.

    The trial would take about one day, including verdict.

    ReplyDelete
  8. If only the GOP could have the seriousness of purpose of their South Korean Counterparts:
    - Politics, South Korea-style -

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  9. Meanwhile back at the ranch, our saviours, the politicians, are giving FOUR BILLION DOLLARS
    to ACORN.
    ...and using small time crooks like this a-hole as convenient scapegoats to give mo-do and the rest something to write about while IGNORING THE BIG PICTURE.
    Coumo may be her hero, he ain't mine.

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  10. "When he gets to the big house I hope they put his precious ass to work cleaning toilets - at least when his inmate "buddies" aren't using it."
    ---
    Meanwhile, Geithner, Franks, Dodd, et al, who ALSO SHOULD BE IN THE BIG HOUSE, instead are regarded as our protectors, and rewarded appropriately.

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  11. Here, trish

    A little something for you and any others worried about their eyes and pointed comments.

    Into retirement, aye?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Let's see, the existing deficit for the coming year was reported to be $1.2 trillion, the 'new' stimulous package weighs in at $850 Billion, for a total of over $2 trillion USD.

    Revenues cpntinue to drop, so it may even be larger. I have spoken to a number of people that are considering 'not remembering' to pay large portions of their tax liabilities.

    Claiming that what's good enough for the Geithner is good enough for them.

    The common idea being the window of liability, three years, flys by pretty quick.

    ReplyDelete
  13. As Bobbie Byrde said:
    "If had not become Secretary, he probably would never have paid his taxes."

    Then Bobbie voted NO.

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  14. Budget analyst Brian Riedl of the Heritage Foundation points out that "mountains of academic studies show how government expansions reduce economic growth." A 1997 study in Public Finance Review, for example, concluded that "higher total government expenditure, no matter how financed, is associated with a lower growth rate."

    Real-world evidence of the inefficacy of pump-priming abounds. For starters, there was last year's massive increase in federal spending, including $105 billion in tax rebates and more than $300 billion in "emergency" spending, not to mention passage of the $700 billion financial-sector bailout. None of it revived the economy. In the 1990s, Japan tried without success to deficit-spend its way out of recession, enacting 10 "stimulus" bills in eight years and spending trillions of yen on public infrastructure. Yet unemployment grew worse, the economy remained anemic, and Japan was left with the largest national debt in the industrialized world: 170 percent of GDP.

    Will we follow Japan's lead? US government spending is at record-busting levels, budget deficits have never been greater, and the national debt is closing in on a once-unimaginable $11 trillion. We are in over our collective head in debt, and our economy is reeling. Borrowing even more heavily will not make things better.

    Next: A new New Deal?

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  15. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  16. Old soldiers never die, they just fade away.

    The brighter the light, the quicker they fade.

    ReplyDelete
  17. The Advantages of Not being in the Superbowl.
    - The hard truth Brady has gone soft -

    Rubbing noses with Gisele Bundchen in Mexico, Tom Brady is trying the patience of his hard-nosed idolators everywhere. (Flynetpictures.com)

    Aliens have overtaken Tom Brady's body. He's not the guy we thought we knew.

    Brady and BundchenYesterday was the last straw. You know what I'm talking about. You opened your newspaper (or perhaps viewed online) and saw the photograph of Gisele Bundchen feeding Brady at poolside in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

    That did it. The tipping point. The coup de grace. The shark jumped.

    She was feeding him.

    We put up with a lot. We were OK with Tom as Gisele's errand boy, Tom bringing home the flowers, Tom walking Gisele's dog. We were good with Tom and Gisele canoodling in the candlelight, holding hands coming out of a restaurant.

    But you simply cannot have your quarterback being fed like an infant at poolside. Remember, people - this is a football player we're talking about. This is your quarterback. Think there's any photographic evidence of Johnny Unitas being spoon-fed? Bet Slingin' Sammy Baugh's wife never tried to sling any hash into his mouth.

    Gisele was feeding him. Think of Tom Cruise jumping up and down on Oprah's couch. Think of Mike Dukakis in the tank. This was worse.

    Ever see a high school player injured in the middle of the game and have his mother run onto the field to hover over him? That's what this is like. A guy might never recover.

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  18. That any of us should suffer so, doug.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Best Stimulus:
    Homebuyers' Tax Credit


    By Dennis Byrne

    Last October, I said that the $700 billion bailout package, known as TARP, would become the biggest flimflam ever pulled on the American public.

    I was wrong. It will be overshadowed by President Barack Obama's $825 billion stimulus package as the biggest swindle ever--doing nothing more than ladling out uncounted billions to the same old government contractors, political cronies and well-lobbied special interest groups for years to come.

    It will prove to be about as effective at reigniting the economy as the TARP program has been, which is to say a criminal waste of taxpayers' money for generations to come. All those repeated, but ignored, warnings that the TARP billions would disappear down a financial black hole have come true.

    A Wall Street Journal analysis (subscription required) reveals that the lending at the nation's largest banks actually declined after they received $148 billion to help unfreeze the credit market. Only three of the 13 largest banks increased lending after receiving billions of dollars. It turns out that a lot of the money went, as was feared, to bank acquisitions and other financial finagling deals.

    ReplyDelete
  20. With a New Body,
    It may happen @ anytime.
    - Walter Mitty

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  21. But let's just say, as do the panic-stricken, that markets no longer work, and that government must intervene. All right, but is building a highway, selling more condoms and financing energy-generating windmills, the quickest, most efficient and most direct way to increase housing sales?

    No, it's not. What's needed is getting prospective buyers back into the market. A direct subsidy could do that. Those who remember the seemingly forgotten Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 might be saying, "We tried that and it didn't work." The act did sound good--it provided a First-time Homebuyer Tax Credit of up to $7,500. But, according to surveys conducted by NAR, the credit isn't working as well as hoped because homebuyers have to pay the tax credit back within 15 years. When first-time homebuyers hear about the repayment requirement, they lose interest, and don't buy.

    Now, instead, the association and others are advocating a "non-refundable" credit, as contained in Senate Bill 253, recently introduced by Senator Johnny Isakson (R-Georgia). It would expand the tax credit to all homebuyers and the credit would not have to be repaid unless the home is resold in three years. Yes, it would be somewhat more expensive than the current credit, but its backers say the program would pay for itself in terms of a rekindled housing market, higher gross national product and increased government revenues.

    It certainly would be a lot cheaper than blindly scattering $850 billion or more across the country without any clear purpose.

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  22. "If had not become Secretary, he probably would never have paid his taxes."

    That's exactly what I was thinking, and indeed, the Senator from West Virginia voted no. Crap-O voted yea. Robert Byrd has come up in my opinion, though I still think he needs to wear a bib in the Senate chambers. At home too.

    ReplyDelete
  23. CPSIA Could Wage Severe Effects on Consumers, Retailers and the Economy

    About a month ago I wrote about the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) and what it would mean for consumers in terms of new warning labels on websites and catalogs like SteveSpanglerScience.com . Along with these informative warning labels about choking hazards, balloons and small pieces, the CPSIA requires mandatory safety testing on all products designed for children ages 12 and under. So… what does that mean for consumers, businesses and even the economy?… it may mean a significant decline in the amount of children’s product manufacturers and product on the market.

    For Steve Spangler Science, the safety of our products has always been our primary concern, and we are working diligently to meet these new safety requirements. But, steep testing costs and the scope of the safety requirements are leaving lots of companies with little choice but to close their doors when the law goes into effect on February 10, 2009.
    NationalBankruptcyDay.com is a site dedicated solely to getting the word out about the far-reaching detriments of this well-intended bill. A recent survey published on their site estimates that only 61% of American toy sellers will survive the fall-out of the CPSIA, and because current inventory can not be sold after February 10, unless it has been tested, the site also projects that approximately 70 million dollars worth of toy inventory will be disposed of in February.

    The law intends to eradicate chemicals like lead and phthalates from all children’s products in response to the international lead scare of a few years ago. Again, well-intended but the CPSIA seems to be missing it’s mark. Children’s toy manufacturers are facing testing fees of upwards of $500-$1000 for every SKU in their inventory. This applies to everyone producing or selling children’s products, including crafters, artisans and even thrift stores. Unfortunately, small businesses and individual crafters simply can’t afford this type of testing and will probably end up closing their doors on February 10th. Etsy.com is a popular web-based crafting marketplace, where vendors come together from all over the world to sell their unique handmade goods. 1,000s of these products are geared at children, and most Etsy vendors fear they have no option but to stop selling their goods because of the CPSIA ruling because they can’t afford to have every item tested.

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  24. @ Home, all is fair in love and ageing, al-Bob!
    You should know that by now!

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  25. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  26. George 'Arab American' Mitchell is enroute and President Obama calls on the Ali Baba network to deliver his message of concern for Arab sensibilities.
    Bibi, if elected, is ready to remove at least some of the Israeli controlled impediments to Palistinan economic prosperity.

    Peace in our time.
    At least 7 years worth.

    How Al-Arabiya Got the Obama Interview

    By Scott MacLeod / Cairo

    When Melhem's bosses in Dubai got a feeler from the White House on Sunday, it seemed that al-Arabiya was about to get an exclusive interview not with Obama but with new Middle East envoy George Mitchell. The previous Friday, Melhem began pressing for an interview with Mitchell after learning from his sources that the former U.S. senator and Nothern Ireland peace negotiator was heading to the Middle East almost immediately. The White House told al-Arabiya execs to be ready for a major interview on Monday. (See pictures of Barack Obama's campaign behind the scenes.)

    Shortly before 9 a.m., Melhem knew from the caller I.D. on his Blackberry that the White House was phoning him. As Melhem remembers it, "This man says, 'My name is so and so, and I'm either going to make your day or ruin your day. Would you like to chat with the President about 5 p.m. today?' I joked, 'I guess I can accommodate the President.'"

    Melhem says there was apparently an internal debate in the White House about whether it was the right time for Obama to grant an interview to the Arab media, but that when the decision was made, several advisors had recommended it be granted to al-Arabiya.

    ReplyDelete
  27. "the credit isn't working as well as hoped because homebuyers have to pay the tax credit back within 15 years. When first-time homebuyers hear about the repayment requirement, they lose interest, and don't buy."
    ---
    Even the Progressive/Socialist Dems are Fiscal Conservatives when it comes to their plebian retinue (us)
    Joe the Plumber must pay.
    Timothy Geithner must BE PAID.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Ooh, my little pretty one, my pretty one
    When you gonna give me some time, Sharona
    Ooh, you make my motor run, my motor run
    Got it comin' off o' the line, Sharona

    Never gonna stop, give it up, such a dirty mind
    I always get it up for the touch of the younger kind
    My, my, my, aye-aye, whoa!
    M-m-m-my Sharona

    Come a little closer, huh, a-will ya, huh?
    Close enough to look in my eyes, Sharona
    Keepin' it a mystery, it gets to me
    Runnin' down the length of my thigh, Sharona

    Never gonna stop, give it up, such a dirty mind
    I always get it up for the touch of the younger kind
    My, my, my, aye-aye, whoa!
    M-m-m-my Sharona
    M-m-m-my Sharona

    When you gonna give to me, a gift to me
    Is it just a matter of time, Sharona?
    Is it d-d-destiny, d-destiny
    Or is it just a game in my mind, Sharona?

    Never gonna stop, give it up, such a dirty mind
    I always get it up for the touch of the younger kind
    My, my, my, aye-aye, whoa!
    M-m-m-m-m-m-m-my, my, my, aye-aye, whoa!
    M-m-m-my Sharona

    M-m-m-my Sharona
    M-m-m-my Sharona

    Ooooooo-ohhh, my Sharona
    Ooooooo-ohhh, my Sharona
    Ooooooo-ohhh, my Sharona

    ReplyDelete
  29. (Dedicated to Chris Matthews, and his main squeeze, the Messiah.)

    ReplyDelete
  30. Those beauties in the preceeding post prancing, dancing, entrancing on the lighted walkway are enhanced sign stimulae that activate certain innate releasing mechanisms in the male, and sometimes, female, of our species, causing a restricting of the blood circulation in and to certain organs, a circumstance which has over time been taken advantage of by the advertisers and merchants of our population, in a learned and profitable response to the phenomena.

    ------

    Russia is reported to have cancelled the deployment of some missiles to Kaliningrad in response to Obama's nixing the small missile defense shield slated for Poland and Czechoslovakia. Course, they can truck the missiles in at any time in a couple hours if they want. Or, just hide them in a building.

    ReplyDelete
  31. "Keepin' it a mystery, it gets to me
    Runnin' down the length of my thigh, Sharona
    "

    ReplyDelete
  32. The Stimulus Fight You Should Be Watching

    Dan Gerstein, 01.28.09, 12:01 AM EST

    Democrats may be Obama's biggest obstacle.

    ...
    My prediction: Obama will wisely turn to the Senate to rescue his rescue package from a partisan breakdown that would undermine his promise of change.

    He will not press for any more concessions from House leaders and let them push through their bill this week with only modest Republican support. He'll take the minor hit he's certain to get for failing to deliver a consensus on this critical test vote for the sake of intra-party harmony. That's the signal he sent during Tuesday's meeting with House Republicans, when he said he would oppose adding more tax cuts to the House bill.

    Once that hurdle is cleared, Obama will ramp up his bipartisan negotiations with the Senate on a compromise bill that will preserve his priorities, include more tax cuts (like the ones proposed by Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Max Baucus) and pare down some of the bureaucratic and social spending that are not essential to Democratic interests or critical to Obama's long-term investment agenda. Those moves will be enough to defuse the potential for a filibuster and could get upwards of 70 to 80 votes.

    The real test will be the process of reconciling the two different bills in conference--and convincing the House Democrats they need to sacrifice some of the pet programs that are hard to justify as part of an emergency rescue plan. Then we'll see just how strong Obama's mandate for change really is.


    Dan Gerstein, a political communications consultant and commentator based in New York, is the founder and president of Gotham Ghostwriters. He formerly served as communications director to Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn.,

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  33. Aquavelvejad demands USA apologize over past bad behavior.

    Will Obama comply?

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  34. Chris Matthews needs mental Depends.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Too often we have dictated.
    Now is the time to masturbate,
    ...our Muslim Brothers.

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  36. Of course, bob, the real story of Geithner annd those taxes is plain as day.

    He was audited and paid the taxes, penalties and interest on 2 of the 5 years he had not paid the self-employment taxes (FICA).
    Geithner and the IRS knew he had not paid in the other 3 years, but the IRS could not force Geithner, legally, to pay it. Geithner did not pay for those 3 years, not the tax nor any penalties nor intersest that would acrued, if he had been legally obligated to pay.

    He did not pay those back taxes until nominated for the Treasury top spot.

    That is the common consensus of those I speak to that care enough to be knowledgable.

    Seems that it can pay to be 'forgetful' about your tax liabilities, if you are not in line for a Federal job.

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  37. "Seems that it can pay to be 'forgetful' about your tax liabilities, if you are not in line for a Federal job."
    ---
    If you ARE in line for a Federal job?

    ReplyDelete
  38. Shine the light on US support of the 1953 Iranian coup?

    Obama will have no problem apologizing for that.

    Shine the light on US support of Saddam during the Iran/Iraq War?

    Obama will have no problem apologizing for that.

    Shine the light on US support of World Bank funding of projects in Iran.

    Obama will have no problem apologizing for that.

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  39. Geithner and the IRS knew he had not paid in the other 3 years, but the IRS could not force Geithner, legally, to pay it.

    Why not? Was he obligated on the three years, or not?

    Is there some kind of 'three year rule' or something, on FICA taxes? A 'forgetfulness three year rule'?

    Anyways, we don't want a man with such a poor memory running Treasury, do we?

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  40. Obama won't, probably right.

    Iran was better off under the Shah, ask the women of Iran, if they can remember that far back, at this later date.

    What they need is the return of Son of Shah.

    Better yet, an honest election, with the candidates not picked by the mullahs, and no coercion.

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  41. If the applicant's job is reported above the fold, doug, they end up paying. But normal folk, like the fellow I know that 'forgot' to file for 30 years, they only pay the on the last 3 years, when caught. Unless they are nominated for a Cabinet position.

    Not particpating with the IRS for most of his adult life paid off well, for him. Others are beginning to catch the drift, now that Geithner has made the scam of forgetting to fully particpate with the IRS respectable.

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  42. Yes, bob.
    There is a three year window for civil recovery.
    It could be extended with criminal prosecution, I think.

    But if the IRS does not prosecute life long tax cheats, who amongst US will they prosecute, that reside below the fold?

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  43. If all that makes someone pay their taxes is fear of prosecution, rather than patriotic duty, the greater the propensity to not pay.

    In that regard Vice President Biden was correct

    "It's time to be patriotic . . . time to jump in, time to be part of the deal, time to help get America out of the rut," Biden said

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  44. Into retirement, aye?

    Wed Jan 28, 07:01:00 AM EST

    Who do you think I was referring to?

    ReplyDelete
  45. Your other half, of course.

    Was I mistaken?

    ReplyDelete
  46. If not him, then one of the Bobs?

    Always so cryptic

    Were the victims at Blockbuster selected targets or just unlucky.

    Politics or criminal extorition?

    ReplyDelete
  47. One of the Bobs? No.




    Blockbuster was FARC. Thought maybe they didn't pay their protection dues (that's quite a racket here) but it was political. Bigger bomb than the last ones.

    I have a lunch date and I don't even know if I'm allowed to go.

    My mother's horrified that I would attempt to leave the apartment.

    Unless and until I am notified otherwise, the sun is shining and it's a gorgeous day for lunch out.

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  48. What this asshole did was pure fraud.
    ==

    This is organized crime. What Thain did is pay the people that put him there. Same as goes on in Washington every day.



    Wiki:

    Before he came to Merrill, Thain was the CEO of the New York Stock Exchange and served as president, chief operating officer, and chief financial officer at Goldman Sachs.

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  49. The major players do seem to revolve around Goldman Sachs, don't they?

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  50. Mat, more, much more than the Board at Merrill come from Goldman Sachs at some point. Heck, even the present Bank of Canada governor is ex-Goldman. Hank Paulson...

    Plenty of fodder for conspiracy theory.

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  51. To honor a fellow that paid more than his fair share. His patriotism did not stop at his wallet.

    And finally, if you notice the arrangement of the 13 stars in the right-hand circle you will see that they are arranged as a Star of David.
    This was ordered by George Washington who, when he asked Hayim Solomon, a wealthy Philadelphia Jew, what he would like as a personal reward for his services to the Continental Army, it was his money that funded the American Revolution, Solomon said he wanted nothing for himself but that he would like something for his people. The Star of David was the result. Few people know that it was Solomon who saved the Army through his financial contributions and that he impoverished himself with his patriotic contributions and died a pauper


    Some gave all
    Others wrote a check

    All heros of the Revolution

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  52. Plenty of fodder for conspiracy theory.
    ==

    I don't care where the criminals came from. I care where those who were supposed to oversee these criminal were. It's very obvious to me, that there where/are legions and legions of co-conspirators involved here. None of the oversight that was supposed to be applied was applied. The whole system is one huge machinery of organized crime and corruption. From POTUS down to the lowliest ranks.

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  53. Not only did regulations get written out of law but regulations still on the books were never consistently applied. The overseers also seem to have come from the same place as those to be overseen regulated by a government sourced also from the same pool. The revolving door goes round and round.

    ReplyDelete
  54. Poor English
    Is Canuckistan a Rogue State?

    ReplyDelete
  55. "Heck, even the present Bank of Canada governor is ex-Goldman. "
    ---
    Heck even my nephew, an LAUSD Grad, is PRESENT Goldman-Sucks, and here am I, UC Sucks.
    What is the Whirreled Coming Too?

    ReplyDelete
  56. ohmigod they are everywhere! wait, let me check under my bed...

    ReplyDelete
  57. DR: Some gave all
    Others wrote a check
    All heros of the Revolution


    What a backhanded complement...

    And knowing Rat's past comments anti-semitic to boot...

    "Some gave all,
    Others wrote a check, and died a pauper so that MILLIONS could be free....

    All heros of the Revolution

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  58. Not pro-Israeli, as a matter of course, wi"o", it has nothing to do with folks speaking Abrahamic languages.

    I do not have much use for giving 19th century propagandists from Germany the benefit of redefining the English language.

    But I am not anti-Israeli or anti-Jew for that matter. I think I see the situation in a pretty unbiased manner.

    Like the Swiss Government and that of the United States's Envoy to the Region and by extension, it's President.

    Seeing as how I agree with the rhetoric of the Israeli leaders, but do not see that rhetoric turned into action, at either extreme of War & Peace.

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  59. Perhaps impoverishement is more of a sacrifice than dying.
    Bernie Madoff may find that to be the case, we'll see.

    In any case, wi"o" the religion of Hayim Solomon had no bearing upon my perception of him or his actions, as a patriotic, volunteer taxpayer.

    That he volunteered his fortune, while others volunteered their lives. I hold Mr Solomon in no greater esteem than the men who wintered at Valley Forge. Regardless of their religion or membership in secret societies, such as the Free Masons.

    The point went to Vice President Biden's assertion that paying taxes is a vestige of patriotism, and that in times of wars and crisis, the true patriot steps up.

    Offering Lives, Fortunes, and sacred Honor, asking only for "symbolism" in return, not dithering over a few points of the tax rate.

    Regardless of the fellows religion.

    While fellows like Timothy Geithner try to profit from the sacrifices of others. Cheating the taxman, and in Geither's case, only to go on and become the Chief Tax Collector in the country.

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  60. But maybe the message, using reference to Hayim Solomon as a patriotic taxpayer, was to cryptic for you. As fixated upon your religion, as you are.

    Sorry ;)

    ReplyDelete
  61. Seeing as how I agree with the rhetoric of the Israeli leaders,..
    ==

    You don't. You turn language on its head and you turn reality on its head. Your interpretations as they relate to Israel and Jews were shown to be malicious and absurd on more than one occasion. Further, your obsession with the topic tells me that this is a deep-seeded issue in your psyche, hardy the stuff of someone who is unbiased.

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  62. That is only true from the biased viewpoint you hold, mat.

    It clearly is not the case from my perspective. That of the UN, or the Geneva Accords.

    I rely on the statements that current and past Prime Ministers, Defense Ministers, Foreign Ministers and candidates for Prime Minister, in Israel have made.

    If an Israeli Prime Minister can remove impediments to Palistinain economic progress, it can only be because the Israeli control those impediments. And have for 40 years.

    If the Israeli Defence Minister calls for 'Total War' against Hamas, I'd support that, but killing between 2.5 and 5% of the Hamas fighters and withdrawing is not victory in a 'Total War'.

    The Israeli sign proposals to stop the expansion of the settlements in the disputed areas, then do not.
    I support the signing, the rhetoric, but think the Israeli should stop expanding the settlements.

    They should stop the expansion dispite of the Arab provocations.

    ReplyDelete
  63. I chose not to ratify the works of Wilhelm Marr (1819–1904) was a German agitator and publicist, who coined the term "antisemitism".

    That the targets of the smear embrace it, just shows the strength of Wilhelm's ability to twist language on it's head.

    ReplyDelete
  64. But the other day you were complaining about the number of women and children the Israelis had killed in the current operation. How are they supposed to institute "total war" under the circumstances you would demand? The number of women and children killed in "total war" presumably would be much higher.

    Is it all right to kill women and children in "total war"--kind of sounds like it might be, given the common understanding of "total"--but not in the current situation, where they are sometimes used as human shields?

    But, I give up.

    ReplyDelete
  65. It clearly is not the case from my perspective. That of the UN, or the Geneva Accords.
    ==

    BS. If the Geneva Accords were followed, Hamas/Fatah/Islamic Jihad/Hezzbbollah/etc would all long ago be facing war crimes charges and put to death. As far as the UN, the fact that you see nothing wrong with the one-sided condemnations/resolutions along with the systemic discrimination against Israel speaks volumes as to your unbiased position.

    Whether you actually believe your BS or not, I don't know and I don't care. But your sophist's exercises bore me.

    ReplyDelete
  66. Success, bob, is the standard of performance.

    As ash noted a day or so ago, I would have no problem moving all the Gazans into Eygpt, Push 'em all up the coast, or they die in place.

    That would end the War.

    But to kill a few hundred Hamas operatives, while killng some number of hundreds of civilians in the process and then withdrawing by Day One of the New Age of Obama.

    That was a needless provocation of the Arabs and their allies in Europe.

    It did not end the War, it only gave Obama/Mitchell the fulcrum they needed to leverage their proposals.

    ReplyDelete
  67. They should stop the expansion dispite of the Arab provocations.
    ==

    Why? So the US can show how powerful it is in bullying Israel while funding Jihadists to the tune of trillions? Fsck off.

    ReplyDelete
  68. It is also evident, bob, that the Israeli are not going to displace those Gazans, now.

    I have supported, rhetoricly, that Jordan take the West Bank and Gaza returns to Eygpt.

    But that would require going back to the pre1967 lines and creating the new borders, there.

    It is doubtful that the Israeli would agree to that, without coersion. But that would be better, I think, than allowing the creation of a Pali State. Which is in the cards, or some type of Unifed Israel, with all the Palis given citizenship. That was Mr Olmert's fear.

    I concur with him, as would anyone concerned for Israel's long term existance as a sectarian based State.

    Short of the 1967 borders, there will be serious proposals to go back to the future

    The 1947 UN proposal for internationalizing Jerusalem as a "corpus separatum," under UN General Assembly Resolution 181 (II), was only a non-binding recommendation which was rejected by the Palestinian Arabs and the Arab states by the use of force. The UN did nothing when Jerusalem's Jewish population was placed under siege by invading Arab armies in 1948, so that Israel regarded the internationalization proposals as "null and void." Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, established Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in 1950.

    Israel may have to reconsider that 'null and void' decision.

    Obama believes "Jerusalem is a final status issue, which means it has to be negotiated between the two parties" as part of "an agreement that they both can live with."

    "Two principles should apply to any outcome," which the adviser gave as: "Jerusalem remains Israel's capital and it's not going to be divided by barbed wire and checkpoints as it was in 1948-1967."

    He refused, however, to rule out other configurations, such as the city also serving as the capital of a Palestinian state or Palestinian sovereignty over Arab neighborhoods.

    "Beyond those principles, all other aspects are for the two parties to agree at final status negotiations,"


    from the JPost.

    ReplyDelete
  69. Now, before one discounts internationalizing the Jerusalem issue, the Israeli have already proposed a version of it, in 2001.

    The last chapter of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations during the Barak period took place in Taba, Egypt, during the latter part of January 2001. Unlike the Camp David summit and the Clinton Plan, the Taba negotiations were mostly bilateral, with only a low-level American diplomatic presence. The Taba negotiations illustrated the problem Israeli negotiators had in reading Palestinian positions. Foreign Minister Ben-Ami asserted that the parties "had never been closer to an agreement." Yet the Palestinians presented a completely contradictory assessment; Saeb Ereqat said that Taba "emphasized the size of the gap between the positions of the two sides." It appeared that throughout the negotiating process from Camp David to Taba, Israeli and American assessments of the Palestinians were based more on wishful thinking than on hard analysis:

    The Palestinians appeared to have taken a harder line on many issues in comparison to what Israeli negotiators had anticipated, including settlement blocs.

    Israeli negotiators tested with the Palestinians the idea of creating a special international regime for the "Holy Basin" -- an area including the Old City and some areas outside the walls including the Mount of Olives cemetery. The Palestinians rejected the proposal, insisting on Palestinian sovereignty instead.

    ReplyDelete
  70. The Palistinians would have to settle for less than desired, no one will be happy.

    But how else can Barack Obama gain the status of an Abraham Lincoln?

    ReplyDelete
  71. Power corrupts, mat
    Israel used its' power to impede the Palistinians, the US is going to use its' to 'even the playing field'.

    As wi"o" pleasures in telling us, the Israeli enjoy a huge power differental over the Palistinians.

    Well, Barck Hussein Obama holds the same kind of disproportional power over Israel.

    The US always has held that disporportional power advantage, but now, the position of the US is in the midst of Change.

    It should be interesting to watch, that's for sure, pass that pop corn and pork rinds, will ya?

    ReplyDelete
  72. Well we aren't far apart, it seems. Sometimes your rhetoric comes over as a little confusing. Trouble is, the solutions that actually solve something don't seem to be in the cards. Situation intractable. So we drift along, with Iran getting the bomb. The Russians and Putin are short sighted fools, I think, helping the Iranians. What their geopolitical benefit long term in this is I can't fathom. They ought to be teaming up with the west and the EU. Anyway, that's what I'd do.

    I just can't figure them out. Help Iran, and give them a missile defense, then the next day a story says they are going to allow transit of our materials into Afghanistan through areas they control.

    On another topic, unnoticed, just the other day another story out about nuclear secrets being stolen from our nuclear labs. Guy is to get 10 years, is all.

    ReplyDelete
  73. Here's an idea whose time may have come---we hardly use the mail anymore anyway, paying most of the bills online--

    Postmaster Gen'l: Mail delivery may need to be cut

    Jan 28 02:59 PM US/Eastern



    WASHINGTON (AP) - Postmaster General John Potter says the massive deficits facing the post office could force the agency to cut out one day of mail delivery per week.
    In testimony for a congressional panel Wednesday, Potter asked for an end to the requirement that the agency deliver mail six days a week.

    Faced with dwindling mail volume and rising costs, the post office was $2.8 billion in the red last year.

    ---

    I could live without Saturday mail delivery. I could live with Monday, Wednesday, Friday mail delivery. Don't know about the legal system though. They have deadlines, and the number of business days, etc. to send forms, complaints, responses, etc.

    ReplyDelete
  74. It is not intractable, bob, there just are not ways forward that please everyone.

    So the way forward is to displease everyone.

    The Ethiopians have proven themselves capable, the Turks are Nato members. They with France and Italy, all four with historic ties to the Levant.
    The perfect mix for a security force that maintains nuetrality and the rule of law.

    ReplyDelete
  75. Remembering George With Humour In Our Hearts

    I always like an inverted umbrella photo, always brings a laugh to simple old me.

    ReplyDelete
  76. #12 isn't bad, #21 good inverted umbrella photo.

    ReplyDelete
  77. Hen pecked?

    Hen peckered?

    Isn't a female turkey a hen?

    Is that a hen?

    ReplyDelete
  78. WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner picked a former Goldman Sachs lobbyist as a top aide Tuesday, the same day he announced rules aimed at reducing the role of lobbyists in agency decisions.

    Mark Patterson will serve as Geithner’s chief of staff at Treasury, which oversees the government’s $700 billion financial bailout program. Goldman Sachs received $10 billion of that money.

    ReplyDelete
  79. 114' in Adelaide yesterday. 3rd hottest day on record.

    Train Lines Melt

    ReplyDelete
  80. It was 94' when I walked out the door for work early this morning. Supposed to be a similar day today.

    ReplyDelete
  81. Doesn't give you much respite. Here, jump in the Wenaha, Sam. The cool pure waters of the snowfields of the Blues, shady pines and cedars along the shore....

    ReplyDelete
  82. Ahh, feel cooler already. Thanks, Bob!

    ReplyDelete
  83. Two Classics, Bobal!
    - Politics, South Korea-style -

    George W. Bush The lamest duck ever

    I can still laugh @ the goofy fuck, even though I regard him as the touchy-feeley "WELCOMING" Spineless-Ass TRAITOR that gave away our country.

    ReplyDelete
  84. W's 1st Class Slapstick is the only remnant of the late, great days when he was a full blown Alky.

    ...instead of the Devout Fucking WUSS he turned out to be.
    Barbara must be proud.

    ReplyDelete
  85. Those Korean Guys Bring back the Best of Peter Sellers in what remains of my mind.

    ReplyDelete
  86. @ BC:
    Cosmeau Bugleweed:

    Poo on Popular Mechanics, in 1955 all the smart guys were reading Popular Science.

    Cost the same and in ‘57 they gave you the plans for an 8 foot speedyboat you made out of 2 sheets of plywood and popsicle sticks.

    I built one in ‘57 and pissed off all the neighbours on the lake with the noise from an open-exhaust 15hp Evinrude on the back. I was 13 then and I’m still sailing.

    But let me tell you about my ‘56 Morris Minor that I rebuilt with bailing wire and a ball peen hammer…

    Jan 28, 2009 - 1:44 pm

    8. Doug:

    The Dream Car I never had was a Minor Convertible.
    …looked like a Peter Sellers Baby Carriage.
    …with Austin Healy Sprite Dual Carbs, of course.

    …you remind me:
    I built a redwood strip canoe from PM Plans.
    Having no electricity, I cut the strips with my 8 hp Briggs and Stratton (Roto-Tiller) Powered Table Saw.

    Those were the Days…

    ReplyDelete
  87. ...but I became more (in)famous for my Wood-Fired, Water-Cooled Oven.
    A real hit with the Little Wymin.

    ReplyDelete
  88. January 28, 2009 - 11:29am
    AP
    WASHINGTON -- After his daughters got a snow day Wednesday, President Barack Obama wants to see a little bit of "flinty, Chicago toughness" applied locally.

    "When it comes to the weather, folks in Washington don't seem to be able to handle things," a joking Obama told reporters Wednesday morning.

    "My children's school was canceled today because of what? Some ice."






    Making fun of a cherished Metro tradition. Man, that's just...cold.

    ReplyDelete
  89. Nakedcapitalism.com:

    [...]

    Last night, we reported that the International Institute of Finance was calling for a global GDP contraction for 2009. The IMF today, while not going as far as the IIF, got about as downbeat as one could expect them to be, predicting a marked contraction in advanced economies. From the Financial Times:
    [T]he International Monetary Fund increased its estimate of credit losses on US-based assets from $1,400bn to $2,200bn. It also said world output, measured at market exchange rates, would fall in 2009 for the first time since the second world war. Weighted by purchasing power, growth would be very slightly positive.

    The new growth forecasts mark a huge revision – down by more than 1.5 percentage points – from the IMF’s previous forecast for the year in spite of the inclusion of the fiscal stimulus efforts by governments into its predictions for the first time. Advanced economies, the IMF predicted, would contract 2 per cent in 2009 with the UK hit hardest.

    In Geneva, the International Labour Organization said the global recession would lead to a “dramatic increase” in unemployment this year, which would certainly lead to 18m-30m additional unemployed and more than 50m “if the situation continues to deteriorate”.




    Place your bets on either side of the "if."

    ReplyDelete
  90. Bob Munden out of Butte, Montana, fastest gun in the west.

    Good hour long video of this self promoter tonight at my CWP class.

    Crockett and Tubbs wouldn't stand a chance.

    ReplyDelete
  91. Foreign Policy blog:

    Italy has taken its fair share of losses in the current economic downturn. However, the damage hasn't been severe enough to elevate it to one of the top five countries that we fear could become the next Iceland. In scanning the reddit comments on our list, I noted one Italian with a hilarious explanation for why Italy hasn't been more affected:

    "We (Italy) are somewhat not in this mess because our banks did not understand the last 5 years of finance and did not pretend to understand it, so they stayed out. We are now in the spot where stupidity and luck meet."



    Hey, I know that spot! Been there a number of times.

    ReplyDelete
  92. Its a sorry dog that won't wag its own tail comments

    Tyrants of the World Rejoice

    We are now in the spot where stupidity and luck meet

    Would that it be so for America.

    Obama's going to be the worst thing that has happened to America.

    ReplyDelete
  93. That's impressive alright, bob. I should put up a video of myself at the range. Just for, ah, compare and contrast purposes.






    Also from Foreign Policy blog:

    When sorry's not enough for Iran
    Wed, 01/28/2009 - 7:10pm

    Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's demand today for a U.S. apology for " past crimes" against Iran reminded me of this bit from Geneive Abdo's recent FP piece on "Why Not to Engage Iran (Yet)" in which she remembers the last time the U.S. came close to apologizing to the Islamic Republic:

    Each time an end to Iran’s estrangement with the United States appears to be in sight, various competing political factions try to ensure that it happens on their watch. Back in March 2000, when Mohammad Khatami was president, then U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright came close to apologizing to Iran for the United States’ involvement in Iran’s 1953 CIA-backed coup. “[I]t is easy to see now why many Iranians continue to resent this intervention by America in their internal affairs,” Albright said.

    Instead of celebrating the historic gesture, Khatami’s rivals condemned the United States for not going far enough in extending a direct apology. I was living in Iran at that time and was able to witness up close the great fear among conservatives that Khatami and his reform movement would gain all the praise and harvest all the political capital for an improvement in relations with the United States. Thanks to these conservatives and the United States’ second thoughts, this never happened...

    ReplyDelete
  94. And lest it be completely overlooked: Saturday is election day in Iraq. Tight lid on everything.

    As a matter of fact, that seems to be the general rule in Iraq. Tight lid on everything. They've not yet switched gears from the hot war. Institutional lag, what can you do?

    ReplyDelete
  95. Coleman and Frankenstein are still fighting it out, and it seems Coleman may still have a chance, against the stacked odds. Let's remember Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Alan Page's input in all this. News below--


    Official: Minn. Voters ‘Absolutely’ Disenfranchised

    Wednesday, January 28, 2009 10:59 PM

    By: David A. Patten




    GOP Sen. Norm Coleman’s attorneys pried a key admission from Minnesota’s assistant secretary of state Wednesday, who said some voters “absolutely” had their votes improperly taken away during the controversial recount that awarded the lead to Democratic challenger Al Franken.

    “It’s something I had no control over,” testified election official Jim Gelbmann, referring to a controversial ruling that effectively gave each campaign the right to veto absentee ballots that they didn’t want counted. “It was an order by the Supreme Court.”

    Gelbmann’s admission on day three of the election contest, which is being tried in St. Paul before a three-judge panel, appeared to support contentions of the Coleman legal team that the recount process was seriously flawed.

    Coleman’s attorneys say different standards on what constituted a valid vote were applied throughout the state. They also maintain some ballots were counted twice.

    Franken’s legal team has admitted the process wasn’t perfect, but they say any errors were minor and would not justify changing the election’s outcome. The recount began with Coleman holding a 215-vote lead, and concluded with him trailing Franken by 225 votes.

    During Gelbmann’s cross examination, Franken’s lawyers stormed back, eliciting testimony that suggested Coleman’s team only raised concerns over rejected absentee ballots after it fell behind in the vote count.

    Gelbmann’s testimony also suggested Coleman’s team initially had agreed to vote recount procedures that they later found objectionable.

    Two important issues remain pending before the panel. The first is how to go about collecting original, rejected absentee ballots from city and county election officials statewide. It became necessary to obtain the actual ballots when the court upheld a Franken motion on Monday that copies of the ballots were inadequate.

    The second issue pending is a motion to restrict the review of ballots to the 654 that Coleman initially said has been improperly rejected.

    “I doubt the court will grant that motion,” Sarah Cherry, an election law expert observing the election contest, tells Newsmax. “They have been pretty generous in allowing all the evidence in, but have noted that they, of course, will only give the evidence the weight they think it deserves.”

    It is believed the Coleman-Franken election contest will continue into mid-February, and possibly into March.

    ReplyDelete
  96. We are now in the spot where stupidity and luck meet."

    Tis a Sweet Spot, Indeed.

    ReplyDelete
  97. The Shit must really be hitting the fan:
    Just found out my nephew lost his job with Goldman Sucks.
    Likes fish/fishing so got a job w/a fresh fish outfit.
    Now the restaurants are shifting to frozen, to save on cost, so he lost that one too.
    Luckily, he has a pretty sizeable nestegg, but if he gets hit by superinflation down the road, he'll have been shot in the back yet again!
    Sweet Spot, indeed!

    ReplyDelete
  98. My new democratic congressman, Minnick, voted against the stimulus package in the House. A vote of pure fear on his part. One of only 11 dems to do so.

    ReplyDelete
  99. You're in a cold spell, Sam.

    And, what's 156 degrees Fahrenheit in comparison to attaining androgyny?




    "When the boys have died their death to childhood and survived their painful metamorphosis into incarnations of the original androgynous being, they are told that they have no further operations to fear.....

    The great festival of initiatory rites at the conclusion of which the double tjurunga is exposed is known as the Engwura ceremony, and the detailed account of its pantomimes in the work of Spencer and Gillen occupies more than 100 pages. The ceremonies are conducted by a number of tribal groups, which have come together with some eighteen or twenty young men to be initiated, and the festal spirit, growing greater and greater from week to week, keeps the whole company, by some miracle of the gods, from collapsing in sheer fatigue. The daytime temperature at times reaches a broiling hundred and fifty-six degrees Fahrenheit;(*83--Spencer and Gillen); nevertheless, the rites go on unabated, and if anyone dies of sunstroke the blame is placed on the black magic of some alien tribe."

    Joseph Campbell "The Masks of God: Primitive Mythology" The Imprints of Experience

    ReplyDelete
  100. The Israeli imposed impediements to Palistinian economic vitality remain firmly in place.

    GAZA, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Whole streets lie in ruins, many thousands of Palestinians are homeless after weeks of Israeli bombing and foreign aid cash is piling up. As a builder in the Gaza Strip, this should be Anwar al-Sahabani's big moment.

    Instead, though, he sits at home, angry and sad, not just at the wounds he suffered on the first day of bombardment, but with frustration at being denied the basic supplies he needs to start rebuilding. Israel will not let in cement, steel pipes and other materials it says its Hamas enemies might use to make war.

    "The fighting stopped over a week ago but people are still sleeping in the open air," said Sahabani, whose firm employs up to 100 craftsmen and labourers when working at full capacity.

    "We should have started reconstruction the day the war ended. But we have no supplies." His men, like him, sit idle, he said: "I am sad and angry and I feel a pain beyond words."

    Along the 45 km (30-mile) strip of Mediterranean coastline, half-finished construction sites stand silent, and, amid the ruins left by this month's violence, families are building makeshift wood-and-plastic shelters to escape the cold.

    "For two years now, we have not been able to build," Sahabani said of an Israeli embargo going back to 2007. "God knows what will happen now to the people who lost their homes."

    Across town, Nabeel al-Zaeem, understands. His Palestinian Commercial Services Co. is Gaza's top importer of cement.

    Only these days, he has no cement.

    "We need cement to rebuild the Gaza Strip, because of the Israeli offensive and the comprehensive destruction," he said on a quiet morning this week at his office overlooking Gaza's blockade-hit fishing port. "But we have no raw materials."

    ReplyDelete
  101. Two pieces one of news, one of opinion. The news confirming the opinion.

    First, the news, from the BBC

    Iraq ends licence for Blackwater

    Iraq will not renew the licence of US security firm Blackwater, which was involved in an 2007 incident in which at least 14 civilians were killed.

    An interior ministry spokesman said the US embassy had been told it will have to use another security company.


    Then the opinion from the NYTimes


    After the War on Terror

    By ROGER COHEN

    In his first White House televised interview, with the Al Arabiya news network based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, President Obama buried the lead: The war on terror is over.

    Yes, the with-us-or-against-us global struggle — the so-called Long War — in which a freedom-loving West confronts the undifferentiated forces of darkness comprising everything from Al Qaeda to elements of the Palestinian national struggle under the banner of “Islamofascism” has been terminated.

    What’s left is what matters: defeating terrorist organizations. That’s not a war. It’s a strategic challenge.

    The new president’s abandonment of post-9/11 Bush doctrine is a critical breakthrough. It resolves nothing but opens the way for a rapprochement with a Muslim world long cast into the “against-us” camp. Nothing good in Israel-Palestine, Afghanistan or Iran could happen with that Manichean chasm.

    Obama said, “The language we use matters.” It does. He said he would be “very clear in distinguishing between organizations like Al Qaeda — that espouse violence, espouse terror and act on it — and people who may disagree with my administration and certain actions, or may have a particular viewpoint in terms of how their countries should develop. We can have legitimate disagreements but still be respectful.”
    ...
    Obama went further. Citing Muslim members of his own family and his experience of life in a Muslim country (Indonesia), he repositioned the national interest and his own role.

    He defined his task as convincing Muslims that “Americans are not your enemy” and persuading Americans that respect for a Muslim world is essential.
    His objective, he said, was to promote not only American interests but those of ordinary people — read Muslims — suffering from “poverty and a lack of opportunity."

    ReplyDelete
  102. Obama may just support Bibi, he's promised to remove those Israeli imposed impediments to Palistinian economic opportunity.

    Then, after that, a reasonable assessment of Palistinian capabilities can be made, as the results of the past forty years are the results of the Israeli administration of the Palistinian territories.
    They have been in charge, in Gaza and the West Bank for the past 41 years, now. The results are primarily their and US responsibility.
    The US gaining responsibility through its' continued economic support of Eygpt, Jordan, the UN and of course Israel.

    Maintaining what mat describes as "Commie Military Mafias" in all four of the Recipients.

    ReplyDelete
  103. Oh, let us not forget the support we have provided to the Palistinians, themselves, directly.

    ReplyDelete
  104. American Leadership, in our Envoy, George Mitchell is needed now, more than ever.

    Israeli Warplanes Hit Gaza Following Rockets Attack on Israel

    By VOA News
    29 January 2009

    Israeli warplanes have carried out more airstrikes on militant targets in the Gaza Strip after militants fired two rockets into southern Israel.

    Palestinian witnesses say Israeli aircraft struck the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis Thursday, wounding six Palestinians, ...

    In other airstrikes since Wednesday, Israel has attacked what it calls a weapons factory and smuggling tunnels linking Gaza with Egypt.

    ReplyDelete
  105. mat often opines that we should emulate the French, that Paris is the model.

    Today the residents of Paris are enjoying the downside of a green utopia.

    Strikes hobble services in France
    By David Jolly Published: January 29, 2009

    PARIS: Hundreds of thousands of workers went on strike Thursday across France, snarling transportation and closing post offices and schools in a sign of discontent with President Nicolas Sarkozy's response to the economic crisis.

    "I'm tired and freezing after having to wait half an hour on the platform at my station this morning," Sandrine Dermont, 34, a secretary for a wholesaling company, told LCI television in the Paris station of Gare St. Lazare. "But I'm ready to accept that if it's the cost for a movement to defend our paychecks and jobs." Dermont added that she was planning to demonstrate during her lunch break.

    Mass transit in the capital was in chaos, with service on suburban commuter lines reduced or nonexistent, and most subways and buses running well below normal frequencies.

    The Education Ministry estimated that 37 percent of teachers walked out.

    In Marseille, the country's second city, television showed buses crammed with commuters as subway service was completely interrupted.


    Across France, airports were operating at reduced capacity and flights were delayed. The rail line that serves the two Paris airports was completely shut down, stranding arriving travelers in long taxi lines.

    ReplyDelete
  106. But at leasts thousands of Parisians are not dying of heat exhaustion and dehydration, this winter.

    ReplyDelete
  107. ash had asked how much explosive tonnage the Israeli had dropped on Gaza, a few days ago. There was no one that replied to the query.

    It got me to wondering though, what tonnage had the 7,000 Hamas rockets delivered onto Israeli territiory?

    GlobalSecurity.org has the data set to figure it out, more or less.

    The Qassam-2, used primarily from 2002-2005 had a maximum range of 8-9.5km and could carry a payload of 5-9kg.

    Beginning in 2005, the Qassam-3 possessing a maximum range of 10-12km and carrying a payload of 10-20kg.

    So the conventional rockets had a payload, on average of say 15kg.

    I say conventional rockets because about half of the rounds are mortar rockets, which elijah's uav link of a few days ago informed us was about 10 lbs.

    The year 2008 saw a dramatic increase in the extent of HAMAS rocket fire and mortar attacks on Israel, with a total of 3,278 rockets and mortar shells landing in Israeli territory (1,750 rockets and 1,528 mortar shells). These numbers are double those of 2007 and 2006, years which marked a five-fold increase over prior years.

    53% are rockets @ 15kg or 33lbs
    47% are motars @ 10 lbs.

    7,000 breaks down to
    3,710 rockets @ 33 lbs = 122,430 lbs
    3290 motars @ 10 lbs = 32,900 lbs
    for a total of 155,330 lbs which when divided by 2,000 gets us to around 77 tons.
    If the mortars used are a tad larger than those the US uses in UAV applications, which could well be ... lets weigh in a 100 tons.

    In answer to ash's original question, Israel's Channel 10 News is sourced by numerous bloggers as reporting 1,000 tons of explosives were used in Cast Lead.

    ReplyDelete
  108. This is typical

    The TV military correspondent said on Saturday that the Israeli warplanes had dropped more than a thousand tons of explosives in that period.
    He reported that the shells fired by artillery, tanks, infantry and gunboats were not included in those fired by the air force.

    ReplyDelete
  109. The NYTimes reports from Gaza, seems that the Israeli report that Hamas has shipped 100 tons of explosives into Gaza since they took control. Which corresponds to the napkin figurin'

    That spirit of defiance is at the center of the Gazan psyche. Many people here do not condemn Hamas rockets, arguing vociferously that they are the only way Gaza can protect itself from Israeli aggression. The economic blockade, they argue, and the Israelis’ unwillingness to lift it, is justification for the attacks.

    “Do you think we’d be busy digging underground if there was no embargo?” said Ahmed, a tall man in a leather jacket who was overseeing work on his tunnels on Friday. “If there was no embargo, we’d have real jobs.”

    Ahmed, who did not want his last name to be used out of concern for his safety, voiced the assertions of others interviewed Friday, saying that his business had nothing to do with guns, and that his main imports were Pampers and cigarettes.

    Israel says it does not believe that, and argues that a lot of the tunnel business is contraband weapons. Maj. Avital Leibovich, the spokeswoman for the Israeli military, said that before Hamas took power in a violent struggle with its Palestinian political rival Fatah in 2007, only four tons of explosives a year were smuggled in. Since Hamas took power, the number has risen to 100 tons, she said.

    “This definitely became an industry of smuggling,” Major Leibovich said.

    Gazans argue it is out of necessity. Israel imposed an economic blockade with Hamas’s takeover, limiting the flow of goods — particularly snacks like chocolate and chips and sodas — and tripling prices. The industry also soaks up a portion of this city’s unemployed young men, who earn $100 for every meter they dig.


    Dozens of tunnels exist it seems.

    100 tons of explosives over 500 days.
    Turns out to be right around 500 lbs a day.

    The tunnels, the dozens of them, must be primarily commercial in nature. Based on the number of tunnels and the comparitively small amount of explosives required to transit each day, to account for 100 tons.

    ReplyDelete
  110. 100 tons of explosives over 500 days.
    Turns out to be right around 400 lbs a day.

    A little sloppy finger work.

    ReplyDelete
  111. AZA, Jan 29 (Reuters- Honest Version) - Whole streets lie in ruins,(Because Hamas used these streets as rocket sites) many thousands of Palestinians are homeless after weeks of Israeli bombing (however most palestinians over 1.3 million, still live in UN funded homes) and foreign aid cash is piling up. (Awaiting the Hamas to steal the majority of it) As a builder in the Gaza Strip, this should be Anwar al-Sahabani's big moment. (However Hamas is still in hiding and will not let the recovery start unless they can get their 30% cut off the top)

    Instead, though, he sits at home, angry and sad, not just at the wounds he suffered on the first day of bombardment, but with frustration at being denied the basic supplies he needs to start rebuilding. (no where else in the world do people waiting for cash to rain down on their business as do the welfare queens called the palos, now that there are economic riots across the globe many question the billions poured on the palios only to see it wasted time and time again...

    Israel will not let in cement, steel pipes and other materials it says its Hamas enemies might use to make war. (since the majority of cement and steel pipes are used to make rockets and bunkers, all taught by hezbollah and iran)

    "The fighting stopped over a week ago but people are still sleeping in the open air," said Sahabani, whose firm employs up to 100 craftsmen and labourers when working at full capacity. (except for the continued smuggling, IED that murdered an Israeli and the several rockets fires, oh yeah that's a cease fire in the arab mind, you stop shooting and we will continue..)

    "We should have started reconstruction the day the war ended. But we have no supplies." His men, like him, sit idle, he said: "I am sad and angry and I feel a pain beyond words." (life sucks for the pathetic spineless squatting arabs that wait for UNRWA aid to pay for all of their needs... after all they actually dont have to DO anything except look busy and they get free health care, food, housing, fuel and even treats!)

    Along the 45 km (30-mile) strip of Mediterranean coastline, half-finished construction sites stand silent, and, amid the ruins left by this month's violence, families are building makeshift wood-and-plastic shelters to escape the cold. )all the while over 1.3 million sit in UN & America funding apartments stocked with stainless refig's and new gleaning stoves...

    "For two years now, we have not been able to build," Sahabani said of an Israeli embargo going back to 2007. "God knows what will happen now to the people who lost their homes." And yet Egypt also has blockaded the border due to Hamas violence and murder. In fact Hamas has no problems operating hundreds of tunnels that import tons and tons of weapons, pipes, fuel, tv's, goats, viagra, drugs & more.. For 2 years Hamas built an impressive underground bunker system for their fighters, of course not building for the people...

    Across town, Nabeel al-Zaeem, understands. His Palestinian Commercial Services Co. is Gaza's top importer of cement.

    Only these days, he has no cement, because hamas brings the cement in themselves and doesnt have to give a cut to Nabeel

    "We need cement to rebuild the Gaza Strip, because of the Israeli offensive and the comprehensive destruction," he said on a quiet morning this week at his office overlooking Gaza's blockade-hit fishing port. "But we have no raw materials." But in all seriousness, hamas are pigs they use all the cement to build bunkers to continue their war...

    why should israel supply us with materials to fight themselves?

    If i was israel? i'd cut off the water, food and electricity at once...

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  112. And the Major said per year, now, not since Hamas took over, so maybe that 500 lbs figure is right.

    Ten guys with fifty pound packs, or the equivilent on handtrucks.

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  113. If Hamas is bringing in cement and monopolizing it, wi"o", then you agree that the Israeli blockade, let alone their Cast Lead offensive is/was not succeeding?

    If more than 1000 tons of air delivered explosive did not stop Hamas's ability to import explosives, not if cement is still coming through.

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  114. Everyone's got a wish list.

    Ahmadinejad Embraces "Change," Too. [Michael Rubin]

    President Ahmadinejad, speaking in Kermanshah, responds to Obama's desire for change with demands that the U.S. end its military presence everywhere in the world outside the borders of the United States, and cease any support for Israel "rootless, uncultured, illegal, phony, murderous, killer of women and children, killers of babies":

    And now, a new government has come with the slogan of 'Change' and claims it will change the U.S. policies. Well, these are good words since the policies of Mr. Bush were one hundred percent unethical, anti- human and the embodied the opposite of divine values and the teachings of prophets of God. The behavior and policies of Mr. Bush are the filthiest and most criminal policies we have seen during the past fifty years.

    Now that they claim they want change, and the underlying principles hidden in those statements are good, but please do pay attention, Oh dear people of Kermanshah, and the Iranian nation and all the nations of the world, let me talk to you for a few moments about this 'Change':

    This is an important issue which deserved and deserves being discussed among the revolutionary and pious people of Kermanshah. When they say we want 'Change', this can take place in two forms: One is fundamental change, and effective and principal reorientation. The second method is tactical change, change in approach, and change in the discourse, which are all political rhetoric and tricks. It is clear that should this 'Change' refer to the second method, this will soon be disclosed and the nations of the world will take a position against it...

    The new U.S. government must stop its military presence in the world...When we say policies will be changed it means the U.S. should end its military presence in the world, which means the U.S. getting all their troops together and bring them back to the U.S. to serve America within the territorial boundaries of the country.

    In this world no one has asked them to make invasions... If you mean change you should stop narcotics production in Afghanistan...If they want change in policies, well change means the United States of America should not intervene in internal affairs of other nations. What is it to them how other nations live their life? Who has asked them to intervene…?

    When we say change of policy, it means stopping support for these rootless, uncultured, illegal, phony, murderous, killer of women and children, killers of babies, the Zionists.

    01/29 08:59 AM



    Remember the Knights Who Say Ni?

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  115. Hundreds of tunnels wi"o" tells us, but even the Israeli claim only 558 lbs per day are smuggled.

    100 tons per year = 200,000 lbs
    divided by 365 is 558 lbs.

    Less than 5 lbs per tunnel, per day.

    Israel, with it's tremendous power differental should lift the siege, with International supervision, then watch what happens.
    Regain the high ground of peacemaker. They can always drop another 1,000 tons of explosive, if need be.

    200,000 lbs, that's nothin' compared to the tonnage of marijuna brought into US from Mexico.

    By JACQUES BILLEAUD / Associated Press Writer

    PHOENIX (AP) -- A smuggling group responsible for bringing up to 400,000 pounds of marijuana each year from Mexico into the United States has been broken up, authorities said.

    The group was transporting marijuana for the Sinaloa drug cartel in Mexico and built a sophisticated smuggling network that operated for five years
    ...
    Thirty-nine of 59 people indicted on criminal charges in the case have been arrested. Ten of the people were in the United States legally, and the rest were from Mexico.


    60 Mexicans could move twice the contraband tonnage than all of Hamas did in a year of smuggling explosives.

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  116. Trish,

    I thought the 'pubs were the free trade party? It seems the still surviving 'pubs are trying to put "Buy America" clauses in the stimulus package. Failed for the most part the reports I've heard so far except for the Steel lobby has managed to get foreign steel banned.

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  117. Dec. 23, 2008

    Terry Goddard Announces Take-Down Of Billion-Dollar Drug-Trafficking Organization

    Task force busts cartel that smuggled two million pounds of marijuana into U.S.



    Investigators describe the DTO’s movement through the desert as methodical. The organization went to great lengths to remain undetected, driving load vehicles through dry washes and dirt roads in barren parts of the desert. Drivers were outfitted with night vision equipment to enable the vehicles to travel in the dark of night without any illumination. The load vehicles also carried tarps in the event they needed to stop and cover up so as not to be visible from the air. After being used, load vehicles were dumped in open areas of Pinal County’s Hidden Valley.

    The DTO also deployed scouts in the high ground of the U.S. desert to act as countersurveillance against law enforcement. Scouts were outfitted with electronic equipment to communicate with the load trucks and would advise the load drivers when to move. The scouts were deployed in the hills with scout coordinators dropping off food and supplies, enabling scouts to stay in place for as long as a week at a time.

    Once in Pinal County, the bulk loads were broken down into smaller loads. The second phase of the shipment involved transporting the marijuana from Pinal County to the Phoenix metro area. This was done by a separate group of drivers using inconspicuous SUVs and pickup trucks.

    Once the drivers from the second stage brought the marijuana to the Phoenix metro area, it was turned over to the first level of customers. These customers allegedly took their share to their respective stash houses. Throughout this operation, investigators took enforcement actions at numerous stash houses throughout the Phoenix metro area and Pinal County.

    Payment for the marijuana was sent in bulk amounts by motor vehicle from the Phoenix area to Mexico. The load drivers from the first stage and the scouts from the desert would come to Phoenix to be paid, then return to Mexico in a shuttle bus to prepare for the next load. When loads were not being moved, the scouts stayed in a compound in Pinal County. This compound housed 10 to 15 scouts at a time awaiting deployment in the Estrella Mountains.


    Just your typical cross border operation.

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  118. Jay Nordlinger, in his Davos diary, offers a very useful (especially at the Bar) Buckley quote: “I’m the world’s foremost expert on my own opinion.”

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  119. At 2,000 lbs per vehicle, they transitted at least 1,000 of them.
    200 or so, per year.

    The pot is worth $50 per lb in Mexico, about $800 here.

    Each vehicle load costing about $100,000 in Mexico and resold in Phoenix for $1.6 million.

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  120. Operation Tumbleweed has also led to the seizure of 25,600 pounds of marijuana, one kilogram of cocaine, 11 pounds of methamphetamine, $769,472 of U.S. currency, 28 vehicles and 25 firearms, along with the recovery of 14 stolen vehicles.

    Today’s announcement comes approximately one week after the release of the 2009 National Drug Threat Assessment by the U.S. Department of Justice. This report identified
    “Mexican drug trafficking organizations [as] the greatest organized crime threat to the United States.”


    Goddard was joined for today’s announcement by Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Special Agent in Charge Matthew Allen, Pinal County Sheriff Chris Vasquez, Phoenix Police Department Assistant Chief Andy Anderson, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Assistant Special Agent in Charge Douglas W. Coleman, U.S. Border Patrol Tucson Sector Division Assistant Chief Patrol Agent Raleigh Leonard, U.S. Customs Border Protection Air and Marine Tucson Air Branch Operation’s Officer John Stonehouse, Jr. and Arizona Department of Public Safety Commander Brant Benham. Assistant Attorney General Paula Alleman is prosecuting this case.

    ReplyDelete
  121. I thought the 'pubs were the free trade party? It seems the still surviving 'pubs are trying to put "Buy America" clauses in the stimulus package.

    - ash

    I hadn't seen that.

    Republicans differ with one another on matters of trade just as Democrats do. And as with Democrats, in many cases, the differences are not dictated by opposing politico-economic schools of thought, but by simple constituent interest - rightly or wrongly understood.

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  122. One thing we know about the Palestinians, for sure they didn't want to go into the greenhouse business.

    ReplyDelete
  123. yeah, understood Trish, I was just trying to get a dig in. I stumbled across Lou Dobbs the other day on his regular hour long rant and OHMIGOD his protectionist rhetoric was appalling.

    ReplyDelete
  124. Cannot. Cannot. Listen. To Lou Dobbs.

    ReplyDelete
  125. Following demands by Palestinians, Israel razed the ranch-style homes of departing Jewish settlers when the Jewish state quit the coastal strip earlier this month.

    One can't be too sensitive about such things. Nor would one want to rund an Israeli built greenhouse. Better to sell the fixtures for ready cash.

    and

    "I think it is a drop in the bucket. If you are looking at the population estimates that we have got, they are estimating in 20 years the population is going to double," Butto said.

    One can't consider too carefully the future, and plan ahead.

    Palestinians To Build Housing On Ruins

    Mrs. Arafat, she at least knew how to make a buck out of Palestine.

    One gets the feeling after a time that the average Palestinian has been left living in a dump over the years by their arab friends to keep them ticked off at Israel.

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  126. I can't stand Lou Dobbs either, and I haven't watched him in years.

    'Diamond' Lou Dobbs, he calls himself.

    ReplyDelete
  127. Netanyahu said in A Durable Peace that, in hindsight, there were two clear-cut ways to approach the territories: Annexation or immediate hand-washing. Neither were acceptable to the parties to the party. Israel paved the middle way and did the best she could under the circumstances.

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  128. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  129. And after 41 years, trish, they still cannot find a way.
    So look for some binding arbitration from the Authorizing Authorities to the creation of the mess.

    A solution imposed upon the residents of the Levant.
    It's certainly happened in the region, before.

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  130. "A solution imposed upon the residents of the Levant."

    What's the First Rule of IR, Rat?

    Sovereign nations...act that way.

    ReplyDelete
  131. DR: If more than 1000 tons of air delivered explosive did not stop Hamas's ability to import explosives, not if cement is still coming through.

    The tunnels still operate...

    Hamas still uses kids as human shields...

    This doesnt make the operation null and void

    Regardless of your weight analysis of how many tons of weapons by each side the fight still goes on...

    Hamas is still committed to seeing Jewish genocide...

    Israel still is committed to live and let live...

    IF only Israel would have used those munitions LIKE HAMAS did... Just carpet bomb the civilians just like the british, french, russians, arabs, indians do and this war would have ended a long time ago..

    But since the IDF doesnt act the way you accuse it of it HITS empty buildings and tunnels...

    I predict that one of these days a nice fire storm, caused by tons of explosives hidden in schools, hospitals & mosques will sweep thru gaza city causing 10's of thousands to be homeless...

    To point out that several thousand gazans are homeless due to the operation cast lead is misleading at best and biased propaganda at worst...

    Gaza is the welfare queen of the known universe...

    The PA send 58% of it's total budget to fund gaza

    The UNRWA spends billions on schools, hospitals, fuel, food, electricity, zoos, roads, shopping areas all to funding ten's of thousands of terrorists at night with day time jobs....

    Even the school books that the USA pays for is ripe with jew hating incitement...

    Not bad for the 450,000,000 a YEAR we directly fund the palios for...

    The economic issues that we see and decide that is the measurement of success is bullcrap..

    Forget 40 years of Israeli occupation, go back 60 and you will see a non-productive, lazy arab society based on child labor and adult men, with several wives, sitting on their fat asses in coffee shops smoking water pipes while the wives and kids work for them...

    under 40 years of nazi like occupation israel has built BILLIONS in roads, schools and universities in the west bank and gaza strip turning around an area that USED to have an infant mortality of that of sub-sahara africa to almost 1st world standards...

    at the same time today in the west bank and gaza the arabs, despite again nazi like israeli ideals the population inside of ISRAEL alone now holds more arabs than the entire area had in 1948 and the gaza and the west bank? They breed like rabbits....

    ReplyDelete
  132. Here we go--

    Money's Not Where The Mouth Is

    Moscow, Idaho--AP-=-

    Board of Education approves WWAMI expansion, but funds to carry out plan do not exist.

    Even though the State Board of Education this week approved doubling the number of Idaho students who go to medical school in Seattle, funding to do so is nonexistent.

    "It won't happen this legislative session," said Marty Peterson, the University of Idaho's lobbyist in Boise. "The state just flat out doesn't have the money to do it."

    The U of Idaho had advocated expanding from 20 to 40 the number of seats in the Wyoming, Washington, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho (WWAMI) Medical Program that sends students to the University of Washington Medical School in Seattle. But that plan competed with an Idaho State University proposal to found a Pocatello-based medical school.

    A legislative committee studied those and other proposals over the past year, and on Monday voted to expand WWAMI.



    My brother went to the University of Oregon medical school under WWAMI.

    ASH has the idiotic idea that medical services need to be rationed.

    When what we really need of course, is more good medical schools, and more competent doctors.

    It is a very complex and hard thing to do to create a competent doctor.

    Starting at high school, you have 4 years, plus four of college, plus four of medical school, plus a year of internship and two years of residency. In my brother's case he had to spend a couple years in the Army, too.

    Of course, after all that he never came back to Idaho to practice.:)

    All my life I've heard talk of a medical school in Idaho, and it's time it get done. In Boise, not Pocatello.

    It is very distressing, to see a Trillion Dollars shoveled around, and to have idiots like ASH advocate rationing medicine, when a sane way forward lies at hand.

    We don't have to ration medicine, we ought to be spending the bucks on programs like WWAMI, or building more good medical schools.

    ReplyDelete
  133. 1.2 trillion, at the last count I saw.

    ReplyDelete
  134. Take those billions for ACORN and DO SOMETHING CREATIVE with it, something sane, like funding WWAMI, or building a medical school at Boise.

    Build infrastructure! Put people to work! Construction jobs! Doctors! No rationing of medicine!

    It's just too damned simple, I quess.

    ReplyDelete
  135. Israel doesn't seem to have too many options:

    1.) Status Quo
    2.) Single State from the Jordan river to the Mediterranean Sea
    3.) Two states.

    Number one seems to be uncomfortable (to put it mildly) and 2 would result in a Jewish minority (unless one seriously advocates Genocide, or, in Rat's case, Ethnic cleansing). 3 seems to be the best option but the details don't seem to be easy to settle.

    ReplyDelete
  136. At 2,000 lbs per vehicle, they transitted at least 1,000 of them.
    200 or so, per year.

    The pot is worth $50 per lb in Mexico, about $800 here.


    -----------

    Watch Mr Wizard.

    Today's program, boys and girls, has been calculating quantities of contraband from estimates of unit weights and rates of transport, and then extrapolating that knowledge into assessments of relative threats.

    Today's quiz is derived from a real world incident, as opposed to the Alice-In-Wonderland events unfolding in the south Levant.

    A few years ago a merry band of high school boys discovered a sheriff's bunker up in the foothills of Fresno County, and looted it of several pounds of various types of explosives, including, twas rumored, some plastique, detonators, ammunition, semi-automatic weapons and miscellaneous other items of explosive contraband. Some of this take was evidence-in-storage, some was legitimate law enforcement ordinance, and some was rumored to have been illegitimate law enforcement ordinance, i.e., explosive toys the sheriffs and police of the area were forbidden to use by an enlightened society, but which they couldn't force themselves to part with. It seems that inventory standards were neglected at this bunker, so a true measure of quantities and qualities is unavailable. The youths were referred to locally as the Auberry Five, and boys being boys, some of their twice over contraband was used to impress their girlfriends on New Year's Eve. This latter act of bravado and subsequent braggadocio proved their undoing, as they were relentlessly tracked down by the embarrassed sheriff's department.

    Our question today, given that Fresno County has an area of 5,962.73 sq mi, and a population slightly north of 891,756, is whether the five boys possessing an unquantified amount of stolen ordinance posed a realistic terrorist threat, or whether the sherif's department and Fresno P.D. were more embarrassed over their sloppy housekeeping.

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  137. It speaks well of the boys that they used some of the stuff on New Year's Eve to impress the girls, and this should be taken into consideration at sentencing.

    "They never caught a fish that didn't open its mouth."

    ReplyDelete
  138. It's in the genes, no doubt. You'd have made a good trial lawyer, Bob.

    ReplyDelete
  139. Obama slams Wall Street over bonuses...
    'Shameful'...
    'Height of irresponsibility'...

    says Obama,

    while sitting by the new Treasury Secretary, tax cheat, and recent recipient of $450,000 severence package.

    CWP class time. latetta

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  140. In that scenario, lineman, I vote for embarassment as the greater motivating factor.

    Unlike the Sheriff and his Deputies, the mere possession of the rumored illegitimate law enforcement ordinance, i.e., explosive toys the sheriffs and police of the area were forbidden to use by an enlightened society, but which they couldn't force themselves to part with. was not enough for the boys.

    They needed to see some it go off.
    More balls than brains.

    If they'd been terrorists, well, they'd not have been caught until they expended some of it, either.

    Professional criminals, some one would have told the tale of the munitions being for sale, then any number of the numerous informants, Local, State or Federal would have heard a rumor and reported in.

    If the thieves had been terrorists, there would be a high likelyhood the terror attack would occur elsewhere, far from the hiest site.

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  141. How to Sell a Mess

    What "stimulus" advocates learned from the push for war with Iraq

    Jesse Walker | January 29, 2009

    When Washington makes a big decision—to pass the PATRIOT Act, to invade Iraq, to bail out Wall Street, to spend hundreds of billions "stimulating" the economy—the most important stage of the debate isn't the final agreement on what to do. That's just a bunch of details about portions and timing.

    The key stage comes in the initial rounds, when the acceptable radius of disagreement is established.

    Your sharpest critics are often your most radical critics, so it's important that their arguments be confined to the foreign press, the blogosphere, and other backwaters.

    Once those boundaries are ratified, you must police them without pity. This is harder than it sounds. If you argue with those outsiders, you've made them a part of the debate. But you can't shut them up either.

    The goal then is to persuade everyone else that the dissidents simply don't deserve attention: that they're extremists, partisan flacks, or just not "serious."


    In 2003, "serious" people were willing to debate the evidence that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, but they considered it settled that such weapons were reason enough to invade his country.

    In 2009, "serious" people will debate the best ways to stimulate a slumping economy, but the arguments against a so-called stimulus itself are beyond the pale.


    Not everyone will respect the borders you've established. As it became more and more obvious that the Iraq war was a bad idea, for example, critics outside the serious zone started mocking the insiders' pretentions; the term Very Serious Person became an in-joke on antiwar blogs. The left-wing pundit Matthew Yglesias was especially fond of the phrase, particularly when criticizing liberal hawks. But such mockery doesn't make the tactic any less attractive. When House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) opposed the use of stimulus money to keep state budgets in the black, it was Yglesias who declared that Boehner wasn't part of "the serious-people universe." I don't think he was being ironic.

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  142. Then the opinion from the NYTimes


    After the War on Terror

    By ROGER COHEN

    In his first White House televised interview, with the Al Arabiya news network based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, President Obama buried the lead: The war on terror is over.

    Yes, the with-us-or-against-us global struggle — the so-called Long War — in which a freedom-loving West confronts the undifferentiated forces of darkness comprising everything from Al Qaeda to elements of the Palestinian national struggle under the banner of “Islamofascism” has been terminated.

    What’s left is what matters: defeating terrorist organizations. That’s not a war. It’s a strategic challenge.

    The new president’s abandonment of post-9/11 Bush doctrine is a critical breakthrough. It resolves nothing but opens the way for a rapprochement with a Muslim world long cast into the “against-us” camp. Nothing good in Israel-Palestine, Afghanistan or Iran could happen with that Manichean chasm.

    Obama said, “The language we use matters.” It does. He said he would be “very clear in distinguishing between organizations like Al Qaeda — that espouse violence, espouse terror and act on it — and people who may disagree with my administration and certain actions, or may have a particular viewpoint in terms of how their countries should develop. We can have legitimate disagreements but still be respectful.”
    ...
    Obama went further. Citing Muslim members of his own family and his experience of life in a Muslim country (Indonesia), he repositioned the national interest and his own role.

    He defined his task as convincing Muslims that “Americans are not your enemy” and persuading Americans that respect for a Muslim world is essential.
    His objective, he said, was to promote not only American interests but those of ordinary people — read Muslims — suffering from “poverty and a lack of opportunity."
    ---
    What a load of excrement:
    Bush went out of his way to sing the praises of the peaceful Muslim.

    Cohen spins his own reality and then writes about it.

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  143. "Bush went out of his way..."

    He did.

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  144. As Martha Stewart would say, "It's a good thing."

    ReplyDelete