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."

Friday, June 26, 2009

The broken Iranian revolution


The Iranian breakout did not happen. No police or army defections. No leader on a tank. No national strikes. What happened? Envy and fear.

Most of the Iranians, outside of a few cities, are poor and under the thumb and veil of the religious establishment. They did not see the street demonstrations of Tehran as being relevant to their lives and worse. They saw it as a threat. Better the devil they know.

Iran emerges as less credible and with a world less tolerant of its goal to be a nuclear power.

George Bush could never adequately explain why Iran was in the axis of evil; an axis of mullahs did it for him.

Israel and its casus belli against Iran advances.

Krauthammer argues that Mousavi needs to have a Yeltsin moment. He further sees Obama as having been dismissive to Mousavi as not that different from Khamenei-Ahmadinejad. Krauthammer believes it is still slimly possible for Mousavi to emerge.

Possibly I suppose, but not likely. More likely will be the dissipation of the dispirited, as many more will leave Iran and the economy worsens. After that who knows? Not me. Hope occluded observation.

_______________________

Iran: Desperately Seeking Yeltsin

By Charles Krauthammer Washington Post
Friday, June 26, 2009

Iran today is a revolution in search of its Yeltsin. Without leadership, demonstrators will take to the street only so many times to face tear gas, batons and bullets. They need a leader like Boris Yeltsin: a former establishment figure with newly revolutionary credentials and legitimacy, who stands on a tank and gives the opposition direction by calling for the unthinkable -- the abolition of the old political order.

Right now the Iranian revolution has no leader. As this is written, opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi has not appeared in public since June 18. And the Khamenei-Ahmadinejad regime has shown the requisite efficiency and ruthlessness at suppressing widespread unrest. Its brutality has been deployed intelligently. The key is to atomize the opposition. Start with the most sophisticated methods to block Internet and cellphone traffic, thanks to technology provided by Nokia Siemens Networks. Allow the more massive demonstrations to largely come and go -- avoiding Tiananmen-style wholesale bloodshed -- but disrupt the smaller ones with street-side violence and rooftop snipers, the perfect instrument of terror. Death instant and unseen, the kind that only the most reckless and courageous will brave.

Terror visited by invisible men. From rooftops by day. And by night, swift and sudden raids that pull students out of dormitories, the wounded out of hospitals, for beatings and disappearances.

For all our sentimental belief in the ultimate triumph of those on the "right side of history," nothing is inevitable. This second Iranian revolution is on the defensive, even in retreat. To recover, it needs mass, because every dictatorship fears the moment when it gives the order to the gunmen to shoot at the crowd. If they do (Tiananmen), the regime survives; if they don't (Romania's Ceausescu), the dictators die like dogs. The opposition needs a general strike and major rallies in the major cities -- but this time with someone who stands up and points out the road ahead.

Desperately seeking Yeltsin. Does this revolution have one? Or to put it another way, can Mousavi become Yeltsin?

President Obama's worst misstep during the Iranian upheaval occurred early on when he publicly discounted the policy differences between Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Mousavi.

True, but that overlooked two extremely important points. First, while Mousavi himself was originally only a few inches to Ahmadinejad's left on the political spectrum -- being hand-picked by the ruling establishment precisely for his ideological reliability -- Mousavi's support was not restricted to those whose views matched his. He would have been the electoral choice of everyone to his left, a massive national constituency -- liberals, liberalizers, secularists, monarchists, radicals and visceral opponents of the entire regime -- that dwarfs those who shared his positions, as originally held.



Moreover, Mousavi's positions have changed, just as he has. He is far different today from the Mousavi who began this electoral campaign.

Revolutions are dynamic, fluid. It is true that two months ago there was little difference between Ahmadinejad and Mousavi. But that day is long gone. Revolutions outrun their origins. And they transform their leaders.

Mikhail Gorbachev and Yeltsin both began as orthodox party regulars. They subsequently evolved together into reformers. Then came the revolution. Gorbachev could not shake himself from the system. Yeltsin rose up and engineered its destruction.

In the 1980s, Mousavi was Ayatollah Khomeini's prime minister, a brutal enforcer of orthodox Islamism. Twenty years later, he started out running for president advocating little more than cosmetic moderation. But then the revolutionary dynamic began: The millions who rallied to his cause -- millions far to his left -- began to radicalize him. The stolen election radicalized him even more. Finally, the bloody suppression of his followers led him to make statements just short of challenging the legitimacy of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the very foundations of the regime. The dynamic continues: The regime is preparing the basis for Mousavi's indictment (for sedition), arrest, even possible execution. The prospect of hanging radicalizes further.

As Mousavi hovers between Gorbachev and Yeltsin, between reformer and revolutionary, between figurehead and leader, the revolution hangs in the balance. The regime may neutralize him by arrest or even murder. It may buy him off with offers of safety and a sinecure. He may well prefer to let this cup pass from his lips.

But choose he must, and choose quickly. This is his moment, and it is fading rapidly. Unless Mousavi rises to it, or another rises in his place, Iran's democratic uprising will end not as Russia 1991, but as China 1989.




97 comments:

  1. and Obama was going to have a chat with the gangsters that are forbidding a memorial service for the murdered Neda Agha-Soltan, who have hid her body, and evicted her family from their home.

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  2. ...was going to have a chat, or so he hoped, before they snubbed him themselves.

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  3. My feelings towards the US military mirror its performance since 1963, no problems, there.

    The US military beat Granada, lost in Haiti, in Vietnam and to Iraq once and now, again.

    Performance counts.

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  4. Persia ain't Russia; Mousavi ain't Yeltsin; and Krauthammer ain't always the "Smartest Guy in the Room."

    The Great Unwashed knew Mousavi was just another fucking crook. Just another fucking politician. Obama knew it, too.

    I think someone said it before:

    It's Iran, Deuce.

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  5. In Afpakistan, General P says we are back at the beginning, that is 8 years of wasted effort, there.

    The Army bolo'd its' mission, again.

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  6. The Army can do a lot of things, Rat; but it can't make those who do 5 butt-ups a day love Democracy.

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  7. Obama can speak with those governing Iran, or not. Doubt much comes of it, either way. The discussions would not hurt, but will not help, either.

    If anything, these demonstrations will make taking military action, against Iran, more difficult for US to approve. There are now many Iranians that we like.

    We'd hate to see those innocents killed. How many more Nedas would Israeli or US military strikes create?

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  8. Then they should not have tried that approach, rufus.
    Then continued on it, after they failed.

    Has the power of the tribes diminished in Iraq?
    That was the mission, the Goal.

    The answer is unequivicably no.
    The tribes are further empowered.

    The US Mission, a Failure.

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  9. They get an "A" for effort, but failed regardless of their best efforts, after six tears of effort in Iraq, eight years in Afpakistan.

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  10. It's "on track" in Iraq, Rat. They're getting ready to auction off the oil plays. Saddam's not running around the Mideast with nukes, and Iran's contained.

    The Oil is flowing.

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  11. It took forty years for the street demonstrators in Chicago to gain the levers of power, in DC.

    A successful 'soft power' revolution in the US.

    Should we wait until 2050, before judging the success of this Iranian revolution?

    Or the US military's success in Iraq?

    I think not, but, to each their own.

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  12. That is the primary interest, of the US, rufus, on that we have agreement.

    But that was not the primary mission of the military, as the oil flowed, at the same levels, pre-invasion.

    That the US was able to maintain that flow, no great success.
    It is also the main goal, of our Iranian policy and there too, we have success. Of a sort.

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  13. That the leviathan lumbers on, redefining success, as it goes ...

    Entertaining to watch.

    Since the "market has no memory" it works.

    That does not change the underlying realities, though.

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  14. Surprise, Surprise:
    Conyers abandons plan to probe ACORN

    House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. has backed off his plan to investigate wrongdoing by the liberal activist group ACORN, saying "powers that be" put the kibosh on the idea.

    Mr. Conyers, Michigan Democrat, earlier bucked his party leaders by calling for hearings on accusations the Association of Community Organization for Reform Now (ACORN) has committed crimes ranging from voter fraud to a mob-style "protection" racket.

    "The powers that be decided against it," Mr. Conyers told The Washington Times.

    The chairman declined to elaborate, shrugging off questions about who told him how to run his committee and give the Democrat-allied group a pass.

    Pittsburgh lawyer Heather Heidelbaugh, whose testimony about ACORN at a March 19 hearing on voting issues prompted Mr. Conyers to call for a probe, said she was perplexed by Mr. Conyers' explanation for his change of heart.

    "If the chair of the Judiciary Committee cannot hold a hearing if he want to [then] who are the powers that he is beholden to?" she said. "Is it the leadership, is it the White House, is it contributors? Who is 'the power?'"

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  15. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  16. People have the power, that's the deal, doug.

    Most of the people, they are currently on the 'Obamamerica' side of the electoral ledger.

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  17. We didn't want a nuclear-armed Saddam to control 40% of the world's oil, Rat.

    That's all that ever, really, mattered.

    We hung him, and planted his ass in the ground. Everything else we can "work through."

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  18. A Corrupt Marxist Chicago Thug has the power, 'Rat.

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  19. The hot one from the Democrats -

    Hypocrisy, as we know, is the tribute vice pays to virtue, and nobody is louder in tribute than certain Democrats. Just before the Gores moved into the vice presidential residence on Massachusetts Avenue in Washington, they were invited by Marilyn and Dan Quayle to inspect the premises. Tipper Gore was disappointed to see that the fireplace in the master bedroom had been closed.

    "Well," Mrs. Quayle told her, "the fireplace is wasteful and contributes to pollution."

    "Oh, I know," Tipper replied. "But a fireplace in the bedroom is so cozy." When the Quayles moved out, the fireplace was reopened.

    Wesley Pruden

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  20. As I said, rufus, the leviathan lumbers on, redefining success.

    Working through, as you say.

    I'll give you that, but that is not the same as military success, working through ...

    Not quite as irritating as 'slip sliding away', give ya that.

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  21. Remember this fellow?

    Why Ahmadinejad Is Better for the U.S. Than Moussavi

    As the beat-down goes on and the rhetoric ratchets up, President Obama's poker hand may be getting better. Dealing with an isolationist leader in the middle of a progressive uprising, after all, means you get thrown the aces.

    By Thomas P.M. Barnett

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  22. He represents ...

    ... the People of the United States.

    As do those 60 Democratic Senators

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  23. How many more Nedas would Israel and US create?

    None...We are not murdering thugs.

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  24. I hope everything in Iraq goes well. I hope the oil starts flowing and American companies get in there and drill. I hope this so the Iraqi Dinar can stabilize and the 1 million dinars I own become worth more than the 800 US dollars I have invested in them.

    yes, it's all about me.....

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  25. Then no one will be pre-emptively attacking Iran and creating collateral damage, as they do, allen?

    Collateral damage, another euphemism for murder.

    Especially in a "pre-emptive" action.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Even General McChrystal seems to agree

    By David Zucchino
    June 19, 2009
    .

    Reporting from Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan -- When Afghan parliament member Obaidullah Helali went to visit his constituents in the village of Garani last month, they confronted him with clubs and stones.

    It was three days after a U.S. airstrike killed dozens of civilians in the remote settlement in the western province of Farah. Enraged villagers threatened to beat Helali and other officials and asked why the Afghan government couldn't protect them -- not from the Taliban, but from the U.S. military.

    The mounting death toll of Afghan civilians from U.S. airstrikes has unleashed a tide of resentment and fury that threatens to undermine the American counterinsurgency effort. From President Obama to the new U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, American officials have made the reduction of civilian deaths a top priority as they revamp their strategy.


    McChrystal, who took command this week, told Congress that the measure of success in Afghanistan should be the number of civilians protected, not the number of insurgents killed. Reducing civilian casualties is "essential to our credibility," he said
    .

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  27. You just thought I raq was bad. Afghanistan will be the "clusterfuck" of "our" generation.

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  28. A row between Kurds and the central government in Baghdad over control of Iraq's oil reserves, the world's third biggest, often sees them refusing to recognise each other's dealings with foreign firms.

    The dispute is part of a wider struggle over power and land that analysts say is the greatest long-term threat to Iraq's stability as the United States plans to withdraw combat forces from Iraq by the end of August 2010.

    Oil Minister Hussein Shahristani plans to announce the results of a first bidding round to international companies seeking a stake in the country's reserves over the last two days of this month. Two gas fields are also on offer.

    "This auction is a violation of Iraq's federal constitution ... the proposed Oil Ministry contracts are not in the best interest of the Iraqi people," Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani wrote on the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) website.

    Two of the oil fields, Kirkuk and Bai Hassan, are in territory that is disputed between Baghdad and Kurdistan. The Kurds say the Oil Ministry has no right to tender these fields until that dispute is resolved.

    "Any decision related to contracting for Kirkuk and Bai Hassan fields requires the direct involvement of the KRG as a party to the dispute," Barzani said. "Regrettably, the KRG has not been involved."

    He added that any oil companies who invest in the disputed territories would been considered to have broken Kurdistan's own oil and gas law.

    Baghdad has similarly rejected deals that the Kurds struck with international oil companies and threatened to exclude them from its bidding rounds, although last month they reached an agreement allowing oil to be pumped from fields there through Iraq's northern pipeline.

    Foreign firms dealing in Iraq may be realising that they must choose between investing in Kurdistan or investing in the rest of Iraq, because they are unlikely to be able to do deals with one authority without upsetting the other.

    China's state oil group Sinopec is thought to be preparing a bid for London-listed Addax Petroleum Corp. (AXC.L), with a field in Kurdistan. Such a move could end up excluding Chinese companies from winning fields in the bidding round. Baghdad does not recognise the legitimacy of the Addax concession.

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  29. desert rat said...
    Then no one will be pre-emptively attacking Iran and creating collateral damage, as they do, allen?

    Collateral damage, another euphemism for murder.

    Especially in a "pre-emptive" action.

    Oh my DR how you are now such a pussy boy....


    Let's be blunt...

    Iran funds, arms and supports Hezbollah, Hamas, Syria & Moslem Brotherhood & the Iraqi uprising (which is not an uprising but it a foreign invasion)..

    They murder people all over the globe on a monthly basis if not daily...

    From blowing up the Jewish Comm Center causing HUNDREDS of Neda's (world doesnt give a shit about dead jews)

    Iran has caused and supported THOUSANDS of murders NOT as collateral damage by direct cause...

    Now President Hussein Of America has decided that we sill send Ambassadors to Venezuela, High level Diplomats to Syria, Engage Iran we have SIDED with the axis of evil...

    This will cause war...

    When Hamas or Hezbollah shoots rockets at Israel schools, towns it is not collateral damage.

    IED's in Iraq are not collateral damage

    Stabbings, suicide bombing are not collateral damage...

    AND RESPONSE TO THOSE HITTING MILITARY TARGETS that minimize the killing of innocents is collateral damage and IS not murder (according to the geneva convention, something you love to preach about)

    WHEN Israel pushed to a survival moment into a corner, decides that the threat of hamas, hezbollah, syria or iran is to great they wills strike...

    If you want to compare Neda to those victims? you are free too, and I am free to say "bullshit"

    If you want collateral damage as murder, maybe Israel should just NUKE Iran.... Oh but what... they CAN and dont...

    War is coming, and the USA is stoking the flames of regional conflicts...

    America is telling (by supporting the mullahs of Iran, by restoring ties with Venezuela & syria) the axis of evil, GO FOR IT....

    So congrats to AMerica, we now stand with Hitler....

    ReplyDelete
  30. a quote from an Iranian...

    "Iranians who supported the Islamic Revolution 30 years ago, Iranians who wanted the Shah out, Iranians who want to live according to Islamic law. Many of them have turned against the regime too because they feel it has betrayed Islam.

    They're aware that the Revolutionary Guards, the military face of the regime, are becoming increasingly powerful - that Iran is tending toward military dictatorship. They've heard the rumors - everything in Iran is rumor - that in cases where women have been arrested and sentenced to death for political activism or some other crime, if it turns out that they're virgins, a Basiji [security operative] will rape them, because it is against Islam to execute a virgin."

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  31. If Israel wants to "Nuke" Iran, then, dammit, why don't they just "Do It?" Talking isn't going to "Fix" anything.

    If Hamas is shooting rockets at them, then, dammit, why don't they just saddle up, and go over there and Kill the Bastards?

    99.999% of all Americans are tired of hearing about it. Bitch, bitch, bitch; whine, whine, whine.

    Tell "Unca" to stick the $3 Billion, or whatever it is, and go kill whatever bastards need killing.

    What? Don't wanna give up the $3 Bill?

    Them "Monkey Traps" are a bitch, eh?

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  32. Re: collateral damage

    Collateral damage is NOT murder.

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  33. Well, that little post will set off a firestorm.

    Think I'll go take a nap.

    Oh, while you're bitching about that, the U.S. Congress is destroying $Trillions in one of the most absurd, self-destructive pieces of legislation in the history of the Republic.

    They're going to spend $6 Billion "Sequestering Carbon" (you know, that stuff that allows plants to grow? Six Bill on something that couldn't possibly make a 1 in 10,000 of a degree difference in temps (even IF colder was better than Warmer.)

    With Waxman/Markey coming to a vote, today, Fox preempted an entire night's programming to talk about a dead, child-molesting druggie.

    Democracy is hard. I'm not sure we can do it any longer.

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  34. ...Here we go again (sigh)...

    Israel actually provides goods and services for its $3bil. It earns the money.

    If Israel ever has to nuke Iran, we can all kiss the good life goodbye.

    I do agree: Stop the bitching already; as long as the distinction is made between legitimate policy disagreement and whining.

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  35. I missed it all.

    Save doug, linear, What Is, allen, rufus and dear host.

    Thereby preserving the sanctity of The Friday.




    I'm sincerely worried about bob.

    Come back, bob! There's a prize in it for you. Linear thinks it a "prize" so I'll throw in a Chavez Go Home t-shirt to sweeten the deal.

    What say?

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  36. 'Course your neighbors might wonder what Chavez is doing in Idaho in the first place - but that's just occasion for a really good and imaginative story.

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  37. trish,

    I'm with you: "Preserve Sanctity and Sanity"...back to work...

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  38. rufus said....

    bal bal bal bal bal...

    bitch bitch bitch...


    I answer...

    Noone is BITCHING...

    DR was being a pussyboy and I was setting him straight...

    But rufus not to worry, America's ex allies are getting the message clear...

    America stands with Iran, China, Syria, Palestinians, Ayers & Castro....

    Regional war WILL happen as sure as I can say your neck is red.....

    All part of the post-America that Obama is steering for...

    MILLIONS around the globe will die useless deaths thanks to America's change....

    it's aint bitchin, it's callin it as I see it...

    But the other good news? the more pressure Obama puts on Allies (ex) and the less on the ex-evil doers the more likely we will see millions die, and then Obama can become PRez of the World...

    (for all you christians out there? (SATAN)

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  39. Paging Doug!

    Just want to confirm that you posted the link to that anti-flash utility at Wretchard's place on the MJ thread, so that I know it's safe to download.

    Tx,

    jwillie

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  40. What? No post on Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett or Ed McMahon? No sympathy at the bar, eh?

    ReplyDelete
  41. We did Ed's tribute the other day.

    Collateral damage is murder, wi"o" said so. Or is it a matter of where that collateral is? His position that when the collateral damage is in Israel, it is murder, when it is in a Muslim land, it is justifable homicide.

    The idea that lots of nice Neda's live over the buried nuclear facilities, that is not new or unique. It's part of the Iranians plan, actually.

    So go ahead, bomb 'em to smitherines, and the images of the innocent will haunt the electorate of the US for ages to come.

    That is a reality, and will influence US decisions, guarenteed.

    If GW Bush would not give Israel the "Green Light" to preempt Iran from generating electrical power with the peaceful atom then rest assured Barack will not, either.

    The collateral costs are way out of proportion to the reality of the threat level.

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  42. What Can Obama Do?
    Six nonmilitary ways the president can influence Iran.
    By Benjamin Weinthal.

    All things that have been suggested before, tighten the economic screws, basicly.

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  43. President Barack Obama has made clear his wish to engage Iran's government. But he ignores a fundamental question. What, beyond conversation, does engagement mean?

    Dealing with Iran, the president needs to use all the tools of diplomacy at his disposal. First, the president needs to strengthen our position by adding partners. Mr. Obama should sit down with moderate Arab states. He should listen to their views and forge an agreed regional security strategy. Such a strategy should include a vigorous program of support for the Iranian opposition, based on a well-funded program of broadcasts and other communications into Iran. This would help the opposition become better organized and grow. Recent surveys reflect that Iran is the most "wired" nation in the Middle East. Nearly 35% of its population is connected to the Internet.

    Further, Mr. Obama must raise awareness among our European and Asian allies of how serious a threat to regional peace Iran has become. He should then launch an effort at the United Nations Security Council to impose strong sanctions on anyone supplying gasoline to Iran. This will underline what should be our commitment to defang Iran's nuclear ambitions.

    Barack Obama is seeking to craft a doctrine of effective realism, a doctrine that advances our own interests and those of democratic aspirants throughout the world. It will stand or fall on his actions toward Iran in the weeks and months ahead
    .

    Mr. McFarlane, who served as President Ronald Reagan's national security adviser (1983-85), is a senior adviser to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

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  44. Especially now, that the "West" has the moral high ground, there are those amongst us that would like nothing more than to get back into the muck.

    The folks in the US have never been more sympathetic to the Iranian people, than today. Not in all the years of my adult life, anyway.

    Go ahead, bomb 'em.
    Kill a few thousand of 'em, hitting those buried bunkers.
    The counter propaganda will be massive and the backlash, one like you and yours have yet to experience.

    Neda's Revolution imagery would be hijacked easily enough. As everyone says, the Iranians are 'connected', the whole whirled will be watching from their perspective.

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  45. The Iranians have been personalized, now. They have a face that is not Abracadabra's.

    When folks in the US think of Iran, now, they visualize Neda. The worst possible outcome of all this, for the Israeli.

    The American public is feeling real sympathy for the Iranians.

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  46. DR,

    Israel can live with the Nedas of the world.

    When armed thugs rob a bank and kill bystanders, it is murder. When the police shoot back and innocent bystanders are killed, it is not...Palestinians v. Israel...

    You will not succeed in using Neda as some sort of twisted foil in your ongoing campaign against Israel.

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  47. This little series of protests, they've "Changed Everything"

    With as much relevance and impact in the whirled, today, as 9-11-01.

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  48. On the previous Linear said that he was thinking about installing Unix on a partition.

    I'm sure you meant Linux.

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  49. She represents Iran, now, allen.

    And Iranians.

    She is the imagery of the day, and will remain that way.

    It's a Game Changer in media manipulation.

    The Iranians are not bank robbers, they are an energetic group of young people. Not ancient mullahs in turbans and burkas.

    The imagery and representation of Iran has shifted during this revolution. That's a fact.

    Killing thousands of innocents, because you are afraid. That's not justified in this modern era.

    This revolution represents a sea change in how Iran is percieved, in the US. Neda is representative of the Iranian people, an innocent.

    I've done a lot of publishing, advetrtising and message massaging in my time, and this deal is already done. Those points are already on the score board.

    Neda represents the Iranians, like it or not.

    If you do not realize that, you're behind the curve.

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  50. You're missing the real whirled impact of the images of those protests.

    While demonizing the mullahs, it humanizes the people of Iran.

    They've all become Nedas, now.

    Kill 'em at your own risk.

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  51. Back in the day when Ash's fellow travelers all thought that W would nuke Iran, the pr machines were started to show the warm humanity of the Iranian people.

    I'm sure that Weimar Germans and Austrians could have been portrayed in the most glowing lights also.

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  52. like I said...

    dr is a pussyboy now...

    afraid of strength, doesnt want to tanggle with the persians or arabs...

    he's safe as safe can be living beyond society....

    but the funny thing?

    his pussyness is now american policy...

    dr is obama...

    yep...

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  53. ...Oh my DR how you are now such a pussy boy....

    It just fits his narrative.

    That's all.

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  54. The US is the US, and Obama is President.

    He's not about to roll on into Iran.

    And for you, whit, you stand accused of being part of the cabal that has shown US the real side of the Iranians. Referring, of course to the "Neda of Persia" thread, here at the EB.

    Mention Iran or Iranians and that is the picture that will come to mind. For me and millions more.

    Much more so than any gimmicky pr campaign.

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  55. Prosperity has returned, whatever else ya might hear!

    A Chavez go home! tee has sweetened the deal.

    Yea, Trish!

    ----------

    Calling Bobal...

    Bob...come in Bob...

    Bob?

    ReplyDelete
  56. I'm sure you meant Linux.

    I'm sure you're correct.

    Actually, I think it's a Linux derivative called U-bun-to, or some damned similar spelling. Looks good in reviews, though.

    With 320GB I've got enough storage to last me into the grave. Delivery is slow, though. I won't see it until around the end of July. Something they don't tell ya up front.

    Doug, Carlie spoiled the brand for me, even though she's history. Another case of the leaders who declare anyone can do anything.

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  57. If B. Hussein Obama had the support of 90 percent of the people, he would remain a Corrupt Marxist Chicago Thug.

    He would continue to accomplish much through thuggery alone, as he already has.
    Force of habit.

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  58. duece, even more so, with the great collection of videos.

    Those were Iranians in the streets.
    Those were Iranians our hearts went out to.

    Real people, with faces, now.

    Iran no longer represented by Abracadabra, but by Neda.

    The threads and videos are here as witness.

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  59. And he'll still be President when only 28% of the people think he's doing the right thing.

    Scenes we've all seen before.

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  60. Hey, Carlie's replacement redeemed them for me!
    What a turnaround!

    Some Republicans in CA would rather have loser Carlie run for Guv than winner Whitman.
    Go figure.

    "Delivery is slow, though. I won't see it until around the end of July. Something they don't tell ya up front. "
    ---
    Yeah, but I toldja you could pick up a laptop today @ Costco!
    Walmart even has Dell laptops here sometimes.
    ---
    Wonder why Dell takes longer now than they did 5 years ago when I bought my last.
    (or rather they unloaded the worthless Rambus-Laden POS on me.
    ...still running 256 mb!
    Makes molasses look speedy)

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  61. I left out one thing:
    Vista eats disk space like crazy.
    A lot of it goes into "shadow copies" which are images of the system state.

    The cool thing about that is "System Restore" actually works if you install something, or do something to screw things up.

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  62. Right now I only have 73 Gigs free out of 200, even though I store all my data on an external drive.

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  63. Yeah, but I toldja you could pick up a laptop today @ Costco!
    Walmart even has Dell laptops here sometimes
    .

    Yeah. But I can 'customize' the system at Dell's website. Designer colors...spiffy totes...web cams built in...video and sound upgrades...all the shit I really want, right?

    I bought vanilla. But will always cherish the opportunity they gave me.

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  64. ...and I bought "Acronis" disk restore which saved my ass when I dropped my drive:

    For some reason, the son's method, using Ubantu as Teresita also suggested did not work.

    Luckily I had a copy of the system made with Acronis, and it worked perfectly.

    Gotta do that again sometime, as you end up with a completely unfragmented drive that makes things perform like new.

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  65. "I bought vanilla. But will always cherish the opportunity they gave me."
    ---
    IOW, you did not make the 4 changes that would have added $500!

    ...that's why I bot a Micron P-90 instead of a Dell.

    Dell's been using the old modify and go broke trick for decades.

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  66. Ah, hell!

    Somehow I blitzed a brilliant satirical comment built around rat's McFarlane article. It's lost forever.

    Full of references to chocolate cake, decaf coffee for the 'wired' Iranians, extra cake for all the folks at the party, etc...use your imaginations.

    Y'all got lucky, and so did your scroller finger.

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  67. John McCain's chief of staff in his abortive run.
    I think Linear may have mispelled her name, but I copied it anyhoo.

    She was Hp CEO for a few years and completely tanked the operation.

    Now I can't think of her last name, but that's linear's fault.
    ...it ain't Simon, I know that.

    Carly ......

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  68. Fiorina, or some such.
    Another loser Italian.

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  69. Say, how did your dad originally get involved with Rockefeller?

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  70. (Rocky probly hated Jews, WIO!)

    ReplyDelete
  71. ...Fiorina, or Farina, or Feorino...something like that.

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  72. The missing satire even made passing reference to that premium custom roasted, vacuum packed bean so popular in Ohio.

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  73. He went around the whirled as a problem solver for IBEC.
    Gone two weeks, back two weeks.
    Mexico, India, Central America, South America. He stayed out of China and Africa.

    The International Basic Economy Corporation (IBEC) was founded by Nelson A. Rockefeller in 1947.

    A private American business corporation, IBEC focused on building the "basic economies" of developing countries, hoping to encourage nationals in those countries to establish competitive businesses. During 1947-1955, IBEC established a subsidiary in Venezuela that formed companies in the fishing, food distribution, and milk industries.

    IBEC established five agricultural companies in Brazil and invested in Brazilian manufacturing and investment banking.

    During 1956-1971, IBEC entered such fields as mutual funds, housing, coffee, and poultry in thirty-three countries. By 1972, the subsidiaries and joint ventures were reorganized into five operating groups: food, housing, distribution, industrial, and financial services.

    The company began a divestiture program in 1973
    .

    He left in 1971, moved West South West.

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  74. As Friday’s debate dragged on, Republicans asked the House to observe a moment of silence for Americans who would lose their jobs as a result of the bill. Democrats objected.

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  75. 'Rat,
    But what I wondered about was HOW he got the job.
    Did he stand in front of Rocky Center with a Breadboard that said:

    "Will Work for Farina?"

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  76. “Reclaiming my time,” Boehner said, “the gentleman’s had his 30 years to put this bill together. And the House is going to spend a whopping five hours debating the most profound piece of legislation to come to this floor in 100 years. And the chairman has the audacity to drop a 300-plus page amendment in the hopper at 3:09 a.m. this morning. And so I would ask my colleagues, don’t you think the American people expect us to understand what’s in this bill before we vote on it?”

    “And so to get to page 34,” he continued...

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  77. ...or, maybe:

    "Will Work for Semolina?"

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  78. And I'll discretely autograph it in black Sharpie with a diminutive "And take your HB friends with you."







    C'mon, bob. I'm goin' out on a limb, here.

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  79. This, a typical IBEC kind of a guy, back in the day.

    Born to the pioneer Franciscus family of St. Louis, John and his brother James (later to earn fame as a Hollywood actor) were educated at Taft and Yale. John then spent a year training as a single-engine fighter pilot with the Air Force. Out of the Air Force and into the job market, the young married man got an interview with Nelson Rockefeller. The resulting job offer was to work for Rockefeller’s International Basic Economy Corporation (IBEC) in Puerto Rico.

    IBEC’s mission was simple: Take American know how into underdeveloped countries and set up the basic industries of housing and food distribution. Franciscus arrived starry-eyed, ready to carry the flag and do good
    .

    He began with IBEC in 1958 as a trainee. At that time, Lawrence Rockefeller of Rock Resorts was developing the former Claire Livingston sugar plantation in Dorado. He borrowed Franciscus to help lay out and price the one-acre lots designed to rim the planned golf course.

    Franciscus left IBEC and started Franciscus Real Estate. Along the way, Franciscus would be drawn back to his first dream of helping undeveloped countries, a dream that has led to adventures all over the Caribbean. He started with the Dominican Republic and wrote the book Dominican Opportunity. Franciscus’s reasoning was to attract business; entrepreneurs needed a guide for what to expect.

    Two weeks after the book was published, the Dominican Republic erupted in a political revolution. Franciscus became the quotable expert on the D.R. He flew i9n the first newsman, Jules du Bois of the Chicago Tribune in his own plane. The next day dogging the DRs p51s, Franciscus flew in John Barnes of Newsweek and Nick Valeriani of CBS. The story he flew out scooped the world and Pres. Johnson's speech announcing that the USA had sent in the 82nd Airborne to stop a communist takeover
    .

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  80. Not all that sure, how he came to work for 'em. He was inside the 'family' circle for quite a spell. Would've moved to DC, if Nelson had become President, in '68. Lucky for me, Nixon won.

    They had Company picnics at the Estate. Quite the place. It's where I decided that game was not for me.

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  81. Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio countered that, without the bill, the United States would remain energy-dependent on people who want to “fly planes into our buildings.”

    Friday, June 26, 2009, Dumb Analogy Day

    My first entry (courtesy of a Democrat, btw):

    ...the United States would remain energy-dependent on people who want to “fly planes into our buildings.”

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  82. Ikenga: Obama, the African Colonial

    Many conservative (East, West, South, North) African-Americans like myself -- those of us who know our history -- have seen this movie before. Here are two main reasons why many Americans allowed Obama to slip through the cracks despite all of his glaring inconsistencies: First, Obama has been living on American soil for most of his adult life. Therefore, he has been able to masquerade as one who understands and believes in American democratic ideals. But he does not. Barack Obama is intrinsically undemocratic and as his presidency plays out, this will become more obvious." Well, it's already obvious to us. All these czars that have no accountability to legislative forces? They are not approved by Congress like cabinet secretaries are. He's announced 13 or 14 czars. He's running the car companies. He's running the mortgage and banking business. He's done this without the process of Democratic legislation.

    He's just declared it fiat, and his party is in power in the House so they're letting him do this. "Second, and most importantly," she writes, "too many Americans know very little about Africa. The one-size-fits-all understanding that many Americans (both black and white) continue to have of Africa might end up bringing dire consequences for this country. Contrary to the way it continues to be portrayed in mainstream Western culture, Africa is not a continent that can be solely defined by AIDS, ethnic rivalries, poverty and safaris. Africa, like any other continent, has an immense history defined by much diversity and complexity. Africa's long-standing relationship with Europe speaks especially to some of these complexities -- particularly the relationship that has existed between the two continents over the past two centuries. Europe's complete colonization of Africa during the nineteenth century, also known as the Scramble for Africa, produced many unfortunate consequences, the African colonial being one of them."

    The African colonial politician (ACP) feigns repulsion towards the hegemonic paradigms of Western civilization. But at the same time, he is completely enamored of the trappings of its aristocracy or elite culture." She's pegging Obama here, just pegging him. He's totally caught up in the trappings of aristocracy or elite culture, taking the plane up to New York, flying the kids over to Paris. This is the stuff about the job he loves, he's enamored of it.

    "The ACP blames and caricatures whitey to no end for all that has gone wrong in the world. He convinces the masses that various forms of African socialism are the best way for redressing the problems that European colonialism motivated in Africa. However, as opposed to really being a hard-core African Leftist who actually believes in something, the ACP uses socialist themes as a way to disguise his true ambitions: a complete power grab whereby the 'will of the people' becomes completely irrelevant.

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  83. You already received a t-shirt, mister.

    Did I not say that previous winners are disqualified?

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  84. GOP filibusters cap and trade

    Tax and spend. Tax and spend. Dick Morris says that 60% of America will pay no taxes and a large segment of those will in fact, receive transfer payments. Then you've got government health care and the confiscatory energy costs of cap and trade.

    How's this going to work out?

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  85. "Lucky for me, Nixon won.
    "
    ---
    Unlucky for us, what with EPA, Ping Pong, Price Controls, and etc.

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  86. "How's this going to work out?"
    ---
    Not sure.
    Just keep hopin and changin.
    ...or put on Black Face and do some
    Shuckin and Jiven.

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  87. It will address that chart on, Figure 9, page 11, of "A New Era of Responsibility: Renewing America's Promise. The President's Budget and Fiscal Preview".

    In an wholehearted attempt to reverse the trend seen there.

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  88. Did I not say that previous winners are disqualified?

    No. You're playing field is tilted.

    Competition. It ...brings out the best in products and the worst in people.

    “You can't just beat a team, you have to leave a lasting impression in their minds so they never want to see you again”.

    Mia Hamm

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  89. Coincidentally. I've just spent the past eight days intermittently watching World Cup Trials.

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  90. I love paradox and irony.

    Winner gets to try and figure out whether Chuckie's "fuck them (Iraqis)" supersedes his inexhaustible contempt for their American military counterparts. Or if Chuckie understands incongruity.

    I hope rat wins.

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  91. There can't be a winner, lineman, as there is only consistency in my position.

    That the Iraqi do not deserve more US blood or treasure is self evident from their behaviour.
    The US military's inability to accomplish its'primary mission in Iraq has been reported daily, for six years.

    They are seperate tones that harmonicly converge, it's true.

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  92. Let me say that again.

    The US beat Spain.

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