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 25, 2010

Adolf Hitler and his lust for a Mercedes Benz




Adolf Hitler wrote begging letter for Mercedes loan

Adolf Hitler wrote a begging letter to a Mercedes dealership asking for a loan for a limousine until his royalties for Mein Kampf came through.

Allan Hall, in Berlin Telegraph
Published: 1:35PM BST 23 Jun 2010


The letter, was written in 1924 from his jail cell at Landsberg Fortress prison where he was imprisoned that year for his role in the "Bierkeller Putsch" when his nascent Nazi party tried, and failed, to seize power in Munich.

In jail he wrote Mein Kampf, the blueprint for power that would make him rich. However, when he penned a letter to Jakob Ferlin, owner of a Mercedes-Benz dealership in Munich, there was little money to be had.

Hitler, who one day would own a fleet of Mercedes' cars, had his heart set on the 11/40 model which at the time cost 18,000 Reichsmarks. He had set his heart on one in grey with spoked wheels and white-wall tyres.

"But the hardest thing for me at the moment lies in the fact that the biggest payment for my work is not expected until the middle of December," he wrote in September 1924 to Herr Ferlin.

"So I am compelled to ask for a loan or an advance. Naturally something in the order of several thousand marks would be a big help." The letter also voiced concern about the engine of the vehicle; "That is the only thing about the 11/40 that makes me cautious. I can't afford a vehicle every two or three years or pay for expensive repairs either." Hitler was freed from his five-year jail sentence in December 1924, the month that he told Herr Ferlin he would be getting his first advances on Mein Kampf. But it is not known whether the auto dealer ever did business with him or not.

The letter was found at a flea market and authenticated by the Bavarian State Archive in Munich. It was the copy of Hitler's letter kept by the prison; the original went to Herr Ferlin and has been lost to history.
It is to be auctioned in Fuerth near Nuremberg in the first week of July and is expected to go for several thousand pounds.


119 comments:

  1. "Do you think... that men have always massacred each other, as they do today? Have they always been liars, cheats, traitors, brigands, weak, flighty, cowardly, envious, gluttonous, drunken, grasping, and vicious, bloody, backbiting, debauched, fanatical, hypocritical, and silly?"

    - Voltaire, Candide, Chapter 21

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  2. Per the morning paper: There shall be NO more changes in Afghanistan. What.So.Ever.

    Or as it was put to me, "Musical chairs are over and everyone has a seat."

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  3. Yes, especially in times when there was a dearth of principled leadership. Such as the present time.

    I think I saw this man the other day.

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  4. There shall be NO more changes in Afghanistan.

    It's said that Gen P is having a very hard time with the prostate cancer. I would think that someone will be tapped to baby sit Afpakistan until July, a year from now.

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  5. I swear I was just listening to that song yesterday and was going to post it, until I got home and had no electricity.

    So I'll post this song instead.

    Hitler was suppose to die in a dugout with the rest of the soldiers, until he had a dream of being buried alive. He woke up and scurried out of the dugout only to find himself wondering around in danger lands when he turned to go back there was a big explosion. When he got back to the dugout the only thing he saw was a gaping crater where his companions had been.

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  6. Quirk said,

    Oh, I wasn't talking about you WiO. I was talking about Allen and his ventriloquist dummy, Anonymous.


    I think you have me confused with DR and his bubo, "Panama Jack" (or whatever).

    "An inflamed, tender swelling of a lymph node, especially in the area of the armpit or groin, that is characteristic of certain infections, such as bubonic plague and syphilis."

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  7. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  8. Let me try that again:

    I don't think so, whit.

    I think we've arrived at the final team.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Couldn't stay away, aye.

    A lack of discipline, self-control and will, definitely on display, today.

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  10. The interesting side note, to J Wahhabi and his desire to enrich the Muslims of the Persian Gulf.

    Those Sauds, they are the same folk that the Israeli have tried to ally themselves with, in their "war" with the Iranians.

    Little wonder that those of a feather are sticking together.
    All those foreign powers in the Middle East that operate against the best interests of the United States, while taking our cash, or living off our line of credit, with Charlie Chi-com.

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  11. Finreg has passed. I have not read the bill but I will predict this:

    Whatever the change, the banks and Wall Street will adapt.

    There will be more government intrusion.

    The American public will pay for the entire thing.

    Major flaws will appear.

    Someone somewhere will make a lot of money.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Melody: Back to the beach. Peace out.

    I'll join you, and we can watch the tar balls come in.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Blogger Quirk said...

    Hey, Ash. This isn't you in this picture is it?



    Where are those guys? Naw, it wasn't me. I'm the one guy running about in a chem suit (well white painting suit), helmet and gas mask. Where the heck is everyone...


    ...it's like a ghost town down here. Me, a few folks wandering the streets and packs of cops everywhere!

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  14. T: I'll join you, and we can watch the tar balls come in.



    Tar balls?

    Hmmm.. Winter is coming...

    I wonder how WELL tar balls burn inside a waste oil burner?

    Do I hear CHEAP FUEL for warehouse heat?

    I propose, that we allow the innovation of Americans SOLVE the issue of the easy access of tar and oil...

    Buy low, sell high...

    When I see easy access to oil, I see profit...

    Why are communities not setting up and sucking up the oil BEFORE it hits land to USE IT?

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  15. Melody where did you get that about Hitler I don't think it happened that way at all.

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  16. BECAUSE OBAMA ADMIN WOULD NOT STOP ONE OF THE THIRTEEN FEDERAL AGENCIES DOWN FROM NOT ALLOWING THEM TO COLLECT AND SELL THE LATEST BOUNTY FROM THE (bottom of the) GULF.

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  17. Really a pretty stupid question, WIO:

    You know damn well The Won, aka, the Commie/Muslim does not believe in profit, interst on loans, or private enterprise.

    Give me a break.

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  18. BECAUSE OBAMA ADMIN WOULD NOT STOP ONE OF THE THIRTEEN FEDERAL AGENCIES DOWN ***THERE*** FROM NOT ALLOWING THEM TO COLLECT AND SELL THE LATEST BOUNTY FROM THE (bottom of the) GULF.

    Made no sense without the there there.

    ...like Oakland CA.

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  19. I think he put the old Luger or Ruger in his mouth and pulled the trigger and his girl did too then the guards took the bodies out and poured gas on 'em and burned them mostly up and some Russian soldiers found some remains.

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  20. Why BHO sent the Bust Back

    "Individual Moslems may show splendid qualities. Thousands become the brave and loyal soldiers of the Queen: all know how to die.

    But the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world.

    Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytising faith.

    It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science - the science against which it had vainly struggled - the civilisation of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilisation of ancient Rome."

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  21. Thanks for tipping us to the Yon thing at the corner, Trish.

    Hard to believe it gave you the dry heaves, but that's what makes a horserace, I guess.

    141. Doug
    134. whatdayameanitstoohot

    One factor was that nature intervened:
    Neither the General nor the Rolling Stoner anticipated that volcanic ash would strand them together in Paris for a month.
    But it did.

    ---

    At The Corner:

    Petraeus Can [Michael Yon]

    The United States has again called upon Gen. David Petraeus during crisis. There have been other times, the most remarkable being in January 2007, when we were on the cusp of losing the war in Iraq. The chances against success were increasingly remote. I was there through the entire surge, and more, and saw the remarkable transformation under the command of General Petraeus and due to the incredible efforts of our armed forces and their civilian counterparts. No book that I have read, including the one that I wrote, has fully conveyed the magnitude of those days. You simply had to be there.

    Here we are again, this time on the cusp of losing the war in Afghanistan. The situation is worse than ever before. Again, the United States has asked Gen. David Petraeus to step into a situation that seems hopeless to many people. It is not hopeless, just extremely bad. All is not lost, just nearly lost. Our people can turn this war around.



    Yon, kicked out by ‘Crystal’s clan, is in communication with Petraeus and has been invited to embed with the troops once again.

    After things settle down, Yon will inform the General about what the troops really think and feel.

    (info that would not be shared within the chain of command.)

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  22. Melody I even like your toes though they've got too much toe nail polish on 'em.

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  23. From BC:

    Trishes Hero, the troop's scourge:

    McChrystal has issued some of the strictest directives to avoid civilian casualties that the U.S. military has ever encountered in a war zone.

    It’s “insurgent math,” as he calls it – for every innocent person you kill, you create 10 new enemies.

    He has ordered convoys to curtail their reckless driving, put restrictions on the use of air power and severely limited night raids.

    He regularly apologizes to Hamid Karzai when civilians are killed, and berates commanders responsible for civilian deaths.

    “For a while,” says one U.S. official, “the most dangerous place to be in Afghanistan was in front of McChrystal after a ‘civ cas’ incident.”

    The ISAF command has even discussed ways to make not killing into something you can win an award for: There’s talk of creating a new medal for “courageous restraint,” a buzzword that’s unlikely to gain much traction in the gung-ho culture of the U.S. military.

    But however strategic they may be, McChrystal’s new marching orders have caused an intense backlash among his own troops.

    Being told to hold their fire, soldiers complain, puts them in greater danger.
    “Bottom line?” says a former Special Forces operator who has spent years in Iraq and Afghanistan.
    “I would love to kick McChrystal in the nuts.

    His rules of engagement put soldiers’ lives in even greater danger.
    Every real soldier will tell you the same thing.” …

    McChrystal may have sold President Obama on counterinsurgency, but many of his own men aren’t buying it.

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  24. “For a while,” says one U.S. official, “the most dangerous place to be in Afghanistan was in front of McChrystal after a ‘civ cas’ incident.”

    The ISAF command has even discussed ways to make not killing into something you can win an award for: There’s talk of creating a new medal for “courageous restraint,” a buzzword that’s unlikely to gain much traction in the gung-ho culture of the U.S. military
    .

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  25. Let's not forget the coverup of the friendly fire death of Pat Tillman.

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  26. In Afghanistan, let U.S. troops be warriors

    There was an international uproar when, on Sept. 4, in Afghanistan's Kunduz province, an American fighter jet under NATO command bombed a group of Taliban fighters who had hijacked two fuel tanker trucks. The trucks exploded, the fighters were killed, and so were a still-undetermined number of Afghan civilians.

    The civilian deaths sent shudders through the American military command, already fearful that civilian casualties would further alienate the Afghan public. Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top American commander in Afghanistan, was said to be angry and determined to tighten the U.S. force's already-strict rules of engagement even more to avoid future civilian deaths.

    Then something odd happened. When McChrystal met with local leaders in Kunduz, a few days after the bombing, he got an earful -- but not what he expected.

    According to a detailed account in The Washington Post -- a story that has received too little attention in the ongoing debate over U.S. policy in Afghanistan -- the local Afghan leaders told McChrystal to stop being so fussy and to go ahead and kill the enemy, which they said would help bring stability to the region.

    Post reporter Rajiv Chandrasekaran was given extraordinary access to the bombing investigation. According to his account, McChrystal began the meeting with a show of sympathy for those who had been killed or wounded. The general didn't get very far before he was interrupted by the provincial council chairman, Ahmadullah Wardak.

    The security situation has been getting worse in Kunduz, Wardak told McChrystal. American and NATO troops haven't been aggressive enough in pursuing and killing the Taliban. In Wardak's view, the bombing of the fuel tankers, rather than a mistake, was the right thing to do.

    "If we do three more operations like was done the other night, stability will come to Kunduz," Wardak said, according to the Post account. "If people do not want to live in peace and harmony, that's not our fault."
    Chandrasekaran reported that McChrystal "seemed caught off guard." Wardak clarified a bit more: "We've been too nice to the thugs," he said.

    So instead of receiving an angry lecture on America's disregard for Afghan life, the general received an angry lecture on America's hesitance to go after the enemy.
    ---
    Now cut again, this time to Sept. 8, when four U.S. Marines were killed when the Taliban ambushed their patrol in Kunar province. The Marines were taken completely by surprise and pinned down under heavy Taliban fire. McClatchy reporter Jonathan Landay was with them and wrote a harrowing account of their desperate battle to survive.

    The rules of engagement again played a role. "U.S. commanders, citing new rules to avoid civilian casualties, rejected repeated calls to unleash artillery rounds at attackers dug into the slopes and treelines," Landay wrote, "despite being told repeatedly that they weren't near the village."

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  27. I think you can forget about that, Doug.

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  28. Are we done, or do you have more to add, sweetheart?

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  29. Barack Obama needs to make a very public display of kissing Petraeus' butt.

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  30. Three rounds to the forehead, from under 20 meters, doug, is not friendly fire it's murder.

    Tillman's autopsy raised doctors' suspicions
    Medical evidence 'did not match' military's account

    By MARTHA MENDOZA
    THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

    SAN FRANCISCO -- Army medical examiners were suspicious about the close proximity of the three bullet holes in Pat Tillman's forehead and tried without success to get authorities to investigate whether the former NFL player's death amounted to a crime, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.


    There was a cover up built within the cover up. Multiple layers of lies and deception.

    Expertly done.

    If Stan was not a part of it, he at least knew of it. Warned his political supporters, in Congress, not to go deep into praising Tillman.

    The awarding of the Silver Star, pure politics, as well as part of the cover up.

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  31. Stan's commander, General P, knew full well the results of the ROE, and did not have them changed.

    Doubt he will now that Stan is gone.

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  32. whit said...
    I think you can forget about that, Doug.

    ---
    Huh?

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  33. Maybe he should just bow to him.

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  34. "Doubt he will now that Stan is gone."

    As Trish says, local commanders carry them out.

    Now that they don't have to worry about Crystal busting their ass for saving their troops, it's gotta get better.

    I hope.

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  35. I meant you can forget about the RoE. I doubt they're going to change much.

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  36. ... the Associated Press reported that a doctor who examined Tillman's body after his death wrote, "The medical evidence did not match up with the, with the scenario as described," also noting that the wound entrances appeared as though he had been shot with an M16 rifle from fewer than 10 yards (9 m) away.

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  37. Those who have never been in battle (pretenders) just don't get it: sometimes bad things happen to good people; it's that simple.

    Tillman's death was an embarrassing tragedy, like the Liberty incident - nothing more sinister than that.

    The "O" team will provide plenty of continued ineptitude. There is no point in exhuming the dead. Unsubstantiated slanderous attacks on the USA is just plain ghoulish, in the instance, particularly when 13 soldiers remain unavenged in the Fort Hood murder.

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  38. Woulda been a Damn Shame if Yon had been embeded with Tillman's unit.
    ...but of course he would probably have been kicked out beforehand as he was from Afghanistan under Stan.

    He's welcome back now.
    Funniest thing.

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  39. 3 rounds at 10 meters is murder.

    Go argue with the doctor that did the autopsy, he knows better than you.

    The Army covered up the truth, as is their wont.

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  40. Stan and Barry,
    both liberals, both for "transparency."

    ...as defined by Nancy Pelosi.

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  41. 137 on Liberty.
    Flying the Battle Flag.

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  42. What I don't get about Tillman is why anyone would to murder him?

    Answer that.

    That leads me to believe it was just an accident.

    There is usually a reason for putting bullets in a man's brain, and I don't see any reason for it.

    So I think it was just an accident.

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  43. "Our people can turn this war around."

    Ridiculous.

    Not the way we fight wars these days.

    Prior to Afghanistan and Iraq, the US was considered THE world hyper-power. An illusion to be sure but a very useful one. With Bush's actions, the world was disabused of that notion.

    Had we gone into Afghanistan and taken out Ben Laden or at a minimum drove him out of the country along with the Taliban and left, things would have been very different right now. Not in Afghanistan but for the US.

    First off we would have initially been abused for not adhering to the "pottery barn" rules; however, that wouldn't last long since we were the ones who were initially attacked and more importantly history is written by the winners. The illusion of invincibility would have been maintained.

    In Afghanistan, half the people wouldn't have even noticed we had been there except for the empty beer cans left by the troops. The Taliban may have reorganized and come back eventually; but heck, they did that anyway and now we are negotiating with them.

    In Iraq, we wouldn't have most of the population hating us. We wouldn't have hundreds of thousands of dead civilians and millions of refugees we're blamed for. We wouldn't have provided ten years of excuses for radical Islam to blame the US. Likely, we wouldn't have had Obama and a legacy of the US as unreliable ally.

    In other words, the US would still be considered the baddest SOB in the valley.



    .

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  44. bob said...
    What I don't get about Tillman is why anyone would to murder him?

    Me neither.
    But 3 bullets is an "accident?"

    ---

    Not being a student of history, I only learned a minute ago while looking up "Battle Flag" that the Liberty also came under a torpedo attack.

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  45. Re: The Army covered up the truth, as is their wont



    No doctor, no board of inquiry declared Tillman's death "murder". His parents and loved ones made no such claim.

    You are foulmouthed, lying scum!

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  46. OJ:
    I accidentally stabbed my wife 143 times.

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  47. I'm the foulmouthed one, Allen.

    He's the lying scum that denies we need more skimmers.

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  48. Hell, Doug, those guns are rapid fire.

    My son has a rifle, a .223, that's not even automatic, and I've seen him rip off rounds out at the farm, fast as you can believe.

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  49. Doug,

    Re: Tillman

    Have you any idea of the cyclic rate of fire of an M4?

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  50. I'm going to skip over the rants.


    The problem is that Team Obama will not fight for Team America, the president himself perhaps believing that not being actively at odds with them is the same as actively and energetically - and presidentially - supporting them.

    And maybe he really does not grasp the whole civilian leadership thing, which entails so much more than shit-canning your hand-picked man in Kabul because his staff got too familiar with a Rolling Stone reporter.

    Obama doesn't need to kiss Petraeus' butt. He just has to be a leader. The sooner the better.

    I'll say it again: We cannot meet that July 2011 deadline.

    How long ARE we gonna be there?

    For as long as it takes.

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  51. "I'm going to skip over the rants."

    It's good to see someone here is taking the high road, Trish.

    Kudos.


    :)


    .

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  52. If Ida. If only.

    If only we our law enforcement and intel agencies had cooperated prior to 9/11.

    If only Clinton had responded more vigorously to the threat.

    If only we had gotten Saddam during the first Gulf war.

    If only Jimmie Carter hadn't betrayed the Shah.

    Where does it stop?

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  53. bob said...
    Hell, Doug, those guns are rapid fire.

    My son has a rifle, a .223, that's not even automatic,

    Last week I shot off a 30 round mag for my ar15 (.223) in about 20 seconds and i wasnt trying...

    the army version?

    700–950 rounds/min, cyclic depending on model

    3 rounds from a full auto .223? Fart on the trigger.

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  54. You're just a racist that doesn't like Dark Meat, Papa Ray!

    Russia to Lift Ban on U.S. Chicken Meat, Obama Says After Medvedev ...

    Jun 24, 2010 ... “It's odd, when you're sitting in historic meetings with your Russian counterpart, to spend time talking about chicken,” Obama said.

    Rapid Relief

    Dark-meat chicken prices “should improve fairly rapidly” as Russia resumes buying, said Joe F. Sanderson Jr., the chief executive officer of Laurel, Mississippi-based Sanderson Farms.

    “We needed the Russian market back,” Sanderson said in a telephone interview. “Dark-meat values were coming under some pressure. This is going to take that pressure off. This is good news for the balance of the year.”

    Negotiations with Russia to enter the World Trade Organization may be wrapped up as soon as September, Obama said. Obama didn’t provide details of the poultry export agreement during his speech.

    “It’s odd, when you’re sitting in historic meetings with your Russian counterpart, to spend time talking about chicken,” Obama said. “But our ability to get resolved a trade dispute around poultry -- that is a multibillion-dollar export for the United States -- was an indication of the seriousness with which President Medvedev and his team take all of these trade and commercial issues.”

    - ht, Papa Ray

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  55. How long ARE we gonna be there?

    For as long as it takes.


    With the current CiC?

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  56. I see that almost 1300 prisoners took advantage of the home buying credit on the government's recently closed stimulus progam.




    .

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  57. Just quoting the AP, that quotes the doctor that did the autopsy.

    That his parents did not want to drag it out, more than understandable.

    That I believe the Doctor, sure as shootin'.

    700 rounds per minute, on auto.
    At 150 meters, up the hill, which is the story that Army tells, no one will put a three shot grouping in a 3 inch impact area, no indeed.

    There was no damage to any of the vehicles, no impact from incoming rounds, the only other casualty, the Afghan guide that could not be trusted to stick to the story.

    Believe what you want, I couldn't give a shit what you think anyway.

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  58. Well, Mrs. Rodgers, just over there, is back from Spokane, and is working on her roses. She went to Spokane on a shopping trip, put the high heels on, she's about 80 or more, wanted to look nice, tumbled over, and ended up in the hospital. Thank G-D she's got a son here, and I don't have to take care of her. She's a Catholic, I'm Lutheran by birth. But I do think we should take care of our neighbors.

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  59. I do not deny we could use the skimmers, doug, just that there was reason why they were not brought to the scene, sooner.

    BP and its' lies about the flow rate.

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  60. If there is any argument about the rate of fire of a .223, I'll let 'Rat make it.

    I only fired one round from that weapon, accidently, and it went through my kitchen and pantry, not anyone's head.

    In the Army, we carried the trusy M-14.

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  61. She's a Catholic, I'm Lutheran by birth.

    OMG - You mean to tell me you live in the same neighborhood?

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  62. "BP and its' lies about the flow rate."

    Just heard more news yesterday about BP's active coverup of flow rate.

    ...I've been banging the Woods Hole drum for a month.

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  63. It's been pointed out that, from the beginning, the flow rate was estimated by the Coast Guard.

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  64. Up to about day 45, the culpabity for mismanagement of the Deepwater Horizon spew and the majority of the errors, all lay upon BP.

    That their lack of verasity is now well known, there seems to have been some change in the Federal stance. Not much, but those Dutch ships have been granted a waiver.

    That there are some many Chiefs, so few Indians, typical of the Federal management technique of overlapping responsibility.

    All written into the Law, by design or error, but the Law, none the less..

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  65. There's too much propaganda, lies and innuendo coming out about the Deepwater Horizon that it's hard to know the truth. Too many don't care about the truth.We latch onto and run with that which fits our whirled view and agenda.

    Same as we do with events of the Middle East.

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  66. Since BP had control of the cameras, not letting outsiders sneak a peek, one has to think, again, of the oil that did not reach the surface.

    That oil not part of the Coast Guard's estimates.

    Unless J Wahhabi is right and there are no underwater plumes. In which case the flow has steadily increased, from the beginning, until now.

    The initial flow rates not thought to need a massive response.

    The only other option, Admiral Allen and his Coast Guard staff, are all inept.

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  67. I only fired one round from that weapon, accidently, and it went through my kitchen and pantry...

    That is inexcusable. Shame on you!

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  68. Along, as J Wahhabi says, with NOAA.

    We can assume that all the Federals involved are inept.

    Which may well be the case, but that cannot all be laid on Obama. Betcha Admiral Allen has well over twenty years of Federal service on his resume.
    A government man, through and through.

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  69. 9 meters is awfully close, and the recoil of the .223 is awfully light. I think it would be possible to get that grouping from an accidental discharge of an M16 at that range. From an M4? Not a clue. Someone who has studied that weapon should know.

    To find out, you would have to take one to the range, arrange to fire from 9 meters, and find out.

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  70. I see that almost 1300 prisoners took advantage of the home buying credit on the government's recently closed stimulus program.

    Quirk

    heh

    Well, why, why the hell not? if you were a prisoner you'd do the same.

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  71. Speaking of cars.


    Ford engineers squeeze out 48.5 mpg in a 2011 Mustang"

    "It took 1,457 laps around a track, but Ford Motor Co. set a benchmark for the Mustang and made a point: A muscle car can be fuel efficient.

    The automaker took a 2011 Ford Mustang with a V-6 engine to Bristol Speedway in Tennessee this week to see if the car could run 1,000 laps and 533 miles on a single tank of gas.

    A team of five, taking turns behind the wheel, drove -- carefully -- for nearly 18 hours to make the most of every drop of fuel.

    The payoff: The car passed the 1,000-lap mark with a quarter of a tank to spare.

    "To see a Mustang post average fuel economy of 48.5 mpg while running at Bristol is impressive," said Dave Pericak, Mustang chief engineer, crediting the car's new V-6 mated to an advanced six-speed transmission.

    Achieving that performance required a different approach to driving.

    Drivers tried to forgo air conditioning, avoided sudden stops and starts and kept the engine revs low with steady, consistent driving. Average speed, according to Ford: 43.9 mph.

    The vehicle was equipped with a lightweight 3.7-liter V-6, dual-overhead cams, twin independent variable camshaft timing and other engineering advances available on any Mustang.

    "This is beyond our wildest dreams," said Tom Barnes, the lead engineer for the lap challenge.

    "It was great when we went past the 1,000 lap mark with David, but nobody could ever imagine that we still had five hours ahead of us."

    Ford has been pursuing its EcoBoost fuel-efficiency strategy for years. Every aspect of a car is scrutinized for its contribution to improving mileage, and technologies have been developed to get more power and performance from smaller engines.



    From The Detroit News:

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  72. You are right, rufus, at 9 meters you can get a 3 inch group on full auto.

    But at 150 meters, up hill, in a combat situation while taking incoming fire, not a chance.

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  73. Then, again, at 9 meters you'd surely recognize the target.

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  74. Just the physics of the deal.

    The slightest angle of deviation, at 150 meters, you'll lose the grouping.

    Even the slight recoil of a M4 or M16 will provide for that deviation, when firing on full auto.

    3/7 SFG ran a Sniper course at Fort Gulick, Canal Zone.

    Been there, done that.

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  75. I would call it justifiable homicide.


    Police: Vuvuzela noise drives an American nuts

    "German police say an American got so fed up with the constant mosquito-like droning from his neighbors' vuvuzela plastic horns that he threatened to kill them with an ax.

    "Police in the Bavarian city of Weiden said Friday the 45-year-old man confronted his neighbors during Thursday's Netherlands-Cameroon World Cup game wielding the ax.

    "They said he was so sick of the constant buzzing and honking from the vuvuzelas since the tournament began that he screamed: "I will kill you," and then returned home.
    German authorities took the U.S. Army civilian employee into custody and turned him over to U.S. military police. The military says he has been released and the matter is in German hands.

    "Prosecutors are investigating whether to charge the man, whose name was not released, with making a threat and slander for allegedly calling his neighbors names...



    Insult to the Ears


    .

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  76. The story is not one of an accidental discharge at 9 meters, rufus, but of being engaged in fire fight, at 150 meters.

    A fire fight where there was no evidence of the shooters taking any incoming rounds.

    No hits on any of the vehicles.

    The only casualties, Tillman and the Afghan guide.

    Tillman could not be bought.
    He would not have acquiesced to the heroin trade and could not be bribed. He had already turned down $3.2 million USD from the Cardinal football team, to go to Afghanistan, to fight for the USA.

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  77. First it was the feet, then the thighs....before you know it Red will be out getting a bikini wax.

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  78. Really fascinating about the Mustang, Q. That engine will crank out some serious HP, too.

    No one seems to have noticed how the auto companies didn't fight the 35 mpg CAFE Standard at all. They already knew they were heading there, and had the technology to get the job done.

    Also, unremarked upon by the "doomers" is the fact that about half the miles driven are accomplished by cars 6 years old, or less.

    Add in "hybrids," and ethanol (by the fall of next year some cars will be getting the same mileage on ethanol as on gasoline,) and by the end of the decade we're not going to be using Nearly as much gazzoline as we are now.

    If we got busy on cellulosic refineries we really could be off "Imported" Oil by 2020.

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  79. Deuce, re: bikini wax, aint nothing better than a smoothie!

    Regarding those ROE that some said were not subject to change:

    "A military source close to Gen. David Petraeus told Fox News
    that one of the first things the general will do when he takes over in Afghanistan is to modify the rules of engagement to make it easier for U.S. troops to engage in combat with the enemy."

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  80. No doubt as soon as Trish returns she will acknowledge that she was wrong forthwith.

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  81. The more I think about it, the more damning the ouster of Yon by Crystal is:

    Like other liberals, transparency has a different meaning for the General.

    Yon exposed the tragic results of his ROE's and he was involved in outting some rogue Canadian Generl when Crystal kicked him out.

    That Petraeus invited him back in is evidence that he is less concerned about the truth getting out.

    The Rolling Stoning and voting for Obama:

    Terminally flawed judgement.

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  82. We could return to the moon again in less that ten years also Rufus, but we never will unless government returned to the size it was in the sixties relative to the size of the GDP.

    Yet you want the Government to GROW massively via Obamacare and the like.

    2000 page financial reform, 3000 page healthcare reform = terminal dysfunction of the same sort that is allowing the Gulf damage to become far worse than need be.

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  83. Doug, regarding Trish admitting she was wrong (NOT), that's about as safe a bet as one could make these days!

    Regarding McChrystal and Yon, I agree 100%. Someone yesterday wrote an article abt the difference between McChrystal's snake-eater upbrining, all in the shadows and away from the bright lights of the press, versus Petraeus' much more facile media relationships. Interestingly, Yon is also a snake-eater, but chose to be a highly independent reporter as a means to honor the ultimate contributions of fallen friends in Iraq.

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  84. The Moon. Been there, Done dat.

    A lot of people in this country need healthcare, Doug. More than need to watch someone hit golf balls on the moon.

    As for Finreg? Well, the sad fact is those bankers will get drunk and destroy the world economy from time to time. I doubt, seriously, that this bill will prevent that from happening, but I doubt that it will do any harm, either.

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  85. DR Gum Flapper Knucklhead,

    Here's a concise explanation of how easy it would be to eliminate our dependence on oil and do away with the Middle East oil tax.

    http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6625

    Maybe you and the 20% of Americans who read the Daily Kos would volunteer to give up 75% of your daily energy use, but the vast majority of Americans would say NFW!

    Also, at the Oil Drum site is a very interesting, but as yet not proven to be true, report of a 700 million gallon oil spill in the Persian Gulf in 1993, 85% of which was sucked up by supertanker skimmers.

    Since the Saudis are so adamant that it aint true, I tend to believe it is true.

    More here: http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6485

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  86. "but I doubt that it will do any harm, either."

    Just like Obamacare won't cause massive harm!
    Rufus is wearing his Rose Coloreds proudly today.

    ---

    "“My guess is there are three unintended consequences on every page of this bill,” Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R., Texas) said of the nearly 2,000-page bill. "

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  87. "...before you know it Red will be out getting a bikini wax."

    Charming, Blue. Really.

    If I make that my avatar, will you will promise to kill Doug?

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  88. I can't promise but I will give very serious consideration.

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  89. :-)

    Long as it's a Top Kill.

    Hate to take my last in the ass.

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  90. The Stringer and the Snake-eater

    Also missing in action from Hastings’s oeuvre is any discussion of the tactical alternatives in Afghanistan, namely the approach championed by Joe Biden and noted historian Andrew Bacevich, a retired colonel who lost a son in Iraq. Their school of thought, which I happen to support, strikes a balance between the current Surge 2.0 strategy and outright disengagement, re-focusing the American mission on the problem that got us into Afghanistan in the first place: preventing a major terrorist attack on the US homeland.

    The priority of the Biden-Bacevich approach is on destroying Al Qaeda, not the Taliban and its affiliated insurgent groups. It is a counterterrorism approach that would require at most 30,000 troops, not the current nation-building strategy which necessitates six times that many. To my way of thinking, this is common sense, yet here we are, ignoring the maxim bolted above the entryway to every war college in America that says:
    Don’t Re-fight the Last War.

    And this is my parting challenge to readers: how do you explain to a Marine on his fourth combat tour why he is fighting in Helmand province while all available intelligence indicates that the bulk of the Al Qaeda leadership is hundreds of miles away in the northwest tribal areas of Pakistan?

    ---

    David J. Morris is a former Marine and author of Storm on the Horizon (Free Press, 2004), an account of the Battle of Khafji in the Gulf War. His essay, "The Big Suck" (Winter 2007), was chosen for Best American Nonrequired Reading 2007, and "Trophy Town" (Winter 2008) shared the 2008 Staige D. Blackford Prize for Nonfiction.


    DISCUSS!

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  91. If Bite-me is for it how could anyone here be as well?

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  92. Even a stopped clock is right two times per day.

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  93. Police taser 86-year-old bedridden granny...

    COP: She took 'aggressive posture in her bed'...

    ...Drudge

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  94. Not once have I even surfed to the Daily Kos, let alone read it, wouldn't know it if I saw it.

    Don't read the "Oil Drum" either.

    I avoid extremest propaganda, when ever possible.

    What ever "solution" the Oil Drummers have, they should implement, right after the oil is off the beach in Pensecola, out of the wetlands of Louisiana, and well away from concerning the folks running that nuclear reactor on the shores of Tampa Bay.

    The new PR man for BP, says that Deepwater Horizon'll be a spewing, until mid-August.

    If the flow rates continue to increase, the folk in Tampa Bay, well, they'll grow more concerned, not less.

    $100 billion loss, if that reactor has to shut down, due to fouled sea water.

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  95. The full quote, willie:

    "A military source close to Gen. David Petraeus told Fox News that one of the first things the general will do when he takes over in Afghanistan is to modify the rules of engagement to make it easier for U.S. troops to engage in combat with the enemy, though a Petraeus spokesman pushed back on the claim."

    There's a reason for that.

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  96. Hell, doug-o, I thought that engage the aQ in Pakistan and leave the Afghani to their own devices was where you and have been, for years, now.

    Oh well.

    It'd certainly make sense, but then the ideological and blood descendants of Russell & Company management would lose control of the heroin trade, and we can't be havin' that.

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  97. and, doug, if you are worried about restrictive ROE's just imagine what they'd look like if that Bite-me plan were the policy. Personally I think it would be an improvement over current policy.

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  98. So what's going to change in Afghanistan?
    Posted By Blackfive

    On Wednesday, I received an email from one of my former soldiers in the 101st in Afghanistan who wanted to know, if GEN McChrystal was fired (2) who was his replacement and (3) what would change in Afghanistan.

    My response was (1) his resignation was accepted, (2) GEN Petraeus would assume his responsibilities and (3) not much for you guys on the pointy end of the spear.

    For those on the hard right that suspected that GEN McChrystal was an Obama-ite and pushed for a completely restrictive ROE, don't expect the ROE to change. Hopefully, GEN Petraeus can be more influential in stopping the career-concerned commanders from enhancing the restrictions in order to eliminate the possibility of civilian casualties (zero defect mentality for career progression).

    For those on the hard left that suspected that GEN McChrystal was too hardcore to win a COIN based war, well, don't expect there to be any difference in how this is carried out. This is war, not tiddly-winks, and no matter how hard we try to protect civilians, they will get hurt. McChrystal and Petraeus were both committed to protecting the civilian population.

    FWIW, the plan for Afghanistan was just as much GEN David Petraeus' plan as it was GEN Stan McChrystal's...

    There will be staff changes and CENTCOM is probably turned upside down right now. There will be a difference in approach, diplomatically, from GEN Petraeus but I don't see it amounting to being much better than GEN McChrystal's efforts. Unless Eikenberry and Holbrooke either change their efforts or depart the AO, I don't see much difference in what to expect from GEN Petraeus...especially for the grunts.

    I highly recommend that you read Greyhawk's take on this.

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  99. "Someone yesterday wrote an article abt the difference between McChrystal's snake-eater upbrining, all in the shadows..."

    I have an established and genuine affinity for those in the shadows.

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  100. ahhhh, the lookers, they alway liked the 'bad boys' ;)

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  101. and ya can't get much baaaadddder than a tater in a white suit sporting a helmet and gas mask!!!

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  102. A good look for you Ash.


    .

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  103. "...they alway liked the 'bad boys'"

    In fact, they're very good boys (and girls).

    Some gooder than others, but still.

    Being in the shadows doesn't mean being bad in this context. Just the opposite.




    "and ya can't get much baaaadddder than a tater in a white suit sporting a helmet and gas mask!!!"

    Mmmmmmm. Sexy.

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  104. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  105. And I should add before any more wine: Holbrooke and Eikenberry will stay because we want no more upsetting of the apple cart. Over the next three months, however, their authoritah will be whittled down.

    Probably not to the bloody stump that some would like to see, but ya get what ya get.

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  106. Costner cleanup device gets high marks from BP


    "We tested it in some of the toughest environments we could find, and actually what it's done — it's quite robust," Suttles said. "This is real technology with real science behind it, and it's passed all of those tests." He added that Costner's device has proved effective at processing 128,000 barrels of water a day, which "can make a real difference to our spill response efforts..."

    Costner Saves Waterworld?


    128,000 barrels times 50 gallons per barrel times 28 machines equals almost 180 million gallons a day. Of course, that's not oil but polluted water. Still, good for Costner.


    .

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  107. Why not post the whole article then, Trish my dear?

    A military source close to Gen. David Petraeus told Fox News that one of the first things the general will do when he takes over in Afghanistan is to modify the rules of engagement to make it easier for U.S. troops to engage in combat with the enemy, though a Petraeus spokesman pushed back on the claim.

    Troops on the ground and some military commanders have said the strict rules -- aimed at preventing civilian casualties -- have effectively forced the troops to fight with one hand tied behind their backs.

    The military source who has talked with Petraeus said the general will make those changes. Other sources were not so sure, but said they wouldn't be surprised to see that happen once Petraeus takes command.

    The rules, put in place by outgoing Gen. Stanley McChrystal, are classified but generally aim to limit civilian casualties by prohibiting troops from firing unless they're shot at -- or from launching bomb or artillery attacks when civilians are near the target.

    Petraeus spokesman Col. Erik Gunhus disputed the claim that those rules will be revised, telling Fox News it's too soon to tell whether Petraeus would change the current rules. But he said it is one of many issues the general will take under consideration during his assessment after he's confirmed and after he takes over command in Afghanistan.

    Related Links
    Who Is Next in Line at Central Command?

    Retired Maj. Gen. Robert Scales Jr., a Fox News military analyst, said there's no question Petraeus will have to make the changes.

    "First of all, to reinforce his commitment to take care of the troops and secondly, because he realizes as does virtually everyone in Afghanistan that these rules are getting soldiers killed," he said.

    Any adjustment to the rules of engagement does not mean the counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan will change. President Obama stressed Wednesday -- after he accepted McChrystal's resignation in the wake of a magazine article in which he and his staff were critical of the administration -- that the change-up does not represent a shift in war policy.

    Rather, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday that Petraeus, currently head of U.S. Central Command and the former U.S. commander in Iraq, will have the flexibility to reconsider "the campaign plan and the approach."

    At the same news conference at the Pentagon, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen said Petraeus will be able to make tactical changes. But he said that does not necessarily mean changes will be made and echoed the president's insistence that the strategy stays as he prepared for a visit to the war zone.

    "My message will be clear: Nothing changes about our strategy, nothing changes about the mission," Mullen said.

    The issue is likely to be front and center in Senate confirmation hearings for Petraeus next week.

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  108. "Why not post the whole article then, Trish my dear?"

    Because the careful push back was the money part of the piece, dear whoever you are.

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  109. Thank God,

    The Poppies are Safe.

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  110. Clearly what we need is independence from foreign heroin.

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  111. Costner has spent millions of dollars, to be prepared.

    Well done, on his part.

    He really took that Waterworld role to heart.

    Good on him, really.

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  112. But, he was ready to go, and it still took 60 days to deploy.

    Real whirled.

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  113. You have really made an unique collection.

    I was astonished to know the liking of Adolf Hitler on Mercedes Benz. The famous ruler was also a great fan of Mercedes like me. For more than 8 decade Mercedes have own the heart of so many people. That's fantastic.

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