COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Mexican Security Risk to The United States


Very Graphic


Mexico: bleeding to death in the war on drugs
Another 72 corpses found in a new mass grave. Feuding cartels blamed for displays of mutilated bodies. Death toll in four-year crackdown passes 28,000

By Guy Adams in Los Angeles
Thursday, 26 August 2010 Independent

The shootout left four people dead, but that was just the beginning. As dust began to settle on a ranch in north-eastern Mexico, thought to have been owned by one of the world's most powerful drug cartels, the battle-hardened Marines stumbled upon their first decomposing corpse.

Minutes later, they found a second, then a third. By the time troops had finished searching the remote property, roughly 90 miles from the US border, a total of 72 contorted bodies had been laid out in rows beneath the summer sunshine. The 54 men and 18 women had all been recently murdered.

A lone wounded survivor, who was left for dead but later stumbled upon a military checkpoint, told local newspapers yesterday that he and the victims were illegal migrants from Central America trying to make their way to the US. They had been taken hostage by the Zetas, a gang of drug-runners who have recently taken to kidnapping and human trafficking. The Ecuadorian man said his group was taken to a ranch by gunmen and shot after they refused to pay ransoms.

Troops originally raided the ranch near San Fernando, in the Gulf coast state of Tamaulipas, after a man with gunshot wounds approached a military checkpoint and said he had been attacked by a narcotics gang. Naval helicopters were dispatched to the ranch but, as they approached, several gunmen opened fire with automatic weapons and tried to flee in a convoy of vehicles. In the ensuing shootout, a Marine and three suspected cartel members were killed.

At the ranch, the Marines seized 21 assault rifles, shotguns and rifles, with 6,000 ammunition rounds. Then they discovered what a spokesman called "the lifeless bodies of 72 people". It was not clear whether the victims were separately, or in a single massacre.

Mass graves are becoming an increasingly common by-product of the wave of drug-related violence sweeping the country. In May, 55 bodies were pulled from abandoned mine near Taxco, just south of Mexico City. Last month, 51 more were unearthed from a field next to a rubbish tip near the northern city of Monterrey.

They provide stark reminders of the growing cheapness of life in a conflict that is constantly plumbing new depths of barbarity. Over the weekend, four decapitated bodies, their genitals and index fingers cut off, were hung upside down from a bridge just outside the nation's capital. Two more were dumped nearby on Tuesday.

"The federal government categorically condemns the barbarous acts committed by criminal organisations," the Navy said of the latest atrocity. "Society should condemn these acts, which illustrate the absolute necessity to continue fighting crime with all rigour."

Tamaulipas, on the north-eastern tip of Mexico bordering Texas, provides a stark illustration of the problems facing the forces of law and order across the country, as they attempt to crack down on gangs smuggling cocaine from South and Central America, where it is produced, to the US, where most of it is consumed.

For years, local supply routes were controlled by the Gulf Cartel, a long-established criminal organisation which kept its activities largely beneath the public radar. But in 2007, shortly after the newly-elected President Calderon announced a crackdown on the drugs trade, several of the group's leaders were arrested. Instead of finishing off the cartel, though, that led to the rise of a rival group, the Zetas. The subsequent turf war has claimed hundreds of victims.

It is also thought to have led to widespread corruption at the highest levels of the police and civil service, together with the murder of Rodolfo Torre Cantu, a popular candidate for state governorship, who was shot dead in his car in June in Mexico's worst political killing in 16 years. Mr Calderon told Mexicans this week to brace themselves for further killings. But he argued that the spate of deaths showed that his crackdown, which has involved replacing often-corrupt police forces with government soldiers in many regions, is slowly working.

"I do not rule out that there might be more bouts of the violence we are witnessing, and what is more, the victory we are seeking and will gain is unthinkable without more violence," he said. "But this is a process of self-destruction for the criminals."

Although most Mexicans support Mr Calderon for now, a growing minority believe that the drugs war will be impossible to win. Earlier this month, former president Vicente Fox, a staunch supporter of the US crackdown on drugs, said recent events had won him over to the cause of legalisation. "It does not mean drugs are good," he said. "But we have to see it as a strategy to weaken and break the economic system that allows cartels to earn huge profits."

To legalise or not to legalise: the drugs war in words

Mexican President Felipe Calderón, June 2010

"It is as though we have a neighbour next door who is the biggest addict in the world, with the added fact that everyone wants to sell drugs through our house... If we remain with our arms crossed, we will remain in the hands of organised crime, we will always live in fear, our children will not have a future, violence will increase and we'll lose our freedom."

Former Mexican President Vicente Fox August 2010

"We should consider legalising the production, sale and distribution of drugs... Radical prohibition strategies have never worked."

US President Barack Obama April 2009

"At a time when the Mexican government has so courageously taken on the drug cartels that have plagued both sides of the border, it is absolutely critical that the United States joins as a full partner in dealing with this issue... also on our side of the border, in dealing with the flow of guns and cash south."

Samuel Gonzalez, former anti-drugs prosecutor, August 2010

"In almost four years the government cannot claim any kind of victory and the debate is the result of the crisis of legitimacy in the strategy. But at least it is now being discussed and that has to be a good thing."



183 comments:

  1. You say you got a real solution
    Well, you know
    We'd all love to see the plan
    You ask me for a contribution
    Well, you know
    We're doing what we can
    But when you want money
    for people with minds that hate
    All I can tell is brother you have to wait


    Latin America debates legalising marijuana

    dabfly added this video and said: A growing number of Latin American countries are debating whether or not to legalise the use and sale of marijuana. For the first time, the former presidents of Mexico, Brazil and Colombia are discussing the legalisation as a means of curbing narcotics-related violence from rival cartels, which thrive off the illegal trade.

    ReplyDelete
  2. (Reuters) - Muslim, Jewish, Christian and civic groups formed a coalition on Wednesday to back a plan for a Muslim center near the site of the World Trade Center attacks in New York that has sparked heated national debate.

    ... the newly formed New York Neighbors for American Values, made up of more than 40 religious and civic groups, said the debate was creating fear and division and that it would fight for U.S. constitutional freedoms to be upheld.

    "We were not attacked by the Muslim world," said Donna O'Connor, spokeswoman for September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, whose pregnant daughter was killed in the World Trade Center attacks. "We 100 percent fully support the Islamic cultural center in New York City."

    ReplyDelete
  3. Children abused, killed as witches in Nigeria

    ... Godwin's story is typical. As he sat next to the quiet 5-year-old, Sam said that after Godwin's mother died, the church pastor told his family that "Godwin is responsible."
    ...
    "My parents sent me out of the house -- said I'm a witch," said Samuel, a 15-year-old who has lived on the streets for five years after a local pastor blamed him for unexpected deaths in the family.

    "I was beaten by the prophet in the church," he said in a quiet voice.

    ...
    "They can say your child is a witch and if you bring the child to the church we can deliver the child but eventually they don't deliver the children... The parents go back to the pastor and say, 'why is it you have not been able to deliver the child' and the pastor says 'Oh - this one has gone past deliverance - they've eaten too much flesh so you have to throw the child out.'"

    And most pastors charge a fee for deliverance -- anywhere from $300 to $2,000.

    One of the most notorious and influential pastors is Helen Ukpabio of Liberty Gospel Church. Her 1999 film, the widely distributed, "End of the Wicked" has been attacked by child rights groups for its depictions of Satan possessing children.

    ReplyDelete
  4. "Trish, and I had best, maybe, keep our 'day jobs,' (whatever those might be.) Political prognostication does not seem to be our forte."

    This IS my day job.

    I'm expecting a deux ex machina to save my reputation as a political soothsayer.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Good Luck wit dat. :)

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  6. By: Associated Press

    LUKEVILLE, AZ - Nearly $100,000 worth of marijuana has been recovered at the Lukeville port of entry south of Ajo in southwest Arizona.

    Border Patrol agents found 100 pounds of marijuana Monday.

    Officers were processing travelers entering the U.S. when they detained two 25-year-old women from Evansville, Indiana.

    Both applied for entry while driving a 1999 Ford minivan.

    The women were referred to a secondary inspection where officers discovered 101 packages of marijuana concealed in various locations inside the van.

    The women were turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Names of the pair were not released.


    A tad over the market value, that $100,000 figure.
    Could have bought 100 lbs in Phoenix for $50,000, if they knew the "right" people.

    Retail value of a single pound of pot, around $800.

    They may have spent $7,500 to $10,000 maybe even less in Mexico, for that pot.

    ReplyDelete
  7. We've wasted a Trillion Dollars on that nonsense, and all we've done is reclassify half of our citizens into Criminals.

    It's time to call an end to this insanity.

    ReplyDelete
  8. California's got it on the ballot, but it's a bad year for that particular referendum. The party of the dumshits is turning out in droves this year.

    It Was ahead in the polls the last I looked, though.

    ReplyDelete
  9. The question, of course, is how many of the polled that say they support it will come out to vote this year?

    My guess would be it suffers a very narrow defeat.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Legalization of pot would put half the lawyers, and judges, and 3/4 of the prison guards, and jailors in Mississippi out of work.

    I'm sure the numbers are about the same in most other states.

    ReplyDelete
  11. It would be Great for small landowners, though. We grow some pretty good stuff in Mississip.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Jobless Claims dropped 31,000 this week. I thought they were getting a little squirrely considering the fairly strong gasoline sales.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Whoever said money doesn't grow on trees obviously never sold marijuana.

    ReplyDelete
  14. 72 corpses in a mass grave on the border? Obama shrugs, any enforcement action would dampen the flow of new Democrats to the US.

    ReplyDelete
  15. If Imam "US worse than al-Qaeda" Rauf is a moderate Muslim, then Rev. Jeremiah "God Damn America" Wright is a moderate Christian.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Since it's going to get built anyway, just think of the Ground Zero Mosque as a big sign that says "Muslims did this".

    ReplyDelete
  17. Quirk,

    Re: I don't swing that way

    Amazing...another ill-considered shot from the lip?

    Why would our both enjoying coitus imply a homosexual relationship?

    Hmm...?

    Well, my friend it cannot, as is proven by the "evidence" of etymology, to wit:

    coitus

    NOUN:

    Sexual union between a male and a female involving insertion of the penis into the vagina.

    ETYMOLOGY:
    Latin, from past participle of core, to copulate : co-, co- + re, to go, come; see ei- in Indo-European roots


    You are truly confused - about all sorts of things I would guess. But don't think me harsh: When guys and gals rely on the colloquial "fuck" to describe a coupling of any ole sort and don't know an anus from a hole in the ground, well, one would hardly expect them to grasp the meaning of "coitus".

    ReplyDelete
  18. linear,

    Re: truthtellers

    I'm hanging around needling whit to either a) force him to defend the deletion of my post or b) prove he is vermin.

    Afterward, I will make my way over to Google headquarters with some thoughts.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Afterward, I will make my way over to Google headquarters with some thoughts.

    If someone issued a veiled threat like that to me, they'd be permabanned from posting to my blog. I'm funny like that.

    ReplyDelete
  20. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6f30PxyNfSA

    Just sayin.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Nazis and other Europeon authoritarians love the threat and application of censorship.

    Warms their little black hearts.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Rufus, I'm glad to see you finally took the blindfold off so you can see reality regarding the upcoming elections. I'm on record several places saying the Republicans will take at least 50 seats in the House and have a better than 50-50 chance of taking the Senate, as well as most governerships and state legislatures (important for redistricting) Also believe I have previously pointed folks to Dick Morris' political analyses, as he is consistently the most accurate predictor of election outcomes. See his latest post for more details on the iceberg into which the Democrats are about to crash.

    And as queen/king maker, Sarah Palin is now 20 for 30. Her endorsement/support made the difference in a number of those 20. The lady is and will be a force with which the Republican leadership must reckon, and that is a good thing.

    The first step of fixing this country is getting as many Dems out of office as possible. The second step is cleansing the Republican Party of RINO's and other riff-raff (McConnell, Graham, Alexander, Corker, etc). My only regret thus far is that Rat did not run against McCain and kick his sorry, two-timin' ass out of office. We will know that the second step is complete when Jim Demint is Senate Majority Leader.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Well, jwillie, I don't know about that blindfold thing, but it sure is looking like I wuz wrong.

    In all fairness, when you start talking picking up 40, or 50 seats, that's a hell of a thang. Six months out I figured, surely, the Dems would get a little "good news" somewhere along the line; but, hell, it's just got steadily worse. And, I admit, I underestimated the depth of the current. That sucker is wide, and DEEP.

    As for Sarah-Baby, at least I haven't been wrong, there. If you'll remember, I've said all along that anyone who can "pack'em in" the way she can had better be taken seriously.

    I do hope she hires someone with enough moxie, and balls to tell her she needs a voice coach.

    I was watching one of the Frank Luntz-type focus groups watcing one of her speeches. When her voice dropped a half a notch the lines went up, and when her voice went up a bit, the lines went down. Didn't seem to matter what she was saying.

    Anyway, I think she might be our next President. Along about 2013.

    ReplyDelete
  24. ...coitus...

    Sorry, Allen.

    But then I've always thought of you as kind of a pussy; and, well, with you always calling me "hon" and stuff you can see where there might be a little confusion.

    I'll try and do better.


    .

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  25. I expect the next headline we will be hearing out of the WSJ:

    "Google branded anti-Semitic."


    .

    ReplyDelete
  26. My cuz and her husband made a great Christmas card once, dressing up like the farmer with pitchfork and wife, with really lame looks on their faces, in front of their barn. It was very well done.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Thanks Bob, I think the 'Treehouse Gothic" dit it.


    .

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  28. One Night in Bangkok.

    Like it.

    But then, I expect T did also.


    .

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  29. If we legalize all these drugs the SAT scores are going down, is about all I got to say.

    If the Mexican gangs want to kill one another, is that such a bad thing?

    Obama and 2008 Vote Fraud


    By the way, I like Sarah's voice.

    ReplyDelete
  30. I did my level best, jwillie, about the Maverick, all I can say is that JD had more skeletons in his closet than even I knew of.

    McCain spent close to $20 million to win the primary. Just beat ol' JD about the head something fierce.

    Lots of big spending, self-funding Republicans won their primaries.

    It'll be an interesting election season, but in the long run, won't mean nothin'.

    None of the trends will be reversed, nor even slowed. All we'll see is more of the same.

    A whole lot of hot air resulting in nothin'.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Quirk,

    You thought you understood the meaning of "coitus"; you did not. That could be instructive, if you allow: Extrapolate to other recent topics.

    O, I slept like a baby last night, without thinking of you or the Princess once.

    :D

    ReplyDelete
  32. Legalize marijuana and its' use rates amongst the minors will decrease, not increase.

    Legalize marijuana and the use of cocaine will diminish, not increase.

    The gate to the "pusher" will be will shut. The cartels would be cut back and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company will do much better.

    Taxes receipts would rise.
    Prison populations and costs would be lowered, more tax money saved.

    Beer is much more detrimental than marijuana. Not only does it effect the brain, but the waistline, in this country where obesity is a public health emergency.

    Remember, this Bud's for YOU!

    ReplyDelete
  33. Pakistan's Problem is Too Little Water

    "When India and Pakistan got their independence from Britain in 1947, there was plenty of water in the Indus system for everyone. In fact, almost half the water was still flowing into the Arabian Sea unused.

    "But the population has grown fast over the years, especially on the Pakistani side of the border - from 34 million in 1947 to 175 million now - and the amount of water in the rivers has not.

    "The per capita supply of water in Pakistan has fallen from more than 5000cu m annually in 1947 to only about 1000cu m today, a level defined by the UN as "high stress"...


    Water is a Growing Problem


    In twenty years I suspect water will be one of the two or three biggest issues facing the world.

    Pakistan/India, China, Israel and the Mideast, Africa, the American Southwest, etc. all have issues now. In twenty years those problems will have escalated substantially.

    Another point of note. In about sixty years, Pakistan's population has increased by over 500%.

    What's up with that?


    .

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  34. I got to about the 1 minute mark in that "just sayin'" then had to turn it off. Lordy, I'd rather listen to the cats yowl.

    ReplyDelete
  35. They are barbarians, Q.

    They do not kill babies.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Quirk,

    Re: Google anti-Semitic

    You just don't know when to quit, do you? Ready!...Fire!...Fire!...Fire!...aim...

    Dear boy, Google is owned by what the Princess calls "fucking Russian" Jews.

    Please, stop and think before your next volley of drivel. Consider the possibility of ignorance and check with source material

    This sounds SO familiar: Quirk has a feeling, so it must be love.

    :D

    ReplyDelete
  37. Come on Allen, when has someone being a Jew stopped you from calling them anti-Semitic?



    .

    ReplyDelete
  38. (CBS) While medical marijuana is now legal in 14 states, California may be the first to legalize it for all - and that, says a new study, could have serious health impacts.

    The Rand Corporation calculates that pot use could double in California if the Sunshine State decides to legalize the drug in a November ballot.

    Why? Radically reduced prices and increased social acceptance, the study estimates.

    ReplyDelete
  39. I heard on TV that before the recent crackdown, there were 800 "medical marijuana" shops in LA.


    .

    ReplyDelete
  40. US Postal Service to discontinue Obama stamp. "Too many people were spitting on the wrong side," a spokesman said.

    ReplyDelete
  41. I got to about the 1 minute mark in that "just sayin'" then had to turn it off.

    Gee, it was just getting to the good part Bob.


    Let's face it, you are a little too "Idaho Gothic" for that music.


    .

    ReplyDelete
  42. ok I listened to the whole damn thing--same godawful hammering yammering rhythm all the way through.

    I want something mellow these days, to fit my mood.

    Nature's music. Like This

    Which would you rather smoke a joint to?

    Kinda looks like Nevada down there in the very first part.

    I think I may be losing my initiative. I don't seem to give much of a shit what happens, these days.

    ReplyDelete
  43. Quirk,

    Re: anti-Semites (Godwin alert!!!!Godwin alert!!!!!)

    Uhh, Dude, who introduced anti-Semiticism into our exchange? Yeah, you should hang that head in shame.

    You have me confused with someone else - no surprise there, QuickDraw.

    I have called ash, DR, rufus and you anti-Semitic.

    Unless, your mystical powers of truth detection absent evidence are up and running, you would not have a clue of my record beyond this site; but as always, I am certain that a triviality like truth won't stop the Quirk.

    Yep - Ready!...Fire!...Fire!...Fire!...aim

    Whatever, you are still as dumb as a post...coitus...anus...Google...

    Into my disagreement with whit you may have projected your own prejudices. See, my man; I think whit an ass; he is NOT an anti-Semite. You are.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Reposted with a slight edit from last thread:

    Blogger linearthinker said...

    Rat committed a grievous error up there. Probably just tired. No big deal.

    Funny thing is he winds up in the same grouping as WiO.

    The group needs a new name, though.

    Help me out there.

    ...

    How 'bout "Strange Bedfellows?"

    Thu Aug 26, 02:10:00 PM EDT
    .


    Now it appears Allen feels left out and wants to join rat, Quirk, and Ash in the renamed "Strange Bedfellows" of the bar.

    I think I might toss a hissy fit just to get out of a group including Ash.

    I believe I omitted Viktor from my first cut nominations. He never puts on one of those dramatic exits, just finds something better to do, and comes back to the saloon when the spirit moves him. He might get dramatic himself, though, given the new company he finds himself in.

    ReplyDelete
  45. the gurgle of the stream, the wind through the cedars, the occassional crows cry, the doe drinking from the shore, that sort of thing

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  46. Damn, Fiorina may just beat Boxer in California.

    That would really be something.

    ReplyDelete
  47. Which would you rather smoke a joint to?

    Well as I recall it was something like this.

    Jimi


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  48. Here's one more in line with your tastes Bobbo (only without the birds and crickets).


    Allman Bros


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  49. Jimi was good. So was Janice.

    But neither ended well.

    Hendrix, unknown to her, had taken nine of her prescribed Vesperax sleeping pills. The normal medical dose was half a tablet, but Hendrix was unfamiliar with this very strong German brand. According to surgeon John Bannister, the doctor who initially attended to him, Hendrix had asphyxiated in his own vomit, mainly red wine which had filled his airways, as the autopsy was to show.[109]

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  50. In the movie "Independence Day" aliens destroy Washington, DC, but later we learn that they are hostile.

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  51. Of all of us, allen, you are the most anti-Semitic poster that e have.

    You have done more to damage the reputation of those that proclaim to Jewish than any of us others.

    Just as your Guru stated about Babs and that comedian that was in "Meet the Parents".

    Your Guru was right about the most virulent promoters of anti-semitism being Jews, themselves.

    Look in the mirror, amigo. You have convince me that the other Semites of Arabia are more in the right than the wrong, when in comes to judgments about the Israeli and their government.

    ReplyDelete
  52. Since it's summertime Summertime

    and Wal-Mart time...

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  53. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  54. Rat says: Look in the mirror, amigo. You have convince me that the other Semites of Arabia are more in the right than the wrong, when in comes to judgments about the Israeli and their government.



    Nonsense...

    You hated Israel, Jews and Zionists long before Elephant Bar ever existed.

    And as your persona suggests you will hate Israel, Jews and Zionists til your black, evil heart stops...

    Hopefully that day will be soon. But alias only the good die young, you most likely will live til a 100...

    Maybe if we are lucky? you'll have a stroke.

    ReplyDelete
  55. Godwin's Law?

    I claim Quirk's Exception (there is such a thing, even I couldn't make this up).

    You used to have some good things to say when I first came to the EB. Since then you have devolved and become a caricature. Your rants on anti-Semitism now define you. It is difficult to have a conversation about you that does not include the words.

    I have called ash, DR, rufus and you anti-Semitic.

    I'll let Ash, Rufus, and rat speak for themselves. On a number of occasions I have asked you to provide me an example of a post where I have shown my anti-semitism as opposed to my animus towards you. To date, you have failed to do so.

    Most of what I say on this blog is bullshit. Everyone, including me, knows that.

    You on the other hand have become a walking straight line but you don't realize it.

    Time for a little self-analysis. Time to walk yourself back from the brink.


    .

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  56. Untrue, "o", I supported Israel when the US invaded Iraq. If you were to go back to the BC and scan the posts you would see the truth of that.

    That Saddam sponsored Palestinian terrorists, $25,000 or $35,000 for the families of homicide bombers, one of the reasons I supported toppling him.

    It was the only reason that related to the War on Terror, really.

    But the never ending series of Zionist lies that I have been exposed to, here and at the BC have turned my stomach and changed my mind.

    As for Jews, I hold them in the same disrespect I have for the other Abrahamic religions.

    Mine is an equivalency campaign, do not forget that.
    The three Abrahamic religions are equivalent when seen from outside, looking in.

    I hold all Semitics in equal disdain, Arabic and Hebrew, both equivalent with their incoherent mumblings.

    None of the peoples of Arabia, from the hills of Syria to the shores of the Gulf of Aden operate in the best interests of the United States.

    The Israeli leading that list, being Europeon expats and not truly either Semitic or Arabian.

    Dr Hiss being Polish.

    ReplyDelete
  57. No one, not a single soul, that I know and speak to, is native to a Semitic language.

    Not a one.

    The linguistic tree of all my acquaintances, rooted in Latin with a smattering of Norse thrown into the English.

    Religion, both my own and that of others, so unimportant to me that I do not even reference in real life outside this blog.

    That you have centered your life around both an archaic and bloodthirsty version of Semitic civilization, that's on you, not on me.

    ReplyDelete
  58. Rat

    You say you have a distain for the 3 Abrahamic religions. I assume you are referring to Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.

    You also say you have a religion. Care to share what your beliefs are and what source your beliefs come from?

    You may have addressed this in a previous post, but I don't get to read them all.

    ReplyDelete
  59. In the movie "Independence Day" aliens destroy Washington, DC, but later we learn that they are hostile.

    :)


    I admit I had to read it a couple times T.


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  60. legalize pot and the price will skyrocket (profiteering and taxes), the quality will plummet and because of that the market for the black-market product won't change much at all. all that needs to be done is each person be allowed to grow a couple plants for home consumption without the threat of having your house confiscated by the government. foreign exports would dry up.

    ReplyDelete
  61. Gay Arabs? And I don't mean Happy!

    Four Arab men from the Muslim village of Tamra, 20 km. east of Acre, were arrested on Tuesday night on suspicion of kidnapping a 19-year-old gay Arab relative because of his sexual orientation.

    The Arab kidnap victim had moved to Tel Aviv to get away from threatening Arab relatives, but police say the family members caught up with him after first harassing and threatening him.

    His Arab relatives had demanded he return to his village and “act normal,” the victim said.

    Police said the Arab kidnappers armed themselves with pepper spray and waited for their relative outside his south Tel Aviv apartment.

    After identifying him walking down the street with a friend, the suspects allegedly assaulted the men, sprayed them with pepper spray, and made off with their target. The kidnap victim’s friend alerted police.

    As police put up road blocks to intercept the Arab kidnappers, the car carrying the youth drove north, and the victim was repeatedly beaten, police said. He was held for approximately 12 hours, and the captors planned to move him to a hideout. At that stage, police caught up with the kidnappers, arresting them and freeing the captive.

    Queer's for Palestine...

    Talk about an OXYMORON

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  62. The two Honduran men sitting on the front steps of a Southeast Baltimore rowhouse couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of a 14-year-old black girl clutching a silver revolver and demanding money.

    But Arteesha Holt wasn't like most girls her age. A tomboy who liked playing football and basketball, relatives say she also had an explosive temper and was prone to uncontrollable outbursts.

    Once, she destroyed her family's home, slinging an ashtray across the room, tearing pictures from the wall and kicking out a heating vent, all because her infant nephew stepped on a bowl of strawberries. The girl's mother says she tried repeatedly to get her daughter help through the juvenile justice system, to no avail.

    But the men enjoying the humid night didn't know all that. So they laughed. And, police say, the seventh-grader pulled the trigger, striking both in the head and killing 43-year-old Jose Rodolfo Gonzalez-Coreas.

    Holt was arrested late Tuesday and charged as an adult with first-degree murder. District Judge Theodore B. Oshrine ordered her held without bond, following prosecutors' appeals that she is a "danger to the community."

    Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi described the shooting as "heinous."

    "It speaks to the guns that are out there and the frustrations we in law enforcement have at trying to deal with all this," he said.

    Holt's 18-year-old brother, Shawn Palmer, has been charged with being an accomplice to murder. Police say that he helped her escape from the neighborhood and took the silver .32-caliber revolver off her hands, toting it around in a black bag and showing it to people.

    The girl's mother, Raichelle Johnson, 39, said she was horrified by the allegations. Speaking from the porch of her Southwest Baltimore home, she said she worried for her daughter and sought help, but never anticipated "in a million years" the situation she faces now.

    "I don't condone my child taking a life — if she took this man's life, then she needs to be prosecuted," said Johnson. "But she's still a child. She needed help, and when we asked for help, they wouldn't give it."

    Johnson said she ran a strict house, often creating tension between her and her rebellious daughter.

    "In my house, there are rules," she said. "You have to clean up, can't cuss. A child has to be a child, like children should be."

    Something was wrong with Holt, however, her mother said. Her rage often got bottled up, erupting with terrifying results. Though she was a good student, she began having trouble in the classroom. She was shifted from school to school and charged with disturbing the peace.

    "Arteesha is … ," Johnson paused, searching for the right words. "Unstable."

    The girl frequently expressed suicidal thoughts, she said, and over the past two years often packed her few belongings and hit the streets when she got frustrated, bouncing from relative to relative.

    In East Baltimore, tears streamed down the cheeks of cousin and close friend Chernise Sample, 17, as she hinted at deep problems Holt was battling.

    "A person will just take only so much from so many people," she said. "She's not no bad person, but she do got a lot of stuff on her mind."

    No one commented on WHERE the gun came from...

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  63. I am told, gag, that I follow the basic tenets of Buddhism, without even knowing it.

    Some US expats that returned from Japan told me that, while we were training with katana.

    I do venerate my ancestors. Though I am sure that they were not without fault, I try to behave in such a way that they would not be ashamed of my behavior. My personal touchstone, as it were.

    Good, evil & the balancing of them, all are part of every life.

    That God comes to earth and walks amongst men, as a man.
    I have yet to see any proof of it.

    If he did, he'd not advocate or endorse mass killings, nor smile upon those that do. He'd not demand I kill a son, to prove my devotion or faith.

    Not any God I'd choose to believe was divine, anyway.

    I do not believe that Alexander, nor Caesar nor Jesus was God. I do not believe that Abraham or Moses or Henry VIII spoke to anyone or thing that was divine.

    None of them were the public representatives of God, here on Earth.

    Each of us represents our God, in our own image. Even those nonviable tissue masses are endowed by the Creator with inalienable rights.

    No one can rightfully deny their humanity.

    I do not search for converts to my belief system, such as it is, either. I do not really care what other folk choose to believe about their God.

    I won't be wronged. I won't be insulted. I won't be laid a-hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them.

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  64. Life, liberty, the pursuit of prosperity.

    Should be available to everyone.

    That's my religion, such as it is.

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  65. Without gun registration, one would never know where that gun had been since it left the factory.

    Where it originally came from, an arms manufacturer, more than likely.
    Big industrial building, with lathes, drills, grinders and such.

    If you knew the name of the manufacturer, it'd be easier to tell whether it was domestic or foreign made.

    But make no mistake, it was made by the hand of man. Another hallmark of Western Civilization.

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  66. The Christ of Constantine and Paul, not the same Christ that James, his brother, knew.

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  67. Let alone the Jesus that Mary Magdalene knew.

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  68. The three Abrahamic religions, just political edifices, today.

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  69. rat

    He might be thinking of Confucianism, "Filial piety", with that venerate the ancestor stuff.

    I'm gonna take a nap.

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  70. Right speech
    Right speech (samyag-vāc • sammā-vācā), deals with the way in which a Buddhist practitioner would best make use of their words. In the Pali Canon, it is explained thus:[29][30][31][32][33]

    And what is right speech? Abstaining from lying, from divisive speech, from abusive speech, and from idle chatter: This is called right speech.
    The Samaññaphala Sutta, Kevatta Sutta and Cunda Kammaraputta Sutta elaborate[34][35][36][37]:

    Abandoning false speech...He speaks the truth, holds to the truth, is firm, reliable, no deceiver of the world...
    Abandoning divisive speech...What he has heard here he does not tell there to break those people apart from these people here...Thus reconciling those who have broken apart or cementing those who are united, he loves concord, delights in concord, enjoys concord, speaks things that create concord...

    Abandoning abusive speech...He speaks words that are soothing to the ear, that are affectionate, that go to the heart, that are polite, appealing and pleasing to people at large...

    Abandoning idle chatter...He speaks in season, speaks what is factual, what is in accordance with the goal, the Dhamma, and the Vinaya. He speaks words worth treasuring, seasonable, reasonable, circumscribed, connected with the goal...

    The Abhaya Sutta elaborates:[38][39]

    In the case of words that the Tathagata knows to be unfactual, untrue, unbeneficial (or: not connected with the goal), unendearing and disagreeable to others, he does not say them.
    In the case of words that the Tathagata knows to be factual, true, unbeneficial, unendearing and disagreeable to others, he does not say them.

    In the case of words that the Tathagata knows to be factual, true, beneficial, but unendearing and disagreeable to others, he has a sense of the proper time for saying them.

    In the case of words that the Tathagata knows to be unfactual, untrue, unbeneficial, but endearing and agreeable to others, he does not say them.

    In the case of words that the Tathagata knows to be factual, true, unbeneficial, but endearing and agreeable to others, he does not say them.

    In the case of words that the Tathagata knows to be factual, true, beneficial, and endearing and agreeable to others, he has a sense of the proper time for saying them. Why is that? Because the Tathagata has sympathy for living beings.

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  71. As I said, boob, I do not know the tenets of Buddhism and do not care to learn them. I am not a Buddhist.

    Nor claim to be one.

    I am told that I behave like one, by US expats that had been exposed to it and found it agreeable, that's all.

    No more, no less.

    But yeah, I agree with most of the gibber you posted.

    Do not hurt folks without just cause.

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  72. Have sympathy for ALL living things.

    Muslims included.

    Do not advocate for mass murder, to satisfy some religious insanity.

    That is VERY uncool.

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  73. Quirk,

    Re: walking straight line

    Read this thread carefully. I have. I could care less what you or anyone else associated with it has to say, other than from a professional perspective.

    And yeah, I'd handle that Godwin thing gingerly, my friend. As you will discover, Godwin has had a great deal to say about the eponymous law since first its formulation. Much of his introspection is not going to flatter you and yours. The reason I know this? I've bothered to inquire. How bout you, Dude?

    Re: caricature

    Uh...Quirk...what is a "quirk"...this is a virtual, often surreal, milieu...so, yeah, allen is a caricature...but allen does not favor censorship and/or banishment...Quirk, on the other hand, immediately sucked up to the censor. All said, I'd rather be me than you.

    As I have said before, your first posting on this site was an insult directed to me by name, without so much as a "Howdy Doo". Spare me the lecture on collegiality, Sport.

    For a guy for whom you and others have so little respect, you all spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about me. How many times have I been named in this thread alone? And why? I’m sure DR can help you out with this one.

    I want to know why a site that lets verbal sewage flow unimpeded would block my post. That is my sin. And I do agree with linear, I need to be out of here. So, Quirk, why don't you see if you can prod whit out of the shadows.

    ReplyDelete
  74. Queer's for Palestine...

    Talk about an OXYMORON


    Homos for Hamas.

    Fags for Fatah.

    Dar-al-Islam Dykes.

    ReplyDelete
  75. desert rat said...
    Have sympathy for ALL living things.



    This comes from a Jew hating, Zionist hating, Israel hating, self confessed murderer....

    I am amazed he can type through all the bullshit...

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  76. Rubio gets the bump after the elections:

    Rubio 40 %
    Crist 30 %
    Meek 21 %

    Ten percent of mortgage holders face foreclosure. Maybe giving people free money to buy a home was not such a bright idea.

    Dow Jones closes below 10K, but don't worry, this is Recovery Summer. Obama says so.

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  77. I do have a lot of sympathy, for the million Jews the Israeli have killed, since 1979.

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  78. You cannot find a single post where I have advocated or endorsed the killing of a single Jew, anywhere.

    I do not hate any of them.
    I disdain the government of Israel, as I do any government that maintains different standards for its' residents based upon religious classifications.

    That I disdain the other Semitic countries, as well, all to true.
    They are equivalent.
    Jim Crow rules across Arabia, that is all to true.

    Discrimination and hate abound, there, in Arabia, amongst the Semites of that region. They hate each other and project their own hate upon everyone and everything.

    It is corrosive to their souls.

    ReplyDelete
  79. Miss T, are you making a prediction on Rossi v Murray?

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  80. trish said...
    Speaking of dark monotony, what're the odds your nemesis is all tucked in and asleep for the night?

    Wed Aug 25, 10:55:00 PM EDT



    Now, that there is creepy, I don't care how drunk she was.

    But, yes, I was sleeping the sleep of the saved, oblivious to small stuff - in this instance the sleeping habits of a couple strokers.

    :)

    link

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  81. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  82. By DAVID LUHNOW

    MEXICO CITY—This week's massacre of 72 Central and South American migrants in Mexico highlights a paradox the government here doesn't like to talk about: While it complains about the treatment of its own undocumented workers in the U.S., Mexico can be a far worse place to be an illegal migrant.

    Mexican soldiers on Thursday fanned out near a remote ranch about 90 miles from the U.S. border where 58 men and 14 women from Honduras, El Salvador, Ecuador and Brazil were bound, blindfolded, lined up against a wall and executed.

    A survivor told authorities that he and his fellow U.S.-bound migrants were kidnapped and told they would either have to pay a ransom or work as drug couriers and hit men, according to the Reforma newspaper. Authorities suspect the Zetas drug gang was behind the massacre.

    The killings have shocked the Mexican public, which has witnessed a string of atrocities by drug gangs, and sparked a national discussion about the country's failure to protect foreign migrants, despite its quickness to criticize ill treatment of Mexican illegal immigrants in the U.S.

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  83. The founders of Los Zetas, trained by the US Army, at the School of the Americas, now at Fort Benning.

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  84. Mexican Revolution 1910-1920

    ...possibly as many as 1,000,000 killed...

    link

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  85. Eleven Mexican human-rights groups issued a joint statement Thursday condemning the executions, saying they were not "an isolated act. It is a clear sign of how violence is growing against migrants by Mexico's state and individuals."

    Nearly all of the central and South Americans in Mexico illegally are transiting the country in an effort to get to the U.S.—rather than looking to find jobs or settle down in Mexico. Mexican and U.S. authorities say it is difficult to gauge the number of people involved.

    "Mexico—its government, its society—suffers from bipolar disorder on this issue," Miguel Ángel Granados Chapa, a columnist for Reforma, wrote in Thursday's paper. "We are wounded and scandalized by the conduct of U.S. institutions and some of its people against our citizens up north. ... But a similar or worse mistreatment happens here to Central and South Americans."

    Mexico's National Migration Institute, the government agency in charge of migration, didn't respond to requests to comment. Aides to President Felipe Calderón were also unavailable to comment. Mr. Calderón, on his Twitter account, expressed deep sorrow for the tragedy.

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  86. Refugees, at the same rate as during the Civil War in Iraq, there'd be 20 million refugees heading out.

    They'll not be going to Guatemala.

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  87. "Your rants on anti-Semitism now define you."

    I don't like to be nit-picky. (Okay, that's not entirely true.) But I don't think that an obsession with anti-semitism is what defines allen.

    I think it's a handy vehicle for some broader impulse.

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  88. Or narrower. Who knows?

    I'm no psychologist. I only know one.

    Her specialty is adolescent psychology, however.

    Maybe I should give her a call.

    ReplyDelete
  89. allen, the Marine that humped the hills of the 'Nam, and just recently retired from the Corps.

    Some forty years later.

    A lifetime career Federal?
    Or a blogger specializing in misinformation?

    ReplyDelete
  90. Another habu?

    Someone that can't quite keep track of their DD 214?

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  91. Gautama would be displeased.

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  92. I won't be wronged. I won't be insulted. I won't be laid a-hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them.

    If they do not want to play by the same rules, the excrement hits the high speed rotating blades.

    I do not give a hoot who cares about the mess.

    School of the Americas

    A place the local leftists called the "School of the Dictators".

    Looks like boob and wi"o" both agree with the Liberation Theologians of Nicoland and Venezuela.

    They both are carrying that holy than thou water.

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  93. heh, Liberation Theology isn't my gig.

    This day is drawing to a close. Big wind came up this afternoon, blew the smoke and dust out of the air. Kinda nice, cooled things down a bit. Put the birds to wing. Put waves up high on the river. If it were two or three weeks later, it'd been the kind of blow that sends the doves heading south.

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  94. Beginning in 1963, and evolving as the region changed, SOA taught, at various times, professional military education and training courses to officers and non-commissioned officers in the areas of:

    * professional leadership (Command and General Staff course, Military Police courses, Infantry Officers Basic course, Artillery Officers course and a Cadet Orientation course);
    * infantry weapons (Mortar Officer course);
    * technical support (Engineer Basic and Officer courses, Radio Operators course, Small Caliber Repair course, Wheeled Vehicle Maintenance course and Medical Assistance courses);
    * counter-insurgency (Internal Defense and Development course, Military Intelligence course, Military Police course), introduced during 1963; and
    * specialized leadership and skills (Ranger course, Air Mobile course, Jungle Operations course, Patrolling course, Parachute Rigging course, Basic Airborne course, Pathfinder and Jumpmaster courses)."


    Fun times training the cadets in old school counter insurgency and jungle operations.

    Led to the establishment of MS13, then, much like Los Zetas, now.

    Unintended consequences?

    Some folks think not.

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  95. You continue to carry their holy water, boob, both you and the "o".

    Time and time again.

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  96. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  97. You strike at me and hit the USA, Ronald Wilson Reagan and Ollie North.

    Ignorance is the source of your bliss.

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  98. I've searched the web today to try and find an NDE account, from this book I'm reading, by one Monique I think it is Hennequin. Really interesting account, but really long, and too much typing, less I get all fired up tomorrow.

    The four studies talked about, his own, British 1 and 2, and American 1 all came to basically the same conclusion--biology, psychology don't explain it. He developes an idea that the brain receives like a TV set from an everlasting consciousness field. Actually an old idea. I think the materialist reductionist paradigm is breaking down.

    g'nite

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  99. You stand with the fellas that say this, about US.

    the SOA has very different goals. Its curriculum includes courses in psychological warfare, counterinsurgency, interrogation techniques, and infantry and commando tactics. Presented with the most sophisticated and up-to-date techniques by the US Army's best instructors, these courses teach military officers and soldiers of Third World countries to subvert the truth, to muzzle union leaders, activist clergy, and journalists, and to make war on their own people. It prepares them to subdue the voices of dissent and to make protesters submit. It instructs them in techniques of marginalizing the poor, the hungry, and the dispossessed. It tells them how to stamp out freedom and terrorize their own citizens. It trains them to destroy the hope of democracy.

    The School of the Americas (SOA) has been given other names -- "School for Dictators", "School of Assassins", and "Nursery of Death Squads". And, countries with the worst human rights records send the most soldiers to the School.


    I never saw it that way, but then I was just another instructor. Whether one of "the best" or not, does not make much difference, now.

    I do know we helped a lot of locals learn how to stop the spread of the Liberation Theology. But not their charges of mass murder that you and "o" continue to echo. Smearing the United States as you do.

    As is about right for a seditious scum, like you.

    ReplyDelete
  100. Topologists are just plane folks.

    Pilots -- plane folks.

    Carpenters -- plane folks.

    Midwest farmers -- plain folks,

    Musicians -- playin' folks.

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  101. "I think the materialist reductionist paradigm is breaking down."






    Wow.

    I was just thinking the same thing.

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  102. You were an Instructor there, Rat? I'm impressed.

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  103. I was going to watch a TV show with my wife but it turned out to be reality TV.

    Instead of the NDE account referenced above, I offer this--

    A Smoking Gun?

    That fellow from England, Dr. Peter Fenwick, and his wife, have written some really interesting books on the subject, well worth the time.




    Go Rossi

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  104. Gun-happy Kim Jong-Il tells North Korean army to prepare for war. "Rock and Road!"

    (Meanwhile the Peanut secures the release of an American who was held prisoner in the Hermit Kingdom).

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  105. The Jewish tradition too teaches that death does not destroy the soul. Rather death represents a trasition from one level of consciousness to another, to a spiritual, disembodied consciousness. The medieval Midrash and Zohar are the best sources of Jewish views on the afterlife. The Jewish Book of Living and Dying describes a great many Jewish mystical insights into death that are reminiscent of the contents of modern-day near-death experiences.

    The Kabbalah for instance teaches that the human essence, our consciousness or soul, is a complex phenomena consisting of different layers. First, there is the individual essence, which survives physical death, and is known as nefesh(soul of the flesh). The next layer is called the integrating essence. This is part of the nefesh and is called ruach (spirit). It is the essence of awareness and forms a link with the next layer, the collective essence, or the soul of many individuals, (Jung) and is known as neshama. (breath) The next layer transcends the individual and collective aspects of consciousness to a nonindividual layer of consciousness known as chaya (lifeforce). This life force essence is the starting point for merging with the supreme, the ultimate consciousness (yechida), the singularity or union with the transcendent.
    Pim van Lommel

    There I've kept my promise to write something about this book.

    He gives short shift to the muslims. I get the feeling he doesn't much like them, being from the Netherlands.

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  106. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  107. The scum will still spit on ya, rufus.

    It ain't nothin' but a thing.


    Fort Gulick is a hotel, now, I read.
    Howard AFB is becoming an industrial park and housing development.
    Fort Clayton sports a retail shopping mall.

    We won, big time.
    Across the whole of Latin America.

    Then it was kind of mismanaged. US sending Ambassadors that did not even speak Spanish, to Costa Rica and the like.

    Bi-partisan Federal incompetency.

    It will not matter a lick, the 2010 election. Nor in 2012.
    The Wahhabi win, regardless of who is elected.

    Fact is that the shock and awe of the War on Terror has broken down to arguing over remodeling a building in NYC.

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  108. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  109. Well, at least we had "some" fun, Rat. As young men will.

    I feel kind of sorry for the kids, today. If I'd been born in 1987 instead of 1947 they might've thrown me in jail, and kept me there. :)

    They'd a probably kept my bunk "reserved" during the rare occasions I wasn't using it.

    It was, sometimes, a pretty "closely run thing" as it was. :)

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  110. "I think the materialist reductionist paradigm is breaking down."

    Could be right.

    A friend and I were discussing it the other day and he mentioned that a key working hypothesis in neuroscience is ‘materialistic reductionism’, i.e., the assumption whereby all physiological, behavioral or cognitive phenomena is produced by localized neurochemical brain activation (but not vice versa). However, analysis of sub-threshold Weber’s psychophysical stimulation indicates its computational irreducibility to the direct interaction between psychophysical stimulation and any neuron/s. This is because the materialistic-reductionistic working hypothesis assumes that the determination of the existence or non-existence of any psychophysical stimulation[s] may only be determined through its direct interaction with a given neuron/s that together forms the ‘neural registry’ computational level. But, this implies that in cases of (initial) sub-threshold (sensory-specific) psychophysical stimulation which is increased above the sensory-specific threshold but below Weber’s psychophysical ‘dv’—the psychophysical computational processing [PCP] produces an apparently ‘computationally indeterminate’ output. This is because materialistic reductionism asserts the contingency of PCP upon the existence of a direct interaction between ‘s’ and ‘N’ within the NR/di1 level, but in the special case of Weber’s sub-threshold psychophysical stimulation the same PCP/di1 also asserts the non-existence of ‘s’ (as demanded by Weber’s psychophysical law). However, given robust empirical evidence indicating the capability of PCP to determine whether (or not) ‘s’ exists, we must conclude that PCP may not be carried out from within NR’s direct interaction between a particular psychophysical stimulation and any set of neuron/s in the brain. Hence, the Duality Principle asserts the conceptual irreducibility of sub-threshold psychophysical stimulation to any direct NR/di1: s-N interaction, thereby challenging the current materialistic-reductionistic assumption.


    Sorry for the reposting, however, I had misspelled 'robust' in the earlier post and needed to correct it.


    .

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  111. I had some pimply-faced kid run up to me at the airport in L.A. when I arrived from the Philippines. I didn't pay much attention at the time (I was bad hung-over, and exhausted,) and we hadn't heard the "spitting on" stories at that point.

    Anyway he ran up, and then he kind of hit the brakes, and went somewhere else. I have no idea. I don't know if he looked at me, and thought, "this haggardly individual would be a waste of my good spit," or if he thought "this asshole looks dangerous." (I'm kinda, in retrospect, leaning toward the former.)

    Anyway, I guess I was home before I read about the whole "spitting" thing. I have no idea what I would have done. I didn't really want to do anything but get my sorry ass to my next plane, so I imagine I would have just said, "What the hell?" And headed for the terminal. All I remember is I wuz "worn out."

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  112. Fun, that was my middle name, rufus.

    Fun, Travel, Adventure!

    FTA - All the Way!

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  113. Q, please, you're boring us to tears. Everyone has known for years that "The Duality Principle" completely destroys that theory.

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  114. You didn't read it.

    I said that was my friends view.

    I guess you could call me an agnostic.

    I'm kinda torn. There are good arguments on both sides.

    .

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  115. I did read it. Twice. Understood half of it the first time, and the same half the second.

    ReplyDelete
  116. ...friend's



    (I saw Trish was lurking around here earlier)


    .

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  117. Don't insult our intelligence. I can smell a Materialist-Reductionist Paradigmist from miles away.

    Pretending that "your friend" is the believer. lame.

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  118. Just outlaw Materialist-Reductionist Paradigmists as a threat to the Constitution, Guvnor. You have the Power.

    g'nite again

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  119. Curse you Rufus.

    I am not.

    Well, I mean I could be...

    Dammit, I told you I'm an agnostic.

    .

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  120. Well, I mean I'm an agnostic on this subject.

    As you know I'm actually Rosicrucian.


    .

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  121. And I think Bob's got a good idea.

    All reruns on the talk shows tonight.

    Good night.


    .

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  122. I mean


    As you know, I'm...


    (She drives me nuts.)


    .

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  123. That was really good though, Quirk.

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  124. Why don't you two just "get a room?"

    Sheesh.

    I'm afraid to go back to the previous thread. I know I'll find you two in there blowing smiley-faces, and glancing, coyly, at each other's . . . . .

    Well, anyway, cut it out!

    This is a blog. or something.

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  125. That was supposed to be "Moral" blog.

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  126. Oh, for fuck's sake.

    Now I have to go searching for some legitimately newsy posting material.

    Thank you very much.

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  127. E.D. Kain at Balloon Juice:

    {Palin} really does represent everything that is wrong with conservatism in this country. Nationalistic, hawkish, vapid, and above all dishonest. Quite the avatar for a dying movement. (Well, perhaps not quite dead yet…we’ll see what the upcoming elections hold. Still – any gains will be short-lived. There is no long-term sustainability to this movement. Obstructionism does not lead to good governance.)

    Ebert also notes that on a 55,000 square foot retail mall is going to be built on Ground Zero – like some grotesque monument to the gods of consumerism, an epilogue to the infamous “don’t let the terrorists keep you from shopping” plea from George W. Bush. His alternative is much better (from a piece he wrote on September 12 2001):

    If there is to be a memorial, let it not be of stone and steel. Fly no flag above it, for it is not the possession of a nation but a sorrow shared with the world.Let it be a green field, with trees and flowers. Let there be paths that wind through the shade. Put out park benches where old people can sun in the springtime, and a pond where children can skate in the winter.

    Beneath this field will lie entombed forever some of the victims of September 11. It is not where they thought to end their lives. Like the sailors of the battleship Arizona, they rest where they fell.

    Let this field stretch from one end of the destruction to the other. Let this open space among the towers mark the emptiness in our hearts. But do not make it a sad place. Give it no name. Let people think of it as the green field. Every living thing that is planted here will show faith in the future.

    Let students from all lands take a sunny corner of the field and plant a crop there. Perhaps corn, our native grain. Let the harvest be shared all over the world, with friends and enemies, because that is the teaching of our religions. Let the harvest show that life prevails over death, and let the sharing show that we love our neighbors.

    Do not build again on this place. No building can stand here. No building, no statue, no column, no arch, no symbol, no name, no date, no statement. Just the comfort of the earth, to remind us that we share it.

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  128. God! I'm sorry Trish. I wuz jest funnin with ya. I had no idea it wuld drive you to something like that.

    I won't do it again.

    Go ahead and play "footsie" with Q in the basement. I'll keep my mouth shut. Promise.

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  129. Palin's the big winner: Miller's win constitutes Palin's "biggest victory" yet this campaign season, says John Dickerson in Slate. "She worked for him more than a lot of her other endorsed candidates," not least by zestily "tearing down his opponent."

    ...

    Don't count Murkowski out yet: Palin may have won this round, but the contest isn't over, says Shushannah Walshe in The Daily Beast. Assuming she isn't saved by absentee ballots, Murkowski is considering a Joe Lieberman-style third-party bid.

    ...

    Murkowski vs. Murkowski: This was always Murkowski's race to lose, says Chris Cillizza in The Washington Post, and she "gave away her biggest advantage: Money," by not attacking Miller, as John McCain did in his primary fight against a Tea Party challenger. Palin's endorsement may have made a difference, but it's dangerous to draw larger conclusions from a race where only a "minuscule" 100,000 people voted.


    'Biggest Victory' Yet

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  130. "I won't do it again."

    : )

    I meant what I said when I said that I'm on a path away from today's conservatism. (Though I don't think I put it like that.)

    I want nothing to do with it.

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  131. Was there a "conversation," today?

    I must have missed it.

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  132. The thing I like about Palin is, ALL the elites hate her. Demorats, And Republistupids.

    Anyone who's hated, and feared by the entire Washington establishment MUST have some good things going for her.

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  133. When she finally shows up in Iowa in the Spring of 2011, they'll have to shut down the entire state.

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  134. While those other assholes are bothering people down at the corner cafe, Palin will be filling up Stadiums.

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  135. "The thing I like about Palin is, ALL the elites hate her."

    Okay. That's a dumb reason to hate anyone.

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  136. My grandmother hates her. My grandmother is not an elite.

    And if you think there are not fawning elites contributing to her...whaddya call it...not quite campaign?

    You're an idiot.

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  137. You get a little "worked up" over that Palin gal, don't you Trish?

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  138. Maybe you could tell me who some of these "elites" are that are giving money to Palin. I seem to recollect that her PAC has just about the smallest average size of donation of any PAC in history. But, lots, and lots, and lots of them.

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  139. What does "Grandmother Trish" think about Obama?

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  140. You get a little "worked up" over that Palin gal, don't you Trish?

    - rufus

    I do.

    I'm thinking, is this what I'm looking for in a charismatic political figure?

    It's not.

    I actually got a call from the office the day, the hour, she was adopted to the ticket. I was thrilled.

    Until about the end of the week.

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  141. and above all dishonest.


    ?

    How is Palin dishonest?

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  142. And I have no idea what my grandmother thinks about the current president.

    I mostly do avoid political conversations.

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  143. I drive you nuts?

    I cannot fucking sleep anymore.

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  144. You know she dislikes Palin, but don't know what she thinks about Obammy. hmmm

    She's a DemOcrat, isn't she? :)

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  145. What's in the fridge?

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  146. I think the upside to this is that I, like bob, actually don't give a damn about the things we're supposed to give a damn about here.

    There is definitely something to be said for that.

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  147. The Fridge is loaded. I've got two bud lights, and a T-bone. Anything else you find, you can have.

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  148. Nah, you're lying. You have a visceral reaction every time Sarah Palin's name comes up.

    You even got so upset you said, "that's no reason to hate someone," when you meant to say, "that's no reason to like someone."

    Then you brought your poor Sainted Grandmother into the fray, and dodged her political affiliation.

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  149. The "Kool Kids" don't like Sarah, so Trish can't like Sarah; cause, Trish really is one of the Kool Kids. Am I right?

    Not often, but this time we may be onto sumpin.

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  150. Sarah Palin is an attractive woman conservative Republican from Alaska.

    Not the sharpest knife in the drawer but very lucky to have come of age during a dearth of serious leadership.

    The country is in trouble. That's not a knock on Palin, I just don't think we have any Churchills, Reagan's or Thatchers ready for the starting rotation.

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  151. Beer and steak? Sounds good about 14 hours from now...was hoping for cereal, toast, eggs, you know, AM food.

    Anyone have ideas for the next post?


    Anyone?


    Anyone?



    Bueller?

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  152. Whit, I haven't seen any evidence that she's the least bit dull.

    She sure seems to understand what the people want. She keeps reaching down in the cabinet and pulling up Winners.

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  153. Well, we have orange juice and eggs and English muffins and sharp cheddar.

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  154. Something connected to nekkid wimmin is always good.

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  155. Your fridge sounds better to me, Trish.

    How long have you guys been up? I got up about 3:45 which is pathetic and you guys were still, (already) here.

    Unlike some here, I have to go off to work in a couple of hours.

    (Thankfully, gratefully) go off to work.

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  156. I don't think Palin is dull...Just not brilliant. Which is okay. I'd take common sensical and conservative to brilliant, liberal and clueless anyday.

    She's certainly gotten her fifteen minutes of fame, though.

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  157. (Thankfully, gratefully) go off to work.

    - whit

    :)

    Know all about it.

    It's not about the paycheck, though.

    Or hopefully it isn't.

    Someone's a long, long way at work right now. Doing God only knows what.

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  158. Someone's a long, long way at work right now. Doing God only knows what.

    A lucky someone.

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  159. A long time ago, in my youth, I had a girl friend who played old time mountain music on her White Lady banjo.

    She loved to sing: 500 Miles.

    My girlfriend's version went "I'm 500 miles from my wife and my child

    and I wish that I were 500 more."

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  160. Except it's not like that for him.

    He loves - actually loves - the excitement of work OUT THERE.

    He always has and he always will.

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  161. And I don't mean that in a bad way.

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  162. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  163. He loves - actually loves - the excitement of work OUT THERE.


    Well, yeah...that's why I said "lucky".

    ReplyDelete