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."

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

The Official End of the Ban on Gays Serving in the US Military


After years of debate and months of final preparations, the military can no longer prevent gays from serving openly in its ranks.

Repeal of a 1993 law that allowed gays to serve only so long as they kept their sexual orientation private took effect Tuesday at 12:01 a.m. EDT.

Some in Congress still oppose the change, but top Pentagon leaders have certified that it will not undermine the military's ability to recruit or to fight wars.

68 comments:

  1. Perfect picture Deuce. This is the biggest news since left-handed people were allowed to serve.

    A Southpaw is a person with the "desire or behavior of preferring the use of the left hand". Left-handedness has a number of causal factors that influence its ultimate origination in individuals, as well as a variety of effects on society at large.

    The word "sinister" is from the Latin for left, reflecting its evil connotations. It is perhaps no coincidence that the socialists of the Democratic Party refer to themselves as the Left.

    In China the phrase "left path" stands for illegal or immoral means. Although 13% of human beings openly choose the tragic Southpaw lifestyle, many left-handed people remain in the closet in Muslim countries due to the stigma associated with it there. Traditionally, among desert nomads, the right hand was reserved for eating, while the left hand was used exclusively to wipe bottoms. This could account for the 51% correlation reported by the American Medican Association between Southpaws and victims of anal cancer.

    As late as the 20th Century there were "ex-Southpaw" ministries which used aversion therapy to condition left-handed people away from their tragic and filthy lifestyle choice. The high recidivism rate of left-handedness can be laid at the door of the all-pervasive demonic influence in the world. The only permanent solution is for Southpaws to renounce their former lifestyle and accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.

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  2. L'AQUILA, Italy - A group of Italian scientists went on trial Tuesday for failing to predict an earthquake that killed more than 300 people in central Italy in 2009 despite signs of increased seismic activity in the area.

    The seven defendants -- six scientists and one government official -- are accused of manslaughter in a case that some see as an unfair indictment of science.


    What about the scientists who predicted eleven feet of sea level rise this century? Will they go to jail too?

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  3. from Detroit Daily News -

    Detroit - A Detroit area man is serving 30 days in jail for failing to comply with a court order to clean up his junkyard and lifestyle.

    The News reports that the man, an oddity named Quirk Q Quirk, age unknown, was convicted last year of maintaining an unpermitted use on land he owns.

    Quirk Quirk was ordered by the court in February to explain why no progress had been made on cleaning up the property. Quirk Quirk, acting as his own lawyer and obviously having a fool for a client, tried to claim to the Judge that he spent most of his time driving aimlessly around the Detroit area and dictating obscure ravings into his recording device about how he really wanted to move to Idaho. He had become convinced, he said, that the Idaho Fish and Games Department was incompetent and corrupt and he "wanted to clean that up" before cleaning up the junk in his back yard.

    He was, as the saying goes, laughed out of court and is now in jail. He has been allowed his recording device however.

    Reporter Bob 'Wolfie' O'rion

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  4. Hm…southpaw = evil doer

    That could be the answer, but I highly doubt it was something I chose over the other.

    Maybe that's why I was treated differently in catholic school. Sister S never cracked the ruler over my knuckles, but she sure as hell pulled on my ears.

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  5. Melody, all the stink over homosexual this, gay that, lesbian the other thing is exactly as stupid as the stigma against left-handed people that came down to us from antiquity. It's all about brain wiring during development in the womb, and the person has absolutely no control over it.

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  6. Lefties, Southpaws, Gays - eevil incarnate. No doubt about it. :)

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  7. Two and its derivatives have always been baddies -

    Adj. 1. duplicitous - marked by deliberate deceptiveness especially by pretending one set of feelings and acting under the influence of another; "she was a deceitful scheming little thing"- Israel Zangwill; "a double-dealing double agent"; "a double-faced infernal traitor and schemer"- W.M.Thackeray
    double-dealing, double-tongued, two-faced, Janus-faced, double-faced, ambidextrous, deceitful
    dishonest, dishonorable - deceptive or fraudulent; disposed to cheat or defraud or deceive


    The reason for that I think is that mankind has a drive for oneness, getting away from oneness is felt as some kind of fall.

    Three is generally a bad number too. "The bombers came in three, and three, and three and they were like mechanized death." Ernie Hem

    Four is thought of as wholeness and Jung thought the Catholics might elevate Mary so as to provide balance and the fem side of things.

    7 and 11 --?? Why lucky?? And 13, why unlucky??

    Wolfie O'rion

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  8. Who knows it may even have been Quirk back in his marketing days that came up with that work of genius, 7-11 for those convenience stores.

    wolfie

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  9. Who's gonna go into any 2-13 store?

    w

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  10. To Koreans, 4 is the unluckiest number of all.

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  11. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  12. Exactly T, and when the so called "non evil doers" accept this fact and move on, maybe they can worry about more pressing issues like say…uh…hmm…the economy, rather than someone's sexual preference and the fixation of preserving the institution of marriage.

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  13. .

    from Detroit Daily News -



    There is no Detroit Daily News.
    It is merely a made-up publication fabricated by you, Bob, to shift blame from you sordid activities.

    Two streams back (General Motors Contract, Economics or Politics?) I presented a number of posts centered around articles in two well respected papers, the NY Times and the Denver Post, one liberal the other conservative.

    Those articles outlined the crimes you are alleged to have committed, as well as, the activities of your pettifogging and self-serving lawyer, D. Rat.

    I an confident the truth will out despite your lame attempts to shift blame by sullying the reputations of key prosecution witnesses.

    You are sadly mistaken if you believe I can be intimidated by your sorry attempts at slander.

    Rat was right in choosing non compos mentis as a defense strategy in your case.

    .

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  14. Melody: Exactly T, and when the so called "non evil doers" accept this fact and move on, maybe they can worry about more pressing issues like say…uh…hmm…the economy, rather than someone's sexual preference and the fixation of preserving the institution of marriage.

    Before same-sex marriage was legalized in New York, the divorce rate was 50%. Now it's precisely half.

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  15. Oh all right so my editor put News instead of Press. Big deal.

    Detroit Daily Press

    O'rion

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  16. Have served the military for 24 yrs and my spouse has also. Have known many gay and lesbian members and not one has been pursued for DADT over their sexuality. They don’t go around blabbing about it, but neither does anyone else go around talking about their sex life, etc in the work place. That is OUR experience, not to say that others have NOT had that experience. I don’t care if a gay member is serving, I just don’t want them wearing the uniform to participate in gay parades, etc. Just as WE are not allowed to wear the uniform to participate in certain events – only in an OFFICIAL capacity. In other words – there should be no special treatment and everyone is held to the same standard. If that is the case – no problem! =)

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  17. It is only necessary to make war with five things; with the maladies of the body, the ignorances of the mind, with the passions of the body, with the seditions of the (big) city and the discords of families.
    --Pythagoras


    O'rion

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  18. In my time in the military, I knew several people that were obviously gay in the officer and enlisted ranks.
    I also processed paperwork on two guys that were straight that were very afraid of deploying to the Gulf War and claimed to be gay to avoid it. Disgusting.

    And at the same time, a year before the Gulf War, dealt with a hardcore Christian fundie and general fuck up that tried a one-man crusade to get a squared away gay guy in my division rousted out of the military because the Fundie had seen him with another guy and entering a Gay Bar! I didn't want to hear it. His sargeant didn't want to hear it.
    The Fundie was told to shut up and not say a word about it to anyone in division and not to confront the E-4 he accused in any way -while "it was investigated by us" And told, BTW - to work on improving his own work rather than focus too much on other people. Not his job. His supervisions job. Us.
    The "investigation" was never documented, nor the Fundie's coming to us with accusations. The investigation consisted of the division sargeant with me sitting down with the gay tech for a work review due, praising his work and saying what an asset he was..and oh, there was this nosy fellow airman that complained about some irrelevant off-base happenstance where he claimed that he thought you were acting gay..and was told to shut up and do his own job. So to the sargeant it was all a no-nevermind impacting his high regard for having ______ in the division. But always keep in mind there were nosy people, the sargeant said he delivered with a "thumbs up, it is all cool as long as it is discrete" gesture.

    Happy ending. The fundie was RIF'd a year after the Gulf War. The gay guy re-enlisted during the Gulf War in Kuwait, with full endorsement from me and others in the division chain of command...

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  19. My quote by Pythagoras wasn't aimed at the gay issue at all.

    It was from my wife that sends me these quotes of the day.

    I'm happy with the end of the ban.

    b

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  20. That story sounded like don't ask don't tell in action.

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  21. .

    Detroit Daily Press

    From your link,


    Detroit Daily Press

    Due to circumstances beyond our control, lack of advertising, lateness of our press runs and lack of distribution and sales, we find it necessary to temporarily suspend publication of the Detroit Daily Press until after the 1st of the year. Once we can fix these things, we plan to be back stronger and more organized when we return. This is just a bump in the road and not the end of the Detroit Daily Press.

    December 2, 2009 at 11:07pm · Like · Comment


    Shut down before it got started.

    2009?

    Your perfidy is manifest.

    .

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  22. .

    And you google poorly and with little attention to detail.

    Just saying.

    .

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  23. Well hell Q it beats the main stream media! At least it doesn't tell lies on daily basis. Besides it saves paper and ink.
    b

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  24. .

    Once again you shift blame.

    The criticism was obviously aimed at you, yet you read it as an attack on the internet.

    The same with the bear story. You are looking for sympathy for the hunters when it was they who illegally shot and then were attacked by a grizzly.

    The same for the wolves. Choosing profit over conservation.

    To be expected. It is your MO.

    .

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  25. Forgive him Q for he knows not what he does.

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  26. I was told he had that appointment, with a professional diagnostician.

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  27. I do not have a deposition on file, though.
    Promised, but not yet delivered.

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  28. Rat, what did you think about yesterday's Gnossos post about the gal that got her horse to charge an Attacking Grizzley?

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  29. That lady can ride, rufus.

    The Percheron traces its roots back to France and hauling armored knights over hill and dale.

    The two, together saved that young boy from a real negative life experience.

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  30. So, you have a pedigree of "War Horse," and "Cutting Horse." Perfect mix for the job at hand, I'd say. :)


    That said, it would take a hell of a rider to instill that kind of trust from a horse.

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  31. The Percheron traces its roots back to France and hauling armored knights over hill and dale.

    Whoda thought?

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  32. I still can't get over the Bravery required (from both horse, and rider.)

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  33. AP Factcheck: Are rich taxed less than secretaries?

    ..."This year, households making more than $1 million will pay an average of 29.1 percent of their income in federal taxes, including income taxes, payroll taxes and other taxes, according to the Tax Policy Center, a Washington think tank.

    Households making between $50,000 and $75,000 will pay an average of 15 percent of their income in federal taxes.

    Lower-income households will pay less. For example, households making between $40,000 and $50,000 will pay an average of 12.5 percent of their income in federal taxes. Households making between $20,000 and $30,000 will pay 5.7 percent.

    The latest IRS figures are a few years older — and limited to federal income taxes — but show much the same thing. In 2009, taxpayers who made $1 million or more paid on average 24.4 percent of their income in federal income taxes, according to the IRS.

    Those making $100,000 to $125,000 paid on average 9.9 percent in federal income taxes. Those making $50,000 to $60,000 paid an average of 6.3 percent."

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  34. anon is, I'd guess mixing apples and oranges.



    In 2009, 1,470 households filed tax returns with incomes above $1 million yet paid no federal income tax, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

    ...

    The top marginal tax rate for wages is 35 percent, though that is reserved for taxable income above $379,150.

    With tax rates that high, why do so many people pay at lower rates?

    Because the tax code is riddled with more than $1 trillion in deductions, exemptions and credits, and they benefit people at every income level, according to data from the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation, Congress' official scorekeeper on revenue issues.

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  35. ah Quirk you're a laugh a minute, given a few minutes search I could find a dozen grizz stories but it isn't worth it.

    I'm not against the grizz, they are not wasteful far as I know like the wolves.

    But they are dangerous as hell.
    I speared one just last week on the upper Wenaha while doing some Fall fishing and I got to you it was a close thing.

    What I can't understand about you is the total lack of any sympathy for the poor old elk, as you seem such a gentle soul.

    Like I said once before if thirty of us rednecks announced we were going to nearly wipe the Lolo Herd and waste most of the meat, and did it, we'd all be dead by now.




    Wolfie O'rion

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  36. The Tax Code is used to fulfull "Social Needs", more so than it is to collect revenue for the Federals.

    The entire Income Tax violated the original Constitution.

    By what right do the Federals learn what a person earns?
    Violating the People's "Right to Privacy" in general and explicitly the 4th Amendment to be "secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects ..."?

    Why is the tax graduated, not flat rate?

    Why are some types of income taxed differently than others?

    But for the Federals attempting the picking of winners and losers.

    For a fee
    Often referred to as "a Bone"

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  37. A great legal mind has returned.

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  38. Back, and standing on sounder ground than the "Natural Birther" crowd.

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  39. Be A Person Of Conscience And Don't Pay Your Tax

    Wolfie O'rion

    (go straight to jail, don't pass go)

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  40. That's just a stupid thing to say, boobie, that if you do not pay your taxes, it's "Off to Jail", do not pass go.

    From your "source"

    Each year, about 300 people are indicted on charges of federal income tax evasion.

    Guaranteed that lots more than 300 people "forget" to pay their taxes.
    Lots more.

    Just the "Gray Economy" accounts for a lot more than 300 "real" people, that are evading their lawful tax assessment.

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  41. The odds of going to jail, with regards someone evading their Federal taxes, not that great.

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  42. .

    What I can't understand about you is the total lack of any sympathy for the poor old elk, as you seem such a gentle soul.


    Look at the next two films and tell me who is more concerned about the "poor old elk".

    Dale and Bob and Other Elk Lovers

    Dirty Stinking Tree Hugging Wolf Lovers


    Reasons Bob and Dale will not be sporting any wolf trophies this year,

    And who is protecting the elk?

    .

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  43. Judging from the photograph I'd say the only officer material there is the woman on the very lower right.

    b

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  44. DR: The entire Income Tax violated the original Constitution.

    Well I'm swore to defend and uphold the current Constitution, which has the 16th Amendment, ratified 1913.

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  45. Miss Columbia 2011

    So THAT'S how she made Third Runner Up in Miss Universe!

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  46. That pic is worth commenting on.

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  47. Miss Fely gave me bum information, she wasn't runner up, just third in the sweet sixteen of finalists. But the judges admonished her for going commando.

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  48. The arrival of Ahmadinejad, who will address the UN Thursday, added to the security gridlock in midtown Manhattan, where he was reportedly staying at the Warwick Hotel on Sixth Avenue.

    Concrete barriers marked with New York Police Department lettering surrounded the building and two entrances were isolated with white, tent-like structures that would allow a VIP to enter and exit privately. Security staff and uniformed police stood virtually side-by-side in the doorways and along the sidewalk, with other officers, police cars and vans visible for blocks.

    The trial of Bauer and Fattal concluded July 31 and they were subsequently ordered to serve eight years in prison on charges of espionage and illegal entry.

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  49. The vilification from all sides that follows any mention we make of American politics is both inevitable and unpleasant. Nevertheless, it’s our job to chronicle the unfolding of the international system, and the fact that the United States is moving deeply into an election cycle will affect American international behavior and therefore the international system.

    ...

    The point of this is that all U.S. presidents live within the framework in which Barack Obama is now operating. First, no president begins with a clean slate.

    ...

    This was coupled with his foreign policy problem. Among Democrats, the anti-war faction was a significant bloc.


    Electoral Realities

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  50. Oh my: Palin within five of Obama in new Marist poll
    Share32
    posted at 9:20 pm on September 20, 2011 by Allahpundit
    printer-friendly

    The Palin fans on Twitter were nudging me to post this before I’d even seen it. Now I understand why. Might be the best poll she’s had since the ’08 election.

    After trailing Obama by more than 20 percentage points in polls all year, the new national survey, taken Sept. 13-14, found Palin trailing the president by just 5 points, 49-44 percent. The key reason: She now leads Obama among independents, a sharp turnaround…

    By a margin of 49 percent to 36 percent, voters said they definitely plan to vote against Obama, according to the poll. Independents by 53 percent to 28 percent said they definitely plan to vote against him…

    Obama is neck and neck with Romney, leading by 46-44. Obama had led by 5 points in August, 4 points in June, and 1 point in April. Romney now leads among independents, 44 percent to 40 percent.

    Obama leads Perry by 50 percent to 41 percent. They split independents 43-43. Obama had led Perry by 19 points in August, as Perry was joining the campaign.

    Some of what’s going on here, obviously, is utter public exhaustion with Hopenchange and Obamanomics. If I were David Plouffe, that 49/36 split on voters who say they’ll definitely vote against The One would make me wet myself. But some of it’s specific to Palin too: Look no further than the fact that she now fares better against Obama than Perry does — and actually leads him among independents.


    :)

    b

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  51. I feel bad for Jews who are conservative. They are always talking up the hope that Jews will wise up and bolt the Democrats. Not hsappening. Obama could he marching to his teleprompters humming the Horst Wessel Song and he would still get 70% of the Jewish vote.

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  52. “We can’t just cut our way out of this hole,” Obama said. “It’s going to take a balanced approach.”

    The president also counts $1.1 trillion in savings from the drawdown of troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, and $430 billion in savings from the interest the government pays on its debt.

    This summer, lawmakers agreed to about $1 trillion in domestic spending cuts as part of a deal that raised the federal debt limit. The total projected savings of more than $4 trillion, if realized, should curb the growth of the debt over time and make it more manageable for the nation’s economy.

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  53. In Kandahar, people were aghast when the news broke of his death. A shopkeeper, Mohammed Raza, was glued to his radio, shaking his head in resignation and sadness.

    “Afghanistan won’t be rebuilt,” he said. “Some elements don’t let people work in Afghanistan for peace.

    I am very sad. He was an elderly white-bearded man, respected by all Afghans, and he was working for peace.

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  54. Obama’s statement was denounced by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the time. But Netanyahu had embraced the 1967 borders as a starting point for negotiations before that, and he said last month that he would do so again if the Palestinians dropped their statehood bid.

    Perry’s top GOP rival, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, also assailed Obama’s Middle East policies in a statement issued Tuesday morning.

    “What we are watching unfold at the United Nations is an unmitigated diplomatic disaster,” Romney said. “It is the culmination of President Obama’s repeated efforts over three years to throw Israel under the bus and undermine its negotiating position.”

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  55. The former official said the United States relies on Ethiopian linguists to translate signals intercepts gathered by U.S. agencies monitoring calls and e-mails of al-Shabab members. The CIA and other agencies also employ Ethiopian informants who gather information from across the border.

    Overall, officials said, the cluster of bases reflects an effort to have wider geographic coverage, greater leverage with countries in the region and backup facilities if individual airstrips are forced to close.

    “It’s a conscious recognition that those are the hot spots developing right now,” said the former senior U.S. military official.

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  56. But another administration official emphasized the severity of the U.S. officials’ warning. “We are expressing the firm conviction that things have to change . . . in Miranshah and in Islamabad, as well,” this official said.

    Miranshah is the main population center in Pakistan’s North Waziristan region, where the Haqqani leadership is based. CIA drone attacks elsewhere in the region have avoided the city for fear of civilian casualties.

    “It’s a reality that they’re not living in tents in the open,” the official acknowledged. But with Pakistani cooperation, “we know that there are ways to get at extremist leaders anywhere,” the official said, citing the past capture of senior al-Qaeda leaders during joint intelligence operations in the far larger cities of Karachi and Quetta.

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  57. Don't ever count out the mouthy, good-looking Populist Chick wearing the red, fuck-me pumps.

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  58. .

    The trial of Bauer and Fattal concluded July 31 and they were subsequently ordered to serve eight years in prison on charges of espionage and illegal entry.



    The last time A came to the UN he released prisoners as part of his PR efforts.

    .

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  59. I'm expecting A to announce the imminent coming of the Mahdi, and Jesus too, and I'm keeping in daily touch with the Messianic Hot Line.

    b

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  60. If Sarah gets in she will really, really stir things up.

    b

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  61. The US, UK and Pakistan led condemnation of the assassination, the most high-profile killing in Afghanistan since Karzai's brother Ahmed Wali Karzai was shot dead in July.

    "This is a deplorable and cowardly act of violence that will not deter our aggressive efforts, working with our Afghan and coalition partners, to pursue the enemy in Afghanistan," said George Little, Pentagon Press Secretary.

    British Prime Minister David Cameron said in a statement he was "absolutely appalled" by the murder.

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  62. The TNC fighters captured a senior pro-Khadafy general and more than 300 mercenaries fled. "Our fighters ambushed then and killed, wounded or captured many," the spokesman said.

    NATO said Tuesday it targeted Sabha with air strikes the previous day, taking out two air missile systems, two military air radar defense facilities and three air missile facilities.

    It also struck an armed vehicle and multiple rocket system in Sirte; six anti-aircraft guns and a command and control node around the nearby towns of Waddan and Hun; and another command and control node near Bani Walid.

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  63. "This is a deplorable and cowardly act of violence that will not deter our aggressive efforts, working with our Afghan and coalition partners, to pursue the enemy in Afghanistan," said George Little, Pentagon Press Secretary.

    The killer put a bomb under his turban and blew his own head off. it may be deplorable and crazy but cowardly? I think not.

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