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, May 02, 2013

Detroit, USA. Last week the US committed $10 Billion to give Israel the green light to allow Israel to attack a sovereign nation, Iran. There was no announcement about one of hundreds of American cities. Welcome to Detroit.




JERUSALEM | Sun Apr 14, 2013 1:11pm EDT

(Reuters) - Israel has said it will not open a criminal investigation into the death of 12 Palestinian civilians in a November air strike on a house in the Gaza Strip during its war with Hamas.
The November 18 attack on the three-story home of the Dalu family was the bloodiest of the eight days of fighting between the Jewish state and Gaza's Islamist Hamas-led armed factions, in which around 170 Palestinians and six Israelis died.
Ten members of the Dalu family were killed, along with two neighbors. Human rights groups said the strike appeared to be unlawful.
An April 11 report by Israels Military Advocate General (MAG), released on Sunday, said the attack was aimed at "a senior terrorist operative and several other terrorists" responsible for launching rocket attacks at Israelis.

162 comments:

  1. I don't know what Detroit needs, but it isn't more money.

    They have problems that money can't fix.

    Fathers would help.

    A nuclear family backed up by an extended family would help.



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    1. I thought that we could point to any place on the globe, attack it and fix it. It we can’t fix Detroit, what can we do in Syria, Libya, Afghanistan or Iraq?

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    2. The videos showing Detroit and Gaza do not look so different.

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    3. Good point. It's hard making people behave.

      Detroit needs something more than money.

      But I don't know exactly what it is.

      A different culture entirely.

      If it had a Jewish or Swiss or even Italian population it wouldn't be in the shape it is in.

      Same with Syria, Libya, Afghanistan and Iraq.

      Culture counts.

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    5. If Canadian planes were attacking Detroit killing women an children, practicing economic warfare,group punishment, destroying property and making life miserable I would cheer on every reprisal against the Canadians

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  2. Gaza has 1.7 million people crammed into 139 square miles. Detroit has 143 square miles. Gaza endured two short but intensive wars with Israel within four years, in 2008-09 and 2012. Detroit has been at war with itself far longer.

    There are 487,000 Palestinian refugees in Syria, many now fleeing to Gaza. One such camp is the Yarmouk refugee camp, on the edge of Damascus, has 150,000 Palestinians. Since the civil war started 85% have fled, according to the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, which said last month that those remaining were trapped amid fighting between government and opposition forces.

    Where will they go? Why is the US giving billions to support an Israeli attack against Iran, soon to be supplying arms to the rebels in Syria and accomplishing nothing in Detroit?

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    1. Where will they go?

      Ask Quirk. He was the one here most opposed to any humanitarian intervention.

      One thing is certain - the other Arab countries certainly don't want them.

      They would rather use them as a thorn in the side of Israel.

      Nobody wants them. Jordan doesn't want them. Saudi Arabia sure doesn't want them. Egypt doesn't want them. Nobody wants them.

      Send them to Arizona I guess. There is a lot of vacant desert out that way.



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    4. The rogue state is correct. The attribution is wrong.

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    6. .

      Ask Quirk. He was the one here most opposed to any humanitarian intervention.


      What is your solution? What's the plan? What do you propose.?

      You continue to piss and moan, whine and complain, bitch and whimper.

      You complain when I suggest that the history of the past half century has proved the munchkins in OZ including the current bunch of losers have proved themselves incapable of positive action without the inevitible unintended consequences, indiscrimate deaths, and negative cost/benefits and therefore that we should not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.

      Yet, when we ask you for a viable alternative, we get SILENCE, frankly the only silence we are able to enjoy coming out of Idaho.

      .

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    7. .

      And once again, the silence is deafening.


      Sounds of Silence

      .

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  3. If Hamas had not launched hundreds of rockets into Israel, Israel would not have felt any need to attack "a senior terrorist operative and several other terrorists" responsible for launching rocket attacks at Israelis.

    Seems simple enough to me.

    Rand Paul would do it. He wants to drone robbers of liquor stores here at home who have made off with $50 dollars.

    What would he do if rockets were landing by his home?

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    1. Watch the second video and don’t swallow the horse shit shoveled out about who struck who first.

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    2. I'll watch it if I can get it to work. It is unlikely to convince me though. Those missiles in Gaza aren't exactly defensive weapons. And the Hamas Charter says they want to eradicate Israel. And we've been through the whole thing about three times now. Missiles get launched into Israel, and they reply.

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    5. Gaza is a part of Israel.

      That the government does a poor job controlling it, using f16s instead of police, proof positive of the civil war raging in Israel.

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    6. Israel conquered Gaza, took it, like the West Bank, and never returned it.

      The Israeli then so mismanaged Gaza that folks they stole it from, they don't want it back.

      Israel controls entrance to Gaza, controls the port, the air space, the water and power. The Israeli government is sovereign in Gaza, if the people the Israeli imprisoned there, in that ghetto, would only give up.

      To claim that Gaza is not part of Israel is like saying Warsaw, in 1938, was not part of Poland.

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    7. And not controlled by the Germans

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    8. Justified by the fact that those folks in the Ghetto, they had a Mayor.

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  4. The incessant crap-carp about “US interests” all over the planet. Detroit is a US interest.

    Think that we are good? Let’s demonstrate our fucking know-how and genius in Detroit. Start there. Drag out a few good looking generals and get them to explain the mission and the exit strategy for Detroit.

    Get them to show the world how it is done. If we can’t do it. If we can’t fix a Detroit, then we should shut the fuck up and mind our own business.

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  5. We get these daily stories about the evil Assad fighting a civil war against the rebels who want to overthrow the tyranny of the legal central government and that to date 70,000 Syrians have been killed.

    The same flag waving assholes that want to get us involved in that disaster get all misty eyed and the sniffles looking at a statue of Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln got 700,000 Americans killed to retain federal power and maintain the union. He made Assad look like a complete rookie.

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    1. I'll pass. It's not worth the effort to argue about, and it raises the blood pressure. I'm not suppose to raise my blood pressure. I'm on blood pressure medicine. Works too. And my cholesterol is now perfect, first time in my life.

      g'nite

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    2. So you hate Lincoln and Israel.

      got that, check

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  6. Good for you. You’re a smart guy, an independent farmer. Maybe it will clear your thinking. Think independently. You farm with facts, not with wishful thinking. Same with the world. Good night.

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  7. excellent publish, very informative. I wonder why the
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  9. Detroit, USA. Last week the US committed $10 Billion to give Israel the green light to allow Israel to attack a sovereign nation, Iran


    Last week the federal reserve committed to print 85 BILLION a month in fresh cash and announced that foreign interests held 17 thousand billion dollars of US debt.

    Last year America spent over 100 billion on nato, 3 billion on the Moslem Brotherhood, 1 billion on the Palestinians, not to mention the 20 16's as a gift to the moslem brotherhood and 200 tanks, 200 million to the syrian rebels and countless billions for iraq, pakistan, protecting the oil lanes.

    So to imply that the money given to Israel somehow should have been spent on Detroit is specious.

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  10. Detroit, USA. Last week the US committed $10 Billion to give Israel the green light to allow Israel to attack a sovereign nation, Iran.




    If Israel is a sovereign nation why should America have the right to green light anything that Israel does...... UNLESS? Israel is doing what is in America's interest.

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    1. Because Israel is a US client, proxy State. An authoritative State that cannot function with out US aid and assistance. Like Iran under the Shah.

      The Israeli government forces battle with inurgents in the rebel held area of Gaza, in 2008/09 proves the point. When the US cut the ammo aid, to Israel, the Israeli offensive stopped. The Israeli could not cast lead, when the US did not supply it.

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    2. Much like the US relationship with Nicaragua, during the Somoza era, there.

      The US likes to support authoritative governments, like those of Somoza, the Shah and Bibi.
      Until the cost/benefit package gets out of balance.

      Civil war changes US perceptions.
      Which is why the Israeli spin miesters deny the truth of civil war in Israel.
      While the battle there rages, almost daily.

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    3. Not to worry Rodent, the USA has proven that it is not a reliable ally the world over.

      This is why America is becoming irrelevant and out of control

      Delete
  11. sovereign?

    Iran is a sovereign nation but Israel is not?

    Iran threatens, funds and supplies terrorists across the globe that murders Americans every year.

    Iran is already at war with the USA and the USA is war with them

    sovereign?

    great word

    but today? it's meaningless

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    1. The US is not at war with Iran.
      The Israeli maybe, but he US is not.

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    2. The US started it, it may have called a cease fire but IRan hasn't

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    3. The US toppled the Iranian government, installed a straw-man strongman and were set to sell him 23 nuclear reactors.

      That's not war, that's business as usual.

      Just as the Europeons went to the Levant, in 1948, installed a proxy government, then used it to invade Egypt, in 1956.

      Europeon Colonialism's last OOrah!

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    4. Your depth of Israeli history is as deep as a razor's edge.

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    5. Cutting through the lies, to the truth of the matter.

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    6. That you distort, lie and slander all things Israel, Jews?

      Delete
  12. JERUSALEM | Sun Apr 14, 2013 1:11pm EDT

    (Reuters) - Israel has said it will not open a criminal investigation into the death of 12 Palestinian civilians in a November air strike on a house in the Gaza Strip during its war with Hamas.



    War is hell. I guess when Hamas took over control from Fatah of the Gaza strip it should have made plowshares from swords instead of using most of it's gross national product to make rockets.

    Lesson: dont use your civilians as shields.

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    1. Yeah tell that to the Syrians, 100 dead, 1 million homeless.

      But Israel's actions are far more important

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  13. America will have to wake up soon..

    It has been and will be attacked by the same fabric of humanity that is attacking Israel every day. In the past America has gone to war and spent trillions and killed 100,000s of thousands of arabs and moslems for the deaths of a few thousand Americans. It has cost of trillions.

    Now America GIVES billions to those that wish it dead. Billion in aid to the moslem brotherhood via the UN, directly to egypt, lebanon, palestinians, jordan, pakistan, iraq and of course the soft money protecting the oil lanes.

    Even in America terrorists like Major Hassan enjoyed a US paycheck while murdering AMericans. Now it comes to light that the boston creeps got over 100k in assistance.

    Just how much money do we pay moslem terrorists in America to harm our kids?

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    1. $10 Billion to Israel to fund Jim Crow in Israel is $10 Billion the US wasted.

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    2. That the US wastes other money, in foreign adventure, that cetainly true.

      But we have to start at the top of the aid to foreigner list, not at the bottom, when it comes time to slash our foreign aid budget.

      The US cannot afford to carry the Europeon colonization of Arabia, any more

      The Israeli will have to pull up their "big boy pants", tighten their belts and man up.
      Because America IS waking up, to the Israeli lies, deceit and the false flags they fly.

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    3. America's waste at the TOP of the list is the arabs and moslems of the world.

      Your relatives rat.

      The suck America dry from the energy racket and pulling us in wasteful wars.

      Trillions squandered on Islamic nutjobs.

      But the good news??

      Israel will save the WEST again.

      Now with Israel about to become the 4th largest exporter of natural gas it will be a world game changer.

      As for your slanderous lie about Israel being an "European colony"? Israel is a natural part of the middle east.

      Whether you like it or not.

      As for the 10 billion in aid to Israel? Most all spent in the USA on USA jobs. And the INVESTMENT that the USA makes in Israel is paid back 10 fold in technology exchanges Israel GIVES back to the USA.

      America's aid to Israel is not a one way street and the vast majority of real Americans understand it.

      Now Israel haters like you? You are on the wrong side of history. your train has left.



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    4. rat: The Israeli will have to pull up their "big boy pants", tighten their belts and man up.
      Because America IS waking up, to the Israeli lies, deceit and the false flags they fly.


      Actually Israel pulling up it's "big boy" pants has LED to a RUSH of additional USA aid since America doesnt want to be left of the Israel TRAIN.

      Israel is booming with high tech investments by American companies seeking a safe, smart return on investment,

      In fact with out ole Israel?

      You Rat could not talk over your computer, in fact you could not have a modern computer.....

      Israel is in fact VITAL to American national security, whereas rat, your cousins, the arabs? are nothing but a burden.

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    5. I certainly do not hate Israel, it is a government, not a land or a people.
      I don't hate and do not deal in hating.

      I think it is a moral and strategic failing that the US is so supportive of Israel.

      I think that the US folly in Egypt, the billions wasted in that sand box, is put on the Israeli account. We have paid tribute to Egypt, to keep the Israeli safe, secure and under their beds.

      I think the US should be rolling back from the Islamic Arc, not doubling down on supporting civil warriors and the sectarian violence they try to justify.

      I think that the military industrial complex, personified by Lester Crown and General Dynamics, wields an inordinate amount of influence within the halls of power in DC.

      I think most Americans know that during the last two US wars in Arabia, the US was tasked with defending Israel, while the Israeli hid under their beds and in holes in the ground.

      With regards to both of the wars with Iraq and the ongoing war on terrorism, the US has been better served by the Jordanians than the Israeli or the Egyptians.

      The Israeli-centric US policies of the past put US on the wrong side in Syria, today.
      The US focusing upon an "Israel First" foreign policy for the past forty years will lead to the slaughter of Christians in Syria.

      The US should not be supportive of authoritative, sectarian governments, anywhere.
      If we are going to ride with authoritative regimes, they should be secular in nature.





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    6. your words PROVE you hate Israel, Jews and Zionists.


      this comment "US was tasked with defending Israel, while the Israeli hid under their beds and in holes in the ground."

      the other comment you made "hitler was a jew"

      your other comments about "jewish americans" not being "real" americans..

      all prove the point.

      you are beyond redemption.

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  14. Detroit, Gaza, it's all the same war (or, should I say, "slaughter?") The Global "Rich" vs the "Workers." And, it's a rout.

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  15. Yep looks like detroit

    http://gigapica.geenstijl.nl/2011/05/fun_and_wealth_in_gaza.html

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  16. yahoo search gaza hotels, looks like the riveria

    http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?_adv_prop=image&fr=aaplw&sz=all&va=gaza+hotels

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  17. How Many Millionaires Live in the "Impoverished" Gaza Strip?

    by Khaled Abu Toameh
    August 30, 2012 at 4:30 am

    http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3308/gaza-millionaires


    The world often thinks of the Gaza Strip, home to 1.4 million Palestinians, as one of the poorest places on earth, where people live in misery and squalor.

    But according to an investigative report published in the pan-Arab newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat, there are at least 600 millionaires living in the Gaza Strip. The newspaper report also refutes the claim that the Gaza Strip has been facing a humanitarian crisis because of an Israeli blockade.

    Mohammed Dahlan, the former Palestinian Authority security commander of the Gaza Strip, further said last week that Hamas was the only party that was laying siege to the Gaza Strip; that it is Hamas, and not Israel or Egypt, that is strangling and punishing the people there.

    The Palestinian millionaires, according to the report, have made their wealth thanks to the hundreds of underground tunnels along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.

    Informed Palestinian sources revealed that every day, in addition to weapons, thousands of tons of fuel, medicine, various types of merchandise, vehicles, electrical appliances, drugs, medicine and cigarettes are smuggled into the Gaza Strip through more than 400 tunnels. A former Sudanese government official who visited the Gaza Strip lately was quoted as saying that he found basic goods that were not available in Sudan. Almost all the tunnels are controlled by the Hamas government, which has established a special commission to oversee the smuggling business, which makes the Hamas government the biggest benefactor of the smuggling industry.

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  18. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnBVFv7voK8


    LUXURY and WEALTH abound in Gaza and the Palestinian territories

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  19. Doesnt look like the warsaw ghetto

    http://photoblog.nbcnews.com/_news/2011/08/23/7447824-a-supermarket-in-gaza?lite


    When I saw this picture I thought of Martin Parr, who once said that he took photographs in his local supermarket "because this to me is the front line."
    The AP moved Hatem Moussa's photo from the newly opened al-Andalusia mall alongside a report about the Gaza Strip's nouveau riche, whose wealth and conspicuous consumption are said to be the cause of growing resentment toward the ruling Hamas movement:
    This middle class, which has become visible at the same time as a mini-construction boom in this blockaded territory, is celebrating its weddings in opulent halls and vacationing in newly built beach bungalows. That level of consumption may be modest by Western standards, but it's in startling contrast to the grinding poverty of most Gazans, who rely on U.N. food handouts to get by.
    Some of the well-off are Hamas loyalists. That rankles many Gaza residents because the conservative Islamic movement gained popularity by tending to the poor — through charitable aid, education and medical care — along with its armed struggle against Israel.
    "Hamas has become rich at the expense of the people," fumed a 22-year-old seamstress, Nisrine.

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  20. Interesting article about the victims of gaza

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/apr/28/gaza-schoolboys-trained-use-kalashnikovs

    Gaza schoolboys being trained to use Kalashnikovs
    Weekly military training classes for some 37,000 teenagers aged 15-17 sparks fears over new generation of militants

    Schools in Gaza are providing military training to teenage boys in a programme that a human rights organisation says is encouraging a culture of armed resistance and a new generation of fighters.

    The school curriculum includes weekly classes in which boys are familiarised with the use of Kalashnikov assault rifles and other weapons. Instructors from the interior ministry's national security arm also teach first aid, firefighting and the values of "discipline and responsibility".

    The course is supplemented with voluntary camps during school breaks, in which boys are instructed in handling guns and explosives. The Izz al-Din al-Qassam brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, the Islamist faction that governs Gaza, assist in the training, according to Gaza's ministry of education website.

    It denies that real weapons are used in training. However, a video shot at the Gamal Abdel Nasser school near Gaza City appears to show students carrying Kalashnikovs and a boy firing an artillery shell at a mocked-up watchtower bearing an Israeli flag. Schoolboy Izzadine Mohammed confirmed to the Guardian that he had been trained in handling real weapons at a camp this year.

    About 5,000 boys have participated in the camps since the programme started in September, according to the education ministry. The weekly classes are part of the curriculum for about 37,000 pupils aged 15-17; parents are entitled to withdraw their sons from the course, but such a move is rare.

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  21. Heya! I'm at work browsing your blog from my new iphone 3gs! Just wanted to say I love reading through your blog and look forward to all your posts! Keep up the great work!

    my weblog; review eukanuba dog food

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  22. The future is here — it’s just unevenly distributed. This old quote found a new application at the Pathways to 100% Renewable Energy conference in San Francisco last week. An international crowd of energy experts, financiers, clean energy advocates, elected officials, government employees, academics, and more gathered there to discuss how to bring the renewable energy future to all.

    Even those in favor of renewable energy have been known to debate how much of our power it can provide. But at the conference, the question was not whether we can get to 100%. Instead, speakers asked, How do we get there? And how soon?

    Answers vary, and multiple approaches are needed — many of which were shared at this event. Out of all the details and perspectives, a few themes came to the fore.

    Read more at http://cleantechnica.com/2013/05/01/biggest-barrier-to-100-renewables-is-in-our-heads/#BQUG3IFxWRAkRDDS.99

    It's all in yo haid

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  23. Hell, every dime to Gaza, is money to Israel.

    They are part and parcel of the same land, same people, same God.

    Is it all in their blood?

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    1. Do you ever tire of just pure out and out lying?

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    3. Why would I?
      I've never started.

      The God of Abraham is claimed, by all involved.
      The land is claimed, by all involved.

      Abraham's blood flows through both groups, the grand sire of you all...

      Not a lie in the mix.

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    4. Your read of history is like that of an Archie comic book.

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    6. The EB closed, quot.
      Much like the original "O", a piece of history.
      Is the Candyman all right, quot?

      He's not sick or infirm, is he quot?

      Should I send someone by the Emporium to check on him?
      Maybe just give him a call?

      Delete
    7. The "O"riginal, quot, was not a one note wonder, as you are.
      No, the "O"riginal had three notes and a chorus.

      He also took pride in his presentations, which you obviously do not.
      Or you'd not be a quot.

      You should bring it up at the next quality control and continuity committee meeting

      Delete
  24. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJS2tVQBhI0

    Mass Hamas Wedding in Gaza With Girls 6-9 Years Old! Obama sent Hamas 400million!

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  25. Good for you. You’re a smart guy, an independent farmer. Maybe it will clear your thinking. Think independently. You farm with facts, not with wishful thinking. Same with the world. Good night.

    The disdain drips. heh

    The post directly above is an example of the kind of 'facts' so often bandied about here. Utterly stupid comments devoid of any meaning.

    We learned just recently for instance from the same source that Assad is not a Moslem.

    I have learned here that Lincoln got pleasure thinking of the deaths of lithe young men because he was a sexual pervert. When every other source I have ever read indicates Lincoln was extremely depressed during the war, felt he had no control over it, felt that it would have started one way or another, it was bound to start itself one way or another, while it was stated here that Lincoln and the north definitely started the war, regardless of the argument over the facts of who fired the first shot. I've been told Lincoln was a monster of history, that our country would have been better off if the United States had been divided. I tried to point out once how that might not have worked out so well historically. The history of Europe and the Germans might well have been different. But I am getting away from facts into speculation.

    I could go on but won't.

    Quirk wants to know what I would do in Syria. As if it matters. I would probably have put up an early no fly zone, while paradoxically supporting Assad with the proviso that he not use the chemical weapons or the support is withdrawn, and we then help overthrown him and secure the chemical weapons on our own, and that he turn over the chemical weapons to inspection and control, and then I'd divide the country up to provide some sanctuary to the parties involved, providing what humanitarian aid as we can to all sides. I would not arm the MB and al-qaeda types, which is what the rebs seem to be, having read many articles saying there are not any seculars at all on the reb side.

    Now, go ahead and attack my ideas, as will inevitably happen.

    No one else has any except don't get involved and let the killing continue.

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    1. OK, I'll attack my own ideas. What about the Russians? Are they going to be on board for this? The Iranians? etc etc You want to start WWIII you dumb shit. etc etc etc


      Let's all admit, it's a hard nut to crack, and Obama hasn't done himself any good by drawing red lines that seem to vanish in the sands.

      Delete
    2. His red lines are not supposed to be real, how else can America look weak?

      Delete
  26. Ideas? How about, "Moronic Babblings?"

    Trust us, dimwit; the killing IS going to continue - with, or without our assistance.

    No reason in the world for us to maim another 30,000 young men, and women, and spend a couple of $Trillion. They're doing fine without us.

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  27. I got to go do things today.

    I leave with this fact, that only I know.

    Assad is not a Moslem.

    He is actually a Mennonite Christian originally from Kansas.

    heh

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  29. You want to see the "Right" come unglued? Offer to take the Three or Four Trillion that the Syria/Iran fiasco will cost us, and use it to become absolutely, totally Energy Independent.

    Hint: It doesn't take many F-16's to guard those Iowa Ethanol Refineries.

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  30. Offer to put all those unemployed Detroit autoworkers to work building boilers, and digesters for 3,000 cellulosic ethanol plants.

    And, hear the Lester Crown/Koch Brothers/Exxon mouthpieces scream bloody murder.

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    1. Read the WSJ as it anguishes over "the killing effects of socialism, and renewable energy."

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  34. .

    Fatah recognizes the state of Israel as legitimate. It refuses to recognize the Jewish state of Israel as legitimate.

    Hamas refuses to recognize the state of Israel as legitimate.

    Israel refuses to recognize Hamas as the legitimate government of Gaza.

    Yet, John Kerry says we need to start negotiations again.

    Hard to say whether we should laugh or cry.

    .

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  35. Replies
    1. Nah, it is high comedy.

      I chuckle over it, on a almost daily basis.

      MOMENTUM is growing behind the Arab League's revised Middle East peace plan, with 52 members of Israel's Knesset signing a petition calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address the issue.

      After meetings with US Secretary of State John Kerry earlier this week, Arab League nations agreed land swaps could be on the table in any deal between Israel and the Palestinians. Mr Kerry said the preparedness of the Arab League to recognise changes in the West Bank was "a very big step forward".

      "If the Palestinians and Israelis reach a final status agreement between them then - 22 Arab countries and 57 Muslim countries - all of them have agreed, No 1, that they would consider the conflict ended," Mr Kerry said.


      Delete
    2. The last line, of this piece, absolutely hysterical.

      “This is an important, encouraging step,” Science and Technology Minister Ya’acov Peri said.

      “An announcement like this gives Israel an opening to continue to strengthen large settlement blocs, in exchange for other territory that will be given to the Palestinians. The time has come to check the possibility of adopting the Arab League initiative as part of accelerating the diplomatic process.”

      Yesh Atid faction leader Ofer Shelah called for moderates in the Arab world to be involved in the peace process with the Palestinians, labeling al- Thani’s declaration a good sign.

      While most Likud Beytenu MKs avoided discussing the topic, ...
      ... Tourism Minister Uzi Landau quipped on Army Radio: “The Arab League proposal offers Auschwitz borders with slight changes.”

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    1. This was after the US engineered that Coup de Etat in Iran, verdad?

      A little "blowback" for US intervention in internal Iranian politics?

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    3. Only a bad habit, from your point of view.

      Works great for me. You never offer an alternative.

      OOrah!

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    1. Whose Law?

      I'm sure that weapons sales to foreigners by the Iranian government is legal, in Iran.

      If the Iranians outlaw Israeli weapon sales to China, will those weapons transfers be illegal?

      Was the transfer of F35 technologies, to China from Israel, illegal?

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    3. I have no idea as to what Colonel North did in regards to Iran.
      Don't know about what was sold to whom.

      Who traded what, who was paid ...
      I wouldn't know. Never claimed to.

      I knew some fellas, from our time together at Fort Gulick and Sherman, in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. Provided an opportunity to visit those countries, 'tween enlistments.

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    4. Tell me, cause I really would like to know, when did those weapons transit the US?

      When did the weapons bound for Nicoland enter US jurisdiction?

      Whose flag did they transit the ocean under?

      What made the transaction illegal?
      No US funds were spent.
      No US funds misappropriated.

      No indictments
      No impeachments

      No convictions, Colonel North subsequently ran for the US Senate.

      Why is that, if the sales were "ILLEGAL"

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    6. I do not provide answers to question I know nothing about.
      You are the one who claims I am a super spy, covert operative roaming the whirled, doing "wet work".

      I was a soldier in the Canal Zone and Panama, that trained foreign troops, amongst other things, in the three years I was there, in the Army.

      I stayed in Panama and traveled through much of Central America for a year or so, after my initial enlisted term was served. I viewed the societal situation, there in Central America, first hand. Learned a lot, doing it.

      You have fanciful delusions that do, I think, fuel your paranoia and persecution complex.

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    1. Most of it, misspent.

      Recall the photo of the fence that we've built, where it was built.

      Anon thought it would assist him in crossing, not be a deterrence to entry of the US, at all.
      He was correct.

      The Federals ae producing ever more para-military security forces, forces that perform fecklessly at their assigned tasks.

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    3. .

      Right. Israel is scheduled to get 20 F-35's by 2015, as a gift, courtesy of the American people, current cost $2.6 billion, by 2015 likley $4.0 billion.

      You can say it will create jobs; yet truth be known, it will merely help save jobs at Lockheed Martin.

      The fact is it's a complete waste of money and one of the biggest boondoggles ever foisted on our allies. The costs have already doubled and will likely triple as more and more countries cut back on orders. It was designed to replace three separate aircraft in order to 'save costs' yet it is inadequate for any of the applications.

      It has the most sophisticated electronics in the world and more upgrades are applied daily; yet it is too heavy for its vertical lift capabilities, its wings were shortended to save weight but that cuts down on its manueverabilty in combat, and since they were seeking stealth capabilities its offensive capability is stored within the body frame significantly cutting down on its payload. And that is just some of the design issues. The technical problems are an entriely differnt issue.

      It's a boondoggle and clusterfuck that's been going on for well over a decade but we are handing them out as gifts.

      .

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    4. You might be selling the F35 short, Q. Stealth is a powerful weapon.

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    5. .

      As for stealth, one of the complaints of the pilots is that they can't see planes coming up on them from behind.

      I guess the other planes are too stealthy.

      :)

      .

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    6. Pilots like the idea of "Dogfightin'." But, the truth is, aerial combat is really the very last thing their Chief of Staff has in mind for them.

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    7. .

      Likewise, due to ongoing changes to the various options I mentioned above the plane is now considered to be too heavy and too slow. The Pentagon has lowered the specs for turn performance and acceleration to allow for the planes shortcomings. It is now being questioned whether it will be able to match up with the new Soviet and Chinese planes, forget their names, would have to look them up.

      .

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    8. 26 miles out they will let loose their missiles, and go home, Q. All that other stuff is just noise.

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    9. .

      Perhaps you are right.

      When during recent tests the pilots complained about the cockpit design and their lack of visibility, the program manager (no doubt a long-term bureaucrat) said that if they were afraid of getting shot down in the F35 they should go back to flying cargo planes.

      That being said, this plane is supposed to cover all the bases, meet all the requirements of the Air Force, Navy, and Marines. Somewhere in that, I would think there might be a little 'dogfightin' involved.

      I've heard U.S. and Canadian officials talk about this being the plane for the next 50 years. I realize al-Queda's air force might not be a technical equivalent, but I wonder how it will stack up against the Russians and the Chinese.

      Maybe, I'm wrong.

      .

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    10. .

      This sums up the main complaints. All the rest are just symptoms leading to this conclusion.

      The age-old problem in engineering is that you can make something strong, light, or cheap, but you can only pick two. In this case, designing a plane that is sturdy enough for carrier landings and which has a long range to keep carriers safely out at sea (Navy); which has flexible payload options (Air Force); and which is capable of short takeoff and vertical landings (Marines) is pretty much impossible.

      Read more: http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/the-f-35-stealth-fighter-is-designed-for-no-one#ixzz2SAksHPcF

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    11. .

      The complaints about the F35 are many and growing. Even the guy who was responsible for designing the F16 and the A10 calls it a huge boondoggle. Those kind of assessments had me questioning the F35 but mainly because of the escalating costs involved. It was only later I started hearing about some of the performance shortfalls. Then the other night I watch a Canadian show (an expose if you will) on how they got sucked into this program and were browbeat into continuing it even after the costs started rising and the delays increased.

      To put it bluntly, the Pentagon's new trillion-dollar fighter jet doesn't go a fast as it should, doesn't turn as sharp as it should and doesn't handle as nimbly as it should. This is bad news, explainsWired's David Axe. For the pilots who will eventually take the F-35 into combat, the JSF’s reduced performance means they might not be able to outfly and outfight the latest Russian- and Chinese-made fighters," writes Axe. "Even before the downgrades, some analysts questioned the F-35′s ability to defeat newer Sukhoi and Shenyang jets." That all sounds like bad news, doesn't it? If our expensive new jets can't beat the Russians or the Chinese, who can we fight?

      The good news in the new Pentagon report is that... well, there is no good news, really. Not only have the requirements been adjusted down to make up for the F-35's poor performance, but a series of problems with the plane's software and safety measures hint at future downgrades to the jet, including adding on heavy hardware that will make the planes even more sluggish. That's what you get when you try to design a single plane to do everything–ironically enough, which was done partly to cut development costs. At least they still look cool...



      Read more: http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/the-pentagons-new-trillion-dollar-jet-is-a-garbage-can#ixzz2SAm38H6n

      .

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    12. Well, hell, if it is such a good deal for us to give Israel $10 billion in goods, it must be twice as good if we give them $20 billion. Who would have ever thought?

      Only your best buddy ever could be so interested in your welfare that they would go to the trouble of taking all that free stuff off your hands.

      What would we do without the state of Israel? Why is it not called a country? We don’t say the state of German or the state of England. We do say the state of Georgia or the state of New York. Those wonderful Israelis have really thought of everything.

      Some states like Israel, you give them free things and that is good. Other states, such as Michigan, not so good. Very bad to give them free things.

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    15. .

      Though my dad was a pilot, I haven't a clue about some of these planes. But some of the horror stories on the F35 at least 'sound' serious.

      I do know something about costs. And in an age of drones and budget cuts costs are also serious (kinda like that Little Ceasar commercial).

      Various other manufacturers including Boeing smell the blood in the water right now and are going after Lockheed Martin with peripheral players like Canada. Every order that is cancelled on the F35 drives up the costs of those that are made. The F35 was sold to Canada on the basis of it's intial cost which has doubled and could soon triple. However, the real costs of a plane are in its operating costs which represent about 80% of the total cost.

      Boeing is going after Canada to switch to its new Super Hornet which it admits is not as stealthy as the F35 but which is claimed to have better performance at half the cost.

      According to the GAO, the Super Hornet actually costs the U.S. Navy $15,346 an hour to fly. It sounds like a lot — until you see that the U.S. Air Force's official "target" for operating the F-35 is $31,900 an hour. The GAO says it's a little more — closer to $32,500.

      CBC also asked Lockheed Martin to say if it had any quarrel with these numbers — and it did not.



      Regarding stealth, what is the point if it does not increase survivibility? The following link has a number of embedded videos. There is one by a test pilot that discusses the 'stealth' issue.

      http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2013/02/27/pol-fighter-jets-boeing-superhornet-f-35-milewski.html

      .

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    17. Exactly.

      Israel, the little State that ain't.

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    19. I do not feel one way or another about Jews.
      Just as I do not feel one way or another about the Islamoids.
      Both are ineffectual in my world.

      I like watching your patterned responses, it's like teasing one of those little wiener dogs, with a laser pointer.

      The City-State of Israel is in a state of Civil War.
      It is going to get a lot worse for government supporters, for a long time, before it gets better, if it ever does.

      The glory days are over for Israel. Its last, 2006, foray into Lebanon proved the point. The vaunted "IDF Blitzkrieg" was bogged down and garnered ridiculed, instead of laurels.

      And that, amigo del diablo, that's entertainment!


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    20. Now when it comes to real gun and dug runners in Panama ...

      The whereabouts of former Mossad agent Mike Harari, purported security adviser to the deposed Panamanian dictator and reputed drug czar Manuel Noriega, remained a mystery Sunday, as well as a feast of speculation for the Israeli news media.

      Many here are convinced Harari is back in Israel.
      ...
      Harari, by all descriptions a figure straight out of popular spy fiction, was said by a U.S. Embassy official in Panama City last Thursday to be in the custody of the U.S. military in Panama.

      On Saturday however, the same official told a different tale. "They thought they had him, but on further checking either they didn't have him -- most probable -- or that he convinced them he was someone else," the official said.

      Reporters staking out Harari's home in Afeka, a wealthy suburb of Tel Aviv, found the house empty and locked.
      ...
      Harari, 62, is described as an athletic-looking man who almost invariably wears pilot-style dark glasses. He is said to have known Gen. Noriega since 1973 and to have personally recruited, equipped and trained his security forces.

      He had been called the most powerful man in Panama, after Noriega.

      Harari is also alleged to have made millions in illicit business ventures with the Panamanian strongman, who was once on the payroll of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.

      Harari is said to have been involved with Noriega in using the proceeds from drug sales to provide arms for the Contras, the Nicaraguan rebels supported by the Reagan administration to overthrow the Sandinista government in Managua.

      Harari is still wanted by the Norwegian government for his alleged involvement in what came to be known as the Lillehammer affair, a murder in June 1973, for which several Israelis were convicted and sent to prison.

      Allegedly, they were members of a Mossad hit squad out to eliminate a prominent member of the Palestine Liberation Organization who was in Lillehammer, Norway. He was believed responsible for participating in the massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.

      The Israeli agents killed the wrong person, however.


      http://archive.jta.org/article/1990/01/01/2872654/whereabouts-of-israeli-aide-to-noriega-remain-a-mystery

      JTA Achive
      Writing the first draft of Jewish history since 1917

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    21. If the JTA Archive is not "good" enough to source,how about the NYTimes

      "An Israeli reputed to be Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega's closest associate may have eluded capture on the night of the United States invasion because he was warned to flee nearly six hours before American troops swept into the capital, the deputy commander of Panama's new police force said today. The Noriega associate, Mike Harari, a former Israeli intelligence officer, was last seen at 7 p.m. on Dec. 19 leaving the home of General Noriega's wife, the commander, Eduardo Herrera Hassan, said. The invasion began shortly before 1 a.m. on Dec. 20. Mr. Harari, the commander said, was reportedly accompanied by two Israeli assistants who had come for him with a car. The location of Mr. Harari, who is said to have trained and equipped General Noriega's elite security forces, has been a mystery."

      — David E. Pitt, The New York Times, Jan. 2, 1990

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  39. Am sitting here on daughter's porch, reading the Hamas Charter.

    By Allah, the Charter is pretty tough reading.

    They sound like a tough group to get along with, and am I glad they are not in this neighborhood.

    It is pleasant here, and I suspect it wouldn't last if they were around.

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    2. Deuce, can you put a block on this person?

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  40. Here is a fellow that thinks it is too late to do much of anything about Syria -

    Too late for Syria
    Radicals now rule the rebellion

    By RALPH PETERS
    Last Updated: 12:01 AM, May 2, 2013
    Posted: 11:45 PM, May 1, 2013

    To borrow the climactic line from “Easy Rider,” “We blew it.” Or, to be fully accurate, President Obama blew an unprecedented chance to aid Syria’s then-moderate opposition back in 2011.

    We could have helped end the monstrous Assad regime, gaining good will and practical advantage in a hopeful new state.

    Now it’s too late. And Obama may be ready to act at last. The result could be disastrous.

    Strategy isn’t only about doing the right thing, but about doing the right thing at the right time.


    http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/too_late_for_syria_uQvcHQI5Lk8kQd4rGHPoZM

    I guess even my sophisticated plan hasn't much chance now, according to Ralph, and he is probably right, too.

    Of course, no great loss, it never did have a chance.



    ReplyDelete
  41. Ralph Peters has idjit disease.

    Also called "retired at Lt Col itis."

    ReplyDelete
  42. Electric cars don't sell.

    Calif. Electric Car Maker CODA Files For Chapter 11, Sold Only 100 Cars
    May 1, 2013 4:23 PM


    BENICIA (CBS / AP) — Electric car maker CODA Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection Wednesday after selling just 100 cars and said it plans to quit the auto business altogether.

    The Los Angeles-based parent of CODA Automotive filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in federal court in Delaware. A consortium of debtors plans to acquire CODA for $25 million, according to a company statement.


    http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2013/05/01/calif-electric-car-maker-coda-files-for-chapter-11-sold-only-100-cars/

    You just know, absolutely know, that a lot of people walked away from this fiasco with a lot of your tax money in their pockets.

    That was the real business plan.

    If we are dumb enough to subsidize this non sense, we deserve it.

    Add it to your already really really long list of ObamaStimulusFailures.

    Ruf may be right, we may really be the dumbest country on the planet.

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  43. Pakistani military analyst Talat Masood, a retired lieutenant general, said he doubted the clash would lead to the border's closure, as it would be "mutually harmful."

    The fighting in Goshta wasn't the only bloodshed in Afghanistan on Thursday. In the eastern province of Logar, eight local police officers died when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb.

    In the Gereshk district of the southern province of Helmand, a local tribal elder was gunned down, a day after the head of the provincial peace council, tasked with negotiating with the Taliban, was killed by a roadside bomb along with two bodyguards in the same district. Afghan officials also said some 20 Taliban died across the country, including 11 killed in a coalition airstrike in Farah province.

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  44. Richard III, found under a parking lot, needed a dentist, investigators say.

    It's tough being a doomed King.



    Researchers say the skull and jaw of last English monarch to die in battle were badly damaged, lending support to reports that the blows that killed him were so heavy that it drove the king’s crown into his head.

    They also conclude that Richard III may have been as anxious and fearful as William Shakespeare portrayed him – he ground his teeth with stress.

    Researchers also found that the king had suffered severe tooth decay, perhaps as a result of his privileged position and a sweet tooth.


    King Richard III's teeth and jaw reveal monarch's anxious life and violent death
    The violent death suffered by King Richard III at the battle of Bosworth has been revealed in new detail by analysis of his skull and jaw found under a car park in Leicester.

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/archaeology/10031896/King-Richard-IIIs-teeth-and-jaw-reveal-monarchs-anxious-life-and-violent-death.html

    Without that Crown, your whole personality changes. You might even be able to actually live a little, do some fishing, read some books, bet the horses.

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  45. Protect your privacy, buy a drone detector now --

    Worried about drones spying on you? Soon, a device might be able to send you text and email alerts that let you know when a drone is nearby.

    [ALSO: Domestic Drone Arrest Database Being Built by Defense Lawyers Group]

    A Washington, D.C.-based engineer is working on the "Drone Shield," a small, Wi-Fi-connected device that uses a microphone to detect a drone's "acoustic signatures" (sound frequency and spectrum) when it's within range.

    The company's founder, John Franklin, who has been working in aerospace engineering for seven years, says he hopes to start selling the device sometime this year. He is using the Kickstarter-like Indiegogo to finance the project.

    The device will cost $69 and will be about the size of a USB thumb drive. It will use Raspberry Pi – a tiny, $25 computer – and commercially available microphones to detect drones. He says he imagines that people will attach the Drone Shield to their fences or roofs to protect their home from surveillance.

    "People will get the alert and then close their blinds," Franklin says.


    http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/05/01/tiny-device-will-detect-domestic-drones

    Might be a good little company to invest in if it's public.

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  46. Harari is said to have been involved with Noriega in using the proceeds from drug sales to provide arms for the Contras, the Nicaraguan rebels supported by the Reagan administration to overthrow the Sandinista government in Managua.

    When is somebody "former" Mossad?

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  47. Noriega's Ties to Israel

    It was no surprise. Noriega had undergone military and intelligence training in Israel, jumped five times with Israeli paratroopers, and proudly wore his Israeli paratrooper wings on his uniform for many years afterward.

    Although critics say America "bought and paid for" Noriega, he was also an Israeli creation and a great admirer of the ruthless "Israeli way,".

    It was Harari who reorganized, renamed and trained the Panamanian Defense Forces when Noriega succeeded Torrijos. Harari also instructed Noriega's personal bodyguard and his "Special Anti-Terror Unit." Harari obtained advanced technical equipment and weapons for them, and there is no doubt he taught them how to anticipate and neutralize many of the attempts to monitor Noriega's activities launched by American intelligence officers from their bases in the Canal Zone.

    Panama's strongman reciprocated. On one of his visits to Israel arranged by Harari in the 1980s, Noriega bought a seaside villa in the Tel Aviv suburb of Herzliya. Back in Panama, he sent his children to the Jewish community's prestigious Alberto Einstein day school and to an Israeli kibbutz one summer. Noriega also employed other Israeli security experts in the Harari-organized PDF, which in effect became the Noriega administration.

    As for Harari's ongoing connections with Israel, Panama's new police commander, Eduardo Herrara Hassan, explains:
    "I was the ambassador to Israel but he was my boss. Everything I did had to be authorized by Harari."

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    1. Harari took kickbacks from Israeli businessmen seeking to invest in Panama, and split the proceeds with Noriega.

      Just how profitable that was is indicated by a Panamanian Jewish leader quoted in the Washington Jewish Week of Dec. 28:

      "The Israelis working here do not, by and large, reflect well either on Israel or the Panamanian Jewish community. They have practically gained control of the Central Avenue business district. They are engaged in contraband and money laundering. In general, they engage in very aggressive and often unfair business practices. They mainly keep apart from the Jewish community, and have little interest in Panama. They are here to make a lot of money and get out."

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  49. You are correct, quot.

    I get hezbollah's own statement about how surprised they were at the Israeli strong response and the devastation that Israel inflicted on them ...

    The Islamoids do not present a military threat.
    The Hezbo are the direct link to Iran and the Hezbos are no threat, because Iran is no threat, not to US, not to Israel.

    We're all on the same page.

    ;-)
    Glad you agree.

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    1. But the Israeli government, it was none to happy with the cost/benefits of the devastation they wrought.

      I hope that anarchy reigns across the Islamic Arc and Arabia for another fifty years, doesn't much matter to me which of the indigs lives or dies. I just do not want US blood or treasure pissed away in your sectarian hate fest in the sand box.

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  50. It could also be that the Hezbos just do not want to get involved in Israels Civil War.

    Hezbo not supporting the Sunni in the Israeli Civil War is an understandable position for those Lebanese Shiite.

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  51. On this day in 1939, Lou Gehrig’s consecutive-games-played streak came to an end at 2,130 games. The New York Yankees first baseman pulled himself from the lineup, ending a streak that would stand for 56 years.

    Who surpassed him?

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  52. On Thu May 02 at 11:24:00 PM EDT, General Bunk's rant came to a temporary end being replaced by a sane post by Sam on Fri May 03 at 12:13:00 AM EDT .

    Thanks, Sam!

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  53. Two previous studies, by Ron Fouchier of Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam and Yoshihiro Kawaoka of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, caused uproar in 2011 when it emerged that they had created airborne versions of H5N1 that could be passed between ferrets.

    The criticism led to researchers to impose a voluntary moratorium on their H5N1 research, banning transmission studies using ferrets. However they decided to lift the ban earlier this year, arguing that they have now consulted widely with health organisations and the public over safety concerns.

    However, other scientists have criticised the decision to lift the moratorium.

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  54. Here is an article explaining why throwing more money at Detroit is unlikely to do much good. And may do harm.

    May 3, 2013
    Census Report Shocker
    By Janice Shaw Crouse

    The nation's founding fathers first instituted a national census so that the nation could "mark the progress of society." They would roll over in their graves to see that the nation they founded with great hope and based on principles of personal and civic responsibility, instead of progressing, has instead become mired in reckless self-indulgence and thus regressed in terms of people's well being. We have spent hundreds of billions of dollars over the past four decades trying to alleviate the consequences of poor and irresponsible choices only to reap a harvest of greater dependency than ever before and several generations of children at risk for all the negative outcomes that parents hope to avoid (truancy, delinquency, substance abuse, etc). It is not merely the demographics of non-marital child bearing that need to be publicized but an honest, extensive reporting of the damages as well.


    http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/05/census_report_shocker.html

    What is needed is a cultural change, a return to norms that worked better for the kids in the past than the current outlook is doing. Money has been thrown at these cities and areas for a long long time, and things have gotten worse.

    How to bring about a cultural change or revival in these places like Detroit I don't really know, but I don't think the answer is more money. Something else is needed.


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  55. Here is why Canada is starting to smell like a dead fish -

    May 3, 2013
    Free Speech Under Fire in Canada
    By Pamela Geller

    Here is yet another instance of the Islamic supremacist/leftist war on free speech -- particularly egregious in the wake of the Boston Marathon jihad bombings. The message is all the more crucial now. For years, my colleagues and I labored under the most heinous circumstances. Anyone who opposes the jihad and the Sharia must endure a constant withering attack on one's name, reputation, integrity, and even spirit.

    I was scheduled to speak at the Chabad Flamingo Synagogue in Thornhill, right outside of Toronto's city limits, on May 13. But now Islamic supremacist groups in Canada, with willing aid from the Canadian police, have succeeded in getting the event canceled under police pressure, and the organizers are looking for a new location.


    http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/05/free_speech_under_fire_in_canada.html

    Maybe it is also why people from Canada have such a hard time making a cogent argument about certain things. They have been constrained by their speech laws for so long, and trained to toe the line, that they feel unable to mention unpleasant facts without which their statements lack meaning.

    How can one criticize moslems if one is forbidden to criticize moslems?


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