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."

Saturday, August 31, 2013

However, from numerous interviews with doctors, Ghouta residents, rebel fighters and their families, a different picture emerges. Many believe that certain rebels received chemical weapons via the Saudi intelligence chief, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, and were responsible for carrying out the dealing gas attack. “My son came to me two weeks ago asking what I thought the weapons were that he had been asked to carry,” said Abu Abdel-Moneim, the father of a rebel fighting to unseat Assad, who lives in Ghouta. Abdel-Moneim said his son and 12 other rebels were killed inside of a tunnel used to store weapons provided by a Saudi militant, known as Abu Ayesha, who was leading a fighting battalion. The father described the weapons as having a “tube-like structure” while others were like a “huge gas bottle.”


Syrians in Ghouta Claim Saudi-Supplied Rebels Behind Chemical Attack
by Dale Gavlak and Yahya Ababneh, August 31, 2013

This article is a collaboration between Dale Gavlak reporting for Mint Press News and Yahya Ababneh.
Ghouta, Syria – As the machinery for a U.S.-led military intervention in Syria gathers pace following last week’s chemical weapons attack, the U.S. and its allies may be targeting the wrong culprit.
Interviews with people in Damascus and Ghouta, a suburb of the Syrian capital, where the humanitarian agency Doctors Without Borders said at least 355 people had died last week from what it believed to be a neurotoxic agent, appear to indicate as much.
The U.S., Britain, and France as well as the Arab League have accused the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for carrying out the chemical weapons attack, which mainly targeted civilians. U.S. warships are stationed in the Mediterranean Sea to launch military strikes against Syria in punishment for carrying out a massive chemical weapons attack. The U.S. and others are not interested in examining any contrary evidence, with U.S Secretary of State John Kerry saying Monday that Assad’s guilt was “a judgment … already clear to the world.”
However, from numerous interviews with doctors, Ghouta residents, rebel fighters and their families, a different picture emerges. Many believe that certain rebels received chemical weapons via the Saudi intelligence chief, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, and were responsible for carrying out the dealing gas attack.
“My son came to me two weeks ago asking what I thought the weapons were that he had been asked to carry,” said Abu Abdel-Moneim, the father of a rebel fighting to unseat Assad, who lives in Ghouta.
Abdel-Moneim said his son and 12 other rebels were killed inside of a tunnel used to store weapons provided by a Saudi militant, known as Abu Ayesha, who was leading a fighting battalion. The father described the weapons as having a “tube-like structure” while others were like a “huge gas bottle.”
Ghouta townspeople said the rebels were using mosques and private houses to sleep while storing their weapons in tunnels.
Abdel-Moneim said his son and the others died during the chemical weapons attack. That same day, the militant group Jabhat al-Nusra, which is linked to al-Qaida, announced that it would similarly attack civilians in the Assad regime’s heartland of Latakia on Syria’s western coast, in purported retaliation.
“They didn’t tell us what these arms were or how to use them,” complained a female fighter named ‘K.’ “We didn’t know they were chemical weapons. We never imagined they were chemical weapons.”
“When Saudi Prince Bandar gives such weapons to people, he must give them to those who know how to handle and use them,” she warned. She, like other Syrians, do not want to use their full names for fear of retribution.
A well-known rebel leader in Ghouta named ‘J’ agreed. “Jabhat al-Nusra militants do not cooperate with other rebels, except with fighting on the ground. They do not share secret information. They merely used some ordinary rebels to carry and operate this material,” he said.
“We were very curious about these arms. And unfortunately, some of the fighters handled the weapons improperly and set off the explosions,” ‘J’ said.
Doctors who treated the chemical weapons attack victims cautioned interviewers to be careful about asking questions regarding who, exactly, was responsible for the deadly assault.
The humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders added that health workers aiding 3,600 patients also reported experiencing similar symptoms, including frothing at the mouth, respiratory distress, convulsions and blurry vision. The group has not been able to independently verify the information.
More than a dozen rebels interviewed reported that their salaries came from the Saudi government.
Saudi involvement
In a recent article for Business Insider, reporter Geoffrey Ingersoll highlighted Saudi Prince Bandar’s role in the two-and-a-half year Syrian civil war. Many observers believe Bandar, with his close ties to Washington, has been at the very heart of the push for war by the U.S. against Assad.
Ingersoll referred to an article in the U.K.’s Daily Telegraph about secret Russian-Saudi talks alleging that Bandar offered Russian President Vladimir Putin cheap oil in exchange for dumping Assad.
“Prince Bandar pledged to safeguard Russia’s naval base in Syria if the Assad regime is toppled, but he also hinted at Chechen terrorist attacks on Russia’s Winter Olympics in Sochi if there is no accord,” Ingersoll wrote.
“I can give you a guarantee to protect the Winter Olympics next year. The Chechen groups that threaten the security of the games are controlled by us,” Bandar allegedly told the Russians.
“Along with Saudi officials, the U.S. allegedly gave the Saudi intelligence chief the thumbs up to conduct these talks with Russia, which comes as no surprise,” Ingersoll wrote.
“Bandar is American-educated, both military and collegiate, served as a highly influential Saudi Ambassador to the U.S., and the CIA totally loves this guy,” he added.
According to U.K.’s Independent newspaper, it was Prince Bandar’s intelligence agency that first brought allegations of the use of sarin gas by the regime to the attention of Western allies in February.
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the CIA realized Saudi Arabia was “serious” about toppling Assad when the Saudi king named Prince Bandar to lead the effort.
“They believed that Prince Bandar, a veteran of the diplomatic intrigues of Washington and the Arab world, could deliver what the CIA couldn't: planeloads of money and arms, and, as one U.S. diplomat put it, wasta, Arabic for under-the-table clout,” it said.
Bandar has been advancing Saudi Arabia’s top foreign policy goal, WSJ reported, of defeating Assad and his Iranian and Hezbollah allies.
To that aim, Bandar worked Washington to back a program to arm and train rebels out of a planned military base in Jordan.
The newspaper reports that he met with the “uneasy Jordanians about such a base”:
"His meetings in Amman with Jordan's King Abdullah sometimes ran to eight hours in a single sitting. "The king would joke: 'Oh, Bandar's coming again? Let's clear two days for the meeting,' " said a person familiar with the meetings."
Jordan's financial dependence on Saudi Arabia may have given the Saudis strong leverage. An operations center in Jordan started going online in the summer of 2012, including an airstrip and warehouses for arms. Saudi-procured AK-47s and ammunition arrived, WSJ reported, citing Arab officials.
Although Saudi Arabia has officially maintained that it supported more moderate rebels, the newspaper reported that “funds and arms were being funneled to radicals on the side, simply to counter the influence of rival Islamists backed by Qatar.”
But rebels interviewed said Prince Bandar is referred to as “al-Habib” or ‘the lover’ by al-Qaida militants fighting in Syria.
Peter Oborne, writing in the Daily Telegraph on Thursday, has issued a word of caution about Washington’s rush to punish the Assad regime with so-called ‘limited’ strikes not meant to overthrow the Syrian leader but diminish his capacity to use chemical weapons:
"Consider this: the only beneficiaries from the atrocity were the rebels, previously losing the war, who now have Britain and America ready to intervene on their side. While there seems to be little doubt that chemical weapons were used, there is doubt about who deployed them.
"It is important to remember that Assad has been accused of using poison gas against civilians before. But on that occasion, Carla del Ponte, a U.N. commissioner on Syria, concluded that the rebels, not Assad, were probably responsible."

Some information in this article could not be independently verified. Mint Press News will continue to provide further information and updates .
Dale Gavlak is a Middle East correspondent for Mint Press News and has reported from Amman, Jordan, writing for the Associated Press, NPR and BBC. An expert in Middle Eastern affairs, Gavlak covers the Levant region, writing on topics including politics, social issues and economic trends. Dale holds a M.A. in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Chicago. Contact Dale at dgavlak@mintpressnews.com
Yahya Ababneh is a Jordanian freelance journalist and is currently working on a master's degree in journalism, He has covered events in Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Libya. His stories have appeared on Amman Net, Saraya News, Gerasa News and elsewhere.

126 comments:

  1. This is total madness. It is all about Obama and the sycophantic parasitic class in DC and the US media. I read this article twice and it has an authenticity to it.

    Kerry and Obama have juiced up the number of dead three fold, a number closer to those reported by al Qaeda. There is definite proof that al Qaeda was using gas in Iraq and as pointed out here:


    ”It is important to remember that Assad has been accused of using poison gas against civilians before. But on that occasion, Carla del Ponte, a U.N. commissioner on Syria, concluded that the rebels, not Assad, were probably responsible.”

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    1. Our country is being run by rodeo clowns. If the murderous Assad regime is slaughtering the murderous al-Qaeda, and being slaughtered in return, then here's a toast to the success of both of them.

      Delete
  2. Stumbling into the war the West doesn’t want
    By Nicola Lamb
    2:41 PM Saturday Aug 31, 2013

    The world hasn't forgotten lies about weapons of mass destruction, writes foreign editor Nicola Lamb

    The American and British governments should have seen this coming.

    Having suddenly decided that military action was a strong probability - after two years of avoiding entanglement in Syria - they late last week began sucking up intelligence on the chemical weapons attack in Damascus.

    Senior officials - Joe Biden, John Kerry, William Hague - began "building the case" for a military intervention through statements of certainty. In a matter of days the momentum was such that air strikes against Damascus were being referred to by government sources as likely by "mid-week" or "weekend at the latest".

    The timetable appeared to be running to an artificial Washington conference agenda: Get the nasty business out of the way before next week's summit in Russia. These are the best time slots available, sir.

    The extreme lack of public enthusiasm for any action - as shown by opinion polls in the US and UK - seemed barely an objection. Officials leaked information on what would be hit to an almost comic level of detail - including in a New York Times report how many missiles would likely strike a target - as though it had already all played out perfectly on their meeting-room whiteboards.

    It would only be a couple of days, Bashar al-Assad was told. Damascus, line up for your medicine now.

    What was forgotten were lessons that had supposedly been learned from the rush to disaster in Iraq (which was wrongly said to have chemical weapons) and the psychological scars in the public consciousness from that conflict. People and politicians alike are understandably wary of being steamrolled into another expensive foreign misadventure on false premises. They don't want facts to be made to fit the preferred narrative. If it's to be done, they want it done by the book. It's not a mood of total non-intervention: They coped with the more gradual government argument over the war in Libya.

    To be fair, President Barack Obama has spoken cautiously about the complexities of the Syrian situation and the dangers of outside involvement while also blaming Assad.

    But the US and Britain have generally mishandled the aftermath of the Ghouta tragedy.

    They needed to initially express outrage at the apparent use of weapons of mass destruction and their general determination to respond, then compiled intelligence and waited for the UN inspectors' report.

    And instead of immediately saying they could act without going through the UN and that there was "no doubt" the regime was to blame - without for days backing it up - they should have gradually explained what evidence was available and pushed again through UN diplomacy. Make the case. Let the Russians and Chinese explain why a large-scale WMD attack that killed many children does not require a response.

    The British Parliament yesterday responded to the sledgehammer blows by digging in and demanding a delay to wait for the UN report. It's a stunning reminder for the political masters to always do it properly or repent afterwards.

    As historian and conservative commentator Tim Stanley said yesterday: "Nobody is saying do nothing. They're saying stop, think and do the right thing". But, effectively, the badly wounded Prime Minister David Cameron is unlikely to risk another vote next week.

    {…}

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  3. {…}

    Liberal Guardian commentator Sunny Hundal wrote: "Cameron lost because he wanted to rush into Syria and dismissed any caution or calls for proper evidence. He misjudged the mood on both sides of the House and assumed that no one would defy him on a vote of war. He lost."

    Intelligence officials in an AP report on Thursday night suggested there were holes and questions to what's known including whether Assad is in control of all his chemical weapons stocks.

    The British intelligence assessment asserted (though without providing detail) that: "the Syrian regime used lethal CW on 14 occasions from 2012" and that only the Government was capable of an attack on that scale.

    If that is correct, and the US decides not to act, then the sins over Iraq could end up costing the Syrian people. In other words, because the West once went to war with a Middle Eastern dictator on the basis of a lie over WMDs that weren't there, it may fail to deal properly with another who is probably using WMDs now.

    Doing nothing over two years has resulted in 100,000 deaths and two million refugees having to be hosted by neighbouring countries. Doing nothing will mean more civilian deaths, refugees and destabilisation.

    The argument for military action is it's the best way of sending Assad a message not to use chemical weapons again and to try to force him into negotiations. Assad has no reason to talk - he has been making advances on the ground and he has the military, diplomatic and financial backing of Russia, Iran and Hizbollah. Diplomacy has been frustrated via a divide between the major powers.

    Military action would allow Obama to fulfil his "red line" vow and US credibility is important to the superpower, especially in its dealings with Syria's neighbour Iran. Backing off now could mean a worse confrontation down the track with an emboldened Tehran which could draw in Israel.

    A cynical equation would suggest that military action gives the West the chance to weaken Assad by attacking his airpower, other military resources and airfields, tilting the balance in the rebels' favour, just as they are receiving Saudi-financed weapons. The US would hope that the rebels it backs among the opposition could take over.

    But al-Qaeda-linked Islamist groups among the rebels are by various accounts the most organised and deadly fighters - and the most likely to take advantage of regime weakness. Air strikes are unlikely to be totally accurate or effective - civilians could be killed, chemical weapons could be hit, retaliatory strikes could target neighbouring countries. Incidents could occur that lead to more military involvement by the reluctant US.

    In the end, no one can be sure of the best option in how to deal with Syria because of the strong likelihood of unintended consequences.

    By Nicola Lamb

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  4. .

    Not to fear.

    Gather round the campfire children for my next tale shall be of Ash Infiltrates al Nusra.

    Might not get to it all tonight for it is an epic tale, one long in the telling, and my eyes grow weary. But it is a tale that must be told, if only in segments, one of a bold Canadian upholding the warrior tradition of his clan.

    Chapter One: Getting Started

    Ash and his wife were slowly winding their way through a great arboreal forest heading up a steep grade. It had been slow going since they had left the Trans-Taiga Road in their newly refurbished 42 foot Winnebago. However, with the custom all-wheel drive he had ordered and the tire chains they were steadily moving towards their destination, the Inuit village of Kuujjuag located on a river upstream from Ungava Bay in Northern Quebec.

    Ash had been whistling the theme to The Bridge on the River Quay for the past quarter hour until his wife in frustration finally asked him to stop. Now, bored, he turned to her and asked “Do you believe in god?” His wife, Cookie, who had been mending a large draw net in the seat next to him stopped, turned to him, and after a second or two said, “Gee, I don’t know.” Ash, with a belittling smirk on his face, said, “That is the…” but then he stopped for as he topped the rise he saw it, Kuujjuag.


    continued

    .

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    1. .

      The site was just as he had imagined it would be, well, except for the great powwow that was in progress along the river’s edge.

      As they drew near, the great crowd parted and Ash could see this great ceremony was in his honor. The chief, a wizened elder wearing fur lined seal skin boots and coat and carrying a great eagle feather approached them. He said saimuug and clasped Ash’s hand and explained that this vast assemblage had gathered to wish Ash Kiviuq (The Wanderer) god speed as he set out on his newest adventure, namely to save Syria from itself.

      Ash’s wife looked puzzled. “You told me we were here for the smelt dipping.”

      “Yeah, honey, let me explain.” But at that moment, the band started and the couple was swept forward by well-wishers toward a small stage where a microphone had been set up in front of a row of seats under a giant maple leaf symbol.

      Ash could see that the crowd surrounding them included Ontarians and Saskatchewanians and Newfies and other fay folk from all corners of the Great White North. They had come from Coquitlam and Nunaut and Saskatoon from cites big and small and unpronounceable to see their hero off. For word of his adventure had started off like a whisper on the wind and as it moved it grew from Inuit villages to New Brunswick fishing towns to the vast Athabasca oil sands. Ash Kiviuq was once again going to pick up the Staff of the Wanderer and head forth on a quest. And this time he was determined to redeem Canada's good name.

      The air was filled with Inuit throat singing and the music of many fiddles and drums, bone flutes and bag pipes, whistles and jew’s-harps, button accordians and spoons. The people were feasting on timbits and scrumchins, homo milk and bugger-in-a-bag, bokkepootjes and maple syrup pie. Two-fours were stacked all over the place and there was much quaffing of ale. Molson and Labatt’s empties littered the ground.


      continued

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    2. .

      The crowd was dotted with numerous signs: Ash Ash Baby; Wayne Gretzky for Pope; Free Quebec; Don Cherry Rules; The Inuit Eat Beaver; Ash is a Hoser (accompanied with a large smiley face)

      As they took their seats both Ash and Cookie wore bemused smiles at the wonder of the vast feast and celebration spread out before them. After a couple of minutes, the Chief rose and waived his great eagle feather toward the huge assembly. The crowd grew silent and the band stopped, all except for the spoon player that is, who had his eyes closed as he beat out a hot version of ‘Oh Canada’ on his instrument. One of the drummers tapped him on his shoulder and he eventually stopped.

      In the silence that followed, the chief turned to Ash and motioned him to the mike. “Please, Kiviuq, tell us of your quest.”

      Ash took the mike and turned to the crowd, “What a surprise you hosers, this is really a shock. My wife and I want to thank you for this tremendous show of affection. What can I say?”

      Wiping a tear from his eye, Ash continued, “I am about to embark on a top secret mission, a quest if you like, involving a long and harrowing journey to far off fabled Syria where I plan to infiltrate the al Nasra terrorist organization and bring it down from the inside. I have changed the name on my sloop from Rubber Duck to Busted Condom in order to throw off the NSA. I have copied a detailed secret map of the route I will take and am having some of the young’uns pass them out so that you can follow along.

      “As we all know, Canada is a great country, eh. We have a gloried history. We invented daylight savings time, and roller skates, and duct tape. We have a long history of leading from behind. Yet, those losers, those purveyors of protocol, alcohol, and Geritol, those wimpy douche bags, those dicks, the politicians in Ottawa have declined the invitation of President Obama to join the coalition of the willing who will take part in the symbolic attack on Syrian government installations thus condemning Canada to live in infamy until someone can rescue it’s good name. That someone is me, eh. Let’s tell those ass-pimples in Ottawa to take off, losers.”

      The crowd burst into applause, the band struck up the sweet strains of Sweet Adelaine, and while many rushed to the porta-potties, a good portion of the crowd started chanting the theme song to The Great White North, “coo-ooh-coocoo-coo-ooh-coo…”.

      At this point, having read the notes her husband had passed around, Cookie choked on the bowl of poutine she had been eating, staining to a brown gooey mess the fur collar and hood surround of the brand new MontBell Mirage parka Ash had purchased the week before in Montreal.

      “Are you nutz”, Cookie screamed. “This map shows you circumnavigating the globe in our sloop before you ever get to Syria. How long would that take?”

      “Yeah, well” Ash began nervously, “I’m thinking maybe eighteen months tops. You see this is a ‘top-secret’ mission and I need to throw them off the scent. Also, I’ve always wanted to circumnavigate the globe and I just thought…”

      “Forget it” screamed Cookie. “The war will be over by the time you get there and beside this shows you landing in Tartus, home of a Russian fleet, held and surrounded by Assad’s forces, half way across Syria from any al Nusra terrorists.”

      “Yeah, but…”

      “No but’s. If you want to go, you’ll fly; and you better plan on being back within two weeks, Buster. School will be starting soon.“

      Reconciled to this last minute change of plans, Ash hired a couple of Inuit guides to take the river up to Ungava Bay and pick up his golf bags off of the Busted Condom. By the time they returned two-days later, Ash had arranged for some friends to fly up and sail his boat back south. Cookie had agreed to drive the Winnebago home by herself and Ash had contracted with Flaps Riley, a local bush pilot, to fly him down to Montral.

      The adventure begins…


      Chapter Two: Turkey with all the Dressing (to follow)

      .

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    3. Suggestion:

      Chapter On 'Heroic Ash'

      Chapter Heading:

      Ash Confronts The Gray Wolf Pack

      Synopsis:

      Ash, who has never impressed his wife, but is still trying, confronts pack of Canadian Grays with golf driver, loses three fingers on each hand, making him unable to hold his 'putter', and lives but is lacerated over most of his body, finally getting the comeuppance he has always so richly deserved.

      Delete
  5. The real master manipulators of the Middle East are the Saudis. The closer you look, it becomes obvious that the Saudis have the most to gain from the chemical weapons attack in Syria. I would put nothing past them.

    You can’t trust anything coming from Washington.

    Kerry and Obama, well, that’s all you need to know, Kerry and Obama.

    Syria, the Saudi connection: The Prince with close ties to Washington at the heart of the push for war

    DAVID USBORN
    Independent
    MONDAY 26 AUGUST 2013

    He has been gone from the capital for eight years, but Prince Bandar bin Sultan, who as Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Washington wielded influence over no fewer than five different US presidents, has re-emerged as a pivotal figure in the struggle by America and its allies to tilt the battlefield balance against the regime in Syria.

    Appointed by the Saudi king, his uncle, last year as the head of the Saudi General Intelligence Agency, Prince Bandar has reportedly for months been focused exclusively on garnering international support, including arms and training, for Syrian rebel factions in pursuit of the eventual toppling of President Bashar al-Assad.

    It is a long-term Saudi goal, that in the past several days has been subsumed by the more immediate crisis over the purported use of chemical weapons by Damascus, which, according to Riyadh, must be met by a stern response. That message is being delivered to President Barack Obama by the current Saudi Ambassador in Washington, Adel al-Jubeir, who is a Bandar protégé.

    It was Prince Bandar’s intelligence agency that first alerted Western allies to the alleged use of sarin gas by the Syrian regime in February.

    While a trip earlier this month to the Kremlin to try to cajole President Vladimir Putin into withdrawing his support for President Assad reportedly failed, Prince Bandar automatically has greater leverage in Western capitals, not least because of friendships forged during his time in Washington. His most recent travels, rarely advertised, have taken him to both London and Paris for discussions with senior officials.

    As ambassador, Prince Bandar left an imprint that still has not quite faded. His voice was one of the loudest urging the United States to invade Iraq in 2003. In the 1980s, Prince Bandar became mired in the Iran-Contra scandal in Nicaragua.

    Months of applying pressure on the White House and Congress over Syria have slowly born fruit. The CIA is believed to have been working with Prince Bandar directly since last year in training rebels at base in Jordan close to the Syrian border.

    The Saudis are “indispensable partners on Syria” and have considerable influence on American thinking, a senior US official told The Wall Street Journal yesterday. He added: “No one wants to do anything alone”.

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    1. This is just an updated "Protocols of the Elders of Zion". I don't have the time or interest in trying to decipher what secret cabal is in charge of policy. How about just holding the actual policymakers accountable, rather than figure how who influences them?

      Delete
  6. It seems to me that Obama wants to lance the boil.

    Do a limited attack on Syria.

    This will cause Iran, Syria, Hamas, Hezbollah to attack Israel.

    Israel will then respond, attacking back, this will also be the casus belli for Israel to take out the Iranian nuke program.

    Of course Israel will be attacked with chemical weapons and a few hundred thousand israelis will die but that is what obama wants, a wounded israel, so that after the fighting ends he can get concessions for the palestinians.

    this is leading from behind.

    stir the pot, get others to fight and die then claim "it's not my fault"

    Remember the Lil' Rascals? Remember Stymie? Well Stymie is Obama all growd up...

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    1. England? under the bus (but it started a few years ago) Poland? Under the Bus, Taiwan, Columbia, Israel all under the bus, and dont forget hard working Americans

      The winners? Turkey, Russia, Saudis, Moslem Brotherhood and the president's friends, the palestinians.

      What a wonderful world

      Delete
    2. The important thing is that Obama rides in the front of the bus that's running over them. Saint MLK Jr would be proud.

      Delete
    3. As stated before. MLK was a staunch Israel supporter

      Delete
  7. Geeze,

    Peters has become creepy looking.

    ...I might watch that later.

    ReplyDelete
  8. In case anybody missed this classic I posted in the last thread:

    Marriage Proposal Goes Bad

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Posted that on Facebook, should get quite a rise out of my peeps.

      Meanwhile, here's the Canadian take on vandalism.

      Delete
    2. I sent it on to two of my favorite peoples.

      Delete
    3. That looks like Fresh Concrete.

      What an Outrage!

      Delete
  9. Hey, hey, BHO!

    We Don't Want You Here No Mo!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Dollar burger dollar fries, we don't want your pay to rise!

      Delete
    2. Are you old enough to remember Hey, Hey, LBJ,

      ...or did you just read about it?

      Delete
    3. I was born during the LBJ regime, in '65. I'm either a very young Boomer or a very old X-Generation slacker. But if I was an older Boomer, I would have been on the barricades against Vietnam. What a waste.

      Delete
    4. When I was in college, Taco Bell Burritos were 19 cents.

      Today, they are God knows what, 5 times as much?

      The Humanity!

      Delete
    5. ...mmm, Green Burritos w/hot sauce.

      Do they even make those now?

      Delete
    6. Taco Time makes some damn good Mexican food with local veggies, but it costs double the cost of the dog food they serve in Taco Bell.

      Delete
    7. Hey, it's meat free now, I've gone Vegan.

      Delete
    8. "Maui Tacos"

      Cost,
      ...and they suck.

      Delete
    9. part of a letter to an old friend I just found from 40 years ago, and Tacos:

      ""I remember the sign that said $75, and when the landlord raised the rent I tried to change the 7 to an 8, but you had enough sense to see how stupid it looked, so I think you made another sign. "

      Nope, you changed it with a magic marker, and I thought it was hilarious.
      Then one morning, there was a knock on the door, and I stumbled across the newspapers and beercans and opened the door.
      It was the owner, or real-estate manager, and he wanted me to walk the property with him.
      The sign was a feature that was not overlooked.

      (but I don't remember if it was resolved while we were there)

      Don't remember if your Corvair was up on blocks with the engine out yet, or not.

      Remember when I was pressurizing the gas tank and the air filler nozzle fell in?
      Taking corners in that ride was never the same, everafter.

      (for the Elephant Crowd: The heavy nozzle would roll around in the tank and make a racket)

      I delegated the bookkeeping to you, don't know what responsibilies that left me with, but month after month I would be shocked to learn that we were way out of balance.
      I'd confront you only to find that yet again I had spent much of the summer rental income.
      Even at $1.99 a gallon for Red Mountain Wine and $4.99 a case for Lucky Lager, those Tortuga bills did add up.

      The cardboard cases did come in handy for building a phone-booth/wall at Barringer's place though.

      I had a couple of other jobs that summer, weekends at Pep Boys, and counterman at Los Tacos.
      (I got fired for the first time ever for talking too much to the customers - It came naturally from watching my dad at the store, and was a great way to meet chicks)

      That's how you were introduced to that surfer girl from highschool attending UCSB for summerschool with her mom and a friend.
      (the mom banned me after I invited the friend over for some TV watching, and went to sleep on her.)

      You and Sweet Sue became my favorite story to tell when I got back from the Army:

      She might have been living in a butterfly house also at the time, but at any rate, I went to visit with you and drink some Rotta Sweet Concord or Muscatel and somehow that led me to realize that Sue was the same Sue as the Surfer Sue from the Summer when George was a surfer too, but neither of you knew...
      until I reminded you!

      Great Story.
      The Blonde Surfer Girl had become a brunette college student, and Surfer George had become Grad Student/Hippy George.
      ...which reminds me of another great story:

      Trinkle ordering a sandwich in Reef City, 9 miles south of Avenal, on Hwys 33/46.
      Remember that one?

      ...and of course his research pursuits into the effects of meth on bioluminescence in sea life.
      Left Doctor Feelgood, aka Dexidrine Doug, feeling a little upstaged."

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    10. Trinkle was a super freaky sixties grad student/meth head, my Avenal Peoples were not impressed.

      When he and his wife walked in to this kinda truckstop, and he ordered a hot sandwich, the gal promptly microwaved it for him, and served it up with the Saran Wrap still bubbling on the plate!

      Classic!

      Delete
    11. ...Sue's dad was an FBI Agent.

      We'd go up in the mountains and frolic in the Creeks nude w/Sweet Sue.

      Some claim some acid was dropped.

      There was a Debris Damn filled with, you guessed it, Debris, and the spillway was covered with Algae.

      We'd slide down the spillway, and rocket out into the pond.

      Then one day Alan Ladd's son showed up w/her.

      He was not impressed w/me.

      :-(

      Delete
    12. George has worked as the Administrator of a Christian Science Old Folks Home for the last 35 years.

      Delete
  10. Want to punish the arabs/jihadists/iranians/russians all at once?

    Frack

    Build the keystone pipeline

    Open domestic drilling

    offer tax credits for independent oil producers in the USA

    DRIVE the cost of oil down below 50 bucks a barrel

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That will mean Obama breaking his campaign promise to make the sea level go back down. So it won't happen.

      Delete
  11. Fracking is bad for the Obama Economy,

    Rufus's self-esteem.

    ...and the percentage of Our National Treasure being transfered from Main Street to Wall Street under our Great Leader.

    ReplyDelete
  12. After reading last night how Assad seems to be winning to a much greater degree than I realized, I am beginning to reconsider things and am coming to believe Obama might be doing something useful here if the Assad air forces are degraded, and the stalemate is reinforced a bit. Who did the gassing is for me still an open question.

    My chant would be:

    O'blunder. O'blunder
    Take the bait
    Reinforce
    The stalemate

    He doesn't care about the gas anyways, he's just for the sunnis, being one himself.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Assad may be "winning" but he can never put the pieces back together again. The Kurds have already bailed, as they did in Iraq, and the Sunni part will be a perennial thorn in the side with suicide bombings on a daily basis, augmented by chem. The best Assad can do now is cleave an Alawite coastal homeland with tendrils in Damascus and Homs, and it will be shit-poor when all is said and done, just like our country after Iraq.

      Delete
  13. Long long long essay on the MB -

    The Muslim Brotherhood-Origins, Efficacy and Reach

    http://www.raymondibrahim.com/islam/e-muslim-brotherhood-origins-efficacy-and-reach/

    ReplyDelete
  14. August 31, 2013
    Sarah Palin mocks Obama on Syria dithering
    Thomas Lifson

    One of my favorite elements of American popular culture is our tradition of mocking pretentious know-it-alls whose self-importance leads them into blunders. A comedian named "Professor Irwin Corey, the world's greatest expert" experienced great popularity in the 1950s and 60's with a routine that made fun of such people. And Dwight D. Eisenhower, a general who actually won the biggest war of all (so far - who knows what could lie ahead when we have a bumbling president?) won the presidency twice against Adlai Stevenson, a man he described as an "egghead" for his pretensions.

    That tradition is due for a revival, as the most pretentious man ever to occupy the Oval Office finds himself in a box of his own making. And who better to deliver the message than Sarah Palin? Governor Palin aims well-deserved mockery at Barack Obama via her Facebook page, with a well-constructed epigram: ""So we're bombing Syria because Syria is bombing Syria? And I'm the idiot?" Andrew Malcolm of IBD joins the fun:
    Her sharply sarcastic statement (scroll down for full text), posted on her Facebook page as usual, followed President Obama's latest global update on his unusually long deliberations over what he describes as a minor reaction to Syria's use of chemical weapons against Syrians. Fifty-three weeks ago Obama drew a red line in the sand, saying:

    "We have been very clear to the Assad regime but also to other players on the ground, that a red line for us is; we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized. That would change my calculus; that would change my equation."

    Last winter Bashar Assad used chemical weapons, killing a few hundred of his countrymen, country-women and country-children. No White House action then.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As one result, more than two weeks ago the Syrian dictator once more used these weapons, killing more than 1,400 men, women and children in the capital's suburbs. Again, no immediate U.S. reaction. Only when the public and congressional drumbeat increased, did the administration speak out. Obama consulted with allies. John Kerry talked imminent serious military action. Britain's Parliament said, "Uh, no, not us."

      Obama's point has been that there should be some consequences for violating international norms about chemical weapons.

      Stuck in his own painted-corner, Obama hesitates further, adding to his perceived weakness abroad and puzzling even sympathetic supporters. So long after the crime, the Democrat's planned punishment, whatever it is, now looks more like a lash-out for his own humiliation by the skinny Syrian.

      [Yester]day, Obama said he envisioned only a "limited, narrow act" with no "open-ended commitment" and no "boots on the ground approach." Then, despite the limited, simple steps he has in mind, Obama dithers more, repeating, "I have not made any decisions."
      Reminds us of someone's angry mother telling a misbehaving son, "Boy, are you in trouble when your father gets home from his business trip next week." By which time, no one remembers the crime. Or it's been surpassed by new family felonies.


      Delete
    2. Here is the complete text of Gov. Palin's Facebook post:

      LET ALLAH SORT IT OUT
      "So we're bombing Syria because Syria is bombing Syria? And I'm the idiot?" - Sarah Palin

      * President Obama wants America involved in Syria's civil war pitting the antagonistic Assad regime against equally antagonistic Al Qaeda affiliated rebels. But he's not quite sure which side is doing what, what the ultimate end game is, or even whose side we should be on. Haven't we learned? WAGs don't work in war.

      * We didn't intervene when over 100,000 Syrians were tragically slaughtered by various means, but we'll now intervene to avenge the tragic deaths of over 1,000 Syrians killed by chemical weapons, though according to the White House we're not actually planning to take out the chemical weapons because doing so would require "too much of a commitment."

      * President Obama wants to do what, exactly? Punish evil acts in the form of a telegraphed air strike on Syria to serve as a deterrent? If our invasion of Iraq wasn't enough of a deterrent to stop evil men from using chemical weapons on their own people, why do we think this will be?

      * The world sympathizes with the plight of civilians tragically caught in the crossfire of this internal conflict. But President Obama's advertised war plan (which has given Assad enough of a heads-up that he's reportedly already placing human shields at targeted sites) isn't about protecting civilians, and it's not been explained how lobbing U.S. missiles at Syria will help Syrian civilians. Do we really think our actions help either side or stop them from hurting more civilians?

      * We have no clear mission in Syria. There's no explanation of what vital American interests are at stake there today amidst yet another centuries-old internal struggle between violent radical Islamists and a murderous dictatorial regime, and we have no business getting involved anywhere without one. And where's the legal consent of the people's representatives? Our allies in Britain have already spoken. They just said no. The American people overwhelmingly agree, and the wisdom of the people must be heeded.

      * Our Nobel Peace Prize winning President needs to seek Congressional approval before taking us to war. It's nonsense to argue that, "Well, Bush did it." Bull. President Bush received support from both Congress and a coalition of our allies for "his wars," ironically the same wars Obama says he vehemently opposed because of lack of proof of America's vital interests being at stake.

      * Bottom line is that this is about President Obama saving political face because of his "red line" promise regarding chemical weapons.

      * As I said before, if we are dangerously uncertain of the outcome and are led into war by a Commander-in-chief who can't recognize that this conflict is pitting Islamic extremists against an authoritarian regime with both sides shouting "Allah Akbar" at each other, then let Allah sort it out.

      - Sarah Palin

      Delete
    3. You're just intimidated by strong women.

      Delete
    4. .

      Only when the public and congressional drumbeat increased, did the administration speak out.

      Public drumbeat?

      What public drumbeat?

      Congressional drumbeat?

      Oh, you mean the Three Stooges a the Intelligence Committee rubber stamps.

      When John McCain starts dictating US foreign policy, we are surely lost.

      .

      Delete
    5. " And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image."

      God does chemical warfare, why can't Assad do it?

      Delete
    6. Sarah's premise, that Assad used chemical weapons and the US did nothing, just another piece of anti-US propaganda.

      She should call Mr Rice, get another Jugle Fever innoculation, get her down from that Basketball Jones.

      Delete
  15. 200 years ago this weekend Commodore Perry won the Battle of Lake Eire, then went to Detroit and took the city back, to our everlasting regret

    ReplyDelete
  16. U.S. oil production is still growing. However, the rate of growth for the first six months of 2013 is only 51% of what it was in the first six months of 2012.

    EIA Monthly Data thru June

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You can misrepresent my stance all you want; however, the facts are:

      1) I am not anti pipelines/fracking, but

      2) "Fracking" is not nearly the panacea that the oil interests are making it out to be. The Decline Rate is atrocious, and the further you get from the sweet spots the less economic it is.

      Delete
    2. The first fracked well was in 1947 and more than one million wells have been fracked in the US since then (2.5 million worldwide), but all of a sudden the Oil Drum blog dies, and the refugees hit the web in odd places preaching Peak Frack.

      Delete
    3. One Million "Fracked" wells? I love to see your source on that.

      and, I'm not "Preaching" anything. I am making a case, and using EIA Data to back it up.

      Delete
    4. Oil production is going up!
      Under the Obama regime?

      Boobie says that is impossible, Obama has closed production, limited drilling and built windmills!
      No way oil production could have increased under the new Gulf Coast safety standards ...

      Could they?

      Could boobie have been wrong, again?

      Delete
    5. Here's the requested link from the "fucking idiot" (which is worse than peckerwood, I think).

      http://www.spiked-online.com/newsite/article/ten_big_fat_lies_about_fracking/13944#.UiIXwZI3uXH

      Delete
    6. From "Spike?" sheesh.

      But, to give the debbil its due, this is where the "million" comes from:

      In contrast with the large-scale hydraulic fracturing used in low-permeability formations, small hydraulic fracturing treatments are commonly used in high-permeability formations to remedy skin damage at the rock-borehole interface. In such cases the fracturing may extend only a few feet from the borehole.

      This has been quite common since the Russians started doing it in the late fifties, I think.

      Delete
    7. Yeah, Rat, if they'll look at my EIA Data, above, they'll see that our oil production started trending Up in 2009.

      Delete
    8. How can that be, that the US would increase production more with Obama/Biden than Bush/Cheney.

      Little wonder the Saudi Princes were in the Conga Line with GW.
      They had their man!

      Delete
  17. WASHINGTON — Prosecutors are asking a federal judge to send a “strong message” by sentencing an Indiana Little League coach to prison for trying to teach as many as 100 people across the country how to beat lie detector tests.

    Never mind the First Amendment.

    ReplyDelete
  18. We have another president from Illinois that does not have the political aptitude to avoid a war.

    On my cell phone.

    Did I hear that Putin told Obama to show the proof that the Syrian government was behind this?

    ReplyDelete
  19. If I were Putin, I’d fly to Damascus, really fuck with Obama’s head.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. :)

      Great idea!!!!

      He and Assad could sit out in some Park, play chess.

      Delete
  20. O'blunder up in 30 minutes!

    rat is putting words in my mouth again.

    I've said drill baby drill and do everything else that makes any sense too, most importantly including nuclear, switch the trucks to natural gas, etc etc.

    Since I don't follow production figures I have nothing to say about production figures.

    It's idiotic not to build that Canadian pipeline. Would add that.

    Go back to your rat maze, rat.

    "There is something really wrong with you, Rat."

    Trish

    I'm heading over to Fox to watch The O'blunder's Big Statement.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What's wrong, anoni, you got a case of 'Fever'?

      Your orders were to not engage, once more you went into the breech, but lacked the resolve to ...

      ... 'Stay the Course'!

      Delete
    2. You are anoni, you have. No blogsphere existance.
      You are a nonentity, anoni.

      You are not Robert, Bob albob, bobal ...
      You are not the boobie I refer, he has had a variety of sign ons.

      Anonymous is not one of them

      You strive, but cannot atttain self-awareness until you know who you are ...
      You are anonymous, enjoy that or become someone.

      You cannot have your cake and eat it, too

      Delete
  21. Also, if you'll go here:

    EIA Natural Gas Data

    You'll see that U.S. Nat Gas production grew by less than 1% in the first six months of 2013.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Keeping in mind, of course, that the U.S. is, At Present, a Net Nat Gas IMPORTER.

      Delete
    2. Lowest level of imports since 1990, says a 2012 report.

      Delete
    3. That's correct, T. I'm not attempting to Deny the Good news (I can't think of a reason in the world that I would want to do that.)

      I am simply attempting to inject a degree of Reality into the discussion.

      Delete
  22. Fast Stop in Cresco, Iowa has reported that in the first two weeks of August, E85 sales have made up 45 percent of its total gasoline sales. With strong E85 and E30 sales, pure ethanol accounted for an amazing 42 percent of Fast Stop’s total liquid gallons sold over the two week period. The level is more than four times the so-called E10 blend wall.

    Dave Sovereign“Finding a supply of E85 that reflected the RIN savings was the key – that’s when E85 sales just took off,” said Dave Sovereign, part owner of the station. “We tried to get other retailers in our area to offer higher ethanol blends. When they wouldn’t, a group of us decided to build our own station and put in a blender pump. It’s been a great investment – not just for us, but for motorists as well.”

    Now, if you think that doesn't scare the holy hell out of the sauds, and the cheneys, you're not thinking clearly.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Taking it to Congress. For a Vote.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A lot of stunned faces on tv, right now.

      Delete
    2. The Won thing boobie told us would never happen.

      That the President had to much ego, to go to Congress ...

      The President is doing the 'Right' thing.

      Let McCain make the case, for the record.
      Let the GOP vote for War or Not.

      Delete
    3. If you turn off the sound, most of the pictures on tv look kind of sad.

      Delete
    4. That's actually a bit surprising, that Obama would write a "red line" check with his mouth and leave it to the GOP to make sure it doesn't bounce.

      Delete
    5. Why?

      The President can sign Treaties ...
      The Senate has to ratify them.

      The President can 'over extend', that is a given.

      Checks and Balances, Ms T, check the balance

      Delete
  24. Obama has kicked the can.

    Got cold feet.

    John Kerry must be wondering What The Fuck?, he told me to get out there and pound the war drums.

    Kerry ought to resign.

    Quite surprising.

    Congress will at least wait for the UN Report.

    Maybe Obama asked his daughters what to do and they said go to Congress.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Who says you can't teach a snake to juggle?

      Delete
    2. Some god of power has restored his sight.

      Delete
    3. Maybe Pork Rinds for Allah won't get his Iranageddon after all.

      Delete
    4. Cold feet?

      Obama is following the law.
      Providing another example that he is pretty 'Mainstream'

      No Imperial President is he.
      He, like GW before him is going to Congress, to let thepeople's House decide on matters of War or Peace.

      Let Congress define current US interests.

      It is a DREAT DAY for the Republic!

      Delete
    5. GREAT DAY ....

      Phone blogging does not make for easy editing

      Delete
  25. Egyptian man arrests swan on suspicion of spying

    The suspected winged infiltrator was taken to a police station in the Qena governorate, 280 miles southeast of Cairo, amid increasing fears over foreign spies. Officials said the man suspected the bird was an undercover agent because it carried an electronic device.
    Mohammed Kamal, head of security in Qena, said that officials examined the bird and the device, but found neither explosives nor a spying device. It was thought likely to be a wildlife tracker.


    NSA wildlife tracker maybe.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Just to be safe they could clip its wings.

      Delete
  26. By going to Congress, Obama has done the right thing for himself and the country. He found a way to get out of the box that he had put himself in.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was never much of a box, anoni.

      Was not even 'blind alley.
      Nor a 'box canyon'

      Has his players on the High Seas, retaining flexibility, buying time.

      Or the B2's would have struck Syria days ago.
      This has all been theater. Produced and directed by Mr Obama.

      He created the 'crisis', leaves the solution delegated to the GOP Leadership in the House.

      Delete
  27. From what I (think) I know of the situation, right now, I am more than happy to go along with whatever the Congress decides.

    I agree with Rat; it's a Great day.

    I was really, really hoping that he would take the Constitutional approach to this.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As for whether we should do this thing, I believe I could argue it flat, just as easily as round.

      But, I Am a great believer in Democracy, and I'm glad to see this "Imperial Presidency" fever brought down a notch.

      Delete
  28. Replies
    1. Well, an American President reaffirmed his commitment to the Constitution, and Democracy.

      In Deed, as well as Word.

      Delete
  29. What would be the upside for Congress to approve another war? This thing won’t pass. Obama doing the Pontius Pilate move is smart politics. Now it will be obvious who the War Party is.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My guess isn't any better than anyone else's (if it's even as good,) but I think you might be surprised. We'll see. :)

      Delete
    2. "Obama doing the Pontius Pilate move is smart politics."

      WHAT????

      He was REAFFIRMING HIS COMMITMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION AND DEMOCRACY!!!!

      Pontius Pilate my foot.

      Delete
    3. Rubbish.

      Obama never mentioned that he was taking a declaration of war to Congress.

      His announcement came as a complete surprise to everyone today. It was as if someone instructed him on the procedure.

      He saw the polls. If you don’t believe that, then believe Obama’s own words.

      In his statement today he said, …Yet, while I believe I have the authority to carry out this military action without specific congressional authorization, I know that the country will be stronger if we take this course, and our actions will be even more effective.

      His commitment to constitution process is more like a transparent situational process.

      Delete
  30. 'Well, an American President reaffirmed his commitment to the Constitution, and Democracy."

    :):):):)

    Howl, howl, howl

    A Kenyan/American President thought better of it, got cold feet, made Kerry look like an idiot, a snake juggled!!, crawled back from the end of a limb, and went back to the golf course, you mean.

    Yesterday he had Kerry out there breathing fire, today he threw him a lake.

    Some god of power got to him on a short walk out there on the back lawn somewheres.

    "reaffirmed his commitment to the Constitution, and Democracy...."

    BwaBWAbwahahahaha

    He may have finally made the right decision, but he WASN'T REAFFIRMING HIS COMMITMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION AND DEMOCRACY.

    He heard the noise of the cataracts on the river ahead, so to speak.



    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anybody around here remember a Congressional vote on Libya?

      Rufus?

      "An astonishing display of nonchalance on issues of war and peace", someone on Fox just said.

      Other words/phrases used just recently:

      weaseled out
      climbed down from the limb
      kicked the can
      amateur hour
      political
      unserious
      confused
      laughable
      contorted
      ducking for cover

      Delete
    2. The "Noise" of the Cataracts?

      The noise of the Cataracts "on the river?"

      Well .. . . . . ya got me on that one.

      Delete
    3. I like 'ducking for cover' best, myself.

      Delete
    4. Think of the cataracts on the Nile, Rufus, not the ones in your eye.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cataracts_of_the_Nile

      Think of the Middle Salmon.

      Think of Celilo Falls before the dams.

      Delete
    5. Think of Niagara Falls and going over it in an inner tube.

      Delete
    6. I'll be danged. Cataracts = white water rapids. I didn't know.

      Delete
    7. Is OK Rufus, and understandable. There is probably no 'white water' down your way.

      Delete
    8. Dimwit thinks that supporting NATO allies in Libya is analogus to going to war with Syria.

      Only an anoni could be so dumb.

      Delete
    9. We've got class III and IV (ie. Unrunnable) white water in the middle of the suburbs of Seattle, literally. The Green River snakes through Starbuckses and Safeways and McMansions east of Kent.

      Delete
    10. Never did see that in my days there, Miss T.

      May be 'unrunnable' but seems there's always some brave soul willing to try.

      Here's the Payette River running south to the Snake -

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NA5eHn_RlLw




      rat dumps a rat turd up above in a white water discussion, befouling the pure water, and no one is able to figure what the hell he is talking about or even cares.

      Delete
    11. Miss T, Quirk, Doug, anyone, could you ask rat to follow you around for awhile? It gets boring and irritating having him track WiO and I all the time.

      Sharing the burden is an old American tradition.

      Delete
  31. I think the media had their mouths set for a good ol' "kinetic action," today.

    The disappointment is palpable.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Totally ruined Labor Day Weekend for the 'pass the popcorn' crowd.

      Nancy Pelosi is distraught.

      Delete
  32. American intelligence agencies had indications three days beforehand that the Syrian regime was poised to launch a lethal chemical attack that killed more than a thousand people and has set the stage for a possible U.S. military strike on Syria.

    The disclosure -- part of a larger U.S. intelligence briefing on Syria's chemical attacks -- raises all sorts of uncomfortable questions for the American government. First and foremost: What, if anything, did it do to notify the Syrian opposition of the pending attack?

    In a call with reporters Friday afternoon, senior administration officials did not address whether this information was shared with rebel groups in advance of the attack. A White House spokeswoman declined to comment on whether the information had been shared.


    Needless to say, the intel was not shared.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      It was 'secret' info. They couldn't tell anyone. Well, unless they then killed the people they told themselves. National security doncha know.

      When the people at the very top lie to you, and keep on lying to you even after they are caught lying, how can anyone believe anything they say even in those instances when it might be true?

      .

      Delete
    2. It's a problem, you're right there.

      Delete
  33. Benson Mayowa makes final cut with Seattle Seahawks. #95, defensive end, he's one of our Vandals. Great for Benson!

    ReplyDelete
  34. Heh :)

    Fox just reported that someone inside Camp O'blunder stated to their reporter that it is certain Blunder will move ahead with the strike on Syria even if Congress votes to not authorize it.

    !!!!!

    Then we would have a Constitutional Crisis in addition to everything else.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    2. This is the kind of behavior Quirk used to practice at Souls. The stockholders would always vote unanimously against his hair brained schemes, but because he had "The Power", holding 50.00000001% of the stock, he'd just go ahead and do it anyway.

      Finally it got him in the ass though. The stockholders began to go to the authorities with their inside info on his many frauds and they finally brought him down. It was at this point I stepped in, a corporate raider of sorts, and picked the pieces. It was through my visiting Q in prison that I got to know and kinda like the guy, and recruited him for out Mission Team when his prison term was up.

      Delete
    3. What is it about killing people that's wrong, as long as it has to be done?

      It's the Right Thing To Do.

      Delete
    4. 'Tis a sacred calling in some cultures. Earning big rewards in the some other hell.

      Delete
  35. Whoops, broke the rules. Reposting.

    “The president does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation,” candidate Obama told The Boston Globe in late 2007. He added that the president can only act unilaterally in “instances of self-defense.”

    “The president has no constitutional authority to take this country to war… unless we’re attacked or unless there is proof that we are about to be attacked,” Biden said in 2007.

    Biden, then a Democratic senator from Delaware, suggested presidential war-making was an impeachable offense.

    President Obama did not seek congressional approval for his military strikes against Libya in 2011. That bombing campaign led to longtime dictator Muammar Gadhafi’s ouster.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Feigning concern
    With mortis rigor
    O'blunder proves
    Fast on the draw
    But slow on the trigger

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Feigning concern
      mortis rigor

      O’blunder

      Fast on the draw
      Slow on the trigger

      Delete
  37. September 1, 2013
    Slutwalk in Seattle
    By Jeremy Egerer

    If there exists a more undeniable testament to the mindlessness of some modern women than the Seattle Slutwalk, I would honestly like to know what it is.


    Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/09/thoughts_on_the_seattle_slutwalk.html#ixzz2dchJ9v1p

    ReplyDelete