COLLECTIVE MADNESS


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

Tuesday, December 02, 2014

Iran bombs Islamic State targets in Iraq, says Pentagon

2 December 2014 Last updated at 21:29 ET BBC


Smoke rises behind an Islamic State flag in Diyala province, Iraq, 24 November 2014There had been reports of Iranian air strikes in Diyala province, where Iraqi forces have been battling IS
Iran has conducted air strikes against Islamic State (IS) targets in eastern Iraq during recent days, a Pentagon spokesman says.

Rear Adm John Kirby said the US, which has conducted its own air strikes in Iraq, was not co-ordinating with Iran.

A senior Iranian military official also dismissed talk of co-operation between the two countries.

A US-led coalition has launched hundreds of air strikes against IS since August.
The US has said it would be inappropriate for Iran to join that coalition, even though the two long-time adversaries face a common enemy in IS.
Since the Islamic revolution in 1979, the US and Iran have had a fraught relationship.

Washington severed ties the following year after Iranian students occupied the US embassy in Tehran and took 52 Americans hostage.

‘Nothing changed'


Rear Adm Kirby’s comments followed reports that American-made F4 Phantom jets from the Iranian air force had been targeting IS positions in the eastern Iraqi province of Diyala.

“We have indications that they did indeed fly air strikes with F-4 Phantoms in the past several days," he said.

It was up to Iraq to oversee and co-ordinate flights by different countries in its airspace, he added.

"We are flying missions over Iraq, we co-ordinate with the Iraqi government as we conduct those," he said. “ t's up to the Iraqi government to deconflict that airspace."

“Nothing has changed about our policy of not co-ordinating military activity with the Iranians."

The Deputy Chief of Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces Brig-Gen Massoud Jazayeri also denied collaboration.

He said Iran considered the US responsible for Iraq’s "unrest and problems", adding that the US would "definitely not have a place in the future of that country".

Shia-ruled Iran has close ties to Iraq’s Shia-led government, which has struggled to counter IS militants as they seized swathes of territory in eastern Syria and northern and western Iraq.

Military analysts said earlier this year that Iran was supplying Iraq with Sukhoi Su-25 attack jets to help in the fight against IS. 

Shia militias trained and funded by Iran have also been sent to Iraq to support Kurdish fighters battling IS militants.

Map of IS areas of control


EARLIER IRANIAN MILITARY ASSISTANCE AGAINST ISIS




169 comments:

  1. Isis/Isil is the blowback from a shiite invasion of Iraq by Iran.

    Iraq has been turned into a vassal of the Mullahs of Iran. Iraq was a Sunni nation, reflecting the more dominate MINORITY Sunnis, and now that the majority Shiites have taken control, they have shoved the sunnis into hell.

    literally.

    Mass murder, rape, extortion on a scale that would make Assad of Syria salute....

    The Shia storm, being unleashed by Iran now has moved to yemen, lebanon and syria.

    Classic sunni verses shia...

    Or as I like to call it "Shits verses the Suns"

    Been going on since 632.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Must be the longest running battle in history.

      Delete
    2. It's the military genius of Obama that has gotten them back to fighting so.

      Delete
  2. Earlier, an unnamed American official confirmed to the Huffington Post that Iran is taking part in attacks against ISIS.

    ...

    According to reports, though Iran initially rejected the notion of such cooperation against ISIS, with Khamenei saying he rejected the idea because of Washington’s “dirty hands”, Tehran later said it would consider it - in return for a good deal in the nuclear talks.

    ReplyDelete
  3. How many times has Al "The Agitator" Sharpton been to The White House ?



    83 times

    Source: Hannity on Fox

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sean Hannity, flag waiving bullshit artist, super patriot, all American, draft dodging, war promoter extraordinaire for everyone else but him.

      Delete
    2. I don't much like him either. By the way, he was demoted in favor of Megyn Kelly.

      Delete
  4. .

    A gang of advanced missiles and a bleeding-edge radar unveiled at a Chinese air show could mean big trouble for the Pentagon’s best fighters.

    A “system of systems” approach was evident in the biggest thinly coded message at Zhuhai. That was the People’s Liberation Army’s outdoor lineup of air-defense hardware, centered on the gigantic JH-27A VHF active electronically scanned array radar—the first of its type in service anywhere, if Chinese officials are telling the truth. Such radars are designed to track stealthy targets. The radar’s antenna, almost 100 feet tall, towered over the rest of the exhibits. Just to the left of it were smaller Aesas, one operating in UHF and the other in the centimetric S-band: that is, complementary sensors with progressively higher resolution, cued by the VHF radar to track stealthy targets, accurately enough to engage them with missiles.

    At a conference in London the following week, a senior retired U.S. Air Force commander pooh-poohed counterstealth efforts. I don’t know where such confidence originates, because nothing like the JH-27A and its companion radars exists in the West, and so we know little of how they work...


    http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/12/02/how-china-will-track-and-kill-america-s-newest-stealth-jets.html

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The 1% elites that run the US need permanent war to deflect focus from them being a target by those in the 99% that see them for what they are. The game has been working

      Sociologist Barrington Moore in 1968 called "the predatory solution of token reform at home and counterrevolutionary imperialism abroad."

      Moore offers the following summary of the "predominant voice of America at home and abroad" - an ideology that expresses the needs of the American socioeconomic elite, that is propounded with various gradations of subtlety by many American intellectuals, and that gains substantial adherence on the part of the majority that has obtained "some share in the affluent society":

      ”You may protest in words as much as you like. There is but one condition attached to the freedom we would very much like to encourage: Your protests may be as loud as possible as long as they remain ineffective. ... Any attempt by you to remove your oppressors by force is a threat to civilized society and the democratic process. ... As you resort to force, we will, if need be, wipe you from the face of the earth by the measured response that rains down flame from the skies.”

      A society in which this is the predominant voice can be maintained only through some form of national mobilization, which may range in its extent from, at the minimum, a commitment of substantial resources to a credible threat of force and violence.

      Given the realities of international politics, this commitment can be maintained in the United States only by a form of national psychosis - a war against an enemy who appears in many guises: Kremlin bureaucrat, Asian peasant, Latin American student, and, no doubt, "urban guerrilla" at home.

      The intellectual has, traditionally, been caught between the conflicting demands of truth and power. He would like to see himself as the man who seeks to discern the truth, to tell the truth as he sees it, to act - collectively where he can, alone where he must - to oppose injustice and oppression, to help bring a better social order into being.

      If he chooses this path, he can expect to be a lonely creature, disregarded or reviled. If, on the other hand, he brings his talents to the service of power, he can achieve prestige and affluence.

      Delete
    2. Realistically, the best you can do is stay under the radar and take some satisfaction that they know, that you know, that they are full of shit about almost everything.

      Delete
    3. Chomsky: Elites Have Forced America into a National Psychosis to Keep Us Embroiled in Imperial Wars
      And most of our intellectuals are only too happy to participate in the propaganda, Chomsky argues.

      http://www.alternet.org/world/chomsky-elites-have-forced-america-national-psychosis-keep-us-embroiled-imperial-wars?page=0%2C2

      Delete
  5. The real cynical bastards are the elites in the media and the limelight that talk and feign concern about “wounded warriors”. None of them ever has the moral courage to tell the truth, that these people are fucked for life and for nothing that has helped anyone but the profiteers. Watching these insurance company commercials that trot the brain injured, smashed and wrecked bodies, mostly from needless injuries from IEDs, the 21st century version of cannon fodder or trench warfare is tough to take.

    The very term “wounded warrior” is offensive to anything remotely honest. A truck driver in uniform, mostly for reasons like getting a job and a pension, or some form of eduction benefits and conned by the lies, distortions and rationalizations by the likes of the usual suspects got the living shit torn out of him for nothing. Worse than nothing really.

    ReplyDelete
  6. As a kid, I once asked my father, who had been a a paratrooper, a waist gunner, navigator and sometimes pilot on a B24, which job he preferred. He looked at me and said, “a cook”. He tried to convince me not to go into the military and stay as far away as possible from going to the then coming war in Viet Nam because it was always the same with the Washington politicians and war. I didn’t see it then. I would not listen but was fortunate enough to having survived a good life and see it all too clearly now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      All of the above posts were well said.

      .

      Delete
    2. .

      Especially, the one on Hannity. That hypocritical, flag waving, 'great American' makes me want to puke.

      .

      Delete
    3. Jeez, my subject was Al Sharpton in the White House and you two go ballistic.

      I like Judge Jeanine Pirro.

      She can absolutely drip sarcasm.

      Glad to see you two watching Fox once in a while.

      Delete
  7. Putin’s practice of the art of creating external threats has started something real dangerous:

    MOSCOW--The Bank of Russia intervened in the currency market for the second time this week on Wednesday in an effort to defend the crumbling ruble, traders said, but the effect was short-lived.

    The ruble weakened to a record low of 54.91 against the dollar in morning trading, pressured by a recent slide in the oil price and Russia's gloomy economic outlook. But at 0951 GMT, the ruble suddenly firmed to 52.79 per dollar.

    The central bank let the ruble float freely from Nov. 10 and eliminated regular interventions after spending nearly $30 billion of its reserves did little to stop the ruble's decline. But the central bank has repeatedly said it reserved the right to carry out sudden interventions at any level to ensure financial stability and avoid panic. On Wednesday, it revealed that it had sold $700 million earlier in the week in defense of the ruble, which has been hitting record lows daily.

    The central bank's latest move back into the market, however, supported the ruble only briefly. The dollar quickly pushed back up to 54.

    "The ruble situation is looking quite ugly," said Luis Saenz, head of equity and derivatives sales and trading at BCS Financial Group.

    The central bank never immediately comments on interventions and reveals the data on its market activity with a two-day lag.

    The list of weights on the ruble is lengthy. Even aside from the tumble in the oil price, Russian banks and companies have to pay back some $30 billion in foreign debt in December. Western sanctions have largely frozen Russian borrowers out of the bond markets, which leaves many companies left to buy dollars in the open market. Although many are already thought to have bought the dollars they need, analysts say a large chunk remains.

    "Looking forward, the issue with the dollar liquidity is not going to dissipate on its own as monthly redemptions proceed, we think," VTB Capital said in a note.

    A number of top government officials have already said that the ruble looks oversold as the currency has lost around 40% versus the dollar so far this year. Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Tuesday that the current ruble rate matches an oil prices of significantly below $60 per barrel.



    ReplyDelete
  8. On Monday, Russia's central bank spent about $700m to support the currency, according to official data.

    There were unconfirmed reports on Wednesday that the bank was again intervening to prop up the rouble.

    "Without doubt, the central bank is selling (foreign currency)," according to an unnamed trader cited by the Reuters news agency.

    The bank indicated in early November that interventions would be less frequent as part of a plan to let it float freely on the currency markets.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Those bombing runs that America and Iran are doing in Syria and iraq, respectively.

    What are the collateral damage numbers?

    How many civilians have been wounded or killed?

    How many homeless have been created?

    What no outcry from the peanut gallery at the war crimes about bombing?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. To the neocons, they are all good wars. To the self proclaimed popcorn and lawnchair tribe any war between Shiite and Sunni is a cause for entertainment. To an Israeli firster, the results must be a little alarming, US and Iranian de facto air attack coordination on against the Daesh enemy. Quite a switch from the Israeli air support for Daesh, the US and Iranians attacking Daesh. Civilian casualties, not that much, certainly nothing to compare to the slaughter by the IDF hacks on Gaza.

      Delete
    2. Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi said he’s unaware of Iranian airstrikes against Islamic State in his country, a day after the Pentagon said the Persian Gulf nation’s warplanes bombed Sunni extremists in Iraq’s east.

      “Did they have a role in that? That’s news for me,” Abadi said today in Brussels, when asked whether Iran coordinated its air missions with the Iraqi government. “I am not aware there were Iranian airstrikes.”

      Rear Admiral John Kirby, the Pentagon spokesman, said yesterday that “Iranian aircraft have conducted airstrikes in the last several days against” Islamic State near Iraq’s eastern border. Kirby, who spoke to reporters in Washington, denied any direct coordination with Iran on military operations taking place in Iraq, saying that it is for the Iraqis to “deconflict” any use of its air space.

      Delete
    3. Deuce ☂Wed Dec 03, 07:43:00 AM EST
      To the neocons, they are all good wars. To the self proclaimed popcorn and lawnchair tribe any war between Shiite and Sunni is a cause for entertainment. To an Israeli firster, the results must be a little alarming, US and Iranian de facto air attack coordination on against the Daesh enemy. Quite a switch from the Israeli air support for Daesh, the US and Iranians attacking Daesh. Civilian casualties, not that much, certainly nothing to compare to the slaughter by the IDF hacks on Gaza.


      America is USING Israeli's airspace to attack the Daesh. Without Israel, America would have a much harder logistical situation at hand.

      And by the way, my lawn chair is JUST fine. But once again you took your eye off the prize.

      Iran is still enriching uranium at a greater and greater pace and now has 700 MILLION a month unshackled from sanctions for doing NOTHING. America? Is sucking Iranian ass and begging for more..

      Iran has created the situation, and our leaders are playing like puppets...

      As for the civilian "slaughter" in gaza?

      America is now supporting Assad and Iran, folks that have murdered over 265,000 civilians in the last 36 months in Syria.

      That so called slaughter in gaza? At best was 900 civilians killed.

      Go back to MATH CLASS..

      I'll pop some more popcorn and welcome winter to Gaza and CELEBRATE Hamas's historic victory over the Zionist enterprise...

      Enjoy the rubble.

      Delete
    4. the US and Iranians attacking Daesh. Civilian casualties, not that much, certainly nothing to compare to the slaughter by the IDF hacks on Gaza.



      of course there is NO PRESS coverage... LOL

      Delete
    5. All the US and Western strike and surveillance flights against ISIS in Syria and Iraq reach their targets through Israeli and Jordanian airspace, US, European and civilian monitors of global air force movements report. This is confirmed by detailed maps released by bodies tracking the movements of military strike and refueling craft across the world. One of two corridors (see attached map) runs north of Tel Aviv through Jordan and the second through Golan to Syria. Israel and Jordan are revealed as partners in the US-led air offensive against ISIS.

      Delete
    6. Jack, why mislead?

      But as long as Assad is murdering hundreds of thousands and ISIS just a few thousand the choice is obvious.

      Personally?

      I'd love to see both sides destroyed, then America would be free to bomb you and your fellow terrorists that are holed up in AZ...

      After all you are the same as ISIS right?

      You kill women and children...

      Oh my bad, just because you are a moslem, murder innocents and root for Hamas doesn't make you ISIS

      Delete
    7. Syria is bloodletting even more than Iraq.

      Israeli and American analysts, experts, and policymakers keep insisting that the country will fall apart.
      The foreign-sponsored anti-government forces are killing civilians on the basis of their community affiliations as a means of spreading sedition and hate.

      Harking back to Israel’s Yinon Plan, it states:
      «The dissolution of Syria and Iraq later on into ethnically or religiously unqiue areas such as in Lebanon,
      is Israel’s primary target on the Eastern front in the long run,
      while the dissolution of the military power of those states serves as the primary short term target.

      Syria will fall apart, in accordance with its ethnic and religious structure, into several states such as in present day Lebanon, so that there will be a Shiite Alawi state along its coast, a Sunni state in the Aleppo area, another Sunni state in Damascus hostile to its northern neighbor, and the Druzes who will set up a state, maybe even in our Golan, and certainly in the Hauran and in northern Jordan»
      .

      http://beforeitsnews.com/international/2013/08/the-yinon-plan-2466788.html

      Delete
    8. Rufus has his popcorn out, and buttered.

      Delete
    9. http://beforeitsnews.com/international/2013/08/the-yinon-plan-2466788.html



      Well, this is embarrassing.

      We can't find that page yet. But it's probably still just being formatted by our system. Please wait a few minutes and try it again. Chances are, it will be here. If it's not here after a few minutes, it may be have been deleted by the author or one of our administrators. Feel free to let us know about it.

      Delete
    10. try this, then

      http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCAQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.informationclearinghouse.info%2Fpdf%2FThe%2520Zionist%2520Plan%2520for%2520the%2520Middle%2520East.pdf&ei=PjN_VOaQNunqiQLwq4HgAw&usg=AFQjCNG7hIxjl-PGMm2uiHNompdrKRlxwA&sig2=Ev-TFaURrJjY-iUT2m6PAw

      or this

      http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=11&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CFUQFjAK&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmycatbirdseat.com%2F2014%2F07%2Fthe-unfolding-of-yinons-zionist-plan-for-the-middle-east-the-crisis-in-iraq-and-the-centrality-of-the-national-interest-of-israel%2F&ei=PjN_VOaQNunqiQLwq4HgAw&usg=AFQjCNF0Q1sr_WGvG10hiPtwYkIIbyhTAA&sig2=4UitT63DpPNLexgJZckVGw&bvm=bv.80642063,d.cGE

      Delete
  10. (Reuters) - The U.S.-led coalition has inflicted serious damage on Islamic State, carrying out around 1,000 air strikes so far in Iraq and Syria, but the fight against the militants could last years, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday.

    The United States and its allies began air strikes against Islamic State after the Sunni militants made large territorial advances last summer. The Iraqi army, Sunni tribal fighters and Kurdish forces have since recovered some ground against them.

    "Our commitment will be measured most likely in years but our efforts are already having a significant impact," Kerry said at the start of a first meeting of ministers from a coalition of more than 60 countries that Washington has assembled to destroy Islamic State, which is also known as Daesh.

    "The roughly 1,000 coalition air missions we have flown have reduced Daesh's leadership and inflicted damage on its logistical and operational capabilities."

    Kerry said Islamic State’s momentum in Iraq had dissipated and Iraqi forces had retaken territory around Mosul and in Tikrit and had expanded security around some oil refineries.

    In northern and western Iraq, Kurdish troops are battling Islamic State, while Sunni tribal fighters are "beginning to come on board," Kerry added.

    In Syria, he said Islamic State command facilities had been destroyed, oil infrastructure damaged and a siege of the border town of Kobani blocked.

    "It is much harder now than when we started for Daesh to assemble forces in strength, to travel in convoys and to launch concerted attacks," Kerry said. "No large Daesh unit can move forward aggressively without worrying what will come down on it from the skies."

    The U.S.-chaired meeting was held at NATO headquarters in Brussels, but Kerry stressed it was not a NATO event.

    ReplyDelete
  11. The IDF has confirmed to JewishPress.com that Hamas test fired yet another rocket into the sea, on Monday afternoon.

    The rocket was launched from the ruins of the Jewish town of Netzarim, in northern Gaza

    And of course, this from 2 weeks ago..

    Israel says rockets test-fired from Gaza
    Military says four missiles launched from the Hamas-controlled territory; meanwhile, Israel approves new settlements
    November 20, 2014 7:59AM ET

    Hamas Threatens 'Holy War' Over Jewish State Law

    Gaza calls on international powers to reprimand Israel on 'racist' law, says it will 'cause holy war.'


    Sounds like Hamas is itching for some more bombing...
    Published November 27, 2014Associated Press
    Facebook108 Twitter240 Email Print
    JERUSALEM – Israel's Shin Bet security service said Thursday it had uncovered a vast Hamas network in the West Bank that was planning large-scale attacks against Israelis in Jerusalem.

    The Shin Bet said it arrested more than 30 Hamas militants who planned to kidnap Israelis and carry out attacks against Jerusalem's light rail and its largest soccer stadium, among other targets. It said the men were trained and recruited in Jordan and Turkey and that various arms and explosives were recovered.


    Hamas Claims Credit for Fatal Attack in Jerusalem

    http://www.nbcnews.com/watch/nightly-news/hamas-claims-credit-for-fatal-attack-in-jerusalem-353324099941


    Yep it sounds like Hamas is itching to get bombed again...

    ReplyDelete
  12. As long as the Iranians are coordinating with the local forces, on the ground, in Iraq, the PM of that country can maintain his ignorance.
    All will be well.

    If the Iranians are not coordinating their air strikes with forces on the ground, those strikes will be of little importance in the over all scheme of things.

    ReplyDelete
  13. CAIRO - Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has said his office is drafting a law to criminalize insulting the uprisings that toppled President Hosni Mubarak in 2011 and his Islamist successor Mohammed Morsi last year.

    ReplyDelete
  14. (Reuters) - Ukraine's energy authorities said on Wednesday that an accident at a nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhya in the south-east of the country posed no danger and the plant would return to normal operations on Dec. 5.

    "There is no threat ... there are no problems with the reactors," Energy Minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn, who took up his post in a new government only on Tuesday, told a briefing.

    Demchyshyn, said the accident which happened on Friday in one of the six blocs at Zaporizhzhya, Europe's largest nuclear power plant, had been caused by a short circuit in the power outlet system and was "in no way" linked to power production.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ukraine Premier Roils Bonds With False Alarm on Nuclear Accident
      Businessweek - ‎

      Premier Arseniy Yatsenyuk, addressing the cabinet in Kiev, reported an unspecified issue at the Zaporizhzhya atomic plant in the nation's southeast, prompting yields on government debt due 2017 to jump 147 basis points to a record 23.78 percent.

      Delete

  15. New data shows key US allies against terrorism are the most corrupt countries ...

    Vox -
    Transparency International is out with the latest edition of its Corruption Perceptions Index which measures how corrupt people feel public officials are in each country on earth.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Transparency International is out with the latest edition of its Corruption Perceptions Index which measures how corrupt people feel public officials are in each country on earth. It's all available here in convenient interactive map form — and it contains some bad news for American foreign policy.

      ... the really bad news for America arguably comes on the foreign policy front. The bottom ten includes both Iraq and Afghanistan, where the governments are the result of recent US military interventions and where American defense policy calls for the creation of stable competent local governments. Somalia where the US is similarly, but more lightly, involved is dead last. Yemen just barely escaped the bottom ten and comes in as the 11th most corrupt country on earth. Which is to say that a very large share of the states our foreign policy is counting on as key partners are seen as totally incapable of delivering honest governance. That's a pattern that makes success unlikely, and it at least raises the question of whether US military involvement in some ways contributes to local patterns of corruption.

      Even if it's just a coincidence, it's a big practical problem for America's various counterinsurgency efforts.
      http://www.vox.com/xpress/2014/12/3/7325811/corruption-index

      Delete
    2. Where did North Korea rank ?

      Delete
    3. Syria?
      Iraq?
      Iran?
      Libya?
      Russia?
      China?Venezuela? Cuba?

      Delete
    4. Who runs Transparency International?

      Delete
    5. Check into those questions and report back, B.O.!

      Delete
    6. Check the link, the graphic there will explain most of your questions, Bob.

      Delete
    7. Bob,
      Think before you speak.
      Read before you think.

      Delete
  16. SANAA, Dec 3 (Reuters) - A suicide attacker drove a car laden with explosives at the Iranian ambassador's residence in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Wednesday, security officials said, killing as many as three people.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Ben Carson Busy Interviewing Potential Presidential Campaign Staffers/Traveling To Israel

    7:26 AM 12/03/2014

    Political Reporter

    Alex Pappas is a Washington D.C.-based political reporter for The Daily Caller. He has also written for The Washington Examiner and the Mobile Press-Register. Pappas is a graduate of The University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn., where he was editor-in-chief of The Sewanee Purple. While in college, he did internships at NBC's Meet the Press and the White House. He grew up in Mobile, Ala., where he graduated from St. Paul's Episcopal School. He and his wife live on Capitol Hill.

    Ahead of a likely Republican run for the White House, neurosurgeon Ben Carson is busy interviewing potential campaign staffers, The Daily Caller has learned.

    Carson and his top adviser, Terry Giles, are in Washington and New York this week “vetting folks for the campaign” and will be in California doing the same next week, the aide said.

    “Ben is doing great in the polls and excitement is building,” Giles, who will serve as chairman of the Carson campaign, told TheDC on Wednesday.

    An official campaign announcement, however, won’t come for several months, Giles said.

    Also, later this month, Carson and Giles plan to travel to Israel. Giles said Carson is making the trip at the invitation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

    While Carson doesn’t have any political experience, he is quite popular with conservatives. A CNN poll released this week shocked observers by showing Carson polling in second — only behind Mitt Romney — in a 2016 presidential poll.

    http://dailycaller.com/2014/12/03/ben-carson-busy-interviewing-potential-presidential-campaign-staffers/

    Ben Carson for President 2016

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ben, unlike Hillary, doesn't drink like a fish.

      Delete
  18. Well then he needs to really get on over to Tel Aviv to get his marching orders.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You would rather have him visit Iran?

      That's where Luis Farrakhan might go.

      Delete
    2. Jerusalem is the Capital of Israel Deuce..

      Learn, Love it, Embrace it.

      Has been the heart and soul of the Jewish people for OVER 3000 years..

      That over 2940 years longer than your favorite people have existed…

      Delete
    3. Israel was founded in 1948, go read a book.
      A non fiction book.

      Delete
    4. .

      Ben Carson Busy Interviewing Potential Presidential Campaign Staffers/Traveling To Israel

      :o)

      .

      Delete
    5. The financial capital of Israel is Tel Aviv. That is where the real power resides.

      Delete
  19. Feds clamp down on 'penis pumps' paid for by Medicare....................drudge


    The spectre of age-ism raises its ugly head again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      Mine is electrically powered and I was able to convince them I needed a rather large back-up generator to support it in case of terrorist attack on the grid.

      .

      Delete
    2. R i g h t.

      In case you short out the grid again by trying to pilfer electricity for your Q's Super x-Mas Light Display Pay n' View, you mean.

      Delete

  20. Energy Innovation and the American Economy
    We Are Never Going to Run Out of Oil

    David Harsanyi, RealClearPolitics

    In a chilling 2010 column, Paul Krugman declared: “peak oil has arrived.”So it’s really not surprising that the national average for a gallon of gas has fallen to $2.77 th...(full article)
    Harnessing the Tides: Promising But Pricy

    Jared Meyer, RealClearPolitics

    The falling cost of wind and solar power production is among the factors that have led to a revival of interest in wave and tidal power. Less unsightly than wind or solar facilitie...(full article)
    The Future of Cars: Batteries Included?

    Mark Mills, RealClearPolitics

    Elon Musk, founder and CEO of Tesla, has done what GM couldn’t when, 20 years ago, EV1 was introduced as the first (failed) mainstream, all-electric car. Tesla has moved electric...(full article)
    Nuclear Energy: The Once and Future Power Source

    Brandon Ott, RCP

    The fifth in a series of articles this week on energy innovation and the American economyTo say the nuclear industry has had highs and lows in the last 35 years is an understatemen...(full article)


    All these interesting articles at Real Clear Politics/Real Clear Energy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Also -

      Nuclear Energy: The Once and Future Power Source

      Brandon Ott, RCP

      Delete
  21. Deuce ☂Wed Dec 03, 03:24:00 AM EST
    The 1% elites that run the US need permanent war to deflect focus from them being a target by those in the 99% that see them for what they are. The game has been working


    But Deuce, are you not part of that 1%?

    ReplyDelete
  22. (CNN) -- The U.S.-led coalition fighting ISIS in Syria has stepped up its attacks on the militant Islamist group's de facto capital, with 30 airstrikes targeting Raqqa overnight, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Sunday.

    Last week, almost 100 people were killed in Syrian government airstrikes in Raqqa, the observatory said. Many more were critically injured.

    Government warplanes carried out at least 10 airstrikes in Raqqa, targeting the city's al-Hani Mosque and the public souk, or market, the observatory said, using reports from activists and residents on the ground.

    So America, and it's allies, Syria and Iran are bombing Raqqa.

    With a population of 220,488 based on the 2004 official census, ar-Raqqah was the sixth largest city in Syria

    So America is bombing a city with 200 THOUSAND civilians

    What no concern for the civilians?

    Oh, yeah, ONE standard for Israel….

    No standards for anyone else…


    Yep…

    Same old bullshit…

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, because the tactics utilized by the US and the Zionist swine are different.
      Where as the Israeli and Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson are big on 'Carpet Bombing", the US does not subscribe to that doctrine of "Fire Superiority".
      You lose, again, "O"rdure.

      Delete
    2. It is quite funny, now the Zionists are trying to claim moral equivalency with the US.
      Instead of their old stand-by, Syria.

      Delete
    3. Raqqa is the de facto headquarters of the Islamic State group and under attack from nearly every major player in Syria's war. President Bashar Assad’s regime forces reportedly bombarded the Syrian city with between eight and 10 airstrikes on Tuesday. The attack came after weeks of anti-militant airstrikes from the U.S.-led coalition.

      Photos from Raqqa show parts of the city reduced to rubble, including at least 15 civilians’ homes. The death toll is expected to rise as more than a hundred people were in critical condition. The activist group initially said that 65 people were killed, including women and children. They eventually put the number of dead at 102. There were no ISIS casualties, according to a second spokesman for the group, Abu Ibrahim al-Raqqawi.

      “There are cases of amputation of hands and legs and dozens of charred bodies,” al-Raqqawi said. “Many of the bodies were fragmented.”




      Nice CLEAN war you got there

      Delete
    4. “The state of hospitals is bad, very bad,” al-Raqqawi said. “No doctors, a shortage of medicines and equipment.”


      Where are the Doctors, the convoys being let in during ceasefires?

      Delete
    5. OH MY GOD THEY ARE BOMBING ISLAMIC MOSQUES DURING PRAYERS!!!

      The deadliest of the strikes hit a central mosque where dozens of civilians had assembled for afternoon prayers. The mosque’s minaret was destroyed. Al-Raqqawi said his colleagues in Raqqa described the scene as a “great destruction.”



      Such savagery….

      Not even a knock knock warning, not a leaflet…

      tsk tsk

      Delete
    6. But in fairness The Hamas militants were executing two people in the city’s main square.

      Did I say Hamas? My Bad,

      As Moussa and al-Raqqawi were speaking to IBTimes via Skype, they received reports that ISIS militants were executing two people in the city’s main square.


      LOL

      Hamas only executes a 12 at a time in the main square

      Allah Akbar...

      Delete
  23. Jack HawkinsWed Dec 03, 12:56:00 PM EST
    No, because the tactics utilized by the US and the Zionist swine are different.
    Where as the Israeli and Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson are big on 'Carpet Bombing", the US does not subscribe to that doctrine of "Fire Superiority".
    You lose, again, "O"rdure.



    The tactics used by Israel in the recent war in Gaza against Hamas are FAR SUPERIOR to that of America and it's bombing allies in Syria..

    Israel does not carpet bomb….

    But thanks for the idea…

    as for losing?

    You have already lost.

    Every bomb America drops, every bomb Assad drops and Iran drops are all NOW the responsibility of America…

    You own it…

    ReplyDelete
  24. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-03/iraq-prime-minister-unaware-of-iran-airstrikes-on-islamic-state.html

    Iranian Airstrikes on Islamic State in Iraq a Plus, Kerry Says

    ReplyDelete
  25. Jack "The KILLER" Hawkins is now trying (and failing) to defend America's (and it's allies) slaughter of tens of thousands of Sunni civilians in Syria.

    Spin Spin Spin…

    Every bomb you drop, every kid you kill the world will be watching you…

    America is HELPING assad murder civilians…

    Cant argue that Jack…

    it's a fact...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They are not watching me, "O"Rdure, they are reading me.
      Tens of thousands of them.

      Mor read my work in a day than have ever visited either of the two blogs you take credit for.

      That is a fact, one that is easily confirmed.

      Jack Hawkins
      Works at doin' the best he can
      Attended Florida State University
      Lives in Greenback Valley, situated in the Sierra Ancha Mountains of Arizona.
      12 followers | 275,230 views

      Delete
    2. .

      No, because the tactics utilized by the US and the Zionist swine are different.

      Rat in dreamland.

      .

      Delete
  26. Deuce says that Israel "slaughtered" the Gazans

    If that is true, then what is America and it's new allies doing in Syria?

    Playing checkers?

    ReplyDelete
  27. Why are American Occupation Forces bombing Syrians?

    ReplyDelete
  28. Jack HawkinsWed Dec 03, 12:43:00 PM EST
    Israel was founded in 1948, go read a book.
    A non fiction book.

    The modern state was REBORN in 1948

    Go learn history..

    Schmuck

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wrong, again, "O"rdure.
      The modern stae of Israel has no claim to that old realm, has no blood ties to it.
      The Kings are long gone, their bloodlines lost, the Priests, gone as well.

      There is nothing that ties the state of Israel to anything that took place prior to 1830, or so.

      Delete
    2. Flat out Reality "O"rdure.

      I realize, that for you, reality sucks, which is why you spend so much time fantasizing about myths.

      Delete
    3. But if you spent more time, in the real world, your financial troubles could be lessened.

      What is "Occupation"Fri Oct 03, 10:16:00 AM EDT
      I have been turned down repeatedly for a REFI.
      The system is screwed.


      The 'system' is working, as designed.
      It keeps folks that are not financially stable out of the money markets.

      Lowers the risk, thus enhancing returns.

      {;-)


      Delete
    4. Jack HawkinsWed Dec 03, 01:17:00 PM EST
      Wrong, again, "O"rdure.
      The modern stae of Israel has no claim to that old realm, has no blood ties to it.
      The Kings are long gone, their bloodlines lost, the Priests, gone as well.

      There is nothing that ties the state of Israel to anything that took place prior to 1830, or so.



      Sorry Jack, you just don't understand the world….

      The PEOPLE, Jews, have a claim. Recognized world over..

      Only flat earthers like you deny reality…

      But if your point is that modern statehood can't go back further than 1830?

      Still is a better claim to nation self determination than any arab nation today..

      either way Israel wins. you lose.. again

      Delete
  29. Jerusalem has been the heart and soul of the Jewish people for OVER 3000 years..

    That over 2940 years longer than your favorite people have existed…


    Jack HawkinsWed Dec 03, 12:43:00 PM EST
    Israel was founded in 1948, go read a book.
    A non fiction book.



    Notice how Jack cannot respond to what is say, but has to change the course of the discussion?

    typical of liars.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Peoplehood was the issue.

      deuce was alluding to Tel Aviv as the place decisions are made…. I corrected him…

      Jerusalem… Modern capital of the Nation State of the Jewish People, Israel.

      Jerusalem, the heart and soul of the Jewish people for over 3000 years..

      And at last check?

      That's really a long time…

      IN all non-fiction History books..

      Delete
    2. Keep up the rant, "O"rdure, convince yourself, those that have not drunk the Zionist Kool-Aid, well....

      They are giggling.

      Delete
    3. America, overwhelming supports my point of view.

      As an American, my Elected officials, from both sides of the isle support zionism and my view.

      it is YOU that is out of step with America.

      After all, I am the Boy Scout, you are the self professed contract murderer of civilians in central america.

      You are the self confessed dope smoking/selling dear that sells guns too….

      No, you are the fringe lunatic here.. Not I…

      Delete
  30. Jack HawkinsWed Dec 03, 01:22:00 PM EST
    But if you spent more time, in the real world, your financial troubles could be lessened.

    What is "Occupation"Fri Oct 03, 10:16:00 AM EDT
    I have been turned down repeatedly for a REFI.
    The system is screwed.

    The 'system' is working, as designed.
    It keeps folks that are not financially stable out of the money markets.

    Lowers the risk, thus enhancing returns.






    So when you are losing an argument just change the subject?

    Coward.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What argument, "O"rdure?

      Who is having an argument?
      About what?

      You have become ever more delusional, as time goes by.

      Delete
    2. I see no argument in any of the posts made above.
      I do see a series of your rants ...
      But that is nothing new.

      Perhaps you are arguing with yourself, as I do not read the rants, I wouldn't know.

      Delete
  31. I do see where our little "O"rdure has been attempting to draw moral equivalency between the US and the Apartheid regime run by the Zionist swine in Palestine.
    He falls short, one more time.

    A recurring theme for our "O"rdure.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No I am pointing out that our own nation, America has lower standards in battle that the Jewish Nation of Israel.

      Zionists are not swine. The believe that Jews have a right to self determination in their historic land of Israel,

      To say you are against "zionism" and no other forms of self determination for any others, including fake peoples who self ahem themselves is racist.

      The palestines are a recent invention, and in their minds and others they now constitute a peoplehood.

      They have the right to self determination, however they do not have the right to genocide the Jews.

      This is why wars are fought and won.

      There is nothing about Israel that is Apartheid, and your claiming so just demeans the folks that actually lived thru it.

      But that won't stop you..

      After all you are a jew hating, israel trashing, zionist bashing anti-semite.

      The worst kind.

      In a world were what you claim Jews/zionists and Israelis act like? You would have been killed years ago.


      Lucky for you your fiction about Jews, zionists and Israel are untrue…

      Try your shit with the Russians or Arabs and you'd never make it thru the week without benign strung from a tree...

      Delete
  32. 9/11: Russia Presents Evidence Against US, UK And Israel Co-Conspirators

    The evidence of complicity by the cave dwelling Muslims in Afghanistan just does not add up.

    ReplyDelete
  33. .

    Perhaps you are arguing with yourself, as I do not read the rants, I wouldn't know.

    :o)

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Who is Jack kidding, he pours over every word, looking for typos….

      :)

      He has no life.

      Delete
    2. Not me my shit is full of typos, some planned, others, not so much.

      Guess those that don't/can't read, don't/won't notice.

      Delete

  34. Deuce ☂Wed Dec 03, 04:04:00 AM EST
    Sean Hannity - draft dodger

    Hannity was born in 1961. The draft ended in January 1973. He would have been twelve in 1973. You must have him confused with one of the Muslim child warriors, conscripted at gunpoint by AIPAC.

    You are amazing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. QuirkWed Dec 03, 09:33:00 AM EST
      .

      All of the above posts were well said.


      QuirkWed Dec 03, 09:37:00 AM EST
      .

      Especially, the one on Hannity. That hypocritical, flag waving, 'great American' makes me want to puke.



      ... amazingly informed ...

      Delete
    2. Think nothing of it, my pleasure.

      91 To each his sufferings: all are men,
      92 Condemned alike to groan;
      93 The tender for another's pain,
      94 The unfeeling for his own.
      95 Yet ah! why should they know their fate?
      96 Since sorrow never comes too late,
      97 And happiness too swiftly flies.
      98 Thought would destroy their paradise.
      99 No more; where ignorance is bliss,
      100 'Tis folly to be wise.

      ___Thomas Gray

      Delete
    3. .

      A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool.
      ___William Shakespeare

      .

      Delete
    4. I know that I am intelligent because I know that I know nothing.
      ___Socrates

      Delete
    5. You were wrong in endorsing Hannity's "draft dodging." Period. You are wrong on several other matters as well, but I will wait for you to step in the manure before pointing out that your boots are soiled.

      Delete
    6. In Greek, it is a humorously acerbic pun. Hemlock was the Greek antidote for intellectually challenging sarcasm. The EB has Anon.

      Delete
  35. Insulting Netanyahu was a bad idea

    For all the attention on Goldberg’s article, a most revealing observation about the Israeli-Palestinian situation came in a piece by New York Times columnist Tom Friedman. He wrote that in March Obama “offered compromise ideas” on peace proposals to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and “asked him point blank if he would accept them.” Reported Friedman, “Obama is still waiting for an answer.”

    Welcome to Israel’s world.

    In 2000 Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak offered Yasser Arafat the most generous deal thought possible. Arafat never replied. Instead he launched a terror war that left thousands of Israeli civilians dead and maimed. In 2008 Prime Minister Ehud Olmert even improved on that offer; he got silence from Abbas.

    No one has ever seen a Palestinian concession for the cause of peace.

    ReplyDelete
  36. … talking about blissful hubris …

    Sen. Tom Harkin, one of the co-authors of the Affordable Care Act, now thinks Democrats may have been better off not passing it at all and holding out for a better bill.

    ObamaCare author: Health law is 'really complicated'

    ReplyDelete
  37. allenWed Dec 03, 02:39:00 PM EST

    Deuce ☂Wed Dec 03, 04:04:00 AM EST
    Sean Hannity - draft dodger

    Hannity was born in 1961. The draft ended in January 1973. He would have been twelve in 1973. You must have him confused with one of the Muslim child warriors, conscripted at gunpoint by AIPAC.

    You are amazing.


    Hannity turned 18 in 1979. He had an obligation to enroll in selective service. Being the great American flag waving, patriotic, cheerleading, warmongering OOrah mutherfucker that he is, he had the opportunity to serve in at least 40 US military operations. He didn’t. He is a third rate mind but a first rate shirker of what the patriots he so admires do. I’m glad he is your kind of guy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Are you saying that he was NOT enrolled with Selective Service? There is no question that he did not serve in the US Armed Forces, but that is not the same thing, at all.

      By the way, the guy makes me want to puke, but that is not the question. When I first heard him on air with Limbaugh (in passing), he reminded me of an untalented Joey Bishop.

      Delete
    2. Its' the new rat standard

      those that signed up for selective service (ME) that did not enlist are now considered "DRAFT DODGERS"

      Delete
    3. .

      I could care less about his service, it's his politics and the way he presents them that make me want to puke. When I said he was a hypocrite it had nothing to do with whether he served or not. I stopped watching him early on back in the early 2000's but occasionally you can't help to see him doing his schtick. The last time I remember was the circus he tried to create with the whole Clive Bundy affair.

      .

      Delete
  38. Since you mention AIPAC. I am not sure what their service statistics look like but I would bet you $500 it is less than your local Knights of Columbus.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nice slander there Deuce..

      Jews have served and died in defense of this nation, your slur is offensive.

      It's time you rethink yourself, you are becoming one Jew hating prick.

      Delete
    2. Slander? and what is this? He would have been twelve in 1973. You must have him confused with one of the Muslim child warriors, conscripted at gunpoint by AIPAC.

      Delete
    3. I call it a response to your slander…

      Pointing out your confusion to a specific point

      whereas you paint with a broad brush tens of thousands of Jews as Israel Firsters and those who do not serve this nation.

      Getting sensitive?

      Delete
    4. Getting sensitive? I’m a very sensitive guy.

      Delete
  39. Ex-Netanyahu ally looks to be Israeli kingmaker

    Heller glibbly writes, Kahlon grew up in a hardscrabble town in northern Israel and is one of the few high-profile politicians of Middle Eastern background. All of the high-profile candidates are of multi-generational Middle Eastern backgrounds – Israelis born and bred. He may be using a “clever” ethnic slur: What he means is that Kahlon is Sephardic and Netanyahu et al are Ashkenazic.

    However the elections end, it is highly unlikely that Israeli foreign policy referencing Iran, Hamas, Fatah, Hezbollah, IS, etc. will change. Mr. Kerry might want to hold on to those frequent flier miles for shuttle diplomacy to the Maldives – a place better sized to his skill set.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Since you have raised the issue of military service, look at the chart. The data is from 2007, but it comports with previous findings.
    Military Enlisted Recruit-to-Population Ratios, by Region in 2007
    Regions with ratings >1.00 are overrepresented. Those regions are:

    South with 42.97% of recruits
    1.10 East South Central
    1.17 South Atlantic
    1.26 West South Central

    The Northeast and Pacific regions are grossly underrepresented. The Northeast has the worst showing of any region (0.73) -- your neck of the woods.

    2012 Demographics, Profile of the Military Community

    The myriad data will show that with the exception of Black Army Officers, Whites are overrepresented.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My neck of the woods representation is easy. I was in the air force, another brother was in the air force, another brother was a marine and another was in the army. I have two cousins that were in the navy, another in the army KIA Viet Nam. My father was in the Army Air Corps, his two older brothers were in the navy and the army, one was at Pearl Harbor the other in North Africa. My father had thirty bombing missions over Germany and has three air medals. My mother’s two brothers were in the navy and the army. There has been no generation in the recollection of my family that has not had military service. How’s your neck of the woods doing?

      Delete
    2. My Dad was in the Navy, served in Korea.

      My Uncle was KIA in Nam.

      My other 4 Uncles were in WW2, in Europe.

      My Sister's Son is on active service.

      My Sister's daughter? Enlisted.

      MY kids to young.

      I was called to sign up for selective service and I did.

      I had numerous other relatives with stories that I will not repeat here but served.

      We have spilled our family blood for this nation and for you to imply otherwise?

      Makes you a low life.

      Delete
    3. If the Iranians had modern aircraft, the IDF would have to fugetaboudit. Even people familiar with planes often don’t realize that in the three decades of US Navy service, the Grumman F-14s shot down a total five enemy aircraft. Mostly for want of foes. The Iranian Air Force F-14s, sold to the Shah, on the other hand, absolutely mauled the Iraqi air force in the Iran-Iraq war, downing over 150 Iraqi planes, for the loss of one F-14 in air to air combat. The F-14 ace of aces is Jalil Zandi, credited with downing 11 Iraqi planes, which would have been in impressive total in WWII when air forces fielded thousands of planes, but is jaw-dropping in the modern era when air forces more often muster planes by the score.

      Delete
  41. The Netanyahus Send Their Boy To The IDF

    Netanyahu's brother was killed in service. Netanyahu was wounded. That is how it is done in Israel.

    ReplyDelete
  42. No high school in America suffered as many casualties in Viet Nam as Philadelphia’s Edison High, with 59 attendees, 54 graduates. I’ll do a post on the boys in the Philly hoods and limit it to Viet Nam and KIA. You can do your own analysis of how the demographics look by the names and schools. We’ll see who made the cut and who was missing in action.

    ReplyDelete
  43. I don’t give a crap about who served in the IDF. It’s not my country.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well from the way you talk, you don't think it should be mine either…

      Delete
    2. You claimed it was not ...
      Has your status changed, again?

      Delete
    3. Jack, why lie?

      I am more of an American than you will ever be.

      You, the self confessed criminal? Me, The American Citizen that believes in Scouting.

      You? The self confessed pot smoking, gun selling paid hired gun? Me? A Chocolate guy…


      You should be deported and sent back to your native lands after your arrest…

      Me? I am in my native lands.. America.

      Someday I might move to Israel, that is why I have a passport.

      Til then? I enjoy all the rights and privileges of a citizen..

      Now you have told us you cannot travel thru TSA checkpoints or legally carry, that must suck..

      Being a wanted fugitive and all…

      Tell me Jack, when you close your eyes at night, do the kids you killed scream at you?

      Delete
  44. BREAKING:

    Quirk confirms he uses a penis pump, just as Maria always claimed -

    Reply

    Bob OreilleWed Dec 03, 11:26:00 AM EST

    Feds clamp down on 'penis pumps' paid for by Medicare....................drudge


    The spectre of age-ism raises its ugly head again.
    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    QuirkWed Dec 03, 01:43:00 PM EST

    .

    Mine is electrically powered and I was able to convince them I needed a rather large back-up generator to support it in case of terrorist attack on the grid.

    .
    Bob OreilleWed Dec 03, 07:21:00 PM EST

    R i g h t.

    In case you short out the grid again by trying to pilfer electricity for your Q's Super x-Mas Light Display Pay n' View, you mean.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      Nonsense, I can't help it if I needed the double triple-x size kind that takes a lot of extra juice. I blame it on the Detroit Lighting Authority for not beefing up their wiring, just as last September when one of Clive Bundy's steers that was illegally grazing on public land up and wandered across a highway causing an accident where two women were hurt and ol' Clive blamed the government's land management department for not preventing it.

      .

      Delete
  45. World's Oldest Art Identified in Half-Million-Year-Old Zigzag

    Our Homo erectus ancestors may have been smarter and more creative than we thought.

    A photo of a shell engraved made by Homo erectus

    A jagged line etched on a fossil mussel shell may be the oldest evidence of geometric art.

    Photograph by Wim Lustenhouwer, VU University Amsterdam

    Brandon Keim

    for National Geographic

    Published December 3, 2014

    A zigzag engraving on a mussel's shell may transform scientific understanding of what has long been considered a defining human capacity: artistic creativity.
    Share

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    Until now, the earliest evidence of geometric art was dated from 70,000 to 100,000 years ago. Scratched into rocks found in South African caves, those engravings signified behavioral modernity: Homo sapiens' unique cognitive journey into a sophisticated world of abstraction and symbol.

    But new analysis of an engraving excavated from a riverbank in Indonesia suggests that it's at least 430,000 years old—and that it wasn't made by humans, scientists announced Wednesday. At least it wasn't made by humans as most people think of them, meaning Homo sapiens.

    Rather, the earliest artist appears to have been one of our ancestors, Homo erectus. Hairy and beetle-browed, H. erectus was never before thought to have such talents.

    "The origin of such cognition, such abilities," said archaeologist Josephine Joordens, "is much further back in time than we thought."

    Joordens, of Leidens University in the Netherlands, and colleagues published their findings Wednesday in Nature.

    Secrets of the Shells

    The engraving belongs to a trove of fossils unearthed in 1891 by Dutch paleoanthropologist Eugène Dubois. Among them were the first specimens of what Dubois called Pithecanthropus erectus, later known as Homo erectus: They were the first in their lineage to leave Africa and founding members of the family that eventually included us.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dubois didn't describe the engraving, though. It was first noticed seven years ago by Joordens and Steven Munro, a collaborator and anthropologist at the National Museum of Australia.

      Joordens's group, which now numbers 21 researchers, spent the intervening time painstakingly dating the shell to between 430,000 and 540,000 years ago. They also ruled out alternative explanations for the engraving and for holes in other shells that suggest they were opened by tool—using H. erectus.

      In a field where researchers endlessly second-guess how best to interpret stories told by stone fragments, "the methodology is very well developed," said paleoanthropologist Alison Brooks of the Smithsonian Institution. "It reads like a good detective story."

      'Profound Implications' for Human Evolution

      It's a story with profound implications, said Brooks, for understanding both H. erectus and ourselves. It's generally thought that humans became anatomically and behaviorally modern between 100,00 and 200,000 years ago, in a relatively quick stroke of evolutionary inspiration.

      In subsequent millennia would come cave paintings and sculpted figures, the full flowering of an ostensible cognitive uniqueness reflected in our very name: H. sapiens, or "wise man." Neanderthals may also have possessed a rich symbolic culture, but theirs was relatively recent, and they are arguably not so evolutionarily distinct from modern humans as H. erectus.

      A geometric artmaking H. erectus challenges the narrative of dramatic human exceptionality. "What we think of as typically modern human behavior didn't suddenly arise, in sparklike fashion," Joordens said. "Something like that seems to have been in place much earlier." (Learn more about H. erectus smarts in "Homo Erectus Invented "Modern" Living?")

      In their Nature paper, Joordens's group avoids terms like art, symbolism, and modernity. It's hard to know, she said, the intentions of the engraver. But if the shell was 100,000 years old and found among Homo sapiens fossils, "it would easily be called symbolic or early art."

      "This raises the big, hairy question of what is 'modern human behavior' all over again," said paleoanthropologist Pat Shipman of Pennsylvania State University.

      Indeed, the very notion of modern humans as being cognitively unique is now "up for reconsideration," said Joordens.

      That will likely be argued for years to come. In the meantime, the researchers plan to further study the collection and revisit the excavation site.

      "We're certain we haven't found everything yet," Joordens said.

      Follow Brandon Keim on Twitter

      http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/12/141203-mussel-shell-oldest-art/

      Delete
    2. .

      Rather, the earliest artist appears to have been one of our ancestors, Homo erectus. Hairy and beetle-browed...

      Well, perhaps one of your ancestors.

      .

      Delete
  46. There may be some hope for our d. rat after all -



    Rodents smarter after brain cell implants.................drudge

    ReplyDelete
  47. Behold: Mary Landrieu in full meltdown

    posted at 5:21 pm on December 3, 2014 by Guy Benson



    It’s almost the end of the line for the Mary Express, and she knows it. First, she tripled down on her ‘sexism and racism’ smear against an electorate that has entrusted her (a woman!) with 18 years in the US Senate, and that handed Gov. Bobby Jindal (whose skin is brown!) a re-election victory so comprehensive that he carried every single parish in the state. Then, she offered no comment after top aides and supporters confirmed Republicans’ principal charge against her, and exhorted partisan Democrats to vote illegally. Next, she blundered through her final debate, assailing her Republican opponent for allegedly collecting an improper pittance for his medical treatment of under-served patients (a calling card of his career as a doctor), which helpfully teed up a clean hit on her unethical use of taxpayer money to fund dozens of private jet flights. Now she’s lashing out at her own party, accusing them of abandoning her — a gripe that is not inaccurate, and a tactical decision that is not unjustified:

    Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) lobbed a barb at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Tuesday, saying they effectively abandoned her after the Nov. 4 midterm election. “I am extremely disappointed in the Democratic Senatorial [Campaign] Committee. I’ve said that. You know, they just walked away from this race,” Landrieu said in response to a Washington Post question about Democratic groups mainly staying on the sidelines during the runoff. She made her remarks after a rally here just steps from City Hall…A DSCC spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    No comment? That’s cold, bro. Yesterday we highlighted a Landrieu campaign radio ad aimed primarily at black voters that asserts that the Birther-dominated Republican Party “will impeach” President Obama if Bill Cassidy beats Landrieu. They might as well have added, ‘because the Constitution dictates that impeachments of black presidents become mandatory when the opposing party controls 54, not 53, Senate seats.’ The spot asserts that Cassidy has shown Obama “so much disrespect.” What specifically do you mean by that, Senator Landrieu, since you personally approved the ad?

    Cassidy sometimes calls President Obama, “Obama”? Disrespect, bordering on hate speech. One wonders what sort of commercial Landrieu would’ve run if Cassidy had mused aloud about assaulting the president:

    President Bush faced increasingly bitter complaints today from local and state officials in the battered Gulf Coast region as he struggled to exert control over a disaster that almost surely claimed thousands of lives. Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, a Democrat, said today that she was so angry about federal failures and second-guessing that if she heard any more criticism of local efforts, even from the president, she might “punch” him.

    Someone arrest this dangerous woman who disrespected Our President by threatening physical violence! I’ll leave you with a new ad from the Black Conservatives Fund, which condenses the pro-voter fraud harangue they caught on tape into a 3o second television spot:

    The elder Don Cravins’ disgraceful comments are certainly worth highlighting, but I suspect the extraordinary affirmation from Landrieu chief of staff Don Cravins, Jr. that she’ll continue supporting Obama 97 percent of the time if re-elected might be the more impactful message to broadcast in the home stretch of this campaign.

    http://hotair.com/archives/2014/12/03/behold-mary-landrieu-in-full-meltdown/

    ReplyDelete
  48. .

    The grand jury decision on the Eric Garner homicide was troubling. And it appears that the decision will be the end of it as far as the justice system in NY is involved. That too is troubling.

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Because it was not a homicide, Legionnaire Q.
      Is that what troubles you?

      Delete
    2. It WAS a homicide. He did not die of natural causes, according to the coroner.

      Being a homicide does not mean it was a crime.

      Do you see the difference d. rat?

      You seem to be in need of rodent brain cell transplants.

      ...................

      It's a close case, Quirk.

      If you can say 'I can't breath', you are still breathing, as they say.

      The cop let up very soon thereafter.

      But he was using a grip that was not allowed according to police policy. And the guy was kinda resisting arrest.

      Close call, unlike Ferguson.

      A reasonable charge against the cop might be negligent homicide.

      Delete
    3. Maybe some kind of reckless endangerment resulting in death. Don't know the New York laws...

      Delete
    4. .

      I believe you are mistaken, Mr. Rat. Of course, it was a homicide.

      You might want to look up the definition of homicide.

      .

      Delete
    5. Homicide - the deliberate and unlawful killing of one person by another; murder.

      The death was not unlawful, it was not deliberate, it was not murder.
      Really Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson ...
      “Think before you speak.
      Read before you think.”

      ― Fran Lebowitz,

      Delete
    6. When the Grand Jury did not indict, there was a legal decision made, it was not homicide, see definition above

      Delete
    7. Now, Legionnaire Q, you can disagree with the decision of the Grand Jury, bu you cannot change the meaning of the word Homicide

      You are a member of a legion of the lost, but Humpty Dumpty, you are not.

      Delete
    8. https://www.google.com/search?q=homicide&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=sb - the definition of homicide, for those that would like to read the original

      Delete
    9. .

      What bothers me is that as far as the City of New York is concerned it appears this closes the case as far as any criminal charges being brought. At least, I have seen nothing yet that would indicate otherwise. Yet, it was my understanding that even though a grand jury refuses to indict, the prosecutor still has the option of bringing the case to trial (usually after a preliminary hearing of course).

      If a case ever begged for being brought before a jury, IMO, this would be one.

      They are talking about an internal review in this case which could be result in some unspecified disciplinary actions.

      The FEDS are also reviewing it but I don't see them being able to prove some kind of hate crime.

      .

      Delete
  49. So, the advise you provide to others, Legionnaire Q, you should take to heart yourself.
    Before you use a word, know what it means.

    Or you will look the fool, again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      Another example of your problem with English-as-a-second-language, rat.

      If you are talking about the legal aspects of a word, rat, perhaps you should learn to look up the legal meaning.


      Homicide

      When someone takes the life of another, regardless of intent or other details surrounding the incident, it is called a homicide. Homicide is not always a crime, such as in cases of self-defense or the state-sanctioned execution of certain convicted criminals. Criminal homicides involve either negligence or willful intent, ranging from involuntary manslaughter (killing another motorist in a drunk driving accident, for example) to first degree murder (stalking and killing a member of a rival gang, for instance)...


      - See more at: http://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-charges/homicide.html#sthash.1oe6Hqu8.dpuf

      Or perhaps, it is the logic you can't get your hands around. Try to follow.

      Though all murders are homicides all homicides are not murder

      .

      Delete
    2. .

      In my first post, I used the term 'homicide' because that was the term used by the coroner in describing the cause of death.

      .

      Delete
    3. The coroner was incorrect, overruled by a higher legal authority.
      Homicide is a legal term, which the Grand Jury found not applicable to the case.

      You knew that the Grand Jury had not brought an indictment, you knew that the Coroner's verdict had been overturned.
      That there had been no homicide.

      So, where you really attempting to demean the Grand Jury process, or just that particular one?
      Judge Sol Wachtler's famous saying that a prosecutor can get a grand jury to 'indict a ham sandwich.'"

      The Judge Who Coined “Indict a Ham Sandwich” Was Himself Indicted

      Delete
    4. "A grand jury could 'indict a ham sandwich,' but apparently not a white police officer," wrote the U.K.'s Independent.
      "If a jury can indict a ham sandwich, why is it taking so long?"

      Delete
    5. .

      Good lord, rat, it's obvious you are clueless about the grand jury process in this country.

      The coroner was incorrect, overruled by a higher legal authority.
      Homicide is a legal term, which the Grand Jury found not applicable to the case.


      Pure nonsense, you nitwit. Though you have been found guilty of numerous counts of felony mutilating of the English language by a jury of your betters (we tried but couldn't find anyone who would qualify as your peer), it is not within the mandate of the grand jury to change to meaning of words.

      As for the coroner's verdict, it was neither incorrect nor overruled by the grand jury. You clearly do not know what a grand jury's job is.

      You knew that the Grand Jury had not brought an indictment, you knew that the Coroner's verdict had been overturned.
      That there had been no homicide.


      The Grand Jury has one function, one mandate, to determine if the prosecutor has presented to them enough evidence to show probable cause that someone has committed a crime. A verdict not to indict is not the same thing as a verdict of not guilty just as one to indict is not the same as a verdict of guilty.

      Here, read this. I know you attention span is limited so I found a tutorial that was short.

      http://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-procedure/how-does-a-grand-jury-work.html

      .

      Delete
  50. Deuce ☂Wed Dec 03, 06:20:00 PM EST
    I don’t give a crap about who served in the IDF. It’s not my country.


    True. Defaming an American child as a "draft dodger" is something you should "give a crap" about. That would require you to withdraw the malicious slander. I doubt you are that big a man.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Are you talking about the child, Sean Hannity?

      Delete
  51. Quirk, you are wasting your time.

    d. rat has unconquerable difficulty with not only the English language but also Legalese.

    ReplyDelete
  52. Har de har har, Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson.
    You wen to the University of Washington to avoid being drafted, you are a draft dodger.
    No euphemisms required.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You went to the University of Washington to avoid being drafted, you are a draft dodger.

      Delete
    2. In Vino Veritas

      BobSun Jun 22, 01:42:00 PM EDT

      When did I ever say I was a scholar??

      I don't recall saying that.

      I have a college degree in English Lit. from U of Washington.

      To avoid being drafted in part. ...


      If you took action to avoid being drafted, you were and still are, a draft dodger.

      No euphemisms required

      Delete
  53. Our d. rat needs Jublia to treat his onychomycosis of his little rodent toenails.

    He has been digging in the rotten garbage again, digging scurry holes under the outhouse.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. desert rat is a figment of Bob's imaginationWed Dec 03, 10:03:00 PM EST


      Stories happen in the mind of a reader, not among symbols printed on a page.”

      ― Brandon Mull

      Desert Rat Sighting !

      Delete

  54. US, Iran strikes on ISIL show parallel roles for traditional foes


    Washington and Tehran are on the same side against ISIL, even as they deny coordination


    Hamid Reza Taraghi, an Iranian politician who spokes with the LA Times on Tuesday, said Iranian military action within Iraq was well within Tehran’s rights.

    “Iran regards the area as a buffer zone and does not tolerate any military threats within that buffer zone,” he told the newspaper.

    Speaking during a meeting of the U.S.-led anti-ISIL coalition in Brussels on Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said:
    "If Iran is taking on (ISIL) in some particular place... and it has an impact, then it's going to be net effect (that) is positive.”
    But he added that,
    "I am not going to make any announcements or confirm or deny the reported military action of another country in Iraq. It is up to them (the Iranians) or up to the Iraqis to do that if it did indeed took place.”

    ReplyDelete
  55. Iran's forces now fighting alongside US in war on terror

    An Iranian jet has been filmed for the first time bombing positions of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil), during a battle for the town of Saadiya, north-east of Baghdad.

    United State Air Force jets have been flying missions over Iraq since August, and the RAF since September. Pentagon officials later confirmed that Iranian jets had taken part in bombing raids.

    Iranian advisers are known to have been embedded with the Iraqi army and militia forces fighting Isil. But this is the first proof that the Islamic Republic and the countries it famously termed the "Great and Little Satan" - America and Britain - are taking part in missions on the same side.

    The footage was filmed by an Al-Jazeera crew reporting on the key battle for Saadiya and Jalula, two towns north-east of Baghdad not far from the Iranian border.

    Saadiya was captured in the great surge Isil staged across much of Iraq in June and became a major jihadist base. Al-Jazeera claimed the jet belonged to the Iraqi air force, which was given half a dozen Russian-built Sukhoi Su-25 ground attack jets by Iran at the outset of the war in June.

    However, analysts from IHS Jane's Defence later identified the jet as a McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, a relic of America's pre-1979 alliance with the Shah's Iran. (© Daily Telegraph, London)

    Irish Independent

    ReplyDelete