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."

Wednesday, February 04, 2015

Mike Huckabee: "I absolutely oppose forcing parents to vaccinate their children from measles." Mike Huckabee: "Parents should absolutely vaccinate their children from Beyonce's mental poison."

A GOP outbreak of scientific illiteracy

By Ruth Marcus Columnist Washington Post February 3 at 8:31 PM


Move over Michele Bachmann. Here comes the 2016 Republican presidential field on the scientifically indisputable but ideologically fraught issue of vaccination.
You may recall Bachmann’s campaign implosion in 2011, when the then-Minnesota congresswoman warned of “very dangerous consequences” of the HPV vaccine, citing a woman whose daughter “suffered mental retardation as a result.”

This week, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul performed a full Bachmann, with a Lazio twist (Rick Lazio, the New York congressman whose 2000 Senate campaign against Hillary Clinton foundered after an overaggressive debate performance).

Paul proved that a medical degree provides no inoculation against scientific illiteracy, suggesting that vaccines could cause “profound mental disorders.” And he made Lazio look, well, gentlemanly, instructing CNBC’s Kelly Evans to “calm down a bit here, Kelly” and, finger to lips, shushing her in midsentence during a discussion on tax policy.
Yes, he actually said “shhh.” And, yes, you can almost hear Hillary Clinton laughing in anticipatory delight. Rarely has a single interview offered double grounds for presidential disqualification. Paul shot himself first in one foot and then the other.

Monday’s Republican vaccination follies began with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, whose gaffe ended up seeming rather statesmanlike after he was out-crazied by Paul.
Christie, on a European tour to spiff up his foreign policy credentials, was asked whether parents should have their children vaccinated.

“We vaccinate ours, and so, you know, that’s the best expression I can give you of my opinion,” Christie said. “You know it’s much more important what you think as a parent than what you think as a public official. And that’s what we do. But I also understand that parents need to have some measure of choice in things as well, so that’s the balance that the government has to decide.”

Whoa — this is the same Chris Christie who had no hesitation about imposing mandatory, and medically unnecessary, quarantines on health-care workers returning from Ebola-ravaged countries?
Quarantine Christie was happy to spout off about governors’ responsibility to protect public safety. Now, Vaccination Christie is all about parental choice versus public officials. Christie is consistent only in that he was against the best scientific evidence both times.

You know Christie had a problem because his office in Trenton issued a swift clarification: “The governor believes vaccines are an important public health protection and with a disease like measles there is no question kids should be vaccinated.”

Paul made Christie look like Jonas Salk. “I have heard of many tragic cases of walking, talking, normal children who wound up with profound mental disorders after vaccines,” he told Evans. “I’m not arguing vaccines are a bad idea. I think they are a good thing. But I think the parent should have some input. The state doesn’t own your children. Parents own the children, and it’s an issue of freedom and public health.”

Where to start? For one, Dr. Paul, confusing correlation with causation. For another, ignoring the overwhelming scientific evidence refuting suspicions of vaccine-induced autism or other disorders.

And then there is Paul’s creepy phrasing about who “owns” children. Um, no one? Government and parents play a dual role — not in ownership of children, but in protecting them. And there are broad categories in which government (that is, society as a whole) has long decided, correctly, that child safety cannot solely be left to parental discretion.

Thus, from the moment they leave the hospital, children must be buckled into car seats and later into seat belts. They must attend school. They cannot purchase cigarettes or alcohol, or work extended hours or in unsafe occupations.

If anything, vaccination presents an easier case for trumping parental rights, not just because the safety concerns are so overblown but because the risk of failure to immunize extends beyond the individual child.
In some (rare) cases, vaccines don’t work. In others, children and adults have underlying medical conditions, leaving their immune systems too compromised to be safely vaccinated. One family’s irrational decision not to vaccinate threatens other families’ children as well.

The current debate is useful not just because of the measles outbreak that began in California and is spreading alarmingly. The conversation will help illuminate would-be presidents’ attitudes about the proper roles of both science (how to assess the evidence on climate change, for example) and government (when it should step in, when it should leave individuals alone).

128 comments:

  1. I imagine Rand Paul ended any chance of him becoming president with that disastrous interview.

    ReplyDelete
  2. On another matter, Paul is correct:

    The week before her confirmation hearings, Loretta Lynch, President Obama’s choice to succeed Eric Holder as attorney general, quietly dropped a forfeiture case involving $447,000 seized from Bi-County Distributors, a family-owned business that sells candy and cigarettes to convenience stores on Long Island.

    Although there was no evidence that the money came from illegal activity, the IRS thought the way it was deposited, in amounts below the $10,000 threshold for mandatory bank reports to the Treasury Department, suggested that Bi-County was trying to evade that requirement, which is a federal crime known as “structuring.” According to a new report from the Institute for Justice, which represented Bi-County's owners, the IRS seized $242 million based on suspected structuring in more than 2,500 cases from 2005 to 2012. During that period, the number of cases rose fivefold and revenue increased by 166 percent, but the gap between the amount seized and the amount ultimately forfeited also grew, suggesting the IRS has becoming increasingly reckless with the rights of innocent owners like Mitch, Richard, and Jeffrey Hirsch, the brothers who run Bi-County Distributors.

    "Using civil forfeiture," I.J. says, "the government is increasingly treating legitimate small-business owners like criminals just because they make frequent cash deposits." More than four-fifths of the IRS cases related to structuring were civil forfeitures, which do not require accusing the owner of a crime, let alone proving that he committed one. At least a third of the seizures "arose out of nothing more than a series of transactions under $10,000, with no other criminal activity, such as fraud, money laundering or smuggling, alleged by the government." Of the $242 million seized during the period covered by the report, almost half, $116 million, was not ultimately forfeited, meaning the government agreed to return it, as in the Bi-County case and several others that I.J. has handled, or tried and failed to prove its case in court. The share of seized money that was eventually forfeited fell from 90 percent in 2005 to 59 percent in 2012, indicating that the IRS became more aggressive, leading to more seizures based on flimsy evidence.

    Challenging these seizures can be prohibitively expensive. I.J. found that half of the structuring-related seizures between 2005 and 2012 involved less than $34,000, which means owners often would have found that paying a lawyer cost more than the government took. One I.J. case involved a Michigan grocer who lost about $35,000 to the IRS; another involved an Iowa restaurateur who lost $33,000. After I.J. took on those cases, the government agreed to return the money. But without pro bono help, the owners might have felt compelled to give up.

    Fighting forfeitures can leave owners in financial limbo for months or years. In civil forfeiture cases involving structuring, I.J. found, the average time between seizure and forfeiture was more than a year. Bi-County's owners, the Hirsches, struggled to keep their business afloat, relying on credit extended by longtime vendors, for 32 months. During that time, they did not get a single hearing before a judge. Instead Lynch's office offered to return some of the money, ranging from $171,000 to $396,000, if they surrendered the rest.

    I.J. concludes that the best way to avoid injustices like these, short of abolishing civil forfeiture, is to guarantee prompt probable-cause hearings, increase the burden of proof on the government, and allow forfeiture only in cases where deposits were deliberately structured to conceal the proceeds of illegal activity. All three reforms are included in a bill introduced last week by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.).

    ReplyDelete
  3. Kentucky senator Rand Paul backpedalled Tuesday on comments he made about vaccines that quickly drew the condemnations of everyone from medical professionals to senior Republican party members to the formerly quarantined healthcare provider best remembered for calling out Paul’s potential rival for the White House.

    Paul’s attempt at clarification landed as Republicans in Washington, from Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell to House speaker John Boehner to the dozen or so members of the prospective 2016 presidential field scrambled to describe their views on vaccination.

    Following controversial comments by New Jersey governor Chris Christie regarding a measles outbreak spreading across the US, Paul set off another cascade of criticism when he told CNBC on Monday that vaccinations could lead to “profound mental disorders” and that parents “should have some input”.

    In his follow-up statement, Paul sought to make a distinction between correlation and causation – the kind of science-minded distinction that some of his critics saw him as abandoning.

    “I did not say vaccines caused disorders, just that they were temporally related – I did not allege causation,” Paul said in a statement. “I support vaccines, I receive them myself and I had all of my children vaccinated. In fact today, I received the booster shot for the vaccines I got when I went to Guatemala last year.”

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  4. Another prominent doctor turned political figure who is expected to seek the Republican nomination in 2016, Ben Carson, also injected himself into the measles debate on Tuesday.

    “Although I strongly believe in individual rights and the rights of parents to raise their children as they see fit, I also recognize that public health and public safety are extremely important in our society,” Carson said in a statement.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Two questionable historic achievements - debatable by Republican Presidential candidates?

    Small pox vaccinations

    Polio vaccinations

    ReplyDelete
  6. He's Jon Stewart on the Measles Vaccination Issue

    http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2015/02/03/video-jon-stewart-mocks-anti-vaxxer-science-denying-affluent-ca-liberals/

    ReplyDelete
  7. Deuce you know, and I know, that you owe me an apology.

    So now delete this post before anyone sees...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No one owes you anything.
      You have no credit, here

      Delete
    2. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

      Delete
    3. As an interested reader, I know that no one at the Elephant Bar owes you a thing, "O"rdure.

      You do not qualify for credit.

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

      Always blaming others for your shortfalls, "O"rdure.
      It is your modus operandi

      Delete
    5. I must have missed it - what does he owe you an apology for?

      Delete
    6. Jack, you are the blog's Court Jester, why do you diminish your role here?

      As for your out of context post about refi's? Your modus operandi...

      The readers KNOW that you have nothing to contribute. Just slurs and bullshit.

      Once again you prove yourself.

      But since you bring it up, did you not stalk the WRONG JEW for 10 years at Chocolate Emporium?

      LOL

      Fucking anti-semtic moron..

      In the end it's simple, Jack you stand with Hamas and Iran, I stand with America and Israel, with or without a refi.

      Delete
    7. Quirk Thu Dec 30, 01:36:00 AM EST (2008)
      .

      Our next Bosco is for the Most All-Encompassing Ad Hominem Attack. This award recognizes an extraordinary effort at prolonged ranting. This year’s award goes to WiO for:


      What is "Occupation" said...

      "Now to be fair...

      I call (bleep) all sorts of names...

      Liar

      Murderer

      Criminal

      Anti-Semite

      Jew Hater

      Israel Hater

      Zionist Hater

      Scum

      Nitwit

      Crook

      Occupier

      Racist

      Creep

      Asshole

      But my motivation is not from the Rules for Radicals...

      My motivation?

      (bleep) is all of what I said...

      I speak truth...

      Whereas (bleep) distorts, misdirects and rants when presented with facts...

      Oh, did I forget black hearted sub human miscreant?"

      Fri Jul 30, 11:13:00 AM EDT




      Good effort WiO.

      I’m sure we can expect more of the same from you in the future.

      Delete
    8. Seven years of being a broken record, "O"rdure.

      Seven years of being unable to quantify your rants, qualify your claims.

      {;-)

      Delete
    9. Playing the 'anti-Semite' card for over seven years.
      Your site, still less than a thousand views.

      Meanwhile, in just a year, Jack Hawkins, that web site ...
      326,978 views

      {;-)

      Delete
    10. I don't view my success by web views as you do.

      I view my success?

      By how many acres of land in Israel I can purchase for the Jewish people. How well my children thrive, oh right you abandoned yours. How well my marriage does, oh right, your wife fled from you...

      By how many happy customers I have, oh right you stalked the wrong Jew at Chocolate Emporium that went bust...

      By how well our Scout Troop produces strong, ethical young men who, unlike you, are patriotic Americans.

      I don't deal drugs, like you, I don't sell weapons to mexicans, like you.....

      I dont stand with terrorists, like you...

      I stand for America and Israel.

      You stand with Hamas, Iran and Hezbollah.

      That says it all

      Delete
    11. .

      Yea, WiO, quit picking on (bleep).

      .

      Delete
    12. That's how you wrote it, Legionnaire.

      It's all about the message, "O"rdure.
      Not at all about the messenger.

      Seven years and the proof of success is illustrated by the views.

      Quantify and qualify your claims, or they will be be seen for what they are, what they have been.

      Well worthy of the Bosco Award

      Delete
    13. .

      MY last comment speaks for itself, rat.

      You sound a bit defensive.

      .

      Delete
    14. Just accumulating the 'business wisdom' of the "Madoff School of Business"

      Lots of fun stuff, back in the archives.

      Delete
    15. "Magic Batteries" and Project Better Place were all touted as 'Game Changers'.

      Lots of funny stuff

      Delete
    16. .

      Geez, rat, you've got to learn to move on. You can't live in the past. Life is too short.

      .

      Delete
    17. It's all for use in the present, Legionnaire.

      Does not take long, to quantify and qualify the claims that are made.
      More entertaining than worrying about the psi of a football, and the analysis of the quality of the decision making of a privately held, government subsidized, entertainment business.

      Delete
    18. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    19. QuirkWed Feb 04, 12:12:00 PM EST
      .



      You are stuck in a bleeping continual loop like one of those episodes on the Twilight Zone or a mouse on a treadmill.

      .Great answer

      Delete
  8. Smallpox: 12,000 Years of Terror

    Epidemics of the Past

    Influenza: A Twentieth-Century Epidemic

    Smallpox is one of greatest scourges in human history. This disease, which starts with a distinctive rash that progresses to pus-filled blisters and can result in disfiguration, blindness, and death, first appeared in agricultural settlements in northeastern Africa around 10,000 B.C.E. Egyptian merchants spread it from there to India.

    The earliest evidence of smallpox skin lesions has been found on the faces of mummies from the eighteenth and twentieth Egyptian dynasties, and in the well-preserved mummy of Pharaoh Ramses V, who died in 1157 B.C.E. The first recorded smallpox epidemic occurred in 1350 B.C.E., during the Egyptian-Hittite War.

    In 430 B.C.E., the second year of the Peloponnesian War, smallpox hit Athens and killed more than 30,000 people, reducing the population by 20 percent. Thucydides, an Athenian aristocrat, provided a terrifying account of the epidemic, describing the dead lying unburied, the temples full of corpses, and the violation of funeral rituals. Thucydides himself had the disease, but he survived and went on to write his historic account of the Peloponnesian War. In this work, he noted that those who survived the disease were later immune to it. He wrote, “the sick and the dying were tended by the pitying care of those who had recovered, because they knew the course of the disease and were themselves free from apprehensions. For no one was ever attacked a second time, or not with a fatal result.” These Athenians had become immune to the plague.

    Athens was the only Greek city hit by the epidemic, but Rome and several Egyptian cities were affected. Smallpox then traveled along the trade routes from Carthage.

    Potent Fact
    Rhazes was a Persian doctor who worked in the main hospital of Baghdad. He ranks with Hippocrates and Galen as one of the founders of clinical medicine and is widely regarded as the greatest physician of Islam and the Medieval Ages. His writings on medicine influenced physicians well through the Renaissance and into the seventeenth century. And his work on smallpox and measles was one of the first scientific treatments of infectious diseases.

    In 910, Rhazes (Abu Bakr Muhammad Bin Zakariya Ar-Razi, 864-930 C.E.) provided the first medical description of smallpox, documenting that the illness was transmitted from person to person. His explanation of why survivors of smallpox do not develop the disease a second time is the first theory of acquired immunity.

    The patterns of disease transmission often paralleled peoples' travel and migration routes. Disease in Asia and Africa spread to Europe during the Middle Ages. Smallpox was brought to the Americas with the arrival of Spanish colonists in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and it is widely acknowledged that smallpox infection killed more Aztec and Inca people than the Spanish Conquistadors, helping to destroy those empires.

    Smallpox continued to ravage Europe, Asia, and Africa for centuries. In Europe, near the end of the eighteenth century, the disease accounted for nearly 400,000 deaths each year, including five kings. Of those surviving, one-third were blinded. The worldwide death toll was staggering and continued well into the twentieth century, where mortality has been estimated at 300 to 500 million. This number vastly exceeds the combined total of deaths in all world wars.


    In the United States, more than 100,000 cases of smallpox were recorded in 1921. Strong declines occurred after that because of the widespread use of preventive vaccines. By 1939, fewer than 50 Americans per year died of smallpox.



    Read more: Epidemics of the Past: Smallpox: 12,000 Years of Terror http://www.infoplease.com/cig/dangerous-diseases-epidemics/smallpox-12000-years-terror.html#ixzz3QmN4ZwfJ

    ReplyDelete
  9. Do not name thee as I will be deletedWed Feb 04, 07:38:00 AM EST

    Q: There’s a perception that vaccine refusal is especially common among affluent, well-educated, politically liberal parents—is there any truth to that?


    S.M.: It’s dangerous to make broad generalizations about a group, but anecdotally and from the overall data that’s been collected it seems to be people who are very actively involved in every possible decision regarding their children’s lives. I think it relates to a desire to take uncertainty out of the equation. And autism represents such an unknown. We still don’t know what causes it and we still don’t have good answers for how to treat it. So I think that fear really resonates.

    Also I think there’s a fair amount of entitlement. Not vaccinating your child is basically saying I deserve to rely on the herd immunity that exists in a population. At the most basic level it’s saying I believe vaccines are potentially harmful, and I want other people to vaccinate so I don’t have to. And for people to hide under this and say, “Oh, it’s just a personal decision,” it’s being dishonest. It’s a personal decision in the way drunk driving is a personal decision. It has the potential to affect everyone around you.

    Q: But why liberals?

    S.M.: I think it taps into the organic natural movement in a lot of ways.

    I talked to a public health official and asked him what’s the best way to anticipate where there might be higher than normal rates of vaccine noncompliance, and he said take a map and put a pin wherever there’s a Whole Foods. I sort of laughed, and he said, “No, really, I’m not joking.” It’s those communities with the Prius driving, composting, organic food-eating people.

    —“Why the ‘Prius Driving, Composting’ Set Fears Vaccines,” Science magazine’s 2011 interview with Seth Mnookin, the author of The Panic Virus: A True Story of Medicine, Science, and Fear.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hundreds of Iraqi Christian men are training for their own militia to recapture or defend Christian villages from ISIS.

    They face a lot of challenges: No funding and few weapons, lack of support from the Iraqi government, and recruits who have never seen combat or even fired a gun. The Kurdistan Regional Government is lending them training weapons and use of a former U.S. camp outside Kirkuk, and American former military personnel (who say they are "volunteering through a nonprofit organization they declined to name") are helping with the training.

    http://theweek.com/speedreads/537504/iraqs-christians-are-taking-arms-against-isis

    ReplyDelete
  11. I'm a little puzzled by this push to get taxes from the bunch of money corporations have stashed off-shore.

    First off they've managed to 'stash' this money legally so why would they 'bring it to the USA' at a lower rate when they can pay no rate by keeping it off-shore.

    Secondly, isn't this an attempt to tax money not earned in the USA, money that never has anything to do with the USA other than it is earned by a company that is US? Isn't it like asking Deuce to report and pay taxes on money he earns renting his villa out in Costa Rica (which they expect him to report to the IRS and pay taxes on)?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      I'm a little puzzled by this push to get taxes from the bunch of money corporations have stashed off-shore.

      When you have a half billion dollar budget deficit, you can use all the money you can get.

      First off they've managed to 'stash' this money legally so why would they 'bring it to the USA' at a lower rate when they can pay no rate by keeping it off-shore.

      Apple is the biggest and most prominent example. They generate so much cash they don't what to do with it all. They decided to give back $100 billion to stockholders in the form of stock buybacks and dividends. They don't have enough cash in the US to swing it and rather than bring back the $160 billion they have stashed overseas and pay tax on it they end up having to borrow the money and go into debt.

      Secondly, isn't this an attempt to tax money not earned in the USA, money that never has anything to do with the USA other than it is earned by a company that is US?

      Of course. But surely, you are not arguing that it's not 'fair'. We are talking billions and fairness has nothing to do with it.

      .

      Delete
    2. .

      There is little about the IRS that is fair.

      Deuce put up the about them above. Recently, we saw how they are being used to drive companies, like gun sellers, etc. out of business by drying up their financing by threatening to increase audits on banks that lend to them. The Lois Lerner story was one of obvious abuse. Obama wanted an additional 16,000 agents for Obamacare. The Director of IRS is politicking for even more agents.

      It stinks.

      .

      Delete
    3. It does stink and voters and politicians should make tax reform a top priority.

      There is a an unusual tendency in America to view what is national applying internationally. I was struck by an example of this when reading about California property tax law and assets owned abroad. Basically, in California, if you own a property, say in Costa Rica, you have to pay property tax on it to California. Most jurisdictions don't make you pay property tax on property you own outside of that jurisdiction.

      Similarly if you are a US citizen you must file and pay US income tax on your worldwide income. I am not aware of any other country in the world that does this. For example, if you as a US citizen go work in Hong Kong not only must you pay income tax in Hong Kong to the Chinese you also have to pay income tax (above an exemption threshold) on that income to the IRS. I don't think there is another country in the world that does this. They seem to have extended this world wide tax concept to corporations but corporations have the legal means to go 'off-shore'.

      Delete
    4. .

      When you spend 15% more than you take in each year, you have to get creative.

      .

      Delete
  12. The US Already Running Special Ops Missions In 105 Countries In 2015
    By Nick Turse | February 3, 2015

    http://www.mintpressnews.com/the-us-already-running-black-ops-missions-in-105-countries-in-2015/201814/

    ReplyDelete
  13. .

    I imagine Rand Paul ended any chance of him becoming president with that disastrous interview.

    I doubt he had much chance to begin with but you are probably right. It was the 'shush' heard round the world.

    It's unfortunate. I like a lot of the guys ideas, auditing the FED, a concentration on constitutional rights, calling out government overreach, etc. I would have liked to have seen him carry through into the election cycle just to raise these issues.

    On the other hand, some of his ideas seem a little questionable. The tax holiday being one of them. Despite what Robert Shapiro might have said, I believe Megan Kelly was right in saying most of the studies point out the failings of the 'tax holiday' idea.

    Anyway, when I first saw the CNBC video, I thought it merely pointed out cynical calculation on the part of Paul. I figured he was just appealing to his base and you can never go wrong by attacking the media. Christie made a cottage industry of it for awhile though now it looks like he's probably overplayed the tactic.

    However, after seeing the video again, you can see that Paul starts out fairly reasonable before he ends up losing it. In the end, you see him losing his temper and shows him as defensive and petty.

    If he does enter the 2016 race, I would be surprised if we don't continue to see that picture of him 'shushing' the sweet little Irish lass.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  14. A Jordanian government spokesman has said the "evil" of Islamic State "can and should be defeated".

    The remarks came amid condemnation from around the Arab world over the killing of a Jordanian pilot by Islamic State.

    King Abdullah II cut short a trip to the US after IS posted a video appearing to show pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh being burned alive.

    Jordan executed two convicts, including failed female suicide bomber Sajida al-Rishawi, in response.

    Lt Kasasbeh was seized after crashing during a bombing mission by the US-led coalition over Syria in December.

    Jordan had sought to secure Lt Kasasbeh's release in a swap involving Rishawi, but IS is believed to have killed him a month ago.

    The BBC's Paul Adams in Amman says talk of an exchange appears to have been a IS tactic to string Jordan along and foster doubt among Jordanians over its role in the US-led coalition.

    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-31125835

    ReplyDelete
  15. By the way, the measles outbreak seems to have occurred mostly in Democratic strongholds such as Marin County and similar liberal shit holes. And Rand Paul isn't a Republican. He just adopted the name for political purposes. He is tough on crime though, wanting to use drone launched Hell-fire missiles to take out liquor store robbers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thus I worry that Quirk might some sad day be turned into collateral damage during a Vodka run.

      Delete
    2. .

      My tin foil, anti-asteroid hat that I picked up on the UFO Channel that was developed by noted ufologist and taxidermist, Craig Goddard, should protect me on any future beer runs.

      .

      Delete
  16. .

    Moussaoui Calls Saudi Princes Patrons of Al Qaeda

    WASHINGTON — In highly unusual testimony inside the federal supermax prison, a former operative for Al Qaeda has described prominent members of Saudi Arabia’s royal family as major donors to the terrorist network in the late 1990s and claimed that he discussed a plan to shoot down Air Force One with a Stinger missile with a staff member at the Saudi Embassy in Washington.

    The Qaeda member, Zacarias Moussaoui, wrote last year to Judge George B. Daniels of United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, who is presiding over a lawsuit filed against Saudi Arabia by relatives of those killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He said he wanted to testify in the case, and after lengthy negotiations with Justice Department officials and the federal Bureau of Prisons, a team of lawyers was permitted to enter the prison and question him for two days last October...


    Our 'allies' in Saudi Arabia have denied the charges.

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's MEGYN you illiterate oaf.

      Delete
    2. .

      You punctilious buffoon, her sweet smile is enough for me. I don't take the time to look up her bio.

      .

      Delete
    3. BobWed Feb 04, 12:48:00 PM EST
      It's MEGYN you illiterate oaf.

      Bob spell her name anyway you want, it's her face, smile and brain combo that is 'tasty" :)

      Delete
    4. It's my "automatic criticize Quirk syndrome" acting up again.

      Did you guys know she is a mother of three?

      I think she's lovely.

      Delete
    5. .

      No,I didn't. What are you, a stalker?

      .

      Delete
  17. QuirkWed Feb 04, 10:47:00 AM EST
    .

    Yea, WiO, quit picking on (bleep).

    .


    LOL

    Mr Bleep....

    LOL

    ReplyDelete
  18. Mr Bleep mentioned a great plan to attract the jihadists to the so called "moths to the flame"

    I think Mr Bleep called it the "flytrap"

    http://www.ad-diplomasi.com/excerpts_det.asp?offset=-1&art_id=5

    A fictional plan but in reality is doing just that.

    Isis/Isil is attracting all sorts of nut jobs, sunni jihadists and assorted islamic reprobates to their rape and beheading festival in the desert.

    All in all? Not a bad idea to give them the rope to hang themselves...

    All that is missing from the fictional plan is thousands of hamas members to flock to syria and iraq to join the party...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rufus refuses to discuss if any collateral damage is occurring in the thousands and thousands of US "humanity approved" bombing sorties against the Islamic terrorists that are fighting in Syria and Iraq. So let's take him at his lack of word and say no "innocents" are being hit. The killing of jihadists or as Rufus calls them "head cutters" is a "good thing" to use Martha Steward's famous saying….

      Any day that a Jihadist nut job is removed from the planet is a good day.

      Delete
  19. .

    Two questionable historic achievements - debatable by Republican Presidential candidates?

    Paul has tried to walk back his position on the vaccinations and I can sympathize with the right of parents to make decisions involving their kids; however, when those decisions start effecting others I think you have to have some regulation. Its bad enough that they risk their own kids but others shouldn't suffer for their decisions. The story of that one parent who has a child that has leukemia and brought a lawsuit to keep unvaccinated kids out of school brings the issue home for me.

    It's bad enough when parents subject their kids to risks but when they pass those risks on to others it should be stopped. An idea mentioned over the last few days seems to make sense to me. Let the kids go to school but if a situation comes up like it has today with measles the state should be able to dictate that unvaccinated kids would have to stay home.

    It wouldn't eliminate the risks but it would tend to minimize them. It would protect the unvaccinated kids as well as the others including those with compromised immune systems like the child with the leukemia.

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I believe, in the world of vaccinations, that getting inoculated doesn't guarantee you won't get a disease upon exposure but it makes it less likely that you will get the disease. Thus the more non-vaccinated people there are the greater the likelihood the disease will spread.

      Delete
    2. Very good, Noble Ash. Very good set of beliefs to live by........I would add that if one were more likely to get the disease after being inoculated and exposed I'd opt out of the vaccination, an that is my belief.

      Delete
  20. Islamic State Goes Official in South Asia

    Although its prospects in the region are likely limited, IS could bring further death and destruction to South Asia.
    By Arif Rafiq
    February 04, 2015

    The group that describes itself as the Islamic State (IS, also known as ISIS or ISIL) has formally entered the fray in South Asia, recently announcing the formation of a wilayah (province) in the region.

    IS is positioning itself as a competitor to the Afghan Taliban and al-Qaeda in South Asia. It is unlikely to supplant the two groups. Still, the establishment of a wilayah in the region raises the risk of an increase in sectarian attacks not just against Shias in Pakistan and Afghanistan, but also against fellow Sunnis. It may also complicate the Kabul government’s efforts at reconciliation with the Afghan Taliban and give IS an opportunity to use the region to attack Shia Iran.............

    http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/content/islamic-state-announces-province-south-asia

    Ah a free for all. Isn't this good news?

    ReplyDelete
  21. Shep's on the ground in Amman, Jordan. Now we will find out what's really going on.

    The King is going to make a speech tomorrow, he is speculationg.

    The King is leading from the front, while our President is leading from behind.

    We got them surrounded.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Former CIA #2: It will take 100,000 ground troops to defeat ISIS, and “that will simply does not exist here”
      posted at 1:01 pm on February 4, 2015 by Ed Morrissey

      Depressing, and yet entirely true. While the US and other coalition nations expressed outrage over the brutal execution by ISIS of a captured Jordanian pilot and vowed to destroy the terrorist “organization,” the efforts made so far won’t accomplish the mission — or even come close, as former CIA Deputy Director Mike Morell told CBS’ Charlie Rose and Norah O’Donnell this morning. In order to defeat ISIS, the coalition will have to field an army of at least 100,000 troops, and Morell says the coalition lacks the will to fight at that level:...........video

      http://hotair.com/archives/2015/02/04/former-cia-2-it-will-take-100000-ground-troops-to-defeat-isis-and-that-will-simply-does-not-exist-here/

      Delete
    2. I give Rufus one last chance to back out of his July 4th, 2015 ISIS Free Iraq Prediction.

      This is called 'mercy', generally thought of as a theological and worldly virtue.

      Delete
  22. Declassified
    Islamic State Tightens Its Grip on Shaky Libya
    11 Feb 4, 2015 7:00 AM EST
    By Josh Rogin

    The U.S. war against Islamic State has not yet extended to Libya. But the terror group is rapidly expanding its presence and activities there, and the embattled government is asking for Washington to include Libya in its international fight against the Islamic extremists.

    Top U.S. intelligence officials have publicly stated their concerns about IS expansion in North Africa, following the group’s ramping up of its public acts of mayhem. It has taken credit for the brazen attack on the Corinthia Hotel in Tripoli, which resulted in the death of 12 people including one American contractor. Lieutenant General Vincent Stewart, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, told the House Armed Services Committee this week that "with affiliates in Algeria, Egypt, Libya, the group is beginning to assemble a growing international footprint that includes ungoverned and under-governed areas."

    That’s no surprise to the internationally recognized Libyan government in Tobruk, which has been battling IS in several Libyan cities, including Benghazi. (It is also in a civil war against a rival government in Tripoli, the capital, under Prime Minister Omar al-Hassi.) A top Tobruk government representative told U.S. officials during a visit to Washington this week that IS expansion in Libya is much worse than what is publicly understood.

    “We are seeing an exponential growth of ISIS in Libya,” Aref Ali Nayed, Libya’s ambassador to the United Arab Emirates told me in an interview. “Libya, because of its resources, has become the ATM machine, the gas station, and the airport for ISIS. There is an unfortunate state of denial about all of this, and that is the most dangerous thing.”...................

    http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-02-04/islamic-state-tightens-its-grip-on-shaky-libya

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Letter From Tobruk

      ISIL’s Rise in Libya

      The country’s descent into chaos is getting harder for the United States to ignore.

      By CHRISTOPHER STEPHEN

      January 29, 2015

      The Islamic State announced its arrival in Libya in brutal fashion this week with the slaying of an American contractor in a suicide attack on a Tripoli hotel, an act that will make it harder for Washington to continue ignoring the conflict and chaos raging in this North African country.

      Until now the United States and the European Great Powers have been content to look the other way as Libya had descended into violence and anarchy. Four years ago, NATO bombed the rebels to victory in their war against Muammar Qadhafi, then packed its bags and left the country to its own devices. It’s remained off the Washington radar, even as threats in places like Syria and Iraq have commanded top-level attention and media headlines.

      The rapid growth of ISIL may now change that equation rapidly.................

      http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/01/isils-rise-in-libya-114742.html?hp=m1#.VNKhni6PrIV

      Delete
  23. Pentagon study claims Putin has Asperger's.............Drudge

    ReplyDelete
  24. Jordan carries out air strikes in Iraq, killing 55 IS militants

    Strike comes just hours after Amman vowed to step up role in US-led coalition against jihadists

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Jordanian air force carried out air strikes against Islamic State targets in Mosul, killing 55 including a top IS commander known as the "Prince of Nineveh," Iraqi media reported Wednesday.

      The strikes came just hours after Jordan's King Abdullah II vowed a "severe" response to IS after it burned alive a Jordanian fighter pilot captured in Syria.

      "The blood of martyr Maaz al-Kassasbeh will not be in vain and the response of Jordan and its army after what happened to our dear son will be severe," the king said in a statement released by the royal court.

      Abdullah held talks with senior military and security officials Wednesday after cutting short a trip to Washington following IS's release of a video showing Kassasbeh's killing.

      Information Minister Mohammad al-Momani told AFP Amman was "more determined than ever to fight the terrorist group Daesh," using an Arabic acronym for IS, after the brutal murder of its airman.

      According to Reuters, a government spokesman said that Jordan will step up its role in the US-led coalition against IS militants, with . . . . . . . . .

      See your one; raise you 54

      Delete

    2. A
      n Islamic State commander and a number of his escorts have reportedly been killed in a coalition air strike on the road to Akashat in Iraq's northwestern Anbar Province.

      An RFE/RL correspondent in Iraq named the militant as Abu Hajer al-Shimmary and reported that he and six of his companions had been killed near Akashat as they traveled from Syrian territory via the Al-Qaim border post. Akashat is around 150 kilometers southwest of Al-Qaim.

      The United Arab Emirates news website alkhaleej.ae also reported on February 4 that an IS militant named Hajer al-Shimmary had been killed near Akashat, citing a security source in Anbar Province. The source said that five of Shimmary's companions had been killed in the strike.

      Other reports said that coalition strikes this week have also killed . . . . .

      And, Another One, And, Another One, And, Another One Bites The Dust

      Delete
    3. Good for the King of Jordan.

      Delete
  25. The Opinion Pages | Op-Ed Contributor
    How Iraq Subsidizes Islamic State

    By AKI PERITZFEB. 4, 2015

    The Islamic State generates all sorts of funds to power its terrorist empire — by smuggling oil, imposing taxes from the locals, plundering archaeological treasures and ransoming hostages. But there’s one major source of revenue that often goes unmentioned: funds earmarked for Iraqi civil servants.............

    http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/05/opinion/how-iraq-subsidizes-islamic-state.html?_r=0

    ReplyDelete
  26. From my 'Southern Savages' File -

    Cops: Man Killed Five Small Alligators To Make Gator Tail Dinner For Super Bowl Party

    A Florida man trapped and killed five small alligators so that he could prepare a gator tail dinner for Super Bowl Sunday, according to fish and wildlife officials.

    Richard Nixie, 30, was arrested Sunday--two hours before the football game even began--and charged with illegally taking the alligators, according to court records.

    When questioned by investigators, Nixie reportedly confessed to “taking/killing five small alligators less than 5’ in length,” according to a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission statement, which adds that Nixie also copped to “subsequently cutting their tails off for Super Bowl dinner.”

    Nixie planned to enjoy the gator tail feast in his home in DeBary, a city 25 miles north of Orlando.

    Seen in the above mug shot, Nixie was briefly booked into the Volusia County jail, from which he was released around 8 PM Sunday after posting $500 bail. He is scheduled for a March 3 court hearing on the misdemeanor charge.

    http://www.thesmokinggun.com/buster/alligator/super-bowl-alligator-slaughter-786423

    ReplyDelete
  27. Jeb may be onto something with his Detroit idea -

    >>>Past Bush Comments Shock Conservatives:

    'Not possible' to 'completely control border'...

    'Repopulate' Detroit with immigrants...

    'Ridiculous' not to give 'accelerated citizenship' to young illegals.......Drudge<<<

    ReplyDelete
  28. And -

    CARSON: Vaccines Essential Due to Open Borders......Drudge

    He's my guy.

    So far I've only seen one Republican - Huckabee - who may be a little wishy washy on vaccines.

    ReplyDelete
  29. It just occurred to me that the Jordanian Strike in Mosul is the first air strike in Iraq by an Arab state.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Upped the ante, they did...

      The Iranians have been reported flying in support of the Iraqis, but the Iranians are not really Arabs.
      Wonder if the Jordanians were coordinating with Baghdad?

      Delete
    2. Seems likely, doesn't it? :)

      Delete
    3. Baghdad has, previously, been very adamant about "No Arab Air Forces bombing in their country."

      Delete
    4. Is "very" adamant redundant?

      Delete
  30. .

    If we are giving aid to any Arab state in the ME it should be Jordan.

    They are our best ally in the ME. Whatever we ask of them they accommodate. Yet, they are buried in a sea of refugees that is pocked with cells from the various terrorist organizations. They have an internal insurgency trying to change the government and the monarchy. They are surrounded by numerous states that are in conflict. And they don't have the resources to cope with it all.

    Hopefully, they will survive.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  31. Relations between Jordan and Iran were strained immediately following the establishment of the Islamic Republic due to the Hashemite Kingdom’s close relationship with the Pahlavi monarchy of Iran. Ties between the two states were most severely damaged, however, by Jordan’s support for Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq War, 1980-1989. After Saddam Hussein invaded Iran in 1980, Iraq significantly increased its economic assistance to Jordan, and in 1981 an Iraqi-Jordanian Joint Committee for Economic and Technical Cooperation was established. That same year Iran and Jordan officially severed diplomatic ties. Jordan’s support for Saddam Hussein’s military effort was significant, and included providing Iraq with a volunteer force of fighters, giving Iraq access to the strategic port of Aqabah for the transport of military supplies, and publicly supporting Saddam Hussein while condemning the Islamic Republic.[1]

    Iran and Jordan resumed diplomatic ties in 1991, though relations between the two states have been slow to recover and each maintains grievances against the other. Iran appointed Ahmed Dastmalchian its first ambassador to Jordan in 1991. Dastmalchian is reported to have helped establish the terrorist organization Hezbollah, which operates illegally in Jordanian territory.[2] In 1994, tensions flared when Jordan signed a peace treaty with Israel.[3] That same year hostilities escalated when Jordan expelled 21 Iranian diplomats shortly after a high-ranking Jordanian diplomat was killed in Syria-controlled West Beirut, Lebanon.[4] Iranian officials were frustrated by the Hashemite Kingdom’s tolerance of Mujahedin-e Khalq’s presence in Jordan in the 1990s while Jordanian officials have been troubled by Iran’s interference in the domestic affairs of Arab states.[5][6] Jordan’s recent request to join the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), an organization that has been at odds with the Islamic Republic since its creation in 1981 and acts as a security umbrella for the Persian Gulf, indicates that Jordan’s government remains wary of Iran’s hegemonic regional ambitions.

    Jordanian officials have been largely supportive of Iran’s right to develop a peaceful nuclear program. Jordan’s King Abdullah II has publicly opposed any military strike against Iran, advocating a diplomatic solution to the conflict instead. Abdullah has also linked Iran’s nuclear program to the Arab-Israeli conflict, suggesting that Iran would not pursue a nuclear program if there were peace between Israel and Palestine. Jordan has taken steps to develop its own nuclear program and has therefore been reluctant to criticize regional states from pursuing peaceful atomic energy.

    Economic ties between Jordan and Iran have been extremely limited as a result of their troubled diplomatic relationship.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Report: Iran, Jordan to exchange ambassadors
    Relations appear to be warming after Iranian foreign minister's visit to Amman last month.
    By Haaretz | Feb. 4, 2014 | 3:42 PM |


    After six years of chilly relations, Iran and Jordan have decided to exchange ambassadors this month, news outlets in the two countries reported this week.

    The Islamic Republic appointed Mojtaba Ferdosipour as its new ambassador in Amman, while Jordan intends to name Ahmad al-Jawarnah as its new envoy to Iran, according to reports.

    Ferdosipour is expected in Amman next week, the Iranian news agency Tasnim reported, citing other sources.

    The diplomatic exchange follows a visit to Amman last month by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. He met with Jordan's King Abdullah, as well as the country's foreign and prime ministers, according to Al-Monitor.

    The brief visit included a discussion of the Syrian civil war and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and Zarif expressed Iran's eagerness to work with Jordan on various regional and security issues, Al-Monitor reported.

    Zarif, meanwhile, told German television on Monday that Iran would not rule out recognizing Israel after an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.

    "Once the Palestinian problem is solved, the conditions for an Iranian recognition of Israel will be possible," Zarif said, according to i24 News.

    ReplyDelete
  33. in an interview this week, Hadi al-Amiri, the founder and leader of Iraq’s oldest and most powerful Shiite militia, the Badr Organization, told me the U.S. ambassador recently offered air strikes to support the Iraqi army and militia ground forces under his command. This has placed the U.S. in the strange position of deepening an alliance with the Islamic Republic of Iran for its war against Islamic extremists.

    Late last year, the U.S. formally committed to train and equip three divisions of the Iraqi army. While some senior U.S. officials have had positive words for Iran’s role in the fight against Islamic State warriors, official U.S. policy is to support the integration of Iraq’s sectarian militias into the Iraqi Security Forces.

    In Diyala Province northeast of Baghdad, however, it’s the other way around. On a tour of areas recently liberated from Islamic State control, General Ali Wazir Shamary told me that ultimately his orders came through a chain of command that originated with Amiri. In other words, the Iraqi army is integrating into Amiri’s Badr Organization in Diyala as opposed to integrating the militias into the army.

    From his headquarters, Amiri affirmed Shamary’s statement about the chain of command. “Abadi has put me charge of this area, the Diyala area,” he said, referring to the Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. He said the police and the army in the province ultimately report to him.

    Amiri, a white haired fighter with darting and youthful eyes, helped found what was then called the Badr Corps in Iran in 1982, along with a collection of Iraqi Shiites loyal to the Hakim Shiite clerical dynasty. While the group has at times since the fall of Saddam Hussein been relatively cooperative with the U.S., it also has always had very strong ties to Iran, and particularly Iran’s elite Quds Force.

    When asked about the commander of the Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani, Amiri said he meets with him whenever he is Baghdad. “He advises us. He offers us information, we respect him very much,” he said.

    Asked to elaborate, Amiri said Soleimani’s experience fighting Islamic State warriors in Syria was invaluable. “No country has experience like Iran in dealing with terrorists,” he said about the country the U.S. State Department considers the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. He added that Lebanon’s Hezbollah has also provided the Badr Organization with important lessons learned from fighting Israel and Sunni jihadists in Lebanon and Syria.

    http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-02-03/exclusive-iran-s-militias-are-taking-over-iraq-s-army

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A very interesting development. that dovetails nicely with the above Bloomberg reportage.

      Delete
    2. Amiri told me that late last month he met with U.S. ambassador Stuart Jones at his home, where the ambassador made the offer of U.S. air support to his ground campaign.

      “He told me, frankly speaking, ‘We are ready to offer back up in air strikes for the volunteers,’ ” Amiri said, using the term many militia leaders use to refer to the fighters under their command. Amiri said he thanked Jones for the offer, but told him he worried the U.S. Air Force could make a mistake and end up hitting his men instead of the Islamic State.

      When asked about the meeting, a spokesman for the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, Jeffrey Loree, told me:
      “We don’t confirm the details of our conversations. Our policy is that we support the ISF with air strikes and we have urged that the militias be under the command and control of the ISF.”

      Delete
  34. From Iranian Press TV

    Iran has, in the strongest terms, condemned as “inhumane and un-Islamic” the ruthless killing of a Jordanian pilot by the ISIL Takfiri terrorist group.

    Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham on Wednesday said all those sponsoring terrorist groups must be held accountable for the tragedy and similar crimes.

    Underlining the need to put an end to double standards on terrorism, Afkham called for a firm response to all acts of crimes committed by the ISIL terrorist group.

    The Iranian official also extended condolences to the Jordanian government and nation as well as the family of the victim.

    On Tuesday, ISIL released a video online showing the Takfiri terrorists set alight Jordanian pilot Moaz al-Kassasbeh who had been taken hostage in December.

    The video showed Kassasbeh dressed in an orange jumpsuit and surrounded by flames of fire inside a metal cage.

    The pilot was captured by ISIL militants in December when his plane came down in northern Syria, during a mission against the terrorist group.

    Jordan has vowed "punishment and revenge" for the killing of the 26-year-old pilot.

    Just hours after the video emerged, Amman executed two ISIL-linked militants.

    AR/NN/HRB

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Iran has, in the strongest terms, condemned as “inhumane and un-Islamic” the ruthless killing of a Jordanian pilot by the ISIL Takfiri terrorist group.

      Does this mean Iran will stop burying young women up to their heads and stoning them for adultery?

      Naw....

      Just good press.

      Delete
    2. Two gay men in Iran have been sentenced to death by stoning for taking part in and taping homosexual acts, the International Committee Against Stoning (ICAS) says.

      “According to the news we have received Ayub and Mosleh, 20 and 21 years old, are in danger of execution by stoning in the city of Piranshahr in the province of Kurdistan,” ICAS says in a posting on its website. The group says the men filmed themselves engaging in homosexual acts — video that included pictures of Iranian President Ahmadinejad — and government officials somehow discovered that video (which the men had uploaded to their phones).

      “We call on people everywhere to spread the news of the inhuman and medieval act against Ayub and Mosleh and do whatever they can to save them,” ICAS writes.

      ICAS has had some success in campaigning against stonings. The group was one of the leading voices calling for a stay when Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani faced the same sentence for allegedly cheating on, and killing, her husband. The stoning was eventually canceled, however Ashtiani could still face death by hanging.

      In Ashtiani’s case, Iranian officials found justification for her stoning in Islamic law.

      “We must stand against stoning in Piranshahr,” ICAS says.


      Delete
    3. In Kurdistan?
      They are stoning gays in Kurdistan!

      Robert !
      Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson !

      What in the world is going on in your adopted piece of Islamic Nirvana, you know Kurdistan?

      Delete
  35. Hot off the wire

    0
    NEWS MIDDLE EAST
    Syria to Jordan: Help us fight ISIS and al-Qaeda


    The United States has said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad cannot be a partner in the fight against ISIS. (File photo: Reuters)
    Text size A A A
    Reuters, Beirut
    Wednesday, 4 February 2015
    Syria urged Jordan to work with it to fight ISIS and al-Qaeda's Syria wing, condemning what it described as the "heinous" killing of a Jordanian pilot by militants, Syria's state news agency SANA said on Wednesday.

    The Syrian foreign ministry called on Jordan, which is part of a U.S.-led aerial campaign against ISIS, "to cooperate in the fight against terrorism represented by the organization Daesh and Nusra Front ... and other terrorist organizations associated with them in Syria and the region."

    Daesh is a Arabic acronym for ISIS and Nusra Front is al-Qaeda's Syria wing. Both have seized land in Syria. The United States has said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad cannot be a partner in the fight against ISIS.


    Last Update: Wednesday, 4 February 2015 KSA 14:00 - GMT 11:00

    ReplyDelete
  36. No need for US troops on the ground, when the locals are all so capable of doing their fighting themselves.

    The Jordanians are Sunni Muslims, for the most part. Just like most of the people in Anbar, Iraq which borders Jordan.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. From my "Another one bites the dust" link, above:

      Anbar Tribes Form New Anti-IS Coalition

      Tribes in the beleaguered Anbar Province have formed a new coalition to fight the Islamic State group, the pan-Arab outlet Asharq Al-Awsat reported on February 3.

      The report cited the head of Anbar's Albu Fahd tribe, Rafi Abdul Karim al-Fahdawi, as saying that the tribes had declared a "general call to a joint tribal alliance" to fight the militant group. The new alliance has been named Hilf al-Fudul (League of the Virtuous) after the 7th-century alliance that formed in Mecca and which included the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, in order to ensure the rights of the weak and strangers against the powerful.

      According to Asharq Al-Awsat, more than 3,000 members of the Albu Fahd tribe have joined the alliance, which tribal leader Fahdawi said aimed to unite the tribes "to fight [the Islamic State group] which is wreaking havoc in our province."

      Delete
    2. 4JUL2015, odds are looking better every day.

      {;-)

      Delete
    3. If there are any "fireworks" in Iraq on July 4, it won't be the Dead Men Walking shooting them off. :) :)

      Delete
    4. ...at a minimum it will be a safe bet that by July 4 it will be Dead Men Hauling Ass

      Delete
    5. :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) ;) :) :) :) :) :)

      Delete

  37. Iraq asks UAE to remove Badr Organization and Sadr militia from terror list

    Iraqi human rights minister says group part of government efforts against ISIS

    Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat—Iraq has asked the Emirati government to remove an influential Shi’ite political party and its militia from its list of terrorist organizations.

    Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on Tuesday, Iraq’s minister for human rights, Mohammed Mahdi Al-Bayati, said that the Iraqi government had asked Abu Dhabi to reconsider its decision to blacklist the Badr Organization led by Iraq’s former transport minister Hadi Al-Ameri.

    The minister said that Baghdad had made the same request regarding the Saraya Al-Salam (Peace Brigades), which is part of the movement led by populist Shi’ite cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr.

    Both militias have joined what has become known as “the popular mobilization forces,” an umbrella of anti-ISIS groups formed in response to Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani’s call to protect Iraq’s Shi’ite shrines from the attacks from the Sunni radical organization.


    http://www.aawsat.net/2015/02/article55341129

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Badr Organization

      Human Rights Watch (HRW) Iraq researcher Erin Evers said the Badr Organization was guilty of "systematic" abuses. “The allegations range from the Badr Brigade kidnapping and summarily executing people,” she said, “to expelling Sunnis from their homes, then looting and burning them, in some cases razing entire villages.”

      Delete

  38. The Jordanian Air Force has 46 each of the F16AM (C) Fighting Falcon multirole fighter and 25 each of the Bell AH-1F Cobra attack helicopter. These could provide close air support to the Iraqi militias that don't trust US. The Cobras being more than capable in fulfilling that CAS role.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Or in Syria, in support of the Syrian Army. Although the F16's would b more likely, there. There being a lot of hostile ground to cover for the Cobras to reach the Syrian Army combatants, from Jordan.

      Delete
    2. For the F16 armaments in the CAS role
      ... the Hughes AGM-65G Maverick air-to-surface missile for ground attack missions, with the LAU-3, Mk 82 and Mk 84 also staying in service in the near future.

      Delete
    3. Mk 82 and BLU-111/B:
      The Mk 82 is a streamlined steel bomb casing containing is a streamlined steel casing containing 192 lbs Tritonal high explosive. The Mk 82 is offered with a range of fin kits, fuzes and retarders for various purposes. When loaded with PBXN-109 thermally insensitive explosives, the bomb is designated BLU-111/B. The Mk 82 and BLU-111/B are used with the GBU-12 Paveway laser guided bombs and the GBU-38 JDAM.

      Mk 84 (BLU-117):
      The Mk 84 or BLU-117 is a 2,000-pound hard target penetrator bomb - the largest of the Mark 80 series of bombs. The warhead is used on the GBU-31 JDAM weapon system.

      Delete
  39. .

    Brian Williams faces fierce mockery after recanting Iraq war story

    NBC News anchor Brian Williams faced swift, and often harsh and sarcastic, reaction Wednesday after he recanted a story that he was aboard an Army helicopter that was hit with enemy fire in Iraq and forced to land.

    The longtime NBC News journalist apologized in an interview with Stars & Stripes, saying he had “misremembered” what happened. He was actually in another nearby helicopter.

    “I would not have chosen to make this mistake,” Williams told the newspaper. “I don’t know what screwed up in my mind that caused me to conflate one aircraft with another.”

    The story drew immediate scorn online, where critics, including veterans, questioned how it would have been possible to make that mistake. The incident, said to have occurred during the early days of the Iraq war in 2003, drew new scrutiny...


    http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2015/02/04/brian-williams-faces-fierce-mockery-after-recanting-iraq-war-story/?hpid=z2


    UPDATE: Hillary Clinton comes to Williams' defense.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  40. ISIS shouldn't have burned that poor fellow alive.

    Un-Islamic.

    They don't do cremation, and they don't burn people alive so I read.

    They have ticked a whole lot of people off.

    The July 4th'ers are grasping at Jordan entering into things.

    And indeed it does help.

    Wouldn't we rather have the King taking the lead than O'bozo?

    The odds however remain strong against the 4th'ers.

    July 4th, 2015 is only five months away.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The man who would rather see the U.S. lose a war

      than see a black President win one.

      Delete
    2. Fuck you.

      Obama is the cause of all this shit, but you won't admit it.

      We 'lost' the war when he pulled the troops out. Just like we will 'lose' in Afghanistan, "the war we must win".

      Take your accusations of racism and shove up your stinking stupid asshole.

      There are many many things I don't like about O'bozo, but being half black isn't one of them.

      Delete
    3. Yeah, you showed us that the night of Nov. 2, 2008, you racist hick.

      Delete
    4. Fuck off, you ignorant bleep bleep.

      You would would fight for Hamas.

      Always blaming whitey first.

      Always passing gas.

      Delete
    5. You excoriate the President for abiding by the treaty that the previous President negotiated, and signed.

      That's a heavy load of hate that you're carrying around, asshole.

      Delete
    6. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    7. Ash Sun Oct 19, 08:18:00 PM EDT

      bobal said...
      It's a matter of race, showing lack of character.

      Colon Powell, a step and fetch nigger all along

      bobal said...

      Colon Powell is a black piece of shit.

      bobal said...

      Colon Powell is a black piece of shit, selling out the enlightenment.

      bobal said...
      Colon Powell is a black piece of shit.

      I'm finished.

      bobal said...

      Colon Powell is a black piece of shit.

      bobal said...

      Powell is a black racist, like the others.

      bobal said...
      Colin Powell served as a kitchen nigger,

      bobal said...

      All the Aryans came from southern
      California, and elsewhere.

      You are a smart ass bitch.

      bobal said...
      We're not talking about McCain today, we are trying to understand a black piece of crap.

      bobal said...
      He lugged water for W.

      Now, he is sucking Obama's dick.

      Black piece of crap.


      Colin Powell is a black piece of crap.


      Colin Powell is a black piece of crap.


      Well, I'm taking a shower, and going for a walk, and don't take back anything I've said




      You want to know the truth bobal, I've been wondering, seriously, about you these last few weeks. You seem like such a nice guy but my respect for you collapased before today. And now, after seeing your recent posts, my opinion is cemented - you are fuckin' demented. You are a fucked in the head dude. No kidding! Canada is NOT the place for you.

      Pasted from:
      http://2164th.blogspot.com/2008/10/obama-lied-ayers-connection-to-barack.html>

      Delete
    8. If I was a Palestinian, trapped in Gaza, damned right I'd be wearing the local colors.

      Delete
    9. That "Way Back" Machine can be a bitch. :)

      Delete
    10. There is lots more of that type of material.
      "O"rdure calling for nuking threats, quite preemptively ...

      And the business theory espoused, straight out of the Madoff School

      {;-)

      Delete
  41. This is enough to cause one to say "God Bless The King!"

    >>> Jordan’s King Abdullah ibn al-Hussein, who has trained as a pilot, may fly a bomber himself on Thursday in the country’s retaliation against the ISIS.

    Several Arabic-language newspapers reported late Wednesday that the monarch would personally participate in bombing raids on the terrorist group, citing his vow Tuesday to “strike them in their strongholds.”

    The king was in Washington when news broke Tuesday of pilot Muadh al-Kasasbeh’s demise at the hands of ISIS extremists. Meeting with the House Armed Services Committee shortly before leaving for Amman, he reportedly quoted the Clint Eastwood’s film “Unforgiven” and said that Jordan would pursue the jihadis until it ran “out of fuel and bullets.”<<<


    Too good to check: Angry Jordanian king may personally suit up against ISIS
    posted at 10:01 pm on February 4, 2015 by Mary Katharine Ham

    http://hotair.com/archives/2015/02/04/too-good-to-check-angry-jordanian-king-may-personally-suit-up-against-isis/


    If the King should be captured, or killed, what the hell happens then ??

    ReplyDelete
  42. I think he will be well escorted.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There won't be an Osprey left in Kuwait. :)

      Delete
    2. No doubt.

      Still it is chancy.

      But great photo op......

      Delete
    3. It is what "Real" Kings do, Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson.

      He is not thinking of photo ops.
      He does not run for election. He leads from the front.

      You would not know about that kind of thing, but the King surely does.

      Delete
    4. Richard I was not the "Lionheart" because he stayed in the 'Situation Room'.

      Delete
    5. Kings always think of 'photo-ops' even the good ones.

      Read your Shakespeare, Criminal Dead Beat Dad bleep bleep.

      Delete
    6. They should show themselves rarely, but when they do, only in the 'best of circumstances' according to the Bard, Criminal bleep bleep.

      This fits the bill.

      The King, who is really not so 'legitimate', should take advantage of the opportunity........

      Delete
  43. February 4, 2015
    Does ISIS risk blowback, or is there a plan?
    By Thomas Lifson

    The airwaves are full of talking heads telling us that ISIS has made a mistake in posting the horrific video of the burning alive of Jordanian pilot Muath Al-Kassasbeh. The theory is that this may be a turning point, mobilizing not just Jordanian, but also Arab public opinion, and forcing President Obama to finally decide to do what it takes to not just contain, but to conquer ISIS.

    Maybe. I hope so. But it is worth considering what kind of strategy ISIS had in mind. After all, they have shown more propaganda sophistication than any other jihad group, and so far seem to be attracting adherents from all over the ummah rapidly, following the “strong horse” strategy first articulated by Osama bin Laden.

    One possibility, raised by Charles Krauthammer yesterday on FNC’s Special Report, is that they intend to goad King Abdullah of Jordan into committing troops to fighting ISIS, and then provoking his overthrow...............

    Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2015/02/does_isis_risk_blowback_or_is_there_a_plan.html#ixzz3QqCl0FCe
    Follow us: @AmericanThinker on Twitter | AmericanThinker on Facebook

    ReplyDelete
  44. CNN - ‎

    Washington (CNN) Several influential senior Democratic senators said on Wednesday they and other senators are considering boycotting an upcoming speech to Congress by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Childish and rat like.

      Delete
    2. Billie Boy wrote fiction, Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson, you need to read some history, the real world is so much more interesting, there is more depth, more shades of gray than Billy Boy ever could transcribe.

      Delete
  45. SCIENTISTS: Cockroaches have personalities.............Drudge

    What about rats ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Rat has your mind, your full attention, Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson.

      What more could an author hope for, then an audience so rapt in the rapture of the story.

      Delete
  46. The saga of a hybrid rat and cockroach?

    I doubt it.

    I think Bob's gone to bed.

    ReplyDelete