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."

Friday, January 13, 2017

The CIA has no Business Interjecting Itself in US Politics - It is a Rogue Organization That Needs to be Throttled

Trump revives attack on intel community in early morning Twitter burst

By Tara Haelle01/13/17 07:12 AM EST POLITICO

President-elect Donald Trump renewed his criticism of the intelligence community Friday morning, blaming it once again for leaking an unverified report containing compromising and salacious allegations about him to the media and citing the Russian government as proof that the dossier's allegations are false.

That report, which had circulated for months among government officials and media institutions, was published Tuesday evening in full by BuzzFeed, which cautioned that the information it contained was unverified and included multiple errors. BuzzFeed’s decision to publish that report, the product of a private security company paid to develop opposition research on Trump, came on the same day that CNN reported that a summary of it had been included in briefings delivered to both the president-elect and President Barack Obama.

“It now turns out that the phony allegations against me were put together by my political opponents and a failed spy afraid of being sued. Totally made up facts by sleazebag political operatives, both Democrats and Republicans - FAKE NEWS!” Trump said in a flurry of posts to Twitter Friday morning. “Russia says nothing exists. Probably released by ‘Intelligence’ even knowing there is no proof, and never will be. My people will have a full report on hacking within 90 days!”

The "failed spy" Trump refers to is the supposed author of the report, a former British M16 agent identified by the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and other media organizations as Christopher Steele. He is the director of a London-based intelligence company named Orbis Business Intelligence.

The president-elect continued to blame the intelligence community for leaking the report despite assurances from Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, who took the unusual step on Wednesday of releasing a statement reading out a phone call he placed to Trump. In that readout, Clapper said he told Trump that he didn't believe the intelligence community was behind the leak, has not made a judgment about the veracity of the report published by BuzzFeed and that such leaks are “extremely corrosive and damaging to our national security.”

A Russian government spokesman said Wednesday that the report amounted to “pulp fiction,” and that the Kremlin did not possess compromising information about Trump or his 2016 opponent, Hillary Clinton. The president-elect has repeatedly cited this assertion as proof that the claims are false.

Trump has promised to initiate a cybersecurity review immediately upon taking office with a report to be delivered to him within 90 days. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a longtime supporter of Trump's who works as a security consultant for foreign governments, said Thursday that he will head up that team.

104 comments:

  1. The CIA seems to have been backing Clinton, the Justice Department was in the tank for Clinton, the FBI was compromised and corrupted, the Press was cheer leading for Clinton, Clinton spent twice the money, and that's just the start of this Byzantine Tale....and everyone is worried about the Russians.

    I'm about to agree with those who say it was Divine Intervention....

    ReplyDelete
  2. I favor this -


    Cows Once as Big as Elephants May Soon Roam Europe

    Welcome back the aurochs, or something like it

    By Arden Dier, Newser Staff
    Posted Jan 10, 2017 11:23 AM CST
    Updated Jan 11, 2017 4:03 AM CST

    An illustration of the extinct aurochs. (Wikimedia)

    (NEWSER) – Standing nearly as tall as an elephant, the aurochs grazed for 250,000 years until its extinction in 1627. But its story may not end there: Scientists say they are close to resurrecting the "supercow," once the largest land mammal in Europe, reports CNN. In search of herbivores to maintain land areas at risk of becoming barren, geneticists began breeding aurochs descendants with similar cattle breeds in 2008 and found they could "produce animals far closer to the aurochs than we would have expected," says Ronald Goderie of the Tauros Project. Fourth-generation beasts have now been introduced in Croatia, Spain, Portugal, the Czech Republic, and Romania, with promising results.

    "We see progress not only in looks and behavior but also in de-domestication of the animals," says Goderie, noting one herd has learned to defend itself against wolves. The hope is that they will become part of the ecosystem to maintain land for other animals. But a rep for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature says it's unclear "whether primarily wetland forests like the aurochs used to inhabit still exist, whether it could negatively impact wild or domestic plants or animals, and if it might endanger people." Indeed, a British farmer had to kill some of his aurochs-descended cattle in 2015 because they tried to kill him, per the Independent. That species, however, came from a Nazi breeding program that used Spanish fighting cattle.

    (Tinder could save giant pandas from extinction.)

    http://www.newser.com/story/236611/cows-as-big-as-elephants-may-soon-roam-europe.html

    The ancient sport of bullfighting needs an excitement injection, and the aurochs are just the ticket.

    Even up the odds considerably.

    Take our minds off politics.

    And think of the meat for the Spanish poor....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. (You KNOW that Maria would simply INSIST that Q put on his 'Suit of Lights' again. I'd pay good pesos to see Q fight an auroch to the death)

      Delete
    2. (Hemingway wrote about Q in his "Death in the Afternoon" and "The Dangerous Summer".

      Delete
  3. William Peter Blatty..........dead.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Watch surprised Joe Biden get the medal of Freedom from Obama. Pretty cool.

    ReplyDelete
  5. .

    When will these guys learn?

    Nixon screwed himself when he recorded conversations outlining showing that he was indeed 'a crook'.

    Now, it appears Bibi Netanyahu has walked himself up the same type of cul-de-sac.

    Bibi is currently under investigation and being questioned with regard to issues that have the potential for charges graft, bribery, and quid pro quos. The latest instance involves the publisher of Yedioth Ahronoth, a paper that has been critical Bibi in the past. Yadioth Ahronoth had the largest distribution in Israel before Sheldon Adelson opened his 'free' paper Israel Hayom and replaced it at the top. Anyway, Bibi initiated the conversations with Yedioth Ahronoth and according to Bibi's own recordings offered to seek to limit Israel Hayom's reach (a number of alternatives were discussed).

    Bibi recorded the conversations to protect himself but it is unlikely any of these conversations would have come to light had Bibi not recorded them.

    Netanyahu hesitant to cross Sheldon Adelson (who Bibi calls 'the gingy') in secret deal)

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, what the hell, Sheldon is gingy.

      Gautama has it well in affirming that running casinos does not conduce to liberation.

      Delete
    2. (Gautama also had it in for advertisers)

      Delete
    3. (However he had it well for hard working farmers, not landlords, but hard working farmers, whose toil and persistence he thought excellent training towards the goal of beginning meditation)

      Delete
    4. .

      Don't you mean it's what you think he thought? Or, want to think he thought? It sounds awfully like a feeble attempt at confirmation bias (well other than that you a merely a faux farmer, I mean).

      Nothing he said was written down for five hundred years after he died. Prior to that it was all transmitted orally. There were many schools of Buddhism all with some differences in what they were teaching. Worse, among the monks in these various schools there were many Indian-majors, a group of particularly unreliable sources.

      When one school of Buddhism decided to finally write down the teachings, there was only one monk left who had memorized all of the 'teachings' and he was known as a particularly arrogant prick. He was a man who was considered a particularly unreliable source and was disliked almost as much as the Indian-majors and local farmers or 'hicksi' as they were known in India.

      .

      Delete
    5. :):)

      Buddhists have memories like rat traps. Never forget a thing, not even a heartbeat.

      I trust my sources.

      Delete
    6. From Gautama's lips to my ear to your eyes.

      Delete
    7. Gautama was of the opinion that being kind to animals, to one's pets, was conducive to liberation.

      You've got that going for you.

      Delete
    8. But you shouldn't torment other human being by withholding the new mutt's name, when you know so many wish fervently to hear the name.

      Delete
    9. Gautama would call such intentional tormenting of others 'wicked'.

      Delete
    10. .

      I trust my sources.


      Wayne?


      .

      Delete
    11. Yes, Wayne the Enlightened One

      There's a local legend here about young Wayne and the cow herd girls and moonlight and dancing, buts that's a matter for another time.

      Delete
    12. .

      Ah, yes, the cow herd girls. They were pips but really cute.

      .

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

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 12 degrees here this morning.

      Yesterday the fuel door on the car froze.

      Always carry a jack knife where ever you go.

      Delete

  7. Oikophobia on the rise after Trump win: Glenn Reynolds

    Glenn Harlan Reynolds Published 3:18 a.m. ET Jan. 13, 2017 | Updated 8 hours ago

    Irrational fear of fellow countrymen is spreading among America's ruling class.

    AP TRUMP CONGRESS BORDER WALL A FILE USA NY
    (Photo: Elise Amendola, AP)

    How crazy has the reaction to Trump’s impending presidency gotten? So crazy that Democratic operatives are scared of plumbers, and I don’t mean the Watergate kind.

    No, really. Ned Resnikoff, a “senior editor” at the liberal website ThinkProgress, wrote on Facebook that he’d called a plumber to fix a clogged drain. The plumber showed up, did the job and left, but Resnikoff was left shaken, though with a functioning drain. Wrote Resnikoff, “He was a perfectly nice guy and a consummate professional. But he was also a middle-aged white man with a Southern accent who seemed unperturbed by this week’s news.”

    This created fear: “While I had him in the apartment, I couldn’t stop thinking about whether he had voted for Trump, whether he knew my last name is Jewish, and how that knowledge might change the interaction we were having inside my own home.”

    When it was all over, Resnikoff reported that he was “rattled” at the thought that a Trump supporter might have been in his home. “I couldn’t shake the sense of potential danger.”

    Well. When people have irrational, exaggerated fears we call them phobias. We heard a lot during this year’s immigration debate about “xenophobia,” an exaggerated or irrational fear of foreigners. But this plumber wasn’t a foreigner. He was an American with an American regional accent who thought the American election had turned out okay. What do you call the irrational fear of an American, by an American?

    Roger Scruton coined the term “oikophobia” (from the Greed oikos for “home”) to describe the fear of one’s fellow countrymen. And there seems to be rather a lot of it among the gentry liberals who make up America’s ruling class....

    http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2017/01/13/donald-trump-class-rural-white-democrats-glenn-reynolds-column/96413412/

    ReplyDelete
  8. Michelle Malkin:

    "Obama's drool bucket media"

    :)

    On Hannity....

    ReplyDelete
  9. The Germans are really nuts these days. It comes and goes, usually comes....

    German appellate court: Firebombing of synagogue was “anti-Israel” criticism, not an anti-semitic attack
    POSTED AT 5:21 PM ON JANUARY 13, 2017 BY ALLAHPUNDIT

    By this logic, the Nazi era was one big “anti-Israel” protest. True, Israel didn’t exist yet, but the Nazis always did say they were ahead of their time.

    The original synagogue in this town, Wuppertal, burned on Kristallnacht. This building, attacked by three men of Palestinian ancestry with molotov cocktails in 2014, replaced it. Times change but the impunity stays the same:

    A German regional court in the city of Wuppertal affirmed a lower court decision last Friday stating that a violent attempt to burn the city’s synagogue by three men in 2014 was a justified expression of criticism of Israel’s policies…

    Three German Palestinians sought to torch the Wuppertal synagogue with Molotov cocktails in July, 2014. The local Wuppertal court panel said in its 2015 decision that the three men wanted to draw “attention to the Gaza conflict” with Israel. The court deemed the attack not to be motivated by antisemitism…

    The court sentenced the three men – the 31-year-old Mohamad E., the 26 year-old Ismail A. and the 20-year-old Mohammad A.—to suspended sentences.

    No one was injured and the property damage amounted to less than a thousand dollars, but it’s strange that attacking a place of worship with an incendiary device wouldn’t warrant a day in jail. Stranger, this decision can’t be chalked up to the fluky awfulness of one terrible judge. It was an appellate ruling, affirming the judgment of a lower court. Evidently, as a matter of law in Germany, attacking random Jews is a coherent expression of opposition to Israeli policy. Which is ironic, as Israel’s critics are normally emphatic in distinguishing anti-Zionism from anti-semitism. Just because you oppose settlements and believe that Palestinians deserve a right of return, the argument goes, doesn’t mean you wish ill on Jewish people generally. Until, that is, you’re hauled into court for throwing gasoline at a Jewish religious building, in which case anti-semitism morphs effortlessly into anti-Zionism for the defense. Imagine being a German Jew and hearing from the local court that, as far as the law’s concerned, you’re essentially an Israeli political agent. That wouldn’t be the first term Jews in that country have been told they’re not citizens the same way everyone else is. Between this and Merkel’s open-door policy, if you liked the old Germany, you’re going to love the new Germany a few decades from now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The president of the European Jewish Congress asked a good question:

      “This court decision can also lead to anarchy across Germany,” said Kantor, “because it provides a legal justification for the targeting of any minority, religion and nationality on the basis of a conflict that they could be in some way connected to because of religious or national ties. Is it possible that when Arabs are targeted by far-right groups, it could be claimed they are reacting to the bloodshed and violence in the Arab world? That of course would be absurd, but like in many other areas, there appears to be a separate rule when it comes to Jews and anti-Semitism.”

      The last thing the German government should want, given the friction between German natives and migrants, is a legal standard in which light sentences are handed out for throwing bombs at mosques so long as the defendant claims that he was merely protesting, say, Assad’s policies in Syria. But that’s what they’re looking at here — if not for the double standard for Jews and Israel, that is.

      http://hotair.com/archives/2017/01/13/german-appellate-court-firebombing-of-synagogue-was-anti-israel-criticism-not-an-anti-semitic-attack/

      No doubt Frau Merkel would approve.

      The oddest thing about this case, though, is that the severity of the sentence seems to turn so heavily on whether the motive is officially deemed “anti-semitic” or not. That’s sort of in keeping with U.S. hate-crime laws, where time is added to a sentence if the perpetrator targeted the victim because he’s a member of a protected class, but tossing a small bomb at a building would be deemed a serious crime whether or not an improper motive was proved at sentencing. Given the suspended sentences for the three perps, it’s as though the presence or absence of an anti-semitic motive determines whether it’s a serious crime at all. If they had thrown molotov cocktails at the Israeli consulate instead, would everything be jake?

      http://hotair.com/archives/2017/01/13/german-appellate-court-firebombing-of-synagogue-was-anti-israel-criticism-not-an-anti-semitic-attack/

      Frau Merkel would likely approve.

      Delete
    2. Israel and Judaism are not synonymous, Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson, thought we covered that salient reality here at the Elephant Bar years ago.

      Here is a piece of history that well illustrates that wanna-be Israeli were killing Jews, back before there was an "Israel" ...

      On Nov. 25, 1940, a boat carrying Jewish refugees from Nazi Europe, the “Patra,” exploded and sank off the coast of Palestine killing 252 people.

      The Zionist “Haganah” claimed the passengers committed suicide to protest British refusal to let them land. Years later, it admitted that rather than let the passengers go to Mauritius, it blew up the vessel for its propaganda value.



      For those Zionists, killing Jews when it served their cause, it presented no problem.

      Delete
    3. Your predictions about ISIS were dead WRONG, Jackass Dead Beat Dad.

      hahaha

      Still working on the super secret national security project off the coasts of Panama you told us all about ?

      HAHAHAHAHAHA

      There is no such project, never was such a project, and you were never a cattle rancher, either.

      What you are is a jew hating liar, and, that's it.

      Delete
    4. Short resume you got there, Jack -

      1) Dead Beat Dad

      2) Jew hating liar


      No wonder you're always unemployed.

      Delete

    5. Aleppo, Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson, there is the proof of the tasting.

      You always have been on the side of al-Qeada is Syria, just like your Zionist mentors.

      Israel’s Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren told the Jerusalem Post that Israel so wanted Assad out and his Iranian backers weakened, that Israel would accept al-Qaeda operatives taking power in Syria.

      “We always wanted Bashar Assad to go, we always preferred the bad guys who weren’t backed by Iran to the bad guys who were backed by Iran.”
      Even if the other “bad guys” were affiliated with al-Qaeda.


      http://www.jpost.com/Syria-Crisis/Oren-Jerusalem-has-wanted-Assad-ousted-since-the-outbreak-of-the-Syrian-civil-war-326328.

      Delete
  10. Question of the Day:

    Can Chelsea Manning be pardoned for crimes committed while 'she' was a man?
    January 14, 2017
    Or could Obama issue two pardons for Manning, one for each gender? More


    http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2017/01/can_chelsea_manning_be_pardoned_for_crimes_committed_while_she_was_a_man.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Quirkette once claimed to a Judge that she was innocent because the shop lifting had been done by a man.

      (Quirk was cross dressing during the trial)

      Can't recall how it all turned out, but Quirk wanted to borrow the money for the fines from me.

      Delete
  11. 9 degrees here this morning.

    Will this never end ?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Comedian and former talk-show host Rosie O'Donnell has a new idea for preventing President-elect Donald Trump from taking office — martial law.

    Hollywood hand-wringing over Mr. Trump’s Election Day victory was taken to a new level Wednesday night when Ms. O’Donnell told over 900,000 followers that she “fully” supported the imposition of martial law prior to Jan. 20.

    “I fully support imposing martial law — delaying the inauguration — until Trump is ‘cleared’ of all charges,” Ms. O’Donnell, who formerly co-hosted “The View” with Barbara Walters, tweeted.


    Everything Trump said about her was true.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Food Safety Tip:

    Eating 8 day old chicken that has endured various temperature regimes is not advised, and may result in involuntary hospitalization as well as involuntary explosive diarrhea.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Obama's drool bucket media"

    Matt Lauer was in tears when Barack Obama awarded Joe Biden the Presidential Medal of Freedom in a surprise ceremony Thursday.

    “I’m glad there were no cameras in my apartment yesterday because I was just sitting there weeping,” Lauer said Friday morning on the “Today” show. “I just burst out crying when I saw that moment.”

    ” It was incredible.”

    During the ceremony, Obama said Biden was like a brother to him.

    “For your lifetime of service that will endure through the generations, I’d like to ask the military to join us onstage,” Obama said Thursday. “For the final time as president, I am pleased to award you with the nation’s highest civilian honor: the Presidential Medal of Freedom.”

    http://dailycaller.com/2017/01/13/matt-lauer-burst-out-crying-when-obama-gave-biden-his-presidential-medal-of-freedom/#ixzz4VlwU76FJ

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. For a dude that NEVER did an honest day's work other than the time he spent electronically lynching Clarence Thomas.

      ===

      ...and spent a LIFETIME lying about his "working class background" after having been given a new Corvette Stingray by his "poor" father.

      Delete

    2. “For your lifetime of service that will endure through the generations, I’d like to ask the military to join us onstage,”


      Equal, nay, greater service by Obama's "standards"

      Delete


    3. ...and one of Obama's last opportunities to humiliate our military.

      Delete
  15. Glad you're back, Doug.

    Wanted to ask you if you'd ever driven through The Drive Through Sequoia down there in coastal California.

    It finally toppled over the other day, too much rain.

    I'd been through it twice, and it made me sad, knowing it's gone.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Dead Tree Standing

    It was not natural. Woodsman destroyed the tree when they hacked away its guts. It is an engineering marvel it lasted this long. It is sad that anything that lasted over a millenium was ever cut down at all. Yet, they were taken down by the millions.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I certainly agree.

      Some are 2000 years old, or more.

      Beautiful.

      Delete
  17. Atlanta 26

    Sea Sqawks 10

    3rd Quarter

    ReplyDelete
  18. John Brennan was the Station Chief in Pakistan when Obama was there, now he is the CIA Director.

    Interesting coincidence, aye ...

    ReplyDelete
  19. Tell us Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson ...

    Which Jews do you hate ... the ones that were on the "Patra" and were murdered or the radical Zionists that murdered them?

    Not much of a challenge for me, I hate the murderous Zionists, while mourning the loss to the world of those 252 Jewish refugees, murdered by the Zionists for propaganda purposes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. When you were personally killing civilians in the jungles of Central America as a paid MERC do you think the populations of those nations hate America for your actions?

      Delete
    2. Document those allegations, "O"rdure, if you can ...

      But, of course, you cannot.

      Delete

  20. Do you hate the murderous Zionists that attacked the USS Liberty, Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson, or do you excuse them their excesses, as all they did was murder US sailors on the high-seas?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I personally hate the ILLEGAL spying the NSA ordered and how they put a US ship in a war zone where they were directly ordered by the US president not to be there...

      Delete

    2. "O"rdure makes it clear, he hates the government of the United States of America.

      Delete
  21. Time to go back to your mom's basement, Dead Beat Dad.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. His mother is dead.

      His wife? Gone

      His child? He never knew.

      He is about drugs, Jew hating and guns.

      Delete
    2. Your conclusions are based upon false data points, "O"rdure.

      Your arguments usually are.
      Mine are based upon Israeli sources ...

      Age of child prostitutes in Israel dropping, report finds

      Knesset study cites cases of 11-year-olds used for commercial sex that are among the several thousands of teenagers involved in prostitution.

      By Vered Lee

      http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/.premium-1.542420

      "Spengler's Laws":
      "When a nation is reduced to selling its women, it's lost."

      hat tip: allen

      Delete
    3. It does seem obvious that "O"rdure approves of Zionists murdering Jews, for propaganda purposes ....

      But has repeatedly denied the possibility that Bibi would ever act as the “Haganah” did.

      Asking us to believe that Bibi is less committed to the Zionist "Cause" than his predecessors.

      That Bibi would never hold with the words of Moshe Sharett, a former Israeli Prime Minister, who said at a memorial service for the 252 murdered Jews from the "Patra".

      “Sometimes it is necessary to sacrifice the few in order to save the many,”

      Delete
    4. Evidence that came to light after Israel removed its gag order on information regarding the June 12 kidnapping and murder of three Jewish Israeli students suggests that it could have been an Israeli government operation that was intentionally used to punish Hamas and break up the new Palestinian unity government.

      Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had immediately accused Hamas of the kidnapping — without presenting any evidence — and proceeded to “conduct a search” throughout the entirety of the West Bank until the bodies were reportedly found on June 30th.

      The “search” entailed arresting and beating up about 600 Hamas members (including legislators) and trashing about 2100 homes; Israeli forces killed at least 7 Palestinians. Israel also heightened its daily air strikes on the Gaza Strip, which has been under the Israeli blockade since Sept. 2006. The Gaza government appealed to the UN for relief, which responded by condemning the kidnappings rather than the massive abuse of the Palestinian population. And then urging “all parties” to show restraint.

      On July 1, Israel removed a gag order on information about the kidnapping that revealed shocking facts:

      The Israeli government had informed members of the press around June 15th that it was aware that the students had been killed (1) but placed a gag order on that information: the government must thus have known where the bodies were. The brutal “search” was merely cover for punishment of members of Hamas, the democratically-elected party of Palestinians throughout the occupied territories. The Israeli media played along with the pretext for the abuse.

      The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) were only called in 8-9 hours after the first call to report the kidnapping. One of the students placed a call to the police emergency hotline 10 minutes after they accepted a hitchhiking ride home, with the message that he was being kidnapped. The statement was followed by what sounded like several gunshots, groans and silence; the call lasted for 49 seconds. Police ignored the call. The teen’s father called police 5 hours later, at 3:30 am, to report his son missing. “Several hours” after that, after an exchange of 54 phone calls, the IDF and Shin Bet finally became involved. (2)

      Despite possession of all of the evidence of the kidnappings and murders, the Israeli government has offered no evidence that indicates responsibility for the acts. Those with any direct connection to the phone calls or the finding of the bodies have remained unidentified.

      Prime Minister Netanyahu has used this event for huge political gain:

      to create divisions within the new “unity government” of Fatah and Hamas,

      to physically punish Hamas members and the cause of Palestinian resistance,

      to get legislation passed through the Knesset to block the return of East Jerusalem to Palestinians (1),

      to try to foment a third intifada to legitimate further attacks on Palestinians (1) and

      to whip up such hatred of Palestinians that it has become dangerous for them to be seen on Israeli streets.



      http://www.globalresearch.ca/were-the-three-settler-kidnappings-an-israeli-false-flag-operation/5389791

      Delete


    5. “Sometimes it is necessary to sacrifice the few in order to save the many,”


      Delete
  22. Soaring Falcons 36

    De-feathered Sea Sqawks 20

    Final

    ReplyDelete
  23. Are Humans Freaks of Nature?

    The small but significant gap between humans and other animals on Earth may shed light on why we see no alien visitors.

    Read more: http://www.airspacemag.com/daily-planet/are-humans-freaks-nature-180961785/#yEoIovcK86Xrtx4W.99
    Save 47% when you subscribe to Air & Space magazine http://bit.ly/NaSX4X
    Follow us: @AirSpaceMag on Twitter


    We're all freaks but some more than others.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Fox News - ‎

    China said Sunday that its one-China policy is “non-negotiable” after President-elect Donald Trump suggested that he might use American policy on Taiwan as a bargaining chip between the two sides.

    ReplyDelete

  25. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has advised possible victims of kidnappings at sea to avoid getting abducted. His comments came during a speech late Saturday, when he said he had ordered Philippine forces to bomb terrorists fleeing with their captives.

    Duterte’s comments were in response to series of kidnappings at sea — mostly by the local militant group Abu Sayyaf that has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group. He called the loss of civilian lives while bombing the terrorists a “collateral damage.”

    The 71-year-old president told the navy and the coast guard that “if there are kidnappers and they're trying to escape, bomb them all. They say ‘hostages.’ Sorry, collateral damage.” He said such a move would let the government get even with militants who demand ransom.

    “You can’t gain mileage for your wrongdoing, I will really have you blasted,” he said, advising potential captives “don’t allow yourselves to be kidnapped.”

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. https://www.yahoo.com/news/duterte-tells-forces-bomb-kidnappers-065546928.html

      Delete

  26. So Obama is beginning to telegraph a post-presidency different from George W. Bush, who largely receded from politics altogether after his eight years in office. Obama has said that he will press the Democratic Party to organize more effectively, from fielding strong candidates in school board and state legislative elections across the country to making sure the party's candidates campaign in more conservative areas.

    "I think that if Hillary Clinton had won the election, then I'd just turn over the keys," Obama told the New Yorker recently. "We'd make sure the briefing books were in order and out we go. I think now I have some responsibility to at least offer my counsel to those who will continue to be elected officials about how the DNC can help rebuild, how state parties and progressive organizations can work together."


    http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/barack-obama/obama-his-movement-prepare-challenge-president-trump-n704866

    ReplyDelete

  27. “Did this person live in this house or apartment one year ago?” Using this measure for 2013, about 147,000 Chinese immigrants came to the U.S., compared with 129,000 Indian immigrants and 125,000 Mexican immigrants. (The difference between the number of Indian and Mexican immigrants is not statistically significant.)

    By contrast, Mexico remains the world’s top source of newly arrived immigrants to the U.S. under a different American Community Survey question that asks, “When did this person come to live in the U.S.?” Under this measure, 246,000 Mexicans, 195,000 Chinese and 199,000 Indians arrived in the U.S. in 2013 and 2012. (We report two years because the 2013 arrivals represent only about half of the year given the way the data are collected.)

    Regardless of the exact number of new immigrants from each country arriving in the U.S. each year, the trends are clear:
    Over the past decade, immigration from China and India to the U.S. has increased steadily, while immigration from Mexico has declined sharply.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. http://www.pewhispanic.org/2015/11/19/more-mexicans-leaving-than-coming-to-the-u-s/


      Another unreported Obama success story, the decline in Mexican immigrants ?
      Or was it the shift in Mexican demographics, brought on by the "Walmarting" of Mexico?

      Delete
    2. .

      All statistics are subject to manipulation. Not denying there has bee a major reduction in the amount of immigrants from Mexico (we hear the same from many sources); however, giving Obama too much credit for it is probably a bit precipitous. For instance, prior to the Obama administration, the statistics on deportation of illegal aliens did not count people who were detained at the border and turned right around and told to go back. Under Obama, those people are counted which greatly inflates the deportation number vis a vis past administrations.

      .

      Delete
  28. Growth of U.S. Latino population slows, study finds, due to falling ...
    www.foxnews.com/.../growth-us-latino-population-slows-study-finds-due-t...
    Sep 8, 2016 - The Hispanic growth rate was lower in the most recent years studied, from 2010 to ... Franco, of Entre Latinos, said he thinks the declining birthrate is a result of ... For example, in 2014 Catholic nuns from Mexico were sent to North Dakota to ... to see a return of higher rates of immigration and increase births.
    More Mexicans Leaving Than Coming to the U.S. | Pew Research ...
    www.pewhispanic.org/.../more-mexicans-leaving-than-coming-to-the-u-s...
    Nov 19, 2015 - Between 2009 and 2014, about 140000 more Mexican immigrants ... which ask immigrants living the U.S. their country of birth and the ... The decline in the flow of Mexican immigrants to the U.S. is due to several reasons (Passel et al, 2012). The slow recovery of the U.S. economy after the Great Recession ...
    Latino Population Growth and Dispersion in U.S. Slows Since the ...
    www.pewhispanic.org/.../latino-population-growth-and-dispersion-has-sl...
    Sep 8, 2016 - A decline in Hispanic birth rates and the pace of immigration from Latin ... U.S. Latino Population Growth and Dispersion Has Slowed Since Onset of the ... And, in the case of Mexico, immigration has now reversed back toward ...
    Mexican Immigration to U.S. Slowed Significantly, Report Says - The ...
    www.nytimes.com/.../mexican-immigration-to-united-states-slows.html
    Apr 23, 2012 - Pew Report on the Decline in Mexican Immigration ... deportations by the American authorities; and a long-term decline in birth rates in Mexico.
    Mexico's population: When the niños run out - The Economist
    www.economist.com/node/15959332
    Apr 22, 2010 - A falling birth rate, and what it means. ... The UN reckons that from 2040 the birth rate in Mexico will be the lower of the two. The fall follows a government u-turn ... Arizona's immigration law: Hysterical nativismApr 22nd 2010.

    Some are going home to take care of their old folks.

    Some people have that ethic.....one takes care of mom and pop, daughters and sons....

    ReplyDelete
  29. One of the most successful immigrant groups to USA are the Hindus....they head into the professions.

    ReplyDelete
  30. I love the term dossier. Quick's always got six or seven dossiers hanging around for various purposes.

    The Trump Dossier Puts the Deep State in Deep Doo-Doo
    Clarice Feldman
    The intelligence community's clown car gets a flat. More


    http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2017/01/the_trump_dossier_puts_the_deep_state_in_deep_doodoo.html

    All men of substance have whole files filled with dossiers, and Quirk is no exception.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sample: Quirk's Dossiers

      1) Avaiable women
      2) Cases pending
      3) Cases on appeal
      4) Judgements
      5) Fines owning
      5) Probation terms: various
      6) Time served
      7) Probation Officers
      etc etc

      Delete
    2. 8) New Product Introductions
      9) Advertising Scheduling

      Delete
  31. .

    Jack HawkinsSun Jan 15, 12:32:00 PM EST

    Evidence that came to light after Israel removed its gag order on information regarding the June 12 kidnapping and murder of three Jewish Israeli students suggests that it could have been an Israeli government operation that was intentionally used to punish Hamas and break up the new Palestinian unity government.


    I disagree with this comment. I doubt, as the comment implies, that the Israeli government had any culpability in the initial crime, the kidnapping and murder of the three boys. However, one thing we can be sure of is Bibi is not going to let anything he sees as an opportunity go by if he can turn it to his own advantage.

    There is no denying the truth of the other facts cited in the article, the campaign against Hamas, bombing runs against Gaza prior to the start of the war, and the manipulation and ginning up of war fever among the Israeli population over the three weeks leading to the war. What isn't mentioned in the article s the callous disregard of the families of the three dead boys. The Israeli authorities knew immediately, at the time of the killings, that the boys were dead; yet they kept offering hope to the boys' families that they were alive for propaganda purposes.

    What is also not mentioned in the article is the background leading up to Bibi's decisions.

    In the spring of 2014, Kerry's efforts at a peace plan were falling apart. There had been no progress at all with either side. As part of the deal, Israel was supposed to turn over Palestinian prisoners in two lots at specific dates. Bibi refused to follow through on the second group. The Palestinians for their part, were threatening to abandon the bilateral negotiations and continue plans for moving their case to the UN.

    Then the PA and Hamas decided to form a joint government. Bibi went batshit crazy and cut off funds (PA tax revenue that Israeli was collecting for it under the Oslo agreements) to the PA.

    It's easy to say, 'well, you can see why Israel would do it'; yet, there are a couple things to remember.

    1. At the time of the agreement, Hamas was broken. They were on the outs with everyone. They had no money or influence. They couldn't pay the salaries of the Gaza administration. At that point, they were willing to sign up to an agreement with the PA because they had no other choice. Reportedly, as part of the agreement, Hamas agreed to an arrangement where they were the junior partner. They agreed to accept the PA positions on most things including recognition of the State of Israel. The PA would also have administrative control with PA officials taking over key positions in Gaza.

    2. Why did the agreement upset Bibi? He said it was because Hamas is a terrorist organization and he could never negotiate with a government that included them. No doubt this was true from his perspective. Yet, as with the Colombian government and FARC, if you have been fighting a war with people for 35 years and more, if you want an agreement you are going to have to sit down at a table with people you despise on the other side.

    However, that would assume Bibi really wanted an agreement under his watch. His past comments and actions would indicate he didn't. Besides, the PA/Hamas agreement screwed up one of Bibi's main talking points. As the Kerry round was falling apart, Bibi kept repeating the same mantra, 'there is no hope for an agreement when the man he is negotiating with, Abbas, does not represent ALL of the Palestinian
    people. The Palestinian agreement kind of shot that argument in the ass.

    And then came the murders in June, a tragedy. No doubt Bibi saw it that way. But he also saw it as an opportunity to sow dissent between the PA and Hamas and to once again mow the grass.

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is necessary to periodical mow the grass.

      Then the yard is well tended.

      Delete
    2. periodically

      Then the yard is well tended, and the people are happy.

      Delete
    3. There is not going to be an agreement.

      The 'Palestinians' do not want an agreement.

      They wish to push Israel into the sea.

      Get over it, Quirk.

      Delete
    4. The 'Palestinians' say the Jews are son and daughters of ape and pigs.

      They do not want an agreement.

      Nothing has changed since Martha Gellhorn's day, and the situation will be the same long after you and I are dead, except the US Embassy might be in Jerusalem, where it belongs.

      Delete
  32. Ruf'n'Rat have 5 days to clean up the ISIS mess in Iraq.

    It's been 'the best military campaign of their lifetimes' but has accomplished next to zero.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson is only happy when US troops are bleeding out in foreign wars.

      Delete
  33. .

    Get over it, Quirk.

    Get over it, quirk?

    Get over what? I have been saying there will never be an agreement since day one here. It's all kabuki.

    I was merely clarifying facts the article rat put up left out.

    Are you saying you are denying the events or the chronology that was laid out? If so which ones?

    .

    ReplyDelete
  34. The bridges had already been damaged in airstrikes by the US-led coalition in recent weeks. In previous instances where ISIS took out bridges, Iraqi forces built temporary or floating structures, slowing down troops but not deterring their advance.

    Saadi of the counterterrorism forces told CNN this week that night raids have been effective against ISIS headquarters and stretches of eastern Mosul.

    US Air Force Col. John L. Dorrian, spokesman for the US-led operation against ISIS, said in a video conference Tuesday that Iraqi forces were making progress with the assistance of coalition airstrikes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson said it couldn't be done with Iraqi troops...

      Wrong you were, "Draft Dodger"

      Delete
  35. Watched the whole Seahawks game yesterday. Good to see them finally put out of their misery. What a painful year to watch.

    ReplyDelete
  36. The big question out this way is whether or not Quirk will make the Big Presidential Pardon list this year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If he weren't so white and mostly Polish his odds would be a lot higher, the bettors are saying....

      Delete
    2. That's why the blackface of late.

      Delete
  37. Replies
    1. Packers hold off Cowboys' comeback, reach title game



      Print
      0
      By Around the NFL staff NFL.com
      Published: Jan. 15, 2017 at 08:00 p.m.
      The Green Bay Packers are back in the NFC title game.

      Mason Crosby's 56- and 51-yard field goals late in the fourth quarter sent Green Bay past the Dallas Cowboys, 34-31, in Saturday's Divisional Round matchup.

      Around the NFL will have more on this game shortly.

      Delete
  38. This may work out, Trump says NATO is obsolete ...

    The Europeons need to pay their own way ....

    President-elect Donald Trump called NATO obsolete, according to a Bloomberg Politics report about an interview the president-elect gave to Germany’s Bild newspaper.

    “It’s obsolete, first because it was designed many, many years ago,” Trump was quoted as saying about NATO. “Secondly, countries aren’t paying what they should” and NATO “didn’t deal with terrorism.”

    He also said BMW would face a 35 percent import duty on foreign-built BMWs sold in the U.S. Trump told Bild that the company should halt plans to open a new plant in Mexico and instead create a U.S. factory.

    The president-elect also dinged German Chancellor Angela Merkel, saying she hurt Germany by letting “all these illegals” into the country.


    Maybe Trump will get US out of NATO

    ReplyDelete
  39. Really stupid thing to do.

    No wonder you thought of it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What's Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania to rat ?

      Certainly much less than a daughter.

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

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You'll be happy when the Idahovians come and save your city, Quirk, from yourselves.

      Delete
  41. .

    The Dems are trying to rally the troops around the country in an effort to resist the GOP's efforts to do away with the ACA wholesale. Some of the Dem big wigs today attended a rally in Macomb County, home of the Reagan democrats.

    Included among the group of speakers (and the favorite of the crowd) was Bernie Sanders. He said,

    "If you want to improve the Affordable Care Act, let's work together. But if you think you're simply going to throw millions off of health insurance, you've got another guess coming," Sanders said at the rally outside Macomb Community College. "You're going to have to worry about millions of people who are standing up, who are fighting back and who demand the day when health care will be a right of all people, not just a privilege."

    Trump will be president in a few days.

    With Trump's inauguration on Friday, Republicans already have taken steps to repeal President Barack Obama's signature policy initiative. Both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate passed a resolution last week clearing the way for the Affordable Care Act's repeal. The law's repeal and replacement was a priority of Trump's presidential campaign.

    It will be interesting to see how Trump handles the situation.

    The same people who voted for him and put him over the top in the Midwest are the same people who could turn on a dime and vote against him if he screws with them.

    The GOP is useless. All they have done since the ACA was passed is whine. They've had eight years to come up with alternatives and they have done nothing. Oh, they talked of general principles but they've never offered any positives proposals of their own. They never brought anything to the floor for a vote though at times they controlled both houses of Congress. Out of spite, they continued to bring forward proposals to do repeal the ACA wholesale while offering now alternatives knowing Obama would veto each attempt. How petty can you get?

    When asked how he could vote repeal of the ACA and have zip to replace it, Paul Ryan said, it's our duty, we made a promise to our constituents. What a friggin moron.

    Anyway it will be interesting to see how Trump handles this. He too, made a promise to repeal the ACA.

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nonsense. They have proposed a dozen alternatives. You just weren't paying attention.

      It all came to nothing because they didn't have to votes then.

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

      Delete
    3. They got the votes now, no thanks to you.

      Delete
  42. Prince Charles has taken the extraordinary step of writing a Ladybird book warning of the threat of global warming.

    ...

    He said in 2012 that mankind was ‘committing suicide on a grand scale’ if urgent action was not taken on green issues. He also provoked a row a year ago by claiming that terrorism and war in Syria had been fuelled by droughts exacerbated by global warming that had driven people off the land.

    The Prince, who has lambasted sceptics as ‘headless chickens’ who espouse ‘pseudo-science’, made one of his strongest speeches on climate change last month, telling business leaders in the Middle East that the world faced its ‘greatest challenge’.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Always great to see the Prince stay relevant.

      What was the name of his new book: "Chicken Little" ?

      Delete
    2. The guy is a perfect example of too much inbreeding.

      We got to stir those genes around a bit.

      Delete
  43. Donald Trump will offer Britain a quick and fair trade deal with America within weeks of taking office to help make Brexit a “great thing”.

    ...

    In the wide-ranging interview, Mr Trump revealed:

    ● He will agree a nuclear weapons reduction deal with President Putin of Russia in return for lifting US sanctions. He was highly critical of Russia’s intervention in Syria, however, describing it as “a very bad thing” that had led to a “terrible humanitarian situation”.

    ● Orders will be signed next Monday to strengthen America’s borders, which could include travel restrictions on Europeans coming to the US as well as “extreme vetting” for those entering America from parts of the world known for Islamist terrorism.

    ● He believes that Angela Merkel made a “catastrophic mistake” when she let more than a million migrants into Germany, adding that the EU had become “a vehicle for Germany”.

    ReplyDelete