tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post2413547969801363089..comments2024-03-28T06:32:24.557-04:00Comments on The Elephant Bar: Cheney hid a Secret from Congress. God Bless Dick CheneyDeuce ☂http://www.blogger.com/profile/13472858446242700869noreply@blogger.comBlogger72125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-25318324608075721222009-07-12T22:46:39.319-04:002009-07-12T22:46:39.319-04:00By Dean Yates
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - North Korean ...<i>By Dean Yates<br /><br />SINGAPORE (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has pancreatic cancer and the illness is life-threatening, South Korean broadcaster YTN said on Monday based on information gathered by Chinese and South Korean intelligence sources.<br /><br />Kim, 67, is believed to have also suffered a stroke last August. Kim's poor health and apparent moves to anoint his youngest son to succeed him have raised questions about the longevity of the regime in Pyongyang.<br /><br />Following are scenarios for how the situation may play out in North Korea over the coming months and years</i>.<br /><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE56C0C320090713" rel="nofollow">Read More</a>desert rathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02369546288659566961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-36358070626645746782009-07-12T22:44:03.205-04:002009-07-12T22:44:03.205-04:00(CNN) -- President Obama has ordered national secu...<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/07/12/obama.afghan.killings/" rel="nofollow">(CNN) -</a>- <i>President Obama has ordered national security officials to look into allegations that the Bush administration resisted efforts to investigate a CIA-backed Afghan warlord over the killings of hundreds of Taliban prisoners in 2001.<br />...<br />The inquiry stems from the deaths of at least 1,000 Taliban prisoners who had surrendered to the U.S.-backed Northern Alliance in late 2001.<br /><br />The fighters were in the custody of troops led by Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum, a prominent Afghan warlord who has served as chief of staff of the country's post-Taliban army. <br /><br />Dostum, a former communist union boss and militia leader who fought against the U.S.-backed mujahedeen in the 1980s, is known for switching sides as Afghanistan's political conflict has evolved. When the United States invaded Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington, Dostum sided with the Americans and received military and CIA support to battle the Taliban.<br />...<br />State Department officials recently have tried to derail Dostum's reappointment as military chief of staff to Afghan President Hamid Karzai, the newspaper reported, citing several senior officials who suggested the administration "might not be hostile to an inquiry."<br /><br /><b>Dostum, a key ally of Karzai, was reportedly living in exile in Turkey until last month, when he was reinstated to his post as defense minister. He had left Afghanistan over allegations that he had kidnapped Akbar Bai, a former ally turned political rival</b>.<br /><br />When asked by CNN about whether Obama would support an investigation, the president replied, "<b>I think that, you know, there are responsibilities that all nations have, even in war. And if it appears that our conduct in some way supported violations of laws of war, then I think that, you know, we have to know about that.</b></i>"desert rathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02369546288659566961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-78946301244097667852009-07-12T22:38:25.905-04:002009-07-12T22:38:25.905-04:00By Gustavo Palencia and Daniel Trotta
TEGUCIGALPA...<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE56B13N20090713" rel="nofollow">By Gustavo Palencia and Daniel Trotta</a><br /><br /><i>TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Honduras' interim president held out the possibility of an amnesty for ousted President Manuel Zelaya Sunday after the lifting of a curfew that had been imposed on the country since the June 28 coup.<br /><br />Caretaker President Roberto Micheletti, sworn in hours after the armed forces removed Zelaya from power and expelled him to Costa Rica, held firm in a Reuters interview to his position that Zelaya could not return to power under any circumstances.<br />...<br />Micheletti's interim government is holding talks with Zelaya's representatives through the mediation of Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, but the talks have resulted in little apparent progress, aside from an agreement to keep talking.<br /><br />"<b>If he (Zelaya) comes peacefully first to appear before the authorities ... I don't have any problem (with an amnesty for him),</b>" Micheletti told Reuters in an interview at the presidential palace in Tegucigalpa.<br /><br />Micheletti said Zelaya could not return to power "under any conditions" because he contravened the constitution by seeking to illegally extend his rule through the lifting of presidential term limits</i>.desert rathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02369546288659566961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-51447360793715365612009-07-12T20:15:07.631-04:002009-07-12T20:15:07.631-04:00If you're going to Home Depot--take a Geiger C...If you're going to Home Depot--take a Geiger Counter--<br /><br /><i>Some Chinese drywall may be radioactive, reports indicate <br /><br />By NIRVI SHAH The Miami Herald<br />Friday, July 10, 2009 <br /><br /><br /><br /> Some Chinese-made drywall imported into the United States contained radioactive material, news reports suggest, but state and federal tests so far haven’t detected it.<br /><br />Copies of customs reports obtained by The Los Angeles Times show drywall made with a radioactive waste product was shipped to the states in 2006 by at least four Chinese manufacturers and trading firms.<br /><br />The substance, called phosphogypsum, has been banned from use in nearly all products made in the United States by the Environmental Protection Agency since 1989.<br /><br />The EPA says that phosphogypsum, a fertilizer byproduct, contains uranium and radium.<br /><br />Radium decays to form radon, a cancer-causing, radioactive gas. A geoscientist interviewed by The Times said the material can cause corrosion.<br /><br />Chinese drywall is being blamed for making newer homes smell like chemicals or sulfur, corroding air-conditioner coils, blackening jewelry and other metals and causing breathing problems, nosebleeds and headaches for residents.<br /><br />But the limited number of tests performed on drywall so far don’t show that the product contains any radioactive material.<br /><br />EPA tests done earlier this year show the imported material contained sulfur, unlike domestic drywall, and foreign-made gypsum board contained strontium at 10 times the rate of U.S. drywall.</i>Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04145155737835511824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-72301864738322067212009-07-12T20:08:22.102-04:002009-07-12T20:08:22.102-04:00Well, even tho Mish has a funny name, he's com...Well, even tho Mish has a funny name, he's come to the same conclusion as me:<br />---<br /><br />"And it is that destruction of credit, coupled with the fact that what the Fed is printing is not even being lent that matters, not some Humpty-Dumptyish academic definition that has no real world practical application!<br /><br />The trick now is to figure out how long deflation will last, not whether we are in it. <br /><br />Humpty Dumpty is of no use, he cannot even see where we are."Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16770268554450465514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-23832321874416798372009-07-12T19:59:07.094-04:002009-07-12T19:59:07.094-04:00'When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said, i...'When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful tone,' it means just what I choose it to mean, neither more nor less.'<br /><br />'The question is,' said Alice, 'whether you can make words mean so many different things.'<br /><br />'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master - that's all.'Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16770268554450465514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-62264668095973853822009-07-12T19:58:53.074-04:002009-07-12T19:58:53.074-04:00Doug, my wife has taken up listening to Mish, and ...Doug, my wife has taken up listening to Mish, and on Coast to Coast, too.<br /><br />It was Mat first posted Mish.<br /><br />He's becoming the C2C house economist. Doesn't mean he's not ok!<br /><br />I think things are going to go to further hell.<br /><br />Mentioned the other day, 80 mill jobs gone at a town near here. Lumber sales down.<br />-----<br /><br /><i>Did you know Walter Mondale was still producing CO2, al-Bob?</i><br /><br />Hadn't thought about it, but if he is, it's not for long.Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04145155737835511824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-83439839503277333742009-07-12T19:51:34.583-04:002009-07-12T19:51:34.583-04:00Somebody @ BC linked your buddy Mish Shmedlock, or...Somebody @ BC linked your buddy Mish Shmedlock, or whoever, al-Bob<br /><a href="http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2008/12/humpty-dumpty-on-inflation.html" rel="nofollow"> Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis Humpty Dumpty On Inflation</a>Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16770268554450465514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-69644501218954131882009-07-12T19:47:04.442-04:002009-07-12T19:47:04.442-04:00Did you know Walter Mondale was still producing CO...Did you know Walter Mondale was still producing CO2, al-Bob?Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16770268554450465514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-69203727417012326832009-07-12T19:44:07.485-04:002009-07-12T19:44:07.485-04:00In re the Iranians: The Iraqis have the same probl...In re the Iranians: The Iraqis have the same problem we do, which is the detention of those captured on the battlefield. Different standard of evidence applies when they're rolled into the general judicial system.<br /><br />We gave them what we had. <br /><br />They had to let them go.<br /><br />Just so you know.trishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14139410627244875589noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-43525220702806604682009-07-12T19:42:56.678-04:002009-07-12T19:42:56.678-04:00The CIA responds to Seymour Hersh (via MinnPost)<a href="http://www.minnpost.com/ericblackblog/2009/03/12/7344/the_cia_responds_to_seymour_hersh_via_minnpost" rel="nofollow"> The CIA responds to Seymour Hersh (via MinnPost)</a>Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16770268554450465514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-83071902140452154602009-07-12T19:40:58.964-04:002009-07-12T19:40:58.964-04:00heh--some animals just need killin'--
she wa...heh--some animals just need killin'--<br /><br /> <i>she was an "animal lover"</i>--<br /><br />maybe the kind that supported the reintroduction of the wolves here, resulting in the gruesome deaths of thousands of elk, collapsing the herds.<br /><br />We're going to have a wolf hunt this fall, in an effort to save the remaining struggling elk.<br /><br />That's one of only two or maybe three things Obummer's done right in my view--taking the wolves off the endangered species list.Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04145155737835511824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-11017940681592304462009-07-12T19:38:25.252-04:002009-07-12T19:38:25.252-04:00Trish's favorite writer:
Investigative repo...Trish's favorite writer:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.minnpost.com/ericblackblog/2009/03/11/7310/investigative_reporter_seymour_hersh_describes_executive_assassination_ring" rel="nofollow"> Investigative reporter Seymour Hersh describes 'executive assassination ring'</a>Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16770268554450465514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-20548144736145513632009-07-12T19:35:56.314-04:002009-07-12T19:35:56.314-04:00Some folks just need killin.Some folks just need killin.Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16770268554450465514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-3242269379387619942009-07-12T19:28:14.632-04:002009-07-12T19:28:14.632-04:00For instance, if I could get into Iran and execute...<i>For instance, if I could get into Iran and execute the killer of Neda, would that be murder?</i><br /><br />Not to me, but the situation might be seen as even more complex.<br /><br />What if this killer actually thought he was doing right, and was religiously justified, under the circumstances?Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04145155737835511824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-22724561813348824892009-07-12T19:26:01.003-04:002009-07-12T19:26:01.003-04:00("Chicken wire?")("Chicken wire?")trishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14139410627244875589noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-54077046331809961402009-07-12T19:24:36.001-04:002009-07-12T19:24:36.001-04:00It's irritating as hell when you want to post ...It's irritating as hell when you want to post a quote by Karl Marx on means and ends, and can't find it, when you know right where it is, but the dang paperback book split in two long ago, and all I can find is the back part.<br /><br />Anyways, it's an ironic quote, to say the least, and Karl says to the point that a just end can't be gotten by an unjust means.<br /><br />In his early work somewhere, I think.Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04145155737835511824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-76357778269368027992009-07-12T19:19:48.823-04:002009-07-12T19:19:48.823-04:00Which no one has.Which no one has.trishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14139410627244875589noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-29313071437571735762009-07-12T19:18:58.162-04:002009-07-12T19:18:58.162-04:00Not to mention the Irbil Five.Not to mention the Irbil Five.trishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14139410627244875589noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-53778579230635397102009-07-12T19:11:35.156-04:002009-07-12T19:11:35.156-04:00This was some of the Prep Work by the NY Times on ...This was some of the Prep Work by the NY Times on Friday:<br />---<br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/11/world/asia/11afghan.html?hp" rel="nofollow">U.S. Said to Have Averted Inquiry Into ’01 Afghan Killings</a><br />The mass killing of Taliban prisoners was carried out by the forces of an American-backed warlord during the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan.<br />-<br />Gen. <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/d/abdul_rashid_dostum/index.html?inline=nyt-per" rel="nofollow">Abdul Rashid Dostum</a>Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16770268554450465514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-83778520503111597592009-07-12T19:01:58.561-04:002009-07-12T19:01:58.561-04:00"For instance, if I could get into Iran and e..."<i>For instance, if I could get into Iran and execute the killer of Neda, would that be murder?</i>"<br />---<br />Allen:<br />A few weeks ago you mentioned Israeli Operators in Iran that were neutralized by some third party.<br />I asked where I could find links about that, but I either didn't follow up on your answer, or you didn't have one.<br />So I'm apologetically asking again.Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16770268554450465514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-57150636706723251202009-07-12T18:51:41.232-04:002009-07-12T18:51:41.232-04:00For those who missed my last LA Real Estate Horror...For those who missed my last LA Real Estate Horror Story above, it was Wayne Gretsky selling at the top of the market in 2007 to Lenny Dykstra for 17.5 (million) with B of A and WaMu providing near 100% financing.<br /><br />Lenny now “<i>has no more than $50,000 of assets and between $10 million and $50 million of liabilities, according to a petition filed Tuesday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Central District of California.</i>”<br /><br />"Maximum leverage. I find it hard to believe that there is still a sizable contingent of anti-math folks that believe this entire global credit mess was created by subprime borrowers. They think that poor people in the inner city somehow led to $13.87 trillion in household wealth being wiped off the balance sheet. Try telling these people that some $1 trillion in subprime loans does not equal $13.87 trillion in wealth destruction. The reality is much of this is a distraction from their puppet masters on Wall Street and the true crony-banking machine.<br /><br />Now moving back to the Westside you can rest assured the likes of WaMu, Countrywide, and IndyMac made plenty of maximum leverage loans that will end horribly in the next 6 to 18 months. Now let me give you a glimpse of the shadow market that is developing in the Westside..."<br /><br />Rufus's Creed holds, but some shitholes are deeper than others.Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16770268554450465514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-44655639289488807662009-07-12T16:58:05.758-04:002009-07-12T16:58:05.758-04:00Re: "save American lives"
Yes, ethicall...Re: "save American lives"<br /><br />Yes, ethically, the government of the United States must view American lives as worth more than those of others. Otherwise, the government of the United States would cease being the government of the citizens of the United States.<br /><br />While sad but true, occasionally the government of the United States forgets that, say in the strange case of the Egyptian, Yasser Arafat.allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01798524644256471907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-16575335916912141682009-07-12T16:55:18.002-04:002009-07-12T16:55:18.002-04:00Deemocracy is Hard.Deemocracy is Hard.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-42911265314392220862009-07-12T16:44:23.712-04:002009-07-12T16:44:23.712-04:00"As an aside, what's with this justificat..."As an aside, what's with this justification "to save American lives"? Are American lives somehow different than others? Americans are better, thus giving more ethical weight to any action to save them?"<br /><br />***<br /><br />The CiC had better answer "Yes".Perro Locohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03804488685713749688noreply@blogger.com