tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post4575892831079204416..comments2024-03-29T06:35:11.321-04:00Comments on The Elephant Bar: What precipitated the Honduran Coup?Deuce ☂http://www.blogger.com/profile/13472858446242700869noreply@blogger.comBlogger73125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-29436214740902364692009-07-02T20:51:55.103-04:002009-07-02T20:51:55.103-04:00The High Cost of doing nothing is why responsible...The High Cost of doing nothing is why responsible women shop til they drop.Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16770268554450465514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-58115969460474282402009-07-02T20:47:19.628-04:002009-07-02T20:47:19.628-04:00A thing of beauty is a joy forever.
Has The Messia...A thing of beauty is a joy forever.<br />Has The Messiah outlawed joy for all but the elite?Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16770268554450465514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-82658573652742741352009-07-02T20:45:20.095-04:002009-07-02T20:45:20.095-04:00Doug: ...as long as the Govt would also cover Soni...Doug: <b>...as long as the Govt would also cover Sonia's travel expenses</b><br /><br />Somebody cover Sonia.Teresitahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05528002521904908827noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-6390280066054042082009-07-02T19:25:29.334-04:002009-07-02T19:25:29.334-04:00Today’s report also showed the average work week f...<i>Today’s report also showed the average work week fell to 33 hours, the lowest level since records began in 1964, from 33.1 hours in May. Average weekly hours worked by production workers rose to 39.5 hours from 39.4 hours, while overtime held at 2.8 hours. That brought the average weekly earnings down to $611.49 from $613.34. <br /><br />Workers’ average hourly wages held at $18.53 for a second month</i>. <br /><br /><a rel="nofollow">Bloomberg</a>desert rathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02369546288659566961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-85553356637100212762009-07-02T19:10:32.709-04:002009-07-02T19:10:32.709-04:00The Cost of Doing Something
Declaiming the price o...<i><b>The Cost of Doing Something</b><br />Declaiming the price of "inaction" is a perennial argument for big government and bad law</i>.<br /><br /><a href="http://reason.com/news/show/134530.html" rel="nofollow">Matt Welch</a>.<br /><br /><i>If the crisis is acute enough, backers of state intervention will even admit that content matters less than the mere existence of action itself. During the height of last fall's financial panic, for example, New York Mayor and financial journalism titan Michael Bloomberg said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that "Nobody knows exactly what they should do, but anything is better than nothing." As the House of Representatives was passing the stimulus package this February, Rep. David Obey (D-Wisc.), chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, thundered that "the cost of doing nothing would be catastrophic." Auto bailout? "The cost of doing nothing is cataclysmic," warned Sen. Bob Casey (D-Penn.) last December.<br /></i>desert rathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02369546288659566961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-9288442200385452852009-07-02T19:06:43.181-04:002009-07-02T19:06:43.181-04:00I asked Mahmoudi, a big and garrulous man who sat ...<i>I asked Mahmoudi, a big and garrulous man who sat in the front row at Khamenei’s ferocious June 19 sermon, about the election hailed as “a miracle” by the leader.<br /><br />“Moussavi was supported by people who have lost faith,” he said. “We believe legitimacy comes from God. They believe legitimacy comes from the people, from votes. As long as it was a fraternal fight, it was O.K., but when it’s a fight about religious belief, the situation becomes unacceptable.”<br />...<br />So, I asked Mahmoudi, if legitimacy comes from God, why hold an election? “To get a level of acceptance,” he said. “The legitimacy of the election comes from the supreme leader’s approval, but the level of acceptance comes from votes.”<br /><br />That Talmudic clarification is helpful. Demonstrations may have disappeared from Tehran’s streets of shame, but Iranian acceptance is at an all-time low. The government is now illegitimate. Power has been usurped. The equation has changed.<br />...<br />The price of Obama’s engagement may just have become Ahmadinejad’s departure. I think it has. His defenestration is not impossible; it would be forced from within where disaffected clerics and moderates abound; and it would restore an Islamic Republic, recognized by Obama, where both words of that self-description mean something, a land of God and people</i>.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/02/opinion/02iht-edcohen.html?_r=1&ref=global" rel="nofollow">Roger Cohen </a>desert rathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02369546288659566961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-60091503117963559062009-07-02T18:38:13.816-04:002009-07-02T18:38:13.816-04:00...as long as the Govt would also cover Sonia'......as long as the Govt would also cover Sonia's travel expenses halfway around the World.Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16770268554450465514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-59272084699996187312009-07-02T18:37:31.276-04:002009-07-02T18:37:31.276-04:00I meant that the Chinamen were victimized by Obama...I meant that the Chinamen were victimized by Obama by sending them there.<br />...but that the choice should be up to them, as I hope it would be for me.Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16770268554450465514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-79266446658768666952009-07-02T18:32:29.385-04:002009-07-02T18:32:29.385-04:00Who was victimized by those Chinese detainees. dou...Who was victimized by those Chinese detainees. doug?desert rathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02369546288659566961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-63653263254582408152009-07-02T18:29:54.519-04:002009-07-02T18:29:54.519-04:00Why would anyone really expect Obama to support pr...Why would anyone really expect Obama to support pre-emptive impeachment, without indictment or trial, let alone appeal?<br /><br />Here, there or anywheredesert rathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02369546288659566961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-75472745356262904262009-07-02T18:28:25.746-04:002009-07-02T18:28:25.746-04:00Another exception:
Unlawful banishment to Bermuda ...Another exception:<br />Unlawful banishment to Bermuda @ 11 Million per head should be left to the discretion of the victims.Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16770268554450465514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-84173571505917045472009-07-02T18:25:31.215-04:002009-07-02T18:25:31.215-04:00Congress's Travel Tab Swells
Spending on Taxp...<a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124650399438184235.html" rel="nofollow">Congress's Travel Tab Swells </a><br />Spending on Taxpayer-Funded Trips Rises Tenfold; From Italy to the GalápagosDoughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16770268554450465514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-54159113374309221292009-07-02T18:25:22.403-04:002009-07-02T18:25:22.403-04:00Thanks, 'Rat.
I just wonder what was possible,...Thanks, 'Rat.<br />I just wonder what was possible, and what was not, given that Hugo was apparently so deeply involved.Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16770268554450465514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-73991758946442208012009-07-02T18:17:25.361-04:002009-07-02T18:17:25.361-04:00What she is saying, doug, is that to remove a Pres...What she is saying, doug, is that to remove a President, you've got to have a trial.<br /><br />Or it's not 'democratic'.<br />If we are seen to support detention and exile without trial, well, there goes the neighborhood.<br /><br />That the Hondurans don't have a beach resort in Cuba, they had to send Manuel to Costa Rica.<br /><br />As least the Shah got to go to Contadora Island.desert rathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02369546288659566961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-69941576021021817482009-07-02T18:09:52.892-04:002009-07-02T18:09:52.892-04:00As usual, I don't know what you're saying....As usual, I don't know what you're saying.<br />Luckily, that does not pertain to everyone else.Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16770268554450465514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-70207284009855354482009-07-02T17:37:55.280-04:002009-07-02T17:37:55.280-04:00You will screw the pooch for the only truly decent...You will screw the pooch for the only truly decent thing we've got going.trishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14139410627244875589noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-56290201500485561722009-07-02T17:34:55.793-04:002009-07-02T17:34:55.793-04:00That he be docked, if need be.
You want to suppor...That he be docked, if need be.<br /><br />You want to support a military shit-canning in Latin AMerica. In 09.<br /><br />Go for it.trishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14139410627244875589noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-24804494656827119512009-07-02T17:25:59.069-04:002009-07-02T17:25:59.069-04:00The president was apparently involved in his own t...The president was apparently involved in his own takeover, against the courts and Honduran Congress, and was about to stage a Chavez-style “referendum” on ballots printed in Venezuela and looted from an army warehouse where they were being safeguarded. The army’s move was legitimized by the Honduran Supreme Court and applauded by the Congress, which has appointed a stand-in president until regular elections this November.<br />---<br />What would you have prefered, Trish?Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16770268554450465514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-7234695616124488062009-07-02T17:16:34.395-04:002009-07-02T17:16:34.395-04:00So while the verdict must be that military takeove...So while the verdict must be that military takeovers are bad, surely in this case there are extenuating circumstances...<br /><br /><br /><br />No,trishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14139410627244875589noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-43180708230120013032009-07-02T17:13:22.818-04:002009-07-02T17:13:22.818-04:00Another Great Choice for the Freedom Hating Left
...Another Great Choice for the Freedom Hating Left<br /><br />Certainly we deplore military coups, just as we deplore sin. But in the tangled web of Central American politics, <strong>Honduras has long been the U.S.’ most staunch ally. Among the four states from Nicaragua north, it has tried hardest to convert from a military-run banana republic to a constitutional democracy </strong>and, until just the other day, with some success. It supported U.S. trainers in the Salvadoran civil war. It houses an American military joint task force. At our request, Honduran soldiers fought in Iraq. So while the verdict must be that military takeovers are bad, surely in this case there are extenuating circumstances for a faithful ally, particularly since the bottom-line issue seems to have been the survival of its constitutional form of government.<br /><br /><a href="http://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/journal/docs-temp/266-killebrew.pdf" rel="nofollow">Not So Fast, Amigas y Amigos (Full PDF Article)</a>Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16770268554450465514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-41467003274905743502009-07-02T16:55:45.124-04:002009-07-02T16:55:45.124-04:00I love that song.
Absolutely love that song.I love that song. <br /><br />Absolutely love that song.trishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14139410627244875589noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-81608449621588774152009-07-02T16:40:44.503-04:002009-07-02T16:40:44.503-04:00Sweet Cynthia
She's also a moron.
Her dad was ...<a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=cynthia+mckinney+anti-semitic&aq=0&oq=Cynthia+McKinney+anti&aqi=g1" rel="nofollow">Sweet Cynthia</a><br />She's also a moron.<br />Her dad was worse.Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16770268554450465514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-56152292910985675152009-07-02T16:35:01.662-04:002009-07-02T16:35:01.662-04:00-Inquiry Finds Air France Jet Struck Ocean Intact ...<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/03/world/europe/03airfrance.html?hp" rel="nofollow"> -Inquiry Finds Air France Jet Struck Ocean Intact - </a><br /><br />I thot it was spread all over the ocean.<br />I thot they said the naked bodies meant it broke up.<br />I thot they said the large, intact pieces meant...Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16770268554450465514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-90100538860848013542009-07-02T16:12:34.156-04:002009-07-02T16:12:34.156-04:00FOXNews - 57 minutes ago
Former US Rep. Cynthia ...<i>FOXNews - 57 minutes ago<br />Former US Rep. Cynthia McKinney and several other human rights activists remain in custody in an Israeli prison after refusing to sign a deportation form that they claim is self-incriminating.<br />FOXNews - 57 minutes ago</i>.<br /><br />While a related story<br /><br /><i><b>UN expert says Israeli seizure of aid ship a crime</b></i>.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/featuredCrisis/idUSL2879277" rel="nofollow">By Stephanie Nebehay</a>.<br /><br /><i>GENEVA, July 2 (Reuters) - A U.N. human rights investigator on Thursday called Israel's seizure of a ship carrying relief aid for the Gaza Strip "unlawful" and said its blockade of the territory constituted a "continuing crime against humanity".<br /><br />Israeli authorities on Tuesday intercepted the vessel, which was also carrying 21 pro-Palestinian activists, and said it would not be permitted to enter Gaza coastal waters because of security risks in the area and its existing naval blockade.<br /><br />Richard Falk, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, said the move was part of Israel's "cruel blockade of the entire Palestinian population of Gaza" in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibiting any form of collective punishment against "an occupied people".<br /><br />Falk, an American expert on international law, said Israel's two-year blockade of Hamas-ruled Gaza restricted vital supplies such as food, medicine and fuel to "bare subsistence levels".<br /><br />The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in a report this week that Israel was also halting entry to Gaza of building materials and spare parts needed to repair damage from its 22-day invasion late last December.<br /><br />"Such a pattern of continuing blockade under these conditions amounts to such a serious violation of the Geneva Conventions as to constitute a continuing crime against humanity," Falk said in a statement released in Geneva.<br /></i>desert rathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02369546288659566961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21297199.post-44143316250710887312009-07-02T16:03:07.054-04:002009-07-02T16:03:07.054-04:00In the new century the United States faces many th...<i>In the new century the United States faces many threats, both conventional and unconventional. It is time for the Department of Defense to reconsider the amphibious requirements of a balanced and diverse fleet. There is only one type of vessel that can provide ground forces, air support, and maritime security capacity all at the same time. The Gators serve at the heart of the irregular warfare capability that the Navy must expand in order to address the asymmetric threats of the modern world. At the same time they provide traditional power projection, crisis response, and humanitarian capability. The flexibility of the amphibious force is vital and real. In the coming decade of hybrid conflict and rising powers, action must be taken early before full blown military crisis develops. When a global challenge presents itself, the President will ask one question: <br /><b>Where are the Gators</b></i>?<br /><br /><a href="http://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/journal/docs-temp/264-armstrong.pdf" rel="nofollow">Lieutenant Commander Benjamin “BJ” Armstrong is a Naval Aviator</a>desert rathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02369546288659566961noreply@blogger.com