Monday, January 16, 2012
Hell Bent on Dragging the US into Another War.
Jerusalem - Israel and the US have agreed to postpone a major military defence exercise, a senior security official said on Sunday, amid rising regional tension over Iran's nuclear programme.
"Israel and the United States have agreed to postpone the manoeuvre planned for spring," the official said on condition of anonymity.
"The exercises will take place between now and the end of 2012," the official added, without elaborating.
Earlier, public radio said the "Austere Challenge 12" exercise would be pushed back to the end of 2012 over unspecified budgetary concerns, citing military sources.
Army radio, citing a defence official, said it was being postponed to avoid "unnecessary headlines in such a tense period".
Weapons drive
The joint manoeuvre was to have been the biggest yet between the two allies, and was seen as an opportunity to display their joint military strength at a time of growing concern about Tehran's nuclear ambitions.
Israel, the US and much of the international community accuse Iran of using its nuclear programme to mask a weapons drive, a charge Tehran denies.
The postponement appeared to suggest fears the exercise could dangerously ramp up regional tensions, at a time when Iran has already threatened to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz - a chokepoint for one fifth of the world's traded oil - in the event of a military strike or severe tightening of international sanctions over its nuclear programme.
Meanwhile, the US sent Iran a letter over its threatened closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson said on Sunday, without revealing the letter's contents.
"The US ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, sent a letter to Mohammad Khazaie, Iran's UN representative, which was conveyed by the Swiss ambassador, and finally Iraqi President Jalal Talabani delivered its contents to officials" in Iran, the official IRNA news agency quoted Ramin Mehmanparast as saying.
"We are in the process of studying the letter and if necessary we will respond."
In December, the Israelis insisted the joint manoeuvres were planned in advance and denied they were related to Iran.
Unease
"The exercise scenario involves notional, simulated events as well as some field training and is not in response to any real-world event," the military said.
The postponement was not expected to affect a visit to Israel by top US military chief General Martin Dempsey, who is scheduled to arrive later this week and meet with Israel's Defence Minister Ehud Barak and Chief of Staff Benny Gantz.
But the delay was announced as reports suggested unease in US-Israeli relations over the best response to Iran's nuclear programme, and after an Israeli official voiced "disappointment" at Washington's approach.
Washington has spearheaded a push for international sanctions against Iran, including on its oil exports and financial institutions.
But Israel's Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Yaalon told public radio he thought US President Barack Obama's administration should be tougher.
"France and Britain understand that the sanctions must be strengthened, in particular against the Iranian Central Bank," Yaalon said.
"The US Senate is also in favour, but the US government is hesitating, fearing higher oil prices in an election year," Yaalon said. "It's disappointing."
Assassinations
Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, speaking on Sunday ahead of a trip to Britain, also accused the international community of dragging its feet.
"It is regrettable that the international community has not yet used all the means at its disposal to stop the Iranian nuclear programme," he said.
Israel has made no secret of its desire to see crippling sanctions imposed on Iran in a bid to slow its nuclear development, and reports suggest it has also taken other actions to delay the programme.
The Jewish state is suspected of involvement both in a computer worm that reportedly set back Iran's nuclear efforts, as well as a campaign of assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists.
Media reports have pointed the finger at Israel's intelligence agency Mossad.
Foreign Policy magazine reported that Israel's actions had created friction with Washington, and the Wall Street Journal said on Friday US officials had warned Israel against unilateral military action against Iran.
Yaalon said on Sunday that a military strike remained a last resort for Israel.
"Israel must defend itself. I hope that we will not arrive at that point," he said.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Friday, January 13, 2012
What Really Happened In Gaffney, South Carolina?
The Left is carrying out a coordinated attack on Mitt Romney’s business career. One sees exactly the same allegations, often phrased identically, whether you look at the Daily Kos, the Associated Press, Slate or Think Progress, or listen to Newt Gingrich or Rick Perry. The centerpiece of the Left’s attack has been Bain’s involvement with two companies that merged to become Holson Burnes Group, Inc. Holson made photo albums, and Burnes made picture frames.
In the late 1980s, Holson was in deep trouble because of competition from cheap imports.
Bain helped to save the company, then encouraged its merger with Burnes:
Partly because of the import problem, the Holson family sold out to Bain Capital in 1986; however, the Holson Company, which was still managed by family members, continued to have problems under the Bain umbrella. To return the organization’s competitive edge, Bain called in a series of consulting teams, including one from Price Waterhouse. Among the members of the Price Waterhouse team was Hoffmeister. Bain asked Hoffmeister to join Holson as head of the company in 1988 to effect a turnaround.
In the same year, 1988, Holson opened a factory in Gaffney, South Carolina, where photo albums were produced. The factory initially employed 100 people and eventually around 150–all brand-new jobs that were created by Holson under Bain’s guidance.
Unfortunately, the new company, Holson Burnes, Holson Burnes,
was losing money, suffering net losses in both 1991 and 1992. The new management “worked to streamline the company, eliminate overlap, cut production costs, and jettison poorly performing units.” Those efforts succeeded in making Holson Burnes profitable; they also resulted in closing the Gaffney plant in 1992, after four years of operation.
Rick Perry says, referring specifically to Gaffney:
[T]he idea that you get private equity companies to come in and, you know, take companies apart so they can make quick profits and then people lose their jobs, I don’t think that’s what America’s looking for. I hope that’s not what the Republican Party’s about.
Other demagogues like Gingrich and the goofs at Think Progress say essentially the same thing. From the brief narrative above, one can see how ludicrous these charges are. Bain didn’t “come in and take companies apart;” on the contrary, it brought Holson and Burnes together in what became a profitable enterprise for decades. Bain didn’t make “people lose their jobs;” on the contrary, it created all of the jobs in Gaffney that Perry is talking about. It would have been good if the jobs had lasted more than four years, but there was obviously a net benefit of four years’ work to the employees.
Moreover, Bain’s stewardship helped to ensure that Holson Burnes survived and prospered. At the end of 1992, the company had 588 employees. Profitability returned in 1993 and 1994, and in 1996 Bain and the other shareholders of Holson Burnes sold the company to Newell Rubbermaid for $33.5 million. Leftists grumble that Bain and the other shareholders made money on the deal. I hope they did; they deserved to. Newell Rubbermaid’s purchase of Holson Burnes made it “the world’s largest manufacturer of picture frames, framed art and photo albums.” In the years that have gone by since then, Holson Burnes has changed names and owners, but has continued to prosper and has employed thousands of people. It is now known as Burnes Home Accents, LLC, and has its headquarters in Atlanta.
As for Gaffney, South Carolina, the fact that its 150 citizens had jobs at Holson Burnes for only four years was unfortunate, but hardly catastrophic. The county’s top economic official says:
A 1992 decision by a company controlled by an investment firm once led by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney to close a Gaffney plant and lay off 150 workers did not have a major impact on the local economy, according to Cherokee County’s top economic development official. …
Jim Cook, executive director of the Cherokee County Development Board, said the county was able to lure another manufacturer in the Meadowcreek Industrial Park off Interstate 85 the same year the Holson Burnes Group — the company controlled by Bain — left town.
“It was not devastating to our economy,” Cook said Wednesday. “The overall impact on the economy was typical of any small business going out. Nobody remembers it, so how significant was that? If anything, it helped us start the industrial park.”
If this is really the best that Think Progress, Barack Obama, Newt Gingrich, the Daily Kos, Rick Perry and the rest of the country’s know-nothings can come up with to smear Mitt Romney’s business career, they had better give it up before they make complete fools of themselves.
In the late 1980s, Holson was in deep trouble because of competition from cheap imports.
Bain helped to save the company, then encouraged its merger with Burnes:
Partly because of the import problem, the Holson family sold out to Bain Capital in 1986; however, the Holson Company, which was still managed by family members, continued to have problems under the Bain umbrella. To return the organization’s competitive edge, Bain called in a series of consulting teams, including one from Price Waterhouse. Among the members of the Price Waterhouse team was Hoffmeister. Bain asked Hoffmeister to join Holson as head of the company in 1988 to effect a turnaround.
In the same year, 1988, Holson opened a factory in Gaffney, South Carolina, where photo albums were produced. The factory initially employed 100 people and eventually around 150–all brand-new jobs that were created by Holson under Bain’s guidance.
Unfortunately, the new company, Holson Burnes, Holson Burnes,
was losing money, suffering net losses in both 1991 and 1992. The new management “worked to streamline the company, eliminate overlap, cut production costs, and jettison poorly performing units.” Those efforts succeeded in making Holson Burnes profitable; they also resulted in closing the Gaffney plant in 1992, after four years of operation.
Rick Perry says, referring specifically to Gaffney:
[T]he idea that you get private equity companies to come in and, you know, take companies apart so they can make quick profits and then people lose their jobs, I don’t think that’s what America’s looking for. I hope that’s not what the Republican Party’s about.
Other demagogues like Gingrich and the goofs at Think Progress say essentially the same thing. From the brief narrative above, one can see how ludicrous these charges are. Bain didn’t “come in and take companies apart;” on the contrary, it brought Holson and Burnes together in what became a profitable enterprise for decades. Bain didn’t make “people lose their jobs;” on the contrary, it created all of the jobs in Gaffney that Perry is talking about. It would have been good if the jobs had lasted more than four years, but there was obviously a net benefit of four years’ work to the employees.
Moreover, Bain’s stewardship helped to ensure that Holson Burnes survived and prospered. At the end of 1992, the company had 588 employees. Profitability returned in 1993 and 1994, and in 1996 Bain and the other shareholders of Holson Burnes sold the company to Newell Rubbermaid for $33.5 million. Leftists grumble that Bain and the other shareholders made money on the deal. I hope they did; they deserved to. Newell Rubbermaid’s purchase of Holson Burnes made it “the world’s largest manufacturer of picture frames, framed art and photo albums.” In the years that have gone by since then, Holson Burnes has changed names and owners, but has continued to prosper and has employed thousands of people. It is now known as Burnes Home Accents, LLC, and has its headquarters in Atlanta.
As for Gaffney, South Carolina, the fact that its 150 citizens had jobs at Holson Burnes for only four years was unfortunate, but hardly catastrophic. The county’s top economic official says:
A 1992 decision by a company controlled by an investment firm once led by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney to close a Gaffney plant and lay off 150 workers did not have a major impact on the local economy, according to Cherokee County’s top economic development official. …
Jim Cook, executive director of the Cherokee County Development Board, said the county was able to lure another manufacturer in the Meadowcreek Industrial Park off Interstate 85 the same year the Holson Burnes Group — the company controlled by Bain — left town.
“It was not devastating to our economy,” Cook said Wednesday. “The overall impact on the economy was typical of any small business going out. Nobody remembers it, so how significant was that? If anything, it helped us start the industrial park.”
If this is really the best that Think Progress, Barack Obama, Newt Gingrich, the Daily Kos, Rick Perry and the rest of the country’s know-nothings can come up with to smear Mitt Romney’s business career, they had better give it up before they make complete fools of themselves.
All things about Israel and Palestine continued:
Regardless of the post, the conversation here seems to be fixated on the continuing conflict between Arab and Jew in Israel. I freely admit that I do not have the in depth knowledge of every aspect of the history of the area because I am not that interested in the area except as it disrupts the interests of the United States.
It is my belief that the majority of the wars and violence in the Middle East are a result of the disruption of the area by colonialism and a cultural clash between indigenous peoples and European transplants. It is no different than that which has transpired in the Balkans, Ireland and many parts of Africa. The claim that the land in Palestine is the natural home to people from another continent is validated because of their ancient religion is historically absurd. If you think not, apply the same standard to North and South America, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, Canada and the Celtic regions of Great Britain. No honest person can take such a claim seriously. The myths and and religious culture of the area have no more basis in fact than the myths and cultures of any other human civilization on the planet. To think otherwise is the height of jingoism and cultural triumphalism.
What is true is that might makes right. A superior technology and a political will always trump sentimentality and reason until that monopoly is lost and it always gets lost.
I found this video on the history of the area. It is interesting and helps to put the present unsustainable situation in perspective. History has not been kind or sympathetic to countries that ruled by force of arms and technological superiority. It never lasts and neither will this one.
It is my belief that the majority of the wars and violence in the Middle East are a result of the disruption of the area by colonialism and a cultural clash between indigenous peoples and European transplants. It is no different than that which has transpired in the Balkans, Ireland and many parts of Africa. The claim that the land in Palestine is the natural home to people from another continent is validated because of their ancient religion is historically absurd. If you think not, apply the same standard to North and South America, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, Canada and the Celtic regions of Great Britain. No honest person can take such a claim seriously. The myths and and religious culture of the area have no more basis in fact than the myths and cultures of any other human civilization on the planet. To think otherwise is the height of jingoism and cultural triumphalism.
What is true is that might makes right. A superior technology and a political will always trump sentimentality and reason until that monopoly is lost and it always gets lost.
I found this video on the history of the area. It is interesting and helps to put the present unsustainable situation in perspective. History has not been kind or sympathetic to countries that ruled by force of arms and technological superiority. It never lasts and neither will this one.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)