Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
01/16/2009 17:16 Comments ||
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#2
Summary: Russia is banking it's future as a power in the world on the basis that it can get to a position of controlling the worlds economy through control of petro fuels.
Now that the EU has been spooked that may not be so easy.
In the spirit of the times, President Obama needs to think like a debt collector: How can he corner strategic deadbeats into paying up?
Europe's behind in its security payments. Fifty years behind. Most of those past debts have been written off, but it's time for the continent to pony up in Afghanistan. The good news is that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is already making the minimum payments due.
NATO likes to advertise that it has over 50,000 troops in Afghanistan, but more than 30,000 of those are US forces. And we intend to double our commitment. NATO's other 25 members contribute less than 40 percent of the International Security Assistance Force. Even that's padded by non-NATO states, such as Australia. It gets worse. Many non-US contingents are restricted from conducting combat missions. They can hand out candy, but they can't send rounds down range.
Before it expires, Obama needs to spend some of his political capital to get Europe to do more. Much more. We've been patient, but the current situation is unacceptable, with our troops and a few brave allies doing the fighting while others drink beer and collect their hazardous-duty pay. Europe "voted" for Obama. It's time for the continent's deadbeats to start giving blood. Obama must get Germans, Italians and Spaniards to fight, get the French to increase their troop commitment to match their rhetoric, and encourage every NATO member to do more.
To be fair, the Brits, the Canadians, the Dutch, the Danes and even the Estonians have been deep in the fight. But other elements - think olive-oil producing countries south of the Alps - reportedly cut their own deals with the Taliban and local warlords: "You don't bother us, and we won't bother you . . . We're just here to show the flag." Afghanistan and NATO can't afford that kind of check kiting.
Essentially, Obama and his security team need to convince Europeans that this fight really is their fight. Afghan opium doesn't come to the US. The old world is far more threatened by Islamist terrorism today than we are. And Europe's own immigrant populations are watching to see who wins. Obama has to "move out sharply," in military parlance. His honeymoon with Europe will last, at most, a year or two. He needs to capitalize on the European belief that he's going to raise the lost continent of Atlantis - before he has to knock down their illusions.
When persuasion doesn't work, he needs to be willing to shame those who expect Americans to die while their troops quaff another Hefeweizen. In the specific case of Germany, enough's enough. It's great that the Germans have finally shown the flag. Now they need to show some guts. The German government had to do things one step at a time, but now it's time to take the step that matters and fight.
The other key player is France. It has skilled troops, and they've done good things but not their fair share. And France is the pilot fish for all the southern NATO states that have avoided serious commitments. President Nicolas Sarkozy has been a disappointment of late, but he has good intentions. He just needs adult supervision. Obama should move fast to get the Energizer Lapin under control. Sarko craves attention. Great. Let's make sure he gets it for the right things. Use him before you lose him.
Above all, our new president needs to reassure NATO and the world that we're not about to quit the fight, that his administration will be as dedicated to fighting Islamist terror as the Bush administration has been.
In a matter of days, the Europeans won't have Bush to kick around anymore. Obama's oath of office should herald the era of no excuses in NATO. He should even consider telling countries that won't let their troops fight that they can go home and suck it. Bush forged his "coalition of the willing" in Iraq. In Afghanistan, Obama needs a "coalition of the killing."
#5
I don't think Mr. Peters is starry-eyed about the incoming president, Nimble Spemble. Not only is he a retired Army colonel (Intelligence), but he's been writing useful articles about the war on terror for years. Rather, he is laying out his position on this subject for the next four years.
#6
Ditto TW. His profound logic, sense of right, and intense patriotism were threatening to the PC "chain-of-command" while he was on active duty. He is no friend of those set on destroying us. Peters is a brilliant mind, a national treasure.
#7
Col. Peter's thought is part of the zeitgeist, anyway. The Wall Street Journal has any op-ed today on exactly that subject.
Kudos, then, to U.K. Defense Secretary John Hutton for making the stakes clear to his fellow Europeans ahead of Mr. Obama's inauguration Tuesday. "Freeloading on the back of U.S. military security," Mr. Hutton said in a speech last night, "is not an option if we wish to be equal partners in this trans-Atlantic alliance."
Mr. Hutton was most pointed about Afghanistan, a shooting war to which NATO is nominally committed but in which U.S. troops see most of the bullets. "Contributing less doesn't reduce the risks we face," he said. "It only brings less influence." And, in a line that will have many Americans nodding their heads: "It is not right to take the benefit of the insurance cover on offer, if you aren't prepared to pay the premium that goes with it."
The British Defense Secretary's frank talk about Europe's responsibilities in Afghanistan stands in contrast to some comments from the Continent. Within days of Mr. Obama's election victory, German officials were cautioning about the "limits" to the military help they could offer. France, too, has been noncommittal about boosting troop levels significantly. We applaud Mr. Hutton's challenge to his European neighbors, but he may need to make a lot more speeches like last night's to win hearts and minds in Paris and Berlin.
This will be a useful test of President Obama's ability to change the world's view of the U.S.
I395 will be closed from the Springfield interchange except for buses, taxis with permits TO THE AIRPORT. The I395 bridges will be closed. The I395 tunnel (3rd St) will be used for PEDESTRIAN access to the mall. ALL TRAFFIC must take the beltway.
Memorial Bridge will be closed. Pedestrian traffic only.
I66 will be closed from the Beltway. Its bridges will be closed.
The Key Bridge will be closed. Pedestrian traffic only.
Chain Bridge will be closed.
GW Parkway northbound between Alexandria City and I495 (AmLegion Bridge) will be closed.
GW Parkway southbound between I495 and I395 will be closed. (this means that all who need to go to the CIA HQ have to take other routes).
South Capitol Street and the bridges will be closed. I-295 bridges into the district will be closed.
Most of the metro stations near the festivities will be EXIT ONLY. Good planning - you take the metro to the mall - and there is a problem - you can not use the metro to get OFF the mall. You have to hike to an unfamiliar station blocks away through the mASSes.
They are talking about untold millions of celebrants. To support those minions there are a total of 5,000 porta-johns. I hope that the porta-johns have wing tanks since they are also emplaced for a concert near the Lincoln Memorial (Sunday) and will probably be unusable by Monday! Not to even think about all the excrement that will be flying in the speeches.
I don't know what the poor workers who have jobs in the downtown areas will do - people like the hotel housekeeping staff and waiters and bartenders and etc - since if they need to rely upon anything to go the work it will be nearly impossible to do so.
American commerce and the creation of new jobs must await The One!
Like all who have held this office before me, I have experienced setbacks. There are things I would do differently if given the chance. Yet I have always acted with the best interests of our country in mind. I have followed my conscience and done what I thought was right. You may not agree with some tough decisions I have made. But I hope you can agree that I was willing to make the tough decisions. Indeed. Bless you for making the right choices on the most important issues. Thank you for standing guard in the political cold so that we at home could sleep safely at night.
The current economic crisis, which some have called the worst since the Great Depression, has not deterred the organizers of Obama's inaugural festivities from outspending the Bush team four years ago. So much do this year's festivities cost that the outgoing president has declared an emergency to pay for it so his successor won't have to spare any expense as he celebrates his swearing-in.
The most expensive swearing-in ceremony in US History? Where's the outrage? Oh, yeah, it's a Democrat doing the spending so the standards are different.
$150 Million would pay for 7500 scholarships for underprivileged youth to attend the exclusive private school in Chicago where the Obamas sent their precious little daughters. (Apparently, the Chicago Public Schools then under the management of Obamas Education Secretary nominee werent good enough.)
It would also buy out 500 subprime mortgages, or put Lindsey Lohan in rehab for 416 years.
Any of which would be a better use than throwing a coronation party that would give Leni Riefenstahl the dry heaves.
Posted by: Mike ||
01/16/2009 07:40 ||
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#1
All which could have been accomplished in the Oval Office at a significant savings. Missed again at a time when most needed, the opportunity for common sense and frugality. But that would have only suited lesser men. Please don't forget the Greek columns.
"This is a time to celebrate. This is a great moment. Do not dress down. Do not wear the Washington uniform," said Tim Gunn, a native Washingtonian and Chief Creative Officer at Liz Claiborne, Inc.
"Just because the economy is in a downturn, it doesn't mean that style is going to be in a downturn," agreed Ken Downing, fashion director for Neiman Marcus.
In the wake of the events of 1-15, in which a wedge of Geese brought down a US Airways aircraft, heres what you wont be hearing about from the so-called Mainstream Media: We brought this on ourselves.
After an event such as this one, its important to look at the root causes: Why did the Geese attack us? Well, the truth is, for years we have been oppressing the Geese, using them for the fuel they provide for our bodies.
Boneless Goose Breast, Brandied Roast Goose, Roast Goose with Cumberland Sauce and Apricot Stuffing. And of course, the Christmas Goose. In the name of religion, we have been engaged in what can only be called a Crusade against the Geese. Is it any wonder that a few brave suicide Geese would seek revenge?
Under the neocon/neofascist Cheney-Bush administration, Goose consumption is up 1541%. Geese have been systematically deprived of their rights at a level never seen before. (Look around your workplace: do you see any Geese? Wouldnt you be nervous if you did?) Reports of shameful anti-Goose activity are at an all-time high, mainly in the South and Midwest, of course.
#2
This is the result of an overly effective endangered species protection program for the Canadian Goose. The stupid things no longer bother to migrate, and there are so many that I've ceased to worry about a protein shortage should the world come to an end.
#4
We have what my life and daughter call 'the lake' behind our house (it's a retention pond but I get a dirty look every time I call it that). For 3 seasons a year we have more geese than I could eat in a lifetime. They're fearless and they do indeed own the joint.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/16/2009 16:43 Comments ||
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#5
my dog brings home one a month...
she usually gets wild turkeys and quail instead
Posted by: Abu do you love ||
01/16/2009 16:48 Comments ||
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#6
Fairly dumb too. My stepfather had some geese and we had just changed the oil on one of his cars. The goose went up, looked at the coffee-can of oil and then dunked his head in it. Had a layer of dirty motor oil from the neck up.
#7
I had a goose. She slept with the dogs and chased cars with them.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
01/16/2009 17:44 Comments ||
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#8
"They're fearless and do indeed own the joint" > iff they're like the Gooseys I'd seen here in Guam and the USA, YOU BETCHA. I've seen large mean dogs cower before the Power of Geese.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
By Ralph Peters
The current economic crisis, which some have called the worst since the Great Depression, has not deterred the organizers of Obama's inaugural festivities from outspending the Bush team four years ago. So much do this year's festivities cost that the outgoing president has 
