It doesn't make any difference if you've heard this one before or not - listen to it again.....
Get a load of these high school kids. At the conclusion listen to the high note on the trumpet . . . played by a high school kid? One of the fathersrecorded it, added some graphic enhancements to the recording, and posted it on the web. The song, of course, is the “ Battle Hymn Of The Republic." Be prepared. It will definitely send a few shivers up your spine.
CHENNAI: In a rare instance of an existing quota being abrogated at the instance of the beneficiaries themselves, the Tamil Nadu government on Monday said it would withdraw the 3.5% exclusive reservation for Christians in education and employment after just one year of its operation. The move follows representations from the community that the separate quota was hurting Christians badly and that they were better off without it.
After meeting a delegation from the community at the secretariat, chief minister M Karunanidhi said an amendment would be brought in to revert to the old quota system in which Christians were bracketed with Other Backward Classes for the 30% of seats and jobs reserved for OBCs.
Fulfiling a pre-election pledge of the ruling DMK, the state government had in September 2007 promulgated an ordinance to provide exclusive quotas of 3.5% each for Christians and Muslims on the backward class list. The two quotas were introduced as compartments within the 30% OBC reservation.
"As Muslims continue to favour separate reservation, their exclusive quota will continue," Karunanidhi said.
Gee, wotta surprise ...
The Christian delegation, including Madras-Mylapore Archbishop A M Chinnappa, Kottar-Nagercoil Archbishop Peter Remigius, state minorities commission chairman Vincent Chinnadurai and Congress whip Peter Alphonse submitted a petition appealing for withdrawing the quota.
"You made history by introducing exclusive sub-quotas for Christians and Muslims and we are thankful for it. However, when the law came into force, we found that the Christian community got fewer opportunities in admission and employment than before. There is a widespread feeling that the exclusive quota is detrimental to the Christian people, not only in southern districts of Tamil Nadu, where there is a sizeable Christian population, but in the whole state," the delegation said.
Posted by: john frum ||
10/13/2008
16:34 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
NEW YORK - Wall Street has stormed back from last week's devastating losses, sending the Dow Jones industrials soaring a nearly inconceivable 938 points after major governments' plans to support the global banking system reassured distraught investors.
The Dow by far outstripped its previous record for a one-day point gain, 499, reached during the waning days of the dot-com boom in 2000.
The market was likely to have a rebound after eight days of precipitous losses that took the Dow down nearly 2,400 points, but no one expected this kind of advance. Still, back-and-forth trading is likely to continue as Wall Street still contends with a crippled financial system and a struggling economy. So some of Monday's big gains may disappear when trading resumes Tuesday.
The Dow is up about 938 points at the 9,389 level. All the major indexes are up more than 11 percent.
#1
"soaring a nearly inconceivable 938 points after major governments' plans to support the global banking system reassured distraught investors"
Uh, no, it's more likely a sign that this weekend a lot of people asked themselves why Warren Buffet is in buying mode.
"Still, back-and-forth trading is likely to continue..."
Tomorrow's forecast: daylight followed by a chance of darkness in the evening. These journalists are so frigging deep.
ABC News says Rep. Tim Mahoney, D-Fla., had an affair with one of his aides and then agreed to a $121,000 settlement when she threatened to file a sexual harassment lawsuit. The Politico quotes a Mahoney spokesman saying that the payment didn't include any government or campaign funds.
Mahoney replaced Rep. Mark Foley after the Palm Beach Republican resigned amid allegations that he had exchanged sexually explicit messages with underage male pages on Capitol Hill.
The relationship between Mahoney and Patricia Allen began while he was running against Foley in 2006, according to the network, which says the affair continued after the Democrat took office and hired Allen to work in his district office. Allen, 50, broke off the relationship and was fired earlier this year, the network says, citing an audiotape that's posted on its website.
She hired a lawyer and the pair eventually agreed on a settlement. "Mahoney, who is married, also promised [her] a $50,000 a year job for two years at the agency that handles his campaign advertising," the network says, citing anonymous staffers.
The affair between Mahoney and Allen began, according to the current and former staffers, in 2006 when Mahoney was campaigning for Congress against Foley, promising "a world that is safer, more moral."
Following his election in 2006, Allen was hired, at taxpayers expense, to work on Mahoney's Congressional staff in Florida, at a yearly salary of $36,000. After complaints about the affair circulated in Washington, Allen was moved to the campaign staff, the staffers say.
Friends of Allen told ABC News that Allen sought to break off the affair when she learned Mahoney was allegedly involved in other extra-marital relationships at the same time. Her friends say she told them Mahoney threatened that ending the relationship could cost her the job.
"You work at my pleasure," Congressman Mahoney told Allen on a January 20, 2008 telephone call that was recorded and played for Mahoney staffers. "If you do the job that I think you should do, you get to keep your job. Whenever I don't feel like you're doing your job, then you lose your job," Mahoney can be heard telling Allen. "And guess what? The only person that matters is guess who? Me. You understand that. That is how life really is. That is how it works," Mahoney says on the call. "You're fired," Mahoney tells her. "Do you hear me? Don't tell me whether it's correct or not."
Allen says, "Tell me why else I'm fired."
"There is no why else," Mahoney responds.
Later, Allen says, "You're firing me for other reasons. You don't, you're not man enough to say it. So why don't you say it."
The portion of the tape provided to ABC News cuts off when the two begin a profanity-laced argument.
#3
From this we infer that only the hint of gay sex involving a Republican is enough for the media and the Democrats to call for his resignation but a full-out hetero relationship involving a Democrat AND the payment of hush money barely warrants a peep from the media.
Oh...and there was a gay sex scandal connected with the sub-prime mess and collapse of the financial sector (Barney Frank and Herb Moses of Fannie Mae) but no one in the media has any interest.
As part of its growing hostile policy toward the United States, Russia is offering nuclear technology to the leftist regime of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, according to U.S. officials.
The nuclear deal was made public by Chavez on Venezuelan television Sept. 28 following his trip to Russia. Noting his strong friendship with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Chavez stated that "In Venezuela we are certainly interested in developing nuclear energy, obviously for peaceful purposes."
The IAEA will of course appoint Mr. Magoo as watchdog, just as in Iran ...
Chavez then joked that his interest in nuclear technology has nothing to do with an atomic bicycle that has a bomb hidden in the back wheel near the chain, but that the "yankees" were unable to find. "We are talking about nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, for medical use, and for generating electricity," he stated. "Brazil has nuclear energy."
The Brazilians aren't crazy ...
According to Chavez, former Venezuelan dictator Perez Jimenez set up a nuclear reactor in Venezuela, but the project was discontinued due to "yankee pressure."
"Brazil has nuclear reactors as does Argentina. Venezuela will have its reactor too," he said. "Putin announced to reporters that Russia is ready to help Venezuela develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and we already have a commission working in this respect."
The potential transfer of nuclear technology to Venezuela is an indication that Venezuela's leftist regime will secretly develop nuclear weapons, following the pattern of denial and deception used in the past by North Korea for its arms program and currently being used by Iran for its nuclear arms program. Look into Pooty Poot's soul now and tell us what you see.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/13/2008
15:07 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
This may be one ticket that El Supremo had better not punch. The US can make it abundantly clear that while it doesn't mind Venezuelans playing games, nuclear anything is James Bond time.
Chavez has come, and Chavez will go, but if Venezuela goes nuclear, it may mean the end of Venezuela. It is a red line, and Chavez and all his little dreams of glory are not worth it.
Russia as well has been playing fast and loose. We might suggest that a nuclear armed Georgia would not be in Russia's benefit as well.
Memo to America's enemies: Be careful what you wish for
Sol Sanders writes the "Asia Investor" column weekly for EAST-ASIA-INTEL.com.
The anticipated catcalls from Beijing and Moscow -- as well as the usual suspects in the British and Continental and Indian leftwing media -- had hardly echoed when the truth dawned on them. The financial screwup that had temporarily wrecked the American economy was the end of Washington's dominance of the world, the schandenfreudians screamed. For the nth time, the early predictions were for an end to "the unipolar world" and the start of a new multipolar dawn in international relations minus American paramountcy that would bring nirvana. The verdict was unanimous among the usual suspects not excluding the Mullahs in Iran.
Here is what Denmark is doing to correct the problem that crept up on them in all of their goodness.....
A must read for Americans & Canadians, our politicians need a wake-up call!!!!!!!!
In 1978-9 I was living and studying in Denmark . But in 1978 - even in Copenhagen , one didn't see Muslim immigrants. The Danish population embraced visitors, celebrated the exotic, went out of its way to protect each of its citizens. It was proud of its new brand of socialist liberalism - one in development since the conservatives had lost power in 1929 - a system where no worker had to struggle to survive, where one ultimately could count upon the state as in, perhaps, no other western nation at the time. The rest of Europe saw the Scandinavians as free-thinking, progressive and infinitely generous in their welfare policies. Denmark boasted low crime rates, devotion to the environment, a superior educational system and a history of humanitarianism.
Denmark was also most generous in its immigration policies - it offered the best welcome in Europe to the new immigrant: generous welfare payments from first arrival plus additional perks in transportation, housing and education. It was determined to set a world example for inclusiveness and multiculturalism. How could it have predicted that one day in 2005 a series of political cartoons in a newspaper would spark violence that would leave dozens dead in the streets - all because its commitment to multiculturalism would come back to bite?
By the 1990's the growing urban Muslim population was obvious - and its unwillingness to integrate into Danish society was obvious. Years of immigrants had settled into Muslim-exclusive enclaves. As the Muslim leadership became more vocal about what they considered the decadence of Denmark 's liberal way of life, the Danes - once so welcoming - began to feel slighted. Many Danes had begun to see Islam as incompatible with their long-standing values: belief in personal liberty and free speech, in equality for women, in tolerance for other ethnic groups, and a deep pride in Danish heritage and history.
The New York Post in 2002 ran an article by Daniel Pipes and Lars Hedegaard, in which they forecasted accurately that the growing immigrant problem in Denmark would explode. In the article they reported: "Muslim immigrants constitute 5 percent of the population but consume upwards of
40 percent of the welfare spending." "Muslims are only 4 percent of Denmark's 5.4 million people but make up a majority of the country's convicted rapists, an especially combustible issue given that practically all the female victims are non-Muslim. Similar, if lesser, disproportions are found in other crimes." "Over time, as Muslim immigrants increase in numbers, they wish less to mix with the indigenous population. A recent survey finds that only 5 percent of young Muslim immigrants would readily marry a Dane." "Forced marriages - promising a newborn daughter in Denmark to a male cousin in the home country, then compelling her to marry him, sometimes on pain of death - are one problem"
"Muslim leaders openly declare their goal of introducing Islamic law once Denmark 's Muslim population grows large enough - a not-that-remote prospect. If present trends persist, one sociologist estimates, every third inhabitant of Denmark in 40 years will be Muslim." It is easy to understand why a growing number of Danes would feel that Muslim immigrants show little respect for Danish values and laws. An example is the phenomenon common to other European countries and the U.S. : some Muslims in Denmark who opted to leave the Muslim faith have been murdered in the name of Islam, while others hide in fear for their lives.
Jews are also threatened and harassed openly by Muslim leaders in Denmark, a country where once Christian citizens worked to smuggle out nearly all of their 7,000 Jews by night to Sweden - before the Nazis could invade. I think of my Danish friend Elsa - who as a teenager had dreaded crossing the street to the bakery every morning under the eyes of occupying Nazi soldiers - and I wonder what she would say today.
In 2001, Denmark elected the most conservative government in some 70 years - one that had some decidedly non-generous ideas about liberal unfettered immigration. Today Denmark has the strictest immigration policies in Europe . ( Its effort to protect itself has been met with accusations of "racism" by liberal media across Europe - even as other governments struggle to right the social problems wrought by years of too-lax immigration.)
If you wish to become Danish, you must attend three years of language classes. You must pass a test on Denmark's history, culture, and a Danish language test. You must live in Denmark for 7 years before applying for citizenship. You must demonstrate an intent to work, and have a job waiting.
If you wish to bring a spouse into Denmark , you must both be over 24 years of age, and you won't find it so easy anymore to move your friends and family to Denmark with you You will not be allowed to build a mosque in Copenhagen . Although your children have a choice of some 30 Arabic culture and language schools in Denmark , they will be strongly encouraged to assimilate to Danish society in ways that past immigrants weren't.
In 2006, the Danish minister for employment, Claus Hjort Frederiksen, spoke publicly of the burden of Muslim immigrants on the Danish welfare system, and it was horrifying: the government's welfare committee had calculated that if immigration from Third World countries were blocked, 75 percent of the cuts needed to sustain the huge welfare system in coming decades would be unnecessary. In other words, the welfare system as it existed was being exploited by immigrants to the point of eventually bankrupting the government. "We are simply forced to adopt a new policy on immigration. The calculations of the welfare committee are terrifying and show how unsuccessful the integration of immigrants has been up to now," he said.
A large thorn in the side of Denmark 's imams is the Minister of Immigration and Integration, Rikke Hvilshoj. She makes no bones about the new policy toward immigration, "The number of foreigners coming to the country makes a difference," Hvilshøj says, "There is an inverse correlation between how many come here and how well we can receive the foreigners that come." And on Muslim immigrants needing to demonstrate a willingness to blend in, "In my view, Denmark should be a country with room for different cultures and religions. Some values, however, are more important than others. We refuse to question democracy, equal rights, and freedom of speech." Hvilshoj has paid a price for her show of backbone. Perhaps to test her resolve, the leading radical imam in Denmark, Ahmed Abdel Rahman Abu Laban, demanded that the government pay blood money to the family of a Muslim who was murdered in a suburb of Copenhagen, stating that the family's thirst for revenge could be thwarted for money. When Hvilshoj dismissed his demand, he argued that in Muslim culture the payment of retribution money was common, to which Hvilshoj replied that what is done in a Muslim country is not necessarily what is done in Denmark. The Muslim reply came soon after: her house was torched while she, her husband and children slept. All managed to escape unharmed, but she and her family were moved to a secret location and she and other ministers were assigned bodyguards for the first time - in a country where such murderous violence was once so scarce.
Her government has slid to the right, and her borders have tightened. Many believe that what happens in the next decade will determine whether Denmark survives as a bastion of good living, humane thinking and social responsibility, or whether it becomes a nation at civil war with supporters of Sharia law. And meanwhile, Americans clamor for stricter immigration policies, and demand an end to state welfare programs that allow many immigrants to live on the public dole. As we in America look at the enclaves of Muslims amongst us, and see those who enter our shores too easily, dare live on our taxes, yet refuse to embrace our culture, respect our traditions, participate in our legal system, obey our laws, speak our language, appreciate our history . . we would do well to look to Denmark, and say a prayer for her future and for our own.
#3
A Wise Warning from Europe about AmericaÂ’s Future
Geert Wilders
EditorÂ’s note: This is the transcript from a speech given by Mr. Wilders at the Four Seasons, New York, last week.
I come to America with a mission. All is not well in the old world. There is a tremendous danger looming, and it is very difficult to be optimistic. We might be in the final stages of the Islamization of Europe. This not only is a clear and present danger to the future of Europe itself, it is a threat to America and the sheer survival of the West. The danger I see looming is the scenario of America as the last man standing. The United States as the last bastion of Western civilization, facing an Islamic Europe. In a generation or two, the US will ask itself: who lost Europe? Patriots from around Europe risk their lives every day to prevent precisely this scenario from becoming a reality.
My short lecture consists of four parts.
First, I will describe the situation on the ground in Europe. Then, I will say a few things about Islam. Thirdly, if you are still here, I will talk a little bit about the movie you just saw. To close, I will tell you about a meeting in Jerusalem.
The Europe you know is changing. You have probably seen the landmarks. The Eiffel Tower and Trafalgar Square and RomeÂ’s ancient buildings and maybe the canals of Amsterdam. They are still there. And they still look very much the same as they did a hundred years ago.
But in all of these cities, sometimes a few blocks away from your tourist destination, there is another world, a world very few visitors see – and one that does not appear in your tourist guidebook. It is the world of the parallel society created by Muslim mass-migration. All throughout Europe a new reality is rising: entire Muslim neighbourhoods where very few indigenous people reside or are even seen. And if they are, they might regret it. This goes for the police as well. It’s the world of head scarves, where women walk around in figureless tents, with baby strollers and a group of children. Their husbands, or slaveholders if you prefer,walk threesteps ahead. With mosques on many street corners. The shops have signs you and I cannot read. You will be hard-pressed to find any economic activity. These are Muslim ghettos controlled by religious fanatics. These are Muslim neighbourhoods, and they are mushrooming in every city across Europe. These are the building-blocks for territorial control of increasingly larger portions of Europe, street by street, neighbourhood by neighbourhood, city by city.
There are now thousands of mosques throughout Europe. With larger congregations than there are in churches. And in every European city there are plans to build super-mosques that will dwarf every church in the region. Clearly, the signal is: we rule.
Many European cities are already one-quarter Muslim: just take Amsterdam, Marseille and Malmo in Sweden. In many cities the majority of the under-18 population is Muslim. Paris is now surrounded by a ring of Muslim neighbourhoods. Mohammed is the most popular name among boys in many cities. In some elementary schools in Amsterdam the farm can no longer be mentioned, because that would also mean mentioning the pig, and that would be an insult to Muslims. Many state schools in Belgium and Denmark serve only halal food to all pupils. In once-tolerant Amsterdam, gays are beaten up almost exclusively by Muslims. Non-Muslim women routinely hear “whore, whore.” Satellite dishes are not pointed to local TV stations, but to stations in the country of origin. In France school teachers are advised to avoid authors deemed offensive to Muslims, including Voltaire and Diderot; the same is increasingly true of Darwin. The history of the Holocaust can in many cases no longer be taught because of Muslim sensitivity. In England, Sharia courts are now officially part of the British legal system. Many neighbourhoods in France are no-go areas for women without head scarves. Last week a man almost died after being beaten up by Muslims in Brussels, because he was drinking during the Ramadan. Jews are fleeing France in record numbers, on the run for the worst wave of anti-Semitism since World War II. French is now commonly spoken on the streets of Tel Aviv and Netanya, Israel. I could go on forever with stories like this. Stories about Islamization.
A total of fifty-four million Muslims now live in Europe. San Diego University recently calculated that a staggering 25% of the population in Europe will be Muslim just 12 years from now. Bernhard Lewis has predicted a Muslim majority by the end of this century.
Now these are just numbers. And the numbers would not be threatening if the Muslim-immigrants had a strong desire to assimilate. But there are few signs of that. The Pew Research Center reported that half of French Muslims see their loyalty to Islam as greater than their loyalty to France. One-third of French Muslims do not object to suicide attacks. The British Centre for Social Cohesion reported that one-third of British Muslim students are in favour of a worldwide caliphate. A Dutch study reported that half of Dutch Muslims admit they “understand” the 9/11 attacks.
Muslims demand what they call “respect.” And this is how we give them respect. Our elites are willing to give in. To give up. In my own country we have gone from calls by one cabinet member to turn Muslim holidays into official state holidays, to statements by another cabinet member that Islam is part of Dutch culture, to an affirmation by the Christian-Democratic attorney general that he is willing to accept Sharia in the Netherlands if there is a Muslim majority. We have cabinet members with passports from Morocco and Turkey.
Muslim demands are supported by unlawful behaviour, ranging from petty crimes and random violence, for example against ambulance workers and bus drivers, to small-scale riots. Paris has seen its uprising in the low-income suburbs, the banlieus. Some prefer to see these as isolated incidents, but I call it a Muslim intifada. I call the perpetrators “settlers.” Because that is what they are. They do not come to integrate into our societies; they come to integrate our society into their Dar-al-Islam. Therefore, they are settlers.
Much of this street violence I mentioned is directed exclusively against non-Muslims, forcing many native people to leave their neighbourhoods, their cities, their countries.
Politicians shy away from taking a stand against this creeping sharia. They believe in the equality of all cultures. Moreover, on a mundane level, Muslims are now a swing vote not to be ignored.
Our many problems with Islam cannot be explained by poverty, repression or the European colonial past, as the Left claims. Nor does it have anything to do with Palestinians or American troops in Iraq. The problem is Islam itself.
Allow me to give you a brief Islam 101. The first thing you need to know about Islam is the importance of the book of the Koran. The Koran is AllahÂ’s personal word, revealed by an angel to Mohammed, the prophet. This is where the trouble starts. Every word in the Koran is AllahÂ’s word and therefore not open to discussion or interpretation. It is valid for every Muslim and for all times. Therefore, there is no such a thing as moderate Islam. Sure, there are a lot of moderate Muslims. But a moderate Islam is non-existent.
The Koran calls for hatred, violence, submission, murder, and terrorism. The Koran calls for Muslims to kill non-Muslims, to terrorize non-Muslims and to fulfil their duty to wage war: violent jihad. Jihad is a duty for every Muslim, Islam is to rule the world – by the sword. The Quran is clearly anti-Semitic, describing Jews as monkeys and pigs.
The second thing you need to know is the importance of Mohammed the prophet. His behaviour is an example to all Muslims and cannot be criticized. Now, if Mohammed had been a man of peace, let us say like Ghandi and Mother Theresa wrapped in one, there would be no problem. But Mohammed was a warlord, a mass murderer, a pedophile, and had several marriages – at the same time. Islamic tradition tells us how he fought in battles, how he had his enemies murdered and even had prisoners of war executed. Mohammed himself slaughtered the Jewish tribe of Banu Qurayza. He advised on matters of slavery, but never advised to liberate slaves. Islam has no other morality than the advancement of Islam. If it is good for Islam, it is good. If it is bad for Islam, it is bad. There is no gray area or other side.
Quran as Allah’s own word and Mohammed as the perfect man are the two most important facets of Islam. Let no one fool you about Islam being a religion. Sure, it has a god, and a here-after, and 72 virgins. But in its essence Islam is a political ideology. It is a system that lays down detailed rules for society and the life of every person. Islam wants to dictate every aspect of life. Islam means ‘submission’. Islam is not compatible with freedom and democracy, because what it strives for is sharia. If you want to compare Islam to anything, compare it to communism or national-socialism, these are all totalitarian ideologies.
This is what you need to know about Islam, in order to understand what is going on in Europe. For millions of Muslims the Quran and the live of Mohammed are not 14 centuries old, but are an everyday reality, an ideal, that guide every aspect of their lives. Now you know why Winston Churchill called Islam “the most retrograde force in the world,” and why he compared Mein Kampf to the Koran.
Which brings me to my movie, Fitna.
I am a lawmaker, and not a movie maker. But I felt I had the moral duty to educate about Islam. The duty to make clear that the Koran stands at the heart of what some people call terrorism but is in reality jihad. I wanted to show that the problems of Islam are at the core of Islam, and do not belong to its fringes.
Now, from the day the plan for my movie was made public, it caused quite a stir, in the Netherlands and throughout Europe. First, there was a political storm, with government leaders, across the continent in sheer panic. The Netherlands was put under a heightened terror alert, because of possible attacks or a revolt by our Muslim population. The Dutch branch of the Islamic organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir declared that the Netherlands was due for an attack. Internationally, there was a series of incidents. The Taliban threatened to organize additional attacks against Dutch troops in Afghanistan, and a website linked to Al Qaeda published the message that I ought to be killed, while various muftis in the Middle East stated that I would be responsible for all the bloodshed after the screening of the movie. In Afghanistan and Pakistan the Dutch flag was burned on several occasions. Dolls representing me were also burned. The Indonesian President announced that I will never be admitted into Indonesia again, while the UN Secretary General and the European Union issued cowardly statements in the same vein as those made by the Dutch Government. I could go on and on. It was an absolute disgrace, a sell-out.
A plethora of legal troubles also followed, and have not ended yet. Currently the state of Jordan is litigating against me. Only last week there were renewed security agency reports about a heightened terror alert for the Netherlands because of Fitna.
Now, I would like to say a few things about Israel. Because, very soon, we will get together in its capitol. The best way for a politician in Europe to lose votes is to say something positive about Israel. The public has wholeheartedly accepted the Palestinian narrative, and sees Israel as the aggressor. I, however, will continue to speak up for Israel. I see defending Israel as a matter of principle. I have lived in this country and visited it dozens of times. I support Israel. First, because it is the Jewish homeland after two thousand years of exile up to and including Auschwitz, second because it is a democracy, and third because Israel is our first line of defense.
Samuel Huntington writes it so aptly: “Islam has bloody borders.” Israel is located precisely on that border. This tiny country is situated on the fault line of jihad, frustrating Islam’s territorial advance. Israel is facing the front lines of jihad, like Kashmir, Kosovo, the Philippines, Southern Thailand, Darfur in Sudan, Lebanon, and Aceh in Indonesia. Israel is simply in the way. The same way West-Berlin was during the Cold War.
The war against Israel is not a war against Israel. It is a war against the West. It is Jihad. Israel is simply receiving the blows that are meant for all of us. If there would have been no Israel, Islamic imperialism would have found other venues to release its energy and its desire for conquest. Thanks to Israeli parents who send their children to the army and lay awake at night, parents in Europe and America can sleep well and dream, unaware of the dangers looming.
Many in Europe argue in favor of abandoning Israel in order to address the grievances of our Muslim minorities. But if Israel were, God forbid, to go down, it would not bring any solace to the West. It would not mean our Muslim minorities would all of a sudden change their behavior, and accept our values. On the contrary, the end of Israel would give enormous encouragement to the forces of Islam. They would, and rightly so, see the demise of Israel as proof that the West is weak, and doomed. The end of Israel would not mean the end of our problems with Islam, but only the beginning. It would mean the start of the final battle for world domination. If they can get Israel, they can get everything. Therefore, it is not that the West has a stake in Israel. It IS Israel.
It is very difficult to be an optimist in the face of the growing Islamization of Europe. All the tides are against us. On all fronts we are losing. Demographically the momentum is with Islam. Muslim immigration is even a source of pride within ruling liberal parties. Academia, the arts, the media, trade unions, the churches, the business world, the entire political establishment have all converted to the suicidal theory of multiculturalism. So-called journalists volunteer to label any and all critics of Islamization as a ‘right-wing extremists’ or ‘racists’. The entire establishment has sided with our enemy. Leftists, liberals and Christian-Democrats are now all in bed with Islam.
This is the most painful thing to see: the betrayal by our elites. At this moment in Europe’s history, our elites are supposed to lead us. To stand up for centuries of civilization. To defend our heritage. To honour our eternal Judeo-Christian values that made Europe what it is today. But there are very few signs of hope to be seen at the governmental level. Sarkozy, Merkel, Brown, Berlusconi; in private, they probably know how grave the situation is. But when the little red light goes on, they stare into the camera and tell us that Islam is a religion of peace, and we should all try to get along nicely and sing Kumbaya. They willingly participate in what President Reagan so aptly called: “the betrayal of our past, the squandering of our freedom.”
If there is hope in Europe, it comes from the people, not from the elites. Change can come only from a grass-roots level. It has to come from the citizens themselves. Yet these patriots will have to take on the entire political, legal and media establishment.
Over the past years there have been some small, but encouraging, signs of a rebirth of the original European spirit. Maybe the elites turn their backs on freedom, the public does not. In my country, the Netherlands, 60% of the population now sees the mass immigration of Muslims as the number one policy mistake since World War II. And another 60 percent sees Islam as the biggest threat to our national identity. I donÂ’t think the public opinion in Holland is very different from other European countries.
Patriotic parties that oppose Jihad are growing, against all odds. My own party debuted two years ago, with 5% of the vote. Now it stands at 10% in the polls. The same is true of all similarly-minded parties in Europe. They are fighting the liberal establishment, and are gaining footholds on the political arena, one voter at the time.
Now, for the first time, these patriotic parties will come together and exchange experiences. It may be the start of something big. Something that might change the map of Europe for decades to come. It might also be EuropeÂ’s last chance.
This December a conference will take place in Jerusalem. Thanks to Professor Aryeh Eldad, a member of Knesset, we will be able to watch Fitna in the Knesset building and discuss the jihad. We are organizing this event in Israel to emphasize the fact that we are all in the same boat together, and that Israel is part of our common heritage. Those attending will be a select audience. No racist organizations will be allowed. And we will admit only parties that are solidly democratic.
This conference will be the start of an Alliance of European patriots. This Alliance will serve as the backbone for all organizations and political parties that oppose jihad and Islamization. For this Alliance I seek your support.
This endeavor may be crucial to America and to the West. America may hold fast to the dream that, thanks to its location, it is safe from jihad and Sharia. But seven years ago to the day, there was still smoke rising from ground zero, following the attacks that forever shattered that dream. Yet there is a danger even greater danger than terrorist attacks, the scenario of America as the last man standing. The lights may go out in Europe faster than you can imagine. An Islamic Europe means a Europe without freedom and democracy, an economic wasteland, an intellectual nightmare, and a loss of military might for America - as its allies will turn into enemies, enemies with atomic bombs. With an Islamic Europe, it would be up to America alone to preserve the heritage of Rome, Athens and Jerusalem.
Dear friends, liberty is the most precious of gifts. My generation never had to fight for this freedom, it was offered to us on a silver platter, by people who fought for it with their lives. All throughout Europe, American cemeteries remind us of the young boys who never made it home, and whose memory we cherish. My generation does not own this freedom; we are merely its custodians. We can only hand over this hard won liberty to EuropeÂ’s children in the same state in which it was offered to us. We cannot strike a deal with mullahs and imams. Future generations would never forgive us. We cannot squander our liberties. We simply do not have the right to do so.
This is not the first time our civilization is under threat. We have seen dangers before. We have been betrayed by our elites before. They have sided with our enemies before. And yet, then, freedom prevailed.
These are not times in which to take lessons from appeasement, capitulation, giving away, giving up or giving in. These are not times in which to draw lessons from Mr. Chamberlain. These are times calling us to draw lessons from Mr. Churchill and the words he spoke in 1942:
“Never give in, never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”
Geert Wilders is chairman of the Party for Freedom, the Netherlands.
One of Barack Obama's most potent campaign claims is that he'll cut taxes for no less than 95% of "working families." He's even promising to cut taxes enough that the government's tax share of GDP will be no more than 18.2% -- which is lower than it is today.
It's a clever pitch, because it lets him pose as a middle-class tax cutter while disguising that he's also proposing one of the largest tax increases ever on the other 5%. But how does he conjure this miracle, especially since more than a third of all Americans already pay no income taxes at all? There are several sleights of hand, but the most creative is to redefine the meaning of "tax cut."
For the Obama Democrats, a tax cut is no longer letting you keep more of what you earn. In their lexicon, a tax cut includes tens of billions of dollars in government handouts that are disguised by the phrase "tax credit." Mr. Obama is proposing to create or expand no fewer than seven such credits for individuals:
- A $500 tax credit ($1,000 a couple) to "make work pay" that phases out at income of $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 per couple.
- A $4,000 tax credit for college tuition.
- A 10% mortgage interest tax credit (on top of the existing mortgage interest deduction and other housing subsidies).
- A "savings" tax credit of 50% up to $1,000.
- An expansion of the earned-income tax credit that would allow single workers to receive as much as $555 a year, up from $175 now, and give these workers up to $1,110 if they are paying child support.
- A child care credit of 50% up to $6,000 of expenses a year.
- A "clean car" tax credit of up to $7,000 on the purchase of certain vehicles.
Here's the political catch. All but the clean car credit would be "refundable," which is Washington-speak for the fact that you can receive these checks even if you have no income-tax liability. In other words, they are an income transfer -- a federal check -- from taxpayers to nontaxpayers. Once upon a time we called this "welfare," or in George McGovern's 1972 campaign a "Demogrant." Mr. Obama's genius is to call it a tax cut.
The Tax Foundation estimates that under the Obama plan 63 million Americans, or 44% of all tax filers, would have no income tax liability and most of those would get a check from the IRS each year. The Heritage Foundation's Center for Data Analysis estimates that by 2011, under the Obama plan, an additional 10 million filers would pay zero taxes while cashing checks from the IRS.
The total annual expenditures on refundable "tax credits" would rise over the next 10 years by $647 billion to $1.054 trillion, according to the Tax Policy Center. This means that the tax-credit welfare state would soon cost four times actual cash welfare. By redefining such income payments as "tax credits," the Obama campaign also redefines them away as a tax share of GDP. Presto, the federal tax burden looks much smaller than it really is.
The political left defends "refundability" on grounds that these payments help to offset the payroll tax. And that was at least plausible when the only major refundable credit was the earned-income tax credit. Taken together, however, these tax credit payments would exceed payroll levies for most low-income workers.
It is also true that John McCain proposes a refundable tax credit -- his $5,000 to help individuals buy health insurance. We've written before that we prefer a tax deduction for individual health care, rather than a credit. But the big difference with Mr. Obama is that Mr. McCain's proposal replaces the tax subsidy for employer-sponsored health insurance that individuals don't now receive if they buy on their own. It merely changes the nature of the tax subsidy; it doesn't create a new one.
There's another catch: Because Mr. Obama's tax credits are phased out as incomes rise, they impose a huge "marginal" tax rate increase on low-income workers. The marginal tax rate refers to the rate on the next dollar of income earned. As the nearby chart illustrates, the marginal rate for millions of low- and middle-income workers would spike as they earn more income.
Some families with an income of $40,000 could lose up to 40 cents in vanishing credits for every additional dollar earned from working overtime or taking a new job. As public policy, this is contradictory. The tax credits are sold in the name of "making work pay," but in practice they can be a disincentive to working harder, especially if you're a lower-income couple getting raises of $1,000 or $2,000 a year. One mystery -- among many -- of the McCain campaign is why it has allowed Mr. Obama's 95% illusion to go unanswered.
#2
It's not just Obama. A rubber stamp Reid/Pelosi Congress and a press that's totally in thrall will allow all of Obama's worst idea to flower.
Posted by: Minister of funny walks ||
10/13/2008 15:58
Comments ||
Top||
#3
So, according to Obama, the "American Dream" only goes so far, and it is his version--i.e., for only stupid easy-to-manipulate non-producers too dumb to understand what is going on. Guess his little Obama Youth Brigade teens should read the fine print: "Because of Obama, I'm going to be the architect, chemical engineer . . ." and happy as a clam to make a whopping $40K/year for it. DUH . . .
. . . Who are these men: Tony Rezko, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and Bill Ayers? How has their relationship with Senator Obama helped to shape the man who seems to be so at ease in dismissing these relationships as peripheral to his true character. A relationship does not end simply because it has been disavowed or broken off; the effect remains for years, even for a lifetime. The influence that one person has upon the character of another is not so easily cast off simply by reading a press bulletin or making a public announcement of disavowal or condemnation. That influence lingers in the mind and the stronger of the personalities knows this and will stimulate that dormant influence to active receptivity. The word character is defined by the words which surround it, just as a manÂ’s character is defined by the human influences affecting his psyche. To say that a man has cast off an influence means about as much as a judge telling a jury to disregard a previous statement or testimony. The testimony has already had an effect upon the minds of the jury. . . .
Go read it all.
Posted by: Mike ||
10/13/2008
12:26 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[5 views]
Top|| File under:
HAVANA (AP) - Fidel Castro says a "profound racism" in the United States will stop millions from voting for Barack Obama in next month's presidential election.
The ailing, 82-year-old former Cuban president says it is "a miracle that the Democratic candidate hasn't suffered the same luck as (assassinated leaders) Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and others who harbored dreams of equality and justice."
Castro's written comments were published by state media Saturday. In them, he insists a "profound racism" exists in the U.S. and that millions of whites "cannot reconcile themselves to the idea that a black person ... could occupy the White House, which is called just that: white."
Castro also described Republican presidential candidate John McCain as "bellicose."
#4
If by "racism" he means "a deep distaste for Marxist ideology", then he'd be right.
But El Jefe probably didn't mean that.
Posted by: Grenter, Protector of the Geats ||
10/13/2008 15:03
Comments ||
Top||
#5
Funny how it's always the white people who are called racists when all they want is a level playing field. I'm a racist because I think affirmative action is unfair...I'm a racist because I want a secure border...I'm a racist because I blame Barney Frank and his sub prime mortgages for our current financial crisis...I'm a racist because I cringe at the thought of Barack Obama and old Fidelito meeting at the White House...blah, blah, blah.
#6
castro runs a pretty white-bread, all spanish/european dictatorship, with IIUC blacks & mixed races careful kept away from the higher strata of power... so even if he pushes all the right buttons by talking about rrrraaacccism, he's very ill-suited to do so, or would be in a world that would make sense.
As an OT aside, it reminds me that in the Godfather II (I think), Baptista is shown as an aryan blond, most probably one of those south-american nazi refugees, while in fact he was black. Even a couple decades back, hollywood had castro's back covered, racism-wise.
#9
By this time next month he will be proven wrong, and thereby showing the world just how irrelevent he has become. Obama will win, and will more likely than not, be a two term president. This country has had it's sea change, and now begins its decline.
I FIND THIS EMAIL FROM READER DONALD GATELY DEPRESSING. . . . Gately writes:
I consider myself a libertarian/conservative. Like many people of that bent, I was uncomfortable with Bush when he was nominated. But Al Gore's increasingly-erratic behavior during the 2000 election made me hope Bush won.
Once Bush won, and it became clear that the Florida democrats were trying to steal the election, I became something of a Bush loyalist. Throughout his first term, I took note of all the really horrible things that were said about him, saw that a large portion of the left would rather see Bush fail than see America succeed, and was alarmed by the complicity (and often, participation) of the MSM and mainstream Hollywood. It wasn't far into his second term that I succumbed to Bush Fatigue, due to his inability to make the case for his foreign policy to the American people, and his inability to find the veto pen. He has truly been a terrible steward of the Republican brand, and because of this, the Conservative and libertarian causes are suffering.
I'm no fan of McCain , but as I dislike Obama (and love Palin), I'll be pulling the lever for McCain in November.
This is surely small of me, but if Obama wins, I plan on giving him as much of a chance as the Democrats gave George Bush. I will gleefully forward every paranoid anti-Obama rumor that I see, along with YouTube footage of his verbal missteps. I will laugh and email heinous anti-Obama photoshop jobs, and maybe even learn photoshop myself to create some. I'll buy anti-Obama books, and maybe even a "Not My President" t-shirt. I'm sure that the mainstream bookstores won't carry them, but I'll be on the lookout for anti-Obama calendars and stuff like that. I will not wish America harm, and if the country is hurt (economically, militarily, or diplomatically) I will truly mourn. But i will also take some solace that it occurred under Obama's watch, and will find every reason to blame him personally and fan the flames.
Obama's thuggish behavior thus far in this election cycle - squashing free speech, declaring any criticism of his policies to be "racist" (a word that happily carries little weight with sensible people these days), associating with the likes of Ayers, Wright, and ACORN - suggests that I won't have to scrape for reasons to really viscerally dislike Obama and his administration. And even if he wins, his campaign's "get out the vote fraud" activities are enough to provide people like me with a large degree of "plausible deniability" as to whether he is actually legitimately the president.
I've seen a President that I am generally-inclined to like get crapped on for eight years, and I've seen McCain and Palin (honorable people both, despite policy differences I may have with them) get crapped on through this election season. If the Democrats think that a President Obama is going to get some sort of honeymoon from the folks who didn't vote for him, as a wise man once said: heh.
I understand where he's coming from, but . . . . Well, it makes me sad to think that this is where we are. Personally, if Obama's elected I intend to give him a chance and weigh him on his actions, not his party. But I agree that he's not likely to get much of a honeymoon -- except from the press, which has been giving him one for about a year already.
Hit the link and read the rest. Speaking just for myself, I intend to do everything I can to prevent this all from happening. I also do not intend to be shy in my critique of any future Obama/Reid/Pelosi administration.
No need to be shy. But do it with class and wit. That will drive the Dhimmis even more crazy.
Posted by: Mike ||
10/13/2008
11:43 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
It's as I've said before. If Obama becomes our next POTUS, the "Impeach Him" yard signs will just move one or two doors down on or about 1/20/2009.
Posted by: Grenter, Protector of the Geats ||
10/13/2008 15:08
Comments ||
Top||
#2
If this is how it's to be, then fine. We did not start this, nor do I see any chance (given the MSM) that we can roll things back. The left started this - I say we fight back in kind. My bet is that -as always - they'll overreact. My bet is that most true Americans will see through that and turn on Obama's thuggish horde.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
10/13/2008 15:47
Comments ||
Top||
#3
I hear where this guy is coming from and I feel much the same in many ways. I also hear where Instapundit is coming from when he says that it saddens him that it has come to this. Should Obama win in November, I think the liberal chickens could be coming home to roost.
I must admit, I'm anxious to see how they react to the taste of their own medicine. Should be entertaining, to say the least.
#4
I will support a legitimate president, Donk or Trunk, in anything and everything he/she does that is the legitimate function of a Republican form of government. That includes BHO. What I will NOT do is allow ANYONE, especially BHO, to destroy what I've committed most of my adult life to - supporting and defending the Constitution of the United States, and the people governed by that document, from all enemies, regardless of where they come from. I didn't like a lot of what Bill Clinton did, and I said so. I'll do the same thing if either John McCain or Barrack Obama gets elected. It's only if (or when) someone tries to shut me up, or starts to try to hurt me or my family in any way - physically, economically, politically, socially - that I'll do more than just raise a stink. I hate how badly our country is being run, and anyone that deliberately tries to make it worse (Obama, Pelosi, Murtha, Reid, etcetera, ad nauseum, ad absurdum) makes himself my enemy by doing so.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/13/2008 22:23
Comments ||
Top||
#5
Face it, conservatives can not churn up the bile and frothing anger to make a decent protest. I think the best (worst) that is possible for conservatives was used against Clinton and it just made him more and more popular.
The only way is satire, humor, and mocking when/if he does something stupid.
FEARS over the "Talibanisation" of Pakistan's major urban centres rose sharply yesterday after a warning from one of the country's most powerful leaders that 400,000 militants had infiltrated Karachi, the teeming port city vital to bringing in supplies for coalition forces in Afghanistan.
At the same time, nervous traders in the Punjab city of Lahore, the former capital of the Mughal empire that has long been regarded as a beacon of cultural freedom in the region, were reported to be setting fire to "immoral" videos and CDs after receiving warnings from the Taliban against such stock.
The action follows the bombing of several fresh fruit juice bars in the city after the owners ignored warnings to stop allowing boys and girls to "indulge in immoral acts" on the premises. Such "immoral acts" generally amount to no more than enjoying a juice together, but have apparently caused offence to the Taliban.
Both cities are far from the battlegrounds of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and the North West Frontier Province, which have been the main targets for the fast-encroaching militancy. Nervousness about the Talibanisation of both cities is seen as a reflection of how rapidly the jihadis are advancing into key urban areas.
Particular concern centres on Karachi, a city of between 15 and 17 million people that gained notoriety for the abduction and murder by militants of The Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. It is Pakistan's business capital and major port. Military supplies vital for the war against the Taliban are brought into Karachi, and then sent by road through the NWFP to Afghanistan.
The city has immense strategic significance. But Altaf Hussein, leader of the Muttahida Quami Movement, the party that controls Karachi and is allied to the Pakistan People's Party coalition Government that rules Pakistan, warned it was heavily infiltrated, saying: "More than 400,000 Afghan nationals have arrived in the city, fully equipped with the latest automatic weapons."
Mr Hussein, who lives in exile in London but maintains his grip on the MQM members who run Karachi, said his followers were gearing up to defend the city.
Mr Hussein's warning follows other indications of Taliban encroachment, with many militants displaced from the fighting in the tribal areas reportedly migrating to the metropolis. Much of the growing militancy in Karachi is believed to be centred on the estimated 2000 illegal madrassas operating in the heavily populated western districts that are a hotbed of support for the Taliban.
"Save our city from Talibanisation" slogans have been daubed on walls in Karachi.
And reports yesterday said "the Talibanisation of Lahore had begun", with The News newspaper claiming traditionally robust traders in the city of more than 10 million people were unwilling to confront the Taliban. "This acquiescence, this formal display of obsequiousness, is a real eye-opener," the paper said, saying the local traders' organisation was showing itself to be "impotent against the Taliban" and the threats being made.
Amid the fears of jihadi militancy encroachments into major urban areas, some of the heaviest fighting seen so far in the tribal areas was reported yesterday, with Pakistan's security forces claiming to have killed more than 50 militants in a single day in two key battleground regions -- Bajaur and Orakzai. In the attack on Orakzai, it was claimed helicopter gunships bombed a meeting of militants linked to al-Qa'ida, leaving 35 militants dead.
Despite fierce protests from Pakistan, US Predator drones again violated Pakistani airspace to attack targets in North Waziristan, bringing to 12 the number of such incursions in the past few weeks. Four people -- claimed by Pakistan to have been civilians -- died in the latest raids. The US rarely confirms or denies such attacks. Pakistani leaders criticise the strikes as violations of sovereignty, but the protests have had little effect on the anti-terror alliance between the two nations.
Reports yesterday said Pakistani tribesmen were raising armies to battle al-Qa'ida and Taliban militants close to the Afghan border -- a move encouraged by the military in Islamabad and hailed as a sign its offensive in the tribal areas was succeeding. The extremists are increasingly targeting the tribal militias, an indication they believe the private armies to be a threat.
By encouraging the private armies, or lashkars, the Government is exploiting local resentment against foreign and Pakistani extremists in the area, considered a likely hiding place for Osama bin Laden and other al-Qa'ida leaders.
CBS News' Bob Schieffer, who will moderate the debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, LI, let the candidates know yesterday he planned to remain fully in charge of the event.
"It will not embarrass me, if they go off in a different direction, to say, 'Excuse me, could you focus on the question that I just asked?' " Schieffer said. Previous moderators have found that easier said than done, with candidates on both sides ignoring their questions and time limits.
Since learning he would be moderating the debate, Schieffer has been clipping articles and consulting think-tank experts to come up with questions. He quipped that he had a nightmare that all of his questions had been used up with a half-hour to go. "I don't want to think about it too much," he said, "but I think it could very well determine who our next president will be."
#1
Apparently the author prefers the Hoover approach, credit collapse & massive bank failures. Government may well have contributed to the Panic. However, this is an unprecedented situation. I don't expect the government to bat 1000.
WTG Hooogo!
Venezuela's daily oil production has fallen by a quarter since President Hugo Chavez won power, depriving his "Bolivarian Revolution" of much of the benefit of the global boom in oil prices.
To win allies and forge an anti-American front, Mr Chavez sells oil to friendly countries at low prices. Ironically, the only big customer buying Venezuelan oil at the full market price is the United States, which the president routinely denounces as the "Empire".
"As production falls, the sales to the US become more important," said Pietro Donatello, an oil analyst from Latin Petroleum in the capital, Caracas. "Only the US is paying the full amount for Venezuelan oil and in cash, the rest are in some kind of barter agreements."
Sure wish we could do something about that. Oh wait! We could. Drill, baby, drill ...
The state oil company, PDVSA, produced 3.2 million barrels per day in 1998, the year before Mr Chavez won the presidency. After a decade of rising corruption and inefficiency, daily output has now fallen to 2.4 million barrels, according to OPEC figures. About half of this oil is now delivered at a discount to Mr Chavez's friends around Latin America. The 18 nations in his "Petrocaribe" club, founded in 2005, pay Venezuela only 30 per cent of the market price within 90 days, with rest in instalments spread over 25 years.
The other half - 1.2 million barrels per day - goes to America, Venezuela's only genuinely paying customer.
Meanwhile, Mr Chavez has given PDVSA countless new tasks. "The new PDVSA is central to the social battle for the advance of our country," said Rafael Ramirez, the company's president and the minister for petroleum. "We have worked to convert PDVSA into a key element for the social battle."
The company now grows food after Mr Chavez's price controls emptied supermarket shelves of products like milk and eggs. Another branch produces furniture and domestic appliances in an effort to stem the flow of imports. What PDVSA seems unable to do is produce more oil.
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/13/2008
10:52 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
When are the Venezuelans going to wake up to the pimping of their country's resources?
#2
I've actually heard that their production is lower than 2.4 million barrels/day, but I can't find the link. I guess google's been gamed again, when I try searching there all I find are caustic leftists (the sort who support Chavez' seizure of TV stations because 'paid speech is different from free speech') insulting the opposition for believing that sort of thing.
--------------------------------
I guess there's a _lot_ of money in making Venezuela's production numbers look bigger than they really are.
By David Owen Only posted this one for the following paragraph:
Bush's legacy would be best served by taking dramatic diplomatic action to prevent a war with Iran. He should publicly warn Israel that the United States will use its air power to prevent it bombing Iran, while announcing that he is sending Rice to Tehran to start negotiating a grand bargain whereby all sanctions would be lifted if Iran forgoes the nuclear weapons option. He could indicate that the negotiations would not continue indefinitely, but they would give his successor, as president, time to consider all the options, military and economic. It would also allow time for Israel either to negotiate a coalition to last until 2010 or to hold elections. It would replace the present multilateral negotiations, which are stalled with Russia and China unwilling to move on strong economic sanctions. Above all, it would be a last act of real statesmanship from Bush who is otherwise destined to end his term a miserable failure. BTW, David Owen was the British foreign secretary from 1977 to 1979
#2
why would we bomb israel for doing what we should have done along time ago?
Posted by: chris ||
10/13/2008 11:01
Comments ||
Top||
#3
"if Iran forgoes the nuclear weapons option"
I think Iran has made itself pretty clear. Only Carter and Obama are too stupid to realize that negotiations just buy the centrifuges more operating time.
#4
Owen would certainly know all about being a miserable failure. If you put him and Jimmuh in a barrel together and rolled them down a hill, you'd always have a cringing, cowardly, appeasing S.O.B on top.
Foreign Minister under Callaghan: yeah, that's about as creampuff as Britain's ever been until this recent punking by the Iranians over the RN captures. This sniveling bastard needs to save his drivel for The One. Bush, for all his faults is a man; that by definition means he isn't interested in this guy's craven idiocy.
Eighteen years ago, Rashin Soodmand's father was hanged in Iran for converting to Christianity. Now her brother is in a Mashad jail, and expects to be executed under new religious laws brought in this summer.
There was a post here about this last month, but this article from The Telegraph has more details.
An Iranian businessman arrested a week ago in Germany on suspicion of illegal exports to Iran was a valued agent of the German foreign intelligence service BND, a German news magazine reported on Saturday. Prosecutors had advised the BND before the arrest they had no choice but to detain the man, 61, who had the code name Sindbad, because of suspicions that he was supplying equipment needed to make Iran's Shabah missiles, German news magazine Der Spiegel said.
In a story to hit the streets in its Monday issue, the magazine said Sindbad's intelligence deliveries to Germany included photographs of tunnel-drilling machinery, details of secret warehouses and up-to-date reports on Iranian missile development work. His intelligence had been so good that the BND was even concerned he might be a double agent hoodwinking the West on Iran's orders.
Prosecutors announced Wednesday they had detained the man, who has dual Canadian and Iranian nationality, on October 5 on suspicion of breaching a German ban on export of militarily useful goods.
The magazine said Germany was not just concerned about losing a spy who had served the country for a decade and had been paid 1 million euros ($1.4 Million) but also about potential tension with Teheran. In addition, the BND feared the Iranians would try to assassinate the man in revenge if he were freed from prison in Germany, the magazine reported.
#4
Anti-christ: powerful, charismatic world leader, empowered by unseen forces which draw millions to him; will stop war for only several years, then will head the most oppressive regime the world has ever known; similiar to a "transnational" in that the he will be an ideologue and will amass a political power base loyal, not to any nation or nations, but to himself . . . Farrakan is already calling stupid Obama the messiah. Seems like a dry run on the behavior of humans.
#5
Notice that the editor is not bothered enough by 9-11 to do more than mention it in passing, and is far more bothered by efforts to respond.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
10/13/2008 14:29
Comments ||
Top||
#6
I personally wouldn't want to show my stupidity quite so publically, if I were this very strange person.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/13/2008 15:28
Comments ||
Top||
#7
This is creepy. I'd say, white guilt coupled with unacknowledged longing to be part of a totalitarian (original meaning) society with a Fearless Leader???
#8
The truly bizarre part about it was that if Obama *announced* that he *was* the Antichrist, a lot of his followers would be thrilled, and redouble their efforts to get him elected.
The rationalizations would be impressive. Even the Reverends Wright, Jackson, and Sharpton would be right up there on the podium with him.
former Fed reserve chair Paul Volker interviewed by Charlie Rose. Excerpt from about 28 minutes in:
Rose: Is there something about this great American experiment that makes you confident that we will come out [of this financial crisis] OK? Is it somehow that we will just make this happen, rather than any specific thing?
Volcker: We will get out of it. The basic economy interestingly enough until recently was quite strong.
We've discovered that we're more competitive than we thought we were in a lot of manufacturing industries. We are still innovative. We're still the leaders in high tech. I hope we remain that way.
What we need is fewer financial engineers, and more electrical engineers, and chemical engineers and civil engineers to take care of our infrastructure. We've poured too much of our capital into false castles in the financial world. Now that's going to change, I think. ...
The magnetism of Wall Street is going to be reduced, obviously. And I think that's not a bad thing, that we'll get this talent in other areas of the economy.
#2
A huge misallocation is correct. HOWEVER, that's true only if you believe that individuals making as much money for themselves as possible is wrong.
I'm afraid that the misallocation is due to the incentives built into a system that is governed by esoteric regulations and crony capitalism where the cronies are the ones writing those regs.
What is needed, though I don't have a clue how to get there, is an economy / society where the risk reward calculation is real. If all these bozos who go rich on paper from high risk schemes had to suffer the consequences we'd see a lot fewer such schemes. BUT, they always knew that their cronies would bail them out so that the millions would be theirs to keep.
We'll get more EEs & CEs when being one of those provides more incentives than being an FE.
#3
esoteric regulations and crony capitalism where the cronies are the ones writing those regs
--- Complicated regs and cronyism are inherent problems in our regulated system. Those who write the rules have to continually keep track of those who continuously develop cunning evasions around the rules. This is analogous to the engineering maxim: As soon as we make something foolproof, Nature invents a better fool.
--- The other catch is that those whose job is to protect the general welfare have conflicts of interest.
#4
that's true only if you believe that individuals making as much money for themselves as possible is wrong Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are community goals as well as individual ones. That's one reason why murder for hire is outlawed.
#5
I'd rather have the greedy ones working in the financial area where they can only cause occasional panics, than have them become engineers and build dangerous bridges and oil refineries, and put melamine in the milk powder.
#7
Volker is talking about people with strong quantitative analysis skills. Not only do we need the engineers he mentions, they have the aptitude to master engineering.
#8
I'd rather have the greedy ones working in the financial area where they can only cause occasional panics, than have them become engineers and build dangerous bridges and oil refineries, and put melamine in the milk powder.
It's not the engineers who get to make those sorts of decisions about robbing Peter to pay Paul; it's the management, typically. I doubt the melamine-in-cat-food thing was something done by a rogue chemical engineer.
Also, I'd like to suggest that whatever behavior you incentivize, you're going to get.
#9
Capitalism and the great American experiment was built upon a moral foundation and is successful only when all the players have a conscience with an awareness of the impact on others. It must be voluntary, not compulsory, and that is the rub. Human nature always serves self first. The man-made bricks that built the Tower of Babel always eventually crumble but God's ways are eternally solid.
#10
I've been trying to explain as apolitically as possible the difference between Socialism and Capitalism to my son. He got virtually no economics in high school or college worthy of the name and seems to think that socialism is a benign form of welfare.
Danielle has hit on the main problem with Capitalism. How are peopled protected from the rogues and robbers wearing white collars as they are from the rouges and robbers in blue?
If our financial types were given to lending their cynical amorality and cunning to physical crime I'm sure they'd find loopholes that would make rape & murder legal.
Honesty & simplicity need to be the keystone of needed regulations coupled with some serious punishment when breached.
#11
Term limits - REAL term limits will break the crony link. In for a term and then OUT. Get a real job. Not enough time in to the collect the contacts or time in to repay the bribes.
It seems our Constitution requires a certain threshold percentage of the populace to take seriously Judeo-Christian morals in order to work. Furthermore, it requires an even higher number in the cultural/economic elites for it to continue to function.
The converse is also true.
Once a certain critical mass of the people has complete disregard for the Judeo-Christian memeset, the Constitution can no longer function as a governing document for our society. And it takes a much smaller percentage of the elites to fall away for similar results. This has been the aim of Gramscianism and postmodernish for most of the past eighty years, and that critical point may have been reached.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
10/13/2008 14:37
Comments ||
Top||
#14
phil_b, that's exactly what I'm trying to explain.
The one problem with term limits that would need to be overcome (and this is NOT a reason to avoid term limits) is that it increases the power of the standing bureaucracy. Having a very high turnover in "mgmt" gives the workers pretty much free rein.
#16
I don't think you can divorce economics from politics, they are too closely related. The US system does thrive when its participants have a strong moral sense. That doesn't always work, as we are finding out -- therefore our system of incentives, regulations & punishments.
The losses are being socialized, with and/or without government involvement. One of the defining characteristics of modern corporations is limited liability -- corporate insiders and stockholders can get away with comparatively small losses while someone else takes the big ones.
#17
One of the major problems is that the government of the United States has spent almost 90 years engaged in social experimentation. There is no justification for the government to do such experimentation in our Constitution or in generally accepted common behavior. The four "pillars" of today's over-regulated, controlled, mis-managed and disaster-prone financial insitutions are Woodrow Wilson, FDR, Jimmah Kahtah, and William J. Clinton, and the congresses that aided, abetted, and supported them. We're going to have to do some radical surgery on the laws of this nation in order to ensure we don't compound the errors caused by the "Progressives" in our society. Sarbanes/Oxley is one very good place to start. FDR-era labor laws are another. Overturning the 17th Amendment would do wonders, too. Eliminating the power of the States to appoint senators has also eliminated any control the Senate had on actions harmful to the States. Bad, bad move, and we're paying for it in the likes of Dodd, Reid, Kennedy, Byrd, Biden, and a host of other "lifetime" senators.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/13/2008 15:45
Comments ||
Top||
#18
You left out LBJ, OP.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
10/13/2008 16:48
Comments ||
Top||
#19
AlanC I recommend "Economics In One Lesson" by Henry Hazlitt for your son. We'll I'd recommend it for members of Congress too, but that audience is mostly beyond hope.
#21
Compare wid TOPIX > PUTIN: WORLD TRUST IN THE USA HAS BEEN LOST + US CAN NEVER REGAIN ITS TRUST, STATUS/LEADERSHIP IN GLOBAL FINANCIAL MARKETS + ONLY CHINA CAN SAVE THE WORLD FROM US CRISIS.
On August 21st, 2008, the MV Iran Deyant, 44,458 dead weight bulk carrier was heading towards the Suez Canal. As it was passing the Horn of Africa, about 80 miles southeast of al-Makalla in Yemen, the ship was surrounded by speedboats filled with members of a gang of Somalian pirates who grab suitable commercial ships and hold them and their cargos and crews for ransom. The captain was defenseless against the 40 pirates armed with AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades blocking his passage. He had little choice other than to turn his ship over to them. What the pirates were not banking on, however, was that this was no ordinary ship.
The MV Iran Deyanat is owned and operated by the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) - a state-owned company [that] regularly falsifies shipping documents in order to hide the identity of end users, uses generic terms to describe shipments to avoid the attention of shipping authorities, and employs the use of cover entities to circumvent [UN] weapons proliferation [regulations].
[The hijacked ship] was brought to Eyl, a sleepy fishing village in northeastern Somalia, and was secured by a larger gang of pirates - 50 onboard and 50 onshore. The Somali pirates attempted to inspect the ship’s seven cargo containers but the containers were locked. The crew claimed that they did not have the “access codes” and could not open them. Pirates have stated they were unable to open the hold without causing extensive damage to the ship, and threatened to blow it up…. the pirates broke open one of the containers and discovered it to be filled with packets of what they said was “a powdery fine sandy soil” ….
Within a period of three days, those pirates who had boarded the ship and opened the cargo container with its gritty sand-like contents, all developed strange health complications, to include serious skin burns and loss of hair. And within two weeks, sixteen of the pirates subsequently died, either on the ship or on shoreÂ…
[Russian sources claim she] was an enormous floating dirty bomb, intended to detonate after exiting the Suez Canal at the eastern end of the Mediterranean and in proximity to the coastal cities of Israel. The entire cargo of radioactive sand, obtained by Iran from China (the latter buys desperately needed oil from the former) and sealed in containers which, when the charges on the ship are set off after the crew took to the boats, will be blasted high into the air where prevailing winds will push the highly dangerous and radioactive cloud ashore.
Given the large number of deaths from the questing Somali pirates, it should be obvious that when the contents of the shipÂ’s locked cargo containers finally descended onto the land, the death toll would be enormous. This ship was nothing more nor less than the long-anticipated Iranian attack on Israel.
Fox News interviewed an expert whose analysis would seem to confirm these conclusions:
Chemical experts say the reports sound inconsistent with chemical poisoning, but may reflect the effects of exposure to radiation.
“It’s baffling,” said Jonathan Tucker, a senior fellow at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. “I’m not aware of any chemical agent that produces loss of hair within a few days. That’s more suggestive of high levels of radioactive waste.”
#6
If it was going to the Netherlands I would suggest the target wasn't Israel. From the Netherlands a container could go literally anywhere in the world.
How did this happen?
Paul Krugman, a professor at Princeton University and an Op-Ed columnist for The New York Times, was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science on Monday.
"It's been an extremely weird day, but weird in a positive way," Mr. Krugman said in an interview on his way to a meeting for the Group of Thirty, an international body from the public and private sectors that discusses international economics.
Mr. Krugman received the award for his work on international trade and economic geography. In particular, the prize committee lauded his work for "having shown the effects of economies of scale on trade patterns and on the location of economic activity." He has developed models that explain observed patterns of trade between countries, as well as what goods are produced where and why. Traditional trade theory assumes that countries are different and will exchange different kinds of goods with each other; Mr. Krugman's theories have explained why worldwide trade is dominated by a few countries that are similar to each other, and why some countries might import the same kinds of goods that it exports.
In 1991 Mr. Krugman received the John Bates Clark medal, a prize given every two years to "that economist under forty who is adjudged to have made a significant contribution to economic knowledge."
Mr. Krugman continues to teach at Princeton. This semester Mr. Krugman is teaching a graduate-level course on international monetary policy and theory, covering such timely subjects as international liquidity crises. According to Princeton's Web site, four students are currently enrolled in the class. In recent years he has also taught courses on the welfare state and international trade.
Monday's award is the last of the six prizes and is not one of the original Nobels, but was created in 1968 by the Swedish central bank in Alfred Nobel's memory. Mr. Krugman was the only winner of the award, which includes a prize of about $1.4 million. I wonder if he'll pay taxes based on Bush's rates which he views as unfair or will pay a higher level.
#1
We held the line long enough to win in Iraq and save the U.S. military in the process. We better be able to console ourselves with that because an awful lot of other things are going to go south before we see them turn our way again. This award to a lib bonehead is just one more example.
This whole election campaign makes me think me a hell of a lot about what Churchill and the Conservatives must have felt like in May 1945.
#3
From all accounts, Krugman did solid work in his particular sub-fields in economics before burning out and turning to partisan politics. I haven't heard anything about Krugman's life-work which parallels the scathing disgust in which, say, Noam Chomsky's linguistic work is held by vocal minorities of *that* field. It seems Krugman produced actual, useful economic thinking once upon a time.
Anyways, it seems like a less-political year for the Nobels, what with an actual Scandinavian diplomat getting the peace prize instead of some repulsive corrupt toad, like Arafat.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
10/13/2008 9:56
Comments ||
Top||
#4
I'm not sure anyone should get the prize for Economics this year. I don't remember anyone screaming to the rafters about subprimate mortages. Yeah McCain and Bush said something but fear of Democrats calling them racist tamed them from really shouting loud enough to be heard. I could be wrong but I don't recall any economists saying much.
#6
I wonder if he'll pay taxes based on Bush's rates which he views as unfair or will pay a higher level.
He is welcome to leave a tip.
Posted by: Grenter, Protector of the Geats ||
10/13/2008 10:38
Comments ||
Top||
#7
Rigopauly Krugchu...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
10/13/2008 10:50
Comments ||
Top||
#8
Giving the Nobel Prize in Economics this year is like giving the Nobel Peace Prize during WW2.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/13/2008 11:22
Comments ||
Top||
#9
Um, folks, the man is indeed a brilliant economist.
He's a hack writer and doesn't understand politics very well, but when it comes to international trade, there isn't anyone better than Krugman.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/13/2008 11:39
Comments ||
Top||
#10
Krugman is basically a schizophrenic. So does anyone know if he got the prize for his insightful work as a protectionist or his more insightful work as free trader?
#12
The point is, did Krugman win for his economics work, or for his lunatic rants at the NYT? Because the Nobel Committee so often rewards liberal doomsaying, one suspects the latter.
#13
Come to think of it, what better time to give Krugman a Nobel prize than now, and what better field than economics. A perfect storm of irony! It's kind of like handing out a lifetime award for being a good Nazi in the Spring of '45.
#2
Maybe the Time's experts could figure out how to get their subscription numbers back up*. Quagmire.
*Other than hiring ACORN to fill out all those snow flake subscriptions forms that fall by the dozen out of any magazine. We're talking 'paying subscriptions' unlike dead/non-tax paying/non-existent voters here.
#8
For my part I couldn't care less what Muslims or anyone else believes or practices, so long as it does not harm anyone else and is not imposed on anyone by physical or other force.
#9
I care. It is the mind who decides the action of the body and it is ideas who determine behaviours of people. I care about what Muslims believe or practice and we will have no peace until they reject Islam.
Assailants opened fire on the U.S. consulate in the northern Mexican city of Monterrey, a Mexican official said. Nobody was injured in Sunday's shooting. Shell casings were found outside the consulate, but there were no witnesses to the attack and no one was in custody, said a spokeswoman for the Attorney General's office who was not authorized to give her name.
The spokeswoman had no further details.
Mexican media reported that one man opened fire on the consulate and another man threw a grenade that failed to explode. El Universal newspaper, citing a U.S. Embassy statement, said the attack happened before dawn Sunday. The newspaper said the consulate planned to increase security.
Embassy officials could not be reached for comment early today.
Also Sunday, two grenades were thrown at the state Public Safety office in the western city of Guadalajara. Genaro Pacheco, the Public Safety spokesman, said the explosion injured two civilians outside the offices but guards inside were unharmed. It was the second grenade attack against the Public Safety office in less than six months. The first attack killed a policeman and injured another in June. Four former soldiers were arrested in the June attack.
Detailed look at the rapid rise and recent callamitous collapse of Iceland's banking/finance industries, including comments on a mysterious Russian connection which may or may not be coincidental.
#3
This is the same sputtering goebbelist who likes to refer to "the Bush administration's SO-CALLED war on terror." He's a classic retro-media activist, a throwback to the 80s in America, the latest stylistic triumph in the backward ass Euro-media world.
SEOUL, South Korea -- The 66-year-old man in the photos appeared the picture of health, full of vigor despite reports he underwent brain surgery less than two months ago. He was surrounded by serious, crisply uniformed soldiers and in the background there was plenty of verdant greenery, more reminiscent of summer than mid-autumn in a temperate clime.
To seasoned North Korea watchers, the country's weekend release of photos of leader Kim Jong Il for the first time since the middle of August are raising a host of questions about his health -- as well as the motive and timing behind their publication.
The images came less than 24 hours before the United States on Saturday removed North Korea from Washington's terrorism blacklist, dousing rising tensions over North Korea's nuclear development.
Continued on Page 49
#1
I'm shocked -- just totally shocked -- at charges that this Stalinist regime would attempt to deceive us using photographs. Next thing you know, there'll be claims that Obama's birth records are doctored.
Burdened by debt and driving home from a night of gambling in West Virginia, Sergio Lopez launched a scheme that at the time must have seemed like a good idea.
He pulled his Volkswagen Jetta up to a random corner in Silver Spring, doused the interior with gasoline, set it on fire and walked away. He later made a claim to Nationwide Insurance. The car was missing, he said -- someone must have stolen it.
Add Lopez, who pleaded guilty in the case this year, to the band of Washington area residents who have torched their cars hoping for a quick insurance check. A Baltimore police officer did it. So did a Baltimore firefighter. A Prince William County resident burned a minivan for a friend.
Investigators estimate that hundreds of such crimes occurred in the Washington area in the past two years, although the exact number is unclear, and experts predict the number will increase because of the worsening economy. Many offenders have fallen behind on payments to car dealerships. This year, more people are behind on such loans than in nearly two decades.
"With what's just happened to the economy in the last week," said Donald Galbreath, a longtime fraud investigator for the insurance industry, "I see the trend will get worse."
Last year, Alexandria residents Yesenia Gomez and her husband, Jose Reyes, fell behind on payments on their 2007 Dodge Caravan. According to prosecutors, a middle school pal of Gomez's, Daybin Rodriguez, told Gomez that he'd burned a car in the past and could do so again. Gomez decreased the minivan policy's deductible, and a week later the vehicle was found torched in Mason Neck State Park in Lorton, prosecutors said. She and Rodriguez have since entered pleas to destruction of property charges. Charges against Reyes were dropped.
As Gomez described it to detectives, she had to choose "between the house and the car," Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Marc Birnbaum said. Gomez's attorney, Kimberly Phillips, said Gomez and her husband had tried to return the minivan to the dealership and were desperate. "She just didn't know where to turn," Phillips said.
Data from a limited number of insurance companies show that "potential owner give-ups," most of which involve burned cars, increased from 511 in 2004 to 986 in 2007, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau. The sample represents a "small percentage of the reality out there," said Frank Scafidi, a spokesman for the anti-fraud group.
Some investigators and law enforcement officials said they have seen no change in the numbers this year, but others said they suspect that the crime is already increasing. Duane Svites, a Maryland deputy chief state fire marshal, said "the market is right" for insurance fraud. "A lot of people trying to dig themselves out of a jam," he said.
Doesn't sound like a tragic victim of the Bush Depression.
"Volkswagen Jetta...set it on fire"
Doesn't sound like a tragic victim of the Bush-Halliburton gas price hikes - Jettas are quite fuel efficient and should actually command a premium on resale.
"Lopez", "Gomez", "Reyes", "Rodriguez"
Hmmm. Seems like a pattern. Writer must be racist.
#4
What the insurance companies don't say is often that trashing a car works. When it doesn't, it is because of poor planning.
I heard of a successful car ditch, in which the owner just parked his car in a bad part of town, and punctured one of his tires. He didn't expect his car to be completely destroyed, just destroyed *enough*. The locals obliged.
The next day, he took the bus out to where he had parked his car. It was trashed enough, so he walked several miles to a garage to arrange for a tow. Then he and the tow truck driver drove out to his car, and from there he called the police on his cell phone.
He did pay towing charges, but the insurance company paid the rest without question.
#5
It'a an old scam, Anonymoose. I heard about that back when I was at university in 1980. I was told it was a common activity in New York City when someone wanted a down payment for a new car.
Authorities have arrested two men after a Molotov cocktail was thrown at a 4-foot by 8-foot campaign sign for Republican presidential candidate John McCain in a southeast Portland yard.
Karen Scrutton said she was asleep inside her home at 7956 S.E. 17th Ave. in the Sellwood neighborhood when she saw her sign go up in flames after 1 a.m. A neighbor heard a crash and chased off one of the suspects. Gene Scrutton said his son-in-law found another suspect not far away.
Not long after, investigators picked up Leslie Brockette Leudtke and Kevin Carl Robinson, both 23. After interviewing them, the pair was charged with four counts each of manufacturing and possession of a destructive device. In addition, Leudtke was charged with a single count of reckless burning.
Witnesses said the suspects threw a Molotov cocktail at the sign and used another as a torch.
The Scruttons worried that their home could have caught on fire. "Our whole house could have burnt down," Karen Scrutton said while thanking her neighbor for intervening.
Despite the ordeal, she said they won't take the sign down. It suffered only minor damage from the fire.
#2
Hmmmm. Obama took a little resort break on St. Thomas, but none of the pictures included Michelle. Plenty of jobs in the region with off-shore banking & tax breaks to invest in the USVI of up to 90%, to manage all those campaign funds coming in from overseas. This is more interesting than the possible affair.
Two Indonesian jobseekers have been tricked into getting their faces tattooed by a bogus official offering government jobs. Village chief Sawiyono - who was helping the men find jobs in Jakarta - claimed he had received a text message from a government official offering them work as intelligence officers but saying they would have to be inked first with a dragon tattoo, Antara state news agency said. So much for that "secret agent" position.
Sawiyono realised he had been tricked after checking with the subdistrict chief of the Bojonegoro district of East Java who told him there was no such requirement.
But by then it was too late and the men had already been tattooed, the report said. "I am fully responsible for the mistake and I will do my best to help the men remove their tattoos,'' Sawiyono said.
The men have complained to police and were seeking treatment at a local hospital. Yeah, and after that y'all can check yourself into the local kindergarten for a few weeks and learn some basic criical thinking skills. Until then, you'll need to war this hat in place of that tat.
More than 60 Taliban fighters were killed yesterday as hundreds of insurgents tried to launch a surprise attack on Afghan forces in Lashkar Gah, capital of Helmand province. A convoy armed with mortar weapons was bombed by Nato aircraft as it began an assault on the outskirts of the city early yesterday morning.
Daud Ahmadi, a spokesman for the provincial governor, said the fighters had attacked the city of Lashkar Gah from three sides but were pushed back after a battle involving airstrikes. Rockets landed in various parts of the city but there were no civilian casualties, he said. He added that Nato reported "multiple enemy forces" killed but had had no reports of casualties for its own organisation.
The death toll yesterday - in the province which is the British troops' base in Afghanistan - could not be verified independently.
An MoD spokesman said British forces had "supported" Afghan allies in the attack but would not say if the troops had fought alongside the Afghan army. It is thought British forces could have provided intelligence on the Taliban action.
The US commander General David McKiernan, head of the Nato-led force in Afghanistan, said that hundreds of fighters had gathered for the attack. Brigadier General Richard Blanchette, spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force, said: "If the insurgents planned a spectacular attack prior to the winter, this was a spectacular failure."
Authorities recovered the bodies of 41 Taliban fighters on the city's outskirts, from where the attack began, Ahmadi said. He added that another 20 dead fighters were carried away by militants.
Taliban fighters traditionally have relied more on suicide bombings and roadside bombs in their campaign in Helmand. If yesterday's attack represented a departure from the insurgents' usual tactics it was one that had "failed miserably", the MoD spokesman commented. Afghan officials also said yesterday that troops had retaken the Nad Ali district of Helmand. Ahmadi said the three-day fight ended Saturday and that Afghan security forces were in control of the district centre.
Helmand is the largest drug-producing area in the world and the region alone accounts for more than half of Afghanistan's opium poppy production. More than 90% of the world's opium is produced in Afghanistan and up to $100m (nearly £59m) of the trade's profits are used to finance the Taliban insurgency.
Yesterday a roadside bomb reportedly struck a civilian vehicle in the Shamulzai district of Zabul, killing five people.
#4
KIA checked for Pak id's? Where were the effen A10's or the C147 gunships strafing these P'sOS as they were dragging away the 20 bodies? WTF! NATO - let them live to fight another day. These fucks were probably bearing small arms they carried across the mountains from Bosnia 10+ years ago.
PS It's spelled STEWPIT you fucking troll, get a job, move outta your mommies basement.
BP, Shell and ExxonMobil are all expected to attend a meeting at the Park Lane Hotel in Mayfair with the Iraqi oil minister, Hussein al-Shahristani for the first round of bidding for new contracts. Access is being given to eight fields, representing about 40 per cent of the Middle Eastern nation's reserves. It is the first time since the 2003 US-led invasion that the contracts have been released.
The sale is likely to spark debate over whether the overthrow of Saddam Hussein was part of a "war for oil" that has now delivered strategic Iraqi reserves into the hands of western multinationals. As security improves, Iraq is trying to bring in foreign companies to help increase crude output from the current 2.5 million barrels a day to 4.5 million barrels a day by the end of 2013.
Iraqi Oil Ministry spokesman Assem Jihad said the purpose of the London meeting was to present the oil companies with the forms of the contracts and with data and details for fields being offered. "In light of these information, the companies will be in a better position to submit their bids which are planned to be approved by next summer," he said. The ministry will give the companies a six-month timetable from the receipt of data and other details to submit bids for a 20-year contract.
After he settled in Montreal from his native Tunisia in the 1990s, Abderraouf Jdey appeared outwardly to be successful, obtaining a university degree and gaining Canadian citizenship. But in his heart, he seethed at his inability to find a proper job in Canada. Resenting the Western world, the Americans, the Jews, he found solace in the extremist ideology of al-Qaeda. A peek into the embittered mind of one of the world's most wanted terrorism suspects can be found in two declassified letters said to have been written by Mr. Jdey that are posted on the website of a U.S. counterterrorism centre.
The letters are from the so-called Harmony database, a collection of al-Qaeda documents seized by U.S. forces. Starting in 2005, some have been declassified and analyzed by the Combating Terrorism Center, a branch of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. "Like other revolutionary ideologies that have emerged throughout history, the idea of al-Qaeda ... has considerable appeal for those alienated by the penetration of global capitalism or those who feel victimized by corrupt, indifferent rulers," the Center said in a report stemming from the documents. "The importance of al-Qaeda's myth-making machinery cannot be underestimated."
Mr. Jdey, whose name is also transliterated as al-Jiddi or al-Jaddi, is 43 and is also known as Farouq al-Tunisi. He obtained Canadian citizenship in 1995. The U.S. government posted a $5-million reward for his capture after a martyrdom letter and video messages from him were found in the Kabul home of Osama bin Laden's military lieutenant.
The Jdey letters were posted last fall, but have attracted little attention. The first of the letters posted by the West Point centre is undated and addressed to fellow Muslims. In it, Mr. Jdey railed about "the Jewish media" and the failure of Western-educated Arab politicians to lift their countries out of post-colonial poverty. "Thank Allah for saving me and guiding me on the right path," he wrote. "I found incomparable blessings and peace, especially after I joined jihad."
He was also soured by his difficulties in the job market, a common occurrence among North African newcomers to Quebec. "When I arrived in Canada, I searched for work. I found many job opportunities, but the most important were closed. Others were dirty jobs reserved for immigrants," he wrote. "The social and economical life in North America is a jungle governed by ferocious beasts, represented by Jews and their allies." Mr. Jdey came to Canada as an immigrant. The letter says he lived in Canada starting in December of 1991, even though Canadian immigration records say he arrived in Montreal in April. The letter also says he enrolled in geology at the University of Quebec in Montreal.
The second letter, also addressed to his Muslim "brothers," dates from December, 1999. On the Arabic-language original, a handwritten note in English can be seen, presumably by a U.S. analyst. "Very inflammatory and hatred letter [sic] needs further translation," it said. In the document, Mr. Jdey tried to explain how he became a prospective jihadist. "After reviewing the materialistic infidel Western intellect, and Arab secular experiments and other ideologies and ideas, I realized that Islam is the right ideology for mankind. I travelled a long way to reach this conclusion." He added: "I pledged to Allah not to abandon the cause of jihad, and to sacrifice myself for the Almighty Allah."
Muslims have always been targeted by "the Jews, the Crusaders and their allies," he wrote. "They meet in their laboratories (United Nations and black house of America [White House] and others), to cook their poisonous plans." He quoted Omar Abdel-Rahman, the Egyptian-born cleric serving a life sentence in the United States for conspiracy in the 1993 World Trade Center bomb attack, urging other Muslims to attack Americans and their allies. "Destroy their economy, burn their companies, destroy their interests, sink their ships, shoot down their airplanes, kill them on the ground, on the sea and in the air."
The report of the U.S. commission probing the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks says Mr. Jdey was to be part of a second wave of suicide hijackings, but backed out. He is believed to have left Canada in November of 2001.
#1
the jobs he found where" reserved for immigrants" ummmm ok you are an immigrant
Posted by: chris ||
10/13/2008 10:43
Comments ||
Top||
#2
Islamist ideaology is so illogical! Rather than being grateful fot the opportunities the West afforded him, including his university degree, he seethes and wants to blow everything up to destroy anything worth working for. Why doesn't he return to Tunisia or the Middle East and use his skills to build the Utopia he believes Islam and Sharia offer? Proof is in the pudding, or the couscous, or something like that.
#4
Is it just me or is this whole crusader thing wearing a bit thin?
When hatred is all you have, you use it for everything. The Arabs hold grudges forever, and will use even the slightest discourtesy to beat the rest of the world with. We won't be free of this war until we either totally destroy the Arabs and their self-created, self-perpetuating "religion" Islam, or we change the mindset. Neither is going to be very easy to do.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/13/2008 14:12
Comments ||
Top||
#5
Since I've been doing some reading lately, this caught my eye: "When I arrived in Canada, I searched for work. I found many job opportunities, but the most important were closed. Others were dirty jobs reserved for immigrants," he wrote. "
This is EXACTLY the attitude taken my the tribal 'red stick' indians in the 1800s. They want everything handed to them on a plate, they want multiple wives who do all the farm work, etc. and so forth.
Send this fool an email- it's called an ENTRY LEVEL JOB. You don't deserve anything but. And I worked entry level jobs both in Boston and here in NYC. I proved my worth and got promoted. That's the way the game is played.
The axis of evil lost a charter member this weekend, when the U.S. took North Korea off the State Department's list of terror-sponsoring states. In return, Pyongyang promised to let international inspectors look everywhere except where its nuclear materials might actually be hidden.
Kim Jong Il, despite having broken every disarmament promise he's ever made, has thus managed to persuade another U.S. President that he's serious about giving up his nuclear program. President Bush's agreement sends this message to Iran and other rogue states: Go nuclear and your political leverage increases. The U.S. had vowed not to remove North Korea from the terror blacklist until Kim's government had agreed to a "strong verification regime." But then North Korea started calling the U.S. bluff -- most recently on Thursday, when it told the inspectors for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to start packing their bags -- and the U.S. caved. As John Bolton notes nearby, Tehran will get the point.
No verification regime is 100% certain -- and searching for nuclear materials in North Korea, which has a history of lying and cheating, poses special challenges for even the most rigorous inspections. But our sources tell us the U.S. has the technical expertise to get up to 98% accuracy -- providing it can do snap, on-demand inspections anywhere in the country. Instead, Pyongyang will permit the verifiers to have unfettered access only to its declared nuclear sites -- all of which the IAEA has already combed over again and again. Access to any other location will be by "mutual consent." Inspectors will be welcome to search the Yongbyon complex and a few other known nuclear sites, such as universities. If they want to inspect anywhere else, they'll need Kim's assent. If they request access, and Pyongyang agrees, it's a sure bet the offending materials will be long gone before the inspectors arrive. This is trust but pretend to verify.
Meanwhile, the State Department didn't trust its own verification experts to take part in the disarmament process. Late Thursday, less than two days before the agreement was announced, we asked Paula DeSutter, head of the Bureau of Verification, Compliance and Implementation, what she knew about the pending deal: "I have no clue," she said. "I know zero, zip, nada, nothing. . . . That's on the record. Zero, zip, nada, nothing." Ms. DeSutter says that no one from her bureau accompanied State Department negotiator Christopher Hill on his trip to Pyongyang two weeks ago. Nor did anyone from her bureau take part in the interagency process that evaluated the deal. "I was not consulted," she said. The fact that the verification bureau was left out of the loop is further cause to suspect that Mr. Hill and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice cared above all about declaring a diplomatic success. (For the record, Ms. DeSutter said over the weekend that she supports the deal.)
Since the disarmament deal was struck in February 2007, the North has refused to give a complete accounting of its plutonium program, disclose how many nuclear weapons it has and where they are, or come clean on its suspected uranium program. Now it has managed to wriggle out of its commitments on verification -- all without having to wait for an Obama Administration.
A few hours before Washington announced it was taking North Korea off the terror list, the Pyongyang media released the first photographs of Kim Jong Il since he had been rumored to have fallen ill two months ago. He was smiling.
#2
Meanwhile, the State Department didn't trust its own verification experts to take part in the disarmament process. Late Thursday, less than two days before the agreement was announced, we asked Paula DeSutter, head of the Bureau of Verification, Compliance and Implementation, what she knew about the pending deal: "I have no clue," she said.
Francesca Bill was the definition of a 21st Century war bride. Her then-longtime boyfriend, Air National Guardsman Scott Bill, proposed after returning home from an oversees deployment in 2002. Plans for a 2004 wedding in Jamaica were scrapped when duty called for a third time. They wed just hours prior to his departure.
Scott joined the Guard in 1985; just two weeks out of high school. Over the years, his service in the 133rd Aerial Port Squadron took him to South America, Singapore and almost every country in Europe. Those trips each lasted just a few weeks. Then came Sept. 11. The deployments that followed were longer and more frequent. A transportation specialist, he helped move troops and supplies in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Over a two-year period, he was gone 18 months. The time away, he said, “helps adjust your priorities. Family comes first above everything else.”
His first deployment spurred him to finally propose to his love of five years. He’d spent 155 days serving in Diego Garcia, an island in the British Indian Ocean. His second tour followed late in 2002, in Kuwait City. It lasted only 45 days, but he was gone for Thanksgiving and Christmas. “The holidays are the hardest,” he said of being away from family. The day before leaving for his third deployment in 2003 to “an undisclosed location in the Middle East,” he decided he didn’t want to risk waiting on their matrimony. Should he not survive, he wanted to ensure his love would be eligible for spousal financial benefits.
He called and said “we have to do it right now,” Francesca said. After stopping at a courthouse for the paperwork, they were married at Fort Snelling where he was based. She wore jeans and he was in his fatigues. Fellow guardsmen, some whom Francesca didn’t even know, were last-minute bridesmaids and groomsmen. No family were present for the makeshift ceremony, but they did get to join the newlyweds for dinner. Thirty-six hours after they tied the knot, Scott was on his way to the Middle East.
They celebrated a dual wedding reception and welcome home party in the fall. Their originally-planned Jamaica wedding in January became a vow renewal and honeymoon. Francesca said she isnÂ’t disappointed about never getting to walk down the aisle in a fancy white dress. SheÂ’d always wanted a low-key wedding. And the unexpected unfolding of events did have a positive aspect: Instead of one celebration, they had several.
Scott retired from the Guard last year, after more than 22 years of service. They’ve settled into a more routine married life; both work for Boston Scientific — she as a software quality engineer and he as a production supervisor. Home improvement projects are among their free-time activities. They recently finished re-landscaping their backyard. Amongst the new stone steps, fire pit and water lilies, are statues of four men standing at attention. A wood cross topped with Scott’s old military helmet stands in front of the men, who represent each of the branches of the military.
It’s a tribute to all the servicemen and women who’ve lost their lives, including the son of a senior master sergeant in Scott’s squadron — a Marine who was killed by an improvised explosive device in Iraq. “It’s my personal thank you to the individuals who’ve made the ultimate sacrifice,” Scott said.
#7
This picture of J. MacDonald reminded me of these definitions: Have you ever wondered why A, B, C, D, DD, E, F, G, and H are the letters used to define bra sizes?
If you have wondered why, but couldn't figure out what the letters stood for, it is about time you became informed!
(A} Almost Boobs...
{B} Barely there.
{C} Can't Complain!
{D} Dang!
{DD} Double dang!
{E} Enormous!
{F} Fake.
{G} Get a Reduction.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
10/13/2008 16:48
Comments ||
Top||
#11
"What happened to B cells?"
Just for fun, go into your local (choose one) 7-11, Home Depot, or Lowe's and ask an 'associate for a pack of them. 9 out of 10 times you will get a straight faced answer that they are either out or 'sorry, we don't carry them.'
(Xinhua) -- About 20 rebels and five soldiers were killed in the ongoing fighting between government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels in northern Sri Lanka on Friday, the military officials said on Saturday.
Officials from the Defense of Ministry said the clashes erupted between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels and the government troops in Vavuniya, Kilinochchi, Mullaitihvu and Jaffna districts. Officials said 43 rebels also were injured in the confrontations. Defense officials also said a rebel sea wing deputy leader and two other rebels were killed in a claymore attack on his vehicle in the north on Friday evening. However, the LTTE is yet to confirm it.
The troops said they were well on the way to capture Kilinochchi, the LTTE's administrative headquarters in the north. The troops were around 2 km away from the rebel held town in their advance, officials said. Kilinochchi and Mullaithivu districts are the last of the rebel strongholds.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/13/2008
00:08 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[8 views]
Top|| File under:
(Xinhua) -- Nine people were killed and 13 others injured in a car bomb explosion in a marketplace in southwestern Baghdad on Sunday, an Interior Ministry source said.
The explosion occurred at about 1:10 p.m. (1010 GMT) when a booby-trapped car parked in a popular marketplace in the mainly Shiite neighborhood of Bayaa, killing up to nine people and wounding 13 others, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. The powerful blast also set fire to some ten civilian cars and destroyed several nearby shops and stalls, the source said.
Iraqi security forces immediately sealed off the main roads leading to the scene while ambulances and civilians cars were evacuating the victims to nearby hospitals, he added.
"I heard a very loud explosion and saw a plume of black smoke rising over the market," Haitham, a shopowner in the market told Xinhua."It was so terrifying, there is blood and human flesh every where at the scene," Haitham said.
Sporadic attacks continue in Baghdad despite the U.S. and Iraqi officials' announcement of a relative lull in violence during the past few months.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/13/2008
00:02 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[5 views]
Top|| File under: Islamic State of Iraq
The Frontier Corps (FC) on Sunday arrested at least 47 Afghan refugees near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border area of Bramcha and seized weapons from them. Sources said that FC personnel raided Bramcha village -- about 70 kilometres from Noushki along the Pak-Afghan border -- on a tip-off and arrested the refugees for not possessing legal documents to prove their identity. The sources said that the FC personnel had also seized Kalashnikov rifles from the refugees.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/13/2008
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[6 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
European leaders have agreed on a plan to support banks through the financial crisis which ricocheted across the Atlantic to their shores.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/13/2008
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
A unpublicized consequence of the credit crisis is developing: "With many importers unable to get the credit to pay for their stock..., both exporters and shipping firms are left short-changed.
The reluctance of banks to issue letters of credit to shipowners – an assurance to the shipper that its cargo will be paid for – is already starting to have a severe impact on the industry."
The days when a ship's captain was given a chest of gold coins in return for offloading his cargo ended long ago. No credit, no imports is the modern rule.
North Korea said on Sunday it would resume taking apart its plutonium-producing nuclear plant and allow in inspectors in response to a US decision to remove it from a terrorism blacklist and salvage a faltering nuclear deal.
"As the US fulfilled its commitment to make political compensation and a fair verification procedure in line with the phase of disablement ... the DPRK (North Korea) decided to resume the disablement of nuclear facilities in Yongbyon," the North's KCNA news agency quoted a Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying.
Nuclear inspectors: The spokesman said the North would "allow the inspectors of the United States and the IAEA to perform their duties on the principle of 'action for action'," saying it will disable the nuclear plant and permit the inspectors in as others fulfil their obligations. The US decision was made after the secretive North agreed to a series of verification steps on its nuclear plant, a State Department spokesman said in Washington on Saturday.
The deal also called for resuming disablement and allowing in inspectors. Last month North Korea lashed out at not being removed by backing away from the disarmament-for-aid deal it made with China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States, and took initial measures to rebuild its Soviet-era nuclear plant, which was being disabled under the pact's terms.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/13/2008
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[7 views]
Top|| File under:
MOGADISHU (AFP) — Forces from the Somali breakaway region of Puntland on Sunday attacked pirates holding a Somali cargo freighter, triggering clashes that killed two pirates and a soldier, an official said. Four others, including another Puntland soldier, were wounded when the forces attempted to rescue MV Awail, owned by a Somali trading company with a crew of 13 Syrians and two Somalis, which was seize Thursday off the region's shores.
"They surrounded the (Somali) ship this morning near Hafun area, where they exchanged fire with pirates killing two of them. One of our men also died," said Muse Gelle Yusuf, governor of Puntland's Bari region. "Three pirates and a policemen were wounded," he told AFP by phone.
"We are expecting that forces will manage to free the ship in a few hours because the pirates on board are few and they have been besieged."
Meanwhile, delicate negotiations were placed on hold earlier Sunday over a 10-million-dollar (7.5-million-euro) ransom request by pirates holding a Ukranian arms ship off the Somali coast.
Pirates had earlier agreed to free the MV Faina, hijacked late last month, but later walked out of the deal demanding Somali mediators be withdrawn.
"The talks between pirates and ship owners totally stopped yesterday (Saturday) after the pirates insisted Somali brokers be removed from the process to negotiate," said Ahmed Abshir Hasan, an elder in the Somali coastal town of Harardhere, where the MV Faina is anchored. "The commanders of the pirates on the ship reported to us that the talks totally stopped. We don't know why they refused those brokers in the last minutes after working between them for the last week," he told AFP.
The hijackers have reportedly settled for a 10-million-dollar (7.4-million-euro) ransom after initially demanding more than three times that sum, but the figure could change. "They agreed to receive 10 million dollars for the release of the ship but the talks were stopped because of the Somali brokers. They said the process will resume in four days with new brokers," said another local elder, Abdullahi Moalim Afrah.
"We were close to agreeing on a ransom (figure) but we got out of that deal because of the Somali brokers who are going between us," one of the pirates told AFP. "We don't want any Somali broker to get involved in this deal and that is why we stopped the talks," he added, who declined to give his name.
US warships and navies from other nations are shadowing MV Faina to prevent the pirates from offloading the cargo.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/13/2008
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[5 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
so the soldiers form puntland are doing what all these other navies should do
Posted by: chris ||
10/13/2008 10:37
Comments ||
Top||
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Turkey launched another round of airstrikes against Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq on Sunday, an Iraqi official said. Turkish warplanes and artillery units bombed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) positions in villages near Amadi in Iraq's Duhuk Province, a provincial security official told CNN. The official said the Turkish military operation started at 5:30 p.m. and lasted an hour and a half. There were no reports of casualties.
Turkey said it was the sixth time in the past week it attacked the PKK in response to clashes that left at least 15 Turkish troops dead in the Turkey-Iraq border region last weekend. It was the second round of Turkish strikes on northern Iraq this weekend. Late Friday and early Saturday, Turkish warplanes hit 31 targets in the Hakurk region of northern Iraq before returning. They "successfully completed the operation [and] safely returned to their bases," the Turkish military said.
A spokesman for the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Security Forces said Turkish warplanes and artillery units bombed the region from around 11 p.m. Friday until 1 a.m. Saturday. The spokesman, Jabbar Yawer, said there were no reports of casualties.
Turkish artillery shells also hit border villages in the Zakho area, targeting PKK positions for about an hour on Saturday afternoon, Yawer said.
Though the Iraqi government opposes the PKK, the organization continues to operate in the Qandil Mountains in northern Iraq bordering Turkey and Iran. The separatist faction has been fighting for self-rule in southeastern Turkey.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/13/2008
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[11 views]
Top|| File under:
#3
On a separate note, TURKEY has reportedly begun deploying UN-MANNED AUTOMATED MACHINE GUNS, etc in various forward and rear areas [e.g. border positions]to protect agz the Kurds???
German Chancellor Angela Merkel heads to Paris to present Sunday to her colleagues from the euro zone a financial sector bailout plan for Germany that's expected to be more than half the size of what has been enacted in the U.S.
A person familiar with the situation told Dow Jones Newswires that the government is considering a total bailout plan of €300 billion to €400 billion ($402 billion to $536 billion), which includes state guarantees and the option to get a direct stake in banks. As part of this, the government is mulling recapitalizing financial institutions by injecting €50 billion to €100 billion in capital, the person who declined to be named said
PARIS, France (CNN) -- The leaders of 15 European nations agreed on Sunday to shore up troubled banks as part of a broad plan to ease the global financial crisis. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the plan would refinance banks, guarantee interbank lending and ensure that troubled banks do not fail. It also will protect individual depositors' accounts and ease some regulations to give banks more flexibility.
The refinancing of the banks and the guaranteeing of interbank loans are good until the end of 2009.
"What we want is to give back banks the means to lend, to support the economy to enable households to borrow for mortgages or consumption and give companies the means necessary to invest for growth," Sarkozy said. "We cannot have a healthy economy and sustainable growth unless we have a solid financial sector."
Sarkozy announced the agreement after a meeting of leaders of the Eurozone countries, which use the euro currency. Sarkozy also holds the rotating European Union presidency.
European officials say the plan is not a gift to bank management and that managers, who contributed to the crisis should be held responsible. The refinancing will be made at market rates and will consider the financial health of the banks. Each country will take slightly different approaches, because they have different laws and banking regulations, but their actions will be compatible.
"We have a tool kit and we will see what suits whom in order to achieve what we are setting out to achieve, which is to make sure that we don't have an economic crisis in addition to the financial crisis. We need to get things moving again, shifting again. And when things have calmed down, we'll go back to our basic training and responsibilities," Sarkozy said.
The leaders wanted to work quickly to reassure investors before the markets open on Monday.
Sarkozy said France, Germany and Italy will hold Cabinet meetings on Monday and will announce concrete plans. "These measures will be implemented in France without delay," Sarkozy said.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown met with Sarkozy and other leaders before the summit and told reporters there was "common ground now about what needs to be done" to soothe the financial markets.
On Wednesday, officials from the Eurozone countries will present their plan to the rest of the European Union at a meeting in Brussels, Belgium. Sarkozy said that they would then urge the United States to hold an international summit to manage the crisis. "The crisis didn't come from Europe. It began in the U.S. It has now become a worldwide crisis, and the issue of European structural institutions may be put on the table at some stage, but right now, we're dealing an emergency. And we have to reform urgently an international financial system that needs to be reformed," he said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/13/2008
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Sarkozy shows the usual pattern of blame shifting. However today this appeared in the NYTimes: "'The same mechanisms that led to the crisis in the United States were operating here,”' said Arnoud Boot, a professor of finance and banking at the University of Amsterdam. “It’s totally misplaced for European leaders to put the blame on the Americans.'"
If the Euros bear their share of responsibility for their financial crisis, then what role did the CRA, the US Congress, the Fed, or W play on the other side of the Atlantic? The world crisis stems from a worldwide financial mania, now unwinding.
Iraq deployed around 1,000 police in Christian areas of Mosul and set up checkpoints at churches on Sunday, an official said, as thousands of members of the minority group fled the worst violence against them in five years.
"Two (national police) brigades were sent to Christian areas in Mosul and churches were surrounded and put under tight security," interior ministry spokesman Abdul-Karim Khalaf told AFP.
He said the reinforcements had been deployed from midnight in the restive northern city, considered by U.S. and Iraqi commanders as the last urban stronghold of Al-Qaeda in Iraq. Khalaf added that two investigation teams, one security and the other criminal, had also been deployed to probe a spate of attacks on Christians in Mosul since September 28, in which at least 11 people have been killed.
Nearly 1,000 Christian families have fled their homes in the city since Friday following the worst violence against Christians in five years, according to provincial governor Duraid Kashmula.
Mosul military command spokesman Khalid Abdul-Satar said he did not know who was behind the violence but pledged to protect the Christian community. "We told the Christians through their churches and priests that we are ready to provide security to any house or individual that needs our protection. We have enough forces to do that," Satar said.
At the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday condemned the violence against Christians in both Iraq and India. "I invite you to pray for peace and reconciliation as situations cause concern and great suffering.... I think of violence against Christians in Iraq and India," he said.
Yunadem Kanna, one of only two Christians in the national parliament, said he had held urgent talks with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on the violence. "I just met with Maliki and he promised to deliver," he said, adding that the army and not just police had to move into the area in force if the law was to be upheld.
The flight of Christians from Mosul came as Chaldean Archbishop Louis Sako last week called on the U.S. military as well as Prime Minister Maliki's government to protect Christians and other minorities in the face of a rash of deadly attacks.
In an interview with AFP, Sako called on U.S. forces to do more to protect Christians and other minorities. "We are the target of a campaign of liquidation, a campaign of violence. The objective is political," Sako said, noting that more than 200 Christians had been killed and a string of churches attacked since 2003.
There were around 800,000 Christians in Iraq at the time of the U.S.-led invasion, a number that has since shrunk by around a third as the faithful have fled the country, the archbishop said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/13/2008
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[7 views]
Top|| File under: Islamic State of Iraq
#1
Chaldean Archbishop Louis Sako: "We are the target of a campaign of liquidation, a campaign of violence. The objective is political," Sako said, noting that more than 200 Christians had been killed and a string of churches attacked since 2003.
Al Qaeda: Most Holy and Brave Islamic Warriors Plot, Plan and Execute Christians...
Murder For God Is Great
allah akbar!!
*Spit*
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
10/13/2008 0:52
Comments ||
Top||
#2
I'm glad the Moslem Iraqis have finally figured out that the Christians are their fellow-citizens, deserving of living safely in their midst. And yes, it is quite possible they've been shamed or pressured into this by the Americans, but that means they've gotten to the point where they realize they ought to respond to that pressure -- they haven't, after all, cared up till now.
#3
Round up all those asshole palastinians(and other assorted terrorist fucks) clinton relocated to OK City trying to wrest the Nobel POS Prize from arafart AND exchange them for these Iraqi Christians. Good deal if you ask me. WHOOOOOO brought down the Murrah Building?
Pakistan says its security forces have killed 27 Taleban militants, including two commanders, near the Afghan border. The authorities say 12 would-be suicide bombers were also among the dead in north-western Orakzai province.
Double-plus good! If any of this is actually true ...
An offensive against the Taleban in the nearby province of Bajaur is also reportedly still ongoing.
Analysts say Taleban and al-Qaeda have been basing themselves in the lawless tribal areas along the Afghan border, where until recently they were safe from American attack. But in recent months, the US and Pakistani military have been attacking the militants' bases. Local tribal leaders have also taken up arms against the Taleban and al-Qaeda.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/13/2008
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[19 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
The Paks only lament? Half of the 27 were their guys.
United States pilotless spy planes on Sunday flew over North Waziristan just hours after a missile strike killed at least four people, residents said. Two missiles from suspected US drones struck a compound just outside Miranshah. The targeted compound was the residence of Taliban Omar Daraz, a security official said. Residents said they could see three drones overhead as they sifted through the remains of the destroyed compound searching for further casualties.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/13/2008
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[14 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda
#1
We should release clear helium balloons with amps and speakers ballasted to ride at the same height as one of the predators and play an engine sound over and over until the battery wears down - then pop.
#3
The psy-ops/psy-war opportunities are pregnant with possibilities.....
Boo
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
10/13/2008 1:06
Comments ||
Top||
#4
US drones fly over North Waziristan
Not to be confused with the aged model drones that fly in and around the Capital in Washington. However, both are known to be dangerous to citizens of either country, particularly when they're observed to focus and hover over pending killstaxpayers objects of interests.
#6
Need to get something from Rutan that flies at 80,000 feet, but big enough to be seen from the ground. Let the talibunnies and the rest of the gun-sex-crazed fools shoot at it all day. Paint the drone in shades of day-glow orange, fluorescent yellow, and deep purple, so there's no way to miss it. Let it make lazy circles over Peshawar, the entire tribal areas, even a pass over Rawalpindi/Islamabad now and then. In a month they'll either quit looking for drones, or be so muddle-headed it won't matter.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/13/2008 13:59
Comments ||
Top||
Survivors, relatives of the victims and government officials on Sunday marked the sixth anniversary of the deadly bombings on the Indonesian resort island of Bali.
The attack, blamed on the Jemaah Islamiyah network, claimed the lives of 202 people from 22 countries. Australia, which for years saw Bali as its playground, had the most victims, with 88. Australian ambassador Bill Farmer read a statement from Prime Minister Kevin Rudd during a ceremony attended by some 100 people at the Australian consulate on the resort island. "The 12 October 2002 tragedy shocked Australia. For those who lost loved ones, life will never be the same," Rudd said in a statement.
"We think of the families and friends of the victims. Our thoughts and sympathies will always be with them," he added. Tearful mourners took turns placing bouquets of flowers at a wooden cross memorial built by victims' families at the Australian consulate in the Balinese capital Denpasar. Rudd praised Indonesia for the crackdown it carried out in the wake of the worst terror attack in the region.
"We can be proud that the partnership between Indonesia and Australia is the strongest it has ever been," he said. Farmer added that it was hoped terrorists would continue to be brought to justice. The anniversary was held amid a promise from the Indonesian government that the three key bombers - Amrozi, Imam Samudra and Ali Ghufron - would be executed by the end of the year.
Indonesian prosecutors had earlier put plans on hold to execute the bombers before the month of Ramazan on September, citing bureaucratic delays.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/13/2008
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[10 views]
Top|| File under: Jemaah Islamiyah
#1
Is it just me, or did they miss an opportunity to REALLY mark it? The guilty are still converting oxygen...
Security forces have arrested four would-be suicide bombers from a local hotel in Zhob, 320 kilometres from the provincial capital, Online reported on Sunday. Police sources told APP that law enforcement agencies raided the Gul Bahar hotel in the Zhob bus stand following a tip-off and arrested the men. The sources however refused to disclose the suspects' identity, and rejected a report that the arrested people were would-be suicide bombers and said a preliminarily report indicated that the men were terror suspects. The suspects have been moved to an undisclosed location for questioning, the sources said. Online quoted sources as saying that the would-be bombers had entered Zhob through Wana.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/13/2008
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[10 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Pakistan
#1
Will somebody let us know when there are more suicide bombings in Pakistan than Iraq?
Former South African President Thabo Mbeki is due in Harare for further mediation aimed at breaking the political impasse in Zimbabwe. The government and the opposition MDC remain deadlocked over a decision by President Robert Mugabe to allocate key cabinet posts to his own Zanu-PF party.
Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has threatened to pull out of a power sharing deal agreed last month.
Zimbabwe's government says Mr Mugabe's action do not violate the agreement.
Convenient, that ...
A government list published on Saturday gave the main ministries, including defence, home, foreign affairs, and justice to Zanu-PF. The country's ambassador to the UN, Boniface Chidyausiku, told the BBC that the post of finance minister was still open for negotiation.
Yeah, give the opposition that one and let them get blamed for all the problems ...
On Sunday, Mr Tsvangirai said that if Zanu-PF wanted the defence ministry, the MDC must have home affairs, which controls the police. He told a rally in Harare: "If they [Zanu-PF] do it that way, we have no right to be part of such an arrangement.
"The people have suffered. But if it means suffering the more in order for them to get what is at stake, then so be it.
Under the existing agreement Mr Mugabe remains president while Mr Tsvangirai becomes prime minister.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/13/2008
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
Iran has arrested an aide to Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri following fresh criticism by the dissident cleric against Islamic republic leaders over freedom, reports said on Sunday.
"An information aide in Ayatollah Montazeri's office has been arrested in Qom after publishing his recent comments," reformist Kargozaran newspaper said. Montazeri's official website said security officials in the religious city of Qom arrested mid-ranking cleric Mojtaba Lotfi on Wednesday after he published a sermon by Montazeri at the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.
"Why aren't your slogans in line with your action? You describe Iran as the freest country in the world while you take away legitimate and legal liberties inside the country," Montazeri said on October 1 according to his website. Montazeri had at one time been tapped as successor to the Islamic republic's founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini but fell from grace in the late 1980s after he became too openly critical of political and cultural restrictions.
"When you treat me like this... what could happen to ordinary people," said the 85-year-old senior cleric. "I pray that God may grant wisdom and insight to the officials and leaders." One of the main architects of the Islamic republic, Montazeri was put under house arrest in 1997 and was freed in January 2003 on health grounds.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/13/2008
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[12 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
If Mcain's people are smart and have 1/4 of a right testicle between them, they'll keep this item in the news till election day!
like:
Louis Farrakhan (Nation of Islam) calls Obama "the Messiah"
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
10/13/2008 1:55
Comments ||
Top||
#2
The stupid old SOB has capitulated. Won't apply any pressure even though it's laying out in front of him. He needs to be run out of politics completely. Arizona voters, wise up. Throw his ass out.
#3
Then again, Woozle, the man has some class. He also has his internal polls, which are much better than anything you see at RealClearPolitics, and those polls may well be telling him the limits of the types of tactics people are advocating here.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/13/2008 11:44
Comments ||
Top||
#4
On November 4th I will vote for Palin, against Obama, but not for McCain.
At the end of the trunk convention McCain asked me (and others) to stand and fight with him. At the time I thought he was serious and sincere. I was prepared to do and have done so. McCain was not or later changed his mind for reasons not entirely clear. Perhaps he was too sensitve to being called a racist by his former "friends" in the MSM.
#5
Perhaps his former friends in the MSM, the ones who lie about everything that doesn't occur as they believe it must, are not telling you the exact truth?
KABUL, Afghanistan -- Less than 12 hours after NATO troops in Afghanistan defeated an ambitious attempt by the Taliban to storm a provincial capital in the far southwest, killing dozens of the fighters, the top American commander in the country urged doubters Sunday to believe that the war against the Taliban would be won.
The commander, Gen. David D. McKiernan, who leads more than 65,000 troops from about 40 foreign countries, including 33,000 Americans, said at a news conference in Kabul that there had been "too many" reports in the media recently asserting that the foreign forces and their Afghan allies were losing the war. "I absolutely reject that idea, I don't believe it," the general said, adding: "It is true that there are many places in this country that don't have an adequate level of security. We don't have progress as even and as fast as any of us would like. But we are not losing in Afghanistan."
At another point, he was more emphatic. There are major challenges facing the war effort, he said, "But we will win."
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/13/2008
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[5 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
ION ZEENEWS > seems LONDON-BASED EXILED PAKISTANI GROUP LEADER ALAF HUSSAIN [Paki MGM Group] is claiming that OVER 400,OOO ARMED AFGHANS, equipped wid the latest automat weapons, are now quartering in Karachi and increasingly pose a direct or destabiliz threat to Pakistan???
Three people were killed in separate incidents in Jamrud and Bara areas of Khyber Agency on Sunday. Unidentified men shot dead Hasnaat, resident of Khazana, Peshawar, and his friend Mumtaz, resident of Bakhshu Pul, Peshawar, and threw their bodies in a field near Takhta Baig. The Jamrud political administration sent the two bodies to their ancestral village. Separately, gunmen killed Alam Khan and dumped his body in Sapra Dam. The body has been handed over to the family.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/13/2008
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[11 views]
Top|| File under: Lashkar-e-Islami
They're just making sausage. You might want to step away for a bit ...
Australian foreign affairs minister, Stephen Smith, has made it clear to his Sri Lankan counterpart that military action alone will not solve the bloody dispute with the Tamil separatists. Mr Smith who held talks in Australia's capital city Canberra with Rohitha Bogollagama expressed his concern about the ongoing violence and worsening human rights situation.
Mr Smith says all avenues have to be used to end the conflict. "The need to ensure that people conducted themselves in a way that civilian casualities were avoided - that when it came to displaced people that there was capacity for delivery of humanitarian assistance to displaced people," he said.
"Both of these things apply to all parties concerned in the conflict and that we wanted to ensure that there is a very clear understanding that no long term enduring solution that can be found through the use of military force."
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/13/2008
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
Lebanese authorities on Sunday arrested a "terrorist network" behind deadly bomb attacks in the northern city of Tripoli, the army said. "Several members of a terrorist cell involved in the recent explosions in Tripoli have been arrested," the army said in a statement carried by the official news agency NNA.
The army said an explosives belt for use in another attack was found during the arrest operation carried out by a joint unit of soldiers and internal security forces.
A search is underway for a leading member of the cell, named as Abdul Ghani Ali Jawhar, the statement said, adding that those arrested are being questioned, without saying how many are being held.
Tripoli has also since May been rocked by deadly sectarian violence between Sunni Muslim supporters of the government and their Damascus-backed rivals from the Alawite community. Four soldiers and three civilians were killed as an explosion ripped through a military bus in the port city on September 29. A similar attack in mid-August killed 14 people, including nine soldiers and a child.
Last year, the army fought a 15-week battle with the al-Qaeda inspired Fatah al-Islam militia in a Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli that killed 400 people, including 168 soldiers.
More detail, from Ya Libnan...
The Lebanese army says troops have arrested members of a terrorist group allegedly involved in recent bombings in northern Lebanon. "Several members of a terrorist cell involved in the recent explosions in Tripoli have been arrested," the army said in a statement carried by the official news agency NNA. The statement referred to Aug. 13 and Sept. 29 bombings in Tripoli. The bombings killed a total of 25 people, most of them Lebanese soldiers.
The statement did not give further details. But a security official speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press said three Palestinians were among those arrested.
The statement says an explosives belt in their possession was confiscated. It says troops were still pursuing Abdel-Ghani Jawhar, a leading member of the cell. The person who had the explosives belt is Alaa Mehrez, also known as Attiya. He was detained along with a woman in Bab el-Tebbaneh, Tripoli Sources said Mehrez was a brother-in-law of the main suspect on the run (Abdel-Ghani Jawhar).
The arrests were carried out near Baddawi, another Palestinian camp in north Lebanon. Security sources said six people were arrested , including four men from the same family: Mahmud Azzam, 80, and his three sons. The father and two of his sons were released after questioning. A fourth brother, Jihad, had been killed in last year's fighting with the army at the Nahr el Bared camp According to Almustaqbal TV the terrorist cell belongs to Fatah al Islam.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/13/2008
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[8 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
they seem too overlook the terrorist network on their southern border
Posted by: chris ||
10/13/2008 10:34
Comments ||
Top||
#2
they seem too overlook the terrorist network on their southern border
And with what are they going to take then on with? Look up what the Leb army has for a TO&E and then research what they have for armament. They barely managed to win against Fatah al-Islam, and that took them almost four months. And you want them to take on a well-armed and organized Hesb'allah?
The reform element tried. They took on more than they could handle, got their collective backsides handed to them as a result, and the reform elements lost control of the government.
Rony Biswas, founder of the outlawed Communist Juddho, one of the factions of Purbo Banglar Communist Party (PBCP-ML), was killed in a 'shootout' between Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and police and the cadres of the outfit in Chuadanga early yesterday.
Nailed a big shot Purbo!
The incident occurred at Kumari village under Alamdanga upazila in Chuadanga.
We have no idea where that is.
Rony founded the Communist Juddho, in May, 2005 and unleashed a reign of terror in 10 southwestern districts.
Makes you wonder if the Biplobis were unleashing terror in the northeast ...
One of the top outlawed figures in the region, ...
Congrats Rony on the high honor, oh, and condolences to your mother ...
... Rony fled Chuadanga soon after a state of emergency was clamped nationwide and took shelter in Savar. Sources said he worked as a salesman in a shoe shop there.
Yeah, shoe salesman, RAB will never look there ...
Police and intelligence officials learnt that he recently returned to Chuadanga and was trying to re-organise his party ahead of the upcoming parliamentary and upazila elections.
Just a 'community organizer', was he ...
Early yesterday, a team from Alamdanga police station led by Officer-In-Charge (OC) Kazi Jalal Uddin Ahmed and Rab-6, Chuadanga in-Charge Captain Faisal raided the Veterinary Training Institute (VTI) in Kumari village at around 3:30 am ...
Many thanks to Mahmoud the Weasel ...
... where Rony was holding a meeting with his men.
Couldn't find a grove of trees?
The outlawed cadres opened fire on the law enforcers ...
Using paper bullets that left no marks for ballistics ...
... prompting them to retaliate.
RAB always does ...
Rony was killed on the spot ...
"Which spot?"
"THAT spot!"
... but his accomplices managed to escape.
As if they were never there in the first place.
Police recovered two Shutter guns and 10 bullets from the scene.
TWO shutter guns? You mean there's more than one?
Rony is an accused in at least twelve systems 50 cases, including 20 for murder, filed with different police stations.
So his mother didn't love him anymore.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/13/2008
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
The incident occurred at Kumari village under Alamdanga upazila in Chuadanga.
Dr. Steve: "We have no idea where that is."
perhaps it's Shipman divided by .5MT?
or maybe its the square root of Sponge Bob...?
...YEP! ~<:)
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
10/13/2008 1:40
Comments ||
Top||
#2
No, his mother loved him, she just didn't put any lights on their Christmas tree.
WHEW! For minute I thought somebody killed a driver from The World of Outlaws. heh
#3
TWO shutter guns? You mean there's more than one?
Could the second one be a mock-up, used to train RAB newbies? I don't think there possibly could be TWO shutter guns, this simply doesn't make any sense at all. Typo or mock-up.
#4
Yes, Dr. Steve, I will accept that as proof positive that a second shutter gun does exist. However, I would very much appreciate if someone would post photos of the various weapons mentioned in RAB reports. I keep picturing ancient muskets liberally chased with tarnished silver, so rusted that to actually attempt to shoot the thing would result in the blinding or death of the shooter... or contrariwise a collector's piece stored wrapped in velvet, only taken out to impress the dead accused's fingerprints upon the handle that they might be legitimately added to the prosecution's file before reverently wiping the piece clean and returning it to the safe.
About 50 parishioners were locked into the Assemblies of God church before it was set ablaze. They were mostly women and children. Those who tried to flee were hacked to death by machete-wielding members of a mob numbering 2,000.
The 2008 New Year Day atrocity in the Kenyan village Eldoret, about 185 miles northwest of Nairobi, had all the markings of the Rwanda genocide of a decade earlier. By mid-February 2008, more than 1,500 Kenyans were killed. Many were slain by machete-armed attackers. More than 500,000 were displaced by the religious strife. Villages lay in ruin. Many of the atrocities were perpetrated by Muslims against Christians.
The violence was led by supporters of Raila Odinga, the opposition leader who lost the Dec. 27, 2007, presidential election by more than 230,000 votes. Odinga supporters began the genocide hours after the final election results were announced Dec. 30. Mr. Odinga was a member of Parliament representing an area in western Kenya, heavily populated by the Luo tribe, and the birthplace of Barack Obama's father.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/13/2008
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[47 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
None of this will be in the MSM nor will McCain mention it in the debate.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
10/13/2008 1:16
Comments ||
Top||
#2
It's becoming more and more obvious that the Democratic candidate for the Presidency of the United States is the equivalent of a rabid dog. Someone's going to have to put a stop to him. Unfortunately, everybody's so busy fawning over him they can't see the foam at the lips, or understand what it means. If things get even half as bad as they appear they will, we may experience the first military coup in the history of the United States. The military swears an oath first and foremost to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. If they see this jacka$$ attempting to shred it, they will act, because it's their DUTY to do so. I'd hate to see that day come to the United States, but I'd hate even more to lose many of our most basic freedoms and NO ONE do anything about it.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/13/2008 4:34
Comments ||
Top||
#3
Remember, he wants an armed civilian defense corps the equal of our military. Why would he want that, do you think?
#4
Odinga has a "vision" vor all of Africa. Obama has a "vision" for the world. In the short term, Odinga will use Russian military hardware to help achieve his dreams. Obama will use Soviet ideology to achieve his.
#6
In my heart of hearts I cannot believe that this country is on the cusp of committing national political suicide. With a 50/50 country and red versus blue, coastal vs. flyover, right vs. left, common sense vs. nuance, patriotism vs. radical chic, etc. - we may be on the verge of a 2nd civil war. Remember this guy Obama would never be able to even obtain a "classified" clearance much less a TSC or whatever the POTUS is given. I have no idea why we don't make any candidate go through the same vetting our armed forces go through. If he had to go through that he would never make it 1/2 way. The scenario is less Manchurian Candidate and more like 7 Days in May. God Forbid!!
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
10/13/2008 8:58
Comments ||
Top||
#7
OP, this Friday past, I had a nagging feeling about the same. The public trials and hangings, however (Frank, Dodd, Pelosi, Waters, etal), may be worth the price of admission.
#8
Civilian control of the military goes to the heart of our constitutional system and is drilled into every officer, NCO and enlisted person in uniform.
I do not think our professional military will stage a 'coup', period. In the event of a major disaster or a major attack on the country NORTHCOMM will assist and coordinate with civil authorities.
At a guess they might also step in if there was an overt overthrow of elected government. And that's not in the cards, folks. If the worst fears of the right and the libertarians come to pass it will be gradual.
#10
OP, I welcome it. And institute term limits before the Army gives it back.
The kinds of military who would stage a 'coup' aren't the kind to give back power easily. Let's not accelerate the rush to become a banana republic or a strongman dictatorship, 'k?
#11
If the worst fears of the right and the libertarians come to pass it will be gradual.
Sure will be, since the "frog in hot water" mode has been the left's strategy for four decades already. A relentless forward drive, but gradual, yet all-encompassing, from the "personal" to the "political"... worked pretty fine, though, of course, this is eroding the host societies to the point they even self-destruct themselves (abortion, lower rates of marriage & birthrate)... politically, this doesn't matter, as the Enlightened Ones political wing has carefully crafted itself a clients system, working fine in a decomposed social body atomized through Diversity (as opposed to ethnically homogenous societies with common History & identity), while the cultural wing churns out leftist automatons by the tens if not hundred of thousands through education & mass-entertainement.
#12
The Obama model would call for the replacement of high level military leaders, both uniformed and DoD civilian, almost immediately. The new cadres of loyal military leaders will ensure both stability and enforcement of the regime's goals at all levels. This action has already been mirrored in law enforcement and the courts in major urban areas throughout the country. When it happens, it should come as no surprise. The deweaponisation of the population should likewise, come as no surprise.
#13
The kinds of military who would stage a 'coup' aren't the kind to give back power easily.
Military in Chile saved democracy, and Chile itself. Nationalists in Spain also saved democracy in a fashion, though this may not have been their final goal. Both coups spared their respective country a worse fate - if Chile had gone cuba-like the way it was headed before the generals had this came to an halt, the local Dealer Maximo probably would still be in power, or if he wasn't, the country would be in a far worse shape than today's rather successful country.
#14
Remember, he wants an armed civilian defense corps the equal of our military.
And I predict that you will see open season on these folks just as soon as they commit their first atrocity. I'm convinced you might even see some states secede, starting with Texas. Yep...Civil War II.
Posted by: Black Charlie Shunter2952 ||
10/13/2008 9:42
Comments ||
Top||
#15
In those countries there wasn't a strong prior tradition of constitutional government with balanced powers. They were creating order in what was almost a vacuum of prior precedents for it.
Not so here. A military takeover here would abrogate over 200 years of constitutional government. It is precisely what George Washington is revered for having rejected.
#16
Nationalists in Spain also saved democracy in a fashion, though this may not have been their final goal
Initially it was. But the "democrats" either failed in their regions and were executed by loyalists (Goded), had accidents (Sanjurjo), were pushed aside by Franco (Queipo de LLano) or had "unfortunate accidents" just after a tense conversation with Franco (Mola).
#18
A military takeover here would abrogate over 200 years of constitutional government.
Just for the sake of arguemnt, what if they instead SAVED it? What if "democracy" was used as a weapon against the AMERICAN REPUBLIC, IE the "200 years of constitutional governement" (whihc btw is the single thing I admire the most in the USA, your framework)?
#19
I do not think our professional military will stage a 'coup', period.
I think you're wrong, personally. And if you're not, then it will be up to us.
Posted by: Black Charlie Shulet7688 ||
10/13/2008 10:00
Comments ||
Top||
#20
OldPatriot and al.
Please stop this thread now. Think about it, if you want but after the elections. Every post of this kind aired in the right media is 10,000 votes less for McCain.
#22
I think some of us are going off the deep end here and shouldn't. If Obama wins, he'll have about 49% of the voters against him from the start and he'll be unable to deliver on his promises without raising everybody's taxes and then losing his majority. It could be a messy two years, but things will correct in 2010.
Aside from that, remember that many of the things the presidential candidates are advocating are beyond their control anyway. You can jabber all you want about new technologies, gas pipelines, offshore drilling, and 100 mpg cars, but that won't make them available next year or the year after.
Finally, all is not doom and gloom. Oil is down, gasoline is down, the dollar is up, and the vast majority of people are paying their mortgages and getting proper health care. The biggest problem right now it panic, so stop doing it.
#23
This election actually puts the US in peril. I think alot of folks here are pretty simple minded and just hoping for the best. Hussein is a Muslim Manchurian. Go over to Atlas Shrugs today. There is a good piece on Hussein's dealings with Kenya and Odinga, his radical Muzz "relative". The thing is, Hussein will immediately, with the help of Pelosi and Kennedy, et al., begin to implement curbs on our freedom of speech and mount a full-blown effort to subvert the 2nd Amendment rights which are the underpinning of our republican democracy. Within a couple of years, blogs like this, and radio shows like Hannity and Rush may disappear. It will not be the military who saves us. It will be only ourselves. If Hussein is elected, I would guess his tenure would be short. Less than JFK's. Get ready for tumult. Buy ammo. I just received lots of brass in my favorite calibers. Get it now while you can.
#26
We've seen what happens when the masses of people contact their Congressional representatives and senators to object to something -- it doesn't happen, or at least not as originally intended. We put an end to that horrible illegal aliens bill, and we put a stop to the 20% for ACORN rescue plan. Granted the rescue plan that resulted was no prize, but it was in that key way better than the original. So, should Obama actually win, which is not yet assured despite media crowing, we'll just have to stay on top of Congress to make sure they don't do anything really horribly objectionable, like de-fund the military... until, as Darrel says, 2010.
#27
The kinds of military who would stage a 'coup' aren't the kind to give back power easily. Let's not accelerate the rush to become a banana republic or a strongman dictatorship, 'k?
------
Wouldn't be a 'coup. It would be returning the American government to the people by defending the constitution. -- 'k?
#28
You'd better be pretty damned clear in just what ways that would be true and how it would work before I'd support such a move.
The 'domestic' part of 'domestic or foreign' refers to open civil war of the sort we experienced in the 1860s. Unless there was an open and very clear constitutional violation in the way in which someone assumed power, those who take up arms against that goverment are in fact the internal foes -- but even then the military is on very iffy grounds for intervening unless there is secession etc.
And do be aware that if, for instance, TX tries to secede then the military's duty is to prevent that, not to abet it.
#29
Great... let's have the Army take over. I can't believe some of you people are serious. You'd rather be a Pakistan than have Obama be the president?
What's REALLY going on is that there is a great fear of the unknown (a possible half-black President), that even though Obama is no better or worse than your average Democratic candidate for President, the unbridled rage and fear has been much greater. The REAL justification for the hate is so unujustifiable that there is a great struggle to come up with a halfway justifiable reason to really hate him, and I mean REALLY--he's probably hated by some people over here as much as you'd hate a serial killer.
But don't fool yourself. The real underlying reason for the fear is not rational or justifiable. If it were, people who value freedom like yourselves wouldn't come up with ridiculous suggestions like military coups. C'mon!
The reason is just meaningless hate, as I'm sure I'll get for posting this message.
#30
OK, I'm going to disagree with you as well, Todd.  Kindly take the time to read the article that triggered this thread.  Take notes - it will help you refine your assertions.
"No better nor worse" than other Dem candidates?  I can't say that I remember other candidates who have aided and abetted openly murderous rampages on the part of relatives who lost a pretty fair election in another country.
There is rage here, alright. But it has nothing to do with race and everything to do with a certain propensity of Obama to encourage thuggery in order to advance his own position and power.
I for one have no desire nor willingness to have the toxic corruption and abuses endemic to Chicago spread to the nation as a whole.
#31
Wouldn't be a 'coup. It would be returning the American government to the people by defending the constitution. -- 'k?
No, k. The people get the government returned to them November 5. Then they get to lie in the bed they've made for two years. That's what the Constitution says. And if you think some beer hall putsch is the way we change governments, you should return to the country you came from. Because no true American favors the violent overthrow of a properly elected government.
#33
lotp, this article deals with a lot of hearsay, unsubstantiated claims including those by Jerome Corsi (who by no means is an unbiased source) and guilt by association--to the extent of claiming Obama is personally responsible for genocide, which is a stretch. Is he promoter of Shariah law or is he a true-believing member of a crazy christian church group? Pick one.
A different version of Raila Odinga can be seen in his wikipedia entry and in numerous other places. But of course, there is no need for any benefit of the doubt. Would any claim against Obama need to be proved before holding him responsible for genocide? Not when you've already made up your mind and are looking... hoping... for a socially acceptable justification. The reason this is not frontpage news is because it is an article devoid of any responsibility of proving anything.
#34
man... obama is reminding me of some thing that happened previously in history...
civilian defense corps... hmmm some guys in brown shirts, but i cant place them...
'patriotic' children singing nationalistic hymns to a leader figure who was very charismatic...
promises to nationalize sectors of the economy...
hmmmm, anyone able to help me put my finger on it?
Posted by: Abu do you love ||
10/13/2008 14:06
Comments ||
Top||
#35
Obama will be Carter writ large with cascading crisises that will make the Iran hostage crisis seem like a minor diplomatic tiff.
Pakistan is already bankrupt and is weeks away from not being able to pay for food imports. Iraq. Iran, Afghanistan and several of the Stans could all go over the edge. Russia, China, India get drawn in.
It looks an awful lot like Europe in the 1930s. All we need to complete the picture is an isolationist and demilitarizing America.
#36
Todd you may well be right WRT this article. But you stretch the truth when you assert the article claims Obama is personally responsible for genocide. It calls into question his judgement for being closely associated with someone who has credibly been held accountable for atrocities - as it should.
It was Odinga himself who claimed to the BBC to have been in near-daily consultations by phone with Obama.
In addition you duck the issue of Obama's tendency to thuggishness as demonstrated in his earlier elections, his boasts about being from and acting in the tradition of Chicago, his call to 'get in the face' of anyone who wishes to keep his/her voting intentions private, etc.
There's a lot to worry about WRT Obama, in part because he has a very deep habit of covering up his trail. The colors on his campaign website are getting faded from all the scrubbing of false claims they've needed to do lately ....
#37
lotp, I have to admit I am not too familiar with the thuggery allegations against him and the "against private vote stuff". Are any of these allegations proven, and if so, are they as big as they are made out to be?
It would be stupid of me to comment without knowing the facts, so I'll comment later.
#38
Todd, it's a pattern of incidents which add up to a worrisome whole.
One dimension of it is his repeated use of "the politics of personal destruction" to remove political opponents. Read up on what happened to primary and general election opponents in his first Illinois race and again when he ran for the US Senate. Court-sealed divorce records leaked right before election day etc etc.
Then look at how his supporters have attacked Sarah Palin and her family. The whole practice of personal destruction, as taught by Obama's inspiration / radical community organizer Saul Alinsky, intentionally hurts the candidate's family in order to cause him/her to withdraw from the race or to lose it. Obama made no real attempt to stop the horrific attacks on Palin and her kids, especially the older daughter.
This is just one example of what troubles me deeply about Obama.
Re: the 'in your face', google the quote. He has urged his supporters to demand that people tell them who they will vote for - and if they aren't voting for him, the implication is, to harass and otherwise pressure them until they do.
Straight out of the Chicago machine. Nasty, thuggish intimidation tactics. There's lots of that in his history too.
Everything in google about "in your face" stuff is based on an editorial authored by Michelle Malkin (who is yet another extremely biased source--see practically every editorial she's written). Her editorial takes a phrase and blatantly makes up generalized conclusions from it. I don't see anywhere that he's specifically promted thuggery--saying "in your face" promotes intense campaigning sure, but thuggery? Do we have proof of people getting beaten up or harassed for being Republican--any police complaints? Also, how exactly does this thuggery work when the actual voting process is by secret ballot? It's not like Obama's "thugs" will know that you didn't vote for him.. what's part 2 of the plan? Torching districts where votes against Obama is > 50% etc?
If I recall correctly, Obama has repeatedly said that candidates' families are off limits during the elections. Obama and Biden have been extremely good at really muting their attacks on Palin, and mostly concentrating their fire on McCain.
Are there supporters of Obama that might be going after Palin? Sure, I don't disagree... Is there be a small subset of McCain supporters who would never vote for a black man just because? Sure, but I wouldn't conclude that McCain is racist just because some of is supporters might be. It would be unfair.
It seems like all you have is a series of half-truths and generalizations, or even partisan lies that once grouped together, are fuzzy enough to conclude whatever you want to conclude.
There is enough stuff in the current administration, for example, that a non-republican would term thuggish. Don't get me wrong, I am by no means saying Obama's a saint. I just don't think he's any more "evil" than your average politician.
#40
I need you to go out and talk to your friends and talk to your neighbors. I want you to talk to them whether they are independent or whether they are Republican. I want you to argue with them and get in their face," he said.
Obama in 9/17 rally in Nevada, reported many places including SFGate, the San Francisco Chronicle's online site.
Obama's call to put families off-limits was weak and belated. It only happened after he took a lot of public heat.
Vandalism of Republican offices has started again. Molotov cocktails thrown at a front yard sign lately. Did Obama cause that? I doubt he ordered it. But he has run a campaign where that is the logical conclusion. He boasts of using Chicago techniques. It's not a smoking gun case - it's a racketeering pattern of behavior.
And one that is there for anyone willing to look at it.
#41
lotp... again, I missed the part where he said "go beat up and/or harass people". People say "get in their face" all the time. It COULD be interpreted as "be intense;try very hard", but you choose not to.
Again, you go ahead and associate anything negative with Obama. There is no "logical conclusion" here, as you put it. It's just subjective conclusion where something can be interpreted in multiple ways. Again, assigning blame of supporters' actions on the candidates themelves is a slippery slope. He is Not responsible for EVERY political action of perhaps 50% of the nation or over 60 million voters--that's simply unfair. Unless someone is mentally handicapped or under age, they are responsible for their own actions--that's just the law. Similarly, McCain is not responsible for the actions for every person who'd vote for him.
There were plenty of attacks on Obama's wife, and smears trying to portray him as a Muslim. Who's responsible for that? Certainly not McCain, right? McCain waited a while before finally admitting a couple of days ago that personal attacks against Obama--i.e. he's "Arab" or a "terrorist" should not happen. Is that not too little too late?
#42
If I recall correctly, Obama has repeatedly said that candidates' families are off limits during the elections. Obama and Biden have been extremely good at really muting their attacks on Palin, ....
Are there supporters of Obama that might be going after Palin? Sure, I don't disagree...
You must have been out of the country when the Palin announcement happened. Shortly after, his flying monkeys went on a insulting smear spreading rampage. Bambi didnt say anything until the end of the 3 day weekend. (Before the start of the next news cycle)
Posted by: Mike N. ||
10/13/2008 16:10
Comments ||
Top||
#43
And Bambi didn't say anything against Palin did he?
An one can conclude, if one chose to do so, that McCain only decided to take a stance on personal attacks against Obama (a couple days ago), after he learned that it wasn't helping his polling numbers and he needed a new strategy. I'm sure he's still a great guy tho...
#44
'He did it too' is poor defense of your position.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
10/13/2008 16:16
Comments ||
Top||
#45
Mike N.,
You are correct. That is no justification, which is why I have mostly refrained from bringing up McCain.
My whole point tho, is that Obama is "just as bad" as your usual politician, but has recieved even more "rage" than the average presidential candidate, which implies that there is another, more basic underlying reason for the massive hatred against him, a hatred so potent that some people in this thread are calling for a military takeover if Obama wins.
#46
First of all, Todd, let me be clear on this. lotp should have never lowered herself to debate with because you are a RACEBAITER.
You don't say the fear could be the result of racism, you throw out any possibility that it could be a result of policy positions or friendships with traitors and go straight to insisting that it must be his race.
Furthermore, you've obviously not been paying attention to this site. These same people say the same things about many other politicians. Barry happens to be the first black uber liberal to run for president since the burg began. The same things were said about Kerry. Is he part black or something? Did I miss a memo?
D) You debate like a defense attorny and that gives me a headache.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
10/13/2008 16:28
Comments ||
Top||
#47
I don't recall other candidates aggressively using threats of legal action to pre-empt criticism, as the Obama campaign has in multiple states.
I don't recall other candidates getting the word out to flood radio stations with calls in an attempt to silence critics.
If you don't see what this adds up to it's because you don't want to, Todd.
This candidate has chosen a long history of association with black racists including Farakhan and Wright. He has chosen a long history of association with far left groups hostile to the dominant US culture and willing in some cases to use violence against police, courts, the Pentagon and the Congress.
His wife makes it clear she is not proud of the US and has not been for her entire life.
These are the people Obama spends his time with. They are the people he has surrounded himself with for decades. They are the people who have launched and supported his political rise.
That's not "just as bad". That's a significant difference from other candidates and utterly disqualifies him from the Presidency in my opinion.
#50
Also while a private person is free to hate his country this is not a quality I would desire for my president. If I were American I would like if only by egoism a president who wants the best for the country not one who hates it and want to bring it down: myself or mychildren could be collateral damage.
Of course, Mr Todd, you are perfectly free to consider that love of his country is an unimportant quality for a POTUS.
Obama's Moslem supporters in the middle east consider him a fellow Moslem.
Todd:
People aren't "calling" for a military takeover. They are witnessing the demise of democracy if Obama wins because he is a classic Marxist.
Todd:
Why aren't you commenting on the actual information on this posted news story.
Todd:
It's easy to recognize you as what we call a "troll," which in this case means that you are here, not to learn or truly participate, but to promote a specific political agenda--the election of Obama.
I suggest you READ, THINK, (if that's possible for you) and visit other important websites that are providing real journalism such as sweetness-light.com gatewaypundit.blogspot.com, etc.
You CANNOT silence criticism of your beloved leader by crying "racism." People are seeing through it.
Finally, what ABOUT the "50 prishioners were locked into the Assemblies of God church before it was set ablaze. They were mostly women and children. Those who tried to flee were hacked to death by machete-wielding members of a mob numbering 2,000.
The 2008 New Year Day atrocity in the Kenyan village Eldoret, about 185 miles northwest of Nairobi, had all the markings of the Rwanda genocide of a decade earlier. By mid-February 2008, more than 1,500 Kenyans were killed. Many were slain by machete-armed attackers. More than 500,000 were displaced by the religious strife. Villages lay in ruin. Many of the atrocities were perpetrated by Muslims against Christians.
The violence was led by supporters of Raila Odinga . . ."
And WHAT ABOUT the fact that Obama was there supporting and campaigning for Odinga, who is not only Obama's cousin, but a fellow Marxist?
I seriously suggest you go find an essay written by John W. Campbell, Jr. called "Tribesman, Barbarian, and Citizen."
When I first read it way back in the 80's, it didn't have that much of an impact on me. Now that I'm older, I've seen just how true it is. Skin color matters nothing. Skin color is just a false flag, an excuse for people, what truly matters is WHAT people ARE. And what they are isn't defined by coloration.
Full citation:
Analog Science Fact -> Fiction, May 1961, (May 1961, John W. Campbell, Jr., Street & Smith Publications, Inc., $0.50, 180pp, digest, magazine)
#54
OK... It was easier to debate with one of you but I am severely outnumbered here and can't respond to all of you. But rest assured that I CAN respond to everything you've said and most of the responses (except those from lotp) aren't very good. I decided to keep posting until the first bone-headed message that will just take the discussion south, and since that HAS happened (thanks, ex-lib) I will stop.
For the record I am a registered Republican who voted for Bush the first time (not in 2004 tho; didn't vote). I have not decided who I'm voting for yet, but no means is Obama my "messiah". I was trying to make a point, but that's gotten lost and will definitely not recover after post #51.
I will just say... lotp, thanks for taking the time to talk to me. I deeply respect you for treating me fairly and using logic, and not namecalling, to attack my views. In fact I will even apologize for perhaps implying that YOU might in any way be racist.
Oh and the Dow's up 11% today, so McCain might actually have a shot now to distract voters from the economy and onto how Obama is scary :-)
#55
To all the amateur "Seven Days in May" conspirators on the site today, chill. I spent a great many years in the Air force hauling bombs, rockets and missles to designated targets for Uncle Sam and (on occasion) sitting nuclear alert. I do not know in my wildest imagination when I would have voluntarily turned my weapon system against this country.
Talks cheap and, with the exception of Old Spook, I don't know if anyone on this site has ever been at the pointy end of the spear. Who would I be taking orders from to 'overthrow' the duly elected government of this country. What if the other crewmen I served with saw it differently. Would there be a "Dr. Strangelove" firefight at the base and the 'winner' would then be empowered to join forces with other like minded forces 'for truth justice and the American way'.
What a bunch of crap. I was prepared to drop a nuclear weapon on a target unknown to me until the moment I was ordered to do it. I was prepared to do that based on my confidence and belief in the system of command and control that was inherent in the military I was part of.
Obama may be the disaster I believe he will be. He may do his best to destoy the country I love. He may do the same to the military I cherish but you do not save the Constitution by destroying it.
Also, except for the egomaniacal general or two (think Wes Clark) and some sychophantic followers, the average G.I., from private on up would probably tell them to just pound sand. I know I would have.
Let's stay real here folks.
Posted by: Total War ||
10/13/2008 17:41
Comments ||
Top||
#56
I'm just amazed anyone can still be undecided.
Posted by: Bobby ||
10/13/2008 17:48
Comments ||
Top||
#57
Bobby--yep, I guess I'm one of the remaining 5% or so. Plus I'm voting in Missouri. My vote might actually make a difference. Scary, huh?
#58
I definitely think Obama is scary. He has surrounded himself with people who fundamentally don't like this country. He is as extreme a leftist as we have ever seen be a major-party candidate for POTUS.
That said, should he win, I believe he will be severely limited in what he would like to do. I am not concerned with the brownshirt armies or gun grabbing. To do those things he would need serious support and while he may get 49%+ to vote for him, there is no way this percentage of the population will support measures like that. The dems in Congress, who have to get reelected every two years, certainly understand this.
Our democratic tradition is strong. We may get a grade-A asshole/marxist in the White House for the next 4 years. But the country is not going to come to an end because of this jackass. It is bigger, stronger and far more enduring than he is. He tries to push too far and it is going to blow up in his face pronto.
#61
Okay Todd, ignoring that bit of racebaiting, are we really to beleive that a 'registered Republican' still isn't certain that he isn't going to vote for an extreme liberal with radical Marxist friends?
Posted by: Mike N. ||
10/13/2008 18:12
Comments ||
Top||
#62
In fact I will even apologize for perhaps implying that YOU might in any way be racist.
Thank you. Especially since my stepfather is of another race than my mother and I and I work for the most integrated, racially equal organization in the world.
#63
Hmm.
*thinks*
Well, I'm pro-life and Obama is pro-abortion.
I'm for less taxes and he's for more taxes.
I'm for people who earn their money to keep it, and he wants to "spread the wealth around" (him and his cronies being the mediators thereof).
He's for national health care and I believe that always winds up to be slavery with gold chains on the medical profession.
He's in favor of liberal judges interpreting the constitution equally liberally, and I want it to be interpreted literally and with original intent.
Everything he wants requires more government, and I want less government.
He was a lawyer for ACORN engaging in lawfare, and I'm against lawfare and lawyers who engage in it. Not to mention being against ACORN for voter registration fraud.
*thinks*
Nope. All of the above are reasons to vote against a white guy (which I did against Kerry, Gore, and clinton.). He just happens to be black, and I am very aware of my feelings about people, and I do not hold hate against any black people in general.
Nope.
I am not racist for voting against him and for Palin, er, McCain. I have Reasons that I think are good.
#64
Great... let's have the Army take over. I can't believe some of you people are serious. You'd rather be a Pakistan than have Obama be the president?
Hey Todd, so you equate the most professional military in the history of existence with the Pakistan military? I think I now know your political leanings.
#65
And I'm still pulling for the military. The value of the vote has been drastically reduced by gerrymandering, corruption and machine politics. Sooner or later it will go too far.
Or just pass term limits - I'd be happy with that.
#67
Very well said, Total War. I'd venture a guess that 30-40% of posters either are veterans, current military, or parent/child/spouse of one of the above. Of lurkers, I wouldn't dare guess. This is based on absolutely no actual data whatsoever, and is worth what you just paid to read it. ;-)
Registered Republican is not the same as voting Republican. Back when one had to be registered with a party to vote in its primary here in Ohio, Mr. Wife and I registered for opposing parties so that we could affect both... based on all the phone calls that have been aimed at me instead of him, I think I was the one who got the Democratic Party. Functionally, we're both independents. Not to mention that there were a number of Rantburgers proclaiming that if a Conservative didn't get the Republican nomination y'all weren't going to vote.
Bottom line, Todd, it's very simple: do you believe we need to fight and win the war on terror/jihadism/Islamofascism/whatever, lest our children have to go back and fight later for their right not to be enslaved to the Caliphate, or do you think this whole war on terror thing is stupid and counterproductive, and if we'd only just treat those people fairly and listen to their grievances we could bring all the troops home in a trice? If the former you must vote Republican, if the latter, Democrat. All else is commentary. I shan't see you at the polls as we're in different states, but I hope you will find yourself content with your choice.
#68
Back to the posted article, the ostensible purpose of this thread. That Mr. Obama is palled around and overtly supported the candidacy of a man such as Mr. Odinga is obscene, but of a piece with closest friendships during adulthood. Once again he either does not know what kind of a man he befriends, or doesn't think such things are important.
#69
"if we'd only just treat those people fairly and listen to their grievances"
That's the basic problem with Obama and many Democrats: they just can't wrap their brains around the notion that Islam is not a Judeo-Christian culture preaching "do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
#70
I'm still active duty mil, it doesn't matter if the new POTUS is duly elected - if the gov't acts against the U.S. Const or in a tyrannical manner (by the reasonable man theory) - THEN YES, IT IS THE DUTY OF THE CITIZENRY TO OVERTHROW THEM - HENCE, THE WORDS OF JEFFERSON ECHO CLEARLY. Unless the Constitution is changed by constitutional process to fit the new socialist meme then the people reserve the right, nay, the onus to overthrow the govt. The 2nd Amendment wasn't just about protecting people from criminals - it was also in fact to make the gov't fear the people.
#71
Will you people get a clue? Look at three things: Obama's "associates", his prior action, and his campaign. This isn't a careful, pragmatic Bill Clinton, this is a full-scale loon being shoved into office by a well-orchestrated and highly fraudulent election process. Bill and Hill started doing some very flaky things during their first two years, and got caught at it. The people raised such a hue and cry that the Republicans took control of Congress in the next election. Bill Clinton was pragmatic enough to pull back and take it easy, with only a few bad decisions that we're still living with. Obama is nothing like Bill Clinton: if confronted, he will push even harder, enact even more unconstitutional executive orders, and dig himself in even deeper. He's a puppet, and the people handling the strings are Ayers and Wright, among others, who WON'T back off. It's going to get ugly - very ugly - very fast. The Left is tired of chipping away - they want it all, and they want it now.
I'll make a prediction that Obama will win, probably by less than 500,000 votes. I'll also bet that more than five MILLION fraudulent votes will be cast in this presidential election. I also will bet that the major contributors to that fraud will never be held accountable as long as there's a Democratic congress OR a Democratic president. Our Republic can only work when it's supported by a moral population. When the amorals like Ayers, Wright, Farrakan, Jackson, Pelosi, Reid, Murtha, and hundreds of others have power, our Republic will be destroyed.
Broadhead6 - Right on, Brother. I'll be there at your back.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/13/2008 20:53
Comments ||
Top||
#72
*sigh*
Let's face it: all this talk of civil war and rebellion is just that, talk. We have no redline that, when crossed, would cause any appreciable fraction of the population and its lower level statesmen to say "Okay, that's ENOUGH! EAT LEAD!" Exactly what fraction of the camel in the tent is too much?
I see nobody asking these questions, and when I DO see someone getting close to asking them, I hear tut-tuts from "moderators", online and off, telling us that such questions are off limits.
I know my redline, but I doubt if any will back me up when I DO punch the Camel's nose.
#74
PTAH, I'll back you up...depending on the capacity I serve in and my active duty status, I'll at the very least stay out of your way to do some punching.
Also, depending on what transpires I would man up and re-sign my commission if that action was needed to better serve my country.
DEBKAfile's military sources report that Israel military scouts uncovered a high-powered anti-tank IED trap near Kissufim on the Israeli side of the Gaza border Sunday, Oct. 12. It was composed of four large interlinked devices rigged to blow up in sequence.
A fifth bomb just inside Gaza was located to detonate when Israeli reinforcements and emergency teams came up to tend to the casualties from the first series of explosions.
The IDF command believes the hand behind the bomb trap was the Iranian-backed Jihad Islami. It was intended to provoke a military clash with Israel forces chasing the bombers into Gaza that would shatter the ceasefire that has been more or less in place since June 20.
According to intelligence sources, Jihad Islami has determined to torpedo the truce in order to derail the Hamas-Fatah fence-mending talks taking place in Cairo under Egypt's aegis. Jihad may even have contracted the Dorghmush clan, which is at daggers drawn with Hamas, to set up the bomb trap.
Our Middle East sources report that Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas failed Sunday to persuade Syrian president Bashar Assad to bring his influence to bear on Hamas leaders to be more accommodating in the Cairo talks. Assad shrugged off Abbas' appeal and extended a frigid welcome to his Palestinian visitor.
The Palestinian Authority is expected to deploy a battalion of security forces to the West Bank city of Hebron Friday, Palestinian sources said Sunday. The move will be coordinated with Israel, and the 700 troops will handle security operations among the city's Palestinian population.
Israeli security forces confirmed an agreement is in the works, but said the Palestinian timetable is somewhat optimistic. If the Palestinian sources are correct, the troops will move into their new quarters Friday, which falls during the intermediate days of the Sukkot holiday - when thousands of Israeli Jews are expected to visit the Israeli-controlled territory in Hebron, especially the Cave of the Patriarchs.
The armed battalion is the second unit of the Palestinian National Security Forces to undergo American training in Jordan, under the supervision of the U.S. security coordinator in the region, Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton. It has 650 to 700 soldiers and officers, and 150 vehicles.
Samih al-Sifi, the commander of the security forces, said the deployment does not mean the Palestinian Authority is taking security responsibility for the Palestinian part of Hebron. He said Israel authorized the PA to restore order and security in the city but that there would be no wide-scale operations, only focused ones. He said the operations would begin only after Sukkot, on October 22.
Some 600 to 700 Palestinian police generally patrol Hebron, and doubling that number - especially since the new troops are well-trained - can be expected to improve the PA's hold on the city.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/13/2008
00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
E-Mail||
[9 views]
Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority
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.
One of Barack Obama's most potent campaign claims is that he'll cut taxes for no less than 95% of "working families." He's even promising to cut taxes enough that the government's tax share of GDP will be no more than 18.2% -- which is lower than it is today.
Eighteen years ago, Rashin Soodmand's father was hanged in Iran for converting to Christianity. Now her brother is in a Mashad jail, and expects to be executed under new religious laws brought in this summer.
An Iranian businessman arrested a week ago in Germany on suspicion of illegal exports to Iran was a valued agent of the German foreign intelligence service BND, a German news magazine reported on Saturday. Prosecutors had advised the BND before the arrest they had no choice but to detain the man, 61, who had the code name Sindbad, because of suspicions that he was supplying equipment needed to make Iran's Shabah missiles, German news magazine Der Spiegel said. 
SEOUL, South Korea -- The 66-year-old man in the photos appeared the picture of health, full of vigor despite reports he underwent brain surgery less than two months ago. He was surrounded by serious, crisply uniformed soldiers and in the background there was plenty of verdant greenery, more reminiscent of summer than mid-autumn in a temperate clime.
Burdened by debt and driving home from a night of gambling in West Virginia, Sergio Lopez launched a scheme that at the time must have seemed like a good idea. 
Two Indonesian jobseekers have been tricked into getting their faces tattooed by a bogus official offering government jobs. Village chief Sawiyono - who was helping the men find jobs in Jakarta - claimed he had received a text message from a government official offering them work as intelligence officers but saying they would have to be inked first with a dragon tattoo, Antara state news agency said. 
More than 60 Taliban fighters were killed yesterday as hundreds of insurgents tried to launch a surprise attack on Afghan forces in Lashkar Gah, capital of Helmand province. A convoy armed with mortar weapons was bombed by Nato aircraft as it began an assault on the outskirts of the city early yesterday morning.
BP, Shell and ExxonMobil are all expected to attend a meeting at the Park Lane Hotel in Mayfair with the Iraqi oil minister, Hussein al-Shahristani for the first round of bidding for new contracts. Access is being given to eight fields, representing about 40 per cent of the Middle Eastern nation's reserves. It is the first time since the 2003 US-led invasion that the contracts have been released.
After he settled in Montreal from his native Tunisia in the 1990s, Abderraouf Jdey appeared outwardly to be successful, obtaining a university degree and gaining Canadian citizenship. But in his heart, he seethed at his inability to find a proper job in Canada. Resenting the Western world, the Americans, the Jews, he found solace in the extremist ideology of al-Qaeda. A peek into the embittered mind of one of the world's most wanted terrorism suspects can be found in two declassified letters said to have been written by Mr. Jdey that are posted on the website of a U.S. counterterrorism centre.
The axis of evil lost a charter member this weekend, when the U.S. took North Korea off the State Department's list of terror-sponsoring states. In return, Pyongyang promised to let international inspectors look everywhere except where its nuclear materials might actually be hidden. 
Francesca Bill was the definition of a 21st Century war bride. Her then-longtime boyfriend, Air National Guardsman Scott Bill, proposed after returning home from an oversees deployment in 2002. Plans for a 2004 wedding in Jamaica were scrapped when duty called for a third time. They wed just hours prior to his departure.
The Frontier Corps (FC) on Sunday arrested at least 47 Afghan refugees near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border area of Bramcha and seized weapons from them. Sources said that FC personnel raided Bramcha village -- about 70 kilometres from Noushki along the Pak-Afghan border -- on a tip-off and arrested the refugees for not possessing legal documents to prove their identity. The sources said that the FC personnel had also seized Kalashnikov rifles from the refugees.
North Korea said on Sunday it would resume taking apart its plutonium-producing nuclear plant and allow in inspectors in response to a US decision to remove it from a terrorism blacklist and salvage a faltering nuclear deal. 
MOGADISHU (AFP) — Forces from the Somali breakaway region of Puntland on Sunday attacked pirates holding a Somali cargo freighter, triggering clashes that killed two pirates and a soldier, an official said. Four others, including another Puntland soldier, were wounded when the forces attempted to rescue MV Awail, owned by a Somali trading company with a crew of 13 Syrians and two Somalis, which was seize Thursday off the region's shores.
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Turkey launched another round of airstrikes against Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq on Sunday, an Iraqi official said. Turkish warplanes and artillery units bombed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) positions in villages near Amadi in Iraq's Duhuk Province, a provincial security official told CNN. The official said the Turkish military operation started at 5:30 p.m. and lasted an hour and a half. There were no reports of casualties.
Pakistan says its security forces have killed 27 Taleban militants, including two commanders, near the Afghan border. The authorities say 12 would-be suicide bombers were also among the dead in north-western Orakzai province.
Security forces have arrested four would-be suicide bombers from a local hotel in Zhob, 320 kilometres from the provincial capital, Online reported on Sunday. Police sources told APP that law enforcement agencies raided the Gul Bahar hotel in the Zhob bus stand following a tip-off and arrested the men. The sources however refused to disclose the suspects' identity, and rejected a report that the arrested people were would-be suicide bombers and said a preliminarily report indicated that the men were terror suspects. The suspects have been moved to an undisclosed location for questioning, the sources said. Online quoted sources as saying that the would-be bombers had entered Zhob through Wana.
Three people were killed in separate incidents in Jamrud and Bara areas of Khyber Agency on Sunday. Unidentified men shot dead Hasnaat, resident of Khazana, Peshawar, and his friend Mumtaz, resident of Bakhshu Pul, Peshawar, and threw their bodies in a field near Takhta Baig. The Jamrud political administration sent the two bodies to their ancestral village. Separately, gunmen killed Alam Khan and dumped his body in Sapra Dam. The body has been handed over to the family.
Rony Biswas, founder of the outlawed Communist Juddho, one of the factions of Purbo Banglar Communist Party (PBCP-ML), was killed in a 'shootout' between Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and police and the cadres of the outfit in Chuadanga early yesterday.
The Palestinian Authority is expected to deploy a battalion of security forces to the West Bank city of Hebron Friday, Palestinian sources said Sunday. The move will be coordinated with Israel, and the 700 troops will handle security operations among the city's Palestinian population. 
