At atfp.org, Christians are asked to adopt a terrorist for prayer. A quote from the Bible on the site urges visitors to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. I'm going to adopt all of them. And what I pray for will probably not make the site's founders happy.
[Asharq al-Aswat] The international community has responded to the violence taking place in Libya in a number of different ways, with countries condemning the Qadaffy regime's brutal crackdown on protestors, and international bodies discussing sanctions, whilst some European and American voices have called on the assets of Colonel Qadaffy and his family to be frozen.
Chairman of the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, on Tuesday, called on the US to impose economic sanctions on Libya, including freezing the assets of the Libyan regime and imposing a travel ban.
The European Union has also discussed imposing sanctions on Libya, with the EU's foreign affairs chief, Catherine Ashton, saying that the EU was prepared to do whatever was necessary to bring Qadaffy to account, adding that "the EU is ready...to take further measures."
La Belle France and Germany have pushed for the EU to adopt restrictive measures against the Qadaffy regime, including possible travel restrictions, an arms embargo, and asset freezes.
This has raised questions about the extent of the Qadaffy family wealth, as well as its source, particularly as almost all industries in Libya have been under the control of the Qadaffy family for the past 42 years.
It is extremely difficult to accurately answer this question, particularly given the lack of transparency and documentation recording the sources of the Qadaffy family wealth, as well as the gap that exists between Libya's vast oil revenues and government spending. Some experts have speculated that the Qadaffy family may have tens of billions of dollars of oil money hidden away in secret bank accounts in south-east Asia or the Gulf.
Specialist in Middle Eastern politics at the University of Exeter, Professor Tim Niblock, told the British Guardian newspaper that there is a gap of several billion dollars a year between the amount Libya makes from its oil reserves and government spending, a shortfall that he anticipated contributed to the wealth of Colonel Qadaffy and his nine children.
Professor Niblock stressed the difficulty of ascertaining the extent of the Qadaffy family wealth, saying that "it is very, very difficult to work out with any degree of certainty just how much they have because the ruling elite hides it in all sorts of places. But at the very least it would be several billion dollars, in whatever form, and it could potentially be a lot higher."
However some US diplomatic cables leaked by WikiLeaks potentially reveal the dimensions of the Qadaffy family wealth. One diplomatic cable issued by the US embassy in Tripoli in May 2006 said that despite Qadaffy's repeated criticism of governmental corruption, the Qadaffy family -- which the cable called "Qadaffy Incorporated" -- were making huge monetary gains by exploiting their position, and their control of the Libyan oil, gas, and telecommunication industries.
Another US diplomatic cable, dated 28 Jan 2009, by Ambassador Gene A. Cretz, said that despite Qadaffy attempting to portray himself of something of a philosopher-king uninvolved in the day-to-day running of the country, he "remains intimately involved in the regime's most sensitive and critical portfolios." The US Ambassador said that the Libyan leader's "mastery of tactical maneuvering has kept him in power for nearly 40 years" adding that "the reality is that no potential successor currently enjoys sufficient credibility in his own right to maintain that delicate equilibrium" and that "[Qadaffy] is the architect of his own gilded cage and cannot yet relinquish day-to-day decision-making, even if he wants to."
The diplomatic cables also described how the Qadaffy children have carved out spheres of influence in Libya.
Eldest son Muhammad Qadaffy, and the only child of Qadaffy's first wife Fathia Khaled, has carved out a prominent position in the country's telecommunication's industry, heading the country's Telecommunication Committee. He also heads the Libyan Olympic Committee which owns 40 percent of the Libyan Beverage Company which, in turn, is currently the Libyan joint-venture Coca-Cola franchise.
Qadaffy's second son, and first child of his second wife Safia Farkash and his presumed heir-apparent, is Saif al-Islam Qadaffy. Saif al-Islam is the chairman of the Qadaffy International Charity and Development Foundation, he had been considered something of a reformer until he most recently appeared on Libyan national television defending his father and condemning the protestors, saying "we will fight until the last man, the last woman, the last bullet." The WikiLeaks diplomatic cables reveal that Qadaffy's ploy of using Saif al-Islam as the public face of the regime to the West may have backfired, as many Libyans now view him as a stooge to western interests.
Colonel Qadaffy's third son, Al-Saadi, is known for his love of football, and is the head of the Libyan National Football Association, in addition to owning a share of the Libyan Al Ahli Football club, as well as Italian Seria A giants Juventus. The WikiLeaks diplomatic cables claimed that Al-Saadi was briefly an officer in a Special Forces unit and heads a military battalion; he has a turbulent past, including festivities with police in Italy. Diplomatic cables also included claims that he used military forces under his control to intimidate business rivals, whilst recent reports say that he was involved in crushing the protests in Benghazi.
As for Qadaffy's fourth son, Muatassim, he is a Libyan national security adviser who until recently had been portrayed as something of a rising star. The WikiLeaks cables claimed that he had demanded 1.2 billion dollars from the chairman of Libya's national oil corporation in 2009, reportedly to establish his own militia. Leaked diplomatic cables describe Muatassim Qadaffy as being not "intellectually curious", with one Serbian ambassador describing him as being "not very bright", however he is reported to enjoy the support of many of the regime's old guard. The WikiLeaks cables also claimed that he does not get on with elder brother, Saif al-Islam.
Qadaffy's fifth son, Hannibal, is a major player in Libya's maritime shipping industry, officially holding the post of consult to the Management Committee of the General Libyan Maritime Transport Organization, which is responsible for shipping Libyan oil abroad. Hannibal has a long history of unstable behavior and his mistreatment of two servants at a Geneva hotel -- which led to his arrest -- resulted in a diplomatic schism between Switzerland and Libya. In December 2009, police were called to London's Claridge's hotel after staff heard screaming from Hannibal's room. Hannibal's wife, the model Aline Skaf, was found to have suffered facial injuries but no charges were brought against the Libyan leader's son after she claimed to have sustained the injuries in a fall.
Qadaffy's sixth son is Khamis is said to be a "well-respected" commander of a Special Forces unit -- known as the 32nd Brigade -- which "effectively serves as a regime protection unit." This unit was reportedly involved in suppressing unrest in Benghazi.
The least publicly known of Qadaffy's sons is Saif al-Arab Qadaffy, who reportedly lives in Munich, where it is said that he pursues ill-defined business interests, but spends much of his time partying. He was accused of arms smuggling in 2008, however charges against him were later dropped.
Qadaffy's only daughter is Aisha, a lawyer, who is said to mediate family disputes. She runs a Libyan non-governmental organization and is said to be a favored child of the Libyan leader. She also holds the rank of Lieutenant General in the Libyan army and famously was a member of deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's legal defense team.
Although the Qadaffy family has been described by leaked US diplomatic cables as being "famously fractious" and suffering from "internecine strife" with the Qadaffy children being played off against one another by their "mercurial" father, they have all been well taken care of, with one diplomatic cable saying "all of the Qadaffy children...are supposed to have income streams from the National Oil Company and oil service subsidiaries."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/25/2011 00:00 ||
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[Asharq al-Aswat] It seems that our Arab League has finally awoken from its long slumber, and has now taken an important step by suspending the participation of Libyan delegations at its summits. This was decided the day before yesterday, during an emergency meeting which the League held in Cairo, to discuss the massacres currently being committed by the Libyan regime against its own citizens.
When we say the vaporous Arab League has woken up, this is not an affront on the League, or its Secretary General Amr Musa, rather this is an issue that dates back before his current term. If the Arab League had previously adopted the steps it is currently taking to deal with issues, then the Arab situation would not be as it is today, characterized by hesitancy and lethargy in most Arab nations. If the League had adopted such stances before, we would not have reached the stage whereby the dignity of the Arab citizen is being violated, a case which we have seen before, and we are seeing again now. In the past, before the era of satellites, the internet and so on, we were not able at the time to see what Saddam Hussein actually did, for example, against the Kurds. Of course there are other crueler or worse examples, but some might say that in the past there was no clear view of events, there were no scandalous images. Nevertheless, the Arab League, and some Arabs themselves, were informed and aware of what was going on, so If the Arab League were to end its unacceptable and illogical constraints, namely the stipulation of a general consensus, whereby every decision must be issued unanimously, then our situation, and the situation of the Arab League, would be far better and more credible.
If the Arab League had previously adopted meaningful decisions, such as those it took against Libya the day before yesterday in Cairo, then perhaps the Arab outlook would be better, even if only marginally. Imagine if the League had taken such decisions during Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait, instead of the notorious summit of conflict that was held in Egypt at the time. Imagine if the Arab League had taken similar action against Sudan, at the time when former Egyptian geriatric President Hosni Mubarak was exposed to an liquidation attempt, or when Sudan hosted Osama bin Laden, or Carlos the Jackal. Imagine if the Arab League had taken a similar stance when the Libyan regime was accused of plotting to assassinate King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, at the time when he was the crown prince, imagine...imagine...The list goes on of course, and if the Arab League had adopted such actions long ago, it would have been a foundation for a new ethical phase in the Arab world. This would certainly be far better than how the situation has turned out today.
Of course, the Arab League does not have a magic wand in its hand, and we know that the current Secretary General Amr Musa is a staunch advocate of reform. Constant Arab wrangling has marred the work of the Arab League, leaving little chance to improve it. However, The infamous However... the League was able to undertake effort to preserve the dignity of the Arab citizen. At the very least, in the event of a disputed decision within the League, the Arab citizen should be able to see who sided with the dictator, and who voted against him.
Therefore everyone is hoping today that the awakening of the Arab League will not be a temporary one, but rather a lasting awakening, so tyrants can no longer take root among us.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/25/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
The style and tone of this article might be described as "turgid".
But it is nice to hear that the Arab has "woken up" and has gotten his "respect " back. It almost beats humping the furniture and shouting Rumsfeld's name in gibbering rage.
And it is truly inspiring to hear that the Asrab League is making "meaningful decisions". It mentions hesitation and lethargy( and other Arab traditions) and "what Saddam Hussein actually did" and goes on to enumerate" unacceptable and illogical constraints". More acceptable than what, for instance, something as "meaningful" as putting velcro on the tight pants the child camel jockeys wear so they wont fall off at the races?
Or the public executions for blasphemy? Arab Culture is so colorful.
I particularly like the phrase "dignity of the average Arab citizen".
Reading stuff like this is almost ,but not quite, as healthy as watching Japanese pornography.
Zuheir Kseibati, al-Hayat He owns the land and its wealth, the people, their minds and hearts. He owns the revolution and does not recognize the state, but it is "compensation" to the citizens of the eternal revolution which produced his "glory."
He believes that the most basic duty of the citizens is to love him, just because he is the commander who agreed to be the leader of the parish. Consequently, this parish should remain silent to please him in the republic whose reputation spread for being the "heaven of the eternal commander."
When he lifts his finger, damned are those who do not shout their love to him in the streets. Is shouting in itself not an act of freedom? But in any other situation, if the parish even breathes without the leader's authorization, it would be breathing in the lungs of conspiracy.
He is the leader who gave the people a choice and did not confiscate their will: Either I or hell.
It is the choice between hell and the inferno, which if won over the "madmen" will earn the submission of the Colonel's Jamahiriya throughout decades of fire, for which Saif al-Islam, Khamis and their brothers have been rehearsing while drawing the lessons from the "Friday of Wrath" of the Arabs.
The "Muammar of Glory" recollected Omar Mukhtar and called on the people to take to the streets. The Colonel is angry. He does not like lies while all the television channels are "fabricating" the leader's epic with the rebels. The Libyans have caught the Bin Laden contagion.
An entire population is being duped by "drug addicts"! This was said by the leader. The Libyans committed a sin and must be punished through extermination. The Jamahiriya, ... An Arabic neologism coined by Muammar al-Qadaffy. The word jamahiriya was derived from jumhuriya, which is the usual Arabic translation of republic. It was coined by changing the component jumhur -- public -- to its plural form, jamahir -- the masses. Thus, it is similar to the term People's Republic, only more denigrating to the actual inhabitants of the country... its people and its stones, all belong to the leader, and after he endured so much suffering with his people and accepted to lead them for four decades, he can no longer show any tolerance and will fight until the last one of them.
What is required for the Jamahiriya of blood is another population that is not so ungrateful toward the leader. He is Muammar who kept the entire world busy with his "wisdom" until he surpassed the greatest people in history. And is there anyone who does not know the accomplishments of a leader who hates his people?
From Benghazi to Tobruk, Derna, Tripoli and Al-Bayda, accounts of the massacres and terror are emerging, while the fists of the security apparatuses that are violating the Libyan people's humanity and lives are revealing these people's bravery in deterring the most hideous of crimes. And just as the Tunisians will go down in history as being the first Arabs to have toppled the wall of fear in the republics of blood, they will also be remembered as being the first to have launched a call of humanitarian -- and not political -- solidarity with the Libyans who are afflicted with the "eternal revolution" and on whose necks the "sacred" leader threatened to march.
It is with massacres that the moral and humanitarian scandal in the Arab world is completed, after it remained the capital of the doctrine of the sole enemy, i.e. Israel. And each scandal is branched out into many in light of the total absence of awareness which was wanted to be idle, so that when the time comes, it does not stand between the leader and his people, but between the overwhelming "glory" in the Jamahiriya and the West which was the "godfather" of the Colonel's rehabilitation following the Lockerbie deal.
It is the West which sold the leader the tools to consecrate the "revolution," so that it is not threatened by the conspiracies of the "extremists." It is the West which received the Colonel by opening up before him the capitals of human rights ... which are not the same thing as individual rights, mind you... and democracies without any shame. The renewal of the "revolution" and its Jamahiriya has acquired sponsors in Washington and London, while the people have turned into "riff-raff" in the opinion of the author of the colored book.
Mrs. Hillary Clinton ... sometimes described as the Smartest Woman in the World and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another Henry Clay ... scolded the leader against the backdrop of his speech, while the Security Council that is mobilized by the major states in the face of the "rogue" was not ashamed of a statement that touches humanity. What is the difference between the Rwanda or even the Darfur massacres and the ones committed in Benghazi and Al-Bayda?
The leader will not miss out on the margin of forgiveness, at the expense of millions of people! He should thus curse the treachery of the West that has started to divest his regime of its "legitimacy" - quite timidly one may add - and curse the vaporous Arab League which did not disappoint him, he who broke up from Arabism that failed to learn from his revolution.
The Libyans' affliction resides in this "glory" which has murdered tens of thousands of martyrs within days. This may be an exaggeration considering there is no neutral side to count the number of bodies. In any case, this is irrelevant since the time of the "holy march" has come.
From Tobruk to Benghazi and Tripoli, the horrors of the genocide constitute the biggest mark of defeat and dupery for the West that is still dealing with the Arabs in accordance with its interests.
In the face of the "Muammar of Glory" and the bloodshed, are the Arab youth not entitled to demand a joint charter for the defense of the Arab populations whenever a leader chooses to "cleanse" his country from its people?
We have all learned how to cheer or scream behind isolated walls and Libya's people are our victims, all of us.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/25/2011 00:00 ||
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Randa Takieddine, al-Hayat The catastrophic murder and oppression being committed by the Libyan president against his people since the popular uprising broke out (and about time) is nothing new. This "leader," who rules a rich country with a small population, has squandered Libya's money and wealth, oppressing its people and funding terrorist movements from west to east. He is now committing an insane crime against the people of his country, who prefer to die rather than see Qadaffy stay in power.
There are countless crimes committed by Qadaffy. How did the west agree to forgive him after he blew up two civilian planes, causing hundreds of casualties? He was forgiven after his regime was convicted in the Lockerbie and UTA flight disasters, and after he paid money to the families of the victims. After this, the doors of Europe were opened to him; Americans and the British rushed in, to obtain oil and gas contracts. Then-British Prime Minister Tony Blair was the first to hurry there, to secure oil contracts for British companies. Then La Belle France opened its doors wide and pitched tents at its historical palaces for this leader, who committed crimes against the French and American and against his people and his country. Over 40 years, Qadaffy has turned his country into his own private farm; he could have made it the pearl of North Africa, because it is rich in oil and gas, has spectacular natural areas and a beautiful, sprawling coastline, with a small population of no more than 5 million people. Qadaffy turned Libya into a Jamahiriya, with Popular Committees that served as his tool to dismantle any opposition from the armed forces. He spread chaos and oppression through these Committees, which echoed no other voice but his, and worked to spread ignorance through his Green Book in schools, and elsewhere. He did not use his country's money to develop a deteriorating infrastructure or improve the level of education that his country deserved. Qadaffy relied on funding sabotage and terror, taking hostages, and staging farces that made him the laughing-stock of the entire world. So miserable is the Libyan people who have lived under this leader's rule for 40 years, and he has led them to an intolerable situation. Now, this nation has decided to rise up against a leader who would have done better to act in horror movies. Qadaffy was the hero of his own plays at Arab summits. Let us remember how he rose in Algiers and wore a glove on his hand, to protect him from shaking the hand of the late King of Morocco, Hassan II, with whom he had a dispute, and how a high-ranking Algerian official visited him to convince him to attend the meeting, but Qadaffy received on his bed, hiding under the covers and pretending he was ill. He was always funny to all during his performances, but was a source of sadness to his people, who suffered. When he got old, he began pushing his sons forward, and let them compete over who would inherit his rule, as if this was something natural. At times he would give a key role to Saidi, the head of the Olympic Committee, who once decided that the Oil Ministry building was suitable for his committee, and emptied the place out overnight. The news reached OPEC ministers and one of them asked his Libyan colleague if the story was true. "Yes, this happened," was the embarrassed and cautious answer.
Those who lived through the terrorist attack by Carlos against OPEC remember that Qadaffy took part in the planning of the operation. This was stated by the late oil minister, Izzeddine Mabrouk, on his deathbed, to his colleague Ahmad Zaki Yamani, who visited him and heard this: when Carlos entered the ministers' conference room, Mabrouk was outside because he had prior knowledge of the attack.
Qadaffy dedicated his rule to terror and oppression. He then sought cover for his sons to succeed him and let them compete over this "legacy." His son Saif al-Islam offered the image of the modern young person who wants his country to experience openness to the world and make it a tourist paradise, until he appeared the other day on television and showed the world the reality of his father's regime, when he threatened people with murder, oppression and liquidation. His other son, Hannibal, was secretly deported from La Belle France because he caused a horrific car accident, and then in Switzerland mistreated a domestic worker who complained to the Swiss authorities. In return, Qadaffy imprisoned two Swiss businessmen as hostages. The stories of Qadaffy's sons resemble those of Saddam Hussein, Uday and Qusay, while bombing his people with planes and using mercenaries is similar to what Saddam Hussein did when he attacked the Kurds with poison gas. In Libya, we are seeing a brave uprising of a people who have had enough of Qadaffy and his sons and who are fed up of the squandering of their resources and of the spreading of ignorance through his Green Book, and his catastrophic education system. The Libyan people deserve a better future and a dignified life.
Europe and the United States bear huge responsibility for opening their doors to Qadaffy. Everyone rushed to rehabilitate him into the international community. The important thing was that money be paid to the families of the victims, and for the Bulgarian nurses to be released, and after that tents were set up for him in the palaces of Britain and La Belle France. No one asked what was taking place in his hospitals, where children die because of deteriorating health conditions and not because of Bulgarian nurses.
It is hoped that Qadaffy's theater of horrors has ended, for the sake of a better life for the Libyan people.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/25/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
In unrelated news the West is begging the Taliban to come to the negotiating table so that they can be part of a transition to a stable Afghanistan where they would exercise political power again.
This time however they would govern with the official blessing of the West, protected by the West, subsidized by the West.
#6
You know, I don't remember George ever even meeting Qaddaffi. I don't think George would touch that loathsome creature with a ten foot pole.
I do remember that after he renounced his WMD program he sent Connie Rice to tell Qaddaffi that he had better behave himself or we'd kick his butt. It think it was the Euros that ran to his door to kiss and make up, not George.
That dim lightbulb in the White House should go back to community organizing or whatever it was that he did before he was elected President.
I think the Democrats need to do a better job in the future of veting our candidates. He was obviously unqualified then and is clearly in over his head now and has made a complete mess of everything.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
02/25/2011 11:58 Comments ||
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#7
Two things I have heard in the news lately that lead me to believe the house on Momo is about to fall: 1) He had to hire forces from outside the country and 2) His family tried to flee to Lebanon. I really hope the picture becomes true for Momo and his clan, they are evil to the core.
#8
A horrific end for Gaddafi
Always with the promises!
And I agree with CyberSarge - importing the foreign mercenaries and rumors of family members trying to decamp. Not promising. Would it be in bad taste to open a pool on it?
Yeah, it would be in bad taste, but I can remember offhand all kinds of dirty pool that Gaddafi (or how-the-heck-ever-his-name-is-spelled) instigated all kinds of dirty deals over the last thirty years. Can we all savor couple of scoops of schadenfreude with some whipped cream and a cherry on top? Thanks.
#9
Some of these North African Arab dictators as well as Iranian dictators rival Idi Amin in being evil SOBs. Our radical left may wake up one day and realize these people are their enemy too.
#10
See also DER SPIEGEL > WHAT LIBYA'S TROUBLES MEAN FOR ITS ITALIAN ALLIES.
Besides Rising Seas, Italian Super-Volcanos, + Berlusconi's Sexcapades wid Underage Babes, etc. comes the serious threat to Italy's economy via LIBYUH-ENI OIL LINKS.
#11
Some of these North African Arab dictators as well as Iranian dictators rival Idi Amin in being evil SOBs. Our radical left may wake up one day and realize these people are their enemy too.
Oh, my - quite the optimist. I hope you aren't holding your breath on this, John QC...
Anguper Hupomosing9418 - didn't we actually try to kill him at least once? Doesn't that count for anything with these *$^#ing clowns?
Wisconsin, and at least three dozen other states, face exactly the same challenge as states within the European Union, which have piled up debts that simply cannot be repaid, and are staring into bottomless chasms of public sector "entitlements." Taxes have been pushed to the practical limit -- beyond which private enterprise becomes pointless -- and something has to give. IMO, what happens in Wisconsin is a lot more important then what happens in Arabia.
#1
What happens in Wisconsin is linked to what happens in Islamistan. The US economy has been hollowed out by billions of dollars sent overseas to import oil, pay for jihadis and buy them airline tickets to the west. The domestic US economy has been taken over by rent-seekers, most prominent of which are the financial Pig Men and their allies. Globalization has also played a big role in weakening the US economy. Please recall that damaging the US economy was one of al Qaeda's goals. The public unions are also rent-seekers, determined to do business as usual until the whole scheme collapses. When debts cannot be repaid, and taxes are at their limit, sovereign default and/or economic collapse are the only two possible outcomes.
#2
My opinion about mobbing:
Apparently the Madison statehouse has been packed elbow-to-elbow with demonstrators who have been camped out continuously for days. This is a safety hazard from the viewpoint of fire alarms, stampedes & intimidation & interference with official business. When something very similar was attempted recently in Columbus, Ohio the state simply locked the doors of its capitol building when a quota of people had entered. After that, only when people left, were new people allowed in. This fascist behavior of the Ohio state government got a big headline in the Akron Beacon Journal, which seemed to imply machine-gunning of the protestors would be the very next thing to happen. Federal authorities would not tolerate mobbing like this in the US Capitol building, around the Supreme Court, etc., no doubt about that. The layout of DC was drawn up after the French Revolution, the streets & buildings are designed so that a few Federal artillerymen could sweep the streets clear with a whiff of grapeshoot if it ever came to that. During the Civil War, DC became the most heavily fortified city in history for that time. From Madison: Lawmakers also approved a rule to allow Capitol police to close the statehouse at 6 p.m., requiring demonstrators inside the building to take their protests outside after normal business hours end, the Wisconsin State Journal in Madison reported. The statehouse now must remain open to the public as long as lawmakers are in session or a public hearing is being conducted.Otherwise it usually closes by 6 p.m.
Apparently Wisconsin has no rule about the maximum occupancy of its public buildings and nothing defining the limits of 'peaceable assembly'. I think opening the statehouse to the public is one thing, and packing it shoulder to shoulder with the public is quite something else. Also, if a crowd is making so much noise that hearing is being damaged, is that 'peaceable'? Not in my opinion, but no one ever asks me.
In addition, is there any rule saying that the Wisconsin government has to conduct its business in its statehouse? I understand the GOP does not want to provoke more of a confrontation than it already has. The occupation of the Wisconsin statehouse seems well-established. What keeps the legislature from passing another law to allow its business to be conducted at a National Guard facility elsewhere in Wisconsin in case of emergencies which disable to capitol building, then declaring an emergency, then simply leaving the rioters protestors behind until they get tired & go home? Recall the US Congress basically was out of business for a time after anthrax contaminated the US Capitol shortly after 9/11. Those gutless wonders did nothing about creating one or more alternate places to do their business, which convinced me the feds were not serious about the war against terror.
I imagine there are other creative approaches might be considered. I've been scanning the news, and apparently I am the only one who raises these issues.
#3
The U.S. Has been brought to the brink of collapse by people who can't comprehend the fact that when we go under everything goes under.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/25/2011 9:08 Comments ||
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#4
Properly speaking, the failure happened in earnest for essentially the same reasons that the Great Depression happened. "The permission of marginal debt."
The essential truth about credit is that it must be limited to those who do not need it. Ideally, credit is secured by an equal or greater amount in the same, non-volatile medium. In a manner of speaking, it is a form of insurance.
However, credit is extended beyond this, first with the acceptance of a different form of non-volatile collateral, then by a volatile collateral, then on margin based on fractional collateral, and finally using other credit as the collateral for new credit.
Margin and beyond are the danger zone which tripped up the US economy in the Great Depression. But "credit based on credit", is geometrically worse, because it goes beyond just uninhibited speculation into the realm of all or nothing, doubling stakes gambling.
And because it uses imaginary money and is backed by speculative margin, it deals in fantastic numbers with no relationship to reality. This is how, for example, just the derivatives market was theoretically "worth" $500T, many times greater than the GDP of the entire world.
Because the US government was ignorant, or willing to let such gambling happen in an unregulated market, these trillions of dollars are supposedly back by dollars. Or at least are transferable to dollars. Supposedly. So the US is on the hook for some gambler's computer gaming.
Logically, the way to end this is for the US government to split its real, but virtual, currency from this imaginary, and virtual currency. If someone gambled using debt as collateral, win or lose, there should be no profit from it.
So simply put, such "dollars" cannot be honored or transferred to anything more real. Unfortunately, there may be no way for such a split in virtual money to happen.
Which means that the US would have to renounce the virtual dollar internationally, by renouncing its foreign held and speculative market debt. Then all dollars held by US citizens would be reformulated to "new dollars" of some variety.
In practical terms, this would wipe out many speculators and "cash billionaires", that hold paper not based in equity or bonds. As it would have to happen quickly, before they could convert their imaginary money to something more tangible.
As a generalization, Midwesterners aren't mob type people and aren't sympathetic to them. This is probably very true of those who are undecided/independent (and rely on the MSM for their "news") in the conflict between the trunks and the unions. By and large the treatment of the unions by the MSM has been sympathetic. But they can't avoid showing these mob scenes which are very unsympathetic. They clearly show that there is a party of adolescents and a party of adults. Which looks better and which do you want to govern you? That is the question the people of Wisconsin will decide again in 20 months. I think it is a good idea to let these thugs reveal themselves for all to see.
The unions think it is still 1930, Walter Reuther vs. Henry Ford and his Pinkertons. It ain't. The unions apparently need a weather man to tell them which way the wind is blowing, and Bill Ayers was a bad choice
#6
A H - very good points, but the last struck me in the afteermath of 9/11 as well. Forget another location. Why does congress even need to "meet"? There's this new Internet thing and video conferencing and electronic communication after all.
I also recall Newt raising the issue of dispersing the govt. Put Ag in Iowa, State in Ny, Defense in Colo, and so forth.
It's the whole monument complex that s so wasteful.
#7
One warning to the Unions: if they cause a collpase of the government, in the subsequent anarchy, it is they who will be hunted down and killed by the free people.
#8
My wife grew up in the shadow of Cammell Laird Shipyard in England. In her childhood she remembers the constant strikes. Now there is industrial peace. The ship building is dead, replaced by Beatles Museum, Fun Wheel and Restaurants.
BRAVO, SIR!!!! I have been saying this for YEARS - there is no real need for Congress to meet in Washington except for ceremonial occasions and highly classified testimony. Besides the money we would save, consider this: how many of the off-the-wall stunts our Congresscritters have pulled over the years would have even happened if these people had to leave their homes the next morning and see their constituents/neighbors?
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
02/25/2011 13:43 Comments ||
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#10
Decentralizing the USGov is one of my fantasies - not only because it reduces power aggregation, but also because it reduces vulnerability, and makes states more important in "flyover" country.
Defense in Texas is a natural fit, Commerce in NY NY, Interior in Denver Colorado or SLC Utah, FBI in Chicago (close to the corruption), Health in Atlanta (near CDC), State Dept in .. umm.. St Louis Missouri (centermost point of the US and keeps them out of trouble), and so on.
#11
Wisconsin uses the 2006 International Building Code, as adopted by the state, with some of their own amendments. In the code, there are set occupancy levels (people per specified floor area), based on the type of occupancy classification. You will see this often displayed in signage in restaurants, assembly halls, etc. This is to ensure that the emergency exits are not overloaded when they are most needed. These occupancy levels should be enforced. Everybody will bitch and moan, but a fire or other emergency will have overloaded halls with people stacked up like cordwood trying to get out.
You cannot let a mob, ruly or unruly, take over a public building.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/25/2011 14:07 Comments ||
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#12
Everybody will bitch and moan, but a fire or other emergency will have overloaded halls with people stacked up like cordwood trying to get out.
Should building security have a fire drill then, to make sure they could handle a real emergency under those circumstances?
#14
There are some very curious jurisdiction questions involving the Wisc. Capitol building.
I don't know, but presume, the State Police cover the bldg. and grounds. From there out, City of Madison takes over. I commuted/consulted there for three years, and didn't pay much attention, but caught some very PC whiffs from Madison City govt.. Noble Wray is police chief, and apparently has already made noise about Gov. Walkers prank call comments. Wonder how he's coordinating with the Statehouse authorities?
A big shame when professionalism goes out the window in a PD. I'm betting the PD and FD don't want to make a show of inspecting the bldg. but someone (Sgt. at Arms?) should call them on it.
#15
Um, where are all these union swine going to the bathroom? What do you want to bet that the grand building that is the Wisconsin state house, is being trashed by these people?
Posted by: Jefferson ||
02/25/2011 18:18 Comments ||
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#16
One warning to the Unions: if they cause a collapse of the government, in the subsequent anarchy, it is they who will be hunted down and killed by the free people.
If you only knew just how true that is. And not just the Unions.
Posted by: Secret Asian Man ||
02/25/2011 19:51 Comments ||
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#17
Where are they going to the bathroom? My buddies who work in the building every day tell me that they at least use the bathrooms for the intended purpose, along with sleeping in them, changing clothes, 'sink showering', etc. The facility management folks are now limiting their access between 6PM-8AM to the ground floor only. They'll be banned from the building during these 'off times' beginning this next Sunday. Of course, our protester friends say that there will be 'peaceful' resistance to this action.
The building is a mess, smells, and is pretty noisy all the time. At least the protesters do limit themselves to the 'public' areas and haven't tried to take over the various offices (unless the legislator has agreed to their presence), workrooms and other 'non-public' areas.
There's a few photos of how our brave public employees have left their surroundings here. The recent Tea-Party rally folks left the area cleaner than when they arrived, though.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
02/25/2011 22:52 Comments ||
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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.
At atfp.org, Christians are asked to adopt a terrorist for prayer. A quote from the Bible on the site urges visitors to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
He owns the land and its wealth, the people, their minds and hearts. He owns the revolution and does not recognize the state, but it is "compensation" to the citizens of the eternal revolution which produced his "glory."
The catastrophic murder and oppression being committed by the Libyan president against his people since the popular uprising broke out (and about time) is nothing new. This "leader," who rules a rich country with a small population, has squandered Libya's money and wealth, oppressing its people and funding terrorist movements from west to east. He is now committing an insane crime against the people of his country, who prefer to die rather than see Qadaffy stay in power.
