#1
Barry is always fun to read, even when he occasionally doth sayeths too much = too long. *POLICE SQUAD > FRANK BRANNIGAN character > "I knew it - Gorby's head mark was a fake, and Prez Reagan was actually shot was little pantyless Paris Hilton in front of her family's hotel".
From Free Republic:
Cindy Sheehan and the anti-American left are descending on our nation's capital this week to mourn the judicial hanging of Saddam Hussein, celebrate the 3000th American death in Iraq and urge the Democrat-controlled Congress to betray our troops in Iraq and impeach President Bush.
Their first event is a celebration of the 3000th American killed in Iraq to be held at the Virginia side of Memorial Bridge near the entrance to Arlington Cemetery. This will take place tomorrow (Tuesday) from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The (Freeper) D.C. Chapter will be there to counter starting at 4:30 p.m. Please bring American flags and signs supporting our troops, their mission and their commander-in-chief. A sign marking Saddam's being brought to justice would be welcome. This location is not car friendly. Take the Blue line Metro to the Arlington Cemetery stop and walk several blocks east to the bridge over the Potomac river.
The next rally on their agenda is Thursday at noon at upper Senate Park on Capitol Hill, next to the Russell building. The rally is being held by the Revolutionary Communist Party, aka World Can't Wait. Best access is by Metro. Take the Red line to Union Station. We should be able to counter them from the sidewalk along the park.
Later that day, Sheehan and the Revolutionary Communist Party will hold an impeachment discussion at the National Press Club at 7 p.m.
On Wednesday and Thursday, Cindy and the moonbats will be walking the halls of Congress trying to foment treason.
Friday night we'll be at Walter Reed supporting our troops and defending them from the anti-American left. That's from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the corner of Georgia Avenue and Elder Street, NW.
On Saturday, January 27, the moonbats will be holding a rally and march in D.C. near the Capitol. We'll be announcing our plans to counter on that day soon.
Please check in here if you can participate in any of our activities supporting America in the war on terror against the moonbats.
All Freepers and lurkers in good standing are invited to join us. As always, the D.C. Chapter's rules for demonstrating will be in effect. Briefly, they are: No violence, no profanity, no racism, no provocations, obey the law and treat all law enforcement officers with respect. Note that this does not pretend to be an objective source (unlike the left's allies in the institutional media). Note also that you are not urged to treat the quislings and their media friends with respect, just don't hit them or throw stuff at them. They might cry, and you know whose version of events most of the country would see.
#2
Cindy Sheehan: Professional mourner and publicity whore. They clogged a bridge in SF on Monday (bet that made many people happy). It only took 10 people to shut down the Golden Gate.
WHILE the American political elite is using Iraq as an ex cuse for fighting internal political wars, a different reality is taking shape in parts of this war-torn nation. Wherever some measure of security is assured - that is to say in more than 80 percent of Iraq - towns and villages long left to die a slow death are creeping back to life.
Nowhere is this slow but steady return to life more startling than in Um Qasr, in the southeast extremity of Iraq on the Persian Gulf. Four years ago, this was a jumble of rusting quays, abandoned houses and gutted buildings. By the spring of 2003, its population had dwindled to a few dozen, along with hundreds of stray dogs. There was even talk of abandoning it altogether.
Today, however, Um Qasr is back in business as a port with commercial and military functions. Hundreds of families that had left after the first Gulf War in 1991 have returned - joining many more who have come from all over Iraq.
The boom in Um Qasr is part of a broader picture that also includes Basra (the sprawling metropolis of southern Iraq), the Shi'ite "holy" cities of Najaf and Karbala, Mandali on the Iranian border and much of Baghdad.
When the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank reported two years ago that the Iraqi economy was heading for a boom, skeptics dismissed it as misplaced optimism. Now, however, even some of those who opposed the toppling of Saddam Hussein admit that many Iraqis share that optimism.
Newsweek has just hailed the emergence of a booming market economy in Iraq as "the mother of all surprises," noting that "Iraqis are more optimistic about the future than most Americans are." The reason, of course, is that Iraqis know what is going on in their country while Americans are fed a diet of exclusively negative reporting from Iraq.
The growing dynamism of the Iraqi economy is reflected in the steady increase in the value of the national currency, the dinar, against the three currencies in direct competition with it in the Iraqi marketplace: the Iranian rial, the Kuwaiti dinar and the U.S. dollar, since January 2006.
No doubt, part of the dinar's strength reflects the rise in Iraq's income from oil exports to almost $40 billion in 2006, an all-time record. But oil alone does not explain all, since both Iran and Kuwait are bigger exporters than Iraq.
The fact that civil-servant salaries have increased by almost 30 percent, with a further 30 percent due to come into effect early next year, also has helped boost demand.
But a good part of the boom is due to an unexpected flow of foreign capital. This has been facilitated by the prospect of a liberal law on direct foreign investments, which exists only in such free-trade parts of the region as Dubai and Bahrain. None of Iraq's six neighbors offers such guarantee for the free flow of capital to and from the country.
Since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, the number of private companies in Iraq has increased from a mere 8,000 to more than 35,000 this year. Each week an average of 60 new companies spring up in Iraq's booming areas. A good part of the investment in southern Iraq, including in Um Qasr, comes from Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
"Whatever happens, Iraq is Iraq," says a Kuwaiti businessman, building hotels in the south. "Iraq will always remain the country with the world's largest oil reserves and the Middle East's biggest resources of water."
One hears similar comments from local and foreign businessmen investing in real estate in Najaf and Karbala. Over 200 million Shiite Muslims regard the cities as holy. Najaf and Karbala have always been dream destinations for pilgrims. Under Saddam Hussein, however, few foreign pilgrims were allowed. With the despot gone, pilgrims are pouring in - and with them the fresh money.
That good business is possible in Iraq is reflected in the performance of new companies, most of which did not exist three years ago. One privately owned mobile phone company is expected to report revenues of more than $500 million this year, a sevenfold increase in three years. Another private firm marketing soft drinks has seen profits double since the end of 2003. The number of luxury cars imported has risen from a few hundred in 2002 to more than 20,000 this year.
But what about continued terrorist attacks? Most foreign investors coming to make money in Iraq shrug their shoulders. "Doing business in any Arab country is always risky," says a Turkish investor who has set up a trucking company and a taxi service. "In some Arab countries, you risk nationalization or straight confiscation by the ruler. In other Arab countries, you must give a cut to one of the emirs. Here, you face possible terrorist attacks. But such attacks are transitory."
The relatively low cost of labor is another attraction to investors. Wages in Iraq, where unemployment is over 30 percent, are less than a quarter of the going rates in Kuwait. Nevertheless, the Iraqi boom appears to be attracting some Iranian laborers from areas close to the border - people who come in for a few days to make some money before returning home.
Although Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government has slowed down the pace of privatization, the foundations of the command economy created by Saddam continue to crumble.
The transition from a rentier economy - in which virtually the whole of the population depended on government handouts - to a free-market capitalist one entails much hardship for some segments of society. Many pensioners and some civil servants find it hard to make ends meet as prices rise across the board. The end of government subsidies on virtually everything - from bread and sugar to gasoline and water - is also causing hardship.
But, judging by the talk in teahouses and the debate in Iraq's new and pluralist media, most people welcome the switch to capitalism and regard it as an exciting adventure.
As trucks are loaded with a variety of imports destined for Baghdad, I ask the drivers what they think would happen if the multi-national force, led by the United States, left Iraq soon. Most shrug their shoulders.
"Why leave?" one driver asks. "Do I abandon the goods that have come from such a long way before they reach their destination?"
This amounts to a plea to "stay the course." The man in Um Qasr does not know that in the United States the phrase "staying the course" drives so many up the wall.
#2
One of the drivers behind foreign investment in Iraq is the fact that the extent of Iraqi oil reserves is not established, and is probably quite high. Should "peace break out" in Iraq and a reasonable amount of oil prospecting and development take place, the ability of Iraq to make money in the global marketplace will skyrocket, especially as oil fields in other Muslim lands (e.g. Saudi Arabia) play out and the price of exported oil rises above $100/barrel.
It is possible to prevent the political and security landslide. Iran can still be stopped.
The government of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is rapidly leading Israel to a political and security downfall while Iran is racing towards achieving a nuclear weapons capability.
While Iran's leaders are busy denying the Holocaust, they also continue to announce their intentions of wiping the State of Israel off the map. Israel is like a bus speeding towards an abyss. The bus driver is tired and helpless. It is true that there hasn't been much bilateral US-Israel talk on the Iran threat. But: silence speaks. President Reagan (May the Holy Ghost Be Pleased With Him) NEVER disclosed his chosen options on defense. He relied on fait accompli. President Bush has chosen an open agenda, but that can change. Ahmadinejad won't see Summer.
Let's examine recent developments, which all have one common denominator: weak leadership.
Hizbullah and Hamas are rapidly arming themselves thanks to the Israeli government's decision to refrain from taking action against them. Since the cease-fire was declared, dozens of Kassam rockets have been fired at the western Negev. The government continues not to react.
Recently, the US secretary of defense said he was unable to rule out a possibility that Iran would launch a nuclear attack against Israel. He also noted that the US would take against Iran only as a last resort. These words raise doubts as to American intentions to bring Teheran's nuclear race to a halt. These words are not to be taken lightly. Ahmadink does not appear to know that when you make threats, you hand deliver a pretext to the other side.
#1
The teenage settlement girls in Israel have more guts than their government!
Lets not forget brave Bibi gave away Hebron.
Posted by: Jim ||
01/02/2007 0:56 Comments ||
Top||
#2
It seems Israel was most "stable" in the late '70s and '80s when there was NO recognition of "Palestine" or Palestinian "self-rule" of any kind. So it stands to reason that the Palestinian "government" is fundamentally responsible for hightened tensions throughout the mid-east, and the only logical solution to these problems is an end to "Palestine" i.e. mass deportations of "Palestinians" from the land of Israel = ethnic cleansing for world peace! If the "Palestinians" prefer death to living in peace in Israel (a stance they eagerly assert at every opportunity), so be it.
Hey! I mean, it's obviously what the militants, and moderates, and whatall WANT... (just tryin' to accomodate the bloodthirsty little martyr wannabes). Ya can't humiliate 'em, so better it's better to just kill 'em - end of problem.
#4
The hour is getting late and Iran should be thumped very hard sooner inorder to avoid a mass extinction of life in Iran later.
a thought
2007 Politically it would be far easier for the United States to covertly support [in a huge way] Israel in a massive attack on Iran setting it and any surviving Mullahs back 20 years.
Certainly the Israelis have the moral high ground. Iran has declared War on Israel, promoted it's extinction directly in TV broadcasts by President Mad Mood Imadinnerjacket himself and covertly through it's proxy Hezb'allah who has killed hundreds if not thousands of Israeli civilians and soldiers since '82.
Iranian agent assassins have killed Israelis around the world.
Politically we, the United States have the high ground to to support Israel covertly or overtly. Recently the Iranians have been helping to kill ours folks in Iraq. And Never Forget 1983 Beirut barracks bombing, Never Forget the April 1983 United States Embassy bombing...etc.
Position on Israel
From the inception of Hezbollah to the present[4][58][59][60][61] the elimination of the state of Israel has been Hezbollah's primary goal. Secretary-General Nasrallahs has stated that "Israel is an illegal usurper entity, which is based on falsehood, massacres, and illusions,"[40] and considers that the elimination of Israel will bring peace in the middle east: "There is no solution to the conflict in this region except with the disappearance of Israel."[62][63] In an interview with the Washington Post, Nasrallah said "I am against any reconciliation with Israel. I do not even recognize the presence of a state that is called 'Israel.' I consider its presence both unjust and unlawful. That is why if Lebanon concludes a peace agreement with Israel and brings that accord to the Parliament our deputies will reject it; Hezbollah refuses any conciliation with Israel in principle."[64]
real politique at best it's a toss up, I don't think there's the WILL in either Capitol right now.
#5
My understanding is that something is in the works. But if its not? Well placed Iranian bribes could put secret advanced missile banks on the West Bank. Accurate missile strikes on Israel's entire power production capacity, will destroy Israel.
One Israeli blogger told me that if the Ashkelon generating plant is taken out, then rather than rebuild under the threat of new destruction, Israel will destroy its enemies. And Ashkelon faces Kassem rocket attacks. One missile could make all hell break loose. Then there is the matter of a future ICBM threat to the US Homeland.
A couple of weeks ago, US military posted its counter-insurgency manual. In the case of Baghdad, they advocate putting 75% of theater troops on permanent patrol, while saying absolutely nothing about better intelligence that would make better use of mobile troops. The fact that operational command doesn't understand the ease of setting up IED, RPG and sniper traps, is causing me to shift towards pessimism. Israel alone? What a horrible thought.
#6
The fact that operational command doesn't understand the ease of setting up IED, RPG and sniper traps, is causing me to shift towards pessimism.
They fully understand, but are simply unwilling. The current TTP is one of waiting until something happens, then use a law enforcement approach. If taken under fire, come up on the "Sheriff's Net" and await instructions.
#7
Bibi is pulling his punches. Baker is a pig, and a hack for the paleos. Any credibility he may have once had is completely gone, and his cancerous ideology has been shown to be ridiculous time and time again. His ugliness and Jew hate are exposed. I'd have alot more respect for him if he just came out and called for the destruction of Israel like Ahmedinijad. At least we wouldn't have to wallow through this pretense of fairness and objecitivity. Time to call a spade a spade.
Once again the Hajj season is back with its spiritual tidings, and again it presents a precious opportunity to the Islamic world. While many eager hearts are attracted from all over the world to attend this annual congregation, there are only a fortunate few who actually realize their dream. This is the reason for the perpetuity of this flowing spring.
On the one hand, the annual congress at the House of the beloved reconnects the hearts with the Kiblah of creation on the other hand, the friends who have been detached from one another find an opportunity for the meeting of hearts. It also brings elation and jubilation to the body, spirituality and politics of the Muslim ummah.
Freedom from material contaminations and remembrance of Allah in all our deeds and in all places, although for a few days, is a great souvenir for hajj pilgrims. The acts of worship and rituals of hajj are for the purpose of providing an opportunity to gain a spiritual experience and sense this joyous experience with our souls.
Continued on Page 49
#1
This resolution will not harm Iran and those who backed it will soon regret their superficial act.
Sums it up. The UN resolution is pathetic. As usual. The Iranians will use this as their "excuse" to develop nukes thereby making it the West's fault in their eyes.
#3
FOX had a good show o'er XMAS weekend on whether America should be directly responsible for improving the lives and well-being of the Rogue nations = its enemies; versus just letting the Rogue-ies, etal. do their thing, but at uncertain or unknown future risk to America. IFF THE ONLY CHOICES FROM 9-11 IS THAT AMERICA EITHER RULES THE WORLD, OR IT WILL BE DESTROYED FROM WITHIN AND WITHOUT BY ITS ENEMIES, THEN IMO AMERICANS WILL CHOOSE TO RULE THE WORLD IN THE AMERICAN WAY. We already know the Lefties > e.g. "USSA, NOT USSR, ERGO THE USSA MUST SURRENDER TO THE USSR", while SSSSSSHHHHHHHHH PRETENDING IT DIDN'T; or "Hated Despicable Ought-to-be-Killed-On-Sight Nazi Fascist America = also Well-meaning, Motherly Caring but Error-prone Communist = Limited Communist Amerika".
America = Amerika's mainstream Sacred National Communism-Socialism - you know, FEDERALISM.
#4
#2 - do we even know where the Iranian facilities are? They're most likely widely scattered and far underground. The US can barely translate Farsi documents as the situation is now.
Joe - the American electorate really doesn't want to rule the world, even if it were possible. It's bad enough to be the World Police. Manifest Destiny expired around Hawaii was annexed. I'm not sure where Guam fits in this picture.
The Iraq Survey Group is calling for open negotiations with Syria, but new reports show that Damascus is up to no good. Indeed, while world attention is rightly focused on the nuclear capabilities of Iran and North Korea, Syria has been quietly but quickly advancing its own secret nuclear program.
The first signs appeared in 2003 when the Russian Foreign Ministry inadvertently revealed that a Russian-Syrian agreement for the delivery of a nuclear power plant in an undisclosed Syrian location had been signed.
In 2004, Syrian President Bashar Assad made a point to say that Syria would not dispose of its WMD program until Israel did the same. Since some of my country is occupied, Assad added, Syria can legitimately use all the necessary means to liberate its territories.
German magazine Der Spiegel revealed in March 2004 that Swedish authorities and the CIA were investigating a very likely Syrian nuclear program secretly developed in Homs in the northern part of the country. That July, investigators looking into the Pakistani nuclear network of A.Q. Khan pointed out that Syria may have procured centrifuges capable of enriching uranium to produce a bomb.
This fact was confirmed in May 2006 in a declassified report to the U.S. Congress on the acquisition of technology relating to weapons of mass destruction. Before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Syria also got help from Saddam Husseins regime.
Keep in mind that Syrias economy was very dependent on Iraqs trade, especially oil-smuggling revenues. Sunday Telegraph journalist Con Coughlin affirmed in a September 2004 article that 12 Iraqi nuclear scientists who were transferred to Syria and given new identities before the war were on their way to Iran to assist their counterparts there in building a nuclear weapon. The results of the research would then be shared with Syria, Coughlin added.
But what really broke the camels back was a recent report from the well-informed Kuwaiti daily newspaper Al Seyassah. It quoted European intelligence sources as saying that Syria has an advanced nuclear program in a secret site located in the province of Al Hassaka, close to the Turkish and Iraqi borders. British sources quoted by the paper believe that it is President Assads brother, Colonel Maher Assad and his cousin Rami Makhlouf, who supervise the program.
This nuclear weapons program is based on material that Saddam Husseins two sons shipped to Syria before and during the U.S. war against Iraq. According to the Kuwaiti newspaper, this explains why international investigative teams found no proof of Husseins nuclear program.
Furthermore, British sources in Brussels affirm that Iranian nuclear experts contribute to the Syrian program along with 60 Iraqi experts who had taken refuge in Syria since 2003 and experts from the ex-Soviet republics. British intelligence says this information is validated by their German counterparts, who were well established in the countries close to the ex- Communist block, including Syria.
Europeans fear that a focus solely on the Iranian nuclear program might facilitate a much quieter joint Iranian-Syrian program of uranium enrichment in Hassaka. The geographical choice for the Syrian nuclear site is very meaningful. Because it is located in an area with a Kurdish majority, the program evades Western suspicions. And striking against these installations would initially hurt the Kurds who historically have sided with the West against the Baathist regimes in both Baghdad and Damascus.
In light of all these facts, it is not surprising that Syria might actually turn out to be Plan B for the mullahs regime in Tehran. This is, in fact, quite a smart strategy: While the world community focuses on Iran, Syria can continue its own nuclear program without unwelcome attention.
But because of the close links between Tehran and Damascus, sealed by an important defense agreement signed over the summer and the fact that Syria would do anything to please its benefactor, Syria getting the bomb would be exactly like Iran getting it. For proof, Al Seyassah reported on Dec. 13 that top Syrian leaders had transferred $3 billion to the Iranian central bank.
#2
Venezuala and Syria are about to become a big headache. One has technology the other has oil money. Both are fans of Ahmadinejad. Saddam probably hid his WMD secrets in Syria. I knew Syria was a problem several years ago but no one listens to us everyday citizens that hear, see and reason things out
#3
I wish every intelligence officer and the FBI would read this article and take it to heart. They really ought to keep this site in their minds. We do better at figuring out what's going on than they do and all we have is common sense
#5
Iran was belabled a closet/shadow nuke state by various Perts + Pundits when it first purchased Chicom SILKWORMS, deal(s) which allegedly also included tactical nuke warheads. Ditto for Syria wid its own dual-use international purchases from mostly anti-US States. SYRIA'S PROBLEM > IRAN AS FELLOW ENEMY OF ISRAEL IS NOT ITS FRIEND, ERGO SYRIA'S WEAPONS ARE POINTING TOWARDS ISRAEL, NOT RADICAL IRAN. ANY SURREAL DEFEAT = DESTRUCTION OF ISRAEL DOES NOT MEAN SYRIA, etc, WINS.
#1
HHHHHHMMMMMM, HHHHHHHHMMMM - okay, so Radical Islam hates the USA-West's influence on ME + WOrld, yet believes it can destroy the IOWA-/NIMITZ-classes = DEATH STAR = BATTLESTAR GALACTICA-classes, etal. just by its armies of mad Mad MAD M-A-D MMMMMMMAAAAAAAAAADDDDDDDDDD, D ***ng It, CAMELS LOOKING UP INTO SPACE FROM EARTH AND BEYING/CROAKING AT 'EM. Iff DARTH VADER + IMPERIAL STORM TROOPERS can surrender to JAWAS, so can the USA-West, correct!?
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
By Binyamin Netanyahu
