JERUSALEM – Two members of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ official security forces were arrested in conjunction with this past weekend’s bloody massacre in which five family members were brutally stabbed to death inside their home in the Jewish village of Itamar, WND has learned.The names of the apprehended suspects will be released to the Israeli media within hours but were revealed to WND by security officials working on the murder.Two cousins are now in Israeli custody and are suspected in the slayings. Ahmed Awad is an officer in Abbas’ Preventative Security Services in the northern West Bank city of Nablis. Iyad Awad is an officer in Abbas’ General Intelligence services in Ramallah.Both the Preventative and General Intelligence services of Fatah are armed, trained and funded by the U.S.The duo did not personally carry out the murders, but rather they assisting in the planning and logistics, informed security sources told WND.Since the late 1990s, the U.S. has run training bases for PA militias. The U.S. also has provided hundreds of millions of dollars in financial aid and weapons to build up the PA militias. Since 2007, the U.S. has stepped up its efforts at training the PA, including a new, advanced program for Palestinian police to train 500 to 600 cadets at a time at the American bases. The U.S. currently operates training bases for the PA police and other militias, such as Force 17 and the Preventative Security Services in the West Bank city of Jericho and the Jordanian village of Giftlik.
Like I wrote yesterday; this murder is the continuation of a very long war, that dates back to Biblical times. However, the very idea that our Armed Forces trained these people; changes the ballgame. I wonder what President Obama would think about such things? Of course, based upon what I have been reading; he really does not care about Israel (or anything else for that matter, including America) at all.
Update: Thanks to the people at Rotter.net for linking in! (Hebrew to English Machine translation here.) If anyone happens to have an account there and can speak Hebrew; please let them know that I cannot Independently verify the claims made by WND in that story above, thanks!
I tend to believe that everyone at The White House and the State Department are worried about this; and for good reason too.
I”ll leave you these quotes:
Enjoy the Wisconsin and NPR posts tonight because this news cycle may shift very quickly. The Saudis have been preparing for this for weeks: First they tried to shore up public support with a new package of economic reforms, then they drafted 10,000 troops and deployed them to the Shiite provinces in the east. All protests have been banned, naturally, and for good measure they got the country’s top clerics to issue a fatwa declaring demonstrations un-Islamic.
(***)
That’s why the White House is worried, and that’s why we’ve quietly moved from a policy of regime change in the region to “regime alteration.” It’s all geared towards protecting our “friends” in Riyadh and preventing the oil apocalypse that would crush America’s economic recovery (not to mention Obama’s reelection chances). In fact, as I said once before, I’m convinced that this is a factor in why The One has been quiet-ish about Libya. He knows the Saudi protests are coming and he doesn’t want to do anything that will commit too boldly to helping scrappy rebels against an oppressive regime. Obama will vote present on revolution in the Kingdom, and a lot of other people will vote with him. Tomorrow — big day. Exit quotation from a Wall Street analyst on today’s Saudi demonstrations and the temporary oil sell-off they inspired: “The stakes just went up in a big way. Even if this was a minor incident, it was a jarring reminder of what could happen there.”
As I was saying; Gulp.
Remember what I was saying about prayer and Obama? More of that….now.
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http://RTR.org | http://RealityReport.TV | This is one report you do not want to miss. Americans are being detained for using cash! Gary Franchi presents the investigation into the Florida Department of Transportation. Filmmaker and radio host Jason Bermas joins the cast for his new segment called Punk Rock Politics. Also this week we present the special report on Project Gunrunner, how the BATF facilitated ‘straw purchase’ firearm sales that resulted in the death of one of our own. We’ll also present a viral video explains Goldman Sachs is getting double dip profits off the Tax Payer’s backs. Nina returns to present the top stories of the week and as always, we dip into the mailbag, present last week’s poll results and brand another enemy of the state.
It’s heartbreaking, if you’ve spent a lot of time and energy over years of your life, figuring out how to deal with the local village elders and try and start development projects and improve governance and send Afghan girls to school, to realize that the institutions that one believes one has started and got off the ground are far more likely to blow away like a Potemkin village. You have these hard-won skills and these small, on the ground achievements, and it looks like maybe you’ve started something that might someday bear fruit. You’ve actually done remarkable things, by any ordinary measure. But then it doesn’t bear fruit, because it isn’t rooted, not culturally or institutionally, and the belief that it will have a life after your funding is gone is illusion.
But it’s not an unusual story, if one looks beyond Afghanistan and indeed beyond war. It’s actually the oldest story in the world in development work. In development, we believe we need to develop institutional governance capacities so that the efforts that shelter and take root under those institutions will not be in vain. No doubt that’s true. But unfortunately we don’t have a clue how to do that — and even less of a clue how to do that in war.
I highly recommend that you go read that whole quote. Because if this is broadening feeling among Conservatives; we could be looking at a total change in attitude among the right.
Before I got into the Derb/Andy discussion, I was reading an obituary in The Daily Telegraph of Anthony Brooke, former Rajah Muda of Sarawak, whose family reigned over much of the Borneo jungle for over a century until 1946, when the kingdom lost its independence and was formally incorporated into the British Empire. As often with flotsam and jetsam (Flintstone and Jetson?) from the imperial byways, you’re struck by how much London accomplished with so little. By contrast, we’ve spent a fortune in Afghanistan and have nothing to show for it.
I think the difference is this: When America goes into Afghanistan, it doesn’t think it’s prosecuting American interests. Quite the opposite: Regardless of whether it’s officially UN- or Nato-sanctioned, America goes in as the expeditionary force of “world opinion” or “the global commons”. It doesn’t believe it has a national interest in Afghanistan, and indeed assumes that it would be a kind of transnational faux pas to be seen to have one, so it’s hardly surprising that the “nation” it winds up “building” doesn’t look much like anywhere any American would want to have anything to do with. Even nation-building requires the builder to build it in what he perceives as his national interest – as the British did in India and the Americans in post-war Japan. If you have disinterested, transnational nation-building, you wind up as we have in Kabul.
To go back to Sarawak, it was ceded to His Britannic Majesty in 1946 and became independent in 1963, when it joined the new Federation of Malaysia: Seventeen years from colony to statehood – versus a decade spent presiding over Take Your Catamite To Work Day in Kandahar. And, as a New Jersey reader wrote to me the other day, “Does anybody really think we’re leaving anytime soon?” In Afghanistan and elsewhere, transnational nation-building is like a mangled Hotel California: We never seriously check in, and yet we never leave.
Now, if I were a rabid Ron Paul or Pat Buchanan type; I would say something to the effect of, “See? Now that the Neo-Conservatives are not controlling the war, they want to stop it!” Well, rest assured I am not a rabid anything at all. I think that it is encouraging to see that the Conservative Blogosphere is finally starting to figure out, what the rest of the America already knows; that we went into Afghanistan to hunt down, and capture or kill Osama Bin Laden and destroy Al-Qaeda. Now that has become like the secondary mission and defeating the Taliban and setting up Government there is now this goal, which is essentially “Nation Building.” Something that never works, ever. Especially in the middle east, where some, if not all, of the Governments are inherently corrupt.
Either way, it is good to now see writers question the very thing, that back in 2003, they were mindlessly cheerleading.
Next time some stupid moron Neo-Conservative tells you that Bush brought Democracy to Iraq, by invading it — show ’em this:
BAGHDAD – Among the revolts sweeping the Middle East and North Africa, Iraq’s has been an exception: Here, protesters are seeking to reform a democratically elected government, not to topple an autocrat.But protesters, human rights workers and security officials say the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has responded to Iraq’s demonstrations in much the same way as many of its more authoritarian neighbors: with force.Witnesses in Baghdad and as far north as Kirkuk described watching last week as security forces in black uniforms, tracksuits and T-shirts roared up in trucks and Humvees, attacked protesters, rounded up others from cafes and homes and hauled them off, blindfolded, to army detention centers.Entire neighborhoods – primarily Sunni areas where residents are generally opposed to Maliki – were blockaded to prevent residents from joining the demonstrations. Journalists were beaten.In most cases, regular soldiers and police officers simply stood aside, with one saying the matter was “beyond us.” In all, 29 people were killed.”Maliki is starting to act like Saddam Hussein, to use the same fear, to plant it inside Iraqis who criticize him,” said Salam Mohammed al-Segar, a human rights activist who was among those beaten during a sit-in. “The U.S. must feel embarrassed right now – it is they who promised a modern state, a democratic state. But in reality?”He shook his head.Last Friday, the U.S. Embassy here issued a statement saying that security forces appeared to have followed Maliki’s directive to allow peaceful protests. As reports emerged Saturday of the beaten journalists, the White House issued a statement saying that U.S. officials were “deeply troubled.” The U.S. Embassy has declined to comment further.
So much for that little pipe dream, eh? Iraq is no more a damned Democracy than North Korea. The elections over there were nothing more than a smoke screen to fool the American people into believing that the invasion in Iraq in 2003 was justified. Which thinking Conservatives, like me, knew was a pack of damned lies. As was the whole WMD story.
Nice work Dubya! 🙄
Conservatives of all stripes should really be following this coming 2012 election. If whomever the Republican Party chooses to be our next President; starts talking about “exporting Democracy” to foriegn lands, that Conservative should not vote or vote for a third party. Forget the Democrats, they do the same stuff as Neo-Conservatives. Vote different, because America cannot afford no more General’s wars. Just that simple. Exporting Democracy does not work people and this story here is living proof of that.
Fixed rather funny typo. I meant WMD’s, not WND’s… More coffee!
I like these guys; but when they resort to lies, I most expose them.
Ron Paul gave an interview with the News Real Blog, which is owned by the Neo-Conservative goon David Horowitz; who also, by the way, was a former far-leftist. Some would argue that he still is. Anyhow, It appears that this blog wanted to do a follow up.
Here is what Ron Paul really said about Israel:
NRB: David Horowitz and others have been critical of the effect that your foreign policy would have upon Israel… How would you describe a libertarian vision for alliance that could support democracies where people want to determine their own course while under threat by external forces?
Ron Paul: We’ve been involved a long time, since World War II, especially since we’ve inherited or developed our empire. We strongly supported all the dictators that surround Israel, and sometimes we buy peace and pay for it. But it’s unstable. And that instability has always been a threat to Israel. Now, when it’s coming apart, and our financial system’s coming apart, Israel is in worse shape than ever because of our so-called protection.
I believe in non-intervention. I believe we should treat all other countries alike, and that we should be friends. Israel is very, very powerful. If we weren’t in there, they could do what they want to protect themselves, and they wouldn’t have to ask us permission, and we would never have to be dragged in if something happens over there. I think they’d be much better off, and that would be a constitutional position.
NRB: Is there a point where the existence of Israel being under threat would compel even a libertarian to take action to protect her?
Paul: First off, they’re under threat because we’re there. We’re a greater threat to them, and our polices, because they have assumed that we’ll [intervene] if they don’t do the right things for themselves.
I don’t know of anybody who can militarily threaten them. They have 300 nuclear weapons. Nobody’s gonna touch them. This notion that we have to support them over the Palestinians – we shouldn’t favor one over the other. It’s a very different problem over there. If you’re a Palestinian-American, you might not like [America’s position on Israel]. I’m not saying you should support the Palestinian side or the Israeli side. I’m saying let them work it out.
Ron Paul: We shouldn’t favor Israel over the Palestinians
Thus proving what I have believed about Neo-Conservatives since I have been blogging. That nothing matters to them, as long as the agenda of defending Israel to the death is followed —– even telling the truth. Ron Paul simply said, “Treat them all the same.” The way that headline was written, one would think Paul was anti-Israel or even Anti-Semitic. To be fair, I disagree with this part here myself:
I believe in non-intervention. I believe we should treat all other countries alike, and that we should be friends. Israel is very, very powerful. If we weren’t in there, they could do what they want to protect themselves, and they wouldn’t have to ask us permission, and we would never have to be dragged in if something happens over there. I think they’d be much better off, and that would be a constitutional position.
The problem here is, there are more Arab nations and Israel is one small Country. If all these Arabs Nations were to decide to gang up on Israel; the results would disastrous. Now that, would not be a good thing to any normal, sane, rational person. That is, unless you are some sort of White Nationalist or Jew-Hater — and a good amount of Ron Paul followers are Jew-Haters, Conspiracy Kooks and just plain old weirdos. I personally, if Ron Paul were running, would not vote for him. Ron Paul is not going to run to actually win the election; he is running to spread his message. Some of Ron Paul’s biggest supporters admitted that to me. Plus, I do not agree with Paul’s strict isolationism.
My point here is this; I can understand someone not agreeing with Ron Paul’s policy stance; but when you resort to writing bogus headlines to make someone look like someone that they are not, you lose any sort of credibility. I also will say that HotAir is not the only blog to do this; it happens everywhere in the right wing Blogosphere. I try and shy away from that. Link baiting is a easy cheap way of getting hits. But the harder way is to write good content; I try to stay with the latter.
BAGHDAD – Thousands marched on government buildings and clashed with security forces in cities across Iraq on Friday, in the largest and most violent anti-government protests here since political unrest began spreading in the Arab world several weeks ago.
In two northern Iraqi cities, security forces trying to push back crowds opened fire, killing six demonstrators. In the capital of Baghdad, demonstrators knocked down blast walls, threw rocks and scuffled with club-wielding troops.
The protests, billed as a “Day of Rage, were fueled by anger over corruption, chronic unemployment and shoddy public services.
“We want a good life like human beings, not like animals,” said Khalil Ibrahim, 44, one of about 3,000 protesters in the capital Baghdad.
Like many Iraqis, he railed against a government that locks itself in the highly fortified Green Zone, home to the parliament and the U.S. Embassy, and is viewed by most of its citizens as more interested in personal gain than public service.
Oh, it gets worse too:
Demonstrators trying to get across a bridge going from the square to the Green Zone clashed with security forces. The demonstrators knocked down some of the concrete blast walls that were put up Thursday night and threw rocks at troops who beat them back with batons. Six riot police and 12 demonstrators were wounded in the melee, said police and hospital officials.
The protests stretched from the northern city of Mosul to the southern city of Basra, reflecting the widespread anger many Iraqis feel at the government’s seeming inability to improve their lives.
A crowd of angry marchers in the northern city of Hawija, 150 miles (240 kilometers) north of Baghdad, tried to break into the city’s municipal building, said the head of the local city council, Ali Hussein Salih.
Security forces trying to block the crow opened fire, killing three demonstrators and wounding 15, local officials said. The Iraqi Army was eventually called in to restore order.
In Mosul, also in northern Iraq, hundreds of protesters gathered in front of the provincial council building, demanding jobs and better services, when guards opened fire, according to a police official. A police and hospital official said three protesters were killed and 15 people wounded. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to brief the media.
Black smoke could later be seen billowing from the building.
In the south, about 4,000 people demonstrated in front of the office of Gov. Sheltagh Aboud al-Mayahi in the port city of Basra, Iraq’s second-largest city, 340 miles (550 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad. They knocked over one of the concrete barriers and demanded his resignation, saying he’d done nothing to improve city services.
They appeared to get their wish when the commander of Basra military operations, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Jawad Hawaidi, told the crowd that the governor had resigned in response to the demonstrations. Iraqi state TV announced that the prime minister had asked the governor to step down but did not mention the protests.
Around 1,000 demonstrators also clashed with police in the western city of Fallujah 40 miles (65 kilometers) west of Baghdad clashed with authorities, witnesses said. And in the southern city of Karbala, about 1,000 protesters rallied for better services.
The reason I say gulp is because, what happens if this goes totally out of control and we end up with another civil war in Iraq? Somehow, I do not see President Obama doing anything about it. if anything, he will just end up pulling our forces out of there; and by rights, he most likely should. We did our jobs, we did defeat Al-Qaeda and stopped the insurgency. So, why should we put more people into Iraq and risk more lives? It just would not make any sense.
Either way, it just does not look good for our guys on the ground there.
It appears to me that there seems to be a problem in the Conservative movement; and that is an attempt by the Republican and Conservative establishment, to silence those with whom they disagree or dislike. Earlier this week, on my personal Blog, I posted two videos; one of RINO, Neo-Conservative princess Sarah Palin, saying that the “Birther” issue was a distraction to the Conservative and Tea Party movement and another of Karl Rove; who conversely was the brains behind Neo-Conservative George W. Bush’s Presidency. A Presidency that included the invasion and occupation of the sovereign Nation of Iraq —-which we now know was based upon a lie. Karl Rove in this video suggested that the Birther movement should be excommunicated from the Republican Party and from the Conservative movement entirely, like the John Birch Society was from the Republican Party and the Conservative movement was by that pied piper of the establishment; William F. Buckley.
I have read quite a bit about that so-called excommunication, and in all reality it was an unfair branding of the John Birch Society as being a racist and anti-Semitic organization. This was performed by Neo-Conservatives, which were and still are, former Democrats who seem to be in love with idea of a big Government — as long as they are the people controlling it. Furthermore, Neo-Conservatives claim, falsely of course; to be for the constitution — all the while declaring war against countries and other actions that fly in the face of the very principles that the document itself was founded upon. They do this, all the while, defending a Country and people, who look upon the people of Christian America as nothing more than a group of idiots, of good use. Yes, Neo-Conservatives, I am referring to your pet project —- Israel. All of this, in the name of “Defending America” or as it should be called, “defending the empire.”
If any of this sounds even vaguely familiar — it is because Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany or for you history buffs — Rome — minus Israel, of course; did the same very things and eventually were destroyed or simply went broke and failed.
You see, I happen to believe that those who have doubts about President Barack Obama’s place of origin or birthplace; or “Birthers” as they are called by those who wish to degrade them, members of the John Birch Society, we Paleoconservatives and our cousins; Libertarians — are Americans too. I believe that anyone who tries to silence any sort of political thought, belief, or conviction — of any sort — is doing what was done to those who dared to challenge the actions of Adolf Hitler and the Communist leadership in the former Soviet Union. Yes, that does include those, of whom I disagree with. It is called thought policing and it goes against the very tenets of our United States Constitution and the very ideals that surrounded our leaving of England to find a land, where we as a people could be free to worship God in the way that we pleased — without fear of persecution. This is what caused Senator Joseph McCarthy to lose support from his fellow Republicans.
Whenever you seek to control those with whom you disagree, you run the danger of becoming like the liberal left in this Country. This is why I have such an issue with the Neo-Conservative wing of the Republican Party. It is because of the mentality of “We are always right in what we believe and if anyone disagrees with our way of thinking and Governing; then that person is not a real Conservative.” Furthermore, they will try to suppress those, of whom they disagree; that my friend is a tactic right out of the Saul Alinsky playbook. This is to isolate, suppress and even mock and ridicule those who are in opposition to what these people believe. Hence, the reason Neo-Conservatives are even called by that name, it is not a slanderous term that is related to a particular ethnic or Religious group, it is a name given to bunch of people, who bolted from the socialist party and joined the right — and brought their tactics with them.
Now, I feel that I should be clear; I do not have any problem believing that President Barack Obama is a citizen of the United States of America. However, I believe that President Barack Obama, like every other President; should release his original long form birth certificate. Now does that make me a crazy person? I think not. Furthermore, I believe that John Birch Society is a great American institution of liberty and I happen to agree with the majority of what they believe in, if not all of it — Now does that make me a crazy person or even a racist or anti-Semite — of course not. I also happen to believe that Pat Buchanan and Representative Ron Paul are both exemplary Americans, who happen to love their Country and do not wish to see it become another third world Nation lost to the wiles of Socialism and Globalism. Now, does that make me some sort of a racist, Anti-Semite terrorist? I think not.
Now, do I believe that Ron Paul can be elected President of the United States? As much as I would like to believe that he could be elected; I cannot. Neo-Conservatives control a good part of the Republican Party, and between them and the Neo-Liberal left in this Country; which control a good part of the media — except for Fox News that is Neo-Conservative and not Ron Paul friendly at all, I just do not believe that Ron Paul would be able to overcome such odds. You do not believe that the Neo-Conservatives would give up that cottage industry that easily, do you. Oh please, just look what they did to Pat Buchanan when he tried to break into that little clique in the Republican Party — much of the same thing as did happen to Ron Paul —- False accusations of racism and Anti-Semitism.
As long as there is empire to defend, Countries to be invaded for oil and pseudo-states to support the Neo-Conservatives will never surrender control of the Republican Party. Furthermore, as long as there is a stranglehold on the mainstream media by the neo-liberal left in this Country someone like Ron Paul does not have a chance in Hades to be elected President of the United States of America. As long as lying Neo-Conservatives like Karl Rove, Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich are around, the chances of Paleoconservatives like Pat Buchanan or libertarian Conservatives like Ron Paul do not stand a chance of ever being elected.
In closing, America is a great Country; it is just being held hostage, so to speak — by some very powerful and evil people, as is the Republican Party.
Interest payments on the national debt will quadruple in the next decade and every man, woman and child in the United States will be paying more than $2,500 a year to cover for the nation’s past profligacy, according to figures in President Obama’s new budget plan.
Starting in 2014, net interest payments will surpass the amount spent on education, transportation, energy and all other discretionary programs outside defense. In 2018, they will outstrip Medicare spending. Only the amounts spent on defense and Social Security would remain bigger under the president’s plan.
The soaring bill for interest payments is one of the biggest obstacles to balancing the federal budget, pushing the White House and Congress to come up with cuts deeper than previously imagined. Unlike with discretionary spending or even entitlement programs, the line item for interest payments cannot be altered except through other budget cuts.
The phenomenon is a bit like running up the down escalator. Without interest payments, the president’s plan would balance the budget by 2017. But net interest payments that year are expected to reach $627 billion, up from $207 billion in the current fiscal year.
“This goes to the heart of why we have to address our fiscal problems,” said Mark Zandi, co-founder and chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com. “If we don’t, we’re going to get swamped by our interest payments.”
Here is the part that worries me:
As bad as the outlook is in the Obama budget proposal for fiscal year 2012, it could get worse. So far, interest payments have been relatively low because of the willingness of global investors to lend the U.S. government money at abnormally low interest rates. But that could change.
“The scary scenario – which I am not predicting but is a real possibility – is an incident of capital flight, where investors lose confidence in the U.S., causing interest rates to rise precipitously and pushing the budget deficit even further into the red,” said N. Gregory Mankiw, a Harvard economics professor and former chairman of President George W. Bush’s Council of Economic Advisers.
The Obama budget’s assumptions include a substantial increase in rates. It predicts that the interest rate on 10-year Treasury notes will climb from 3 percent this year to 3.6 percent next year. It forecasts rates of 5 percent by 2015 and 5.3 percent at the end of the decade.
Short-term rates will rise even more sharply, from nearly zero now to 4 percent by 2015 in the Office of Management and Budget assumptions.
Rogoff calls the administration’s forecast “reasonable,” but he warns that the actual number is hard to know with any certainty.
“The basic issue is that when you hold a lot of debt you’re vulnerable to shifts in sentiment and sharp rises in the interest rates,” Rogoff said.
He said that combined federal, state and municipal debt in the United States is at a record high, beyond the famous post-World War II levels. Unlike interest payments made then, however, a huge portion of interest payments are flowing to investors in other countries, draining funds out of the U.S. economy. (There are other interest payments made to the Social Security fund, but because they shift money from one pocket of the government to another, they are not counted in the net interest numbers.)
Some positive developments could ease the interest payment crisis, including faster-than-expected economic recovery, higher-than-expected tax receipts and lower-than-expected government borrowing rates.
Ultimately, Rogoff said, the federal government should aim to reduce the amount of debt as a percentage of GDP. But for now, the U.S. government is still borrowing just to meet the interest payments on earlier borrowing.
“We are in a self-reinforcing, vicious cycle,” Zandi said
I am not trying to scare anyone at all; but no matter how you slice this, it does not look good for America in the next coming years. This is why; and I know I have said this on this blog a million times; well, a million and one now. This is why you do NOT spend yourself out of a recession. Keynesian economics just does not work. The only reason it ever even remotely appeared to work, was because of World War 2 and all of the industry that surrounded that era. In fact, some of the things that Roosevelt did, were overturned by the supreme court and after that, and only after that the did the economy begin to grow.
This is not to say that this is all President Obama’s fault. There was spending under Bush; just not quite as much. Here are some charts for you to look at:
Spending under Bush and Obama
But many Liberal Democrats will say, “What about the Iraqi war?” I simply say to them, “what about it?”
See this graph:
Spending with and without the war, under Bush.
The truth is that the total cost of the eight-year war was less than the stimulus bill passed by the Democratic-led Congress in 2009, a fact confirmed by FOX News:
As President Obama prepares to tie a bow on U.S. combat operations in Iraq, Congressional Budget Office numbers show that the total cost of the eight-year war was less than the stimulus bill passed by the Democratic-led Congress in 2009.
According to CBO numbers in its Budget and Economic Outlook published this month, the cost of Operation Iraqi Freedom was $709 billion for military and related activities, including training of Iraqi forces and diplomatic operations.
The projected cost of the stimulus, which passed in February 2009, and is expected to have a shelf life of two years, was $862 billion.
The U.S. deficit for fiscal year 2010 is expected to be $1.3 trillion, according to CBO. That compares to a 2007 deficit of $160.7 billion and a 2008 deficit of $458.6 billion, according to data provided by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.
My friends, this is why you do not spend your way out of a recession. This is what happens. America has lived well beyond its means for much too long. We must act, and we must act quickly. Before it is too late. So far, Republicans have NOT shown any backbone. 2012 is coming, it will be time to vote the rest of them out. Speaker Bonher; yes, I am talking about you! You piece of Neo-Conservative excrement! 😡
There is another thing that most up on Capital Hill are not discussing; and that is cutting Military spending. We need to end the war in Iraq NOW! They have their Country now, we defeated the insurgency. We need to get out there ASAP! As for Afghanistan, who knows about that anymore, that is another Neo-Conservative boondoggle that the Democrats are trying to continue; good luck with that — Osama Bin Ladin is in Pakistan and that Country is not too keen on us being there. Again, I say — Good luck with that!
Not only this, but we have way too many of our Military stationed around the world. Why tell those people, either you pay us to be here or we are going home? It makes no sense, this is where Ron Paul has a point.
Gasoline pump prices reached a 28-month high today even though oil and gas supplies in the U.S. continue to grow and demand for gas is weak.
The national average for regular gasoline rose to $3.133 a gallon. That’s about $1.20 more than the price at the pump two years ago, according to AAA, Wright Express and the Oil Price Information Service.
Just eight states have average prices less than $3 a gallon. The cheapest is $2.94 a gallon is in Missouri. Hawaii has the highest average of $3.746 a gallon.
Tom Kloza, OPIS chief oil analyst, predicted gas prices will range from $3.50 to $3.75 a gallon this spring and then drift lower, to between $3 and $3.40 a gallon.
“I do believe that this year is front-end loaded,” Kloza said. “I think that perhaps the first third of the year sees higher retail prices for gasoline and diesel than the middle or final thirds.”
Average gas prices have climbed steadily from about $2.80 a gallon in November even though consumer demand has been weak and inventory levels remain high. The Energy Department said today that supplies of crude and gasoline both rose again last week while distillates, which include heating oil and diesel, declined. All three products are at or above the average range for the past five years.
Demand for gasoline remains weak and may be getting weaker. In its weekly survey Mastercard SpendingPulse said gasoline consumption across the country fell 3 percent last week compared to the week before and suggested that higher prices may be discouraging driving and trips to the gas station.
Not one word in that article mentions inflation of our currency. That is why gas prices are going up; plus too, there is a bit of instability in the Arab World right now. Put that all together and you are paying a nice price at the pump.
To be quite honest, I do not own a car, at the moment. I had to junk mine, it had just too many issues. Honestly? I am kind of glad, that I do not own a car. To me, that means less money spent at the pump. 😀
In this space, before I post this video; I usually post a disclaimer, because usually, I do not agree with some of the content and ideas presented in this Video report. However, this week, I am going to forgo the disclaimer. Because a good ninety percent of what is presented here, I absolutely agree with and besides, nothing gives me more joy, than to watch freedom-loving Americans making Neo-Conservative fascists look like the damn fools that they are. Yes, it warms the cackles of my stone cold heart to see those who wish to sell our freedoms out to the altar of “Security” made to look like buffoons.
Very well done gents, very, very, well done. 😀
Having said all that —- here is the synopsis and Video….
Synopsis: In this special CPAC expanded edition of the Reality Report, we go face to face with Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney and Newt Gingrich and present the highlights (and lowlights)! ; Gary Franchi runs into former Saturday Night Live star, Victoria Jackson, and interviews CPAC Chair David Keene about the Defender of the Constitution Award. Gary also meets with Jesse Benton, Ron Paul’s Communications Director, to give you the inside scoop on the Ron Paul 2012 Presidential campaign. Jeff Frazee from Young Americans for Liberty joins the show to tell us how he got turned on to Ron Paul’s message. We meet with Congresswoman Nan Hayworth from New York’s 19th district to ask her about her vote for the Patriot Act. We also ask Ron Paul supporters what it is about his message that inspires them. We also take you to the Jordan Page after party for the release of his new album titled “Liberty”. Angie returns to deliver the headlines with a special report on the Young Americans for Freedom and Truth Squad.TV’s confrontation. We’ll read your email, review last week’s poll results and brand a new enemy of the state.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has chosen a new special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, after months of delay and disagreements between the White House and the State Department over the parameters of the job that became vacant with the December death of Richard C. Holbrooke, senior officials said.
Retired diplomat Marc Grossman is expected to take over as the administration is facing a crucial year for its war strategy in Afghanistan, where it plans to begin U.S. troop withdrawals this summer and to move toward a political settlement including negotiations with the Taliban before the end of 2011.
In Pakistan, a key partner in the strategy, the situation has become even more fraught with peril, as U.S.-Pakistani relations have plummeted to their lowest point in years over Pakistan’s rejection of U.S. demands to grant diplomatic immunity to a U.S. official accused of murder there.
The administration has suspended high-level official contacts with the Pakistanis, and senior members of Congress have warned Islamabad that it risks a cutoff of U.S. aid.
Wow, I was not aware of all these problems. Looks like Hillary Clinton has her work cut out for her. Two things that stand out here:
Why do we keep sending over retired people to handle these situations? Cannot Hillary Clinton or President Obama find anyone who is not at retirement age to handle this problem? Just a thought there, not trying to criticize it; because I doubt John McCain would be able to handle this any better.
This situation with the murder charge just looks bad all around and will most likely hamper our efforts to combat the war on terror and will hinder us from capturing or killing Osama Bin Ladin. Because you cannot capture the bad guys; if you cannot get along with the people where they are hiding.
Again, I have said this a million times here, and I will say it again. Bush handled this whole thing wrong after 9/11. Bush should have went after the Countries that financed the attacks on 9/11. Instead he went after their training grounds, with the assumption that it would be a cakewalk to catch them; and then he went into Iraq, on what we now now to be bad intelligence and also assumed that would be cake walk too — and Afghanistan was left to neglect. As of a result that poor leadership, we now have this mess to contend with. I pity Hillary and even President Obama to a point, they inherited this awful mess and now, they have to make gold, out of a steaming bag of crap. What a mess! I would not want to be in their shoes at all. 🙁
But, that is what happens, when you elect Neo-Conservatives who are on a so-called “Mission from God.” Let this be a lesson to America and to the Republican Party and all who supported and voted for the man. Say what you want, but between the bailouts and his poorly planned war on terror — we find ourselves in a awful mess; both with debt and with foriegn diplomacy.
Full statement from Vice-President Suleiman: “In the name of God the merciful, the compassionate, citizens, during these very difficult circumstances Egypt is going through, President Hosni Mubarak has decided to step down from the office of president of the republic and has charged the high council of the armed forces to administer the affairs of the country. May God help everybody.”
Make no mistake, this was a Military Coup.
You can watch the live coverage Here,Here, and Here.
Great news for the administration/president. People will remember , despite some fumbles yesterday, that the President played an excellent hand, walked the right line and that his statement last night was potentially decisive in brining this issue to a close. The situation remains complicated and delicate going forward, but this is a huge affirmation of the President’s leadership on the international stage.
Oh Brother. Talk about spinning like a top! 🙄 Yeah, President Obama did it; by being behind the curve, the point of looking like a total buffoon? Please.
Either way, this is a much historic day in Egypt. I simply look at it with cautious optimism. I just hope it goes well; and that Egypt does not turn into another Iran. — and believe you me; it could very well happen. I like to think that it would not; seeing that Egypt is a secular Country. However, where evil gathers; things happen.
President Obama will be delivering a message; of course, and when it becomes available on video. I will post it here. Update #3: Still waiting on that. See below…
Update: Video: Happy people tend to be bit noisy!:
Some depressing news, it isn’t going to get much better in Egypt:
As in many undemocratic countries, the military is more than just the military. Egypt’s officer corps is said to own or operate vast networks of commercial enterprises, including water, construction, cement, olive oil, the hotel and gasoline industries—in all, about one-third of the country’s economy—as well as vast chunks of seaside property…
The army’s material interests don’t mesh so well with the premises of a thriving middle-class society. And the absence of such a society—the combination of large numbers of well-educated young people and few jobs to suit their talents—has no doubt fueled these last two weeks of protest.
That same WikiLeaks cable from the U.S. embassy in Cairo reported that the military views efforts at privatization “as a threat to its economic position, and therefore generally opposes economic reforms.” To the extent the military does retain power in Egypt, the people’s “rising expectations” may be frustrated, regardless of the outcome of this current clash. Whatever happens in the coming days and weeks, Egypt, once the emblem of Arab stability, might be locked in the dynamics of revolution for a long time to come.
The practical demands of the protesters seem fairly simple: end the state of emergency, hold new elections, and grant the freedom to form parties without state interference. But these demands would amount to opening up the political space to everyone across Egypt’s social and political structure. That would involve constitutional and statutory changes, such as reforming Egypt as a parliamentary rather than a presidential system, in which a freely elected majority selects the prime minister (who is now appointed by the president). These changes would wipe away the power structure the army created in 1952 and has backed since.
A freely elected parliament and a reconstituted government would weaken the role of the presidency, a position the military is likely to try to keep in its portfolio. Moreover, open elections could hand the new business elites power in parliament where they could work to limit the role of the army in the economy. This would put the army’s vast economic holdings — from the ubiquitous propane cylinders that provide all Egyptian homes with cooking gas to clothing, food, and hotels — in jeopardy. Moreover, the army has always preferred that the country be orderly and hierarchical. It is uncomfortable with the growing participatory festival on the streets and, even if the officers were to tolerate more contestation than their grandfathers did in the 1950s, they would likely try to limit participation in politics to those whose lives have been spent in the military by retaining the system of presidential appointment for government ministers.
Sigh…
Update #2: Now they’re saying that the Army threatened to bolt, if Mubarak did not quit:
A mystery solved, maybe: Richard Engel claims that senior Egyptian military leaders expected Mubarak to quit yesterday and were “furious” when he didn’t, going so far as to threaten to resign and join the protests if he didn’t do so today. True, or self-serving spin after the fact aimed at proving that they were on the people’s side all along? The rumor yesterday was that Mubarak’s speech was pre-recorded; if that’s true, then if the military disapproved of it, presumably they could have stopped it from airing. I still like my “trial balloon” theory from way up top in this post better.
Actually, both could be the case. The President could have made that video to test the waters; and when he saw it did not work, he bolted. Plus, during that time, the Army could have simply said “get out!” It could have been a mutual decision. The truth is, I highly doubt that we will ever know what really happened; at least not for a very long time.
Just my opinion. 😛
Also too; I will confess; I am shocked that he resigned. I figure that Mubarak would hang on and we would continue to prop him up, to keep the Saudi’s from doing it. I guess not! Maybe the pressure was just too much.
Update #3: Here’s the video, But I must ask, as the Anchoress did on twitter: Where was this speech when the Green Revolution first got going in Iran?Update #4: After writing that, I had a little time to think about it; and besides the oil thing, which I wrote about below, there is also another reason why Obama did not engage with Iran, like he did Egypt. The reason is this; put simply, we do not have normalized relations with Iran, like we do Egypt. We have not had that sort of a thing, since the Carter Administration. So, being that the case; there was not much Obama could do, without causing an uproar; that would have resulted in Oil and Gas prices going through the roof — of which the Republican Party would have blamed him for, like they have done about everything else. 😀 Sorry, it is the truth. Not popular among those on the right, but just the same, quite true.
There’s one answer to that; Oil — That’s right oil. If we had done the same thing in Iran. That Strait of Hormuz would have been shut down so quick; and the price of a barrel of oil would have sky rocketed, and our gas prices would have went through the roof. That is why President Obama did nothing more than they did in Iran.
For all of President Obama’s faults, one main one being his politics —- being an uninformed idiot is not one of them. I am all for Iran having Freedom, but not at the cost of gas going to 8 dollars a gallon.
“In the process many have formed some unusual bonds that reflect the singularly nonideological character of the Egyptian youth revolt, which encompasses liberals, socialists and members of the Muslim Brotherhood.
‘I like the Brotherhood most, and they like me,’ said Sally Moore, a 32-year-old psychiatrist, a Coptic Christian and an avowed leftist and feminist of mixed Irish-Egyptian roots. “They always have a hidden agenda, we know, and you never know when power comes how they will behave. But they are very good with organizing, they are calling for a civil state just like everyone else, so let them have a political party just like everyone else’”
Perhaps maybe next Bill Kristol ought to keep his mouth shut. Because every time Kristol opens his mouth, he exposes himself for the Neo-Conservative buffoon that he really is.
More broadly though is Glenn’s point, which is that an Islamic/left caliphate will happen; it could very well happen. Far Leftists and Muslims have one thing in common, that is their hatred of Israel — or specifically, a hatred of Zionism and everything, and everyone related to it. The problem is; these people in their quest to see Egypt free would be willing to risk their lives to trust people, who would actually like to kill them, once Sharia law was enacted.
The fear among Government officials, including the United States, is that this new Government will install a leader that will want to declare war on Israel or at least be unfriendly to Israel; you know like Iran? However, no matter, “The One” will extend his mighty hand and all will be fine in the Middle East — Right? Right?!?!
The problem with Kristol’s idea of “The enemy of my enemy is my friend” is that the people of Egypt had no civil rights and the Neo-Conservatives, like Bill Kristol, do not care about civil rights; as long as Israel is protected until the very last ounce of money is spent and the last drop of blood is spilled. This has been the Neo-Conservative’s modus operandi since day one and they do not show any signs of changing anytime soon.
The good news is that the Neo-Conservatives are losing their grip on the intellectual discourse here in America. The still might have their op-eds. However, the American Tea-Party movement came with the agenda of “No more business as usual.” Questions are being asked about the wisdom of foreign policy. Neo-Conservatives position on foreign policy is being challenged by many with the Republican Party and from within the Conservative movement. We Paleo-Conservatives are no longer outcasts; and that my friend is good for everyone.
More than four years after leaving public life, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld continues to believe the war in Iraq was worth the effort, and has no apologies for his decision-making in leading the campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq.
In an exclusive interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer, Rumsfeld concedes that “it’s possible” that decisions on how many troops to send into Iraq marked the biggest mistake of the war.
“In a war, many things cost lives,” Rumsfeld told Sawyer.
Pressed on the fact that President Bush has written that cutting troop levels in Iraq was “the most important failure in the execution of the war,” Rumsfeld called that “interesting.”
I do not much care for the man. He is, in my humble opinion, an ignoramus. But he does have his opinions and he is a human being.
Get the Book:
I also highly recommend George W. Bush’s book as well:
Fox News’s Glenn Beck lashed out at Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol on his radio show this morning, accusing Kristol of betraying conservatism and missing the significance of what Beck sees as an alliance between Islamism and socialism.
“I don’t even know if you understand what conservatives are anymore, Billy,” Beck said in his extended, sarcastic attack on Kristol. “People like Bill Kristol, I don’t think they stand for anything any more. All they stand for is power. They’ll do anything to keep their little fiefdom together, and they’ll do anything to keep the Republican power entrenched.”
[…]
Kristol’s words drew an approving nod from National Review’s Rich Lowry, a rare public repudiation of the influential Fox host from a conservative elite that quietly dislikes him.
Beck, in response, defended his broad theories by reading from the work of the Muslim writer Zudhi Jasser, a sharp critic of most Muslim leaders, to argue of the threat from “Islamic socialism.” He also accused Kristol of propping up Hosni Mubarak, of being stuck in 1973, and of failing to see that “we are fighting the forces of evil on this planet.”
“I think he’s still trying to get Bob Dole elected, i’m not really sure,” said Beck.
“Have you done a minute of research Bill?” Beck asked later, promising to expose the ties between the left and Islamic radicals during this week’s television show and advising Kristol, “Just watch the show in the next week.”
The real hilarious part? Not one time did Glenn Beck use the term Neo-Conservative! He also brought Barry Goldwater into it. Drawing a line from Bill Kristol to Barry Goldwater is about as dumb as drawing a line from Pat Buchanan to Vladimir Lenin. What Glenn Beck was trying to say, but failed to do it right; was that Kristol is a part of the “Big Government” wing of the Republican Party — like the Rockefeller‘s were. So, if he had used that name — it would have made total sense. But, I give him credit for at least taking Kristol to task.
Glenn Beck might be paranoid and a bit of hand wringer; but once and a while — he knocks one out of the ballpark! Now, if we could just work on that little shrill voice of his…. 😉 😛
Two of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s closest allies, his new vice president, Omar Suleiman, and his defense minister, Hussein Tantawi, are quietly working on a plan under which Mubarak would step down from power, according to a U.S. scholar who has been staying in regular touch with the Egyptian political and military leadership.
“They want to be sure that Mubarak is going to cooperate,” said Stephen P. Cohen, president of the Institute for Middle East Peace and Development and a longtime confidant of Egyptian and Israeli leaders.
The two-part plan, according to Cohen, would involve the immediate removal of 100 members of the Egyptian Parliament whose election this past fall was seen as illegitimate. They would be replaced by 100 candidates who were barred from running in the election or who were defeated because of government meddling in the election process.
A second possible step would be the organization of new parliamentary and presidential elections. The plan, according to Cohen, “requires [Mubarak] to give up his office.” Asked whether Mubarak would do that, Cohen answered, “He is getting ready to do so.”
***
The White House on Sunday dispatched a former ambassador to Egypt, Frank Wisner, to fly to Cairo to urge the Egyptian government to, at the very least, embrace political reforms.
“As someone with deep experience in the region,” a White House official says, Wisner “is meeting with Egyptian officials and providing his assessment.”
Senior officials would not discuss whether Wisner was charged with showing Mubarak the door. Wisner, the ambassador to Egypt from 1986 to 1991, is currently in Cairo.
A major readjustment to administration rhetoric in response to the crisis in Egypt came on Sunday when the phrase of the day was “orderly transition.”
The president issued a statement saying he supports “an orderly transition to a government that is responsive to the aspirations of the Egyptian people.” And Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took to the Sunday shows to make that argument. “it needs to be an orderly, peaceful transition to real democracy,” she said.
But transition to what?
[…]
One administration official tells ABC News: “we don’t know.”
Looks like this situation is a bit more complicated than many first thought.
Looks like this is going to turn out to be a very interesting story.
But, as a Paleo-Conservative, I simply say, this is what happens when American involves itself in foreign entanglements. This is that blowback; and Israel is going to suffer for it.
Please note: The posting on this video does NOT constitute support for all of the views therein. It is posted for your education and information.
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Synopsis: In the 78th edition of the Reality Report, Gary Franchi draws the direct parallels America shares with Hitler’s Germany and provides the solution to avoiding their terrible fate. We take a look at Ron Paul’s Texas Straight Talk where he discusses what a new found interest in the Constitution could mean for America. CEO of Euro Pacific Capital, Peter Schiff tells us why the Chinese modeled their currency after the U.S. dollar. We also hear from the former U.S. military analyst who is responsible for leaking the Pentagon Papers, Daniel Ellsberg. He explains the recent war on whistle-blowers. Chris Mathews latest hypocrisy is revealed and Angie breaks down the news. As always we take a dip into the mailbag, reveal the results from last weeks viewer poll and brand a new Enemy of the State.
Reckon them Ruskies will learn to take terrorism seriously now? I say this because it seems that the Russians never really took terrorism that seriously. They acted as if it was a USA problem with the World. Maybe now they will look at things a bit differently.
Prayers for the people in the area.
Update: Here is the video of the actual attack from security camera:
Because there is a lack of stuff to really blog about, I figured it would be time to post some good old fashioned gun porn — and boy do I have a bunch to post!
