This blog is no longer active as of October 31, 2011
This comes via the Lady herself:
For those of you who do not like the idea of posting what Pamela has to say; I have two things to say —- first, as Herman Cain would say, “I does not care.” Also, I would say to those who would have a problem with me posting this video, I would politely ask you to go see Helen Waite and ask for directions.
God Bless America.
I will be the very first to confess that there are issues in politics that I very high disagree with Patrick J. Buchanan on. However, Mr. Buchanan does have a good idea of what Conservatism should be about; having said that, let me personally recommend this article here by Patrick Buchanan. Again, I have disagreed with the man, at times; but this is not one of them.
This article ought to be in the e-mail inbox of every darned last Conservative in America this morning.
Remember what I wrote earlier about Iraq?
Well, it seems that our fearless leader might just be trying to pull a con game.
I will say one thing about the writer I just linked to; he is a liberal Democrat, I will say that, but he is a very consistent, Spencer Ackerman went after Bush and his handling of Iraq during the Bush era and now he is doing it with the Obama Administration. For this, he does get some credit, although, I doubt he would want to hear it from my quarters.
I give him props, at least he is a bit more brave than the MSM.
This should be really interesting:
The Story:
The Obama administration has decided to withdraw all U.S. forces from Iraq by the end of the year after failing to reach an agreement with the Iraqi government that would have left several thousand troops there for special operations and training.
President Obama and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki spoke Friday morning to cement that agreement in a scheduled telephone call.
The two leaders also agreed to continue informally discussing the need for and the terms of a U.S. military presence in Iraq into next year, people familiar with the agreement said. As a result, the only U.S. military presence that will remain in Iraq after the end of the year will be the roughly 150 troops needed to protect the large U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad and its thousands of American diplomats and other personnel, as well as provide training related to new military sales and other tasks.
“The rest of our troops in Iraq will come home at the end of the year,” Obama said Friday at the White House. “After nearly nine years, America’s war in Iraq will be over.”
via All U.S. troops to leave Iraq by the end of 2011 – The Washington Post.
I have some very mixed feelings on this little news story. In fact, my entire basis for returning to writing since my childhood days; as I was very good in English in school – and for my foray into the world of political blogging in the first place — was this subject right here —- Iraq.
As my about me page does say, I was not always a blogger on the right. I still do not consider myself a “Republican,” although I do find myself voting for them now, more than I do Democrats. This is because the Democrats are on the wrong side of the argument, polices that the Democrats have tried have failed miserably, as bloggers as myself predicted that they would. However, when I came into this thing called “blogging,” I was not in the camp of the Conservative thought. I came into this thing called blogging with fierce anger at President George W. Bush.
I was right then about George W. Bush and I still feel that I am; however, I am a bit more educated into what the motivating forces were behind the invasion of Iraq and I no longer believe the idiotic nonsense peddled by the far left about Bush and the invasion of Iraq. Put simply, we invaded Iraq, based upon some very bad intelligence from Germany. There was not plan to lie to the American people, so that we could invade Iraq to please Israel, which is what the far left believes in this Country. Which is a talking point that is rooted in fallacy and in an Anti-Jewish and Anti-Israel bias that exists on the far left and in some quarters of the far right as well.
The main underlining factor in the decision to go into Iraq was a foreign policy stance that I feel is one of the worst ever conceived by man — Wilsonian foreign policy. I believed that the day I pressed the “Create Blog” button over on blogger.com to create my first blog originally called “The Populist Moderate” and I still believe that today. Although, at the time, I did not know what it was called, I just knew something was not right and I felt the need to speak out about it.
AllahPundit over at HotAir.com notes some very interesting ramifications over this decision by the President’s decision to pull our troops out of Iraq. The political angle is that Obama actually wants to be reelected in 2012. Not that this will help him at all; the liberal left still will not vote again for him, because the economy is still in the proverbial toilet. I said back in 2010 that we were just making it a little harder for Iran to invade and overthrow Iraq; and it appears that I was at least partially correct. Like AllahPundit said, with this new terrorist plot being uncovered against an official of the Saudi Government, it looks like Iraq might be the new battleground for a proxy war between Iran and the Saudi Government.
Overall, it essentially looks as if Obama decided that if he could not get what he wanted from the Iraqi Government; that he essentially said, “Screw them, and let them deal with their own problems.” Which at first glance, might be a good thing, but when you really look at it, it does not look good at all. All the world would need right now is a horrible war between the Saudis and the Iranians. You think the gas shortage of the 1970’s was bad; you wait until the Saudis and Iranians go to war! We will all be driving bikes everywhere. Gas and other such fuels will become luxury items quick. The only people that are most likely breathing a sigh of relief are the Syrians, who are most likely glad that this proxy war will not be fought in their backyards.
So my bottom line is this: While this might be a minor victory for the liberal left; in the long run, this is going to be major pain various places, including our wallets in the very long run.
Update: As I also suspected, but did not write about, because I was not too sure whether it was true or not — we are leaving and it is IRAQ’S idea, not ours:
Former Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, for instance, is a hugely pro-American politician who believes Iraq’s security forces will be incapable of protecting the country without sustained foreign assistance. But in a recent interview, he refused to endorse a U.S. troop extension and instead indicated that they should leave.
“We have serious security problems in this country and serious political problems,” he said in an interview late last month at his heavily guarded compound in Baghdad. “Keeping Americans in Iraq longer isn’t the answer to the problems of Iraq. It may be an answer to the problems of the U.S., but it’s definitely not the solution to the problems of my country.”
Welcome to Post-Iraq Middle East; it is going to be an interesting next few years. 😯
This ought to be a lesson to every last Democrat who voted for Obama and Biden.
The Video:
The Story:
With the approval of the Obama administration, an electric car company that received a $529 million federal government loan guarantee is assembling its first line of cars in Finland, saying it could not find a facility in the United States capable of doing the work.
Vice President Joseph Biden heralded the Energy Department’s $529 million loan to the start-up electric car company called Fisker as a bright new path to thousands of American manufacturing jobs. But two years after the loan was announced, the job of assembling the flashy electric Fisker Karma sports car has been outsourced to Finland.
“There was no contract manufacturer in the U.S. that could actually produce our vehicle,” the car company’s founder and namesake told ABC News. “They don’t exist here.”
Henrik Fisker said the U.S. money so far has been spent on engineering and design work that stayed in the U.S., not on the 500 manufacturing jobs that went to a rural Finnish firm, Valmet Automotive.
“We’re not in the business of failing; we’re in the business of winning. So we make the right decision for the business,” Fisker said. “That’s why we went to Finland.”
via Car Company Gets U.S. Loan, Builds Cars In Finland – ABC News.
Here is the real-world translation to that last line in that story; we did not want to have to deal with the labor unions in this United States, so we moved our manufacturing overseas.
Take note my Democratic Party friends who happen to read this blog, all two of you. This is what happens to the Democrats and their union counterparts, when they elect internationalist Democrats, who really do not give a care about what happens to American workers. Internationalist Democrats and their Republican counterparts, the globalists — like Richard Nixon, who do not care about American workers, they are corporatists, who support crony capitalism.
This right here is a perfect example of why the relations between the Democratic Party and the labor unions are frosty at best. That is because the Democratic Party for the last few instances that they have won elections, have been putting internationalist Democrats into the White House. This type of a Democrat talks a nice game, and puts out platitudes to the American autoworkers and their representatives in the unions; but when the “Rubber hits the road” so to speak, things change. They begin showing their true colors and start doing things to kick dirt in the face of the American worker.
I do not write this as a Conservative mocking the left, goodness no. I write this as someone who has a father, who is a retired General Motors worker, who is a member of the UAW. If anyone would know how the Democratic Party has treated the American autoworker in the last 30 years, it would be me. There was a time in this Country, when the Democratic Party used to respect the American autoworker and would literally step in front a train to defend them. Sadly, that time has passed, as the unions have lost their influence amongst the Democratic Party.
The loss of that influence in the Democratic Party is partially due to the actions of the internationalist Democrats, like Bill Clinton, who signed into law NAFTA and TAFTA. Some of that loss of influence is also due to the declining membership roles within the UAW and other said unions. Either way, it is sad transition in America, when our politicians in Washington D.C. put interests abroad before interests here at home.
Some of my readers, all three of you, might be shocked to see that I do not take a more mocking tone on stories like this and here is why I do not; Pat Buchanan said it best once, on one issue that I actually agree with him on — the American worker. Pat once said, “As goes Detroit, goes the Nation,” and you know what? Pat Buchanan is right about that, the United States of America used to be a manufacturing marvel. We produced everything ourselves, and other Countries used to come here to see how we did it all. Sadly, those times have come and gone, due to many reasons, a list of which is longer than the length of this blog entry will permit.
What is solution you ask, I know what it is; but most of the people who will come here to read, will not agree with it. However, I will give the solution. Firstly, the solution is NOT to bust up the unions, as they have as much right to proper representation, as the company owners have a right to make a profit. The solution to the problem is to get rid of these idiotic so-called “Free Trade” agreements. Secondly, the solution is to impose strict tariffs on EVERYTHING and I do mean everything that is manufactured overseas and imported into our Country.
These actions would do a couple of things; firstly it would protect the American workers from the globalists who want to undercut the American worker to make a quick dollar on the backs of cheap sweatshop labor in foreign countries like China. Secondly, it would solve our Nation’s revenue problem by creating a reliable source of income; one of which we did have in this Country for a very long time, before the globalists ripped it out, in favor of trade agreements.
Further, the solution is in whom we elect; Republicans and Democrats alike need to elect those who put America’s interests first, and not the interests who those abroad. To be fair, Republicans have done this too in this past and we as Americans need to watch what these new crop of Republicans really represent; do they represent the interests of the crony capitalists or do they have the American people’s interests in mind? Supposedly, the Tea Party movement brought some of this “America First” type of populism to the Conservative movement, but as of late, it seems that the Tea Party was nothing more than a passing fad. I just hope the people, who went to these protests, use the principles that were promoted at the Tea Party rallies, at the ballot box come November 2012.
Others: Michelle Malkin, New York Times, New York Magazine, The Heritage Foundation, Questions and Observations, Fantastical Andrew Fox, RedState, The Strata-Sphere, Hot Air, Sky Dancing, Conservatives4Palin, americanthinker.com, Big Government, Weasel Zippers, Fire Andrea Mitchell!, JammieWearingFool and Betsy’s Page
Despite what Rush Limbaugh and what Max Fisher over at the Atlantic might be saying; the President is right to be sending troops in this region. I will explain what I mean. The Lord’s Resistance Army is not a group of Christian missionaries or anything of that sort; it is a group of terrorists, who maim and kill — all the while hiding behind some sort of perverted pseudo-Christian doctrine.
I realize that the Conservative Blogosphere’s goal is to discredit this President and everything that he does. However, in this case, the President, in fact, is taking the correct steps in stopping this crazed group of thugs from hurting any more people than they already have. It was the right thing to do and we as Conservatives, who believe that no one should have to suffer at the hands of crazed tyrants, should be supporting the President’s action in this case.
I also understand that this group has been fighting against Muslims in the area, while I do not agree with the tenants of the Muslim faith. I do not believe that the methods being used by the group are legal, sane, or even moral. Furthermore, I believe the slaughter of innocent people, including the elderly is very an immoral act to commit.
I also realize that there are some, who are Conservative, might feel that the President is engaging in too many conflicts. Let me say this, this is not an engagement for the protection of empire; this is an engagement for the cause of morality. For many years, the United States of America has been the beacon of Democracy and for Christian morality throughout the entire World. What this group is doing to the people of that region is vile and immoral; in the case, I believe it is the United States of America’s responsibility to the insure that innocent people are no harmed any longer.
In closing: While this blog and its owner might disagree with the President’s domestic policy, I do wholeheartedly agree with the President’s decision to put a stop to the treachery that is taking place in this Country and to its people. I commend the President for stepping up to the plate and insuring the protection of the citizens of Uganda. It is my fervent hope and prayer, that the Lord’s Resistance Army is stopped from inflecting any more violence on innocent people.
This does not look good at all. 🙁
FBI and DEA agents have disrupted a plot to commit a “significant terrorist act in the United States” tied to Iran, federal officials told ABC News today.
The officials said the plot included the assassination of the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United States, Adel Al-Jubeir, with a bomb and subsequent bomb attacks on the Saudi and Israeli embassies in Washington, D.C. Bombings of the Saudi and Israeli embassies in Buenos Aires, Argentina, were also discussed, according to the U.S. officials.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in an announcement today that the plan was “conceived, sponsored and was directed from Iran” by a faction of the government and called it a “flagrant” violation of U.S. and international law.
“The U.S. is committed to holding Iran accountable for its actions,” Holder said. He said the White House will be meeting with federal agencies before announcing “further action” in regards to Iran.
FBI Director Robert Mueller said the arrest of a suspect in the plot shows the U.S. will “bring the full weight of [the] law to bear on those responsible” and that “any attempts on American soil will not be tolerated.”
The stunning allegations come against a backdrop of longstanding tensions between Iran and the United States and Saudi Arabia. In the last year, Saudi Arabia has attempted to build an anti-Iran alliance to push back against perceived aggression by Iran in the region.
via U.S. Says Iran-Tied Terror Plot in Washington, D.C. Disrupted – ABC News.
This basically proves my point; that Bush did not do enough after 9/11. If Bush had acted like a real President and not like a wet rag after 9/11, we would not have this sort of troubles. Although, I will admit; I have sneaky feeling that this might spark some sort of Military action. Although, I do not believe it will be of the scale and scope of the War in Iraq.
Ed Morrissey, of whom I respect, says this:
If true, would that not be an act of war? We’re presently using drones in Pakistan and Yemen against al-Qaeda terrorist networks for plotting similar attacks, thanks to the AUMF from October 2001, even though we’re nominally allied with both nations. If the government of Iran plotted attacks on American targets, that should require a response from the US, should it not — or do we send a signal that even attacks from actual nation-states fall under the rubric of law enforcement?
[…]
If we’re charging an official of the Iranian government with complicity or worse in this plot, then it ceases to be a law enforcement issue and becomes a military and political issue instead. This isn’t a case of espionage but of sabotage or worse, which would be an act of war by anyone’s definition. If we’re not willing to respond in kind, we then send a signal to hostile nation-states around the world that attacks on the US are low-risk, high-reward affairs — and we’d better get ready for an avalanche of them.
There are some who would say, “Oh, he is just being a Neoconservative!” That might be so, but he is being a Neoconservative, who happens to be right. Ron Paul and ilk are just dead wrong. when it comes to Iran, Islam and the war on terror. They might have a point on Nation Building; but on this sort of thing, Ron Paul and his mindless followers are simply wrong.
This is a very good read. I think everyone should read it.
It’s by Walter Russell Mead over at the American Interest:
“If the Pakistanis don’t change their minds, the US must now look to secure its interests in postwar Afghanistan without Pakistan’s help and even over its determined opposition. Pakistan’s plan for postwar Afghanistan (a country controlled by radical Islamists in a close relationship with Pakistan who are committed to jihad in South and Central Asia and elsewhere) would turn the country into a petri dish for terror plots and a magnet for deranged and violent fanatics from all over the world. Preventing this outcome is why the US has been at war in Afghanistan for so long; securing that outcome is the chief strategic goal of a powerful wing of the somewhat fragmented and confused Pakistani national security system.”
I’ve always said that the Pakstani’s were double dealing us. This proves that.
(H/T Insty)
This isn’t good, at all. 😯
Via The Blaze:
Last week, an Iranian Naval Commander threatened to deploy ships off the U.S. coast as a provocative show of force.
Now it looks like Iran might actually be serious.
A new map that allegedly shows the expected path of the Iranian Naval expedition to the U.S has leaked online from an Iranian website, according to MEMRI.
The unprecedented route for the Islamic Republic would take Iranian ships through the Suez Canal and into the warm waters of the Caribbean, a total nautical distance of approximately 9000 miles. According to MEMRI, Iranian media sources claim:
“In this new and feasible mission, the ships of the navy of the Iranian Army will sail west, towards the Strait of Gibraltar, after they enter the Mediterranean. Subsequently, they will enter the Atlantic Ocean, and from there they must traverse the long distance to their destination off Cuba, in the Gulf of Mexico, and Central and South America.”
[…]
MEMRI pulled a second map from the Iranian website that had no accompanying description, but showed a number of western countries in different colors, including the U.S., Cuba, Venezuela, Panama, Ecuador and Brazil. See Below:
The Iranian regime has already established close ties to Venezuela and Cuba, but the inclusion of the other Central and South American countries remains unclear, according to MEMRI.
In addition, an unconfirmed report in an Italian newspaper in September claimed Hezbollah– a terrorist proxy of Iran– has opened up a base in Cuba. This allegation was repeated by Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann just last week.
Whether Iran launches this aggressive naval action or not, the Ayatollahs are clearly looking for ways to agitate the United States and complicate international efforts to contain the number one global sponsor of terrorism.
You can read the full report and detailed analysis on the Iranian maps here.
Ron Paul was, of course, unavailable for comment.
I wonder if now, Obama will take Iran a bit more seriously than before?
Others: iOwnTheWorld.com, Atlas Shrugs
I really had no intention of writing about this silly story; but, because it is to the point that it is starting to sound ridiculous, I felt some commentary was warranted.
Firstly, my positions:
Look, I think this sort of “Guilt by association” thing is nuts — to a point. What I mean is this — it is one thing to be a part of a Church, who’s Pastor says things, such as “God Damn America” and you, your wife and kids go there and interact with those people. It is another entirely to try to tie someone to, of all things — a rock, that was painted over long before you even rented the property.
Furthermore, I think Conservatives who are attacking Herman Cain need to shut up. Herman Cain is a black man and I do believe that entitles the man to make any comment about race or racism that he sees fit make, if he so feels fit to do so. Besides all of that, Herman Cain said he was not playing the race card and I do tend to believe him. Herman Cain is not Al Sharpton my friends, nor is he Louis Farrakhan; and I believe Conservatives should not be reacting to Herman Cain’s comments as if he is Louis Farrakhan or Al Sharpton either.
My biggest issue with Rick Perry is from Texas and that he possesses a bit of that Texas swagger. The United States of America, nor the Republican Party, nor the Conservative movement need another Texas swagger leader again. We had that for eight years in this Country and it did nothing for this Country, at all. We found this out with Iraq, the bailouts, no child left behind and all of the rest of the former President’s blunders. Granted, this current President makes the former look like a Rhodes Scholar. However, I do not wear partisan blinders and I know full of the blunders of the last President. My question to all of you is; do we want that….again?
Thus is the conflict of conservative politics — purity versus electability. If conservative politics were drugs, Ron Paul is Persian white heroin. The problem is this; Ron Paul addicts, as it were, just love him. The rest of us, are scared to death of him and his foreign policy! Therefore, to be clear here, I am, by no means, a Bill Kristol or a John Podhoretz type, when it comes to foreign policy — but a little common sense is needed when dealing with the Middle East. I will not belabor the point; I think you all know what I mean here. (I hope!)
Simply put, purity over electability will be the death knell of the Republican Party. Just ask anyone who was around in 1964 in the Republican Party.
There do seem to be two sides to this argument. Check out the exchange over at The National Review Online’s blog, the corner, between Andy McCarthy and Kevin Williamson Also, for good measure check out AllahPundit over Hotair’s feelings about it too. Just a short fun fact, AllahPundit was within 5 miles of the trade center when it was hit on 9/11.
Personally, I feel that the dude should have been killed; he was actively recruiting people for Jihad or in American terms, for war with the United States and would be considered a traitor to the United States. Due process? Feh. The people who died on 9/11 were not given any due process or even a choice whether to live or die. So, that whole bat shit crazy argument does not even fly with me.
Further more, this is why I despise Ron Paul with every damned fiber of my being; the man is a terrorist supporting jackal. Anyone who would side with those, or even have pity of those who would want to hurt this Country, ought be frog marched out into the public square and shot. I am sorry if that offends anyone; but it is just how I feel. Ron Paul and his merry band of leftists are a disgrace to this Country and everything it stands for. They call themselves Republicans and Conservatives — I call them bastards, evil, rotten to the damned core bastards, who should be locked in an insane asylum.
Update: Looks like Gary Johnson feels the same way, which is another reason why neither of these two idiots will ever be President:
Cross-posted at Alexandria
Another one bites the dust:
Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S.-born radical Islamic preacher who rose to the highest level of al Qaeda’s franchise in Yemen, has been killed.
Al-Awlaki, born in New Mexico, has been linked to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s (AQAP) attempted bombing of a U.S. passenger jet over Detroit on Christmas day, 2009, and was thought to be a leader of the group.
A U.S. government official confirms to CBS News senior security correspondent David Martin that al-Awlaki was killed. Yemen’s Defense Ministry was first to tell CBS News of the strike, but given previous reports which turned out to be erroneous, the relatively rapid U.S. confirmation is crucial, and bolsters witness accounts that it was a U.S. drone strike that killed the al Qaeda figure.
The Associated Press reported that an unidentified source said the U.S. believes al-Awlaki was killed in a strike by U.S. jets and drones on his convoy.
U.S. officials considered al-Awlaki a most-wanted terror suspect, and added his name last year to the kill or capture list – making him a rare American addition to what is effectively a U.S. government hit-list.
Al-Awlaki’s father, who still lives in the U.S., filed a lawsuit against the federal government, claiming his son’s civil rights were violated by the U.S. call for his killing.
A federal court dismissed Nasser al-Awlaki’s suit on Dec. 7, 2010, on the grounds that he had no legal standing to challenge the targeting of his son.
A statement from Yemen’s foreign press office said the al Qaeda suspect “was targeted and killed 8 KM (about 5 miles) from the town of Khashef in the Province of Jawf, 140KM (about 80 miles) east of the Capital Sana’a.”
Al-Arabiya television network cited local tribal sources as saying suspected U.S. drone aircraft – which are known to operate in Yemen – fired two missiles Friday at a convoy of vehicles believed to be carrying al-Awlaki and his guards.
Another towel-head puke goes to his 72 virgins. Good place for him; one down, many more to go.
Update: The usual suspect dip shits are now objecting.
Update #2: Ed Morrissey is reporting that American Samir Khan has also been killed
I agree with Debbie here, the so-called religion of peace, strikes again!
The FBI arrested and charged a man Wednesday for allegedly plotting to blow up the Capitol and the Pentagon.
The 26-year-old Massachusetts man, Rezwan Ferdaus, was arrested as part of an FBI sting operation in which he was made to believe he was working with members of al Qaeda, who were actually undercover agents.
Ferdaus allegedly gave the undercover FBI agents a detailed set of attack plans “with step-by-step instructions as to how he planned to attack the Pentagon and Capitol,” according to the Department of Justice.
The plans focused on the use of three small remote-controlled drone-like aircraft loaded with C-4 plastic explosives, which he planned to fly into the Capitol and the Pentagon using GPS equipment, according to the DOJ.
The DOJ stressed that the public was never in danger from the explosive devices, which it said were controlled at all times by undercover FBI officials who closely monitored Ferdaus as he allegedly developed his plot.
According to the DOJ, Ferdaus aimed to create a devastating psychological impact with the attacks, saying at one point, “I just can’t stop; there is no other choice for me.”
via Man arrested in ‘step-by-step’ plot to blow up Capitol, Pentagon – The Hill’s Blog Briefing Room.
The money quote:
Religion of peace? I think not.
I am most likely one of the few people who felt that President Bush did not do enough on 9/11. What President should have done was the following:
There are a bunch more; these are the main ones; instead, Bush did a piece meal war and tried to take a politically correct stance on Islam and Muslims. For this we are still paying for it. Not to mention, the whole Iraq debacle. So, when I hear liberals carping about how horrible Bush’s war was and how horrible Bush handle 9/11. I always smirk and think, what if I were running the Country?
So, there you have it. The Religion of Peace!
Looks like ol’ dinner jacket is looking for trouble….again
Via Reuters:
Iran raised the prospect on Tuesday of sending military ships close to the United States’ Atlantic coast, in what would be a major escalation of tensions between the long-standing adversaries.
“Like the arrogant powers that are present near our marine borders, we will also have a powerful presence close to American marine borders,” the head of the Navy, Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said, according to the official IRNA news agency.
Speaking at a ceremony marking the 31st anniversary of the start of the 1980-1988 war with Iraq, Sayyari gave no details of when such a deployment could happen or the number or type of vessels to be used.
The declaration comes just weeks after Turkey said it would host a NATO early warning radar system which will help spot missile threats from outside Europe, including potentially from Iran. The decision has angered Tehran which had enjoyed close relations with Ankara.
And it comes a few months after Iran sent warships through the Suez canal, after the fall of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, the first time the Islamic Republic had deployed navy vessels in the Mediterranean.
The United States and Israel have not ruled out military action against Iran if diplomacy fails to stop it getting nuclear weapons. Tehran denies it is developing nuclear arms saying its atomic program is for purely peaceful purposes.
Iran has dismissed the threats, warning that it will respond by hitting U.S. interests in the Gulf and Israel if any such attack happened.
There is a big part of me that wants to believe that this is nothing more than saber rattling.
This is not good news. Putin wants to take Russia back to the soviet style communism.
From FT.COM:
Russia’s prime minister Vladimir Putin will return to his post as president next year after he and president Dmitry Medvedev announced they were switching jobs.
The announcement was made on Saturday at the annual conference of United Russia, the hegemonic party that controls two-thirds of Russia’s parliament. It put to rest intrigue over Mr Putin’s next move.
The announcement confirms the long-held impression that Mr Medvedev was only ever a place holder for Mr Putin, who was constitutionally prohibited from a third term after serving as president from 2000-2008.
Mr Putin is now likely to win two consecutive 6 year terms, giving him a total of a quarter century in power from the time he took over the Kremlin in 2000. He remains Russia’s strongest political figure despite stepping aside for four years.
There are some on the partisan right, that would blame Obama for something like this; but I not. The truth is, Putin has wanted to put Russia back into the old Soviet style of communism since the Soviet Union fell. He was in the KGB and was and most likely still is a hardliner.
Can there be a reset of relations? Not with Obama. He is too weak. The next President will have to do that. Hopefully, the Republicans choose wisely.
How stupid do they really believe that the people of Israel really are? This stupid, I guess:
Palestinian officials are rolling out the welcome mat for Jews to come to a new Palestinian state.
Trying to tamp down a controversy over whether a Palestinian state would be Jew-free, Mahmoud Habbash, the Palestinian minister of religious affairs, said a future state would be open to people of all religions, including Jews.
“The future Palestinian state will be open to all its citizens, regardless of their religion,” Habbash said, according to USA Today. “We want a civil state, which in it live all the faiths, Muslim, Christian and Jews also if they agree, (and) accept to be Palestinian citizens.”
Maen Areikat, the Palestine Liberation Organization’s ambassador to the United States, told POLITICO that his comments earlier this week which some interpreted as meaning Jews would not be welcome were misconstrued.
via Palestinian officials: Jews welcome – Josh Gerstein and MJ Lee – POLITICO.com.
If you believe that bunch of ignorant nonsense, I have land to sell you cheap in Texas at a buck an acre.
Any Jew that is foolish enough to buy this sort of foolishness, deserves the very fate that befalls them.
These are the same bastards that attacked us on 9/11, they should never be trusted, ever. 😡
Others: Weasel Zippers, USA Today, Elder of Ziyon
You know, I hate to be an a-hole about this sort of a thing. But there just some things that I cannot and will not overlook.
Anyhow, some woman of Arab and Jewish decent was detained at Detroit Metro Airport on a flight from Denver. She was strip-searched and now has taken to her blog to whine about it and also use racist imagery. For the record, here is a news article about it.
She starts her blog posting:
Silly me. I thought flying on 9/11 would be easy. I figured most people would choose not to fly that day so lines would be short, planes would be lightly filled and though security might be ratcheted up, we’d all feel safer knowing we had come a long way since that dreadful Tuesday morning 10 years ago.
But then armed officers stormed my plane, threw me in handcuffs and locked me up.
At first, when I started reading the post; I actually felt sorry for the lady. You know, innocent woman being strip-searched and such. But then, as I got further in the article, I started seeing things like this:
They took him to another room, and I heard an officer tell him to remove his clothes. He was going to be searched. I could not fully grasp what was happening. I stared at the yellow walls and listened to a few officers talk about the overtime they were racking up, and I decided that I hated country music. I hated speedboats and shitty beer in coozies and fat bellies and rednecks. I thought about Abu Ghraib and the horror to which those prisoners were exposed. I thought about my dad and his prescience. I was glad he wasn’t alive to know about what was happening to me. I thought about my kids, and what would have happened if they had been there when I got taken away. I contemplated never flying again. I thought about the incredible waste of taxpayer dollars in conducting an operation like this. I wondered what my rights were, if I had any at all. Mostly, I could not believe I was sitting in some jail cell in some cold, undisclosed building surrounded by “the authorities.”
[…]
Another female officer, this one in jeans and a t-shirt came to visit me. She introduced herself as an agent–Homeland Security. She removed my handcuffs and had me follow her to a different room down a long hall and through a few doors. As we walked, I got a glimpse of the watch-stealer, a chubby middle-aged white guy with a buzz cut. He didn’t look too different from some of the officers.
[…]
After fingerprinting me and asking me about my height/weight/place and date of birth and so on, a middle-aged white cop with a beer belly and a flat top returned me–without handcuffs–to the cell. I waited, wondering if I would be spending the night locked up. I thought about the last words my husband said to me while I was still on the plane waiting on the tarmac, “They must have found out there was a Hebshi on the plane.” We joke about this at times, that because of my ethnicity I am being scrutinized but I had no intention of putting that out to the universe and making it happen.
…and the real humdinger is this one:
I thought about Malcom X and how bravely and fastidiously he studied and wrote while he was in prison, how his solitude enabled him to transform his anger into social change and personal betterment. That’s when I decided to write this post. I needed to explain what had happened–was happening–to me. I was not going to be silent. Still, I wondered what my rights were, and though I felt violated and scared I wasn’t sure that our new laws protected me from this treatment.
There is also this….:
I wondered what my rights were, and though I felt violated and scared I wasn’t sure that our new laws protected me from this treatment.
If this woman wants any sympathy from me, she needs to get off of the racist stereotypes of white people. If I would have penned this article, ripping on this woman, because she happens to be a Jewish/Arab half breed, I would be called every sort of names, you know, like Anti-Semitic and racist? I found that to be extremely offensive and I told her so, in some very colorful language as to that fact.
Further more, what about the people in the World Trade Center towers, who had to choose between burning alive or being crushed to death or jumping from the building and dying. You do not think those people did not feel violated and scared?
Again, I do not cheer this woman’s misfortune, but this is the era we live in; the post-911 era. Thanks to the action of a group of Arab Muslim terrorists, we now live into a era of hyper-security. If this woman wants to register a complaint; she should try registering it to Al-Qaeda, better yet, let her register a complaint to the Muslim community here in America and abroad and condemn them for not standing up and saying that they are not doing enough to stand up against radical Muslims.
I have to wonder, how much of that story was embellished or as we usually call it — made up?
Remember folks, As Debbie Schlussel says, 9/11 was a MUSLIM Job and we, the American people were the true victims, not Arabs or Muslims. But then again, this woman sounds like a moronic liberal idiot, who always thinks directly backward of a sane, rational, human being. As Dr. Michael Savage says — Liberalism is a mental disorder. Update: Don’t believe me? Just look right here. How stupid can people be?!? 🙄
Others: The Atlantic Online, Hit & Run Gothamist Business Insider, The Atlantic Online and msnbc.com — via Memeorandum
Update: It appears that my article has hit a nerve. I got one thing to say…:
You see, nobody thought of their rights. No one cared. Liberals, Muslims and Democrats thought we were the “Great Satan” and deserved it. This is why I bitched about this article.
This is a series of articles by Author Kelleigh Nelson; who was a classmate of Hillary Clinton and a Goldwater Girl back in the day.
I found the last one to be terribly interesting and I thought you all would enjoy reading these.
The proper task of the “public intellectual” might be conceived as the responsibility to introduce complexity into the argument: the reminder that things are very infrequently as simple as they can be made to seem. But what I learned in a highly indelible manner from the events and arguments of September 2001 was this: Never, ever ignore the obvious either. To the government and most of the people of the United States, it seemed that the country on 9/11 had been attacked in a particularly odious way (air piracy used to maximize civilian casualties) by a particularly odious group (a secretive and homicidal gang: part multinational corporation, part crime family) that was sworn to a medieval cult of death, a racist hatred of Jews, a religious frenzy against Hindus, Christians, Shia Muslims, and “unbelievers,” and the restoration of a long-vanished and despotic empire.
To me, this remains the main point about al-Qaida and its surrogates. I do not believe, by stipulating it as the main point, that I try to oversimplify matters. I feel no need to show off or to think of something novel to say. Moreover, many of the attempts to introduce “complexity” into the picture strike me as half-baked obfuscations or distractions. These range from the irredeemably paranoid and contemptible efforts[MN1] to pin responsibility for the attacks onto the Bush administration or the Jews, to the sometimes wearisome but not necessarily untrue insistence that Islamic peoples have suffered oppression. (Even when formally true, the latter must simply not be used as nonsequitur special pleading for the use of random violence by self-appointed Muslims.)
Underlying these and other attempts to change the subject there was, and still is, a perverse desire to say that the 9/11 atrocities were in some way deserved, or made historically more explicable, by the many crimes of past American foreign policy. Either that, or—to recall the contemporary comments of the “Reverends” Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson—a punishment from heaven for American sinfulness. (The two ways of thinking, one of them ostensibly “left” and the other “right,” are in fact more or less identical.) That this was an assault upon our society, whatever its ostensible capitalist and militarist “targets,” was again thought too obvious a point for a clever person to make. It became increasingly obvious, though, with every successive nihilistic attack on London, Madrid, Istanbul, Baghdad, and Bali. There was always some “intellectual,” however, to argue in each case that the policy of Tony Blair, or George Bush, or the Spanish government, was the “root cause” of the broad-daylight slaughter of civilians. Responsibility, somehow, never lay squarely with the perpetrators.
I very, very, very highly recommend you to head on over and read this article. I do not know if
Others: normblog
It sure looks that way. (H/T Drudge)
Recent revolutions in the Arab world and the deteriorating ties with Turkey are raising the likelihood of a regional war in the Middle East, IDF Home Front Command Chief, Major General Eyal Eisenberg warned Monday.
“It looks like the Arab Spring, but it can also be a radical Islamic winter,” he said in a speech at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.
“This leads us to the conclusion that through a long-term process, the likelihood of an all-out war is increasingly growing,” the IDF general said.
“Iran has not abandoned its nuclear program. The opposite it true; it continues full steam ahead,” he said. “In Egypt, the army is collapsing under the burden of regular security operations, and this is reflected in the loss of control in the Sinai and the turning of the border with Israel into a terror border, with the possibility that Sinai will fall under the control of an Islamic entity.”
“In Lebanon, Hezbollah is growing stronger within government arms, but it has not lost its desire to harm Israel, and the ties with Turkey aren’t at their best,” Major General Eisenberg added.
Referring to what he characterized as the possibility of a “radical Islamic winter,” Major-General Eisenberg said: “This raises the likelihood of an all-out, total war, with the possibility of weapons of mass destruction being used.”
During his address, the senior IDF official revealed that new, more lethal arms surfaced in the hands of Gaza terror groups during the latest round of fighting in the area. As result of the disturbing development, Israeli civilians were instructed to adopt greater precautions, he said.
via IDF general: Likelihood of regional war growing – Israel News, Ynetnews.
Needless to say, I believe the Republicans will make this a wedge issue during the campaign. They are now, to a limited extent. But, I expect to see more of that, after the primaries. Because to many, who are Jewish; and those of us who are supporters of Israel. Obama’s attitude is basically, “I don’t give a shit” when it comes to Israel and the Jews. For the most part, the Republicans own this issue; the notable exception being Ron Paul. Which is all you need to know about the man.
Hmmmmmmmm……:
The Israeli Navy (INF) has decided to boost its presence and patrols near Israel’s maritime border with Egypt due to a viable terror threat in the area.
Israeli security sources told the Associated Press on Monday that two additional warships have been dispatched to Israel’s Red Sea border with Egypt. Another source stressed that the operation was routine, telling Reuters that “two naval craft have been sent to the Red Sea. This is not unusual.”
On Monday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen Benny Gantz ordered that deployment across the entire southern sector be bolstered, especially in the area near the Israel-Egypt border, following intelligence indicating an imminent threat
via Report: Israel sends 2 warships to Egyptian border – Israel News, Ynetnews.
Some would brush this off as routine. But then, there’s this:
Meanwhile, Iran‘s Press TV reported Monday that Tehran has decided to dispatch the 15th fleet to the Red Sea once more.
Iran’s Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari told the state-run agency that the Islamic Republic is planning to send its 15th fleet to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, adding that the fleet’s main operational objective will be to patrol the high seas and thwart pirate raids.
The Islamic Republic’s 15th fleet is comprised of a submarine and a several warships.
Sayyari noted that Iran’s Navy plans to have “an active presence in the high seas in line with the guidelines of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei with the purpose of serving the country’s interests.
“The presence of Iran’s army in the high seas will convey the message of peace and friendship to all countries,” he said.
The stage would be being set here for a battle; I would hope not, but you never know, when it comes to these two Countries. What worries me is this; Iran has diplomatic ties with Russia. If Putin gets involved in this, Russia would turn against Israel. This would fulfill Biblical prophecy.
An important anniversary is coming up. 9/11. It has been 10 years. Can you believe it? I cannot.
This is the video that many are talking about; it is the best 9/11 interview that I have ever seen.
A special thank you to The Right Scoop for find this one.
I present this without commentary.
Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3:
May it never happen again, ever.
This is unreal.
This will put you up to speed:
I believe that it is about time that we that truly believe that the fight for America is a real one; need to take stock of who is truly in this battle and who was in it, just when it was fashionable. Because to me, it truly seems that some of the bloggers, who were truly in this battle; like say back in 2003, were in it for purely political reasons and now that the spotlight of truth is being turned on one of the GOP’s own, some people are beginning to let their true colors show.
The sad thing is this; it seems to me that the battle that is going on is boiling down to the Jewish faction of the GOP versus the non-Jewish faction of the GOP. It seems that the non-Jewish faction of the GOP seems to believe that radical Islam is no longer a threat to America, as it once was and the Jewish faction of the GOP does see radical Islam as a real threat to this great Republic of ours and the freedoms that we, as Americans, enjoy.
It also saddens me that Ace has seemed to take a stance against Religion in general. Just look at the comments in the posts that I linked to on his blog. Some of the comments over there are borderline Anti-Semite and furthermore, most of them are anti-Christian. As a libertarian-minded Conservative, I believe in a man’s right to freedom of speech and I believe in a man’s right to a freedom from a Religion if he so chooses. However, as a Christian; I find the using of a blog, like Ace’s, to mock, degrade and deride Religion, especially Judaism and the Christian Faith to be most offensive. Yes, I know that Ace is not making the comments himself; but he is allowing the nasty stuff to be said. Therefore, he must support it.
As for Pamela Geller; yes, I do support her fully. I defended her against Charles Johnson’s fascist nonsense. When he tried to tell her that she could not edit her own blog and I will now defend her against the Anti-Semitic fascists; who seem to have softened their stance on the threat of Islamofascism to America.
Therefore, to you Mr. Ace — I bid you adieu. You sir, have joined the ranks of the fascists who now have turned their backs on the Jewish community, the Christian Community, and against freedom. There is no compromise sir. Either you are for or against we who stand for liberty — and it appears that you have taking the side of the Chuckles Johnson or the “Anything that looks even remotely anti-Muslim is evil” side.
I know she would not want to hear it from me. As I have criticized her, when I thought she was wrong. But I have also praised her and even defended her, when I thought it was the right thing to do.
But the fact is, that Michelle Malkin is absolutely right for bringing to light Rick Parry’s record in Texas as Governor. Further more, she is absolutely right for shining the light on Orin Hatch’s record as a Conservative.
The truth is folks, after the big government Conservatism of the George W. Bush-era, which I utterly despised; it is refreshing to see that the Republican Party has, with the help of the Tea Party movement — became a party of fiscal, defensive and social restraint again. One of my biggest complaints is that the Republican Party, during the Bush-era was all too eager to embrace the horrid doctrine of Wilsonian foreign policy. Which anyone with any kind of a brain, knows is a disastrous doctrine to adhere; when it comes to Wilsonian Foreign policy, I am not the only one who feels this way; it now seems that other bloggers are now speaking against it as well.
There is also this new wave of anti-establishment vitriol and criticism among the grassroots and Conservative Blogosphere. I too, find this is a very refreshing change of pace. There is a simple reasoning behind all of this: the Tea Party, the Anti-Establishment mentality and so forth. The reason it exists is that for far too long, Republicans acted, spent, and porked — just like the Democrats. Because of this, people in the Republican Party grassroots became fed up with it all. This was, in a way, the beginnings of the Tea Party movement. True, it was Glenn Beck’s idea, true; Rick Santelli was the one who sounded the call. However, it was the American people who said, “NO MORE BUSINESS AS USUAL!” and began to organize the movement.
As for Michelle Malkin, I believe that her efforts to expose the people who wish to cash in on this Tea Party movement are critical to the reformation of the Government in Washington D.C. Some of these politicians think that the common people are idiots; this is why we need people like Michelle Malkin to expose the underhanded attempts to deceive the Conservative voters into believing that they are on board with the reformers in the Conservative movement. Further, there are some, in the Conservative grassroots, who have dreadfully short memories; this is why Michelle Malkin’s work is so very much important to the movement as a whole.
For the record and for what it is really worth; Michelle Malkin went after Bush’s Administration and cabinet as well as Obama’s and the current crop running for the G.O.P. — That is why I respect the woman. Because she has always said, you cannot criticize the other side, if you are not willing to drain the swamp in your party — which is so true.
Remember folks, we are at an imperative time in our Nation’s history. We, as Conservative Americans and as those who vote Republican must be keenly aware of what we are doing here in the next couple of months. For too long, the American Government has been at the mercy of those who did not give two thoughts to pissing our Children’s futures away — in the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. We have to select a Candidate this time, which will not only beat Obama; but will uphold the fiscal values that is supposed to make up the Republican Party. Because the core word of the Republican Party is “Conservative” which comes from the word “Conserve” which means to restrain. That is what the Republican Party and this Nation needs to return —- the restraint of our fiscal, defense and social matters.
Because of this: we cannot afford to choose someone, who has some sort of Texas swagger, nor can we afford to choose some simple-minded old fool, who is lost in the world of extreme isolationism. We must be a fully informed electorate. This is why I defend Michelle Malkin and her quest to out those, who might not be a good choice for President of the United States in the Republican Party.
So, to Michelle: Keep up the good work. I will be reading, and I will keep in mind everything that I read on your site and at your former site, HotAir.com; when I vote in the upcoming primary here in Michigan and in general election in 2012.
Signed,
-Charles Patrick Adkins
Owner
Politicalbyline.com
More of that Religion of Peace!
Multiple coordinated terrorists attacks in Israel. Many dead and many injured.
The AP has news and analysis and more news via Yahoo News.
Ed Morrissey at HotAir.com is covering it. Israel Matzav is also Live Blogging with the latest news.
Update #1: Jerusalem Post has coverage
Update #2: Haaretz has coverage and has pictures of the buses involved, it looks like this was a massacre. It’s time for war again Israel; get with the program!
Update #3: YNet News is reporting:
An Egyptian security official has denied Thursday that Egypt had any involvement in the terror attacks in the south of Israel. The official, told Egyptian media that the armed terrorists operated from within Israel’s borders.
“Egypt was in no way involved in the incident, since it is difficult to penetrate the Egypt-Israel border. Moreover, it is impossible to open fire from the Egyptian side to Israel because of the distance,” said the source. (Roi Nahmias)
If you believe that, I got land to sell you in Texas. 🙄
Update #4: The Jawa Report, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion are now covering and this is now a Memeorandum Thread.
If I can find any video, I will post it, stay tuned!
I have to wonder what our President’s response will be? If any. Considering this here, I doubt it will be much at all.
