Categories
Open Thread

On Unilateral Action

I’ve been digging into some of the legal foundations concerning the Iran nuclear facility question over the last couple of days. In this process I should point out that getting the facts has not been at all easy. I can say that what is clear is that recent events have been either overplayed, under-documented, or more probably a combination of both.

There is the Iran Safeguards Agreement (entered into force 15 May 1974) which contains the following article:

DESIGN INFORMATION
General provisions
Article 42
Pursuant to Article 8, design information in respect of existing facilities shall be provided to the Agency during the discussion of the Subsidiary Arrangements. The time limits for the provision of design information in respect of the new facilities shall be specified in the Subsidiary Arrangements and such information shall be provided as early as possible before nuclear material is introduced into a new facility.

Clearly, this article is subject to the implementation details of the Subsidiary Arrangements. However, for the moment I have not been able to track down an on-line copy of that agreement. If you do some digging around the Internet you will come across references to Code 3.1 which exist in two forms, one from 1976, and a revision established in 1990. The following quote seems to be viral when digging into the subject:

The Subsidiary Arrangements specify when a state must report a new facility to the IAEA. “Code 3.1” of the 1976 version of the Subsidiary Arrangements requires states to report on new facilities “normally no later than 180 days before the facility is scheduled to receive nuclear material for the first time.”

It became clear that this requirement did not provide the IAEA with sufficient time to plan and prepare for safeguards. So, in the early 1990s the IAEA modified Code 3.1. The new version requires states to report on a new facility as soon as the decision to construct it is taken.

From what I understand, Iran is and remains compliant with the 1976 version of the agreement, and that following the 1990 amendment, Iran undertook a number of reporting actions consistent with that amendment, although, IAEA minutes back to around 2003 claim Iran breaching 1990 criteria. Iran on the other-hand made the distinction between state authorisation (which they point out has never occured) as opposed to their voluntary supply of information consistent with both the 1976 and 1990 criteria. Iran claims that prior voluntary actions do not constitute state endorsement (and on this I’m tempted to side with Iran). According to James M. Acton the IAEA claim that amendments are not subject to unilateral modification.

In accordance with Article 39 of Iran’s Safeguards Agreement, agreed Subsidiary Arrangements cannot be modified unilaterally; nor is there a mechanism in the Safeguards Agreement for the suspension of provisions agreed to in Subsidiary Arrangements.

If the IAEA states that Subsidiary Arrangements cannot be modified unilaterally, how was it possible that the 1990 amendments came into force if not by a unilaterally decision of the IAEA? We should keep in mind that there may be a perfectly plausible legal basis supporting the right of the IAEA to undertake unilateral action, but for now, I have not found any supporting evidence, and frankly, I doubt it exists. It may also be the case the bilateral agreement was established but not formally ratified (a more probably scenario).

An interview on MSNBC with Scott Ritter, former Chief UN Weapons Inspector supports a growing scepticism forming in my mind. In fact I think that perhaps there are grounds to argue that IAEA processes dealing with formal adoption, resolution of amendments, and accountability provisions may not be everything we would hope them to be. But if we turn around and look towards IAEA as an improvement opportunity, one cannot ignore the Israeli issue as reported by Reuters just a few days ago (18 September 2009):

The UN nuclear assembly voted on Friday to urge Israel to accede to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and place all atomic sites under UN inspections, in a surprise victory for Arab states.

The resolution, passed narrowly for the first time in nearly two decades, expresses concern about “Israeli nuclear capabilities” and calls on International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei to work on the issue.

One could argue that the IAEA frameworks and the geopolitical integrity of the UN (vis-a-vis Israel) are the things to watch as this process unfolds. Even more interesting in the short-term will be the approach Iran takes in the negotiations ahead.

/Cat.

Supplementary Information

Recommended Reading

Concrete Steps to Improve the Nonproliferation Regime
Pierre Goldschmidt, April 2009
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Nonproliferation Program

903 replies on “On Unilateral Action”

Yeah, and g’day to ya too Eckmeister.

It seems that political ‘debate’ in this country is as debauched by the rightwing nutbags as it is in the US by Fox and Friends.

Mind you, Rudd and Co. have done a snowblindingly good job with this ETS, or Clayton’s ETS, if you will. It sure is working to give Malcontent the irrits, but it’s a flop in environmental terms. I’ve given them the benefit of the doubt, but have truly run out of patience for the whole lot of them.

If only the Greens could be more than a one trick pony and get over their silly doomsday stuff over nuclear power (amongst other things).

Sure, we’ve got a lot of natural gas, and we should be converting to that too, but hanging on to 3 Mile Island or worse, Chernobyl as the state of play in that technology is infantile and counter productive to any mature debate.

If you start with the proposition that climate change is a catastrophe in the making (and personally I do), then discounting nuclear is the most asinine position one could adopt.

Talk about ‘religious purity’ over common sense.

Kirribilli Removals at 601

I’m placing my bets on space-based-solar-power.

Just a few weeks ago it was reported that Mitsubishi Electric Corp. and IHI Corp. joined in a select number of organisations playing in the SBSP race.

The trade ministry and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, which are leading the project, plan to launch a small satellite fitted with solar panels in 2015, and test beaming the electricity from space through the ionosphere, the outermost layer of the earth’s atmosphere, according to the trade ministry document.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=aJ529lsdk9HI

By Post Author

If you can be bothered reading it Malbull wants The Ruddster to agree with his new amendments.
Talk about debt and deficit heh Mal.

The six areas the Coalition wants tackled include allowing emissions intensive trade exposed companies such as the concrete and aluminium industry to secure free permits to pollute for a longer period of time.

The amendments will also demand that food processors are treated like emissions intensive industries to protect consumers from rising food prices under an emissions trading scheme.

And Mr Turnbull wants the government to offer concessions to the coal industry in line with other international agreements to exclude so-called fugitive emissions from an emissions trading scheme. Fugitive emissions are gases created as a by product of digging for coal as opposed to burning coal.

Another condition of securing Coalition support for the legislation is to increase compensation to electricity generators in line with independent advice warning some may go broke if a carbon trading scheme is introducing.

Mr Turnbull and his acting climate change spokesman Ian Macfarlane has today briefed shadow cabinet on the amendment plan.

They must now convince a party room meeting of Coalition MPs to back their right to negotiate in these six key areas.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,26226281-601,00.html

602

Oh for goodness sake Cat. At least get the name right.
It’s space based NUCLEAR FUSION POWER!!! :mrgreen:

Cat, that’s even less credible as a realistic alternative than ‘clean coal’. The energy required to get that many solar panels into space, let alone convert it to microwaves, puts it ludicrously beyond any economic viability. OK, maybe when the ‘space elevator’ is there to transport it! LOL

Meanwhile, the global warming science is truly terrifying, and that is based on the currently observable facts, not the models.

Renewables, nukes, gas, even ‘clean coal’, will all be necessary, and waiting around for fusion or pie in the sky power (PITS-Power), is a pipe dream I’m afraid.

Gaffy, to claim that these ‘amendments’ will ‘protect jobs’ is further proof that the coalition has no intention of making polluting cost anything.

As if Rudd hasn’t already accommodated every rent seeker that put their hand out!

It’s all truly sickening.

Kirri
I think that stuff was leaked between meetings. Last i heard they were still behind closed doors and i would not be surprised if they come out with a new leader they are so organised.

You can’t, by definition, lead a rabble Gaffy!

Turnbull is no ‘leader’, he’s an ego in search of self-gratification, and a nasty tempered son of a bitch to boot. I loved the way Nelson diagnosed him on his way out the door.

Malcolm is a personality disorder in search of a political party. (Pity is he is trying to herd that dysfunctional bunch of nutbags otherwise called the Coalition)

Cat, from the same studio set that your jpeg’s from @ 602, this time with a special guest appearance from the orb nearest Sol.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qb01U5aKEDQ

Despite it’s flaws, the film has some mind-numbing/awe-inspiring moments. It’s THE elemental homecoming movie.

Carn, Jen, you’re not gonna take this one trick pony stuff are you? Time for a charge from the Green Brigade! 🙂

Kirri
Or make that self Grechification!
Yes Mr Nelson made sure he ticked all the boxes on his way out.
Herding stray cats would be easier i think.

Did you here about Euro Disney? They had to close it. Apparently they found a six foot mouse in one of the restaurants.

Laptop for every pupil in Uruguay.
=========================

Uruguay has become the first country to provide a laptop for every child attending state primary school.

President Tabaré Vázquez presented the final XO model laptops to pupils at a school in Montevideo on 13 October.

Over the last two years 362,000 pupils and 18,000 teachers have been involved in the scheme.

The “Plan Ceibal” (Education Connect) project has allowed many families access to the world of computers and the internet for the first time.

Uruguay is part of the One Laptop Per Child scheme, an organisation set up by internet pioneer Nicholas Negroponte. His original vision was to provide laptops at $100 (£61) but they proved more expensive.

The Uruguay programme has cost the state $260 (£159) per child, including maintenance costs, equipment repairs, training for the teachers and internet connection.

continued on BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8309583.stm

Hypocricy thy name is invader, occupier, torturer and faux propagandist!

That’s right, folks. People with access to book-learnin’ and cypherin’ still refuse to believe 2+2=5 and don’t buy it that Australian Armed Forces are in Afghanistan to deliver god’s gift of democracy to a country led by a totally corrupt puppet, Karzai.

Count how many times you come accross the words; hegemony, pipelines, oil, gas when the MSM waffle sub-eloquent on Middle Eastern Affairs. You’ll have a lot of untapped fingers at the end of your average news day.

(below, selected excerpts from The Greenwald Column)

One of the most astounding feats in propaganda is how we’ve managed to take people who live in a country which we invade, bomb and occupy — and who fight against us because we’re doing that — and call them “Terrorists,” thereby “justifying” continuing to bomb and occupy their country further (“We have to stay in order to fight the Terrorists: meaning the people who are fighting us because we stay”)

You bet! Uncle Sammy and Li’l’ Ozzie Bleeder sure gonnna out-surge this goddamn raghead insurgency….jes’ like we kicked gook ass major in ‘Nam.
What a great victory that was for truth, justice and The American Way.

{Nearly all of the insurgents battling US and NATO troops in Afghanistan are not religiously motivated Taliban and Al Qaeda warriors, but a new generation of tribal fighters vying for control of territory, mineral wealth, and smuggling routes, according to summaries of new US intelligence reports…….
Ninety percent is a tribal, localized insurgency…….

Rohde adds this about what motivates these Taliban:

America, Europe and Israel preached democracy, human rights and impartial justice to the Muslim world, they said, but failed to follow those principles themselves……….

[One of the taboo topics in the American (and Australian) media is how the U.S. Government routinely violates the principles we espouse for, and try to impose on, the rest of the world. We systematically torture Muslims and then cover it up and protect our torturers while preaching accountability and the rule of law;……….]

“They vowed to follow the tenets of Islam that mandate the good treatment of prisoners. In my case(recently released David Rohde of NYT), they unquestionably did. They gave me bottled water, let me walk in a small yard each day and never beat me.” }

http://www.commondreams.org/print/48383

This year’s bumper poppy harvest will buy a lot of AK-47s and IED nitrate for locals pissed-off with occupying troops and the indiscrimate maiming and slaughter of their families by “unpersonned air-support pacifyers”

615. I missed this quote:

Economist Paul Krugman responded that it was a strange time to call Obama weak, when he’s about to pass health care reform: “He’s actually getting stuff done now.”

The Huffington Post

They sure have blown a lot of goodwill Ecky, (along with blowing away a lot of ‘collateral damage’). Funny, but I seem to recall they’ve done much the same in Iraq.

But the problems are many and complex. Real support for Taliban rule is pretty small, but opposition to occupation is growing, it’s just that these aren’t the same thing, yet have the same effect ie the Taliban gets support.

I was impressed with an ex-CIA specialist on Newshour the other day when he said, straightfaced, that you rarely get to fight the same war but on opposite sides: first we supported an insurgency of Mujahadeen in Pakistan to oust the Russians from Afghanistan, and now we are in Afghanistan facing a Pakistan supported Mujahadeen that are trying to evict us.

But it’s small consolation that he was right to say that the Russians carpet bombed Kandahar and they haven’t been so indiscriminate. Death by a thousand bomblets is the same thing whether you carpet bomb or send in the drones (there’s a song about that somewhere, isn’t there? Or maybe it’s ‘clowns’).

Some irony he pointed out there!

What also impressed me was his realism about what might be achieved, but only if the US doesn’t lose the will to do it properly. As he noted, an army doesn’t go to war, a country does, and without domestic support, the whole thing founders.

My guess is that Obama will go with McChrystal’s request for more troops. Is that doubling down? Not if they do what McC suggests and get the effort directed towards improving infrastructure and governance. It is, without doubt, a very mixed picture, but don’t neglect the reality of many lives improved and given some hope that they won’t be repressed by the religious fascists. The question, as always, is can they bear the costs of sustaining that effort without the whole thing turning to shit in a bucket? My hope is that they can, but my fear is that they won’t.

Karzai may prove to be the fly in the ointment, but there’s really only one likely outcome in a run-off, as Abdullah only got less than 30% of the first round, even accounting for the massive fraud in the voting.

Obama’s in a very tough place on this one, but all of his pre-election rhetoric was that Afghanistan was the ‘right’ war, and my hunch is that he will stick with it.

Does anyone seriously want to hand it to the Taliban with all of what that will imply? A ‘victory’ for the most ugly and oppressive arm of religious fascism? People who will intimidate whole populations with flogging, amputations and public executions? Who will put women into the stone age, burn books and turn off music?

My god, if I had one, would shudder at the thought.

Is this the turning point in Virginia? Is northern Virginia neglected because it votes Democrat? (my words). Strong endorsement from the Washington Post and a compelling argument.
==============================================

VA-Gov: WaPo Endorses Creigh Deeds For His Transportation Policy
By: David Dayen Saturday October 17, 2009 5:08 pm

During the Virginia Democratic primary for Governor, Creigh Deeds’ campaign didn’t take off until he secured the endorsement of the Washington Post, which is read in the Northern Virginia suburbs. Today he received the endorsement in the general election, which could inspire the same kind of resurgence to his campaign, which is currently behind Republican Bob McDonnell’s.

Rather than basing the endorsement on allegations about McDonnell’s college thesis or relative campaigning styles, the WaPo editorial board, not necessarily known for their rigor, justifies their selection on the basis of Deeds’ transportation policy. It’s an interesting and often-neglected argument for revenue to build and preserve the commons, one that Deeds really hasn’t even made himself.

continued on Firedoglake

An interesting comment from my brother at the weekend. If recycling keeps going at the rate it is he will make more money out of recycling than white goods (TV’s fridges etc). He just spent $38,000 on a machine to squash foam. They will probably put in a foam recycling bin for customers. It all goes back to India.

Hi there all – good to see you back Kirri-.
For what it’s worth there are those of us in The Greens that are struggling with the fraught issues of nookula power whilst trying to balance the obvious problems of the inherent dangers.
Climate Change is so terrifyingly real and the time is so short – personally I think all options need to be carefully considered.
If you are interested the energy policy is on the Greens website – would be intersted in your opinion. And anyone else who wants to comment of course!

g’day Jen.

Yep, ‘nookular’ is tricky, expensive compared with coal, but then so are renewables. But the latest generation of nuke power stations are safe (as safe as ANY man made machine can be, and a lot safer than flying for example!), and the wastes are able to be handled with the political will to do it.

The argument should not just be about cost. If we want to wean off coal then ipso facto electricity will cost more. I’ll pay more for clean electricity, and I guess many would, we just don’t the have the option on the scale that will make any difference.

The “ETS” as proposed is a fiasco, and here I’m with the Greens wholeheartedly. The more they watered it down to appease the big emitters the worse it became.

Bob Brown and Barnyard Joystick make very odd bedfellows, (with Malcolm in the middle for a political ménage à trois of many comic possibilities!), but to see just how limp this scheme really is, try this from the gnome (of all people!):

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,26226982-7583,00.html

…the reality is that Rudd has done us a big disservice with this sham of a scheme.

Kirri -we may disagree on the nuclear issue (I just can’t get past the geopolitical risks and the envioronmental cost of mining the stuff), but i am right with you on the nonsense that is the ETS.
It is a monumnetal white elephant – no real benefit, and an incredible amount of hot air being produced in the bullshit that is being bounced around between the Turnbull and Rudd. They are playing with our future for thier own political gain. Fuckers.

What does this say about the 2010 election if they are burning the money now?
==============================================

Burn baby burn: Some GOPers roll through campaign cash
By Aaron Blake – 10/17/09 02:02 PM ET

It’s nice to raise a lot of money for your reelection, but if you’re not saving it for next year, it’s not very helpful.

A few potentially targeted incumbents had strikingly high burn rates (money spent versus money raised) in the third quarter. Many of them, interestingly, pride themselves on their fiscal conservatism.

Conservative crusader Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) raised $200,000, but spent more than $220,000 and saw his cash on hand drop to $228,000.

The so-called most vulnerable incumbent on the map, freshman Rep. Joseph Cao (R-La.), raised a very strong $390,000 and went through all but $13,000 of it, spending $377,000 for the quarter.

continued on The Hill

Jen:
It is a monumnetal white elephant – no real benefit, …

I still can’t get my head around the Green’s opposition to the ETS.

Surely a 5% to 25% reduction is better than an increase (business as usual) if it isn’t implemented.

Is it a tactic to delay a scheme until they (the Greens) have a greater influence on the legislation, or are they saying that this ETS will make things worse, or something completely different?

Yours, “Somewhat Confused”.

Possum’s done an analysis of push vs pull factors for asylum seekers. Result = no surprise.
http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollytics/2009/10/19/push-vs-pull-asylum-seeker-numbers-and-statistics/
Did anyone catch Insiders – all the panel were critical of Rudd on asylum seekers. They seemed to agree he needs to spend some political capital, act like a real leader, and explain the complexities of this issue to the Australian people, rather than mimmicking Howard.

Write to your local member. Facebook is trying to close down the Drop Bear site, because they don’t think they are real. They are in Wikipedia so they must be real. Facebook won’t come out here to investigate them!!!!

Drop Bears Facebook

They have nearly 40,000 fans, most who have been traumatised by Drop Bears at one stage or another.

Hiya Flanners!
We’re not opposed to an ETS- just needs to actually be worth doing.
Here’s why…
“Emissions trading is one of the many measures that the Greens have long been campaigning for to put Australia on track to build a new, post-carbon economy. But, in order to be effective, it must be carefully designed to avoid rorting of the system by polluters, and must be one of a package of complementary measures rather than being seen as a ‘silver bullet’.

Emissions trading can be an effective tool to achieve two important aspects of the climate policy framework: putting a price and a cap on carbon emissions. Where a carbon tax is technically simpler (it sets the price and lets the individual players decide how much to reduce emissions), emissions trading has the benefit of providing environmental certainty (it sets a cap on total allowed pollution, establishes the rules, and lets the market determine the price of polluting).

An emissions trading scheme (ETS) must be designed to reduce emissions at least cost and in the most equitable way. While the second and third points are vital to good design, emissions trading is about reducing emissions – if it does not achieve that goal, then it is worthless. The ETS must be environmentally credible first and foremost, and its design and its complementary measures must ensure equity and least cost emissions reductions.

The key to ensuring an ETS is environmentally credible is to make the scheme’s cap in line with a credible national target to reduce emissions. Once the cap is set, the design of the scheme must back up emissions reduction efforts rather than undermine them.

The Greens believe that a bad emissions trading scheme can easily be counterproductive, reducing our ability to cut greenhouse emissions fast and effectively. The Greens will not support such an emissions trading scheme.

KL, the waffle that’s passed of as ‘political commentary’ is almost completely devoid of empirical fact.

Bring back Mega George…for god’s sake!

btw- the policies on the Green’swesite are 2008. I’m not allowed to show the draft ones (topsecret!!!) but they are about to be finalised and released in the next couple of weeks.

Thanks Jen, the answer to my question was in that quote. Namely, “…a bad emissions trading scheme can easily be counterproductive, reducing our ability to cut greenhouse emissions fast and effectively.”

I’m a little bit more enlightened, but still on the “a little bit is better than nothing” side of the ledger. Any links that demonstrate that the proposed ETS negatively impacts on our ability to act in the future?

BTW, I’m also in the column that wants more than a 25% reduction, as well as the one that wants a big-bloody-stick taken to those responsible for the mess we’re in – though reserve the right to deny that one in the future. 😉

I get your point FLaneur, however the discussions I’ve had (touting the same line – God, I live dangerously at times) boils down to the reasoning that if the ETS is ineffective nothing more will be done as the electorate will sleep comfortably believing that the boys in power have done their job so if we don’t get it right now it will be too late (already is i reckon).
Kirri – suffice to say that if we all become vegans and stop driving cars, let all the poofs and lezzos get married and give drugs to kiddies we will have reached nirvana 😈
Don’t quote me though.

Yeah Jenners (heh!), I too think we are past the point of no return. Oh well, at least we don’t work for ****. 😉

Anyone having any guesses as to the lift in the polls the Democrats will get when the pass the health bill? I am saying about an average of 2.5%+ on a weak public option and 5%+ on a strong public option in the weeks after the passing of the bill.

Chris B at 641

I am not sure. I think that they will get a boost just from one passing. I doubt that the average punter (and I include myself in that group) will be able to easily tell whether it is a weak or strong public option bill. It might be percieved as weak when it is actually strong, or vice versa. A lot depends on how it is sold and how it is portrayed by the opposition.

I’ll say an initial three per cent, which will fade or rise depending on the success or otherwise of the selling of the package.

641
Chris
My guess is he will have to get a good rise to counteract the errors in the voting machines.
The GOP will be really working hard on programming the machines to flip votes.
The Franken vote was a good example of the actual votes when they counted the paper trail to the votes recorded by the machines.
There is always that possibility of stealing an election when there is no paper trail.
Qualifier for Gouldie;
And it is quite possible that it could happen the other way.
That is if the machines were owned by Dem and not retard supporters.

645 gaffhook I am just talking about the shift in the polls just after the passing of the health bill. The 2010 and the 2012 election will depend on too many variables to judge it, unless specific health care polling is down during the exiting of the polling stations. The everything’s George Bushes fault will also be a major factor in the next elections.
David, spot on. Although I would be surprised if it wasn’t a massive sell.

I think if the Greens voted for the ETS it would diminish their brand – it would be too much of a compromise on their core policy platform.

Agree with Flan, that the ETS should be a ‘start’, but also with Jen, that it’s so far short of the mark it may well hold us back for another decade we simply do NOT have.

My 9yr old was incredulous when I told him that there people in the parliament today arguing we should do nothing about climate change!

There is hope…but will it be too late?

Vaccy Havel and Baz Obama were sinking a few quiet pilseners in a Bohemian back bar when somebody mentioned……..
The <<< C >>> Word:

Havel, the 73-year-old former Czech president, who didn’t win a Nobel Peace Prize despite leading the Czechs and the Slovaks from communism to democracy, turned the tables and asked Smale a question about Obama, the latest winner of the peace prize.
Was it true that the president had refused to meet the Dalai Lama on his visit to Washington?
He was told that Obama had indeed tried to curry favor with China by declining to see the Dalai Lama until after the president’s visit to China next month.
Dissing the Dalai was part of a broader new Obama policy called “strategic reassurance” — softening criticism of China’s human rights record and financial policies to calm its fears that America is trying to contain it. (Not to mention our own fears that the Chinese will quit bankrolling our debt.)
The tyro American president got the Nobel for the mere anticipation that he would provide bold moral leadership for the world at the very moment he was caving to Chinese dictators. Awkward.
Havel reached out to touch a glass dish given to him by Obama, inscribed with the preamble to the <<>> “It is only a minor compromise,” he said. “But exactly with these minor compromises start the big and dangerous ones, the real problems.”
…………………

At the New Orleans town hall, 29-year-old Gabriel Bordenave complained about the slow pace of the recovery. “I expected as much from the Bush administration,” he told Obama. “But why are we still being nickel-and-dimed?”
The president gave a technocrat’s answer about the “complications between the state, the city and the feds in making assessments of the damages.”
“Now, I wish I could just write a check,” he added. When an audience member yelled “Why not?” he dryly noted, “There’s this whole thing about <<< The Constitution.>>>”
The president should remember, though, that when you’re cooking up a more perfect Union, sometimes you’ve got to break some eggs.

(When The Imbecile wanted some legislation done pronto, he simply scratched a signing statement. And hey, whaddya know? The job was done.)

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/18/opinion/18dowd.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper&pagewanted=print

I understand that the whole situation is complicated by the fact that the Greens do not have the balance of power at present. However, it is all very well being morally pure but, when that leaves the game entirely to the ALP and the Liberals, what has been accomplished?

I hope that after the next election when the Greens do hold the balance of power they will be willing to compromise in order to incrementally move the government’s position to a better one. I have confidence that they will. And I have confidence that they will be able to sell their compromises to their voter base.

654
:mrgreen:

ASIC has indicated it may launch further proceedings against Mr Lindberg within the next four weeks. The current ASIC civil case is expected to run until Christmas and 30 witnesses will be called, many of whom, Mr O’Bryan flagged, “are not going to give evidence in a happy frame of mind at all”.

Hmm……the odds are growing shorter by the day Gaff.
Mr Lindberg may even get a paid holiday at HM’s expense.
I wonder if they’ll be calling Dolly as a witness. 👿

Does anyone know what came first, Drop Bears or the Bundy ad?

—————————

http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoon/display.cfm/76866

KR @ 619: “Obama’s in a very tough place on this one, but all of his pre-election rhetoric was that Afghanistan was the ‘right’ war, and my hunch is that he will stick with it. Does anyone seriously want to hand it to the Taliban with all of what that will imply? A ‘victory’ for the most ugly and oppressive arm of religious fascism? People who will intimidate whole populations with flogging, amputations and public executions? Who will put women into the stone age, burn books and turn off music?”

Kirri, the Taliban are not a monolithic force. Enterprising young uns have branched out. The Rag-head Trade has diversified.

Ticsters, it really helps in getting a handle on the recent Middle Eastern Sep & Allied war-mongering with this concise appraisal by a writer who knows his onions, a blowback specialist, and boy, don’t those Company lads sure love their blowback?!

“American Jihad: the thirty years war (so far….)

In the Afghan branch of it, our fervent American jihad of the 1980s involved the CIA slipping happily into a crowded bed with the Saudis, the Pakistanis, and the most extreme Islamist fundamentalists among the anti-Soviet Afghan fighters. In those years, the Agency didn’t hesitate to organize car-bomb and even camel-bomb terror attacks on the Russian military (techniques endorsed by CIA Director William Casey). The partnership of these groups wasn’t surprising at the time, given that Casey, himself a Cold War fundamentalist and supporter of Opus Dei, believed that the anti-communism of the most extreme Islamist fundamentalists made them our natural allies in the region.

The future is, of course, unknown, but as our president and his foreign policy team prepare to make crucial decisions in the coming months about Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, and Iraq, shouldn’t our 30-years’ war across the oil heartlands of the planet, essentially one disaster-hailed-as-a-victory after another, offer some cautionary lessons for us? Shouldn’t it raise the odd red flag of warning?”

Who’s Next?
Lessons from the Long War and a Blowback World
By Tom Engelhardt

http://www.tomdispatch.com/

Incidentally, where was Uncle Sam when the genocide was going down in Rwanda? A million innocents hacked to death was hardly the stuff Enlightenments were made of. Perhaps Rwanda was way down the Hegemonic Index because there weren’t pipelines at stake.

Without giving away secrets Drop Bears were around when I went to school. But that’s classified. 🙂

656
EC
Far as i am aware the Drop Bear was just another in a long string of very good ads for the old snake bite.

EC,

The argument that we should not help people suffering in Afghanistan because we did not help them in Rwanda is morally indefensible.

I do not give a shit if the US build 10,000 pipelines through Afghanistan and every defence and oil contractor in America becomes a millionaire if they give women the chance to go to school without getting acid splashed all over them.

655
Paddy
I just want to read about when he or one of them breaks under cross examination and says well ok i did know about it but Mr X made me do it and it was all hush hush.

Was Mr Lindberg the guy pictured looking like a Texas Ranger in Iraq with six shooters and AK47s hanging off him everywhere to show us how tough arse AWB Execs did the biz over there.
Like here mate take this #300mil or i will have to put you to sleep.
Oh and by the way you can tell Alexander i did this because his memory is fucked.
The irony of it all is that at an official inquiry they can’t remember a fucken thing then a year later they get a very lucrative diplomatic posting with a known fucked memory. Don’t ya love it.
I hope it leads all the way to Rattus quite frankly.

Thanks, Chris, I’ve lived a very sheltered existence. One sleeper cell looks pretty much the same as the next one.

*sighs*

Hugh Lunn’s book “Lost for Words” which covers Ozspeak from the 40s and 50s doesn’t mention Ursa Newtonia. I’d surmise that you spent some years a l’ecole in the 60s and 70s.

Hours of in-depth research (not re-search) has unearthed the following information.

“Drop Bears:
A very mysterious animal that not many claim to have actually seen in real life but the stories about them are terrifying. Drop Bears are related to the Koala (please don’t call them Koala Bears to Aussies as they get quite upset by it – “it’s not a bear, it’s not a bear”) but are much more vicious and a fair bit bigger than a Koala, they kill their prey by dropping from trees then tearing their poor victims to shreds!
Don’t believe me? Here’s what one website has to say about them

“Drop Bears vary from 3 to 5 feet in hight, but are extremely strong. They are covered in a dense fur, which can range from almost black to the Alpine Drop Bear’s snowy white coat. They have broad shoulders and razor sharp claws on all four limbs. They are able to walk for short distances on two legs, but are much faster on all four, being capable of bursts of speed approaching 60 km/h at full gallop. Their heads are similar to those of koalas, but with enlarged canine teeth, not unlike those of bears or other carnivorous animals. There are no reported photographs of them, and only a select and very lucky few have laid eyes on them and lived to tell the tale.”

Where found – trees all over Australia
Average Deaths per year – difficult to quantify as there seems to be some sort of government cover up about their existence
How to avoid death – don’t walk under a tree”

http://nomadshostels.com/travel-tips/1021-travel-tips/651-top-five-scary-australian-animals

I watched a senate committe on line this morning and for the most part that i watched it was Senator Erica Betz quizzing Mark Scott from the ABC on morals and ethics of the broadcaster.

That’s the Senator Erica Betz that was leading the charge in the senate over the fake Grech emails that he had no problems trying to pin the tail on the donkey with.
Scumbags supreme.

I admire Mark Scott for being so tolerant of him.
I would have told him to shove his head up a drop bears arse after his second question/accusation.

661
EC
You must have secreted a few of them home from late closers or early openers in your hey day as a yellow box controller to save them from injury in the old Steak and Kidney a few years ago then.

That is a perfect description of some Frisco runners. :mrgreen:

And don’t tell me they were otherwise known as sailors.

Geez I love it when you talk dirty, David. This is the first time I can remember you using unparliamentary language for some time, if at all.

No one is saying that they want atrocities like acid splashing supported in Afghanistan, and no civilized human being wants it happening in “democratic” India either where it’s quite common. Or anywhere else. What about the ritual FGMs routinely happening in muslim dominated regions in the horn of, and in Saharan Africa?

What I’m saying, is that America for the last thirty years has been very selective about where it humps its hegemony.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jkqb4bUgJ9c

Yes EC there is a “CONSPIRACY” concerning the amount of deaths by Drop Bears. The cover up is suspected to be by the huge amount of pressure applied by the tourist industry. I think we should devote the next thread entirely to the Drop Bear situation. I think its appalling.

America is selective, because it – like all other nations – looks after its own interests first. However, where its interests happen to coincide with my own, I am happy to support them. As such, rather than say that they should not try and prevent atrocities in Afghanistan because they are not doing so in other countries, I would try and make the case the other way round.

As you may tell, I hate the argument that because the US is not preventing atrocities in X and is only preventing atrocities in Y because of oil, we should try and stop it preventing atrocities in Y. The motives of the US are *irrelevant*, imo, and always have been.

And I know that the arguments are more complicated than that: there is the issue of whether the US is decreasing suffering or increasing it by their actions, and that is indeed fair game for differences of opinion.

And Four Corners is looking at the last issue as we type … Although I will miss it, unfortunately.

656
Attn Ecky Re: Drop bears….

Coincidently, I received this in my mailbox just last week.
=========================================
These were posted on an Australian Tourism Website and the
answers are the actual responses by the website officials, who obviously have no sense of humour (and a low tolerance threshold for cretins!) :mrgreen:

Q: Does it ever get windy in Australia ? I have never
seen it rain on TV, how do the plants grow? ( UK ).

A: We import all plants fully grown and then just sit
around watching them die.
______________________________________________

Q: Will I be able to see kangaroos in the street? ( USA )

A:Depends how much you’ve been drinking.
__________________________________________________

Q:I want to walk from Perth to Sydney – can I follow
the railroad tracks? ( Sweden)

A: Sure, it’s only three thousand miles, take lots of
water.
__________________________________________________

Q: Are there any ATMs (cash machines) in Australia ? Can
you send me a list of them in Brisbane , Cairns , Townsville and Hervey Bay ? ( UK)

A: What did your last slave die of?
__________________________________________________

Q:Can you give me some information about hippo racing in
Australia ? ( USA )

A: A-Fri-ca is the big triangle shaped continent south of
Europe .
Aus-tra-lia is that big island in the middle of the
Pacific which does not… Oh forget it. Sure, the hippo racing is every Tuesday night in Kings Cross. Come naked.
__________________________________________________

Q:Which direction is North in Australia ? (USA )

A: Face south and then turn 180 degrees. Contact us when
you get here and we’ll send the rest of the directions.
_________________________________________________

Q: Can I bring cutlery into Australia ? ( UK )

A:Why? Just use your fingers like we do…
__________________________________________________

Q:Can you send me the Vienna Boys’ Choir schedule? ( USA )

A: Aus-tri-a is that quaint little country bordering
Ger-man-y, which is….. Oh forget it. Sure, the Vienna Boys Choir plays every Tuesday night in Kings Cross, straight after the hippo races. Come naked.
__________________________________________________

Q: Can I wear high heels in Australia ? ( UK )

A: You are a British politician, right?
__________________________________________________

Q:Are there supermarkets in Sydney and is milk available
all year round? ( Germany )

A: No, we are a peaceful civilization of vegan
hunter/gatherers.

Milk is illegal.
__________________________________________________

Q:Please send a list of all doctors in Australia who can
Dispense rattlesnake serum. ( USA )

A: Rattlesnakes live in A-meri-ca which is where YOU come from.
All Australian snakes are perfectly harmless, can be safely handled and make good pets.
__________________________________________________

Q:I have a question about a famous animal in Australia ,
but I forget its name. It’s a kind of bear and lives in trees. ( USA )

A: It’s called a Drop Bear. They are so called because
they drop out of Gum trees and eat the brains of anyone walking underneath them.
You can scare them off by spraying yourself with human urine before you go out walking.
__________________________________________________

Q:I have developed a new product that is the fountain of
youth. Can you tell me where I can sell it in Australia ? (USA)

A: Anywhere significant numbers of Americans gather.
__________________________________________________

Q:Do you celebrate Christmas in Australia ? ( France )

A: Only at Christmas.
__________________________________________________

Q: Will I be able to speak English most places I go? ( USA )

A: Yes, but you’ll have to learn it first

Ta for the heads-up, David. Residing in our state named after a fiesty but prudish queen, 4 cnrs airs an hour later here so I’ll have a gander and maybe we can engage some more about it. 🙂

Come to think of it, the poms have been getting their botties spanked in Afghanistan for quite some time now. Naturally, things are completely different these days considering the first class training to which The Bitish Soldier is subjected.

http://lighthousepatriotjournal.wordpress.com/2009/08/24/afghanistan-nation-of-warlords-people-who-abhor-a-master/

gaffhook at 654

What is the odds on this growing legs and some expert witnesses breaking down under cross examination.

I was asking myself the exact same question just a couple of hours ago. That whole thing way back when left a decidedly ‘unfinished business’ sort of smell in the air and I would very happy to see a little disintegration breaking loose.

P.S. WTF is a Drop Bear?

Ahh – just got to 661 and spotted EC’s research.

By Post Author

North Carolina. If Lewis an African American wins North Carolina. Then America sure has come a very long way since the civil war.
NC is a very winnable seat.
============================================
Lewis enters U.S. Senate race.

Democrat Ken Lewis entered the U.S. Senate race Sunday, using his kin’s traditional homestead as imagery to evoke his family’s journey up from slavery to the middle class.

Lewis, a Harvard-educated corporate attorney from Chapel Hill, vowed to support those policies that would help other families pursue the American dream, just as it enabled his family to succeed beyond the farm.

“That arc of progress that begins right here in Person County at the end of Outlaw Road, really defines who I am and leads me to announce my candidacy for the U.S. Senate,” Lewis told more than 100 family and friends, as he stood on a platform by a tobacco barn.

http://www.newsobserver.com/politics/story/148067.html

Bankruptcy filing delays church sex abuse case.

A high-profile sex abuse case that was set to start Monday against Delaware’s Catholic Diocese of Wilmington and a former priest will be delayed after the church filed for federal bankruptcy protection.

The bankruptcy filing late Sunday automatically delays the case in Kent County Superior Court, the first of eight consecutive abuse trials scheduled in Delaware.

“This is a painful decision, one that I had hoped and prayed I would never have to make,” said the Rev. W. Francis Malooly, the bishop of the diocese, on the diocese’s Web site.

Malooly said the decision was made “after careful consideration and after consultation with my close advisers and counselors” and that he believed “we have no other choice.” He said “filing for Chapter 11 offers the best opportunity, given finite resources, to provide the fairest possible treatment of all victims of sexual abuse by priests of our Diocese.”

“Our hope is that Chapter 11 proceedings will enable us to fairly compensate all victims through a single process established by the Bankruptcy Court,” Malooly said.

The diocese covers Delaware and the Eastern Shore of Maryland and serves about 230,000 Catholics.

Thomas Neuberger, an attorney representing 88 alleged victims, described the bankruptcy filing as a “desperate effort to hide the truth from the public and conceal the thousands of pages of scandalous documents” from being made public in court.

continued on The Associated Press

KR – I would think there is a good argument that US meddling in Afghanistan is a major cause of the Taliban erupting. Staying there is likely to help the Taliban consolidate if they are the toughest fighters prepared to have a go. Its a tough call but the Afghanis are probably best left to sort themselves out with plenty of outside assistance. They managed to form a leftist govt for quite a few years in the 1980s before Soviet intervention wrecked that one. Left groups, democrats, women’s groups, unions, progressive muslims and others will take up the struggle.

Not sure if holy mother church can legitimately file for Chapter 11 (bankruptcy) if it owns assets such as real estate in Delaware.

The gutless hypocrites clearly don’t care a toss about clerical abuse victims. For them it’s always been about money and power as the saga of Boston’s Cardinal Bernard Law demonstrated. When the stench was too great for Bernie to remain titular head of Sepdom’s Roman Catholics, he was booted upstairs to the Vatican for services rendered, where is presently the Head Greeter to all who are prepared to grease the holy wheels with megabucks in return for the “respectability” of a bullshit title or a photo op with Papa Joey Ratz.

Senate Using Reconciliation On Major Piece Of Obama Agenda – Not Health Care, But Education.

Education has kind of taken a back seat to some of the other facets of the Obama agenda, but on one measure they have sought to make tangible progress – the utterly common-sense notion of ending the subsidization of the private student lending market, and using the savings of providing student loans directly to increase Pell Grants and other awards to make college more affordable. This would redirect $87 billion dollars over 10 years from the pockets of bankers to students. It’s about as simple and clear a position as you can take.

So naturally, it faces resistance from Republicans and ConservaDems who have private student loan operations in their states. Back in April, the Senate, preparing for this resistance, authored budget reconciliation rules to move this education measure forward with 50 votes instead of having to break a filibuster with 60. And now, Tom Harkin is planning on doing just that.

continued on Firedoglake

In a report from LobeLog.com by Daniel Luban, John Bolton suggests a nuclear attack on Iran by our friends over in Israel.

Negotiations have failed, and so too have sanctions

Bolton went on, echoing his previously-stated belief that sanctions will prove ineffectual in changing Tehran’s behaviour.

So we’re at a very unhappy point — a very unhappy point — where unless Israel is prepared to use nuclear weapons against Iran’s program, Iran will have nuclear weapons in the very near future.

Bolton made clear that the latter option is unacceptable.

There are some people in the administration who think that it’s not really a problem, we can contain and deter Iran, as we did the Soviet Union during the Cold War. I think this is a great, great mistake and a dangerously weak approach…Whatever else you want to say about them, at least the Soviets believed that they only went around once in this world, and they weren’t real eager to give that up — as compared to a theological regime in Tehran which yearns for life in the hereafter more than life on earth…I don’t think [deterrence] works that way with a country like Iran.

Now, to give credit where credit is due, John Bolton has a point in that Iran represents a regional threat potential – and while I’m not sticking my hand up for a Iran freedom fighter ticket, I kind of need to ask myself the darker question. If I were heading up Iran, a country composed in some areas by young, educated, and passionate individuals, together with regions that are not so different from tribal villages in Afghanistan, and just over the way I have Israel with an undeclared nuclear capability, Pakistan with a declared nuclear capability, India with it’s own toys, and a domestic issue to deal with concerning energy generation, well, clearly there is a proper and reasonable path to regional normalisation with respect to the geopolitical equation while simultaneously building and delivering real and tangible power to the people (a.k.a. electricity).

Thing is, as Yoda once said …

a nuclear strikes does not a nation decimate

Which brings us back to the subject of this post – the UN and the IAEA, and the evolution of these institutions into entities that have muscle, fibres, teeth, and something resembling an attitude. I’m sure John Bolton would shudder at the idea and would be all too willing to deliver a 45 minute rant on the subject – but the thing is, Israel is just a proxy for the USA (at least as far as regional players are concerned), and I don’t believe the USA as a nation can afford the consequences. On the other-hand, the USA (under Obama) could change the game through a continuation of the process of UN engagement and empowerment – and part of that process requires that the US administration put that proxy on a short leash.

By Post Author

Wakefield,

The taliban ran Afghanistan prior to the invasion, so I am unsure how the US invasion can be the reason for them ‘erupting’.

DG, the Four Corners expose of Afghani corruption was so depressing and so expected.

If anyone thinks the Yanks are the worst thing to happen to that country they should get the Clockwork Orange treatment with that programme on endless loop!

In as much as US intervention helped to spawn this bunch of corrupt bloodsuckers they are partly to blame, but my question still remains: would anyone prefer the Taliban (or any of it’s recent offshoots?)

Every level of government and the military and police is corrupted by drugs and international aid, to such a degree that there’s little hope of any military exercise succeeding, especially if it also tries to eradicate poppy growing.

The West should decriminalise narcotics as the first step to eviscerating this hornet’s nest.

DG, download the 4 Corners from last night…it is really worth the effort to get an understanding of just how perverse the whole ‘aid’ effort has been.

Gotta go.

Have fun, kiddies.

GOP Tactic: ‘Delay, Define, and Derail’
==============================

Perhaps Mitch McConnell’s been watching Mad Men? “When you don’t have any power, delay,” a character intoned a few weeks back, and that seems to be the GOP’s new strategy on health care. According to Roll Call, the GOP has acknowledged that it cannot block a health-care bill outright and instead is implementing “a comprehensive political strategy to delay, define, and derail.” They’re hoping to define the plan as “a combination of Medicare cuts, tax increases, higher insurance premiums, and rising costs overall.” The piece notes that the GOP no longer expects to pick off moderate Democratic votes, even on measures like the public option.

This is called telegraphing you punches.
The daily Beast

Well, that blows the Republican campaign out of the water in New Jersey. Karl Roves stench is all over it.
==============================================

Christie May Have Gotten Improper Aid.
When news broke in August that the former United States attorney, Christopher J. Christie, had lent $46,000 to a top aide in the federal prosecutor’s office, he said he was merely helping a friend in need. He also said the aide, Michele Brown, had done nothing to help his gubernatorial campaign.
But interviews with federal law enforcement officials suggest that Ms. Brown used her position in two significant and possibly improper ways to try to aid Mr. Christie in his run for governor.
In March, when Gov. Jon S. Corzine’s campaign requested public records about Mr. Christie’s tenure as prosecutor, Ms. Brown interceded to oversee the responses to the inquiries, taking over for the staff member who normally oversaw Freedom of Information Act requests, according to federal law enforcement officials in Newark and Washington. The requested information included records about Mr. Christie’s travel and expenses, along with Ms. Brown’s travel records.

In mid-June, when F.B.I. agents and prosecutors gathered to set a date for the arrests of more than 40 targets of a corruption and money-laundering probe, Ms. Brown alone argued for the arrests to be made before July 1. She later told colleagues that she wanted to ensure that the arrests occurred before Mr. Christie’s permanent successor took office, according to three federal law enforcement officials briefed on the conversation, presumably so that Mr. Christie would be given credit for the roundup.

The federal law enforcement officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were barred from speaking on the record.

continued on NYT. You may need to be registered.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/20/nyregion/20brown.html?_r=1

One down, one to go. 😈

Poll wants a DEm only public option without input from the Retards.

Specifically: A majority wants a Dem-only bill rather than a bipartisan one if the Dem-only one includes a public insurance option and the bipartisan one doesn’t. A majority of Independents wants the same. From the internals:

Which of these would you prefer –- (a plan that includes some form of government-sponsored health insurance for people who can’t get affordable private insurance, but is approved without support from Republicans in Congress); or

(a plan that is approved with support from Republicans in Congress, but does not include any form of government-sponsored health insurance for people who can’t get affordable private insurance)?

Prefer government-sponsored insurance: 51%

Prefer Republican support: 37%

http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/health-care/wapo-poll-majority-wants-public-option-more-than-bipartisanship-for-its-own-sake/

You’ve gotta know when to hold ‘em.
Know when to fold ‘em
Know when to walk away
Know when to run
Never count your money
While you’re sittin’ at the table
Cos the MIC will suck it up
We The People will have none

What Lies Beneath the War in Afghanistan

Obama should admit Taliban is not and never was a threat to the West; that the wildly exaggerated al-Qaida has been mostly eradicated; and that the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan is causing more damage to U.S. interests in the Muslim world — now 25% of all humanity — than Bin Laden and his few rag-tag allies. The bombing in Madrid and London, and conspiracy in Toronto, were all horribly wrongheaded protests by young Muslims against the Afghan war.

(The 9/11 attacks were planned in Germany and Spain, and conducted mainly by U.S.-based Saudis to punish America for supporting Israel.)

We are not going to change the way Afghans treat their women by waging war on them, or bring democracy through rigged elections.
I wish Obama would just declare victory in Afghanistan, withdraw western forces, and hand over security to a multi-national stabilization force from Muslim nations. Good presidents, like good generals, know when to retreat.

http://www.torontosun.com/comment/columnists/eric_margolis/2009/10/11/11369636-sun.html

“#682
David Gould says:
20 October, 2009 at 9:00 am
Wakefield,
The taliban ran Afghanistan prior to the invasion, so I am unsure how the US invasion can be the reason for them ‘erupting’.”

David, can you tell me what unwelcome house guests smell like after three days?
They start to pong a little, ya?

What do you reckon the fuckers would smell like after eight years?
Especially if those guests who have invaded and occupied your home call in a bit of “shock and awe” upon your family and friends while they are celebrating a wedding.
————————–
KR @ 683: “The West should decriminalise narcotics as the first step to eviscerating this hornet’s nest.”
KR: Truer words were never blogged. Time to minimize the harm and cast aside the faux wowser-dogma of the prohibitionist profiteers and warmongers.
The West could so easily buy the opium from the tribesfolk who have been cultivating it and refine the goo for legit pharmaceutical use. Seps possess expertise in eliminating the “middle-man”. cf. all the family corner grocer stores that once peppered our neighbourhoods before the Mega-Marts squeezed their souls dry and hounded them into penury.
To replace these oases of community life and gentle commerce we’ve been lumbered with legions of undead (poor bastards), ever so grateful that Big Boss Man is paying them exploitative wages, and who reflexively bleat “Have A Nice Day” from their neon lit, air-conditioned work-stations in their steel/glass/cement bunkers as they swipe your plastic, the details of your transactions being onsold to the highest corporate bidder who’ll then pepper you via dead tree mail, email and unsolicited phone calls using some keen-as-mustard deperate trying to flog you something you don’t freaking want.

———————
Great minds……..
(well, some of the time at least) 🙂

Cat at 681:

– but the thing is, Israel is just a proxy for the USA (at least as far as regional players are concerned), and I don’t believe the USA as a nation can afford the consequences. On the other-hand, the USA (under Obama) could change the game through a continuation of the process of UN engagement and empowerment – and part of that process requires that the US administration put that proxy on a short leash.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_L1K7psLgldA/SXDS2KNEL2I/AAAAAAAABCA/AsgWATuLwiw/s400/leash.jpg

Your Blogespondant@ 11:

“Cool post, Catrina, now going back to re-read and mull it before replying. Whatever the pros and cons, I’ve no doubt global rubes are being softened up for Israel whacking Iran as they did with Iraq and Syria because they claimed that at the time those countries were developing nuclear bombs.”

I mean, seriously Cat, wil ya getta load o’ da guy. He’s already got the skills set!

http://remainright.com/blog_image/Obama_Dog.jpg

Chris
That add i linked to at 548 is on Youtube and gaining a full head of steam.
Over 200,000 views and some good comments.

If i had the skills i would do one for these idiot liberals here.

Morning Fix: A premature celebration for the GOP
==========================================

Republicans in Washington can barely contain their glee at the turn of President Obama’s political fortunes in the first nine months of the year but a new Washington Post/ABC News poll suggests the GOP still faces serious perception problems in the eyes of the American public.

Less than one in five voters (19 percent) expressed confidence in Republicans’ ability to make the right decisions for America’s future while a whopping 79 percent lacked that confidence.

Among independent voters, who went heavily for Obama in 2008 and congressional Democrats in 2006, the numbers for Republicans on the confidence questions were even more worse. Just 17 percent of independents expressed confidence in Republicans’ ability to make the right decision while 83 percent said they did not have that confidence.

(While Obama’s numbers on the confidence question weren’t amazing — 49 percent confident/50 percent not confident — they were far stronger than those for Republicans.)

On the generic ballot question, 51 percent of the sample said they would cast a vote for a Democratic candidate in their congressional district next fall while just 39 percent said they would opt for a GOP candidate. (As late as this summer, Republicans had seemingly narrowed the wide generic ballot lead Democrats enjoyed for much of the last two election cycles.)

And, perhaps most troubling for GOP hopes is the fact that just 20 percent of the Post sample identified themselves as Republicans, the lowest that number has been in Post polling since 1983. (No, that is not a typo.)

These numbers, coming roughly one year before the 2010 midterm elections, show that any celebration on the GOP’s behalf is premature as the party has yet to convince most voters that it can be a viable alternative to Democratic control in Washington today.

Considering it is a long way (just over 12 months). All the Democrats need to do is tread water for 6 months on these figures. Although I doubt they will with the health bill passing. Then they start beating the “Its was all George Bushes mess/fault” drum and watch the polls climb!!!!
continued on The Washington Post

Switch n your sarco detector when you read parts of the above link.

Who will stand up for the rights of these poor companies?

Check out the thirty brave Republican Senators who spoke out in support of the patriotic companies that work hard everyday to defend freedom and liberty. With three out of four Senate Republicans voting in favor of rape, we can be sure that rape is a Republican value. A big thank you to these Senators for protecting liberty, and freedom (including the freedom of companies to cover up rape!).

A meeting of the South Carolina Republican Party.
==================================

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb3IMTJjzfo

NB Borat is Jewish. EXTREME CAUTION!!! It is one of those songs that sticks in your head!

———————————————————————————-
In response to this.

GOPers: DeMint Like A Jew “Watching Our Nation’s Pennies”

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/19/gopers-demint-like-a-jew_n_326295.html

Catrina. Still undecided about 2010. This may help.
========================================

The Plum LineGreg Sargent’s blog
GOP In Same Position In Generic Matchup As In 2008 And 2006

Don’t look now, but by one measure, the GOP is in the same position as it was heading into the 2008 and 2006 elections, both of which resulted in crippling landslide losses for the Republican Party.

If you look at the generic Congressional matchup in the internals of the new Washington Post poll, you’ll see that the Dem advantage over the GOP is virtually identical to what it was heading into the two previous Congressional elections.

Right now, the poll finds that when respondents are asked whether they will vote for a Dem or a GOPer in the 2010 elections, 51% pick the Dem and 39% pick the Republican.

In June of 2008 (the most recent historical data in the WaPo poll), Dems led the generic matchup 52%-37%. And in early November of 2006 the Dem lead was 51%-45%. Today the spread is largely unchanged.

continued in The Plum Line
Yes! Yes! Yes! Was it good for you?

Comments are closed.