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Policy and Procedure, Caribbean Style

Honduras, South America leaps to the front page of the New York Times with the headline “Honduran President Is Ousted in Coup”, and to be fair to the NYT – the events of the last 48 hours do in fact bear all of the hallmarks of a classic coup d’état.

However, the story demands a little more investigation …

The now former President of Honduras, one Manuel Zelaya has been working towards an objective of increasing presidential term limits and if everything had gone according to plan – Sunday would have been the day of a national non-binding referendum on the subject. As things turned out, said referendum turned into the trigger for events that resulted in his removal from office and lots of news in the media on the role of the Honduras armed forces a subsequent pyjama drama in Costa Rica.

However, if we look deeper into the legal context a number of facts emerge:

  • The Supreme Court, top electoral body, and human-rights ombudsman have ruled the referendum illegal.
  • Article 239 of the Honduran Constitution, forbids any former chief executive from being re-elected President, states that any citizen (including the president) who proposes reforming this law, and any others who support such a person directly or indirectly, are to immediately “cease carrying out” any public office.
  • Article 42, Section 5 of the Constitution states that citizenship is lost for “inciting, promoting or supporting the continuation or the re-election of the President of the Republic.”
  • Both the court and the National Congress have ratified the actions of the armed forces.
  • The National Congress named and ratified Roberto Micheletti as President.

The last item in the above list is interesting in that normally the role of President would fall to the Vice President, Elvin Santos (Zelaya’s running mate). However, Santos had already resigned that position in order to run for the next Presidential Election in January 2010. Zelaya had replaced him with Arístides Mejía Carranza under the title “Vice President Commissioner” (a position barred from taking the position of President). This paved the way for the appointment by Congress of Roberto Micheletti (as President of the National Congress) to the position of Provisional President of Honduras until the end of the current term.

With all of the above information on the table – Barack Obama’s statement was telling:

I am deeply concerned by reports coming out of Honduras regarding the detention and expulsion of President Mel Zelaya. As the Organization of American States did on Friday, I call on all political and social actors in Honduras to respect democratic norms, the rule of law and the tenets of the Inter-American Democratic Charter. Any existing tensions and disputes must be resolved peacefully through dialogue free from any outside interference.

No coup d’état – just policy and procedure Caribbean style.

794 replies on “Policy and Procedure, Caribbean Style”

Jen –
[I reckon if that crap had not happened the Oz-blog politics world would be formidable. Instead we are diluted.]

My view exactly. But I am starting to wonder if the two worlds couldn’t realign. I mean the cut and thrust is ok these days over there. Everyone on PB knows who the attack dogs are for the ALP, and who theyare attacking – and who the more aggressive greens too. But if you just ignore the usual barbs from the usual palace guard fired at anyone with thought independent of party headquarters it’s fine. There are many rusted on ALP people who are great to debate with. I haven’t had any issues that have worried me with any of them. It can be very engaging and interesting – and you do learn a lot in the exchanges becasue you test your own knowledge and ideas. Not that I’m a salesperson for it! But you chaps are all so terrific as bloggers and reseachers that I think you would enhance PB by heaps, and make aricher mix.
Anyway, wistful fantasy over ….

Jv – I, too think that if the Berlinwall can come down, and we want peace in the middle-east then we should be able to live out that ideal in our own backyard.
this could do it
BingBeta
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I do get it indeed. Post the link over a coffee in the morning 🙂 I probably couldn’treadt it very well at present anyway!

And, damn it! The US might pass the domestic emissions cuts bill but fall short on the international stage for Copenhagen. What??:

[July 2 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. Senate may pass legislation to slow climate change and then fail to approve a global treaty that commits nations to do so, Senator John Kerry said.
Kerry, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, will be a leader in Senate efforts to place the first domestic curbs on greenhouse gases, after the House approved a measure last week. Even if a Senate bill passes, there may not be enough support to ratify an international accord incorporating the U.S. commitments, the Massachusetts Democrat said in an interview.

A possible Senate rejection poses a threat to the 192- nation effort to forge an agreement, which scientists say can help slow warming that’s raising sea levels and changing rainfall patterns globally.
“We are definitely going to make more progress if there is a strong international agreement that the U.S. is a party to,” said Nigel Purvis, who in the 1990s worked as a U.S. negotiator on the Kyoto climate treaty that the U.S. didn’t ratify. Passing domestic climate-change legislation remains the most crucial step, Purvis said.

Senate ratification of a treaty would require 67 votes, compared with 60 for legislation.

“Sixty-seven votes is a big target here,” Kerry said last week, before Congress left for a one-week break. “We may be able to pass something that puts America on track to accomplish our set of goals. But we may pass it with 60 votes, or 61 or whatever, and that’s not 67.” ]
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aMs9V_EUxE0Y

When Will They Ever Learn Dept:

The First Anglo–Afghan War lasted from 1839 to 1842. It was one of the first major conflicts during the Great Game, the 19th century competition for power and influence in Central Asia between Great Britain and Russia, and also marked one of the worst setbacks inflicted on British power in the region after the consolidation of India by the British East India Company.

On 1 January 1842 following some unusual thinking by Elphinstone an agreement was reached that provided for the safe exodus of the British garrison and its dependants from Afghanistan. Five days later, the retreat began, The departing British contingent numbered around 16,000, of about 4,500 military personnel, and over 12,000 civilian camp followers; the military force consisted mostly of Indian units and one British battalion, the 44th.
Despite the safe-conduct they had been granted, as they struggled through the snowbound passes, the British were attacked by Ghilzai warriors. The evacuees were harassed down the 30 miles (48 km) of treacherous gorges and passes lying along the Kabul River between Kabul and Gandamak, and massacred at the Gandamak pass before reaching the besieged garrison at Jalalabad. The force had been reduced to fewer than forty men by a retreat from Kabul that had become, towards the end, a running battle through two feet of snow. The ground was frozen, the men had no shelter and had little food for weeks. Only a dozen of the men had working muskets, the officers their pistols and a few unbroken swords. The only Briton known to have escaped was Dr. William Brydon, though a few others were captured.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Anglo-Afghan_War

So now The Poms are on their fourth war in Afghanistan. They still think they can subdue the locals on their own turf. Suppliers to Brits have made a motza. Always do. Soldiers doing the dirty work; invasion, winning hearts and minds, occupation etc, have fared less well.
“Lt Col Thorneloe, the commanding officer of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, was the highest-ranking British soldier to be killed in Afghanistan since Britain joined the US-led invasion in 2001………Britain has about 8,300 soldiers fighting the Taliban, mainly in the south.”
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/07/03/2615555.htm

No slouch when it comes to war zones, John Martinkus observes in the latest issue of Overland:
“It doesn’t take a military genius to work out that if you have Special Forces secretly killing people in an area where you are trying to win the population to your side there will be detrimental consequences (i.e. an upsurge in “pink mist” and sniper events)……
As the war continues, Australians need to realise the consequences of raising troop levels in Afghanistan.”

http://web.overland.org.au/?page_id=1162

Relevant dialogue occurs from 1:41 to ~4:05
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGosYIlXdmU
——————————————–

Thanks Harry and Chris.
JayVers, Min’s got me in harness today, so to speak, will be back this arvo with reply.

91 Jen Yes. You missed the article EC linked to. That’s what its all about. Free stuff. Particularly chocolate.

On the issue of media and paying for news, I personally think that good journalism, in theory, should be paid for – it should have a cost to the reader. I don’t know what the right model is, but fundamental to it is providing good journalism that’s worth reading. I also think perhaps the horse has bolted, but I note there are some paying models that are working – most notably in the business sphere – like the Wall St Journal.

Yesterday I was reading a fabulous article from Vanity Fair on Sarah Palin. I printed it out to read it in a waiting room – it was 14 pages long. I’m not trying to demonstrate moral superiority – but should I be able to read a 14 page detailed analysis from Vanity Fair for free? Am I going to keep on being able to read such great stuff, if it’s not paid for?

I used to love Tim Dunlop’s Road to Surfdom blog. In his parting entry on that blog, he expressed the view that for good blogging to be viable and vibrant in the future, there’s going to have to be some cost, and I can’t help but agree.

I love Huffington Post, but it does rely significantly on linking stories and video. Should it be able to do this for free? I think there is truth in the argument that Huffington Posts link sometimes does feed readers back to the original source, so there is mutual benefit. But I’m simply not sure that the basic model is fair or appropriate. Really, I don’t know the answer.

I simply refuse to download movies and TV programs from the net. I feel that it is stealing (and I know mostly it is illegal). I’ve had arguments with younger people on the net about this, who are absolutely outraged by my view. But I think it has just become so much the norm by young people to download stuff for free, that they think it is their right to do so.

I’ve had friends ask me to copy some of my CDs, and I refuse them, because I think the artist should get some reward for what they produce.

Meh. What’s the solution?

Paddy at 108, notice that none of the big, brave News hacks had the nerve to stick their monniker(s) on the:

“Newspapers will prosper long after e-scandal sheets are gone.” piece.

Probably had something to do with the fact they’d be pilloried in aeternum. Going forward. Fair dinkum, laughed so hard I nearly burst a boiler.

Noticed one of Citizen Rupe’s most talented subbies on the blogs last week arguing why the predicted demise of Fourth Estate, as such, was grossly exaggerated. Seems the News groupthink is still solid as.
Some days you get more sense from flat-earthers.

Besides…… yer average Mid-West or Heartland Sep; deer hunters, jesus freaks, snake handlers and their ilk are daily breakin’ their balls, boobs or butts (whatevs) to be the first one on their block to absorb the wisdom from the latest posting of Rupie Poo’s WSJ so they can shoot their mouths off about it at neighbourhood barber shops, diners, Wall-Marts and speakeasys. :mrgreen:
———————-

KatieLou, I hear your argument and note your dilemma re “theft” of online “intellectual property”.

KL@109:

but should I be able to read a 14 page detailed analysis from Vanity Fair for free? Am I going to keep on being able to read such great stuff, if it’s not paid for?

The Vanity Fair site advertisers “pay for” the content you printed and read for free.

Furthur, every time one clicks onto a different section of VF, it is logged in a total traffic count meter. The more traffic they get, the more they can charge their advertisers. The Oz blogsite, LP, operates on pretty much the same basis.

Very difficult to ignore the coloured, moving and flashing ads with which many of the sites bombard readers. I remember when trading online the bloody Bloomberg site used to shit me to tears. It was like trying to read stuff through a Catherine wheel. In the end I gave the buggers away and went to yahoo.finance where one could get the guts of what was unfolding….. minus the ad extravaganzas.

The hard copy you printed down might be passed on to a friend who reads it and likes it, then sometime later sees a VF at a newsstand, picks it up and flicks through it only because s/he liked the 14 pages you passed on. That recipient of the 14 p’s doesn’t actually have to buy the newsstand VF. While leafing through it that person sees ads in the mag that s/he would never have been exposed to if you hadn’t printed, read and passed on the hard copy in the first place.

Re CD’s: Can’t remember the number of times at home that a dinner guest or intransit layabout has asked: “Who’s that?” They like what they hear and want to purchase it (usually) online asap. Whether my CD was bought or home-burnt matters little on my “morality scale” because the artists(s) pick up exposure and sales that they perhaps never would have got if they didn’t hear it chez Min & Ecky. (do a weekly paid radio music programme so all my “product” is complimentary).

Early last century when Senor Marconi’s “music machine”, the AM radio receiver, first came to the Big Apple many of the local musos were filthy because they though that dance hall operators could play “live” music for free, thereby dudding them of paying gigs. These were not acoustic Luddites but battling musos who had families to feed and I believe that their concerns were not in mauvaise foi.

By the 1950’s there was a monster “Payola” scandal Sep-side because slick promoters slipped a bit of buck-sheesh to “Disc Jockeys” to ensure that THEIR vinyl records got plenty of air play. Promoters/ impressarios and low-rent managers soon twigged that if the punters were familiar with the artists who were touring, they would be far more likely to fork out their folding to catch ‘em live at a concert or dance hall or buy associated paraphernalia.

There’s a wonderful scene in “Cadillac Records” where Adrien Brodie as Leonard Chess of The Windy City’s Chess Records palms a DJ as smoothly as the Sharon Stone character in “Casino” palms the ascending hierarchy of casino staff from the greeters to the table fleecers.

Anyway, KL, my moral compass tilts to the side that all publicity is good publicity and the louder one’s name blips the recognition radar of potential consumers, then the more commerce one is gonna do.

Not so much social capital as socialised capitalism. 🙂

116
😆
Indeed Ecky. I *did* notice the lack of a byline on that outstanding piece of satire from Rupert’s flacks.
However, there was no such reticence from Tim at Mumberella in reply to the odious Hartigan. 🙂

Mumbrella isn’t the cause of your problem, Mr Hartigan

My name is Timothy James Burrowes. Occupation: journalist.

I am, I must admit, in equal parts surprised and flattered that earlier today, the boss of News Ltd selected Mumbrella as one of two examples of Australian websites that are leeching off journalism in Australia (I paraphrase only slightly).

http://mumbrella.com.au/mumbrella-isnt-the-cause-of-your-problem-mr-hartigan-7311
Well worth the read.

EC
[JayVers, Min’s got me in harness today, so to speak,]

Good on you! A modern bloke should know how to follow a list. You are clearly not like the senior commonwealth public servant who wrote this minute in 1963 about whether there should be women trade commissioners. It’s a classic. I particularly enjoyed his points (viii) and (ix). Not that long ago either, when you think about it.
http://vrroom.naa.gov.au/records/?ID=19442&page=2

July 3: Safe as (sand)Castles
http://news.yahoo.com/comics/nonsequitur;_ylt=A0WTUdkMuE1Kf5YAogwDwLAF

July 3:And the world’s 5th largest oil producing nation is………..
http://news.yahoo.com/edcartoons/doonesbury;_ylt=AgoQ09p1hnxbHfWF2oJL.PfmcLQF

July 3:
http://news.yahoo.com/edcartoons/tomtoles;_ylt=AkvYTnhQ.sK80K0T2ktmHcrV.i8C

(reprise)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r00qr3G5sU4&feature=related

http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoon/display.cfm/72615

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7cnGUawqGw&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LTiZqpnbP0
———————-

JV, the whole kit and ka-boodle especially subsection (viii) makes one realise why proto-feminists like Jane Austen, The Brontes, Virginia Woolf, Syl Plath and co. had more than a pretty fair point to make.
Amazing how many of the male attitudes in the land of Oz from the 50s and 60s persist today in men over 50.
However, to be a female living under fundy islam (Sharia) law would be horrific in the extreme. The moment a woman or girl steps out of “the house”, that woman or girl becomes an object.

Anyway, Min is my partner and we’re in this caper called life together. We’ve always shared everything and with luck always will. Today ‘er indoors went outdoors to a biz meeting and I stayed home and cooked, listened to music, saw a few clients and mangaged a quick squizz at……. and a spray on the blogs. 🙂

Sorry JV, can’t help you at 92. Chris is the wiz in that dept.

Really like the way Matt Taibbi weaves his narrative; hugely talented young writer.

WHAT BUBBLE IS THAT?
A Guide to 21st Century Bubble Spotting

http://artyzm.com/obrazy/millais-bubbles.jpg

The first thing you need to know about Goldman Sachs is that it’s everywhere. The world’s most powerful investment bank is a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money……..

It’s early June in Washington, D.C. Barack Obama, a popular young politician whose leading private campaign donor was an investment bank called Goldman Sachs — its employees paid some $981,000 to his campaign — sits in the White House. Having seamlessly navigated the political minefield of the bailout era, Goldman is once again back to its old business, scouting out loopholes in a new government-created market with the aid of a new set of alumni occupying key government jobs.

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/28816321/the_great_american_bubble_machine/print#

POLITICO: Sarah Palin to resign as Governor of Alaska

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin announced Friday that she was resigning her office later this month, a stunning decision that could free her to run for president more easily but also raises questions about her political standing at home.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0709/24497.html

Meanwhile Andrea Mitchell is reporting that she is bailing out of politics for good.

By Post Author

Oh, wouldn’t an indictment be divine? Can Obama call an early election? Or is there more to come for the Republicans?

Chris B
[Syrian President, First Lady Praises Obama. Want’s to meet them.]
There’s one in the eye for those who would say Obama’s words are empty.

You can see from that article the extent of the quiet but furious diplomacy going on around the M-East behind the speech-making by Obama signalling the big philosophical shift to inclusion and mediation.

It’s an imposing sight as all the pieces are put together preparatory to a really big push to get agreement on the two state solution. Netanyahu remains relatively quiet while this goes on, which is another positive sign.

This M-East strategy was one of the main reasons I supported Obama in the primaries. It was all in his platform. No-one else could have achieved as much as he has in this time period – or in any period. (If you know who I mean 🙂 ).

Hi All.
Back from the wilderness up north and the Globe is in turmoil.
So much pece and quiet without a Puter, TV or Radio for a couple of weeks.
Jen i think Sarah might be getting what Paddy shot at. SFA!

As one of the bloggers under the above article says:

[Who was it that said: “If ya can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen?”]

jv – that is positively delicious !!!
couldn’t happen to a more deserving narcisstic waste of space than Sarah. And watch teh aleady drowning GOP go down with her.
Maybe there is a god.
😆

Of course we must remember to pay homage to the MSM for the breaking news on Palin, and not the two-bit rumour driven barrow-pushing blogosphere :mrgreen:

If it is true about the indictment, I had not included Alaska as a win for the Democrats in the senate in 2010.

A taste of the above article:

“The first thing you need to know about Goldman Sachs is that it’s everywhere. The world’s most powerful investment bank is a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money.

Any attempt to construct a narrative around all the former Goldmanites in influential positions quickly becomes an absurd and pointless exercise, like trying to make a list of everything. What you need to know is the big picture: If America is circling the drain, Goldman Sachs has found a way to be that drain — an extremely unfortunate loophole in the system of Western democratic capitalism, which never foresaw that in a society governed passively by free markets and free elections, organized greed always defeats disorganized democracy.”

Jen
From Chris B’s Huff Post link – the Governors’ Association head blames bloggers for Palin’s withdrawal.
[RGA header cited pesky bloggers and activists as the reason. Palin had insisted she didn’t want to put Alaskans through two years of a lame-duck governorship.]

So bloggers can now bring about the downfall of political leaders. Wow, aren’t we powerful!? And let’s get busy with a few others 🙂

Hi Ferny – Have you checked you email lately? Coming to the Writers’ festival at theBay in August?

145 “So bloggers can now bring about the downfall of political leaders”
woohoo jv-
let’s go for it. All those neocons still floating around in the cesspools they’ve created – Libs, Repugs, Tories…
then again, they seem to be make an awfully good job of it themselves 😉

Geezus Ferny – hate it that Obama is so beholden to these bastards. Doesn’t smell good.

if he can CB- might not be that easy.

And I think we have perhaps had the wrong impression of Sarah. She in fact is only thinking of her constituents and not wasting their money for selfish reasons.
Such nobility is , um, fucking bullshit 😆
“Some Alaskans don’t mind wasting public dollars and state time [with ethics complaints and inquiries]. I do. I cannot stand here as your Governor and allow millions upon millions of our dollars go to waste just so I can hold the title of Governor.”

Ok – how long before Tina Fey takes off Palin’s resignation speech??

sorry, can’t quite contain myself yet. i’ll calm down soon.

Paul Begala is having a ball too …

I wish Hunter S. Thompson had lived to see this.

As Hunter said, “When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.” Sarah Palin makes Mark Foley, the congressman who sent filthy emails to pages look almost normal. She makes David Vitter, the senator who was hanging out with hookers, look almost boring. She makes Larry Craig, caught hitting on a cop in a men’s room, look almost stable. She makes John Ensign, the senator who was having an affair with a staffer, look almost humdrum (and compared to the rest of the GOP whack-jobs, he is). And she makes Mark Sanford, the governor with the Latin lover, look positively predictable.

It was an almost impossible mission, but in resigning from office with 17 months to go in her first term, Sarah Palin has made herself the bull goose loony of the GOP.

huffpo

In that article at #153 is a link that takes you to a page that links to the full speech (in written form). Paul Begala summarises it using the following words:

The text, as posted on Gov. Palin’s official website, uses 2,549 words and 18 exclamation points. Lincoln freed the slaves with 719 words and nary an exclamation; Mr. Jefferson declared our independence in 1,322 words and, again, no exclamation points. Nixon resigned the presidency in 1,796 words — still no exclamation points. Gov. Palin capitalized words at random – whole words, like “TO,” “HELP,” and “AND,” and the first letter of “Troops.”

For the test in question go no further than the following link:
http://www.gov.state.ak.us/exec-column.php

By Post Author

Cat – it’s very hard to choose from such a plethora of amazing quotes but I think my very favourite might be
“Nah, only dead fish “go with the flow” ‘.

She’s a regular philosopher ain’t she??
ROTFLMAO.

AH-OOOOOO.

http://www.veganreader.com/images/palinkillswolves.gif

More than once in my travels in Alaska, people brought up, without prompting, the question of Palin’s extravagant self-regard. Several told me, independently of one another, that they had consulted the definition of “narcissistic personality disorder” in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders—“a pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy”—and thought it fit her perfectly. When Trig was born, Palin wrote an e-mail letter to friends and relatives, describing the belated news of her pregnancy and detailing Trig’s condition; she wrote the e-mail not in her own name but in God’s, and signed it “Trig’s Creator, Your Heavenly Father.”

http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/08/sarah-palin200908

See ya later, Sarah.

Alaska senate seat will not even be close in 2010. So many Republican scandals and not one of them from the George Bush era. Ironical isn’t it?

Just pull one corrupt little part and the whole darn thing collapses around them. Which other Republican will no longer compete in 2010? Who else will change parties? McCain? Olympia Snowe? Susan Collins?

What sort of loser will lead the Republican Party in 2014? Or will they be forced to take anyone foisted on them? eg a Mormon. Hey! We might as well let a Mormon Captain the Titanic!

G’day, Gaffy, welcome home. 🙂

Jen: “Geezus Ferny – hate it that Obama is so beholden to these bastards. Doesn’t smell good.”

What’s bothersome, Jen, is that if Goldman Sachs & Allied own Obi’s ass, then what chance has he of delivering on his “renewable energy” election promises? Buckley’s I’d reckon.

BHO’s “throw away the key” stance on political prisoners also sticks in one’s craw because it’s a continuation of a particularly ugly aspect of The Imbecile’s agenda as well as a betrayal of the U.S. Constitution, the spirit and the letter of habeas corpus….and the Geneva Convention.

Can’t doublethink my way past that one, unfortunately. That’s why I’ve been in the “neutral corner” re The Kid for the last couple of months. Sure, he’s freakishly brilliant compared to most of his POTUS predecessors, and sure, it takes time to turn around a bureaucratic leviathon, but The Obster geed a lot of people up for “change we could believe in” and like most hard bastards of the Left……..Ah ain’t sold! 🙂

Chris, ava butcher’s at this:

The Obama administration will proceed with a Bush-era plan to use National Security Agency assistance in screening government computer traffic on private-sector networks, with AT&T as the likely test site, according to three current and former government officials.
President Obama said in May that government efforts to protect computer systems from attack would not involve “monitoring private-sector networks or Internet traffic,” and Department of Homeland Security officials say the new program will scrutinize only data going to or from government systems.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/02/AR2009070202771_pf.html

where’s Gaffers ecky? can’t see any sign of him.

on a personal note – and in a year of seemingly ongoing lessons in the harsh realities of life confronting me head -one of my oldest and dearest friends was eating her meal at work, choked and has died.
WTF is that????

embrace every moment is the lesson.

Jen
I made sure i was back home in time for Ticsters first birthday and have baked a great big chocolate mud cake with a big candle at standby.
All the BOAT people will be surprised that 101 has just about notched up the first one.

From the Chris link at 160

It amazes me how this sat idle before the elections as we did not see the story feature in RooPoo’s MSM.
It was out there in blogosphere as this blog shows in very good detail in October 2008.

http://rogerhollander.wordpress.com/2008/10/14/massive-palin-scandal-brewing/

Also from the link at 160 blogger 32 threw this scary take on it all, another DG conspiracy theory, but hey funnier things have happened in Seppoland.

spencers mom Says:
——————————————————————————–

Another Joe Says:

Amazing that this train wreck was gonna be “one heartbeat” away from a 70+ year old (senile) potential president and the mainstream media did not say boo.

Even though, if the speculation is correct, this is a scandal that goes back years.

But maybe that was the plan. McCain gets elected, Palin holds the veep office for a few months, the scandal(s) is revealed, she resigns in disgrace (Agnew redux), McCain is bullied into appointing Jeb Bush, McCain suffers a sudden fill-in-the-blank… heart attack, stroke, fall down the stairs, and voila! President Jeb Bush is install!

I put nothing past these lying, cheating, ass-covering scum.

Thank whateveryoubelievein Obama

Gaffhook – Jeb as POTUS.
you have a very disturbed mind.
When do we get cake??

True indeed – that porcelein skin and slight tilting smile.
Sarah is just too obvious.

138
Ferny Grover

I’ve had the mental viagra you served Ferny, and it’s done me a power of good! LOL

GS is truly the Godfather of the US financial system, and anyone who’s been watching closely will know they’ve pocketed billions of taxpayer’s dollars in a little scam called ‘heads I win, tails you lose’, aided and abetted most admirably by the likes of Paulson et al.

Pretty much everything Taibbi says is right, and there’s plenty he didn’t say (or more likely, couldn’t!), it’s a systemic parasite that has taken over the body politic, and is so embedded in the executive you can’t imagine how it could EVER be removed without violent surgery.

And yep, Obi’s ass is as beholden as all the previous incumbents. It truly is the triumph of corporate metastasis over democracy.

HusseinStWorm
If the quote at the end of the article is accurate, not only did Ms Palin use a quote that is a long-standing joke itself, she also ‘mis-spoke’ in presenting it . She’s already off into the wild blue Russian airspace yonder:

[‘In the words of General MacArthur said, “We are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.”]

What was that again – ‘In the words of Governor MacArthur said…’?
I don’t think she’ll be the Repugs nominee next election, or ever – unfortunately for our potential for fun.

When Gail Collins of the NY Times hits her stride, the result is wonderful:

Truly, Sarah Palin has come a long way. When she ran for vice president, she frequently became disjointed and garbled when she departed from her prepared remarks. Now the prepared remarks are incoherent, too.

“And a problem in our country today is apathy,” she said on Friday as she announced that she would resign as governor of Alaska at the end of the month. “It would be apathetic to just hunker down and ‘go with the flow.’ Nah, only dead fish ‘go with the flow.’ No. Productive, fulfilled people determine where to put their efforts, choosing to wisely utilize precious time … to BUILD UP.”

Basically, the point was that Palin is quitting as governor because she’s not a quitter. Or a deceased salmon.

…ain’t that lovely?

JV, let’s hope the moose shooter has a go anyway, at least the primaries will be a hoot.

Indeed, jv and Hussey, without the Wasilla Winker our Primaries Entertainment Factor will be wantonly diminished and as such, is an act of gross selfishness on her part……despite SP’s highly original resigning statement that she did it all for the good of her family and the great State of “A-lar-ska”.
But Governor Palin should be so lucky already. It’s not every Pro-Life, field dressin’, wolf slayer that gets to live the dream of pursuin’ dead fish up stream like a well-drilled point guardian.
It would be a serious mistake, however, to misunderestimate the GOP’s capacity to present the voters of America with yet another card-carrying, A-Grade dingbat on their 2012 ticket.
“Froot Loops-R-Us!”
It’s one of the things they do best.
—————-
Kirri, glad you dug the Cerebral Crackerphat.
Pfizer own the patent but widespread generics are being “cooked-up” by lackeys of rogue drug barons as we blog. Supplies are expected to flood the market in time for the seasonal surge in demand this spring.
———-
jv, General Mac said: ” We are not retreating – we are advancing in another direction. ”

The defiant one also said, presciently, when he was routed by Japanese Forces from Corregidor in the Philippines in WW2 ahead of setting up his Pacific HQ in Melbourne.

“I shall return!”

But, I concur, she’s finished as far as the Main Chance is concerned. Of course there will be The Book and the yap show merry-go-round, special guest appearances at prominent fundy tabernacles and possibly a “snout in the trough” case to defend.
There’s also no way that Tina Fey won’t give Wolf Slayer a fitting “send off”. And it’s only a matter of time before some half smart neo-Ayrian band releases “Barracuda Blues”.

Downunder Tailhookers:
Institutionalised misogyny or good, clean mutually consenting fun?

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/07/04/2616954.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tailhook_scandal

Once attended a live-in Uni College for young Christian Gentleman for a year during the Vietnam war. Amongst other awards, the most sought after by jocks was the “Atrocity Belt” which was presented annually at a monster “piss-up” to the student who, by popular acclaim, had perpetrated the grossest, substantiated “animal act” towards a woman. Shamefully, almost all (including myself at the time) thought it was hilariously funny.

“Bloody slag had it comin’ to her, anyway” was the prevailing rationale.
Most of the lads who voted including the awardee that year rose to positions of comfort if not prominence in Oz society.

Seems very little has changed in Western group male attitudes towards women, yet how often do we hear “how badly Ragheads treat their women”? One out, most contemporary “you wouldn’t talk to ’em if they didn’t have a c–t” blokes are deft at playing the Super Snag, but bunch those same men up with their bellies full of booze and another far uglier dynamic kicks in, the exploitation of which is one of the patriarchy’s most potent weapons of female repression.

Be interesting to see if a Class Action suit arises from events reported above by Auntie.
All women, especially Service women who put their lives on the line for Oz deserve what Lady Soul called R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

The Sarge in “Full Metal Jacket”, Part 1.
“Drill Instructor: Tonight, you pukes will sleep with your rifles. You will give your rifle a girl’s name, because this is the only pussy you people are going to get. Your days of finger-banging ol’ Mary Jane Rottencrotch through her purty pink panties are over! You’re married to this piece. This weapon of iron and wood. And you will be faithful!”

“R. Lee Ermey: “This is my rifle; this is my gun*…”

Grunts: “This is for fighting; this is for fun*.”

* indicates todger

“But Malcolm, you’ve got no arms, and we’ve cut off your legs!” Malcolm,”It’s only a flesh wound!”

Catching up on the situation in Honduras, …

Sometime yesterday the Honduras Supreme Court formally rejected the OAS ultimatum for reinstatement of the ousted President Zelaya. Also, even earlier (prior to that late night OAS meeting last week) the Honduras interim government formally withdrew the country from membership to OAS (somewhat defeating the threat of suspension). On the other hand the OAS is claiming that it does not recognise the interim government and therefore the withdrawal is equally invalid and as such the threat of suspension remains a legitimate negotiating tactic (go figure). Members of the OAS are expected to meet today to deal with the suspension question.

In the meantime Zelaya announced on Saturday (earlier today Honduras time) that he is planning on returning to Honduras (and that appears to be scheduled for either today or tomorrow).

Some related links:
BBC: Honduran court defiant on Zelaya
Huffington Post: Honduras Pulls Out Of OAS, Refuses TO Restore Zelaya
ABC: Exiled Honduras leader ‘heading home’

By Post Author

Jen We can get a positive out of it though. More free publicity for Australia in the USA. 😈

of course Ticksters- we have never,ever suggested anything untoward about the lovely Sarah whom we love and admire, and truly believe is only acting for the good of America and indeed the entire planet, and would not for a moment be involved in anthing untoward, unethical or illegal. And is not at all as tupid vacuous narcisstic moron, but indeed someone to look up to and a role model for women everywhere.

“The abruptness of her announcement and the mystery surrounding her plans has fed widespread speculation. But Palin attorney Thomas Van Flein on Saturday warned legal action may be taken against bloggers and publications that reprint what he calls fraudulent claims”

Arrgh!!!!!!!!
What are these cultists up to now?

Food democracy, the growing trend whereby consumers are flexing their muscles and influencing decisions made by big food retailers and producers, is finding a foothold in South Africa.The first big retailer to pay close attention to what customers are saying, is Woolworths. In fact, it’s in response to requests from customers that Woolworths has become the first South African retailer to remove aspartame from its foods.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/South-Africa-Woolworth-s-R-by-Stephen-Fox-090702-433.html

Dr Adrian Gibbs, Australian Virologist has put his case for the birth of Swine Flu to the WHO.

Gibbs spells out fairly clearly how he thinks the new virus might have emerged due to a laboratory error.

PETER’S NEW YORK, Wednesday, July 1, 2009–The scientist who made headlines in May by positing a laboratory origin for the swine flu that has swept the world will defend his theory in the scientific literature, Peter’s New York has learned.

Dr. Adrian Gibbs, a Canberra, Australia-based virologist with more than 200 scientific publications to his credit, said that over the weekend he submitted his latest work on the swine flu to a prominent scientific journal, and is awaiting a response.

Gibbs, 75, was part of a team that developed the antiviral drug Tamiflu.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Virologist-to-make-his-cas-by-Peter-Duveen-090630-103.html

195

The same country that officially stated that HIV did not cause AIDS?

Customers have every right to have products without additives, no matter what it is, but the hysteria about aspartame is driven by crackpots and cultists.

No news about that, but the more scientifically credible assessment is:

Based on government research reviews and recommendations from advisory bodies such as the European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Food and the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives, aspartame has been found to be safe for human consumption by more than ninety countries worldwide. In 1999, FDA officials described the safety of aspartame as “clear cut” and stated that the product is “one of the most thoroughly tested and studied food additives the agency has ever approved.”

…the facts still are, there is NO evidence of ANY scientific credibility to verify any of the long list of ailments that the cultists claim for aspartame.

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