ThinkFast: October 29, 2007
ThinkFast: October 29, 2007
Despite President Bush’s tough rhetoric on the genocide in Darfur, “the situation on the ground in Darfur is little changed.” Critics say Bush is “allowing initiatives to drop because of inertia or failure to follow up, while proving unable to mobilize either his bureaucracy or the international community.”
“A suicide bomber on a bicycle killed 28 Iraqi policemen doing their morning exercises at their base north of Baghdad on Monday, police said, in one of the deadliest strikes on security forces in months.”
Former Bush aide Dan Bartlett will announce today that he is “moving to Texas to join Public Strategies Inc., one of the nation’s best-connected public affairs firms.” At the firm, Bartlett will reunite with Mark McKinnon, “who directed the advertising efforts for Bush’s 2000 and 2004 presidential campaigns.”
“More than a year after Congress told the Energy Department to harden the nation’s nuclear bomb factories and laboratories against terrorist raids, at least 5 of the 11 sites are certain to miss their deadlines, some by many years.
Oil prices today “broke through $93 a barrel for the first time, hitting $93.20 before easing back slightly to $93.06.”
“Islamofascism” is “not an ideology; it’s a figment of the neocon imagination,” writes Paul Krugman today. “The term came into vogue only because it was a way for Iraq hawks to gloss over the awkward transition from pursuing Osama bin Laden, who attacked America, to Saddam Hussein, who didn’t.”
“Dozens of construction projects launched by the Army Corps of Engineers to protect the New Orleans region from the most catastrophic floods are behind schedule by an average of nearly eight months, an internal audit shows.”
New claims by former Secretary of State Colin Powell further detail the close ties between President Bush and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair: “In the end Blair would always support the president. … Jack [Straw] and I would get him all pumped up about an issue. And he’d be ready to say, ‘Look here, George’. But as soon as he saw the president he would lose all his steam.”
And finally: Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) has taken a “sartorial cue” from Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). “Whitehouse’s trademark black Pumas…so inspired Brown” that he “asked Whitehouse where to find the sneaks, promptly bought a pair and now sports them with his work attire.” Brown’s spokesman said that the senator was “mindful of just how hard those unforgiving marble floors can be on one’s feet, back and neck, and he was covetous of his fellow freshman’s sleek-but-cushioned footwear.”
What did we miss? Let us know in the comments section.
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Despite President Bush’s tough rhetoric on the genocide in Darfur, “the situation on the ground in Darfur is little changed.â€
Is there oil in Darfur? No you say. Well then, I guess that pretty much sums it up.
October 29th, 2007 at 9:06 am$93 a barrel, huh? Maybe it's time to compromise...
October 29th, 2007 at 9:07 amHow about "Some Blood for Oil".??
http://tshirtinsurgency.com/node/21
what the sun is shinning today? Raise the oil price over worries the sun will go away and it may rain.....
October 29th, 2007 at 9:10 amSome grim irony from the BBC...
Saudi tells UK to do more to combat terror -
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7066867.stm
TSA treats British govt minister, who is also a Muslim, like a criminal -
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_yorkshire/7066944.stm
October 29th, 2007 at 9:10 amThe NY Times is reporting 32 dead Iraqi policeman, not 28. But who can keep track anymore? Besides, 28 and 32 are both just numbers anyway. Not even a comma, really. Maybe Dana Perino can put a happy face on it by saying, well, with that many fewer policeman to kill, the death rate is sure to decline!
October 29th, 2007 at 9:12 am“More than a year after Congress told the Energy Department to harden the nation’s nuclear bomb factories and laboratories against terrorist raids, at least 5 of the 11 sites are certain to miss their deadlines, some by many years.
Well, there just isn't the money there to do it. It's all going to "fight them over there". Bush has been very lucky that these people have decided to take their brand of terror elsewhere. It certainly has nothing to do with him making us safer at home.
October 29th, 2007 at 9:12 amTCDon, the good German.
October 29th, 2007 at 9:13 amp.s. Southern Darfur is rich in oil, so there goes your latest brilliant argument bilbobaggins — i.e. your implication that we haven’t done more in Darfur because it doesn’t have oil.
Comment by TCDon — October 29, 2007 @ 9:12 am
Good point. Natural resources haven't stopped us from ignoring conflict before, which is why we've turned a blissful blind eye to the even nastier conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The coltan for your cell phone chips isn't gonna steal itself, you know!
October 29th, 2007 at 9:15 amTSA treats British govt minister, who is also a Muslim, like a criminal -
http://news.bbc.co.uk/ 1/ hi/ england/ west_yorkshire/ 7066944.stm
Comment by Dumb_Fox — October 29, 2007 @ 9:10 am
The stupidity of DHS and its bastard child TSA is beyond all comprehension.
Care to defend the management of these agencies, Herr Don?
October 29th, 2007 at 9:15 am“Islamofascism†is “not an ideology; it’s a figment of the neocon imagination,†writes Paul Krugman today.
Plus the term makes absolutely no sense. What the people of Islam believe in and do has nothing to do with fascism. What George Bush and his cronies are doing to this country has a lot to do with fascism, though.
Perhaps we should start calling them Christofascists. That is a pretty accurate term.
October 29th, 2007 at 9:17 amI have to wnder if Sen. Whitehouse has tried Rockports. They give a lot of arch support without making you look like a moron wearing sneakers with a suit.
Just sayin.
October 29th, 2007 at 9:17 am$93 a barrell?
October 29th, 2007 at 9:17 amDrive up prices through Sabre rattling while enriching your friends, it must be nice to be one of the "have's and have more's". Plus your "defense" industry cronies will profit even more when the next unjust war is launched in the name of freedom (Christ freedom has been distorted!)
Perhaps we should start calling them Christofascists. That is a pretty accurate term.
Comment by bilbobaggins — October 29, 2007 @ 9:17 am
Agreed, if we take off the Christo part. What this administration and his cronies are doing has nothing to do with Jesus. Profitofascists, maybe.
October 29th, 2007 at 9:19 am“Dozens of construction projects launched by the Army Corps of Engineers to protect the New Orleans region from the most catastrophic floods are behind schedule by an average of nearly eight months, an internal audit shows.â€
Remember when Bush went to New Orleans and promised that the government would take care of the people who were displaced (NOT) and that they would fix the levies (NOT).
Now he is making similar promises in Southern California to the victims of the wildfires. If I was someone who lost a home in those fires, I wouldn't hold my breath. Bush is rotten at keeping his promises. I saw a guy interviewed on the news when Bush did his photo op at the fires who said that Bush promised him five years ago (on TV with his arm around the guy) that the government would help him and others recover from a similar fire. Well, five years later the guy is still waiting for the promised help (actually he has given up).
October 29th, 2007 at 9:21 amBush's "tough rhetoric" means nothing.
October 29th, 2007 at 9:21 amIf shrinking Dick does not give the order, nothing happens. And shrinking Dick will only pay attention to issues that can generate personal gain.
Like oil for example.
Agreed, if we take off the Christo part. What this administration and his cronies are doing has nothing to do with Jesus. Profitofascists, maybe.
Comment by toasterhead
Yeah, you're right. How about Corprofascists.
October 29th, 2007 at 9:22 amTCDon is a well known serial troll.
Please do not feed the trolls.
October 29th, 2007 at 9:23 amJack [Straw] and I would get him all pumped up about an issue. And he’d be ready to say, ‘Look here, George’. But as soon as he saw the president he would lose all his steam.â€
It's really too bad. Both Blair and Bush have really fu(ked up their respective countries. They will both go to hell holding hands.
October 29th, 2007 at 9:25 amIran Adapts to Economic Pressure
Oil Market Could Help It Weather U.S. Sanctions
By Steven Mufson and Robin Wright
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, October 29, 2007; Page A01
Confronted by mounting U.S. and U.N. pressure, Iran has been steadily shifting its trade from West to East and, with the benefit of record high oil prices, is likely to be able to withstand the new U.S. sanctions, according to U.S., European and Iranian analysts.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/28/AR2007102801424.html?hpid=topnews
It is also going to make Iran much more beholden to Russia and China. When we get to the place where there is a shortage of oil, they won't be selling it to us, they will be selling it to the countries who stood behind them.
October 29th, 2007 at 9:28 amWord is Cheney is going hunting today.
I wonder who the lucky companions are / were?
October 29th, 2007 at 9:31 amTHEY LIKE US, THEY REALLY LIKE US....The healthcare industry is switching horses:
In all, the Democratic presidential candidates have raised about $6.5 million from the industry, compared with nearly $4.8 million for the Republican candidates.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/
That's a pretty good indication that they see the Republicans as a lost cause in the next election. But, I really hate to see the candidates taking money from the health care industry. I don't want the Democrats to be bought and paid for by the industry the way the Republicans have been.
October 29th, 2007 at 9:32 amOne interesting thing TP missed is the impending departure of Stanley O'Neal as the CEO of Merrill Lynch. Just last year, he was Wall Street's 2nd highest paid CEO, ostensibly for being a genius. This year, his "genius" for financial risk-taking was revealed to be a house of cards that resulted in a loss of billions. So he will get a hundred-million+ payday for being an idiot and being shown the door. These guys all walk away richer, win-or-lose. Grandma Millie just loses--her house and retirement fund, that is.
October 29th, 2007 at 9:33 amYeah, you’re right. How about Corprofascists.
Comment by bilbobaggins — October 29, 2007 @ 9:22 am
That works, too!
October 29th, 2007 at 9:34 amThanks for the links Dumb Fox.. Good times.
October 29th, 2007 at 9:35 amDespite President Bush’s tough rhetoric on the genocide in Darfur, “the situation on the ground in Darfur is little changed.â€
Yeah, well, talk is cheap. And attention spans are short. And right now, Iran is the propaganda topic du jour.
October 29th, 2007 at 9:35 amBush propagandist Rove said that Bush took bold 'action' about Darfur by declaring it a genocide.
In Rove's pathetically perverted mind, a verbal declaration is action.
Needless to say, Colin Powell declared Darfur a genocide and George W> Bush has been pulling his flaccid pud ever since.
Even after Bush told a Rwandan genocide survivor that a genocide would not happen "on my watch".
Bush is a liar, and loser.
-GSD
October 29th, 2007 at 9:35 amWhy isn't anyone calling the Southern California wildfires which were started by an arsonist a terrorist attack?
Why isn't anyone pointing out that everything Bush has done to strip our civil liberties in the guise of preventing terrorist attacks did not prevent this attack?
Instead, what I see are commentors saying that Californians got what they deserved.
October 29th, 2007 at 9:36 amBush and his criminal gang may not be Christofascists, but a lot of his supporters are. Like Darryl, for starters.
October 29th, 2007 at 9:38 amFox News said it might of been terrorism, Briseadh.
October 29th, 2007 at 9:38 am“More than a year after Congress told the Energy Department to harden the nation’s nuclear bomb factories and laboratories against terrorist raids, at least 5 of the 11 sites are certain to miss their deadlines, some by many years."
Oh, but this really doesn't matter, does it? I mean, we're fighting them over there so we don't have to fight them over here -- right?
sarc/off
October 29th, 2007 at 9:38 amIt's about the oil.
It's not about keeping oil prices down, but driving them up. After all, if the price per unit goes up, and the unit sales remain constant, profits skyrocket.
By gaining control of the oil fields in Iraq and Iran, Big Oil will control the spigot, and the profits.
October 29th, 2007 at 9:39 amTony Blair is a poodle and a pansy to boot.
-GSD
October 29th, 2007 at 9:39 amAmerica is under attack by Islamo-Arsonists! They have followed us over here even though we are still over there!
That doesn't feed the narrative very well.
-GSD
October 29th, 2007 at 9:40 amI just watched a very scary video on U-Tube and I think Corprofascists is the perfect term to apply to our government. Watch it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmhL8bjL9vc&eurl=http://crooksandliars.com/
October 29th, 2007 at 9:41 amGood point, BnF,
Arson is terrorism, plain & simple.
But anyone other than Islamist Extremists are not considered terrorists by the Bushies. It just confuses them. More.
October 29th, 2007 at 9:41 amOil prices today “broke through $93 a barrel for the first time, hitting $93.20 before easing back slightly to $93.06.â€
I'm starting to think all the Iran talk is really a giant wet kiss to the President's oil buddies and Saudi friends. All the rhetoric has sent the price of oil sky-high, with no sign of a letdown as long as there is tension in the region. I suspect Bush will keep up the talk for the rest of his presidency with the expressed purpose of letting his friends get a whole lot richer for as long as they can keep "pumping".
October 29th, 2007 at 9:42 am"I don’t want the Democrats to be bought and paid for by the industry the way the Republicans have been."
Too late. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
October 29th, 2007 at 9:48 amThe truth is, who ever bull shit bush and handler cheney think are terraists or want to make the rest of the world think is a terraist they will lock up...Hell, even Peace group's are a target for these evil warmonger's..No one is safe as long as this bunch is in office...Blessings
October 29th, 2007 at 9:50 amToo late. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
Comment by rocks911
Not if people get smart and vote for Kucinich. Unfortunately there is a virtual news blackout on Kucinich so few people know about him and what he represents.
October 29th, 2007 at 9:52 amThanks folks. You are all doing a good job ignoring the stinky troll who has invaded this thread. Keep up the good work!
October 29th, 2007 at 9:53 amJust imagine how much he can make off of Hillary-care.
Comment by TCDon — October 29, 2007 @ 9:50 am
Good lies, this morning, donnie. You're deep into your psyche. Anybody saving lives is fair game for you mass-murdering morons.
October 29th, 2007 at 9:55 amTCDON is a known serial troll.
Please do not feed the troll.
October 29th, 2007 at 9:56 am.No one is safe as long as this bunch is in office…Blessings
Comment by Witch1 — October 29, 2007 @ 9:50 am
they proved that on 9/11, didn't they?
October 29th, 2007 at 9:56 amAs the trolls sink further into irrelevance...I'm loving the desperation!
October 29th, 2007 at 10:02 amWhat do you think about Soros making millions and millions off of the Medicare and Medicaid system. Does that bother you? (Research the company known as WellCare). -Comment by TCDon
The thought of a progressive making money just pisses Trolls off, but the idea of Trolls doing 'research' is a stretch, eh?
October 29th, 2007 at 10:04 amAs the trolls sink further into irrelevance…I’m loving the desperation!
Comment by Lefty Patriot
I know, and it's pretty funny to see what happens when we ignore them. They start jumping up and down waving their hands in the air saying "look at me".
Good job guys, continue to ignore the stinky troll. And laugh at how mad it makes him.
October 29th, 2007 at 10:05 amTalk about your deep, deep, denial. Progressives making money must be raided by the FBI, while the GOP-run gift shop known as the war in Iraq throws away billions in cash! The irrelevance must be hurting their empty little heads over there on the rapidly-shrinking, completely irrelevant right.
October 29th, 2007 at 10:07 amwow, they're reduced to copying and pasting their own silly, off-topic posts. True Republicans: no imagination, no balls, no facts and no patriotism.
October 29th, 2007 at 10:08 amWhy are these record setting oil prices not being reflected at the pump? Usually the mere mention of higher oil prices send the prices at the pump up immediately.
October 29th, 2007 at 10:09 amseveral have commented on this problem... this story made it to my local paper the other day...
Many States Seen Facing Water Shortages
October 29th, 2007 at 10:09 amBy BRIAN SKOLOFF
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — An epic drought in Georgia threatens the water supply for millions. Florida doesn't have nearly enough water for its expected population boom. The Great Lakes are shrinking. Upstate New York's reservoirs have dropped to record lows. And in the West, the Sierra Nevada snowpack is melting faster each year. Across America, the picture is critically clear — the nation's freshwater supplies can no longer quench its thirst.
[...]
It's not just America's problem — it's global.
Australia is in the midst of a 30-year dry spell, and population growth in urban centers of sub-Saharan Africa is straining resources. Asia has 60 percent of the world's population, but only about 30 percent of its freshwater.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a United Nations network of scientists, said this year that by 2050 up to 2 billion people worldwide could be facing major water shortages.
[...]
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gsBhi0vfVCHr-E0eSckT5ZnADWxwD8SH50DO0
.
Exposing a well known serial troll is not name calling.
October 29th, 2007 at 10:09 amTP posted this last week, but it is under the radar of the msm -- do they even have radar?
The controversial Iraqi politician and alleged Iranian intelligence asset,
Ahmed Chalabi -- perhaps as responsible as anyone in drumming up false pre-war claims about Saddam Hussein's weapons capabilities -- has reemerged as a central figure....
Chalabi's latest job is lobbying Iraq's central government to build on security gains to provide "better electricity, health, education and local security services to Baghdad neighborhoods."
"The key is going to be getting the concerned local citizens — and all the citizens — feeling that this government is reconnected with them," Gen. David Petraeus, the top military commander here, said Chalabi "agrees with that."
Iraqis are skeptical of the central government's ability to help them...
Before the US invasion of Iraq in March 2003, Chalabi was a primary merchant of bogus intelligence that inflated the country's weapons capabilities and ties to terrorists. His top customers were the White House, Pentagon and American journalists.
According to a 2004 report in the UK Guardian, US intelligence has "hard evidence" that Chalabi passed US secrets to Iran.
"Some intelligence officials now believe that Iran used the hawks in the Pentagon and the White House to get rid of a hostile neighbor, and pave the way for a Shia-ruled Iraq," the paper said.
Chalabi is also wanted in Jordan for embezzling $300 million at a bank he created.
In the wake of the 2003 US invasion, Chalabi oversaw efforts to dismantle Saddam's government through de-Baathification..
October 29th, 2007 at 10:09 amI guess it's my turn to summarize the troll posts:
Clinton did it!
Soros did it!
George Bush is only a failure if you look at him!
October 29th, 2007 at 10:09 amChalabi is also wanted in Jordan for embezzling $300 million at a bank he created.
In the wake of the 2003 US invasion, Chalabi oversaw efforts to dismantle Saddam’s government through de-Baathification..
Comment by Marie — October 29, 2007 @ 10:09 am
Chalabi is a republican, that's all.
October 29th, 2007 at 10:10 amWhat has the Democratic controlled congress done about Darfur?
d
p.s. Southern Darfur is rich in oil, so there goes your latest brilliant argument bilbobaggins — i.e. your implication that we haven’t done more in Darfur because it doesn’t have oil.
Comment by TCDon — October 29, 2007 @ 9:12 am
Yeah, but can Bush link Darfur to 9/11? No? Then that's why we haven't invaded.
October 29th, 2007 at 10:12 amLibs: Bush is a criminal and everything wrong in the world is his fault. Bush might as well be hiding Bin Laden in the White House basement. 10,000,000 protesters this weekend prove my point.
Conservative: I disagree. Bush hasn’t been perfect, but let’s look at what Clinton did or didn’t do. Besides, there were only about 50,000 protesters, total. Twice that many people attended a single College football game.
Comment by TCDon — October 29, 2007 @ 10:06 am
This pretty much sums up the troll approach - the trolls come in with a false and stereotyped assumption about what we're thinking, and then don't answer the charges about the Administration directly, but just deflect criticism with a "Clinton did it too" catchphrase. Then they challenge and distort the facts, or our words, until they fit their worldview.
October 29th, 2007 at 10:13 am'Clinton did it, too'
The biggest difference between Bush & Clinton is that Clinton only got blowjobs from a woman.
October 29th, 2007 at 10:16 amA suicide bomber on a bicycle killed 28 Iraqi policemen doing their morning exercises at their base north of Baghdad on Monday, police said, in one of the deadliest strikes on security forces in months.
Exley will be relieved -- they weren't Americans.
October 29th, 2007 at 10:22 amZooey will be disappointed -- they were not American soldiers.
October 29th, 2007 at 10:24 am"Exley will be relieved — they weren’t Americans"
Is it possible that exley = michael?
October 29th, 2007 at 10:25 amPlease do not feed the trolls TCDon and exley.
October 29th, 2007 at 10:26 amExley -- always a day late and a dollar short. :-D
October 29th, 2007 at 10:28 amDespite President Bush’s tough rhetoric on the genocide in Darfur, “the situation on the ground in Darfur is little changed.â€
Is there oil in Darfur? No you say. Well then, I guess that pretty much sums it up.
Comment by bilbobaggins
bilbo,
It's not whether there's oil or no oil in Darfur. It's that Sudan was the home of Osama bin Laden for years and they supposedly have very useful information on Osama and Al Qaeda. Because of this, the Bush Administration will never truly oppose the brutal rulers of Sudan. So much for the new America that doesn't support bad governments for strategic reasons. Bush is so full of crap.
October 29th, 2007 at 10:31 amZooey will be disappointed — they were not American soldiers.
Comment by Exley — October 29, 2007 @ 10:24 am
Why do you hate the troops, Exley?
October 29th, 2007 at 10:31 amExley is the disappointed one. The rightwing disregard for the lives of American troops is an international embarrassment. Conservatives cheer the deaths of troops and revel in Bush's mistreatment of veterans.
October 29th, 2007 at 10:31 amZooey, You just can't seem to stop talking about me! I hadn't even posted on this thread before you referenced me...You really must be infatuated with me. I'm flattered.
October 29th, 2007 at 10:32 amYeah right, Exley.
I bet all your love letters are restraining orders.
October 29th, 2007 at 10:33 amExlax is mistaken; Zooey is 'inflatuated with you.
What a gas!
October 29th, 2007 at 10:33 amHeh! You're the one who brought my name up first, Zooey. You seem to miss me when I don't post.
October 29th, 2007 at 10:34 amIt’s about the oil.
It’s not about keeping oil prices down, but driving them up. After all, if the price per unit goes up, and the unit sales remain constant, profits skyrocket.
By gaining control of the oil fields in Iraq and Iran, Big Oil will control the spigot, and the profits.
Comment by Briseadh na Faire — October 29, 2007 @ 9:39 am
Same for local gas stations and oil companies. The price you pay at the pump at any given time is NOT the price the company paid for the gas currently in the underground tanks. It's the ESTIMATED price they'll have to pay to replace the gas that's now in the tanks.
So all they have to do is pad the estimate a few cents, and if the actual price is lower when it comes time to replace the gas, they've made a nice little profit. Plenty of room for gouging.
October 29th, 2007 at 10:35 amExley, when the bell rings, go to gym.
Talk about immature, wow.
October 29th, 2007 at 10:35 amThe troll is becoming desperate for attention.
October 29th, 2007 at 10:35 amComment by Menehune — October 29, 2007 @ 9:33 am
i was just reading about this story before coming to TP...
O'Neal Ouster Makes Mess of Maternal Merrill Lynch (Update3)
By Bradley Keoun
Oct. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Losing a lot of money for shareholders is the surest way to end a career on Wall Street, as Merrill Lynch & Co.'s Stan O'Neal found out this month after the embattled chief executive officer delivered the worst news in the firm's 93-year history.
The third-quarter loss of $2.24 billion, or $2.82 a share, was about six times more than O'Neal acknowledged on Oct. 5 and derived from $8.4 billion of writedowns for the subprime mortgages, asset-backed bonds and loans gone bad under his watch.
October 29th, 2007 at 10:37 am[...]
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a7a30l5s._ZQ&refer=us
.
“Dozens of construction projects launched by the Army Corps of Engineers to protect the New Orleans region from the most catastrophic floods are behind schedule by an average of nearly eight months, an internal audit shows.â€
Bush's incompetence aside, are the southern states always destined to be generally poor and corrupt? Can they never break the cycle? Even the southern European countries are poorer and more corrupt than their northern neighbors. Does the heat addle people's brains? Guess I'm just curious.
October 29th, 2007 at 10:42 amBad Eye clearly does not understand the futures market. If “they†pad the price a few cents, than “they†lose money when “they†end up paying more than it is worth when their futures contract comes due.
Comment by TCDon — October 29, 2007 @ 10:38 am
And you've proven that you don't understand the retail market. Good work.
October 29th, 2007 at 10:45 amSaudi King Says U.K. Didn't Act to Prevent Terrorism (Update1)
By Mark Deen and Camilla Hall
Oct. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, arriving in London today for talks with Prime Minister Gordon Brown, said British officials failed to act on information that could have prevented the attacks on London in July 2005.
Abdullah, in an interview with the BBC at his palace in Jeddah, said Saudi officials passed intelligence about the attacks to the U.K. before they happened. He didn't give details.
October 29th, 2007 at 10:46 am[...]
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=aUuPrDGvun9Q&refer=uk
.
Comment by TCDon — October 29, 2007 @ 10:38 am
Do you mean "if," or "when," they pay more than it is worth?
October 29th, 2007 at 10:47 am“Islamofascism†is “not an ideology; it’s a figment of the neocon imagination,†writes Paul Krugman today.
-------------------------------------
It does even more than just invent a connection between Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein (which was badly needed by the Bushneys). It managed to create an enemy large enough to be used for political fearmongering (also badly needed by the Bushneys to catapult their agenda).
The term "Islamofascism" is kind of brilliant, in a Goebbels propaganda kind of way. It takes one established boogeyman -- fascism (which most Americans can't define, but they recognize it as a term that means something really, really bad), and marries it up with another entity -- Islam (not really a boogeyman, but made into one by repeatedly conflating the religion with the 9/11 terrorists), resulting in an imagined enemy roughly on a par with the mother ships hovering overhead in Independence Day.
By making all of Islam the enemy, all the propagandist now has to do is remind his audience that this "enemy" consists of over one billion people -- much more effective at inflaming fear. Big, big, BIG boogeyman. Be very afraid.
And once your audience is scared of Muslims, it's a lot easier to invade any country you want to, as long as Muslims live there. Iraq, Iran, Syria, etc. -- no problem, even if these countries had nothing to do with 9/11.
October 29th, 2007 at 10:52 amCourt orders Israel to justify Gaza sanctions
10.29.07, 8:40 AM ET
JERUSALEM (Thomson Financial) - Israel's Supreme Court ordered the government to justify its decision to impose economic sanctions on the Gaza Strip within five days, following a petition from 10 human rights groups.
But the court, the highest legal authority in Israel, rejected a demand by the Israeli and Palestinian petitioners to freeze implementation of the sanctions, which the government began to introduce on Sunday.
October 29th, 2007 at 10:53 am[...]
http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2007/10/29/afx4272414.html
.
very well said missmolly. "Islamofasscism" is a brilliant term for fearmongers.
The Religious right is neither.
October 29th, 2007 at 10:57 amHE'S EVERYWHERE!!! HE'S EVERYWHERE!!!
News Corp., NBC launch beta of Hulu video venture
Computerworld - 1 hour ago
October 29, 2007 (IDG News Service) -- News Corp. and NBC Universal Monday debuted their joint-venture online video service Hulu.com with a private beta, adding a new rival to Apple Inc.'s iTunes and Google Inc.'s YouTube services.
from google news page...
October 29th, 2007 at 11:00 am.
"resulting in an imagined enemy"
Ah...So, it was an "imagined enemy" to brought down the World Trade Center and killed nearly 3,000 people in a single morning?
Wow.
October 29th, 2007 at 11:02 amand another from the google news page:
Crude Oil Climbs to Record Above $93 as Mexico Halts Production
October 29th, 2007 at 11:03 amBloomberg - 43 minutes ago
By Mark Shenk Oct. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil climbed above $93 a barrel in New York for the first time after Mexico shut a fifth of its production and the dollar fell to a record low.
Oil prices hit record today; Mich. gas costs up slightly Detroit Free Press
Oil tops $93 a barrel for the first time MarketWatch
Forbes - Reuters.uk - ABC News - International Herald Tribune
all 193 news articles »
.
Ah…So, it was an “imagined enemy†to brought down the World Trade Center and killed nearly 3,000 people in a single morning?
Wow.
Comment by Exley — October 29, 2007 @ 11:02 am
No -- and I never said that it was. What's "imagined" is that all one billion of the world's Muslims was behind the attacks, instead of a small cult-like group of crackpots following Osama bin Laden's twisted visions.
October 29th, 2007 at 11:04 amSomeone may have already mentioned this earlier, and if so I apologize. But I found the following little tidbit rather interesting:
From CNN -
The approval rating for all members of Congress sits at a dismal 22 percent, according to the CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll. About 75 percent of those surveyed said they disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job.
A year ago, a similar poll found the numbers to be 28 percent approval, 63 percent disapproval.
"The big issues of the day just don't seem to be being addressed," said Sarah Binder, a political science professor at George Washington University who studies Congress. "The issues that matter most to people -- the economy, health care, the environment and the larger war in Iraq -- it is so difficult for Congress to move on those issues that I believe the public looks and says, 'Why aren't they doing anything?' "
Approval of congressional Democrats stands at 43 percent, twice that of Congress in general.
October 29th, 2007 at 11:05 amWhy are these record setting oil prices not being reflected at the pump? Usually the mere mention of higher oil prices send the prices at the pump up immediately.
Comment by dumbstruck — October 29, 2007 @ 10:09 am
Prices at the pump are usually adjusted on Thursdays - watch and wait for a big increase on Thursday November 8 (can you guess what happens two days earlier? I knew you could!).
October 29th, 2007 at 11:06 amoh, didn't you know?
it was islamist extremists who supposedly attacked on 9/11
NOT islamo-fascists... a completely made up term (and an oxymoron to boot) for simpletons...
October 29th, 2007 at 11:06 am...
Comment by Exley — October 29, 2007 @ 11:02 am
Iraq didn't bring down the towers, f_ckwit, and there was NO al qaeda in Iraq at that time.
Where is Osama bin Laden?
October 29th, 2007 at 11:06 amThank you for the clarification, Missmolly.
However, I don't think anyone has claimed that all Muslims were behind the 9/11 attacks. When people speak of Islamofacism ( a term coined, I believed, by left-wing journalist Christopher Hitchens), they are referring to the "cult-like group of crackpots" like Bin Laden and the Taliban who want to install totalitarian governments based on twisted radically restrictive interpretations of Islamic law.
October 29th, 2007 at 11:08 amI thought exlax was supposed to expel sh*t from the system, not bring more into it. I must not watch enough TV commercials.
October 29th, 2007 at 11:12 amWhy are these record setting oil prices not being reflected at the pump? Usually the mere mention of higher oil prices send the prices at the pump up immediately.
Comment by dumbstruck — October 29, 2007 @ 10:09 am
Gas prices here in NE TN have been on a slow rise...about 10 cents in the last two weeks. It's about $2.75 at some stations.
October 29th, 2007 at 11:15 amComment by missmolly — October 29, 2007 @ 10:52 am
I always appreciate your comments, missmolly. Thoughtful and cogent.
October 29th, 2007 at 11:15 amHowever, I don’t think anyone has claimed that all Muslims were behind the 9/11 attacks.
Comment by Exley — October 29, 2007 @ 11:08 am
Nobody has to. Just by conflating Islam with the actions of OBLs terrorists, fear of Muslims everywhere tends to run rampant. It's this association that caused over HALF of Americans to believe Saddam Hussein had something to do with 9/11!
The neocons depend on this to enable their agenda of running roughshod over the middle east to steal as much oil as they can in the name of "anti-terrorism".
October 29th, 2007 at 11:17 am$93 a barrel for oil...?
YAY!! ANOTHER victory for the "haves" and the "have mores"!!!!
/sarc off
October 29th, 2007 at 11:17 amGood place to see what gas prices are doing around the country and over time:
http://www.gasbuddy.com/gb_gastemperaturemap.aspx
October 29th, 2007 at 11:18 amhttp://www.gasbuddy.com/gb_retail_price_chart.aspx?time=24
now THIS story is a sad mess...
French Held Over Darfur 'Adoptions'
October 29th, 2007 at 11:18 amTIME - 1 hour ago
Nine officials of a French non-governmental organization were arrested on Oct. 25 as they tried to airlift 103 Sudanese orphans from neighboring
Chad in what Chadian authorities suspect was an illegal money-for-adoption scheme.
Prison 'likely' in Chad child row BBC News
French president denounces charity workers in Chad orphan row Monsters and Critics.com
...
google news
.
Muslims are the Jews of the Bush Reich.
October 29th, 2007 at 11:18 amHowever, I don’t think anyone has claimed that all Muslims were behind the 9/11 attacks. When people speak of Islamofacism ( a term coined, I believed, by left-wing journalist Christopher Hitchens), they are referring to the “cult-like group of crackpots†like Bin Laden and the Taliban who want to install totalitarian governments based on twisted radically restrictive interpretations of Islamic law.
Comment by Exley — October 29, 2007 @ 11:08 am
The word is "fundamentalist". No reason to make up new words, especially when they're meaningless.
October 29th, 2007 at 11:18 am#99 Missmolly,
The person who conflates Islam with the actions of OBLs terrorists is Osama Bin Laden himself....His tapes and missives justifying his actions are all based on his twisted and fundamentist interpretations of Islam. Osama justifies his actions, claiming they are commanded by the Koran and Islam.
October 29th, 2007 at 11:21 amIt’s about $2.75 at some stations.
Comment by Bad Eye — October 29, 2007 @ 11:15 am
I'm jealous! Ours just went up to $3.10.
I'm glad I can ride the bus.
October 29th, 2007 at 11:23 amThe word is “fundamentalistâ€. No reason to make up new words, especially when they’re meaningless.
Comment by gummitch — October 29, 2007 @ 11:18 am
Oh, but there is a reason and you suggest it. Using "fundamentalist" puts the American Christian Theocrats, the "Christian fundamentalists", too close to the terrorist "Muslim fundamentalists".
October 29th, 2007 at 11:23 am#95 should read..cult like group of crackpot's like
October 29th, 2007 at 11:23 amgeorge W.Bush and the republican's who want to install totalitarian government's based on twisted radically restrictive intrepretations of christian law...There I fixed it for ya.
Witch1,
95 + 107 = 108 (it's "the" math)
October 29th, 2007 at 11:25 amHeh. PLC is on fire this morning. ;)
October 29th, 2007 at 11:29 amA WELL THOUGHT OUT ARTICLE - AN EASY, MUST READ!
SCHIP and the Rigged Health Insurance Game
Eric Haas Fri Oct 26, 4:57 PM ET
The House on Thursday passed a modified version of the SCHIP bill, with a vote that was seven votes shy of a veto-proof majority. There were 142 members of Congress who voted against extending health care to more poor children. Behind their rhetoric, their intentions are clear: they want to protect the health insurance market and the huge profits that go with it.
But the huge profits are killing health care. We all know that now. Profit-maximizing insurance companies are bad economics. They make money by denying care, which is a terrible way to try to keep us healthy. (The Rockridge Institute's white paper on health care security has details.)
And, profit-maximizing health insurance does more harm than that. It is also killing our sense of community.
October 29th, 2007 at 11:30 am[...]
http://news.yahoo.com/s/huffpost/20071026/cm_huffpost/070051
.
#104, Gummitch,
I don't quibble with that. I have no vested interest in the term "Islamofascisim." I am not sure I have ever even used the term here. I usually refer to Al Qaeda or the Taliban by name. More generally, I speak of "radical Islamic fundamentalists." But really, the whole discussion seems like semantics to me.
October 29th, 2007 at 11:31 amBut really, the whole discussion seems like semantics to me.
Comment by Exley — October 29, 2007 @ 11:31 am
Oh the irony....
October 29th, 2007 at 11:33 amPLC and the Witch! good team there!
October 29th, 2007 at 11:33 am.
Zooey...Good one! I'll give you that..
October 29th, 2007 at 11:34 amHi, Zooey
It's so hard NOT to get "on fire", isn't it? Well, unless you are a neocon, one of the "arsonist politicians" who start the fires in the first place.
October 29th, 2007 at 11:35 amPLC and the Witch
Sounds like the name of a very strange rock band or a CS Lewis book.
October 29th, 2007 at 11:36 amIt’s so hard NOT to get “on fireâ€, isn’t it? Well, unless you are a neocon, one of the “arsonist politicians†who start the fires in the first place.
Comment by PatrioticLiberalChristian — October 29, 2007 @ 11:35 am
I think that qualifies as prickly heat. ;)
Later all, UI beckons...
October 29th, 2007 at 11:37 amI think that qualifies as prickly heat. ;)
Comment by Zooey — October 29, 2007 @ 11:37 am
I thought it was "urban heat". :)
October 29th, 2007 at 11:38 amThe word is “fundamentalistâ€. No reason to make up new words, especially when they’re meaningless.
Comment by gummitch — October 29, 2007 @ 11:18 am
I disagree. I don't want to see the word "fundamentalist" become associated with evil, twisted ideologies. Unfortunately, that's probably already a done deal -- past the possibility of reversal.
Here are the Muslim "fundamentals" -- practiced by every Muslim "fundamentalist":
1) Believe that there is no other god but God. And that Muhammed is His messenger.
2) Pray five times daily.
3) Give to charity.
4) Fast during the holy month of Ramadan.
5) Make a pilgrimage to Mecca during your lifetime.
There is NOTHING in these most fundamental of fundamentals that says "blow up buildings and kill people."
As to the tag we should assign to the twisted people who committed the atrocities on 9/11 or who advocate similar acts -- let's not call them "fundamentalists", as that term already covers devout Muslims who would never dream of doing such things. We can call them "extremists". Or "lunatics". Or simply "terrorists".
October 29th, 2007 at 11:38 amGood Morning Lady Z and all......Gas prices here last Friday $3.10 a gallon for unleaded.....Didn't need any, already baught my alotted monthly amount the week before.....Wasen't it around a buck a gallon when Clinton was in.?.Remember awhile back when I met a guy at the pump's who had a nice new SUV...He was screaming swear word's while pumping his beauty full of gas.....I had noticed his bush sticker's all over his bumper.LOL...Smiled at him and said, maybe next time you shoulden't vote oil men into office......Keep on smiling, they will wonder what your up to.......Blessings
October 29th, 2007 at 11:44 amComment by missmolly — October 29, 2007 @ 11:38 am
#
Good point. Notice that "Hezballah", the Islamic terrorist organization directly means "Army of God". The American "Army of God" is a radical pro-life group known for bombing abortion clinics and assaulting/threatening and even burning the homes of doctors who provide abortions. Both are extremists, religious terrorists groups.
October 29th, 2007 at 11:45 amPLC, you and me. we could be known as the new rock and roll band...LOL..Great post's....Thank's...Blessings.
October 29th, 2007 at 11:49 am"extremeists". exactly.
g'day all... have more work on my new garden pond - that i dug myself -
October 29th, 2007 at 11:54 amto get the liner in and filled before the winder cold!
rock work will come in the spring...
later...
.
when he was in France this weekend, former Secretary of Defense, and bespectacled herald of doom and destruction, Donald Rumsfeld, had to make a break for it when a coalition of the way-more-than willing human rights groups filed a complaint with the French courts over his authorization of torture at Gitmo and elsewhere. Just the thought that, even for a moment or two, after his attendance at a breakfast in Paris, Rumsfeld feared he might be jailed and told to answer for his crimes. The notion that Rumsfeld was sweating, wondering if at any moment French officials might actually have the balls to do it?
October 29th, 2007 at 1:28 pmExLax, all you have is semantics, because the facts make you look stupid!
October 29th, 2007 at 2:59 pm