ThinkFast: November 14, 2008
ThinkFast: November 14, 2008
CIA Director Michael Hayden said yesterday that al-Qaeda remains the greatest threat to the U.S. “but Iraq is no longer the central front” in the broader struggle against terrorism. He added that “its leaders are building closer ties to regional militant groups in order to launch attacks in Africa and Europe and on the Arabian Peninsula.”
Putting aside his earlier criticisms of Sen. Saxby Chambliss’s dirty campaign tactics, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) yesterday showed up for a campaign appearance for the Georgia Republican, who is locked in a tough runoff election. In his first campaign appearance since Nov. 4, McCain praised Chambliss for his work on agriculture, national security, and spending reduction.
Some Republican governors were not happy about yesterday’s Palin-centric press conference, at the Republican Governors Association. “One called it awkward,” CNN reports, while another described the event as “odd” and “weird,” and said it “unfortunately sent a message that she was the de facto leader of the party.”
Yesterday, Rahm Emanuel – the incoming White House chief of staff – apologized for his father’s remarks against Arabs. Emanuel called Mary Rose Oakar, President of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, to apologize on behalf of his family and offered to meet with representatives of the Arab-American community at an appropriate time in the future.
“The number of U.S. workers drawing jobless benefits hit a 25-year high this month.” The Labor Department said jobless claims rose “by an unexpectedly steep 32,000 last week to 516,000, the highest since the weeks following the September 11, 2001 attacks.”
Foreclosures in October rose 25 percent from last year, according to RealtyTrac, meaning “one in every 452 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing” last month. Meanwhile, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. released a plan to prevent 1.5 million foreclosures “by offering financial incentives to companies that agree to sharply reduce monthly payments on mortgage loans.
Democratic congressional leaders appeared to concede yesterday that “they would face potentially insurmountable Republican opposition” to a proposed $25 billion auto industry bailout when they meet for a lame-duck session next week.
PhRMA, the nation’s largest pharmaceutical lobbying group, “is preparing a multimillion-dollar public relations campaign to tout the importance of free-market health care and undercut an expected push by the Obama administration for price controls of prescription drugs.”
Judge Barbara L. Neilson of Minnesota threw out a lawsuit Thursday against Al Franken by Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN). Coleman claimed Franken defamed him by calling him the “fourth most corrupt” senator, according to CREW. Franken’s reference of CREW was “substantially accurate, if not literally true,” according to Nielson.
And finally: The New York Times reports on how life for the Obama family has “changed forever.” For example, for the past 14 years, Barack Obama has been going to the same barber at the Hyde Park Hair Salon. “But when he wanted a trim this week, the Secret Service took one look at the shop’s large plate-glass windows and the gawking tourists eager for a glimpse of the president-elect and the plan quickly changed. If Mr. Obama could no longer come to the barber, the barber would come to him and cut his hair at a friend’s apartment.”
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October retail sales - biggest ever drop.
November 14th, 2008 at 9:02 amWho else would be the leader of the 'whack-job' party?
November 14th, 2008 at 9:07 amHaaretz reported on the Emanuel apology:
His father Benjamin Emanuel was reported as saying: "Obviously, he will influence the president to be pro-Israel. Why wouldn't he? What is he, an Arab? He's not going to clean the floors of the White House."
Rahm's apology:
"From the fullness of my heart, I personally apologize on behalf of my family and me. These are not the values upon which I was raised or those of my family,"
It's hard to discern the values of his family. As a young man, Benjamin was in the Irgun, a British designated terrorist group. As an older man he made racist comments deriding Arabs.
November 14th, 2008 at 9:08 amSeems Rahm Emmuanuel, as do quite a few others including Joe Lieberman, has a conflict of interest.
November 14th, 2008 at 9:13 amHey Dems, put the Repubs on the record for these issues. Why is it that that congressional Dems fold their tents whenever there is "insurmountable Republican opposition" rather than forcing the issue? Don't they recall all the tactics employed by the Repubs during the past two years? Or can it be that some Dems don't support your position so you don't expose them? The Dem "leadership" has a history of avoiding political conflicts with the Repubs even when the voters support them on an issue. Is it time to change leadership?
November 14th, 2008 at 9:16 amCIA Director Michael Hayden said yesterday that al-Qaeda remains the greatest threat to the U.S. “but Iraq is no longer the central front” in the broader struggle against terrorism. He added that “its leaders are building closer ties to regional militant groups in order to launch attacks in Africa and Europe and on the Arabian Peninsula.”
WOW! What impeccable timing!
Right when the Neocon movement is stopped dead in it's tracks.
And I read somewhere yesterday that we're onto Bin Laden!
Should've told Dumbya he had only months before being out of office years ago...
November 14th, 2008 at 9:16 amDemocratic congressional leaders appeared to concede yesterday that “they would face potentially insurmountable Republican opposition” to a proposed $25 billion auto industry bailout when they meet for a lame-duck session next week.
More scorched-earth politics, from the party who brought you the Katrina catastrophe.
They are willing to let the auto industry founder, to perhaps deal a death-blow to the unions.
November 14th, 2008 at 9:17 amColeman claimed Franken defamed him by calling him the “fourth most corrupt” senator, according to CREW.
Maybe Coleman can file a lawsuit against Palin for all the defamatory remarks she made against a fellow Mid-West senator now soon to become President.
November 14th, 2008 at 9:17 amHis father Benjamin Emanuel was reported as saying: “Obviously, he will influence the president to be pro-Israel. Why wouldn’t he? What is he, an Arab? He’s not going to clean the floors of the White House.”
Once a Zionist, always a Zionist.
November 14th, 2008 at 9:18 amThey are willing to let the auto industry founder, to perhaps deal a death-blow to the unions.
It will bring about another Depression, the Unions would hardly be a speck on the map.
If GM fails, it will cause a domino effect throughout the manufacturing industry.
Every auto manufacturer with factories in the U.S. would be effected.
WELCOME TO THE FASCIST STATES OF AMERICA, where the Corporations are finally holding the ultimate trump card, THE COLLAPSE OF THE ECONOMY, UNLESS YOU ENACT REVERSE ROBIN-HOOD TAX POLICIES.
November 14th, 2008 at 9:23 amIf GM fails, it will cause a domino effect throughout the manufacturing industry.
And at that point Paulsen, or his successor, will offer loans, for a stake in the company.
November 14th, 2008 at 9:26 amSteele was aptly described in an editorial the Washington Post ran on his U.S. Senate candidacy in 2006, which described Steele as a man of "no achievement, no record, no evidence and certainly no command of the issues." Noting his four-year tenure as Maryland's lieutenant governor, the Post added, "Steele had at best a marginal impact, even on his handpicked projects."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/03/AR2006110301436.html
Then, of course, there was the time that he hired homeless people to pass out deceptive flyers outside polling places --> http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/001973.php
Seems to me that Steele is uniquely qualified to head up the RNC. Good luck on that!
November 14th, 2008 at 9:26 amYesterday, Rahm Emmanuel – the incoming White House chief of staff – apologized for his father’s remarks against Arabs.
So much for the stringent vetting process for Obama's cabinet...
November 14th, 2008 at 9:26 amOne by one the Bush administration is shifting to a position on Iraq and Afghanistan suspiciously in line with President-elect Obama.
http://www.sunstateactivist.org/ssablog/
November 14th, 2008 at 9:26 amIf I posted this already forgive me, but it's pretty funny and bears repeating.
The McCain/Palin campaign was a car wreck and Sarah Palin is the hub cap still rolling down the street.
November 14th, 2008 at 9:27 amThe Jerusalem Post has the Rahm apology as a lead story.
Emanuel 'sorry' for dad's Arab remarks
The Middle East is paying attention.
November 14th, 2008 at 9:28 amSen. John McCain (R-AZ) yesterday showed up for a campaign appearance for the Georgia Republican ...McCain praised Chambliss...
I wonder if the old Maverick pointed out some of Shameliss's shortcommings as he did years ago when the Georgia asshole ran against Max Cleland?
Like pointing out that on civil liberties and civil rights issues, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) gave him a 17% rating,[21] and the NAACP gave him a 27% rating.[22]
Or that on education issues, the National Education Association gave Chambliss an "F" in 2007.
Or that on organized labor issues, the AFL-CIO gave Chambliss a 11% rating.
No, that would have been the original Maverick, before he became the toothless old swayback nag that is just part of the Repugnican herd.
November 14th, 2008 at 9:28 amEmanuel ’sorry’ for dad’s Arab remarks
Jews and Arabs, a clusterfcuk of Universal proportions, and a blueprint for racism Worldwide.
November 14th, 2008 at 9:28 amForeclosures in October rose 25 percent from last year, according to RealtyTrac, meaning “one in every 452 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing” last month.
I have been thinking a lot about this meltdown of our economy and the huge bailout that the administration pushed through. The conclusion I have come to is that it is entirely manufactured. The people controlling our economy knew that Obama was going to be elected, so they tanked the economy by refusing to negotiate new terms with people who were defaulting on the hinky loans they had gotten. They did this, with the knowledge of the Bush Administration so he could push through the 700 billion giveaway to the financial industry as a parting gift from the Bush Crime Family. We are already seeing the money go to healthy banks and not being used for what it was intended.
I hope that Obama hires some excellent forensic accountants to investigate the whole situation and prosecute the people who manipulated our financial system to cause the meltdown.
November 14th, 2008 at 9:29 amI hope that Obama hires some excellent forensic accountants to investigate the whole situation and prosecute the people who manipulated our financial system to cause the meltdown.
Don't hold your breath.
He's supported every bailout option so far...
November 14th, 2008 at 9:30 amDemocratic congressional leaders appeared to concede yesterday that “they would face potentially insurmountable Republican opposition” to a proposed $25 billion auto industry bailout when they meet for a lame-duck session next week.
That doesn't matter, they need to try to do it anyway. Then when GM goes belly-up and lays off thousands of people, the public will know who to blame for it. I so wish we had a system whereby the new President took office within a week of wining the election. There's way too much damage that can be done in almost 3 months. The Republican members of congress who were voted out have no incentive to go along with anything so trying to pass legislation during that time period is pretty much impossible.
November 14th, 2008 at 9:32 amDNFP Says:
Jews and Arabs, a clusterfcuk of Universal proportions, and a blueprint for racism Worldwide.
Come on, enough labelling already. There are many good and decent Jews and Arabs, just as both groups have their ashholes.
November 14th, 2008 at 9:34 amJudge Barbara L. Neilson of Minnesota threw out a lawsuit Thursday against Al Franken by Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN). Coleman claimed Franken defamed him by calling him the “fourth most corrupt” senator, according to CREW. Franken’s reference of CREW was “substantially accurate, if not literally true,” according to Nielson.
Norm Coleman was in a campaign for office. Accusations in a campaign are made. Norm Coleman decides to pluck one statement and file a lawsuit? Was Norm intent on removing all doubts of his status as a thin-skinned egomaniac with a sugar daddy on the side?
November 14th, 2008 at 9:35 amBilbo Hussein Baggins Says:
I hope that Obama hires some excellent forensic accountants to investigate the whole situation and prosecute the people who manipulated our financial system to cause the meltdown.
November 14th, 2008 at 9:29 am
________
That'd put half of lower Manhattan in jail.
This financial crisis isn't something that can be traced to some small, secret cabal of economic puppeteers manipulating the strings. It's the consequence of bad decisions by thousands of individuals from small-time mortgage brokers to insurance agents to hedge fund managers to rating agencies to senior VPs.
I mean, it may be cathartic to go after the people who invented credit-default swaps and CDOs, but is what they did actually criminal? It's not illegal to have a bad idea...
November 14th, 2008 at 9:37 amDemocratic congressional leaders appeared to concede yesterday that “they would face potentially insurmountable Republican opposition” to a proposed $25 billion auto industry bailout when they meet for a lame-duck session next week.
If 3,000,000 jobs and retiree benefits go down the drain, the blood will be on your hands, republicans.
November 14th, 2008 at 9:41 amDumb Fox the Average Golfer Says:
Come on, enough labelling already. There are many good and decent Jews and Arabs, just as both groups have their ashholes.
November 14th, 2008 at 9:34 am
_______
Exactly. It's not a race issue, and it's not a religion issue. Israel-Palestine is about indigenous rights and illegal occupation. Period.
November 14th, 2008 at 9:41 amCIA head says bin Laden isolated, fighting to survive
CIA Director Michael Hayden said hunting down bin Laden remains his agency's priority.
"He is putting a lot of energy into his own survival -- a lot of energy into his own security," Hayden said in a speech at the Atlantic Council in Washington.
"In fact, he appears to be largely isolated from the day-to-day operations of the organization he nominally heads," he said.
LINK
Expect the Shrubbies to "magically" capture him (or his body double) any day now...
November 14th, 2008 at 9:42 amThis is a pretty sad thing to have happen folks: Kids kicked of schoolbus in Mississippi for saying President Obama.
November 14th, 2008 at 9:43 amBilbo, there was a little-noticed article about 2 weeks before the economic melt-down which said that the Chinese government had ordered Chinese banks to no longer extend credit to the US.
Some here noted the story, and wrote at the time that we were screwed.
November 14th, 2008 at 9:44 amCome on, enough labelling already.
The "clusterfcuk" I was referring to was the physical re-location of the Palestinians from THEIR LAND to make room for the "chosen people".
The whole situation makes me sick, and those on both sides are fcuking clueless as to resolving any tension.
November 14th, 2008 at 9:46 amIf you don't think the Arab/Israel conflict has vestiges of racism, you're just as blind as they pretend to be.
November 14th, 2008 at 9:47 amMexico just hedged their oil at $60/barrel for the next 5 years.
I understand their need for cash flow, but I don't believe for a moment that oil will stay at or below $60.
Of course, Mexico's oil companies are Nationalized.
Is Mexico Socialist?
November 14th, 2008 at 9:47 amWith the election of Obama the US has told the world that it is blind to color and race in it's judgement of the worth of a man .Doing so must be more than symbolic , it is time to recognize that all people have the right to be pursue liberty and freedom and that an injustice to anyone anywhere is an injustice to all .
November 14th, 2008 at 9:47 amOur country has done great harm to the struggle for freedom in other nations through the clandestine foreign policy pursued largely without the knowledge of the American people.
We are an nation of immigrants , coming from all over the planet We are the FACT of human unity given flesh and bone ! The United Nations belongs here , there is nothing more American than the idea which it represents , an idea which is a salve and promise to the rest of the world .
Americans must take this ,our greatest myth and turn it into a reality . It is humanities greatest hope.
What a dangerous situation in that Mississippi school district with a mentally retarded person driving a school bus.
November 14th, 2008 at 9:48 am911 1973 recuerdo !
November 14th, 2008 at 9:50 amfreeman, 33,
Hear hear!
One People. One Planet. Once Chance.
November 14th, 2008 at 9:50 amDNFP Says:
If you don’t think the Arab/Israel conflict has vestiges of racism, you’re just as blind as they pretend to be.
November 14th, 2008 at 9:47 am
________
Vestiges, sure. It also has vestiges of colonialism and vestiges of the Crusades. But those aren't the main issues. Palestinians and Hebrews are the same race - just a few mitochondrial genetic mutations removed from each other.
November 14th, 2008 at 9:51 amJustice for the Palestinians !
November 14th, 2008 at 9:53 amfreeman Says:
We are an nation of immigrants , coming from all over the planet We are the FACT of human unity given flesh and bone !
November 14th, 2008 at 9:47 am
__________
Not counting, of course, all those people who were already here before we killed them off with smallpox.
November 14th, 2008 at 9:53 amWHy did Africans celebrate in the streets with the election of Barrack Obama , do they think they are American ?
November 14th, 2008 at 9:54 am.............ARE THEY ?..................
freeman Says:
WHy did Africans celebrate in the streets with the election of Barrack Obama , do they think they are American ?
………….ARE THEY ?………………
November 14th, 2008 at 9:54 am
_______
Nah, they just saw an African dude get elected President of the United States and saw it as a hopeful sign that we'll stop exploiting them.
November 14th, 2008 at 9:57 amThe CIA
November 14th, 2008 at 9:57 amis/are the
"Pinkerton Guards"
for
Wall Street
and
Corrupt American Corporations.
Toast , you mean the people that arrived over from Asia which the early Euro Americans , practicing good Christian charity gave blankets to ? Infected With their disease ?
November 14th, 2008 at 10:01 amSmall pox didn't kill the Indians , hate did , a much more serious disease and much harder to eradicate.
Perhaps someday we will have to keep the last sample of hate in a small vial , in deep freeze in a secret medical facility in case there is another outbreak.
MAKE THEM FILLIBUSTER YOU PANSIES! Extend the congressional Session to 250 days if you have to. Let them howl at the moon. Don't quit because you only have 57 senate votes.
Screw this... If Clinton gets secretary of state, Im running for Senator of NY. The Working Families Party may adopt me.
November 14th, 2008 at 10:04 amI am sitting here with tears in my eyes , . just another spiritual revelation .
November 14th, 2008 at 10:06 am............................................
Infinite are all beings , I vow to save them ,
Infinite are all attachments , I vow to be free of them ,
Infinite are all Dharmas , I vow to master them .
Infinite is the Buddha way , I vow to attain it .
The 4 vows of the Bodhisattva
Emanuel is not alone in having to apoloize for a relative's ill-considered remarks. His father holds radical views - and Emanuel was quick to distance himself from them.
November 14th, 2008 at 10:06 amGATE GATE PARAGTE PARASAMGATE BOHDI SVAHA
November 14th, 2008 at 10:07 amgone gone gone beyond beyond , hail the goer .
Tawdry Says:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What a dangerous situation in that Mississippi school district with a mentally retarded person driving a school bus.
November 14th, 2008 at 9:48 am
I always believed Haley Barbour was governor , not a bus driver......
November 14th, 2008 at 10:07 amOoops no spell check for Sanskrit.
November 14th, 2008 at 10:08 amDNFP Says:
The “clusterfcuk” I was referring to was the physical re-location of the Palestinians from THEIR LAND to make room for the “chosen people”.
Sorry, won't respect any argument about Israel-Palestine that reduces the problem to one sentence. Occupied land is not the only issue.
November 14th, 2008 at 10:10 amnow up at C&L:
Rachel Maddow Makes the Case for Why Lieberman Should Not Keep His Committee Chair
By Heather Friday Nov 14, 2008 6:45am
Rachel makes a very strong case for why Joe Lieberman should not remain the Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs and why the damage he could do and already has done in that position far outweighs the slim hope he might vote with the Democrats when really needed.
Responding to Evan Bayh's promise that they'll take the chairmanship away from him if he tries to pull any investigative shenanigans on Obama, Maddow notes adroitly:
[...]
http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/rachel-maddow-makes-case-why-lieberman-sho
pass it on!
http://senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
November 14th, 2008 at 10:11 amfreeman Says:
Infinite are all Dharmas , I vow to master them .
November 14th, 2008 at 10:06 am
________
Pfff, that's easy. Just type 4 8 15 16 23 and 42 every 108 minutes.
November 14th, 2008 at 10:11 amCome on Rahm Emmanuel , get with the program !
November 14th, 2008 at 10:11 am“In fact, he appears to be largely isolated from the day-to-day operations of the organization he nominally heads,” he said.
Hayden is just surmising.
If he really knew anything about Bin Laden's day-to-day operations he'd know when he goes to the crapper and what newspapers he reads--in which case he'd be captured or killed or thoroughly embargoed.
November 14th, 2008 at 10:12 amI am pretty much in agreement with Bilbo here on the financial mess.
November 14th, 2008 at 10:12 amThe republicans do not want to bail out the auto industry (no surprise there) but they firmly believe that the financial indistry needs their assistance (also no surprise). Did anyone see Paulson on the News Hour last night? OMG. To say he is inept is an understatement.
I take that back -- perhaps Paulson is not inept -- the Bushies and their "trickle down economy" are getting exactly what they want -- an oligarchy, and the people be damned.
November 14th, 2008 at 10:13 amdeebaser Says:
Screw this… If Clinton gets secretary of state, Im running for Senator of NY. The Working Families Party may adopt me.
Obama should leave Senators in the Senate, IMHO.
Bill Richardson for Sec/State!
November 14th, 2008 at 10:15 amHere's a laugh for your Friday morning:
Close Encounters of the Republican Kind
November 14th, 2008 at 10:23 amDumb Fox the Average Golfer Says:
Sorry, won’t respect any argument about Israel-Palestine that reduces the problem to one sentence. Occupied land is not the only issue.
November 14th, 2008 at 10:10 am
_________
It's not the only issue, sure. But it's the only one that really matters.
Land is cultural identity. Land is food and water. Land is resources. Land is livelihood. Land is history. Land is survival as a people.
When you disposess a people from their land, you don't just take away their farms and jobs and houses, you take away that which they have in common - the thing that binds them as a culture and a people. So much of Palestinian cultural identity is based around their homeland - olive groves and villages and markets and ancestral ties.
When you turn these people into refugees, disperse them in a diaspora around the region and the world, you begin to kill their culture. You may not be physically killing their people, but you are mentally and emotionally killing their culture.
That is genocide. And it's tied intimately to the loss of land.
November 14th, 2008 at 10:24 amIndustries are looking at Obama's transition team to see how they might influence policy. The Wireless industry did a piece on their people on the inside. What I found interesting:
Though not having an official title on the Obama-Biden transition team, former FCC chairman William Kennard — a Clinton appointee who succeeded Hundt as agency chief — is likely to have an influential voice on telecom and high tech matters during the transition and afterward when the Obama administration takes power early next year. Kennard, a managing director of The Carlyle Group’s global telecommunications and media unit, was a $500,000 bundler for Obama.
November 14th, 2008 at 10:29 amZimzone Says:
Obama should leave Senators in the Senate, IMHO.
Bill Richardson for Sec/State!
November 14th, 2008 at 10:15 am
Agreed. But this could be the long-term strategy Obama secretly has in mind. I somehow don't believe that Biden will be a two-term vice president. Perhaps Biden will decline to run with Obama for a second term, or resign at some point, and Obama will nominate a Secretary of State Clinton for the Vice Presidency, and she runs for president again, poising democrats for an easy continuation beyond 2017.
Am I taking too much off the top of my head?
At any rate, good morning!
November 14th, 2008 at 10:31 amFibernachi ?
November 14th, 2008 at 10:33 amAvogadro ?
Roll a number .
Love is the lowest common denominator .
It adds up .
Very interesting, McWars.
November 14th, 2008 at 10:40 amToast ,
November 14th, 2008 at 10:51 amhttp://www.auroville.org/
One thing leads to another. Obama's list of bundlers is at Open Secrets. Here's how William Kennard, Managing Director of The Carlyle Group was listed:
$500,000 Kennard, Bill Washington DC, Attorney
November 14th, 2008 at 10:51 am“but Iraq is no longer the central front” [on the war on terror]
Was it ever ?
November 14th, 2008 at 10:52 amThe economy ?
The public confidence has finally dropped. Where the public originally continued to spend despite bad economic news, the news has hit home and people have decreased spending.
Just in time for the Christmas season which is what retailers depend on to make their profit.
November 14th, 2008 at 10:54 amAuroville was begun in the mid 60's with funds from the United Mations through Unicef .
November 14th, 2008 at 11:03 amhussein toasterhead Says:
Vestiges, sure. It also has vestiges of colonialism and vestiges of the Crusades. But those aren’t the main issues. Palestinians and Hebrews are the same race - just a few mitochondrial genetic mutations removed from each other.
We're all the same race and you can make the same comparison among any of us. But I do not believe that racism cannot still be a component, just as it can be in countries where gradations of skin color are a factor. Ashkenazi and Palestinian Arab may share a common ancestry and most of their genetic code, but that doesn't mean they don't perceive themselves separately.
Xenophobia might be the more accurate term, but still, racism isn't entirely inappropriate as a description.
November 14th, 2008 at 11:23 amApparently the drive to decrease the influence of lobbying produced the opposite. WaPo has a piece on the lobby boom:
Democrats Benefiting From Post-Election Lobby Boom
November 14th, 2008 at 11:25 amThe WaPo lobbying piece ended with:
Fred Wertheimer, president of the campaign finance reform group Democracy 21, said he is encouraged by the new transition rules aimed at restricting those who work in the administration from cycling into lobbying. "It shows he wants to attack the influence money culture that has permeated the city," Wertheimer said.
But Tony Podesta, John Podesta's brother and a top Democratic lobbyist, said the party's expanding ranks are not going to force him to curtail his work. "I'm not studying for the priesthood or thinking of opening a doughnut shop," he said.
November 14th, 2008 at 11:31 amgummitch Says:
Xenophobia might be the more accurate term, but still, racism isn’t entirely inappropriate as a description.
November 14th, 2008 at 11:23 am
______
Fair enough... If you really want to get existential about it, race doesn't really exist. It's a fake construct defined not by whom it divides, but by whom it lumps together.
Are Italians and Germans divided into Latin and Germanic peoples, or united as white Europeans? Are Moroccan Berbers and South African Xhosans divided by thousands of miles of geography and culture, or united as black Africans? Are Han Chinese and Cambodian Khmer divided by vastly different language and culture and imperial histories, or united as Asian?
More often than not, the people making these distinctions are the ones with colonial interests and aspirations, for whom divide and conquer is as much a strategy as unite and assimilate.
November 14th, 2008 at 11:37 amThe number of U.S. workers drawing jobless benefits hit a 25-year high this month.” The Labor Department said jobless claims rose “by an unexpectedly steep 32,000 last week to 516,000
Mission Accomplished, the destruction of the middle class.
November 14th, 2008 at 11:45 amYou've done a heck of a job, chympie!
hussein toasterhead Says:
Moroccan Berbers
November 14th, 2008 at 11:37 am
_______
And yes, I know the preferred term is Imazighen, but there just wasn't time.
Even the use of the term "Palestinian Arab" is an interesting one. Palestinians aren't really Arab, genetically. Although there's certainly been some genetic mixing over the years, they're still closer to Ashkenazi than Yemeni.
"Arab" in this context is a socio-linguistic construct that binds people of very different cultures and cuisines and histories together by a common written (not spoken) language and some shared traditions. It's really not an ethnic distinction at all.
November 14th, 2008 at 11:51 am“The number of U.S. workers drawing jobless benefits hit a 25-year high this month.” The Labor Department said jobless claims rose “by an unexpectedly steep 32,000 last week to 516,000, the highest since the weeks following the September 11, 2001 attacks.”
Both Bush 41 and 43 and Ronald Reagan's corpse are scheduled to celebrate their collective economic suckitude.
November 14th, 2008 at 12:17 pmHaven't you just described the Jews, only on a different time scale? Palestinians (the large majority of which weren't born in the land the Palestinians claim) were indigent to the land within recent time. The Jews were indigent to the same land two thousand years ago. Which group is the indigent group? This is the clusterfcuk.
November 14th, 2008 at 12:32 pmIt was palestine for 2000 years......it wasn't israel until 1947
November 14th, 2008 at 12:43 pmCZ-1 Says:
Haven’t you just described the Jews, only on a different time scale? Palestinians (the large majority of which weren’t born in the land the Palestinians claim) were indigent to the land within recent time. The Jews were indigent to the same land two thousand years ago. Which group is the indigent group? This is the clusterfcuk.
November 14th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
________
You're so right, dude. Was it the second or third century AD when the Palestinians began forcibly expelling the Hebrews from their villages with F-15s and armored tanks?
November 14th, 2008 at 1:15 pmIf you substitute Roman chariots for F-15s, yeah that seems right.
So, is anyone living in the general area called Palestine a Palestinian? That makes the Jews = Palestinians. I'm not defending one side or the other. I'm just pointing out some of the facts and logic/lack of logic.
November 14th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
CZ-1 Says:
If you substitute Roman chariots for F-15s, yeah that seems right.
November 14th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
_______
Well, if you're so concerned about people getting their land back after almost 2,000 years of expulsion, I can only assume you'll be moving yourself and your family back to your country of ancestry in order to cede your land back to the Native Americans. Unless, of course, you are Native American.
November 14th, 2008 at 1:54 pmhussein toasterhead:
Take it easy; I'm just exploring the logic of things. To quote myself, "I’m not defending one side or the other. I’m just pointing out some of the facts and logic/lack of logic."
My thinking is: how do you decide these matters? Traditionally, it's been decided by the victors of the wars and by possession (9/10ths of the law?). 200 or 300 years ago, the native Americans owned this land. Now the "new" Americans own it. Are we morally required to give it back now that we "know better?" Practically, the answer is of course not.
So the Jewish people owned the land of Palestine 2,000 years ago, and then the "Palestinians" moved in (they weren't called that until very recently). Then the Jewish people reacquired the land through war and such. Now who should get the land? What if, as in parts of Europe, the land has traded hands many times over the centuries? Which side has the best claim to it? Is the best answer to abolish the sides, at least in a virtual way, and live together peacefully on the land?
P.S. Not sure what my country of ancestry is since my dad's male ancestor came over 300 years ago and my mom's ancestors came over about 60 years ago and there were many other ancestors in there from wherever. I'm a mutt.
November 14th, 2008 at 4:11 pmCurrent state of Gaza in the nation of Israel:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7729886.stm
The UK-based aid agency Oxfam has warned of catastrophe for Gaza and nearby areas of Israel if a truce agreed last June is not maintained.
Oxfam called on world leaders to do everything they could to break Israel's blockade of Gaza and urged Israel to resume supplies without delay.
Israel has shut border crossings in response to rocket attacks from Palestinian militants in Gaza.
Earlier Israel fired missiles at targets in northern Gaza.
Two Palestinian militants were injured in the attacks, while one Israeli was injured in militant attacks on the town of Sderot.
Palestinian rockets also hit near the Israeli town of Ashkelon, 15km (nine miles) from Gaza. No injuries were reported.
'Peace endangered'
Oxfam said both sides would suffer if fighting continued.
November 14th, 2008 at 7:56 pm