Egads, this officially means I have stayed up waaaay to late.

Ha! me too.

g’night.

dizgusting

Mornin’ pups.

There is nothin in the world quite like two BFF’s sharing lunch.

Lemon Party anyone?

The Surge is not working and despite the hype job by the press. Even 30%ers can put two and two together and figure out that higher gas prices mean the Surge is not working.
Corn, Wheat etc are up the Dollar is going down as Helicopter Ben cuts rates again in a desperate attempt to keep the stock market from tanking.
But despite all this bad news people WILL BLAME BUSH’s endorsement of McCain for McCain’s expected drop in poll numbers.
Granted Bush caused all these bad things to happen. But despite this McCain still wanted G.W’s blessing?
And I thought Mark Penn was out of touch with reality.

That picture again? Lord help us all…

Howdy Attaturk…

Whats this last minute negative ad that people were talking about helping Hilary? I can understand why Penn desperate for his job is pushing the story that going negative has saved Hilary but how much can a last minute ad change opinions?
The polls being wrong about Hilary again seems the more likely culprit.

“If the Gods had wanted us to vote, he would have given us candidates.” - Jim Hightower…

So who wants to discuss policy matters? A recent item leads me to believe that “The People” have once again been betrayed by the Democratic Party:

[Continued from the most recent thread…]

Speaking of Obama moving to the Left, it would appear that from his recent reaction to the assault on the FARC in Ecuador, Obama is solidly imperialist and right-wing on Latin policy:

[SNIP]

Significantly, both of the candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination echoed Bush’s unconditional support for the right-wing government of Uribe and its aggression against Ecuador.

Senator Hillary Clinton, speaking Tuesday to the Spanish-language television network Telemundo, asserted that “the Colombian state has the right to defend itself against terrorist drug-trafficking organizations which have kidnapped innocent citizens, including Americans.”

She added, “In supporting the FARC, [Venezuelan President] Chavez is openly taking the side of illegal groups that are threatening Colombian democracy and the peace and security of the region.”

Taking a nearly identical position, Senator Barak Obama issued a statement declaring, “The Colombian people have suffered more than four decades at the hands of a terrorist insurgency and the Colombian government has every right to defend itself against the FARC.”

Neither of the Democrats evinced the slightest concern for the violation of Ecuador’s sovereignty, much less the suffering inflicted on the Colombian people by decades of massacres and assassinations perpetrated by the Colombian military and its allies in the right-wing paramilitary death squads.

The message was unmistakable. No matter which party wins the White House in November, Washington’s pursuit of its strategic interests in Latin America by means of aggression and provocation will continue unabated…

[END SNIP]

RGD comment: OK, so I just spent the last four years getting up to speed on the actual issues between the FARC and the Bogata govenment in Columbia and found that they follow the classical pattern. People’s movement vs. Oligarchy, with the oligarchy totally in control of the media both in Columbia and in the U.S.

Apparently Barack Obama is not quite as keen on “Si, Se Puede” activism and democratic movements as he might like us to believe. His assault on the FARC annoys me. Hillary Clinton’s attack, OTOH, is precisely what I’d expect from such an imperial aristocrat.

here you are, but i’m on the other side of the moon this time, drinking wine instead of coffee: this is what I use to tell people about in the latest 1990s 2000s, when I was living a global kinda life. Now I’m doing it again after 4-5 years down time. Bit I LOVE it…

To repeat myself annoyingly, yes, yes, HRC would have incredible sympathy for the FARC and do all she can to straighten Columbia out. It goes without saying. She will support a myriad of freedom movements against corporate control over Third World countries at every opportunity. And monkeys will fly out my……

Yes, the image of flying monkeys is evocative. And apt for our very own Evita Peron wannabee.

Oh, bully! Something else we can start wars over… water:

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/video/78666/

http://flowthefilm.com/

Just some numbers:

At way early in the morning, Kos shows a net +1 delegate gain for Clinton tonight. Still too early, though, to call…

Are they both insane Columbia has a ton of troops for a reason they have rebels. So unless we back them with air support/strikes on Venezuela AN OIL PRODUCER AND OPEC MEMBER IN GOOD STANDING, Ecuador, and probably Bolivia then Columbia will fall.
Do we really want to fight a jungle war against rebels after this disaster in Iraq?
Do we really want to risk an OPEC boycott? Do we have the troops to occupy 2-4 countries?
Do we have the money? No really China can ask for Taiwan in exchange for their continued buying of U.S Treasury bonds that we will need to fight another war.
When weak don’t go looking for fights. Tell Columbia to eat some crow.

I was driving back from Suzanne’s Firepup meet up in California for the last few days. I just got back and had my first meal in days that was home cooked.

On the brightside the press will ask McCain about the Columbia problem. I’m sure that McCain will easily out war the Democrats on this issue.
Which will effect his poll numbers even more over the next few weeks as more people hear about the situation.

I think that if the presidential candidates all had to drive their own cars during presidential campaigns then we would have had high speed monorails years ago.
Not all of us can afford private jets.

Jumping in to say good night pups.
And you, Things - epic drive, was pleased to meet you @ Suzanne’s.

Good to meet you too! I wanted to talk more about known Lefties getting searched on airplanes.

We’ll have our chance. ttyl

I was talking about a friend who works with indigenous people in the field in Venezuela. She noted that although Hugo Chavez has included a large section about Indios rights in the Constitution, the natural gaurd does manoeuvres in areas of traditional land and uses the Indians as “target practice”. She also says FARC does the same thing, apparently on both sides of the border…killing native people. She says she doesn’t know if the Columbian military is pulling the same extermination/drive native peoples off the land policies on their side of the border, since the government held territory is a bit far away from the groups she lived with.

She said she wouldn’t be surprised if Chavez has been supplying FARC with weapons and money. She’s seen large shipments of weapons off-loaded on the docks when she was picking up supplies in the little upriver village, and she also says she has to be careful not to come into that town when FARC fighters come across the border and go there. They have apparently heard about her living out there with the Indios. Local people tell her when it’s safe. One time FARC came out into the savannah to, she suspects, try and kidnap her for ransom, but the local Indios moved her deep into their territory in an area where she wouldn’t be found.

Imagine all the gas we could save if we had 200mph monorails powered by the wind and sun taking me to California from Seattle in a lot less time than it took to drive!
Imagine all the lives saved of long distance drivers who won’t be falling asleep behind the wheel so much.

My friends… I thank George W Bush for being my friend. I hope he will find me more friends who will donate money to my campaign. My friends… I hope that the friends of my friend George W Bush like me because I plan to be just like my friend George W Bush. I plan on continuing the policies that have helped his friends. And… My friends… I hope that they help my friends as well.

But TCU,

You are thinking rationally. How un-American of you! Haven’t you heard our new motto? “Damn the cerebellums, full speed ahead! We have the audacity to hope for world conquest and dominion, reality be damned as well!”

Assuming that she is right wouldn’t there be a corresponding racist philosophy or at least a birth control/sterilization campaign for the Indians ?

I’m getting more ambivalent about Hugo. Ello es un lacarer des mujeres - an abuser of women. I’ve read statements by one of his ex-wives and one of his ex-mistresses that leave me very sad.

New post up on the current state of GOP meltdown in Alaska.

I expect that from Bush, McCain and the GOP. But who is advising Hilary and Obama on foreign policy and military matters Donald Rumsfeld?

That needs a barf warning if ever a barf warning was needed ;-)

Hey Noron is still on.

What the hell am I doing up this late/early? Insomnia, I’m thinking, is not all it’s cracked up to be.

Texas decided yet?

Hi cinnamonape,

That is indeed a very bizarre story you have just related. It does not comport at all with bona fide stories I’ve read about the Chavez regime, Hugo Chavez’s native ancestry or general facts regarding the nature of the FARC movement. Is your friend a part of an organization that has a web presence? I’d be very curious to learn more about what she is up to. What you have writen makes little sense from what I have learned of Latin American politics from experts and my own due diligence in the matter.

Well shit, I have to listen to her for MONTHS now.

But who is advising Hilary and Obama on foreign policy and military matters Donald Rumsfeld?

Key advisors to Clinton include Madeleine “500,000 deaths is an acceptable price for our policy” Albright and the absolutely duplicitous and imperial Richard Holbrooke.

Obama’s team are slightly less odious, featuring as a softer touch the academic Samantha Powers, who, in this Democracy NOW! interview makes it perfectly clear that having the U.S. policing the world is “a good thing”. I kinda thought Jeremy Scahill wiped Samantha on the floor for her odious and despicable meddlesomeness. But maybe that was just me rooting for all the victims that idiot do-gooders create in their mindless interventionist daydreams and nightmares.

Not to rain on your MSM parade, BBC has this and other reports on the Columbian incursion into Ecuador. More links to Venezuela/Chaves on the page. Dare find out for yourselves what real news reporting is like.

When is Biodun expected back?

He is back, he was stuck in Zinnzinaaty last night.

Don’t CIA types pose as reporters charity workers at not for profits, employees of shell companies etc? Hugo and the FARC have every reason to be careful around Americans.
They have no way of knowing who is a real person there to help and who is a spy. The CIA is also known to have spread stories about America’s enemies before.
On the other hand There has been a few dark skinned Hispanics who have oppressed and killed their own people before.
What does the BBC say about this I trust them more on international news than anyone else.

My dearest Arnie,

Re:

Not to rain on your MSM parade, BBC… Dare find out for yourselves what real news reporting is like.

Ahem. In the runup to the illegal and immoral invasion and occupation of Iraq and the creation of Anglo-America’s worst quagmire since Viet Nam, the PBS network was guilty of gross mis-representation of expert opinion on the war. As I recall the study that was done, for every 8 pundits or experts who questioned the wisdom of the invasion, PBS featured 100 pundit segments with cheerleaders for war.

And your pseudo-equitable and purportedly fair-minded BBC? They only had a ratio of 3:100 intelligent commentators vs. war whoring cheerleaders.

So, Arnie, if you meant to imply that the BBC offers “real news reporting”, I dare say you need to get out more often. There is a real world out there, but you’ll never find it via the BBC.

A few of dozens of web resources I can recommend for suitable depth of coverage and more of a populist/progressive slant would include:

http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/

http://www.granma.cu/ingles/index.html

http://www.narconews.com/

Seemed to me he asked a question.

I still say that McCain’s speech last night had all of the enthusiasm of thanking the local Kiwani’s Club for that swell chicken dinner they just served him…

Where would FARC get Enriched Uranium from except a Nuclear Power? Did Bush loose some? Are we ready to go to war with Russia or China? Did Pakistan betray us again. I don’t see India or Israel having any bones in this fight or the EU countries but I could be wrong.
But if we take Columbia at its word then we are talking war. Thank God that Columbia as an American Puppet does not have much cred on WMD.

McCain would be hurting himself when he talks if he only could get more people to listen.

Hillary may have won three out of four, but gain no delegates. Kos is posting that - So total for the night, thus far, is Clinton 185 and Obama 184.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyo.....604/469268

This with about 34% of the Texas caucuses reporting… Obama tends to do well in those; he may yet end up with a net gain for the night…

She’s an anthropologist, and I trust her experiences as authentic. I’m not going to provide her name or where she works for several reasons that relate to a) her ability to continue to do research in the region, and b) risks she would have if someone inappropriate identified her and passed it on to inappropriate persons.

Chavez indeed does claim that he has Indio ancestry. But there are a lot of people here in the US that have asserted that over the generations and did not have much sympathy for their land rights or other issues.

As well, she did point out Chavez’s push for indigenous rights in the Constitution. It may be that he’s been unaware of what his military is doing. But I would point out that deploying hundreds of tanks along the border, most of which is areas that are occupied by still traditional native peoples is hardly going to be beneficial to their livelihoods. Neither would a shooting war.

As far as a sterilization program or racist philosophy, one hardly needs to do the former to displace people to the cities. As for the latter…it’s called “modernization”…a rationale that has led to millions of indigenous peoples moving off their traditional lands, which if not specifically established as such, are taken for use as vacant lands for herding, logging and agriculture. This is particularly the major issue in Amazonia and the Orinoco basin.

McCain’s strategy then oughta be to put ‘em to sleep as quickly as possible when he must speak?

Well, if that’s the case - the man’s a natural…

What does the BBC say about this I trust them more on international news than anyone else.

See my criticism of the BBC at @38

Re:

Don’t CIA types pose as reporters charity workers at not for profits, employees of shell companies etc?

The Directorate of Operations at the CIA has an almost unbelievable record of criminality and mendacity. How any nation can believe itself to be a democracy and stil maintain such an odious secret police force is beyond my comprehension. Or to phrase this indelicately, tens of millions of simpletons living inside the Homeland’s borders are deluded to think that they have some personal freedom while their government runs roughshod over the entire planet acting essentially like a criminal mafia.

There’s many good resources on this despicable institution called the “intelligence community”.

The recently deceased Philip Agee wrote the classic on CIA manipulations and criminality in Latin America in “CIA Diary: Inside the Company”

William Blum wrote “Killing Hope” and continues with his monthly “Anti-Empire Reports”

Stephan Kinzer has written a wonderful history of the CIA’s massive blunder in blowback, the overthrow of Iran’s popular and democratically elected leader, Mohammed Mossadegh in the book, “All the Shah’s Men”.

Oh, and don’t let’s get started on the CIA’s involvement in drug trafficking, shall we…

America faked or at best was misled by themselves concerning Iraqi WMD. Columbia can go to the UN with this story but given the past nobody but our puppets will take it seriously.
Still it would be good to see exactly who our puppets are.

Really Ray, There is a significant difference between reporting what the government (propaganda) is and what is actually taking place. Thanks for your links, will look at them anon.

About getting out, since 1994 my news sources have included: The Irish Times, The Irish(Cork) Examiner, RTE 1, RTE 2, The Guardian, The Sunday Times, The Independent (Both British and Irish Newspapers), TV3 (Irish independent TV), Euro News (French based CNN (original CNN) type TV News reporting), and others. With such a spread of news input, there is surprisingly little divergence in fact. Maybe you should get out a little more yourself. What is apparent is the near complete accord of reported propaganda of your MSM

For the most part I find much to agree with your comments, we part ways with your self-centered arrogance.

Gee, I never knew the CIA was bad, amazing!

No shit

Yup. And as I said earlier, math matters. Good diary on the potential future numbers there.

She’s an anthropologist, and I trust her experiences as authentic. I’m not going to provide her name or where she works for several reasons that relate to a) her ability to continue to do research in the region, and b) risks she would have if someone inappropriate identified her and passed it on to inappropriate persons.

We don’t want or need a name but some unbiased unrelated sources to back up the story would be nice after Judy Miller, as I’m sure you can understand.

That’s The Math!

I would add to my # 48,

It sticks in my craw when someone approaches with the attitude they have all the answers, That usually means that there are no answers left over for anybody else.

Chavez indeed does claim that he has Indio ancestry. But there are a lot of people here in the US that have asserted that over the generations and did not have much sympathy for their land rights or other issues.

Agreed

She’s an anthropologist, and I trust her experiences as authentic.

Well, what she is describing, i.e. military jackasses taking pot shots at the locals, is pretty much what the U.S. has going on in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, etc. So, that part of the story does seem plausible.

from the picture caption:

What’s a little slander and needless slaughter amongst us dear?

foreplay?

Mornin’ pups. Little early to be growlin’ at each other, no? Raven — another jungle war against insurgents, eh? They could hire you for technical advice.

Don’t you have somewhere to be?

Out of here. Will leave something from The Guardian, looks like cold times ahead in hell.

morning all!

how nice - i thread not consumed by the primary. i’m enjoying reading all the comments this morning.

what’s with that?

i know not everyone has the same interests, but can’t there be a space for this kind of discussion too?

You like this lecture we have been getting?

Discussion?

yeah - that’s math even I can understand (for the most part) even when semi-awake/comatose, like right now for instance…

As well, she did point out Chavez’s push for indigenous rights in the Constitution. It may be that he’s been unaware of what his military is doing. But I would point out that deploying hundreds of tanks along the border, most of which is areas that are occupied by still traditional native peoples is hardly going to be beneficial to their livelihoods. Neither would a shooting war.

He may be unaware or this story may not be true. But it seems to me Columbia is the one pushing for war. The Genocide Charge? The Money given to the FARC charge which is probably true, the Dirty Bomb might have been true but Enriched Uranium is a little hard to come by.
I think that bit was to much to be believed. Plus the timing of all these negative stories seems suspicious. It reminds me of the press rollout of stories before the war with Iraq.

How does Rachel Sklar look so darn good at this time of the morning? (MSNBC)

Arnie,

Re:

It sticks in my craw when someone approaches with the attitude they have all the answers,

I never said I had all the answers. What I said was that the BBC has been a shill for the Labour government’s policy, and a deceitful source of propaganda that proved disasterously and immorally evil for the five million or so innocent Iraqi citizens who have either been murdered, mutilated or moved-on by the reprehensible governments in London and Washington. Pointing out that the BBC is an immoral accomplice to the greatest crime of the 21st Century seems to be a valid and useful observation to pass along when some people still place far too much faith in such a feckless source.

sheesh!

back from answering e-mails. you pups are staying up all night, eh? it’s not like Dick Cheney shot his best friend and is waiting for an apology.

well argue back if you disagree.

after how many primary threads you’re asking me if i like a topic about what’s going on in columbia? are you serious?

Some of us just got up.

touche…

No, had nothing to do with you. I, like Arnie, felt that there was a lecture being given. I don’t care what the topic is.

Let me add, sorry for the misunderstanding.

That’s particularly the reason that I won’t reveal the identity…because she will “outed” as a spy by “true believers” merely because she has observed such activities. Hate to say it but lots of people get “exposed” as CIA agents who are far from it and legitimately observe atrocities.

And I will not tell you either who she is or which group she has done research with because it would not only poise a major risk to her, but also her academic colleagues in Venezuela, and to the Indio group she works with there. I will say that there doesn’t appear to be any ORGANIZED systematic effort to exterminate the groups. The killings are “incidental” to the military’s activities. If a indigenous individual is killed it’s simply because they happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. When a group of NG are out hunting for deer, or training and take a pot-shot at them (she referred to this as “using them for target practice”). The Indios make themselves, and their families scarce when armed men might be seen coming into their areas. They have hiding places they run to. In addition these people, though not all, are nomadic…and thus very hard to locate. They run from their small temporary villages when a helicopter or plane is heard approaching. They are quite skittish regarding any modern technology like this.

She suspects that the FARC came out looking for HER because they had been asking about her in the village on the river, and they rarely bother to come that way for anything else. There are plenty of river routes up into Colombia; going overland is quite difficult and nearly impossible through the marshes. The locals know the dry paths and can cover ground quite quickly, so long before the armed men approached they had gotten her far away from the camp. As it was the FARC didn’t even locate the camp as the grass was high and the huts they use are low to the ground and made of thatch. Almost impossible to see from the ground.

See “Men With Guns” by John Sayles. “Who was it that did this to you, soldiers or revolutionaries” “We don’t know, it was men with guns”.

We might agree with you more if you were a bit more polite. If you treat people as the enemy well they respond in kind.
I might doubt Cinniamonape on some of this but his track record deserves respect. Unless I am damm well sure he is wrong which I’m not.
I think you overreacted to Arnie who seems to have accepted your criticism of the BBC a little bit @48
However we all work better when we respect each other.

ah, raven, you can give me shit anytime.

i’m so happy to have some new topic to consider that i haven’t even noticed anything more than a disgreement where people are actually providing an argument and evidence to back up their views. really loving the back and forth between those who’ve read difference sources and cinnomonape who’s friend has on the ground experiences. very cool.

ET - just working on the first coffee of the day.

Back to Attaturk’s post topic -

Rachael Maddow said something last night to the effect that Dems are depending too much on people being turned off by mccain making nice with bush….that’s a poor translation but iirc sorta close to her meaning. What think you, pups?

I wouldn’t think of giving you shit!

Mornin Waccamaw

The orthopod (actually PA) sentenced the girl to 8 week in a full, rigid leg brace. The break is right next to the tendon so and separation of the fracture might result in surgery. Gonna be a difficult garden season.

Saw that also. I also saw her earlier give Pat Buchanan shit for his idiotic fear mongering. I sure do like her.

Again nobody is asking you her name. Other unrelated unbiased sources to back up her story if available would be nice.

will say that there doesn’t appear to be any ORGANIZED systematic effort to exterminate the groups. The killings are “incidental” to the military’s activities. If a indigenous individual is killed it’s simply because they happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

This is tragic and very believable. I think the way you phrased it before left me with the impression that it was organized which it very well might be but I would need more proof for that.
I just want to be careful about potential justifications for our next war. Because you see I was one of the saps who read Judy Miller everyday and believed her:(

Uh I am turned off by Bush backing McCain. If anything I think we should link them together even more? I like Rachel why does she think it won’t work?

That Sayles comment probably pretty much applies.

I got the impression that the group really doesn’t know much about the political affiliation of people. The group she was with have no members that are literate, and most don’t even speak any Spanish…just a few words that allow them to trade their baskets, woven goods and a few forest goods in town for things like salt, yarn (for weaving). She said that she discovered that the dialect they use hasn’t even been recorded in a dictionary. It took her months to learn to speak. They would go into town maybe once in two or three months and leave within the day. The folks she stayed with off and on for 3 years didn’t even have a gun amongst them. They used bows.

As for her being a CIA agent…given that there was almost no contact with the outside world and little in the way of figuring out what was going on along the river…it would be a totally useless assignment.

well, considering how many times i’ve given you a hard time, if you did i’d only think i had it coming.

… whoa who’s broke their leg?

Morning, selise:

Per our chat last week about Glass-Steagall in the banking crisis, here’s a bank that went under from a subprime pyramid before Glass-Steagall repeal, which was in 1999. Unfortunately, it’s the bank that BOba’s finance director was involved in, but there’s no putting that one back in the lamp now:o( The case is considered by some to be sui generis.

I’m sure G-S repeal reduced some of the costs of the industry model that got us into this mess, and there are other problems with it due to the lack of firewalls (which is what Stiglitz goes into in The Roaring Nineties when discussing G-S), but it does not seem to have been strictly required for the mortgage crisis to have developed. The subject of how the industry changed to allow it is worth a good article, though.

Cheerio, I’m going to be off pretty soon until this evening.

Rachael Maddow said something last night to the effect that Dems are depending too much on people being turned off by mccain making nice with bush…

I think that maybe for the first time I disagree with her. I hope that there are lots and lots of pictures taken this morning when Crazy Train meets with Georgie this morning.

However, somebody made the point (and it might have been Rachel) that any appearances together will be more or less on the QT, and only in front of audiences pre-vetted as being very conservative…

But there are cameras everywhere, and there’s no way the two of them can avoid being seen together.

How many Troops, planes,and ships do we have in South America or can get there quick? How long can we keep troops there? Or is everything in Iraq?

My bride. She fell getting out of the van Sunday.

no saps in this thread.

imo, a sap is someone who gets punked by miller and then doesn’t rethink what’s going on. we all get punked from time to time (see me and the democratic party).

Oh, daymn!!! So sorry to hear that, fellow. I fractured a kneecap (and elbow) a number of years ago during a visit to Lyon and the initial thinking was surgery; fortunately it didn’t separate and healed up pretty well given my age. *g* Hope the same holds true for your dear lady. At least you’re in a setting where there is no question of language barrier, etc.

I think the 82nd is still the quick reaction force.

Thanks:)

thanks for the follow up info - much appreciated.

Here’s a rather glib look at the circular firing squad, albeit down to two contenders, called the Democratic Presidential nomination race:

From Asia Times…

“This ticket will self-destruct in five seconds.”

Yea, if she follows orders it should be ok but this is a woman who lives for her garden.

How many Troops, planes,and ships do we have in South America or can get there quick?

Three.

I opted out of TV last night having reached the point of, “I bloody well can’t take anyone of this!” Just happened to catch that one little bit on a rerun this morning and don’t know anymore about context, etc. of surrounding conversations.

Do you think we will use air strikes first on the planes and possibly the leaders? Would Bush send the 82nd to protect Venezuela’s oil or help Columbia first?
I am assuming Bush or Hugo starts a war and that the Dems roll over again.

raven, i hope she will be ok even if it means not much gardening this year. it sounds like a very serious break.

Within 18 hours of notification, the 82nd Airborne Division strategically deploys, conducts forcible entry parachute assault and secures key objectives for follow-on military operations in support of U.S. national interests.

Three are you joking is that enough?

My kind of people. *g*

I am assuming Bush or Hugo starts a war and that the Dems roll over again.

I can assure you none of them will be enlisting.

sorry to return to primary conversations, but a quick question - aren’t about a third of Texas’s delegates still undetermined until the caucus results are in? Is this correct?

yeah, I was joking.

Or trying to, anyway. Gimme some coffee time…

It’s a fracture that is right next to the patella tendon and messing with that is dangerous.

So protecting the oilfields is more likely than taking Ecuador’s capital city. Cripes history is repeating itself.

Correct.

Taking cities is a tall order.

Yes but Bush does want the oil but do we have enough troops to protect the oil from the oilfields to the port for shipment to America and how long can we keep the troops there without overworking them.
Do we have reserve troops?

Nope, not for a mission of that scope. Shit, we can barely do what we are doing now.

amen to that.

i think that the world would be a better place if we all spent a little time each day working with nature in garden and had a dog or cat to take care of.

p.s. i just gotta say i really like the way raven refers to his partner as “my bride.” i think that is really quite wonderful.

Good morning, pups. It’s MoDo all alone today. She writes about the “Duel of Historical Guilts.” She says people will have to choose which of America’s sins are greater, and which stain will have to be removed first. Is misogyny worse than racism, or is racism worse than misogyny?

http://mgpaquin.wordpress.com/

The coffee, tea and hot chocolate are ready, and the biscuits are hot. I’m running veeeeerrryyy late — have a great day.

do we have enough troops to protect the oil

hasn’t our policy of the last few decades in latin america been to use mostly local troops to do our dirty work? (see school of the americas). do you think that is going to change?

or do i have it wrong?

I guess what I’m asking is could our Generals be convinced by Bush that despite all our troops be stressed by repeated service in Iraq that we do have enough troops to take Venezuela’s oil and hold just that area?
In other words oil war 2 we will get it right this we promise

Ha! With our special needs cocker we’re jammin up in here. It’s a good thing I work from home.

“Do we have reserve troops?”

Of course we do. Unfortunately, we keep them in Iraq. For the last 5 years.

Raven,

You seem to be up on military order of battle.

I’m wondering if the 82nd Airborne was part of the assault on Panama City that Bush 41 ordered.

I had the good fortune of recently meeting the Oscar winning filmmaker of “Panama Deception”. Barbara Trent is terrific in person, and her film is a real eye-opener for those who don’t know enough yet about the true nature of American foreign policy.

I always get the willies when I hear people referring to America’s “national interests”. As one example, the CIA helped to overthrow the democratically elected and popular government of Jacobo Arbenz of Guatemala in 1954. At the time, the CIA director Allan Dulles was also serving on the board of the United Fruit Company. So when Dulles overthrew Arbenz, it’s hard to say exactly what “national interest” was being served, but it is easy to point out that Arbenz was about to expropriate idle United Fruit Company lands which had been acquired under dubious circumstances and re-distribute that land to landless campesinos. That Dulles was serving his own financial interests is obvious. What was “national” about this escapes me.

They don’t really have to be convinced, “saddle up troopers”!

Hugo I believe bought 100,000 AK 47 rifles and passed them out to his supporters. School for America people are great at fighting unarmed Nuns.

On December 20, 1989, the “All-American,” as part of the United States invasion of Panama, conducted their first combat jump since World War II onto Torrijos International Airport, Panama. The goal of the 1st Brigade task force, which was made up of the 1st and 2nd Battalions (Airborne), 504th Infantry well as the 4th Battalion (Airborne), 325th Infantry and A Company, 3rd Battalion (Airborne), 505th Infantry, was to oust Manuel Noriega from power in Panama. They were joined on the ground by 3rd Battalion (Airborne), 504th Infantry, which was already in Panama. After the night combat jump and seizure of the airport, the 82nd conducted follow-on combat air assault missions in Panama City and the surrounding areas. The paratroopers returned to Fort Bragg on January 12, 1990.

Ok now your scaring me!

Re: Texas Caucus Delegates —

You are correct, none have been declared so far:

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/20.....orecard/#D

How much ammo?

“Do we have reserve troops?”

Of course we do. Unfortunately, we keep them in Iraq. For the last 5 years.

lol.

oh wait, that isn’t funny - it’s true.

OT - Bill Maher up on Joe Scar right now.

I shall not engage in the politics of fear.

Good Question I never read that in the news at the time. Can and have they made their own ammo?

that’s for reading MoDo so i don’t have too.

… and i’m pretty sure she is full of shit - imo, racism and misogyny come from the same place and the only way to move forward to tackle them both. arguing about which is worse is a recipe for going nowhere.

An intreresting tid bit about thew Duece that most don’t know

Of note is the fact that, when alerted for Vietnam duty, many members of the division’s 3rd Brigade had recently returned from Viet Nam and were not required, by the Army’s own regulations, to return so soon if they did not wish to do so. About two-thirds of those eligible accepted transfers out of the brigade, which was largely back-filled and sent to Viet Nam with non-Airborne-qualified personnel. In reality, the brigade sent to Viet Nam was light infantry and Airborne in name only.

I heard some of mccains speach last night

man, talk about a speaker who sounds anemic and frail, that would be mccain

they’re pimping mitt as his running mate and I’m kind of sure they expect mitt to be the real president in no time, just as reagan/bush

anyway, mccain recieved spontanious applause when he said it was a great idea to overthrow the saddam regime, that applause actually seemed genuine

he also said he’s going to keep jobs in america by making business more competitive, he would do that by reducing taxes and regulations

I almost threw up and had to switch stations at that point

Reality even potential reality is scarier than even Judy Miller’s best lies. The thought of another war is scary because I know Bush wants one so he can be popular again.
The idea that we may repeat all the same mistakes all over again…. ARGGG!

by the way, what’s going on with telecom imunity?

Did you see it or just hear it? He was soooooo reading the teleprompter.

heading out for a bit, hope everyone is having a good morning, see all later

no, I heard it on the radio

see all later

The idea that we may repeat all the same mistakes all over again…. ARGGG!

we are governed by saps. :)

reducing taxes and regulations

I want regulations on Mad Cow, Downer Cows E coli etc. I want regulations on Chinese food heck on everyone’s food. I want regulations forcing bridges to be inspected and even more importantly repaired. Unrestrained Capitalism should not mean the consumer should be stripped of his power to sue by the Supreme Court. Why should Consumers be unarmed when business is unrestrained trusting business to regulate itself is insane.

Hillary wins Ohio and Texas!!!!!

Woo Hoooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Go Hil!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Saps, that’s generous.

Good Snark!

Good Night!

I know you are for her but be honest, you are excited by her as a candidate?

If you or Ray are still interested I found some articles on line that I carefully vetted so that they don’t deal with my friends particular group. I may have already said too much regarding her. But these are about two specific aspects of taking lands occupied by indigenous peoples in Venezuela for “State use”.

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/11/385934.html
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=13190
http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....02205.html

Here’s my vote for the best resolution passed in the recent primaries:

Brattleboro, Vermont, Votes to Indict Bush and Cheney

“Brattleboro, Vt., voted today in support of a measure calling on the town’s police force to arrest and indict Bush and Cheney. The vote was 2012-1795.”

by the way, what’s going on with telecom imunity?

potentially good news - or at least it looks likea small delay (at this point, imo, any delay is good).

at the beginning of the week, the house schedule had fisa on the agenda for today (as a possibility for legislative action). but today’s schedule does not have fisa on it, and the house rules committee met last night, but not to consider a new rule for fisa (which, i think, would tend to suggest that fisa won’t be brought up today.

in fact this item has been added to today’s schedule (as compared to the weekly schedule from monday):

**Possible Vote on Overriding the President’s Veto of H.R. 2082 - The Intelligence Authorization Act of 2008.

so maybe that will be the focus of today’s house action.

of course, nothing is certain, and i could be wrong… so i think we need to be watching carefully and continuing to call/fax our representatives.

i’m interested too - just have nothing to add to the conversation. thanks for the links… and i really like the diversity - from indymedia to the wapo - excellent.

(also thank to ray and everyone else for their links and perspectives)

No, not really. I wanted Edwards.

But I am excited by the fact that the next president is likely to be either a woman or an African American.

When I was a kid there was a common expression: “In America any boy can be president.” I told that to MiniRieszette last night and she just shook her head.

Whadda you guys think of Clinton putting the MSM in a men’s room to file their stories? Not sure if the story’s really true since you couldn’t put the media past twisting any item anymore. Not the best way to win friends amongst the chattering class (certainly not compared to mccain’s BBQ) but it sure is a warning for future treatment. *g*

Thanks for the links. As to your anthropologist friend, I’m sure you’re not giving away anything here that would be troublesome.

BTW, do you suppose that the FARC interest in your friend was because she would be good as a kidnap/ransom victim? That would seem to be the most likely justification for the FARC’s interest. I’ve read about other cases and the cash generated by ransom schemes seems to be quite interesting to indigenous movements across the planet. From the Niger River delta, to Baghdad to Bogata, kidnapping is a lucrative business.

“Unrestrained Capitalism should not mean the consumer should be stripped of his power to sue by the Supreme Court.”

“Unrestrained capitalism” is what caused the sub-prime mess, which has led to mortgage meltdowns. BushCo’s policy of govt. to the highest bidder allowed the banks and brokerages to escape oversight and introduce the concept of “off balance sheet” accounting, which allowed them to hide billions of dollars of loans & mortgages until they went belly up.

Just when you thought it was safe to turn the TV on again, there might be The Mike Huckabee Show. The mind boggles…

In Re McCain’s BBQ, this is a small thing but, as a couple others observed, feeding your dog pork ribs is not the best idea, which is obvious to the person who picks up after said dog.
I submit that this is a microcosm of the problem with the Republican Party and their policies.
They don’t care what they do because someone less fortunate has to clean up.
To make the model complete you need to say that “Everyone standing around the grill thought it was nice to give the dog a bone, and no one could have forseen that it would make him sick. Then kick the dog out of the house so that it won’t mess the nice rugs aquired at bargain prices in an Iraqui market”

Bah hahahahahaha! Poor McCrazy. He’s got another Crazy supporting him today. His campaign is doomed. With Sen. Susan Collins, Joe Lieberman, Rev. Hagee already supporting him, you’d think his supporters couldn’t get any worse. Nope! Here comes Lunkhead! LOL

I miss edit.
To make the model complete you need to say
“Everyone standing around the grill thought it was nice to give the dog a bone, and no one could have forseen that it would make him sick.”
Then kick the dog out of the house so that it won’t mess the nice rugs aquired at bargain prices in an Iraqui market.

I noticed last night that Hillary’s audience plagiarized Obama’s campaign motto after her “big win”. They were chanting loudly, “YES WE CAN! YES WE CAN! YES WE CAN!”. I guess it’s okay to plagiarize if you’re a republican, no?

Lunkhead

??? Say wha?

Look at the picture at Tbogg, then ask yourself
Are my problems with ObamaClinton really all that bad?
Look at the courts/DOJ/War and tell me that you can’t suck it up and enthusiasticly campaign for a Democratic President.
If that’s not enough, look at US Energy policy, water rights and housing and tell me that significantly more people will not be hurt by a McCain presidency than either Democrat.

Lunkhead = George Bush

Good mornng KayinMaine White caps on the coast here this morning, wind blowing as hard as clinton2 but no snow. yippee.

Looks like we are heading toward a brokered convention. Is there still hope that we might end up with a “real” Democrat or are we stuck with the lesser of two DLC candidates?

I noticed last night that Hillary’s audience plagiarized Obama’s campaign motto after her “big win”. They were chanting loudly, “YES WE CAN!

While I have no love for Hillary, I’d say your attack is a bit off the mark. Because Barack Obama himself lifted “Yes, We Can” as a direct translation of many populists in Latin America who chant “Si, Se Puede” from Patagonia to Puerto Vallarta.

What’s next? I fully expect one of these campaigns to start chanting “All Power to The People”, the American anti-war slogan which itself is a knock-off on the circa-1917 slogan in Russia, “All Power To The Soviets!”

I heard that and, like you, I could hardly believe it. But if it’s true I love it!

LOL LOL LOL!!!!!

Looks like we are heading toward a brokered convention.

History buffs will note that the 1992 race wasn’t settled until the other Clinton finally acquired his delegate majority in June.

Let’s see…. March, April, May, June.

I doubt that we’ll see anything other than the contrived and boring convention that has become the unfortunate norm in the past several cycles. The most interesting thing I’m expecting will be the street action in Denver, especially if the dim-witted Democrats are crass enough to nominate a war-mongering she-wolf like Hillary. I might even be tempted to pack a gas mask so I can attend the follies.

Good morning Nomolos. We’ve got at least a half inch of ice where I am this morning. Will my roof survive? I hope so! It’s looking kind of scary at the moment.

RayDuray, Hillary is the one that brought up plagiarism in the first place. It’s not off the mark to me to point out that when there is a glimmer of hope in her campaign her audience started chanting the motto of her opponent. You make a great point though that these are words used by others and no one really owns them, but I thought it was interesting her audience used the strong slogan of Barack’s campaign to make their point last night. Isn’t that what Barack was doing by repeating the words of Gov. Deval Patrick? Making a point? Well, I am too. LOL

And by the way….when her audience was chanting, “YES WE CAN!”, Hillary winced for a split second.

Actually Reisz…did you check the delegate counts?I’m not sure I would call FARC an indigenous movement….at least not in the sense of representing the rights of indigenous peoples or their issues exclusively. But you are correct…I suspect that the purpose was to hold her for ransom. It certainly is a lucrative BUSINESS…and has been one for centuries.

Good morning everyone. I miss the morning gang. Haven’t been able to get on lately.

Anyway, flipping the channels this morn and who was on FoxNews? Obama. He did well. Was asked about his advisor and NAFTA and he shot down some of the lies. But they say ‘bye’ to him and immediately introduce Rove to rebut everything he said. Do you think he’ll learn his lesson?
Now, Delay’s on.

very strange straddling time-zones: NPR’s Morning Edition running Middle East stories that I already heard on BBC World Service before I left Paris this morning–yep, this morning…time travel yay!

Raven:

are you up? I’ll send your stuff this morning–so look out for it tomorrow…

Must have been a carry-over comment from my other post in that first sentence in the last post ;-)

The counting of the delegates in the Texas Caucuses was suspended about 2 AM Texas Time. They’ll start again this AM. But with about 40% of the votes counted it was about 55%-45% for Obama.

The final election result was 50.7% to 49.3% for Clinton which is odd, because that’s the same as what it was when the vote tallies still left out 130,000 votes in Harris County that went > 60% for Clinton. The gap should have narrowed a bit in total differential…instead it widened.

There was also some oddities in Coleman County where almost 2600 provisional ballots were cast in a race where less that 1000 votes were not challenged? What happened there? BTW Clinton won those precincts 70%-30%.

Still the split in assigned delegates based on the Primary was something like 64-62. Obama looks as if he’ll pick up a few extra delegates in the Caucus and will likely win the delegate count in Texas.

But Hillary’s campaign has threatened to

I might even be tempted to pack a gas mask so I can attend the follies.

Be careful. Security may well be supplied by Blackwater if it looks like she may lose

**KayinMaine. Gracious yes. If you can get some local youth to clean off your roof you could well save a serious problem.

Hillary is the one that brought up plagiarism in the first place.

OK, you are enjoying the irony. Now I understand.

Unfortunately for me, I’m so burned out on the hypocrisy of all this csmpaign nonsense that it puts me in a foul mood.

It seems as though the MSM and all the candidates have signed a pact to make the depravity of U.S. foreign policy a non-issue. And what’s with all the civil rights shows playing right now on PBS? Are we being manipulated there? Or was that all just part of Black History month? Did the MSM turn on a dime and decide to hand Hillary the primary victories yesterday? Are they feeling smug in their “masters of the universe” roles? Can they play the candidates as if they were marionettes? The fall and rise of John McCain’t phoenixing as John Wayne Bush McCain, War Hero is redolent of the rotted aroma of John Kerry’s near death to glorious resurrection in 2003-4.

Is there a pattern there? Or merely a coincidence that history has repeated itself?

And quiet flows the Don…

I should have known!

Been on deck since 5. We have a broken leg in the house!

Huh?

Be careful. Security may well be supplied by Blackwater if it looks like she may lose

I’m proposing to do something entirely reckless and you suggest I be careful? Earth to nomolos, let me remind you of a great line from Tom Stoppard’s play, “1776″. In a fit of pique, the future President John Adams is heard to shout to his fellow delegates, “this is Revolution, damnit! We’ve got to offend somebody!”

FCC Investigating the Siegelman Blackout

Says they received about 20 complaints. The station says that they had a signal failure in their receiver…b-b-b-but wait! Apparently they were able to record the program and play it back during the ‘witching hour’. How do you record a program when the receiver goes down?

Saw a photo of same somewhere but I trust things like that about as much as I do anything said by a rethug or a member of the MSM.

Look at the courts/DOJ/War and tell me that you can’t suck it up and enthusiasticly campaign for a Democratic President.
If that’s not enough, look at US Energy policy, water rights and housing and tell me that significantly more people will not be hurt by a McCain presidency than either Democrat.

i plan to strongly support whoever is the dem candidate. but please, don’t ask me to be enthusiastic.

… i hope i’ve learned my lesson - i never thought that a reid/pelosi dem congress could be as bad as a frist/hassert congress - but if they pass telco immunity, they will have surpassed even the 109th for rubberstamping bushco. the dems ought to be better… but too often they are not.

disclaimer - i’m not saying there’s no difference. just that the difference is not very great (or not nearly as great as i think they ought to be). however, imo, we live in a time where very, very small differences are a matter of life and death for hundreds of thousands (possibly millions) of people.

Oh, it’s obvious…one of the station staff must have recorded it at home and brought the tape down to rebroadcast. Yeah…that’s the ticket!

The most interesting thing I’m expecting will be the street action in Denver, especially if the dim-witted Democrats are crass enough to nominate a war-mongering she-wolf like Hillary. I might even be tempted to pack a gas mask so I can attend the follies.

i’m hoping to be there (for the street action) regardless of who is nominated. we’ve had a year of the dems in congress and nothing but kabuki wrt to iraq (and that includes both presidential front runners).

….

major request - can you please drop the “she-wolf” type comments? thanks.

meanwhile, at the airport in Cincinnati last night, I exchanged 10 euros for 14 US dollars, ant they’re supposed to be at parity–pathetic for the US, thanks to Chimpy…

yours? What you gone done now?

They need to start investigating Rove in earnest. Not only because he belongs in jail but also to distract him and get him out of the election process. And why the hell is Delay not in jail yet?

In a fit of pique, the future President John Adams is heard to shout to his fellow delegates, “this is Revolution, damnit! We’ve got to offend somebody!”

I was chased by Nixon’s dogs in DC so am just a might bit worried about what “homeland security” might do. Love the quote. Thanks

But SELISE!

RayDuray’s candidate is teh awesome and yours sucks!

(in case you forgot) /s

Just pointing out the hypocrisy, RayDuray. To some it might be a low blow, but she did the same thing to Barack. I thought it was a low blow when she originally did it too.

Note: my opinions & observations are always a little whacky. LOL I have to say…the music in my head is much different than everyone else’s! This is why I dance funny. :-)

Let us all say it together:

“Your candidate is teh suck.”

“Your candidate is teh suck!
Mine is teh awesome!”

Scarecrow is saving my new zed upstairs for everyone to admire!

“What? Over? Did you say ‘over’? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no! And it ain’t over now! ‘Cause when the going gets tough…the tough get going! Who’s with me? Let’s go!…What the fuck happened to the Delta I used to know? Where’s the spirit? Where’s the guts? Huh? This could be the greatest night of our lives, but you’re going to let it be the worst. ‘Oh, we’re afraid to go with you, Bluto. We might get in trouble.’ Well, just kiss my ass from now on! Not me! I’m not gonna take this! Wormer? He’s a dead man. Marmalard? Dead! NIEDERMAYER…!”

the all may suck, but some suck worse than others.

The WH news corps will likely drop to their knees to fellate their two favorite people.

could it be that you are both right?

after all, the nyt printed miller’s lies AND broke the story of warrantless wiretapping.

examples of good and courageous journalism do not prove the absence of propaganda, likewise the presence of propaganda does not prove the absence of good and courageous journalism.

MODS: What? expression is not allowed here anymore?

Arnie - It is a long standing rule at FDL that directly insulting another commenter is not permitted.

OT — What follows is graphic and not suitable for people with a weak constitution. Please move along unless you have a strong stomach for blood.

Re:

It was the BBC who illuminated the topping of the nuclear expert to public attention AGAINST the directives of Blair & Co. The Director of BBC paid for that “indiscretion” with his position.

I very much recall that incident. At the time I was very well connected on another forum to a South African internist who pointed out that Dr. David Kelly could not possibly have died by the means of slit wrists that the BBC reported as the cause of death. The BBC was simply repeating an urban legend that wrist slitting is an effective means of suicide. It is not. The problem is that a severing of that particular artery almost invariably results in a retreat of the artery up the arm and a stanching of the flow of blood preventing the victim from bleeding out. Once again, your vaunted BBC was caught out in lie. Furthermore, thousands of us researchers know with great certainty that the Hutton Report was a whitewash of the same sort as the Warren Commission report, or the 9/11 Commission report. It was a document designed to exonerate the government from responsibility for what certainly does appear to be the murder of Dr. David Kelly before he could “spill the beans” about the fraudulent campaign Tony Blair waged through surrogates such as the BBC regarding Iraq’s purported WMD threat. Through this whole tawdry mess, the BBC was carrying water for the government, with the exception as you correctly point out where a managing director was sacked for daring to quote Kelly’s comment about the government “sexing up” the evidence against Saddam Hussein.

***
I’m really not sure where you are coming from with your personal attacks on me. I have been, throughout this tortured dialogue, making a valiant attempt to educate people about the true nature of the BBC and its place on the imperial chessboard. I haven’t attacked you. And yet you deign to attack me. Why is this? I can only suspect it is the case because you simply cannot refute my fact case regarding the BBC and such like MSM shills. Please, desist from attacking me. If you care to, attack my argument. I doubt you’ll get far, since the facts are on my side.

Thank you and good bye.

What insult. I stated fact directly opposing rayduray’s opinion.

fecking have it your way. Listen to duray’s shite. When I check out it i for good.

Oh, it’s obvious…one of the station staff must have recorded it at home and brought the tape down to rebroadcast. Yeah…that’s the ticket!

Staff must live in a TV Market area different from where they work. Must be a long commute. Or maybe they have high gain yagis atop 200 foot towers at their homes. Or maybe they just have satellite dishes that can receive the raw network feeds at home. Give us a little while and we’ll work it out.