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Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice mocked anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr as a coward on Sunday, hours after the radical leader threatened to declare war unless U.S. and Iraqi forces end a military crackdown on his followers.
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"I know he’s sitting in Iran," Rice said dismissively, when asked about al-Sadr’s latest threat to lift a self-imposed cease-fire with government and U.S. forces. "I guess it’s all-out war for anybody but him," Rice said. "I guess that’s the message; his followers can go to their deaths and he’s in Iran."
Oh, snap! You heard that?! Condi is calling Sadr out for not having the balls to put his skin in the fight!
Of course, the problem with that diss is one can easily imagine it another way.
"I know he’s sitting in [Crawford, Wyoming, Washington, D.C., Knoxville, TN, the offices of the Weekly Standard/National Review/Regnery]. I guess it’s all-out war for anybody but him. I guess that’s his message; our soldiers can go to their deaths in [Afghanistan, Iraq] but he’s in [Crawford, Wyoming, etc., etc., ... his mother's basement eating Cheetos.]
Thanks a lot Condi. Now that you’ve lumped people like Jonah Goldberg and Instapundit in with al-Sadr, they’ll become even more convinced that they’re stalwart Churchills fighting Islamoliberalfascism from their keyboards.
Oh well — more material for Glennzilla.
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…and sends oil prices up again.
Stunning diplomacy demonstrating such command of the local politics and culture: a US woman calling a Muslim man “chicken”.
Super!
Condi has the brains of asparagus.
$117 / bbl.
Headed for $200.
Condi, please go find a seat in the corner and fight the urge to open your mouth ever again.
Whose skin does Condi have in the game?
What a terrible thing to say about asparagus.
“I’ve been to war. I’ve raised twins. If I had a choice, I’d rather go to war.”
- Beloved Leader George W. Bu’ush.
flaming for the warhawks…sounds like school yard baiting.
How are you feeling today, Betsy?
My most humble apologies to asparagi everywhere *g*
Not too bad, thanks.
HOOOO-ah!
Kinda funny that Condi can call anyone anti-American while sitting as a member of of the most anti-American administration in history.
How utterly idiotic. Al-sadr sit squarely athwart our supply lines from Kuwait. How long can our forces fight without beans and bullets?
I guess Condi finally understands she knows so little about Iraq and “war” that she is going to resort to a time tested technique used in schoolyards across the World: taunt the bully to get him to beat you up so that the Principal calls him in. Only problem here is that there is no Principal (and,as we have long known, no principles either!).
Uh, when did Fearless Leader do either?
Regular went up $0.06 for regular at the Sunoco across from my workplace – while I was standing outside their electronic sign changed from 3.47 to 3.53. Hope nobody steals my bike.
“Bring ‘em on.”
Perhaps this will be another “Mission Accomplished!” moment. Unfortunately we have to wait another 273 days to get the very valiant President out of the WH.
Al Sadr’s father was killed — the method of execution supposedly involved nails drilled into his head. I don’t think this guy is afraid of us.
…0.06
for regularLissen up, pinko, decades ago, he heroically and single-handedly kept the No Fly Zone above the TANG golf course and NCO Club utterly free of Vietcong heavy fighter-bombers. Show some respect.
Diesel is now averaging $4.20. One inflation spike factor readily visible at the supermarket.
1,819 DAYZ AND THE KILLIN’ GOEZ ON AND ON AND…
Citizen Blue Texan and the Firepup Freedom Fighters:
Where are the calls from Obama and McClinton for the removal of Condi from the Department of State? Today the Obama campaign got a big softball hung right out over the plate when Scaife endorsed McClinton…if he comes out in opposition to Condi’s saber-rattlin’ it puts Mrs. McClinton in the position of either supportin’ the fascists or comin’ late to the war.
Where is Obama’s attack machine…it’s time to stand up for the 65+% of America that opposes this fuckin war and take Mrs. McClinton out with one punch.
KEEP THE FAITH AND PASS THE FUCKIN AMMUNITION, IF WE DON’T STOP ‘EM NOW THERE WON’T BE ANYTHIN’ LEFT TA SAVE IN NOVEMBER!!
3.93 in my area.
Condi has been in the Middle East for the past two years trying to work stuff out and I see zero accomplishment. In fact, negative accomplishment. She goes over there saying she’s going to work out a peace agreement, and everytime, she either calls Iran or Hamas a terrorist organization and says she won’t negotiate. WTF?
Yep – all by hisself. No doubt. And I can just imagine what those 2 a.m. feedings and changings did to him. MMMMhmmm, yes indeedy – he raised twins, too.
Shrub is so much like Babs. He is his mommy’s son.
“he raised twins, too.”
And, don’t forget, those who ultralounge also serve. At ease, Jenna and Barb.
I don’t understand why diesel is more expensive than gas. It didn’t used to be that way. I have a hard time thinking it’s as simple as a supply/demand thing.
Cond probably figures that Sadr isn’t about to get his militia annihilated by attacking the US AirForce droppin 1,000 pound bombs on his head- so Condi is using the opportunity to deflate his status with his supporters—at least that’s all that I can think of that she may be tryin to do.
And Jimmy Carter goes over there and manages to produce a statement that Hamas does recognize Israels right to exist. Which is more than Condi ever managed.
I watched Bill Moyers Journal interview with Leila Fadel last night. I thought I knew how badly we are doing in Iraq until Leila started talking. We are truly fucked! Not only is Iran backing the Shia Badr Brigade and the Madi Militia, but also Sunnis in Northern Iran. We are backing a government with close ties to Iran and fighting in a civil war, Condi is a cheerleader while innocent women, and children are wounded and killed. Where is her short skirt and pompoms? OMG!!!!!
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/jour…..ofile.html
Refinery priorities.
I think there are heavier taxes on diesel
And State promptly blew it off as “nothing new.”
Correction to my post should read: Sunni in Northern Iraq
Jimmy is such a troublemaker! /s
Yeah- six cents higher taxes on diesel- just checked it out
More to the point:
And State promptly blew it off as “
nothing new” “Not Invented Here.”By Saddam, no less.
Hold the presses!
Pot calls the Kettle black!
Oh, wait….
Bob in HI
What Condi, and Bush and Cheney will never learn is that all these people gain power when they say this shit. War lords gain power from war, and when America declares war on you, that’s like winning the lottery. Every time Condi says something dumb and threatening about Iran, the crazies in the Iranian seat of power get more support from their people and more power to fight America.
and BobbyG @ 34.
Oh yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Low refinery priority and higher taxes on fuel for the trucks that transport most of the food we eat. Jesus H Fucking Christ.
Yeah, but that only accounts for maybe 10% of the pump price disparity. IIRC, relative refining capacity is the biggie, which is odd, ‘cuz diesel is chemically simpler
She is but one in a long series of “adults” who were supposed to curb Bush’s excesses and make up for his ignorance. Dick Cheney was the first, ten Rumsfeld, then Colin Powell, then Rice, then Gonzales, then Gates, then Mukasey. You can probably add in others. The truth is all of these created, enabled, and enthusiasticaly participated in the worst excesses imaginable. And you won’t find a shred of integrity in the whole lot of them.
If Condi wants to taunt al Sadr, let her do it via a bullhorn while wearing body armor at a FOB.
Condi only has a few months left to secure her hold on “Worst Secretary of State Ever”.
I thought it was already a lock.
Then they can inflict her lame ass back on Stanford.
Actually, I think she has her sights set on a hostess job at the Bush Preznit Library/Casino.
It’s been a long time since I had to listen to refinery discussions (our company owned one of the fuckin things)—but there’s something about how the refinery has to be set up to change the ratios of various products- and most US refineries are set up to favor gasoline- a bias that gets changed slightly in the winter to favor heating oil….
European refineries are set up to favor more diesel- cause they use much more of it than we do.
Will the ‘furds take her back? I doubt it. Unless she goes wingnut welfare and takes a position at Hoover.
Gosh, Hugh – I guess I’ve been wrong all these years. Here I thought that Cheney and Rumsfeld and all of those “adults” were there precisely because Little George is such a clueless boob — he was their cover so that THEY could do as they pleased.
Diesel is a distillate, it is not refined. There are not nearly as many facilities to manufacture distillates as there are refineries.
She and Yoo should get jobs at Regent U. There they could shine in all their radiant glory (polish a turd, it’s still a turd.)
OT Breaking News–
Chris Matthews is from Philadelphia!
Please tell me I’m not the only one sick of all the ‘Tweety is the Pennsylvania common man’ rubbish of the last few weeks.
Tomorrow can’t come soon enough.
Small edit…
Well, it’s a win/win then for warmongers everywhere. Bushies don’t want peace.
And the splurge is working…
How many SMU students does it take to change a flat?
What we call “refineries” are actually big stills- the crude is cooked and various products come out as gases at various temperatures and then are cooled back into liquids. At least that’s how I understand it.
We could use her here in the lounge at The Bellagio tinkling the ivories while peeps ignore her during the 4 – 8 pm set.
..who has never, in fact, been to war.
Thanks to rwcole, BobbyG and nonplussed for the education about diesel. Small subject but it was drivin’ me crazy. There are a lot of things I know nothing about and fuels is one of ‘em. Ya wanna know about nukes I can help, fuels, nope.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_refinery
Link to a pretty good description of how oil refineries work
Call it “refining” or “distilling” — whatever. The point is that diesel has been a lower production priority in the U.S. I wouldn’t wanna be driving an independent 18 wheeler these days at 5 mpg diesel at $4.20/gallon.
That is so unfair. Chimpy McFlightsuit was protecting the Texas skies against the menacing Mexican air force.
Another issue is that there’s no independent evidence that al-Sadr is in Iran. This is something that his opponents have claimed in the past when he turned out to be in Iraq, and is intended to discredit him. Perhaps Condi’s trying to bait him into revealing his position, so that an air strike can be called in.
According to Mediamatters.org, Matthews’ salary is a mere $5 million.
Which is $3 million less than the $8 million salary that Charlie Gibson makes for WNT (acc. to wiki, no source).
No wonder Matthews feels “less than”.
I got his Mexican Air Force right here.
Show some respect.
Yeah—and there may be some state tax differential also- it would make sense for states to try to ding the big rigs that are just runnin through.
Translation:
And the trains that move stuff from the ports to the rest of the country.
My commuter railroad is talking about a fare hike this somewhere with the range anywhere between 3.5 and 7.5 percent – diesel price hitting them, and they have to have a special blend for air quality requirements. That’s on top of hikes the three previous years. Ticket prices have gone up about 30 percent over the last ten years.
Been to war? Could that be when he played cowboys and Indians when he was eight and the Indians lost?
I give up… How many?
Which one of teh saluting Teletubbies did Falwell think was subversive?
Another explanation of distillate fuels.
The Detroit News wants to know why diesel costs so much, too.
It’s high time for the big oil companies to explain one of life’s great mysteries; exactly how they fix the price of fuel at the filling station. The public has heard all sorts of explanations — market forces, regional instability, refinery issues and so on — but the logic behind the ups and downs (mostly ups) of gas prices is about as transparent as an IRS tax form.
“This topic is a burning concern not just because of costlier gasoline, which is, of course, a major drag on the U.S. economy and which affects all of our lives. It is also pertinent when it comes to diesel fuel, which, for no apparent reason, recently leapt up in price, well above the level of gasoline. Perversely, this has occurred just as consumer interest in fuel-efficient diesel vehicles is on the rise and as several major automakers are launching a new wave of advanced, clean diesel models.”
Don’t many states require that the drivers’ logbooks show that they’d bought fuel in their state?
As for Condi, let me just say this about her performance as Secretary of State:
” .”
Was that the purple teletubby? Purple = gay. Hidden message to two year olds. Man, I missed that! Didn’t see it at all. I just saw a silly looking teletubby that made two year olds giggle.
Tinky Winky.
You just don’t know teh gay code the way Falwell does.
LOL, yeah, that’s funny.
The one with the purse! of course.
I don’t know- interesting question. I’m still tryin to figure out the price differential thing. No luck so far.
Also, he carried a pocketbook. Totally Teh Gay.
Say you have to drive an independent 18 wheeler today, NYC to LA. Assume 5 mpg at $4.20 a gallon.
Roughly $2,370 through your tank. One way.
Condi rose far above her level of incompetence.
I haven’t figured out yet what the hell she did that deserved a PhD. At this point, I don’t even take it on faith that she can play the piano.
I have a friend who is a terminal manager and works with a lot of independents, they really are having a hard time. People are parking their trucks and giving it up.
Here’s what the government has to say about the rising price of Diesel:
“Why are diesel fuel prices higher than gasoline prices?
Until several years ago, the average price of diesel fuel was usually lower than the average price of gasoline. In some winters when the demand for distillate heating oil was high, the price of diesel fuel rose above the gasoline price. Since September 2004, the price of diesel fuel has been generally higher than the price of regular gasoline all year round for several reasons. Worldwide demand for diesel fuel and other distillate fuel oils has been increasing steadily, with strong demand in China, Europe, and the U.S., putting more pressure on the tight global refining capacity. In the U.S., the transition to low-sulfur diesel fuel has affected diesel fuel production and distribution costs. Also, the Federal excise tax on diesel fuel is 6 cents higher per gallon (24.4 cents per gallon) than the tax on gasoline.”
We’ll find out when pigs fly…we’re not supposed to know. We’re just supposed to pay.
I think TDS did a thing with clips from oil execs trotted infront of congress critters from every decade saying the same thing over and over again…
Here we are again, fighting to turn Iraq over the Iranians. Al Sadr is the only person on the horizon who might have a chance of pulling Iraq out of its civil war and offering some serious opposition to the Iranians. For what reason does Condi want to fuck that up?
well, she is no monk, that is for sure.
keep thinking.
something to do with bouncing quarters?
actually, she was supposedly a relativly good authority on the USSR.
one of the best of a group which totally missed the impending collapse.
From Free Republic – Britain Petrol panic looms as protesters threaten blockade, strike….
Or try this site: http://209.157.64.200/tag/oil/index
It’s called value-based pricing. A gallon of diesel contains more energy than a gallon of gasoline, so certainly it should cost more.
Hey, I wonder if Charlie Gibson or Chris Matthews drives a truck, knows the price of diesel fuel, and knows what it’s like to give up your livelihood?
Yes, I’ve found a new game: picking on overpaid “news” anchors instead of the pols. They don’t speak for me.
Stanford must have been desperate.
“Nobody could have anticipated…”
I don’t think Condi was ever intended to actually DO the jobs she was appointed to. Cheney figures out the policy and then sends her out to put a better face on it and do the grunt work…
It is a boost for the railroads tho
Bush Sr. said “She’s been a disappointment” about Condi- and then scrambled around to eat the words.
That will be George W Bush’s epitath.
I can hear Jonah already . . .
We shall go on to the end.
We will fight them with the CAPITAL LETTERS!
We will fight them with the lower case letters.
We will fight them with the special &$^%@# characters.
We will fight them with the numeric keypad.
We will fight them with the F-keys.
We will fight them with our mice, our modems, and our motherboards.
And we shall never surrender.
Actually, I agree. If her incredible bungling as NSA wasn’t proof enough, her total nonperformance at State ices the cake.
The sad thing is that we’ve reached a state where most of the electorate sees nothing ironic about Condy Rice, Dick Cheney, or Jonah Goldburg calling someone else a coward for sending others to die in their stead.
They’re volunteers aren’t they?
In an ironic quote from James Michner, in The Bridges of Toko-Ri, “Where do we get such men?”
railroads are inherently more efficient than trucks one would think- and the rising cost of fuel is likely to give them strong competitive advantage…the trouble is the railroad doesn’t necessarily go to every warehouse.
lol!
Best diesel “documentary“.
Ya, well she will be magnificent in her autobiography!
Exactly. It’s Dana Perino Does Sock Puppet Diplomacy”
Believe it or not she does play the piano. If you like the sound of scraping fingernails down the blackboard, you’ll endure her playing. I compare her playing to someone who studied ballet at the corner dance school, struggling across the floor on points with her knees bent, tummy poking out, arms bent like Foster Farms chicken wings and is out of sync with the music.
I’d like to hear that one unplugged
Ghostwritten by Ann Coulter.
And, this is OT, but really does show the level of stupidity in the Administration seems to go all the way…more convicted felons are being recruited into the military.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200…..ary_felons
Four words: Bu’ush wants wider war.
Then the title will have something nasty about liberals.
Early on during this administration from hell, stories were circulating to the effect that Condi was a total coward and refused to defend her own people from attacks by the big guys…..that’s usually death for anyone in a management position…
Strangely enough, this CEO administration has shown zero aptitude for managing anything- pretty much from top to bottom.
Kind of interesting.
Condi apparently couldn’t manage her way out of a paper bag.
She IS the worst Secretary of State ever, and she was the worst National Security Adviser (”Bin Laden determined to attack America”) ever, which explains why she was promoted in this administration; it is the Peter (or Dubya) principle in action. What a series of “accomplishments” for the Bush II administration:
Worst ever President, Vice President, Secretary of State (Rice), Secretary of Defense (Rumsfeld), Attorney General (Gonzalves), Homeland Security Director (Chertoff), FEMA Director (Brown), etc, etc.
Fresh meat to avoid implementing the draft to sustain the unsustainable.
Black Swan. By definition, they cannot be predicted.
Condi’s pointing at al-Sadr is like the kid on the playground who got caught stealing and immediately points his finger at some other kid and yells out what he did to get the attention off himself. Condi is a Principal and she architected torture and betrayed the Constitution, her country and oath of office.
You can’t sidetrack me, Condi, with your finger pointing and wagging.
Tells you something about the recruiting situation, doesn’t it?
I suspect that at this point Bush and Maliki would both love to have Sadr’s militia make the mistake of being lured into a massive battle in the open where they could be destroyed by air strikes.
Criminals recruited for a criminal enterprise? Imagine.
(Now, before someone goes all hyperventilating whining batshit, I am not dissing our military per se, only Bu’sh’s misuse of it.)
How about if Sadr’s boys rocket the hell out of the ‘Green Zone’ from nearby streets. Would that work for BushCo. Tweety, and PumpkinHaid?
I rather suspect that this plan is a little too obvious to actually work. Which is typical of BushCo strategery.
Hahahaha! That perfectly captures the right-wing blogger’s credo. Churchill, at least, experienced war first-hand. Goldberg, the mini-Kipling of today.
Shrub never worked in a company to know what any position does. He was backed by Daddy’s friends and hung a shingle out that said CEO (you can buy them in a catalog cheap). He totally failed three times. What’s to be said about a three time loser?
Condi didn’t get into Stanford on merit.
“We figure since you’ve already tortured a child to death, we might as well give you a job.”
I thought folks in the military were standup types ready, willing and able, Sir! to take responsibility for their actions.
No matter how stupid.
True- but they at least get to rub Sadr’s nose in it a little.
Condi is calling Sadr out for not having the balls to put his skin in the fight!
So, Condi is a rednecked peckerhead after all.
“What’s to be said about a three time loser?”
____________
MLB Commish, next. He can do for baseball what he’s done for the nation.
He’s going to invade the NBA?
Just one problem, Sadr is smarter than all of them combined.
Bush’s total lack of management ability is at the heart of the failure of this administration in my opinion.
Cheney apparently believed that HE could make up for the deficiency- but it hasn’t worked out. Perhaps Cheney is as challenged as Bush despite his tour at Halliburton (where he may have been brought in primarily to procure govt. contracts), or Bush in the end refused to totally fade into the woodwork.
It is one of the more interesting questions for historians to unravel about these guys in my opinion.
He seems somewhat wise too.
707!
I think people who live in the Middle East have had plenty of practice seeing right through American rhetoric. And we’re not fooling our allies any more either.
I thank God every day for Bush’s incompetence. Were he competent, we’d be living in the Fourth Reich now.
Yeah, maybe, although he’s only been able to get 30 seats in parliament out of 275. Seems as if he were THAT smart he’d control more of the govt.
The incompetence is so incredible as to be baffling.
He and his folks boycotted the last election.
I’ve been posting this everywhere since this is gonna be on topic for a while;
i posted this over at the lake and it is right on point for this post and here is what people keep forgetting;
,
the administration, the pnac, the neo cons, they do not want peace, they want unending war, they want unrest
there is money and treasure in war, more money and more treasure then you can imagine and it is this treasure they want for themselves
if you want to rob the treasure of a country, of a continent, all it takes is war
cheney did it with rumsfeld during the nixon administration, making up whatever it took to continue the cold war and then he did it again with iraq
but Iraq is already played out and we are not going to let them start their war in the rest of the world so they are doing what it takes to have the rest of the world start war with us
pelosi needs to be unseated and sent home to do something else, she is outmatched and outplayedI
I would link to cheney inventing data to keep nixon’s detante from being successful but I’ve linked to it too much
these sociopaths invent data to start and perpetuate war, that is a fact, it is historically documented, cheney wants war and creates what ever data he needs to have it
Cheney is not a much better manager than Bush. His Halliburton days aren’t exactly stellar.
It’s easy to figure these guys out: greed and more greed. Plus selfishness.
that’s it. it’s not very complicated. They really do. not. care.
Peter Principle on
steroidsquaaluudes, wherein you get promoted the the tenth next level beyond your competence.Cheney saw and has exploited those deficiencies since this Administration began.
People in charge of anything have to lay out expectations in clear and specific terms and then check up frequently to see if expectations are being met- and take effective action either way…
Bush seems constitutionally incapable of doing ANY of this…
People who worked for him in his failed oil companies say “He was the nicest guy just came around and told me what a good job I was doin all the time without really finding out WHAT I was doin”.
Thought that was the sunnis who boycotted the last election. He got 30 seats
Someone please give Condi a flak jacket, kevlar helmet, 2,000 rounds of ammo and a weapon. Have her report back with Sadr’s head in a box. Until them have her STFU.
That’s exactly what happened. He was a glorified salesman and lobbyist. He negotiated the CEO title (not unusual) and all the perks that went with it while the responsibilities of the CEO was divvied up among the other executives and junior execs. Cheney hasn’t a clue how to be a CEO.
Yes. Yes. Yes!!!
Job descriptions and government be damned. Cheney is about starting wars to rob our money. No head scratching there.
Bush looks a little whacked after visiting the vets because that’s the only time a little bit of reality creeps in about the hellish path he’s taken the rest of us down. Then he prays and everything’s aok again.
oh, do I sound bitter?
Trains used to make direct deliveries to all warehouses. Then fewer and fewer. We’re going to have to expand the rail system. Bush has a crony in the rail biz, too. Doesn’t seem to have the necessary effect. Way too much huge money to be made screwing everyone (and mother earth) with the last of the oil and not preparing for the future. We’re paying dearly for bad (oil biz connected)leadership and this lack of preparation.
Let’s start a bitter club. My first move will be to go buy some really dark chocolate. I think they go together.
Until he took on that part time VP job.
Then the contracts — and profits — and stock price — really took off!
Yeah for proof off that look at the Dresser merger. From Wikipedia:
Nothing like being so tied in with the current ruling dynasty and getting no-bid contracts is there?
Jane has a brand spanking new post about MoveOn and the 21st Century Campaign ready for all that are interested!
The railroads were the villains in the good ol robber baron days…..back again? Wouldn’t want any REGULATION of em of course.
Just some idle thoughts …
Condi struts and swaggers …
What do you think Sadr has been doing?
Let’s guess:
Feeding people, providing medical assistance broadly, reaching out to other ‘factions’, speaking for the interests of the ‘average’ Iraki, oh you know, just wasting time and resources consolidating …
Even if WE kill HIM, we lose and Irak wins (they have no illusions about what that ‘looks like’.
What do you think ‘winning’ looks like to the Iraki people?
Three. Two make drinks while one calls daddy.
OT: IMHO, we need a thread or two in Hillary’s proposal for a Mideast “nuclear umbrella.” YMMV
I would agree.
imho.
Ding!
And he’s only got a million or so armed followers to help him out. Where did they think all those weapons Petraeus lost went?
If you read the first hundred pages of William Shirer’s “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich” you’ll see just how right you are.
What is she smoking these days?
Condi says: “Bring it on Asshole” and of course this not being grade school he does and more Americans are wasted. This is a perfect example of someone with no talent getting a microphone. What possible good thing could come from her spittle?