Wow. The video is very powerful.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rP9K1lj9h0
I don't get it. I know that Muslims are not like Christians or Jews, however, I was under the impression that the Religion was a continuation is some perverted way of Christianity.
Neither Jews nor Later Christians of any faith allow the desecration of cemeteries. I'm disgusted. Just when I thought that they could not make my stomach turn anymore these sub animals come up with something a little more brilliant to make the horror stories of the brothers Grimm sound real. Maybe they were real and that’s why back then they were told to kids. So, that they would be made wary of the evil that’s out there. The stories today are not even mentioned. They in fact are dead. Just like those people in those graves. They ARE really DEAD now. Once the stone is gone, then they are gone forever. How horrible. Truly a nightmare.
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Thousands of Homeowners Cite Drywall for Ills
The article unfortunatley doesn't list the manufacturers. I don't know if I could tell one from another, but there should be something. How does a homeowner know if they have the "BAD" drywall. I didn't find it in this article.
When Bill Morgan, a retired policeman, moved into his newly built dream home in Williamsburg, Va., three years ago, his hopes were quickly dashed.
His wife and daughter suffered constant nosebleeds and headaches. A persistent foul odor filled the house. Every piece of metal indoors corroded or turned black.
In short order, Mr. Morgan moved out. The headaches and nosebleeds stopped, but the ensuing financial problems pushed him into personal bankruptcy.
“My house is not worth the land it’s built on,” said Mr. Morgan, who could not maintain the mortgage payments on his $383,000 home in a Williamsburg subdivision called Wellington Estates and the costs of a rental property where his family decamped.
Mr. Morgan, like many other American homebuyers who tell similar tales of woe, is blaming the drywall in his new home — specifically, drywall from China, imported during the housing boom to meet heavy demand — that he says is contaminated with various sulfur compounds.
Hundreds of lawsuits are piling up in state and federal courts, and a consolidated class action is moving forward in Louisiana before Judge Eldon E. Fallon of Federal District Court, who will begin hearing cases in January
Three hundred cases have been filed in Louisiana alone, many with similar complaints from homeowners — a noxious smell, recurrent headaches and difficulty breathing. In Florida, the health department has received over 500 complaints with such symptoms.
In addition, these suits say, metal objects in homes corrode quickly, causing kitchen appliances, air-conditioners, televisions and plumbing to fail.
“There could be 60,000 to 100,000 homes that are worthless and have to be ripped completely down and rebuilt,” said Arnold Levin, a Philadelphia lawyer and co-chairman of the plaintiffs’ steering committee.
While tainted Chinese imports like toothpaste, pet food and baby formula have been quickly removed from store shelves, drywall is installed throughout homes and does not lend itself to a quick fix.
This month, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, whose investigation into Chinese drywall is the largest in its history, will release the results of a study to determine why the drywall is causing the problem, and what kind of remediation programs might be effective.
Already, the commission has sent six investigators to Chinese gypsum mines and to meet with the government there. The Chinese government’s counterpart to the federal safety commission sent two of its experts here to inspect affected homes.
The commission is also making sure that no more Chinese drywall comes into the country.
“Our ports are on alert,” said Inez Tenenbaum, chairwoman of the commission. “They are not letting any in. The market, too, has corrected. No one wants Chinese drywall.”
Even President Obama is being pressed by members of Congress to raise the issue on his November trip to China — the loudest cry coming from Senator Bill Nelson, Democrat of Florida, who has traveled to China on his own to learn more about the drywall problems.
Investigators are finding that getting scientific data, establishing legal accountability and following a supply chain is difficult when so many drywall sheets — millions in all were brought into the United States — were simply marked “Made in China,” providing no clues to their actual source. The drywall was brought in because United States supplies ran low, not as a cost-saving measure for builders.
One target of the lawsuits is Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin, a German company with manufacturing plants in China that supplied about 20 percent of the Chinese drywall brought into the United States.
Don Hayden, the company’s lawyer, said that its own toxicology tests from affected homes showed that the drywall presented no health problems. Even so, he said his company was cooperating with American government investigations.
“Unlike other Chinese manufacturers, we are the only one to come to the United States to address this problem,” said Mr. Hayden. “We’ve spent considerable time and energy and hope that we can provide a workable solution to U. S. homeowners.”
When Bill Morgan, a retired policeman, moved into his newly built dream home in Williamsburg, Va., three years ago, his hopes were quickly dashed.
His wife and daughter suffered constant nosebleeds and headaches. A persistent foul odor filled the house. Every piece of metal indoors corroded or turned black.
In short order, Mr. Morgan moved out. The headaches and nosebleeds stopped, but the ensuing financial problems pushed him into personal bankruptcy.
“My house is not worth the land it’s built on,” said Mr. Morgan, who could not maintain the mortgage payments on his $383,000 home in a Williamsburg subdivision called Wellington Estates and the costs of a rental property where his family decamped.
Mr. Morgan, like many other American homebuyers who tell similar tales of woe, is blaming the drywall in his new home — specifically, drywall from China, imported during the housing boom to meet heavy demand — that he says is contaminated with various sulfur compounds.
Hundreds of lawsuits are piling up in state and federal courts, and a consolidated class action is moving forward in Louisiana before Judge Eldon E. Fallon of Federal District Court, who will begin hearing cases in January
Three hundred cases have been filed in Louisiana alone, many with similar complaints from homeowners — a noxious smell, recurrent headaches and difficulty breathing. In Florida, the health department has received over 500 complaints with such symptoms.
In addition, these suits say, metal objects in homes corrode quickly, causing kitchen appliances, air-conditioners, televisions and plumbing to fail.
“There could be 60,000 to 100,000 homes that are worthless and have to be ripped completely down and rebuilt,” said Arnold Levin, a Philadelphia lawyer and co-chairman of the plaintiffs’ steering committee.
While tainted Chinese imports like toothpaste, pet food and baby formula have been quickly removed from store shelves, drywall is installed throughout homes and does not lend itself to a quick fix.
This month, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, whose investigation into Chinese drywall is the largest in its history, will release the results of a study to determine why the drywall is causing the problem, and what kind of remediation programs might be effective.
Already, the commission has sent six investigators to Chinese gypsum mines and to meet with the government there. The Chinese government’s counterpart to the federal safety commission sent two of its experts here to inspect affected homes.
The commission is also making sure that no more Chinese drywall comes into the country.
“Our ports are on alert,” said Inez Tenenbaum, chairwoman of the commission. “They are not letting any in. The market, too, has corrected. No one wants Chinese drywall.”
Even President Obama is being pressed by members of Congress to raise the issue on his November trip to China — the loudest cry coming from Senator Bill Nelson, Democrat of Florida, who has traveled to China on his own to learn more about the drywall problems.
Investigators are finding that getting scientific data, establishing legal accountability and following a supply chain is difficult when so many drywall sheets — millions in all were brought into the United States — were simply marked “Made in China,” providing no clues to their actual source. The drywall was brought in because United States supplies ran low, not as a cost-saving measure for builders.
One target of the lawsuits is Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin, a German company with manufacturing plants in China that supplied about 20 percent of the Chinese drywall brought into the United States.
Don Hayden, the company’s lawyer, said that its own toxicology tests from affected homes showed that the drywall presented no health problems. Even so, he said his company was cooperating with American government investigations.
“Unlike other Chinese manufacturers, we are the only one to come to the United States to address this problem,” said Mr. Hayden. “We’ve spent considerable time and energy and hope that we can provide a workable solution to U. S. homeowners.”
age-related disease
Mimicking Caloric Restriction
The extended life span and resistance to age-related diseases in animals exposed to caloric restriction
has focused attention on the biochemical mechanisms that produce these effects. Selman et al.
(p. 140; see the Perspective by Kaeberlein and Kapahi) explored the role of the mammalian ribosomal
protein S6 kinase 1 (S6K1), which regulates protein translation and cellular energy metabolism.
Female knockout mice lacking expression of S6K1 showed characteristics of animals exposed to
caloric restriction, including improved health and increased longevity. The beneficial effects
included reduced fat mass in spite of increased food intake. Thus, inhibition of signaling pathways
activated by S6K1 might prove beneficial in protecting against age-related disease.
The extended life span and resistance to age-related diseases in animals exposed to caloric restriction
has focused attention on the biochemical mechanisms that produce these effects. Selman et al.
(p. 140; see the Perspective by Kaeberlein and Kapahi) explored the role of the mammalian ribosomal
protein S6 kinase 1 (S6K1), which regulates protein translation and cellular energy metabolism.
Female knockout mice lacking expression of S6K1 showed characteristics of animals exposed to
caloric restriction, including improved health and increased longevity. The beneficial effects
included reduced fat mass in spite of increased food intake. Thus, inhibition of signaling pathways
activated by S6K1 might prove beneficial in protecting against age-related disease.
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
ACORN worker’s husbands still alive after all
Theresa Kaelke may not have murdered her husband but she was definately not on to the fact that these 2 were not a pimp and prostitute. The woman's ex says that she "definitely got problems" and "goes off the wall sometimes". This does not make for a shrewed person of moral character. I think she was trying to lie and make the pimp and prostitute feel comfortable and she was trying to establish some sort of authority. If she told them that she commited a bigger and more horrible crime and was scott free, then she could do the same for them. It was a way to gain their trust. Kinda like a 1 up. She did a failly good job at lying, so I would say that she had at least thought it through. She probably feels that she chickened out. Which is good, because otherwise this man may indeed have been murdered. Or another possibility is that she saw it in a movie or knows someone who actually did do it and confided in her. Those are all possibilities. The argument that she knew who they really were, is congecture at best.
Was Kaelke just playing along with a joke? That seems like a big stretch. Kaelke sounds more like a blowhard who likes to impress people with wild stories about herself.
“As far as her murdering an ex-husband, that’s news to me,” Ronald Kaelke said. “She’s definitely got problems and goes off the wall sometimes.”
Was Kaelke just playing along with a joke? That seems like a big stretch. Kaelke sounds more like a blowhard who likes to impress people with wild stories about herself.
“As far as her murdering an ex-husband, that’s news to me,” Ronald Kaelke said. “She’s definitely got problems and goes off the wall sometimes.”
Contract From America
I really like this idea. I had thought it would be great if somehow we could get people to vote on things and then have our reps be responsible for only delivering the votes to Washington. This is a start. I hope that it gains momentum
What is the Contract From America?
The Contract From America is the ultimate grassroots democratic experiment. The tea party movement has the potential of completely reshaping American politics. But to achieve this goal, we need to be proactive, rather than just reactive. The Contract From America project allows you to play a key role in developing a 10-point economic conservative plan that we can use to push for real reform in Washington. Submit your ideas and vote and comment on those of other fellow patriots.
Contract From America Preamble
We, the citizens of the United States of America, in order to protect our country from those who seek power and authoritarian control under the false guise of compassion and altruism, call upon our elected representatives to sign this Contract and by doing so commit to upholding the principles herein:
Individual Liberty
Our moral, political, and economic liberties are inherent, not gifts from the government. It is essential to the practice of these liberties that we be free from restriction over our peaceful political expression and free from excessive control over our economic choices.
Limited Government
The purpose of our government is to protect our liberties by administering justice and ensuring our safety from threats arising inside or outside our country’s sovereign borders. When our government ventures beyond these functions and attempts to increase its power over the marketplace and the economic decisions of individuals, our liberties are diminished and the probability of corruption, internal strife, economic depression, and poverty increases.
Economic Freedom
The most powerful, proven instrument of material and social progress is the free market. The market economy, driven by the accumulated expressions of individual economic choices, is the only economic system that preserves and enhances individual liberty. Any other economic system, regardless of its intended pragmatic benefits, undermines our fundamental rights as free people.
What is the Contract From America?
The Contract From America is the ultimate grassroots democratic experiment. The tea party movement has the potential of completely reshaping American politics. But to achieve this goal, we need to be proactive, rather than just reactive. The Contract From America project allows you to play a key role in developing a 10-point economic conservative plan that we can use to push for real reform in Washington. Submit your ideas and vote and comment on those of other fellow patriots.
Contract From America Preamble
We, the citizens of the United States of America, in order to protect our country from those who seek power and authoritarian control under the false guise of compassion and altruism, call upon our elected representatives to sign this Contract and by doing so commit to upholding the principles herein:
Individual Liberty
Our moral, political, and economic liberties are inherent, not gifts from the government. It is essential to the practice of these liberties that we be free from restriction over our peaceful political expression and free from excessive control over our economic choices.
Limited Government
The purpose of our government is to protect our liberties by administering justice and ensuring our safety from threats arising inside or outside our country’s sovereign borders. When our government ventures beyond these functions and attempts to increase its power over the marketplace and the economic decisions of individuals, our liberties are diminished and the probability of corruption, internal strife, economic depression, and poverty increases.
Economic Freedom
The most powerful, proven instrument of material and social progress is the free market. The market economy, driven by the accumulated expressions of individual economic choices, is the only economic system that preserves and enhances individual liberty. Any other economic system, regardless of its intended pragmatic benefits, undermines our fundamental rights as free people.
nitrous oxide is the single greatest ozone-depleting
While Al Gore and company are busy STILL trying to connive people in to believing that fossil fuels and the like are the cause of global warming, hardcore scientist are talking about it in a more realistic manner. This snippet is from Sciencemag.com which is used by very prominent scientists to publish their findings.
Unwelcome Dominance
Stratospheric ozone is depleted by many different
chemicals; most prominently, chlorofluorocarbons
(CFCs) responsible for causing the
Antarctic ozone hole. Nitrous oxide is also an
ozone-depleting substance that has natural
sources in addition to anthropogenic ones. Moreover,
unlike CFCs, its use and emission are not
regulated by the Montreal Protocol, which has
helped to reverse the rate of growth of the ozone
hole. Surprisingly, Ravishankara et al. (p. 123,
published online 27 August; see the Perspective
by Wuebbles) now show that nitrous oxide is the
single greatest ozone-depleting substance that, if
its emissions are not controlled, is expected to
remain the dominant ozone-depleting substance
throughout the 21st century. Reducing nitrous
oxide emissions would thus enhance the rate of
recovery of the ozone hole and reduce the
anthropogenic forcing of climate.
Unwelcome Dominance
Stratospheric ozone is depleted by many different
chemicals; most prominently, chlorofluorocarbons
(CFCs) responsible for causing the
Antarctic ozone hole. Nitrous oxide is also an
ozone-depleting substance that has natural
sources in addition to anthropogenic ones. Moreover,
unlike CFCs, its use and emission are not
regulated by the Montreal Protocol, which has
helped to reverse the rate of growth of the ozone
hole. Surprisingly, Ravishankara et al. (p. 123,
published online 27 August; see the Perspective
by Wuebbles) now show that nitrous oxide is the
single greatest ozone-depleting substance that, if
its emissions are not controlled, is expected to
remain the dominant ozone-depleting substance
throughout the 21st century. Reducing nitrous
oxide emissions would thus enhance the rate of
recovery of the ozone hole and reduce the
anthropogenic forcing of climate.
Firefighters lose large U.S. grant to ACORN
Nearly $1 million in Homeland Security funding typically earmarked for fire departments has been awarded to ACORN, despite a clear signal from Congress that it intends to cut off federal funding to the embattled group.
The grant to ACORN's Louisiana office became public on Oct. 2, less than three weeks after the House and Senate voted to cut off ACORN funding after employees were caught on video advising a fake prostitute and pimp on scams.
It was one of only three such grants issued to the state and made up almost 80 percent of the firefighting money earmarked for Louisiana, prompting one of the U.S. senators from the state to demand that the funds be taken back.
"I request that you rescind this grant based on a history of abuse of federal dollars by ACORN and their clear lack of expertise in this area," said Sen. David Vitter, Louisiana Republican.
...
One such group might have been the St. Tammany Parish Fire District No. 3, which applied for a $120,000 grant to purchase smoke alarms for low-income families after a January fire killed four childrenin a home that had no working detectors.
"We wanted to buy smoke detectors to spread to homes all over the community to prevent that from happening again," Chief Charles Flynn said in an interview Tuesday.
.....
"My issue is ACORN in New Orleans. Their mission statement says nothing about fire safety or fire prevention. It bothered me that ACORN got $1 million and there are so many smaller and bigger departments that have a need for that money."
The Monroe Fire Department was the only squad in Louisiana to receive a grant and will be awarded $192,000. The Louisiana State Fire Marshal's Office will receive $62,000.
ACORN received $997,402, slightly less than the maximum allowable grant of $1 million. A total of $35 million was available for the grants project to fire districts across the country this year.
"Several Louisiana fire departments have voiced their serious concerns to me over the award of these funds to ACORN," Mr. Vitter said in the letter.
.....
The FEMA grant was revealed as ACORN Chief Executive Officer Bertha Lewis and Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell sparred over how much money was embezzled from the group by a top official nearly a decade ago.
ACORN says less than $1 million was stolen, but the attorney general claims the figure is as high as $5 million.
"This is speculation, completely false and not based on any documentation or any audit or anything other than two disgruntled former board members," Ms. Lewis said Tuesday at a National Press Club news conference during which she accused the group's critics of racism.
Accusing people of racism seems to be the only argument that is able to shut down the entire discussion. Once one is accused of it, all other rational argument is null and void. These are arguments usually made by vapid people. The racism argument is usually brought forth from people who are themselves inherently racist. Always, question who is presenting the argument and what the history of that person is. It's an ugly argument on many different levels, but the dirtiest of them is that it shuts down the conversation and diverts focus from being able to resolve issues in a civil manner. It evokes much passion, but accomplishes nothing. It would behoove our politicians to answer the charges of racism instead of avoiding the conversations. The politicians and media set the tone. When they duck the arguments and don't stand up for what is right, the side that is loudest wins. Right or wrong, when that happens it's the loudest voice that heard, because there is not a whisper in logical contrary positions. It's sad. The conversation is not intelligent and in fact, there is no conversation at all. (Silence)
.
.
.
.
The grant to ACORN's Louisiana office became public on Oct. 2, less than three weeks after the House and Senate voted to cut off ACORN funding after employees were caught on video advising a fake prostitute and pimp on scams.
It was one of only three such grants issued to the state and made up almost 80 percent of the firefighting money earmarked for Louisiana, prompting one of the U.S. senators from the state to demand that the funds be taken back.
"I request that you rescind this grant based on a history of abuse of federal dollars by ACORN and their clear lack of expertise in this area," said Sen. David Vitter, Louisiana Republican.
...
One such group might have been the St. Tammany Parish Fire District No. 3, which applied for a $120,000 grant to purchase smoke alarms for low-income families after a January fire killed four childrenin a home that had no working detectors.
"We wanted to buy smoke detectors to spread to homes all over the community to prevent that from happening again," Chief Charles Flynn said in an interview Tuesday.
.....
"My issue is ACORN in New Orleans. Their mission statement says nothing about fire safety or fire prevention. It bothered me that ACORN got $1 million and there are so many smaller and bigger departments that have a need for that money."
The Monroe Fire Department was the only squad in Louisiana to receive a grant and will be awarded $192,000. The Louisiana State Fire Marshal's Office will receive $62,000.
ACORN received $997,402, slightly less than the maximum allowable grant of $1 million. A total of $35 million was available for the grants project to fire districts across the country this year.
"Several Louisiana fire departments have voiced their serious concerns to me over the award of these funds to ACORN," Mr. Vitter said in the letter.
.....
The FEMA grant was revealed as ACORN Chief Executive Officer Bertha Lewis and Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell sparred over how much money was embezzled from the group by a top official nearly a decade ago.
ACORN says less than $1 million was stolen, but the attorney general claims the figure is as high as $5 million.
"This is speculation, completely false and not based on any documentation or any audit or anything other than two disgruntled former board members," Ms. Lewis said Tuesday at a National Press Club news conference during which she accused the group's critics of racism.
Accusing people of racism seems to be the only argument that is able to shut down the entire discussion. Once one is accused of it, all other rational argument is null and void. These are arguments usually made by vapid people. The racism argument is usually brought forth from people who are themselves inherently racist. Always, question who is presenting the argument and what the history of that person is. It's an ugly argument on many different levels, but the dirtiest of them is that it shuts down the conversation and diverts focus from being able to resolve issues in a civil manner. It evokes much passion, but accomplishes nothing. It would behoove our politicians to answer the charges of racism instead of avoiding the conversations. The politicians and media set the tone. When they duck the arguments and don't stand up for what is right, the side that is loudest wins. Right or wrong, when that happens it's the loudest voice that heard, because there is not a whisper in logical contrary positions. It's sad. The conversation is not intelligent and in fact, there is no conversation at all. (Silence)
.
.
.
.
Monday, October 05, 2009
One Tribe At A Time #2: Tribal Engagement Teams
This artcle "By Steven Pressfield" in my opinion comes closest to the correct strategy in dealing with Pakistan and Afghanastan. This is well thought out and gives us the answer to the dilema there. The problem with the answer is that it's a long and tedius one. This is why it is not goin to be implamented and also why we will ultimately fail. This is the ONLY solution. All others are only temporary battles. A waste. I can't wait to read more of this mans work. Great!
The Tribal Engagement Teams proposed in Maj. Gant’s paper would arm the Tribal Security Teams and finance them, as well as living with them, training, assisting and leading. Could such a Tribal Engagement strategy work today in Afghanistan?
The key to this strategy is going to be the ability to identify men (Tribal Engagement Teams) who have a special gift for understanding cross-cultural competency and building rapport. These men will have to like to fight and spend countless months, even years, living in very harsh circumstances. They will have to truly understand concepts like honor, loyalty and revenge. Initially, they will have very little physical security other than the AK-47 they carry, their planning skills and the tribal fighters they live with.
My true belief is that a relatively small number of special officers and non-commissioned officers could maintain influence within large portions of Afghanistan by advising, assisting, training and leading local tribal security forces– ‘arkabais’–and building true relationships with the tribes they live alongside.
The tribes are not the enemy. The ‘insurgents’ are the enemy. Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, HIG (Hezb-e Islami) and the Haqqani networks and several other enemy elements are the enemy. The tribes and their systems are not the enemy. Most of the Taliban are Pashtuns. However, all of them are from tribes. Doesn’t it make sense to make friends with as many of them as we can, while at the same time learning about our enemies? In truly engaging the tribes and understanding tribalism at its core, we will also be able to link and understand the problems in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The Tribal Engagement Teams proposed in Maj. Gant’s paper would arm the Tribal Security Teams and finance them, as well as living with them, training, assisting and leading. Could such a Tribal Engagement strategy work today in Afghanistan?
The key to this strategy is going to be the ability to identify men (Tribal Engagement Teams) who have a special gift for understanding cross-cultural competency and building rapport. These men will have to like to fight and spend countless months, even years, living in very harsh circumstances. They will have to truly understand concepts like honor, loyalty and revenge. Initially, they will have very little physical security other than the AK-47 they carry, their planning skills and the tribal fighters they live with.
My true belief is that a relatively small number of special officers and non-commissioned officers could maintain influence within large portions of Afghanistan by advising, assisting, training and leading local tribal security forces– ‘arkabais’–and building true relationships with the tribes they live alongside.
The tribes are not the enemy. The ‘insurgents’ are the enemy. Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, HIG (Hezb-e Islami) and the Haqqani networks and several other enemy elements are the enemy. The tribes and their systems are not the enemy. Most of the Taliban are Pashtuns. However, all of them are from tribes. Doesn’t it make sense to make friends with as many of them as we can, while at the same time learning about our enemies? In truly engaging the tribes and understanding tribalism at its core, we will also be able to link and understand the problems in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Russia and Iran- old freinds and adversaries
This article was soooo elequently wrtitten and very right on. I had to post it in it's entirety.
This is only one game though
There are multiple chess games going on at the same time. Once can go mad trying to put it all together.
This is a nice article that describes at least one of the games.
New York Post
Updated: Thu., Oct. 1, 2009, 3:34 AM
Putin's Iran plan
By RALPH PETERS
Iran's traditional emblem has been the Persian lion. Russia's should be a vulture: Prime Minister Vladimir Putin intends to feed on the carcass left by any confrontation with Iran.
For Moscow, this crisis isn't about Tehran's acquisition of nukes. It's about Russia's acquisition of a stranglehold on global energy markets.
Putin's playing with fire -- but he's sure we'll be the ones burned.
As for the Obama administration's desperate (and stunningly naive) hope that economic sanctions can deter President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad and his fellow thugs-for-Allah from pursuing nuclear weapons, forget it.
Even were Putin to permit his front-man, President Dmitri Medvedev, to agree to half-baked sanctions, Moscow would violate them before Obama could step out of Air Force One with a piece of paper in his hand guaranteeing peace in our time.
The current crisis is a win-win-win for Putin. But before laying out his plan, let's run the numbers:
The Persian Gulf's littoral states hold over 60 percent of the world's proven oil reserves and 40 percent of the natural gas. Russia has "just" 10 percent of the oil reserves and 35 percent of the world's natural gas.
Do the math: Iran and its neighbors, along with Russia, own two-thirds of the world's oil reserves and 70 percent of the natural gas. And the global economy still runs on oil and gas, folks.
Despite the State Department's compartmentalization mentality, Russia and Iran don't exist in separate worlds. It's less than a day's drive from Russia's southern border through Azerbaijan to Iran's northwestern border. I've driven it.
This is one macro-region for energy, the zone of ultimate control. Putin gets it, even if we don't. Here's Czar Vladimir's strategic trifecta:
* For now, Russia profits wonderfully from its trade, both legal and illicit, with Iran, while the West talks itself to death. Life is good.
* But life could get even better: If Iran's nuclear quest isn't blocked, a nuclear arsenal will give Iran de facto control of all Persian Gulf oil. Putin envisions a Moscow-Tehran axis, an energy cartel that dramatically increases the value of his oil and gas -- the only economic props keeping the corpse of Russia upright.
* If Israel's driven to a forlorn-hope attack on Iran's nuke program, Iran will respond by striking Gulf Arab oil fields and facilities, while closing the Strait of Hormuz. The US military will be in it, like it or not. Oil and gas prices will soar unimaginably -- and the bear will have its paws on the golden tap.
So the worst outcome for Putin -- more of the same -- is still good. A bad outcome for everybody else is even better in Putin's strategy to renew Russia's superpower status.
Why on earth would this guy help us stop Iran? When he hates us, anyway? (It isn't you, Barack. It's just business.)
For all his viciousness, Putin's a serious strategist. We don't have any high-level strategists. Not one. On either side of the Potomac.
In his first decade on the throne, Czar Vladimir focused on addicting Europe to Russian gas, while moving successfully to exert control over as many pipelines as possible. That was the constructive decade.
The second decade in the reign of Vladimir I is the energy-cartel-building phase. This will be the confrontational phase.
Energy's the only real power Putin has, so he's maximizing it.
It's no accident that a strategic triangle has emerged between Moscow, Tehran and Caracas -- home of the great Latin mischief-lover, Hugo Chavez, who thrives on his own nation's petro-wealth.
For us, the Iran crisis is about peace. For Putin, it's about power. Yet the self-deluding Obama administration really believes that Moscow's going to support us. After our president gave away our only serious bargaining chip, the missile-defense system promised to our European allies.
Putin thinks in 10-year-plans. We can't think past the next congressional roll-call vote.
The Obama administration's primary legacy to the world is going to be a nuclear-armed Iran.
This is only one game though
There are multiple chess games going on at the same time. Once can go mad trying to put it all together.
This is a nice article that describes at least one of the games.
New York Post
Updated: Thu., Oct. 1, 2009, 3:34 AM
Putin's Iran plan
By RALPH PETERS
Iran's traditional emblem has been the Persian lion. Russia's should be a vulture: Prime Minister Vladimir Putin intends to feed on the carcass left by any confrontation with Iran.
For Moscow, this crisis isn't about Tehran's acquisition of nukes. It's about Russia's acquisition of a stranglehold on global energy markets.
Putin's playing with fire -- but he's sure we'll be the ones burned.
As for the Obama administration's desperate (and stunningly naive) hope that economic sanctions can deter President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad and his fellow thugs-for-Allah from pursuing nuclear weapons, forget it.
Even were Putin to permit his front-man, President Dmitri Medvedev, to agree to half-baked sanctions, Moscow would violate them before Obama could step out of Air Force One with a piece of paper in his hand guaranteeing peace in our time.
The current crisis is a win-win-win for Putin. But before laying out his plan, let's run the numbers:
The Persian Gulf's littoral states hold over 60 percent of the world's proven oil reserves and 40 percent of the natural gas. Russia has "just" 10 percent of the oil reserves and 35 percent of the world's natural gas.
Do the math: Iran and its neighbors, along with Russia, own two-thirds of the world's oil reserves and 70 percent of the natural gas. And the global economy still runs on oil and gas, folks.
Despite the State Department's compartmentalization mentality, Russia and Iran don't exist in separate worlds. It's less than a day's drive from Russia's southern border through Azerbaijan to Iran's northwestern border. I've driven it.
This is one macro-region for energy, the zone of ultimate control. Putin gets it, even if we don't. Here's Czar Vladimir's strategic trifecta:
* For now, Russia profits wonderfully from its trade, both legal and illicit, with Iran, while the West talks itself to death. Life is good.
* But life could get even better: If Iran's nuclear quest isn't blocked, a nuclear arsenal will give Iran de facto control of all Persian Gulf oil. Putin envisions a Moscow-Tehran axis, an energy cartel that dramatically increases the value of his oil and gas -- the only economic props keeping the corpse of Russia upright.
* If Israel's driven to a forlorn-hope attack on Iran's nuke program, Iran will respond by striking Gulf Arab oil fields and facilities, while closing the Strait of Hormuz. The US military will be in it, like it or not. Oil and gas prices will soar unimaginably -- and the bear will have its paws on the golden tap.
So the worst outcome for Putin -- more of the same -- is still good. A bad outcome for everybody else is even better in Putin's strategy to renew Russia's superpower status.
Why on earth would this guy help us stop Iran? When he hates us, anyway? (It isn't you, Barack. It's just business.)
For all his viciousness, Putin's a serious strategist. We don't have any high-level strategists. Not one. On either side of the Potomac.
In his first decade on the throne, Czar Vladimir focused on addicting Europe to Russian gas, while moving successfully to exert control over as many pipelines as possible. That was the constructive decade.
The second decade in the reign of Vladimir I is the energy-cartel-building phase. This will be the confrontational phase.
Energy's the only real power Putin has, so he's maximizing it.
It's no accident that a strategic triangle has emerged between Moscow, Tehran and Caracas -- home of the great Latin mischief-lover, Hugo Chavez, who thrives on his own nation's petro-wealth.
For us, the Iran crisis is about peace. For Putin, it's about power. Yet the self-deluding Obama administration really believes that Moscow's going to support us. After our president gave away our only serious bargaining chip, the missile-defense system promised to our European allies.
Putin thinks in 10-year-plans. We can't think past the next congressional roll-call vote.
The Obama administration's primary legacy to the world is going to be a nuclear-armed Iran.
Sunday, October 04, 2009
Are liberal Jews secular millenarians?
Distrust of princes and kings pervades the Hebrew Bible, and to a lesser extent the New Testament. There are very good reasons for that; if you were paying attention to Saddam Hussein and his fine boys, that's pretty much the pattern of behavior everybody could see going back thousands of years. Absolute monarchs are described just like that all over the Book of Kings. It was reality then, and it still is today
The libs are a political engine and not part of ANY particular society.
The libs are a political engine and not part of ANY particular society.
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