HRC remark at London, ". . . to achieve their aspirations through political change . . ." is the blandest way of describing what begins now as years of manipulation and misdirection by the Euro colonial powers to secure the energy fields of Libya without looking as if they are running 6 million people as feudal tenants. The obstacle to this utopian fairy tale is Q. Am told Q is looking at exile and sniffing, "What about Charles Taylor, oh great Uncle Sugar?" You promised him safe exile in Nigeria if he'd depart his Monrovia nest; however, as soon as the Liberian gov changed hands and decided that Taylor was an outlaw (guided by the geniuses at George Bush State) the ICC closed in and Chuck T sits in the Hague playing video games and hiding his money. Wiki on Taylor gaming 2003:
(In November 2003, the United States Congress passed a bill that included a reward offer of two million dollars for Taylor's capture. While the peace agreement had guaranteed Taylor safe exile in Nigeria, it also required that he not attempt to influence Liberian politics, a requirement that his critics claimed he disregarded.... On 17 March 2006, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the newly elected President of Liberia, submitted an official request to Nigeria for Taylor's extradition...).
Q knows the ICC is the threat, and he does not believe State. Also, the rebels are a nightmare of stooges and regime plants. Also the rebel soldiers are all featured on Al Q jihadists websites as heroes of Iraq and Afghanistan. Guys we used to chase we are now protecting with air. Laughter is a useful emotional release for the You Can't Make This Stuff Up planet of chuckleheads and deadbeats called Earth. Final note: the deep conflict in London is that Pop Q wants Saif Q (below)
to take command of apparatus at Tripoli and run election which he will win overwhelmingly. The Benghazi TNC, stooges all with Western educations and Euro bank accounts, reject this Son-for-Dad deal as the end of their days. Pop the popcorn, as the Italians and Turks love the deal, and the US and French hate it.
I remember back when a gallon of gas cost thirty cents; when there were pay phones and free road maps; when you could drop in on your doctor unannounced and the whole thing set you back less than ten dollars. I remember all that, and it just goes to show that things change. I remember a time when you could strap on a backpack and travel to Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan to enjoy the sights. I remember when Red China was still off limits to us, and Hong Kong was as close as you could get. And it just goes to show that some things get worse.
After yesterday’s presidential address I felt we had passed another milestone. Never have I heard so much malarkey being spouted from the mouth of the leader of a nation in a period of roughly 26 minutes.
He seemed uncomfortable in his own skin while speaking to the folks. Maybe it was because he wasn’t where he was supposed to be: in the Oval Office. Everything he said had been road-tested by his various apologists beforehand and then stitched together into an unruly quilt.
I was stunned. It was the first time I had actually witnessed unadulterated doublespeak.
What happened back in 2008 was not an election; it was a coup. Yesterday, our president looked lost and out of touch – would have felt much more comfortable among his UN buds. He did not want to give this speech; yet he had to, to maintain the pretense of representing a nation. Kaddafi seems much more convincing in this regard.
Obama echoed some past rhetorical abuses, saying how many lives were saved by this unilateral action. It brought to mind an earlier claim of ‘jobs saved’, implying that if it weren’t for him, nobody would now be working in this great country of ours.
Reminds of the film “Black Orpheus” (’59) in which the lead character gets up every morning and plays his guitar. He has convinced the town that if he were not to do it, the sun would not rise that day. After he dies, his young protégée takes up the task and the film ends.
We are left wondering what on earth we would do without BHO. How could we possibly keep rascals like Kaddafi in check? And even in this, he (Obama) displays a benevolent bent. He stops just short of giving the dictator the thumbs down. What compassion! What grace! What wisdom! As transparent as any of these might be.
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Saif is not the elder. If he were to come to power, it would be enough for the American press to hail Obama as the second coming (again).
http://peterkoelliker.blogspot.com
http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/
"I remember back when a gallon of gas cost thirty cents; when there were pay phones and free road maps; when you could drop in on your doctor unannounced and the whole thing set you back less than ten dollars. I remember all that, and it just goes to show that things change. I remember a time when you could strap on a backpack and travel to Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan to enjoy the sights. I remember when Red China was still off limits to us, and Hong Kong was as close as you could get. And it just goes to show that some things get worse."
Peter, this may be a sign we've lived too long.
I remember these things too and when I had my first car gas was .50 cents and so was a pack of smokes and I could go farther on the gas then the smokes so it was a good incentive not to smoke. It's not that we have lived too long it shows the ineptitude of people that we have elected since the 50s that changed the social, political, and financial fabric of this country.
We're in the handbasket and the majority don't know how we got here and don't care how we are going to get out of it. It's now time to pay the piper or our children and grandchildren won't even be able to tell the difference between the US and some third world hell hole.
I remember these things too and when I had my first car gas was .50 cents and so was a pack of smokes and I could go farther on the gas then the smokes so it was a good incentive not to smoke. It's not that we have lived too long it shows the ineptitude of people that we have elected since the 50s that changed the social, political, and financial fabric of this country.
We're in the handbasket and the majority don't know how we got here and don't care how we are going to get out of it. It's now time to pay the piper or our children and grandchildren won't even be able to tell the difference between the US and some third world hell hole.
debbies21 - Broadly speaking, there are four groups that are currently trying to overthrow the United States: anarchists, communists, Islamists and opportunists. Anarchists are in it just to wreak havoc; communists harbor an ideology that borders on religious fanaticism; ditto, Islamists; and, finally, opportunists, those who seek maximum profit for themselves in the wake of upheaval. The latter can be compared to those who during past wars haunted battlefields, looking for corpses from which to extract dental work.
All four have united and are waging war against the rest of us. While anarchists and Islamists still hide their faces, the other two have revealed themselves fully. They no longer feel the need to hide their intent. It’s just, that we do not believe them. We do not believe that anything could possibly pose an existential threat to the country we hold dear. And, for the time being, they are right to exploit our willful – almost child-like - ignorance to their advantage.
All the important thresholds have already been crossed. We’ve crossed the threshold of ‘how bad can it get’ and accepted ‘new norms’. We’ve accepted the public media lynching of upstanding citizens. We’ve accepted turning our backs on faithful allies. We have discounted the importance family, religion and work. We’ve stood by while our system of education teeters on the brink of total failure. We’ve watched as our investments as well as our currency continue to operate on life support.
The next step, most would now agree, is collapse. And we are compelled to ask the question: “How do we protect ourselves?”
This question is key. It points the way to what we can expect afterwards. The word “protect” is telling. Already, ads responding to this very concept abound: buy gold; buy food (food storage); protect your computer; protect your identity; your health; etc. The protection rackets (opportunists) are already out in force. They signal collapse. What they don’t tell us is what will come after, when none will be left standing, when the rules totally change and revert back to basics: faith, family and the overwhelming desire to rebuild.
Rebuilding is embedded in our DNA - like language. Strength of character and goodness cannot be erased. Neither will talent, and a willingness to overcome adversity. Together we will build ourselves up and even surpass heights previously achieved - because that’s who we are.
Some say I’m a pessimist. I am not. I believe that goodness will triumph over evil every time. I believe the pendulum will continue to swing. Take heart, we’re about to reverse course.
http://peterkoelliker.blogspot.com
http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/
Rich Irony Alert!
Feature this: Muslim Brotherhood looks to West for protection in Syria! What do you want to bet they get it.
Dispatch: Uprisings in Syria
March 30, 2011 | 1925 GMT
Stratfor
Analyst Reva Bhalla explains the factors behind the Syrian president’s apparent confidence as the regime prepares for a more forceful crackdown.
Editor’s Note: Transcripts are generated using speech-recognition technology. Therefore, STRATFOR cannot guarantee their complete accuracy.
While protests in Syria are increasing in size and scope, the Syrian regime does not appear to be taking chances by parsing out political reforms that could further embolden the opposition. Instead, the Syrian regime is more likely to resort to more forceful crackdowns, which is likely to highlight the growing contradictions in U.S. public diplomacy in the region.
Syrian President Bashar al Assad delivered a speech to parliament on Wednesday in which he was expected to announce a number of political reforms including the lifting of the state of emergency, which has been in place since 1963. Instead, Bashar al Assad largely avoided talk of reforms. He said that security and stability needs to come first. He also built on a narrative that foreign elements were exploiting the grievances of the Syrian people and trying to break the country apart.
The minority Alawite regime in Syria faces immense socioeconomic challenges as well as demographic challenges but there are a number of reasons why the Syrian president appears to be so confident. Protesters in Daraa have come under heavy pressure by Syrian security forces and continue to come out in large numbers. Protests have also spread beyond Daraa to cities like Damascus, Latakia, Homs, Hama and Kamishli, but the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, which is the main opposition group in the country, has not put its full weight behind the demonstrations and probably for good reason. The Muslim Brotherhood remembers well the 1982 massacre at Hama which devastated the movement and essentially razed that city to the ground. The Brotherhood is likely looking for assurances from the West that they’re going to receive protection as the crackdowns intensify.
But there’s really no guarantee that the Syrian opposition is going to get those assurances. The U.S. administration has been very careful to distinguish between the humanitarian military intervention in Libya and the situation in Syria, arguing that the level of repression in Syria hasn’t escalated to a point that would require military intervention. The U.S. really has no strategic interest in getting involved in Syria in the first place. Syria would be a much more complicated military affair. The prospects for success would be low and the downfall of the al Assad regime is also not a scenario that the Israelis want to see. The al Assad regime remains hostile to Israel but the virtue in that regime from the Israeli point of view lies in its predictability. The Israelis don’t want to see situation developed in which Syrian Islamists could create the political space in which to influence Syrian foreign policy.
To help ensure that it’s not going to get the Libya treatment, the Syrian regime is likely looking to Turkey for some assistance. Turkey, which has become much more assertive in the region and has stepped up its mediation efforts in Syria, does not want to see another crisis flare up on its border. While encouraging reforms in Syria, the Turks have also likely played a key role in getting the Syrians to clamp down on Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad activity in the Palestinian territories recently. While the Turks will be encouraging the al Assad regime to make reforms at the right time, they could play key role in quietly sustaining external support for the Syrian regime. Syria’s crisis is far from over and the protests could continue to escalate especially now that the al Assad regime has made clear it’s not willing to go down that slippery slope of offering concessions to the opposition. The Syrian security and intelligence apparatus remains a formidable force and remains fairly unified in its approach to dealing with the uprising. What we’ll see in the coming days is whether those crackdowns will actually have the regime’s desired effect.
I'm puzzled by JB's possible conclusions re: the audience for Obama's meaningless speech on Libya. He left out "Obama fatigue."
Krauthammer has been talking about this intermittently since the early days of the administration, when Obama was on tv constantly. The bully pulpit must be used only for important issues and then sparingly. Obama has Schumer's addiction to microphones. Special Report had a bit on how he muffed a speech at Georgetown, insulting the school when the prompter had city, not school. Having seen all I ever want to see of the guy on TV, I think he spends all his camera time looking imperious, down his nose at the audience, and not really paying attention to what he's saying. Bored, disinterested, flim-flammy rhetoric, and off-putting. It's obvious he doesn't care about the subject or the audience. Nothing moves him to animation. He's boring.
I wonder what the rating for the energy speech was.
AND THE US WANTS TO ARM THE REBELS ....
Libyan rebels sold Hizballah and Hamas chemical shells
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report March 31, 2011, 11:24 AM (GMT+02:00)
Tags: chemical weapons Hamas Hizballah Iran Libyan rebels
US Adm. James Stavridis
Senior Libyan rebel “officers” sold Hizballah and Hamas thousands of chemical shells from the stocks of mustard and nerve gas that fell into rebel hands when they overran Muammar Qaddafi’s military facilities in and around Benghazi, debkafile’s exclusive military and intelligence sources report.
Word of the capture touched off a scramble in Tehran and among the terrorist groups it sponsors to get hold of their first unconventional weapons.
According to our sources, the rebels offloaded at least 2,000 artillery shells carrying mustard gas and 1,200 nerve gas shells for cash payment amounting to several million dollars.
US and Israeli intelligence agencies have tracked the WMD consignments from eastern Libya as far as Sudan in convoys secured by Iranian agents and Hizballah and Hamas guards. They are not believed to have reached their destinations in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, apparently waiting for an opportunity to get their deadly freights through without the US or Israel attacking and destroying them.
It is also not clear whether the shells and gases were assembled upon delivery or were travelling in separate containers. Our sources report that some of the poison gas may be intended not only for artillery use but also for drones which Hizballah recently acquired from Iran.
Tehran threw its support behind the anti-Qaddafi rebels because of this unique opportunity to get hold of the Libyan ruler’s stock of poison gas after it fell into opposition hands and arm Hizballah and Hamas with unconventional weapons without Iran being implicated in the transaction.
Shortly after the uprising began in the third week of February, a secret Iranian delegation arrived in Benghazi. Its members met rebel chiefs, some of them deserters from the Libyan army, and clinched the deal for purchasing the entire stock of poison gas stock and the price.
The rebels threw in a quantity of various types of anti-air missiles.
Hizballah and Hamas purchasing missions arrived in the first week of March to finalize the deal and arrange the means of delivery.
The first authoritative American source to refer to a Hizballah presence in Benghazi was the commander of US NATO forces Adm. James Stavridis. When he addressed a US Senate committee on Tuesday, March 29, he spoke of “telltale signs of the presence of Islamic insurgents led by Al-Qaeda and Hizballah” on the rebel side of the Libyan war. He did not disclose what they were doing there.
"Some say I am a pessimist, but the pendulum is swinging back ...."
Bravo, Peter, me lad! Bravo!
I'll stand against any man who calls you a pessimist! (Wait, it was me. Oh well.....) ... from now on.
MBTC:
If you are going to keep changing the "Headline News" stories so erratically (some stay for hours, others disappear in a trice), please consider setting up a separate page on the site to collect them in one spot for us to recover and peruse at our leisure.
Thank you.