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b@m...
Buffett is correct -- a municipal meltdown is just as certain as a meltdown of the states. They both are coming -- book it.
mlsoft
b@m...
Israel has to stop it -- they have no choice and because they are acting in self defense, they are well within their rights to do so.
Anyone who believes these ships are on a "humanitarian aid mission" is totally delusional.
mlsoft
b@m...
They have made a good stand at the psychologically important 10,000 level. Yesterday's hugely artificial rally was just the latest of several strong attempts to create overall confidence in the market (to protect the economy) and to put fear in the minds of the shorts. They have not worked, probably because the fundamental news background is far too negative, and today we closed solidly below the magic 10,000 number.
They may yet try a couple more attempts to drive the market higher, but it looks to me like the sellers are gaining control. The folks doing the manipulation of the markets may have to fall back and defend a lower level, at least for a while.
But make no mistake. They are still out there and they are still powerful.
mlsoft
sox...
Things you might consider when comparing palestinian and Israeli casualty numbers.
1) The figures you cited were from a pro palestian group (although they are liberal Israeli citizens) which is strongly against the Israeli policies, so the numbers are probably biased in favor of the palestinian side. No one knows what the real numbers are, but this is a secondary matter.
2) Few people would seriously argue that the palestinian terrorists do not use civilians as cover for them when launching attacks on Israelis. That alone makes the probability of higher civilian casualties certain.
3) The last thing the palestinians want is peace. The only "peace" they want is one that includes the complete elimination of Israel and the Jews from the middle east. The palestinians have had many chances for full peace with Israel, including a two separate state solution which granted them some 98% of the land they claim.
The bottom line is that the arabs/palestinians do not want peace. They will not agree to peace on any terms until Israel no longer exists.
mlsoft
b@m...
Yep, that is what we need -- higher interest rates.
mlsoft
hardcore...
And that is why the America haters are Israel haters also.
But they will find that God will not allow the arabs (or anyone else) to prevail over the Jews. Many have tried to eradicate them from the list of peoples in the world, but none have succeeded, nor will they ever succeed.
How many Amorites, Hittites, Jebusites, Canaanites (termites, parasites), etc. do you know? The answer is none. But despite many, many attempts to eradicate them by mighty kings and nations, the Jews live on.
In Genesis 12:3, when initiating the Abrahamic Covenant God says to Abramham and his descendants:
And I will bless those who bless you,
And the one who curses you I will curse
And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed."
Oppose the Jews all you wish, you will not succeed. God will bless those who support the Jews and He will curse those who curse the Jews. So He has promised, and so it has been throughout history and will ever be.
And in Jeremiah 31:35-36, God proclaims that the offspring of Israel (the Jews) will live before Him as a nation forever.
35) Thus says the LORD,
Who gives the sun for light by day
And the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night,
Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar;
The LORD of hosts is His name:
36) "If this fixed order departs
From before Me," declares the LORD,
"Then the offspring of Israel also will cease
From being a nation before Me forever."
mlsoft
palestine...
Have you nothing but arab/palestinian propaganda to serve up??
Look -- here is the bottom line. All the palestinians in gaza (or anywhere else) have to do if they truly want peace (which they most assuredly do not) is to stop their terrorist attacks on Israel and agree to live in peaceful coexistence with Israel. But for the first time ever, they would have to really mean it. If they would do only that, they could not only live in peace, but prosper in a way they never have.
But there is the rub. They do not want peace. Period. Unless you define "peace" as the eradication of Israel from the map. That is their goal, and they will never settle for anything less.
So they will continue to be in abject poverty -- by their own choice. The shame of it all is that their leaders will not under any circumstances give peace a chance. But, like I said, it is their choice, and by making the choice for continued war and terrorism on Israel, they give Israel no choice but to protect their citizens from terrorist attack as best they can.
mlsoft
palestine...
Still dishing out arab/islamic propaganda, I see.
------------
Flotillas and Falsehoods
Flotillas and Falsehoods
Mona Charen
June 1, 2010 12:00 A.M.
http://article.nationalreview.com/435253/flotillas-and-falsehoods/mona-charen?page=1
The effort to destroy the Jewish state has many fronts. One front is in Iran, where the maniacal regime that has repeatedly promised to “wipe Israel off the map” marches inexorably toward a nuclear bomb. Another is in Gaza, from which Hamas has lobbed 10,000 missiles into Israeli cities. Yet another front, the most insidious, is comprised of the propaganda arm of the Palestinian movement. And this front thrives for only one reason — the complicity of the world press and the so-called “international community.”
It was the propaganda arm that staged the “Freedom Flotilla.” But there have been many previous productions: The propaganda arm was responsible for the photo-shopped images of damage to Lebanon during the 2006 war, the staged “death” of twelve-year-old Muhammad al-Durrah, the “massacre” at Jenin, and the “war crimes” in Gaza.
In each and every case, the “news” of Israeli atrocities was broadcast far and wide by organizations such as Reuters, AP, CNN, and AFP. The United Nations has offered its imprimatur to every libel. The truth seemed always to have a case of laryngitis.
Today, in the wake of the confrontation between Israeli soldiers and the provocateurs aboard the Gaza flotilla, the remarkably incurious world press is providing exactly the sort of headlines on which the organizers knew they could count. “Flotilla Attack Is Israel’s Kent State” screamed the Huffington Post. Agence France Presse carried a banner quoting the Turkish foreign minister to the effect that “Israel has lost all legitimacy.” Every news outlet I checked docilely described the flotilla as “humanitarian.”
Don’t members of the press ever resent being so used?
Fact: Israel imposed a blockade of Gaza to prevent weapons from reaching the radical Islamic regime there that continues to make war on Israeli civilians. Egypt too has blockaded the strip, hoping to choke off weapons to Hamas, which it views as a threat.
Fact: Humanitarian relief is delivered to Gaza from Israel on a daily basis. During the first three months of this year, 94,500 tons of supplies were transferred to Gaza from Israel, including 48,000 tons of food products; 40,000 tons of wheat; 2,760 tons of rice; 1,987 tons of clothes and footwear; and 553 tons of milk powder and baby food for the strip’s 1.5 million inhabitants. Representatives of international aid groups and the United Nations move freely to and from the Gaza Strip.
Fact: Upon learning of the intentions of the Gaza flotilla, the Israeli government asked the organizers to deliver their humanitarian aid first to an Israeli port where it would be inspected (for weapons) before being forwarded to Gaza. The organizers refused. “There are two possible happy endings,” a Muslim activist on board explained, “either we will reach Gaza or we will achieve martyrdom.”
Fact: The flotilla ignored multiple instructions from Israeli navy ships to change course and follow them to the Israeli port of Ashdod.
Fact: On board one of the ships, according to al-Jazeera, the “humanitarian” Palestinians sang “Khaybar, Khaybar, oh Jews, the army of Muhammad will return” — a reference to the 628 massacre of Jews in Arabia at the hands of Muhammad.
Fact: The flotilla’s participants included the IHH, a “humanitarian relief fund” based in Turkey that has close ties to Hamas and to global jihadi groups in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Chechnya, and elsewhere, and which has also organized relief to anti-U.S. Islamic radicals in Fallujah, Iraq. A French intelligence report suggests that IHH has provided documents to terrorists, permitting them to pose as relief workers. Among the other cheerleaders — former British MP and Saddam Hussein pal George Galloway, all-purpose America and Israel hater Noam Chomsky, and John Ging, head of UNRWA, the U.N.’s agency for Palestinian support.
Fact: When the family of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier who was kidnapped during a cross-border raid by Hamas in 2006, offered to support the flotilla if, in exchange, they would agree to ask Hamas to permit international agencies to visit their son, they were rebuffed.
Fact: When Israeli commandos rappelled down ropes to the deck of the Mavi Marmara, they were assaulted and beaten with metal poles and baseball bats by the Palestinians on board. (It’s available on theisraelproject.org).
Some commentators sympathetic to Israel complain that the Israelis were late getting their explanation of events to the press. That’s probably true, but almost irrelevant. There is a jerking of knees around the world whenever and wherever Israel is forced to defend itself. This eagerness to repeat the Palestinian version of events, to assume the very worst about Israel, and to ignore the history of blatant and outrageous lies by Israel’s enemies — amounts to joining them.
-----------------------------------
mlsoft
— Mona Charen is a nationally syndicated columnist. © 2010 Creators Syndicate, Inc.
palestine...
Have you nothing but arab/palestinian propaganda to serve up?? The "un spokesman" (hasna) is a well known hamas mouthpiece, full of nothing but propaganda and lies.
Look -- here is the bottom line. All the palestinians in gaza (or anywhere else) have to do if they truly want peace (which they most assuredly do not) is to stop their terrorist attacks on Israel and agree to live in peaceful coexistence with Israel. But for the first time ever, they would have to really mean it. If they would do only that, they could not only live in peace, but prosper in a way they never have.
But there is the rub. They do not want peace. Period. Unless you define "peace" as the eradication of Israel from the map. That is their goal, and they will never settle for anything less.
So they will continue to be in abject poverty -- by their own choice. The shame of it all is that their leaders will not under any circumstances give peace a chance. But, like I said, it is their choice, and by making the choice for continued war and terrorism on Israel, they give Israel no choice but to protect their citizens from terrorist attack as best they can.
mlsoft
palestine...
And that list of countries have never voted against Israel in the UN?? Read my post again.
mlsoft
palestine...
There is no excuse for an attack by armed forces on a humanitarian convoy.
Can you not see how ludicrous your argument is?? Suppose the Russians had declared that their ships bound for Cuba were filled with "humanitarian aid" -- would we have just let them pass???
As I have pointed out, the goal of the ships was not humanitarian aid at all. The goal was to break the embargo and to give Israel a black eye by creating an "incident". The group behind the ships knew there was a blockade, and knew that Israel would be forced to intercept and board the ships. That was their goal.
If Israel could be forced to give up their blockade, then arms and munitions could then resume being shipped into gaza. It has nothing, repeat nothing, to do with "humanitarian aid". It does not take a rocket scientist to understand that.
mlsoft
palestine...
As you well know, that is not what I was asking a link for.
The list of folks condemning the Israeli "aggression" includes all islamic states -- what a surprise!!!!!!
I could have written down a list of the states which would condemn Israel with zero research simply from previous UN votes condemning her on everything Israel does.
How preposterous. Am I supposed to automatically join in with all the islamics and other anti-Israel haters because of the propaganda spin being put on the incident and knee jerk condemnations??
Please make your arguments with someone silly enough to believe them and leave me out of it. You have zero credibility with me when it comes to Israel.
mlsoft
palestine...
How does that answer my post?? How can a nation impose an embargo without acting in international waters? Israel was not trying to prevent the ships from delivering into Israel, it was trying to prevent them from going into Gaza.
And for your second "point" -- so am I to infer that it is ok to break an embargo as long as you fly a white flag?? Boy, if the Russians had only known that during the embargo JFK put on ships headed to Cuba!!!!!
(by the way, that was also done in international waters)
mlsoft
palestine...
More anti-Israel propaganda?? Before I even bother to read a word of it, how about a link -- supposedly required by board rules.
mlsoft
palestine...
A serious question for you -- do you ever question the veracity of the claims you support??
Just on the offhand chance that the group (which supports hamas) actually had a goal of delivering humanitarian aid to gaza, Israel offered to let the ships come into an Israeli port, where the cargo would be inspected and then any non-embargoed items would be allowed into gaza from there. The pro-hamas group declined that offer -- what a surprise!!!
It is very apparent to any neutral observer that the objective here had nothing to do with getting humanitarian assistance into gaza and everything to do with breaking the imbargo so that arms and munitions could then resume shipping into gaza.
This incident had nothing to do with humanitarian aid. It had everything to do with the palestinian terrorist war against Israel, which you obviously support.
mlsoft
palestine...
You have got to be kidding me.
You present a propaganda interview made for Iranian TV, with a islamic moderator, that tells me that the US Government and the corporate media are controlled by the Jews and somehow expect me to attatch any credibility to your claims whatsoever??
Sheeeeeeshh!!
I love it. Specifically mentioned as part of the "corporate media" controlled by Israel is the NY Times, who has never had a kind word to say about Israel and who is the very first to believe any type of propaganda against Israel that the arab world can conjure up.
I would think that one of the primary rules for bringing out conspiracy theories would be that they have at least some element of credibility to them, but this one has none.
I think baghdad bob wrote this one.
mlsoft
palistine...
To say that "Israel runs the United States" is not just demonstrably factually incorrect, but is utterly absurd. GW Bush is the only recent president who fully supported Israel -- his dad and clinton both showed a pro-arab bent, and obama is surrounded by anti-Israeli advisors, sat for 20 years under a rabidly anti-semitic "pastor", and recently used a farcical excuse to publicly embarrass the Israeli prime minister during his visit here. Unless his fear of losing his traditionally liberal Jewish voting bloc tempers his true feelings somewhat, obama will be the most anti-Israel president since Israel was granted statehood in 1948.
mlsoft
bull...
As I originally said, the law as proposed would clearly be unconstitutional, and it would be a time for all those who claim to believe in our constitution to stand up and demand that such a law not be passed. If passed, I would want the Supreme Court to strike it down the same day, and anyone who voted for it should be impeached.
That being the case, I would have no problem raising the cap for future cases -- in fact, I would be in favor of eliminating the cap altogether. My personal opinion is that any company (or in this case, group of companies) that has such a ecological disaster should be fully responsible for the full cost of the cleanup and damages, even though it would result in bankruptcy and a liquidation of the companies involved. That is capitalism. When you take a risk and lose, you foot the bill.
""The cap is not in place if somebody is found to be either grossly negligent... involved in willful misconduct, or in violation of federal regulations," said Gibbs at his daily press briefing yesterday."
Unless new information comes out showing negligence or willful misconduct, there is nothing even faintly showing that is the case now. If anything, any negligence or willful misconduct would be on the Government itself, which waived some of the environmental requirements for that site.
mlsoft
bull...
"And Congress needs to raise the liability from a pathetic $75M to $10B."
How does congress raise the liability limit then apply it retroactively?? I would seem to me that any such law would be highly unconstitutional. I have no problem with raising the limit, but to do so and then try to apply it to BP in the current instance is wrong and unconstitutional.
mlsoft
hap...
I agree -- the cupboard is bare. Of the names you listed, the one I have always though was the most likely to be a good president is Newt. He has a very good knowledge of current problem areas and a good sense of history -- best of all, he is the closest to being a true conservative. Despite all of that, I tend to think he is unelectable due to his past character flaws.
Bush has good qualities, and is the only other one on your list that I would like to see get the nomination, but is the country ready for another Bush?? I don't think so, but I may be wrong.
I would be very disappointed if any of the others on your list were nominated. McClain is too liberal, Palin is not yet qualified and may never become qualified, and Romney has too much baggage.
Pawlenty is another possible, but has low recognition and not much is known about him. I like what little I know, though.
Like you say, somebody needs to establish themselves as a true leader. I felt last time that a deranged orangutan should have easily beat obama, but I was wrong. Apparently McClain polled worst than an orangutan <gg>.
mlsoft
b@m...
Excellent post. It reflects well my concerns about the trouble we are in. How in the world could the citizens of the US elect such a totally unqualified, inept, incompetent fool as obama to be president? That one still flabbergasts me, and even more so when you consider that a substantial number of those who voted for him continue to support him.
Utterly amazing -- and it does not bode well for our future.
mlsoft
b@m...
That was a good one!!
mlsoft
b@m...
If this were not a manipulated market, that would be a very low risk trade -- in fact, fundamentally, we should be there or lower already. As it is, the odds of losing it all are pretty high.
The "enemy" he is betting against has an unlimited source of ammo.
mlsoft
b@m...
The writer of your article has a significant flaw in his assumptions that leads him to a false conclusion -- he assumes we are in a free market, and we are not.
Just as in the long climb off of the 09/11 lows, this has clearly been a manipulated market. I posted here last week that in the absence of very bad news, they would stage a defense of the DJ 10,000 mark on a closing basis, then force a strong short covering rally to continue to hold the markets up. They tried the rally yesterday, but it failed, trading action that would normally bring in heavy selling. To prevent that from happening, they pulled out all the stops during futures trading this morning in an attempt to overwhelm the bears. So far, this one is working.
If you are a trader, you have to look at it from their side. They cannot afford for the market to fail, for it would take the whole economy down with it. This, like the aftermath of 09/11, is precisely why the President's working group on financial markets was created.
It was kind of funny though to listen to all the "talking heads" type gurus talk about all the possible reasons the markets were not tanking yesterday.
The same caveat from last week still applies. At some point the manipulation will likely fail and if it does, it will be ugly. Until then, shorting this market is very risky with small potential rewards, even though the supposed "economic recovery" is nothing but smoke and mirrors.
mlsoft
RDG...
I dunno. One such admission I chalked up to the arrogance and stupidity which permeates this administration, but to have another one several days later shakes credulity.
I wonder if it is possible that the "failure to read" was a cover to have plausible deniability should public opinion turn too strongly against them or something similar. Surely not even obama morons are not THAT stupid. Or something else that I have not thought of yet since I have not lost a lot of sleep wondering about it.
Or perhaps they really that arrogant and moronic.
mlsoft
RDG...
ayers as a "hero"?? No, not even wall would go for that nonsense.
mlsoft
josey...
Thank you for your service and thank you for those sentiments. I wholeheartedly concur.
mlsoft
RDG...
Sorry -- I cannot find much in him that is appealing.
mlsoft
RDG...
No, I don't think so. I think that after a short while, you would find him insufferable due to his narcissism and superior attitude. He is a "know it all" on steroids.
mlsoft
RDG...
"The scary thing is, Obama is starting to make Nixon look like a straight arrow!"
Actually, there is no comparison between the two as far as being a president. Aside from all the questionable morality of the Watergate and associated things, Nixon was one of the better (and in many ways, more liberal) presidents this country has ever had, while obama is predictably far and away the worst president we have ever had, making even jimmy carter look a little better.
Of course "aside from all the questionable morality...." is kind of like "other than that, Mrs Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play??"
Thinking on it a bit more, I would place Nixon's "morality" at no worse than clinton (another successful president in many ways), and far above obama, who makes clinton look like a truth truthful person.
mlsoft
RDG...
"keep in mind that representatives from Obama's Crime Inc have stated they looked into it and found nothing wrong, so we have no reason for an investigation!"
That also means that they had something concrete for their attorneys to look at that enabled them to come to that determination. If they found nothing wrong, why not let us all see what they were looking at?
mlsoft
b@m...
I took the time to read the article -- all 9 loooong pages. My take is that the guy that wrote it is a disillusioned liberal who, among other things, refers to obama as "brilliant", and a "nobel peace prize winner" -- the first needs a lot of explanatin and caveats, and the second is true enough, but that no longer means anything whatsoever, as even obama noted. Kinda like the little plastic prize you "win" in a box of cracker jacks.
The author claims he now, after all these years, sees that peace in the middle east is not going to happen but it is clear that he does not understand why. That in itself leads me to think that the guy is brain dead -- a myopic 4th grader could see the answer to that one.
Neither the palestinians nor the arabs want peace. Period, end of story. The only "peace" that would satisfy them would be for Israel to be annihilated from the face of the earth, literally, which for some reason Israel is not ready to agree to. Therefore, until this age is over, there will be no peace in the middle east.
The sooner liberals and misguided libertarians understand that, the better off we will all be.
mlsoft
n48...
This is apparently a part of an ongoing, longstanding political feud. He filed a suit against the board this morning and apparently has already won a stay.
----------------------------------------------
PHOENIX (CN) - For the eighth time in 3 years, Sheriff Joe Arpaio sued the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. Arpaio claims his bosses unfairly subpoenaed him for records, and violated his rights with an "extrajudicial statement" stating that "the board has objective indications that public money may have been misspent. It seems odd that the sheriff does not want to be accountable and transparent in his office's use of public money."
Some background: Arpaio's office arrested Supervisor Don Stapley "for alleged financial improprieties" twice, in December 2008 and September 2009, according to Arpaio's complaint.
The sheriff adds that "in December 2008 and in March 2009, the Board spent some $14,000 to sweep for hidden electronic devices purported to be planted by the Sheriffs Office."
Arpaio sued the county in February 2009, claiming that it "had unlawfully encumbered and transferred funds that it did not have the authority to encumber."
Arpaio sued his bosses again in April 2009, claiming that the county had "unlawfully enacted a public records mandate limiting county officers from making public records requests" and had "exerted management control over a criminal justice information system which must be under the management control of a criminal justice agency."
In his most recent complaint, Arpaio claims that the Board of Supervisors' subpoena of April 23 this year unfairly demanded "thousands of pages" of records by May 7.
The sheriff claims that the subpoena was issued illegally because it did not give him the "right to object."
Plus, Arpaio says, he was given only seven business days to respond, as he was not served with the subpoena until April 27.
The alleged "extrajudicial statement" came on May 18, Arpaio says in this complaint in Maricopa County Court.
Arpaio claims his attorney delivered a letter to the Board of Supervisor containing his objections to the subpoena, but instead of responding to Arpaio's lawyer, the county gave his letter to the media, and Maricopa County Manager David Smith and county spokeswoman Cari Gerchick commented on it: showing bias against Arpaio.
Arpaio says the Board of Supervisors issued another subpoena on May 12 to him and to Loretta Barkell, his chief financial officer, "again failing to set forth all of the mandatory language."
Arpaio claims the board also issued an unconstitutional order to show cause hearing for today (Monday, May 24). He claims the board never "attempted to hold any judicial proceedings" and does not have "procedures for ensuring that a fair and impartial proceeding is held."
Supervisor Stapley will be the hearing officer at the order to show cause hearing, Arpaio says. The sheriff calls that a conflict of interest, as Stapley executed the subpoena and has called Arpaio "evil."
Plus which, in March, Stapley sued Arpaio, Maricopa County and Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, alleging false arrest and emotional distress. He demanded $5 million, according to Arpaio's complaint.
Arpaio, the self-proclaimed "America's toughest sheriff," has clashed with his bosses, in court and out of it, for years, and has been criticized, and sued, repeatedly for his roundups of "illegal aliens," and for conditions in his jails.
Arpaio seeks declaratory judgment that the Board of Supervisors' latest subpoenas were issued illegally, and he wants the order to show cause hearing vacated.
Arpaio is represented by L. Eric Dowell of Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart.
Arpaio has been sued at least 101 times in the past 5 years, according to the Courthouse News database.
------------------------------------
http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/05/24/27511.htm
mlsoft
RDG...
LOL -- well played.
mlsoft
Anyone watch the huge pump up in the futures markets this morning?? It is so predictable that it has been a hoot to see.
mlsoft
extel...
Thanks for the good article on the liberal "propaganda" concerning Israel that is so prevalent in the media and in liberal circles today.
The corrections it noted to the AP article are absolutely factually correct.
Of course, that does not bother the liberal media (or the administration, for that matter).
mlsoft
extel...
"One would think if he thought it was a bribe he would have contacted the FBI at the time the bribe was offered."
That would have been political suicide and neither democrats nor republicans are known to intentionally commit political suicide -- especially over something as inconsequential as ethics.
mlsoft
b@m...
If blago really does have the tapes and other evidence to back up his claims (which I certainly expect are true), I look for him either to get a sweetheart deal from the prosecutor or he might get the chance to "sleep with the fishes" before the trial.
As for Sestak, I suspect his allegations are true also. It will be interesting to see where that goes, but I suspect it will be swept under the rug unless and until the conservatives take over the house or the senate.
mlsoft
h24ever...
"WOW !!! GOP a victory in Obama's hometown !!!!"
They have republicans in Kenya??
mlsoft
sony...
H24ever is correct. It is a longstanding tradition that past presidents do not criticize the current president. There have been notable exceptions in recent years, when ex-presidents with little character and no class have criticized the current office holder. jimmy carter has been by far the worst, but clinton took a good number of shots at bush during bush's early years. I will give him some credit that he has not run his mouth as much in recent years.
There is another, similar tradition where our elected officials never criticized our foreign policy at any time while they were abroad, but obama, carter, and many other dems have shot that one to smitherines.
mlsoft