Year: 2008

Sistani Will Object to US-Iraq “Security Accord”

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In which “Security Accord” means permanent bases:

Iraq’s most revered Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has strongly objected to a ‘security accord’ between the US and Iraq.

The Grand Ayatollah has reiterated that he would not allow Iraq to sign such a deal with “the US occupiers” as long as he was alive, a source close to Ayatollah Sistani said.

While this report is from a source that could best be described as partial, Iranian funded TV network, it jibes with reports that he has been quietly approving action against US and coalition forces.

As I’ve said before, I think that Sistani has been reticent, because he is concerned that occupying forces to do what the British did, put the Sunnis in charge, if the Shia are too strident, but that he believes that permanent bases cross a line.

According to this report, he said this to the Prime Minister in conversations, so if this leaked out, it came from Sistani’s camp, not Maliki.

Refuting George Washington, Bush and His Evil Minions™ say, “Let There Be Kings”

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That’s what they are asking for in the Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, a legal resident of the United States who was arrested on US soil.

They are claiming that the President can wave a wand, and call anyone an enemy combatant, and detain them without trial or access to counsel forever.

If the president has this right, than we have no rights.

They claim that he’s a major terrorist, but they are unwilling to try him.

It’s clear that the political fallout of a successful prosecution would be positive Bush and the Republicans, which implies very strongly that they have no case whatsoever.

Norman Finkelstein Refused Entry Into Israel

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Finkelstein, author of, The Holocaust Industry, which argues that the Jewish establishment has exploited the Holocaust for political gain, has been refused entry into Israel:

The Shin Bet said Finkelstein “is not permitted to enter Israel because of suspicions involving hostile elements in Lebanon,” and because he “did not give a full accounting to interrogators with regard to these suspicions.”

He did have contacts with Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon a few months ago , he published articles about that, so it’s inevitable that he would be questioned on entry.

As to whether he was forthcoming, we are in a he said/she said situation.

Quote of the Day: Movement Conservatism

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From Thers of Whiskey Fire:

Movement conservatism started off as a racket. Movement conservatism has always been about exacerbating and then profiting from existing cultural, social, and economic resentments. There was never any fall from an original ideological Eden. The corruption was there from the start. Packer is quite right to emphasize how the political and popular success of movement conservatism owes everything to its legitimization of a politics of resentment that arose in the 1960s. Movement conservatism has nothing without Hatred of the Liberal, a point reinforced not least by the image with which Joyner chooses to adorn his post.

Actually, if you look at Bill Buckley’s pro segregation essays in the 1950s, the promulgation of hate for political power starts about a decade earlier.

It got its start from hating FDR, and folks like Buckley patted themselves on the back for being able to put a pseudo intellectual gloss on hate and greed.

Schadenfreude of the Day: Bush/McCain Fundraiser Moved to Smaller Venue Because of Weak Ticket Sales

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You have to love it when in John McCain’s home state, a fund raiser with George W. Bush does not generate enough ticket sales to fill the Phoenix Convention Center:

Sources familiar with the situation said the Bush-McCain event was not selling enough tickets to fill the Convention Center space, and that there were concerns about more anti-war protesters showing up outside the venue than attending the fundraiser inside.

Another source said there were concerns about the media covering the event.

Bush’s Arizona fundraising effort for McCain is being moved to private residences in the Phoenix area……

Hey, my dad has a barn, let’s put on a musical!!!!

Not!!!! Heh!!!

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Warns Troops to Stay out of Politics

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I’m not clear if what Admiral Mike Mullen’s, “open letter to all those in uniform”, means, but it is a highly unusual step.

It could be exactly what it says, a statement that, “The U.S. military must remain apolitical at all times and in all ways….It is and must always be a neutral instrument of the state, no matter which party holds sway.”

It could be a slap at those Generals **cough** Petraeus **cough**, who have pimped themselves out to Bush and His Evil Minions™ war, or it could be an attempt to de-legitimize the protests of retired military officers, or it could mean exactly what it says.

My guess is that it’s an attempt at damage control. I see it as a recognition that the politicization of the military in the past 7 years will have dire consequences if not kept in check during the presidential election.

South Africa/Zimbabwe Update

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Morgan Tsvangirai has now returned to Zimbzbwe, and is campaigning in the runoff.

Meanwhile, Mugabe has changed his campaign tactics, trying to work with small groups, as opposed to his previous mass rallies, and he’s railing against both Tsvangirai and the US ambassador to Zimbabwe, which I think is a prelude to some more violence and intimidation from his “war veterans”.

Meanwhile, in South Africa, Thabo Mbeki is calling the violence against refugees in his country a “disgrace”.

Of course, the largest group of refugees, those from Zimbabwe, were as a direct result of his policies supporting Mugabe, and the tensions are a direct result of their numbers.

Damn! Forgot My Anniversary!!!

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Luckily, not my marriage, my blog. My wife* is far less forgiving about such things.

I did a test post of footnotes on may 1, and my first real post on May 9 which described why I was blogging.

This will be up here for a couple of days, so scroll down.

1 year, 4088 posts, and I’m half way to getting my first ad revenue check, which will go towards pampering my wife*.

*Love of my life, light of the cosmos, she who must be obeyed, my wife.

Nuclear Waste Import Standoff

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This is a nice rundown of the sh^% storm coming down about the importation of nuclear waste from Italy for processing and disposal.

Obviously, it all has to go somewhere, and the proliferation issues involved with it staying somewhere unsafe bear some careful thought.

Beyond that, I have no comment….I am currently working in the biz, though not on this specific project, and it would be inappropriate for me to make any further comment.

French Defense Procurement Faces Draconian Cuts

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It currently looks like France will be engaging in large wholesale cuts in its defense procurement, with the, “Rafale (from 294 to 200), a second aircraft carrier (PA2) (cancellation), and FREMM multimission frigates (17 to 12)”, being target for significant cuts.

At its core, someone needs to recognize that new weapons systems have become too damn expensive, with costs outpacing the ability to pay for them.

Innovative Helo Update

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Flight International is reporting that Sikorski’s X2 technology demonstrator is doing ground tests on its rotor system, and that Boeing’s A160T helo drone set an endurance record (18.7 hours) this month.

The former uses coaxial blades to offload the retreating blades, and allows for increased top speed, and the latter uses a variable speed rotor to increase efficiency to match the needs of the specific flight regime.

X2 technology demonstrator


A160 T

A Point on the Bear Stearns Bailout

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In the Washington Independent, Jonathan Macey asks a very important question, one that I missed completely: If Bear Stearns was too big to allow it to fail, why was it not broken up under antitrust laws?

In fact, there are plenty of tools at the regulators’ disposal to deal with systemic risk and other catastrophes before a cataclysmic event occurs. In particular, the purpose of the antitrust laws is to promote and protect competition and make sure that no single firm grows so large that it threatens the entire economy.

I’m kind of embarrassed to have missed this.

I would also note that if regulators want to be proactive, the best solution for everyone right now is to break up the large investment banks so that they aren’t too big to fail.

Go read.

Completely Bogus Government Statistics: Seasonal Adjustments to Inflation Edition

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I point you to some good work by Barry Ritholtz, who notes:

For example, crude energy materials “only” advanced 4.1% in April, with crude petroleum gaining 4.5 % and natural gas prices rising 4.3%. After the seasonal adjustments, these prices appeared rather odd: They showed energy prices falling by 0.2%, while gasoline costs dropping 4.6%.

It turns out that this all goes back into the numbers in July.

According to this article, if prices were flat, we would still see a 16.3% increase in July….Not pretty.