Weekend Open Thread
[guest post by Dana]
Feel free to talk about anything you think is newsworthy or might interest readers.
I’ll start.
First news item: Yes, we did it:
Iran has admitted it unintentionally shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane hours after launching ballistic missiles at Iraqi bases hosting U.S. troops, blaming “human error” for the “great tragedy” that killed all 176 people aboard.
“Armed Forces’ internal investigation has concluded that regrettably missiles fired due to human error caused the horrific crash of the Ukrainian plane & death of 176 innocent people. Investigations continue to identify & prosecute this great tragedy & unforgivable mistake,” Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Twitter.
As if they didn’t already know this. Further, Iran couldn’t just own it – they also had to point the finger at the U.S.:
Based on a preliminary conclusion by the armed forces, “human error at time of crisis caused by US adventurism led to disaster,” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif tweeted
BREAKING:
Public mourning gatherings turn into protests in #Iran. Angry crowds chanting, "Death to the liars."#IranPlaneCrash #UkrainePlaneCrash pic.twitter.com/20jPNia6WJ— Farnaz Fassihi (@farnazfassihi) January 11, 2020
Second news item: One of three Republicans in House who voted against the war powers now being shunned:
Rep. Matt Gaetz’s (R-FL) vote in favor of the ‘War Powers Resolution’ on Thursday, meant to curb Trump’s authority in armed conflict with Iran, has reportedly prompted the president to complain about him and led to the White House icing him out. According to The Washington Post, a senior White House official said the administration would not be returning Gaetz’s communications, “smoke signals or his kneelings in the snow” after his “super uncool” and “quite unwise” push for other Republicans to reclaim “Congressional power” as the “Constitutional conservative position” in an email. “The Trump administration was disappointed in the congressman’s vote and is hopeful that as the president’s foreign policy continues to unfold, he will reconsider his points of view,” head of legislative affairs for the White House, Eric Ueland, told the Post. Gaetz and his spokesman have not spoken publicly on the matter.
Third news item: About “Megxit,” “Brand Sussex,” or whatever you want to call it:
This is not about Harry and Meghan going quietly into the night; what they want is a ‘progressive new role within this institution’. In other words, they want to be able to give their leftist views using the royal platform. They don’t want to be traditional members of the royal family; they want to be royal celebrities and use their royal connections to push a leftist agenda. Harry is going to make the Duke of Windsor, who abdicated to marry the divorcee Wallis Simpson, look like a model son and Royal.
We certainly know what Meghan and Harry don’t want: the dull protocol, the service to the public, the boring plaque-unveiling events in the North of England. Most of all they don’t want the burden of duty and tradition.
Fourth news item: Four U.S. embassies???:
Confronted by persistent questions about his military action in the Middle East, President Donald Trump and his top officials offered a string of fresh explanations Friday, with Trump now contending Iranian militants had planned major attacks on four U.S. embassies.
Just hours earlier, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had said the U.S. didn’t know when or where attacks might occur. Trump and other officials insisted anew that Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani had posed an imminent threat to the U.S., but they rebuffed repeated attempts to explain what they meant by “imminent.”
Hmm…:
President Trump’s claim of bomb threats to embassies is falling apart.
1. No threat to an embassy in intelligence briefings to Congress
2. Two senior administration officials appear to be admitting to WaPo that Trump’s claim is false
Two senior officials “said they were only aware of vague intelligence about a plot against the embassy in Baghdad and that the information did not suggest a fully formed plot. Neither official said there were threats against multiple embassies.”
Telltale sign: No warning to embassy in Baghdad
“The embassy in Baghdad did not receive an alert commensurate to the threat Trump described….When the U.S. government has specific information about threats to embassies, warnings or alerts are often sent to embassy personnel”
Telltale sign: No travel advisories for Americans
Brett Holmgren, former CIA, DOD, NSC:
“it would’ve been routine for the Departments of State or Defense to issue a travel or threat warning to American citizens or US military personnel in the region”
Holmgren also adds:
“An imminent threat of attack should have triggered the Intelligence Community’s Duty to Warn obligations or the State Department’s No Double Standard Policy and resulted in some type of public alert.”
Fifth news item: AOC defends not paying her fair share:
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Friday defended her decision not to pay dues to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), saying she would instead seek to funnel money directly to Democrats in tough races.
Asked by The Hill if she intended to pay dues to the House Democratic campaign arm this cycle, Ocasio-Cortez replied, “I don’t think so.”
[…]
Ocasio-Cortez has spoken critically of the DCCC in the past, particularly after it began sidelining vendors who work with candidates seeking to challenge incumbent Democrats in primaries.
She said that instead of paying the DCCC dues — about $250,000 for the 2019-2020 election cycle — she would seek to give directly to Democratic candidates.
“We are trying to raise the equivalent of my dues directly to other members,” Ocasio-Cortez told The Hill. She said the money she has raised has so far gone to backing House Democrats, as well as nonincumbent candidates.
Have a great weekend.
(Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back.)
–Dana
Good morning.
Dana (643cd6) — 1/11/2020 @ 8:34 amSimon – My wife will be running her event through this. She is working on the plan, will have a 5k, yoga class and a guided meditation session. Adalynn our grandaughter has become the baby warrior. I’ll keep you posted Simon. Thank you.
mg (8cbc69) — 1/11/2020 @ 8:48 amhttps://sturge-weber.org
Omri Ceren
@omriceren
·
Flashback. 3 years ago this week. Final days of Obama admin.
Team Obama rushed to let Iran import 130 tons of uranium, enough to make 10 nukes. When asked what Iran was going to do with all that material, State Dept spokesman said “I’m not going to speculate one way or another.”
https://mobile.twitter.com/omriceren/status/1215637916455706625
harkin (d6cfee) — 1/11/2020 @ 9:01 am_
Re: AOC raising funds in lieu of dues
felipe (023cc9) — 1/11/2020 @ 9:12 amThis reminds me of a complaint made to me by a niece who was a young adult, and new to the workforce, expressing frustration with an employer (she was in commissioned sales) who refused to pay her with the offer of “here, take this and sell it and keep 75% and that will make us square.”
Matt Gaetz. Snorfle. How do you say Schadenfreude in Austrian? It warms the cockles of my cackles to see a Trumpablican get his face ground into the mud (by a lower-ranking Trump flunky at that) for deviating from the liturgy.
nk (dbc370) — 1/11/2020 @ 9:15 amBoth the Onion and Babylon Bee have their work cut out for then.
felipe (023cc9) — 1/11/2020 @ 9:29 amTHEM, not then, dammit! Old fingers!
felipe (023cc9) — 1/11/2020 @ 9:30 amTrump would have been better off with the truth (but then he wouldn’t be Trump). The general had been a killer of Americans for years and years and his latest things as the invasion of the US embassy by “protestors.” Enough was enough and they ended him — a legitimate military target, inside Iraq, where he was up to no good.
Instead, a transparent lie that undermines any moral authority the US might have. It’s not Trump’s policies that I object to, it’s his complete incompetence at furthering them.
Kevin M (19357e) — 1/11/2020 @ 10:36 amThat was in return for 70 tons of heavy water (reactor coolant) that Iran gave up to Russia, Oman and us, under the nuclear deal.
Dave (1bb933) — 1/11/2020 @ 10:39 amTrump consistently undermines and undoes anything positive he does. I can think of no one else as habitually self-sabotaging who kills their own good news (for lack of better term) with dependable regularity. And the weird thing is, I don’t think he even has enough self-awareness to understand that he is the problem, not everyone out there.
Dana (643cd6) — 1/11/2020 @ 10:47 amThat the administration is being petty about Gaetz is sadly typical. Instead of ignoring it and quietly axing some program in his district (as any other president would do), they make it a story in itself.
OTOH, no president has accepted the War Powers Resolution; all have considered it an infringement on their Article II powers. Clinton ignored it entirely in Kosovo (in which Congress failed to approve an AUMF), claiming that only boots on the ground needed approval (without any reasonable basis). Obama never sought an AUMF in Libya, also asserting the air-war “exception.”
GHWB ignored it in Panama as did Reagan in Grenada and Lebanon. In the first two of those, the short duration, the element of surprise, and the concern for US individuals may have played a part, but Lebanon was a clustermistake from beginning to end.
W and his father would seem the only presidents who have actually asked for, and received, an AUMF in advance of hostilities. It’s odd that the Democrats are so adamant today, when they never have been when it was their guy in office.
Kevin M (19357e) — 1/11/2020 @ 10:48 amThere was no mystery about how the Uranium would be used:
Thanks to Trump, of course, they are now free to do whatever they want with the 260 tons of Uranium they received under the agreement.
Dave (1bb933) — 1/11/2020 @ 10:49 amThat was in return for 70 tons of heavy water (reactor coolant) that Iran gave up to Russia, Oman and us, under the nuclear deal.
Perhaps they are using the pile method, which doesn’t need heavy water.
Kevin M (19357e) — 1/11/2020 @ 10:50 amDave (#12)
I believe that North Korea made similar promises several times. As did Iran under the aegis of the NNPT in order to get reactor technology in the first place. Both reneged on their vows, got caught and then retconned their agreements. Now they make promises again.
This is “fool me twice” land. NK more than twice.
Kevin M (19357e) — 1/11/2020 @ 10:55 amSo Matt Gaetz is a 99% Trump supporter, but he wanders away from the compound to vote his conscience — and, let’s face it, on Constitutional principle — in favor of a non-binding resolution when his “no” vote wouldn’t have change the final outcome. And so now the Trump Administration is determined to freeze them out. I swear, they might actually accomplish some impressive things if they would stop acting like the bitchiest clique of junior high girls.
JVW (54fd0b) — 1/11/2020 @ 10:55 amThanks to Trump, of course, they are now free to do whatever they want with the 260 tons of Uranium they received under the agreement.
Very true. On the other hand, perhaps it is now dawning on them that there are consequences for their aberrant behavior more serious than exasperated looks from John Kerry and huffy lectures from Samantha Power.
JVW (54fd0b) — 1/11/2020 @ 10:58 amThe agreement granted continuous monitoring and round-the-clock inspection rights to the reactor in question, and all other declared nuclear sites.
Dave (1bb933) — 1/11/2020 @ 10:59 amDans ce pays-ci, il est bon de tuer de temps en temps un amiral pour encourager les autres.
Dave (1bb933) — 1/11/2020 @ 11:04 amUS adventurism.
steveg (354706) — 1/11/2020 @ 11:04 amSounds like bungee jumping
Trump on US troops:
Justin Amash: “He sells the troops.” Mercenaries??
Exactly into which “bank” has the alleged $1B been deposited??
Questions, and more questions…
Dana (643cd6) — 1/11/2020 @ 11:21 amAs everyone knows I’m already inclined to give the President lots of space to do his job his way.
There are several reasons not to tell the whole story. The threats might have developed quickly… maybe they found out about the attacks and the visit the first day of the embassy mess. Who knows.
The only things I know are Soleimni is dead and that is good, US people have been safe so far, Iran looks inept (they are not inept across the board, so watch out) and Trump and the Iranians seem to be using the same calculator.
30 dead Americans! (as if we can hide casualties easily with our press and freedoms) no wait 80 dead Americans… 1 Embassy, several Embassies, no wait 4 Embassies targeted. By the end of the week it’ll be 307 Embassies and Consulates targeted and all of the US and some of Canada will be dead.
Somebody needs a friend that can tell them to stop.
steveg (354706) — 1/11/2020 @ 11:23 amThere was a young monarch named Ed
Who took Mrs. Simpson to bed.
As they bounced up and down
He said “Bugger the Crown!
We’ll give it to Albert instead!”
Wallis Simpson was alleged to have exceptional amatory skills, allegedly acquired in a Chinese brothel in which one of her former husbands had placed her for training in … ahem, those particular arts.
And I’ll just leave it there.
nk (dbc370) — 1/11/2020 @ 11:27 amWell, to be fair, it sounds more like a lease.
Dave (de50a2) — 1/11/2020 @ 11:35 amLovely. We assassinated the Iranian guy because the President was having a fit.
Lovely. Iran shot down a plane of 176 people due to incompetence.
And both Presidents’ first response is to lie because they couldn’t handle the possible public response to the actual truth of what happened.
As far as Harry and Meg are concerned, I don’t really care, but it seems like anything that makes the Royals less of a burden on the British tax payer is probably a good thing. This is America, people, we don’t need to bow down to some antiquated idea about what the British nobles think should be “beneath” them.
AOC better be careful. She’s not going the flavor of the month forever and some day she may need some goodwill from the D. party and right now she’s just letting any possibility of goodwill go down the drain.
Nic (896fdf) — 1/11/2020 @ 11:40 am15. So Matt Gaetz is a 99% Trump supporter, but he wanders away from the compound to vote his conscience — and, let’s face it, on Constitutional principle — in favor of a non-binding resolution when his “no” vote wouldn’t have change the final outcome.
Probably drunk.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 1/11/2020 @ 11:46 amReimbursed expenses. Justin. You run a business, calm down. People say “I paid him back” instead of saying “I reimbursed him” One is taxable, the other might not be, so the people that do the actual books should keep it straight but the orange topped figurehead can use the vernacular.
steveg (354706) — 1/11/2020 @ 11:55 amAllies reimburse each other all the time
Justin
Please go buy The Handbook of the Law of Visiting Forces by Dieter Fleck
Or try the Dictionary of Military terms and look up “lead nation” if Saudis are “lead nation” they can arrange to pay or set aside money to pay for whatever the agreed upon terms describe.
Oh hell, just call the DoD and ask them how much the US was reimbursed for the Gulf War
or read this: American Foreign Policy: Alliance Politics in a Century of War, 1914-2014 where Peterson notes that the US was reimbursed 88% of the $61B it spent to liberate Kuwait
@5. Meh. Young Master Gaetz irked the wrong crowd. They fly drones over Florida, too. 😉
“I bring you a warning: Everyone of you listening to my voice, tell the world, tell this to everybody wherever they are. Watch the skies. Everywhere. Keep looking. Keep watching the skies.” – Ned Scott [Douglas Spencer] ‘The Thing From Another World’ 1951
DCSCA (797bc0) — 1/11/2020 @ 12:02 pmMore quakes in Puerto Rico.
Need to read up on the fault lines there. Seems to be very active lately.
NJRob (4d595c) — 1/11/2020 @ 12:08 pmI think it’s time to be honest with ourselves and admit that the whole independence thing was a huge mistake.
Dave (de50a2) — 1/11/2020 @ 12:09 pmMilitary Times March 2019
Last month, officials in South Korea agreed to increase their share of the costs to station about 28,500 U.S. troops there, up more than 8 percent to nearly $1 billion.
steveg (354706) — 1/11/2020 @ 12:10 pmAmash knows all this. He is just so principled (NeverTrump) that he can’t be honest.
steveg (354706) — 1/11/2020 @ 12:12 pmWith all the excitement around Iran, it looks like the investigation into Uranium One and the Clinton Foundation initiated back in 2017 is winding down. In what will surely come as a surprise to people subsisting on a diet of fake news, the investigations “effectively ended with no tangible results, and current and former law enforcement officials said they never expected the effort to produce much of anything.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/justice-dept-winds-down-clinton-related-inquiry-once-championed-by-trump-it-found-nothing-of-consequence/2020/01/09/ca83932e-32f9-11ea-a053-dc6d944ba776_story.html
Score another one for the deep state.
Davethulhu (fe4242) — 1/11/2020 @ 12:27 pm@24. Yep. Yep. Yep.
Of course if this was the 1500s and not the 2000s, we have a fair idea of how Elizabeth I would have handled Harry, Meg and Archie; choose your poison: one would be beheaded; another would be-headin-to-a-brothel in the Caribbean and another weighed and tossed in the Thames from the Tower of London.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 1/11/2020 @ 12:28 pmGaetz made a serious tactical error.
askeptic (0b6eb4) — 1/11/2020 @ 12:28 pmUnder Obama 2012 Rand Corp says Japan paid 2.4B cash
steveg (354706) — 1/11/2020 @ 12:31 pmhttps://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR200/RR201/RAND_RR201.pdf
steveg (354706) — 1/11/2020 @ 12:33 pmpage 147
@34. Was that was quilled on his DUI, too?!
DCSCA (797bc0) — 1/11/2020 @ 12:34 pm@ 15 – “…stop acting like the bitchiest clique of junior high girls…”
askeptic (0b6eb4) — 1/11/2020 @ 12:35 pmYou mean like Pelosi et al?
@ 20 – Didn’t The Kingdom pay us Billions “in kind” for the use of our troops to expel Saddam Hussein from Kuwait who they believed presented a mortal threat to them?
askeptic (0b6eb4) — 1/11/2020 @ 12:40 pmWas Gulf War-I a “Mercenary Expedition”?
”Score another one for the deep state.”
Davethulhu (fe4242) — 1/11/2020 @ 12:27 pm
Viva le Garbage Time Dunk.
Munroe (dd6b64) — 1/11/2020 @ 12:45 pm@ 32 – A new blockbuster expose set to explode on 1/21 from Peter Schweizer: “Profiles In Corruption”, detailing decades of double dealing by the Bidens.
askeptic (0b6eb4) — 1/11/2020 @ 12:46 pmOur current presence in Saudi Arabia is explicitly a mercenary expedition, according to Trump:
https://twitter.com/justinamash/status/1216054398138376192
Davethulhu (fe4242) — 1/11/2020 @ 12:46 pmAnd how long is it now that we’ve “leased” our forces as a trip-wire in South Korea?
askeptic (0b6eb4) — 1/11/2020 @ 12:49 pmBi-Lateral, and Multi-Lateral (NATO) agreements are just business as usual since WW2.
There are implications in the way things are said. “Bless me Father, I have sinned” and “Forgive me, Daddy, I’ve been naughty.” are two clearly different situations, even though all the words are precisely synonyms.
Nic (896fdf) — 1/11/2020 @ 1:01 pmPretty sure the msm won’t blame Trump for this:
Protesters in Tehran clash with riot police as they demand the Ayatollah RESIGNS and call for regime change after Iran finally admits to shooting down jet and killing 176 people
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7876363/Iranian-protesters-Tehran-turn-against-regime-military-admits-shooting-plane.html
harkin (485617) — 1/11/2020 @ 2:06 pm_
@41. He’s fading in Iowa. Pegged 4th per CNN polls.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 1/11/2020 @ 2:17 pmAOC was not given any dnc money when she challenged democrat incumbent in primary. AOC is giving money to jerry nailers challenger in ny primary as dnc sure won’t.
asset (503f8a) — 1/11/2020 @ 2:22 pmHow many here supported iraq war vote of biden, clinton, kerry and pelosi and called chuck hegal, bernie sanders and ted kennedy traitors for voting against going to war with iraq?
asset (503f8a) — 1/11/2020 @ 2:26 pmYou mean like Pelosi et al?
Yep, exactly. Why the Trump Administration has to emulate Gran Nan and the Squad is beyond me.
JVW (54fd0b) — 1/11/2020 @ 3:20 pmFourth news item: Four U.S. embassies???
Would you believe five embassies, six Long John Silvers and the Seventh Fleet?
Presenting Secretary Of State Maxwell Smart:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCKzuh1-pbQ
DCSCA (797bc0) — 1/11/2020 @ 3:37 pmHe’d be doing Yum! Brands a favor. LJS isn’t long for this world – and because my KFC was also joined with a Long John Silver, I was stuck with the skinny oily fries and not the coated wedges.
urbanleftbehind (29864b) — 1/11/2020 @ 4:19 pm@20. Best Buds! 😉
Breaking: CNN reports- More than a dozen Saudi servicemen to be expelled from U.S. in wake of NAS Pensacola shooting.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 1/11/2020 @ 5:01 pm39. askeptic (0b6eb4) — 1/11/2020 @ 12:40 pm
Yes, they did, except the money didn’t come only from Saudi Arabia.
The money didn’t mach expenditures exactly – the United States actually made a small profit on the war.
Saudi Arabia, because of its clerics, preferred it to be considered that way – that is for the U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia to be considered hired mercenaries rather than some occupying foreign army.
Sammy Finkelman (2cb3c3) — 1/11/2020 @ 5:04 pm52, Gaetz’ vote with the D’s might have accelerated the decision-making concerning that home-district attack.
urbanleftbehind (e5abb7) — 1/11/2020 @ 5:14 pmFourth news item: Four U.S. embassies???
Probably the ones in Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen and Syria (There;s no ambassador but there’s probably a manned embassy in Damascus.
This was not new. It was one of the things Iran had on the table. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had been for killing Soleimani for months and more recently, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper had gone along with his recommendation.
Trump also mentioned other possible targets. It wasn’t just embassies. It was probably more than Soleimani could possibly do.
Now the thing about stopping such plans by killing the military commander is that ot has to be done early in the planning process – otherwise the attacks will be ready to go.
There were word that Iran was considering ramping up all its operations. Now they had been deterred from trying to kill any Americans by Trump’s announcement of his cancelled attack back in September, and I think they (mis)understood that as based on a religious principle on the part of Trump. That he feared God and so on. That was all to the good.
That made Iran more cautious, but not cautious enough. They still attacked, or Iraqi militias following Soleimani’s orders attacked, facilities were Americans were present, and on December 27 they managed to kill one American citizen (not even a member of the U.S military) and wound four service members.
The Pentagon presented President Trump with a series of options, the most serious being the killing of Soleimani, and, at that time, Trump did not chose it, but chose to attack the sites of several Iranian sponsored armed groups, both in Iraq and in Syria. The next thing that happened was the (carefully calibrated and restrained) Iranian demonstration at the embassy.
All this while they knew that Iran and Soleimani was planning basically to make Iraq into a puppet state of Iran so you could expect what could happen if they succeeded. They’d be lucky if none of them were more than hostages.
When that riot at the embassy happened, the Pentagon again presented President Trump with a list, or the same list, of options, and Trump apparently decided: That’s it, Soleimani goes, if they can get him with killing any innocent or friendly people.
And the next opportunity was when he returned to Baghdad on his tour of the Iranian controlled foreign legions. Baghdad was his last stop before going back to Tehran to consult with Ayatollah Khamenei on what to do next. What to do next could only be to issue orders to attack or kill some more people.
Now of course he’d have to visit again to pass on the orders securely. Well, maybe they use long distance communications also and maybe they’re not all so secure.
So that was where things stood.
It wasn’t really imminent, so that’s why they didn’t say that to Congress, but the less imminent it was, the more preventable it was by killing him.
Iran actually pulled back its people from the embassy (although they were not putting any Americans there in danger, they were preventing it from operating) before Soleimani visited Baghdad but that didn’t save him. I think Soleimani just wanted to make sure no Americans were killed before he left Iraq. He probably didn’t anticipate the possibility of an attack targeted on his person but he could be present at some Iraqi militia site that came under attack. An Israeli bombing at some location he was in at the time in Syria in 2015 could have killed him.
Sammy Finkelman (2cb3c3) — 1/11/2020 @ 5:44 pmSF: There were word that Iran was considering ramping up all its operations.
To try to force the United States to ease the sanctions.
Sammy Finkelman (2cb3c3) — 1/11/2020 @ 5:47 pm@54. He’s immature. But if you wanna see a party fella thrown under the bus, you outta catch some of the press, commercials and campaign literature Trump buttkisser Daryl Issa is piping out with himself as best buds w/t pappy of disgraced congresscritter and fellow Trumphumper Duncan Hunter, Jr.,– the nutbag Duncan Hunter, Sr.,- as Daryl runs for his kid’s vacated seat. GOP Family values!!
DCSCA (797bc0) — 1/11/2020 @ 6:29 pmShe said that instead of paying the DCCC dues — about $250,000 for the 2019-2020 election cycle — she would seek to give directly to Democratic candidates.
He’p me wit’ dis. $250,000 is two years’ take-home pay for a Congressperson. So whe’ s’e suppo’ed to finda money at?
nk (dbc370) — 1/11/2020 @ 6:48 pmThe $250,000 is from a member of Congress’s political campaign fund. While an ordinary person can only contribute $2,800, one political campaign fund can give to another any amount.
Sammy Finkelman (2cb3c3) — 1/11/2020 @ 6:56 pmSo, in other words, the Democratic National Campaign Committee wants to put her on the streets and she better come back with $250,000?
nk (dbc370) — 1/11/2020 @ 7:01 pmOr maybe she could partner up with Gwyneth Paltrow? https://www.dailywire.com/news/gywneth-paltro-is-selling-a-candle-that-smells-like-her-vagina
nk (dbc370) — 1/11/2020 @ 7:05 pmPimping ain’t easy
frosty (f27e97) — 1/11/2020 @ 7:07 pmThe agreement granted continuous monitoring and round-the-clock inspection rights to the reactor in question, and all other declared nuclear sites.
The agreements with NK had similar provisions, but NK kept at it anyway. They just didn’t do it in the same places.
Kevin M (19357e) — 1/11/2020 @ 7:08 pmTechno Fog
@Techno_Fog
This is who the FISA Court appointed to assess FBI proposals to clean up their FISA act.
A vocal
@DevinNunes
critic and apologist for FBI misconduct.
__ _
https://mobile.twitter.com/Techno_Fog/status/1215817255306563587
harkin (d6cfee) — 1/11/2020 @ 7:10 pm_
Dave–
I also think you miss my drift here: signing the NNPT, then cheating on it, ought to be casus belli. Bill Clinton damn near pulled that pin in the 90’s with NK and only Jimmy Carter’s illegal intervention stopped Clinton by getting the Norks to cross-their-heart promise to stop being bad.
The world would be a much safer place, and Iran would never have sought nuclear weapons, had NK been made a proper example of. The NNPT has been signed by nearly every nation on earth, Israel being the major exception. But there is a big difference between refusing to sign, and signing, getting the tech goodies that result, then secretly cheating. If you don’t come down on that with the wrath of God, then the treaty is worthless and a parade of (terminal) horribles follows.
So I really don’t give a GD what Iran promised or how much we can inspect. They have a history of cheating, they will continue to cheat and until something bad happens to them, there is no downside to nuclear proliferation.
Kevin M (19357e) — 1/11/2020 @ 7:17 pmI think it’s time to be honest with ourselves and admit that the whole independence thing was a huge mistake.
I dunno, even the Brits want independence now. Maybe they’d sign on with us again, as states.
Kevin M (19357e) — 1/11/2020 @ 7:21 pmWhile an ordinary person can only contribute $2,800, one political campaign fund can give to another any amount.
All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.
Kevin M (19357e) — 1/11/2020 @ 7:23 pmhttps://twitter.com/SGhasseminejad/status/1216131659986325504
Speaks for itself.
NJRob (1a1095) — 1/11/2020 @ 7:37 pm#51
Local brand Hamburger Habit led by the Rickard brothers just sold to Yum for $375 Million and the brothers got to keep the 8 local Habits for themselves. That sounds like a good deal.
Speaking of good deals, lots was made back in March 2019 about Trump supposedly wanting nations to pay us “cost plus 50%” for defending them.
First of all its a negotiating tool. Right now we defend nations like Germany, South Korea and Japan, recovering less than 100% of our costs. We let them use things like “market rent” for bases as offsets… like we really need to rent their land from them to protect them.
Trump rolls in with the over the top “cost plus 50%” back in March triggering wailing and gnashing of teeth in the Military Industrial Complex and its media enablers. Everyone knows that when dealing with Saudis or Kuwaitis or Iraqis that you must start negotiations way beyond what you intend to settle for…. and be prepared for trench warfare over it.
I’m a contractor. My first Persian Shah relative refugee customer (half a dozen Princesses and other off brand Shah relatives fled to here along with cabinet members) with hundreds of millions of $$ this guy haggled me down from 15% profit to 12% but refused to pay his last bill because they were convinced because their own culture had taught them that no sane being ever ever marked up profit for less than 50% and it would be a crime against the Prophet to pay it. They were also convinced that Hispanic workers were like Bangledeshis…. $2 a day. The guy had renamed his family the Carringtons, after his favorite TV show, Dynasty. Piece of work.
I see an opening gambit of cost plus 50% as prudent when dealing with Middle Eastern cultures.
steveg (354706) — 1/11/2020 @ 7:38 pmYou will need all that room and more to negotiate a fair price, recovering all costs to the American people
@67 Corporations are people too, my friend.
Nic (896fdf) — 1/11/2020 @ 7:44 pm#61
My previous observation is in moderation.
It was roughly speaking, about: what women wants her house or bath smelling like some #oochies r0tten K00cHie?
Might as well buy a past sell date pufferfish and stick it next to your wifes bathtub
steveg (354706) — 1/11/2020 @ 7:44 pm60.
It is the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, something just for the House of Representatives.
Well, on the telephone. There are other ways to raise money, too including hosting a fundraiser where the Speaker speaks and splitting the pot.
Tis is an amount of money that any member of Congress;s campaign would already have.
Better come up with? In her case, Nancy Pelosi is treating her like a rival (not exactly because she’s so much younger and earlier in her potential career) Not like a contemporary rival but as someone who needs to be dealt with. Pelosi is trying to get AOC to feel that she can help her and she gave DC good committee assignments and lots of work, and got her to fire her chief of staff.
But as for this, AOC would rather be the person pulling the strings than someone whose strings are pulled at least by the current non-Socialist leadership. There are some people who interpret what AOC is doing as that she’d like to become speaker one day and wants a group of loyalists. It’s probably more ideological than that. She’s a big Sanders supporter.
Sammy Finkelman (2cb3c3) — 1/11/2020 @ 7:45 pm@71 Anyone who didn’t figure out that Paltrow is nuts at either “steam your lady parts” or “put jade in your hoohah.” gets what they deserve.
Nic (896fdf) — 1/11/2020 @ 7:49 pmNic (896fdf) — 1/11/2020 @ 7:44 pm
Coroorations can’t contribute at all to federal elections since 1907, but they can create their own PACs. (Political Action Committees) which raise money from individuals, often employees, and can contribute more than any individual can.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campaign_finance_in_the_United_States
Corporations can spend money on their own also.
The Watergate “reforms” hurt the possibility of getting cotributions from individuals, and titlted things toward PACs
Sammy Finkelman (2cb3c3) — 1/11/2020 @ 7:56 pmIn case you didn’t know AOC is the number one fundraiser among democrats and is closing in on the number one republican fund raiser.
asset (cb18fe) — 1/11/2020 @ 8:02 pm65. Kevin M (19357e) — 1/11/2020 @ 7:17 pm
You don;t think maybe Bill Clinton instigated Jimmy Carter’s intervention.
Todays news is that Donald Trump sent birthday greetings to North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un and Kim Jong Un indicated in some public statement something like that, while, he regards Donald Trump as a friend, it still doesn’t change his mind about negotiations with the United States being useless.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51074956
Incidentally the things about Obama’s transfer of money to Iran is that the real reason was so that Iran should not back out of the nuclear agreement and really destroy the heavy water. Obama reasoned that Iran was going to commit the same amount of money to terrorism and foreign militias anyway.
Sammy Finkelman (2cb3c3) — 1/11/2020 @ 8:07 pmLee Zeldin
@RepLeeZeldin
Why aren’t all House Dems showing support for Iranian protesters who have courageously taken to the streets in Iran in favor of freedom, stability, prosperity & peace. Just checked the Twitter feeds of Pelosi, Hoyer, Clyburn, Schiff & others. Nothing! Why the silence on this?!?!
__ _
Marilyn Osborn Coon
@Marilyn02531126
·
If there’s no fuel to scorch President Trump, they aren’t interested, even if it is an incredible moment in Iran’s history.
__ _
Barnabus
@BarnabusShadows
·
Simple. It makes them look bad for siding with the tyrants and terrorists like Obama did.
__ _
Frank Wonder
@FrankWonder7
·
They don’t want people to have true freedom. They want people to be beholden to a tyrannical government.
__ _
Ben Strange
harkin (d6cfee) — 1/11/2020 @ 8:18 pm@BenStrange
·
It’s as if there is a Tehran branch of #Burisma or something.
_
In case you didn’t know AOC is the number one fundraiser among democrats and is closing in on the number one republican fund raiser.
I don’t believe you, Perry. But I will look at your proof, which I’m certain you do not have but don’t let that stop you from providing it.
nk (dbc370) — 1/11/2020 @ 8:19 pmYou know what? I’ll give it to you. You’re close enough. She’s fourth among Democrats and seventh among both Democrats and Trumpablicans. https://www.opensecrets.org/overview/topraise.php
nk (dbc370) — 1/11/2020 @ 8:27 pmHer experience as a barmaid, in this instance wheedling tips from drunks, once more serves her in good stead.
nk (dbc370) — 1/11/2020 @ 8:36 pmThe Iranian protests all of the sudden make CNN look like a Soleimani shill against the tide of popular Iranian opinion… Trump pulls a rabbit out of his butt once again… I think he is approaching the Guinness book of records for most rabbits pulled out of ass by an American President
steveg (354706) — 1/11/2020 @ 8:44 pmI tried to put jade in my hoohah.. how dare you say i could not because i have not
steveg (354706) — 1/11/2020 @ 8:59 pmAOC is a headache.
steveg (354706) — 1/11/2020 @ 9:09 pmIf shes out on the street its as a dominatrix whipping your ass because you ate some Israeli cous cous
I’d have to see Gwyneth’s customer list to be sure, but I’ll tell you she might not be all that crazy. You don’t really believe that it was the scent of an apple that Eve tempted Adam with, do you?
nk (dbc370) — 1/11/2020 @ 9:18 pmWas it Solomon who offered to climb the palm tree and taste those dates?
steveg (354706) — 1/11/2020 @ 9:24 pmMy guess is Paltrows dates taste like spoiled pufferfish.
Her customer list is the envy of every Nigerian prince in need of an investor to free $500B for just $50K from you
AOC I have sinned. I thought about flying to Coachella and Burning Man in the same year.
steveg (354706) — 1/11/2020 @ 9:35 pmI bought carbon offsets in the Amazon, but they all burned in the annual slash and burn fest.
Usually I pay to have a dominatrix whip my butt, or spend the year in constant self-flagellation but listening to your wisdom is by far the best punishment… screech mindless nonsense at me baby, oh yeah, I’m almost there… tell me I only have ten years to live…. hell, tell me Grata dies in ten years if I don’t do anything
@84 Then she should be marketing to straight men or lesbians. It would be like trying to sell gum that tastes like another woman’s mouth. Nope, nope, nope. Ick. Bleah. Retch Retch. Other sounds of revulsion. However, as far as I can tell, her marketing targets not very smart straight women who have too much extra cash just laying around waiting to be spent on nonsense.
Nic (896fdf) — 1/11/2020 @ 9:38 pmShe just puts out the PRB to any dog out there that is willing and has the cadh.
urbanleftbehind (1bb1c9) — 1/11/2020 @ 9:58 pmCash
urbanleftbehind (1bb1c9) — 1/11/2020 @ 9:58 pmGermanys main contribution to the US security forces is to not charge us rent for our bases.
steveg (354706) — 1/11/2020 @ 10:03 pmTrump is blunt enough, gauche enough, to tell them that that does not lower the burden on the American taxpayer who pays for their defense against an enemy (Russia) they antagonized
If there was one bright spot in the 2008 election, it was McCain being hoist by his own joke of a McCain-Feingold petard. Taking money out of politics, yeah, right.
nk (dbc370) — 1/11/2020 @ 10:27 pm@81. You know what the difference is between Iranian protests and Trump rallies?
Nothing.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 1/11/2020 @ 10:52 pmIts Freedom you incompetent oaf.
mg (8cbc69) — 1/12/2020 @ 3:48 amRaising my first cup of coffee to you steveg.
mg (8cbc69) — 1/12/2020 @ 3:50 amCheers.
Megan goes to hollyweed to star in the remake of- The Lady and the Tramp co starring Harry as the handbag.
mg (8cbc69) — 1/12/2020 @ 4:06 am#94
I saw a video of Iranian student protestors refusing to step on the Israeli and American flags the regime has painted on the ground. They boo the people that do walk on top of the flags.
I’ll give you that people at Trump rallies probably wouldn’t step on our flag
steveg (354706) — 1/12/2020 @ 7:53 amhttps://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Iranian-protesters-refuse-to-walk-on-US-Israeli-flags-613944
steveg (354706) — 1/12/2020 @ 8:50 am
harkin (d6cfee) — 1/12/2020 @ 9:51 amStephen Miller
@redsteeze
·
Iran literally murders men who kiss each other and women who don’t wear handmaids outfits and the wokest of the woke are like, “…yeah but…”
Altogether 10 people were killed in the attack on General Qassim Soleimani. He was also being followed about half a mile behind by some special forces people, and after the strike they pulled up to the destroyed cars, pulled him out of the wreckage and took plenty of pictures to confirm they got him.
They were supposed to kill General Abdul Reza Shahlai in Yemen as well that night. But the intelligence about his whereabouts wasn’t as accurate. Soleimani was more penetrated. He was boarded planes at the last minute and sat in the front row in business class so he could off first, but they knew where he was and that Cham Wings Airlines Flight 6Q501 had been kept waiting for him (and two others) for three hours past its scheduled takeoff at 7:30 p.m.
Altogether 10 people were killed in the strike in Baghdad.
Sammy Finkelman (2cb3c3) — 1/12/2020 @ 10:42 am* . He always boarded planes at the last minute and sat in the front row in business class so he could get off first.
Iran expelled CBS News and temporarily arrested the British Ambassador so it looks like they are contemplating killing protesters.
Sammy Finkelman (2cb3c3) — 1/12/2020 @ 10:48 am@93. Incompetent oaf? You post from experience and ignorance no doubt; freedom– ROFLMAO try dissenting at a Trump rally.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 1/12/2020 @ 10:49 am@73.People w/o means are pegged ‘nuts;’ people w/deep pockets are labelled ‘eccentric.’
Exhibit A currently resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 1/12/2020 @ 10:55 amhttps://therightscoop.com/iran-violently-putting-down-protests-of-citizens-protesting-against-the-regime/
The Ayatollah isn’t fond of freedom.
NJRob (4d595c) — 1/12/2020 @ 11:00 am84. (dbc370) — 1/11/2020 @ 9:18 pm
The attribution of the fruit as an apple is the result of confusing the Latin word mălum, meaning “evil,” with the mālum, borrowed from the Greek, which means “apple.” . In the Vulgate “the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil” is called “de ligno autem scientiae boni et măli.” Măli derives from the Latin noun mălum (pronounced mah-lum), meaning evil, and the Latin noun mālum (pronounced may-lum) means apple.
https://jewishaction.com/religion/jewish-law/whats-truth-apple-garden-eden
There must be a little bit more to the story (some intermediate source) that resulted in “”evil” or “bad” becoming he name of a fruit.
Sammy Finkelman (2cb3c3) — 1/12/2020 @ 11:01 am@103. Neither are Trump ralliers.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 1/12/2020 @ 11:03 amhttps://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-denis-hamill-column-james-blakely-20200111-n4sxrwqa65gixewqzwvf646nee-story.html
Sammy Finkelman (2cb3c3) — 1/12/2020 @ 11:14 am#107
Early on there were some Trump supporters that were aggressive and Trump didn’t help.
There were also people lying in wait for peaceful Trump supporters and beating them.
Over the most recent past year (2019) Trump has held a lot of rallies. I haven’t heard of violence etc by Trump supporters at those rallies
I haven’t had time today to check, but I’m assuming you’ve done your homework so please post your findings from 2019.
Thanks in advance
steveg (354706) — 1/12/2020 @ 11:34 am#106
I know the scent wasn’t Eau d’ Gwyneth or Adam would have run off a cliff.
steveg (354706) — 1/12/2020 @ 11:37 am“The Ayatollah isn’t fond of freedom.”
Let’s blow up a few of their cultural sites, that’ll change their minds.
Davethulhu (fe4242) — 1/12/2020 @ 11:43 amLets play
steveg (354706) — 1/12/2020 @ 11:47 amThings that didn’t happen for $1000 please
New York Times front page story available on msn:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/seven-days-in-january-how-the-us-and-iran-approached-the-brink-of-war/ar-BBYRq5x?li=BBnb7Kz
Towo interesting points I haen;t mentioned yet:
Like I said, Iran had, since September, tried to avoid killing any Americans.
If not for that, Soleimani wouldn’t have been killed now, although it took the extra event of the pseudo-attack on the U,S. embassy in Baghdad to do it. (Iran, or Soleimani, did that to retaliate for the U.S> attacks on five Iranian sponsored militia sites. That killed at least 25 members of Kataib Hezbollah and injured at least 50 more.)
Also: (During the House briefing about “imminent” threats from Soleimani:
So here they are telling them they were so imminent they should have happened already.
Sammy Finkelman (2cb3c3) — 1/12/2020 @ 11:56 amWill the Persian Pistachio price be a positive for the California Pistachio grower?
mg (8cbc69) — 1/12/2020 @ 12:04 pmAbout the cultural sites, the New York Times reports:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/11/us/politics/iran-trump.html (this is the New York Times link)
Now I don’t know if it was absolutely baseless at all. Something that could qualify as a cultural site (as well as being a military target) could very well have been on a to-be-considered list.
What plans were more advanced for (and were on the original list of options) were an attack on a command-and-control ship used by the Revolutionary Guards to direct small boats that harassed oil tankers in the waters around Iran and a cyberattack to partly disable Iran’s oil and gas sector.
From this, the person who said on another thread that Trump always lies and there was no list of 52 sites looks right.
Sammy Finkelman (2cb3c3) — 1/12/2020 @ 12:11 pmPomegranate futures on the Iran Mercantile Exchange are up.
Did you notice that the smile on Putins face over oil price hikes didn’t last more than 48 hours
steveg (354706) — 1/12/2020 @ 12:56 pmhttps://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Oil-Prices-Are-Set-To-Slide-Even-Further.html#
@110. And the answer is: In a fit-of-pique, Trump didn’t think it through.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 1/12/2020 @ 1:14 pm@115. Someone’s butt-blasted that not only did this NOT turn into “Trump’s Benghazi,” as he so desperately hoped for, the Iranians themselves are telling their own government to go to hell.
Let go of your nostalgia for the mid-2000s, nothing about them was that great.
Factory Working Orphan (eebac7) — 1/12/2020 @ 4:00 pmTrump seems to favor an outright dismissal of the impeachment case by the Senate without a trial.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1216448547777908737
No evidence, no crime, read the transcripts, “no pressure”
….is Donald Trump’s description of the case against him: That is: They have no evidence; there was no crime (he’s got an arguing point that removal requires a crime); it should be enough to read the transcripts of his two calls to Zelensky, which have not been disputed; and Zelensky is on record as saying there was “no pressure.”
Sammy Finkelman (2cb3c3) — 1/12/2020 @ 4:51 pmRetweets
Of course, it is a dismissal by a partisan vote that would give the accusations credibility.
Sammy Finkelman (2cb3c3) — 1/12/2020 @ 4:52 pmSpitballing: could Pelosi have held off passing on the paperwork to spin some influence on out-of-the-gate-first-Iowa? Several senators running, high in polls, will have their campaign schedules disrupted because of a Senate trial; of course Biden won’t. Perhaps one old Washington politician is giving another old Washington she favors a hand.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 1/12/2020 @ 5:12 pm#122
“Spitballing” No kidding.
Are you saying that Pelosi got Biden and gave him a….
steveg (354706) — 1/12/2020 @ 5:21 pmewwwww.
You are a sick person and I won’t be responding to anymore of your debauched posts.
@121. Your odd response betrays where you head is actually at.
Tally up the years they’ve both spent in Congress– and her time dealing w/him as Veep. To quote an often tweeted term from Fearless Leader only a Trumphumper could appreciate: “Sad.”
DCSCA (797bc0) — 1/12/2020 @ 5:38 pmDCSCA (797bc0) — 1/12/2020 @ 5:12 pm
The trial was only delayed once week.
The candidates who are Senators will still make appearances in Iowa – they just have to fly there every week night and fly back in the morning.
It’s interesting to think about whether trying to affect campaigning in Iowa was part of the calculation. Probably not. But she might be interested in not having Biden called as a witness. But all this pressure for witnesses could, only lead to the opposite result, if anything. So we can’t say that was the strategy or the reasoning.
Sammy Finkelman (2cb3c3) — 1/12/2020 @ 6:50 pmWho know why a woman does anything?
nk (dbc370) — 1/12/2020 @ 6:58 pmIn the episode of Young Sheldon broadcast on CBS on Thursday, January 9, 2020 at 8 pm an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation that Sheldon had arranged to tape, is taped over by his older brother. After first trying calling a few people he knows, to no avail, he gets the idea of asking people on Star Trek Bulletin Board System (BBS) if anyone has a tape and a man comes over to visit with his tape and Sheldon sets out to watch it, with the man sitting next to him, presumably so he doesn’t risk losing the tape. When his grandmother sees them, she asks “What’s going on?” ad Sheldon tells her what’s going on in the episode.
The episode is real. It is Final Mission originally broadcast on Monday, November 19, 1990. Episode 9 of season 4. The series as a whole was first broadcast from September 28, 1987 to May 23, 1994.
This establishes the time frame for the episode. Sheldon, therefore should probably be using a 2400 baud modem (he could maybe have something even better, but the family is not rich, and besides who needs something more than 2400 baud? It is not necessary even to have color.)
The only problem is, when Sheldon is first seen connecting, you don’t hear the familiar screech of the modem. The question is why? Could it be that the producers could not find sound effect like that – you don’t need to actually have or try to use a dial up modem, (to connect where now? AOL?) but there should be recordings somewhere!
Postscript: His grandmother decides to babysit them through the rest of the episode, and when it finishes, the owner of the tape is beamed up. Future Sheldon, narrating this sometime in the mid-2020s or later, explains it didn’t really happen that way, and then we see the owner of the tape re-materializing, and explaining he forgot to take back his tape, and teleporting again.
Sammy Finkelman (2cb3c3) — 1/12/2020 @ 7:25 pmDid you know that American airports (the international ones at least) have radiation detectors sensitive enough to detect a thallium stress test you had a week ago?
nk (dbc370) — 1/12/2020 @ 7:55 pmHow about a barium enema? Maybe they can give me a second opinion
steveg (354706) — 1/12/2020 @ 9:45 pmFor felipe:
And the fix is in
Mitch McConnell’s lining up the votes
La dee-da-da dee, la dee-da-dee da
Rand Paul puckers up his lips
Trump drops trou and bends to get his kiss
La dee-da-da dee, la dee-da-dee da
And that’s the way it is, this 26th day of the #FakeImpeachment.
nk (dbc370) — 1/13/2020 @ 6:56 amWhen Trump, true to form, reneged on his offer to pay the legal expenses of anyone who “knocked the crap out of” protesters, it kind of put a damper on things.
Dave (1bb933) — 1/13/2020 @ 8:02 amTwitchy has a hit-piece on our host for questioning the administration’s double-talk:
Credibility LOST: Patterico defends Adam Schiff from Ted Cruz over Soleimani death then backpedals when called OUT
Dave (1bb933) — 1/13/2020 @ 8:14 amHeartache: Spartacus drops out
Dave (1bb933) — 1/13/2020 @ 8:27 amPutin is doing the work to benefit Trump’s reelection that Zelensky hasn’t.
Trump should work on his Russian language skills, starting with, “Spasibo, Vlad!”
Paul Montagu (e1b5a7) — 1/13/2020 @ 7:59 pmAt his next rally–and rallies are places where Trump goes to lie with abandon–he could say, “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the mischief the Bidens have been hiding!”
Mitch McConnell says the House is expected to sen over the Articles of Impeachment tomorrow, Wednesday, and the senators will be sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts this week, before the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
The impeachment trial will start next Tuesday (January 21) On that day they will debate the rules. He hopes it can be done by consensus/
Trumps legal team will be given at east two days notice.
If there are no witnesses, I have heard that the trial can be expected to last two weeks, but I don’t know what’s that’s counting from.
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/478209-mcconnell-senate-impeachment-trial-to-start-next-tuesday?userid=429111
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 1/14/2020 @ 1:04 pm