Our State Department: Living By the Promise of Hashtag . . . And Following Their Hashtag With Action
If that headline made no sense to you, you probably don’t belong at the U.S. State Department:
The world stands #UnitedforUkraine. Let’s hope that the #Kremlin & @mfa_russia will live by the promise of hashtag
— Jen Psaki (@statedeptspox) April 24, 2014
Not inane enough yet? Oh, it gets stupider:
"They have not been following up their hash tag with actions." – Jen Psaki on Russian militarism… I'm turning red with embarrassment.
— Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) April 25, 2014
What’s that supposed to be, some kind of sick joke? No, it really happened:
They are making a hashtag of our foreign policy.
mission accomplished;
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/04/25/exclusive-putin-halts-all-talks-with-white-house.html
narciso (3fec35) — 4/25/2014 @ 8:14 pmJeez
steveg (794291) — 4/25/2014 @ 8:28 pmThis is like cash for clunkers meets foreign policy.
OMG a hashtag isn’t held as binding by a bunch of russian nationalists. who f***ing knew
#Hashtag diplomacy a new State Department accomplishment.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 4/25/2014 @ 8:28 pmi really hate it sometimes that I foreswore the t word
for today I have no words
happyfeet (8ce051) — 4/25/2014 @ 8:32 pmBack in the real world;
http://www.interpretermag.com/category/blog/
narciso (3fec35) — 4/25/2014 @ 8:36 pmI like my hash browns with a little salt, and some blue cheese dressing.
Elephant Stone (77e955) — 4/25/2014 @ 8:40 pmI don’t get it.
nk (dbc370) — 4/25/2014 @ 8:46 pmWhat do you expect from these twits?
Kevin M (b11279) — 4/25/2014 @ 8:50 pmOr is that tweets?
Kevin M (b11279) — 4/25/2014 @ 8:51 pmdamn but don’t that sound delicious
happyfeet (8ce051) — 4/25/2014 @ 8:53 pmObama just wants to be left alone to eat his waffle. And hash browns.
Elephant Stone (77e955) — 4/25/2014 @ 9:00 pmThat means you pretty much do, I think.
Patterico (9c670f) — 4/25/2014 @ 9:06 pmthis tweet almost certainly did NOT pass the jiggle test I think
happyfeet (8ce051) — 4/25/2014 @ 9:09 pmThe Facebook War will be fought in the trenches. We shall fight them on Twitter, we shall fight them on Instagram, we shall never surrender. Their bombs and bullets are no match for our Likes!
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 4/25/2014 @ 9:13 pmOh, it’s more of this? http://nypost.com/2014/03/28/uproar-over-dcs-jokey-selfie-support-for-ukraine/
Same twit, tweeting a month ago.
We shall tweet them on the beaches, we shall tweet them in the air ….
nk (dbc370) — 4/25/2014 @ 9:16 pmJesus Christ, get these fuggin’ amateurs and children out of here and put some competent adults in charge. I am embarrassed for my country.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 4/25/2014 @ 9:17 pmStupid human tricks.
gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 4/25/2014 @ 9:17 pmMr. Feets – Nobody gives Jen Psaki’s tweets teh jiggle test, but they do only pay her 77% of what a man makes.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 4/25/2014 @ 9:17 pmSo, does the Second Amendment protect the right to bear tweets on Twitter ?
Elephant Stone (77e955) — 4/25/2014 @ 9:18 pmAnd does the Geneva Conventions govern international wars on Twitter ?
well i hope she doesn’t spend it all in one place
happyfeet (8ce051) — 4/25/2014 @ 9:19 pm14. The Churchill is fitting.
gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 4/25/2014 @ 9:19 pmWhy were guns run into Mexico via “Fast & Furious” ? Why didn’t they just smuggle laptops ?
Elephant Stone (77e955) — 4/25/2014 @ 9:20 pmThis Jen Psaki person looks an awful lot like Samantha Power.
Elephant Stone (77e955) — 4/25/2014 @ 9:21 pmHa ha. We can all joke.
Our diplomatic corps is reduced to tweeting and being made fools. Our President is bowing to a Japanese robot, which isn’t really a robot.
CNN colludes with the Mayor of Chicago to make him look good just because.
Ukraine is about to be invaded by Russia. Syria is still gassing people. North Korea is going to test another nuclear bomb and Iran won’t be far behind.
Kerry completely failed on his Mideast mission.
The economy sucks and nationalized healthcare is a stupid failure.
And the best-selling book in America is about why Marxism is better than capitalism.
I could go on and on, but it’s all good. Hillary will be President and a grandmother at the same time.
What a useless country we have become.
On the plus side, half the country thinks that’s a good thing.
Ag80 (eb6ffa) — 4/25/2014 @ 9:21 pmThe White Sox just won in a grand slam walk-off
Blackhawks won in OT
Bulls won.
Notice who’s missing?
elissa (2a9d77) — 4/25/2014 @ 9:25 pmshe looks a lot like claire danes in a manic phase I think
happyfeet (8ce051) — 4/25/2014 @ 9:27 pmDa Bearsz
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 4/25/2014 @ 9:28 pmIt’s going swimmingly:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/apr/25/chuck-hagel-cant-get-russian-defense-counterpart-p/
gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 4/25/2014 @ 9:29 pmbtw I personally am not united for Ukraine
I wish Ukraine the best of luck and all, but I don’t really care if it lives or dies
I mean if it dies I’m not gonna incinerate for electricity or anything
but
It’s just not on my radar
happyfeet (8ce051) — 4/25/2014 @ 9:32 pmincinerate *it* for electricity I mean
happyfeet (8ce051) — 4/25/2014 @ 9:33 pmit’s not bearsz season Col. try again.
elissa (2a9d77) — 4/25/2014 @ 9:35 pm29. Well, it tops Afghanistan. I once dated a German lady from the Ukraine. Guess the place was crawling with Krauts, prolly why Hitler wanted it back.
gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 4/25/2014 @ 9:35 pm31. If its north side news, the Northwestern FB team voted whether to unionize. We are not permitted to know the result.
gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 4/25/2014 @ 9:40 pmour friend mister happyfeet cares more about casseroles and cookies than Ukraine.
“would you like fries with that, mister putin ?”
Elephant Stone (77e955) — 4/25/2014 @ 9:40 pmyour withering scorn is withering
happyfeet (8ce051) — 4/25/2014 @ 9:42 pmgg–Chicago media is reporting with certainty that the vote was against unionization by a large margin. I predicted this result here several weeks ago. The toothpaste is out of the tube though, and some school some where with less smart players will vote to unionize, soon, probably.
elissa (2a9d77) — 4/25/2014 @ 9:46 pmWhen does Jen get her MSNBC show?
Rodney King's Spirit (ca9e04) — 4/25/2014 @ 9:46 pmmister putin,
if you want Ukraine, you can have it, but please don’t take away my cheddar cheese and rice. because i am making myself a nice tortilla.
but that doesn’t mean i’m not principled—i am. it’s just that my principles tend to elevate food above people.
or whatever.
signed,
mister happyfeet
Elephant Stone (77e955) — 4/25/2014 @ 9:47 pmi fear i’m far too apathetic to craft such an articulate and well-reasoned email Mr. stone
happyfeet (8ce051) — 4/25/2014 @ 9:50 pmSpeaking of the State Dept., I wonder what Huma’s up to these days.
elissa (2a9d77) — 4/25/2014 @ 9:54 pm36. Well alright then, you must be referring then to that AAA outfit on Addison.
gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 4/25/2014 @ 9:56 pmI saw a bit of this as I surfed the news today. I thought it could not be what I thought and moved on.
First of all, our government should not be using effing twitter for official business, much less for a crisis like this. They are acting like students running a student council election or something! Did you see the pic of her holding up a sign with the hashtag and giving the peace sign? Good Lord…
Patricia (be0117) — 4/25/2014 @ 10:04 pmBrewers beat Cubs.
Gus (70b624) — 4/25/2014 @ 10:06 pm40. Dressing little Jordie in ninja outfits complete with belts of simulated dynamite.
gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 4/25/2014 @ 10:08 pmMr. Feets – Jen Psaki’s tweets should be subjected to a giggle test before issuance I believe. I can’t believe nobody hit that meatball out of the park.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 4/25/2014 @ 10:09 pmThose Northwestern football players are smart. Unlike Nebraska, the “N” on their helmets does not stand for nowledge.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 4/25/2014 @ 10:12 pmIsn’t it incredible that our entire foreign policy appears to turn on Twitter posts? A medium popularized by Ashton Kutcher is somehow completely appropriate for this White House. America had a magnificent run over the last 100 years. Now we just have to hope that a Canadian-Australian alliance can lead the free west for the next century.
JVW (9946b6) — 4/25/2014 @ 10:18 pmSpeaking of the State Dept., I wonder what Huma’s up to these days.
Conducting a scientific experiment: if she feeds Anthony Weiner just a few milligrams of rat poison each and every day will he build up a tolerance or will his vital organs slowly die.
JVW (9946b6) — 4/25/2014 @ 10:20 pmBack when I was a kid we were regarded as the ‘Ugly American’.
But Urkel has totally transformed that reputation.
Now we’re that ‘Jackass American’.
gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 4/25/2014 @ 10:27 pmWe are. We are considered to be and are jackasses.
JVW, thank you for the laughs!
Patricia (be0117) — 4/25/2014 @ 10:47 pmThe Churchill bust is glad it got sent home and didn’t have to watch.
Kevin M (b11279) — 4/26/2014 @ 1:07 amIf Obama was a Doonesbury character, he’d be Roland Hedley.
Kevin M (b11279) — 4/26/2014 @ 1:08 amWhat are all those reporters who laughed at Sarah Palin on foreign policy in 2008 doing now? Have they no shame at all?
Kevin M (b11279) — 4/26/2014 @ 1:12 amthey told me that, if i voted for….
we are SO screwed.
redc1c4 (abd49e) — 4/26/2014 @ 2:12 am“Those that have will be given more, and those that lack, the little they have will be taken away.”
gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 4/26/2014 @ 4:50 amBy the promise of the #hashtag. We are so screwed.
JD (5c1832) — 4/26/2014 @ 5:42 amThe Tao Te Twit.
nk (dbc370) — 4/26/2014 @ 5:46 amYeah, I commented about this yesterday on the Jeb “Act of Love” Bush thread.
It’s a real cage match. On our side we have President Prom Queen, a SecState who’s an aging windsurfer who married a condiment queen, supported by the Harvard student government deploying those mad social media skillz that worked so well to get elected in school.
You do realize Jen Psaki is an ex Obama campaign flack, right? Even more worrisome, President Bieber apparently thinks State Dept. jobs exist for no other reason than to reward people like Psaki who helped get him elected. Think of those recent nominees for ambassadorial posts who when asked revealed they had absolutely no clue about the countries they’d be posted to. But all of them were high end campaign bundlers except in Max Baucus’ case. Who had simply whored himself out to pass Obamacare. And now that Psaki has been rewarded with a high paying job at state, she’s still acting as a campaign shill as if the kind of s*** they did for their GOVT efforts will sway the Kremlin.
No, seriously.
Then on the other side we have a former KGB officer and a Minister of Foreign Affairs who wouldn’t be in the position he’s in if he hadn’t been able to navigate his way through the paranoid and vindictive Soviet bureaucracy, assisted by the Russian military deploying its most modern weaponry.
Speaking of deployments, one of the headlines on drudge this morning is, “Russian spy ship detected off Florida coast…”
I checked because I figured there’d be more than one ship. Sure enough:
http://freebeacon.com/national-security/pentagon-russian-spy-ship-tug-operating-near-u-s/
Wrong. The Nikolay Chiker is there to support the attack submarines that are operating all along the east coast to monitor naval activity. Ships that might be used if Valerie Jarrett ever figures out what President Mom Jeans’ plan D ought to be. The article acknowledges the Chiker has been “known” to support submarines. Well, the Chiker is one of the most powerful ocean going tugs in the world. The northern fleet wouldn’t have sent its premiere tug to the east coast just to support a Vishnya class AGI. Valuable though they be, other tugs could have handled the job.
The time to get those ships underway has long passed, but what can you expect from the faculty lounge that is our WH, perpetually surprised by reality.
Who do you think is going to win this cage match?
#WeAreSoScrewed
Steve57 (525198) — 4/26/2014 @ 5:58 amGOVT = GOTV
Steve57 (525198) — 4/26/2014 @ 6:01 amwe’re in the best of all possible hands;
http://freebeacon.com/national-security/report-obama-admin-never-defined-al-qaeda/
narciso (3fec35) — 4/26/2014 @ 6:10 amI say plan D because Jonah Goldberg at NRO says Obama never had a plan B. “He never really thought he’d need one, and besides, he never much cared about foreign policy.” Just like the seas would recede and the sick would heal, the sheer wonderfulness of an ascendent Barack Obama would change the world.
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/376508/obamas-approach-foreign-policy-jonah-goldberg
Well, Obama did have a plan B; it was forced upon him. Beg. In secret at first, so it would look like plan A was still working. Plan C was to beg harder, in public if necessary.
So now they’re working on plan D.
Steve57 (525198) — 4/26/2014 @ 6:11 amThis is the inevitable product of our celebrity-driven society. When millions of individuals follow the rantings of celebs like Cher and Rosanne, politicians and bureaucrats are all to willing to jump on the bandwagon of fame, believing their “clever” 140 characters of “wisdom” will garner only a positive response. When it doesn’t, one only need to post a “my bad”, and all should be forgiven.
Hadoop (f7d5ba) — 4/26/2014 @ 6:33 amI guess the only way to remain relevant in our 24/7/365 culture, is to adopt the latest social media trend, hoping that “fickle” is just a funny sounding word that will never be applied to us by the “cool” kids.
Arrgh!
Hadoop (f7d5ba) — 4/26/2014 @ 6:34 amtoo willing not to willing
If he’s not impressed by “the promise of the hashtag” perhaps Putin can go to VoX to get a two minute explanation of our policy.
As an aside, I am a regular amused lurker on a White Sox fan blog that has some of the most cynical, profane, knowledgeable, and funny sports fans on the planet. This morning I noted that Vox was advertising their wares on the header of that blog, “we’ll explain everything you need to know in two minutes”. Oh yeah, that’s a good, and perfectly targeted use of Ezra’s investors’ advertising dollars!
elissa (2a9d77) — 4/26/2014 @ 7:04 amO/T but congrats to the Coast Guard.
http://thisainthell.us/blog/?p=44840
That’s how you name ships.
What’s the Navy getting? The Gabby Giffords.
http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=65287
This is just so wrong.
Raise your hands if you think that the name Gabrielle Giffords has become synonymous with courage?
Only someone who doesn’t know what courage is could say that. Courage is the quality that’s required to do something that any sane person is scared to do in the first place. Crossing the street doesn’t take courage. Unless you know someone is shooting at you. Dropping your kids off at school isn’t an act of courage; you wouldn’t drop your kids off at school if you thought it was dangerous.
Gabby Giffords was shot at some local political rally. And like the hundreds of rallies she attended before, it wasn’t supposed to be dangerous. So it didn’t take courage to show up. It unexpectedly turned dangerous. But it still wasn’t an act of courage to be there. Like dropping her kids off at school, she was engaged in something she thought was safe.
By the same token, no one is proposing that the soldiers shot in the Fort Hood massacre should get DSCs or Silver Stars. They showed up for work. That wasn’t an act of courage. People are demanding that the government acknowledge that they died in combat against a terrorist enemy. That’s different.
Her recovery has been admirable, but the military doesn’t hand out valor awards for how well the troops recover from wounds. What matters is how how they were wounded. In other words what they did to risk being wounded or killed.
This is why it’s an insult to the Sailors who will serve aboard her to name a ship after Gabby Giffords. The Navy under Mabus seems to have adopted an official policy of insulting Sailors with ship names. Sort of like the Romans doubly insulted Jews when the rebuilt Jerusalem after one of the revolts. They put up a marble shrine to a pig at the gate. Graven image, check. Unclean animal, check.
So now we have Obama rebuilding the Navy. Puke worthy ship name, check.
It’s not what you’d do if you wanted a force capable of sustaining combat. But then building a force that could sustain combat would be tangible evidence that plan A failed. Barack has risen! The world has changed! We no longer need a force that can sustain combat because the tides caused by global warming have receded, the sick have healed, and love has broken out all over.
What we need are social justice reeducation camps to train the masses in the new reality. The USS Gabby Giffords and Harvey Milk will do nicely for a start.
Meanwhile the USCG flies under the radar, unaware of what’s coming.
Steve57 (525198) — 4/26/2014 @ 7:16 am#WeAreSoScrewed
Steve57 (525198) — 4/26/2014 @ 7:23 amhttp://twitchy.com/2014/04/25/when-will-the-adults-take-over-ted-cruz-slam-of-state-department-hashtag-diplomacy-seconded/
Steve57 (525198) — 4/26/2014 @ 7:36 amYou invaded the Ukraine? UNFOLLOWED!!!11
CrustyB (d4da92) — 4/26/2014 @ 7:40 amMeanwhile back in the real world;
http://hotair.com/archives/2014/04/26/latvia-defense-minister-accuses-russia-of-destabilizing-through-professional-provocateurs/
narciso (3fec35) — 4/26/2014 @ 7:42 amWhy not, narciso? It’s a classic technique. We always fall for it. We never learn.
#WeAreSoScrewed
Steve57 (525198) — 4/26/2014 @ 7:47 amIs it me or does Obama sound very uninterested in his press deliveries involving foreign affair topics such as the Ukraine. He really sounds like he is bored. He is thinking to himself he’d rather be trashing Republican stink burgers. That’s probably why our foreign policy is so screwed up. He doesn’t really care and maybe this is true for most Americans. See post #24 by Ag80.
AZ Bob (533fbc) — 4/26/2014 @ 7:52 amonly those things that involve ‘fundamental transformation’ concern him, and golf, anything else our Zaphod finds annoying,
narciso (3fec35) — 4/26/2014 @ 7:59 amAZ Bob, hating America is Obama’s thing. Foreign policy is like those Styrofoam Greek columns he used as props at his coronation in 2008. Not real, just a backdrop. Not something he takes seriously, but scenery to make him look good.
So he can get on with the job of transforming the United States. Which is the only thing he cares about.
Steve57 (525198) — 4/26/2014 @ 8:00 am@65 “… but the military doesn’t hand out valor awards for how well the troops recover from wounds.”
Whatever recognition is called for should be aimed at the medical personnel that made recovery possible. Its like calling someone a hero for surviving a car crash or boat sinking.Self-preservation is not that heroic; saving others at your own peril is something else again.
Courage is simply the ability to complete the task while filled with fear. Everyone feels fear, the courageous set it aside for a while. There is no person more dangerous to themselves or others than the person who does not suffer fear.
The USCG honor is very nice. Let none call them the “shallow water navy”.
Gramps, the original (3bbad3) — 4/26/2014 @ 8:06 amMark Steyn, reminded us, that he sought insight into peace and justice, from Peter Tosh, just epic fail,
narciso (3fec35) — 4/26/2014 @ 8:09 amPress pool grills Obama on important affairs of state:
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/376599/us-reporters-grill-obama-asia-did-you-your-green-tea-ice-cream-andrew-johnson
elissa (2a9d77) — 4/26/2014 @ 8:18 amWell, let’s agree on “some.” The word “none” eliminates the possibility of ever coming up with any good inter-service jokes.
I was Navy.
So if you don’t mind I’ll keep joking about the Coast Guard’s height requirement so so they could wade ashore if their paddle boats sank. And value all the gag gifts my dad, a Senior Chief Radioman in the Coast Guard, gave me to remind me they worked every day.
My only regret is the battery wore out in the “Semper Paratus” bottle opener he gave me one year for Christmas. Which probably tells you something about me. Anyway, it no longer plays the Coast Guard anthem when I crack open a cold one. And I wish it did.
This video illustrates the tension.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jh3EVSBIi5U
That USCG Jayhawk is rescuing survivors from a disabled sailboat. And delivering them to a USN cruiser that also answered the SOS.
One of the best things about my relationship with my dad was giving each other s*** about our respective services.
Steve57 (525198) — 4/26/2014 @ 8:33 amthis catalog of category errors, is just like the ‘power of hashtag’
https://rare.us/story/opposite-of-america-is-full-of-lies/
narciso (3fec35) — 4/26/2014 @ 8:42 am#YouCan’tMakeThisStuffUp
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 4/26/2014 @ 8:43 am#WeWillBuryYou
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 4/26/2014 @ 8:44 amhttp://www.strategypage.com/humor/articles/military_jokes_200472723.asp
Steve57 (525198) — 4/26/2014 @ 8:46 am#GingerKidDiplomacy
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 4/26/2014 @ 8:46 amIt’s never Cub season, elissa.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 4/26/2014 @ 8:47 amObama deploys secret weapon against Putin in Ukraine.
http://danieljmitchell.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/pajama-boy-entitled.jpg
Steve57 (525198) — 4/26/2014 @ 8:54 am#NothingToFearButUnfollowingItself
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 4/26/2014 @ 8:57 am#ADayThatWillLiveInPerpetuity
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 4/26/2014 @ 8:58 am#FirstScreenshotAcrossTehBow
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 4/26/2014 @ 8:59 amCoronello, the power of unfriending you on facebook compels you! Leave the Ukraine.
Above information gathered from confidential State Dept. documents.
Steve57 (525198) — 4/26/2014 @ 9:00 am#TehCapitalistsWillSellUsTehCat5WithWhichWeWillHangThem
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 4/26/2014 @ 9:03 amWe are conducting exactly the kind of diplomacy that I would expect of a country afraid of the gun-shaped Pop Tart.
Steve57 (525198) — 4/26/2014 @ 9:03 am#PutinRidesAPaleHorseBareback
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 4/26/2014 @ 9:05 am#MutuallyAssuredDistraction
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 4/26/2014 @ 9:08 amO/T but I’ve come up with a new title for a book I hope to market.
“Cooking Kosher on a Cattle Drive”
Obviously it’ll be a recipe book. Feel free to contribute recipes. You have to be able to explain how you could duplicate it on a chuckwagon. The title has the added advantage of being alliterative.
I only mention it as my previous autobiographical concepts failed to get published.
“Stuck in neutral; The Steve57 Story”
And
“The Roadkill of My Mind”
Steve57 (525198) — 4/26/2014 @ 9:37 amChild in White Hourse = Children in Govt.
Rodney King's Spirit (ca9e04) — 4/26/2014 @ 9:45 amWe are winning the #hashtag battle.
JD (191f33) — 4/26/2014 @ 10:00 am#YeahUs
Steve57 (525198) — 4/26/2014 @ 10:07 amit’s unilateral disarmament even on the twitchy front;
http://twitchy.com/2014/02/22/garry-kasparov-obama-should-read-the-declaration-of-independence-every-bedtime/
narciso (3fec35) — 4/26/2014 @ 10:18 amComment by Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 4/25/2014 @ 9:17 pm
Fewer, if any, Ivy-Leaguers, and replace them with good, old-fashioned, honest Rodeo Clowns – at least they know what BS looks and smells like.
askeptic (8ecc78) — 4/26/2014 @ 10:31 amComment by Elephant Stone (77e955) — 4/25/2014 @ 9:20 pm
They were going to send them Blackberries, but the Mexicans said they weren’t into obsolete e-tech.
askeptic (8ecc78) — 4/26/2014 @ 10:34 am#CavitySearchComing
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 4/26/2014 @ 10:40 am#DerelictionOfDutyNowForTehFuture
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 4/26/2014 @ 10:42 am#InsaneInTehUkraine
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 4/26/2014 @ 10:43 amI think that the last person to think seriously about the Ukraine was Thomas Malthus.
askeptic (8ecc78) — 4/26/2014 @ 10:50 amIt’s been downhill ever since for that arm-pit of Europe.
Nk in my era it woulda been the equivalent of Mary the cheerleader taking out a full page ad saying Putin; quaterback of crosstown rival, had promised not to *bleep* in her mouth and did anyway.
Our new foreign policy hashtag:
steveg (794291) — 4/26/2014 @ 10:51 am#youpromisednotto*bleep*inmymouth
I was talking to a Ukrainian immigrant about Crimea and he didn’t care because evidently the place is filthy with Russians and besides his family is all in the west.
steveg (794291) — 4/26/2014 @ 10:57 amIt was striking in a way, because if Mexico invaded Texas on a similar pretext I’d be tuned into the news for at least the 24 hours it would take Gov. Perry to mobilize the National Guard and do a Thunder Road drive to Cancun. Maybe I’d watch for 48 hours, until well armed Texans eliminate any pockets of invaders.
Mary is barking up the wrong tree
Putin likes boys
happyfeet (8ce051) — 4/26/2014 @ 10:59 amVolodya’s goal is the whole blinis, not just Crimea,
narciso (3fec35) — 4/26/2014 @ 11:00 amRight, that’s why he’s with the hot Russian gymnast,
narciso (3fec35) — 4/26/2014 @ 11:01 amSteve57
steveg (794291) — 4/26/2014 @ 11:03 amYou do know that in the 21st century we have these things called aircraft carriers right?
We’ll just drive a couple up to the Baltic and do a couple laps and then wonder why they disappeared from the radar like a Malaysian airliner
Mary thought she was the one who could change him… and she was a bit of a gymnast.. according to rumors spread by QB Putin anyway
steveg (794291) — 4/26/2014 @ 11:11 amComment by steveg (794291) — 4/26/2014 @ 11:03 am
The Baltic would be a very tough environment for a CV, the Black Sea is only marginally better – too many airfields in the vicinity.
askeptic (8ecc78) — 4/26/2014 @ 11:24 amRight.
steveg (794291) — 4/26/2014 @ 11:35 amAnd unlike the Malaysian airliner, there would probably be two large smudges marking the folly
“The Baltic would be a very tough environment for a CV, the Black Sea is only marginally better – too many airfields in the vicinity.”
askeptic – Exactly. Obama would just send a few divisions over to Eastern Europe on the intercontinental railroad.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 4/26/2014 @ 12:02 pm#HillaryPushedtheResetButton
AZ Bob (533fbc) — 4/26/2014 @ 1:01 pmMaybe Obama can send a nifty orange Coast Guard helicopter to buzz Sevastopol
steveg (794291) — 4/26/2014 @ 4:54 pmomg can you say carbon emissions nightmare
happyfeet (8ce051) — 4/26/2014 @ 4:56 pmEither one would be like sending a battle group into a bathtub. Excuse me. Now it’s a CSG; Carrier Strike Group.
And I don’t even think it’s legal to send a carrier into the Black Sea. The Turks would have to give permission for it to transit the Bosporus and the Dardanelles.
Not like you’d want to.
An Arleigh Burke is an incredibly capable warship. The Donald Cook was in no danger from that Fencer. She’s equipped to handle everything from a suicide Cessna to a ballistic missile. Every once in a while something happens on President Mean Girl’s watch that makes sense if only by accident. I understand why you’d pick that ship to hang out off the Crimea. The only down side is when the Russkies decide to buzz you, you can’t take pretty pictures of it plus one of your own escorting it, ready to blow it out of the sky.
Understand that none of this was the least bit provacative. We sent one ship up there. They sent one plane to buzz it. Nobody’s blood pressure rose in the least.
Also understand when I said the Donald Cook can handle everything from a suicide Cessna to a ballistic missile, it can but it sort of has to switch modes. Not all at one time. But when Naval Integrated Fire Control – Counter Air becomes operational…
http://www.naval-technology.com/news/newsus-navys-aegis-system-validates-capability-in-nifc-ca-test
Holy bejebus.
Steve57 (525198) — 4/26/2014 @ 4:57 pmOf course, the Donald Cook can handle itself, of course if it did, then the trouble can start, the earlier Crimean unpleasantness began with these calibrated signals, that Nicholas 1, took as a green light,
narciso (3fec35) — 4/26/2014 @ 5:08 pmPutin took a lot more as a green light. Not just the calibrated response to his actions in this particular instance. Recall our limp wristed response when the NORKs sank the Cheonan. I said at the time there’d be a price to pay for doing nothing and now we’re paying it.
Steve57 (525198) — 4/26/2014 @ 5:21 pmYou do realize Jen Psaki is an ex Obama campaign flack, right?
That explains it. This is for the Obama supporters, to whom the word “ineffectual” is “WTF TL;DR”. Keeping up the morale of the base with what they, unfortunately, consider action.
She twits for the OFAs in a great big batch,
nk (dbc370) — 4/26/2014 @ 5:31 pmTwitting and hashatagging and scratching her ___.
All the frappuccinos on Starbucks Street,
Like to see Jen Psaki go tweet, tweet, tweet.
Tweeting Psaki, Tweeting Psaki,
Go Tweeting Psaki, you’re a twit alright.
Every macchiato, every double skim,
Likes to see Jen Psaki go tweet, tweet, tweet.
well just possibly yes, although he would prefer surrender;
http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/does-putin-want-war-10327
narciso (3fec35) — 4/26/2014 @ 5:35 pmOf course it wasn’t just the Cheonan. I’m just picking that as a starting point when, as Joe Biden (brains of the outfit per Clint Eastwood) predicted, had been tested and found wanting. It snowballed from there.
Such as into the ADIZ the Chinese announced last fall. Which covered the Senkakus.
Russia taking the Crimea is a result of a whole host of failures on the part of the Obama administration. Which I’m sure started before the NORKs sank the Cheonan. Because they wouldn’t have done it if President Milli Vanilli hadn’t already demonstrated that they could. Still, I think it represents a bright and shining line when our enemies demonstrated that they had figured out due to King Putt’s fecklessness that they could kill our allies with impunity.
Steve57 (525198) — 4/26/2014 @ 5:42 pm*…I’m just picking that as a starting point when Obama
Steve57 (525198) — 4/26/2014 @ 5:43 pmIf this wasn’t so deadly serious, it would be amusing;
http://20committee.com/2014/04/26/slovyansk-is-the-center-of-the-bermuda-triangle/
narciso (3fec35) — 4/26/2014 @ 6:02 pmthe larger picture;
http://pjmedia.com/richardfernandez/2014/04/26/debasing-diplomacy/
narciso (3fec35) — 4/26/2014 @ 6:18 pmThe gang that can’t remember what it did yesterday:
http://conservativetribune.com/obama-armed-al-qaeda/?
gary gulrud (e2cef3) — 4/26/2014 @ 8:39 pmthese aren’t the droids you’re looking for;
http://libertyunyielding.com/2014/04/25/naval-round-peace-continues-break/
narciso (3fec35) — 4/26/2014 @ 9:20 pmhttp://barracudabrigade.blogspot.com/2014/04/sarahpalinusa-having-great-time-at-nra.html
narciso (3fec35) — 4/26/2014 @ 9:56 pmPresident Tiger Beat sends Biden to the Ukraine – Putin cuts of communications in response to the disrespect.
Your move Prom Queen.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 4/26/2014 @ 10:05 pmWell that 150 man contingent, was a sign, shirley they weren’t serious,
narciso (3fec35) — 4/26/2014 @ 10:10 pmUkraine has dug trenches along the Russian order – which is said to be a good tactic for World War I. They’re trying to avoid firing a shot, of course.
Sammy Finkelman (6ee5be) — 4/27/2014 @ 12:27 pmAccording to the main front page article in the New York Times today, the U.s is searching for uPutin’s secret fortune, and they think they may have found it.
They won’t sanction him yet, even if they determine where it is, because that would amount to a “nuclear” escalation.
Sammy Finkelman (6ee5be) — 4/27/2014 @ 12:29 pmI’ve got Putin’s secret fortune right here Sammy, in my pocket.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 4/27/2014 @ 1:17 pmThe little hashtag that could:
Steve57 (525198) — 4/27/2014 @ 7:22 pmWe were warned. Yet we voted for doofus twice. This is from June 2008.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/barackobama/2139573/Barack-Obama-aide-Why-Winnie-the-Pooh-should-shape-US-foreign-policy.html
When Winnie the Pooh shapes US foreign policy, Vladimir “Tigger” Putin siezes the Crimean peninsula.
It’s like a natural law.
Steve57 (525198) — 4/27/2014 @ 7:32 pmThere’s rarely any daylight between me and the estimable Iowahawk, but this is beyond the pale. There is absolutely no need to insult hard working waitresses at Ruby Tuesday or elsewhere by comparing them to Jen Psaki.
Steve57 (525198) — 4/27/2014 @ 7:39 pmGoing beyond Python for absurdity;
http://www.jammiewf.com/2014/its-come-to-this-state-department-nitwit-jen-psaki-now-tweeting-think-progress-and-daily-kos-links/
narciso (3fec35) — 4/27/2014 @ 7:42 pmIf one of the planks of the original 2008 Obama campaign was to put the Onion out of business, I’d say they succeeded.
Steve57 (525198) — 4/27/2014 @ 7:45 pmhttp://www.thepeoplescube.com/images/Obama_Winnie_Pooh.jpg
Chuck Hagel ended up getting the job because the original candidate decided the job was between his dignity.
Steve57 (525198) — 4/27/2014 @ 7:49 pmThings what are less suicidal and aren’t the great big pinata of Fail that is Obama’s foreign policy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVoT3pKg7ts
The adults in the room.
Steve57 (525198) — 4/28/2014 @ 6:52 am“Best of the Web” Friday was about this, and linked to this, too:
http://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/commentaries/03-05-14/interview-ambassador-laurence-pope-state-department-foreign-service-and-public
Of course, what the satte Departmenty is trying to do is give “moral support” to Ukraine. But it won’t mean much there is at least the possibility of something more concrete.
This Administration is used to the idea of symbolism. Even the sanctions are primarily, or at first, symbolism to them.
Sammy Finkelman (d22d64) — 4/28/2014 @ 8:38 amThe thing about Putin’s secret fortune is that these are probably entitles he controls to enable him to better control Russia.
Sammy Finkelman (d22d64) — 4/28/2014 @ 12:19 pm