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Putin rubbishes Syria chemical attack claims, Russian president goes on offensive against Obama, Rejects US intelligence claims that Bashar al-Assad's regime used chemical weapons in Syria
"A newsflash has this moment arrived from the Malabar front. Our forces in South India have won a glorious victory. I am authorized to say that the action we are now reporting may well bring the war within measurable distance of its end. Here is the newsflash -'
Bad news coming, thought Winston. And sure enough, following on a gory description of the annihilation of a Eurasian army, with stupendous figures of killed and prisoners, came the announcement that, as from next week, the chocolate ration would be reduced from thirty grammes to twenty."…George Orwell, "1984"
From The Guardian August 31, 2013.
"Syria: Putin rubbishes chemical attack claims"
"Vladimir Putin has rejected US intelligence claims that Bashar al-Assad's regime used chemical weapons in Syria, saying it would be "utter nonsense" for government troops to use such tactics in a war it was already winning.
"That is why I am convinced that [the chemical attack] is nothing more than a provocation by those who want to drag other countries into the Syrian conflict, and who want to win the support of powerful members of the international arena, especially the United States," Putin told journalists in Vladivostok.
The Russian president also challenged the US to present its case for military intervention to the UN security council, after suggesting that if Barack Obama was worthy of his Nobel peace prize, he should think about the possible victims of any intervention by foreign forces.
UN experts left Syria on Saturday after investigating the gas attack, which killed hundreds of civilians, while the US said it was planning a limited response to punish Syria's President Bashar al-Assad for the "brutal and flagrant" assault.
Barack Obama said the US, which has destroyers equipped with cruise missiles in the region, was planning a "limited, narrow" response that would not involve boots on the ground or be open-ended.
Russia responded by saying US threats to use military force against Syria were unacceptable and that Washington would be violating international law if it acted without the approval of the UN security council.
Putin said world powers should discuss the Syrian crisis at a meeting of the leaders of the Group of 20 developed and developing nations in St Petersburg next week. "This (G20 summit) is a good platform to discuss the problem. Why not use it?"
A poll in France revealed that most French people do not want their country to take part in military action on Syria, and most do not trust the president, François Hollande to do so."
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/31/syria-un-weapons-inspectors-leave
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96 responses to "Putin rubbishes Syria chemical attack claims, Russian president goes on offensive against Obama, Rejects US intelligence claims that Bashar al-Assad's regime used chemical weapons in Syria"
RMinNC | August 31, 2013 at 10:42 am |
OBAMA AT THE PLATE…..
(formerly known as Casey at Bat…with modifications)
Obama at the Plate
The outlook wasn't brilliant for the New World Order nine that day:
The score stood four to two, with but one inning more to play,
And then when Cameron died at first, and Hollande did the same,
A pall-like silence fell upon the patrons of the war game.
A straggling few got up to go in deep despair. The rest
Clung to the hope which springs eternal in the human breast;
They thought, "If only Barack could but get a whack at that—
We'd put up even money now, with Obama at the bat."
But Cameron preceded Obama, as did also Jimmy Blake,
And the former was a hoodie, while the latter was a piece of cake;
So upon that stricken multitude grim melancholy sat,
For there seemed but little chance of Obama getting to the bat.
But Cameron let drive a single, to the amazement of the bissle,
And Hollande, the much despisèd Frenchman, tore the cover off the missile;
And when the dust had lifted, and men saw what had occurred,
There was France safe at second, and England a-hugging third.
Then from a hundred thousand throats or more there rose a lusty yell;
It rumbled through the valleys, it rattled in the dells;
It pounded on the mountain tops and recoiled upon the flat,
For Barack, the mighty One, was advancing to the bat.
There was ease in Barack's manner as he stepped into his place;
There was pride in Barack's bearing and a smile upon Barack's face.
And when, responding to the cheers, he lightly doffed his golf hat,
No stranger in the crowd could doubt 'twas the mighty One at the bat.
A hundred thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands with dirt;
ten hundred thousand tongues applauded when he wiped them on his shirt;
Then while the writhing, wormy Assad ground the missile into his hip,
Defiance flashed in Obama's eye, a sneer curled on Obama's lip.
And now the weapon of mass destruction sphere came hurtling through the air,
And Obama stood a-watching it in all the haughty grandeur there.
Close by the sturdy statesman the missile unheeded sped—
"That missile ain't my style," said Obama. "Strike one!" Putin said.
From the rubble covered cities, black with people, there went up a mighty roar,
Like the beating of the storm-waves on a stern and distant shore;
"Kill him! Kill that Putin!" shouted someone in the stand;
And it's likely they'd have killed him had not Obama raised his hand.
With a smile of Christian charity, the great Obama's visage shone;
He stilled the rising tumult; he bade the war games go on;
He signaled to the UN, and once more the fast missile flew;
But Obama still ignored it and the umpire, Putin said, "Strike two!"
"Not true!" cried the maddened NWO thousands, and their echos answered "Fraud!"
But one scornful look from Obama and the audience was in awed.
They saw his face grow stern and cold, they saw his muscles strain,
And they knew that mighty Obama wouldn't let that missile go by again.
The sneer is now gone from Obama's lip, his teeth are clenched in hate,
He pounds with cruel violence his golf club upon the plate;
And now the rebels holds the missile, and now they let it go,
And now the air is shattered by the force of Obama's blow.
Oh, somewhere in this favored middle eastern land of Syria, the sun is shining bright,
The military bands are playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light;
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout,
But there is no joy in Washington today—for the mighty Obama has just struck out…. (again)
Ginger | August 31, 2013 at 11:43 am |
RMinNC
BRAVO! BRAVO! BRAVO!
William | August 31, 2013 at 11:52 am |
RMinNC,
LOL.. Great analogy!!! 🙂
Open Letter to Mr. Putin
PLEASE….release the copy of Barry's aka …BHO …PASSPORT! PLEASE!
You got a copy of it when you detained him and his buddy that day at the Moscow Airport!
Is it not ironic that Barry has seen the other side of the Moscow Airport that Snowden has? Remember Barry and his buddy was detained for several hours.
SueQ | August 31, 2013 at 11:59 am |
Ginger,
As I recall, his buddy was Richard Luger.
RMinNC | August 31, 2013 at 12:03 pm |
GINGER and WILLIAM….
I take no credit for my last post……all I did was change a word or two …here and there……but thanks any way.
But the words do fit the script for today…or at least it seems like it does….
I agree with you Ginger…release the passport Mr. Putin
oldsailor81 | August 31, 2013 at 12:07 pm |
Everybody……..
Have a great labor day!
Ginger | August 31, 2013 at 12:09 pm |
SueQ….Thanks…I could not remember his name. 🙂
Wouldn't you like to stick him with a needle of you know what and have the camera rolling? hehehehe
oldsailor81….back at you….Sir
I would like to share this….
Last night my husband and I took our lawn chairs and cooler (with H2O and Tea) only and enjoyed a night at the city park listening to oldies from this small town band. THEY WERE WONDERFUL Tonight is a different band meant for the younger crowd. We will set this one out. Tomorrow and Monday we are going back for three hours each night of the oldies again. Two other different bands. What is great the city always has street dances for the young ones too.
Why would people who backs the NWO, Barry, Communist and all the evil ones to give up a life they were raised in to a life of HELL?
Ginger….you ask,
The answer is because they have been brainwashed and hoodwinked by the evil ones…..life use to be great and could be again if only people would give it a chance.
I am pleased that you and your hubby are enjoying the end of summer…..
As for this old man…I'm tied to the television and my yearly ritual of watching the college football massacre.
Enjoy while you can…the years slip by fast
William | August 31, 2013 at 12:33 pm |
Per you comment post on the last thread regarding Orly's lead pertaining to individuals that have evidence of Obama's attendance as a foreign student, well; I'll just say this much.
Like always, Orly has a perpetual and unique ability to F**K things up! She [Orly] announced all over the internet and publically the name of the employee whistle-blower "PRIOR" to obtaining any physical evidence what so ever!!!! How stupid!
Now, there were at least 3 people that had came forward, and because of Orly's stupidity, the FBI and others have paid personal visits and threats to these employee's and will no longer provide any information to Orly – out of fear now – understandably so.
Orly's current situation (according to her) is that she will have to Subpoena the person(s) in order to now try to obtain "something" from them she can use! Had she kept her mouth such, and then received physical hard copy data, it would be an entirely different story – legally speaking…
But NOOOOO…..
People that do not learn from their past mistakes – are Morons….
Mouth Shut! Correction.
Kinda like she makes the comments (and so do her loyal followers) that Sheriff Apario and Mike Zullo have the "Authority" to March into the Oval Office and personally "Hand-cuff" Obama and lead him out and throw him in Jail – awaiting a trail! How childish of any legal sense – not to mention common sense.
Morons!!!!
………..or behave like Russians! Act before thinking!
68truthseeker | August 31, 2013 at 12:44 pm |
Congressman Predicts Obama`s Impeachment Over Syrian Strike
Kucinich: Obama Risks Impeachment If He Acts Against Syria Without Congress
Touche' my friend
Pratt: Obama Taking Guns From Vets To Communize America
Town Hall Erupts: Why Haven't You Filed To Impeach Obama Yet?"
While I DO NOT regard Orly as a MORON, she certainly has the propensity to speak,and act seemingly with out much forethought. I still regard her as enlightened otherwise she would not hold the level of education she holds nor would she operate a successful dental clinic. It is my feeling that she might be better at doing a filling than being a lawyer,particularly a lawyer engaged in Constitutional issues. I still take off my hat to her though,simply because she at least TRIED which is a HELL OF A LOT MORE than anybody else has done thus far. TRIED
68Truthseeker,
I declare in open public, Bullsh*t!
The Coward Congress is not going to act on impeachment of Obama, pertaining to "Syria"! It's all Talk, Hot Air, and Bottom Gas coming out of their mouths, as if they are "serious" – this time….
Jonah | August 31, 2013 at 12:51 pm |
Going USSR – Police Snatches Sign Away From Impeach-Obama Protester
http://www.westernjournalism.com/going-ussr-police-snatches-sign-away-impeach-obama-protester/
Police Officer Takes Sign From Overpass Protester
GOOD AFTERNOON WILLIAM….What are you drinking this afternoon?
And how is your weather in Tennessee today? we have a beautiful day here in North Carolina….
At 12:43pm you said,
Sorry to correct you my friend….but I NEVER commented regarding Orley's post reference Obama as a foreign student….
You must have me mixed up with someone else…maybe oldsailor81….I have been too busy the last three weeks working on the Syria thing to make any comments on Obama's foreign student status….although I will now.
Obama was a foreign student when he first attended school at that pot smoking college in Calf….then he was also an Indonesian foreign student when he attended that northeast pot smoking school (if he ever attended it) or that other pot smoking school of Harvard…..
Now for Orley…I have never been a big fan of that dizzy blond. the only thing she does well is …."chasing rainbows"….well maybe other things too, but I can't vouch for those..
.Sorry you have me mixed up with someone else….
Lawmakers want President to seek Congress' OK before military force in Syria
WASHINGTON (WUSA9) — Rep. Frank Wolf of Virginia is among the 116 members of Congress asking President Obama to seek Congressional authorization before using military force in Syria.
According to Wolf's office, the letter was originated Rep. Scott Rigell (R-VA) and signed by 98 Republicans and 18 Democrats. In the letter, they ask the president to "consult and receive congressional authorization is prescribed in the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution of 1973," according to Wolf's office in a press release.
In a statement released on Thursday, Wolf said, "Much is at stake in Syria, not the least of which is U.S. credibility given the president's threat of action against the Assad regime once the 'red line' of chemical weapons was crossed … Yet to date, the president has failed to make the case to the Congress or the American people to use military force against Syria. It is important to present relevant intelligence to the Congress so that we can make an informed decision about weighty matters involving the U.S. national interests and the fate of American servicemen and women."
Here's the full text of the letter:
http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=272887
……I say this in full respect of Commander Kerchner, and all the other legal entities who have also TRIED. I commend ALL who have TRIED! Talk ….is what it is, and rarely bears much fruit, except in California (FRUITS AND NUTS),and in the WACKY HOUSE.
oldsailor81 | August 31, 2013 at 1:00 pm |
I think that Orly Taitz simply has not had enough experience at being an American. If she had been born in the US she would without a doubt KNOW HOW to behave in a courtroom, and would probably have a much better chance of being successful in litigation.
RMinNC | August 31, 2013 at 1:00 pm |
OLDSAILOR81 at 12:48pm ….you said,
"It is my feeling that she might be better at doing a filling than being a lawyer,particularly a lawyer engaged in Constitutional issues"
Would you qualify exactly what kind of FILLING you are speaking of…. I'm just curious… lol……Thanks old friend
William | August 31, 2013 at 1:07 pm |
OIdSalior,
In some ways I agree with you pertaining to Orly and perhaps that's why I am more critical of her than others. She is in fact intelligent, but purely stupid at the same time. She has been through this legal rodeo many times, hoaxed many times as well, and she keeps buying into and repeating the same mistakes – hook-line-sinker and the damn Rod-Reel-Tackle box at the same time! This time – she swallowed the Dock and Boat with it!
Perhaps my use of the word "Moron" is incorrect; Stupidity is proper. As Einstein clearly pointed out the definition of Insanity, doing the same thing over and over again – expecting a different result. But I take the venture to dare say, when people do not learn from mistakes, that is simply stupidity.
God knows I have made – and will continue to make – mistakes throughout my life. But I certainly try to learn from them in order to not Repeat them! If I do continue to repeat them, then I have learned nothing and factually in denial (which leads to other problems such as arrogance/superiority complex) and therefore, in my opinion, I would be utterly Stupid as a person.
How many times has Orly ousted her legal whistleblowers, not verifying information or documents – PRIOR – to gaining the actual information to use in a court? I've lost count…….
At the WACKY HOUSE the occupant day by day inches closer,and closer to being hauled to the ICC at Hague on war crimes charges. I believe it will happen,particularly if an attack upon Syria, is carried out. Somebody needs to advise Soetoro that he and his goons do NOT YET rule the world. Syria has invited the US to PROVE that they used chemical weapons. I seriously doubt that Kerry can even prove his own name.
bob strauss | August 31, 2013 at 1:07 pm |
William | August 31, 2013 at 9:12 am |
This is for you! Me dancing in my speedo. You asked for it… LMAO 🙂
Thanks William, sometimes I try to visualize what posters look like based on their postings. You had me fooled, I thought you were thinner. lol
Thank God my speedo days are over. I used to wear one in my swim team days. The ones they wear these days, in swimming competition, are skimpy compared to those I wore in the sixties.
…………not to mention his PAST HISTORY which most Americans already know about.
cabbyaz | August 31, 2013 at 1:18 pm |
Awaiting statement from the Usurper at 1:15 PM EST.
…….unfortunately not all of us are endowed with lots of physical attributes. I am not really sure that a person who possesses LOTS of physical attributes, posseses en equal number of mental attributes. Then in the case of OVEREDUCATED WORDSMITHS, I would expect them to be 98 lb weaklings. Many ARE…..at least they sound a lot what I expect them to sound.Case in point Harriet Reid. She has the unique ability to smell unwashed bodies for miles. Of course she never makes any mention of WHO is giving off the offensive fumes. I personally think that the offensive fumes are coming from her own body.
Late as usual…..Wonder what's going on behind the scenes? Mssss. V.J. probably has to make her "opinions" known.
…….Mssssssssssss Reid also has a unique ability to WHINE, "Oh the war is lost,oh the war is lost, oh the war is lost." She sounds a lot like what I would expect a complete numbskull to sound like.
….Cabby AZ
between MSSSSSS. Pelosi, Vallerie Jarret, MSSSSS Lerner, and MSSSSSS Clinton I would bet that there is collectively damn little intelligence QUOTIENT. You only need to look at the stupid expressions on their faces most of the time. Our ex FAST BOAT CAPTAIN has the SAME stupid expression on his face most of the time.
GORDO | August 31, 2013 at 1:39 pm |
"TEEN GUILTY OF MURDERING GEORGIA BABY IN STROLLER
Shot woman's 13-month-old child in face after she said she had no money"
"Jurors deliberated about two hours before finding De'Marquise Elkins guilty of 11 counts, including two counts of felony murder and one count of malice murder in the March 21 killing of 13-month-old Antonio Santiago in Brunswick. The man's mother, Karimah Elkins, was on trial alongside him and was found guilty of tampering with evidence but acquitted of lying to police.
De'Marquise Elkins faces life in prison when he is sentenced at a later date. At the time of the shooting he was 17, too young to face the death penalty under Georgia law."
http://www.wnd.com/2013/08/teen-guilty-of-murdering-georgia-baby-in-stroller/?cat_orig=us
"POLICE MAKE ARRESTS IN FATAL PARKING LOT BEATING
Gang of 6 youths attack, kill young father"
"(KCCI-TV) Three men have been charged in the beating death of a Des Moines man, Des Moines police said Friday.
James Shorter, 18, Yarvon Russell, 18, and , 18, were charged with first-degree murder in the death of Richard Daughenbaugh, 40.
Shorter and Russell have been arrested and charged. A warrant has been issued for Tyler's arrest.
Detectives have also issued a warrant for Leprese Williams, 21, of Des Moines, on the charge of willful injury in connection with the case.
Franreca Woods and Shanayia Hamer were charged with first-degree theft in the case."
http://www.wnd.com/2013/08/police-make-arrests-in-fatal-parking-lot-beating/?cat_orig=us
Colin Flaherty:
"SHHH! TEEN MOB THAT RAPED 2 WOMEN … WAS BLACK
'Maybe they could get some help finding these youths if they gave a description'"
"The original news story from local sources and linked on the Drudge Report said 12 teens raped two women, aged 32 and 24, Thursday evening in Wilmington, Del., and police were looking for help in finding the suspects.
The local Wilmington paper dutifully said the police were searching for "teens" of unspecified race.
Only later was it reported the teens – all believed by police to be between age 12 and 17 – were also black.
Local readers noticed the omission."
http://www.wnd.com/2013/08/shhh-teen-mob-that-raped-2-women-was-black/?cat_orig=us
CABBYAZ….
Someone needs to tell Obama when….the little hand is 1 and the big hand is on 3…then it's one-fifteen…….or get him a talking watch….
he has never ben on schedule for any tv appearance …ever…like the king keeps his subjects waiting.
cBBYz….
Its time for Mr. Obama to EAT CROW….
LOL.. I thought you would like that. Of course, that's not me. But was still a good stunt for ya, and pun intended… 🙂
I did in fact wear speedo's in the late 70's and early 80's ( I think until about 81 when a Senior in high school) and boy were those things "tight". I couldn't and Wouldn't ever put one of those things on again… LOL.. I like to breath when swimming…… 🙂
I am actually 5-11″ and only 178, but is truly fun messing with ya on the subject matter… 🙂
I am in fact about to cut the grass and then get in the pool. It's hot and humid today in Tennessee. Since the youngest kids are gone visiting their friends and wont be back until tomorrow, I just might not wear anything at all! LOL.. just kidding of course… (or am I)?
RMinNC and Cabby,
Perhaps if you tell him – Satu-lima belas – he'll understand in Indonesian that the time is one fifteen pm…. 🙂
Of course I had to look that up in translator…
SueQ | August 31, 2013 at 2:18 pm |
So, O is going to consult congress……. how very gracious of him.
Glad that the Usurper is going to bring it before Congress – but Sept. 9th??? (When Congress returns) He is making an absolute fool of himself and discrediting us on the world stage. I think that the long delay in getting before the cameras was so that he could get "juiced" up. Just mho.
You know why we can't get a straight story re. this Syrian matter? He is the very epitome of LYING. He IS a big lie himself and you can't trust anything he says these days. It is absolutely appalling, astonishing, and abhorrent.
Syrian TV is already declaring victory. I am totally against the strike, but O has only made it worse by today's big talk and then "caving", which is the way our enemies see it.
Um…, yeah, that's my thoughts too, "Consult" not vote for approval. That's why I also think he and the admin has been using the words "Imminent Threat to the U.S. Security", which is there way Of using the Presidential war powers act to by-pass Congress, but will consult them on his actions.
Syria, an imminent threat to the U.S? How? They can't buy skateboards or bicycles to reach the U.S. in order to threaten us! Hell, the so called freedom fighters don't even have a single engine airplane to lob a homemade grenade out the doors. And that's a National Security U.S. threat to our Nation of being invaded by these idiots?
It's humorous to say the least.
My My…Obama finally showed his hand….and he only had a pair of spades…him and Joe Biden…lol
HOW DO YOU SPELL EAT C R O W….
But now we know his plan. He intends to put this issue to congress…let thim slug it out…
Then when Congress bows to the will of the people and says…"hell no..no missiles" to Syria…then Mr. Obama will have his scapegoat !
Obama started this whole mess by publicly stating HIS redline….and when the rebels got that indicator…they fired a few wmds and let Obama blame Assad….hoping to get world support to take military action….IT DIDN'T WORK.
So Obama has fallen back to his Option 2…..let congress get involved…then blame the do-nothing Congress and the Republicans for not doing what he wants to do…bomb Syria.
His plan is quite simple and clear to me….he has NEVER taken any responsibility for any of his actions before….why should the American people think he would now !
HonorFirst | August 31, 2013 at 3:25 pm |
Cabby, I agree. Although I didn't approve of a US strike, Our President, once again opened his big mouth and now needed a way to back out. We could have helped out in the very beginning but we didn't and now it is too late. Most likely our inaction at the time will create more hatred for the US just as it did during the Green Revolution in Iran. We had a chance of a lifetime to help the Iranians overthrow their whacked out rulers, but Obama did nothing. In fact, he has been wrong on just about every foreign policy decision he has made.
Now he just looks like a weak, counterfeit leader. He is embarrasing. His urgency to act has now been delayed by a debate in Congress? If he thought he needed Congressional approval, then he should have called them back to DC on 8/22. No, I'm not buying any of this. He screwed up and had to find a way to back out.
On 8/22 I posed the question, will Obama air strike Syria? And then I (sarcastically) said, poll testing underway. Looks like my sarcasm was spot on.
He couldn't make a"tough decision" if he read it off a teleprompter.
Cabby, RM, William and Honor,
Yes we look "weak" and are hated even more. And those evil Republicans might well be blamed for giving him the "out" that he's been looking for anyway, but it beats the hell out of WW3.
Honor First…….
Here is my take on both Soetoro, and Kerry…………….."DUH!" Obviously somebody advised him that he is getting perilously close to an unscheduled visit to HAGUE.
Soetoro is a real NUT CASE, but has learned the Chicago way of passing the buck. He knows that where Congress is concerned HELL will freeze over before they ever OK a hit against the Assad. Soetoro is a MASTER BAITER!
………..Kerry's pants are on fire! Har,har. Why would his pants be on fire…….?
I couldn't agree more with all of you! Now he has a way out and it will be the same old, same old….. blame game! Those evil Repubs will get the brunt.
This is a two-fer! 1) he again can escape responsibility, as he has been doing for a long time, 2) he gets to trounce those stubborn, nasty Repubs once more for bucking him and refusing to cooperate.
But as SueQ says, it beats WW III.
Sueq…………
On the world stage, the last thing a leader needs is the disrespect which we now see being directed at Soetoro
Old Sailor,
Speakers on Fox are stymied over what happened during the time between Kerry's speech yesterday and O's today. Wow! I wonder if Kerry isn't seething about now? You can't deal with the devil and not get burned, as they say.
Perhaps Putin has even noticed the FLIES that Soetoro seems to continuously attract…..everywhere he goes. Where Kerry is concerned the FLIES have decided not to waste their time on something containing a VACUUM.
Here's a curve ball. We now have 5 warships in the Mediteranean, just off the Syrian coast. We recently closed numerous embassies in the Middle East for a "credible" threat . Apparently that threat was delayed due to massive intelligence leaks. Meanwhile. although Russia effectively closed its military base in Syria, it has a HUGE naval presence in the Mediteranean….. 9/11 is right around the corner. Watch what the other hand is doing.
If the Egyptian military releases this document, it would no doubt spell the end of the Obama presidency, bringing impeachment, a long prison term, and perhaps even the death penalty.
http://www.westernjournalism.com/uncovered-muslim-brotherhood-documents-put-obama-prison/
HonorFirst………..
Among the first things a seaman learns is how to steer a ship. He learns that by watching his wake. If it looks like a snake then he is not experienced enough. But when the Captain of the ship doesn't even know what the helm is for, then he is a Pi$$ poor sailor in general. The WACKY HOUSE seems to have such a CAPTAIN, because his wake is looking like a circle, instead of a straight line.
Jonah | August 31, 2013 at 6:10 pm |
So Obama now decides to seek Congressional authorization for use of force in Syria. Do you think that this letter signed by 116 members of Congress urging him to seek Congressional authorization before using military force in Syria may have had an effect on his decision to wait ? (for now)
http://rigell.house.gov/uploadedfiles/8.28.13_letter_to_potus_with_signatories.pdf
OBAMA CALLS ON THE KLINGONS FOR HELP IN SYRIA…..
I just report this stuff…I don't write it..
.I report, you decide…lol
RS: Bolton: Obama Credibility Irreparably Damaged; World
Needs To Know US Can Be Reinstated With Real President
http://obamareleaseyourrecords.blogspot.com/2013/08/bolton-obama-credibility-irreparably-damaged.html
Observer | August 31, 2013 at 7:03 pm |
Meanwhile he's got our military sitting around waiting for their wussie golf playing silly boy to get his act together while being surrounded by the enemy convinced that they can get away with murder and tempted now to get world recognition by firing upon their "great Satan's" fighting force. And this could continue with them looking like a symbol of our hurry up and wait weak policies for, what did he say, maybe a month? Obama's the fool while making us and our great ones look foolish.
Yes, this will be another chance, after all of this confusion, for him to blame Congress. Forget impeachment. Try commitment to a home for the sociopathic mentally disturbed.
Remember this?:
Flashback 2007: As Bush Admin Tries To Isolate Syria, Pelosi Meets With Assad, Undermining U.S. Position
http://weaselzippers.us/2013/08/31/flashback-2007-as-bush-admin-tries-to-isolate-syria-pelosi-meets-with-assad-undermining-u-s-position/
Parties now going on in Damascus knowing they won't be attacked! "Americans have lost the battle even before it started. President Obama has blinked"!
This is such an opportunity for Repubs to humiliate this jerk the way the Alinsky method has been so often utilized by the other side….so easy now, but so dumb our reps!
Seen this? …..and Zero enjoys sending these types of refugees back into harm's way while, well, you know about all the others flooding in, getting part of "Obama's stash" for all those illegal votes when the time comes:
Really scary and reminding us of times past.
The perils of homeschooling: German police storm home, seize four children
http://dailycaller.com/2013/08/31/the-perils-of-homeschooling-german-police-storm-home-seize-four-children/
SueK | August 31, 2013 at 7:51 pm |
Just received this in an e-mail from our old friend, Helen, at the T-Room. Please take a few minutes to read the report and follow some of the links she provides; this will make the whys and wherefores of the Syrian situation a bit clearer.
http://www.t-room.us/2013/08/evidence-of-american-war-crimes-likely-target-in-syria/
http://www.t-room.us/
68truthseeker | August 31, 2013 at 8:31 pm |
Anti-White DHS Employee Calls Obama A 'Mulatto Faggot'
hapnHal | August 31, 2013 at 8:35 pm |
Breaking August 29, 2013
Whats up with Joe? Impeach Obama!
http://www.tpnn.com/breaking-joe-biden-calls-for-impeachment-if-president-takes-nation-to-war-without-congressional-approval/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=breaking-joe-biden-calls-for-impeachment-if-president-takes-nation-to-war-without-congressional-approval
SueQ | September 1, 2013 at 9:02 am |
There is a headline on Drudge with a picture of O with his foot on the desk in the oval office while taking a phone call. I know that this could have been a photo from his archive (therefore not recent, and probably intended to provoke a reaction) but it angers me that he treats the People's house in such a fashion. It is so disrespectful of our heritage. I can't help but take it personally.
Btw, good morning.
William | September 1, 2013 at 9:26 am |
Good morning CW et. al,
Anyone remember this? I do.. Where's the media?
Five years ago this coming Wednesday, House Majority leader Nancy Pelosi defied President Bush's request and his strategy isolating Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad by going to Damascus. "We do not encourage and, in fact, we discourage members of Congress to make such visits to Syria," the White House spokesman said. "This is a country that is a state sponsor of terror."
Pelosi would have none of that. She had known evil and to her, he resided in the White House. The Syrian dictator, however, was a reforming, Western educated eye doctor. Bilateral problems might be real, but they might be resolved through dialogue. "We came in friendship, hope, and determined that the road to Damascus is a road to peace," she told reporters.
The Syrian regime used her meeting to its full propaganda advantage. After concluding his meeting with Pelosi, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, said, "These people in the United States who are opposing dialogue I tell them one thing: Dialogue is … the only method to close the gap existing between two countries." Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Pelosi, Syrian officers and North Korean scientists scrambled to put the finishing touches on a covert nuclear facility, and Syrian dissidents dove for cover, interpreting correctly that Assad would interpret the end of America's isolation of Assad as a green light for murder. Assad, in hindsight, welcomed Pelosi not as a politician with whom to have sincere dialogue, but rather as a useful idiot who might help relieve him of international pressure.
Five years later, Bashar al-Assad has not changed and, alas, neither has Nancy Pelosi!
oldsailor81 | September 1, 2013 at 10:10 am |
William………..
I discovered recently that the ICC "Rome Statute" was never signed by the US,China,Iraq,and four other countries. But that alone does not necessarily make the leaders of the abstaining countries immune from prosecution….rather it becomes a little more difficult to do is all. The "aggression" portion of the Rome Statute does not kick in until 2017. Yes the US "UNSIGNED" the statute which the administration thinks makes them immune from prosecution for an act of war against another country.
So it would be conceiveable that next to nothing would happen to Soetoro if a complaining country filed charges against him at the ICC for doing a hostile act against them…….at least until 2017!
I went to the T ROOM as Suek invited us to do. While there is a mountain of information there which makes sense,but in spite of myself I still have reservations regarding the T room viewpoint. Right now I have to see a lot more before I change my view. Right now I still lean towards the viewpoint which RMINNC posted. His viewpoint makes even MORE SENSE.
William | September 1, 2013 at 10:32 am |
What the U.S. News will not show, Syrian rebels are the ones guilty of using chemical weapons in order to gain world sympathy, they know they cannot defeat Assad alone.
http://www.wnd.com/2013/08/video-shows-rebels-launching-gas-attack-in-syria/#ooid=wwOGh5ZDqD2qIzwvN5eV5OsMcThwN2bZ
bob strauss | September 1, 2013 at 11:53 am |
But would you really expect anything else, given the fact that Obama is not eligible himself?!?!
IRS Obstructs Efforts To Stop Illegals From Fraudulent Use Of #SSNs
An audit report published this month by the inspector general for the Social Security Administration says that the Internal Revenue Service's reluctance to penalize employers who consistently file W-2s on which the Social Security Number and name do not match.
http://www.westernjournalism.com/irs-obstructs-efforts-stop-illegals-fraudulent-use-ssns/
This is going crazy viral.
See what a couple anonymous members of the armed forces have to say to Obama about Syria…
http://www.ijreview.com/2013/08/76367-viral-facebook-post-didnt-join-navy-fight-al-qaeda-syria/
RMinNC | September 1, 2013 at 2:07 pm |
Thank you for your vote of confidence in my assessment of the Middle East problem…….
If anyone would only stop and think about it for a moment or two, the whole question of that area can be boiled down into one simple question:
Who is going to eventually gain control of the Muslim population in the Middle East…, the Sunni sect, or the Shiite sect of the Islamic religion?
And don't ever forget… money is at the base of who will eventually win.
The Sunni's (Saudi Arabia) is supporting the rebel forces along with the US, France, England and all the other NATO countries…..REMEMBER, at the present time all the oil for Europe, or most of it, is being supplied by Saudi Arabia.
Iran and Syria are Shiite sect countries. They are allies and have planned the biggest oil pipeline projects in the history of that region for completion by 2014..When this pipeline is completed, it will damage Saudi Arabia's political and economic influence in the middle eastern oil business.
The real kicker of this is that Syria and Iran want to end the US dollar as the controlling factor in the oil business……
If that pipeline is completed as Syria and Iran plan, the major share of middle eastern energy being supplied to Europe will be through that pipeline……
You must also remember that Egypt had a pipeline problem right before Obama decided that a "regime change" was in order…..just where that pipeline problem stands, since the Muslim Brotherhood is out, is anyone guess.
So having said all the above….Obama doesn't really give a damn about the health and welfare of the people of Syria…it's all about what Islamic religious sect will finally control the middle east…Sunni or Shiite…..and what form of payment will be accepted for the energy that will be flowing through that pipeline into Europe…..
That in a nutshell is what the problem in Syria is about. The dead babies and crying women we see on television is only window dressing to gain our emotions in support for whatever Obama wants to do in that region.
Do not think.I am no fan of Assad's, or of the rebels…I think both sides in this civil war want to bring suffering and harm to the people of that country, if it will in the long run, give them control of the country..
Since the United States, long ago, put all her eggs in the Saudi Arabian basket…and Saudi Arabia bought into the Petro dollar (US dollar), America has no choice in who we will support in this Islamic dogfight….Russia on the other hand has little, or no, choice either in what side they support.. Russia and China have long wanted to wanted to see an end of the US dollar as the world currency
If Obama and his NATO partners can get rid of Assad, and put a Muslim Brotherhood (Sunni) rebel government in place there….their next target will be IRAN, …..that will be the last Sunni sect government to fall…..but if they fai in this undertaking……
The Shiite sect of the Islamic religion will become the power house to deal with…and they are not dealing NATO and the United States any cards from their deck….
The US dollar will fall…America will be in serious financial problems…..and our creditors will come calling….
Act three will be ending….the play is over.
IT'S ALL ABOUT MONEY….AND MONEY SPELLS CONTROL
CORRECTION…..
sometimes my fingers type faster than my little mind can keep up with….I'm sorry for any errors made, but we are afterall human…
In my last post I said. ".their next target will be IRAN, …..that will be the last Sunni sect government to fall…."
That is in error…it should have read, "their last target will be IRAN…that will be the last Shiite sect government to fall…".
sorry bout that.
cabbyaz | September 1, 2013 at 2:28 pm |
RM,
You make a very good argument, my friend, and it is plausible in many ways, but personally I believe that it is wrong to put so much emphasis on the Sunni/Shia antagonism in this Syrian matter. The Islamists have never gotten along, in fact, even before Islam existed, the Arabs were always fighting among themselves. (Of course, Iranians are Persian, not Arabs, but the entire Middle East has always been a hot-bed.)
There is one thing that will unify all of Islam, and that is their hatred of Israel and plans for her destruction. I doubt very much that there would be only one sect standing (Sunni/Shia) in any event. In others words, they both will be around for a long time.
CABBYAZ……
thank you for the compliment, but my position is not an original one….all anyone needs to do it type in their search enhin e; Iranian/Syrian pipeline and an awful lot of reference articles will come up…….
In June of 2011, Iran and Syria signed an agreement to build this 10 billion dollar pipeline along with refineries , etc…..if you will remember it was about this time also that all the uprising problems began in that region.
I think you misunderstood my position on the two sects of Islam. You said, "I doubt very much that there would be only one sect standing (Sunni/Shia) in any event. In others words, they both will be around for a long time." I agree with you on that point…there will always be a Sunni and Shiite sect of Islam, but which sect will be dominate? That is the question.
But my point is that it will be Iran and Iran's oil and natural gas that will be the dominate force in the middle east within the next five years……especially after this pipeline is completed. An that's Shiite control.
In the past, it has always been Saudi Arabia who has been the dominate force in that area, because it was this country that was supplying all the energy for Europe…..with this new pipeline, all that will change.
But the divisions in the Islamic world among the nations of Iran. Syria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and all the other Arab nations have come about because of divisions in the Islamic sects….or at least thats how I see it.
But the bottom line is, and always has been , who ever controls the oil, controls the money….and who ever controls the money, controls the people…..regardless of their religious beliefs.
So…as I see it….with Sunni Saudi Arabia being threatened by this new pipeline, and America threatened by their support for Saudi Arabia, and Iran and Syria holding the keys to new energy sources in that area….war is going to happen to establish the control of these new found resources.
Yes, these different sects of Islam have been fighting for over 4000 years and yes, I agree with you that they will be fighting for the next 4000 years if this old world stands that long, but there will be many changes to who will step forward and challenge Saudi Arabia's influence and control they currently have.
This is just my opinion…but you have to admit it sounds logical
bob strauss | September 1, 2013 at 3:56 pm |
Obama: Sex Ed For Kindergartners "Is The Right Thing To Do"
The Chicago Public Schools this year are mandating that the district's kindergarten classes include sex education, fulfilling a proposal President Barack Obama supported in 2003 when he served in the Illinois state senate and later defended when he ran for president.
http://www.westernjournalism.com/obama-sex-ed-kindergartners-right-thing/
This letter was sent to Dave Hodges and Common Sense by a Syrian mother of two who is tired of all the killing in her country. She makes many good points in the letter…Recommended reading for all.
Close you eyes and pretend it was a mother in Kansas City writing the letter….then you will get the full impact of what she says.
A LETTER FROM A SYRIAN MOTHER
"I am Syrian and a mother. since about 2 years, this proxy war installed by the USA and her western, Turkish and Arab lackeys, is devastating my homeland and killing my people. I have lost several friends. Your mercenaries shot at me and I got wounded. Some days ago, my daughter, aged 15, said, it was better we'd die now rather than suffering the rest of our lifetime as she expects this war won't end. What shall I say to her, at the eve of a huge war to come? That life can be nice, in case the greedy US-Imperialism would allow you to live? Can you really imagine how life is for a 15 years old teenager seeing bodies in the streets and destruction and displaced people and hearing the shells of the terrorists exploding and the cries of the wounded and the noise of grenades and shooting all day, 24/7?????"
"…with all due respect, in all your words I do not see any concern about the lives of Syrian women, children and men which are threatened and taken away here by your mercenaries of al-Qaeda. Don't we count? Are we worthless?"
And, please, Sir! do not name Assad that negatively, recognizing that even your CIA had to admit (and reported it) that he has the utter loyalty of about 70 percent of the Syrian people – how much support can Obama gain in the USA? So are we Syrians dumb to follow a 'dictator'? No – we are united with our families, friends, our sons and husbands serving in our army to DEFEND our homeland. Every US-American would do the same if the USA was attacked. And we stand with our president as we realized he does his duty to defend his people. You do not need to be a fan of someone in order to be fair.
"Apart from that, I am optimistic that we Syrians already have won the war against you – by all evidence of high moral, dignity and the persistent will to defend our nation. We Syrians show the world that resistance against the Evil can work and in any case will help you to preserve your dignity."
"…please just invest a minute to think about it as if all this would happen to you, your homeland, your family, your friends – what would you do?"
"So, by telling you all this, I just want you to know that Syria is defending not only her homeland and her families but all the values that make her. If we Syrians loose our values, our history, our civilization, we were dead. You can kill us all but you will never see us kneeling in front of you."
Regards from a Syrian female, mother, patriot (temporarily staying in Europe)
How do you answer a letter like this?….who is right and who is wrong?
The last sentence is the most powerful of this letter….."You can kill us all but you will never see us kneeling in front of you."…Is that what America really wants…for Syria to kneel before the world?
Lord, I hope that isn't our reasons for warring against Syria. If it is, God's punishment will be very harsh.
Hacked Email Of U.S.Army Intelligence Colonel Indicates Pentagon Involvement In Chemical Attack In Syria
"This proves that the chemical attack was indeed a false flag operation."
The situation in Syria is still in the focus of world media. Experts predict another U.S. aggression for "human rights". Washington regularly declares its readiness to attack Syria. The official version – to punish al-Assad and Syrian army for the use of chemical weapons against the civilian population.
Meanwhile, the media has spread new proofs of the U.S. intelligence involvement (in the recent) chemical attack near Damascus.
Hacker got access to U.S. intelligence correspondence and published U.S. Army Col. ANTHONY J. MACDONALD's email. Macdonald is the General Staff Director, Operations and Plans Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence on the Army Staff. It's about chemical attack in Syria.
In the message (dated) August 22 Eugene Furst, congratulates Colonel MacDonald on the successful operation and refers him to a Washington Post publication about the chemical attack in Syria.
From the dialog of Col Anthony's wife with her friend, it's clear the video with the children killed in the chemical attack near Damascus was staged by U.S. Intelligence.
This is a huge coup for the people. This proves that the chemical attack was indeed a false flag operation. Thank you hackers and hacktivists for this. You are what the media should be, you are an affront to government, you keep them in check. You are the new journalists. Journalists of the 21st century. More to this story as it becomes available. I'm blown away.. -Mort
Please NOTE that this story appeared in the DAILY RECORD, a United Kingdom publication…..you will NEVER see a story like this in any US press, or on any US television broadcast….
This story raise serious questions,… but unfortunately they will never be answered
GUESS WHO IS THE ONLY ARAB COUNTRY THAT BACKS A US STRIKE ON SYRIA?…….IF YOU SAID, …SAUDI ARABIA, YOU ARE CORRECT
WASHINGTON NEWS.
Sunday night 9/1/2013
WASHINGTON — Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal called on the international community Sunday to take action against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, giving a boost to President Barack Obama's goal of assembling a multinational coalition to intervene in the conflict.
Al-Faisal said Saudi Arabia would back a U.S. strike on Syrian government targets, provided the military intervention was "the will of the Syrian people."
Of course it will be "the will of the Syrian people" if the US decrees it. So far, Saudi Arabia is the ONLY Arab country to back Mr.Obama's action.
GORDO | September 1, 2013 at 8:00 pm |
SueQ – 9:02 am —
"There is a headline on Drudge with a picture of O with his foot on the desk in the oval office while taking a phone call. …"
Beckwith of "The Obama File":
"The arrogant Obama demonstrates his disrespect for America"
"This man is an ignorant and unmitigated boor.
That is the "Resolute Desk" he has his foot on. It's a national treasure.
It is made from the timbers of the British Frigate HMS Resolute and given as a gift to the United States by Queen Victoria in 1856. It's been used by many presidents, including Franklin D. Roosevelt and every chief executive since Jimmy Carter, but it is perhaps best known for this: [go to link]"
http://theobamafile.websitetoolbox.com/post/show_single_post?pid=1279351767&postcount=19
Comments at wtpotus:
What A Hoot:
"Interesting comment form the link.
" Gary Thomsen August 12, 2013 at 8:19 pm #
In regard to the many pictures of Obama with his feet on our desk or other pieces of our furniture: when I was stationed in a muslim country during my time in the Air Force, part of our indoctrination before we were allowed into the country was, and I quote, "Never let one of the natives see the bottom of your shoe. It is a deadly insult and will result in your being physically assaulted, probably with a knife. Blood must be shed to avenge this insult." Take another look at the pictures of Obama with his feet on our desk and the smarmy look on his face. I know who he is insulting and I don't like it.""
http://wtpotus.wordpress.com/2013/08/14/its-a-celebration-open-thread/comment-page-2/#comment-121054
Miri:
"Way back when Barry FIRST put his feet up on the Oval Office desk, WE pointed out that he was giving a big Muslim DISS to We the People."
"BREAKTHROUGH: COPS IDENTIFY RACE OF SUSPECTS
Police now describing mob violence perpetrators as 'African American'"
"Black mob violence is back in Minneapolis.
Some say it never stopped, and if you depend on the local newspaper for information, you might think it never started. But Minneapolis police recently issued a "crime alert" for the downtown area following a rash of mob robberies and assaults.
According to City Paper:
"What we're seeing in this pattern is victims walking downtown by themselves on a sidewalk outside, and they're approached by a group of three to five African American males," MPD spokeswoman Cyndi Barrington told City Pages.
"The average age range of the [suspects] is late teens to early 20s. Victims are punched and pushed to the ground, and their phones and wallets are taken."
It appears to be a change in policy for police to identify the members of the mobs by race. Last year, a slightly indignant spokesman for the police department told WND that race had nothing to do more than 20 episodes of black mob violence in downtown Minneapolis.
"We don't keep track of arrestees by race," said police spokesman William Palmer. "And frankly, no, it doesn't matter. We arrest and prepare criminal cases for consideration of prosecution for those people who choose to break the law. Race has nothing to do with it."
Black mobs routinely terrorize cities across the country, but the media and government are silent."
http://www.wnd.com/2013/09/breakthrough-cops-identify-race-of-suspects/
Observer | September 1, 2013 at 9:21 pm |
British Intel: Syrian Army Commander Told Officers to Fire WMD or Face Firing Squad
A report from Daily Express states British senior intelligence officials have intercepted communication between Syrian chemical weapons units and the Syrian Army proving they ordered the sarin gas attack. An artillery captain ordered an officer to fire the chemical weapons or face a firing squad. –
In one heated exchange, a regional commander was overheard demanding the captain of an artillery battery in a Government-held suburb of Damascus to fire chemical shells. When the officer protested, he was told "in direct terms" that failure to comply would result in him facing a firing squad, and the chemical weapons were then fired.
The dramatic revelation, disclosed by a high-placed RAF source, came as the defiant Syrian government declared it was "fully ready" with "its finger on the trigger" for an expected US attack.
…Last night the senior RAF officer said: "The commander of the artillery battery told the regional commander that he would not comply and there was a heated exchange. He was told in direct language that unless the order was carried out, he would be shot. A total of 27 chemical artillery shells were then fired at the suburb in a 14-minute period."
The conversation was monitored and recorded by British officers based at the remote mountain-top RAF Troodos Signals Intelligence listening post in Cyprus and within minutes details of the conversation had been relayed to GCHQ, Whitehall and the Pentagon. –
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/#sthash.rGTMC1ah.dpuf
hapnHal | September 1, 2013 at 10:38 pm |
Has anyone heard from President (?) Hillary on the Syria matter?
http://www.buzzfeed.com/rubycramer/hillary-clinton-stays-quiet-on-syria
I think people are being too hard on Obama. What Obama needs at this time is understanding and love. Regie Love that is!
Pete | September 2, 2013 at 7:46 am |
CitizenWells,
I think the problem with Obama and Syria are legion. First, Obama has lost credibility due to his multiple lies in the past. Even if the intelligence was accurate, many no longer trust Obama. Second, where did the gas come from and the delivery system (the shell). We are days into it, and yet a simple explanation for the Sarin gas shell creation and delivery has not been forthcoming. Third, expansion of domestic payouts to non-contributors has created a 'crisis' of debt and federal funds, there just isn't money for world wide police state enforcement. Fourth, Obama is reluctant to deal with the political fallout of his decision to intervene in Syria on both a domestically and foreign. Fifth, the public is weary of wars and leaders whom have no goals or understanding or fortitude to see them through to victory. Syria's comparison to Vietnam is real, we have no national interest there. Finally, America's manufacturing and production weakness will be felt on an international level, this is the problem with the redistribution of power and leadership that Obama represents both economically and militarily. The American people and government can no longer 'do the right thing' because we struggle to support those whom will not support themselves (the burden of the truly elderly, frail, and sick are not the problem). Chaos (Cloward-Priven) induced by bad management of social support systems has downstream effects that Obama is experiencing with Syria.
The truth is, American no longer has the resources, international credibility, or fortitude to pursue a prolonged conflict in Syria or adapt to the Russian/Chinese response. This is the legacy of Obama and the democrats. Their hate for America, their quest to remove it from superpower status, has implications upon quelling inevitable worldwide horrors.
Thank you Obama and Democrats, your blind HATE of good Americans and Patriots will now condemn billions of lives, present and future, to untold misery. This is your legacy, stare into the faces of the dead gas victims and understand that I blame you for creating an impotent American government, that has been the light of civilization since Hitler came to power. This is the Hope and Change that you sold to American's and to the world.
HonorFirst | September 2, 2013 at 8:57 am |
good article: Calling it Treason
http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/09/calling_it_treason.html
citizenwells | September 2, 2013 at 8:59 am |
Well put, Pete.
RMinNC | September 2, 2013 at 9:13 am |
BOMBSHELL ARTICLE LINKS SAUDI ARABIA TO GAS ATTACK
If accurate, this story could completely derail the United States' rush to attack Syria which has been founded on the "undeniable" justification that Assad was behind the chemical weapons attack. Dale Gavlak's credibility is very impressive. He has been a Middle East correspondent for the Associated Press for two decades and has also worked for National Public Radio (NPR) and written articles forBBC News.
The website on which the story originally appeared – Mint Press (which is currently down as a result of huge traffic it is attracting to the article) is a legitimate media organization based in Minnesota. The Minnesota Post did a profile on them last year.
Saudi Arabia's alleged role in providing rebels, whom they have vehemently backed at every turn, with chemical weapons, is no surprise given the revelations earlier this week that the Saudis threatened Russia with terror attacks at next year's Winter Olympics in Sochi unless they abandoned support for the Syrian President.
"I can give you a guarantee to protect the Winter Olympics next year. The Chechen groups that threaten the security of the games are controlled by us," Prince Bandar allegedly told Vladimir Putin, the Telegraph reports.
The Obama administration is set to present its intelligence findings today in an effort prove that Assad's forces were behind last week's attack, despite American officials admitting to the New York Times that there is no "smoking gun" that directly links President Assad to the attack.
Yet you WILL NOT read or hear a single word about the involvement of Saudi Arabia in this gas attack in ANY American newspaper or on any American Television………Saudi Arabia is up to it's eyeballs in this mess in Syria……….isn't it time someone ask WHY?
Silly question on my part…. we all know why….Saudi Arabia is THAT ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM that no one is suppose to see.
CABBYAZ….my friend in Arizona…….
i see where your Senator, the less than honorable. John McCain has been invited to the white House to chumb up with Obama over Syria…..I don't know what your feeling are about Mr. McCain,… but he sickens me.
He has no backbone of his own, and is more than willing to give up everyone else's to appease Mr. Obama……..Yes, yes… I know he was a POW in Vietnam…so were many many others who did not turn their back on this country when they came home……
Having spent three years in that country, I feel like I have every right to state my position on the Senator from Arizona, who needs to retire and leave politics to someone with the real interest of America at heart…
John McCain will got to the WH today, bow at the feet of Obama, as he did in the last election….then come outside and praise Mr. Obama to the highest heaven for his efforts to bring real war to Syria………
Is this really what we want out of the leader of the opposition…complete compliance to whatever the idiot in office demands?
I think not…..I have NO RESPECT whatsoever for McCain…he sold his soul a long long time ago to the devil…now he must live with that fact.
I sure hope you are not a real big fan of John McCain's…if so, I make no apologies for my remarks.


text:
Web.com acquires Kiwi registrar Freeparking
Kevin Murphy, November 9, 2020, Domain Registrars
Web.com has acquired what it calls New Zealand's largest registrar, Freeparking.
Freeparking, not to be confused with other registrars of the same name, was part of the Umbrellar Group of web services companies.
According to Web.com, its new buy has 90,000 unique customers under management.
The company, which also owns the likes of Register.com and Network Solutions, said the acquisition is part of its strategy to expand in the Asia-Pacific region.
Freeparking also owns the Open Host, Domains4less and Discount Domains brand registrars. It also appears to be a Tucows reseller.
No financial details of the deal were announced. Web.com was taken private two years ago by private equity firm Siris Capital.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


If you own an investment property in Buderim, it may be time to check if you are receiving the highest possible rent through your Buderim property management department. More often than not, investors are being kept in the dark to avoid disturbing the tenancy, when they could actually be pocketing $20, $30 or even $50 a week more.
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The first part of the study offers an overview of marriages arranged between evangelical noblemen and noblewomen owning estates in Southern and South-Western Moravia during the last quarter of the 16th and first two decades of the 17th centuries. These were mostly members of five lordly families three of whom participated in forming evangelical church code passed in October 1576 during a diet of Moravian evangelical nobility and clergy from their manors held in Velké Meziříčí. The overview reveals that exactly the marriages served to consolidate inner solidarity of this fraction in which the noble families of Meziříčský of Lomnice, Brtnický of Valdštejn were together with the families of Hardegg, Thurn and Tiefenbach. The second part of the text analyses the wedding performed between Zikmund of Tiefenbach and Kateřina Meziříčská of Lomnice in September 1607. Since this marriage was arranged in spite of the ban of the sovereign, who preferred a catholic suitor in struggle for the bride and her inheritance after the family of Meziříčský of Lomnice, there followed a thorough investigation of circumstances under which the preceding engagement had been taken and also the marriage ceremony of both protestant spouses itself at the turn of years 1607 and 1608. Together with the procedural aspects of the litigation, which was terminated by the peace treaty of Libeň between Rudolf II and Mathias of Habsburg in June 1608 and the death of Kateřina Tiefenbach of Lomnice during the following year, the attention is further drawn to the argumentation which both sides used during hearings at the Royal Council.
In year 1603 in Bohemia there settled Jan Bernard Baron of Fünfkirchen, an Austrian nobleman, who bought manors Mladá Vožice and Šelmberk from Jáchym Španovský of Lisov. Because of the Bohemian Land Law prohibiting the selling of Land table estates to foreigners, Jan Bernard had to formally gain Bohemian residential right (incolatus). The foreigners were chartered this right of entry by the Land Diet, but Jan Bernard was not in legal terms a true foreigner because he had formerly gained some property in Silesia as a subsidiary land of the Bohemian Crown. That is why he did not have to pass the entrance procedure, but it was sufficient for him to seal so called "reverse to the Land" and perform its declaration at the Land table office. In year 1617 Jan Bernard asked the Land table office for the extract of table entry (intabulation) of his declaration to the land. In consequence of this there was found out that a table registrar Daniel Kryštof Chrudimský accepted his subscription fee indeed, but in fact he did not execute that. So the Baron of Fünfkirchen had to declare to the Land again and the High Land Court formulated on this occasion a new general resolution concerning the settling of new inhabitants of subsidiary lands of the Bohemian Crown in Bohemia which should have prevented similar mistakes in the following times. This resolution was addressed to Land table officers though and therefore it was not juridical in this respect but only served as an internal regulation. Nevertheless, it represented a significant intervention in legal practice which was concerning the legal institute of residential right and became an object of relatively intensive normative interests of Land Diets at the beginning of the 17th century.
The article discusses the changes in reading practices of monks in the Melk monastery under the impact of the Enlightenment. Melk was a famous Benedictine monastery. The author bases his conclusions on the research in the libraries and on sources related to book culture. It demonstrates that daily life and intellectual culture of the monks did not correspond with the traditional cliché of "enemies of the Enlightenment".
This article sets out an overview of my doctoral project entitled "A Story of Benign Neglect" – The American Founding and the Habsburg Monarchy, 1776-1789 which investigates and brings to attention the diplomatic, economic and intellectual relationships between the Habsburg Monarchy and the newly declared United States. Below a section of this doctoral work examines the first interaction of the Americans with the Habsburg Monarchy with the mission of William Lee to Vienna in the spring of 1778. Through this example, along with the numerous encounters in the rest of the period, I hope to reveal new insights into the wider founding of the United States and present a more globally entangled vision of the Habsburg Monarchy in the eighteenth century. My doctoral project aims to recover this rich but sadly neglected story of international relations in the "Age of Revolutions".
The article strives to compare the institution of godparenthood and tutelage on the example of 1056 orphaned children in years 1785-1855 in Nový Rychnov region based on a premise that both functions were aimed at guaranteeing upbringing of the orphans and its representatives ought to substitute in a way the deceased parents. The research proved that the godparents only rarely took over the legal liability for their godchildren, however both groups of the representatives of orphaned children were characterised by similar features. There prevailed persons living in the closest surroundings of the orphans, in both cases these were often close relatives, mostly the siblings of their parents. The cousinship of the tutors had been preferred already in the Early Modern Age; the familiarization of godparenthood has been perceived as one of the characteristic features of the change of relationships in the 19th century. During christenings the godfather and godmother acted as equal partners who in overwhelming majority of cases formed a married couple. However, only the mothers, or respectively sisters of the orphans could become their women tutors. In case of unrelated tutors there were usually appointed representatives of local government or reputable neighbours. Among spiritual relatives there slightly prevailed persons of social status similar to the parents of a particular child. Only several families chose habitual godfathers from locally well-known people. The parents' selection of godparents usually served to deepen existing friendships; the elective godparenthood through which each child had a different godparent was rare. The siblings of one family used to have also the same tutor.
Diplomatic relations between the Spanish monarchy and the northern parts of the Holy Roman Empire during the reign of Charles II.
The presented study introduces theses of doctoral project focused on extending the knowledge of international relations between the Monarchy of Spain and northern parts of the Holy Roman Empire – Brandenburg-Preußen, Braunschweig-Lünenburg, the Hansa towns – during the reign of Charles II. The author will research the formations of social networks at Madrid Royal Court on the basis of diplomatic activities of particular imperial emissaries to Madrid. There will not be neglected also questioning the existence of so called "German" faction at the court and outlining the cooperation among the mentioned emissaries and ambassadors of Leopold I of Habsburg. Contemporaneously, the author will concern about the way in which the noblemen from the Holy Roman Empire reflected their long-term stay on the Iberian Peninsula. There will further be researched social and ceremonial performances which the mentioned persons participated in regularly. In its heuristic stage the author will use rich source bases, especially documents preserved in Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz Berlin, Niedersächsisches Landesarchiv Hannover, Archiv der Hansestadt Lübeck, Archivo General de Simancas, Haus- Hof- und Staatsarchiv Wien.
The article presents the life and methods of John G. Pocock, the famous representative of the Cambridge school of history of ideas. The introductory text sketches the development of his thoughts and explains in which ways he responded to the challenges of the present political world. Finally, Pocock´s method is demonstrated by a commented excerpt from his recent article on the conservative Enlightenment.


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Bloomberg CME Group
Dealing rooms Trade execution Depositories Fixed income and OTC derivatives
Bloomberg creates NDF clearing link from FXGO to CME Group
Bloomberg executives today announced the industry's first integration between a foreign exchange (FX) trading platform and a clearinghouse for clearing of non-deliverable forwards (NDFs).
The connectivity was established to prepare for the mandatory clearing of over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives traded on swap execution facilities (SEFs).
The NDF trades were electronically executed via Bloomberg's Foreign Exchange platform FXGO, available on the Bloomberg Professional service. Bloomberg clients traded over FXGO and the transactions were cleared through clearing brokers at CME Group. Bloomberg intends to register with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as a SEF.
"These trades are a clear signal to our customers, especially buy-side firms, that we are ready, willing and able to help them comply with any upcoming regulations," said Tod Van Name, global head of Bloomberg's FX business. "Our strong base of NDF liquidity providers on FXGO and our voice confirmation system (VCON) means clients will have a single, seamless system for OTC derivatives trading ready whenever they need it."
Michael O'Connell, CME Clearing's Managing Director, said, "As the leading clearinghouse for straight through processing (STP) of OTC derivatives, CME's open standard API has helped platforms such as Bloomberg send trades directly to a CCP, thereby facilitating scalable OTC-cleared trading. We look forward to developing standard trade processes and enhancing our OTC offering, especially since FX is a growing market."
Bloomberg FXGO provides a commission-free electronic trading platform for counterparties to execute spot, outright, swap, NDF, deposit and option transactions. Subscribers to the Bloomberg Professional service, the leading platform for business and financial professionals, can access Bloomberg FXGO by typing {FXGO}.


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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Lenzbach ist ein Gewässernamen:

 Lenzbach (Girnitz), linker Zufluss der Girnitz gegenüber Pauschendorf, Markt Floß, Landkreis Neustadt an der Waldnaab, Bayern
 Lenzbach oder Bickerather Bach oder Ochsenbach, linker Zufluss der Kall gegenüber Bickerath, Gemeinde Simmerath, Städteregion Aachen, Nordrhein-Westfalen
 Lenzbach (Krameterbach), rechter Zufluss des Krameterbaches, Kainach bei Voitsberg, Bezirk Voitsberg, Steiermark
 Lenzbach oder Lenzenbach (Steinach), rechter Zufluss der Steinach vor der Haumühle von Heiligkreuzsteinach, Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, Baden-Württemberg

Lenzbach bezeichnet außerdem:
 Lenzbach (Simmerath), Naturschutzgebiet in der Talmulde des Bickerather Bachs, Gemeinde Simmerath, Städteregion Aachen, Nordrhein-Westfalen

Siehe auch:
 Lensbach
 Lenzenbach

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Tourism Australia and The Cru won Best PR-Led Brand Partnership Campaign for the World's 50 Best Restaurants 2017 campaign at the Mumbrella CommsCon Awards last week.
Australia was only the second destination outside of London to host The World's 50 Best Restaurants.
Tourism Australia worked closely with event organisers William Reed Business Media on the official event program of 11 events, which ran from 1-8 April 2017, as well as with host state Visit Victoria and all other State and Territory Organisations to deliver a hosted national famil program.
The events left a strong and lasting impression on the international audience of chefs, restaurateurs, winemakers, sommeliers and media, generating positive results for tourism.


Nuts can be a very nutritious food but must be properly prepared for us to obtain all of their beneficial nutrients. Nuts contain phytic acid and other enzyme inhibitors which act as anti-nutrients. These anti-nutrients serve as a protection to the nuts to keep them from sprouting prematurely. By soaking the nuts, we trick them into thinking it is time for them to sprout. (they think they are in the ground ready to grow into a tree or bush) Once the anti-nutrients are neutralized, our bodies can digest and absorb all of their wonderful nutrients including vitamins E and C and many minerals. After soaking, the nuts can be dehydrated at 150° F or less (any hotter and the beneficial enzymes are destroyed) to make them crisp.
Add all ingredients to a large bowl. Enough water should be used to double the size of the nuts since the nuts will expand when hydrated. Stir the mixture until the salt is dissolved. Leave the mixture to soak at least 7 hours or overnight.
If you are lucky enough to have an oven that warms to only 150° F, then you may dehydrate your nuts in the oven by spreading them out on a cookie sheet and dehydrating in the oven. Dehydrate for 12-24 hours, stirring once or twice until crisp.
If you do not have the ability to dehydrate in your oven at 150° F, then you can use a dehydrator. Just spread them out evenly on several trays without letting them touch each other. Dehydrate for 24 hours or until crisp.
Store nuts in an airtight container at room temperature. Exception- walnuts should be stored in the refrigerator as they go rancid more quickly at room temperature.


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Here We Go Again: Cultural Equity in San Francisco
Home » Arlene's Blog » Activism » Here We Go Again: Cultural Equity in San Francisco
An enduring pattern has been inscribed on the struggle for cultural equity in this country. Those who get the biggest share of funding—them that's got, as Billie Holiday put it—pay lip-service to fairness for those who get crumbs—them that's not. But lip-service is generally the only currency they are willing to shell out. The haves counsel patience: Show up as members of the team, they say. Be part of the united front at budget hearings, go along with our program, and you'll get your reward by and by.
In San Francisco, people are tired of waiting. In March, the Budget Analyst's Office released a study on allocations by Grants for the Arts (funded from San Francisco's hotel tax revenues) to diverse arts organizations—those serving primarily people of color, ethnic minorities, women, and LGBTQ people. The findings show that the proportion of funding to these groups has remained steady for 25 years. For example, an average of 23 percent of the pie has gone to people of color (who now make up 58 percent of the city's population, a figure that has been rising steadily since Grants for the Arts was first created), and 77 percent to largely white organizations.
The city has been promising to address this situation for a long time, but the numbers make it clear that they were more interested in paying lip-service than dollars. Now, advocates for cultural equity have urged the city's Board of Supervisors to add a million dollars to the Arts Commission's Cultural Equity Grants funding pool, created to channel support to the same communities repeatedly short-shrifted by Grants for the Arts. If overall funding won't increase by that much, some say, shift it from Grants to the Arts, which has consistently failed to rise to equity.
In the larger economic scheme of things, those who benefit from the current division of resources typically denounce any critique or counter-proposal as "class warfare," as hi-tech mogul Tom Perkins has been doing in his recent outcries of "war on the one percent," sometimes equating it to the Nazis' persecution of Jews. (Listen to a slightly toned-down Commonwealth Club version.)
Here, too, breaking ranks with the privileged was perceived as a huge violation of The Tacit Agreement (just play nice, go along with the way things are and—honestly, we promise—things will get better down the road), triggering an outraged response from the beneficiaries of the status quo via an advocacy group called Arts Town Hall. "Pitting arts organizations and City agencies against each other won't help solve our bigger problems," they wrote. "We need to work together to find more resources for cultural equity grants—not cut funding for the arts to fund them." They were so outraged, apparently, that they never considered how offensive it would be to refer to these advocates of color, ethnic minorities, and LGBTQ artists as members of a "fringe":
We write to strongly urge you to increase funding for the arts, specifically cultural equity programs. We do not support a divisive and damaging proposal being advanced by fringe members of the arts community that would cut funds from the arts in order to fund the arts.
At the end of 2011, I wrote about an attempt to cut Cultural Equity Grants ("Utterly Clueless: Cultural Policy San Francisco-Style"), contextualizing it with many of these same cultural policy issues, which despite San Francisco's self-proclamation of diversity and progressive values, seem never to be seriously addressed. I'd like to say that things have greatly improved so that what I said two and a half years ago had become obsolete, but sadly, I cannot.
What I can offer is a practical suggestion. If it sounds far-out, I suggest you stop a moment to consider how much you may have internalized the view of the doable promoted by status-quo beneficiaries, a view that exists precisely to reinforce their right to say what can and should be done. (It might help to read Maria X Martinez's elegant post called "Grants for the Restaurants" at the Cultural Equity Matters blog site, which site also features much of the relevant material.)
A Practical Suggestion: Pay Your Debts. Arts advocates who receive the most municipal funding and lead mainstream advocacy efforts have been talking about cultural equity forever, all the while urging the communities that benefit least from the status quo to keep showing up without much to show for it. Now's the time to pay off. If the pie isn't going to get bigger right now, voluntarily surrender part of your slice for Cultural Equity Grants. Go personally to your contacts on red-carpet organizations' boards and get them to meet with Supervisors and stake their political capital on a significant increase earmarked to support cultural equity. Team up with other beneficiaries for the status quo and send a major delegation to both the Supervisors and Grants for the Arts, demanding equity even at a cost to your own funding.
If you don't like pitting arts organizations against each other, stop doing it: line up on the side of right.
You will find links to and summaries of much of the pertinent material at Barry Hessenius's recent blog covering this story. He predicts this scenario:
Demand for equity by the multicultural communities will inevitably grow and put pressure on all funders—and a more equitable distribution of funds will likely mean less funding for the current recipients (it will have to come from somewhere). I think the days when multicultural arts support is its own "special" category are numbered, and the former majority cultural community—at least in certain urban areas, if not everywhere—will find its preferred status over. And as costs of doing business for arts organizations escalate, income decreases and shifts (funding, foundations, other philanthropic support and audiences), we are likely to see more closures and failures by organizations who will become economically nonviable. And all the improvement in our business skills won't likely be enough to "market" our way out of this reality without substantial government support—and that seem problematic at best. This is the tip of the iceberg.
What other music could I offer for this issue? Billie Holiday singing "God Bless The Child."
Them that's got shall have
Them that's not shall lose
So the Bible says and it still is news
June 23, 2014 Arlene Goldbard
← Go Come Back: Culture Is A Bridge and a Fortress
Pro Bono Blues →


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Mall waves sweep across Queen of Arabian Sea
Kochi: The queen of Arabian Sea, Kochi, has been witnessing a sea change over the last one decade with people preferences matching this pace. People of the state had constantly updated themselves with the changing trend in fashion and technology due to the Gulf connection the state had for over four decades.
But it was confined to a limited section when the majority was out of the realms of enjoying the luxury. One such phenomenon that has mesmerised people has been the advent of malls into the port city.
It all started with the launching Oberon Mall having 426,000 sq ft on the Ernakulam Bye pass about eight years back on six acres. Though it was a cold response initially, things started heating up soon. People from other parts of the state started flowing in to have a look at what is in store in the Mall, promoted by Oberon group of
companies. It was here that the multiplex culture took roots.
As Oberon Mall started getting congested, the much talked about Lulu Mall came as a big relief leaving spell bound. Billed as Asia's biggest mall, Lullu Mall at Edappally redefined the concept of shopping and
entertainments.
Set up on 17 acres, it has a total builtup area of 2.5 mn sq ft. The promoters Lulu Group has projects in Thiruvananthapuram, Lucknow, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. As people were yet to get bored with the Lulu Mall, another one came up under the banner 'Central Square Mall' which lured a big section of the crowd from other malls.
Promoted by Kshitij Venture Capital Fund and The Peevees Group, the mall has over 5 lakh sqft area.Though much smaller in size compared to the Lulu Mall, Central Square Mall caters to the need of the people coming from southern side of city like Fort Kochi, Mattanchery and Thevara.
Abad Nucleus Mall at Maradu in the outskirts of the city is a great relief to the people living in the fringes of the city. People who do not prefer to reach city opt out for Abad Mall started by Abad Builders.
Two more mega malls in 'The Forum' and 'Great India Palace' are coming up in the city.The Forum, promoted by the Prestige Group, is popular in Bengaluru. It has been built in over 10 acres with a total builtup area of 17 lakh sq ft with an investment of Rs 800 crore.
The 'Great India Palace', promoted by Unitech, has an investment of over Rs 450 crore,with a up area of 14.5 lakh sq ft.


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Home > Almanac Archive >
Almanac Archive for March 16, 2015
Support Vineyard Conservation
The 23rd Annual
Beach Clean-Up
Join VCS for a great family event and annual tradition. This year we expect to clean over 20 of our beaches -- look for a complete list on our website soon!
If you would like to volunteer, please give us a call at the office (508-693-9588), or email.
"It's really about utilities' fear that solar customers are taking away demand. These customers are installing solar at their own cost and providing a valuable resource: additional electricity for the grid at the times when the utilities need it most. And it's all carbon-free."
Angela Navarro, Southern Environmental Law Center, regarding the ongoing campaign to impose usage fees on owners of rooftop solar panels.
Conservation Calendar
Backyard Mushroom Cultivation
Tuesday, March 17, 1:00 pm, Vineyard Haven
Meeting of the MV Garden Club featuring a guest talk from North Tabor Farm on how to grow your own mushrooms. $10 (free for Garden Club members), at the Wakeman Center on Lambert's Cove Rd.
Free Food and Farming Films
Wednesdays, March 18 and 25, at 6:30 pm, Oak Bluffs
The Farm Project, a high school program from Island Grown Schools, hosts two films on food and agriculture: Greenhorns (Mar 18) and Fed Up (Mar 25). At Alex's Place (YMCA), on the Edg/VH Road. For more info, see Alex's Place.
. . . and Further Farming Films: The Future of Farming
Saturday, March 21, 9:00 am, Chilmark
The MV Film Festival features five short films Saturday morning, telling the story of oyster cultivation on Cape Cod, the Vineyard's own seed library, urban farming in Detroit, an artisan butcher, and hopeful young farmers in Maine. Followed by a farmer's breakfast at the Hay Cafe. More info and tickets at MVFF.
Webinar: Invasive Plant Management
Tuesday, March 24, 1:00 pm
Sustainable Forests Roundtable offers a free one-hour webinar on best management practices for invasives. The course is worth 1 credit hour for the Society of American Foresters. More info and instructions at website.
Healing Fragmented Landscapes with Native Plants
Saturday, March 28, 2:30 to 3:30 pm, West Tisbury
Natural habitats on the Vineyard have become overly segmented due to development and landscape alterations. Join Tim Boland of Polly Hill Arboretum for a free presentation at the West Tisbury Library on how to use native plants around your home to help heal our Island's landscape.
Signal Hill Walk
Sunday, March 29, 1:00 to 3:00 pm, Chilmark
Sheriff's Meadow and TTOR co-host a walk at the Signal Hill Conservation Restriction property. The hike features scenic views from the (relatively) high land between Squibnocket and Menemsha Ponds. Free, but space is limited, so preregistration is required: email or (508) 693-7662.
In Season Recipe
Pea Shoot Pesto
It was way back in February, amidst all the snow and ice, that Island Grown Schools featured the simple pea shoot as their Harvest of the Month. But following such a long and cold winter, it seems even more appropriate now as spring comes rushing in. Chef Robin's recipe choice this time is very simple: gather some pea shoots, Parmesan cheese, and kitchen essentials, put in the food processor, and enjoy a fresh spring pesto! :
New Fertilizer Restrictions Now in Effect
Going green is not always the best thing for the environment.
Last year at Town Meeting, voters of all six Island towns approved a new bylaw that would regulate the sale and use of lawn fertilizer. Importantly, the regulations apply to everyone: not just professional lawn care companies, but homeowners as well. With spring right around the corner, we want to make sure everyone knows how to stay in compliance with the law while maintaining a healthy, non-polluting lawn.
To that end, VCS in partnership with the MV Boards of Health has prepared an informational brochure for homeowners. It will be distributed to local garden supply stores this spring, but you can get a sneak preview right now. There will also be a 1-day class this Saturday (Mar. 24) from 10 am to 4 pm at the MVRHS Performing Arts Center. The course is $35 for personal enrichment, or $85 if you plan to take the exam to become licensed (and licensing itself is an additional $100). Space is limited, so sign up today.
Intended to protect our waters from nutrient pollution, the new bylaw (full text here) was created by the MV Boards of Health in consultation with the MV Commission, using input from elected officials, local landscapers, golf course managers, UMass Extension scientists, and many members of the community, including VCS.
Fifty Tips for Protecting Our Island's Environment
As we celebrate our fiftieth birthday, VCS plans to share fifty tips to help all of us work more effectively toward that goal. Special thanks to Linda Jones for her work on this feature.
As picnic season approaches (yes, it's out there somewhere!) it's easy to slide into the careless use of disposables, often without even thinking about it. This year, consider at least one new habit: cloth napkins, even for the outdoors! The ultimate 'recyclable' item, one can have a lot of fun with them. Try cutting out everyday napkins from old clothes – mixing up patterns and fabrics, maybe pull some threads to 'fringe' them. Better yet, find something recyclable for the young folks to make napkin rings out of too, like used ribbons braided together! Bon appétit!
New State Measures Seek to Discourage Alternative Energy
Georgia welcomes a new member into the sin tax club.
Two current efforts to discourage the use of alternative energy are quite interesting for their strategy and sheer audacity. Possibly a move to split the coalitions that support environmental policy, and definitely one to put people's values into conflict, these efforts share a common theme: that adopters of more efficient or renewable energy technology are saving themselves money, but imposing a "free rider" cost on society.
First, as reported in the Washington Post, intense pressure from electrical utilities and the fossil fuel industry has swayed the public utility boards in several states to begin allowing the utilities to impose fees upon homes with rooftop solar panels. (It is truly an amazing story that we can't do justice here, so please read the WaPo article.) Second, a recent state transportation bill in Georgia contains a provision that should raise eyebrows among environmentalists: a $200 per year usage fee for "alternative fueled" cars (mostly electric cars, but technically anything but gasoline). The bill was thought to be controversial because in total it amounts to a tax increase, but it sailed through the House easily and should soon pass the Senate.
The "free rider" logic of these measures is not completely without merit, and the rationale is broadly in the public interest. Most users of rooftop solar remain connected to the grid and count on it to still be there for them on cloudy days. Drivers of electric cars completely avoid gasoline taxes that fund the roads on which they drive (though this does require the acceptance of the premise that earmarked revenues can ever truly be walled off from the general budget). And in both cases, these technologies may save the user money in the long run but have upfront costs that make them less accessible to the poor. The industry backers of these measures claim that they are not motivated by profit, but rather a concern that costs for public infrastructure are being shifted onto the people who can least afford it.
The problem is that the argument is so narrow and short-sighted as to become very silly when examined at all. For starters, if owners of roof-top solar panels are free riders, so is anyone who makes an effort to lower their electricity usage while remaining connected to the grid. So, all of you moochers need to start pulling your weight and tear out that extra attic insulation right now! And please, for the sake of society, crank up that electric hot water heater to its highest setting!
Second, at least in regard to Georgia's use tax for electric vehicles, the size of the fee ($200) provides a clue that this is not simply a pure-of-heart effort to recover public revenue lost to tax-dodging drivers. The new excise tax on gasoline will be 29.2 cents per gallon, so the usage fee represents the unpaid tax on about 685 gallons of gas. Which, if we take a conservative guess at the fuel economy of a typical electric car if it were to run on gas instead – say, 35 MPG – corresponds to about 24,000 miles driven per year. That's quite a lot of driving (78% more than the average number of miles driven in the US), mostly in cars that are lighter and less damaging on average to roads and bridges. This makes it fairly clear that apart from raising revenue the new tax is intended to actively discourage the purchase of these vehicles.
Finally, the big one: the use of fossil fuels is itself the ultimate free rider problem. Climate change, air pollution, foreign policy that treats oil availability as a national security issue: those are also costs borne by society. Perhaps those costs are harder to quantify than that of maintaining roads or the electrical grid, but they are obviously much greater. But today we still have no carbon tax; instead we have taxes on electric cars and user fees for solar panels.
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Copyright (C) *2015* *Vineyard Conservation Society* All rights reserved.
Original content by Jeremy Houser unless otherwise noted.