Category: Uncategorized

Dispersal of Oil Means Cleanup to Take Years, Official Says – NYTimes.com

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Dispersal of Oil Means Cleanup to Take Years, Official Says – NYTimes.com

Um, duh? That’s what happens when you add dispersants to a mix that already includes a huge current and a crapload of oil.

I am so underwhelmed with the administrations ability to out in front of this thing thqat I am actually amazed that this administration manages to corss the street by themselves.

CNN Political Ticker: All politics, all the time Blog Archive – Helen Thomas under fire for saying Jews in Israel should go back to Germany, Poland « – Blogs from CNN.com

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CNN Political Ticker: All politics, all the time Blog Archive – Helen Thomas under fire for saying Jews in Israel should go back to Germany, Poland « – Blogs from CNN.com

A friend posted this on his facebook wall along with comments that characterized Thomas as an anti-semite. This is the problem with Israel: if you don’t support their government that automatically makes you anti-semite. Anyone who thinks that the Israeli government does not take advantage of this tar-pit trap is high on crack.

Honestly, what sane person hasn’t had the thought that maybe the state of Israel would work out better if they didn’t have the same neighbors? Along the same vein, can any sane person picture the Israeli government playing so fast and loose with their own borders if they were in between Germany and Poland? OK, fine I can picture them invading Poland. My point remains. Everyone and their mother invades Poland.

Does being against the policies of a government make one racist against the citizens of that country? I don’t think so. Being 100% Pro-Israel while still loving justice for all isn’t actually a choice in the modern arena. If you aren’t pro-Israel then you are branded as anti-semite. You’re either for or against us is a compelling rhetoric but if one is completely without racial or religious bias, how can one help but see the Israeli government as an instigator, as perpetrating a racist style of statehood, as a nurturing parent to the terrorism that they claim to so despise.

It is ironic (and perhaps to be expected with the license given to the Israeli government by the international community who tend to be too afraid of being branded anti-semite to comment on any of this) that the Israeli government’s treatment of the citizens of their own country who claim a different religion than the state resembles the barb wires, ostracism, removal of opportunities, and reinforcement of the second class status of any citizen who is not a member of the state religion through a barbaric system of restriction of movement, commerce ,and self-determination to the pre-concentration camp policies of a certain political movement which swept Germany in the 1930’s and 1940’s? I’ll push it even further. Does it really seem that the ruling parties in Israel would be above concentration camps for the Palestinians if they thought they could get away with them? Given that killing hundreds of Palestinians is the preferred response to the deaths of a handful of Jewish Israelis, it’s not like they respect the value of Palestinian life in any way which equate to the value they put on a single Jewish life.

Let’s be honest, this is a government that makes sure that every country surrounding it is hostile to it and is flat-out disrespectful to it’s own allies. I’ll go out on a limb here and stand with Helen. If the Israeli government can not stay within its own pre-1967 borders and treat all of it’s citizens equally, then perhaps those citizens who hail from other regions would do well to go back there after all.

Short version: I support Israel. If the ruling powers weren’t such assholes I’d support Israel even more.

What the Spill Will Kill – Newsweek.com

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What the Spill Will Kill – Newsweek.com

It was in mid-May that independent scientists—not any of the officials or researchers working for any of the government agencies on scene at the Deepwater Horizon disaster, let alone BP—first detected the vast underwater plumes of crude oil spreading like Medusa’s locks from the out-of-control gusher in the Gulf of Mexico

I don’t buy that. They were just the first ones to talk about it.

Mr. Obama, it’s your economy now – CSMonitor.com

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Typical Right Wing Communications Structure – a.k.a double speak

(This is meant more to be a criticism of the left that this has to be pointed out than anything else.)

1. Start off almost tacitly on the side of the enemy. Say nice things about them. …Or almost nice things.

2. Tout cred as an “outsider” while putting down someone else.

3. Throw some red meat to the base with a snide remark or two about the other side that is designed to make them feel better about themselves. Bonus points for sliding it by the middle as completely un-inflammatory.

Pick out a topical scapegoat and let implication draw the line between good and bad.

4. Tell the base the other side will get what is coming to them because they deserve it.

5. Identify yourself as one of the little guys. Make it seem like the issues are all about them and not, heaven forbid, personal or corporate interests.

6. Recycle a familiar enemy and tie them to the present problem. Reinforce the notion that the other side is the bad guys.

I did this paragraph by paragraph from the linked order and all I was thinking by this point was, ‘Really? Unions? It’s amazing that more people don’t just openly laugh in their faces.’

7. Repeat the outside bit and highlight how the speaker is only speaking up to help the little guy (over to his or her side so that the little guy can assist them sticking it to the opposition.)

Liberty Incident Survivor Involved in Gaza Flotilla Fiasco

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WXXI: Local Veteran Talks About Israeli Attack on Flotilla (2010-06-01)

It’s a little Cartman but, the Israeli government really, really, really don’t like this guy.

For more , read this: Israel’s attack on a relief flotilla calls to mind another bloody incident

or here:

Israeli military: ‘errors of judgment’ and civilian deaths-The Guardian.uk.com

Flotilla passengers: Go back to Auschwitz – Israel News, Ynetnews

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Flotilla passengers: Go back to Auschwitz – Israel News, Ynetnews

Let me count the ways I’m suspicious of this schlock.

1 – It’s out of sequence

2 – It’s clearly clipped together

3 – No one is identified except the first speaker

And last but not least, an aside:

So…. Name calling is a justification for killing people in your book now, kids? Nice. Very enlightened. Way to take the high road. What a bunch of mensches. Have I mentioned how proud Yahweh must be of you all?

White House is feeling weight of controversies surrounding oil spill, elections

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White House is feeling weight of controversies surrounding oil spill, elections

It kills me that the fact that this guy can’t think on his feet, doesn’t have a plan, doesn’t have a clue and doesn’t seem to care is a surprise to anyone. Where the hell were you people during the Primary? Oh that’s right crowning some unqualified ass who completely misrepresented himself, his views, his abilities and his plans for the country. …Crowning him the King of Hope, Change and Progress just because Oprah and Teddy K liked him. Did it ever occur to anyone that people supporting this guy had their own agendas? No? Because journalism died when the USA today became a more informed source than Network News.

Note – All due respect to both Oprah and Ted Kennedy. I love them both but I wouldn’t drink acid-laced kool-aid just because they told me to.