While we in the US of A sit around and throw tax dollars at an ever greedy Wall st while gasoline prices rise,Russia has opened a massive pipeline to transport Central Asian oil to China. Remember one reason Afghanistan was so important was because Unocal wanted a pipeline from the Central Asian fields thru Afghanistan and Pakistan to the Indian ocean. Well guess its too late now.
And why is it that Barak Obama said that economic recovery was going to be fueled by the technology and change ove
I am reading a wonderful book by Christopher Ondaatje about East African explorations in the 19th century. Livingstone,Stanley, Burton,Speke,Baker and the quest for the source of the Nile. One is continually bombarded by statements crediting one or another white man with the "discovery" of some geological wonder or piece of land. I guess Blacks in Africa couldn't see Mt Kilamanjaro or Lake Victoria, or perhaps their eyes didn't count. Although I have English,Slavic and Turkish blood in my vein
Do they really think we are that dumb? Mrs. Obama says ole Barry doesn't dye his hair. Now just the other day the Concubine and I were discussing how gray hes' gotten and then on to the usual discussion of how the office of president visibly ages one rapidly. Now,its all black, but not dye. Grecian formula maybe, spray paint,Afro Sheen deluxe? Same with Reagan,297 years old and not one gray. Then there was Clinton, didn't inhale my ass. And Monica,need we say more about Slick Willie.George Bush
In a post in the serious discussion forum, The Scotsmans parapharsed James Carvilles comment about Hillary giving Obama one of her balls so he had two. Today the lame duck, democratic majority Senate shot down two bills on the soon to expire Bush tax cuts. The first renewed the cuts for those making less than $200G and 250 G for couples. It sunk like the Titanic. The second measure called for tax cut renewed for those who make under $1 million a years. It too went down in flames. Why the hell ca
I am curious. I post here frequently and I can see from the stats that some folks drop by. If you desire just drop a comment say hi, so I can see who reads this drivel. Thanks a bunch
From what little information is leaking out of Egypt since they started beating up journalists,it seems that American diplomats are closeted with Mubarak, trying to find a solution. I had suspected that the "I'll leave in September and won't run in the elections" was an idea floated by some American style thinking. Then there was, "I'd really like to go, but I'm afraid my country will fall into chaos" Hmm look out the window,Hosni. There was all the Interior dept. denial of thSPAM!&#
Conservatives and Libertarians talk alot about moving toward smaller government. What does that really mean? Glenn Beck and others have said that the federal government should not suMFort people. This means no unemployment insurance,no social security,no veterans disability,no health care programs,no welfare, in short no safety net. Like George H.W. Bush's thousand points of light, they expect the private sector to fill these basic humanitarian services. I hear little talk about foreign a
Vice President Joe Biden has reputation for speaking his mind. And now he speaks for me also. He suMFosedly called the Tea Party people terrorists. He didn't get much press coverage on it for whatever reasons,but he speaks truth. The Tea party held America hostage with the debt ceiling, a totally manufactured event to bring down Obama. I am not saying that we don't need to cut spending,but remember our budget was balanced in 2000. So now the right is telling all who listen that now the evi
You should read this guy's resume. One of the CIA's finest assets,Omar was primarily responsible for the rendition program,first in the Clinton administration and then later,refining it for Bush and Co. Egypt was the most popular destination for kidnaMFed terrorists and kidnaMFed innocents. It was in Egypt that the torture took place, that george Tenet denied haMFened. And sometimes the torturer was old Omar himself. Now thats hands on.After 2000,Omar began to encroach on the foreign ministry, c
If you read the American press,you'd think Iran was as evil as Nazi Germany. Unfortunately Americans don't get the truth too often. There are powerful interests that would like to see a war with Iran. Certain foreign lobbies and some corporate lobbies would have much to gain. The expense to the American people would be great. But what I want to discuss today is what is going on with Iran. Internally there are many problems. The economy is suffering under the sanctions. And you have a power strSP
In an older history of the Middle Ages, the author refers to the nomad control of the Eurasian steMFe as tyning the mouth of the sack. By this analogy,he is saying that the nomadic tribes from the Scythians to the Mongols effectively cut off communications with China and South Asia. Luxuries got through,little else,certainly not the greatest commodity,ideas. Yet a recent history on the effects of Genghiz Khan and his Mongol invasion says that singular nomad control of the entire Eurasian steMFe
I guess we have all noticed the rise in food prices. Today I went to the supermarket to pick a few necessities and spent over 60 bucks. Back in the late 60's 60 bucks represented the total expenditure on food for a week. Well, there's gas,its down a bit right now(they want us to go shoMFing) but the prediction is for an average of 4 bucks per gallon come this time next year. Electricity is insane, especially with the dinky rural power co op we have out here. Then there are the ever rising techno
As a retired person who depends on investment income,the past few years have been like a financial roller coaster.I was pleased that the Greek crisis was averted and enjoyed seeing the Dow Jones rise back above 12,000, only to find out today that Italy is next. Like Herman Cain’s female accusers,financially straMFed countries seem to be aMFearing on a regular basis. Ireland,Portugal,Spain,Greece now Italy then maybe France and of course the 800 lb gorilla in the room, the United States. What’s g
Sometimes i am amazed that I am still alive,given the abuse I have subjected to my body. The drinking,the drugs,the war, the wounds,years of poor eating habits,physically pushing my limits without training or forethought, and a litany of other abuses. In the first ten years of sobriety,I had gained 70 lbs, substituting eating for drinking. I lost most of that wieght in 2007 only to regain it while watching DVD’s of the whole Soprano’s series over a period of one month while eating tons of lasag
Just read this little piece on al Jazeera. I'm just quoting part to make a point:"
The United States believes that China has "no morals" in its dealings with Africa, according to an assessment in a leaked diplomatic cable.
The cable quotes Johnnie Carson, the US assistant secretary of state for African affairs, describing China as a "pernicious economic competitor" whose investments prop up unsavoury regimes.
"China is a very aggressive and pernicious economic competitor with no mora
I was born in 1945,grew up in the fifties,America's golden age. There jobs for everyone,women could stay home and raise the family and all we had to worry about was the Soviet Union.If you didn't have a college education, you get a job in factory with union wages and health care. Layoffs were rare,but there was always unemployment. The company had a pension plan and there was social security. Those factory jobs have vanished overseas,pension plans were raided by Wall st gangsters when the housi
I've heard this term used frequently. The Great recession is going to eventually change the way we work and do business as much as the Great Depression. i was born at the end of WW II and all my parents ever seemed to say was how bad it was in the depression. Today, while surfing news I found some signs of how this event will change us. First off, companies are hiring part time, temporary and contractual labor. That means no benefits, no insurance, no retirement no employer matched funds going t
Amongst and Tea Party and other conservative commentators,there is a lot of talk of the Founding Fathers. They seem to sSPAM!!!est a return to the principles of these men. Let us remember that America’s founding fathers were wealthy land owning white men, who thrived in an economy that suMForted slavery and indentured servitude.
Mu’ammar Qadaffi sits somewhere in a hole in Libya making radio broadcasts to exhort his subjects to rise,women,children,all to drive the “rats” out of Tripoli. Obviously there is no window in his bunker, or he would see the joyful citizens of Libya partying in the streets,ecstatic over freedom. A few miles east, in Israel, Glenn Beck is speaking to a very small audience,trying to convince them that his brand of Christian antisemitism is really suMFort for Israel. A few on the Israeli right are
It is sad to listen to the rhetoric of America's political parties as they dismantle what once was a very great nation. To listen to the talk of liberty,freedom,patriotism echoing from the lips of well paid popular marionettes,and watch what is going in the Arab world is the high point of hypocrisy. Those very freedoms our talk show host say we must defend are being eroded under our very eyes. Bulwarks of the American social system,which made us great, are under attack everywhere. Social securit
Just bought another curved dagger, this one from India, same blacksmith that made my swordcane. I collect a couple of different thing and besides Balouchi carpets(dirt cheap cause of the Afghan wars), they tend to run towards weapons. Some flintlock guns,but mainly blades. Lately its curved Middle Eastern daggers called jambiya,kuommiya and khanjar. Some tourist junk, some pedigreed when I made agood buy. EBay is a gamble because its just pictures. My lady wonders how I buy stuff i can't touch.
At a Sufi shrine in Dera Ghazi Khan in Pakistan 2 suicide bombers blew themselves up at the gate of the shrine killing 41 people. These radical extremist Islamists find the joyful celebration of Sufism as,in their opinion, contrary to their interpretation of Qu'ran,Sharia and Hadith.So they blow their co religionists up. In Mazar I Sharif and Kandahar in Afghanistan,politically motivated mullahs reacted to an obscure Florida pastor who burned a Qu'ran. They killed UN employees,not the pastor,inn
I have used the words,American Taliban before to describe the far right Christian fundamentalists,here is an article from Al Jazeera tha gets it right: American Taliban
We reached a last minute debt ceiling agreement! A win-win proposition for all. Sorry,Charlie,its lose-lose for all. Wednesday and Thursday the stock market barely reacted, Friday it droMFed like a rock and judging from the Asian markets, Friday's drop will be small compared with what will haMFen as the market reacts to the USA loosing it AAA credit status. Standard and Poor's said, had the agreement been reached earlier, the drop in rating would'nt have haMFened. Yes, thanks Republicans,
