You decide.
(Obama photo h/t to Gerard)
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Sunday, October 26, 2008
I'm beginning to get a hinky feeling about this...
[Love that word, BTW. "Hinky". Makes me feel like a private detective, or something. I guess it means "suspicious", but it sounds like it can mean all sorts of things. Anyhooo, I digress, before I even get started.....]
It was either on one of the blogs I infrequently get to or one of my internet acquaintances, a guy who I listen to when he speaks, who has a theory about global politics/economics. For the sake of telling this story, I'm going to say it's the later, but I could be wrong. Anyway, it's kind of a long story, but he believes that the Powers That Be are acting according to a script and that all the large geo/economic/political acts that we're all now watching are part of that script. The PTB have built up a large house of cards of debt, and the only way to consolidate things from here is to crush our economy and to end up with a global currency (which they, of course, would control). Control the currency, and you control everything (which is why our Founding Fathers were [rightly] concerned about the power of a Central Bank).
Anyhoo, he believes that the PTB are looking at a number of issues circling around things. One of the larger items on their plate is the question of: What to do about Iran? They're obviously crazy with an apocolyptic view of the return of the 13th Imam or Seventh Seal, or whatever their damned thing is. A rational world has to believe they're serious when they start talking about destroying Israel or London or whatever other city is bugging them. Iran just has to be dealt with. The question is: When?
As much as we may see this as a conflict between America and our western allies and Iran, China and Japan are really big players here. They apparently have bought off on the idea of subdueing Iran. Again, timing is the key.
The Chinese Olympics this summer were a really big deal for them. They had invested a lot of prestige on this event, hoping to make the world believe that they deserve a place in the First World. So attacking Iran before these Olympics was out of the question. Parenthetically, the Russians embarassed the Chinese by their little adventure into Georgia during the Olympics.
What form will the attack take?
The Israeli's have a deep interest here. The Iranians are absolutely irrational about Israel. Both Israel and Iran have conducted exercises which, for any observer, would look like an attack on the other.
As the theory goes, the determinant then goes to our election. If the Israeli's think that we'll elect a President Obama, then the attack may take place before the election. If they think we'll elect McCain, then the attack will occur between the election and the inauguration. In any event, it will occur on Bush's watch.
So why do I write all this?
I'm glad you asked.
When I read that "US special forces launch rare attack inside Syria" and "Syria: US conducted cross-border raid", it may have been exactly what we're saying: Taking down a foreign fighter network, or grabbing/killing an al Qaeda bigwig.
But part of me has to ask: Is this an "October Surprise"? Did we eliminate a Syrian radar or anti-aircraft site to create a corridor for the Israelis to get to Iran?
Like I said: "Hinky".
It was either on one of the blogs I infrequently get to or one of my internet acquaintances, a guy who I listen to when he speaks, who has a theory about global politics/economics. For the sake of telling this story, I'm going to say it's the later, but I could be wrong. Anyway, it's kind of a long story, but he believes that the Powers That Be are acting according to a script and that all the large geo/economic/political acts that we're all now watching are part of that script. The PTB have built up a large house of cards of debt, and the only way to consolidate things from here is to crush our economy and to end up with a global currency (which they, of course, would control). Control the currency, and you control everything (which is why our Founding Fathers were [rightly] concerned about the power of a Central Bank).
Anyhoo, he believes that the PTB are looking at a number of issues circling around things. One of the larger items on their plate is the question of: What to do about Iran? They're obviously crazy with an apocolyptic view of the return of the 13th Imam or Seventh Seal, or whatever their damned thing is. A rational world has to believe they're serious when they start talking about destroying Israel or London or whatever other city is bugging them. Iran just has to be dealt with. The question is: When?
As much as we may see this as a conflict between America and our western allies and Iran, China and Japan are really big players here. They apparently have bought off on the idea of subdueing Iran. Again, timing is the key.
The Chinese Olympics this summer were a really big deal for them. They had invested a lot of prestige on this event, hoping to make the world believe that they deserve a place in the First World. So attacking Iran before these Olympics was out of the question. Parenthetically, the Russians embarassed the Chinese by their little adventure into Georgia during the Olympics.
What form will the attack take?
The Israeli's have a deep interest here. The Iranians are absolutely irrational about Israel. Both Israel and Iran have conducted exercises which, for any observer, would look like an attack on the other.
As the theory goes, the determinant then goes to our election. If the Israeli's think that we'll elect a President Obama, then the attack may take place before the election. If they think we'll elect McCain, then the attack will occur between the election and the inauguration. In any event, it will occur on Bush's watch.
So why do I write all this?
I'm glad you asked.
When I read that "US special forces launch rare attack inside Syria" and "Syria: US conducted cross-border raid", it may have been exactly what we're saying: Taking down a foreign fighter network, or grabbing/killing an al Qaeda bigwig.
But part of me has to ask: Is this an "October Surprise"? Did we eliminate a Syrian radar or anti-aircraft site to create a corridor for the Israelis to get to Iran?
Like I said: "Hinky".
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Hubris...
I am sure I'm not the only one to notice this, but I am seeing, both in the media, the polling and among friends and work collegues, a frightening level of hubris regarding the election of The One.
They think they have this won. They may be right, but I can't help but hope that they're not.
And if The One does fail in his quest, I am concerned that we will see violence. They are utterly convinced that The One is this country's Savior.
They think they have this won. They may be right, but I can't help but hope that they're not.
And if The One does fail in his quest, I am concerned that we will see violence. They are utterly convinced that The One is this country's Savior.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Joe Biden steps in it (again)...
So, anyhoo...Joe Biden embarrassed himself (if that is possible) and Barack Obama the other day by saying "It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy." Obama himself has now explained that Biden "sometimes engages in rhetorical flourishes". (**snicker**)
But now we see that Biden has clarified his remarks to two bloggers.
Jim Treacher "quotes" Biden as explaining that it will be "a great comfort when the Obama administration strangles the U.S. economy and sets off a long, terrifying race war."
And in his Iowahawk "interview", Biden offered "There will be a point -- maybe one week, maybe two weeks after the inauguration -- when the opinion polls will look bad. Really horribly bad. Despite our best efforts, a couple of mid-size cities will inevitably be vaporized. People will be complaining. 'Why are you nationalizing the Safeway?' 'When is Omaha going to stop glowing?' 'Why do the Chinese soldiers keep asking for my papers?' When this happens, we will need you to keep supporting us because, trust me, you really won't want to be observed not supporting us. "
Funny stuff.
But now we see that Biden has clarified his remarks to two bloggers.
Jim Treacher "quotes" Biden as explaining that it will be "a great comfort when the Obama administration strangles the U.S. economy and sets off a long, terrifying race war."
And in his Iowahawk "interview", Biden offered "There will be a point -- maybe one week, maybe two weeks after the inauguration -- when the opinion polls will look bad. Really horribly bad. Despite our best efforts, a couple of mid-size cities will inevitably be vaporized. People will be complaining. 'Why are you nationalizing the Safeway?' 'When is Omaha going to stop glowing?' 'Why do the Chinese soldiers keep asking for my papers?' When this happens, we will need you to keep supporting us because, trust me, you really won't want to be observed not supporting us. "
Funny stuff.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Journalism, honor and the roots of our crisis...
I found this over at HotAir, read it and frankly found so many paragraphs to clip that I could not do it justice. Instead, I'll just parrot Allahpundit and quote this too...
Do read the whole thing.
"...If you want to redeem your honor, you will swallow hard and make a list
of all the stories you would print if it were McCain who had been getting money
from Fannie Mae, McCain whose campaign had consulted with its discredited former CEO, McCain who had voted against tightening its lending practices.
Then you will print them, even though every one of those true stories will point the
finger of blame at the reckless Democratic Party, which put our nation's
prosperity at risk so they could feel good about helping the poor, and lay a
fair share of the blame at Obama's door...."
Do read the whole thing.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
You may say...
"...avoiding moral dilemmas".
I call that "avoiding 'You want to extract cells from where?'"
Bonus: "...they become pluripotent". Hey, that's what she said! **rimshot**
h/t: Purple Avenger at Ace's Place.
I call that "avoiding 'You want to extract cells from where?'"
Bonus: "...they become pluripotent". Hey, that's what she said! **rimshot**
h/t: Purple Avenger at Ace's Place.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Friday, October 10, 2008
Edgar Winter...
One of the coolest musicians from my childhood was Edgar Winter. He was (is?) kind of a blues-y rock guy, and with his completely unusal albino looks, drew quite a bit of attention.
Anyhooooo, he and his group were on my flight the other day. So, apropo of nothing, here is 10 minutes of Winter's Frankenstein...
Thursday, October 09, 2008
The depth of the failure of our educational system...
As if everyone who isn't smarter than I hasn't already written on this, but we are facing a deep, deep financial crisis. I only understand about a third of what I'm reading on this, but I've read enough to have me fear that we're going to have a global meltdown of currencies, and the mountain of debt. The sub-prime mortgages are just the tip of the iceberg. The Mortgage Backed Securities are all questionable, which has led to the banks and financial institutions which invested in these to go down too. The next bubble will be the Credit Default Swaps, but the bigger bubble will our money. If you care to become as frightened as I am, then click here. I don't pretend for a minute to understand this stuff, and I am willing to acknowledge that maybe this is a crank with an internet site, but what he presents is very scary stuff. The Fed is bankrupt.
This chart is the root of my nightmares...
Folks, bubbles can't be inflated forever. This money supply is going to pop. When that happens, the things you need in life--food, water, electricity, gas--are going to become outrageously expensive. The things you don't need in life--an iPod, a ticket to the movies, a RV--are going to drop like rocks.
And because many, many people around the world are going to become very uncomfortable, very fast, I am concerned that all-out war is not out of the question. It is how governments placate their citizens.
But the topic of this post isn't just our rapidly deterioriating economy and what will happen next, but rather this poll. We have serious, serious problems if Americans cannot understand that the money that we just "bailed out Wall Street" with is just a figment of the Fed's imagination. Using that "money" to buy three months of gas is about the dumbest thing I've ever heard--short of using it to bail out Wall Street.
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