Bloggers are providing lots of photo coverage the NYC loonies with humor and not a little touch of irony. Ryan Sager's caption for this one made me laugh out loud.
"These women seem a little confused..."
Hundred Percenter offers a gallery of the usual suspects.
and bare butts:
Has the left has run out of intellectual steam? Wait, that may be an oxymoron. The lame slogans and crude ennuendo sets a new low standard in protest signage. One can't help but notice that Libs abandon any pretense of political correctness when it suits their agenda.
Communists for Kerry.
I predict that the protest will backlash on the Dems as the far left rolls out it's ugliest anti-American face in NY.
(via Instapundit)
...iSh a waRMm dOg. Pi aN BeN naPPin' rIGtH thRu tHe KaRNivAL oF THe KaTZ.
--MolLY
[Catnip:SB Poet at Watermark is the purrfect host for this week's kittycarnival.
--Zozo]
Sorry for the light posting, but the company called and I've been pressed back into service part time and will take me a few days to get blogging and the work schedule synched.
In the meantime, here's a story for the "What were they thinking?" file.
And this one makes my heart trill with joy, fellow Bear Flagger, Patterico stares downs the LA Times, and the Times blinked. (via Sneakeasy)
SWWBO has the Carnival of Recipes up with a smorgasbord of tasty treats to try and Carnival of the Vanities 101 has gone back to school.
Juliette has the birthday blues and is pretty much over what's-his-name. Aren't we all Girl, aren't we all.
Here's a page to cheer Jules up and one to make you jump and shout HaTikvah!!
Bush sees Kerry's Celand bluff and raises two MOH and an astronaut.
This pissing match would be amusing if Kerry wasn't standing on the graves of those who his surrogate described as betraying their country by not serving in Vietnam.
I am not sure whom Kerry thinks he is winning over with this tack, but Laura Armstrong is not among them.
Are we clear on the concept that Kerry is not presidential timber yet?
UPDATE: Rats! I missed the live chicken part.
Back in the day, the VFW on any overseas base were square, think small-town Elks Lodge, but cheap and entertaining clubs where drinks were a dime and a three course dinner could be had for a buck-fifty. The bar was predominately single males; a couple of flinty-eyed MPs stood nearby to keep the testosterone to a respectable level for dependents. A ubiquitous local orchestra played swing dance numbers and 50’s roll & roll, usually with a great deal more verve and brass than talent, a girl singer crooned and the tables had tablecloths, hurricane candles and fresh flowers. You could treat the trouble and strife to a night out, dance and dine like folks back in the world, for a fin. It was good
The menu was pretty much DOD Mid-Western, surf or turf with “fancy” entrées such as Beef Stroganoff or Chicken Kiev. That the specialties were faux Russian always made us laugh, given that a clutch of SAC B-52’s brooded not five miles away, but I digress. A favorite dish was a mound of tender seared beef cubes with a side of steamed rice or fries, it was $1.25 with salad and pie ala mode for dessert.
In honor of all who betrayed their country by serving in remote bases around the globe, and got blotto at the "V", today's Wictory Wednesday's Wecipe:
Chopped Steak
Ingredients:
2- 1” thick Rib-eye steaks, approx 1.5 lb combined
½ Teaspoon Garlic salt
½ Teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Pepper
3 Tablespoons safflower or canola oil (Do not use olive oil.)
I have no idea what cut of beef the V used, but I’ve found that boneless rib-eye works best as this is really a quick sear a stir fry, not braising, so you need a very tender cut and rib-eye has just enough fat for good flavor. You could use NY strips or even filet, but you will need to replace one tablespoon of the cooking oil with bacon grease for good browning. Heck, you could use the bacon grease in any case, a little pork fat always ramps up the flavor of any meat dish.
This recipe serves two well, if you double for 4, I recommend you fry and serve in two batches or two pans...which is damned hard to pull off. [However, if you have Viking or a Wolf with mongo iron griddle, go for it.] You will also need a large heavy frying pan, well-seasoned cast iron is ideal, the pan must be large enough to hold the meat in one layer.
Method: Cut the meat into 1” cubes, place in a mixing bowl and season with garlic salt, salt and black pepper, add 1 Tablespoon of the cooking oil and gently toss to coat well. Cover and refrigerate for up to four hours. Remove from fridge half an hour before cooking, the meat needs to rest at room temperature. Cold meat + hot pan = disaster.
Needless to say, prepare your side dishes in advance, once you begin to fry the meat you have only minutes to serving.
Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in the skillet on high until it just begins to smoke. Add the meat quickly in one layer, do not move it around! Let fry for 2 minutes, then turn the meat as quickly as possible and let crisp for 2 minutes more, then toss the meat for a minute to evenly coat with the crispy bits in the pan. Spoon out with a slotted spoon and plate. The key here is a hot pan, a signle layer of meat and moving quickly, you want to sear/brown the meat so the interior remains juicy.
NOTE: The above timing provides medium cubes, pink and juicy. Cooking time depends on the heat of your stove, the thickness of the pan and how you like your beef, so you may not get the meat cooked exactly as you like the first time, but this is so tasty that you won’t care. If you like your beef well-done then add a minute, or reduce by a minute for rarer beef.
I often spike the finished meat with a shot of soy sauce and a sprinkle of thinly sliced green onions when I serve steamed rice on the side. Sometimes I stir fry an assortment of mushrooms or sweet red onions in another pan before cooking the meat and flip them together when plating…just be sure the veggies are crispy. You get the idea: its basic beef and any side dish you enjoy with a steak works.
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Unless you want to spend the next four years asking "where's the beef?" you better rustle up support for George Bush. Next week is the Republican National Convention in New York, after which, you will not be able to donate to the Bush campaign...so the push is on.
If you're a blogger, you can join Wictory Wednesdays simply by putting up a post like this one every Wednesday, asking your readers to volunteer and/or donate to the Bush campaign. And do e-mail wictory@blogsforbush.com to be added to the Wictory Wednesday blogroll, which will be part of the Wictory Wednesday post on all participating blogs.
Here's yet another story we don't see covered by our media as it doesn't support the Kerry campaign's "Bush as unilateral cowboy" meme.
Iraq: UN announces multi-million dollar plan to restore 'Garden of Eden' marshes
The United Nations today announced an $11 million project to help restore the marshlands of southern Iraq, considered by some to be the site of the Biblical Garden of Eden, after they were massively damaged by dams on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and a vast drainage operation carried out by the ousted regime of Saddam Hussein.
The project, funded by the Government of Japan, will support sustainable development through environmentally sound technologies, providing drinking water, sanitation and pilot wetland restoration for the Marsh Arabs, heirs to the 5,000-year-old civilization of the Babylonians and Sumerians, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said.
Of course the most obvious question that leaps to mind is why the UN asshats did nothing for over a decade as Saddam Hussein destroyed the marshes, committing genocide on the Ma'dan.
The UN says that over 15 years, the government drained 90% of them, resulting in one of the world's worst environmental disasters. It was also a humanitarian disaster. In 1991, a quarter of a million marsh Arabs lived in the region. The number today? Just 20,000. But with the fall of Saddam Hussein, the floodgates have reopened literally, and, with the return of the marshes, a last gasp at an ancient way of life.
Oh, right. Nevermind.
(Recognize the post title? Thought you would.)
Today's SF Chronicle ledes with Kerry defense that threatens to collapse for lack of conviction...whom are they fooling?
"Observers see eerie parallels in attacks on Kerry, McCain"
How about this parallel universe from the official Kerry-Edwards blog?
The "Mother" of All House Parties
The East Bay for Kerry/MoveOn House party on December 7th combined the forces of two grass-roots organizations based in San Francisco East Bay Area. We had 200 guests eating, drinking, and watching the MoveOn Documentary “Uncovered” featuring Joseph Wilson and Rand Beers from the Kerry campaign.
When Teresa Heinz-Kerry arrived, she handed me a pin that read in the center: “Asses of Evil” with “Bush”, “Cheney”, “Rumsfeld” and “Ashcroft” surrounding it. She met, greeted and talked to a jam-packed room of Kerry supporters and others who came for the MoveOn documentary. Many were curious, others undecided, or belonging to other candidate camps.
Many of us see other less eerie, more direct parallels between the DNC, Kerry campaign and 527's. Slings and Arrows has a list and photos that could have been dredged up by our mighty free press, if they weren't so firmly in the Dem/ABB tank.
What were the Dems thinking? That Kerry's Vietnam record wouldn't be challenged? Puhleeze. No one is that naive. John Kerry fell into a trap of ego and self-deception when he began to believe his press releases and made the mother of all assumptions, that the Dems want to win this election.
John Kerry has been sucker-punched, big time, not by the Swifties, Rovian dirty tricks or the VRWC, but the Clintonistas.
UPDATE: Blogs For Bush has a graphic and more "webby" links and NZ Bear has more interesting info on the Kerry campaign disclosures.
He who lives by the Internet dies by the Internet.
There is so much blog coverage that I'll just point you to a few must-read sites and throw in a few random thots. Do not miss this from Greyhawk, or this from Blackfive.
Seems to me that Kerry painted himself into a corner on 527 ads as he's shone a spotlight under the moveon.org rock and onto Podesta's shadow DNC ops, americanprogess.org. Yes, that Podesta, chief of staff for former President Bill Clinton.
Has Kerry's campaign missed Bush and gut-shot themselves by basing the campaign on Kerry's Vietnam service? Who the heck is running this strategery? Jeebus, someone's got a lot of 'splainin' to do.
The campaigns choice of spinners seems as ham-fisted as it gets...Joe Biden's not exactly Mr. Clean. Whomever let Tom Harkin off of the reservation should be promptly barred from future campaigns. Then Bob Dole forced the Kerry campaign to diss one of the country's most high-profile disabled vets.
Kerry's B team is even less credible than Dan Qayle. Kerry tends to go to ground (cuts and runs?) whenever he's taking serious PR or media flack....it casts serious doubt on his ability to lead under duress.
Finally, Barnes and Noble claims the Elwood Blues defense "It's not our Fauuult!"
Allen Forkum links this tidbit: "I regret this very much," German Defense Minister Peter Struck told reporters during a visit to troops in northern Germany.
Yeah I bet you do. However, it takes a commie unionist to make a proper whine when the US teat is pulled from his grasp.
Condi Rice's comment that Soviet troops were no longer poised to sweep across the German plain provided a chuckle or two around the Feste breakfast table.
Kerry told the veterans Bush's plan "sends the wrong signal to withdraw from Europe and the Far East now when we need to cultivate those allies" to help fight the war on terror.
Au contraire mon ami Kerry, this sends precisely the right signal to our Allies and our enemies.
Kerry's mock shock & awe is such transparent twaddle, it took seconds to Google up links to recent news stories and this interesting nugget from November 17, 2003 :
Secretary Rumsfeld Korean Joint Press ConferenceSECRETARY RUMSFELD: [formal intro edited]...I’ve assured the Minister that any changes to U.S. military posture in North-East Asia will be the product of the closest consultation with our key allies; most importantly, they will result in increased U.S. capabilities in the region.
Whatever adjustments we may make will reflect the new technologies that are available, the new capabilities, and they will strengthen our ability to deter and if necessary, defeat any aggressions against allies such as South Korea. And above all, nothing we do will diminish our commitment to Korea’s security or our ability to fulfill our obligations under the Mutual Defense Treaty.
[..]
MND SPOKESPERSON: And now we will take questions from a foreign journalist.
QUESTION: Mr. Minister, I’d like to ask you. There is much that has been reported about and perhaps much controversy over the realignment of U.S. forces within Korea, and perhaps even the future withdrawal of some of those forces from South Korea. Sir, are you confident of South Korea’s military ability to hold the line at the DMZ as American troops uphold southward and why?
MINISTER CHO: We are moving forward with plans to bring about Yongsan relocation and redeployment of the Second Infantry Division. However, during today’s meeting, we didn’t have any discussions regarding any possible reduction of U.S. forces, and I believe that we have not yet reached that stage to bring about that discussion.
QUESTION: Sir, are you confident of South Korea’s military ability to hold the line if American forces are not there?
MINISTER CHO: We are moving forward to transfer ten missions currently assumed by USFK and transfer those responsibilities to Korean forces. Among the ten, eight of them would pose no problems, even if they were to be transferred at an early stage to Korean forces. However I would like to note that, with regard to the JSA security mission and the counter-fire headquarters mission, we must also take into account the political situation and trends on the Korean peninsula as well as ROK force capabilities. So, I would also state that it would be somewhat quick or premature to implement this transfer immediately, but nonetheless, we will continue to engage in checking our future progress on this matter.
[...]
QUESTION: The question is whether you respect the Korean government’s decision to send additional troops primarily to provide humanitarian support in Iraq and with the number of about 3,000 troops, rather than conducting stabilization operations in Iraq. And my second part of the question is in reference to paragraph four of the Joint Communiqué. I see there is emphasis on the strategic flexibility on the part of the U.S. Forces in Korea and I understand this would not undermine the deterrent that is on the Korean peninsula. But, whether this would affect the current situation here in Korea, and I understand there would be rapid mobility requirements on the part of the United States Armed Forces in the future. But, nevertheless, people still constantly talk about the possibility of troop reduction and I’d like to have your firm word on the prospect of troop reduction.
SECRETARY RUMSFELD: My goodness gracious! First, I think I answered your first question earlier when I said that each country needs to decide for itself, each sovereign nation how it can best contribute to the global war on terror whether in Afghanistan or Iraq, and obviously we would respect whatever decision this government makes.
With respect to the second part of your question on flexibility of forces, we understand that weakness can be provocative. That weakness can invite people into doing things that they otherwise might not even consider. This alliance has been successful for 50 years. It is an enormously successful record. And it’s been successful because we have had the ability to deter and defend and, if necessary, prevail and that has been well understood. I can assure you it will be well understood in the years ahead, and needless to say, neither of our governments would do anything that would in anyway weaken the deterrent and the capability to defend. I think the way to think about it is that what deters and what gives you the capability to defend are military capabilities. It is not numbers of things; it is capability to impose lethal power when needed, where needed, with the greatest flexibility and with the greatest agility. Whatever adjustments are made, A) will be made in the closest consultation with the government of Korea and second, they will leave the alliance stronger, with a healthier deterrent and a healthier capability of defending. Let there be no doubt.
That a senator on the Foreign Relations Committe who claims to be prepared to assume leadership of the free world had no inkling of long-studied troop realignments prior to August 17th 2004 is simply not credible.
Perhaps Senator Kerry should report for duty at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee a little more often.
(hat tip to Glenn for the Davids Medienkritik link)
John Kerry "blah, blah e mas blah". That pretty much sums up his appearance at the VFW convention. Kerry demands that vets be treated with the respect they deserve...except for the part about baby-killing, raping, torturing and pillaging. Is he kidding us?
It's all Greek to me... which dovetails into Wictory Wednesday, the $7 Billion non-event in Athens and today's recipe.
Greek Eggs:
Is this an authentic Greek dish? Who knows, it was always on the table at a Greek friends home and when pressed for the name of the dish, his mother responded: "You want the Greek? You don't know from Greek! It's hard-boiled eggs! You raised by stupid people?! Here, eat one...maybe two." So there you have it...straight from Mrs. M's mouth to your ear.
This dish is a great small plate for cocktails, a satisfying addition to a mixed green salad or as summer BBQ buffet dish. One hopes your friends don't jostle over who gets to sop up the left-over dressing like mine do.
You will need 1 hard-boiled egg per serving for a starter course or 6 eggs for a buffet/ small plate offering. You do know how to boil eggs, don't you Bunky? No? Go here.
Ingredients:
Hard boiled eggs
2- Tablespoons White wine vinegar
4- Tablespoons Olive Oil
1/2 Teaspoon Dijon style mustard
1/4 Teaspoon salt
A large pinch of sugar
*1- Teaspoon of fresh chopped Oregano
1 clove of Garlic, peeled and finely minced
1 thin Baguette, or 3-4 Pita breads
Method:
Prepare vinaigrette dressing:
Wisk wine vinegar, mustard, salt and sugar in a small deep glass bowl. Slowly add the olive oil a tablespoon at a time, whisking vigorously. The mixture will emulsify. Taste, if too sharp add another tiny pinch of sugar, if too bland add 1/2 teaspoon vinegar. Add the garlic and oregano and mix well.
TIP: Classic vinaigrette dressing shouldn't separate on standing if you have the correct ratio of oil & vinegar, which is usually 2 parts vinegar to 4 parts oil...but the weight and viscosity of good olive oil varies, so it is not a hard and fast rule.
Peel and slice the eggs in half length wise, then quarter. Nicely arrange the egg quarters in a shallow bowl or deep serving platter, spoon the dressing over the eggs evenly, making sure each yolk is dressed and garnish with a few sprigs of fresh Oregano and grinds of black pepper. Do not refrigerate the dressed eggs as the olive oil will coagulate. These are best prepared 15 minutes before you serve to allow the flavors intensify.
Serve a basket of thinly sliced baguette or triangles of pita bread along side. Guests spoon an egg and a little of the dressing onto a slice of bread and eat out of hand or as part of a small plate assortment. Small bowls of bowl of fresh radishes and Kalamata olives are a perfect accompaniment.
* If fresh Oregano is not available, DO NOT use dried, it is to strong, substitute with 1/4 Teaspoon dried Tarragon or Thyme.
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Go. Dance. Laugh. Cry. Whatever.
A big shout out to Jeremiah Lewis at Fringeblog for a fabulous 100th Carnival of the Vanities.
The murder of a promising teen athlete, Terrance Kelly, two days before he departed for a college scholarship, stunned a community inured to crime, violence and teen murderers. What was thought to be a case of mistaken identity in gang-related killing now may be a case of envy.
The Pratchers grew up a few blocks from Kelly in Richmond's Iron Triangle neighborhood. Larry Pratcher and Kelly apparently knew each other from playing pickup basketball games in grammar school, friends said.The two young men maintained a friendship but drifted in different directions.
Kelly graduated in June from De La Salle, an academically rigorous Catholic high school in Concord. After playing linebacker, tight end and running back, he was named the most valuable player in what is considered to be the top prep football program in the nation.
But Pratcher dropped out of public schools, friends said, and never transformed his playground athletic prowess into success at the prep level.
"Kids go different ways,'' Montgomery said. "Terrance stayed in school, and Larry hit the streets.''
Kelly's father worked two jobs pay for the pricey De La Salle, one cannot help but wonder if a school voucher might have made the difference between a young man going to college, not prison, and his friend to an early grave.
The Chronicle asks the wrong question in a moving editoral today, it's not simply about poverty, or community attitudes/mores, but failed schools.
Richmond is a bleak place, hard against refineries and chemical plants, partitioned by elevated freeways, but there are also good neighborhoods, shoreline parks and caring, hard working people who have had enough. Enough of crime, bad parenting and sub-standard schools. California spends a mandated 40% of the general revenue fund on schools, yet the test scores failed again this year.
Across the state, 1.5 million students remain mired in the lowest ranks of academic performance."This is not where we want to be," said California schools Superintendent Jack O'Connell. "I hope that these scores are a wake-up call for all in education."
[...]
Statewide, 36 percent of students scored "proficient" or "advanced" on the English portion, up from 35 percent last year. The remaining students scored below par, at "basic," "below basic" or "far below basic."
In math, proficiency inched up from 40.5 to 41.6 percent of students in grades 2 through 7 since last year. Older students, tested in a variety of math subjects, slipped in algebra and geometry.
Only 20 percent of low-income students were proficient in English, while among wealthier students, 50 percent were proficient. The rates were identical last year.
[...]
Barbara Kerr, president of the California Teachers Association, said things aren't as bad as some believe.
"I think the scores are OK," she said. "When people are looking for a Nordstrom public education on a Wal-Mart budget, teachers should be very proud of what they've been able to achieve, and so should students."
How many more Larry Pratchers and Terrance Kellys must pay the price of such elitist arrogance?
Whilst purusing the SF Chron's Op-Eds over lunch, usually a sure fire recipe for heartburn, a lede over Egypt Dionne's byline leapt off the page. "To Stop the spin, Kerry must speak"
Wowser! By Crikey! At last, hard questions will be asked of John Kerry, full disclosure of military records demanded, straight answers expected.
Wrong.
Dionne, in essense, defends Kerry's flip-flops by ennumerating Bush's distortions and lies of Kerry's sound positions and votes. Kerry isn't as much a flip-flopper as Bush is a liar. The close sums up the entire exercise as little more than bald partisan flackery:
The real tests of Kerry's toughness will be whether he can explain himself clearly and whether he can force Bush to defend views that the president would prefer that the public not know he holds.
Dionne ignores the furor swirling around Kerry's disputed Vietnam record.
Not. One. Word.
This is our watchdog press? George Will was routinely ridiculed by the Washington press corps as Nancy Reagan's lapdog, yet the media poodles can't seem to get enough of the Heinz Kerry dog food.
NOTE: The Chronicle thoughtfully re-titled Dionne's WaPo lede "A Test of Toughness" for the simple folks in Rio Linda.
Lileks touched my last good nerve today with his Fall fashion preview as catalog after catalog packed with the worst looking, ill-fitting merchandise at outrageous prices arrives daily at the Feste manse. What are these people thinking? Oh, that's right, it's FASHION. No thinking or taste necessary, just heaps of attitude, a willingness to look really foolish and a platinum credit card are required.
Firstly, I must advise James to shop at better stores. Ponchos for $29.95? Puhleeze! Glide into the lux environs of Neiman-Marcus and one can have this little number in mahogany mink to cover one's elbows and upper torso for a mere $2995.00! [That the PETA crowd will be very annoyed may be a side benefit, depending on the amount of spray paint such an item acquires.]
Although, one suspects this poncho, or one a little less pricey, may appear at Jasperwood. Is this cute or what?
However, cute is not under discussion, crappola is.
Perhaps The Lawyerly Wife would care to attend court in a silky half-slip and pink open-toed pumps? Such an outfit will most certainly confuse the opposition, Hizzoner and security.
Is this not the perfect shirt to skulk around the local Target Home Decor department, snapping up future yard sale items?
Lastly, Child Protective Services really should hunt down and sterilize parents who would do this to a child.
Now we know why Land's End, Eddie Bauer, Old Navy and their ilk do so well. Comfy, long lasting, reasonably priced clothing in natural fabrics and simple colors that bump along in our daily rut with a minimum of care. After we reach the age of majority, most of us simply are not interested in slavishly following fashion dictates, regurgitated 60's/70's themes, dress as an absent-minded tart, a Brit Bad Seed or wear a Peter Max explosion, at any price.
Of course, having said that, I must have one of these for the upcoming Hallothanksmas Eve celebrations.
The buyers at NM are indeed all aflutter.
Feelin' Groovy. Not. The fargin' scanner karked part way through a cigar box 'o gen-u-wine 1968's buttons. I broke out the digital camera and shot them with varying degrees of success. Not quite a bonfire, more of a mixed cultural bag , much like the submissions.
King of Fools is having a really bad day involving Babies and bodily fluids.
Meanwhile Josh Cohen is all about Madden NFL 2005.
Andrew Ian Dodge has a solution to feeding wedding guests!
Sneakeasy asks Where Were You? and his alter ego The Cycling Dude channels Will Rogers.
Lair advises when chivalry kicks in or the knife comes out in Short Changed in Sacramento.
Brian shares a traumatic experience from his youth: fear of Hurricane David. In Milwaukee.
Kevin explains why some women can never be too rich, too thin or too greedy.
Spirit Fingers begs For the love of God, woman put those things away.
Do we detect a meme forming? Mad Anthony fisks a guy complaining about giant armpits.
Nikita Demosthenes lists 10 Ways the Liberation of Iraq Supports the War on Terror. One assumes they're on our side.
John Beck tries, unsuccessfully, to keep profanity to a minimum in spite of Iranian provocation.
Susie of Practical Penumbra tosses a Viking Kitty our way as she bolts for work. Thanks. I think.
Sean at The American Mind posting about an Alan Keyes' napkin for sale may not have been the most hygenic idea he ever had.
Lastly, Foolsblog gets corny and offers a couple of buttons popular on campus for those who think politics is nastier than in the past. Yes, I was a liberal once in a galaxy far, far away.
Thanks for participating in my maiden Carnival effort. Next week's Bonfire will be warming up the cockles of Aaron's heart at Rantblog
Chris Matthews is pissing on Iraq —again— with the imbittered Wesley Clark offering negative spin thinly disguised as "expert" opinion. Apparently neither read today's WSJ piece by Arthur Chrenkoff.
As Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby writes, "The press tends to emphasize what's going wrong in Iraq because of an inbuilt bias for the negative--only the plane that crashes, not the 999 that land safely, [makes] news. The result is that while the bad news in Iraq gets reported everywhere, the reports of good news you have to look for." For the sake of fairness, one might add that in Iraq it's perhaps 10 or 20 planes that crash, yet even with that caveat the mainstream media coverage often give one the impression that the whole Iraqi air fleet has gone down in flames.The past two weeks have not been an exception, with the news from Iraq dominated by more hostage crises, the oil shock, continuing terrorist campaign and a sequel to the Shia uprising. Good news, once again, was few and far between. Yet progress continues to be made on the ground in Iraq, even during the most dangerous of times and often against the odds that we--so insulated by the safety, comfort and predictability of life in the West--can hardly even begin to comprehend.
The challenges still ahead in Iraq are considerable, but the media, in their manic rush from one disaster to the next and from one "quagmire" to another, rarely provide the context that would help us understand the situation. Having followed the mainstream media coverage, one can be forgiven for thinking that our task in Iraq is merely to return the country to its prewar status quo. More often than not lost in reporting is the realization that Iraq has to recover from the violence and destruction not just of the past year and a half, but of the past 30 years.
One would think card carrying Liberals such as Matthews, would applaud stories such as this:
• Society. Elections are scheduled for January 2005. The national conference to select an interim national assembly is set to be taking place as you're reading these words. In the meantime, the new generation of leaders is getting a crash course in democratic governance. A group of 14 Iraqi women is visiting the United States to get acquainted with the American political process and learn lessons which might be put to a good use at the next year's poll. The group, which already visited Washington and the Democratic National Convention in Boston, includes among others Taghreed Al-Qaraghuli, "a Baghdad resident who says she was denied the chance to pursue her education when she refused to join Saddam Hussein's Baath Party. Al-Qaraghuli is an active member of the Iraqi Independent Women's Group, a political party formed last year to advocate for equal rights."In all, some 50 nongovernment women's organizations have sprung up in Iraq recently; many women are getting involving in politics and civic life. "We succeeded in getting a target of 25% of women to be included in decision-making positions [in the new Iraqi government]. Now we have to train enough women to take on those jobs," says Tamara Sarafa Quinn, a Chattanooga, Tenn., resident, who helped organize the delegation.
Chrenkoff's roundup of the past two weeks' good news from Iraq gives lie to the media's failure meme. There are too many examples to pull quote, but this story is even sweeter as it involves a Coalition member reknown for their passion for footy and sports.
The Royal Australian Air Force has flown the Iraqi Olympic team out of Baghdad at the start of its journey to Athens."It's very appropriate that a country like Australia, which has helped to free the Iraqi people from Saddam Hussein, should play a role in getting their Olympic team to the Olympic Games," he said.
"I think there's a nice symbolism about that."
Indeed.
Read the whole article, follow the links and ask yourself why Matthews and his ilk have only bad news to offer.
President Bush announces a troop realignment as part of a long range DOD modernization that is not exactly a secret on Capitol Hill and the Dems question the timing?!
Richard Holbrooke, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and an adviser to Kerry's presidential campaign, called Bush's plan "pretty alarming."It's very amusing to watch the Dems morph into military-hugging hawks.Holbrooke, who is also a former ambassador to Germany and former assistant secretary of state for Asia, said, "I know that the Germans are very unhappy about these withdrawals. The Koreans are going to be equally unhappy. How can we withdraw troops from Korea while engaged in a delicate negotiation with the North Koreans? And there's a country that really does have weapons of mass destruction."
As a key member of the Clinton administration that was roundly hookwinked by North Korea he might want to rethink his criticism. Protesting against the US military has become a regular event and most South Koreans would be well pleased to see the US leave the Peninsula completely.
US faces Korean dilemmaBut these are awkward times for the US military in Korea. While the North looks threatening, the South is an increasingly reluctant host.
Nationalist feelings are growing in South Korea, even among Korean troops that serve alongside the Americans. US officers talk about bruised feelings following a series of mass anti-American demonstrations.
[...]
Soldiers spat at
Scott Snyder of the US-funded Asia Foundation in Seoul said the message is getting through to Washington. Rising nationalism in the South can no longer be ignored.
"If the government and if the public decides that US troops are no longer needed, I think the US government and public will expect that they will be withdrawn because the American public does not see itself, or see the US, as an imperialist power," he said.
"If we're not wanted in a particular place, or the protection that those security forces provide is no longer perceived as needed, then indeed I think they will be withdrawn."
Out on the town near the US base in Seoul, soldiers are only welcome in certain bars and clubs. Some say they have been spat at and insulted on the street.
"It's different seeing people that you're helping protect rally against you," one US serviceman said. "It's a little hard to swallow at first. I didn't expect to see that."
BTW-How does Holbrooke know Germany is unhappy? Speaking of suspicious timing, are the Dems acting as a shadow goverment?
SuNDae KarNIVal oF tHe kATz tIMe! YeshtERdAY wEESe cATcheD Zozo naPPinG oN tHe gUEstrOOm duVet (wHatEVeR tHat Ish) aN FeSte wUz rEaL mAd, bUt ZoZo dIDn'T cAre a'TaLL, sHe dIDn'T eVEn mOVe aFTeR wEEse tOOk hEr piTCHeR! FeSte sEz ZozO mUSth Be FrENcH.
--MoLLy
I've gone quiet for a few days as the news cycled into the partisan black hole of August recess and quite frankly I couldn't give a damn, my dear.
Hurricane Charley: I totally agree with Robert Tagorda; it's obviously a Republican plot to skew Florida into the GOP electoral column. The tip off? Cuba.
Outside The Beltway sums it up:
NBC + the Olympics = B-O-R-I-N-G. TV.
Wouldn’t the billion's spent on this relic of the Cold War and network ad fest be put to better use? Two weeks of Couric and crew alternately sobbing over trumped up soap operas or playing the Ugly American condescendingly slurping up an artificial layer of local customs is not my idea of must-see TV.
SwiftVetGate: James Carville and Lanny Davis tag-teaming John O'Neill on CNN's Crossfire capped a week of Cambodia Deja vu, Dem lawyers, bullies and party blow hards running the ad hominem "Ken Starr" gambit only served to make the SwiftVets appear more sympathetic as Kerry's version continues to unravel. What next, parsing what the meaning of "inside" is?
Via Instapundit, The American Thinker offers the most illuminating political posting of the week and one that should give Kerry supporters pause: The roots of French policy.
The thesis begins with an understanding that the post WW II world will be split into a US-dominated bloc and a Russian-dominated bloc. Kojeve called on France to develop a third bloc -- which he called the Latin bloc. This bloc would be composed of groups of nations bordering the Mediterranean and which share a certain cultural sensibility. He advocated for an economic alliance which presciently resembles the European Union. Tellingly, he also called for an accommodation and partnership with Islamic nations, and stated that this unity can be based on a mutual opposition to other trends (the enemy of my enemy is my friend).
In the glorious future he foretold, France would reign over this transnational alliance of nations as primus inter pares. Only this transformation would ensure continued French power in opposition to the Anglo alliance lead by America.
Kevin Donahue breaks the BOTV standing, sitting and running world record for the flaming spear toss with a mighty chuck into the Bonfire of the Vanities and missed a slot on the Olympic Flaming Spear Chucking team by —that— much.
Nixon's reach is long as he taps Senator Kerry on the shoulder from the grave. The 1970's anti-war activist Kerry's "Nixon's War" meme may come back to haunt him — should he be elected — Iraq will become "Kerry's War".
Does Kerry have a plan to "win the peace", or is he just blowing smoke ala Nixon?
In 1968, Nixon sought political gain from anti-war fervor when he touted a secret plan to end the Vietnam War. Kerry, a decorated veteran of that conflict, reminds some of Nixon when he talks of vague deals with foreign leaders.
Is Kerry equivocating on assurances of European rapprochement?
""Obviously, we'd have to see how events unfold," he added. "I intend to get more people involved in that effort and I'm convinced I can be more successful than President Bush in succeeding in doing that. It is an appropriate goal to have and I'm going to try to achieve it."Kerry refused to say if he had any private assurances from Arab or European nations that they would help with security and reconstruction in Iraq
We also learn from a recent AP interview that it was Senators Joe Biden and Carl Levin visiting NY restaurants to craft deals over the foie gras.
“There is a potential to be able to put a deal together over the course of time,” Kerry told The Associated Press in his first interview as the Democratic nominee. “At least, that is the perception that smart people like Joe Biden and, you know, Carl Levin and other leaders who’ve been there for a long time.”He said his fellow Democratic senators, reporting on their foreign travels, have told him, “A change in the presidency is essential to our ability to restore our respect and relationship.”
But when asked for hard evidence that his victory would produce a troops-reducing deal for America, neither Kerry nor his fellow senators cite anything other than their vague perceptions and utmost hopes.
“I can’t give you the details of any deal, obviously,” Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., said Monday. “You don’t negotiate a deal until you have a leader who is there to negotiate a deal.”
Seems highly unlikely given that the UN has been unable to muster a protective force for their return to Baghdad.
UN refuses to protect its own mission in BaghdadThe United Nations has failed to organize a special force in Iraq with the limited mission of securing its own headquarters.
UN officials said member states refused to contribute to a proposed force that would protect a UN mission in Baghdad. The mission was meant to mark the return of the UN presence in Iraq after a year's absence and help organize and monitor national elections in January 2005.
The UN left Iraq in August 2003 in wake of an Al Qaida-inspired bombing of UN headquarters in Baghdad. A UN report later blamed poor security for the success of the insurgency strike, which destroyed UN headquarters in Iraq.
Over the last few weeks, UN secretary-general Kofi Annan sought to establish a security force to protect the UN mission in Baghdad, Middle East Newsline reported. But Annan said nobody has pledged to commit troops.
"We haven't had much success attracting governments to sign up for the dedicated force to protect the UN personnel in Iraq and our property," Annan said. "So for the time being, for practical measures, we have no other choice but to rely on the multinational force."
Under the current arrangement, the U.S.-led coalition would provide protection for the UN mission in Baghdad. Annan did not say how many troops would be deployed.
Arrgh! If I have to watch 5 seconds more of the loathsome Lanny Davis spinning I may shoot every TV in the house and myself. You know whomever he's representing is lying when he shows up...do they think we're that stupid? Oh. Yeah. They do.
Ted Koppel's inteview with Rassman was a pathetic attempt to move the issue off the media table. Given the Kerry camps insistance that only men who were on the boat could be believed, Glenn asks a pertinent question:
And Rassman looks like a poor choice to defend these charges, as he wasn't there much. In fact, here's something that hasn't gotten a lot of attention:Jim Rassmann, now part of the Kerry presidential campaign, was a Special Forces lieutenant spending a few days with Kerry when he fell or was knocked off the swift boat while under fire and was fished out of the Mekong River by the future candidate.
So Kerry's main defender can't really know much about the specifics because he was only there for a few days. Why don't they put someone forward who can?
Oops, cue Lanny.
CLICK!
Maybe Kerry has an evil twin locked in the attic...otherwise he has a lot of 'splaining to do.
UPDATE: Today, on Fox News' "Fox and Friends," Kerry Campaign Advisor Jeh Johnson had this to say to the show's co-host Brian Kilmeade:
JOHNSON: John Kerry has said on the record that he had a mistaken recollection earlier. He talked about a combat situation on Christmas Eve 1968 which at one point he said occurred in Cambodia. He has since corrected the recorded to say it was some place on a river near Cambodia and he is certain that at some point subsequent to that he was in Cambodia. My understanding is that he is not certain about that date.
KILMEADE: I think the term was he had a searing memory of spending Christmas - back in 1986 in the senate floor in Cambodia.
JOHNSON: I believe he has corrected the record to say it was some place near Cambodia he is not certain whether it was in Cambodia but he is certain there was some point subsequent to that that he was in Cambodia.
WTF?
SuNDaE! YeSh, yUO knOWEd tHat, bUT Eyes hAFtA saYH iT aNYhowZ...cOz iT'Z CarnIVAl oF tHe KatZ dAy!!
MEEt PePiTa, meYes gOOd bUDdy wHO liVEz nEXt dOOr. He'Z rEAl nICe 'n teACheD mEese to rOLl in tHe dIRt. PePiTa liKEs tO sIt iN oUR gARden a lOT cOz it'Z nICe n cOOl.
FeSte sEz PePiTA lOOkz lIke a cAt tHat LiVed wITh FeStE mANy yEArz aGo.
EyeS duNNo, Weese lOOks fOr a piCTher tO pOSt L8tEr.
--MoLLy
Tacitus lays out Kerry's plan for world-wide disengagement and retreat in the war on terror. This seem to indicate that Kerry will hang Pakistan's Musharraf out to dry in order to stir profitable oil deals to the French in exchange for token support?
Kerry's plan is patently absurd.
In his own words in a recent NPR interview, Kerry will withdraw from Iraq within a year.
Excerpts:
Inskeep: Moving on to another subject, now -- Iraq. You have said that you would try harder to bring in America's allies. But, that said, if you look ahead a year, two years, if you win this election, how is the situation on the ground in Iraq going to be any different than it is now?
Kerry: Well, it has to be different from the way it is now. It is not safe today. It is not working for Iraqis. I believe it is critical to our success to have a fresh start. This President, regrettably, rushed to war, without a plan to win the peace, he pushed our allies aside, we've lost our credibility with the world, we need to restore that. And I think I can do that.Inskeep: This is what I'm wondering, though: In a year from now, since you do want to remain committed to Iraq, isn't it the case that there will still be many, many thousands of American troops there, still fighting the insurgents if the insurgents want to fight?
Kerry: Ah, no, not necessarily at all, because I think our diplomacy can produce a very different ingredient on the ground. And if it can't produce a different ingredient on the ground, lemme tell you something, that says something about what Iraqis want, and what the people in the region want. I believe that within a year from now, we could significantly reduce American forces in Iraq. And, ah, that's my plan.
Kerry sounds pretty sure of himself and his ability to bring hostile "allies" on board. Has Kerry been negotiating as a "shadow government"?
Inskeep: Regarding the effort to reduce the burden on the National Guard -- you've promised there will be an additional 40,000 US troops. You've said --
Kerry: Active duty. Not in Iraq.Inskeep: -- and you want to double the size of the Special Forces.
Kerry: Yes.
Inskeep: Given that it will take some time to build up those forces --
Kerry: Yes it will.
Inskeep: -- and given that you want to reduce the number of US troops in Iraq rather quickly, within a few months after assuming office --
Kerry: Well, those are two different situations.
Inskeep: Well, I want to know -- the question is, I want to know where are you intending for those troops to be used?
Kerry: We have huge obligations around the world still. North Korea ... we have Europe ... uh, Bosnia, Kosovo. We're not even doing what we probably ought to be doing in Darfur, in Africa. This Administration never responded fast enough to Liberia because of how overextended we are. So I believe --
Edwards: And reducing the burden on our Reserves and our Guard.
Kerry: -- the way you do it is by getting those active duty in place over a period of time. Now, ultimately, I want to reduce the size. I want to reduce the deployments. And if we have the proper effort over the next few years, my vision with respect to North Korea, and our presence in Europe, if the European defense force emerges, as they are talking of it, we can begin really bring some of America's troops home and begin to reduce our overall military burden. But for the moment, for this moment in time, we need these extra personnel.
Inskeep: Senators John Kerry and John Edwards, thanks very much.
Edwards obsequiousness is very revealing as to the depths a man will sink to keep his political options alive.
Kerry's campaign appears to be out of control, who is in charge? Kerry? Shrum?
Why should we believe Kerry can manage the country if he can't manage his campaign with a complicit media?
Lileks cuts to the chase.
So I don’t want to spend 9000 words on the Swift Boat vets right now. There are two tales here: the story, and how the story will be played in the dino media. I have nothing to add to the first and it’s too early to comment on the latter. This is not about Vietnam. This is about character, and this is about spin. Over the next week there’s going to be a lot of discussion in newsrooms about what this story means, and how the mainstream media’s handling of the charges will affect their image. They can tear the story down to the foundation and root for the truth, or they can hide behind he-said-they-said reportage. It’s their Waterloo. We’ll see.
I am not optimistic given that Kerry's "Bush mislead" meme and 9/11 WWKD spin on Moore's gas-baggery have not been challenged, but amplified as reportage.
Kerry voted for the congressional resolution in October 2002 that authorized the war. But when the Democratic ticket's train stopped in the tiny Missouri River town of Washington, Teresa Heinz Kerry agreed with her husband's accusation that Bush misled Americans in the run-up to war."You cannot solve problems by throwing stones," she told a cluster of listeners from a perch on the caboose. "And you cannot solve problems by telling lies, and you cannot solve problems by wishing ill to other people. The only way you solve problems is by holding hands and talking about it, and that's what we want to do in this country
Hold hands? Why does this bring to mind Jean Negulesco's 1953 production of Titanic? As the great ship lists and the last lifeboat rows away, the passengers hold hands and sing "Nearer My God To Thee".
If the Kerry campaign's rhetoric doesn't scare the hell out of you, then perhaps some gene pool thinning is in order.
UPDATE: Veteran retracts criticism of Kerry
"Captain George Elliott describes an article appearing in today’s edition of the BOSTON GLOBE by Mike Kranish as extremely inaccurate and highly misstating his actual views. He reaffirms his statement in the current advertisement paid for by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, Captain Elliott reaffirms his affidavit in support of that advertisement, and he reaffirms his request that he ad be played.
It appears that Kranish is also on the Kerry payroll as he is writing the official Kerry Edwards campaign book. The Globe forced Mike Barnicle's resignation over unproven plagiarism charges, yet they have no problem with their Kerry beat reporter in the campaign's employ?
Mary Katharine Ham makes a few cogent points about the Kerry tax rollback:
There's a new study from the Tax Foundation, which finds that most of the top 1 percent of earners we hear so much about are businessmen and entrepreneurs, not just a crowd of Scrooge McDucks diving in their bullion-filled swimming pools. From the Tax Foundation's press release:Business income could amount to as much as 65 percent of all the income earned by the top one percent of earners ($317,000 and up in 2004). The report concludes that 55 percent of all income taxes in 2004 will be paid by business owners. High-income business owners ($200,000 or more) will pay most of that ? 37.4 percent of all income taxes.
Ham's Scrooge McDuck reference is the sort of folksy language and imagery Bush needs to educate voters that Kerry's real tax target is small business.
The rapid increase in business income reported on individual tax returns can be traced to laws that have persuaded businesses to organize themselves as S-Corporations, Limited Liability Corporations, sole proprietorships and partnerships, instead of as regular C-Corporations that report their profits to the IRS on corporate income tax returns. Many regular C-Corporations have even jumped through the administrative hoops necessary to convert to S-Corporations.These firms are mostly small businesses, and they report their profits on the individual tax returns of the business owners. As a result, tax cuts not only help them personally but enable their businesses to grow.
Due to the scale of economy, manufacturing/industry no longer makes small or specialized components or replacement parts. Since the 1970's down-sizing, on-time delivery, niche production, tooling, after market products, parts and services have provided an opportunity for tens of millions of Americans to start and grow a business (As the above graph shows, they also pay a significant share of the tax burden.)
The irony is that Kerry will create the perfect scenario for more imports and service off-shoring to replace capital-starved small businesses in the supply chain and in the end betray the very unions who support him.
(via Instapundit)
So sue me, it's simply too good to pass up.
Stumping in Iowa, Kerry wows the locals with a savvy knowledge of the heartland by waving ears of corn, a traditional Iowan greeting.
Meanwhile, loyal, hard-working sidekick John Edwards, on a sandwich run for his campaign bus, does a little advance work and checks out bathrooms in Arkansas should Teresa need a convenience in the future. (Yeah, that'll happen)
BUHWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
John Kerry promises he will tell the truth to the American people.
Egads, I just realized that I hear Kerry's monotone delivery in my mind as I type...it's just like a Kylie Minoque song. I know...now you're hearing both, sorry, here's a bit of gratuitous eyecandy of the fetching Minoque to erase the Kerry drone.
However pleasant the diversion, I digress.
Kerry might start by telling the truth about his phony Wendy's lunch and photo-op.
Too fluffy for hardcore news/political junkies?
How about admitting on the record, and taking questions, that he was briefed on the intel behind the alert and taking a position. Would he have called an alert? if not why not? Instead, he allows surrogates to mislead the American people about the intel and the alert.
As I've previously opined Kerry is also misleading us about his ability to deal with Europe on a range of issues... elect John Kerry and we'll be toast.
Which perfectly segues to today's tasty Wictory Wednesday Wecipe:
French Toast:
4 whole eggs + 1 egg yolk
1 cup milk
1/3 cup cream
1/2 vanilla bean, pulp only (optional)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamon
8 - 2" inch thick slices of Brioche loaf or egg Challah
4 tablespoon unsalted butter
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, adjust rack to middle position.
To prepare the vanilla bean: sliced the bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds and pulp with the back of the knife, it will be a gooey black paste. Note: do not discard the scraped pod, drop in into your sugar cannister or a jar with sugar to make vanilla sugar.
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, vanilla pulp, vanilla essence, sugar, cinnamon and cardamon until pale and foamy. Stir in milk and cream, mixing until smooth.
Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat . Dip 4 slices of brioche into egg mixture, coating both sides well. Once butter is foamy, add slices to pan and brown lightly for 2-3 minutes on each side, remove slices to a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Repeat with remaining slices and egg mixture.
Place in oven and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, the toast will be crispy and light. Remove toast from oven and serve immediately with your favorite syrup and/or fruit topping.
Try sweetened sliced strawberries, peaches or blueberries and whipped cream, lightly dusted with powdered sugar...or a scoop of very rich vanilla ice cream for an unexpected twist.
or
Applesauce with a dollop of sour cream, dusted with light brown sugar is mighty tasty too.
Serves 4.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.
I have been mulling whether I should tell this story ever since the Syrian band incident, but the left's carping over the terror alerts is so appallingly ignorant that a personal experience might be illustrative and mildly amusing.
Americans who question the terror alerts should have been in Europe in the 80’s. I worked for an Italian auto firm and commuted to London, Brugge and Frankfurt often.
Italy was an armed camp, literally, with Polizia everywhere in their ninja suits and armed personnel carriers on city street corners. No one in management of any nationality could move about without armed bodyguards and armored cars as kidnapping for profit and/or political gain were rampant. Our walled apartment complex had a 50 cal. machine gun stationed over the courtyard gate and bomb sniffing dogs went over the cars before each exit and entry. An armed unit patrolled the grounds 24x7. The restaurants and shops we patronized were private or by appointment only. You get used it in a weird way…it becomes part of the background routine of your life.
Every fortnight our team flew the early morning BA commuter flight from Malpensa to Gatwick to attend management meetings in London. Security was extreme, no cargo or luggage was boarded, one briefcase or handbag per passenger, we were wand searched, and patted down, everything was opened and X-rayed, and passengers kept apart in small groups, guarded by Polizia and dogs, then bussed to the aircraft which were staged away from the terminal. The two early morning flights were open seating business class and everyone was formally dressed in business attire. In 1985 after the Palestinian massacre in Rome and Vienna, Arabic men were suspect and received extra scrutiny, by everyone.
One morning five Arabic men were on the flight, two older and three thirty-something. They were expensively and smartly dressed, and appeared to be urbane businessmen. They were seated in the center of the aircraft next to the exit door on either side of the aisle in the same row. As we boarded everyone kept their distance, polite but guarded. Two armed militia sat in jump seats facing the passengers. The loos were locked and off limits for the 45 minute flight.
Once we were airborne and the seat belt lights were turned off, people relaxed, lit smokes and the noise level rose in the cabin. Suddenly one of the young Arabic men seated on the aisle stood up very quickly, turned and reached into the overhead storage bin. He pulled a briefcase towards him and snapped both latches. The cabin went completely silent for a second or two, all eyes on his hands and the case, a loud reflexive gasp rose and fear was palpable. Those seated nearby froze as the two Polizia stood, Uzis drawn. The poor man realized that he was the center of attention; turned bright red and slowly held up a pack of Marlboros with a shrug and big nervous grin.
The whole plane exhaled loudly and laughed raucously, but the five men moved a little as possible for the remainder of the flight and avoided eye contact as we disembarked.
I will never forget the wave of fear as the latches snapped, nor will I ever complain about security.
The keg is tapped and the Blogosphere's worst is slowing turning on the spit as Bonfire of the Vanities cranks up at Cold Beer 4 The soul.
Lori at Polipundit appends her excellent post on General Franks recent remarks:
UPDATE: I suspect that if John Kerry gets wind of the Franks quote, he will probably just say that it proves that Bush knows nothing about how to gain the assistance of the international community. Anyone who saw Kerry's interview on Fox News Sunday learned Kerry's method of gaining the help of other nations:
This administration has never, ever fully offered these other countries the kind of partnership, the kind of decisionmaking sharing, the kind of participation in the reconstruction, the kind of participation in other issues that matter to those countries that actually bring them to the table. I know how to bring these countries to the table. And there are some very powerful cards we have to play.So, Kerry would play some "very powerful cards." Any guesses as to which cards France might be interested in? Oil contracts? Decision-making authority over U.S. troops? Lucrative construction contracts? Immunity from punishment for their role in the oil-for-food scandal? I wonder if anyone will ask Kerry to lay those cards on the table so that the voters can decide whether or not they want him to be the one playing them.
Lori's line of thought ties in with my previous posting listing our "allies" conflict of interests in the Middle East, and to stretch the metaphor to it's limits I'll pose a few Hold 'em style questions.
Is Kerry playing a hole card or a hanger in hinting that France may be on board under a Kerry administration? Kerry flashed a card, with very vague language, but is it a burncard or will he be forced to go to the river? It's time for a call...we can't afford a freeroll or a bust.
Put up details or fold 'em.
"I think that a fresh start changes the equation . . . for leaders in other countries who have great difficulty right now associating themselves with our policy and with the United States because of the way this administration has burned those bridges," Kerry said on CBS's "Face the Nation."
Let's see how successful Kerry might be in delivering these "other countries" by examining their relationship with Iran by Googling up a few examples of their business interests and what they might lose by joining the US in Iraq.
France Steps Up Its Investments in IranAlcatel, the French telecommunications giant, recently signed multimillion-dollar contracts to provide high-speed Internet service in Iran as well as communications for offshore oil and gas platforms.
PSA Peugeot Citroën, under a licensing agreement, sells kits for several models, including the Peugeot 206, a sports car that has become a status symbol in Tehran's chic sections.
The Total Group, one of the world's largest energy concerns, has long been involved in Iran, a country with 9 percent of the world's oil reserves and as much as 18 percent of its natural gas reserves. This year, it formed a $2 billion venture with the government-owned National Iranian Oil Corporation and Petronas of Malaysia called Pars LNG, which aims to produce eight million metric tons of liquefied natural gas a year, equal to about 15 percent of current world output.
So much for Kerry & Chirac's pillow talk.
Germany's Deutsche Bank To Finance Most Of Iran's Top Petrochemical ProjectsLondon, June 4, IRNA -- The agreement by Deutsche Bank to nearly double a financial package for the National Petrochemical Company (NPC) paves the way for the investment in most of Iran's major projects in the sector.
"The financing underscores and strengthens the long-standing relationship of NPC with European banks in general and Deutsche Bank in particular," said Hans Herold, global head of structured export finance at the German bank.The decision, announced by Deutsche Bank on May 30, nearly doubles a Euro 500 million (Dlrs 470 m) financing package agreed in June last year to Euro 1,032 m.
Herr Schoeder isn't cooing into Kerry's shell like ear. The EU isn't likely to take Kerry's phone calls as this EU Overview demonstrates.
The EU's relations with IranEU is Iran’s main trading partner concerning both imports and exports. Except for 1998, when oil prices were at a record low, the EU has had a negative trade balance with Iran. In 2001 EU imports from Iran totalled 6,7 billion Euro, whereas the value of EU exports to Iran in the same year amounted to 6,6 billion Euro.
Whereas more than 80 % of EU imports from Iran consist of oil products, the exports to Iran are more diversified, with power generation plants, large machinery and electrical and mechanical appliances making-up about 45 percent of the total exports.
Oil? No! I'm shocked! Alert the media!!
Russia seems to screening calls.
Russian Nuke Technicians Flood Iran for Final Push at Bushehr ReactorSome 600 Russian technicians — with 2000 more expected to arrive by the year's end — have begun assembling heavy equipment that will form a key part of the first reactor at a nuclear power plant in Iran.
Russia is going ahead with the $800 million project — at the Persian Gulf for of Bushehr — despite strong objections from the United States officials who in recent weeks have alleged that the construction of the 1000 megawatt reactor is a cover for Iran's intentions to develop weapons grade plutonium there.
But Russia asserts that the nuclear plant would serve purely civilian purposes and remain under the international supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA. The plant is scheduled to begin operating in June 2004 with the loading of nuclear fuel into the reactor set for December 2003, Russia's atomic energy ministry said.
"We have reached the stage of assembling our reactor and the turbine," Viktor Kozlov, managing director of Atomstroiexport company — which handles construction projects abroad for Russia's Atomic Energy Ministry, or Minatom —
That was in March of 2003 and Russia continues to flaunt the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty.
RUSSIA AND IRAN: WHO IS STRONG-ARMING WHOM?
Continued Russian support for Iran’s nuclear-energy program despite U.S. objections that this could help Tehran acquire nuclear weapons appears to be a source of great pride to many Russian officials and commentators. Indeed, Moscow’s defiance of Washington feeds into the notion that Russia is still a great power. Moscow’s continued contribution to the Iranian nuclear program may, however, ultimately serve to weaken Russia, not strengthen it.The U.S. government has long been worried that Tehran is using its nuclear-energy program to develop nuclear weapons, and has therefore repeatedly urged Moscow to halt work on the reactor it is building for the Iranians at Bushehr. The standard Russian response has been that Iran is in compliance with all International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) regulations, and thus has the right under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) to develop a peaceful nuclear-energy program. But with the revelation that Iran possesses hitherto secret nuclear facilities that it had not declared to the IAEA and that some of the equipment IAEA inspectors have found in Iran bore traces of weapons grade uranium, it has become increasingly clear that Iran is not in total compliance with IAEA regulations
Oh well, maybe tiny Finland will take the call?
Nokia investing in IranNokia is reportedly preparing to set up a joint venture in Iran to build base stations for use with infrastructure deployments in the Middle East. The Managing Director of Iran's Telecommunications Industries, Mohammad-Ebrahim Motalle told reporters on Tuesday that his company had been in talks with Nokia for the joint venture project, IRIB reported.
The project is said to have a budget of US$250 million
Nope, guess they've dropped the signal. Makes one wonder what Kerry intends to trade his imaginary coalition of the newly bribed for their support in disarming Iran and help in Iraq.
