or Powell's or me• • •
"Mike and Jon, Jon and Mike—I've known them both for years, and, clearly, one of them is very funny. As for the other: truly one of the great hangers-on of our time."—Steve Bodow, head writer, The Daily Show
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"Who can really judge what's funny? If humor is a subjective medium, then can there be something that is really and truly hilarious? Me. This book."—Daniel Handler, author, Adverbs, and personal representative of Lemony Snicket
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"The good news: I thought Our Kampf was consistently hilarious. The bad news: I’m the guy who wrote Monkeybone."—Sam Hamm, screenwriter, Batman, Batman Returns, and Homecoming
April 16, 2013
We Ream Them As Best We Can
It's almost always bogus when newspapers like the Washington Post give government officials anonymity, but this is certainly a legitimate use of it:
The Pentagon is deepening its military involvement across Africa as it confronts an expanding array of terrorist movements and guerrilla groups. In doing so, the U.S. government has become dependent on several countries with checkered democratic records. That in turn has lessened Washington’s leverage to push those countries to practice free elections and the rule of law...“The countries that cooperate with us get at least a free pass,” acknowledged a senior U.S. official who specializes in Africa but spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid retribution. “Whereas other countries that don’t cooperate, we ream them as best we can.”
The official said the administration of former president George W. Bush took the same approach in Africa. Many U.S. diplomats and human-rights groups had hoped Obama would shift his emphasis in Africa from security to democracy, but that has not happened, the official added.
“There’s pretty much been no change at all,” the official said. “In the end, it was an almost seamless transition from Bush to Obama.”
—Jon Schwarz
Posted at April 16, 2013 08:50 AMApparently, nobody in Obama's administration has been able to make the connection that increasing the presence of DEMOCRACY in Africa would also mean an increase in our SECURITY. An African democratic country's best interests are going to more closely coincide with ours, politically, than with a neighboring dictatorship or monarchy (or other restrictive government form).
Posted by: GrendelVS at April 16, 2013 10:57 AMYou mean best interests like blowing ppl up,overthrowing elected govts.,torturing, supporting monsters like Suleiman, and be generally evil prats?
Posted by: FatGUy at April 16, 2013 12:10 PMChanging skin color of OUR presidents doesn't seem to make any difference in policy or actions. Perhaps a gender change? Although if its Hillary, maybe not so much. Party change means NOTHING, of course. LOTE, Folks, seamless---priceless!!!
Posted by: Mike Meyer at April 16, 2013 12:29 PMFirst of all, I would like to remember the victims of bomb explosions in Boston yesterday, killed and wounded and their friends and relatives. It was horrible. And JUST LIKE we are outraged by our govt's aggressive war against innocent people who are victims of that immoral war and we feel their pain, we can not but feel the pain of those who suffered the horror yesterday. I do hope, there will not be any more such horrific events.
Coming to the post.....
"That in turn has lessened Washington’s leverage to push those countries to practice free elections and the rule of law....
Is it not totally unrealistic and hypocritical for Washington to expect other countries to practice rule of law when the administration has violated International laws and Human Rights with impunity by its policies?
“Whereas other countries that don’t cooperate, we ream them as best we can.”
I do not what that means but I am sure it is not anything complimentary. Sadly, USA hardly ever shows any respect for any country..... it is total disregard..... it is only when her INTERESTS are at stake, she tries to pretend to be friendly, for the duration.
"U.S. diplomats and human-rights groups had hoped Obama would shift his emphasis in Africa from security to democracy, but that has not happened, "
On pretext of keeping USA secure, the administration is committing worse violations of what is moral and decent behaviour. Even Human Rights groups should stop talking about security. "Security" as defined by the govt is a delusional state. There are NO GUARANTEES.. .. NO ONE can provide 100% security.... that is life and that is the reality. For a TV reporter to ask a question like,"Was the security adequate" yesterday at the marathon.... was the most incredulous moment. The sooner we get used to the REAL WORLD, the better we all will be. And the govt should STOP talking about OUR security and STOP inflicting horrors on innocent people in other countries. That Obama is continuing Bush's policies is not surprising any more. He was elected the president of THE EXCEPTIONAL USA.....and not of one the tiny islands in the Pacific!
Rupa Shah:Imagine a steel cone with file like groves vertically cut into the side of the cone---a ream, used to increase the size of a drilled hole. In the context OUR official is referring to is, of course, "painful anal sex".
I do indeed feel sorry for those folks in Boston. I also feel sorry for the 30 human beings ALSO killed yesterday in Afghanistan, killed by a NATO airstrike. Apparently the Boston blast was unavoidable, or SURELY it would have been avoided after ALL the Security Dollars WE have spent. I see the NATO strike as avoidable since WE OWN the aircraft and bombs.
I have a good friend and neighbor who is a marathon runner and has run the New York Marathon, but I haven't talked to his family to see if he went to Boston.
I've got NO respect for bomb throwers of ANY kind, so I hope these bombers are caught and prosecuted.
Sadly, I feel that "the usual suspects" will be rounded up and one or two GITMOed into a confession, allowing the perps to walk.
Human Rights??? Ask an Injun(Native American) to get an EYE WITNESS into America's sterling record on Human Rights. (Those men in GITMO aren't American, so NO need to ask them, they don't count.)
Yesterday a fertilizer plant in Texas blew up. No change to gun laws, either. Marathon bombing on TAX DAY&poison pen letters sent to The Prez and two Reps.
Looking backward, as opposed to forward, I feel ABSOLUTELY safe in saying, "business as usual".
I see also where The White House has been calling for a vote recount in Venezuela. I assume that they've elected the wrong guy for President, AGAIN. It would be logistically easier to invade Venezuela than to bomb Iran. PLUS WE know for sure they have oil. What with the wrong guy ELECTED to office, why the simple people of Venezuela would welcome US with open arms and flowers if WE would only hang that dictator "What's-ezz-name" and managing their/OUR oil for them.
Posted by: Mike Meyer at April 18, 2013 02:41 AMAlso Deadeye&Henry went to Maggie's funeral and NO-ONE arrested them or even said boo. That seems hardly fair!
Posted by: Mike Meyer at April 18, 2013 02:45 AMBoo!
Posted by: godoggo at April 18, 2013 03:44 PM27 killed in a Baghdad cafe bombing, today.
Posted by: Mike Meyer at April 18, 2013 08:57 PMWhy We Fight...
from Wiki:
"Why We Fight is a series of seven documentary films commissioned by the United States government during World War II whose purpose was to show American soldiers the reason for U.S. involvement in the war. Later on they were also shown to the general U.S. public to persuade them to support American involvement in the war" etc.
Actually, Why We Fight:
1)
"Afghanistan has over 1400 mineral fields....It is believed that among other things the country holds $3 trillion in untapped mineral deposits"[Wiki].
2)
"The Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline...(or TAPI) is a proposed natural gas pipeline being developed by the Asian Development Bank. The pipeline will transport Caspian Sea natural gas from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan into Pakistan and then to India" [Wiki].
"Estimates of the area's proven and probable natural gas reserves range from 230-360 trillion TCF--as much as the combined reserves of the US and Mexico..." [RAND Corp study].
http://is.gd/unjTZT
http://is.gd/EBsAhQ
http://is.gd/9ARxMb
Posted by: Dean Taylor at April 19, 2013 07:47 AMI see where Boston got locked down. Once the lockdown was over A CITIZEN found the blood trail and the suspect. Kinda the way they used to do it in the old days.
Some things WE can't change BUT "business as usual" CAN be changed into "NO business as usual".
Third Party, Folks.-----something different---not seamless.
