#2
Burning the man. Oh, so droll. Oh, so insightful.
There's already been one remake of "Wicker Man", and that fell short of the original. Why do a bunch of pampered, overpaid, sanctimonious, spiritually confused pseudointellectuals who are anti-religious bigots and dilettante Marxists have to try and redo it every year?
Posted by: no mo uro ||
09/17/2015 7:55 Comments ||
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#3
Cause they keep getting it wrong. They can't seem to recall they're supposed to fill the wicker man with sacrifices and burn them alive. Silly idjits.
#4
'Burning Man' is a gathering of all the cool cafeteria kids you knew from high school, or their avatars. You're not allowed to parody them, because whatever they do is cool, you plebe.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
09/17/2015 8:38 Comments ||
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#5
This is their church. They are allowed to make fun of yours. You are not allowed to make fun of theirs. Got it?
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
09/17/2015 9:52 Comments ||
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#6
Screw burning man, wasteland weekend looks a lot more fun. Why go hippie-dippie when you can go Mad Max!
A superb explanation of the "Pyongyang Playbook": the use of intimidation, provocation and seeming concessions that put and keep North Korea in the driver's seat in its relations with the rest of the world. Recommended.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/17/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
Again, CHINA is unlikely to support any efforts toward de facto INTER-KOREAN INTEGRATION + FINAL REUNIFICATION unless it gets back TAIWAN, + even iff it did get back Taiwan will likely demand certain Anti-US, Pro-China or Neutral conditions or restrictions be emplaced in SOKOR or a reunified Korea before final Reunification can occur. DEMANDS BY CHINA FOR A MINIMAL OR NO US MIL PRESENCE ON OKINAWA [Philippines = Northern PH/Luzon], + RETURN/HANDOVER OF THE SENKAKU, YONAGUNI ISLANDS SHOULD ALSO BE EXPECTED FROM CHINA VEE JAPAN.
China desires the above to help protect its new PLA CENTCOM in Taiwan.
Again II, NO RETURN OF TAIWAN TO CHINA = CHINA IS LIKELY TO FORMALLY ANNEX NORTH KOREA FIRST BEFORE IT ALLOWS ANY REUNIFICATION WID SOUTH KOREA.
Assaid before, its may actually be in the US-Allies' interests for NOKOR = TWO KOREAS? to
SSSSHHHH .... CCCCCC have [Anti-China, NOKOR-only controlled] Nukes in order to facilitate de facto Inter-Korean Reunification wid or widout China's assent.
THE MAHA-RUSHIAN QUESTIONNE' THEN BECOMES "CAN PUDGY/KJU = KIM DYNASTY-REGIME BE TRUSTED WID NUKES, I.E. NOT TO DO ANYTHING STUPID THAT WILL END UP KILLING NOKOR, BOTH KOREAS, + EVERYBODY".
NUKULAAR NOKOR = NUKULAAR IRAN VEE P5+1 DEAL???
* FYI DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > PHILIPPINES: BATAAN NUCLEAR PLANT [40-plus years old] WILL TAKE YEARS TO REHAB: HOUSE COMMITTE TOLD [PH Congress].
PH NEED NUKES [Japan-style? NucMat quick-conversion from NucEnergy to NucBombs] TO DETER OR COUNTER CHINA???
#2
Its either the Korean Peninsula be NUCLEARIZED, or else NOKOR find a way to stave China off until such time that Radical Islam e.g. ISIS/ISIL + other can attack + destabilize China.
FYI, China Perts on WMF are roughly arguing most or same thing ...
> US-CHINA WAR OVER TAIWAN = TAIWAN STRAIT.
> MAJOR CHINA-JAPAN WAR over Senkakus = Lessor East China Sea islands, resources, + even Okinawa Archipelago = A-L-L Southern islands NOT linked to Japanese Mainland.
> MAJOR CHINA-PH/ASEAN WAR, + by extens US-China War? over South China Sea.
> BORDER ACTIONS/WARS, from Uighurs, ETIM, + Xinjiang = West China; to India-Pak + Himalaya States; + China-vs-Russia over Mongolia + RFE; East Asia-wide War Refugees = Diasporas.
Josh Stanton at One Free Korea explains the difference, which clearly eludes the hand-wringers, apologists and progressives...
'Evil' is pretty much a learned trait. Governments now control learning. Therefore no association or characterizations of 'evil' in conjunction with governments is permitted. Please simply default to insanity when individual actions cannot be explained.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/17/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
Best of all, Seoul discovered the deterrent value of information operations, and had already threatened to turn the loudspeakers back on if the North tests a missile. Imagine what a strong deterrent it would have if it built cell towers along the DMZ.
Posted by: Helmuth, Speaking for Big Foot4718 ||
09/17/2015 0:28 Comments ||
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#2
Once while hiking in a canyon along the Rio Grande in NM, I received a cell phone text message, the only possible source was Sandia Crest, 38.5 miles away (I could see it even though I was in a canyon). At the time the phone indicated "no service".
#3
I remember, in the days before ubiquitous towers in our area, finding a large metal building on the top of a hill to act as a 'reflector' (not tough to find in the upper Midwest although silos and grain bins didn't work - they're round) and positioning about 55-60 feet in the direction of the closest known tower, allowed operations up to 50-60 miles.
'Line-Of-Sight' has a lot to do with it, so elevation in relationship to the tower is key for remote areas.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
09/17/2015 8:35 Comments ||
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#4
I don't think your average starving North Korean peasant has ever been able to own a cell phone. And I am still more sceptic about the North Korean government not executing the peasant right away. For Chrissake: in the, by NK's standards, land of freedom that was the USSR under Stalin people ownership of radios was under strict control.
#7
evil is a concept we cannot do without. it is necessary.
Evil is when Saddam Hussein has his translator torn to pieces (literally) in a torture chamber because he was the unwilling witness to the "disrespectful" admonitions of world leaders prior to Gulf War I, telling him to get out of Kuwait, that he had gone too far, that the world would not tolerate his behaviour.
And because no crime boss will tolerate an underling witnessing his shaming - or he might tell others
that is evil.
being forced to witness and applaud as your loved one is executed and then being sent the bill for the bullet - this is evil.
Forcing your slaves not just to obey you but to *love* you as they starve. The crime family Kim does this in Korea - this is evil
[Hurriyet Daily News] Addressing a group of international ombudsmen in Ankara on Sept. 16, President Tayyip Erdogan tried to assure The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... 's "Western friends" that the country is a democracy, not an autocracy. He said he wanted to underline this because people who want to undermine Turkey's march toward an "advanced democracy" are trying to "manipulate" reality to create an adverse impression. Erdogan particularly mentioned the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has resumed its acts of terror after a pause of three years, as well as the "parallels" (meaning sympathizers of Fethullah Gulen, an Islamist ideologue living in the U.S.) and their "extensions" in politics, media and elsewhere.
That statement came one day after an Istanbul prosecutor opened an investigation into the Dogan Media Group, (to which Hurriyet, the Hurriyet Daily News and CNN Turk also belong), on claims of "promoting terrorism" based not on any hard evidence but based on fabricated news recently published by a staunchly pro-government newspaper.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
09/17/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
... tried to assure everyone smallpox islamism is a benign skin rash, not an existential threat to humanity...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
09/17/2015 9:59 Comments ||
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#2
TL;DR - "please look over there (not at me) so I can consolidate power with thuggery and impose Islamism via manipualted voting and mob rule."
[Wikipedia] mConstitution Day (or Citizenship Day) is an American federal observance that recognizes the adoption of the United States Constitution and those who have become U.S. citizens. It is normally observed on September 17, the day in 1787 that delegates to the Constitutional Convention signed the document in Philadelphia.[2]
When Constitution Day falls on a weekend or on another holiday, schools and other institutions observe the holiday on an adjacent weekday.[3]
The law establishing the present holiday was created in 2004 with the passage of an amendment by Senator Robert Byrd to the Omnibus spending bill of 2004.[4] Before this law was enacted, the holiday was known as "Citizenship Day". In addition to renaming the holiday "Constitution Day and Citizenship Day," the act mandates that all publicly funded educational institutions, and all federal agencies, provide educational programming on the history of the American Constitution on that day.[5] In May 2005, the United States Department of Education announced the enactment of this law and that it would apply to any school receiving federal funds of any kind.[3] This holiday is not observed by granting time off work for federal employees.
Universities and colleges nationwide have created "U.S. Constitution and Citizenship Weeks" in order to meet the requirements of the law. For example, the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) has created a celebration week that includes "Constitution Trivia Contests", distribution of free copies of the U.S. Constitution, a campus & community fair (in which volunteer and community groups can share information with students), a web page with facts and links related to the Constitution and history of the United States. MSOE has also distributed thousands of free "Presidential quote" T-shirts to all students on campus.[6]
Heavener schoosl first recognized Constitution Day in 1911.[7] In 1917, the Sons of the American Revolution formed a committee to promote Constitution Day. The committee would include members such as Calvin Coolidge, John D. Rockefeller, and General John Pershing.[7]
I am an American Day[edit]
This day was inspired by Arthur Pine, the head of a publicity-public relations firm in New York City bearing his name. At the New York World's Fair, the writers of a new song called "I am an American" brought their manuscript to the attention of Arthur Pine who handled publicity for the band leader, Gary Gordon, and a music publisher. Arthur Pine had the song introduced on NBC, Mutual, and ABC by the orchestra leader, arranged for an "I am an American Day" at the World's Fair and had a local New York newspaper tie-in with "I am an American Day" in the city. The promotion proved so successful that a newspaper chain promoted "I am an American Day" on a nationwide basis and had President Roosevelt name it as an official day.[8]
In 1939, William Randolph Hearst advocated, through his chain of daily newspapers, the creation of a holiday to celebrate citizenship.[citation needed] In 1940, Congress designated the third Sunday in May as "I am an American Day." In 1944 "I am an American Day" was promoted through the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service.[9] A 16-minute film, I Am an American, was featured in American theaters as a short feature.[10] In 1947 Hearst Newsreels featured the event on News of the Day.[11] By 1949, governors of all 48 states had issued Constitution Day proclamations.[7] On February 29, 1952, Congress moved the "I am an American Day" observation to September 17 and renamed it "Citizenship Day".[12][13]
Louisville, Ohio -- the Constitution Town[edit]
Louisville, Ohio, calls itself "Constitution Town", and credits one of its own for getting the holiday national recognition. In 1952, resident Olga T. Weber petitioned municipal officials to establish Constitution Day, in honor of the creation of the US Constitution in 1787. Mayor Gerald A. Romary proclaimed September 17, 1952, as Constitution Day in the city. The following April, Weber requested that the Ohio General Assembly proclaim September 17 as state-wide Constitution Day. Her request was signed into law by Governor Frank J. Lausche. In August 1953, she took her case to the United States Senate, which passed a resolution designating September 17--23 as Constitution Week. The Senate and House approved her request and it was signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. On April 15, 1957, the City Council of Louisville declared the city Constitution Town. The Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society later donated four historical markers, located at the four main entrances to the city, explaining Louisville's role as originator of Constitution Day.[14]
Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy ||
09/17/2015 12:24 ||
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#1
Constitution? I remember when we had one that people knew, government agencies (including police) obeyed, lawmakers respected, and courts actually enforced.
#2
Sadly, those days are gone, between the big government Bushies, Obama's Chicago gangsters, and the twin tyrant excuses of "for the children" and "war on terror". We have forfeited real liberty for illusory security - traded our truth in "freedom to" for lies of "freedom from".
Eight years ago, then-Senator Obama excoriated the Bush administration's mishandling of Afghanistan, which he characterized as the most important front in the global war on terror. At the time, the criticism had merit. In 2007, the war in Afghanistan was under-resourced, with a dysfunctional and disjointed command structure, and with no civil-military campaign plan in place to defeat the insurgency.
Today, absent a course change, that is precisely the trifecta that Obama himself is set to bequeath to the next president unless he makes immediate changes.
#1
As commander-in-chief, the bammer is the war czar. What we need is a new commander-in-chief. Come on January 2017.
Posted by: Helmuth, Speaking for Big Foot4718 ||
09/17/2015 0:15 Comments ||
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#2
Today, absent a course change, that is precisely the trifecta that Obama himself is set to bequeath to the next president unless he makes immediate changes.
Did Messrs Fontaine and Serchuk consider the possibility that "structural incoherence" might be the strategy and Mr. Obama bequeathing the "trifecta" to his successor might be the objective?
#3
Ditto Pappy. If you turn the baseball field into a trout pond, people will soon stop coming to the games. Behavioral change has always been Champ's goal. Any guesses as to what might be prompting or encouraging his efforts? Could 'hope & Change and 'affirmative action' be enablers ?
#4
We don't need another frickin czar. Czars are just un-American. We need a Commander-in-Chief with a spine and we need to unleash a general such as George Patton if we have such a person in today's PC climate. Where's that guy, what's his name? Oh Yeah, General James Mattis, the guy that said: "I come in peace. I didn’t bring artillery. But I’m pleading with you, with tears in my eyes: If you fuck with me, I’ll kill you all." He might want to amend this quote to say, "I'm coming to kill all you MFns terrorists. No nation building this time."
#5
"Czars" are political cover for not wanting to make decisions. Studies, staff meetings, et al are largely because the person occupying the position doesn't want to make the call, but certainly wants the pay, perks, and titles that go with the office.
The opposite of this approach is what ensued during the Bush administration’s disastrous first year in Iraq, when the slapdash Coalition Provisional Authority and an equally slapdash military headquarters stumbled from crisis to crisis, largely disconnected from each other, without a campaign plan.
Left out of the equation was a passive-aggressive State Department that was fundamentally opposed to the run-up of OIF, tried to scuttle the initial moves into Iraq (they had a major role in Turkey's refusal to allow the 4th ID in,) and had no desire to either administer or support efforts to rebuild the Iraqi government.
Subsequently that fell to the military, which proved the adage that one can use a screwdriver as a chisel and vice-versa, but neither is much good at their original purpose after prolonged use.
WNU Editor: One can now say with confidence that the U.S. war strategy against the Islamic State has failed .... and failed spectacularly. And what is even more disturbing about this story is that with the exception of the wire services ... no one else is covering this story. But this failure should not surprise anyone .... everyone knows that to have an impact against the Islamic State you will need to have boots on the ground. But it is obvious to me that no one in the White House or Congress is willing to go down that road. I can also now understand why Russia decided this summer to radically changed its Syrian policy. They probably came to the conclusion weeks ago (if not months ago) that the U.S. strategy against the Islamic State was going to fail, and from that analysis made the decision to boost their military presence in Syria significantly. While the U.S. may not want boots on the ground .... the Russians have clearly made the decision that boots on the ground is far more preferable than the alternative.
Posted by: Helmuth, Speaking for Big Foot4718 ||
09/17/2015 00:09 ||
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#1
And as per CHINA out here in WESTPAC?
* WORLD MILITARY FORUM > SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST [SCMP]: NEW NANSHA RUNWAY WILL ALLOW PLA FORCE PROJECTION THROUGHOUT THE SOUTH CHINA SEA, FACILITATE CHINA + PLAN'S EVOLUTION TOWARDS BEING A TRUE "BLUE WATER" NAVY. NATIONAL AFFAIRS OF SMALLER NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES LIKE THE PHILIPPINES + VIETNAM, ETC. [ASEAN] TO NOW BE PART OF CHINA'S "CORE" INTERESTS.
* SAME > CHINA CAN TELL THE US: IFF THE US CAN ENGAGE IN MILITARY BUILDUP ON GUAM + OTHER PACIFIC REGIONS/AREAS, WE IN CHINA CAN HAVE MILITARY BUILD-UP ON OUR OWN ISLANDS IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA.
* RELATED SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST > PLA NEEDS ADDITIONAL RUNWAY TO BREAK US GRIP IN SOUTH CHINA SEA IFF TENSIONS INCREASE, CHINA EXPERTS SAY.
* JAPAN TIMES > TENSIONS INVOLVING CHINA, JAPAN, + US POSING ASIA-PACIFIC [War]RISKS: UK THINK-TANK [IISS Strategic Survey 2015].
* YAHOO NEWS > CHINA RENEWS ITS CLAIMS TO SOUTH CHINA SEA ISLANDS AS US THINK-TANK WARNS ON AIRSTRIP.
* WORLD NEWS > CHINA IS RIGHTFUL OWNER OF SOUTH CHINA SEA SINCE HAN DYNASTY - CHINESE ADMIRAL.
The "China" in "South China Sea" - DITTO THE "EAST CHINA SEA" ALA JAPAN???
PLAN North Sea Fleet Chief VADM. Yuan Yubai.
* TOPIX >[NY Observer] WASHINGTON WAFFLES ON KOREAN MISSLE DEFENSE [SOKOR THAAD], DELIGHTING CHINA + RUSSIA.
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > PAKISTANI STRATEGISTS EMBRACE NUCLEAR [LRBM, War] OPTION AS [ONLY?] ANSWER TO INDIA THREAT - DEFENSE NEWS.
#3
Seems mean to call it failure when we aren't actually doing much. A few red lines, some random air strikes, and a lot of bloviation from President "Don't Call My Bluff" isn't exactly D-Day.
#4
...I think it goes without saying that had this President been of the Other Party, the calls for investigation/impeachment/resignation would be as a tidal wave.
Pretty damned impressive. World War II to this in one lifetime.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
09/17/2015 5:30 Comments ||
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#5
This was never a "War" strategy.
It has always been a "War Avoidance and Media PR" strategy. Calm the enemies ('pubs etc.) and mollify the base.
re: Mike.....yep that's a hell of a fall isn't it?
1) Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor
2) Hitler invaded the Soviet Union
Remember before #2, all the good commies of the world wanted us (and everyone else) to leave Hitler alone. The Russians had a treaty and Hitler was just fine.
If Hitler hadn't invaded, the hard-left commie movement in this country would have been against the war as hard as they possibly could have been, Pearl Harbor be damned.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/17/2015 7:57 Comments ||
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#7
Steve W, that is so 1930s. That is a long time ago. Unfortunately and accurately, as you suggest, if we do not learn from history, we are destined to repeat it. Many in Washington, this of history as what happened in the last election and strategy as something that affects the next election.
#13
Alan C - totally right. Exactly why we fail. It is high time our rulers took this war seriously and faced down the howls of "bigot islamophobe" from The Guardian and did what is necessary
Declare the Caliphate the enemy and sharia its ideology
Charge with treason those who practice sharia and deport or lock them up
The new slogan should be "Muslims are welcome, sharia is not"
and the flow on new rules should be felt with immediate effect in the Department of Immigration.
Muslim immigrants must be made to sign a declaration that they will not practice sharia.
All new immigrants should be given PROVISIONAL citiizenship only - and anybody committing a violent or sex crime, or caught participating in a sharia court or its judgements, immediate deportation.
[DAWN] ON the issue of the blockade placed on access to YouTube, the poet's words regarding "decisions and revisions that a minute will reverse" come to mind.
It has been three years since access to the site from within Pakistain was curtailed, following a furore in the Moslem world caused by a certain mischief-making film trailer.
Back then, it was promised that some way of filtering content, or getting YouTube's parent company, Google, to do this, would be found.
Since then, though, the matter has been reduced to the level of farce. Various government functionaries have promised solutions, but nothing has happened. The superior courts have used their time to puzzle over the problem, all to naught.
On May 6 last year, the National Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution to lift the blockade; and on Tuesday, the Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology also directed that YouTube be unblocked.
Will this be enough to see the ban lifted? Citizens are justifiably wondering what it will take, or at what level a consensus could be reached, to reverse one of the most ridiculous bans slapped by the state?
It is an open secret that the blockade is pointless, given that there are several methods through which the ban can and is being bypassed.
Indeed, submitting the resolution last year to the National Assembly, MNA Shazia Marri noted that people were using proxy servers.
Are we to understand, then, that the ban remains because its lobby group has fallen silent?
The government needs to own up to the fact that open access to the internet, especially those sites that are used for research and educational purposes, is the citizenry's right.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/17/2015 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Eight years ago, then-Senator Obama excoriated the Bush administration's mishandling of Afghanistan, which he characterized as the most important front in the global war on terror. At the time, the criticism had merit. In 2007, the war in Afghanistan was under-resourced, with a dysfunctional and disjointed command structure, and with no civil-military campaign plan in place to defeat the insurgency.
