[Red State] Rudy Giuliani reveals information I’ve never heard before about the Bidens’ foreign business dealings, Ukraine’s involvement in the 2016 election and the activities of former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine and Donald Trump victim, Marie Yovanovitch.
The two covered everything from the amazing transformation of New York City during his years as mayor in the 1990s and his heroic leadership in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks, to the U.S. strike on Soleimani and the financial adventures of the Biden family in Ukraine and other foreign countries. I’m going to focus on the later topics in this post.
They spoke of Qasem Soleimani as a transformative figure whose absence will leave a vacuum. Giuliani said, "You lose somebody like this, he can’t be replaced right away. If Hitler had been taken out in the early years, I wonder if anybody else could have put together Nazi Germany."
Bongino added, "The operational knowledge contained in his head was devastating and unquestionably would have led to the deaths of thousands if not tens of thousands more."
They discussed the protests of the Iranian people in the streets and both agreed that sooner or later, the regime is going to fall.
#3
They spoke of Qasem Soleimani as a transformative figure whose absence will leave a vacuum. Giuliani said, "You lose somebody like this, he can’t be replaced right away. If Hitler had been taken out in the early years, I wonder if anybody else could have put together Nazi Germany."
Clinton had a chance to take out Osama Bin Laden but didn't pull the trigger. Clinton. The world would have been a very different place had he pulled the trigger at the time.
BTW, Marie Yovanovitc is not a victim of Trump. She's part of the Ukraine cover-up.
[The Street] Paris, Rome, New York... they are some of the most popular travel destinations in the world‐but many expats who live in these world-class cities are unhappy.
What makes it so hard to live in a city that so many people want to visit? The cost of living, difficulty making friends, and challenges finding housing are some of the reasons cited by respondents to a survey conducted by InterNations, a global community and information site for people who live and work abroad.
According to the survey of 20,000 expats living in 82 cities around the world, the best cities, which include Taipei, Kuala Lumpur and Ho Chi Minh City, offer a high quality of life, good transportation, available healthcare, low cost of living and friendly locals.
But in places like Milan and Rome, poor political stability concerns expats, and in U.S. cities like New York and San Francisco, they cite affordability and housing as main issues.
To identify the best and worst cities for expats, InterNations asked expats to rate more than 25 different aspects of urban life abroad in the categories of Quality of Urban Living, Getting Settled, Urban Work Life, and Finance & Housing. The survey also includes a Local Cost of Living Index, which does not factor into the overall ranking to avoid over-representing financial aspects.
#1
I've met a bunch of expats. Many of them are professional sneerers, looking down on whatever host culture they find themselves in. Others are complainers who love being miserable, and relish always having something to bitch about.
Posted by: Herb McCoy ||
01/07/2020 5:20 Comments ||
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#2
*shrug* Sounds sensible. Dreadfully romantic as ideas, but who would want to have to deal every day with Mayor De Blasio’s cleverness in NYC, the results of the homeless on the streets of San Francisco, or the Moslem colonists on the streets of Paris?
#9
Heh, heh, heh. The ad hominem again. You've got nothing. Make a real argument and we'll talk. Until then, you're just little kids playing in the playground.
Posted by: Herb McCoy ||
01/07/2020 14:33 Comments ||
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#10
Pyramid? PYRAMID?!
Compromise, 'Erb the Coy, is the Hypotenuse of the Conjoined Triangles of Success!
#11
'Twas midnight, but one Organismus
Wuz stirring on Orthodox Christmas...
Stuck I am. Whatcha got, smarty?
Posted by: Harry Lover of the Gepids1344 ||
01/07/2020 15:36 Comments ||
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#12
BS in some respects.Most US expats living abroad and working for a US based company get uplift compensation plus living beenies. Maybe the Argentine living in Manchester has to make it on its own. Though.
I loved every billet, BA, London, Antwerp, Reykavlick, and Jeddah/Al-Khobar/Riyahd. You either adapt or you die from boredom.
[Breitbart] A strong economy with a low 3.6 percent unemployment rate means better job prospects for Americans, including college grads. But not all cities are equal when it comes to the best job opportunities.
The personal finance website WalletHub did an analysis of 182 American cities and found that Scottsdale, Arizona was the No. 1 locale for job seekers, while Detroit, Michigan came in dead last.
The survey was based on 31 "key indicators" ranging from job openings to the average starting salary.
The survey also included information from the National Association of Colleges and Employers, which found that 5.9 percent more members of the class of 2020 would be hired compared to the previous year’s graduates.
Rounding out the Top 10, in order, are South Burlington, Vermont; San Francisco, California; Austin, Texas; Fremont, California; Chandler, Arizona; Boston, Massachusetts; Tempe, Arizona; Portland, Main; and Boise, Idaho.
The worst cities, according to the survey, from 173 to Detroit at 182 are Cleveland, Ohio; Anchorage, Alaska; Gulfport, Mississippi; Toledo, Ohio; Huntington, West Virginia; Brownsville, Texas; Stockton, California; Newark, New Jersey; and Fayetteville, North Carolina.
#1
The personal finance website WalletHub did an analysis of 182 American cities and found that Scottsdale, Arizona was the No. 1 locale for job seekers, while Detroit, Michigan came in dead last
Depends on the job you are looking for. Pharmaceutical distribution work and its allied employment as in transportation and independent banking portfolios probably is in demand in Detroit.
[DW] Once again, Europe ...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum... is suffering under the way Donald Trump ...dictatorial for repealing some (but not all) of the diktats of his predecessor, misogynistic because he likes pretty girls, homophobic because he doesn't think gender bending should be mandatory, truly a man for all seasons...... makes political decisions on the fly. The only option left is to appeal to Iran's interest in self-preservation. Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife ||
01/07/2020 00:24 ||
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#1
Mean while the "Art of the Deal" guy will be stirring up internal strife against the regime via the regime's disgruntled population to keep them tied down.
#2
The US president had actually promised to end endless wars in the Middle East and bring American soldiers home. Even experienced observers of US Middle East policy have been unable to explain how this fits in with the strike against Soleimani.
Is this a joke?
Suleimani was a monster, drenched in blood: Mr. Chaos.
He spread death, destruction, anarchy across the entire region and beyond. Does anyone remember 80+ innocents slaughtered by this monster in Buenos Aires? Anyone?
Ridding the world of this agent of death achieves several excellent things:
1) the Iranians are finally, after decades of gross incompetence bordering on treason committed by multiple presidents of both parties - remember Reagan's birthday cake for the Ayatollah? - finally, at long last, the Iranians are on the back foot.
2) the corrupt, shi'a & Iran-dominated Shitshow that is the Iraqi government is on notice: we will not tolerate a Persian satrapy in Baghdad.
3) most important of all, the US, whatever it's political soap operas at home, possesses complete, uncontested dominance of the skies and of global communications. We know where you f---heads are, what you're saying, where you're going, and we can slice you into hamburger with laser-accurate hypersonic missiles before you even know what's coming at you.
All of the above imply a new US policy: the Offshore Balancer who does not need to be bogged down, ever again, in any major land war outside of our own continental US.
Iran is down, for good.
Now it is up to us and our allies, with the participation of Russia, the Turks and the Egyptians, to suppress the region-wide violence and chaos that were stoked for 40 years by these vicious, wicked and nihilistic Iranian madmen.
Now quitcher bitchin' and accept reality. There will never be an Iran deal. The mullahs' Iran is finished.
#4
The US president had actually promised to end endless wars in the Middle East and bring American soldiers home. Even experienced observers of US Middle East policy have been unable to explain how this fits in with the strike against Soleimani.
Well that's easy. I don't think Trump was consulted on the escalation at all. Large parts of the US government operate independently with no oversight. THey pursue their own goals to the detriment of us all.
I think they either outmaneuvered him, or presented him with a fait accompli. Trump's way is to get out on front of events when he can't control them, claiming it was what he wanted to do all along. See: the dissolving of his business council.
It looks like the bloodthirsty neo-cons might have their war after all. Literally nobody in America supports it except a few ten thousands of people around DC and NYC, and their fellow travelers. How about before we go to war, we take General Smedley Butler's advice and take a plebiscite of the men who are to fight and die, and see if they think it's worthwhile.
Imagine if we took General Butler's advice and in wartime forced corporations to join our soldiers in making sacrifices for their country. We could pass laws which guarantee that corporate profits decrease during war rather than increase.
Posted by: Herb McCoy ||
01/07/2020 5:18 Comments ||
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#5
Is there still room for a political solution?
Clausewitz's best-known aphorism - that war is a continuation of politics by other means. They don't even read German in Germany anymore (other than Marx)? Well, yeah, I guess given that American journalist haven't even read the American Constitution. So, I guess this requires a '/rhet question' on it.
#6
The eurines always wanted iran as a counterbalance to US power. Selling dual use stuff to them was about more than money. Now Trump has flushed the punch bowl.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
01/07/2020 7:20 Comments ||
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#7
DW whines: "Any illusions about the possibility of an even partially rational cooperation on foreign policy with the government in Washington have long been shattered." And who in Washington and in their right mind would trust Germany? I guess the answer to that is the Pentagon, which still has more than a score of "bases" in Hunland.
#8
The Europeans, whose holiday peace was upset by the news of the unexpected killing of Iran's second-most powerful man, must now suffer the consequences. Uninformed and powerless as usual, they once again face the fallout from the US president's spontaneous unilateral decisions. They are caught in the Trump trap and cannot free themselves on their own.
They fear there is no strategy to follow up on the current blind flurry of activity, including the drone attack at Baghdad airport.
So, Barbara Wesel can we assume you are not a Trump fan and that you would be a Dem if you were in the U.S.
#9
Once again, Europe is suffering under the way Donald Trump makes political decisions on the fly.
Perhaps you and your cultured, nuanced friends misunderestimate the President. The fact that you didn't see the hard-breaking curve ball does not mean the pitch wasn't thrown deliberately.
The only option left is to appeal to Iran's interest in self-preservation,
Is that a bad thing? Appeasement and pallets of cash have not stopped them. Even murderous lunatics can be rational actors (in the game theory sense).
#10
Trump's strategy is pretty obvious, really. Anyone who has watched him at all should know it: If you hit him, he hits back harder. Solemeini doesn't seem to have studied Sun Tsu. You must know your enemy.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
01/07/2020 12:27 Comments ||
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#11
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
01/07/2020 12:30 Comments ||
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#12
You see, Herb? It fits with Trump's modus operandi. Neocons like Bush wouldn't have had the balls.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
01/07/2020 12:32 Comments ||
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#13
Trumps wants peace but he will not be pushed.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
01/07/2020 12:33 Comments ||
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#16
Funny, during the Vietnam war the US escalated as part of the plan to withdraw. Bring the North to the table begging for the bombing to stop was the plan I believe. then once we had a peace treaty we could walk.
This isn't so different except trump has taken the civilians out of the picture and applied the pain directly to decision makers.
[DonSurber] Obama official thinks Trump's strategy worked.
Don't buy the World War 3 spin. The mullahs in Iran are in deep doo-doo. President Donald John Trump's economic sanctions have killed the economy, and the people rise in protest.
Ray Takeyh wrote, "Why the Death of an Iranian Commander Won’t Mean World War III. The U.S. dealt a major blow in taking out Iran’s imperial strategist. But the mullahs’ next move likely won’t be a dramatic escalation."
He is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. Born in Iran, he taught at the National War College and advised the Obama administration on Iran.
He wrote, "His death will be a blow to the Iranian theocracy but — contrary to what many observers are warning — could very likely temper the clerical oligarchs, who tend to retreat in face of American determination."
Bullies are the biggest cowards.
Posted by: 3dc ||
01/07/2020 13:06 ||
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[11128 views]
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[American Thinker] The assassination of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani is an unusual, possibly aberrant, event. The killing of this individual leader of a sovereign state may lead to all-out war between Iran and the U.S. ‐ or, on the other hand, the assassination may bring an end to the cycle of Iranian violence countered by U.S. and world diplomatic flatulence and appeasement.
Assassinating the leaders of terrorist organizations ‐ i.e., non-state actors, such as Osama bin Laden and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi ‐ did not lead to a greater war footing against the USA because, as terrorist organization leaders, not heads of state, they are automatically considered rogue, even by sovereign state leaders sympathetic to their goals. Al-Qaeda and ISIS, despite any claims to territorial governance, are non-state actors. Thus, despite ISIS's former control of land areas, ISIS was despised for its aggressions but was not considered a serious threat to the power of leaders of other Muslim-dominant states within the region. The Middle Eastern Muslim states that may, to a certain degree, be sympathetic to ISIS's dreams of a re-established caliphate such as existed for hundreds of years nevertheless did not intend to defer to the leader of ISIS as that caliph. Despite Islam's socio-political backwardness in today's world, the glories of Islam's earlier history loom large in the consciousness of most Islamics. ISIS did not appear to Islamics as the proper heir of that presumed glorious history.
Iran's listing as a state sponsor of terrorism by the U.S. State Department puts it into a special category. Iran is a behind-the-scenes puppeteer of Hamas operating in Gaza, Hezb'allah operating in Lebanon, and the Houthis operating in Yemen as well as a variety of groups in Iraq. Not only did Iran held 52 Americans hostage for over a year after the ayatollahs overthrew the Shah in the 1970s, but the Iranians were crucial in the bombing of the U.S. military barracks in Lebanon (1983), the bombing of the Khobar Towers and American troops in Saudi Arabia (1996), the bombing of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania (1998), the bombing of the USS Cole (2000), and the attack on the World Trade Center (2001). With this nefarious history, acting through proxies to undermine the security of the West and the U.S. in particular, Iran's designation as a terrorist state ‐ living in the gray area between sovereign legitimacy and terrorist aggression ‐ is warranted and necessary.
Posted by: Besoeker ||
01/07/2020 02:31 ||
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[11123 views]
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#3
It is beyond surreal to hear commentators and pseudo-pundits try to characterize as "destabilizing," "dangerous," etc. the killing of a mad terrorist who spread anarchy and death and mayhem for FORTY YEARS across nearly the entire region...
"Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not." (Jer. 5:21, King James version)
#5
"Assassination" is telling. The correct word is "killing". Soleimani was killed in Iraq while commanding Iranian assets against Iraqi and American forces there. His killing was a strategic move to hinder further such operations.
[American Thinker] - If you were a little surprised that the MSM seemed to regard the late Qassam Soleimani as a "revered" figure and poetry reader, and were shocked, shocked that President Trump would Do Something about an Iran-backed attack on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, I have an answer.
Our Democratic friends do not want to fight a two-front war. They understand that they cannot both "fundamentally transform" America and teach the mullahs a lesson. Their war is a war on America’s Commoners, ordinary people who obey the law, go to work, and follow the rules. That is why they were eager, in Obama’s time, to appease Iran. What matter Iran when there are racist sexist dragons to slay right here at home!
...How many Commoner foot-soldiers have lost their jobs and their houses and their savings down the years, so that Educated Gentry could feel good about themselves and write self-congratulatory op-eds in the establishment media?
Never mind about the law of "unanticipated consequences." I am talking about lives ruined and savings wiped out. And you did it!
Really, the political activist community doesn’t think about this, because they have made their quest for a just world for the victims into a religion, that creates meaningful lives for the Educated Gentry with other peoples’ money and lives.
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.
[Breitbart] A strong economy with a low 3.6 percent unemployment rate means better job prospects for Americans, including college grads. But not all cities are equal when it comes to the best job opportunities. 
...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
Is it too late for an additional 2019 annoyance ? 
