But I Thought We Went To War For The Oil?
Barack Obama said today that the Iraq War was to blame for higher oil prices in a slumping economy.
"When you're spending over $50 to fill up your car because the price of oil is four times what it was before Iraq,
you're paying a price for this war," Obama said. "When Iraq is costing
each household about $100 a month, you're paying a price for this war."
So if we went to war for cheap oil, why are prices going up? Of course, if prices had gone down, he would blame the Iraq War for hastening Global Warming, right? Nothing is so good that it can't be spun negatively... against America if possible. What a tool.
1
There is a little wheat in what he's saying, amid all the chaff: what's been going on for the last five years in Iraq has certainly had an impact on oil prices. But it's an impact you can't readily measure, and of course the Chinese and Indians and everyone else would be buying just as much, if not more, oil.
And there is the obvious truth that if Iraq were not so well endowed with oil, we wouldn't have bothered with Saddam, and he wouldn't have had the resources to become worth bothering about.
Posted by: kishnevi at 21 March 2008@13:34:47 (FFHuv)
2And there is the obvious truth that if Iraq were not so well endowed
with oil, we wouldn't have bothered with Saddam, and he wouldn't have
had the resources to become worth bothering about.
I would agree with that much of it. It seems disingenuous for the left to claim we went to war because of oil, then complain because we didn't take any.
Posted by: Stashiu3 at 21 March 2008@15:08:14 (Q5ggV)
And Clinton Takes The Lead
Earlier this week, Hillary Clinton pulled ahead of Barack Obama in polls of likely Democratic Party voters after the Reverend Wright scandal hit the news. Several days later now, she is maintaining that lead.
Clinton overtook Obama in a daily Gallup tracking poll
earlier this week and the latest survey showed her leading the
Illinois senator 49 percent to 42 percent in the contest to
select the Democratic nominee to face Republican Sen. John McCain in November.
I believe Hillary is going to go into the convention still trailing slightly in delegates. Between the superdelegates that honestly believe she is more electable because she has momentum, the ones that she can persuade/pressure/blackmail into backing her, and the ones that won't give their vote to a black candidate under any circumstances, she's going to end up with the nomination.
At that point, watch for the sparks to fly and potential civil disturbance from those who think she was "selected, not elected" to the nomination. As the Reverend Wright might have said, "We reap what we sow." Of course, he would probably be talking about America being attacked, so it wouldn't be quoting... it would be plagiarism. Maybe that's where Obama learned it from.
Shhhh.... It's Secret
Plans for the new headquarters of Canada's Counter-Terror Unit were found in a trashcan in Ottawa.
The 26 blueprints, bearing a Department of
National Defense stamp, reportedly show everything from the location of
the security fence to the floor plan of the new home of the Canadian
Joint Incident Response Unit, the Ottawa Citizen reported.
Did Sandy Burger get a work visa to Canada and nobody noticed?
Hamas Terrorists Fail Mid-Terms, One Gets An "Incomplete"
Two Palestinian terrorists blew themselves up after "mishandling" explosives at a training center.
Palestinian militants accidentally set
off a large blast at a Hamas training base in the central Gaza Strip on
Thursday, killing two members of the violent Islamic group and wounding
another, a Palestinian medical official said.
Too bad it wasn't during the comprehensive final exam, but splodey-dopes should always be this competent. Preferably in large peer-group sessions.
The Heller Decision
I firmly believe that we have an individual right to bear arms, to protect ourselves, our family, our property, and our liberty. The arguments have been made and Patterico has links to both the audio and the transcripts. Go over there to check them out, along with the linked early analysis from Jan Crawford Greenburg.
I hope to see Patterico's analysis soon. Must suck to have a day job.
Arthur C. Clarke -- R.I.P.
One of the greats. He was 90 years old and lived in Sri Lanka the last part of his life.
He came to prominence shortly after the Second World War with an article
predicting geostationary satellites that would make global broadcasting and
worldwide television a reality, decades before they became possible.
In Science Fiction, you can easily argue that the top three writers of
all time are Arthur C. Clarke, Robert Anson Heinlein, and Isaac
Asimov. May they all rest in peace.
1
These would not be my favorites but I could not really argue against them. I have enjoyed their work and they have had a profound effect on their field. I owe them all a debt I can not repay. Thank you, gentleman.
Posted by: Machinist at 19 March 2008@13:52:35 (yFIK0)
Posted by: Machinist at 19 March 2008@13:53:18 (yFIK0)
3
Who would your favorites in Science Fiction be then?
Posted by: Stashiu3 at 20 March 2008@02:36:55 (Q5ggV)
4
Larry Niven would top the list, Alfred Bester or John W. Campbell would be second. None of these but Campbell would have the stature or the influence the ones on your list had so I think you may be right. I like Asimov's nonfiction more than his fiction but he has greatly molded the field and I certainly have enjoyed much of his work.
Posted by: Machinist at 20 March 2008@03:12:42 (yFIK0)
5
Niven is great, as is Campbell (another giant, but not nearly as well known outside the SF-reading community), and Bester is incredible but has not had the direct influence of the others (although many have copied/stolen much from his ideas and style).
My favorite "current" SF authors are Steve Perry and Spider Robinson, despite Robinson having been tragically afflicted with BDS recently (his last novel "Very Bad Deaths" rags on Bush and Rice... sad because it's otherwise a very good read)..
Posted by: Stashiu3 at 20 March 2008@03:25:13 (Q5ggV)
6
Oh, and Alan Dean Foster, but he has slowed down quite a bit.
Posted by: Stashiu3 at 20 March 2008@03:26:58 (Q5ggV)
7
I have only seen the Robinson stories the Gentle Lady sent me. The other authors I am unfamiliar with. I am afraid my fiction reading has been very limited for some time, other than some classics. The last fiction I read aside from Shakespeare was Cyrano de Bergerac and Animal Farm (reread). I do go back and reread parts of my old collection.
Campbell's greatest contribution was of course as an editor and I always read his editorials first, right up to his death. I bought a copy of Analog at the store as I always did and turned to the editorial as I was walking home. That was when I learned he had died. It was a sad walk.
Posted by: Machinist at 20 March 2008@11:50:22 (yFIK0)
Olympic Boycott?
This is a good idea, but why are the Olympics being held in China in the first place? What did the selection committee think would happen? If they treated China as a responsible nation they would start to act like one?
Moves to punish China over its handling
of violence in Tibet gained momentum Tuesday, with a novel suggestion
for a mini-boycott of the Beijing Olympics by VIPs at the opening
ceremony.
Having the Heads-of-State skip the Opening Ceremonies would send a great message. I like this even better:
U.S. Olympic Committee spokesman Darryl Seibel said there are no rules forcing athletes to attend opening ceremonies.
The Olympic rules forbid any open protest or political expression by the individual athletes, and rightly so. They are there to compete and represent their country, not to try and set foreign policy. They can protest or give interviews all they want before and after the Olympics, but should keep their personal politics to themselves while competing.
I like the thought of everyone skipping the Opening Ceremonies, athletes and world leaders, but it should be an individual decision and they should keep their reasons to themselves until after the Games are over.
Final Question: Why is this idea coming out from the European Union?
Final Question: Why is this idea coming out of the European Union?
Because it's ineffectual? Because they're using St. Jimmeh as a role model?
As I've snarked elsewhere, sure, it worked so well in 1980, why, 9 years later the USSR fell and it was all because of the boycott!!!
And as I saw someone note at Ace's today, Nazi Germany fell just 9 years after the '36 Olympics. So in 9 years commie China will become democratic!!!!
They should never have given them to the Chinese. It's like that Dean of what, Columbia? who attacked Ahmadinejihad after inviting him. I thought that was petty, if he felt that way he should have boycotted the speech and said why or kept him from coming, not attack him in that childish manner.
The only difference between a boycott this year and 1980 is that in 1980 the people being screwed were pretty much all under 20 and were most likely never going to get the chance again. Now? Many are pro-athletes and will likely be back in 4 years.
Posted by: Veeshir at 19 March 2008@10:50:12 (zXUuJ)
2
Not a full boycott Veeshir, just the Opening Ceremonies. I agree about a total boycott... causes more problems than it solves.
Posted by: Stashiu3 at 19 March 2008@11:51:17 (Q5ggV)
I would suggest that any boycott makes you look ineffectual, weak and useless. Again, that's why the EUnuchs are for it. That's their specialty.
Denying the commies the Olympics in the first place was the way to go. I mean, is anybody really surprised that China murders dissenters?
Since they gave them the Olympics in the first place, they tacitly approved of the detention and murder of political dissidents, to act all upset about it now is just lame and an exercise in trying to convince me they are Shocked! Shocked! I tell you that commie dictators are oppressive and murderous.
My favorite was the local despot saying that the security forces didn't carry guns and most of the dead were either killed by the rioters or died while trying to escape. That's what cartoon/Hollywood villains say.
Posted by: Veeshir at 19 March 2008@12:33:41 (zXUuJ)
4
The first line in the post argued that China shouldn't have gotten the Olympics in the first place. Complaining about it now, without doing anything further, would be ineffectual, weak, and useless. Not doing anything at all is tacitly condoning them, or that's what they will believe anyway. Shaming them goes farther in their culture than it would in ours, so boycotting the Opening Ceremonies can at least send that message without depriving our athletes their opportunity to compete.
I would just as soon stop having the Olympics if countries like China can host them. It makes a mockery of what the Olympics were intended to represent. The fact that professionals were allowed to compete was bad enough, the whole program is a joke now. I don't watch any of it on TV and probably never will. I don't see the point.
Posted by: Stashiu3 at 20 March 2008@02:35:06 (Q5ggV)
Hillary To Release At Least Some Documents
The National Archives has announced that the majority of former First Lady Hillary Clinton's daily schedules will be released Wednesday.
The documents to be released include schedules for 2,888 days and are
the files from Patti Solis Doyle, who was the former first lady's
scheduling director.
If she's going to say she's more qualified based on her experiences as First Lady, there's a lot more that needs to be released. The healthcare reform notes, telephone logs, and anything else where she has claimed to have influenced policy.
1
Well, first off, the coincidence between the book and the actual sinking was first noticed on approximately April 14, 1912. Not exactly earthshaking. And the Norse sailed during a period of warmer climate, when ice floes were probably less of a problem. The Titanic was apparently sailing north of the usual shipping lanes--possibly to get a better time and claim the Blue Riband, though of course no one would admit to that after the fact.
Second, the Titanic was one of three sister ships, the others being the Olympic and the Britannic. The Britannic also sunk, while serving as a hospital ship, when it hit a mine. A woman who was a stewardess on the Titanic, and survived that, was serving as a nurse on the Britannic when it sank--and also survived that one. Molly Brown had nothing on that girl.
And for all the publicity it still gets, the losses on the Titanic were only about one quarter of the lives lost on the Wilhelm Gustloff, which has the title of worst maritime disaster--and which was due to Soviet bombing. They didn't care if it was a ship full of refugees. The best book on the Titanic is still, after all these years, Lord's Night to Remember.
Posted by: kishnevi at 18 March 2008@20:01:58 (0gB9X)
2
I've always been fascinated with the Titanic story and this parody of Loose Change was amusing. I hated that movie from the beginning and it didn't surprise me that one of the guys who made it was a deserter.
I didn't know that about the Britannic however. Thanks.
Posted by: Stashiu3 at 18 March 2008@23:18:42 (Q5ggV)
3
Have you not heard Algore tell us that man's industrial activity is the only cause of GLOBAL WARMING. It could not possibly have been warmer during the age of the Vikings. Minor factors like the sun have no effect on GLOBAL WARMING. Those not conforming to the GLOBAL WARMING gospel should be banned from the internet.
Funny video, Sir. Thank you.
Posted by: Machinist at 19 March 2008@01:30:28 (yFIK0)
4
You're quite welcome sir, glad you enjoyed it too. When does my ban begin anyway?
Posted by: Stashiu3 at 19 March 2008@11:59:25 (Q5ggV)
5
Not until steel melts, so you have some time. Just watch those spoons.
Posted by: Machinist at 19 March 2008@13:34:41 (yFIK0)
Another Positive Drug Test In Sports
I didn't know they even tested these people. Why?
Buescher's positive test came at November's German championships, where he
captured the carom billiards title, the German Billiard Union said.
I weep for professional sports today... not really... but billiards? C'mon! Who's next? The Canadian Curling Team? Video Game Players? How about concentrating on the sports that doping would actually give you an unfair advantage? Like Darts.
Alcohol used to be my performance-enhancing drug of choice for darts. I loved "Dart Night", you started early and kept going until late.
I used to live in Portsmouth, NH back in the mid-80's and played in a dart league there. It always drove the AF guys from Pease Air Force Base crazy when I would beat them. They knew me and hated me.
Picture a bunch of clean-cut Air Force guys getting beaten by some long-haired fool who was closer to falling down than standing up most of the time.
Posted by: Veeshir at 18 March 2008@08:41:42 (ThMnZ)
2
I have two little trophies from a country-bar dart league I was in with a Green Beret NCO I worked for. I don't know if alcohol was performance-enhancing, but they recommend you compete just like you practice, so...
Lost my taste for alcohol when they started ending careers for E-5 and up with a single DUI. It just wasn't worth taking the chance. Then I became a nurse and worked with substance dependency and dual diagnosis patients, so I haven't really been interested in re-developing the taste since retiring.
Posted by: Stashiu3 at 18 March 2008@11:11:30 (Q5ggV)
3
Besides, they were Air Force... knowhaI'msayin'? So good on ya!
Posted by: Stashiu3 at 18 March 2008@11:37:25 (Q5ggV)
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*rustle, rustle* **looks around empty thread** SQUEaK! entry
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I am a Psychiatric Nurse who retired from the Army after 24 years total service. I started out as a Private E-1, made Sergeant E-5 in 23 months, then went to nursing school and ROTC to get commissioned. I am interested in politics where I lean heavily conservative, movies, music, and books. Hopefully you will enjoy what you see and come back often.
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