The UNSC is just a paper tiger, no matter who they are dealing with. Why? Because either China, Russia, or the US makes it thus by their voting pattern.
The cost will come, in due time.
The world is very complicated, even more so with all the nuclear weapons out there.
The key is to try and maintain some veneer of civilization out there.
There are no easy solutions.
With all due respect, Omer, God has noting do with it as man has free will. The IS thugs are just a mean and nasty criminal enterprise who know how to fight, and who have taken advantage of "the void" that was created by the warring political/religious factions in Syria and Iraq. They are just using a religion as a vehicle to facilitate their enterprise. One wonders what their endgame is since they keep killing and/or extraditing the peoples in the areas under their control?
Juan, where are your "facts" or "proof" that "The DEA then routinely lies to the judge and defense attorneys during discovery about how its agents initially came by their suspicions of wrongdoing." Anyone can write this statement, and furthermore since you write that it is "routine," then there should be many, many court documents out there to prove your statement. Do you have any? Or are you just slinging mud and hopes it sticks?
"All politics is local." Putin had no choice but to follow what his public demanded, which was not to cave in to the Americans. The added bonus is a potential intel bonanza.
What Hedges' said "is true," but only "in a vacuum." There are too many external factors that militate against this from happening in the U.Sl: e.g., from laziness and individual happiness, on one end, to the threat of terrorism, climate change, etc. on the other. It is all about survival, anymore...so, we endure, regardless....
New Orleans was going down the same rat hole; then Katrina happened and broke "the cycle." (e.g., at the time, all the Projects were evacuated and boarded up, it's generational denizens scattered in adjoining states. City government was determined to never re-institute these projects, but Project advocacy groups filed lawsuits to keep them open ad infinitum. I stopped following this issue, so I do not know "who won....").
As for Detroit, the people living there have to come to terms with their recent history and they have to determine what kind of future they want; all it takes is leadership, which has been wonting for too long. Good luck to them.
The "farming communities" are essentially a taxpayer-propped up, fail safe business that will disappear as soon as there is no more Farm Bill that provides them with endless benefits, no Trade Commission that finds all the export markets for them, and no more land grant colleges and Departments of Agriculture on all levels of government doing all their research and providing free advice on how/when/what to plant.
Besides "the Farm Bill," we taxpayers pay for all ag research, planting advice, and markets, to name a few, via land grant colleges and the Departments of Agriculture on the Federal, State, and County levels of government: it is a fail safe welfare system.
Mr. C, I believe the American public knows that "...the world is on fire, rife with war, simmering conflict, open revolt and revolting inequity...." It is the way things are and it will be getting worse, not better. So, most of the public just "turns it off," for that which is perceived as being more entertaining.
Carpe diem. You only live once. So, live the best you can.
Just do not think the majority of Pubs would go as far as the MB; for the voters and our system of checks and balances should keep the Republican taliban in check. Under Morsi, however, the MB revealed their true selves and agenda; and Egypt does not have the institutions that we have, institutions that (so far) have stood the test of time.:The MB are a menace to society, anywhere.
Maduro, Ortega, and Correa are seasoned Latin American leftist politicians who will use Snowden as a tool for their political purposes to stick it to the "Colossus to the North"...and nothing else; so, forget altruism, principle idealism and all that.
There is no such thing as absolute freedom, except death. So, until then, just enjoy what has been deemed "reasonable," which is a direct/indirect result of managing chaos and maintaining the veneer of "civilization" in an ever burgeoning population.
Who has said that law enforcement is using this NSA data? No one, because they aren't. Very few LE agencies can get warrants to tap phones, etc., and in only in certain type of cases. So, chill.
The NSA surveillance is for identifying individuals that want to do harm to the United States of America.
What abuses do you know of? None, I bet, even though no person and no agency is perfect....
WW II was probably the last conflict that we followed through to the end. Why? Probably because our collective direct survival depended on it. Since then, we have always bugged out before the job was completely finished. Why? Because our "survival" is not at stake and because the public can only put up with so much expenditure of blood and treasure.
Syria will be the same, so hopefully this Administration will not OVERTLY get involved.
It's funny how some want a "lid" put on this investigation due to all the salacious details.... I just hope the FBI and the press keep digging. My hope is that after every lead has been followed and developed, the case remains just a sex scandal made for Hollywood...and nothing more (e.g., like an elaborate espionage case).
In my mind's eye I keep seeing Joe Biden repeat to Ryan in their VP debate about getting out of Afghanistan in 2014 means we are getting out.
I hope what he said is the truth....; and whatever it takes to get out, whatever Country it takes to facilitate our withdrawal, well, let's just do it.
If the voters show, Obama wins. Then, his opponent who made his millions from exporting American jobs will disappear, McCain (=R's most visible surrogate) will have "lost" for a second time, and thankfully, all the NeoCons will be retired to "their barracks." Freedom wins. America wins. Just, Show up, America...
Even sadder is that if Romney, Ryan and his climate denier "ignorance is bliss" ideologues attain power, they will eviscerate the budget of NASA so that we won't have this type of research/evidence of how we are destroying Planet Earth.
Eastwood did lie like all the others did, but as performance art, his gig will go down as a classic. More significantly, he "stole" all the "thunder and lightening" from the RNC's big day, leaving Rubio's and Romney's gig "sounding" only like the pitter-patter that follows any storm.
Western governments need to daily "hang" these atrocities at the diplomatic door of the Russian and Chinese governments. This "drumbeat" needs to increase in intensity, daily, at any and all levels of diplomatic discourse....
Besides "all of the above," we must remember that the 2010 Republicans won the House of Representatives on a "Jobs" and "economy" message; they then did a 180 over the last two years and did everything to thwart economic recovery just so President Obama would lose the 2012 election. Perhaps, Americans "do remember," and this is a reason why the Tin Man is not running on that messaging?
Well stated. No how much money is spent on this election, and by whom, the American voter just NEEDS TO VOTE. In the final analysis, those billionaires only have a singular vote, too. So, get out there and vote.
And, for those in those states that are making it difficult for people to vote, just find out what the requirements are (=the correct form of ID so legislated) and show up at the polls, and vote. Simple.
Let the siege of Mosul begin...a la Vicksburg.
Since WWII, the US has left a lot of friends and allies hanging by cutting and running. Notwithstanding, I don't see this happening with Israel.
Beyond understanding? Perhaps most Countries have too many problems within to really care about other Countries….
The UNSC is just a paper tiger, no matter who they are dealing with. Why? Because either China, Russia, or the US makes it thus by their voting pattern.
The cost will come, in due time.
The world is very complicated, even more so with all the nuclear weapons out there.
The key is to try and maintain some veneer of civilization out there.
There are no easy solutions.
With all due respect, Omer, God has noting do with it as man has free will. The IS thugs are just a mean and nasty criminal enterprise who know how to fight, and who have taken advantage of "the void" that was created by the warring political/religious factions in Syria and Iraq. They are just using a religion as a vehicle to facilitate their enterprise. One wonders what their endgame is since they keep killing and/or extraditing the peoples in the areas under their control?
By doubling down on Maliki, the Iranians are doing the American people a favor; i.e., keeping us from getting any further involved in this mess.
Juan, where are your "facts" or "proof" that "The DEA then routinely lies to the judge and defense attorneys during discovery about how its agents initially came by their suspicions of wrongdoing." Anyone can write this statement, and furthermore since you write that it is "routine," then there should be many, many court documents out there to prove your statement. Do you have any? Or are you just slinging mud and hopes it sticks?
"All politics is local." Putin had no choice but to follow what his public demanded, which was not to cave in to the Americans. The added bonus is a potential intel bonanza.
What Hedges' said "is true," but only "in a vacuum." There are too many external factors that militate against this from happening in the U.Sl: e.g., from laziness and individual happiness, on one end, to the threat of terrorism, climate change, etc. on the other. It is all about survival, anymore...so, we endure, regardless....
New Orleans was going down the same rat hole; then Katrina happened and broke "the cycle." (e.g., at the time, all the Projects were evacuated and boarded up, it's generational denizens scattered in adjoining states. City government was determined to never re-institute these projects, but Project advocacy groups filed lawsuits to keep them open ad infinitum. I stopped following this issue, so I do not know "who won....").
As for Detroit, the people living there have to come to terms with their recent history and they have to determine what kind of future they want; all it takes is leadership, which has been wonting for too long. Good luck to them.
The "farming communities" are essentially a taxpayer-propped up, fail safe business that will disappear as soon as there is no more Farm Bill that provides them with endless benefits, no Trade Commission that finds all the export markets for them, and no more land grant colleges and Departments of Agriculture on all levels of government doing all their research and providing free advice on how/when/what to plant.
Besides "the Farm Bill," we taxpayers pay for all ag research, planting advice, and markets, to name a few, via land grant colleges and the Departments of Agriculture on the Federal, State, and County levels of government: it is a fail safe welfare system.
My first thought after reading this article was that famous quote at the end of Grand Hotel (1932);
"Grand Hotel... always the same. People come, people go. Nothing ever happens."
Mr. C, I believe the American public knows that "...the world is on fire, rife with war, simmering conflict, open revolt and revolting inequity...." It is the way things are and it will be getting worse, not better. So, most of the public just "turns it off," for that which is perceived as being more entertaining.
Carpe diem. You only live once. So, live the best you can.
Just do not think the majority of Pubs would go as far as the MB; for the voters and our system of checks and balances should keep the Republican taliban in check. Under Morsi, however, the MB revealed their true selves and agenda; and Egypt does not have the institutions that we have, institutions that (so far) have stood the test of time.:The MB are a menace to society, anywhere.
Maduro, Ortega, and Correa are seasoned Latin American leftist politicians who will use Snowden as a tool for their political purposes to stick it to the "Colossus to the North"...and nothing else; so, forget altruism, principle idealism and all that.
Don't forget, the FG wrote all that stuff about "all men are created equal," yet still allowed for slavery, denied women the right to vote, etc., etc.
These "rights" are not forever, as they will evaporate when you die. No system is perfect, as no person is. So, carpe diem...as tempus fugit.
There is no such thing as absolute freedom, except death. So, until then, just enjoy what has been deemed "reasonable," which is a direct/indirect result of managing chaos and maintaining the veneer of "civilization" in an ever burgeoning population.
"In the end we are all kings, ...lonely and absolute masters of our own destinies." --Gene Kira.
He is seeking asylum to avoid prosecution, not persecution.
Who has said that law enforcement is using this NSA data? No one, because they aren't. Very few LE agencies can get warrants to tap phones, etc., and in only in certain type of cases. So, chill.
The NSA surveillance is for identifying individuals that want to do harm to the United States of America.
What abuses do you know of? None, I bet, even though no person and no agency is perfect....
WW II was probably the last conflict that we followed through to the end. Why? Probably because our collective direct survival depended on it. Since then, we have always bugged out before the job was completely finished. Why? Because our "survival" is not at stake and because the public can only put up with so much expenditure of blood and treasure.
Syria will be the same, so hopefully this Administration will not OVERTLY get involved.
The "song" of all African countries...
It's funny how some want a "lid" put on this investigation due to all the salacious details.... I just hope the FBI and the press keep digging. My hope is that after every lead has been followed and developed, the case remains just a sex scandal made for Hollywood...and nothing more (e.g., like an elaborate espionage case).
In my mind's eye I keep seeing Joe Biden repeat to Ryan in their VP debate about getting out of Afghanistan in 2014 means we are getting out.
I hope what he said is the truth....; and whatever it takes to get out, whatever Country it takes to facilitate our withdrawal, well, let's just do it.
If the voters show, Obama wins. Then, his opponent who made his millions from exporting American jobs will disappear, McCain (=R's most visible surrogate) will have "lost" for a second time, and thankfully, all the NeoCons will be retired to "their barracks." Freedom wins. America wins. Just, Show up, America...
Even sadder is that if Romney, Ryan and his climate denier "ignorance is bliss" ideologues attain power, they will eviscerate the budget of NASA so that we won't have this type of research/evidence of how we are destroying Planet Earth.
Eastwood did lie like all the others did, but as performance art, his gig will go down as a classic. More significantly, he "stole" all the "thunder and lightening" from the RNC's big day, leaving Rubio's and Romney's gig "sounding" only like the pitter-patter that follows any storm.
Western governments need to daily "hang" these atrocities at the diplomatic door of the Russian and Chinese governments. This "drumbeat" needs to increase in intensity, daily, at any and all levels of diplomatic discourse....
Besides "all of the above," we must remember that the 2010 Republicans won the House of Representatives on a "Jobs" and "economy" message; they then did a 180 over the last two years and did everything to thwart economic recovery just so President Obama would lose the 2012 election. Perhaps, Americans "do remember," and this is a reason why the Tin Man is not running on that messaging?
Seems like this "Republican fundamentalism" movement is akin to the 1930's Gleichschaltung movement in Germany...
Well stated. No how much money is spent on this election, and by whom, the American voter just NEEDS TO VOTE. In the final analysis, those billionaires only have a singular vote, too. So, get out there and vote.
And, for those in those states that are making it difficult for people to vote, just find out what the requirements are (=the correct form of ID so legislated) and show up at the polls, and vote. Simple.