Reason Morning Links: Frank Drebin Memorial Edition

• WikiLeaks publishes a cache of classified U.S. embassy cables.
• The FBI runs a sting operation on a would-be jihadist in Oregon…
• …which might be why someone subsequently set a local mosque on fire.
• The EU and the IMF agree to an Irish bailout.
• The Department of Homeland Security is now hunting torrent sites and knockoff merchants.
• Darrell Issa wants to give federal watchdogs greater subpoena powers.
• Citizen-journalists track electoral irregularities in Egypt.
• Leslie Nielsen, RIP.

Comments

[Bee Tagger]

Nice beaver

[Enrico Pallazzo]

How about that!

[Ska]

I wonder how much my autographed copy of Dracula: Dead And Loving It is worth.

[Mr Whipple]

Good morning, Suki.

Here's a must see video 'The Euro Game Is Up! Just who the hell do you think you are?'

If you haven't seen it already.

[Amakudari]

A part of me loves this stuff. I know it's all, in effect, theater, as the EU is hopelessly undemocratic, but I'd love to see some principled "fuck yous" to the ruling party in the US. Instead we get some choreographed weak stuff.

[BakedPenguin]

Hannan is a great speaker. What a beatdown (although I've seen it before). It'd be great if we could have one congresscritter give a speech like that to Obama.

[Fatty Bolger]

Nigel Farage on who's who in the EU commission

Who are you Mr President? Nigel Farage asks Van Rompuy

[hmm]

I so posted crazy Nigel Farage days ago!

Still a good video, the guy has made a living out of tearing into the EU. I love the one where he goes off on the new president and unelected members.

[Warty]

The next hysteria: Alcoholic Whipped Cream Causes Buzz On Campus

[Amakudari]

Beer with Kick Caught in FDA's Net (NYT)

I swear to God, if they come after stouts or bartenders...

[hmm]

Time to start a speak easy?

[Joe M]

That reminds me, I need to finish my homebrewed Imperial Mocha Porter this week.

[Mongo]

Nice!

[hmm]

Hope ya keg it and don't bottle. Stouts and porters are sooo much better with nitrogen rather than CO2.

Then again it's beer. I'd drink it flat.

[Joe M]

Nope, gotta bottle this so I can let it age for a while. Well, if I can restrain myself.

[mr simple]

Wow:
I'm happy to comply. Regulate, but don't ban.

The government action is bad because it affects me. Anything else is okay. How does his disconnect get so prevalent in society?

[Amakudari]

Oh fuck off. Where did I say I was okay with the Four Loko ban? But eliminating alcoholic energy drinks, craft brews and bartending discretion is far, far worse than banning just the former in response to a moral panic. The best we can hope for is a cutoff point.

Rather, I'm praying that since we can't contain the hysteria from getting a particular handful of drinks banned -- and we really can't -- I hope it doesn't extend further to all substances that have been enjoyed for a long time with no ill effects, perhaps eventually inviting prohibitionists into private establishments to regulate entirely uncoerced exchanges. Four Loko is beyond saving, so what do you honestly expect people to say? I'm not going to walk on eggshells to clarify that, yes, I am opposed to all recreational substance prohibition/regulation/subsidy to the exact extent with which it hinders a person's ability to obtain it through mutually agreed-upon exchange.

[Lucifus]

Oh fuck off. Where did I say I was okay with the Four Loko ban?

Dude, he quoted the article you linked, not you. Chill.

[Amakudari]

And for what it's worth I never order mixed drinks and don't have any preference for craft brews with alcohol.

[Amakudari]

* alcohol = caffeine

[Amakudari]

My mistake. Apologies.

[Pope Jimbo]

Aaaargh! I've been waiting all weekend to post that link Warty.

Students said the thing that makes it dangerous is if they put it with things like Jell-O shots, where the alcohol flavor is already masked, they could get extremely intoxicated without realizing how much alcohol they've had.

Maybe I'm from the old school of drunkenness where we didn't need to understand how we got knee-walking drunk, we were just glad to be so.

I bet there are approximately 2000+ recipes being concocted in dorm rooms right now that combine 4Loko with this whip cream topping.

[Amakudari]

Four Loko Jell-O Shots with Whipped Lightning Garnish
Makes like 50 servings or something

3 small (3 oz) Jell-O packages, preferably different flavors from each other and the Loko
3 cups boiling water
1 can (700 ml) Four Loko
1 can Whipped Lightning, like the Amaretto one or something

Dissolve Jell-O mix in boiling water, then add cold water and Loko, pour in shot glasses, and wait for the magic. Or don't and throw it in the fridge. Add whipahol when ready to serve.

About six shots equals one beer.

[Amakudari]

Oops, removed cold water from final version. *then add Loko

[Joe M]

"I mean if people already get high off whipped cream bottles, you put alcohol into that mix, it's not exactly a good combination," UCF student Lisette Diaz said.

*facepalm*

They actually quote this girl twice in the article.

[generic Brand]

Damn, things like this really make me hate my alma mater. I mean, seriously? Why are students this dumb getting admitted into the university???

[Brett L]

Still too smart for UF or FSU?

[Joe M]

Well, the OBVIOUS solution is to start making caffeinated whipped cream!

[Mr. FIFY]

That stuff's over ten bucks a can, Warty. And there's not much in said can. Poor college students usually don't throw down that kind of money when they can get a 30-pack of Keystone for a buck or so more.

Sidebar: From what I've been told, don't use alcoholic whipped cream for sexual activities.

[Marshall Gill]

Wilma, I promise you; whatever scum did this, not one man on this force will rest one minute until he's behind bars. Now, let's grab a bite to eat.

[-]

Release the quotes!

[Slut Bunwalla]

Shabazz said he had just spoken with an African-American Muslim woman who was verbally attacked by a young man in southwest Portland before others intervened in her defense.

"Verbally attacked"? Really?

Really??

[Abdul]

She has the bruised ego to prove it.

[Mr. FIFY]

In LiberalSpeak, a verbal attack only occurs when someone is disagreeing with a member of the Perpetually Victimized.

But it's okay for one of them to call for the killing of "crackers, and they babies".

[Slut Bunwalla]

I can imagine the writer sitting there trying to think of how to take that shouting match and punch it up to drive the point home that white people are bigots.

[PapayaSF]

Is Glenn Greenwald an idiot?

It's impossible to conceive of Mohamud having achieved anything on his own. Before being ensnared by the FBI, the only tangible action he had taken was to write three articles on "fitness and jihad" for the online magazine Jihad Recollections.

Yeah, he was just a teenager writing about how to prepare for terrorist violence! No possible threat there, because we know that ignorant and naive Muslim youths obsessed with violent jihad are never a problem until they graduate from a terrorist training camp and get an official Al Qaeda membership card.

Dollars to donuts that Greenwald has written about the dangerous violent tendencies of Tea Party protesters.

[generic Brand]

I'll take your dollars then. Glenn Greenwald doesn't get everything right, but he is pretty legit when it comes to civil liberties and the government's intrusion on them. See his articles on Gitmo, the waterboarding torture scandal, and the TSA rape-kits... er airport screenings.

[PapayaSF]

My bet is specifically that he has played up the dangers of Tea Party protesters, in contrast to the way he minimizes the dangers of this jihad-obsessed teenage Muslim. And a quick Google shows I'm right:

George Bush spoke routinely with people like Pat Robertson and Franklin Graham, and unleashed untold violence, destruction, corruption and lawlessness. How is the current American Right -- and these Tea Party candidates -- any different?

So in Greenwald's eyes, a jihad-obsessed teenage Muslim is not a threat, while Franklin Graham (?!) along with the American Right and Tea Party candidates are unleasers of "untold violence and destruction." Gee, what an informed and fair-minded political critique.

[No U$A]

"WikiLeaks publishes a cache of classified U.S. embassy cables."

I see the Yank Empire is getting nervous. This is beautiful to behold.

[Rather]

the Wikisite site is crashing-can you say fun

[Joe M]

I can't click through to the link, but that WikiLeaks one is the story of the day, easily. Sounds like a huge embarrassment for the U.S. government. Apparently Hillary Clinton was telling diplomats to gather information about U.N. members, including credit card numbers. WTF? Among a million other things, like Saudi Arabia agitating for war on Iran. And Republicans and Democrats are united in denouncing WikiLeaks as bad, mmkay?

[waffles]

Agree, this is the story. Though I wouldn't mind some Leslie Nielsen quotes.

[Mo]

Surely, you can't be serious.

[waffles]

I am, and don't call me Shirley.

[Drebbin]

"I haven't had this much sex since I was a Boy Scout leader."

*Looks around, notices people giving him hard stares*

"...I - was dating a lot at the time."

[Pope Jimbo]

What kills me about all this is how these memos get written in the first place.

Only a gubbmint worker would see nothing wrong with detailing all this stupidity on paper and then storing it somewhere.

[John]

At some point they have to talk to each other. What are they supposed to do? Lie and pretend the Saudis give a shit about the Palestinians out of fear that the cable might some day get out?

[Nick]

Have you heard of a telephone?

[Mike M.]

Classified information can't be relayed over the telephone.

[Trespassers W]

Tasty, tasty irony.

[CaptainSmartass]

Yes, because it's impossible to encrypt voice calls.

[CavMedic]

SIPRnet exists.

[Rather]

Muammar al-Gaddafi's girlfriend/nurse is the best wikileak so far-it's a soap opera.

[Jerry]

Congressman wants Wikileaks on terrorist list.

Rep. Pete King (R) is the incoming of the House homeland security committee. Apparently, it is only a problem when Wikileaks leaks information, not when some government official does it to further the goals of the U.S. government.

[Andrew S.]

Rep. King is far closer to meeting the definition of a terrorist than Wikileaks is.

[Amakudari]

Countdown to mainstream media consensus that, yeah, the cables were bad, but we already knew this was happening, and besides, everybody says some crazy stuff in private. Like, really, who cares?

Fox News

Oh, but wait! This is real important political stuff, actually, and it's going to embolden our enemies, and make us desire less transparency. So in the end we have to become more secretive and manipulative and, well, sorry, you guys were asking for it.

Newsweek

I would link more examples (in CNN and MSNBC) of the two steps to consensus, but the spam filter only allows two links, which for a magazine called Reason seems pretty unreasonable.

[Finchy]

Alcoholic whipped cream shot!

[waffles]

If I put it in my coffee is that 4loco? I like whipped cream with my coffee sometimes, but I don't want to do anything illegal.

[hmm]

great, now i'll be drunk and fat. Doh

[P Brooks]

I caught a bit of Morning Joe. Of course, there was no discussion of whether or not what has been revealed is true. The House of Saud is worried about the Iranians; I never would have guessed.

But shining a light on it is just awful.

[James Ard]

It's about time the truth of who we're fighting for in the Middle East came out. All the Zionist lobbying in the world can't hold a candle to the Saudi's oil.

[John]

http://www.mererhetoric.com/20.....an-attack/

Interesting take down of Walt and Mersheimer and the rest of the "no one in the middle east is worried about Iran except for those war monger Israelis" crowd. The wikileaks cables show that that not only do the Saudis not give a rats ass about the Palestinian conflict (so much for the theory of Israel being to source of all the problems in the region), but also they are terrified of the prospect of Iran getting the bomb.

At some point it would be nice if people, especially those in power, would start to face reality rather than trying to tailor reality to fit their existing prejudices and domestic policy grievances.

[No U$A]

Funny that's all the corporate media talks about--not Hillary's secret support for the Honduran coup, or Putin's links to organised crime, or that America, South Korea, and China all know a North Korean collapse will come sooner rather than later--no, they focus on what will fit their corporate warmongering.

When the full Korean cables come out its going to be fascinating. China is really really sick of Kim Jung Il, I wonder how long until they just say fuck it and take him out? There's no honour among Asian authoritarians, apparently.

[John]

That is because all of the stuff you list is really well known and pretty much beyond dispute. There is no one out there seriously claiming Putin is not a mobster or that China doesn't really wish North Korea would just go away. But there are lots of people out there claiming that no one but the US and Israel thinks Iran is a threat to anyone and that the Palestinian conflict is the root of all the conflict in the middle east. These cables are pretty strong evidence that an entire school of thought on the middle east is complete and utter bullshit wishful thinking. That is a bigger deal than the "revelation" that Putin is a mobster.

[No U$A]

The "revelation" that the Saudi Kingdom is nothing more than an Imperial Puppet of the USA isn't news, either, to those of us who actually read, unless you're a provincial yank.

[John]

Hold it, I thought the US and the Bush's were puppets of the Saudis? I can't keep up with the crackpot theories anymore. Again, trying to bend reality to fit your pre-existing prejudices never ends well. Reality is a bitch of a mistress.

[No U$A]

Saudi Arabia has always been a client state. First of the British Empire, then of the American Empire. It has ever been thus.

That's one of the reasons bin Laden attacked you, after all.

[John]

And the Suni Saudis have always been terrified of the Shia Iranians. So terrified they suckered Saddam into invading Iran after the revolution.

It is not exactly a revelation that the Saudis really don't care about Israel or the Palestinians (they have never been at war with Israel and don't share a border with them) and really do care about a militant Shia theocracy getting an atomic bomb.

Only people like you who try to shape reality to support their hatred of the US and Israel would find those things in any way surprising. Again reality is a bitch. The only people in the world who don't see Iran as a threat or nitwit Western Leftists worried that that fact might prevent them from blaming all the world's problems on Israel and the US.

[No U$A]

Except of course, your banker (the Chinese), so it won't happen.

I agree with the German take on this, these cables show the weakness of the "superpower". You're where the Soviet Union was circa 1986 and will meet the same end.

[John]

Of course the Chinese see Iran as a threat. They just don't see them as a threat to them. And nitwit Europeans have spent the entire 20th Century discounting the United States. It didn't work out so well then and it won't work out so well now.

[No U$A]

Not a threat to them, so you can't do anything about Iran. I'm afraid the raging war boner you have for Iran won't go anywhere.

It does show who will be the real power in the 21st Century, though.

[a]

It is not exactly a revelation that the Saudis really don't care about Israel or the Palestinians (they have never been at war with Israel and don't share a border with them) and really do care about a militant Shia theocracy getting an atomic bomb.

I'll remember this the next time you claim that the Saudis are supporting Hamas.

[Invisible Finger]

Saudi Arabia has always been a client state.

If that were true then they never would have been able to seize oil company property.

"Client state" is laughable. We're beholden to them if anything. And that may still have been a valid reason to bin Laden.

[J sub D]

It's the Koch brothers.
That or the Illuminati.

[Pro Libertate]

Wrong again. It's the Masons. Always is, always has been, always will be.

[SugarFree]

Koch. Illuminati. Masons.

They have you distracted by all the usual suspects while the Rotarians spin their web of evil unnoticed.

WAKE UP, AMERICA!

[BakedPenguin]

Wow, I never realized that. Even their logo suggests the way they're really the gears that runs things...

[Charlotte Sometimes]

Are you telling me it isn't Mary Kay and the PEO?!

[Don't Touch My Junk]

"while the Rotarians spin their web of evil unnoticed"

No. It's Doctors Without Borders. I mean, they are against BORDERS!

[JoshINHB]

It's the Koch brothers.
That or the Illuminati.

No, it's the ilk.

[Pro Libertate]

I happen to know that if you fold the Declaration of Independence a certain way (like those old Mad Magazine bits), it says "Freema?onry--It's What's for World Dominating Dinner").

If you fold the Bill of Rights the same way, it says "I am Ted of San Dimas, and, uh, I bring to you a me??age of love." However, scholars of Masonic lore have yet to penetrate the meaning of this cryptic and arcane statement.

[generic Brand]

Damn hippies and their meffages.

[Pro Libertate]

Meffages? Do you mean me??ages?

[No U$A]

How about Berlusconi being a puppet of Putin?

I knew Berlusconi was a Fascist, but I didn't realise it was to that extent.

[John]

All of Europe is terrified of Russia. Further, half the politicians on the continent were on the KGB's payroll back during the cold war. It would be a surprise if Putin didn't exert a lot of influence over Western European leaders.

[No U$A]

Berlusconi isn't "terrified", he LIKES Putin. He's a right wing thug just like him.

Berlusconi's Party is just the Italian version of the teabaggers, right wing thugs ranting about "leftists" in their midsts and using the media to pump out hate.

[James Ard]

Why go and shoot any credibility you might have earned all to hell with such an idiotic comment?

[dbcooper]

Ah, no.

[Mo]

Uh, it's been pretty well known that the Saudis doesn't like Iran and would prefer that someone else do the dirty work for them. When they're buying American military hardware, who do you think they're worried about? Heck, the Saudis even have a bug up their ass about the name of the Persian Gulf and refer to it as the Arabian Gulf.

[John]

All true. The whole region sans Syria is terrified of Iran.

[Mo]

These cables don't prove anything about the importance of the I-P conflict. Most ME leadership doesn't care about it, but guess what, with Saddam out of the way, we're not fighting ME leadership. The public of those countries do care and their leaders talk about it to placate their populace. So it does have an effect and it does motivate the people we're fighting, the AQs and IBs of the world. As I'm sure you know, it's not like AQ or the IB are to thrilled with the Sauds or Mubaraks of the world either. So as it does motivate the people that we're fighting, the I-P conflict does matter to us. Even generals in the Pentagon admit as much.

Saudi's concern over Iran has to do with competition in the petroleum markets and the Strait of Hormuz.

[John]

I think the Saudis' concern over Iran has something to do with Iran's stated goal of dominating the region.

As far as the populace goes, so what? At most it is a bitch point and something to talk about other than how fucked up their leadership is. But it is not like if the Palestinian conflict went away tomorrow the populations would wake up and love the United States. If Walts and Mersheimers of the world got their way and Israel were destroyed, the middle east wouldn't be any more friendly to the US or have any less conflict. It is just a distraction.

[Mo]

Wow, that's a complete distortion of Walt and Mearsheimer's POV. But regardless, the opinion of the populace does matter because that's where groups like AQ and IB get their recruits. The recruiting pool wouldn't completely go away, but a lot of the recruits would go away. That's not just guys like Walt or Mearsheimer saying it, it's General Petraeus saying that the conflict is making out job in the region more difficult.

http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=171255

"The enduring hostilities between Israel and some of its neighbors present distinct challenges to our ability to advance our interests," he [Petraeus] said in the written testimony. "Arab anger over the Palestinian question limits the strength and depth of US partnerships with governments and peoples in the [Middle East] and weakens the legitimacy of moderate regimes in the Arab world."

He continued that the conflict also helps al-Qaida and other terrorist groups "exploit that anger to mobilize support," and gives Iran "influence" through its clients Hizbullah and Hamas.

[John]

He says it helps but he never says how much. That is a pretty unquantifiable statement. And if Petreus thinks that our problems would be solved by the disappearance of Israel (which is really the only way to solve the conflict), he is sadly mistaken.

[Mo]

Wow, you are a nutbag. Stopping settlements and coming up with a 2 state solution does not equal the disappearance of Israel.

[John]

So if we stop the settlements and give the Palestinians a state, which they pretty much already have, the Palestinians will stop there and not try to get more and the conflict will end? In unicorn world maybe. Back on planet earth nothing short of the end of planet earth nothing short of the end of the Israeli state is going to pacify the Palestinians. They were given everything you list at Oslo and Arrafat still refused. That is because a Palestinian state is not their goal. Their goal is to destroy Israel. And we will never have peace until they achieve that.

[PapayaSF]

Why in the world do you think those things would satisfy the Palestinians? They're pretty much sworn to the destruction of Israel, so why would giving them some of what they want change anything? If a gang has cornered a woman in an alley with the stated intent of raping her, would you advocate letting them cop a few feels in the hopes that they'll change their plans?

[PapayaSF]

Here I am slowly composing a response to Mo, and John jumps in ahead of me and makes my point....

[Mo]

What makes you think that what Arab leaders said to our diplomats is what they really feel? We're supposed to believe the Arab autocrats because of what they said behind closed doors to our diplomats. Don't you think that they'd lie, cheat and steal and tell our folks exactly what we wanted to hear behind closed doors. Let's say Saudi Arabia secretly wanted us to bomb the UK for poops and giggles. Does anyone think they would tell our diplomats that? The way to get a true view of what those countries' leaders think isn't through our diplomatic cables, but theirs.

[RyanXXX]

John, how about you actually read Walt and Mearsheimer rather than holding up anti-semitic "let's destroy Israel" strawmen?

They say NUMEROUS times that America has many diverse interests in the Middle Easts, and that Israel is only one of them (albeit an important one)

[John]

They say that numerous times and then in the next sentence talk about how American Jews are a fifth column whose goal is to get the US to act against its interests to help Israel. Walt and Mersheimer are scum.

[RyanXXX]

Well, there is a fifth column in the United States that puts Israeli interests first. Some of them are Jews, some aren't (Cantor and Palin, for example). This is obvious, and anyone who denies it is living in unicorn-land, as you'd say

[Pope Jimbo]

I sure hope that the "Irish Bailout" doesn't somehow combine hooch and caffeine. If it does, then the EU has some splainin' to do.

[Joe M]

Irish Bailout, great name for a shot.

[Jerry]

It's just Irish coffee for which you have to pay thrice as much, and where the part whiskey has been reduced by a half.

[Jesse Walker]

"No matter how silly the idea of having a queen might be to us, as Americans, we must be gracious and considerate hosts."

[Marshall Gill]

+1

[John]

The wikileaks things ought to scare people. Sometimes things are worth keeping secret. Take the fact that the Chinese are basically waging cyber war against us. This fact has been well known for several years. But, the government never admits to it because they really don't want to go to war with China. So now it is out there, what are we going to do about it? If we do nothing we look really weak. If we do something we risk a war. I think it is better to keep the fact secret and try to deal with it privately. At some point the Chinese may do something so grave that it can't be ignored. That will be a very bad day. But why hasten that day by releasing all of the cables?

[No U$A]

And there is even a cable suggesting that a member of the royal family may (MAY, mind you) have misbehaved!

Oh, my stars! Shocking! Surely that must be a secret! /sarcasm

[Warty]

I'm torn between your view and glee at watching governments get embarrassed. Governments certainly deserve the embarrassment, but I don't think inciting war is what Julian Asange has in mind, unless he's some sort of supervillain. Which seems likely, come to think of it.

[waffles]

Since this is clearly the best of all possible worlds, Julian must be a supervillain. Or at least an anti-hero, some kind of chaotic neutral. Until something VERY BAD happens, it's all glee for me.

[Don't Touch My Junk]

No. He's just a lonely guy jacking off to a picture of himself.

[John]

I don't think he wants war. But I think what he is doing creates the risk of such, although probably not between countries like China or the US. I could definitely see one of these leaks causing a war between smaller countries.

[nekoxgirl]

Considering our wars are now being funded by China, I find it hard to believe that the US would declare war over leaked intelligence. Also, our economy would pretty much shut down without trade with China.

[BakedPenguin]

...unless he's some sort of supervillain...

Once Opus Dei fired him as an assassin, he just went all Lex-fuckin-Luther on us.

[dbcooper]

I think it's all about ego for him. Plus some anti-americanism.

The counter to armed conflict is diplomacy, and he has directly harmed world diplomacy with this.

It will be most ironic if these leaks end up advancing an attack on Iran.

[robc]

This fact has been well known for several years.... So now it is out there, what are we going to do about it?

Ummm...by your own admission it was already out there.

[John]

It is out there but not officially. There is a big difference between private talk among people who know and the government of the US officially acknowledging that it is going on. If it is the former, the government can always deny it and save face.

[Mo]

Meh, it's not a big deal. It's part of the game. We have subs in Chinese waters even though we'll never admit it and they know it. We capture their spies and they capture ours. It's part of the game of statecraft and both sides know the rules of the game and not to take it personally.

[J sub D]

Diplomats disparaging the people they're trying to con/convince? This is almost as shocking as baseball players taking steroids.

What I'd really like to see is what foreign diplomats have to say about Joe Biden in confidential memos.

[JoshINHB]

At some point the Chinese may do something so grave that it can't be ignored.

You mean like launching a missile off the CA coast?

[nekoxgirl]

I'm more concerned with the US government deciding it can shut down internet sites at will. Who needs China to destroy the internet when our own government is doing such a fine job of it.

[P Brooks]

Representative Peter King is one of the most loathesome and despicable shitbags on the planet.

[Brett L]

They're all the same. He just happens to be the elected shitbag standing closest to the microphone today.

[Chuck Schumer]

Who let somebody else get closer to the microphone?

[No U$A]

And surprise surprise, Mr. Hope and Change wasn't serious about talking with Iran, apparently his programme of outreach to the Iranians was all a head fake.

[John]

Of course it never crosses your mind to even consider if perhaps the Iranians were not serious about talking to him. Nope. Only the USA can ever be wrong about anything. And all other countries, even those who brutally oppress their own people are always willing to talk and act in good faith.

[No U$A]

John, read the fucking cables. He tells the Europeans that he was never serious about it, that it was a stalling tactic. He also tells the Saudis after they were terrified that America might get oil from somebody else in the region and leave them out cold.

[Zeb]

America will continue to get the majority of their oil from Canada and Mexico.

[Don't Touch My Junk]

So where, exactly, are you in the Northern USA? Duluth? Grafton? Niagra Falls?

[JoshINHB]

'And surprise surprise, Mr. Hope and Change wasn't serious about talking with Iran, apparently his programme of outreach to the Iranians was all a head fake."

Every other campaign 'promise' was a flat out lie, why would this one be anything else.

[P Brooks]

Somebody on Morning Joe blamed "information sharing" as recommended by the 9/11 Commission as the real culprit in the Wikileaks thing.

It's nice to know those guys can cut through the bullshit and get to the real heart of things.

[P Brooks]

"I think it's awesome, you can throw it on some Jell-O shots. It'd be fantastic," UCF student Bo Frisby said.

I'd rather try it on a peach nectarine, myself.

[J sub D]

The Department of Homeland Security is now hunting torrent sites and knockoff merchants.

A classic case of mission creep. Obviously DHS has more resources than required to fulfill their mission so they're starting to do FBI work.

I see DHS junior high hall monitors in our future.

[DanD]

At least we'll all be better behaved. What, you want mass disorder or something? 😉

[CaptainSmartass]

Since the geniuses in Congress put the customs bureau under the DHS aegis, this isn't really mission creep. Customs and border enforcement have always played a role in finding and stopping counterfeiters of American brands.

[Wesley]

If you don't want the DHS harassing your kid in the halls, you should tell them to stay in class.

[PapayaSF]

Just wait until they discover the hotbed of music piracy that is Blogspot.com, owned by Google....

[R C Dean]

The little I've read so far about the leaked cables strikes me as shockingly unsurprising.

We keep UN "diplomats" under tight surveillance? The horror. I'd be disgusted if we didn't.

Saudi is very concerned that Iran may go nuclear and put the region under Iranian hegemony, and wants the US to do the dirty work? Only an idiot would have thought otherwise.

Our diplomats are fond of second-rate snarking about foreign leaders? Mobilize the reserve divisions! This means war!

[No U$A]

These aren't the last of the documents. They're being released over several days. Assange is saving the really shocking stuff for later.

Though I do know why you think Hillary Clinton spying on the United Nations (even asking for the Secretary General's DNA for fuck's sake) is "not a big deal". What a paranoid creep she is.

[waffles]

To be honest "paranoid creep" is a quality I want in my secretary of state. I think all Foreign policy could use a dash of Nixon, he was the proto-creep.

[Trespassers W]

What would one do with the Secretary General's DNA, anyway? PCR up a few kilos of it and spray it on a dead hooker?

[James Ard]

That's probably pretty close to what she wanted it for.

[Spoonman.]

That sounds pretty convenient, yeah.

[Pope Jimbo]

Well leaving the body in the park with a gun in his hands as an apparent suicide, didn't work all that well last time, so I guess you gotta improve the frame.

I'd be worried if I was Willy.

[Abdul]

At least it would draw the heat away from her husband.

[Pro Libertate]

Send in the clones.

[Brett L]

I think the UN should immediately move to some other country. It would solve their problem. Let the Swiss or the Belgians have UNHQ.

[Pope Jimbo]

Paranoid creep? Or did you mean paranoia creeep?

Paranoia creep is like mission creep. You still do the same job, but you get more and more worried about your actions coming to light. You can't do dirty deeds, slap a Top Secret classification on it and expect it to go away anymore.

[John]

R.C. to people who have staked their reputations on the idea that the Palestinian conflict is the root of all the problems in the middle east and that no one other than a few war mongers in the US government thinks Iran is even building a bomb much less a threat to the region, those revelations are a surprise. Of course that doesn't really disprove your point about idiots. But they are important idiots sadly.

[Joe M]

Yes, it's not exactly shocking, but it's sort of like violating a Fight Club rule.

[No U$A]

Come to think if it, I can't wait to see Hillary Clinton, the smiling face of bloodshed and Empire, resign over this.

[Mongo]

There isn't much there to offer a resignation. It's the 21st century version of the Starr Report: nothin' shocking but fun to read.

[Rich]

Hillary/* 2012

[P Brooks]

Obviously DHS has more resources than required to fulfill their mission so they're starting to do FBI work.

Well, the FBI is awfully busy creating a terror cell network, so they could use the help.

[J sub D]

+1

[Pope Jimbo]

Personally, I hope Jeff Bezos patents the "1-click fake terror cell" process and then gets the DHS to seize the FBI web site because they are infringing on his intellectual property.

[BakedPenguin]

+2 Interwebs

[Joe M]

Seriously though, could Obama's presidency be imploding any worse right now than it already is? He's got failures, embarrassments, mistakes, and disasters all around him. The poor chump had to get stitches over the Thanksgiving holiday, fer chrissakes! I imagine he'll be sprouting quite a few new grey hairs soon.

[Mike M.]

Boy, it's so shocking that this horse's ass who had never done anything and who nobody outside of Chicago had ever even heard of five or six years ago is in way over his head. Who could have ever imagined that possibility!?

Whether we like it or not, the U.S. presidency is a pretty darn important job. Hopefully this nightmare we're now going through will lead the country to think through these decisions a little more carefully in the future.

[Quick Draw McGraw]

Hopefully this nightmare we're now going through will lead the country to think through these decisions a little more carefully in the future.

I'll do the thinnin' around here, Baba Looey!

[Don't Touch My Junk]

But Queecks Draw!

[CaptainSmartass]

Tell that to the idiots on the right who still think Palin is the better choice. Not that I disagree with you about Obama, mind you.

[nekoxgirl]

Mike M. "Hopefully this nightmare we're now going through will lead the country to think through these decisions a little more carefully in the future."

When we elect Sarah Palin in 2012?

[The Other Kevin]

Think the prez will get a Purple Heart for that wartime injury?

[Don't Touch My Junk]

Does the guy even govern? Mostly, it seems, he just golfs, plays pick-up hoops and throws parties at the whitehouse.

[Don't Touch My Junk]

John Kerry says yes.

[P Brooks]

"Let the Swiss or the Belgians Haitians have UNHQ."

[Don't Touch My Junk]

Why not? They already have the UN cholera.

[Number 2]

Gee, does this mean that Barack Obama isn't going to Make the World Love US Again after all? Will he be forced to return his Peace Prize??

[No U$A]

Obama is your Gorbachev.

[waffles]

Surely you must be trolling.

[No U$A]

That's what the rest of the western world thinks.

[SugarFree]

Europe is east of America, retard. It's only west if you waste fossil fuels to take the long way around.

[No U$A]

Really? REALLY?

I knew you yanks were dumb, but not knowing what "western world means"?

Wow.

[Pro Libertate]

He's mocking your mockery. Like Exeter to the Dauphin:

Scorn and defiance; slight regard, contempt,
And any thing that may not misbecome
The mighty sender, doth he prize you at.
Thus says my king; an' if your father's highness
Do not, in grant of all demands at large,
Sweeten the bitter mock you sent his majesty,
He'll call you to so hot an answer of it,
That caves and womby vaultages of France
Shall chide your trespass and return your mock
In second accent of his ordnance.

[SugarFree]

Someone needs to give you a Cotswold Bumbershoot.

[dbcooper]

+lemniscate

🙂

[Joe M]

Always fun to successfully troll a troll.

[Mr. FIFY]

I knew you yanks were dumb

Behold, the snooty, elitist liberal European. See how he looks down his nose at those he considers beneath his lofty station, much as the way his American fellow-travelers treat those who are not of their level of perfection.

[dbcooper]

He's probably a rabid, dingo australian-tard.

[The western world]

Hey, who elected you to speak for me?

[Pro Libertate]

The U.S. appears to be the only actor in the western world. All of the other countries are critics.

[SugarFree]

The thin, pitiful wailing of faded former empires is its own reward, PL.

[marlok]

Clint Eastwood was my favorite actor in the western world. I saw a preview for the new True Grit that actually looked pretty good.

[Pro Libertate]

Is he in the new film?

[Charlotte Sometimes]

I believe Jeff Bridges is in the main role. It does look like it will be good (Coen brothers).

[Pro Libertate]

I love Jeff Bridges, and the Coens have made a fine film or three. Not sure about remaking that flick, but I'll give it a shot if it sounds good.

[Don't Touch My Junk]

The Coen brother have become redundant self-parody.

[Pro Libertate]

They aren't as good as they once were, no. Not nearly.

[Charlotte Sometimes]

Agreed (about Coen brothers). And I have been fooled by many a movie trailer.

[What does...]

"western world means" mean?

[Pro Libertate]

A world where Yul Brenner still walks among us?

[Steve Crescenzo]

Steve Crescenzo is an asshole. What an asshole Steve Crescenzo is. I just can't believe Steve Crescenzo is that much of an asshole.

[Number 2]

"Obama is your Gorbachev."

You mean..Obama is going to be placed under house arrest while Boris Yeltsin takes over? That'll be fun to watch.

[Chinny Chin Chin]

Leslie Nielsen long ago exposed Gorbachev's falsity.

[P Brooks]

Obama is your Gorbachev.

I have pretty much always considered Gorbachev to be the Inspector Clouseau of the Cold War; I think you may be on to something.

Maybe the Presidential Suit will fall off the roof, ricochet off an awning and land on a board laid across some sawhorses, launching the Secretary of Education into the path of an oncoming garbage truck while miraculously catapulting libertarianism into the consciousness of mainstream America.

It

could

work!

[No U$A]

End of the Superpower:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/.....ut-medical

[waffles]

Now I know you're trolling. Are you, by any chance, Canadian?

[Montani Semper Liberi]

Dan T is back.

[No U$A]

You don't even read the link.

Whats the matter? Too disturbing to your American Exceptionalism?

[waffles]

Not to be redudndant, but only Canadians and gutless wusses would even think to consider a hyperbolic KOS article to be a credible source. My American Exceptionalism is just fine, thank you.

[No U$A]

Keep your head in the sand, some STATS from the article:

*Sixty million yanks have no sick leave
*132 million have no dental insurance
*59 million have no medical insurance

[R C Dean]

Sixty million yanks have no sick leave

This is, of course, a flat-out lie. Everybody who has held a job for more than six months (I believe) is entitled under federal law to something called "family and medical leave."

[No U$A]

"Everybody who has a job"?

Wow. You just made this statement when your country has 21% real unemployment.

Why don't you just say "let them eat cake"?

[No U$A]

Not to mention your leave is unpaid leave.

Meanwhile, the Danish get eight weeks paid vacation plus sick leave. The French get six. Swedish women get an entire YEAR of paid family leave after the birth of a child (so much for USian "family values").

But anything to avoid making a Wall St. Bankster give up his new Mercedes, right?

[waffles]

You're really twisted if you think lack of entitlements is what will spell doom for America.

[Sounds like...]

NoUSA is one of those socialist fucktards, just like the ones we have here in America - only more so.

[Ska]

I shouldn't drive a luxury car I bought with money I earned because you want more sick pay?

Yeah, that sounds just great.

[No U$A]

Luxury cars are a want, healthcare is a need.

Yes, you should have to put off buying that new BMW if it means a poor child won't die of cancer. Shocking to a yank, I know.

[Ska]

You don't get to say how I spend what people pay me no matter how noble you think your reasoning or actions are.

So do I have to pay for babysitters for your kids too? What about special dietary needs? Toys? Fuck it I'll raise your kids. Why should I get to enjoy the wealth I hep create. You don't do shit and your kids are hungry.

[Blast from the Past]

Please show exactly how buying a new BMW causes a poor child to die of cancer. Which child? Where? What sort of cancer? Causal mechanism? Is it just BMW's or all "luxury" cars? Who decides what's a luxury car? Can I buy a used Prius if some kid only gets athlete's foot? See where this is going?

[mad libertarian guy]

Should I take this to mean that there are no children who die of cancer in Europe?

Fucktard.

[Don't Touch My Junk]

"Not to mention your leave is unpaid leave."

No USA is very likely on the dole.

[smz]

uh, you know that the leave women get after the birth of a child actually makes companies shy away from hiring women in the age range that are usually popping out kids, right? but, you know, it's for the children.

[Hobo Chang Ba]

Uh, No USA, sick leave is generally determined by the companies that employ you. If a company wants to give workers 5 years of paid sick leave, 8 months/year of paid vacation and to keep a mother on their payroll without working up until their kids reach 18, that's totally their prerogative.

The U.S. government just mandates a minimum, which should in reality be used by employers as a competitive benefit instead of being forced by government to alter voluntary employment agreements.

Once you believe private, consensual contract should be involuntarily controlled by the government, where is the line that prevents authoritariainism?

[Spoonman.]

If you don't have a job, what do you need sick leave from?

[nekoxgirl]

No USA: Sixty million yanks have no sick leave

RC Dean: This is, of course, a flat-out lie. Everybody who has held a job for more than six months (I believe) is entitled under federal law to something called "family and medical leave."
reply to this

No USA: Wow. You just made this statement when your country has 21% real unemployment.

Me: Why would unemployed people need sick leave?

[R C Dean]

Wow. You just made this statement when your country has 21% real unemployment.

If you don't have a job, what do you need sick leave from, exactly?

Not to mention your leave is unpaid leave.

Well, you were talking about "leave", not "paid leave." You don't want to be called out on tendentious mischaracterizations, don't use them.

[waffles]

Also, dental insurance would cost some 30 bucks a month for me. I can get my teeth cleaned twice a year for 120 dollars. Since I've had excellent juvenile preventative dental care it doesn't make sense to buy insurance.

Stop being such an asshat.

[gaijin]

It isn't about insurance...it's about care.

[Rhywun]

The USian government just doesn't care about me 🙁

[J_L_B]

*132 million have no dental insurance

Dental insurance is useless. It mostly pays for maintenance, which is antithetical to the concept of catastrophic insurance coverage.

*59 million have no medical insurance

An meaningless figure that includes an estimated ten to twenty million illegal aliens, and those easily able to afford health insurance but choosing to purchase other items instead. A simple voucher program can remedy the lack of insurance among those who legitimately are unable to afford insurance (probably less than ten million). The problem is not as complicated as it may seem.

[No U$A]

Or, you could just have it as, you know, a HUMAN RIGHT like every other industrialised country does.

Face it your system is an embarrassment.

[Ska]

Face it, having other people pay for your health insurance under government sanctioned threats of imprisonment is not a right.

[marlok]

I've got a back ache. Why don't you fund my month of sick leave and my visits to various doctors? I would really appreciate it.
And if you don't pay up, there will be legal consequences. Don't trample on my right to free health care, bro.

[J_L_B]

Face it your system is an embarrassment.

I'm not embarassed by the fact that my 66-year-old mother received an MRI on her shoulder a week after her doctor asked for it, while her European equivalent would have waited months (perhaps a year if she was Canadian).

Or, you could just have it as, you know, a HUMAN RIGHT like every other industrialised country does.

Do human rights only apply to industrialized countries? Are human rights less valuable to Angolans? Then again, Angola probably lacks the resources to provide health care to all. Does being a poor country mean they are human rights violators?

[TrickyVic]

""Face it your system is an embarrassment.""

What system isn't at this point?

I would prefer to have a government that does not interfer with peoples lives, and places responsibilty on the citizen, than to have a nanny government that can use issue like health care to it's own political ends.

[Mr. FIFY]

Where is the "human right" codified, No USA? Cite the page number and paragraph, please.

[Kreel Sarloo]

Well, of course, plantation owners had a HUMAN RIGHT to get their cotton picked too.

[PapayaSF]

Real "human rights" aren't services that other people are required to pay for.

[T]

So what?

[TrickyVic]

The funny part is thinking benefits like those are a must is putting the hurt on Europe.

[No U$A]

The countries in Europe that are hurting are places like Ireland, Spain, Estonia, Greece--places that adopted free market fundamentalism and (and tax evasion in the case of Greece) as their guiding principle the last 10 years.

Meanwhile, Germany and France are leading the way out of the recession.

Just a coincidence, I'm sure!

[Corduroy]

The nationalization of Ireland's bank debt would not be an example of free market fundamentalism.

Corporatism does not equal a free market.

[gaijin]

actually, the german and french banks are leading the way on the backs of the Irish...who do you think those bondholders are that won't be taking a haircut on Ireland's debt? They have names that are spelled like Bundesbank and Societe Generale.

[TrickyVic]

""Meanwhile, Germany and France are leading the way out of the recession.""

France is cutting benefits, thus the riots. No?

Europe is learning that it can't maintain the level of benefits that they are giving the citizenry, and adjustments are necessary.

[J_L_B]

The America is the root of all evil crowd should one day receive what they've been wishing for. After experiencing a Russian and Chinese-dominated world, they would welcome us back with open arms.

[Pro Libertate]

We're not quite dead yet.

[nekoxgirl]

I think we should see how well the Europeans deal with their entitlement crisis before you and the Daily Kos decide its the "End of the American Dream." Europeans are already rioting in the streets due to tiny cuts in your welfare safety net. What happens in a real crisis not just a budget one?

How well do you think Europe would stand against Russia and the Middle East if Americans weren't paying to protect all of you? You think Europeans would really agree to give up some of their generous benefits to provide for their own national security? Those benefits that have been paid for through the sweat and blood of Americans, providing security for you at home and your economic interests around the world.

If we fall, you will fall with us. At least we still know how to take care of ourselves in the US.

[Shocked]

Good post. Seems to have sent him on to other subjects. Or maybe he believes the rest of the world just loves Europeans and have no need for any protection.

[Cyto]

A pretty good take on TSA protesting."

[Tim]

Saudia Arabia is a money laundering operation. Lots of characters have shown up with their bags over the years....

[Invisible Finger]

Just asking a question here - what would be the difference between the ME being dominated by Saudi Arabia and the ME being dominated by Iran?

They're the bottom 2 of countries on the liberty scale (maybe Burma and NK are running neck-and-neck with them). The fact that we actually do the Saudi's bidding has been a national embarrassment for decades.

The Sauds don't give a fuck about Palestinians. Neither do the Iranians, but its a convenient rallying point for them to say they do.

[waffles]

Damn! And their propaganda was just starting to work on me. I (really) actually see Israel as the most aggressive/belligerent nation in the ME. But now I can kinda see Israel as a growling dog on a leash surrounded by jackals and hyenas. The jackals and hyenas would still gnash at each other even without the dog to pick on. Or something like that. USA #1!

[John]

In many ways it wouldn't be. And it is not like Iran can drink the oil. They have to sell it if they want it to do them any good.

[RyanXXX]

So...then....what's the problem? Why not let God sort out all this Hebrew vs. Sunni vs. Shiite bullshit?

[BakedPenguin]

Well, the Saudis are our friends. That's why they have spent billions of dollars preaching a virulent, nasty, fundamentalist form of Islam (that preaches destruction of everything the US stands for) to every Muslim child they could get their hands on. But their leaders smile at our leaders.

The Iranian leaders, OTOH, say nasty things about our leaders.

[R C Dean]

I (really) actually see Israel as the most aggressive/belligerent nation in the ME.

I wasn't aware that Israel was fighting two proxy wars in neighboring countries and had subverted the governments of at least two more, while gunning down Israeli protesters in the streets.

[waffles]

see should be saw. but yeah.

[PapayaSF]

Funny how when you surround a tiny country with deadly enemies who repeatedly try to destroy them, the tiny country becomes "aggressive" and "belligerent."

[RyanXXX]

Are you guys talking about the U.S.A, then?

[No U$A]

1% of the population in the USA controls 99% of the nation's wealth, an astonishing statistic, unheard of in any other advanced economy (if you can still call the USian economy "advanced").

[marlok]

Your parody threads are showing.

[Mr. FIFY]

Now, behold the snooty elitist European liberal as he uses wealth envy to justify his twisted collectivist mindset...

[John]

You have any citation for that statistic other than the voices in your head?

In reality the top quarter of the county owns around 84% of the nation's wealth.

http://www.businessweek.com/ma.....238184.htm

Stop reading daily kos. It rots what is left of your brain.

[No U$A]

Oh, that's so much better!

Meanwhile, evne your link says you have the second lowest level of class mobility in the western world. So much for Horatio Alger!

The Banksters own you lock, stock, and barrel. Billions for bailouts, not one penny for health insurance!

[Kreel Sarloo]

If you think that what exists in the US (or any of the countries you cited above) is a free market, you clearly don't understand the concept.

[No U$A]

Yes, and in the '80s I was always told by Communists that the USSR wasn't "really Communism".

Fools.

[Hobo Chang Ba]

That's a true statement though. The USSR was state socialist. True communism only can exist in a small scale.

[The Gobbler]

Nobody owns my rich ass, bitch. Nobody.

[The TSA]

Oh, we beg to differ.

[The Gobbler]

I don't fly commercial.

[CaptainSmartass]

Why would anyone listen to a racist who spouts things like "USian"?

[mad libertarian guy]

And why are we being his porn?

[P Brooks]

Not to mention your leave is unpaid leave.

No workee, no payee.

[P Brooks]

1% of the population in the USA controls 99% of the nation's wealth, an astonishing statistic

If Kos says it, it must be true.

[Pro Libertate]

What? That's a ridiculous statistic. Unless it refers to people working in the federal government, I suppose.

[R C Dean]

Its true, if the 1% includes senior federal bureacrats, and "controls" includes both the amounts controlled directly by federal ownership and taxation, and the amounts controlled indirectly by regulation.

[R C Dean]

Dammit, Pro Lib. Quicker and pithier.

[stuffs monocle in vest pocket, kicks top hat across room, harrumphs]

[Pro Libertate]

During this season, it's the thought that counts. [Has servants pick up discarded hat and monocle and hand them back to Mr. Dean.]

[P Brooks]

what would be the difference between the ME being dominated by Saudi Arabia and the ME being dominated by Iran?

The Saudis (and I'm going to just go ahead and lump the UAE in with them) provide much-needed support for starchitecture.

[No U$A]

And (still) nobody has read my link, just make attacks against the source.

It's written by an American who left for the EU, btw.

[Kreel Sarloo]

We won't miss him. 🙂

Actually he'll probably be back once he gets tired of all the abuse hurled at him for being a "stupid Yank" no mater how hard he tries to be one of you.

[Kreel Sarloo]

Either that, or he'll start pretending he's Canadian.

[Corduroy]

I suppose if you understood the difference between libertarianism/free markets and neoconservatism/corporatism, people here might take you more seriously.

[No U$A]

If this were the Seventies and you were a Communist you would be telling me "The USSR is Stalinist, not really Communist! And China is Maoist!"

[waffles]

Ah, but that's fine too. Well NoUSA, your smallminded Europhilia has done some good. You have made me ever prouder to be an American.

Love it, I really do.

[Kreel Sarloo]

I wasn't aware that any of those countries had claimed that they had instituted a libertarian government.

I will give them credit for the fact that most of them were pretty much upfront about saying they were instituting some "limited free market reforms" or "liberalization of the economy", always, of course, with "appropriate controls and regulations", oh, and subsidies, don't forget the subsidies, oh, and the bailouts, don't forget the bailouts.

[Kreel Sarloo]

oh, and the goverment guaranteed investments, dont forget the goverment guaranteed investments.

Oh I guess that under subsidies, never mind.

One of the things I've found is that as soon as you hear someone say "stupid Yanks" you're in for a whole shitload of stupid.

[Mr. FIFY]

And all you've done is make attacks against we "stupid Yanks".

Pot... kettle. If you don't get the reference, it's not our job to teach you.

[Shorter No USA]

LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT MEEEEEEE!

[Number 2]

"It's written by an American who left for the EU, btw."

It wasn't you by chance, was it???

[John]

I hope he enjoys the crushing taxes, hyper inflation and internal civil war that awaits Europe over the next few years. Europe is bankrupt and full of assimilated violent minorities. Good luck with that.

[No U$A]

You live in a country with unassimilated hispanics and you have no safety net. I think they're much more likely to get violent especially with Fascist laws like in Arizona, don't you think?

[T]

Who cares if the hispanics get violent? Statistically speaking, white males own all the guns. Trust me, a Glock .40 isn't much of a match for an AR in .308.

[Kreel Sarloo]

As near as I can tell the "papers please" law in AZ is mild compared to the powers that police in France, Germany and Italy have with respect to detaining and questioning those suspected as illegal immigrants. So I guess you're admitting those are fascist countries.

And get off that "you have no safety net" kick. Each post exposes just another facet of your colossal ignorance.

The only things worse than the cartoonish views some Americans have of Europe are the cartoonish views some most Europeans have of America.

[T]

I learned everything I know about Europe from reading Asterix as a child.

[nekoxgirl]

Last I checked, Hispanics have yet to start blowing themselves up in an attempt to "kill the infidels."

[Kreel Sarloo]

Actually, hispanics are one group best equipped to weather downturns since many of them still maintain the oldest safety net, family connections.

[JD]

And know how to do things for themselves instead of having to pay others to do them.

[Isaac Bartram]

Apparently Hillary Clinton was telling diplomats to gather information about U.N. members, including credit card numbers.

[my emphasis]

Holy shit, and here I've been questioning Hillary's competence.

But this is a fucking master stroke.

Hellfire, with those UN guy's credit cards we'll be able to pay off the national debt in no time flat and those dumb shits won't even notice the charges on their statements.

Come on tell me, how could this possible go wrong?

[P Brooks]

It's written by an American who left for the EU, btw.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

[Don't Touch My Junk]

+ 40 winks

[Kreel Sarloo]

Then again, Angola probably lacks the resources to provide health care to all.

EVERY SINGLE COUNTRY IN THE WORLD lacks the resources to provide health care to all WHICH IS WHY NONE OF THEM DO.

What some countries manage to do is provide good enough primary care to enough people to placate the vast majority while rationing expensive and critical care to keep costs of that down.

Hardly anyone knows someone who died while waiting for a heart bypass or some other chronic care but everyone knows that they can go see the doctor for free every time little Johnny gets the sniffles.

[nekoxgirl]

Primary care is already available to anyone that wants it in America. All you have to do is go to the health department. If you are poor it's free, if you aren't, they provide it cheap. Even illegal immigrants can go there and get services. This idea that the American poor is eating dirt and dying of the flu is ridiculous.

[Kreel Sarloo]

Silly girl, isn't it obvious that No USA is a genius who knows all and us stupid Yanks need to cower before his power. If he says we have no safety net or welfare state he must be right. He's from somewhere in Europe, you know. They're better than us. They say so all the time so it must be true.

One thing he's managed to do is bring together people who normally disagree here into a stirring united defense of the USA.

[mad libertarian guy]

In my experience, Canadians and Europeans are exactly the same as what they claim Americans to be.

[John]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/ear.....world.html

As if there was any doubt that global warming is nothing but an excuse to create a world totalitarian government.

[No U$A]

Yes, because going back to the same emissions the west had in the year 2000 means living in the stone age poverty, just like we were at that time.

Wait, what?

[Pro Libertate]

Going back to federal spending at 2005 levels would mean the return of slavery.

[Isaac Bartram]

The fact that going back to federal spending at 2005 levels even crossed your mind proves that you're a racist and a plutocrat and you hate children...and...puppies.

Big meanie. Next you'll be kwitisising my pwezeedent.

[Pro Libertate]

I can't help it--I'm in the oppressor class.

[Isaac Bartram]

I can tell by the top hat and monocle. And the cape. The cape's a nice touch.

Oh well, I'm off to practice my homeless person kicking skills.

If America loses its place as Number One in illtreatment of the poor, it won't be because of me, by jimminy, you betcha. 🙂

[John]

No, forcing everyone at gun point to go back to some arbitrary level of consumption is totalitarian you fucking moron.

[JD]

I think it is more likely it is an excuse for academics and politicians to take a free trip to Cancun for 10 days in December.

[Isaac Bartram]

Apparently Hillary Clinton was telling diplomats to gather information about U.N. members, including credit card numbers. WTF?

Whadayamean, WTF? It's bleedin' obvious.

Step 1) Steal UN diplomats' credit card numbers.

Step 2) Charge all of the USA's outstanding debt to them.

Step 3) Being UN diplomats the stupid shits won't even notice the charges on their statements.

Pure brilliance. I've always said that Hillary was a freakin' genius. Whadayamean, name one time i've called her a genius. Wel their was that time...that is, there was that other time...errr...Well I have, I'll remember when directly.

I'll bet hillary's pals will all get their personal debts charged off too. She's just that kind of gal.

[Pro Libertate]

Wait, there's a great idea in here. The president can lean on one of the banks the government controls to issue a credit card to someone, say "Mr. Bush", with no credit limit. The Treasury transfers our entire debt to the credit card. "Mr. Bush" files Chapter 7.

Problem solved, and the U.S. can blame the default on Mr. Bush. Not our fault! It's "Mr's Bush's" fault.

[Kreel Sarloo]

Hillary's secret support for the Honduran coup...

Which coup would that be? The only thing I can find was that the Congress impeached the President for violating the Constitution.

Oh, I forgot, leftists don't believe in the rule of law unless they get to make the rules and enforce their laws.

[Isaac Bartram]

Or, you could just have it as, you know, a HUMAN RIGHT like every other industrialised country does.

Usually a human right is contingent upon others not interfering with what you do. So you should have no problem exercising this HUMAN RIGHT (all caps - very emphatic) if we all just leave you alone and not interfere with you in any way (including not giving you any money).

So health care isn't really a human right, is it?

Mind you your probably the type that goes on about your right to the pursuit of happiness, when what you really want to do is sit on the couch and wait for someone to bring it to you.

[Isaac Bartram]

Swedish women get an entire YEAR of paid family leave after the birth of a child (so much for USian "family values").

Hey, you value your family and I'll value mine. In other words, ya wanna family pay fer it yer own self.