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April 29, 2007

More Shocking News

Ah, the surprise, the surprise. (WashPo)

Many of the U.S. diplomats who received the message, however, were beginning to witness a more embarrassing reality. They knew the U.S. government was turning down many allies' offers of manpower, supplies and expertise worth untold millions of dollars. Eventually the United States also would fail to collect most of the unprecedented outpouring of international cash assistance for Katrina's victims.

Allies offered $854 million in cash and in oil that was to be sold for cash. But only $40 million has been used so far for disaster victims or reconstruction, according to U.S. officials and contractors. Most of the aid went uncollected, including $400 million worth of oil. Some offers were withdrawn or redirected to private groups such as the Red Cross. The rest has been delayed by red tape and bureaucratic limits on how it can be spent.

In addition, valuable supplies and services -- such as cellphone systems, medicine and cruise ships -- were delayed or declined because the government could not handle them. In some cases, supplies were wasted.

I forget, did I mention something about arrogance and incompetence?

Posted by Chip Spear at 7:28 PM

George Stephanopolis this morning

I watched part of George's show this morning on ABC. One of the guest of his roundtable discussion mentioned that the one thing he found most interesting about George Tenet's new book "At the Center of the Storm" was Tenet's strong conviction regarding the incompetence and arrogance of the White House. Oh my god, what a surprise.

The other topic of discussion related to the book was Tenet's view that the White House planned to invade Iraq before 9/11. This is not news either. I have mentioned in previous posts, though not for some time, that my friend Mike and I used to talk about the inevitability of invading Iraq long before 9/11. During on weekend roller-blading workouts we discussed the arrogance of the White House and how it seemed very clear to both of us that O.I.L. (Our Illustrious Leader) and Dick had detailed plans in the works to invade Iraq. If we knew that while sitting in the suburbs of Connecticut from just watching the tube, reading the NY Times, Wall St. Journal and a few on-line news sources, how in the world could this be a surprise to the Main Stream Media. This seems more like a media sucker punch to create something out of nothing.

Posted by Chip Spear at 5:02 PM

April 18, 2007

Surge Strategy Thrown for a Loss

Six bombings, 170 dead, 193 wounded today. Seems like the whole surge strategy thing is having a few problems. (CNN)

Posted by Chip Spear at 11:35 AM

Gun, Gun, Whose Got the Gun?

The recent shooting at Virginia Tech has moved the spotlight to that never ending political game of gun control. Some are saying that the shooting would never have happened if the student could not buy a gun. Maybe, I say. But that misses the point, as all these arguments do. No one, or at least very few people, wants to discuss the real issue at the heart of the gun control debate, which is the ability of Americans to use guns to overthrow a potentially repressive government. It is not that hard an issue to understand. It is the foundation of the gun lobby strategy. Why do you think that we don't hear that discussed on all those talking head shows? Now that would be very interesting.

Posted by Chip Spear at 8:49 AM

April 12, 2007

Live by the Sword, Die by the Sword

Don Imus was fired today from CBS radio. This follows his firing from MSNBC yesterday. If you happen to be reading this, I am not telling you news. You should already know this. So why mention it, you may ask.....well, I am an Imus listener. I turn him on at those moments when he has guests who discuss books, politics, sports, culture, etc, then I change stations. He is a complex man; nasty, funny, creative, smart, generous, mean. He lays it all on the table. That said I think that he is also racist. Even though he helps blacks, Hispanics, Jews and all races with his charities. And he supports black politicians like Harold Ford. I cannot believe that he is unaware of the plight of so many blacks in this country. He seldom has blacks on his show. He doesn't employee a black as his sidekicks, his sports person, his intern, his aide. He continually allows Bernard to tell racist jokes. He indulges a certain humor that repeatedly leans in the racist direction. He has done this for years. It is not a simple situation.

I think it is much easier to become famous by being negative. Be mean, nasty, rude, crude and people pay attention. Be nice, generous, considerate and most folks seldom give you the time of day, and that is too bad. It is not the media's fault, it is ours. It we were not so consumed by this sort of trash, then the media empires would not pander to it. Imus would be nothing and this would be no big deal But that is not want happens in our world.

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:10 PM

April 11, 2007

The North Korean Rope-a-Dope

They bob, they weave. Wherever you throw a punch, they seem to slip away. Yes folks the North Koreans, on the verge of shutting down their nuclear reactors seem to be sliding away from the mark. Do you think they will do it? Shut down those reactors? Do you, really? Not me. (CNA)

The United States expects North Korea to meet a Saturday deadline to fulfil its side of a landmark deal to rein in its nuclear programme, officials said on Wednesday, as news came from the reclusive state that its premier had been sacked.

I had a feeling that something would happen that would lead to another delay. One way or another that little guy is going to keep his nukes....that is my take.

Posted by Chip Spear at 8:50 PM

North Korea Nuclear Update

After all the money, all the effort and all the diplomatic gamesmanship, does anyone actually believe that the North Koreans are going to shutdown their reactor and suspend their nuclear program? (AP) I am hopeful, but highly skeptical.

If North Korea follows through with its promises, they would be the first moves Pyongyang has made to scale back its nuclear development since it kicked out international inspectors and in 2003 restarted its sole operating nuclear reactor.

But the hard-won agreement, reached four months after Pyongyang rattled the world by testing a nuclear device, was held up by the dispute over North Korean funds frozen in the Macau bank.

Authorities in the Chinese territory of Macau said Wednesday that North Korea can withdraw the money. Richardson said the Macau bank is expected to formally notify North Korea later Wednesday or Thursday that the regime can access its funds.

Acknowledging it might be difficult to meet the Saturday reactor shutdown deadline, Richardson called on the North to show goodwill and invite U.N. inspectors by then "to at least start the process of shutting it down."

Posted by Chip Spear at 8:47 AM

April 10, 2007

More North Korea Questions

What is going on here? (AP)

The optimism from U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill comes after the U.S.
Treasury Department said authorities in the Chinese-administered region of Macau are prepared to unblock the frozen funds that North Korea says are the reason it has refused to move forward on a disarmament agreement.

The Macau government said it was aware of the Treasury statement and that it would work with all parties involved. "Simultaneously, it expects all parties concerned to come up with appropriate and responsible arrangements respectively," it said on its Web site.

A call to a spokesman of Banco Delta Asia, the bank where the funds are being held, was not immediately returned Tuesday. The lender had been blacklisted by Washington for allegedly helping the North launder money and its North Korean accounts were frozen. The bank has denied any wrongdoing.

Washington blacklists a bank in Macao for laundering money months ago. The money is frozen in the bank. Now the U.S. says that it is trying to get the money "unfrozen". Huh? What is the hold up? Why can't the bank now release the funds? It had been moving the money around quite easily, what is the problem now? Something is rotten in Denmark.

Posted by Chip Spear at 8:38 AM | Comments (0)

April 9, 2007

Something is happening here, and we clearly have no clue what it is

North Korea is once again balking at shutting down its nuclear program because of some "technicality" related to the release of $25 million stuck in a Macao bank. (CNA) This has been going on for some time now with no resolution.

The US point man on North Korea said on Monday it was uncertain whether a banking row could be resolved in time to meet this week's deadline in a breakthrough aid-for-disarmament deal.

Envoy Christopher Hill started a three-nation regional tour amid intense US diplomacy ahead of Saturday's deadline, which Japan and China have both publicly doubted can be met.

North Korea pledged in a six-nation deal in February to shut down its key Yongbyon nuclear facility and allow the return of UN nuclear inspectors by April 14 in return for badly needed fuel aid.

But the communist state has refused to move until it receives US$25 million of its money which was unfrozen from a Macau bank but has taken time to work its way to Pyongyang.

I know that the money came from illegal North Korean operations, or at least that is what the West contends. The thing I don't understand is why let a small sum of $25 million hold up the nuclear deal? I think there is much more going on than we are being told (once again).

Posted by Chip Spear at 7:56 PM

Fabulous Fumble of the Week - 4/8 - Don Imus

There is no question that this week's winner of Political Sports Fabulous Fumble of the Week is Don Imus for his racist comments of the Rutgers Women's Basketball Team. (AP)

Two of the nation's biggest media companies - CBS Corp. and NBC Universal - will ultimately decide the fate of Imus' daily program after he referred last week to members of the Rutgers women's basketball team as "nappy-headed hos."

I admit that I listen to Imus on a regular basis. I find him interesting, complex, exasperating and problematic. I find myself turning him off, disgusted with his attacks, but I always turn him back on, usually targeting the precise times when he has guests, which usually run at 8 and 35 minutes after each hour. He and his cohorts often walk a very fine line with regard to political correctness. Don and Bernie seldom hold back while skewering of social, cultural and racial stereotypes. Most of their barbs attack more left oriented positions, but the right is not spared. In this case I feel he stepped out of bounds. It will be interesting to see if he manages to hold onto his job.

Posted by Chip Spear at 5:11 PM

April 8, 2007

Hmmmmm, this is a shock

The AP writes:

"The corroded and corrupt state of Saddam was replaced by the corroded, inefficient, incompetent and corrupt state of the new order," Ali A. Allawi concludes in "The Occupation of
Iraq," newly published by Yale University Press.

Allawi writes with authority as a member of that "new order," having served as Iraq's trade, defense and finance minister at various times since 2003. As a former academic, at Oxford University before the U.S.-British invasion of Iraq, he also writes with unusual detachment.

The U.S.- and British-educated engineer and financier is the first senior Iraqi official to look back at book length on his country's four-year ordeal. It's an unsparing look at failures both American and Iraqi, an account in which the word "ignorance" crops up repeatedly.

First came the "monumental ignorance" of those in Washington pushing for war in 2002 without "the faintest idea" of Iraq's realities. "More perceptive people knew instinctively that the invasion of Iraq would open up the great fissures in Iraqi society," he writes.

Follow the link, there is much more of interest.

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:36 PM

The Strategy and Soul of O.I.L.

One should no longer be surprised by much that occurs by way of scandals with regard to O.I.L. How can one really be taken off-guard? Everything is part of the same strategy, the same tactics which get the identical results. Throughout this Presidency, O.I.L has shown total contempt for the country, the people, and the notion of the government as a useful tool to help address problems and prepare for the future. He has loaded department after department with political cronies, large campaign contributors, incompetent administrators and people whose sole mission is to further a political agenda rather than do an excellent job. Let’s start down the list. Energy policy? Hello big oil. And how about the DOD and the Pentagon? Those troops sure are well supplied aren’t they? Hello Halliburton? And how goes the war? What about our intelligence community? 9/11? Katrina? Alberto Gonzales and the DOJ? Then there is the attitude that fosters Duke Cunningham, Jack Abramhoff and Abu Ghraib. And what about the good old Constitution and our Civil Rights? Search and seizure? How are we doing overseas? Are we held in high esteem? Do people around the world still think of us as a beacon of hope and justice? Not a chance. Global Warming? Taxes and the budget? I would contend that anyone who supports this guy either had a massive brain fart, is incapable of analytical thinking, or has directly benefited from his policies either though government contracts or tax cuts.

Posted by Chip Spear at 4:50 PM

April 7, 2007

The Iranians and O.I.L (Our Illustrious Leader)

Doesn't the recent incident with the Iranians remind you of George? The British were clearly in Iraqi waters. How do I know? Well, I wasn't there actually, and I don't have a GPS even if I was, but the Iranians changed there story regarding the coordinates shortly after they found out the first location they gave for the British capture was in Iraqi waters. Enough said. But what do they do? They lie, repeat the lie continually, get many within Iran to believe them, and act as if everyone else is at fault, using their lie for political purposes. Did you see the pictures on the news of the huge demonstrations? Looked like a huge number of brainwashed people to me. Does this sound familiar? It sure does to me.

Posted by Chip Spear at 7:43 AM

April 4, 2007

Johnny McCain Throws the Old Change-Up

John McCain is having problems raising cash. Remember he was the man who was one of two sponsors of the McCain-Feingold Campaign finance law. He was the man who strongly condemned the influence of big money and large campaign contributions. So, what does the man who criticized G.W. for his fund raising methods do? Why adopt his fund raising methods of course. Johnny is throwing the old change up, saying one thing and doing something else. (NYT)

Lagging in fund-raising and under fire for his support of the Iraq war, Senator John McCain is overhauling his campaign finance operation and delaying the official announcement of his candidacy, his aides said Tuesday.

They said he would adopt the kind of big-donor fund-raising program pioneered by President Bush and give a speech explaining his support for the administration’s troop buildup in Iraq.

The maneuvers come at a time of sharp anxiety in Mr. McCain's camp, especially over his fund-raising, which is trailing all the major Republican and Democratic presidential candidates.

The concern grew after his visit to Iraq over the weekend, when he asserted that conditions there were improving.

Mr. McCain's aides said that to deal with his fund-raising problems, he would adopt what had been a centerpiece of Mr. Bush's fund-raising technique, and one that has been embraced by most major presidential candidates:" creating an honorary campaign designation to reward the campaign’s top money raisers.

I can't make this stuff up. It is beyond my level of creativity.

Posted by Chip Spear at 9:24 AM

April 3, 2007

McCain Swings and Misses

John McCain traveled to Baghdad, walked around a market, and attempted to convince America that the media was wrong, the city was actually much safer than reported. "See," he seemed to say as he walked around the marketplace, "it is safe, no one is shooting at me, I am not getting blown to bits."

Do you think it worked? Were you convinced? Did the fact that over 100 soldiers accompanied him alter your thinking? What about helicopter gunship hovering overhead? I bet everyone travels that way everyday in Baghdad. (NYT)

The delegation arrived at the market, which is called Shorja, on Sunday with more than 100 soldiers in armored Humvees - the equivalent of an entire company - and attack helicopters circled overhead, a senior American military official in Baghdad said. The soldiers redirected traffic from the area and restricted access to the Americans, witnesses said, and sharpshooters were posted on the roofs. The congressmen wore bulletproof vests throughout their hourlong visit.

McCain is in a tough spot. He has been in the forefront of the push for more troops to regain the offensive in Iraq. Unfortunately for him, and his Presidential bid, the facts speak a different story. Despite the influx of troops, days are not safer for Iraqis. The plan is not working. McCain has hooked his wagon to a shaky strategy. If it fails, as it appears to be doing now, his candidacy is in serious trouble.

Posted by Chip Spear at 11:03 AM