1- The Bloombergians sent a "patrol" into the Granite State to assail Kelly Ayotte in her strongholds. This AM the Mikaites with their kaffee klatch hangers-on are rejoicing in the "turn of the tide." They beleive that the devil worshipping senators who voted against Manchin-Toomey are doomed. Well, maybe. Or maybe people in the "raided" states will develop resentments peculair to these operations. Even the transplanted massholes in the deep south of NH may resent this.
2- The Feds have busted Tsarnaev's three roommates. Interesting. They are going to pay a high price for their group solidarity. Wait unil they meet "bubba" in the Big House. I said early on here that student groupings should be looked at. Kids hat age are a walking mass of big "T" with nary a whole brain among them. It actually did not occur to me that they would be so stupid as to do this in the metro area where they lived.
3 - Guantanamo is in the news again. Let's not forget that some of the prisoners are really dangerous and eager to take up arms again. Even if they close that resort on the Caribbean, that group can't be tried and can't be released. the evidence against them was contaminated by treating them as though they were PWs early on. PWs are not mirandized because PWs are not subject to trial for their actions except under exceptional circumstances. No American court whether civilian or military will admit statements made at that time as evidence.
4- The R2P crowd are still hard at it trying to bulldoze BHO into what would become an open ended intervention in Syria. Polls indicate that the US public (62%) believe we have no responsibility for civil war in that country, They are correct. The rebels are the enemies of the US, Get it? Listen to the exchange bewteen the rebel activist Jouejati and Joshua Landis on the Newshour a couple of nights ago. pl
1. The Wackos on the Right got their groups why can't the Wackos on the left have their own. Mika is nothing but an entertainer and a poor one at that. Turn her off it is not good for your health. Oh, I see a new nickname for my fellow patriots from the Bay State has been created.
2.Yes, fresh meat for Bubba, may he enjoy.
3. No matter how it can be twisted these are POW's. We would be more humane turning them loose on the battlefield and shooting them than what is going on now.
4. Does R2P include that effimate chap from South Carolina? Polls-Schmolls if the Syrians want to eat each other why should we care.
Pleased to see that other noteworthy crap was not included in the daily news.
Posted by: Bobo | 01 May 2013 at 02:52 PM
MURHAF JOUEJATI: "...One, this is not a civil war. This is a national uprising ..."
And here in D.C. sits Murhaf Jouejati, where the entire military might of the USA can keep him safe. Isn't it long past time he goes in harm’s way on behalf the freedom of Syria?
Posted by: Fred | 01 May 2013 at 03:39 PM
"transplanted massholes"?
Priceless.
Posted by: Matthew | 01 May 2013 at 03:59 PM
Col: How about we also adopt this corollary: It shall not be policy of the United States to hand over large Christian communities to extermination.
I know it's like the Czar's promise to the Slavs, but why does this overwhelmingly Christian country have an obligation to help decimate foreign Christian communities?
Posted by: Matthew | 01 May 2013 at 04:01 PM
Bobo (Bay State Patriot)
I have to check on Mika to see what the current level of hysteria is among the New York fantasy islanders.
Yeah. turn'em loose and give them a 48 hour start.
I think that the "effeminate chap" is in a class by himself. something like the pre-Long Knives faction of... pl
Posted by: turcopolier | 01 May 2013 at 04:02 PM
Matthew
Presume you mean the Syrian Christians. Maybe that has something to do with our own demographics. pl
Posted by: turcopolier | 01 May 2013 at 04:05 PM
With regard to Sen. Ayotte, Mass and NH, I can say with certainty that being told how to vote by NYC's nanny mayor and talking heads just isn't going to go over well. Gun vote polling may be being confused with a general vote against incumbents of all stripes right now.
Posted by: bth | 01 May 2013 at 04:23 PM
What can or should be done about the prison at Guantanamo, Col? Should the facility be moved stateside and some portion of the inmates have their cases reviewed?
Posted by: Medicine Man | 01 May 2013 at 04:33 PM
The prisoners in Guantanamo Bay cannot be concieved of as POWs.
Unless you are willing to extend the same recognition to IRA, John Borwn, Timothy McVeigh, Tamil Tigers, the Shining Path, the Black Panthers, the Anarchists, etc.
For them to be POW they must represent some sort of authority.
They do not and never did.
Posted by: Babak Makkinejad | 01 May 2013 at 04:53 PM
I thought I might see a mention of hezbollah and the Syrian regime today. I read with interest Dr. Silverman's post of 4/24 regarding possible outcomes of this fighting. He didn't really mention outside intervention on behalf of the Syrain regime as a factor. Has hezbollah's military support for the regime always been a given, or is this a new development, and does it change anything? I come here for enlightenment in things ME. If this is a dopey question, please accept my apologies.
Posted by: Nick B | 01 May 2013 at 05:10 PM
Re: "massholes"
I run across quite a few transplants,
touristas, and partime residents in
Florida from the "great states" of New
York and New Jersey. I refer to them
collectively as "NewJerkers." Their
arrogance at times knows no bounds.
Posted by: steve g | 01 May 2013 at 05:22 PM
Link to the Landis-Jouejati interview.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/world/jan-june13/syria2_04-29.html
From a transplanted Masshole now living in southern NH. (In the future, please capitalize the M.)
Posted by: Trent | 01 May 2013 at 05:43 PM
Col: Yes, I was referring to the Syrian Christians. We have no moral obligation to assist the Jihadis who will destroy this ancient Christian community.
Posted by: Matthew | 01 May 2013 at 05:51 PM
trent
I cannot claim to be more than an immigrant to the Sacred Soil of Virginia so I share your pain at your carpetbagger status. some of my best friends are Massholes. pl
Posted by: turcopolier | 01 May 2013 at 06:11 PM
I think we would be remiss if we did not add the CIA's (literal) carpetbagging in Kabul to the list of noteworthy events. We seem to have become so innured to madcap behavior by our leaders that a story that would have set off a firestorm pre-9/11 now is a 24 hour wonder. A few aspects that strike me:
1. The CIA is now exposed as a manifestly rogue organization. Admittedly, when no one is at the helm every part of the government is a potential rogue. In this case, the CIA set its own course in Afganistan in November 2001 and never has deviated from it. It's made up of two elements. First, the goal is to crush the 'enemy,' i.e. al-Qaidi, then the Taliban, then the Haqqanis, then Lakshar-e-Taibi, then any Islamist groups in the region who are hostile to us. Second, the only way to do so is to form alliances with the warlords. Democracy, nation-building, and all that was for the sissies in State. That has been the CIA's own policy in the region throughout and no one has budged them in the slightest.
2. The CIA strategy is a loser - as should have been obvious fom day one. The only thing they have going for them is money (even that is thanks to Chinese generosity).
One only hopes that the Langley gang are responsible enough to deliver the greenbacks in bags that were recyclable.
3. The United States, a plural noun in more ways than one, will be playing four disconnected games in Afghanistan for the indefinite future: the CIA's warlord focused game supplemented by the CIA led Afghan regular irregulars; the Army led official Afghan army engaged in counter-insurgency; US Special Ops cum drones targetting whomever; some sort of outreach to those elements among the insurgents whom we are not bombing on odd numbered days of the month. Likelihood of success? Who can say since at this point we are clueless as to what we are trying to accomplish.
4. It is a bitter experience to realize and accept how utterly mindless and ineffectual American foreign policy has become. But unless we do so, the incoherence will only grow and the price for it will mount.
Posted by: mbrenner | 01 May 2013 at 06:41 PM
Bobo,
International humanitarian law hadn't heared of the 'enemy combattant', to which, conveniently, traditional rules can't apply, until the Bush administration lawyers conjured this new category out of their proverbial rear end.
Now what are they then?
The relevant Categories are the combatant (which when captured become POW), the civilian (which must be protected) and the so-called 'unlawful combatant'.
Wiki definitions, which are IMO pretty good:
A combatant is someone who takes a direct part in the hostilities of an armed conflict. If a combatant follows the law of war, then they are considered a privileged combatant, and upon capture they qualify as a prisoner of war under the Third Geneva Convention (GCIII).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combatants
A civilian under international humanitarian law (also known as the laws of war) is a person who is not a member of his or her country's armed forces or other militia. Civilians are distinct from combatants. They are afforded a degree of legal protection from the effects of war and military occupation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilian
An unlawful combatant is is a civilian who directly engages in armed conflict in violation of the laws of war. An unlawful combatant may be detained or prosecuted under the domestic law of the detaining state for such action.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unlawful_combatant
They are not not POW. IMO they are unlawful combatants.
Posted by: confusedponderer | 01 May 2013 at 07:48 PM
From the info released so far, Tsarnaev's friends are not part of any Islamic student group of any kind. They learned of their friend's involvement in the bombing after the fact and acted like kids with too much loyalty and not enough brains. PL is right when he says,"Kids that age are a walking mass of big "T" with nary a whole brain among them." If it wasn't for the influence of his older brother, Dzhokhar and his friends wouldn't have been involved in anything worse than some stupid frat prank.
Posted by: The Twisted Genius | 01 May 2013 at 10:58 PM
Just about every article I read about what happened with Sen. Ayotte mentions "sharply dressed 20 somethings wearing hipster sunglasses" and ends with a "stuff_that_didnt_happen.txt" reference like "everyone applauded". Senator Ayotte's response to the Newton totem the Left dragged out was clasically done, but this gets lost in the writer's panties getting wet about what their carpetbaggers are wearing.
Meanwhile McCain's town halls are ending in him screaming at border ranchers who insist that the amnesty he's fighting for is going to be a repeat of the 1986 fiasco. This is not publicized, of course, nor is the stat that some 65% of Arizonans think McCain's time is up.
I think the fetishim of anyone connected to what happened in Newton is bizarre, and its amazing how they're still getting play. Meanwhile, the RINOs in the 'traitors of 8' are busy lying about how their amnesty would have prevented another terrorist getting in.
"A house divided.."
Posted by: Tyler | 01 May 2013 at 11:32 PM
I think you're letting the tribal impulse off a little too easily, TTG. At the least, getting involved in a terrorism case in this way is retarded, especially as a grown ass man.
If this was the fault of the white conservative male that the media was hoping for, you better believe that his friends covering up for him wouldn't be considered 'hijinks' but uh "indicative of the racial hatred by Red State America" or some BS.
Posted by: Tyler | 02 May 2013 at 12:02 AM
Tyler,
If by tribal impulse you mean the Kazakhs (probably Muslims) have a lot more empathy for a Chechen than for the pasty faced (predominantly Christian) American victims of the bombing, I agree. Unfortunately, that's only natural. How much empathy do we Americans have for the collateral damage of our air strikes and drone strikes? It doesn't matter whether we're red or blue, shock and awe is less shocking and more awe inspiring when applied against some other tribe and not ours. That's just human nature.
If the marathon bomber was a white conservative male, most of the media would attribute it to a disturbed, misguided individual just as they did with the Oklahoma City bombing. Sure there would be some screaming about the vast right wing conspiracy, but that would lose steam quickly. It doesn't have the resonance (or reality) of Islamic terrorism.
Posted by: The Twisted Genius | 02 May 2013 at 01:22 AM
Bibi has predictably dismissed Arab League land-swap by simply changing the subject. To him the ongoing conflict with the Palestinians isn’t really about blood and soil in the first place.
That probably came, if only in the line of argument, as a surprise to both Palestinians and Israeli settlers alike.
So the ongoing dispossession of Palestinians and the ever creeping expansion of settlements are all but a means to the end of having the Palestinians finally accept forever the eternal Jewishness of Israel. Who could reasonably doubt that Israel is a Jewish state, when the territory of Greater Israel has finally been ethnically cleansed of Palestinians, providing Israel with urgently needed Lebensraum in the East? Only faced with that those incorrigibly obstinate Palestinians will finally understand!
I wished there'd be some grown-ups in charge of US Middle East policy again, who'd tell the Israelis they can call the US when they are serious, and that in the meanwhile they can kiss patronage and all their subsidies and freebies goodbye. I wish that Germany would do the same. Instead, we get the n-th Israeli reiteration of 'Kiss my ass, sucker'.
Posted by: confusedponderer | 02 May 2013 at 02:01 AM
Pat,
My college roommate and his wife live in Belmont adjacent to Watertown and very close to the shootout. We had dinner with them last night and were driven through the shootout area. They were decidedly underwhelmed by the police performance in locating the younger bomber.
Those in live free or die land also apply the term mass ass....
Regards,
Russ
Posted by: Russ | 02 May 2013 at 08:10 AM
Tyler,
I helped draft the "No-Amnesty" amendment to the Simpson-Mazzoli Bill in the Senate back in the day. I recall we got about 20 votes out of 100. Those who supported the amendment warned that giving amnesty would set a precedent for recurring amnesties in the future. Supporters wanted to be politically correct so here we are today. A review of the Congressional Record and the debates in the Senate and House on Simpson-Mazzoli of the mid 1980s would show that all the consequences we have seen were foretold in those debates.
Back then some assessed the flow of "illegal aliens" through the border at perhaps 100,000 a month using Border Patrol arrest figures. Say for each one caught and sent back perhaps 3 to 5 got through. How many stayed in US or simply moved back and forth was harder to estimate. The bottom line was that it was clear that the border leaked like a sieve because Washington didn't care and would not put up resources.
The logical consequence of course has been the permanent demographic shift we have seen since in the US as Mexico exported its unemployment over the past few decades. For Mexican politicians, exporting unemployment is good politics.
Staffers in the Senate back in the late 1980s and 90s used to call McCain "The Manchurian Candidate" because of his extreme erratic behavior. (extreme even for a Senator) Screaming at staff, blowing up constantly...and so on. He was ALWAYS a Neocon...and said so: "I am a Scoop Jackson Republican" he would say evoking the Neoconized Jackson.
Posted by: Clifford Kiracofe | 02 May 2013 at 08:45 AM
CP
When the unlawful combatant is not prosecuted as a criminal but continuously detained he then is an Internee of some nature which is part of the twisting. As a simple man they are POW's not yet returned as the GWOT is not over. Anything else is a problem.
They should be dealt with sooner or later.
Posted by: Bobo | 02 May 2013 at 08:55 AM
Bobo,
no, no: They are _not_ POW. Do not conflate the term with the 'unlawful combatants'. POW and unlawful combatants are as different as apples and oranges.
The 'unlawful combatants' is a category quite distinct from POW, with far less protections, and one cannot be a POW and an 'unlawful combatants' at the same time.
That the 'unlawful combatants' held at Guantanamo Bay need to be dealt with and are indeed entitled to a fair legal process (which they have been denied for far too long, under at best questionable excuses) is a separate issue entirely, and I can agree with you on that.
That sorry state of affairs situation, however, still doesn't make them POW.
Posted by: confusedponderer | 02 May 2013 at 09:49 AM