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goodDonkey
"Rafsanjani has received wide support and has formed the coalition neccessary to either completely defeat Ali Khamenei" (last paragraph)
Neccessary should have been necessary.
Posted in: Obama lays down harder line on Iran violence
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goodDonkey
Helter_Skelter said:
Wow, the mother of all myopic responses. One of the reasons we are in the mess with Iranian advances in nuclear material, and NK advances with nuclear material and delivery systems is because some people could not focus on more than one thing at a time. We cannot halt everything to fix what another administration broke one thing at a time. The past administration broke too many things and they all need attention; some immediate and some we can spend more time on.
Sorry, to have to school the ignorant but whether Iran acquires nuclear weapons may even turn out to be the most important thing; but it is not "the only thing".
Whether Iranian demonstrators were influenced by Obama has yet to be determined. The loud mouth beoooootches on these threads are so jealous that this uprising took place on Obama's watch they can't stand it. They are so determined that Obama does not get credit that they have been totally insensitive toward the impact that it could have on the protesters. Although death was a very real possibility, if a statement would have been made early on, they had other interests to protect.
Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani is now in a position to outflank Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Rafsanjani has used these past few days to form a coalition in The Assembly of Experts, a body that constitutionally has the power to remove Ayatollah Khamenei. He, as well as, Mousavi belong to a group called the Pragmatic Conservatives also known as The Broad Principalists Coalition (ائتلاف فراگیر اصولگرایان). They want to improve ties to America and Israel. They also want greater freedoms for the Iranian people including relaxing laws on women. They want to reduce the sphere of influence of the Revolutionary Guard, which is always patrolling the streets enforcing religious law.
Rafsanjani has been in the holy city of Qom, working to assemble a religious and political coalition to topple the supreme leader and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Rafsanjani has succeeded in knocking the supreme leader off his pedestal by revealing Ayatollah Khamenei to be a political partisan rather than an above-the-fray spiritual leader.
Among those who are now believed to be arrayed against Ayatollah Khamenei is Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the top Shi’a cleric in neighboring Iraq. Rafsanjani is known to have met with Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani’s representative in Iran, Javad Shahrestani.
It looks like the time during the protest has been spent well. They might not have had that much time if there had been a video of Obama early on. Sure, the Iranian leadership claimed America was involved but there was no credible evidence. Without a statement by Obama that could have been used for propaganda purposes people did not buy into America's involvement. Those who cannot understand such nuances will never believe that timing is everything. They were bitching before and now they are crowing. Let them crow. We hired an intellectual to use a nuanced approach. I believe his approach saved Iranian demonstrator's lives. There is clear evidence that his delay until most of the demonstrations in the street ended, because the Revolutionary Guard moved in with deadly force, was the proper approach. Rafsanjani is now able to claim that it was not an American plot and that Ahmadinejad and Ali Khamenei were crushing the will of the people. Because of this Rafsanjani has received wide support and has formed the coalition neccessary to either completely defeat Ali Khamenei (less likely) or receive major concessions; the aforementioned goals of the Pragmatic Conservatives would be a great movement in the right direction.
Posted in: Obama lays down harder line on Iran violence
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goodDonkey
Sailwind said:
MEDIA BIAS!!!!
It is pretty clear that the demonstrators lives were at risk. If Obama had said the right thing and the Iranian leadership used it in the wrong way people could have been killed at the onset of these protests. Once the protests subside and there is little or no chance of individuals dying out on the street for U.S. Presidential statement it might be appropriate for Obama to show some support for the demonstrators. The Revolutionary Guard is just itching for an excuse to kill a few people that disagree with them in the name of god.
VOR, Helter_Skelter, teleprompter (RR), sailwind and others as usual choose to taint those who disagree. They now want to give the impression that they appreciate freedom so much more than those of us on the left. Well now it is a case that most moderates and a few conservatives agree that Obama made the right call. It is now about freedom and how we don't respect the Iranians right to be free. Other times it has been that we are not patriotic. Still other times it is that we lack the morals that they have.
sailwind would risk the protesters lives so that America could once again be the hero. He loves to play the role of the hero. In all this lame rhetoric, not once, have they described how Obama's words would help the situation. Maybe words of encouragement are magically going to transform the protesters, already tireless efforts, into victory. They have also failed to recognize the increased risk of deatch or maybe they just won't admit a fact that weakens their rhetoric. Any intelligent mind can see that there was a risk of the President's words being used to slaughter the protesters. This was especially true in the beginning if a statement of support had been issued. I guess if you believe that your hero's words brought down the Berlin wall and that your hero's words brought down communism then you would be more than happy to try to sell a ridiculous notion that an American hero is needed in this instance.
We have all seen that it is very important for all of these individuals who are calling Obama timid to claim that America was needed in every situation or crisis in the world. The hero worshipers could not stand it if the Iranian demonstrators just did not need America right now. It is obvious that they cannot conceive that American involvement could in fact be a detriment.
Posted in: Republicans call Obama timid on Iran
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goodDonkey
sarge
You have developed into quite the economist. But weren't you the one expressing elation when Lehman Brothers crashed and burned? Did you support not allowing all the major financial houses to receive money to escape permanent doom? Did you believe it was ok to let the banks and financial institutions fail and just go away? We did not need that financial structure anyway did we sarge?
I have not seen these rules so I cannot say I agree with all of them, or any of them, at this point. I did know we needed regulation in the recent past and the conservative leadership failed America.
Sarge it is clear that you do not yet understand the extent of our economic woes last autumn. It went beyond any recession. However if you live long enough you will be able to clearly read it in your history books. Our economy was in shambles and our various financial sectors were near collapse. Those are facts. In my opinion history will record Obama's actions as being a major contributing factor towards recovery of an economy in shambles. He used tools afforded him by large sums of money to restore confidence in short order and also provide the liquidity needed to advance in a very dire situation.
It seems, in this situation as in almost all others, the conservatives can explain the entire matter in one or two sentences and provide a solution that fits nicely into a slogan. Unfortunately that is not how the world operates and its complexities are real. There are no easy solutions after an administration allows an economy and its financial structures to deteriorate to such a horrendous state. But by all means sarge continue shrieking "you can't spend your way out of a recession" at the top of your lungs from the highest point you can find. Meanwhile the work will continue without conservative support to repair the damage that your ilk did to my nation.
Posted in: Obama unveils biggest financial rules overhaul since 1930s
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goodDonkey
It would be typical of those who believe in hero worship to maintain that an American President's public support of demonstrations for freedom would be a super force capable of accomplishing the impossible. I would ask why Lugar would support such a policy but I am afraid of inviting defamation and libel on poor old Dick Lugar, who does not deserve such abuse.
gcbel
You certainly hit the nail on the head with that statement.
Posted in: Republicans call Obama timid on Iran
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goodDonkey
sailwind said:
Be careful not to make sailwind angry; he seems to be out of control. He is making defamatory and libelous statements. Why not tell a few other people of your false accusations and get the trifecta by adding slander?
Posted in: Republicans call Obama timid on Iran
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goodDonkey
sailwind
Please do not post quotes of my comments with another person's comments without delineation. It does not matter whether I agree with the other person or not. It is not an honest method of quoting a person.
I mean no offense at all against Madverts. I am quite sure Madverts is able to speak for himself. He does not need to be entangled with my words by joining our comments together.
Please try to show more integrity in the future sailwind.
Posted in: Republicans call Obama timid on Iran
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goodDonkey
Senator Lugar is absolutely right. Of course like I said in the past he and Biden are the most intelligent people on foreign affairs. They spent a great deal of time as a team. I remember watching them countless times on Sunday morning on various programs. They were extremely well informed and understood that different decisions and applications needed to be applied to different situations. People like sailwind and teleprompter (RR) want to use the same old logic that cookie cutter techniques will work for every situation.
It is probably closer to the truth that these conservatives are jealous that this uprising took place on Obama's watch. It certainly is not helpful in proving the failure they insisted Obama's reaching out to Iran and others would produce. If anything it is a demonstration of success. Of course we cannot attribute it to Obama because no causal relationship has been established. I would not want to do what sailwind constantly does and claim a cause and effect relationship just because two events happened at the same time. We may still learn however in the future that some of the demonstrators felt inspiration from Obama. If as I suspect those conservatives are jealous then they could not help themselves but meddle even if the truth is, not only has this proved to be a successful strategy, it is also entirely possible that if the demonstrations are quelled, a movement may continue underground.
If anything Obama's words would be used to crush the rebellion. So this talk of faux concern for sustaining the rebellion by appropriate words from Obama is typical conservative crap. The Republicans need to listen to Lugar with vast foreign relations experience and stop listening to McCain who has only a fraction of the knowledge and experience Lugar has. Conservatives have very little understanding of finesse and that is what this situation calls for. They would call using finesse timid; and now some are showing their complete ignorance by suggesting that timid is not only appropriate for "the response" but also Obama. Good luck with that! Trying to pass off Obama as timid; what a perfect way of showing the ignorance we always knew was underlying.
sailwind said:
Either statements concerning Bush are true or not. sailwind, as always, is out to stop any mention of past Republican errors. He thinks he can use preemptive strikes like saying anyone who mentions Bush is crazy. It would be crazy not to mention any past administration's effect on current foreign affairs. I said it before and I'll say it again. It is a lame attempt on sailwind's part to control others. Sometimes Bush's actions are relevant to the current situation and sometimes not; but sailwind wants to block any mention of Bush. It is simply an attempt at controlling others. We aren't having any part of being controlled. You will find that the Republicans can do no wrong if we cannot analyze their past actions. If mentioning Bush is "getting pretty darn old now" then conservative commentators need to be schooled by sailwind also because I hear every singly one of them mention Bush all the time. But sailwind can say that he said "blame Bush[.]" That would then beg the question of whether it is ok to praise Bush but we are not allowed to blame Bush. It is all about control.
Republican solution: Use our formulaic, cookie cutter response to every situation; but look at their track record.
Posted in: Republicans call Obama timid on Iran
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goodDonkey
Molenir said:
Some conservatives just can't help themselves. They will say anything. By Molenir's own numbers, he said 100 billion, this just can't make any sense at all.
http://www.kff.org/insurance/snapshot/chcm050206oth2.cfm
So Molenir, by his own numbers, wants us to believe that a factor of 4.63% is "biggest reason health care is so expensive[.]"
I just don't understand the aversion some people have to truth. I do not like frivolous lawsuits but I do not want to see a cap on lawsuits. If they work on reducing frivolous lawsuits I am fine with that. However if I can no longer make a living because of iatrogenic causes then I should be able to recover my loses.
According to an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), over 225,000 people die each year due to a physician's activity, manner, or therapy. This has become the third leading cause of death in the United States, after deaths from heart disease and cancer.
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/284/4/483.pdf
It is only the U.S. Constitution that allows us the right to proceed in civil cases; not a big deal really. The conservatives scream "judicial restraint" but when it comes to matters they disagree with they will let go of our constitutional right to recover loses in the courts. Or perhaps they would like to introduce a constitutional amendment?
Posted in: Democrats' stumbling health care plan keeps moving
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goodDonkey
inkjet (RR) said:
(First Beerplease said:)
(injet (RR)'s reply)
What an uninformed statement. The doctors have complained for decades about income loss due to HMO's.
teleprompter (RR) said:
Your welcome! Glad to do it. I have an vested interest in the truth. But that now begs the question whether the "rich" are socialists. Please explain how the rich practice socialism?
That is the problem when your ideas and slogans are totally wack. It becomes impossible to put 2 and 2 together to make 4.
Posted in: Republicans accuse Obama of socialism
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goodDonkey
teleprompter (RR) said:
If you plan to keep it and don't know where to stick it I could give you some suggestions on where to stick it. I guess we won't know your opinion on the matter until Rush tells you what it is. Love to hear those critical of Obama's stance offer an assortment of sentences that Obama might utter that would be beneficial to the situation at hand. I mean that should be a simple request for the guys that are so full of ...
...ideas in the past.
Posted in: Republicans call Obama timid on Iran
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goodDonkey
Taka313
I think the point sarge was making was that you used the figure $7 and that you did not add million or whatever. I'll give sarge credit on this one. It is so rare for him to be so clever. It was a good line when he said "Wow! Now that's what I call cost-effective!" Go sarge!
Posted in: Obama unveils biggest financial rules overhaul since 1930s
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goodDonkey
Stupid Republicans.
Amateurs!
Not only did Dodd say this but even Pat Buchanan, who was just as clear on McLaughlin Group in the past couple days, said just as much.
I can't wait to hear the support for the idiot Republicans call for The Big Mouth response.
Besides the fact that it could be attributed to America and thus begin to become unattractive to the opposition supporters and moderates it could give the Iranian power junkies an excuse to begin a Tiananmen type response.
Republicans would have to understand diplomacy to understand there are moments in time to shut your yap. But by all means I encourage the conservatives on JT to open their yap now and expose their naiveté.
Posted in: Republicans call Obama timid on Iran
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goodDonkey
inkjet (RR) said:
Utterly ridiculous. It is just another example of the Republican party trying to fix the hole in the Titanic with a rubber bicycle patch.
Posted in: Democrats' stumbling health care plan keeps moving
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goodDonkey
Very cool.
I want to know if Afghan reporter Tahi Ludin (who also appears to have escaped) is the same colleague that was abducted with him and the driver. If so what is the status of the driver?
Posted in: New York Times reporter escapes Taliban captivity
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goodDonkey
So what are the solutions to those that say the Islamic religion can only bring hate, violence and destruction where ever they go? They must see the only solution as eradication or not allowing anyone to practice the Muslim religion? At the very least they have always maintained a constant disenfranchisement with the rest of the civilized world is required.
They want you to believe that peace between Israel and Palestine is impossible. All they ever say is that Muslims are bent on world domination. They must be afraid to tell us what they believe is the solution.
Posted in: Israel: Palestinians use settlements as excuse to avoid peace talks
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goodDonkey
It's my party and I'll cry if I want to; cry if I want to.
Posted in: Iran's leader: End protests or risk bloodshed
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goodDonkey
realist said:
As relevant as your comment is, so is my response that you wish every government promoted your fundamentalist christian goals. I think you are just as much in favor of a theocracy as any other religious extremist. You just happen to choose a different brand.
Posted in: Republicans accuse Obama of socialism
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goodDonkey
Sarge said:
Incredible indeed.
Posted in: U.N.: World hunger reaches 1 billion mark
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goodDonkey
Horrendous!
I would love to have access to the raw data. 1,700 households are not a lot of entries and I would like to apply the tests myself. I am not a racist but it is hard to believe that the same percentages occur within each race. It is very common for societies that have emerged late from a more primitive form to be more misogynistic. But to see that level of misogyny in the White Africans seems unusual to me. I am just comparing statistics I have heard in the past with this article that have indicated race as a factor. It may be that the economic status within the stratification is the overwhelming factor in this case. If so, then that in itself speaks volumes.
Posted in: 1 in 4 South African men surveyed admit to rape