Edge… 28 February 2011
Posted by marisacat in 2012 Re Election, Inconvenient Voice of the Voter, Pan Arab Revolt - 2011, Total fucking lunatics.31 comments
From the car, New York Thruway 1975 [Joel Meyerowitz, courtesy of Edwyn Houk Gallery]
… of the cliff.
Every little news update is showing prices for gas at the pump. Diesel too, 4.09… the others from 3.79 to well over 4, upwards of 4.20 for premium.
Very little public transportation in this country, isolated to a few cities, basically. Costs for that rising as well…
We’re screwed, as we head for a Thelma and Louise moment.
******
Protest 27 February 2011
Posted by marisacat in 2012 Re Election, AFRICOM, DC Politics, Egypt, Inconvenient Voice of the Voter, Pan Arab Revolt - 2011, Total fucking lunatics.75 comments
Zagreb, Croatia: Policemen clash with protesters during an anti-government protest [Hrvoje Polan/AFP/Getty Images]
Just for contrast, who is gamboling around Tahrir Square Cairo?
McCain and Lieberman.
Really!, they are.
The Tweedledee and Tweedledum of cartoon politics. If only cartoons did not kill.
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Some Angry Arab….
The name Qadhdhafi or Qadhdhaf Ad-Dam
What are the origins of the name of Qadhdhafi or Qadhdhaf Ad-Dam (his special envoy, Ahmad Qadhdhaf Ad-Dam who resigned from his post two days ago and defected). Apparently, the legend of the family is that they were pious Sufis who kept invoking God and qur’anic citations until blood came out of their mouths, hence the name: Qadhdhafi (spitter or emitter) or Qadhdhaf Ad-Dam (spitter of blood).
Posted by As’ad AbuKhalil at 10:15 AM
And:
A source who does not want to be identified sent me this:
“Oman is on fire and al-Jazeera is quiet, and so is al-Arabiyya who only reported on points lost in Oman stock market. And of course Omani channels are not saying a word. Reuters reported this yesterday: but the number of protesters was higher, around 3000; the police used tear gas and the protesters reacted by attacking the police injuring a high ranking one and sending him to hospital. The road to al-`Ayn in the Emirates was temporarily closed.
And this is what is not being reported:
Yesterday there was a demonstration in Sour and a police center was burned. Today: more protests in Sohar and the police used live ammunition killing a 15 year old boy. Banks are closed in Sohar now. The Wali of Sohar came out with other tribal leaders to calm people down but they were attacked and ran away. A police station was put on fire. It seems tanks are deployed there now. There are protests in Salala too. I don’t know if you know this, but Omani police and mukhabarat get much of their training in Jordan.
How did I get this info?… is sending me updates. info is reliable (my … People are spreading the news there be telephoning each other). If you report this, please don’t mention my name and try not to provide all the details:”
Posted by As’ad AbuKhalil at 10:11 AM
Weekend 26 February 2011
Posted by marisacat in Divertissements, Total fucking lunatics.57 comments
A baby giraffe sticks out its tongue at the Opelzoo in Kronberg, western Germany [AFP/GETTY]
The REAL zoo:
THE SHOWS:
–NBC’s “Meet the Press“: Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI); Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) live from Cairo; roundtable with Gov. Haley Barbour (R-MS), Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and Wall Street Journal columnist Kim Strassel
–ABC’s “The Week“: To be announced today
–CBS’s “Face the Nation“: Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ)
–“Fox News Sunday“: Gov. Mitch Daniels (R-IN); former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR); roundtable with the Weekly Standard’s Bill Kristol, NPR’s Mara Liasson, former Bush White House Press Secretary Dana Perino and Fox News’ Juan Williams; “Power Player of the Week” segment with Iranian satire show Parazit host Kambiz Hosseini and Executive Producer Saman Arbabi
–CNN’s “State of the Union“: Sen. John McCain and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) from Cairo; Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND); Gov. Dan Malloy (D-CT) and Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL); roundtable with former CBO Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin and Moody’s Analytics Chief Economic Mark Zand
–CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS Live” (SUN 10am ET / 1pm ET): Former Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz; author Michael Lewis (“The Big Short”)
–C-SPAN: “The Communicators” (SAT 6:30pm ET): New York University associate teacher Clay Shirky … “Newsmakers” (SUN 10am ET / 6pm ET): Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) … “Q&A” (SUN 8pm ET / 11pm ET): Straus Military Reform Project, Center for Defense Information Director Winslow Wheeler
–Univision’s “Al Punto“: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA); former ICE Deputy Assistant Secretary for Operations Alonzo Peña; former Mexican Presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador; French-Chilean musician Ana Tijoux; roundtable with Time’s Tim Padgett, AP’s Laura Wides Muñoz and conservative blogger Javier Manjarres (The Shark Tank)
–NBC’s “The Chris Matthews Show“: HDNet’s Dan Rather, NBC News’ Savannah Guthrie, New York Magazine’s John Heilemann and CNBC’s Trish Regan
–TV One’s “Washington Watch with Roland Martin” (SUN 11am ET): Former NBA star Kareem Abdul Jabbar (discussing new documentary “On the Shoulders of Giants”); author Russell Simmons (“Super Rich: A Guide to Having it All”); roundtable on philanthropy with comedian Steve Harvey, former NBA stars Magic Johnson, Alonzo Mourning, Jalen Rose and Gary Payton; current NBA stars Dwayne Wade, Paul Pierce and Etan Thomas, comedian Arsenio Hall, journalist Stephen A. Smith, actors Larenz Tate and Lamman Rucker, actresses Gabrielle Union and Sherri Shepherd, and Grammy-winning performer John Legend (taped in Los Angeles)
****
Calls for the biggest butterfly net in the world. Then toss them all into orbit.
Desert 25 February 2011
Posted by marisacat in 2012 Re Election, AFRICOM, Inconvenient Voice of the Voter, Pan Arab Revolt - 2011, WAR!.56 comments
Tobruk, Libya: Goats walk past a surface-to-air missile at an abandoned air force base [Patrick Baz/AFP/Getty Images]
*****
Thursday 24 February 2011
Posted by marisacat in AFRICOM, Inconvenient Voice of the Voter, Pan Arab Revolt - 2011.62 comments
The protest movement has swept over much of the country. Here, an anti-Gadhafi protester holds an AK-47 on the road to the town of Msaead. [REUTERS]
Wednesday 23 February 2011
Posted by marisacat in 2012 Re Election, AFRICOM, Inconvenient Voice of the Voter, Pan Arab Revolt - 2011.97 comments
An anti-government protester brandishes his arm during a protest outside Sanaa University. Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh said protesters demanding an end to his 32-year rule would not achieve their goal through “anarchy and killing”. [REUTERS]
******
Oh and yeah. Ob says they will ”cease to defend” DOMA as constitutional.
Bone. Toss. (Hey, he took a stand!)
Love it…. 22 February 2011
Posted by marisacat in Divertissements.77 comments
A pelican covers itself with its wings to keep warm at the Beijing Zoo after it snowed [AP]
….when the creatures signal how very much they belong on the fashion runways.
Carnivale 21 February 2011
Posted by marisacat in 2012 Re Election, Inconvenient Voice of the Voter, Italy, Pan Arab Revolt - 2011.69 comments
Carnival season kicks off in Venice, Nice and Viareggio:
A float depicting US President Barack Obama with his hat topped off by a man dressed as Osama Bin Laden, and entitled Barack-Adabra and the Great Circus of the Fleas, is seen at the Carnival parade in Viareggio, Italy [AP]
Don’t worry …they REALLY smacked Silvio around:
A huge paper mache float depicting Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi entitled Rexpubblica is seen at the Viareggio Carnival [EPA]
At least Obby got to keep his skin.
*****
Another Libya site: http://revolution2.moonfruit.com/
Falling… 21 February 2011
Posted by marisacat in AFRICOM, Inconvenient Voice of the Voter, Pan Arab Revolt - 2011, Total fucking lunatics.32 comments
Iron fist: Colonel Gaddafi, the Libyan leader for 41 years, is accused of ordering the slaughter of his own people [AP via Daily Mail]
*****
As a… 20 February 2011
Posted by marisacat in 2012 Re Election, AFRICOM, Culture of Death, DC Politics, Inconvenient Voice of the Voter, Israel/AIPAC, Pan Arab Revolt - 2011, Riyadh, WAR!.32 comments
Manama, Bahrain: A Bahraini anti-government protester at the Pearl roundabout holds up a poster with pictures of former Tunisian president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali (centre), former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak (left) and former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein above a picture of Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Issa Al Khalifa with the words “soon” written in Arabic [Hassan Ammar/AP]
As a twisted Paladin, of sorts, rides in.
Hail the mush faced Mullen….
US top military officer arrives in Saudi Arabia
(AFP) – 3 hours ago
RIYADH — Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, arrived in Saudi Arabia on Sunday for the first stage of a Gulf tour to boost US relations with its allies in the region.
“Part of what I want to accomplish is to reassure our friends and also just listen to what’s on their mind,” Mullen told journalists.
The highest ranking US military officer’s visit comes as an unprecedented wave of revolts challenges Arab authoritarian regimes, notably in Bahrain and Yemen, after uprisings toppled rulers in Tunisia and Egypt.
The purpose of his mission is to “reassure, discuss and understand what is going on,” Mullen said, adding the “trip was scheduled for other reasons but as it turns out the context has changed.”
In his two-day stay in Saudi Arabia, US President Barack Obama’s top military adviser will meet high-ranking Saudi military officials.
At the top of the agenda is Bahrain, where six people were officially reported killed in last week’s demonstrations, raising pressure on the Sunni Muslim ruling dynasty to talk with the Shiite-led opposition.
Mullen said it was “absolutely critical” that governments and their opposition resolve differences peacefully.
“We certainly would like to see whatever happens happen in a non violent way,” he said. “That where there are differences, they be resolved non violently. And that governments and their people figure this out.”
The Sunni Saudi kingdom has expressed alarm at Iran’s nuclear programme and the Shiite Islamic republic’s growing influence in the Middle East, particularly Bahrain, Iraq and Lebanon which have sizeable Shiite communities.
Foreign ministers of the Gulf monarchies signalled support for Bahrain’s monarchy on Thursday in a joint statement, saying “our security is a collective responsibility and there is no question of accepting foreign interference.”
Bahrain is strategically vital to Washington as it hosts the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, which protects the Gulf’s maritime oil routes supplying US operations in Afghanistan.
Saudi Arabia is a long-standing US ally and a key regional player in the war on terrorism, with Washington announcing in October a massive contract to supply Riyadh with fighter jets and helicopters.
Information that Saudi Arabia collects on Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), operating out of Yemen, has also become critical to alert Western governments of potential threats.
Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved.
Oh puhleese. The biggest mil power on earth arrives for a circle tour to urge ”peace” and ”non-violence”.
Don’t make me laugh too hard, now.
Marisacat 