news and comment
politics

site map
C O L O U R K E 'Y

“Russia has taken a series of diplomatic steps in an apparent effort to ease tensions with the West over this month's conflict in Georgia.

“President Dmitry Medvedev told UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown Moscow wanted more monitors from Europe's security body in Georgia, the Kremlin said.”
—
“In a separate development, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke to his German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

“They both "agreed on the need to put an end to attempts to use the situation surrounding Georgia... to raise tensions in Europe by speculating on non-existent threats concerning other post-Soviet countries," a Russian foreign ministry statement said.”

related material
growing problems in georgia
can-rattling for beginners - georgia part 2

the web address for the article above is
https://www.abelard.org/news/politics0808.php#georgia_russia_200808

advertising
disclaimer

advertising
disclaimer

advertising
disclaimer

palin - a very much stronger résumé than obarma

video: 26:41 minutes

A fighter against corruption versus a friend of Rezko and Ayers and Wright.

looks like the demogocrats are already attempting to smear palin for some alleged actions of her staff

Sarah Palin appears to have put some good old boy noses out of joint with her objections to corruption as usual. Meanwhile, the in-laws are squabbling over a messy family dispute.

“Palin, who has previously said her administration didn't exert pressure to get rid of trooper Mike Wooten [her brother in law], also disclosed that members of her staff had made about two dozen contacts with public safety officials about the trooper.

“ "I do now have to tell Alaskans that such pressure could have been perceived to exist although I have only now become aware of it," Palin said.” [Quoted from mcclatchydc.com]

“Unfortunately, with partisan politics and talk shows and bloggers, there's probably just as much noise as substance," he said. "Hopefully, what the investigator can do is sift through it and see if there's any legitimacy." ” [Quoted from adn.com]

Palin appears to be cooperating fully with the ‘investigation’.

the web address for the article above is
https://www.abelard.org/news/politics0808.php#palin_nomination_290808

“i accept your nomination for president of the united states”-obama

You may put words into the mouth of any puppet. Those words, many of which were completely detached from reality, in other words which were outright lies, are no substitute for realism.

However, Obama’s canadidature acceptance speech was an improvement on the previous tirades of lies and empty waffle proceeding from his mouth.

Obama is no Kennedy.
He is no Martin Luther King.
He is not even a Bill Clinton.

Wait until he does not have a speech crafted and written by others, wait until he is cut adrift from a teleprompter.

Wait until his real record is once more under examination, and see whether the wet cardboard once more collapses on the floor

Obama had the foolishness and ignorance to diss the highly able economist Phil Gramm, who left the Democrats and shifted to the Republicans.

Then there are his ludicrous opening words.....

“I accept your nomination for President of the United States.”

Perhaps someone should tell him that the Demogocrat Party does not nominate the President.
The President will be elected by the people of the USA!

And he was addressing a bunch of dolts who are unaware of the difference between nominating him as party representative, and nominating him President.

From Phil Gramm

“We have sort of become a nation of whiners. You just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness. [Quoted from washtimes.com]

This is almost certainly accurate, but it doesn’t sit well with the constant Demogocrat hope of talking the country into a recession to gain political advantage.

The added facts that Phil Gramm rejected the Democrat Party, and that he’s a notable economist, must also rankle the remaining faithful cultists.

This problem is aggravated by the foolishness of Obarma, and the lack of alertness of his writers by their failure to update his waffle on the day's news :-

“US shares climbed yesterday after revised figures showed that the American economy was much stronger in the spring than previously reported.

“The Commerce Department adjusted its annualised estimate for second-quarter gross domestic product growth from the 1.9 per cent it announced in July to 3.3 per cent - the fastest rate in nearly a year. The 0.9 per cent GDP growth calculation for the first quarter was unchanged.” [Quoted from business.timesonline.co.uk]

the web address for the article above is
https://www.abelard.org/news/politics0808.php#obama_acceptance_290808

still more ‘new’ labour greed and voodoo ‘economics’

“ "There is a lot of pre-emptive demolition going on. This is already having a visual impact - cities are beginning to look like broken teeth."

“The measure has been fiercely opposed by business lobby groups including the Confederation of British Industry, the British Chambers of Commerce and the British Retail Consortium - the latest in a series of clashes between business and Labour since Gordon Brown became prime minister and Alistair Darling took over as chancellor.

“Before the changes, vacant offices and shops received rate relief of 50% and industrial units gained full relief. Now all unused commercial property has to pay full business rates after a three-month period of grace for commercial premises and six months for industrial property and warehouses, adding about £1.3bn a year to government coffers.”

the web address for the article above is
https://www.abelard.org/news/politics0808.php#uk_voodoo_economics_270808

on looking at romanian recovery and its transport system - a modest proposal by the auroran sunset

Romania escaped the clutches of murderous socialism over a decade ago - one of the worst Stalinist socialist regimes of them all. Ceausescu turned Romania into one of the most backward countries in Europe. However, like many countries trying to recover from the destruction of wealth, lives, individualism, trust and morals that comes along with the curse that is every socialist ‘leader’, Romania is gripped by corruption, inertia, helplessness and hopelessness. This is most obvious when you look at their transport infrastructure.

The roads in the capital of Bucharest are unmaintained, filthy and so full of cars and pollution that neither drivers nor pedestrians can navigate with comfort. If you try to leave the capital, you find yourself crawling along potholed tracks, so full of frustrated drivers that you are lucky to advance thirty kilometres in two hours.

Castle Bran, Romania - alleged home of Dracula and Vladimir the Impaler.

Nor does it stop there - as you continue to move inwards towards the Brasov region, one of Romania’s biggest tourist areas and alleged home of Dracula’s castle (Bran Castle)[1], the road continues as slow as treacle but without the smooth surface. Even the new unfinished “European Highway” - really a glorified dual-carriageway without even a central barrier - would hardly qualify in quality terms as a B-road in the UK. The whole 200km trip takes at least five hours.

Meanwhile if you try to take a train, you will find yourself on antiquated trains and track winding round ridiculous looping routes and stopping so often that the train can never get any speed. It is such that a horrendous four-hour car journey becomes a hellish twelve-hour marathon on the train.

There is no route between the airport and Bucharest except the two hour permanent traffic jam. Supposedly, they are going to build tracks by 2012, but no doubt that will be late even for that absurd date, non-functional and mired in huge corruption.[2] I first came to Bucharest a year ago, and each time I come there is construction everywhere. However, so far I cannot see any difference since my first time.

The reason for this amazing situation, in a country that has had heavy Western investment and development loans, ridiculous taxes and is preparing to enter the European Union, is simple. The parliament is in the centre of Bucharest. All the politicians live in the rich developed areas in the centre also, drinking from the corrupt trough as they squander the huge proportion of the people’s wealth that they manage to steal in taxes.

a modest proposal
I have a modest proposal which may serve to improve the situation somewhat. I propose a simple law that would be made the condition by the West for further loans, investment or entry to the EU. The law would require the MPs to all live in one town at least 25km away from the parliament, and that each year, the parliament would be moved to the town that politicians lived in the previous year. No town previously used could be repeated for at least 50 years. Each new town to be chosen by lottery. The law should also prohibit increases in the level of taxation, so that politicians cannot use further tax thefts to maintain their corruption.

Suddenly, you will see investment in the needed infrastructure and a great loss of the current tolerance for graft and sloth in the necessary works. Meanwhile, each year, another new town would start two years of major investment in the private enterprises necessary to maintain the thriving cosmopolitan lifestyle that the corrupt power-seekers seem to feel that they are owed. The honest business activity further promotes a return to a society where both the law and the individuals can be trusted, something that is essential to building wealth and quality of life.

This proposal could of course be applied a host of countries other than Romania. It could easily become a condition for IMF or World Bank loans, American largesse and entry into coveted democratic alliances such as the EU or NATO.

Variants could easily be applied to the richest and best run countries where there are less problems, but still many under-developed areas. For example, add a clause requiring that after six months in the place where the politicians must live, all fossil fuel power stations must be turned off. Either they build the required alternatives, such as nuclear power stations, or they have six months of serious problems.

This is a simple rule of good management: when you find a system broken, first decide the results that you desire, then change the incentives in a way that makes the results appear naturally.

This proposal is provided royalty free by the auroran sunset! ☺

related document
people power and the power of civil disobedience

end notes

1. Brasov, along with the seaside of the Black Sea, is one of the major Romania tourist destinations. It is full of beautiful mountains, bucolic countryside and historical sites, like the alleged home of Dracula. Dracula is in fact Vlad the Impaler - a highly unpleasant sadist who used the gruesome punishments, from whence his epithet derives, to rid the country of much criminality and to temporarily stop the invading Ottoman Empire. The blood-drinking legend is just an exaggeration of his well known “thirst” for blood and gore. There is some small doubt, however, as to whether Bran Castle was really his main home or not.
   
   
2. Note that tourism and easy access for visitors is a major way that poor nations and regions can improve their quality of life. Romania has great untapped tourist potential, with glorious countryside, a colourful past and many friendly and eye-pleasing people.

the web address for the article above is
https://www.abelard.org/news/politics0808.php#roumania_260808

awaiting the plagiarised speech of michele obama from inanity central, and then the ads come on

The level of blither is so similar, empty phrases completely divorced from any reality.
[Just so you aren’t too confused, Obama’s words are in orange.]

’Yes we can, yes we can, yes we can...
The diamond standard we’re waiting for.
Get new Vanish Oxy-action Intelligence
I’m fired up and ready to go!

It’s only dishwashing but...
Change, the country is going in the wrong direction, change...
Fast relief, no tablet works faster.
Change we can believe in.
This is our moment, this is our time.
McCain is really George Bush.
Take the Love your mouth challenge.
The extraordinary purity of Obarminess, sorry, Smirnov.
America is ready to turn the page.
Look at the difference!
Yes we can, yes we can, yes we can...
Trust pink, forget stains.
We will change this country - we will change the world
Believe in better.
I’m asking you to believe.

the web address for the article above is
https://www.abelard.org/news/politics0808.php#michele_obama_hypocrisy_250808

update after the speech

So Michelle Obarma has been drilled in pretending to be ‘vulnerable’, but her shallow arrogance just will not let her carry it off. Obviously, her handlers had ghost-written her maundering.

It is a problem with people with an IQ around 120 (S.D.15), that they’re bright enough to imagine they are bright. this is because about five sixths of the people they meet are less able than themselves, but they are not bright enough to understand their own limitations.

Thus they become arrogant but crude and insensitive.

Michelle’s been raised as a ‘good girl’and she clearly worships her man unthinking as her hero, and he is weak enough to be flattered by uncritical worship.

An ideal couple, but not presidential material.

Michelle is obviously no thinker, but is a simplistic adult/child.

Essentially, her speech had no substantial content, but smeared the emotionalist party with copious butter.

the web address for the article above is
https://www.abelard.org/news/politics0808.php#michelle_update_270808

obama, infanticide and hypocrisy

“[...] adding a - an additional doctor who then has to be called in an emergency situation to come in and make these assessments is really designed simply to burden the original decision of the woman and the physician to induce labor and perform an abortion.”

It is crystal clear to me that Obarma’s prime concern here is that the woman would be at risk of not getting her wish. That is, he was talking about the ‘removal’ of the child/whatever/fetus - the word is totally irrelevant in reality, the words are used as rhetoric.

“[...] attending physician, who has made an assessment that this is a nonviable fetus and that, let's say for the purpose of the mother's health, is being - that - that - labor is being induced, that that physician (a) is going to make the wrong assessment and (b) if the physician discovered, after the labor had been induced, that, in fact, he made an error, or she made an error, and, in fact, that this was not a nonviable fetus but, in fact, a live child, that that physician, of his own accord [...]”

Note the nonsense suggesting that the medic has already pre-determined that the birth is ‘non-viable’, and then is all of a sudden ‘shocked ‘ to find once in five times he was wrong!

The medic’s whole objective was to kill the being on behalf of the woman/ mother.

What’s to be done if, after 20% of cases, the medic is to say: “Sorry, old girl. You’ve got a baybee and you’ll now have to take it home and spend the next 20 years raising it”?

This is what Obarma is really getting at. “Hey medic man, you were supposed to kill the thingy....”

Whose going to raise it for the next 20 years, not just wait an inconvenient half-an-hour for it to die off (or “not coming out limp and dead”, in the words of the world saviour!)?

Obama is clearly eager for the destruction of the inconvenient being. He is not being neutral. He is not concentrating on just the situation of the medic/s. Obama is defending the right of women to avoid the consequences of the inconvenience.

It’s no wonder he’s wriggling like billy-o to avoid saying that outright, it’s so unpopular a notion in the hypocritical and emotional world.

Meanwhile, that decision is being made by millions in the USA and around the world. But polite people pretend otherwise, and know the emotionalist world will be on their neck with faux-outrage if anyone dares to be honest.

You don’t shout sh*t in church!

You try to hedge around, just the way Obama does.

He is both a fool and a hypocrite, but anyone who studies him in depth already knows that much.

the web address for the article above is
https://www.abelard.org/news/politics0808.php#obama_infanticide_hypocrisy_250808

china: food deficit growing rapidly, trade advantage in steel eroding

“Since then it has suffered a classic deterioration in its terms of trade, with the price of its food imports rising much faster than the price of its food exports.”
—
“According to data from Global Trade Information Services Inc, Geneva, (GTIS), China had a deficit of $5.78 billion on its trade in agricultural products in the first half of this year, against asurplus of $2.45 billion a year earlier, as the value of imports rose 72 percent while exports rose 12 percent.”

[Note these are half-year numbers.]

“Its surplus in food peaked at $6.4 billion in 2002, and was only $0.9 billion in 2007, as food prices started to climb.” [Quoted from planetark.com ]

“Soaring transport costs, first on importing iron to China and then exporting finished steel overseas, have already more than eroded the wage advantage and suddenly rendered Chinese-made steel uncompetitive in the US market.”
—
“China’s steel exports to the US are now falling by more than 20% on a year-over year basis - the worst performance in almost a decade. While many might attribute this decline to the slowdown in the US economy, it is noteworthy that US domestic steel production has risen by almost 10% during the same period.” [Quoted from solveclimate.com]

the web address for the article above is
https://www.abelard.org/news/politics0808.php#chinas_economy_220808

uk silly season: brown the clown is not mia - he is a travelling tourist desperately seeking photo ops

Olympics, Afghan ...
Roll up, roll up, roll up! See Beppo perform for the cameras, pose in front of the troops. Cheer you bastards, cheer the Clown!

Hard labour will win, says the clown, with digital technology how can I fail?
Photos cost so little now, and I intend to take every advantage.

The Clown is a world statesman.

A word of praise for Sarkozy and another for the Millipede [David Milibrand, foreign minister], a wreath in Israel and off to the Olympics. Parade some soldiers in the heat, an offer of more money for Karzi; stop being naughty you Chinese.

The greatest chancellor of all time.
The greatest leader Britain has ever produced.

Vote socialist ‘New’ labour!
And prove with Gordy that money comes from presses and grows on trees.

Don’t believe the polls The only real poll is the election, if we ever get one. Gordon says he will win.Socialist Mugabe was right, he won - why not the Clown??

“Twice as many electors said they would vote Tory as Labour (48% to 24%) at the next general election, the biggest gap recorded since the pollster's records began in 1977. It is four points wider than a month ago - with Labour dropping three.” [Quoted from ukpress.google.com]

It’s just a blip, says the Clown. There are still hundreds of fools who will vote for me! And that’s still more than will vote for the Millipede!

Last seen wandering down the road, waving his arms in the air, crying out, “the winner, the winner - yes I can, yes I can”!!

the web address for the article above is
https://www.abelard.org/news/politics0808.php#brown_mia_210808

longest down run on the £ since 1971 - the great socialist inflation starts to feed through

“The pound is set for its biggest weekly drop against the dollar in 13 years, after it slid for the 11th consecutive day as speculation
mounted that a recession will force the Bank of England to cut interest rates.”

That is, a still more inflationary policy is expected.

“The pound's 11-day fall to $1.86 is the longest run of declines in at least 37 years and the currency is now down 6.5 per cent since the end of July.”

Gold is now down over 20% from its high.

Dollars to the pound over one year:

High: 2.11610
Low: 1.86180

a 12% fall.

“Analysts say that unemployment is set to rise even further as job cuts by housebuilders continue to feed through. The construction sector has shed 35,000 jobs since its peak last year. Influential surveys from manufacturers and service companies also indicated that employment is set to fall in these sectors.” [Quoted from timesonline.co.uk]

More socialist labour ‘promises’/lies.

Just over a year ago:

July 11 2007
“Gordon Brown today pledged to build 3m new houses by 2020 as he broke with centuries of tradition and gave MPs a preview of the Queen's speech.” [Quoted from guardian.co.uk]

That is, the ‘promise’ was for approximately 3,000,000/13.5 per annum, which is more than 220,000 a year.

And the reality one year later:

“[...] housing completions will fall well below the government's targets of around 185,000 per annum for England, to 141,000 in 2008, 134,000 in 2009 and 139,000 in 2010.” [Quoted from guardian.co.uk]

the web address for the article above is
https://www.abelard.org/news/politics0808.php#uk_socialist_inflation_150808

This news item has been incorporated into a dedicated document on Georgia and its current political situation.

no comment

John McCain helps Barack Obama’s energy savings proposal - inflate your tyres.

Obam’'s energy plan, with some help from John McCain. Image: latimes.com

the web address for the article above is
https://www.abelard.org/news/politics0808.php#obama_energy_plan_080808

action trumps pretty words - from the auroran sunset

A long history of media fashion-followers claiming that the Americans didn’t know what they were doing in Iraq, while the British did - followed by the results and inevitable snide retractions (see below).

Once again Bush’s and American actions have proved the fossil media’s and fellow leftist travellers’ words to be totally divorced from reality.

The linked article contains a selection of fossil media reports from April 2003 to August 2008.

“Senior British military officers on the ground are making it clear they are dismayed by the failure of US troops to try to fight the battle for hearts and minds.”
—
“From the get go, they tried very hard to not be American. They succeeded.”
—
“Secret deal kept British Army out of battle for Basra

“A secret deal between Britain and the notorious al-Mahdi militia prevented British Forces from coming to the aid of their US and Iraqi allies for nearly a week during the battle for Basra this year, The Times has learnt.

“Four thousand British troops – including elements of the SAS and an entire mechanised brigade – watched from the sidelines for six days because of an “accommodation” with the Iranian-backed group, according to American and Iraqi officers who took part in the assault.

“US Marines and soldiers had to be rushed in to fill the void, fighting bitter street battles and facing mortar fire, rockets and roadside bombs with their Iraqi counterparts.

“Hundreds of militiamen were killed or arrested in the fighting. About 60 Iraqis were killed or injured. One US Marine died and seven were wounded.
<...>
“Under its terms, no British soldier could enter Basra without the permission of Des Browne, the Defence Secretary. By the time he gave his approval, most of the fighting was over and the damage to Britain’s reputation had already been done.”
—
“You can accuse the Americans of many things, such as hamfistedness, but you can’t accuse them of not addressing a situation when it arises. While we had a strategy of evasion, the Americans just went in and addressed the problem.”

the web address for the article above is
https://www.abelard.org/news/politics0808.php#actions_not_words_080808

obarma drowning in leftist fossil media slurry

Of course, much of the problem is Obarma has nothing to say beyond “Yes we can, yes we can”. He is just not interesting. Trying to cover the vacuity of Obama for another three months will pose substantial problems for his handlers.

“Two-thirds of Republicans and about half of independents said they've heard too much about Obama, as did a third of Democrats, a significant number.

“At the same time, nearly four in 10 said they've been hearing too little about McCain - about four times the number who said so about Obama. About half of Republicans, four in 10 independents and even a quarter of Democrats said they've not heard enough about the GOP candidate.”

the web address for the article above is
https://www.abelard.org/news/politics0808.php#obama_slurry_060808

email email_abelard [at] abelard.org

© abelard, 2008, 6 august
all rights reserved

variable words
prints as increasing A4 pages (on my printer and set-up)