

01 January 2020




Dear Vegetius, trusting Thomas Friedman as far as you can throw Fred Kagan means you are far too trusting.

Given sufficient adrenaline, a well positioned slope and surprise, most human beings can throw Fred Kagan significantly farther then anyone should any human being should trust Thomas Friedman.

@ Those familar with degrees of US government shenanigans:
1:Did they mistake Kataeb Hezbollah for Lebanese Hezbollah or (pretty sure erraneously) believed that these 2 organisations are particularly related?
2: Was the "missle attack" more actually important or more of an excuse for doing what they were going to do anyways?
3: At roughly what rate would you bet 1000 of your own Dollars that Kataeb Hezbollah was actually responsible for the rocket attack? I dont think I would settle for less advantageous then 1:7 (meaning I would get back 7000 dollars if it was true).


In the final chapter, the Holy Roman Empire was neither holy, nor Roman nor an empire. It was a German collection of profane princelings. Is this what the Shias are supposed to do to the US too?

Just show how we can come up with different interpretations reading the same words. Next?


You can never out-bargain an Arab rug merchant. Words I learned to live by.


regarding Pompeo, he is completely in tune with the Trump admins larger strategy here. Annie links to his efforts one year earlier:



Elora, you wrote:

A veces pienso que leo demasiado, Pat...la verdad... me he hecho el propósito de leer otras cosas..( libros, por ejemplo ), pero la verdad es que me gusta esto bastante... estar bien informada, aunque, a veces, es un poco deprimente, pero, qué le voy a hacer?

This that you wrote translates as follows:

At times I ponder that I read too much. Pat....the truth...I have become the purpose of reading other things (books, for example), but the truth is that I like that a lot... being well informed, although, at times, it is a little depressing, but, what am I going to do to you?

If you wanted to say: Pat, what am I going to do? You would say Pat, qué voy a hacer? Adding the le introduces the direct object.

I have no idea what you are trying to say. The purpose of your life is to read other things? ¿Qué?



Not true, but if you do that you will regret it because you probably shamed him into a deal that hurt him financially.



Please do not confuse me with Pompeo. I despise the man and criticize him every chance I get. In verbal conversations at the local coffee shop I refer to him as pom-pom, or pompón to you. As far as I am concerned he is a moron.

I can read MoA on my own, you don't need to repost it here. Much in Oprisko's rant sounds like boiled over conspiracy theories. Garbage imho.


Choosing a rug from all the colors and patterns on offer was so difficult it left no time for bargaining.

And anyway, the beauty graces our home for years -- generations, even. I can't stand it when I pay 20 cents more for gas than I could have if I'd gone to the next block, but I have never given a second thought to whether I paid too much for a Persian rug.


The origins of the Sacrum Imperium Romanum, the Holy Roman Empire lie in the partition of the Carolingian Empire or Romanorum sive Francorum imperium, the Empire of the Romans and Franks.

Now the Franks historically were a "German" tribe too. In other words some type of "profane" but rather sucessful earlier "princelings" took over from the Romans.

History does not start in the 16th century in Europe.


¿Qué LE voy a hacer?
What am I going to do ABOUT IT...


You should specify what "lumbrera" means, probably a good translation would be: the brightest bulb in the (mess) room...


"The Kurdistan dream...was dashed..." interesting play on words:dashed
or Da'eshed? Well for a couple of thousand years Israel's dream was
dashed too wasn't it? Sometimes dreams come true when you wish upon a star...Erdo is no spring chicken, ditto many of the Ayatollahs, The Donald,
etc. Who knows perhaps the future will be full of surprises. Opt for
soivernity may have tribal roots that go deeper than recent land grabs &
lines drawn by foreigners on global maps.



standard guesture of submission, protestations of innocence, I am harmlessness. Not necessarily helpful. Maybe?

Personally, i find the device of communicating with her name 'self', Elora Danan, interesting.


on: "Mr. "what are we doing in the Middle East"

you may heavily disagree, but I liked it:

The Beaver

I guess you didn't understand why I put "Made In Iran". Genuine products from Iran are labelled Made in the Islamic Republic of Iran .
Only Nikki Haley, MBZ/Saudis and the Israel Firsters concoct " Made in Iran"


"So no, Iraqi paramilitaries did not all of a sudden, and out of the blue, started targeting Americans in Iraq because they are such obedient Iranian proxies, and on the behalf of Tehran, but because they were being killed in their own country (and in neighboring Syria) and the US was to blame.


Marko Marjanović


Terence Gore

Our embassy in Iraq? Or 'Fort Baghdad" experiences minor unrest with native population?

Even if we have the best of intentions will we always be viewed as the conquering nation?

Willy B

It is my understanding, from press reports, that F-15E's, likely flying from the Al Dhafra base in the UAE, were involved in the air strikes. In any case, 30 minutes warning means that all aircraft involved in the strikes were were into Iraqi airspace already.

The Twisted Genius

Willy B, I read they were armed drone strikes, but either way, I'm sure the attacking aircraft were on station or nearby before the Iraqi government was warned of the impending strikes.


The tragicomic part is watching Trump supports act as if Trump didn't order and approve the strikes.


Unfortunately, treating Israel as a sacred cow and any criticism as ipso facto anti-Semitism is breeding lots of genuine anti-Semites where there were none previously.


Pompeo wants an pretext for a war on Iran. That much is obvious.

If that war comes as a result of a series of tit-for-tat retaliations, well, then he and Bibi and MBS get the war that they so crave.



If you are going to send me private messages, do not do it on the blog as comments.



"Obama was worried..." Etc, etc. "Iraq is close to collapse ..."

Obama got played; or was just blowing smoke up our butts, I'm not sure which. Trump is getting the same "advice" from 'experts' who know so much that just ain't so. Iraq's close to collapse? Sucks to be them. Bush and the Borg got just what they wanted, a victory that overturned the social order in the country, now there's chaos for years to come. At least our sacred best ally in the Middle East doesn't have to worry about the Iraqi army. As W said so long ago "mission accomplished".

Trump needs to put America First. That means lots of Foreign policy experts can go sell their expertise elsewhere - especially when he abolishes their jobs; and a bunch of flag billets need to be abolished. Hasn't he noticed that we've got more admirals that ships?


I ultimately tried this ploy: I only have XX to spend, make me fall in love with a rug for that amount. If I loved it, it was worth what ever it cost. If I did not love it, it would always cost too much. Agree with your own experience. Thus saith the animal spirits of the marketplace.

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