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11269. alistairconnor - 9/13/2013 2:45:16 PM One French elder statesman has likened the Syrian civil war to that of Spain in the 1930s. If the democracies -- and particularly France, which was on the front line (and had a government of the left) had helped the Republicans early on, the war might have been quickly over. Instead, they were forced into the arms of their only ally, the Russians/Comintern, who liquidated all the non-Communists and then lost anyway.
He sees the same thing in Syria. The progressives and democrats of the Syrian spring of two years ago might have made it with our help; now, they have been sidelined or eliminated by ruthless jihadists in the pay of Saudi and the Gulf states. It is far too late for any acceptable outcome. 11270. Wombat - 9/13/2013 7:19:57 PM Alistair, the analogy is a good one (a civil war resulting from a failed revolt), as far as it goes (although it should be pointed out that the Blum government in France did initially help the Republic, until the neutrality agreement, which the Soviets, Germans, and Italians ignored, came into force--thanks, League of Nations)!
On the other hand, in Spain, the rebel forces comprised the bulk of the Spanish military leadership, and some of its best units. In Syria, the opposite is true. 11271. Trillium - 9/14/2013 12:16:17 AM Hm. And what about the Spanish Civil war as a testing ground for different weaponry? A few days ago i listened to a young man with military experience who suggested that there are leaders pushing an attack because they want to use old weapons up, and also want to see what weapons the Russians have sold to Syria.
Yuck. 11272. Trillium - 9/14/2013 12:30:08 AM An atrocity by the Republican side in winter 1936 that is seldom mentioned in movies, and which would have caused some foreign (or moderate) reluctance to support the Republicans:
Paracuellos 11273. thoughtful - 9/14/2013 1:16:01 AM " If the last four-plus years have shown us anything, it is that Barak Obama is no George W. Bush. "
Oh, you must mean the way he retained the power to use drones on US citizens...or perhaps the warrantless searches and wiretaps of all our digital communication and phone calls...or perhaps the moves he's taken that ensure Guantanamo remains open...or perhaps how he renewed the Patriot Act. AFAICT, he's taken Bush's lead and has extended his powers further. In fact, the key difference seems to be that Bush was indifferent and relied on his second to enact policy whereas Obama just does it himself.
And, regardless of who sits in the white house, the other powers that be, the money makers and the purchasers of the policy makers are still very much in power.
11274. Wombat - 9/14/2013 4:14:20 PM And now it looks like the US and the Russians have worked out a formula for inspecting and removing Syria's chemical weapons (which they claimed they didn't have). Still think there's no difference? 11275. Trillium - 9/14/2013 8:33:17 PM The Youtube linked below makes references to chemical weapons. They are chemical weapons found in Turkey and in Banias, Syria -- and these weapons had belonged to the rebels before they were seized.
This upcoming inspection and inventory may include weapons now in the custody of the Syrian government -- that they seized from the rebels? (and we have been arming the rebels?) This stinks, in a deadly way.
Syrian chemical weapons
11276. Wombat - 9/15/2013 12:06:55 AM Syria has had a chemical weapons program and stockpiles since the 1970s. But hey, if it's on YouTube.... 11277. judithathome - 9/17/2013 2:51:16 AM Shooter at Naval Yard in DC was staioned at the Naval Air Base 5 blocks from my house...worked at a Thai restaurant less than 5 miles away. 11278. robertjayb - 9/17/2013 3:51:37 PM How about we treat crazy people rather than screwing with the constitution...
WASHINGTON -- Investigators still don't know why Aaron Alexis went on a bloody shooting spree Monday that left 12 people dead but clues are emerging that the military veteran had suffered from serious mental illness and could act quickly -- and violently -- when angered.
U.S. law enforcement officials told the Associated Press that Alexis, who died in a shootout with law enforcement officers, had paranoia and a sleep disorder and was "hearing voices" in his head.
(USA Today) 11279. judithathome - 9/17/2013 4:55:47 PM How about we stop selling guns to crazy people? And to BLIND people? One state recently passed a law allowing that...can you honestly say that is what the framers had in mind?
They were dealing with MUSKETS, for cripes' sake! I'd be all for selling people, even crazy and blind ones, muskets but assault weapons? Get real. 11280. judithathome - 9/17/2013 6:00:50 PM Didn't mean to sound so crazed...I'm just sick of the whole thing. 11281. iiibbb - 9/17/2013 10:28:29 PM In the news today he didn't have an "assault rifle". Shotgun and 2 pistols. 11282. robertjayb - 9/18/2013 1:27:52 AM tv said he went to Virginia a few days ago and bought (after clearing a government-required background check) a Remington 870 12-guage pump-action (not automatic, not semi-automatic) shotgun and two boxes (not cases) of ammo. Been a long time but IIRC a box of shotgun shells was 20, 25 cartridges. The piece said he took a handgun off a security person he shot.
Now this is a guy who was batshit crazy, and like other rampage shooters, probably knew he was nuts. He apparently glanced off the mental health establishment a couple of times without effect. Reassuring, is it not?
11283. judithathome - 9/18/2013 4:11:43 AM In the news today he didn't have an "assault rifle".
I used the term assault weapon to compare what the framers wrote the second amendment for...muskets...to what we have to deal with today...I didn't mean that man had one, but I'm relatively sure had he wanted one, he'd have been able to legally purchase it.
Regardless, I think it is crazy to assume the men who crafted that amendment could have foretold the horror that is going on daily in this country with regard to guns. 11284. judithathome - 9/18/2013 4:48:14 AM Well, well...it seems the only thing stopping that loon yesterday from actually HAVING an assault weapon are the laws in Virginia prohibiting the sale of such to persons not a resident of that state...seems he tried to purchase one a week ago and was refused. 11285. alistairconnor - 9/18/2013 10:58:53 PM Interesting that this guy was able to enter a Navy installation (where he was a lowly IT contractor) with a shotgun. 11286. robertjayb - 9/19/2013 12:40:00 AM Seems it was broken down and carried in a backpack to a restroom where he put it together. Gazillion dollar weapon systems but no metal detectors?
To enter my podunk county courthouse in Texas I have to surrender my deadly mini-buck pocket knife with a 1 1/8th inch blade. 11287. robertjayb - 9/19/2013 3:09:40 AM lifted from www.treatment advocacycenter.org
Exactly 50 years next month, President John Kennedy signed the Community Mental Health Centers Act, effectively federalizing what had been until then, a state responsibility. It turned out to have been the most well-meaning but misguided act of the Kennedy administration. The consequences are now everywhere visible among our homeless, among the mentally ill in jails and prisons, and in these mass killings. I have detailed this history in American Psychosis: How the Federal Government Destroyed the Mental Illness Treatment System being published by Oxford University Press next month.
E. Fuller Torrey, MD, is founder of the Treatment Advocacy Center
This article originally appeared in the National Review Online, September 17, 2013.
11288. judithathome - 9/19/2013 7:26:16 PM I thought the reason was see so many mentally ill walking around was because of something Reagan did....shutting off funds to mental institutions or something like that...
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