Archive for February 3rd, 2010

How’d Gallup Get In?

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

Afghanistan, where 80% of Taliban fighters aren’t really hardcore, according to the British Armed Forces Minister.

Without a pollster in sight, the implication is that these “foot soldiers” can be bought off.

It’s called reintegration, and it works just fine so long as the Taliban decides it’s losing the war or can’t make the payroll.

On current evidence, it’s also utter nonsense.

This isn’t the first time we’ve tried to bribe our way out of a losing war.

We put the Sunnis on the payroll for a while during the “surge” in Iraq.

They went along for a year, but as soon as the checks stopped coming, the bombs started falling again.

Gorilla thinks: “Maybe we could pay the Taliban to pass health care reform!”

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Bye, Bye Bonus!

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

The British financial services regulator (FSA) has a message for the banksters of Britain: 60 percent of this year’s bonus must be deferred!!!

Two quotes say it all:

“The message came back that while the FSA agreed that it does not have jurisdiction over contractual law, it does have jurisdiction over issuing bank licences in London, and that we should go away and unwind the contracts.”

“It was pretty amazing but we actually chuckled because it’s the sort of hard ball we would have played if we’d been in the FSA’s shoes.”

Think that’ll be tried in the USA?

Not a chance, our leaders love our bankers, we give them whatever they eat, and then our leaders make speeches saying how much we want to rein them in!

Gorilla thinks: “The Volcker Rule’s a pig in a polker rule, and Wall Street knows it!”

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For It, Against It, For It

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

Senator John McCain: a more ridiculous, hypocritical and tone deaf Know Nothing would not be hard to find, but he keeps trying hard to wrest the crown!

The man who brought America the unqualified, unethical, right-wing nutjob known as Sarah Palin says he hasn’t changed his mind twice about gays in the military.

Three years ago: “The day that the leadership of the military comes to me and says, ‘Senator, we ought to change the policy,’ then I think we ought to consider seriously changing it,” McCain said in October 2006 to an audience of Iowa State University students.

Yesterday: “At this moment of immense hardship for our armed services, we should not be seeking to overturn the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy,” he said bluntly, before describing it as “imperfect but effective.”

Today, although the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the nation’s highest ranking military officer, was only speaking for himself yesterday in supporting gays in the military, according to McCain’s office: “There has to be a determination from our military leaders that they think it is a good idea to change the policy; then, of course, Senator McCain will listen to them.”

Gorilla says: “Can we please now consign this clown to the ash heap of history? I want to see him with William E. Miller for Amex, not destroying our country in the Senate!”

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Chickens Playing Chicken

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

Which comes first, health care reform or reform of health care reform?

According to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the House won’t pass health care reform until the Senate passes a “sidecar” bill that reforms the already passed Senate version of the bill.

Presumably, the calculus is: you can only pass health care once, you can’t come back a few weeks later and amend it, so you have to get it right the first time.

Works great, assuming there are 51 votes in the Senate for whatever amendments you want.

Kills health care reform altogether if the votes aren’t there.

Either way, the Democrats will be blamed.

For that reason, it’s astonishing that the House doesn’t simply pass the Senate version of the bill and move on.

Health care will need lots of tweaking and reforming in the next 10 years.

It’s difficult to believe that Democrats will not vote for their central campaign issue in 2008, thus demonstrating conclusively that they cannot govern.

Gorilla thinks: “Why do these chickens always insist their eggs are square? They’re merely soft and yellow!”

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Killing The Trainers

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

In Pakistan, 3 American trainers have been blown up.

Yet another roadside bomb, this time in northwest Pakistan, demonstrating again that a $700 billion military isn’t able to do much against small bands with cheap homemade weapons.

Gorilla says: “But we’ll keep droning our way to quagmire, count on it!”

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Dealing From Isotopes

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

Iran is certainly all over the map today:

1) Launching a “satellite carrying rocket” with a payload including turtles

2) Saying it “has no problem” with swapping its enriched uranium to Russia and the West in return for processing into civilian nuclear fuel

3) Offering to swap the three American hikers caught on the wrong side of the Iran-Iraq border

4) Executing 2 opposition figures and putting 9 more on trial

Are they ready to make a deal, or is it just delaying, followed by confusion?

No one knows. But the time for engagement is coming.

There’s no chance of further sanctions from Russia and China, so President Obama will have to decide whether he wants a deal or not.

Gorilla says: “Tehran doesn’t know what it wants, perhaps we do!”

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