Had hoped to get done some stuff today and still blog, but I'm not able to.

Posted by: Ace at 08:27 AM | Add Comment
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Yep, sure it is.

A senior US official says the disclosure of a second, secret Iranian uranium enrichment facility "sets back Iran's nuclear program and increases our leverage. And we intend to use it." Several officials briefed reporters after President Obama, French President Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown revealed the existence of the facility, before the start of economic meetings at the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh.

President Obama called the plant, which is not yet operational, "a direct challenge" to the international community. President Sarkozy said "If by December there is not an in-depth change by the Iranian leaders, sanctions will have to be taken." Prime Minister Brown said the world "has no choice but to draw a line in the sand."

Here's the thing, who is this supposed to impress? There's not a single serious minded person who doesn't already know Iran is working on acquiring nuclear weapons.

Are the Russians and the Chinese suddenly going to say, "Oh well, this? This changes everything!"? Of course not.

Yes, I get the idea that it's a bit of stage craft to move things along. The problem with moving things along is they are still operating within the IAEA/UN Security Council model. The Security Council has been sitting on the Iranian issue for over 3 and a half years.

Iran will look at that and the fact that Obama's fancy new non-proliferation/disarmament resolution doesn't even mention them by name and conclude correctly, we aren't series.

And while the UK and France may be talking tough, where's Germany (a member of the so-called P5 Plus 1 Group)? More importantly, where are Russia and China? Supposedly the latter two are "absorbing" the news of this facility. If this were really a serious change in the efforts to deal with Iran, why not orchestrate a joint appearance of all relevant parties? They are all together in Pittsburgh right now.

Meanwhile, Ahmadinejad says, shut up.

If Iran is going to give up its nuclear program, it's going to have to be pried from their cold dead hands.

Posted by: DrewM at 08:19 AM | Comments (1)
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Bumped [DrewM.] Ace posted this late last night but it's being talked about this morning, so I bumped in case anyone missed it.

It's Bush's fault because the files were in "disarray" which prevented Obama's people from realizing quickly enough there are monsters at Gitmo that really kinda have to be kept locked up.

And it's your fault for not being a little more chill about terrorists moving in next door and keeping a messy lawn and leaving toys all over and that great big dog that barks all night. All that stuff annoying terrorist neighbors do.

Your bad, dudes. Dicks.

Posted by: Ace at 06:30 AM | Add Comment
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Iran lied? Next you'll be telling me that there's gambling at Rick's Cafe.

Iran concealed the building of a second uranium enrichment plant in defiance of calls for transparency over its nuclear plans, US President Barack Obama says.

The leaders of the US, UK and France demanded UN inspectors be given immediate access to the facility.

...Western governments are said to have known of the existence of the new enrichment plant for several months.

It is said to be an underground facility at a mountain on the site of a former missile site belonging to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards north-east of the holy city of Qom.

Construction on the facility started in earnest in mid-2006, diplomatic sources said.

But don't worry, the UN Security Council led by Obama passed a resolution saying we should all disarm, so that takes care of that. Fair is fair and everyone one is equal, so the resolution was worded to omit reference to any specific country, so in the eyes of Obama and now the UN, it's equally important that the US, UK France and India forgo nukes as it is for Pakistan, Iran and North Korea. Moral equivalence mania!

Unfortunately for Obama, even he can't soft sell this one.

Calling the news "a challenge made to the entire international community," President Sarkozy said that "if by December there is not an in-depth change by the Iranian leaders, sanctions will have to be taken."

(UK Prime Minister Gordon) Brown said the "level of deception by the Iranian government and the scale of what we believe is the breach of international commitments will shock and anger the whole international community and it will harden our resolveÂ…We will not let this matter rest. And we are prepared to implement further and more stringent sanctions.

...President Obama said "the size and configuration of this facility is inconsistent with a peaceful program" and called its construction a "direct challenge to the basic compact at the center of the nonproliferation regime. These rules are clear: All nations have the right to peaceful nuclear energy, those nations with nuclear weapons must move toward disarmament, those nations without nuclear weapons must forsake them."

Yeah, I'm sure that's got the mullahs and IRGC shaking in their boots.

Since diplomacy is never wrong (especially Smart Diplomacy!), this won't change much in the long run. The same bunch who think you can talk with Iran will simply say this shows the need for more....talk.

On a practical level, it's wonderful that the US, UK and France are pretending to be shocked and upset about, notably missing from the list are China and Russia.

Given that the former 3 nations are committed to at some point using the United Nations to deal with Iran, not having the latter two on board means nothing will happen.

Meanwhile, Bibi Netanyahu must, in a sad way, be enjoying the spectacle of these fools pretending outrage. He's also likely getting his Defense Minister to add a target to their strike package.

Added: No matter what he says, Obama isn't upset about the existence of this facility, he's upset that it will 'distract' from his efforts to pretend to do something about Iran's nuclear ambitions while not actually doing anything about Iran's nuclear ambitions.

According to the BBC story, we've known about this facility for 'several months'. You know who was President during those 'several months'? Barack Husein Obama. Yet he launched his charm offensive all the same.

This is much like the Iranians killing their citizens in the streets...it's not a deal breaker or vision changer for Obama. It's an annoyance that needs to be cleaned up so he doesn't look bad while pursuing the same ineffectual policies he has planned to all along.

I thought Bush was the dogmatic fool who wasn't intellectually facile enough to change policies when conditions warranted. Meanwhile Obama and his immaculate pleats were open to new perspectives based on new facts.

How's that working out?

Posted by: DrewM at 06:18 AM | Comments (1)
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FRIDAY!!!!!

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 05:08 AM | Comments (3)
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Heh. I think they're pissing off the right people.

Sacred Heart University's third annual "Trust and Satisfaction with the National News Media Survey" found that Fox News topped the list when people were asked which news source they trust the most.

Fox News had 30% of the vote, then CNN (19.5%), NBC (7.5%) and ABC (7.5%).

When asked for which organization they trusted the least, people picked Fox News again (26.2%), then NBC (9.9%), MSNBC (9.4%) and CNN (8.5%).

In an open-ended question, Charles Gibson was the most frequent answer for "most-trusted news anchor." O'Reilly placed. But so did Tom Brokaw, who hasn't been an anchor since he retired in December 2004.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 10:20 PM | Add Comment
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Oh, right. It's not the tea partiers, but violent leftists throwing stones at cars and barricading streets, which is why no one is talking about it.

UPDATE: Link fixed. (t/b)

Posted by: Ace at 08:43 PM | Add Comment
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Nobody chases down more stories, does more hard-hitting reporting, or asks more probing questions, than ExtraTV. A year ago they asked a question that should be given some serious consideration now.

To whit: Who should play Barack Obama in the movie of his life?

Yes, it's only been 8 months, give or take a lifetime's worth of legislative gutshots, but in light of all the things we now know about Obama, and all the new things we are learning, it's high time to roll up our sleeves and start the process.

I think you would have to go with someone that has a track record of nuanced performances capturing the subtle essences of his role, while never letting you forget that he is the ultimate Alpha metrosexual.

Therefore, I have in mind that singular talent who made us all sigh, cry, laugh, and stand up and cheer as he garnered numerous accolades in such seminal films such as The Defiant One, Remember the Titans, Hotel Rwanda, and Ray.

I present to you what I believe to be the only man who could possibly carry off the monumental task of portraying the Won. more...

Posted by: Open Blog at 07:59 PM | Add Comment
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Welcome to the ONT all morons and moronettes. If you do not yet have your official AoSHQ moniker, just ask and one will be assigned to you. Tonight let's welcome our newest morons - booger, GirlyGrip, Flounder, and lice_wigs.

Item #1: Lions Are Dangerous
As any professional hunter will tell you, lions can be deadly even to an armed hunting group. It's often hard to get a shot until they charge, and when they do charge, they tend to run fast and low. That's why many hunters shell out the big bucks for a double rifle - the immediate second shot can sometimes save your life.

Also do not taunt happy-fun lion. more...

Posted by: Open Blog at 07:59 PM | Comments (1)
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Eh. Kinda funny.

Guess there's still not a damn thing funny about Obama yet. They put Obama in the sketch, but only to watch the funny part, the Glenn Beck impression.

Via Allah's tweet, and before you knock him, or me, it's from Glenn Beck's own tweet. He pronounces it "Funny."

Posted by: Ace at 07:26 PM | Comments (2)
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