This is interesting, if disheartening reading, because so much of it rings true:

http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Article.aspx?id=285034

GB – Obama only needs to read stuff on his ipad and it is in his big brain. Not that discussion or clarification or even opinions are necessary, apparently he just needs to READ and all the world is safe.

Approximately 7 months ago there was a “heads-up” entailing massive radical Islamic protests occuring sometime after Ramadan. It was believed to cause a discreditation for Obama during the election cycle. It was pretty much poo-pooed. Unavailable source.

>Well, the media spin on Obama not attending the intelligence briefings is that he is so brilliant that he doesn’t need them!<

Well, not *just* the media – his own NSC spokeman Tommy Vietoris the one the started with:

"Unlike your former boss, he has it delivered to his residence in the morning and not briefed to him."

What's interesting is that, if they were writing about Bush, the media would be writing things like:

"Insiders paint a picture of an increasingly disconnected President, one who rarely attends the daily National Security Briefings, and who'd rather watch ESPN or play golf than deal with the day-to-day responsibilities of being President. This lack of engagement may have been particularly costly when warnings of possible terrorists acts in the days leading up to 9/11 were seemingly ignored…"

You know it's true. Instead we get "His brain's so big, he doesn't need briefings …"

I’m sure the red carpet will be laid out for Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi on September 23,2012 when he is scheduled to visit the White House at President Obama’s invitation. Will Obama fly the Black Islamic flag when this man visits the White House, mmmm

US embassies in Germany and UK. Protesting against the US. You do know that, right?

BO, I’m going to guess that they are natural born German and British citizens?

CMac, you should really heed my advice and ignore my posts, they are clouding your judgment (or exposing it):

http://www.sfgate.com/business/bloomberg/article/German-Embassy-in-Khartoum-Under-Attack-by-3865454.php

CMac, Obama was busy today, stop watching FOX Entertainment, the fair and balanced source for information and you might see what is happening:

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20120914/NEWS/120914014/WATCH-LIVE-President-Obama-speaks-body-slain-Libya-ambassador-returned-home?odyssey=mod%7Cbreaking%7Ctext%7CFrontpage

Can you pause for a second and show some respect for a courageous diplomat?

I have respect for the Diplomat, but not for Obama. Pardon me for being a cynic but I kinda think he had to be there. Imagine if he didn’t show up, it would almost be like campaigning while our embassies burned.

Yeah, I really like the flag burning in London:

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/mob-gathers-us-embassy-london_652335.html

Oh, yeah this one too.

http://af.reuters.com/article/tunisiaNews/idAFL5E8KEHJ920120914

So many embassy fires and demonstrations.

I’m still not sure I even understand what your point is here. Do you think the President prefers that our embassies be attacked? Maybe that he just doesn’t care? Even if you think he’s the most cynical and crass politician ever, this isn’t exactly good for him politically. Everyone was caught off guard by a coordinated anti-american attack on our embassies. This isn’t the first time that has happened and I dare say it wont be the last. What, exactly should have been done differently?

Evan, it works like this. Before a relationship is set up with dignitaries, an agreement is made between governments. The agreement was in place with Egypt. I don’t know about Libya. I don’t even know if they have a true government. And since they were given assistance for the overthrow of Qaddafi by military means, what I am to understand through relations, the military helps to set up provincial governments until a central government is affirmed and in place. We then have ambassadors represent us to that government. I haven’t been following the Libyan ordeal since the overthrow so I don’t know what was in place. If we have diplomatic representation, we have armed US staff, security and it is up to the host nation to provide frontline security. Didn’t happen in either place. These people are our friends just as Pakistan is our friends.

Evan is just doing his job. The party line was that when Obama was inaugurated, Muslim hostility would ease, remember?

Along with the oceans falling, and the planet healing, and so on.

BlackOut, google Der Spiegel–they have a great roundup today of German publications on this clusterf*ck which YES the PRESIDENT OWNS, headlined “Obama’s Middle East Policy In Ruins”.

So, he ain’t the economy pres, and that foreign policy pres lasted, what, less than a week? Ouch.

Yes, Gaius, and don’t forget that the same thing is happening in Europe with the Euro. On Wednesday, the German Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe dismissed a case against a plan by the European Central Bank (ECB) to start buying up the bonds of member states like Spain, which are in a severe credit crunch. Like the Fed, the ECB went for an open-ended buying plan; but the German court put just a little wrinkle in it. When the ECB buy reaches Euro 190 billion, the lower house of the German legislature has to approve going beyond that level. This whole German thing does raise a question about the real independence of the ECB in the Euro Zone. Just the court case itself, as well as the result, makes it look like the Germans have a bit of a veto.

Nice try, Mr. Myers, but the people in power now who caused this are the ones who held it was patriotic to differ (protest, call out, threaten, burn in effigy, compare to Hitler) with the government when they feel it has erred, at least, before they were in power.

Ed — You are behind the times, lad. The idea that, in the middle of tough presidential campaigns, partisan politics stop at the shoreline, disappeared in 1952 over the Korean War. IKE: “I will go to Korea!!” Consider the Vietnam War. While our troops were on the ground fighting for their lives, the war became a political football in every way possible in 1968 and 1972. I think that the last time we all shut up at once was on 8 December 1941.

Well congratulations everyone! You are making less, today then you were yesterday because of the massive inflation that will come as a result of the QE3. Soon we will need to print $10,000 bills so that people won’t need a wheel-barrel to grocery shop.

Yes, the situation with all the violence in the Arab countries is horrible, but we have a major problem of epic proportions right here at home…Another story that slipped under the radar

http://www.examiner.com/article/dollar-no-longer-primary-oil-currency-as-china-begins-to-sell-oil-using-yuan

What was that about “survivalists” again?

Ha, ha, Ed. It’s sort of like a football game in which the teams change sides of the field at halftime.

Wolverine, I think the last time we all shut up at once was 9-11.

BTW, Tom Jackson just tweeted that the Secret Service official turnstiles count at the Romney rally in Fairfax City last Thursday was 2,700. The McCain-Palin event four years ago drew 23,000. Does anyone think Ryan can pull in 20,000? I think that’s a telling stat. What’s happening to the ground game here in a crucial swing state?

Gaius — I see that George Soros is reportedly selling his equities and buying gold, even while the markets go up because of QE3 and its equivalent in the Eurozone. That old boy must know something.

As far as the security question goes Barbara. I still am thinking the same.

First we need to at least acknowledge the security on the ground saved 30 lives in Libya. In no way am I minimizing the loss of life but based on the amount of force coming against them that’s pretty good. Also, I’ll say again those two former SEALs are heroes and the lives saved certainly had something to do with them. I would guess. Those two heroes are the new SFC Shughart and MSG Gordon. Sh*t happens in this dangerous world. The recent tragic events are just another in a long list of tragic things and it won’t be the last. Regardless who is POTUS.

Second, I think the real security issue is the physical security. Why weren’t they housed in a fortified building? After that lesson learned is teased out I bet it will mean more budget. More budget is not a strong suit of the Romney/Ryan act.

You know and another thing has still been bugging me. Barbara, yesterday you put up that very detailed accounting of the attack and it mentioned the gamer and his communications with other gamers. What in the hell was he doing? Why was he gaming when he should have been doing something more official? Something is missing in that description.

That maybe a good place to start. I heard Egypt currently is second on our list of countries for getting the most cabbage.

However, I am not sure we can afford not to stay invested heavily in Egypt.

Barbara, that is twice you fooled me today. The last time I was up and down the stairs and around the whole first floor 7 times before I realized there weren’t no squirrel. I’m all tuckered out now. Stop doing that to me!

BO — I don’t think that the “gamer” was part of security. He was a State IT guy. As I recall, the attack started at night, when staffers were on personal time. What bothers me more, however, is that, in communicating with his fellow gamers, he thought there might be a potential security problem because one of the local guards had been spotted that day taking pictures of the consulate compound.

In a place as loose as that, you shouldn’t trust the local guards very much. No indications yet (that I have seen) about what the security detail did in response to the photo taker. The fact that much of the staff was still scattered around what was a non-hardened, temporary compound while awaiting construction of safer digs made them sitting ducks. Not to mention that some outsider knew where the emergency safe house was and ratted it out to the attackers.

My own feelings from experience? It is pretty hard to hide anything for very long in that kind of culture, especially a safe house for over 30 people. You might as well hang out a sign. Secondly, Benghazi was sort of like home for the Ambassador in some ways. It was his base during the civil war for liaison with the rebel leaders. He had a great contacts. Business was picking up. Not surprised that he went there. But, by golly, with the 9/11 anniversary coming and that area still full of armed and uncontrolled “militias” of every stripe, Islamist and just plain tribal, he should have had the equivalent of a full SWAT with him and a strong defensive perimeter. But even that is not unusual. Ambassadors, especially those with strong personal connections to the locals, don’t like to look cut off and too protected, as if they were some sort of unapproachable king or potentate. I always thought that was one of the biggest problems for the regional security officers.

Wow, I get back from a most excellent NRA Banquet and the world scene has deteriorated significantly – in a scant 3 hours. Looks like several more embassys (21 nations total) are under attack, another credit down grading – and on the radio I heard our esteemed President sent out a fundraising tweet during the arrival of the embassy staff’s bodies. Obama and Clinton looked so somber at the ceremony, and after the fundraiser this morning (closed to the press) Obama must have been exhausted. Look at all he has accomplished the past couple days.

I think the information over the next couple days on what the feds knew and when they knew is it going to be damning, but for some reason some people can’t admit that Obama will be at fault?

I am sure the family of those killed in Libya are comforted by BlackOut’s words on their murders – shit happens. Unbelievable.

Hey BO, Obama is President. The buck stops with him, not Bush, not Romney, not Reagan. Just wait, it won’t be fun for you to over the next week – 10 days. You will be squirming after people start to realize it is Obama’s apologies, policies and lack of judgement that are at fault for what is happening domestically and internationally. Even Jimma Carter called him an amatuer.

If they found Obama in a hotel room with a dead hooker, bloody knife and a bag of cocaine you’d say it was Romney’s fault he was there.

Reb — Are you serious? I’m supposed to explain to Ed how it was the “Copperheads” in the Democratic Party who tried to undermine Honest Abe during the war? As I recall, Abe got so pissed that he just went and picked up the Congressional leader of the Copperheads and dumped his butt down in the South. Unfortunately for that Copperhead, all he could find to nosh on down there was grits, goober peas, and acorn coffee, so he split for Canada as soon as he could. A real man of convictions, that one.

And the Dems are now trying to make hay over one comment by Mitt Romney?!!!

Ed – Giddy? I am disgusted – as you should be. Don’t confuse my sarcasm with glee, the WH and State Department are demonstrating ineptness at a level which has not been witnessed in modern times. People in foreign embassys are dead and our President is tweeting for campaign money and attending $40,000 a plate fundraisers. This man has no shame.

Yes, the promise of more money (QE3) tends to inflate the stock market. If you want to sell that the economy is so much better than 4 years ago because you are someone that is personally thriving (hey, you seem to agree with the Pres. – he did this, you didn’t build that!) – perhaps you should take another glance at the labor statistics from the past 2 weeks, gas prices and consumer spending. Sounds like you are a 1 percenter?

BlackOut, from what I’ve read, he was their tech guy, and sometimes apparently kept a chat window open to a forum with friends when he had other windows open to keep an eye on a variety of things–my husband does that too (not to games, but probably in a much more secured location, unfortunately–those guys basically had nothing, and on that date that’s outrageous especially with the warnings given long enough in advance to do SOMETHING), but multiple windows where he can pop in and check how a process is running, and pop elsewhere to monitor table space, and intermittently clear memos, etc. I read one account by his friends that they went nuts when he was in Bahgdad, where he’d pop in and say “Katyusha–off to the basement” and they’d all sweat till he came back. This time he didn’t.

GB, I bet Soros knows plenty–the Man Who Broke The Bank Of England has plenty of space on his belt to dangle other scalps. I always laugh when someone chants’ “Koch Brothers”, while pretending Soros is just a sweet old guy who has nothing to do with anything.

Umm, apparently in Congress, the President’s plan proposed almost $200M in embassy cuts, about the same day as we learned there was NO security provision for Marines in the ROE. Gosh, those evil teabagging jihadis are so scary, they are scarier than real jihadis!

ACT, I’m sorry–there are just so MANY squirrells being pointed out lately that I’ve kind of gotten in the habit of looking for them. Sort of like the Church of JC the Kidnapped in Vonnegut.

OOH! ANOTHER ONE!!! (wait for it)

“I know I am certainly a lot wealthier (on paper) today than 4 years ago.”

Tickled for you….but my portfolio isn’t back up to strength YET.
I’m reminded of the woman who called Hannity one day and stressed that she was personally going to be fine. He inquired as to the shape of the rest of the country…and she didn’t have a reply…..so much for the country– so long as a select few are doing fine on their personal assets. Will they step up and redistribute THEIR wealth with those of us who are doing worse? I don’t think we’ll see that directive in motion.
The notion that someone needs to share the wealth only goes one way, like everything else from these hypocrites.

Barbara, all we know about the 48 hour warning is that there appears to have been something. The content of which seems to only be known to FOX Entertainment. Not all intelligence is actionable. We’ll have to wait and see before jumping to a conclusion that Obama should have read the communication 48 hours before the attack.

CMac was disappointed when it was clarified that the Ambassador’s body wasn’t dragged through the streets. The detractors have been jumping to negative conclusions the moment that Obama took office. It was determined day one that he wasn’t to be President again, even after a resounding election victory. It has not stopped since; just seems much more desperate now (and revealing) as October approaches. We’ll see more. Especially from Romney.

Taser, other presidents during other wars should show you that what criticism Obama is getting is not unusual or un-patriotic. There are children’s books out there called “Connect the dots”. It promotes the ability to see things when you connect the dots correctly. Send me your address and I’ll buy and send you a book. I’ll send you an easy one so that you don’t take years to complete it. You definitely lack this ability.

As to your “investments” growing. I would assume that those people that sink their money into “Obama stocks” should be doing very well since he can just print money to give you a return. Unfortunately, that crash will appear when he is out of office next year. If this happens to you, call one or both of these numbers: 1-800-273-8255 and 1-800-784-2433. The first number is the national suicide prevention lifeline and the second one is the national suicide crisis hotline. Maybe they will be able to save your ass cause I sure as hell haven’t been able to.

After speaking with a woman this morning at the Sterling VO – who immigrated here from Egypt, a college Professor that can’t return to her home country (her exact qote was “no one with an American passport should be traveling in the ME right now), who is terrified for her Christian relatives in her place of birth, and who is MAD beyond belief – I have to say – the excuses I hear from this inept administration and on this board infuriate me.

This woman’s questions to me this morning were “Is Egypt better off than it was 4 years ago? Is the Middle East more stable than it was 4 years ago?”

Yes Squiddy. Amnesia indeed.

I’m sure we will find out some things in due time.

“Due time” being after the election, no doubt.

Since it is much more important to protect the people responsible (yes–funny word there) for naive, stupid and bad policy than to keep our folks from getting killed while just doing their jobs, and keep others (Marines) from doing their jobs (no Marines, and no live ammo if there are any), and to keep chasing squirrels so they can keep their jobs and enact more stupid bad policy that we all pay for in money, and some with their lives.

And no matter how little is dribbled out, the more that is learned, the worse it will be for the people supposedly on top of all of this.–their policy, their inattention to managing it, their responsibility for shameful murder.

Theirs.

Cmac, it HAS to be about the movie (available for months, but overdubbed with other dialogue in Arabic and reposted about the same time that AQ affiliates were advertising protests on 9-11 IN THE NEWSPAPERS, about a week before 9-11–so technically it really sort of squirrelly IS about the movie, or rather what was done with it to provide an excuse for pre-planned riots and attacks–the YouTube still only had about 1K hits when the day arrived, so it isn’t like people actually saw it. An Extreme Cooking video would have sufficed if this thing wasn’t available, since they cook with bacon. And hey, the guy who backed the movie was escorted from his home at midnight with a scarf wrapped around his head, by five uniformed deputies, and that photo will do wonders no doubt–all that was missing was the forest of arms with cell phones thrusting into the frame.).

It HAS to be about the movie, because if it ISN’T, then some of the most amazing wonderful perfect people on earth are at fault.

And that does not compute for the professional squirrel wranglers either.

p.s. to ACT, I had the news on before I had finished my first cuppa this morning, and during the President’s measured…delivery…of the Narrative….I inadvertently muttered “oh look, another squirrel”, at which point the dog jumped up off his cushion and ran to the back door, never not ready.

Mea culpa.

conditioning, ACT.