Posts by James Bremner
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The Clinton video clip is so brilliant, so clever, and as Howard Fineman says in an article on the impact of the internet on the 2008 election, devastating.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17720439/site/newsweek/
It reminds people of the worst aspects of the brutal "big brother" Clinton political machine, and highlights Hillary’s utter lack of warmth or charisma (traits Bubba has in spades) or genuineness. These days Hillary’s appearances are frequently described as "scripted", it really is painfully obvious that she is about as genuine as a $3 bill.
I always had a hard time seeing how Hillary could get elected President due to the Clintons' history and her short comings as a politician and a candidate, but now I am having a harder time seeing how she can get the Dem nomination, even with all her money and the her political machine. After another 10 months of video clips like the Apple one and she will simply not be viable. And let’s face it; there is plenty of material for producing punishing Clinton video clips!!
All we need now for pure spectator enjoyment is for Gore to jump into the race. The Clintons and Gores hate each other so much, it would be quite a sight to see their respective camps going at each other.
On the other side, there will be plenty of mud thrown at Giuliani, and a lot of it will come from the Clinton side (while she is still viable and capable of winning the Dem nomination). It has already started. A 1989 video clip of Rudy saying he supports Medicaid funded abortions appeared the other day and also some details of his law firm representing Venezuela (Chavez) in the US made it into the public domain. I don't think anyone needs to spend much time guessing where this material came from.
For Giuliani, the deal with conservatives is quite easy, and it has already been done. Rudy says he won’t advance any liberal social policies and says that he will appoint originalist judges like Roberts and Alito, which based on his previous statements; he would probably have done in any event. That is all conservatives need to hear from him. They love the rest of him in terms of national security, 9/11, cutting taxes, belief in the US etc. I never believed the common view that conservatives wouldn’t go for Rudy; after all, 2008 will be a national security election like1980, not about morals and decency which was a big factor in 2000. As far as conservatives are concerned, if you get national security wrong, the rest doesn’t matter very much. And while Rudy should keep most conservatives, he will pick up a lot of moderates and independents as well; I saw a poll the other day that had Rudy up 50 to 41 against Clinton or Obama in Pennsylvania. That is not a happy poll for a Dem strategist.
Who knows, it is so far out from the primary, let alone the election, but Rudy is looking good at this stage, far better than most had predicted. I hope Rudy wins, I really do; I think he would be a damned good President.
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Back to Iran's involvement in Iraq.
Does anyone seriously believe that the Iranians are not in Iraq up to their eyeballs? Some of it legitimate government to government and other type activity, but plenty of it being support for the Shia militias to advance their goal of getting the US and MNF forces out of Iraq and installing a radical Shia govt like Iran’s', in Iraq.
Think of the type of regime that Iran is and some of its activities since 1979. Think of the regime's strategic goals, the expanding radical Shia influence in the Middle East and kicking the US out of the region. Why wouldn't they be in Iraq (in several different modes of operation) when it offers them the chance to advance their major strategic goals? The idea that Iran is not meddling in Iraq seems most unlikely.
I am not suggesting that this is a reason to go bomb Teheran. But taking out any identified Al Quds command control, training or support locations close to the Iraqi border is something that is long overdue. Same for Syria. By not acting decisively the US is creating doubt about it determination and emboldening its enemies. Not a mistake that Churchill would have made.
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Nice to know that I have been declared a "non-troll" by some. And I do have warm, red blood in my veins; I don't have cold, green, conservative slime. Honestly.
As far as posting nutty links goes, I think the Australian or the Times, leaning to the right as they do and Murdoch owned or not, are pretty much mainstream stuff. I don't think anyone does themselves any favors by cutting themselves off from these or other such sources, anymore than they do themselves a favor by cutting themselves off from left leaning publications such as the Observer, Guardian or NYT.
As far as referencing WWII or the Nazis is concerned, WWII was the greatest conflagration in human history. Trying to understand how and why the whole thing happened, and how and who stopped it, is fundamental to avoiding making similar mistakes, it will always be relevant. WWII & Adolf et al can most certainly be cited too often, but there are definitely some parallels to current situations, which are valid to cite, whether people like it or not.
Merc, when you say citing Churchill is not popular down here, I assume you are referring to Gallipoli. I am a Kiwi and so am very well aware of Churchill's role in that. It doesn't lesson his role in history or his wisdom. Warts and mistakes and all, he is rightly considered by many (if not most) to be the greatest leader of last century.
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Why is Iran the bad guy? Gee, tough question.
For starters, don't you think it would be nice if Iran didn't deny the Holocaust and threaten to wipe Israel off the map?
And then we get into stoning people to death, the gigs Hezbollah did in Argentina 10 years ago, and then to Hezbollah trying to overthrow the govt in Lebanon and generally trying to advance a backward, primitive version of Islam that doesn’t include nice things like human rights or freedom of speech (ask Salmon Rushdie). It’s not hard to figure out, it really isn’t.
Merc, so anyone who disagrees with you is a troll? So you like an echo chamber, do you? Strikes me as a rather boring place to inhabit. Never mind, it takes all sorts, I guess.
That is all from me, got to go home and continue cleaning up. House got hit by a tornado a couple of nights ago. Not a good way to wake up at 3:30AM.
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A quick dose of common sense for all those America haters out there (like drenching a sheep to try to kill its worms).
America, far from perfect, but try thinking of the alternatives. Imperil Japan, Hitler's Germany, Stalin's Soviet Union or Tiannmen Square China.
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As far as trying to spread democracy around the world is concerned, as Winston Churchill said, ".. democracy is the least worst form of government". Any effort by anyone or any country to advance democracy around the world is hardly a bad thing.
The same goes for free markets and international trade etc. Far from perfect, but a hell of a lot better than anything else that has been tried, from time to time.
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Support for the various insurgent groups in Iraq (Sunni, Bathists, Shia & Al Qaida) has been coming from Iran and Syria since at least the beginning of 2004. Saudi Arabia has been involved as well (the Saudis have been playing both sides for a long time and their influence in Washington is a real problem)
It seems very, very hard to believe that the governments in these types of countries do not know about, if not be actively involved in this insurgent support activity. Such activity would be entirely consistent with these countries' self interest.
Like much of the lethargic and minimalist US effort in Iraq, that the US has been so slow to act to stop these activities is beyond comprehension.
Whether the US has the evidence that Iran's govt is actively involved in Iraq (I bet they do, Al Quds is effectively a branch of the Iranian govt), or not, raising the subject and messing with the Iranian's heads is a good thing to do, like sending 2 or 3 carrier groups to the Persian Gulf.
Keep the bastards guessing, and keep squeezing them with sanctions and cutting them off from the financial world with financial sanctions and pressure on any banks or companies that might think about doing business with Iran.
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I know something about boats, and a 35 knot ferry would not be practical within a confined waterway.
Never meant to imply that you could do 35kts door to door. Any ferry would have to go at a lower speed in the more confined areas of the Tamaki estuary, but could haul ass once in more open water. I was thinking a trip from the airport to downtown Auck would be around a 45 min to an hour trip, but what a great trip and a great introduction to the City of Sails!! If it was available, I would do it every time, my sister could meet me at the ferry terminal instead of the airport.
More from the Teknicraft website:
Typically, a Teknicraft catamaran of 63' waterline length, displacing 27t and running at 27 kt will create a maximum wake height (peak to trough) of 19", with a rms wake height of less than 6".
Although, at a lower speed, it might actually produce a larger wake.(And, no, I don't work for Teknicraft! Just an admirer of their technology)
David, any mention of just how long the canal would be, which is the preferred route and how much it would cost (probably serious $). In these days of the RMA etc, a canal does seem too good to be true, but it is fun to contemplate.
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Interesting post. A couple of quick comments.
I was just back in NZ for a holiday and Auckland's roading and transport system really does seem to suck. I got stuck in a traffic jam at 2 in the afternoon going south from the harbor bridge to Greenlane and there didn't seem to have been an accident or any reason for the slow down. Crazy.
To help this situation, I would have thought a priority would be on completing a by-pass from Manakau through Penrose to Hobsonville and back east to hook up with SH1 further up the north shore. This would keep all the north south transiting traffic & trucks out of central Auckland which can only help, this is not something public transportation can address. I have read over the years that this is the plan, and has been the plan for a long time, but I am not sure where it is or what is holding it up. It needs to get done yesterday. Maybe there is a taniwha in the way that can't be disturbed!!Love the airport downtown ferry idea. Only suggestion would be to use a foil assisted catamaran like this one:
http://www.teknicraft.com/discoveryiv.aspx
These NZ designed foil assisted cats, with NZ designed and built Hamilton jets, totally rock. They are fast, efficient, have a shallow draft, can carry a lot of people for their size and produce a very small wake, important for operating in confined areas, such as the Tamaki estuary. Perfect for an airport-downtown ferry, with a few stops on the way as well. The Fatcat looks interesting, being made of plastic, but low wake, performance and efficiency is all in the hull design, the Fatcat didn’t look too special in this area.
Auckland definitely needs a dose of vision and for the various local, regional authorities and central Govt. to work together for a better result. There seems to have been a lot of talk, but there doesn’t seem to be too much to show for it. I wish Richard the best in his pursuit of a better Auckland, it is a great city that could be so much greater.
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In Whitianga for 2 weeks vacation. New Zealand certainly is a beautiful place, I am struck by the bright colors and strong contrasts everytime I come back.
Weather has been good, temps warm, sea flat so we have had several days of good boating. A bit overcast today, not a bad thing, will keep us off the beach and out of the UVs which really bite you down here!!