tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400985529434569506.post1177235098638537340..comments2024-03-28T01:33:22.764-04:00Comments on The DiploMad 2.0: Friday Rant: The Progressive Quack UpDiploMadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02316439950882822419noreply@blogger.comBlogger77125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400985529434569506.post-20048227275701846772013-12-25T13:13:01.143-05:002013-12-25T13:13:01.143-05:00I am not sure what upset the high school clique th...I am not sure what upset the high school clique that rules American political/media complex the most- Phil's paraphrase of the Bible or that he dared allude to what homosexual men actually do with one another. It is a modern paradox: those who relentless promote the queer lifestyle go into a collective swoon an innocent Victorian maiden might envy whenever anyone even mentions homosexual acts. <br /><br />One of the funniest moments I've had among so called progressives was back in 1989. Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art was one of the stops on the infamous Robert Mapplethorpe's The Perfect Moment tour. There was a member's only opening. The average member of Chicago's MCA is an affluent, middle aged urban dweller, usually secular and politically to the left. When I walked into the exhibit I was immediately struck by the tone. Usually there is a lot of earnest but almost whispered conversation about the merits of the work at a MCA opening. That night it was a pronounced sound of unsuccessfully suppressed nervous giggles. These soi disant sophisticates would die before admitting that Mapplethorpe's photos of homosexual S&M shocked them. But shocked they were and their defense mechanism was a reflexive giggle as they tried to deny the reality of the "art" on exhibit. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400985529434569506.post-51961789319744363932013-12-25T03:13:10.843-05:002013-12-25T03:13:10.843-05:00'Preciate your order.'Preciate your order.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400985529434569506.post-16326441284878105602013-12-25T01:45:08.467-05:002013-12-25T01:45:08.467-05:00I did my part..I ordered my DS a new duck call..fr...I did my part..I ordered my DS a new duck call..from Duck Commander for Christmas!!! Go Phil!!!!!xangonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400985529434569506.post-29042431210140252092013-12-24T21:15:55.440-05:002013-12-24T21:15:55.440-05:00Hoping for a peaceful, joyous, and merry Christmas...Hoping for a peaceful, joyous, and merry Christmas to Dip and Mrs Dip.<br />The fight continues on the 26th.KellyJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01342332734935313737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400985529434569506.post-30949617975936151802013-12-24T18:58:19.336-05:002013-12-24T18:58:19.336-05:00Well James, I shoulda known I'd see you wishin...Well James, I shoulda known I'd see you wishing Merry Christmas to, among others, <i>rascals</i> as this post has just come to my attention.<br /><br />Merry Christmas James if you hadn't noticed my "general" Merry Christmas overspreading the Diplomadsphere:<br /><br />http://maverickphilosopher.typepad.com/maverick_philosopher/2013/12/some-points-on-homosexuality.html<br /><br />h/t malcolmpollack.com<br /><br />ArkieAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400985529434569506.post-80209731279948067272013-12-24T17:15:08.438-05:002013-12-24T17:15:08.438-05:00Merry Christmas to all you rapscallions, varlets, ...Merry Christmas to all you rapscallions, varlets, footpads, rascals, and occasional cut purses love all your company!Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13642228725661059539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400985529434569506.post-25523117506917958932013-12-24T13:14:23.020-05:002013-12-24T13:14:23.020-05:00If this lands you on the homepage - to your right ...If this lands you on the homepage - to your right there'll be a box "select a country to review" scroll down:<br /><br />https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/od.html<br /><br />ArkAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400985529434569506.post-64845982529029099962013-12-24T12:47:45.210-05:002013-12-24T12:47:45.210-05:00Oh what the heck - nobody any longer can fire me. ...Oh what the heck - nobody any longer can fire me. Mind, this [excerpted] was distributed 16 DEC - pre-Osprey attack & add'l USMC presence at Djibouti.<br /><br />"A firefight that broke out late Dec. 15 in the South Sudanese capital of Juba does not appear to have been an attempted coup, as some news organizations have reported. Rather, the incident -- in which presidential guard members with different tribal backgrounds fought at their barracks in the capital -- highlights the persisting tribal frictions in South Sudan. These tribal frictions take a central role in the political competition between President Salva Kiir Mayardit and former Vice President Riek Machar, who come from different tribes, as they prepare to compete for the presidency in the 2015 election. <br /><br />Tensions between the Dinka and Nuer, the largest ethnic groups within South Sudan, have existed for a long time and have often dominated political and military alliances within the country. Since Kiir, a Dinka, dismissed Machar, a Nuer, in July, these tensions have been rising. As Kiir and Machar initiate their presidential campaigns, frictions between tribes will be one of the central issues in South Sudanese politics ahead of the 2015 election.<br /><br />Although news organizations have used the term "coup," the incident did not bear the hallmarks of a politically motivated attempt to overthrow the government."<br /><br />Read more: In South Sudan, Tribal Frictions Persist | Stratfor <br /><br />Arkie<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400985529434569506.post-5676256132479857342013-12-24T12:27:04.844-05:002013-12-24T12:27:04.844-05:00Though this isn't the only place I'm looki...Though this isn't the only place I'm looking in on South Sudan from, this STRATFOR article gives a pretty good picture of the ethnic stuff I mentioned above.<br /><br /><strong>* This is currently an "internal analysis" - yet to be publicly accessible I mean. One might upon search get a request to enter an email address in order to access it. Safeguards are now in place - unlike 2011 when I experienced "a little trouble" after Stratfor's servers got hacked, my "boss" called me up <i>What the ____ you doing in Oman?</i> - I wasn't in Oman but my "company" credit card # was - anyway, I'll not have access to anybody's address, Strat will however. Might send an invitation to you to spend some money.</strong><br /><br />http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/south-sudan-tribal-frictions-persist<br /><br />ArkieAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400985529434569506.post-13130596688925490742013-12-24T11:19:47.182-05:002013-12-24T11:19:47.182-05:00We should pick sides based on interests and princi...<i>We should pick sides based on interests and principles alongside an evaluation of the people involved.</i><br /><br />I'd only offer that <strong>at the moment</strong> (given the chaos - natural, it's Africa afterall) it's very difficult to discern whether this is truly a Civil War or just an ethnic foofaraw with the Neur trying some tit-for-tat to outdo the Dinka.<br /><br />If it's the latter ... I think "we'd" be better off waiting a little while longer then maybe, pick the side which appears the stronger. (That way, with The Idiots we've got available to "us" who'll be doing the picking of a side - "we" are less likely to repeat a, for instance, Libya.<br /><br />ArkieAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400985529434569506.post-72485038452804650082013-12-24T11:03:44.885-05:002013-12-24T11:03:44.885-05:00Merry Christmas Ya'll.
Arkie
http://brickbar...Merry Christmas Ya'll.<br /><br />Arkie<br /><br />http://brickbarn.com/SuckDynastyCartoon.jpgAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400985529434569506.post-57846064180730853362013-12-24T10:07:33.485-05:002013-12-24T10:07:33.485-05:00Best holiday wishes to all.Best holiday wishes to all.Kephahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00999385775493831638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400985529434569506.post-44052523039185940872013-12-24T09:33:13.949-05:002013-12-24T09:33:13.949-05:00I concur. Merry Christmas to everyone on this fine...I concur. Merry Christmas to everyone on this fine forum. It has exploded from 6 readers to 13 to a current number higher than I can count. whitewallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03469746790747742992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400985529434569506.post-14660272382777369052013-12-24T02:31:59.230-05:002013-12-24T02:31:59.230-05:00I'd more advocate a picking of a side and mate...I'd more advocate a picking of a side and materiel aid, more so than direct intervention. We should pick sides based on interests and principles alongside an evaluation of the people involved. Even with the supposed 'good guys' in the Syrian rebellion, we still only half-hearted support them, and we bail on that at the first objection of Russia. If we want to support them, we put the vise on the Syrian regime and flood the opposition with clear and tangible support. (And follow through on threats in regards to things like chemical weapons attacks.)<br />If we're not going to do that, then we should back Assad, give him whatever advantages he needs to continue his rule, and acknowledge that he's "the least of the evils".<br />It's this waffling that has me confused. It's like this administration wants to back the rebels, but doesn't want to destabilize Syria?<br /><br />But I recognized similar things in some previous administrations like Clinton and Carter pussyfooting around, while the republicans appeared to be a bit more decisive, or maybe that's just my interpretation.<br /><br />- reader #1482Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400985529434569506.post-1741505243323475732013-12-24T01:41:28.171-05:002013-12-24T01:41:28.171-05:00Just checkin' in to wish all best wishes to Di...Just checkin' in to wish all best wishes to Dip and to all the rest of us commentors here for the next one, and a Merry Christmas in this year.<br />I'm just lurkin out back for a while, while tending to a project, and enjoying immensly all the gang of Dip's meetin' place.<br />JackAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400985529434569506.post-6667207477362581102013-12-23T22:51:06.241-05:002013-12-23T22:51:06.241-05:00Thinking of South Sudan--and, perhaps, a lot of su...Thinking of South Sudan--and, perhaps, a lot of sub-Saharan Africa in the not-too-distant future. <br /><br />South Sudan happened because of an obstinate dedication to the borders in place in 1946 led to the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan being kept as an independent Sudan made up of former human predators and their human prey, with the latter deciding they weren't going to stand for such a status. It was a successful revolt against a truly oppressive and backwards system (Islamicist slave hunting), but one that didn't have a vision of how it would consolidate its gains. Frankly, I think our official position on the Sudanese civil war while it was going on was that it should be resolved peacefully, the country remain "united", and the ex-rebels given a say in its governance. Our recognition of South Sudan was based on the fait accompli.<br /><br />And, come to think of it, we Americans were never good at imperialism away from our own continent--and our successful imperium over the middle half of the North American continent was in many ways a "peasant conquest" (the way the Thai ate up the states of the Mon and Khmer peoples back between 1100-1400 A.D.), even if we like to think of our pioneers and homesteaders as sturdy yeoman rather than actual peasants.<br /><br />We weren't even all that good at our Philippine imperium. Had the Japanese not gone to war with us in 1941, the Philippines probably would've been an independent country by 1943 (MacArthur's mission was originally to train a military for an independent Philippines before retiring)--less than a half century of American rule. That doesn't compare well with Roman rule over Spain, Gaul, or even Britain--or even Chinese rule over the Kradai peoples south of the Chang Jiang, or even the Annamites--or, for that matter, Russian rule over the Tatars and Tungus peoples. THOSE were and are imperia worthy of the name. <br /><br />Getting back to South Sudan and all the other little conflicts going on around the globe, I sum up my position with a few observations:<br /><br />1. History is going to happen whether we like it or not.<br /><br />2. The rest of the world has its historical trajectories along which various nations travel, even if "we" (whoever that is) are not involved. <br /><br />3. Maybe the Founders' wariness about foreign entanglements wasn't such an antiquated, horse-and-buggy sort of thing after all.<br /><br />4. Who cares what the former imperial powers of Yurruppe think? Their empires, with the exceptions of Spain's and Portugal's, were mere flashes in the pan when the span of historical time is considered. Very ephemeral, and maybe we were not wise to emulate them. Kephahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00999385775493831638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400985529434569506.post-35874558294611494962013-12-23T22:23:13.033-05:002013-12-23T22:23:13.033-05:00It's not just Democrats and not just recently....It's not just Democrats and not just recently. We Americans have hardly ever gone in for that kind of thing. Okay, the Philippines, when imperium was in fashion. Vietnam, in a half-hearted way--half-assed too, before anyone else says it--out of imagined necessity. A few gestures in other countries.<br /><br />Real imperial powers were better at it, from practice rather than brilliance. They--most of them now out of the business, not by choice--sneer at our footling efforts for being amateurish and also for being imperialism. I don't see how they can have it both ways.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400985529434569506.post-67545463166170767602013-12-23T21:07:53.337-05:002013-12-23T21:07:53.337-05:00Just your boots and hat?
That's kinky.
:-)
...Just your boots and hat?<br /><br />That's kinky.<br /><br />:-)<br /><br />Christmas Eve here in Oz so to all a Merry ChristmasDavid from Oznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400985529434569506.post-72623814914809114822013-12-23T19:33:41.926-05:002013-12-23T19:33:41.926-05:00I drink cocoa in my boxers .... sometimes I wear a...I drink cocoa in my boxers .... sometimes I wear a housecoat .... if we have certain company.<br /><br />But ... I watch Duck Dynasty with my boots and hat on. OMMAGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05475151103850378778noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400985529434569506.post-31671741067899860012013-12-23T08:40:58.672-05:002013-12-23T08:40:58.672-05:00You have noticed that too? It seems since the &quo...You have noticed that too? It seems since the "end" of the Cold War and its clarifying divisions, some presidents do have this problem. The mission for an American President is not to be liked, held in awe for verbal skills, or to be popular. It is to be understood for clarity of purpose and willingness to back it up. Failure here invites the world's bad actors to threaten our allies and interests.whitewallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03469746790747742992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400985529434569506.post-54036129627744304922013-12-23T06:13:16.776-05:002013-12-23T06:13:16.776-05:00Divertido, me gusta eso!Divertido, me gusta eso!Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13642228725661059539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400985529434569506.post-33146699600248829902013-12-23T01:40:34.458-05:002013-12-23T01:40:34.458-05:00Something I've been wondering a lot... do Demo...Something I've been wondering a lot... do Democrat Presidents generally lack the intestinal fortitude to play the role of kingmaker in various places?<br />South Sudan... looks like we're headed to disaster there after insisting on partitioning the country off.<br />Pick a side and throw our support behind it? No, we're just going to sit back and watch.<br />It feels to me like weak Presidents fear being blamed for picking "the wrong side", or someone who "winds up being a person we don't like".<br />Seems to me that the president should get informed and pick a side, or stand aside and let someone else be president. <br /><br />"Oh, I don't know.. both sides are bad.. it's really complex... how can one tell which side to back? We really can't do anything." <--- cop out<br /><br />What I think they should be saying: "It's very complicated, but this side appears better for us, we're going to support them, and if they wind up being problems, we'll the fix that."<br /><br />Having a difficult decision to make is no excuse for doing nothing.<br /><br />- reader #1482, grandson of #1492Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400985529434569506.post-88509771280210128202013-12-22T21:17:30.740-05:002013-12-22T21:17:30.740-05:00Alas, it is not. Though the brief period of watch...Alas, it is not. Though the brief period of watching some of the more idiotic lib machinations blowing up has been satisfying. Long term? Not sure.Merkwürdigliebehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08633547688991082358noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400985529434569506.post-60034520374693977392013-12-22T19:48:58.977-05:002013-12-22T19:48:58.977-05:00Alpha you are spot on. It is Strine but often tha...Alpha you are spot on. It is Strine but often that is met with a ?David from Oznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400985529434569506.post-63135778088554257182013-12-22T19:39:17.345-05:002013-12-22T19:39:17.345-05:00A very cute play on a famous song!A very cute play on a famous song!Kephahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00999385775493831638noreply@blogger.com