Sunday, January 18, 2009

Free At Last, Free At Last, Thank God Almighty!

Welp, if it's Sunday morning and I'm hung over, well then it must be time for a post.

And we are Free At Last! Free from endless Jew rants about AIPAC (whatever the fuck that is)? Well maybe, for now. Nope I mean we are free of Gee-Dub, perhaps the Worst President of My Lifetime or any lifetime. My God, what a turd. Nope, we're on to the next guy.
Yup, by this time next week, we'll be an Obama-Nation. OK, this guy is going to have his flaws, but he simply cannot be worse than what we have just endured. Twice! We have only ourselves to blame for the past 4 years.

And I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I am at least a little excited about this guy. I mean we're behind the 8 ball, and GeeDub has been a useless sack of shit. If anything, we could have at least used some Reagan-esque "One for the Gipper" speeches from G-Dub, but we're only getting them from The O-bomber.

Well, not much to do but wait... but it'll be nice to know that the next time I post it'll be with a chain-smoking black dude as our Prez. And we'll also have a Flilf in there too!

"I break with thee... I break with thee.. I break with thee.. and then throw dog-poop on her/his shoes" (Steve Martin... and hbm)

Well, we officially got dumped by hbm. How we'll survive is another issue, but his parting shot was rather interesting:

...why are you afraid to put your name on your posts, asshole?

Oh, I know -- you're afraid Mike Hollern and I will order a "mob hit" on you. Fucking psycho.


I'm through with this blog -- too many psychotic trolls eaten up by hate and spite with nothing to do but vent it here on any target that offers itself. I'll read it, but I'm done commenting on it.

Good bye.


And he seemed pretty serious. I mean he only commented about 30-40 more times, and that was it!

What's funny is that "hbm" really could be anyone. EVERYONE is anonymous on here. I mean, people put "handles" to comments, and some are quasi-public figures that many of us would recognize. But were it not for Buster, I wouldn't have a clue who "hbm" is.

But it's curious Why hbm would make all these statements to begin with. This thing has always been anonymous, for obvious reasons. Read the title: it's a blog about the implosion of really the only large-scale industry in this one horse shithole. And as we've seen, "continued prediction" of it getting ever worse by the minute is not a Make Friends And Influence People sort of recipe.

hbm jokes about MOB HITS... well, everyone who posts on here knows DAMN WELL commenting on here could have almost nothing but negative consequences if identities became known. Even BendBB hides his identity. Curiously he also harvests IP's.

So hbm, your accusations of Anonymous Comments = Worthless Blog, is itself pretty fucking worthless. You, and everyone else here, knows Damn Well the RE Juggernaut would not be above offing someone to clam them up. These fuckers are Killing Themselves over bad deals.

OK next: This idea about claiming that unless every comment is backed up by a litany of Courthouse-Ready facts then it's 100% USELESS, is again Bullshit. Your blog went on and on and on about what a TURD Gordon Smith was. OK, I agree... but none of that shit is PROVEABLE.

But hbm, I can agree with you on one thing: You open up a blog to Zero Moderation, and you're going to get some pretty lame shit, as was witnessed Ad Nauseum in the past weeks comments Re Jew Bullshit. Was that you hbm? Cuz if so, point made. I mean whoever posted that shit makes me want to ease back on the Jew Bashing... whoever posted that inane shit is doing enough J-bashing for both of us. My God.

I've said this over and OVER: I cannot & will not "moderate" this blogs comments. First, I can't do it effectively. There's way the fuck too many comments. I think if I turned my posts and All Comments into a PDF, the thing would stack 3-4 feet tall. Just writing this fucker is hard enough... it's like pushing a gigantic hemorrhoid back in: UNPLEASANT BUT IT'S GOTTA GET DONE.

Second, I would NOT be a good moderator, I wouldn't know what to leave in or out. I probably would have nixed early JR-comments. Even City Hall & City Councilor stuff may have seemed outside the fray. But clearly a hell of a lot of shit that doesn't seem relevant, is. The BAT buses? The water lawsuits? Fuck, we're going bankrupt as a town, and that sort of shit is a prime contributor. The finances of this town & the people in it are very interconnected in ways that aren't readily apparent at first blush.

Finally, I just don't like moderated forums. I mean BEM moderated OUT a lot of my comments back in the day, and I assume others. And a lot of people complained about that, and the fact that NOTHING got posted until he approved it... which goes back to #1. And BEM only had 30-40 comments a week or so. This fucker regularly breaks 500 a week. Without the immediate feedback of Immediately Live Comments, a lot of the vitality & back-and-forth "conversations" would just die.

So hbm, you've got a point: Anon unmoderated forums have their problems, but so do the rest. I actually think that hbm sees the writing on the wall, and sees this blog as somewhat of a "competitor" to TSW. Not in any sort of stolen readership or financial way... but just that Bully-Bashing brings a decent audience for both. For better or worse, our beloved hometown paper is a last bastion of journalistic ethical selling out.

And people are pissed about that. And this forum is Wide Open to bitching about it, something hbm also does on occasion. So he & I are birds of a feather really... but with the advent of blogging & open comments, combined with the irrevocable decline in print papers, there can arise the need to Impugn The Legitimacy Of Any Competitor.

Which is sort of funny. As was said in the comments, this thing ain't about me... people like pics of big tits so they know where the end of my interminable rants are. It's about the comments, good, bad, ugly, or interminably idiotic, Thank You Jew-Busting Buster, or whoever you are.

I do wish there was a solution to this. It would have to be Individual User Moderated though. Something where each individual could blacklist comments from given IP's... not me, mind you. You. Something that would simply mask or minify comments from user-selected IP's, or usernames, or something. I don't know.

As can be seen, No User Tracking System Is Perfect and hence no comment masking system would perfect. Ask Becky Breeze over at BendBB. So I hear you hbm. But you declaring this blog Unfit For Your Pedantry Presence because of the Anony-Troll nature of the comments is simply a declaration that Only Your Opinion Really Counts And It's The Only Opinion That Should Count. Which I have to say, I disagree with.

And you can disagree with me. As vehemently as you want. Cuz the comments are wide open.

Well, you've probably noticed but the Bubble Implosion has started to take a toll so heavy that it's Damn Hard to even keep track of it. Used to be that there would be only one or two decent scale shutterings every month or 3. Now shit is closing, or there are large scale layoffs or hourly cutbacks, happening so often that I can't even keep track of it all.

So, if possible, I need you guys' help to keep track of this stuff for the RIP board, which I am going to make a New Years Style Effort (short-lived) to keep updated. So maybe put in comments the term "RIP" and a list of closed down businesses, or places making layoffs or mandatory hour reductions.

I know the Bully has already instituted mandatory days off each month. I have to agree with this route, if it has to be done. Lots of places layoff people who they have expended lots of money to get proficient at their jobs, and with layoffs, this investment is gone forever, and you have to expend it again when things turn up.

I guess everyone knows that Gottschalks declared Chap 11, something I think Dunc spotted early. And once I looked at it, it seemed pretty clear to me they were going down. You know something is wrong when a company of 60-odd stores spends 3X on one crappy store in Bend OR ($6 mill) over what Wall St values the whole shotting match at (sub $2 mill now).

But anyway, I have a terrible memory, and the failures are coming fast & furious, and are too much to really keep up with. And, of course, rumors are Welcome! I know hbm, I'm opening this thing up to LIARS! Well, it's always been that way, and a whole lot of those rumors had a way of coming true. Even KTVZ has started to "speculate" on the true scale of the Cessna layoffs, cuz the company doesn't want a mass exodus of people they actually want to keep.

So rumor has it's place. Shitloads of the Negative Rumors put here actually happened, and even legit rags like TSW print rumors. But those are supposedly more believable cuz the rumor-monger golfs with hbm, or some shit.

But I would like to know if anyone has heard any other juicy nugg's on Cessna. Last I heard it was another 1/3rd of the workforce, for a total of 2/3rds canned. And it'll happen in March. Is that right?

I know The Bull has instituted 1 Mandatory Day Off per month for everyone. It's my prediction that they will start instituting large-scale layoffs there. Place isn't financially viable otherwise.

On a smaller note, I'd also predict that these "Dinner Express" places will start to close. 4 of these sprang up overnight, and this town can barely support one.

I know of some decent sized gyms are going to close. One is a biggie on the East side. Same reason as above, ridiculous overcapacity.

Walked by the new Subway/Coffee Shop downtown. Very nice inside. Not a single customer though.

I guess everyone knows the "temporary" closure of the Speedshop & Fireside Red are 100% bullshit. Always suspect someone who is closing down for CHRISTMAS. OK, that is retarded.

I know 12 O'Clock Tart is also gone, lunch delivered to you by The Hotness Owner. Too bad, she was hot.

And there probably a long list of other small 1 and 2 man shops like this that are just gone one day. So send them along in the comments with title "RIP" so I can search for them.

OK, you can stop scrolling! You've reached the comments!
I wanna get titty-fucked by Obama!

790 comments:

«Oldest   ‹Older   1 – 200 of 790   Newer›   Newest»
IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

And if you go to craigslist, you can see there is a TON of restaurant equipment being sold off. Some from restaurant equipment vendors, but a hell of a lot will just start accumulating in the ether from all the closings.

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

Oh... and CACB almost cracked into the $3's this week... I know everyone already knows that... but did you ever really think it'd go this low? I mean, damn...

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

I mean fuck... CACB is a mere buck or so from going on my Official Liquidate Your Account List, which happens at $2/sh.

If they don't get their $67 mill Gov't bailout soon, they're in some big shit.

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

And I have to say I will MOURN the passing of the Speedshop... that place was damn good, if not a little pricey. $2-3 bucks less & I'd have eaten there 3X/wk. $10 for a sandwich, no matter how great, is just a little too much.

Anyone know of a comparable sandwich place? Hopefully bendoregonrestaurants.blogspot.com will go on the hunt.

Although I should suggest he go to Brunos (6th & Revere, caddy corner sorta from the North Albertsons) for take & bake pizza... I love that place. And the chili-cheese fries at the "Sun Top" restaurant in Redmond, are unbelievably great. I love that place. Is it called "Sun Top"? It's something-Top, and it's great.

MrBruce said...

Hagee, AIPAC and the GOP

When John McCain hastily rejected the endorsement of televangelist John Hagee last week, he wanted America to believe that he didn’t really know Hagee very well. But the truth is that despite McCain’s profession of ignorance (hard enough to fathom given that Hagee is on television every day of the week and has written a couple of dozen books), the Republican Party has long made its bed with Hagee. Even as he has longed for the Rapture and Armageddon, the televangelist has long been close with many members of Congress and even penned a book in 2000, God’s Candidate for America. (I’ll give you a hint: that candidate was Hagee’s fellow Texan, who unlike McCain, was politically savvy enough not to shout it from the rooftop of the Governor’s mansion.)

Although McCain cleared himself, Hagee’s alliance with politicians and leaders of major Jewish organizations appears, for the moment at least, to have emerged with only minor bruising. For the uninitiated, it seems impossible to reconcile how a man who called the Holocaust part of God’s plan could continue to be taken seriously as a great ally of Israel. Or how his Christians United for Israel’s (CUFI) executive director, David Brog, who is Jewish and defends Hagee, spoke at this week's American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference (Hagee spoke to the 2007 conference). Or how Joe Lieberman, who found the Holocaust statement “unacceptable” and “hurtful,” will still go a speak at the CUFI Summit in July, rejecting calls by J Street, the new political organization advocating for negotiated peace between the Israelis and Palestinians, not to attend.

Hagee’s bizarre marriage of convenience with American and Israeli Jews would be impossible without his formidable evangelical following, which provides the shock troops his Jewish allies believe they lack. In terms of his political reach, Hagee is no James Dobson, Jerry Falwell, or Pat Robertson (although his friend, Rod Parsley, also a spurned McCain endorser, fancies his Center for Moral Clarity a successor to Falwell’s Moral Majority). But Hagee’s world, while it surely does not represent all of American evangelicalism, comprises a significant segment of the charismatic movement that outsiders too readily dismiss as too weird to be mainstream. They underestimate it as a cultural and political force at their peril.

At the center of Hagee’s (and Parsley’s) coercive hold on their followers is the Word of Faith, or prosperity gospel doctrine, a theology many of their fellow evangelicals deem heretical. They use it to convince their followers to “sow a seed” (tithe to them) promising them a “supernatural” harvest in return. The power of the Word of Faith movement lies in its authoritarianism: the pastor is God’s anointed, not to be questioned or criticized. The tithe is God’s money; hold it back and you’re stealing from God. Pay the tithe, Hagee tells his congregation, before you pay the rent, lest you live under a financial curse. Three former members of Hagee’s church told me they lived in fear of his commands. One told me that when the local San Antonio paper published an exposé of Hagee’s million-dollar salary, she refused to look at the evidence out of deference to him.

All that money, in addition to funding the televangelists’ salaries and luxuries like private jets, keeps their television programming on the air, further fueling their money-making apparatus. Current tax law relieves churches from the requirement of filing tax returns, thus the amount of tax-exempt money flowing in and out of these televangelism ministries is a well-kept secret. The Senate Finance Committee is investigating six other Word of Faith televangelists over questions about whether they diverted non-profit funds to a for-profit purpose. The mighty resistance of one of them, Hagee’s good friend and CUFI ally Kenneth Copeland, is a testament to his popularity and political clout.

McCain may have taken a campaign trail albatross off his neck, but Hagee’s and Parsley’s popularity and political alliances march on.

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

No!!!!

It's Sno-Cap! See, told you my memory is awful.

Sno-Cap Drive In
1053 NW 6th Street Redmond, OR

This place is great. If Sno-Cap goes down, I can see home prices in Redmond going down 30-40% on that alone.

MrBruce said...

Aipac and Republican Jewish Coalition & The Palin Robot

Everybody knows that the Republican Jewish Coalition is the home of some of the most scurrilous uber-Israel propaganda to ever grace the air waves and printed page regarding Democrats supposed perfidy toward the Jewish State. But fewer know about the role that Aipac (or specifically Republican Aipac leaders and activists) has played in egging on the RJC multi-million dollar campaign. Now, The Forward tells it all (well, not quite all, but enough) in Aipac Call for Bipartisanship: Too Little, Too Late?:

Leaders of…AIPAC…issued a statement…affirming their confidence in lawmakers in both parties. The statement comes on the heels of a new ad from the Republican Jewish Coalition that prominently features criticism of Democrats by Morrie Amitay, the former executive director of Aipac.

“If Democrats take over the House, unfortunately, it is safe to assume that the House’s posture towards Israel will worsen,” Amitay is quoted as saying.

Aipac’s statement comes after a months-long advertising campaign campaign by Jewish Republicans aimed at convincing voters that the Democratic Party was increasingly not pro-Israel.

Democratic operatives have quietly alleged that GOP-aligned Aipac activists have aided the effort to boost the Republicans.

I would say when one of Aipac’s most beloved former leaders is featured as the centerpiece of an anti-Dem hit job that you don’t need to “quietly allege” that Aipac is “aiding in the effort to boost Republicans.” The only question is how many current Aipac leaders are also involved. Of course, you won’t see their fingerprints on anything since they’re a little too skillful to be caught taking an overt role.

What’s only slightly shocking about this is that Aipac touts itself as bi-partisan. It claims it works with both Republican and Democrats and doesn’t take sides in partisan political conflicts. Almost everyone knows that this is a not so polite subterfuge. Aipac donors have targeted numerous elected Democrats for defeat in the past who were accused of being anti-Israel. Someone will have to help me here but I can’t recall them going after a single Republican.

So I want to know–when will Howard Dean, Hillary Clinton, Jane Harman and all the other Aipac sycophants wise up and realize that Aipac is essentially taking them for a ride. They do Aipac’s bidding in passing punitive legislation in Congress that contributes to the strangulation of Gaza and criminalization of any U.S. efforts to talk with Hamas–and what do they get to show for it? A measly T-shirt with Morrie Amitay’s mug on it spitting in their eye. Fair bargain??

And finally let’s just call Amitay’s statement what it is: a damnable lie. He has no proof whatsoever to support his claim. Whatever proof the RJC has offered in this ad campaign is so glaringly pathetic as to not be able to withstand the light of day. Any Jewish newspaper running it, even as advertising, should give free space to Jewish Democrats to rebut it.

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

Hagee, AIPAC and the GOP

Oh Thank God. I thought I would go crazy having not seen a War-And-Peace length tome on AIPAC, Jews, McCain, and a bunch of other shit I could care less about.

Please, PLEASE start a blog on this VERY IMPORTANT MATERIAL. I'll even give you a link! Don't waste your God Given Copy And Paste Talents on this SHODDY ASS BLOG!

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

Aipac and Republican Jewish Coalition & The Palin Robot

THANK YOU SIR MAY I HAVE ANOTHER!

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

Life preservers for sinking homeowners?
by Ryan Frank, The Oregonian


As lawmakers begin their 2009 session, they can find ample evidence the foreclosure wave has washed over Oregon.

Foreclosures, up 128 percent in the fall of 2008, push people out of their homes, blight blocks, entice crime and tamp down neighborhood housing values. Oregon leaders have tried to slow foreclosures by boosting funding for housing counselors and forcing lenders to tell homeowners about how to get help.

Even so, housing counselors say they struggle to persuade borrowers and lenders to reach settlements that would stave off foreclosures. The troubles are most acute among subprime lenders and borrowers where foreclosures are most prevalent.

Though Oregon lawmakers have taken some steps, Oregon trails states such as Massachusetts and North Carolina that for months have been more aggressive at mediating between unresponsive borrowers and understaffed loan services.

Kevin Sheehan, Portland office director at the nonprofit Acorn Housing, said borrowers who try to negotiate a lower monthly payment run into lenders who routinely lose their paperwork, put them on hold for 30 minutes or, in one case, sent a person to a voice mail system that hung up.

Borrowers share responsibility, too. Studies suggest as many as half of homeowners in foreclosure never contact their lender.

But when the two sides don't talk, the homeowner loses the home while the lender and Wall Street backers lose money. The pain spreads to the broader economy, too. The housing market suffers from a supply glut, and foreclosures load the market with more homes for sale.

Oregon lawmakers arrived last week in Salem without a substantive bill drafted to push for more aggressive oversight of foreclosures. Senate Democrats' official agenda didn't mention the topic and neither did Gov. Ted Kulongoski in his opening speech to the Legislature.

Democratic leaders, who control the Legislature, have generally left the foreclosure aid work to state regulators and Congress. But they haven't ruled out adopting new programs during the session.

Industry lobbyists say lenders already do everything they can to help homeowners who can be saved. "We don't think there's any action Oregon could take that would help the situation," said Paul Cosgrove, who represents the Oregon Financial Services Association.
Bust ignites recession
Recessions inevitably trigger foreclosures, but this time it was the other way around.

Falling home prices, risky loans and rising unemployment combined to drive foreclosures to new highs.

Oregon hasn't suffered as much as other Western states. Prices didn't rocket up and then collapse the way they did in Phoenix, and risky subprime loans didn't spread like Southern California wildfires.

That said, Oregon nevertheless has problems.

The mortgage delinquency rate reached a 22-year high last fall. More than 25,000 Oregonians were late on their mortgages last fall -- more than the population of Klamath Falls. Analysts expect that number to rise this year.

As in other states, subprime loans are causing the most trouble.

Lenders used the subprime loans to expand their business to people who previously couldn't afford to own their own place. Fraud festered in the world of loosely regulated subprime lenders. The most toxic loans featured exceptionally low introductory interest rates that ticked higher after two years or, sometimes, just two months. Those rising rates left borrowers who hadn't seen their incomes go up with payments they couldn't afford.

By late 2008, subprime loans accounted for 9 percent of Oregon's mortgages but more than half of its foreclosures, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Curbing the foreclosure rate is a complicated, time-consuming task.

Some states have tried to put a temporary ban on foreclosure filings. But that's just led to a delay in an inevitable foreclosure.

The popular approach now is to extend the foreclosure process to create time for lenders to modify the mortgage to a payment the borrower can afford.

A more efficient approach, according to a report by Credit Suisse, is for the lender to drop the interest rate or loan balance.

Oregon's effort has been to provide homeowners information about how to contact a housing counselor and their lender. The counselor serves as a go-between for the borrower and lender.

Lawmakers last year required loan services to provide a toll-free help line answered by a warm body. The loan servicers also provide a list of housing counselors certified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The state also spent about $500,000 on nonprofit counselors and a lawyer to help borrowers in foreclosure.

Cory Streisinger, director of the state Department of Consumer and Business Services, said the number of calls are up at counseling centers. "We have done a good job matching people with resources," she said.

The state does not track the response rates among homeowners or the number of loans modified. But studies done elsewhere suggest that loan modifications have been slow to work because loan services and homeowners don't talk.

"People should not need me," said Karin Butler, a financial counselor who helps Oregon homeowners through the Community Housing Resource Center in Vancouver. "They should be able to call their lenders and get help."

But it doesn't always work that way.

The State Foreclosure Prevention Working Group, a group of state bank regulators and attorneys general from across the country, reported in September that nearly eight of 10 seriously delinquent homeowners are not on track for a loan modification.

"While some progress has been made in preventing foreclosures, the empirical evidence is profoundly disappointing," the group reported. "Too many homeowners face foreclosure without receiving any meaningful assistance by their mortgage servicer, a reality that is growing worse rather than better, as the number of delinquent loans, prime and subprime, increases."

The loan modifications can drag on for months while some loan servicers rack up thousands of dollars in appraisal and attorney fees charged to the borrower, said Uriah King, policy associate at the Center for Responsible Lending.

"It's completely unregulated," King said.
Other states step in
Sluggish loan modification work led states such as North Carolina and Massachusetts to step in between lenders and borrowers to encourage, and sometimes force, negotiations.

In Massachusetts, the attorney general won court orders to ensure two subprime lenders made reasonable attempts to help borrowers avoid foreclosure.

Attorney General Martha Coakley accused the lenders of making risky and unfair adjustable-rate loans that were destined to end in foreclosure.

The court orders gave Massachusetts the power to restrict foreclosure filings by Option One Mortgage Corp. and Fremont Investment and Loan. The attorney general's office can object to foreclosures on loans it deems unfair. The lenders can move ahead with the foreclosure only if they prove to the court that they made a reasonable attempt to modify the loan to terms the borrower could afford.

In North Carolina, the Legislature required that subprime lenders report foreclosure filings to court administrators. State banking regulators review each loan to find borrowers who may benefit from a loan modification, then try to contact them to provide help.

North Carolina, like Oregon, has been spared the depths of the foreclosures inflicted upon California or Florida. But state leaders there wanted to act before more people lost their home, said Mark Pearce, North Carolina's deputy commissioner of banks.

Pearce said only 15 percent of distressed homeowners have responded to the state's offer of help since the program started in November. Even if North Carolina officials save just a few homes, Pearce says, they're at least trying. "We couldn't sit idly by without doing something," he said. "Times like these are when people look to government to try to do something."

Asked whether Oregon would consider similar steps, Streisinger said her office has decided to provide the information to borrowers and let them seek the help.

Oregon legislators haven't scheduled any hearings specifically on the topic, but Senate President Peter Courtney said he expects a committee to consider more aggressive foreclosure help this session.

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

Anyone got a full copy/paste of this subscription-only piece in The Bully?

Moving in, moving out
Californians again led those settling in Central Oregon in 08, data show

January 18, 2009 4:00 am

Central Oregon and the state were magnets for residents from across the U. S. in 2008, according to....MORE

Anonymous said...

Fucking boring homer. Who care what HBM thinks.

I think you could of at least mentioned the banks imploding in the NW, and why.

Forever on this blog, those who disagree have demanded censorship.

So fucking what.

Look over at BEBB they don't even try to debate on issue, they just delete.

Same with hbm's sore-eye blog at TSW, he never even bothers with people who don't follow SORE-PARTY line, he just deletes.


So your wasting bits & bytes by even talking about hbm.

Let's talk about MOSS, where her Texas Ratio is now above what brought down WAMU.

Let's talk about Umqua why in the fact did they get the bailout?

Sounds to me like BofA, they were forced to buy 'bad shit' MLynch & CountryW, and now BofA is BEND fucked.

Umpqua has a TR of 6, I can only suspect its cooked books, cuz as we know UPQUA sits on Roseberg/Methford a bastion of METH STD's that makes Bend look like Aspen.

There is so much to talk about here other than HBM.

tim said...

Sno-Cap is always busy.

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

OK, what the fuck happened to bendoregonrestaurants.blogspot.com?

Not that it's bad, but it used to be a dude, and it was local restaurant reviews. Now it's a chick, ex-cop named Brenda who tells stories about moochie-ass bastards who ended up in jail.

What up?

Anonymous said...

Homer,

A restaurant review blog in Bend, would be like running an OBIT in a town of five, ... moochie-ass bastards are the future, and the 'dude' probably outed himself and went on to Bend growth.

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

Maybe this was mentioned already:

centraloregonrealtors.com Year-End PDF of property stats is out.

1,120 residential sales at AVG of $353,142, down 17.11% YoY. Median $289,450 down 16.1% YoY.

Anonymous said...

Homer, another note about 'slowness' all the blogs are slowing down.

Even at BEBB some of the subjects now go for days with out a comment, and bendbb/rdc is the post over 50% of the time on all subjects.

I think people have enough negativity to dwell on, its used to be you had to look for negatives in BEND, now they're in your house, or next door.

Like your restaurant blog, that guy probably lost his job, and can't eat out 4x week anymore.

Things are changing, and quick,

Like the kunt the other day that said their are 20 on this blog, bull fucking shit try 4-5 peak ever, and its always the same-old, ...

Just a fact, it doesn't matter, ... but losing just one drops the chat by 25%, losing two means 50% decrease.

Anonymous said...

RIP Aasland's fine furniture.

Anonymous said...

Look at your fucking restaurant blog, about 1/2 the time they review the place is closed in a month, ... what would be the point?

Like the BULL running RE ad's, and the invoicing, but never collecting, ... cuz the RE has left town.

Murder, robbery, suicide, ... those are blog subjects,

A repo blog would be HOT, a pawn-shop blog talking about new shit and pic's, that way folks could find their stolen shit quick.

Let's talk BEND, not what Bend was.

Anonymous said...

Persona's here like ...

quim, lava, dunc, marge, fox, tim, bruce, buster, ...

Anybody notice that when dunc left the other day posts dropped by over 50%, it wasn't just me, I note the timing and writing style, I know dunc loves persona's, ...

I have always said there are about four real people here,

Anonymous said...

Like your request for the IN/OUT BULL story, used to be you would get a post in a few minutes, most people have quit paying the BULL, and now nobody has it, ... better bet to request it on BEBB, then rdc will post it as he lives on that blog 24/7, and he's the type that will pay the BULL til its gone.

Anonymous said...

Four people here post about 50 posts/day, all these boards will die of natural death, if we don't bring in fresh blood.

Anonymous said...

Working for BT resort is one of the best paying jobs in Bend, and the best benefits.

This is the beast, and its the employees that keep it alive, the trouble is the deep pocketed owners cannot keep the beast alive.

Even going public will not keep the beast alive, it took CACB money to keep Merenda alive, it takes CASH to keep an unprofitable business alive.

The only lobby today that's pushing for BT is the employee lobby.

Anonymous said...

RIP: Sagebrush Classic

RIP: Broken Top Restaurant & Golf Resort

RIP: ALL Bend Golf other than Widgi

MrBruce said...

I thought I would go crazy having not seen a War-And-Peace length tome on AIPAC, Jews, McCain, and a bunch of other shit I could care less about.

*

You care about CACB, when it goes, so will all these PUG's, when you say you don't care about the above, in effect your saying you don't care about the BEND RNC! These are the people, they are gods people.

These people go down, and Bend becomes a swamp of godless depravity.

tim said...

I thought it was interesting that the Bulletin story posted moving stats for the whole year. Certainly if these companies have annual stats, they also have quarterly & monthly stats.

But you wouldn't want to show the trend, would you? Wouldn't want to show what those last desperate months of 2008 looked like.

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

Wouldn't want to show what those last desperate months of 2008 looked like.

Figured that. Pretty soon it'll be a 3 year moving average. Then 5 years.

Anonymous said...

You were on the original Restaurant Review blog, from 2004 / 2005. The new one is at

http://bendoregonrestaurant.blogspot.com

There's a link on the former one, too.

And the dude didn't lose his job, but he has admitted that he's cutting back on eating out as much.

Anonymous said...

I thought it was interesting that the Bulletin story posted moving stats for the whole year. Certainly if these companies have annual stats, they also have quarterly & monthly stats.

And only moving company stats, which leaves out all the families that move themselves (the large majority) with a U-Haul. Moving companies are damned expensive, especially the big national ones, which are the ones The Bull cites.

More cherry-picking, I suspect.

I have just put up a post about this story on the Wandering Eye blog (tsweekly.com).

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

You can see in the 2008 YTD Stats from centraloregonrealtors.com, that total res sales in Bend almost hit $1 bill in 2005, or about $60 mill in commish.

Now it's under $400 mill for 2008. And fewer & fewer will pay 6% when they're already way underwater.

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

http://bendoregonrestaurant.blogspot.com

See? Terrible Memory!

Good post on restaurant closings.

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

Sounds like the Downtowner is the new place for a decent sandwich, right? I do hear good stuff about that place...

Anonymous said...

I have just put up a post about this story on the Wandering Eye blog (tsweekly.com).

#

Can we comment over there you fascist pig? Or will you delete?

It's rather funny, we tolerate you vile & bile over here, but you don't tolerate our's on god's chosen people's sore-eye blog.

Anonymous said...

Downtowner had been a the 'best' place for a sandwich forever, but never cheap.

Cheap was $3 verde burro @ superBurr, long gone, .. now $5.50 for a lame ass bean.

A sandwich? Best in Bend is at home, otherwise Downtowner is where lawyers take their clients on the clients nickel.

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

Cheap was $3 verde burro @ superBurr, long gone, .. now $5.50 for a lame ass bean.

Actually the carne asada burrito with just the meat & other crap (no lettuce, bo beans!) to taste is the best deal downtown. $5 & I walk out pretty damn full. Lengua tacos are another good one. All served by that extremely hot Mexican gal. I like dat.

tim said...

>>And the dude didn't lose his job, but he has admitted that he's cutting back on eating out as much.

Bet his wife is disappointed.

Anonymous said...

So why has no one posted the BULL in/out story?

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

Keepin' It Real Estate: Buyers' Market? Beware

Andrew Jeffery
Jan 15, 2009 8:30 am

Is it a buyer's market?

Ask most real-estate professionals the above question, and the response will almost certainly be an emphatic "Yes!"

After all, they quickly explain, inventory levels are at all-time highs, sellers are desperate to get out from under their rapidly depreciating homes, and mortgage rates are at historic lows. What more could buyers ask for?

How about not losing their shirts, for starters.

The traditional definition of a buyer's market is one where supply outstrips demand, pushing down prices: Buyers have the upper hand. As the bull market begins to wane, however, buyers lose their enthusiasm and become concerned about price. The market cools down and buyers shy away, forcing sellers to make concessions and lower prices. This, in turn, creates an environment where buyers can shop around, be picky, and patiently waiting for their dream house to come on the market.

As demand returns, sellers start upping their list prices, refusing to pay for closing costs and holding out for a better offer. Buyers, fearful they might miss out on the next boom, bid up asking prices and ask for fewer concessions. Now that sellers have the upper hand, the market favors sellers as prices move upward. Such is the cyclical nature of real estate.

This story has played out for decades as real estate plodded along, homebuilders like DR Horton (DHI), KB Homes (KBH) and Toll Brothers (TOL) supplied the market with new construction and home prices marched steadily upward, outpacing inflation by the narrowest of margins. A little more than 10 years ago, however, that relationship started to come unglued.

The recent housing bubble turned the prevailing view of real estate on its head. Homes, long viewed as the most stable of all assets, became a speculative tool for even the most unsophisticated investor. The mania, fueled by lax monetary policy and Wall Street alchemy, helped contributed to the financial crisis currently gripping our country. As property values have careened back to earth, real estate assets of all kinds have become toxic.

Nevertheless, the National Association of Realtors (or NAR) and its dedicated minions have tirelessly peddled their lies that ours is a buyer's market. Let's take a quick jaunt back in time to some recent headlines and where that traditional assessment of a buyer's market got us:

Las Vegas: It's Definitely a Buyer's Market
USA Today: July 5, 2006
"Real estate looks like one of the biggest gambles in Las Vegas."

How true. Property values in Vegas have fallen 33% since summer 2006. Not to be outdone by their peers at USA Today, ABC ran this piece just weeks later:

Take Advantage of Real Estate's Buyer's Market
ABC News: July 31, 2006

"The National Association of Realtors said that the number of homes for sale has reached new heights, which is good news for buyers. After years of a seller's market, it's finally a buyer's paradise in Phoenix, AZ."

Anyone who bought in that "buyer's paradise" in Phoenix has seen their home's value fall by more than 30%.

The point isn't to criticize realtors for arguing it's a buyer's market: After all, one should expect nothing less from a group whose entire existence is based on convincing buyers it's a great time to buy - irrespective of the truth. Just ask Gary Keller, whose new book, Shift: How Top Real Estate Agents Tackle Tough Times, advises agents to "find every way possible to overcome the media-driven real-estate malaise."

The traditional definition of a buyer's market needs a bit of a makeover. A more sensible definition is a market where buyers have ample opportunity to make good investments. To be sure, a home is more than just an investment; it's a place to raise one's family, to grow old, to spend time with loved ones. However, as far too many American families have learned in the past three years, homes can become a debilitating burden if bought at the wrong price.

In today's market, there certainly exist attractive investment opportunities. But to label the market as a whole as one where buyers should be rushing out in search of the American Dream is borderline lunacy. Throughout much of the country, home prices are still too high: Real incomes don't support prevailing property values, even after the historic declines we've already seen. Supply, despite remaining at record levels, is likely to remain so for the foreseeable future. Home prices are undergoing a much-needed correction, and will continue to do so until fundamental demand catches up with supply.

This isn't to say every home on the market is overpriced, or that every buyer in the past 36 months has gotten a raw deal. There are deals to be had if one knows where and how to look - and, most importantly if the purchase makes good financial sense. To borrow a theme from Toddo, "financial staying power" should be at the forefront of any prospective buyer's mind.

So ignore the hype, both good and bad. As often is the case, not until the most ardent bulls turn in their horns will the bears return to hibernation. So, as soon as realtors concede it may not be a buyer's market after all, voila! A bottom we will have.

Anonymous said...

$5, lucky you, the last time I was at the new location and got a verde ( green pork ) or carne-asada, I got mostly beans in both. So perhaps homer look in their eyes and said 'meat'.

My point was that in the old days ( 1+ year ago ), at the old location, it was $3, and it always contained meat.

The asada or verde at taco-shack on burro spec day of week is all meat by default, and now about $5.50.

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

Nice one from hbm

Is Central Oregon Experiencing "Shrinkage"?

excerpt:

But then come some quotes from Roger Lee, executive director of Economic Development for Central Oregon, The Bulletin’s go-to guy whenever it needs somebody to paint a rosy scenario.

“I don’t see us getting to a situation where we’re losing residents,” Lee says. “All that is speculation [about population declines], but there is nothing to back it up in the numbers. If all the jobs evaporated, that would be a game-changer, but net out-migration in 2009 is very dubious.”

And then comes the inevitable “people will keep moving here because we’re so damn special” argument:

“We’re still looking at [population growth] rates that are well above the state average and the national average and every other county in Oregon or across the nation. This area appeals to a lot of people who move here in various stages of life. They are looking for quality of life and lifestyle factors.”

Whatever you say, Roger. But as The Eye has observed before, you can’t eat “lifestyle.” And with Central Oregon unemployment at or near double digits, it seems unlikely that many people will move here in search of a job.

The Eye has heard rumors that Bend already has lost population – maybe as much as 10,000. That seems way over the top. But it would be nice to have some honest numbers.

Anonymous said...

Can we comment over there you fascist pig? Or will you delete?

As I have said many times before, I don't delete anything on the Source site -- I don't have the authority. Aaron moderates the blog. He often blocks posts that I would have allowed.

If your comment is not personally abusive and/or obscene, I'm confident it will be allowed. But you probably won't see it before Monday because it will have to be screened first. Sorry.

Anonymous said...

Thanks homer for reminding us that this is the year of the black-man, and whitey is finished, below is a tribute to what we're leaving behind.

...

1. White people like fried chicken and collard greens. Sure, that may sound like I forgot which ethnic group I was stereotyping, but the only time I've ever lived where there was a difference between soul food and regular food was my very short time living in Atlanta. This may not hold true up north, but that's because of the heavy influence of Eastern Europeans. If the majority of your ancestors didn't speak English as a first language (or at least live in an area where English fluency was more common than not) before they even decided to move to the colonies, then you aren't really white. This explains why Atlanta, with its large number of Yankee transplants with ancestors from locales other than the British Isles, doesn't have many places with friend chicken and collards. My wife is not white with her Greek, Hungarian and German heritage. She does not like collards. (But she does like fried chicken, but then everyone loves fried chicken. It's chicken. And it's fried. What's not to like?) My neighbors, who are white, it's even their last name, actually have a business of growing and cooking collard and mustard greens. Yum.

2. White people are as afraid of ethnic food as they are of ethnic people. It's true. Ethnic food does not taste like fried chicken and collard greens (or even barbecued pork and macaroni and cheese) and anything that is different is scary. Ethnic people do not look like fried chicken and collard greens and therefore are also scary because white people aren't sure if they're edible or not. Mexican food is OK as long as it's full of beef and chicken and smothered in cheese (and they have a light hand with the peppers.) Some white people will even dabble with the occasional Chinese food, as long as it's not something that could actually be considered truly authentic.

3. When it comes to living quarters, there are only three types of white people: Those who own a large plot of land and live in a trailer, those who live in trailer parks, and those who live in a unnecessarily giant McMansion on a plot of land so small that they could piss out of their bedroom window and give their neighbor a golden shower. Those who live on large tracts of land in small housing look down on both of the other types of white people, but don't we all?

4. White people may be good looking when they're young, but as soon as they graduate high school they get really fat and ugly. I don't know a single girl I thought was good looking in high school who isn't now fat and ugly with the exception of a couple who moved to places with high concentrations of pale-skinned but not-white people.

5. White people really like meth. In fact, all of the white adults who aren't fat are meth addicts. It's true. Just try to prove otherwise. You can't live on a diet of fried chicken, barbecued pork, macaroni and cheese, and collard greens cooked with enough pork parts to leave a greasy chin and not be fat unless you are a meth head.

6. White people inexplicably like country music, and not only in the South and West. It couldn't be the top radio format in the country if only rednecks were fans. Even my Cleveland-born father-in-law likes country. If you notice, my reader with the most unchecked hatred of the format is also descended from Italians, and therefore not white.

By the way, if you've got a few stereotypes to counter the yuppie as white stereotype presented on Things White People Like, I may even take your idea and claim it as my own with your submission of said idea.

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

If all the jobs evaporated, that would be a game-changer, but net out-migration in 2009 is very dubious.”

What the fuck do you NEED Lee? 70% UNEMPLOYMENT? The fucking jobs are GONE! We're at 10% UNEMPLOYMENT, and number VASTLY UNDERSTATING the problem, as this place is about 60% freelance, graphic artists, PR blowjob fake titty Realtor-Mortgage brokers. It's 105% unemployment in that lot. Even Bledsoe is barely getting nickels for drinking Donkey Cum Buckets on top of Volo.

Anonymous said...

If your comment is not personally abusive and/or obscene, I'm confident it will be allowed. But you probably won't see it before Monday because it will have to be screened first. Sorry.

*

Gad DAMN fucking paranoid, screening, who in the fuck has time to screen those 1000's of fucking comment at the SORE that all say 'hbm is a faggot'.

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

[10K outmigration] That seems way over the top.

I don't know man... rumors have a way of being proved true. And with 10% STATED unemployment and nothing but shitty minimum wage dog shit jobs at Bachelor left, people (as you said) can't eat the scenery, and they will leave en masse.

10K outmigration would not surprise me a bit. 40-50K OUT would not be a surprise when all is said & done in 10-20 years. Neither would 20% unemployment.

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

who in the fuck has time to screen those 1000's of fucking comment at the SORE that all say 'hbm is a faggot'.

I'm more surprised you've got the time to write 'em Buster!
:-)

Anonymous said...

“I don’t see us getting to a situation where we’re losing residents,” Lee says. “All that is speculation [about population declines], but there is nothing to back it up in the numbers. If all the jobs evaporated, that would be a game-changer, but net out-migration in 2009 is very dubious.”

*

As predicted, ...

1.) The rich are NO longer cumming to Bend.

2.) The un-employed with $$ are leaving,

3.) The stuck are staying and going on un-employment.

4.) The home-less everywhere want to move to Bend-Orygun, why the fuck not 'white paradise', its the Aryan Homeless mecca, and with DRW next door it means lots of cheap meth the drug of choice, but white homeless.

Demographics change, but with Urban areas going to shit, and racial hatred on the rise for those living on the street, great bastions of homeless will form by tribes.

I know many homeless, and I travel, in PDX my homeless bud's often say their number concern "Where can I sleep and be safe". The kids will kill the older, and tribes are by race, middle age white homeless people prefer empty houses where they can feel safe, safety by numbers.

With 10% or more un-employment and 20% in the central-OR tri-county, lets say 40k homeless, most because of services will be near Bend, and that is just our own homeless ( 200k@20%), the real base will be the inflow of white middle age homeless. The homeless that their own newspapers and internet sites, and BEND-AREA is highly rated.

So the BULL is correct the population will increase, the funny thing is that the notion of Bend being Aspen will perplex many.

More rats, young rats living at Drake Park, more cops on bikes, ...

Anonymous said...

I'm more surprised you've got the time to write 'em Buster!
:-)

*

Not me, I'm blocked so fucking hard at SORE by IP, I can't even read let alone post.

Once an awhile I go there with 'TOR' just to see ... yes, hbm is right all comments are screened, and even dilly-dally kiss-ass posts are rejected'

Here's what will not be deleted.

"I think Smith is a bad person. Is it just me"

If you post something like its a keeper and will be posted, all else goes into the bit-bucket ( garbage /dev/null ).

Besides, given hbm lives here, he needs to visit the fucking SORE?

HBM is a faggot,

Anonymous said...

I'm more surprised you've got the time to write 'em Buster!
:-)

*

Shit homer, I'm one of the good guys that support HBM, if you want to see hatred towards the fucking SORE, just mention assholes siamese butt-head 'bob woodward'.

See hbm & bob were playing 'plant the cheese' in OUTSIDE magazine back in the 1980's.

There are ten's of thousands in Bend that would like to tar&feather HBM&BW, just a fact, ... move along.

That's why my IP is blocked at SORE, not because of what I write about HBM, but BOB-WOODWARD, see bob is who made Aaron Swizter, with out the bob&aaron show there would be no events, you think for a fucking second that Aaron makes money from the SORE??

See folks HBM, he be a little loser nobody, even at the BULL he was one of their worst fucking writers, then he retired and now works for a nickel a page at the SORE.

This is why HBM is one of US, he's a loser.

Anonymous said...

HBM is a faggot

How old are you, Buster? Ten? Eight? Does your dad know you're using his computer to post this shit?

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

“All that is speculation [about population declines], but there is nothing to back it up in the numbers. If all the jobs evaporated, that would be a game-changer, but net out-migration in 2009 is very dubious.”

I like how LEE won't even use the term "POPULATION DECLINE". Like a political candidate who won't use an opponents name.

"Nothing to back it up in the numbers"... my fat fucking ass. It's because Bend PR Juggernaut will NEVER publish ANY studies proving OUTMIGRATION. EVER. This fucking place could get down to 2 motherfuckers working at the Bulletin,surrounded by 50,000 empty homes, and they'd still publish NET POSITIVE INFLOW stories...

MrBruce said...

I find this all upsetting.

A black president, and all this hatred towards white people.

Is everybody in Bend nuts?

Bewert said...

Speaking of Summit, go to the recordings and search on one of the principals. Tennant's lawyers have been very busy, and are pulling in minor office folks and family as well in going after all their property and various LLC's. Damned impressive strategy.

Summit really fucked with the wrong guy.

I'll get that lawsuit scanned and up today.

BULL stories coming...anyone else note the blurb that said Bend had seven single-family building permits taken out in December?

Anonymous said...

Gad DAMN fucking paranoid, screening, who in the fuck has time to screen those 1000's of fucking comment at the SORE that all say 'hbm is a faggot'.

I've figured out Buster's problem: He has Tourette's syndrome, making him unable to write three consecutive words without throwing in an obscenity. That's why the only place his comments get published is on this blog. Pity,

Anonymous said...

Does your dad know you're using his computer to post this shit?

*

My dad knows you hbm, and he says your know jfk.

Anonymous said...

Didn't 'real hbm' tell us he was going away for ever ( like gollum ), and never coming back?

Did homer's entire fucking blog this week dedicate itself to the death of hbm??

Anonymous said...

http://www.tsweekly.com

Children, come to the site, that jesus him self would post and blog on.

"What blog would Jesus use?"

That blog is http://www.tsweekly.com

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

He has Tourette's syndrome, making him unable to write three consecutive words without throwing in an obscenity.

That cock-sucking douche motherfucker!

MrBruce said...

BULL stories coming...anyone else note the blurb that said Bend had seven single-family building permits taken out in December?

##

Ned Flanders ( aka dunc, aka tim, aka quim, aka lava, aka marge ) has a whole blog today on this subject, at min-wage comic fuck.

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

"What blog would Jesus use?"

Does Jeebus approve of those Stars ads?

HELP US JEEBUS!

MrBruce said...

I write about HBM, but BOB-WOODWARD, see bob is who made Aaron Swizter, with out the bob&aaron show there would be no events, you think for a fucking second that Aaron makes money from the SORE??

See folks HBM, he be a loser nobody, even at the BULL he was one of their worst fucking writers, then he retired and now works for a nickel a page at the SORE.


###

Wow!!! HBM really is one of us, he's a Bend Moron.

MrBruce said...

Does Jeebus approve of those Stars ads?


###

Would Jeebus fuck a Starz girl? Or would he fuck a DRW METH RE-HO.

Mary was a ten all Starz.

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

From the Dunc-ster, a PERFECT summary:

(Quoting Roger Lee) "I don't see us getting in a situation where we're losing residents. All that is speculation, but there is nothing to back it up in the numbers. If all the jobs evaporated, that would be a game-changer, but net out-migration in 2009 is very dubious."

I think the way this works is: if it's positive, it's a 'prediction.' If it's negative, it's 'speculation.'


Perfect Summary of how NEWS is INTERPRETED in Bend. PERFECT.

Anonymous said...

I'll get that lawsuit scanned and up today.


*

Pussy, please post the source material and then tell us where it is, ... you have been doing this tease shit for weeks, ...

Bewert said...

Moving in, moving out
Californians again led those settling in Central Oregon in 08, data show

Central Oregon and the state were magnets for residents from across the U.S. in 2008, according to data released this month by three leading moving companies.

The question for 2009 may be how much that growth continues or whether the region will start to lose residents.

The moving companies — United Van Lines LLC, Mayflower Transit LLC and Atlas Van Lines LLC — handled 287 moves into Central Oregon and 166 moves out, according to data provided by the companies. That means 63 percent of the business those companies handled in Deschutes, Jefferson and Crook counties was for people moving here.

This story uses the data to provide a snapshot of moving trends and does not include all moving companies, nor does it include statistics from self-move companies like U-Haul, whose Oregon activity was primarily within the state.

Note: UHaul currently quotes $266 one-way to PDX, and $108 one-way from PDX, for a 26 foot truck...

On a statewide basis, according to United Van Lines’ data, Oregon ranked third in the nation for the percentage of moves into the state, 56 percent, compared with people leaving for some other state. The leading inbound destination among states and the District of Columbia was Washington, D.C., with a 62 percent inbound percentage. North Carolina, at 58 percent, was second.

Michigan, suffering from the effects of auto industry job losses, had the lowest percentage of in-migration at 33 percent, according to United Van Lines.

State data from the other two carriers were not available at press time.

Fewer people are moving nationally than during the housing market boom years because they either cannot sell their homes or cannot find jobs, or both, said Jennifer Bonham, a spokeswoman for Fenton, Mo.-based United Van Lines.

“From 2007 to 2008, we saw quite a decline in people moving,” she said. “The real estate market has played a huge part in that. If people find ways to get out of their houses, you will see an uptick in moves.”

United has seen a steady decline in business over the past three years from about 227,000 moves in 2006 to 212,000 in 2007 and 199,000 last year, Bonham said.

Trends for the region

Quality of life and other factors made 2008 another year of growth for Central Oregon, but a housing market slowdown and lack of job growth could spell population loss in 2009, said Timothy Duy, an adjunct professor for the University of Oregon’s Department of Economics.

“You drew in a lot of skilled workers, but the big question is whether a lot of immigrants who were chasing construction jobs are going to search out better opportunities,” Duy said. “To what extent are your immigrants going to come from high-priced housing markets, given that those markets aren’t high-priced housing markets anymore? Once the equity is wiped out in California, where is your source of immigrants going to come from?”

Deschutes County’s construction labor force is 12 percent of its total work force, compared with about half that amount for the rest of the state, according to the Oregon Employment Department.

Unemployment rates, meanwhile, have spiked in Central Oregon with the highest rates in the state in Crook County, 12.4 percent, and Jefferson County, 12 percent, according to department data from November, the latest month available. Deschutes County, meanwhile, spiked to 9.9 percent unemployment.

Springtime could bring an uptick in people leaving the region if they can sell their homes and find jobs elsewhere, said Denise Clancy, a customer service agent with Bend Storage & Transfer, which handles mostly outbound moves.

Clancy has seen an increase in the number of people inquiring about moving costs, though “more people are asking than actually moving out.”

“They are saying, ‘If I can’t sell my house, I’m going to rent it.’ That is not a guarantee either. There are a lot of people who want to move because other areas have a lot more opportunities.”

The region will definitely see a slowing in growth during the recession, but is not likely to lose residents, said Roger Lee, executive director of Economic Development for Central Oregon, which promotes business growth for the region.

“I don’t see us getting to a situation where we’re losing residents,” Lee said. “All that is speculation (about population declines), but there is nothing to back it up in the numbers. If all the jobs evaporated, that would be a game-changer, but net out-migration in 2009 is very dubious.”

A steady birth rate in Central Oregon also will stabilize the population, Lee said.


The region, which experienced an increase of 10,000 to 12,000 new residents per year for the past decade, could be in for a year when the growth slows to a net of 2,000 to 3,000 new residents, Lee said.

The county had 6,205 new residents from July 1, 2007, to July 1, 2008, a 3.9 percent increase. The percentage growth was the highest among Oregon’s counties, which averaged 1.2 percent growth, according to Portland State University’s Population Research Center.

“We’re still looking at rates that are well above the state average and the national average and every other county in Oregon or across the nation,” Lee said. “This area appeals to a lot of people who move here in various stages of life. They are looking for quality of life and lifestyle factors.”

Job outlook

While it might not feel like it for the out-of-work construction or restaurant worker, jobs are still available in Central Oregon — if you are in the engineering, health care or renewable energy fields, said Anne McDonald, a recruiter for McDonald Group Professional Placement in Bend.

Note: MacDonald's web site lists 14 jobs in Bend...

McDonald handles mostly engineering, information technology and health care-related job placement, she said.

“There are lots of job opportunities right now, but it’s difficult to get people to move here because they’re not able to sell their homes,” said McDonald, who is getting four to five times the response she would typically get for an average job posting.

Jennifer Aderman thinks she and her husband, Rich, have found a perfect place to raise their three children, ages 5, 6 and 9. She said the recent transplants fell in love with the town after they moved to Bend from an Atlanta suburb and her husband started a job earlier this month.

“It was the job that brought us out here, but we can’t imagine living back in Georgia again,” said Jennifer Aderman.

“Everybody is friendly,” she said. “The weather is a big plus. There is no humidity. It seems to be a good town to raise your kids. Where we were, you couldn’t let your kids out to play.”

Jeff McDonald can be reached at 541-383-0323 or at jmcdonald@bendbulletin.com.

Anonymous said...

Is Central Oregon's "EDCO COCK" Experiencing "Shrinkage"?

Written by H. Bruce Miller
Sunday, 18 January 2009

The Bulletin’s top SEX story this morning is about how many people are moving into Central Oregon and how many are moving out.

Predictably, the spin is upbeat.

“Central Oregon and the state were magnets for residents from across the U.S. in 2008, according to data released this month by three leading moving companies,”

reads the story (available by subscription only).

“The moving companies — United Van Lines LLC, Mayflower Transit LLC and Atlas Van Lines LLC — handled 287 moves into Central Oregon and 166 moves out, according to data provided by the companies. That means 63 percent of the business those companies handled in Deschutes, Jefferson and Crook counties was for people moving here.”

Sounds good, right? But the obvious problem with those numbers is they include only people who hire moving companies – typically the affluent, or those whose companies pay for their moves – and leave out the hundreds (thousands?) who simply load up the Ryder truck or the U-Haul or their own pickup and breeze on outta here in search of greener (or at least different) pastures.

The story quotes Tim Duy, an adjunct professor of economics at the U of O, warning that the region might see a loss of population in 2009: “To what extent are your immigrants going to come from high-priced housing markets, given that those markets aren’t high-priced housing markets anymore? Once the equity is wiped out in California, where is your source of immigrants going to come from?”

But then come some quotes from Roger Lee, executive director of Economic Development for Central Oregon, The Bulletin’s go-to guy whenever it needs somebody to paint a rosy scenario.

http://www.edforco.org/

“I don’t see us getting to a situation where we’re losing residents,” Lee says. “All that is speculation [about population declines], but there is nothing to back it up in the numbers. If all the jobs evaporated, that would be a game-changer, but net out-migration in 2009 is very dubious.”

And then comes the inevitable “people will keep moving here because we’re so damn special” argument:

“We’re still looking at [population growth] rates that are well above the state average and the national average and every other county in Oregon or across the nation. This area appeals to a lot of people who move here in various stages of life. They are looking for quality of life and lifestyle factors.”

Whatever you say, Roger. But as The Eye has observed before, you can’t eat “lifestyle.” And with Central Oregon unemployment at or near double digits, it seems unlikely that many people will move here in search of a job.

The Eye has heard rumors that Bend already has lost population – maybe as much as 10,000. That seems way over the top. But it would be nice to have some honest numbers.

Comments (0)
Note that all comments are screened. If there is not an explicit Senator Smith denigration, then the comment will be deleted.

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

I like how Roger Lee said that of the 70-80 companies he's got on the line about relocating to Cent OR, he will PREDICTED that he'll reel in, on the low side, 40-50.

Umm, right. If that fucker has landed EVEN ONE SINGLE "ACCOUNT", I WILL EAT MY OWN FUCKING HEAD. If he were a salesman, he'd have been FIRED & THROWN out of this town years ago. But no. He runs EDCO, which stands for EJACULATE DAT COCK ON-MY-FACE. Never landed a single "account", nothing but a hemorrhoid-laden bunghole for flushing taxpayer money.

Granted, Lee is a nice guy, I've met him. But his position is a fucking money hole. And he is not producing results, and while a lot of that is his fault, a hell of a lot is not, and will not be. Lee or not, EDCO or not, this place is going to hemorrhage people & business.

Anonymous said...

\\|//

Moving in, moving out
Californians again led those settling in Central Oregon in 08, data show
By Jeff McDonald / The Bulletin

Published: January 18. 2009 4:00AM PST

Central Oregon and the state were magnets for residents from across the U.S. in 2008, according to data released this month by three leading moving companies.

The question for 2009 may be how much that growth continues or whether the region will start to lose residents.

The moving companies — United Van Lines LLC, Mayflower Transit LLC and Atlas Van Lines LLC — handled 287 moves into Central Oregon and 166 moves out, according to data provided by the companies. That means 63 percent of the business those companies handled in Deschutes, Jefferson and Crook counties was for people moving here.

This story uses the data to provide a snapshot of moving trends and does not include all moving companies, nor does it include statistics from self-move companies like U-Haul, whose Oregon activity was primarily within the state.

On a statewide basis, according to United Van Lines’ data, Oregon ranked third in the nation for the percentage of moves into the state, 56 percent, compared with people leaving for some other state. The leading inbound destination among states and the District of Columbia was Washington, D.C., with a 62 percent inbound percentage. North Carolina, at 58 percent, was second.

Michigan, suffering from the effects of auto industry job losses, had the lowest percentage of in-migration at 33 percent, according to United Van Lines.

State data from the other two carriers were not available at press time.

Fewer people are moving nationally than during the housing market boom years because they either cannot sell their homes or cannot find jobs, or both, said Jennifer Bonham, a spokeswoman for Fenton, Mo.-based United Van Lines.

“From 2007 to 2008, we saw quite a decline in people moving,” she said. “The real estate market has played a huge part in that. If people find ways to get out of their houses, you will see an uptick in moves.”

United has seen a steady decline in business over the past three years from about 227,000 moves in 2006 to 212,000 in 2007 and 199,000 last year, Bonham said.

Trends for the region

Quality of life and other factors made 2008 another year of growth for Central Oregon, but a housing market slowdown and lack of job growth could spell population loss in 2009, said Timothy Duy, an adjunct professor for the University of Oregon’s Department of Economics.

“You drew in a lot of skilled workers, but the big question is whether a lot of immigrants who were chasing construction jobs are going to search out better opportunities,” Duy said. “To what extent are your immigrants going to come from high-priced housing markets, given that those markets aren’t high-priced housing markets anymore? Once the equity is wiped out in California, where is your source of immigrants going to come from?”

Deschutes County’s construction labor force is 12 percent of its total work force, compared with about half that amount for the rest of the state, according to the Oregon Employment Department.

Unemployment rates, meanwhile, have spiked in Central Oregon with the highest rates in the state in Crook County, 12.4 percent, and Jefferson County, 12 percent, according to department data from November, the latest month available. Deschutes County, meanwhile, spiked to 9.9 percent unemployment.

Springtime could bring an uptick in people leaving the region if they can sell their homes and find jobs elsewhere, said Denise Clancy, a customer service agent with Bend Storage & Transfer, which handles mostly outbound moves.

Clancy has seen an increase in the number of people inquiring about moving costs, though “more people are asking than actually moving out.”

“They are saying, ‘If I can’t sell my house, I’m going to rent it.’ That is not a guarantee either. There are a lot of people who want to move because other areas have a lot more opportunities.”

The region will definitely see a slowing in growth during the recession, but is not likely to lose residents, said Roger Lee, executive director of Economic Development for Central Oregon, which promotes business growth for the region.

“I don’t see us getting to a situation where we’re losing residents,” Lee said. “All that is speculation (about population declines), but there is nothing to back it up in the numbers. If all the jobs evaporated, that would be a game-changer, but net out-migration in 2009 is very dubious.”

A steady birth rate in Central Oregon also will stabilize the population, Lee said.

The region, which experienced an increase of 10,000 to 12,000 new residents per year for the past decade, could be in for a year when the growth slows to a net of 2,000 to 3,000 new residents, Lee said.

The county had 6,205 new residents from July 1, 2007, to July 1, 2008, a 3.9 percent increase. The percentage growth was the highest among Oregon’s counties, which averaged 1.2 percent growth, according to Portland State University’s Population Research Center.

“We’re still looking at rates that are well above the state average and the national average and every other county in Oregon or across the nation,” Lee said. “This area appeals to a lot of people who move here in various stages of life. They are looking for quality of life and lifestyle factors.”

Job outlook

While it might not feel like it for the out-of-work construction or restaurant worker, jobs are still available in Central Oregon — if you are in the engineering, health care or renewable energy fields, said Anne McDonald, a recruiter for McDonald Group Professional Placement in Bend.

McDonald handles mostly engineering, information technology and health care-related job placement, she said.

“There are lots of job opportunities right now, but it’s difficult to get people to move here because they’re not able to sell their homes,” said McDonald, who is getting four to five times the response she would typically get for an average job posting.

Jennifer Aderman thinks she and her husband, Rich, have found a perfect place to raise their three children, ages 5, 6 and 9. She said the recent transplants fell in love with the town after they moved to Bend from an Atlanta suburb and her husband started a job earlier this month.

“It was the job that brought us out here, but we can’t imagine living back in Georgia again,” said Jennifer Aderman.

“Everybody is friendly,” she said. “The weather is a big plus. There is no humidity. It seems to be a good town to raise your kids. Where we were, you couldn’t let your kids out to play.”

Anonymous said...

Summit really fucked with the wrong guy.

###

Well its $1.5M, and Summit has his money, and I'm sure Tennants lawfirm ain't doing contingency.

Sounds like somebody is being aggressive about getting their money back.

Sadly it's going to be very hard to trace where the recent $10M loan actually went.

It's really surprising they did this in ORYGUN where they could have gotten venue, I mean had S1031 been smarter, they would not have lost any Orygun money, and make sure all the 'clients' were out of State. Having pissed off someone close to home with this much money, ... Remember there are two 1031's here and a big family, one for $1M, and the other for $1/2M, why in the fuck did they have two outstanding with S1031?

Sounds like a SERIAL 1031 player???

Diversify. Sounds like somebody was making such a good profit on 1031, that they brought family and friends into the play, ... and now they got face to protect.

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

The region, which experienced an increase of 10,000 to 12,000 new residents per year for the past decade, could be in for a year when the growth slows to a net of 2,000 to 3,000 new residents, Lee said.

WHAT? 12,000 people a year for 10 years is the entire fucking population of Deschutes county!

What a load.

Bewert said...

Parts of Bend to get $400K in housing aid

Emergency federal funding could help Central Oregon communities recover from declining home values and a high rate of foreclosures.

A one-time grant of $19.6 million was awarded to Oregon through the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program.

The program is part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act passed by Congress in July.

“The idea is to help stabilize neighborhoods,” said Dona Lanterman, home ownership programs manager for Or- egon Housing and Community Services.

About 60 percent of the funds will go to communities statewide where there is a significant rate of foreclosures, Lanterman said.

About $410,598 of that money will go to Bend and target areas in portions of the southeast and northeast parts of the city.

Jim Long, the affordable housing manager in Bend, said the funds will be used locally to create permanent supportive housing for the homeless and to come up with a down payment assistance program for homebuyers.

“This is an opportunity for people, and the only time to get this good of a deal for financing a house,” Long said. “It will help to get some of these houses off the market.”

Long said the city will partner with other agencies to use the funds. Those organizations include NeighborImpact, Central Oregon Builders Association, Housing Works and Central Oregon Realtors Association.

The remaining 40 percent of the money will go to other places throughout the state and will primarily target rural areas.

The $8.1 million could be used by low-income individuals to purchase homes at a discounted rates, and by local governments or agencies that can rehabilitate the homes and resell them. The money could also be used to demolish and redevelop foreclosed properties.

“We anticipate a bulk of this money to assist buyers with a purchase and rehabilitation of homes,” Lanterman said.

Through this program, property has to be purchased at a discounted rate of at least 15 percent below the appraised market value.

Buyers, or beneficiaries of any of the statewide money, can’t earn more than 120 percent of the area’s median income.

Lanterman said once the state receives the funds from HUD, it has 18 months to spend the money. She isn’t sure exactly when the money will be dispersed.

The Housing and Community Services agency has asked for proposals from different nonprofits throughout the state. For more information, go to www.oregon.gov/OHCS/ DO_Housing_and_Economic_Recovery1.shtml.

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

“We’re still looking at rates that are well above the state average and the national average and every other county in Oregon or across the nation,” Lee said. “This area appeals to a lot of people who move here in various stages of life. They are looking for quality of life and lifestyle factors.”

We do have things that you can't get elsewhere:

COME ONE, COME ALL! WATCH THIS DONKEY GET JERKED OFF BY EX-NFL GREAT DREW BLEDSOE, WHO WILL DEFY IMAGINATION BY DRINKING BUCKET AFTER BUCKET OF DONKEY SPUNK! IT'S RICH! IT'S CREAMY! IT HAS BEEN SHOT OUT OF THIS QUIVERING DONKEY'S SHRIVELED BALLS STRAIGHT INTO THESE CUM BUCKETS EVERY NIGHT SINCE VOLO OPENED IT'S UPSTAIRS WHORTEHOUSE!

Bewert said...

Bend parks may alter development charges
It would mean readjusted numbers and maybe a rate increase

The Bend Metro Park and Recreation District will take comments Tuesday on a proposal that would change the way the district calculates its system development charges — and potentially allow for a future increase in SDC rates.

District officials have been working for several months to update the framework used to set SDCs, which are paid by developers of new residences and are used to help fund the building of neighborhood, community and regional parks and some trails.

It’s been five years since the district implemented its fee system, which is based primarily on a construction cost index from Seattle, which officials say hasn’t kept up with Bend’s rising land prices.

Under the new plan, the district would set SDCs with the help of a 20-city index, which officials say would better reflect the Bend housing market. Under the readjusted numbers, the district’s board would have the authority to more than double SDC rates, from $3,507 to $7,240 for a single-family home.

A decision about a fee increase would be separate from the vote to change the index, which is the proposal up for discussion at Tuesday’s public hearing.

The proposed change has drawn concern from some residents and builders, who say providing room for such a large fee increase could make some developers think twice about taking on projects in Bend.

But Don Horton, the district’s executive director, said without the update to the SDC framework, the district might not be able to provide for the community at the same level it has in the past.

“I think this boils down to a quality-of-life issue, and how (the district) is going to help support that quality of life in the future,” Horton said.

The district began charging SDCs in 1997. Since then, it has used about $28.4 million in SDCs to help fund more than two dozen park projects around the city, including Farewell Bend Community Park, Riverbend Community Park and Juniper Community Park. Future project plans call for SDCs to be used to help pay for work at Pine Nursery Community Park, continued development at Riverbend Community Park and improvements to trails in several locations, among other projects.

Bruce Ronning, the district’s planning and development director, said SDCs are not used to help fund expansion of facilities like Juniper Swim & Fitness Center. The fees can only be used to pay for improvements and expansions needed to keep up with development in the district.

With the local building industry in the middle of a major slowdown — Deschutes County issued permits for just seven new homes last month — the district’s proposals have some people worried, said Andy High, the Central Oregon Builders Association’s director of government affairs.

High served on the committee that helped draft some of the district’s proposals, but he said things have gotten worse in the past several months, and more people are worried they won’t be able to build if they have to pay higher fees.

High said he plans to attend the public hearing Tuesday and ask members of the district’s board to go back to the drawing board before giving their OK to the new index or any fee hike.

“Now’s not the time,” he said. “Let’s go back and re-look at the numbers, maybe get the committee back together. Six months ago, people still had optimism when the committee wrapped up. ... But this could continue to drive people away. If a builder doesn’t go forward on a subdivision, several jobs would be lost — it’s all a trickle-down effect.”

Bend resident Gil Geihs, a retired real estate broker who hopes to build a triplex on a parcel of land he owns in the city, said he also plans to attend the meeting to ask for more explanation about why the district needs to change its SDC structure. Geihs said he’s not sure local residents are interested in paying for more parks when times are tough.

“Under the current economic times, and even if it wasn’t under the current economic times, it’s hard to justify it, just because you want it,” he said.

District officials said they expect to hear a mix of opinions on Tuesday but are hopeful many people will be interested in the SDC framework adjustment and see its link to the number of park facilities the district is able to develop and maintain.

Even if the district approves the increase, the total SDCs builders pay in Bend — which would also include fees for water, sewer and transportation — would be similar to the amounts paid by builders in other Oregon cities, including several in the Portland metro area, Ronning said.

Horton said adjusting the framework will allow newcomers to pay to help the district keep up with growth, just as earlier developers contributed to older district projects. He said the district is still playing catch-up after years of rapid growth and will need to be ready to expand when more people start building in Bend.

“The purpose of the fee is to pay for their neighborhood and community parks and possibly regional parks so we can continue to offer the same level of service the community has enjoyed in past years,” Horton said.

The district’s board will not vote Tuesday on the proposed framework change. Officials said that decision will likely be more than a month down the road, as would any vote on a change in SDC fees.

###

Could someone smarter than myself tell me why we base SDCs on the cost in other cities and not on the actual cost of improvements?

Most other cities don't have sold lava rock 12 inches down.

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

Bledsoe, while locally popular for his unquenchable thirst for slurping barrel after barrel of Donkey Love Juice, will almost certainly become The National Posterchild For Investing in The Leaden Bend RE Market.

Bewert said...

Council will hold public hearing on permit extension

Along with interviewing candidates for an open seat, the Bend City Council will hold a public hearing Wednesday on a proposal to grant builders more time before their permits expire.

Councilors are scheduled to interview three finalists who applied to fill the seat left vacant when Chris Telfer stepped down to join the state Senate. The interviews will be conducted in a work session before the regular meeting.

Also Wednesday, the council will take public comments on a plan that would allow developers to apply for additional extensions to keep their planning permits active, even if they’re not ready to build.

City Manager Eric King said the proposal is a response to some builders having trouble moving forward on their projects because of the economic downturn.

Under the city’s current code, people who want to build a home or other building in Bend must get their planning permits and then begin construction within one year or risk losing the permit.

Developers can apply for a one-year extension, but under the new plan, they could apply for additional extensions to keep permits active.

“The idea would be for those who have gone through the land use application process,” King said. “Whatever they’ve submitted is good for a certain period of time, and this would extend that for a year, given the economic conditions we’re all under right now, instead of having to go back and go through the process again.”

King said granting the extensions would not have a financial impact on the city.

Wednesday’s meeting will be the first full session for new Mayor Kathie Eckman and councilors Jeff Eager and Tom Greene, who were sworn in earlier this month to replace Councilor Linda Johnson, Mayor Bruce Abernethy and Councilor Peter Gramlich, respectively.


###

Also, both the Pacific Power and Suterra sales agreements at Juniper Ridge are going to be voted on. Lot's of stuff to get done.

Pacific Power is another net loss sale, as infrastructure is going to cost a couple hundred thousand more that the sale price. But Jerry assured me the other day that the ODOT issue is moving towards being resolved and the infrastructure being built for the first three customers will be useful for several more as well.

During my Finance Committee interview (with Capell, Eckman, and Greene) the new Mayor strongly assured me the city is not going to go bankrupt. She seemed a bit put off that I would even suggest such a thing.

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

I shook Bledsoe's hand, and I can tell you that You Are What You Eat, and this bastards hands are silky smooth moisturized emollient paradise, like they've been dunked in a rich creamy mixture made of equal parts

1) VASELINE

2) LOVE

3) 10,000 VOLT ANAL PROBE

Bewert said...

On a more upbeat note, there are actually three whole pages of mostly job listing in the want ads today. While actually 1 1/4th pages of actual ads. The rest is fluff and service listings from people looking for work.

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

Could someone smarter than myself tell me why we base SDCs on the cost in other cities and not on the actual cost of improvements?

Most other cities don't have sold lava rock 12 inches down.


That would require a long distance phone call. All the SMART PEOPLE have left this fucking place to implode on itself.

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

Could someone smarter than myself tell me why we base SDCs on the cost in other cities...

Dude, when you move into a town with a RE rag edited by someone named THE INCREDIBLE HULCE, you know the shit is going to get bad.

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

Folks, when your bank looks in trouble RUN -- don't walk -- to YANK OUT YOUR CASH. There are 138 people who lost $39.3 mill when that Clark County bank closed, cuz they were WAY OVER the $250K FDIC limit.

That's $285K per person. You KNOW some people lost MILLIONS.

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

I'm sure LEE is cognizant of the fact that the SCHOOL SYSTEM LOST 100 KIDS in the Fall Semester.

THAT is indicative of PANICKED FLEEING.

Anonymous said...

I can say that I have personally helped two friends move out of Bend in the last 6 months, and will be helping another friend move out in March. We used U haul and Budget rent a truck. I also have had three other aquaintances move out in the last 3 months. Most of these people have been here since at least 99'.

Anonymous said...

If I had to guess when the inflection point was, I'd say we started losing people in November.

We'll lose more soon. I know all kinds of people in trouble now. Trouble can can only be fixed with a job.

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

What happened to Angel Thai? Went there for lunch, locked up tight...

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

We used U haul and Budget rent a truck.

Yeah, people move here using United Van Lines, they move out in a U-Haul.

Anonymous said...

You ain't kiddin'. Both people I helped actually used movers when they got here. If it is one thing Bend does well, it's separating people from their money.

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

Rumors: U.S. to Nationalize Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp

Citigroup and Bank of AmericaBank of America (NYSE:BAC) shares fell 13% and Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) down 8% finishing the day at just $3.50. The hottest rumor on Wall Street today was that the government was planning to effectively nationalize Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp., perhaps as early as this weekend. Rumors are killing stocks these days.

Fellow Masters, stay clear of Citi and BofA until the dust settles. In the past 52 weeks Citigroup shares have lost 86% and Bank of America down 81%, its beyond bad.

From the LA Times:

That talk has devastated many financial stocks, and hammered the broader market for a second straight session -- although buyers have been returning in the last half-hour.

The nationalization rumors were put to Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairwoman Sheila Bair at an appearance in New York today, and her non-denial answer wasn’t likely to make investors feel better.

"I’d be very surprised if that happened," she said, according to Bloomberg News.

Some investors weren't sticking around to find out if the rumor was true: Citigroup fell as low as $3.36 early in the session and about 11 a.m. PST was off 43 cents to $4.10.

Fucking Failing Banks - BailoutBank of America fell as low as $7.35 and was off $1.56 to $8.64 about 11 a.m PST.

The Dow Jones industrial average was off as much as 205 points but has pared that to a loss of 43 points at 8,156.

The Dow’s closing low in the fall market collapse was 7,552, reached on Nov. 20.

The latest dive in the financials began early this week on fears that some of the biggest players have become bottomless pits for government capital, as bad loans continue to mount.

Those fears soared late Wednesday on news reports that Bank of America, which got $25 billion under the financial-system bailout Congress approved in October, was negotiating another capital infusion from the Treasury.

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

Bank of America was supposed to be one of the few "safe" banks left. Of course, Citicorp trading in the penny stock range is unbelievable.

Who's next? Buffett & Berkshire? Wells Fargo?

JPMorgan is the largest cap bank in the country, and it's been more than cut in half the past few months to $22.

Whoever can survive this thing is going to have a big market to themselves.

Bewert said...

RE:
The latest dive in the financials began early this week on fears that some of the biggest players have become bottomless pits for government capital, as bad loans continue to mount.

###

Wasn't it Jim Rogers that said failed companies should be allowed to die?

The fuckers made billions and lined their pockets with tens of millions in bonuses in the way up--and now they want to wrest every last fucking taxpayer dollar they can from us.

They fucked up. Big time. Better to let the dinosaur die and support more agile companies at this point.

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

I have a sinking feeling about the East side Old Navy store...

Bewert said...

The Obama-mania is simply amazing. And the guy is such a good speaker, he just amps things up.

Hope. I've got to admit I can feel it.

We finally got somebody with a fucking brain in charge. Somebody that actually believes in our Consitution, in the more than just getting his buddies rich.

Fucking amazing.

Bewert said...

For T,

We finally have somebody with a fucking brain in charge. Somebody that actually believes in our Consitution, in more than just getting his buddies rich.

Anonymous said...

bruce" mission accomplished now just wait peter schiff has said several times Get out of this country. But where do we go? all of the stimulis [pakage} print more money {paper} I have heard costa rica? Somebody who believes in our constitution? What a bout the right to bear arms? Is he gonna support that>?

Anonymous said...

Ausome I am so exited that I just peed my pants

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

We finally got somebody with a fucking brain in charge. Somebody that actually believes in our Consitution, in the more than just getting his buddies rich.

Well, I'm with you brucey, till you get to here. I hope the guy is straight, but a lot of people thought the same thing about Clinton. And you wanna talk about using the Presidency to enrich themselves, no one's done it better than Clinton.

I hope the guy is a straight shooter, I really do. But the most HONEST guy elected in my adult lifetime was BUSH SR, the only guy NOT re-elected. The rest have been horrible liars.

I'm psyched about O-bomber too. But the idea that Gee-Dub has cornered the market on Bullshit is... bullshit. Both sides are bad, and DC has a way of turning what seem to be decent, electable human beings into monsters.

Pretty amazing that this guy will only be the 5th President of my adult lidetime.

Bewert said...

Re: Well, I'm with you brucey, till you get to here. I hope the guy is straight,

###

Obama could have ridden the Chicago machine to a lot more money than he has, if he had wanted to. He seems to be much more balanced, much more of a listener, and much more confident then Clinton.

We'll see how it works out. He has tons of public support, so if his goals and ideals are straight, he has a chance to get it done. The first six months will be telling.

I'm most curious about his Israel stance, as that will be a true test. A more balanced approach, or the ongoing AIPAC kill the Pals approach. I get this feeling that he is befriending the Zionists (Jews and Christians) prior to a real effort to get them to realize that the Pals are the new niggers.

For an example of Israel's racism against Arabs and anyone who might sympathize with them, spend a few minutes reading this crap:
http://www.ifamericansknew.org/cur_sit/strip-searches.html

That can be brought to America, or we can tell our closest ally that such state behavior is simply unacceptable, both here and there. Unfortunately, I think Israel is too far gone to really change. That will prove troublesome in the next few years.

Anonymous said...

I have a sinking feeling about the East side Old Navy store...

*****

I hate, hate, hate going into that store. They only ever have 2 people working and one register open with 10 people buying more crap that they don't need and to boot, the store looks like I walked into the aftermath of a tornado. Hate going into that store.

Bewert said...

Re: What a bout the right to bear arms? Is he gonna support that>?

###

Obama hasn't said that much about bearing arms. He is pretty centrist on the issue, left but not banning them. Remember, he worked for years on the south side of Chicago, where handguns are a much bigger issue than they are here in the West. People regularly kill each other with them. Here it is an anomaly.

The NRA has said a ton about what Obama stance is on bearing arms. They are not necessarily any more accurate than AIPAC or The 700 Club on issues that they are one-sided on.

LavaBear said...

>>>For an example of Israel's racism against Arabs and anyone who might sympathize with them, spend a few minutes reading this crap:
http://www.ifamericansknew.org/cur_sit/strip-searches.html


Fuckin fuck Bruce. I realize you gotta try to bring this thread to another fingernails on the chalk board level on day one. I know you can't help it. But I gotta say, thank you for just linking to the crap as opposed to cutting and pasting. It is an improvement.

Bewert said...

LB, spend ten minutes reading it. It's daily life for the Pals. We would fucking kill people if they did this shit to us. They feel the same way.

With good reason.

A pregnant woman in labor made to strip naked in front of a squad of male soldiers, after they killed her husband and shot her father?

And it's happened far more than once? Giving birth in dirt at a checkpoint?

It is turning a wave of people against us as a nation. Far more than the 300 million we are. Just last month we were on the losing end of 170+ to 6 votes in the UN. Every single one of our allies, with the exception of Israel and a few island nations has a different view than us on this issue. Before the slaughter in Gaza.

For good reason.

Let your curiousity actually lead you to spend ten minutes reading it:
http://www.ifamericansknew.org/cur_sit/strip-searches.html

Humiliating tens of thousands of people does not create peace.

tim said...

If we promise to read it, will you FUCKING STOP MENTIONING IT AFTER THIS?

There are things I care about, but this is a Bend blog, so I don't blah blah blah about them here.

LavaBear said...

Bruce, what Tim said. Don't get me wrong. I think it's an EXTREMELY serious issue on many levels. But the forum to discuss it is not here. Not even close.

I'm just more amazed you don't even remotely get that. You seem like a relatively intelligent hard working dude. Then you do shit like this that is so incredibly dense that you come across as mentally challenged.

Bewert said...

Re: If we promise to read it, will you FUCKING STOP MENTIONING IT AFTER THIS?

###

Yes. I'm not the fake bruce who has been cutting and pasting. But this is an issue that will affect everything from oil prices to "homeland security" procedures. Israeli procedures have been steadily exported to the US in the "global war on terror". To say nothing about international relations with the billions in Muslim countries. Countries that we want to do business with.

Did you see anything in our media about the UN votes on Israel-Palestine issues last month? Like the one on settlements that was Israel, the US, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, and Palau on the losing side of a 171-6 vote? Is that the way we want to be part of the world community?

There is some definite blowback happening even now. Israeli FM Tzipi Livni faced some hard questions at the National Press Club last week. So hard they started cutting the press questioners mikes. Right here in America.

LB, what I see here are some smart relatively open-minded people. That most likely don't see both sides of this issue. Because you have to go beyond our media to get it.

When the Saudi's, Qatari's, UAEmiraties(?), and Chinese dump our Treasuries and decide to price oil in Euro's, maybe it will wake you up. And if you don't think that will affect us here in Bend, I'm not sure what to say.

There is a deep, deep hatred among billion and billions of people in the world about our blind support of Israel. Blowback is a bitch.

MrBruce said...

I'm not the fake bruce. My fucking ass your not the fuke bruce. The fake bruce has hair, teeth, and a dick.

The real bruce, is a bald, toothless, pussy.

Anonymous said...

wait a minute now brucy you said he supported the constitution and the constitution clearly states the right to bear arms now don't side step and bring an illinois Of what he did on a state level . Might I remind you the constitution is nation wide. Careful on your precieved exitement.And don't just pick and choose ,He supports the constitution That brother is a very precise statement. Just what do you mean by that?All of it or just parts of it that tailor to your ideology.?

MrBruce said...

I think it's an EXTREMELY serious issue on many levels. But the forum to discuss it is not here. Not even close.

###


Fuck You lava, oh by the way did I tell lava to go face fuck himself? Lava nobody tells anybody here what fucking topics are approved, or not, and the pussy is correct.

Fucking the world will fuck Bend, and thus it is 100% correct to talk about how MOSS&TEAM-1031 have used Bend money to fuck the world. Can't handle lava? Then go find another playground.

Anonymous said...

FUCKING STOP MENTIONING IT AFTER THIS?

Toleration of US behavior anywhere means they can do it here.

Those that don't understand this deserve to be watered boarded by the pussy 24/7.

LavaBear said...

>>>LB, what I see here are some smart relatively open-minded people.

And then there is fake Bruce which you keep feeding.

LavaBear said...

>>>Fuck You lava, oh by the way did I tell lava to go face fuck himself?

Well done.

Anonymous said...

If it is one thing Bend does well, it's separating people from their money.

###

No tell me it ain't so.

Bewert said...

End if my I/P "blah, blah" until gas is back up over $2. But please pay attention to more than just our media. It is reaching a critical point.

Anyone see all those names on the Tennant filings against Summit?

INDIRECT: STEVENS, BRIAN
INDIRECT: LYONS, LANE D
INDIRECT: NEUMAN, MARK A
INDIRECT: LARKIN, TIM
INDIRECT: INLAND CAPITAL CORP
INDIRECT: THREE SISTERS DEVELOPMENT CO INC
INDIRECT: NEUMAN, MARK CUSTODIAN
INDIRECT: NEUMAN, GATLIN
INDIRECT: NEUMAN, TRAVIS
INDIRECT: STUDEBAKER, SEAN
INDIRECT: STUDEBAKER, LLEYTON
INDIRECT: JACOBS, AMBER
INDIRECT: NEUMAN, KENYON
INDIRECT: CENTURY DRIVE MOBILE HOME PARK LLC
INDIRECT: ASHLEY RANCH LLC
INDIRECT: BLUE RIDGE MTN DEVELOPMENT LLC
INDIRECT: BLUE SKY BUILDINGS LLC
INDIRECT: CAROLINA MTN DEVELOPMENT LLC
INDIRECT: CARPATHIAN MTN DEVELOPMENT LLC
INDIRECT: CORNEY INVESTORS LLC
INDIRECT: CUMBERLAND PEAK DEVELOPMENT LLC
INDIRECT: GALVESTON POINT LLC
INDIRECT: HARRISON CREEK DEVELOPMENT LLC
INDIRECT: HUNTER RANCH LLC
INDIRECT: JOHN CREEK DEVELOPMENT LLC
INDIRECT: KIMBALL CREEK DEVELOPMENT LLC
INDIRECT: KLONDIKE POINT LLC
INDIRECT: MCCONNELL BUTTE DEVELOPMENT LLC
INDIRECT: ODELL PROPERTIES LLC
INDIRECT: PLUMMER CREEK DEVELOPMENT LLC
INDIRECT: RILEY COYOTE LLC
INDIRECT: REDCLOUD MTN DEVELOPMENT LLC
INDIRECT: ROOSEVELT CREEK DEVELOPMENT
INDIRECT: RUSSELL PEAK DEVELOPMENT LLC
INDIRECT: SHEETS PEAK DEVELOPMENT LLC
INDIRECT: THIRD STREET QUARTER LLC
INDIRECT: TOUCHSTONE PROPERTIES I LLC
INDIRECT: TRAVIS RANCH LLC
INDIRECT: VSN PROPERTIES LLC
INDIRECT: WILLIAMS PEAK DEVELOPMENT LLC
INDIRECT: WINTER PEAK DEVELOPMENT LLC

There are some "little people" shaking in their boots. Think they will fold? Like Amber the office accountant?

LavaBear said...

>>>Lava nobody tells anybody here what fucking topics are approved, or not

I didn't tell real Bruce what topics are approved. I just simply called him an idiot for not understanding what topics should be approved. And then I politely told him to shut the fuck up about it for a bit.

You Fake Bruce are free to mumble about anything your imagination can cook up. Please do.

Anonymous said...

Mabe this is an outlet for (fake bruce) desperate times. By the way I only know one guy named bruce. not a very common name. The guy that i know named bruce is kinda dingy

Bewert said...

Re: And then there is fake Bruce which you keep feeding.

###

He is simply a more militant version of me. And I have no fucking idea who he is.

I-P pisses me off because we are fucking shooting ourselves in the foot over it, simply because of a myth that is only widely present in our country, in America. We are making literally billions of enemies because of this myth, because from Europe to China to Canada to South America, they simply see through it.

And that is simply fucking stupid. It's going to bite us back.

Bewert said...

Nice to see a few new posts, anyway.

Bewert said...

RE:
The real bruce, is a bald, toothless, pussy.

###

Bend over and let me show you my dick...

MrBruce said...

OR-BOMB-EO and the RIGHT to ARM BEARS!! GRRRRRRR

Let’s look at what Obama has done to support the Second Amendment
LIAR – LIAR Second Amendment on Fire!

By JB Williams Wednesday, January 18, 2009

Like all good third world criminal thugs, the incoming leftist administration is wasting no time in their rush to make certain that only they and career criminals have the right to bear arms…

Contrary to the lefts hunter-friendly support of the Second Amendment, that little constitutional clause does not exist for the purpose of hunting and target practice. It exists for just the sort of occasion we find ourselves in today…

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.” (Declaration of Independence)

As you can now see, our federal government is well down the road of becoming increasingly “destructive of these ends.” Life, liberty and the individual pursuit of happiness are all under constant daily attack, and it is going to get much worse real fast.

They didn’t even wait for the formal crowning of their “messiah” set to take place on January 20th, before introducing a comprehensive attack on American Second Amendment rights. And to no surprise, it is Obama’s fellow Kook County Chicago Machine thug Bobby Rush, who recently helped seat another Chicago Machine buddy Burris in Obama’s vacated senate seat, leading the charge in Pelosi’s caldron of evildoers, currently running roughshod over the People’s House.

Despite Obama’s gun-friendly campaign rhetoric, as a state legislator in Illinois, Obama supported banning the sale or transfer of all forms of semi-automatic firearms, increasing state restrictions on the purchase and possession of firearms and requiring manufacturers to provide child-safety locks with firearms.

In 1996, Obama supported a ban on the manufacture, sale and possession of handguns; although he later denied that his writing was on the document and said that he never favored a ban on the sale and possession of handguns.

As state senator, he voted against a 2004 measure that allowed self-defense as an affirmative defense for those charged with violating local laws making it otherwise unlawful for such persons to possess firearms. He also voted against allowing persons who had obtained domestic violence protective orders to carry handguns for their protection.

During a February 15, 2008 press conference, Obama stated, ”I think there is an individual right to bear arms, but it’s subject to commonsense regulation.” Obama has also stated his opposition to allowing citizens to carry concealed firearms and supports a national law outlawing the practice, saying on Chicago Public Radio in 2004 ”I continue to support a ban on concealed carry laws”.

When fielding second amendment questions on his presidential campaign trail, Obama sounded more like Charlton Heston than Teddy Kennedy. But the campaign is over now… He’s the resident-elect. He doesn’t need your vote anymore…

And before he can even make it to the inauguration, his leftist gun grabbing buddies from Chicago have already introduced H.R. 45 calling for new federal controls on the sale, purchase, transfer, ownership and possession of fire arms.

Here’s the bill

Obama: “I think that local jurisdictions have the capability to institute their own gun laws.”

This opinion was stated when he was a presidential candidate. Now that he is resident-elect Obama, his opinion has changed…
Let’s look at what Obama has done to support the Second Amendment

On Self Defense - voted to allow the prosecution of people who use a firearm for self defense. Illinois Senate S.B. 2165, vote 20, 3/25/04
Ammunition Tax - supported increasing taxes on firearms and ammunition by 500 percent. Chicago Defender 12/31/99
Lawsuits - voted to allow reckless lawsuits designed to bankrupt the firearms industry. United States Senate S. 397 vote 219 7/29/05
Clinton Gun Ban - wants to re-impose the fail and discredited Clinton Gun Ban. Illinois Senate Debate #3 Barack Obama vs. Alan Keyes 10/12/04
Handgun Ban – endorsed a ban on ALL (emphasis added) handguns. Independent Voters of Illinois/Independent Precinct Organization general candidate questionnaire 9/9/96, Politico 3/31/08
Right To Carry – opposes the Right to Carry Laws. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review 4/20/08, Chicago tribune 9/15/04
Ammunition Tax – voted to ban almost all rifle ammunition commonly used for hunting and sport shooting. United States Senate, S. 397 vote 217, 7/29/07
Gun Registration – supports gun owner licensing and gun registration. “Fact Check: No News In Obama’s Consistent Record” Obama website 12/11/07
Limits On Gun Purchases – voted to limit gun purchases to one per month. Illinois Senate, H.B. 2579, vote 34, 5/16/03.

Bewert said...

Re: wait a minute now brucy you said he supported the constitution....

###

You might want to provide some facts.

Anonymous said...

Anyone see all those names on the Tennant filings against Summit?

*

BP, remember not two weeks ago some fucking KUNT here was telling us to ignore all those LLC's, last count the SUMMIT principals had over 2,000 LLC's, looks like Tennant has run through the cream and added to his complaint, this is how you have to do it, to keep them from burning the money, cuz it ain't in SAI.

Anyways a week or two ago, we were told to ignore all those LLC's cuz they were just for 'reverse exchanges', yeh tell that to the judge.

MrBruce said...

The Politics of An Israeli Mass Extermination Campaign: Backers, Apologists and Arms Suppliers Paid for by the City of Bend, Oregon

by Prof. James Petras

Global Research, January 2, 2009


Introduction

Because of the unconditional support of the entire political class in the US, from the White House to Congress, including both Parties, incoming and outgoing elected officials and all the principle print and electronic mass media, the Israeli Government feels no compunction in publicly proclaiming a detailed and graphic account of its policy of mass extermination of the population of Gaza.

Israel’s sustained and comprehensive bombing campaign of every aspect of governance, civic institutions and society is directed toward destroying civilized life in Gaza. Israel’s totalitarian vision is driven by the practice of a permanent purge of Arab Palestine informed by Zionism, an ethno-racist ideology, promulgated by the Jewish state and justified, enforced and pursued by its organized backers in the United States.

The facts of Israeli extermination have become known: In the first six days of round the clock terror bombing of major and minor populations centers, the Jewish State has murdered and seriously maimed over 2,500 people, mostly dismembered and burned in the open ovens of missile fire. Scores of children and women have been slaughtered as well as defenseless civilians and officials.

They have sealed off all access to Gaza and declared it a military, free fire zone, while expanding their target to include the entire population of 1.5 millions semi-starved prisoners. According to the Boston Globe (December 30, 2008): Israeli military officials said their target lists have expanded to include the vast support network on which the Islamist movement relies to stay in power "…we are trying to hit the whole spectrum, because everything is connected and everything supports terrorism against Israel (my emphasis)". A top Israeli in its secret police apparatus is quoted saying, "Hamas’ civilian infrastructure is a very sensitive target" (ibid). What the Israeli Jewish politicians and military planners designate as "Hamas" is the entire social service network, the entire government and the vast majority of economic activity, embracing almost the entire 1.5 million imprisoned residents of Gaza.

Israel’s ‘target’ list thus involves the ‘total population’, using the totality of its non-nuclear weaponry and for an unlimited time period (until the ‘bitter end’ according to the Israeli Prime Minister). Israel’s defense ministry spokesman has emphatically reiterated the Jewish’s state’s totalitarian war concept emphasizing the targeting of civilians: "Hamas has used ostensibly civilian operations as a cover for military activities. Anything affiliated with Hamas is a legitimate target."

Like all totalitarians in the past, the Jewish state boasts of having systematically pre-planned the extermination campaign – months in advance – up to and including the precise hour and day of the bombing to coincide with inflicting the maximum murder of civilians: The rockets and bombs fell as children were leaving school, as graduating police cadets were receiving their diplomas and as frantic mothers ran out from their homes to find their sons and daughters.

The mass military extermination campaign was a follow up of its non-stop total economic embargo and unremitting selective assassination campaign of the previous two years: Both were designed to purge Palestine of its Arab population, first via mass hunger, disease, humiliation and violent intimidation and the proxy power grab by the PLO Quislings under Zionist puppet Abbas. When they discovered that mass hunger and selective Israeli murder only strengthened the population’s links to its democratically elected government and the resolve of the Hamas government to resist Israel, the Israeli regimes unleashed its entire arsenal of weapons, including its new ‘American gifts’ up-to-date 1000 pound ‘bunker buster’ bombs and high tech missiles to incinerate large numbers of human beings within their deadly radius and to obliterate Palestinian civilization.

Moving directly from its totalitarian vision to its military blueprint to the savaging of Palestinian population centers, the Jewish state destroyed the principle university with over 18,000 students (mostly women), mosques, pharmacies, electrical and water lines, power stations, fishing villages, fishing boats and the little fishing port that provided a meager supply of fish for the starving population. They destroyed roads, transport facilities, food warehouses, science buildings, small factories, shops and apartments. They destroyed a women’s dormitory at the university. In the words of the Israel leader: "…because everything is connected to everything…" it is necessary to destroy each and every facet of life, which allows humans to exist with some dignity and independence.

The Israeli totalitarian leaders knew with confidence that they could act and they could kill with impunity, locally and before the entire world, because of the influence of the US Zionist Power Configuration in and over the US White House and Congress. They knew they had the full backing of all the major Israeli political parties (Right, Left and Center), trade unions, mass media and especially public opinion. Israeli state terror is backed by 81% of Jewish Israelis according to a poll taken by Israel’s Channel 10 (Financial Times December 30, 2008). Israeli totalitarian violence and extermination of Palestinians is extremely popular among the Jewish electorate, especially in raising support for the Labor Party candidate Minister Ehud Barak. They knew they would ‘succeed’ with virtually no casualties because they bombed, burned and dismembered a defenseless population totally lacking the minimum means to defend themselves from F16 bombers, helicopter gun ships and missile assaults. The vile depravity of the assault on the defenseless population is matched by the utter cowardice of the Israeli military command and its cheering bloodthirsty public ensconced behind their aerial monopoly. They suffered no threats of aerial retaliation, no wounded or dead pilots, helicopter gunners, as wave after wave swept in and over a defenseless imprisoned population in a crowded and besieged ghetto.

Hundreds of tanks and armored carriers are prepared to invade once the cities and towns have been leveled, once the population is too weakened by starvation to resist, once the leaders and fighters have been murdered and the normal Palestinian institutions of law and order have been pulverized, making way for the corrupt thuggish collaborators of the so-called Palestinian Authority…then and only then, will the Israeli General staff risk the skin of a precious Jewish ‘soldier’ and risk the anxiety and worry of their kin in Israel and the US.

Overseas Allies: The Presidents of the Major American Jewish Organizations (PMAJO)

From the moment that the Israeli Government decided it would destroy the newly elected Hamas government and punish the democratic electorate of Gaza with starvation and murder, the entire Zionist Power Configuration (ZPC) in the US, including the PMAJO, pulled all stops in implementing the Israeli policy. The PMAJO encompasses the fifty-two Jewish organizations with the largest membership, with the greatest financial clout and the most influential backers. The most prominent lobbyist within the PMAJO is AIPAC, which has over 100,000 members and 150 full-time operatives in Washington actively pressuring the US Congress, the White House and all administrative agencies whose policies may relate to the interests of the State of Israel. However Israeli political extends far beyond its non-governmental agencies. Over two score legislators in the Congress and over a dozen senators are committed Zionists who automatically back Israel’s policies and push for US funding and armaments for its military machine. Top officials in key administrative positions, in Treasury, Commerce and the National Security Council, senior functionaries in the Pentagon and top advisers on Middle East affairs are also life-long, fanatically committed Zionists, who consistently and unreservedly back the policies of the State of Israel.

Equally important, the majority of the largest film, print and electronic media are owned or deeply influenced by Jewish-Zionist media moguls who are committed to slanting the ‘news’ in favor of Israel. The composition and influence of the ZPC is central to understanding three main characteristics of Israel’s power: (1) Israel can commit what leading United Nations and international human rights experts have defined as ‘crimes against humanity’ with total impunity; (2) Israel can secure an unlimited supply of the most technologically advanced and destructive weapons and use them without limit on a civilian population in violation of even US Congressional restrictions and (3) scores of almost unanimous United Nations condemnations of the construction of genocidal apartheid barriers against a native population, starvation embargoes and the current extermination campaign in Gaza are always vetoed by the US representative.

Many critics of Israel’s genocide in Gaza also condemn what they call ‘the complicity’ of Washington or ‘the United States’ without clearly identifying the actual socio-political forces influencing policy-makers or the ‘dual’ political loyalties and identities of the ‘American’ politicians who have long-standing and deep allegiances to Israel. As a consequence, most critics fail to counter, protest or even identify the ideology and politics of the organized power configurations which define US complicity with Israel, who intimidate potential critics, who write and mouth the pro-Israel editorials in the mass media and who filter out any criticism, any truth…even when Israel engages in sustained bloody extermination campaigns.

The ZPC and the Israeli War of Extermination in Gaza

The ZPC played a major role in all stages of Israel’s extermination campaign against Gaza including a sustained propaganda effort. The ZPC orchestrated a massive successful campaign through the extensive network of American mass media, which it controls and influences. It fabricated an image of the Hamas administration in Gaza as a terrorist organization, which allegedly seized power through violence – totally denying its rise to power through internationally supervised, democratic elections and its defense of its electoral mandate against a US-Israeli backed PLO military takeover. The entire Zionist Jewish leadership backed Israel’s land grabs, its ghetto wall around Palestinians, the hundreds of road blocks, the Jewish settlers violently taking over Palestinian homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and the criminal, genocidal Israeli economic embargo on Gaza designed to systematically starve the Palestinians into submission. Throughout the two years of this Israeli extermination campaign, American Zionists played a major role in leading the servile US government at home and abroad in backing each totalitarian measure: The vast majority of local synagogues became bully-pulpits defending the starvation and degradation of 1.5 million Palestinian refugees in Gaza caged on all sides by deadly force and the ‘walling off’ into economically and socially devastating cantons of the 4.5 million West Bank Palestinian population under foreign occupation. The US Congress shamelessly followed the Zionist lead, backing every single criminal measure taken by the State of Israel and approving dozens of resolutions, which in most cases were entirely written by AIPAC lobbyists acting as unregistered agents of the Israeli government (contrary to US federal statute, which requires foreign agents and lobbyists to be registered as such). Israel’s demands for the most up-to-date US warplanes, including F-16s, Apache helicopter gun ships, and 1,000 pound bombs were secured by dint of effort of the AIPAC lobbyists and their clients in the US Congress. In other words, the American ZPC created the ideological cover and military instruments for Israel’s ‘total war’ against the defenseless Palestinian population. Equally important, prominent Zionist leaders in the US Congress and members of the foreign policy establishment blocked or vetoed any international criticism of Israel – securing its impunity and immunity from any of the Congressional sanctions usually enacted against criminal states. In other words, Israeli policy makers operated with the knowledge that there would be no negative economic, diplomatic and military repercussions to their launching the planned Gaza extermination campaign because they knew, in advance, that ‘their people’ were in total control of US Middle East policy to the extent of actually repeating verbatim each and every propaganda lie in defense of Israel’s total war against the entire population of Gaza.

In Defense of Israel’s War of Extermination

The Zionist-controlled US print media, in particular the New York Times and the Washington Post, systematically fabricated an account that fit perfectly with Israel’s official line defending its massive assault on Gaza: Omitting any historical account of the hundreds of Israeli armed incursions and ‘targeted’ assassinations of Palestinian leaders and officials (even in their own homes) which repeatedly violated the ‘cease fire’ agreed by Hamas and provoked its retaliation in self-defense of its people; omitting the years of an Israeli enforced starvation embargo of food and essentials that threatened the lives of 1.5 million Palestinians and led to the desperate efforts of the elected Hamas leadership to secure supplies for the people’s survival via tunnels across the Egyptian border and through missile attacks against Israel to pressure the Jewish state to negotiate an end of the criminal blockade.

The Conference of President of the Major American Jewish Organizations, and the vast majority of Jewish communal groups and congregations, gave enthusiastic and unanimous support to Israel’s total war, its extermination campaign against the captive Palestinian population of Gaza. Even as images and reports of the massive destruction, killing and wounding of over 2,500 defenseless Palestinians filtered in the mass media, not a single major Jewish organization broke ranks; only individuals and small groups protested. All the ‘Majors’ persisted in the politics of the Big Lie: the destruction of hospitals, mosques, universities, roads, apartments, pharmacies and fishing ports were all labeled ‘Hamas targets’. The systematic all-out assault by uncontested helicopter gunships against 1.5 millions civilians was erased by tendentious accounts of Hamas’ homemade missiles falling ineffectively near Israeli towns.

A close reading of the most important propaganda organ of the PMAJO, The Daily Alert (TDA), during the first 5 days of Israel’s assault, reveals the propaganda tack taken by the leadership of the pro-Israel power configuration. TDA systematically worked to achieve the following:

1.
Exaggerate the threats to Israel by the Palestinian missiles from Gaza, citing 4 Israeli deaths, while omitting any mention of the 2,500 Palestinian dead and wounded and the total destruction of their economy and living conditions (without safe water, electricity, food, cooking fuel, medicine and heat in the winter).
2.
Promote Israel’s military assault as ‘defensive’, directed at eliminating Hamas rocket attacks while omitting mention of Israel’s clearly stated purpose of destroying all civil organizations, social welfare agencies, educational facilities, medical clinics and public security institutions connected in any way with the elected Hamas government and any auxiliary agencies.
3.
Cite select statement from Israel’s allies and clients (Washington, the US media, Germany and the UK) blaming Hamas for the conflict without mentioning the vast majority of countries in the United Nations General Assembly condemning Israel’s brutality.
4.
Reproduce Israeli slanders against any and all international human rights leaders and organizations that condemn the Jewish state’s policy of genocide against the native Palestinians. In this regard, TDA is the foremost ‘genocide denier’ in the United States and, perhaps outside of Israel, in the world.
5.
Repeatedly cite Israeli political and military leaders’ claims of acting ‘with restraint’, ‘safeguarding civilians’, and ‘targeting military objectives’, even in the face of reports and images of mass civilian destruction and loss of life documented in the vast majority of (non-US) Western media.
6.
Defend every Israeli bombing mission, every day, every hour, of every building, every home, and every economic, religious and educational institution in Gaza as ‘defensive’ or a ‘reprisal’, all the while quoting some of the most notorious, unconditional, perennial apologists of Israeli violence as if they were unbiased intellectuals, including Benny ‘Nuke Tehran’ Morris, Marty Peretz and Amos Oz.
7.
The Daily Alert quotes US writers, journalists and editors who praise and defend Israel’s ‘total war’ without identifying their long-standing affiliation and identification with Zionist organizations, giving the false image of a wide spectrum of opinion behind the assault. Never has even the most moderate Jewish or Gentile critic of Israel’s massive extermination campaign appeared in any issues of The Daily Alert.

The principle American Jewish organizations have bombarded the US Congress, influencing, intimidating and purchasing the craven so-called ‘representatives’ of the American people, the media and public notables with lies in defense of Israel’s total war to exterminate a people. Their public, brazen, open complicity in genocide can be considered crime against humanity: The willful promotion of acts of a state designed to destroy an entire people.

And yet these willing accomplices, these ‘willing executioners’ of state mass murder go uncontested within the US political class. One of their leading mouthpieces in the incoming Obama Administration, Chief Presidential Adviser David Axelrod, even cites an Obama campaign speech defending Israeli assaults on the people of Gaza.

Israel arrogantly repudiates all calls to end this mass murder, because Israel knows that ‘its people’ are still in control of US policy toward the Middle East and will use their power in the new president’s administration to block any condemnation of this crime.

To date the entire human rights and anti-war movements have failed to even mention, let along challenge, the most powerful propaganda and political organizations, which influence US policy and manipulate the mass media in favor of Israel’s extermination campaign. They will play no restraining role on Israel’s totalitarian policies as long as its principle US backers are free to lie, manipulate and defend each and every crime.

There is little hope for an independent US Congressional policy as long as Israel’s war of extermination in Gaza can be defended by the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee (and Zionist zealot) Congressman Howard Berman in the following terms: "Israel has a right, indeed a duty, to defend itself in response to the hundreds of rockets and mortars fired from Gaza over the past week. No government in world would sit by and allow its citizens to be subjected to this kind of indiscriminate bombardment. The loss of innocent life is a terribly tragedy and the blame for that tragedy lies with Hamas." Thus Congressman Berman cynically omits the 2 years of Israel’s embargo, the daily ‘targeted’ assassinations of Palestinians, the ‘targeted’ missile attacks against civilians, the land, sea and air blockades and the blatant ‘targeted’ destruction of the infrastructure of Gaza. No government, indeed a democratically elected Islamist government, can stand by while its people are starved and murdered into submission. But according to the respected Congressmen Bermans of the world, only the lives of Jews matter, not the growing thousands of murdered, dismembered and mutilated citizens of Gaza – they do not count as people!

What is to be Done

Israel’s crimes against humanity demand a public response: social action, which will force it to cease and desist from its campaign to exterminate the people of Gaza. Because the Jewish state has assaulted a vast array of Palestinian social institutions, which resonate with those in our own society, we can and should mobilize them to condemn and boycott their counterparts in Israel:

1.
We should urge the entire academic community to denounce Israel’s bombardment of the Islamic University of Gaza and the total destruction of all of its science facilities. An organized boycott of Israeli universities and all academic exchanges, especially scientific, should become university policy throughout the country. Special attention should be paid to the 450 US university presidents, who in the recent past, denounced a call by British academics for a boycott and who remain silent and complicit in the face of Israel’s total physical annihilation of all ten faculties for 20,000 Palestinian university students.
2.
All American health workers, doctors, nurses, technicians, should organize and denounce Israel’s medical embargo against the 1.5 million Palestinians crowded into the Gaza Strip. They must condemn Israel’s bombardment of Gaza’s Children’s Hospital, the neighborhood pharmacies and the attacks on any transport of those critically wounded Palestinian victims of its aerial and missile attacks. Medical personnel should raise the fundamental ethical issues regarding the collaboration of US medical personnel and programs with the Jewish State’s ‘total war’ policies of extermination.
3.
All citizens should demand the end of all US military aid to Israel, especially F-16 fighter planes, Apache attack helicopters, missiles, 1000 pound ‘bunker buster’ bombs used by the Israeli armed forces on the civilian infrastructure of Gaza and the murder and maiming of over 2,500 Palestinians, civilians, civil servants, police and national militia. In pursuit of a cutoff of US military aid to Israel, every effort should be made to target and denounce the most forceful, aggressive and successful Zionist advocates and lobbyists who influence the elected members of the US Congress and White House on foreign military aid budgets. No progress in ending US military aid for Israel’s ethnic cleansing will succeed unless the peace movement and others appalled by Israel’s mass murder tackles the Zionist lobby head on. This includes boycotts, rebuttals and demonstrations against the AIPAC, the Jewish Anti-Defamation League and the other 50 leading American Jewish organizations, which initiate and secure US governmental endorsement of Israel’s extermination policies.
4.
US religious institutions should forcefully denounce Israel’s crimes against humanity, including its demolition of 5 mosques, uniting all faiths (Christian, Moslem, Buddhist) and especially reaching out to the tiny minority of rabbis and observant Jews willing to forthrightly denounce the totalitarian practices of the Israeli state.
5.
Port and long shore workers, sailors and other maritime workers and officials should boycott the handling of all trade with Israel and denounce its Navy’s violent illegal assault, in international waters, of civilian fishing boats and vessels carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza. No ships carrying Israeli products should be loaded or unloaded as long as Israel maintains its criminal military blockade of the port facilities of Gaza.
6.
Tens of millions of US citizens subject to the one-sided pro-Israel bias of the electronic and print media, the lop-sided presentations of Zionist ‘op-ed’ writers, ‘news’ reports and the self-styled Middle East experts, should demand equal time, coverage and reportage for non-Zionist specialists, analysts and commentators. We should demand the end of euphemisms and fabrications, which convert victims into aggressors and exterminators into victims.
7.
We should wage a battle of ideas everywhere (in every public forum) against the efforts by the Zionist Power Configuration to monopolize discussion over the Israeli policy of genocide, to censor, intimidate and slander critics of Israeli apartheid – as UN General Assembly President Manuel d’Escoto so aptly calls Israel’s Ghetto Wall surrounding Palestinian villages. The outpouring of public protest over Israel’s war of extermination is an enormous step forward in countering the Zionist monopoly of the mass media and encouraging the tens of millions of Americans who clearly recognize and privately despise Israel’s crimes against humanity and resent the local Zionist elite’s thuggery against those who speak out. Mass pressure on elected representative may sway some to reconsider their abject servility to their Zionist ‘contributors’ and their ‘Israel First’ Congressional colleagues.
8.
A patriotic nationwide campaign should demand that the Israel lobby, especially AIPAC, come clean and register as a foreign agent of the State of Israel. This might undermine the Lobby’s appeal to American Jews, reduce its influence over Congress and open up judicial processes and investigations over its abuse of tax-exemptions, money-laundering and lead to revelations over its treasonous procurement of confidential US state documents for a foreign power. There is a powerful political and legal basis for such a denial of the ‘Lobby’s’ tax-exempt status and legality, apart from the transparent and overwhelming evidence that all Zionist organizations act as transmission belts for Israeli state policies: In the early 1950’s up to 1963, the forerunner of AIPAC was obligated to register as a foreign agent of the State of Israel. More recently, an Israeli prosecutor presented evidence that the Israeli-Jewish Agency and its US counterparts were laundering billions of dollars especially for the funding of Israeli colonial settlements on occupied Palestinian land, condemned as illegal under international law. Congressional hearings, law suits and further published research would reveal the role of the Lobby as a Fifth Column for the State of Israel against the interest of the people of the United States.

Until we neutralize the pervasive power of the Zionist Power Configuration in all of its manifestations – in American public and civic life – and its deep penetration of American legislative and executive offices, we will fall short of preventing Israel from receiving the arms, funding and political backing to sustain its wars of ethnic extermination.

When told that the great majority of the world’s people are sickened and incensed by Israel’s mass murder of the citizens of Gaza, we can easily imagine the contemptuous dismissal by Israel’s top leaders, paraphrasing Joseph Stalin: How many bombers, missiles, fighter planes and powerful lobbies do they (the outraged people of the world) have?

James Petras is the author of Zionism, Militarism and the Decline of US Power, Clarity Press 2008.

Bewert said...

Re: On Self Defense - voted to allow the prosecution of people who use a firearm for self defense. Illinois Senate S.B. 2165, vote 20, 3/25/04

###

Here is the actual wording, which states that it is a defense against a municipal gun law violation if someone uses a gun in self defense of themselves or another:

" SB2165 Enrolled LRB093 15639 RLC 41247 b

1 AN ACT concerning criminal law.

2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:

4 Section 5. The Criminal Code of 1961 is amended by adding
5 Section 24-10 as follows:

6 (720 ILCS 5/24-10 new)
7 Sec. 24-10. Municipal ordinance regulating firearms;
8 affirmative defense to a violation. It is an affirmative
9 defense to a violation of a municipal ordinance that prohibits,
10 regulates, or restricts the private ownership of firearms if
11 the individual who is charged with the violation used the
12 firearm in an act of self-defense or defense of another
as
13 defined in Sections 7-1 and 7-2 of this Code when on his or her
14 land or in his or her abode or fixed place of business.
15 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
16 becoming law.

###

So what were you saying again?

Want me to post the "reckless lawsuits" BS, too?

Or that he supports gun registration? Whoopee fucking dee. That's been the law of the land for some time now. Long before Obama came along.

Bush was more likely to take our guns then Obama is.

Anonymous said...

All's Well That Ends Well
Shakespeare homepage | All's Well That Ends Well | Act 1, Scene 3
Previous scene | Next scene
SCENE III. Rousillon. The COUNT's palace.

Enter COUNTESS, Steward, and Clown
COUNTESS
I will now hear; what say you of this gentlewoman?
Steward
Madam, the care I have had to even your content, I
wish might be found in the calendar of my past
endeavours; for then we wound our modesty and make
foul the clearness of our deservings, when of
ourselves we publish them.
COUNTESS
What does this knave here? Get you gone, sirrah:
the complaints I have heard of you I do not all
believe: 'tis my slowness that I do not; for I know
you lack not folly to commit them, and have ability
enough to make such knaveries yours.
Clown
'Tis not unknown to you, madam, I am a poor fellow.
COUNTESS
Well, sir.
Clown
No, madam, 'tis not so well that I am poor, though
many of the rich are damned: but, if I may have
your ladyship's good will to go to the world, Isbel
the woman and I will do as we may.
COUNTESS
Wilt thou needs be a beggar?
Clown
I do beg your good will in this case.
COUNTESS
In what case?
Clown
In Isbel's case and mine own. Service is no
heritage: and I think I shall never have the
blessing of God till I have issue o' my body; for
they say barnes are blessings.
COUNTESS
Tell me thy reason why thou wilt marry.
Clown
My poor body, madam, requires it: I am driven on
by the flesh; and he must needs go that the devil drives.
COUNTESS
Is this all your worship's reason?
Clown
Faith, madam, I have other holy reasons such as they
are.
COUNTESS
May the world know them?
Clown
I have been, madam, a wicked creature, as you and
all flesh and blood are; and, indeed, I do marry
that I may repent.
COUNTESS
Thy marriage, sooner than thy wickedness.
Clown
I am out o' friends, madam; and I hope to have
friends for my wife's sake.
COUNTESS
Such friends are thine enemies, knave.
Clown
You're shallow, madam, in great friends; for the
knaves come to do that for me which I am aweary of.
He that ears my land spares my team and gives me
leave to in the crop; if I be his cuckold, he's my
drudge: he that comforts my wife is the cherisher
of my flesh and blood; he that cherishes my flesh
and blood loves my flesh and blood; he that loves my
flesh and blood is my friend: ergo, he that kisses
my wife is my friend. If men could be contented to
be what they are, there were no fear in marriage;
for young Charbon the Puritan and old Poysam the
Papist, howsome'er their hearts are severed in
religion, their heads are both one; they may jowl
horns together, like any deer i' the herd.
COUNTESS
Wilt thou ever be a foul-mouthed and calumnious knave?
Clown
A prophet I, madam; and I speak the truth the next
way:
For I the ballad will repeat,
Which men full true shall find;
Your marriage comes by destiny,
Your cuckoo sings by kind.
COUNTESS
Get you gone, sir; I'll talk with you more anon.
Steward
May it please you, madam, that he bid Helen come to
you: of her I am to speak.
COUNTESS
Sirrah, tell my gentlewoman I would speak with her;
Helen, I mean.
Clown
Was this fair face the cause, quoth she,
Why the Grecians sacked Troy?
Fond done, done fond,
Was this King Priam's joy?
With that she sighed as she stood,
With that she sighed as she stood,
And gave this sentence then;
Among nine bad if one be good,
Among nine bad if one be good,
There's yet one good in ten.
COUNTESS
What, one good in ten? you corrupt the song, sirrah.
Clown
One good woman in ten, madam; which is a purifying
o' the song: would God would serve the world so all
the year! we'ld find no fault with the tithe-woman,
if I were the parson. One in ten, quoth a'! An we
might have a good woman born but one every blazing
star, or at an earthquake, 'twould mend the lottery
well: a man may draw his heart out, ere a' pluck
one.
COUNTESS
You'll be gone, sir knave, and do as I command you.
Clown
That man should be at woman's command, and yet no
hurt done! Though honesty be no puritan, yet it
will do no hurt; it will wear the surplice of
humility over the black gown of a big heart. I am
going, forsooth: the business is for Helen to come hither.
Exit

COUNTESS
Well, now.
Steward
I know, madam, you love your gentlewoman entirely.
COUNTESS
Faith, I do: her father bequeathed her to me; and
she herself, without other advantage, may lawfully
make title to as much love as she finds: there is
more owing her than is paid; and more shall be paid
her than she'll demand.
Steward
Madam, I was very late more near her than I think
she wished me: alone she was, and did communicate
to herself her own words to her own ears; she
thought, I dare vow for her, they touched not any
stranger sense. Her matter was, she loved your son:
Fortune, she said, was no goddess, that had put
such difference betwixt their two estates; Love no
god, that would not extend his might, only where
qualities were level; Dian no queen of virgins, that
would suffer her poor knight surprised, without
rescue in the first assault or ransom afterward.
This she delivered in the most bitter touch of
sorrow that e'er I heard virgin exclaim in: which I
held my duty speedily to acquaint you withal;
sithence, in the loss that may happen, it concerns
you something to know it.
COUNTESS
You have discharged this honestly; keep it to
yourself: many likelihoods informed me of this
before, which hung so tottering in the balance that
I could neither believe nor misdoubt. Pray you,
leave me: stall this in your bosom; and I thank you
for your honest care: I will speak with you further anon.
Exit Steward

Enter HELENA

Even so it was with me when I was young:
If ever we are nature's, these are ours; this thorn
Doth to our rose of youth rightly belong;
Our blood to us, this to our blood is born;
It is the show and seal of nature's truth,
Where love's strong passion is impress'd in youth:
By our remembrances of days foregone,
Such were our faults, or then we thought them none.
Her eye is sick on't: I observe her now.
HELENA
What is your pleasure, madam?
COUNTESS
You know, Helen,
I am a mother to you.
HELENA
Mine honourable mistress.
COUNTESS
Nay, a mother:
Why not a mother? When I said 'a mother,'
Methought you saw a serpent: what's in 'mother,'
That you start at it? I say, I am your mother;
And put you in the catalogue of those
That were enwombed mine: 'tis often seen
Adoption strives with nature and choice breeds
A native slip to us from foreign seeds:
You ne'er oppress'd me with a mother's groan,
Yet I express to you a mother's care:
God's mercy, maiden! does it curd thy blood
To say I am thy mother? What's the matter,
That this distemper'd messenger of wet,
The many-colour'd Iris, rounds thine eye?
Why? that you are my daughter?
HELENA
That I am not.
COUNTESS
I say, I am your mother.
HELENA
Pardon, madam;
The Count Rousillon cannot be my brother:
I am from humble, he from honour'd name;
No note upon my parents, his all noble:
My master, my dear lord he is; and I
His servant live, and will his vassal die:
He must not be my brother.
COUNTESS
Nor I your mother?
HELENA
You are my mother, madam; would you were,--
So that my lord your son were not my brother,--
Indeed my mother! or were you both our mothers,
I care no more for than I do for heaven,
So I were not his sister. Can't no other,
But, I your daughter, he must be my brother?
COUNTESS
Yes, Helen, you might be my daughter-in-law:
God shield you mean it not! daughter and mother
So strive upon your pulse. What, pale again?
My fear hath catch'd your fondness: now I see
The mystery of your loneliness, and find
Your salt tears' head: now to all sense 'tis gross
You love my son; invention is ashamed,
Against the proclamation of thy passion,
To say thou dost not: therefore tell me true;
But tell me then, 'tis so; for, look thy cheeks
Confess it, th' one to th' other; and thine eyes
See it so grossly shown in thy behaviors
That in their kind they speak it: only sin
And hellish obstinacy tie thy tongue,
That truth should be suspected. Speak, is't so?
If it be so, you have wound a goodly clew;
If it be not, forswear't: howe'er, I charge thee,
As heaven shall work in me for thine avail,
Tell me truly.
HELENA
Good madam, pardon me!
COUNTESS
Do you love my son?
HELENA
Your pardon, noble mistress!
COUNTESS
Love you my son?
HELENA
Do not you love him, madam?
COUNTESS
Go not about; my love hath in't a bond,
Whereof the world takes note: come, come, disclose
The state of your affection; for your passions
Have to the full appeach'd.
HELENA
Then, I confess,
Here on my knee, before high heaven and you,
That before you, and next unto high heaven,
I love your son.
My friends were poor, but honest; so's my love:
Be not offended; for it hurts not him
That he is loved of me: I follow him not
By any token of presumptuous suit;
Nor would I have him till I do deserve him;
Yet never know how that desert should be.
I know I love in vain, strive against hope;
Yet in this captious and intenible sieve
I still pour in the waters of my love
And lack not to lose still: thus, Indian-like,
Religious in mine error, I adore
The sun, that looks upon his worshipper,
But knows of him no more. My dearest madam,
Let not your hate encounter with my love
For loving where you do: but if yourself,
Whose aged honour cites a virtuous youth,
Did ever in so true a flame of liking
Wish chastely and love dearly, that your Dian
Was both herself and love: O, then, give pity
To her, whose state is such that cannot choose
But lend and give where she is sure to lose;
That seeks not to find that her search implies,
But riddle-like lives sweetly where she dies!
COUNTESS
Had you not lately an intent,--speak truly,--
To go to Paris?
HELENA
Madam, I had.
COUNTESS
Wherefore? tell true.
HELENA
I will tell truth; by grace itself I swear.
You know my father left me some prescriptions
Of rare and proved effects, such as his reading
And manifest experience had collected
For general sovereignty; and that he will'd me
In heedfull'st reservation to bestow them,
As notes whose faculties inclusive were
More than they were in note: amongst the rest,
There is a remedy, approved, set down,
To cure the desperate languishings whereof
The king is render'd lost.
COUNTESS
This was your motive
For Paris, was it? speak.
HELENA
My lord your son made me to think of this;
Else Paris and the medicine and the king
Had from the conversation of my thoughts
Haply been absent then.
COUNTESS
But think you, Helen,
If you should tender your supposed aid,
He would receive it? he and his physicians
Are of a mind; he, that they cannot help him,
They, that they cannot help: how shall they credit
A poor unlearned virgin, when the schools,
Embowell'd of their doctrine, have left off
The danger to itself?
HELENA
There's something in't,
More than my father's skill, which was the greatest
Of his profession, that his good receipt
Shall for my legacy be sanctified
By the luckiest stars in heaven: and, would your honour
But give me leave to try success, I'ld venture
The well-lost life of mine on his grace's cure
By such a day and hour.
COUNTESS
Dost thou believe't?
HELENA
Ay, madam, knowingly.
COUNTESS
Why, Helen, thou shalt have my leave and love,
Means and attendants and my loving greetings
To those of mine in court: I'll stay at home
And pray God's blessing into thy attempt:
Be gone to-morrow; and be sure of this,
What I can help thee to thou shalt not miss.
Exeunt

Shakespeare homepage | All's Well That Ends Well | Act 1, Scene 3
Previous scene | Next scene

MrBruce said...

Who calls the shots?

The eyes which took aim and the fingers which pressed the buttons belong to people who hold Israeli citizenship, though many of them and the vast majority of their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents were born in foreign lands thousands of miles from this scene of carnage. The burnt and broken bodies, almost without exception, are those of the indigenous people of this area which was formerly known as the British Mandate of Palestine, although despite this they were not citizens of any state- because there is not, and will not be anytime in the foreseeable future, a Palestinian state for them to be citizens of. The most modern, sophisticated and expensive material means by which this death and destruction has been achieved- the Apache helicopters, the Lockheed Martin F-16I Fighting Falcons and Boeing F-15Is, the Sidewinder and Sparrow missiles, the GBU-39 smart bombs- were made by citizens of the United States of America, and were provided free of charge for this and similar purposes.

The war was conducted against the inhabitants of a blockaded and besieged enclave who, having no tanks, aeroplanes, unmanned drones, warships or guided missiles of their own, had in their desperation and defiance fired home-made rockets over the border. Therefore they were terrorists, in the suppression of whom almost any crime, including the slaughtering of children and the shelling of United Nations compounds, is countennanced.

And it was a war against democracy. As Ismail Haniyeh, the elected Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority, has remarked:

[T]he root cause of Israel's criminal war on Gaza is the elections of January 2006, which saw Hamas win by a substantial majority. What occurred next was that Israel alongside the United States and the European Union joined forces in an attempt to quash the democratic will of the Palestinian people. They set about reversing the decision first by obstructing the formation of a national unity government and then by making a living hell for the Palestinian people through economic strangulation. The abject failure of all these machinations finally led to this vicious war. Israel's objective is to silence all voices that express the will of the Palestinian; thereafter it would impose its own terms for a final settlement depriving us of our land, our right to Jerusalem as the rightful capital of our future state and the Palestinian refugees' right to return to their homes.

So arrogant were the Israeli leaders that, when they declared a "ceasefire" just before the new president of the sponsoring superpower took office, they did this unilaterally, not deigning to negotiate terms with the elected representatives of the native population.

In the preparations for stage two of 'Operation Cast Lead', the invasion of Gaza by ground troops of the Israeli Defence Force, the USA had provided particularly useful assistance. As Paul Rogers reported for the Open Democracy website:

In 2005, [...] the Israeli army began to construct a complete "Arab" town, known as Baladia, in the Negev desert. Baladia, built in terrain very similar to Gaza - and complete with mosques, a market, densely-packed housing, narrow alleyways and even a mock refugee camp - was opened in mid-2007 as Israel's National Urban Training Centre. Many of the Israeli troops currently fighting in Gaza will have spent time there, in facilities "used to train infantry in the type of house-to-house and subterranean combat expected in Gaza, southern Lebanon and other theaters".

But Baladia's real importance in the current context is that the whole facility was constructed by the US Army Corps of Engineers, and paid for mainly by US military aid. Its first commander, Brigadier-General Uzi Moskovitch said: "This is something developed by us in cooperation with the US army; we intend for it to become a valuable centre of knowledge that will also benefit our American allies and other friends".

Considering this and other examples of close US-Israeli military co-operation, Rogers remarked on an opinion which is widespread in the Middle East:

What is happening in Gaza, according to this general perspective, is that it is not an Israeli war but a joint operation by the United States and Israel. Thus, the F-16 strike aircraft and the Apache helicopter-gunships are seen less as Israeli aircraft but as American aircraft with Israeli markings.

Paul Rogers concluded:

Perhaps there will be a change in style after Barack Obama's inauguration on 20 January; perhaps there will even be a change in substance. But whatever happens in the next few days and weeks, the Gaza war of 2008-09 is likely to resonate across the region for many years to come as a case-study of the actions and intentions of the "far enemy" [the USA] and its local proxy [Israel].

The 'Cast Lead' operation also involved extensive diplomatic co-ordination between the United States and Israel. The Daily Telegraph's Diplomatic Editor David Blair noted on 6th January:

More than anything else, [...] Israel's planning rests on the assumption of American support. So far, Washington has kept a protective arm around its ally. By failing to echo Europe's call for an immediate ceasefire – and blocking a statement from the United Nations Security Council last week – America signalled that it was content for Israel's operation to go on [...]

For as long as this operation commands the support of America and the Israeli public, the fighting may continue.

Although the US government denied that it had given Israel a specific authorisation to launch the assault on Gaza, it is notable that Vice President Cheney avoided giving a direct answer to the question of whether the USA was given advance notice of phase two of the attack. As the Washington Times reported on 5th January:

Vice President Dick Cheney said Sunday that Israel did not seek U.S. approval before a ground invasion against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the bloodiest Mideast clash in years now escalating into urban warfare.

From the White House to Capitol Hill, U.S. officials remained firmly behind Israel. They urged a cease-fire, but put the onus on Hamas, as Israeli troops and tanks cut through the coastal Gaza Strip. U.S. lawmakers defended Israel's ground incursion as a justifiable response to Hamas rocket fire on Israel.

Mr. Cheney said on "Face the Nation" on CBS that Israel "didn't seek clearance or approval from us, certainly" before thousands of soldiers pushed into Gaza after nightfall on Saturday.

He did not directly answer whether Israel informed its powerful ally, the U.S., of its plans before launching them. But the ground offensive, which followed a week of punishing aerial raids on Hamas, had been expected as Israeli forces massed near the border.

"They have said, now, for a period of months - they told me on my last trip over there - that they didn't want to have to act, where Gaza was concerned," Mr. Cheney said. "They had gotten out of there three years ago. But if the rocketing didn't stop, they felt they had no choice but to take action. And if they did, they would be very aggressive, in terms of trying to take down Hamas. And that's exactly what's happened."

This key Israeli assertion in the struggle to influence world public opinion, the claim that the attack on Gaza was an unavoidable action, which the Israeli government had no choice but to take, was picked up and repeated with alacrity by top US politicians in both the Republican and Democrat parties; as was the analogy by Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak, who asked US citizens to "think about what would happen if for seven years rockets had been fired at San Diego, California from Tijuana, Mexico."

The Washington Times report quoted the top Democratic Party Senator Harry Reid and the senior Republican Party Senator Mitch McConnell:

"I think what the Israelis are doing is very important," Mr. Reid said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "I think this terrorist organization, Hamas, has got to be put away. They've got to come to their senses."

Said Mr. McConnell on ABC's "This Week": "Hamas is a terrorist organization. Imagine in this country (the U.S.) if somebody from a neighboring country were lobbing shells at our population. We'd do exactly the same thing. I think the Israelis are doing the only thing they can possibly do to defend their population."

After the US Congress on 8th and 9th of January passed its almost unanimous resolutions supporting the Israeli attack on Gaza, the Tel Aviv-based news service Ynet reported under the headline "US Congress backs Gaza op":

House of Representatives aligns with US Senate, issues resolution supporting Gaza offensive, Israel's right to self defense.

The US Congress on Friday passed a resolution backing the Israeli offensive in Gaza and supporting Israel's right to defend itself against Hamas terror.

The resolution was passed by an overwhelming majority of House members, and followed a similar, unanimous Senate decision, passed on Thursday.

The motion, put forward by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (Democrat) and House Majority Leader John Boehner (Republican), supports finding a diplomatic solution to the Gaza crisis, which would ensure the end of arms smuggling into Gaza and the end to Hamas' terror attacks in Israel.

Such a solution, said the resolution, would help to create an atmosphere that could result in a sustainable peace between Israel and the Palestinian people.

We ratify that Israel, as any other nation, has the right of self defense when it finds itself under increasing rockets and mortar shell fire from the Gaza Strip, said Pelosi; adding that the rocket fire has become an unacceptable security threat, which Israel is bound to retaliate on.

Rockets of resistance

Were these Israeli arguments mimicked and amplified by US politicians because those senior United States leaders found the arguments convincing? No doubt the US politicians were honestly persuaded of their veracity. But the Israeli arguments, at least to a person with the minimum basic intelligence and access to information which top politicians in the USA possess, are persuasive only to somebody who has very sound reasons to want to be persuaded.

A relevant fact should be noted: not one single Israeli was killed as a result of rockets and mortar shell fire from the Gaza Strip between June 19th 2008 and the start of Israel's devastating attack on Gaza on December 27th 2008. The rockets and mortar shells fired from Gaza against Israel, mainly in the form of the primitive and unguided home-made Qasaam rocket, killed precisely 16 Israelis during the period of seven years and two months between October 2001 and the start of 'Operation Cast Lead' in December 2008; during that period, approximately three thousand Palestinians were killed by Israeli military strikes.

Of the sixteen Israeli deaths caused by the Palestinian rockets and mortars from Gaza, not one occured following the truce between Israel and Hamas which began on June 19th 2008; although there were some rockets fired sporadically from Gaza during the truce, these were launched by non-Hamas groups and they did not kill anybody. After the Israeli military forces killed six Palestinian militants in Gaza on 4th November 2008, Hamas resumed firing rockets. But these caused no Israeli fatalities.

On 27th December, after Israel began 'Operation Cast Lead' against Gaza, Hamas intensified the rocket fire and began also using Katyusha rockets (more sophisticated than the Qasaams but still unguided and very primitive by modern standards). At the time of writing, rocket fire from Gaza since December 27th 2008 has caused the deaths of four Israelis: three civilians and one military officer.

From which one should not conclude that the rockets from Gaza are completely ineffective. Apart from the occasional death and injury, and the economic effect of the disruption which they cause, they have a psychological effect for both Israelis and Palestinians. As a spokesperson of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine- a secular group whose members have been involved in firing rockets at Israel- said in an interview for the Ma'an news agency:

The rockets are both a practical and a symbolic representation of our resistance to the occupier. They are a constant reminder that the occupier is in fact an occupier, and that no matter how they may engage in sieges, massacres, fence us in, deny us the basic human needs of life, we will continue to resist and we will continue to hold fast to our fundamental rights, and we will not allow them to be destroyed. So long as one rocket is launched at the occupier, our people, our resistance and our cause is alive.

This is why they targeted the rockets - the rockets do make the occupier insecure, because every one is a symbol and a physical act of our rejection to their occupation, to their massacres, to their crimes, and to their continuing assaults on our people. Each rocket says that we will not allow their so-called "solutions" that are based on the abrogation and denial of our rights.

The Israeli desire to end the rocket fire from Gaza is, of course, understandable. But did Israel therefore have no choice but to kill hundreds of people and reduce Gaza's buildings and infrastructure to rubble? Only if there were no alternative courses of action available. One alternative course would be for Israel to end the economic blockade of Gaza, open the closed checkpoints which seal off the enclave, begin removing its illegal settlements in the West Bank, declare that it will withdraw to the internationally recognised 1967 borders of the country; and having thus proven its good intentions, open negotiations with Hamas- who are the elected leaders of the Palestinian people in the occupied territories, having won the 2006 general election in Gaza and the West Bank- for a long term solution to the conflict.

That course, however, would create a very serious problem for Israel. Not only would it completely upset the nature of Israel's internal politics, but Israel would lose its special position, the favoured and subsidised status which it has enjoyed for many decades, as the militant proxy of the world's superpower in the battle for civilisation.

Although in fact, Hamas- its own good faith proven by the cessation of its rocket fire between June 19th and November 4th 2008- is much less ambitious in its short-term demands. It offered, and still offers, a further truce, including a cessation of its rockets, in return merely for Israel ending the blockade and opening the border crossings.

A very special relationship

But the global superpower has a new President; one who is not merely young, gifted and black, but was, until he decided to run for President of the USA, a supporter of the Palestinian cause. Barack Obama only changed his opinion on Israel and Palestine in order to become potentially electable as President of the United States, and although he has staffed his new administration with hardline supporters of Israel, it is impossible not to entertain some hope that he will make a change not merely of style but of substance in US policy on the Middle East.

The extent to which this may be possible depends in large part on what lies behind that policy; and it must firstly be noted that the USA's relationship with Israel is long-standing and deeply entrenched. The US academics John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, who are prominent figures of the realist trend in the study of international relations, pointed out in a 2006 article:

For the past several decades, and especially since the Six-Day War in 1967, the centrepiece of US Middle Eastern policy has been its relationship with Israel [...]

Since the October War in 1973, Washington has provided Israel with a level of support dwarfing that given to any other state. It has been the largest annual recipient of direct economic and military assistance since 1976, and is the largest recipient in total since World War Two, to the tune of well over $140 billion (in 2004 dollars). Israel receives about $3 billion in direct assistance each year, roughly one-fifth of the foreign aid budget, and worth about $500 a year for every Israeli. This largesse is especially striking since Israel is now a wealthy industrial state with a per capita income roughly equal to that of South Korea or Spain.

Other recipients get their money in quarterly installments, but Israel receives its entire appropriation at the beginning of each fiscal year and can thus earn interest on it. Most recipients of aid given for military purposes are required to spend all of it in the US, but Israel is allowed to use roughly 25 per cent of its allocation to subsidise its own defence industry. It is the only recipient that does not have to account for how the aid is spent, which makes it virtually impossible to prevent the money from being used for purposes the US opposes, such as building settlements on the West Bank. Moreover, the US has provided Israel with nearly $3 billion to develop weapons systems, and given it access to such top-drawer weaponry as Blackhawk helicopters and F-16 jets. Finally, the US gives Israel access to intelligence it denies to its Nato allies and has turned a blind eye to Israel’s acquisition of nuclear weapons.

Washington also provides Israel with consistent diplomatic support. Since 1982, the US has vetoed 32 Security Council resolutions critical of Israel, more than the total number of vetoes cast by all the other Security Council members. It blocks the efforts of Arab states to put Israel’s nuclear arsenal on the IAEA’s agenda. The US comes to the rescue in wartime and takes Israel’s side when negotiating peace.

It should be mentioned however, that although as indicated by Mearsheimer and Walt, the official US position is that Israel should freeze its illegal settlement-building activity in the occupied West Bank, that is a policy which is purely for public consumption. In private, there has been no US pressure on Israel on this issue. As former US Middle East negotiator Aaron David Miller disclosed in an article for the 12th January issue of Newsweek:

In 25 years of working on this issue for six secretaries of state, I can't recall one meeting where we had a serious discussion with an Israeli prime minister about the damage that settlement activity—including land confiscation, bypass roads and housing demolitions—does to the peacemaking process. There is a need to impose some accountability.

Further, it should be noted that USA's financial assistance to Egypt, which comes second only to Israel as a recipient of US government subidies, is also a means- indirect but very significant- of strategic support for Israel. The $2.2 billion which Egypt receives annually in United States aid is contingent on the Egyptian regime's practical co-operation with US and Israeli policies; for instance, Egypt's collaboration in the economic blockade of Gaza.

A price worth paying

Of course, even putting aside the many billions in direct and indirect subsidies, the USA's special treatment of Israel comes at a high price: although it is by no means merely for that reason, that is one of the main reasons why the government of the United States of America is unloved, not only by people in the Middle East but by public opinion around the world. Acknowledging this, John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt asked a very pertinent question:

The combination of unwavering support for Israel and the related effort to spread ‘democracy’ throughout the region has inflamed Arab and Islamic opinion and jeopardised not only US security but that of much of the rest of the world. This situation has no equal in American political history. Why has the US been willing to set aside its own security and that of many of its allies in order to advance the interests of another state?

For foreign policy realists, the usual solution to the question of why a powerful state encourages and assists the military actions of a less powerful state is that it does so in order to try to advance or defend its strategic interests. Indeed, Mearsheimer and Walt concede that in the Cold War period, Israel was used as a US proxy state against the Soviet Union and its Arab allies; the costs entailed by this were presumably considered to be bearable given the over-riding objective of defeating the USSR:

One might argue that Israel was an asset during the Cold War. By serving as America’s proxy after 1967, it helped contain Soviet expansion in the region and inflicted humiliating defeats on Soviet clients like Egypt and Syria. It occasionally helped protect other US allies (like King Hussein of Jordan) and its military prowess forced Moscow to spend more on backing its own client states. It also provided useful intelligence about Soviet capabilities.

Backing Israel was not cheap, however, and it complicated America’s relations with the Arab world. For example, the decision to give $2.2 billion in emergency military aid during the October [1973] War triggered an Opec oil embargo that inflicted considerable damage on Western economies.

But Mearsheimer and Walt regard the post-Cold War USA-Israel relationship as an exception to this rule; and they claim in respect of the current situation:

One might assume that the bond between the two countries was based on shared strategic interests or compelling moral imperatives, but neither explanation can account for the remarkable level of material and diplomatic support that the US provides.

Instead, the thrust of US policy in the region derives almost entirely from domestic politics, and especially the activities of the ‘Israel Lobby’. Other special-interest groups have managed to skew foreign policy, but no lobby has managed to divert it as far from what the national interest would suggest, while simultaneously convincing Americans that US interests and those of the other country – in this case, Israel – are essentially identical.

Noting that the pro-Israel lobby extends far beyond the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which they decribe as a "de facto agent for a foreign government", and that it comprises not only Jewish organisations but also fundamentalist Christians and other prominent non-Jewish figures; among these 'gentile' pro-Israel extremists they name "[former US Ambassador to the UN] John Bolton; Robert Bartley, the former Wall Street Journal editor; William Bennett, the former secretary of education; Jeane Kirkpatrick, the former UN ambassador; and the influential columnist George Will". Further, the authors list some of the very wealthy think tanks which exert influence over United States foriegn policy:

Over the past 25 years, pro-Israel forces have established a commanding presence at the American Enterprise Institute, the Brookings Institution, the Center for Security Policy, the Foreign Policy Research Institute, the Heritage Foundation, the Hudson Institute, the Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis and the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA). These think tanks employ few, if any, critics of US support for Israel.

The weeks since the launch of 'Operation Cast Lead' have seen the publication of several more articles by various authors which emphasise the negative consequences for the USA of its support for Israel's aggressive actions against the Palestinians, and seek to challenge the idea that the US involvement in such operations serves the USA's strategic interests. In an articulate expression of this view, 'Gaza Seen From Paris' by Jean Bricmont and Diana Johnstone, the writers observe:

For the pro-Western petro-monarchies and the "moderate" Arab regimes, Israel’s ongoing occupation of Palestinian lands is a nightmare, which radicalizes much of their populations and threatens their rule. It is Israel, by its absurd policies, that provoked the creation of both Hezbollah and Hamas and that is indirectly responsible for much of the recent growth of "radical Islam".

[...] The majority of capitalists could not care less which "people" must have Jerusalem as its "eternal capital", and if peace were achieved, they would hasten into the West Bank and Gaza to exploit a qualified work force with few other opportunities.

Finally, any American citizen concerned with the influence of his or her country in the world can see quite clearly that making enemies of a billion Muslims in order to satisfy every murderous whim of Israel is scarcely a rational investment in the future.

Having made that point, the authors assert:

Many people, especially on the left, persist in thinking that Israel is only a pawn in an American capitalist or imperialist strategy to control the Middle East. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Israel is of no use to anybody or anything but its own fantasies of domination.

On which basis, they proceed to ask:

If support for Israel is not based on economic or strategic interests, why do the political class and the media passively accept whatever Israel does?

Although this question contradicts the facts adduced by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, who showed that leading 'gentile' figures, and influential bodies which are not mainly Jewish, are not passively accepting but rather aggressively promoting 'whatever Israel does', Bricmont and Johnson nevertheless answer their own question by putting forward a version of the Mearsheimer and Walt thesis. Following a repudiation of the idea that Israel must always be supported by the West as expiation for the anti-Semitic outrages of the past, particularly the Nazi holocaust, Jean Bricmont and Diana Johnson argue:

The fact that we are not all guilty of the crimes of the Third Reich is simple and obvious, but needs to be driven home to allow non-Jews to speak up freely about Palestine. As it is, non-Jews who often feel they must leave it to Jews, as the only people who have the "right" to criticize Israel, to defend the Palestinians. But given the relationship of forces between the Jewish critics of Israel, and the influential Zionist organizations claiming to speak for the Jewish people, there is no realistic hope that Jewish voices alone can save the Palestinians.

However, the main reason for the silence is surely not guilt precisely because it is so artificial, but rather fear. Fear of "what will they think", fear of slander and even of being taken to court for "anti-Semitism". If you are not convinced, take a journalist, a politician or a publisher to some spot where nobody is listening and there is no hidden camera or microphone, and ask whether he or she says in public all he or she thinks of Israel in private. And if not, why? Fear of hurting the interests of capitalism? Fear of weakening American imperialism? Fear of interrupting oil deliveries? Or, on the contrary, fear of Zionist organizations and their relentless campaigns?

We have little doubt, after dozens of discussions with such people that the last answer given above is the correct one. People do not say what they think of what calls itself the "Jewish State" for fear of being called anti-Jewish and being identified with the anti-Semites of the past. [...] The fear of being accused of anti-Semitism is deeper than fear of the Zionist lobby, it is fear of losing the respectability that goes with condemnation of anti-Semitism and the Holocaust as the highest contemporary moral value.

Absolutely- people who are not Jewish, along with people who are Jewish, must allow themselves to speak and to act in defence of their fellow human beings in Palestine.
Another great merit of the article by Jean Bricmont and Diana Johnstone is that it argues for a boycott of Israel, its consumer products and its official institutions. This is a campaign whose time has come. Like the rockets from Gaza, the effect of this boycott will be mainly psychological; but, as was previously the case with Apartheid South Africa, the effect will be profound.

The crocodile's tail

Undeniably, lobbies and ideologies play their part in the political process of every country, the USA included; and among these, the pro-Israel factions and their justifying discourse are extremely powerful. But the majority non-Jewish US political establishment has its own reasons for allowing, encouraging and promoting the Zionist lobby.

In considering whether the tail is wagging the dog- or, more accurately, given that a canine does not fight with its tail whereas for crocodilians the tail is one of its essential and formidable weapons- the tail is wagging the crocodile, we need to apply some thought to the notion that the existing US-Israel relationship is one which is contrary to the strategic interests of the United States. That the USA is detested by public opinion in the Arab and Muslim countries is indeed a negative factor; but, as Niccolò Machiavelli indicated in his advice to Lorenzo de' Medici, a ruler often cannot be both loved and feared, and when forced to choose a wise prince will opt for the latter:

Upon this a question arises: whether it be better to be loved than feared or feared than loved? It may be answered that one should wish to be both, but, because it is difficult to unite them in one person, is much safer to be feared than loved, when, of the two, either must be dispensed with. Because this is to be asserted in general of men, that they are ungrateful, fickle, false, cowardly, covetous, and as long as you succeed they are yours entirely; they will offer you their blood, property, life and children, as is said above, when the need is far distant; but when it approaches they turn against you. And that prince who, relying entirely on their promises, has neglected other precautions, is ruined; because friendships that are obtained by payments, and not by greatness or nobility of mind, may indeed be earned, but they are not secured, and in time of need cannot be relied upon; and men have less scruple in offending one who is beloved than one who is feared, for love is preserved by the link of obligation which, owing to the baseness of men, is broken at every opportunity for their advantage; but fear preserves you by a dread of punishment which never fails.

While John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt concede that Israel acted as the USA's proxy against Arab states during the Cold War, their emphasis is purely on Israel's usefulness in this role to counteract the influence of the Soviet Union; they fail to consider that the people of the Arab countries, Third World populations in a region of immense global importance because of its oil, have their own interests which are hardly identical with those of the USA. The value to the Western powers of having an aggressive and militarily powerful surrogate state in the Middle East was recognised at an early stage by the Israelis themselves. In 1951 Gershom Shoken, editor and publisher of the influential Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz, remarked:

The West is none too happy about its relations with the [Arab] states in the Middle East. The feudal regimes there have to make such concessions to the nationalist movements, which sometimes have a pronounced socialist-leftist coloring, that they become more and more reluctant to supply Britain and the United States with their natural resources and military bases .... Therefore, strengthening Israel helps the Western powers to maintain equilibrium and stability in the Middle East. Israel is to become the watchdog. There is no fear that Israel will undertake any aggressive policy toward the Arab states when this would explicitly contradict the wishes of the U.S. and Britain. But if for any reason the Western powers should sometimes prefer to close their eyes, Israel could be relied on to punish one or several neighboring states whose discourtesy toward the West went beyond the bounds of the permissible.

The concept of 'stability' as used in this formulation by no means implies the prevalence of peace instead of war; rather, it means that the domination of the region by the Western powers will continue to prevail.

Israel's eagerness to play such a role was illustrated by its participation in the joint British-French-Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956, following the nationalisation of the Suez Canal by the radical pan-Arab nationalist regime of Gamal Abdel Nasser. This military action was perceived in the United States as an attempt to shore-up the interests of the declining European colonial powers and thus running against the USA's own specific interests in the Middle East; thus demonstrating the importance to the US leadership of ensuring that Israel should be aquired as an asset which would be answerable exclusively to the United States. In return, the USA would back Israel to the hilt in Israel's own regional ambitions.

As Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed observes in his book 'Behind the War on Terror':

This strategy of utilising regional surrogate regimes to play a subservient role within a wider matrix of Western interests was formalised in the Nixon-Kissinger doctrine. According to this doctrine, the United States, now leading the Western powers, would be committed to maintaining what the US statesman Henry Kissinger called the “overall framework of order”. Regional powers would pursue particular goals within this overall framework of subservience. With regard to the extremely crucial Middle East region - primarily the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula, where most of the oil is - the broad plan was that Israel and Iran under the Shah would play the role of “guardians of the Gulf”, i.e. the principal surrogates appointed to guard US regional interests.

This plan was outlined by the US Senate’s ranking oil expert, Senator Henry Jackson, in May 1973. Jackson stressed the necessity of “the strength and Western orientation of Israel on the Mediterranean and Iran [under the Shah] on the Persian Gulf”. Israel and Iran were “reliable friends of the United States” who, along with Saudi Arabia “have served to inhibit and contain those irresponsible and radical elements in certain Arab states... who, were they free to do so, would pose a grave threat indeed to our principle sources of petroleum in the Persian Gulf”, which are needed primarily as a reserve and a lever for control of the global economy.

In 1979, when the USA's client monarchy in Iran was overthrown and the country became an Islamic republic, Israel became even more necessary to the United States as a vehicle for its regional purposes.

Dishonest broker

When considering events in the Middle East, a pattern emerges which indicates that there is a further role which Israel serves in enhancing US power vis-a-vis not only the Arab states but also the EU countries, Russia and other potential rivals. Encouraged by the USA, Israel's aggressive actions cause one crisis after another, crises which cause almost everybody to cry out for a solution. Cushioned from international pressure by the protective arms of the US, Israel is intransigent and will concede nothing; and the only country which can restrain the Israelis is the United States. So everyone, with the exception of a few die-hards, pleads with the global superpower to become even more actively involved, to exert its moderating influence on the Israeli extremists and to help broker a deal. Eventually, a compromise is negotiated under US supervision; and the nature of the deal splits the Arab side and their sympathisers, perpetuates the conflict and creates the conditions in which the Israelis can generate a fresh crisis.

Through the Camp David Accords in 1978, President Jimmy Carter and his National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski persuaded the Israeli Prime Minister Menachim Begin to give the Sinai peninsula, which Israel had aquired in the 1967 war, back to Egypt. For his part, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat agreed to break ranks with the other Arab states on the issue of Palestine, give dilpomatic recognition to Israel, end Egypt's hitherto close relationship with the Soviet Union, and to accept billions of dollars in US financial aid. This deal was a stunning blow to the Palestinian movement headed by the PLO, to Arab unity, and to the influence of the USSR.

When Sadat was assassinated by one of his military officers, Lieutenant Khalid Ahmed Showky Al-Islambouli in October 1981, Jimmy Carter's successor Ronald Reagan spoke sadly of his demise:

Today the people of the United States join with the people of Egypt and all those who long for a better world in mourning the death of Anwar Sadat.

President Sadat was a courageous man whose vision and wisdom brought nations and people together. In a world filled with hatred, he was a man of hope. In a world trapped in the animosities of the past, he was a man of foresight, a man who sought to improve a world tormented by malice and pettiness [...]

Anwar Sadat was admired and loved by the people of America. His death today—an act of infamy, cowardly infamy—fills us with horror.

America has lost a close friend; the world has lost a great statesman; and mankind has lost a champion of peace. Nancy and I feel that we have lost a close and dear friend; and we send our heartfelt sympathy to Mrs. Sadat, to his children, who were here such a short time ago.

But in the Middle East, as the Encarta Encyclopedia records:

Few Egyptians or other Arabs mourned Sadat’s death.

From Olso to Gaza

After 1991, the Cold War justifications for the USA's backing of Israel's occupation of Gaza and the West Bank no longer applied; and with the demise of the USSR the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) had lost its main diplomatic ally. Thus the stage was set for the Oslo negotiations which, through the good offices of the remaining superpower, would supposedly open the way for the creation of a Palestinian state.

The outcome: although Yasser Arafat and other PLO leaders returned to the Occupied Territories and were permitted to exercise some local government functions, the Israelis continued building their illegal settlements, dividing the territory with checkpoints and Jewish-only highways, annexing land and water resources, subjecting it to frequent incursions by ground troops, bombings and missile strikes; and regularly assassinating or imprisoning, either without charge or for trial in a military tribunal conducted with secret evidence, any Palestinian activist whose whose views or actions were considered worthy of such attention. There are currently 11,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

An Israeli innovation in the banal history of oppression was the tactic of using bulldozers to demolish the homes of dissidents, a method that even the racist rulers of Apartheid South Africa had not contemplated.

Impotent in their offices, PLO officials of the ruling Fatah faction comforted themselves with the paltry delights of corruption; and the Israelis, discontented that Yasser Arafat had not sufficiently humiliated himself and his nation by renouncing all means of resistance, declared that Fatah was not a genuine partner in peace negotiations; and, therefore, no further concessions could be made to their Palestinian subjects. To undermine the secular PLO and split the Palestinian movement, the Israelis had been covertly assisting the rise of a little-known extremist organisation called the Islamic Resistance Movement, a group which has since risen to fame under its acronym, Hamas.

Arafat was at least a fighter for Palestine and a figure of unity; just as his people were, he was trapped, compromised and bombarded. He spent the last years of his life under effective house arrest, his presidential compound in Gaza City surrounded and regularly shelled by Israeli troops. Succumbing to a fatal illness, he was flown to Paris where he died in ignominy.

His successor Abu Mazen began making further concessions to the Israelis and the Americans while receiving nothing in return for the Palestinians. Disgusted, the people of Gaza and the West Bank rejected Fatah in their 2006 general election and gave Hamas a majority in the parliament of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).

Having voted for the wrong party, the Palestinians were duly subjected to collective coercion by the international community. Gaza and the West Bank were economically blockaded, and foreign aid, on which the impoverished territories were dependent, was terminated on the condition that it would be restored if Hamas- despite its election to government- was removed from power. In the bitter and bloody internecine struggle which followed, Fatah gained control of the West Bank and Hamas remained in control of Gaza. Reviled as a terrorist, Ismail Haniyeh, the elected Prime Minister of Palestine, lives in exile in Syria.

So complete is the bias of the Western media that the Fatah authority in the West Bank is considered normal and unremarkable, while it is routine to aver that Hamas came to authority in the Gaza Strip as the result of a violent coup d'etat.

Such were the fruits of Olso.

And despite the fact that Gaza remained blockaded, having no possibility of economic development, not allowed to rebuild its airport which the Israelis had destroyed in 2001, the potentially hugely valuable gas deposits off its Mediterranian coast grabbed by the Israeli government, thousands of its political activists imprisoned in Israeli jails and hundreds of others killed at the whim of Israel's security forces, Hamas adhered to a truce with Israel from June to November 2008. Unlike Fatah, Hamas is in a position to deliver the vast majority of even the most militant Palestinian opinion and activity for a genuine peace deal. In such conditions- were peace on offer- a better partner for peace negotiations than Hamas could hardly be wished for.

Change you can believe in

If the USA could contemplate peace in the Middle East, the Israelis would negotiate peace.

This will happen someday, whether under Barack Obama, or his successor, or his successor's successor. And then, as was the case with South Africa, all without exception will declare that this was the outcome that they were working for all along. The arguments of the pro-Israeli lobby of the late 20th and early 21st Century will suddenly appear for what they are, as false and ridiculous as the claims by the racist whites of South Africa that Black people were too uncivilised to be able to govern themselves.

And who will be transformed overnight, as Nelson Mandela was, from a dangerous and frightening terrorist into the hero of the new peace? In the unlikely event that he escapes the fate of his assassinated comrades, it could even be Ismail Haniyeh.

MrBruce said...

Israel's partner in war crimes

American politicians aren't reflecting the will of the American people, who aren't nearly as pro-Israel as their political leaders.

January 9, 2009

WITH ISRAEL'S invasion into Gaza killing and injuring thousands, and turning the area into a humanitarian catastrophe, a tide of criticism and denunciation has risen against it around the world.

Columnist: Lance Selfa

Lance Selfa Lance Selfa is the author of The Democrats: A Critical History, a socialist analysis of the Democratic Party, and editor of The Struggle for Palestine, a collection of essays by leading solidarity activists. He is on the editorial board of the International Socialist Review.

But there are a few places where Israel won't hear a peep of criticism--on the contrary, it gets words of encouragement and statements of solidarity. Among them are the halls of the U.S. Congress, the Oval Office of the White House, and the offices of the U.S. president-elect.

Compared even to the level of criticism of the government in Israel itself, the one-sidedness of the pro-Israel cheerleading among members of the U.S. political establishment is astounding. Even expressions of concern for the humanitarian crisis facing Gaza are remarkably few among U.S. politicians.

As the respected Middle East expert Juan Cole put it in his Informed Comment blog:

If the U.S. legislators voted on the Gaza operation, they would support Israel except for the same 10 who objected to the war on Lebanon (the 10 are mostly from congressional districts with a lot of Arab-Americans). Israel will suffer no practical sanctions from any government.

President-elect Obama has remained largely silent on Gaza, claiming that because "America has only one president at a time," he cannot issue statements that might contradict the current lame duck government's policies.

U.S.-Israel flag pin

But Obama is holding press conferences and giving YouTube addresses that are nothing if not critiques of the current administration's policies on every other issue. And he was quick to rush out a denunciation of the terror attacks in Mumbai last month.

Behind this seeming reticence to comment on Gaza, we have good evidence that Israel has nothing to fear from an Obama administration.

Last January, Obama issued a letter to UN Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, urging him to oppose any resolution criticizing Israel's siege of Gaza. "We have to understand why Israel is forced to do this," the letter argued. "Israel has the right to respond while seeking to minimize any impact on civilians."

During his campaign tour of the Middle East and Europe this summer, he visited Sderot, Israel, to express his support for Israelis targeted by rockets from Gaza. His comment at the time: "If somebody was sending rockets into my house where my two daughters sleep at night, I'm going to do everything in my power to stop that. I would expect Israelis to do the same thing."

In other words, we should have little doubt about what Obama would say if he were regularly issuing statements on Gaza. Although the press forced him to issue a bland statement of concern for civilian casualties in both Gaza and Israel on January 6, he has preferred to remain mum.

Obama's silence is similar to the Bush administration's "disengagement" (to use the favored word of foreign policy wonks) from the Israel-Palestine conflict--an assurance that Israel can do whatever it wants without any interference from Washington.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

WHAT EXPLAINS the bipartisan lockstep march behind the Israel Defense Forces?

It certainly isn't because American politicians are reflecting the will of the American people, who are not nearly as pro-Israel as their political leaders are. Writing for Salon.com, Glenn Greenwald pointed to evidence from a Rasmussen Reports poll that:

strongly bolsters the severe disconnect I documented the other day between (a) American public opinion on U.S. policy towards Israel and (b) the consensus views expressed by America's political leadership.

Not only does Rasmussen find that Americans generally "are closely divided over whether the Jewish state should be taking military action against militants in the Gaza Strip" (44-41 percent, with 15 percent undecided), but Democratic voters overwhelmingly oppose the Israeli offensive--by a 24-point margin (31-55 percent). By stark contrast, Republicans, as one would expect (in light of their history of supporting virtually any proposed attack on Arabs and Muslims), overwhelmingly support the Israeli bombing campaign (62-27 percent).

The most popular explanation usually given for the American elite's pro-Israel bias is that it fears the wrath of the "Israel lobby."

There is a powerful network of Zionist organizations--led by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)--that donates money to pro-Israel candidates and lobbies the U.S. government on behalf of Israel. There's nothing anti-Semitic about pointing this out. These groups are quite open about their activities, and they aren't shy about touting their own influence.

But are these organizations and their lobbying efforts the reason why the U.S. supports Israel?

From a socialist point of view, the answer is no. Israel annually receives more than $3 billion in U.S. aid. Egypt runs second at around $2 billion. Yet no one would seriously claim that the aid Egypt receives is the result of an "Egyptian lobby."

It's no coincidence that Israel and Egypt are the two top recipients of U.S. aid. Both are important U.S. allies in the region where the lion's share of the world's oil is located.

Since the end of the Second World War, the U.S. has tied its "national security" to its access to and control of the flow of oil. That's why the U.S. has given military and economic aid to prop up "friendly" states in the region--not only Israel, but Egypt, Jordan and the Gulf monarchies, too.

The U.S. puts Israel at the top of the list because its government and population form the only uniformly pro-U.S. state in the region. In countries like Egypt, pro-Western governments rule over restive populations that hate the U.S. government's support for Israel and for their own oppressive regimes. Even the quisling government of U.S.-occupied Iraq isn't completely reliable.

In the 1990s, the Bush I and Clinton governments pursued various "peace" initiatives with Israel and the Palestinians--most of them aimed at getting Palestinians to accept their own "bantustans" (the term for the fake Black homelands in South Africa under apartheid) as a means to the end of stability for the U.S. and Israel in the region. Those efforts ran their course, and the Bush II regime, operating under the rubric of its "war on terror," simply let the Israeli government run amok.

These shifts in U.S. policy had nothing to do with the strength of the Israel lobby. They stemmed from changes inside the U.S. government's foreign policy establishment. The U.S. government decides how much leeway Israel has, and this leeway defines how successful the "Israel lobby" will be.

As long as Israel remains central to U.S. imperialism in the Middle East, Israel will continue to receive U.S. backing and aid. That's why Israel's ace in the hole in Washington isn't AIPAC, but the Pentagon, the CIA and the military-industrial complex. And as long as the national security establishment remains committed to Israel, elected politicians will provide the political cover that justifies the billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars that Israel receives.

MrBruce said...

Why Congress supports Israel

By Stephen Zunes And Kevin Martin

The Progressive Media Project
Updated: 01/16/2009 07:05:00 PM MST

Congress is woefully out of step on the issue of Israel's invasion of Gaza.

Israel's bombings and incursions have killed more than 1,100 Palestinians, hundreds of them women and children. Meanwhile, nine Israeli soldiers have died and Hamas rockets have killed four Israeli civilians.

But this disproportionate response by Israel has received overwhelming support in Congress.

On Jan. 8, the Senate passed its resolution by unanimous consent, vigorously endorsing Israel's actions and blaming only Hamas.

The following day, the House of Representatives passed its own version of the resolution by a margin of 390 in favor to 5 against, with 22 voting "present" (presumably to register discomfort with the measure without voting "no"). This resolution, astonishingly, even blamed Hamas for all the Palestinian deaths.

This lopsided vote in Congress does not reflect U.S. public opinion, however. While polls continue to indicate a strong commitment among the American people to Israel's right to live in peace and security, there appears to be far less support for providing Israel with a blank check, such as defending Israeli violations of international humanitarian law. In contrast to the near-unanimous support by Democrats on Capitol Hill, a recent Rasmussen poll shows that Democratic voters, by a more than two to one margin, oppose Israel's disproportionate attack.

Why, then, is Congress so far behind American public opinion? And why
Advertisement

are congressional Democrats ignoring their own voter base? It is not just the influence of the hard-line American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and others in the self- appointed "pro-Israel lobby." It is also because most elected officials have failed to recognize the dramatic shift in attitudes among ordinary Americans, particularly younger voters, who believe that, just as Israel should not be unfairly singled out for criticism, Israel should not be singled out as somehow exempt from international norms of behavior.

This growing opposition to unconditional U.S. support for Israel's massive assault comes not from any sympathy for the extremists of Hamas or from opposition to Israel's right to self- defense. It comes from the liberal mainstream of peace groups, human rights organizations, churches and the young activists who helped elect Barack Obama in November.

It also includes a growing number of American Jews who recognize that the large-scale killing of Palestinian civilians does not make Israel safer.

Few Democrats on Capitol Hill seem to be aware of this shift among the broad progressive populace and how non-representative of their core constituency they are on this issue.

Similarly, many of these younger progressive voters who support a more balanced policy toward Israel and Palestine probably don't realize just how far to the right many of their otherwise-liberal senators and representatives are.

This combination is probably why Congress continues to get away with supporting Israeli aggression. The problem may be less the power of AIPAC than the failure of the larger number of more moderate voices to mobilize comparable pressure on Congress.

The time to mobilize that pressure is now.

MrBruce said...

Taking On AIPAC: How to Support Palestinians AND Israel and Peace and Justice

by Rob Kall Page 1 of 2 page(s)


Supporters of the Palestinian people need to start thinking smart tactically as well as strategically. Simply demonstrating against the Israeli invasion, occupation and abuses has proven to be a failed tactic for helping the Palestinians.

Going to the streets and protesting the invasion of Gaza and the humanitarian violations and war crimes of Israel is an understandable and noble response. Attacking Jews is, of course, wrong and will actually strengthen AIPAC by giving its supporters PR ammunition in the media battle.


The fact is, AIPAC currently has a vise-grip on congressional legislative policy built upon the support of a 20% minority of American Jews and from support of Christian Zionists-- evangelicals who want to see violence because that is part of the predicted series of steps that will lead to the return of the Messiah and the "rapture," which will yank all good Christians into heaven. These two groups have given AIPAC immense money, power and influence..

Protesting has not loosened it, except for a tiny fraction of the most radical legislators. And AIPAC has shown all of congress how they viciously work to defeat those legislators when they run for re-election. Cynthia McKinney is the latest victim of AIPAC's assault.

To get Congress, and Obama, as well, to change their approach to Israel, they must be convinced that there are alternate paths they can safely take.

I've been interviewing the leaders and spokespeople of the Jewish alternatives to AIPAC-- J-street, Rabbi Michael Lerner's Tikkun and his Network of Spiritual progressives , and Brit Tzedek v Shalom;, Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace-- which have all called for stopping the violence, the invasion and who describe themselves as supporting Israel AND peace.

We need to empower these progressive, pro-peace Jewish groups, as a means to diluting AIPAC's currently virtually unassailable influence on congress and the White House.

All of the pro-Israel, pro-peace groups spokespeople I interviewed told me, in different words, that Israeli policy had lost the vision of its founding values, and that it is controlled by the Israeli equivalent of neocons-- radical conservatives. The problem with Israel is they have a parliamentary system where inclusion of small, extremist conservative groups has, historically, been necessary to build a majority. We have similar problems in the US, where, in the senate, one senator may represent 200,000 voters, while another may represent 10 million or more. Both the Israelis and we in the US are stuck with flawed democratic systems that give non-democratic power excesses to extremist right wing minorities.

Now, with liberals running the congress, well, at least center and left of center legislators, we have a unique opportunity to re-frame what it means to support Israel. What's that? You say stop supporting Israel altogether? Stop sending any funding? Sorry. That's not going to happen. Here's why.

There are over 5 million Jews in the US. Jews vote at the highest level of participation, so 5 million Jews might, because of their proclivity towards voting, might represent ten million average Americans. And the Jews are influential. Conservative Jews, through direct contributions, give a lot of money to conservative politicians and, according to Chris Hedges, through AIPAC, give a lot of money to almost all politicians, even ones with very few Jewish constituents. The conservative Jews make up just 20% of voters.

Eighty percent of Jews tend to vote for Democrats. Ninety percent of the Jews I know oppose the combative policies Israel has taken in recent years. They DO support Israel and its right to exist, but they are angry, frustrated, embarrassed, even ashamed by Israel's recent actions. But the liberal Jews, the vast majority, have not had a strong voice until recently.

Regardless of ideology, the vast majority of American Jews consider Israel their homeland, more so than the land their parents emigrated from. That same vast majority want to see a safe, secure Israel at peace. They want to see the US maintain a strong alliance with Israel, but they are willing to see the US take a more active role in making peace happen-- an approach that is very different from the AIPAC approach, which has, for the most part, taken a rubber stamp approach to extreme right wing Israeli leaders.

The bottom line is that the Jewish vote is highly influential. But it is not necessarily devoted to AIPAC.

Finally, with the development of the three organizations mentioned above, Jews and others who want to weaken the vise-grip AIPAC has on congress have a focus and some organizational resources and places where they can contribute energy, support and funds that can really make a difference in what counts-- changing the unquestioning, unchallenging support of Israel's arch-conservative driven policy.

If legislators can be persuaded that there are nuances in the positions American Jews have toward Israel, they (congress and Obama) will be able to take a more directive role with Israel. They'll be able to do what George Herbert Walker Bush tried to do-- insist that new settlements by the furthest right wing Jews-- almost always Orthodox extremists-- be halted, even shut down. They can demand that Israel use some of its US funding to help Palestinians-- to take a Three Cups of Tea approach.

This does not mean that the US will lower it's support for Israel. That would not work. A tiny majority of Jews might accept this, but even the liberal, peace-wanting Jews would not accept reductions in support. From the perspective of supporting Israel, almost all Jews are Zionists, just as most Muslims support Mecca as a place for Muslims, where no Christians or Jews are allowed.

1 | 2



Rob Kall is executive editor and publisher of OpEdNews.com, President of Futurehealth, Inc, inventor . He is also published regularly on the Huffingtonpost.com and is a columnist with Northstarwriters.com. He is a frequent Speaker on Politics, Impeachment, The art, science and power of story, heroes and the hero's journey, Positive Psychology, Stress, Biofeedback and a wide range of subjects. He is a campaign consultant specializing in tapping the power of stories for issue positioning, stump speeches and debates. He recently retired as organizer of several conferences, including StoryCon, the Summit Meeting on the Art, Science and Application of Story and The Winter Brain Meeting on neurofeedback, biofeedback, Optimal Functioning and Positive Psychology. See more of his articles here and, older ones, here.

Anonymous said...

All's Well That Ends Well
Shakespeare homepage | All's Well That Ends Well | Act 2, Scene 1
Previous scene | Next scene
SCENE I. Paris. The KING's palace.

Flourish of cornets. Enter the KING, attended with divers young Lords taking leave for the Florentine war; BERTRAM, and PAROLLES

KING

Farewell, young lords; these warlike principles
Do not throw from you: and you, my lords, farewell:
Share the advice betwixt you; if both gain, all
The gift doth stretch itself as 'tis received,
And is enough for both.

First Lord

'Tis our hope, sir,
After well enter'd soldiers, to return
And find your grace in health.

KING

No, no, it cannot be; and yet my heart
Will not confess he owes the malady
That doth my life besiege. Farewell, young lords;
Whether I live or die, be you the sons
Of worthy Frenchmen: let higher Italy,--
Those bated that inherit but the fall
Of the last monarchy,--see that you come
Not to woo honour, but to wed it; when
The bravest questant shrinks, find what you seek,
That fame may cry you loud: I say, farewell.

Second Lord

Health, at your bidding, serve your majesty!

KING

Those girls of Italy, take heed of them:
They say, our French lack language to deny,
If they demand: beware of being captives,
Before you serve.

Both

Our hearts receive your warnings.

KING

Farewell. Come hither to me.

Exit, attended

First Lord

O, my sweet lord, that you will stay behind us!

PAROLLES

'Tis not his fault, the spark.

Second Lord

O, 'tis brave wars!

PAROLLES

Most admirable: I have seen those wars.

BERTRAM

I am commanded here, and kept a coil with
'Too young' and 'the next year' and ''tis too early.'

PAROLLES

An thy mind stand to't, boy, steal away bravely.

BERTRAM

I shall stay here the forehorse to a smock,
Creaking my shoes on the plain masonry,
Till honour be bought up and no sword worn
But one to dance with! By heaven, I'll steal away.

First Lord

There's honour in the theft.

PAROLLES

Commit it, count.

Second Lord

I am your accessary; and so, farewell.

BERTRAM

I grow to you, and our parting is a tortured body.

First Lord

Farewell, captain.

Second Lord

Sweet Monsieur Parolles!

PAROLLES

Noble heroes, my sword and yours are kin. Good
sparks and lustrous, a word, good metals: you shall
find in the regiment of the Spinii one Captain
Spurio, with his cicatrice, an emblem of war, here
on his sinister cheek; it was this very sword
entrenched it: say to him, I live; and observe his
reports for me.

First Lord

We shall, noble captain.

Exeunt Lords

PAROLLES

Mars dote on you for his novices! what will ye do?

BERTRAM

Stay: the king.

Re-enter KING. BERTRAM and PAROLLES retire

PAROLLES

[To BERTRAM] Use a more spacious ceremony to the
noble lords; you have restrained yourself within the
list of too cold an adieu: be more expressive to
them: for they wear themselves in the cap of the
time, there do muster true gait, eat, speak, and
move under the influence of the most received star;
and though the devil lead the measure, such are to
be followed: after them, and take a more dilated farewell.

BERTRAM

And I will do so.

PAROLLES

Worthy fellows; and like to prove most sinewy sword-men.

Exeunt BERTRAM and PAROLLES

Enter LAFEU

LAFEU

[Kneeling] Pardon, my lord, for me and for my tidings.

KING

I'll fee thee to stand up.

LAFEU

Then here's a man stands, that has brought his pardon.
I would you had kneel'd, my lord, to ask me mercy,
And that at my bidding you could so stand up.

KING

I would I had; so I had broke thy pate,
And ask'd thee mercy for't.

LAFEU

Good faith, across: but, my good lord 'tis thus;
Will you be cured of your infirmity?

KING

No.

LAFEU

O, will you eat no grapes, my royal fox?
Yes, but you will my noble grapes, an if
My royal fox could reach them: I have seen a medicine
That's able to breathe life into a stone,
Quicken a rock, and make you dance canary
With spritely fire and motion; whose simple touch,
Is powerful to araise King Pepin, nay,
To give great Charlemain a pen in's hand,
And write to her a love-line.

KING

What 'her' is this?

LAFEU

Why, Doctor She: my lord, there's one arrived,
If you will see her: now, by my faith and honour,
If seriously I may convey my thoughts
In this my light deliverance, I have spoke
With one that, in her sex, her years, profession,
Wisdom and constancy, hath amazed me more
Than I dare blame my weakness: will you see her
For that is her demand, and know her business?
That done, laugh well at me.

KING

Now, good Lafeu,
Bring in the admiration; that we with thee
May spend our wonder too, or take off thine
By wondering how thou took'st it.

LAFEU

Nay, I'll fit you,
And not be all day neither.

Exit

KING

Thus he his special nothing ever prologues.

Re-enter LAFEU, with HELENA

LAFEU

Nay, come your ways.

KING

This haste hath wings indeed.

LAFEU

Nay, come your ways:
This is his majesty; say your mind to him:
A traitor you do look like; but such traitors
His majesty seldom fears: I am Cressid's uncle,
That dare leave two together; fare you well.

Exit

KING

Now, fair one, does your business follow us?

HELENA

Ay, my good lord.
Gerard de Narbon was my father;
In what he did profess, well found.

KING

I knew him.

HELENA

The rather will I spare my praises towards him:
Knowing him is enough. On's bed of death
Many receipts he gave me: chiefly one.
Which, as the dearest issue of his practise,
And of his old experience the oily darling,
He bade me store up, as a triple eye,
Safer than mine own two, more dear; I have so;
And hearing your high majesty is touch'd
With that malignant cause wherein the honour
Of my dear father's gift stands chief in power,
I come to tender it and my appliance
With all bound humbleness.

KING

We thank you, maiden;
But may not be so credulous of cure,
When our most learned doctors leave us and
The congregated college have concluded
That labouring art can never ransom nature
From her inaidible estate; I say we must not
So stain our judgment, or corrupt our hope,
To prostitute our past-cure malady
To empirics, or to dissever so
Our great self and our credit, to esteem
A senseless help when help past sense we deem.

HELENA

My duty then shall pay me for my pains:
I will no more enforce mine office on you.
Humbly entreating from your royal thoughts
A modest one, to bear me back a again.

KING

I cannot give thee less, to be call'd grateful:
Thou thought'st to help me; and such thanks I give
As one near death to those that wish him live:
But what at full I know, thou know'st no part,
I knowing all my peril, thou no art.

HELENA

What I can do can do no hurt to try,
Since you set up your rest 'gainst remedy.
He that of greatest works is finisher
Oft does them by the weakest minister:
So holy writ in babes hath judgment shown,
When judges have been babes; great floods have flown
From simple sources, and great seas have dried
When miracles have by the greatest been denied.
Oft expectation fails and most oft there
Where most it promises, and oft it hits
Where hope is coldest and despair most fits.

KING

I must not hear thee; fare thee well, kind maid;
Thy pains not used must by thyself be paid:
Proffers not took reap thanks for their reward.

HELENA

Inspired merit so by breath is barr'd:
It is not so with Him that all things knows
As 'tis with us that square our guess by shows;
But most it is presumption in us when
The help of heaven we count the act of men.
Dear sir, to my endeavours give consent;
Of heaven, not me, make an experiment.
I am not an impostor that proclaim
Myself against the level of mine aim;
But know I think and think I know most sure
My art is not past power nor you past cure.

KING

Are thou so confident? within what space
Hopest thou my cure?

HELENA

The great'st grace lending grace
Ere twice the horses of the sun shall bring
Their fiery torcher his diurnal ring,
Ere twice in murk and occidental damp
Moist Hesperus hath quench'd his sleepy lamp,
Or four and twenty times the pilot's glass
Hath told the thievish minutes how they pass,
What is infirm from your sound parts shall fly,
Health shall live free and sickness freely die.

KING

Upon thy certainty and confidence
What darest thou venture?

HELENA

Tax of impudence,
A strumpet's boldness, a divulged shame
Traduced by odious ballads: my maiden's name
Sear'd otherwise; nay, worse--if worse--extended
With vilest torture let my life be ended.

KING

Methinks in thee some blessed spirit doth speak
His powerful sound within an organ weak:
And what impossibility would slay
In common sense, sense saves another way.
Thy life is dear; for all that life can rate
Worth name of life in thee hath estimate,
Youth, beauty, wisdom, courage, all
That happiness and prime can happy call:
Thou this to hazard needs must intimate
Skill infinite or monstrous desperate.
Sweet practiser, thy physic I will try,
That ministers thine own death if I die.

HELENA

If I break time, or flinch in property
Of what I spoke, unpitied let me die,
And well deserved: not helping, death's my fee;
But, if I help, what do you promise me?

KING

Make thy demand.

HELENA

But will you make it even?

KING

Ay, by my sceptre and my hopes of heaven.

HELENA

Then shalt thou give me with thy kingly hand
What husband in thy power I will command:
Exempted be from me the arrogance
To choose from forth the royal blood of France,
My low and humble name to propagate
With any branch or image of thy state;
But such a one, thy vassal, whom I know
Is free for me to ask, thee to bestow.

KING

Here is my hand; the premises observed,
Thy will by my performance shall be served:
So make the choice of thy own time, for I,
Thy resolved patient, on thee still rely.
More should I question thee, and more I must,
Though more to know could not be more to trust,
From whence thou camest, how tended on: but rest
Unquestion'd welcome and undoubted blest.
Give me some help here, ho! If thou proceed
As high as word, my deed shall match thy meed.

Flourish. Exeunt

Shakespeare homepage | All's Well That Ends Well | Act 2, Scene 1
Previous scene | Next scene

MrBruce said...

Dennis Ross?! Guess the revolution won't be energized...

January 8, 2009, 5:13PM

Post-revolution, the interval between useful idiot and useless idiot disappears, and the rose-strewn streets, so lately sites of delirious parades and energetic visionaries, become littered with riddled remains of the expendable.

I'm trying hard to hold onto my belief in hope and change. I think Obama and his people are very smart, and they attract other smart, talented - visionary - people. And we need them and we need that process to rescue this country. We have wars busting out all over, in addition to our own grinding atrocities in the Middle East and South Asia.

The trashed economy is staring us in the face. Our entire, global monetary system, for the past several years, has rested on a bubble, a giant puffball of speculation-driven super-trading that, in reality, had no value at all; like a fresh street whore, it was sought after only for a moment, and after each commission player chipped out his percentage and sent it a step higher up the paper trail, its actual bearing atomized.

Everyone is waiting for the next shoe to fall; everyone is expecting more bad news.

The one bright spot in all this was the impending Obama presidency, where business-as-usual was, like torture, lying and month-long vacations, disavowed.

That's why the news of Dennis Ross named as a likely special envoy to Iran comes as such a disappointment. I feel like a true believer betrayed - swept up in the night and dumped in the gutter with a bullet in my neck.

Dennis Ross! If ever there was a liberal-camp neocon, it's him. As Jim Lobe notes in his blog:

Needless to say, if the memo is genuine (and I have no doubt that it is) and accurate, Ross' appointment marks a major setback for those who had hoped that Obama might bring some fresh thinking to Middle East policy, particularly vis-a-vis Iran and Israel-Palestine.

Great. Don't dare start believing too much, lest ye be gob-smacked. There was something about Obama's silence on the Gaza incursion I took as defiance to the Israeli Lobby: He didn't go running to a live mike and swear fealty forever to our brave - and violent - li'l ally in the Levant. Now, that doesn't look like the indication, at all. Maybe... maybe his reticence just means he has nothing new to say.

I guess that was too much to hope for. A review of Ross' checkered resume is valuable, on RightWeb:

Ross's role in the Clinton administration was later assessed by the international relations scholars John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt in their controversial 2006 paper for Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy." Mearsheimer and Walt wrote, "During the Clinton Administration ... Middle East policy was largely shaped by officials with close ties to Israel or to prominent pro-Israel organizations--including Martin Indyk, the former deputy director of research at AIPAC [American Israel Public Affairs Committee] and co-founder of the pro-Israel Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP); Dennis Ross, who joined WINEP after leaving government in 2001; and Aaron Miller, who has lived in Israel and often visits there. These men were among President Clinton's closest advisors at the Camp David summit in July 2000. Although all three supported the Oslo peace process and favored creation of a Palestinian state, they did so only within the limits of what would be acceptable to Israel.

And Martin Indyk, Hillary...Richard Holbrooke. What next?

Anonymous said...

Arrrrrrrrgh, Bend's financing AIPAC with money stolen from 1031 victims is equivalent to being tied to a chair in Ashland and listening to Shakepeare.

Now I get it.

Bewert said...

Re: Now I get it.

###

Left click on the name. I missed all those long things.

Bewert said...

fake bruce, you are ruining your argument with such a tsunami of words. Try using fewer, well chosen words. I'm on your side, but who is going to read 5000 words on a blog?

Anonymous said...

Who said anything about registered guns? I am talking about what you said about obama supporting the constitution which states the right to bear arms? Does he support the right to bear arms? A simple yes or no will do? No means he does not yes means he does>

Bewert said...

Re: A simple yes or no will do?

###

"As a general principle, I believe that the Constitution confers an individual right to bear arms." From the Philly debate.

Bewert said...

Re: Who said anything about registered guns?

###

You did.

"Gun Registration – supports gun owner licensing and gun registration. “Fact Check: No News In Obama’s Consistent Record” Obama website 12/11/07"

Bewert said...

Actually, you are right on Obama's vote on the affirmative defense for self-defense vote. He voted no.

I still think that this subject is simply not on his radar.

Anonymous said...

*

Time to let the 2 Bruces talk to each other.

*

As for the rest of us, it's time for bed.

Better ways to spend an evening than scroll through pages of text.


*

BTW, Buster - there are way more than 5 people on this blog.

More like 25 who post at least occasionally.

*

Pure Ingredients said...

check out Bend's risk of housing depreciation on this thingy:

http://www.pmi-us.com/media/pdf/products_services/eret/pmi_eretappndx_0109.pdf

From what I gather, there is a 78% chance that housing will devalue in the next quarter (year?). Not news to anyone here, just more graphic ammunition.

Anonymous said...

fake bruce is doing one thing, and it's not getting anyone to give a shit about aipac. It's getting people not to be able to have a useful and meaningful discussion about bend.

fake bruce is underwater on his homes. fake bruce didn't think it would get this bad, or he would have sold at the top. fake bruce will tell you that it is dumb to sell, except he could have sold and paid all RE fees and taxes and STILL have bought houses 2 to 1. fake bruce doesn't want us to talk about it anymore. it makes fake bruce feel bad.

please stop having a valid discussion about bend. we don't want to hurt anyone's feelings.

there are times and places for all discussions. aipac may be a valid discussion. it's not going to happen here. as soon as I see aipac or israel I immediately scroll down.

Bewert said...

Hey, I tried to bring some discussion in re: Summit 1031, and Buster is the only one to say anything about it. I posted multiple articles about the City Council's actions next week, about comments on a City BK by our Mayor. Nada. No response.

No one cares enough to pay attention.

But it's bedtime for this old fart, too.

tim said...

"No one cares enough to pay attention."

Can't see the god damned Bend messages anymore. Lost.

LavaBear said...

>>>Hey, I tried to bring some discussion in re: Summit 1031, and Buster is the only one to say anything about it.

I actually agree that there is much more about the Summit deal but it is too early yet. Some shit has to shake out and fuckin a' I think it will. But we are dealing with lawyers and accountants here....it will take time. Buster and Fake Bruce's theories are just that. I'm holding off until we get some reality because I think it will be weirder than the fiction out there now.

LavaBear said...

>>Can't see the god damned Bend messages anymore. Lost.

HEY REAL BRUCE....yes you. Real Bruce, Tim is talking to you. I understand you are way too dense to pick it up so I'll act as the go between. Would you fucking quit feeding the troll? Please? We like you and sometimes you add to the overall discussion but fuckin fuck you dump some shit around here that is completely appropriate other places but here it is simply troll food.

Damn, what is your wife bike shop address? I really need to send her flowers or something. Living with you and your thick fucking skull must be maddening. She is a Saint or she's a short bus riding retard. Either way she deserves flowers.

Anonymous said...

"No one cares enough to pay attention."

Fake Bruce is doing a good job of making it hard to pay attention.

Anonymous said...

I wish the all the pro/anti jewish fucks would just grab a gun, get the fuck over to the middle east and line up and fight with whichever side they feel is getting fucked and leave the rest of us alone.

Bunch of spineless pussies.

Anonymous said...

Yes, the trolls must stop. AIPAC is very relevaant to today's issues as well as Zionism. This doesn't mean that I'm anti-Jewish anymore more than discussions about Nazism is anti-German. No one will read long cut-in-paste sections from serious writers (not on this blog at least). If one must speak about AIPAC then at least intersperse the rants with some intelligent thougts about bend cock and pussy. I already subscribe to Harpers and the Christian Science Montor who sadly never post any over sized tit pics. This is why I read this blog. If I want up to date economic news I'll read Mish's Global Economic blog; however, this is the blog for freaky pics and 10th grade locker humor. Less AIPAC, more pussy please!

Anonymous said...

UGH!
This blog has been ruined #*%*@#

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

Israel is pulling a Jimmy Carter on Gee-Dub... they're pulling out of Gaza, just like IRAN did the day before Reagan was inaugurated.

Iran & Israel... birds of a feather. TOTALITARIAN ASSHOLES.

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

FREE AT LEAST, FREE AT LAST!

THANK GOD ALMIGHTY WE ARE FREE AT LAST!

This has been a lost decade: 2 years with an emasculated Clinton, 8 yrs of BRAIN DEAD BUSH.

Please O-bomber, save us from politics as usual.

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

Marge said...

UGH!
This blog has been ruined #*%*@#


There's still you & me margie...

How's stats look this hoar-frosty morn?

Bewert said...

I've been looking into the refresh expanding comments problem. It's done in the css file, using the dd tag. We might be able to build a fix. Although I'm not sure the blogger free host will let us use it. Maybe we can figure out a way to host the comments somewhere else that butter can control.

IHateToBurstYourBubble said...

The Royal Bank of Scotland is going broke soon.

Iceland first, Scotland next... how many countries will this bubble take down?

Bewert said...

Re: Iceland first, Scotland next... how many countries will this bubble take down?

###

Ireland, too.

Anonymous said...

Maybe we can figure out a way to host the comments somewhere else that butter can control.

*

Why all of a sudden is everyone trying to destroy this blog by censorship.

Sure there are tons of ways to controls comments, 'haloscan' comes to mind.

Butter has better things to do with his time than delete and edit comments 24/7, folks that want to do that can create their own blog.

Anonymous said...

Marge said...

UGH!
This blog has been ruined #*%*@#

*

Marge is Jewish, that is given, she also bitched like living hell about the photo's at BB3, because they were sacred, and could only be used by Jews.

Note this fucking hypocrisy in BEND.

FUCK ALL OF YOU, BEND MONEY HAS FED WORLD TOTALITARIANISM.

Anonymous said...

I actually agree that there is much more about the Summit deal but it is too early yet.

*

FUCK YOU DUNC, we all have to wait until its over to discuss anything.

We have to wait until every fucking Palestinian is DEAD, Bend Dead, before we can talk about their disappearance, ... so fucking Bend.

Anonymous said...

The Rime AKA Hoar Frost was incredible yesterday. Just what I needed to keep me in Bend forever :)
The stats are pretty miserable. I posted some on Friday and no changes yet.
As of this moment 30 homes sold @ $234k median. I expect it to stay the way as the pending sale median prices are close to that price. The sales over the next 3 months should run near 60 to 70 a month.

Anonymous said...

"Why all of a sudden is everyone trying to destroy this blog by censorship."

Because it's being destroyed by trolls. It's become unreadable, due to pasted crap.

Anonymous said...

Who the fuck dumps all the Shakespeare CRAP?

Why is that NOT troll shit? Why does nobody complain??

The hypocrisy is fucking KNEE DEEP here, shit its neck deep, hell the Deep is gone to Boca Raton, FL.

Anonymous said...

How about we start another blog all about AIPAC?

Anonymous said...

"Why is that NOT troll shit? Why does nobody complain??"

God that fucking stuff is troll shit. I can go read Shakespeare elsewhere. It's public domain. I can read that AIPAC shit elsewhere, too.

Why the hell are people dumping text. Don't you know how to make a fucking HTML link? Ever heard of a goddamn excerpt. Just typical Bend stupidity.

All the AIPAC crap is some underwater fucker trying to make the blog unreadable and able to be dismissed as garbage.

Anonymous said...

I'm on your side, but who is going to read 5000 words on a blog?

###

Pussy, 99% of the people on this blog are loser renter 'Bend Morons', can any of them read 5k words?

Hell no, that's not the point pussy.


The point is too rub shit in the dogs nose.

Dogs don't know what they did wrong, but after a while they figure out that their behavior has something to do with the shit, and they quit shitting in the house, they figure out if you can't find the shit, then you'll not wipe it in their face.

Today Bend is ran and owned by a vast public record of 'Christian Zionist' organizations that have funneled millions to AIPAC. Bend is Republican, and it was PUG's that ran the racket.

The buzz of the Bush years was "NO MONEY LEFT BEHIND".

But where did the money go? The answer is AIPAC, to kill for Israel, the Pugs ( jeebus freaks ), they jeebus going to come get them, very soon. They think if they expedite war in Middle East that they can avoid jail for theft.

It drives the bastards of Bend crazy to discuss, "What is Bend".

Anonymous said...

>>>Marge is Jewish, that is given, she also bitched like living hell about the photo's at BB3, because they were sacred, and could only be used by Jews.<<<<

Not true, I just think they are ugly pictures. They are a hard reminder though, of what can happen again as the New World Order changes our lives.
I didn't know any Jews came out of Fargo. Fargo is whiter than Bend.

Drunc McGeary said...

Because it's being destroyed by trolls. It's become unreadable, due to pasted crap.

>>

That's really funny, its like forever select people have begged homer to censor this site, but two weeks ago when Israel ( AIPAC ) began their HOLOCAUST and we discussed it you fucking 'control freaks' went out of your mind.

Like when PALIN went public, it was on this board 24/7 for a month, until people got tired about talking about PALINS pussy.

AIPAC/GAZA will go aways, cuz Gazians are almost all dead.

Until then, stay away from this fucking blog you fucking control freaks.

HOMER AIN'T GOING TO CENSOR THIS BLOG, SO GO FUCK OFF.

Drunc McGeary said...

Nobody complained about Shakespeare,

Nobody complained about long Dailk-Kos pastings, ...

Nobody complained, ... every few months a few bitch to control this blog, ...


BUT GOD forbid if we talk about AIPAC, then the fucking control-freaks go out of their fucking minds!!!

Why pray tell?

Note the last 10-20 posts contain no long BP posting's, but the control-freaks come out of the wood-work.

Best of all is Lava/Mike, ... all the clone KUNTS, saying don't talk about SUMMIT-1031 until its OVER, this is classic AIPAC mind-control, when its over is when people quit talking about it.

Like HBM refusing to demand Summit-1031 refund the RNC money to clients, ... there is so much to this story, and all of BEND treats its like burnt bodies in Gaza afraid to even look, and the control-freaks want everyone to ignore the obvious until the mess can be swept up, and cleaned, and sanitized.

FUCK YOU, ALL OF YOU.

LavaBear said...

>>>Until then, stay away from this fucking blog you fucking control freaks.

With one phone call I can get your prescription renewed and probably up the dose. But you gotta promise us that you'll take it.

Anonymous said...

I didn't know any Jews came out of Fargo

>

No jews in Fargo, No jews in Kansas, ... No Jews in Bend, ...

I agree Jews only make up 2% of the USA, and they all live in LA or FL, and a few in NYC.

Jews aren't the problem, the problem is AIPAC, and AIPAC is a front for the CIA/MOSSAD.

AIPAC is part of the fucking military industrial complex, to keep the USA in a permanent state of war.

Anonymous said...

With one phone call I can get your prescription renewed and probably up the dose. But you gotta promise us that you'll take it.

*

So fucking Bend.

Give everybody a pill, porn, or a 'enlargement' keep em happy, give dim a Soma.

foz said...

It's too bad you can't disable the ability to "paste".

Real bruce can't you edit your name to have a capital "B" or something so I don't have to check the user id all the time?

LavaBear said...

>>>Give everybody a pill, porn, or a 'enlargement' keep em happy, give dim a Soma.


Oh not those kinds of pills. I'm talking more about a serious medical condition that can be managed. It's when you stop taking the prescription is when you lose it all. You just don't realize it but everyone else does.

Anonymous said...

Yes, why 'AIPAC' why is that so fucking sacred?????

For over 2+ years since day-one here we have bashed Christians 24/7, Jeebus-Freaks, last xmas homer did a Smite Baby-Jeebus, column that nobody bitched.

The Summit-1031 of BEND was NOT about JEWISH, it was 100% Christian, the Fronts ran by TEAM-MOSS of Bend are 100% christian.

It's just that they all feed money to AIPAC, which knows how play christians like a sock puppet.

It's BEND, and its where the money went, and its part of the fucking DEBATE on Bend-ORYGUN.

Can't handle the fucking topic, then leave the kitchen.

Like all of the 'debating the Bend economy' there is NO one word, well there are 4 words.

"NO MONEY LEFT BEHIND"

But where did the money go?

Who setup the racket?

I know 99% of you don't fucking care, big-tits, and man-child jokes, is 99% of this group, always has been, but guess what? Its not about you.

Anonymous said...


How about we start another blog all about AIPAC?



Well its almost over, if the OREO isn't BUSH, but given that OREO has filled his cabinet with MORE AIPAC people than BUSH had, ... Who knows?

It would be nice if AIPAC went away, but to ignore the #1 lobbying group in the nation?

They fucking OWN WYDEN & Merkley, they own Telfer, they own most of the mover's and shaker's of BEND.

Like easy-money the past six years going to pro-AIPAC people, that was the whole COUNTRY-WIDE deal, ... that is why BofA was FORCED to BUY Country-Wide, and now BofA is BK.

How in the FUCK can you discuss the BEND Economy and leave out the political franchise that funds ALL the fucking campaign cash? How?

It's like saying you can't talk about HOLLERN, a major part of Bend history. You can't talk about Knife-River, where all the city money goes.

You can't talk about MOSS bank of Bend, who funds all the christian nut case groups.

FUCK ALL OF YOU THIS IS BEND.

Drunc McGeary said...

AIPAC ain't JEWISH.

The whole mythology of BEND, is you can't debate, because it's anti-semitic.

There is NOTHING Jewish about AIPAC, and its ownership of the ORYGUN political process.

They simply figured out how to steal taxpayers dollars, and fund their selected polticians, and the POL's have figured out who butters the bread to keep everyone in office forever.

Anonymous said...

Oh not those kinds of pills. - lava

*

Lava your a retard, go google 'soma' and read some fucking books.

You make the pussy look like a man.

Drunc McGeary said...

Like Suterra ( Stewart Resnick ) AIPAC kingpin of Calif, the largest contributor in the State to BOTH party's.

We couldn't talk about Suterra either, and nobody ever has.

That's the WHOLE fucking problem with this town, is that NOBODY can talk.

HOLLERN has largely cashed-out all his shit, and passed ownership to AIPAC, Inc.

It's called Push-Back, but rather than controlling the debate, why doesn't anyone care to 'debate' the hand-over of Bend to Resnick, who controls all the water in CALIF?? Who will soon control all the water in Central-Orygun??

It's so fucking bizarre that the real interesting issues are illegal to discuss.

But shit homers says we can talk about big-tits, and apu pissing gatoraide, or lava talking about putting pills up his ass.

We can't talk real subjects, but we can talk potty talk, that too is a class 'scientology' mind-control, keep everyone focussed on their dicks.

LavaBear said...

>>>Lava your a retard


You funny. It's "you're" by the way not your. But since you read books you knew that and were just making a joke. Funny stuff.

Anonymous said...

Marge said...
The Rime AKA Hoar Frost was incredible yesterday. Just what I needed to keep me in Bend forever :)
=======

Huh?

Do you like living in a fog all day long?

Whatever!!!

I was above the fog all Saturday and Sunday.... warm, with a suntan. MBach be good. Small crowds, for a weekend. Very small crowds for a Holiday W-End.

Me like MBach. Me like Sunshine. Me nolike da wind (BarDown...BarDown!).

PS Keep the cut-n-paste!!!

LavaBear said...

>>>lava talking about putting pills up his ass.

Dang, see what happens when you are off your medication? You just get so confused and disoriented. I was talking about pills but I was talking about shoving them up your ass not mine. It's sad to watch when you get like this.

Anonymous said...

Where is the new AIPAC blog where buster is ranting? I want to read it.

Also, where is the new Shakespeare blog?

Anonymous said...

HOLLERN has SOLD Awbrey-Glen today.

ALL of HOLLERN's STD villages, are now going to have their 24+ resort golf courses stripped, and INFILLED with MORE STD's..

All you KUNTs that bought golf front property are FUCKED.

Probably can't talk about this either, as an AIPAC investor bought Awbrey-Glen.

Anonymous said...

Another note that can't be discussed on BEBB because of deletion, but nobody cares here, ...

@Broken-Top the restuarant and resort 'golf' are dead, the 1/2 dozen investors are BROKE.

The EMPLOYEES are the most high paid, best benefits in town, and don't want the plug pulled, this means that Sagebrush-Classic is finished.

In 1989 a Des-Co judge ruled that ALL GOLF in BEND only existed to SELL RE, now that RE can't be Sold, all golf courses are going to be sold for re-development.

HOLD FUCKING ON, its going to get MORE fucking ugly than your wildest imagination.

All these $1M, $2M,... giant STD's are all going to become worthless, as their view will be of apartment complexes, and 'affordable housing'.

Anonymous said...

Also, where is the new Shakespeare blog?

*

BendMorons.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

On note of this BB2 blog and rules.

First rule there are no rules, except you cannot call butter a cunt.

Second rule, and most important, you can bash the goyim, for coming to bend and losing all their fucking money. But NEVER, and I mean NEVER can you discuss how God's chosen people ran the racket, not even in historical context, for that will bring the wrath of God upon thee.

Made-Off was most hard to discuss, because generally it would have been unheard of to discuss a 'chosen people' ripping off Goyim, but in Made-Off's case he was a chosen ripping off the chosen. That is reportable.

So now you know the rule's blog on, ...


For instance Bledsoe is fair game, being a dumb jock.

Resnick is not fair game, an insult of pun on his good name would be construed as anti-semitism, an you would be in deep shit.

That's it, bash the goyim, but never bash 'gods chosen people'.

tim said...

Those aren't the rules. There are no rules.

But the guidelines, if you want anyone to listen to you are: Bash, but don't spam or troll. Make a good argument, don't just word dump.

Supposedly, there's some link from 1021 to AIPAC, but it was lost in a big bunch of dumping about what's current;y going on in Gaza.

The problem with the dumping was lack of narrative. It was like someone turned on the PR/Newswire spigot in here. It dulled the senses.

Now, if what you want to do is irritate people so they go away, the guidelines are: dump a bunch of text in here.

LavaBear said...

>>>So now you know the rule's blog on, ...

You forgot the most important rule.

ANY and EVERY topic must be tied back to AIPAC in three sentences or less or it becomes null and void.

Like the topic of you forgetting your medication. It's in your medicine cabinet but that fucker has a mirrored front. You can't look yourself in the face without thinking "AIPAC" thus you forget about why you needed it in the first place.

tim said...

2 -> 3
; -> l

Anonymous said...

So many 'made-offs' so little time, best time in twenty years to use your dual-passport and get back to Israel.

...

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune is reporting that investors in a Sarasota-based
hedge fund are likely out $350-million and the manager of the fund is
missing. "Fund principal Arthur G. Nadel, a prominent player in Sarasota's
jewish social and philanthropic circles, disappeared this week. His wife,
Peg, filed a missing person report with law enforcement after finding a
suicide note."

The Nadels were known for their civic activities, serving on boards and
donating money. They donated heavily to Jewish Family & Children's Services
and Girls Inc. all received cash gifts and pledges from the couple in recent
years. "We're very fortunate in that way," said Rose Chapman, president of
Jewish Family & Children's Services. Moody was co-chair of the organization'
s capital campaign.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090117/ts_nm/us_nadel_2

MIAMI (Reuters) - A Florida money manager is missing and police have opened
an investigation into the possible disappearance of "hundreds of millions"
of dollars, authorities said on Friday.

Police are searching for Arthur Nadel, 75, a prominent Sarasota
philanthropist and fund manager who was reported missing by his family on
Wednesday.

Sarasota police are investigating complaints from at least five investors in
Nadel's funds, run from a management office in Sarasota, that their money
has disappeared. The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported investors could be out
as much as $350 million.

Anonymous said...

ANOTHER Jewish swindler! Arthur Nadel - investors could be out as much as $350 million

#

Pls take your anti-semitism elsewhere.

Anonymous said...


32%/yr ROI, forever just like Bend, .. exceptionalism every where

This story is permitted, Jews robbing Jews.



Nadel’s 32% Returns in Doubt as Manager Disappears (Update1)
Email | Print | A A A

By Joe Schneider, Doris Bloodsworth and Saijel Kishan

Jan. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Brad Lerner was pleased when a November statement showed his $500,000 investment in a fund run by Arthur Nadel had gained 8.5 percent for the year as the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 39 percent.

Lerner, an internist from Sarasota, Florida, never got a December statement.

Instead, one of Nadel’s partners came to him last week with the news that the fund manager couldn’t be found. Lerner, 55, and others whose money was invested by Nadel’s Scoop Management Inc. in Sarasota may have lost as much as $350 million, law enforcement officials say.

“Hindsight is 20-20,” Lerner, who had most of his life savings in the Viking IRA fund, said in a Jan. 17 interview. “But I guess it was too good to be true.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation joined local police over the weekend in the search for Nadel, 76, who left his $250,000 four-bedroom home for work on the morning of Jan. 14 and hasn’t been seen by his family or business partners since. The probe follows by a month the alleged confession by New York’s Bernard Madoff of running a $50 billion Ponzi scheme.

Nadel’s light green Subaru was found on Jan. 15 in a parking lot at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport. He left his family a note at home in which he sounded “distraught,” according to Lieutenant Chuck Lesaltato of the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office.

New Orleans Lead

He has since spoken by phone to his wife, Marguerite, according to Neil Moody, who contracted with Nadel to run three funds, including Viking IRA. Marguerite Nadel didn’t answer her home or mobile phone.

“The employees of Scoop Management, which includes Peg Nadel, the wife of Arthur Nadel, have just learned that they, along with many others who have invested money with Art, have been victimized by his unauthorized actions,” Nadel’s family said in a statement, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Lerner said he was told by the FBI that Nadel had last called his wife, known as Peg, from New Orleans. An FBI spokeswoman in New Orleans said the agency doesn’t comment on open investigations. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is helping the Sarasota Police Department in the search for client funds.

Viking IRA is one of six private funds run by Nadel, according to Moody. The Valhalla Investment Partners LP and Viking funds are also managed under contract for Moody. Nadel’s firm, located in a storefront office on Main Street, has three funds of its own: Victory, Victory IRA and Scoop Real Estate.

Nadel said in a prospectus for Valhalla Investment Partners that he developed computer-generated investment and trading programs, which had been used by other hedge funds since 1999.

32% Annual Returns

Valhalla reported average annual returns of 32 percent from 2000 through 2006, according to a report by CogentHedge.com, a Web site that tracks the performance of hedge funds. The report, dated March 2007, said Valhalla had 55 consecutive profitable months from October 2001 to April 2006. The fund’s longest losing streak was two months in 2000.

Hedge funds lost an average of 18.3 percent last year, the worst year on record, according to Chicago-based Hedge Fund Research Inc., as managers misjudged the severity of the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression.

Moody declined to elaborate on the trading strategies used by the funds, their holdings or returns when contacted yesterday.

“We are cooperating with all the appropriate authorities, and are in the process of gathering the facts,” Moody’s lawyer, James Miller, said in an e-mailed statement.

Deals Gone Sour

Virginia Hoffman, Nadel’s ex-wife, said she wasn’t surprised to learn he had disappeared, along with the money.

“I am not shocked by the act,” Hoffman said in a Jan. 17 e-mail. “I am shocked by the magnitude of what he has done.”

Hoffman and Nadel were divorced in 1999, according to the Sarasota Clerk of County Comptroller. Hoffman said they were together for 15 years and married for four. Hoffman said she was Nadel’s third wife.

In Sarasota, many people “knew of his past business deals which had gone sour but yet folks still trusted him with their money,” Hoffman said.

Nadel, who had graduated from New York University School of Law, was disbarred in the 1980s, Hoffman said.

According to New York state records, an Arthur G. Nadel was disbarred March 11, 1982, for violating terms of an escrow agreement, in which he held $50,000 as part of a sales transaction between a realty corporation and a hospital. He was found guilty of dishonesty, fraud, deceit and misrepresentation by a disciplinary committee. Nadel paid back the money.

Homebuilder, Jet Services

In Sarasota, a city of 54,000 on Florida’s west coast, Nadel was known as a successful hedge-fund manager and business owner, philanthropist, jazz and opera fan and a tennis enthusiast.

Nadel’s name appears in registration documents for businesses including Home Front Homes, an Englewood, Florida- based builder of houses using prefabricated walls, and Venice Jet Center of Venice, Florida, which provides aviation services such as charters and hanger space. He is affiliated with the Guy-Nadel Foundation Inc., with assets of $3.4 million, according to taxemptworld.com, a Web site that tracks charities and nonprofit organizations.

Nadel owns a 2,660 square-foot home on Country View Drive in a Sarasota County subdivision, with a pool and three-car garage, according to Sarasota County Property Appraiser’s Web site. Wreaths adorned the double front doors.

Nadel and his wife were described as a “dynamic” team “both in business and in community” in the January edition of the Bird Key Yacht Club newsletter. Nadel was cited as sponsor of two annual Sarasota Jazz Festivals and Peg was chairwoman of the Habitat for Humanity’s “Legacy of Hope” campaign.

“While service to others is a primary focus, music is a very close second” for the couple, according to the newsletter.

Anonymous said...

"Supposedly", there's some link from 1031 to AIPAC, but it was lost in a big bunch of dumping about what's currently going on in Gaza. - TimmyTwat, another hooked-nose, slanted-head tard

###

Well lets see 2 + 2 = 4, ...

"Bend Money" -> "Israel" ->"Buys US munitions"

It's tough, but you got to rub shit in the dogs nose.

Anonymous said...

Bash, but don't spam or troll. Make a good argument, don't just word dump.
- apu

*

Well that just eliminated you, your a clone of Dunc, sure your a nice guy, but to accuse you have a 'good argument' doesn't come to anyone's mind.

Spam & Troll are just words used by idiot's who can't think if anything to say.

Note even the BP never calls anybody a troll or Spammer.

We already know that when the tough topics come out, that dunc, tim, lava, ... turn into pussy's. Always been this way. FACT.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like another AIPAC 'hedge fund', has decided to go 'Fraud' rather than simply admitting that all their bets on credit-swaps had lost the pool of money.

Never been a better time in twenty years to declare yourself as a fraud in lieu of simply having made a bad bet with other peoples money.

What's interesting is that AIPAC folks are getting away this, but why NOT, AIPAC controls the print media.

LavaBear said...

>>>lava, ... turn into pussy's. Always been this way. FACT.

But you are forgetting the most important rule. How am I involved with AIPAC? Remember 3 sentences or less please.

I love how you are the ruler of what is "FACT" around here. We need more take charge people like you.

Anonymous said...

lava, ... turn into pussy's. Always been this way. FACT.

*

Going pussy is has nothing to do with AIPAC, it has to do with moral fiber.

I remember when me & butter first started bashing OREO, back summer, all you kunts had a conniption, and now everyone calls the OREO, an OREO.

That was before the OREO appointed his entire cabinet to be TEAM-AIPAC.

How are you involved? Not sure AIPAC would have you. They have no use for losers, if you ain't running a Bend fraud and funneling cash to Israel to BUY US munitions, I don't see any use for you, my guess is your just like a lot cannon-fodder, to old to be sent to war,

I don't know why you all turn to pussy's, you say its the big-text dumps that wet your pussy, but its now been 30 posts since BP does done a big-one, and you KUNTS are still talking about trolls&spam.

With HOLLERN having now SOLD-OUT most of his holdings to 'Christian-Zionist' frauds ( AIPAC fronts ), there is not much to talk about in Bend these days, unless we want to talk about dicks and tits like normal.

Anonymous said...

Above are storys about Broken-Top, Awbrey-Butte, ... all kinds of new RIP's in Bend, and nada any of you kunts want to talk about anything but AIPAC.

Go figure?

Anonymous said...

The reason for for the head-fuck is that nobody here can handle the truth.

The Pug's were used by AIPAC to lobby for de-regulation, which robbed the US treasury and fucking BEND, and this country.

Israel has been an econ basket case since the 1980's but spend tens of billions a year on US military weaponery.

Where the FUCK do you think they got all the money?? They didn't get it from the US congress, like days of old.

So now the USA is collapsing, and ISRAEL knows that the money is going to be turned off, that's why all the BIG AIPAC hedge-funds are imploding, cuz the insiders AIPAC people themselves are demanding redemptions.

The WHOLE house-of-cards is imploding, and I think its fascinating.

It was no accident that Clintons RUBIN lobbied for De-Reg, or that The FED is 100% AIPAC, or that all the US treasury people that BUSH appointed are 100% AIPAC, and they have looted this country, ...

"NO MONEY LEFT BEHIND".

AIPAC ain't Jewish, its the 'mob', for almost three years we have been talking about BEND, mob-hits, bad banks, ... now its all going to SHIT.

Even the BULL & SORE are AIPAC whores, ... its the entire foundation of BEND, by discussing this we rub salt in the wound.

Anonymous said...

Fixing BEND requires understanding what the fuck is going on.

Sorry, but if anybody here has a better explanation of why then do it, but all I see is demands for censorship, and no fucking rebuttal.

Arguing with AIPAC HO's is like scientologists, it can't be done, their only tool is to kill the messenger.

LavaBear said...

>>>The WHOLE house-of-cards is imploding, and I think its fascinating.


Whoa...so now we finally have someone who can make the AIPAC theory into a coherent readable thought. Thanks for that. Now can you help me get Buster to take his medication so it can all stay coherent?

Anonymous said...

Pls take your anti-semitism elsewhere.

No other place would let him spew his psychotic bullshit, so he hangs out here 24/7.

Anonymous said...


No other place would let him spew his psychotic bullshit, so he hangs out here 24/7.

Come over to the www.tsweekly.com

We call it the Bend SORE

We'll take about anything, even psycho shit, like AIPAC controlling both of Orygun's US senators.

This is what is funny, for years HBM ran a personal war against Smith, a fucking MORMON, who wasn't owned by AIPAC.

But now, now that Smith is OUT, we can no longer bash Merkley, cuz he's owned by AIPAC.

Anonymous said...

Technique #1031 of AIPAC/Scientology.

If troll or Spammer doesn't work, accuse them of being insane.

«Oldest ‹Older   1 – 200 of 790   Newer› Newest»