Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Pelosi and friends



These were circulating on Twitter tonight so I added frames and animated them. I do not know what the problem is. What, reps are not allowed to shake hands with or get close to fer'ners?  I do not know.
Pelosi released an hasty statement. Following the usual platitudes:

✓ Unbreakable bonds
✓ Rooted
✓ Shared values
✓ Common ideals and mutual interests
✓ Deep abiding friendship
✓ Goes beyond party loyalty
✓ Stand shoulder to shoulder
✓ Greatest political achievement
✓ Unshakeable commitment
That is why, as one who values the U.S. -- Israel relationship, and loves Israel, I was near tears throughout the Prime Minister's speech --saddened by the insult to the intelligence of the United States as part of the P5+1 nations, and saddened by the condescension towards our knowledge of the threat posed by Iran and our broader commitment to preventing nuclear proliferation.
And then straight back to bromides and platitudes.

✓ We all agree
✓ Nuclear armed Iran is unacceptable
✓ We all said a bad deal is worse than no deal
✓ Stopping the spread is bedrock of our foreign policy
✓ President Obama said consistently ... 
✓ All options on the table

Such nonsense. No. That is not why, you silly bint. The assurances given are thin and all that together contradicts the petulance demonstrated by you and your party, by your insistence on the fineries of protocol after having exploded all that in both the Obama administration and throughout the Bush administration.

Status: message rejected.

What we have here is an important US ally deftly managing the schizophrenia that characterizes Washington and American politics in general. A model of American politics would be good cop / bad cop at a square dance. "Switch your partners, hand in hand, hit 'em in the head with a frying pan. Round, round, punch 'em in the head, dosey-doo until they're dead." 

A week ago I was watching CNN as some discussion wrapped up about Israel and Israeli politics. At the very end Nancy Pelosi shot up in the audience and demanded the attention of participants as they were preparing to leave, shuffling around. Through her halted, stilted, hesitant, uncertainty, everyone present could read her anguished and frustrated, clearly disrupted psychology lying, conflicted in trying to construct the perfect unassailable phrases, "Uh, uh, eh, there is, uh, eh, just one thing that uh I must uh address. I cannot let this one uh uh thing pass. We. do. not. interfere. in. Israeli. politics. uh, um. No. We never, we do not, we would not, we do not do that. Never. No." 

And you could see on their faces that everyone there thought the same thing at once, "Bullshit." 

I did not listen to Netanyahu's speech but I've seen discussions and I've seen recaps and I read the text

He too delivers the usual bromides and platitudes. He thanks Obama and his administration for the help they have already provided. He cites examples that are known and alludes to help he's received that is not public knowledge. He wants us to know all is appreciated.

He delivers a breathtaking sweep of the history of his area and of geopolitical reality. Command of his material is complete.
In the Middle East, Iran now dominates four Arab capitals, Baghdad, Damascus, Beirut and Sanaa. And if Iran's aggression is left unchecked, more will surely follow. 
So, at a time when many hope that Iran will join the community of nations, Iran is busy gobbling up the nations.
He describes the ideology of the Iranian Revolutionary regime as deeply rooted in militant Islam and will always be an enemy of America. He urges American not to be fooled into thinking the battle between ISIS and Iran makes Iran a friend. It does not. How well he knows the liberal mind.
In this deadly game of thrones, there's no place for America or for Israel, no peace for Christians, Jews or Muslims who don't share the Islamist medieval creed, no rights for women, no freedom for anyone. 
So when it comes to Iran and ISIS, the enemy of your enemy is your enemy.
Nice contemporary reference there. Proves he's current. 

Netanyahu continues with his description of the present status of affairs. He describes North Korea. He describes Iran as violating IAEA inspections. Iran has been caught twice operating secret nuclear facilities. He sees two unacceptable concessions in the deal at hand with Iran. 
If there's no undeclared installation today in Iran, it will be the first time in 20 years that it doesn't have one." Iran has proven time and again that it cannot be trusted. And that's why the first major concession is a source of great concern. It leaves Iran with a vast nuclear infrastructure and relies on inspectors to prevent a breakout.
But the second major concession creates an even greater danger that Iran could get to the bomb by keeping the deal. Because virtually all the restrictions on Iran's nuclear program will automatically expire in about a decade.
Iran's Supreme Leader says that openly. He says, Iran plans to have 190,000 centrifuges, not 6,000 or even the 19,000 that Iran has today, but 10 times that amount -- 190,000 centrifuges enriching uranium. With this massive capacity, Iran could make the fuel for an entire nuclear arsenal and this in a matter of weeks, once it makes that decision. 
So you see, my friends, this deal has two major concessions: one, leaving Iran with a vast nuclear program and two, lifting the restrictions on that program in about a decade.
Netanyahu does not want the deal. He wants to interfere hard in Obama's negations with Iran. It is clear the man does not trust Obama. If he cannot be at the table he will have this opportunity to talk around the table, under and over the table. He surrounded the table with his talk. He boldly spread his cards, showed his entire hand. 

It's adorable how Netanyahu gives Obama advice on how to negotiate Eastern style. What would give Netanyahu the idea Obama needs this kind of advice? It is clear Netanyahu cannot allow the fate of his nation to rest on anyone he regards as so shiftless.
Now, if Iran threatens to walk away from the table -- and this often happens in a Persian bazaar -- call their bluff. They'll be back, because they need the deal a lot more than you do.  
(APPLAUSE)  
And by maintaining the pressure on Iran and on those who do business with Iran, you have the power to make them need it even more. 
Now we're being told that the only alternative to this bad deal is war. That's just not true.   
The alternative to this bad deal is a much better deal.
Netanyahu acknowledges Elie Wiesel with them in the chamber. He is holocaust survivor and Nobel prize winner. And this, the most important thing of all is at the end. It seems to me a very clear statement but I have not heard any common taters mention it, nor have I seen anything on Twitter, nor on other sites yet, but, if this were a logic test, I'd say this is the most important bit of all. 
We are no longer scattered among the nations, powerless to defend ourselves. We restored our sovereignty in our ancient home. And the soldiers who defend our home have boundless courage. For the first time in 100 generations, we, the Jewish people, can defend ourselves.  
(APPLAUSE)  
This is why -- this is why, as a prime minister of Israel, I can promise you one more thing: Even if Israel has to stand alone, Israel will stand.  
(APPLAUSE)  
But I know that Israel does not stand alone. I know that America stands with Israel.
He just told Congress he will will jack with Iran's centrifuges if nobody else will. 

15 comments:

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Obama said he saw "nothing new" in the remarks by the prime minister... (that's how I get around not having to spell Bibi's last name)

Nothing new?... so, why all the hyperventilation then?

Chip Ahoy said...

The first anim, I went overboard purposefully, thinking the whole time I can remove frames.

At saving, I left the number of colors high, anticipating running the whole thing through an optimization program to bring down the file size to something more reasonable. I fully expected the file to be at least 2M.

But it turned out to be 325K !

I would be happy with 900K.

I cannot waste this opportunity.

So I went back and added frames. Copied whole rows and pasted them twice, so four additional strings of frames within the whole run.

That's why Pelosi can pet his beard so many times and why he can spit out so many seeds in waves. It was fun! I forgot to look, but there must be close to 100 frames. I think.

And now I realize the advantage of short anims.

Chip Ahoy said...

It's easy to spell by sounding out. One of the rare, good, sounding out spelling names.

Especially if you learnt puh-honically.

chickelit said...

He describes the ideology of the Iranian Revolutionary regime as deeply rooted in militant Islam and will always be an enemy of America. He urges American not to be fooled into thinking the battle between ISIS and Iran makes Iran a friend. It does not. How well he knows the liberal mind.

So Iran is like the Soviet Union (commies) and ISIS is like Germany (Nazis). And the Jews are caught in the middle like last time. And just like last time, we allied with Stalin to fight Hitler until we didn't anymore.

What's even more telling is that the Libs and Dems are on "Stalin's" side this time (just like last time).

It's Yogi Berra all over again.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

In this deadly game of thrones, there's no place for America or for Israel, no peace for Christians, Jews or Muslims who don't share the Islamist medieval creed, no rights for women, no freedom for anyone.

So when it comes to Iran and ISIS, the enemy of your enemy is your enemy.


Best part of the speech I thought.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Great post ChipA. BTW

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

It's Yogi Berra all over again.

Extra points for the Yogi Berra allusion.

Chip Ahoy said...

Elie is a crossword answer so common that it falls in the category of 'crosswordese.'

It is a 'gimmie,' a solve so ordinary it guarantees access to open up a corner. They are disparaged by avid solvers.

To make it harder the clue may refer obliquely to any of Wiesel's works, which are considerable, without mentioning Wiesel. They might include misdirection. The object from a puzzle writer's pov is not clue it to help you find the solution, rather, to prevent you from finding it, while still being fair by the rules. So a clue might be so oblique as, "He wrote from Night to Dawn."

You note the punctuation and are not misled. Night to Dawn is not the name of a book or a play, it is two works, Night, a memoir, and Dawn, a novel.

Thus ELIE, a gimme. Now all the rest in its corner have another clue, the certainty of the letters ELIE.

Plus there are other notable Elies besides Wiesel so 'Elie' could be clued to them and not to Wiesel.

It's like Eero Saarinen the famous Finnish-American architect who designed the St. Louis Gateway arch among many other futuristic spiffy things, Aspen Music Center, MIT buildings, TWA terminal NYC, to name a few.

Never hoid of 'im.

Except for in the crosswords. So short a name and nearly all vowels. Clues to his name are the only way I know of him. So I don't expect anybody else outside of crossword puzzles to have any idea who he is. Why should they? I'm genuinlyxxxxx genuienlyxxxxx genuienlyxxxx really super duper surprised when they do know who Eero Saarinen is. Like that waiter. He had dreadlocks. You'd never expect he can name the architect of the Gateway arch. But he did.

"Did you know his father was also a Finnish-American architect? No? And that his name is even more crossword-deliciously loaded with vowels? Eliel Saarinen.

edutcher said...

The second image looks like the Pencil Neck is going down and giving Pelosi a little something.

chickelit said...

He describes the ideology of the Iranian Revolutionary regime as deeply rooted in militant Islam and will always be an enemy of America. He urges American not to be fooled into thinking the battle between ISIS and Iran makes Iran a friend. It does not. How well he knows the liberal mind.

So Iran is like the Soviet Union (commies) and ISIS is like Germany (Nazis). And the Jews are caught in the middle like last time. And just like last time, we allied with Stalin to fight Hitler until we didn't anymore.

What's even more telling is that the Libs and Dems are on "Stalin's" side this time (just like last time).

It's Yogi Berra all over again.


Since we know Al Qaeda and the mullahs are working together and AQ and IS are pals, I guess we're at the invasion of Poland right now.

Of course, we're still waiting for the Rape of Nanking and the Panay Incident.

Or have we had those already?

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

er - devout.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Nancy is a freak show.

Aridog said...

So when it comes to Iran and ISIS, the enemy of your enemy is your enemy.

I was pleasantly surprised by this line. The man knows what I've been harping about for some time now...that the differences between the various radical Islamic terrorists isn't about fundamental differences, it is ONLY about who, in the end, will rule. As with almost all terrorist groups, they are all joined at the hip...the fight is for the top spot in THEIR world, and they're delighted the west misses that point. Repeatedly.

Judge by actions, not what is said in political blather. If the actions are similar, the groups are similar. In this case, murderous SOB's.

ricpic said...

The Democratic Party is committed to Iran getting the bomb as soon as possible. It's all part of the Democrat passion for fairness and equality. After all, if Israel has the bomb it's only fair that Iran have the bomb, it equals things out. Once you understand the essential decency of Hussein and Nancy's passion for fairness how could you possibly object? The corollary is that "Death to America!" really means death to unfair America. Once the mullahs understand the depth of Hussein and Nancy's commitment to a fair America, well, it'll all go away and they'll make nice.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

so when ISIS gets the bomb and blows up a few American cities and Israel is completely gone, it will be in the name of fairness, because we had it coming?

I see. Yeah -that sounds about right.

Methadras said...

It's all head long into the abyss. All Urkle cares about is legacy. The end.