Syria bleeds while dithering O 'condemns' -Charles Krauthammer calls out Obama's ineffectual foreign policy on Syria that's unsatisfactory to GOP, Democrats AND our overseas allies

Above, the segment that Channel 4 News in Sweden ran this morning on Syria, as the United States continues "to condemn."
How's that working out so far?
It’s time for President Obama to back up his rhetoric with firm action.




The Washington Post
While Syria burns
By Charles Krauthammer
Published: April 26, 2012

Last year President Obama ordered U.S. intervention in Libya under the grand new doctrine of “Responsibility to Protect.” Moammar Gaddafi was threatening a massacre in Benghazi. To stand by and do nothing “would have been a betrayal of who we are,” explained the president.

In the year since, the government of Syria has more than threatened massacres. It has carried them out. Nothing hypothetical about the disappearances, executions, indiscriminate shelling of populated neighborhoods. More than 9,000 are dead.

Read the rest of the column at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/while-syria-burns/2012/04/26/gIQAQUC0jT_story.html


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For more on Obama's failed foreign policy re Syria, see my previous posts on the subject:


April 29, 2011 blog post titled, Marco Rubio is crystal clear in Foreign Policy magazine - "How America Must Respond to the Massacre in Syria
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/marco-rubio-is-crystal-clear-in-foreign.html


March 20, 2011 titled, Marco Rubio on dithering O: “So if Russia doesn’t care and China doesn’t care and we care but won’t do anything about it, who’s it up to, the French?
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2011/03/marco-rubio-on-dithering-o-so-if-russia.html


It's completely impossible for me or any of my like-minded friends to think of any time since he's been in the U.S. Senate when 'nice guy' Bill Nelson has said anything nearly as pointed or effectively as what Rubio has done repeatedly on Syria since last year.


My vote for Senate will be FOR people with similar intelligent and articulate views and AGAINST someone who wants to be a U.S. Senator because they think it would be cool.
That completely eliminates Connie Mack IV and puts George LeMieux back in the U.S. Senate.


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http://www.foreignpolicy.com/


http://www.foreignaffairs.com/


http://www.youtube.com/user/SenatorMarcoRubio


http://www.heritage.org/

By the power vested in me by the blogosphere, on account of his mendacity, I hereby rename FL GOP Senate candidate Mike McCalister, 'Gen. Half-Truth'

Adam Hasner video: Adam Hasner remarks, RedState Gathering 2011, Charleston, S.C., August 2011.

http://youtu.be/TbB4lRDraqg

By the power vested in me by the blogosphere, on account of his sheer relentless mendacity, I hereby rename Florida GOP Senate candidate Mike McCalister, 'General Half-Truth.'

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RedState blog

FL-SEN: Something’s Rotten in the State of Denmark

Posted by SunshineStateSarah

Monday, August 29th at 3:53PM EDT

“Something’s rotten in the state of Denmark.”

This quote, from Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, is used in modern times to refer to a situation that is “rife with errors from top to bottom,” or exhibiting evidence of rampant corruption or suspicious motives.

Well, something’s rotten in the Florida Senate race, and the people of Florida deserve some answers.

Read the rest of the post at:

http://www.redstate.com/sunshinestatesarah/2011/08/29/fl-sen-somethings-rotten-in-the-state-of-denmark/

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I agree with SunshineStateSarah, "the Danish play" won't play long in the Sunshine State.

Not because the voters here are so politically savvy or even particularly well-read.

They're NOT.

Far from it!

(Have you not been reading this blog?)

It's just that if you are going to lie about certain things in an effort to puff yourself up when you are running for elective office, especially for the U.S. Senate, don't be stupid enough to lie about things that are SO EASY to discover, refute and publicly bring to light.

Things the press corps -even the often sleepwalking Florida press corps- consider low-hanging fruit.

The result of such mendacity is that you just look pathetic and craven, a very bad combination indeed for someone asking people to trust his judgement.

And yes, you are correct -George LeMieux is doing himself no favors with his involvement and behavior in this whole sorry, sorry episode.

I last mentioned Winter Park, FL-based blogger Sarah Rumpf, i.e. SunshineStateSarah, on May 4th, 2011 in a post I titled,

Charlie Crist reduced to being himself again: Pitchman, just NOT from a pitching mound. At least it's not for Chevy!

http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/charlie-crist-reduced-to-being-himself.html

Sarah's very popular blog is at: http://www.sunshinestatesarah.com/

Her page on RedState is at: http://redstate.com/sunshinestatesarah/

Her YouTube Channel, which I subscribe to, is

http://www.youtube.com/user/SarahRumpfFL

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Adam Hasner for U.S. Senate campaign YouTube Channel:

http://www.youtube.com/user/adamhasner

http://www.adamhasner.com

Lib Dem MP assistant accused of being Russian spy says 'I will clear my name.' Sure, after you're back in Mother Russia. Adios!; DREAM Act

Channel 4 News: Westminster spy row

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid601325122001?bctid=699597927001

The accompanying news article is at:
http://www.channel4.com/news/i-will-clear-my-name-says-russian-aide-accused-of-spying

To this news in a part of England that has already seen a lot of gnashing of teeth this year, I can only say, just when you think things have already reached rock bottom this year in Pompey... boom goes the dynamite.

Back in late October I sent a lengthy email out to friends and former colleagues in far-flung parts of the world who love and appreciate high-caliber football (soccer) titled, simply enough, "Sacha Gaydamak's demand for a ransom payment may cause Premier League club to close down and be liquidated."

That dispatch was prompted after a weekend spent watching perhaps too many SkyNews Sports reports on Fox Soccer Channel, but reading even more of the more astute British tabs and football blogs/websites than usual, where the news for the beloved ball club and its loyal fans kept getting worse and worse by the hour.

Imagine traveling a few hours for an away Portsmouth game and then hearing on the radio that it might be the last game your team will ever play?
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11688_6462212,00.html

For the latest on what's going on with Pompey football, see the well-produced Pompey Pages at http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/sectionhome.aspx?sectionID=12295

Here's the latest:
http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/sport/Pompey-financial-report-to-be.6647296.jp

Lib Dem Mike Hancock's website for his constituents in South Portsmouth and Southsea:
http://www.mikehancock.co.uk/

On that site are these comments about his legislative assistant of over two-and-a-half years, Katia Zatuliveter:
http://www.mikehancock.co.uk/news/555/24/Statement-from-Mike-Hancock-about-Katia-Zatuliveter/

Not mentioned here, though, for obvious reasons, is that more than a few other MPs, even other liberal members, feel that Mike Hancock is too "soft" on Russia, and far too often, too uncomfortably close to the official Russian government position on certain issues, like what's been going on in the Republic of Georgia.
These very facts make Hancock's denials, however heart-felt and truthful, seem to some well-informed observers, perhaps a bit disingenuous, and I suspect that you will be hearing more about this as the week goes on.

The last thing in the world that members of Parliament want to consider is the possibility that there might actually be foreign intelligence agents or sympathizers working around them, with aims considerably more dire than simply bloggers or paparazzo taking snaps of embarrassing personal situations.

If you think about it logically from the perspective of the Federal Security Service, the FSB, ФСБ, the successor to the KGB, the day-to-day schedule and hours of tedious tasks on behalf of a staffer in Parliament, esp. for a member on a Defence committee like Mike Hancock, would be the perfect position for an FSB mole to gather useful info on members, staffers and myriad agency liaisons they deal with on a daily basis.
Perhaps you've heard - loose lips sink ships.

Channel 4 News: Russian spying has 'absolutely' not gone away
says Lord West.
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid601325122001?bctid=699578293001

The Beatles - Back In The U.S.S.R [HQ] RARE PROMO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2Qk-mZjwhA

See also 'Britain is under attack from Russian spies'
http://www.channel4.com/news/lib-dem-mp-denies-his-assistant-is-a-russian-spy
and UK Border Agency http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/

From the UK Border Agency website: "Every week, our frontline officers are locating and removing migrants who flout the UK's immigration law or pose a risk to the community."

If we only had such marked vigilance here in South Florida, where the print and electronic news media is ardently pro-amnesty for all illegal aliens, especially the editorial board, columnists and reporters at the Miami Herald.

And FYI, no, I haven't forgotten about my promise here a few weeks ago about posting some very accurate and measured analysis of Herald reporter Alfonso Chardy and his consistently one-sided, factually-flawed and self-evidently biased stories about illegal immigration, so recently seen the past two weeks with seemingly daily pro-amnesty stories about the DREAM Act.

You know, those over-the-top stories of Chardy's that ALWAYS leave out inconvenient facts that hamper the story that he and the Herald want to peddle to their beleaguered readers, almost as if they really are stupid enough to think that if he doesn't mention those pesky facts that contradict what he says, nobody will be the wiser.

The same condescending way they seem to assume that nobody ever notices the compelling stories in South Florida that they have consciously ignored for years or give short-shrift
to now, like SO MANY of the interesting ones that first appear at Bob Norman's Daily Pulp blog. http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/

But fortunately, there are a lot more well-informed people like me who pay close attention to issues and public policy than you might otherwise think in South Florida, and we not only have technology on our side, in the form of blogs and websites and social media, but from past experience, we are totally hip to the tricks that Chardy and certain other reporters have long played with pesky inconvenient facts in their so-called news articles in the Herald.

PLUS, CHARDY JUST HAPPENS TO BE MORE OBVIOUS ABOUT IT, NOT TO MENTION, RIDICULOUSLY PREDICTABLE!

Those tricks of his don't change much on his stories re the South Florida transportation scene, either, the most egregious of which will also get their own analysis blog posts here, since Chardy has a LOT to account for with them, too.

Trust me, when you know the true facts, Chardy's so-called 'reporting' is even worse than you think.
It's not so much journalism as it is old-fashioned, biased stenography.

No matter how many times the Herald's management and editors tell Chardy to write about it, the DREAM Act bill in Congress is deader than dead -and rightfully so.

No matter how many times Chardy tries to insinuate that Florida's U.S. Senator George LeMieux might support it, somehow, he's a NO vote, comprende?
No means no!

Hallandale Beach's pro-reform citizens ask FL Sen. George LeMieux to do a good turn and help end the 'culture of corruption' here: Call Victor Tobin!

Above, Miami Herald headline, November 26, 2009, page 3B:
Sen. LeMieux decries 'culture of corruption' in S. Florida

Oh Senator LeMieux, if you only knew the half of it in the City of Hallandale Beach!

Before your term is up, can you please do your constituents here a favor and call Judge Victor Tobin and tell him and his state-wide grand jury that like Norma Desmond at the end of Sunset Boulevard, Hallandale Beach is ready for its close up?

The concerned citizens of this beleaguered community are eager to talk to them and tell what they know.

Or as we say in the world of crime-fighting screenwriters everywhere, "drop a dime."

Sunset Boulevard (1950) -Final Scene, with Gloria Swanson as "Norma Desmond" descending the stairwell



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SA9lFsiut2Q

Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/2009/11/25/v-fullstory/1350672_sen-lemieux-decries-culture-of.html

November 26, 2009

Sen. LeMieux decries `culture of corruption' in South Florida

By Marc Caputo and Beth Reinhard
Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau

A slew of South Florida political scandals have uncovered "a culture of corruption'' that must be stamped out, freshman Florida Sen. George LeMieux said Tuesday.

"I feel bad about my home town. This is another black eye on Fort Lauderdale,'' LeMieux said in response to a reporter's questions about accused Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein.

In the past decade, Rothstein -- a Broward lawyer who allegedly bilked investors over bogus legal settlements -- helped steer about $2 million in campaign contributions to political causes, committees and candidates, including Gov. Charlie Crist.

Rothstein's troubles surfaced after federal indictments this fall of other Broward figures: fundraiser Dr. Alan Mendelsohn, Broward County Commissioner Josephus Eggelletion, Broward School Board member Beverly Gallagher and former Miramar commissioner Fitzroy Salesman.

"We've got a culture of corruption in Southeast Florida. And we need to do something about it,'' LeMieux said. "It makes us look bad. It's bad for business and bad for our way of life.''

Crist appointed LeMieux, his former chief of staff, to the Senate seat for which the governor is now a candidate in an increasingly competitive Republican primary. Rothstein attended LeMieux's swearing-in ceremony in September.

While lawyers in Broward's legal community whispered about Rothstein's source of seemingly inexhaustible funds, politicians and charities tooks loads of his money.

"You don't look at someone who's generous and just criticize,'' said LeMieux, who also ran Crist's governor's campaign before taking the job with Crist. LeMieux then joined a law firm until he was appointed to the Senate.

LeMieux acknowledged he "didn't understand how he [Rothstein] made all his money.''

All of Crist's chiefs of staff have hailed from Broward: LeMieux, current campaign manager Eric Eikenberg and current chief Shane Strum.

Crist has downplayed his relationship with Rothstein, though each attended the other's wedding reception. Crist appointed Rothstein to a judicial nominating panel in Broward prior to removing him from the post Tuesday.

Crist has called for a statewide grand jury to examine political corruption. LeMieux supports the effort.

Marc Caputo can be reached at mcaputo@MiamiHerald.com

Reader comments, in chron order, are at
http://www.miamiherald.com/2009/11/25/v-fullstory/1350672_sen-lemieux-decries-culture-of.html?commentSort=TimeStampAscending&pageNum=1

re George LeMieux and his assertions about "commuter rail line linking Miami and Palm Beach County"

Just discovered this very interesting November 10th post on the Daily Business Review's Inside Track blog this morning.
http://dailybusinessreview.typepad.com/insidetrack/2008/11/tallahassee-insider-says-state-will-have-to-do-more-with-less.html


Wish I'd seen it before I went to last Wednesday's SFRTA Broward Countyworkshop in Dania Beach, because I certainly would've asked out loud whothought this assertion by George LeMieux was more true now than it was a year ago.

I want it to be true, I just want to know -and see- what the actual evidence of it is.

I realize that to some of you it may seem like a small thing, strictly window dressing perhaps, but I've been very troubled for quite some time at the lack of any recent information on the SFECC (South Florida East Coast Corridor Transit Analysis) website telling taxpayers just what exactly was going on with the project. http://www.sfeccstudy.com/index.html

I understand that there is a specific timeframe for each aspect of the project, but when you have a situation as we do in South Florida, which I've chronicled on my blogs, where FDOT Secretary Stephanie Kopelousos can't ever be bothered to personally interact with actual taxpayers and citizens in the most urban part of the state, and only seems to frequent industry and or politico-filled events, appearances actually DO count for something, especially when she can find time to visit airports in West Florida that aren't even open.
The days of my giving her the benefit of the doubt are long past.

Back in February I wrote some of you the following:
Another concern I have is that it's now been exactly a year since something was added to the News section of the SFECC website:http://www.sfeccstudy.com/news.html
FEC tracks hold key to commuter train linking S. Florida's downtowns
02/19/07

Frankly, I'm more than a little troubled by the fact that they've chosen to keep such a low-profile over these past 12 months, since as anyone who's lived here for any length of time can tell you, no place in the country hasa short-term attention span smaller than South Florida's.
Honestly, the evidence is all around us!

I could be wrong but I really don't think my friends working at think tanks in Washington, along K Street, Connecticut and Massachusetts Avenue, would consider that the shrewdest public strategy to go with.

Especially when the public policy you are actively involved in also requires that you be in the public persuasion business, even if you don't like to think about it that way.

I realize from having gone to so many of their public meetings and reading their docs that the project had a certain process that needed to be followed, but having nothing said about their efforts for a year can't be good.
For anyone!

Well, a few weeks ago, after I first got word of the three SFRTA county meetings planned, I went back to the SFECC website -I'm also on their so-called mailing list but don't ask when the last time I received something was- and right below Project Description it reads:
WEBSITE LAST UPDATED 11/01/07

Thirteen months!!!

Wow, I'm no web genius, and I know that SFECC Director Scott Seeburger can't be expected to do everything himself, but I do know that most websites that have information on them that old posing as their new info, are nothing but busted-up dot.com sites that have 'given up the ghost.'

I don't know who the genius is behind the SFECC's recent PR efforts(!) but the clear preponderance of the evidence suggests there needs to be a change there, toute-de-suite, before more supporters like me become openly critical of their efforts.

And trust me, based on the past year and the wholly un-necessary secretivenessof FDOT, that day is a whole lot closer than you think.

Just something to think about.

Read the post below and let me know what you think.
__________________
Daily Business Review
Inside Track
November 10, 2008

Tallahassee insider says state will have to do 'more with less'
Gunster Yoakley & Stewart chairman George LeMieux dropped some tantalizing teasers about developments on the state budget and transportation in a speech at the Palm Beach County Bar Association's annual Bench Bar Conference.
To read the rest of this, go to:
http://dailybusinessreview.typepad.com/insidetrack/2008/11/tallahassee-insider-says-state-will-have-to-do-more-with-less.html

Mini-bio info on Mr. LeMieux at Gunster Yoakley & Stewart's website.
http://www.gunster.com/attorneys/lemieux_g.asp

I'll have some comments and thoughts on that SFRTA workshop I attended in Dania Beach after Thanksgiving.
Would've been nice to actually see some media coverage of the event, but then that ended up becoming one of the topics I and others spoke about at the end, along with some suggestions for changing that.