More Soothing Words From The Community Organizer-in-Chief

Lest you are having trouble finding problems with the new deal with Iran, consider this passage on sanctions relief, as reported by David Sanger of the Times:

Mr. Obama is essentially betting that once sanctions have been lifted, Iran’s leaders will have no choice but to use much of the new money to better the lives of their long-suffering citizens. He has told his aides that he expects relatively little to be spent to finance terrorism or the emerging corps of Iranian cyberwarriors, a group now as elite as Iran’s nuclear scientists.

We are talking about over $100 billion of frozen Iranian foreign accounts. Back in 2010 the Pentagon estimated that Iran was prividing Hezbollah with $100-$200 million of aid per year. Other analysts have similar figures.

Of course, Iran is supporting other assymetric operators, such as the Houthi in Yemen, Assad in Syria, Hamas, and the Taliban. But a billion dollars could go a long way, and would represent a mere 1% of the new sanctions relief. Would Obama describe that as "relatively little"? I bet he would.

JUST HERE TO HELP - From elsewhere in the Sanger piece:

Little in the deal announced on Tuesday eliminates Iran’s ability to become a threshold nuclear power eventually — it just delays the day. To Mr. Obama’s many critics, including Henry A. Kissinger, the architect of the China opening, that is a fatal flaw. It does nothing, Mr. Kissinger wrote recently with another former secretary of state, George P. Shultz, to change “three and a half decades of militant hostility to the West.”

I've read that twice, so if you are unsure - "three and a half decades of militant hostility to the West" refers to the mullahs, not Obama.

CAN OBAMA GO TO TEHERAN, METAPHORICALLY: Enough already with the Nixon-to-China comparisons. Nixon was a confirmed Cold Warrior whose willingness to unleash the US military had been amply demonstrated in Vietnam; his opening to China was intended to prevent China from emerging as a permanent wingman to the USSR. Obama is a 'give peace a chance' pacifist whose renunciation of the threat of force is utterly within character and who is balancing Iran against nothing other than his desire to get out of the Middle East.

Peter Baker of the Times finds other comparisons:

“Part of our goal here has been to show that diplomacy can work,” Mr. Obama said in an interview with Thomas L. Friedman, a columnist for The New York Times. “It doesn’t work perfectly. It doesn’t give us everything that we want.” But, he added, “what we can do is shape events in ways where it’s more likely that problems get solved, rather than less likely, and that’s the opportunity we have now.”

Still, there are many examples in which diplomacy did not achieve what it intended to, especially in cases where one of the parties has been less committed. An agreement reached by President Bill Clinton to constrain North Korea’s quest for nuclear weapons fell apart when the country was caught cheating. It now has at least 10 nuclear bombs.

More recently, Russia joined not one but two agreements to bring peace to Ukraine, but the first collapsed and the second is widely expected to do the same as the West accuses Moscow of violating its terms. The United States also recently accused Russia of violating the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, signed by President Ronald Reagan.

Hmm. Putin will be holding Iran's uranium and voting on whether or not that Iran has cheated on this deal. I don't foresee any problems...

Comments

[jimmyk]

"three and a half decades of militant hostility to the West" refers to the mullahs, not Obama.

Obviously, because Obama's hostility goes back four decades at least.

[henry]

At this point, getting nude and drinking beer with pigs seems like the sane option.

[Sandy--I Stand with Walker 2016--Daze ن]

This is an agreement designed to ensure/Ensure/ENSURE Iran get the A-Bomb.

Hell, why didn't he just deliver a few of our old B-61s and skip over all of the theatrics...

[Extraneus]

Well this Iran expert is pumped about it:

'Major step': Former US President Jimmy Carter praises historic nuclear agreement with Iran

[narciso]

mind you, this is not the most foolish view even in this webzine, for that one goes to Heilbrunn,

http://nationalinterest.org/feature/congress-must-strengthen-iran-deal-13335

[narciso]

how much draft would one have to drink with wilbur before that began to make sense,

as I said, echoing Don Collins, this will be a recruitment boon for Islamic State as well,

[Captain Hate]

Who the hell are these Jew hating quislings and how did they get to hijack "conservative"?

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/gop-opposition-to-the-nuclear-deal/

[narciso]

among other things, they are volodya's cheering section,

[henry]

Soros stooges?

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

-- He has told his aides that he expects relatively little to be spent to finance terrorism or the emerging corps of Iranian cyberwarriors, a group now as elite as Iran’s nuclear scientists.--

More hyper-rationalism from the Magical-Thinker-In-Chief.

[rse]

ch-your hometown is featured in this Future Economy framework. http://futureecon.com/

[narciso]

only zaphod, assumes one can walk or chew gum, but not both, taking the example of the PLA or the Siloviki, they have provided some economic growth, but mostly expanded their arsenals,

[Extraneus]

Does hyper-rationalism start with a b and end in a t?

[Captain Hate]

Baltimore or Laurel would be my home town in the strict definition of the term. I've spent the latter 2/3 of my life in the Cleveland area and not far from the University Circle area on which that article concentrates. No comment on the shaky financial situation of CRUW in there? Very shoddy analysis imo.

[Extraneus]

California prof latest academic to have claims of Indian heritage debunked

Who would care about this stuff if not for affirmative action? The idea that someone should get preferential treatment in hiring or career advancement based on such non-character-content criteria as tribal heritage is the fault of the Supreme Court, not the individual charlatans.

[Captain Hate]

Per the Horde: Somebody should ask Rodham if Margaret Sanger should be the first woman pictured on US currency. What are the chances the lush would know how to respond?

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

--Obama is a 'give peace a chance' pacifist...--

No, the king of the drones is a 'pay lip service to peace but kill certain radical muslims while wholeheartedly supporting others' "pacifist".

The man who ignored the Green Revolution and stood by without comment while the mullahs killed and suppressed it and who virtually installed the muslim brotherhood on the throne of Cairo and who spits on and antagonizes Israel and has now legitimized and cemented in place the Iranian nuclear program and killed Qaddafi so that Libya could descend into islamist chaos and pulled out of Iraq leaving it to its own chaotic fate is neither pacifist nor war monger.
He is an evil man intent not on a balance of power in the ME but intent on empowering his favored radical maniacs over mostly entrenched powers like those in Egypt, Libya, Syria and eventually Saudi Arabia.
He is doing the one thing necessary to make the ME worse off which is no small feat; he's remaking it in his image.

[narciso]

'danger, will robinson'

Ruchira Sen is an interdisciplinary Ph.D. student studying economics and social science at the University of Missouri Kansas City. Her interests are in political economy, Marxian social theory, and the history of organizing to create a socially just economic system.

[narciso]

well he does seem to listen to Qatar over the Kingdom and the other emirates, the toppling of Muammar, along with Hosni and Bashir, was a priority of the Ikwan, including their senior elder
Quradawi,

[James D]

CH @ 12:42

The comments at that article are horrifying beyond words.

[Jeff Dobbs]

henry:
At this point, getting nude and drinking beer with pigs seems like the sane option.

[Jack is Back!]

Hope this works, but here is the Iran Deal in 26 seconds.

https://twitter.com/elliosch/status/621353423225679873

[matt]

Friedman has truly jumped the shark. He is nothing but a propagandiste for the New World Order.

Imagine Russia selling Iran pretty much anything they want in any quantity they want. The S-300's are ready for delivery if they have not been already.

Obama has threatened Israel in no uncertain terms if they decide to attack Iran. He is giving the mullahs carte blanche.

We will see uprisings in Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and elsewhere all back by Iran. The Houthis and Hezbollah will see major weapons upgrades.

Friedman is nothing more than a Kapo.

[narciso]

he's long since proven himself a knave since he botched the chatila story, back in 1982

[Rick Ballard]

Salman, Netanyahu, Sisi and Abdullah (Jordan)* have been presented with an opportunity by Merde Touch. They can act, without fear of much in the way of negative consequence, to crush the Persian Viper, or they can huddle and wait for help which isn't coming from their former ally.

Wiping out the Houthi would be a good start. Salman doesn't need a viper's nest in the rear.

*Plus Bahrain, Kuwait and the UAE.

[narciso]

the jackalope has commandeered all the nets, in his Vizzini mode,

[Captain Hate]

Those Planned Parenthood ghouls might be miserable excuses for human beings who are even worse than the Chamber of Commerce in justifying anything for a buck, but at least they don't fly the Confederate flag.

[Barbara]

When in high school low these many years ago, I read an article in Foreign Policy magazine the premise of which was that Armageddon, should it come, would take place in the Middle East. It seemed far fetched at the time since we were then focused on the Cold War and the conflict between the USSR and the USA. While the article did not envision a US president caving to the demands of Mullahs of Iran, its overall conclusion seems to have been prescient.

[narciso]

the Top Men, do a wonderful ballet,

http://acecomments.mu.nu/?post=357890

[narciso]

'none dare call it treason, if treason doth prosper:

http://twitchy.com/2015/07/15/bizarro-world-reported-us-role-in-iran-nuke-agreement-triggers-even-more-disbelief/

[Captain Hate]

the Top Men, do a wonderful ballet

When I saw McTurtle on Sunday talk up the Corker thingy as some grand political stroke of genius, I knew that "our side" is just as bad as the other side and to hell with what the GOPe toadies and lickspittles say to the contrary.

[narciso]

basically a travismockasham:

http://freebeacon.com/national-security/nuclear-deal-silent-on-irans-parchin-military-plant-bushehr/

[Eric in Boise]

drinking beer with pigs seems like the sane option.

One of my faves, FWIW:

One night in late October,
When I was far from sober,
Returning with my load with manly pride,
My poor feet began to stutter,
So I lay down in the gutter,
And a pig came near and lay down by my side;
Then we sang "It's all fair weather when good fellows get together",
Till a lady passing by was heard to say:
"You can tell a man who boozes,
By the company he chooses",
And the pig got up and slowly walked away.

-Unknown

[Neo]

“Money is not justice,” Sharpton said at a rally according to the local affiliate of CBS.

Every now and then some truth spills out onto the pavement.

[Captain Hate]

I can't blame Beasts for taking a hiatus because this country has really turned to trash.

[Neo]

It Gets Better! America Will Now Train Iran On How To Protect Their Nuke Facilities From Israeli Attacks…

In what is being viewed as a new development, European countries and potentially the United States agreed to “cooperate with Iran on the implementation of nuclear security guidelines and best practices,” according to a copy of the agreement furnished by both the Russians and Iranians.

This will include “training courses and workshops to strengthen Iran’s ability to prevent, protect and respond to nuclear security threats to nuclear facilities and systems as well as to enable effective and sustainable nuclear security and physical protection systems,” according to the text.

[James D]

True, CH.

I'll ask again: what was the point of electing a GOP House and Senate if they can't even be roused to try and prevent Obama from handing nuclear weapons a terrorist state waging a decades-long war against us?

[Barbara]

"...caving in to the demands of the Mullahs of Iran"

As Truman Capote said in Murder By Death, "Articles! Use articles!"

[narciso]

the sepah, the Iranian Guards, are the more significant player, they direct not only the military sphere, but a substantial stake of the economy, this might be why they are largely untouched,

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

--Who the hell are these Jew hating quislings and how did they get to hijack "conservative"?--

How? They put "paleo" in front of it, because they're living fossils.

[Jeff Dobbs]

Ohhhh, from the naughty bin -

BobS said:
Did Obama really say that 99% of the world agreed with him on the Iran deal?
Reply | 1 hour ago

Dang, BobS - it's been a long time.....and to have typepad treat you this way.

[narciso]

and he didn't even have a wilderness url, with him,

[David M]

Apparently most non-proliferation experts like the deal. I don't see much downside to it for the US.

http://www.vox.com/2015/7/15/8967147/iran-nuclear-deal-jeffrey-lewis

[Eric in Boise]

I hope that 3:19 is missing a "sarc" tag.

[Miss Marple]

Shep is on now being hysterical about the possibility of the Washington State earthquake.

[Extraneus]

Have any non-proliferation experts ever prevented proliferation?

[henry]

Eric, most "experts" on the Vox permanent staff.

[Extraneus]

What's Hans Brix's take on the deal?

[jimmyk]

"most non-proliferation experts" sounds a bit like "most climate scientists" shilling for AGW: People who have built their careers around an idea and therefore have a vested interest in it. And in any case, truth isn't decided by a popular vote. No doubt Chamberlain's deal with Hitler was praised by the same sorts of people at the time.

[jimmyk]

And my 3:29 should have come with a Godwin disclaimer.

[narciso]

the new zelig of disaster:

http://hotair.com/headlines/archives/2015/07/15/surprise-former-obamacare-czar-marilyn-tavenner-to-lead-health-insurance-industry-lobby-group/

[narciso]

wasn't he, the principal in Ferris Bueller, and we've way past Godwin at this point,

[jimmyk]

My take on the Greek debacle, in the LUN.

[Extraneus]

Most non-proliferation experts were against the Iraq war, even though Iraq consistently violated the UN's weapons inspection mandate, shot at inspectors, admitted to biological weapons research (for "defensive purposes" only), blocked use of helicopters by the inspections team, claimed unilateral destruction of chemical weapons (which was a violation of the UN resolution), etc.

[narciso]

great work, jimmy,

[BeenThereDoneThat]

Seems we have entered a time in the history of this world where delusion and lawlessness is considered 'wisdom and compassion'.

[David M]

"Most non-proliferation experts were against the Iraq war"

Um...that's kind of the point?

[Miss Marple]

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/421120/our-four-horsemen-apocalypse?utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_content=55a6b57304d3016586000001&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter

Victor Davis Hanson

[Extraneus]

Bravo, JimmyK!

[Jeff Dobbs]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump unveiled new documents Wednesday setting his personal fortune at more than $10 billion and an annual income of more than $362 million.

The businessman says he filed his personal financial disclosure with federal regulators Wednesday afternoon, though he has not released the form publicly.

Among the sources of his income has been $214 million in payments from NBC related to his business reality television show, "The Apprentice." NBC recently cut its ties with Trump.

The $10 billion figure — up nearly 15 percent since the previous year, by Trump's calculation, would make Trump the wealthiest person ever to run for president. But there was little information available about how Trump calculated the figure.

Trump's campaign says the federal forms are "not designed for a man of Mr. Trump's massive wealth."

[Jack is Back!]

jimmyk,

Spot on.

Don't forget the huge amounts of early subsidization to the PIIGS years before and up to introducing the Euro. They not only gave them a credit card but didn't demand repayment only harmonizaiton of their fiscal house. I was doing business in those coutries from 96 to 2003 and they acted like they had an unlimited amount of funds for some overly opitmistic projects. But they knew the money would run out sooner than later and were like drunken sailors spending it.

That and the Northern productive economies thinking diversity was a strength and not a potential trap.

[Miss Marple]

Gordon Chang is on Cavuto (Stuart Varney hosting) says that Noth Korea does nuclear research for North Korea, so the inspections are pretty much worthless for discovering what the Norks are doing.

[Miss Marple]

AND, he says that China is facilitating this because they do not want Iran to come under the Russian's influence, plus they want Iran as a market for their goods and a placeto buy oil and gas.

[Eric in Boise]

Wonderful summary, jimmyk. Consider it bookmarked. I'll probably also point my Intro to Finance students to it when we cover International Finance toward the end of the course.

[jimmyk on iPhone]

Thanks, it all seems a bit minor now compared to Iran.

[Jack is Back!]

Abe Greenwald in Commentary: The Iran Nuclear Deal isn't About Nukes

"If you think the United States just struck a poor nuclear deal with Iran, you’re right; but if that’s your key takeaway, you’re missing the point. Iran’s nuclear program was last on the list of the Obama administration’s priorities in talking to Tehran. The administration readily caved on Iran’s nukes because it viewed the matter only as a timely pretense for achieving other cherished aims. These were: (1) preventing an Israeli attack on Iran; (2) transforming the United States into a more forgiving, less imposing power; (3) establishing diplomacy as a great American good in itself; (4) making Iran into a great regional power; and (5), ensuring the legacies of the president and secretary of state as men of vision and peace."

https://www.commentarymagazine.com/2015/07/15/iran-nuclear-deal-not-about-nukes/

It gets better the more you read it.

[rse]

jimmy-NYC was one of 7 regional areas piloting the Communities that Work vision announced today. It is a joint project of the Aspen Institute and the Economic DEvt portion of the Dept of Commerce.

http://www.aspeninstitute.org/news/2015/07/15/us-department-commerce-aspen-institute-announce-seven-regional-site-teams-selected

NW Ga centered around Dalton is another as is Houston and the DC area.

[rse]

This also says that bridging workforce devt and eco devt is a federal initiative.

That would be contrary to lamar's duplicitous talking points.

[Jack is Back!]

Major Garrett, to his credit, calls out Obama and the petulant little prick ttrys to bully him. Ben Rhodes must be on the phone now to his brother.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/248038-obama-to-cbs-reporter-you-should-know-better

Much watch TV.

[clarice]

Excellent Jimmy. I posted it on FB

[Extraneus]

(1) preventing an Israeli attack on Iran;

Wouldn't this deal increase the likelihood? What other option does Israel have now?

[Extraneus]

I like how Joe Cool, after attempting to indicate that Garrett is a fool, delves into an exposition on logic:

If Iran thought they could get additional concessions from us in return for hostages, that would be bad. Instead, we gave them all the concessions they needed without resorting to getting the hostages released.

[Old Lurker]

Jimmy, that was very good. Thanks for sharing.

Now on the other hand...

:-)

[Stephanie]

We had a big lightning storm last night and it took out our a/c condenser and the furnace. Total caput. It's about 95 degrees in the house already. Called the insurance company and it seems it could be a few days before they authorize repairs. Feeling grouchy...

[Threadkiller]

10 Billion?

Thanks to his daddy for sure.

I wonder how many other fat-cats Forbes screwed out of their actual net worth?

[Miss Marple]

Stephanie, go to Best Buys or Costco or Sams or somewhere like that and buy a portable air conditioner. It will at least make it easier to sleep.

[Threadkiller]

No "fan only" setting on the tstat,Stephanie?

[Jack is Back!]

Who said the $10 billion is his net worth?

[Threadkiller]

I guess he put on an FEC form that would result in some sort of perjury if he lied.

[Extraneus]

Major Garrett Asks Obama a Pointed Question, So DNC Media Itself Rushes to Denounce Him as "Disrespectful"

Obama was angry -- so of course the media follows his lead and begins attacking the impertinent object of Dear Leader's wrath.

Dumb bunny Dana Bash was the first out of the gate to brand Garrett "disrespectful" for asking why Princess Lightworker was showboating his deal while four Americans anguish (not languish) in Iranian prisons.

[henry]

Showboating? Spiking the (nuclear) football.

[Threadkiller]

...put it...

[Jack is Back!]

TK,

Many ways to fudge net worth especially if you are heavily invested in real estate. He may have huge NY real estate assets but those are appraised values not proven (sale) values. Also, he is heavy in golf - a vanishing business - and in hotels, resorts and travel destinations. All depend on consumer confidence and disposable income.

How liquid are his assets compared to how immediate are his liabilities?

I like to see a forensic accounting of his FEC filing.

[henry]

JiB, don't forget the ultimate squishy value: the IP of the Trump brand name as used in an ever more selective group of products.

[Jack is Back!]

henry,

And as a result of losing his "sales" force (i.e. NBC, Walmart, Nascar, et. al.) those squishy values are almost running water.

[Threadkiller]

I see.

[Extraneus]

I like to see a forensic accounting of his FEC filing.

Why?

If he valued his brand at $4 billion, and it's now worth nothing, his net worth is far less than $10 billion.

Why? Because he made true statements about Mexican illegals.

Who cares what his actual net worth is and why?

[Threadkiller]

http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-nbc-apprentice-payment-disclosure-2015-7

[Threadkiller]

He must be lying abut somethings, Ext.

[Threadkiller]

...about something.

[new lurker]

I'm with Ext. Who cares what his net worth is except maybe JIB?

[Old Lurker]

Jack & Henry, commercial real estate like his might seem complicated, but in the end it is simply a figure approximating cash flow per year divided by a Capitalization Rate. (Insert a stream and NPV at a Discount Rate and you get a more refined version of the same figure.

Cap Rates (or Discount Rates) for decades have been selected from a continuum of risk, where the lowest cap rates went to short term US Treasuries (or ten year discount rates vs ten year treasuries), then work your way up the curve to Junk properties demanding the highest rates.

Simple, right.

The problem in these times is that the Fed is holding the UST end of the curve way below its long term normal range and therefore that pulls all the other rates down to unreal levels too. This means that today a high quality property with a secure income stream might really be salable at a very low cap rate and so on up the food chain. (Someone earning 0% on cash might be happy with 4% from an office building etc.)

The problem of course is that history proves that eventually all rates return to historical levels and eventually USTs will be back at their higher levels and RE cap rates in lock step higher than that. Assuming the cash flow is the same, then values fall real fast as Cap Rates (or Discount Rates) increase.

This is why it is called a bubble.

The Dutch traded those tulip bulbs for higher and higher prices until one day they could not give them away.

All simple simple. If you just give me the date the bubble will pop, I promise you we can make a fortune until then.

Apply all of that to the Trump number.

[henry]

OL, look at software valuations. ;)

[Jack is Back!]

Why?

Because, its not me making a big deal out of his supposed wealth, but Trump himself. His financial if not up and up only shows him to be more blowhard and a liar than already suspected.

I believe he is a charlatan and leading the best chance we have had to win the WH and change the direction of the country in the reverse. He can't win nationwide and his prior positions (no NYC excuses please) are not conservative or even libertarian but more Dem and progressive.

Take all the shots at me you want but he is a phony. A successful and wealthy phony (in his estimation) but still a phony.

[rse]

Stephanie-we could do our long delayed meetup in the Buford Hwy area.

Hubby likes to watch storms and this house was laid out (by me) with porches knowing that. Last night I sat on the side porch and watched that storm until the lightning got close and I remembered my oldest when he was about 3 hollering at me to be careful of the lightning. Mom went into the house only to discover Rizzoli and Isles had lost its signal.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

--Who cares what his actual net worth is and why?--

Teh Donald does and he seems to think we should.

Trump's campaign says the federal forms are "not designed for a man of Mr. Trump's massive wealth."

In fact, his vast business acumen is regularly trotted out by his supporters as a reason to listen to him. Apparently we're all supposed to care.
He's still a jerk and always will be.

[Jack is Back!]

henry,

Your prayers have been answered.

Pabst Blue Ribbon is coming back to Milwaukee. Maybe they can name the new Bucks arena after them.:)

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/16/business/pabst-brewing-plans-a-return-to-milwaukee.html?partner=socialflow&smid=tw-nytimesbusiness&_r=0

[Jack is Back!]

Oh, BTW, There are more than the usual suspects running. According to the FEC filings we hae over 400 people running for POTUS.

Sort of like the first pages of the Boston phone book.

http://www.fec.gov/press/resources/2016presidential_form2dt.shtml

[henry]

JiB, the trolley must have lured them back.

[new lurker]

JIB, Yes, he is a blowhard, but he serves a purpose, in my opinion, of making the other candidates speak the truth--which is something, so far, that they have not done or rather have not approached. They all seem to be "dancing around" the edges.