I say yes, you say no, OR People are Strange

Hey, folks, our power and internet are back on. I'm listening to Black Hawk choppers going overhead to evacuate folks stranded in a little community nearby. Our roads are washed out except for one that is dangerously eroded. Only emergency vehicles are allowed in or out. May be stuck here till Monday, but we've got food and wine and books and good neighbors who all band together to help.

I hate not having power. I am very dependent on the www and cable news.

Thanks for thinking about me. What a shame I couldn't go to work today!  I tell you, I have never seen such rain in my life. Had it been snow, it would have been over 10 feet.

President Barack Obama is definitely a gentleman and a scholar.

Jackie

PoliticusUSA:

President Obama’s critics on both the left and right were silenced today, as his thoughtful approach to Syria has led to a breakthrough diplomatic agreement on chemical weapons.

Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov have reached an agreement for the destruction of all of Syria’s chemical weapons. Syria’s failure to comply will not result in unilateral U.S. military action, but UN enforced sanctions. This is a complicated framework that expects Syria to submit a detailed list of their chemical weapons within a week, UN inspectors be allowed to complete their work/the destruction of Syria’s production and mixing/filling equipment in November, and it calls for all Syria’s chemical weapons materials and equipment to be destroyed by early 2014.

This is not the sort of agreement that comes together quickly. It is a complicated and detailed agreement that looks to have been in the works for a while. The structure of this agreementverifies the Obama’s administration’s claim that they have been working on this with the Russians for months, and it was first mentioned a year ago.

I'm sure after a period without "breathing" there might be some additional brain damage. Get that politician a glass of water.........oh wait....

notself....once again you have come to my aid.  I was thinking about the things we could do not if we were not having to deal with the obstructinism which is another form of extortion but my multi-tasking at certain times is a real downfall.  Totally....so thanks for helping me out here.

Jackie

I do beleive Obama, from that first meeting with Putin, carefully choreographed this agreement to secure chemical weapons in Syria.  As RL or C4C posted, the real negotiations don't happen in public.  Thankfully, we have a thoughtful and intelligent POTUS who puts a premium on peace over going to war for the corporatists.

The ignoramouses will believe what they WANT to as long as they are spoonfed by Fox, Brietbart, et al.  Obama knows it.  No need to inform them otherwise.  Reminds me of how he let them stew in their birther juices than one day cooly pulls out his birth certificate.  Ofcourse, they can't take the truth, so their lies they tell themselves have became even more crazy.   If you flip past Fox at any given moment, I believe there is a 50% chance you will hear the word "Benghazi."  I just picture the editorial staff laughing at the corporate table - "they're eating up this lie and we have the crazies in Congress on board, so let's keep pushing it for our ratings."

Ann-glad to hear you are ok.

You are absolutely correct, Kam. I can tell you from personal knowledge and experience that the real negotiations are carried out at lower levels, in private, over months or years. They depend on trust and privacy and patience. People develop personal, as well as professional, relationships. The end of the civil wars in Angola, Mozambique, and Ethiopia, as well as the eventual end of apartheid in South Africa, were brokered with patience and strategy. This was in the works for more than a year - President Obama and Putin private spoke together about Syria last year. An agreement as complex and important as this one didn't happen in three days.



It is entirely conceivable that the supposed "bad blood" between President Obama and Putin was orchestrated as cover for negotiations. It certainly gave Assad the idea that Putin was on his side and that the U.S. would throw a few missiles downrange at Syria if provoked far enough. It was a masterful plan, I must say.



Barack Obama, regardless of what the uninformed and unwashed say, is still the smartest man in the room. He is playing 3D chess while the other guys are standing there picking their noses and wondering where the bathroom is. They forget that he isn't running for re-election. He has the upper hand by definition.