It starts with the headline, and goes down from there.
Apparently, the New York Times thinks that the repression and brutality of the Chinese government has improved; the repression of free speech, access to information, and mass arrests notwithstanding. The Chinese government hopes for a politics free games - even if it means repressing the voices of those that might speak against them.
And that doesn't even get into the ecological nightmares created by the Chinese policies of economic growth at all costs and the subsequent massive efforts to curtail all economic activity ahead of the Olympic games so that the athletes can actually breathe comfortably.
It goes without saying that there's no way that the Chinese government will keep the harsh and restrictive bans on businesses and economic activities past the Olympics. So, don't expect the skies to be anywhere near as clean as they are now (and it's still not good despite a single good day today).
Saturday, August 02, 2008
Headline of the Day
Thank you Associated Press for providing the headline of the day.
Mine hits bus with wedding party; 10 die.
The bus drove over a mine planted by Taliban terrorists.
However, there is one nugget of information that often gets overlooked in the whole story of Afghanistan. AP reports that 2,700 people, mostly Taliban terrorists have been killed there so far this year. The overwhelming majority of victims are Muslims who are simply trying to get by. Just how many of the 2,700 are Taliban the AP doesn't say, but the fact is that the level of violence is actually pretty low for a situation that the press is touting as being out of control.
That isn't to say that Afghanistan is safe or that the Taliban and al Qaeda presence isn't dangerous and remains an ongoing threat.
It just serves to provide some perspective that is lacking.
Mine hits bus with wedding party; 10 die.
olice say a bus carrying a wedding party in southern Afghanistan has struck a mine, killing 10 people including the bride and groom.Mine hits bus?! Mine hits bus?!
Provincial police Chief Matiullah Khan says six other people were wounded in the explosion Saturday in Kandahar province's Spin Boldak district.
Khan says the victims included children.
He blames Taliban militants for planting the explosive.
The bus drove over a mine planted by Taliban terrorists.
However, there is one nugget of information that often gets overlooked in the whole story of Afghanistan. AP reports that 2,700 people, mostly Taliban terrorists have been killed there so far this year. The overwhelming majority of victims are Muslims who are simply trying to get by. Just how many of the 2,700 are Taliban the AP doesn't say, but the fact is that the level of violence is actually pretty low for a situation that the press is touting as being out of control.
That isn't to say that Afghanistan is safe or that the Taliban and al Qaeda presence isn't dangerous and remains an ongoing threat.
It just serves to provide some perspective that is lacking.
Economic Chaos Continues in Zimbabwe
After finding that their currency is in shambles, Zimbabwe's Mugabe decided to reauthorize the use of old coinage that was worthless back in 2002 when Mugabe's economic policies began a death spiral of hyperinflation.
In the past week, Zimbabwe's inflation is officially at 2.2 million percent, while economists think that it's far closer to 12.5 million percent.
Zimbabwean currency is virtually worthless, which is why they're forced to go back to old coins.
Mugabe continues to blame sanctions and profiteers for the mess, but he only has to look into the mirror to see the ultimate cause. He stole elections from the Zimbabwean people, and the sanctions are a direct response to that. People are trying to survive in a hostile economic situation, and Mugabe considers that criminal.
In the past week, Zimbabwe's inflation is officially at 2.2 million percent, while economists think that it's far closer to 12.5 million percent.
Zimbabwean currency is virtually worthless, which is why they're forced to go back to old coins.
"It has been a chaotic day," said Farayi Chikomba, a teller filling plastic banking bags with coins at a small supermarket at closing time. "Customers have been digging out their old coins."The confusion will continue as there's absolutely no sign that the hyperinflation will cease. After all, Mugabe's economic policies remain in place and the only thing the government keeps doing is introducing new currency at ever higher denominations.
Lines built up as staff counted the coins.
"It's a bonus for anyone like me who didn't know what to do with coins and didn't throw them away," said businessman Frank Takavara, who carried a cookie jar full that bought him a small sachet of powdered milk.
Chikomba said he received a few new $10 and $20 notes issued by banks Friday. But most purchasers still used coins, old notes or checks. The old currency remains effective until December, being used alongside new bills in the "revalued" currency rate introduced Friday.
The biggest new bill is $500, equivalent to 5 trillion in the old denominations. Two weeks ago, the bank had introduced a $100 billion-dollar note.
Bank executives said many branches still were waiting for deliveries of new currency from the central bank late Friday, the first day of issue.
In setting prices on its menu, a downtown cafe mistakenly slashed nine zeros from its prices instead of the required 10. Until December, prices must be quoted in both new dollars and old dollars, according to a central bank directive.
"Everyone is totally confused. Maybe things will settle down in a few days. It's farcical at the moment," said the cafe manager, who asked not to be identified for fear of repercussions.
Mugabe continues to blame sanctions and profiteers for the mess, but he only has to look into the mirror to see the ultimate cause. He stole elections from the Zimbabwean people, and the sanctions are a direct response to that. People are trying to survive in a hostile economic situation, and Mugabe considers that criminal.
GOP Revolts On Energy Policy
Yesterday, the GOP finally summoned up the courage to take on the do-nothing Democrats and demand that the House finally address the issue of energy.
House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi, knowing that her own caucus was fractured and that if any of the GOP measures came up for a vote that they might actually lead to GOP measures passing, could have none of this.
She gaveled the session into adjournment for a five-week recess and ordered the lights out. The members of Congress will continue to get their paychecks even as government business remains unaddressed, including appropriations bills. All because the Democrats know that the energy issue is a huge loser for them, and the leftists in charge of the Democrat caucus are holding the rest of them hostage.
That's forced some Senate Democrats to consider creating a new Gang of 10 to come up with a bi-partisan energy solution, but Pelosi and the gang will not allow even that to come to the floor. That's a big win for the GOP, which could take wins where it can, and going into November, this is going to be a banner issue.
The GOP refused to cave, and proceeded to hold a renegade session. Leftists will deride the issue as a publicity stunt, but the real fault lies with Congressional Democrats who are holding the nation's energy policy in a stranglehold. They refuse to build new energy generating capacity, refuse to drill new oil wells domestically, refuse to allow construction of new refining capabilities, and otherwise enact policies that drive up energy costs through red tape.
Pelosi and the craven Democrats refuse to address the issue of oil production domestically and refuse to take any steps to: (1) reduce reliance on foreign sources that may be in unstable regions of the world; and (2) increase domestic production. Instead, they talk about nothing more than hot air - that Americans should conserve.
Conservation will not increase the supply of oil, nor will it reduce oil prices. Only a combination of supply increases and lowered demand can accomplish this. Conservation is a touchy feely non-solution to a problem that the Democrats have exacerbated time and time again with obstructionist and misguided policies.
The rise in oil prices has stifled economic growth and caused tremendous hardship for most Americans - especially those who cannot afford to take private jets such as Pelosi. Limousine liberals might love having high oil prices, but it doesn't do the nation any good.
Sen. Barack Obama's solution to the energy crisis? Check your tire pressure.
Right. That's Obama riding around and note that the rear tire on his bicycle is flat. So much for taking your own advice. Or maybe, that's just his recognition that we could stand to improve our fuel economy by keeping our cars in good shape. Indeed, that's a good idea, but it's nothing more than a band aid when you've got a great big sucking wound - oil prices that are consistently over $100 a barrel and gas prices northwards of $3.75 per gallon. Standing in the way of increased production undermines US economic and strategic security issues.
Obama and the rest of the Democrats are replaying the Jimmy Carter energy playbook, which saw nothing but misery and malaise. It also saw that the US declined in domestic energy production and still hasn't recovered. The eco-leftists have seen to that as well. The Democrats will do absolutely nothing to stem the rise in energy prices.
And the media plays along with all this by burying the GOP revolt in the back pages of the paper. Like the Democrats, they don't want this issue creeping into the collective consciousness of the American people since it would be a killer issue for the GOP in November.
House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi, knowing that her own caucus was fractured and that if any of the GOP measures came up for a vote that they might actually lead to GOP measures passing, could have none of this.
She gaveled the session into adjournment for a five-week recess and ordered the lights out. The members of Congress will continue to get their paychecks even as government business remains unaddressed, including appropriations bills. All because the Democrats know that the energy issue is a huge loser for them, and the leftists in charge of the Democrat caucus are holding the rest of them hostage.
That's forced some Senate Democrats to consider creating a new Gang of 10 to come up with a bi-partisan energy solution, but Pelosi and the gang will not allow even that to come to the floor. That's a big win for the GOP, which could take wins where it can, and going into November, this is going to be a banner issue.
The GOP refused to cave, and proceeded to hold a renegade session. Leftists will deride the issue as a publicity stunt, but the real fault lies with Congressional Democrats who are holding the nation's energy policy in a stranglehold. They refuse to build new energy generating capacity, refuse to drill new oil wells domestically, refuse to allow construction of new refining capabilities, and otherwise enact policies that drive up energy costs through red tape.
Pelosi and the craven Democrats refuse to address the issue of oil production domestically and refuse to take any steps to: (1) reduce reliance on foreign sources that may be in unstable regions of the world; and (2) increase domestic production. Instead, they talk about nothing more than hot air - that Americans should conserve.
Conservation will not increase the supply of oil, nor will it reduce oil prices. Only a combination of supply increases and lowered demand can accomplish this. Conservation is a touchy feely non-solution to a problem that the Democrats have exacerbated time and time again with obstructionist and misguided policies.
The rise in oil prices has stifled economic growth and caused tremendous hardship for most Americans - especially those who cannot afford to take private jets such as Pelosi. Limousine liberals might love having high oil prices, but it doesn't do the nation any good.
Sen. Barack Obama's solution to the energy crisis? Check your tire pressure.
Right. That's Obama riding around and note that the rear tire on his bicycle is flat. So much for taking your own advice. Or maybe, that's just his recognition that we could stand to improve our fuel economy by keeping our cars in good shape. Indeed, that's a good idea, but it's nothing more than a band aid when you've got a great big sucking wound - oil prices that are consistently over $100 a barrel and gas prices northwards of $3.75 per gallon. Standing in the way of increased production undermines US economic and strategic security issues.Obama and the rest of the Democrats are replaying the Jimmy Carter energy playbook, which saw nothing but misery and malaise. It also saw that the US declined in domestic energy production and still hasn't recovered. The eco-leftists have seen to that as well. The Democrats will do absolutely nothing to stem the rise in energy prices.
And the media plays along with all this by burying the GOP revolt in the back pages of the paper. Like the Democrats, they don't want this issue creeping into the collective consciousness of the American people since it would be a killer issue for the GOP in November.
Gazan Arms Race
Well, Fatah and Hamas are at it again in Gaza. Hamas wants to retain supremacy in Gaza, and Fatah is doing its best (which isn't saying much) to undermine Hamas control. Hamas attempted to go after one of the thuggish clans in Gaza, and got itself into a major gun battle with Fatah thugs.
Three dead and more than 35 injured. Several more Fatah thugs were captured as they were trying to escape dressed as women.
That's a pretty common tactic when you demand that women wear the hijab and burkha so that they're completely covered.
The level of confrontation between Hamas and Fatah has significantly increased in the past two weeks, and that bodes poorly for the Palestinians who have chosen to support both terrorist groups - Fatah and Hamas.
Islamic Jihad says that it's trying to mediate between Fatah and Hamas - to get the two terror groups to stop fighting each other and keep their eye on the prize - fighting Israel.
This should remove any doubts over what would happen in a Palestinian country. The terrorist group factions would all fight each other for power and control, when they weren't busy trying to fight Israel. Peace simply cannot be achieved under such conditions.
Three dead and more than 35 injured. Several more Fatah thugs were captured as they were trying to escape dressed as women.
That's a pretty common tactic when you demand that women wear the hijab and burkha so that they're completely covered.
The level of confrontation between Hamas and Fatah has significantly increased in the past two weeks, and that bodes poorly for the Palestinians who have chosen to support both terrorist groups - Fatah and Hamas.
Islamic Jihad says that it's trying to mediate between Fatah and Hamas - to get the two terror groups to stop fighting each other and keep their eye on the prize - fighting Israel.
This should remove any doubts over what would happen in a Palestinian country. The terrorist group factions would all fight each other for power and control, when they weren't busy trying to fight Israel. Peace simply cannot be achieved under such conditions.
Zawahiri: Seriously Injured? Dead? UPDATE: Misdirection Play?
CBS News is reporting that their sources indicate that Aywan Zawahiri is in seriously bad shape and the misanthropic doctor is in need of medical attention himself after suffering some form of injury:
UPDATE:
Bill Roggio at Long War Journal is skeptical of any sources within the Pakistani government claiming that Zawahiri is dead or seriously injured and this may be a misdirection play on their part:
UPDATE:
The terrorists have tried misdirection in the past, and may again be trying to do so because of recent successes.
Then again, it could be legitimate - but unless we get confirmation from US sources, I'd take with a grain of salt. The 48 hour rule should be in effect.
UPDATE:
Reuters reports that they've heard from the Taliban and that they insist that Zawahiri is still alive. I say let the US cure what ails Zawahiri - his ability to breathe and lead al Qaeda.
Ayman al-Zawahiri - the second most powerful leader in al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden's No. 2 - may be critically wounded and possibly dead, CBS News chief foreign affairs correspondent Lara Logan reports exclusively.Critically wounded is good news. Dead would be even better.
CBS News has obtained a copy of an intercepted letter from sources in Pakistan, which urgently requests a doctor to treat al-Zawahiri. He's believed to be somewhere in Pakistan's remote tribal areas of Pakistan.
The letter refers to Sheikh Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri by name - and says that he is in "severe pain" and his "injuries are infected."
UPDATE:
Bill Roggio at Long War Journal is skeptical of any sources within the Pakistani government claiming that Zawahiri is dead or seriously injured and this may be a misdirection play on their part:
Without official US confirmation of Zawahiri's death or his being severely wounded, all reports originating from Pakistani intelligence sources should be treated as suspect. The Pakistani military and intelligence agencies have made a nearly identical false report on the death of senior al Qaeda leaders. The reports come as Pakistani Prime Minister Gilani was conducting a visit to the United states and Pakistan's military and primary intelligence agency have come under fire for supporting extremists. Also, al Qaeda has been silent on the issue of the reports.As far as al Qaeda's media output, given that we haven't exactly heard from Adam Gadahn lately, it's possible that those responsible for putting out the formerly high quality videos are no longer capable of doing so or that the supply chain had been broken such that it takes longer for the videos from al Qaeda's leadership to find their way into the open.
UPDATE:
The terrorists have tried misdirection in the past, and may again be trying to do so because of recent successes.
Then again, it could be legitimate - but unless we get confirmation from US sources, I'd take with a grain of salt. The 48 hour rule should be in effect.
UPDATE:
Reuters reports that they've heard from the Taliban and that they insist that Zawahiri is still alive. I say let the US cure what ails Zawahiri - his ability to breathe and lead al Qaeda.
Powering the Navajo; Opposed By Democrats
The Navajo Nation in New Mexico is looking to build a coal-fired power plant on their reservation using the latest technologies and low-sulfur coal, which can also be mined on their reservation. It would be a 1,500 mw power plant, enough to power more than a million homes.
This has gotten New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson (D) up in arms that the power plant might create emissions.
That's pretty rich since the Navajo are among those who are most in tune with the environment and would not damage the land and air they consider sacred.
The only emissions generated thus far the noxious and odious ones by Richardson and the eco-zealots who are seeking to kill a power plant that would generate jobs for the Navajo Nation, power homes not only on the reservation, which as Don Surber notes, is still not fully electrified, and would be a boon to the local economy.
Every plant that gets delayed or fought is an additional cost borne by taxpayers and rate payers - higher energy costs due entirely to NIMBY, eco-leftists, and gordiots (that would be the nitwits who mindlessly follow Al Gore around the world claiming the sky will fall even as they are prodigious users of energy and consume mass quantities).
Richardson and the other eco-leftists fought against the power plant - and lost in court. The EPA ruled against them, but they refuse to cede the issue and are attempting to appeal the decision. Those additional costs are going to be borne by New Mexico taxpayers and the Navajo Nation. Higher charges for power will also ensue as a result.
Richardson doesn't care. Just as I have remarked upon previously, the Democrats are looking to drive up the price of energy so that they can impose their own inane "policy", which is really about dictating what individuals can or cannot do with their property and limiting personal choice. The entire issue of air quality is a ruse for the fact that it is in Richardson's backyard and he doesn't want it there.
It may also stem from the fact that the state is not going to get a customary cut of the taxes and fees generated since the plant would be built on the reservation, and not state or privately held land. Either way, Richardson is pushing an agenda that runs against the needs of the citizens of New Mexico and the Navajo.
This has gotten New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson (D) up in arms that the power plant might create emissions.
That's pretty rich since the Navajo are among those who are most in tune with the environment and would not damage the land and air they consider sacred.
The only emissions generated thus far the noxious and odious ones by Richardson and the eco-zealots who are seeking to kill a power plant that would generate jobs for the Navajo Nation, power homes not only on the reservation, which as Don Surber notes, is still not fully electrified, and would be a boon to the local economy.
Every plant that gets delayed or fought is an additional cost borne by taxpayers and rate payers - higher energy costs due entirely to NIMBY, eco-leftists, and gordiots (that would be the nitwits who mindlessly follow Al Gore around the world claiming the sky will fall even as they are prodigious users of energy and consume mass quantities).
Richardson and the other eco-leftists fought against the power plant - and lost in court. The EPA ruled against them, but they refuse to cede the issue and are attempting to appeal the decision. Those additional costs are going to be borne by New Mexico taxpayers and the Navajo Nation. Higher charges for power will also ensue as a result.
Richardson doesn't care. Just as I have remarked upon previously, the Democrats are looking to drive up the price of energy so that they can impose their own inane "policy", which is really about dictating what individuals can or cannot do with their property and limiting personal choice. The entire issue of air quality is a ruse for the fact that it is in Richardson's backyard and he doesn't want it there.
It may also stem from the fact that the state is not going to get a customary cut of the taxes and fees generated since the plant would be built on the reservation, and not state or privately held land. Either way, Richardson is pushing an agenda that runs against the needs of the citizens of New Mexico and the Navajo.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Democrats Are Laughing At You
Democrats are laughing at you. They enjoy your misery because it furthers their agenda of accumulating power and control over all aspects of the economy.
They will not act to lower the price of gas, even if it hits $10.
Laugh back.
Vote them out of office.
HT: Hot Air
UPDATE:
Others blogging: Ameripundit and Rhymes with Right.
UPDATE:
Don Surber also weighs in, as does Charles Krauthammer, who notes that in the Democratic party zeal to appear green, they may be doing far more harm to the planet than if they let the US drill. Who would be more responsible drilling and better safeguard the environment: the US or the Russians? The US or the Chinese? The US or Nigeria?
Trackposted to , Perri Nelson's Website, Allie is Wired, Democrat=Socialist, Adam's Blog, Right Truth, Conservative Cat, and The World According to Carl, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
Obama: The Gaffe-Maker Returns
Here's the gaffe:
Obama continues to make gaffes at an incredible rate, and yet the media doesn't call him out on it. Sad. How soon will he throw his comments under the bus?
UPDATE:
Well, the Obama campaign has come out with a statement defending Obama's comments. Let's just say it's not worth the paper it was written on:
He didn't come into the race with the history of others. Well, considering he came into the race without any experience, I'd say Obama's campaign got it right, but not in the way they wanted.
Democrat Barack Obama, the first black candidate with a shot at winning the White House, says John McCain and his Republican allies will try to scare them by saying Obama "doesn't look like all those other presidents on the dollar bills."How many ways does this qualify as a gaffe. Let me count the ways:
- For someone who claims to be a post-racial candidate, Obama brings up his race at every conceivable opportunity. John McCain isn't raising Obama's skin color; that's Obama engaging in projection for the sake of painting McCain and the GOP as racist when that has not happened.
- Dollar bills? Only one president on the $1 bill - George Washington.
- Even if you assume that Obama was referring to other paper currency, he would still be wrong since Hamilton appears on the $10 bill and Benjamin Franklin appears on the $100. For bonus credit, Salmon P Chase appears on the $10,000 bill, which is no longer in open circulation.
- Is there an election I've missed that Obama is already President and comparing himself to the "other Presidents"?
Obama continues to make gaffes at an incredible rate, and yet the media doesn't call him out on it. Sad. How soon will he throw his comments under the bus?
UPDATE:
Well, the Obama campaign has come out with a statement defending Obama's comments. Let's just say it's not worth the paper it was written on:
“What Barack Obama was talking about was that he didn’t get here after spending decades in Washington,” Gibbs said Thursday. “There is nothing more to this than the fact that he was describing that he was new to the political scene. He was referring to the fact that he didn’t come into the race with the history of others. It is not about race.”He didn't spend decades in Washington? He's new to the political scene, but apparently not new to being a political empty suit and spinmeistering.
He didn't come into the race with the history of others. Well, considering he came into the race without any experience, I'd say Obama's campaign got it right, but not in the way they wanted.
Buffalo Foodies Unite
A friend of mine has started a blog for those in the Buffalo area who are into food and culinary delights. Go check 'em out!
Not only do they run with recipes, but provide food preparation tips, and where to shop for quality food.
Not only do they run with recipes, but provide food preparation tips, and where to shop for quality food.
A Low Cost Solution to the Housing Crisis
Foreclosure tours?
Some of the tours are run by non governmental organizations and others are run by real estate companies. Either approach works, and it is a brilliant idea since it solves two problems at once. It matches up affordable housing with those who most need to sell to get out of their sticky wickets.
Instead of pumping money into the real estate market that will only drive up prices, this takes advantage of the market situation to benefit those who are on solid fiscal ground and matches them up with those who are struggling to stay afloat.
Instead of creating a whole new bureaucracy to solve what is nothing more than a market correction in both the housing market and the financial markets who didn't recognize risk in subprime housing markets, we get a simple and low cost solution that helps all involved.
It was a foreclosure bus tour hosted by the city -- the first in the state to offer such tours as a public service, according to the New Jersey League of Municipalities.Well, this appears to be the kind of solution that should work to match up prospective buyers who have solid credit and have been unable to afford homes because of the runup in prices and sellers who have been unable to meet mortgage payment commitments.
In Florida, California and Michigan, where the housing foreclosure crisis has hit residents especially hard, these tours are becoming the rage among real estate agents. In New Jersey, which according to RealtyTrac, a firm that monitors foreclosures, saw a 140 percent jump in foreclosure filings over the last three months, real estate agents are catching on.
Tours are being organized in Sussex, Morris, Union and Warren counties and along the Shore. But this one was different: It was designed not only to help first-time buyers get an affordable home, but to keep troubled homeowners above water.
"Maybe it's better to call it a 'pre-foreclosure tour,'" said the city's housing program director, Susan Ucci. "We want to prevent people from going into foreclosure."
Some of the tours are run by non governmental organizations and others are run by real estate companies. Either approach works, and it is a brilliant idea since it solves two problems at once. It matches up affordable housing with those who most need to sell to get out of their sticky wickets.
Instead of pumping money into the real estate market that will only drive up prices, this takes advantage of the market situation to benefit those who are on solid fiscal ground and matches them up with those who are struggling to stay afloat.
Instead of creating a whole new bureaucracy to solve what is nothing more than a market correction in both the housing market and the financial markets who didn't recognize risk in subprime housing markets, we get a simple and low cost solution that helps all involved.
Premature Celebration
I know that people concerned about the situation in Israel were in a celebratory mood yesterday over Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's decision to not run for reelection in Kadima's primary elections on September 17.
Your celebrations are premature, because Olmert is still in power, still wants a peace deal with the Palestinians at all costs, and there is a way that he could hold on to power until next year.
At the same time, the diplomats and President Bush are scrambling to try and keep the peace process going, even though the only process the Palestinians are interested in is obtaining more weapons and time to prepare for a war with Israel. I'm seriously concerned that Olmert may try to ram through a peace deal that harms Israel's long term security.
Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu is seen as the front runner to replace Olmert, and he's calling for new elections since changing the guard at Kadima would be little more than rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.
Expect the Palestinians to start carping that this is simply a tactic by the Israelis to avoid making peace with them. Ignore the fact that the Palestinian terrorists in Hamas, Fatah, and Islamic Jihad (and all their offshoots) are still busy seeking nothing less than Israel's destruction.
The Syrians, eager to regain the Golan Heights, are sure to push forward with what's left of Olmert's term to seek a deal. Let me remind my readers that Syria, which lost the Golan in the 1967 Six Day War when they attacked Israel, and failed to recapture it in 1973 in the surprise attack on Yom Kippur, has been in a cold peace with Israel since then. If you define peace as the absence of war, then the Syrians already have it. There's no reason to return the Golan, which provides Israel with a measure of security against attack.
An official peace deal with Israel should be defined not by the return of the Golan, but by Syria's actions to stop terrorism against Israel through its proxies. That, however, will not happen since the Syrians are beholden to the Iranians and therefore will not accept any deal that doesn't deliver the Golan, which will be used against Israel in the future.
As for those who would even suggest that UN peacekeepers should be stationed to monitor the border, note that the UN just withdrew its peacekeepers from the Ethiopia-Eritrea border because Eritrea refused to cooperate. UN peacekeepers withdrew prior to the 1967 war, and will not enforce UN resolutions against Israel's enemies because that would be seen as taking sides. In other words, the UN is not to be counted upon for providing stability or peace in the region.
UPDATE:
Indeed.
Your celebrations are premature, because Olmert is still in power, still wants a peace deal with the Palestinians at all costs, and there is a way that he could hold on to power until next year.
At the same time, the diplomats and President Bush are scrambling to try and keep the peace process going, even though the only process the Palestinians are interested in is obtaining more weapons and time to prepare for a war with Israel. I'm seriously concerned that Olmert may try to ram through a peace deal that harms Israel's long term security.
Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu is seen as the front runner to replace Olmert, and he's calling for new elections since changing the guard at Kadima would be little more than rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.
Expect the Palestinians to start carping that this is simply a tactic by the Israelis to avoid making peace with them. Ignore the fact that the Palestinian terrorists in Hamas, Fatah, and Islamic Jihad (and all their offshoots) are still busy seeking nothing less than Israel's destruction.
The Syrians, eager to regain the Golan Heights, are sure to push forward with what's left of Olmert's term to seek a deal. Let me remind my readers that Syria, which lost the Golan in the 1967 Six Day War when they attacked Israel, and failed to recapture it in 1973 in the surprise attack on Yom Kippur, has been in a cold peace with Israel since then. If you define peace as the absence of war, then the Syrians already have it. There's no reason to return the Golan, which provides Israel with a measure of security against attack.
An official peace deal with Israel should be defined not by the return of the Golan, but by Syria's actions to stop terrorism against Israel through its proxies. That, however, will not happen since the Syrians are beholden to the Iranians and therefore will not accept any deal that doesn't deliver the Golan, which will be used against Israel in the future.
As for those who would even suggest that UN peacekeepers should be stationed to monitor the border, note that the UN just withdrew its peacekeepers from the Ethiopia-Eritrea border because Eritrea refused to cooperate. UN peacekeepers withdrew prior to the 1967 war, and will not enforce UN resolutions against Israel's enemies because that would be seen as taking sides. In other words, the UN is not to be counted upon for providing stability or peace in the region.
UPDATE:
Indeed.
Cashless Tolls May Come To MTA Bridges and Tunnels
This has been an idea in the works for some time, but it appears that it is gaining speed.
The MTA notes that 75% of commuters using the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge use EZ Pass, so the question is how to collect tolls from the remaining 25%. However, that's always been the hurdle to overcome in moving towards high speed toll collections - that not everyone using the bridges and tunnels would obtain the transponders and use the system.
While this latest idea would greatly reduce congestion at the bridges and tunnels where toll plazas are a huge congestion and pollution source, note that it is the same technology that would also enable the City to go ahead and place tolls on the East River Bridges that are currently toll-free - the 59th Street (Queensboro), Williamsburg, Manhattan, and Brooklyn Bridges, along with the bridges connection Manhattan to the Bronx.
The City's insatiable appetite for revenues will look at those bridges as an untapped source of revenue. Mark my words.
The MTA notes that 75% of commuters using the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge use EZ Pass, so the question is how to collect tolls from the remaining 25%. However, that's always been the hurdle to overcome in moving towards high speed toll collections - that not everyone using the bridges and tunnels would obtain the transponders and use the system.
While this latest idea would greatly reduce congestion at the bridges and tunnels where toll plazas are a huge congestion and pollution source, note that it is the same technology that would also enable the City to go ahead and place tolls on the East River Bridges that are currently toll-free - the 59th Street (Queensboro), Williamsburg, Manhattan, and Brooklyn Bridges, along with the bridges connection Manhattan to the Bronx.
The City's insatiable appetite for revenues will look at those bridges as an untapped source of revenue. Mark my words.
Liquid Dreams: UPDATE - Water Indeed Found On Mars
One of the keys to future manned space exploration is the possibility that we would not have to lug along tons of water and other necessary commodities because they add weight and limit where and how spacecraft can be designed.
Now, we learn that there might be liquid materials flowing on one of Saturn's moons, Titan, including hydrocarbons:
However, there are ruminations that even bigger news might be had later today. It is possible that NASA might announce that they had discovered water on Mars.
UPDATE:
NASA has indeed confirmed that water was found on Mars. Pretty impressive stuff, and they also announced extending the mission.
Now, we learn that there might be liquid materials flowing on one of Saturn's moons, Titan, including hydrocarbons:
NASA said large dark areas on Titan's surface had been spotted during numerous close flybys of the moon. However until now it had not been possible to determine whether they were liquid or solids.That's a pretty explosive discover in and of itself.
But scientists were able to conclude the areas were liquid after studying data from a Cassini instrument able to distinguish chemically different materials based on the way they absorb and reflect infrared light.
The visual and mapping instrument spotted a lake, Ontario Lacus, in Titan's south polar region during a flyby in December, NASA said. The lake is roughly 7,800 square miles, slightly bigger North America's Lake Ontario.
"Detection of liquid ethane confirms a long-held idea that lakes and seas filled with methane and ethane exist on Titan," said Larry Soderblom, a scientist with the US Geological Survey in Flagstaff, Arizona.
"The fact we could detect the ethane spectral signatures of the lake even when it was so dimly illuminated, and at a slanted viewing path through Titan's atmosphere, raises expectations for exciting future lake discoveries by our instrument."
However, there are ruminations that even bigger news might be had later today. It is possible that NASA might announce that they had discovered water on Mars.
UPDATE:
NASA has indeed confirmed that water was found on Mars. Pretty impressive stuff, and they also announced extending the mission.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Bus and Driver: Ludacris Edition
Yes folks, it's that time of the campaign season to play bus and driver. Today's contestant is rapper Ludacris. He wrote a song whose inane lyrics have landed Ludacris on the persona non gratis list for the Obama campaign, even after they were all warm and cuddly.
The lyrics:
I'm back on it like I just signed my record dealStay classy.
yeah the best is here, the Bentley Coup paint is dripping wet, it got sex appeal
never should have hated
you never should've doubted him
with a slot in the president's iPod Obama shattered 'em
Said I handled his biz and I'm one of his favorite rappers
Well give Luda a special pardon if I'm ever in the slammer
Better yet put him in office, make me your vice president
Hillary hated on you, so that b^$&%* is irrelevant
Jesse talking slick and apologizing for what?
if you said it then you meant it how you want it have a gut!
and all you other politicians trying to hate on my man,
watch us win a majority vote in every state on my man
you can't stop what's bout to happen, we bout to make history
the first black president is destined and it's meant to be
the threats ain't fazing us, the nooses or the jokes
so get off your ass, black people, it's time to get out and vote!
paint the White House black and I'm sure that's got 'em terrified
McCain don't belong in ANY chair unless he's paralyzed
Yeah I said it cause Bush is mentally handicapped
Ball up all of his speeches and I throw em like candy wrap
cause what you talking I hear nothing even relevant
and you the worst of all 43 presidents
get out and vote or the end will be near
the world is ready for change because Obama is here!
cause Obama is here
The world is ready for change because Obama is here!
Obama is going to throw Ludacris under the bus for his comments in an attempt to portray himself as being upstanding, even though he had no problem meeting with him in the past despite Ludacris' repeated use of misogynistic lyrics. The bus is definitely warming up, and that sound you hear is it backing up and over.
UN Fails Again
The UN is ending its peacekeeping mission along the Eritrea-Ethiopia border, claiming that Eritrea is hampering peacekeeping activities.
Council members and other diplomats said the U.N. had little choice but to withdraw its 1,700-strong force that has been monitoring a 15-mile-wide, 620-mile-long buffer zone between the two nations.So, instead of taking action against the Eritrean government, they're giving up, and the threat of a conflict between the two countries increases.
The vote means the entire mission will be terminated on Thursday, Vietnam's U.N. ambassador, Le Luong Minh, told reporters after the vote.
Belgian Ambassador Jan Grauls told the council that the mission, known as UNMEE, "had become impossible to implement" because Eritreans progressively limited peacekeepers' movements -- including restricting night patrols, supply routes and diesel fuel -- and Ethiopians refused to accept an independent boundary commission's 2002 decision to award the key town of Badme to Eritrea.
"The border dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea remains total, and the United Nations is withdrawing without having been able to assist the two countries in finding a common ground, in spite of having tried all to achieve it," Grauls said.
Eritrea and Ethiopia have been feuding over their border since Eritrea gained independence in 1993 after a 30-year guerrilla war. The U.N. entered under a 2000 peace agreement that ended the 2½-year border war.
Devalued
Zimbabwe's inflation has run rampant and Mugabe's goons can't print currency fast enough or find trucks big enough to cart around the amount necessary to buy a single US dollar's worth of produce.
Their solution? Rejigger the Zimbabwean financial system so that 10 billion Zimbabwean dollars is equal to a new one Zimbabwean dollar bill.
Inflation continues to increase and the economy continues to be in shambles due to Mugabe's insane economic redistribution and confiscatory policies.
The Zimbabwean currency is worthless and everyone knows it. Trying to criminalize those who are trying to eek out a living is going to drive out those remaining businesses that aren't in cahoots with Mugabe.
While the official estimate of inflation is running around 2.2 million percent, independent economists suggest the true inflation is running at 12.5 million percent.
Their solution? Rejigger the Zimbabwean financial system so that 10 billion Zimbabwean dollars is equal to a new one Zimbabwean dollar bill.
Zimbabwe will drop 10 zeros from its hyper-inflated currency — turning 10 billion dollars into one — the country's reserve bank said Wednesday. President Robert Mugabe threatened a state of emergency if businesses profiteer from the country's economic and political unraveling.It wont work.
Inflation continues to increase and the economy continues to be in shambles due to Mugabe's insane economic redistribution and confiscatory policies.
The Zimbabwean currency is worthless and everyone knows it. Trying to criminalize those who are trying to eek out a living is going to drive out those remaining businesses that aren't in cahoots with Mugabe.
While the official estimate of inflation is running around 2.2 million percent, independent economists suggest the true inflation is running at 12.5 million percent.
Asleep at the Switch
There's speculation that Israeli Prime Minister might announce shortly that he will resign as Prime Minister or not seek reelection in Kadima's elections.
His resignation should have come nearly two years ago after his government failed to stop Hizbullah in its tracks. Now, we learn that Hizbullah has not only rebuilt its terror infrastructure, but it's tripled the number of missiles in its arsenal for use against Israel.
Israel's security has been undermined time and time again by Olmert, and the Israeli people have done little more than shrugged. Hizbullah has completely recovered from its disastrous war against Israel and has essentially gotten a veto over the legitimate Lebanese government. Hizbullah has thwarted the UNIFIL mandate time and time again, despite the fact that UNIFIL is charged with the terror group's disarmament. UNIFIL's mandate was set forth precisely to address Israel's security needs, and its failures directly affect Israel's security.
Disengagement from Gaza was a good idea, but Israel's security was not enhanced by the move because the Israeli government refused to treat each and every suicide attack, kassam rocket fired, or mortar attack as an act of war and dealt with them accordingly. Instead, the Israeli government acted only when an Israeli was killed or seriously wounded. Even then, those were limited reprisals and hardly ever against those ordering the attacks.
Those instances increased with alarming regularity as the Palestinian terrorists realized that they had the upper hand. It was a situation akin to a turtle in a slowly boiling pot - he didn't realize the danger until it was too late. The Palestinians were turning up the heat on Israel, and Israel wasn't responding.
The Israelis still aren't responding. Hamas openly engages in smuggling operations to bring weapons into Gaza for use against Israel - but Israel does nothing. A hudna is in effect enabling the terrorists to regroup and rearm, and it's lulling the Israelis into a false sense of security.
Israel continues to foster the charade perpetrated by the terrorist groups that there is a difference between the military and political wings of those groups. There is none. The goals are the same - the ultimate destruction of Israel - and the groups cover for each other. The terrorist groups also collude to engage in attacks so as to maintain pressure on Israel and force it into acting - so that the Israelis can be blamed by the media for breaking the hudna, freeing up the other groups to resume their deadly business.
UPDATE:
Olmert has announced he will leave office in two months' time by not running for reelection in his party's primary elections on September 17. This isn't soon enough, as the lasting damage to Israel's security has been done.
It also indicates that Olmert believes that the criminal investigations into his misconduct and corruption are going to lead to indictments.
His resignation should have come nearly two years ago after his government failed to stop Hizbullah in its tracks. Now, we learn that Hizbullah has not only rebuilt its terror infrastructure, but it's tripled the number of missiles in its arsenal for use against Israel.
Israel's security has been undermined time and time again by Olmert, and the Israeli people have done little more than shrugged. Hizbullah has completely recovered from its disastrous war against Israel and has essentially gotten a veto over the legitimate Lebanese government. Hizbullah has thwarted the UNIFIL mandate time and time again, despite the fact that UNIFIL is charged with the terror group's disarmament. UNIFIL's mandate was set forth precisely to address Israel's security needs, and its failures directly affect Israel's security.
Disengagement from Gaza was a good idea, but Israel's security was not enhanced by the move because the Israeli government refused to treat each and every suicide attack, kassam rocket fired, or mortar attack as an act of war and dealt with them accordingly. Instead, the Israeli government acted only when an Israeli was killed or seriously wounded. Even then, those were limited reprisals and hardly ever against those ordering the attacks.
Those instances increased with alarming regularity as the Palestinian terrorists realized that they had the upper hand. It was a situation akin to a turtle in a slowly boiling pot - he didn't realize the danger until it was too late. The Palestinians were turning up the heat on Israel, and Israel wasn't responding.
The Israelis still aren't responding. Hamas openly engages in smuggling operations to bring weapons into Gaza for use against Israel - but Israel does nothing. A hudna is in effect enabling the terrorists to regroup and rearm, and it's lulling the Israelis into a false sense of security.
Israel continues to foster the charade perpetrated by the terrorist groups that there is a difference between the military and political wings of those groups. There is none. The goals are the same - the ultimate destruction of Israel - and the groups cover for each other. The terrorist groups also collude to engage in attacks so as to maintain pressure on Israel and force it into acting - so that the Israelis can be blamed by the media for breaking the hudna, freeing up the other groups to resume their deadly business.
UPDATE:
Olmert has announced he will leave office in two months' time by not running for reelection in his party's primary elections on September 17. This isn't soon enough, as the lasting damage to Israel's security has been done.
It also indicates that Olmert believes that the criminal investigations into his misconduct and corruption are going to lead to indictments.
Coming Up Short
You knew this would happen. Fewer people than expected took New Jersey's state worker buyout proposal, which means that the savings from having fewer employees is less than anticipated. In fact, it was less than half of those qualified, and 75% of those who were projected to accept the deal:
A preliminary count by the Division of Pension and Benefits indicates 1,500 state employees will accept retirement incentives approved last month along with the fiscal 2009 budget, state Treasurer David Rousseau said in a letter sent to legislators on Tuesday.
A final tally of all retirements that go into effect this Friday will be released on Aug. 15, he said.
State officials originally estimated more than 3,800 employees were qualified to accept the incentives. They projected more than 2,000 would accept them for a total savings of $90 million.
Property Tax Hikes Hit Home
Once again, property taxes are going up in New Jersey. It's an annual ritual, and no one is happy. For those businesses in Paramus, the toll is going to be especially harsh. Many are going to see their property taxes go up 20%.
Expect to see more empty storefronts as businesses find themselves unable to pay the additional charges or lose profitability because the costs passed on to consumers takes a greater bite and fewer sales result.
It's a lose-lose situation for those who come to the shopping mecca along the Route 17 and Route 4 corridor.
And it doesn't have to be this way.
Bergen County continues to resist dropping the blue laws that prohibit sales on Sunday, even though it also means a loss in sales tax revenues. At a time when the municipalities are hurting, the blue law is an anachronism whose time has long passed. Sales that would otherwise occur in Bergen County are lost to neighboring counties and New York State.
Also, a 20% jump is going to hit home just as hard as any talk about mortgage rates and the real estate financing mess. It's curious that this doesn't get nearly the exposure since taxes take a huge bite out of the revenue streams of businesses and hit homeowners quite hard - especially those homeowners on a fixed income.
Expect to see more empty storefronts as businesses find themselves unable to pay the additional charges or lose profitability because the costs passed on to consumers takes a greater bite and fewer sales result.
It's a lose-lose situation for those who come to the shopping mecca along the Route 17 and Route 4 corridor.
And it doesn't have to be this way.
Bergen County continues to resist dropping the blue laws that prohibit sales on Sunday, even though it also means a loss in sales tax revenues. At a time when the municipalities are hurting, the blue law is an anachronism whose time has long passed. Sales that would otherwise occur in Bergen County are lost to neighboring counties and New York State.
Also, a 20% jump is going to hit home just as hard as any talk about mortgage rates and the real estate financing mess. It's curious that this doesn't get nearly the exposure since taxes take a huge bite out of the revenue streams of businesses and hit homeowners quite hard - especially those homeowners on a fixed income.
Extreme Makeover: The Foreclosure Edition
Even as President Bush signs a seriously misguided housing mortgage assistance program that will only serve to exacerbate the housing crisis because costs will be borne by taxpayers rather than the banks and individuals who took risks and lost on investments (the houses they bought and offered financing for), a curious foreclosure has surfaced.
It happens to be a family that was featured on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. The family had a huge home built for them. In fact, it was the largest home undertaken by Ty Pennington and the gang until that point in the show's history. It was huge.
To go along with that home, which was valued at $450,000, the family got $250,000 for assistance in covering the tax payments and carrying charges (utility expenses, etc.), and the family's children got college funds.
So, what happened? Well, the family apparently attempted to start a construction business and leveraged the entire house - with a $450,000 mortgage that they were unable to repay. Hence, the foreclosure.
Who do they have to blame? Themselves and the bank. The bank should have known better than to allow the family to leverage the entire value of the home and the family should have known better than to put the entirety of their home as collateral on a business enterprise.
Bad business decisions abounded.
That in a nutshell is why the housing meltdown occurred.
Lenders, bullied by Congress into lending to those who were unable to pay their bills, threw caution to the wind in the expectation that the housing markets would continue to appreciate. Speculators saw the money offered up by banks and tried to cash in on the market, thinking that it would never go down.
And Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were run into the ground because the profits were internalized and the risks were externalized to taxpayers. No one was held accountable, and all now all taxpayers will be on the hook for the bad business decisions.
The new housing law cements those decisions and actually rewards bad behavior. It throws a lifeline to those who risked their money and lost.
It happens to be a family that was featured on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. The family had a huge home built for them. In fact, it was the largest home undertaken by Ty Pennington and the gang until that point in the show's history. It was huge.To go along with that home, which was valued at $450,000, the family got $250,000 for assistance in covering the tax payments and carrying charges (utility expenses, etc.), and the family's children got college funds.
So, what happened? Well, the family apparently attempted to start a construction business and leveraged the entire house - with a $450,000 mortgage that they were unable to repay. Hence, the foreclosure.
Who do they have to blame? Themselves and the bank. The bank should have known better than to allow the family to leverage the entire value of the home and the family should have known better than to put the entirety of their home as collateral on a business enterprise.
Bad business decisions abounded.
That in a nutshell is why the housing meltdown occurred.
Lenders, bullied by Congress into lending to those who were unable to pay their bills, threw caution to the wind in the expectation that the housing markets would continue to appreciate. Speculators saw the money offered up by banks and tried to cash in on the market, thinking that it would never go down.
And Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were run into the ground because the profits were internalized and the risks were externalized to taxpayers. No one was held accountable, and all now all taxpayers will be on the hook for the bad business decisions.
The new housing law cements those decisions and actually rewards bad behavior. It throws a lifeline to those who risked their money and lost.
Iraqi Athletes To Compete In Beijing Olympics After All
A last minute deal has saved the careers of two Iraqi athletes who were hoping to compete in Beijing in two weeks. The IOC had previously ruled that the Iraqi Olympic Committee was not an independent organization after the Iraqi government cleaned house:
Further, you have China involved in demanding and negotiating with Iraq over Iraq holding free elections for its national Olympic committee under international observation? The irony is not lost on me, given that China doesn't hold free and fair elections, under international observation or otherwise.
This is, however, politics as usual for the IOC.
UPDATE:
Hypocrisy, thy name is China and the IOC. After demanding that the Iraqi government provide open elections as a precondition to allowing the two athletes to participate that were able to have their names submitted by the deadline, we now learn that the Chinese government is busy censoring the Internet access provided to media outlets covering the Olympics.
They lied.
The IOC bought into the lies, and it's now too late.
The decision followed last-minute talks between Iraqi officials and the IOC ahead of today's deadline to submit competitors' names for track and field events. The Olympics begin Aug. 8.Unfortunately, five other athletes will be unable to compete because of the IOC's nonsense.
Iraq's National Olympic Committee was dissolved by the Baghdad government in May, prompting the IOC to suspend the country from the Olympics for political interference.
The IOC had insisted the old committee be reinstated even though four members were kidnapped two years ago. Their fates remain unknown.
A compromise was worked out after mediators from Germany and China became involved in talks, and Iraq pledged to hold free elections for its national Olympic committee under international observation.
Iraq is expected to send two athletes to Beijing to compete in track and field events. The decision came too late for five other hopefuls in archery, judo, rowing and weightlifting. The deadline to submit names for those sports expired last week.
Further, you have China involved in demanding and negotiating with Iraq over Iraq holding free elections for its national Olympic committee under international observation? The irony is not lost on me, given that China doesn't hold free and fair elections, under international observation or otherwise.
This is, however, politics as usual for the IOC.
UPDATE:
Hypocrisy, thy name is China and the IOC. After demanding that the Iraqi government provide open elections as a precondition to allowing the two athletes to participate that were able to have their names submitted by the deadline, we now learn that the Chinese government is busy censoring the Internet access provided to media outlets covering the Olympics.
Since the Olympic Village press center opened Friday, reporters have been unable to access scores of Web pages — among them those that discuss Tibetan issues, Taiwanese independence, the violent crackdown on the protests in Tiananmen Square and the Web sites of Amnesty International, the BBC’s Chinese-language news, Radio Free Asia and several Hong Kong newspapers known for their freewheeling political discourse.The media outlets were told that the government would provide unhampered access.
The restrictions, which closely resemble the blocks that China places on the Internet for its citizens, undermine sweeping claims by Jacques Rogge, the International Olympic Committee president, that China had agreed to provide free Web access for foreign news media during the Games. Mr. Rogge has long argued that one of the main benefits of awarding the Games to Beijing was that the event would make China more open.
They lied.
The IOC bought into the lies, and it's now too late.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
The Obama Exams
The New York Times managed to locate several years worth of exams and model answers to exams that Sen. Barack Obama gave. I've started to review them, and for the most part, it's boiler plate constitutional law and fact patterns. Nothing that really should surprise anyone who has gone to law school.
One area that lecturers and professors in law school often find humor is in the names of people and places in the fact patterns. In the course of reviewing the first set of exams (1997), I thought the name of the school in Part II was odd. He called it the Ujamaa School.
So, I did some more digging.
It would also appear that Ed Whelan had gotten wind of some of Obama's exams two months ago, but it didn't get nearly the level of attention the Times is now getting.
And Mark Levin has been all over Obama's socialist ties from the get-go.
One area that lecturers and professors in law school often find humor is in the names of people and places in the fact patterns. In the course of reviewing the first set of exams (1997), I thought the name of the school in Part II was odd. He called it the Ujamaa School.
So, I did some more digging.
Ujamaa was the concept that formed the basis of Julius Nyerere's social and economic development policies in Tanzania just after it gained independence from Britain in 1964. In 1967, President Nyerere published his development blueprint titled the Arusha Declaration, in which Nyerere pointed out the need for an African model of development and which formed the basis of African socialism. Ujamaa comes from the Swahili word for "extended family" or "familyhood" and is distinguished by several key characteristics, namely that a person becomes a person through the people or community. For Nyerere, an African "extended family" means that every individual is in the service of the community.[1] Thus, Ujamaa is characterized by a community where co-operation and collective advancement are the rationale of every individual's existence. According to Ujamaa, personal acquisitiveness is prohibited, thus allowing the distribution of wealth through society horizontally rather than vertically.Obama was using terms and names that he was familiar with. That shouldn't be surprising. It is becoming abundantly clear that his background is completely drenched in socialist teachings - a background he's desperately tried to keep from public view or spin into something that is more innocuous.
It would also appear that Ed Whelan had gotten wind of some of Obama's exams two months ago, but it didn't get nearly the level of attention the Times is now getting.
And Mark Levin has been all over Obama's socialist ties from the get-go.
What Is Iran Up To?
We know that Iran is busy working towards nuclear enrichment. We know that with sufficient time, they can produce weapons grade uranium for use in nuclear weapons.
We know that the Iranians are busy working with long range missiles and looking to extend the range of those missiles.
What we don't know, and what we can't quite explain is what Kenneth Timmerman is reporting.
So, what is a country trying to defend against this kind of threat to do? Plan and position defensive capabilities. Those include missile defense systems that have the ability to take out approaching missiles in their launch and apogee phases, before they have a chance to strike.
It also means that one has to take a closer look at preemptive attacks against the Iranian nuclear and missile tech infrastructure.
Perhaps most importantly, it means beefing up intel assets capable of figuring out what Iran is up to, how close they are to successfully obtaining weapons grade uranium, assembling nuclear warheads, mating such warheads to long range missiles, and possible targets.
As it stands now, there is a sword of Damocles hanging over the world, and only a few are cognizant of that threat. Far too many think that the real threat is America's enterprise in the Middle East and our alliance with the Israelis and our efforts to bring democracy to Iraq. These people may realize far too late that the enemy was telling them all along what he was going to do.
We know that the Iranians are busy working with long range missiles and looking to extend the range of those missiles.
What we don't know, and what we can't quite explain is what Kenneth Timmerman is reporting.
One group of tests that troubled Graham, the former White House science adviser under President Ronald Reagan, were successful efforts to launch a Scud missile from a platform in the Caspian Sea.In plain English, rather than a direct nuclear weapons attack on the US or other enemy of Iran, the Iranians are looking at the possibility of attacking the economies of its enemies with an EMP attack since it would fry key electronics and would have potentially catastrophic results to countries heavily dependent upon technology.
“They’ve got [test] ranges in Iran which are more than long enough to handle Scud launches and even Shahab-3 launches,” Dr. Graham said. “Why would they be launching from the surface of the Caspian Sea? They obviously have not explained that to us.”
Another troubling group of tests involved Shahab-3 launches where the Iranians "detonated the warhead near apogee, not over the target area where the thing would eventually land, but at altitude,” Graham said. “Why would they do that?”
Graham chairs the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack, a blue-ribbon panel established by Congress in 2001.
The commission examined the Iranian tests “and without too much effort connected the dots,” even though the U.S. intelligence community previously had failed to do so, Graham said.
“The only plausible explanation we can find is that the Iranians are figuring out how to launch a missile from a ship and get it up to altitude and then detonate it,” he said. “And that’s exactly what you would do if you had a nuclear weapon on a Scud or a Shahab-3 or other missile, and you wanted to explode it over the United States.”
So, what is a country trying to defend against this kind of threat to do? Plan and position defensive capabilities. Those include missile defense systems that have the ability to take out approaching missiles in their launch and apogee phases, before they have a chance to strike.
It also means that one has to take a closer look at preemptive attacks against the Iranian nuclear and missile tech infrastructure.
Perhaps most importantly, it means beefing up intel assets capable of figuring out what Iran is up to, how close they are to successfully obtaining weapons grade uranium, assembling nuclear warheads, mating such warheads to long range missiles, and possible targets.
As it stands now, there is a sword of Damocles hanging over the world, and only a few are cognizant of that threat. Far too many think that the real threat is America's enterprise in the Middle East and our alliance with the Israelis and our efforts to bring democracy to Iraq. These people may realize far too late that the enemy was telling them all along what he was going to do.
Senator Stevens Bridge to Corruption
Loathsome Republican Ted Stevens of Alaska has been indicted on charges of corruption stemming from a year long investigation into Alaskan politics. It's a seven count indictment.
Stevens was a champion of the Bridge to Nowhere, a $400 million pork transportation project that would have built a bridge that helped an extremely small segment of the Alaskan population and where other alternatives already existed.
His greed and avarice along with the penchant for pork are what helped the GOP lose seats in 2006. The sooner the GOP distances itself from Stevens, the better for the party's political prospects moving forward.
UPDATE:
The seven charges relate to making false statements.
Good riddance to bad rubbish.
At the same time, it's a good idea to check in with some other corrupt politicians, including Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) who continues to pull a government paycheck even after investigators found $90,000 in cold cash in his freezer, and the House leadership moved to protect him from FBI investigators.
There's plenty of corrupt politicians in government, and it is in everyone's interest of ridding the government of the bad apples. Still, it does appear that there's a wee bit of bias when it comes to how such stories are reported and the time in which those politicians are sent packing. We're still waiting on Jefferson being dispatched from the House (not even a censure as yet), and watch for calls for Stevens to resign today.
UPDATE:
The AP has put out a handy dandy sheet of those members of Congress who have been charged with crimes, but it seems rather lopsided (mostly GOPers). Indeed, it appears that a few are missing. Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) comes to mind. Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) got off after a grand jury couldn't find sufficient evidence after she slugged a Capitol Policeman.
Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL) wasn't included, even though he engaged in unethical conduct towards House pages.
This is a more substantive list.
UPDATE:
Hot Air has more, including Stevens' ties to an oil services company which may have provided services including doubling the size of Stevens' home.
Others blogging: Cold Fury and Ed Driscoll, who gets kudos for his headline.
UPDATE:
Don Surber notes that the AP sent Lara Jakes Jordan to cover the Stevens story. She happened to be the same reporter who covered Cold Cash Jefferson and omitted Jefferson's political affiliation giving rise to the name that party moniker (and which I have also since added as a label).
Also, McCain should respond quickly by saying that this is exactly the kind of dysfunctional and corruption he's been fighting in Congress for years. It might shore up his credibility and stem any possible fallout from another GOPer coming under indictment.
UPDATE:
Expect fellow GOPers to throw Stevens under the bus and call for his resignation, which stands in contrast to how Democrats chose to stand besides Jefferson when investigators found the $90,000 stuffed in his freezer. Already, there are calls for his resignation from Redstate now (should have come much earlier).
Stevens was a champion of the Bridge to Nowhere, a $400 million pork transportation project that would have built a bridge that helped an extremely small segment of the Alaskan population and where other alternatives already existed.
His greed and avarice along with the penchant for pork are what helped the GOP lose seats in 2006. The sooner the GOP distances itself from Stevens, the better for the party's political prospects moving forward.
UPDATE:
The seven charges relate to making false statements.
Good riddance to bad rubbish.
At the same time, it's a good idea to check in with some other corrupt politicians, including Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) who continues to pull a government paycheck even after investigators found $90,000 in cold cash in his freezer, and the House leadership moved to protect him from FBI investigators.
There's plenty of corrupt politicians in government, and it is in everyone's interest of ridding the government of the bad apples. Still, it does appear that there's a wee bit of bias when it comes to how such stories are reported and the time in which those politicians are sent packing. We're still waiting on Jefferson being dispatched from the House (not even a censure as yet), and watch for calls for Stevens to resign today.
UPDATE:
The AP has put out a handy dandy sheet of those members of Congress who have been charged with crimes, but it seems rather lopsided (mostly GOPers). Indeed, it appears that a few are missing. Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) comes to mind. Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) got off after a grand jury couldn't find sufficient evidence after she slugged a Capitol Policeman.
Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL) wasn't included, even though he engaged in unethical conduct towards House pages.
This is a more substantive list.
UPDATE:
Hot Air has more, including Stevens' ties to an oil services company which may have provided services including doubling the size of Stevens' home.
Others blogging: Cold Fury and Ed Driscoll, who gets kudos for his headline.
UPDATE:
Don Surber notes that the AP sent Lara Jakes Jordan to cover the Stevens story. She happened to be the same reporter who covered Cold Cash Jefferson and omitted Jefferson's political affiliation giving rise to the name that party moniker (and which I have also since added as a label).
Also, McCain should respond quickly by saying that this is exactly the kind of dysfunctional and corruption he's been fighting in Congress for years. It might shore up his credibility and stem any possible fallout from another GOPer coming under indictment.
UPDATE:
Expect fellow GOPers to throw Stevens under the bus and call for his resignation, which stands in contrast to how Democrats chose to stand besides Jefferson when investigators found the $90,000 stuffed in his freezer. Already, there are calls for his resignation from Redstate now (should have come much earlier).
Los Angeles Pushing Partial Fast Food Ban
The nanny state tactics hit South Central Los Angeles. The Los Angeles City Council is proposing a one-year moratorium on new fast food chains in the area.
Fast food chains don't go where they don't think that money can be made. They obviously think that South Central Los Angeles is an underserved area and that they can make money there. Conditions have improved there and the economics are right.
Yet, the City Council thinks that they should determine how many fast food outlets should be allowed to open.
Never mind that many fast food restaurants provide healthy alternatives including salads and low calorie options. It remains personal choice as to what people eat.
Also ignored is the fact that many fast food joints are actually locally owned franchises - meaning that local businesses benefit and the local community benefits from entry job opportunities.
Once again, government thinks that the markets cannot take care of themselves. As Starbucks has found out, you can oversaturate markets and have to shutter stores. If too many fast food chains open up, some will inevitably close because they cannot compete. Other businesses will take their place.
In the impoverished neighborhood of South Los Angeles, fast food is the easiest cuisine to find — and that's a problem for elected officials who see it as an unhealthy source of calories and cholesterol.For those who forget, this is the same area that was hardest hit by the Rodney King riots, and where more than a billion dollars in property damage was done. Now, the City Council is suggesting curbing economic opportunities in this area.
The City Council was poised to vote Tuesday on a moratorium on new fast-food restaurants in a swath of the city where a proliferation of such eateries goes hand-in-hand with obesity.
"Our communities have an extreme shortage of quality foods," City Councilman Bernard Parks said.
Fast food chains don't go where they don't think that money can be made. They obviously think that South Central Los Angeles is an underserved area and that they can make money there. Conditions have improved there and the economics are right.
Yet, the City Council thinks that they should determine how many fast food outlets should be allowed to open.
Never mind that many fast food restaurants provide healthy alternatives including salads and low calorie options. It remains personal choice as to what people eat.
Also ignored is the fact that many fast food joints are actually locally owned franchises - meaning that local businesses benefit and the local community benefits from entry job opportunities.
Once again, government thinks that the markets cannot take care of themselves. As Starbucks has found out, you can oversaturate markets and have to shutter stores. If too many fast food chains open up, some will inevitably close because they cannot compete. Other businesses will take their place.
Zimbabwe Talks Collapsing
So much for the optimism of a deal struck between Mugabe and Tsvangirai. I had warned that it was premature and that Mugabe would not willingly give up power.
Today's news bears this out.
Things are deadlocked, and South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki now wants to say that things aren't as bad as they look. Right.
Today's news bears this out.
Representatives of Mr. Mugabe's Zanu-PF party disclosed that they were mandated only to offer the opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, a vice-presidency, with no executive power.To be more succinct, Mugabe wants to retain power. He's willing to give Tsvangirai a position that offers no power.
The offer came despite Mr. Tsvangirai decisively beating Mr. Mugabe in the first round of the presidential poll in March, and Zanu-PF losing its parliamentary majority. The MDC pulled out of the presidential run-off last month in the face of a campaign of violence against its supporters, more than 100 of whom were killed, some in appalling brutal ways.
Things are deadlocked, and South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki now wants to say that things aren't as bad as they look. Right.
Heller Hauling DC Back Into Court
Dick Heller, the man who took the District of Columbia to court and won over its unconstitutional restrictions on legal firearms possession, is again taking the District back to court because their new restrictions are in violation of the Second Amendment. One requirement would require that the gun remain in a gun lock or disassembled at all times unless in imminent harm (a standard that is patently absurd on its face), and the other relates to the definition of acceptable firearms:
The lawsuit challenges the District’s requirement of trigger locks for revolvers and continued refusal to allow residents to keep semiautomatic handguns.The District hasn't learned. They refused to listen to the majority opinion, which noted that a statutory scheme that made it nearly impossible to comply would be struck down as unconstitutional just as surely as the one at issue in Heller, and now will spend taxpayer money to defend itself from a suit it is nearly guaranteed of losing.
Police earlier this month denied Heller’s application to register a Colt Model 1911 semiautomatic pistol on the basis that the pistol constituted a “machine gun,” the lawsuit states.
Under D.C. law, any weapon that has the capability to fire 12 rounds without reloading is considered a “machine gun.”
The District considers a semiautomatic firearm that shoots fewer than 12 shots without reloading, such as Heller’s World War I-era Colt, to be a machine gun under the theory that it “can be readily converted or restored to shoot” more than 12 shots, the lawsuit said.
The definition essentially prevents the usage of all handguns except revolvers, the lawsuit alleges.
“That’s a very weird definition,” Halbrook said. “It’s the only one like it in the world.”
One of the three plaintiffs, Amy McVey, the first D.C. citizen to register a handgun this month, is also suing over the District’s requirement that handguns be kept secured by a trigger lock or in a gun safe. D.C. requires that the handguns be kept secured unless there’s the “perceived threat of immediate harm to a person.”
In the Hole
The Democratic Party Convention in Denver is still in trouble. It hasn't met its financial targets, and is $10 million short.
The committee was short $10 million (25% of the total it expected), and now refuses to comment about the situation, which suggests that it is no better now than a month ago. Even with all the support Obama gets, it isn't translating into money for the convention.
The huge ego of Obama is causing serious headaches, and Hickenlooper thinks that this is okay. Obama, instead of giving his acceptance speech at the Pepsi Center arena, it will be given at Invesco Field, where Denver Broncos play football. It's an additional cost and nightmare for all those planning the event and covering it for the media.
The host committee is as much as $10 million short in fundraising, and financial difficulties have forced it to cancel two dozen parties for delegates. Denver officials are scrambling to deal with the logistical challenges of Barack Obama's acceptance speech being held at an outdoor stadium instead of in the arena where the rest of the convention will take place. Even special daisies that the city bred partly to show off for the convention are failing to sprout.The Denver Mayor thinks everything will turn out okay, but he probably figures that the taxpayers will bail him out. After all, he was pushing for taxpayers to subsidize the DNC driving habits until that was outed at a City Council meeting.
Criticism has been so harsh that this month the host committee felt compelled to issue a news release defending its much-mocked catering guidelines, which recommend organic produce and color-coordinated meals and discourage fried food.
"It's an embarrassment, particularly for the political class," said Floyd Ciruli, a former chairman of the state Democratic Party who is now an independent pollster unaffiliated with the convention effort. "At this point, everybody's thinking about the burdens rather than the benefits."
Local political leaders and the host committee insist everything is fine, and that any bumps along the way will be overshadowed by the attention showered on the city next month.
"That's a little bit of white noise around the perimeter," said Mayor John Hickenlooper. "Did we ever dream we'd have a candidate of this historic magnitude? Did we ever dream we'd have a candidate who'd make his acceptance speech in front of 80,000 people and have to turn away another 80,000?"
The committee was short $10 million (25% of the total it expected), and now refuses to comment about the situation, which suggests that it is no better now than a month ago. Even with all the support Obama gets, it isn't translating into money for the convention.
The huge ego of Obama is causing serious headaches, and Hickenlooper thinks that this is okay. Obama, instead of giving his acceptance speech at the Pepsi Center arena, it will be given at Invesco Field, where Denver Broncos play football. It's an additional cost and nightmare for all those planning the event and covering it for the media.
Sentencing Day For Sharpe James: UPDATE: 27 Months and Fine
Today, former Newark Mayor Sharpe James (D) gets to learn his fate from a judge. He, and his co-defendant, Tamika Riley, were found guilty on multiple charges stemming from improper sales of real estate.
James defrauded the taxpayers of Newark for years, and he was found guilty of the crimes. He should do the time. His age is irrelevant.
UPDATE:
This is just absurd. The judge thinks that Newark didn't lose anything by James engaging in cut rate deals.
UPDATE:
James' attorneys are pushing for probation. I'm sure that will go over well with prosecutors.
UPDATE:
Two years and three months (27 months) plus a fine of $100,000. No restitution to the city of Newark.
I'd say he got of relatively lightly compared to the maximum sentence. I'd put this down as a moderate slap on the wrist.
About 125 people packed the courtroom as the hearing was set to begin. U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie and Attorney General Anne Milgram sat in the front row.If James gets less than 10 years, I wouldn't be surprised. Saddened? Absolutely.
Prosecutors contend that James deserves as much as 20 years in prison for arranging the sale of lucrative city land to Riley, his onetime mistress. Defense attorneys have pleaded for leniency, saying any significant prison term would be a "lifelong sentence" for the 72-year-old James.
A jury convicted the pair in April, concluding that Riley got preferential treatment because of her ties to James and that the mayor had a duty to disclose their relationship before signing city contracts selling the properties.
The judge signaled last week that the prosecutors' request was too harsh, and said that even the 12 1/2 to 15 1/2-year prison term recommended by probation officials was "a stretch."
James defrauded the taxpayers of Newark for years, and he was found guilty of the crimes. He should do the time. His age is irrelevant.
UPDATE:
This is just absurd. The judge thinks that Newark didn't lose anything by James engaging in cut rate deals.
The judge who will sentence former Newark Mayor Sharpe James today said the city didn't lose any money when James arranged for his mistress to buy cut-rate city land.The city absolutely did lose money on the deal because of lost opportunity costs. Had the city sold the properties through the proper channels, it would have put additional money into its coffers, instead of into the pockets of James' mistress.
Wading through a host of legal issues that will shape an appropriate sentencing range, U.S. District Judge William Martini in Newark said he wanted to clarify what he thought was a misperception.
UPDATE:
James' attorneys are pushing for probation. I'm sure that will go over well with prosecutors.
UPDATE:
Two years and three months (27 months) plus a fine of $100,000. No restitution to the city of Newark.
I'd say he got of relatively lightly compared to the maximum sentence. I'd put this down as a moderate slap on the wrist.
Israel Set To Deploy Laser Defense System
Israel is planning on deploying a laser defense system against Palestinian terrorists who fire rockets and mortars into Israel from Gaza.
They have no problem exaggerating casualties and damage due to Israeli reprisal attacks against terrorists, so it is not a stretch to expect the Palestinians make claims that Israel is utilizing lasers against their terrorists.
Israeli defense officials said that the Defense Ministry's Research and Development Directorate was closely tracking the development of the system and that if it was operational before the Iron Dome - currently under development by Rafael Defense Systems - it was possible that Israel would purchase it to help defend against mortars and Kassam rockets fired from the Gaza Strip.How long before they start claiming that Israel is vaporizing Palestinian terrorists? You know that they're going to make the claim. The only question is when.
In June, Raytheon tested a prototype solid-state laser weapon which it said was designed to intercept rockets, mortars and missiles at significant ranges. LADS, according to the company, may be operational within the coming year and combines the capabilities of the 20-millimeter Phalanx rapid-fire cannon with the power and effectiveness of lasers to provide fast and precise direction of laser energy on target.
In static ground testing conducted with the US government, the LADS demonstration used a proven, off-the-shelf solid-state laser coupled with commercially available optics technology to detonate 60-millimeter mortars at a range greater than 550 yards within the required time limit.
They have no problem exaggerating casualties and damage due to Israeli reprisal attacks against terrorists, so it is not a stretch to expect the Palestinians make claims that Israel is utilizing lasers against their terrorists.
The Obama VP Speculation Game
We're entering the dog days of summer and with the national conventions still a few weeks away, speculation is turning to who the candidates will choose as running mates.
For Sen. Barack Obama, the speculation at the Washington Post leads to Virginia Governor Timothy Kaine, although the paper notes that Senator Joe Biden and Senator Evan Bayeh are also under consideration.
Of the three, only Kaine has any executive experience.
Bayeh is from Indiana, and wouldn't exactly help Obama geographically, and his name recognition isn't there.
As for the long shots, Dodd wouldn't (or shouldn't) get considered because of his involvement in the Countrywide Mortgage mess. Clinton and Obama simply can't play nice. Hagel isn't going to switch parties, and wouldn't bring anything to the table for Obama, and Reed is an unknown and represents a state that Obama would likely capture anyway.
Nunn is an intriguing choice, especially since he's got significant experience on defense matters and nuclear proliferation. He also hails from Georgia, which would help Obama in the South.
Of course, it remains curious that Eric Holder remains on the vetting committee despite his ties to the Clinton pardon mess.
For Sen. Barack Obama, the speculation at the Washington Post leads to Virginia Governor Timothy Kaine, although the paper notes that Senator Joe Biden and Senator Evan Bayeh are also under consideration.
Of the three, only Kaine has any executive experience.
Obama has revealed little about which way he is leaning. And despite rising anticipation that a decision is imminent, campaign officials said an announcement is likely in mid-August, shortly before the Democratic National Convention. Obama's top aides, David Plouffe and David Axelrod, huddled yesterday in the Washington office of Eric Holder, who along with Caroline Kennedy is vetting potential running mates.Biden has a lengthy career in the Senate, but it's also marked by his extraordinary lack of knowledge, rampant plagiarsm, and general stupidity on economics, law, and policy.
Although rumors have circulated about former military leaders and other nontraditional contenders, including Republicans, Obama's pool of prospects is heavy on longtime senators with foreign policy experience. Kaine and Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius are the only state leaders believed to be under serious consideration, sources close to Obama said.
Democrats who have discussed possible choices with campaign officials and have knowledge of the vetting process said others being considered include Sens. Christopher J. Dodd (Conn.) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) and former senator Sam Nunn (Ga.). Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel (Neb.) and Democratic Sen. Jack Reed (R.I.) are mentioned as long shots.
Bayeh is from Indiana, and wouldn't exactly help Obama geographically, and his name recognition isn't there.
As for the long shots, Dodd wouldn't (or shouldn't) get considered because of his involvement in the Countrywide Mortgage mess. Clinton and Obama simply can't play nice. Hagel isn't going to switch parties, and wouldn't bring anything to the table for Obama, and Reed is an unknown and represents a state that Obama would likely capture anyway.
Nunn is an intriguing choice, especially since he's got significant experience on defense matters and nuclear proliferation. He also hails from Georgia, which would help Obama in the South.
Of course, it remains curious that Eric Holder remains on the vetting committee despite his ties to the Clinton pardon mess.
Trading Fire
It is such an innocuous term. It makes you think of people hanging around a campfire and taking turns keeping it lit or sharing it with your neighbors who are having a tough time getting their fire started.
However, the reality is that Pakistan and India were slugging it out across their disputed border region for nearly 12 hours in an attempt to kill each other's troops.
Reuters reports that this was the third and most serious incident along the Line of Control.
India blames the Pakistani ISI for the bombing earlier this month that killed 58 people at the Indian embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan.
However, the reality is that Pakistan and India were slugging it out across their disputed border region for nearly 12 hours in an attempt to kill each other's troops.
The night-long gunbattle came after one Indian soldier and four Pakistanis were killed Monday along the heavily armed frontier that divides Indian- and Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, the Indian army said.Given that these two countries are nuclear weapons capable, and share a common disputed border that has borne witness to three prior wars, you would think that this story would be far more prominent, especially as the Pakistani foreign minister was in the US meeting with President Bush to discuss Pakistan's ongoing problems with the frontier provinces that are safe havens for the Taliban and al Qaeda.
No further casualties were reported Tuesday.
Reuters reports that this was the third and most serious incident along the Line of Control.
As usual, both sides had opposing versions of who was responsible.This is truly a dangerous time for South Asia as Pakistan can barely control its own territory, and the Islamists are busy trying to shape the outcome not only in Pakistan, but Afghanistan and India as well.
Abbas said the firing began when Indian soldiers tried to set up a forward post and he rejected as "fictitious and unfounded" Indian claims that Pakistani troops crossed into Indian Kashmir.
"We have material evidence to suggest that the Indian soldiers had crossed the LoC," he said, adding that it would be shown to the Indians once a flag meeting between the commanders in the sectors was held.
Indian army had blamed Pakistani troops for attacking an Indian post after crossing into its territory.
India blames the Pakistani ISI for the bombing earlier this month that killed 58 people at the Indian embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan.
The Ultimate Fisking Of Obama's Berlin Speech
Going where journalists wont dare.
Congratulations to Frederick William Dame, who spent the time to go through Obama's entire speech and highlight every grammatical, factual, and content error.
A sampling:
Congratulations to Frederick William Dame, who spent the time to go through Obama's entire speech and highlight every grammatical, factual, and content error.
A sampling:
BHO: The poverty and violence in Somalia breeds the terror of tomorrowCONTENT: The situation is just the opposite. Terror breeds violence and poverty!
The genocide in Darfur shames the conscience of us all.CONTENT: shames the conscience of us all. All in this sense means all of the people, all of the people in the world. Now the genocide in Darfur does not bother the conscience of Robert Mugabe, the Sudanese government, the Arab countries who support the Sudanese and surely not China, a country that regularly delivers/delivered weapons to the Sudanese government.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Bagged
Seattle has decided to impose a 20 cent per disposable bag fee on all bags at grocery stores (HT: jcm at LGF).
This is being done in the name of saving the environment.
The fee, along with a ban on foam containers, will take effect January 1, 2009. The City Council is claiming that they're using a market economic strategy to change consumer behavior:
The Seattle ban hits both plastic bags and paper bags. Never mind if you reuse the bags to put garbage in or recycle down the road. You'll be paying the fee.
Expect other cities to pick up on the bag fee as a revenue generator since they're finding a hard time keeping up with motor fuel revenues that have dropped as people have changed their driving habits and tobacco tax revenues continue to drop as fewer people smoke.
I suspect that once people start realizing how much the bags are costing, some will respond by choosing to buy fewer items altogether. Instead of helping the local economy, the Seattle city elders are going to help keep the local economy in the tank.
UPDATE:
I forgot to mention where all this money is going:
This is being done in the name of saving the environment.
The fee, along with a ban on foam containers, will take effect January 1, 2009. The City Council is claiming that they're using a market economic strategy to change consumer behavior:
The goals of the bag fee and foam ban are to cut down on waste, reduce the use of environmentally harmful plastics and cut the production of greenhouse gases. Implementation will reduce the use of scarce resources, decrease pollution of our environment, and significantly reduce a source of litter in our streets and parks.This is redistribution of wealth in play once again, and those who aren't saavy to pick up on this will be screwed. They will pay the fees, and will see none of the benefit.
These proposals are important elements of the Zero Waste Strategy, the Seattle Plan to increase recycling and reduce our solid waste, a plan that received the unanimous endorsement of the Council and Mayor last year after a careful and thorough review of how we can step up to meet the environmental expectations of our community.
The foam ban and green fee for shopping bags are just two of several parts of the city's new waste reduction and recycling strategies approved by the Council and mayor in 2007. The overall goal is to increase Seattle's recycling rate to 70 percent by 2025 and reduce the amount of waste shipped to landfills by at least one percent per year over the next five years.
The bag and foam proposals were developed by a coalition of community organizations, including People for Puget Sound, Foam Free Seattle, and the Bring Your Own Bag campaign, along with businesses like Puget Consumers Cooperative. As a result of their work, the Council and Mayor agreed to make reducing Styrofoam and plastic bag use the first priorities in considering substances that could be banned or restricted as part of the Zero Waste strategy.
The bag fee is the right alternative because it utilizes market forces to accomplish a public good. People can choose to pay the fee or bring their own bag to the store. Any revenues that the City receives from people who choose to pay the fee rather than switch to reusable bags will be required by law to return to the Solid Waste Fund, where they can be used to provide bags for low income consumers, promote recycling and waste reduction, and reduce solid waste rates. This program makes the polluter pay, and rewards those who do the right thing.
The Seattle ban hits both plastic bags and paper bags. Never mind if you reuse the bags to put garbage in or recycle down the road. You'll be paying the fee.
Expect other cities to pick up on the bag fee as a revenue generator since they're finding a hard time keeping up with motor fuel revenues that have dropped as people have changed their driving habits and tobacco tax revenues continue to drop as fewer people smoke.
I suspect that once people start realizing how much the bags are costing, some will respond by choosing to buy fewer items altogether. Instead of helping the local economy, the Seattle city elders are going to help keep the local economy in the tank.
UPDATE:
I forgot to mention where all this money is going:
The green fee is intended to encourage and promote the use of reusable shopping bags. The city will set aside at least $1 million to distribute bags to seniors and low income households. Retailers will keep 5-cents of every bag to cover administrative costs. Retailers grossing less than $1 million annually will keep the entire 20-cent fee.So, certain small retailers will basically pocket the fee, and other retailers will receive 25% of the fee to offset their administrative costs. The remainder will go to the Solid Waste Fund.
Paging Darwin
This guy is lucky to be alive. He attempted to slide down an escalator rail at Shea Stadium and unfortunately fell more than two stories.
However, no one is ever going to make escalators safe from those who are utterly stupid or under the influence (and thus far, there's no indication whether alcohol played a role).
A 2- 1/2-story tumble from a Shea Stadium escalator left an out-of-state fan fighting for his life, authorities said.This is the last season at Shea, and the new stadium is going to have additional elevators to allow patrons safer egress from the stadium.
Justin Larson, a 26-year-old medical student and St. Louis, Mo., native, was discovered by police around 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, lying unconscious near the Gate D escalators. He had been attempting to slide down the escalator's rail but lost his balance and fell 25 feet to the ground, according to police.
Mr. Larson was taken to New York Hospital Queens with a collapsed lung, cracked ribs, and bruising on his brain. He is listed in critical condition.
However, no one is ever going to make escalators safe from those who are utterly stupid or under the influence (and thus far, there's no indication whether alcohol played a role).
Associated Propaganda
The Associated Press has done this before, and it continues to do so. The media outlets that comprise its customers don't appear to be all that concerned that the AP provides bogus stories that are little more than propaganda for terrorists and insurgents.
Even after claiming that they strive not to mislead their readers, they do so early and often.
Gateway Pundit notes that the AP was busy pushing a story that seven Shiite pilgrims were massacred along the side of a road.
It got significant press.
Except there's no proof that the massacre ever occurred.
Will the corrections receive the same kind of prominence as the original story?
There's still violence to worry about in Iraq without having to push bogus stories.
Even after claiming that they strive not to mislead their readers, they do so early and often.
Gateway Pundit notes that the AP was busy pushing a story that seven Shiite pilgrims were massacred along the side of a road.
It got significant press.
Except there's no proof that the massacre ever occurred.
Will the corrections receive the same kind of prominence as the original story?
There's still violence to worry about in Iraq without having to push bogus stories.
Little House on the Prairie; the Musical
Just when you thought that cross-over hits had reached their apex, word comes that we're going to be treated to a Little House on the Prairie muscial theater production.
The show opened in Minneapolis.
Have no fear, Melissa Gilbert is here - and she'll be playing her former character's mother. She'll be the mother to the character she played on the television show that featured Michael Landon.
The show opened in Minneapolis.
Have no fear, Melissa Gilbert is here - and she'll be playing her former character's mother. She'll be the mother to the character she played on the television show that featured Michael Landon.
While the familiar setting of Walnut Grove has been replaced by the real-life Ingalls home in South Dakota, and the harridan Mrs. Oleson is not around to make mischief, fans of the television show will find much familiar here. Ms. Zambello has cast Melissa Gilbert — television’s Laura — as Caroline Ingalls, the Ma, and transplanted the sassy young villain Nellie Oleson to the hometown of the Ingalls.
Ms. Gilbert — who at 44 has a voice that still sounds just like Half Pint’s (Laura’s childhood nickname) — said it was surreal to be playing her former character’s mother but added that her delight in returning to “Little House” trumped other feelings.
Al Qaeda Weapons Expert Killed In Airstrike
Once again, the US is walking the fine line of carrying out airstrikes against al Qaeda high value targets inside South Warizistan, Pakistan.
As usual, Long War Journal has more details, including reports that locals claim to have seen a Predator drone operating in the area and a Hellfire launch. It would also be the sixth such clandestine airstrike inside Pakistani territory since the beginning of the year.
Given that there are hundreds of terror camps and safe havens within Warizistan, this is a drop in the bucket. It also goes back to what I had been saying about any surge in Afghanistan proposed by both McCain and Obama having to take the situation in Pakistan into account (and which neither truly does).
UPDATE:
The Wall Street Journal was able to locate Taliban elements operating in Warizistan, which makes you wonder why it was so difficult for Musharraf's forces to do the same. Of course, the real issue with Musharraf was that he would alternate between appeasement and crackdown depending on how close the assassination attempts were.
UPDATE:
Walking the tightrope.
Al-Qaeda chemical weapons expert Midhat Mursi al-Sayid Umar was believed to have been killed Monday in a suspected US missile strike in Pakistan, security officials told AFP.So, how will the media likely spin this? Well, they'll highlight the fact that three kids were killed in the airstrike along with the al Qaeda terrorists.
"We believe he was killed in this strike," a senior intelligence official based in the northwestern city of Peshawar told AFP on condition of anonymity.
"It was his hide-out and information that has been shared with us says he was targeted in this strike," the official said.
The Egyptian, 54, also known as Abu Khabab al-Masri, had a five-million-US-dollar bounty on his head and allegedly ran terrorist training camps in Afghanistan.
As usual, Long War Journal has more details, including reports that locals claim to have seen a Predator drone operating in the area and a Hellfire launch. It would also be the sixth such clandestine airstrike inside Pakistani territory since the beginning of the year.
Given that there are hundreds of terror camps and safe havens within Warizistan, this is a drop in the bucket. It also goes back to what I had been saying about any surge in Afghanistan proposed by both McCain and Obama having to take the situation in Pakistan into account (and which neither truly does).
UPDATE:
The Wall Street Journal was able to locate Taliban elements operating in Warizistan, which makes you wonder why it was so difficult for Musharraf's forces to do the same. Of course, the real issue with Musharraf was that he would alternate between appeasement and crackdown depending on how close the assassination attempts were.
Their day starts at 4 a.m. with prayers, followed by a six-mile run along the riverbed, swimming where some water remains, and weapons training. "One has to go through this rigor to prepare for the tough life as a fighter," said a 27-year-old who introduced himself as Omar Abdullah. He says he fought alongside the Taliban in Afghanistan before returning home to Pakistan a few weeks ago to organize training for new recruits.Again, the problems in Afghanistan can be directly traced to the situation in the Pakistani border regions.
The camp is just a few miles from Peshawar, the regional capital of Pakistan's conservative tribal belt. The existence of the camp and dozens like it is a major reason why the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, just across the border, is foundering. Pakistan's military is struggling to locate the camps and eradicate them, in part because many locals are sympathetic to the jihadis.
UPDATE:
Walking the tightrope.
UN Blames Israel For Gaza Poverty
When everything else fails, the UN blames Israel.
Gaza's high poverty rate can be directly attributed to Palestinian control since 2005. Things only got worse when Hamas overthrew Fatah for control there. The standard of living has declined tremendously since the Hamas took over. Israel has had no choice but institute restrictions on movement because of the ongoing terrorist threat.
Not so curiously, the UN ignores the incessant terrorist attacks -the thousands of rockets, mortars, gunfire attacks, and infiltration operations that have killed Israelis and caused economic hardship in Israeli cities and towns within range of Gazan terrorists.
Expect the Palestinians to use this as still more propaganda in their unending war with Israel as "proof" that Israel is to blame for their situation.
"The number of households in Gaza below the consumption poverty line continued to grow, reaching 51.8% in 2007, despite significant amounts of emergency and humanitarian assistance," UNRWA said in a statement late last week. Meanwhile, poverty rates in the West Bank fell to just over 19%.
The report, based on figures provided by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), said that "the real average unemployment rate in the occupied Palestinian territory (as a whole) remained amongst the highest in the world at 29.5%," with Gaza reaching "an unprecedented high of 45.3%" during the second half of last year.
Gaza's high poverty rate can be directly attributed to Palestinian control since 2005. Things only got worse when Hamas overthrew Fatah for control there. The standard of living has declined tremendously since the Hamas took over. Israel has had no choice but institute restrictions on movement because of the ongoing terrorist threat.
Not so curiously, the UN ignores the incessant terrorist attacks -the thousands of rockets, mortars, gunfire attacks, and infiltration operations that have killed Israelis and caused economic hardship in Israeli cities and towns within range of Gazan terrorists.
Expect the Palestinians to use this as still more propaganda in their unending war with Israel as "proof" that Israel is to blame for their situation.
The Future of Lighting?
This is going to be the future of lighting around the world, but it must first deal with the issue of cost. As the price comes down, LED lights will supplant incandescent bulbs and the much maligned CFLs. Eventually.
Phillips is not devoting any of its substantial research and development budget to CFLs, and is instead focusing on LED technologies. They view CFLs as an interim technology, and I tend to concur, though if a manufacturer could develop CFLs that use no mercury in their lamps, they might assuage fears of many over the possibility of contamination of the surrounding area should the CFL lamps break.
L.E.D.’s, including new bulb types and applications, dominated the exhibits at Lightfair, the lighting industry’s annual trade event held in May in Las Vegas. Traditional tungsten bulbs were largely absent. L.E.D.’s were shown for street and parking lot lighting, under-counter lighting, residential bulb replacements and office lighting. They are being used in commercial refrigerators, as substitutes for fluorescents and for illuminating the outside of buildings, allowing for easy color changes. Television production studios are installing L.E.D.’s to save money and eliminate the need for climbing in the rafters to change bulbs or filters.It's working its way into more commercial applications, and as production techniques improve, the costs will continue to drop to the point where it will compete with CFLs as a replacement choice for the ubiquitous incandescent bulb.
The problem, though, is the price. A standard 60-watt incandescent usually costs less than $1. An equivalent compact fluorescent is about $2. But in Europe this September, Philips, the Dutch company dealing in consumer electronics, health care machines and lighting, is to introduce the Ledino, its first L.E.D. replacement for a standard incandescent. Priced at $107 a bulb, it are unlikely to have more than a few takers.
“L.E.D. performance is there, but the price is not,” said Kevin Dowling, a Philips Lighting vice president and past chairman of the Next Generation Lighting Industry Alliance, an industry group that works with the Department of Energy. “Even at $10 to $15, consumers won’t buy L.E.D. bulbs,” Mr. Dowling said.
Phillips is not devoting any of its substantial research and development budget to CFLs, and is instead focusing on LED technologies. They view CFLs as an interim technology, and I tend to concur, though if a manufacturer could develop CFLs that use no mercury in their lamps, they might assuage fears of many over the possibility of contamination of the surrounding area should the CFL lamps break.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Seeing Is Believing
The IOC and the Chinese government are spinning furiously trying to claim that the air in Beijing will be acceptable in time for the summer Olympics, which is just days away from kicking off.
The photos from Beijing suggest that all is not well in the Communist paradise.
The IOC claims that the photo and the conditions are due more to mist than to smog and particulates, but unless the IOC comes clean and divulges the results of air samples, all you have to go on is your eyes - and I think your eyes would probably burn something fierce without having eye protection and eye drops.
Here's what the sky looked like at the Athens Olympics. Lots of blue skies, and no smog present, either before events or during them.
Here's what the sky looked like during the Atlanta Olympics, from multiple sources. Again, no signs of smog or pollutants there.
The IOC appears to be covering for the Chinese government especially if they could be putting athletes' health at risk. The IOC got itself into this mess by giving the Olympics to China, and now they don't want to offend the Chinese because the conditions aren't quite right. If the athletes can't compete at peak performance because they can't breath as easily as they would at other venues, it will affect the number of record setting performances and the quality of competition will also suffer.
The Chinese have tried every trick in the book to clear the air of smog and pollution, but they've fallen short. Seeding clouds to force rain to wash the pollutants out of the air has been contemplated, and the government has closed factories, businesses, and power plants upwind to reduce pollution, and are going to ban many vehicles in Beijing as well.
It may not be enough.
UPDATE 7/28/2008:
The Chinese government and IOC are continuing with the excuses. They're trying to blame the ongoing smog situation on fog as though that alone is the reason skies in China are hazardous to one's health.
The government is also going to ban 90% of cars in Beijing in an attempt to improve air quality. Right. I think they might need to shutter 90% of factories upwind, and demand that tens of millions of people cease cooking with charcoal for the next few weeks to improve air quality.
Georgia On My Mind
Folks might be aware of the current problems in Georgia and throughout the Southeast because of an ongoing drought that is one of the worst experienced in the region in decades. It's a problem that might have been avoided.
It seems that former President Jimmy Carter is trying to ensure that the state continues to lack the water resources for decades to come. Actually, he's doing his best to carry on his work from when he was governor of Georgia and thwarted the construction of several dams in the state that could have helped to mitigate the current drought as well as provide power.
He's working with environmentalists and NIMBY types to oppose planning for dams along the Flint River. They opposed construction of dams that might have provided water that would feed the explosive growth around Atlanta and wouldn't necessarily rely on rivers that feed neighboring states that are also experiencing drought conditions, Alabama and Florida.
It seems that former President Jimmy Carter is trying to ensure that the state continues to lack the water resources for decades to come. Actually, he's doing his best to carry on his work from when he was governor of Georgia and thwarted the construction of several dams in the state that could have helped to mitigate the current drought as well as provide power.
He's working with environmentalists and NIMBY types to oppose planning for dams along the Flint River. They opposed construction of dams that might have provided water that would feed the explosive growth around Atlanta and wouldn't necessarily rely on rivers that feed neighboring states that are also experiencing drought conditions, Alabama and Florida.
Light at the End of the Tunnel For Zimbabwe?
This certainly seems promising. It also marks a complete turnaround for South Africa, who had spent months shielding Robert Mugabe thuggish behavior from worldwide condemnation and action to oust him after Mugabe stole elections from the opposition led by Morgan Tsvangirai.
Mugabe must give up power within 18 months or face arrest and criminal prosecution for a wide array of crimes against the Zimbabwean people. It would appear that the key moment was not that Mugabe realized that the end was near, but that the screws were turned on South Africa and their leader, Mbeki, who ran interference for Mugabe along with China and Russia.
However, this is the most hopeful sign coming out of Zimbabwe in a long time.
Mugabe must give up power within 18 months or face arrest and criminal prosecution for a wide array of crimes against the Zimbabwean people. It would appear that the key moment was not that Mugabe realized that the end was near, but that the screws were turned on South Africa and their leader, Mbeki, who ran interference for Mugabe along with China and Russia.
But The Sunday Times has learnt that Mugabe, who has vowed that Tsvangirai will never be in government and that “only God can remove me from power”, faces humiliation over the terms of the deal that he will be forced to sign next month.I wonder whether the situation will end as peacefully as those terms suggest. Mugabe's hard line supporters might not be so willing to throw in the towel, and the military may not give up their power so easily either.
He will remain as president in name only and all real power will be held by a 20-member cabinet under Tsvangirai as prime minister. The opposition MDC will have 11 cabinet posts to nine for Mugabe’s Zanu-PF.
All Mugabe’s senior officials in the army, police and intelligence services, who have unleashed a campaign of terror since the MDC won a disputed victory in the elections held in March, will be dismissed.
Observers caution, however, that bringing Mugabe to justice could be protracted since Zimbabwe does not recognise the jurisdiction of the ICC. Any investigation would require a referral from the United Nations security council, which would probably be blocked by China or Russia.
The transitional government will have close ties to a group of western donor nations known as the Fishmongers Group, set up a year ago on Britain’s initiative. It includes the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Sweden, Holland, Norway, Canada and Australia. China declined an invitation to join.
The decisive showdown came last week when Mugabe realised that his power was broken. On Monday Mbeki’s emissary, Sidney Mufamadi, a South African cabinet minister, arrived in Harare to read the riot act to Zanu-PF officials.
However, this is the most hopeful sign coming out of Zimbabwe in a long time.
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