#2
Actually, the Bosnians were, pre-1990 or so, pretty moderate and pro Western.
It has taken years and many dollars to subsidize Salafist imams, mosques and other infrastructure but the Saudis have made a lot of progress in this area.
Posted by: lord garth ||
03/28/2010 2:18 Comments ||
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#3
In 1991 when the war was cooking, and the world stood by with their heads up their 4th point of contact, Saudi and Iran flew daily missions into the Balkans to support the muzzies.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
03/28/2010 11:55 Comments ||
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I must almost apologize to gentle reader for joining in discussion of the mob that shut down Ann Coulter's speech at the University of Ottawa this week. A lot of ink has already spread on the subject, and yet I think there is more to say. We keep saying the same things, though. And even though what we're saying is correct, they keep doing the same things.
Chiefly: when defenders of free speech cite Magna Carta, and speak of a continuous tradition of liberty going back eight centuries, they are not telling the whole truth. The history is more vexed than that.
The circumstances in which it became possible to allow open discussion of public questions, without an immediate threat of violence, were achieved much more recently; and the achievement itself is rather more tenuous than anyone can realize, who has not immersed himself in the history. In English-speaking countries, it is only in the last couple of centuries that what we might recognize as free speech has come to be honoured.
Freedom may exist in the potential of the human soul, but it is not a condition of nature.
Free speech, property rights, democracy with a broad franchise -- these are aspects of a particular regime. And like any other regime, it must defend itself against those who would invade or overthrow it.
"Tolerance" -- as John Locke made exquisitely clear -- can only exist if we have a common understanding of what the word means, and a common will to resist the intolerant. It is a very specific cultural artifact, opposed to anything suggested by "multiculturalism." It does not merely imply, but require, a whole order of unimpeachable civic virtues. And if it is not being taught to our children, in our universities and elsewhere, they cannot carry it forward.
François Houle, the university provost who sent the sneering and condescending e-mail to Coulter even before she spoke, warning her that she could be eligible for prosecution under Canada's hate laws if she did not watch her mouth, has been the object of much well-earned contempt.
That e-mail was sent not only to Coulter but copied to colleagues. It is assumed the man was trying to bully Coulter, but I doubt that was his principal motive. Instead, the tone is more typical of many I've seen from "ersatz men," preening themselves on their "progressive consciousness" as part of the process of self-advancement within an academic environment that has been radicalized and "feminized" (in the sense of, poisoned by leftist and feminist ideological indoctrination).
That his letter provided a signal to various leftwing thugs -- encouraging them to organize a violent display to shut down the event -- is fairly plain. And yet I doubt the man who wrote it was intelligent enough to grasp that this would be the effect. Instead, a little essay in career-advancement "went tragically wrong" for him. But after he is fired, I see no reason why he should be remembered.
Fatuous questions have been raised about whether the police really advised the event organizers that Coulter could not safely enter the building. Of course they did, and having done so, the event organizers -- including Ezra Levant, no shrinking violet -- had no choice but to call the night off. This is because in addition to Coulter's own (obviously necessary) personal security detail, they must have insurance coverage, which they lose if they ignore police advice.
Prudential questions like this are in the background of all such calculations, and those offering comments from their laptops at home ought to be more aware of them.
Notwithstanding, it is a good question how the police should behave in such circumstances. Under our essentially British constitution, the state has a duty to vindicate the right of free speech, and an interest in preventing the success of mob action.
The number of thugs is not at issue here, except as a tactical consideration. To my experience, it takes little more than a dozen determined thugs, and a sensitive moment, to start a substantial riot. Much larger numbers milling about can be induced to join in the mêlée, once a precedent is set by theatrical acts of violence. Good police work means moving quickly to identify, isolate, and disable the members of this vanguard, before they have got properly started.
The Coulter crew were met in Calgary, Thursday night, by a sampling of exactly the same sort of thugs they encountered at Ottawa U. But there, the police did not hesitate. It wasn't even necessary to make arrests: at the first provocation, the young thugs were simply confronted and told to leave.
Several black holes have developed in the enforcement of law in Canada -- stare hard, for instance, at Caledonia, Ont. -- and there have been numerous campus events involving physical intimidation about which nothing was done. Each capitulation makes the next more likely.
Free speech is very nice "in theory." But to exist in practice, it must be enforced.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/28/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
The left act as thugs? They try to shut down speech and debate? Who would have known?
#2
Why shouldn't the thugs shut down whatever they want to? In Canuckistan that sort of thing is allowed. Look at how the native thugs have taken over private houses and businesses in Caledonia, Ontario. The police and Liberal government have done nothing to correct the situation. Matter of fact, they've only made it worse.
Here's a headline that should never have appeared in any newspaper: Ford to City: Drop Dead.'
Here's one that should have: Obama to City: Drop Dead.'
The first headline, which famously appeared on a 1975 front page of a now-irrelevant city paper, was right on the trees but completely wrong on the forest. Then-President Jerry Ford's denial of a bailout to a hapless city then being held hostage by unions and criminals actually was a tremendous boost to Gotham in the long run.
Told by the bartender to hit the bricks as it begged to continue its drunken spending spree, New York was scared into sobering up (a little). The city avoided a catastrophic default on its debt. (Though Congress did help out by agreeing to guarantee New York City securities.)
Fast forward to 2010: Mayor Bloomberg isn't asking for a lifeline. So Obama throws him an anvil.
The president continues to think that boost the economy' means rag on Wall Street.' But before the financial meltdown, taxation of Wall Street salaries and profits provided 20% of the state's tax revenue and 9% of the city's. Obama to Wall Street: Drop Dead.
Much of Obama's anti-banking jawboning is meaningless drivel meant to excite the rubes, but his intermittent success in driving down the Street's bonus packages is an anti-stimulus. Those checks trickle down through the luxury apartment sales and four-star meals all the way to catering firms, tailors, shoeshine boys. Obama to Sandwich Makers: Drop Dead.
Administration policies are often meant to (clumsily) address nationwide or even global problems, but as Michael Keaton's newspaper editor put it so aptly in the movie The Paper,' I don't f - - - ing live in the f - - - ing world. I live in f - - - ing New York City.'
The real estate crash that led to Obama's propping up the housing market took place mainly in places like Florida, Nevada and California, not here. Roughly 70% of New Yorkers rent, and many are hoping to buy if prices come down. Obama to Tenants: Drop Dead.
New Yorkers don't need ObamaCare because we already had much of it. Two of its central elements have been on the books in New York state since 1993. There's a requirement that insurance companies have to offer coverage and there are limits on what they can charge based on your health history. (Predictably, all this has bent the cost curve upward, leading to increases in both premiums and government payouts, but that's another story.)
How does Obama plan to pay for it? With a few pennies from tanning-booth taxes? No, by shaking down the rich' and taking a bite from the fruits of capital
But New Yorkers, and the tri-state area in general, have lots of high earners who aren't necessarily rich. We also derive more of our income from dividends, interest and other so-called unearned income' (as if you got this money from playing the slots). New Yorkers will be out $5 billion paying for the new payroll and investment taxes, plus another $1.5 billion in Cadillac taxes' on those with the best insurance.
About 10% of the country lives in the tri-state area and we earn about 14% of the national income so naturally it's completely fair to stick us with 20% of these new taxes by 2016. (These numbers are from a preliminary estimate by the Manhattan Institute.)
Obama has vowed to target his tax hikes at rich' individuals making over $200,000 a year (and couples making $250,000 a year). That's rich in Manhattan, Kansas. Here a couple earning $250K is middle class. Eleven of the 50 most expensive ZIP codes for real estate are in Manhattan and nine others are in the suburbs.
Moreover, if you run a small business you technically have a lot of income (if not a lot of profit). Many such business people file as individuals yet are taxed as though they were Goldman Sachs veeps.
As for ObamaCare's impact on employers, the Business Council of New York State notes that the law does nothing to control costs, places employers at risk for new taxes and fines and adds costs by requiring much more reporting to the federal government on the value of their benefits to each employee and revising benefit plans to avoid both fines and excise taxes.'
Obama to Mom-and-Pop Bodega Owners: Drop Dead.
The new law also doesn't make it any easier for illegal immigrants to get insurance, and these prototypical New Yorkers are a big factor in local health costs when they use E.R.s as their primary care physicians. Obama to Illegal Immigrants and Those Who Pay Their Health Bills: Drop Dead.
Oh, you thought Obama was one of us, a Columbia grad and urban sophisticate? You're like a dependent spouse. Every fresh bruise just proves how much he loves you.
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/28/2010 10:04 Comments ||
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#2
Then-President Jerry Ford's denial of a bailout to a hapless city then being held hostage by unions and criminals actually was a tremendous boost to Gotham in the long run.
Today we are also being held hostage by unions and criminals on a national scale. Can we channel Pres. Ford?
#4
A great way to revive NYC is obvious. There are large parts of the city that are essentially ruins, especially in The Bronx. Burned out shells of buildings that could be bulldozed, much like what is being contemplated in Detroit.
Then, when the economy improves, instead of just planning a single building, an entire district could be revitalized, from below the ground, up. New infrastructure, new everything. Very high value.
#11
New York was scared into sobering up (a little)
For a little while, perhaps. We still have union problems, HOARDS of enablers, and regulation enough to drown a lemonade stand. Note, BTW that the WTC site still is not rebuilt, or even close... How much more 'prime' can real estate get?
Frontpage Interview's guest today is Vijay Kumar, who is currently running for the U.S. Congress as a Republican candidate for Tennessee 5th Congressional District. The Primary vote comes on August 5 of this year, and the General Election is on November 4. When he ran before, in 2008, he received about 30% of the vote in Republican Primary. His website is kumarforcongress.com. Visit his blog at kumarforcongress.net.
FP: Vijay Kumar, welcome to Frontpage Interview.
You are one of the rare individuals running for office in America who is actually making the issue of Islamic Jihad a significant part of your campaign. Tell us your view of Islamic Jihad and the background you have to make you see it the way you do.
Kumar: I am a native of Hyderabad, India, which is where I first encountered the Muslim culture. We have a substantial number of Muslims there, a higher percentage than most other parts of India, and I began to observe things that troubled me. Later, I traveled a number of Islamic nations, and I lived in Iran from 1976 to 1979, during the Islamic Revolution of Ayatollah Khomeini. I immigrated to the United States in 1979. All my life, I have been interested in political thought. During my travels, I came to realize that Islam is unlike any of the other world religions for a variety of reasons, and they summate to the Islamic ideology behind Jihad.
First, Islam was conceived as a world empire to govern all mankind. It teaches that all the world, and everyone and everything in it, already belongs to Islamsome people just haven't been made to understand that. Until they have, according to Islam, they are considered infidels' and inferiors. Put another way, the Islamic view is that all of us in the world are subjects of the Islamic Empire, and those of us who do not acknowledge our subjugation to it must be overcome and brought to submission, through conversion or force. No other religion in the world has such a purpose of world conquest and domination.
Second, Islam does not allow any introspection or self-criticism. It calls for total acceptance, total submission. The very word Islam' means submission,' and the word Muslim' means one who submits.' The other side of submission, of course, is domination. Islam seeks to dominate every individual and every nation into submission. In that, it shares a key element of slavery, which the civilized world has properly decried and abolished. Such submission is a political act. I am a freeman, and I refuse to submit to Islamic hegemony.
Third, Islam does not have any exit policy for its believers. The act of submission required to become a Muslim is held to be final, irrevocable, and permanent. So criticizing or questioning Islam or its teachings or leaders, or attempting to leave Islam, all are considered severe crimes against Islam, punishable by death.
In contrast, non-Islamic religions allow for dissenting views, introspection, and reasoned debate. In non-Islamic religions, if you so choose, you can leave the faith you were born into without being threatened with physical violence or death. In Islam, both criticism of the faith and apostasy are capital offenses.
All of that is what drives Jihad: Jihad is a permanent war against the unbeliever and his land to bring about his submission. It has been going on for fourteen centuries all over the world, which is why I coined the term Universal Jihad.' Islam's Universal Jihad is the single greatest threat to Western civilization and to the entire non-Islamic world in general. It is more dangerous than Nazism and Communism combined.
FP: More dangerous than Nazism and Communism combined? Please explain this perspective. Consider sending a few bucks to his campaign.
Posted by: ed ||
03/28/2010 15:46 ||
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Perhaps the kid in the office down the hall w/Al Q. connections
See if you can tear apart this possibility. Regardless, I'm glad the anthrax attacks were not the spectacular success the planners hoped.
(Editor's note: The intelligence spending bill is now in a conference of the House and Senate. The House version includes an amendment sponsored by Reps. Rush Holt and Roscoe Bartlett calling for the intelligence community's inspector general to examine a foreign connection to the post-9/11 anthrax attacks. The Senate version of the bill does not include such a provision. Please call your Senators (202-224-3121) and encourage the re-opening of the case so that the evidence implicating al Qaeda in the attacks can be thoroughly examined and that the implications of the FBI's mishandling of the problem can be seriously addressed).
There's a gaping hole in the FBI's argument that U.S. Government scientist Bruce Ivins was the anthrax mailer.
In addition to the 100 scientists with access to virulent anthrax from Ivins's flask whom the FBI claims to have ruled out, one unauthorized individual had a special kind of access-the kind you get when you steal something. Hovering in proximity to an unlocked refrigerator with the anthrax at George Mason University was Islamic ideologue Ali al-Timimi, who in early 2001 was studying for a Ph.D in computational biology. Al-Timimi has since been arrested and sentenced for inciting Muslims in Virginia to travel to Pakistan to fight against U.S. forces.
(Note: The GMU researchers used what is known as Delta Ames.)
Al-Timimi's office was right around the corner from the offices of Charles Bailey and Ken Alibek, co-principal investigators on a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)-funded anthrax project. Bailey was a former deputy commander of USAMRIID at Fort Detrick, Maryland, where he had been a boss of Bruce Ivins. Alibek was the former deputy director of the Soviet biowarfare program. Bailey and Alibek had partnered on a patent application for a method of preparing anthrax that would closely resemble the sophisticated preparation in the letters mailed to Senators Daschle and Leahy.
As a computer expert, al-Timimi presumably knew how to access Bailey's poorly secured computer to obtain this application.
All these details and more have been worked out by attorney Ross Getman, a leading researcher on the anthrax mailings case. Getman found several other labs where al Qaeda may have gained access to the anthrax, but the presence of al-Timimi and the patent application make GMU by far the most likely location.
Al-Timimi does not show up in FBI's report on the case, which dismisses the possibility that any foreign entity was involved in the anthrax mailings.
And he is not the only key player who does not appear.
Handing Off the Anthrax
Assuming that al-Timimi indeed stole the anthrax and the instructions, here is what then seems to have happened.
Al-Timimi provided the anthrax to a scientist who sympathized with al Qaeda and who had a lab somewhere along the Canadian border (according to the isotope ratios in the water used to prepare the anthrax). When it was ready, al-Timimi gave it to Mohamed Atta. Atta and his group of intending hijackers in Florida unsuccessfully sought to obtain a cropduster, and they evidently handled the anthrax themselves, infecting themselves in the process.
As September 11 neared, Atta contacted Abderraouf Jdey in Montreal. Jdey, a Canadian citizen of Tunisian origin who had trained in Afghanistan, had been designated first as an alternate hijacker, then as a part of the second wave of attacks. He returned to Canada in the summer of 2001 and was detained by FBI and INS together with intending pilot Zacarias Moussaoui. Jdey was carrying biology textbooks.
Atta appears to have handed over the vials of anthrax to Jdey in Portland, Maine on September 10, which powerfully explains Atta's otherwise anomalous trip to Portland on the day before the September 11 terrorist attacks. Jdey, whose modus operandi involved travelling to sites in the northeastern U.S., wrote and mailed the anthrax letters in September and October. In November he left his apartment in Montreal, drove to New York, boarded American Airlines Flight #587 on November 12, and brought it down with a shoebomb. His role as shoebomber was subsequently related to interrogators by al Qaeda detainee Mohammed Mansour Jabarah and leaked in a 2004 Canadian news report.
The Cover-up
The FBI seems to have learned of Jdey's likely role as the anthrax mailer in 2004, when this writer contacted the Bureau about Jdey. Investigating further, FBI appears to have found confirmatory evidence. But then-because Jdey was a terrific embarrassment-it suppressed the information it had developed, removed the note in his online biography that he had studied biology, listed him as one of the terrorists it was still hunting for, and searched for a new anthrax mailings suspect.
Eventually, the FBI focused on capable, dedicated, patriotic, and psychologically vulnerable Bruce Ivins. Ivins was a pianist at his church, taught children juggling, was married and the father of two adopted children, was involved in many research projects, was entrusted with the anthrax, and had developed a promising vaccine for anthrax. This is the profile of an active contributor to his community, hardly of a ruthless anthrax mailer. The FBI, however, has tried to use his various quirks and obsessions to make Ivins out to be an intrinsically evil person.
Under the pressure of FBI questioning and surveillance, Ivins became unhinged and committed suicide. Then the FBI accused him of having perpetrated the anthrax mailings, produced a collection of circumstantial evidence, and closed the case on February 19, 2010.
FBI Director Robert Mueller told a 2008 Senate committee that he thought Ivins was guilty "beyond a reasonable doubt."
Beyond a reasonable doubt? Given the weak evidence and the widespread skepticism among experts and the public, this is an extreme statement that lacks any credibility.
In fact, the key people in the anthrax mailings were not Bruce Ivins or Steven Hatfill, his predecessor as the FBI's target. Instead, they appear to have been Ali al-Timimi and Abderraouf Jdey. And the key person in the investigation was FBI Director Robert Mueller himself.
Kenneth J. Dillon is a retired foreign service officer who writes books on science and teaches history as an adjunct at Marymount University. A detailed discussion of the roles of al-Timimi, Jdey, and FBI in the anthrax mailings case can be found at scientiapress.com
#1
This makes the most sense. Total 'PC' crap, insulating possible Islamic involvement, as our government has consistently done since 9/11.
As supporting evidence for the Anthrax theory, take Fight 587: I'd never heard of the shoe-bomb/Flight 587 theory. I had thought I'd previously followed every report that came out about it.
However, I searched one more time and found, among other results, the NTSB Board Meeting on the flight. On the page below, there's a montage of 2 surveillance videos that allegedly show the flight in the background. While the first is fuzzy & non-eventful, note the 'event' recorded by the 2nd. Nothing in NTSB or FBI reports explain the 'cloud' caught by the camera immediately before the plane went down. Personally, I don't believe it would have been created by the rudder separating, unless someone could convince me that a hydraulic fluid cloud illuminated by the sun is responsible for what's in the video.
You be the judge: Link here
(See 'Toll Booth Video', 'View from Lane 13')
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/28/2010 16:10 Comments ||
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#4
funny thing. (not ha ha funny, the other kind)
on the day that Fight 587 went down, the wife and i were on our way to Las Vegas and got our first taste of post 9/11 'extra security' and i was picked out for my blond hair-blue eyed high probability terrorist look for additional scrutiny. as we were walking away from security, i pointed out to my wife the stupidity of what had just transpired with 'i could have had anything in the sole of my shoe and they would have missed it'
she hissed at me to shut up and go to the gate and not draw their attention to me being an a-hole. not 5 minutes later, Fox news cut away to the news of Fight 587 going down.
true story.
Posted by: abu do you love ||
03/28/2010 16:40 Comments ||
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#5
Don't know what to tell you, Redneck Jim.
I use WinAmp, but downloaded the video and opened with Media Player 9 and it played fine.
After a year of no wars or major terror attacks, the clashes along the border with the Gaza Strip over the weekend may be a sign that Hamas has become the primary and most immediate security challenge for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. With three IDF soldiers killed last week, Netanyahu was faced with a major decision about the level of Israel's response.
A year after Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip, it appears that the deterrence Israel achieved there during its three-week operation in early 2009 has significantly eroded. This is in contrast to the volatile border with Lebanon, where despite the almost four years that have passed since the Second Lebanon War, Hizbullah continues to refrain from attacking Israel.
What was interesting about Friday night's attack was that while it is presumed that it was carried out by Islamic Jihad, Hamas also claimed responsibility. This will force a reassessment within Military Intelligence regarding Hamas's involvement in terrorist attacks. Until recently, IDF officers openly admitted that they were impressed by the way Hamas was refraining from terror activity and was even in some cases rounding up operatives from other groups who were firing Kassam rockets into Israel.
Nevertheless, Israel's response will likely be measured. While Friday afternoon's clash in Gaza was costly and included the deaths of two soldiers, one of them the deputy commander of the Golani Brigade's 12th Battalion, it is unlikely that it will lead Israel to launch Cast Lead II.
There are a number of reasons for this. First, at the moment Israel does not have the diplomatic justification for another big operation like it had on the eve of Cast Lead. The combination of the effect of the Goldstone Report, the fallout from the Mabhouh assassination in Dubai and the current crisis with the United States makes clear that for Netanyahu, quiet is most important. On the other hand, he could surprise us. With Israel already suffering diplomatically, some might argue that now is the time for another major operation on the basis that there is not much more to lose. Whatever happens, the attack leaves the IDF with two clear conclusions.
First, while rocket attacks are down since Cast Lead, attempts to plant bombs along the border are up. The public just doesn't hear of most of them since they usually end without any Israeli casualties and are dealt with by tanks or attack helicopters. If this is the most immediate threat to Israel, then the IDF needs to be sure that it has invested the right amount of resources in neutralizing it.
Second, there is the erosion of Israel's deterrence that needs to be dealt with. This will not be achieved by bombing yet another smuggling tunnel or empty arms manufacturing plant. On the other hand, Israel likely will decide against a large-scale operation, meaning that while the objective is clear, the means of getting there are not.
Nabih Berri, the Speaker of Lebanese Parliament and the Shia Amal movement as well as other followers of Imam Musa al Sadr, were opposed to the idea of Lebanon being represented at the upcoming Arab Summit to be held in Libya under Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.
It is said that following the uproar, Lebanon, egged on by Amal and its allies, decided to lower its level of diplomatic representation. There are claims that the Lebanese ambassador to Egypt will represent Lebanon at the Arab Summit as a form of protest against Colonel Gaddafi and Libya. Supporters of Imam Musa al Sadr have long accused Tripoli of being responsible for the disappearance of Lebanese Shia Imam Musa al Sadr in Tripoli along with his two companions Sheikh Muhammad Yacoub and journalist Abbas Badreddine in August 1978.
Since then, Colonel Gaddafi has consistently denied responsibility for the fate of Musa al Sadr and his two companions, whereas supporters of Muqtada al Sadr and the Shia Amal movement headed by Nabih Berri continue to accuse Libya of killing Imam Musa and his companions.
The story of Imam Musa al Sadr has transformed into a permanent Lebanese Shia "Holocaust" and another Karbala especially for Nabih Berri's group.
It goes without saying that what happened to Imam Musa al Sadr and his two companions is a heinous crime and the perpetrators of such an atrocity should be exposed and what happened to this political and religious leader should be revealed, whether he met his end in Libya or elsewhere. I have no objection to Nabih Berri's insistence and that of the Lebanese Shia who are part of religious and semi-religious parties to keep the case of Musa al Sadr alive. The truth is never lost because of the passing of time, or at least it never should be.
Back in the old days, the Arabs used to believe that the spirit of a murdered man continues to wail and weep until his death is avenged. They believed that a bird that they called "al Sada" [or the death-owl] would continue to hoot over the grave of a slain man whose death had not been avenged. The bird would continue to hoot endlessly until the slain man's death was avenged.
The death-owl of al Sadr cries for revenge in the form of Nabih Berri's fiery statements and repeated protests against Lebanon's expected attendance at the forthcoming Arab summit to be held in Sirte. Even long before the summit, the owl of al Sadr has been hooting for revenge. However, we are still clueless as to when this will happen.
However, are there not any other death-owls hooting for revenge in Lebanon, whether they are owls in the pre-Islamic mythical sense or in the form of prominent Lebanese political figures whose tragic deaths are yet to be avenged? Rafik al Hariri and Kamal Jumblatt are just two prominent examples. Unfortunately, the death-owl of Kamal Jumblatt, represented in his son and current Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, has stopped hooting. Al Hariri's death-owl of revenge is on the same track.
The only death-owl that continues to hoot, and has been doing so for three continuous decades is that of Imam Musa al Sadr. Perhaps the idea of revenge and the sanctity of blood is far more intense in the culture of al Sadr's followers than it is in the culture of al Hariri's and Jumblatt's supporters. Nevertheless, a tragedy is still a tragedy and the balances of power control everything, even the sentiments of death and the gruesomeness of the crime.
There is even envy in death.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/28/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
the Owl of Revenge!
Oh, we have GOT to add that to the daily headliners: "Rantburg: The Owls Of Revenge!"
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
03/28/2010 9:39 Comments ||
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HÕÕT!
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/28/2010 14:55 Comments ||
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#1
How bizarre. It was a nice fisking, if late, but it got me wondering about what a bizarre video the Obama people created in the first place. A new low in American politics.
#3
I watched some of it. Chinese process to a Khmer Rouge solution. This is frightening in that they are very quietly instructing out kids, still in braces, how to turn against their parents. The next step will be kids divorcing their parents for their political beliefs. This kid would be better served readin Plato's apology and discussing family vs state.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
03/28/2010 12:04 Comments ||
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#4
As with abortion, parental notification will not be required under Obamacare for orthodontic procedures.
#5
These kids are the most pampered and spoiled, self-indulgent, narcissistic, little privileged jerks I have ever seen. Wait until the bills start hitting for bail-outs, health care, cap and trade, immigration, institutionalized corruption, seedy politicians, cash for clunkers, housing bailout for the donk/potential donk voters, dumbed down education, etc. No more iPods, games, cars, braces, food that makes you chubby or just food, college, housing, trips to exotic places that your parents can't afford. Go do something useful rather soak up parents hard-earned money. Pick up paper along the roadway to help the environment, turn off your iPod, and lights, volunteer for community service, do something good for your church, join the military (maybe you will grow up). Quit preaching to people and being so friggin arrogant about your stupidity.
#7
Time to start yanking some allowances. (Not that it will happen with all these idjits trying to be their kids' friends instead of their parents, but I could hope.)
#8
this is the result of a generation of parents neglecting their responsibilities and letting the state/schools/anyone else do their job of passing values to their children. our schools indoctrination centers have taken over where parents have been complacent or outright negligent.
I home-school my younger son, and have been asked to tutor (in math) an 8th grader by someone at church. turns out the kid cannot perform basic arithmetic at even a 3rd grade level, so no surprise they are struggling with simplifying fractions and basic factoring. issue came to light when parents decided to move the kid to local private school over bullying issues and said school has an entrance exam for admission. the father was flabbergasted at my assertion the johnny could not multiply and got pretty hot. next day he apologized as he quizzed junior and confirmed what i had said. the one thing he kept saying "you go and trust the schools, and this happens... the worst grade (junior) ever brought home was an 86. with almost all A's you don't think there is a problem so why would you think you needed to do anything?"
good grief! kid is 15 and you have no singular idea what they do at school? jeez. never spent enough time with his kid outside of watching American Idol to notice he cant read or add? WTF!! in a nutshell, just wanted to be his buddy, and assumed someone else was taking care of kid learning... grr
Posted by: abu do you love ||
03/28/2010 16:08 Comments ||
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#9
This kid would be better served readin Plato's apology and discussing family vs state.
Just wait until these kids are living in an Obamaville tent city eating stewed Opossum or fricasseed Armadillo. With no Internet, Cable TV...etc. Mom & Dad can tell them to thank Obama. A lot of spoiled folks are going to learn some really hard lessons about actions and consequences. If we survive this dipstick, we might come out a stronger nation. I pray!
Posted by: Secret Asian Man ||
03/28/2010 18:11 Comments ||
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#10
If I was snotty enough at their age to give my parents "the talk", they would've told me..."There's the door. Let us know how you make out."
The Korean kid looks like he don't miss many meals, and I'm sure Little Miss Braces is covering that nut on her own, right? Obnoxious little pricks deserve a kick in the ass.
#15
After watching the second video -- good catch, CrazyFool! -- it's clear these kids are professional actors. Not major films, but certainly local advertising. Notice how in the second one Miss Braces looks so firmly into the camera for that long approach shot. Blue Dress Girl likewise. These are not just bratty offspring.
The Obama campaigns aren't taking any chances that random children couldn't drive the message home to the camera.
Some of his best friends are Jews, so he can't possibly be an antisemite (or Jew-hater, the crass old term it was invented to replace). The New York Times headline: Next Year in the White House: A Seder Tradition
So begins the story of the Obama Seder, now one of the newest, most intimate and least likely of White House traditions. When Passover begins at sunset on Monday evening, Mr. Obama and about 20 others will gather for a ritual that neither the rabbinic sages nor the founding fathers would recognize.
In the Old Family Dining Room, under sparkling chandeliers and portraits of former first ladies, the mostly Jewish and African-American guests will recite prayers and retell the biblical story of slavery and liberation, ending with the traditional declaration "Next year in Jerusalem." (Never mind the current chill in the administration's relationship with Israel.)
Chill indeed. It wouldn't be polite at a ceremonial dinner to discuss who chose to turn down the thermostat to nearly zero on the Kelvin scale. Especially given that the object of that chill was not permitted to eat at that table.
No one led the proceedings; everyone took turns reading aloud. Mr. Obama had brought Reggie Love, his personal aide, Ms. Jarrett and Eric Whitaker, another close friend, all African-American. Jennifer Psaki, the traveling press secretary, and Samantha Tubman, a press assistant, filtered in. Neither had ever been to a Seder, but they knew the Exodus story, Ms. Psaki from Catholic school and Ms. Tubman from childhood Sundays at black churches.
They peppered the outnumbered Jews at the table with questions, which the young men sometimes struggled to answer. "We're not exactly crack Hebrew scholars," said Mr. Lesser, now an assistant to Mr. Axelrod.
This, my dears, is what pets look like, not equals. Equals aren't required to perform for the edification and amusement of others, they're allowed their little moments of privacy.
#6
Michelle has a 1st cousin who is a Rabbi (a mostly black congregation in the Chicago region I think).
As for the last supper being a Seder, the last supper narrative in the NT seems consistent with this. However, it seems the Sanhedrin was in session the next day (or the day after). It is somewhat doubtful that this would be the case as the intermediate days of Passover have a high degree of holiness and this would prevent convening of the Sanhedrin.
Posted by: lord garth ||
03/28/2010 10:09 Comments ||
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#7
a Jewish boycott would be nice and appropriate
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/28/2010 10:20 Comments ||
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#8
This follows on the successful White House celebration of Purim. Obama got to play the part of Haman
#11
TW, I disgree with you. We love and hold our pet as family. This is a sunday night entertainment, more akin to having the discovery channel live in your home. A lot like inviting a hobo to lunch to make yourself feel more important. Disgusting...
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
03/28/2010 11:36 Comments ||
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#15
The US is considering abstaining from a possible UN Security Council resolution against Israeli settlement expansion in East Jerusalem, the BBC has learned.
when will US Jooos note that the worst treatment of Israel has been at Democrat hands?
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/28/2010 15:19 Comments ||
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#16
actually the year of the last supper, there was a dispute on the date. the first day of the month begins when the new moon is spotted. the officials in the temple (who the Sanhedrin agreed to use) did not see the moon the first night that another group claimed to. Jesus and the 12 were celebrating on the 'earlier' day based on the unofficial spotting of the moon while the Sanhedrin had an extra day.
worth noting that the temple sacrifice took place at the time of Christ gave up his spirit as described in the NT (between the evenings). probably not the place for derailing the thread, but there is a LOT of correlation with last supper and passover seder as well as crucifixion and temple passover sacrifice.
Posted by: abu do you love ||
03/28/2010 16:21 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
After a year of no wars or major terror attacks, the clashes along the border with the Gaza Strip over the weekend may be a sign that Hamas has become the primary and most immediate security challenge for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. With three IDF soldiers killed last week, Netanyahu was faced with a major decision about the level of Israel's response.
