Monday, December 28, 2009

May we have the envelope, please? Media Research Center announces its 2009 winners

The Media Research Center recently announced its prestigious 2009 winners of the Best Notable Quotables Awards. These represent "a compilation of the most outrageous and/or humorous news media quotes from 2009".

May we have the envelope, please?

I'll give away just one of the winners:

Melissa Lafsky

"Mary Jo [Kopechne] wasn’t a right-wing talking point or a negative campaign slogan....We don’t know how much Kennedy was affected by her death, or what she’d have thought about arguably being a catalyst for the most successful Senate career in history....[One wonders what] Mary Jo Kopechne would have had to say about Ted’s death, and what she’d have thought of the life and career that are being (rightfully) heralded. Who knows — maybe she’d feel it was worth it.” -— Discover magazine deputy web editor Melissa Lafsky, who formerly worked on the New York Times’s Freakonomics blog, writing at the Huffington Post, August 27.


Larwyn's Linx: Yep, White House Blames Bush for Detroit Terror Attempt

Have a great link you'd like me to review? Drop me an email. You can also install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget.

Nation

Sec. Napolitano: 'The system worked': Cold Fury
Heckuva job, Jannie!: Morrissey
Is the Director of DHS an “Anus Horribilis”?: GoV

When an agenda is more important than the facts: York
Yep: White House Blames Bush for Detroit Terror Attempt: GWP
Thwarted Detroit blast too close for some: Times

Percy Sutton dies; His Obama revelation unmentioned: AT

Economy

The Liberal Plot Against American Education: AT
Gary, Indiana Death Countdown: Chicago Boyz
Morgan Stanley: Interest Rates Set to Soar 40%: Insider

Harvard's portfolio-killer sets course for U.S.: WSJ
Record $118B in U.S. debt auctioned this week: Insider
Brace for Impact: Zero Hedge

Media

Protocols of the Elders of Lake Woebegone: Cold Fury
Year of the Failed Narrative: Driscoll
Should Obama put down his golf clubs?: SIGIS

Andrea Mitchell: Stuck on Stupid: Wizbang
Mark Steyn Asks...: MoneyRunner
Letters: Obama has been a disappointment: Park-Rapids Enterprise

cBS News: Presidential Vacations Are Hard Work: RWN
Too damn big, slow, inefficient and intrusive: BlogCritics
The Obama image: what a difference a year makes: AT

Climate & Energy

To Be Fair, That’s A Lot Of Decline To Hide: Driscoll

World

This Isn’t Good: 21st Century Looks Like a Replay of 20th: BigGovt
Obama just made it easier for International Court to go after American "war criminals": PJM
Crossing into North Korea: PJM

Ashura: a new phase to the revolution: Wolf
Hmm… Israel Calls ALL Ambassadors Home For Special Meeting in Jerusalem: GWP

SciTech

AT&T suspends online iPhone sales in New York City, reasons still unclear: Engadget
FCC member berates Verizon for termination fees: CNet
Apple tablet terrorized by component rumors: Engadget

Cornucopia

Well, actually...: The “Blog” of “Unnecessary” Quotation Marks
25 Random 140 Character Thoughts: RWN
Your Late Christmas Present: Jingle Bombs: Denny


Sunday, December 27, 2009

Iran - Protesters set police vehicles and police station on fire; President Obama maintains strict tee-times and cone of silence

Via Twitter and YouTube, more evidence from Tehran that the government is teetering on the brink. In this instance, police vehicles are being torched by protesters.




Anti-government protesters hope to hear from the Obama administration by Easter.

Update: Police are said to have killed ten in Iran:

Update II: A police station in the Ashoora section of Tehran is torched while a flag-waving rebel stands atop the structure (warning: graphic violence).












The Iranian people are fighting and dying for liberty. Liberty.


INTERPOL, a "global policing doctrine", and the President of the World

A curious Presidential Executive Order, signed recently by Barack Obama, has raised considerable confusion and perturbishment (is that a word?) by some observers on the right. The order related to INTERPOL and was originally reported by Steve Schippert of ThreatsWatch (emphases mine):

The White House released an Executive Order "Amending Executive Order 12425." It grants INTERPOL (International Criminal Police Organization) a new level of full diplomatic immunity... By removing language from President Reagan’s 1983 Executive Order 12425, this international law enforcement body now operates – now operates – on American soil beyond the reach of our own top law enforcement arm, the FBI, and is immune from Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

The initial reactions to this order raised several ominous portents:

• "A 'separate' Interpol agency has been created in the DOJ – let that sink in for a moment... This action could also be used to divulge American military secrets and a whole host of horrific practices having to do with going after our military. It’s the road to internationalism on steroids."

Andy McCarthy asked: "Why Does Interpol Need Immunity from American Law?"

Ed Morrissey: "...it appears to mean that Americans who get arrested on the basis of Interpol work cannot get the type of documentation one normally would get in the discovery process, which is a remarkable reversal from Obama’s declared efforts to gain “due process” for terrorists detained at Gitmo. Does the White House intend to treat Americans worse than the terrorists we’ve captured during wartime?"

A few minutes ago, WBK emailed me some pertinent articles from October that could explain the administration's haste to protect INTERPOL from sovereign oversight.

A 10/11/2009 article by The New York times' Doreen Carvajal may provide needed perspective:

Interpol and U.N. Back ‘Global Policing Doctrine’

Interpol and the United Nations are poised to become partners in fighting crime by jointly grooming a global police force that would be deployed as peacekeepers among rogue nations riven by war and organized crime, officials from both organizations say.

On Monday, justice and foreign ministers from more than 60 countries, including the United States and China, are gathering in Singapore for a meeting hosted by the two international organizations.

It is the first step toward creating what Interpol calls a "global policing doctrine" that would enable Interpol and the United Nations to improve the skills of police peacekeepers, largely by sharing a secure communications network and a vast electronic trove of criminal information, including DNA records, fingerprints, photographs and fugitive notices...

Somehow, all of this seems a tad -- how do I say? -- unconstitutional?

There is no law in the United States above that of the Constitution. And yet, somehow, INTERPOL now transcends our law, at least according to President Axelrod Obama. Make a note of it, Danno.


Too Hot To Handle, Obama Sits Out Iranian Revolution

Dan from New York:

It's happening before our eyes: Shocking Video – Iranian Protesters Save Prisoners from Hanging in Sirjan & Attack Police Truck — Regime Thugs Shoot Down Protesters

And that's only one incident in one small Iranian town.

"One way or the other, Iran will dominate 2010. Either there will be an Israeli attack or Iran will arrive at -- or cross -- the nuclear threshold. Unless revolution intervenes. Which is why to fail to do everything in our power to support this popular revolt is unforgivable."

-- Charles Krauthammer

Catch-22, doctor. There won't be either a revolution or an Israeli attack unless Obama intervenes and lends a hand to one or both. He won't.

 

Janet 'Mission Accomplished' Napolitano Achieves Coveted 'Eternal Beclownment' Status As Bomber Links to Ft. Hood Shooter Revealed

On this morning's talk circuit, Homeland Security head Janet Napolitano achieved the rare feat known as Complete and Total Beclownment. Did you know: our security apparatus "worked like clockwork"?

Beginning with her embrace of the impotent euphemism “man-caused disasters” to the hit job on conservatives and veterans that she was forced to apologize for, to her assertion that crossing the border illegally “isn’t a crime per se”, to her boneheaded claim that 9/11 terrorists came in through the Canadian border, Ja-No has confirmed time and again that she’s not ready for prime time.

Today, she caps off her horrible year by playing Big Pollyanna in the wake of the Flight 254. The botched bombing — foiled by a faulty detonator and brave passengers, not by homeland security bureaucrats or any preemptive measures by intel officials — shows that the in Ja-No’s fantasy world.

In reality, as ABC News confirms, only a fluke prevented the catastrophe.

Bomb experts say there was more than enough explosive to bring down the Northwest jet, which had nearly 300 people aboard, had the detonator not failed, and the nation's outdated airport screening machines may need to be upgraded... the bomb on Northwest flight 253, which was en route from Amsterdam to Detroit when suspect Umar farouk Abdulmutallab allegedly detonated it, contained more than 80 grams of PETN. The material was allegedly sewn into Abdulmutallab's underwear, and was not detected by airport security.

ABC also points out an interesting tie to the Fort Hood Jihadist mass-murderer.

Investigators believe Abdulmutallab was connected to al Qaeda by the same radical imam, American-born Anwar Awlaki, who is linked to the American Army major accused of opening fire at Fort Hood in November.

Oops -- back to Ms. Malkin:

And as predicted, Napolitano also played the “lone nut” card — dismissing the Christmas Day jihadist as a single operator not part of “anything larger” despite his own testimony to the contrary.

Napolitano is a complete and utter failure. Which makes her perfect for this administration.


Update: Uh oh:

Hey, Janet: Still see no indication of a larger threat? System still “working?” Just another lone nut?

"... The Associated Press has learned that a second Nigerian man has been taken into custody aboard a jetliner in Detroit after locking himself in the airliner’s bathroom... A law enforcement official tells the AP that the incident took place aboard the same Northwest flight that was attacked on Christmas Day. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the incident was ongoing."

Update II: The Underground Conservative observes: "Janet Napolitano is a solid B+. B+, of course, is the new epic FAIL."


Linked by: InstaPundit and Michelle Malkin. Thanks!

Iran: Basiji Prisoner Lorry Stopped, Protesters Inside Freed

Moments ago, a video from Tehran, Iran was uploaded to YouTube.

In it, a Basiji (Iranian militia) lorry transporting prisoners is stopped, its windshield smashed, the doors ripped open, its officers assaulted and the prisoners freed.









Hopefully the Obama administration will issue a statement in the next few weeks, after Hawaii's golfing season winds down.

Regardless of the feckless administration, "this day will be long remembered."


Oops. Leftist apologists for terror screw up again (Chapter 4,860).

As usual, the apologists for the Party of Weakness are attempting to spin the Northwest Airlines terror attack as feeble and impotent. Their hope is to minimize the damage on the administration's national security credentials. Too late. Said credentials long ago expired.

...there's something more significant to consider with regards to how the left perceives this terror plot. I'm reading Spencer Ackerman's post on this, "al-Qaeda’s Desperate Bid For Relevance, The Failed Plane Attack & Afghanistan." Despite his purported national security "credentials," Spencer Ackerman's woefully unserious about war and terrorism. Recall that this is the guy who called for President George W. Bush's death at the Hague, and for that reason alone his rants will garner the attention of leftist foreign policy vultures. A good example of this childishness is Ackerman's tweet from yesterday, seen here:

What's especially troubling about the leftists, again, is their haste to gain partisan points to downsize a forward American foreign and military policy... It would thus be pure suicide to take serious the anti-American rants of "experts" such as Spencer Ackerman and his terrorist apology-brethren in the Democratic Party. Indeed, "Attackerman" is already walking back some of his more stupid ruminations from yesterday (without much success, for that matter).

As it turns out, a walk back would not suffice. A full out retraction is needed as evidenced by the disclosure of the attack's details.

Early accounts gave the impression (to me, anyway) that Abdul Farouk Umar Abdulmutallab's attempt at terrorism may have been an amateurish one that was doomed to fail. Apparently that was not the case:

Investigators say the suspect had more than 80 grams of PETN, a compound related to nitro-glycerin used by the military. The so-called shoe bomber, Richard Reid, had only about 50 grams kin his failed attempt in 2001 to blow up a U.S.-bound jet. Yesterday's bomb failed because the detonator may have been too small or was not in "proper contact" with the explosive material, investigators told ABC News.

So this was a serious terrorist attack... This photo, presumably from a passenger's cell phone, was taken while the would-be terrorist was being led from the airplane:

It appears that CNN blurred the faces of the law enforcement personnel involved in the arrest, presumably so that they and their families would not experience retaliation from devotees of the religion of peace. Does Barack Obama know about this?

Hopefully Paul Mirengoff is on to something when he speculates that reality has intruded on Democrats' plans to close Gitmo.

Sending detainees to Yemen has always been a ridiculous idea. The government there is weak and unstable. Yemen is a haven for al Qaeda members and is the scene of two separate insurgencies. Sending captured terrorists there is a bit like sending them to pre-surge Iraq.

But it took the attempted Christmas day bombing to drive home the point so that even Democrats can see it.

Actually, I'll believe they can see it when they demonstrate they can see it. Literally every angle Democrats have taken on the war on terror has turned out to be wrong, starting in the Carter era, continuing during the Clinton administration and perhaps now about to terminate -- once and for all -- with a nuclear Iran.



Linked by: Michelle Malkin. Thanks!

Larwyn's Linx: Cross the River, Burn the Bridge

Have a great link you'd like me to review? Drop me an email. You can also install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget.

Nation

Cross the River, Burn the Bridge: Steyn
Leftists spin NWA attack as proof AQ is weak: RWN
How did bomber get a visa while on watch list?: AT

Failed Detonator Saved NWA Flight: Riehl
2010 Repeal of Obamacare must be central GOP issue: AT
Who went to church on Christmas Day?: TAB

Economy

Obama Union Push Delays Projects, Increases Costs: Times
TSA: Nothing Can Stop Us From Killing Airline Industry: MereRhet
Feingold Slams Obama Over Earmarks: Morrissey

Blank Check Bailout for Fannie, Freddie: BigGovt
Six projects that really would stimulate the economy: WSJ

Media

Bacon Strip Bomber Arraigned in Court: Pundette
NCIS inverts reality with Christian terrorists, honor murders: PJM
Obama becomes one with Thomas Friedman: Pundette

Fox Newswatch Highlights Couric & Klein in MRC's Awards for Worst Reporting: NewsBusters
Malkin: Obamacare tipping point for culture of corruption: BlogProf

Climate & Energy

Is Stalinism Back?: AT (Lewis)
Greens try to cope with Climategate: BigGovt
877 new U.S. snowfall records set or tied in last week: Nelson

World

Obama vacations while Iran burns: Wolf
Iran's Perfect Storm: Times
Smart Diplomacy FAIL: Charlie Foxtrot

Forty years of misdirected aid to Africa: PJM
Party Crasher: Foreign leaders were avoiding the president in Copenhagen: Times
Four protesters killed in Tehran clashes: Maktoob

In North Korea, Resistance is the New Currency: InstaPundit
U.S. diplomats caught smuggling Palestinian into Israel: TAB
The Doctor Who Defied Tehran: WSJ

SciTech



Cornucopia

Cat rides cleaning Roomba 560 Robotic Vacuum Cleaner: VirFoot
Battle of Trenton -- An Eyewitness Account: BigGovt

The following excerpt from Man and His Symbols by Carl Jung may provide an answer as to why President Obama and David Axelrod want this health care reform so badly.

The communist world has one big myth. It is the time hallowed archetypal dream of a Golden Age where everything is provided in abundance for everyone and a great, just and wise chief rules over a human kindergarten. This powerful archetype has gripped them in its infantile form. We even support it by our own childishness, for our Western civilization is in the grip of the same mythology.

The President and his advisor are the chiefs, and the American people are their kindergarten. They like playing God.

-- Ann Kane


Saturday, December 26, 2009