Tuesday, June 08, 2010

SmartPower™: Cranking Open The Gates of Hell

More patterns emerge courtesy of the administration's playbook, a reprint of the classic Carter-Chamberlain tome.

Russia, Iran in joint venture for nuclear plant


Russia and Iran will establish a joint venture to operate Tehran's first nuclear plant set to come online this summer, Sergei Kiriyenko, chief of Russia's nuclear state corporation, said on Tuesday.

Russia has been helping Iran build its first nuclear plant in the southern city of Bushehr since the mid-90s... the power plant would be ready to come online by the end of the summer...

Tehran is accused by the West of planning to build a nuclear bomb although it insists its nuclear drive is purely peaceful in nature.

U.N. rebukes of Israel permitted in U.S. policy shift


Under President Barack Obama, the United States no longer provides Israel with automatic support at the United Nations where the Jewish state faces a constant barrage of criticism and condemnation.

The subtle but noticeable shift in the U.S. approach to its Middle East ally comes amid what some analysts describe as one of the most serious crises in U.S.-Israeli relations in years.

Syrian Rep Promotes Blood Libel at UN Human Rights Council


Meeting today in Geneva, the UN Human Rights Council heard the following statement from the Syrian representative, First Secretary Rania Al Rifaiy: “Israel... is a state that is built on hatred... Let me quote a song that a group of children on a school bus in Israel sing merrily as they go to school and I quote 'With my teeth I will rip your flesh. With my mouth I will suck your blood.'" The Obama administration chose to join this Council, the UN’s lead human rights body, and its representative was present. But they said nothing after hearing this blood libel.

On the contrary, rather than expose the Council and its anti-Jewish agenda, one of President Obama’s first foreign policy moves was a decision to pay for it. Hence, American taxpayers will pay 22 percent of the cost for this speech to be permanently posted on the UN website, translated, and broadcast around the world.

There is a reason that none of the members of the UN Human Rights Council thought this statement was sufficiently repulsive or shocking to complain. The blood libel against the Jewish people is a calling card of UN proceedings, with UN members usually casting their anti-Semitism as vicious anti-Israel attacks...

* * * * * * * * *

Nicholas "Streicher" Kristof could not be reached for comment at press time.


Hat tip: Dan from New York.

Shades of Ray Nagin's schoolbuses: miles and miles of oil booms sit unused in warehouses

Jim Hoft reports that, while an ecological disaster unfolds in the Gulf, the oil booms that could be used to help mitigate the damage are sitting... in a freaking warehouse.

And no one -- not the Department of the Interior, not DHS, not BP, not NOAA, not the EPA, not the Minerals Management Services, no one has bothered to pick them up. Or have them shipped to the Gulf.

There are miles of floating oil containment boom in warehouse right now and the manufacturer Packgen says it can make lots more on short notice. There’s just one problem... No one will come get it...

Gregory Sullivan at Pajamas Media reported, via Instapundit:

John Lapoint of Packgen in Auburn, Maine, says he’s got plenty of floating oil containment boom and can make lots more on short notice. There’s just one problem: no one will buy it from him.

He’s already had a representative from BP visit his factory and inspect his product... Maine Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins wrote a letter on May 21 to the secretary of the Interior, the administrator of NOAA, and the commandant of the Coast Guard to alert them to the existence of Packgen, their supply of boom, and their demonstrated capacity to make more...

...Oil collected against a boom is fairly easy to process and recycle. Sorbent booms, designed to collect oil at the water’s edge, are made from materials that absorb oil but not water — unlike hair. Oil full of hair or straw lapping against a shoreline is a HazMat nightmare...

Gee, I wonder when President Obama will start kicking, say, Janet Napolitano's ample kiester?


Or Ken Salazar's?

Every waking moment, remember, they've been thinking about this catastrophe. In between the parties, golf trips, fundraisers, and staged propaganda events town halls.

Hoft recalls Ray Nagin's hundreds of school buses that ended up flooded when instead they could have transported New Orleans residents out of harm's way. That was another Democrat success story.

Historic, in fact.


Hat tip: Larwyn.

Breaking news from the 'We already knew that Department.'

Runner-up headline: Liberals/Democrats are economic illiterates. Second runner-up headline: News Flash: Academics prove liberals are stupid. But, like I said, we already knew that.

Zogby researcher Zeljka Buturovic and I considered the 4,835 respondents' (all American adults) answers to eight survey questions about basic economics. We also asked the respondents about their political leanings: progressive/very liberal; liberal; moderate; conservative; very conservative; and libertarian...

How did the six ideological groups do overall? Here they are, best to worst, with an average number of incorrect responses from 0 to 8: Very conservative, 1.30; Libertarian, 1.38; Conservative, 1.67; Moderate, 3.67; Liberal, 4.69; Progressive/very liberal, 5.26.

...on every question the left did much worse. On the monopoly question, the portion of progressive/very liberals answering incorrectly (31%) was more than twice that of conservatives (13%) and more than four times that of libertarians (7%). On the question about living standards, the portion of progressive/very liberals answering incorrectly (61%) was more than four times that of conservatives (13%) and almost three times that of libertarians (21%).

The survey also asked about party affiliation. Those responding Democratic averaged 4.59 incorrect answers. Republicans averaged 1.61 incorrect, and Libertarians 1.26 incorrect.

Just a Grunt says this is the worst economic news of all and offers a terse analysis: "[L]iberals, that's Democrats for those in doubt, know absolutely diddly squat about economics."

That's giving them the benefit of the doubt.

Worse: our beloved President Obama went 0-fer on the quiz, seeing as how he thinks economics is a zero-sum game and that masterminds like him should get to re-swizzle everyone's wealth.


Hat tips: Amalaur and Big Journalism. Linked by: Michelle Malkin. Thanks!

Larwyn's Linx: United -- Keep Out Kagan!

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

United: Keep Out Kagan!: RWN
Sestak and the Ethics Committee: Corner
What's the matter with Michigan?: Barone

Spill reveals Obama's lack of executive experience: York
Daley wounds gun control advocacy: WashExam
In Los Angeles, Thousands Rally for Israel: PJM

Economy

Newsflash: The Stimulus Failed: Nice Deb
CBO: Annual Deficit Will Exceed $1 Trillion This Month...: WZ
CRAven Cover-Up: IBD

‘The Lottery’: Unions Destroying American Education: RWN
How to fight back against Public Unions: A Primer: AT
Barack Obama, Freelance Health Insurance Actuary: McArdle

Illinois Spends $55M To Insure Illegal Immigrants : JW
World's Dumbest Blogger on the Economy: RWN
The Ties That Bind: Protein Wisdom

Climate & Energy

Climate Change Disconnect: RedState
June 10: The Vote For Liberty Or The Surrender To Tyranny?: CBullitt
Pique Oil: Cold Fury

Media

Reuters Fauxtojournalists Strike Again; Crop Terrorists' Knives to Peddle 'Muslim Victim' Meme: Ace
On conservative wimmin being “objectified” ‘n stuff: Sister Toldjah
WaPo keeps rockin', hides Ubersturmbannführer Helen Thomas' decline: PJM

Hilarity: Obama Warns Students Not to Blame Others: Hot Air
"A Nasty Piece of Work": Cold Fury
Weapons-grade stupidity at the Detroit News: BlogProf

World

Letting Israel Hang: Bolton
Nuking our Defense: America Exposed: AT
Are Europe’s political elite on course to destroy the EU? After meeting the President, I think so: Telegraph

Stunted State: IBD
Give Peace a Chance: Steyn
Does Abbas' Support for Black Genocide Offend Obama?: AT

SciTech

Project Natal Could Hint at Future Hands-Free UI: eWeek
U.S. Intelligence Analyst Arrested in Wikileaks Video Probe: Wired
Betting on the Bad Guys in Investing: Adams

Jobs to developers: Stick with the winning team: CNet
Black Holes Deemed Racist, Again: RWN
Labour MP: If I Had a Time-Machine And Went Back To The 80's, I'd... Assassinate Margaret Thatcher: Ace

Cornucopia

The Finger of God: Moran
Hungarian Bond Story: ZH
In memory of Mgr. Padovese, martyr who loved Turkey : AsiaNews

Image: Maktoob.
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Support Sharron Angle - Stop Harry Reid.


Monday, June 07, 2010

John Hawkins Releases Top 40 Conservative Blog List; Proves He's a Deeply Troubled Individual

John Hawkins has created an updated version of the Top 40 Conservative Blog List and it appears he's been hitting the sauce again. His selection for the #12 slot is an affront to bloggers everywhere and especially those who actually have talent.

40) Jihad Watch
39) Small Dead Animals
38) Conservative Blog Watch
37) Power Line
36) Tim Blair
35) Alarming News
34) Gay Patriot
33) The Cara Ellison Show
32) Sweetness & Light
31) Dr. Helen
30) The Campaign Spot
29) The American Princess
28) The Radio Equalizer
27) Say Anything
26) Cassy Fiano
25) I Own The World
24) Creative Minority Report
23) The Jawa Report
22) Top of The Ticket
21) Iowahawk
20) Althouse
19) Big Government
18) Jammie Wearing Fool
17) Big Hollywood
16) Riehl World View
15) Megan McArdle
14) Atlas Shrugs
13) Legal Insurrection
12) Doug Ross
11) IMAO
10) Newsreal
9) Weasel Zippers
8) Ace Of Spades HQ
7) Michelle Malkin
6) Instapundit
5) RedState
4) Newsbusters
3) The Corner
2) Gateway Pundit
1) Hot Air

I can just see Paul Mirengoff and company ripping their hair out while screaming, "Him? Number 12? Why not pick a guy out of the f***ing phone book?"

In all seriousness, I'd be happy with #40. There's something very wrong about a #12 ranking, but I'm overwhelmed to have the honor even temporarily. Like, until Hawkins sobers up and deletes the entry.


Update: iOwnTheWorld agrees and is deeply troubled with Hawkins' break from reality.

Too good to check: Presidential Google

The ever-alert The Bad sends us this one:


I have no idea what any of this means.

Nicholas Kristof Channels Julius Streicher

If The New York Times is employing Nicholas Kristof to write pure unvarnished satire, they're definitely getting their money's worth. Unfortunately for them, they still think he's a serious opinion columnist, which pretty much describes the state of the newspaper business. If you're wondering why proxies for the Constitutionally-challenged administration -- in this case, the FTC -- are bandying about a bailout of newspapers, you can chalk it up to turds like Kristof.

His latest excretion would be laughable if the propaganda weren't so eerily reminiscent of Julius Streicher.

When reports first circulated on Twitter of a deadly attack by Israeli commandos on the Gaza flotilla, I didn’t forward them because they seemed implausible. I thought: Israel wouldn’t be so obtuse as to use lethal force on self-described peace activists* in international waters with scores of reporters watching.

* Peace activists pictured above.

Notice how Kristof uses a completely skewed lens through which to view the events. The reporters were members of a pre-positioned Al Jazeera propaganda team; the activists on the sixth boat were Turkish extremists aligned with Islamist terror groups; and the Israelis were armed with paintball guns as their primary weapons.

No matter.

...[Israel] lashes out with force in ways that undermine its own interests. It is on a path that could eventually be catastrophic.

Lashes out.

After being beaten by "humanitarian peace activists" with sharpened iron pipes, stabbed with knives, and shot, Israeli forces saved their own lives by popping a few caps into some terrorists.

In fact, the humanitarian greeting party had equipped themselves with nooses so they could hang the Israelis until they were dead.

No matter.

There’s no question that Israel faces existential threats. That should make its leaders focused above all on two things: an Arab-Israeli treaty and pressure on Iran to drop its nuclear program.

Oh, gee -- you mean like waiting several f***ing decades for the international community to do something about the terrorists in Iran? What a great f***ing idea! Why didn't Obama think of that?

Israel could also cultivate Turkey, a central player in the effort to press Iran. Instead, Israel’s storming of a Turkish-flagged vessel in international waters was a huge setback to efforts to win new sanctions on Iran.

This paragraph has convinced me that were someone to perform an MRI* on Nicholas Kristof's cranium, they would discover 100% pure fecal matter.

* After waiting the mandatory nine months under DemCare, that is.

Now, I'm not a "pro journalist" like Nick, but even I know that Turkey has a freaking Islamist government that's about as open to negotiating with Israel as Bill Keller is to hiring AllahPundit as a Dowd replacement.

No matter.

Israel is also antagonizing its support base in the United States, which is critical to protect it from those existential threats.

Perhaps if the entire legacy media complex and the leftist blogosphere weren't busily heaving Streicher-esque propaganda from Al-Jazeera at the electorate, there wouldn't be as many "inflamed" members of the base. As it is, conservatives appear to be the only staunch defenders of our strongest ally in the Middle East.

No matter.

Israel’s hard-line policies are depleting America’s international political capital as well as its own.

The Kristof definition of 'hard-line': trying to prevent Hamas from importing rockets that target civilians with random bursts of brutality.

No other country would put up with the s*** that Israel puts up with. And yet Kristof calls them 'hard-line'.

No matter.

When you visit Gaza, you see that the siege has accomplished nothing — except to devastate the lives of 1.5 million ordinary Gazans. Gisha, an Israeli human rights organization, has compiled a list of goods that Israel typically blocks from Gaza: notebooks, blank paper, writing utensils, coriander, chocolate, fishing rods, and countless more. That’s not security; that’s a travesty.

Yes, there's quite a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

In fact, Kristof never bothers to ask why the hell is Egypt blockading its border with Gaza?

Why is Egypt preventing free trade with its Arab brothers and sisters in Gaza?

Why is Egypt instigating this vast "humanitarian crisis" by sealing the border with Gaza?

No matter.

President Obama needs to find his voice and push hard for an end to the Gaza blockade. He needs to talk sense to Israel and encourage it to back away from its plans to intercept other flotillas now headed for Gaza — that would be a catastrophe for Israel and America alike.

Above all, he needs to nudge Israel away from its tendency to shoot itself in the foot, and us along with it.

Either Kristof is a propagandist in the style of Leni Riefenstahl and Julius Streicher -- or he has all of the analytical skills of dessicated sheep s***.

Because when it comes to Kristof -- or the Times -- facts, logic and reason don't matter.

Hacks like this will need a hell of a lot more than the FTC to bail out this much stupid.


'This administration is being run like a Junior Achievement project'

So says Peter Morici, a professor at the Maryland's Smith School of Business and the former chief economist at the U.S. International Trade Commission. Morici was interviewed in the context of a CNBC news report helpfully entitled, "In Brutal Job Market, More Than a Million Quit Looking."

If you think the jobs situation has become pretty hopeless, you're not alone. Roughly 1.1 million workers have given up hope of finding employment.

The staggering level of "discouraged workers" as the government calls them has swelled to historic proportions in 2010, past the million barrier for the first time since the Bureau of Labor Statistics has been tracking the number.

It's another Obama Record™!

Though a bit off its all-time high of 1.2 million recorded in February, the metric stands as perhaps the most daunting statistic of last Friday's gloomy jobs report, which showed that almost all the new employment is coming from temporary government Census jobs and not the kind that will sustain an economy.

Could someone forcibly do a Vulcan Mind-Meld with Democrat muckety-mucks to permanently imprint it on their reptilian-level brains? Because they can't seem to get that message.

"If it weren't for the plunge in the labor force, the US unemployment rate would have climbed to 10% in May," Gluskin Sheff chief economist David Rosenberg says in his morning note Monday. "[T]he household survey actually flagged a 35,000 outright decline in employment last month."

Is there something wrong with the BLS statistic when the unemployment rate goes down when more people are actually unemployed?

Apparently not -- if you're a Democrat.

The long-term unemployed-those who haven't worked for at least 27 weeks, or more than half a year-remains mired at 6.8 million, a number that accounts for 46 percent of the total jobless figure.

"We don't expect any substantial improvement to the labor situation at all," says Richard Hastings, macro and consumer strategist at Global Hunter Securities in Newport Beach, Calif...

You mean all of the Democrat strategies -- Stimuli, massive payoffs to the unions, trial lawyer incentives, and the like -- don't help the real economy? Could someone let the legacy media know? Because they haven't reported that yet. It's only been about 80 years of serial failures, so one would hope they're beginning to get the picture.

Some economists also worry that the government is providing a disincentive to work by extending unemployment benefits. It's a Catch-22 in which the government is hoping to help the long-term unemployed that could backfire as people become less interested in finding work the longer they remain idle.

"What's keeping people out of the job market is they're giving extended benefits," says Doug Roberts, chief investment strategist at Channel Capital Research. "A lot of people, especially those who are older, are figuring, 'I'll keep my unemployment benefits for as long as I can get them until I can figure out what to do.'"

Like easy access to welfare and "misplaced sympathy", Democrat masterminds who attempt wealth redistribution schemes inevitably fail. Inevitably.

Morici, for one, takes issue with the notion that public policy is not jeopardizing the jobs market. A harsh critic of the Obama administration, he says the $780 billion stimulus was squandered on projects that don't help sustain industry and manufacturing and thus will not provide lasting economic relief.

"By and large they don't have a grasp of the scope of the problems, and we're not creating that much demand for labor," he says. "They're not putting the stimulus in the right places. This administration is really being run like a Junior Achievement project."

The electorate better get wise quick, because the fuse on the fiscal time-bomb has but a few moments to burn.


Larwyn's Linx: Obama Fails the Test of Office

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

Obama Fails the Test of Office: AT
Oil slick, joblessness may stymie Dems' rebound: Barone
Veil of Secrecy and Sacrifice Lifted: Times

What the Second Offer Says: RWN
Geller vs. Imam on CNN: NiceDeb
Stop the Mosque at Ground Zero Rally: LATL

Support Arizona!: RWN
Reagan at Normandy: WeaselZippers
Barack Obama remembers D-Day: GWP

Economy

The Higher Education Bubble is About to Burst: Reynolds
It's all just a little bit of history repeating itself: Exurban
Brave New Scams: AT

The Empress of ObamaCare: Spectator
G-20 an Amazing Success: Mish
Chavez decrees more seizures: Straits Times

Media

Newsweek Frets Over Conservative Hotties: RWN
New York Times Blames Israel First, As Usual: BigJournalism
Turkish Paper Releases Images of Beaten & Stabbed Israeli Soldiers on the Mavi Marmara: GWP

If you're losing Frank Rich: JOM
Helen Thomas Dropped by Her Agent; Former Clinton Aide Calls for Her Dismissal: Driscoll
An Open Letter to Helen Thomas: JPost

World

Can Israel Survive A Second Obama Term?: LegalIns
Great news: Turkish PM may try to visit Gaza to break blockade: Hot Air
New Levels of Low: Obama’s "advice" to Israel on investigation is an extraordinary insult: Bayefsky

SmartPower: Iran will provide military escorts to Jihad flotillas: Weasel Zippers
Iran's Promises to Turkey: Ledeen
Now, Ahmadinejad heads to Istanbul: Rosett

Obama and Hamas: AT
It’s The Dawning Of The Age Of Incompetence …: Strata-Sphere
Shouldn't We All Be Israelis Now?: AT (Shiver)

SciTech

Animating a Blockbuster: How Pixar Built Toy Story 3: Wired
Singularity is here: Times
BMW M3 Convertible: a Fun Screamer Dragging an Anchor: WSJ

Steve Jobs Introduces the Death Star: TUAW
Images: SpaceX's Falcon 9 takes flight: CNet
One Giant Leap for Commercial Space: PJM

Cornucopia

The Great American Road Trip: Malkin
Now this is how you make a statement: iOTW
Join Team Obama in the Fight Against the Oil Spill: RobTKraft

Pocket protector, meet your cousin: the iPad suit: TUAW
Arizona Billboard: Denny
Conflict Kitchen: AmDigest

Image: CNet.
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Chuck DeVore

QOTD: "I didn't know Eva Braun was still alive!" -- Dave Weinbaum on Ubersturmbannführer Helen Thomas


Sunday, June 06, 2010

El Marco Photo Essay: Prayer Time at the Ground Zero Mosque

El Marco offers us another excellent photo essay with Prayer Time at the Ground Zero Mosque. He provides some excellent historical context and asks the same piercing question all of us arrive: why?

I arrived early at the Islamic Center of New York. I came to the city to photograph the rally of Stop Islamization of America (SOIA) on Sunday, June 6th, which is dedicated to stopping the construction of a mega-mosque 600 feet from the gaping hole which was the World Trade Center. First, I visited the Islamic Center Mosque on 96th Street and 3rd Avenue in Manhattan’s Upper East Side, miles from ground zero. What is significant about this 1980s mosque is that it was created by the father of the man who is spearheading the Ground Zero mosque project.

Doctor Mohammed Abdul Rauf (1917-2004) was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, which was formed in Egypt in 1928 and has over 70 branches including Al-Qaeda, Hamas, and Hezbollah. The Muslim Brotherhood is classified as a terrorist organization and banned in Egypt as well as the United States.

All is quiet at this site with the main Friday prayers not set to begin until 1:00pm. So, I headed down to Ground Zero. I have not been there since September 11th, 2006.

What I found was heartening. After years of squabbling and delays, construction is finally underway on the vast One World Trade Center Plaza and tower. Looking from the West side of ground zero, I focused on St. Paul’s church, which can be seen nestled amongst the trees of the ancient graveyard. It is the oldest continuously occupied building in New York City and it remained undamaged as the Twin Towers collapsed just feet from the graveyard’s wrought iron gate. General George Washington attended this church during the Revolutionary War, and later, when he was sworn in as President, New York being America’s capital at the time.

The base of the new One World Trade Center tower can be seen here on the left. It is also known as the Freedom Tower. St. Paul’s can be seen in the background.

I walked to the south side of “the pit,” and visited FDNY Ladder 10. The firehouse was directly across the street from the Twin Towers and was badly battered by debris when they were knocked down. They lost seven of their crew that day. My conversation with their dispatcher was cut short by an alarm, and the scene shifted into high gear...

Read the rest: Prayer Time at the Ground Zero Mosque.