Sunday, September 11, 2011

IDF General: "Arab Spring" Poised to Turn Into "Radical Islamist Winter"

Consider the so-called "Arab Spring" a reprise of the Carter Doctrine, as it were. To wit: show weakness, stall as long as possible before making decisions, and tacitly condone the Middle East's most radical elements.

IDF Major General Eyal Eisenberg warned last week that the so-called “Arab Spring” may ultimately turn into a “radical Islamic winter.” Recent events in Egypt and elsewhere in the region indicate that this grim assessment is materializing at a rapid pace right before our eyes.

...the growing Mideastern chaos has shattered any semblance of regional stability, allowing the darkest, most radical forces to erupt and increasingly set the tone. What we saw in Egypt [Ed: the storming of the Israeli embassy] over the weekend was merely the beginning. Much worse is yet to come.

Arab affairs expert Guy Bechor notes that the siege and near-lynch at Israel’s Cairo embassy is first and foremost a domestic affair, reflecting the great deterioration on Egypt’s streets. The orgy of violence and lawlessness we witnessed marks the rise of Islamists and street thugs and the State’s declining ability to impose law and order.

...In Libya, rebels are dusting off what’s left of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime, under the leadership of none other than “former Jihadist” Abdel Hakim Belhaj... post-revolution Tripoli has already become a menace to regional stability. Last week, Israeli officials warned that Palestinians in Gaza have acquired anti-aircraft and anti-tank rockets from Libya. Meanwhile, the European Union’s counter-terrorism’s chief warned that al-Qaeda may have also secured arms looted in the Libyan conflict, including surface-to-air missiles that could threaten commercial airliners.

On the tenth anniversary of the horrific attacks of 9/11, it is worth asking the question:

How did President Obama arrive at his decisions to: (a) actively support the overthrow of a U.S. ally (Hosni Mubarak); (b) fail to support Iran's Green Revolution; (c) support Libya's rebels, whose leaders represent the most radical Islamists imaginable; and (d) fail to support Syria's attempted overthrow of the Iranian puppet dictator Bashar as-Assad?

For you drones: that's a rhetorical question.


Hat tips: Dan from New York and The Telegraph (photo of Neda).

Photos: London Islamists commemorate 9/11 by burning U.S. flags, breaking moment of silence with megaphones, celebrating mass murder

Un-indicted co-conspirator CAIR hardest hit:

Islamic supremacism, triumphalism, and hurling insults against the soldiers who defend the rights they have chosen to mock and abuse...

"9/11 anniversary: Muslim protesters burn US flag outside embassy in London," by Andy Bloxam for the Telegraph, September 11:

A number of radical Islamic groups including Muslims Against Crusades (MAC) gathered outside the embassy on the 10th anniversary of the attacks.

The group of around 100 men shouted "USA terrorists", brandished anti-American placards and chanted through a loudhailer.

Several members of the Muslim groups made anti-American speeches following the flag burning.

One said: "You will always face suffering, you will always face humiliation, unless you withdraw your troops from Muslim lands."

Another declared that America had been "defeated in Iraq and defeated in Afghanistan".

Members of the group publicly burned a poppy on Armistice Day in a similar stunt.

True to form, legacy U.S. media completely ignored the death-worshipers' celebration in London.


Update: Report: Two EDL members stabbed by Islamists.

Larwyn's Linx: What to Say to the Totalitarian Left on 9/11/11

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9/11/11

What to Say to the Totalitarian Left on 9/11/11: Chesler
10 years ago: My generation’s bloody wake-up call: Malkin
Ten Years Later: Who’s Really Winning the War On Terror: BRubin

Eyewitness to History: Recalling Bush’s Leadership on 9/11: PJM
George W. Bush’s Flight 93 Memorial Speech: Malkin
9/11 Is Not A Day of Service!: Creeping

Nation

Democrats facing electoral disasters in NV-02, NY-09?: RS
"Not Every Human Problem Deserves a Law": Reason
Democrats Fret Aloud Over Obama’s Chances: NYT

Who is the bitter clinger now?: Exam
Blood on the Streets? US Communists Prepare for Conflict: NoisyRm
Wasserman Schultz’ 'New Tone of Civility' Already Over: Shark

Economy

Obama Buys Votes from Unions at Huge Cost to U.S.: Mish
Trumka: 9/11 Was a Great Moment for Unions: Publius
BofA Cutbacks May Hit 40,000: WSJ

"The Incredible Shrinking Federal Workforce"?: ConAlley
Job Creators: Ready for 5,000 new regulations?: ATR
Valerie Jarrett: No Jobs Bill Yet; President Will Draft It: RCP

Where's The Confidence?: MarketTicker
More on Washington State Union Thuggery: Police Attacked: Tatler
Obama’s Army/Union Thugs Launch Terror Attack: Sword

Gunrunner

Eric Holder, Another Day Another Denial: AT
Congress expands Fast and Furious probe to include White House: Herald
2nd Arizona crime scene yields guns from ATF sting: KPHO

Climate & Energy

Obama lied, Solyndra died: Power Line
Go Green--Natural Law: CFP
Energy Alliance: Oil, Gas In Western U.S. Provide Employment and Millions in Revenue: CNS

Frustrated Al Gore Goes Violent: Gore's new ad depicts climate skeptic being killed: Motls
‘Drilling = Jobs’: Congressman’s Simple Message Falls on Deaf Ears: Foundry
‘Green’ industry is going nowhere: Las Vegas Sun

Media

When Hollywood Hit Rock Bottom: Klavan
State-run meda outlet PBS alters transcript to hide Obama gaffe: AT
Profiles in Objectivity: NBC’s Chief White House Correspondent Gets His Own ‘Lean Forward’ Ad: Powers

Does Thomas Friedman Write All of President Obama’s Speeches?: Driscoll
Former Democrat Reflects on Governor Palin’s Iowa Speech: C4P
Sarah Palin may be the one liberals have been waiting for: LI

World

The Next 9/11 — A Nuclear One?: IBD
Beyond Cairo, Israel Sensing a Wider Siege: New York Daily Fishwrap
Will The Run On Greek Banks Spread Across Europe?: ProblemBank

Sci-Tech

Infographic: Social media is growing at an astonishing rate: PR Daily
Netflix suddenly works on most Android devices: CNet
How to Make a Clock Run for 10,000 Years: Wired

Cornucopia

Never Forget: Fuzzy Logic
Have You Seen This Fugitive?: LaughingCon
Google Street View Camera Captures Naked Miami Woman On Her Front Doorstep: TSG

Some Won is Smarter than the Other Won: MOTUS
Woman bit by rat in rare attack while waiting for train at MTA station: NYDN
Obama sticker in urinal draws criticism and laughs: NBC News 17

Image: Jim Watson, AFP/Getty Images/September 10, 2011
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Senate Conservatives Fund

QOTD: "Presidential addresses to Congress are often dramatic moments. This one felt like a sideshow. Usually, the press gallery is standing-room-only; this time, only 26 of 90 seats were claimed by the deadline. Usually, some members arrive in the chamber hours early to score a center-aisle seat; 90 minutes before Thursday’s speech, only one Democrat was so situated." --Dana Milbank

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Contagion in Europe: Greece Poised to Shatter the Global Financial System

Over the past several years, the phrase "trouble in Greece" was routinely used to explain the occasional market tumble here in the U.S. Lately, though, the broader "European contagion" description is heard more frequently as banks in central Europe try to avoid a seemingly inevitable series of sovereign defaults.

Why should you care?

Put it this way: if immense global banks seize up, even if they are headquartered in Europe, the reverberations will be felt here in America.

...markets are saying that default by Greece is inevitable. Greece is expected to run out of cash within weeks and massive civil unrest may slide into anarchy as protests become increasingly violent. The bailout by the European Union that was supposed to save Greece appears to be on the verge of collapse according to The Wall Street Journal... "Europe’s failure so far to rescue its first patient has had immense consequences for the 17-nation euro zone, despite the fact that Greece’s economy is but a tiny fraction of it."

...Greek citizens have responded to the looming default of their government by withdrawing their money from Greek banks at a record pace. Greek banks have reportedly run out of safety deposit boxes as Greeks withdraw their life savings to put into bank vaults... "In May alone, almost €5bn (£4.4bn) was pulled out of Greek deposits, as part of what analysts describe as a 'silent bank run'... Bags of money in garages, frightened savers fleeing banks and even the country: these aren’t the sort of stories you associate with a comparatively-prosperous European country, but with a developing one facing a life-or-death economic crash.

The problem with a Greek default involves the subsequent and inevitable chain reaction. The troubled country's debt is owned in great part by banks throughout Europe -- especially in France and Germany -- and panicked depositors are unlikely to weigh the solvency of their own personal bank. If hysteria and fear spread, much of Europe could suffer bank runs.

As bond yields spike in Portugal, Spain and Italy, it becomes increasingly clear that the market anticipates a series of defaults on sovereign debt that no one on Earth can backstop.

And, as it turns out, Germany is already preparing for the inevitable Greek default.

Germany's Finance Ministry is studying the potential impact of a Greek debt default, working through scenarios which include Greece abandoning the euro to reintroduce the drachma, Germany's Der Spiegel magazine reported on Saturday.

Put simply, Germany's preparations involve bulking up banks. An emergency plan discussed within Germany anticipates a 50% haircut (loss) on Greek debt. Some experts believe that's an optimistic estimate.

Greece is “on a knife’s edge,” German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told lawmakers at a closed-door meeting in Berlin on Sept. 7, a report in parliament’s bulletin showed Thursday. If the government can’t meet the aid terms, “it’s up to Greece to figure out how to get financing without the euro zone’s help,” he later said in a speech to parliament.

Greece has vowed to avoid default, no matter the consequences for its government.

George Papandreou has vowed to fully implement reforms demanded by international lenders so that Greece will be able to avoid default and remain a member of the eurozone.

...Thousands of protesters shouting anti-austerity slogans gathered outside a conference centre in the northern city of Thessaloniki where the premier was making his annual economic policy speech on Saturday... Riot police fired teargas to disperse protesters as a dozen separate groups, including public sector trade unions, university students and supporters of a local football club, staged marches around the city centre.

Mr Papandreou said he was committed to carrying out this week’s cabinet decisions: immediate cuts in civil service salaries and the planned dismissal of 20,000 public sector in the next few weeks – a condition for Greece to receive the next €8bn tranche of its current bail-out loan...

But Greece will default; the markets are predicting that outcome with essentially 100% certitude:

Greece’s historic record bond yields have forced the markets to recognize and read the proverbial financial writing on the wall... Greece ... is set to default.

...The fact that Merkel, and by extension Germany (the final stop between the Greek economy and default), is now prepping the nation’s banks for Greece’s default could not be a clearer economic and political signal to the market that “bad times are coming” for not only Greece, but the entire European Union.

What’s most interesting, however, is the future of the European Union, post -Greece’s-seemingly-inevitable default. For while Greece is today’s “problem Economic child,” its soon-to-be-failed brethren (i.e Italy, Spain, etc.) are close behind, busy elbowing for a place at the default table.

Let’s see what happens once Germany officially steps out of the way of the cliff.

My prediction is that within a month (three at the very outer, outer limit), a default by Greece will touch off the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression.

2008 will look like a cakewalk in comparison.

An economist interviewed Friday on Bloomberg Radio -- not exactly a hotbed of doom-and-gloom talk -- predicted that gold would hit $7,000/oz. as investors flee to the world's one true reserve currency: a yellow-toned metal.


"The Urgency of Now", a Poem by Barack Hussein Obama

"The Urgency of Now", a Poem by Barack Hussein Obama:

Pass the plan

Pass the bill now

The jobs bill must be passed now

Pass the bill

Pass the jobs bill with no delay

The jobs bill must be passed now so we can read it later

Pass the plan now

The jobs bill must be passed intact now

Pass the jobs bill now

The jobs bill must be passed immediately

The jobs bill must be passed immediately and we will read it later and figure out if we will pay for it some time in the future.

The jobs bill must be rammed through, without delay intact

I need another blank check to spend half a trillion for votes for the election, so pass the jobs bill intact now.

I don't know poetry, but my feet sure are Longfellers.


Hat tip: A commenter at "Obama dragging down Democratic candidates in House special elections."

Tragic, Yet Somehow Hilarious, SmartCar ™ Story o' the Day

Comox Valley News reports on the inevitable, yet tragic, hilarity that results from driving around a SmartCar outside the perimeter of a Six Flags bumper car ride.

Experts say we should prepare for aftershocks after the 6.4 magnitude earthquake that rocked Vancouver Island... The quake was originally thought to have measured 6.7 on the Richter Scale, but has since been downgraded by the US Geological Survey...

... "I was just walking outside the Walmart here in Powell River and a car flipped because of the earthquake," one caller told HQComoxValley.com, "Someone was driving and they hit a speed bump and when they did the car basically tipped."

The small Smart Car then rolled right over when it was hit by another car.

The mileage of the golf cart on wheels known as the "Smart fortwo" is a reported 33 city, 41 highway.

Yet President Obama has issued an edict that cars, on average, attain 54 miles-per-gallon in little more than a dozen years. The cost of downsizing cars to meet the authoritarian demands of central planners will be thousands of more fatalities on America's roads.

How can we be sure?

Because back in 2002, a study by the National Academy of Science found that auto downsizing due to CAFE standards cost 2,000 lives a year. In 1999, a comprehensive study commissioned by USA Today found that "7,700 people died for every one additional mpg attributable to CAFE regulation".

Requiring people to drive clown cars and golf carts -- rather than letting the free market dictate mileage, safety and vehicle form factors -- will end badly, as central planning by a small collection of "masterminds" always does.


Larwyn's Linx: Obama Using 'Jobs' Plan to Pay for Campaigning

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Nation

Obama Using 'Jobs' Plan to Pay for Campaigning: Dossier
Solyndra: next stop for the FBI — the Department of Energy?: Toldjah
Solyndra for Dummies: Zombie

NY-9: Insiders Blame Obama for What Now Looks Like a Loss: VS
DCCC Conceding NV-2, Panicking About NY-9?: NRO
Turner blows past Weprin, leads by 6 in NY-9: WNYC

The Presidential Speech No One Attended: Publius
Put Country Before Party: Admit Social Security a Ponzi: RWN
All the wrong 9/11 lessons: Malkin

Economy

Are you smarter than a Moody’s analyst?: Surber
As Greece Denies, Germany Begins Greek Default Preparations: ZH
UAW poised to pay for voting centers: WISH

Closing In On His Own Self-Imposed Three Year Deadline...: Ace
961 Days In, Obama Tired of Others Dawdling on Jobs: Driscoll
Key Upcoming Dates In The European Denouement: ZH

Gunrunner

FOX blows the Terry murder cover-up to pieces, and the Gunwalker Plot cover-up with it: Sipsey
Gunwalker Explodes: FBI Hid Weapon, Tax Dollars Subsidized Murder: Owens
Gunwalker Scandal Escalates: Grenadewalker?: PJM

Climate & Energy

A Rocky Road Ahead: The Problems with Plug-in Cars: Oil Price
Prince Charles Goes Over the Edge: RWN
Al Gore’s credibility – just 24% now consider him to be an 'expert' on global warming: WUWT

Media

‘The Beauty of Social Insurance... It Is Actuarially Unsound’: Driscoll
Ringmaster Demands Halt to “Political Circus.”: Dossier
Hacked NBC News Twitter feed announces fake Ground Zero attack: DC

The irrelevancy of the Obama presidency: Milbank
Tom Friedman Goes on PBS to Once Again Explore His Extreme Envy of Red China: NB
Anti-Obama Street Art: The End Edition: Urban Infidel

Bachmann weighs in on “monstrous lie”-like Social Security rhetoric: Hot Air
Jacqueline Kennedy Reveals That JFK Feared an LBJ Presidency: ABC
Ron Paul Describes ‘Confrontation’ With Rick Perry On GOP Debate Stage: Mediate

World

Protesters Storm the Israeli Embassy in Cairo: GoV
Arab Spring: Hundreds of Egyptians Tear Down Concrete Wall Protecting Israeli Embassy: WZ
The Fall of Two Empires :Knish

Winning the Battle Against Al-Qaeda, Losing the War Against Jihad: Ibrahim
Link to 9/11 hijackers found in Sarasota: Miami Herald
Mexico Army arrests 7 U.S. citizens in Piedras Negras, Coahuila: Borderland

Turkey to provide armed escort for new Gaza flotilla: Telegraph
Erdogan says misquoted on warships: ynet
Anti-Israel Durban Declaration Reaffirmed: NRO

Sci-Tech

Crash Affects Millions Of Microsoft Users: MyFoxNY
Google's $500 Million Fine For Assisting In Evading Drug Importation Laws: Ace
Fired Facebook commenters ordered back to work: CNet

Cornucopia

Remembering and Understanding 9/11: LATL
10th Anniversary of 9/11: Remembering Flight 11 Passenger Mildred Rose Naiman: Alexa
I Will ALWAYS Be A New Yorker - My September 11, 2001 Story : Zilla

Five Bits of Advice That Don''t Make Sense Until later: Ace
Dreams from their 2008 Obama: LI
Obama’s “Pass This Jobs Bill Remix”: Republican Redefined

Images: Mediate and WaPo
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Senate Conservatives Fund

QOTD: "A half-century experiment in draping steam­ship anchors around the necks of the productive class and expecting them to run a four-minute mile has ended in failure. The confiscation of rights and property, the moral impoverishment of generations caused by the state’s usurpation of parental obligations, the elevation of a credentialed elite that believes academia’s fashions are a worthy substitute for knowledge of history and human nature, and above all the faith in a weightless cipher whose oratorical panache now consists of looking from one teleprompter screen to the other with the enthusiasm of a man watching someone else’s kids play tennis–it’s over, whether you believe in it or not. It cannot be sustained without reducing everyone to penurious equality, crippling the power of the United States, and subsuming the economy to a no-growth future that rations energy.

To which some progressives respond: You say that like it’s a bad thing." --James Lileks

Friday, September 09, 2011

Photo: the World's Tallest Horse

From an excellent photographic gallery at The Boston Globe's 'Big Picture' feature.

Apologies: if I had more time, I'd have photoshopped out all of the horse droppings.


Cutting brake lines on a train, destroying private property, brutalizing other union members: all in a day's work for the labor movement

LaborNotes, one of the official mouthpieces of the union-environmental-Democrat complex, offers an unusual spin on the labor violence in Washington state.

Longshore Workers Dump Scab Grain to Protect Jobs


The confrontation between West Coast longshore workers and an anti-union exporter exploded as pickets massed on railroad tracks by the hundreds yesterday to block grain shipments.

Police used clubs and pepper spray on protesters in Longview, Washington, as they made 19 arrests.

Early this morning a terminal there was invaded and hoppers holding about 10,000 tons of grain were opened onto railroad tracks... Ports in Washington shut down completely Thursday as hundreds of longshore workers rushed to Longview, in the state’s southwestern corner...

...EGT Development, a consortium of three companies, wants to operate its new $200 million grain terminal in Longview using non-ILWU labor, despite a contract with the port requiring it to do so. When the ILWU protested, the company signed up with an Operating Engineers local... Every other major grain terminal on the West Coast is operated by ILWU labor, and the union asserts that EGT’s goal is to go non-union altogether, ending generations of good jobs.

In a series of protests since July, ILWU members and supporters sat down on train tracks and occupied the new terminal, resulting in 100 arrests. As picketing continued, no trains had attempted to bring in grain shipments since July. But last week a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order at the request of the National Labor Relations Board, which said ILWU pickets had harassed EGT workers.

...Union officers eventually urged the blockaders to let the train through. But while it sat overnight inside the terminal gates, the word went out. Workers in Seattle left their jobs before the shift ended. Proctor reported that members of Local 19 gathered at 2 a.m. to head the two-and-a-half hours to Longview.

...before dawn, 500 people broke down terminal gates, prevented security guards from interfering, and cut the train’s brake lines...

...Ports in Tacoma and Seattle are closed today, though the international said no job action has been called. One worker said work would resume at 3 a.m. Friday—unless it doesn’t.

It's worth noting:

This is (yet another) union vs. another union conflict - the Longshore Workers are "protesting the hiring at a grain terminal by the employer, EGT, of a contractor employing workers belonging to a different union, the Operating Engineers."

Even the far left NLRB has sided against the ILWU - "On August 31, the NLRB issued a complaint accusing the union of taking "violent and aggressive" actions, destroying EGT's property and harassing its employees. In response to an NLRB request, federal Judge Ronald B. Leighton issued a temporary restraining order, which the union has ignored."

Today cargo operations resumed in Seattle and Tacoma after the one-day work stoppage. Perhaps the union's critical mistake of attacking police officers, which resulted in the requisite tear-gas and baton reprisals, convinced them to return to work.


Larwyn's Linx: Bravo, Rick Perry: ‘Ponzi Scheme’ Talk Is Leadership

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Nation

Bravo, Rick Perry: ‘Ponzi Scheme’ Talk Is Leadership: Shiver
Angry Man Shows Up To Give Tired, Recycled Speech: RWN
A Guide To Code Words In Presidential Speeches: IBD

U.S. Sees 'Credible' 9/11 Terror Threat : WSJ
FBI raid on Solyndra: collecting evidence... or hiding it?: TAB
Herman Cain’s Brilliant Response to Obama’s Speech: Tatler

Dems to spend $500K: desperate bid to hold Weiner’s seat: Hot Air
Wrong-Way Weprin Screws Up Yet Again; Has To Pull Ad: Ace
Rezko sentencing date might get pushed back: WJBC

Economy

Dissecting the Lies in Obama's Speech: Mish
Gibson CEO on Obama's speech: 'Untold damage to Business': GWP
The Post Office: It Was Fun While It Lasted: Driscoll

Union thug alert: Day of Rage festivities start early in WA: Malkin
Trumka sits with First Lady After AFL-CIO Took Hostages: Loesch
A Trumka history lesson for Mrs. Obama: Malkin

We're No. 5!: JWF
Senate Attempt To Block Debt Ceiling Increase Fails: ZH
Comprehensive List of Obama Tax Hikes: ATR

Gunrunner

Authorities: Gun Found in AZ Is Third at U.S. Crime Scene Tied to ‘Fast and Furious’: Dollard
Fast and Furious linked to 12 more violent crime scenes in Mexico: Q&O
Holder: 'Fast and Furious' operation didn't reach DOJ 'upper levels': CNN

Climate & Energy

Landry, In The Audience At Obama’s Speech…: Hayride
Under the Bus: a Pack of Pouting Greens: Mead
Apparently, There’s No Such Thing As Natural Weather Anymore: RWN

Media

‘The Beauty of Social Insurance is that it is Actuarially Unsound’: Driscoll
Get Off Jimmy Hoffa's Back!: RWN
The best way for politicians to "create jobs": BSF

Contagion, Matt Damon, Rick Perry and True Blood: JPA
Left wages war on the Tea Party: Colorado Springs
America: Why Race Riots Are Inevitable: Trumpet

World

Fighting Islamic Terror: A Personal Duty: Mauro
Greece Out of Money by October 17: Mish
3 Boston Islamic charity leaders convicted, again: Creeping

Sci-Tech

Ten years later: IT and life lessons from the South Tower: TechRepublic
Fired Facebook commenters ordered back to work: CNet
Google buys Zagat, in original-content gambit: CNet

Cornucopia

This Week in Quotes: RWN
Shoes For Industry!…WTF?: MOTUS
Record Setters - The Big Picture: Globe

Image: iOwnTheWorld
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Senate Conservatives Fund

QOTD: "Can Mr. Obama change course, given the evidence that the economy responded poorly to top-down direction from Washington rather than the bottom-up individual initiative that is the key to strong growth? Is he willing to rein in the entitlement state erected under radically different economic and demographic conditions? And will he reform the corporate and personal income taxes with much lower rates on a broader base? Or is he going to propose the same failed policies—more spending, social engineering, temporary tax cuts and permanent tax hikes?" --Michael J. Boskin

Thursday, September 08, 2011

Solyndra employee: from day one, everyone knew that our solar panels were uncompetitive... including President Obama

The Santa Cruz Sentinel explains:

The collapse Wednesday of Fremont solar panel manufacturer Solyndra was a bad way to kick off the Labor Day weekend and lead up to President Barack Obama's Sept. 8 national address on creating new jobs.

When Solyndra abruptly closed, 1,100 people lost their jobs, without severance and without warning.

For the Obama administration, the failure of the company was particularly embarrassing, since taxpayers were left on the hook for a $535 million stimulus loan guarantee made to Solyndra in 2009. That was followed by a presidential visit in 2010 where Obama touted how his administration was creating new green technology jobs.

The end for Solyndra may have been sudden, but was not entirely unexpected, since House Republicans and government bean counters had been warning the company was on shaky financial ground.
And while the administration has said the loan guarantees were made on merit, critics have pointed out that the biggest private investment in Solyndra came from venture capital funds associated with an Obama fundraiser, George Kaiser.

Solyndra executives blamed the shutdown in part on competition from government-subsidized panel makers in China, saying they couldn't compete on price. But industry analysts said Solyndra's economic and manufacturing model were flawed from the outset and the warning signs had been evident since the loan guarantee was made.

A caller to yesterday's Mark Levin radio broadcast echoed the concerns that Solyndra's offering was uncompetitive from the outset. "Julie" said that she was a relatively low-level employee of the solar panel manufacturer; she asserted that everyone in the company knew their products couldn't compete.

She also stated that the White House was well aware that Solyndra would never be able to sell their products against cheaper, more efficient technologies from China. After all: everyone knew, from the lowest-level employees to top executives, third party industry analysts and financiers.

And despite claims that there were no untoward relationships between Obama and Kaiser, it turns out that Solyndra executives, according to The Daily Caller (via Sad Hill News) were such frequent visitors to the White House they wore out the damn welcome mat.

Solyndra ‘Green’ Executives: $100,000+ In Obama Donations And 20+ White House Trips - According to White House visitor logs, between March 12, 2009, and April 14, 2011, Solyndra officials and investors made no fewer than 20 trips to the West Wing. In the week before the administration awarded Solyndra with the first-ever alternative energy loan guarantee on March 20, four separate visits were logged.

George Kaiser, who has in the past been labeled a major Solyndra investor as well as a Obama donor, made three visits to the White House on March 12, 2009, and one on March 13... Kaiser, in fact, is responsible for 16 of the 20 meetings that showed up on the White House logs.

Once again, I ask of this administration: what did Barack Obama know? And when did he know it?

As an aside, when the full history of the Obama administration is written, I believe its documented, wanton criminality will dwarf all other presidential scandals combined (and multiplied by ten).


Oh, my: even AP fact-checkers eviscerating Obama's speechifying

Unicorn-riding light-workers hardest hit.

President Barack Obama's promise Thursday that everything in his jobs plan will be paid for rests on highly iffy propositions... the plan he presented was conventional Washington rhetoric... It employs sleight-of-hand accounting.

OBAMA: "Everything in this bill will be paid for. Everything."

THE FACTS: Obama did not spell out exactly how he would pay for the measures... White House aides suggested that new deficit spending in the near-term to try to promote job creation would be paid for in the future...

OBAMA: "Everything in here is the kind of proposal that's been supported by both Democrats and Republicans, including many who sit here tonight."

THE FACTS: ...But Obama proposes paying for the plan in part with tax increases that have already generated stiff Republican opposition...

OBAMA: "It will not add to the deficit."

THE FACTS: It's hard to see how the program would not raise the deficit...

OBAMA: "The American Jobs Act answers the urgent need to create jobs right away."

THE FACTS: Not all of the president's major proposals are likely to yield quick job growth if adopted...

David Axelrod and the rest of the propagandists calling plays in the White House press room have to be concerned; even the Associated Press -- little more than Pravda to the White House's Politburo -- can't carry water for the President's headlong, Cloward-Piven-eque rush to the fiscal abyss any longer.


Hat tip: Memeorandum.

The Record-Setting, Trailblazing Obama Presidency

Uncle Ben points us to "The Obama Presidency by the Numbers", which features a nifty chart:

President Obama inherited a deep recession and financial crisis resulting from problems that had been building for years. Those responsible include borrowers and lenders on Wall Street and Main Street, the Federal Reserve, regulatory agencies, ratings agencies, presidents and Congress... Nearly three years since his election and more than two years since the economic recovery began, Mr. Obama has enacted myriad policies at great expense to American taxpayers and amid political rancor...

President Obama constantly reminds us, with some justification, that he was dealt a difficult hand. But the evidence is overwhelming that he played it poorly. His big government spending, debt and regulation fix has clearly failed. Relative to previous recoveries from deep recessions, the results are disastrous. A considerable fraction of current joblessness, lower living standards, dependency on government and destroyed savings is the result. Worse, his debt explosion will be a drag on economic growth for years to come.

But, Melvin -- I told ya he was historic!


Bonus:



Larwyn's Linx: Debate recap -- Social Security was the defining moment

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

Reagan Debate

Debate recap: Social Security was the defining moment: Exam
Perry vs. Romney: RS
Why the Reagan Library GOP debate sucked: Malkin

Reagan Debate Analysis: Who Won? Who Lost?: RWN
Scoring the GOP Debate at the Reagan Library: Jazz Shaw
Rick Perry fabulously defends Texas death penalty: Scoop

MSNBC Debate Recap: Watching the Watchdogs: Loesch
Gingrich Goes After Debate Moderator John Harris: NB
Republican Reagan Library Debate -- Tweet of the Night: LI

Nation

Gunrunners and Outlawry: ProWis
WH Take on GOP: Enemies! Barbarians! Sons of Bitches!: Dossier
You Have Awakened a Sleeping Chakra: Driscoll

Politics Turns Dangerously Rougher: Blankley
2012 Presidential Hopefuls' Immigration Stances: NUSA
Confusion: RS

Is Perry Unelectable?: Ace
Maxine Waters to Obama: Can You Say Black?: ConBlkChk
"A Time For Choosing": ZH

Economy

Oh My Stars and Garters: Obama's Big New Idea For Jobs Speech: Ace
Because Obama's Last Spending Binge Worked So Well: Cobb
Gibson CEO to attend Obama's jobs speech as Boehner's guest: Hill

ObamaCare Increases Both Healthcare Costs and Number of Uninsured: RWN
Light up your lottery tickets, pass the Hopium: Kass
Hoffa Supporters Threaten Tea Partier: Loesch

Climate & Energy

Solyndra - The Obama connection: ZH
Solyndra officials made numerous trips to the White House, logs show: DC
August Volt/Leaf Sales: Bayonet

Media

Former ACORN Insider Infiltrates Fox News: MonCrief
"I Would Say It Again" -- Hoffa: Equalizer
Politico: Even Democrats Fear That Obama Has Become a SCOAMF: Ace

Little love for Obama in today's Washington Post: Pundette
Opinion: What if we Blamed Obama for the IHOP Shooting? Crazy, Huh? : WNYC
VDH looks at aftershocks of 9/11: Ace

The Five Biggest Reasons Republicans Keep Losing the Propaganda War: Shiver
Anti-Palin tempest in a teapot? "Fog of war describes Twitter in a nutshell": sisu
Culture of Eruption: Conservative Palin critics are “coming out of the closet”: Toldjah

World

Report Card on the 9/11 Commission's Recommendations: FSM
Those Post-9/11 -isms and -ologies: A Look Back at a Decade: Hanson
BofAs Legal Woes Go Global After Norway's Sovereign Wealth Fund Sues For Mortgage Fraud: ZH

Jihad in India: Deady Islamic Attack Strike New Delhi Courthouse: Atlas
The Unspoken Reality: Flopping Aces
Under Suspicion At The Mall Of America: VPR

Sci-Tech

High-tech ghost town planned for New Mexico: CNet
Report: Facebook's Revenue Hits $1.6B In The First Half Of 2011: Forbes
HP TouchPad screen can now support Android: CNet

Cornucopia

10 Most Disturbing Statistics From Mark Steyn’s “After America: Get Ready for Armageddon”: RWN
Behold: the Lightbringer: MOTUS
Tele-Prompter: BS Footprint

Look What the Dems Are Causing With Their Lies About Paul Ryan: iOTW
Evacuating Washington D.C. (No, Not In The Good Way): C&S
SOB is taken out: LaughingCon

Image: Adapted from a photograph by Chris Carlson, AP
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Support Allen West for Congress

QOTD: "I guess there's no way to really check this out but my girlfriend who works for the federal government was just informed that she has to cancel her vacation planned for October. The 2011 fiscal year ends in September and there is money left in her department's budget so her boss is planning a conference in Boston for employees from all over the country. This happens every year at the same time because the money is 'lost' unless the money is used so managers are 'encouraged' to use the money up and travel is the easiest/quickest way. My friend worked for another federal agency and the same thing happened at the same time. As I said, I guess there's no way to officially check this out but it cheezed me off sufficiently to write." --J.P. via email

Wednesday, September 07, 2011

Bruce Krasting Blows Obama's Solyndra Scandal Sky High

Gunwalker, Dealergate, Rezko's real estate, Solyndra... the list of outrageous presidential activities continues to expand, any single one of which would have resulted in the impeachment trial of a Republican. Bruce Krasting does the yeoman's work that legacy media refuses to perform in the must-read "Solyndra - The Obama connection."

The backdrop: George Kaiser -- a billionaire fundraiser for Barack Obama -- was involved with Solyndra prior to its bankruptcy. You may recall that President Obama visited Solyndra one short year ago after it received a $535 million loan from the American taxpayer. And now, the American taxpayer is going to get a royal screwing without so much as the courtesy of dinner and roses.

The Tulsa World filed a story Re the Kaiser connection earlier today. (What better place to get the news than a home town paper). Quotes from the TW article:

The bankruptcy filing indicates that Argonaut Ventures, an investment arm of the Tulsa-based foundation, holds almost 39 percent of Solyndra's parent, 360 Solar Degree Holdings Inc.

Okay, so who is behind Argonaut Ventures?

In an emailed statement to the Tulsa World, a representative of the George Kaiser Family Foundation said the organization made the investment through Argonaut.

So the family foundation was the source of the money that got Solyndra going. But George Kaiser tried to distance himself from this very ugly story. A quote from a Kaiser “spokesperson”:

"George Kaiser is not an investor in Solyndra and did not participate in any discussions with the U.S. government regarding the loan".

Interesting that Kaiser is doing his level best to distance himself from the stink. But it does not work for me:

George Kaiser is chairman of BOK Financial Corp. and owner of Kaiser-Francis Oil Co. Argonaut is headed by Steve Mitchell, who also served on Solyndra's board of directors.


So Kaiser wants us to believe that the Family Foundation he runs invested some $300mm of the families “excess cash” and he did not really know about it. The guy who is running the family’s investments (Steve Mitchell) is also sitting on the board at Solyndra. And we are supposed to believe that George Kaiser was just a passive investor? Not a chance.

We have Mr. Kaiser on the record on this. Again, his words:

“George Kaiser did not participate in any discussions with the U.S. government regarding the loan".


He never spoke to Obama about this? Not even once? Not even when Obama went (twice) to the company’s manufacturing offices in Pa and CA? I don’t believe that denial.

...In February, Solyndra and its lenders reorganized the company’s debts, putting the U.S. loan behind $69.3 million owed to other lenders, including an affiliate of Solyndra’s biggest shareholder, Argonaut Ventures.


This kind of stuff is not supposed to happen. The equity interest of the Kaiser family got a preference as to the right of repayment from Solyndra. Kaiser got in front of the line. He got in front of the US Government’s $528mm IOU from Solyndra. Kaiser got in front of the interests of the American taxpayer. There had to be some very serious arm-twisting going on in the background to achieve this feat.

...There are employee claims that come first. Next in line come trade creditors. Then comes the senior unsecured debt owed to Argonaut. The lawyers (There are a ton of big shots already involved) will get their pound of flesh. That leaves next to nothing for Uncle Sam. The taxpayers are going to take it in the ear for $400-500 million.

This story will hound Obama. His campaign got big bucks from a guy who ended up costing the Feds a very big penny. This is a story that could drag Obama down. He either has to step up and explain how this could have happened or he can say nothing. He has to provide some clarity on the George Kaiser connection. If he chooses to keep mum on this mess he will have to face Congressional hearings for the next 18 months. There will be a story in the paper every week or so. The Republicans will see to it. This is a story that could turn an election.

Chicago politics writ large.

We need (yet another) investigation.


Hat tip: Trending Right.

McCain on Gunwalker: Holder Needs to Testify Now

The most partisan political hack ever to serve as attorney general hardest hit:

Sen. John McCain is asking for a Senate hearing on the ATF's Fast and Furious "Gunwalker" scandal "as soon as possible."

And he wants Attorney General Eric Holder to testify.

...As CBS News first reported last February, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives allegedly allowed thousands of weapons to "walk" onto the streets without interdiction into the hands of suspected traffickers for Mexican drug cartels... The operation allegedly had the blessing of the lead prosecutor on the case. That prosecutor, Emory Hurley, was recently reassigned. Last week, his boss U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke resigned, as did the head of ATF Kenneth Melson.

This week, the Department of Justice removed Fast and Furious and two related cases from the US Attorney's office in Arizona and reassigned them to California prosecutors.

Holder has not given detailed testimony on the scandal. He had no comment on McCain's request. President Obama has said that neither he nor Holder knew about or approved of the operation. The Inspector General is investigating.

The invaluable Sipsey Street Irregulars remain the go-to news source on all things Gunrunner.


Papa B's new bumperstickers for 2012 are here

Papa B relays the latest bumper stickers gracing his black 2004 Yukon. It is, as you might expect, equipped with some custom extras including driver and passenger Beretta 92FS holders.


I think Papa B is missing the "P.C." gene.


Larwyn's Linx: How Obama Protects the Teamsters

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

Nation

How Obama Protects the Teamsters: Malkin
Messiah of Hate: CFP
Obama Schedule || Wednesday, September 7, 2011: Dossier

Why the EPA Must Be Abolished: PJM
Yes, the Department of Education Is Unconstitutional: Cato
Rhode Island leads the way (into the fiscal abyss): LI

Economy

A Flop of Historical Proportions: IBD
California is Crumbling: Instapundit
Rockford Tea Party Head Calls for Hoffa's Resignation: RWN

"The European Financial System Is Finished" In Quotes: ZH
John Kerry's financials: rife with tax dodges, reek of hypocrisy: PJM
If You Like Obama’s Economic Team, You’ll Love Romney’s…: Cato

German Constitutional Court: Greek Bailout is Legal: Insider
British Judge Says Home Squatting is Good for Society: VS
Economy knocks self-employed out of business: SFgate

Gunrunner

Fast and Furious update: And now…Project Grenadewalker?!; Plus: The Indiana story: Malkin
Report: Justice Department Let IEDs ‘Walk’ Into Mexico: Foundry
Gunwalker Explodes into the Heartland: Owens

Climate & Energy

James Hansen Jumps the Shark: RWN
SolarGate: IBD
Obama Green Jobs Con Job and the Ill Wind That Blows from Spain: AT

Media

Brad Friedman, Mother Jones issue their government-required lies to tar conservatives: VS
Infrastructure spending, public disapproval and the new "Hoffa Standard": Tapper
Media Silent as Audience Instructed to Applaud Obama: RS

Why the Bias Matters: IBD
Obama's Polling Plummet: hewitt
Carney Ducks and Covers on Hoffa Remarks: Dossier

Lee Doren Interview, Author of “Please Enroll Responsibly: Avoiding Indoctrination at College.”: RWN
Caught in a Lie: MMfA’s Eric Boehlert Embarrassed on Twitter Again: Loesch
Some "Big" SOBs Visit Media Matters' DC Office: Lid

World

Why the Muslim Beard Bodes Trouble: Ibrahim
Egypt: 'If the Christians Make Problems for the Muslims, I Will Exterminate Them': MEMRI
Wikileaks Bombshell: New Israel Fund Official Endorses End of Jewish State: Commentary

British Social Workers Confiscate Children: RWN
Putin: I Saw Jesus in Iran’s Leader: Tatler
A Scottish Professor Responds to "Boycott Israel" on Campus: Israeli Frontline

Sci-Tech

New Netflix Restriction: One Stream Per Customer: Consumerist
New Tone Video Game: Kill Fox News “Zombies”…Who Paid for This?: VS
Saab Auto Seeks Protection From Creditors: Bloomberg

Cornucopia

Networks Ignore Religion Ban at Ground Zero Ceremony: MRC
Indiana woman busted after beating daughter, 7, at bus stop: TSG
what about these passages, islamic rage boy?: Winter Soldier

Image: BarkingCrayon.com
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Michele Bachmann for President

QOTD: "The question is simple: Why do some Muslim men wear the prescribed beard and why do some Muslim women wear the prescribed hijab? Most Muslims would say they do so because Muhammad commanded them to in the hadith.

Yet if such Muslims meticulously follow the minor, “outer” things of Islam simply because their prophet made a few utterances concerning them in the hadith, logically speaking, does that not indicate that they also follow, or at least accept as legitimate, the major, “inner” themes Muhammad constantly emphasized in the hadith — such as enmity for and deceit of the infidel, and, when capable, perpetual jihad?" --Raymond Ibrahim

Tuesday, September 06, 2011

Prove It: the Bumper Sticker o' the Day

Uncle Ben sends this one in:

True dat.


40 shot in NYC last weekend thanks to draconian gun control laws and law-abiding CCW holders, but mostly draconian gun control laws

I'm still waiting for the day when liberals -- en masse -- denounce their own long list of policy failures, from banning DDT to "Great Society". Foremost among their inane prescriptions: "gun control":

An outbreak of shootings across New York City over Labor Day weekend – including three at the annual West Indian Day parade in Brooklyn – has left more than 40 people injured and five dead.

The first shooting took place at 6 a.m. Saturday, when a 35-year-old woman was shot and wounded on the corner of Saratoga Ave. and Newport St. in Brooklyn. During the next 24 hours, 23 more people were shot in 13 separate incidents, according to the New York Daily News.

Eight people were shot at a backyard party in the Bronx neighborhood of Williamsbridge on Sunday around 3:30 a.m, the New York Times reports. The wounded included an 11-year-old boy and two girls, ages 13 and 14. Police suspected a 17-year-old was the shooter, and they were looking for him.

Four men were shot at a barbecue in Brooklyn’s East Flatbush neighborhood early Monday morning, NBC News reports. One of the victims, 17-year-old Tyrief Gary, died.

But... but... but... handguns are banned in New York City! How can this be?

For you drones out there: that's a rhetorical question. Pick up a copy of More Guns, Less Crime to find out why.