Wednesday, November 09, 2011

Israeli officials: Former UN atomic chief ElBaradei was an Iranian agent

Chalk this up as another U.N. success story. Dan from New York explains:

Apparently, when the findings of the latest IAEA report on Iran’s nuclear weapons program are compared to earlier reports crafted by “moderate” Egyptian Mohamed ElBaradei, the obvious conclusion is that ElBaradei was working for the Mullahs. ElBaradei has since moved on. He’s now one of the leading candidates vying to be Egypt’s president.

###

ynetnews.com, 11/9/11

Israeli officials: ElBaradei an Iranian agent


Senior state officials accuse former IAEA chairman of covering up for Islamic Republic during his term, allowing Iranians to move ahead with nuclear program while playing for time. 'He is a despicable person,' one of them says.

Senior Israeli officials said Tuesday night that the International Atomic Energy Agency report stating that Iran has been working on developing a nuclear weapon design proves that the former UN nuclear watchdog chairman "was an Iranian agent".

The former IAEA chairman, Mohamed ElBaradei, is an Egyptian diplomat who even won the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize.

For years he defended the Iranian nuclear program, claiming that it was peaceful, thus allowing the Iranians to continue their activity with the nuclear watchdog's seal of approval.

According to one of the state officials, the new report published Tuesday proves "just how much he was working for the Iranians.

"He simply rescued Iran and was constantly busy covering up for them, causing serious damage by allowing the Iranians to fool the entire world and play for time. History may judge him as the person who helped Iran obtain a nuclear weapon.

"The things exposed now are not new. These are old things which were hidden and not published," the official added. "Now it turns out that ElBaradei led an active policy of concealment and disregard. This is very serious. He is a despicable person."

"ElBaradei didn't just mess us up, he messed up the entire sane world," added Uzi Eilam, former head of Israel's Atomic Energy Agency. "He was dishonest his entire term. He is the one who stopped the Security Council from imposing serious sanctions, providing the Iranians with precious time."

Gee, after the multi-billion dollar Oil-for-Food scandal; the IPCC Global Warming Bunko Scam; mass-murder in Darfur; the Rwandan genocide; accusations of rape and child pornography in the Congo, Haiti, Liberia, and Sudan; and ties to a North Korean counterfeiting operation, who could have suspected a corrupt U.N. was helping the Iranians acquire nukes?


Related: "The Atomic Mahdi."

Good News: Federal Government Will Now 'Dictate the Actual Design of Trucks, Tractors and other Heavy-Duty Vehicles'

You heard that right. Not satisfied with shutting down 8% of the electric grid starting next year, the EPA will now dictate the design of tractor-trailers and other heavy duty vehicles that represent the lifeblood of American commerce.

Fortunately, someone is fighting back.

A lawsuit challenging the Obama Administration’s greenhouse gas emissions standards for heavy- and medium-duty trucks was filed Tuesday by the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) on behalf of small businesses and trade organizations whose members the foundation claims would be damaged by the regulations.

The suit charges that federal officials were legally required to submit the regulations for independent scientific scrutiny, but failed to do so.

...The regulations are the first-ever federal restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions from medium- and heavy-duty vehicles (such as trucks, tractor-trailers, and RVs). They were promulgated jointly by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration (NHTSA), and were published in the Federal Register on Sept. 15, 2011.

The rules’ negative impact on the economy could be significant, PFL claimed, pointing out that the EPA and NHTSA “themselves admit that from 2014 through 2017, the proposed emissions restrictions will substantially increase costs for everyone involved in transporting goods or people on the nation’s highways, including trucking companies, independent truckers, construction companies, and others.” ...

PFL said the rules are an attempt by government to “micromanage” truck design... “The rules mandate that heavy-duty vehicles increase fuel efficiency while decreasing CO2 emis­sions, thereby requiring the use of new types of fuels and engines, which in turn will require aerodynamic redesign,” PLF senior staff attorney Ted Hadzi-Antich said. “The regulatory requirements will necessarily involve EPA and NHTSA in the redesign of the vehicles because the aerodynamics have a major impact on the amount of work the vehicles can perform to transport freight at common highway speeds. Thus, the federal government now wants to dictate the actual design of trucks, tractors, and other heavy-duty vehicles used throughout the economy.”

For small businesses, it’s an “impossible” price tag, he added.

Pacific Legal Foundation describes itself as a donor-supported watchdog organiza­tion that “litigates for limited government, property rights, free enterprise, and a balanced approach to environmental regulations, in courts across the country.”

If you have a few spare bucks, you can support PLF here.


Larwyn's Linx: Fear of Newt on blog-team Romney

Have a news tip or great story? Drop me an email. Bloggers: you can install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget!

Nation

Fear of Newt on blog-team Romney: LI
Obama rolls back immigration enforcement, again: DC
Ohio voters opt out of Obamacare: WZ

Is This What You Wanted, America?: Shayne
Senators to DHS: Stop Ignoring Illegal Alien Sanctuaries: JW
Gingrich Gains 21 Points on Obama among Independents: WklyStd

The FDA Kills: Stossel
Ignorance Exploited: Williams
Cain Says No To Pot, But How About Alcohol Use?: Riehl

Economy

Did student loans ruin the country?: Surber
How much did Barney’s relationship cost taxpayers?: GayPatriot
California flunks in public education: PropZero

Ohio Voters Reject Limits on Public Union Employees: GWP
And Now, Stimulus For Russia: IBD
Unions Help Take Down Ohio Law: Roll Call

When Is $28,000 per Pupil Not Enough?: Cato
Europe, the International System and a Generational Shift: Stratfor
The Failure of Trickle-Down Obamanomics: HE

Gunrunner & Energygate

Fast and Furious: Holder “regrets” lies, condemns “distraction,” redistributes the blame: Malkin
The Great Stonewall of Obama: RWN (Malkin)
Attorney general says gun-walking 'should never have happened': Hill

Occupy

Anti-Semitic #OWS Celebrity Gets Trotted Off To The Loony Bin: Glob
End the Occupation: Knish
D.C. Occupiers Taunt Black Security Guard: “A Slave, That’s All You Are”: WZ

Climate & Energy

United States Is Getting Colder, Not Warmer: Power Line
Australia Passes World’s Biggest Carbon Tax: S&L
NBC in the tank for AGW: Wizbang

Media

Conservatives: Don’t Play into Alinsky’s Hands: Dr. Helen
What is Obama Thinking?: RWN
Cole Questions FCC's Math: RadioWorld

Bialek Will be MSM’s Penance for Brodderick: Anchoress
David Brooks: Let’s be honest, the Constitution is silly, what with the idea about citizen legislators.: ProWis
Newt Gingrich Scolds Piers Morgan for Trying to Teach Him About Politics: NB

‘The New School of Journalism’: RSM
Audio: Veteran CBS Anchor Bill Kurtis Says Sharon Bialek Has A History Of Sexually Harassing Men: Dollard
Blame It on Brokaw: RWN

World

Iran To Israel: "We'll Show You Hell": ZH
UN nuclear agency report: Yes, Iran’s been working on a bomb: Hot Air
Iran Worked to ‘Miniaturize’ Weapon Design: Bloomberg

Under Obama’s Watch, Iran Closes in on Nukes: Dossier
Europeans Still Love Obama: Blogmocracy
China's Economy Goes From Boom To Bust: IBD

Russia, Pakistan, N Korea Gave Iran Nukes: S&L
Confirmed: Obama and Sarkozy Badmouthed Netanyahu at G20 Summit: Tatler
CAIR Objects To Al-Shabaab Being Described As An “Islamic Extremist” Group: WZ

Sci-Tech

Cyber warfare: A different way to attack Iran's reactors: CNN
Phony U.S. military electronics traced to China: ArmyTimes
Jobs Was Right: Adobe Abandons Mobile Flash Development, Report Says: Wired

Cornucopia

World Languages Mapped by Twitter: Atlantic Wire
Patients' attitudes towards paying my bills: MagFarm
‘Meat Eaters’ Professor Faked Data For Years: S&L

Image: Urban Infidel
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Ted Cruz for U.S. Senate

QOTD: "If you look at the troubles which happened in European countries, this is purely because of the accumulated troubles of the worn out welfare society. I think the labour laws are outdated. The labour laws induce sloth, indolence, rather than hardworking. The incentive system, is totally out of whack.

"Why should, for instance, within [the] eurozone some member's people have to work to 65, even longer, whereas in some other countries they are happily retiring at 55, languishing on the beach? This is unfair. The welfare system is good for any society to reduce the gap, to help those who happen to have disadvantages, to enjoy a good life, but a welfare society should not induce people not to work hard."

--Jin Liqun, the supervising chairman of China's sovereign wealth fund

Tuesday, November 08, 2011

Stratfor Research: Italy has seven days to avoid an "immediate and catastrophic" financial meltdown

Uhm, Stratfor Research is well-known for avoiding alarmist views and overstatements. Which makes this missive all the more foreboding (emphases mine, Paul Krugman hardest hit):

The Italian government eked out a legislative victory today, but the victory was a hollow one. Only 308 of the parliament's 630 MPs voted for the government's budget, eight shy of a majority. The bill only passed because the opposition chose to abstain rather than defeat the budget. Italy has now taken the lead position in the contest of what can unravel the euro.

Greece, which has held that dubious honor for nearly two years, is actually now off the radar. Today the Greeks formed a national unity government that has the political authority to implement deep austerity while compartmentalizing political backlash against the system. It might not work, but it should last at least until the new year.

But today's Italian budget vote - or more specifically the decision of several previously pro-Berlusconi deputies to abstain with the opposition - puts Italy squarely in the crosshairs.

Italy, like Greece, faces an insurmountable debt mountain. Italy, like Greece, has problems with political unity. But Italy, unlike Greece, has a leader who refuses to step aside in favor of a national unity government. Berlusconi has been at or near the top of the Italian political scene for a generation, and his People of Freedom party is his own personal political machine.

Berlusconi now has seven days to repair that machine. If he cannot muster an additional eight votes by Nov. 15, his government will fall in a scheduled confidence vote. That would push Italy into an election at a time when markets are waking up to the fact that it is not Ireland or Spain or even Greece that is the biggest threat to the eurozone. It is Italy.

Even in the worst-case scenario Greece only has about 350 billion euro of debt outstanding, most of which now is held either internally or by the European Central Bank. Italy has nearly 2 trillion euro in outstanding debt. An Italian credit cutoff would trigger a financial meltdown across Europe that would both be immediate and catastrophic.

Avoiding that would require a new Italian government without going through one of Italy's famously destabilizing elections. In the aftermath of today's budget vote, Berlusconi claims that he will resign after a series of austerity laws are adopted, ushering in a new unity government. Votes on those laws, however, are scheduled to be held after the confidence vote, so it's not clear whether this is truly turning the page or simply stalling for time.

Can... meet kick.

And sometime -- in the very near future -- the road for can-kicking will have reached an end.


Reading the Tea Leaves [Dan from New York]

Dan from New York:

Lots of firecrackers going off simultaneously right now hinting at greater pyrotechnics to come.

On Sunday, I noted that Israel's "Mr. Peace" is warning of war, a link to a story in which Israel’s president, uber dove Shimon Peres, warns that "A military strike on Iran is growing more likely than the diplomatic option." Today comes news that Israel’s #2 man, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, not only seconded Peres, he went a step further. As the JPost reports, “Addressing the IAEA report, the reported contents of which have been leaked to various international newspapers in recent days, Barak said, ‘we've known these things for years. ... ‘We know more [about Iran] than The Washington Post knows and we know more than the IAEA does,’ he added.” Read about that in “Barak not optimistic about international will to stop Iranian nukes.”

Of course, no situation analysis is complete without taking into account the psychological dimension. So here we have Jewicidal far-left Haaretz columnist, Akiva Eldar, writing in full panic mode beseeching Obama, a foreign head of state, “to stop the duo of Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, before it is too late.”

Then there are anecdotes I’ve received from Israel indicating that as of late the Home Front Command has been helping the general populace prepare for trouble.

Lastly, there’s this question raised by the National Review: "Why Won’t Obama Sanction Iran’s Financial Lifeblood?"

I think all visible signs indicate the Israelis aren’t waiting around for the answer. But I could be reading the signals wrong. Israel may yet decide to placate the West, avoid “destabilizing the region” and do what it’s told: put its future in the hands of the Mad Mullahs in a grand gesture of self-sacrifice.

That’s always good for a slap on the back from the U.S. president and a front page obituary in the New York Times.

Stay tuned. Say a prayer. We shall see.

For the background story, please see "The Atomic Mahdi."


Exclusive Photo: Eric Holder testifies on letting thousands of murder weapons flow to drug cartels

Soon-to-be-resigned Attorney General Eric Holder testified in front of the House Judiciary Committee today to answer a series of questions about Operation "Fast and Furious", which left hundreds dead. Here's a summary of Dr. Forthcoming's testimony:

• No one's been found at fault

• No one should resign

• Holder didn't know about it -- and anyone who says otherwise is playing political 'gotcha' games

• Holder's lies weren't really lies -- he was just off by a few months

• The DOJ's claims that it did not authorize gun-walking in February weren't lies or coverups, they were "regretful inaccuracies"

• The Justice Department's Inspector General was on the case as soon as she heard about it -- although she's been investigating since April -- more than half a year ago -- there are no results to share

Brian who?

Say, I have a question. How f***ing stupid do these people think we are?


Related:

• 10-10-2011 Eric Holder Comix
• 10-07-2011 Holder uses Politico in a furious attempt to hold fast to his job
• 10-04-2011 RED ALERT: Smoking Gun -- Holder Lied, People Died
• 09-15-2011 Deep Corruption at Justice: Eric Holder is an 'Abomination', a 'Menace' and 'Worse Than John Mitchell'


Coinkadink: one Cain accuser lives in David Axelrod's building; another serves in the Obama administration

Let me guess: Axelrod is "just a guy in the neighborhood", since Cain accuser Sharon Bialistock lives in David Axelrod's building.

Martha MacCallum, FOX News: "One of the things is that you lived at a 505 North Lake Shore Drive apartment, right?

This is the same building, it happens to be the same building David Axelrod lives in.

Do you know David Axelrod?

Ever have any interaction with him at all?

Sharon Bialek, Cain accuser: "I saw him in the gym.

I mean -- everybody nods to each other.

It is friendly building but I never had any interaction with him."

It turns out that Bialek has an extremely troubling background:

Ms. Bialek has had a long and troubled history, from the courts to personal finances – which may help explain why she has come forward 14 years after an alleged incident with Mr. Cain, powered by celebrity attorney and long term Democrat donor Gloria Allred.

In the courts, Ms. Bialek has had a lengthy record in the Cook County Court system [with] over [half a dozen separate] civil lawsuits... [and she] was also sued in 1999 over a paternity matter according to ABC 7 Chicago (WLS-TV)... In personal finances, PACER (Federal Court) records show that Ms. Bialek has filed for bankruptcy [twice] in 1991 and 2001...

...Curiously, if Ms. Bialek had intended to take legal action, the statute of limitations would have passed a decade ago... Which brings up the question of why she would make such reprehensible statements now?

The questions should be – who is financing her legal team, have any media agreed to pay for her story, and has she been offered employment for taking these actions?

Gee, let me guess: their name starts with an "A" and ends with "Xelrod".

Oh, what's this? You say Bialek has a history of filing false claims of sexual harassment?

"She was fired from her job, and her boyfriend suggested she contact Cain in hopes he could help her find employment... In this particular incident she was fired for falsely accusing her boss of sexual harassment, a charge denied by co-workers, as well as being pretty much a pain in the ass to work with.

"I remember her as a time-waster, and rabble-rouser. If she didn’t get her way she cried about sexual harassment”. A former co-worker, a female no less, emailed me. “She was trouble with a capital “T”. The fact that she waited 13 years and never said a word not even during Cain’s earlier forays into politics. She only now magically appears because Cain is leading in some polls and proving a threat to Barack Obama?

But, wait: that's not all. The only other accuser who has become public is an official in... wait for it... the Obama administration

...The Daily has revealed the identity of one of the women who, according to Politico, accused presidential candidate Herman Cain of sexual harassment during his tenure as CEO of the National Restaurant Association... The Daily reports that Karen Kraushaar, a communications director at the Treasury Department’s Office of Inspector General, was a National Resturant Association spokesperson when, she alleges, Cain’s inappropriate behavior took place.

Fascinating. But I'm sure the fact that all of these allegations were made by those with connections to Obama's political machine are purely coincidental.


Larwyn's Linx: Awaken a sleeping giant...

Have a news tip or great story? Drop me an email. Bloggers: you can install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget!

Nation

Awaken a sleeping giant...: Green Mountains
Circus Circus: Gloria Allred jumps on the Cain Train: Malkin
Video: Revealing The Truth About The Democrat Party: Nice Deb

Politics of Personal Destruction II: Thomas
Mark Levin Nails This Latest Herman Cain Stuff: HayRide
Four 'Cs' of why Cain is unelectable: Exam

Economy

Demosclerosis and the Fading Appeal of the Blue State Model: Ace
Waiting for Lehman: Lira
And now for something completely different: Hugh Hendry: Varones

Numbers Games: Sowell
History Suggests Greece Will Exit Euro by Christmas: Mish
To Chart America’s Decline, Follow The Unions: Nova Townhall

Is there a retirement crisis?: City Journal
Oops! Rich Got Richer Under Obama And Clinton: RWN
Ending Insurers' Profits Won't Impact Healthcare Costs: FrstThngs

Occupy

Meet the Radical Group Handling ‘Occupy Wall Street’ Finances: Foundry
Fearing Koch Brothers Black Ops Movement, Tech-Savvy OWS Geniuses Fork Over $8K to Buy Domain Name: JWF
"Non-Violent Protesters:" Occupy DC Pushes 78-Year-Old Woman To the Ground: Ace

Gunrunner & Energygate

Holder to accuse investigators of playing Fast and Furious politics, call for gun control: DC
The Times On Gunwalker - BS Will Never Die: JOM
Holder on 'Fast and Furious': Never Again: ABC

Media

NYT Editorial Page Editor struggles to examine the record on voter fraud: RS
Late-Night Comics Still Not Finding Anything Funny About Princess Precious: Ace
How Cain’s supporters react...: Damn Dirty Rhino

Occupy Michael Moore: DetNews
Stephanie Miller: Vandalizing Reagan Statue 'One of America's Funniest Liberal Pranks': NB
George Will calls Romney the GOP’s Dukakis: NotMitt

Media Battlezone Prep: Pretty Vacant: Leather Penguin
MSNBC Discusses North Carolina’s Forced Sterilization Program, Avoids Mentioning The D Word: RWN
Leslie Stahl’s Selective Anger Over Buying Politicians: BigJ

Sharon Bailek, “Remembered by a co-worker -- If she didn’t get her way she cried sexual harassment”: Macsmind
Ex-Newsweek Editor on Why He Didn't Run Lewinsky Story: 'We Didn't Feel We Were on Firm Enough Ground': NB
Fareed Zakaria: 'The American Dream Is Better In Europe': NB

World

Obama, Sarkozy Call Isaeli PM a "Liar;" Obama Laments Having to "Deal" With Him: PunPre
IAEA: Iran on brink of building nuclear weapon: JihadWatch
Muslim accused of leaking documents was ONLY adviser DHS gave access to sensitive L.E. database: Creeping

Islam is Fear, Part III: GoV
If You See Something Disastrous, Say Something: BRubin
Hizballah's Aggressive War Plans: IPT

Sci-Tech

Nov. 7, 1905: Remote Control Wows Public: Wired
Google patent lawyer says system is broken: CNetf
Scoble: Microsoft Can't Win In Tablets: Insider

Cornucopia

Whiteout Applied to Michelle Obama: Moonbattery
Patience is not a virtue, it’s a strategy: Dewey
Retro Monday: Flying the SR-71 Blackbird: DefTech

Image: Guardian (UK)
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Adam Hasner for U.S. Senate

QOTD: "When was the last time you thought to yourself: “My cellphone and/or Internet provider really provides great service for an affordable price?”.  Odds are, unless you are a lobbyist for AT&T, Verizon, Comcast, etc… the answer is “never, what are you kidding?”.  The reason behind this is that most telecoms, because of the infrastructure investment necessary to support a network, often operate as semi-monopolies with a tremendous barrier to entry relative to competitors.  Oh and they give gobs and gobs of money to politicians, and studies show that this has a tremendous positive effect on policy for them.

This helpful policy, as well as an apparent complete lack of political will to break up and/or regulate these industries, is the reason you still have to pay to send text messages–even though these single-digit kilobyte messages cost telecoms barely any money at all.  It is also the reason the US falls behind virtually every other first world nation in terms of average broadband speed, and also why even that limited service is so expensive,  and telecoms are able to flat-out lie about the speeds they offer.  While this may seem like a middling critique about the speed at which we send cute cat pictures and watch porn, keep in mind that the 90s, also known as the only period of really substantial growth in the past 40 years, was fueled by higher speed and expanded access to the Internet." --BusinessPundit

Monday, November 07, 2011

Photos: Houdini-like escape from a catastrophic auto accident

The aftermath of an unbelievable accident in China:

On Oct 26 in Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province, a dark grey Volvo bumped into a taxi head-on then got a truck up the rear, causing hundreds of steel rods on the truck to thrust into the Volvo’s windshield. Surprisingly the driver managed to dodge all the flying steel rods that turn his car into a porcupine.

24-year-old driver Yang was driving a Volvo downtown when he suddenly spot road block police at the front. Thinking that the car didn’t have a plate yet, Yang quickly turned the car around and moved onto the opposite lane only to meet an upcoming taxi. Volvo hit the taxi at the side and was immediately pushed away to tail a truck loaded with steel rods.

“I was panic because the car was going at over 60 km/h. But my brain is still clear, I realized that the car was crashing onto those steel rods, so I threw myself on the passenger seat.” Yang recalled. As soon as he bent down, the rods have already pierced through the car with a deafening blow... “When the car stopped, steel rods were all over my head with one only a few centimeters away from my face.” Yang was then sent to the hospital. After checkup, he was only slightly scratched.

Dude.


Why I canceled my newspaper subscription [Sean]

Finally! Justice is served!

And John Stossel says government can't do things better than free enterprise!

I won't hold my breath awaiting the results of this hunt.

That's a damn good paint job!

Followed by the meeting on new lighting that's held in the dark.

I'm more upset about NEPA's EIS on BNFL's RAPPI before DRUADs.

Go figure.

That's a brother for you.

It's a partisan issue, I'm sure.

I'll try to remember. I guess it was a slow day at the Poison Control Center.

Please call immediately if you've seen this... man... woman... insect...

Right after finding corpses in the mausoleum.

This is taking the principle of "More Guns, Less Crime" a bit too far.

I'd wager these guys took federal grant money to come up with this conclusion.

Ouch!

Hat tip: Sean

Physics! [Papa B]

Papa B:




Occupy Hatred: A Gallery of #OWS Sickness

Click on any of the pictures for the background stories.
















My friends, are you going to let these punks turn America -- the most magnificent society ever seen on the face of the Earth -- into some sort of third-world socialist cesspool? Or are you going to join with me and politically obliterate this insane collaborative of Nazis, Marxists, Democrat politicians, anarchists, union thugs, arsonists, drug addicts, and progressives?

Because 2012 is coming, my friends, and we are going to send a message to these lunatics. America isn't dead quite yet, despite their best efforts. And we are going to shred this traitorous shadow of a once-proud Democrat Party at the polls next November.


Larwyn's Linx: Mob Mentality in DC

Have a news tip or great story? Drop me an email. Bloggers: you can install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget!

Nation

Mob Mentality in DC: Pundette
The White House Goes Dr. Strangelove: Lewis
Brief thoughts on the Cain/Gingrich Lincoln-Douglas debate: ProWis

Politico vs. Herman Cain by the Numbers: LI
Ellison’s Plan to Export Minnesota Voter Fraud to the Nation: EIW
Rediscovered 2004 ad shows Obama's rhetorical themes: DC

E-Day Minus One Year: Golf: Dossier
Birth of the Democrat Party's Campaign Tactics: BigG
Cain Lied, Then Lashed Out At The Media: Riehl

Economy

U.S. Debt on Track to Fuel Economic Crisis Like Greece: Foundry
Budget Fairy Tales, Left and Right: Samuelson
G20 Dysfunctional Family Reunion Recap: RWN

Why Ohio Issue 2 Needs to Pass: Virthuous
Rent Seekers and Other Strange Parasites: Six Meat
DNC Outsources Charlotte Jobs to Beltway Union Shop: RS

Occupy

#OccupyDC — this is what mob rule looks like: ProWis
Occupy Fort Collins Arsonist a Ron Paulian: JWF
Boston: Pro-Palestinian protesters 'storm' Israeli Consulate: ynet

Gunrunner & Energygate

Just the facts on Fast and Furious: Hill
Issa-Grassley Want to Know Who Leaked Sensitive Info About ATF Whistleblower: Tickle
Endemic Corruption: CFP

Climate & Energy

Duke Energy: Don't Use EV Charging Stations As Fire Involving Chevy Volts Possible: Instapundit
NCDC data shows that the contiguous USA has not warmed in the past decade: Watts
Another Burning Chevy Volt Destroys NC House: Soylent Green

Media

Kathleen Willey Infuriated By Media Firestorm Over Cain's Alleged Sexual Harassment: NB
Leonard Pitts: Only Liberals Like Me Are Allowed To Play The Race Card!: RWN
Flashback: Andy Rooney Recognized Media’s Liberalism and Espoused It Himself: NB

Media obsessed with nonsense; the voters and I are not: Cain
George Will: While Teaching Constitutional Law GOP Congress-Blaming Obama Missed There's a Senate: NB
Howard Kurtz Grills Politico‘s Jonathan Martin On Herman Cain Alleged Sexual Harassment Reporting: Mediate

Why I Helped Found NotMittRomney.com: Hawkins
Milbank: You’ve Got the Power; Now Use It: Cato
Double Standard Much?: Modicum of Insanity

World

Islam is Fear, Part II: GoV
Muslim Prayers of Hate: Ibrahim
Strike on Iran more likely than diplomatic solution, Peres says: Israel Hayom

Italy Wobbles, and a Demon Appears in the Clouds: Ledeen
Italian Debt Yields Soar to Euro-Era Record; 2-Year Yield Surges 70 Basis Points to 6.17%: Mish
E.Coli in Organic Food Leads to 50 Dead in Germany: PJM

80,000 Muslims Kneel Down and Pray On Street--in Moscow: CNS
Navy Seals speak out: How we killed 'Bert' Laden: Telegraph (AU)
Media Battlezone Prep: Eyesight to the Blind: Leather Penguin

Sci-Tech

Can MapReduce be Made Easy?: Forbes
The Darker Side of Apple: The Human Cost of Your iProducts: Yahoo!
New Light Machine Gun Aims to Cut Load: Military

Cornucopia

The Sugar-High is Gone, and Were Running out of Gravy: MOTUS
Dog Chain of Command: SHN
Patience Please: AmDigest

Occupy Wall Street: Now Certified Halal: MOTUS
California Reagan Statue Damaged in Attempted Heist: GWP
Japanese Sign Final Surrender: Newsreel

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

QOTD: "In another assessment of shooting while under physical stress, Soldiers wore body armor and sprinted 200 yards with their weapons and a basic load of ammunition, then rapidly engaged close-range targets from the standing position. Again, they performed this task with both weapons. Many Soldiers saw an improvement in their overall time with the lighter weapon.

"Today we ran with the LSAT and with the SAW," said Cpl. Nickolaus Hammack, one of the military police Soldiers participating in the assessment. "Both were pretty trying but the SAW hands down is way heavier.

"Especially going up a hill, you feel the weight on you," he added. "LSAT is a lot lighter weapon. It really is a joy to have." ... "I could see a whole squad carrying it (the LMG)," he said. "You would own the battlefield." --Army News Service

Sunday, November 06, 2011

Chart: Real Reasons for Attending the Occupy Protests


Related: #OccupyDC — this is what mob rule looks like.


Yoo hoo, Politico: NRA Chairman during Herman Cain's tenure says the anonymous allegations are, and I quote, "a hatchet job"

Politico smear merchants Jonathan Martin and Kenneth Vogel hardest hit:

...former National Restaurant Association board chairman Joseph Fassler offered a firm defense of GOP presidential front-runner Herman Cain, along with an explanation for how Washington’s best-kept secret — the identities of Cain’s sexual-harassment accusers — was also kept from the association’s board.

The accusations? It’s a hatchet job, in my opinion,” Fassler told TheDC from his Phoenix, Ariz. office. “My gut tells me it’s a hatchet job. He gets a lead, he gets some traction, and the next thing you know, here come these allegations. It’s sad.”

Fassler said his four years in leadership positions on the association’s board — including one year as chairman and another as past chairman — overlapped with two and one-half years of Cain’s time as CEO. Fassler was first elected to the board in 1984, and was chairman in 1997.

While he said he had no reason to doubt the accuracy of reports that the restaurant trade group made five-figure payments to employees then embroiled in what is now a campaign scandal, Fassler said he was never informed about those payments while on the board.

Politico reported late Thursday that one of Cain’s accusers, then a 30-year-old female government-affairs staffer, reported an allegation of sexual harassment to an NRA board member within hours of what she said was an improper sexual overture.

Fassler’s account, however, either questions the accuracy of this account or suggests a communications failure among board members... He [said] he “never heard anything about Herman that would suggest he had those sort of allegations lodged against him. He was a professional. Thoroughly professional.”

Severance agreements, he said, were — and remain — “common” in human resource management. “You offer people severance agreements, unless they are for cause, all the time,” he said.

...Asked why no complaint about Herman Cain ever reached the board, Fassler put the episode in perspective, essentially seeing the amount of money involved as small-potatoes... Fassler drew a clear distinction between legal settlements for significant amounts of money and routine severance packages that would normally be handled far beneath the board’s level of responsibility.

...Fassler’s memories of Cain, he said, were all positive. He called the GOP front-runner a smart businessman, and said that even 15 years ago, the Georgia pizza mogul had a grasp of government policy and routine that was stronger than most of his peers... “Herman, during those days, did a very good job of getting our message heard on the Hill,” Fassler said.

On Friday, the National Restaurant Association itself described the salient details of the complaint:

“We have seen the statement Joel Bennett released earlier today on behalf of his client, a former employee of the Association. The Association consented to the release of that statement, at the request of Mr. Bennett’s client.

“Based upon the information currently available, we can confirm that more than a decade ago, in July 1999, Mr. Bennett’s client filed a formal internal complaint, in accordance with the Association’s existing policies prohibiting discrimination and harassment. Mr. Herman Cain disputed the allegations in the complaint...

...The Association and Mr. Bennett’s client subsequently entered into an agreement to resolve the matter, without any admission of liability. Mr. Cain was not a party to that agreement. The agreement contains mutual confidentiality obligations. Notwithstanding the Association’s ongoing policy of maintaining the privacy of all personnel matters, we have advised Mr. Bennett that we are willing to waive the confidentiality of this matter and permit Mr. Bennett’s client to comment. As indicated in Mr. Bennett’s statement, his client prefers not to be further involved with this matter and we will respect her decision.

So Cain has no idea what the agreement says and, further, the complainant is free to state what happened.

What do we get? Bupkis.

In related news, anonymous sources have revealed exclusively to me that Politico's pro journalists Jonathan Martin and Kenneth Vogel enjoy wearing women's underwear.


Related: Politico's Top Secret Scandal Selector Software

Seriously?


Via: @TomMcCammon.

Helpful Chart: Tea Party vs. Occupy Wall Street #OWS


Update: Looks like the chart needs to include Missing Persons. Penny posts the Occupy movement's first Amber Alert:

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