Monday, December 26, 2011

Winner of our Prestigious Tweet o' the Day Award: @JamesTaranto

The Wall Street Journal's James Taranto wins our prestigious Tweet o' the Day Award.*

How very true.


* At last check, the award consists of a handsome email and a $5 off coupon to Applebee's (if I can find it and it hasn't expired).

ACTION ALERT: Virginia GOP Changed Ballot Access Rules Last Month; Here's How to Contact Them and Demand Changes

Based upon several reliable reports at RedState, it would appear that Virginia's GOP establishment changed the rules of ballot access just last month. Front-runner Newt Gingrich, for one, saw his campaign hurt badly by reports that it bungled the Virginia ballot process. He and Rick Perry were excluded despite each turning in over 10,000 signatures. But if the new reports are true, the state GOP has a hell of a lot to account for.

Moe Lane provides the introduction:

...the very short version is that the VA GOP only certified Mitt Romney and Ron Paul for its primary ballot. Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich both had too many signatures tossed; Jon Huntsman, Rick Santorum, and Michele Bachmann didn’t even try. Of the seven candidates, one (Romney) had more than enough signatures (15K) to bypass the verification process entirely. All of this has caused a lot of agitation among Republicans following the primary process, of course; and not just from people who disapprove of what the VA GOP has done...

...There has been a good deal of defending of the outcome; and one argument heavily used in this defense has been that the campaigns all knew the rules and that previous Republican campaigns were able to get on the ballot, so clearly a competent current Republican campaign should have done so.

One small problem with that: as Winger argues, the rules were allegedly drastically changed. In November of this year.

So what changed?

...prior to the 2012 elections it was Republican party policy in Virginia to simply deem any candidate that brought in ten thousand raw signatures as having met the primary ballot requirements under Virginian state election law.

Under these rules, of course, both Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry would have qualified easily.

And why did the rules change?

...On October 24th independent state delegate candidate Michael Osborne filed suit against the Republican party of Virginia [challenging the signature review process and who performs it] ... according to Winger the VA GOP decided in response to bump up from 10K to 15K the threshold for simply deeming the requirements as being met.

...I think that John Fund’s general comment is correct: this is going to go to the courts. John was not discussing this specific wrinkle, but his larger point that Virginia’s ballot access policies have systemic problems gets a big boost when it turns out that the state party can effectively increase by fifty percent the practical threshold for ballot access – in a day, and in the middle of an existing campaign.

...If it is true that the Republican party of Virginia decided in November of 2011 to increase the threshold for automatic certification from 10K to 15K, then it is reasonable to suggest that this was a change that unfairly rewarded candidates who had previously run for President in Virginia.

Lane asserts that the state GOP has ultimate control of the ballot and could, if pressed, decide to certify Gingrich and Perry.

Either way, the issue is going to the courts.

And, either way, the Virginia GOP looks incompetent... or ill-intentioned against conservative candidates.

Action Alert: I urge you to contact the Virginia GOP and demand that they include Gingrich and Perry on the ballot. Be polite, but firm. There's no excuse for issuing new rules at the last minute that just happen to exclude the leading candidates. In fact, it's an outrage.

Email: Contact Form
Phone: 804-780-0111
Fax: 804-343-1060
Facebook: www.facebook.com/VirginiaGOP
Twitter: @va_gop

Make contact now. Time is growing short.


Is Oslo Dead Yet? [Dan from NY]

Dan from NY:

'PLO might revoke recognition of Israel'


Executive Committee Member Hanan Ashrawi says Palestinian leadership may renege on its recognition of Israel if peace process continues to falter...

PM: Israel to refuse talks if Hamas joins PA


PM declares Israel will not renew peace negations if terror group joins Palestinian government. 'I will not allow a Palestinian state to turn into Gaza, Lebanon,' he states...

###

All of which brings to mind the great Monty Python dead parrot sketch.


Tell us how you really feel

As seen from Highway 60-70-84, 5 miles east of Clovis, New Mexico:




Hat tip: Moonbattery.

Larwyn's Linx: Eric Holder Blocks Voter ID For Racial Reasons

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

Nation

Eric Holder Blocks Voter ID For Racial Reasons: Adams
The Obama administration discovers the Constitution: Instapundit
DoJ rejects South Carolina Voter ID law: Greenroom

Exclusive: Statement from Former Ron Paul Staffer: RWN
Virginia’s GOP Isn’t For Lovers of Newt or Perry: BigGovt
California atheists block out nativity scenes: Hot Air

Why Ohio Is the Most Muddled Swing State Ever: RCP
Elisabeth’s Barrenness and Ours: Steyn
Is Twitter Breaking U.S. Law?: Pollak

Economy

A Country in Denial About Its Fiscal Future: Samuelson
Businesses Flee California and Illinois: Mish
House Dems prepping for fight over cuts to jobless benefits: Hill

The 7 Most Illuminating Economic Charts of 2011: Peth
The new Winter White House: Politico
Pelosi Slips Quietly into Big Island Resort: HawaiiRep

Gunrunner & Energygate

Solyndra: Politics infused Obama energy programs: WaPo
Heavily Dem downstate IL county: 7,100 voting age residents, 7,800 registered to vote: Marathon
Eric Holder's Lawlessness: Frontpage

Climate & Energy

Everything you ever needed to know about man-made global warming in one sentence and a graph: Bayonet
Warmists Trot Out Old Santa Painting To Prop Up Globull Warming: RWN
Modern-day climate change witch hunt: ABC Au

Media

Strike Three for Politifact: Cato
The Awful Unfairness of Iowa: Polipundit
How will the Obama administration’s misleading “New Poverty” line be abused?: Kaus

Progressives Attempt To Hijack Story Of Christmas: Loesch
"All-American Muslim" TV Show Plummets in Ratings Dive: Atlas
RINO Dick Lugar Spouts More Idiocy on CNN: Hill

10 Most Hated Movies of 2011: Wired
Remember: If You Want Ron Paul to POOF! Away, You Must Say His Name Backwards Every 90 Days: HillBuzz
Newt Gingrich, Bill Clinton battle over 1990s legacy: Politico

World

The Region: Obama preaches, dictators sneer: BRubin
U.N. Passes leaner 2012-2013 budget amid economic turmoil: NewsDaily
Anti-Putin Protest Draws Tens of Thousands: Blaze

No Worse Friend, No Better Enemy: Belmont Club
A terrible truth written in blood: AT
Religion of peace kills 39 Christians in Nigeria: Scoop

Sci-Tech

Anonymous Says It’s Hacked U.S. Security Think Tank, Promises Weeklong Assault: Blaze
The 30 Best iPad Games: CNet
The joys of real-time data analysis for online retailers: CNet

Cornucopia

A Christmas Blessing 2011: Dewey
Dogs Like Christmas, Too: Ace
Pelosi Tramp Stamp: iOTW

TSA: Keeping us safe from cupcakes: RWN
Bengals beg fans to show up for decisive game: Trib
Ronald Reagan's 1981 Christmas Address: ZH

Image: National Journal
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Please support the Senate Conservatives Fund

QOTD: "The Obama administration won't be bound by a gun control ban in the $1 trillion spending bill for 2012, the president said Friday.

The funding provision for the federal health agency says that "none of the funds made available in this title may be used, in whole or in part, to advocate or promote gun control." The language aims to ban taxpayer dollars from supporting gun safety research.

"I have advised the Congress that I will not construe these provisions as preventing me from fulfilling my constitutional responsibility to recommend to the Congress's consideration such measures as I shall judge necessary and expedient," Obama said in a statement as he signed the bill into law." --Julian Pecquet, The Hill

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Rep. Joe Walsh: Prepare for the Race Card to Be Played As Never Before

Because of President Obama's litany of failed domestic and foreign policy initiatives, we already knew that the 2012 presidential campaign was destined to be the dirtiest in history.

Mr. Obama simply can't run on his record, given his failed Stimulus, an incredibly unpopular takeover of the health care industry, dozens of crackpot "housing recovery" programs, Cash-for-Clunkers, green jobs scams, the takeovers of GM and Chrysler that abrogated bankruptcy law, and the rise of an Islamist Middle East, to name but a few.

So the billion dollars he and David Axelrod plan on raising for 2012 will be spent -- literally -- tearing down his opponent in every way imaginable. It's the Chicago way.

And Rep. Joe Walsh, a Republican from Obama's home state, has some additional predictions for the campaign.

Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) says the Obama administration has shown a pattern of accusing its detractors of being racists, and said he’s afraid the president will use such accusations in the 2012 election to stymie criticism.

“We’ve seen this behavior with this president where he’s gently and sometimes not-so-subtly thrown out the race card,” Walsh said.

Speaking on Thursday to the National Rifle Association, Walsh was discussing Attorney General Eric Holder’s recent comment that the “more extreme segment” of his critics were going after him as a way to get at the president, because “we’re both African-American.”

“The minute you say, 'They’re criticizing me because I’m African American,' or whatever, that is voter intimidation... You are trying to stifle honest debate, and my fear is this is going to happen again in the next election. We saw it in ’08; thankfully, the president now has a record — he didn’t have a record in ’08 — so now we can criticize the fact that he destroyed the economy, and hopefully we can do that without being accused of being racist.”

Walsh also reiterated his claim that when Holder played the race card, it was part of an “orchestrated” effort by the administration to silence its critics by branding them racists.

“I can say something like, ‘This president in many ways had no business getting elected; he’s in over his head,’ and when I say something like that, often I’m accused of racism,” Walsh said. “When his attorney general sort of sings along the same tunes, you have to wonder if this is some, you know, orchestrated strategy of theirs, because they know they’ve got a media that will protect them every single day.”

Walsh called the behavior “shameful,” and said the media was complicit with the administration in pushing the storyline.

“This isn’t unusual,” he said. “When the left runs out of arguments and can no longer defend a position, they will often throw out the race card. This administration has done it, this president has done it, and Eric Holder is no different.”

Personally, I feel Rep. Walsh isn't giving the Democrat Party enough credit. It generally strives to maintain the most ethical debate positions, always arguing on principle, and never resorting to underhanded tactics like name-calling and slurring critics as racists.

HAHHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAH!

Just kidding.


Post-attack: Stratfor Research website still down after 24 hours

The website of intelligence firm Stratfor Research remains down more than 24 hours after it was rooted and defaced.

A comment on ZeroHedge by "Osgo" seems to summarize some of the key issues.

I find it astounding how people who just have no f'ing idea about INFOSEC, Anonymous, 4Chan, or Lulzsec... who still think AOL is the Internetz... are suddenly Armchair Warrior Commando Supremo, ready to wreak havoc upon enemies of capitalism... actually thinking that WikiLeaks, etc..is some sort of black-ops, Soros-scheming, FEMA camp-making endeavor ready to enslave their family, firmly ensconced in their gated community where most of the cars are shiny and their kids a little too clean... get some f'ing perspective, people, this is the Internetz equivalent of you driving around in your old '73 Camaro with a few too many Oly's in you as you took out your neighbors mailboxes, laughing with glee, later discovering your erstwhile girlfriend's angora sweater along with the twin treasures within.

Stratfor's site wasn't updated, patched well or maintained in a way commensurate with their public image. Indeed, it was a public secret that anyone could read ALL the articles in Google's cache... what they just went through is typical... Podunk site from a few years ago grows exponentially without proportionate security measures that EXCEEDED growth. While they hired and promulgated new authors, contributors and analysts with a pantload of letters after their names, they 'prolly didn't hire enough IT/web developers/security folks 'cause let's face it...they're usually considered a cost center, not a name that would bring in new subscribers/biz/accolades. I seem to remember they had open positions for interns... not pro's... go figure....

Every org. has growing pains... but the pain point here? The manageable risk that was unfortunately overlooked by "America's Private CIA" endeavor? By promoting and evangelizing themselves as an alternate intelligence organization, they failed to take into account good OPSEC. Here we have hundreds of records soon to be available, dead-drop names, sovereign ID's, aliases and a Who's-Who of people and corps. who just don't wanna be found....easily cross-referenced with other public disclosures... that any counter-intel org. could use to their great advantage. At this point it may even be an issue of maskirovka, but certainly the intrusion in no way approaches a sovereign level of expertise, IMHO...

This has got to be a flat-out awful Christmas for everyone involved with Stratfor. The company's website is a crucial element of its marketing and service delivery arms; yet, as Osgo implies, the organization's I.T. function may have received short shrift.


Report: Virginia GOP May Have Improperly Excluded Signatures From Perry, Gingrich

Tom White has an exclusive that could be an important development in Virginia's ongoing GOP soap opera:

I know that it is highly improbable that I am the only person in the country that has actually read the Code of Virginia on Presidential Primaries, but the requirement that signatures also include an address IS correct for a statewide election, but not for a Presidential Primary, though the number of signatures are identical.

Anyone know an election attorney available on Christmas?

###

Various reports have stated that the signatures turned in by Newt Gingrich included at least 2,000 that were invalidated because there was no address given with the signature.

If this were a Virginia Statewide office, that would be correct. But this is a Presidential Primary. And while the rules are similar, they are actually addressed in two separate sections of the Virginia Code.

There is a requirement in a Statewide General Election that the address be included, but there is no such requirement for a presidential primary. The number of signatures are the same, 10,000 and 400 per Congressional District. But the address requirements are different.

Tom suggests that Gingrich and Perry request that the signatures excluded for lack of address be reinstated and a recount be initiated.

If this report pans out, it could be another huge story attributed not to legacy media, but to what I like to call the new mainstream media.


Larwyn's Linx: Silent Night For Christians In Afghanistan And Iraq

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

Nation

Silent Night For Christians In Afghanistan And Iraq: IBD
Obama to ignore 20 policy riders in omnibus funding bill: AT
The Reagans at Christmas: Foundry

Obamacare is DOA, How Scams Will Break the Plan: LoneCon
Day Two of the Great VAGOP Meltdown: RS
Gingrich attacks Va. for keeping him off ballot: DC

Ron Paul!: Ace
Just Words: Cold Fury
Gingrich Presses Ron Paul to Explain Racist Newsletters: ABC

Economy

Governor of the Year: Scott Walker: GovJrnl
Published: So What If Corporations Aren’t People?: Cato
Conquering the private sector: Philanthropy Daily

Ogabenomics: hasn't worked, won't work, can't work: Cold Fury
Obama Goes Shopping for His Kids at Best Buy: Dossier
NLRB could be shut down in new year: Trib

Gunrunner & Energygate

Congressman trumps Holder’s race card, asks if Mexican gun-walking deaths were ‘racially motivated’: DC
Angry former ATF chief blames subordinates for Fast and Furious: LAT
Opinion: Remember Post-Racial America? Neither Does Eric Holder: WNYC

Climate & Energy

Lights Out, America: Hayward
Insiders: serious misgivings about data at the center of the greatest scientific fraud in history: Nelson
Mann hockey stick co-author Bradley: “it may be that Mann et al simply don’t have the long-term trend right”: Watts

Media

Allen West, The Liberal Media’s Boogeyman: RWN
#Hacked!: Ron Paul's Claims About His Newsletters Are Less Plausible Than Anthony Weiner's: Ace
Michael Tomasky: Time for Ron Paul to Fully Answer Racism Charges: Tomasky

Exposing the Palestinian Narrative Gingrich-Style: BigPeace
Moore: "Wall Street Has Their Man And His Name Is Barack Obama": RCP
Manhattan Mini Storage really, REALLY Hates Rick Perry: Urban Infidel

Michelle Obama Insisted on $4 Million Trip to Hawaii When Barack Wanted Local Vacation: GWP
ZoNation: Why Ron Paul is the Jeremiah Wright of the Right: Scoop
Yes Virginia The Internet Does NOT Replace Old Fashioned Politics: Publius

World

Mark Steyn on Ron Paul’s worldview: ‘Sheer stupid, half-witted parochialism’: DC
Muslim sect claims Nigeria Christmas church attacks; 25 dead: AP
Pope delivers message of peace on Christmas: CBS

Unlimited Muslim Entitlement: Sultan Knish
"Arab Spring" cleaning: The "religious cleansing" of Christianity from the Mideast: JihadWatch
Richard Dawkins, who claims to oppose genocide, vows to “destroy” Christianity: Wintery Knight

Egyptian Youth Disillusioned: Was Life Any Worse Under Mubarak?: BigPeace
Six Degrees of George Soros: Loudon
Permit needed to sing Christmas carols, move in groups in Muslim Malaysia: Creeping

Sci-Tech

21,000 domains transfer out of Go Daddy in 1 day: CNet
Stratfor Hacked, 200GB Of Emails, Credit Cards Stolen, Client List Released: ZH
Rare Galaxy from 'Dawn of Time' Photographed: Fox

Cornucopia

Something Wonderful: Last Minute Shopping: AmDigest
Portal Xmas Tree: Boing Boing
Says It All: Green Mountains

Image: Adapted from Rian.ru
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Senate Conservatives Fund

QOTD: "You guys need to — you need to stop this. It’s not an organic thing that’s just happening. You guys are behind it.” --Eric Holder

Saturday, December 24, 2011

15 Crazy Photos From the Air Jordan Riots #AirJordans #Riots #Retro

Not, it's not the Occupy movement, though the resemblance is uncanny -- what with the pepper spray, the gunfire, and the riots. But in this particular case, the unrest accompanies the release of the new Air Jordan sneakers.















It's gotta be the shoes.


Hat tips: Mediaite, WCHS-6 and Blippit.

Screenshots: Stratfor Research Website Pwnt by Attackers

The website of intelligence firm Stratfor Research appears to have been defaced and then DOSed (suffered a denial-of-service attack) by attackers.

The message traffic (below) -- if accurate -- portrays a defiant IT manager offering a, eh, perhaps unwise challenge.

The Google cache recorded some of the content including shadow files and other sensitive info apparently rooted from Stratfor's servers. I've tactfully redacted some of the more sensitive info.

// OH STRATFOR. IF YOU ONLY KNEW WHAT ALL IS ABOUT TO GO DOWN.
// 'BUT WAIT', YOU ASK. 'IS THIS IT?' 0H N0, WE GOT MORE IN STORE...
// BUT FOR NOW, SOME INSPIRING WORDS OF WISDOM FROM IT MANAGER FRANK GINAC:

"You do realize how preposterous it is to suggest that stratfor simply
shutdown completely for 2 days, right? The plan that you've attached paints a
gloom and doom picture claiming no chance that such a move will succeed. Does
that really seem a rationale conclusion?"

// YOU DONT EVEN KNOW THE EXTENT OF THE GLOOM AND DOOM WE HAVE PLANNED, FRANK


"Attended the TakeDownCon security conference. Focus of the conference was on
wireless and mobile security. No vendors pushing product or service at this
conference. Instead, great presentations by renowned white hat hackers (good
hackers) and security experts. Bottom line is that no mobile platform is
secure, including the Blackberry, but there are best practices that minimize
the risk of their use within the enterprise. We will be incorporating these
best practices in our operation over the coming months."

// INCORPORATING PRACTICES FROM "GOOD WHITE HAT HACKERS"? HOW'D THAT WORK OUT?

"It blew my mind to discover that our email server backups are being stored on
the same physical server. I'm affectionately referring to these little
discoveries as 'Mooney turds'."

// SO SAD WE RM'D YOUR MAIL SERVER AND ALL BACKUPS, FRANK

"Most if not all of us use professional and social networking sites like
LinkedIn and Facebook. All offer levels of privacy ranging from wide open
where everyone can see your profile, activities, and posts to closed allowing
only your immediate connections (or friends) access. As a private intelligence
company we must all take extra care to protect our personal information from
those who would use that information to exploit us personally or
professionally. Although we don't have hard and fast rules on how to set your
privacy settings nor do we restrict use of such sites, I suggest that you
temper your need to share with prudence and consider the business that we are
in. It's also important to check your privacy settings regularly to ensure
that the sites you use haven't changed the meaning or scope of privacy
settings -- we've all heard or read the news regarding this practice at
Facebook. I suggest that you never include any information in your profile --
regardless of privacy setting -- that could be used to compromise your
identity. Specifically, never include: your birth date, your exact street
address (although this information can usually be found on the web quite
easily), your cell phone number, SSN or other government issued ID number
(that should be obvious), or any other information that someone could use to
compromise your identity if your account were compromised."

// EVEN WITH ALL THE BEST SECURITY PRACTICES LEARNED FROM THE "RENOWNED WHITE
// HAT HACKERS" WE STILL MANAGED TO STEAL ALL YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION. UMAD?

Interesting, to say the least.

Update: Cryptome:

Subject: Important Announcement from STRATFOR
Date: Sat, 24 Dec 2011 19:49:58 -0500
From: STRATFOR

Dear Stratfor Member,

We have learned that Stratfor's web site was hacked by an unauthorized party. As a result of this incident the operation of Stratfor's servers and email have been suspended.

We have reason to believe that the names of our corporate subscribers have been posed on other web sites. We are diligently investigating the extent to which subscriber information may have been obtained.

Stratfor and I take this incident very seriously. Stratfor's relationship with its members and, in particular, the confidentiality of their subscriber information, are very important to Stratfor and me. We are working closely with law enforcement in their investigation and will assist them with the identification of the individual(s) who are responsible.

Although we are still learning more and the law enforcement investigation is active and ongoing, we wanted to provide you with notice of this incident as quickly as possible. We will keep you updated regarding these matters.

Sincerely,

George Friedman

STRATFOR
221 W. 6th Street, Suite 400
Austin, TX 78701 US

Update II: Police-Led Intelligence:

PLI is far more concerned about the state of the classified information provided by STRATFOR to the US Government... STRATFOR maintains separate classified and unclassified networks and information, and PLI understands that none of the STRATFOR data has been spared the attention of the hacking group. Of course, had STRATFOR placed any classified data on the server which we know has been hacked, they’d be in blatant violation of the laws of the US and of common sense, but it’s against the law why? Because it’s happened before.

If classified data has been compromised in the hack, it will create a larger impact – and response – than if it is unclassified commercial intel. In addition, Sabu, a leading member of the group, boasted on Twitter that... "Over 90,000 Credit cards from LEA, journalists, intelligence community and whitehats leaked and used for over a million dollars in donations..."

The AntiSec/LulzSec crowd, on the AnonymousIRC Twitter channel, has promised that this is the first of many attacks.


Major Screw-up... or Grand Design? [Dan from NY]

Dan from NY:

Guess what? It doesn’t matter. What we’re witnessing could be part of Obama’s plan or a byproduct of Obama’s negligence, and either way the results are still the same. Only three years into his first term and Obama has turned the Mideast and North Africa into a hotbed for sharia and political Islam (terms his administration has expressly forbidden). At the same time he's made the rest of the world much more unstable. Extrapolate, if you dare. Four more years of Obama... and you won’t recognize this place. Guaranteed.

Egypt: Islamists consolidate gains in 2nd round of parliamentary elections


By Associated Press, December 24

CAIRO — Islamist parties have consolidated earlier gains in Egypt’s multistage parliamentary elections, winning nearly 70 percent of the seats determined so far, according to results announced Saturday.

...the Muslim Brotherhood says it won around 86 of estimated 180 seats up for grabs in the round, or 47 percent. The Al-Nour Party, the political arm of the ultraconservative Salafi movement, won around 20 percent of the vote.

The secular and liberal forces that largely drove Egypt’s uprising against former leader Hosni Mubarak were trounced, failing to turn their achievement into a victory at the polls. The secular alliance of Egyptian Bloc and youth Revolution Continues won less than 10 percent of the seats.

...A third round of voting is to be held Jan. 3-4. It is not expected to alter the result and could strengthen the Islamists’ hand.

Just to keep everything straight in my mind... as I understand it, the Obama Doctrine consists of the president staying completely silent on:

...murders of peaceful protesters by Iran's vicious dictators
...murders of American evangelists by Somali pirates
...Iran's continual threats to wipe America and Israel "off the face of the Earth"
...murders of Christian Copts by "freedom-loving" Egyptians
...incessant rocket attacks by Hamas into Israel
...the continued build-out of Iran's nuclear weapons program
...the transit of the Suez Canal by Iranian warships in an outright provocation of Israel
...Iranian military personnel operating with impunity in Venezuela on missile technology
...a failed narco-terror state descending into civil war on our unprotected southern border

However, the president is willing to courageously speak out on:

...how our Egyptian ally Mubarak should leave office and/or stay but work on "an orderly transition"
...how Libya's rebels -- who turned out to be hard-core Islamists aligned with Al Qaeda -- are worthy of our military support
...and how Israel's construction of apartments in its capital city is a "provocation"


Image: The Fire at the Institut d'Egypte Cairo, by AncientWorld.

Congressman calls Holder's race card, raises: asks whether Gunwalker's Mexican deaths were racially motivated

You gonna put some ice on that, Mister Holder (if that is your real name)?

Arizona Republican Rep. Paul Gosar told The Daily Caller that Attorney General Eric Holder’s race-card play to attack his critics is “absolutely horrendous.” But Gosar said he thinks race may have played a role in the Department of Justice’s execution of Operation Fast and Furious — but in a different way from how Holder is framing it.

“He [Holder] brought up the race card, and while I think it’s absolutely horrendous that he would bring up the race card, in Fast and Furious, we were in fact impugning the Mexican people,” Gosar said in a phone interview. “About 300 people have lost their lives.”

When the attorney general brings up the race card, he’d better be very, very careful — particularly for the Hispanics and what’s happened to them,” Gosar adds. “He’s been very insensitive, not only to the [U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian] Terry family in making an apology and making it very public, but where’s the apology to the Mexican government and the families of the victims in Mexico?”

My pet conspiracy theory regarding Operation Fast and Furious is simple: foment an all-out civil war in Mexico by arming the rival Zetas and Sinoloa cartels. Consider:

• The ATF armed the Sinaloa cartel
• The State Department armed the Zetas
• The combination could help fuel a full-blown civil war in Mexico
• Civilians would start streaming north to safety

The resulting humanitarian crisis would be used as a lever for a mass immigration event. The resulting influx of refugees -- fleeing the violence and demanding asylum in the U.S. -- would provide a nice, hefty bump of undocumented Democrats just in time for the 2012 presidential election.


Larwyn's Linx: The Devolution of Society

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

Nation

The Devolution of Society: TL in Exile
The Obama-mas Choir sings “Home for the Holidays”: Malkin
Ryan: We Cannot Survive Another 4 Years of Obama: HE

Virginia Primary To Be Romney Vs. Ron Paul: RightPer
Santorum Surges: Morris
Gingrich demands Paul explain anti-gay, racist newsletters: Dollard

Gingrich fails to make Virginia ballot too: RSM
Obama: ‘There’s a laziness in me’: DC
Are Our Nuclear Secrets Safe In Obama's Hands?: IBD

Economy

Stopping SOPA: Erickson
Washington DC Dangerously Out Of Control: Strata-Sphere
Romney: I'd consider a Value-Added Tax: WSJ

Lighting Up Democratic Crony Capitalism: AmSpec
Class envy-produced unemployment defines year in review: DeVine
Fights for new Nikes break out across U.S.: Tele

Gunrunner & Energygate

"Maybe it is time for him to get another job.”: SSI
Calling Out Attorney General Eric Holder: The Razor
Holder's Voter ID Fraud: WSJ

Climate & Energy

Alt Power Gestalt: AT
NYT reporter engages in zany conspiracy theory – suggests bloggers “knew” FOIA emails were coming: Watts
Lead global warming author quits IPCC project: Surber

Media

Inside Game?: DC
Obama “won’t release his college transcripts” campaign criticizes Mitt Romney…: Lane
Dog days: Bo's whereabouts spark latest White House controversy: LAT

TNR Exclusive: A Collection of Ron Paul’s Most Incendiary Newsletters: New Republic
Classics of the Golden Age of Fringe, Or: Ron Paul Digs the Beatles’ White Album: RSM
Ron Paul Denies Writing the 'Coming Race War' Letter He Signed: Atlantic

Alex Massie Discovers the Most Offensive Newspaper Column of the Year: Ricochet
Paul's Attack On Perry Based Upon Lies, A Pattern For Paul: Riehl
Journalists complain the White House press office has become overly combative: WaPo

World

Iran Launching "Massive" Ten Day War Game Tomorrow In Close Proximity To CVN-74 John Stennis: ZH
Patriot Missiles Found on China-Bound Ship: BlackFive
North Korea Demands South Korea Attend Kim Jong Il's Funeral: Atlantic

Syrian Government Hit By Suicide Car Bombings: Atlantic
The Fire at the Institut d'Egypte Cairo: AncientWorld
Italian 10-Year Yield Back Over 7 Percent: Mish

Mr. Islam's Blindfold and Machete: Knish
Courageous Ex-Muslim Woman in Muslim Country Starts Extraordinary New Website: HyScience
French Muslim Man Imprisoned After Punching a Nurse Who Removed His Wife's Burqa: Blaze

Sci-Tech

For Bloggers at Risk: Creating a Contingency Plan: EFF
Can Loving a Robot Lead to Divorce?: HuffPo
Go Daddy spanks SOPA, yanks support: CNet

Cornucopia

A Brother’s Lesson on Christmas: Anchoress
Last Minute Gift Idea For Him: C&S
The Little Drummer Boy’s World Tour: A Christmas Card for You: MOTUS

Preparing To Celebrate The Twelve Days Of Christmas: Wolf Howling
"Mission Impossible": I Don't Understand How Tall Everyone Is: Awl
You're a good Jihadi, Charlie Brown: BNI

Image: "New Air Jordans cause shopping frenzy"
Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Jim DeMint's Senate Conservatives Fund

QOTD: "Despite all [the misgivings], I prefer [Newt] to all the others. Much like Abraham Lincoln said of General Ulysses Grant, “He fights”. I want someone in the White House who won’t shy away from a fight over conservative principles. I want someone who will kick recalcitrant Congressional Republicans in the tail, like he did when he was Speaker of the House (and don’t think for a moment that they removed him from the position for any other reason than because he upset their apple carts). I want someone who will look Democrats in the eye, grin, and take them to school so quickly they barely have time to figure out how they lost.

I believe Newt Gingrich will be that man and so he has my support." --Jimmie Bise, Jr.

Friday, December 23, 2011

The Islamist's M.O.: Obliterating the Past [Dan from NY]

Dan from NY:

If there is a recurring theme within political Islam it is the permanent jihad to wipe out any trace of non-Muslim civilization. Once you appreciate that you’ll begin to see the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Mosque built over the Jewish Temple Mount in Jerusalem, the persecution of Christians in Muslim lands and the spread of “no-go” neighborhoods in Europe in an entirely new light.

###

Ynet News, 12/23/2011, by Guy Bechor

Welcome to Cairostan


Op-ed: Egypt’s radicals eliminating country’s connection to West, but does anyone care?

It was barely mentioned in the Israeli and global media, but the following event pertains to the whole of Western civilization: Last Saturday, violent groups of Islamic-Salafi radicals burned the famous scientific institute established by Napoleon in Egypt after its first encounter with the West. Some historians consider it the start of modern times in the Middle East.

The site, L’Institut d’Egypte, held some 200,000 original and rare books, exhibits, maps, archeological findings and studies from Egypt and the entire Middle East, based on the work of generations of western researchers. Most of the artifacts were lost forever, burned or looted.

It’s difficult to understand the modern Middle East without these studies, which were overcome by an immense fire. The large building was situated in the center of Cairo and torching it was a symbolic, intentional act. Those who burned the building and its artifacts meant to burn the era of logic, enlightenment, research and individualism.

This was a grave provocation against the whole of Western civilization, a desire to disconnect from science, research and modernity, while cynically using a Western means – that is, democracy – in order to take power.

One need not go all the way to blowing up the pyramids, as some of Egypt’s Salafis wish to do after they seized some 35% of the new parliament seats (alongside 40% of the Islamic brotherhood,) and there is no reason to go as far as Afghanistan, where the Taliban blew up the huge Buddha statues. The elimination of Egypt’s non-Muslim past is already here.

...This isn’t a new phenomenon, and in Jerusalem as well we see elements associated with political Islam trying to erase any presence of the 3,000-year Jewish existence there, on Temple Mount for example – existence that pre-dated Islam.

... And who is supposed to raise a hue and cry over the burning of Egypt’s Western past? Who is supposed to be greatly disturbed by the fact that Egyptian authorities are having trouble protecting their own museums? UNESCO, the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Yet not much is happening there. Well, we can’t blame this organization; after all, it is preoccupied with admitting “Palestine” into its ranks.


Images: Ancient World Bloggers Group - "The Fire at the Institut d'Egypte Cairo"

Hard-hitting ABC special: Barbawa Wawa asks Obama what super-power he wants

Oh, that cwazy, whacky legacy media. And I do mean legacy, since Barbawa Wawa recently celebrated her 160th birthday (but doesn't look a day over 150).

In one of her hard-hitting, cut-to-the-chase interviews, Barbawa sat down with President Obama and asked not about his record-setting deficit spending, the country's loss of its AAA credit rating, the hundreds killed by Operation 'Fast and Furious', the dozens of Congressional leaders to call for the resignation of his attorney general, the record number of Americans living in poverty and receiving food-stamps, or even his 'Arab Spring' diplomacy, which has seen the rise of Islamists around the Middle East.

No, Barbawa was interested in what super-power Obama would like to have:

WALTERS: What's the trait you most deplore in yourself and the trait you most deplore in others?

BARACK OBAMA: Laziness. [Ed: gee, you'd never know if from his schedule.]

WALTERS: You're lazy?

BARACK OBAMA: You know, it's interesting. There is a deep down, underneath all of the work I do, I think there's a laziness in me. I mean, it's probably from growing up in Hawaii. It's sunny outside, sitting on the beach.

...On Monday's "View," Walters played this clip: "We asked middle school and high school students to throw a few questions. I'd like to read their questions. If you were a super hero and you could have one super power, what would it be?"

The President relayed that he'd like to be able to fly.

Please, no jokes about the president's admitted use of cocaine and reefer.

Oh, and can someone put Barbawa back in formaldehyde to preserve her for the next hard-hitting ABC special?


Cartoon: Ramirez, IBD.

Oh, the Irony, It Burns: Obama Campaign Rips Romney For Failure to Release Records

The official public relations journal of the Democrat National Committee (sometimes referred to as The New York Times) offers this hilarious insight into Leftist logic:

A spokesman for President Obama‘s re-election campaign blasted Mr. Romney and questioned whether he had something to hide in his finances.

“Why does Governor Romney feel like he can play by a different set of rules?” said Ben LaBolt, a spokesman for the Obama campaign. “What is it that he doesn’t want the American people to see? Governor Romney, who has favored secrecy over openness time after time, should live up to the same standard of disclosure his father and others set.”

Meanwhile, seven years after Barack Obama burst onto the national political scene, we still await the disclosure of his background records.

1. Occidental College records and transcripts -- Not released
2. Columbia University records and transcripts -- Not released
3. Columbia Thesis paper -- 'not available'
4. Harvard University records and transcripts -- Not released
5. Medical records -- Not released
6. Illinois State Senate schedule -- 'not available'
7. Illinois State Senate records -- 'not available'
8. Law practice client list -- Not released
9. Certified Copy of Original Birth certificate -- Not released
10. Harvard Law Review articles published -- None
11. University of Chicago scholarly articles -- None
12. Record of Baptism -- Not released or 'not available'

Of course, there are different standards for legacy media's preferred candidates. Remember how the media unearthed Rick Perry's college transcripts within 48 hours of the announcement of his candidacy?


Related: The secret scrapbook of Barry Soetoro Barack Obama


Hat tip: Brad.

Larwyn's Linx: White House: What Does $40 Mean to You?

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

Nation

White House: What Does $40 Mean to You?: Malkin
GOP Caves On Fight Which I Frankly Did Not Even Understand: Ace
Fiasco: Bachmann, Santorum fail to make Virginia ballot: Hot Air

Sometimes Caution Can Backfire: RWN
Arpaio: ICE refuses to take illegal immigrants from MCSO: KPHO
Perry: I don't have problem with drug-testing welfare recipients: CBS

About Those Racist Newsletters that Ron Paul Didn’t Read: RS
Paul in 1995: Say, have you read my newsletters?: Hot Air
Ron Paul's Telling Speech At The John Birch Society: Riehl

Economy

Supers Ignore the ‘Tea Party Budget’ — and Reality: Blumer
Newt slams Harry Reid for leaving DC amid Payroll fight: Scoop
West: It’s about time we change the leadership in DC: Fox

Did Bo Return From Hawaii for Obama’s Photo Op?: Dossier
NV Teachers' Union Lays Off 1,000 to Preserve Its Ins. Co.: BigGovt
Sad Stories Roll In at Request of Obama White House: CNS

Gunrunner & Energygate

The Justice Department Condones Perjury … Again: PJM
This is why life in the system is so thoroughly permeated with hypocrisy and lies: MoneyRunner
Holder Cites Race in Explaining Scrutiny of Justice Department Actions: Fox

Climate & Energy

Nothing is Sustainable: Ace
Why is the anti-mercury EPA trying to shove mercury-laced light bulbs into our homes?: IBD
Report: Every Chevy Volt has over $250,000 in government subsidies: Jalopnik

Wasting Away in Obamaville: MACT Rule May Shut Down a Whole Town: Tatler
Thanks Barack… Gas Prices Hit Record High in 2011 Under Obama: GWP
EPA Tries To Pull a Fast One: RCM

Media

I'm for Newt, and Here's Why: Sundries
Thomas Friedman Drops the Mask: Driscoll
She demands welfare reform — and gets marriage offers: MSNBC

Cultural Winners and Losers, 2011: Bozell
WaPo's Gowen Hits Hard at Kansas Governor Sam Brownback's First Year in Charge: Blumer
As political season heats up, Politico’s Web traffic cools down: DC

O.K. Paul-Bots, Explain This Or Shut the Hell Up!!!: Lid
What Ron Paul Thinks of America: WSJ
Ron Paul 2012: Six comments he needs to explain: Politico

World

As Iraq Bombings Grow, Dems Have Much To Answer For: IBD
Army to allow hijabs, turbans in Junior ROTC: DC
Boston University Muslim Chaplain Raising Funds for Al Qaeda, Mass. Pols Embrace Him: STACLU

Patriot Missiles Found on Ship Bound for China: LoneCon
Saudi textbooks instruct children in how to carry out amputations for Sharia punishments: JihadWatch
Harvard Fires Critic of Jihad: Geller

Sci-Tech

Coders Are Already Finding Ways Around SOPA Censorship: Atlantic
Test your creativity with our search caption challenge: Google
Five predictions for security in 2012: CNet

Cornucopia

Modern Christmas Songs: Ace
What's Barney Frank Wearing Today?: Bruce
HAL-Pacino: YouTube (Language Warning)

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

QOTD: "Has anybody asked the president yet why to millions of Americans $40 is a matter of survival?" --@TylerDurden

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Found: Congressman Ron Paul's solicitation letter warning of "coming race wars" and a "federal-homosexual cover-up"

But maybe he didn't read his solicitation letters -- written on "Congressman Ron Paul" letterhead -- either.

A direct-mail solicitation for Ron Paul's political and investment newsletters two decades ago warned of a "coming race war in our big cities" and of a "federal-homosexual cover-up" to play down the impact of AIDS.

The eight-page letter, which appears to carry Paul's signature at the end, also warns that the U.S. government's redesign of currency to include different colors - a move aimed at thwarting counterfeiters - actually was part of a plot to allow the government to track Americans using the "new money."

...The letter's details emerge at a time when Paul, now a contender for the Republican nomination for president, is under fire over reports that his newsletters contained racist, anti-homosexual and anti-Israel rants.

Reports of the newsletters' contents have Paul's campaign scrambling to deny that he wrote the inflammatory articles.

Among other things, the articles called the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. a "world-class philanderer," criticized the U.S. holiday bearing King's name as "Hate Whitey Day," and said that AIDS sufferers "enjoy the attention and pity that comes with being sick."

Oh, yes, but he's sooo mainstream.


Jesse Jackson's advice for black fathers: teach your children the value of reading. Just kidding, he wants them to teach kids how to fight.

Mush-mouthed race hustlers hardest hit:

There’s no guarantee the being a black father will stop this because they’re killing black fathers too. One of the tragedies of this [garbled] is that you don’t have to be guilty to be crucified – killing the innocent. Therefore we must overwhelm them with numbers. That becomes our strength to fight back.

When I was younger I would say I wanted my children to get educated so that they wouldn’t have to go through what I’ve gone through. I’ve changed that position now. I want them to get a good education so they can have more tools with which to fight. The fight will not stop. I want them to have more tools. I want black fathers to have more tools with which to fight.

So when it’s time for Operation Black Vote to have massive registration, responsible black fathers vote to make a difference. They demonstrate. They march. They fight back.

So I say ‘fathers, teach your children how to fight for jobs and justice and healthcare using the weapons of your mind, your vote, and your marching feet.’

It will be a good day when professional race-baiters like Jackson and Sharpton are finally given all the respect they deserve. Which is to say, none.


Related: The Democrats' "War on Poverty"