Heroes: Desire to Serve Brought Airman Back to Force

“When I came back from this deployment, I had so many questions from family members, being I’m not from a military family, and so many people I just happened to run across along the way would ask me all these things,” she said. “So it was very important for me to be able to have people know more than what the press is putting out there, because there is more than one way of looking at things, and there are many other stories that are out there that people just aren’t hearing.”

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Troop Surge Belies Deeper Success of New Tactics in Iraq

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Iraq’s Anbar Province has awakened, the U.S. military is on the offensive, and Al Qaeda and is on the run but it is a mistake to assume this dramatic turnaround is exclusively the result of additional troops,

“It is a wholesale change in tactics that we are seeing. “It’s about getting into the neighborhoods, living in the neighborhoods, conducting census data operations so that we know who lives in the neighborhoods, then controlling who moves in and out.”

American soldiers have, over time, fostered a certain degree of good will by virtue of their consistent and respectful treatment of the local population, Johannes explained. This example is not lost on the Sunnis who have been on the receiving end of Al Qaeda’s brutality, he continued.

“Overtime what your are doing is not trying to win hearts and minds so much as it is show that you are a better and more consistent alternative than the enemy,”

[are these the tactics the democrats are demanding we 'change'?]

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'Hope' is politics, not real Iran, Iraq policy

The political salvos over Iraq between Barack Obama and John McCain the other day made for good political theater. More important, the exchange offered a revealing contrast between the politics of realism and the politics of hope. (Snip) So what is Obama's Iraq strategy? It seems to be that he knows al-Qaida is in Iraq but he's going to pull out anyway. But if al-Qaida establishes a base in Iraq, he will go back in. Does that sound confused to you?

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Rapid Withdrawal From Iraq Would Negate Security Gains

A precipitous U.S. withdrawal from Iraq not based on conditions on the ground would turn around all the gains the coalition has made in the country, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said here today.

“I do worry about a rapid withdrawal … in a situation that wouldn’t call for that in terms of the conditions on the ground, which would then … basically turn around the gains we have … struggled to achieve and turn them around overnight,”

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“Sharia Creep” Around the World

Closer to home, Harvard University announced new women-only access times at the student gym, to “accommodate religious customs that make it difficult for some students to work out in the presence of men.”

This decision came one month after men were banned from the athletic center during certain times, following successful petitions from the Harvard Islamic Society as well as the Women’s Center.

Harvard Islamic Society's Islamic Knowledge Committee officer Ola Aljawhary said she does not consider the women-only gym hours discriminatory against male students or a “case of minority rights trumping majority preference.”

As one blogger observed, “I also like how minorities have ‘rights’ while the majority has a ‘preference.’ And here I was thinking we all had exactly the same rights. How silly of me."

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IAEA chief brushes off concern over Arab nuclear development

The head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog agency said Sunday that he was not concerned about Arab countries using nuclear energy for power
development, despite international controversy over Iran's atomic program.

Many countries in the Mideast have expressed interest in developing peaceful atomic energy programs in response to rising domestic energy consumption and possibly to counter Iran's nuclear activities.

"All the Arab countries' nuclear activities will be under agency safeguard systems, so I don't see a reason why anybody should be concerned about ... Arab countries using nuclear energy for power development,"

Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told reporters after meeting with Arab League chief Amr Moussa in Cairo.

["and possibly to counter Iran's nuclear activities. " - nobody's talking about peaceful uses - we're being insulted by the suggestion]

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China speeds pace of military buildup

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'The pace and scope of China's military transformation have increased in recent years, fueled by acquisition of advanced foreign weapons, continued high rates of investment in its domestic defense and science and technology industries, and far-reaching organizational and doctrinal reforms of the armed forces,'' [snip]

• Chinese computer hackers have launched sophisticated strikes on computer networks around the world in the past year, including U.S. government networks, that might be the work of the Chinese government.

• China's strategy of defense includes conducting pre-emptive attacks "if the use of force protects or advances core interests, including territorial claims, for example, Taiwan and unresolved border or maritime claims."

• China is engaged in "wide-ranging espionage" targeting officials, businessmen and scientists prompting more than 400 U.S. investigations.. [snip]

The report counters the findings of U.S. intelligence analysts who have sought to play down China's buildup by saying it is limited to preparing to fight a war against Taiwan. The report stated that while the near-term focus is on a Taiwan conflict. "long-term trends suggest China is building a force scoped for operations beyond Taiwan."

[they're preparing for war - with us. And we, them? Or will we again try the 'can't we all just get along' tactic and entice their aggression with our perceived weakness?]

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Oil hits a high; some in U.S. see $4 gas by spring

Gasoline prices, which for months lagged the big run-up in the price of oil, are suddenly rising quickly, with some experts fearing they could hit $4 a gallon by spring. Diesel is hitting new records daily and oil closed at an all-time high on Tuesday of $100.88 a barrel...

[and still we do nothing to increase our domestic supply...]

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MUDDLED PLAN RISES AGAIN

The House of Representatives is once again seeking to introduce a measure to increase taxes on U.S. oil and natural gas companies. Little has changed on the national or global energy stage that would warrant such an increase. And considering the dollars U.S. oil and natural gas companies already pay out, any future tax rise will do more harm than good, according to the Energy Information Administration:

• In 2006, the top 27 energy producing companies paid more than $81 billion in income taxes.

• Industry income tax in 2006 -- as a share of net income -- averaged 41 percent -- manufacturing industries pay roughly 22 percent.

• Since 1992, the oil and natural gas industry has invested $1.25 trillion in hopes of finding new ways to produce, refine and deliver its product to consumers.

• Technological innovations, refinery capacities and distribution methods have all improved thanks to the foresight and reinvestments of American oil and natural gas companies.

Industry reinvestments also lead to additional jobs and provide a booster shot to a weakening economy, in addition to being part of the investment portfolios for millions across America. For our hard-working neighbors whose retirement or pensions are tied into oil or natural gas companies, higher industry taxes spell trouble.

[energy costs effect the price of everything else: it's as if they're deliberately trying to sabotage our economy]

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TEXAS V. OHIO

As Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton race around Ohio and Texas, they are telling a tale of economic woe. Yet the real story isn't how similar the two states are economically but how different. Texas has been prospering while Ohio lags, and the reasons are instructive about what works and what doesn't in economic policy. First, Texas's growth puts the lie to the myth that free trade costs American jobs:

• Texas has gained 36,000 manufacturing jobs since 2004 and has ranked as the nation's top exporting state for six years in a row; its $168 billion of exports in 2007 translate into tens of thousands of jobs.

• Many of Ohio's auto jobs are not fleeing to China, Mexico or India, but rather more business-friendly U.S. states, including Texas, which in 2006 exported $5.5 billion of cars and trucks to Mexico and $2.4 billion worth to Canada.

But Ohio's most crippling handicap may be that its politicians -- and thus its employers -- are still in the grip of industrial unions:

• Ohio is a "closed shop" state, which means workers can be forced to join a union whether they wish to or not.

• Many companies -- especially foreign-owned -- say they will not even consider such locations for new sites.

• States with "right to work" laws had twice the job growth of Ohio and other forced union states from 1995-2005, according to the National Institute for Labor Relations.

Meanwhile, nearly 1,000 new plants have been built in Texas since 2005, from the likes of Microsoft, Samsung and Fujitsu. Foreign-owned companies supplied the state with 345,000 jobs.

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NYT Term for Eco-Terrorists: 'Anti-Sprawl Activists'

Opening paragraph from the New York Times article on the eco-terrorists who burned three new homes north of Seattle today [emphasis added]:

"For people who are anti-sprawl activists — or have baser motives — a new-built house sitting empty in a previously rural area evidently makes a ripe target for an attack by fire."

Consider also the article's headline "House Fires With a Message in the Northwest." Yes, think of it as a bonus. Not just a housefire . . . a housefire with a message!

Even the Associated Press manages to say it like it is in its article on the matter. AP headline: "Ecoterror Link Eyed in Wash. Fires"...

[why harp on the Times? Because it feeds its stories to more TV news channels than any other in the country - over 600 - who daily parrot whatever it prints]

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More Americans turning to Web for news

Nearly 70 percent of Americans believe traditional journalism is out of touch, and nearly half are turning to the Internet to get their news, according to a new survey. While most people think journalism is important to the quality of life, 64 percent are dissatisfied with the quality of journalism in their communities, a We Media/Zogby poll showed. (Snip) Nearly half of the 1,979 people who responded to the survey said their primary source of news and information is the Internet, up from 40 percent just a year ago.

[half way there... ;^) ]

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