Tuesday, May 26, 2009
N. Korea Conducts 'Successful' Underground Nuclear Test
.
[HT:LD: "Not good news on a holiday morning. Korea gives world
a one hour warning. Didn't John Bolton say
this was going to happen?]
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What John Bolton knew
The underground nuclear test announced by North Korea appears to come as something of a surprise to the Obama administration. Yet the Obama administration has acted with nothing but complacency about the nuclear programs of North Korea and Iran. In a May 20 Wall Street Journal column, former United States Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton predicted:The curtain is about to rise again on the long-running nuclear tragicomedy, "North Korea Outwits the United States." Despite Kim Jong Il's explicit threats of another nuclear test, U.S. Special Envoy Stephen Bosworth said last week that the Obama administration is "relatively relaxed" and that "there is not a sense of crisis." They're certainly smiling in Pyongyang.
Ambassador Bolton found that Bosworth and his colleagues were providing the North Koreans with nothing but encouragement:Despite Pyongyang's aggression, Mr. Bosworth has reiterated that the U.S. is "committed to dialogue" and is "obviously interested in returning to a negotiating table as soon as we can." This is precisely what the North wants: America in a conciliatory mode, eager to bargain, just as Mr. Bush was after the 2006 test.
I think it's safe to say they're smiling in Tehran (or should I say "the Islamic Republic of Iran"?) too.
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Is Obama Another Jimmy Carter
During the U.S. Presidential primaries last year, I had expressed my misgivings that Barack Obama might turn out to be another Jimmy Carter, whose confused thinking and soft image paved the way for the success of the Islamic Revolution in Iran.
Jimmy Carter took a little over three years to create the image of the U.S. as a confused and soft power. Obama is bidding fair to create that image even in his first year in office. The North Korean defiance is the first result of this perceived soft image.
After Obama assumed office in January, whatever hesitation that existed in North Korea's policy-making circles regarding the likely response of U.S. administration has disappeared, and its leadership now feels it can defy the U.S. and the international community with impunity.
A series of actions taken by the Obama administration have created an impression in Iran, the "Af-Pak" region, China and North Korea that Obama does not have the political will to retaliate decisively to acts that are detrimental to U.S. interests, and to international peace and security.
There will be more surprises for the U.S. and the international community to follow if Obama and his aides do not embark on corrective actions before it is too late...
[Personally I think Russia will take greatest advantage of this weakness by annexing Ukraine and thereby securing nearly all power available to Europe.
Recommended > ]
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Newsweek Editor: Iran Wants Nukes...But Only for Civilian Uses
I'm not sure what's scarier: the fact that Newsweek International editor Fareed Zakaria wants us to believe that Iran seeks nuclear power only for peaceful purposes or that President Obama might be seriously buying into this guy's delusions by reading his book, The Post-American World.
Zakaria wants us to put away our fears of a nuclear Iran by making the case in his Newsweek article that that nation has no interest in weaponizing nukes:Everything you know about Iran is wrong, or at least more complicated than you think. Take the bomb. The regime wants to be a nuclear power but could well be happy with a peaceful civilian program (which could make the challenge it poses more complex). What's the evidence? Well, over the last five years, senior Iranian officials at every level have repeatedly asserted that they do not intend to build nuclear weapons. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has quoted the regime's founding father, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who asserted that such weapons were "un-Islamic." The country's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued a fatwa in 2004 describing the use of nuclear weapons as immoral. In a subsequent sermon, he declared that "developing, producing or stockpiling nuclear weapons is forbidden under Islam." Last year Khamenei reiterated all these points after meeting with the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei. Now, of course, they could all be lying. But it seems odd for a regime that derives its legitimacy from its fidelity to Islam to declare constantly that these weapons are un-Islamic if it intends to develop them.
And what about the threats of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's to "wipe Israel off the map?" Zakaria conveniently overlooks this and places the map wiping threat blame on Israel... [snip]
Zakaria concludes with his "solution" for the current crises. Allow Iran to enrich uranium...but only under international supervision [despite all evidence that there is no such thing]. He does admit that they could (gasp) cheat but it would be worth the risk [to Israel?]... [snip]
And remember, Obama is actually taking Zakaria seriously judging by his taste in books. Could this be one reason why Obama couldn't even look Israeli President Netanyahu in the face while speaking during their joint press briefing last week?
[Truly alarming given our president's proven susceptibility to radical ideology [socialism {government control}, collectivism {'spread the wealth'}, racism {black theology} to name a few.]
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Ahmadinejad Says Nuclear Issue ‘Over,’ Iran to Pursue Program
Tehran - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who faces re-election next month, said he considers the dispute over his country’s nuclear program ''over.''
The Iranian people ''won’t allow negotiations to take place outside the framework of the IAEA''
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FLASHBACKs >
UN: Iran blocking IAEA from verifying its nuclear ambitions
''I regret that we are still not in a position to achieve full clarity regarding the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in Iran,''
Iranian Nuclear Program Remains In Full Flow
the West's silliness in hiding behind the incompetent skirts of the IAEA is leading to war - Israel {rightly} will not allow Iran to get nukes - we need apply any & all pressure now to prevent that eventuality or share the blame for having set the predictable stage for it
ALL "IAEA" FLASHBACKs
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Sacrificing Israel
Linking US action against Iran with freezing settlement building, destroying Jewish communities and establishing a second Arab Palestinian state [Jordan is the first, but it changed its name from Arab Palestine to Trans Jordan, in an effort to ask 'where Palestine?' which dupes the historically ignorant] is a set-up for Israel's demonization and destruction.
For President Obama, it's a win-win. No matter what happens, Israel will be blamed.
Pres. Obama knows that short of military intervention nothing will prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power. Making Israeli concessions the key to stopping Iran, therefore allows Obama a perfect excuse: Israel didn't do enough; it's Israel's fault... [snip]
Pushing Israel against the wall is a convenient way of deflecting Muslim terrorism away from American and European investments and interests. As long as Islamists think that Obama is on their side, they'll refrain from attacking, keep oil prices low and keep oil flowing.
Iran will make cosmetic adjustments so that Obama can claim victory; the crisis defused. And Israel will pay the price...
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'1 in 4 Israelis would consider leaving country if Iran gets nukes'
Some 23 percent of Israelis would consider leaving the country if Iran obtains a nuclear weapon, according to a poll conducted on behalf of the Center for Iranian Studies at Tel Aviv University.
Some 85 percent of respondents said they feared the Islamic Republic would obtain an atomic bomb, 57 percent believed the new U.S. initiative to engage in dialogue with Tehran would fail and 41 percent believed Israel should strike Iran's nuclear installations without waiting to see whether or how the talks develop...
[It isn't a political game to them.]
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'If Israel doesn't remove Iranian threat, no one will'
If Israel does not eliminate the Iranian threat, no one will, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday. ''Israel is not like other countries,'' Netanyahu told his Likud faction in a meeting which came one week after his meeting with President Barack Obama at the White House.''We are faced with security challenges that no other country faces, and our need to provide a response to these is critical, and we are answering the call.''
[Yet the 'international community' will be claim surprise/shock/outrage when it occurs.]
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Palestinians mark 'catastrophe' of Israel
Ramallah - Thousands of Palestinians have marked the 61st anniversary of the Naqba, the ''catastrophe'' that sparked an exodus of hundreds of thousands of refugees after Israel was created in 1948.''The right of return is sacred'', ''No peace without the right of return''
proclaimed banners held by the marchers...
[This is the poster-child example of Arab, with Western duplicity, maleficence toward Israel. Both exoduses ('48, '67) were a few Arabs expelled due to sympathetic suspicions ('48 war, '67 war) and the vast majority who left voluntarily to avoid and ease the expected genocide against Israelis.
The 'proof' of this is that in both cases nearly as many Arabs (as permitted by Israelis) remained in Israel.
Now, the 'Palestinians' demand that the "descendants" of those that abandoned Israel in her hours of need be allowed to migrate 'back' (although virtually all have never been) into the country - despite there being no meaningful way to identify who that might (and might not) be.
I.e., it's a transparent ploy to allow the infiltration of untold numbers of radical muslims into Israel where they could destroy it from within using the same civilians as shields they use elsewhere.
Better plan: why can't they be given homesteads by their 'muslim brethren' in Jordan, or Syria, or Egypt or the scores of other muslim countries surrounding Israel comprising hundreds of times the land of tiny Israel (recall; it's smaller than New Jersey)?
A: They don't want peace, nor the 'conflict' (assault on Israel's right to exist) to end.
When will the West own up to that fact and that we're all being played for suckers {that one's rhetorical}]
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IDF Preparing Troops to Fight Arab Fifth Column in Wartime
[HT:DT]
The IDF is training troops to fight against Arab Israeli citizens, if they rise up during wartime as they did in 2000*. According to Maariv/NRG, the army is training infantry battalions to seize control of the strategic Wadi Ara (Nachal Eeron) road in wartime, should the need arise.
The battalions are currently employed in routine security in Judea and Samaria. However, should a northern war front develop, they will be attached to the Home Front Command and sent to Umm El Fahm to beat back any attempts by the Arabs there to block the road. They have been trained in urban warfare for this purpose and have been acquainted with the methods for carrying out this “sensitive” mission.
[*The 'Palestinian's' right-of-return is little more than a ploy to inundate Israel with hostile muslims to destroy it from within.]
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Venezuela sends uranium to Iran
Venezuela and Bolivia are supplying Iran with uranium for its nuclear program, according to a secret Israeli government report obtained Monday by The Associated Press. The two South American countries are known to have close ties with Iran, but this is the first allegation that they are involved in the development of Iran's nuclear program.
The Israeli government report also charges that the Iran-backed Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon have set up cells in Latin America. It says Venezuela has issued permits that allow Iranian residents to travel freely in South America.
The report concludes, "Since Ahmadinejad's rise to power, Tehran has been promoting an aggressive policy aimed at bolstering its ties with Latin American countries with the declared goal of 'bringing America to its knees.'"
[GWOT]
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A Closer Look at Climate Change
The IPCC’s Feb. 2007 report stated: It is “very likely” that human activity is causing global warming. Why then, just two months later, did the Vice Chair of the IPCC, Yuri Izrael, write, “the panic over global warming is totally unjustified;” “there is no serious threat to the climate;” and humanity is “… more threatened by cold than by global warming” ?
IPCC press releases warn about increased concentrations of greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere, yet Dr. Vincent Gray, a member of the IPCC’s expert reviewers’ panel asserts, “There is no relationship between warming and [the] level of gases in the atmosphere.”
A 2001 IPCC report presented 245 potential scenarios. The media publicity that followed focused on the most extreme scenario, prompting the report’s lead author, atmospheric scientist Dr. John Christy, to rebuke media sensationalism and affirm, “The world is in much better shape than this doomsday scenario paints … the worst-case scenario [is] not going to happen.” [snip]
To better understand the “consensus” presented in the policymakers’ summaries, it is helpful to be aware of the structure of the IPCC. Those who compose the summaries are given considerable 'latitude' to modify the scientific reports. Page four of Appendix A to the Principles Governing IPCC Work states: “Changes (other than grammatical or minor editorial changes) made after acceptance by the Working Group of the Panel shall be those necessary to ensure consistency with the Summary for Policymakers or the Overview Chapter.”
In other words, when there is a discrepancy between what the scientists say and what the authors of the 'policymakers’ summaries want to say, the latter prevails...
Here is a specific example...
[We're being duped. Highly Recommended > ]
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Revisiting Hayek
Friedrich Hayek was an Austrian economist, philosopher and intellectual considered to be one of the most important economists and political philosophers of the twentieth century. He shared the 1974 Nobel Prize in Economics for his pioneering work in the theory of money and economic fluctuations.2 Hayek's work has influenced world leaders for decades however, at this present time in our history, it is more important than ever to remind the public about the lessons and logic he had to offer.To many who have watched the transition from socialism to fascism at close quarters the connection between the two systems has become increasingly obvious, but in the (Western) democracies the majority of people still believe that socialism and freedom can be combined. They do not realize that democratic socialism, the great utopia of the last few generations, is not only unachievable, but that to strive for it produces something utterly different - the very destruction of freedom itself. As has been aptly said: ‘What has always made the state a hell on earth has been precisely that man has tried to make it his heaven.' - F.A. Hayek, The Road to Serfdom1
Revisiting Hayek's work informs us of how the dramatic actions being taken by the current administration will lead us down a road that ultimately ends in the destruction of this democracy along with the freedoms and liberties we take for granted... [snip]
President Obama laid out his historic budget proposal in a manuscript entitled A New Era of Responsibility -- Renewing America's Promise. Unfortunately, his budget proposal is anything but responsible and broadly expands on plans by his predecessors which have already set us down "the road to serfdom." The growth rate of government spending for entitlement programs has increased 110% faster than that of the economy over the last two decades (figure 1).4,5 Entitlement programs or transfer payments to individuals currently account for 70% of total government spending.6
Figure 1. Growth in total government transfers to individuals vs. GDP growth
Still the President and his team try to sell the American people on the argument that the government hasn't done enough - it hasn't done enough to protect and expand the power of labor unions, to provide ALL Americans with healthcare, a college education, a comfortable retirement, security for individuals against unsustainable mortgage and credit card debt, security from risky investments, security for banks and businesses against irresponsible spending and lending, and finally security against climate change. According to the logic of the administration, more government spending is required to return America to prosperity... [snip]
Hayek recognized the threat from the inevitable expansion of government spending and entitlement programs and wrote in his famous work, The Constitution of Liberty,
"It has been well said that, while we used to suffer from social evils, we now suffer from the remedies for them. The difference is that, while in former times the social evils were gradually disappearing with the growth of wealth, the remedies we have introduced are beginning to threaten the continuance of that growth of wealth on which all future improvement depends."13
How can a government continue to promise more while its actions are simultaneously decreasing economic output?
The answer in the short-term is obvious; it will raise taxes and borrow money...
[Highly Recommended > ]
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The Obamacare to Come
Dems’ health-care plans do not provide the reform most Americans seek.
Drip by painful drip, the details of the Democratic health-care-reform plan have been leaking out. And from what we can see so far, it looks like bad news for American taxpayers, health-care providers, and, most important, patients.
The plan would not initially create a government-run, single-payer system such as those in Canada and Britain. Private insurance would still exist, at least for a time. But it would be reduced to little more than a public utility, operating much like the electric company, with the government regulating every aspect of its operation.
It would be mandated both that employers offer coverage and that individuals buy it. A government-run plan, similar to Medicare, would be set up to compete with private insurers. The government would undertake comparative-effectiveness and cost-effectiveness research, and use the results to impose practice guidelines on providers.
Private insurance would face a host of new regulations, including a requirement to insure all applicants and a prohibition on pricing premiums on the basis of risk. Subsidies would be extended to help middle earners purchase insurance. And the government would subsidize and manage the development of a national system of electronic medical records.
The net result would be an unprecedented level of government control over one-sixth of the U.S. economy, and over some of the most important, personal, and private decisions in Americans’ lives.
Let’s look at some of the most troubling ideas in detail...
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Pa. middle school expels teen with eyebrow shaver
PENN HILLS,PA-A Pittsburgh-area teenager has been suspended from middle school when a random search turned up an eyebrow shaver in her handbag.
Officials at Linton Middle School in Penn Hills recommended at a Wednesday disciplinary hearing that 15-year-old be expelled for the rest of this year and 45 days next year.
The teen said she doesn't consider the eyebrow trimmer a weapon. She fears expulsion will hurt her chances of becoming a nurse...
[We need universal vouchers and the privatization of our education system.]
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Hate Crimes and the Sedition Act of 2009
HR 1913, The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, and its companion bill S. 909, the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act threaten us with targeted censorship, attacks on religious freedom, and outrageous protections for pedophilia and other deviant behavior. Even prominent gay activists like Andrew Sullivan say that this legislation is unnecessary and dishonest. But if these arguments aren't enough to cause you to grab a pitchfork and march on Washington (or at least call your Senators), then perhaps you need a bigger perspective about what's really at stake.
The legislation contains provisions that will increase the penalties for acts committed against certain protected groups, punishing motives [thought, as determined by others] as well as acts, and giving special legal stature to homosexuals and those with sexually-related "disabilities".
The language of the bill undermines Fourteenth Amendment "equal protection of the law," making some groups more equal than others. Pedophiles are elevated to a protected class, but a mother who slaps a child rapist can go to jail for a hate crime. Rep. Alcee Hastings was even so brazen as to align the purpose of the bill with acts of sexual deviancy, saying that it is time to protect "‘philias and fetishes.'"
At the same time, amendments that would have protected faith-based groups from antagonistic prosecution were voted down. This has caused many advocates of religious expression to fear this legislation, drawing on examples of hate crimes laws in Britain and Canada where pastors and other persons of faith have been arrested for religious speech in public places.
These are all good reasons to oppose this bill.
But S. 909 must be stopped for reasons that go far beyond the issues attached to this particular legislation. This proposed law will set a precedent that can be broadened to encompass potentially any idea, belief, or viewpoint.
Today hate, tomorrow fill in the blank...
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[then ACT NOW > As a reminder, the bill has been passed in the House, and is now in process in the Senate...
"OPPOSE S. 909, the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act"
Senate-Reid: http://reid.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm
YOUR Senator: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
or: Speed Message them with your personal distribution list...
and as always, pass it on...
.
A Rising Anti-Government Tide
Americans should look carefully at the anti-politician, anti-government mood exhibited in California this week. Just as Proposition 13 and the anti-tax movement of 1978 were the forerunners of the Reagan presidential victory, so the results of Tuesday's vote are a harbinger of things to come.
The repudiation of the California establishment in the series of initiative defeats could hardly have been more decisive. Five taxing and spending measures were rejected by 62.6 to 66.4 percent of the voters. That is a consistent majority of enormous potential. An even larger majority, 73.9 percent, approved the proposition limiting elected officials' salaries when there is a deficit.
This vote is the second great signal that the American people are getting fed up with corrupt politicians, arrogant bureaucrats, greedy interests and incompetent, destructive government. The elites ridiculed or ignored the first harbinger of rebellion, the recent tea parties.
While it will be harder to ignore this massive anti-tax, anti-spending vote, they will attempt to do just that. Watch Sacramento politicians and interest groups work to overrule the people of California. Watch the arrogance of the elites in Washington as they impose their costs and special deals on the American people.
Then look again at the 62 percent-plus majority in California in favor of smaller government and lower taxes...
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California Paper Bashes Anti-Tax Hike Voters, Then Scrubs It
On Wednesday, a California newspaper created an editorial harshly criticizing voters for overwhelmingly defeating ballot initiatives that would have raised taxes to pay for exploding budget deficits.
After the Sacramento Bee received numerous complaints in the comments section at its website, the original piece was removed and replaced with one pointing fingers at elected officials...
[Guess someone pointed out the above 62% majority. But note the natural inclination of our liberal press to blame voters first... the sentiment will be back.]
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