Blog Smith is inspired by the myth of Hephaestus in the creation of blacksmith-like, forged materials: ideas. This blog analyzes topics that interest me: IT, politics, technology, history, education, music, and the history of religions.
Friday, May 31, 2013
Thursday, May 30, 2013
NATIONAL STRATEGY SESSION TO STOP COMMON CORE
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/05/30/national-strategy-session-presents-everything-you-need-to-know-about-stopping-common-core/
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
U.S. the Saudi Arabia of Natural Gas: Frack, Baby, Frack
U.S. Fossil Fuel Resources: Terminology, Reporting, and Summary
"The sum of all fossil-fuel resources plus technically recoverable but undiscovered oil and natural gas in the United States and Canada nearly equals the sum of such resources found in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, and Qatar put together" (quoted on p. 187, Vali Nasr, The Dispensable Nation).
Condell on London Jihad Butchery: “We Want A Clear Categorical Rejection of the Islamic Doctrine of Armed Jihad”
[Pat Condell] Source: LYBIO.net
If the last two decades of Islamic immigration have taught us anything in the West, it's that tolerance is like salt; it's necessary and beneficial, but too much of it will kill you. We're forced to learn this lesson, it seems, after every violent Islamic atrocity, and we learned it again last week when a serving British soldier was murdered in the street by two Islamic barbarians, one of whom claimed that they were forced to do this terrible thing by the Koran, which is then quoted as justification. I couldn't help noticing that this very important and relevant piece of information was carefully left out of all the news reports, as if it really didn't matter. Instead we were fed the usual blizzard of the usual platitudes from the usual suspects like the Muslim Council of Britain, but crucially we heard no rejection by any Muslim of the Islamic scripturally-mandated doctrine of violent armed jihad, which is the actual problem here. Islam endorses armed jihad. It is a religion of violence and terror. Allah says so, and everybody knows how "akbar" he is because we hear about it whenever some innocent person is murdered in the name of his religion. We should not be expected to ignore the violence and hatred in Islamic teachings simply to avoid offending moderate Muslims.
If the last two decades of Islamic immigration have taught us anything in the West, it's that tolerance is like salt; it's necessary and beneficial, but too much of it will kill you. We're forced to learn this lesson, it seems, after every violent Islamic atrocity, and we learned it again last week when a serving British soldier was murdered in the street by two Islamic barbarians, one of whom claimed that they were forced to do this terrible thing by the Koran, which is then quoted as justification. I couldn't help noticing that this very important and relevant piece of information was carefully left out of all the news reports, as if it really didn't matter. Instead we were fed the usual blizzard of the usual platitudes from the usual suspects like the Muslim Council of Britain, but crucially we heard no rejection by any Muslim of the Islamic scripturally-mandated doctrine of violent armed jihad, which is the actual problem here. Islam endorses armed jihad. It is a religion of violence and terror. Allah says so, and everybody knows how "akbar" he is because we hear about it whenever some innocent person is murdered in the name of his religion. We should not be expected to ignore the violence and hatred in Islamic teachings simply to avoid offending moderate Muslims.
[Pat Condell] Source: LYBIO.net
If they were really that moderate, they would face up to what their religion teaches and disown it. Instead, they prefer to dissemble and equivocate, and say it's got nothing to do with Islam. But we can all read, and we know that's a lie, and that last week's murder was all about Islam from start to finish and from top to bottom. It was written right through it like a stick of seaside rock. I-S-L-A-M spells jihad. And by the way, please no more garbage about jihad being a journey. It's a journey, all right, into mental illness, and we're not going along for the ride. If the British police were as quick to arrest Islamic bigots as they are ordinary citizens who post offensive messages on Twitter, this disgusting murder would never have happened.
If they were really that moderate, they would face up to what their religion teaches and disown it. Instead, they prefer to dissemble and equivocate, and say it's got nothing to do with Islam. But we can all read, and we know that's a lie, and that last week's murder was all about Islam from start to finish and from top to bottom. It was written right through it like a stick of seaside rock. I-S-L-A-M spells jihad. And by the way, please no more garbage about jihad being a journey. It's a journey, all right, into mental illness, and we're not going along for the ride. If the British police were as quick to arrest Islamic bigots as they are ordinary citizens who post offensive messages on Twitter, this disgusting murder would never have happened.
One of these savages was known to police, and had already committed a prosecutable offence, but for reasons best known to themselves they chose to ignore him, until he committed this murder. Then we saw swift and decisive action as people were arrested for posting offensive (not libellous, offensive) messages on Twitter, and an 85 year-old woman was arrested and held in police custody for shouting outside a mosque. In a just and sane society, the officers who made those arrests would themselves be arrested and charged with wasting police time.
Meanwhile, media darling Andy Choudary is free to preach his message of hatred all day long while enjoying police protection as well as generous state benefits. He gets paid more for attacking and insulting our values than our soldiers get for defending them, and it's to our country's eternal shame that nobody is the least bit surprised. Of course it's not just soldiers now who need to watch their backs in Britain because these two savages also told us that nobody here is safe. We're all to blame, apparently, for their mental illness. We're all oppressors of Islam.
We're all invaders and crusaders and God knows what else, but perish the thought that all Muslims should be to blame for the violence endorsed by their religion and repeatedly carried out in its name. No, they're not even to blame for the hate-stirring bigots who preach in their mosques without a murmur of protest. That's got nothing to do with them. Instead, anyone who points out the violent nature of Islamic teachings is automatically accused of stirring up hatred, when, in fact, they're responding to hatred that has already been well and truly stirred up, incubated, nurtured and fed by Islamic bigots in mosques and universities, and by the government and police's mealy-mouthed multi-culti cowardice and dishonesty in dealing with them.
[Pat Condell] Source: LYBIO.net
We can do something about universities, maybe, but only Muslims can affect what happens in mosques because nobody else goes in there. If a mosque is allowing people to preach hatred and violence on its premises, then everyone who attends that mosque and who doesn't protest about it is culpable.
I know very well that if I attended a meeting and somebody was advocating death to anyone from the platform I would have plenty to say about it, and I wouldn't care how sacred the space was. We keep hearing about an anti-Muslim backlash in the wake of this atrocity, as if Muslims are somehow the real victims. They're not. What we need is a Muslim backlash, and we need it now. You may be a moderate peaceful Muslim, but there's nothing moderate or peaceful about your religion, and you know it.
The bigots who preach in your mosques, who take sustenance from your religion are hiding behind you. And your silence is helping them to do it. If your mosque is letting anyone preach hatred and violence on its premises you have a duty to call the police, and the police have a duty to take off their politically correct tinted glasses, to go into that mosque (without removing their shoes) and arrest that person. Anything less than this and you're on the wrong side. And make no mistake, this is the moment to take sides and to show that you are taking sides.
[Pat Condell] Source: LYBIO.net
Loyalty to the ummah is no longer an option because these two murdering scumbags are part of the ummah, along with all the other murdering scumbags that your religion produces by the thousand. And it is your religion that produces these people. They have not perverted it. They are following to the letter the Islamic doctrine of violent armed jihad. All you people who claim to speak for all Muslims, you self-appointed "community leaders" with your bland empty platitudes and crocodile tears, you Muslim politicians and Muslim journalists in the liberal media who deal in evasion and excuses, this murder is on your shoulders unless you personally and publicly reject the Islamic doctrine of armed jihad. No equivocation. No ifs, buts or maybes. We don't want to hear that this has nothing to do with Islam because that's a brazen insult to our intelligence. We want a clear categorical public rejection of the Islamic doctrine of armed jihad. Anything less than this and we will know once and for all that you are complicit, and that you are, and always have been, on the wrong side.
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
China Hacking and Stealing: Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China
The 2013 “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China” provides detailed allegations about a problem of rising concern to the U.S. government and American businesses.
- The Washington Post obtained a classified list of U.S. weapons systems that have been compromised by Chinese hackers.
- Compromised systems included some ballistic missile defense systems and combat ships and aircraft, including the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
- The list was part of a report by the Defense Science Board to the Pentagon to improve cybersecurity.
- Independent security experts called the systems included in the list of those compromised “staggering.”
TEA PARTY DESERVES IT!
Conservative pundit Caleb Bonham traveled to Colorado University in Boulder and asked several people to sign a “thank you” card to thank the IRS for unfairly targeting conservative groups. The giant poster board read: “Thank You IRS! Tea Party Deserves It!”
Common Core Evaluated by Christina Michas
Christina Michas, an activist, alludes to a new Web site concerned for America’s children and future, natcure.org.
Monday, May 27, 2013
Islamists Threaten to Blow Up Plane
On May 24th, two British nationals of Pakistani descent were held on suspicion of endangering an aircraft.
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Ron Paul's Texas Straight Talk 5-27-2013 ~ 'Common Core' Nationalizes & Dumbs Down P.S. Curriculum
'Common Core' Nationalizes and Dumbs Down Public School Curriculum
In addition to shredding civil liberties, launching a utopian global war for democracy, and going on a spending spree that would make LBJ blush, the so-called "conservative" Bush administration dramatically increased federal control over education via the "No Child Left Behind" act. During my time in Congress I heard nothing but complaints about this law from teachers, administrators, and, most importantly, students and parents. Most of the complaints concerned No Child Left Behind's testing requirements, which encouraged educators to "teach to the test."
Sadly, but not surprisingly, instead of improving education by repealing No Child Left Behind's testing and other mandates, the Obama administration is increasing national control over schools via the "Common Core" initiative. Common Core is a new curriculum developed by a panel of so-called education experts. The administration is trying to turn Common Core into a national curriculum by offering states increased federal education funding if they impose Common Core's curriculum on their public schools. This is yet another example of the government using money stolen from the people to bribe states into obeying federal dictates.
Critics of Common Core say it "dumbs down" education by replacing traditional English literature with "informational texts". So students will read such inspiring materials as studies by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, the EPA's "Recommended Levels of Insulation," and "Invasive Plant Inventory" by California's Invasive Plant Council. It is doubtful that reading federal reports will teach students the habits of critical thinking and skepticism of government that the Founders considered essential to maintaining a free republic.
Like Obamacare, Common Core (now dubbed "ObamaCore" by some) has sparked a backlash in the states, leading some to propose legislation forbidding state participation in the scheme. I hope these efforts lead to states not just opting out of Common Core, but out of No Child Left Behind and all other federal education programs as well.
Parents can also effectively "opt out" of programs like Common Core by seeking alternatives to government education. It is no coincidence that, as federal control over education increases, the quality of public education has declined and more parents have chosen to homeschool.
To support these parents, I have established my own homeschool curriculum. Unlike Common Core, we do not dumb down any of our offerings. Instead, the goal is to provide students with a rigorous education in history, math, English, foreign languages, and other core subjects necessary to a well-rounded education. Unlike the top-down model of nationalized education, the homeschool curriculum is deigned to encourage maximum input from parents and students. While the curriculum will reflect my belief, and interest, in Austrian economics, libertarian political theory, and the history of the struggle against state power, the curriculum is being carefully designed to not show bias toward any one religion. I hope all parents of any faith—or no religious belief at all—will feel comfortable using the curriculum.
I believe it is important for those of us concerned with education and liberty to fight our battles locally. We must oppose further encroachment on the autonomy of local public schools and work to roll-back existing interference, while encouraging and supporting the growth of homeschooling and other alternative education movements. The key to restoring quality education is to replace the bureaucratic control of education with a free-market in education. Parents should have the freedom to select the type of education that best suits their child's unique needs.
Ron Paul 'Constitutionally Correct' 2012.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ronpaulcc2012
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ron-Pa...
Website: http://www.ronpaulcc2012.com
FAIR USE NOTICE: This video may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes only. This constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law.
congressman ron paul
In addition to shredding civil liberties, launching a utopian global war for democracy, and going on a spending spree that would make LBJ blush, the so-called "conservative" Bush administration dramatically increased federal control over education via the "No Child Left Behind" act. During my time in Congress I heard nothing but complaints about this law from teachers, administrators, and, most importantly, students and parents. Most of the complaints concerned No Child Left Behind's testing requirements, which encouraged educators to "teach to the test."
Sadly, but not surprisingly, instead of improving education by repealing No Child Left Behind's testing and other mandates, the Obama administration is increasing national control over schools via the "Common Core" initiative. Common Core is a new curriculum developed by a panel of so-called education experts. The administration is trying to turn Common Core into a national curriculum by offering states increased federal education funding if they impose Common Core's curriculum on their public schools. This is yet another example of the government using money stolen from the people to bribe states into obeying federal dictates.
Critics of Common Core say it "dumbs down" education by replacing traditional English literature with "informational texts". So students will read such inspiring materials as studies by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, the EPA's "Recommended Levels of Insulation," and "Invasive Plant Inventory" by California's Invasive Plant Council. It is doubtful that reading federal reports will teach students the habits of critical thinking and skepticism of government that the Founders considered essential to maintaining a free republic.
Like Obamacare, Common Core (now dubbed "ObamaCore" by some) has sparked a backlash in the states, leading some to propose legislation forbidding state participation in the scheme. I hope these efforts lead to states not just opting out of Common Core, but out of No Child Left Behind and all other federal education programs as well.
Parents can also effectively "opt out" of programs like Common Core by seeking alternatives to government education. It is no coincidence that, as federal control over education increases, the quality of public education has declined and more parents have chosen to homeschool.
To support these parents, I have established my own homeschool curriculum. Unlike Common Core, we do not dumb down any of our offerings. Instead, the goal is to provide students with a rigorous education in history, math, English, foreign languages, and other core subjects necessary to a well-rounded education. Unlike the top-down model of nationalized education, the homeschool curriculum is deigned to encourage maximum input from parents and students. While the curriculum will reflect my belief, and interest, in Austrian economics, libertarian political theory, and the history of the struggle against state power, the curriculum is being carefully designed to not show bias toward any one religion. I hope all parents of any faith—or no religious belief at all—will feel comfortable using the curriculum.
I believe it is important for those of us concerned with education and liberty to fight our battles locally. We must oppose further encroachment on the autonomy of local public schools and work to roll-back existing interference, while encouraging and supporting the growth of homeschooling and other alternative education movements. The key to restoring quality education is to replace the bureaucratic control of education with a free-market in education. Parents should have the freedom to select the type of education that best suits their child's unique needs.
Ron Paul 'Constitutionally Correct' 2012.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ronpaulcc2012
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ron-Pa...
Website: http://www.ronpaulcc2012.com
FAIR USE NOTICE: This video may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes only. This constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law.
congressman ron paul
Saturday, May 25, 2013
David Bowie's TV appearances: a history
In time for a new Bowie documentary, Five Years, here's a comprehensive look at his small screen performances, from an ice lolly ad to his Extras cameo
2007: U.S. SENATOR OBAMA CALLED ON ATTORNEY GENERAL GONZALEZ TO STEP DOWN
In March 2007, then-U.S.Senator Barack Obama called on Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez to resign because Obama said Gonzalez acted as President Bush's attorney rather than the role of the people's attorney.
Uploaded on Mar 19, 2007 On Larry King Live, presidential candidate Barack Obama criticized Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, and called on him to resign. The Illinois Senator brought up a point that Gonzales was acting more like the President's attorney and not the people's attorney:
OBAMA: What you get a sense of is an Attorney General who saw himself as an abler of the Administration, as opposed to somebody that was actually trying to look out for the American people's interests. And for that reason, I think it's time for him to step down.
Friday, May 24, 2013
Thursday, May 23, 2013
London Women Defend England Against Islamist Butchers
Ingrid Loyau-Kennett
Mrs. Loyau-Kennett, 48, from Cornwall, was one of the first people on the scene after the two Islamic extremists butchered a soldier in Woolwich, south east London.
Loyau-Kennett was a passenger on a bus which was travelling past the scene, and jumped off to check the soldier’s pulse.
“Being a cub leader I have my first aid so when I saw this guy on the floor I thought it was an accident then I saw the guy was dead and I could not feel any pulse.
“And then when I went up there was this black guy with a revolver and a kitchen knife, he had what looked like butcher’s tools and he had a little axe, to cut the bones, and two large knives and he said 'move off the body’.
“So I thought 'OK, I don’t know what is going on here’ and he was covered with blood. I thought I had better start talking to him before he starts attacking somebody else. I thought these people usually have a message so I said 'what do you want?’
“I asked him if he did it and he said yes and I said why? And he said because he has killed Muslim people in Muslim countries, he said he was a British soldier and I said really and he said 'I killed him because he killed Muslims and I am fed up with people killing Muslims in Afghanistan they have nothing to do there.”
Allah Akbar
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
IRS probe in May 2012, six months before election, hidden from legislators, Shulman
IRS's own internal probe ended in May 2012, six months before election, but was hidden from legislators
Rep. Trey Gowdy Questions Fmr. IRS Commissioner Shulman
Shulman: 'I Can't Recite the Constitution, Sir'
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
How Hope and Change Gave Way to Spying on the Press by Kirsten Powers
Much of the Fourth Estate shrugged when the Obama administration attacked Fox News, writes Kirsten Powers. But now it’s coming for them, too.
Corbett orders delay in Common Core
Corbett orders delay in Common Core academic standards' implementation
Steve Hyams, Mott The Hoople, RIP
Steve Hyams, who worked briefly with Mott The Hoople as frontman/rhythm guitarist, has passed away.
Benghazi Coverup
Stevens’ mission in Benghazi was to buy back Stinger missiles from al-Qaeda groups issued to them by the State Department, not by the CIA. Such a mission would usually be a CIA effort, but the intelligence agency had opposed the idea because of the high risk involved in arming “insurgents” with powerful weapons that endanger civilian aircraft. Stevens had to clean up the nefarious enterprise when it became clear that the “insurgents” actually were al-Qaeda – indeed, the same group that killed Stevens.
The leaking of General David Petraeus’ affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell was timed to silence the former CIA chief on these matters.
General Carter Ham, AFRICOM Special Ops head, had “assets in place that could have come to the aid of the Benghazi consulate immediately (not in six hours).”
Ham was told by the White House not to send the aid to the trapped men, but Ham decided to disobey and did so anyway, whereupon the White House “called his deputy and had the deputy threaten to relieve Ham of his command.”
The White House motivation in all this is as yet unclear, but it is known that Ham retired quietly in April 2013 as head of AFRICOM.
Life imitating art, except that they are not conservatives.
Monday, May 20, 2013
Common Core Testimony
May 15th, the Senate Education Committee held an informational hearing. Representing opponents of Common Core were an outstanding trio of education intellectual heavyweights:
Mr. Neil McCluskey, Associate DirectorCenter for Educational Freedom, Cato Institute
Ms. Joy Pullmann, Research Fellow, Education
The Heartland Institute
Ms. Cheryl E. Boise, Director
Commonwealth Education Organization
We are expecting a bill to halt or "pause" Common Core implementation in Pennsylvania in the PA House shortly.
Dr. Sandra Stotsky, University of Arkansas
Common Core Townhall UNITEPA Emmett McGroarty Part I - Luksik is Part II
Common Core Townhall UNITEPA Peg Luksik Part II - Part I is E. McGroarty
Egyptian Children Playact The Return Of Saladin, Vow To Fight To The Death For The Liberation Of Jerusalem Following are excerpts from an Egyptian children’s play, "The Return of Saladin", which aired on Al-Hafez TV on May 1, 2013
#3837 - Egyptian Children Playact the Return of Saladin, Vow to Fight to the Death for the Liberation of Jerusalem
Al-Hafez TV (Saudi Arabia/Egypt) - May 1, 2013 - 02:32
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Quotes on God, Morality, and America
“We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” –October 11, 1798 – John Adams
“For my own part, I sincerely esteem it [the Constitution] a system which without the finger of God, never could have been suggested and agreed upon by such a diversity of interests.” [ Alexander Hamilton- 1787 after the Constitutional Convention]
“Of all the systems of morality, ancient or modern which have come under my observation, none appears to me so pure as that of Jesus.” – Thomas Jefferson
“We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We’ve staked the future of all our political institutions upon our capacity…to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.” [1778 - James Madison]
“The Bible was America’s basic textbook in all fields.” – Noah Webster
Obama Missing in Action: Dan Pfeiffer: "Irrelevant Fact" Where Obama Was During Benghazi Attacks, IRS Scandal, `Law is Irrelevant'
Obama Aide: 'Irrelevant' Who Edited Benghazi Talking Points
"And the question isn't who edited what talking points. That is largely irrelevant."
Pfeiffer on IRS Scandal: 'Law Is Irrelevant'
"Look, I can't speak to the law here," he said. "The law is irrelevant. The activity was outrageous and inexcusable."
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Friday, May 17, 2013
IRS May Have Thrown Election: Treasury Knew
Treasury Knew of I.R.S. Inquiry in 2012, Official Says
'Is this still America?' Congressional hearing turns into IRS smackdown as disgraced former commissioner and Treasury Inspector General face tea-party scandal questions
Rep. Schock: Why did IRS ask for the content of an organizations prayers?
Thursday, May 16, 2013
#3818 - Former Jordanian PM Abdelraouf Al-Rawabdeh Explains Arab Politicians' Doubletalk regarding the U.S. Al-Jazeera TV (Qatar) - April 1, 2013 - 02:11
Abdelraouf Al-Rawabdeh: "The preacher speaking from the pulpit, the philosopher, the politician, the university professor, the school teacher – they are all attuned to the conscience of the nation. Listen carefully to what I am saying. They are attuned to the conscience of the nation, and they are true to what they believe in, but they are not responsible for its implementation.
"A preacher steps up to the pulpit and declares: 'We must confront America, the spearhead of heresy.' Fine. What does he want us to do about it? He doesn’t say? Along comes the politician, whose job it is to understand the local, regional, and international balance of power, and he talks only about what he can accomplish.
"Once, when I was running for office, someone tried to give me a hard time. He approached me and asked: 'What do you think about America?' I asked him: 'Are you asking me as a politician or as a candidate' He said he was asking me as a candidate, so I said: 'America is an enemy state, which provides weapons to Israel, kills our Palestinian people, controls our Arab countries, expropriates our oil, and destroys our economy.' So he was pleased, but then he said: 'And as a politician?' I said: 'America is our friend. It stands by us and provides us with aid.'
"He said: 'Don’t you see that as a moral contradiction?' 'No,' I said. 'I say that America is an enemy in order to appease you, and I say it is a friend in order to get you food. You tell me which you prefer.'" […]
Benghazi Emails Directly Contradict White House Claims
The evidence directly contradict claims by White House press secretary Jay Carney and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that the revisions of those talking points were driven by the intelligence community and show heavy input from top Obama administration officials, particularly those at the State Department.
The initial CIA changes softened the critical language about the participants in the Benghazi assault – from “Islamic extremists with ties to al Qaeda” to “Islamic extremists.” But CIA officials also added bullet points about the possible participation of Ansar al Sharia, an al Qaeda-linked jihadist group, and previous warnings about the deteriorating security situation in Benghazi. Those additions came out after the talking points were sent to “the interagency,” where the CIA’s final draft was further stripped down to little more than boilerplate. The half dozen references to terrorists – both in Benghazi and more generally – all but disappeared. Gone were references to al Qaeda, Ansar al Sharia, jihadists, Islamic extremists, etc. The only remaining mention was a note that “extremists” had participated in the attack.
As striking as what appears in the email traffic is what does not. There is no mention of the YouTube video that would become a central part of the administration’s explanation of the attacks to the American people until a brief mention in the subject line of emails coming out of an important meeting where further revisions were made.
White House officials lied about the contents. It’s also difficult to reconcile with claims made by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during testimony she gave January 23 on Capitol Hill.
“It was an intelligence product,” she said, adding later that the “intelligence community was the principal decider about what went into talking points.”
And what about the administration’s claims that State and White House officials weren’t involved with substantive edits? In one email, Jake Sullivan, deputy chief of staff to Hillary Clinton, reports to State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland that he’s spoken with Obama’s top spokesman at the National Security Council, Tommy Vietor. “I spoke with Tommy. We’ll work through this in the morning and get comments back.”
In a separate email, he writes: “Talked to Tommy. We can make edits.”
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
BENGHAZI EMAILS: No mention of video
Among the major takeaways from the White House’s doc dump is the fact that CIA Deputy Director Michael Morrell is apparently responsible for editing the administration’s talking points (i.e. changed attack to “violent demonstration”).
ISLAMISTS CAUGHT TRESPASSING AFTER MIDNIGHT AT BOSTON'S QUABBIN RESERVOIR, ONE OF COUNTRY'S LARGEST PUBLIC WATER SUPPLIES
The seven individuals currently live in Amherst, Cambridge, Sunderland, Northampton and New York City. Police have not released their names because a court date has not been set.
The Quabbin, in Belchertown, is one of the country’s largest man-made public water supplies. Boston’s drinking water comes from the Quabbin and the Wachusett Reservoirs.
The Quabbin, in Belchertown, is one of the country’s largest man-made public water supplies. Boston’s drinking water comes from the Quabbin and the Wachusett Reservoirs.
12:30 in the morning seven people were caught trespassing in a restricted area, Quabbin Reservoir is water supply for 40 percent of Massachusetts Five men, two women from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Singapore said they were CHEMICAL ENGINEER students. No doubt they are Muslim students.
BELCHERTOWN, Mass (WHDH) -- State police have questioned seven people they say were trespassing at the Quabbin Reservoir near Belchertown early Tuesday morning.
State police said a trooper saw two vehicles parked on the grass at the reservoir's entrance. The trooper saw seven people walking from the Quabbin Reservoir toward the vehicles.
The male individuals claimed to be chemical engineers. The individuals further claimed that they were recent college graduates, according to state police.
Officers on scene checked the vehicles, persons, and the park area and did not find anything suspicious. There was no evidence that the seven were committing any crime beyond the trespassing, according to police.
The seven people will be summonsed to Eastern Hampshire District Court for the offense of trespassing.
The Commonwealth Fusion Center was notified of the incident and provided with the identification of the seven individuals. Preliminary investigation suggests the individuals are from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore, according to state police.
State police notified the FBI's Springfield Office, which sent agents to the Belchertown Barracks to assist in the follow up investigation.
State police said it's increasing the number of routine checks our patrols make at water supply facilities around the state.
BELCHERTOWN, Mass (WHDH) -- State police have questioned seven people they say were trespassing at the Quabbin Reservoir near Belchertown early Tuesday morning.
State police said a trooper saw two vehicles parked on the grass at the reservoir's entrance. The trooper saw seven people walking from the Quabbin Reservoir toward the vehicles.
The male individuals claimed to be chemical engineers. The individuals further claimed that they were recent college graduates, according to state police.
Officers on scene checked the vehicles, persons, and the park area and did not find anything suspicious. There was no evidence that the seven were committing any crime beyond the trespassing, according to police.
The seven people will be summonsed to Eastern Hampshire District Court for the offense of trespassing.
The Commonwealth Fusion Center was notified of the incident and provided with the identification of the seven individuals. Preliminary investigation suggests the individuals are from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore, according to state police.
State police notified the FBI's Springfield Office, which sent agents to the Belchertown Barracks to assist in the follow up investigation.
State police said it's increasing the number of routine checks our patrols make at water supply facilities around the state.
Category
Russia's CIA spy bust 'was linked to Boston Bombing'
The man the alleged spy was trying to ‘recruit’ was an FSB agent who specialised in Islamism in Russia.
‘VERY FRIGHTENING’: PROMINENT CATHOLIC PROF. CLAIMS IRS AUDITED HER AFTER SPEAKING OUT AGAINST OBAMA AND DEMANDED TO KNOW WHO WAS PAYING HER
- Roman Catholic, noted professor and sociologist Dr. Anne Hendershott claims IRS may have targeted her with a 2010 audit
- IRS demanded to know which groups paid her and “what their politics were”
- Hendershott believes her articles critical of President Barack Obama’s policies and George Soros’ funding of liberal Catholic groups may have spawned the IRS audit
- Audit was emotionally and financially expensive and scared the professor into silence
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
White House email contradicts Benghazi leaks
The significance of the email seems to be that whomever leaked the inaccurate information earlier this month did so in a way that made it appear that the White House - specifically deputy National Security Adviser for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes - was more interested in the State Department's desire to remove mentions to specific terrorist groups and warnings about these groups so as to not bring criticism to the Department than Rhodes' email actually stated.
In the email sent on Friday, September 14, 2012, at 9:34 p.m., obtained by CNN from a U.S. government source, Rhodes wrote:
“All –
“Sorry to be late to this discussion. We need to resolve this in a way that respects all of the relevant equities, particularly the investigation.
“There is a ton of wrong information getting out into the public domain from Congress and people who are not particularly informed. Insofar as we have firmed up assessments that don’t compromise intel or the investigation, we need to have the capability to correct the record, as there are significant policy and messaging ramifications that would flow from a hardened mis-impression.
“We can take this up tomorrow morning at deputies.”
http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2013/05/politics/white-house-benghazi-email/index.html
US to begin exporting shale oil supply: shock rocks global power balance.
The rise in US production means the world's reliance on oil from traditional oil producing countries in the Middle East, which make up Opec (the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries), would end soon, according to the report.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) cites the "growing insecurity in North and Sub-Saharan Africa" in the wake of the Arab Spring uprisings as a key reason for the slowdown.
Monday, May 13, 2013
"Separation of Church and State": Prager University
Distinguished law professor, John Eastman, explains:
FOIA Response to ACLU request about spying on private citizens’ electronic communications
The American Civil Liberties Union in response to reports that the Federal government may be spying on private citizens’ electronic communications decided to file a Freedom of Information Act request to get to the bottom of the story.
http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security-technology-and-liberty/fbi-documents-suggest-feds-read-emails-without-warrant
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Benghazi Spin
It’s revealing to view the twelve different iterations that the talking points went through before they were released to Congress and to United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice, who used them in Sunday show appearances that became a central focus of the Administration’s cover up. Over the course of about twenty-four hours, the remarks evolved from something specific and fairly detailed into a bland, vague mush.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters that “The White House and the State Department have made clear that the single adjustment that was made to those talking points by either of those two institutions were changing the word ‘consulate’ to ‘diplomatic facility’ because ‘consulate’ was inaccurate.”
Pope Francis canonizes hundreds of martyrs beheaded for refusing to convert to Islam
Francis gives church hundreds of new saints
The previous Pope, Benedict, had approved the move, but Francis solidified it.
The "Martyrs of Otranto" were 813 Italians who were slain in the southern Italian city in 1480 for defying demands by Turkish invaders who overran the citadel to renounce Christianity.
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Pennsylvanians Against Common Core
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Please educate yourself about the perils of Common Core Curriculum and get the word out to others. After reviewing the information my evaluation of this programs is:
Common Core Curriculum=Communist School to Work
There is a short 5 part video by Jane Robbins below:
About the Stop the National Common Core Power Grab: Reclaim Local Control of Education DVD video. The video:
· Explains the origin of the Common Core – its genesis with private, progressive education interests in Washington, DC – and how the federal government imposed it on the states by tying its adoption to a chance at Race to the Top grants.
· Demonstrates that by adopting the Common Core, a state relinquishes its control over what is taught in its schools and paves the way for a national curriculum designed by unaccountable entities in Washington.
· Explains that the standards not only lack “rigor,” but in fact will diminish the education our children receive in English language arts and mathematics.
· Outlines the problems with the national tests that are being designed – behind closed doors – to align with the Common Core.
· Shows why the costs of implementing the Common Core will dwarf any federal grants received as a reward for adopting the standards.
· Reveals the federal dictates to build massive student-data systems so that students can be individually tracked from preschool through career – all in the name of producing “workers” who can “compete in the global economy.”
Simply put, the Common Core is designed to replace local and parental control over education with centralized, top-down control. The purpose is to train students for jobs, not educate them to be full, thoughtful citizens in our democratic republic. If we do not take action now to prevent this destructive experiment on our children, it will be too late.
Please watch this video and share it with others.
Click for Part 1:
Chapter 1 Origins of the Common Core
Chapter 2 Testing Mandates
Chapter 1 Origins of the Common Core
Chapter 2 Testing Mandates
Click for Part 2:
Chapter 3 Education Without Representation
Chapter 4 Sub-Standard Standards
Chapter 3 Education Without Representation
Chapter 4 Sub-Standard Standards
Click for Part 3:
Chapter 5 Intrusive Data Tracking
Chapter 6 High Price Tag
Chapter 5 Intrusive Data Tracking
Chapter 6 High Price Tag
Click for Part 4:
Chapter 7 National Standards Do More Harm Than Good
Chapter 8 Future Effect of Common Core
Chapter 7 National Standards Do More Harm Than Good
Chapter 8 Future Effect of Common Core
Click for Part 5:
Chapter 9 Where Does All This Lead?
Chapter 10 Take Action!
Chapter 9 Where Does All This Lead?
Chapter 10 Take Action!
And for a wealth of information and a preview of the type of data that will be collected please visit:
National Biometric Database of Every U.S. Adult
Biometric Database of All Adult Americans Hidden in Immigration Reform
Politically Incorrect Ph.D. dissertation from Harvard University Resigns from Heritage Foundation
“No one knows whether Hispanics will ever reach IQ parity with whites, but the prediction that new Hispanic immigrants will have low-IQ children and grandchildren is difficult to argue against,” the dissertation reads.
If this is what his academic research shows and it passed muster at Harvard then I don't understand why he should resign. Research has demonstrated that race differences in average IQ are largely genetic.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/2005/04/26/9530.aspx
CBS: "Our house is on fire:" 'We Are Getting Big Stories Wrong, Over and Over Again'
CBS anchor Scott Pelley said at a speech at Quinnipiac University that journalists "are getting big stories wrong, over and over again."
Friday, May 10, 2013
NEW JERSEY SENATORS ON GUNS: ‘CONFISCATE, CONFISCATE, CONFISCATE’
“We need a bill that is going to confiscate, confiscate, confiscate.”
“They want to keep guns out of the hands of bad guys but they don’t have any regulations…to do it,” another woman says, identified possibly as Democrat state Sen. Loretta Weinberg by the Star-Ledger.
“They don’t care about the bad guys,” yet another female voice chimes in. “All they want to do is to have their little guns and do whatever they want with them.” The Star-Ledger reports that those comments sound like they came from another Democrat, Sandra Cunningham.
“That’s the line they’ve developed,” a woman who sounds like Democrat state Sen. Linda Greenstein says, according to the Star-Ledger.
Benghazi Talking Points Underwent 12 Revisions, Scrubbed of Terror Reference
State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland raised specific objections to this paragraph drafted by the CIA in its earlier versions of the talking points:
“The Agency has produced numerous pieces on the threat of extremists linked to al-Qa’ida in Benghazi and eastern Libya. These noted that, since April, there have been at least five other attacks against foreign interests in Benghazi by unidentified assailants, including the June attack against the British Ambassador’s convoy. We cannot rule out the individuals has previously surveilled the U.S. facilities, also contributing to the efficacy of the attacks.”
IRS Targets Obama's Political Opponents
Patriots targeted by IRS.
Obama was giving the commencement address at Arizona State University in 2009 where he joked about auditing the president of ASU and their board of regents.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
IMAM USES PRAYER TO DAMN FALLEN SEAL TEAM 6 MEMBERS TO HELL DURING THEIR FUNERAL
Parents of fallen service members spoke at a press conference, an event during which they accused the U.S. government of complicity in the deaths of their sons. The families highlighted a number of grievances, including the notion that military brass invited a Muslim cleric to their children’s funeral in 2011 — an imam who they claim “disparaged in Arabic the memory of these servicemen.” Three families of fallen Navy SEAL Team 6 special forces members and one family of an Army National Guardsman held the event at the National Press Club. Their children perished during the fatal Chinook helicopter crash that occurred in Afghanistan on August 6, 2011. The presser was an effort, as noted in a press release, to corroborate the notion that the U.S. government is “as much responsible for the deaths of their sons as is the Taliban.”
They question the type of helicopter being flown; why so many elite members of the military were in one helicopter at a given time; why command switched out members of the Afghani forces at the last minute; and why other procedures they considered protocol did not seem to have been followed.
A Chinook from 1989 is unacceptable for many of the Boeing CH-47 Chinook the men were flying in that day. 93 days after killing bin Laden no one would have though you put 22 members of SEAL Team 6 in a Chinook.
The helicopter didn’t have an escort on its night mission to the Tangi Valley in an area that had already seen hours of hostility. This violates standard protocol.
Most importantly, the Islamist attempted to intentionally sully the memory of their sons by “damning them as infidels to Allah.” The group showed video of the prayer to prove their contentions, complete with translation.
The imam stated: “That the fallen seals should be damned and go to hell as infidels.”
An attorney for the families offered a translation along with a video of the prayer:
“Amen I shelter in Allah from the devil who has been cast with stones. In the name of Allah the merciful giver. The companions of the fire are not equal with the companions of heaven. The companions of heaven are the winners. Had we sent this Koran to a mountain, you would have seen the mountain prostrated in fear of Allah. Such examples are what we present to the people; to the people, so that they would think. Blessings are to your God, the God of glory of what they describe. And peace be upon the messengers and thanks be to Allah the lord of both universes.”
Another translation that was commissioned by Islam expert Stephen Coughlin is somewhat less pointed:
“I announce the evil by all-aha. By the name of the merciful all-aha. People of hell and people of heaven are not equal (even, not the same), people of heaven are the winners, if we [unintelligible word] the Koran on the mountain, you will see, you will see him in submission and humble of alla-aha’s fear. Those (who are in submission) are examples for the people (the public) may these people (the public) remember, praise alla-aha. Alla-aha God of glory, of the people behaviors (he is wondering or questioning the people’s behaviors). And peace to the Prophets, thanks to alla-aha, please (asking alla-aha) to forgive him, comfort him and accept him in paradise. [The prayer ends, however this subject was talking to some audience he was telling them I LOVE TO....then the audio ended].”
Here’s another version of the imam’s comments without subtitles and in Arabic:
Most standard Muslim prayers are offensive by nature because they arise from a book of the Koran or a chapter of the Koran that is about defeating the infidels. None of this should lessen the outrage, and should be clearly a reason why inter-religious services should not be performed. Islamist prayers are inflammatory even when they’re not trying to do so because it centers on the issue of the fundamental and irreconcilable difference between Islamic orientation and a non-Muslim orientation. None of the SEAL team members were Muslim so politically correctness be damned, no imam should speak at American troop funerals.
Biden had ratted out the Seal Team 6 initially.
The parents of Aaron Vaughn, Billy and Karen, who spoke at the presser Thursday began voicing of their discontent regarding the SEALs being identified last year:
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