Constitution reading provokes political tussling.
The woman who spoke out has clear convictions.
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.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Gulf Oil Spill Update
From The Gulf Stream To The Bloodstream
Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Timeline
Jindahl states rigs are gone to Africa
Gulf Oil Spill Timeline
Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Images
Horowitz Interview on Food Commodities (Dec. 30)
The increase in global food demand and the impact on commodity prices which are rising.
Dec. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Ian Horowitz, senior equity analyst for Rafferty Capital Markets, talks about the increase in global food demand and the impact on commodity prices. Horowitz speaks with Carol Massar on Bloomberg Television's "In the Loop." (Source: Bloomberg)
The cost of food climbed 25 percent from a year earlier in December, based on the FAO figures, after Chinese demand strengthened and Russia’s worst drought in a half-century devastated grain crops. Record fuel prices, weather- related crop problems, increasing demand from the growing Indian and Chinese middle classes, and the push to grow corn for ethanol fuel all contributed to the crisis as well.
Worldwide Christian Persecution: Sarkozy
Persecution of Christians and news of Christian persecution in the war against Christians.
7 January 2011 Sarkozy decries the actions as religious cleansing.
Police Still Searching for Crime Scene in John Wheeler’s Puzzling Murder
Late on Dec. 28, several smoke bombs of the type used for rodent control were tossed into a family's the house that Wheeler was suing to block them from continuing to build a new house.
Whoever dumped the body of a prominent national defense consultant into a garbage bin in a bustling college town risked being detected, either by witnesses or surveillance cameras, with some of the containers in well-lit parking lots, near restaurants and stores. It is almost sounding like a professional hit and not a random crime.
Is a narrative being developed here that Wheeler was a lone, crazed gunman?
Pelosi: 'We Have No Regrets' About Debt Piled Up Over Last Two Years
According to official debt figures published by the U.S. Treasury, the Democrat controlled 111th Congress added $3.22 trillion ($3,220,103,625,307.29) to the national debt – more than the new debt accumulated by the first 100 Congresses combined.
The 110th Congress added the second largest amount to the national debt – $1.957 trillion while the 108th ($1.159 trillion in new debt) and 109th ($1.054 trillion in new debt), both controlled by Republicans, come in at third and fourth place among all U.S. Congresses in terms of accumulating debt.
Censoring Mark Twain
New edition of 'Huckleberry Finn' to lose the N-word.
Watkins referred to Juan Williams as "Bill O'Reilly's happy little Negro", in reference to Williams' insistence that O'Reilly did nothing wrong.
Watkins is hardly a dispassionate observer to the dispute; he almost called Williams the "N" word himself. Watkins is also the whiner who pines that he lost out on tenure because of O'Reilly. Although he has a PhD in Finance, consider his scholarly output, which is lacking.
His first work was a popular best seller: "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about College – A Guide for Minority Students."
His second book: "What if George Bush were a Black Man?" is possibly a scholarly work but certainly it is not unusual for a tenure committee to deny him the privilege if it is not up to snuff. This book was a satirical discussion of President Bush and the presence of White privilege in America. Watkins explores the criminal justice system, the educational system, and the economic systems of America, using statistics and anecdotes to inductively describe likely fates for President Bush and other privileged individuals if they were poor and Black.
His next books are not scholarly at all: "Financial Lovemaking 101: Merging Assets with Your Partner in Ways that Feel Good", "The Parental 411: What Every Parent should Know about Their Child in College", and "Quick and Dirty Secrets of College Success: A Professor Tells it all".
In scholarly journals he published only 9 articles which is hardly worthwhile to earn tenure.
It is not hard at all to believe he did not attain tenure.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Fish, Birds Update
Mysterious killing of fish in coastal Brazil.
Chesepeake Fish Kill Caused By Cold Stress
Mass Louisiana bird deaths, 4 January 2011
This event comes just three days after >more than 3,000 blackbirds rained down from the sky in Beebe, Ark.
Breaking News at geoengineeringwatch.org.
Rosalie Bertell, Grey Nun of the Sacred Heart, received her Ph. D. degree in Biometrics with minors in Biology and Biochemistry from the Catholic University of America, in 1966. She is the founder of the International Concern for Public Health (IICPH) and she is also a founding member of the International Commission of Health Professionals, and the International Association of Humanitarian Medicine. She has identified a covert spray program, identical to what citizens are saying, and geoengineering scientists are denying. Here is one interview with Sister Dr. Bertell.
HAARP Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Broadcast Weather control
The Koran in regards to the People of the Book
Koranic interpretation is based on the idea of abrogation, the earlier peaceful verses, which are in the Koran, are abrogated or replaced by the warlike and hateful texts.
The later verses of the Koran abrogate or replace earlier texts. Here is the last verse written about the People of the Book (Jews/Christians). This is the final word. It calls for Muslims to make war on the People of the Book who do not believe in the religion of truth, Islam.
9:29 "Make war on those who have received the Scriptures [Jews and Christians] but do not believe in Allah or in the Last Day. They do not forbid what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden. The Christians and Jews do not follow the religion of truth until they submit and pay the poll tax [jizya] and they are humiliated."
The last sentence "They do not forbid . . . " means that they do not accept Sharia law: "until they submit" means to submit to Sharia law. Christians and Jews who do not accept Mohammed as the final prophet are Kafirs" (literally concealers: those who disregard the truth of Islam).
A Muslim is not the friend of the Kafir (concealer)
3:28 "Believers should not take Kafirs as friends in preference to other believers. Those who do this will have none of Allah's protection and will only have themselves as guards. Allah warns you to fear Him for all will return to Him."
Likewise, a Kafir can be mocked (83:34), beheaded (47:4), plotted against (86:15), terrorized (8:12), evil (23:97), disgraced (37:18), and cursed (33:60).
There are two sets of rules: a Muslim is a brother to another Muslim. Whereas something that is not true is not always a lie.
[Bukhari 3,78,618] Mohammed: "A man who bring peace to the people by making up good words or by saying nice things, though untrue, does not lie."
The later verses of the Koran abrogate or replace earlier texts. Here is the last verse written about the People of the Book (Jews/Christians). This is the final word. It calls for Muslims to make war on the People of the Book who do not believe in the religion of truth, Islam.
9:29 "Make war on those who have received the Scriptures [Jews and Christians] but do not believe in Allah or in the Last Day. They do not forbid what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden. The Christians and Jews do not follow the religion of truth until they submit and pay the poll tax [jizya] and they are humiliated."
The last sentence "They do not forbid . . . " means that they do not accept Sharia law: "until they submit" means to submit to Sharia law. Christians and Jews who do not accept Mohammed as the final prophet are Kafirs" (literally concealers: those who disregard the truth of Islam).
A Muslim is not the friend of the Kafir (concealer)
3:28 "Believers should not take Kafirs as friends in preference to other believers. Those who do this will have none of Allah's protection and will only have themselves as guards. Allah warns you to fear Him for all will return to Him."
Likewise, a Kafir can be mocked (83:34), beheaded (47:4), plotted against (86:15), terrorized (8:12), evil (23:97), disgraced (37:18), and cursed (33:60).
There are two sets of rules: a Muslim is a brother to another Muslim. Whereas something that is not true is not always a lie.
[Bukhari 3,78,618] Mohammed: "A man who bring peace to the people by making up good words or by saying nice things, though untrue, does not lie."
Monday, January 3, 2011
Illinois Pension Funding
Atwood Interview on Illinois Pension Funding
Jan. 3 (Bloomberg) -- William Atwood, executive director of the Illinois State Board of Investments, talks about the possibility Illinois lawmakers may approve a plan to sell $3.7 billion of bonds to fund the state's pension contributions. Illinois State Board of Investments manages about one-fifth of the pension funds. Atwood talks with Jon Erlichman on Bloomberg Television's "In the Loop." (Source: Bloomberg)
Islamic Genocide Against Christians, Catholics
The governor of a Pakistani province has been killed; the motive may be speaking out against the country's blasphemy law in recent days while defending a Christian.
Ex-Lebanon Leader: Christians Target of Genocide.
Egypt on high alert ahead of Coptic Christmas
Egypt on high alert over Copt protests
Video: Muslims Chant "Allahu Akbar" After Car Bomb Kills 21 Christians
Egyptian Security Guards Withdrew One Hour Before Church Blast, Say Eyewitnesses
Police: Shot Fired Outside Mall, Multiple Arrests Made
Police: Shot Fired Outside Mayfair Mall, Multiple Arrests Made - Milwaukee News Story - WISN Milwaukee
“A crowd of like 50 to 60 kids just came barreling through the upstairs door at Boston Store, knocking down everything they could touch."
Raw Video: Cell Phone Camera Captures Commotion
Drilling Is Stalled Even After Ban Is Lifted
Continuing to negatively impact U.S. jobs the American oil production has stalled.
The Obama administration in September estimated that 8,000 to 12,000 workers could lose their jobs temporarily as a result of the moratorium; some independent estimates have been much higher.
The slowdown also has long-term implications for U.S. oil production. The Energy Information Administration, the research arm of the Department of Energy, last month predicted that domestic offshore oil production will fall 13% this year from 2010 due to the moratorium and the slow return to drilling; a year ago, the agency predicted offshore production would rise 6% in 2011. The difference: a loss of about 220,000 barrels of oil a day.
The Middle East will gain as a result of the moratorium. Some companies are shifting investments out of the Gulf. BP PLC recently said it would move a brand-new rig that was meant to work in the Gulf, Pride International Inc.'s Deep Ocean Ascension, to Libya. Marathon Oil Corp. has tried to cancel a contract for a newly built Gulf rig owned by Noble Corp. Noble declined to comment, but last month it said it would "vigorously defend its rights under the drilling contract."
Smaller oil companies, however, are less able to wait out the slowdown. ATP Oil & Gas, one of the smallest deep-water operators in the Gulf, has seen its share price fall 27% since the Deepwater Horizon exploded, a sign investors are concerned about lost revenue from its delayed wells. ATP's chairman, Paul Bulmahn, has said the company is now looking for projects in other countries. In a letter to President Barack Obama last month, Mr. Bulmahn pleaded for a drilling permit.
U.S.'s Issa Plans to Focus on Greater Fed Transparency
U.S.'s Issa Plans to Focus on Greater Fed Transparency
Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Representative Darrell Issa, incoming chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, talks about the need to ensure the Federal Reserve is more transparent in its actions. Issa, a California Republican speaking with Peter Cook on Bloomberg Television's "InsideTrack," also discusses tax policy and his willingness to work with Obama. (Source: Bloomberg) (Bloomberg)
Sunday, January 2, 2011
CNBC Panel Dismisses Peter Schiff (and What WSJ Really Thinks Of Him)
CNBC Panel Dismisses Peter Schiff (and What WSJ Really Thinks Of Him)
Progressive Communism in NYC, Redistribution of American Wealth
Americans Support Redistribution of Wealth
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Sawyer Stumps Director Of Intelligence, James Clapper, On Terror Arrests(1st denies now admits)
Gen. James Clapper is tasked with coordinating everything the nation knows about terrorism and national security. It is less than comforting to watch Diane Sawyer's revealing interview with our nation's top terror team and see Clapper appear to know less about the arrests of 12 people in London as part of a potential holiday terror plot than anybody who watched TV during the day.
When Sawyer asked about London, and "how safe is it? Any implication that it was coming here? Director Clapper?" Clapper answers: "London?"
Sawyer--who kindly let Secretary Janet Napolitano's gaffe about America's anti-terror forces being on the job "24/7, 364″ slip without calling her on it, did not let this one go--and rightfully so:
SAWYER: I was a little surprised you didn't know about London.
CLAPPER: Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't.
After the interview, Clapper's office--in fast-moving damage control--issued a statement to ABC News:
"The question about this specific news development was ambiguous. The DNI's knowledge of the threat streams in Europe is profound and multi-dimensional, and any suggestion otherwise is inaccurate."
UPDATE: After suggesting that the problem wasn't sheer ignorance, but rather Diane Sawyer's "vague" question, the office of the DNI now admits Clapper, essentially, had no clue about what had happened in London.
The nation's Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, now admits he knew nothing about the key arrests in London of 12 suspects in a sweeping terror investigation when he sat down to talk about the nation's anti-terror defenses with ABC's Diane Sawyer.
ODNI spokesperson Jamie Smith, working damage control, issued this statement:
Clapper, she explained, had been "working throughout the day on important intelligence matters, including monitoring military and political developments on the Korean Peninsula, providing answers to questions concerning the ratification of the START nuclear treaty, and other classified issues. He wasn't immediately briefed on London because it didn't appear to have a homeland nexus and there was no immediate action by the DNI required. Nevertheless, he should have been briefed on the arrests, and steps have been taken to ensure that he is in the future. The intelligence community as a whole was fully aware of this development and tracking it closely."
Atheist Ayaan Hirsi Ali lives under a death mark. She needs security 24/7 and likely will for the rest of her life. She made a film with Theo van Gogh about the status of women is Islamic countries. Van Gogh was slaughtered in broad daylight and the knife driven through his chest had a note addressed to Ali essentially saying that she was next. Islamists function as a state within a state and are popping up around Europe while the Western Europeans do not have the will to stand up to it.
Ali escaped a life of forced marriage and virtual slavery from her Islamic family. She escaped, got educated, and became a Member of the Dutch Parliament. When it became clear that her security needs could not be met she came to the United States.
She writes about her experiences and how the West should stand up to preserve our freedom and our culture. The progressive secular left in the elite media, which has been schooled that Western Culture is “the oppressor” and that Christianity is evil, often attacks her and posits false premises at her in an effort to embarrass her. PBS' Tavis Smiley states without evidence that Christians are violent on a daily basis. On the other hand, 162 Muslims have been arrested in the United States in the last two years for plotting against America. Post offices are not blown up every day. No one was called the "N word" in front of the Capitol Building. The event was being recorded from many angles by a sea of new media recording devices that captured every moment of the event which demonstrated that nothing of the kind happened. A $100,000 reward for evidence of it happening was offered by Andrew Breitbart with no takers. Of the two Democrat politicians who made the false claim, one back-pedaled and the other is the same politician who compared John McCain to Democrat Governor George Wallace in October 2008. There is no evidence to back their spurious claims. The only known acts of violence at Tea Party events have been carried out by far left extremists and paid union thugs who showed up to physically attack the participants. All of this has been reported in detail.
“It’s always the same with these bogus equivalences: They start by pretending loftily to find no difference between aggressor and victim, and they end up by saying that it’s the victim of violence who is ‘really’ inciting it” – atheist Christopher Hitchens stated.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Military Control in America: Skywatch
Promo video
Cf. http://www.icxt.com/products/icx-surveillance/integrated-platforms/skywatch/SkyWatch-video/
SkyWatch Frontier
The SkyWatch Frontier was developed with the intention of being deployed with our military forces and, as such, provides optional ballistic capabilities for those areas in which enemy activity is at its highest. Due to this inherent design, the SkyWatch Frontier can meet the rigors of expeditionary missions not only for the military, but for border patrol and high level security arenas as well.
Cf. http://www.icxt.com/products/icx-surveillance/integrated-platforms/skywatch/skywatch-applications/
The Park Police also utilized their own SkyWatch™ mobile surveillance towers to assist with crowd management and surveillance [at the Independence Day celebrations in our Nation’s capital]. . . . In addition to celebrations on the National Mall, ICx products and services support security operations at other national icons across the United States, including the Statue of Liberty and the Hoover Dam.
Cf. http://www.icxt.com/news/150/27/
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Ian Hunter discussing Arthur Lee & Love
Ian Hunter, along with Robert Plant, Ryan Adams, Garland Jeffreys, Nils Lofgren and more, played a special benefit show at NYC's Beacon Theater on June 23, 2006, for Arthur Lee who was struggling with leukemia.
TSA: Disabled Woman Thrown to Floor, Arrested for Refusing Breast Pat Down Search
Woman arrested after refusing enhanced pat down.
(Austin TX) Early Wednesday morning, a computer glitch shut down a security checkpoint for a couple of hours at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. The line snaked out the door as many travelers waited for more than an hour and some missed their flights. One of the first people in line after that shutdown never made it through. She was arrested and banned from the airport.
Claire Hirschkind, 56, who says she is a rape victim and who has a pacemaker-type device implanted in her chest, says her constitutional rights were violated. She says she never broke any laws. But the Transportation Security Administration disagrees.
Hirschkind was hoping to spend Christmas with friends in California, but she never made it past the security checkpoint.
"I can't go through because I have the equivalent of a pacemaker in me," she said.
Hirschkind said because of the device in her body, she was led to a female TSA employee and three Austin police officers. She says she was told she was going to be patted down.
"I turned to the police officer and said, 'I have given no due cause to give up my constitutional rights. You can wand me,'" and they said, 'No, you have to do this,'" she said.
Hirschkind agreed to the pat down, but on one condition.
"I told them, 'No, I'm not going to have my breasts felt,' and she said, 'Yes, you are,'" said Hirschkind.
When Hirschkind refused, she says that "the police actually pushed me to the floor, (and) handcuffed me. I was crying by then. They drug me 25 yards across the floor in front of the whole security."
An ABIA spokesman says it is TSA policy that anyone activating a security alarm has two options. One is to opt out and not fly, and the other option is to subject themselves to an enhanced pat down. Hirschkind refused both and was arrested.
Other travelers KVUE talked to say they empathize with Hirschkind, but the law is the law.
"I understand her side of it, and their side as well, but it is for our protection so I have no problems with it," said Gwen Washington, who lives in Killeen.
"It's unfortunate that that happened and she didn't get to fly home, but it makes me feel a little safer," said Emily Protine.
The TSA did release a statement Wednesday that said in part, "Our officers are trained to treat all passengers with dignity and respect. Security is not optional."
The TSA says less than three percent of travelers get a pat-down.
"They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security."
—Benjamin Franklin
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Monday, December 27, 2010
Outgoing Democrat Blames Chinese For Loss?
RealClearPolitics - Video - Outgoing Democrat Blames Chinese For Loss?
"I think it's strangling us," Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH) said. "They're in the halls of Congress everywhere, and it means, for example, that you sit on a committee and you say something about concern about Chinese influence or something, you don't even know if in the next election, somehow or another, they manage to send some money to some group that now doesn't even have to say where they got it."
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Friday, December 24, 2010
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Christmas Round-Up
DC Metro randomly inspects passengers' bags.
By a 3-2 vote, Federal telecommunications regulators approved new rules Tuesday that would for the first time give the federal government formal authority to regulate Internet traffic, although how much or for how long remained unclear. The rules would prohibit Internet providers from "unreasonably discriminating" against rivals' Internet traffic or services on wired or wireless networks; you mean, as required in free market capitalist enterprises? The FCC proposal contains language suggesting the agency would try to discourage creation of such high-speed toll lanes; you mean, as if people have a choice in services as is required in free market capitalism?
Christmas Sweater Club Punished At High School.
Hans Rosling's 200 Countries, 200 Years, 4 Minutes - The Joy of Stats - BBC Four, 4:48
William Buckley interviews Huey Newton on Firing Line, 1972, 5:06
Dana Loesch on Spitzer, 8:03
Dad Life, 2:54
British arrest preacher for saying homosexuality a sin; however, a judge ruled that telling a street preacher that it is against the law to affirm the Bible's teaching on homosexuality is costing a team of British police officers some $11,000 – plus legal fees, 1:46.
The U.K.'s Public Order Act includes language that is similar to Obama's "hate crimes" law in the U.S. that he signed more than a year ago in that they ban some statements regarding homosexuality.
Bing Crosby & David Bowie - The Little Drummer Boy / Peace On Earth, 4:23
Satchmo, Cool Yule, 3:00
The History of Christmas Tree Lights on the Internet, 3:18
THE DIGITAL STORY OF THE NATIVITY, 2:58
The Digital Nativity, 5:01
Monday, December 20, 2010
Ian Hunter, Town Crier Cafe, Pawling, NY, 19 December 2010
Entrance
1)23A Swan Hill
2)Words (Big Mouth)
3)Arms & Legs
4)Great Escape
5)Soul Of America
6)Man Overboard
7)Wash Us Away
8)Boy
9)Flowers
10)River Of Tears
11)Waterlow
12)Girl From the Office
13)Sweet Jane
Encore:
Little Star(solo)
Union Jack(solo)
Somewhere
Whole Lotta Shakin'
23A Swan Hill
Soul Of America
Whole Lotta' Shakin' Goin' On
Irene Wilde
Irene Wilde
I'm Gettin' Nuttin' For Christmas
Michael Picasso
I Wish I was Your Mother
I Wish I Was Your Mother
Roll Away The Stone/All The Young Dudes
Roll Away The Stone/All The Young Dudes
Nuttin' For Christmas by Art Mooney & Orchestra
Vocals by Barry Gordon. MGM Records.
Facebook's Zuckerberg visits office of China search firm Baidu
Why a visit?
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg visited the campus of China's largest search engine Baidu on Monday. Baidu confirmed that Zuckerberg had made the visit, but it wouldn't comment on what they were talking about. Zuckerberg's girlfriend is Chinese and has family in the country. In another interview with the media, the Facebook CEO said he has a personal interest in China and even takes daily Chinese language lessons. Facebook, however, is currently blocked in China, along with other popular U.S. sites such as YouTube and Twitter. China's government routinely monitors and block websites for politically sensitive content.
The Cartel - Corruption in Public Schools
This clip from the documentary film "The Cartel," by Bob Bowdon, discusses the corruption occurring in some of New Jersey's Public Schools.
For more information, visit the film's website:
http://www.TheCartelMovie.com
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