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.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Burning Obama
April 3: An Afghan protestor beats a burning effigy of U.S. President Barack Obama during a rally in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. Afghan protests against the burning of a Quran in Florida entered a third day with a demonstration in the major eastern city Sunday, while the Taliban called on people to rise up, blaming government forces for any violence. (AP)
Foreign Banks Tapped Fed’s Secret Lifeline Most at Crisis Peak
The biggest borrowers from the 97-year-old discount window as the program reached its crisis-era peak were foreign banks, accounting for at least 70 percent of the $110.7 billion borrowed during the week in October 2008 when use of the program surged to a record.
“The caricature of the Fed is that it was shoveling money to big New York banks and a bunch of foreigners, and that is not conducive to its long-run reputation,” said Vincent Reinhart, the Fed’s director of monetary affairs from 2001 to 2007.
Bank of China, the country’s oldest bank, was the second- largest borrower from the Fed’s discount window during a nine- day period in August 2007 as subprime-mortgage defaults first roiled broader markets.
Arab Banking Corp., then 29 percent-owned by the Libyan central bank, used its New York branch to get at least 73 loans from the Fed in the 18 months after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. collapsed. The largest single loan amount outstanding was $1.2 billion in July 2009, according to the Fed documents.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Obama’s draft registration from 1980
Retired Air Force Col. Gregory Hollister said the Social Security number on what he says is Obama’s draft registration begins with the numbers 042, which would be issued to someone born in Connecticut, not Hawaii.
Holocaust Denier, Deputy of Yasser Arafat Crafts Obama Doctrine
Abbas and Palestinian Authority leaders attend Fatah performance presenting Israel as Palestine
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and other Palestinian Authority leaders attend a song performance that presents Israeli cities and places as "Palestinian." This is an example of how the PA routinely denies Israel's existence and right to exist by referring to all of Israel as "Palestine," and referring to all Israeli locations as "Palestinian."
Palestinian Authority officials sitting in the audience:
- Mahmoud Abbas, Chairman of the Palestinian Authority
- Sultan Abu Al-Einein, Fatah Central Committee
- Hanan Ashrawi, PLO Executive Committee
- Abbas Zaki, Fatah Central Committee
- Al-Tayeb Abd Al-Rahim, President's office Sec. Gen.
- Yasser Abd Rabbo, PLO Sec. Gen.
- Ahmed Tibi, Israeli Arab Member of Knesset
Transcription:
"We commit and promise to stand behind you, oh Mahmoud Abbas, until Judgment Day. I am returning to you, the purest land, oh land of the free. No matter how long the nights of exile, I am returning to you, oh land. From Rafah to Rosh Hanikra (northern Israel) our coast, and Beit Shean (Israeli city). Above your soil, oh my land, is a picture of Garden of Eden. From Rafah to Rosh Hanikra our coast, and Beit Shean. Above your soil, oh my land, is a picture of Garden of Eden. From Rafah to Rosh Hanikra, north and south, are the picture's borders. From Haifa (Israeli city) and Tantura to the [Jordan] valley (i.e., all of Israel). I am returning to you, the purest land, oh land of the free."
[PA TV (Fatah), Feb. 27, 2011]
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Money and March Madness
March Madness makes nearly $700 million a year for the NCAA, but the players will never see a dime. Lowell Bergman talks to Hari Sreenivasan about his recent piece for Frontline that examines the money behind the NCAA.
Hoop Screams: Delaware’s Strange Anti-Basketball Jones
March Sadness: Couple Fights for Basketball Hoop
John McCafferty, 46, said the pole has been on the property since the 1950s, long before the Clear Zone law was enacted, and that he believes it is exempted from the law.
In any event, McCafferty said, the basketball hoop sits in a quiet cul-de-sac with little traffic and has never been a source of contention until now.
“It’s been there for 61 years, and it’s created no problem until this year,” he said.
The McCaffertys said they and other residents believe the controversy stems from an anonymous complaint from an elderly neighbor upset about having to slow down for kids playing in the neighborhood.
“This is obnoxious,” he said.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Melanie Phillips - British Media Incites Mass Murder and Hatred
Melanie Phillips:
"The British media is failing to report the attacks upon Israel, and only reporting Israeli responses, thus creating the entirely false impression that Israel is the aggressor. Thus in turn creating the kind of hatred of Israel in the world which is leading to mass murder"
מלאני פיליפס- התקשרות הישראלית מסיתה לרצח ושינאה נגד ישראל.
ממשלת ישראל שותקת.
Losing Our Sons Trailer
Announcing the upcoming release of "Losing our Sons," a documentary film investigation into the first successful homegrown Islamist terrorist attack on American soil. This is the story of a young African-American man from Memphis who converted to radical Islam, went to Yemen for terrorism training, and came back to murder a young Marine in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Young Black Activist Blasts Bill Ayers for Opposition to Charter Schools
Scary? Even Communists Surprised at ‘Radicalization’ of Wis. Dems
The heated rhetoric and aggressive attitude of some Democratic lawmakers in Wisconsin has surprised many, even revolutionaries, says a leader of the Communist Party USA.
Obama says too much testing makes education boring
Iranian Video Says Mahdi is 'Near'
It describes current events in the Middle East as a prelude to the arrival of the mythical tweflth Imam or Mahdi -- the messiah figure who Islamic scriptures say will lead the armies of Islam to victory over all non-Muslims in the last days.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Energized Muslim Brotherhood in Libya eyes a prize
Largely drawn from the devout educated middle classes and university campuses in Tripoli and Benghazi, the Libyan Muslim Brotherhood was founded in the mid-1950s.
In February, as protests in Libya began, Yusuf al Qaradawi -- an Egyptian preacher in Qatar widely viewed as the Muslim Brotherhood's chief spiritual guide -- issued a fatwa or religious ruling obliging any Libyan soldier who had the opportunity to do so to assassinate the leader.
‘Get Out of Darby!’: Video Captures Physical ‘Cop-on-Cop Confrontation’ in Philly Suburb
Bad blood spills over between cops in neighboring Delaware County towns, who are caught on camera in a cop-on-cop confrontation.
Fox 29 has new video tonight of a confrontation between police officers in Darby and Colwyn boroughs.
The county District Attorney is looking into the case, after a Colwyn officer accused Darby’s police chief of assaulting him.
Now its Not Days, Not Weeks but Libya Op To Last Months
The lack of clarity on that question reflects a worry for lawmakers clamoring to hear fuller explanations from the administration on why the U.S. was embroiling itself in another Muslim conflict and what the ultimate goals of the intervention are.
"When it comes to Libya, we started hearing from the U.K., France, Italy, other of our NATO allies," she added. "This was in their vital national interest."
Clinton declined to say if the U.S. might be willing to enter other conflicts where governments attack their own people. She told CBS'"Face The Nation" that it was too early to talk of intervention in Syria, where security forces have opened fire on protesters amid nationwide unrest. Unlike Gadhafi, Syrian President Bashar Assad is a "different leader" and many members of Congress who have visited the country "believe he's a reformer," Clinton said.
Asked about Yemen, where the embattled U.S. ally Ali Abdullah Saleh was just barely holding on to his 33-year-old grip on power, Gates cited grave concerns.
International cooperation took place in “record time,” Hillary said, adding that the 1990s bloodshed in places like Rwanda, the Balkans and Kosovo taught the world the dangers of delay. “I’ve never seen anything like it, where the world spoke so unequivocally,” she said on ABC.
The gist of Libya seems to be the preoccupation with the Islamic Middle East as a top priority for Obama and issues of genocide are now considered the top foreign policy focus.
Defense Secretary: Libya Did Not Pose Threat to U.S., Was Not 'Vital National Interest' to Intervene
During his campaign for the Presidency, in December, 2007, Barack Obama told The Boston Globe that “The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation.”
Earlier in 2007, then-Senator Hillary Clinton said in a speech on the Senate floor that, “If the administration believes that any -- any -- use of force against Iran is necessary, the President must come to Congress to seek that authority.”
Tapper asked Clinton, “Why not got to Congress?”
“Well, we would welcome congressional support,” the Secretary said, “but I don't think that this kind of internationally authorized intervention where we are one of a number of countries participating to enforce a humanitarian mission is the kind of unilateral action that either I or President Obama was speaking of several years ago.”
“I think that this had a limited timeframe, a very clearly defined mission which we are in the process of fulfilling,” Clinton said.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Studies shows the wealthy in America pay more of the nation's tax burden than in any other industrialized country
Giving the U.S. "the most progressive income tax system" in the world.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Time-lapse video captures rare views of Northern Lights
The Aurora from Terje Sorgjerd on Vimeo.
Norwegian landscape photographer Terje Sorgjerd spent one week around Kirkenes and the Norway-Russia border, in -25 Celsius temperature, to make this magnificent time-lapse video of the Aurora Borealis.
WAR POWERS RESOLUTION and NATO
The War Powers Resolution (WPR) states that the President’s powers as Commander in Chief to introduce U.S. forces into hostilities or imminent hostilities can only be exercised pursuant to (1) a declaration of war; (2) specific statutory authority; or (3) a national emergency created by an attack on the United States or its forces.
It requires the President in every possible instance to consult with Congress before introducing American Armed Forces into hostilities or imminent hostilities unless there has been a declaration of war or other specific congressional authorization.
It also requires the President to report to Congress any introduction of forces into hostilities or imminent hostilities; into foreign territory while equipped for combat; or in numbers which substantially enlarge U.S. forces equipped for combat already in a foreign nation.
Once a report is submitted, or ‘required to be submitted’, Congress must authorize the use of force within 60-90 days or the forces must be withdrawn.
The North Atlantic Treaty provides guidance on the operations of its members. Article II of the Treaty states that its
…provisions are to be carried out by the parties “in accordance with their respective constitutional processes”, implying that NATO treaty commitments do not override U.S. constitutional provisions regarding the role of Congress in determining the extent of U.S. participation in NATO missions.
Section 8(a) of the WPR states specifically that authority to introduce U.S. forces into hostilities is not to be inferred from any treaty, ratified before or after 1973, unless implementing legislation specifically authorizes such introduction and says it is intended to constitute an authorization within the meaning of the War Powers Resolution.
Obama advisor calls for the invasion of Israel: Power and Soros
Power was as an Obama adviser from 2005 until the “monster” comment about Hillary Clinton in March of 2008; she is back now on Obama's National Security Council.
Dem: Obama Told Me We Would Be "In And Out" Of Libya
"Everything that the President has indicated to me is that we expect to be 'in and out' very quickly. The reason why we started is because we have the technology that the other countries don't have but after the first week or so we're expecting the British, the French and the other NATO countries to really take over for us," Rep. Engel Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) told ABC News' "Top Line" program.
Engel said that Obama needs to address the nation on Libya. Engel says Obama also needs to talk to Congress if the operation in Libya "lasted a few weeks."
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
He won, but for what?
Maybe the fundamentalists were right all along: "I looked up and saw a white horse standing there. Its rider carried a bow, and a crown was placed on his head. He rode out to win many battles and gain the victory" (Revelation 6:2). The bible seems to prophesy a man of peace who will be hailed by the world. He did escalate the war in Afghanistan by increasing American presence there by 21,000 troops; and, more Americans have died there this year, by October, than have died there in 2001, '02, '03, and '04 combined. Maybe the committee in Norway (the Swedes award the other prizes) forgot about the dead.
Camp Lejeune Marines To Libya
About 2,200 Marines from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit will take part in support operations based aboard USS Kearsarge at sea. Those support operations have thus far included air strikes and one rescue operation. The overall mission is to help end the violence directed at the Libyan people.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Tom Lehrer - Send the Marines
Recording date: September 11th 1967
Format: Ampex Quadruplex PAL 4:3
Status: A very rare recording
Storage: Sony Digital Betacam
Production and preservation: The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation - the NRK, Norway.
Japan Nuclear Emergency: Experts from Univ. of Michigan Discuss Critical Issues
While exposed spent fuel rods at the failing nuclear reactors in Japan pose new threats, the worst-case scenario would still be unlikely to expose the public to catastrophic amounts of radiation, says a University of Michigan nuclear engineering professor who is an expert on this particular kind of reactor.
"For the public, I don't believe it would be much higher than two additional chest x-rays," said John Lee, a professor in the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences, citing the results of the Three Mile Island accident.
While the event appears to have progressed beyond Three Mile Island, Lee said that during that 1979 incident in Harrisburg, Penn., two chest X-rays were the worst radiation exposure experienced by plant workers. The public was exposed to much less.
Lee worked at General Electric during the time the company was making the type of boiling water reactor at the Fukushima plant. His book, "Risk and Safety Analysis of Nuclear Systems," will be published in May.
Spent fuel, which is fuel that has already been used but still retains a level of radioactivity, is a new concern, says Thomas Downar, a professor in the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences.
"The worst thing that could happen now is the fuel rods could be exposed to the air and that could be, then, down to our last barrier," Downar said. "We could not have a recriticality, or a nuclear explosion. It's physically impossible in this kind of system."
Lee and Downar are among the professors in the No. 1-ranked University of Michigan Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences who are studying the technical issues involved in the emergency situation in Japan.
While the researchers understand that the situation is serious, they stress that a "meltdown" does not necessarily mean a major release of harmful radiation, and that the situation, while dire, is still more a kin to Three Mile Island than Chernobyl. A Chernobyl type of explosion is impossible in these plants, Lee said.
The new generation of nuclear reactors in the United States, the researchers say, are equipped with "passive" technologies that allow them to be cooled even during power blackouts. Water does not need to be pumped in, which has been a challenge in Japan.
Experts from the department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences at Michigan Engineering discuss some of the critical issues surrounding the nuclear emergency in Japan.
19,000 Jobs Worth $1.1 Billion in Wages Lost Nationally Since Offshore Drilling Moratorium Imposed
Joseph Mason, author of “The Economic Cost of a Moratorium on Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration to the Gulf Region,” estimated that the new regional job losses due to the moratorium on offshore oil production in the Gulf region is now 13,000 – up from his original estimate of 8,000.
Mason also estimated the national job losses to have increased from 12,000 to 19,000; regional wage losses to be $800 million, up from $500 million; national wage losses to be $1.1 billion, up from $700 million; lost tax revenues on the state and local level to be $155 million, up from $100 million; and lost tax revenues on the national level to be $350 million, up from $200 million.
9/11 Military Case Has Stalled as White House Pushes for Civilian Trials
Libya: Who is providing what in the war effort
The Left’s Economic Terrorism Playbook: The Chase Campaign by a Coalition of Unions, Community Groups, Lawmakers and Students to Take Down US Capitalism and Redistribute Wealth & Power
Full version
The former SEIU official, Stephen Lerner, spoke in a closed session at a Pace University forum last weekend.
[...]
Lerner said that unions and community organizations are, for all intents and purposes, dead. The only way to achieve their goals, therefore--the redistribution of wealth and the return of "$17 trillion" stolen from the middle class by Wall Street--is to "destabilize the country."
Lerner's plan is to organize a mass, coordinated "strike" on mortgage, student loan, and local government debt payments--thus bringing the banks to the edge of insolvency and forcing them to renegotiate the terms of the loans. This destabilization and turmoil, Lerner hopes, will also crash the stock market, isolating the banking class and allowing for a transfer of power.
Lerner's plan starts by attacking JP Morgan Chase in early May, with demonstrations on Wall Street, protests at the annual shareholder meeting, and then calls for a coordinated mortgage strike.
Lerner also says explicitly that, although the attack will benefit labor unions, it cannot be seen as being organized by them. It must therefore be run by community organizations.
Lerner was ousted from SEIU last November, reportedly for spending millions of the union's dollars trying to pursue a plan like the one he details here. It is not clear what, if any, power and influence he currently wields. His main message--that Wall Street won the financial crisis, that inequality in this country is hitting record levels, and that there appears to be no other way to stop the trend--will almost certainly resonate.
Update: Florida Goes Sharia Law
Monday, March 21, 2011
Brazil Petrobras gets permit for U.S. deep waters in Gulf of Mexico
U.S. Congressman Bill Flores (R-TX) serves as a Member on the House Budget and Natural Resources Committees. Before retiring to pursue public service, Flores served as CFO for a number of successful energy companies and ultimately became the CEO and president of Phoenix Exploration Company. He has 30 years of experience in the energy industry, including oil field services, as well as exploration and production.
Floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) systems have become regular features of oil drilling.
Dilma Rousseff, a former guerrilla leader, and current Brazilian president, spent nearly three years in jail in the early 1970s.
Kucinich: Obama Ignored Constitution, Own Advice With Libyan Strikes
"If this was so grave, Congress is still in session. The President could have said 'don't go home, I've got to talk to you about what's happening here. I may need your approval.' This is about the Constitution and if we don't abide by our Constitution, everything falls apart here. This is about the Constitution, not about whether you like President Obama or not. I like President Obama, but I love the Constitution," Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) said on FOX News this morning.
Kucinich quoted President Obama from 2007, where he said the President "does not have the power," according to the Constitution, to attack without Congressional approval:
"The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation," Obama said in 2007.
Dem Congressman: "We're In Libya Because Of Oil"
"Well, we're in Libya because of oil. And I think both Japan and the nuclear technology and Libya and this dependence that we have upon imported oil have both once again highlighted the need for the United States to have a renewable energy agenda going forward," Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) said on MSNBC.
US Army 'kill team' in Afghanistan
posed for photos of murdered civilians
Commanders brace for backlash of anti-US sentiment that could be more damaging than after the Abu Ghraib scandal.
US Army apology for photos of soldiers with Afghan body
US Army Apologizes for Horrific Photos from Afghanistan
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