The World's Leading Banks, before and after the crisis

An illustration, entitled "The World's Leading Banks, before and after the crisis," and an article: "Capturing the Asia Opportunity," from strategy & business magazine dramatically illustrate the global banking and financial picture.

Orly Responding to Slams by News Media

So, for the news media, exactly in which hospital was Obama born?

Millions Go For Signs, Not For Jobs

The Senate seems to feel that spending millions to put up signs about the stimulus is better than spending billions to actually put people to work. I noticed the signs personally while traveling throughout New England that the signs are there; the workers are not. The signs appear to be self-congratulatory efforts that have not resulted in stimulating the economy.

Time to Investigate Michelle?

As Michelle has injected herself into health care rationing, and lately she has lobbied for Chicago as the next site of Olympics, she is now fair game for examination. As she has decided to become a more politically active person, the news media should be reviewing how much of the taxpayer's money is being used to fund her travels and her speaking appearances. I believe we should really find out more about her past experience as an attorney, and exactly why she no longer practices law. What happened in Illinois?

No Free Speech in Maryland

At a health care rally at the University of Maryland, a protester began heckling Obama. The man apparently yelled “Obama you’re a liar. Obama, your health care kills children. Abortion is murder.”

The man was promptly removed by police. The crowd is overjoyed and gleefully cheers as the man was carted off for having the temerity to challenge Obama publicly.

As the man mounts the stairs, one guy knocks his hat off, then a guy on the left spits on him but the cop sees it and carts him off too.

Cato Experts Dissect Obama’s Health Care Town Hall Meeting

Phoenix Junior: Beacon for Warfare

The product referred to, the Phoenix JR, is manufactured in Florida.

The company's website describes the product:

Phoenix Junior
(NSN: 5855-01-438-4588)

featured

Phoenix Jr. (NSN: 5855-01-438-4588) is an extremely rugged and low cost Infrared marker beacon. The Phoenix Jr. was principally designed as an individual Combat Identification marker employed to minimize fratricide (the inadvertent destruction of battle field assets by friendly forces.) It has also been used as a vehicle ID marker, drop zone indicator and perimeter marker. Since its introduction in 1984, the Phoenix Jr. is the most widely used electronic Combat ID system in the world.

Phoenix Jr. and the war on terrorism. The Phoenix Jr. has been utilized by American and coalition forces for combat identification in theatres of operation such as Kosovo, Bosnia, Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq. The Beacon has many uses in combat and other operations for marking personnel, vehicles, pathways or locations. It incorporates a flash rate that was specified to prevent confusion with small arms fire. Use the Phoenix Jr. to identify friendly force positions, demarcation lines or perimeters.

Phoenix Jr. is the world standard for covert signaling and identification of military, law enforcement, SWAT and homeland security assets.

SPECIFICATIONS
Weight: 28 Grams | 1 Ounce
Size: 38.09 x 15.87mm | 1.5" x .625"
Flash Repeat cycle: 1.3 Seconds (fixed)
Flash Duration: 20 Milliseconds (fixed)
Battery: Common 9 volt
Configuration: 3 Light Emitting Diodes (LED)
Coverage: 240 degrees x 360 degrees
Switching: Attach or remove battery
Operating Depth: The Poseidon — Phoenix / Pegasus Mounting Clip (902801) provides a water tight casing for the beacon and battery assembly. If immersed without the Poseidon case, the unit will continue to operate until the contacts fail due to water and electrolytic corrosion. Given these conditions the depth limitation is solely determined by the battery’s ability to withstand depth.


OPTIONS
Phoenix Jr. IR (902111IR)
Phoenix Jr. Red Training Model (902111R)
Phoenix Jr. NV Green Training Model (902111NV)
Intruder Trip Wire (902511)
Vehicle Auxiliary Power Supply (902611)
Poseidon — Phoenix / Pegasus Mounting Clip (902801)


Light Output Frequency :
Red - 640 nm
Infra Red - 880 nm
NV Green

Alternate frequencies available on request

Fort Hood Shooter Before the Massacre

Fort Hood Shooter Before the Massacre

What If China Collected on U.S. Debt?

What If China Collected on U.S. Debt?

Web of Errors: Recovery.org's Bad Math

Web of Errors: Recovery.org's Bad Math

Exclusive: Jobs 'Saved or Created' in Congressional Districts That Don't Exist

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How Low Will He Go?

General MacArthur and Emperor Hirohito

Cheney

Obamabow

Obamabow to Emperor

“Main article: Bowing (social)

Bowing (o)jigi (お辞儀, おじぎ), (o-)rei (お礼), is probably the feature of Japanese etiquette that is best-known outside Japan. Bowing is considered extremely important in Japan, so much so that, although children normally begin learning how to bow from a very young age, companies commonly provide training to their employees in how to execute bows correctly.

Basic bows are performed with the back straight and the hands at the sides (boys and men) or clasped in the lap (girls and women), and with the eyes down. Bows originate at the waist. Generally, the longer and deeper the bow, the stronger the emotion and the respect expressed.

Bows can be generally divided into three main types: informal, formal, and very formal. Informal bows are made at about a fifteen degree angle or just tilt over one’s head to the front, and more formal bows at about thirty degrees. Very formal bows are deeper.

The etiquette surrounding bowing, including the length and depth of bow, and the appropriate response, is exceedingly complex. For example, if the other person maintains his or her bow for longer than expected (generally about two or three seconds), it is polite to bow again, upon which one may receive another bow in return. This often leads to a long exchange of progressively lighter bows.

Generally speaking, an inferior bows longer, more deeply and more frequently than a superior. A superior addressing an inferior will generally only nod the head slightly, while some superiors may not bow at all and an inferior will bend forward slightly from the waist.

Bows of apology tend to be deeper and last longer than other types of bow. They tend to occur with frequency during the apology, generally at about 45 degrees with the head lowered and lasting for at least the count of three, sometimes longer…. The depth, frequency and duration of the bow increases with the sincerity of the apology and the severity of the offence….”

Chuck Norris on Copenhagen

Paratrooper's Mom Begs Obama: 'End It' - Boston News Story - WCVB Boston

Paratrooper's Mom Begs Obama: 'End It' - Boston News Story - WCVB Boston
As family and friends mourn a fallen U.S. paratrooper, his mother made an emotional plea to Obama that it's time to either bring home the troops or end the war in Afghanistan.

The body of Benjamin Sherman, 21, was recovered in Afghanistan Tuesday.

"It's time we do something. This has gone on too long. They either need to come home or we need to end it," a tearful Denise Sherman said.

Sherman was on his second tour of duty when he disappeared in Afghanistan last week during a mission to resupply troops in the western part of the country. He was a paratrooper with the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, based in Fort Bragg, N.C.

His family said Sherman jumped into a river to try to help another soldier when both were swept away. He was missing for about a week. "My brother is the type of man whose main values are honor, respect and standing up for what you believe in."
- Meredith Sherman, sister

Dozens of troops searched frantically for Sherman and his comrade and found the pair after about a week.

Hasan

Fort Hood Suspect Warned of Muslim Threat Within Military

Fort Hood suspect was under FBI probe in 2008

Officials: U.S. Army Told of Hasan's Contacts with al Qaeda

U.S. Knew of Suspect’s Tie to Radical Cleric

Co-Worker: Ft. Hood Suspect Made ‘Outlandish’ Comments Condemning US Foreign Policy

Dr. Walid Phares, Director, Foundation for Defense of Democracie's Future of Terrorism Project, is interviewed about Ft. Hood. He referred to the "Ft. Dix Six," a reference to the five of six Muslim immigrants who were convicted of plotting to massacre U.S. soldiers at Fort Dix, New Jersey; and, he noted that one private was killed--Private Long--and another soldier was wounded by a Muslim terrorist, Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, at a Little Rock, Arkansas, Army recruitment center (in which a Muslim protester later appeared to proclaim "Islam is the religion of peace"). The American military has been a terrorist target according to Dr. Phares.

The shooting attack at Ft. Hood by a Muslim soldier, the Ft. Dix convictions, and the Little Rock shooting are anything but isolated incidents. Leaving out the numerous attacks on American soldiers overseas, by soldiers in uniform or in fake uniforms, attacks have continued in the U.S.

1) On 23 March 2003 there was a grenade attack by Muslim Sgt. Hasan Karim Akbar that killed Army Captain Christopher Seifert and Air Force Major Gregory Stone and wounded 14 others. He was convicted of two counts of premeditated murder and three counts of attempted premeditated murder on April 21, 2005. Notably, during his trial Akbar smuggled scissors out of a conference room, then asked the Military Police Officer guarding him to remove his hand cuffs so he could use the restroom. When the officer removed Akbar’s restraints, he stabbed the officer in the neck and shoulder before being wrestled to the ground by another officer.

2) While serving as a naval signalman on board the USS Benfoldin the months following the attack on the USS Cole, Hassan Abujihaad (a/k/a Paul R. Hall) actively provided Islamic terrorists with sensitive information about the location of Navy ships and their weaknesses. He also discussed sniper attacks on military personnel and attacks on U.S. military recruitment sites with Muslim terrorists as well. For his crimes, Abujihaad is currently serving a ten-(10) year sentence. On 5 March, 2008 Abujihaad was convicted by a jury and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

3) There is also the case of U.S. Army captain James “Yousef” Lee, the former Muslim chaplain charged with espionage while serving at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Lee was arrested at a U.S. airport on charges of espionage after he was caught in possession of detailed maps of the detention facility along with other classified materials.

4) In addition to Lee, two other Islamic Arabic translators stationed at Guantanamo were convicted of unauthorized possession of classified documents.

Ultimately, the U.S. Army opted not to proceed with the espionage charges against Lee due to national security concerns arising from the evidence that would be made available to the public at the trial.





Colonel Terry Lee, a co-worker of the Ft. Hood suspect stated that Hasan made "outlandish" comments condemning U.S. foreign policy. In addition, numerous acquaintances who knew Malik recalled anti-American sentiments but no one filed a formal, written complaint about Hasan's comments out of fear of appearing discriminatory.

The Muslim Hasan was upset and said that Muslims should “stand up”. Muslims should not be fighting Muslims. He also publicly posted his ideas on Scribd.

Malik stated:

Scholars have paralled [sic] this to suicide bombers whose intention, by sacrificing their lives, is to help save Muslims by killing enemy soldiers. If one suicide bomber can kill 100 enemy soldiers because they were caught off guard that would be considered a strategic victory. Their intention is not to die because of some despair. The same can be said for the Kamikazees [sic] in Japan. They died (via crashing their planes into ships) to kill the enemies for the homeland. You can call them crazy i you want but their act was not one of suicide that is despised by Islam. So the scholars main point is that "IT SEEMS AS THOUGH YOUR INTENTION IS THE MAIN ISSUE" and Allah (SWT) [sic] knows best.

The shooter's, Malik Hassan Malik, Facebook page states: "i love Islam; i love allah," and links to Islamist Facebook pages. "The apostates, they must be killed," according to Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taiymiya, also linked on Facebook.

Hasan was put on probation early in his postgraduate work at the Uniformed Service University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md. He was disciplined for proselytizing about his Muslim faith with patients and colleagues. During the shooting, one eye witness reported Malik shouting the Islamists typical cry of "Allah Akbar!" (Arabic: God is Great) before shooting.

The day of the shooting Malik was viewed calmly going about his typical schedule of buying coffee and hash browns that morning.



Army Major Shooter served on the Homeland Security Policy Institute’s presidential transition task force between April 2008 and January 2009.

Janet Napolitano, the Department of Homeland Security, spoke from the United Arab Emirates and is working to prevent Americans from engaging in a possible wave of anti-Muslim sentiment after the shootings at Fort Hood.

There is no evidence that Americans have begun a backlash but Muslims are on the streets of America honoring Hasan. Revolution Muslim is mocking the dead American soldiers on their web site.

Sgt. Amy Krueger, 29, of Kiel, Wis., joined the Army after the 2001 terrorist attacks and had vowed to take on Osama bin Laden, her mother, Jeri Krueger said. The Muslim group labels a picture of her likeness as "Fail."

Hasan worshipped at a mosque led by Islamic imam, Anwar al-Awlaki, said to be a "spiritual adviser" to three of the hijackers who attacked America on 9/11.

9/11 hijackers Khalid al Midhar and Nawaf al Hazmi came into contact with al Awlaki at the Rabat mosque in San Diego, though The 9/11 Commission Report notes that “We do not know how or when Hazmi and Midhar first met” him. According to The 9/11 Commission Report, the two “may even have met or at least talked to him the same day they first moved to San Diego.” Al Midhar and al Hazmi “reportedly respected al Awlaki as a religious figure and developed a close relationship with him.” The Congressional Joint Inquiry on 9/11 labels al Awlaki “their spiritual advisor” and asserts that there were reports of “closed-door meetings” involving the three. In January 2001, al Awlaki moved to Virginia and became the imam at the Dar Al Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, VA, a mosque with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. In April 2001, al Hamzi and fellow hijacker Hani Hanjour showed up at Dar al Hijrah. The 9/11 Commission Report asserts that al Hazmi’s “appearance may not have been coincidental. We have unable to learn enough about al Awlaki’s relationship with Hazmi and Midhar to reach a conclusion,”

Cf. Wikipedia.

The U.K. press is running stories describing the background of Hasan.

The sole suspect in the massacre of 13 fellow US soldiers in Texas earlier this week was linked with radical imam, Anwar al-Awlaki, who was a “spiritual adviser” to three of the hijackers who attacked America on September 11, 2001.

Major Nidal Malik Hasan attended al-Awlaki’s Dar al-Hijrah mosque in Great Falls, Virginia, in 2001 at the same time as two of the September 11 terrorists.

Anwar al-Awlaki is an American-born Yemeni scholar who was banned from addressing a meeting in London by video link in August because he is accused of supporting attacks on British troops and backing terrorist organizations.

A fellow Muslim officer at the Fort Hood base in Texas, the scene of Thursday’s horrific shooting spree told the Telegraph that Hasan’s eyes used to light up when he mentioned his deep respect for al-Awlaki’s teachings.

Relatives said that the death of Hasan’s parents, in 1998 and 2001, turned him more devout.

Malik's professional background is sparse and he counseled for only a year according to his records.





The Little Rock incident referred to was a strange one in which, at the time, I believed to be a provocation. It did not work; people peaceably disagreed with the plant.




A Muslim terrorist killed an American soldier at this same site; thereafter, a Jihadist showed up to acclaim Islam as "the religion of peace."


These occurrences appear to be staged events provoking an attack. Consider for example that the Department of Justice, and Obama has stated publicly, that it is the duty of Federal government and the office of the president to defend jihadist causes.


Obama stated:

"I consider it part of my responsibility as president of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear."

Obama has consistently maintained his position:

"I shall stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction."

--Barack Hussein Obama, Audacity of Hope

An incident such as the one in Arkansas seems ripe for exploitation by an overzealous government as in the present regime. The incident seems to be an obvious Reichstag fire opportunity. On 30 January 1933 the Weimar Republic President Paul von Hindenburg appoints Adolph Hitler Chancellor as the fateful transition to dictatorship in Germany begins. On 28 February 1933 President Hindenburg and Chancellor Hitler invoke Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution, which permits the suspension of civil liberties in time of national emergency. This Decree of the Reich President for the Protection of the People and State abrogates the following constitutional protections:

* Free expression of opinion
* Freedom of the press
* Right of assembly and association
* Right to privacy of postal and electronic communications
* Protection against unlawful searches and seizures
* Individual property rights
* States' right of self-government

A supplemental decree creates the SA (Storm Troops) and SS (Special Security) Federal police agencies. The evidence is unclear as to who is actually responsible for the Reichstag Fire: Marinus van der Lubbe, an incompetent Dutch Communist, acting alone--a Communist plot--or a cynical ploy by the Nazis themselves in order to create an incident. There is historical evidence that points to Nazis involvement in the Fire.

But regardless of who actually planned and executed the fire, it is clear that the Nazis immediately took advantage of the situation in order to advance their cause at the expense of civil rights. The Decree enabled the Nazis to ruthlessly suppress opposition in the upcoming election.


On 5 March 1933 national elections provided the Nazis a 44% plurality in the Reichstag. Herman Göring [who later played a central role in the Nazi government and war effort] declares that there is no further need for State governments.

Over the next few weeks, each of the lawful Weimar State governments falls to the same ruse:

* Local Nazi organizations instigate disorder;
* The disorder is quelled by replacing the elected state government by appointed Nazi Reich Commissioners.

On 24 March 1933 the Reichstag passes the Law for Terminating the Suffering of People and Nation, also known as the Enabling Law, essentially granting Adolph Hitler dictatorial power.

The events in 1933 can be summarized as follows:

* While it is not clear whether the Nazis intentionally set the Reichstag fire in order to create a national crisis, or whether the Nazis simply were opportunistic, the event was used as justification for a sharp curtailment in constitutionally guaranteed civil liberties.
* The Nazis took advantage of the additional Federal police powers to suppress opponents.
* It is clear that in other situations, the Nazis did use the tactic of creating a "law and order" crisis so that they could provide a solution which further eroded civil liberties and entrenched their power.
* The central point to grasp is that a democracy can be destroyed by creating a law-and-order crisis and offering as a 'solution' the abdication of civil liberties and state's rights to a powerful but unaccountable central authority.


The equivalent of the Reichstag Fire is unfolding. The federal government has sided with Islam to actively promote its practice. The staged events appear designed to provoke a reaction amongst the American people. The Federal government would then seem duty-bound to intervene during an staged emergency granting extensive powers at the highest and most coercive level of government.


In the contemporary Arkansas incident some background is helpful to understand the situation.





The Muslim, Abdulhakim Muhammad, accused of killing an Army private never suffered torture or beatings while jailed on an immigration violation in Yemen, an official Embassy spokesman Mohammed Albasha stated. Muhammad became a terrorist after converting to Islam in the wake of 9/11. He pleaded not guilty to a capital murder charge in the death Monday of Pvt. William Long. Another soldier, Pvt. Quinton I. Ezeagwula, was wounded in the shooting. Muhammad, born Carlos Bledsoe, traveled to Yemen in September 2007 and taught English in the port city of Aden with the British Council for about two months, Albasha said. Muhammad then traveled to San'a, the country's capital, and taught English classes while attending Arabic courses with a group known as The City Institute, the spokesman said. Yemeni police arrested Muhammad on Nov. 14 for overstaying his visa and living illegally in the Middle Eastern nation, Albasha said. He was deported Jan. 29 to the U.S. A law enforcement official previously told the AP that Muhammad was arrested and jailed for using a Somali passport. Muhammad had such a passport at the time of his arrest, but said it was only to remain in the country with his wife. Yemen is a lawless and impoverished nation on the tip of the Arabian peninsula, is the ancestral home of Osama bin Laden's family. It was the scene of one of al-Qaida's most dramatic pre-9/11 attacks, the 2000 suicide bombing of the destroyer USS Cole off the Aden coast that killed 17 American sailors. Muhammed's attorney has disputed supposed Internet search records seized on a computer at Muhammad's Little Rock apartment, saying other people had accessed the secondhand computer. An FBI-Homeland Security intelligence assessment document obtained by the AP after the shooting suggested Muhammad may have considered targeting other locations, including Jewish and Christian sites. The FBI said he "conducted Internet searches related to different locations in several U.S. cities" including Atlanta, Little Rock, Louisville, Ky., Memphis, Tenn., New York, and Philadelphia. Material seized from Muhammad's truck and apartment this week included guns, ammunition, and Molotov cocktails.

I included a second version of the Jihadist video which is shorter but the distracting commentary is not included.

Acquainting Cultures With Technology

Acquainting Cultures With Technology

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America: Beware the Snake Oil Salesman

Niall Ferguson: The Dollar Is Finished And The Chinese Are Dumping It

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Niall Ferguson: The Dollar Is Finished And The Chinese Are Dumping It

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Niall Ferguson has written The War of the World: Twentieth-Century Conflict and the Descent of the West and Empire: The Rise and Demise of the British World Order and the Lessons for Global Power, among other important works of economic history.